Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 107 : Odd

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⚠ TRIGGER WARNING: Mention of child sexual abuse. ⚠
If this is a trigger/landmine for you, please stop reading now.

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The sound of rain outside the tent grew softer, and the tent flap was opened, dissipating the heat within. Lecherous howls of the drunk men rang out from the camp in the deep of the night, while soldiers with arms around one another played guessing games. Lei Changming was so hot that he undid his clothes and laid his chest bare. His chest was tanned, with plenty of scars and a tuft of chest hair that grew unchecked like weed beneath his clothes. Drunkenly embracing the woman in his arms, he sang and danced, and even called out to Shen Zechuan, “Brother Shen, get up!” 

At this point in time, the flap moved, and several servile and submissive soldiers entered to place down the food.  

Shen Zechuan partially opened the little bamboo fan and stood up. The candle flames in the tent were not bright enough. He raised his hand to block the side of his face at an angle with the fan, then looked at Lei Changming and said softly, “What dance does the chief want to see?”  

Lei Changming felt that Shen Zechuan was really good-looking. He was not only astonishingly beautiful when seen this way, but also so gorgeous that he overshadowed and outshone everything else in the room. Lei Changming drank the wine to embolden himself, then shoved the woman away and pounced on Shen Zechuan. He did not expect to trip over the wine jar at his feet and cut a sorry sight as he fell at Shen Zechuan’s feet. It was in this way Lei Changming sprawled on the ground and gasped for breath that reeked of wine. He wanted to grab the hem of Shen Zechuan’s robe, but he grasped at nothing but empty air. He let loose a chuckle and began to laugh. 

“Smell nice.” Lei Changming stretched his neck out and sniffed the air hard. “You really smell so good. Brother Shen, come on. Help me up. I’ll dance with you. Dance whatever you like! Damn, so this is what others mean by the fragrance of a beauty!”

Shen Zechuan looked askance at him and watched him crawl on the ground like a pot-bellied hairy spider as he chased after the corner of Shen Zechuan’s plain, white clothes. For some reason, Shen Zechuan felt an extremely sudden wave of abhorrence wash over him in this absurdly comical moment. His hatred, which had broken free of its dam, was just like magma, so scalding that his fingers, which had been gripping the fan, went white. 

His teacher told him to leave Qudu and return to Zhongbo. Yet the Duanzhou, which he once pined for, was successively handed over to men like these. Lei Changming and the others were just like personification of malice. They were the evil ghosts who had taken over the state. 

Shen Zechuan lightly rested his bamboo fan at the side of his lips. He let out a smile and slowly took a step back. In the din under the flickers of ghostly shadows, he bent over slightly and said, “Come over.” 

Lei Changming originally wanted to climb to his feet, but now, it seemed like he could not care less as he crawled on his hands and knees towards Shen Zechuan. In his trance, he felt that what he was seeing was not a human being, but an untouchable, nocturnal demon. He salivated and swallowed his saliva before he realized that Shen Zechuan had a tiny white jade stone on his right ear. Someone had carefully polished that jade into a perfect sphere, and it looked exceedingly gentle on Shen Zechuan’s earlobe under the glow of the light. It was the only accessory he had on his entire body, other than his bamboo fan.

“Brother Shen…” Lei Changming said with urgency. “Quick, help me up.” 

The soldiers set down the plates with their heads lowered. Then, with trays in hands, they stepped aside as if they were preparing to leave. The shouts and laughter of the men and women were like the drizzle which, in Lei Changming’s ears, became another seemingly elusive world. He seemed to be a drooling jackal that had been chained and pulled towards Shen Zechuan by an invisible force. The tent was all upside down. Lei Changming felt a little dizzy from drinking too much.