FRGNM -Chapter 139 A Taste for Men

At this, the silver wolf paused slightly before continuing: “Good thing you didn’t eat. Human meat smells the best, and the texture when chewed is much better than beast meat. Especially women—the flesh is fresh, juicy, and tender. But I’m still curious: you forbid me from eating humans, so I don’t. Yet why do humans kill each other and eat your own kind? One of my old fathers once told me that once someone tastes human flesh, they never want any other kind of meat. The taste… is too exquisite.”

“You’ve said enough! You’ve eaten it already, why are you still talking about it?!” Ling Ruoxi nearly vomited. She knew all too well what human flesh tasted like. Back then, in those harsh conditions, she had watched her teammates eat other people’s corpses. She remembered that taste vividly. She had almost starved to death and survived only by chewing tree bark.

The silver wolf patted his chest and shrugged helplessly. “No, I didn’t actually eat it. I swallowed it whole, wrapped in my Dou Qi, stored in my stomach, and just took it out now. I have a cleanliness obsession—I won’t eat dirty things. Disgusting…”

“…You could not have sounded any grosser!” Ling Ruoxi nearly kicked him out on the spot. Seriously, when is this the time to joke around?

Opening the map, Ling Ruoxi scanned the endless mountain ranges, placing a finger on the last ridge. “The Dongdu Kingdom is a country connected by nine mountain ranges. The royal city sits on the final range, and beyond that is the Eastern Sea. So the Dongdu Royal City… is a coastal city.”

She couldn’t understand why the king chose a city by the sea. Didn’t he know that if a rebellion broke out in the Eastern Sea, foreign nations would attack immediately? With the royal city on the outskirts, a rebellion could easily succeed, and if the city fell, the Dongdu Kingdom would collapse.

As it turned out, Ling Ruoxi had worried too much.

The wooden boards posted with notices sought handsome men from across the land to enter the royal city, escorted by special caravans. The two who had just entered the city were the first to be noticed.

“You, move!” A man in armor grunted, lifting Ling Ruoxi and the silver wolf without a word, heading toward another group.

Huh? What’s happening? Ling Ruoxi and the silver wolf had no idea. Only when they got closer did they see that the carriage was filled with handsome men. They weren’t as outstanding as Ling Ruoxi or the silver wolf, but each was still considered good-looking.

“Brother, what’s going on? Why are we being taken?” The silver wolf squished forward, pressed in the tiny space of the carriage that held ten men—it felt like he was being mashed into a meat patty.

The man crouching inside lowered his head, sighing helplessly. “We’ve heard the king is gravely ill and requires handsome men as tribute—three hundred sixty-five in total. That’s why we’re being taken to the royal city.”

“To… do what, ravish him?” Ling Ruoxi’s heart sank. The Dongdu King was already so strange, and now he needed three hundred sixty-five handsome men?

The crouching man chuckled softly. “I don’t know the exact details. But the king is always eccentric; he wouldn’t toy with us for no reason. We’ll go with the army and see for ourselves.”

“You trust him that much?” Ling Ruoxi raised an eyebrow. The man in front immediately stepped back, almost squatting on her lap.

She barely avoided sitting on the silver wolf’s legs. “Even if he’s inviting us, shouldn’t we take another carriage? This is—”

The carriage jolted suddenly, and Ling Ruoxi lost balance, landing squarely on the silver wolf’s lap.

The unlucky silver wolf pressed back against the wooden wall, wrapping his arms around her waist, their backs pressed together. “Whoa, Ruoxi! Slow down! You’re going to break my old back!”

“You’re a man… a strong man. I’m so fragile; you should at least yield to me!” Ling Ruoxi nearly revealed her identity, but twisted her words and elbowed him hard in the side, forcing a grim smile.

The crouching man glanced at her and nodded. “Indeed, your body is too weak. I hope the king has no particular… tastes. Otherwise, you’d be in trouble…”

The carriage, traveling at an unknown shortcut, reached its destination in nearly five days instead of a month. Ling Ruoxi would always pull the silver wolf along for safety, otherwise her identity might be exposed.

The silver wolf had no objections, though whenever he tried to sneak a glance, Ling Ruoxi would fire hidden weapons, nearly blinding him. Every time he refused, she forced him along.

The man guiding them was Liu Xin. Thanks to his explanations, Ling Ruoxi learned just how bizarre the Dongdu King was.

He had once liked a woman, disguised himself as a woman to approach her, and failed because he didn’t account for male and female differences. His first love was gone.

Even stranger, the king often performed “double acts” in his palace—switching genders for amusement. One visiting prince wanted to marry the Dongdu princess, only to face the king’s antics.

And now… the king had a taste for beautiful men. Selecting three hundred sixty-five handsome men for the palace was apparently so he could favor one each day.

“Can he be any more ridiculous?” Ling Ruoxi thought. Ignoring governance, leaving it to ministers, living only for pleasure… yet the kingdom wasn’t destroyed.

“They’re here!” The soldiers outside grunted, opening the iron cages. The captives slowly disembarked but were blindfolded immediately.

Even Ling Ruoxi was blindfolded, unable to tell north from south. Pulled along by a rope, she followed the army forward. This felt like being led to the execution grounds.

She sniffed a faint fragrance, wondering if it was already nighttime.

“Your Majesty, the three hundred sixty-five handsome men are brought here,” a cold voice echoed in the spacious room.

Kneeling, Ling Ruoxi frowned and tapped the silver wolf. “Where are we?”

“Where else? That pent-up aura… this has to be his bedchamber.” Even blindfolded, the silver wolf sensed his surroundings.

A red-robed figure walked forward, seated on the dragon throne, raising an eyebrow at the kneeling figures. His gaze moved to the silver wolf’s white hair, a smile playing on his lips. “Release them. Let them see where they are.”

The ropes were loosened. Ling Ruoxi pulled down her blindfold and gasped. The palace before her was indeed the Dongdu King’s bedchamber.

The massive hall—at least three hundred square meters—contained a bath, beds, beautiful jade ornaments, and walls adorned with explicit images of nude women.

“Pfft!” Liu Xin’s nose bled, his face red. The king’s eccentricity was one thing, but this…

“Doesn’t seem like a good man,” the silver wolf whispered. He cared only about his mate. The nude images were just paper to him. Unless Ling Ruoxi stripped in front of him, he wouldn’t waste energy.

Clapping his hands, the figure on the throne smiled wickedly. Soldiers outside hurried to prepare the captives.

The man on the bed, wearing revealing clothing, had skin whiter than a woman’s, lying provocatively on the white jade bed, holding a flower. If it were a woman, many would blush—but this was a man. The gesture was repulsive.

The doors closed. The king spoke lightly: “I desire men. If you satisfy me, you’ll stay with me, enjoying endless wealth and pleasure. You may marry your beloved; that doesn’t concern me. What you must do now is strip. If your body pleases me, you stay.”

Damn it! Ling Ruoxi wanted to strike him. What a preference… and she was female. Stripping would expose her.

Even the silver wolf raised an eyebrow. “Ruoxi, this guy’s brain is broken. Why men? A man is all stiff. Girls are soft and fragrant… like roasted meat.”

“Get lost!” Ling Ruoxi nearly kicked him for that comparison.

The high-ranking man laughed. “I’ll grant whatever conditions please me. I won’t force you. Those who want to leave, leave. Those who stay, stay.”

The timid men hurried out. Some men stayed, unclothed, standing exposed.

Ling Ruoxi almost choked seeing Liu Xin stripped.

“See no evil. You taught me that. Even as a doctor, I can’t look at a man like this.” She nodded at the silver wolf, who shielded her from the naked men.