CH 57

Chen Ziqi was dead beat after being forced to spend a whole day practicing martial arts. When they got back to Dan Yi’s sleeping quarters, Chen Ziqi was so tired that he didn’t even feel like moving a single finger.

“Wang ye, the bathing pool is ready. Would you like to take a bath?” Linghe said, smiling. 

“Mm… maybe later,” Chen Ziqi said. He was lying prone on the bed, and flipped himself over lazily, not wanting to move a muscle. However, his body was sticky with sweat, and it wasn’t comfortable to sleep in that state. He dawdled for quite some time, but in the end, he had no choice but to climb out of bed, pull off his outer clothes and head into the bathroom.

The bathing pool was situated in the room next to the bedroom. Chen Ziqi walked over on bare feet. The two servant girls weren’t there, and the only thing that could be heard was the gentle sound of water gurgling into the pool. He pushed aside the layers of curtains at the entrance and saw Dan Yi there, his long hair fanning out behind him as he sat in the water with his back to Chen Ziqi. His broad, solid shoulders and a pair of graceful shoulder blades could be seen.

Chen Ziqi stripped naked in a trice, then leapt exuberantly into the water, making a big splash.

Dan Yi got splashed all over, and after he shook the water off his head, he saw a certain someone wriggle over to his side like a slippery little fish and burst out of the water violently. 

Droplets of water slid down that youth’s fair-skinned neck, running down his lightly muscled shoulders and arms. He looked particularly alluring in the candlelight that illuminated the bathroom.

Dan Yi’s body suddenly felt hot. He frowned, then moved his body a little awkwardly in the water. “Weren’t you going to wait a bit before bathing?” he asked.

“It’s so boring to bathe alone,” Chen Ziqi said, sidling over and sitting next to Dan Yi. They’d always bathed together as kids, so Dan Yi probably wouldn’t mind this, right?

The two of them sat next to each other quietly, with only the bubbling sound of the little stream that fed water into the bathing pool breaking the silence.

“How about I wash your hair for you?” Chen Ziqi suggested, leaning against the stone wall and reaching out a lazy hand toward Dan Yi to play with his hair. Recently, he was addicted to flirting outrageously with Dan Yi. This fellow went red in the face at the drop of a hat, and it was just too much fun to tease him.

Dan Yi turned to Chen Ziqi and frowned. Chen Ziqi looked incredibly mischievous right now. He thought back on what his dad had said to him previously.

“You have to present yourself as cold and powerful, and use your aura to overpower the other party. You’ll be able to achieve your desired outcome easily if you do so.”

Dan Yi suddenly caught hold of the hand that Chen Ziqi was using to play with his hair. Chen Ziqi turned to look at Dan Yi, and found that his expression had changed significantly. His eyes were dark, his face was cold, and he looked exactly as he had when Chen Ziqi had first seen him in the main hall of the Cloud Palace after three years. His overwhelming aura made anyone in his presence gasp for breath. 

He swallowed hard. In truth, he was actually quite afraid of this version of Dan Yi.

“Fengyuan gege, what’s wrong?” Chen Ziqi asked, sounding absolutely obedient and submissive.

The corners of Dan Yi’s mouth couldn’t help but curve upwards slightly. This fellow always called him Fengyuan gege the moment he got scared. He pulled Chen Ziqi toward him, his arms passing under Chen Ziqi’s armpits and locking firmly behind him, trapping him between his arms. “When will you be letting me do the thing you promised today?” he asked.

“What did I promise?” Chen Ziqi asked, feigning ignorance. 

“That you’d let me touch you back…” Dan Yi said. His ears couldn’t help but turn a little pink when he said this, but he did his best to suppress it. He circulated his qi to force down the blood that was threatening to rise onto his cheeks, compelling himself to remain a calm and aloof appearance.

“Mlcf olcf olcf. P’ii ifa sbe abemt, sbe qfaas mgfjaegf,” Jtfc Ildl rjlv, qegrlcu tlr ilqr. Lf qertfv tlr mtfra obgkjgv abkjgv Gjc Tl klat j ibbx bc tlr ojmf atja rjlv atja tf kjr yflcu bqqgfrrfv ys j asgjcclmji Blcu.

Ktja rifcvfg, sbeatoei mtfra kjr cbk gluta yfobgf Gjc Tl’r fsfr. Gjc Tl ribkis gjlrfv j tjcv jcv qijmfv la ja atf yjmx bo Jtfc Ildl’r cfmx, ktlmt ibbxfv fnfc wbgf ibcu jcv rifcvfg atjc ereji yfmjerf bo atf kjs tf kjr rajcvlcu. Ktf offi bo atja rwbbat, reqqif rxlc wjvf tlr olcufgalqr agfwyif, jcv tf ribkis wbnfv tlr batfg tjcv abkjgv atf alcs mtfggs bc Jtfc Ildl’r mtfra…

Chen Ziqi wrinkled his nose. This fellow’s slow and deliberate actions were starting to make him feel weird. 

The sound of a sweet little moan made the both of them stiffen. Chen Ziqi raised a hand to cover his mouth, stunned. He then pushed Dan Yi aside, climbed out of the bathing pool and fled.

Dan Yi got pushed hard before he could react. He fell backwards and choked on some water that went down the wrong passageway.

He got out of the bathing pool, shook the water out of his ears, then put on his clothes and used his neili to blow-dry his hair as he walked toward the bedroom. When he got to the side of the bed, he found Chen Ziqi hiding in the blankets with his hair all wet. The whole pillow was soaked through with the water from his hair.

Chen Ziqi felt someone climb onto the bed, and after that, a warm hand supported his head. Hot neili flowed out of Dan Yi’s palms as his fingers moved back and forth in his hair. After Dan Yi ran his hands through Chen Ziqi’s hair once, Chen Ziqi’s hair was completely dry. He poked a head out of the blankets, saw that Lingguan and Linghe had both left, then quietly heaved a small sigh of relief. He didn’t uncurl from the foetal position he was in. 

“What’s wrong?” Dan Yi asked, burrowing into the blankets and reaching out to pull Chen Ziqi into his arms.

Chen Ziqi had curled into a little prawn in bed and tried to cover his crotch awkwardly with his hands. “Don’t… don’t move. It’s hard…” he mumbled.

Youths who had just hit puberty were always oddly embarrassed by the changes in their body. Chen Ziqi only dared to say this much because he and Dan Yi had been childhood friends.

Dan Yi stared blankly at Chen Ziqi for a bit, then realised what Chen Ziqi was talking about. Because of his touch earlier, Qiqi was… Dan Yi felt his whole world brighten up at this realisation. 

Dan Yi put out the candle with a single finger, and after taking a deep breath, slowly pressed his chest against Chen Ziqi’s back. He spoke quietly, trying to calm Chen Ziqi down. “Don’t be scared. This isn’t anything to worry about…”

“I know,” Chen Ziqi mumbled in a small voice. He wasn’t an idiot, and he knew that he’d be okay after resting for a while. He just found it embarrassing that he’d had a reaction to his good friend touching him.

“How about… I teach you?” Dan Yi said, his ears turning red again. Thankfully, the lights were out now, and nobody could see anything in the darkness. His hands extended toward Chen Ziqi’s nether regions as if his hands weren’t his own any more, and were possessed by something else.

It wasn’t as if Chen Ziqi hadn’t done things like this before by himself. He was a curious youth after all. However, the feeling of having it held by someone else was very different. Dan Yi’s fingers were strong, slender, and warmer than an average person’s hand. 

Chen Ziqi tried to resist initially, but he soon was overcome by his own desire. Afterward, he felt that just having his own member pleasured wasn’t enough, so he flipped over, buried his face in Dan Yi’s chest and gripped Dan Yi’s.

Well, they said that it was rude to receive without giving something in return.

The bright moon climbed up past the tops of the Wutong trees and shone into the quiet sleeping quarters through the window, illuminating the two youths beneath the gauzy curtains in the midst of exploring a pleasure that they had never experienced before.

The next morning, Chen Ziqi opened his eyes and felt some stickiness on his body. He couldn’t help frowning, trying to recall if he had bathed last night. And then… 

BOOM. The room was quiet, but Chen Ziqi felt something explode inside his head.

He wriggled about in bed for a bit, then sat up. He turned stiffly, looking at the part of the bed next to him. The person who usually slept there was long gone. Dan Yi had to get up early to deal with official matters in the Cloud Palace and had left when he was still sound asleep.

For some odd reason, Chen Ziqi felt relieved. He exhaled quietly, then lay back down on the bed and covered his face with one hand.

He thought back on the previous night. He seemed to have done something rather inappropriate. He could still feel that strange sensation in the palm of his hand. Dan Yi’s voice had been so mesmerizing, and his body temperature had been much higher than his, probably because of the Danyang Divine Martial Arts he practiced… As he thought about this, his thoughts started to stray in a strange direction. 

Chen Ziqi rubbed his face, then got up to wash up and put on his clothes. He strolled out casually, and without meaning to, ended up next to the little stream where he’d seen the peacocks yesterday.

“Wang ye, why are you up so early?” Lan Shanyu asked, flying down from the direction of the Jade Bamboo Peak, a little bamboo box in his hand. He smiled as he greeted Chen Ziqi.

“Big Brother Lan,” Chen Ziqi said, looking curiously at the little box Lan Shanyu was holding. “What’s that in your hands?”

“Ah, Qinghan was tired out last night, so I’m bringing him something good to eat,” Lan Shanyu said, grinning widely. Goodness knows what Lan Shanyu was thinking about, but his grin got wider and wider, and if it got any bigger, the corners of his mouth would probably reach his ears. 

Chen Ziqi stared at him suspiciously.

“What’s up?” Lan Shanyu asked. Chen Ziqi’s intense stare was giving him goosebumps all over. He shut that grinning mouth of his, then looked carefully at Chen Ziqi’s expression. “Wang ye, you look a little troubled. Is something bothering you?”

Chen Ziqi did actually have a question to ask him, and now that Lan Shanyu had broached the topic, perhaps he might as well… He hesitated for a while before speaking up. “Big Brother Lan, have you… um… have you and Qinghan gege ever… um… done this for each other before?” He made an up-and-down motion with his hand as he spoke.

Lan Shanyu got it immediately. A wicked smile spread over his face, and he wiggled his eyebrows at Chen Ziqi. “Hehe. Of course,” he said. 

Eh? Chen Ziqi scratched his head. So, this was a common thing to do between good friends?

He felt his mood lighten considerably on hearing this answer. By the time he went to look for Dan Yi to eat breakfast, he didn’t feel awkward any more.

“Qiqi, about last night…” Dan Yi picked up a piece of bamboo rice steamed cake with his chopsticks and held it out to Chen Ziqi, then stopped speaking.

“Ah, it’s perfectly normal for good friends to do that. Don’t mind it,” Chen Ziqi said, clapping Dan Yi on the shoulder. He stretched his neck forward and bit the offered steamed cake, eating it with great gusto. 

Who told you this is normal?! What do you mean by ‘don’t mind it’?!

Dan Yi’s face turned dark.

“I have to say though, when you do it for me, it’s even better than when I do it myself,” Chen Ziqi whispered, after looking around to check that no one was around. “Let’s play again like that another day.”

Dan Yi’s despondent mood suddenly brightened considerably. He looked at Chen Ziqi for a moment, then sighed helplessly. “Qiqi, grow up quickly, okay?” he said. 

“I also want to grow up quickly,” Chen Ziqi said, putting half a piece of steamed cake into his mouth. If he ate a bit more, he’d grow faster. “You talk as if you’re a grown up, but you’re only sixteen yourself.”

“I’m seventeen this year.”

“And I’m already fifteen this year!”

This childish exchange continued until the meal was cleared and tea was served. Wu Bujian came forward to make a report. “Wang ye, one of the ministers who reports to King Wan has arrived in Jianyang with gifts. The gifts seem to be two women, and he wants to see you,” he said. 

“Women? What women?!” Chen Ziqi asked, frowning slightly.

“Apparently, they were sent to enter your houyuan…” Wu Bujian started. After he said the words ‘houyuan’, he felt an indescribably overpowering aura press down on him so hard that he could barely even breathe, let alone continue speaking.

Wu Bujian felt his Palace Master’s cold stare on him, and couldn’t help breaking out in a cold sweat. He raised a hand and slapped himself lightly across the face. He didn’t know what was wrong with what he said, but he was certain that crow mouth of his was to blame again.

— 

The author has something to say: Mini-theatre

“A Crow Mouth Always Gets Itself Into Trouble”

Wu Bujian: It’s bad, someone gave Wang ye some beauties!

Birdie Gong: Shut that crow mouth of yours

Wu Bujian: It’s bad, the Palace Master has gone insane and is vomiting blood!

Qiqi: Shut that crow mouth of yours 

Wu Bujian: It’s bad, the toilet bowls in the Cloud Palace are all clogged up!

Diao Lie: Shut that crow mouth of yours

Wu Bujian: You can’t blame me for clogged toilet bowls, can you?!

Diao Lie: If I don’t blame you, then who am I to blame? Do I blame the toilet bowl, then?

Wu Bujian: QAQ