Having spent so many years on the battlefield, this was the first time Xiao Yanshi had felt so helpless. It was not that he had never interacted with women before, but he had never encountered anyone who would throw themselves at him so aggressively.
The women in the Flower House were experts at wordplay; their every word, action, and even a simple lift of a finger could be incredibly soul-stirring. As a novice in such matters, Xiao Yanshi had no way to cope.
He had managed to open a crack in the window, but before he had the chance to jump out, he was pulled back onto the bed by the woman in just a few movements.
They called these places “soft beds of comfort” (a tender trap), and indeed, even the simplest bed was designed to cater to human desires. Unlike the hard, uncomfortable tents in the military camp, this mattress was perfectly firm yet soft. The moment he lay down, his bones felt like they were melting. Before Xiao Yanshi could even sit up, he felt a soft, boneless body pressing against him.
It is often the case that those who are ignorant of such things are most easily overwhelmed by those who are experienced.
Xiao Yanshi waved his hands wildly, finding nowhere to gain leverage, yet he dared not let his hands land on the woman. On the other hand, seeing Xiao Yanshi’s clumsy and flustered state, the woman laughed wantonly, as if she had discovered a novel plaything. A pair of soft, boneless hands rested on his chest, gently rubbing it. “Young Master, why must you push me away so coldly?”
“This is supposed to be the ultimate human pleasure. Wouldn’t it be even more delightful if it were mutual?”
Delightful?
Xiao Yanshi felt entirely uncomfortable in his own skin. If it had been a man pressed against him, he would have thrown the person off long ago, but it happened to be a woman. Even worse, he gradually realized that due to the pushing and pulling, the drug within him was circulating even more aggressively.
What he did not know was that the woman had just burned an aphrodisiac in the small incense burner. The combination of the two drugs burned his consciousness until it was increasingly hazy. The woman clinging to his chest slowly began to merge with the face that had been haunting his thoughts lately.
Seeing the face that had obsessed him for days, Xiao Yanshi felt joy, yet he was also somewhat fearful. The drug had blurred his consciousness, but in doing so, it constantly magnified the hidden darkness within his heart. At this moment, Xiao Yanshi had to admit that he had harbored such thoughts about that person all along.
“Yanshi…” The voice seemed to come from very far away. But when Xiao Yanshi looked closely, he accidentally met the gaze of the person on top of him. His heart pounded—a feeling of uncontrollable heartbeats something Xiao Yanshi was experiencing for the first time.
Xiao Yanshi could not help but drown in it, and the distance between the two grew smaller and smaller.
However, the woman on him did not know that Xiao Yanshi was actually seeing someone else in her place. Already feeling amorous, she only felt that this handsome man finally wasn’t rejecting her as much. Feeling joyful, her actions inevitably became more brazen. Her slender fingers brushed against Xiao Yanshi’s cheek, then slowly slid down, eventually falling to the side of his neck.
But she never expected that this very gesture would cause Xiao Yanshi to wake up with a jolt.
The face before him suddenly vanished. The woman’s features were flower-like but utterly unfamiliar. Subconsciously, he pushed her away with all his might.
The woman had not expected that the man who had been obediently letting her have her way moments ago would suddenly and violently shove her to the floor. She couldn’t help but cry out in pain. Hearing that sweet, cloying voice, Xiao Yanshi quickly sat up.
Fumbling blindly, he raised a fist and smashed the wooden frame of the bed, then pulled out a sharp splinter and slashed it fiercely across his own wrist.
Beads of blood rolled down instantly.
His sanity recovered slightly. But it was far from enough; he was nearing a state of total collapse, and the burning sensation inside threatened to sweep away his remaining reason.
The woman was terrified by his near-self-mutilating behavior. Xiao Yanshi’s head felt as if it were splitting. “Stop screaming!”
Clutching her bruised arm, the woman watched Xiao Yanshi struggle against his own instincts. Finally, she could not help but advise, “Young Master, this won’t work… The drug you’ve been given is called ‘Extreme Bliss.’ It cannot be undone without intimate relations. If you keep holding back like this, within half an hour, you will either die of exhaustion or be permanently broken!”
“…Go out now and find someone from the Pingbei Marquis Estate to come here.”
Although he didn’t know if this woman could succeed, Xiao Yanshi had no choice but to pin his only hope on her. The distance to the Pingbei Marquis Estate was not far. As long as she arrived safely and delivered the message to his brother, he believed his brother would find a way to save him.
Seeing Xiao Yanshi so resistant to intimacy, the woman knew it was impossible to share a night of passion with him today. She climbed up from the floor and tried to open the door.
Indeed, it could not be opened from the inside.
She pressed against the door crack and shouted outside, but strangely, no one came to help. After thinking for a moment, she had no choice but to try climbing out the window, following Xiao Yanshi’s original plan. But when she went to open the window, she discovered that it had been sealed from the outside at some point.
“Young Master, who exactly have you offended…” This was no attempt to help someone, but a clear effort to force someone to their death.
The woman tried opening the other windows in desperation, but as expected, they had all been sealed shut.
Xiao Yanshi’s consciousness was gradually fading. Relying on pain alone was no longer effective, so he had to keep cutting deeper wounds into his arms. As the wounds deepened, the room—besides the scent of incense—became permeated with a thick, heavy smell of blood. If not for the fact that women in the Flower House took medication in advance, they would have already collapsed into a heap, for the woman knew she lacked Xiao Yanshi’s stubborn willpower.
“Young Master, you cannot go on like this… You are losing too much blood. You will pass out from blood loss sooner or later. If no one comes to save you, won’t you lose your life here?”
By now, Xiao Yanshi’s hearing was beginning to blur. With no other choice, the woman soaked a cloth in cold tea and continuously patted it against his face.
Xiao Yanshi’s body slowly slumped, curling up on the floor. He clenched his fingers tightly, his nails piercing his palms until they were dripping with blood.
The woman ran back to pound on the door. Just as she was about to lose all hope, the door was suddenly pushed from the outside.
“Help!” the woman cried, hammering the door with all her might.
The person outside paused, and after some rustling, the door swung open.
The woman felt as if she had been granted a reprieve. “Save him, quickly! He’s going to die from blood loss!”
The person who appeared had a pitted, scarred face, though his clothing was decent. The woman pulled on him, pointing to Xiao Yanshi on the floor. “He said he’s from the Pingbei Marquis Estate!”
If a son of a noble family died in a brothel—and died right under her nose—she knew her life was likely over.
Before her words had fully faded, the person stepped to Xiao Yanshi’s side and pulled him up.
“Young Master Xiao!”
Hearing this, the woman felt as if she had fallen into a frozen abyss. “Y-Young Master?”
It’s over!