The fox doesn't feel pain

Qin Yaozu let out a sigh at Luo An's requested but agreed. "Fine. If you win, I'll lion dance with you again, but now go to sleep so your leg heal faster." Luo An let out a chuckle. "I can fight you right now if you want. I don't feel any pain so it won't make a difference." 

 "No matter if it hurts or not, your leg can still get worse from moving it too much and it may give out during the fight, giving me an advantage. I refuse to accept a victory like that and I do not want to wait longer than I have to just because you're reckless." He left Luo An in shock. "Most people would rather fight with me when they have the upper hand, why don't you?" Qin Yaozu frowned at the question, thinking it absurd. "I'm a man with honor. Winning against an injured person is shameless and unfair. I would never commit such a shameless act." Luo An sighed in response and laid down on his back. "If that's how you want it, then it'll be just like that. Once I heal we will fight. No sooner, no later. Is that what you want?" He turned to Qin Yaozu at the last sentence and received a nod in affirmation. "Will you stay with me until then? I bet you have some important things to do."

 "There's nothing more important than this. I will watch over you and make sure you don't back out. That's the least I can do to get a revenge on the behalf of my shidis." Luo An shook his head. "You will dirty your hands because of those two? It's dumb." Those words enraged Qin Yaozu but he remained calm. "Maybe to a beast like you. Damn rabid fox.." Luo An went quiet, not answering after that. He just took the mask off of his face, set it down on the table and turned to face the wall, mumbling a quiet 'good night'. Qin Yaozu got shocked by his reaction. Luo An acted cocky and confident the whole time they were interacting so this reaction was unexpected. After everything he heard about him and the times they've met, he thought he'd either get spat back at or beaten but Luo An turned around and went to sleep just like that without arguing back.

 Qin Yaozu stared at the other with wide opened eyes, completely speechless. Was there even anything he could say in this situation? They weren't familiar enough that he could shamelessly ask what's his deal or if he hurt him. 

 Hurt...

 Did he hurt hurt him? What did he say to achieve that? Was it the because of what he called him? He must've heard that a thousand times already! Yet it still visibly upset him.. 

The sun rose high into the sky. Qin Yaozu slept on the floor that night, leaving the whole bed to Luo An. Even though there was enough space for both of them, it didn't feel right as they were still pretty much strangers and because of what happened, even if they weren't Qin Yaozu wouldn't be able to gather enough courage to lay down next to him. 

 Qin Yaozu sat up, immediately looking towards the bed to see Luo An still sleeping on it. He got up and headed down the stairs, bringing back breakfast for both of them, setting one serving down at a table next to the bed and eating the other one. Meanwhile, Luo An stirred awake, sitting up, still not fully awake. He let out a yawn as his eyes landed on the food on the table and then on Qin Yaozu. He blinked his eyes fully open and only then was he sure that he still wasn't dreaming. Qin Yaozu was watching him the whole time, his eyes sharp as a hawk watching a little mouse. "I went downstairs to get breakfast and paid for another week so you can heal. Eat it all up." Luo An couldn't help but smile as he grabbed the meal and ate it. "I heard there's a hot spring nearby. I wanted to go there so I'd like to ask if you'll come with me. It's good for relaxation and I kind of didn't take a bath in the last few days." Upon seeing Qin Yaozu's uninterested expression, Luo An quickly added: "It could also make the recovery faster!" Qin Yaozu let out a sigh. "Fine. We'll go there after you finish eating." 

 Luo An quickly showed the last few bites into his mouth and jumped up only to fall over. Qin Yaozu shook his head and walked over to help him, picking him up into his arms. "Like I said yesterday, you may not feel it, but your leg can give out." Luo An wrapped his arms around Qin Yaozu's neck and laughed. "Maybe you were right, but at least I get to be carried by gege." Qin Yaozu's ears turned red and he avoided his gaze which made Luo An smirk at him. "What are you waiting for? Come on! Time to go to the hot spring!" 

 Qin Yaozu walked out the room and headed to the hot spring while being navigated. The location was pretty isolated and nobody could be seen nearby. Qin Yaozu set Luo An down near the water and let him get undressed and crawl in while looking away. "How did you know about this place? I went to the capital often but never heard of it." Luo An finally sunk into the water and let his head fall a little back while closing his eyes. "I used to go here with my mother. She loved it here especially because nobody came here and she could relax for hours. I just came along when I wasn't independent yet and stopped coming when I was able to sit still and not break anything or get killed," he laughed. Qin Yaozu raised an eyebrow and sat down next to the water, pushing down all the shame. "Can you tell me more about you?" Luo An's eyes opened and he let out a chuckle. "I don't even know your name." Qin Yaozu let out an 'oh' and cleared his throat. "My surname is Qin."

 "What about given or courtesy name?"

 "Yaozu."

 Luo An smile. "Qin Yaozu, huh? Now that we know each other's names, we aren't strangers anymore. Guess I could tell you a bit about myself." 

Luo An grew up in a broken down household with his mother and no father he knew about. Ever since his birth, his mother disliked him as he was different from others as he couldn't feel any pain and never showed any emotions. She dragged him around everywhere while he was still young and couldn't take care of himself because she feared he'd break something or give her more work to do when she returned. When he turned 5 she started to leave him at home all alone for hours at a time, giving him a beating when returning home. Even after all these years, he still didn't show a single sign of feeling pain or any emotions. She'd spend long time, beating, stabbing and throwing the little child around until he laid on the ground, unable to get up, his face bloody. Only then did she stop as she didn't want to deal with dragging his corpse outside and ruining her reputation because of it. 

 You're so useless! If you weren't such a failure, maybe your father would've stayed or at least taken you with him! 

 Even after everything that happened, Luo An didn't feel wronged at all. He cared about his mother dearly and never complained to her about anything. All the beating was taken as a desperate attempt to get him to feel something, which Luo An thought of as his mother trying to help him. Every single insult was seen the same way. No matter what, Luo An was always grateful to his mother and never would he ever think that she didn't care about him. 

 When his mother died, he buried her body in the forest, leaving flowers on top of her grave. She was the only thing he ever had so after she was gone, he was lost. He was only 11 at that point and didn't have a single idea on what to do. 

"After that, I wandered the streets for a few years until I was taken in by the emperor, you probably know as much by now." Qin Yaozu listened carefully to every word, his jaw almost dropping.

 This explained all the scars...

 He stared at Luo An for a while before nodding in acknowledgement. "You still don't feel pain, right? How about emotions? You seem pretty lively." Luo An smiled at him before responding. "I still don't feel any emotions either but I learned how to fake it." 

 "Why is that?"

 "The late emperor insisted on it. Even though I was just his concubine, he still didn't want anyone to think that I'm a freak." Luo An pulled himself up and got out of the water, sitting at the edge with his feet still in the water. "Don't you think I am one?" Qin Yaozu was taken aback by such question and shook his head. "You may be a criminal but definitely not a freak." Luo An looked up at Qin Yaozu, still wearing the same smile as he did before. "Thank you." 

 Qin Yaozu blushed more than ever before. Even though he had no feelings towards Luo An, he still couldn't help the red flush on his ears and now even cheeks. The way he smiled was just something that he has never seen before. Even though he now knew it was fake, it still seemed too genuine. He turned his head away and mumbled under his breath. "No need to thank me because of that."

 Luo An moved closer to him and put his hand over the other's. "What's wrong, gege? Are you turning into a tomato?" Qin Yaozu turned his head back. I'm not! And why do you keep calling me 'gege'?! You're so shameless-" After turning, his gaze shot right into Luo An's eyes but soon it lowered and Qin Yaozu realized that Luo An still didn't get dressed. He immediately jumped up and backed away. "Get dressed already, will you?!" His face got completely red, making him turn around and stare into a tree. Luo An found this reaction entertaining, but decided to use the last bit of self control and got dressed instead of continuing to tease the other. 

 "You can look now, don't worry. Let's get back, shall we?"