Underneath the Moonlight

Underneath the moonlight, a lone figure sat in the pavilion of the Ying household.

The man’s long fingers curled around a teacup, picking it up and taking a sip, his eyes closed as if anticipating something.

Soon after, he heard light footsteps approaching from behind.

The guest he was waiting for finally arrived.

“No one appreciates an unpunctual man, didi.” He commented in an airy tone before opening his eyes.

“…No one appreciates a cunning bastard for company, yet here we are.” The man replied, though his voice felt a little off.

Well, Yingfei couldn’t blame him, he had to run a good amount tonight.

He traced the rim of his cup. “Hm, I wouldn’t go as far as to call you that. Instead, your actions exude the air of a simpleton, don’t you think?”

The man behind him scoffed before a bag was tossed onto the wooden table, not too gently. It was only a hair’s width away from his tea set, causing the man to frown. With how much Wu Yingfei was paying him for his services, he would be able to afford the damage fees, yet that didn’t mean he’d like to see his intricate tea cups broken.

He opened the bag and inspected the insides. Once again, the mission was a success.

“Thank you for your service,” he said, like all the other times he called upon the man for a favor. He poured some tea into the other cup, took a pouch out of his sleeves, and placed it on the table.

The man approached the table, but instead of walking into the pavilion, he simply reached over from behind Wu Yingfei and grabbed the pouch. He gave a grunt in response and started to walk away, the other teacup left untouched. Yingfei took a long sip from his cup.

“The smell of blood is quite strong today.”

“....That’s what happens when you get the blood of seven men on you, young master.”

At that, Wu Yingfei’s eyes narrowed. The intel he received was different… was it time to go rat hunting?

While his mind was formulating various plans to catch the traitor amidst his crew, his lips carried on the conversation.

“Ah, no wonder the great Jade Crow received such a grave injury.” He turned around to look at the figure. With the help of the moonlight, he could tell that the other man had a hand pressed to his side and was limping as he continued to walk away.

He sighed as he got up and casually headed toward the other man.

“Though I must say, it’s impressive that you are even still alive. You must’ve been protected by the good deeds you have been committing for the townfolks.” (The “thanks to me” was unsaid but heard by both parties.)

The man clicked his tongue and started walking faster, ignoring the increased pain in his side and legs. Talking to this sly man aggravated his injuries more than his increased movement anyways.  

“How childish of you to use your long legs to compensate for your lack of wits.”

The man huffed. How childish of this gege to provoke him like this. Whatever, he won’t fall for it. They both knew that if he could get away without answering, it would be his victory this round.

Besides, he was in no mood to engage in a dumb argument when his guts were spilling out. He wondered if the doctor would be willing to stitch him up for free this time…

….Pfft, as if.

“Wu Ying.”

His eyebrow twitched. Did this young master think that everyone would simply stop when their name was called? Just like a tamed mutt? Besides, it wasn’t even his real name; it was just a throwaway he used to mock the spoiled man with how similar it was. He continued to walk faster.

“As compensation for the misleading information, I’ll call upon our resident doctor to look at your injury.”

He smirked in response. Oh, he was definitely going to get something in return for this fuck up, but he would be the one to decide what it would be. Not this snake.

He sped up his pace once more, but this time the pain that shot up in his legs brought stars behind his eyelids, causing him to collapse onto the ground with a thud. The sudden movement made him wince and clutch his side harder, unconsciously curling inward a little.

Fuck, as if he would ever do anything for this bastard again…!

Wu Yingfei had the audacity to sigh in disappointment when it was his fault that he-

He felt a soft fabric touch his cheek, wiping gently at the blood smeared there.

He blinked. And blinked again. Wu Yingfei’s face was right in front of him, the moonlight letting Wu Ying see… that the bastard’s face was scrunched up in disgust.

He scowled in response before slapping the man’s hand away. “It’s okay, wouldn’t want to dirty the young master’s clean and pristine clothes, after all.” His lips formed something between a sneer and a smile. This brat never changes.

Wu Yingfei smiled back. “My, how considerate of you.” He dropped the handkerchief onto Wu Ying’s lap and stood up, brushing off invisible dirt from his lap.

Wu Ying picked up the handkerchief and gave it a stink eye… Before sighing and using it to put pressure onto his open wound. Wu Yingfei was a lot of unpleasant things, but being a clean freak was one of the only good traits he had.

With every passing second, he was getting dizzier and dizzier as the blood continued to ooze out. He wasted too much time talking to this man. At this rate, he might not be able to make it to the doctor’s place on his own…

He contemplated his options. Bleeding out on this damn courtyard was definitely not a choice as it could mean that his spirit would be trapped on this obnoxious man’s land forever… And if possible, he didn’t want his last few moments to be him working for this man either… With a grin that resembled a grimace, he forced himself to look up at the other man. (How obnoxious of him to stand all high-and-mighty like this…)

“How about you be considerate towards me and get your doctor for me free of charge?” It was his fault that he wasted so much time here, anyways.

Wu Yingfei stared at him for a long, silent moment before he nodded and smiled down at him.

“Alright, this generous ge can do that for you.”

It was strange that he agreed so quickly, but Wu Ying wasn’t going to complain about it. Still, he couldn’t help but make a remark.

“Would be nice if my ‘generous ge’ could always act like this.”

“What do you mean? I’m always kind like this.”

Wu Ying snorted. “Yeah, sure you are.” To your family and close friends, perhaps. But to the rest of us extendable pawns, you’d sacrifice us all without an ounce of guilt.

Though, he thought as his consciousness started to fade, I’d do the same in a heartbeat.