⚠️Gore and Unsettling Descriptions⚠️

Shoucheng struggled in the unknown man’s vice grip yet his efforts were doused with cold water with a harsh slap from the man. His mouth was stuffed with a foul cloth and his eyes were blurry with tears. He could barely make out the man dragging him roughly through the stony, jungly path but the man was bigger, so much bigger than Shoucheng. His nerves were screaming at him and he felt sick to the core. 

He didn’t know what he did to encounter such horrendous luck today. First the conflict with the emperor, the pale-faced crying ‘puppet’ and now a dangerous man dragging him to who knows where. The gods had given Shoucheng so many signs of his impending doom yet he was stupid, so stupid that he didn’t expect such a thing to happen. He grew limp in the man’s hold with dread and regret consuming his senses and Shoucheng let the man drag him without any struggle.  He wanted to fight back but no matter how hard he tried, inwardly he knew he wouldn’t be able to escape by himself.

Shoucheng looked up and in the blurry darkness he could see the man’s disheveled hair and yellow teeth stretched out in a terrifying smile. Shoucheng’s eyes widened in fear and he trembled like a leaf. A thatched, deserted hut soon entered their sight and the man’s footsteps quickened. 

‘Thud, thud, thud.’ 

With the man’s hurried steps, Shoucheng could hear something colliding with another thing, producing a heavy sound. He could faintly make out a rectangular-shaped object hitting the man’s thigh every few seconds. He didn’t get much time to identify the thing as he was soon lifted from the ground and roughly thrown inside the hut. Shoucheng landed with a groan while an eerie laugh came from the man. 

He closed the crooked door of the hut and let Shoucheng bask in the horrid creaking of the rotten wood. Shocuheng crawled back but was soon pulled up by his hair and harshly pushed onto a creaking table with four posts on its ends. The man started tying Shoucheng’s four limbs with flesh-digging ropes. Shoucheng struggled as muffled screams and groans spilled from his mouth and tears dripped down from the corner of his eyes. 

‘I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. No, no, no! Please No!’

The ropes dug deep into his flesh. The man walked away from Shoucheng and lit a few candles around the hut. Shoucheng finally saw his captor. The man had dirty black hair and an overgrown beard covering half of his face. His dark eyes gleamed with unclear emotions. The man held a butcher’s knife in his hands. The knife looked old and had jagged ends yet the man held it with such care that it seems more precious than all the gold in the world. 

With the eerie smile still on his face, he walked towards Shoucheng, one hand holding the knife and the other a candle. He placed the candle dangerously close to Shoucheng’s face and lightly ran the knife over the flickering flame. 

“Do you know why you’re here?” The man’s voice was unpleasant and rough. His eyes glimmered in the dim light as he casually talked to Shoucheng. Shoucheng looked at him in fear; he didn’t move. 

“Hmm...well I suppose everyone would act like this if they were in such a position. I know you’re wondering why in the world are you here, tied up on top of a table and looking at a man holding a knife right in front of you. Well…” The man’s smile grew wider and he drew closer to Shoucheng’s face. 

“The emperor thinks you're not needed anymore. That’s why.” 

Shoucheng’s heart dropped and he froze. ‘Just that small, that small conflict. J-Just for that small thing that happened...I-I’m dying?’

Shoucheng shook his head and weakly struggled. He pulled the tight restraints but they didn’t become looser, rather they penetrated his flesh even more. The man took a step back and swung the knife twice. 

“Though, I won’t kill you in an instant. I’ll...let you experience becoming a eunuch first! Think of it as a...as a last gift before you die! I must say this is my first time doing such a job so I apologize if I mess up!” 

Shoucheng could barely breathe with the cloth stuffed inside his mouth and the man’s words made him feel like he was choking. He couldn’t breathe. He could barely see with the hazy tears, but he could feel.. He could feel everything. The man walked closer to Shoucheng and immediately ripped his pants apart. Shocuheng screamed but nobody could hear. 

“Oh! I almost forgot!” The man lightly stroked Shoucheng’s pale and tear-filled face and took out the suffocating foul cloth. Shoucheng took deep breaths and struggled in vain. 

“I like to hear my victims' screams.” 

The man, without any warning, slashed down the knife and lodged itself halfway through Shoucheng’s jade stem, almost cutting it off. For a millisecond, there was silence until an earth-shattering scream ripped out from Shoucheng’s throat. ‘It hurts! Stop!’ 

The pain was unbearable. Shoucheng wanted to faint but the pain would always wake him back up. He couldn’t even feel his broken nose anymore. 

“Oh...right...I was supposed to cut off your balls too…”

Shoucheng cried and screamed as the man took out the now bloody knife and his half-cut jade stem laid limp on his bare thighs. 

‘Make it end! Make it end...please! 

-

Lin Heiyan ran through the dense forest with light footsteps, his peach-coloured robes dancing with the wind as two sets of footsteps echoed behind him. The forest didn’t seem to hinder his movements as he quickly reached a familiar thatched hut. Suddenly, a mournful scream echoed loudly in the forest stunning the three outside!

“NO! Stop! Please…” 

Heiyan cursed and immediately barged into the hut. The first thing he saw was a shaggy man holding a blood-dripping knife. The man’s dark eyes which were gleaming with unpleasant emotions now held fear once he saw Heiyan. He dropped the knife and took a step back. 

Shoucheng wailed and screamed but he didn’t move. Pain assaulted his senses and he could barely make out what was happening around him. He could hear things falling and groans of pain different from his. Peach robes flitted in and out of his sight but he felt like he was hallucinating due to the intense pain. 

Heiyan crushed the man under his foot and made a silencing gesture. The man nodded hurriedly and covered his mouth with both of his hands. He could feel warm blood running down his face and an increasing throbbing pain but he didn’t dare move. Heiyan gestured to the two people behind him and they quickly went to work and tied the man in harsh ropes and dragged him out silently. 

Heiyan walked towards the table where Shoucheng laid. His features softened in pity once he saw Shoucheng’s miserable state. He ripped the restraints with eas and took out his outer robe. He pulled Shoucheng up and wrapped him with the thin apparel. Shoucheng’s pale brown eyes landed on Heiyan’s face. In a trance he looked at the familiar scarlet, golden-flecked eyes. With tears streaming down in his face he moved back regardless of the intense pain. 

“I-I’m sorry, I w-won’t s-say anything s-so please l-let me go! M-My pa-parents need me s-so please!” 

Shoucheng reached the end of the table and his hand slipped on the rough edge, his body slowly fell down. He gave out a choked sound and closed his eyes tightly waiting for the rough collision which never came. He meekly opened one eye and saw those beautiful eyes, a beautifully sculpted face, and a red earring dangling in front of him. He laid unmoving on Heiyan’s embrace. Suddenly, an agonizing pain zipped through his body from his member. He silently screamed and tightly gripped Heiyan’s undershirt. Blood dripped down his thighs and formed a small puddle below him.  

“I-It hurts..so much…” He buried himself in Heiyan’s embrace as he bit his lip as waves and waves of unrelenting pain shot through his body. Heiyan looked at the struggling youth in his arms and held him closer. Heiyan slightly nodded and moved closer to Shoucheng’s ear and said, “Don’t worry and believe in me.” 

Heiyan raised his right arm and supported Shoucheng’s body with the other. In a flash he brought it down and hit Shoucheng’s back. Shoucheng looked at Heiyan with confusion in one second and in another he fainted in Heiyan’s arms. 

-

Shoucheng could feel his body bouncing up and down. He couldn’t see yet his vision sometimes was red, bright yellow or just black. The more his sleepiness dispersed, the more pain he could feel. With great difficulty he opened his sore eyes but had to quickly close them again due to the harsh glare of the sun. He took quite some time to adjust to the lighting and once he did, he looked around. 

A soft white blanket covered his body, which was tightly wrapped up with a peach-coloured outer robe. His other clothes were nowhere to be found and his jade stem was dressed with a white bandage. He lightly touched his nose and could feel a cleaner bandage wrapped around it, not the slightly dirty one the officer gave him. 

Shoucheng looked around and found himself inside an enclosed space. It had two benches, one which Shoucheng was resting on and another opposite him which was empty. The carriage was decorated with splashes of red and cream and various designs were drawn upon its walls. Shoucheng, in a befuddled state, sat up from his lying position and groaned in pain. With his lips down in a frown and his eyebrows scrunched up, Shoucheng tried standing on his two feet when suddenly an unexpected jolt sent him to the ground. 

He yelped in pain and suddenly all movement stopped. With his body half kneeling and half-sprawled on the ground, someone bursted inside through the carriage door. A beautiful woman with stormy green eyes and red lips and white teeth stood in front of him, wearing a strange skin-tight uniform. She gasped upon seeing him sprawled on the ground and hurried to help him up. Shoucheng groaned in pain as he looked confusedly at the woman. Shoucheng was forced to lay down as the woman wouldn’t allow him to sit or stand.

“Where am I? Who are you?” His voice was hoarse from the previous night’s events. The woman looked at him for a moment before sitting down beside Shoucheng. 

“Hao Shoucheng, do you remember what happened before you fainted?” 

Shoucheng looked at her in silence as unpleasant memories clouded his mind. A pair of scarlet eyes gazed at him from within the fog of his memories making Shoucheng clutch his head. A dull throbbing pain ensued and Shoucheng closed his eyes for a moment and held his head with his hand. 

The woman whispered soothing words as she stood up. Shoucheng could hear the ‘cling-clang’ sounds and the heavy smell of bitter brewed medicine. The woman helped him sit up and he leaned back on the carriage walls and was forced to drink the unpleasant medicine. With a scrunched up expression he pinched his nose and took the bowl from the woman’s hands and downed it all in one go. He swallowed and barely held back from dry heaving.  

After a few minutes the dull throbbing finally disappeared and even the pain in between his legs seemed to have temporarily retreated. Shoucheng looked at the woman with half-lidded eyes, his hazel gold eyes were hazy and unfocused. 

“I’m sorry.” His words made the woman dumbfounded as she lightly tilted her head. 

“Why are you apologising? It’s alright, everything you are experiencing right now is normal. The medicine will make you drowsy but other than it won’t have any side effects. Hao Shoucheng, I suppose you remember my ma-” The woman paused, as if hesitant to continue with her words. She mumbled under her breath and Shoucheng slightly smiled. 

“Please tell my saviour I give him my heartfelt gratitude. If he didn’t arrive then I would’ve been on my way to the yellow springs filled with deep regret.” 

The woman nodded, “I will. I apologise for not introducing myself sooner, my surname is Wang and my given name is Fang. Now, Hao Shoucheng please rest for a while, we will be arriving at the palace soon.” 

Wang Fang stood up, gave a kind smile and walked out the carriage. Shoucheng gazed at her disappearing back and a sudden thought plagued his mind, ‘How did she know my name?’

At that moment he wanted to get up and walk outside but a sudden drowsiness hit him suddenly and he was forced to lay down. Thousands of questions ran rampant in his mind but all was silenced when he closed his eyes and his breathing evened. The carriage continued moving once the male had fallen asleep. 

Trivia-

• Yellow springs: [黄泉] The underworld of Chinese mythology, the equivalent of Hades or Hell.
• Red lips and white teeth: A Chinese idiom used to describe the beauty of a person.