Chapter 2: When Served too Kindly
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Xu Ziming, with 43 years of age lined on his face, didn't trust this cut-sleeve in the slightest. He was so blaringly suspicious, that he'd just had to bite. However, as they waited for his other guests to arrive, a table of wine and goodies cooked with sexiness before them, and Wu Yang forced to sit across from him, Xu Ziming decided to see if he could get to the bottom of this.
"So, 'Zihong-ge' (older brother Zihong), what's your real name?"
Wu Yang blushed in excitement at the intrusive question, "My name is Yu Wang" He gave him a flirtatious look, pronouncing it like yùwàng (desire).
Xu Zihong wrinkled his nose, indeed, it's best to just get to the bottom of this.
"You didn't break into my house and lie to all my guards, because you fell in love." It was a statement, no matter what Wu Yang said, it would seem like a pathetic excuse in comparison. Seeing Wu Yang look down in silence, Xu Ziming turned to his bowl of wine, swirling it, as he watched it with objective fascination. Was this man a spy? A distraction? No, perhaps this man...was he an assassin? He looked at the trembling form before him, nope, definitely not an assassin. But still too smart and odd to not be suspicious. He finally stopped swirling his wine to glare at Wu Yang derisively. "What did you really come looking for me for?" He let out his aura, an aura that could make the strongest man speak, and Xu Zilong had done well to sharpen it to perfection, with plenty of practice dummies.
Wu Yang was no exception, and the stare immediately caused him to panic and begin spewing out nonsense. "So, you see, I actually came here, because Li Aiguo thought you looked suspicious about the recent deal made with Tu Minsu, and he wanted me to check it out personally...."
Xu Zilong grinned at this, so he was right, a spy...wait. this Yu Wang guy admitted his real intentions too easily, plus if Li Aiguo really was interested in his business, which he'd shown no signs of as of late, then he'd send over a woman, not some rando pretty boy. Was this kid playing with him?!
"That's not right!" Xu Zilong interrupted the man's gibberish. He let loose his aura in full force, this time with traces of killing intent, causing Wu Yang to shrink back completely in his seat. He immediately shrieked, covering his head and face to protect himself from the killing intent directed at him from the other side of the table.
"Actually, I just saw you on Jiasong bridge, and I liked your looks so bad, I couldn't hold myself back! I ran away from my hometown brothel for you!" He began to cry for real, pathetically. "And I actually have people after me who want to kill me, and I've been living off the streets, traveling for days now, and I just wanted to meet you for real, in person, and since my life is forfeit anyway, I decided to just go all the way, and see your room too! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Boohohhoohohooo!"
Ignoring the ugly crying, this man was completely being real with him. He could see the truth in the man's eyes and actions. This was too strange.
As for Wu Yang, he really was simply telling the truth, except the love part, so the only thing he had to act was the crying, which surprisingly isn't hard if you are facing a tirade of killing intent.
However, at this moment, Tu Minsu realized it would be a great time to join the party, and following right behind him, were the two other people Xu Zilong had invited. Wang Yu immediately stood up to greet them all appropriately and used the chance when Xu Zilong was distracted, to sit back down right next to him.
While waiting for the ladies to arrive, his business pals from the government office, immediately gestured over to Wu Yang's form which was sitting suspiciously close to Xu Zilong's own, asking for an explanation. Without giving Xu Zilong a chance to explain, Wu Yang immediately cut in. "I'm pursuing him!"
Xu Zilong could immediately feel the pressure of 3 mens' stares now pressed onto him in innocuous confusion. Luckily, at this moment, the ladies joined them, and the men were immediately distracted.
Should he just throw this man out? He had to meet with these men here in order to make plans to take down Li Aiguo, and just brought along Wu Yang because he thought it would be fun, but now he was regretting it. Should he just kill him? If the man was dead, maybe his backer would come out, but there wasn't good chance, the man was just a good actor and really came from some no name kind of brothel. With those looks, he could definitely pass for a male prostitute, especially with the red robes he wore, whose slots left little to the imagination. But if that were the case, it was boring, so it would be best to kick him back onto the streets now that the excitement at seeing a new object had worn off.
Wu Yang sipped a bowl of wine, but a little bit dribbled down his lips and noticing Xu Zilong's sharp stare, he blinked at him seductively, licking his lips clean, to lean toward the man's right ear. "Just tonight, and I'll be out of your life, just one night," a pale hand settled itself lightly onto the back of his own. It was small, delicate, but the fingers were long and elegant. "Please." The man's beautiful eyes, like those of a lotus petal, looked up at him, pleading for a chance. This expression, he'd never seen it on anyone but a broken prostitute before. And without thinking, he suddenly felt his head lower, as he sought to comfort those trembling lips. The man responded well, drinking him up thirstily, as if Xu Zilong was his whole world in that moment, his hands, lifted up to hold either side of Xu Zilong's face, as if to keep him from escaping the kiss. However, Xu Zilong quickly caught himself, and grabbing the thin wrists that encircled his face, broke their act of passion as he laid the man's hands back down. He decisively turned away from Wu Yang and toward the other men at the table.
Instead of being disappointed by the man's halt to their kiss, Wu Yang had an expression of happiness plastered all over his face at just receiving it, despite his best efforts to hide it.
As Xu Zilong continued to speak with his men about their plots of taking over the palace, Wu Yang had busied himself with massaging Xu Zilong's shoulders, not missing the chance to pull back his robes to kiss his exquisite neck and collarbone gently. It had been a long time since Wu Yang had had the chance to enjoy such a nice body, and he was rather enjoying his task, not forgetting to massage all the way down the man's back, as he didn't neglect to feel up the man's muscular frame.
However, just as he was working his way back up to the man's ear with another round of kissing, he suddenly felt a hand clamp his head in place. Unable to escape, he looked around to see the entire of scene of plotting men had turned to that of one of debauchery and realized that the two of them were soon going to depart on the same journey.
He felt himself pulled into a kiss, but this time it was more deliberate, he let the larger man take charge, and curled his back in pleasure, his body molding itself into the older man's embrace, as Xu Zilong invaded the inner chambers of his mouth ruthlessly.
The kiss lasted so long, that they both separated breathless, looking passionately into each other's eyes.
Xu Zilong himself couldn't believe how wonderful the mouth he'd just tasted was and before he'd had a chance to fully catch his breath, he could feel himself leaning in for another bite of the delicious feast laid out before him, when he suddenly felt a cold hand press against his chest. Wu Yang looked at him, his eyes glazed over with lust, as he leaned in to whisper, his breath hot and humid against Xu Zilong's ear. "Shall we get a bed?"
Having been feeling this man's lips, not only on his own, but all over his neck and shoulder earlier, this was the last thread holding Xu Zilong's sanity, and it broke happily. He swept the young man off his feet, carrying him in a princess carry all the way to a room down the hall, where he threw the man onto a well-cushioned bed, barely remembering to close the door as he leapt onto the bed after him. Wu Yang let him have his way without complaint, sprawling himself onto the bed in a way that looked as if it were begging for someone to take a bite out of it, his legs played wide and bent, one arm up, the other lying beneath his navel, as if hinting at further exploration. Xu Zilong didn't hesitate to take in the pretty scene, before he leapt onto him, tearing off the fragile clothes of the man without restraint, to reveal a pale, beautiful chest and a thin waist, without a hint of fat or muscle, it was lean and beautiful. Absolutely delectable, he began to kiss the man's chest, why was it so soft? He nibbled on his nipples, feeling the body below him groan in pleasure and he looked up to see Wu Yang barely holding on to his sanity, his face flushed red with pleasure, his eyes merely slits, completely focused on the man ravaging his chest. "Xu Zilong..." he whined, his voice slurring in lust, as he said the name with inexplicable pleasure, his hands reaching up to grip the man's sallow neck, feeling the hard, shapeliness of it, pulling himself up to grind his crotch against Xu Zilong's own in excitement. "More..."
Just at this moment, while Xu Zilong's lust reached an all-time high, a cold prick could be felt on the nape of his neck. He immediately reacted, releasing his power to blow Wu Yang backwards, so hard he crashed through the wall into the hallway beyond. However, it was already too late, he could feel the outline of the needle pierced inside him, pristinely severing his carotid artery. There was no doubt. An assassination, a perfectly planned one to boot, that started with a circumstantial meeting and ended with him feeling up his neck with kisses, as he searched for the perfect location to place the needle. How had he fallen to such a ploy? A honey trap was about as obvious as they come, and yet, here he was, falling for the oldest trick in the book. No, it was because of who they hired. What kind of assassin meets his target without a plan, only an objective? It was obvious that the man had been making up stuff from the start. And perhaps the glaring obviousness of the whole thing was the reason such an intelligent man like himself had fallen for it so easily. However, that assassin wasn't an idiot either, he could now see it. The man had stood up from the previous hit, without any sign of damage, and was now standing in the open doorway, having found a long black cloak to cover his top half, his eyes were staring back from the darkness at Xu Zilong. No longer innocent and clever, like he'd seen before, but now that his target was stepping towards death's door, they had revealed their true selves, eyes that belied a devious nature, born of cruelty, an eye that could make you see right into pit of oblivion itself. This wasn't a man, it couldn't be, no man should be able to carry that much malice, it must be an apathetic monster! He could feel dark, evil energy permeate from its shadowy form, indiscernible in the darkness of the doorframe, his cloak bellowed out, like moving shadows from his upright body, as the window slammed open to let a cold gust of wind blow within.
Then the illusion was over, and as Xu Zilong felt death knocking, he saw Wu Yang's form turn back to normal, as the man came out of the shadows of the hallway to approach him, revealing a blade that would finish the job. However, at this, Xu Zilong suddenly smiled, causing Wu Yang to hesitate, and then, as if a fearful understanding hit, plunged his thin shortsword forward ruthlessly, as fast as he could manage, but it was already too late, and Xu Zilong's form completely dissolved before the bade could make contact, disappearing into thin air.
***
Far away, a man sitting on a throne in the shape of a skeletal dragon, suddenly coughed, blood spewing out from his mouth, as he felt a piece of his divine soul get damaged, dying as it fled back to him.
Eyes as red as the blood that he'd just hurled, glowed in anger, as his lip curled back in derision. "Who is this Yu Wang? He dares!" Before he was interrupted again by another hurling of blood.
***
Wu Yang inspected the air that Xu Zilong had just occupied moments before, only his clothes were left behind, making Wu Yang wonder where in the world a completely bared Xu Zilong was running about. However, the way he disappeared didn't really remind Wu Yang of any teleport talismans or skills he knew of, so he shrugged it off, realizing it was a waste of mental energy and went to finish his job, picking up Xu Zilong's clothes. People at the brothel who'd immediately wondered if something was wrong when the large crash had echoed around from the top, called guards to walk up the stairs to check out the scene, only to find a large hole in the wall, an open window, and a limp Xu Zilong laying face-up on the bed, his visage twisted in rage, with an obvious sword wound, stabbed through his chest.
Left behind in the hand of the deceased was a beautifully painted card, with Xu Zilong's portrait laid across it.
"The Danqing Killer has struck again!" The cry came from a young woman curiously following from behind, her voice carrying across the brothel, causing chaos to ensue, as people of every station and class came to take a look at the forbidden scene.
All that night, people were once more regaled with tales of the Danqing Killer, all along the streets, and within the inns, and amongst the familys' dinners so that by morning, no man doubted that Xu Zilong was dead.
***
A beautiful song played clearly, cutting through the quiet of the night, as a lonely man, with thin lips, and jade white skin, with hair a midnight blue, and whose fingers, long and fine, traced a tune along the mellow strings of a guqin. It made a breathtaking image, as the man who's beauty transcended this world, slowly raised his head to greet the dark figure, standing in the shadows, listening to the lovely, yet sorrowful, song.
Seeing the invitation, the man readily stepped out from the shadows, a stark blaze of red immediately catching the eye, as a man, with eyes as wild as a lions, sauntered his way to the beauty's side. He came to stand before the guqin, his blazing amber eyes staring down at the ethereal man before him.
He reached down with his large, deeply tanned hand, to pull up one of those thin stark white ones away from the strings and toward his mouth, to grace a kiss upon those sculpted knuckles. "I can hear the people speaking, my dear Yangyang, you've done such a good job yet again, how wonderful, isn't it?"
And so the day ended, and Wu Yang's torment once more began.