| GB | Cleaned | 12
A round autumn moon hung high in the sky. The chirping of insects rose and fell, and the night wind carried a chill.
Yu Bai finished his second bowl of chicken soup. Through the old hemp robe, he patted his now-round belly, loosened the belt tied around his waist, and sat back in the chair, relaxing his stomach while staring blankly at the moon.
As he looked at the familiar moon, the joy on Yu Bai's face faded in an instant. His eyes grew misty, and a trace of melancholy appeared in his expression.
Huo Duo'er cleaned up the stone pot and dishes, then placed the gray rabbit fur into a basin of clear water to soak. He crushed a few herbs and rubbed them in his palms, carefully scrubbing his fingers clean.
He lowered his head to sniff them slightly. There was no lingering smell, so he turned back to look at the sub-female sitting in the wooden chair.
A gust of wind blew toward them. Huo Duo'er walked over to Yu Bai and bent his large body slightly to shield him from the breeze.
“...Bai?” he called.
Yu Bai didn’t respond. His breathing was a little labored.
Worried that Yu Bai might catch a cold, Huo Duo'er decided to carry him back inside.
The moment his hand touched that soft, slender waist, his freshly dried palm instantly broke out in a bit of sweat.
Under the late autumn moonlight, Huo Duo'er gently lifted one of Yu Bai’s arms, guiding it around his own neck. His other arm slipped under Yu Bai’s bent knees, and in a quiet, gentle motion, he picked Yu Bai up.
Warmth filled his embrace, so small and soft.
The unfamiliar, strange sensation made Huo Duo'er freeze in place. He lowered his head and, under the moonlight, gazed at the sub-female in his arms.
Yu Bai’s small face tilted slightly, resting against his neck. His eyelashes were still closed, and the breath at the corner of his lips was warm, gently brushing against Huo Duo’er's throat.
His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Huo Duo'er quickly looked away, then tightened his hold on Yu Bai and took a few steps into the house.
Yu Bai was sleeping soundly. In the firelight, Huo Duo'er noticed a faint trace of tears lingering at the corner of his eyes.
He touched the dampness with his fingertip and slowly wiped it away.
Still crouched by the bedside, Huo Duo'er recalled that Yu Bai had a habit of wiping down his body before sleep. So he casually took a clean piece of hemp cloth from the wooden beam and fetched half a basin of hot water, mixing it with cool water.
After wetting the cloth with the warm water, he began by gently wiping Yu Bai’s face.
Yu Bai’s closed eyelashes fluttered slightly. Huo Duo'er held his breath, watching him closely. Only after confirming that he hadn’t woken did he let out a sigh of relief.
He unclenched his palm, it was damp with sweat.
—
That day, when Yu Bai had wiped down Huo Duo'er’s body, even though he couldn’t see, he could still feel everything.
Now, just like Yu Bai had done then, Huo Duo'er made sure to be as gentle as possible as he wiped Yu Bai clean. He didn’t skip over even the areas Yu Bai had deliberately avoided that day.
Huo Duo'er took meticulous care to clean him thoroughly, and then settled him back down with equal care.
There were some parts of him that looked quite cute—it was soft and tender, with a rosy hue.
Huo Duo'er's gaze darkened slightly. He pulled the hem of the hemp robe down properly over Yu Bai, then wrapped the thin body tightly in the animale hide bedding.
The autumn nights had turned cold. Huo Duo'er stood silently for a while in front of the little courtyard.
Then he walked down to the riverside. The river water was icy cold, but it was the only thing that could cool the heat surging in his body.
—-
In the wilderness, late autumn nights were bitterly cold.
Even before he woke, Yu Bai was already curling up and sneezing, his hand covering his nose.
He was covered with three layers of animal hides. The two inner ones had been left behind by the old orc, and the outermost layer was a pelt given to him by Wu Yan. The back was fluffy and soft to the touch and very comfortable.
Yu Bai burrowed deeper into the furs and lingered in bed for a little longer.
The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the daytime in this season had grown even colder, it reminded him of winter back home.
Suddenly, he froze. In a hazy moment, he recalled what had happened the night before.
Lowering his head to inspect himself, he only felt clean and refreshed all over. Huo Duo'er helping him wipe his body last night hadn’t been a dream.
Yu Bai covered his slowly warming ears and sat in silence, his voice muffled in his throat.
But thinking back, he had taken care of Huo Duo'er in the same way when the other was injured. They were both men, there was nothing strange about it.
After convincing himself enough with that internal reasoning, Yu Bai noticed the room was empty. On the stone table, there was a somewhat uneven ceramic bowl, covered with a wooden lid.
He put on every hemp robe he could find, layered himself with a smaller animal hide, and walked over to the table. Lifting the lid, he found half a bowl of steamed pink beans and half a bowl of tender steamed egg custard.
The custard was smooth and glistening with moisture. Yu Bai swallowed involuntarily, and, feeling quite content, cradled the bowl in his hands as he stepped out of the stone house.
—-
The sky was a dim gray. Yu Bai stood there, startled, staring at the empty wall.
The pile of firewood stacked a few days ago was now placed outside the wall, surrounded by two tall stacks of stones. From a distance, Yu Bai spotted Huo Duo'er hauling wooden planks.
Carrying his bowl, Yu Bai ran over. “Huo Duo'er, you went to move the stones?”
The weather was cold, but Huo Duo'er’s exposed arms were slick with sweat, muscles bulging as he dragged a load of stones on a wooden plank toward the small courtyard.
Huo Duo'er replied, “It might snow in a few days, and the wind’s been picking up. It’s best to put the firewood away and seal up the wall first.”
Yu Bai murmured a quiet sound of acknowledgment.
He had figured it might snow here—late autumn was already this cold, winter would no doubt be worse.
Even though he’d thought about it before, Yu Bai never really felt much urgency. Maybe only after suffering a little would he realize this wasn’t the time to take things lightly.
He stared at the sweat dripping down Huo Duo'er’s nose, a wave of guilt rising in his chest. “Let me help.”
Huo Duo'er said, “These stones are heavy.”
He didn’t say the rest, he was worried Yu Bai would feel disheartened if he told him outright he couldn’t help much.
Yu Bai: “……”
Huo Duo'er added, “Help me find a stone knife. It’s easier to stack the stones if I smooth some of them out first.”
Yu Bai quickly agreed and went back inside to search for all the stone knives he could find.
Huo Duo'er stood just outside the door, his gaze fixed on Yu Bai crouched on the floor.
“Bai, eat something first.”
Yu Bai responded with a muffled “Mm,” but when he looked up and saw Huo Duo'er still staring at him, his face flushed before he could react.
He smiled sheepishly. “I’ll finish my breakfast first.”
The sub-female looked especially well-behaved at that moment. Huo Duo'er was caught off guard for a second, almost stepping inside to say a few more words.
He glanced at his own sweat-drenched arms, then at Yu Bai’s clean, delicate face and only then furrowed his brow and went back to sorting the stones.
—-
After the old gray-haired orc passed away, he had left behind a few things—among them, four stone knives. But none of them felt quite right in Huo Duo'er's hands.
Yu Bai looked a bit discouraged. “I’ll keep looking. Maybe there’s something else.”
He searched the whole room, sending little puffs of dust into the air that landed lightly on his face.
Huo Duo'er stared at the dust on Yu Bai’s little face. “I’ll go find some stone material to make one. Bai, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Yu Bai said, “I want to help.”
He didn’t have the strength or skill to chisel and grind stone, but there were still ways he could make small improvements.
The stone knives used by orcs were often flat and thin. If one applied too much force while using them, the blade could easily cut into the web of the hand or fingers.
His grandfather had made many farming tools in the past, though the materials were different, mostly iron. Whereas here, stone was still the main resource.
That day, when Yu Bai and Huo Duo'er had gone out to collect firewood, Yu Bai had spotted some tree resin under the trees on the other side of the riverbank. He was thinking about going back to dig some up and put it to use.
Meanwhile, Huo Duo'er found a few suitable stones and began shaping them, grinding out blades in the style of small knives.
Then, using the stone knife, he smoothed out the rough stones and, with a mixture of mud, patched up the half-built stone wall. Back and forth, there was no shortage of things to keep busy with.
The sun had come out. He worked with his back bent, soaked with sweat. His hands were full, yet his attention was still on Yu Bai.
“Bai, where are you going?”
Yu Bai stood just behind the door. When he turned his head, he saw that strong, bronze-toned body, its muscles sharply defined like a wall.
Even though it was normal for men to go around bare-chested, Yu Bai still looked away.
“I’m just going out to scrape some tree resin. I’ll be back soon.”
He added a pointed reminder: “No need to follow me.”
He jogged a few steps before stopping, already a little out of breath.
—-
Carrying a stone jar in his arms, Yu Bai crossed the riverbank alone. In the woods, a few other orcs were gathering firewood. When they saw him, they all turned to look, curiosity written all over their faces.
The story of the sub-female who saved a giant orc had already spread throughout the nearby parts of the tribe.
Many of them had never seen Yu Bai before. Now that they finally laid eyes on him, they instantly recognized him as the one who could treat wounded orcs.
After all, they had never seen such a weak and slender “orc” before.
“He looks like he doesn’t have a shred of strength.”
“His arm’s not even as thick as two of my fingers.”
“What’s he doing out here?”
...
Yu Bai was busy scraping resin.
The resin had hardened into a crust on the outer layer of the tree trunk, and it took him quite a bit of effort to gather enough. His grip on the stone knife was so tight that it left a red mark across the web of his hand.
After finally collecting about half a jar, he turned his face and nearly fell over in shock.
At some point, the orcs who’d been gathering firewood had gathered around him, silently watching. They crouched down to his level, bending their knees so their eyes were at the same height as his. On their foreheads were three sets of horns—large, medium, and small.
Yu Bai: “……”
One of them stared at his smooth, hairless chin. “Bai, what are you gathering that for?”
Yu Bai replied, “To make asphalt.”
The orc frowned in confusion. “Asphalt?”
They hadn’t heard of it before and asked, “Can we come see?”
The three orcs in front of him seemed only curious with no ill intent in their eyes.
Though Yu Bai wasn’t used to interacting with other orcs, he couldn’t bring himself to be rude and chase them away. After a moment’s hesitation, he gave a small nod.
The largest of the orc with horns spoke up. “I’m Tata.”
“I’m Taka.”
“Taku.”
The three brothers from the Horned Ox tribe looked quite young, but their naturally dark skin made their eyes and teeth appear exceptionally white.
They followed Yu Bai back to the small house, where Huo Duo'er was busy stacking the smoothed stones onto the wall.
Huo Duo'er’s expression was cold and unyielding. He set the stone down and moved in front of Yu Bai, blocking the path of Tata and his brothers.
“Bai.” Huo Duo’er’s voice was low and somber, he thought the orcs had been bothering Yu Bai.
Yu Bai peeked out from behind Huo Duo'er, lightly poking him on the side of his firm, toned waist with his fingertip.
“Don’t scare them. They just want to watch me make asphalt.”
Huo Duo'er’s attention was briefly drawn to the spot where he’d been poked, and his intimidating aura softened a little.
The giant stood still and quiet, and only then did Yu Bai move toward the stove. He picked out the charcoal from the bottom of the fire and crushed it before setting the jar of resin over the flames to melt it down.
Yu Bai picked up the stone knife that Huo Duo'er had re-sharpened, then chose a piece of wood. He instructed Huo Duo'er to carve it down to a manageable size.
Huo Duo'er and the Tata brothers all watched him. With so many eyes on him, Yu Bai felt a bit uneasy.
Instinctively, he moved a little closer to Huo Duo'er, speaking quietly as he pointed to one end of the wood. “Carve a knife edge here.”
Huo Duo'er followed his instructions, quickly completing the task.
Yu Bai took the blade, slid it into the notch, and then poured the crushed charcoal ash into the melted resin, stirring it together until it was well-mixed.
He pressed the freshly made pitch into the gap between the blade and the stone knife, soon bonding the two together.
Yu Bai grinned, swinging the knife handle. “Now it won’t cut your palms anymore.”
The Tata brothers chorused, “Why didn’t we think of that?!”
After speaking, their eyes became more curious, their gazes now filled with a touch of astonishment.
“Who would have thought, Bai might look frail, but he can come up with things none of us ever thought of.”
Their intense stares made Yu Bai feel bashful. He quickly hid behind Huo Duo'er, momentarily at a loss for words.
Seeing this, Huo Duo'er moved behind the door, his gaze looking down at the Tata brothers.
“You should go.”
The three brothers had never encountered such a cold and intimidating orc before. They were already quite strong, but even so, standing before the giant, they had to tilt their heads just to see his face.
Tata and his brothers awkwardly touched their horns before they left.
Yu Bai, who had been watching: “...”
Huo Duo'er casually wiped the sweat off his shoulder, continuing to grind the stone with the handle stone knife.
Yu Bai didn’t feel like repeating himself, but when he noticed sweat trickling into Huo Duo’er’s eyes, he went inside the house and grabbed a piece of cloth.
“Huo Duo'er, wipe the sweat off your face.”
He stood on tiptoe, stretching out his arm, and Huo Duo'er tightened his grip on the stone knife before silently bending down, bringing his sweat-covered face closer to Yu Bai.
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