Chapter 100

Tan Yulou really wanted to object, but he couldn't find a better reason. Although his identity was already known to the others, he had to pretend to be clueless.

With a cloth in his mouth, the dull pain from the pulling of his skin and flesh made it difficult for him to speak.

Cheng Duo handled the largest wound on Tan Yulou's waist, demonstrated how to apply medicine and bandage it, and then found an excuse to take Yong Ge with him and left.

Seeing the two of them being "irresponsible," Wei Ling felt a bit embarrassed at first. However, when he saw the suffering expression on Tan Yulou's face, his embarrassment quickly disappeared—saving people was the priority!

After Cheng Duo came out, he went to the backyard of a blacksmith's shop to wash himself. He had only washed his hands after helping Tan Yulou with his wounds, and now his body was covered in blood and dust, so he needed to clean up. He wasn't afraid of the cold; he simply poured a bucket of cold water over himself and then took off his wet clothes to wipe them dry.

Yong Ge couldn't help but stare at Cheng Duo's well-built shoulders and the water droplets disappearing into his pants along his abdominal muscles.

How could there be such a maddening man like his Cheng Duo! Not only could he fight on the battlefield and have an illustrious reputation, but he could also do the laundry, cook, and dote on his husband. Yong Ge couldn't help but feel jealous of himself!

When Cheng Duo turned around and noticed Yong Ge's greedy expression, he found it a bit amusing. "You've seen every part of me, haven't you? Why can't you get enough?"

Yong Ge blushed and replied, "…"

Didn't he get to see him only at night, in the dark? It wasn't like now, where everything was clear, even the tiny body hair on Cheng Ge's body and the steam rising from his body due to the heat…

"Come here." Cheng Duo smirked and motioned for Yong Ge to come over. Seeing the adorable little guy with a fluctuating gaze walking over, he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss him on the lips.

"C-Cheng, Cheng Duo, someone's here." Yong Ge stammered, looking around, suddenly wanting to hide his Cheng Ge.

Cheng Duo chuckled, shook his head, wrung out his wet clothes, and then used a piece of sleeve to carefully wipe the dried bloodstains off Yong Ge's face. Due to the horseback riding, there was also quite a bit of dirt on his face. Until a clean little face appeared, Cheng Duo then wiped his hands as well.

Yong Ge obediently let Cheng Duo take care of him. After a while, he raised his head and sneakily glanced at his serious eyebrows and eyes, saying with a touch of aggrievement, "Actually, when I saw the fake person that Du Boyan brought, hugging and kissing another guy, I almost got angry to death."

Thinking back to that scene, his nose still felt sore, and his chest felt uncomfortable.

"Then how did you recognize it later?" Cheng Duo could tell that his little guy was acting cute, so he cooperated and asked.

"His shadow, the shadow on the ground didn't match."

Cheng Duo deliberately teased him, "Luckily there was still a flaw in the shadow, otherwise, wouldn't I be wrongly accused?"

Yong Ge nodded and playfully argued, "Yes, you're lucky. Otherwise, I would have locked you up, and you wouldn't be able to see anyone but me."

Cheng Duo almost choked: "Locking up people? It's incredible that you thought of that, Yong Ge!"

"So heartless? You won't even listen to my explanation?" 

"I won't, so you better be careful not to let me catch you getting close to someone else." Yong Ge playfully pointed at Cheng Duo's chest, finding the touch just as good as always, and took the opportunity to touch it a couple of times.

Cheng Duo was momentarily stunned, then he burst into laughter, finding Yong Ge's talent admirable. Even at this moment, Yong Ge didn't forget to tease him. Moreover, the scope he defined was quite comprehensive. He didn't mention other guys or other girls, only "others"… Did that include men as well?

As Cheng Duo laughed, Yong Ge joined in too, snuggling in Cheng Duo's arms and feeling content.

After tidying up, although there were clean clothes in the space, it wasn't suitable to take them out at the moment. Cheng Duo wrung out his wet clothes and put them back on.

In this battle, many of Wei Ling's men died. Cheng Duo made decisions on what to collect and what to bury. As for the members of the Black Cloth Organization, they caught two live captives.

Tan Shoubei was extremely angry and, after confirming that Tan Yulou was safe, he found a place and personally interrogated them.

"Big brother, is Young Master Tan alright?" Yong Ge asked with concern, poking his head out.

Wei Ling looked at his curious big eyes and inexplicably felt his face getting warm. "He's fine. He's sleeping."

Yong Ge stared at him for a while. "So, are you and Young Master Tan…?"

"Adult matters, don't pry as a child!" Wei Ling quickly interrupted him.

Yong Ge rolled his eyes. He had been married for three years, but his big brother might still be a virgin. Yet he had the nerve to call him a child? Whatever.

He wanted to ask a few more questions, but Cheng Duo stopped him. "Let it be. Your big brother knows what's going on, and we shouldn't meddle."

"But, big brother already saw Young Master Tan naked. Isn't that irresponsible?" Yong Ge argued.

Wei Ling hurriedly explained, "I didn't see him… naked. I just helped bandage his wounds."

He stuttered, finding it difficult to continue toward the end.

Yong Ge said, "Isn't that the same thing?"

Wei Ling: "…"

He wiped his face and quickly changed the subject, "I just heard from the soldiers around Cheng Duo that Du Boyan found someone to impersonate him, and that person even… got intimate with other guys?"

He didn't mention the part about "letting other guys give him children" in front of Yong Ge. Wei Ling wrinkled his brow unconsciously. It seemed that Cheng Duo and Yong Ge not having children was indeed becoming an issue. Even Jiangdong County had started making it a topic, and it might not end anytime soon…

Now Yong Ge was the one getting nervous, "Yes, big brother, you mustn't believe it. I already had someone capture the imposter before leaving the city. We'll see him when we go back."

Wei Ling smiled, "Why are you so nervous? Cheng Duo has been with me all day. How could I mistake him for someone else?"

"Oh, right, I forgot…" Yong Ge scratched his face, feeling like he had acted too anxiously.

Wei Ling shook his head. What else could he say? His little cousin had been stubborn for a long time.

Thinking about it, he had to thank Yong Ge today. Luckily, he didn't lose his mind in the incident with Cheng Duo; otherwise, both he and Young Master Tan would have been in danger.

Tan Shoubei was an old hand at dealing with situations like this. They caught two of the black-clothed men who were initially eager to die, but he only dislocated the jaw of one, using the torture in front of the other. The waiting process for torture was already a torment, and seeing their companion's tragic fate frightened the other one, causing him to confess everything before Tan Shoubei even used any torture methods.

Tan Shoubei learned about the black-clothed men's hideout and immediately set out to capture them. Those black-clothed men dared to cause trouble on his territory, thinking he was easy to deal with! 

Moreover, he heard that Du Boyan had found someone to impersonate Cheng Duo, using Yong Ge as a bait. Yong Ge was the only son of General Wei. Only a lunatic would dare to deceive him!

Furthermore, if Wei Ling died on his territory. General Wei would never let him go.

The Du family was quite audacious. They did so many things behind his back, which explained why Du Main House hadn't shown up for so long. Presumably, they had already fled? But they could run, yet they couldn't hide! The Du family still had numerous shops and houses. Since they hadn't shown any signs of disposing of those assets earlier, Tan Shoubei intended to take them back. He would keep half and present the other half to Little Master Wei as an apology and an alliance gesture.

However, before setting off, Tan Shoubei was somewhat concerned about Tan Yulou. In the end, Wei Ling stepped forward and said, "Tan Shoubei, rest assured, I'll take care of Young Master Tan."

"Alright, then I'll trouble you, Young General." Tan Shoubei nodded and then waved his hand, saying, "Let's go!"

Wei Ling keenly noticed that Tan Shoubei changed his address toward him. He exchanged a glance with Cheng Duo, and they both understood what it meant.

Cheng Duo thought of Du Boyan who stayed in the city and Yong Ge's men going to capture the imposter. He was ready to return to the city with Yong Ge.

Upon hearing this, Wei Ling's face looked somewhat troubled. "Young Master Tan hasn't completely gotten out of danger yet. How about you leave the medicine and Yong Ge here?"

The medicine was to prevent him from getting a fever at night, and as for Yong Ge… it wasn't convenient, right?

"Cheng Duo…" Yong Ge was someone who valued principles. Though he liked Tan Yulou and wanted him to be together with his eldest cousin, they hadn't even made it obvious yet. Leaving him with Big Brother at this moment felt like taking advantage of his vulnerable state.

Cheng Duo hesitated for a moment and said, "Alright, you take care of yourself. I'll be back soon."

Wei Ling had already informed the main forces at the relay station, so he believed they would arrive soon, and Yong Ge would be safe here.

Cheng Duo left at dusk and returned only at midnight, looking rather grim.

He met the servant who was said to look a lot like him and learned the entire conversation from him. Before today, he had never thought that not having children with Yong Ge could be a problem.

At home, Wei's grandfather and the others cherished Yong Ge. They took every subtle approach to make sure he took good care of himself, but they didn't mention anything else. In ancient society, the majority of people believed that not having children was the responsibility of the girl or ger, so only lunatics would remind Cheng Duo that Yong Ge couldn't conceive.

Cheng Duo recalled how Yong Ge had been pestering him recently, not allowing him to clean up afterward, and even secretly raising his hips. At that time, he hadn't paid much attention, but now, thinking back, weren't all these actions signs of Yong Ge's eagerness to have a child?

"Cheng Duo, you're back," Yong Ge came out of Tan Yulou's room, rubbing his eyes and letting out a big yawn.

He had just fallen asleep inside, and it was Young Master Tan who woke him up, telling him that Cheng Duo was back.

"Cheng Duo, are you hungry? Shall I cook something for you?" Cheng Duo hesitated for a moment before nodding. He had something to discuss with Yong Ge.

Inside the temporary kitchen, Yong Ge was busy frying the soup base and cutting the noodles. Cheng Duo didn't interrupt him. His mind was actually in disarray. After returning, he tried to recall the entire journey, and then he realized that it seemed that the high-level ability users in the post-apocalyptic world didn't have children?

It wasn't Cheng Duo's fault for being slow to realize; in the post-apocalyptic world, survival was uncertain, resources were scarce, and people didn't have the energy to focus on procreation. Most were busy practicing, killing zombies, and fighting for territory, not even knowing if they'd live to see tomorrow. Few had the energy to devote to procreating.

It was hard enough to survive on their own, who would want to raise a crying baby that could attract zombies? Even if ordinary people raised children within the city, it was easy to conflict with neighbors. Everyone was exhausted during the day, and with poor sleep at night, it wasn't surprising for tempers to flare up.

Unless one's family had power and influence and owned a separate building… But Cheng Duo, as a low-level strength ability user, had no access to such information, so he wasn't aware of it.

"Yong Ge, if… I mean, if…" amidst the steaming hot air, Cheng Duo pondered his tone, "if we never have children, do you want to have your own?"

Yong Ge's expression changed. What did Cheng Duo mean by that? Could it be that those with ulterior motives guessed right, and Cheng Duo wanted someone else to bear a child for him?

Cheng Duo also felt that something was wrong after asking the question and closed his mouth with an unpleasant expression. In ancient times, there was no artificial insemination technology. By asking this, was he suggesting that Yong Ge should separate from him or give up his rights?

It was the first time Cheng Duo felt so troubled. If he told the truth, knowing how much Yong Ge cared about him, Yong Ge would undoubtedly be willing to "break off all descendants" with him. However, in doing so, he would also cut off Yong Ge's hope, and their future days would be filled with suffering together without achieving anything. But if he didn't say anything, it wouldn't be fair to Yong Ge either…