Hou Dong raised his brows. "Invitations? Do you think somebody will follow it after he gave a party just today?"
"Why not? Didn’t he say he acquired some treasure? They might think he wants to show it off now that he has made sure what kind of worth it has."
Hou Dong waved at him and took the invitation. Looking over it, this seemed to be for another event that would be held at the house of one of his neighbors in a few days. "Well, I guess we can’t let him lie here for too long or things might get ugly. Do you think people would return tomorrow already?"
Shen Ling nodded. "If the invitations come soon enough. Well, we need a sample to forge them though."
Hou Dong threw the letter away and nodded. "I bet those who were invited will bring the invitations with them to get in. So there should be some around. Either they’re still carrying them so they’d be on their bodies all the time or one of the servants took them to throw them out later."
Shen Ling grinned. "Then I’ll go and look." He patted Sun Jin’s shoulder and winked at him. "Since it’s an invitation to a party, you should make sure that the guests get something to see. Wrap him up like a present maybe." He laughed and left the room, going to look for the invitations.
Sun Jin turned to look at Hou Dong. "So … I just wrap him up? Like how?"
Hou Dong looked at the man lying on the bed and then thought back to how Kanuen had been presented to him. That kind of robe that covered almost nothing, letting everyone interested see through the fabric … "Just imagine you’re a rich merchant and wanted to sell somebody of. How would you prepare that person? Just do that."
He got up from the chair and walked over to the window, looking outside. The room was at the back of the building, looking over the garden behind it. From here, he could see the small courtyard where they had left the carriage. Right now, Kanuen should be inside there, waiting for him to return. Most likely, he had already put on the simple clothes that he had given him. He should be feeling a bit better now but maybe he also felt alone. Ah, he shouldn’t waste too much time here.
Behind him, Sun Jin looked at the straps that Shen Ling had cut out of the robe and couldn’t help but feel that it was a pity. Ah, putting the guy into the dress would have been nice to look at. What was that if not wrapping him up like a present?
Well, there was no way to do that anymore. So he’d need to find something else. He looked around and finally spotted the other curtain that Hou Dong had spared when he ripped one down to wrap Kanuen up in it. He grinned and cut it down, looking at the see-through fabric with a grin. "I think this one is quite good. At the very least, our Master’s lover looked stunning in it. Let’s see if you look just as good, alright?" His grin got even more pronounced and he went to work, wrapping the curtain halfway around the man’s body but still making sure that the important parts were all exposed. In fact, the whole thing looked more like a belt that had one sleeve attached to it than like a robe or anything that was meant to be worn as a normal piece of clothing.
Sun Jin step back and looked at Hou Dong for confirmation. "What do you think, Master? Will this be alright?"
Hou Dong looked at the guy and couldn’t help but smirk. "Looks good. Maybe you should tie a bow in the middle."
Sun Jin didn’t think about it and went to search for a ribbon, finally tying a bow around the guy’s waist. Mn, his Master really had the best ideas. This was looking fucking ridiculous.
He scratched his head and turned back to Hou Dong. "I guess the only thing that’s left is the invitations now. Should I go and help Shen Ling?"
Hou Dong shook his head. "Leave that to him. If he needed help, he would’ve told the others. Rather than that, let’s leave here. Kanuen is already waiting. After this whole ordeal, I shouldn’t leave him alone for too long. I guess this already counts as enough of revenge for him."
Sun Jin pursed his lips. "How can that be enough? We should still have castrated him."
Hou Dong shook his head. He didn’t try to explain and just left the room, closing the door behind them. Yes, he certainly would’ve wanted to do a bit more as revenge. But after everything he knew about Kanuen so far, the youth wouldn’t be happy about that. No, he was somebody that came from a kingdom that dealt with this kind of thing differently. An eye for an eye, that was nothing he would condone. Some payback might be allowed but nothing more.
Even though he hadn’t said so out loud that was how he thought inwardly. Even if he had other thoughts at this moment, he would return to his usual way of thinking when he had calmed down. After all, nothing had happened to him in the end. Sure, the experience hadn’t been pleasant but the guy hadn’t been able to go through with it. Castrating him for that … Kanuen would also feel guilty if he knew.
Hou Dong evaded the guards and servants and finally made his way over to the courtyard, silently signaling at his men before he went up to the carriage. He didn’t rush to pull the canvas aside and instead cleared his throat. "Kanuen? Are you alright?"
A slender hand reached out and pulled the canvas to the side, exposing Kanuen’s pale face. "You’re back. How … How did it go?"
Hou Dong smiled when he saw him like this. Sure enough, Kanuen had already calmed down now that he had changed his clothes and didn’t feel that punishing the guy would be too good.
Hou Dong climbed into the carriage, leaning over to Kanuen to pull him into his arms. His nose tingled and he had to lean away, sneezing. "Ah! Damn this! Just what did they do to you? You’re smelling like …" He stopped himself from saying anything and just reached out, gently rubbing Kanuen’s shoulder. It wasn’t Kanuen’s fault that he was having this reaction. He couldn’t make him feel even worse by rejecting him right now. Who knew if he wouldn’t misunderstand if he did? "I’m sorry. I also don’t know what it is. This smell just makes my nose tingle."
Kanuen gave him a smile in return. "It’s alright."
Hou Dong couldn’t help but feel even worse when the other looked at him like this. "It’s not. You need me right now. Especially right now. Whatever’s the matter, I shouldn’t be like this." He reached down and pulled up the cloth that he was still wearing around his neck, securing it around his face again. "I hope you don’t mind." He moved in closer and finally pulled Kanuen into his arms. With the cloth in front of his nose and mouth, the smell wasn’t as bad. It still made his nose tingle a little but he was able to endure it. Well, they wouldn’t need too long to get back to the town. Until then, he would be able to bear this.
Just then, the carriage finally started to move. Kanuen couldn’t help but look to the front.
Hou Dong took his hand and squeezed it. "Don’t worry. That’s one of my men. Duan Bao. You also know him. He was the one who felt your pulse while we were going through the desert to make sure that you were alright again."
Kanuen nodded. "I remember." He snuggled up against Hou Dong’s chest and closed his eyes. "To be honest, I was afraid. From the moment you left, I was afraid. Maybe I shouldn’t have been. You said that you would come and save me. I should’ve trusted you. I also should have known that you wouldn’t leave me alone and that there would be somebody paying attention to me. But still …"
Hou Dong brushed through his hair with his fingers and shook his head. "What are you apologizing for? It’s completely normal to be afraid. You … You were in a bad situation. And I wasn’t beside you. Even if you would’ve thought that somebody was close by, that still isn’t the same. It’s normal that you felt like this. So don’t blame yourself. I don’t blame you either."
Kanuen nodded and wrapped his arms around Hou Dong’s waist, trying to get his sense of security back. Even now, he could hardly believe that he had managed to make it out of there without harm. With his eyes closed, as long as Hou Dong wasn’t around, he still felt the gaze of these men on his skin. It was as if he could still feel their touch. He wasn’t sure when this would stop. He could only pray that it would be soon. After all, he couldn’t rely on Hou Dong being right next to him forever. That just wasn’t possible.
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