Chapter 29

Lian Ai wore a sheer robe that barely concealed anything. Once he was ready, he went to knock on Bu Nian’s door.

Bu Nian assumed it was the inn servant coming to collect the bathwater. Without asking who it was, he opened the door. The moment he saw Lian Ai standing there, he nearly thought he was seeing things.

“What are you doing?” He stood in the doorway, blocking it like a mountain, neither stepping aside nor letting him in.

It was late autumn, and the cold had begun to creep in. Lian Ai’s body trembled slightly, his lips tinged with purple from the chill.

“I have something I need to speak to the General about.”

Bu Nian stared at him, face expressionless.

“Say it here.”

The refusal was so direct that it left Lian Ai unable to speak another word.

Just then, the door to the room on Bu Nian’s other side opened. Bai Shu had heard movement and got up to check. As soon as he looked out, he saw Lian Ai standing outside Bu Nian’s door.

He wasn’t interested in men, and he looked good enough himself, but anyone who appreciated beauty would have glanced more than once. That skin was pale, those legs were long, and the sight alone made it hard to look away.

His gaze drifted upward. The moment he caught sight of the chain stretched across Lian Ai’s chest, his eyes widened noticeably. His lips parted in a silent breath of astonishment.

Bu Nian’s gaze shifted to him. His voice was low, slow, and cold.

“Bai Shu, what are you looking at?”

Bai Shu flinched, snapping back to his senses. When he met Bu Nian’s icy stare, his voice stumbled.

“Master, I… I was wrong.”

He stepped back and shut the door in haste.

To anyone watching, the entire scene would have looked like Bu Nian was scolding an unruly little bedslave out of jealousy.

After scolding the current bedslave, he turned to the former one.

“Get in here.” He turned and walked into the room, leaving the door open for Lian Ai to follow.

Lian Ai stepped into the warmth. The indoor heat allowed him to let out a small breath. After closing the door behind him and turning around, he saw Bu Nian seated at the table, one hand resting on its surface, watching him impatiently.

“Speak. Why are you here?” A faint sneer tugged at his mouth. “Don’t tell me Zuo Lingxue sent you to seduce me with that body of yours and trick me out of my command seal.”

He had only spoken casually, but ended up guessing nearly the whole truth. Lian Ai said nothing as he entered the room, and so Bu Nian did not press him right away.

Lian Ai walked toward him, his bare toes were pale as top-quality mutton-fat jade.

Bu Nian watched his every move. He did not know what Lian Ai intended to do, but he wasn’t afraid of any of it. Even when Lian Ai climbed directly into his lap, straddling him, he only stiffened for a moment before going still again.

Lian Ai wrapped both arms around his neck. A faint fragrance rose from his skin, soft and heady, like a snow lotus in bloom, ready to be plucked.

Bu Nian raised one hand and pressed it against the small of his back. The moment that hot palm touched his cool skin, Lian Ai let out a soft sigh of pleasure.

“Zuo Lingxue gave me a box of Numbroot Powder. She told me to apply it on myself, then find a way to make you ingest it.”

Bu Nian’s hand pressed down harder than intended, and pain shot through Lian Ai’s lower back, nearly making him cry out.

“You applied it?”

Bu Nian’s eyes narrowed.

Lian Ai shook his head.

“No.”

Bu Nian could not quite understand his intention. Whether it was declaring himself an enemy or revealing Zuo Lingxue’s plan, none of it made sense. No assassin would act like this.

“Why?”

Lian Ai cupped his face, leaning in closer and closer.

“Because I can’t bear to harm the General.”

By the time the last word left his lips, his mouth had already sealed over Bu Nian’s.

Bu Nian’s eyes widened. The moment of hesitation gave Lian Ai’s tongue the chance to slip inside. For a while, the kiss was entirely one-sided. Then, as if waking from a daze, Bu Nian’s hand pressed hard against the small of Lian Ai’s back, forcing him in even closer.

He held him as if trying to crush him into his own body. The strength behind it made Lian Ai feel like his waist might snap.

“General…” he pulled back slightly, murmuring a soft protest, “it hurts…”

Bu Nian looked at his wet lips, at the mist in his eyes. The sight made him want to pluck this snow lotus bud and crush it, devour it, and bury it inside himself.

He knew he should push him away. He should send him back to Zhongzhou. He should break his legs to keep him from ever returning.

But instead, he lifted Lian Ai by the hips, carried him to the bed and tossed him down.

Lian Ai rolled across the soft mattress. His sheer robe slipped down to his wrists, leaving almost his entire upper body exposed.

Bu Nian’s eyes fell on the gold chain over his chest. He hooked it with one finger and gave it a rough tug toward himself.

“It hurts…”

That place was far too sensitive. Even a light tug stung. There was no way it could endure this kind of force. In no time, both nipples were swollen and red, standing stiff like ripened peaches, tender and tempting.

“It hurts?” Bu Nian’s lips curved into a grin. Lust burned hot behind his eyes.

“You’ve become so delicate. Back then, you could take pain just fine.”

Lian Ai was the kind of creature who stirred up the darkest, most violent urges in people. His voice, his body, his expressions, even the way he moaned in that mix of pain and pleasure, all of it made one want to push him further, hurt him more, make him cry harder and tremble more violently.

Bu Nian tried to suppress that impulse, but Lian Ai kept dragging it out of him.

Lian Ai gripped his wrist, as if trying to stop him from being so rough.

“Back then… it was because even if I cried out in pain, no one would pity me.”

Bu Nian’s hand trembled. The gold chain slipped free from his fingers and fell back across Lian Ai’s chest. It looked like he was going to pull his hand away, but Lian Ai wouldn’t let him. He grabbed him hard and pulled him down onto his body.

“General, I didn’t apply the Numbroot Powder. But I did put something else on. Don’t you want to taste it?”

Bu Nian didn’t answer. He stared into Lian Ai’s eyes, then suddenly leaned in close to his ear and murmured,

“Are you testing me? Trying to see if I’ll kill you?”

Lian Ai’s lashes quivered. One leg curled around Bu Nian’s waist, and his hips shifted, grinding against him.

“Then why haven’t you killed me?”

If this had been before, with Bu Nian’s temper, he would have been dead a dozen times over. There would have been no room for this kind of provocation again and again.

He had driven him out of the capital without mercy. He had said that just seeing his face made him sick. So why had he saved him at the brothel? Telling him to leave the capital at once, was it because he truly didn’t want to see him again, or because he was afraid of dragging him back into the mess?

Bu Nian was stunned by the question. Then, as if enraged to the point of snapping, his hand reached under Lian Ai’s sheer robe and grabbed the bare, slightly swollen cock without warning.

“Ah…” Lian Ai arched like a taut bow, his hips lifting as he cried out in a trembling, half-sobbing moan.

“That’s right. Why haven’t I killed you yet?” Bu Nian furrowed his brow, as if he were asking Lian Ai, or perhaps asking himself.

His eyes shifted. At one moment they were dark and stormy, then cleared into complete calm. No one could see through the turmoil in those eyes, just as no one could truly understand the bitterness behind his violence.

Lian Ai’s cock slowly stiffened in Bu Nian’s grip. The scented balm he had applied below began to melt, and the ring of his entrance, already gently fluttering open from earlier preparation, began to leak a sweet, slippery fluid.

Bu Nian released the clean, pale shaft and brought two fingers together, pressing them slowly into the warm, tight hole.

Because of Lian Ai’s own efforts to stretch and soften it beforehand, the flesh inside was soft and pliant. The inner walls clung tightly to his fingers, squeezing and pulling, as if unwilling to let them go.

“I should have killed you long ago…” Bu Nian’s voice turned sharp, filled with suppressed fury. His fingers moved harder, deeper, almost like punishment, pushing into the twitching flesh with force that left no gentleness behind. The bed shook as Lian Ai twisted under him like a fish, his cock bouncing wildly.

“Ah… no, ngh… don’t…” Lian Ai bit down on his own hand, moaning incoherently. It was unclear whether he was begging Bu Nian not to kill him or not to keep doing this to him. He tried to close his legs, but the moment the leg hooked around Bu Nian’s waist loosened, Bu Nian noticed. He shoved a hand beneath his knee and forced his legs apart again, exposing the wet, dripping mouth below.

Bu Nian pulled his soaked fingers out. The hole twitched, clenching as if trying to pull them back in.

“Who is so important they cannot be discarded? Who must be kept? Who cannot be killed?” He yanked down his own undergarments, exposing his cock, already swollen to the limit, and pressed the tip against Lian Ai’s entrance. “Why should I keep you alive?”

Without giving any chance to resist, he thrust in all at once, burying himself to the hilt.

Lian Ai’s inner thighs trembled. His toes curled from the sudden shock. The pearly sheen of his toenails took on a faint pink hue.

Bu Nian’s hands gripped his waist. What used to be soft flesh had gained a firmness beneath the surface.

His own clothing was nearly untouched, while Lian Ai was almost entirely naked.

Their bodies joined tightly. The sound of Bu Nian’s sack slapping against flesh echoed in the room, the thick shaft driving in and out of that tight hole. Wet, lewd noises filled the air with every movement.

The scent of sweetness grew stronger with every motion, thick in the heated air.

Lian Ai seemed unable to handle more. His fingers clawed weakly at Bu Nian’s sleeve, as if trying to push him away. But his trembling fingertips had no strength and left no trace.

“General… ngh… General…” His voice was hoarse, tangled with sobs he could not suppress. Sweat beaded across his skin, turning his pale body almost luminous under the light.

Bu Nian breathed heavily, shaking off his grasp.

“Wasn’t it you who seduced me first? And now you want to stop?”

“Slower… ah… I’m going to… ah!” Lian Ai’s body seized, trembling violently. His inner walls clamped down tight, spasming as he climaxed. A few breaths later, everything slackened, and he collapsed beneath him, unable to do anything more than let out breathless, broken moans.

Bu Nian gave him no time to recover. He pulled Lian Ai’s limp body up and made him sit in his lap. This position pushed in even deeper, making Lian Ai’s oversensitive body, still twitching from orgasm, instinctively try to escape. But the moment he tried to lift his hips, Bu Nian forced him down again, making his tight hole swallow the full length of that cock.

Lian Ai threw back his head, exposing the vulnerable curve of his trembling throat. The stimulation was too much. For a moment, he couldn’t even make a sound. Bu Nian thrusted up from below, making him bounce violently as if he were riding a wild beast.

Lian Ai clung to his neck, helpless, and pressed his lips to Bu Nian’s cheek, licking away the sweat at his temple.

Those strong hands grabbed and kneaded his perky ass. With every snap of his hips, Bu Nian drove himself in hard, pounding into his body like a storm.

His face was tight with restraint, but his movements grew rougher, the rhythm harder and faster. He was at his limit, ready to release.

“Mm… General won’t kill me…” Lian Ai gasped between ragged breaths, brows furrowed as he spoke in a soft, perfumed whisper. “Because you… can’t let me go either…”

Bu Nian let out a muffled groan. His muscles tensed as he spilled thick, hot seed deep inside Lian Ai’s tight hole.

Lian Ai moaned through the climax, his voice rising then falling, until it became a soft, beast-like whimper in his throat.

But the next moment, Bu Nian’s hand clamped around his neck and slammed him down hard against the bed.

Lian Ai lost his breath. His fingers clawed at the grip around his throat, but Bu Nian didn’t budge.

“I can’t let you go?” His cock hadn’t even fully softened yet and was still buried inside, but his eyes now burned with the intent to kill.

“I know… I’m not really…” Lian Ai’s gaze held no fear. Through the choking, he forced out each word.

“Not really Helian Ai…”