Even stranger was that his body began to respond to the youth’s touch.
When the perpetrator finally released him, Xiao Biehe lay on the daybed, gasping for breath. “What did you do to me?” he managed to ask.
The youth knelt by the bed, stroking the beauty’s face. His sapphire-blue eyes locked onto Xiao Biehe’s, a gaze so soul-stirring it felt like a physical weight. “Well, Brother, how does it feel?”
Xiao Biehe dared not look into those eyes again; it was as if the boy truly possessed demonic arts specifically designed to bewitch the hearts of men. He closed his eyes once more.
Lu Guanyan volunteered the truth: “Since Brother knows who I am, how could you forget that the Wuyi people are masters of the Gu? I just placed a curse on you.”
Xiao Biehe was stunned. As he was pinned down, his eyelashes fluttered. He truly didn’t know what to do.
He had no idea that this submissive appearance looking as though he were made to be bullied only made him look more beautiful to the “little madman,” fueling his excitement. However, Lu Guanyan still knew his limits. No matter how much he burned with desire, he would force himself to hold back before completely losing control.
Lu Guanyan released him and helped him sit up. He leaned in, resting his chin on Xiao Biehe’s shoulder, his tone turning pitiful. “Brother, don’t kill me so soon, okay? I still want to play with you for a few more days.”
Xiao Biehe didn’t respond, unable to fathom what the youth truly wanted from him.
Lu Guanyan didn’t wait for an answer, nor did he seem upset. Having had his fill of acting aggrieved, he lifted his head. From miles away, the faint sound of fireworks began to echo.
“Today is New Year’s Eve,” Lu Guanyan said. “I’ve never celebrated it before. Brother, will you come out and wander the streets with me?”
Xiao Biehe realized he had never truly experienced a Liang New Year’s Eve either. “The two of us, it is not suitable for us to be seen,” he said.
He was thinking of the boy’s identity as a Prince of a rival nation. He didn’t know that ten days ago, Lu Guanyan had broken into the palace alone, nor did he know that the entire kingdom was currently hunting him. He simply spoke from his heart.
The youth didn’t seem worried at all. He produced a mask, one Xiao Biehe had once used, left behind in the wooden cabin. “It doesn’t matter. Put this on, and no one will recognize you.”
Xiao Biehe stared at the white mask for a moment. He realized there was likely nothing in this cabin that the youth hadn’t already made himself familiar with. “And you?” Xiao Biehe asked.
Lu Guanyan pulled out a black mask he had purchased a few days ago after discovering the beauty had one of his own. “I have one too! Brother, let’s go play!”
As the sun set, the sky filled with crimson clouds and the roar of firecrackers. Wearing their masks, the two left the peach blossom forest.
“Brother.” After just a few steps, the youth called out to him. Just as Xiao Biehe turned his head, the boy swept him up into his arms.
“Put me down,” Xiao Biehe demanded.
Lu Guanyan shook his head. “Brother’s legs have just recovered; you shouldn’t walk too much. Let me carry you this time.”
“I have a horse,” Xiao Biehe countered.
“Riding requires leg strength too,” Lu Guanyan insisted. “Besides, Brother is famous in Liang. Your horse is easily recognized; the mask would be pointless. We’ll ride mine.”
Xiao Biehe couldn’t win the argument. Ultimately, they shared one horse. He had noticed a strange glint in the Third Prince’s eyes and feared what else he might do if provoked.
He realized now that he had been wrong a man the world called a “madman” was indeed truly mad. But the world hadn’t gotten everything right about him either.
By the time they reached the bustling market, night had fallen. Fireworks of all shapes and sizes filled the sky. The roadside was lined with vendors selling lanterns, flower lamps, and various pastries.
Lu Guanyan was ecstatic, running back and forth, curious about everything and buying whatever caught his eye. Whenever he bought food, he would run back to let Xiao Biehe taste it first.
Xiao Biehe didn’t give him the cold shoulder. He tasted everything the youth brought and, despite his initial hesitation, even accepted the beautiful flower lantern the boy offered after Lu Guanyan started looking upset.
Beneath the mask, the youth’s exotic face broke into a triumphant grin.
However, after a while, Lu Guanyan seemed to lose interest. His mood dipped, and he returned to Xiao Biehe’s side with a drooping head. “Brother, why can they stay happy for so long? New Year’s Eve doesn’t seem all that fun.”
Xiao Biehe didn’t know either. “Perhaps because it is a day for families to reunite,” he mused. “They all have families.”
Lu Guanyan processed this, then looked up. “Can I become family with Brother?”
Once again, Xiao Biehe was stunned into silence. He didn’t even know how to phrase a rejection. “Why?”
Lu Guanyan smiled. “Because only Brother is willing to spend New Year’s Eve with me. I’ve never seen the sun or the moon, but Brother has watched them with me. Brother, I haven’t had a family since I was very small.”
He spoke casually, but when he saw Xiao Biehe fall into a silent daze perhaps thinking of his own sorrows he took the opportunity to grab the beauty’s hand. “Brother, let’s go release river lanterns! They say you can make wishes with them!”
He pulled Xiao Biehe toward the riverbank. It was incredibly crowded and noisy, the water already shimmering with thousands of floating lights.
On his lantern, Xiao Biehe wrote a prayer for the safety of the General’s Estate and set it adrift. Though Lu Guanyan had been the one who insisted on coming, his own lantern remained blank.
“Do you not have a wish?” Xiao Biehe found himself asking.
“I do,” Lu Guanyan replied. “But my wish is already right in front of me. Rather than writing it on a lantern, I’d rather just say it out loud.”
The wordless lantern drifted away, merging with the sea of lights. The youth smiled, his eyes curving. “I want to stay with Brother for a lifetime.”
As he said this, he could already imagine the expression beneath the beauty’s mask. Sure enough, he caught a slight flinch Xiao Biehe looked trapped between disbelief and difficulty. For a fleeting second, Lu Guanyan thought he saw a trace of sadness.
He decided he must have been mistaken. Or perhaps his words had simply displeased the beauty.
Lu Guanyan laughed and added, “Actually, never mind. I have nothing and can give Brother nothing. I would only bring you trouble. I belong in the gutter; I shouldn’t have such delusions about you. I’m sorry, Brother.”
Xiao Biehe sat quietly, saying nothing, watching the glowing paper lanterns.
Lu Guanyan stood up first. “Brother, I heard that the tallest building in Liang is called the Moon-Plucking Pavilion. Let’s go watch the fireworks from the top.”
Xiao Biehe simply rose and followed him. Lu Guanyan smiled again; his eyes, visible through the mask, looked brighter and cleaner than usual. “Thank you, Brother.”
As they were leaving, someone who recognized the specific mask Xiao Biehe used to wear and his uniquely elegant silhouette pushed through the crowd. “Lord Fengyue?”
At that cry, more citizens rushed over, blocking their path completely.
Even after Xiao Biehe had gained fame in the military, his life had never been easy. The General’s Estate was used to letting him fend for himself; they never gave him an allowance or new clothes. Even as he became known as the “Little War God,” the servants who once ignored him only began to respect him out of fear.
Yet, everyone forgot that from childhood to adulthood, the Estate had never given him a single coin. At thirteen, he learned to brew wine and write essays. Whenever he returned to the capital from the camp, he would trade his wine and writings for money in the market. “Lord Fengyue” was the name given to him by the scholars who bought his poems and wine.
Lu Guanyan feigned surprise. “Wow, Brother is so impressive. They’re all here to see you.”
“Weren’t we going to see fireworks?” Xiao Biehe said. “Let’s go.”
“Okay!” The youth laughed, then swept the beauty into his arms and used his internal lightness skills to fly over the crowd, landing at the very top of the Moon-Plucking Pavilion.
The pavilion had twenty-eight stories and stood three hundred feet high. From that height, the entire night view of the capital was spread out before them, and the fireworks below seemed small.
Lu Guanyan refused to let go of the man’s waist, keeping him pressed tightly against himself. He reached up and removed Xiao Biehe’s mask. “Brother, you are so beautiful more beautiful than the fireworks or the stars,” he said, his blue eyes beaming.
Xiao Biehe said nothing. He thought that since they were alone, he should perhaps return the gesture. As the thought occurred, Lu Guanyan took his hand and guided it to his own face.
Taking a soft breath, Xiao Biehe gripped the edge of the black mask and pulled it away. “You are also very good-looking,” he said.
The youth lit up. “Really?”
“Yes.”
The boy seemed exceptionally simple to please; a single compliment about his looks made him happy for a long time.
Still holding his “Brother,” Lu Guanyan reached for Xiao Biehe’s hair. He untied the ribbon, letting the beauty’s dark hair cascade down like a waterfall in the moonlight.
Xiao Biehe looked up to see a white jade hairpin in the youth’s hand. It was an expensive piece the boy had bought at a jewelry shop earlier that evening; Xiao Biehe had assumed he bought it for himself. The jade was of the highest quality, glowing in the moonlight as if woven from the moonbeams themselves.
The little madman looked delighted, his blue eyes curving with excitement. His voice was soft and enchanting: “Brother, turn around.”
He carefully pinned the beauty’s hair, then placed his hands back on his shoulders to turn him back around. He looked at the “Cold Jade Beauty” he had just adorned and felt immense satisfaction. “Brother is so pretty. This hairpin barely manages to suit you.”
Xiao Biehe reached up to pull it out. “I don’t want your things.”
The youth pressed Xiao Biehe’s hand down, pinning him firmly in his embrace. “You must. Brother must keep it.”
Xiao Biehe tried to refuse again. He had never accepted gifts from anyone, especially something so valuable.
Lu Guanyan’s smile vanished instantly. “If Brother doesn’t like it, then I’ll just break it.”
Xiao Biehe’s clear eyes wavered, and he withdrew his hand. The youth immediately brightened again.
Being stared at so intensely made Xiao Biehe feel a flicker of awkwardness and helplessness. Lu Guanyan gripped his shoulders, his expression turning serious again. After a long pause, he said, “Brother, let me take you away, okay? Don’t stay in Liang. If you stay, you will die.”
Death was something Xiao Biehe had long expected. Hearing it from this Wuyi youth only made it feel like a certainty. “I cannot leave,” he replied.
Lu Guanyan’s face turned icy. “Why? Because of your family?”
When Xiao Biehe didn’t answer, Lu Guanyan sneered. He remembered the lantern Xiao Biehe had released, praying for the safety of the General’s Estate. He squeezed the man’s wrists. “Are they your family? Or is it because of your fiancé? Do you truly want to be the Crown Princess, Brother?”
Xiao Biehe knew the youth was right. He could never truly fit into that home. But as a son, he couldn’t bring himself to be heartless. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This is my own business.”
“Heh,” Lu Guanyan laughed coldly. “Then does Brother know what your family is doing? They are hunting you. They say that once they find you, they will break your legs. Do you still want to go back?”
The intensity in the youth’s gaze was like a physical sting. Xiao Biehe looked away. “It is my business.”
Realizing he had frightened the man, Lu Guanyan quickly suppressed his emotions and forced a smile. “I’m sorry, Brother. Let’s just watch the fireworks.”
That night, under the light of the festivities, the shadows of two people who had rarely seen the light merged into one.
As the fireworks ended, the little madman bullied the beauty once again. He thought to himself that the Gu techniques passed down through the Wuyi tribe for centuries were truly wonderful things so very useful.
He knew his “Brother” must loathe him even more now. But Lu Guanyan didn’t care much; even a fleeting blossom is brilliant, and a brief possession still counts as having had him.
“Brother, open your eyes.”
He made the beauty look at him, but he wasn’t satisfied with just seeing his expression. He gripped Xiao Biehe’s chin, pulling him close, his voice more enchanting than any curse: “Brother… let me hear you.”