"If you refuse, you die. If you return, you die. If you try to escape, you die. Do you understand what I am saying, Nan Shan Yuan? All you can do is carry out my orders and thereby buy your long-awaited freedom."
He stared at the ground, his uncle's last words echoing in his head as he trudged along beside the procession of palanquins. More than a dozen wedding palanquins lined the street, some carried by slaves, some pulled by horses. Red silk and lanterns promising double happiness fluttered in the wind.
Yet it was strangely quiet. None of the brides in their finery laughed or talked. None of the men said a word or dared even to raise their eyes. This was no wedding procession, but a funeral march. None of the brides were here of their own free will. Neither were he and a dozen other men.
They were gifts for the most powerful man in the country: Yi Long Wei. A man from a noble house doomed to ruin – there were nothing but rumors.
Shan Yuan had received only scant information. Long Wei was said to have been born the third son of the Yi family. A promising boy who learned quickly and would have been welcomed by many cultists. But his family miscalculated, losing first their money, then their reputation.
Long Wei disappeared from the scene until he suddenly reappeared one day, massacred his entire family, and proclaimed himself the new head of the family. He remained silent about where he had been and where he had cultivated his sinister abilities. He was silent about everything.
However, with enough money, anything could be bought from him. Information. Rare items. Slaves from all over the world and even magic. Yi Long Wei himself was untouchable. All assassins failed, and if they did succeed, they returned home in pieces. He was considered arrogant, cold, condescending, and incorruptible. A master of mysteries.
These women were offerings, packaged as gifts for a harem, put together by greedy businessmen to buy Long Wei's favor. Shan Yuan, like several others, had been sent in as a spy. His mission was to gather information about Long and pass it on to his uncle. If he succeeded, the man who had held him captive and enslaved him since childhood would finally set him free.
His gaze wandered over the landscape. It was late summer and hot. The sky was bright blue. The river they were walking along was so wide that it was difficult to see the other bank. On the other side, behind a dense forest on a mountain, stood a magnificent, gigantic estate. One of the mercenaries accompanying the procession raised his hand and signaled for a rest. Shan Yuan sat down on a large, chalk-white stone on the bank and greedily drank the water he was handed. A few meters away, one of the young ladies grimaced in disgust when she saw him.
Shan Yuan ignored her. She was still trying to maintain etiquette. He had heard several of the young women whispering that they would try to win the master's favor and love. He almost laughed out loud. People like Yi Long Wei could not be won over by etiquette and elegant manners. They were not swayed by beauty or charm. He himself had lived for years under the roof of such a man. He had been at the mercy of his uncle's whims. Sometimes he was tortured and beaten, sometimes caressed and rewarded. Most of the time, however, he had had to silently endure his uncle's inclinations. The young woman smoothed her robes and took a deep breath.
She had a determined look that combined humiliation and anger. Shan Yuan drank the last drop from his water skin before they were startled again. They left the wide street and entered the forest until they reached the estate. Several guards stood in front of it, motionless, not even looking up. The mercenary who had taken on the task of leading the procession stepped forward.
"Open the gates, we bring gifts for Yi Long Wei!" he shouted. Nothing happened for a while, but finally the gate opened and they were ushered inside.
The climb to the main house itself took another hour, with the brides having to leave their palanquins halfway because they could no longer be carried. Everyone who was no longer needed hurried back and tried to leave the estate and the mountain before nightfall. In the end, only the brides, the young men, and a handful of mercenaries remained. Shan Yuan was led in behind the women, who were lined up in the main hall, and stood to one side. The hall was decorated in white and gold. It was dusk, and a soft light bathed everything in a golden glow.
A man entered the hall. He was tall, with long black hair worn loose. Delicate jewels and chains were woven through it, giving him an otherworldly appearance. His almond-shaped black eyes looked down at Iben with boredom. He had a narrow face, a straight nose, and full lips. You could immediately see the red flush on the brides' cheeks and the joy shining in their eyes. Yi Long Wei wore a wide robe made of several layers of the finest silk. Half of his chest was bare, and he gave the impression that he had nothing to fear or be ashamed of.
His gaze swept over the young women, his expression not changing. Shan Yuan watched him from the side. "So you are the poor souls who have been sent here to your doom?" he asked. His voice sounded melodic, proud, gentle, and soft. Some of the girls giggled, not realizing their doom.
A contemptuous smile played around Long Wei's lips. "I'm sure you'd all like to serve me, wouldn't you?" he asked. Although most of the women came from good families and looked away in embarrassment, it was clear that they were attracted to him. Only the young woman who had caught Shan Yuan's eye on the riverbank took a step back and tried to make herself invisible. Long Wei stepped forward and stroked the cheek of a beauty with long, dark hair.
She smiled and looked at him with loving eyes. But Long Wei's expression did not change. Shan Yuan thought he saw something like disgust in his eyes, then he suddenly struck. The women screamed and scattered. But the mercenaries held them back and pushed them back into the middle of the hall. The beaten woman sank to the floor and held her cheek. Blood dripped onto the floor, her breathing was rapid, and her gaze had turned to sheer terror. Long Wei pulled her head back by her hair and looked at her. A smile played on his lips when he saw the blood.
"You are a gift, nothing more than merchandise. Most of you, if not all of you, are here to spy on me. To betray me, perhaps one or two of you have even been ordered to kill me!" The woman shook her head frantically.
"No, no, Master. Wei Gongzi, I'm only here for you..." Another resounding slap sent her sliding two meters across the floor. She crouched on the ground, whimpering and sobbing, her hands covering her face. Everyone else stepped away from her, trying not to look, their fingernails digging frantically into their lush silk skirts. Nan Shan Yuan stood to one side, watching the scene calmly. He had seen this many times before and experienced it himself. Abuse, beatings, and torture. It was nothing new to him, although the man's strength surprised him. His build was slim and delicate, but his blow had almost broken the woman's jaw.
"Do you still want to serve me?" Long Wei's voice echoed through the room, even though he didn't even raise it. The woman trembled, everything in her rebelled, but she looked up and nodded hesitantly. Yi Long Wei's features hardened. It couldn't be any more obvious that it was her job to approach him.
"Stand up!" The woman stood up, unsteady and awkward. No one supported her. Her clothes were covered in ugly bloodstains and her face was swollen and bloodshot.
"Take off your clothes, show me how you will serve me!"
The woman froze. Long Wei stood with his back to Shan Yuan, yet he could feel the burning, piercing gaze between his shoulder blades. He turned slowly. But he couldn't tell who was sending the shiver down his spine among the horrified faces of the men. He turned back and a smile played on his lips. The woman in front of him slowly began to undress. Long Wei slowly lost all desire for humiliation and anger built up inside him.
"You are really useless, aren't you?" he sighed. "No wonder you were sent to me, I'm supposed to dispose of your master's trash!"
The woman was half naked and froze. Long Wei was at her in a few steps. He grabbed her hair and pushed her onto a low table laden with fruit and wine. Still, no one made a move to help the woman. Shan Yuan continued to watch. The bride gasped for air as she landed on the table. She could hardly breathe and choked. Her fingers searched for support on the smooth surface, while the blood running from her nose and mouth covered everything with a slippery, greasy film. She began to cry and whimper. It was a thoroughly ugly sight. Shan Yuan felt neither sympathy nor pity.
He hated tears and useless whimpering. It wouldn't help her; whimpering heartbreakingly wouldn't save her. Men like Long Wei were aroused by such behavior, or it made them angry, causing their hands to slip even faster. Long Wei's expression was still marked by endless boredom and a hint of disgust. He traced the contours of her back with his finger, behind her buttocks.
"Please, don't kill me," she sobbed.
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. You're neither pretty nor particularly intelligent, let alone interesting!" He stood up again and had one of his men remove the whimpering heap of misery.
"I will show my gratitude to your masters with a toy or two. But I ask you to refrain from pleasing me if you cannot take a little pain," he announced.
His gaze swept over the visitors, over the frightened women, over the men who looked at the floor, searching for the piercing, stabbing gaze that made him shudder. But he did not find it. Long Wei gritted his teeth in frustration before rushing away without another word. Only then did Shan Yuan raise his head and watch him go. A tyrant in the body of a pretty boy. With that face and that voice, doors were already opening for him. And if he was really as powerful as many feared, what could stop him? A scream was heard, then abruptly fell silent.
"She's dead!" Shan Yuan turned his head, but he couldn't make out the woman who had announced the other woman's death so dryly. The bride from the riverbank stepped forward.
"We are competitors, not allies. The more of you who cross the line and die, the better." A sweet smile played on her lips.
Night had fallen over the estate, but the last mercenaries left immediately after handing everything over and no longer being responsible. The women were led away, and Shan Yuan followed the other men to a spacious accommodation. When they were among themselves, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm so glad I'm not a woman," groaned one.
"I agree with you, as slaves and servants, we've probably drawn the better cards!"
Shan Yuan sat down on a narrow bed and listened to the lively conversation. Being a man did not automatically protect you from abuse and an unjust death. He let the others continue talking and lay down on the thin mattress. He would soon have to come up with a plan to approach Yi Long Wei and get some information. Shan Yuan closed his eyes and dreamed of a flawless face, ice-cold arrogance, and unearthly beauty.
But soon his dream drifted away, becoming darker, colder, more painful.
"You goddamn useless brat. First you drive your parents to their deaths, and now you want to live off me?" His uncle's deep, hateful voice boomed in his ear. How old was he then? Six or seven?
"If I take care of you, give you food and a place to sleep, then you belong to me, understand? It's give and take. I'm not a charity, you do what I tell you!"
Pain caused by poison, beatings, torture, or abuse. His body tensed, he was wide awake in an instant, but unable to move.
Every muscle in his body was rock hard, he gritted his teeth and shook as memories flooded back and overwhelmed him. The stiffness only slowly subsided, it took quite a while before he could move again and sit down. Automatically, he immediately searched the room. Somewhere in the shadows, someone might be crouching, watching him, enjoying his pain, wanting to... Shan Yuan buried his head in his hands. He had to remember where he was: he was no longer in his uncle's house, he was in a place that was no less dangerous. But here, nothing lurked in the shadows to devour him. The regular breathing and snoring of the others slowly eased his paranoia. He grasped his hard member and squeezed.
The pain cleared his mind. He wasn't aroused, nothing about his dream or his past made him hot, it was a defensive reaction. When he was ready, everything went faster. When his uncle visited him at night and woke him from his sleep, he got straight to the point when he saw that Shan Yuan was hard, and he didn't have to endure his hands, his tongue, and all the disgusting acts. He stood up. Although the estate was well secured, there were alarmingly few guards inside. Shan Yuan brushed his hair back and ran barefoot across the still warm stone floor of the garden.
When he had calmed down enough, his gaze fell on a house. It was larger than the others and brightly lit. It had to be Yi Long Wei's chambers. Standing in front of it, hidden in the darkness, was one of the women.
"Didn't you learn anything today in the reception hall?" Shan Yuan sneered. She turned around. It was the woman who had looked at him so resentfully on the riverbank and who had spoken in the hall.
"Who are you?"
"Ye Zhen Zhen, and you?"
"That's none of your business. Go back, or do you want to be the next corpse?"
The young woman's gaze darkened.
"I'm trying to survive, and I can only do that if I manage to win Wei Gongzi for myself!"
Shan Yuan snorted.
"Then you're even more stupid than the first one." Zhen Zhen clicked her tongue.
"I'm dead either way. Either my father will kill me or Yi Long Wei will. All I can do is make the best of the situation," she hissed bitterly.
"The best? I'm afraid, my dear, you haven't even seen the worst yet. What do you want to make the best of?" With these words, he turned and took one last look at Yi Long Wei's chambers. A figure appeared at the window, but before she could open it, Shan Yuan was already gone.