Leon had eaten rice in his old world, but as far as types of rice were concerned, his knowledge was simple. There was long-grain rice, which seemed to be most common in supermarkets, but he assumed there was also short-grained rice somewhere. There was Basmati rice, which came from the Middle East and all types of rice came in brown and white versions. Oh, he'd seen on a menu once 'wild rice', but as he'd been ordering cheapish salad and some chips (with potato skins on), he didn't know what the difference was.
Still, all of these versions contained the word 'rice.'
So who could associate Celestial Pearl Grains as a type of rice? Hence he thought the name silly. Celestial Pearl Rice would suit it better, surely.
Jin Li didn't know Leon's long-winded thoughts, but he still couldn't control the upward turn of his lips as well as the laughter in his eyes. "Yes, it is. Very silly."
"How dare you both!" The young Master was clearly very angry. Not only had the tall one declared him a fool in front of others, the small one had dissed his family business. That was right, this young Master came from the other continent and his grandfather was the patriarch of a very wealthy family that successfully grew and supplied these grains to the elite of the elite! His grandfather was a proud man, who valued this grandson above all others as he had become the first in their family line to be able to cultivate. Not only that, the youth had a pure fire root.
While he was not technically noble born, he was drowning in wealth and he had very good prospects in both marital terms and as a future alchemist. He was quite high within the hierarchy of the social order within the inner alchemist school. He did not really look down on Medicinal Cusine, he just didn't care for it, however he liked to remind others of his blessed background and the fact that he was able to eat very rare cuisine, superior to this woman's common Medicinal dishes. His Grandfather even sent him a small portion of those coveted grains each New Year. Yet these two peasants not only ridiculed him in front of everyone, but dare ignore him!
He could not be completely be considered at fault for thinking that Jin Li was a common person; his clothing was, while well cut, made of hemp and the red jade pin in his hair was not particularly valuable either. Both youths wore simple wood carvings from their belts (the young Master had yet to notice the sword) and were currently lazy of posture as they lounged about drinking tea. Actually, they'd had fairly good manners, until the young master's disturbance, out of respect for the girl serving them, but she had poured the tea then huddled in the shadows with her friend, hoping not to be noticed by the bullying youth.
As usual, though, Jin Li didn't care what others thought, he was telling Leon where the name of the rice came from. In the High Realm, some thousand years ago, there was a man who managed, by either luck or hard work, to breed a type of rice that absorbed spiritual energy from water and from the earth. He knew this rice would be valuable, especially to Cultivators and thought to get obscenely rich off the back of his creation. However, the Cultivators he dealt with were extremely cunning, wanting his rice, but not pay through the nose for it. They even spread rumours that his claims were unfounded and untrue, trying to monopolise as well as reduce the value of the rice.
The man was dumbfounded and furious! However, rather than fall to the schemes of these Cultivators, he instead sent some as tribute to the Emperor. Now the Emperor believed that rice was the food of the commoners and refused to eat it. Not even the best quality and rarest rice would appease him. Thus, the only way that the farmer could get his rice through the imperial gates was to change its name.
"The Emperor was apparently enraged when he discovered the truth," Jin Li was saying. "But he'd already declared in a decree that the rice should be sent in tribute to the palace each and every year until the end of his family's imperial reign. He also could not imprison or behead that farmer on trumped up charges as the rice is very difficult to grow and maintain and his yield was always by far the best in the whole of the realm. So the Emperor would instead send letters of complaint each year to express his bitterness and the farmer could only send gifts in order to appease him."
"Was the Emp-peror ever ap-appeased?" Leon asked him, clearly amused.
"No," Jin Li replied. "It's been a thousand years and as far as I'm aware, the two men are still playing this game. So long as it amuses them." He shrugged his shoulders as titters of laughter eased the tension within the air about them.
"You...! You...!" The young Master was pointing accusingly at Jin Li, who, in his eyes had mocked the main product of his family's business to such a degree.
"Me, me," Jin Li sneered. "Do you have something to say to me?" He rose to his feet, reattaching his sword to his waist as he looked down upon the arrogant young Master. His imposing aura ripped through the anger that the youth had surrounded himself with and suddenly all of his delusional self-worth seemed so crass all of a sudden. But it was for a brief moment, the young Master refused to be looked down upon by peasants!
"Bow down and beg for forgiveness, cur!" The young Master demanding, his finger curving until it clearly pointed to his feet. His chin tilted upwards haughtily, still believing he had the right to put these peasants in their place. It was the one thing he disliked about this school, how every year they would let such poor and unworthy individuals through the door. It was Gods will that he was in a position of privilege and they were not, so why should he share what the school provided with those God deemed unworthy?
Jin Li's eye's flashed as he stepped down from the raised platform into his boots, then lent a hand to Leon, that he might do the same. He then gently ushered Leon behind him and tilting his head as if to speak to his small alchemist when in actual fact, his words were for all to here. "Although I speak of a matter that is of an embarrassment to the Emperor of the High Realm," he drawled, in a careless tone, "he is actually a wise and brilliant ruler. His people love him, his women adore him and his officials respect him. His armies are also loyal to him. He is worthy of this Lord's kowtow. This young Master on the other hand, what have you done to gain this Lord's respect?" These words were directed at the correct recipient.
The youth's face was alternating between red and purple as one of his lackeys sidled up to him and whispered something into his eyes as his eyes glanced warily at Jin Li. The youth paled a little, then coughed into his hand. "Laozi will let you off this time!" He said and sauntered away, quickly followed by the crowd of troublemakers.
"Thank you," the woman bowed to Jin Li. She was from a commoner family and had suffered in the last few years since that Young Master had appeared. As he was quick to throw around his wealth and was favoured by his Teacher, small victories like this were hard to come by.
Jin Li raised a hand dismissively. "If you want to thank me, serve this Lord another bowlful of your Cuisine. It should be sufficient to restore one's lost appetite." Leon rolled his eyes, but smiled as he withdrew a bottle of Blood Pills, not wanting to steal food for free.
Author's note; I hint at a little bit of adult time in the last couple of paragraphs...
There were many rumours flying about the institute about the man named Jin Li. Some were idle gossip, such as how he was unruly, seldom attended lectures and destructive tendencies (this latter was towards combat dummies, however oddly enough or perhaps not, this part was not mentioned). There were the more pink rumours that he was handsome, his fighting form elegant and refined and he respected women, not looking down on them as the weaker sex when it came to martial arts. He'd been linked to many a belle, including the Twin Lotuses, which had drawn the jealousy of others, so much so that he'd fought with seniors as well fellow first years and there was no mention of him losing these battles.
He was rumoured to be a fallen noble, cast out with just the silk upon his back, but he still walked around with a regal air as if such a set back meant nothing to him. He had taken on missions that were usually picked only by seniors and completed them. He'd easily beaten many wild spiritual beasts as he sought to gain experience in the mountains. He'd gained the recognition of Teacher Corne's only student as well as the eccentric Teacher Corvus and a few others. And an odd, generally unknown, little alchemist with Yin Yang hair was said to be under his protection.
Thus when the young Master realised that this was the Jin Li, who had fought the Barbarian (the senior berserker, who happened to later win his way into the martial arts inner school) and had drawn with him, he'd realised his mistake and decidedly turned tail.
These rumours and long tales that floated about the institute had either not yet reached the ears of he who was at the centre of them or more likely, he simply did not care. Right now all of his attention was upon the watery eyes of his beloved alchemist and the swollen lips beneath them.
After circling the Festival grounds for a little longer, they had returned home, bringing back the trove of 'treasures' as well as a couple of books on herbs and medicinal tea, the medicinal wine and two cute jade ornaments, one of a koi fish and one of a lion cub. The latter had been picked by Jin Li, who felt it resembled a certain someone. Leon had quickly cooked a pot of rice, stir fried some vegetables and mixed together a fragrant chilli sauce to bring it all together and the pair had sat down to eat. After the meal, Leon had expressed his wish to taste the medicinal wine.
The wine was fruity and easy to drink, with a pleasant aftertaste. The spiritual energies within were pure and as Leon's belly warmed, his meridians drew the energies into themselves and he'd circulated them just once before they settled into his innersea. However, it was still alcohol, something small Leon was still not accustomed to and even after one cup did he glance over at Jin Li with misty, sanguine eyes, causing the other to down his cup before dragging him to the bed to devour his mouth and entangle their tongues.
It was just a pity, Leon felt, as Jin Li pulled him into his chest as he slept, that it never went any further.
The poor alchemist was at his limit, teased so many times yet having to will away each and every time the results of Jin Li's seductions. And with the Medicinal Wine's slight side effects still coursing through his blood, it was a restless night that followed as it didn't turn limp until dawn. And not long after his eyes finally closed in order to sleep, was he tossed beneath the infuriating man and not in a productive way!
Jin Li, oblivious to Leon's discomfort, had wanted to kiss him farewell, for he'd promised Senior Bowyer a duel and the latter had declared it must be on this day, or rather, that morning. For Bowyer was due to go out on a mission that would take a few weeks, but wanted one last round with his junior before he left. Jin Li had not been able to get out of it.
"I'll come back this evening," Jin Li advised him, after he saw that his small alchemist was too tired to follow him.
Leon fell asleep soon after due to sheer exhaustion.
It's said that our wishes and deeds are often portrayed in our dreams and Leon could quite well agree with this for his could only be described as eighteen plus and requiring some censorship. When he awoke a few hours later, it was with a reddened face, a rather sticky and damp patch as well as still suffering a morning affliction... just in the afternoon instead.
With a sigh, he rose from his bed and shuffled uncomfortably to his makeshift bathroom, reaching for the bucket and beginning the arduous task of filling the bath and heating the water. After quickly reheating some left over rice into a congee and quickly eating it, his bath was ready for him to soak in. His robes were tossed to one side, he would try and clean the mess from within the undergarment after his bath. He crouched in the small tub wiping away the remnants of his dreams all the while cursing Jin Li for causing this.
He wanted to say; you don't have to suppress yourself, I want you too! He wanted to say; let me touch you, let me please you, let's resolve this together. But Jin Li usually left him breathless and tongue-tied. That and he'd never done that sort of thing in his past life, so what experience did he have that he could claim to release Jin Li from the need to suppress through some mental technique?
Glancing down at that part of him which expressed itself far more clearly than Leon was able to, yet was still ignored by the frustrating martial artist, his fingers reached out tentatively, wrapping around the stiff object. Upon touching the sensitive part, a slight hiss escaped him. It ached to be touched, but it really ached to be touched by Jin Li. Leon wanted Jin Li's hand to be the one stroking along its length, or dare he think it, replacing hand with mouth. A shudder shot down his spine as he imagined it, imagined his lover teasing the column and the head of it and a groan escaped his lips; "Jin Li...!"
"You dare...?"
The next chapter will have descriptions of sexual acts between men. If this makes anyone uncomfortable, please skip the next update and await Sunday’s update instead.
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT