Chapter 218: The Wind Picks Up (VI)

Chapter 218: The Wind Picks Up (VI)

The last time Xiang Zhi Jie came here was to celebrate the birthday of the grandfather of one of Le Wuya's garrison soldiers.

Thus, he knew the route like the back of his hand and drove straight in without a hitch.

What slightly surprised him was that, in the middle of broad daylight, his teacher had gone and set up a full three hidden sentry posts around his own residence.

However, those sentries, knowing his face and knowing he'd been in and out with their master before, and seeing him exchange greetings with Hua Rong, knew he had the all-clear, so not a one showed their face, each lying low and quiet.

Zhi Jie thought back to all the rumors he'd been hearing about Tongzhou on the road and thought to himself that his teacher was finally looking out for himself—which was honestly the best thing ever.

Yet, nursing this little secret thrill, when he arrived at the courtyard where Le Wuya resided, Zhi Jie couldn't help but let his steps falter.

The flowering trees in the yard were dotted with fresh buds, the breeze rustled the slender branches, and wafting in the scent of grass and leaves from across the way, there came a sound he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Er Ya the dog had the whole empty corridor to herself, looking like one dog holding the fort against ten thousand.

Seeing a visitor arrive, she sprang up nimbly, giving her glossy black coat an elegant, imposing shake by way of a heads-up.

But seeing it was someone she knew, she flopped back down and went back to cracking melon seeds.

Zhi Jie paused, then padded silently to the door, gave the dog a pat on the head, and jerked his chin toward the yard.

Er Ya looked up with her big, dewy eyes, gave him a look that said "what a pain," then, on her own, picked up the bamboo melon-seed basket Le Wuya had specially woven for her, trotted over to the shade under a tree in the yard, and flopped down, all cozy.

...

In the room right next door, Le Wuya was agitated and on edge, his nightshirt hiked up from his waist all the way to his chest.

He lay on his back in a tangle of rumpled bedding, his chest heaving with impatience.

He could draw a war bow with his martial skills and weave bamboo baskets with his domestic ones, but because he'd wrecked his body in a past life, the doctor had specifically told him to go easy on the private stuff to avoid catching a chill, so his skills had gone rusty for years—and now that he needed them, he was kicking himself.

Le Wuya couldn't get himself under control, so he just clamped his legs around the cool, chilly quilt, gritting his teeth and grinding against it slowly, letting out soft, thin little moans, hoping a little coolness would hurry this whole mess along.

His head was such a mess that he didn't even register the footsteps outside, until a polite tap came on the window frame by his bed, snapping him out of it.

Le Wuya shot up, whipping toward the window like a predator, and yanked the blanket up to his chest.

Zhi Jie, looking perfectly calm, pushed open the window that wasn't quite shut and said, "Teacher, keep it down."

He wanted to explain he hadn't meant to eavesdrop, just didn't want anyone else to hear.

But when Le Wuya's hawk-sharp glare locked onto his from across the room, a weird, tingly shiver ran up Zhi Jie's spine, nailing him to the spot.

The next moment, upon seeing who it was, Le Wuya's wild, murderous look was wiped clean off his face.

Replacing it was a bright, surprised grin: "...Xiaoliu?"

Zhi Jie's fingertips dug into the sun-baked window sill, and his knees went a little weak from the sheer visual shock.

Upon recognizing who it was, Le Wuya, having dropped his guard, felt a blush creep up his cheeks. He gave a low cough and straightened his back with effort.

He and Little Phoenix had grown up together, knowing each other since infancy—wading in rivers to catch fish, bathing in hot springs, riding on shoulders, all the most intimate things between friends had been done to the fullest, leaving no room for pretense of modesty.

Little Qi, on the other hand, always showed up at his most embarrassing moments, witnessing every bit of his misfortune.

As for Wen Ren Yue, who had come latest of all...

They had been so intimately close as to share the same body, spending a period of time in his original vessel without distinction between them, to the point that he no longer minded physical contact with Wen Ren Yue—it was, after all, his own body; even embraces were fine, as if Wen Ren Yue were simply expressing his homesickness.

By this reasoning, it was only in front of Zhi Jie that he could maintain the dignified bearing of a teacher.

Le Wuya, while secretly straightening his undergarments beneath the blanket, said with feigned gravity, "You're here?"

Zhi Jie: "I'm here."

His gaze drifted downward, his expression one of serene detachment from all worldly desires: "Teacher, are you unwell?"

Le Wuya's throat itched, and he could not help but cough again: "You're twenty-three now, don't play dumb."

"Twenty-four." After correcting him, Zhi Jie innocently pursed his lips. "Teacher, I had no intention of disturbing you. I wanted to let you finish in peace. But I do have important matters to discuss on this trip to Tongzhou. Just now, I ran into Hua Rong and asked him to fetch Assistant Prefect Mu to the residence for discussion. I truly don't know... when Assistant Prefect Mu will arrive."

Le Wuya: "..."

He grabbed a pillow and hurled it: "Are you trying to kill me!"

His movement was too vigorous, stirring his arousal. Having thrown the pillow, he grabbed the blanket near his thigh and let out a sharp hiss of breath.

Seeing that the situation would not subside anytime soon, and that the old stick-in-the-mud Assistant Prefect Mu could arrive at any moment, Le Wuya could only pound the blanket in frustration: "Come in!"

Zhi Jie hugged the pillow, looking meek: "Teacher, this is improper."

"I said come in!"

With his body in discomfort, Le Wuya's temper naturally rose accordingly.

So Zhi Jie obediently entered the room.

Seeing him about to step further inside, Le Wuya gritted his teeth and barked, "Stop right there!"

He forced himself to explain: "The south is warmer than the capital, and the willow catkins have been increasing these days. I was worried you might inhale them and trigger your heart condition. Don't... misunderstand... mm..."

As he spoke, Le Wuya's breath caught again.

He twisted his legs around the blanket, lowered his head, and swallowed down each heavy breath.

But the blanket had grown warm from his body heat, and its effect was no longer as effective as before.

When Le Wuya opened his sweat-sheened eyes, he found Zhi Jie standing barely a breath away.

Zhi Jie returned the pillow, gently propped up his lower back, then lifted his robe and knelt respectfully on the footstool.

Le Wuya's heart was restless, but seeing him kneel so readily was also displeasing.

He opened one eye to look at him, his tone carrying a faint note of disappointment: "I made myself your pawn so that one day you might ride the dragon to the heavens. Was it so you could kneel before just anyone?"

"Teacher, I've burned incense and knelt before deities since I was a child. It's no trouble." Zhi Jie's tone was calm and gentle. "I'm very good at kneeling."

Le Wuya felt the urge to tug at his ear: "Even if I've done you favors, there's no need to repay them this way, is there?"

Zhi Jie gently countered: "Teacher, you're wrong. Between us, there are no favors—only feelings."

Before Le Wuya could respond, Zhi Jie slipped off the old thumb ring he had worn for years, removed his Taoist beads, took Le Wuya's hand, and slid them onto his wrist: "Teacher, count these. It will calm your mind."

With that, he reached out and pulled aside the loose, snow-white sleeping robe hanging at his collarbone, pinched the one hardened pink point, and began to roll and knead it gently.

Le Wuya's body went weak on one side, and the "don't" that had been on his lips was swallowed whole, leaving only a series of breaths that sounded almost like sobs.

"Don't move, teacher." Le Wuya's ears were ringing so loudly that he couldn't make out that Zhi Jie's voice was also trembling slightly, his words light and rapid, carrying a giddy excitement. "I'll make you feel comfortable."

With that, his other hand reached up, tracing the light brown mole above his lower lip, and said, with a polite air, "Teacher, open your mouth."

As he pressed slowly and rhythmically, Le Wuya naturally opened his mouth, letting his fingertips slide into the soft, warm hollow within.

He must have washed his hands in the courtyard before coming, as there was a faint scent of soap on his fingertips—which he didn't mind.

Before Le Wuya could finish mulling over the phrase "prepared in advance," he couldn't help but arch his body up, his toes curling tight like a drawn bow.

His mouth couldn't close, so his voice came out muffled: "Don't... mm..."

"Teacher likes this." Zhi Jie ignored his feeble protest, coaxing him, "Even if we need to finish quickly, Xiaoliu wants teacher to feel good. Just the front... isn't enough."

Zhi Jie's hands were dry and warm, yet they made the air feel damp and lingering, pulling Le Wuya into a clean yet alluring trap.

Half of Le Wuya's face was in the sunlight, the other half in shadow, his expression dreamy and calm.

After a while, their breathing in the room grew rapid.

"Slow... a little... can't..."

"No. Teacher likes it quick."

"You... you rebellious disciple..."

"Teacher, don't talk back like that. Focus."

After some time, a thin bed curtain was suddenly clenched tightly by a hand.

After a long, tense moment, the hand slowly fell, a gentle breeze slipped through the half-open window, the curtain swayed a little, but the creases from the grip lingered.

Although Le Wuya talked tough, he was actually thoroughly pampered and comfortable.

Because Zhi Jie's movements and expression were so tender and respectful, and he answered every question throughout, Le Wuya didn't feel at all like he had been toyed with.

He reached out with his beaded hand, squinting, and contentedly patted the back of Zhi Jie's head, praising, "Good child."

Zhi Jie looked straight at him, grabbed his hand, laced their fingers together, and pressed it directly against his own cheek.

Le Wuya, unused to such direct intensity, felt uneasy at such open ardor, so he deflected with a laugh: "Dirty."

Zhi Jie looked at him with a clear gaze and shook his head seriously.

If he hadn't known what earth-shattering scheme they had conspired together, Le Wuya might have been fooled by his jade-like, snow-pure appearance, with sleeves that seemed to carry the spring breeze.

Le Wuya truly adored his unadorned, gentlemanly demeanor, because knowing that beneath it lay perhaps a bottomless dark pool only intensified his desire to explore.

He teased him on purpose: "Why are your hands so hot?"

Sure enough, a flicker of something else couldn't be suppressed in the man's eyes.

It was faint, fleeting, but quite stimulating.

After Zhi Jie regained his composure, he answered calmly: "Born with it."

Le Wuya: "Nice technique. Born with that too?"

"That one isn't." Zhi Jie looked up at him, "Liking teacher—that's innate."

"Then who'd you practice on?"

Zhi Jie: "A dream lover—there's always a chance to meet in dreams, right?"

Le Wuya: "..." He had never seen anyone describe a "spring dream" so elegantly.

Le Wuya propped himself up, met Zhi Jie's gaze, and replayed the scene. Only then did he realize how absurd it was that he'd lost his head and done such a thing.

He pressed his palm over his hot, sore lower abdomen and rubbed it vigorously twice.

Weren't they supposed to just be using each other?

The commander who should have been leading the army had come to relieve his own subordinate—what was that supposed to mean?

Even Le Wuya, a lousy chess player, had never seen such a reckless move.

"This is turning the world upside down." He stretched lazily, acting casual, "Just this once, no more."

Zhi Jie smiled. "Alright."

He gazed at him with a clear, steady gaze.

Teacher, this is just the beginning.

The Tao Te Ching says: The Tao begot one, one begot two, two begot three, three begot all things.

As a good student, he had always believed in putting what he learned into practice.

Author's note:

Yaya: Is this Tao Te Ching even ethical?