A bean-sized candle flame lit a corner of the dim guest room, and the Snake Demon wound himself around Xie Huizhou's waist.
"Zhouzhou, you've suffered out there for so long, and you've grown thinner again. It pains your husband to see you like this."
The silver-haired beauty appeared like a ghost behind the dark-haired beauty bent over the desk sketching a map. He embraced Xie Huizhou from behind like a human cage.
"Zhouzhou, I've missed you terribly. Have you thought of me?"
Whether you have or not, I've missed you to the point of madness.
After several days apart, Zhang Lanhe finally held his beloved again. He greedily inhaled the familiar medicinal fragrance on his lover, and only then did the agitation in his heart subside.
The shabby inn distressed him terribly. His Highness had barely enjoyed a few good days before having to travel all this way to suffer again.
Xie Huizhou's body had never been suited to a life of wandering and hardship. He had lost considerable weight lately, making Zhang Lanhe all the more concerned for his health.
Enveloped in his lover's arms, Xie Huizhou turned in surprise and saw Zhang Lanhe's face, so full of worry that he was almost crying with distress.
They had spent their days glued together not long ago, and settling into the routine of an old married couple had felt unremarkable. The longer they were apart, the more deeply those feelings cut.
After a few days apart, Zhang Lanhe had become even clingier. Every meeting was like a reunion after a long separation, and he practically wanted to hang off Xie Huizhou.
It was also as though he feared that every meeting might be their last.
In Xie Huizhou's eyes, Zhang Lanhe was often arrogant and dismissive of everyone. Seeing him