Chapter 24: Unbridled Indulgence
The storm lasted for a long time. Qi Xiao sat on the windowsill in his room, feeling a little anxious. Even so, he knew he couldn’t rush things. Fighting against the weather was the most foolish thing to do.
Qi Shaoling came to his room with two jugs of wine.
“Don’t you need to take care of Young Master Duanmu?”
Qi Shaoling handed a jug to Qi Xiao. “He’s asleep.” Then, he said solemnly, “He and I do not have the kind of relationship you all imagine.”
Qi Xiao smiled. “I know, but his attitude towards you is clearly one of affection. And the way you look at him… is very different.”
Qi Shaoling: “…”
Since you know, why do you always stir up trouble and mislead others!
“You like him too,” Qi Xiao said.
“If an outsider could see such things,” Qi Shaoling replied, “Master Fu would have long known that you like him.”
“Those involved are often the most blind, while onlookers see clearly. Besides, I have deliberately hidden these feelings, whereas you unconsciously reveal your concern for Duanmu Ling.”
Qi Shaoling shook his head, no longer dwelling on the topic. He took a swig of wine. “Don’t worry. Master Fu is no pushover.”
Qi Xiao smiled helplessly.
“No, do I really look that bad? Why is everyone coming to console me?”
It’s precisely because you don’t look any different that we’re worried.
After downing a few mouthfuls of strong liquor, Qi Xiao said, “After this war is over, I plan to propose to Yunzhi.”
Qi Shaoling didn’t comment, nor did he intend to interfere with Qi Xiao’s decision.
“I don’t want to wait anymore. If he’s willing, that would be for the best. If he’s not… there’s no use in me pestering him.”
“If he’s not willing, what will you do?”
“If he’s not willing,” Qi Xiao said, “I will request the Emperor to let me go to the border to exterminate bandits and be stationed there. I won’t marry in this lifetime. It’s enough to watch over him from afar.”
I just don’t know if I’ll be able to bear leaving him then.
The storm outside the window had abated, with only a few raindrops pattering on the sea and the ship.
“We can continue sailing at dawn.”
Dawn broke.
Fu Yunzhi looked at the first ray of sunlight shining into the room and reached out to push open the window.
Haoyue heard the movement and came in. “Young Master Fu, you must prepare well today. You will be having an audience with our king tonight.” She had people bring in new clothes and jewelry.
Fu Yunzhi sneered. “I heard your king has a special way of having an audience?”
Haoyue’s expression faltered slightly. “This… this servant does not know…”
“Bring wine.”
“Huh?”
“I said, bring me wine,” Fu Yunzhi said sharply.
“Young Master Fu, I’m afraid this is not appropriate…”
Crash—
Fu Yunzhi swept his arm, knocking all the cups from the tea table to the floor. The porcelain cups shattered on impact, and tea spilled everywhere.
Haoyue and the other maids immediately knelt. “This servant will go and fetch wine at once,” Haoyue said in a panic.
Before long, clear wine was brought in. Fu Yunzhi opened the jug and sniffed. It was very light. But that was enough. As long as it was wine, it could “awaken” the Gu in his body.
He planned to drink all the wine and then immediately go to Tongzi Mountain. Qu Zheng had discovered him going out last night, so he would surely be on guard tonight. Besides, tonight, he might not be staying in this room…
After draining the last drop of wine from the jug, Fu Yunzhi walked out of the room as usual.
“I’m going for a stroll in the city.”
Haoyue nodded and summoned several guards.
“These men will be responsible for your safety.”
Heh, for surveillance, you mean, Fu Yunzhi sneered. Since he had been going out for a walk in the city at the same time every day for the past few days, this action did not arouse suspicion.
On the surface, Fu Yunzhi was strolling through the city, but in reality, he was getting closer and closer to Tongzi Mountain. Before setting out, he had pressed several acupoints on his body, so this time, the Gu poison would act up with high efficiency. He had only taken a few steps when a needle-like pain shot through his body.
If I don’t act now, the pain will soon make it impossible to run!
“I’m going to relieve myself.” Fu Yunzhi turned and entered the latrine of a teahouse, while the guards waited outside in the courtyard. When they weren’t paying attention, he scaled the wall, left the teahouse, and ran for Tongzi Mountain.
I’ve run off like this. The guards will discover it soon, and then they’ll send more men to capture me. But Fu Yunzhi was willing to take the gamble, to bet that he could reach Tongzi Mountain and give those sea monsters a proper “welcome” before they found him.
He arrived at the stone gate of Tongzi Mountain again. Without wasting any words, he tossed the token to the guards and hurried to the pool.
He knelt by the edge of the pool and used a branch to cut his wrist. He cut deep and hard, right on the vein, and blood gushed out.
Then, he let the blood from his wound flow into the pool.
The Gu parasite had been planted in his body, and its poison was extremely potent. Every time it acted up, the reason he suffered such intense pain was because the poison flowed through his entire body with his blood. Now, with the Gu raging inside him, his blood was full of poison. Pouring it into the pool was equivalent to poisoning the sea monster fish.
The pool was large, but the wound was small. Fu Yunzhi gritted his teeth and made another cut, letting more blood flow into the water.
The pain made him suck in his breath repeatedly. What have I done to deserve this? he thought. My body already hurts, and now I have to mutilate myself, adding more wounds for no reason. The pain made him want to punch himself unconscious.
After letting the blood flow for a while, he began to feel cold and dizzy. He quickly pulled his hand out of the pool and stopped the bleeding.
He looked at the pool. The blood had already mixed with the murky water and was no longer visible.
I hope it works…
After tearing a strip of cloth from his sleeve and bandaging his wound, he decided to go back. He would be found sooner or later anyway. It was better to be locked in his room than to stay here.
A commotion came from outside the forest. The sound of footsteps, curses, and the rustling of leaves and bushes as they searched.
A man leading a group of tall, burly guards caught up to him.
“Tie him up!” the man pointed at Fu Yunzhi.
Fu Yunzhi was bound tightly with a thick rope. The guards escorted him all the way to the center of the city. He was surprised. Are they taking me to the king’s residence?
Seeing the strange look on his face, the man sneered. “Who told you to run around? Now the king wants to see you immediately, to prevent you from pulling any more dirty tricks.”
Fu Yunzhi’s heart began to race. He had thought his audience with the king would be at night, but because of his misbehavior, it had been moved up.
Escape is impossible now. I can only think of a way to deal with this…
The man escorted him to the door of the king’s room.
“King, I’ve brought the person.”
“Mmm, ah…”
Lascivious moans came from inside the room.
The man shook his head, opened the door, and pushed Fu Yunzhi inside.
The room was dimly lit. In the center was a large bed, big enough for five people to lie on. A man and a woman were engaged in the act of making love, so intensely that they were oblivious to their surroundings.
And the man was Qu Zheng.
The sound of debauchery was endless. Fu Yunzhi closed his eyes, refusing to look at the shameless pair, and at the same time, wished he could leave this room immediately.
After an unknown amount of time, the two of them finally stopped, panting.
Seeing Fu Yunzhi standing stiffly to the side, Qu Zheng smiled. “Young Master Fu has arrived.”
It took Fu Yunzhi a long time to find his voice. “You are the king of the pirates?”
Hearing this, the woman beside Qu Zheng giggled.
“You’re mistaken,” Qu Zheng smiled. “She is.”
So the king of these pirates is a woman, Fu Yunzhi thought. This woman is truly formidable, to be able to make so many hot-blooded men on the island follow her and even obey her commands.
Or, do the people on the island even know their king’s true gender? Didn’t they say this king was always mysterious?
The woman, the king, wrapped her arms around Qu Zheng’s neck. “Someone, untie Young Master Fu. Otherwise, how can he play with us?”
There were many beautiful servants in the room, all dressed in revealing clothes. One of them untied the ropes on Fu Yunzhi. After the ropes were removed, he silently breathed a sigh of relief. The ropes had been tied so tightly around the wound on his arm that the pain had made him break out in a cold sweat, his back drenched.
“Heh, Young Master Fu,” the woman said, “won’t you join us?”
Fu Yunzhi stood in a corner of the room, a wave of revulsion washing over him. He also noticed that there were many shelves in the corners of the room, filled with obscene toys, some of which were even stained with blood.
Seeing him standing there silently, a look of disdain in his eyes, Qu Zheng said, “King, no need to rush. We have plenty of time.”
“That’s true. We haven’t finished yet.” With that, their naked bodies intertwined again.
One of the servants, holding a bottle filled with an unknown liquid, walked over to Fu Yunzhi.
He warily took a few steps back. Seeing his resistance, several servants immediately swarmed him, grabbing his limbs tightly. One of them opened the bottle and poured the liquid into his mouth.
Fu Yunzhi’s throat burned, and he coughed a few times, forced to swallow the liquid.
“What is this!”
Qu Zheng, thrusting into the king, panted a few times and said smugly, “This is something good that will make you happy, Young Master Fu!”
Before his voice had even faded, Fu Yunzhi felt his body heat up, and a wicked fire ignited in his abdomen…
He could no longer stand and, panting, slid down the wall to the floor.
Qu Zheng pulled out of the king’s body and took a toy from the shelf. However, before he could even get close to Fu Yunzhi, the sound of a horn blared from outside.
The sound was deafening, making even the sturdy tile walls tremble.
Qu Zheng stopped in his tracks.
“Five horn blasts. Is that the warning signal for an attack?”
The king frowned and picked up her outer robe. “Tie Young Master Fu here and let him enjoy himself for a while. Let’s go out and see.”
After the two of them left, the room returned to silence, with only the thick, lingering smell of debauchery in the air, tormenting what little was left of Fu Yunzhi’s sanity…
