When Lin Zhizhi woke the next morning, daylight had already filled the tent.
Still groggy, he rubbed his eyes.
Halfway through—
He suddenly remembered something.
Turning sharply to the side, he instantly woke up.
The bed had been divided neatly by clothes.
His side was a complete mess from sleep, while the other side had already been folded perfectly.
Its owner had long since gotten up and was nowhere in sight.
Lin Zhizhi instinctively let out a breath of relief, then wondered if he was overthinking things.
Maybe Xie Yi had genuinely thought pitching another tent was too troublesome.
Or maybe sharing a tent simply made missions more convenient…
He tried to convince himself, though without much confidence.
Just then—
The tent flap was abruptly lifted.
Lin Zhiji startled, only then realizing the person who had come in was not Xie Yi, but Songlü carrying washing supplies.
“Young Master Lin, wash up first.” Songlü said cheerfully, “The army is striking camp right now. We’ll be setting off again in a little while.”
Lin Zhiji answered in acknowledgment. Embarrassed to keep sitting on the bed, he hurriedly folded the blanket and climbed down.
After putting the things down, Songlü began packing up the items inside the tent.
Seeing this, Lin Zhiji asked, “Host… Xie Yi, where did he go?”
Songlü replied, “A tiger attacked the camp last night. My lord led men to kill it.”
Lin Zhiji’s eyes widened.
Something this huge had happened last night, yet he had not been woken up at all and had slept straight through until broad daylight.
But Songlü thought he was worried and comforted him, “Young Master Lin, don’t worry. With my lord’s skills, killing that tiger was effortless. Besides, he had his personal guards with him. Nothing will happen.”
Lin Zhiji asked, “Judging by how casual you all sound, have you done this before?”
Songlü nodded. “Back when we were poor, my lord even led us as hunters for a period of time. Not just tigers—we killed wolf packs, black bears…”
Lin Zhiji found it almost impossible to imagine Xie Yi having gone through such a period.
Curious, he asked, “What happened after that?”
“Later, my lord accidentally saved Mister Luo. Mister Luo was very good at business, and our lives gradually became better after that,” Songlü said.
“Mister Luo?” Lin Zhiji frowned.
He remembered that in the original novel, there didn’t seem to be such a person.
Songlü said, “Mister Luo went ahead to Qingzhou to make arrangements. Once we arrive in Qingzhou, you’ll be able to meet him.”
The original novel hadn’t explained everything either.
So Lin Zhiji temporarily put the matter aside.
Right then, the noise of soldiers shouting came from outside the tent.
Songlü said, “My lord should be back!”
Lin Zhiji walked out of the tent and saw chaos outside. Quite a few soldiers had gathered together, discussing animatedly.
Lying in the open space was the enormous corpse of a tiger. Its massive head faced directly toward him, frightening him into taking a step back—only to bump into a hard chest.
Xie Yi steadied his arm and naturally rubbed the back of his head. “How are you this careless?”
The distance between them was extremely close.
Xie Yi was not wearing light armor, only a thin cyan robe. The fabric clung lightly, outlining the contours of muscle whenever he moved. The ends of his hair were damp, a few droplets soaking into his clothes and leaving dark stains.
It seemed he had gone to bathe.
Lin Zhiji could practically smell the scent of soapberry and the steam still lingering on him.
He froze for a moment before scrambling awkwardly out of Xie Yi’s arms.
Xie Yi raised a brow but did not press too hard. Instead, he said, “Come inside and help me put on my armor.”
Lin Zhiji: ?
Xie Yi said matter-of-factly, “Aren’t you my attendant?”
With that, he lifted the tent flap and walked inside.
Lin Zhiji glanced at the busy Songlü and could only follow helplessly.
This scene happened to be seen by several dark-faced officers not far away.
Leading them was Xu Zhongze, deputy general of the Zhechong Battalion.
Xu Zhongze came from a military family. Though still young, he had already established countless military merits, only to be transferred from the Shuofang Army to serve under Xie Yi as his deputy.
The people around him were all trusted followers and felt deeply indignant on his behalf.
“He actually brought a male favorite into the military camp. I heard they even sleep in the same tent. Ridiculous!”
“Isn’t it just because he has a powerful father? He’s never even been on a battlefield, yet he gets to become commander of an entire army!”
“The camp defenses were clearly arranged by Deputy General Xu, but everyone’s praising him for bravely hunting the tiger. What a showboat!”
“Someone so improper—who knows what trouble he’ll stir up in the future…”
Xu Zhongze also disliked Xie Yi’s conduct, but hierarchy had to be respected. As commander, Xie Yi could deal with them using just a few words.
He frowned and interrupted them.
“Enough. Say less and hurry up packing. Prepare to depart.”
Inside the central command tent, Lin Zhiji struggled to lift the armor.
He had seen Songlü pick it up so easily earlier and thought it wouldn’t be too heavy.
But lifting it was only the first step.
Lin Zhiji looked at Xie Yi, who stood half a head taller than him. “……”
In the end, Xie Yi took it himself. Something that felt like a lead weight in Lin Zhiji’s hands seemed nearly weightless in Xie Yi’s.
Without needing Lin Zhiji’s help, Xie Yi put the armor on himself.
Lin Zhiji let out a sigh of relief.
But the next second, Xie Yi pinched his arm, startling him so badly he nearly jumped.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Xie Yi released him and said calmly, “Don’t you still want to learn horseback riding later? With this little strength and stamina, you’ll collapse after an hour or two.”
Covering the spot Xie Yi had pinched, Lin Zhiji felt deeply depressed.
In modern times, people traveled by cars, high-speed rail, and airplanes. Who would have thought that after suddenly arriving in ancient times, he’d have to learn horseback riding?
Resentfully, he tightened the straps securing the armor, proving he still had some strength after all.
The rope left red marks across his fingertips.
Xie Yi’s gaze darkened, and even his voice dropped lower. “Starting today, train with me for one hour every day.”
Lin Zhiji: ?!
—
Xie Yi meant what he said.
At noon, when the army stopped to rest and cook, he dragged Lin Zhiji under the shade of a tree and made him do horse stance.
Lin Zhiji hadn’t done horse stance since elementary school.
And this body was just as weak as his old one.
He had not even lasted ten minutes before he started swaying unsteadily, his legs trembling.
Yet Xie Yi was extremely strict. Whether Lin Zhiji acted spoiled or begged for mercy, he ignored him completely, pushing him right to his limit and forcing him to squat for a full half hour.
By the time they set out again in the afternoon, Lin Zhiji could barely climb onto the carriage.
Still, he had realized one thing.
With how strict Xie Yi was, there was probably not the slightest romantic interest involved.
Clearly, he had been overthinking it.
So that night, he entered Xie Yi’s tent with complete ease.
After baring his teeth through the remaining half hour of horse stance, when Xie Yi said he would massage his calves, Lin Zhiji didn’t misunderstand at all. He even proactively rolled up his pant legs, exposing his pale calves.
Xie Yi grasped his ankle.
Lin Zhiji’s ankle was slender, the bones delicate. Xie Yi could encircle it with one hand.
But slightly higher up was a soft calf. Though slim, it was not skinny—instead, it had just the right amount of flesh. Under his fingers, even the slightest pressure made the skin sink.
Just like his fingertips, the faintest force would leave pale red marks behind.
Xie Yi’s body suddenly tensed. He closed his eyes briefly before finally beginning to massage the muscles in his calf.
Lin Zhiji lay sprawled on the bed, pant legs rolled to his knees.
But after waiting a while, Xie Yi still didn’t move. Only the cool night breeze brushed over him, making him curl his toes from the chill.
Just as he was about to turn around and ask what was wrong, warmth suddenly covered his ankle.
The calloused palm was hot, pressing tightly against his skin as it slid from his ankle up to his calf.
Lin Zhiji shifted uncomfortably, but the hand restrained him.
He instantly felt like a fish pinned to a cutting board.
The next second, a sore ache shot from his calf straight to the top of his head.
Lin Zhiji jolted violently, springing upright on the bed, only to be calmly pressed back down by Xie Yi, who continued the massage mercilessly.
“The muscles in your legs are far too tight. If I don’t work them loose, you won’t even be able to walk tomorrow.”
Rationally, Lin Zhiji knew he was right.
Emotionally, though, the pain almost made tears fly out of his eyes.
But he still had his pride. Knowing the tents weren’t soundproof, he could only bite the pillow hard, letting out muffled little whimpers.
Xu Zhongze, who happened to be patrolling nearby, passed by at exactly that moment. His face instantly turned red and black.
Indecent!!
Utterly disgraceful!!
He snorted angrily and turned to leave.
Lin Zhiji had no idea that their perfectly innocent massage session had been misunderstood like this. Once the initial pain passed, the relaxed muscles soothed by the warmth of Xie Yi’s palms felt as though they were soaking in pleasantly warm water.
It felt incredibly comfortable.
Hugging the pillow, Lin Zhiji was practically about to fall asleep.
Fortunately, he suddenly remembered something. Struggling to pry open his nearly stuck-together eyelids, he turned around and said, “Host, there’s something I need to tell you…”
Sleepy, his voice came out soft. The word “Host” seemed to melt between his lips and teeth.
Tilting his neck upward, a few damp strands of hair clung there, moving with the jewel-like motion of his Adam’s apple.
Xie Yi lowered his gaze. His breathing roughened for a brief moment before returning to normal.
“What is it?”
Lin Zhiji noticed nothing unusual and kept the same posture.
“I realized most of the soldiers are drinking raw water. If possible, it’d be best to boil the water before drinking it.”
Xie Yi frowned. “Why?”
Fighting to stay awake, Lin Zhiji couldn’t really explain bacteria and viruses, so he tried to put it in simpler terms.
“There are things in raw water that make people sick. You can’t see them with your eyes, but drinking it can easily cause diarrhea or fevers and illnesses like that. Especially in summer—it’s even more common…”
He had originally meant to bring this up yesterday, but Xie Yi’s sudden suggestion that they “sleep together” had frightened him so badly that he delayed it until now.
Lin Zhiji had expected to need a lot more explanation to convince him.
Unexpectedly, the moment he finished speaking, Xie Yi simply said, “Understood.”
He pulled Lin Zhiji’s pant legs back down and said softly, “Go to sleep.”
Lin Zhiji could no longer hold on. His head dropped onto the pillow, and he sank into deep sleep.
Only when he woke up the next morning did he learn that Xie Yi had already issued an order: from now on, the entire army was forbidden from drinking raw water. All water had to be boiled before drinking, and violators would be punished under military law.
This order immediately caused an uproar within the army.
On the march, gathering firewood and lighting fires was already inconvenient—let alone boiling water for so many men.
Yet Xie Yi was iron-faced and impartial. Once he said military law would be enforced, he showed no mercy.
After executing a few offenders to set an example, no one dared disobey again.
Xie Zhongze’s close followers were even more indignant:
“Xie Yi is simply outrageous! Acting on whims every other moment! If this delays the march and we fail to reach Qingzhou in time, let’s see how he answers for it!”
“These young nobles from the capital really can’t endure hardship!”
“Maybe someone has been feeding him malicious advice…”
Xie Zhongze’s face was dark with anger. Seeing Lin Zhiji step out of the central command tent, he couldn’t help but glare at him.
Lin Zhiji: ?