"Hold still, you absolute fool," Bai Lu hissed, his voice shaking as he smeared salve across Ling Yue's back. "If you move again, I swear, I'll tie you to this bed."
Ling Yue wheezed a laugh and groaned. "It hurts," he said, pushing his face to the pillow.
He had woken up on his chest a few minutes ago to see Bai Lu by his side. He discovered that he had fainted on the thirteenth round, and a decree from Xuan Han had stopped the public humiliation.
"Do you know how reckless you are? I know you love adventures like me, but what you displayed at the throne room was dumb, and you could have been killed!"
"Getting hit on the back is worse than death. At least, if I were dead, I wouldn't have to be beaten in front of hundreds of people who were pointing fingers and mocking me. Even a little boy threw a rotten pear at me."
Bai Lu paused and then hit the back of Ling Yue's head.
"Hey, you are hurting someone," Ling Yue pouted.
"That's for your reckless behavior. You had fainted in the sand, and they had to carry you in, Yue. When they brought you to the flower hall," Bai Lu's lower lip quivered. "I thought…" He heaved a sigh, pressed a sleeve to his eyes, wiping the tears off his face, then resumed spreading ointment along a welt that crossed his shoulder blade like a red lightning bolt.
Ling Yue said nothing. He had not expected that Bai Lu would cry for him. Hell, he never imagined anyone would actually care for him. Even Xuan Han had stopped the beating halfway.
Why? Xuan Han wasn't the type to care about anyone else, and yet he had stopped it. Was he trying to act nice and make Ling Yue lose his guard so he could attack him?
"Ouch," Ling Yue hissed when Bai Lu applied the salve at the center.
"Sorry," he whispered. "Just hold still. The healer said I have to apply the salve to numb the pain. How are you feeling?"
Ling Yue groaned. "I feel like I am breathing fire," he croaked.
When he had woken up, he had felt his back on fire and had thrashed and cried out in pain for a few minutes until Bai Lu started applying the salve on his back.
"This is that flop emperor's fault."
"Flop? What does that mean?" Bai Lu asked.
Ling Yue chuckled. "Even if I tell you, there is no way you will ever understand. Where I had come from, words like that are being used among fans, especially on Stantwt."
"Stantwt? Your words are so strange that I often find it hard to understand you."
"Exactly," Ling Yue clapped his hands together. "It is why even if I tell you, there is no way you will understand."
Bai Lu nodded and continued applying the salve, and didn't bother asking any more questions, which put Ling Yue at ease because he wouldn't have to answer any more questions or explain the meaning behind his words.
"I just hope you wouldn't anger the emperor anymore. He is not a bad person."
Ling Yue laughed and clapped his hands, then turned to face Bai Lu, eyeing his big brown eyes. "That Xuan Han is a crazy, pathetic emperor and…"
Bai Lu clasped a hand over his mouth before he could finish. "You can't say the emperor's name so loudly like that, not after what had happened."
Ling Yue mumbled and removed Bai Lu's hand from his mouth. "He ordered that I be flogged in public. I don't care what he thinks and…"
"Keep talking like that and you'll be killed soon," Ling Chen's voice cut in as he walked into the room with Wei Lang trailing behind him.
Ling Yue rolled his eyes and pressed his face onto the pillow again. The last person he had expected to see. "Oh, look, the family disappointment police are here. What's up, Chen? Did you come here to lecture me on honor while I'm bleeding out? And oh, the nepo baby is here," he waved at Wei Lang.
"You are a disgrace to the Su family," Ling Chen retorted. "Not only did you put the family to shame, but you also spat on the emperor's name…"
"Spitting?" Ling Yue snarked a laugh. "I'll do worse. The next time I see Xuan Han, I will put poison in his tea. Or maybe I will strangle him with his robe sash," he paused and grinned. "Slowly," he whispered.
Wei Lang stepped forward and then looked at the entrance. The doors were shut, but his eyes remained fixed on the door as if he was watching out for something or someone. "Be careful what you say about the emperor, Ling Yue. The walls have ears, and words like that travel quickly."
Ling Yue shrugged. "Do I look like I care? Good. Let them hear and tell that flop emperor. He should sleep with one eye open because I will stab his pretty face while he sleeps."
Ling Chen's fist slammed the bedpost, and he let out a frustrated groan. "Enough! You stupid brat. Ever since you woke up a few days ago, you have started acting weird and saying gibberish words that no one understands, and worst, you dare speak the emperor's name boldly and even plot on how to kill him. That is high treason!"
"Oh, you expect me to be a stupid, weak omega?" Ling Yue chuckled. "Well, good that I am no longer that person." After all, he is Kai Hamilton, the one who runs the Stan TWT of BL Danmei.
"You will end our clan, so drop out of the selection now. I have sent a letter to Father about your behavior."
"Calm down, Chen, he is hurt," Bai Lu said gently.
"Hurt?" Ling Chen snarled. "He's alive. That's more than most get after aiming a hairpin at the emperor's throat in front of distinguished leaders. That is insanity."
Wei Lang nodded in agreement and cleared his throat as he spoke. "I have to agree with Ling Chen. According to the heavenly law, he is supposed to be sentenced to death and his soul condemned."
"And you know this because your aunt told you?"
"No," Wei Lang shook his head slowly and sighed deeply. "It's my cousin."
A grin appeared on Ling Yue's face, which grew wider when his eyes met Wei Lang's. "I knew you were not an ordinary nepo baby."
"For goodness' sake, stop calling me that. Whatever those words mean," Wei Lang complained. "This is why I always hide my identity," he said slowly.
Ling Chen slammed his hand on the bedpost yet again. "I am still talking," he shouted.
"Oh, let's hear the angry baby," Ling Yue teased.
"Shut up," he retorted. "Drop out of the selection while you are still alive, because you might not be lucky next time!"
Ling Yue grinned and pointed a finger toward his brother. "No, I am not going to drop out, brother."
"I am not your brother," Ling Chen clenched his jaw as he spoke. "You are a mistake Father brought to the house. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be here if you are going to be an ungrateful brat."
"Aw, Chen, your words hurt, but keep talking because every word gives me more reason to want to gut your previous emperor," he winked at him.
Ling Chen raised his hand to say something, but the door suddenly opened. There was barely a sound as all eyes turned toward the door.
Just presence. An overwhelming presence.
The scents of sandalwood filled Ling Yue's nose as his eyes met Xuan Han's silver eyes. He stood at the door, his silver hair loose, holding a jade jar.
Everyone in the room froze immediately at the sight of him, except Ling Yue.
"Your Majesty," Ling Chen dropped to the ground, his face bowed.
Wei Lang and Bai Lu followed immediately.
Xuan Han's gaze was not fixed on them; instead, it locked on Ling Yue. "Leave us," his deep voice sounded.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the three jumped and immediately rushed out of the room.
Silence.
No one said anything until Xuan Han moved toward the bed with slow, calculated steps. His eyes were unreadable but fixed on Ling Yue's shredded back.
"Wha, have you come to finish the job?" Ling Yue spoke up, unable to deal with the silence. "You need a bonus with your bare hands?"
Xuan Han didn't answer. He moved to the bedside, the jar in one hand and a white embroidered handkerchief in the other. He sat down and stretched his hand to touch Ling Yue's back, but it got slapped away.
"Touch me and I swear I'll bite your throat out."
"Try it," Xuan Han murmured and stretched his hand, his fingers gleaming with salve, and he pressed on the welt on Ling Yue's back.
Coolness. He felt it like a spark of ice to cool the fire on his back, and each time Xuan Han's thumb brushed his back, Ling Yue felt an electric shock from the contact.
Then suddenly he jerked and turned around. "Get off me!" he yelled, slapping Xuan Han's hand away. "Don't act like you care now when it was you who gave the orders."
"You stupid omega, I had saved your life. You should be grateful," Xuan fired back.
"Saving my life by destroying my back!" Ling Yue yelled, his face turning red. "I don't need your pity care, Xuan Han. Get out of my room."
Xuan Han sighed but didn't stop touching Ling Yue's back.
Then, out of anger and desperation, Ling Yue thrashed under him, ignoring the pain on his back.
"Stop acting like a brat." Xuan Han grabbed his hand and bound it behind him, but Ling Yue didn't back down. He groaned in protest and tried to kick Xuan Han on the chest.
His hand knocked down the salve in Xuan Han's hand.
They both collided, their chests slamming against one another, hearts beating as one, their breath mingling as their eyes met, faces so close they could feel each other's breath.
Ling Yue grabbed Xuan Han's black silk collar, tightening his hand on it and pulling him closer.
"What the hell are you doing?" Xuan Han said as his palm slammed against the mattress beside Ling Yue's head.
"Trying to do a repeat," Ling Yue grinned wickedly, and his lips parted as he closed his eyes, moving his mouth closer to Xuan Han's.
Xuan Han pushed his hands away and shoved him off, then stumbled backward, his knee kicking the bedposts.
"Oh, you don't want that?" Ling Yue asked as he hit the mattress and burst into laughter, clapping his hands.
"You…" Xuan Han pointed a finger toward him, then paused and pointed to the salve jar on the ground. "I spent hours doing that, so use it if you want your back to heal, or you could just let the scars brand you. I don't care," he said, then turned around and walked out of the room, slamming the door with a force that shook the building.
"I don't care," Ling Yue mocked him, burst into laughter, and clapped his hands. He had successfully put fear into Xuan Han's heart.
"He tried so hard to avoid it, which means that he still believes I am Xiao Yu," he laughed again until the sound dissolved into sobs as he felt his back hurting again.
Then the door opened again, and Bai Lu entered, this time with servants holding a lacquered tray balanced in their hands containing steamed buns and honeyed pear slices.
Before Ling Yue could say anything, Bai Lu gasped as his gaze swept across the room.
"What the hell happened here?"