The warm, humid air of the bathhouse rushed over him, mingling with the scent of Gu Huaiyu and permeating his every breath. He strode past a screen. Gu Huaiyu was submerged in the tub with his back to him. His wet, ink-black hair was spread out, half-covering his slender back.
That back was so delicate it hardly seemed to belong to an adult man. Beneath the jade-like skin, faint blue veins were barely visible, flushed a pale pink by the heat. It looked like a delectable treat, making one’s mouth go dry with the urge to pounce and take a bite.
The water reached just to his waist. Through the translucent medicinal broth, two shallow dimples above his hips were faintly visible, blurred by the refraction of the ripples.
Gu Huaiyu held a book in one hand, his fingertip turning a page. His weary, indolent voice teased, “General Pei is getting more and more diligent with his tail-wagging.”
Pei Jingyi’s gaze slid uncontrollably down that waistline. The moment he saw the hazy curves beneath the water, his pupils darkened.
Damn it. That waist is so thin, yet that place is…
He snapped his gaze away and stepped in front of Gu Huaiyu to face him directly. In the mist, that exquisite face was within reach, his eyes reddened by the steam and his lips more vibrant than usual.
“I am clumsy. If I hurt you, My Lord—” Pei Jingyi stared fixedly at his face, his voice rasping. “Please bear with me.”
He reached out to retrieve a piece of soapberry floating on the water, lifting the wet block to his nose as if casually catching its scent. His lips “accidentally” brushed against the water droplets clinging to the soapberry, and his tongue flicked out with lightning speed, licking away a single drop of bathwater that still held Gu Huaiyu’s warmth.
Gu Huaiyu looked up from his book, giving him a sidelong glance, a soft scoff vibrating in his throat. He knew his body all too well—thin as paper, brittle with illness. Anyone who saw it would naturally feel a sense of contempt.
But what of it?
He looked at the man before him—a man with shoulders far broader and more powerful than his own, a man who could subdue a wolf with his bare hands. Yet those hands were now cradling his hair with extreme care, terrified of pulling even a single strand.
This was the true skill of a man: not using brute force to make others yield, but using one’s wits to make the most ferocious beast bow its head willingly.
Pei Jingyi had never done such delicate work. The fingers that usually notched arrows and drew bows now threaded through the wet hair, massaging the scalp with just the right amount of pressure. He was as careful as if he were serving a porcelain doll.
This hair was smoother than Ice Silkworm Silk from the Western Regions. How on earth did he cultivate such exquisite skin and flesh?
Gu Huaiyu closed his eyes in contentment, resting the book on the edge of the tub. “Do you know what I intend…?”
“I know.” Pei Jingyi’s voice was low, his hands never stopping their movement. “How Eastern Liao treats us is exactly how we shall treat them.”
Gu Huaiyu nodded slightly in satisfaction. In recent years, whenever the Great Chen delegation visited Eastern Liao, when had they ever received even a shred of courtesy? Eastern Liao would merely send a few low-ranking officials to handle them, begrudge them even a decent welcome feast, and even allow children to pelt the delegation’s carriages with horse dung. They were treated like dogs being shooed away.
Since they were so insolent, why should he, Gu Huaiyu, offer them any dignity? “Meeting them three miles outside the city”? In their dreams.
Having the Court of State Ceremonies take the civil and military officials to wait at the city gates was already more face than they deserved. Those civilian officials had spent so long on their knees that their bones were soft; if things were done truly according to his wishes, a few of them would probably drop dead of fright on the spot.
Gu Huaiyu exhaled slowly, his eyelashes fluttering in the steam. He kept his eyes closed, his head lolling lazily to the side. “Some of the old ministers in court love to indulge in those ‘Spring and Autumn’ dreams of ‘subduing others with virtue.'”
In the swirling mist, the candlelight gilded his profile, making his silhouette look like a deity enshrined in a temple.
“They think that by putting on the airs of a Great Empire, the Eastern Liao people will suddenly bow down in awe? As if a scholar merely straightening his back would make a wolf feel ashamed of itself.”
Pei Jingyi’s gaze lingered on his face, his eyes burning with a dark intensity.
“You have been at the border for many years; you should know better than I…” Gu Huaiyu suddenly opened his eyes and scoffed, savoring the words. “Respect is never earned by kneeling. It is earned by fighting. You must break their spines and crush their pride. When they are crawling on their knees to lick the soles of your boots—”
He picked up the book and used it to tilt Pei Jingyi’s chin up, his expression profound. “—only then do you grant them the chance to stand back up.”
![The Tower Will Fall [Apocalypse]](https://i2.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/93.jpg?resize=151,215 "The Tower Will Fall [Apocalypse]")