Upon learning that Puding had set out to wander the four directions, Pei Yaoguang unexpectedly felt a twinge of desolation within his heart. Having spent several months without teasing or tormenting him, he felt a persistent emptiness inside, as though something vital was missing.
He ordered his subordinates to bring Zhang Shu and Wu Huan into the grand hall.
Fixing his gaze steadily upon the two men, Pei Yaoguang stated instead: “Shave your hair off. Make it completely bald.”
Stunned by this directive, the two exchanged bewildered glances, utterly failing to comprehend why on earth they were being ordered to shave their heads into baldness. Could it be…
His fetishes were truly bizarre and eccentric to the extreme one moment he wanted people to lick his toes, and the next…
He was simply unfathomable.
With no alternative, the two men had no choice but to submit to his whims, not daring to utter a single redundant word.
Li Qing brought out a razor and shaved their hair clean, respectively.
Once finished, Li Qing inquired, “Does the Lord have any other instructions?”
Pei Yaoguang waved his hand.
Gathering up the fallen debris from the floor, Li Qing rapidly withdrew from the room.
Speaking in a commanding tone, Pei Yaoguang instructed them: “You are not permitted to obey my every word and command! You must resist! You must go against me!”
The two men stood there completely dumbfounded, though Wu Huan vaguely sensed something a moment later could it be that he wanted the two of them to imitate that monk…
Though the pair followed his instructions and acted accordingly, they still maintained an air of timidity, trembling with apprehension.
This failed to satisfy Pei Yaoguang in the slightest; it felt as though a louse was scratching at the roof of his heart, itching so intensely that it drove him mad!
Snatching up a porcelain tea cup, Pei Yaoguang hurled it violently onto the ground: “Get out, get out, get out! All of you, get out of my sight! A bunch of useless trash!”
A pack of good-for-nothings.
Once the two of them withdrew, Li Qing stepped back into the grand hall. Noticing his depressed and disgruntled expression, Li Qing guessed seven or eight parts of the truth and respectfully suggested, “Why doesn’t the Lord step outside to clear your mind and take a stroll? There aren’t any pressing domestic affairs these past few days anyway.”
Seating himself slowly, Pei Yaoguang threw a heavy punch against the table surface and massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingertips.
“There’s no need; I’ll be fine in a moment! Go tend to your own tasks.” His gaze gradually deepened, suffused with a trace of fierce ruthlessness.
Someday, he would definitely ensure that Puding could never be a monk ever again! He could only belong to himself alone he, and he alone, was Puding’s Buddha!
Night fell like ink.
Outside the temple, Xiaobai was roasting a wild chicken over an open flame. With a sizzle, beads of oil popped from the bird’s body.
“Monk, truly not going to have a bite? Just smelling the aroma makes me eager to taste it.”
Twirling his prayer beads while silently chanting Buddhist chants, Puding ignored his mischievous provocations.
A quarter of an hour later, Xiaobai tore off a piece of drumstick meat and waved it back and forth before Puding’s nose: “Smells good, doesn’t it? Have a whiff.”
Seeing him remain completely unmoved, Xiaobai took a deep, greedy sniff of the chicken leg with an expression of utter satisfaction.
“How did you become so mischievous? I’ve never seen you act like this before.”
In the past, he would never have engaged in such playful banter and joking with him.
“Suit yourself, more for me!” With that, Xiaobai tore off a massive slice of tender, juicy meat and crammed it straight into his mouth to swallow down.
Sucking on his fingertips, he looked far from finished.
Watching his satisfied expression, Puding smiled softly. As it turned out, he wasn’t quite as unapproachable as he seemed he was capable of smiling too!
Furthermore, when he smiled, he looked so breathtakingly gorgeous, resembling a holy and pure fairy maiden descending from the moon palace.
Catching a murky, covert gaze out of the corner of his eye, Xiaobai turned slightly and asked, “Is there something on my face?”
Why was Puding staring at him like that?
Abruptly reaching out with his fingertips, Puding gently brushed away a speck of oil stain lingering at the corner of Xiaobai’s mouth.
This single stroke of the hand instantly caused Xiaobai to stiffen in place. He actually wiped my mouth for me? No way, did I see that right?!
Noticing his bewildered expression, Puding asked curiously, “What is it?”
“Monk, what did you just do to me?”
“This poor monk merely noticed an oil stain at the corner of your mouth and wiped it away for you.”
“You… you look so upright and solemn, and you speak with such righteous words, yet your hands…”
Was it really that difficult to admit you harbor a little lustful desire?
Displaying a hint of displeasure, Xiaobai rose to his feet and walked over to the campfire, leaving nothing but his back facing him.
Puding felt completely at a loss, wondering what on earth he had said wrong.
“You seem somewhat unhappy?”
“It’s nothing. Since you don’t want to eat this roast chicken anyway, I’ll just enjoy it all by myself.”
Hearing those words left Puding even more baffled, feeling as though he were lost in the clouds and fog.
After a moment, he resumed pinching his prayer beads and silently chanting Buddhist chants.
Enduring for a moment, Xiaobai ultimately failed to hold back: “Stop chanting whatever Buddha you’re chanting while eating! Can’t you relax for once and maintain a relaxed state of mind? You’re not back at the Buddhist temple, so stop chattering on and on.”
The sensation was akin to having a fly buzzing incessantly beside one’s ear.
Annoying to the point of driving someone mad!
Hearing this, Puding ceased reciting aloud, shifting instead to reciting the Buddhist chants silently within his heart while continuously rolling the prayer beads in his hand.
Casting a sidelong glance at him, Xiaobai asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”
“This poor monk observes the noon-to-midnight fasting rule, so I am not hungry.”
Rolling his eyes at Puding, Xiaobai muttered inwardly: Don’t eat then, exactly as I wanted—enjoying all this delicious food all by myself is so liberating!
Within the span of a cup of tea, Xiaobai consumed the entire roast chicken, leaving behind barely a half.
Stuffed and satisfied, this sort of life could genuinely bring him profound contentment. In truth, he wasn’t a particularly ambitious person; he simply desired pure, straightforward revenge.
If not for those unexpected accidents in his life, he might well have lived the carefree, blissful life of a leisure prince.
Admiring flowers, practicing swords…
Stealing a sideways glance at Puding, he desperately wished he could tell him that he was none other than Xie Qingyi! Yet the words stopped at the tip of his tongue and were swallowed back down.
Oh well, better not to add to his burdens.
Seeming to sense his abnormality, Puding lifted his eyes to look at him: “What is it? You seem to have something on your mind?”
Hastily covering, Xiaobai replied, “If it’s inconvenient to speak of, you needn’t share. I know your background differs from ordinary people, and you’ve naturally suffered hardships unknown to common folk.”
Sighing with emotion, Xiaobai remarked, “Someone like you someone who lacks nothing at all yet still chooses to become a monk lives such an untrammeled and carefree life.”
Before long, he realized he had spoken out of turn, recalling that Puding’s situation differed fundamentally from that of a normal man!
Looking somewhat bashful, Puding rose to his feet and walked away.
Hurrying to keep pace, Xiaobai apologized, “Don’t be upset; I… I only spoke without thinking.”
“I wasn’t mocking you.”
“You’re still going on about it!”
Xiaobai prudently shut his mouth on the spot.
At midnight, the primordial Yang energy rose and flourished.
Xiaobai lay quietly upon the ground.
At that moment, he faintly sensed Puding tossing and turning, restless and agitated.
Opening one eye to squint through, he saw Puding resting a hand over his lower abdomen, and instantly comprehended what was happening.
Daring not make a sound, Xiaobai didn’t know what to say, fearing he might cause him embarrassment.
Yet Puding initiated the conversation first: “Xiaobai, wake up!”
“I’m, I’m awake!”
“I… I’m a bit scared. My root-tendon is congested with blood, and this is my first time…”
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared, it will pass once things calm down! Just clear your mind and don’t think about anything; empty your head.”
“It’s no use! It’s getting more and more uncomfortable!” he wheezed and gasped, “Could it suddenly burst open?”
Xiaobai burst into laughter, shaking uncontrollably all over: “What on earth are you imagining! Of course it won’t!” How could this monk utter such a ridiculous remark.
“Stop laughing, will you? I’ve lived this long, and it’s my first time!”
Pressing both hands tightly over his mouth, Xiaobai thought: Oh, right! He was castrated at the age of ten.
He had never experienced what it felt like for a normal man.
Puding began chanting Buddhist chants under his breath, yet no matter how many chants he recited, that bizarre sensation refused to subside.
So stifling!
A patch of cold, clear moonlight fell squarely across Puding’s face, making him resemble a deity who had just stirred with mortal romance.
“Stop chanting! Stop chanting! You look more and more distressed.”
“I… I’m scared…”
Grasping Puding’s arm, Xiaobai offered words of comfort: “I’m right here, don’t be afraid. Take a deep breath and relax.”
After a long while, Puding murmured softly: “Why hasn’t it returned to normal yet?”
“Perhaps because it’s your first time, so it’s lasting a bit longer.”
Turning his head sideways, Xiaobai asked bluntly, “What about you? Usually at times like this, about how long does it take for you to settle down?”
Xiaobai didn’t reply immediately, pausing a moment before answering, “I… usually handle it myself.”
Puding’s eyes widened to the size of copper bells while his fingertips trembled: “Y-Y-You… actually practice self-pleasure! Amitabha, what a grave sin, what a grave sin!”
“Monk, stop being so pedantic and narrow-minded! What man hasn’t practiced self-pleasure!”
“Yet you possess such a handsome and dazzling appearance—you shouldn’t engage in such a shameful behavior!”
Puckering his lips, Xiaobai retorted, “This is merely human nature! Only an unillumined person bound by rigid rules like you views it like a tiger or venomous snake, ignoring your own true heart!”
Trembling as he spoke, Xiaobai added, “Actually, you can try it out yourself; the discomfort will vanish immediately!”
“A grave sin! This poor monk is a man of religion how can I indulge in such conduct? How could I ever have the face to face the Buddha day after day?”
Scornfully scoffing, Xiaobai replied, “It doesn’t break the monastic precepts, so what on earth do you have to worry about?”
Filled with shame, Puding knitted his brow into a tight line: “Whether it breaks the precepts or not depends entirely on the arising of thoughts and intentions.”
Silence.
Turning his head away to gaze intently at him through the night, Xiaobai spoke in a hoarse register: “Monk, life-long restraint and life-long sobriety aren’t you exhausted?”
“You said you were scared just now how about I help you tug on it?”
Puding neither accepted nor refused.
That constituted silent consent!
Extending his hand slowly, Xiaobai parted the hem of his robe, his fingertips threading through his monk uniform.
Puding hurriedly stopped him: “Just keep it on the outside.”
Xiaobai complied, yet the moment his fingertips made contact, his hand shrank back instinctively this… how could this…
Closing his eyes tightly, Puding experienced an entirely different sensation a feeling he had never known before. He felt as though every single pore across his entire body was breathing in deeply, while his blood boiled and churned.
He truly had no face left to face the Buddha.
Ultimate desire intertwined with ultimate suppression.
Reaching out with a sudden push, he shoved Xiaobai away.
Xiaobai’s cheeks were already burning bright red with embarrassment.
The two of them exchanged no further words, lying down side by side in quiet stillness.
Gradually, Puding’s breathing grew steady and even.
After a long while, the other breathing grew calm and regulated as well.
Only, Xiaobai never imagined that just moments prior, a single hand of his hadn’t even been large enough to wrap around it completely!
It felt akin to grasping a rugged tree trunk.