Chapter 25: A Love Deep and Unwavering
After emerging from the king’s residence, Qu Zheng saw that all the houses on the island had their doors and windows shut tight. All the guards and able-bodied pirates were rushing towards the coast. The deafening sound of cannon fire and fighting came from the shore. Langxuan’s ships were already close to landing!
Qu Zheng summoned his second-in-command.
“What about the sea monster fish? Why haven’t you released them yet?!”
“Those fish…” the man stammered, “there’s something wrong with them…”
“Wrong?”
“It seems they’ve been poisoned and can’t move…”
Qu Zheng grabbed the man’s sleeve. “If they can’t move, then force them to move! Use whatever means necessary to get them to the coast!”
He kicked the man and, sword in hand, turned back. Now that Qi Xiao had broken through with his men, it was time for the person in that room to be of use!
The sandy beach was stained red. The wind was strong, and the dismembered limbs and corpses on the sand were quickly covered by a thin layer of sand. Langxuan was well-prepared this time, with many ships that were indestructible, and more than double the manpower, all equipped with new, sharp weapons. Not only that, but this time, wary of the pirates releasing some strange monster, they had brought a whole ship full of gunpowder. Since they hadn’t encountered any monsters on the way, they had hurled it at the pirates.
“Cease the gunpowder attack!” Qi Xiao waved his hand.
Worried that the pirates might have another trick up their sleeves, he had all the soldiers put away the gunpowder. They were well-prepared now. If their methods were correct and there were no other incidents, they would surely be able to take this island.
The island’s leaders led the pirates to surround the coast, using bows and arrows, rolling stones, and swords to try and stop the Langxuan forces from invading.
The Langxuan forces leaped from their ships, using ropes and anchor chains. However, as soon as their feet touched the sand, with a swish, a dense network of ropes emerged from the sand dunes. The ropes were suspended in mid-air at the perfect height to catch people by their feet, waists, and necks. The ropes were covered in sharp barbs, and the Langxuan forces, caught off guard, were injured by them.
“Left wing, cut the ropes! Right wing, provide cover!” Qi Xiao ordered. “The rest of you, watch out for the rope attack!”
Shen Linye was the general of the left wing. Hearing the order, he led his men forward on their bellies, using small knives to cut the traps. They didn’t just blindly destroy the ropes but carefully observed them, searching for the source or the pirates pulling them. The pirates were hidden and hard to find, but if the source was cut, the ropes would lose their tension, toughness, and elasticity, and would no longer be able to harm anyone.
“You watch over things here,” Qi Xiao said to Qi Shaoling. “I’m taking a team to sneak in, capture their king, and find someone.”
Qi Shaoling knew who the “someone” Qi Xiao was looking for was, so he nodded in understanding.
Qi Xiao selected a few of his best men from the Qi family army who were skilled in lightness skill. Duanmu Ling also said, “I want to go too!”
“You stay here and help Shaoling.”
Duanmu Ling shook his head. “He doesn’t need my help.”
“He’s skilled,” Qi Shaoling added.
Seeing this, Qi Xiao also nodded and, with Duanmu Ling and a few of his personal guards, silently slipped past everyone’s line of sight, crossed the coast, and infiltrated the island.
All the servants in the room had already fled, but no one had untied Fu Yunzhi. The candlelight flickered, and the room was dim. He leaned against the wall, his legs rubbing together restlessly, gasping for breath.
“Qi Xiao…”
“Qi Xiao…”
He kept calling Qi Xiao’s name; it made him feel a little better. He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. He imagined Qi Xiao was right there with him, pressing down on him, his hands roaming over his body, his eyes watching him…
“Qi Xiao…” This name had been hidden in his heart for ten years. From the moment he understood, there was only one person in his world, and that had never changed.
“Qi Xiao…” He found it laughable. Qi Xiao always thought he had hidden his feelings well, but he didn’t know someone had hidden them even deeper.
“Qi Xiao…” All of Qi Xiao’s attempts to cover up his feelings, the words of concern that slipped out unintentionally, the heated gazes he couldn’t look away from in time…
“Qi Xiao…” It wasn’t that he was intentionally toying with Qi Xiao’s feelings, but that this was a love he couldn’t bear, and couldn’t have.
“Qi Xiao…” No one could be better than Qi Xiao, and no one ever would be.
The door was kicked open. Qu Zheng came in with his sword, grabbed the ropes on Fu Yunzhi, and dragged him out. Fu Yunzhi was not fully conscious and couldn’t resist, so he was passively dragged outside.
“Let him go!”
As they turned a corner, Qu Zheng saw that their path was blocked by Qi Xiao and a few of his personal guards.
Qu Zheng held a knife to Fu Yunzhi’s neck. “General Qi, have your men retreat, and I’ll let him go.”
Qi Xiao sneered. “To have an army of thousands retreat for one person, to give up this island, you must think I’m a fool.”
Qu Zheng applied a little pressure, and the tip of the knife slightly pierced the delicate skin of his neck, drawing a few drops of blood.
Qi Xiao secretly clenched his fists.
“Or we can make a deal,” Qu Zheng said. “You give up your own life and kill yourself here on the spot, and I’ll let him go.”
“Alright.”
Fu Yunzhi frowned and rasped at Qi Xiao, “Get lost.”
Although his consciousness was drifting, he could clearly see Qi Xiao draw his own sword and move it towards his neck…
“Qi…”
Before he could finish, Fu Yunzhi suddenly felt his feet lose their footing, and his body plummeted.
A large hole had suddenly appeared where he and Qu Zheng were standing, and the two of them fell without warning. In the fall, Fu Yunzhi’s neck was cut by Qu Zheng’s blade, leaving a large wound.
Qu Zheng fell to the bottom of the pit, but Fu Yunzhi was caught by someone, left dangling in mid-air.
He looked up and saw that the person holding him was Duanmu Ling.
“General Qi! We succeeded!”
Duanmu Ling was smug. Heh heh, the pirates can set traps, but can’t we? When it comes to these kinds of dirty tricks, who can compare to me!
Duanmu Ling pulled Fu Yunzhi up and handed him to Qi Xiao, then jumped into the pit with the Qi family army to subdue Qu Zheng.
Qi Xiao saw Fu Yunzhi collapse into his arms, his face twisted in pain, bound by thick ropes, his neck and wrists a bloody red. He closed his eyes and held the person in his arms tightly, his heart aching.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“I was late…”
Qi Xiao murmured apologies over and over, holding Fu Yunzhi with one arm while untying the ropes and bandaging his wounds with the other.
Duanmu Ling, escorting Qu Zheng, said, “I’ll take Qu Zheng to the coast first. You two should have some privacy.”
“Privacy for what?” Qi Xiao asked, confused.
Duanmu Ling pointed at Fu Yunzhi and said with a wicked grin, “Can’t you tell?”
Qi Xiao subconsciously looked down and saw Fu Yunzhi’s flushed cheeks and feverish body, his breathing shallow. And a certain indescribable part of him was also…
Qi Xiao: “…”
He had been so focused on the wounds just now. Seeing Fu Yunzhi like this, he immediately froze on the spot.
After Duanmu Ling and the others left, Qi Xiao held Fu Yunzhi stiffly, at a complete loss.
“Qi Xiao…” Fu Yunzhi’s voice was now tinged with tears. “I feel so uncomfortable…”
Qi Xiao swept him up into his arms and walked into the room.
“It’s alright, just bear with it. It’ll be over soon.”
He placed Fu Yunzhi on the bed, one hand gently stroking his hair while the other untied his sash, slipped into his trousers, and began to touch, caress, and pleasure him.
Fu Yunzhi clamped his mouth shut, but a few wanton moans still escaped, teasing Qi Xiao’s sanity.
Aroused by Fu Yunzhi, Qi Xiao was also burning with desire. He leaned down and kissed his parting lips. Their four lips pressed together tightly, and he slipped his tongue into Fu Yunzhi’s mouth, exploring and conquering.
Fu Yunzhi felt a little suffocated and wanted to resist but found he couldn’t move. His lower body was held, his mouth was covered, and his entire body was pressed down tightly by Qi Xiao, leaving him to do as he pleased.
“Mmph!”
Seeing that Fu Yunzhi had released, Qi Xiao propped himself up on the bed and got off him.
The heat in Fu Yunzhi’s body finally subsided. He opened his eyes wide and looked at Qi Xiao.
Qi Xiao was clearly not satisfied, his breathing heavy, and the part of him below was still very spirited.
“Yunzhi, help me.”
He took Fu Yunzhi’s hand and placed it on himself.
Fu Yunzhi squeezed his eyes shut, not moving to cooperate, but not resisting either.
Qi Xiao held his hand and began to move it up and down. Although the effects of the drug were gradually wearing off, Fu Yunzhi could still feel the temperature of his cheeks rising. He was so embarrassed he wished he could find a hole to crawl into. Setting aside how intimate the action was, why was Qi Xiao taking so long…
Just as Fu Yunzhi was about to pull his hand away and let Qi Xiao fend for himself, he finally released.
Qi Xiao tore off a piece of the bedsheet and carefully wiped Fu Yunzhi’s hand. The atmosphere was silent; neither of them knew what to say.
It wasn’t until they had left the room that Fu Yunzhi finally said, “I was drugged.”
“I know.”
“Let’s just treat what happened just now as an accident,” Fu Yunzhi said in a low voice. “Don’t mention it again in the future, and you’re not allowed to remember it.”
Qi Xiao nodded.
The two of them arrived at the coast. The naval battle was nearing its end, and the pirates were on the verge of defeat.
Seeing Qi Xiao arrive with Fu Yunzhi, Shen Linye also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He reported the battle situation to him: “We have successfully captured seven of the nine leaders. One has not appeared, and the other has escaped.”
“Where did he escape to?” Qi Xiao asked.
“The western forest. We’ve already sent men to pursue him.”
Qi Xiao looked around. “There shouldn’t be any major problems here. I’ll go after him.”
On the other side, Duanmu Ling grabbed Fu Yunzhi’s hand and asked seriously, “Why was it so short? Could it be that General Qi… can’t perform?”
Fu Yunzhi fiercely smacked him on the head.
Can’t perform? Fu Yunzhi thought. With that time and that size, tsk tsk.
Duanmu Ling clutched his head and pointed at Qi Xiao. “Look, Yunzhi, General Qi is leaving again.”
Fu Yunzhi forcefully pushed Duanmu Ling towards Qi Shaoling, then turned and caught up with Qi Xiao. “I’ll go with you. I’m familiar with this place. And I have something to tell you.”
Although they still hadn’t seen any sign of the sea monster fish, which meant Fu Yunzhi’s poison had been effective, he didn’t want to take any chances. It was better to tell Qi Xiao and let him be fully prepared!
