Chapter 94: Sleeping Together

That evening, the group found an inn in Yushi Town and rested until noon the next day before setting off.

This was mainly because Dongfang Qi was missing one of his three souls; he looked fine on the surface, but was actually very weak inside and needed plenty of rest.

To take care of him, Lin Qingyue would sometimes deliberately switch to riding a horse, leaving the carriage for Dongfang Qi. Naturally, the driver would then become Xie Shouzheng.

The carriage was quite spacious and could easily fit two people, but Xie Shouzheng disagreed, insisting that since they were brother-in-law and sister-in-law, sharing the carriage was inappropriate.

It was truly a mystery how he, a wolf, had managed to engrave those human rules and doctrines into his bones.

Moreover, every time the words "brother-in-law and sister-in-law" were mentioned, Dongfang Qi would clearly feel awkward.

Lin Qingyue, however, was thick-skinned and didn't care at all; once, she even joked, "If I were to cheat on Dongfang Yan, I wonder if he would be angered to death."

This scared Xie Shouzheng so much that his face changed color, but she laughed heartily: "Why are you so nervous? Someone who didn't know better might think you and that Dongfang Yan had something going on!"

Dongfang Qi coughed incessantly beside them, though it was unclear if it was from being startled.

By the time they left Yushi Town and arrived at Donglin Prefecture, it was not yet the hour of Xu (7-9 PM). However, the city gates were already tightly shut, and no passing vehicles were allowed in or out.

Some who hadn't made it into the city simply camped outside. Consequently, there were many carts, horses, people, and goods stopped outside the gates.

Those in a hurry to continue their journey were very anxious at being blocked outside.

"Isn't the city gate supposed to close at the hour of Xu? It's just past the hour of You (5-7 PM), so why is it closed?"

"One look and I can tell you're new here and don't know the situation! Everywhere else closes the gates at the hour of Xu, but only this Donglin Prefecture closes an hour early, at the hour of You. I was delayed on the road, so I didn't make it either. It looks like we'll have to camp outside tonight!"

"When I came here last year, the rules hadn't changed; why did they suddenly move it up by an hour? It's the hour of You, the sun hasn't even set yet, and they're closing the gates—it's a bit too early!"

"I heard that over half a year ago, the Changshi of Donglin Prefecture encountered an evil spirit and was nearly killed! That's why both the gate closing time and the curfew were moved up by an hour!"

"..."

Lin Qingyue and her group were also blocked outside the city gates.

Hearing the conversation, Xie Shouzheng understood what was going on and asked Hong Yao with a smile, "This is to guard against you, right?"

Hong Yao nodded, feeling very regretful: "What a pity, I failed to kill him that time. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so much trouble."

Dongfang Qi frowned and said, "In our Great Qi, there are clear regulations for the closing and curfew times of every city. That Miao Dong actually modified the time for personal reasons. Does he really think that because the Emperor is far away, he can do whatever he wants?"

Great Qi had strict regulations for curfews and gate closing times to maintain local security and social order. If they were arbitrarily moved up, it would affect trade and the travel of the common people.

Especially since Donglin Prefecture was a large city with many merchants coming and going.

Not to mention anything else, just looking at the hundreds of people blocked outside the gates, there must be quite a few stranded inside as well.

After jumping off her horse, Lin Qingyue said quite open-mindedly, "Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Since we can't get in, we might as well use the sky as our quilt and the earth as our bed, and have a great dream!"

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Qi's brow relaxed, and he also smiled, "What a wonderful 'sky as quilt, earth as bed.' Then we shall camp outside tonight!"

Lin Qingyue glanced at him, then turned to instruct Xie Shouzheng: "Take out the bedding and spread it in the carriage for the young master to sleep; he is quite weak."

Dongfang Qi retorted, not to be outdone, "If anyone is to sleep in the carriage, it should be you; I'm not as weak as you think."

Lin Qingyue, however, leaped onto the roof of the carriage in one bound and lay down carelessly: "I'll sleep here; it's perfect for stargazing when I can't sleep."

Dongfang Qi was about to say something more, but Xie Shouzheng came over holding the quilt and said, "Young Master, you two are brother-in-law and sister-in-law after all. If you really use the sky as a quilt and the earth as a bed, wouldn't you be sleeping together and committing incest? That's not appropriate!"

Dongfang Qi was so annoyed he kicked him: "Shut up!"

Xie Shouzheng curled his lips, "Am I not worried about your health and wanting you to sleep more comfortably? Although the young lady is a woman, she is strong enough to beat a few tigers to death; you don't need to worry!"

Lin Qingyue glanced over coldly: "Xiao Hui, not only can I beat tigers to death, but I am also very skilled at hunting wolves. I especially like accessories made of wolf teeth. Why don't you give it a try?"

Xie Shouzheng hurriedly shut his mouth and went into the carriage to make the bed for Dongfang Qi.

Hong Yao tied the horses together and found a relatively flat spot, preparing to sleep.

Suddenly, a blanket was thrown down from above, and Lin Qingyue said, "Put it under you; it will be more comfortable."

When she looked up, she saw the woman on the carriage roof lying on her side, her black skirt hem dangling from the roof, swaying with the night breeze.

Hong Yao pursed her lips and said softly, "Thank you."

Xie Shouzheng slept on the ground next to the carriage. After a while, he suddenly crept up, and seeing that everyone around was asleep and no one was paying attention, he quietly transformed into his wolf form and dove into the carriage.

Dongfang Qi was startled by the shadow that suddenly leaped in, but relaxed his vigilance once he saw it was Xiao Hui.

"Xiao Hui, what are you doing?"

"Young Master, hehe... it's uncomfortable outside. Let me lie beside you."

"Get out."

"Young Master, before I transformed, didn't you let me sleep on your bed too?"

"Get out!"

"Young Master... you even said before that I was fluffy and very comfortable to hold while sleeping..."

The next moment: Bang—Whoosh!

The fluffy big wolf was kicked out of the carriage, forming an arc as it disappeared into the night, leaving behind only a whimpering cry.

Someone was awakened: "Eh, why did I hear a wolf howl? Could there be a pack of wolves attacking us?"

"Don't scare people! What wolf, that was clearly a dog barking."

"Hmm, it must be that some caravan brought a dog to guard their goods. Don't worry, keep sleeping."

Inside the carriage, Dongfang Qi listened quietly to the sound on the roof; Lin Qingyue didn't seem to have woken up.

He felt a little relieved: "Fortunately, Qingyue didn't notice, otherwise it would be truly embarrassing. Xiao Hui is really something; can childhood be the same as now?"

As a result, the next moment he heard a playful voice drifting down from the roof: "So you like holding Xie Shouzheng to sleep; that's a rather unique hobby."

Dongfang Qi: "..." ===== CHAPTER 95 =====

Dongfang Qi: "..."