CH 49

October 14, 2022Merchie

The brat was trembling from head to toe and didn’t dare to step forward. Someone kicked him from behind, and he fell onto the side of the bed.

“Are you deaf? Hurry up!”

The young boy leaned onto the bedframe and stood back up, while the room erupted into uproarious laughter; it was as if they were watching an enthralling play. Big Brother was sitting a little ways behind him, his eyes narrowed.

He had no choice; he climbed onto the bed, his entire body shaking with fear.

Qi Changyi’s eyes were veiled in a thin layer of water vapor. He tossed and turned on the bed, his breaths heavy and hot. His collar had loosened and slipped from his neck, revealing the provocative row of bite marks on his collarbone.

The frightened boy had his back turned to the onlookers. When he climbed onto the bed his expression immediately changed, and he frowned at the small man beneath him.

It appeared that the drug was taking effect.

He lightly patted Qi Changyi’s flushed red face, leaned down, and whispered in his ear, “Little Highness.”

Qi Changyi’s mind was foggy; He could only see a strange, yet familiar face hanging above him. He looked…a little like Brother Pei.

Qi Changyi’s nose wrinkled, his expression aggrieved. He whimpered in a small voice, “Brother Pei…”

“Mm. I’m here.”

It was really him! Though his vision was too blurry to make the face, Qi Changyi was certain that this voice belonged to Brother Pei. Had he really come to rescue him?

Qi Changyi stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Pei Zheng’s neck. The other’s skin was cool, it felt so nice against his own burning body. “I don’t feel good, am I sick? Why do I feel hot and cold at the same time…”

Pei Zheng was actually wearing a human-skin mask. After entering the cave, he killed one of the smaller scoundrels and peeled off the skin from his face to make a mask, before adhering it to his own face. Then, he carefully blended in with the other bandits, waiting for the right opportunity to rescue Qi Changyi.

Upon seeing that the two people on the bed still hadn’t moved, Big Brother grew impatient, and snapped rudely, “Why the fuck are you so slow? If you keep me waiting any longer, I’ll throw both of you out and feed you to the wolves!”

Pei Zheng replied timidly in a deliberately high-pitched voice, “B-Big Brother, this is my first time, I’m a little nervous.”

Everybody laughed, “Hahahaha, you’re really lucky, kid. It’s only your first time, but you get to fuck such a pretty boy!”

Pei Zheng hurriedly responded, “Yesyesyes, I’m really grateful to Big Brother for giving me this opportunity!”

His gaze shifted back to the small man beneath him. Qi Changyi’s eyes shimmered like silk, his robe was slipping off his body, and his red lips were slightly open. His petite chest rose and fell in a quick, desperate rhythm.

The dark tide in Pei Zheng’s eyes grew increasingly more turbulent. The cacophonous noise in his ears faded in an instant, and all he could see was the vivacious little figure in front of him. His slender fingers slipped under Qi Changyi’s robe and gently traced his tender, white skin.

The two people on the bed began to grapple with vigor. The bedsheets rolled and tumbled like waves, and seductive moans echoed endlessly. Their eyes trembled, scarlet with desire.

The onlookers in the room were all silently swallowing their saliva and desperately trying to hold themselves back. Big Brother also watched until his mouth turned dry. He wanted nothing more than to toss that brat right off the bed and mount Qi Changyi himself.

But out of concern for his own safety, he decided to wait, and see if the small man showed any symptoms of illness. If there were none, he would thoroughly enjoy fucking…

This beautiful little man.

When the time came, he would try out all the things that Ol’ Seventh had suggested.

His nether regions couldn’t take it anymore. Big Brother stood up and strode away. Everyone else followed suit, shuffling out of the room. The door was slammed shut and locked, and a few people were charged with guarding it.

The only ones left in the room were the two people on the bed. Pei Zheng knew that no matter what happened in here tonight, no one would disturb them, so he ripped the human-skin mask from his face.

His handsome face was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and his eyes were slightly red, but it wasn’t from the effort of trying to hold himself back.

“Your Highness, Little Highness, Yi-er, Yi-er…”

Pei Zheng whispered hoarsely into Qi Changyi’s ear, making the man’s delicate body tremble uncontrollably.

That mysterious pill was extremely potent, and its effects were difficult to dispel. Qi Changyi’s body temperature was rising. It was as if there wasn’t any other way to alleviate the pain.

“Brother Pei, I don’t feel good at all, I feel like I’m dying!” Qi Changyi gasped for breath and unconsciously licked his lips, oblivious to how seductive he looked.

Pei Zheng’s mind exploded and he lost all control, and he firmly pressed himself onto the small body beneath him…

Author’s note: (I’ve omitted 1,300 words here, now say it with me:

Prosperity, Democracy, Civilization, and Harmony1)

After a long while, the sounds coming from the room had finally ceased. The sentries stationed at the door ran off to report to Big Brother.

A drowsy Qi Changyi was sprawled over Pei Zheng’s chest. He was trying to sleep but kept tossing and turning.

Although they didn’t make it to the last step, Pei Zheng was still quite happy.

He let the exhausted Qi Changyi sleep for a little while, hugging him tightly, and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, the cave was silent and pitch-black. Everybody had gone to sleep, save for the night watchmen at the door.

It was time.

Pei Zheng rose and put on his clothes. He tossed the human-skin mask to the ground, before draping Qi Changyi’s ripped robe over his small body. Unfortunately, patches of skin still peeked out from beneath the torn cloth, so Pei Zheng wrapped him tightly with the blanket.

Even after all this shuffling and shifting, the small man lying on the bed was still fast asleep. His mouth pouted slightly, and Pei Zheng leaned down to peck his lips.

“Be good, wait for me right here.”

He quietly stepped through the door and locked it again from the outside.

Pei Zheng picked up a nearby sword on the ground.

Under the cover of darkness, he went through each room slitting each bandit’s neck. In their sleep they, all choked on the blood flooding their throats before they could even let out a scream.

After Pei Zheng had killed nearly half of the group, he was spotted by someone who had just woken up. The bandit saw a shifty, suspicious figure flitting through the darkness, followed by the glint of a silver blade. He immediately screamed at the top of his lungs.

Although Pei Zheng’s sword swiftly plunged into the man’s heart, he wasn’t fast enough. Everybody else had woken up from the noise.

The dark cave was suddenly illuminated by firelight, those who had heard the scream grabbed their swords and shuffled out of their rooms, grumbling and cursing under their breaths in irritation. It didn’t take long before they realized that half of them were missing.

Big Brother angrily stared at Pei Zheng, who was standing in front of him. He was holding a sword that was still dripping with blood, and his gaze was dark.

“Who are you?! You’ve got guts, trespassing in my territory and killing my men! Do you know who I am?!”

Pei Zheng glanced at the crowd and didn’t speak. With a single slash of his blade, the person beside him was split into two bloody halves.

The rest of the bandits all roared in unison and charged forward. In an instant, blood and flesh sprayed onto the floor. Pei Zheng’s eyes were scarlet; he killed indiscriminately2. Anyone who charged at him was immediately cut to pieces. The walls of the cave were dyed red with warm blood.

These bandits were actually quite skilled, but it was obvious that they were no match for Pei Zheng.

By the time the last outlaw had been sliced apart, a sliver of light was piercing the darkness of the cave. It was dawn.

A blood-soaked Pei Zheng walked slowly towards the leader of the bandits, who was cowering in a nearby corner. The tip of his sword dragged over the ground, leaving a trail of blood spatter.

He raised his arm high. Just as he was about to lop off the leader’s head, an arrow flew through the cave entrance. Pei Zheng flipped backward and dodged it, before glancing coldly at the entrance.

The armored imperial guards filed inside and spread out into a neat row. Following close behind were Zhao Litang, A’mu Le, and the others.

Yesterday, when the soldiers had finished subduing the bandits, they discovered that both Qi Changyi and Pei Zheng were missing. They had searched for the entire night, but who could have known that the captured bandits were so cunning, and had deliberately pointed them in the wrong direction. Because of that, they had lost a lot of time, and had only just arrived.

“These people are infamous robbers that have been wanted by the Imperial Court for years. Arson, murder, looting, there’s nothing that they haven’t done. Don’t kill the leader, we’ll turn him over to the local government.”

Pei Zheng was still exuding a murderous aura; his blade was still raised, ready to chop down at any moment.

Zhao Litang restrained his arm in the air, and spoke in a low voice, “It’ll be too easy for him to die like this. Punish him harshly, drag him through the streets, and then slowly torture him to death.” This was the first time that Pei Zheng actually agreed with one of Zhao Litang’s suggestions.

So he merely slashed the man a few times with his sword until his skin split to reveal raw flesh. He ordered in a cold voice, “Take him away.”

The bandit leader had already accepted his fate; he was dragged away, his face ashen.

Jiang Yubai was standing at the back of the group, but the moment he saw how pale Pei Zheng’s face was, he stepped forward. The cave was splattered with blood, and so was Pei Zheng.

“Lord Pei, you’re injured. Hurry up and come with me, I’ll bandage it for you.”

Only then did the others notice that Pei Zheng’s black robe seemed several shades darker, and blood was dripping from the bottom of the hem.

Pei Zheng’s expression didn’t change. In front of everyone, he stepped over the mounds of corpses, turned the corner, and walked to the locked room. He kicked open the door and came back out bearing a small cocoon in the shape of a person. The corners of a torn skirt peeked out, the brilliant red color contrasting with the white quilt.

Everybody immediately knew that the person inside this roll of cloth was His Highness.

Pei Zheng carried the little bundle as he walked out of the cave, and climbed into the carriage parked outside.

The imperial guards were ordered by Zhao Litang to drag the rest of the corpses outside. The convoy had regrouped; except for the loss of a few soldiers and horses, the rest of the supplies were still intact.

Without further delay, the procession returned to the dirt path and continued on.

Pei Zheng placed the small man onto the soft blanket inside the carriage. He was still unconscious and showed no signs of stirring, so Pei Zheng immediately summoned Jiang Yubai.

Jiang Yubai took his pulse and frowned, “Did His Highness eat something weird? This drug is extremely potent. The effects of it have faded a little, but it has already harmed his internal organs. He’ll need to rest for a few days in order for his body to detoxify.”

Jiang Yubai fed Qi Changyi a heat-clearing detoxification pill before he turned to Pei Zheng, “Lord Pei, you reek of blood.”

With those words, Jiang Yubai reached out and lifted Pei Zheng’s sleeve. A long gash stretched across his arm; it was bone-deep. The blood had coagulated; his robe and flesh were stuck together. The moment the sleeve was torn away, blood flowed out like a river.

Jiang Yubai sprinkled some medicinal powder onto the wound, which stung like hell, but Pei Zheng didn’t seem to feel it; his eyes were pinned on the small, unconscious man next to him. He didn’t say a word.

“Ai, don’t worry too much, he’ll wake up soon.” Jiang Yubai said. After he finished bandaging the wound, he stepped out of the carriage.

The coach began to rattle and sway as it continued forward. Pei Zheng sat to one side and slowly closed his eyes.

He was still half-asleep when he felt a soft hand prod his chin. He reached out and clasped it. The warmth felt too real; his eyelids peeled open into thin slits.

The small man was lying beside him; his eyes immediately lit up, and he called out in a soft voice, “Brother Pei, you’re awake.”

Notes

You crazy perverted bastard wtf

How did they not tell from how tall he is

Why did he kick down the door if he could’ve just opened it

What a confusing crazy man

Anyway, thanks for reading~

1. 富强·民主·文明·和谐: The four core values of the CCP, disclaimer I am not trying to make a political stance on anything, I just work here okay, these are the author’s notes

2. 遇神杀神遇佛杀佛, ‘when you meet a god, kill him, when you meet the Buddha, kill him’. There are a few interpretations for this, most accurate for the situation would be ‘killing indiscriminately’.