Thousand Autumns

Shen Qiao went to step back, but the grip on his waist tightened, heaven and earth unsuspended, in the next moment he was pushed onto the stone wall to the side.

Yan Wushi of course gave him no chance to hesitate, their two bodies were pressed tightly against each other, their shadows stretched on the ground were almost one, Shen Qiao didn’t realize what was happening before his legs were forced apart by the other, a single leg propped solidly in between, refusing to let him budge.

Shen Qiao became stupid, he suddenly felt he had been a little impulsive. But it was too late, the other shut him up with his lips and tongue, swallowing all of his sounds.

These ruthless gestures when Yan Wushi enacted them could really make people blush, it was as if he was tasting a premium meal, first a sweeping storm-through, establishing his total claim, then his movements slowed, chewing his food thoroughly, deepening his appreciation of the essence of this meal.

Compared to Shen Qiao, Yan Wushi without a doubt had more experience, but on account of his thousand sailings, he was able to strategize each step, plan meticulously, ultimately getting Shen Qiao to deposit himself at his doorstep, to be able to have this exquisite meal wholly belong to himself, the taste was even more worth savouring.

He pried open Shen Qiao’s mouth, one hand gripping the other’s chin, his tongue prodding around to his content, after the other’s initial stupidity, Shen Qiao recovered enough to start learning his tongue’s trajectory, trying to mimic it clumsily, Yan Wushi didn’t allow him any chance to demonstrate his learning, instead he maliciously and resolutely withdrew, biting his chin, then sucked and licked slowly his way downward.

His mouth was busy, and so were his hands, the hand that had pinned Shen Qiao’s wrist to the wall, its thumb and forefinger traced small circles, playful, unable to tear itself away.

Shen Qiao’s hand was very sculpted from his martial arts practice, but it was not hard on the hands, instead it was like a sheep-fat jade figure, smooth and delicate, compared to the jade equivalent it had several parts more warmth and life, it was truly an unattainable, priceless treasure.

Yan Wushi’s hand slipped inside a wide sleeve, slowly making its way up, he grasped the other’s elbow, his other hand made itself known groping Shen Qiao’s waist, his clothes remained immaculate in face of these unspeakable actions, Shen Qiao as someone who had never experienced these things, from this teasing had been rendered a puddle, his face fully flushed, his eyes misty.

“Do you know what I regret the most right now?” Yan Wushi said abruptly.

Shen Qiao looked at him in confusion, his thoughts were muddled as if turned into slurry by some unseen hand, his eyes revealed his disorientation, his hair was rumpled, he looked like a harmless and naïve small creature, waiting for a bad person to decisively ravage.

Yan Wushi: “If I had known, I would have bought this entire row of houses.”

What did buying houses and regret have to do with each other?

Shen Qiao turned this thought dazedly in his mind, the sensation of his throat being enclosed in a mouth and sucked on, he wanted to resist but was too weak, he raised his hands but was only able to put them on the other’s shoulders, it looked more like invitation than refusal.

Yan Wushi chuckled softly, he’d seen many people naïve in their affections, but there had been no one before like Shen Qiao, who could affect him, make him feel fondness from the bottom of his heart.

If only he could crush the other into his embrace, keep him by his side, carefully settle him there, somewhere no one else could see, for his eyes alone.

And yet Shen Qiao did not have this weak of an existence, he was someone who could stand as an equal to martial artists at their pinnacle, a gentle exterior and inner steel, in his marrow was a fierce will that would not stand down in the face of cruelty or punishment or ravaging storm, he walked his own Daoist path, willing to press forward without looking back.

Yan Wushi did not align with this kind of Daoist path, in the previous decades of his life, towards this type of compassion and kindness, not only was it beneath his regard, he was more than happy to throw a rock in after it down the well, but this attitude somehow met a wall when it came to Shen Qiao, only for Shen Qiao was he willing to make way, even if it was something he didn’t look well upon, even if he didn’t favour it.

His bottom line, he was willing to make an exception for this person.

“Nn, there’s someone…”

Shen Qiao’s hearing was exceptional, he had heard the slight footsteps carried over from the streets, it was still far away, but it made him come to his senses a little, he extended a hand and pushed with a fair bit of force, from his mouth escaped a sound that was akin to a moan, only hearing himself did he realize his voice had changed, and was shocked.

Yan Wushi grunted in assent, but had no semblance of holding back in the slightest, when he decided to use ten thousand parts patience to tease a person, then the person he was teasing could only sink helplessly.

Nevermind Shen Qiao this kind of naive Daoist.

Yan Wushi’s superb skill quickly made Shen Qiao almost forget about those footsteps.

Almost.

After a moment, he seized one of the other’s hands, his face red: “In broad daylight…”

Yan Wushi: “In broad daylight, Shen-daozhang is taking advantage of me.”

Shen Qiao: “…”

Yan Wushi: “But I resisted on fear of death, fought back with everything I could, going back on the offensive, I made Shen-daozhang this kind of lecher give himself up without a fight.”

He really snatched Shen Qiao’s two hands and twisted them behind his back: “I didn’t expect Shen-daozhang with his proper appearance and virtuous reputation to secretly be a person that loses all self-control when he sees anyone beautiful.”

Shen Qiao: “…”

On the one hand he was shocked by this stunning reversal of black and white in his words, he didn’t think in this world there could be anyone so thick-skinned, on the other hand his thinking ability had been mostly thrown out the window by the other’s wandering, skilled hands.

The part that was left, naturally was no match for Yan-zongzhu.

The footsteps got closer, a young man in a short robe like he was just getting off from work, carrying a xianbing he had just bought at the street corner, was about to take a shortcut through here, he didn’t expect there to be others beside him in this alley, they met each other abruptly.

To be precise, most of Shen Qiao’s body, including his face, was blocked from view by Yan Wushi, only Yan Wushi raised his head from the crook of Shen Qiao’s neck, very assuredly, pleased with himself he turned his head and gave the other a look.

The man yelped, his first thought was actually not: these two Daoists are doing such filthy things in broad daylight, but: his eyes are terrifying!

That piercing gaze shocked the other into backing away three steps, no time to say anything before he turned and ran.

Yan Wushi turned back to Shen Qiao and said: “Look, I’ve subdued the enemy without a fight.”

Shen Qiao: “…”

It wasn’t that he didn’t have anything to say, but that he couldn’t.

Yan Wushi also felt that this location was not convenient, although doing it exposed to the sky and ground had its own illicit flavour, he couldn’t just continue against a wall.

He picked up Shen Qiao horizontally in his arms, his feet stepping off the ground, drifting up, he moved along people’s rooftops as if it were flat ground, towards the nearest inn.

The inn’s owner had been anxious recently, due to Lord Shixing’s revolt, the official routes were all used to ship supplies and rations, the peripheral routes were also a bit unsafe, the merchants in town doing business were fewer in number compared to other years, all this resulting in this very average inn being even quieter than usual.

When Yan Wushi entered with Shen Qiao, the owner was standing at the door with his arms folded, thinking hard.

Suddenly like a gust of wind, before he could react, he heard the worker standing behind him express surprise: “Are you two langjun looking to stay, this humble inn has excellent rooms, is the langjun in your arms ill, do you want this one to help call a doctor…”

The worker’s ramblings was cut off by Yan Wushi: “Where are the rooms?”

The inn’s owner finally caught up, rushed over and said: “On the second floor, all four rooms are available, take your pick, the price is a bit higher, a night is a hundred and fifty…”

Saying this he felt a bit guilty, this inn was not a large one, a room at a similar inn would not cost so much.

But before he had finished speaking, a weight fell onto his chest, the owner caught it, lowering his head, he saw that it was a large piece of silver, extremely hefty.

This was enough to stay for half a month!

The owner raised his head in delight, but the other had already disappeared to the second floor with the person in his arms.

The worker leaned over to ask: “Should I still go find a doctor?”

The owner hesitated a moment: “They didn’t ask for one, let’s not interfere, have the hot water prepared, the dishes prepared in advance too, when the guests request it, it’ll be ready!”

Yan Wushi had carried Shen Qiao into a room, the interior was indeed more spacious than a regular room, also it had been cleaned meticulously, even the bed was larger than the standard inn bed, the bedspread was soft, there was also the faint aroma of sandalwood, they had not cut corners here, no wonder the price was not cheap.

During this commotion, Shen Qiao had recovered a bit, he pressed a hand to Yan Wushi’s chest and jumped down, took two steps back, he faltered: “As I see it, let’s just leave it…”

Yan Wushi, a cold laugh: “You kissed me, now you’re going to abandon me after toying with me?”

Shen Qiao: “…”

This wasn’t quite the context for that phrase.

He settled his nerves: “It’s still light outside…”

Yan Wushi raised an eyebrow: “You mean to say when it’s dark we can proceed?”

Shen Qiao was flushed red, luckily he hadn’t noticed that his robes were slightly open, and that on his collarbone he had gained two red marks.

Half-exposed, half-covered, the story was just starting, but already he appeared endlessly enticing.

There was one type of person, even a smile, a blush, could make hearts flutter, killing self-restraint.

Although Yan Wushi had not reached the stage of no self-restraint, he was willing to see where desire led, willing to contentedly admire this beauty, letting his eyes trail after every frown and every smile.

Shen Qiao also didn’t know back there how he could have kissed the other with no reservation, even if he had thought about it a hundred a thousand times before, he was a man of restraint, if it was any other time he wouldn’t have been able to do it, now that Yan Wushi was pushing forward, he had the semblance of retreating back into his shell.

Of course Yan Wushi wouldn’t let him, he reached out to grab the other’s hand, Shen Qiao instinctively blocked it, they exchanged several moves, Yan Wushi after making several feints grabbed hold of his belt, pulled him directly into his arms, a tug, and the belt fell to the floor, he had him pressed against the table, looking down from above.

What followed was candlelight and curtain, bedsheets turned like red waves.

“Wha-what’s happening on the second floor?” The worker heard several bangs and clashes, followed swiftly by silence again. “When the two of them came in, wasn’t one of them being carried, how come now they’re fighting, should we go up to see? I don’t want someone to die!”

The owner had his eyes on his abacus, he didn’t even raise his head: “Gods fighting, don’t interfere!”

What gods fighting, I say it’s bedfighting! The worker muttered.