After dining together while talking and bickering, Xie Rong left to rest in Bai Anjing’s room where he would be staying from now on. Bai Anjing helped him settle in and played around with him some more before leaving to take care of business in his study.
Now, after going through some new applications requesting sponsorship from the Qifeng organization and approving a couple of them, Bai Anjing was sitting at his desk, sipping some medicinal tea to counter in advance the hangover that’d come knocking tomorrow.
Without a whisper of sound, Wan Yingyue appeared before him as if congealing from shadows. The black cloth wound around her neck was pulled up to her nose as always. Her sleeveless outer robe was a dark grey while her inner robe was a deep black, its full sleeves cinched at her wrists. Two swords hung from either side of her waist, colored a matte black to avoid shining in the dark. Bai Anjing knew that the swords’ blades were coated with non-reflective black paint as well for the same reason.
Already used to his subordinate’s ways of silently sneaking around, Bai Anjing merely glanced at her and put the cup of tea down. “What did you find?”
“My operatives asked around discreetly in all the surrounding towns using both his name and appearance as reference, just in case ‘Xie Rong’ was an alias. They were unable to find a match. No one with that name or appearance has ever lived here in recent memory of the townspeople. He is likely to not be from around here at all,” Wan Yingyue reported.
Bai Anjing nodded with a frown. For some reason, he didn’t feel surprised. He thought back to Xie Rong; his face, smile, the way he spoke… As expected, his Ah-Rong seemed to be hiding secrets. Following his instincts, Bai Anjing instructed, “Search about him in the capital. Take even more care there than here. We’ve been having some near calls with the imperial dogs already. We don’t want to alert them to anything.”
Wan Yingyue’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. Why the capital? But she quickly understood. Her leader must’ve noticed something after talking to that young man or deduced something from his accent. Bowing, Wan Yingyue replied crisply, “Understood. It will be done.”
Straightening, she looked at Bai Anjing and said with gravity, “There is another, more pressing matter that I have to report.”
Bai Anjing placed his elbows on the table and knitted his fingers together before urging, “Go on.”
Wan Yingyue pressed her lips together behind her scarf. “The Herald is here.”
Bai Anjing’s expression turned grim. The air thickened with ominous tension.
It was well-known that since times immemorial, the ruler of Hao Empire held the loyalty of a regiment of heavily trained elite secret guards who always shadowed their footsteps and protected them. The current captain of the secret guards, Li Nianzhen, was a fearsome and elusive figure said to always be waiting in the shadows away from sight, tirelessly serving his master, the emperor.
The only people other than a chosen few in the palace to ever be graced with Li Nianzhen’s presence while he was on duty were the emperor’s enemies, and they had all undoubtedly died under his blade not soon after. No one else had ever glimpsed his face, and just his name alone was enough to strike fear in the hearts of every dissident to the throne. But those worries were unwarranted, for as long as they did not pose a direct threat to his master, Li Nianzhen would not raise a hand against them.
Due to the nature of his work, Li Nianzhen was never seen outside. Not only was his appearance hidden, even his name became known just six years ago. News about him only surfaced once every handful of years when he did something in the line of his duty that was too big to conceal. Everything about him was shrouded in mystery, yet his might and the weight behind his name was unquestioned even far outside the borders of the empire.
A short while after Bai Anjing took over the Qifeng organization and spread its influence, there had been several reports of the imperial secret guard sending people over to the Baizhu region. Though they had yet been unable to confirm their reason for intruding here, Bai Anjing and many other members of Qifeng suspected that they were here to scope the area and spy on them to gather intelligence. The reasonable conclusion they drew was that the imperial secret guard and its captain must be turning their gaze towards the Qifeng organization, sensing that due to the political power it was gathering, it had the capability to become a threat to the throne.
The Herald was Li Nianzhen’s lieutenant and second-in-command. Because he preceded his captain wherever he went as if announcing his arrival, he came to be known as the Captain’s Herald. Now, that Herald was here, signaling that his captain was not far behind. Bai Anjing guessed that it would be mere days before the Baizhu area would be graced by the mysterious captain of the imperial secret guards. If they managed to locate this place, a bloodbath in the Qifeng organization’s main hideout might soon follow.
Bai Anjing leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. So it was finally time to face the heavyweights. After the direction he had been steering this organization in, he couldn’t say that it was unexpected. But what bothered him was…
“Ah-Rong has been here for not even a day and the Herald has arrived on his tail so soon. The timing is suspect,” Bai Anjing observed with narrowed eyes. “There might be a connection between them.”
Wan Yingyue nodded. “Yes. I will find out.” After pausing for a moment, she continued, “But since the capital is far, it might take quite a while to send our operatives there, have them instruct the information gathering specialists the organization has stationed there to collect the needed content, then take it and return back.”
“I see.” Bai Anjing frowned and tapped a finger absentmindedly on the table. “What about the people we’ve got on the Herald? Were they able to glean anything from him regarding the purpose of his visit?”
“The mansion where the Herald and his people are staying at is in Jinyu City and falls within our territory, so we have been keeping tight watch on him ever since he arrived. Our people are observing him carefully from within the walls, floors, and ceilings of the courtyard he has settled in, but they were unable to find anything useful yet. Since the Herald is experienced enough to expect being spied upon, I let a handful of my operatives get caught to set our guests’ minds at ease, but the Herald has still been very cautious. He does not speak about anything of importance and does not let his people do so either. It appears that even if he isn’t outright aware that he is being spied upon, he might still suspect something.”
Bai Anjing’s gaze glinted sharply in reaction. “Tch. That bastard is crafty. Increase the priority of finding the Herald’s motives for coming here and whatever connection he or his captain may have with Ah-Rong. To cut the time, I will allow you to use the services of the aviary of messenger pigeons in Shuishe Village. They might be pricey, but they’re very capable and will get the job of enquiring in the capital done much sooner.”
Wan Yingyue hesitated. Pricey was an understatement. But her leader was right, they needed to make haste. Wan Yingyue nodded. “Yes, I will take care of it.” After a short pause, she recalled something and opened her mouth again, “Leader, there is a small detail about the Herald’s behavior that my operatives have noticed that I’m not sure bears much relevance.”
Bai Anjing’s attention focused on her with intensity. “Tell me.”
“Ever since he arrived, the Herald has been strangely restless and anxious, at least as far as my people could make out. I thought it might be of note because it goes against what is said of his temperament.”
Bai Anjing looked at her incredulously. “That guy known as the Ice Mountain for the way he always keeps a cool and stable head during even the most unpredictable of situations, like that fight at the docks with an enemy force eight times larger than his own, is actually acting anxious? Were you able to find out why?”
Wan Yingyue regrettably shook her head. “No.”
Bai Anjing sunk into thoughts. After a few moments, he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep breath. “Alright, then. If you have nothing else to report, then that will be all. You can go and start preparing to collect information now. I expect results by tomorrow.”
Giving a nod, Wan Yingyue left in the same way she arrived.
Left alone in the room, Bai Anjing lifted up the cup of medicinal tea to his lips again while wishing with all his might for some strong alcohol.
It seemed it was unavoidable that matters would get messy in the near future.
∘━✧━∘
When Bai Anjing returned to his room at night, he found that Xie Rong had already snuggled under a quilt and made himself at home in his bed. Seeing Xie Rong shifting drowsily as if just starting to fall asleep, Bai Anjing smiled and carefully lay down on his side of the bed. This man might be here with ulterior motives, but Bai Anjing still planned to make full use of his pleasant company. He rested a hand oh-so-casually on Xie Rong’s hip and happily settled in to sleep as well.
Drifting on the edge of slumber, Xie Rong felt Bai Anjing’s touch and brought himself back to wakefulness. Rolling his eyes, he pushed away the hand and snapped, “Behave.”
Bai Anjing let out a low, rumbling chuckle that Xie Rong felt rolling down his spine. He suppressed a shiver and asked with a hint of surly impatience, “What?”
In a voice still thrumming with humor, Bai Anjing replied, “For someone sharing a bed with a strange man, Ah-Rong doesn’t seem bothered at all.”
Xie Rong sighed and rubbed his cheek on the pillow before settling again. “I’m just tired.” His voice did indeed seem weary.
Bai Anjing let out another rumbling chuckle. Xie Rong suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder pushing down and pressing him onto his back while a large male body caged him in from above. Bai Anjing’s knees rested on either side of Xie Rong’s upper thighs while his elbows bracketed the young man’s shoulders. Their faces were so close that their noses almost touched.
Smirking, Bai Anjing spoke, “Should you really be letting down your guard this much when you’re so helpless?”
Bai Anjing suddenly felt a knee firmly pressing between his legs in a silent warning. Xie Rong raised an eyebrow and stated, “Oh, I’m hardly helpless.”
Bai Anjing laughed, unbothered. “That still remains to be seen. What if this much isn’t enough to make me back away, hm?”
Before the last syllable had slipped out of Bai Anjing’s mouth, he felt the merciless grip of Xie Rong’s fingers around his throat, the fingertips placed precisely over his two carotid arteries that ran up on either side of his neck and supplied the brain with blood. Xie Rong’s movements were very smooth and practiced, leaving no time for Bai Anjing to react.
Xie Rong’s tone was casual as he cautioned, “Don’t make me force you into unconsciousness.”
Bai Anjing’s expression turned subtle. But before he could say anything, Xie Rong yawned, long and deep. Seeming utterly unconcerned, he let go of Bai Anjing’s throat, turned to his side, pulled up the quilt, closed his eyes, and prepared to drift off into the land of dreams. Cracking open an eyelid suddenly as if just recalling the presence of the man hovering over him, Xie Rong peered up at the incredulous Bai Anjing and spoke, his voice already thickened with drowsiness, “You be good and go to sleep. I’m too tired to play these games with you now.”
Seeing Xie Rong closing his eyes again, his expression turning lax and unguarded as he began drifting off to sleep, Bai Anjing didn’t know what to think. His mind churning, he got off of Xie Rong and went back to lying down on his side of the bed.
This situation was too illogical. As much as he would love to think that his Ah-Rong was being so unwary because he trusted him and had already given him his heart, Bai Anjing knew that it was untrue. There had to be some other reason, but he couldn’t think of anything. How curious and puzzling.
Feeling restless, Bai Anjing got up on an elbow and supported his head with a palm. His contemplative gaze landed on Xie Rong’s peaceful side profile. Sensing that the young man’s breaths had smoothened, Bai Anjing poked his cheek and whispered, “Are you asleep yet?”
Xie Rong grumbled with displeasure and his eyelashes fluttered open dazedly. He turned to level Bai Anjing with a glare. “You… You should just go to sleep already. Stop annoying me.”
Bai Anjing grinned cheerfully at him. “Ah-Rong, it sounds so cold for you to keep calling me ‘you’. Why don’t you call me Ah-Bai or Ah-Jing?”
Xie Rong turned away and refused. “No. Now sleep.”
Just as he closed his eyes again, Xie Rong felt a hot breath fanning over the junction of his shoulder and neck as a deep voice murmured huskily right by his ear, “Or if you prefer, you can call me darling, my love, or beloved as well.”
Xie Rong suppressed another shiver and replied, “’Annoying bastard’ is a good enough name for you.”
Bai Anjing chuckled and remarked playfully, “So testy.” Then his voice turned serious. “Ah-Rong, I really want to hear you call my name. Won’t you do it just once, please?”
After a moment of silence, Xie Rong sighed. “I will call your name however many times you want, but not now. The time for that will come soon enough. Now sleep. We both need it.”
Bai Anjing cocked his head. He wanted to probe further, but he knew without doubt that Xie Rong would not answer. He could only let it go and try again some other time.
To his mild surprise, Bai Anjing found that once he stopped disturbing him, Xie Rong fell asleep almost immediately. Soft snores issued from him and his body lay languid and loose on the bed. The young man’s expression was trusting and open, shrouded with tranquility. It was as if he had finally gotten the chance to get rid of all that ailed him and sleep well for the first time in a long while.
Settling on the bed, Bai Anjing reached out to place a hand on Xie Rong’s hip again, but paused. Slowly retrieving his hand, he studied the young man’s face. Something in him eased, and he realized that he liked seeing his Ah-Rong so unguarded and relaxed.
With a small, content smile, Bai Anjing finally closed his eyes as well and drifted off into slumber.
OwO _anticipation_
Kkk, what a proper name for Bai2 ?
im loving this