Chapter 117: The Howl

The Nobleman looked down at Lu Ying, while she stared blankly at the large wooden tub.

Because she was so stunned, Lu Ying did not even notice the arm that he had locked tightly around her waist. He was watching her with great interest, savoring her reaction.

Only after a long while did Lu Ying catch her breath. She pulled a long face, assuming a cold and unapproachable expression, and said indifferently, "My lord, your body is worth a thousand pieces of gold; please bathe quickly to avoid catching a chill." As she spoke, she tried to pull his arm away with forced composure.

The iron arm locked around her waist did not budge.

Lu Ying struggled twice to no avail. Furthermore, being pressed so intimately against him, their body heat intermingling, Lu Ying felt it took a tremendous amount of effort just to maintain her blank expression, and even more to keep him from hearing the pounding of her heart.

After five more efforts to pull away, seeing that his arm remained immovable, Lu Ying frowned slightly.

At that moment, she felt a warmth atop her head; the Nobleman had rested his chin on her hair, laughing in a low voice: "A-Ying, if you don't start washing, the water will go cold." He paused, then added with unexpected tenderness, "Don't worry, I won't mind that you don't look as good as I do..."

Lu Ying’s cheek twitched violently.

She drew a breath and whispered, "You..."

Before the word could escape, it was choked off in her throat. Lu Ying, stiff as a wooden statue, could not control the blood rushing to her face—the man had suddenly nipped at the tip of her ear!

At her sensitive earlobe, she clearly felt the moist heat of his lips and the light, flickering touch of his tongue. Lu Ying stiffened, her heart ceasing its beat.

After quite a while, as the Nobleman’s lips finally pulled away slightly, Lu Ying’s voice came out low, raspy, and choked with suppressed emotion: "My lord, this is uncalled for."

Enduring her grievance and indignation, she added, "To seduce someone with such carnal displays is truly not the act of a gentleman."

"..."

The Nobleman seemed to freeze.

After a long moment, he slowly murmured, "A-Ying..."

Before he could finish, Lu Ying interrupted. Because of her indignation, her voice was choked with sobs: "My lord, I am but a weak woman. Really, I am very, very weak. With you acting so close, so intimate, teasing me, and touching me, I cannot bear it. I truly cannot bear it."

As she spoke, she punctuated her words with two fitting, pathetic sobs.

The Nobleman froze again.

But this time, he quickly recovered. Laughing lightly, he whispered slowly and seductively: "A-Ying, you don't have to endure it!"

He pressed against her face, his breath making her stiffen like iron once more. "Look, A-Ying, I have already seduced you! How can you have the heart to push me away?"

"..."

This man’s skin had grown thick.

Lu Ying had no choice but to stop her sobbing. She said resolutely, "I do not like being seduced." She added seriously, "A gentleman stands upright between heaven and earth. Since I was a child, I have wanted to be a gentleman myself."

With that, she slowly turned her head.

Turning to press her forehead against his nose, she tugged at his collar to force him to lower his head. Then, leaning close to his ear, she breathed like an orchid: "If I were truly a man, I wouldn't mind sharing some intimacy with you... but I would have to be the one on top, the one to dote on you!"

Having delivered these earth-shattering, rebellious words, she pulled away sharply. With a flick of her sleeves, she arrived at the cabin door in the blink of an eye.

Yet, for all her composure, the suddenness of her opening the door betrayed a hint of panic.

Seeing her walk out with damp clothes, the two servants waiting outside asked in surprise, "Young Master, why haven't you bathed yet?"

The cabin door slammed shut. The Nobleman heard Lu Ying reply coldly from outside: "My master is fastidious and does not like to bathe with others." She paused, then added, "Neither do I."

Walking swaggeringly to the ship's rail, Lu Ying was hit by the river breeze and let out a sudden sneeze. She turned and instructed the two servants: "After my master finishes bathing, please add some hot water; I shall wash then."

"Yes."

Indeed, the Nobleman emerged shortly after. After adding some hot water to the basin they had used, Lu Ying walked past him without changing her expression.

The Nobleman stared at her silently.

Even though he was merely staring, Lu Ying almost tripped over her own feet.

She straightened her back and walked past the Nobleman with practiced ease. But as soon as she entered the cabin, she bolted the door firmly and quickly washed her hair and body with the water he had used.

Afterward, she changed into the men's robes that the ship’s owner had prepared. Lacking a chest binder, she tore a long strip from the bed curtains to serve as one.

When Lu Ying came out, there was already a flurry of laughter and chatter outside. The passengers were gathered at the bow, talking loudly. As Lu Ying emerged, thirty or forty pairs of eyes swiveled to look at her.

In those gazes, there was disdain, curiosity, and even a degree of admiration. After all, Lu Ying’s reckless disregard for life on the small skiff had caught the eye of many.

Lu Ying cast a glance at them and then looked away. She had just washed her hair, and it hung damply over her shoulders. Turning to let the river breeze dry it, she searched for the Nobleman and his green-clad guard.

Just then, a curious voice reached her: "You... are you really one of Guo Sanlang's people?"

It was a young girl’s voice.

Lu Ying turned. She met the gaze of a girl with large eyes and delicate lips, who looked exceptionally petite and lovely. After a pause, she said slowly, "He is my master."

"But," the girl bit her finger, blinking her large eyes, unable to contain her curiosity: "He said you are his bedfellow. Is that true?" As she spoke, the girl’s face flushed red. Looking into the girl’s bright, sparkling eyes, Lu Ying suddenly realized the girl seemed to have taken a liking to her.

As the girl asked her question, many people nearby were eavesdropping.

Lu Ying wanted to shake her head, to say it wasn't so, but her gaze swept to the ship’s owner and then to the tall, imposing figure standing at the stern. She paused.

She did not answer.

In many matters, silence is taken as an admission. The girl’s face fell, and she lowered her head and retreated.

Lu Ying strolled toward the stern.

As she approached, those who had been smiling at her earlier backed away, their expressions filled with distance.

—A *luan tong* (catamite), in any era, is never something that can be brought into polite society. More often than not, it is merely a special hobby for the sons of the wealthy. After all, compared to the women who are so easily obtained, conquering a man who is equally strong and possesses the same desire to conquer provides more excitement and a greater sense of achievement for those who, well-fed, turn their thoughts to lust.

Lu Ying walked up behind the Nobleman.

Getting close, she bowed her head: "My master." *Thump, thump, thump, thump*—her heart seemed to be beating a little too fast...

The Nobleman stood with his arms crossed, lazily watching the opposite shore. Hearing Lu Ying’s call, he did not turn his head, merely commanding: "Come here."

Lu Ying walked over.

"Has A-Ying ever been out of Shu?"

Lu Ying shook her head and replied, "No."

"This time, you can see places beyond Shu."

Lu Ying was startled. She turned to look at the Nobleman. Suddenly, she couldn't be sure if their boarding this ship together was a coincidence, or if it was the result of his deliberate plotting.

Seeing Lu Ying look up at the horizon, the Nobleman’s deep, magnetic voice came: "A-Ying, you laughed so loudly on the boat... that was good. You need not be so restrained in the future."

Was he talking about how smug she was when she won against him earlier?

Lu Ying turned to look at him.

On the river, the mist steamed upward, making people seem as if they were in the clouds. The sky was darkening now, and against the rolling mountains on either side with their endless green, looking at his profile—as handsome as mountain ridges and rivers—and meeting the corners of his lips, pursed into a line that seemed both ruthless and mocking, Lu Ying suddenly thought of a phrase: *Truly like a being from the realm of the immortals.*

She quickly turned her head away.

Then, the Nobleman’s low laughter reached her: "I have lived for so long, and this is the first time I have heard a girl dare to tell me she wants to be a husband, that she wants to dote on me..."

Truly daring!

It was simply too daring.

How could she be so daring!

Lu Ying seemed not to notice the blade-like gaze directed at her. She simply turned to look at the rolling white waves ahead, feeling the ship rise and fall with the currents. Instead of answering, she changed the subject: "I can let out a long whistle. Does my master wish to hear it?"

Without waiting for his reply, she placed her fingers to her lips and let out a long, piercing whistle.

The sound rose low, mingling with the roar of the waves, appearing and disappearing, now here, now gone. Just as everyone thought it was their imagination, the whistle grew in volume, as if the very wind and clouds were changing!

On the deck, several people looked their way.

After a series of waves, the whistle climbed higher and higher, soaring upward.

It was strange; it clearly soared like a great eagle into the clouds, yet how did it come to carry a note of sorrow? As if after sailing a thousand ships, as if after experiencing everything and enjoying the utmost luxury, one suddenly discovered that the world was a place of grief.

The whistle gradually turned low and deep.

A faint, lingering sob mingled once more with the sound of the wind and water.

At that moment, everyone on the deck stopped talking. One by one, they looked at the two of them with complex expressions, listening intently.

After a long while, the whistle slowly died away.

In the silence, Lu Ying turned her head. She smiled at the Nobleman and said softly, "When I was small, my father loved to whistle most of all... I heard it so often, I learned it too."

The Nobleman stared at her, no longer minding her previous impudence about wanting to "dote on him," but asked instead, "What was your father’s name?"

"Lu Ji."

"Lu Ji?" The Nobleman repeated the name, saying nothing more.

Then, Lu Ying turned away and smiled slightly: "My master, I am going for a walk over there."

As she spoke, she walked away on her own. No one noticed that the moment she turned her back, Lu Ying’s lips curled up.

That whistle was not something an ordinary person could produce; without a chest full of mountains and rivers, without having enjoyed the utmost luxury, one could not understand its essence.

With this long whistle, besides changing the subject, she wanted to tell this man that she, too, had a pedigree... There was no help for it; in this life, one relied on one's father or ancestors, and only then did one's own real ability matter. She needed to cling to this man, and the higher he regarded her, the more advantageous it would be for her.