Chapter 23: Kneel Part 3

Pei Jingyi’s gaze wavered. He hadn’t expected such words from Gu Huaiyu’s mouth.

He stared at the dying embers in the brazier before suddenly looking up. “Is the Lord Chancellor bestowing such grace because he wishes to buy my loyalty?”

Gu Huaiyu let out a low laugh that dissolved into a slight cough. He pressed his pale fingers to his lips, his shoulders trembling as if he were genuinely amused.

“Buy loyalty?” The mockery remained in his eyes, though it felt partially directed at himself. “Does a man in my position need to buy loyalty?”

Pei Jingyi simply stared at him, his gaze heavy.

Gu Huaiyu’s smile didn’t fade. “I hold the position of Chancellor. I am above tens of thousands and beneath only one. If I truly wanted something, why would I waste effort on such schemes?”

He leaned forward slightly, his heavy cloak slipping from his shoulders to reveal the pale line of his neck. Under the candlelight, his face was so beautiful it was almost sharp.

“I want you to remember that those two pieces of paper today were worth nearly a hundred lives.”

Gu Huaiyu leaned in close to Pei Jingyi, his nose nearly touching the General’s face. “I spared them because I favor you. But if you dare to become arrogant because of that favor—”

The sudden wave of incense made Pei Jingyi instinctively lean back. Gu Huaiyu reached out and grabbed the back of the General’s neck, his fingers digging deep into the roots of his hair, forcing him to look up and meet his gaze. “I won’t be so generous next time.”

The back of Pei Jingyi’s neck stung, yet he felt a strange, inexplicable rush seeing this madman lash out.

His mouth felt dry, his throat bobbing uncontrollably. What the hell is wrong with me? Getting excited while being strangled? He suddenly broke into a grin. “Since the Chancellor favors me so much, how should I repay him?”

“Repay?”

Gu Huaiyu pinched the man’s chin as if examining a toy. “General Pei seems to have forgotten. You are my property from head to toe. What could you possibly have to offer as repayment?”

The man’s jawline was sharp and defined, like a hard bone in his hand that was almost impossible to hold. He applied more pressure with his fingertips. “Must I carve the character for ‘Yu’ into your face before you can remember who your master is?”

“Carve it on my face?” Pei Jingyi raised an eyebrow as if considering the logistics. “Wouldn’t that allow everyone to admire the Chancellor’s calligraphy?”

“Instead…” He suddenly ripped open his own lapels. The sound of tearing fabric was jarringly loud in the silent study. The wolf-head tattoo was revealed, vivid under the candlelight, its fangs pointing directly at his heart. “How about you carve it on my body instead?”

The man’s waist was lean and powerful, his skin a healthy honey-bronze. His muscles were taut, his frame broad but not clumsy. He radiated a raw, bloody charisma, yet he bared himself with total composure—as if he were issuing a provocation or asking for a reward.

Gu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes. The ink of the tattoo had been mixed with gold powder; as Pei Jingyi breathed, the wolf’s eyes seemed to glint with an eerie, dark light.

As if possessed, he reached out. Just as his fingers touched the scalding skin, Pei Jingyi grabbed his wrist.

“If the Chancellor thinks this spot is too vulgar…”

Pei Jingyi suddenly thrust his hips forward, pressing Gu Huaiyu’s hand against his abdominal muscles. His calloused palm slid over the tight muscle. “There are cleaner places further down.”

Gu Huaiyu had never encountered such a degenerate creature. He violently wrenched his hand back, a cold light flashing in his eyes. “Very well.”

He turned and grabbed a cinnabar brush from the desk. The tip was heavily saturated with deep red ink, which looked ready to drip.

Before Pei Jingyi could speak, Gu Huaiyu grabbed his cheek, and the tip of the brush slammed into his left face.

“Since General Pei enjoys playing the whore so much—”

The brush danced, spreading the cinnabar across his cheek. The character was written with a single, sweeping stroke. “I shall fulfill your wish.”

As the final stroke flicked off, a dripping red character for ‘Lecherous’ adorned the left side of Pei Jingyi’s face.

Gu Huaiyu tossed the brush aside and raised his voice. “Yun Niang, bring a bronze mirror.”

Yun Niang pushed the door open. When she saw the state of the room, her eyes widened in shock. She immediately lowered her head and hurried to fetch the mirror.

When the mirror was held before him, Pei Jingyi looked at his reflection and said with a self-satisfied air, “This subordinate thanks the Lord Chancellor for his calligraphy.”

Before he could finish, his right cheek was seized, and the character for ‘Slave’ was heavily inscribed upon it.

“Kneel.”

Gu Huaiyu’s anger had not dissipated. He kicked the back of Pei Jingyi’s knee. “On the stone steps in the courtyard. You will kneel there for six hours.”

Pei Jingyi had knelt before; doing it again was a familiar task. He reached for his discarded robes to cover himself, but a luxurious official boot stepped onto his wrist.

Gu Huaiyu looked down at him with disdain, the sole of his boot slowly grinding into the wrist bone. “Doesn’t General Pei prefer to be naked?”

A cold wind swirled, carrying dead leaves across the courtyard.

Pei Jingyi knelt on the blue stone slabs, his upper body bare. The tattoo on his back gleamed brilliantly in the daylight.

A smile still hung on his lips, but his eyes were already frozen over with ice.