15:: Teasing to Temptation

When she woke up the next morning, Yuxi's mind was still in turmoil from what had happened the night before. She couldn't explain why she could hear what Zhan Peng conversed with the intruder, although she did not know who that person was.

She had never heard of a dark inn before and was apprehensive about what kind of drug they had imposed on her to have such an effect on her. It had disabled her ability to defend herself and sent her into a deep sleep and even when Zhan Peng had absorbed half of it, she still felt impacted. For one, she almost lost control of her emotions and agreed to the mercenary's terms.

Yang Tian was waiting for her outside her room when she emerged. He surprised her with a hug, although what left her apprehensive was the words 'dark inn'.

The words 'dark inn' had only emerged in literature for her. But she firmly suspected something was not right. Who in the world could have borne such a grudge against her? It was just after she received the news that her betrothed was dead, that the innkeeper set her up with drugged water and then Zhan Peng rescued her.

Even if Zhan Peng was in cahoots with the innkeeper, it didn't seem realistic that he would consume so much effort just to have her fooled. If it was her body he was after, he could have taken action long ago. Why was it only when they reached the border of Xiantan, then this happened?

And it had been after her communication with the ancient evil. Nothing made sense at all. Unable to find any clues behind the attack, they left the empty inn, devoid of any inhabitants. Although Yuxi needed to know what had actually happened for her to report back to Du Hui, it was pointless staying on. They couldn't afford to waste more time.

Next, they headed to the harbour. Now that they finally reached the border, they had to take a boat to Xiantan. Yuxi had never taken a boat before, although she had travelled in another direction to Xiuhuan, another city located to the south of Shangyi, which she reached by horse.

Watching her reflection in the water at the river, Yuxi wondered if everything was her destiny. Were they just signs that she wasn't suitable as an advisor? It was like someone, or something, was trying to bring her down.

She stared towards Zhan Peng, but he said nothing and just took the space beside her. Yang Tian had left to find the boat trader that Du Hui had arranged, unofficially, for them to buy over a boat. This boat would take them past the river of Xiantan that separated the two cities, to Xiantan itself.

Alone, they spoke again. She hadn't expected Zhan Peng's first words to be about his terms.

"I've heard from Yang Tian that you didn't accept him. So, what do you think about my offer?" he grinned craftily.

Was he that shallow to be only thinking about sexual desire? Yuxi realised she couldn't understand him after all. She blamed herself for her lustful intent towards Zhan Peng. She should have opened her eyes more widely to look at the man before she even considered him as the subject of her lewd dreams.

Due to how dubious he was, she wasn't sure how to react to the offer.

"You seem happy that I didn't accept him. I thought you cared about him," she retorted.

"I do. But it's his decision."

She just felt sorrier for Yang Tian.

Yang Tian returned with a handsome blue-painted boat with a small cabin. Again, the cabin could only accommodate two people, so it was either of them, Yang Tian or Zhan Peng standing on the outside. Zhan Peng said he would have arranged Yang Tian to sit with her inside the cabin, but he revealed that Yang Tian had a horrid adversity to travelling by sea.

He further explained that during their trips, he had taken a special herbal medicine to prevent him from vomiting, but they had lost the herbal remedy at sea during their last trip. So, the only way for him to travel with them was to sit by the deck and vomit the entire trip. Poor man, she thought.

About the remedy, she found it weird that he had one, since none of the physicians at Shangyi had ever possessed a treatment for seasickness. Unless Zhan Peng wasn't from Shangyi, he couldn't have obtained that remedy. But if he wasn't from the island, then where could he be from?

A part of her contemplated the prophecy and the probability that he would be part of the three who would help the island, but she dismissed her thoughts. They considered it impossible for any outsiders to enter the island because of the curse by Xima. As the tale from her forefathers went, Xima had cursed any travellers who tried to make their way to Shang-Yi with pestilence. Either they would die, or cursed with sickness. Other than that, the unpredictable winds also made it arduous for smaller boats to make their way to the island.

"Can I have a word with you, Zhan Peng?" she implored after Yang Tian insisted he was fine after vomiting for hours straight, and instructed them to head inside. She felt bad about it, and it looked like a storm was about to arrive.

Zhan Peng's eyes widened as he followed her into the cabin. Immediately, the moment they were inside, she drew the curtain to divide them.

She undressed while she spoke, although she was unsure if a sheet of cloth was ample to cover her obvious curves. It was tiring masking her alluring figure through layers of cloth in the daytime that just made her uncomfortable walking long distances. As a swords woman and a warrior, the thick layers of cloth just disrupted her fighting ability and slowed her down.

"Zhan Peng, are you from here?" she asked after she had stripped down to her undergarments. That night, she was wearing a thin black one with floral embroidered designs to ease the warmth of the hot summer, but once it started raining, she would have to put on another layer of clothing.

She heard him exhale. Through the pale curtain, she made out his well-built figure.

"Do you mean, if I am from the island?"

"Where else could you be from?" she wanted to ask, but cut herself short. She didn't want to seem to suspect where he was or his identity. Even if she doubted him, it wasn't healthy for their working relationship.

"I'm from Chensu." She saw the faint outline of him disrobing and looked away.

Chensu was in the southwest most portion of the island, and she knew naught of the residents there. She just nodded.

"Is that all?" Zhan Peng asked, noticing that she was silent for a very long time.

"Yuxi?" he called her by her given name, astonishing her by the sudden intimacy in addressing her.

"What is it?" she responded in a low tone.

"Let me see you. We don't need this curtain."

"What?" she gasped, but he lifted the curtain and made his way into her section. She pulled the blanket over her, shielding herself in embarrassment.

"There's no use in hiding, Yuxi. I remember every single bit of detail of how much I've seen of your body. But this isn't my point."

"What.. What is it?" she shivered as he approached.

"I miss you, Yuxi. I want you, and no matter who you like, I don't care. I just need you to make a choice."

If he wanted her, why did he want to be discreet, and why was he happy about taking what his brother wanted?

She couldn't fathom, but he closed his lips down on hers while slipping his other hand inside the blanket. That pervert!

Instead of touching her, he extracted a wooden stick she used to pleasure herself and removed his lips from hers, grinning maliciously.

"You don't need this. Come to me, Yuxi. I'll make sure I'll give you all the pleasure you can ever wish for."

She closed her eyes and mustered her strength. Where had the tigress in her gone, now replaced by a mouse?

"Zhan Peng, I have the right to decide to agree to your terms or not."

"Then, I'll take this one, until you decide."

She heard the rumble of thunder as he wore his cloak and exited the cabin with her precious tool. It was going to rain! Worried about Yang Tian, she made a hole in the window and peeked outside.

The two men were laughing gaily. Yang Tian did not look like he had just vomited, pointing at the sky and saying something unimportant.

She knew he had misled her with his lies. Yang Tian never ever had seasickness; he just wanted to be alone with her in the cabin.

But how was she going to withstand the power of his temptation?