The Antlion Pit
Sun Quan always tried to cover her own mouth whenever the sounds threatened to grow too loud during our encounters, desperate to keep any noise from escaping. Even though it was night rather than day, there were surely guards posted nearby, and the thought of being overheard filled her with shame. Yet, as always, her efforts crumbled the moment she reached her peak. At the height of pleasure she would cry out almost like she was in agony. Tonight it seemed even worse—her voice might very well carry outside. Well, it had already been leaking out for the past two days, so perhaps it no longer mattered.
Instead of worrying about the sounds, I kept glancing away at intervals to maintain control, helping her reach her climax. That was when I noticed a figure leaning against the tent, breathing heavily. She hadn't noticed my gaze and was boldly pleasuring herself. Her shadow swayed in rhythm with the wet sounds coming from her waist.
I understood. After days of watching Sun Quan and me go at it without rest, any guard standing watch would inevitably become aroused, both by sound and sight. On top of that, it couldn't have been easy to relieve her urges while on campaign. In a way, it was only natural. Still, being so bold about it while staring straight at us felt a little reckless—though she clearly thought she was hidden well enough. To ordinary eyes she might have been, but with my senses sharpened again, her presence was impossible to miss.
"...Hnn..."
As proof, I could describe her almost as if she were in my hands. She had pulled up her own top and was biting down on the fabric to muffle any sound, one hand kneading her exposed breasts while the other worked between her legs, all while watching us with a desperate, longing gaze. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her face wasn't particularly beautiful, but the faint freckles across her nose and the slight buck teeth that showed when her mouth opened wide gave her a certain charm. That was precisely why I hadn't laid a hand on her despite her watching us. A man staring would have been unpleasant, but a woman... I could afford to be generous.
Once this was over, maybe I'd call her over and have a turn. No, there was still the matter of timing. I watched the hazy steam of her rough breaths blur her figure before turning my attention back to Sun Quan. I'd been trying to distract myself with idle thoughts, but I was reaching my limit. Fortunately, Sun Quan was close as well. Holding her from behind, I drove into her harder, pushing her over the edge. With a sharp cry, she climaxed.
"Haa..."
After pulling away from her limp body, I forced myself to move before the pleasant lethargy could claim me. I remembered the awkward stares we'd gotten from a soldier bringing food the morning after we'd simply fallen asleep without cleaning up. Since we weren't parting ways anytime soon, and because I rather enjoyed the embarrassed look on her face whenever I wiped her down, I got up to find something to clean with.
When I lifted the cloth and more trickled out, I couldn't help a small chuckle. Just as I turned with a dampened cloth, ready to wipe her, I realized Sun Quan—who should have been lying there—was gone.
"Huh?!"
"Shh—"
The sound had come out louder than intended. After being hushed, I turned toward the noise and found an awkward scene unfolding. Sun Quan, completely naked, had the freckled guard in a chokehold. The woman's pants were still tangled around her knees, as if she'd been cleaning up after her own climax, leaving her pale thighs and glistening lower half fully exposed.
"Uh... what's the plan here? Not that I'm complaining about the view..."
"Enough joking. Hold this one down for a moment. I need to get dressed."
If that was all, I could play along. I wrapped my arms around the poor half-naked woman who had just been subdued. The guard, who had seemed half-conscious, suddenly began to struggle. I tightened my grip to keep her from slipping free. That sour scent... Keeping my hold just within the bounds of what society might tolerate, I asked Sun Quan—who was now stripping the soldier of her clothes and putting them on herself—what she was doing.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"I thought it might be risky, but it looks like we made it just in time."
While answering, Sun Quan slipped on the shoes. Time. Something clicked in my mind at that word, and a flicker of unease made me ask again.
"Don't tell me... an escape?"
"Your body is fine now, right?"
"Yeah. More or less."
"Then there's no problem. Hmm... we might still have a little time."
Sun Quan stripped the soldier of everything except her undergarments, stood up, and checked her gear one last time. Satisfied, she told me to tie the woman up and then explained while I gave her a look that clearly asked for more details.
"I've been thinking. If you truly love someone, leaving them behind alone doesn't feel right. Even if it means saving them, the one left behind would only suffer. So the best choice is either to live together... or die together."
"So right now, we're escaping like this?"
"Yes. Last time I surrendered because Hwanin couldn't move, but now that your body seems recovered and we're close to Nangya, we should start moving, don't you think?"
She propped the bound soldier against the inner side of the entrance, then took the guard's former position herself. My only task was to make the bound woman answer when the next guard came for the shift change. Fortunately, the soldier was cooperative. When the relief arrived, she gave the password without resistance.
"Cheolreuk—"
"Dongma. Wait, that's yesterday's code. Are you drunk? If the commander finds out—"
A moment later, the approaching soldier was suddenly subdued by Sun Quan. Meanwhile, I made sure to give the treacherous guard who had set the trap a harsh lesson. She was a clever one, but I couldn't exactly praise her for it. Muttering an apology in my heart, I yanked out a large clump of her hair. With her mouth already gagged, she couldn't even scream properly before passing out.
Whoosh—
Letting the strands scatter in the wind, I turned to Sun Quan, who was now stripping the other soldier.
"Hey, do I have to wear that too?"
"Lucky, right? The size seems to fit well enough. We got fortunate."
No, being forced to wear women's clothes didn't feel particularly lucky. And the fact that it fit was even more depressing. I'd thought I'd built up some muscle, yet apparently I was no better than a woman... Shaking my head, I put on the clothes Sun Quan handed me.
"What now? Since we know the password, should we head for the main gate?"
"No. That would be impossible. The timing, the reason, and most of all, if we speak we'll be exposed immediately."
She was right. Two ordinary soldiers trying to leave in the middle of the night would need an extraordinary excuse. Even if we came up with one, suspicious questions from the guards would reveal us instantly. Up until now I'd been able to follow her reasoning, but this felt like an unexpected side of Sun Quan. Almost as if she had become someone else entirely... Had she been planning this for the past few days?
While I was lost in thought, Sun Quan had already gathered dry straw from our bedding, tied it into several bundles, and held them out to me.
"Here."
There was quite a lot, but because it had been harvested in autumn and dried well, the bundles—made only from the parts that hadn't touched the damp ground—weren't very heavy. I took them and asked,
"What are you going to do with these...?"
Sun Quan answered as if it were obvious.
"We're going to set them on fire."