Chapter 6: White-feathered Captive
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Xie Rong and Bai Anjing kissed and savored one another until the morning fog around them dissipated under the brightening sunlight. They only parted when they ran out of breath, their bodies still remaining flush against each other.

Pressed up against the tree, Bai Anjing slowly slid down until he was sitting on the ground, his legs folded. He patted the place beside him and Xie Rong silently sat down on the indicated area. As tacit intimacy and something indefinable filled the space between them, Xie Rong wordlessly wrapped an arm around Bai Anjing’s waist while Bai Anjing wound an arm over the younger man’s shoulder. Their heads rested together, their lips reddened, faces flushed, and breaths slowly evening out.

“Do you believe in fated love that can last through different lives?” Bai Anjing’s soft voice broke the quiet.

Xie Rong looked at him with confusion.

Bai Anjing smiled, his eyes dancing with liveliness. “Ah-Rong, being with you feels so comfortable that it makes me wonder whether we were lovers in a previous life, meeting each other again after being reincarnated in this life. You must surely feel that connection as well and wish to give yourself to me. Don’t hold back now. Just let your passion for me pour out. I swear I can take it.”

 Xie Rong chuckled in a low voice. This man was so ridiculous. “Stop trying to tempt me into rushing this,” he chided playfully. He rested his head on Bai Anjing’s shoulder and continued in a quieter tone, “But I have to say, I never thought I’d hear you talk about something like past lives. Such a whimsical and romantic line of thinking is unexpected from you.”

Bai Anjing gasped dramatically and exclaimed with mock-offense, “What do you mean? I’m such a charmingly romantic rogue!”

Laughing, Xie Rong turned to bury his face into Bai Anjing’s shoulder. Bai Anjing grinned and stroked the younger man’s back. He loved the sound of his Ah-Rong’s laughter.

His head falling back to rest on the tree trunk, Bai Anjing looked up at the sky that had turned brighter than when he had seen it before. Thinking back to what Wan Yingyue had just said about the identity of Xie Rong’s husband, his eyelids lowered to half-mast, his thoughts unreadable.

Time passed as the pair thus sat together, quietly reveling in each other’s presence. The crisp morning air and the serene silence shrouded them, still and soothing.

A few minutes later, someone came to call Bai Anjing. “Leader, Sister Wan is waiting for you in your study.” Conveying this message, they quickly hurried off as if to complete other chores awaiting their attention.

Letting out a sigh in regret, Bai Anjing let go of Xie Rong and stood up. “It looks like our time is up. Ah-Rong, you better get inside now and eat something.”

Xie Rong nodded with a small smile. Getting up, he strolled back leisurely into the hideout. Bai Anjing watched him walk away until the young man disappeared from sight, then sighed again before heading towards the building as well and making for his study.

Moments later, Bai Anjing had taken his seat behind the desk and was staring at a white crow sitting inside a birdcage that Wan Yingyue had placed before him. From within the cage, the bird cocked its head and peered back at him.

The albino crow had pure white feathers and a relatively well-cared for appearance that suggested that it might be an escaped pet. If it was wild one, then it might be being ostracized by its black-feathered brethren and facing increased threat from predators due to its conspicuous coloring. The bird’s beak and legs were a pale pink while its eyes were a translucent red. The crow squinted its eyes when looking anywhere near the window as if the bright light made it uncomfortable.

“This is the one that visited Ah-Rong today?” Bai Anjing asked to confirm.

Wan Yingyue nodded. “Yes, and it has been thoroughly checked. The operative I have watching Second Young Master Xie attested that the bird did not bear any message when it approached him. When we captured and examined it, there was nothing tied to the bird for it to deliver and it was not made to swallow any letter or object either. I conclude that it is just a pet bird that has escaped and found Second Young Master Xie by chance.”

Bai Anjing nodded and relaxed back into the chair. Even though he suspected his Ah-Rong of conspiring with that captain of the imperial secret guards, Li Nianzhen, to betray him, he was glad to have found no evidence of it thus far. Of course, that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t remain vigilant or try to confront Xie Rong about this later just to confirm who his lover’s loyalties lay with. If he wanted their affections for each other to deepen further, this would have to be addressed properly first.

“Now that we have finished examining the bird, what would you like me to do with it? Shall I kill it?” Wan Yingyue asked expressionlessly.

Bai Anjing refocused his attention on the albino crow standing obediently in the birdcage on his desk. As if in reaction to his gaze, the bird moved closer, poking its beak out between the bars and staring at him with an intent expression. Against his better judgment, Bai Anjing extended a finger to rest by the crow’s beak. Rather than biting it or pecking at it, the crow lightly poked the finger with its beak to nudge it into a better position and nuzzled it. Whoever owned it seemed to have pampered this bird so much that it felt absolutely no distrust or vigilance against humans.

Bai Anjing’s lips softened into an involuntary smile as he crooned, “Do you like it? Or do you want to eat it? Does my finger look like a big, fat, juicy worm to you, you beautiful freak of nature?”

On the other side of the desk, Wan Yingyue stoically didn’t react.

But seeing that Bai Anjing had begun brushing the bird’s head with practiced motions and witnessing how the crow had resettled its feathers while trying to extend its head out through the cage bars as if in appreciation, Wan Yingyue couldn’t help but raise a brow and ask, “Leader, did you keep any birds before? You seem used to this.”

Bai Anjing paused, then hummed noncommittally. Taking back his hand, he looked up at his subordinate and said, “Since we’ve gotten all we want, we can just release the bird.”

Wan Yingyue nodded in assent and Bai Anjing opened the birdcage, freeing the crow. The white crow hopped out onto the desk and twisted its head this way and that. Then unfurling its wings, it fluttered over to perch on the windowsill. It looked back at Bai Anjing as if asking him to come along with it so that he could pet its head whenever it wanted him to.

Bai Anjing’s lips twitched at that ludicrous thought. He waved his hand at the white crow in a shooing gesture and said, “Go on back to whoever is feeding you to make you this plump or I’ll be tempted to roast you and have you for dinner.”

The bird looked unimpressed by the threat, but it still stretched open its wings and took off from the window, soaring into the endless blue skies outside.

Bai Anjing watched the empty window for a moment more before turning to Wan Yingyue and ordering evenly, “Tell me if that bird returns, especially to Ah-Rong’s side.”

Wan Yingyue nodded.

Bai Anjing lowered his gaze to the birdcage sitting agape on his desk, a single white feather resting within it, and felt a faint unease in his chest.

∘━✧━∘

“Do you wish to escape this place?” asked the man standing opposite to Xie Rong.

Leaning against the edge of the table behind him, Xie Rong folded his arms and calmly studied the man who had just spoken.

Standing by the door he’d just closed, the other man had light brown hair and a pair of sharp black eyes. Being pinned under that piercing gaze was sure to make most people nervous, Xie Rong observed casually. The man had a pointed chin, tan skin, and a face that seemed etched deeply with his experiences. But despite the lines bracketing his mouth, spreading from the corners of his eyes, and indenting the space between his brows, the man seemed to barely be in his thirties. He held himself with tightly coiled readiness and a steady poise as if prepared for anything. Combined with his incisive gaze, he looked like a raptor perched high above and watching everything alertly, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

When Xie Rong had been on his way back to Bai Anjing’s room, this man had intercepted him and brought him here to an empty room, claiming that he had something he needed to tell him. Wanting to while away some time, Xie Rong had also agreed. But if he’d known that he had only been brought here to be offered a chance to escape, then he would’ve saved this man the trouble and refused at the beginning itself.

Tilting his head, Xie Rong decided to get some basic information about this man first in case he needed to use it later. “I don’t think we have been introduced before. I’m Xie Rong. And you are?”

The man frowned, but answered, “My name is Zhang Shuang. Mister Xie, if you want to get out of here quickly, we can’t spare time for chitchat like this.”

Xie Rong smiled. “Mister Zhang seems to have misunderstood. I have no intention of leaving this place yet. If I really wished to, I could have escaped on my own. And yet, here I am.” He spread his hands and shrugged.

Zhang Shuang narrowed his eyes. “You are saying that you have some purpose here? Is there something you want from the leader?”

Lifting a brow, Xie Rong commented, “How astute. Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. What are you planning to do about it?”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Zhang Shuang shook his head. “Lad, it’s better if you don’t try anything with that man. He isn’t stupid enough to fall for whatever you’re planning, even if he does seem like he’s already been seduced by you. That man is shrewd. It’s better for you to abandon your plotting and let me send you out right now.”

Xie Rong chuckled, unbothered. “I’ve been staying in this hideout for a day already. Aren’t you afraid that I might have learned some secrets about your organization that I could share with others after I leave?”

Zhang Shuang chuffed out a gruff, unamused laugh. “For all his faults, I know for a fact that that leader of ours is not someone who would be blinded by emotions and let you see or get your hands on anything sensitive this easily.”

Xie Rong nodded with amusement sparkling in his eyes. “Yes, you’re right. That man is too wily for that. But I’m afraid that I must still refuse your generous offer of bringing me away. I wish to stay here until my purpose is fulfilled.”

Zhang Shuang let out a heavy breath, but nodded. “I see that there’s no convincing you.”

“I’m curious. Why do you want me to leave?” Xie Rong prodded with interest. “I don’t believe it’s because your conscience can’t bear the injustice of me being captured and kept here.”

Zhang Shuang shot him a gaze loaded with meaning. “You seem like a dangerous variable that I cannot condone staying here. My instincts tell me that you might be troublesome.” And anything that brought trouble for the Qifeng organization had to be dealt with.

Xie Rong laughed. “I see. How…intriguing.” Edging back from where he was resting against the table so that he could comfortably sit on it, Xie Rong knitted his hands together and placed them on his lap. Smiling placidly at the man standing before him, he asked, “There are a few other things I’m curious about. Will Mister Zhang lend me some of your time and explain them to me?”

Though he looked reluctant, Zhang Shuang still nodded.

“I’d like to know how your leader joined this organization and came to his current position. I would also like to know what feud you have with him, since you seem quite disapproving of him,” Xie Rong spoke, his eyes glinting inquisitively.

Zhang Shuang rubbed his forehead and rested back against the door. “I don’t know why you want to know about that, but it’s nothing secret, so I suppose I will tell you. Four years ago, our previous leader, Liang Yun, found Bai Anjing collapsed in our territory and littered with wounds. On a whim, Liang Yun brought him back and had him treated. But once Bai Anjing recovered, he was confined in a small cage with barely a meal a day and tormented by Liang Yun for amusement.”

The corners of Xie Rong’s eyes grew tight, his fingers clenching on his lap. Barely suppressed rage churned in his gaze, but he didn’t interrupt.

Zhang Shuang went on, “Back then, Liang Yun tried many means to get him to talk, but Bai Anjing remained silent. His clothing was too torn and bloodied to make anything out about him and he remained firmly tightlipped. He didn’t even give up his name. In the end, Liang Yun gave him the name ‘Anjing’ because of the silence he maintained and the surname ‘Bai’ after the character in the Baizhu region’s name.”

Xie Rong chuckled quietly. “I see. No wonder he has such an unsuitable name. But still, it was clever of him to remain mum under those circumstances.”

Zhang Shuang gave him a puzzled look. What was so clever about staying silent and attracting the attention of that bad-natured leader of theirs? Shaking his head, he went on, “When Bai Anjing was in captivity, Liang Yun assigned an errand boy to take care of Bai Anjing’s most basic needs so that he wouldn’t die. That errand boy was the sympathetic type and was very good to Bai Anjing. I assume they grew close due of that. Because later, when that errand boy stealthily left the cage’s door open for Bai Anjing to stretch out his legs as always and Bai Anjing came upon Liang Yun trying to force himself on that same errand boy, Bai Anjing went crazy.

“None of us could have guessed how terrifying that man could be before that. He swatted Liang Yun around like a cat with a mouse in the hall until Liang Yun was falling apart, then used one of the axes hanging from the wall to behead him. He decided to take up the mantle of our leader after that and has dealt ruthlessly with anyone opposing him. He used a mix of his ability and brutal force to make the Qifeng organization recognize him and has led us to great heights since then.”

Xie Rong frowned. “What about that errand boy?”

Shrugging and folding his arms, Zhang Shuang replied, “He was sent away back to his village with a huge amount of money. I’m guessing that Bai Anjing didn’t want him to remain in this place with dangerous people.”

Xie Rong looked thoughtful. Leaning back with his hands placed behind him on the tabletop, he prodded, “You’ve answered one part of my question, yet you haven’t explained to me what your issue with your current leader is.”

Zhang Shuang sighed. “Bai Anjing might be a good leader, but he is unsuited to lead the Qifeng organization. It is not just that our values differ on a fundamental level, but also that for him, this organization doesn’t seem to hold much importance. Till now, he has revealed nothing about himself; not his name, not his background, and not where he is from. We do not know if there is something from his past that might come back to bite him—and by extension, us—in the future. For us to not even know the true name of our current leader…isn’t it laughable?” Zhang Shuang’s expression, however, held no amusement.

Running his hand over his face in apparent frustration, he continued, “I don’t approve of Bai Anjing’s leadership, not because he isn’t competent, but because for him, the Qifeng organization seems to be something he’s only taking care of since he has found nothing better to do. He has no attachment or devotion to it and to us. Someone like that is not fit to be our leader.”

And as much as Zhang Shuang cared for the organization, having Bai Anjing sit in the position of their leader was unacceptable!

Many years ago, Zhang Shuang had merely been yet another abandoned child struggling to live through starvation and abuse. But then his meager fighting skills honed in the streets caught the eye of someone from Qifeng and he was taken away. Once he had become a part of the organization, his life went through a drastic change. He no longer needed to desperately struggle for a mouthful of stale rice. He didn’t have to accept being pushed around and give up his corner of the street to others just because they were bigger than him. He no longer needed to put up with being kicked and hit and still set aside his human dignity to beg for scraps from those same people.

For Zhang Shuang, leaving the streets and entering Qifeng had felt like heaven. He was fed, sheltered, trained, and backed by their power so that no one would even think of disrespecting him again. Now, he had the strength to take care of himself and an entire organization of people behind him. In return for all this, he gave everything of himself to the Qifeng organization. He felt that it was only natural that the others should do so as well.

Were they not eating food and taking shelter here? Had this organization not given them a purpose in life and comrades to watch their backs? In repayment, every member should invest their all into the organization, both physically and emotionally. Like a temple with its ardent believers, so too did Zhang Shuang think that the organization deserved to receive its members’ utmost devotion. No one was allowed to betray it or slight it!

And yet, the one person who was the most indifferent and uncaring towards their organization was the one who was wearing the mantle of its leader. Having Bai Anjing sit at that position felt like a violation of Zhang Shuang’s deepest beliefs. He had to correct this!

But unmindful of the fire burning in Zhang Shuang’s eyes, Xie Rong gave a humorless laugh. “You accuse him of not having any attachment or devotion towards your organization, but why should he? When he was captured and tormented by your previous leader, did any of you except that one boy do anything to make things better for him? You offered me your help now in escaping, but did you do the same to him back then? As he sat in a cage and starved, you all just went about your business and didn’t spare even a thought for him. He might have become your leader, but all of that would have still left a deep and indelible mark. He cannot trust you all, so he obviously will not grow attached to your organization. But despite that, he has still brought up the name Qifeng and has led you to prosperity. To expect more from him despite the way you all have treated him is illogical, wouldn’t you think?”

Zhang Shuang pressed his lips together until they turned bloodless, but had nothing to say in refutation. In a way, he had to admit that while the organization had saved him from starvation and abuse in the streets, it had, in stark contrast, been the cause of starvation and abuse for Bai Anjing. As much as he exalted Qifeng, he was not inhuman enough to purposefully discard Bai Anjing’s suffering or be unable to sympathize with him.

After a minute of silence, he finally spoke, “Be that as it may, we are not forcing him to remain here now. If he does not like us, he does not have to stay and display his indifference towards us. I agree that what he has already accomplished is a great feat, but I and many others are of the same opinion that it would be better for him to step down and let someone who truly cares about and agrees with the core values of the Qifeng organization to take his place.”

Smiling ruefully, Xie Rong shrugged. “Now that is something I also agree with. But I do understand why he’s doing it. Bringing this organization and the surrounding cities under his control is probably just his way of assuring his own safety and comfort. After all, from what I’ve seen till now, that man is not the sort to seek power for the sake of lording it over others. However, he should not have to bind himself to this place that holds such bad memories for him just for that.”

Zhang Shuang frowned. “Does that mean that you are willing to lend us your help in divesting him of his position as the leader?”

Xie Rong’s face split into a grin. “Rest assured, that is not necessary.” Straightening from where he had been sitting on the table, Xie Rong smoothened out a few creases on his clothes and smiled at Zhang Shuang. “Thank you, Mister Zhang. This conversation has been most enlightening on various levels. Now, excuse me.”

“Mister Xie, in the end, what exactly are you planning to do? Why did you come here?” Zhang Shuang asked, trying to pierce him with a sharp look.

Xie Rong gave a light laugh and directly headed for the door. “If matters proceed smoothly, you will know soon enough.”

As Xie Rong opened the door, Zhang Shuang was forced to step aside and let him leave. Confusion and caution filled his mind. As much as he wanted to not let the young man have his way, something told him that if he interfered with whatever this Xie Rong had planned, he would not come away unscathed. It was better to wait and see if he could figure out what the young man was plotting.

A few minutes later, Bai Anjing sat back in his chair in the study, just having finished listening to one of Wan Yingyue’s operatives reciting the conversation between Xie Rong and Zhang Shuang for him. With an inscrutable gaze, Bai Anjing waved to dismiss the operative and closed his eyes. It seemed that he would have to address the matter of his Ah-Rong’s loyalties soon… But not yet, not today. He wanted to spend a few more carefree hours with his lover.

However, tomorrow morning, he would face Xie Rong and finally drag the truth out of him.

The next chapter can be considered the climax of sorts of this short story~ (*^⌣^*)

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