A Cruel Romance

Li Shih-Yao soon departed with his Chief of Staff, leaving Commander Ho alone in his room . He stared blankly at Hsiao-Shun as the boy huddled around the stove, and knew that he was as safe as he could be .

After lighting the stove, Hsiao-Shun went out to fetch a kettle of cold water and placed it over the stovetop . He approached the heated brick bed, and deciding that it was warm enough, unrolled and shook out their new beddings before stacking them in a neat pile in the corner .

Commander Ho stood next to the wall . “Are the sheets damp?”

Half-kneeling on the bed, Hsiao-Shun stuck a hand inside the pile . “No . ”

Commander Ho took out his pocket watch and checked the time . Seeing that it was only two in the afternoon, he began to unb.u.t.ton his jacket: “I’ll take a nap . ”

Hsiao-Shun nodded and took off his shoes nimbly . He climbed onto the bed to lay out the bedclothes, then hopped back down to help Commander Ho out of his jacket, unhooking the pistols hidden around his body . Freed from their c.u.mbersome weight, Commander Ho breathed a sigh of relief . He lay down on his back in his shirt and shorts and patted the edge of the brick bed contently: “get in . ”

Hsiao-Shun looked back at the stove . “The water isn’t done . ”

Commander Ho closed his eyes . “Then sit down and wait . Don’t leave the room . ”

Hsiao-Shun sat gingerly on rim of the bed, his hands resting on his knees, and stared intently at the kettle on the stove . When its lid shook with the pressure of steam, he shot up and quickly placed the kettle on the ground .

He stole a glance behind him . Commander Ho was fast asleep, undisturbed by the clang of metal . This was a good thing—he’d be disciplined otherwise . Commander Ho tended to skip the yelling and jump straight into corporal punishment .

He poured the boiling water into a thermos and made a large cup of tea, which concluded his ch.o.r.es for the time being . Sitting in the quiet, warm room, he began to grow drowsy .

The mood had been tense for the past few days, and he’d spent all his days and nights running about with Commander Ho . Like any young man, Hsiao-Shun coveted sleep, and he caught himself nearly dozing off, still perched on the edge of the bed . Carefully, he removed his shoes and climbed into bed, and lay down silently next to Commander Ho . He’d only intended to take a brief break, but the moment he shut his eyes, his consciousness plunged into darkness .

Their previous long-distance flight had put both of them under great physical and mental stress . Now that they’d finally found some security within the strongbox-like location, their sleep was deep and sound . Initially, Hsiao-Shun only napped lightly at the edge of the bed, but as he drifted deeper into sleep, he wormed his way under the covers, and like he’d usually do during the night, he wrapped an arm around Commander Ho . Commander Ho grumbled in his sleep and wiggled further into Hsiao-Shun’s arms .

Li Shih-Yao returned at around four in the afternoon .

None of Commander Ho’s guards stopped him . They all knew Major-General Li, and they knew that he was an old subordinate of their Commander’s . The orderlies were still outside unloading luggage, and none of them thought to announce Li’s arrival .

Li barged in unchecked .

A gust of warm air greeted him . Li closed the door behind him, and seeing that the sitting room was deserted, he parted the door curtain and stepped into the bedroom .

He came to an abrupt halt .

After standing stock still for the better part of a minute, he tiptoed to the bed and craned his neck for a better look . Commander Ho lay curled up in Hsiao-Shun’s arms, an arm thrown around the boy’s neck . Beneath the rise and fall of the quilted covers, it appeared that one of his legs were also slung over Hsiao-Shun’s waist . Hsiao-Shun lay flush against Commander Ho, his chin pressed against Commander Ho’s forehead . Their pale faces were both fl.u.s.tered, their breaths long and even .

Li stared dumbly at them for a long moment, then retreated from the bedroom with a thumping heart and a reddened face . He pulled open the outer door and slammed it back shut, coughing and hollering . “Commander! Where are you? It’s getting late . Why don’t you come over to my rooms for dinner?”

Sure enough, he soon heard movement within the bedroom . Only then did he throw back the door curtain and saunter in . Hsiao-Shun was already up on his feet . Commander Ho remained in bed and watched him with half-open eyes .

“Napping?” Li took a seat in a chair next to the door, rubbing his hands and glancing about . “It’s sure warm in here! Hsiao-Shun, get me a cup of water, I’m dying of thirst!”

Hsiao-Shun poured him some water out of the thermos . Sipping it slowly, Li felt the hot liquid scorch his already inflamed insides, spurring his pulse .  He stole a glance at Hsiao-Shun, noticing that the boy was not only handsome in the face, but was also wide-shouldered and long-legged, his figure—if a bit hunched over—was full of power and grace .

“Ho looks nothing like a dame, so why can’t he live without other men? But something must be said about his tastes . This Hsiao-Shun’s much easier on the eyes than Lan Bai-Shan, and no doubt more obedient… But why was Hsiao-Shun the one holding him in his arms? Could it be that…”

Li lost himself to daydreams . When he finally came to, he realised that Commander Ho had thrown back his covers and was sitting cross-legged on the brick bed, waiting for Hsiao-Shun to fetch his trousers .

Li ducked his head and resumed sipping his water . Commander Ho’s long naked legs swayed right in front of him, white as snow, tender as lotus roots, taunting him to s.n.a.t.c.h one and bite down on a toe . It was true that he had already slept with Commander Ho, but they’d done it in the dark and gave Li’s eyes no chance to partic.i.p.ate .

Li was glad that he’d wore his greatcoat, which hid his tenting trousers .

Commander Ho did not detect anything out of the norm as Hsiao-Shun hurried to dress him . Once he’d been adequately groomed, he finally asked Li: “Why are you here?”

“To invite you to dinner,” Li said to the floor with a chuckle .

Feeling parched on the burning brick bed, Commander Ho picked up a teacup and gulped down its content . He wiped his lips with a hand . “Let’s go, then . ”

Once they headed out, Commander Ho discovered that Li lived right next door . The estate was once owned by a large family, and had an equally large number of buildings and courtyards . The layout was impeccably grid-like, and while lacking in term of aesthetics, it served perfectly as a military camp .

Commander Ho was vegetarian, and vegetables were all but impossible to come by in the dead of winter . There were some potatoes and cabbage available, but the potatoes were frozen and the cabbage stale . Li could barely stomach those himself, let alone serve them to a guest . After much deliberation, he ordered Commander Ho a plate of stir-fried tofu, a tofu salad, and a bowl of tofu soup .

Commander Ho cared little for his diet . Spotting that the table had already been set over the brick bed, he took a seat on his own and began to pour the tofu soup into a bowl or rice . Li hurried to stop him: “Slow down . Let’s have something to drink, now that we’re finally reunited . ”

Daylight was scarce during the winter months, and electric lights already lit the room . Commander Ho glanced out the window and saw that the sky had completely darkened . If he had something to drink now, he’d be able to go right back to sleep and escape Bai Su-Ch’en’s hara.s.sment . At the thought, he nodded . “Go ahead . ”

Li had half a gla.s.s of the brandy he brought back from Langfang and sampled some braised pork, feeling his meal settle pleasantly in his belly . He watched Commander Ho eat his bowl of tofu soup and rice, and asked him: “Commander, why did you become vegetarian all of a sudden?”

Stumped by the question, Commander Ho pondered over an answer for a long moment, but found it difficult to explain . Ever since he saw Lan Bai-Shan’s body burn to ash, he could not bring himself to eat meat again—or he’d imagine that he was chewing on Lan’s flesh .

Not receiving an answer, Li reached for the bottle and refilled Commander Ho’s cup . “Have some more . You can just go to sleep afterwards . ”

Commander Ho indeed took a large gulp . He hadn’t touched alcohol in a long time—he couldn’t afford to, since he was a lightweight and couldn’t risk getting drunk . But all appeared peaceful and quiet tonight, at least for the time being, and it seamed harmless to have a few drinks .

Commander Ho got wasted .

The brandy took some time to work into his system . He felt mostly fine at first, but an hour later, its effects made itself known .

Normally a cautious man, Commander Ho would never get himself drunk in public, but today was an exception . He stared at Li with a fl.u.s.tered face, then blurted out: “I’m being haunted . ”

Li didn’t quite follow . “Eh? Haunted?”

Commander Ho nodded gravely . “My Little Uncle . He follows me around, keeps asking for his head . ”

Li knew his little uncle was Bai Su-Ch’en, but still felt baffled . “What happened to his head?”

Commander Ho leaned forward and regarded him with a serious expression across a table of half-cold food . “I blew his head off with my pistol . He’s been demanding his head back ever since . ”

Li opened his mouth . He wasn’t expecting the drunken Commander Ho to be even more eerie than his usual self .

“So…” he said with some hesitation . “Have you tried hiring an exorcist?”

Commander Ho c.o.c.ked his head and frowned . “It didn’t work . ”

Li gave a laugh . He wasn’t sure what Commander Ho was getting at; it’s not like he knew how to subdue ghosts!

It seemed, however, that Commander Ho had kept the matter bottled up for a while, and under the influence of alcohol, decided to unload it all . “I want to move into the guard house . One Hsiao-Shun isn’t enough . With all the guards around, maybe he’ll finally quit!” Then he turned and made to get up . “I’m going to go sleep in the guard house!”

Li reached around the table and caught his arm . “I don’t recommend it . If you went, the kids wouldn’t even dare to snore . ”

Commander Ho nodded . “You’re right . Snoring won’t be allowed . Any snorers will be shot dead!”

Li’s room housed a wide brick bed that nearly took up half of the room . He pushed the table to the side, and with an arm around his back and one under his knees, picked Commander Ho right up and deposited him further into the bed .  “There, we’ve arrived at the guard house! You can sleep here . ”

Commander Ho sat up wobblingly and looked about . “Where are the men? What the point of coming over if n.o.body’s here?”

Li knelt before him . “Am I not a man?”

Commander Ho stared at him for a long moment, then burst out laughing: “You scoundrel! Where did you come from? Your kind are the worst when it comes to battles . All you do is spend my money but don’t do any work!”

Li glanced back at the door . It was shut tight, with guards standing on the other side . Not even a cat could get in . Feeling daring, he reached out and began to unb.u.t.ton Commander Ho’s shirt . “Commander, let me help you get undressed . ”

Commander Ho shut his eyes and leaned bonelessly back into the wall . He’d fallen quiet again .

Li finished taking off Commander Ho’s shirt, and unrolling the covers, helped him lie down on it . When he reached for his trousers, Commander Ho grasped him by the collars . “Papa, come sleep with me . ”

Li sweetened up like a ripe turnip: “All right, Papa will sleep with you . ”

Li stripped himself naked . This time he finally got his wish—he could enjoy Commander Ho with both his hands and eyes .

He knelt over Commander Ho and bent down to kiss a pink nipple . He covered it with his mouth, sucking and teasing it with his tongue, and snuck a hand between the other man’s legs . Commander Ho’s eyes remained closed . Before long he arched up and let out a moan, which almost sounded like a sob .

Li faltered, looking up at the warm spent covering his hand . Was he… suffering from some sort of medical condition?

How could it have been so quick? He was holding him right in his hand, and knew that he’d clearly e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed before he was even erect .

Li gave it some thought, and began to reach a revelation of sorts . No wonder he couldn’t live without men . Even if he got him some girls, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything with them!

He spread the come over Commander Ho’s rump, and working up his courage, press his own burning length to Commander Ho’s face . Receiving no response from the other man, he went ahead and nudged his engorged c.o.c.k onto his lips . This time Commander Ho gave a small grunt and turned away with a frown, looking hara.s.sed .

Li dared not toy around with him any further, first because he was afraid that Commander Ho might wake up, but also because he was already painfully aroused . He decided to get straight down to business, thinking: “this sort of thing ought to get easier with practice . I gotta work harder . If I gave him the time of his life, would he not come back for more?”

Commander Ho woke up in a state of utter bliss .

He could vaguely hear himself moaning before he even opened his eyes . Once he did open his eyes, he suddenly blanched: “What are you . . . ?”

Feeling guilty, Li simply wrapped his arms around Commander Ho and hoisted him straight up into his lap, the two of them still connected . Commander Ho sank down with the sudden motion and gave a small cry as Li was driven further into his body .

Li clung to him as he kneaded his a.s.s and sucked on an erect nipple breathlessly . Shocked and bewildered, Commander Ho struggled to push him off . “How dare you…”

Li thrust up for all he was worth: “Com—Commander, I really do like you . Have some kindness!”

Biting his lips, Commander Ho looked up and threw the ghost of a slap at his face . “I’m—I’m—I’m going to kill you…”

Li smiled his slovenly smile and slapped Commander Ho soundly on the backside . “Go ahead, crush me to death with your a.s.s . ”

“You f.u.c.king…” Commander Ho began among the other man’s wild movements, but trailed off as he fell against Li’s shoulder trembling

Li wiped the come off his stomach and rubbed it into Commander Ho’s thigh . “Can’t take much f.u.c.king, can you,” he said, laughing . “Look at that, you just came again . ”

Commander Ho hang his head and panted quietly, looking as if he no longer had the strength to reply .

Li put him down on the bed and resumed his movements with Commander Ho’s legs around his shoulders .

Perhaps Commander Ho was still under the influence of alcohol, for although he wished to get up and put a bullet through Li, he felt stuffed so full of the other man’s c.o.c.k that it gave him an almost convulsive shock of pleasure with each thrust . Li’s body was solid and strong, his crushing embrace warm and reliable .

Commander Ho began to feel dazed again, telling himself: “I’ll settle things with him tomorrow . Right now… Right now I might as well enjoy myself . ”

Commander Ho had perhaps enjoyed himself too much .

He lay slumped on the brick bed the next morning . He wanted to get up, but couldn’t find the strength to move his legs . Li offered to give him a leg ma.s.sage, which soon turned into an a.s.s ma.s.sage .

“Commander,” Li lowered his lips to his ear . “Does it hurt there? Looks a bit swollen to me . ”

Commander Ho lay expressionlessly on his stomach as if Li was handling somebody else’s behind .

Li seemed oddly interested in his a.s.s . After fondling it for some moment with obvious delight, he bent down again and whispered into his ear: “Commander, I’m sorry about what happened last night . Please don’t be mad . I swear, I really want things to be good between us . Lightening smite me if I lie!”

Commander Ho shut his eyes, feeling like every joint in his body had been taken apart once .

Something wet touched his backside . He knew it was Li licking him .

All of a sudden, he found the whole thing downright amusing . It looked like he wasn’t unwanted, after all . In the eyes of boors like Li, perhaps he still had some appeal . “Had Lan Bai-Shan been anything like this b.a.s.t.a.r.d Li,” he thought to himself, “Little Uncle wouldn’t even have the chance to haunt me . The b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s killing me with that tobacco smell! There’s no need to kill him . I cannot create any more enemies right now . And later on… Never mind, that’s a matter for another day . The b.a.s.t.a.r.d isn’t like that whelp Chao Hsiao-Hu . As annoying as the b.a.s.t.a.r.d is, he has his uses . Unlike the Whelp, who only knows how to make me sick . ”

Li lay on his side, his head resting on Commander Ho’s rump . He was cheerfully rubbing his face against the other man when Commander Ho turned around and slapped him across the forehead with a gnarl . “Are you f.u.c.king done?”

I’ve heard some unsettling things about livejournal and its new terms of service . Perhaps it’s finally time to relocate? I’m not sure where I would go, and I can only hope they won’t shut down this blog because it’s now breaking some arbitrary rule .