“I want… to possess you.”
The mist in the hot spring pool was dense, and the warm breeze was intoxicating.
Xie Linchuan gazed deeply at Qin Li through the rising steam, as if trying to see through to the man’s very soul. In his past life, he never truly understood what was going on in Qin Li’s mind. Besides his refusal to spend energy on understanding him, it was also a classic case of being too close to the situation to see it clearly.
Now, having stepped out of that web of hate and desire to look back at the past, he realized that Qin Li was actually quite easy to read.
When his temper flared, he was as stubborn as a donkey. He was as fierce and domineering as a tiger, and as suspicious and alert as a wolf. From a distance, he appeared incredibly violent and terrifying. But if you peeled back the layers, he was just a little wolf dog who could feel pain, get shy, protect his food, and enjoyed being stroked the right way.
He just happened to have sharp teeth and a foul mouth.
Xie Linchuan let out a sudden laugh. How could someone be like a donkey, a tiger, a wolf, and a dog all at once? He was almost amused by this strange hybrid creature until the image of the real Qin Li gradually overlaid the thought.
“What are you laughing at? You dare to get handsy with me? Are you tired of living?”
Qin Li stared at him with a look of displeasure. For some reason, seeing the other man’s eternally composed and effortless demeanor made him extremely irritated. That night, he had deliberately insulted Xie Linchuan by suggesting he was familiar with serving men. It had been a casual remark, but looking at him now, could he actually be experienced?
At the thought that this man might have spent romantic time with Li Xuehong and was now using those same methods on him, Qin Li’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously. His brow lowered, and a surge of irritation filled his chest. He was already starting to regret his promise to Li Xuehong not to kill him.
Xie Linchuan gave a light chuckle and asked, “May I ask, Your Majesty, how am I supposed to serve you without getting handsy?”
Seeing his compliance, Qin Li’s brows slowly rose. He casually tossed his wine cup back onto the tray and turned around to lean against the white jade wall of the pool. He commanded, “Come here. Knead my shoulders.”
As he turned, water droplets splashed across Qin Li’s broad back, creating a slick, shimmering sheen before rolling down his sides. The curve of his shoulder blades rose and fell like mountain ridges.
Xie Linchuan moved behind Qin Li, gently brushed aside his curly silver hair, and placed both hands on the man’s shoulders. The skin beneath his palms was scalding hot, flushed with a faint crimson hue, and the muscles were firm and elastic. As he applied pressure to knead them, the slick flesh pressed solidly between his fingers, quickly leaving behind two pink finger marks.
Xie Linchuan’s familiarity with Qin Li’s back was even greater than Qin Li’s own. He knew where the old injuries were, which spots were often sore, and which areas would make him more sensitive if touched.
Under his massage, Qin Li felt so comfortable he was almost drowsy. His eyes narrowed lazily, and the corners of his mouth quirked up. “General Xie actually has this skill? Even in a brothel, ugh!”
He had opened his mouth to say some lewd words to provoke Xie Linchuan, but he was suddenly pressed on an acupoint that sent a wave of numbness through half his body. Qin Li opened his eyes in annoyance and twisted his head back to glare fiercely. “Do not play tricks!”
“If it is sore here, it means Your Majesty’s posture is incorrect during daily activities. You need to activate your muscles and bones to relax.”
Xie Linchuan replied neutrally. His movements were slow, but the rhythm was steady.
It was not that Qin Li could not handle the soreness, but rather that Xie Linchuan’s hands were unknowingly kneading further and further down. His palms felt as if they possessed some sort of seductive magic. Everywhere they touched felt tingly and itchy. Perhaps the water temperature was too high, but he felt a parched restlessness throughout his body.
“General Xie not only knows how to lead troops into battle, but also understands these things?” Qin Li let out a heavy breath of hot air, staring unblinkingly at the man’s profile.
“Those who practice martial arts are often injured. It is natural to need some understanding of this.” Xie Linchuan’s eyelashes were lowered as he focused seriously on the massage.
When such a remarkably handsome face was filled with gentleness and focus, it was hard not to be drawn in. Qin Li momentarily forgot the crude words he had intended to use. He only felt his throat go dry and his lips feel a bit itchy.
The two were pressed very close together. When Xie Linchuan spoke, the moist, warm air he breathed out brushed against Qin Li’s neck. With the slightest movement, Qin Li could feel the other’s hip bone and abdomen.
Qin Li’s eyes darkened. He suddenly grabbed Xie Linchuan’s arm, pulled him forcefully into his embrace, and pinned him against the pool wall. He caught both of Xie Linchuan’s wrists together, preventing him from moving.
Qin Li leaned over and gripped the man’s chin with one hand, forcing him to look up and meet his gaze. Although he forbade Xie Linchuan from getting handsy with him, he himself could do as he pleased. A dangerous, aggressive hunger swirled in his dark eyes, and his voice went hoarse. “General Xie, do you truly not know why I called you here?”
Of course I know. It is to sleep with me. A paper tiger through and through, still putting on an act, Xie Linchuan thought.
In his past life, he would have violently resisted the moment he was ambushed. Now, seeing through Qin Li’s fierce appearance but weak interior, he remained calm and composed, allowing the other to hold him.
“What does Your Majesty wish to do?” Xie Linchuan raised an eyebrow, meaningfully studying Qin Li’s deeply contoured, exotic, and handsome face.
For all he knew, the current Qin Li might still be a virgin, yet here he was playing the big bad wolf.
Qin Li narrowed his eyes and said in a low, husky voice, “I want… to possess you.”
From the very first moment he saw him, desire had taken root.
Back then, Xie Linchuan had been accused by Mei Ruoguang and other political enemies of harboring bandits and having traitorous intent after he criticized the presence of corrupt ministers. The old Emperor had issued several consecutive imperial edicts to strip him of his military power and have him brought back to the capital in custody. To humiliate him, they deliberately paraded his prisoner’s carriage through the streets of the capital.
The roadsides were packed with onlookers pointing and whispering at Xie Linchuan inside the cage. It was at that moment that a group of masked assassins arrived to hijack the prisoner, clashing with the soldiers. In the chaos, Xie Linchuan luckily managed to grab a blade and open the cage door.
He had intended to use the confusion to escape, but he saw the surrounding crowds falling into a panicked mess. A stray arrow flew toward him from an unknown direction. Xie Linchuan could have dodged it, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a civilian wearing a bamboo hat standing behind him.
Without a second thought, Xie Linchuan gave up on dodging and grabbed the person, rolling onto the ground to avoid the arrow. Immediately following that, three more arrows shot toward him in rapid succession. Xie Linchuan was forced to protect the person while awkwardly dodging. Because of this delay, he missed the best opportunity to escape and was surrounded by the arriving reinforcements.
Seeing that he could not escape, Xie Linchuan did not panic or blame others. Before being led away, he even remembered to pick up the bamboo hat from the ground and place it back on the person’s head. He did this because beneath that hat was a face with a terrifying scar. It was Qin Li himself, disguised to infiltrate the capital for intelligence.
At that time, Xie Linchuan was in prisoner’s clothes and covered in dust. Though he was trapped and in a desperate situation, his eyes were as bright as polished lacquer. Xie Linchuan had no idea that the passerby he had saved was the famous Prince of Yao, Qin Li, nor that he had sacrificed his last chance to escape for it.
Qin Li never imagined that Xie Linchuan would make such an unwise choice again when they met a second time after the fall of the imperial city. At that moment, he thought: a man like Xie Linchuan belongs with me.
The hot spring water was misty, mixed with a faint, crisp scent of wine, giving one a slight, floating sense of intoxication.
Qin Li leaned closer to Xie Linchuan, near enough to kiss him with a slight tilt of his head. His gaze lingered repeatedly on the man’s face and neck, as if considering where to start. In the eyes of a predator, food, territory, and things they desired must be conquered and possessed at all costs, held firmly in hand. Once you showed weakness, someone else would snatch them away. It was animal instinct.
He stared intently into Xie Linchuan’s eyes and waited patiently for a while, but was disappointed to find that Xie Linchuan had no further reaction. Those dark eyes simply gazed back at him quietly through the floating mist, thoughts unreadable.
Qin Li’s brow furrowed inch by inch.
The other man showed no anger, no endurance, no shock, and no resistance. Naturally, there was also no pleasure, no passion, no shyness, and no sweetness. Qin Li could barely discern any emotion from him at all. He was as calm as a bystander, watching the ruler of the world perform a one-man show of infatuation toward a captive official.
Xie Linchuan did not care about him; he did not even harbor hatred. He could cause a scene in the Heavenly Prison for a meal for Li Xuehong, and he could give up his reputation and dignity to enter the palace and serve as a lover to protect him. It was laughable that Qin Li despised Li Xuehong as despicable and incompetent, yet in Xie Linchuan’s heart, he was not even equal to Li Xuehong.
Realizing this, Qin Li felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, chilling his restless heart and body to the core. The slight romantic fantasy from a moment ago vanished instantly. He suddenly thought that if he had killed Li Xuehong back then, perhaps he would now be able to see Xie Linchuan’s eyes full of hatred, looking as if he wanted to kill him.
“Why are you not resisting?” Qin Li said with a somber face. “Where did the decisiveness you had when you attacked me that day go?”
Xie Linchuan shook his head and said, “Since I have promised Your Majesty, why would I go back on my word?”
Qin Li gave a cold snort. Right, Li Xuehong’s life was still in his hands. He let go of Xie Linchuan’s hands, slowly backed away, and leaned against the pool wall again.
Xie Linchuan’s compliance represented a form of submission. He should be happy about it. But for some reason, at this very moment, he only felt a hollow sense of disappointment in his heart.
Qin Li lost the interest to continue soaking in the spring. He stepped out of the pool, casually dried himself, and said coldly to Xie Linchuan, “General Xie served well tonight.”
He took two steps, then turned back. “In two days, I will send someone to escort you back to the Xie residence to see your family.”
Now it was Xie Linchuan’s turn to be surprised. He watched with confusion as Qin Li walked away faster and faster. He raised an eyebrow and fell into deep thought. He had mentally prepared himself for a fierce encounter with Qin Li in the spring; who would have thought Qin Li would abandon him and flee?
Was this still the domineering tyrant from his past life? Anyone who did not know better would think he was the one trying to force himself on Qin Li. Xie Linchuan felt quite amused.
Could it be that his guess was right, and Qin Li was actually a pervert? Did he only find interest when the prey resisted, losing interest and finding it boring when they complied? If that were truly the case, it might not be a bad thing.
The hot spring water was still at a temperature that made one sweat slightly. Xie Linchuan found a wooden ladle and slowly scooped up the hot water, pouring it over himself scoop by scoop. In the massive hot spring pool, he was the only one left. He suddenly felt it was a bit too quiet and empty.