27 The Strange Behavior of Leng Yufeng
The sun had not yet risen in the early morning, but the sky was gradually beginning to brighten.
Huan Mo Che and Leng Yufeng opened their eyes and looked toward the crown prince beside them, but did not find his figure. The clothes they had covered the crown prince with last night were still there. When the two picked up the clothes, they found them already cold and covered with some morning dew, instantly realizing that the crown prince must have gotten up long ago.
The two hurriedly put on their outer robes and anxiously searched for the Crown Prince. At this moment, neither of them knew how deeply worried their anxious expressions were, nor did they understand how people like them could care so much about someone they had only recently met.
“Crown Prince!” The two spotted Shang Wuxin not far away. At that moment, Shang Wuxin was inspecting the horse-drawn cart carrying provisions. In fact, she hadn’t rested much all night. Being in such an environment surrounded by many untrustworthy people, and with important matters at hand, how could she possibly sleep? Even Leng Yufeng and Huan Mochen remained alert, but because of the faint fragrance emanating from those around them, they eventually fell asleep. However, if there was even the slightest disturbance, they would awaken faster than anyone else.
Shang Wuxin glanced at the two and nodded. Both of them felt a bit embarrassed; they had intended to protect the Crown Prince but hadn’t expected to be unaware even when he got up.
“Order the soldiers to eat quickly and then set off!” Shang Wuxin instructed. Delaying even a little would cause countless innocent civilians to starve due to lack of food. Although she needed to ensure everyone’s strength, she would not waste any time.
Leng Yufeng went to organize the team, while Huan Mochen glanced at the prince before walking into the forest. Shang Wuxin noticed Huan Mochen’s movement but neither stopped him nor showed any concern, continuing with his own tasks. Leng Yufeng watched his friend enter the forest with some confusion but knew that his friend was not as gentle as he appeared; his martial skills were strong, so there was nothing to worry about. After thinking for a moment, he took out his own water pouch and went to the river to fill it with some clean water.
“Prince, have some water!” Leng Yufeng handed the water pouch to Shang Wuxin, speaking with a slight stiffness. He rarely cared about others, but since they set out last night, he hadn’t seen the prince take a single sip of water. Looking closer, he realized the prince didn’t even have a water pouch on his horse.
Shang Wuxin paused his inspection of the provisions and glanced at Leng Yufeng, whose face was stiff. He hadn’t expected this seemingly cold and iron-blooded general to be so considerate. Shang Wuxin was indeed a bit thirsty, so he took the water pouch from Leng Yufeng, opened it, and took a few small sips.
“Pri…” Leng Yufeng was about to speak but stopped. He had intended to say that it was his own water pouch, which he had used himself, and wanted to remind the prince, but then he saw the prince drinking directly from it. The prince drank water quietly, not gulping like they did. Leng Yufeng noticed the prince’s lips were a faint pink, that pale pink lip pressed against the opening of his water pouch. Thinking that he usually drank water the same way, Leng Yufeng suddenly looked away. He thought the prince’s lips were really beautiful, just a bit pale. Although he had never looked closely at others’ lips, he instinctively felt that the prince’s lips must be the best.
Leng Yufeng was still upset about his sudden thought when a water pouch was handed to him. Shang Wuxin’s cold and clear voice came, “Thank you!” Leng Yufeng was stunned; he really did not expect someone like the Crown Prince to say thank you. What kind of person was this Crown Prince? Clearly, he was an extremely cold, non-human boy, but his words and actions always surprised him. Leng Yufeng suddenly wanted to understand this Crown Prince more deeply.
Shang Wuxin looked at Leng Yufeng somewhat strangely, not understanding why Leng Yufeng’s hand holding the water pouch was so stiff that it didn’t move at all. However, she didn’t think much of it and was about to continue with her tasks when Huan Mo Che, who had disappeared for a while, emerged from the depths of the forest.
Huan Mo Che was still dressed in blue, but the dew from the trees in the early morning forest had dampened the hem of his clothes. In his hand, he held several freshly picked wild fruits. When he saw Shang Wuxin walking over with a smile, he said, “Prince, these are fresh fruits!”
He felt uneasy last night when he saw the Crown Prince eating that cake. Thinking that they would need to eat cakes to stave off hunger this morning, he went to pick some fruit to fill their stomachs.
Shang Wuxin glanced at the fruit but didn’t intend to take it and was about to leave, yet Huan Mo Che forcibly stuffed two fruits into his hand. Moreover, these two fruits had been cleaned with Huan Mo Che’s own clothes before being given to him. Shang Wuxin took the two fruits without a word and left, while behind him, Huan Mo Che looked on helplessly. The Crown Prince showed no reaction to his good intentions at all, but he just couldn’t help himself—he wanted to do something for the Crown Prince.
“Here, these are for you. Don’t say this young master isn’t a good friend!” Huan Mo Che tossed the two fruits to Leng Yufeng. Leng Yufeng smiled as he accepted them, vaguely understanding why his friend was in a bad mood. This Crown Prince, it seemed, had too much influence over both of them. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen. Leng Yufeng even felt that if he continued to stay by the Crown Prince’s side, things might happen in the future that he couldn’t even imagine.
After speaking, feeling thirsty, he was about to pick up Leng Yufeng’s water pouch. Actually, people like them all have some strange cleanliness quirks to some extent, and he was no exception. But he and Leng Yufeng were considered life-and-death friends; they had shared a wine flask and drunk together more than once. Besides this friend, he really wouldn’t use anyone else’s things.
Leng Yufeng saw Huan Mo Che’s movement was quicker than his mind, so he dodged Huan Mo Che’s hand, then directly opened the water pouch and drank all the water in one gulp. Remembering that the prince had just drunk water the same way, Leng Yufeng’s face flushed slightly.
“No water left, drink your own!” Leng Yufeng said and then left, afraid that Huan Mochen would notice his flushed face.
“How strange!” Huan Mochen looked at his friend’s hurried footsteps with some confusion, then started eating the fruit in his hand. It tasted so sour that he quickly glanced at the prince, only to find that the prince seemed unaware of the fruit’s sourness and kept eating it. This made Huan Mochen stop his attempt to intervene. He seemed to realize that the prince had a liking for sour things. Could this be considered progress?