| The Paternity Guard (PATERNITY) |
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"What do you think?" The glint in Yin Ji's eyes flickered but he didn't stop unbuttoning his shirt before he straddled over Yin Qi's legs, which still can't move freely.
Ying Qi was momentarily speechless then burst out from between his gritted teeth, "You bastard... Mm!"
His mouth was covered and as the soft, slippery sensation enveloped him, Ying Qi tried to push the person off him.
However, his hands were grabbed before being restrained above his head. Ying Qi tightly clenched his teeth and refused to let the probing tongue enter.
Yin Ji chuckled lightly before withdrawing his hand that was suppressing Ying Qi's, who tried to attack him again.
"Sorry but I have to do this to make you behave..." The last few words were so muffled that Ying Qi didn't bother to listen as his mind flashed back to the days over a year ago.
The torturous days of nearly hopeless despair and the initial agony that eventually turned into reluctant compliance.
"Do you plan to do that again? Were the things you said last time all lies?" Ying Qi gave up struggling as he realized that even though he claimed to come because he understood love, he was still forcing himself on him.
Fortunately... he hadn't believed him...
"No, although I'm not a good person, I never lie to someone I care about."
Yin Ji’s long fingers brushed against Ying Qi's cheek. He covered Ying Qi's eyes with a blindfold and looked at him without any emotion before leaning in to kiss him.
Something cold slid down his tongue into the throat of Ying Qi, carried down by saliva. He couldn't tell what kind of invigorating thing it was but Ying Qi felt an indescribable sense of repulsion and disgust.
Ying Qi's mind drifted away and only regained his consciousness in a quiet room with no one else around.
There was no sound of another person's breathing.
Ying Qi opened his eyes and the scenes from yesterday replayed in his mind. He quietly lay there for a while before suddenly grabbing the blanket to cover his face.
Sitting up expressionlessly, Ying Qi realized he had already been cleaned up. He had lost consciousness by the end, so he didn't know what happened clearly.
Did he leave by himself? If it's, then that's good as he wouldn't have to face him anymore.
Ying Qi nodded to himself and then left the inn with his heavy steps. As he passed a table, an unlucky guest almost dropped the bun he was holding due to the strong internal force shaking it.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?"
‘Are you trying to scare people?’
"What's the matter!" Ying Qi turned abruptly, and one could almost see the black aura emanating from him.
"N-nothing..." The person was scared and quickly sat down as he stuffed the bun into his mouth.
……..
Under the bright sunlight, a man in white stood on the stone bridge, capturing the attention of passing girls and middle-aged women. But he seemed to be accustomed to such gazes as he just slightly tilted his head while flashing a smile, causing them to swoon and fall to the ground one by one.
Suddenly, the man's eyes caught something that caused him to retract his smile before striding quickly forward.
Zou Wuxiao finally met his Master but his Master seemed somewhat uncomfortable. "Palace Master, the carriage is ahead. But why would you suddenly want to return to the Central Plains? Did he come?"
Yin Ji reached out for support with his face covered tightly with a veil that conceals his pale complexion. He spoke with his voice hoarse, "No, I rode here myself! Help me to the carriage and I don't want to see anyone!"
Zou Wuxiao was surprised.
As his Master never spoke without using the tone as a ‘Palace Master’, so what kind of mood had he turned into?
Yin Ji wanted to return to his lair to recuperate. Zou Wuxiao, as a capable follower, acted as a competent coachman and urged the carriage southward.
A donkey cart gradually overtook them.
Zou Wuxiao casually glanced at it and continued to whip the horse.
A group of giggling children rushed to the front of the carriage, only to be scolded by Zou Wuxiao and told them to move aside.
An old lady with a cane slowly passed by while coughing weakly.
Zou Wuxiao's expression changed...
However, inside the carriage, someone suddenly yelled, "Wuxiao, can't you slow down a bit? It's too bumpy!"
Zou Wuxiao felt annoyed as he put away the whip and let the horse walk slowly.
Inside the carriage, Yin Ji frowned as he touched his buttocks and felt an intense pain despite applying medicine.
He thought of how he never applied medicine to Ying Qi in the past, and now that he know the feeling, he felt heartbroken that his tears almost well up in his eyes.
‘Xiao Qi, I'm sorry. Even though it's only been a day since I left, I'm now missing you…’
…….
After the first heavy snowfall, Ying Qi finally encountered his first acquaintance in Anxi. It was only a day's journey from Suoyun City.
What was he doing here?
Ke Weiqing's face lit up with surprise. He rushed over as he wanted to give him a hug but Ying Qi avoided him. Ke Weiqing looked unhappy but settled on putting his arm around Ying Qi's shoulder. "Xiao Qi, this is so impolite of you since it's been so many years since we last met, why can't you show a bit of excitement? You're really cold!"
Ying Qi sighed, "Young Master Ke, it's only been a year, hasn't it? It hasn't been that long?"
Ke Weiqing widened his eyes, "A year isn't long? This Young Master has missed you so much. When you left, Shi Qi kept talking about you every day that he was punished by Ming so many times. Heh heh."
Regarding Xing Beiming punishment, it was better left unsaid.
Ying Qi couldn't help but smile at the thought. Ke Weiqing stared at that smile before patting his arm and said in a low voice, "Hey, how have you been? And how come that you can get here in one piece?”
Ying Qi was momentarily distracted, "I've traveled from the west to the north and now here that I circle a big circle and seen a lot of things. But what about you, Young Master Ke? What are you doing here?"
Ke Weiqing's expression became somewhat uncomfortable but he quickly covered it up with a smile. "This Young Master never likes to stay in one place. I like to travel around while seeking beautiful women. Oh, by the way, Anxi City has an unparalleled beauty. It's just..."
Unable to interrupt Ke Weiqing's incessant chatter, Ying Qi could only listen with divided attention.
In his mind, the image of Shi Qi and the baby flashed.
He wonder if Baobao could walk by now...
If he was then he must not remember having a godfather like himself, right? He really wanted to go back and see them…
For some reason, Ke Weiqing refused to let go of Ying Qi and stayed with him in Anxi City for half a month. During this time, they almost visited every brothel in Anxi City, including the small inns.
Small inns aren't popular these days, so Ying Qi doesn't know where Ke Weiqing got the information from but he always manages to find them.
Ke Weiqing is going crazy.
To keep himself in check and avoid getting involved in improper relationships, Ying Qi lets him drink as much as he wants. But when it's crucial, Ying Qi always drags him away.
Ke Weiqing is best friend of his Master, and the Master wouldn't want him to indulge like this.
Ke Weiqing exclaimed drunkenly, “Xiao Qi, you're not lovable at all! What's wrong with me spending time with those beauties? It's a wonderful thing in life but you don't know how to enjoy it! You don't understand romance! I'm going back!”
Ying Qi held onto him and said, “Yes, yes, I don't understand romance. When Young Master Ke finds someone he likes the he can do whatever he wants. But don't waste time here! Shall we go?”
Ke Weiqing then held onto Ying Qi's arm and refused to let go while saying, “What someone I like? I don't have anyone! It's all nonsense! Men are all scoundrels! Especially that guy in white clothes, what a joke! Hmph! A shameless guy! When I see him, I'll teach him a lesson…”
‘Wait, aren't you also a man, Young Master Ke?’
A figure dressed in white appeared in Ying Qi's mind but he shook it away.
How could Young Master Ke get involved with that person?
An approaching sound of a carriage was heard, so Ying Qi restrained Ke Weiqing to prevent him from dragging them back to the brothel. However, the carriage stopped beside them and a person sitting in front of the carriage stood up before extending a hand towards Ying Qi before saying, “Hand him over to me.”
Zou Wuxiao?
Ying Qi became wary and stepped back. They were still enemies at this point, so why would he hand Ke Weiqing over?
Ke Weiqing, who was being restrained by Ying Qi, became restless and quickly moved to the front. He pointed at Zou Wuxiao's nose and angrily said, “I know you, scoundrel! Just because you're wearing a black robe doesn't mean I don't recognize you. Even if you turn into ashes, I will still recognize you...hic! What are you doing here? Are you trying to steal a girl from me? No way! Xiao Qi, let's go. We'll continue and get the courtesan, and see who he goes to...hic!”
Zou Wuxiao watched silently as he spoke. When Ke Weiqing turned to leave, Zou Wuxiao reached out to grab his arm but was stopped by Ying Qi, who asked, “Young Master Zou, what do you want?”
Zou Wuxiao smiled and said with a meaning, “My relationship with him is not ordinary. Are you sure you want to intervene between us? As a friend or a rival in love?”
A rival in love?
Ying Qi looked at his smiling face as his eyes showed seriousness that was hard to describe.
For a moment, Ying Qi was confused. Before he could say anything, Ke Weiqing had voluntarily climbed into the carriage...
He even muttered while climbing, “I'm coming up. I've been wanting to settle scores with you for a long time. Hic…after taking advantage of me, you still try to escape, no way! Not through the door... not even through the window…”
Stumbling into the carriage, he even pushed away Zou Wuxiao's helping hand then turned to wave at Ying Qi, “Xiao Qi, You go home. If you want to go to Linfeng Tower to find Miss Feng Qi, go ahead. She's such an elegant woman...hic!'
‘Are you really drunk?’
Ying Qi couldn't even force a smile.
However, he subconsciously didn't want to get close to the carriage as felt a strange familiarity. He sighed and just said helplessly, “Young Master Ke, do you know what you're doing?”
Zou Wuxiao, seeing Ke Weiqing settled, smiled gracefully at Ying Qi and said, “Young Master Qi, take care and goodbye.”
Ying Qi watched the carriage move away while still feeling uneasy. Suddenly, a hand appeared from the edge of the carriage and made a gesture of "everything goes smoothly," then waved at him before retracting. It seemed like a pretense but Ying Qi shook his head. He hadn't expected Young Master Ke to have connections with the Blood Demon Palace.
He wished him luck.
………..
Inside the carriage, Ke Weiqing rolled around while enjoying the comfort of the thick blankets, '”You really know how to enjoy yourself. Be careful, I might vomit on your carriage! Hmph!” Ke Weiqing boasted sarcastically.
“Is that so? You should think twice before acting.” Zou Wuxiao's voice came from outside the carriage but was muffled by the curtains. Yet there seemed to be a hint of schadenfreude in his tone but Ke Weiqing couldn't make sense of it and leisurely rolled around again.
He was drunk so, who could reason with him?
But Ke Weiqing's body touched something.
It was like... a person's foot?
There's someone else in the carriage?
Ke Weiqing's eyes widened but still feigned a nonchalance stance.
At the far end of the carriage, a person was half lying down while being wrapped in a thick quilt that covered most of his face. But even so, it was clear that he was an extremely beautiful person.
Ke Weiqing suddenly felt a pang of jealousy and discomfort, “Hey, Young Master Zou, there's a beauty hidden in your carriage? You're really in high spirits that you make someone so weak, yet you don't know how to cherish them. Let me take a look at the beauty~”
Ke Weiqing's malicious intent surfaced as he reached out towards the beauty.
After a moment, a cry came from inside the carriage, “Zou Wuxiao, you scoundrel! You even have a child now!! I'm getting off—”
Translator thought:
Who do you think is that? It is Yin Ji? But it seems he's pregnant. Hmm…