Chapter Twelve: Returning One’s Own Methods Upon Them

The young attendant was indeed quick and deft, soon bringing up the wine. Kaiming went to the door to help carry it in. The attendant uttered polite pleasantries, but his eyes kept darting into the room, a sly smile on his lips when he met Su’s questioning gaze.

Kaiming glared at him, snapping, “Aren’t you leaving yet?”

“Yes, yes!” he replied, bowing and scraping as he retreated, leaving Su even more perplexed.

Kaiming set an opened jar of wine before Su. She opened another for herself and asked, “Are you ready?”

Su smiled and stood. He was tall, a full head above Kaiming as he rose. Not to be outdone, she stood as well, hand on the rim of her wine jar, intoning, “One, two, three—start!” She lunged for her jar and began to drink.

Su was unhurried, holding the jar’s rim with one hand and supporting its base with the other. The clear, rushing wine poured straight into his open mouth. Kaiming took a few hearty swigs but choked, setting her jar down as she watched Su drink with admiration—there was something imposing about this man, even his drinking was more heroic than others.

Su drank down over half a jar in one go before finally setting it down, catching his breath. He noticed Kaiming sitting calmly, unperturbed, and asked in surprise, “Why aren’t you drinking?”

“I’m just taking a break, no rush,” she replied with a smile.

Seeing her jar still full, Su laughed. “Looks like you’ve already lost.”

“We’ll see who loses,” she replied with a charming smile. “Take your time. Only at the end will we know the winner.”

Her smile flickered before him, and suddenly his heart wavered. A rush of wine seemed to surge to his head, making his vision blur. Startled, he wondered, What’s happening?

Noticing his odd expression, Kaiming chuckled, “Feeling something already?”

“What did you do?” Su asked in a low voice, a numbness rising from his abdomen and pressing against his chest, stifling and uncomfortable.

“Oh, nothing. Just something to keep you from moving for a while,” she replied slyly. “Last time I fell for your tricks—now, I’m just returning the favor!”

“How dare you!” Su’s anger flared, and with it, his blood seemed to surge backward—a bad sign.

“If you’re kept outside and miss training tomorrow, you’ll be the one punished,” Kaiming laughed heartily. “Did you really think I’d compete with you in drinking, Captain Su?”

Su dared not move. The burning sensation in his body grew ever fiercer, and his suspicions deepened. “Kaiming, are you sure you used a paralytic?”

“Of course. I explained everything clearly to the attendant.”

“The attendant?” Suddenly, Su recalled the attendant’s strange glance and ambiguous grin when he brought the wine. Coupled with his current physical state, realization dawned on him like a bolt of lightning. Gritting his teeth, he demanded, “Kaiming, do you know what you put in the wine?”

His furious glare startled her.

“It’s an aphrodisiac! An aphrodisiac!” Su bellowed. This foolish woman had put an aphrodisiac in the wine.

“What? What’s an aphrodisiac…” she replied blankly, then, as understanding struck, she gave a startled yelp, half rising before sitting down again, stifling a laugh. “That? Ha!”

“And you’re still laughing!”

“Look at you—don’t hurt yourself,” she couldn’t help but giggle. “I’ll fetch a woman to help cool you down, and call the officer to watch. That’ll be sure to make your reputation even louder than mine!”

“You still have the nerve to joke!” His face was now the color of pig’s liver, red with fury.

“All right, I’ll go right now.” Kaiming quickly left her stool, smiling as she went to open the door.

But as she opened it halfway, it was slammed shut from inside with force. Su’s rugged hand pressed against the panel, his voice hoarse: “You’re not leaving!”

A vague unease crept into Kaiming’s heart. She followed his strong arm to his approaching face—sharp-featured, flushed, his black eyes bloodshot. “You’re too cunning, woman. How do I know what you’ll do if you go out? Stay here and behave yourself!”

“I swear, I’ll never betray you!” Kaiming raised one hand solemnly.

“No!” Su gritted his teeth. “I won’t trust you!”

“Then what should we do? In your state—” Kaiming fell silent, feeling the heat radiating from him grow more intense, his breath thick with wine.

“Didn’t you want to see me humiliated?” Su sneered. “Rather than find some woman outside, why don’t you—”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I’m not that kind of woman!” Kaiming’s face flushed scarlet, her heart pounding, and she instinctively pushed him away. His closeness was scalding; even through his clothes, he felt like a furnace. In shock, she snatched her hand back.

Su had been restraining himself, but her push was like lighting a fuse—everything exploded in a storm. He cursed, “You brought this on yourself!” and seized her shoulders, lowering his mouth to hers.

Kaiming’s mind thundered, as if struck by lightning again and again. What was happening? Was she really being kissed out of nowhere?

Su was hardly kissing—more like devouring her. He pinned her against the door, pried open her lips, and ravaged her mouth. His hand slid from her shoulder to the back of her head, yanking her hair to tilt her face back.

“That hurts!” she couldn’t help but shriek, her head instinctively arching back. Su’s breath was hot on her neck as he deftly opened her collar with practiced ease.

Kaiming grabbed his wrist, glaring at him. “What are you doing?”

Su lifted his head, a sly glint in his bloodshot eyes. “What do you think?”

Irritation at being toyed with flared in Kaiming. She jerked his hand away, lowering her voice. “Should I call someone upstairs to see you like this?”

“What am I like?” Su was utterly unashamed. He caught her hand and pressed it back against the door, his heated body pinning her there. As her heart hammered, his lips brushed slowly over her soft earlobe, his voice low with laughter. “Your little tricks don’t work on me.”

Kaiming’s voice trembled. “The aphrodisiac doesn’t affect you? But you drank it!”

“For an old soldier who’s spent years in taverns and brothels, do you think street-corner potions have much effect?” he smiled. “Though, I’ll admit, they have a little effect. I did lose control.”

“Then let me go!” Kaiming was angry. “Is it so fun to play games with others?”

Su didn’t release her. He stared into her shocked eyes and said, “It is fun. At least I can do things I usually want to but never dare.”

Kaiming tensed. Su was acting too strangely; something felt off.

“Meeting me in the alley tonight wasn’t by chance—I waited there for you.” Su slowly let go, still wearing that half-smile.

Kaiming seized the moment to pull open the door, not even bothering to fix her disheveled clothes as she ran downstairs.

The attendant greeted her eagerly, eyes roving over her. “Did you enjoy yourself, miss?”

At that moment, the words sounded especially grating. Kaiming shot him a fierce glare, ignoring his baffled expression as she dashed out the door without looking back.

Behind her, Su called hoarsely, “Attendant, bring me a basin of water!”

She plunged into the passing crowds, but after only a few steps, she stopped. Damn it—she didn’t know which way to go. She’d have to return to camp with Su, but after what just happened, how could she face him, let alone share a horse? Maybe she should wait till sunrise, find her way, and face the officer’s punishment—better that than returning now.

Her mind made up, she realized she had no idea how to spend the night. With not a coin on her, would she be forced to sleep on the street? Wandering aimlessly, the streets gradually emptied, and eventually she found herself in a dead-end alley.

She laughed bitterly at herself and turned to leave. Suddenly, she heard a faint metallic clink from around the corner, followed by a muffled groan.

Curiosity overcame her. She crept along the wall and peeked cautiously around the corner.

Suddenly, something heavy fell from above, landing right at her feet. Startled, she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream.

The sounds of fighting intensified; she saw, not a hundred paces away, several people locked in fierce combat. After watching for a few seconds, she saw three men in black attacking two in blue robes. One of the blue-robed men wielded a sword, protecting his companion, who clearly had no martial skill and could only spin helplessly.

The two under attack were obviously at a disadvantage. Even a novice could see the black-clad assailants were ruthless and deadly, intent on killing. The swordsman could barely withstand their relentless assaults.

She was so engrossed that she didn’t notice until someone clamped a hand around her ankle. Only then did she see that the fallen object was a person—dressed in black, face covered—now staring up at her with wide, menacing eyes.

Terrified, she tried to back away, but couldn’t. Banking on the hope that he was injured from being thrown, she kicked him hard in the chest, shouting, “Let me go! I have nothing to do with this!”

He grunted and released her.

She scrambled away on hands and knees, hearing a muffled voice behind her: “Catch her! Don’t let her escape!”

Panic-stricken, she fled, glancing back just in time to see one of the black-clad men break off and pursue her.

Heart pounding, she ran for her life, but the pursuer was swift—two leaps and he was right behind her, his blade slashing down at her back.

Despair welled up in her heart. After all the hardships of army life, was she to die nameless in the street before ever achieving glory?

Just then, a muffled groan and the clatter of a blade falling rang out behind her.

Her legs gave out and she collapsed, first checking her head—thankfully, it was still attached.

“Who’s there?” The black-clad man’s voice was hoarse and ragged.

A sharp whistle split the night, followed by a flash of steel that pierced the black-clad pursuer’s throat as swiftly as lightning. He didn’t even have time to cry out before collapsing.

Blood gushed like a spring, pooling at her feet. It was the first time Kaiming had ever witnessed death up close, and the shock made her scream uncontrollably, unable to stop.

“Be quiet!” came a cold voice, accompanied by the rhythmic beat of hooves. A majestic red-maned horse approached and stopped before her. Its rider was shrouded in a cloak, only bright eyes visible. Another blue-robed man, deathly pale, sat behind him.

Kaiming stared, her mouth agape, gaze drifting to the battleground behind the rider—three bodies lay sprawled, two in black, one in blue.

The rider looked down at her, hands clasped before him, as if ready to draw a weapon at any moment. Kaiming stared back in terror, her heart in her throat, unable to utter a single sound.