Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 198 First Kiss
Flowers are not flowers, mist is not mist. They come at midnight and leave at dawn.

A girl's spring dreams are gentler and more reserved than a boy's, involving more emotional interactions such as hugs, kisses, and gazing into each other's eyes.

The object of one's dreams is often vague and indistinct, only evoking feelings of tenderness and affection.

Tian Jun only remembered that after drinking heavily, she returned to her room and suddenly felt a warm and comfortable feeling all over her body.

She felt something long and soft sliding across her skin.

Tian Jun slowly woke up, only to find that her eyes were covered by something. Just as she was about to scream, she suddenly felt an extreme comfort in her soles, and her entire calf trembled.

"Don't shout." The man's magnetic voice was gentle as water, giving her a sense of peace and security.

The warmth and comfort on her feet made Tian Jun unable to contain herself, and she let out a slightly heavy nasal sound, with a coquettishness that she herself could hardly imagine.

"Junmei, take off your blindfold yourself."

Following Zhu Wen's words, Tian Jun tore off the strip of cloth covering her eyes.

Seven candles, each a different color, cast a soft glow in the room. The overhead "flat loom," used to shield the beams, was covered with black felt decorated with glass, resembling a glittering starry sky.

A clean blue carpet was laid on the ground, and Tian Jun's own jade-like feet were soaking in a celadon porcelain basin with floating peony petals.

Zhu Wen, dressed in an elegant white robe, looked even more refined and handsome than usual. His slender fingers gently grasped Tian Jun's feet, caressing them tenderly in the steaming basin of water.

There was even a fragrance wafting around them, because a light gauze curtain had been hung over the bed, with a round, gilded silver sachet hanging from it.

Even a free-spirited girl like Tian Jun felt her heart flutter.

When did this scoundrel become so sensible and understanding?

After winning the martial arts contest against Zhu Wen, Tian Jun said that Zhu Wen refused to touch her feet, so she asked Zhu Wen to wash her feet, but he refused.

For the past month, Zhu Wen has stopped wanting to hold her while sleeping at night, which has made Tian Jun quite irritable.

But now, she realizes that carefully crafted moments together are far more captivating than the daily intimacy of being together.

The man stroked Tian Jun's pair of shin-to-toe feet, which were plump and smooth like yellow jade, with flat soles and tucked toes, and blue veins on them, while his eyes were unusually clear.

He carefully lifted Tian Jun's feet out of the water one by one, dried them with a towel, and said with a smile, "Now I know exactly how beautiful your feet are!"

Tian Jun was moved and was about to speak when the man came over fully clothed and embraced her.

The exquisite and elegant atmosphere made Tian Jun feel slightly intoxicated, and her pretty face flushed with a blush like a begonia in spring slumber.

Zhu Wen gently laid her down on the bed.

Tian Jun closed her eyes shyly, not daring to move an inch, feeling just like a bride about to consummate her marriage.

In the midst of their tender embrace, Tian Jun felt as if she were floating on soft, fluffy clouds, her heart overflowing with indescribable tenderness.

While kissing, Zhu Wen would occasionally gently tease Tian Jun's gums, which felt tingly and gave her a peculiar experience.

"You little lecher, did you drug me?"

Tian Jun suddenly pulled away from Zhu Wen's light kiss and said coquettishly.

The thought of herself remaining completely still and being manipulated by the other person filled Tian Jun with a mixture of shyness and regret.

Zhu Wen put his arm around Tian Jun's slender waist, pulled her onto his lap, and asked with a faint blush on his face, "So?"

Men also appreciate beauty, but they are often preoccupied with worldly affairs and don't have much free time to focus on makeup and dressing up like women do.

If Zhu Wen were to be like some of the tyrannical rulers in history who were obsessed with women and spent all his time thinking about these things, he would probably go mad.

It's something I do occasionally, and it's quite charming.

"I... just think it's so wonderful..." Tian Jun suddenly adopted a docile demeanor, lowering her eyes as she said, "It's very comfortable."

Zhu Wen was a narcissistic man. Arranging these things was more for his own self-gratification.

Given Tian Jun's personality, if he wanted to get Tian Jun's body, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.

For Tian Jun, this first kiss was gentle, clean, and pure, but it lacked the passion she had imagined.

Perhaps this is better when both sides are still quite inexperienced?

Tian Jun squinted, leaning against the man's strong and reliable arms, a faint smile on her face.

Although Tian Jun is passionate and outgoing, she is completely different from the mature and charming Hua Wang. She is actually a very simple girl.

That innocent smile stirred Zhu Wen's heart again, and he lowered his head to kiss her cheek.

In the tranquil atmosphere, the two embraced quietly, without taking any further action.

Tian Jun's lips parted slightly, and after a moment's hesitation, she finally asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for a long time.

"Zhu Lang, are you... still a virgin?"

Zhu Wen was taken aback for a moment, then calmly replied, "At my age, how could I still be?"

Tian Jun's mouth was slightly open, her mind somewhat blank.

This answer was quite reasonable.

However, the other person had amazing self-control, and their kissing skills were very clumsy.

"Let me put it this way. If I really had no experience at all, I wouldn't be able to resist a beauty like you, Junmei."

Zhu Wen put on a wise air: "When a man has never done it, he will really want to do it. But once he has done it, he will find that it is just so-so."

Tian Jun's red lips parted slightly, and she asked in surprise, "What about the girls?"

"I'm not a woman, how would I know?" Zhu Wen smiled and said, "But I've also heard people say that some women get addicted to sex, while others feel that it's better to take care of it themselves or to be with other girls."

Tian Jun nodded vaguely. No matter how carefree she was, she was still an inexperienced girl, and could only imagine such things herself.

"So when was your first time...?"

Tian Jun was quite curious about this. According to Zhu Wen, he and Xingxiang should have at most held hands.

Zhu Wen's answer once again surprised her.

"So early? You're so mean!"

"I was forced."

Tian Jun carefully examined Zhu Wen's expression to make sure he wasn't feigning innocence after taking advantage of the situation: "What's going on?"

“A widow known as the ‘Tavern Beauty’ was beautiful, generous, and confidante. She often didn’t charge me for my drinks.” Zhu Wen said with a wry smile, “One day, she got me drunk, and she probably put some sleeping potion in the drink.”

Tian Jun said, "It doesn't sound too bad."

“Wrong, terrible.” Zhu Wen continued, “When I woke up this morning, I left her room in a panic and was seen by the frivolous boy who liked her.”

"She has a group of admirers who can't have her, and in order not to be disliked by these people, she pretends to be pitiful and says that I forced myself on her."

Tian Jun exclaimed.

Before being slandered, Zhu Wen may have had some vague longing for that woman.

But what happened next was predictable.

No wonder Zhu Wen was so averse to women like Hua Wang, who appeared mature and charming.

She finally understood where Zhu Wen's aloofness came from.

Zhu Wen was once falsely accused of theft because he was a better carpenter than his master. Also, because of his beautiful and charming appearance, he was taken advantage of by a widow in a tavern and then accused of raping a woman, which made him the target of hostility and hatred among the young men in the neighborhood.

Being good-looking and smarter than others becomes a reason for being ostracized, slandered, and bullied. For a twelve-year-old boy, these things are enough to drive him crazy with pain.

Tian Jun also understood why Zhu Wen and Xing Xiang had been together for several years, but their relationship had remained at the level of friends.

Because Xingxiang was clean enough and trustworthy enough, he was a salvation for Zhu Wen.

Tian Jun felt a pang of pity, but didn't know what to say. After thinking for a while, she could only gently kiss the man's lips, hoping to make her lover feel better.

……

Tired, let it all end. Many people have this thought when they suffer injustice.

For example, Huang Chao, Zhu Wen's teacher, suffered injustice from those in power. Therefore, Huang Chao wanted to crush them to pieces, or at least destroy them all.

Yuan Chang and Wang Ying drew their swords for the sake of the bullied weak.

What they have in common is that the brave are enraged and draw their swords against the stronger.

Zhu Wen's childhood suffering stemmed from encountering a group of people who, when he was still weak, "turned their anger on the weaker ones."

In the past, when the pain struck, Zhu Wen felt as if he were in a dark tunnel, unable to see the light or hear the sound. Endless darkness surged in from all directions, engulfing him. He struggled to crawl forward, but could not find an exit.

The voices mocking, insulting, and slandering him remained loud and jarring. He was simply trying to numb his senses to prevent a mental breakdown.

Those people, like Zhu Wen in his youth, lived at the very bottom of the world, yet they recklessly vented their banality of evil upon him.

If salvation had not come, he would probably have completely lost hope in humanity, hated the world, and become someone who regarded human life as worthless.

Zhu Wen recalled Xingxiang's words of advice.

"The highest level is to be detached from emotions, the lowest level is to be devoid of emotions, and the place where emotions reside is precisely where we are."

"Your sensitivity to pain comes from a more delicate soul than others. Ordinary people are troubled by the world, their emotions become numb and dull, their kindness is easily hidden, and only malice is revealed."

According to Xingxiang, some people are "lacking in affection" because of their difficult lives, while others, who are not poor, still become cold and cruel in the arena of fame and fortune, even abandoning their wives and parents.

The latter deserved to die, while the former was pitiful and hateful, but could not be said to be entirely innocent.

On a dark and windy night, Xingxiang sneaked into Zhu Wen's hometown, cut off the head of a vagrant, and delivered it to Zhu Wen.

The scene was staged to resemble a burglary that had been discovered, with the thief killing the homeowner in a moment of panic. This guy had recently won a fortune gambling, so it's not surprising he was targeted by the female thief.

The female thief certainly wouldn't have cut off her master's head, so the head was retrieved after the burial, when the grave was dug up.

This person was not the one who bullied Zhu Wen the most, and his death would not arouse suspicion among Zhu Wen's fellow villagers.

"Instead of venting hatred on innocent people in the future, it is better to use a little blood to reconcile yourself with the world."

With her back to the bright moon, her white robes unstained by blood, carrying a severed head in her hand, her clothes fluttering, she quietly walked towards him.

If Xingxiang only tries to reason with Zhu Wen, he won't easily listen.

But upon seeing that familiar head, Zhu Wen suddenly felt most of the hatred in his heart dissipate.

He had no intention of killing them, because there were simply too many people who had bullied him. If Zhu Wen had killed them all, he wouldn't have been able to stay in his hometown.

Before and after the crime, Xingxiang, accompanied by several maids, openly strolled around the vicinity of Zhu Wen's hometown, and many people saw her. Who would have thought that the daughter of the governor of Songzhou would be the "female thief" who murdered someone and stole a few strings of cash?
It's not unjust that the person who insulted others as thieves died at the hands of the "female thief."

Zhu Wen, however, knew how much thought and risk had been taken in arranging the seemingly ordinary Xingxiang.

Once the truth comes out, the most beautiful woman in Songzhou, admired by everyone, will be instantly disgraced, and may even bring shame upon her father, the governor, who has a good reputation.

For girls, reputation may be more important than life.

But she simply said, "We met in the martial arts world. Isn't it only natural for martial arts people to go to great lengths for their friends?"

Just as Zhu Wen was about to answer something, Xingxiang's figure suddenly vanished like a bubble.

In a daze, Zhu Wen felt a faint sense of melancholy, only then realizing that he was reliving the past in his dream.

Suddenly, she felt an amazing softness behind her, and her earlobes felt moist and slippery, with a tingling sensation spreading through her mind.

Tian Jun was pressed against Zhu Wen's back, swaying her front body in circles while licking Zhu Wen's ear with her tongue. Because of her clumsy technique, Zhu Wen could clearly feel the small tiger teeth hitting the skin of his ear.

"You little vixen, are you being lewd with your husband again so early in the morning?"

Zhu Wen lightly patted Tian Junlong's buttocks and laughed.

"Oh, I was just trying to repay you for the surprise yesterday, and you're laughing at me!" Tian Jun immediately gave Zhu Wen a light bite on the ear.

"How could I say something wrong? Can you please not be so irritable?"

Zhu Wen sighed: "Did Zhuoying teach you that?"

Tian Jun blushed and nodded.

Zhu Wen knew that there was no one else besides Chuoying.

Zhuoying never entertained male guests; she only used girls to practice her skills at Baiyun Temple. And that unlucky Shangrang probably won't get to enjoy such a stroke of luck.

Zhu Wen felt that Tian Jun, such a spirited and capable girl, was exceptionally cute when she was shy. He couldn't help but shower her forehead, eye sockets, and nose with kisses, and finally kissed her lips. After a round of tender kisses, the girl was soon panting and collapsed into a lump of mud in the man's arms.

Because of his childhood experiences, Zhu Wen, though cunning, also admired Lan Suting's kindness and Tian Jun's purity. Girls like them gave him some faith in humanity.

……

Zhu Wen and Tian Jun didn't have much time for romance either, because the rebel army was finally leaving Fujian and heading south.

As you move from Fujian into Lingnan, the region becomes even further south, summer deepens, and the weather gets increasingly hot.

The soldiers were increasingly reluctant to wear armor, but even without armor, they would still feel sticky and sweaty all day, which was very uncomfortable.

The Guangdong region is even hotter and more humid than Fujian. As soon as people left Zhangzhou and entered Chaozhou, they began to suffer from acclimatization problems, experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. Within a few days, more than twenty people had died from the disease.

The enthusiastic welcome from the people of Lingnan East Circuit outweighed their complaints about the weather. They had already heard about the bandit army's killing of powerful families in Fujian, and how the people of Chaozhou and Xunzhou had spontaneously revolted, killing the prefect, driving out the government troops, and welcoming the bandit army into the city.

The surrounding counties surrendered at the mere sight of the enemy, but the magistrate of Boluo County refused to surrender, declaring that he would fight the bandits to the death and not allow them to advance even a single step westward.

Boluo County is located at the foot of Luofu Mountain and is the gateway to Guangzhou. To conquer Guangzhou, the capital of Lingnan East Circuit, one must take this place.

Although the magistrate of Boluo County spoke with great arrogance, he was not a particularly diligent defender. Zhu Wen, with over a hundred men, disguised himself and infiltrated the city.

He sat in the largest restaurant in Boluo County, fanning himself with a folding fan and dressed like a scholar.

Huo Cun, Zhu Zhen, and he sat at the same table. As for Tian Jun, Zhu Wen didn't feel comfortable bringing her along for such matters.

The chef hadn't served the dishes yet, but the lychees chilled in well water in the red lacquered fruit platter were already enough to make one's mouth water.

A waiter, beaming, said, "These Luofu Mountain lychees with scorched kernels are a famous variety that has been renowned throughout the world since the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the past, the poem 'A rider in red dust brings a smile to the imperial concubine's face, but no one knows it's lychees that have arrived' refers to this very fruit!"

Associating oneself with celebrities is nothing new. In Lingnan, there are at least a dozen varieties of lychee that claim to have been eaten by Yang Guifei. In Gaozhou, there is a type of lychee called "White Sugar Lychee," which is said to have been presented to the concubine by Gao Lishi from his hometown, making the story even more convincing.

However, the lychees from Luofu Mountain are indeed excellent. In later generations, a scholar named Su Shi wrote a poem: "At the foot of Luofu Mountain, spring lasts all year round, and oranges and bayberries ripen in turn. I would eat three hundred lychees a day and not mind being a Lingnan native forever."

When Huo Cun first tasted this, he devoured it with great relish, like a cow chewing on a peony, and soon his front was covered with lychee seeds.

Zhu Wen, feigning extreme cleanliness, ate a few pieces and then wiped the juice off his hands with a handkerchief, all the while observing the people inside the building.

As Zhu Wen was eating, he was drawn to the commotion coming from the table behind him.

"How could you do such a scalding job?! Who are you giving this tea to?!"

The diner shouted angrily, followed by the chef's repeated apologies.

Unfortunately, the man did not accept the apology. He raised his hand and slapped Yaoshi, cursing and insulting Yaoshi's ancestors for eighteen generations. He then told Yaoshi to kneel down and kowtow to him three times, and that would be the end of it.

What is particularly striking is that the man is a tall, bearded man, dressed in black, with a large turban on his head, and his clothes are decorated with gold.

More than a hundred years ago, the Abbasid Caliphate, which defeated the Tang Dynasty in Talas, was known as the Black-Clad Abbasid Caliphate, whose people were famous for wearing black.

"Tsk tsk." Huo Cun lowered his voice and said, "How can a mere Arab be so arrogant? I've seen plenty of these barbarians being sold and sold in the markets in the Central Plains..."

Zhu Zhen whispered in Huo Cun's ear, "Because this is Lingnan."

"What's wrong with Lingnan?" Huo Cun asked. "You mean these Hu people are all merchants, and they're rich? But there are plenty of Hu merchants in Chang'an and Luoyang too, and I've never heard of them acting so arrogantly..."

Even after the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang people still held a sense of superiority over non-Han peoples, especially those from the Western Regions. Most of the time, non-Han people had to act cautiously towards the Han people.

"Among the four classes of people—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants are ranked last. The two capitals are right under the emperor's nose; no matter how wealthy a foreign merchant is, they can't act recklessly. But Lingnan is far from the emperor's reach, and Li Tiao, the military governor of Lingnan East Circuit, heavily relies on foreign merchants to strengthen his own power..."

Huo Cun was speechless for a long time before saying, "Are you saying that in Lingnan, the Hu people can do whatever they want, while we Han people have become second-class citizens?"

"If you've read a little bit of books, you'll know that hundreds of years ago, during the Five Barbarian Invasions, the world was just like this."

(End of this chapter)