"RAARGH!" Huang Shu swung his sword, and he finally finished the battle by decapitating the leader of the barbarians. He grabbed the head and raised it up in the air.

"I GOT YOUR LEADER! SURRENDER NOW, OR YOU WILL FACE THE SAME FATE!" The barbarians saw the head of their leader. They hesitated, and in the end, they turned around with their horses and left as fast as they could.

Some of the Imperial archers were able to shot the barbarians, but at least a quarter of their original number had successfully escaped. The soldiers chanted Huang Shu's name loudly in glory, while the Commander approached Huang SHu and asked about his condition, "Huang Shu, are you alright?"

Huang Shu had his light armor full of blood coming from the enemies he decapitated. But he was mostly unharmed, with only a few scathes on his arms and face.

He threw away the head of the barbarian leader. Then he answered the Commander, "I'm alright, Commander. But I want to see him first. I want to make sure that he is safe."

The Commander naturally knew who Huang Shu was referring to. Thus he nodded and said, "Yes, you should check on him. But I believe our defense—"

"COMMANDER, MASTER BAI YUNYU'S COURTYARD HAD BEEN INVADED!"

Everyone darted their eyes at the soldier who rushed and announced what happened.

"No, Yunyu!" Huang Shu immediately jumped to the horse and then spurred it as fast as he could.

It took him a moment to return to Yunyu's courtyard, and what he saw was a ransacked courtyard with blood seeping out of Yunyu's room. There were few corpses in front of Yunyu's door as well.

Huang Shu's blood went cold as he realized that something must've happened here while he was fighting against the barbarian.

"Yunyu, don't die! I will not be able to forgive myself!"

Huang Shu jumped out of his horse and then rushed to the door. His heart dropped when he saw a room filled with the sharp smell of blood and twelve corpses lying on the ground.

They were all wearing the same all-black to cover their identity except a dead servant. In the middle, he saw his beloved Bai Yunyu lying motionlessly while holding a piece of crumpled paper.

Blood was all over his robe, and he looked pale.

"Yunyu!" Huang Shu rushed to Yunyu and then checked his breath, it was weak, but Yunyu was still breathing.

But Huang Shu wasn't relieved yet. He searched whether Yunyu had a terrible injury that needed to be treated soon. He was glad that Yunyu didn't seem to suffer any terrible injury.

As impossible as that sounded, it seemed that Yunyu had defeated eleven people at the same time.

Huang Shu checked Yunyu's heartbeat, and it was still beating, although it was quite weak. It seemed that Yunyu had used up almost all his strength to fight against eleven people. That was the reason why he fainted.

Huang Shu hugged Yunyu tightly. He blamed himself because he failed to protect his beloved. Although Yunyu could protect himself, this wasn't supposed to happen.

"Yunyu, I'm sorry…"

The Commander came with a physician after seeing the ransacked courtyard and strong smell of blood from Yunyu's room. They thought that Bai Yunyu had died, but what they witnessed was Huang Shu hugging Yunyu while he kept apologizing.

Twelve corpses were lying around them. The Commander took a deep breath, trying to steal his gut, so he didn't faint.

"Huang Shu, what happened?"

Huang Shu looked at the Commander, and when he saw the Physician beside the Commander, he immediately carried Yunyu out. He put Yunyu in another room to get examined by the Physician, "My Yunyu fainted after he used too much energy to fight against eleven people! Save him! I will pay. I will do anything as long as you save him!" Huang Shu begged frantically.

The Physician checked on Yunyu's condition, and then he nodded, "Master Bai Yunyu is alright. Yes, he has exhausted almost all his strength, but he should be able to recover after a long rest. I suggest someone take care of him while he is recovering, and I will give him medicine that he needs to drink every day to recover faster. Since it's a cold winter, he will need someone to warm him up every night."

"I will do it! I'm his future husband!" Huang Shu claimed.

"Alright, I will give you the nourishing medicine. Please warm Master Bai Yunyu up with your body. It is best if both of you strip, so you can share body warmth instead."

The Physician and the Commander left Huang Shu and Yunyu alone after giving the medicine. Huang Shu then sat at the edge of the bed, staring at Yunyu before slowly taking off his shoulder guard and chest guard before stripping off everything, including his underwear.

The reeking smell of blood emitted from his body, probably because he killed too many today.

His hand still had the blood of his enemies, and he was worried that he would sully Yunyu's beautiful skin as he also stripped Yunyu's bloodied robe.

Huang Shu slowly untied Yunyu's sash and stripped Yunyu until he could clearly see Yunyu's milky white skin and thin waist. Huang Shu's cheeks reddened, and his cock throbbed as he imagined they would share their warmth with each other soon.

He then laid beside Yunyu on the bed and then covered their body with a blanket to trap the warmth. Huang Shu's cheeks turned even redder as he realized that his cock was completely erect inside the blanket. Huang Shu hugged Yunyu tighter as they were facing each other, although Yunyu's eyes were shut.

Huang Shu caressed Yunyu's cheek and then leaned closer, so their forehead touched to share more warmth.

Their breath entangled to one another, and Huang Shu closed his eyes, trying to battle this sweet sorrow in his heart.

He was glad that Yunyu was safe, but he was also saddened because Yunyu had to experience such horrible things as killing eleven people.

It must've been traumatizing for Yunyu.

Huang Shu inhaled deep, and he realized that both of them reeked of blood, like a pair of bloody lovers.

"No… I don't want your hands to be sullied with blood, Yunyu…." Huang Shu said. He kept staring at Yunyu and continued, "Who wants to hurt you anyway? You're the kindest and the most beautiful person I've ever met. Your heart is so gentle, and your warmth and care have filled my heart every day. I would never trade it with anything in this world."

"When you woke up, please tell me everything, alright? I will make sure to punish those who dare to target you. My beloved Yunyu…"

Not long after, Yunyu's hand that had been tightly clenching on a crumpled paper finally weakened and released the letter in Huang Shu's chest.

Huang Shu frowned. He was also curious about the paper that Yunyu was holding. So he took it and read the content of the paper… which seemed to be a letter.

- Kill Bai Yunyu. I've informed the barbarian about the sudden invasion and gave them the right moment to strike. As long as Bai Yunyu is dead, the prize is in your hand. -