UCTOOT CH21

Shi Shu: “What does ‘wearing people down’ mean?”

“If they can’t kill you, can’t they still grind you down? When people have power, they want to exert it. After all, suppressing others brings a sense of satisfaction.” Xie Wuchi found a slightly cleaner spot and sat down. “I’m afraid this is also Feng Lu’s instruction, to make trouble for us. If our lives are uncomfortable, he’ll be comfortable.”

“…”

For a moment, Shi Shu didn’t know what to say.

“Just because he wants to ‘make trouble,’ we have to stay in this jail?”

“When the people at the residence see I’m not there, they’ll come to urge things along. After a few more days of pressure on the Ming Feng Si, we’ll be able to get out.”

Xie Wuchi said no more, placing his hands on his knees, his brow furrowed in thought.

He was out of place in this prison, yet he seemed completely at ease.

Shi Shu walked a lap around the cell. On the wall, someone had written the character for “injustice” (冤) in blood. The ferocious, splattered crimson strokes were fragmented and mottled, making one imagine the writer’s inner torment, suffering, and destruction.

Shi Shu stood by the wall, staring intently at the character.

Xie Wuchi: “This is the famous ‘Injustice Cell’ of the Ming Feng Si. A person smashed their head open and wrote this, stroke by stroke, with their blood. A person will die from blood loss, but even a torrent of blood cannot wash away injustice. This Feng Lu coils above everyone’s heads, indifferent to the masses, doing whatever he pleases.”

Many poets in literature textbooks were imprisoned for a single sentence that angered the powerful. Shi Shu was now experiencing what it was like to be in jail.

Shi Shu: “I refuse to accept this.”

“This is power. It cannot be questioned, it cannot be looked at directly, and it cannot be resisted.”

Shi Shu: “Why does he have power?”

Xie Wuchi: “Because he is close to the emperor.”

“Then who gave the emperor his power?”

Xie Wuchi glanced at him. “Come sit. The days in prison are long and hard. We might as well chat.”

Shi Shu sat down beside him, picked up a piece of straw, and began tearing it into tiny pieces.

“Humans first evolved from apes, initially forming communities, changing from independent individuals to groups capable of cooperation and mutual benefit. Different groups formed different settlements, and conflicts arose between them.”

“The division of labor became more refined. Within a settlement, there were the elderly, children, men, and women, with different physical strengths and different jobs. A portion of the people were assigned the specific task of protecting the group’s safety, fending off wild animals or external invasions. The original purpose of this group was to protect the weak, and they were called ‘hunters.’ But once the hunters possessed weapons and strength, they turned their aim towards the people within the group and began to rule.”

Xie Wuchi’s explanation was concise and plain. “The leader of these hunters is the emperor.”

Shi Shu: “We gave them weapons, and instead of protecting us, they began to enslave people?”

“Yes. They don’t protect, and they hold the weapons, taking things from the people’s hands,” Xie Wuchi said. “If you encounter a good hunter, he will protect the common people. If you encounter a bad one, the people can only be treated like meat on a chopping block.”

Shi Shu: “Is Feng Lu a bad hunter?”

Xie Wuchi: “Clever.”

Shi Shu: “Then what should we do?”

“Compete, and replace him to become the new hunter.”

A small window cast a single, small beam of light into the cell. Shi Shu reached out his hand to touch the snow-white sunlight.

It shone on the back of Shi Shu’s hand, which was fair, slender, and his five fingers were translucent, appearing very fragile.

But the sunlight warmed him.

Shi Shu leaned his shoulder against Xie Wuchi’s, looking at his own hand in the sunlight. “I’m willing to be a hunter too, but I don’t want to take things from everyone.”

Xie Wuchi: “You are very good. Be a strong person.”

Shi Shu spread his fingers, encouraged. “I am very strong!”

His gloomy mood was swept away. Shi Shu suddenly stood up and grabbed the straw on the ground. “Let’s pile up the straw first. We have to sleep at night. Let’s see if it’s comfortable!”

The straw was moldy and limp. Shi Shu made a small pile. When he lay down, a sharp pain shot through his back. “No, no, no, this straw is too prickly to sleep on, and I still have injuries on my back!”

He tried to get up—

But he couldn’t.

“Give me a hand, Xie Wuchi!”

“…”

Such a familiar voice.

Pulling his thoughts from his contemplation, Xie Wuchi moved closer. He supported Shi Shu’s shoulders and placed a hand under his waist. For a moment, that slender waist was encircled in his arm. Not wanting to aggravate the wound, he used his strength to lift him up, until Shi Shu’s entire body was held in his embrace.

The fragrance of the ointment on Shi Shu’s body seeped out through his jade-like skin. Smelling it, Xie Wuchi closed his eyes, his gaze falling down along his neck.

Shi Shu was touched. “Xie Wuchi, it’s so good to have you.”

Xie Wuchi brushed the dust off his clothes and said faintly, “You say I’m good every day. Where am I good?”

“Anyway, you’re a really good person. I’ll remember it all.”

The skin on Shi Shu’s arm was fair and smooth. Xie Wuchi averted his gaze. “What if one day, you discover that I’m not that good, and in fact the complete opposite of what you thought?”

Shi Shu: “What kind of opposite?”

Xie Wuchi: “For example, my mental state isn’t good. When I’m in a bad mood or anxious, I want to have sex.”

Shi Shu: “………………. Bro, I asked you to analyze yourself, did you have to start with something so explosive?”

They had been talking about serious topics, but he didn’t expect the conversation to take such a sharp turn.

Shi Shu: “This is a taboo topic. Let’s wait until tonight to talk about it.”

“My self, to you, is a taboo.”

A dark fire seemed to flash in Xie Wuchi’s eyes, gone in an instant. Shi Shu wondered if it was his imagination, but it looked demonic.

Xie Wuchi: “Let’s not talk anymore. Save your words for Pei Wenqing. You two get along well.”

“?” Shi Shu said, “Why do you keep bringing him up?”

Xie Wuchi fell silent. Shi Shu’s mind was reeling. “What do you mean? Do you think that if I’m friends with him, I won’t be friends with you anymore? Are you in elementary school?”

“For a handsome guy like you to have such petty emotions, it’s quite a contrast.”

“Look at me.”

“Speak. It’s boring,” he urged.

Xie Wuchi: “I don’t want to talk.”

Shi Shu: “Then what do you want?”

Shi Shu chattered around him for a long time, and before he knew it, the afternoon had passed.

Shi Shu got sleepy midway through and leaned on Xie Wuchi to sleep. When he was woken up, Xie Wuchi said, “It’s six o’clock.”

Shi Shu opened his eyes. “There’s no sundial, how do you know?”

“This beam of light was on the ground just now, and now it has moved to the wall. I can tell the time by judging the angle. I brought your ointment for you. Let’s apply it to your wounds now before it gets dark. We won’t be able to see anything in a bit.”

“Oh, okay, time to apply ointment again.”

Shi Shu lifted his clothes and turned his back to Xie Wuchi. The ointment was cool when first rubbed on. Although the wounds had scabbed over, the stimulation caused some spots to seep fine trickles of blood again.

As his hand moved down, Shi Shu felt him hooking his pants. One hand rested on his waist, the hot fingertips caressing his skin, making it itch.

“Xie Wuchi, be careful when you touch my butt. It’s not very comfortable.”

“Got it,” Xie Wuchi said after a moment. “Turn around.”

Shi Shu faced him and heard him say, “Lift your shirt up.”

“I don’t have any injuries on my chest,” Shi Shu said, but still lifted his shirt, revealing his fair abdomen.

“Lift it up more.” Xie Wuchi’s voice was a bit low.

The cold air in the cell stimulated his skin, making it slightly chilly. Shi Shu’s waist and abdomen were very beautiful, his ribs spreading out like a butterfly’s wings, tinged with a faint pink that was indistinct in the setting sun. Shi Shu looked down. “Is it done? Where are you checking?”

“Wait a little longer.” His voice was tight.

Shi Shu didn’t know how Xie Wuchi was looking, but his eyes had turned red. Just then, a eunuch’s voice came from outside the door.

“Dinner’s here, eat up!”

“Food’s here!” Shi Shu instantly dropped his shirt and ran over.

“…” Xie Wuchi’s palm was suddenly empty. He paused for a moment, then also stood up.

“What is all this?” It was a black, mushy liquid that smelled of meat but also had a fishy stench. The ingredients were indistinguishable and nauseating. One might think it was human entrails. It was clear that once you were thrown in jail, you were treated like a pig or a dog.

“Forget it, I don’t want to eat it. It’s no different from slop, even worse than what we had at the Zhou family village.”

Xie Wuchi also said, “Don’t eat it. Safety is more important.”

In a bowl to the side was half a bowl of water. After sniffing and examining it carefully, Shi Shu drank half and handed the rest to Xie Wuchi. “Personally tested, non-toxic. You drink it.”

Xie Wuchi took it and drank the remaining half. “Next time, don’t test it with your mouth. If you’re wrong, it’ll be too late to take it back.”

“…”

“We’re not eating the food, take it away.”

The eunuch sneered, “Still being picky, are we? You don’t even know what situation you’re in.” He picked up the bucket and walked away quickly.

The last beam of light in the cell disappeared, and it became completely dark. The oppressive atmosphere of the cramped space crept in. Shi Shu turned his head and could barely make out Xie Wuchi’s silhouette.

“Xie Wuchi, are you sleepy? Is it time to sleep?”

Xie Wuchi: “I’ve never slept this early.”

Shi Shu: “I can’t sleep either.”

The prison was very uncomfortable. The floor was hard, and the straw was thin. Shi Shu still couldn’t really lie down, and he couldn’t sleep lying on his stomach on the straw, so he could only sit on the ground.

But while sitting on the ground was fine for a while, it became uncomfortable after a long time, and he had to keep shifting positions. What else could you say about being in jail?

Normally, Xie Wuchi would take a bath as soon as he got back, then immediately read, write in his diary, and then sleep. It was rare to have time to be so idle and bored. Shi Shu said, “Should we chat?”

Xie Wuchi: “What do you want to talk about?”

“Let’s talk about you. I still don’t understand you at all.”

Xie Wuchi: “Me? There’s nothing to talk about.”

The darkness enveloped them, and with nothing to do, something in Xie Wuchi’s bones began to surface. He felt he had lost control of his life and a strange restlessness welled up. Shi Shu grabbed his hand and sat down next to him.

“What do you mean there’s nothing to talk about? Are you guarding against me?”

Xie Wuchi smiled slightly. “Not really. If you want to understand me, chatting is useless because I’m used to not telling the truth. Perhaps direct action is better.”

Shi Shu looked at him in the darkness. “What direct action?”

“I’m so bored.”

After another moment of silence, he heard Xie Wuchi say, “Shi Shu?”

His voice was very pleasant, a mature and elegant young man’s voice. Coming from his throat, it had a magnetic quality with a slight graininess, very pleasing to the ear.

“Do you want to kiss me?”

Shi Shu thought he had misheard. “Huh?”

“If you want to understand me, it’s best to start by touching my body. As for the words I say, don’t take any of them seriously.”

Shi Shu: “………………”

“No, dude, you’re so special!” Shi Shu said with sincerity.

Xie Wuchi: “I told you, I have anxiety. When I’m anxious, I want to have sex.”

“………………”

“Are you anxious right now?”

“It’s alright. My mood is just average.”

A new world had opened up for Shi Shu. “For real? Is there really such a condition in the world?”

“Yes. Many people look normal, but they have a ton of problems. Once a person is in pain, their body and mind will give feedback. That’s how most mental illnesses arise. And people in pain are the majority.”

Xie Wuchi looked at him. “Am I very strange?”

Shi Shu grabbed his hair forcefully. “This isn’t a question of whether it’s strange or not, it’s a question that’s beyond my comprehension.”

“I grew up abroad, and their attitude towards sex is very open. I witnessed people having sex in public on the street when I was very young. My parents said that people who can’t control their desires are no different from animals. Later, my classmates were often promiscuous, having group parties, but I’m a bit of a clean freak, so I only took care of it myself. Now, I want to kiss.”

Shi Shu raised a hand to his forehead, somewhat regretting starting this topic. “You want to kiss me?”

Xie Wuchi: “Is there anyone else here?”

Shi Shu: “You’re being a bit forward.”

“You said you wanted to understand me.”

“I only wanted to understand you verbally!”

“That’s why I said kissing. Otherwise, we’d have to switch to something else.”

Shi Shu: “…”

Shi Shu: “To understand you, do I have to do it this way?”

Xie Wuchi’s tone was very slow. “Yes. I’m a habitual liar. And besides, I really want to kiss right now.”

“…”

For some reason, Shi Shu felt that Xie Wuchi’s words gave the impression that he only revealed his true self in bed.

Of course, these were all lines he had seen in novels.

Shi Shu: “I can’t kiss you. It’s too challenging.”

“Try it. It was quite comfortable that day. I promise I’ll make you comfortable this time too.”

Damn it, this dog’s words are so fiery.

Shi Shu questioned, “You’re not gay, are you?”

Xie Wuchi: “I’m not. I’m just a little repressed. The first time I kissed someone after meeting you, it felt amazing.”

Shi Shu immediately covered his ears. “Please stop using words like ‘comfortable’ and ‘amazing’!”

Xie Wuchi chuckled. “So pure.”

Shi Shu asked again, “How old are you really this year?”

“Kiss me, and I’ll tell you.”

Shi Shu: “Hmph, then I don’t want to know.”

“Why don’t you try to recall it again? A kiss only takes a few seconds. It’s like a kiss on the cheek abroad, just a light touch.”

Shi Shu: “Really?”

“Really.”

“Then does that cheek kiss count as a first kiss?”

“No, but your first kiss is gone. Don’t even think about it. There was tongue that day.”

Shi Shu’s resurrected hope died again.

“Just one kiss. It’s so boring right now anyway.” Xie Wuchi’s voice was very soft, carried by the wind to Shi Shu’s ear.

Maybe it was because the night was too quiet, but Shi Shu’s heart inexplicably itched. He continued to argue, “You kiss people just because you’re bored?”

“Just one kiss, very quick, half a second.”

Shi Shu was still holding his head. The next second, his wrist was held, and a breath drew near.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, no forced kisses—”

Shi Shu didn’t feel the terror he had when escaping from the Zhou family village. The shadow of Xie Wuchi in his pupils grew larger and larger. A sense of tension suddenly hung in Shi Shu’s heart. Just as he placed his hand on his shoulder, his lips were imprinted by a pair of cool lips.

Shi Shu: “???”

“Mmph.”

Their lips touched and immediately separated.

Huh?

Shi Shu: “You’re done kissing?”

Xie Wuchi: “I said it would be quick. It was just a formal kiss. Do you think it’s weird?”

Shi Shu: “It’s fine.”

I didn’t feel anything.

Xie Wuchi: “I’m not lying to you. Want another one?”

Shi Shu exploded. “What are you doing! You’re addicted to kissing, aren’t you?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, his face was held, and another kiss fell.

“………………”

This time, the lips were much hotter. Shi Shu didn’t know what to do or what to say. If it were anyone else, Shi Shu would be angry, but with this explosive person, Xie Wuchi, it seemed that no action was out of place for him.

Shi Shu: “No, wait a minute.”

He had just opened his mouth a crack when warm air swirled, and something slipped inside.

Shi Shu: “Ah?”

Huh?

Having been kissed before, Shi Shu clearly recognized it was a tongue. His eyes widened. Xie Wuchi turned his head to kiss him, the angles of his jaw sharp, his Adam’s apple rolling gently. On the outside, he had an extremely proper and handsome face, comparable to a celebrity’s photoshoot.

But in the unseen space, their lips and teeth intertwined in their mouths, turning over and over again. He closed his eyes, his tongue sweeping over every part of his mouth, the muscles in his neck pulsing up and down. The kiss continued, wet sounds of entanglement filling the air.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough for him, a pair of hands cupped Shi Shu’s ears, touching his hair, adjusting the posture for a deeper kiss. Just when Shi Shu thought it was over, the next second, the lips kissed him again.

Shi Shu’s scalp went numb, as if his soul was trembling.

His mouth was open. Shi Shu: “Ah?”

Huh?

Huh?

Huh?

Wasn’t it supposed to be less than a second?

When Shi Shu grabbed his hand and pulled it away forcefully, his face was flushed red from lack of air. He exhaled hot breath, his moist, bright eyes staring at Xie Wuchi.

Xie Wuchi seemed satisfied with this sudden kiss. He parted his lips, his eyelashes lowered, casting fine shadows. He closed his lips, then his eyes, and his expression returned from one of pleasure to its usual state.

Hot air was exhaled, the air moist, clinging to his lips.

It was even more passionate than the kiss in the water that day.

Shi Shu was so frightened he didn’t dare to move, his eyes wide.

Xie Wuchi smiled gently and asked, “Do you understand me a little more now?”

Support me on Ko-fi