Chapter Text
The hardest part of selling your body is getting your client to pay attention to you.
More often than not, when men go to brothels, it isn’t to spend time with the beautiful women and alluring youths. Men go to brothels to spend time with each other. Deals are struck. Friends are made. The air of importance and desirability that come from being surrounded by fawning women and boys inflated egos and make fraudsters seem like respectable businessmen.
On an average night, Rong Jiu would find himself draped over a potential client, feeding or pawing at him in a humiliating display of desperation, long before the client would stop talking to his friends, look at him, and decide if he was desirable enough to fuck. But what else was he supposed to do? That was the job, whether he’d chosen it or not.
As frustrating as it was to get that bunch of camels – who talked and drank endlessly, without any hint of thirst — when they did look at you…
He wasn’t even trying much on the night when a bright-eyed young man came into the house’s parlour alone. The boy had the look of someone who wasn’t used to having money and who wanted to indulge. Still, most kids who’d just come of age wouldn’t think they were interested in men yet. So Rong Jiu wrote him off as not an option and continued playing the pipa, caressing it like a lover. The girls could have this pretty young thing.
But when he raised his eyes from the trance his playing put him in, he saw the boy’s eyes trained on his face, ignoring the other beauties.
So it was like that?
Rong Jiu looked the boy over, obviously appraising. As he put his pipa aside and approached him, the boy wouldn’t tear his gaze from Rong Jiu’s eyes. If a pretty boy only a little younger than him wanted him, that was a rare treat. He would enjoy himself.
It was rare that an interested client didn’t look at the swaying of his hips or the way his robes draped off his shoulders. How intriguing.
Two of his coworkers, Nuying-jiejie and Qi’er-jiejie, were on either side of the boy trying to claim his attention – and by extension his coin – with coaxing comments about how surely he’d want to go up with one or both of them.
“Jiejie, this young master has the look of one who would rather eat meat than drink from flowers tonight.” He lilted as he sat down on the young master’s lap. The boy’s lip twitched and Qi’er-jiejie’s smile tightened in annoyance. If Rong Jiu’s intuition was correct, she’d wasted time she could have used on an interested client. Besides, the way Rong Jiu was sprawled put his feet in her face and she was too tired to deal with his theatrics. She left in a huff. Rong Jiu made a note to pay her a favour later. Nuying-jiejie was more curious than annoyed, so she stayed to talk.
“Mo-gongzi was saying he’s just come of age, Jiu’er.”
“What an honour for a strapping young master to choose this house as his treat after his crowning ceremony.” Rong Jiu flattered, sneaking one arm around the boy’s shoulders and the other up his thigh, dangerously close to the boy’s crotch. This ‘Mo-gongzi’ widened his legs just a little in response, making Rong Jiu cling to him more tightly to keep from falling over.
What a little brat! Rong Jiu had three years on him. Where did he get off pretending to be a particularly annoying regular?
“I like flowers too, Jiu’er.” The boy said with a smile on his lips bright enough to make almost anyone forgive his impetuousness. “The flower in front of me, for example…” His voice had that quaver that happened when it had only just stopped breaking and a boy tried to make his tone hold a sexy husk. He touched the corner of Rong Jiu’s eye with a thumb and smudged the red and gold eyeshadow that gave Rong Jiu a perpetually bullied, vulnerable look. “…there’s some very pretty peach blossoms in front of me.”
Rong Jiu giggled behind his sleeve as if he had never been flattered before. Still, he wondered if he simply imagined this feeling that Mo-gongzi was looking at his eyes rather than into them.
“This flower would be all yours for the night if you would pluck it.” Eyes darted to Nuying, still watching in amusement and she passed a jug of wine from where it sat beside them. Rong Jiu poured a cup of wine for Mo-gongzi and when he’d drunk it, another was poured. Rong Jiu took his client’s hand to tip the dish into his own mouth, letting a little drip from his lips.
It was good wine, better than the kind those who worked in the house were given.
He kissed Mo-gongzi. He meant it to be gentle, but this boy kissed like an animal. It was all tongue and desperation, like someone starved.
Ahh, but he is very young… no doubt he’s desperate for all the things his body craves… how lucky for him that he can choose how to practice away his clumsiness.
“Gongzi, please.” Rong Jiu laughed gently against his lips, “We have all night.”
“One night isn’t long enough to waste any of it.” Lips pressing closer, hungry, devouring.
This was going to be a long night.
Rong Jiu tried to gasp for air in a way that wouldn’t break the illusion of delicacy.
“Mo-gongzi, please… You can come back tomorrow and the day after that. I am not going anywhere. I will always be here waiting.” Those eyes filled with a kind of light. Best to chase that light. “Mo-gongzi, you do not need to do anything tonight. Just let me take care of you.” He tucked some of Mo-gongzi’s hair behind his ear and slid the tips of his fingers down under his chin. “I’ll do whatever you’d like. You just need to tell me what name I’m going to be calling out.”
Rong Jiu could feel the boy’s breath hitch. “Mo Ran, my name is Mo Ran. Please, call me A-Ran.”
“Noted, Mo-gongzi, but I’ll save that name for special occasions.”
“Special in what way?” Mo Ran gave him a playful smile. He clearly already knew but just wanted to make Rong Jiu say it.
Rong Jiu’s hand easily snaked its way under Mo Ran’s robes sliding along his skin, under his pants, and teasing at the base of his cock with soft fingertips.
“Come upstairs with me and find out.” He withdrew his hand and stood up, holding his client’s hand in both of his. He pulled the pretty boy along through the stifling, smoky air. There was one thing they had to do first. At the bottom of the stairwell, there was a little shrine to the patron deity of brothels and prostitution. On their first visit, a client had to make an offering at the shrine. Before taking his first client, Rong Jiu had had to make one as well.
Mo Ran hesitated when Rong Jiu handed him the incense. He stared at the tiny statuette’s face like he was looking at someone he knew… no… like he was seeing a threat he’d thought he’d escaped.
This boy was truly too strange. Baimei Shen was no threat to good patrons.
Rong Jiu murmured encouragement in a soothing tone, “Gongzi, the god of this place is kind. He simply asks for respect from those who enter his home.”
A little money, a little incense, a little wine. That was all it took to swear the oath that all who entered the brothel took. To take care of the ones you took to bed so they would keep your secrets in return. Mo Ran gave them all, fingers trembling a little as he did so and recoiling a little too fast when he was done.
“Jiu’er, let’s go. I’m here to see you, not to make offerings…”
“Of course, you can see as much of me as you want when we get upstairs. That was enough.” With that, Rong Jiu led him up the stairs and into a dark room. He stashed his money in a drawer to hide it before lighting a lamp. In the warm light and the distant sounds of merriment, music, and pleasure that were the closest things to silence he could get in this place, he turned back to look at his client.
Mo Ran didn’t look around the room. He kept his eyes trained on Rong Jiu alone. It was a little flattering. Rong Jiu rewarded it with a kiss. Gentle this time, like a dragonfly skimming the waters. He wanted to make sure the strange boy knew how endearing he was. How welcome he was in this place.
Mo Ran kissed harder in return, pushing against Rong Jiu until his back hit the ornate bedframe. The beak of a carved phoenix was poking his ribs.
Pushing back, Rong Jiu managed to turn them around and sit Mo Ran on the side of the bed. “Gongzi, my job is to please you. Let me show you a good time.” He looked the boy up and down. “It’s your first time here, but am I your first?”
“No…”
“Then I will have to make sure I’m your best, Gongzi.” He kept his actions light and gentle, a caricature of unthreatening femininity, as he took off the thin silk belt around his waist and wrapped it around Mo Ran’s wrists. “this is just so you’ll let me spoil you tonight.” He pressed Mo Ran down against the bed as he kissed him.
“But I want to touch you, Jiu’er.” Mo Ran whined.
“You can touch me all you want if you’re good for me first.” He tied the belt around one of the details in the bedframe and leaned down to kiss Mo Ran. Straddling him, Rong Jiu felt completely in control, completely safe. It showed. He did his best work when he was enjoying himself.
He ground down against the strangely large lump in the boy’s pants and his heart jumped into his throat. How big was this kid? He shouldn’t have stopped growing yet. The boy laughed nervously. Rong Jiu had clearly let his surprise be known.
Mo Ran cut off a moan with some concern. “Is something wrong?” Perhaps Mo Ran hadn’t yet grown accustomed to the effect a cock like that would have. Not yet comfortable enough to have grown truly cocky about it. That was cute. Reassuring.
“No. Gongzi seems… bigger than I expected. It isn’t unwelcome.” No word of that was a lie. He’d taken larger than Mo Ran before.
Rong Jiu started untying Mo Ran’s robes, leaving a trail of kisses that wouldn’t leave a mark under his jaw and down his neck, the boy smelled of sunshine and the crispness of mountain air lingered in his hair.
In the dim light of his own prison, Rong Jiu could close his eyes and imagine the freedom of flying through the air, under the sun, over the clouds…
Gods protect him from pretty Daoist boys. He was so weak.
“Like what you see, Jiu’er?”
“I love it.” He whispered as he scattered kisses across the boy’s collarbones. “You’re everything I could expect of the noble gongzi of Sisheng peak. Handsome, strong, exciting. It’s a wonder that you’re paying me any attention at all.”
Skin already covered in scratches and small scars came into his view as he undressed him. This didn’t seem quite right for the skin of a cultivation sect’s second young master. There were lash marks. Some were faded and stretched like he had received them before growing. Some looked as new as a month old. There were long-healed gashes that he would expect of a street rat who had to protect himself, not of the martial artists he tumbled with.
Finally, and with some hesitancy, Rong Jiu slid Mo Ran’s pants off, coming face to face with his cock. His mouth went dry. He’d heard people say that cultivation made things bigger, but holy shit.
No. Put it in perspective. Most false jade pillars were around this size and those weren’t as accommodating as this would be. If he could take the aggression of women using those… he could ride this.
“Something wrong?”
“Just admiring. Mo-gongzi is truly impressive.” He shuffled down the bed and leaned in to bite at the sensitive joint between leg and hip for a moment before he pulled away. “How would you like to begin?” He rubbed one hand against the boy’s cock, pressing it against his cheek – subtly checking to see if he could find any distressing irregularities before offering anything. “I would like to start with my mouth, then take you inside me. I doubt I can last as long as you otherwise.”
“That… that sounds good.” Mo Ran seemed a little overwhelmed. Probably no one who had had him before was bold enough to tie him up and if this was his first time patronizing a brothel, he might be convinced that this was just standard practice.
That was what Rong Jiu told himself as he contemplated taking that length into his mouth. He had more pressing concerns than his client’s stuttering.
He watched Mo Ran’s expression as he licked the length from base to tip, making a show of his lack of hesitation. A young thing like this wouldn’t get hooked into returning with shyness. The flat of his tongue swirling around the head and then licking into the slit in a practiced routine. He wetted it thoroughly before closing his lips around the head and hollowing his cheeks, beginning to slide his lips down to meet the hand slowly working the base.
Without fingers tugging at his hair, threatening to push him down and choke him, as he was used to, he found himself able to be more generous.
He could take a man who had handed over control much deeper into his throat and enjoy the way he felt as he swallowed around him. He hummed as he set a steady pace that let him breathe through his nose as he withdrew to the tip and fully commit to taking his cock when he brought himself down again. He didn’t pay much attention to the nonsense spouting from Mo Ran’s mouth.
Routine. Normal. A pleasant day in this awful job.
He kept up that steady pace until he could taste how close Mo Ran was to release. Then he pulled away, cruelly if you listened to the boy’s whining.
“Mo-gongzi, you have to be patient. I have better things to give you.” He laughed as he reached into a drawer for his oils and poured a generous amount into his hand.
“Want to touch you…” Mo Ran whined. Arching his back futilely as he felt Rong Jiu’s hand stroke him with no pressure. Careful not to get him off too fast. Rong Jiu laughed and straddled his waist, oily hand pressed against his chest and silenced him with a kiss, sharing the taste of Mo Ran’s seed in the slide of tongue on tongue.
“I will let you. You’ve been so good for me. Just be patient a little longer.” Rong Jiu barely let out the words as a sigh, but he could see how weak this boy was to praise and affectionate softness when he looked into his eyes.
He reached back to guide Mo Ran in as he sat down and slowly took him in, one roll of his hips at a time. The stretch burned. He hadn’t had to work himself up to this stage in years. He rarely mentioned it and instead just skipped to the main dish. His clients rarely wanted a reminder that he had been stretched by another man’s cock.
But Mo Ran could definitely see him shiver as he took him deeper and his nails dug into his chest, leaving scratch marks by accident as he tried to control himself until he was fully seated and failed. When he was fully seated, he said nothing, but he threw his head back and moaned. A performance of exquisite pleasure for his client’s eyes and ears that didn’t require the interference of troublesome things like ‘truth.’
He started to move, finding it more and more comfortable as his body adjusted – a lift of his hips, a roll of his spine, a moan that was intentionally oversold for the pleasure of the boy watching him. He smiled down at Mo Ran’s rapt gaze and took pity on him. He felt safe enough with the way he could feel this boy squirming underneath him as he tried to thrust up into his lover, to lean down –nearly letting him slip out – and untied his hands.
“Mo-gongzi, you were such a patient young gentleman. I think I can let you touch me now.”
The moment Mo Ran’s hands were free, he sat up and held Rong Jiu around his narrow waist, his lips going to ravish that taunting swan neck. His words were muffled, but Rong Jiu could feel the base of his voice through his bones. Mo Ran couldn’t even wait until he had stopped eating to talk. It all ran together in a mess of “beautifulhotwarmsoftmore-let me give you more.”
Rong Jiu wrapped his legs around Mo Ran’s strong waist. “Give me as much as you can.” He hinted at what he meant by ‘as much as he could’ by rocking his hips forward and back so Mo Ran could feel the way he was grinding inside Rong Jiu and how good that could be. Mo Ran got the message and crossed his legs to move them both and feel the slow build of their gentle pleasure.
A smile, fingers carefully brushing aside hairs as they both grew flushed and their breathing came out ragged, a palm lingering on Mo Ran’s chest, teeth on the shell of Rong Jiu’s ear.
It was, at the same time, a careful performance and a surprising joy. Rong Jiu loved the feeling of this boy’s attention. It felt good to give it. When he looked into Mo Ran’s eyes, he could see a lovable naivety when he was given affection. What a silly boy. Didn’t he know affection meant nothing in a place like this?
Their sighing and clinging, as Mo Ran rocked into Rong Jiu and Rong Jiu worked his body to tighten around him, reached its height. A soft cry rang out. Come splattered across their chests and smeared by the pretty length trapped between soft, adolescent stomachs.
All the signs that Mo Ran was going to come were there, tense muscles, stuttering movements, a distracted gaze, but Rong Jiu didn’t get off. For once, he didn’t mind that he would have to bathe and get all of this out of himself as soon as the boy was gone. “It’s fine… you… you can let—”
He didn’t finish before he felt the hot rush fill him. But, for once, it wasn’t unwelcome. The adoration in this boy’s eyes, like he had been deprived of all beauty and grace for far too long and only now got to feast on it, reached deep into Rong Jiu, fed some starving part of himself that he refused to acknowledge.
They fell back on the bed, still entwined, Mo Ran laughing as the adrenaline coursed through him, Rong Jiu clinging tight to him and being dragged into the infectious laughter.
For a moment, a boy who traded in smiles could ignore the darkness of his world and enjoy the light in this boy’s eyes.
He pecked his client on the cheek. “That felt amazing. Mo-gongzi must be some sort of prodigy. You’ll ruin me for other men if you keep going like that.”
“Jiu’er, you… you look so beautiful when you’ve just come. For a moment, you relax and it’s like you’ve fallen asleep in my arms.” Mo Ran whispered against Rong Jiu’s neck. Still with that fake husky tone. Rong Jiu would have laughed if this boy wasn’t paying him.
“Oh? Does Mo-gongzi want the comfort of sleeping beside me?” He said gently.
“Maybe... or... Jiu’er...you’ll be so sweet when you sleep it’ll make me want you all the more.”
That made Rong Jiu pause. A sudden sharpness rose in his voice and was quickly stifled. “You want to touch me when I’m asleep?”
“Perhaps… How much would you charge to let me do that?”
“That isn’t something I can just sell… If I don’t fully trust you, your touches will wake me up.” He couldn’t make eye contact. Other men had tried. If he let his thoughts wander, he could still feel the terror of being touched while sleep paralyzed his body.
“Could I prove myself trustworthy enough for you?” Rong Jiu touched Mo Ran’s lips in the dim light, feeling the way they were quirked up at the corners. He couldn’t tell if that meant that he was joking or if he was plotting something. Oh well, he could milk a few more good-paying nights out of that desire.
“We shall see. You will have to work up to it.”