The merchants were sure that they had solved the issue with Hou Dong and his men. They never would’ve guessed that they had instead offended these people beyond repair. Thus the group rested in the oasis for the day and the night and finally set out toward the city again the next morning.

Hou Dong had happily pulled the youth onto his horse and was currently holding him to his chest. "Since you were fleeing before, you shouldn’t have had too much time to look around. Aren’t you curious about the desert?"

The youth shook his head. "I saw more than enough on the way to the oasis. Furthermore, it’s not like the desert is completely unknown to me. Our town isn’t that far away from the outer fringes. Every now and then, we would also come here."

Hou Dong raised his brows. "You’re coming to the desert? What for?"

The youth smiled. "Actually, it’s nothing much. We were curious when we were smaller so we came here to explore. Some customs will also be carried out in the desert. Half of our country is surrounded by it. At least that is what the people say. I haven’t been to that many places that I would know."

Hou Dong gave a hum. "Your country … What is it called? I didn’t know there was a country there."

"It’s the kingdom of Sou." He looked over in the direction of his home and couldn’t help but sigh. "My family took me with them to the capital before. Actually, from what I’ve heard, Sou isn’t a big country. It’s also not that well-known. Some foreigners would come by every now and then but we don’t have any large dealings with the other countries. Sou also hasn’t seen a war in a long time. I don’t think we even have an army."

Hou Dong couldn’t help but raise his brows. "You don’t even have an army? And what would you do if you were being attacked? You can’t expect the other countries to always leave you alone, can you?"

The youth chuckled. "Wouldn’t we do what I did before? You’d run away if you can, if you can’t, then you’ll have to get married."

Hou Dong frowned. What did this have to do with getting married? He leaned forward and peeked into the youth’ face. "Your country … It wouldn’t be full of beauties, would it?"

The youth laughed. "Why? You can’t imagine that? It’s not untrue. There are a lot of beautiful people in Sou. At the very least, that’s what the foreigners said."

Hou Dong couldn’t help but chuckle. "Then I’ll guess I’ll have to tell my men to be careful when we go and bring you back. Who knows if they’ll blindly fall in love there?"

The youth nodded. "It can’t hurt if you do. I think in my family, my brother and sister are more beautiful than me."

Hou Dong gently brushed the youth’ hair behind his shoulder and grabbed his chin, turning his head around to him. "I’ve seen neither your brother nor your sister but I doubt it’s true. Since you’re already so beautiful, it should be hard to be even prettier."

The youth looked at him and wriggled out of his grasp, facing to the front again. "Maybe Mister Hou hasn’t seen much of the world then. I’m not that much of a beauty."

Hou Dong gave a hum. "I haven’t seen too much of the world indeed. I’ve traveled a lot in our own country and I’ve been to Kai on the other side of the desert. I don’t know about many other places though. Maybe there is one that is full of beauties, who knows? If there is, I’d be happy to explore that place with you."

The youth couldn’t help but laugh. "Mister Hou is saying such nice things. I wonder if all of that will still be true after we’ve reached the city. Will you really bring me back home? Will you really want to see me afterward? Aren’t you just expecting something from me?"

Hou Dong once again gave a low hum. "I’d be lying if I said that I don’t have some expectations." Once again, he brushed through the beauty’s hair with a smile. "Eh, what’s your name?"

The youth laughed once again. "Knowing me for longer than a day and only asking for my name now. So this is the sincerity of Mister Hou?"

Hou Dong clicked his tongue. "Alright, alright, this is my fault. I should have asked earlier. So what’s your name now? Don’t be like this." He leaned down and his lips brushed the beauty’s cheek.

The youth tensed and looked up, his eyes widening and his hands trembling slightly. "Didn’t you promise something?"

"Relax." He brushed the youth’ thigh and leaned even closer. "Those bloody merchants are looking. If you don’t want to give our plan away, you’ll have to bear with it for a while. Don’t worry though. What I promised, I’ll keep. Whether it’s not touching you or bringing you home, I’ll do all of that."

"So this is what Mister Hou means when he says he won’t touch me? You certainly have a strange way of showing this. Could it be I haven’t learned the language very well?"

Hou Dong sighed and leaned back again, his arm returning to the youth’ waist to hold him close and make sure he wouldn’t fall from the horse. "You also know what I mean. Do you have to make it difficult for me?"

The youth shook his head. "I’m not making things difficult. I’m just saying it as it is. You say one thing but then you do another. Saying that the merchants are looking, isn’t it just an excuse? You just wanted to touch me so you went ahead and did. How do you expect me to trust you?"