Escape From the Asylum Ch161

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 161

Not long ago, Yin Jiujiu and Yun Xiangrong arrived at the Ancient Coin Museum and made the acquaintance of three other players.

The five of them picked up a set of indigo wristbands, strapped them on, and began exploring the museum together.

Those three had only just been promoted to S-rank. They knew no god-level players and were keenly aware of their own mediocrity, so when they came to Blue Harbor City, they never dreamed of being chosen as someone’s Shepherd.

They had merely heard that the shops and auction houses here often stocked extremely useful items and wanted to try their luck—and, if they happened to run into a reliable legion, perhaps join it.

In that context, Yun Xiangrong and Yin Jiujiu counted as “veterans”. The trio listened to the two women and the five of them got along pleasantly while exploring.

But just then, the unexpected happened—

The moment they stepped out of the museum they were greeted by the dark muzzles of two pistols.

The guns were held by two men: one about forty, the other in his early twenties. Both wore identical green wristbands.

A quick glance at the system panel told Yin Jiujiu they belonged to the Peach Blossom Legion.

The older one was Zhang Datie, the younger Shan Sheng.

Instinctively edging closer to Yun Xiangrong, Yin Jiujiu was about to whisper, “What do we do?” when she saw Shan Sheng smile at Yun Xiangrong and beckon. “Come here.”

Only then did Yin Jiujiu realize—Yun Xiangrong was a member of Peach Blossom.

She remembered it vividly: at the end of the previous instance, while the two Triune powerhouses were fighting as heaven and earth went dark, Yun Xiangrong had kept hauling her back from death—more than once she’d nearly been swept away by tidal waves or torn off by the gale, and every time Yun Xiangrong had clung to her.

Their friendship was short-lived but forged in life-and-death. Yin Jiujiu simply couldn’t bring herself to treat her as an enemy.

Yet Yun Xiangrong strolled over to Shan Sheng and calmly swapped her indigo band for the green one he handed her.

Although Shan Sheng was younger than Zhang Datie, he obviously outranked him: he could order Zhang Datie, and now Yun Xiangrong as well.

He pulled another gun from his pack and passed it to Yun Xiangrong. “You and Lao Zhang bring those four into our faction and make them collect clues for us. If anyone refuses, shoot one—make an example. I have to check the next street. This area’s yours.”

Yun Xiangrong accepted the weapon as naturally as breathing. After watching Shan Sheng’s departing back for a moment, she turned and leveled her gun at Yin Jiujiu and the others.

The three players who had explored with her were stupefied. Yin Jiujiu herself could scarcely believe it.

A stand-off formed—just as Gao Shan with the little dragon, came upon the scene.

“Jiujiu, try to understand. I was with Peach Blossom all along. Any clues we dug up together were always going to be reported back to the legion. We can still explore as a team. You’ll just wear green wristbands now—there’s really no difference, right?”

Yun Xiangrong’s face was expressionless as she met Yin Jiujiu’s eyes. “If you want to blame someone, blame the instance for blocking team chat. If I’d told Captain Shan earlier that you’d already agreed to explore with me, we wouldn’t need guns to ‘persuade’ you. We’re friends—sorry if I frightened you.”

“No difference? How could that possibly be the same?” Yin Jiujiu said. “Look, maybe I’m stubborn, but tell me this: the moment the system announces how many survivors are allowed at the end, what will your legion do with us?”

Yun Xiangrong only said, “You really are stubborn. If we truly meant to kill you, why force you to change bands? People wearing the same color can’t kill each other—remember?

“Besides, we brought a huge force this time. Do you honestly think we’d sacrifice a stack of members and start friendly-fire just to kill one Zhou Qian?”

The logic sounded impeccable—but Yin Jiujiu’s instincts screamed not to trust Peach Blossom and she was absolutely unwilling to follow Yun Xiangrong.

“Enough. I won’t listen.” She turned to the three newcomers. “Maybe you’ve heard of the Peach Blossom Legion—it’s pure evil. We can’t trust them. If—”

A sudden thought struck her; she spoke faster. “If they really meant well, why point guns at us from the start?”

“Weapons are everything here. Peach Blossom came in with advance intel, swept up most of the city’s guns. You’re unarmed. You have to obey.”

Yun Xiangrong became a bit impatient. “Don’t blame me for turning against you for not listening to me. Fifty seconds left—must I shoot someone at random to make you comply?”

Her muzzle stayed on Yin Jiujiu, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed a shadowy something hovered in front of one of the players—then vanished.

Still blank-faced, she said, “Yin Jiujiu, you pulled me out of the sea at the last second in the previous instance. I won’t kill you. But the three behind you are none of my concern.”

Hearing this, the faces of the three freshly minted S-ranks went white.

Without warning Yun Xiangrong swung her gun aside and actually fired.

The bullet hissed toward its target. The man she’d aimed at felt his pupils shrink to slits—I’m dead.

He dove, knowing it was useless. No one outran a bullet with skills disabled. Yet he wasn’t hit.

Zhang Datie was equally stunned. He trusted Yun Xiangrong’s steadiness. He’d practically been nodding off when she pulled the trigger. How could she miss?

In this instance bullets enjoyed the highest “judgment” rating—99% tracking accuracy. That S-ranker should never have dodged.

What was going on?

Only then did Zhang Datie notice a misty form before the doomed player—a shadow… or a soul?

Zhang Datie felt that word suddenly popped into his mind but felt it was unbelievable.

Blue Harbor was never supposed to spawn spirits—

Then he remembered HQ’s warning: their main enemy here was Zhou Qian, whose weapon could extract and cultivate souls.

Could that be Zhou Qian’s bone spirit? 

Yun Xiangrong thought she’d aimed at a player, but the spirit blocked the shot—and bullets couldn’t hurt it.

And that bone spirit was none other than her boyfriend, Gao Shan.

So what exactly was he seeing?

Wide awake now, Zhang Datie tightened his grip on his gun and kept an eye on Yun Xiangrong.

What happened next both surprised him and, on reflection, made perfect sense—

The usually icy Yun Xiangrong lost control. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her arms shook.

“Shan Ge…” Her voice became horse, and she trembled when she spoke. “You’re… blocking me? Why?”

Gao Shan’s translucent face looked stricken. “Rong Mei, listen to me—”

“Only I can bring you back to life. Shan Ge, I love you. I’m your girlfriend,” Yun Xiangrong cut in. “Zhou Qian only uses you. You died saving him. He used you when you were alive, and now when you’re dead he still won’t let you go!”

Gao Shan frowned. “I know our feelings. That’s why you’re being obsessive—”

Yun Xiangrong interrupted him, “And what if I say I have to kill Zhou Qian?”

“You’re wrong, Rong Mei. In the ‘Last Wish’ instance you were upset and thought Zhou insulted my corpse, and ran to Peach Blossom—I get it, he gets it. If you come back now, he won’t blame you, he—”

Gao Shan continued, “I’m with Zhou Qian now, taking orders from him. Given that, do you think Peach Blossom truly trusts you?”

“At first, yes, I joined them impulsively,” Yun Xiangrong admitted. “But then I saw the Peach Blossom God resurrect a bird in the real world—do you understand? She really became a god through this game. She can resurrect you in reality!

“I know you’re too kind. I don’t need your understanding. I’ll play the villain, shoulder the deaths, but I will make Peach Blossom win and Zhou Qian die.”

Gao Shan’s form flickered, as if it was looming while she was talking.

Seeing this, Yun Xiangrong grew more agitated. Tears streamed and she drew a deep breath. “Move aside so I can kill them! How can you still shield strangers for Zhou Qian like Qi Liuxing and He Xiaowei? He’s brainwashed you all! I won’t allow it!”

She swung the muzzle again and fired at another girl—

Unexpectedly, Gao Shan blocked her once more.

Both Yun Xiangrong and Zhang Datie was stunned—Fuck, how is the bone spirit that fast?

The second deflection enraged Yun Xiangrong. “Shan Ge, move!”

Pain clouded Gao Shan’s eyes. “Rong Rong, I don’t want to see you like this. The woman I knew was kind and warm—now… I barely recognize you.”

Yun Xiangrong was utterly infuriated by those words. She raised her gun and strode forward.

The female player she had just missed with her shot was so terrified she collapsed to her knees. Gao Shan further solidified his corporeal form and stepped up to help her to her feet, his movements gentle and his voice tinged with concern.  

This gesture agitated Yun Xiangrong even more. She fired several rounds in a blind rage, but every bullet was blocked by Gao Shan.

When she squeezed the trigger once more and no bullets emerged, Yun Xiangrong realized she had emptied her magazine.  

She immediately turned to Zhang Datie beside her and thrust out her hand. “Give me your gun!”

Zhang Datie was momentarily stunned. Once he grasped what she wanted, he blurted, “No way! There’s no need! You saw it yourself—this Bone Spirit is that strong. He moves so fast, and when he’s fully intangible we can’t even see him. Who knows where he’ll be when we shoot? We can’t get a clean aim! Our bullet hit-detection only works on spirit bodies!”

Yun Xiangrong seemed crazed, mindlessly grabbing for the weapon. “I don’t care, Lao Zhang—lend me your gun. Next time you need help with anything, I’ll do it!”

Dodging her, Zhang Datie protested, “Hey, Yun Xiangrong, I didn’t take you for someone who’d let love scramble her brains. Take it from someone who’s been there—”

At that moment Gao Shan called to Yin Jiujiu behind him, “I’ll block the bullets—take them and run! I’ll catch up!”

Of course, Gao Shan couldn’t really outrun a bullet, especially with such powerful hit detection. The whole scene was a play he and Yun Xiangrong had wordlessly staged.  

He could turn completely invisible at will, or half-transparent so he just flickered into view. By muddling everyone’s sight like this, Zhang Datie would assume Yun Xiangrong had aimed at the other players and Gao Shan had dashed over—faster than humanly possible—to intercept.  

In truth, Yun Xiangrong had been firing exactly where Gao Shan had already moved. She had been aiming at him all along.

Not that it was pure theater.  

When Gao Shan told Yun Xiangrong to come back and called her obsessive, he meant every word.  

And Yun Xiangrong’s tears and trembling fingers were real—just not for the reason she claimed.

After covering everyone’s retreat, Gao Shan went fully transparent again.  

Passing close to Yun Xiangrong, he whispered almost voicelessly, “Rong Rong, come back. Right now no one in the Peach Blossom Legion will trust you!”

Actually, the only one who distrusts her completely was Priest.  

But what if he dies? 

If he dies, she will have the chance to approach Peach Blossom’s true master—  

A man lying in an ice coffin named Xie Huai, creator of Xie Huaying.

Such thoughts Yun Xiangrong could only keep to herself.  

The gamblers she now commanded were almost entirely Priest’s men. She dared not voice these plans. On the surface she had to stay in a rage, feigning a loss of reason.

Beside her, Zhang Datie could not help grumbling, “You must’ve heard the warning, right? Bullets are scarce! How could you waste so many? How are you going to explain this to Captain Shan? Damn!”

Yun Xiangrong ignored him. She squatted down, pressed both hands over her face, and looked as though she were weeping.  

Zhang Datie had no idea how to comfort a crying girl. He stood there dumbly, not daring saying another word.  

Then he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Captain Shan Sheng and the leader of another squad approaching together.

“Uh, Captain Shan, we…” Zhang Datie sighed, afraid Shan Sheng would scold them for failing the mission.  

Shan Sheng merely said, “No need to explain—I saw everything. Keep searching for the others. There’s a group called the Feidu Legion claiming territory just like we are—watch out for them.”

Right after that, the other squad leader muttered in a contemptuous tone, “I used to think she had potential. Turns out… women really are useless. Don’t give her any more bullets—we can’t afford the waste!” 

Hearing this, Shan Sheng glanced at Yun Xiangrong. Where Zhang Datie couldn’t see, something shifted in his eyes, as if he had seen through the act.  

Yet he didn’t expose anything in front of the others. He just slung an arm around the man’s shoulders. “That’s not fair talk. If a man’s lucky enough in his whole life to meet a girl this devoted, he’s struck gold. She’s a teammate. Cut her some slack.”

“You’re not falling for her, are you?”  

“Hardly. You know I like men.”  

“Fuck off—get your arm off my neck!” The man shoved Shan Sheng away.  

Shan Sheng rubbed his nose. “Come on—let’s search that building ahead.”

……

Elsewhere, five players wearing orange wristbands were cowering in a narrow alley.  

They had only just reached S-rank. Among max-level veterans they were complete newbies.

Before Blue Harbor City collapsed, they had all been waiting outside its casino for it to open.  

True gamblers at heart, they had chosen without hesitation to stay once the system announced such generous dungeon rewards.

These people were all Gamblers. After hearing that the system was giving out such generous rewards, they naturally chose to stay. 

At first there were more than a dozen of them. Shortly after entering the instance they found orange wristbands together and happily formed the Gamblers Alliance.

After some exploration they realized the instance was packed with story clues. To save time, the Alliance had split into three squads to investigate.  

The five now hiding in the alley were one squad.  

When they finished their sweep and returned to the rendezvous point, the other two squads were nowhere to be seen.  

Noting how the system’s count of orange wristbands had dropped, they knew something bad had happened.

Terrified of meeting the same fate, they moved with extreme caution. Even now, tucked away in the alley, several pairs of legs were trembling.

They weren’t simply hiding. Every so often one of them would peek toward the alley mouth, as if awaiting news—or a certain person.  

At last that person appeared. All of them exhaled in relief and stared at him, hoping he brought good news.

Their squad actually had six members. Five were huddled here, the sixth and strongest served as scout.  

Once he confirmed a direction was clear, he would double back, share the news, and lead them that way. Then they would find a new hiding spot while he sought the next safe route.

The strongest member was named Meng Bie.  

When Meng Bie now told them the path ahead was totally safe, all five relaxed. Coming out of the shadows, they prepared to move.  

No matter how frightened, they had to press on—they had to clear the instance alive and gather information.

Yet as they reached the alley mouth, a blinding white arc of light swept past. A perfectly straight Tang sword shot across the entrance, barring their way.  

The blade gleamed like snow, exuding an unshakable murderous aura.  

All six halted at once.  

Eyes wide, they looked at the swordsman—a tall, lean figure whose very posture resembled an indomitable blade.  

He lifted his gaze at them, slow and cold, and they felt as if ice had frozen them in place, unable to cross the line.

As the most powerful, Meng Bie was the quickest to reaction.

Holding up his watch, he tried to confirm the identity of the man in front of him through the system. 

All he got was a code, three meaningless digits—“137.”  

At the same moment he saw the man’s rank: a god-level player.

The others saw it too. A babble rose behind him.  

“Holy shit, a God-level player!”  

“A live one—I saw him!”

While his teammates gawked, Meng Bie stayed wary. “Who are you? Did you come to kill us?”  

His voice hardened. “Were you the one who slaughtered all those orange-band players?”

The man replied, “I came to save you. There’s an ambush ahead—you can’t go that way. All of you come with me.”  

His tone was anything but gentle. The icy authority brooked no doubt.

After exchanging looks, Meng Bie asked, “Why should we trust you?”

The man said nothing more, only tapped a command on his wrist device.  

“I’ve lifted my identity shield in the system. Open the God-level rankings.”

In the God-level players rankings, first place had always been blank.  

Whoever held that spot had hidden both name and title, keeping everyone guessing.  

Now, after “137” operated his interface, not only these six but every idle player in virtual lobbies and even many inside instances erupted in commotion—  

The top rank had finally been unmasked.

Meng Bie raised his left wrist to the system panel and saw the entry for number one: the name “Bai Zhou”, title “White Dragon”.

He had no time to check scores or comments; he aimed the scanner back at the swordsman, and this time the true name appeared—Bai Zhou.

Bai Zhou swept their astonished faces with a bland glance, sheathed his Tang sword, and stepped past them toward the opposite end of the alley. “The killers are the Peach Blossom and Feidu Legion. Follow me.”

“Peach Blossom? Feidu? I’ve heard how nasty they are!”  

“Right behind you, boss!”  

“Wuwuwu, thank you for saving us!”

Unlike the others, Meng Bie kept his head. He warned, “They worship strength blindly—I don’t. Don’t think I’ll trust you just because you’re the number one ranked God-level player. Why rescue us? What do you need from us?”

“I need you to protect someone named Zhou Qian,” Bai Zhou replied, turning his head. “He’ll lead you to win this game.”


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch33

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 33

For an instant, Feng Tianzong looked so angry he seemed to laugh. He asked Huo Fenghua, “You mean you want me to try it?”

Huo Fenghua wore a smile and tested the waters. “You’ve never experienced it, so you don’t know. If you really try it, you’ll definitely like it.”

Feng Tianzong neither confirmed nor denied it. He only said, “Then do you know how to serve someone?”

Upon hearing this, Huo Fenghua hurriedly said, “You mean if I make you feel good, you’ll let me top?”

The corner of Feng Tianzong’s mouth lifted slightly.

Huo Fenghua immediately said, “It’s a deal. No taking it back.” He raised a hand to undo Feng Tianzong’s collar, slid his upper garment off and draped it over his arm, revealing a solid, flat chest and abdomen. Then he leaned in, first taking Feng Tianzong’s Adam’s apple between his lips and giving it a light bite, then kissing his way down until he reached his chest and closed his mouth around one nipple.

Feng Tianzong looked down at him, his face still calm.

Huo Fenghua sucked and licked at the nipple, using every trick he had. One hand stroked Feng Tianzong’s lower abdomen, fingers tracing along the clear lines of his abs, while the other hand slid down his lower back to his hips and gave his firm ass a squeeze.

As he attended to Feng Tianzong, he kept glancing up to read his expression. When he saw Feng Tianzong’s face grow a shade more serious, he knew it was working, and he smiled faintly and continued kissing and caressing him.

At this point Feng Tianzong said, “To the bed.”

Huo Fenghua immediately smiled. “All right, as you command, General.”

When Feng Tianzong rose, he stripped off his top. With an easy turn, he sat down on the bed, spreading his long legs. There were many healed scars on his body, all hammered into him on the battlefield.

Huo Fenghua climbed onto the bed and knelt between his legs. He reached out to loosen his belt and tugged his trousers down a little, exposing an already half hard penis.

Feng Tianzong leaned lazily back against the stacked quilts at the head of the bed, watching Huo Fenghua’s movements without moving at all himself.

Huo Fenghua reached up and took hold of that thick length. He drew a breath and thought that it wasn’t the first time anyway, so why care, then lowered his head and opened his mouth to take the large tip in.

The half-hard shaft quickly stiffened fully in the wet warmth of his mouth, filling it. Huo Fenghua tried to take more, but it was difficult, so he pulled back. One hand kneaded Feng Tianzong’s balls while the other steadied his cock as he licked it with his tongue.

Feng Tianzong found it amusing and asked, “Have you tasted what it’s like?”

Huo Fenghua glanced at him and didn’t answer.

Feng Tianzong said, “Open your mouth. Take it deeper.”

Huo Fenghua lifted his head. “General, that thing of yours is too… formidable. I can’t swallow it.”

Feng Tianzong gave a snort. “You give up too quickly.”

Huo Fenghua lowered his head again and took him into his mouth. This time he forced himself to relax his throat and take more.

Feng Tianzong suddenly pressed a hand to the back of his neck and pushed his head down, and at the same time drove his hips up, thrusting himself deep into Huo Fenghua’s mouth.

Huo Fenghua felt his tongue pressed down hard, the huge cock almost forced into his throat. He gagged in pain and reached up to push at Feng Tianzong.

Seeing tears squeeze out at the corners of Huo Fenghua’s eyes, Feng Tianzong fisted his hair and lifted his head, pulling himself off.

Huo Fenghua glared at Feng Tianzong in resentment.

The next moment, Feng Tianzong yanked him close and kissed him on the lips.

At first Huo Fenghua still struggled, but Feng Tianzong kissed him while one hand stroked his cheek and neck. His palm was rough with calluses, yet when it brushed over smooth skin it sent shivers through him.

Feng Tianzong tugged Huo Fenghua’s clothes open, keeping him kneeling in front of him, then lowered his head to kiss his neck and chest. His tongue circled the pale red areola, biting until the nipple was glossy with moisture and standing hard.

Huo Fenghua’s breathing quickened. Both hands braced on Feng Tianzong’s shoulders. When he felt Feng Tianzong tug his trousers down, he blurted, “Wasn’t it agreed?”

Feng Tianzong looked up at him. “Have you served me well?”

Huo Fenghua was thinly furious. “My throat still hurts right now and you’re saying I didn’t serve you well?”

Feng Tianzong wrapped his hand around Huo Fenghua’s erection and thumbed the tip. “Aren’t you on top?”

Huo Fenghua froze, then flared. “I said I wanted to fuck you!”

Feng Tianzong’s voice held no clear emotion. “Did you say it? Did I agree?”

Huo Fenghua shoved at him, trying to climb off the bed, but Feng Tianzong caught both his legs and dragged him down onto him. The cleft of his ass landed right against the stiff heat beneath.

Feng Tianzong spread Huo Fenghua’s legs and pushed straight into the tight entrance.

Huo Fenghua’s face twisted in pain and he struggled to shove him off, but Feng Tianzong’s hands were like iron clamps. No matter how Huo Fenghua cried out, Feng Tianzong forced himself until he was buried all the way in.

Once inside, Feng Tianzong didn’t move. He pressed Huo Fenghua’s head to his shoulder and kissed his forehead.

Huo Fenghua was drenched in sweat. Not just his head, but his whole body was coated in cold sweat. That hollow weakness from being ill came back over him. Leaning against Feng Tianzong’s shoulder, he said weakly, “You really are despicable and shameless.”

Feng Tianzong stroked his back, his voice softening. “Does it still hurt?”

Huo Fenghua didn’t answer. He only cursed, “You broke your word.”

Feng Tianzong smiled. “I’ll let you be on top the whole time.” He supported Huo Fenghua’s hips and began to pull out slowly, then push back in just as slowly with gentle movements.

Huo Fenghua hugged his shoulders and let out a low gasp.

Feng Tianzong bit his lower lip and murmured, “Don’t you like it?” Then he sped up slightly, driving his hard cock deep into Huo Fenghua, rubbing against the wet, tender inner walls and pressing into the sensitive spot inside.

Huo Fenghua moaned.

With the repeated thrusting, Feng Tianzong felt that sitting made it hard to put strength into it. He held Huo Fenghua tight, kept himself sheathed inside him, and rose to his knees, lifting Huo Fenghua with him. He told him, “Hold on.”

Huo Fenghua blinked. “Hold what?”

Feng Tianzong looked up again. “Hold the beam above.”

This bed had a wooden crossbeam for hanging a mosquito net. The weather had been cold these days, so the net was put away, but the beam was still there.

Huo Fenghua looked up and panicked. “How can that work?”

But Feng Tianzong had already let go of his waist and instead gripped his legs. Huo Fenghua tipped backward. Instinctively he reached up and grabbed the wooden beam to keep his balance. The beam was meant for a mosquito net, but it was fairly sturdy. He held on tight while his legs were lifted and spread by Feng Tianzong’s hands. Feng Tianzong drove his thick cock into him and began thrusting into him.

The creak of the wooden bed mixed with the wet sounds of pounding echoed through the room.

Huo Fenghua felt like he was about to go insane. The pleasure built in layers, making his dick swell as it continued to leak precum, leaving traces along his abs. But even though Feng Tianzong’s hands supported part of his weight, hanging from the beam with both arms for so long was agony. If he let go, he would fall back onto the bed, so he could only moan and beg, “General, I can’t.”

Feng Tianzong’s breathing was heavy. “No, you wanted to be on top.”

Huo Fenghua said, “No more, no more. Anywhere is fine, I can’t hold on.”

Feng Tianzong still had the leisure to laugh softly. “No.”

Huo Fenghua hardened his heart and simply let go, letting his body fall backward.

In the end, Feng Tianzong didn’t have the heart to be completely ruthless. He caught him in his arms, then turned Huo Fenghua over so he knelt on the bed with his back to him and took him from behind.

Huo Fenghua tried to collapse forward and brace himself, but Feng Tianzong wouldn’t allow it. He held him tight, bodies pressed together, one hand stroking his chest while the other held his erection, gently stroking it.

Still not recovered from illness, Huo Fenghua couldn’t last long and came in Feng Tianzong’s hand.

Seeing that he was running out of strength, Feng Tianzong wrapped an arm around his waist and fell back with him, leaving Huo Fenghua lying on top of him. With his legs bent, he thrust upward slowly from below, both hands holding Huo Fenghua, caressing him gently.

Huo Fenghua felt light and pleasantly languid. He turned his head slightly, rubbed his cheek against Feng Tianzong’s nose, and closed his eyes.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch32

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 32

Feng Tianzong mounted first. When he turned back, he saw Huo Fenghua sneezing repeatedly. As Huo Fenghua walked over, the wind pressed his clothes tight to his body, making him look thin and fragile. So when Huo Fenghua reached him, Feng Tianzong pulled him up onto the horse and had him sit in front of him.

With his back against Feng Tianzong’s chest, Huo Fenghua immediately felt much warmer. He didn’t understand why he’d been fine just a moment ago, yet after a few sneezes he suddenly lost all energy, his nose clogging up too.

In a muffled voice he said, “I’ve caught a cold1.”

“What?” Feng Tianzong spoke, and Huo Fenghua felt the slight vibration of his chest.

Huo Fenghua said, “What am I supposed to say, then, that I’ve caught a chill1? How long until we reach a town? I think we’d better find a doctor to prescribe me something.”

1Clarity: The first time he said it, it’s using the modern term, which is why Feng Tianzong didn’t understand, while the second time is more old-fashioned/historical.

With one hand on the reins, Feng Tianzong lifted the other and touched Huo Fenghua’s forehead. It felt slightly warm.

Huo Fenghua turned his head. “Do I have a fever?”

Feng Tianzong didn’t answer. He only said, “Close your eyes and rest for a while.”

Upon hearing this, Huo Fenghua did as told. He leaned back into Feng Tianzong’s arms and drowsily closed his eyes. Before long, he truly fell asleep.

It felt like a heavy sleep. When he woke again, he felt something soft beneath him and warmth all around. He tried to turn over but his whole body ached. At the same time he heard someone say, “He’s awake.”

Feng Tianzong’s voice replied, “It’s fine.”

Huo Fenghua opened his eyes and found himself in a crude, simple room, lying on a bed. A brazier burned beside the bed and the heat wafted towards him, making his forehead break out in a fine sweat.

Feng Tianzong sat on a stool by the brazier. Standing in front of him was someone else, Song Wei, the man who had previously left to track down Gu Guangji.

The two of them must have been talking for a long time. Huo Fenghua’s waking interrupted them briefly, and then Feng Tianzong continued, “Take this letter to Peng Po. Tell him that while I’m away, he needs to watch for Shao Feijie sending people to raid the camp.”

Song Wei lowered his voice. “Shao Feijie knows you’re not in the camp, General. He’ll definitely make a move.”

Feng Tianzong fell silent in thought for a moment. “He won’t be sure whether I’ll return to the camp or not. He’ll try to probe. Keep things ambiguous, with truths and falsehoods mixed together. Don’t let him read the situation clearly. If Peng Po is confident, he can even set an ambush and lure him into attacking the camp. If he’s not confident, it’s better to play it safe.”

“Yes!” Song Wei answered.

Feng Tianzong turned his head toward the bed. Just then, Huo Fenghua rolled over and was looking back at him too.

“And one more thing. Huo Fengnian is very likely already dead,” Feng Tianzong said to Song Wei.

“Dead?” Song Wei was shocked. “How could he be dead? Is the General certain?”

Feng Tianzong suddenly smiled. “I’m certain. Remember this. Huo Fengnian is dead. If Huo Fengnian ever appears in Xichou in the future, then it’s definitely Shao Feijie having Huo Fengnian’s younger twin brother, Huo Fenghua, impersonate him. And Huo Fenghua is already my male concubine.”

Song Wei froze, then answered, “Understood.”

Feng Tianzong waved a hand. “Remember everything I told you. Go back.”

Song Wei dropped to one knee. “Yes, General. This subordinate takes his leave.”

After Song Wei left the room, Huo Fenghua let out a heavy breath and realized even his breathing felt scorching. He said, “You’re disgusting. If the Xichou side really believes Huo Fengnian is dead, the Xichou army’s morale is bound to waver.”

Feng Tianzong didn’t care. “If I were Shao Feijie, I’d find a young child elsewhere in the royal bloodline and prop him up as emperor. Why obsess over you two brothers?”

Huo Fenghua sighed. “That’s loyalty. You wouldn’t understand.”

Feng Tianzong leaned in and touched his forehead, then immediately withdrew his hand. “Your fever’s starting to subside.”

Huo Fenghua lifted the quilt a little and sat up, seeing he was only wearing a thin inner robe. He touched his own forehead too and asked, “Is this an inn?”

Feng Tianzong said, “No. It’s a villager’s house in a mountain village. We’re still some distance from a town. I was worried you wouldn’t hold up, so I found a nearby village and borrowed a room.”

Huo Fenghua asked again, “Did you get a doctor?”

Feng Tianzong lifted a hand to straighten his sleeve, then slowly said, “I did. What, are you that afraid of dying?”

Huo Fenghua nodded. “Terrified. These days, if you get seriously sick even once, you might not recover. Better to be careful.”

Feng Tianzong gave a short, amused snort. “The doctor already took your pulse and wrote a prescription. I asked the homeowner here to decoct it for you. It should be about ready.”

As he finished speaking, someone knocked outside and brought the medicine in.

It was a young girl delivering it. Huo Fenghua suddenly remembered the days he and Su Zeyang had spent recuperating in a mountain village, and he couldn’t help murmuring, “I wonder how Senior Brother is.”

Feng Tianzong took the bowl, shut the door, and lowered his head to stir the black decoction with a spoon. Hearing that, his face chilled. “You miss him that much?”

Huo Fenghua glanced at his expression and hurriedly said, “I’m just worried about him. Aren’t you worried too?”

Feng Tianzong carried the bowl to the bedside and sat down. “We already agreed. Once we find him, you’ll fake your death and leave Yujing.”

Huo Fenghua said, “Yeah. We agreed.”

Feng Tianzong scooped up a spoonful, blew on it lightly, and brought it to Huo Fenghua’s lips. “When the time comes, don’t tell him the truth. Let him think you’re dead too.”

Huo Fenghua stared at the spoon near his mouth, dazed for a moment. Then he shrank back. “Don’t feed me like that. It tastes even more bitter. Give it to me, I’ll down it in one go.”

Feng Tianzong looked at the bowl, tipped the spoonful back in, and handed the whole bowl to Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua took it, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one breath. He handed the bowl back, his whole face scrunching up as he spat out a single word, “Bitter!”

Feng Tianzong took the bowl and watched him for a moment, then carried it out. When he returned he had a small paper packet. He sat by the bed, opened it, and took out a piece of malt sugar.

“Open your mouth,” he said.

Huo Fenghua obediently opened up and let him place it inside.

A sweet, clean taste spread instantly. Chewing the sticky malt sugar, Huo Fenghua said, “So sweet.”

Feng Tianzong said, “Sweet?”

Huo Fenghua smiled at him. “General, want to taste it?” Without waiting for an answer, he looped his arms around Feng Tianzong’s neck and leaned in to press their lips together.

At first Feng Tianzong tasted bitterness, the residue of medicine still on Huo Fenghua’s lips. Then, when he opened his mouth, he tasted the sweetness from inside. The soft, sticky malt sugar tumbled between them, gluing their mouths together. They couldn’t separate for a long time.

When Huo Fenghua finally pulled away, a thin strand of syrup still clung to the corner of his mouth.

Feng Tianzong lifted his hand and wiped it away with his thumb.

Huo Fenghua asked, “When do we leave?”

Feng Tianzong said, “Tomorrow.”

“Why?” Huo Fenghua was puzzled. “Aren’t you in a hurry to find Senior Brother? Why waste a day here?”

Feng Tianzong said, “You’ll drink two more doses. If you pass out again in the middle of the road, it’ll be even more trouble. Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

Huo Fenghua quickly said, “Yeah, I’m afraid.” The truth was, he just missed Su Zeyang a little, missed holding him and breathing in that faint sandalwood scent. He figured he was only feeling so fragile because he was sick.

That night, darkness fell early. After Huo Fenghua finished his medicine, he sat on the bed bored out of his mind. He threw on his clothes, climbed down, and as soon as he cracked the door open, a blast of cold wind shoved him back inside.

He looked at Feng Tianzong, sitting by the brazier in silence, and asked, “Are we still within Zhuyue City’s territory?”

Feng Tianzong glanced at him. “This is Xichou. But the nights are bitterly cold. Stay inside.”

Huo Fenghua walked up to him. “General, you’re sitting here alone without a word. What are you thinking about?”

Feng Tianzong didn’t answer.

Huo Fenghua bent at the waist and leaned in to peer at him. “Thinking about my Senior Brother?”

Feng Tianzong said, “What are you trying to do?”

Huo Fenghua straddled his lap. “General, since we’re idle anyway—”

Feng Tianzong leaned back slightly. “You’re better already?”

Huo Fenghua raised a hand to cup Feng Tianzong’s face. After a deep kiss, he lowered his voice at Feng Tianzong’s ear and asked, “General, have you ever been fucked? Want to try it?”


Kinky Thoughts:

Lol, Huo Fenghua really loves poking the bear.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch31

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 31

The one who burst in through the door was Shao Feijie. The moment he entered, he saw most of Huo Fenghua’s snow-white body exposed, and Feng Tianzong sprawled on top of him in disarray, motionless. With no time to think, Shao Feijie swung his Blood Drinking saber in a bright arc and slashed toward Feng Tianzong.

But before the blade could touch Feng Tianzong’s back, Feng Tianzong’s long whip suddenly looped around Shao Feijie’s ankle and yanked. Shao Feijie toppled backward, and Feng Tianzong flipped up in the same instant, snapping the whip back and lashing down at Shao Feijie’s face.

Shao Feijie steadied himself and twisted aside to avoid the whip. His saber flashed as he swept it across.

Feng Tianzong lowered himself and slid off the side of the bed, kicked at Shao Feijie’s knee, then reached up to seize the saber hilt.

Huo Fenghua hurriedly sat up, yanked his clothes and trousers into place. When he climbed down from the bed his legs went soft, and he quickly grabbed the bedpost to steady himself.

In the span of a few exchanges, Feng Tianzong and Shao Feijie had already traded several moves. But the room was narrow, and neither the Fu Long Whip nor the Blood Drinking saber could be properly swung.

With a soft whooshing sound, another arrow shot in through the window, flying straight at Feng Tianzong. Feng Tianzong tipped his head back and barely avoided it, the arrowhead almost grazing the bridge of his nose. Shao Feijie’s saber followed immediately, slicing toward Feng Tianzong’s legs. Feng Tianzong’s whip flicked out from his side, the tip winding around Shao Feijie’s wrist and forcing the saber’s angle off, just barely saving him.

Huo Fenghua watched in terror. He lunged to the window, shoved both shutters wide open, and shouted into the darkness, “Jia Duo, I know it’s you! If you’ve got the guts, shoot me dead!”

Outside was pitch-black and silent, and no more arrows came.

Seeing Feng Tianzong and Shao Feijie still tangled together, Huo Fenghua suddenly got an idea. He climbed out through the window. The moment his feet hit the ground, a gust of force swept at him. He threw his arms up to block, barely parrying four rapid strikes before his hands and feet turned chaotic. He stumbled back a few steps and said, “Martial Uncle, why are you in such a hurry to kill your own?”

Wen Heyi withdrew his hand and gave a snort. “You’ve said that line before.”

Huo Fenghua said, “And clearly you didn’t take it in, so I’m reminding you again.”

Wen Heyi asked, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Huo Fenghua pulled his clothes tighter around himself. “I saw you weren’t showing up, so I came out to look for you.”

Wen Heyi said, “Now you’ve found me. Come with me.” He reached out to grab Huo Fenghua’s arm.

Huo Fenghua dodged quickly. “Martial Uncle, don’t rush. I’m still waiting for my General and your Marshal to settle who wins.”

Wen Heyi tilted his head, studying him, a little surprised. “Your General? That’s what I don’t understand. You’d rather go back with Feng Tianzong and be a male concubine than come back with us and be emperor. What kind of logic is that? What exactly is in your head?”

Huo Fenghua smiled. “Is a fugitive emperor who’s always hiding really better than living in silk and eating delicacies in the General’s Manor? Besides, I already said I like men. You keep trying to force me to marry a woman. Aren’t you making things hard for me?”

Wen Heyi asked, “Then which man do you actually like, Su Zeyang or Feng Tianzong?”

Huo Fenghua deliberately lowered his voice. “Martial Uncle, you wouldn’t know. Senior Brother and the General each have their own… strengths. If you’re interested, I can take you to experience it sometime?”

Wen Heyi smiled gently. “That… really isn’t necessary.” Before the last word had even landed, he struck. This time he was so fast Huo Fenghua couldn’t block at all. Wen Heyi clamped a hand around his throat.

At the same time, Feng Tianzong’s voice rang out from inside the room. “Let him go!”

Huo Fenghua looked back through the window. Feng Tianzong had already taken Shao Feijie’s saber and was holding the blade to Shao Feijie’s neck. Huo Fenghua couldn’t help blurting out in delighted admiration, “General, you’re amazing!”

Wen Heyi tightened his grip on Huo Fenghua’s throat and asked Feng Tianzong, “What, General Feng? You want to trade?”

Feng Tianzong didn’t hesitate. His cold voice carried over. “I dare kill Shao Feijie. Do you dare kill him? Stop wasting words. Let him go.”

Wen Heyi laughed softly. “General Feng, do you know this person seduced your wife and slept with him behind your back? Why bring him back to Donglin? Hand him to us and we’ll deal with him. We guarantee he’ll never see Su Zeyang again in this lifetime.”

Feng Tianzong didn’t get angry. He only sneered. “Why are you so determined to take him back to Xichou? Could it be the real Huo Fengnian is already dead?”

Wen Heyi said unhurriedly, “Take a guess.”

Feng Tianzong gave a low snort and didn’t keep circling with him. “Let Huo Fenghua go now, and I’ll spare Shao Feijie’s life. Otherwise I’ll kill Shao Feijie first, then come for you. Guess which of us will win?”

Shao Feijie’s face turned ashen. He had fought Feng Tianzong more than once and he knew he was no match for him. Wen Heyi wasn’t either, which was why they’d tried to use Huo Fenghua as an inside accomplice to assassinate Feng Tianzong.

But with the first strike failing, their chance was gone. If they kept tangling, as Feng Tianzong said, they wouldn’t kill Huo Fenghua, but Feng Tianzong would have no hesitation killing them. In the end, it was simply a loss.

Shao Feijie could only say in a deep voice, “Heyi, let them go.”

Wen Heyi understood the calculation. He released his grip on Huo Fenghua’s throat. Huo Fenghua immediately clutched his neck and coughed a few times under his breath.

Feng Tianzong said to him, “Go get a horse.”

Huo Fenghua glanced at Wen Heyi and backed toward the stables.

Feng Tianzong said, “I believe Marshal Shao is a man who keeps his word. We can each take a step back today and meet again on the battlefield another day.”

Wen Heyi drawled, “You’ve already taken Huo Fenghua, and you still want to talk about each side taking a step back?”

Feng Tianzong gave him a look. “Wasn’t Huo Fenghua someone you people stole from my manor in the first place?”

By then, Huo Fenghua had already ridden a horse over and stopped in front of Feng Tianzong. Feng Tianzong told him to bring it closer. Keeping Shao Feijie pinned, Feng Tianzong backed away slowly, wary of a surprise arrow, until he reached the horse. Still holding the Blood Drinking saber, he flipped up onto the horse and landed in front of Huo Fenghua, then told Huo Fenghua to ride at once.

With Huo Fenghua behind Feng Tianzong, the others didn’t dare shoot. After they’d run a bit farther, Feng Tianzong tossed the Blood Drinking saber onto the ground, took the reins from Huo Fenghua’s hand, and increased their speed.

With one arm wrapped tightly around Feng Tianzong’s waist, Huo Fenghua suddenly reached the other hand forward and touched Feng Tianzong’s face.

Feng Tianzong said, “What are you doing?”

Huo Fenghua murmured by his ear, “General, you were so fierce just now. And the way you looked with my cum on your face was especially tempting.” He meant it. Watching Feng Tianzong hold the saber to Shao Feijie’s throat with that cold, ruthless expression, and yet with obscene traces of cum smeared across his face, sliding from his thin lips down to his sharp jaw, Huo Fenghua’s thoughts had surged and desire had stirred.

Feng Tianzong’s tone turned cold. “I won’t kill you, but I can castrate you. Believe it or not?”

Huo Fenghua immediately withdrew his hand and said very respectfully, “I believe it. I was acting up. General, please don’t lower yourself to my level.”

He knew Feng Tianzong wasn’t like Su Zeyang. He couldn’t help provoking him, but once he did, he got scared and instinctively tried to placate him.

Feng Tianzong felt the fluid on his face had already dried in the wind. He didn’t wipe it off and kept riding hard. By the time the sky began to brighten, they reached a river. The horse was exhausted, so Feng Tianzong stopped and told Huo Fenghua to dismount and rest for a moment.

Huo Fenghua had been blasted by cold wind the whole way. His hands and feet were icy, and what little he’d eaten last night was long gone. He was starving and thirsty. He dropped onto the riverbank, scooped up a handful of water, and drank, immediately hissing at the freezing cold.

Feng Tianzong led the horse to a patch of grass and let it graze, then walked to the river and sat on a large rock.

Huo Fenghua crouched in front of him and lifted a damp cloth to Feng Tianzong’s cheek.

Feng Tianzong didn’t dodge. He only watched him with a cold expression.

The wet, cold cloth wiped carefully along Feng Tianzong’s nose bridge and the corners of his mouth. Huo Fenghua cupped Feng Tianzong’s face with one hand, his own fingers red from the cold. When he finished and stood to leave, the hem of his robe brushed across Feng Tianzong’s cheek.

Feng Tianzong felt an itch bloom on his cheek. The more he tried to suppress it, the more unbearable it became. He leaned forward, staring at his reflection in the river, and plunged his entire face into the water.

He opened his mouth and let cold water flood in, gulping several mouthfuls before jerking his head up again. His hair flicked water into the air, droplets falling back to the surface in a thin trailing line.

Huo Fenghua sat not far away, staring at him. The slightly upturned corners of Feng Tianzong’s eyes and his thin, austere lips now carried a vivid flush of red. The beauty of a hard, resolute man was almost breathtaking. Huo Fenghua suddenly thought of Su Zeyang, not for any particular reason, only because he finally understood a little why Su Zeyang had married Feng Tianzong.

Feng Tianzong’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked, “What are you looking at?”

Huo Fenghua kept staring without even blinking. He didn’t feel awkward at all. He only said, “I think you and Senior Brother will definitely have a happy marriage and grow old together.”

As he said it, a sudden wave of melancholy rose up in Huo Fenghua. He turned his gaze to the river, then spaced out. He thought that once they found Senior Brother, and he left the General’s Manor, he should stop gambling with the money. It was better to head east, find a prosperous coastal city, open a gambling house and become the boss himself. Every day he’d listen to dice and copper coins clattering, and he couldn’t help feeling cheerful again.

When that time came, he would definitely go to a brothel first and sleep with a pretty girl, just to see if he could still be a man. If it turned out he truly liked men more, then he’d just find a man instead. His thoughts drifted. Should it be a tall, burly warrior type, or someone soft and delicate? Maybe he should try both.

They rested by the river for nearly an hour before Feng Tianzong stood up and told him to set off.

Huo Fenghua snapped back to himself. When he tried to stand, he realized his hands and feet were stiff with cold. The chilly wind swept over him, and he sneezed several times in a row; his head turning dizzy and his vision going fuzzy.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch30

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 30

Huo Fenghua sat by the brazier to warm himself. As his hands gradually loosened from the cold, he turned his back to Feng Tianzong and carefully looked at the note. There was only a word written on it: “Wen.”

He immediately tossed the note into the brazier, where it burned into ash.

What “Wen” could it be? Of course it was his Martial Uncle, Wen Heyi.

Before sleeping, Huo Fenghua lay down on the bed first. He watched as Feng Tianzong checked the doors and windows and bolted everything from the inside. Only then did Feng Tianzong return to the bedside. He didn’t even undress. With one finger hooked around the handle of his long whip, he sat at the edge of the bed, leaning back against the headboard.

Huo Fenghua rolled over and lay on his stomach, propping his head up with one hand as he looked at him. “You’re sleeping like that?”

Feng Tianzong only said, “Go to sleep.”

Huo Fenghua blinked. “Why be so vigilant, General?”

Feng Tianzong gave him a cold look and didn’t answer.

After a moment, Huo Fenghua pushed himself up and knelt on the bed. He leaned toward Feng Tianzong slowly. Just as he was about to press his lips to Feng Tianzong’s, Feng Tianzong suddenly raised a hand to block his mouth and said coldly, “What are you doing?”

Huo Fenghua smiled, took Feng Tianzong’s hand, and toyed with it in his palm for a moment. Then he leaned to his ear and murmured, “There’s an ambush.”

Feng Tianzong looked at him without changing expression. He abruptly tightened his grip, yanked Huo Fenghua into his arms, slipped his fingers under the hem of his clothes, and with his lips brushing Huo Fenghua’s neck, said softly, “So what did the note you got say?”

Huo Fenghua froze slightly. Straddling Feng Tianzong’s leg with his knees apart, rubbing close cheek to cheek, he said, “You saw it?”

Feng Tianzong didn’t answer. His hand slid along the resilient line of Huo Fenghua’s waist, slowly up to his chest. His index and middle finger pinched one nipple, while his thumb pressed and teased.

Huo Fenghua’s breathing turned ragged.

Feng Tianzong said, “Moan louder.”

Huo Fenghua glanced toward the door. He wasn’t sure if someone was hiding outside listening, so he deliberately let out loud moans.

Only then did Feng Tianzong murmur, “They’ll definitely be listening, but they won’t dare get too close. They’re afraid I’ll notice. Still, with you making noises like that, they’ll hear it.”

Huo Fenghua wanted to snort, but what came out was, “General, be gentler.”

Feng Tianzong tugged and toyed with his nipple. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Huo Fenghua wrapped his arms around his neck. Their clothes rubbed together with soft rustling sounds as he said, “Wen Heyi and Shao Feijie are definitely here. I don’t know how many people they’ve got lying in wait outside.”

His robe was loose, and the friction made it slip further open, exposing a broad stretch of pale chest. Feng Tianzong pulled him tighter around the waist and asked, “How many of you were there when you came to Zhuyue City?”

Huo Fenghua felt Feng Tianzong harden. He couldn’t help getting stirred too. Through their trousers, he ground his own slowly stiffening erection against Feng Tianzong’s, panting and moaning while still whispering into his ear, “Three of them in total.”

Feng Tianzong’s gaze darkened. “They didn’t have time to call in troops. And if they had a lot of men waiting, they wouldn’t need to wait for a moment. They’d have moved already.”

Huo Fenghua deliberately let out a loud “Mm…” then whispered, “If it’s just the three of them, and the two of us, we still have a chance.”

Feng Tianzong couldn’t help giving a cold snort. “Three of them, and I still have to drag you along. Where does that confidence come from?”

The corners of Huo Fenghua’s eyes were flushed red. He lowered his head, staring at Feng Tianzong’s sharp, thin lips, then suddenly leaned in and took them into his mouth, making a wet sound. Feng Tianzong didn’t push him away this time. It was as if he understood his intent, and he cooperated, letting the kiss turn loud and messy with slick, wet smacks. When they finally parted, Huo Fenghua tipped his head back and gulped air, and even Feng Tianzong felt his desire grow heavier.

Huo Fenghua asked, “When do you think he’s planning to make a move?”

Feng Tianzong instead said, “What did she write on that note? Wasn’t it for you to work with them from the inside?”

Huo Fenghua shook his head. He rested his forehead on Feng Tianzong’s shoulder, both hands stroking Feng Tianzong’s taut body. “She didn’t write anything.”

Feng Tianzong thought for a moment, then suddenly shoved Huo Fenghua down onto the bed and pressed on top of him, kissing his neck as he said, “Then it was to warn you to be careful when they strike, so you don’t ruin their plan.”

Huo Fenghua found it almost funny. He didn’t know where Wen Heyi got the confidence to think Huo Fenghua would abandon Feng Tianzong and go with them. Maybe Huo Fenghua had played along too well back in Zhuyue City, making Shao Feijie and the others lower their guard around him.

Feng Tianzong’s kisses drifted lower, to Huo Fenghua’s chest. He took one nipple into his mouth and sucked hard.

Huo Fenghua arched his head back and moaned, spreading his legs without thinking, letting Feng Tianzong kneel between them.

Feng Tianzong played with his nipple for a long time, then lifted his head to look at Huo Fenghua’s bright red, wet lips and finally kissed him. After releasing him, he took Huo Fenghua’s earlobe between his lips and gave it a light bite.

Breathless, Huo Fenghua said, “So when do you think they’ll move?”

Feng Tianzong considered it. “If there aren’t more people waiting, then they’ll strike tonight. If it were me, I’d wait for the moment a man is weakest, when he has the least guard up.”

Huo Fenghua said, “When is he coming?”

That was too blunt. Feng Tianzong didn’t answer, which was as good as admitting it.

Huo Fenghua laughed. “General, it’s time to test your acting.”

That was what he said, but in the end, the one truly forced to “act” was Huo Fenghua himself. Feng Tianzong withdrew from him and leaned back against the inner side of the bed, closing his eyes and sitting in meditation. If they kept rubbing like that, it wouldn’t be acting anymore. He’d genuinely lose control and press Huo Fenghua down hard and take him for real.

Huo Fenghua lay there, moaning and writhing, as sweat soaked him. By the time his throat went hoarse, he was still moaning, “General, stop, I can’t take it.”

Feng Tianzong kept his mind collected, his senses sharpened. He knew there was likely no one right outside, but Huo Fenghua’s voice was so loud that even several rooms away, it could be heard. His fingers rested on the whip’s handle, ready for any movement.

Huo Fenghua’s hoarse voice grew more obscene as he went. He was exhausted too. To keep the performance going, he simply shoved his trousers down and gripped his hard cock, pumping it up and down while rocking the bed, pretending they were fucking. He was a bit annoyed that Feng Tianzong refused to cooperate, leaving him to play this one-man show with such difficulty.

In the end, Huo Fenghua began to climax. He let out a sticky, shameless moan, wide-eyed as he stared at Feng Tianzong’s fierce, dazzling face. He tilted slightly to the side, still gripping himself, and came onto Feng Tianzong’s face.

Feng Tianzong’s eyes flew open. His gaze was vicious and razor-sharp. After that act of mischief, Huo Fenghua immediately wilted. He drew his legs together, curled his body, lowered his head, and pressed his face near Feng Tianzong’s knee, nuzzling obediently.

For a moment the room fell quiet, except for Huo Fenghua’s harsh breathing that still hadn’t settled.

Thick fluid slid slowly down Feng Tianzong’s cheek. Before he could even lift a hand to wipe it away, several arrows whistled through the air in quick succession. Sharp and fast, they pierced the window paper and shot straight toward the bed.

Seeing three arrows fly in from outside and sink into the bed, Huo Fenghua screamed. Then the room went quiet again.

And after that brief silence, someone smashed the door open and burst inside.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch29

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 29

Huo Fenghua woke after sleeping for a while and heard faint movement in the room. He opened his eyes and peeked. Feng Tianzong was sitting by the table, apparently writing a letter.

Thinking of how debauched he’d been on that very table earlier, Huo Fenghua couldn’t help flushing. He closed his eyes again.

Feng Tianzong finished the letter, folded it a few times, opened the door, and handed it to Cong Wenhao who was standing guard outside. Then he shut the door, returned to the bedside, and said coldly, “Since you’re awake, get up. We still have to travel.”

“Travel?” Huo Fenghua sat up at once. “Where to?”

Feng Tianzong stood at the bedside. “You’re taking me to find Su Zeyang.”

Huo Fenghua was still a mess. His lower abdomen and his ass were uncomfortably sticky. He pulled the quilt aside a little and didn’t bother covering himself in front of Feng Tianzong. “I really don’t know where Senio… Young Master Su went.”

Feng Tianzong said, “Song Wei came back with word that you and Zeyang slipped out of the inn together, and you even rode the same horse. I tracked you for a long time, and in the end I only found you. I didn’t see Zeyang at all. I know Zeyang doesn’t treat you like he treats others. I can’t understand how he could bear to leave you with Wen Heyi and go off alone.”

That jabbed right where it hurt. Huo Fenghua let out a long sigh. “I told you before, but you wouldn’t listen. I wasn’t even finished and you pinned me down and threw your weight around. Now you’re questioning me again.”

Feng Tianzong gave a cold snort. “Speak honestly!”

Huo Fenghua thought, snort all you want, as if it was me who forced you. He said, “I’m sticky all over. Have someone bring me water so I can bathe.”

The tip of Feng Tianzong’s whip slid out from his sleeve.

Seeing it, Huo Fenghua hurriedly said, “It was that night at the inn. Wen Heyi suddenly showed up and said he’d seen a formation at Luofeng Ridge with your name carved on it…” This time he truthfully told Feng Tianzong everything that had happened at Luofeng Ridge from start to finish.

Feng Tianzong sat by the bed and listened in silence the whole time. Huo Fenghua’s account was clear and orderly, and he mentioned the Yu family’s woodworks and Feng Tiansheng by name. It didn’t sound fabricated. Feng Tianzong frowned slightly. “He said he went to find Gu Guangji?”

Huo Fenghua said, “He said he was going to ask Master how to break it, but I don’t know where Master is.”

Feng Tianzong weighed it. Really, he could take Huo Fenghua to Luofeng Ridge and find out whether he was lying. But at this moment, he was more desperate to find Su Zeyang. And whether the cursed formation at Luofeng Ridge was real or not, once he found Su Zeyang, the truth would come out.

Seeing Feng Tianzong hesitate, Huo Fenghua waited quietly. After a moment, Feng Tianzong stood up, went outside, called Cong Wenhao, and gave a few instructions.

When he returned, Feng Tianzong said, “I’ve told them to bring you water. After you bathe and change, we leave.” He had Cong Wenhao take a letter to Peng Po and return to the army camp to hold things down, while Song Wei was sent to investigate Gu Guangji’s whereabouts.

It would’ve been easier for him to move without Huo Fenghua, but right now he didn’t trust leaving Huo Fenghua with anyone. What he feared most was that Shao Feijie and the others would snatch him again. After turning it over in his mind, he decided to keep Huo Fenghua with him.

Huo Fenghua didn’t know any of those considerations. He only said, “Bringing me along is useless. I told you I don’t know where Senior Brother and Master are.”

Feng Tianzong said, “If you help me find Zeyang, I’ll let you go.”

Hot water had already been brought into the room. Huo Fenghua was naked as he got out of bed and walked toward the tub. He froze at those words. “What did you say?”

Feng Tianzong looked at him and said heavily, “After we find Zeyang, we go back to Yujing. You’ll pretend you’re seriously ill and can’t get up. I’ll summon a doctor to treat you, but you’ll ‘die’ despite treatment. Then I’ll give you a sum of money, and you’ll slip out of Yujing and live under an assumed name. But I have two conditions. First, for the rest of your life you’re not to return to Xichou. Second, you’re not to see Su Zeyang again.”

Huo Fenghua didn’t hesitate for a second. “A gentleman’s word is binding. I agree. When the time comes, General, don’t forget your promise either.”

He sank into the tub and took a long, comfortable hot bath. When he got out, he changed into a newly bought set of coarse cloth clothes, though they couldn’t hide his handsome looks at all.

Cong Wenhao and Song Wei went off to carry out their orders. Only Feng Tianzong and Huo Fenghua remained. They left the inn. It should’ve been one horse each, but Huo Fenghua said, “I can’t ride.”

It wasn’t that he truly couldn’t. He’d ridden plenty while following Wen Heyi, but once the horse went fast he always got jittery. He thought to himself, ‘It’s like driving. If there’s a driver, why would I drive myself?’

Feng Tianzong didn’t waste time with him. After mounting, he held out his hand.

Huo Fenghua grabbed Feng Tianzong’s hand, stepped into the stirrup, and swung onto the horse, sitting behind him.

When Feng Tianzong urged the horse forward, Huo Fenghua’s body tipped back. He hurriedly wrapped his arms around Feng Tianzong’s waist.

Feng Tianzong said coldly, “Keep your distance.”

However, Huo Fenghua didn’t listen. He hugged him tighter, pressed his head to his shoulder, and said, “We’ve already done filthier things. Why care about this?” As he spoke, he slid his hand over Feng Tianzong’s lower abs through the coarse cloth, feeling solid, hard muscle. He couldn’t resist groping at his chest too, thinking that Su Zeyang was still softer and nicer to hold, fragrant and gentle. Still, when it came to what he had down there, Huo Fenghua had to admit defeat.

Feng Tianzong said, “Touch me again and I’ll throw you off the horse.”

Huo Fenghua laughed. “Then throw me off. I don’t even want to go with you.”

Feng Tianzong stopped wasting words and increased their speed, leaving Zhuyue City before nightfall.

Once outside the city, the two of them rode one horse across a vast, bleak plateau. Huo Fenghua felt cold wind pouring in from every direction. He clung to Feng Tianzong even tighter. “Let’s find somewhere to stay before it gets dark.”

For a long stretch beyond here was nothing but wilderness with only low shrubs that didn’t fear the cold; there wasn’t even a single tree big enough to block wind and rain.

Huo Fenghua didn’t want to sleep out in the open. With sunlight it was bearable, but he was afraid that once it got dark he’d freeze to death outside.

Feng Tianzong didn’t answer, but he did spur the horse faster. Before nightfall they reached a cluster of buildings near the border between Zhuyue City and Xichou, though it could barely be considered a village. There were just a few lonely houses, one of which was a tea stall and the other an inn.

The inn was like a farmhouse courtyard, with only three guest rooms.

When they arrived, all three rooms were empty, but Feng Tianzong only took one. He and Huo Fenghua would share.

Huo Fenghua didn’t care. After entering, he shut the doors and windows tightly, lit the charcoal brazier, and sat by the stove warming himself. After a while he felt that wasn’t right, went back to the window, cracked it open a thin sliver, and peered outside.

Feng Tianzong took off his cloak and tossed it by the bed, then asked the inn’s runner for some warm food.

A little later, a young girl knocked softly outside the door. “I’m bringing supper for the two honored guests.”

Huo Fenghua was closer to the door. When he opened it, he saw a gentle-looking girl with delicate features standing outside. He smiled at her at once. “Thank you, miss. Sorry to trouble you.”

Seeing how handsome he was, the girl couldn’t help lowering her head with a shy smile. She carried the tray in with both hands, set two dishes and two bowls of rice on the table, and said, “Please enjoy.”

Huo Fenghua kept watching until the girl left. After he shut the door, he sat down at the table and called to Feng Tianzong, “General, time to eat.”

Feng Tianzong came over and sat down, but he didn’t pick up his chopsticks right away.

Huo Fenghua had been traveling for half the day and was starving. He grabbed his bowl and chopsticks and shoveled rice into his mouth. After a while he noticed Feng Tianzong watching him. “General, why aren’t you eating?”

Feng Tianzong said, “I was afraid someone might have poisoned the food. Now it’s safe to eat.”

Huo Fenghua choked on a grain of rice and erupted into a violent coughing fit. After a long while, holding his chest, he glared at Feng Tianzong in indignation, then buried his head and continued eating.

After dinner, the girl knocked again, wanting to come in and clear the bowls.

Huo Fenghua took the initiative to stack the dishes into the tray, opened the door, and handed it to her.

The girl blushed as she thanked him. When she took the tray, her soft fingers brushed Huo Fenghua’s palm, and her face turned even redder.

After the girl left the room, Huo Fenghua couldn’t help rubbing his palm. Aside from that brief soft touch, there was now a note in his hand, slipped into his palm by the girl just then.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch28

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 28

Huo Fenghua was both shocked and terrified. His neck was still entangled in Feng Tianzong’s whip, and he couldn’t pull it off with his own hands. He wanted to push Feng Tianzong away, but he knew that resisting would only provoke the other man’s anger, and he would inevitably suffer even more.

So, when Feng Tianzong’s hard, thick cock forced its way into his ass, Huo Fenghua took a deep breath, trying to relax his body to allow Feng Tianzong to enter more easily.

Even so, Huo Fenghua was in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes. After all, that area was too dry and tight. While relaxing his body, he softly pleaded, “General, please, be gentle.” Most men are more responsive to gentleness than to force.

Perhaps his pleading had an effect, for Feng Tianzong stopped after fully entering him, breathing slowly, and reaching out to pinch his chin.

Before Huo Fenghua could even sigh in relief, Feng Tianzong suddenly pulled out and then thrust in again violently.

“Ah—” Huo Fenghua cried out in pain. When he opened his mouth, Feng Tianzong inserted his fingers into his mouth. The long fingers pressed against the base of his tongue, while the thrusting below continued without pause, completely withdrawing and then fully penetrating into him again.

Huo Fenghua didn’t dare to close his mouth and bite his fingers, only whimpering as he let Feng Tianzong insert his fingers deep into his throat, causing him to gag repeatedly, which simultaneously caused his hole to clench.

Feng Tianzong’s breathing became rapid. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, Huo Fenghua’s body was warm and soft inside, the tender flesh wrapping tightly around his dick. After the initial dryness of the first penetration, it quickly became moist, and the thrusting became smoother. Compared to Su Zeyang, Feng Tianzong had far more experience and skill in this matter. Since Huo Fenghua’s body was receptive to him, he changed angles as he kept thrusting, searching for that sensitive spot inside Huo Fenghua, until he felt Huo Fenghua’s throat suddenly tighten. He withdrew his fingers from his mouth and thrust harder into that spot.

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help but cry out, a sound full of lust that made his own face flush and his body tremble, his fingers gripping the edge of the table. The pain in his ass had become numb after repeated penetration. He knew that the place Feng Tianzong was thrusting into was his prostate. He understood that every man would feel something when that area was pressed, but what frightened him was that the feeling of being filled and rubbed made his whole body tremble with pleasure.

He unconsciously accommodated Feng Tianzong, relaxing his hole to let him in, then reluctantly clenching it, not wanting him to leave. He couldn’t suppress his cries of overflowing lust, even though he wanted to scold himself for being shameless.

At this moment, Feng Tianzong suddenly loosened the long whip wrapped around his neck, withdrew from his body, and grabbed his arm, flipping him over to lie supine on the table.

Huo Fenghua was caught off guard. His eyes were hazy and his cheeks were flushed, while his cock stood erect between his legs. All this was clearly visible to Feng Tianzong.

Feng Tianzong sneered, “It seems you like it.”  With that, he grabbed his legs with both hands, spreading them completely apart, and once again fully thrust himself into Huo Fenghua.

After a groan, Huo Fenghua vaguely thought to himself, ‘What’s wrong with me liking it? You’re raping me, and you won’t even let me enjoy it? What kind of logic is that? I’m going to enjoy it. Let’s see what you can do about it.’

So, he cried out even louder. Feng Tianzong thrust against his body, causing him to slide uncontrollably backward. His head, no longer supported by the table, tilted back; his Adam’s apple trembling violently. His pale body was completely exposed before Feng Tianzong, and his hard, aching cock was pressed against his slightly concave lower abs due to his thinness, swaying from side to side with his movements.

Huo Fenghua struggled to lift his head as he reached out to grab his dick.

Feng Tianzong, however, said sharply, “Don’t touch it.”

Huo Fenghua’s movements froze, and he shamelessly pleaded, “General, please, I can’t take it anymore.”

Feng Tianzong often exchanged flirtatious and playful words with Su Zeyang in bed. When he said to Su Zeyang, “Beg me,” Su Zeyang would always say with flushed cheeks, “Please enter me,” but his tone was mostly calm and affectionate, completely different from Huo Fenghua’s desperate pleading.

In fact, Huo Fenghua was right; Su Zeyang was like a white plum blossom, unattainable. Even when Feng Tianzong fucked him fiercely in bed, he never dared to torment him excessively, as if he were a reflection in a mirror or a moon in the water*, afraid that a forceful touch would shatter him like a bubble.

*Metaphor referring to something that is illusory, fleeting, and difficult to grasp or achieve.

But Huo Fenghua was a different story. His pleas sounded sincere and heartfelt, as if he truly couldn’t bear Feng Tianzong’s actions any longer, his body becoming as soft as spring water. This aroused Feng Tianzong’s sadistic desires as a man, making him want to torment him even more, to see him helplessly writhing, to see him uncontrollably shedding tears.

So Feng Tianzong repeated, “Don’t touch it!”

Huo Fenghua, with tears in his eyes, glared at him hatefully, clenching his hole causing it grip tightly to Feng Tianzong’s cock.

Feng Tianzong’s breath hitched, and he spread Huo Fenghua’s legs wider, fucking him even harder. This time, Huo Fenghua’s body swayed, almost knocking the table over. He could only cling to the edge of the table with both hands to keep himself from falling, but he had no energy left to comfort himself.

Feng Tianzong attacked him again with a storm of thrusts. Huo Fenghua felt his penis swelling to the extreme. Because his head was tilted back, his throat was dry, itchy, and burning. He opened his mouth and let out a startled cry before managing to say, “General, no more…”

“No more?” Feng Tianzong looked at him; his body didn’t seem to want to stop.

Huo Fenghua let out a long “Mm—” and shook his head vigorously, scattering sweat everywhere, before saying, “I can’t take it anymore. Stop, please stop?”

Feng Tianzong answered him mercilessly, “No.” It wasn’t that he really didn’t want to stop, but he himself couldn’t stop either, completely immersed in the wet and hot embrace of the other’s body.

Huo Fenghua didn’t know if he wanted Feng Tianzong to stop or not; he only felt that his body had reached its limit of endurance. His cock was swollen and aching, and the pleasure had accumulated to a terrifying degree. Eventually, his whole body tensed, tightly gripping Feng Tianzong’s cock inside him, that was grinding against that sensitive spot. His penis suddenly trembled, and he came, spilling out streams of cum onto his abs.

After cumming, Huo Fenghua’s whole body went limp, without a trace of strength left, and his body slid towards the edge of the table.

Feng Tianzong grabbed his waist and lifted him up. Maintaining their connected position, he carried him a few steps and pressed him against the wall, telling him to hold onto his shoulders. “Hold on tight.”

Huo Fenghua had no strength left. The moment Feng Tianzong let go, he would slide down, so Feng Tianzong had to support his knees with both hands, pressing his back tightly against the wall, and began thrusting again. However, as a result, Huo Fenghua’s back was chafed painfully against the rough wall, so he could only use all his strength to hug Feng Tianzong’s shoulders. He panted continuously, digging his fingernails into Feng Tianzong’s skin.

Feng Tianzong paused, and whispered in his ear, “Are you seeking death?”

Huo Fenghua loosened his fingers, his head resting weakly on Feng Tianzong’s shoulder, his words broken and fragmented by Feng Tianzong’s thrusts. “General, you… You’re so cruel, you’re… you’re using your cock, ngh, roughly thrusting it into my ass, and—and you’re still scolding me. I—”

Perhaps his words were too vulgar; before he could finish a complete sentence, Feng Tianzong began thrusting in and out rapidly. His back muscles tensed and he panted besides Huo Fenghua’s ear before spilling inside him.

After cumming, Feng Tianzong couldn’t support himself anymore and slowly knelt on the ground, his legs bent. Huo Fenghua was still hugging his shoulders, straddling him with his legs apart, feeling Feng Tianzong’s cock throbbing inside him.

Huo Fenghua felt like he was dying and coming back to life, his whole body feeling languid and unwilling to move.

Until Feng Tianzong picked him up, threw him onto the bed, and he rolled to the inner side of the bed, comfortably wrapping himself in the blanket and closing his eyes.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch27

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 27

After confirming Huo Fenghua’s identity, Pan Yan gave no outward reaction. He merely had a servant relay the message. “It has been verified that this man is not Xichou’s eldest prince, Huo Fengnian, but General Feng’s household male concubine, Huo Fenghua. His qualification to compete is hereby revoked. Expel him from the tournament grounds.”

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help lifting his head, but he didn’t see Wen Heyi or Shao Feijie on the viewing stand. He knew there was no room left to maneuver. Seeing Feng Tianzong’s face like ice, he didn’t dare provoke him again and could only fall docilely silent.

At this moment, Pan Yan suddenly called out clearly, “General Feng, please take your person with you.” His manner was courteous and he gave Feng Tianzong plenty of face.

Feng Tianzong cupped his fists and thanked him, then gripped Huo Fenghua’s wrist and led him out of the arena.

Even after the two of them left, the spectators inside continued to buzz with discussion. Hardly anyone paid attention to the martial heroes still competing.

Huo Fenghua stumbled along under Feng Tianzong’s grip. Once they were out, he saw two men waiting. One was Cong Wenhao, the other Song Wei. Both wore plain cloth, traveling in disguise.

Cong Wenhao stepped forward and cupped his fists. “General, you found him?”

Feng Tianzong’s voice was icy. “Back to the inn first.”

Huo Fenghua was dragged the whole way, pleading, “General, ease up a little.”

Feng Tianzong didn’t answer. He hauled him straight into his room at the inn and slammed the door shut.

Huo Fenghua lurched into the square table inside, nearly knocking it over. He steadied himself with effort, turned around, and hurriedly said, “General, please calm down. We can talk this through.”

Feng Tianzong said, “Where did Su Zeyang go?”

Huo Fenghua took a breath. “I don’t know. He didn’t tell me when he left.”

Feng Tianzong let out a cold laugh. “Didn’t you leave the inn together? You even rode only one horse.”

Seeing the fury in Feng Tianzong’s eyes, Huo Fenghua rushed to explain. “General, listen to me. It’s complicated, but Young Master Su leaving on his own was entirely for your sake, not mine.”

“For my sake?” Those words only enraged Feng Tianzong further. He stepped in, seized Huo Fenghua’s wrist, flipped him over, and forced him face-down on the table. He grabbed the already-torn clothes on his back and ripped them even more. “Then who is this brand for?”

Huo Fenghua had nothing to say.

Feng Tianzong pressed his fingers against the poplar-leaf mark, drew a deep breath, and closed his eyes briefly as he tried to steady his emotions.

Goosebumps rose across Huo Fenghua’s waist. At this point he couldn’t care whether he was betraying Su Zeyang or not. Keeping himself alive came first. So he said, “He insisted on branding me. I didn’t agree. From start to finish, he forced me. I haven’t wronged you, General.”

“What did you say?” Feng Tianzong’s tone turned abruptly colder.

Huo Fenghua was still sprawled on the table, not yet realizing he’d triggered a towering rage. He kept talking. “General, Young Master Su’s the one who’s being unfaithful. Don’t blame me. I’ll help you find him and drag him back. Next time you should use iron chains to keep him leashed up so he can’t run again.”

Feng Tianzong clamped a hand around Huo Fenghua’s throat and lifted his head. “What did you say? Say it again.”

Huo Fenghua couldn’t breathe smoothly. Only then did he realize Feng Tianzong was even angrier. He didn’t dare babble anymore. He grabbed Feng Tianzong’s hand with both of his, trying to pry a small gap between those fingers and his neck.

Feng Tianzong said, “He seduced you? Then I’ll see just how many of his marks you’re carrying!” As he spoke, he yanked Huo Fenghua’s clothes with his other hand, tearing through layers in an instant.

Huo Fenghua was stripped bare. This body had taken plenty of injuries, but the skin was naturally smooth. Given time, most wounds healed without leaving much trace. Only the two brands on his lower back remained starkly visible.

Feng Tianzong released his grip on Huo Fenghua’s throat.

Huo Fenghua coughed a few times and shoved Feng Tianzong away as he retreated to the corner of the room. He didn’t care that he was completely naked. He just rubbed his neck and said, “General, there isn’t anything else. Between him and me, it really isn’t what you’re imagining. The one he truly loves is you. With me it was just playing along.”

Feng Tianzong stared at him. “You said he was unfaithful and seduced you.”

Huo Fenghua’s head felt dizzy and swollen. “I was talking nonsense. If Young Master Su were going to stray, it’d be like a white plum blossom straying*, pure and cold, lofty and untouchable. Other than you, General, who could possibly tame him? This time he left because he went to find someone to remove your curse.” He rushed the words out, afraid that if he spoke any later he wouldn’t get the chance.

*He’s referring to the idiom “A red apricot branch reaching over the wall”, which is a metaphor for a wife having extramarital affairs. However, he replaced red apricot with white plum blossom (allusion or purity, coldness, restraint), highlighting how absurd it is for Su Zeyang to be unfaithful to Feng Tianzong. 

Feng Tianzong asked, “What curse?”

Huo Fenghua said, “A curse to make the Feng family line die out, no sons, no heirs.”

Feng Tianzong gave a cold laugh. “To save your own life, you’ll do anything. Any despicable trick, you’ll use.”

Huo Fenghua froze. “I’m telling the truth.”

Red tinged Feng Tianzong’s eyes. He was furious beyond measure. Suddenly his right hand flicked, snapping out the Fulong Whip. The long whip lashed up, and the tip coiled around Huo Fenghua’s neck, dragging him back to the table.

Once again, Huo Fenghua was pinned down on it, but this time Feng Tianzong pressed his whole body down over him. In his ear, his voice was cold as winter. “I want to see exactly what you taste like, to make him—” He didn’t finish, as if unwilling to say that name. One hand stroked Huo Fenghua’s smooth, soft waist, fingers pinching his faintly pink nipple until desire flared. Then he stripped down his pants and pressed his hard length against the cleft between Huo Fenghua’s ass.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Flight of a Pair of Phoenixes Ch26

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 26

Huo Fenghua sat down and was handed a wooden tag with a number on it. It was his number. He casually hung it around his neck, when he suddenly heard an uproar ripple through the whole tournament ground. He looked up and saw that the city lord, Pan Yan, and his daughter Pan Zishu had appeared on the second floor viewing terrace at the front.

Pan Yan was lean and solid. Though he wasn’t young anymore, his eyes were still sharp, and he was full of energy. Pan Zishu wore a veil, so her face couldn’t be seen clearly, but her skin was snow-white and her figure slender. She ought to be a stunning beauty.

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help standing up, wanting to get a better look at Pan Zishu. In an instant, another idea formed in his mind. If Pan Zishu really was a great beauty, why didn’t he simply go along with it and use Shao Feijie’s support to marry her?

If he did that, he’d have the city lord of Zhuyue City as his father-in-law, and a gorgeous woman like Pan Zishu as his wife. Then he could dig in his heels and refuse to follow Shao Feijie in restoring the kingdom. Could Shao Feijie really just seize him and drag him away? That would be far better than being at Shao Feijie’s mercy and unable to escape.

With that thought, the unease that had been haunting him finally settled. He sat back down and suddenly laughed.

A few people beside him were looking at him. He found it odd and glanced around, only to realize everyone else had hung their number tags on their chairs, and he was the only one wearing it around his neck. He quickly took it off and hung it on the left armrest of his chair.

When he looked up again, Huo Fenghua vaguely felt Pan Zishu was looking in their direction, amusement in her eyes. He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he lifted his chin and smiled back at her.

After waiting a little longer, the marriage competition officially began.

There were three platforms in the center of the arena. Each round called up six people. The numbers were split into three pairs, and each pair fought. The loser left, and the winner stepped down to prepare for the next round, then another pair went up to fight.

Huo Fenghua sat below and watched, his heart pounding. Every participant seemed highly skilled. If he went up with his pitiful, half-baked tricks, he figured he wouldn’t last even two exchanges.

Of course, there were weaker ones too. When they ran into real experts, the match ended in two or three moves. They retreated, and the next pair quickly filled in.

After half an hour, Huo Fenghua heard his number called. He stood, took off his cloak, and went up by the steps beside the platform. His entrance lacked a bit of swagger. He knew plenty of people simply leapt up onto the stage, but the platform was high, and he was afraid he wouldn’t make it and would embarrass himself, so using the stairs felt safer.

In the end, his opponent went to the edge and tried to leap up, but came up just short, tripped at the lip, and pitched forward.

Laughter burst out all around. Huo Fenghua felt secondhand humiliation for the man too, thinking, why would you even do that?

They faced each other, cupped their fists in greeting, and took their stances.

Huo Fenghua always set his stance beautifully, but the moment they traded blows, his weakness showed. They went back and forth for more than ten exchanges, and he suddenly realized his opponent was just as mediocre as himself.

And that man liked to roar low in his throat whenever he attacked, sounding terrifying, but his moves were clumsy, his strength lacking, and his reactions slow. After more than twenty exchanges, the man backed up to the edge of the platform, tangled his own feet, and fell off.

The referee immediately declared Huo Fenghua the winner.

Huo Fenghua looked dazed and confused. He lifted a hand and waved, then went down, still not understanding how he’d just won his first match.

The second match would be the next day.

That night, Huo Fenghua asked Wen Heyi whether his opponent had been arranged in advance, since he’d been so weak. Wen Heyi only smiled and told him to guess.

Huo Fenghua was convinced something was fishy about this whole tournament. Maybe Pan Yan really had been persuaded by Shao Feijie and was taking the chance to marry his daughter off to him. If so, then he could probably win tomorrow’s match with his eyes closed.

The next day, Huo Fenghua climbed onto the platform full of confidence. This time his opponent was an elderly man with hair already gone white.

In the viewing seats, people were murmuring to each other. Huo Fenghua couldn’t help turning his head toward the second-floor terrace again. He kept feeling Pan Zishu was looking this way.

He turned back and saluted the old man.

Yesterday, that old man had looked vigorous. He’d fought dozens of exchanges and defeated his opponent. Today, though, he looked sickly and listless. Either he hadn’t rested well, or he’d suddenly come down with an acute illness at this critical moment.

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help finding it a little funny. He raised a starting posture and was just about to strike when someone suddenly shouted, “Hold it!”

The noisy arena fell instantly silent. With that shout, a tall, slender figure leapt lightly from the spectator stands. In a nimble flip, he landed on the very platform Huo Fenghua was on.

The arena steward pointed at him and bellowed, “Who are you? Why are you barging onto the platform?”

Who was he? Huo Fenghua, in shock, stumbled backward again and again. The man was Feng Tianzong.

The Feng Tianzong he’d seen yesterday hadn’t been an illusion at all. Somehow, he’d slipped away from the garrison in Xichou and chased him all the way to Zhuyue City.

Feng Tianzong had taken off his armor and changed into a brown cloth outfit, but his presence was undiminished. He seized Huo Fenghua’s wrist and called out, “City Lord, wait. This man’s identity is fraudulent. He shouldn’t be allowed to continue competing.”

The steward hesitated and didn’t dare decide on his own. He looked up toward the city lord’s stand.

The entire arena had gone quiet, and Feng Tianzong’s voice carried clearly to Pan Yan.

Huo Fenghua immediately whispered urgently, “General, you can’t joke about this.”

Feng Tianzong didn’t even look at him, only letting his lips curve faintly.

Pan Yan stood and walked to the edge of the terrace, looking down at Feng Tianzong. He murmured something to a servant at his side, and the servant shouted, “Who are you, sir? If this man isn’t Huo Fengnian, then who is he?”

Feng Tianzong tightened his grip on Huo Fenghua’s wrist and lifted his chin. “I am Feng Tianzong, the Great General of Donglin’s Expedition Army. This man is not Xichou’s eldest prince Huo Fengnian. He is the male concubine of my household, named Huo Fenghua.”

The moment he said it, the arena erupted. Spectators, and even contestants still fighting on the platforms, began murmuring. Even Pan Zishu could no longer sit still. She stood and went to Pan Yan’s side, looking in their direction.

Cold sweat poured down Huo Fenghua’s forehead. He shouted, “This man is spewing nonsense. None of it is true. City Lord, you mustn’t believe him! Huo Fenghua is my younger brother, a hostage in Donglin. We’re simply twins, and we look alike!”

Pan Yan’s brows knit tightly as he murmured some instructions to his servant.

The servant shouted, “General Feng, you claim this man is your male concubine Huo Fenghua. Do you have proof?”

Feng Tianzong smiled slightly. “Of course.” Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, he yanked Huo Fenghua into his arms, pressing chest to chest. With his other hand, he tore open the cloth at Huo Fenghua’s left lower back, exposing a phoenix-shaped brand. “Among Donglin nobility, wives and concubines must bear the husband’s household brand on the lower back. City Lord, you may have someone inspect it closely. Is that not the phoenix mark of my Feng family on his waist?”

Huo Fenghua froze. He instinctively reached to touch his lower back, but Feng Tianzong caught his wrist and murmured into his ear, “Behave and you’ll suffer less. Don’t move.”

Pan Yan sent someone down to examine the mark on Huo Fenghua’s lower back.

Up in the viewing stands, Shao Feijie’s expression was hard as stone. He gripped the Blood Drinking Saber at his waist and looked ready to leap onto the platform, but Wen Heyi stopped him. “If you go now, it won’t change anything. Pan Yan will definitely hold you to account over this. We should leave Zhuyue City as soon as possible.”

Shao Feijie slowly loosened his grip on the saber hilt and replied coldly, “We leave.”

Meanwhile, Pan Yan’s servant had come down onto the platform and bent to examine the brand carefully. He suddenly let out a soft “Eh?” and said, “Why is there another one?”

The torn edge of the cloth on the right revealed a reddish trace. He hooked the fabric aside to look and found there was another brand there too.

Hearing that, Feng Tianzong lowered his gaze. He saw a poplar-leaf-shaped brand on Huo Fenghua’s right lower back. His expression turned icy. He clamped down on Huo Fenghua’s wrist so hard that Huo Fenghua couldn’t help crying out in pain.


<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

A Contract Between Enemies Ch22

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/


Chapter 22: Divine Kingdom

Of course, Salaar wasn’t about to let him go so easily.

The golden shield forced open a slit, and the great hero yanked Myss out by sheer force. Salaar pulled too hard; Myss crashed straight into him, and the two of them toppled together toward the base of the city wall.

Salaar twisted in midair so that his back faced downward. The instant they hit the ground, he wrapped Myss up and rolled across the mud, stemming off most of the impact.

The price was that both of them were caked in mud. With Myss’s long hair, he suffered the most.

Salaar: “Mom, are you okay?”

Myss shuddered, a chill running down his spine. “You wacko, shut up!”

“Oh, that’s what you are hung up on,” Salaar said breezily. “Relax, my three hundred years of memory are fine. But Mina’s emotional attack was too strong, so I need a living anchor. With a real ‘mother’ within arm’s reach, it’s much easier to steady my mind.”

“So I planted a bit of suggestion in myself. You know I’m very good at that sort of magic.”

He was, in fact. Myss subconsciously looked at Hailey.

Hailey was staring at them with hollow eyes, devoid of any emotion.

“Can’t you choose Hailey?”

Myss was truly baffled. Species issues aside, at least her gender matched.

Salaar stared at him in astonishment. “What nonsense are you talking about? Hailey is still a child.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’m your enemy!”

Salaar: “Exactly, which is why I picked you—if I chose Hailey as the ‘mother’ anchor, I would feel completely sick. Picking you also feels awful, but at least you would have to be disgusted along with me. That is a win, right?”

A breath caught in Myss’s chest. He wanted nothing more than to bite off this man’s nose.

For a second, he even felt a twinge of nostalgia for his time inside the seal. At least back then Salaar never pulled such ridiculous mind games. Would this guy really defile the memories of his own mother just to make Myss sick?

Myss glared at Salaar with venom, hoping to find guilt, resistance, or turmoil on his face. All he found was calmness, like a pool of stagnant water.

… Forget it. Salaar had gone toe to toe with him alone for more than three hundred years. The man wasn’t normal. What else could he expect?

“Don’t call me ‘Mom’. I have a name. And absolutely don’t act like a spoiled child towards me.”

Finally, the Demon Lord rasped a warning. “…Otherwise, I’ll show you the cruelest mother–son breakup in human history.”

Salaar snorted a laugh. “Got it, My~ss~”

Myss flicked his mud-smeared braid back, blew out a hard breath, and shot everyone a look of deep dissatisfaction.

His gaze quickly locked onto Hailey. “If we all got hit, why’s she perfectly fine?”

“I saw Mina’s figure as my mother, but that means nothing. My mother has been gone a long time,” Hailey replied coolly, as if the topic had nothing to do with her.

Her Magibase tit didn’t move. A few pale red strands of magic wriggled near it, trying to wrap around it, but it was like climbing a porcelain statue greased with oil; they could only slide back down in vain—the strange disease’s infection had suddenly failed.

Huh?

Myss couldn’t help taking a longer look. He hadn’t been mistaken. The pale red threads had no effect on the tit.

“Are you sure you only took her emotions and did nothing else?” he asked, suspecting Salaar had meddled.

Salaar tilted his head in confusion.

Myss had no choice. He wasted a few more words and roughly explained Hailey’s situation.

“Her infection stopped? …That figures. The sickness is closer to a spiritual plague.”

Salaar didn’t look very surprised, as if he had already guessed.

“‘Mina’ went to great lengths to become the perfect mother because her infection depends on emotion.”

“Covington and Barlow both cried for ‘Mom’ as they were dying. I think in that moment they subconsciously accepted Mina, and their Magibases dropped all defenses.”

… And then Mina sliced off their Magibases and ate them, Myss thought.

By now, the mechanism of the mysterious plague was crystal clear.

Mina’s magic distorts memories and stokes dependence. The instant the infected open their hearts, Mina would devour their Magibases.

Great. It looked like Mina couldn’t do anything to the three of them for the time being.

Hailey had lost the emotions that could be shaken, so her condition could no longer worsen.

Myss had no concept of family to begin with; zero multiplied by ten thousand was still zero.

Salaar was even more ruthless. He pre-twisted his own subconscious and forcibly designated his mortal enemy as “mother”, ensuring he wouldn’t feel any soft spot when facing Mina.

Thinking of what Salaar had done gave Myss goosebumps. He shook his head hard and decided to change the subject. “Knowing the infection mechanism doesn’t help. We’re trapped here.”

Salaar: “Wow, that really is breaking news.”

Myss grounded his molars. Had Salaar really anchored him as “Mom”? The brat’s attitude hadn’t changed at all. He was still as nasty as if he had been chewed up by a dog.

While Demon Lord was griping internally, Salaar had already turned to Hailey. “Based on what you know, where might Huey have gone?”

“If that priest doesn’t interfere, Uncle Huey would go to the Hammer Tavern. Even if the interior has completely changed, he would go there first to look for me.”

Hailey’s tone was calm and unruffled, nothing like a child.

“If he can’t find me, he’ll do everything he can to escape. Uncle Huey said he must see me grow up safe and sound.”

“All right, we will check the Hammer Tavern first,” Salaar said.

Myss thought for a few seconds and couldn’t come up with a better plan. Besides, the darkness around them was so thick he couldn’t see his hand. He didn’t remember the roads at all, so he could only keep following Salaar.

In the thick darkness, the three of them moved forward slowly.

They drew farther from the city wall covered in flesh-membranes, yet that strange sickly-sweet smell grew stronger.

Myss sniffed. After a while his nose went numb. The scent had a half-raw, half-cooked quality. He wasn’t sure it even counted as a pleasant food smell.

Beyond the scent, the buildings around them looked more and more out of place.

They had started in the slums, where the houses were a mess to begin with, so nothing seemed wrong. But as the buildings became more orderly, the oddities stood out.

In those unremarkable corners of walls and gaps beneath the eaves, layers of foreign matter had grown. Their texture was like cobwebs caked with dust, or like the skin that forms on spoiled meat broth. Their colors were vivid, and the “patterns” on their surfaces flowed slowly.

No, those weren’t patterns.

Myss narrowed his eyes. It seemed to be countless fragments of images stitched together.

Women’s smiling faces stuck to sunlight, fresh milk and bread steamed with heat. Hundreds of mothers hummed as they held their children, each lullaby different…

Strangely, simply looking at them wrapped him in soothing smiles and sweet aromas. He felt as if he sank into warm embraces one after another. Gentle humming echoed softly in his ears.

Myss recognized the sensation. When he was first stuffed into this human body, he had experienced similar sensory shocks. There was no doubt these were memories—memories that belonged to different humans.

They curled up in the corners of this bizarre space, lit by windowlight, everything like a fantastical dream.

Salaar clearly recognized them too.

“All right. Now we know where Mina’s concept of ‘mother’ came from. She just fused the populace’s memories of their mothers. She doesn’t have much creative ability herself,” he said briskly.

“So what?”

Myss poked those memories. They felt soft and springy, very strange.

Salaar: “So she may not be very intelligent, like Fabian’s exorcism-and-consecration array—she’s simply mechanically repeating the same routine.”

Fine, Mina wasn’t bright. That still didn’t explain what was going on with this strange world.

Myss wordlessly withdrew his hand and stopped prodding the memories.

The weird phenomena in the dark didn’t leave them alone.

Doors and windows they passed would occasionally act up, screeching with ear-splitting creaks or being gently tapped by unseen hands.

Sometimes they would just round a corner, and when they looked back the sign on the corner had turned, pointing toward some alley. A few seconds earlier, that alley didn’t exist at all.

Occasionally, at the edge of the light, Myss saw Mina’s feet. He recognized that burlap skirt and those dust-stained shoes.

“Mina” would stand ahead of him, not far yet not near, her upper body swallowed by darkness. When Myss stared straight at her, she vanished again.

If Hailey’s emotions were normal, who knew how badly she would be frightened. Just thinking about it sounded like a headache. Myss glanced at the quiet, well-behaved girl and, for once, agreed with Salaar’s decision.

Salaar himself was on high alert. Even if the noises couldn’t hurt them, he still moved with patience, stopping to investigate from time to time.

“They’re just memory scraps. No danger for now,” the great hero reported.

During the dull march, Myss gradually grew sleepy.

The roads in the Lower City were hard to walk. Wet mud caked his shoes, cold and heavy. He hadn’t eaten dinner, and his stomach was rumbling. He didn’t even have a warm cup of mead to sip.

Amidst his drowsiness, Myss found the ghostly noises more and more unbearable.

When he passed a wooden door, it let out an especially loud creak. Salaar was just about to stop when a streak of black light sliced past the tip of his nose.

The door disintegrated on the spot, as if it had never existed.

No door meant no door noise. Perfect. Myss grunted, convinced he was a genius.

Salaar shot him a helpless look. “Someone’s cranky. Hungry?”

“Grrr-rrr.” Myss’s stomach answered for him.

“No,” Myss himself firmly denied. “You’re not hungry, so how could I be?”

Salaar raised an eyebrow. “But there was a very, very big growl just now.”

“They’re just memory fragments. No danger for now,” Myss said with a straight face, imitating his tone.

Salaar only smiled. He dug in his little travel pouch and fished out two candies. He tossed one to Myss. Myss sniffed it and caught the raspberry scent he liked.

Salaar pushed the other piece into Hailey’s hand, and she obediently took it and ate it.

“I have salted butter and jerky too, but we need to ration them. Let us use this to tide us over,” Salaar said.

Myss looked at the candy, then at Salaar. Fine, this didn’t count as conceding. This was him claiming spoils from his mortal enemy.

He popped the candy into his mouth and crunched it with his teeth.

The human body really was a marvel. As the sweetness spread across his tongue, the edgy restlessness in him eased a lot.

He stopped wrecking those poor doors, focused all his attention on the candy, and even forgot the sleepiness fogging his head.

Its taste was even better than Myss had imagined, and he had no idea where Salaar had gotten it. Myss eased up with his teeth, and his tongue cautiously licked at it, eating especially slowly.

Just as the candy sphere was almost gone, they finally found the Hammer Tavern.

The tavern was still crooked as ever. The once enormous windows had all turned into the tiny panes they saw in SScintilla’s house. Behind the conspicuous tavern entrance was still that shabby little room, and the size contrast was quite comical. They couldn’t even find the way up to the second floor.

All around was silence. The priest and Huey weren’t there.

Hailey stood without a word. Who knew what she was thinking, or perhaps she was thinking nothing at all.

“You’ve failed. Next, it’s my turn to choose the route… route?”

Myss was halfway through declaring this to Salaar when the ambient noise suddenly changed pitch.

He saw a gutter rat totter past the tavern, a few pale red threads coiled around it. The rat was half transparent overall, its outline drifting in and out of focus, as if it walked along the edge of a dream.

… No, how had a Magibase left its person?

Myss abandoned Salaar on the spot and ran toward that Magibase rat, only to discover with some displeasure that the Magibase was still connected to a human. At the very least he could feel the fluctuations of human magic.

Too bad this wasn’t a wild Magibase delivered to his doorstep. He simply couldn’t see the Magibase’s owner.

“Hey, can you hear me?” Myss stepped on the rat’s tail.

The rat bounced under his foot and turned its head in a daze. “Mm, mm? Mom?”

“Shut up, I’m not your mother.” Myss felt his mood dip the moment he heard that word. “What exactly is your situation?”

“I, hiccup, I just finished drinking. I might have mistaken you,” the rat said drunkenly. “Sorry, I had too much, had too much… I had a dream about my mom…”

“Making a living hasn’t been easy lately. I miss her so much… Mom…”

The rat squeaked its sentiments. The pale red threads on it wrapped tighter and tighter, and its form grew more and more solid, as if someone had bitten it straight off from the ‘real world’ and swallowed it into ‘this side’.

The red threads squirmed without pause. The rat’s tail tip and toes had already been consumed by the pale red magic, yet it felt nothing.

Could this world be Mina’s stomach? Myss studied those brazen pale red threads. He suddenly realized that the magic threads which were extremely hard to distinguish in the real world were much clearer here, not just the ones packed inside the city wall, but also the ones that ate people’s Magibases.

Myss’s gaze immediately swung to Hailey. Sure enough, even without looking too hard, the red threads twined around the tit were still clearly visible. Their shapes were unusually stable, and their tips trailed faintly into the depths of the darkness.

“What? You’re seeing Magibases again?” Salaar asked, sweeping his eyes toward the rat.

“I’m seeing something even more impressive than a Magibase.”

Myss announced triumphantly, “What did I just say? You failed. Now it is my turn to choose the route.”

He puffed out his chest, ready to engage Salaar in a grand debate. Salaar only gave him a long look. “All right, you lead.”

“?”

“I have to be filial once in a while too, My~ss~.”

The great hero deliberately called his name with sincerity and warmth, and it made Myss’s whole body itch. Yet Salaar had agreed to his plan, so he had nowhere to vent his anger.

Fine, for the sake of that candy sphere.

Myss drew a deep breath and focused on Hailey. Under his full concentration, those pale red threads grew even clearer. Myss cautiously reached out and grabbed one of them.

This bizarre space was closely tied to Mina, and the pale red threads were Mina’s means of siphoning magic. The end of a thread must connect to something important —perhaps Mina’s true body, or the core of the space, something like that.

In short, as long as they took care of that thing, they would definitely find a way out.

Myss gripped the slippery strand of magic and led the other two into the darkness.

……

Pale red threads coiled all over the floor. Huey leaned weakly against a bench, already unconscious. If Myss had been on the scene, he would have seen it at a glance. Huey’s Magibase had almost been devoured by the red threads. Only the final absorption step was left.

If Huey woke up one more time and wavered one more time, he would immediately fall ill and die.

Father Kalen sat at the other end of the bench, head tilted up toward the skylight. Night had grown deep, and the sky were dotted with stars.

“Sleep. Don’t worry.”

Kalen lowered his gaze and spoke to the unconscious Huey as if the man could still hear him. “This is the place where it’s least ‘ominous’. Everything will be fine.”

After saying this, he touched his chest lightly with one hand, bowed his head, and prayed a few silent lines.

When Kalen lowered his head, the gap between his collar and the back of his neck widened a little, revealing an ugly old scar. It was rough and hideous, as if someone had cut a full circle around his neck.

Opposite the bench was the site of the Magibase summoning ritual.

Yes, the two of them were sitting in the Lower City’s church.

The time was past midnight. Strictly speaking, the Summoning Ritual would begin tomorrow. The site was already fully prepared. The broken steps were carpeted in red, and torn statues were draped with satin. A massive magic array was drawn in the center of the hall, a structure a hundred times more complex than the most ornate jewelry.

Warm candlelight flickered without cease, lighting the entire hall as bright as day. The nave was empty…was it truly empty?

At the edge of his vision, there was always a figure that seemed there yet not. When Kalen turned his head, the shadow had vanished. From time to time a swath of skirt flashed in the corner shadows, and a seat retained a faint hint of warmth, as if someone had just risen from it.

Now and then a whisper came from near a statue, and in the quiet he would catch a breath. The church was clearly empty, yet Kalen kept having the illusion of companionship. The hair on the back of his neck stood slightly as someone’s gaze was stealthily scanning his surroundings.

In the growing sickly sweetness, he tightened his grip on the lantern and took a long, deep breath.

By the God of Shadows, he had been too rash after all. When did things start to go wrong?

Not long ago, he had the crows tail those two suspicious people. They obviously intended to interfere with the Summoning Ritual and had deliberately asked about Scintilla. So Kalen rushed to Scintilla’s place first to clear away potential dangers, just as he always did.

Finding that the house had been abandoned for a long time and nothing was amiss, Kalen relaxed. So when Huey entered the room under the pretext of concern, he didn’t stop him in time.

…Then they were trapped here, in this bizarre world without light.

After a brief panic, Huey insisted on checking the Hammer Tavern. Naturally Kalen went with him, but they found nothing. The strange thing was that Huey became less tense instead.

“Father, I have no other requests. From here on I will fully cooperate with you. We will definitely get out of here, right?”

He forced down the fear in his voice and mustered a smile. “The Summoning Ritual is about to begin. I have to take the child to see it…” 

“I’ll do everything I can to get you out of here,” Kalen said firmly.

Before long, guided by the God of Shadows, he succeeded in finding the place closest to the outside world—this church where the summoning ritual was to be held.

When he stood at the church door, Kalen almost thought they had found the exit. The place hadn’t been swallowed by “Scintilla’s home”. Inside the church the lights were bright and the candles flickered, indistinguishable from the real world.

Through the little skylight beside the spire, he could even see a sky full of stars and the bright moon.

The night was dark like murky water. Facing the open church doors, he unconsciously let out another sigh of relief. That was the second time he lowered his guard.

In that instant, Huey suddenly slammed into his back. Kalen stumbled a half step forward and quickly regained his balance. He hadn’t even shifted his gaze yet when he saw Huey fall at his feet.

A deep wound had opened on Huey’s shoulder. The flesh was rolled back and bleeding nonstop. Countless strange red threads bored into the wound and seeped into his body.

It was the first time Kalen noticed these pale red threads, and he followed them outward with his eyes. Then he saw… that thing.

The moment he saw it, Kalen immediately understood what had happened.

To protect Huey, Kalen had been walking in front. The thing had patiently waited for them to draw near the church and for their attention to be caught by the scene before them. Then it launched a stealthy attack from behind.

When the strike came, Huey had shoved him aside with all his strength and hadn’t managed to dodge in time himself.

Kalen clenched his jaw, hefted Huey onto his shoulders, and ran toward the radiance inside the church. As expected, the thing didn’t follow them in. It seemed unable to enter the church interior.

Kalen set Huey down on a bench and bandaged him with practiced hands. The bleeding stopped quickly, yet Huey remained dazed. The red threads seemed to have blended into his flesh, and Kalen couldn’t get them out no matter what he did.

Huey let out a muddled groan that sounded like “Mom.”

His eyelids drooped as his unfocused gaze drifted into empty air, and he smiled. The next moment Huey frowned and muttered “Sister.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. I’m the one who dragged you into this. I ought to protect you.” Kalen wiped the cold sweat from Huey’s forehead.

“No, no, Father,” Huey mumbled. “I’m not that noble. I don’t understand those things. If I lose you, I definitely can’t get out…”

Suddenly his voice rose, his emotions surging with a strange manic edge. “I must get out of here. Someone is waiting for me… Mom…”

Kalen unhooked the water bag at his waist and gave Huey a little herb-soaked water.

“Shh, shh,” he whispered. “Don’t talk anymore, Mr. Huey.”

Huey was clearly not right.

He was young and strong. A shoulder wound like that, with bleeding that wasn’t severe, shouldn’t have left him so quickly delirious. His current state looked more like a sudden flare of the strange illness.

Kalen chopped the side of his hand down and knocked Huey out cleanly. In his experience, all patients fell ill while awake. Sleep helped slow the progress.

Sure enough, once Huey slipped into unconsciousness, the red threads in his wound quieted somewhat.

But the source of those pale red threads, that terrible giant thing, was still guarding the door, a constant reminder.

What a pity, Kalen. This place felt like reality, yet it wasn’t true reality. Outside the door was still that pitch-black, warped world.

Watching the thing crawling at the threshold, Kalen wiped the blood from his hands and pressed his lips together.

The longer he stared at it, the more a fine ringing built in his ears. In under two minutes, a warm trickle ran beneath his nose. Kalen swiped it away without thinking. It was blood.

Kalen considered himself well-seasoned in strange affairs, but he had never seen a creature or a space so abominable. As the ringing sharpened, a long-buried word surfaced in his mind.

“Divine Kingdom…”

His older brother had once whispered it to him as a bedtime story.

“A God can construct a special space and use it as a nesting place. Inside a Divine Kingdom there will be many things that defy common sense. It’s more like a dream than a dream.”

“But I have never heard of a ‘Divine Kingdom’,” young Kalen had said. “Everyone says there are many gods in the city, but no one has ever mentioned that term, and it’s not in the books.”

His brother tucked the covers around him and smiled. “Not every god needs a Divine Kingdom.”

“Some gods are lies made up by people, so naturally there is no such thing as a Divine Kingdom. And some…”

“And some of them?”

“And some gods are so powerful that the entire world is their playground,” his brother whispered. “Only ‘juveniles’ and ‘the weak’ need a Divine Kingdom.”

“I see.” Young Kalen worked hard to remember it all. “Brother, how do you know everything? Have you seen a god?”

Kalen couldn’t remember how his brother answered back then.

He remembered only his brother’s smile, and the two terrifying scars on his brother’s face.

If this bizarre space really was the “Divine Kingdom” his brother spoke of, he feared he wouldn’t be able to leave easily.

Boom.

The whole church shuddered. Something blocked the sealed skylight. The red threads on the floor writhed like mad, and the sleeping Huey let out two groans of pain.

Kalen raised his eyes. The giant thing at the door had vanished. At some point it had climbed to the top of the church and was peering in through that tiny skylight.

The front doors stood empty, like an invitation, or like a provocation.

If they kept waiting like this, Huey would only be dragged to death here. Since the suspected culprit was right before his eyes—

Kalen stood up, took off his coat, and laid it over Huey, who was drenched in cold sweat. Then he slowly put on his gloves, the bone-white pair of rings completely hidden beneath the black fabric.

“We’ll meet again shortly.” Kalen bowed his head to Huey. “May His Veil shroud you, unseen and unharmed.”

Before he moved, he had carefully confirmed that the “ominous” for this action wouldn’t be fatal. Since that thing had offered a sincere invitation, he would give it a proper response.

…After all, the God of Shadows had never deceived him.

……

Outside the church, not far away.

Myss stared in shock at the church that looked both familiar and strange.

From the outside it was the same as ever: a damaged spire reinforced, outer walls decorated with laurel branches and little silver bells. Even the red carpet on the stone steps was there, shining the color of dead meat in the night.

The good news: Myss had found the end of the pale red threads, the source of Mina’s magic, the place where the disappearing Magibases went. He was staring straight at it.

The bad news: It was staring straight at him too.

The thing was enormous, clinging to the church like a dragon wrapped around a tower from a fairy tale. Yet it looked nothing like a dragon.

At first glance, it resembled a lanky rag doll covered in patches.

It had a vaguely womanly shape, but the proportions were utterly wrong, with limbs long and thin like some kind of insect.

Its surface was stitched with a riot of overlapping patches. On closer look, the patches were fragments of memories, and the “red stitching” along their edges was made of the pale red threads Myss knew all too well.

Thousands of threads poked out their ends and extended everywhere, wriggling like living things. At that very moment, Myss was holding one of them between his fingers.

By now, what Myss cared about wasn’t the threads, but the thing’s head… if that could be called a “head”.

The deformed monster had no neck. Where the neck should have been, a meat-red umbilical cord jutted out. The cord connected to a fetus wrapped in fetal membrane. Curled up and plump, it floated above the rag doll’s shoulder, just about the size of a human head.

The cord looped into a perfect circle above the fetus, like some kind of halo.

In that second, it stretched out its neck—no, that umbilical cord—tilting its body toward Myss. Even without showing so much as half an eye, it still made Myss feel a fierce stare.

What are you looking at? Myss shot back with a hard glare.

The sickly sweetness made his head swim. The thing was clearly the source of the smell. Up close, the blood-reek grew faint, while the sweetness became overpowering.

—Myss was hungry, hungrier than he had ever been.

The monster’s scent wasn’t like the fragrance of a Magibase, and Myss couldn’t find any food to compare it to.

It wasn’t the scent of flowers or fruit or anything that actually existed. It was more beautiful, more enticing, more dreamlike… Even that annoying metallic tang became harmless. Of course, without it would be even better…

If he took a bite of this thing, Salaar probably wouldn’t give him trouble for it. No, why should he care what Salaar thought? He had to find the source of that smell and eat it, every last bit.

“…s.” Someone was calling him.

“…Myss…” The voice drew closer, breath brushing his ear. “My~ss~”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Myss snapped back to himself. Then he noticed his voice was a bit thick, as if his mouth were full of saliva.

Wait, not as if. It really was. A little drool had even leaked from the corner of his mouth.

“Right back at you,” Salaar said. “Normal people don’t drool at that thing.”

Myss scrubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m not normal.”

Salaar: “… Fair point.”

He gazed at the monster on the church, the smile in his voice thinned. “So then, Lord Myss, who’s not an ordinary person. Do you recognize that thing?”

The ritual dagger was already gripped in his right hand, dazzling golden light dancing along the blade.

Myss thought it over seriously. “It seems like it would taste very good.”

Salaar: “I am only a human without pica. Please describe it another way.”

“Ordinary humans are like chicory. They have a very bland smell. I have no desire to eat them.”

“Segmented Magibases are like fresh pastries, very fragrant. I want a taste—not from hunger, just a nibble for the craving.”

At that, Myss gazed at the monster with longing. It didn’t look so strange to him now. Crabs looked very strange too, and humans still ate them with delight.

“This thing… I can’t describe its smell. If I have to, it’s something like the aroma of a feast when you are on the verge of starving to death.”

“…” Salaar said.

He let out a short laugh. “It seems the purer the magic, the greater the temptation for you.”

Is that not normal? Myss sneered. Humans also like energy-rich sweets, or meat that sizzles with fat. No one likes unsalted bitter soup.

“In other words, this thing is even more dangerous than I thought.”

Unaware of Myss’s thoughts, Salaar stared at the gigantic monster. Most of its body was sunk in darkness, and the church lights only traced a blurry outline, which made it look even more terrifying.

What a thrill. Salaar could swear that more than three hundred years ago there was absolutely nothing like this in the world.

He wasn’t sure why, but the longer he looked, the itchier his eyeballs felt. He took a deep breath and blinked hard. In his double-imaged vision, he suddenly realized the thing seemed… not in great shape.

It was too thin, its movements unsteady. The red stitching on its body hung loose, split open in many places, and the stuffing bulged out. From the texture alone, it looked exactly like clumps of brown-yellow hair.

Atop the church spire, a small human silhouette was faintly standing.

That silhouette—dressed as a curate—leapt high and charged the monster with bare hands.

The monster raised a limp arm to block. The figure vanished in place, then reappeared in front of the monster’s “head” the next second.

His fist was half a step from the fetus when countless pale red threads sprayed out like blood, fusing into countless “Minas” before him. They hovered in midair and rushed at the figure like ghosts.

Yet the instant they touched him, the Minas recoiled as if shocked, jerking back their clawed hands. Even the pale red threads that had lunged forward snapped back and drifted hesitantly.

Even so, the figure still took a solid physical hit and was knocked flying. He tucked his body and slammed into the church spire with a thump, kicking up clouds of dust.

“It’s the priest,” Salaar said.

“That is the bird-beak demon,” Myss said. “He has a very distinctive scent.”

“Which means Uncle Huey is nearby.” In a rare instance, Hailey spoke up. She had no interest in the twisted monster, only a searching gaze for the church. The stained glass was still normal. It hadn’t turned into Scintilla’s windows.

Salaar: “We need to help that priest.”

Myss: “We need to help the bird-beak demon.”

They both couldn’t help looking at each other, and in each other’s eyes they both saw shock.

“…He might know something,” Salaar stressed.

“That monster would taste better,” Myss said with perfect fairness.

Hailey: “……”

Hailey: “Do not talk at the same time. I can’t make out what you’re saying.”

Salaar let out a chuckle and tossed Myss a look that said “stay here for a second,”. Then he bolted first.

He didn’t attack the monster directly but rushed to the priest who had crashed into the spire. A golden shield flared up right on time and perfectly blocked the monster’s follow-up strike.

The moment the priest recognized who it was, his eyes opened a touch wider, but he wasn’t foolish enough to pause mid-battle to question him. He grabbed Salaar’s outstretched hand without hesitation and forced himself to his feet.

As soon as he had pulled the man up, Salaar pivoted.

Golden light surged along the ritual dagger’s blade and condensed into a brilliant golden longsword. The edge sank into the monster’s patch-covered skin, and Salaar sprinted up along its arm.

From its wrist to its shoulder, Salaar carved a long gash. Before he could pull the sword free, the monster’s wrist had already begun to heal.

The patchwork memory fragments writhed and fitted back into place, a new layer sealing tight. Pale red stitches sewed themselves, and the wound vanished almost instantly.

A muffled shriek rang from inside the monster. Salaar stumbled in place and nearly lost his balance. Right then a dozen Minas floated up around him and lunged in a frenzy.

Salaar raised the golden shield at the perfect time, but perhaps because he wasn’t at full strength, the barrier was as thin as a cicada’s wing and shattered in an instant under the Minas’ blows.

While the Minas swarmed him there, the monster lifted its huge palm and slapped down hard like swatting a mosquito.

—Swoosh!

A streak of black light cleaved across the gold and lopped off that twisted palm.

The monster’s shriek multiplied severalfold. Its severed hand wasn’t corroded by Myss’s magic. The memory patches and pale red threads began repairing themselves again, only much more slowly than before.

Seizing the moment, Myss hoisted Salaar onto his shoulders and nimbly wove past the Minas one by one. His movements were as light as the wind, like a beast slipping through deep forest.

In only a few heartbeats, Myss had carried Salaar up to the top of the church.

“It’s my prey.” Myss bared his teeth at the monster.

In answer, clusters upon clusters of Minas sprouted across its skin. Wearing gentle smiles, they opened their arms and ran toward the group.

Salaar slid off Myss’s shoulder. “Something’s off. Pull back for now.”

Their attacks were doing nothing to the monster. The enemy’s condition was unknown, and their supplies were limited. Forcing the fight would only waste their strength.

At the very least, they needed to exchange information with this enigmatic priest.

Seeing the priest still standing where he was, Salaar added in a rapid rush, “I know you came with Huey. Huey’s niece is down below. She needs a safe place.”

Only then did the priest tear his gaze from the monster. He coughed twice, his voice a little hoarse. “Get inside the church.”

“Huey is there.”


The author has something to say:

Subscribers before the 25th can join a lottery. One hundred people will split 10,000 JJ coins.

These days every subscription matters a lot to me. Those of you planning to stockpile chapters, could you wait a few days before you keep stockpiling?

————

The first supporting character has finally joined the party.

This time it truly is a formidable foe (for the current two). Time to reveal a few little secrets about the two of them.


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