Chapter 39

It was four in the morning. The sun has not yet risen. Shen Nuo looked at the deep shoulder wound upon Li Yan with a pale face.

Li Yan was bare chested as he sat by the bedside of his chamber. He was just after the morning bath and his hair was not yet wet. Cold water drops dropped down his chin and the long raven sleeky hair down his sturdy chest and distinct abbs. He did not expect even in the least for Shen Nuo to barge inside. He was feeling lost.

"Li Yan, are you mad?" Shen Nuo couldn't take it anymore. He said furiously. "Why did you bath early in the morning when you have this kind of a wound? Huh? Don't you want to live anymore? This... This wound is this deep. Don't you know how to take medicine?"

Li Yan's eyes were downcasted. He wiped away the water drops on his face with his palm. "Zhen wants to keep awake." He said in a low voice. "Keep awake from dreams to be in the reality..."

Shen Nuo who heard this was speechless. Why did it sound more than words?

He shook his head furiously. "Then your cultivation..."

"Zhen would naturally recover after few days." Li Yan lied.

Shen Nuo nodded. He silently opened the medicine box he brought. The wound of the stab was cleanly washed before. Since Li Yan had refused medications, the wound had already started to fester.

Shen Nuo picked up his pen knife used in surgeries and immersed it in the basin of hot water on the bedside desk. Then he looked at Li Yan apprehensively. "You might feel a little pain. Ok? Not for too long. I'll try to be gentle."

Li Yan looked at him. "Pain?" He said in a frosty voice. "This pain is nothing compared to the pain I've gone through. If I can accept the stab, a mere knife cut is nothing."

Shen Nuo gulped and nodded. He then slowly cut and removed the festered skin with that sharp blade and Li Yan didn't even flinch. Shen Nuo was flabbergasted. Was Li Yan human?

After the festered skin was removed, there was a hideous slit that was a few inches broad and several inches deep. Shen Nuo pursed his thin lips and got his silver needle and medicine thread. These equipments were used in traditional medical surgeries. He carefully slipped the end of the thread through the little hole of the needle and turned to Li Yan's shoulder.

The parted skin was slowly merged back and gently sewn. When it was done, Shen Nuo applied some painkilling substance upon the sewn wound along with a paste for quick recovery. Then he pulled out a gauze and tightened it across his chest, passing through his right waist and left shoulder, covering the wound completely.

All these times, Li Yan was deadly silent. His heart was in a mess. It ached. Since when did Shen Nuo start learning medicines? Shen Nuo was not a person who knew medicine... He knew almost everything, but not medicines...

After ending the work, Shen Nuo smiled cheerfully and slapped Li Yan on his back. "Ok! Now you can-"

But he stopped dead in the midway. His face drew pale. He subconsciously passed his palm slowly across Li Yan's bare back which he couldn't see from this angle.

His fingertips met with lines and lines of rough skin. Li Yan's skin was very smooth despite the martial arts he had practiced since small. But...

When did he have this kind of a ....

Shen Nuo jumped to the side of the bed and looked at Li Yan's back under the gloomy lamplight and gasped in horror. "Li Yan!"

There were hundreds of whip marks across his beautifully lined smooth back, scarring it ruthlessly. Shen Nuo felt his heart stop beating. "How did you get these marks Li Yan... You were never a person who would break rules or do mistakes to get punished like this."

Li Yan pursed his lips.

Shen Nuo looked speechless. "Ok! Let me erase these scars for you. I have a special medicine that can be used for scars ok?"

Li Yan slowly got up from the bed. "Do you think you are worthy even to touch them?" He said amid sorrow, narrowing his eyes. "It doesn't mind. Let them be. Zhen needs to carry them until the day Zhen die."

Shen Nuo looked at him gravely. "You even don't want to erase them. Who whipped you like this?"

Li Yan's eyes were a bit red. He smiled at Shen Nuo. His smile was extremely rare. And equally beautiful and sad. It was wrenched with so much pain. "My father."

Shen Nuo looked lame. Which father would beat his son like this? "You must have hated him then..." He said in a weak voice.

"No." Li Yan said. "There were the scars he gave me to teach my life. I miss him every moment in my life. And I would miss him in the future."

Shen Nuo did not know what to speak. It was extremely rare for Li Yan to speak about his personal matters and private life like this. Did he just utter like a child that he misses his father? That cold and frosty Emperor who never smiles or speaks...

"Don't be sad." Shen Nuo said consolingly. "There's a belief that good people will always be there watching you from afar. Your father was a great person. He must have died happily of having a capable son like you."

Li Yan looked at him with red eyes. "He did not die happily. He was killed..."

Shen Nuo was flabbergasted. "By whom?"

"By someone's family whom Zhen used to trust and love..." Li Yan said in a slightly hoarse voice. "Zhen does not want to speak about that again. Don't ask!"

"I'm sorry." Shen Nuo said and he meant it. He picked up Li Yan's towel that was hung on a rack and quietly started to wipe Li Yan's long and wet hair.

A slow silence followed when suddenly Li Yan spoke in a low voice. "Nuo Nuo, if someone whom you trust kills your father, would you still trust and love their child?"

Shen Nuo suddenly remembered his true parents of the modern world. They also died of an accident. But he knew it wasn't. His father had many enemies who wanted him dead.

Shen Nuo was born to a rich and a wealthy family. He did not lack money even after his parents died. But he lacked their love. He missed it every moment. After a short while from the accident, his granny who got to know the incident from California, immediately came back to China and took him under her care. But at the end, she went away too.

How could Shen Nuo forget? He had missed his parents' warmth for a long time. How can he not know what kind of a pain it was? He had several faint guesses who their murderer might be. But he was careful.

And now suddenly when Li Yan asked him this kind of a question, he was stunned. Who would love the child of an enemy who killed your father?

Shen Nuo narrowed his eyes. "I'll hate him to the end."

Li Yan smiled amid sorrow. "Then you are very lucky." He went towards his bed again and slowly started dressing himself. Shen Nuo helped him.

Shen Nuo did not get the meaning. He did not know what was going on in Li Yan's mind. He did not know his family was the reason for the death of the Imperial Family except for Li Yan. So he was baffled.

"Li Yan..." He said finally. "Minghe's matter... It's going to happen at the Spring Hunt this time..."

"Zhen knows."

Shen Nuo's mouth felled open. "But how did you know?"

Li Yan turned to look at him in return. "How did you know?"

Shen Nuo was shocked. He didn't expect his question to be thrown back at him. He was speechless. Well, could he tell Zhanhua was telling him everything meanwhile visiting him in secret? Could he? No right?

Shen Nuo shut his mouth quickly. "Don't underestimate me." He finally said in a hoarse voice. "I'm not a weak woman. I also have my own ways to gather information on my own."

Li Yan stretched his arms either sides for Shen Nuo to slip the dragon robe over him and patiently stood for Shen Nuo to finish. When Shen Nuo was done, Li Yan shrugged his arms to and relaxed his dress.

Shen Nuo stepped closer and raised his slender arms to tighten the collar laces of the dragon robe. For a moment, their face were terrifyingly close. The Sandalwood fragrance was refreshing than ever, also making him dizzy. Li Yan's breath brushed past his cheeks, scorching his entire face red.

A cold shudder ran down his back when he felt the piercing gaze of Li Yan on him...

Shen Nuo's fingertips unintentionally brushed past the side of Li Yan's neck.  Shen Nuo was flabbergasted. Why was his heart beating so fast? Why was his face burning? Why was it so hot? He slowly raised his face to Li Yan and suddenly got his eyes locked with a pair of unfaltering phoenix eyes.

For a split second, he thought he saw a deep golden tinge deeper to those deep and dark pupils. But the moment he looked, they disappeared into deep pools of black. Shen Nuo gulped. He immediately looked down and quickened his pace but his shivering fingertips betrayed him. Golden pupils!!!??

And no sooner, suddenly his fingers froze feeling thunderstruck. Li Yan slowly wrapped his arms around Shen Nuo's waist in a firm lock, pulling him closer. Their bodies pressed against each other.

Shen Nuo's eyes widened. "You!" His raised both his palm and pressed them against Li Yan's chest to push him away. But those hands shuddered when he felt the heavy and powerful heartbeat of the other person in his hands.

It did not take too long for him to be completely defenceless. His eyes were moist and red. His adam's apple rolled. "Li Yan, let me go... You promised me yesterday..."

Li Yan looked at him, his sharp and frightening phoenix gaze piercing him into the depths of his soul.

"Zhen would definitely keep his promise. But that's only if you keep your dignity as Zhen's wife when you're in public and in private." He looked at Shen Nuo meaningfully. "First you must learn how a consort must behave. You must learn to fulfil your husband's wishes..."

Shen Nuo's face went red and hazy. He felt too weak even to get angry. "Do you mean to... sleep with you?" He really couldn't think of anything else in his haziness when it came to his duties as a consort. His face in his haziness was too seductive and alluring. His soft whispery voice entered Li Yan's ear, gnawing his heart like needles. He felt suddenly heavy.

But he suppressed himself and gave out a frightening smile. "My consort is really dirty minded." He said in a magnetic whisper. He leaned forward until their noses brushed past each other. "Sleeping isn't the only thing when it comes to duties of a consort, Shen Nuo. What Zhen meant by duty was to respect yourself so as not to embarrass Zhen."

Shen Nuo couldn't understand at all. His mind was blank by now. What kind of a shit was Li Yan uttering? He did not know. He raised his half closed eyes to Li Yan. "What do you mean?"

Li Yan continued to look at Shen Nuo with his piercing gaze. "Since you still don't get it, Zhen will make it clear. Shen Nuo, since Zhen already knows about Minghe's matters, you better ask Minister Zhanhua to stop visiting you."

A cold shudder ran down Shen Nuo's back. He suddenly felt so uncomfortable. He tried to move away from Li Yan. But Li Yan held him firmly. His eyes were dark and gloomy.

"Zhen really hates it when he hides under your bed whenever Zhen visits you."

Shen Nuo was thunderstruck. "!!!"

_______________________________________________________________

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED;

Here is a book that I started updating today. If you like, you can try it.

FATED TO HATE

The young General of Xun Huang secretly loved the cold and indifferent Emperor, but fled to Liu Shan, the enemy's state and betrayed him at the end. Five years later, the Emperor attacked Liu Shan Empire and brought it under his siege, only to capture back his rebellious General...

'The Emperor pushed a candy through my blood stained lips forcefully. "General." He said in a cold frightening voice. "Is it sweet?"

I couldn't stop the tears that left my eyes. "Sweet..." I said in a hoarsely shuddering voice.

He nodded at me with narrowed eyes, leaned forth to my ear and softly spoke in a threatening voice. "Then Zhen will show you what it would be like to taste it bitter!"

________________________________________________________________

Smut Warn❗🔞

BL. So If You Hate It, Then Please Leave!

My Own Creation. So Please Don't Copy! Love you all! 💕