Chen Yu's torments

Warning : This chapter contains BL.

Chen Yu opened his eyes. He was still in the cave but, for once, it was dark. The shining girlish boy was nowhere to be seen thus Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he had always been fond of magic, being unable to use the tiniest bit of magic power himself, he still found it unnerving to see the glowing skin every time, all day long.

It had only been a couple of days since the attack but he wondered how it turned out with the ladies in the carriage. It was supposedly an easy job. The corps from Lysania stationed here in Selnan were in hiding most of the time, mingling with the people. Therefore, it felt more like being a secret agent than a true soldier. It was far from what he hoped for but just the fact that he had been located in the Selnan Empire, away from his village in the boonies of Lysania, was a bliss. It was not so different from his life at home but at the same time, it was sometimes utterly baffling, unfamiliar and exotic.

Luckily, most of the countries in this part of the world shared more or less the same language. It didn't take long for Chen Yu to blot out his accent. Moreover, the Selnan empire was a vast country comprising the main Duchies : Central, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western, and some smaller counties as well. Rulers from the old days had been quite pragmatic when choosing the names. Even Selnarin, the founder and first emperor of the Selnan empire, agreed happily and without reservations to the name selection.

Chen Yu had to admit that the Duchies' names were accurate, easy to memorize and down to earth but they sadly lacked poetry. As a kid born and raised in Lysania, it was truly a shame that Chen Yu didn't know that the common language was nothing more that a subset of the Ancient dialect of Lysania, when the dragons roamed the entire land and ruled over the continent. Selnarin who fought against the dragons of old to break free from their rule, simply wished to ascertain his power over a human-oriented empire. Therefore he had painstakingly renamed all the locations belonging to his new territory.

In the end, Chen Yu was only an uneducated bumpkin turned foot soldier, the lowest ranked canon fodder in the low-skilled corps called infantry. However, he was open-minded and easy-going. And he liked Selnan very much. People were hospitable, friendly and used to hearing foreigners with strange accents and expressions. Even in the remote backwaters of Selnan, denizens didn't bat an eyelash when meeting new exotic-sounding travelers, helping and welcoming them naturally.

Chen Yu truly felt it was a pity when his superiors called him, and some of his friends and fellow soldiers, to ambush a group of ladies in a carriage going to a party. He never bore any ill-will against Selnan citizens, especially defenseless beauties with their maids. In his mind, it was a shameful mission but he couldn't possibly refuse his first assignment since his arrival in Selnan.

He was a soldier of Lysania and had to obey orders. However, unbeknown to his superiors, he stubbornly avoided the targets, aiming for the wheels of the carriage or even directly hitting the ground with his arrows. And he definitely didn't light his arrows with fire. Had they known, his superiors would probably have tried him for insubordination and possibly high treason. It couldn't be helped, he was probably not fit to be a soldier of Lysania as he didn't feel a strong sense of loyalty toward his country and liked Selnan better.

Truthfully, he also knew that his superiors had an agreement with some shady people from the Eastern Duchy of Selnan who wanted to assassinate the pregnant wife of the First Prince. He couldn't help but loath this kind of ruthless scheming bastards who not only plotted against a weak woman and her unborn baby, but also didn't take responsibility for their treacherous assault, having unrelated people do the dirty work in their stead.

Deep in his heart, he wanted to desert and hide himself in Selnan. He didn't think a mere foot soldier would make a difference, they wouldn't specifically search for him. He just had to avoid getting caught by chance. This was even the best opportunity since nobody except his savior knew that he survived the fight in the sewers. Thinking of which, since the beginning of the battle against the two fire and water mages, Chen Yu had a hunch that the enemies in the sewers were the very same partners from the Eastern Duchy, who showed them this way to escape the ambush location unnoticed. Leading them to their own demise, it was a convenient method to get rid of all witnesses. To betray and kill your allies was a good way to avoid being betrayed first since, apparently, they distrusted the Lysanian soldiers.

Chen Yu felt a surge of anger welling in his heart and had to clench his fists to suppress it. His entire unit had been wiped out. His friends and fellow soldiers were dead because they had been betrayed. It was unfair, he felt so wronged he wanted to scream. But he knew it was useless. He just had to choke back his rage and seek revenge.

Even though he generally was laid back and a bit of a coward, Chen Yu couldn't possibly tolerate such wickedness coming from Selnan nobles. It was an insufferable eyesore tarnishing his idealistic image of Selnan. Such blot had to be thoroughly cleaned at all costs.

Now totally awake, Chen Yu tried to sit, his back on the cold stone wall. The only light in the cave was coming from dying embers carefully stored in a corner. Thanks to that, it was warm in the cave. However, no fire had been lit inside, the embers had been brought from outside. The smoke couldn't go out and they would have suffocated in no time. This makeshift heater was a true blessing as they had no blanket and a cave could be cold and damp if left unattended.

Chen Yu checked his wounded shoulder. His shirt had been removed and his injury had been bandaged. Under the fabric strips, he could faintly see the light on his shoulder. It was now hardly noticeable and indeed, Chen Yu felt much better. No pain per se, just numbness and slow movements, as if his arm was heavy. He smiled wryly : a few days before, he had been on the verge of dying and only a short while later, he was already complaining that he couldn't move his arm as fast as before. He really was an ungrateful brat !

He stood up and went near the cave entrance. With only one arm, it was difficult to lift the multiple boulders. In between the cracks, he could see daylight. He wished he could bask in the sunlight and longed for a bath. His companion only cleaned his torso to heal his injury but didn't do anything else. Chen Yu had been asleep most of the time, only waking up to eat fish or fruits or attend to his most basic needs. He was grateful for the darkness in the cave as he felt his face and ears slowly blush thinking the delicate hands of the girlish boy could have been roaming all over his body.

He really needed to get his head straight. He never had any dubious feelings toward a man before. As far as he knew, he didn't ever bat for the other team.

Collecting himself, he finally called for help and was rewarded with a growing hole in the wall closing the entrance. Daylight flooded through the hole, illuminating the previously dark cave. Chen Yu felt as if the door to freedom had just opened. He couldn't really see outside since his eyes had not yet adjusted to the bright sun but inhaled a breath of fresh mountain air with delectation.

It felt just like a new birth and a promising and adventurous life was lying before his eyes. Like a kid, he was eager to start.

When his eyes adjusted to the light, he climbed clumsily the couple of remaining boulders to slip through the opening. Aside from a bit of dizziness, he felt really alive, he could feel his blood pulsing in his veins following his heartbeat. Truly, being alive, safe and sound was an exquisite feeling. He couldn't get enough of it. But, of course, he'd rather skip the step where he was supposed to have a brush with death. Nobody in their right mind would hope to be this close to dying. Well, Chen Yu easily admitted he was a coward but he would never balk at clearing a hurdle. However, it was more due to curiosity than pride and he would as easily walk around the difficulty if he could achieve the same results. He belonged to the kind of fools who could both daydream and be pragmatic at the same moment. Life was never short of contradictions, it was one of the reasons why it was so interesting.

Once outside, Chen Yu started to walk with a huge smile on his face. The girlish boy was nowhere to be seen but he was probably not too far since he was probably the one who removed the boulders. Chen Yu was once more reminded of the boy's unusual strength and felt a bit uneasy. He should really be mindful of the freakish runt, even though he saved his life. With both magic powers and physical strength, Chen Yu felt he would be a pain to deal with if he ever was upset. Better safe than sorry, it was high time he made friends with the midget.

"Hey !". Hearing the powerful shout, Chen Yu almost jumped out of his skin in fright. He barely had the time to turn around that he received a damp cloth right on his face. "It's time to bathe. Let's go !". Chen Yu removed the cloth obstructing his view just in time to see a nimble Xian leaping down from the high pile of boulders still blocking half of the cave entrance. The devilish shorty was shirtless, his unbound long golden hair dripping wet. He clearly just came out of his own bath but was already rushing in the direction of the nearby river, eager to have another scrub. It was really difficult to feel clean after the events in the sewers. Moreover, he noticed, to his surprise and great relief, that being immersed in water increased the speed of the magic elements scattering. His skin was already almost back to normal so he spent most of the day bathing in the river while Chen Yu had been recovering in the cave.

Chen Yu also couldn't wait for his dip, he just hoped he could handle a naked Xian without disgracing himself too much. He could still feel his ears burning just from the glimpse at Xian's pale skin and rosy nipples. He wanted to slap himself in shame.

Slowly, Chen Yu started to walk leisurely toward the river. He couldn't see Xian but could hear the river not far away and followed the general direction. From the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of a golden light and swiftly turned his head, bewildered. Xian was sitting in the shade of a tree, totally motionless.

"Oh, you found me. I was trying to blend into the landscape. I guess I still need to perfect this trick !". Xian said, totally carefree, with a lovely smile on his lips.

Chen Yu was stunned, his eyes almost popping out of his head. He gulped, trying to compose himself. He really felt like banging his head on a tree trunk. Gosh ! It should be forbidden for a guy to be this cute !

Chen Yu, however, was not out of the woods and he bravely endured every torment with a straight face. Whenever he felt a blush threatening to wreck all his efforts, he chose a random subject to keep his mind from wandering in dangerous areas. He was tall and quite handsome, so he had his share of girls before, but as a redhead with a face full of freckles, he still blushed really easily. It could be said to be part of his charm but alone with Xian, he had a hard time keeping himself in check at all time.

Therefore, the next day, Chen Yu breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Xian decided to move on, now that his wound was completely healed. Traveling, meeting new people could definitely help him get back to normal.