Chapter 52 | The North Room
The messenger’s footsteps faded beyond the courtyard arch.
Xu Tianlong looked once at the unbroken seal in his right hand, then back toward the rooms.
Lin Yueyao was still standing where she’d been interrupted. Her gaze moved from the note to the closed doors.
"We should decide where everyone sleeps before Shun brings the rest," she finished.
"We will."
A pale-blue-robed man appeared at the arch before Xu could put the note away. He was carrying a narrow wooden tally board and looked mildly apologetic about arriving at all.
"Young Master Xu? I’m responsible for the lower guest rooms." He stepped into the yard and glanced at the half-unloaded bundles. "If your people are staying together, the north room is the largest. We can place your companions in the east and west rooms, and your 2 retainers near the entrance."
Lin’s face didn’t change.
Xu looked at the steward. The man stopped talking.
"Lin sleeps with me," Xu said. "She’s my wife."
The steward blinked. "I wasn’t told at the gate that..."
"You are now."
"Right." The man recovered quickly. "Then the north room is yours and Lady Lin’s. The east room can take 2 people."
Xu looked toward Qing’er and Ruoxue.
Qing’er was still beside the medicine box. Ruoxue sat on the bench with her white-sheathed sword leaning against the wood on her left.
"Qing’er, stay with Ruoxue in the east room."
Qing’er nodded at once. "Yes, Young Master."
Ruoxue gave the east door a brief look. "Fine with me."
"Feng takes the west room."
Feng Lianzhu glanced toward it, then toward the wall beyond. "Best view of the courtyard entrance. I won’t complain."
Her eyes slid to Lin for half a heartbeat.
Lin caught it.
Neither woman said anything.
"Shun and Cheng take the room by the entrance," Xu continued. "They’ll handle the wagon and horses."
The steward scratched the last marks onto his tally board. "If the guest house needs something from your household, who do I ask?"
"Ask my wife."
Lin’s eyes softened.
Her fingers caught Xu’s sleeve for a moment, light enough that the others paid it no attention. Then she let go.
"Understood," the steward said. "Lady Lin."
"Thank you."
Xu folded Elder Ming’s note and slipped it securely inside his robe.
"Shun."
"Young Master."
"Bring the rest that matters tonight. Leave anything we don’t need in the wagon."
"Understood."
Shun set down the bundle he was carrying and headed back toward the service yard.
Cheng and Shun brought in the bedding and whatever the household would need before morning. Qing’er carried her medicine box into the east room and immediately tried to take Ruoxue’s sword as well.
Ruoxue moved it out of reach before Qing’er’s hand arrived.
"I can carry a sword across a courtyard."
Qing’er stopped, cheeks coloring. "I know. I just thought..."
"You thought too much."
"Ruoxue," Xu said.
Ruoxue looked over.
"Don’t make her chase you around the room tonight."
A tiny crease appeared between Ruoxue’s brows.
Qing’er covered a smile with her sleeve.
"I won’t," Ruoxue said.
Feng passed them with a folded blanket tucked under her arm. "A historic victory for medicine."
Qing’er turned pinker.
Lin gave Feng a look.
Feng’s mouth twitched, and she kept walking.
By the time the light outside had turned amber, the courtyard looked less like a wagon had exploded inside it.
Xu entered the north room with Lin and closed the door.
The room was plain. A broad bed occupied the inner wall. A low table stood to its right, with a wash basin beyond it.
Xu drew Elder Ming’s note from his robe and set it on the low table.
Still sealed.
He removed the small private things from his outer layer, folded the robe over them, and left the bundle beside the note. His sheathed sword rested against the wall within reach. His boots went beside it.
When he turned again, Lin was loosening the last of her road clothes.
White silk showed beneath them.
The private robe fell softly around her body when she pulled the travel layers away. Her long black hair had come loose during the day. The pale streak at her temple caught the evening lamplight.
Xu watched her.
Lin noticed.
"Again?"
"Again."
"You stare too much, husband."
"Come here."
She did.
A little later, Xu lay half-reclined against the bedding with Lin tucked against his left side. His left arm circled her waist. His right hand moved slowly over the crown of her head, fingers combing through her hair.
The courtyard beyond the door had gone quiet.
He liked that.
"Yueyao."
Lin lifted her face from his chest. "Hmm?"
Xu smiled.
His fingers left her hair and traced the side of her cheek. "You really are very beautiful, my wife."
Her lashes lowered. The response was small, but he felt the way her body softened against him.
He bent and kissed the top of her head.
"Mmm... Tianlong, my husband."
"Like you once said, I collect women the way other men collect swords." His thumb moved once beneath her cheekbone. "But you’re different from them. For now, you’re my only wife."
Lin looked up immediately.
"For now?"
Xu’s smile widened. He kissed her head again. "Not satisfied?"
"Tianlong..."
The complaint came out soft and spoiled rather than angry. Lin pushed her cheek into his palm even as the words left her mouth.
Xu stroked her hair back from her face.
"And one more thing. No matter how many women I have in the future, you’ll still be the one I love most, Yueyao."
For once, Lin had no quick answer.
Her eyes stayed on his. The proud control in them thinned just enough for him to see what sat underneath it.
"Yes... Tianlong." She leaned closer. "Love you."
Xu kissed her.
The first touch was slow. Lin’s lips softened under his, then opened. Her hand slid up his chest and settled behind his neck. When his tongue met hers, she made a quiet sound into his mouth.
"Mmm..."
He kissed her until the softness turned hungry.
Lin shifted closer. Her thigh slid over his. Xu’s right hand moved down her neck, over her shoulder, and closed around a breast through the white silk.
"Ngh..."
His fingers squeezed.
Her nipple hardened beneath the thin cloth.
Xu broke the kiss only far enough to look at her.
"All right." His thumb rolled the stiff peak. "Now it’s time for my wife to serve me."
Lin’s cheeks warmed.
"You always ruin the romantic moment at the end."
"And you always obey anyway."
Her eyes narrowed faintly.
Then she slipped lower.
"Mmh... yes, husband."
Xu laughed under his breath.
Lin opened the front of his inner trousers and freed his cock.
It rose hard between them, the same 11 inches of thick flesh she’d learned very well by now. Even after all their nights together, her fingers still looked small when they wrapped around the shaft.
She stroked once.
"Mm..."
Her thumb spread the wetness at the head.
Again.
"Ngh..."
Xu’s jaw tightened.
Lin noticed that too. She always noticed.
Her tongue touched the tip.
slurp.
"Mmm..."
She licked slowly around the crown, then dragged her tongue down the underside before taking the head into her mouth.
Xu’s right hand settled into her hair.
"Deeper."
Lin’s lips stretched farther down his cock.
"Mmh... ngh..."
slurp.
Her hand worked what her mouth couldn’t take yet. She drew back, tongue following the length, then swallowed him again with more confidence.
"Nnnh..."
Xu’s fingers tightened against her scalp.
The head reached the back of her mouth.
gulk.
"Ghnn..."
Her throat resisted, then opened enough to take him deeper.
Xu let out a low groan. "Good."
Lin’s eyes lifted toward him.
Her cheeks darkened, and she pushed down another fraction.
ggk.
"Nghmm..."
Her nose almost brushed his lower abdomen before she pulled away, coughing once into the space between them.
A string of saliva stretched from her lower lip to his cock.
Lin swallowed.
gulp.
"Hah... mmm..."
Xu stroked her hair while she caught her breath. Then he stripped off the rest of his inner clothes and kicked them clear of the bed.
"Again?" she whispered.
"You know the answer."
The corner of her mouth curved.
She bent again.
slurp. slurp.
"Mmh... ngh... mmm..."
Her tongue worked harder now. Her head moved in a smooth rhythm while her fist twisted at the base. Xu felt the pressure beginning to gather and pulled her up by the hair before she could finish him.
Lin released him with a wet gasp.
"Ah... Tianlong?"
"I want it somewhere else."
Her eyes warmed at once.
"Mmm... husband."
He pulled her into another kiss.
She tasted of saliva and him. Xu kissed her harder, hand moving down her back to her ass beneath the white silk. He squeezed the full curve of her ass, pulled her against his cock, then brought his palm down once.
slap.
"Ahhn...!"
Lin jerked against him. Her thighs pressed together for a heartbeat, and fresh wetness shone between them.
Xu smiled. "Good."
He opened the robe.
White silk slid from a shoulder, then the other. Her breasts came free, heavy and pale in the warm light. Xu caught a breast in his hand and kissed her again while his thumb rubbed the nipple.
"Mmm... ngh..."
He lowered his mouth.
His tongue circled the peak before he sucked it in.
slurp.
"Ah... ahhn... Tianlong..."
Lin’s fingers went into his hair.
Xu sucked harder, then changed breasts. His palm slapped the breast he’d just left as he took the other nipple into his mouth.
slap.
"Nghh...!"
Her breast bounced beneath his hand.
"Husband..."
He bit lightly around the nipple, soothed it with his tongue, then pushed the robe completely from her body.
Lin sat naked beside him, breathing faster now.
Xu’s hand traveled down her stomach.
Her legs opened before he asked.
"Mm..."
"Already wet."
"You spent too long talking."
Xu looked at her.
Lin’s lips twitched.
"Was that a complaint?"
"No, husband."
"Thought so."
He pressed her back against the bed and kissed down her stomach.
Lin inhaled sharply when his mouth reached her pussy.
"Tianlong... ah..."
His tongue parted her wet folds.
slurp.
"Ahhn...!"
He licked again, slower this time, then sucked her clit into his mouth.
"Ngh... mmh... ah..."
Her hips lifted.
Xu held her hips down with a hand. 2 fingers slid into her, curling just enough to make her thighs tense.
squelch.
"Ahh... husband... ngh..."
He worked her with his fingers while his tongue kept moving over her clit. Lin’s breath shortened. Her hand found his hair and tightened there.
"Mmm... ngh... ahhn..."
Xu stopped before her body could tip over the edge.
Lin stared at him when he rose.
"Why did you stop?"
"Because I wanted to."
"Tianlong..."
He smiled and turned her gently onto her left side.
Xu settled close behind her. He drew her right knee forward enough to open the angle and slid his arm around her waist. His cock pressed along the wet cleft of her ass and pussy.
Lin shivered.
"Mm..."
Xu rubbed the thick head over her entrance.
"Still impatient?"
"I’ve been ready." Her voice was still steady. Barely. "Stop teasing me."
"So impatient."
He pushed in.
"Ngh..."
The head entered first, stretching her around him. Xu moved slowly for the first few inches, letting her body open around the thickness.
"Ah... mmh..."
Lin’s hand caught his forearm across her waist.
Xu kissed behind her ear.
Then he pressed deeper.
"Ahhn... Tianlong..."
Deeper.
Her pussy tightened around him.
"Nghh... wait..."
Xu stopped for a breath.
Lin exhaled, loosened, and pushed her hips back herself.
"More."
He gave her more.
The head of his cock reached her deepest limit before his hips had even closed fully against her ass.
Lin’s entire body locked.
"A-ahh...!"
A hot gush burst from between her thighs.
It splashed over his cock and the sheets before she’d even reached a full climax.
"Nghnn... Tianlong...! I... ah..."
Xu held her steady as the involuntary squirt ran down their joined bodies.
"That deep already?"
"You... ngh... you touched the end..."
Her next squeeze dragged a rough breath from Xu.
"That’s it. That’s good. Keep squeezing my cock with your pussy."
"Mmh... ahh... husband..."
He pulled back.
Wet heat dragged along every inch of him.
Then he thrust in again.
squelch.
"Ahhn...!"
His hips stopped just short of fully closing against her. The depth felt obscene from this angle, as if the head of his cock were pressing at the very mouth of her womb.
Lin’s breath broke.
"Ngh... so deep... ah..."
Xu’s right hand closed around her breast from behind.
He rolled the nipple between his fingers while his hips began a steady rhythm.
clap.
"Mmh..."
squelch.
"Ahh..."
clap. clap.
"Ngh... Tianlong... ahhn..."
He kissed the side of her neck and drove deeper.
Lin’s fingers dug into his arm.
"Ah... ah... ahhn...!"
Xu’s mouth curved against her neck.
He sucked the skin below her ear, then moved his hand lower to rub her clit in time with the strokes.
squelch. clap.
"Nghnn... mmm... husband..."
Her thighs trembled.
"Don’t... ah... don’t slow down..."
"I wasn’t planning to."
Xu increased the pace.
clap. clap. clap.
"Ahhn...! Ngh... ahh... Tianlong...!"
Each stroke grew wetter. Lin pushed back into him now, small frantic movements that met each thrust.
"Mmh... ah... I’m close..."
Xu bit lightly at her shoulder.
"Then come."
"Ngh... I... ahhn..."
Her pussy clamped hard around him.
The next cry tore free before she could swallow it.
"Ahhhn... Tianlong!"
Lin came around his cock in violent pulses. Another gush spilled between her thighs, warmer than the first, soaking the sheets as her inner walls squeezed him again and again.
"Ngh... ah... ah...!"
Xu’s jaw tightened.
Her contractions dragged him across the edge.
He buried himself as deep as her body would take him and came inside her.
"Yueyao..."
His cock pulsed hard, filling her in thick bursts.
"Ahhn... inside... mmh..."
Lin reached back blindly and caught his wrist.
"Tianlong... ngh..."
Xu held her through the last contraction.
Then he moved again.
Lin’s eyes widened over her shoulder.
"You’re still..."
"Hard?"
Her cheeks darkened.
Xu kissed her mouth from behind. "Did you think I was finished?"
"Mmm... no, husband."
He withdrew and rolled onto his back, bringing her with him.
Lin straddled his hips, hair falling around them as she leaned down to kiss him. His cock slid between her soaked folds, still hard, still ready.
Lin gave a shaky little laugh against his mouth.
"You really don’t get tired."
"You do."
"Not yet."
"We’ll see."
Lin narrowed her eyes and reached between them.
She guided him back to her entrance and lowered herself.
"Ahh..."
The stretch made her pause halfway.
"Ngh... mmh..."
Xu held her waist but didn’t lift her.
Lin took the rest herself.
"Ahhn... husband..."
She settled onto him, breathing through parted lips.
Xu pulled her down for another kiss.
Lin began to move slowly.
clap.
"Mmm..."
Then she rose higher.
clap. clap.
"Ah... ngh..."
Her breasts swayed between them. Xu caught a breast, sucked the nipple, and let his tongue scrape over the stiff peak.
slurp.
"Ahhn...!"
Lin’s hips jerked.
"Again," Xu said against her breast.
She rose and dropped.
clap.
"Ngh... Tianlong..."
He kissed her, then caught her waist.
"Turn around."
Lin lifted just enough for him to guide her. She turned on his lap, facing away from him, then lowered herself back over his cock.
"Mmh... ah..."
Xu’s hands closed around her hips.
Her ass filled his view, pale skin already carrying a warm mark from his palm.
"Move."
Lin rocked forward, then back.
squelch.
"Ngh..."
She pushed back again.
clap.
"Ahh..."
Xu tightened his grip and helped set the rhythm.
Lin pushed back harder.
clap. squelch. clap.
"Mmh... ahhn... Tianlong..."
His palm struck her ass.
slap.
"Ah!"
Her pussy tightened instantly.
"Again," Lin breathed.
Xu gave her another.
slap.
"Nghh...!"
The red print of his hand deepened across the soft flesh.
"Yes, keep going... keep moving your ass. Give my cock pleasure."
"Mmm... yes, husband... ah..."
Her ass rolled back against him with every stroke. Xu let her work, guiding only when her rhythm wandered.
clap. clap. squelch.
"Ahhn... ngh... mmh..."
Lin’s thighs shook when she lifted. Her next breath came sharper. She pushed back anyway.
Xu watched the muscles in her back tighten.
"My wife’s pussy feels the best."
Lin laughed breathlessly, but the sound broke into a moan.
"Ah... you... always... ngh..."
"Always what?"
She tried another stroke.
clap.
"Mmh... say things when I... can’t answer..."
"Then don’t answer. Keep moving."
"Yes... husband... ahhn..."
Xu’s hand came around her waist and pressed low over her stomach while his other hand controlled her hip.
Lin rolled back again.
"Ngh... ah... ahh..."
squelch. clap.
Her pussy tightened in quick fluttering pulses.
Xu felt the change immediately.
"Good wife."
Lin’s head dropped forward.
"Mmm... Tianlong... ngh... I’m..."
"I know."
Xu yanked her hips down as he thrust up.
clap.
"Ahhn...!"
Her thighs failed to lift cleanly after that.
Xu took over more of the motion, hands on her hips, driving her down while thrusting up.
clap. clap. clap.
"Ah... ah... nghh... husband...!"
Lin’s breath turned ragged.
"Mmh... I... ah..."
Xu slapped her ass once more.
SLAP.
"Ahhn!"
Her body snapped tight.
A hard gush sprayed forward and down across his thighs.
"Nghnn... Tianlong...!"
Lin came again, pussy clenching so violently around him that his upward stroke shortened for a heartbeat.
Xu groaned.
"Fuck... Yueyao."
"Ah... ahh... I’m... still... ngh..."
He pulled her hips down and buried himself.
The pressure broke through him while her contractions were still squeezing him.
Hot semen pumped into her again.
"Mmm... inside... ahhn..."
Lin sagged forward, catching herself on both hands.
Xu kept a hand at her waist until the last pulse passed.
Then he slid her off him and turned her onto her back. A warm streak of semen slipped from her with the movement and ran along the inside of her thigh.
Lin stared up at him, hair stuck lightly to her forehead, chest rising fast.
"Tianlong..."
She glanced down.
His cock was still hard.
Her expression became almost offended.
"You really are unfair."
"You said you weren’t tired."
"I said not yet."
"That was a while ago."
Lin opened her mouth.
Xu kissed her before she answered.
"Mmh...!"
He settled between her thighs.
Her legs opened around him, slower this time. Xu supported her right leg beneath the knee long enough to set the angle, then let it rest around his hip.
He pushed into her again.
"Ahh... ngh..."
The first stroke went deep. The next went deeper.
squelch.
"Mmh... husband..."
Xu lowered his mouth to her breast without stopping. He sucked a nipple, tongue moving over the swollen peak while his hips drove steadily between her thighs.
slurp.
"Ahhn...! Tianlong..."
His palm struck the side of her free breast.
slap.
"Nghh...!"
The flesh bounced under his hand.
Xu squeezed it and kissed her again.
Lin clung around his shoulders.
"Ah... mmh... ngh..."
Her legs were trembling now. She could no longer meet every thrust. She tried, failed to meet a stroke, then simply held him tighter and let Xu take the pace.
clap. clap. clap.
"Ahh... ahhn... Tianlong...!"
He drove into her harder.
squelch. clap.
"Ngh... ngh... husband..."
The head of his cock filled her to the end on every deep stroke. The sensation was so extreme it felt as if he were pressing straight at her womb.
Lin’s eyes lost focus.
"A-ah... too... deep... ngh..."
"Then hold on to me."
Lin’s arms tightened immediately. "Tianlong... ahh..."
Xu smiled against her mouth.
He kissed her again, slower than his hips were moving.
That contrast made her whimper.
"Mmh... nghh..."
Her pussy squeezed him.
Hard.
Xu broke the kiss with a rough breath.
"Ahh, Yueyao... your pussy is so tight."
"Ngh... husband... I... can’t... ah..."
"You can. Don’t let go."
Lin’s arms tightened around his neck.
Xu gripped her ass, lifted her hips a little, and changed the angle.
The next thrust drove a broken cry out of her.
"Ahhn...!"
clap.
He drove again.
"Nghh... ah...!"
squelch.
And again.
"Tianlong... ahh... ahhn...!"
"Mmh... ngh... husband... ah..."
Xu kissed her cheek, her jaw, then her mouth.
His breathing remained controlled, but pleasure had tightened every muscle through his abdomen. His jaw flexed on each deepest stroke.
Her pussy clenched again.
"Ngh... like... that?"
Xu gave a low groan. "Yes."
"Mmm... good..."
"Still proud of yourself?"
"Ah... a little..."
He laughed once and drove deeper.
Lin’s answer vanished.
"Ahhhn...!"
clap. clap. clap.
"Ngh... ah... ah... Tianlong...!"
Her thighs shook uncontrollably now.
A wet pulse ran over his cock.
Then another.
Lin gasped.
"I’m... ah... again..."
"Come."
"Nghnn... husband...!"
Xu took her nipple between his teeth lightly and thrust deep.
Lin broke.
"Ahhh... Tianlong!"
Her pussy contracted around him in a rapid series of hard squeezes. Squirting wetness burst between their bodies, soaking his lower abdomen and the sheet beneath her.
"Ngh... ahh... ahhn...!"
Xu held the deepest position.
Lin’s contractions kept pulling at him.
His control finally snapped.
"Yueyao..."
He came inside her again.
His cock pulsed hard, releasing deep while Lin still shook around him.
"Mmm... ah... inside... Tianlong..."
Xu kept himself buried until the last pulse faded.
Lin’s legs loosened around him.
Her arms stayed around his neck for another moment, then slowly slipped down.
"Ngh..."
Xu kissed her once more.
Soft this time.
Lin barely managed to kiss him back before she exhaled against his lips.
"Mmm... husband..."
He withdrew and lay down beside her immediately, leaving the soaked sheets exactly as they were. Warm wetness remained between Lin’s thighs and beneath them, ignored.
Xu pulled her against his left side.
Lin came without resistance, half-sprawled over his chest, a leg tangled lazily with his. Her breathing was still uneven. Her thighs gave an occasional after-tremor.
Xu’s left hand moved slowly through her hair, again and again. Then he kissed the top of her head.
"Mmm..."
Lin’s eyes stayed closed.
His right hand drifted down to her breast. He rolled a swollen nipple slowly between finger and thumb.
"Ngh... Tianlong..."
"Sensitive," Xu murmured.
"Very..."
He rolled it again, gentler.
Lin made a tired sound and pressed closer.
"Mmh..."
Xu kissed her hair.
For a while, neither of them said anything.
Then Lin’s breathing finally began to settle.
Xu looked toward the low table on his right.
The sealed note was still there.
He reached for it with his right hand without letting go of Lin.
Paper whispered beneath his fingers.
Lin opened an eye.
"Now?"
"He expects me tomorrow morning."
"Mm... then read it."
Xu turned the note over.
He slid a finger beneath the fold and cracked the seal.
Lin shifted just enough to see the paper without leaving his chest.
The message inside was short.
Xu read the first line.
~Why did you refuse the talent test before?~
His expression didn’t change.
Then he read the second.
~Why is an old survey plate in your keeping?~
Xu’s eyes stopped on the words.
Lin lifted her head a little. "Survey plate?"
"Apparently."
His gaze moved to the folded outer robe beside the table. The pale fragment rested beneath it.
Xu looked back at the note.
He read the second question again.