Gu Yun ran all the way back to the base. The guards behind him didn't know what was going on, so they just followed him like they were doing a drill. The black iron cavalry didn't form a team or change shifts, they just ran away like crazy, making the guards at the base feel like they were facing a great enemy. They thought that another group of foreign enemies had come from nowhere, and they all used their clairvoyance to look around.

In the Xuantie Camp in Jiayuguan, the carriages from the capital were already lined up, and the baggage handlers were busy, but Gu Yun suddenly stopped without any warning.

The bodyguards also stopped and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Gu Yun looked back at them in confusion: "Why are you running in such a hurry?"

The soldiers: "..."

Gu Yun coughed dryly and flicked the non-existent dirt off his black iron light fur coat. He had just finished his good deeds, but the next moment he changed into a leisurely and leisurely demeanor, with his hands behind his back, and strolled into the commander's tent leisurely.

Except for those on duty and those who had not returned from patrol, several generals under Gu Yun were all inside, surrounding a man. The man was dressed in a brocade court dress, with a wide sleeve showing under the snow-white fox fur. He was the new noble Prince Yan. He turned around when he heard the noise, and his eyes met the unruly General Gu leaning against the door frame in mid-air.

King Yan seemed startled, then his eyes suddenly brightened, and the dust from all the journey was washed away. He raised his hand somewhat uncontrollably, cleared his throat slightly, and his cough was actually a little out of tune.

At this cough, everyone looked towards the door and stood up and said, "Marshal."

Some gatherings and separations happen in a flash, while some seem like a lifetime ago.

In the middle there is a web of intertwined anger and cold war, which happens in a flash.

In between, there are countless truths that are difficult to sort out, and ambiguous feelings that are hard to let go, it feels like a lifetime ago.

Anyway, Gu Yun had a lot of mixed feelings all rushing to his heart, blocking his heart which was as wide as the mouth of the Yangtze River, making it tight and compact.

...After a long time, a little bit of scorching hot water trembled and seeped out from the middle, and continuously melted into every part of his body - Gu Yun's palms behind his back were slightly sweaty.

He stretched out his hand like a wolf, signaling everyone not to be polite, and walked in: "The border is not stable right now, why did you come here in person?"

Chang Geng said, "It's the end of the year, so I came to give some New Year's gifts to my brothers."

Gu Yun listened to everyone's "hmm" and asked calmly, "It's hard for you. Everyone has had a hard time in the past six months. It's not easy for the court to squeeze out some food rations. Does the emperor have any order?"

After he said that, Chang Geng had no choice but to announce the decree first. As soon as the decree appeared, the generals on both sides immediately knelt down. Just as Gu Yun was about to kneel down to receive the decree, he was stopped by Chang Geng.

Chang Geng gave him a false helping hand: "The Emperor has given his order, and Uncle Emperor, please just listen to the decree. There is no need to perform the ceremony."

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Chang Geng lowered his voice slightly when he said the words "Imperial Uncle".

Li Feng kept calling him "imperial uncle" all day long, which made Gu Yun feel annoyed whenever he heard the word "imperial uncle". But when Chang Geng suddenly called him like this, it was like a small hook hooked him, and the four words "etiquette cannot be abolished" came to his lips without any order.

It was the deepest part of winter, in the bitterly cold northwest, and the cold armor almost made Gu Yun sweat... He even heard the imperial edict incoherently.

Fortunately, Li Feng’s serious matters were usually mentioned in his reply to the military newspaper, and what was written in the imperial edict was all nonsense about rewarding the troops, which made it unclear whether to listen to it or not.

Gu Yun didn't have time to come back to his senses until a group of generals around him thanked God in unison and stood up.

Generally speaking, on such occasions, the person with the highest rank should step forward and, on behalf of everyone, say a few heroic words in support of the imperial edict to serve the country. Only then is the imperial edict considered to have been conveyed and everyone can go about doing what they should do.

But Gu Yun suddenly fell into strange silence, and everyone had no choice but to follow him in silence. The generals of the Black Iron Camp all stared at each other, wondering what Marquis Anding had to say about this rather empty imperial edict.

The surroundings were so quiet that Gu Yun realized that he had embarrassed himself. He put on an unfathomable face as if nothing had happened, and said with an indistinguishable expression: "Well, Your Majesty is too kind. This is all due. Old He, ask people to prepare and welcome His Royal Highness Prince Yan... Don't make it so complicated. We are all family. Everyone, be quick and count the baggage and war preparations before dark - what are you looking at? Why don't you leave? Don't you have anything to do?"

The generals were in awe of General Gu, who was not easily affected by praise or criticism, and filed out one after another. The Black Iron Battalion performed their duties with great efficiency, and in a blink of an eye, everyone left.

The general's tent, which was noisy just now, suddenly became quiet. Gu Yun breathed a sigh of relief, feeling Chang Geng's eyes glued to him, so glued that he almost had to use all his strength to turn his head away.

He didn't know if it was because of the fox fur coat he was wearing, but he always felt that Chang Geng seemed thinner.

On the northwest road, the words of Huolong and Miss Chen flashed through his mind alternately. It was the first time in his life that Gu Yun didn't know where to start when facing a person. He had a thousand emotions in his heart and didn't know what expression to put on his face. Instead, he looked cold and calm.

He said to Chang Geng as if he had just left home the day before: "Come here, let me take a look."

Chang Geng couldn't figure out what his attitude was for a moment, and briefly restrained his reckless gaze, suddenly feeling uneasy.

He had made a lot of noise in the past six months. I don't know how much the border guards heard about it, and I don't know what Gu Yun would do if he knew. When Gu Yun left Beijing, their relationship was so mediocre. The long time between them was like a jar of wine that had been hastily buried in the ground before the ingredients were fully poured...

In just a few steps, Chang Geng's mind was in a state of confusion, and he felt indescribable.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Gu Yun suddenly reached out his hand and pulled him in.

The black iron light fur armor was wrapped tightly from the shoulders to the second joints of the five fingers, making Gu Yun's embrace seem very hard. The small part of the fingers that were slightly exposed were blown by the cold wind of Jiayu Pass and became as cold as the light fur armor. The coldness seemed to penetrate the fox fur on King Yan's body in an instant. He shuddered violently and was so flattered that he was at a loss for a moment.

Gu Yun closed his eyes slightly, slowly tightened his arms, and the soft fur collar swept across his face. The smell of tranquilizer followed him like a shadow. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the smell was stronger than before.

Over twenty years of hard work were like a file, grinding bones and carving flesh into this kind of person. Gu Yun felt so distressed, but he dared not say a word. Chang Geng had a stubbornness in his bones that would not compromise with anyone. Since he was so young, he would rather stay awake until dawn every night than reveal anything to him.

If a person covers his wound to prevent others from seeing it, others cannot forcibly pry his hands open. That is not caring, but stabbing him again.

"Zi Xi," Chang Geng didn't know what was wrong with him, so he could only whisper awkwardly, "If you hold me like this again, I will..."

Gu Yun barely suppressed his emotions, swallowed the bitterness, and raised his eyebrows expressionlessly at him: "Hmm?"

Chang Geng: “…”

I didn't dare to say it.

The eloquent Prince Yan was speechless for a rare moment. Gu Yun looked at him and laughed, reaching out to gather his fox fur coat and saying, "Come on, I'll take you out for a walk."

The two men walked out of the commander's tent side by side. The north wind outside the pass was as hard as a sword, and the fluttering flags were like rocs spreading their wings in the sky. The sky was high and the land was vast, and there were no clouds in the distance. The convoys escorting supplies were endless. Since the outbreak of the Four Borders War, everywhere seemed to be stretched to the limit, and it had been who knows how long since there has been such a nearly prosperous scene.

Gu Yun stopped and looked at it for a while, then sighed, "Such a huge mess, how much effort will it take for Ao to sort it out?"

"Send this much first, I will think of other ways to do the rest," Chang Geng said, "Now that the Zhangling Law has been abolished, the Lingshu Academy has added a few more directly affiliated Steel Armor Academy this month, and is recruiting talents from all over the world. Anyone who has made outstanding achievements in steel armor and lighters, regardless of their background, will have the opportunity to enter the Lingshu Academy. Feng Han Gong swore that the sea monsters of the Western Navy are nothing to be afraid of, as long as he is given time, he can do it too."

"Lord Fenghan has never had a full meal in his life. Is he going to eat one bowl after another?" Gu Yun smiled. "What use is that sea monster other than being scary and a spendthrift? It doesn't matter if I don't have money. Even if I use light cavalry, I will kick those things that come to other people's territory and make trouble back home sooner or later. You..."

He wanted to say "Don't push yourself too hard", but he slightly turned his body, and his hand wrapped in half steel armor just happened to hit Chang Geng's palm. Chang Geng subconsciously grabbed his frozen and painful hand, and this movement was immediately covered by his loose court robe, and the sleeves trapped the person's body temperature.

Chang Geng was not completely unable to keep calm, but Gu Yun's unexpected hug just now was like a bright fire, which ignited all the unbelievable expectations in his heart.

He looked straight at Gu Yun and asked with a double meaning: "What?"

This was the second time Gu Yun had forgotten the lyrics that day.

To outsiders, the two looked at each other as if they were sick. Gu Yun stood there for a long time without reacting. Chang Geng's expression gradually dimmed, and he thought to himself with self-mockery: "Sure enough, it was my illusion."

Just when he was about to step away, Chang Geng's pupils suddenly shrank, because under the long sleeves, Gu Yun actually shook his hand back, his cold and dry fingers with the strength of steel armor, without any dodging or hesitation.

Gu Yun sighed slightly, knowing that he had just taken such a step half impulsively and half reluctantly, and he could never turn back. Chang Geng, who had been tortured by Wuergu for so many years, could not bear it. Besides, his attitude was so inconsistent that he was really a nobody. It was not that he had never said sweet words to please the occasion, and he would make random promises when he was drunk, but at this point in his life, he realized that the so-called vows were so heavy that they were difficult to say. When the words came to his lips, he only said one sentence: "I told you to take care of yourself. As long as you have the green mountains, you will not be afraid of running out of firewood. You don't have to worry so much, I am here."

Chang Geng was a little dumbfounded. Gu Yun's words went in one ear and out the other ear intact. He didn't hear a single word.

Gu Yun felt a little embarrassed when he was stared at: "Let's go, those peasants are waiting to see the King of Yan, what's the point of standing here like an idiot and starving?"

In the Black Iron Camp, it was impossible to have "fine wine" or "beautiful singing and dancing". During the war, the army strictly prohibited alcohol. Anyone who dared to drink a drop would be punished by military law, and there would be no leniency. And the only girl who had something to do with "beauty" here, Miss Chen, took the position of military doctor after Gu Yun's steel plate was removed. She was very busy in the wounded soldiers in Jiayu Pass and had not appeared for ten days or half a month. Now there was only "Northwest Flower" left. Although she could not dance, fortunately, she could be watched for free.

The so-called welcoming party for Prince Yan was nothing more than preparing a few more dishes and inviting a few generals who were not temporarily in charge of the defense to come over to keep him company - and they couldn't stay too late because they had to take turns to cover the shift, and a little rest time was precious. They dared not relax for a moment, and everyone dispersed before nightfall.

Only Gu Yun was left to lead the still somewhat dazed King Yan to settle down.

"It's boring here, isn't it? There's nothing good to eat or drink. The most outrageous entertainment all day long is a few people getting together to arm wrestle, and there's no prize for winning or losing," Gu Yun turned around and asked, "Were you angry with me for not bringing you here when you were a kid?"

Although Chang Geng didn't drink a drop of alcohol, his steps were still a little unsteady. He felt like he was dreaming and mumbled in his sleep, "Why am I so bored?"

Gu Yun thought for a moment, then took out his white jade flute from his arms: "How about I play you a new song from the frontier?"

Chang Geng looked at Piccolo with an extremely deep gaze, and felt that he could never wake up from this dream.

At this time, Shen Yi came back from reorganizing the defense. He heard from afar that His Royal Highness Prince Yan was here in person. He planned to come over to talk with mixed feelings, but unexpectedly, he saw Gu Yun pull out his precious flute from a distance of more than a hundred meters. Shen Yi immediately turned around as if he was facing a powerful enemy and ran away.

Gu Yun changed the instrument from bamboo flute to jade flute, and practiced in the bitter, cold and boring border for half a year, but his skills miraculously did not improve at all. His skills were even better than before, and he played a little song from the frontier, which made people's hearts and livers break. A warhorse that was waiting to be re-bridled not far away was so scared that it seemed as if it was surrounded by a group of big wild wolves, and it neighed heartbreakingly. The Black Eagle scout fell from the sky, staggered a step, and couldn't stand firmly, and fell directly to the ground, looking like he was asking for New Year's money.

Chang Geng: “…”

He finally found some evidence that he was not dreaming - the noise was beyond his limited imagination.

When the song ended, Gu Yun, who thought he had been secretly enjoying the romance, asked with some anticipation, "Is it good?"

"..." Chang Geng hesitated for a long time, and could only say sincerely, "Clearing your mind and refreshing your spirit will have the ability to... defeat the enemy."

Gu Yun raised his hand and hit his head with the flute, not blushing at his crazy skills: "Just to wake you up, are you sleeping with me these days or asking someone to make you a prince?"

King Yan, who had just regained some consciousness, was stunned by this sudden teasing and stood there in a daze for a moment.

Gu Yun watched as a red patch of blood started to appear under Chang Geng's ears and spread all the way to his face. He couldn't help but think of the time when he had a high fever and Chang Geng was uncomfortable changing his clothes. At that time, he just felt helpless, but now his heart itched, thinking: "When you took advantage of me when I was lying dead with my bones broken, why didn't you think of this day?"

Gu Yun asked: "Why are you silent again?"

"No need to bother..." Chang Geng struggled for a long time, gritted his teeth and made up his mind, "I... I just want to take a look at your injury."

Gu Yun couldn't help but tease him, "Only look at the wound?"

Chang Geng: “…”