Chapter 87: My Body Has Been Ruined by the Chancellor Part 2

But Gu Huaiyu wasn’t letting him fantasize for free.

Finally, after a long while, Pei Jingyi reached the brink. He panted, his voice hoarse. “Chancellor… you can count now.”

Gu Huaiyu slowly straightened his back, leaning half against the bedpost as he squinted to examine the man’s expression. “Ten.”

At the sound of just one number, Pei Jingyi’s body jerked tight as a reflex. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, rolling down his sharp jawline as his hand movements involuntarily quickened.

However, that wicked voice did not speak again for a long time, as if he were purely teasing him on purpose.

The room was filled with nothing but his heavy gasping and the increasingly frantic sound of movement.

Tortured by the agonizing delay at the peak, Pei Jingyi wheezed out a plea: “I beg the Chancellor to count a bit faster.”

Gu Huaiyu replied airily, “Beg me.”

“Fuck!” Pei Jingyi knew he was being malicious. He took a sharp breath, tilting his head back as a ragged sound tore from his throat: “I’m begging you!”

Gu Huaiyu was playing with him; he wouldn’t let him off so easily.

Slowly, he let the next number slip from his lips: “Nine.”

Each number was like a dull knife carving flesh. He counted excruciatingly slowly, his tone lazy and relaxed, like someone tossing a bone to a stray dog.

Gu Huaiyu was methodical. Every time Pei Jingyi was about to boil over, he would stop.

He watched the other man’s face flush with the effort of endurance and the veins bulge from restraint. The feeling in his heart was one of immense satisfaction.

When the final number finally fell, Pei Jingyi’s patience had reached its limit. He was drenched in sweat, the veins in his neck straining. His eyes were a desperate, bloodshot red. In the moment of release, he grabbed the outer robe and quickly wiped himself clean.

His movements were terrifyingly fast. Before Gu Huaiyu could react, his vision went dark as he was pinned down onto the bed.

Gu Huaiyu blinked, though he wasn’t panicked. He asked knowingly, “What is General Pei doing?”

Pei Jingyi’s chest was still heaving violently. The desire from the release hadn’t fully subsided. The beauty within reach was cool and fragrant; he couldn’t help but reach out to touch that delicate cheek. “The Chancellor is going to turn his back on me the moment he’s had his fun?”

Gu Huaiyu slapped his hand away, burning the bridge with perfect self-righteousness. “This Chancellor is tired. Get out and rest in the outer room.”

How could Pei Jingyi give up now? He suddenly leaned down and caught Gu Huaiyu off guard with a quick peck on the corner of those red lips.

His tongue flicked out rapidly. The soft lips were moist and warm, their breath sweet—tasting even better than he had imagined.

Gu Huaiyu simply stared at him coldly, like a wooden beauty giving no reaction at all.

This high-and-mighty, transcendental appearance was more of a provocation than any flirtation. It made one’s heart itch with even more unbearable longing.

Pei Jingyi’s breathing grew inexplicably heavy. He stared deep into those eyes for a heartbeat before standing up and striding toward the outer room. If he stayed any longer, he might actually lose control and tear that troublesome silk garment to pieces.

Only when the footsteps completely faded did Gu Huaiyu let out a soft breath. He frowned, his finger lightly touching the corner of his mouth where he had been kissed.

So this is what a kiss feels like? It didn’t seem like much. It was nothing like the romance novels that spoke of “water and milk blending” or “soul-steeping intoxication.” He hadn’t felt a thing.

Those stories of scholars and beauties always described kissing with extravagant flowery language—”souls flying to the heavens” or “bones turning soft as silk.”

But from Pei Jingyi’s kiss just now, aside from a bit of itchiness, he hadn’t experienced anything else.

Could it be that the storybooks are all lies?

***

Just as Gu Huaiyu had predicted, within three days, the news had spread like wildfire through the Provincial Army camp.

However, rumors always had a way of becoming more outrageous as they traveled.

It started with the Chancellor vivisecting a man in the street to check his stomach and evolved into the Chancellor not even using a knife—supposedly, he had ripped open the tattooed man’s belly with his bare hands and yanked a duck egg out of his stomach. The stories grew more supernatural and terrifying by the hour.

By the day Gu Huaiyu actually arrived at the camp, even the most arrogant thugs were as silent as cicadas in winter.

The entire camp was quieter than it had ever been. Even the horses didn’t dare to neigh too loudly, fearing they might disturb this “Living Yama.”

But no one expected that this Living Yama would arrive carrying a “Mountain of Gold”—a literal mountain of gold.

At the crack of dawn, the Iron Eagle Guard had already erected a high platform before the main gate.

As the first ray of sunlight pierced through the mist, the entire camp was blinded by a glittering golden light. On the platform sat a small mountain of gold ingots. The rank-and-file soldiers felt their eyes were about to pop out of their heads.

Who among the Provincial Army didn’t come from a poor background? Forget seeing it—they hadn’t even heard of this much gold existing in one place.

There was no need for the Chancellor to summon them; the crowds surrounding the gold mountain had already blocked the gates until they were water-tight.

The news spread instantly: the Chancellor was here to issue back-pay. These gold ingots had been seized from the Prefect’s manor the night before. The Chancellor intended to uphold the law and return every cent of the wages that had been withheld for years.

Could such a good thing really be true?

Not only was it true, but it was even better than they imagined.

Gu Huaiyu entered the gate, offering only a slight nod to the officers who bowed to greet him.

The Iron Eagle Guards had already set up desks under umbrellas. Trays of red lacquer held neatly arranged registers, and the ink in the stone wells gleamed with a dark, oily luster.

When Gu Huaiyu personally announced his two decrees, the entire field became so silent you could hear the snapping of the banners in the wind.

The first decree was to pay all outstanding wages from previous years. The second was that they would all be incorporated into the Imperial Guard—effectively stripping them of their “Convict-soldier” status and making them part of Great Chen’s elite troops, fed by the Emperor himself.

The crowd exploded.