My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 64

The two of them chatted about various trivial matters from the past. Yu Luocha spoke in a disjointed manner, jumping from topic to topic. One moment he was talking about roasted sweet potatoes on the rooftops of the capital, and the next about the two children who now might not be accustomed to living on their own.

Yan Hongyin lay with her head on Yu Luocha’s lap, listening quietly with closed eyes. Occasionally, she would open her eyes to look at Yu Luocha, causing the latter to pause in his speech. After this happened several times, Yu Luocha simply covered Yan Hongyin’s eyes with his hand, preventing those eyes from staring directly at him.

He saw his own reflection in Yan Hongyin’s pupils, which gave him an indescribable feeling of discomfort.

By the time they emerged from the underground place, the sky had already begun to blush with dawn.

After sending Yan Hongyin back to her room to sleep, Yu Luocha paced back and forth at the staircase landing several times, then leaned against the wall in a daze before turning to leave. As he did so, he encountered the Grand Priest who had risen early specifically to intercept him.

The old man, still leaning on his walking stick, frowned as he grabbed the outer robe Yu Luocha was wearing. “Is this the robe of Her Highness? You two…”

As he spoke, the old man’s eyes widened momentarily, and he raised his walking stick as if to strike Yu Luocha. But after second thought, he realized that a close relationship between the High Priest and the princess was a good thing, as long as the princess didn’t mind…

The old man lowered his stick, mentally accelerating his plans for the wedding ceremony.

Yu Luocha was completely unaware of how close he had come to being struck. Seeing the old man, his eyes brightened, and he grabbed the old man’s walking stick, pulling him to the corner of the staircase. He whispered, “Abbo, I’m so happy.”

(TL: “阿伯” (pronounced ā bó in Mandarin) is a Chinese term that generally means “uncle”, but it’s used in a respectful or friendly way to refer to an older man)

The old man became more confident in his earlier assumptions. He gave the High Priest, who was now smiling foolishly with joy, a complex look. After hesitating for a long while, he asked, “Then why are you out here now?”

He too had been young once and had a sweetheart. At this time when dawn was just breaking, why wasn’t he by his wife’s side? Why was he wandering about?

“I’m so happy,” Yu Luocha repeated, as if he hadn’t heard the old man’s question, just grinning stupidly. Then his smile turned into a frown, confused and troubled. “But I don’t know how to proceed… Ah Yin is neither like the delicate women of the Central Plains, nor like the uninhibited, open-minded women of the border regions. How should I interact with her?”

“The same as before?”

“No, no, no, it can’t be the same… it mustn’t be the same, but…”

The old man’s initially concerned expression gradually flattened. He frowned, trying to retrieve his walking stick from Yu Luocha’s grasp.

But while Yu Luocha seemed to be talking to himself and not listening, his grip on the walking stick remained firm, with no intention of letting go.

The old man reached out and covered Yu Luocha’s mouth, his face expressionless. “You rascal, you know my wife has been gone for over thirty years, right?”

Yu Luocha made a muffled sound in response, at least acknowledging the question.

The old man smiled without humor. “Then don’t put on such an act in front of this old man. It just makes me want to hit you!”

Having said this, the old man pulled at the walking stick in Yu Luocha’s hand again. When Yu Luocha didn’t react and still wouldn’t let go, the old man snorted heavily, released the stick, and walked away with surprisingly swift steps.

Yu Luocha stood there, holding the well-worn old wooden walking stick, blinking in surprise.

Abbo’s legs seemed quite nimble… probably could manage Loulan for another thirty years.

Yu Luocha wandered around aimlessly for a while longer, eventually finding himself back at Yan Hongyin’s door. He stood there for a long time, listening to the steady, peaceful breathing from within.

His gaze showed hesitation, but soon Yu Luocha pressed his lips together and, still wearing Yan Hongyin’s large white outer robe, slipped away through a corridor window. He disappeared into the edge of the city in the dim light between night and dawn, vanishing into the endless desert.

…..

Even the most experienced camel merchants would never claim they could never get lost in the desert.

That’s why they led their caravans with camels that had their own way of finding directions, safely traversing the fixed trade routes time after time.

The desert was beautiful, but equally merciless.

The boundless view could easily make one lose oneself in its golden splendor. In winter, after snowfall, the world became a vast expanse of white, and even the most experienced merchants would not choose to travel through the desert at such times.

But Yu Luocha did just that.

It had snowed a couple of days ago. The snow around Loulan city had been deliberately cleared by the tribespeople, revealing the moist sand underneath. But further out, there was nothing but pristine whiteness.

Yu Luocha, draped in a white robe, left a trail of footprints in the soft, clean snow. But in the blink of an eye, those footprints were swallowed by the sandy snow, once again becoming a pristine landscape, beautiful in its fragility and purity.

He seemed to know exactly where he was going, showing no signs of getting lost in this deadly beauty.

This was an ability inherited in the bloodline of the Loulan High Priests—an affinity with and capacity to navigate this heaven-granted desert. It was precisely because of this ability that the young Yu Luocha had been able to escape his pursuers and survive until he was dug out of the sand and rescued by people from another tribe.

–Now, he used this ability to hide his softest, most secret family memories.

He arrived at a cluster of date palms.

From a distance, they appeared to be a grove, but in reality, there were only three or four trees, standing close together, as if clinging to each other for survival, just as they once had.

In the desert, the most tenacious plants were not the green cacti seen by most people, but these date palms whose root systems reached depths of dozens or even hundreds of meters. They grew tall, with firmly established roots, and once they took hold, they would grow in that spot forever, neither shifting nor moving.

Yu Luocha stood before them for a while, then slowly sat down cross-legged.

“…I know I shouldn’t have come,” he said softly, lowering his gaze.

More than ten years ago, he had spent tremendous effort finding his parents and sister, who had been buried elsewhere, and had singlehandedly reburied them here. In the vast, endless desert, the best place to hide secrets was the desert itself.

No one could ever use his family as leverage to threaten him again. In his early days, when Yu Luocha was just beginning to make a name for himself, someone had set a trap using his mother’s remains to try to kill him. That time, he had barely escaped with his life.

And after he had caused the extermination of his only living relatives—his sister and brother-in-law—with just a glance because of his nephew’s birth, he had never returned to this place.

If he didn’t come, no one would ever suspect anything special about a few date palms.

“I…” Yu Luocha opened his mouth but hesitated, his lips quivering for a long time. Sitting there, he tilted his head back slightly, gazing tenderly at the unusually lush date palms growing in the desert. He laughed softly, his expression somewhat self-mocking. “I don’t know what to say either, but I just… wanted to tell you something.”

“I found that person.”

Since his family’s destruction, Yu Luocha had wandered through the border regions, with the longest time spent anywhere being the two years he recovered in a tribe after being gravely injured. Afterward, during every stage of his growth, he had drifted through the desert borderlands like rootless duckweed.

He had established the Luocha Sect with his own hands, feared and dreaded by thousands of evil men. He protected the newly risen Loulan, respected by countless tribespeople. He had accomplishments that many couldn’t achieve in a lifetime, yet he remained unsatisfied.

Perhaps what is lost always seems especially precious, or perhaps it was simply willful greed. He wandered the world, coldly observing life, death, love, and hatred.

He wanted to stop, but the desert wind carried him, constantly drifting toward unknown distances, never finding the date palm that belonged to him alone. Until he went to the strange but splendid Central Plains, and there, he met a tall, upright tree growing firmly with strong roots.

She might never have experienced the fickle sandstorms of the desert or witnessed the deadly barrenness of wastelands, but she was more determined than any date palm in this world. She stood there, straight and tall, like an evergreen haven in the midst of the desert.

From then on, the wind had a place to return to.

Who would have thought that the tree that could anchor the wandering wind of the desert would grow in the fertile, gentle soil of the Central Plains?

“Father, Mother, Sister, I think…” Yu Luocha’s lips curved into a smile. “I’m going to have a home again.”

And this time, he was no longer the weak, vulnerable, useless child of years ago.

…..

Although Yan Hongyin’s memories had been sealed, her martial skills remained, as did her body’s instinctive vigilance. Despite being extremely tired, she forced herself to open her eyes with difficulty when she sensed an intense gaze.

The heavy curtains around the bed were drawn, obscuring the outside, but Yan Hongyin could still see the figure crouched beside the bed.

The man was dressed elaborately, like a peacock displaying its feathers, with every strand of hair meticulously groomed. He still wore the typical Western Regions style clothing with an open front, deliberately chosen to reveal the cleavage that always caught Yan Hongyin’s attention.

Yan Hongyin was extremely tired and in her daze, she overlooked the man’s elaborate beauty, instead seeing what appeared to be a frantically wagging furry tail behind Yu Luocha.

How could a person have a tail?

Turning her head and squeezing her eyes shut, Yan Hongyin asked in a hoarse voice, “…What are you doing?”

Yu Luocha reached out and hooked a finger around Yan Hongyin’s hand that was resting on the edge of the bed. His gaze was intense, his expression eager.

Yan Hongyin: “…”

Understanding what Yu Luocha was doing, Yan Hongyin was speechless for quite a while.

Having soaked in the hot springs while drunk the previous day and stayed up all night, she had barely slept for a few hours before being woken up by this man. Yan Hongyin was puzzled. “Have you rested enough?”

“What?” Yu Luocha’s heart was full, his eyes seeing only Yan Hongyin. “It’s daylight already. I didn’t sleep.”

Yan Hongyin: “…”

Noticing the man’s finger stroking her own expectantly, Yan Hongyin took a deep breath and sighed. Following Yu Luocha’s lead, she pulled the man toward herself.

Yu Luocha’s eyes brightened, and he leaned toward Yan Hongyin, following the pull.

“High Priest, disturbing someone’s good dream early in the morning isn’t seduction—it’s asking to be beaten up.”

Yan Hongyin reached out, grabbed Yu Luocha’s collar, and pulled him directly onto the bed. Without another word, she lifted the corner of the blanket and wrapped the man together with herself in the still-warm covers, quickly covering Yu Luocha’s mouth.

Frowning, she buried her head against the man’s warm chest, while also slipping her hand inside Yu Luocha’s front collar, successfully messing up the elaborately dressed man into a disheveled state.

Yu Luocha froze like a wooden board, allowing Yan Hongyin to tuck her cold hands and feet against his side and into his embrace.

“I’m exhausted. Let’s sleep.”

The thick curtains fell again, blocking out the morning light. Yan Hongyin mumbled in a sleepy, dreamy tone. “Why are you so hot?”

Yu Luocha held Yan Hongyin’s fingers in his hand, with Yan Hongyin’s ankles pressed against his legs. His Adam’s apple moved as he said hoarsely, “…You’re too cold.”

Yan Hongyin seemed about to fall into a sweet dream, moving closer to the warmth until she was pressed against it, then let out a satisfied sigh and settled down contentedly.

Seeing Yan Hongyin’s awkward position, Yu Luocha extended his arm and carefully brought her into his embrace.

Yan Hongyin’s head naturally nestled into the crook of Yu Luocha’s neck.

The warmth of their breathing was scorching. Yu Luocha felt as if his skin was being burned in that spot and dared not move at all.

This intimate bed-sharing, this embrace, was a first for the couple who had been married for several months.

Yu Luocha quietly held her, his initially tense body relaxing, and the snow-like treasure in his arms finally warmed up a bit.

He gently removed the various ornaments on his body and pushed them to a corner of the bed, then watched as Yan Hongyin snuggled closer to him.

Ah Yin had said there was no smell on her that would reveal her identity, but at this moment, Yu Luocha’s nose was filled with the faint fragrance of her skin and hair. The bed curtains were silent and hot.

However, after being warmed by the human-shaped hot water bottle, Yan Hongyin became restless, dissatisfied with the constraint on her hands and feet. She insisted on moving to places she preferred, and in a few moves, she grabbed Yu Luocha’s waistband.

Yu Luocha struggled to defend himself, looking flustered as he pulled out the hand that was creeping to inappropriate places. He had to sacrifice the dimple at his lower back to barely satisfy the troublemaker in his arms, retreating his waist toward the inner side of the bed, not daring to press against the person in his embrace.

After all this commotion, both of them were sweating.

One from heat, one from exertion.

The thick curtains blocked out the light from outside, leaving only the two intertwined breaths and warmth inside.

Yu Luocha was lulled into a state of fatigue by the long, steady breathing of the person in his arms. Turning his head slightly, his cheek resting against Yan Hongyin’s forehead, he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

****

When he woke up again, the person in Yu Luocha’s arms had already gotten up and slipped out at some unknown time.

He reached out to touch the spot beside him, finding no warmth, but his nose was still filled with that indefinable scent.

“Awake?”

Hearing the movement, Yan Hongyin came over and lifted the bed curtain, with something in her hand that she was putting into her mouth.

Yu Luocha had just awakened and was still somewhat dazed. He lay there, looking at her with innocent, confused eyes, as if asking why she wasn’t in his arms when he woke up.

Yan Hongyin paused.

As the curtain was lifted, sunlight poured in, illuminating the beautiful figure on the messy bed.

Long hair flowing, clothes half-undone, with some moist marks still visible on his neck.

“Hmm?” Yu Luocha squinted against the sunlight, turning his head slightly to avoid it. His hair slid across his chest with the movement. He raised his hand to touch his neck, lowering his gaze to look at it for a while.

Yan Hongyin remembered her actions when she woke up and was momentarily silent, with a trace of awkwardness flashing in her eyes. She took the initiative. “You were sweating all over in your sleep. It was too hot.”

She had slept alone since a very young age, and it was only last night that she discovered she could display such affectionate behavior.

…Perhaps it was because of the alcohol or because she was too sleepy.

Yu Luocha lifted his eyelids to look at her, seeing the rare embarrassment on her face as she glared at him, as if threatening that if he dared to say another word, she would smother him with a pillow and not let him get up.

Raising his hand to his lips to suppress a smile, Yu Luocha sat up in bed. The remaining blanket slid down, and his clothes also slipped, revealing several red marks of varying depths on his collarbone.

One glance was enough to tell these were intimate marks made by someone nibbling on the skin.

“What are you eating?”

Yan Hongyin forced herself to look away from the alluring scene before her, casually putting a fruit into her mouth, mumbling, “Found these fruits on the table. Never seen them before.”

On the table?

Yu Luocha remembered the small bag of date fruits he had picked, and tender affection poured into his smile.

He asked, “Are they sweet?”

Yan Hongyin nodded. “Very sweet.”

“That’s good,” Yu Luocha didn’t say much more, only, “People from the border regions always bring a bag of these fruits when entering the desert. If they get lost and can’t find food or water, these fruits can save their lives.”

“I see,” Yan Hongyin looked at the last one remaining in her hand and took another bite.

The taste was unique, sweet but not cloying, indeed a rarity in the desert.

“…Ah Yin, I slept for so long,” Yu Luocha lowered his gaze and said softly. “I’m hungry and thirsty.”

Yan Hongyin looked at the empty table and her empty palm, and said without thinking, “Then let’s call for food.”

Yu Luocha caught Yan Hongyin’s arm as she was turning to leave and looked up at her with a pitiful, wronged expression. “Those fruits were picked by me last night, and I haven’t tasted a single one.”

Yan Hongyin met Yu Luocha’s gaze, which made no attempt to hide its burning intensity, and felt somewhat nervous, tightening her lips.

“What do you want then?” she heard herself asking.

Yu Luocha still had his clothes hanging loosely around his waist. Yan Hongyin looked at him and inexplicably felt a heat in her heart.

She bit his lip.

Yu Luocha smiled, took Yan Hongyin’s wrist to his lips, and placed a light kiss near the pulse point. His lips felt the pulse beating a bit faster than usual, and his gaze rose again to look at her.

“I haven’t eaten them for many years. I just want to taste the flavor of those fruits… Ah Yin always indulges me, surely you’ll find a way, won’t you?”

Yan Hongyin steadied her breath, kneeling on the bed and leaning closer to Yu Luocha.

“Is this the extent of Ah Yu’s skill?”

Yu Luocha’s eyes flashed with brightness, and he chuckled softly. “Does Ah Yin still find it pleasing?”

“It’s sufficient for today.”

Yan Hongyin lifted Yu Luocha’s chin and leaned down to kiss his lips.

Between their lips and teeth grinding together, she parted her lips slightly and breathed out. “…Next time, try something different.”

Yu Luocha couldn’t help but laugh, extending his arm to pull the person into his embrace, reversing their roles as he kissed her again. After a long while, their lips parted, and only then did he contentedly nuzzle Yan Hongyin’s cheek, asking in a sticky voice, “Then next time, does Ah Yin want to see Western Region beauties or Central Plains storybooks?”

Yan Hongyin thought for a moment, feeling that both options were difficult to choose between, and answered very honestly, “Perhaps we should schedule both.”

She hadn’t tied up her hair since getting up. Yu Luocha rubbed her hair, brushing aside the strands that had been pressed down, and said, “I took you to that underground place last night intending to tell you about the dual cultivation technique.”

That place was suitably warm and cool, and while not spacious, it was secluded. When he first saw the description of the practice location in the technique, this was the place that came to Yu Luocha’s mind.

This was also one of the reasons he had brought Yan Hongyin all the way to Loulan.

“Alright, let’s try it.”

Yan Hongyin slightly pulled away from Yu Luocha, agreed, and then stepped away from the bed.

“Get up quickly. That Loulan Grand Priest has been watching our door for quite a while.”

Yu Luocha, who didn’t remember what he had done, was puzzled and poked his head out. “What is Abbo watching our room for?”

Yan Hongyin raised an eyebrow, using her chin to point at the well-worn walking stick that had been placed on the table with the fruits. “Perhaps… he’s looking for the walking stick that was taken by a certain unreasonable High Priest?”

Yu Luocha: “…”

Silently raising his hand to lower the bed curtain again, he spoke in a muffled voice of avoidance from within, “I think I’ll sleep a bit more.”

Yan Hongyin teased him with a mocking tone. “Not hungry anymore?”

Yu Luocha remembered his embarrassing behavior from last night, chattering on and talking to himself, and shrank further into the blanket. “…No.”

“Not thirsty anymore?”

“…No.”

Yan Hongyin couldn’t help it. “Pfft!”

The beautiful man in the curtained bed twitched his brow, rolled himself up in the blanket, buried himself in it, and closed his eyes with peaceful determination.