Chapter 39#

A disobedient bad dog gets a muzzle, so you don’t go biting and licking randomly. Chapter ID: 727541y#

After supper, Old Mammy Qin carried the freshly decocted medicine into the main room. After serving Rong Yu his dose, she handed him a candied fruit and asked softly, “Young Master, when we go to Yangzhou this time, do you really want to bring Chu Tan along?”

Another month would bring Rong Yu’s birthday. Back when Lady Yang was still alive, she would take Rong Yu back to her family home in Yangzhou every year to celebrate. After Lady Yang passed, Rong Yu continued the tradition.

Half of it was to honor his late mother, and the other half was simply not wanting to be made miserable by the people of the Rong household on that particular day.

In previous years, Old Mammy Qin and Mo Shu had accompanied him back. But this year, he wouldn’t let her come along. Old Mammy Qin was getting on in years, and the journey from the capital to Yangzhou stretched over a thousand li—rough and wearying. Rong Yu couldn’t bear to have her endure the ordeal.

Yet Old Mammy Qin couldn’t help but fret. From clothing and meals to lodging and the number of attendants, she’d begun arranging every last detail half a month in advance.

Seeing that they were to depart tomorrow, Old Mammy Qin couldn’t resist coming to confirm one more time.

“Young Master, don’t blame this old servant for being nosy, but I can tell that Chu Tan is no simple person. Before, he was always inside the manor, right under our noses, so I wasn’t afraid he could stir up any trouble. But this trip to Yangzhou is a long way off. There are mountain roads and waterways—half a month at the least, a full month at the most. With all the jostling of carriage and horse, if he were to harbor any restless intentions, it would be trouble.”

Rong Yu picked up a citron fruit and held it in his mouth, lowering his eyes. “Nanny need not worry. There’s a saying—only a thief who steals every day, no one who guards against thieves every day. If he truly has ill intentions, keeping him in the manor would only make him a menace sooner or later. If he doesn’t, then bringing him by my side means he can be of use should we encounter bandits or brigands on the road.”

Old Mammy Qin recalled that Chu Tan’s martial arts were indeed formidable, and felt there was some sense to it. Still, she couldn’t help worrying. After carrying the medicine bowl out, she dragged Mo Shu aside with a hundred admonishments, telling him to be cautious in everything and to protect the young master at all costs.

Back in the main room, after Old Mammy Qin left, Chu Tan walked in.

He said in a low voice, “Young master thinks I’m a menace?”

Rong Yu was pinching the ear of the kitten in his arms and said casually, “And aren’t you?”

“I don’t think I am.” Chu Tan moved closer to Rong Yu, his gaze falling on the youth’s slender, fair fingers, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

Rong Yu caught the movement from the corner of his eye and curled his lip in a mocking smile. “A head full of filthy thoughts, and you still say you’re not a menace?”

“Young master hasn’t let me touch you for a month. It’s hard to stay calm.” Chu Tan’s tone was very innocent.

The last time he’d provoked Rong Yu into real anger, he hadn’t been allowed near him for the whole month. Even the occasional kiss or caress earned him a slap—to say nothing of bed.

Since first tasting carnal pleasure, Chu Tan had never gone abstinent this long. He felt he was about to go mad from pent-up desire.

Rong Yu gave a cold laugh and ignored him, lowering his gaze to stroke the kitten’s head.

Chu Tan narrowed his eyes in displeasure. Ever since this cat had been brought back, the young master’s attention was always on the kitten. The cat was clingy too—whether eating or sleeping, it was inseparable from Rong Yu, stealing away most of his gaze.

Chu Tan grabbed the kitten by the scruff and tossed it onto the bed, then wrapped his arms around Rong Yu’s waist and kissed him deeply, right in front of the cat—deliberately staking his claim.

The kitten ran back, meowing indignantly while raising its little paw to bat at him.

Rong Yu found it strange. This cat had been picked up by Chu Tan, and it was friendly to him, to Mo Shu, even to Old Mammy Qin—but it hated Chu Tan specifically. It would meow and scold him on sight, and every so often stretch out a little claw to scratch at him.

Chu Tan didn’t so much as twitch an eyelid. He casually swatted the cat, sending it rolling off a good distance.

Then he hoisted Rong Yu up by the hips, locked him firmly against his waist, and pressed him down in a forceful kiss.

The taste of citrus spread and mingled between their lips and teeth, tongues tangling and twining, neither willing to yield, both trying to push deeper into the other’s territory.

The frail Rong Yu naturally couldn’t match Chu Tan’s long, steady breath. He was the first to give out, but he refused to lose face in defeat—so he bit down hard on Chu Tan’s lip.

Caught off guard, Chu Tan let out a muffled grunt, and blood immediately seeped from his lower lip.

Tasting the metallic tang on his tongue, Chu Tan raised an eyebrow. “Young master plays dirty.”

Rong Yu looked at him with provocative, challenging eyes, his expression haughty with a hint of arrogance.

Chu Tan loved this look on him. His Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly, the dark color in his eyes deepening darker and darker still, until finally he scooped Rong Yu up by the waist and strode toward the bath.

“We set out tomorrow. Tonight, let me give you a good wash, young master.”

He couldn’t hold back any longer. Even if he got whipped afterward, he needed to have his fill of the young master first.

To his surprise, Rong Yu didn’t stop him—only pointed at the headboard. “Wait. Bring that box along.”

Only then did Chu Tan notice a wooden casket on the headboard that he’d never seen before. It must have arrived today. His gaze lingered on it for a few seconds, but he couldn’t guess what was inside.

Rong Yu looped his arms around Chu Tan’s neck, his warm breath whispering against his ear, urging him to hurry. Chu Tan nearly came on the spot. He scooped up the casket and headed for the bath.

tuanzi

The bath had long been heated. White steam rose from the pool’s surface, medicinal herbs and flower petals steeped within. Wreathed in mist, the fragrance of blossoms and herbs interwove—a distinctive scent that was almost intoxicating.

Chu Tan set Rong Yu down on the ledge and eagerly untied his sash, pulling off his trousers.

Clothes half-parted, snow-white flesh was partially veiled, glimpses of spring peeking through.

Rong Yu leaned back on his arms against the stone, his slender, thin chest arched slightly forward. A rosy bud peeked out from the half-open garments, meeting the cool air and standing up on its own—like a ripe red fruit, tempting Chu Tan’s parched throat.

But what drew him most were those jade-white, long and slender legs. His thighs were far thinner than an ordinary person’s, and his calves were so delicate they seemed almost malformed.

Frail bones supported a thin layer of delicate flesh, pale blood vessels curling along the fine skin like celadon crackle patterns fired onto the finest porcelain.

Hovering between perfection and ruin, it was another kind of breathtaking beauty.

Too fragile. Too broken. It made one want to destroy it ruthlessly, and also to cradle it close and cherish it above all else.

And it was precisely this slight imperfection that struck Chu Tan’s taste dead center. His brain screamed with desperate wanting, his heart pounded violently, hot blood surging and clamoring as it rushed downward, making his already eager cock stand at full attention in an instant.

Chu Tan’s eyes were dark and deep, a scalding, thirsting heat spilling from his throat. Unable to resist, he grasped Rong Yu’s slender ankle and pressed his lips to the calf.

His lips burned, leaving a flush of vermilion wherever they touched the delicate skin.

But Rong Yu felt nothing. Propped against the stone step, he lazily raised the corners of his eyes, his gaze sweeping upward to catch the near-obsessed look in Chu Tan’s eyes, and the thick lust churning beneath those dark pupils.

Rong Yu sneered. “Pervert.”

The male lead of the novel—powerful, cold-headed, peerlessly intelligent, near-perfect in everything from appearance to temperament—was in truth a pervert with a disability fetish, getting hard over another man’s crippled legs.

It was laughable, and yet somehow fitting.

After all, who in this world was truly flawless?

Watching the rational go mad, watching the abstinent fall, watching the coldest and most heartless be lured into bottomless desire, watching the stony-hearted be teased until they cracked.

Most people delighted in such spectacles, and Rong Yu was no exception.

Rong Yu lazily admired Chu Tan’s transformation—watched his breathing grow coarse and heavy, watched his ink-black eyes stain red, watched those thin lips travel inch by inch up his calf, watched the flesh sucked and licked by that tongue bloom into kiss marks like red plum blossoms.

The marks gradually spread toward his thigh. Rong Yu finally felt it—a damp heat seeping from the outside in, and a tingling itch radiating from within.

Rong Yu narrowed his eyes, his long, straight lashes trembling. Just as Chu Tan was about to kiss the root of his thigh, he raised his arm and pressed a single index finger to Chu Tan’s forehead.

Chu Tan lifted his eyelids, the desire churning in his black eyes as thick as night.

“Bring the box over.” Rong Yu curved his crimson lips, a seductive allure flickering through his glancing eyes. “Let’s play a game.”

At this moment, Chu Tan could hardly refuse Rong Yu anything. He fetched the box and was about to open it when Rong Yu stopped him.

“Close your eyes.”

Chu Tan shut his eyes and felt the cool, delicate fingertips wander over his body, peeling away his outer robe and inner garment one by one, until he was bare. His heart raced, his lower body trembling with excitement, his purplish-red cock jutting up high.

Then a rope swiftly wound around both his wrists, binding them tightly together.

Chu Tan opened his eyes, looking at his bound hands. “Young master, what is the meaning of this?”

“Playing a game with you, of course.” Rong Yu smiled, picking up another object from the box. “Don’t move now.”

Those fair, slender hands shook the object open—pure black metal reflecting a cold gleam. It was a caged muzzle, slightly protruding at the front, with soft leather straps on either side.

Chu Tan narrowed his long, narrow eyes, dark light shifting within.

Until that cage slipped over his mouth. Click. The buckles locked behind his head and around his neck.

A trace of surprise flickered through Chu Tan’s eyes, but he made no sound—only stared straight at Rong Yu.

Rong Yu laughed so hard he doubled over, his peach-blossom eyes curving into crescent moons, crystalline tears beading at their corners. Under the flickering candlelight, the shimmering look made Chu Tan’s throat itch.

“Do you know what this is?” Rong Yu wiped away his tears. “It’s called a muzzle. It’s made specially for dogs.”

He wound his arms around Chu Tan’s neck, leaning in slowly, pressing his pretty diamond-shaped lips against the black muzzle, breathing hot, damp breaths onto Chu Tan’s face through the mesh.

His voice was soft. “I had it custom-made just for you. A disobedient bad dog gets a muzzle, so you don’t go biting and licking all over the place.”

Chu Tan raised his handsome brow. The muzzle didn’t diminish his good looks in the slightest—rather, the cold instrument complemented his sharp, clean jawline, adding an indescribable layer of forbidden allure and shadowed depth.

His ink-black hair spilled over his shoulders, his bare upper body solid and powerful. In the months since following Rong Yu, though he was always getting beaten, he also ate well and slept well—no longer the gaunt wretch he’d once been. Every inch of muscle had filled out.

Full pectorals, defined abs, smooth and powerful lines running through every limb. Paired with that muzzle, he truly resembled some great canine beast made flesh.

Rong Yu felt a flush of heat. He swallowed, reaching a hand up to Chu Tan’s chest, squeezing the springy pectoral muscle, then sliding down along the narrow waistline. His pink-white fingertips tapped and circled on Chu Tan’s abdomen, making that cock twitch and jump without pause.

Emboldened by Chu Tan’s bound hands and muzzled mouth, Rong Yu played and teased the man’s body without restraint—groping, kneading, his tone salacious. “Now it’s your turn to be at my mercy.”

Not a trace of panic showed on Chu Tan’s face. Even bound, he was still perfectly at ease, a lazy smirk tugging at his lips. “Had I known you liked this sort of thing, young master, you needn’t have troubled yourself. I’d have bound myself and delivered myself to your hands.”

Rong Yu grasped his hard cock, fingers squeezing lightly, and huffed, “I don’t believe a single word from you, you bad dog. If you still won’t behave, next time I’ll put a cage on this dog dick of yours too.”

The soft, pressing sensation around his cock made Chu Tan narrow his eyes in pleasure. “And what sort of behavior does the young master have in mind?”

“That goes without saying—obeying your master.” Rong Yu climbed up Chu Tan’s shoulders, using the leverage to sit astride his waist, then pressed down on his chest with force.

Chu Tan lay down obediently, his eyes full of indulgence. “I recall the young master once said he didn’t care for overly obedient types.”

“But I don’t care for overly rebellious ones either.” Rong Yu stroked Chu Tan’s neck, feeling the steady, powerful pulse of the carotid artery beneath the skin—he could even sense the surging vitality racing under his palm.

Rong Yu leaned down and kissed Chu Tan’s Adam’s apple. “Bad dog. I’m going to teach you a lesson.”

【Author’s note:】

One more chapter later tonight, hehe