How To Polish A Pearl

Chapter 10 - Kneeling

A/N: This chapter contains mild gore, violence and non-con. Please don't continue reading if this is something that makes you uncomfortable.

⊂ (▀▿▀) つ

Without so much as a hint of shame, Wen Ke Xing takes off his robes and drops them where he stands, red and gold fabrics piling up around his feet—the cold air hot against his even icier skin. Stepping over the various piles of clothes, wearing only his white trousers, he walks to the table and puts his golden necklace down.

Zhou Xu studies Wen Ke Xing's profile as he retrieves the golden box and opens the lid. His fingertips caressing the shimmering, almost luminescent, white pearls, the same pearls that crusts the hems of the groom's wedding robe. Turning his head, his eyes are fierce and his movements swift. Within seconds he is back before Zhou Xu.

Putting the box on the bed, he pulls out a long strand of pearls. "Ah-Xu, get on your knees." His voice a little bit horse and his lips left slightly parted.

Holding his breath for what seems like an eternity, but in reality is only a few seconds, Zhou Xu sighs a little bit too heavy. Defeated isn't the word to describe how he feels, he hasn't given up. More like resigned to the fact that he hasn't yet regained his martial arts or found a suitable weapon to defend himself with.

Zhou Xu gets down on his knees, his face turning upward. When his eyes meet those black holes, his breath catches again. Cursing internally for not being able to maintain composure, his brain screams at him. If he can't even look the man in the eyes – how is he going to survive what is to come with any form of dignity. Who am I kidding? There is no way the word dignity could be used in any shape or form in this situation.

Emotions are mixed with adrenalin as it surges through his body. Rage, resentment, fear, disgust prickles his skin like he is being emotionally tattooed from the inside. However, there is also that warm tingling feeling swirling around his abdomen making him blink a little more frequently. Do I fight? Can I fight?

Draping that first strand of pearls around his bride's neck, Wen Ke Xing wraps the end around his wrist and pulls upwards, testing to see that the strand won't break, or at least not break that easily. Zhou Xu's head is pulled upward, hanging lightly from the back of his skull. He had requested the strongest silk string his ants could find and hopefully they didn't disappoint.

"Excellent." With eyes sparkling, Wen Ke Xing releases the strand and watches as it falls with a rustling sound, one side catching on the right. They both look at the pearl caught on Zhou Xu's stiff nipple.

"I mean, look at you. You are not the first man to react this way to me. Do you like what you see?" Bending slightly, Wen Ke Xing reaches out to touch those human peals. Flinching from the touch, both by the ice-cold fingers and by the sentiment, Zhou Xu recoils. His body flinging backwards, whilst his head stays in place, held forcefully within the strand of pearls. His head is left spinning from the whiplash.

Satisfied with the reaction, Wen Ke Xing reaches for a second strand of pearls. "Your hands." He continues, nonchalantly holding out his left hand as he wiggles his fingers.

As Zhou Xu raises his clenched fists, his arms a bit heavy, he senses the man towering over him. Though his hair is still in that soft looped ponytail, Wen Ke Xing's demeanor has completely changed. Gone is the man with short lived glistening eyes as he paid respect to his nameless parents. Back is the man who suffocated him with blood stained lips.

Wen Ke Xing takes his hands and binds them together with the second strand of pearls. He doesn't tie them very tight, only hard enough for the hands to be fixed together but not tight enough so that he can't move his hands a tiny bit. Still holding the strand with his right hand, he reaches for a third strand with his left and wraps it around the right wrist.

Glancing to the side, Zhou Xu sees that there are still more strands of pearls in the box. Why are there so many? Suddenly yanked forward, he hears, "Ah-Xu, help me take off my pants."

Unsure what to do, Zhou Xu's hands only hesitate for an unnoticeable second before he moves forward and awkwardly tries to wrangle the pants down. Not really focused on the task in hand, his mind trying to figure out how to get the upper hand, an already hard cock springs free right in front of his eyes. His mind goes instantly blank as he blinks, the huge tip so close he can smell it.

Taking a hold of the pearls around Zhou Xu's neck, Wen Ke Xing pulls him closer, "Ah‑Xu, open your mouth."

Trying to retreat from the beast in front of him, his mouth closes shut out of self‑preservation. That thing is not going in my mouth.

Smiling, Wen Ke Xing bends down, his eyes level with Zhou Xu's. "Ah-Xu, I said open your mouth."

Like lightning, the strike is explosive, Zhou Xu doesn't even know from which direction the blow came before he is hurled against the side of the bed frame. His ears ringing as a red palm spread across his face, his lower lip split. White spots dancing in front of his eyes, originating from the shooting pain at the side of his ribs.

As he coughs up blood, he feels a grip around his jaw, it's that same grip from a few days ago, the grip he is sure can crush his jaw into dust. With his mouth immediately forced open, another set of pearls are inserted before all the blood has been coughed up. The strand is looped multiple times and yanked so hard back in his mouth it cramps. He gags as blood and saliva runs from the corner of his mouth, staining the pearls.

Again, leveling his eyes with Zhou Xu's, Wen Ke Xing takes a choking hold around the man's throat, pearls digging into the flesh with almost crunching sounds.

"Ah-Xu, if you can't change your fate, change your attitude." (1) Wen Ke Xing says with a honeyed voice and a smile on his lips.

Not being able to swallow or spit up the blood that is stuck in his throat, his eyes water as the adrenalin shoots panic all the way out to his fingertips. How did this happen? How did it get to this point so fast? I can't think if he beats me unconscious and I am sure he will take me whether I am awake or not.

Without knowing how, he nods his head and instantly feels it yanked forward. Zhou Xu crawls to his knees, the soft touch of wedding robe fabric under him. Maybe I can bite it...? If I bite really hard that might make him pass out?

"Mn... ngh..." he mumbles as the blood drools from his mouth and down the sides of his throat, pooling in the collar bones. Feeling the pearls loosen their grip on his jaw, the cramp returns along with the blood flow as he wiggles it. Spitting out blood on the floor, he continues, "Fine, I will open my mouth."

Sure you will... "Ah-Xu, remember, fate leads those who are willing but must push those who are not." (2) He straightens his back, his right hand is holding the pearls locking the mouth and his left is holding the pearls circling the neck. The Guigu Guzhu is positioned like a puppeteer who is controlling a puppet with strings of pearls.

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Author's mini theatre:

Author: Do it.

Zhou Xu: No.

Author: Just do it.

Zhou Xu: No.

Author: Just open your mouth.

Zhou Xu: No.

Author: You know you want to.

Zhou Xu: No.

Author: We all know you want to.

Zhou Xu: No.

Author: Fine, then I will do it myself, it looks really yum.

Zhou Xu pushes the author out of the way and fakes being contained by the strings of pearls.

Author: ...

Zhou Xu: I was thirsty. *Swallowing possessively*

Authors notes:

(1) "If you can't change your fate, change your attitude" – Chinese idiom, basically Wen Ke Xing is saying that you either open willingly or I will open it for you. Either way, your mouth will open.

(2) "fate leads those who are willing but must push those who are not" – pretty self‑explanatory Chinese proverb.