Feudal Dregs - Chapter 46

Since their last unpleasant parting, they hadn't met privately. Startled by Li Yuqing's sudden appearance and his intense stare, Lan Yu tightened his grip on the pipa, stating flatly, "The tea's gone cold. Second Master should seek refreshment elsewhere."

Li Yuqing sneered. "What's this? Third Brother can drink your tea, but I can't?"

Meeting his gaze, Lan Yu replied, "Drink if you wish. I beg your pardon."

He turned to leave, intending to slam the door shut, but a long arm blocked the carved wood midway. Frowning, Lan Yu briefly considered smashing the pipa against the intruder before suppressing the impulse.

Li Yuqing forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I see you're all smiles and sweet talk for that good-for-nothing Third Brother, yet you can't even spare me a kind look?"

"Such blatant favoritism."

Lan Yu raised his head slowly to meet Li Yuqing's gaze. "And why should I give you a kind look?"

"Li Yuqing, of all the things you've done to me, which one deserves even a smile from me?" Lan Yu's tone was mocking as he continued, "Has Second Young Master's memory failed him? Have you forgotten everything?"

Li Yuqing stared at Lan Yu, his peach-blossom eyes darkening. "So to get back at me, you seduced Li Mingzheng?"

Lan Yu suddenly laughed softly. "Second Young Master overestimates himself. If I seduced him, it's because he caught my eye and pleased my heart."

Li Yuqing's expression turned uglier. "What about Third Brother?"

Lan Yu feigned surprise. "What about Third Young Master?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Li Yuqing grabbed Lan Yu's arm tightly, fingers digging in. "That idiot wears his feelings on his sleeve—you telling me you didn't know? One man wasn't enough for you, so you had to flirt and fuss over him too? You're just a wanton slut who'll spread her legs for anyone."

Lan Yu winced in pain, gripping his pipa tightly as he sneered, "So what? What's it to you?"

"Let go of me!"

Li Yuqing scoffed. "Let go?"

"Since you're just a whore who'll take anyone," Li Yuqing ground out through clenched teeth, "then you've only got yourself to blame when I fuck you too."

No sooner had he spoken than Lan Yu swung the pipa at him. Li Yuqing instinctively released his grip and stepped back. The heavy instrument, wielded with full force, struck his shoulder hard enough to make him grimace. His expression darkened instantly, but Lan Yu, consumed by fury, raised the pipa again to strike. "Get out! I'd rather be fucked by the lowest beggar on the street than let you lay a finger on me, Li Yuqing!"

"You disgust me!"

Each icy word stoked the fire of Li Yuqing's rage. Their struggle intensified as Li Yuqing coldly declared, "Let me make this clear—it's my choice whether to have you or not. You don't get to refuse."

Lan Yu's hair had come loose, revealing piercingly clear eyes. The base of the pipa was now in Li Yuqing's grip as they wrestled for control, neither willing to yield an inch. Expressionless, Lan Yu stared at Li Yuqing and said, "Li Yuqing, you're like a rabid dog that won't let go—" He paused, eyes flashing with cold derision like the glint of a blade, "Could it be... you actually have feelings for me?"

He looked Li Yuqing up and down. Li Yuqing stiffened, as if struck where it hurt most, his face darkening as he retorted sharply, "Lan Yu, you think too highly of yourself."

"With that freakish body of yours, neither male nor female, already ruined by my father—who knows how many other men have fucked you behind the scenes?" Li Yuqing hurled every insult he could muster, as though trying to convince himself. "No background, nothing to offer except that pretty face. You think I'd actually want you?"

Li Yuqing met Lan Yu's gaze and sneered, "Men are drawn to novelty. The only reason I haven't tossed you aside yet is because I haven't grown tired of that twisted body of yours."

The moment the words left his mouth, Lan Yu swung his pipa at Li Yuqing's head. Li Yuqing barely dodged, but his reflexes kicked in—he took the blow head-on, seized Lan Yu's wrist, and flung the pipa aside.

With a crash, the instrument hit the floor.

Li Yuqing twisted Lan Yu's arms behind his back and slammed him onto the table, his voice icy. "Lan Yu!"

Lan Yu lifted his head, his gaze fixed on his pipa. The strings had snapped, the backboard split open, lying pitifully on the cold ground. The fury in him suddenly gave way to panic, and he thrashed wildly. "Let me go, Li Yuqing! My pipa!"

The more Lan Yu struggled, the tighter Li Yuqing's grip became. His mind burned with the memory of Lan Yu's merciless coldness, and his own anger flared. He pressed down on the man beneath him, unsure what to do—part of him wanted to tear Lan Yu apart, yet the sight of that slender neck made him hesitate. Leaning in, Li Yuqing hissed, "Lan Yu, you really meant to kill me just now, didn't you?"

Lan Yu was fixated on his pipa, straining toward the edge of the table, but every attempt to escape only made Li Yuqing clamp down harder. Gripping the back of Lan Yu's neck, Li Yuqing forced his face away from the instrument and barked, "Answer me!"

Driven to despair, Lan Yu spat, "Yes! I wish you were dead! If it weren't for you forcing me, I wouldn't be like this!"

"Li Yuqing," Lan Yu snarled through gritted teeth, "I hate your father—but I hate you even more!"

Li Yuqing stared at him in silence, his rage cooling into something eerily calm. After a moment, he hoisted Lan Yu over his shoulder and threw him onto the bed. Lan Yu scrambled to get up, but before he could move, a sharp crack split the air—a whip lashed across his back.

Lan Yu gasped in pain. Before he could react, Li Yuqing pounced on him like a mad dog, binding his wrists with a belt.

Li Yuqing flipped him onto his back, gripped his jaw, and kissed him violently. Lan Yu resisted fiercely, biting down on Li Yuqing's tongue until blood welled up, but Li Yuqing only deepened the kiss as if numb to the pain. The embrace was brutal, suffused with blood and violence, yet Li Yuqing drowned in it—even as an inexplicable hollowness gnawed at him, edged with something like sorrow.

Both of them were breathless by the time Lan Yu's struggles weakened. Li Yuqing ran his burning hands over Lan Yu's face, his ears, before finally rasping, "Lan Yu, why the hell can't you just give in to me?"

His voice was raw. "If only you'd yield even a little..."

He didn't finish his sentence. Lan Yu had already opened his eyes, revealing undisguised disgust and hatred that made Li Yuqing unable to continue.

"Get out," Lan Yu said.

Li Yuqing paused, looking down at Lan Yu with a faint smile. He resumed his usual careless demeanor and said, "Sure. Once Second Master gets tired of playing, I'll leave—far, far away."

"What do you think, little concubine?" Li Yuqing continued. "That Third Master of yours, the bookworm who's dulled his brain with all that studying—do you really think he can satisfy you? Why bother looking elsewhere when you have me right here?"

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