How To Polish A Pearl

Chapter 21 - Entertaining

Zhou Xu stiffens momentarily before returning to his marble self. If it wasn't for the fact that Wen Ke Xing was holding on to him, he wouldn't have detected the subtle shift in breathing. Yes, this is definitely the man I chose down in the prison. Smiling he pulls him closer and sniffs at his neck, letting the scent warm him from inside.

The devils glance at each other in surprise and confusion and again, it is the weird looking turban ghost that takes the lead, "Guzhu, we will obey Nu Zhuren."

"Ah-Xu, let me introduce you to my lieutenants, the Ten Devils." Shifting his arm slowly and very suggestively down Zhou Xu's back to rest around his waist, he continues, "This is Hanged Ghost, he is the leader of the Ten Devils."

Zhou Xu's nods in greeting towards the turban guy in front of him.

Turning around to motion with his hand, Wen Ke Xing continues, "Ah-Xu, over there are Glamorous Ghost, Tragicomic Ghost and Lecherous Ghost." Each of them bows slightly as their names are called. "And over there are Happy Ghost, Corpse-eating Ghost and Long-tongued Ghost."

After greeting each of them, Zhou Xu turns his gaze towards Wen Ke Xing, his eyes silently saying "Corpse-eating ghost? What the hell!?" Wen Ke Xing just shrugs and smiles, a genuine smile that does not go unnoticed by anyone in the room.

"Lets eat, shall we?" Wen Ke Xing says, breaking the eye contact that had momentarily left Zhou Xu with all sorts of strange stirring inside. "Ah-Xu, come you sit here." Still with his arm around that waist, he helps Zhou Xu walk over to the seat next to his, and slowly letting him sit before taking a seat himself.

Nodding towards Ah-Xiang that had, up until that moment, been standing ignored right inside the door. She immediately opens the doors to let the servants in, some carrying trays of colorful, still steaming, dishes whist others carry wine bottles of different heritage.

"Please, sit, let's eat." Wen Ke Xing motions for the rest to sit and the murmurs start back up again as they all figure out where to sit strategically in relation to each other, to the Guzhu and his new husband.

Wen Ke Xing pays them no attention as he picks up his chopsticks to take one of the steamed bao buns and puts in on Zhou Xu's plate. "Ah-Xu, try this one. It is different to the one we had earlier this morning."

Looking at the steamed bun on his plate, Zhou Xu wonders how Wen Ke Xing can possibly know what food he likes to eat. Turning towards the servants, he opens his mouth to speak for the first time since they entered Kuai He, "Can I have some of the Jiangsu wine."

"Ah-Xu, that is one of my favorites too." Wen Ke Xing says with a bright smile on his face. Looking around the table he continues, "A toast to you all as a thank you for attending these three days of celebration." Raising his cup, he looks each of them in the eye until every single one turns away first.

Zhou Xu raises his cup, his movement precise so as to not reveal the marks around his wrists. He looks at Wen Ke Xing and when their eyes meet, they toast and empty their cups, only to have them immediately refilled by one of those nameless servants.

They spend a few hours, eating and drinking and talking about absolutely nothing. Zhou Xu takes part in all discussions, whilst silently observing Wen Ke Xing interact with these devils. He can clearly recognize Wen Ke Xing's open and brilliant behavior to throw the opponent off in order to read and analyze. It is expertly performed. He couldn't have done it better himself, thinking that he is currently giving the best husband performance of his life.

When the thought enters his mind, memories of mirror reflections flash before his eyes. It is him staring at himself through the mirror, however, the faces staring back change for every flash. Sometimes he is old, young, big nose, high cheek bones, round and even one with blue eyes. Somehow, he still knows that it is him standing in front of the mirror staring at these strangers that are also him.