The Little King

7 | Knotting Hairs

Translator: PastTimer

Editor: PastTimer

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Ever since Xia Xi came, Chu Lan's bathing matters have been Xia Xi helping him. The Barbarians didn't like bathing, it might've been because of their lack of water resources or just an ethnic characteristic. Chu Lan didn't like washing himself at first, he only allowed Xia Xi to wash him every three to five days. When he saw Xia Xi insisting on taking a bath everyday, Chu Lan also copied him and asked him to wash himself daily.

The bathtub was brought inside by the servants and was half full of hot water. Chu Lan quickly stripped himself naked and let Xia Xi untie his hair before stepping into the bathtub. Chu Lan was thirteen years old but seemed to be developing slower than his peers, although he had a strong figure, he still hadn't developed the characteristics of an adult male. Xia Xi felt shy when he first saw him naked but by now he was used to it and could put on a calm face.

He gently rubbed Chu Lan's back and carefully lathered him, Chu Lan against the tub and sighed comfortably as Xia Xi washed him. He suddenly raised his head and stared at Xia Xi with dark eyes, not being able to help but catch a strand of Xia Xi's hair. Playing around with it, he suddenly said: "In a few days, we'll set out and attack the thieves," The Barbarians had always referred to the people of the western Barbarian Country as thieves.

Xia Xi paused for a moment before asking, "Are you going as well?"

Chu Lan replied: "Well, I want to learn. Uncle also said that it would help me grow, I also want to see what a real battlefield looks like."

The light in his eyes was very bright, as bright as a young wolf, with some wildness in it. Xia Xi's heart trembled when the gaze fell on him, he avoided his eyes and murmured: "You must pay attention to safety."

Chu Lan grinned, "Uncle expects this war to end by autumn. Saha's rich in grapes, they'll be ripe by then. I'll bring some back for you to taste, the grapes there are sweet, grapes here can't compare."

Xia Xi smiled lightly: "Thank you."

Chu Lan was very happy and said: "When our territory has been completely recovered, I'll take you out to play. My father, the King, said that there's a beautiful lake there. They all call it Tianshang Lake. They say that the water's as clear as the most precious jade and that it originally belonged to a fairy. It's beautiful, you'll love it," He said a lot of sentences, Xia Xi quietly listened and occasionally responded with a few words, so the young man was extremely happy. The water he was washing in was about to go cold when he came out of the tub. Xia Xi carefully wiped the water droplets off his body with a dry cloth. Even while drying Chu Lan's crotch Xia Xi's expression didn't change, continuing until he had dried Chu Lan's hair.

Chu Lan rolled into bed naked and was coaxed by Xia Xi to put on trousers and a shirt. He eagerly watched as Xia Xi approached, when Xia Xi sat down next to him, he quickly entangled their hair together. Xia Xi took a red thread and took strands from each of their heads, he knitted them together carefully and then snipped them with scissors.

Chu Lan looked at their entangled hair and said in amazement, "Is this hair knotting?"

Xia Xi nodded gently, "It should be like this. I'll pack it inside a sachet and you can put it under your pillow."

Chu Lan said: "I want to take it with me."

When Xia Xi heard these words, he felt a bit soft in his heart for some reason, he said, "Alright," He took a newly embroidered sachet and put the hair in it carefully, tying the knot. It was Chu Lan's first time seeing the sachet, the sachet was extremely delicate, with embroidery on both sides. There was a flower he didn't recognize on one side and a mighty wolf head on the other. Chu Lan knew that it was something Xia Xi had made specially for him and felt happy in his heart. He tossed it back and forth several times and then pointed to the flower and asked, "What kind of flower is this?"