Amidst his contemplations, the sound of retreating boots from the main tent reached Qu Fongning’s ears. He immediately assumed a posture of diligence, sitting upright and lowering his head to pore over a complex formation in his diagram. Moments later, the sound of splashing water drifted from the training grounds; the mere noise felt bone-chilling in the winter air. Clutching the scrolls, his mind remained in a state of agitation. The Six-Flower Formation was indeed a work of divine ingenuity, yet it was ultimately derived from the Eight Formations of the Martial Marquess, which Yujien himself had refined. To display such a tactic before the General would feel like a clumsy apprentice challenging a master—a turtle offering itself up to be caught in a jar. He drew back his feet in a sudden fit of frustration, vexed by his own ineptitudes.

Yujien entered, radiating the sharp chill of the frost. Seeing the youth huddled in a corner of the great bed with his head bowed, he approached and ran a hand through the boy’s hair.

“Cross? I was too harsh just now?”

Qu Fongning, whose mind was occupied by entirely different matters, raised his eyes blankly. “No…nope.”

As Yujien sat upon the bed, a wave of icy mist and moisture assaulted him. “If not, then good. Sleep on the inside.”

Qu Fongning complied, retreating to the inner edge of the bed where the purple sable quilt had been neatly laid out, thus pulled open a corner and laid primly in. Yujien gestured toward him. “Still reading?” Qu Fongning shook his head and closed the book beneath the covers. Yujien said no more. With a sharp click of a mechanism, the brass hands atop the four vine pillars closed their palms; the tent was plunged into a void of darkness, save for the pale red pearl by the pillow, continuing to exhale its soft, rhythmic light.

For a moment, only the sound of their breathing filled the space. Qu Fongning slept rigidly, the awkwardness hanging between them. He discreetly adjusted the copper command token that was pressing into his lower back and whispered a tentative question, “General, why were you so angry earlier?”

Yujien opened his eyes, his brow clouded with tension. “The Quartermaster’s audit of military expenditures and personnel losses showed a wearing year; the costs of war and the rate of casualties had far exceeded historical norms. When I summoned the commanders of the eight divisions, no one could offer a solution. The leaders of the Kan-Water and Zhen-Thunder divisions were particularly inept, unable even to distinguish priorities while boasting of empty achievements. On the banquet day before last, the King made a pointed, jesting inquiry as to why the campaign had been aborted instead of seizing Zayi. Though framed as a joke, the remark carried a terrifying weight. To move a mountain or leap over the northern sea—such things are beyond the reach of human strength.”

I was wondering why he didn’t follow up the victory, Qu Fongning thought, so it’s because they can fight no more. Fantastic. Why isn’t the Old Fox stealing in for revenge? No, no, Bi’ro’s losses are even heavier; they likely lack the strength to continue as well. If the Zayi make a move this year, and Chienye and Bi’ro are forced to mobilize, the Northern strength will be exhausted. That would be for the best. When they fight among themselves, our Southern Dynasty will benefit. Right! I must send a message to Lady Chuchu, to have her… bring chaos to the state with her beauty. But how can she be made to trust me?

Seeing that he did not answer for a long time, Yujien assumed he was remembering the past. He asked in a low voice, “Cross?”

Qu Fongning snapped back to reality. “…No.”

“If you are cross, say so,” Yujien said. He closed his eyes and fell silent.

Qu Fongning gave a soft hum of agreement. His eyes remained wide as his mind rapidly constructed a map for the White Stone Labyrinth. Only after verifying it several times did he finally close his eyes with satisfaction. Still, the excitement prohibited sleep. Not daring to turn over, he stared at the top of the tent in boredom, finding himself eye-to-eye with the pearl by the pillow. He quietly reached out from under the quilt to take the pearl in his hand. After rolling and rubbing it for a long while, he felt it wasn’t enough, so he burrowed entirely under the covers to continue his play.

Yujien cracked open a single eye, finding the high mound by his side, and a soft luminance spilling through. At that sight, he no longer intended to let the boy go. “What are you doing?” he asked. “ Acting like a firefly?”

The light was instantly smothered. “I’m going to sleep now,” he said muffledly.

Yujien leaned in, flicking the boy’s forehead through the fabric. “Hand out.”

Qu Fongning slowly pushed the pearl out from under the covers, then retracted his hand swiftly.

Yujien was caught between laughter and irritation, and raised his tone. “The person as well.”

Holding the edge of the quilt with both hands, Qu Fongning slowly lowered the fabric from his head with great reluctance, his face flushed and his hair a chaotic mess, with several strands sticking to his lips.

Yujien leaned over him, fastening the pearl around the youth’s neck and sliding a thumb-ring onto his hand. In the dim, rubicund light, the General’s eyes appeared like deep, bottomless pools.

His eyes blinked rapidly. “General…”

“Still ‘General’?” Yujien said in a low voice. He brushed the stray hair from the boy’s face and leaned down to kiss him.

When the kiss ended, Qu Fongning’s face was even redder and his breathing deeper, yet his opening words were entirely devoid of romance. “General… you are pressing on my command token…”

Yujien laughed and pulled back. He kissed the boy’s forehead, then reached down to find the military uniform still worn primly. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why aren’t you undressing? Afraid I’ll eat you?”

Qu Fongning gave a vague hum. “I… I am a little afraid,” he whispered.

“Don’t be afraid,” Yujien whispered back. “I won’t do anything you are unwilling to do.” He helped the boy out of his outer tunic.

Though Qu Fongning harbored no desire for the encounter, he found himself caught in the General’s relentless, practiced seduction. Yujien was methodical, with every touch whispering inquiries of “is this good?” into the boy’s ear— Such words entering the ear made one wish for death. Qu Fongning could only answer with incoherent hums.

Yujien did not force him, merely laughing. “What is this? Just a single sound—it certainly isn’t ‘bad.’ So it must be ‘good.’” After only a few such lines, Qu Fongning felt his whole-body itch as if his very ears had been violated.

Within a short time, the inner garments were undone. Beneath the sable quilt, his chest and lower belly met kisses and intimate caresses. Amidst his disordered breathing, he felt one thigh being lifted, and a vivid thing that had not been near him for a long time pressed firmly against him. Yujien’s breathing grew heavy. Pressing against the boy’s burning cheek, he rasped, “Ningning, is it good?”

When the moment truly arrived, Qu Fongning called a resounded refusal: “No!”

Yujien bit his earlobe gently. “Where is it not good?”

Qu Fongning stared at him, his chest heaving. “I am unwilling.”

Seeing the flash of triumph in the boy’s eyes, Yujien understood his thoughts perfectly. “Fine, I respect you,” he laughed. He engaged him in a deep, fervent kiss.

This kiss was not at all tender; it was as if it were a substitute for the entry he was denied. His hand also fell to the boy’s chest, his thumb-pad worked with a measured, almost brutal familiarity.

Qu Fongning could no longer bear it. “No, don’t touch,” he struggled.

Yujien didn’t even need to use much force; he raised an elbow to pin the boy’s flailing hands. His laughter grew lower. “This part was already permitted. Ningning, if you break your word, you will grow fat.” He took the opportunity to squeeze the boy’s buttock. “It seems you really have grown a little.”

Qu Fongning endured it and managed to pull one leg free. “No one has been harassing me all night; naturally, I’ve put on some meat.”

Yujien grasped the leg and lifted it high. “Ningning, you must be reasonable. When have I ever harassed you all night? Say it, and we shall examine the evidence.”

Beneath the purple sable quilt, their skin met and rubbed together; Qu Fongning was already covered in a thin layer of sweat. Realizing his remaining clothing was about to be lost, he hurriedly reached out to pull them up. “I… I don’t remember.”

He acted in such a rush that he hadn’t considered Yujien to be completely naked. His fingers brushed past a patch of damp hair, and the object beneath his hip bucked heavily. Sensing imminent disaster, he quickly hid his hand behind his back.

Yujien repeated the words slowly and deeply. “You don’t remember? Then there is no basis; you are speaking groundless accusation.” He pulled the boy’s hand out onto his length, forcing it to stroke. “Bad child, only know telling lies.”

Caught off guard, Qu Fongning held the scalding member in his hand. The heavy, solid weight of it brought back memories of their past intimacy, and his heart suddenly felt a pang of bitterness.

Yujien kissed his ear. “Ningning, have you missed me, sleeping alone for so long?”

Qu Fongning resisted and did not answer. Yujien laughed softly. “I think of you every day. Every night, doing this…” He held the boy’s hand, moving with him. “Thinking of your face.”

The corners of Qu Fongning’s eyes reddened instantly. Yujien pressed against him. “When Ningning thinks of me… how do you do it? Is it like this?” His thick, hard knuckle reached into the waistband of the boy’s trousers and pushed into the tender entrance.

Qu Fongning bit his lip, refusing to lose as he met the General’s gaze. “I went to find women! I went whoring!”

Yujien laughed, feigning anger. “Fine, the old man think with all his heart, and you went whoring?” His finger probed the passage, and his expression became peculiar. And holding him in one hand, another reached for the edge of the bed.

As soon as he heard the clink of the porcelain lid, Qu Fongning began to struggle violently. Yujien coaxed him. “Ningning, don’t fuss.” He lifted the boy’s buttocks and applied the salve to his inner walls.

Qu Fongning fought a losing battle. “I haven’t… agreed. You are going back on your word….”

Yujien laughed hoarsely. “Oh? This place of yours doesn’t say so.” He hooked the edge of his trousers and slowly pulled them to the back of the knees, but deliberately only removed them from one side. “When a bad child says they don’t agree, it means they do.”

Qu Fongning wanted to argue further, but the broad head already thrusted inside. Truly an arrow on the bow, as hard as rock, but it sat firmly in its path, unmoving. The juice from the head already stuck onto his inner walls, filling the entrance round and full, but the inside receiving no caresses.

Yujien loomed down, watching the spring of lust in his eyes, kissed him with a half-smile. “Ningning, I want to ask you something.”

Qu Fongning hated him so much he nearly ground his teeth to dust. In the pearl light, he saw the tooth mark from the last time he bit him in Kilan had not yet faded. Without a second thought, he leaned forward and bit him again.

Only after the boy bit to his heart’s content did Yujien look at him with a smile, speaking tenderly, “When you submitted your resignation papers last time, did you truly want to leave me and never see me again?”

Qu Fongning smacked his lips, tasting the blood. “Yes.”

Yujien sent his lower body forward, then retracted it. Fongning’s toes went numb in an instant, followed by a surge of irritating emptiness.

He heard Yujien sigh. “Can you truly leave me?”

The corners of Qu Fongning’s eyes stung. He said out of spite, “Why not? I have hands and feet; I can find work anywhere. I can ride, shoot, feed horses, herd sheep…” The member thrusted in to its root, and the latter half of his words could not be voiced.

Yujien also hasn’t touched him for a long time, that warm, wet sweetness was beyond any of his dreams. He took some low breaths before slowly beginning to thrust. Hearing those childish words, he laughed. “Ningning, I really don’t like to such talk. If you mention leaving me again…”

Qu Fongning did not care to be threatened. Despite his lower abdomen all red, his voice bring a luring chant, he still retorted, “What of it?”

Yujien lifted the boy’s waist until he was almost off the bed. His solid core rhythmically pushing back and forth, his rock-like abdomen ruffing along his erection, and his great, solid member working vigorously on his watering rear. His lips found his neck, licking along his superior arteries. “I will make you pregnant, so that you carry my child… forever and ever, never able to escape my palm.”

This was the first time Qu Fongning had heard such absurd words, back when he had received his commission and was celebrating. On that day, he had felt only coy and joy, but hearing them now, they carried an indescribable chill.

As long as he refuses to let go, I cannot leave. He thought for a moment, but having no other choice at present, he whispered, “What child? Did I agree to it?” He opened his hands and embraced the General’s shoulders.

After the first intimacy after their reunion, the quilt was a soaking mess. Qu Fongning lay on the inner part of the bed as if his body had fallen apart. Noticing Yujien reaching out to clean him, he lifted his hips slightly. Yujien probed into the rear overflowing with white juice. Seeing the boy’s lazy and weak appearance, his heart swelled with tenderness, and he gave his lower back a kiss. He fetched a dry new quilt and covered both of them. Seeing the boy’s back turned to him and his head bowed low, he thought he had already fallen asleep. Upon moving closer, he saw the Six-Flower Formation diagram spread out on the bed, and the youth was using the pearl light to trace a matrix.

Having just devoured his little lover, Yujien found everything he did adorable. He embraced him from behind and kissed the nape of his neck. “Our Ningning is so diligence. If you go south next year to take the imperial examinations, you will surely have your name on the golden list.”

Ignoring the teasing, Qu Fongning turned a page, struggling with how to advance a square formation across hilly terrain. Yujien reached out, pointing to the page. “Alternate the center and rear guards; let the wing units lead the way.”

Qu Fongning took a long breath as if in a sudden realization, yet he still felt a bit of regretful indignation. “A Sharp Array.”

Yujien said, “The military classics say: ‘One must skillfully use the convenience of the terrain’s dangers and ease to increase or decrease the numbers.’ Moreover, the Tang Dynasty was centuries ago; although Li Jing was exceptionally talented, he could not have foreseen what would follow him.”

If only the Great Duke of Wei were reborn to crush these barbarians, I would see if you still dared to speak such arrogant nonsense! Qu Fongning thought, then it reminded him of the foolish Ninth Young Master of the House He of Jiangling, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

Not knowing his thoughts, Yujien held him closer and casually rubbed his abdomen. “Does your belly hurt?”

Qu Fongning shook his head, then turned to glare at him, remembering the night’s earlier transgressions.

Yujien’s warm chest was pressed tightly against his back. “Ningning, it isn’t that I don’t respect you, but I truly miss you too much to refrain. I’ll take it out this time, how about it?”

Qu Fongning gave a muffled hum and struggled slightly. “I haven’t fully understood this page yet; I won’t… won’t do with you.”

Yujien laughed out loud. “To be honest, why have you become so hardworking today? Even those who bored through walls to steal light were no more than this.” He stroked the boy’s neck and flicked the pearl.

Qu Fongning said seriously, “I’m going to study military strategy diligently and become the great general of a generation. In the future, if you break my heart again, I will gather a thousand troops and ten thousand horses to sweep you away.”

He was held naked against the General’s chest. The threat, delivered in a voice thick with the sweetness of exhaustion, held no sting. Yujien whispered into his ear with a smile, “Excellent, and what difficulty is there in that? By all means, lead your troops here. As soon as I see you, I will voluntarily retreat three stages.”

Qu Fongning’s eyes flashed, and he turned around. “You… are not allowed to lie. If you break your word, you will grow fat.”

Yujien laughed. “I am a man of my word, unlike some bad children who are full of lies.” He parted the boy’s legs and gradually thrust inside.

The following morning, after another encounter before the dawn drums, Qu Fongning learned that Uncle Hwei had departed for the “Fourteenth Mine of the Fire Division”—a coded signal that he was bound for Jiuhua Mountain. Without Uncle Hwei, the most crucial first step of the plan he had painstakingly conceived the previous night was missing, and he had no choice but to let it drop.

Later, when food was served, Cher Bien spotted the pearl at his collar . For the rest of the morning, there was no peace as Cher Bien’s “treasured stories” rang in his ears. That night, while reading in Yujien’s tent, he couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “I heard from others that this pearl was worn by a the favored consort of the Tang Dynasty when she committed suicide. To find her soul, the Emperor sought out many Taoist priests to use this pearl to perform incantations, and indeed, he saw her. Later generations even gave this pearl a name, calling it something like the Taizhen Pearl. Is there such a thing?”

Yujien was sitting cross-legged opposite him, frowning as he flipped through the reports sent by the eight divisions to atone for their failures. Upon hearing this, he did not look up and merely answered, “Your second brother is kidding you. When a person dies, they become a ghost, without soul or conscience; what spirit could be summoned? This is an offering from the islands of the South Seas, nothing particularly rare. Just take it and play with it.”

Qu Fongning knew a bit about treasures and antiques and understood the pearl was of extraordinary value. The things Yujien gave him were always presented with such nonchalance. He said no more, gave an affirmative hum, and buried his head back into his formation diagrams.

After a moment, Yujien looked up and asked, “Ningning, do you want lychees¹?”

Qu Fongning did not understand the reference. “No,” he said blankly.

Yujien looked at him with an expression of utter affection, patted his cheek, and returned to his work. Outside, the blizzard continued its relentless march, but within the tent, amidst the scent of mare milk wine and tea, there was peace.

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