The Silent Guard (mxm)

Chapter 36

He wasn't sure how Lee Shaan had enough energy to manage to hunt, but when the man returned to their little hidden makeshift camp near the northern edge of the forest, he was carrying a large boar on his shoulder. 

Huang quickly jumped up to assist him in preparing it to cook. They worked as quietly as they could since Qi was currently resting peacefully against the trunk of a large fir tree a few feet away, his little guard snuggled tightly within his arms. The man had refused to let him out of his sight for even a second ever since they'd been reunited, and Zen had even had to stop him from feeding him energy once Qi's steps began to falter with exhaustion. 

I'm glad they're finally getting some rest. 

Jumping slightly, Huang glanced down at the tiny rock Lee Shaan had just thrown at him, then lifted his eyes to scowl at the man. Instead of responding with words, Lee Shaan shoved a large boar's leg into his hands, then pointed to a pile of sticks off to the side. 

He'd gathered them earlier, per Lee Shaan's request, while the man went off to hunt. 

I got it. I got it. 

Huang trudged over to the tiny pile and began focusing his energy toward it. Lighting them on fire wasn't hard, but he knew that they'd burn down to nothing in no time. There wasn't enough there to cook their full meal. 

I'm going to go retrieve more. 

Huang nodded at Lee Shaan's telepathic message as he got busy cooking what he could of the leg he was handed. As he tended to the task, his attention split frequently between the food and the two young men resting nearby. His heart thumped in his chest a few times after each glance. 

What are you doing? he asked himself as he shook his head and poked at the meat he'd skewered. 

You knew from the beginning that it would be hard to gain acceptance with Qi, and even after you began liking Zen, it would still remain be difficult. 

Blowing out a tired breath, he leaned against the tree to his left and considered his options. He knew that he would return to Han with Qi, Zen, and Lee Shaan, and try to put an end to his father's stolen dynasty, but what could he possibly hope for after that? 

He was the son of a traitor who murdered the previous king and took his position. He was also a murderer, himself, and had killed countless people across the kingdom. Hell, he'd even killed several of Lee Shaan's people, too. Which was why he was still unsure of the man's actual feelings. And honestly, his own were an absolute jumbled mess at the moment, anyways. 

As much as he wanted to abandon his cooking duties and walk right over and wrap both Qi and Zen in his arms, he knew that he couldn't. Thankfully, Zen was able to break Lee Shaan's collar curse with little effort, and the man had relented trying to replace it since he'd told him that Zen would cause no problems as long as he was allowed to remain with Qi, but the fact was that Lee Shaan still had his distance curse on himself and Qi. 

And yet he still thought that I would accept being treated like a concubine? And a chained one, at that? 

Scowling at the struggling fire near his feet, Huang stared into the tiny flames, trying to pull some sort of logic from their flickering depths. 

I've no interest in becoming a chained pet... even though I know that my other options are unlikely to allow me to continue living. 

Could he honestly go back to Lee Shaan's tribe and live quietly, even with the man's protection? 

I'll just have to accept that my life will end after we complete our goal. 

Another rock, this one a little bigger than the last, smacked him in the back of the head, making him glare over his shoulder as Lee Shaan approached with an armload of sticks. He expected the man to chastise him for his way of thinking, since he didn't doubt that he'd picked up what he'd thought since he was already so close, but instead of saying anything, he simply built up the fire with what he'd brought, then settled himself down right next to him.