Chapter 4

PS: Thank you to the generous donations of 100 coins from Hu Lu Village, Piaowu de Yangguang, Cuohen Tian, and Xuanyuan Yutianchen. Taibao bows in gratitude!

During the new book period, I sincerely request the strong support of all my brothers and sisters. Your collections and recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Li Er's words are like an imperial edict, allowing no one to disobey.

Cheng Chumo merely delayed a bit, and was immediately punished with twenty military lashes by Li Er.

The group returned to the palace in grand procession. Li Er led the civil and military officials to the Taiji Palace for deliberation. Zhao Chen simply followed Cheng Chumo to the military camp, where the military judge, holding a military stick, was already waiting with a nauseatingly smiling face.

These bastards don't get to fight on the battlefield; they are well-fed and full of energy, which they use to beat their own brothers. They don't fear the day they might fall into the hands of others.

When it comes to twenty military lashes, it's exactly twenty lashes, not a single one is spared. Zhao Chen stood to one side, helplessly watching as the water-soaked wooden stick fell onto Cheng Chumo's buttocks, one by one.

The wet wooden stick hitting the flesh made a dull 'puff' sound. Cheng Chumo bit down hard on a piece of wood to prevent himself from biting his tongue in pain.

After the twenty lashes, the military judge immediately approached with a fawning smile, rubbing his hands and said, "Brother Chumo, please understand! We eat this bowl of rice, and you must bear with us!"

"Get lost!" Cheng Chumo spat out the piece of wood from his mouth, gritted his teeth, and said fiercely.

The military judge, upon hearing this, immediately responded with a meek "Yes, yes," and ran off like a rabbit. This was only because Cheng Chumo was a son of a general. If it were an ordinary soldier, these bastards wouldn't have this attitude.

"Chumo, are you okay?" After the military judge left, Zhao Chen asked with a guilty expression.

Li Er is inhuman! He said it was a joke, but in the end, Cheng Chumo was punished with twenty lashes just for delaying, and his telescope was wasted.

"I'm fine, what's the big deal!" Cheng Chumo, lying on a low stool with his buttocks exposed, said in a very heroic manner, "My ass has been whipped stiff by my father, these military lashes are like scratching an itch..."

Cheng Chumo's father is Cheng Yaojin, the legendary bandit king who wielded an axe and robbed people in the Sui and Tang dynasties.

However, at this time, Cheng Yaojin should be with Li Jing and others, trailing the tens of thousands of Tujue troops, heading towards Shuofang. He won't return until the Tujue are completely gone.

Although Cheng Chumo said this, Zhao Chen clearly saw him gritting his teeth, obviously trying to act tough in front of him.

"Let me see!" Without a word, Zhao Chen came to Cheng Chumo's back and lifted the hem of his armor.

"No, no, no!" Cheng Chumo tried to stop Zhao Chen, but he was lying down and couldn't move easily. After a few attempts, Zhao Chen lifted the hem of his clothes.

Damn, these bastards hit too hard!

Zhao Chen lifted Cheng Chumo's clothes and saw his dark buttocks, now a deep purple. His forehead veins bulged in anger.

This doesn't hurt? Zhao Chen remembered in elementary school, when his hand was hit by the teacher a few times, he rubbed it for the whole class. How much more painful must it be for Cheng Chumo's buttocks to be bruised and purple?

"Chumo, bear with it!" There was bruising on the buttocks, which needed to be punctured with a needle to release the blood.

Li Er took his telescope but left him the backpack, which contained the needles and white medicine he used in the jungle.

Zhao Chen told Cheng Chumo and then took out the needle, biting his teeth, and punctured several wounds on Cheng Chumo's buttocks. Seeing the purple blood turn red, he took out the white medicine and evenly sprinkled it on Cheng Chumo's buttocks.

"Ah, it feels so good!" The white medicine on his buttocks made Cheng Chumo, who was just in pain, gasp and moan in comfort.

Seeing this, Zhao Chen couldn't help but laugh at Cheng Chumo's moaning with his buttocks exposed. He then packed up the backpack, came to Cheng Chumo's front, and sat cross-legged by a wooden stake.

"Xiao Chen, tell me about your life in the mountains! We didn't have a chance to talk on the way!" Cheng Chumo propped his chin on his folded arms, turned his head, and asked Zhao Chen, his eyes burning with curiosity.

Zhao Chen couldn't help but laugh bitterly. This matter would eventually be asked about, so he might as well tell Cheng Chumo now, as practice, to avoid being tongue-tied when asked later.

So, he paused for a moment and began to fabricate: "I lived in the mountains with my master since I was young. The place is surrounded by mountains, with ancient trees and peach trees. In early spring, when the peach blossoms bloom, the whole valley is filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms..."

"There is a peach blossom temple in the valley, and my master and I usually live in the temple..." As Zhao Chen spoke, he couldn't help but think of Tao Yuanming's "Peach Blossom Spring," but realizing it was inappropriate, he changed the story to Tang Yin's "Peach Blossom Temple."

"What about your family, Xiao Chen?" Cheng Chumo, a complete roughneck, after Zhao Chen described the idyllic scene and recited Tang Yin's "Peach Blossom Temple," merely scratched his ear and continued to ask curiously.

Zhao Chen's expression paused, a hint of pain appeared in his eyes, and he shook his head sadly.

He probably wouldn't see his family again! From the moment he got lost in the Qinling Mountains, Zhao Chen's life was destined to never reunite with his family.

Perhaps, some things are only regretted when they are lost!

In the past, when Zhao Chen lived with his parents and wife, they argued and lived a mundane life. At that time, what he most wanted to do was to leave home, feeling that only by leaving home would he feel incredibly free, like a fish returning to the sea.

However, after getting lost in the Qinling Mountains and wandering in the jungle for a month, especially now that he knew he was in the Tang Dynasty, 1,300 years before his time, the deep-seated family affection, which he usually ignored, began to surface.

It hurt! It really hurt!

The pain of being alone, knowing that his family was alive but unable to reunite, almost made Zhao Chen want to die!

"It's okay, Xiao Chen. From now on, I, Cheng Chumo, will be your brother, and my home will be your home!" Seeing Zhao Chen's painful expression, Cheng Chumo, thinking that his family had all perished, patted Zhao Chen's shoulder sympathetically.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the country was in chaos, and countless families were destroyed, especially in Hebei and Shandong, where the rebellions of Dou Jiande and Liu Heitan left the land desolate.

"Alright, from now on, we are brothers!" Zhao Chen couldn't help but smile, wiping away the tears of sadness, feeling a warm feeling in his heart.

In this era, people valued loyalty and righteousness. A word was a word, and if they said you were a brother, you were a brother, a lifelong brother, willing to die for each other, unlike the superficial brotherhood of the modern world.

"Damn, I'm hungry!" As they were talking, Cheng Chumo's stomach growled loudly. He sniffed and muttered.

Cheng Chumo was at an age where he could eat a lot without feeling full, and it had been several hours since breakfast. It was no wonder he was hungry!

"I have some dry rations, have some!" There was half a piece of compressed dry rations left in the backpack. Seeing Cheng Chumo's pitiful state, Zhao Chen opened the backpack and took out the dry rations to give to him.

"Good stuff!" As soon as Cheng Chumo saw the dry rations, his eyes lit up like a wolf's. He snatched the rations from Zhao Chen, sniffed it, and praised it, not caring if it had been bitten by Zhao Chen, and stuffed a large piece into his mouth.

Cheng Chumo's eating style made Zhao Chen's eyes almost pop out. Damn, this is compressed dry rations, eating like this, he might choke to death!

Quickly, Zhao Chen took out the thermos, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Cheng Chumo. Sure enough, by the time Zhao Chen got the water, Cheng Chumo was already choking, but even in this state, he didn't want to spit out the food, preferring to choke himself.

"Phew, it's so fragrant!" After taking a big sip of warm tea, Cheng Chumo finally swallowed the large mouthful of dry rations and exhaled, still savoring the taste.

He took another bite of dry rations, but this time he learned his lesson, taking a small bite and a sip of tea, enjoying it thoroughly.

"If this is fragrant, wait until I cook you a good meal in the future, that will be even more fragrant!" The thermos was large, but the tea was almost gone. Seeing Cheng Chumo struggling to drink, Zhao Chen took the cup from him, poured the remaining tea into the cap, and handed it to Cheng Chumo.

"Really?" Cheng Chumo swallowed the last bit of dry rations, licked the crumbs from his hands, and took the cap from Zhao Chen, gulping it down, and asked with wide eyes.

Zhao Chen smiled at Cheng Chumo and said, "If I lie, you won't get any sugar!"

In this era, cooking methods were limited to boiling, steaming, and roasting, and spices were scarce, so the dishes were naturally not very tasty.

Just as they were talking, a eunuch wearing a tall black hat silently approached behind Zhao Chen.

His Majesty Li Er has a decree, summoning Zhao Chen to the Taiji Palace for an audience!

---

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends