The Powerful Eunuch

Chapter 28

Petals of the peach blossoms fell from the sky. At one glance, all the tree branches were now overflowing with green and scarce with red1. There would always be petals drifting down as they strolled under the peach trees, and this spring shower of pink and white stirred a melancholic feeling within them.

Liao Jixiang was in front of Xie Yilu, secretly feeling for his lips as he walked. The lips were still burning, as if that kiss was so passionate that it was going to turn him inside out. It’s too shameless, he thought, two men moistly sucking on each other’s lips — if he could genuinely be considered a man.

“Why are you walking so fast?” Xie Yilu gently tugged him from behind.

Being tugged by Xie Yilu made Liao Jixiang feel extremely, unbearably embarrassed. His face turned red like it was on fire, his lips tightly pressed together, and he even had a lingering impression that there was still a tongue inside his mouth, shamelessly sweeping across his teeth, and mischievously fondling the back of his throat. Back in that moment, he actually made a sound. Like he had been forced into a corner, he let out a helpless “ummm”.

It was not a big deal initially. However, because of his indecent response, Xie Yilu stopped to look at him, his eyes fixated on him with fervour, with thirst. If he were to be honest, Liao Jixiang was actually afraid. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was afraid of, perhaps it was this unfamiliar feeling of adoration, or the sudden dominance of this man pressing onto him, or perhaps, he was also afraid of his broken, shattered self.

“Can I unlace your clothes?” Xie Yilu panted as he asked. Liao Jixiang immediately tightened his collar. He refused. Feeling disappointed, Xie Yilu began to pound his lower body futilely against Liao Jixiang. Probably he also meant it with a hint of revenge, as he rudely licked Liao Jixiang’s cheek, nibbled at his chin, forcefully trapping him between his arms and clasping his arms.

Liao Jixiang closed his eyes in fear, allowing Xie Yilu to do all sorts of strange things on him. He felt warmth about his thighs. Xie Yilu’s fan handle is poking me, he thought. With each obscene movement, the warm handle vividly brushed against his skin again and again.

“Yangchun2,” Xie Yilu grabbed his arm from behind and pulled him into his warm embrace. Now that he had experienced so much more, how could he be content with only silently looking at that figure? “Don’t ignore me!”

“I’m not ignoring you…” Liao Jixiang replied feebly, innocently trying to break free from his grasp. Yet how could he escape when Xie Yilu was already absolutely determined? Like a red-eyed husband filled with jealousy or a grumpy infatuated man, he held onto Xie Yilu, hugging him as he blatantly explored his body.

“Let… let go!” Liao Jixiang exclaimed. He had never been this close to someone before, nor did he enjoy doing so. “The way you’re… is like a madman!”

Xie Yilu wanted to say, “I am truly mad, mad for you!” But as he held Liao Jixiang in his arms, bending his neck around his sideburns and inhaling the scent of sandalwood mixed with milk on his body, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. All he wanted was to indulge in this moment.

Liao Jixiang felt embarrassed. It was a feeling of not knowing what to do, mingled with shame, and fear. “You… go back and tell Zheng Xian, tell him to send some men to supervise those folks mending the embankment,” he shivered, not daring to even draw a deep breath, trying his best to maintain his composure. “Someone reported to me, that they seemed… s-suspicious…”

Xie Yilu was too preoccupied with licking and nibbling on his neck to answer.

“Do you hear me?” Out of shame or something else, Liao Jixiang became anxious. He pinched Xie Yilu’s arm hard through his sleeve. Being caught off guard, Xie Yilu yelped in pain and stared at Liao Jixiang blankly.

Liao Jixiang guessed that he may have hurt him by pinching his arm. Feeling guilty, he stopped struggling. Only after some moment did Xie Yilu dare to get closer to him again, and this time, Liao Jixiang was rather tame. He asked both in distress and in fear, “What… what exactly do you want?”

“Shh…” Xie Yilu pampered him like how one would comfort a little girl. Growing up, Liao Jixiang had never been loved by someone else like this before, so his voice now even carried a hint of coquettishness. “Don’t delay the matter. Do you hear?”

“I did, I did!” Xie Yilu dismissed him like an impatient lover. “They’re just some common folks. What suspicious act can they achieve?”

Liao Jixiang meekly nestled in his embrace. “There are also soldiers among those building the embankment.”

Xie Yilu unknowingly tightened his arms around Liao Jixiang’s body. This worry wasn’t unfounded. Liao Jixiang was a man who carried the kingdom’s wellbeing in his heart. Despite being disparaged and demeaned to the current state, he had never cared about his own gains or losses. Xie Yilu felt simultaneously frustrated and somewhat regretful; he posed a question that was destined to dampen their mood, “Why did you accept that money?”

He was referring to the gold and silver ingots in the chest. Liao Jixiang, still holding grudges against Xie Yilu, replied sourly, “When I’m old, I’ll need to buy a coffin, prepare a decent shroud, and hire the monks to chant sutras for me. If I don’t seize the opportunity now, who will be there for me in my old age?”

Xie Yilu anxiously grabbed him and turned him around, their faces inches apart. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but eventually swallowed his words and opted to say something else. “The otter’s penis… Have you heard of it?”

Liao Jixiang’s expression was getting uneasy, his head drooped awkwardly.

So he knows. Xie Yilu discreetly admired his snowy-white forehead and his pair of faint eyebrows. He gently leaned against his ear. “How about you try it?”

Liao Jixiang shook his head, so Xie Yilu wrapped his arms around him extremely carefully and tenderly. “Zheng Xian uses it. It’s said to be effective.”

Quite some time had passed, and finally a muffled voice came from Xie Yilu’s embrace: “He’s only partially cleansed3…”

It was then Xie Yilu realised that he had misspoken again. Feeling half heart-aching and half guilty, he slowly and gently caressed Liao Jixiang. Presently, that familiar urge surged from his lower parts again, the urge to do something to Liao Jixiang. In order to suppress this evil flame, he frantically searched for a new topic. “By the way, in the future… treat Ruan Dian better, will you?”

Liao Jixiang was probably being held too tightly by Xie Yilu. He fidgeted slightly, but didn’t move much, clinging to Xie Yilu like a kitten or a puppy Xie Yilu kept from childhood. “Why do you bring him up?”

“It’s just… I just remembered that you hit him.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.” Liao Jixiang’s face rubbed against Xie Yilu’s robe as he raised his head, his big round eyes wide open. Xie Yilu had never seen him like this before, so very obedient, that it was almost as if he belonged to him. Didn’t grant him another chance to speak, Xie Yilu suddenly kissed him.

Liao Jixiang was startled as he tried to back away, but wherever he went, Xie Yilu followed. It was the same as last time, Xie Yilu used his tongue and was almost giving it all out. Being teased in so many ways so relentlessly, Liao Jixiang soon became enervated and pliant.

Yet Xie Yilu still felt that it wasn’t enough. Without giving Liao Jixiang a chance to catch his breath, Xie Yilu grabbed him by his waist and began to drag him into the nearby woods. Liao Jixiang was appalled. He tugged hard on Xie Yilu’s shoulders to struggle, futilely kicking his feet against the ground. Eventually, Xie Yilu simply propped him up, holding him high in his arms and walking deeper into the denser forest.

“I’m shouting for help!” Liao Jixiang claimed, but in a low voice. The way he tried to keep his voice down made Xie Yilu feel like they were genuinely engaged in a taboo act, but the more he felt like this, the more aroused he became.

In his mind, Xie Yilu wanted to pin Liao Jixiang down on the dew-laden grassfield. But when the moment truly arrived, he was gentle and slow, placing Liao Jixiang properly on the dry sandy ground. Then, facing him, Xie Yilu sat down bashfully, like they were newlyweds.

Liao Jixiang couldn’t bear to be stared at like that, his face flushed with a gorgeous red out of embarrassment. “I’m going back…” as he said so, he tried to get up, but was pushed back down by Xie Yilu. He glared at Xie Yilu fiercely, attempting to get up again, but still, Xie Yilu stopped him. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Liao Jixiang questioned Xie Yilu in a troubled tone, “What do you want?” He was so flustered that he was becoming incoherent. “I’m not a woman. What do you want?”

Xie Yilu remained silent and fixed his eyes on him quietly. He reached out, his finger hooked the collar of his garment, and slowly pulled it down. Because his action was slow, Liao Jixiang was unguarded. Not until something, something tiny and of a pale pink colour, was revealed from the narrow gap between the tied fabrics, did Liao Jixiang remember to cover it up.

Acting unexpectedly, Xie Yilu suddenly tore open the other side of his collar, revealing half of his shoulder in an instant. Under the verdant green shade of the trees, Liao Jixiang appeared glaringly white. “Snap” was the sound Liao Jixiang slapped Xie Yilu.

A flock of birds departed from the treetops, fluttering their wings and leaving a few leaves to fall. Xie Yilu covered his face.

“I’ll kill you when we get back!” Liao Jixiang dropped a threat, but judging by his red eyes, nose, and mouth, he was clearly frightened by Xie Yilu’s despicable teasing. Liao Jixiang anxiously fixed his collar on the left side, and if one looked closely, he would notice that even Liao Jixiang’s fingers were trembling visibly.

Xie Yilu didn’t retreat; instead, he became even bolder. Taking advantage of this opportunity, his large hand swiftly slipped under Liao Jixiang’s right collar, blatantly taking the tiny nipple between his ring finger and little finger.

Liao Jixiang let out a scream. He let go of his collar, his hands now clasping Xie Yilu’s wrist with a layer of fabric in between, as if he were grabbing some fierce and unruly beast. Through the fabric. The words out of his mouth were not of a scolding nature, but more like sweet whispers when a couple flirted, “If… If we’re seen by someone…”

“No one’s here!” Xie Yilu clamped Liao Jixiang’s armpit. Using what he had learned from Zheng Xian’s banquet the day before, he frantically kneaded and slowly rubbed against that innocent chest.

Liao Jixiang softly moaned incessantly. Moaning as he did, he didn’t let go of his hands clutching onto Xie Yilu’s wrist. After speechlessly enduring this for a while, he eventually succumbed completely and begged, “Chunchu… stop… stop rubbing it!”

“Your nipples are hard…” Xie Yilu poured even more oil on the fire.

Liao Jixiang couldn’t withstand the word “nipples” in his ears. As soon as he heard it, his whole body felt like it had been scalded by boiling water, trembling and shaking uncontrollably, pitifully producing slippery beads of sweat.