A Grave Mistake

Nikaido had escaped.

He’d made a run for it during the night, killed the guards and scaled the courtyard walls. A Japanese accomplice rendezvoused with him outside, and they raced off to Tientsin without a backward glance.

It was already early morning when the news reached Commander Ho. Dawn had barely arrived. He didn’t panic, and switched on the lights as he rose lazily out of bed. After he’d washed up and gotten changed, he sat down at his desk and retrieved three Browning pistols out of the drawer unhurriedly, checking each of their clips before he opened his jacket and arranged the pistols carefully next to his body.

He had returned to living alone instead of messing around with Bai. It wasn’t that he hated Bai that much—the hate was there, but it didn’t abate his love. Fueled by the combined passion of love and hate, he gave Bai a very thorough tongue-lashing a few days ago, then walked off and never returned.

Hsiao-Shun emptied the bucket of leftover water outside and went back to the outer room, where he waited to be called upon in silence. Without anyone’s notice, he had gorged himself into a tall young man. If his previous lankiness had made him look frail, his frailty was now replaced by the swell of youthful flesh.

In his tan adjutant uniform, he looked very handsome. Since he had a round-faced and wide-eyed look, his handsomeness had a “charmed[1]” boyish quality. There was a small issue though—he had a slight stoop. He slumped all the time as if he couldn’t keep his head up.

They all thought he resembled Commander Ho—in disposition, not in features. He was sombre, slow, and dull, unapproachable like a temple statue on a rainy day. He was now considered an adjutant by rank, yet from his equal-ranked colleagues to the orderlies underneath, nobody feared him. They didn’t fear him, but didn’t goad or tease him either, since he was still Commander Ho’s man and wasn’t to be antagonized.

Commander Ho also thought he’d grown up to fast. It would no longer do to have him sleep on the floor, so he had a bed set up for him outside his main bedroom. Lying in bed, he still couldn’t unfold his body, and he curled up into a ball like an animal in its winter hibernation. Whenever Commander Ho called out “Hsiao-Shun!” in his bedroom, he’d jolt upright and answer “Ch’i-yeh!” before he opened his eyes.

- : -

“Hsiao-Shun,” Commander Ho’s voice drifted out of his bedroom.

He went up and opened the door nimbly.

“Go give the Adjutant Department a call. Let the regiments know that there will be a meeting this morning.”

“Yes.”

After daybreak, Commander Ho rode his car to the main camp and gave the following speech in front of his officers:

“The Japs among us ran off last night. Now that they’ve fled, they’ll no doubt bad-mouth us back at the Kwantung HQ! There will only be two possible outcomes. One: the Japanese will deploy their troops and attack us. Two: the Japanese will make us risk our necks fighting for them, and we’ll still be the ones to die, all without a single gain. Since we aren’t getting anywhere working under the Japanese, we might as well keep this area under firm control. If anyone dares to come in, we shoot them dead! The Japanese are busy fighting in Ji-An right now. Since we’re technically Manchukuo troops and keep out of their way, it’s unlikely that they’ll have the manpower to strike us anytime soon, regardless of whatever drivel Nikaido spouts at them. Besides, Jehol is a rich land. We’ve got mines, farmlands, forests… We can earn thousands just by kidnapping a mine owner, and we even have opium fields. It’s like paradise on earth! All the wealth and resources here belong to the Chinese, belong to us. Why should we let the Japs rob them away? Not only will we stop them, we’ll stamp out that thought for them! From now on, we’ll operate under the following principle: if the Japanese dare to provoke us, we’ll beat them to death, we’ll beat them all the way back to their grandmother’s!”

“Alright, that was one thing. There’s another: that Anti-Japanese Resistance Alliance keeps on fucking raiding us! An Anti-Japanese Resistance doesn’t go resist the Japanese and resists us instead. What’s that all about? I’ll send them a message and let them know that the Garrison Army has severed all its ties with the Japanese. The Japanese are in Ji-An. Let them go resist them there! If they don’t head off after they’ve received the message and continue to harass us here, then we won’t need to be polite! I know the commander of the Resistance Army. It’s that Chao Chen-Sheng from Hsian. Don’t be afraid of him, I know him very well. He’s a real son of a bitch, one old bastard!”

Commander Ho’s speech ended there. The colonels in attendance expressed their admiration and praised Commander Ho’s sensibility. To further exploit his victory, Commander Ho added: “Gentlemen, even though I am young, I have traversed the country over the years and can claim some knowledge and experience. Jehol truly is a great place—it doesn’t get any better than this! We must take advantage of this opportunity and cash in, so even if circumstances change in the future, we can simply run off with our savings and hide away in the foreign concessions in Tientsin or Shanghai! We’d still be able to enjoy our retirement in comfort!”

Under Commander Ho’s guidance, the colonels envisioned their wonderful prospects and broke into radiant smiles. They clenched their fists and rubbed their palms, wishing they could lead their troops out and sack the entire country in an instant.

- : -

The main purpose of Commander Ho’s meeting was to bolster his men’s morale, though he didn’t expect to bolster his own along with it. He sat in the car feeling elated with excitement, and decided to put down his grudge and pay a visit to his little uncle.

A bag of biscuits in hand, he entered the room ebulliently. “Little Uncle, I’m here.”

Bai Su-Ch'en sat at a desk by the window with a tattered novel. His bedchambers had been moved to a different room, since it was now warm enough to sleep without the heated brick bed. At Commander Ho’s entrance, he glanced up at him and gave a hesitant nod.

Commander Ho placed the bag of biscuits on the desk and pinched Bai’s face with a freezing hand. “You haven’t seen me all these days. Have you missed me?”

Bai shook his head. “Why should I miss you?”

Commander Ho pulled over a chair and sat down next to him. “Because I’m the scoundrel that does nothing but bully Little Uncle!” He wrapped an arm around the other man’s shoulder and lowered his voice. “I won’t leave tonight. Why don’t you show your nephew a bit of love?”

Bai flinched. He continued flipping through his book wordlessly.

Commander Ho leaned into Bai and pressed his face close to him. He breathed in his scent and left soft kisses on his cheek. “Little Uncle,” he murmured. “You’re like cotton candy, all sweet and soft. Let me eat you, hmm?”

Bai sat perfectly straight and turned another page.

Commander Ho placed a hand on the book. “Stop reading. You’re knowledgeable enough.”

He couldn’t play deaf any longer. He turned around to face Commander Ho and forced down his fear and anger: “What do you want now?”

Commander Ho stared into his eyes with his head cocked to one side. The hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his lips. “Little Uncle, you’re playing dumb again.”

Once he’d reached the breaking point, Bai appeared to calm. He gave a sudden sneer: “Little Ch’i-Bao, do you really want me to screw you that badly?”

Commander Ho paused for a moment, then fell against Bai’s shoulder laughing. “Little Uncle…” he said brokenly between laughs. “Screw me? …You’d screw me? You’ve got quite the nerve!”

Bai’s embarrassment grew into anger at Commander Ho’s gibe. He shoved Commander Ho away and stood up, pointing at the bed. “Go laugh in bed! I’ve indeed got the nerve! What of it?”

Commander Ho stood as well. “In a rush? Don’t be. Little Uncle, I’m serious about you. Don’t be ungrateful,” he said and began to remove his clothes methodically.

His attire was quite complicated. Once he’d removed his coat, he had to take off his jacket, and once he’d done that, he then had to unequip the three Brownings before he could proceed to his shirt, trousers, shoes, and socks.

After he’d removed the pistols, he fished out a small paper packet from his pocket and dumped its contents into his mouth, washing down the bit of yellow powder with a gulp of water. One of his underlines had given it to him with a smirk and assured him that with the help of the drug, any woman could be tamed.

Bai stood next to the bed and watched him dispassionately. “What are you up to now?”

Commander Ho smiled wickedly. “It’s for your own good.”

- : -

Since Bai didn’t show any firm objection this time—perhaps he didn’t dare to—Commander Ho felt daring enough to strip himself naked again. He kneeled on the bed and dragged Bai into it.

A half-naked Bai lay pinned under Commander Ho, who felt abnormally warm. He was kissing Bai on the mouth, and Bai could detect an unsteadiness in his breaths. He was becoming suspicious when Commander Ho’s head suddenly drooped to his shoulder, and the hands exploring his body grew limp.

He had never seen anything like this before and paused in bewilderment. “What happened?”

Commander Ho gave a small grunt, but seemed unable to reply.

Bai pushed him off. He sat up and patted him on the chest. “Ch’i-Bao! What’s happening to you?”

Commander Ho lay on his side, his face flushed and his eyes half open. He appeared to be still conscious, though his lips moved and he could only produce a whimper.

Bai had an idea. “What did you swallow just then?”

Commander Ho mouthed a silent word: “Drugs.”

“Aphrodisiacs?”

Commander Ho blinked.

Bai fell silent for a long moment, then struck the bed and howled with laughter.

His laugher was sudden and persistent. Bai laughed for nearly three whole minutes and finally quieted down. Still short of breath, he lowered his head and spoke into Commander Ho’s ear: “Silly boy, those drugs are for women! When newcomers at brothels get uncooperative, they’d be given the drug and lose all control of their bodies. They’d be rendered helpless against anyone who took them and could only watch as they were defiled. Where did you get such a thing? No wonder you said it’s for my own good,” he laughed. “It really is for my good.”

Commander Ho frowned. One of his hands rose halfway and fell back heavily.

Bai shifted to the side as his eyes traveled down from Commander Ho’s face. “Since Little Ch’i-Bao is so eager, it would be very impolite of me to decline!”

- : -

Bai never took an interest in men, but Commander Ho had pushed him too far. Now that he was lying right in front of him fully nude, all pink and pale, Bai was willing to rise to the task and exact a bit of revenge on his monster of a nephew.

Removing only his trousers, he flipped Commander Ho on his stomach and stacked two pillows under his belly. Commander Ho had a full, rounded bottom, and now it stuck out even more in its elevated position. Sunlight streamed through the window, and his skin, supple and smooth, seemed almost light enough to glow.

Bai gave his ass a violent slap. The ample flesh trembled with a crisp crack. He parted Commander Ho’s thighs and saw that his entrance was pink and tight, so he gave it a jab with his finger. “Since you like men so much, this must’ve been used already. But maybe not. Like you said, who’d have dared to use you?”

He pushed his finger a bit harder. The opening was tight and dry, so he got off the bed and found a cup of water, which he dribbled between the other man’s thighs. Using the water as lubrication, he pushed his finger inside Commander Ho and found it warm, firm, and tender. He imagined that it would still be pleasurable to fuck him for real.

He put down the cup and kneeled behind Commander Ho, his hands clasped around his waist. He pushed his now erect member against the entrance but wasn’t in a hurry to enter, and teased and prodded him outside. Once he had terrified the other man enough, he finally drove forward and rammed nearly half of his manhood inside.

Commander Ho gave a small grunt but showed no other response. Bai withdrew a bit as if he was about to pull out, yet at the last moment, he sank back in and with a couple of thrusts, buried the entire shaft in the other man’s body.

He loosened his grip and let out a long sigh. “Little Ch’i-Bao, you were always nagging me to give you love. Now that I’ve given you pain[2], is everything to your satisfaction?”

Commander Ho, of course, provided no answer.

The faint pleasure of revenge began to rise inside Bai. He renewed his grip on Commander Ho’s waist and resumed his movements with all his strength. If his member was a blade, Commander Ho’s insides would’ve been crushed into a mash of flesh and blood.

For a while he continued his frenzied thrusts. Commander Ho’s insides seemed to slicken gradually, almost like it was growing moist, and its walls began to somewhat relax and tighten around him. He pulled out and saw that the once closed-off entrance now gaped wide open and revealed a bit of the pink interior. The sight seemed startle him. He hurried back up and aligned himself, and without any difficulty, he rammed all the way in and carried on thrusting.

- : -

At noon, Commander Ho had come to amuse himself with a bag of biscuits.

When the sun was about to set in the evening, he regained control of his body.

He was full of Bai’s ejaculation. When he pushed himself up on his arms, some of the thick fluid clung between his legs and on his inner thighs.

Bai sat next to the window, his back turned to Commander Ho. He flipped through his battered book under the dimming daylight.

Commander Ho crawled to the foot of the bed. Forcing down his discomfort, he slowly put on his shirt and trousers.

“Little Uncle,” he began softly, his voice airy like an apparition’s. “Am I very stupid?”

Bai didn’t turn around. “Yes,” he answered coolly.

“Pathetic, am I not?”

“Yes.”

Commander Ho dug out a pistol under the pile of clothes. With a tight grip, he aimed it at the back of Bai’s head and pulled the trigger wordlessly.

- : -

Bai died a clean death. It could be said that it was completely painless.

His head burst open in an instant, his brains splattering everywhere. His body remained seated at the desk and his hands still held the book. Even without a head, he still wanted to continue reading, oblivious and ignorant.

A whole minute when by. When the guards rushed into the room, he finally slumped to the ground, resigning himself to his fate and submitting to death.

Commander Ho gave his orders expressionlessly: “Drag him out and bury him. Keep quiet.”

The guards brought Bai’s body away. Commander Ho dressed himself and followed them out.

He made his way slowly through the courtyard. With the tremble of his footsteps, Bai’s seed dripped down his thighs. It was warm, full of his and his body heat.

The setting sun shone like blood in the distance, its glow more brilliant than Bai Su-Ch’en’s brains.

[1] This has to do with face reading. I think.

[2]疼is short for 疼爱 which means “to love” or “to dote on”. The word 疼 itself also means “pain”, “ache”, “to hurt”, etc.… It does make an odd sort of sense, now that I think about it.