18 First Blood

"Ahhh! Wow! He's answered 9 riddles in a row already! Just one more to go and he'll get the price!"

"These riddles really aren't easy! They're written by scholars themselves, you know?"

"Exactly! How many mere commoners like us would be able to get so many correct?"

"I don't know about you but I definitely couldn't…"

"Shhh! Quiet! Don't distract him!"

The commentary from the crowd washed over Yan Zheyun like a wave. Initially, he'd been nervous at the attention. When he'd been CEO, he'd often had to go up on stage to give talks at conferences or to introduce their company's latest product at conventions. So it wasn't a matter of stage fright. But he'd been worried about all the hungry glances he'd had directed at him this entire evening.

As a man himself, he could guess what sort of thoughts they were having about him.

But now that he'd been standing up here for a while, brain concentrating hard on winning, he felt oddly calm and detached.

Young Master Huang had put his brother down and was holding the fidgety little boy firmly by the shoulders so that he couldn't cause a fuss and distract Yan Zheyun. He was observing Yan Zheyun, and Yan Zheyun had never felt this flustered before, not even that one time his male schoolmate had confessed to him in front of the entire cohort at high school graduation.

Yan Zheyun gently plucked the last riddle from a lantern. He didn't dare to do more than sneak a glance at Young Master Huang, too shy to meet the pair of eyes that were black like onyx. The lantern light reflected in them was like a candle's flame in the night.

[And maybe,] Yan Zheyun thought wryly, [I am that unfortunate moth.]

The riddle on the red slip of paper read: 'Keep a secret from an emperor for two months, guess a word'.

A small victorious smile toyed at Yan Zheyun's lips. He didn't know how alluring it made him look.

"Menglong," he declared his answer. "Am I correct?" This word meant 'obscure'. The two characters involved in its creation had components that meant 'to cover' and 'dragon' respectively, and both contained the same radical that meant 'month'. So two months of covering the dragon.

"Young man, you're absolutely right again!" the shopkeeper said with incredulous respect. Even for a scholar, answering 15 questions in a row without any hesitation would be a challenge. And yet this poor lad in peasant's garb had achieved it.

Smiling, Yan Zheyun received the butterfly lantern from the shopkeeper's hands amidst loud cheering and clapping. He didn't want to linger any longer, discomfited by how his heart raced under that solemn gaze. This was the first time in his life he'd ever felt like retreating.

"Wait."

Young Master Huang's voice was like the low notes of a zither. He didn't speak loudly, but Yan Zheyun heard him anyway as if he was particularly attuned. He found himself obeying without thinking and cursed himself inwardly for it.

Sighing, he turned around slowly. "How can this younger brother assist you?" he asked. "As long as you don't ask me for this lantern…"

Young Master Huang shook his head. "May I have that instead?" he asked, pointing at the crimson sheet of paper Yan Zheyun still held onto absentmindedly. The last riddle.

Yan Zheyun raised an eyebrow. Why would anyone want this? It wasn't even a particularly high-brow riddle worthy of committing to memory or sharing with others. But since it cost him nothing to agree, he nodded and handed it over.

"If Young Master wants," he said amicably. "We'll meet again if fate wills it."

Young Master Huang accepted the slip, holding it high above his little brother's curious grasp so that it wouldn't become creased. "We'll meet again if fate wills it," he repeated.

With a polite nod at the crowd, Yan Zheyun left with his friends in tow.

——————————

Trigger warning: Attempted assault and r**e

After that serendipitous meeting, Yan Zheyun found himself distracted as he wandered from stall to stall with Xiao Ma and Wu Zhong. Xiao Ma didn't seem to mind how quiet he'd become, especially since Yan Zheyun wasn't the talkative sort in the first place. Neither was Wu Zhong. Xiao Ma, who clearly relished in the sound of his own voice, was happy to talk enough for three. This resulted in him taking on the role of tour guide, running along ahead with his little lantern as he chattered about the different snacks he wanted to eat.

Wu Zhong and Yan Zheyun followed at a much more sedate pace.

"You knew that man from before?" Wu Zhong asked out of the blue.

Yan Zheyun blinked at him in surprise. It was rare for Wu Zhong to be concerned about anything, let alone Yan Zheyun's acquaintances.

"Sort of?" he replied, after a moment of careful consideration. "We met once before when I accompanied Big Young Master to an inn." He didn't elaborate on the details of the meeting, not because he didn't trust Wu Zhong, but because there was no need to complicate matters for Wu Zhong.

But Wu Zhong didn't seem satisfied with his response. "He's a dangerous man," he said.

Not that Yan Zheyun disagreed, but, "How do you know?"

Wu Zhong shrugged. "Just a feeling. Be careful around him."

Yan Zheyun didn't reply to that. He didn't feel like reassuring Wu Zhong, didn't want to say, "Oh, don't worry, we belong to two completely different classes of people, I'm sure our paths won't cross anymore."

For some reason, this thought made his heart sink a little and he didn't want to understand why. This was a bad time to be developing all sorts of strange feelings for men leagues above his caste. And this mysterious Young Master Huang, whoever he really was, might or might not be a good person. As long as Yan Zheyun remained in a precarious situation, he couldn't afford to let his guard down or let anyone into his heart.

Which was also a shame, because he felt like Young Master Huang just might have good feelings about him too.

His wistful sigh was interrupted by an enthusiastic uproar from the crowd ahead.

"It's starting! It's starting!!! The parade! Quick, let's go over!"

Without warning, the masses began surging forwards like an unrelenting wave, everyone trying to cram into the limited space. They wanted to get a better look at the dancers on the illuminated floats, which were the highlight of the evening's entertainment.

"Quick! Big Brother Yan, Zhong Zhong! Catch up! I'm gonna try and save a spot for us first okay?!"

Before Yan Zheyun could stop him with a panicked shout, Xiao Ma darted lithely into the crowd and disappeared.

Wu Zhong cursed. "How are we going to find him?" he muttered, glaring at the people around them like they'd personally insulted his ancestors. "Later on, I'm going to drag him back to the stable master by the ear."

"Go and find him, Wu Zhong, I'm worried." Yan Zheyun was starting to feel nauseous from the cramped environment. The weather might have cooled down since it was already mid-September, but the sheer volume of people present for the celebrations made him feel like he was in a sweaty, sticky furnace. He needed a breath of fresh air and quick.

"See that maple tree over there by that alleyway?" he pointed at the landmark that he'd picked out, its bright red leaves standing out like a beacon even at night. "I'll wait there for you. Hurry, Xiao Ma is still so young, I'm worried he'll get snatched by human traffickers."

"They'd have to be able to get their hands on that monkey," Wu Zhong muttered, with obvious reluctance. "And you're more likely to get caught than he is."

Yan Zheyun knew that Wu Zhong had a point, but he didn't want to risk anything happening to Xiao Ma. The boy might be playful and was occasionally more trouble than he was worth, but it didn't change the fact that both his foster father and he had shown Yan Zheyun a great kindness. To repay this by abandoning Xiao Ma wasn't something he could bring himself to do, even though he'd told himself time and time again not to be too soft.

"No one will notice me with the parade on," he insisted. "And I can defend myself, trust me."

Wu Zhong clearly didn't. "Come with me," he insisted. "I don't want to leave you here."

"It'll be too cumbersome with the both of us." Yan Zheyun's refusal was firm. Besides, he was certain that any more time squeezed together with those packed bodies and he might faint dead away. This stupid body was too frail. "If you go quickly, you'll be back in no time with that rascal."

Wu Zhong looked like he was about to refuse again, but he took one look at the concern on Yan Zheyun's face and caved. He handed the lanterns over to Yan Zheyun, who took them without complaint.

"Stay here and don't follow anyone," he instructed one last time, before diving back into the crowd with a violent shove.

Alone, Yan Zheyun pressed his back to the bark of the tree and prepared himself for any potential assailants. He counted down the minutes and hoped that Wu Zhong would find Xiao Ma quickly and bring him back.

But because he knew he was now the protagonist of a harem novel, with the most unfortunate 'He Who Charms Tens of Thousands' halo, he wasn't any surprised when a rough hand seized him by the wrist and dragged him off into the dark alleyway behind.

The festival was so noisy with clashing cymbals and blaring double-reed horns that Yan Zheyun hadn't heard anyone approaching him. But he'd been prepared for a fight, which was why he didn't panic. He tossed the lanterns gently onto the floor as far as possible, hoping that they wouldn't break from the impact. But it was better than holding onto them in a tussle.

He wasn't expecting his attacker to be Liang Ming though.

In truth, Yan Zheyun hadn't seen Liang Ming in person before today. But his leering face was still fresh in Yan Yun's memories as the stuff of Yan Yun's nightmares. Even till now, the host body he was in shuddered by reflex against Yan Zheyun's wishes. He wasn't scared of Liang Ming, not at all. But he couldn't control how visceral Yan Yun's fear of Liang Ming was.

Liang Ming pressed himself flat against the front of Yan Zheyun's body and buried his face in Yan Zheyun's hair with a deep inhalation.

"Mmm." He let out a satisfied hum. "Little Precious Yun Er, you're as fragrant as ever. Big Brother Liang has missed this."

The shiver he felt from the lithe body he held pressed against the wall just excited him further. "How many times have you gotten away from your Big Brother Liang now, mm?" He nosed at Yan Zheyun's ear before planting a lascivious kiss there.

"You're so slippery, hiding behind the protection of that arrogant cousin of mine." His face became twisted with jealousy as he thought about Wu Bin. "But never mind, now that he's bored of you, I'll finally be able to get a taste. I know boys don't get wet when fucked but—"He cut himself off with a strangled gurgle.

The young man that Liang Ming thought he'd cornered stopped trembling. When Yan Zheyun raised his head, there was none of the fear that Liang Ming had expected to see, just a blank expression of eerie tranquillity.

"I bet Big Brother Liang wishes he'd run from Little Precious Yun Er now."

It was almost too easy to end a man's life. Yan Zheyun had never thought himself capable of this until the deed had been done. [But maybe it was circumstantial,] he analysed, the blood roaring in his ears as he buried his kitchen knife further into Liang Ming's heart. He couldn't feel remorse, just a sense of relief that maybe came from Yan Yun as much as from him.

[One down, Yun Er. Big Brother promises this is only the beginning.] He'd promised Yan Yun he'd go after Wu Bin too, after all.

"How—dare—" was all Liang Ming managed to get out of his mouth before he crumpled to the floor in a lifeless heap.

How dare a slave kill a noble? It was indeed outrageous, and maybe the slave would be tortured for it if caught, but it wouldn't change the fact that the noble was dead. And that was why Yan Zheyun dared.

Because Yan Zheyun had had the element of surprise, and because he'd been mentally psyching himself up, it was a neat kill. Blood pooled on the floor but he'd managed to avoid getting any on his clothes. He needed to leave hurriedly, perhaps go slightly further down and look for Wu Zhong. Preferably while the parade was still ongoing so that he could hide in the crowd. He couldn't be sure whether anyone had noticed Liang Ming dragging him into the alleyway, as he knew his face was wont to attract stares.

But no one had come over to stop Liang Ming either, so maybe, just maybe, he would be able to get away scot-free—

"You—there!" a voice huffed out from the entrance of the alleyway, panting like it'd just completed a marathon. "I—I saw you accosting that young man, don't you dare lay a finger on him!"

Yan Zheyun went deathly still.

Fuck. What was with his luck?