The Glory After Rebirth

Yuwen Tong immediately grabbed Ling Zhang’s hand, drew him into the pavilion and shut the doors and all the windows.

They were in such a haste that Ling Zhang didn’t have the time to observe the place. He only knew that this floor was pretty spacious.

Yuwen Tong took him to the second floor which was actually a bedroom, a quite roomy one. There were bookshelves, a desk, armchairs as well as a weapon rack on which a sword was placed.

The side windows of the bedroom had been closed, but it was totally fine to leave the one facing the manor at the foot of the hill open, for there was a balustraded balcony outside them. Yuwen Tong left the front window ajar and stood beside it with Ling Zhang, watching the pouring rain accompanied by howling winds outside.

The sky was now completely dark, and the rain was very heavy. Also, the raindrops were falling diagonally. Fortunately, the wind was not blowing squarely towards the pavilion, or else the raindrops would’ve been thundering on the front window.

Looking out through the gap between the window and its frame, they couldn’t even get a clear view of the manor at the foot of the hill due to the torrential rain, let alone places further away. And they were smelling wet dirt. Large clouds of vapour were floating amid the woods, carrying the heat from the ground into the air.

The two of them sat down beside the window. Yuwen Tong fished out a chess board and they finished a game of chess to the rainstorm ongoing outside.

This downpour after noon which had come abruptly stopped in equal haste, and a while later the hot vapor rising from the ground lifted, and the wind became much cooler.

Drops of water were dripping down emerald green leaves washed by the heavy rain. The windows of the pavilion had been opened, and sitting in the room, they could enjoy the scenery on the foot of the hill.

The chess board had been put away. Yuwen Tong found a small jar of wine somewhere. As the mud seal was removed, the aroma of the wine instantly pervaded the whole pavilion. Ling Zhang took a deep sniff of it, staring at the jar, his eyes glinting longingly.

Yuwen Tong had everything planned out the day before, so of course this jar of wine had been prepared quite some time beforehand.

Although the rain had come to an end, the sky was still shrouded in clouds and leaden. Also, bracing breezes were blowing in from all sides through windows in the walls, and the mugginess of the noon was long gone. There was mist coiling around the hill opposite this one, and the view was very enjoyable.

Ling Zhang’s eyes had been fixed on the jar all along since he’d smelled the aroma of the wine. Yuwen Tong holding the jar walked towards him, raised the jar and took a mouthful of the wine. When he reached the front of Ling Zhang, he put his arm around his waist and kissed him, the wine going from his mouth to Ling Zhang’s as their tongues intertwined.

A gust of wind whistled in from the outside, fluttering the lower hems of their robes. It was cool, but both the two of them had fire in their chests at this moment. As the pungent wine coursed into their stomachs, their lips inched apart, but they were still very close to each other, face to face. Yuwen Tong slightly lowered his head, his forehead against Ling Zhang’s, barely any distance between the tips of their noses, the scent of wine wafting around them. Ling Zhang failed to refrain first, gently rubbed the tip of his nose against that of Yuwen Tong’s and tilted his head, but what he said was, “Another gulp.”

Yuwen Tong chuckled, straightened himself, his arm still around Ling Zhang’s waist, lifted the jar with the other hand and took another mouthful of the wine, which the two of them shared as they had done a few moments ago.

After the second gulp of wine was consumed, Ling Zhang found his breathing somewhat uneven. Just now Yuwen Tong had deliberately held him tightly kissing him hard, almost leaving him unable to catch his breath.

“This is the best wine I’ve ever had,” Yuwen Tong remarked significantly and then lowered his head to give the edge of Ling Zhang’s red lip another peck.

Ling Zhang’s waist had gone a trifle limp. Maybe because what they did the night before was too vigorous, his body still had quite vivid memories of it. Waves of numbness mixed with weakness were spreading through his back, softening him quicker than usual.

Naturally Yuwen Tong had perceived Ling Zhang’s physical reaction, holding Ling Zhang around the middle, his hands moving downwards…

The look in his eyes which were gazing at Ling Zhang was also slowly changing, his longing move intense than ever. Though not a word had been uttered, he had come to know Ling Zhang’s answer, and his self-restraint was overwhelmed by the temptation. On the previous few occasions, he had taken tentative steps trying to help Ling Zhang adjust. At the thought that he was going to get what he wanted on this day, even his eyeballs felt hot. He heavily pinned Ling Zhang to him with his arm on Ling Zhang’s hips, and in the instant their bodies impacted on each other, both of them couldn’t help but let out a short sigh in their heads.

Maybe because of the aroma of the wine about him, Ling Zhang felt his body burning up very quick. Though Yuwen Tong’s body was clearly even hotter, he still found himself involuntarily clinging tighter to Yuwen Tong. His sparkling eyes now had a layer of mist over. He blinked in an effort to disperse the hot fog to get a better view, oblivious of the fact that he swallowed hard in spite of himself, his plump, smooth-skinned and rosy lips twitching, his Adam’s apple briefly rolling, a groan escaping from his throat.

The expression in Yuwen Tong’s eyes abruptly changed once again. He inclined his head and clamped Ling Zhang’s lips, which were so tempting that even his eyeballs were burning, between his teeth, nibbling and rubbing them. With a bang, the jar of wine was put down onto the table, and he flung the now-available hand to the back of Ling Zhang’s head to help him withstand his increasingly vigorous kiss.

After a while, Ling Zhang panting raised his neck, gripping Yuwen Tong’s shoulders, more pressing Yuwen Tong tighter against him than pushing him away.

Yuwen Tong’s hands had moved to Ling Zhang’s back, supporting him, nibbling from his plump and smooth lips all the way downwards. Ling Zhang’s collar had been loosened some time ago, hanging over his half-naked shoulders. Yuwen Tong’s lips came to a fleeting pause as they reached a particular part of Ling Zhang’s body, his eyes staring fixedly at it. Merely a brief moment’s gaze made his throat unbearably dry, and only by resuming the kiss would he be able to ease this thirst which was making his blood boil.

…

When Ling Zhang sat down on the windowsill, his robes had been taken off and were on the crook of his arm. He bowed his head to look at the man who would stop at nothing to drain the last bit of energy from his body. The mist of tears that had been lingering in his eyes all along finally flowed down his cheeks, mixing with sweat, and dripped onto Yuwen Tong, his hands tightly clutching on to the window frames, his knuckles white due to the strain, his toes curling hard, his insteps tense.

…

The lamplight from the manor at the foot of the hill marked the fall of night. Clouds in the sky had been dispersed by the wind some time ago, countless stars twinkling in it. On the desk near the front window was the only lighted oil lamp in the pavilion. The pool of its dim light could barely cover the whole room. On the bed not far away, a quilt was churning violently, clothes scattered all over the ground. A small and exquisite fat-bellied porcelain bottle had fallen to a pile of garments, overturned, giving off a faint unique perfume. It was empty, something wet and creamy remaining on its opening, and a small amount of the substance had stained the clothes beneath it.

…

Purr…

It was the grumbling of his stomach that woke Ling Zhang up. He tried to open his eyes only to find them so sore that he had to leave them shut. When he moved his body, the soreness in his waist and back was so sharp that his face twisted for an instant. He had no alternative but to flex his hands first and then fumbled on the bed, but before he could find anything, a warm palm sneaked beneath the thin quilt, grabbed his hand and brought it back inside.

He was shrouded in heat waves from a giant stove at the bedside. To make things worse, Yuwen Tong was cuddling up against him tightly.

All his memories of what happened the day before in the afternoon and at night came flooding back. For a moment Ling Zhang’s mind was blank. They’d stayed here for so long…

“You’re awake. I heard your stomach rumble.”

Yuwen Tong gave him a kiss on the top of his head, stretching his arm to hold him tighter.

Ling Zhang, who ached all over with even the slightest moment of his body, gulped painfully.

Yuwen Tong was briefly stupefied and then quickly let go of him, sat up and said worriedly, “You feel awful?”

Ling Zhang, after waiting a few moments for the pain to ease, felt anger surging inside him at this question. Wasn’t it obvious enough?!

Yuwen Tong, who came to realize that he’d asked a stupid question, didn’t dare touch Ling Zhang any more. After thinking for a while, he gingerly helped Ling Zhang turn over, and then got out of bed and brought back something. Ling Zhang felt him applying something ointment-like to his waist and legs, which was giving off the smell of some kind of medicinal herb.

And then Yuwen Tong started massaging Ling Zhang, who gasped again at the first press. “Gently!” he huffed.

Yuwen Tong lowered his head to give him a kiss and then resumed kneading his waist more lightly. Even so, Ling Zhang still found it painful, but he endured it in the knowledge that the suffering would only be longer if he refused to let Yuwen Tong massage his aching muscles hard enough.

Aside from the soreness, he felt fine. Even his private parts were not really miserable. He vaguely remembered that the night before, Yuwen Tong holding him gave him a quick wash and then applied some kind of drug on his intimate parts.

Ling Zhang’s annoyance resulted from the soreness dissolved considerably and he groaned.

On hearing his groan, Yuwen Tong, who was massaging him sparing no efforts, looked at Ling Zhang’s body, took a deep breath and said, “I might lose control of myself if you don’t stop groaning.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

Lying propped against the pillow, Ling Zhang said, “I feel miserable,” in a soft and aggrieved tone of voice.

Feeling an instant twinge of overwhelming guilt, Yuwen Tong leaned over with his whole body against Ling Zhang but not putting any weight on him, kissed him on the cheek and apologized, “It was all my fault. I should’ve shown more self-restraint,’ in the tone of someone whose heart was aching.

But if he were to travel back in time, Yuwen Tong felt that he still wouldn’t be able to control himself.

In fact his mind was wandering right now. He didn’t need to relive the night before; the familiar touch of his body on Ling Zhang’s alone was turning him…

Subduing his impulsion, he cajoled Ling Zhang for quite a while. It was not until Ling Zhang urged him to resume the massage that he rose to his feet and continued kneading his aching muscles.

Ling Zhang was lying prostrate, his flushed face buried in the pillow. Yuwen Tong’s words embarrassed him so badly that he felt he might have trouble showing his face again.

Yuwen Tong, suppressing his various wild fantasies and impulsion, massaged Ling Zhang’s whole body, helped him put on his underclothes, which had been prepared in advance, then held Ling Zhang in his arms and made out with him for quite a while before assisting Ling Zhang out of bed and dressed. The twinkle in his eyes had never disappeared for a single instant since he’d opened them. This was the first time that Yuwen Tong had experienced the contentment coming with the fulfillment of his wish, and he was only too anxious to draw Ling Zhang into his embrace and just stay where they were, but Ling Zhang was hungry and he had to fill his sweetheart’s belly as soon as possible.