Chapter 5: Unveiled Connections
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When morning came, Bai Anjing roused with a muffled groan, wishing he could somehow block out the sun as it threw its bright and cheerful rays across his face. His head throbbed due to all the drinking he’d done yesterday, but the pain and discomfort were not as bad as they would’ve been if he hadn’t preemptively taken countermeasures by way of taking that medicinal tea.

Thinking that a nice shock of cold water would jolt him awake, Bai Anjing silently got out of bed, trying not to wake the peacefully slumbering figure beside him. But just as he was about to take a step away from the bed, he felt a strong grip on his wrist holding him back. He turned to see Xie Rong squinting at him, still half-asleep and disoriented with his hair sticking out messily.

Bai Anjing raised an eyebrow with amusement. “What is it, Ah-Rong? Are you inviting me back to bed so that we can indulge in some intimate morning exercises? I didn’t think you’d be this enthusiastic.”

Xie Rong blinked with befuddlement at Bai Anjing for a moment more before his mind cleared and the meaning of the words filtered through. His hand tightened for an instant before he decisively let go with a harrumph. “Stop speaking nonsense so early in the morning.”

As Xie Rong turned away seemingly in annoyance, Bai Anjing saw how the tips of his ears had flushed pink and chuckled to himself. Shaking his head with a smile, he made to head out again when Xie Rong called, “Where are you going?”

Bai Anjing grinned and teased, “Is my Ah-Rong feeling so possessive of me after just one night together?”

Xie Rong sat up on the bed and scowled at him, unamused.

Sighing, Bai Anjing rubbed the back of his head and answered, “I’m just going to have a wash at the well in the back.”

Xie Rong’s face eased into a thoughtful frown. Bai Anjing shrugged and turned to leave when he heard Xie Rong abruptly declare, “I will accompany you.”

Bai Anjing looked at him askance.

Xie Rong coughed uncomfortably and smoothed out his disheveled hair. “I’ve never bathed at a well before, so I’m curious, nothing else.”

Chuckling, Bai Anjing nodded. “Alright, then. Far be it from me to deny you a new experience.”

The morning in the Baizhu hills brought with it a dry and biting cold that nipped at the tips of their fingers, toes, noses, and ears. White fog lazily curled outdoors, blurring the scenery. The sunlight filtered through it, weak for now but steadily gaining strength. It was likely that by the end of the hour, all the fog will be dissipated.

They walked to the lone well behind the building in this coldness, each carrying a towel and a change of clothes from Bai Anjing’s closet. Bai Anjing appeared habituated to the cold while Xie Rong had to rub his arms to ward off shivers.

After reaching the well, Bai Anjing undressed without much ado and folded his clothes on a nearby outcropping of flat rock. He then used the weathered metal bucket, rope, and pulley attached on the beam across the well to haul up some water. He upended the bucket full of freezing water directly over his head and let out a full-body shudder. Then slicking his hands over his hair and face to remove the excess water, Bai Anjing turned to Xie Rong, “Are you sure you want to stay dressed for this?”

Xie Rong gritted his teeth and reluctantly stripped as well. As he folded his clothes and placed them beside Bai Anjing’s, the sand felt hard and coarse under his feet while the cold air shrouded him completely, making him wish more than anything for a tub of hot water to soak in rather than the icy water of the well awaiting him.

Bai Anjing hauled up another bucket of water and offered it to Xie Rong, courteously keeping his gaze to his face. Xie Rong accepted the bucket, braced himself, and poured the water over his head. He couldn’t help letting out a startled hiss as the cold liquid cascaded over him. Giving out a shudder so hard that his bones rattled, Xie Rong put down the bucket and swiped his palms over himself in quick motions.

Bai Anjing suppressed a smile and turned to draw another bucketful of water.

Behind Bai Anjing, Xie Rong’s gaze roved over him with fixed intensity, sweeping up and down his naked back, over the dusky skin pulled taut while muscles rolled underneath with strain, the trails of water and slick strands of dark hair highlighting every dip and hollow, the small scars and marks detailing a story unknown to him, strong limbs flexing as he moved to drag up the heavy bucket using the rope in rhythmic pulling motions…

As Xie Rong’s gaze grew darker and darker with unknown emotions, Bai Anjing silently smirked to himself. He could clearly feel his Ah-Rong’s searing gaze and reveled in it smugly. After drenching himself in the bucket of water he’d just hauled for himself, he drew up another one and turned towards Xie Rong to offer it to him. The young man had already turned away to gaze into the distance, a flush having spread over his fair cheeks, neck, and chest seemingly from the cold.

Bai Anjing chuckled and spoke with shining eyes, “Alright, enough of you appreciating the scenery. Here take this. We can start using the soap after a few more rounds.” He tilted his chin towards a small box resting on the rock holding their clothes.

Not meeting Bai Anjing’s eyes, Xie Rong nodded and accepted the bucket without a word, then poured the cold water over himself, feeling like he might actually need it this time.

Forcefully wrenching his thoughts away from the scene of Bai Anjing bathing in front of him, Xie Rong felt his mind drift in another direction.

Unlike Bai Anjing, with his tan skin sprinkled with scars and slightly rugged appearance, Xie Rong recalled how his husband had been a fair man with a clean-shaven face and meticulously neat appearance. Though his husband had often seen battle as well—probably much more than Bai Anjing—he still had the use of a hall of dedicated medical professionals to heal his every wound and ensure that it would leave minimal scarring.

If he were to be compared to Bai Anjing, his husband was much quieter, with a sense of purpose embedded in the march of his every step and an air of compressed vigilance and assertiveness that could cut through anyone within range. Duty and responsibility weighed his shoulders and made him seem forbidding to anyone who did not know him. But to the Xie Rong who had grown up with him, he had shown a much gentler and caring side.

It had made it all the more difficult for Xie Rong to bear it when he was left to face the long years alone after his husband was gone, desperately clinging on to the ghost of the times they had spent together to convince himself that he would one day return to him again. But with the years, that hope had begun to wane even though Xie Rong had never shown it outward to his family.

However, in contrast, Bai Anjing was much sillier, playful, and carefree. The closeness that Xie Rong had needed years to develop with his husband was something that only took him hours to feel with this man called Bai Anjing. Things seemed to progress much more effortlessly, and despite the caution he sometimes sensed from him, Bai Anjing was also much more open and easygoing.

Something that seemed to have been tightening in Xie Rong’s heart all these years in the Xie residence seem to now ease and unwind as he spent time with this man. It made him realize that this was also not bad. Being with a person like this, maybe even spending his life with such a man…might be even better than the time with his husband. The thought made Xie Rong’s cheeks heat with both guilt and a sense of anticipation.

By the time they were done bathing, drying off, and dressing, Xie Rong felt a bit warm despite his skin chilled by the freezing water. On the other hand, Bai Anjing’s lips were stretched in a wide smile as if he’d won something.

“You look nice and rosy. Maybe bathing outside agrees with you,” he commented.

Xie Rong turned his eyes away guiltily. “I suppose it might,”

Bai Anjing was just about to make another subtle quip when he noticed the swish of something black at the corner of his vision. His gaze remained on Xie Rong as he suggested, “Now that you’re nice and clean, you should go inside. It really is cold here. We wouldn’t want you to get sick.”

Xie Rong peered up into Bai Anjing’s eyes, seeming to search for something. Then turning away again, he shook his head. “The sun has come out more and it’s starting to get warm. I…I’d like to stay out for a bit more.”

Bai Anjing shrugged as if unperturbed. “Very well, you stay here while I go and water some bushes.”

Xie Rong blinked with confusion and looked around at the trees and other forms of vegetation bordering the cleared space behind the hideout’s building. “I don’t think any of these bushes need to be watered.”

Letting out a bark of startled laughter, Bai Anjing elucidated, “Ah-Rong, I was just trying not to shock your delicate sensibilities by saying outright that I wanted to go and take a piss.”

Xie Rong pressed his lips together as an embarrassed flush claimed his face. “…Oh. I-I see. I’ll stay here then.”

Bai Anjing patted Xie Rong’s shoulder as if in consolation even as he kept chuckling. Leaving him, he turned and strode towards the nearest wall of vegetation before turning his steps silent and gliding through the trees and brushes like a ghost.

Spotting Wan Yingyue standing silently and blending in with the shadow of a tree, Bai Anjing leaned back against the trunk opposite to her and folded his arms. “That was fast. What have you found?”

Wan Yingyue’s voice, inflectionless and underscored with firmness, floated over, almost undetectable, “We managed to lure away one of the Herald’s men, a boy who takes care of the horses, and used both bribes and threats to pressure him into giving information. The Herald’s true purpose is not completely known, but the boy confirms that it has something to do with the Qifeng organization and is related to his captain, Li Nianzhen. There’s a good chance that it also involves your new lover, Xie Rong.”

Bai Anjing’s gaze turned piercing. “What is Ah-Rong’s relation to them?”

Wan Yingyue paused as if collecting her thoughts, then began, “Xie Rong is the second son of the previous captain of the imperial secret guard, Xie Bing. A little more than two decades ago, Xie Bing adopted Li Nianzhen, the only child of a friend, from an orphanage after the Li household fell into ruin. He took in Li Nianzhen as his apprentice and taught him alongside Xie Cheng, Xie Rong’s older brother and the man now known as the Herald.

“Xie Cheng and Li Nianzhen grew up as sworn brothers. After Xie Bing’s passing, Li Nianzhen assumed the mantle of the captain of the imperial secret guards. Xie Cheng became the head of the Xie household while also serving as Li Nianzhen’s lieutenant and his Herald,” Wan Yingyue explained succinctly. “While we first gained most of this information from the Herald’s servant, all of it has already been confirmed by our people stationed at the capital through their reply sent back through the messenger pigeons.”

Bai Anjing frowned. His headache that had barely stayed suppressed till now began throbbing harder. Massaging his forehead, he asked, “What about Ah-Rong? Why wasn’t he trained along with his older brother and that Li Nianzhen?”

Wan Yingyue answered, “The second young master of the Xie household had been in frail health from a very young age. His physical condition is said to have started improving only a few years ago. He has begun training under his brother since then, but due to concerns about his health regressing, he has been taking it slowly.”

Bai Anjing nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his throat, feeling the ghost of his Ah-Rong’s fingers still pressing into his skin from yesterday night. He really wouldn’t have thought that it was a recently learned skill. “Is there anything else?” he asked.

Wan Yingyue hesitated, but nodded. She took in a deep breath and let it out. Her leader would not like hearing this next part. “After spending time together, it is said that Second Young Master Xie and Li Nianzhen courted each other and fell in love. They married when the second young master reached nineteen years of age.” As if with difficulty, she finally concluded, “Li Nianzhen is Xie Rong’s husband.”

Bai Anjing stilled, startled incredulity churning in him. So the person he wanted to grow closer to was his enemy’s husband? Was that why his Ah-Rong had come here? To help his husband and scope out Qifeng’s hideout? But no… When Xie Rong had talked about being abandoned by his husband, he did not look to be lying at all. Had that been an exquisitely done act played for his benefit or did his Ah-Rong really feel hurt and forsaken?

“Leader, are you going to imprison Second Young Master Xie in the dungeons?” Wan Yingyue asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Bai Anjing clenched his jaw and rubbed his fiercely pounding temples. “No, not yet. He hasn’t tried to pry any information out of me and he hasn’t been snooping around trying to see more than he should either. For now, other than speculation, I have no reason to believe that he seeks to betray me.” Sighing as he remembered the more imminent threat, Bai Anjing forcefully put aside thoughts of Xie Rong and asked, “What about that Li Nianzhen? Has he joined up with the Herald yet?”

Wan Yingyue paused for a moment before saying, “I’m afraid we are unable to tell. As far as we know, no one with as high a station as Li Nianzhen has arrived with their own retinue yet. But since we do not know his appearance, we cannot be sure whether or not Li Nianzhen is already here, mayhap in disguise as a part of the Herald’s group or as a civilian. I will make sure that our people are cautious just in case.”

Bai Anjing nodded, his expression weary.

After looking at her leader in silence for a few moments, Wan Yingyue spoke, her voice gentler, “I will keep watch on your lover for you. Until I note anything suspicious in his actions, there is no need for you to worry about him. All I ask is for you to prepare for the eventual possibility of his betrayal, Leader.”

Bai Anjing let out a humorless chuckle and slumped against the tree he had been leaning on. “Thank you. And yes, I will.” Right now, he could count the people who genuinely cared about him and were loyal to him on one hand and still have spare fingers left. As such, he truly did appreciate Wan Yingyue’s concern.

Once she was finished saying everything she needed to, Wan Yingyue left. Bai Anjing stayed there, his head tilted back as he stared into the sky with an empty gaze.

∘━✧━∘

When Bai Anjing finally stepped out from the vegetation and into the clearing, he was massaging his head to try and ease his headache. He looked around and spotted Xie Rong crouched by a clump of bushes near the clearing’s edge and headed towards him.

Bai Anjing decisively pushed away his suspicions about Xie Rong, not willing to entertain them now. He would address them later and clear everything standing between them. No matter what answer was revealed, he would accept it. But for now, he wanted to spend time with his Ah-Rong as usual. He didn’t want to believe that the young man he’d teased, bickered with, shared a bed with, and started to care for was thinking of betraying him.

As Bai Anjing neared Xie Rong, he realized that the young man seemed to be holding something white on his lap that he was playing with. Frowning, Bai Anjing called, “Ah-Rong, what do you have?”

Hearing his voice suddenly piercing the still quiet, Xie Rong startled. Alarmed, the thing he had been holding unfolded white wings and fluttered them. A white crow leapt out of Xie Rong’s lap and swiftly flew into the forest surrounding the hideout, disappearing into the foliage.

Xie Rong sighed. “You scared that bird away after I just managed to get it to allow me to pet it.”

Despite himself, the tense line of Bai Anjing’s shoulders relaxed and his face eased into an amused smile. “You can pet me instead, then.”

Xie Rong stood up with a huff and said, “Don’t think I won’t.” Beckoning with a hand, he instructed, “Bend over here and let me pet you.”

Bai Anjing let out a laugh and obediently lowered his head. Xie Rong smoothed his fingers over his the top of his head, his movements careful. Bai Anjing could see Xie Rong’s expression softening, a slight tenderness rippling in his eyes.

When Xie Rong had his fill of petting him, Bai Anjing straightened and looped an arm around Xie Rong’s waist. Pulling the young man close, he simply hugged him. Xie Rong stayed stiff with surprise for a moment, then relaxed in his embrace. Bai Anjing sighed quietly. The sensation of warmth from his Ah-Rong’s body soaking into him was strangely comforting.

A moment later, Xie Rong lifted his arms to hug Bai Anjing back. He could feel the thud of the other man’s heartbeat against his chest, rhythmic and strong. He sensed that Bai Anjing needed reassurance for some reason, so he patted his back soothingly and gave it to him.

A few minutes later, Bai Anjing let go and stepped back. Coughing awkwardly with discomfort at his show of vulnerability, he tried to smile carefreely and said, “Well, that was fun. We should do it often, preferably while we are in bed and without clothes.”

Xie Rong shook his head with a small laugh. “Must you be silly even now?”

Bai Anjing earnestly nodded. “Yes. It’s a strict requirement necessary for me to remain myself.”

Xie Rong turned his head away and gave out another chuckle. Something light and happy filled his gaze.

“I have to say,” Bai Anjing went on. “It’s sad when I think how that one hug was the most intimate body contact I’ve had with my lover till now.” Turning Xie Rong’s face towards him again with a hand, Bai Anjing shot him a wronged look. “Don’t you feel bad for me? Don’t you want to indulge me a bit more?”

Xie Rong peered into Bai Anjing’s eyes, reading the humor and playfulness within that covered deep emotions churning hungrily. The reservations inside him seemed to soften and give away. Heat flashed in his gaze as he said, “Screw it, I’m tired of holding back.”

Bai Anjing was caught completely unprepared as he felt Xie Rong’s hand cupping the back of his head and quickly pulling him down. A moment later, their lips touched. Bai Anjing exhaled in surprise.

Xie Rong’s lips were incredibly gentle, softly testing him as they brushed over his mouth. Bai Anjing only needed a moment to regroup and kiss back, sucking and nipping at Xie Rong’s lips, answering with fervent enthusiasm. While the arm looping around the young man’s waist pulled him closer, Bai Anjing used his other hand to cup the back of Xie Rong’s head, bringing their mouths together tighter.

Letting go of the reins to his own passion, Xie Rong wrapped his arms around Bai Anjing and guided his back to press against a nearby tree. He leaned forward, caging Bai Anjing with his body and reciprocating his kiss with a wild, almost savage intensity. His tongue slipped out, probing and lapping at the seam of Bai Anjing’s lips to seek entrance. Bai Anjing opened his mouth and gave it. His callused fingers curled in Xie Rong’s unbound hair, feeling the soft strands filling the gap in between the digits.

Xie Rong pushed his tongue into Bai Anjing’s mouth without hesitation. As their lips locked together firmly, their tongues met halfway and entwined. Xie Rong let out a soft sigh of pleasure even as his mouth continued its ministrations. Bai Anjing sucked the sound into himself and met his desire with his own. Warm and slick tissue slid under his tongue as he explored the younger man’s mouth. When Xie Rong let out another heated breath, Bai Anjing’s fingers lightly massaged the back of his head in silent encouragement.

Bathed in the intensity of Xie Rong’s passion, Bai Anjing felt as if he was being chided for something, but also welcomed with a fierce hug after being away from home for so long. A deep yearning he hadn’t felt in a long while stirred in him. He never wanted to let this person go, but he would also never want to cage him and make him unhappy. All he wanted was to slowly take the time to learn more about this person and show him more of his own self so that they could fall in love with one another and choose a life together.

Bai Anjing did not know what the future held for them, but all he hoped for was that it would be one that they could spend happily with each other.

We're already past the halfway point of this short story. Four more chapters till the end~ (๐• ω •๐)

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