Shan Cheng knew that he had a problem with his personality. Even his mother thought his bad character was difficult to get along with. He himself was insidious and cruel, and thus he was attracted to Yan Yaoxuan’s lively and sunny personality. He was mouthy, noisy, and cute.
Before Shan Cheng arrived, Yan Yaoxuan took a thorough shower. Although Shan Cheng was gentle on the phone, it was also possible that it was all an illusion, the calm before the storm, and he still needed to make some preparations. For example, washing a certain place.
He really didn’t expect that one day he would take the initiative to prepare himself as a 0.
How could he face Shen Jintai after returning home? He must hide it from his brother and Shen Jintai at all costs!
After taking a shower, Yan Yaoxuan dressed up carefully. He hadn’t slept well in the past few days and was running around like a headless chicken. He still had a tired look on his face. He had gotten a haircut before he came back from a hair stylist that he was most fond of, so he felt that this would raise his face value by several steps.
Although it was no match compared to a handsome guy like Shan Cheng. How could a 1 be so good looking?!
Having said that, if Shan Cheng wasn’t good looking, it wouldn’t have caught his eye in the first place. He couldn’t control himself and had thoroughly fallen for that face, giving in to his lust.
A knock sounded from outside. Yan Yaoxuan went over and opened it nervously. When the door opened, he saw that Shan Cheng wasn’t alone but was followed by four strong men, all carrying luggage in their hands.
“Just put it at the door. You can go back,” Shan Cheng said.
The strong men nodded respectfully, put down the luggage, and all left.
Yan Yaoxuan stood at the door wondering and saw Shan Cheng start to move his luggage into his home. He helped to carry a box in as he asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m moving in.”
Yan Yaoxuan didn’t speak and helped him move boxes one by one. When he moved to the last box, Shan Cheng suddenly stopped him, stretched out his hand around his waist, and said, “Let me see if you have lost weight.”
Yan Yaoxuan said, “I eat very well in China.”
“Do you think I have lost weight?” Shan Cheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan looked at him and saw that he seemed to have lost weight, though it wasn’t obvious. Looking at his eyes, he was very focused, and it felt a little abnormal. As the two looked at each other for a long time, the mood started getting stranger.
Only then did he realize that something was off, and Shan Cheng suddenly kissed him very fiercely. Yan Yaoxuan’s mouth hurt when he was bitten, and he stretched out his hand to push him away. Shan Cheng let go of him and looked at him with a wild smile and some redness in his eyes.
Yan Yaoxuan wiped his mouth and listened to Shan Cheng ask, “Did you miss me?”
“No.”
Shan Cheng said, “I am quite happy that you came back.”
Yan Yaoxuan asked, “What’s there to be happy about?”
“You ran away and came back again, indicating that you have thought about it,” Shan Cheng said.
He came back secretly. He hesitated for a long time before returning, but in the end, he didn’t tell anyone. As soon as he returned home, his mentality changed.
When he returned home, he felt that Shan Cheng was too scary and obsessive. Taking advantage of this opportunity to come back, he told his brother that he wanted to return to China and attend university there.
His English was too poor, and he didn’t want to stay abroad. He had failed all his subjects, and the university didn’t want him. He also ran into a difficult situation revolving around Shan Cheng.
“I’m going to university in China. I can still get a diploma there.”
Yan Qiuchi had always been very strict with him, and when he heard this, he said, “I will take a closer look at this matter. You should stay in the country for a few days, and the matter of dropping out will be discussed later. Okay, go back and rest. Looking at your complexion, it looked like a frosted eggplant*. Your eyes look like a panda.”
*Metaphor referring to being withered, as eggplants are afraid of the cold.
Yan Yaoxuan stopped talking. He didn’t want to tell Yan Qiuchi about Shan Cheng. This was the last of his dignity.
Shan Cheng had just won the battle within his family and was working on his parents’ divorce. The two did not meet every day, so that day, after he had returned home, Shan Cheng learned about his escape. Because they were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, Yan Yaoxuan was particularly presumptuous this time around and ignored Shan Chang. After receiving a few calls from him, Yan Yaoxuan decided to block him.
While he felt happy on one hand, on the other, he felt he was being cowardly for blocking him.
He had more friends in his homeland, but when he came back this time, he wasn’t in the mood to play and felt wilted all day.
Shan Cheng’s aura was too strong. Even after he returned to the country, he still couldn’t get rid of him completely. He dreamt of Shan Cheng, and the most terrifying thing was that he once had a spring dream that involved him!
In the dream, Shan Cheng was still perverted, but he was trembling underneath him as he cried, “Husband, be gentler.”
Yan Yaoxuan was lying dumbfounded on the bed, with abnormal flushing on his face.
Shitttt.
He took out his phone and found that Shan Cheng hadn’t called him for two consecutive days or sent any texts.
No one in his family or friends knew what he had encountered in the UK. He had been alone while he was back at home, and Yan Qiuchi didn’t agree to let him study back here.
“I’ve changed your school,” Yan Qiuchi said. “You’ll certainly won’t have a problem getting a diploma here, but you also need to learn a little. If you continue to get bad grades, you’ll cause me to lose face, and we’ll see how I’ll clean you up.”
Yan Qiuchi had also withheld several of his credit cards and given him a lot less in living expenses each month.
“How can this money be enough?” He wailed.
“Do you know how much a normal international student spends in a year, including daily expenses and tuition fees? Your month’s equivalent is a full year to them, and yet you’re still complaining?” Yan Qiuchi said sternly. “You have too much money to spend everywhere. Stay in school. I’ll be going to your school to monitor your situation after a while.”
Yan Yaoxuan ran to his mother to ask for money, but Fang Fengmei said, “Your brother is in charge of your affairs. Your brother told me not to interfere.”
“Do you know how much brother only gives me a month now?”
Fang Fengmei said, “When your brother studied abroad, not only did he not spend our money, he actually made more when he came back, didn’t you know?”
Some people were more gifted than others. Yan Qiuchi had been financially savvy since junior high. He started investing in stocks when he was in high school, and by age 18, he had bought a house and a car with his own money and had not used any money from the Yan’s family.
Yan Yaoxuan suddenly realized that his brother reminded him of someone. Rather, that person was very similar to his brother. Shan Cheng.
They were both young geniuses and had successful careers in their early twenties. In this world, the one he admired the most was his brother. He was like a brother, a father, and an idol to him.
He finally discovered the reason why he liked Shan Cheng. It was because he admired strong people and instinctively felt that Shan Cheng, like his brother, was a very good man.
It was just that Shan Cheng is a bit abnormal.
Yan Yaoxuan felt that when he returned to the UK, he would definitely be punished when he saw Shan Cheng. For him, being abroad was no longer terrible; rather, he was more worried about the terrifying things that Shan Cheng would do to him.
After returning to the UK, he hesitated for most of the day but still called Gao Weicheng over and told him about him and Shan Cheng, just in case.
Gao Weicheng said, “I already know.”
“You know?” Yan Yaoxuan asked unexpectedly, “How do you know?”
“After you returned home, did you block his phone number? He called me directly and asked me to send you a message.”
Yan Yaoxuan felt embarrassed. He didn’t think that a dog could spit out ivory*. He thought he would say things like:
*(狗嘴里吐不出象牙) Idiom that means bad people can’t say good things.
“Is your skin itchy?”
“Did you forget what I said? You should know what the consequences of running away are, right?”
And so on. Thinking that Shan Cheng had said things along those lines to his friends, Yan Yaoxuan became furious.
“What did he say?” he asked with shame and anger.
As a result, Gao Weicheng told him that what Shan Cheng asked him to say was: “Have you played enough in China? Come back as soon as you’ve played enough. I miss you.”
Yan Yaoxuan: “…”
Shan Cheng was a hypocrite, with the face of a man but the personality of a beast. These words were just an act. When the two of them really meet, Shan Cheng may tie him up and punish him.
Still, he felt poked by these words. It seemed he had fallen in love with Shan Cheng, a man who was completely different from Shen Jintai.
Yan Yaoxuan had unblocked Shan Cheng and called him. No one answered.
When he returned to his home, he was jet lagged. While he was sleeping his phone rang. He connected it in a daze, and he heard Shan Cheng’s voice that asked, “Are you back?”
Yan Yaoxuan opened his eyes excitedly as soon as he heard his voice. He sat up, then laid down again and said, “Nn.”
“Sleeping?”
Yan Yaoxuan said “Nn” again.
Shan Cheng’s voice seemed tired but gentle. It was not as stormy as he expected. He said, “I was in a meeting when you called, and I just finished. I’ll go back to the UK tomorrow. You stay at home, and I’ll find you.”
Yan Yaoxuan said “Nn” and waited for Shan Cheng to hang up.
Shan Cheng said, “Don’t run anymore.”
“Who said I ran away? I was going back home to visit relatives!” Yan Yaoxuan said.
“I have been dreaming of you these past few days,” Shan Cheng said.
He was quite good at talking affectionately.
“Don’t talk so sweetly. I’m hanging up,” Yan Yaoxuan said. After speaking, he hung up the phone immediately and rolled under the quilt. It turned out he was quite happy hearing what Shan Cheng said.
Did he really dream of me every day?
He felt that there was an advantage to a man like Shan Cheng. He might pretend, but he would never lie. He believed in Shan Cheng’s words.
Shan Cheng held his phone as he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at New York City.
Yan Yaoxuan had dandyish habits that were rough and stubborn. This kind of rich second generation was very handsome. There were usually too many people who would complement and chase him. He realized after being chased out of the house by Yan Yaoxuan that being gentle and courteous would not work on this type of man.
When two 1’s meet, there must always be a 0. The only way to break a 1 to a 0 was to be stronger and more aggressive than your opponent.
With Yan Yaoxuan’s self-esteem, he wouldn’t willingly submit to a man who wasn’t as good as himself. His stupidity and ready to die characteristics need both a carrot and a stick.
However, the stick was so fierce that it almost scared him away. Now that he was back, it was time to give him the carrot. He needed to put honey on the scar, and he would lick it clean, both the sweetness and the blood.
Yan Yaoxuan was dumbfounded. He grabbed Shan Cheng’s arm, only to feel his body rise lightly before Shan Cheng threw him directly onto the bed and then pressed him down.
Yan Yaoxuan didn’t dare to speak anymore because he saw that Shan Cheng’s eyes were red. His face was also red, and his body was naked and soaking wet.
Their chests pressed together as Yan Yaoxuan’s eyes were filled with fear. Shan Cheng didn’t speak. He just pressed him down and laid him by his ear.
“You already know what kind of person I am, and you come to provoke me. This is what you deserve,” Shan Cheng said.
He waited for a while after speaking, then raised his head and looked at Yan Yaoxuan rather viciously. “Why aren’t you speaking. Acting dumb?”
Yan Yaoxuan wanted to say something, but he didn’t dare blurt out “fuck you”. He was such a coward. He pursed his lips tightly and did not speak.
Shan Cheng pinched his chin, looked directly at him, and then lowered his head to kiss him. Yan Yaoxuan stubbornly turned his head away and refused his kiss. Shan Cheng straightened his face again and kissed him on the cheek.
“I believe you just wanted to talk, so I came with you,” Yan Yaoxuan said. “You… If you do it. When you’re done, I’ll call the police and you’ll go to jail.”
Shan Cheng smiled and said, “It’s okay. I won’t touch you if you promise me one thing.”
“No!”
When Shan Cheng heard this, he immediately went to pull off his coat, then grabbed his shirt with both hands and ripped it apart. Yan Yaoxuan saw that he was reaching out again and quickly said, “I… I promise. Promise. I promise!”
He was scared to death. There was nothing here. His opponent was too strong, so if he was forced, there was nothing he could do. It would be terrible if he was raped first and then killed.
Shan Cheng’s eyes tightened as he looked at him and said, “You’re so fair.”
Fair my ass!
Yan Yaoxuan said, “Tell me, what are the conditions?”
“Restore the relationship,” Shan Cheng said.
How could this be possible? He was scared half to death.
“Otherwise, I will fuck you,” Shan Cheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan: “…”
Shit.
“I’m not a 0,” Yan Yaoxuan said again.
“Then you won’t do it?” Shan Cheng asked.
Yan Yaoxuan said, “Okay… Ah, I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”
His eyes flushed, and he said again, “I’ll do it.”
Shan Cheng said, “I won’t let you go.”
Yan Yaoxuan didn’t speak, but his eyes were slightly red. Shan Cheng laid down on him and didn’t move again.
As soon as Yan Yaoxuan moved, Shan Cheng immediately held him down again and looked at him viciously.
“I… I’m not going to run,” Yan Yaoxuan said. “It’s uncomfortable.”
Hearing this, Shan Cheng hugged him and turned him over, switching their positions so that they’re both lying on their sides. Shan Cheng clung to his back and hugged him from behind.
“I fell in love with you from the first time I saw you,” Shan Cheng said. “I didn’t make a move, but you provoked me first.”
Yan Yaoxuan didn’t say a word. It was he who had provoked Shan Cheng first. It made him feel excited, and now he felt like poking out his own eyes. No, rather he should poke his head because he actually followed this man, whom he knew was perverted, into his own home! Yan Yaoxuan had never hated himself this much until today, and there was no one to blame but himself!
“Did I hurt you?” Shan Cheng said, “Fall in love with me and be my wife. I love you… love you. If you say no, I don’t know what to do.”
Wife my ass! Who cares about you, pervert!
“But if you turn your back and run again, don’t blame me,” Shan Cheng said again. His voice held a vague threat.
Yan Yaoxuan felt that he was suddenly grabbed hard, and immediately curled up and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m talking to you. Answer,” Shan Cheng said.
“Got it!” Yan Yaoxuan said.
As long as he didn’t get fucked, everything is easy to say. He could humor him. A wise man did not fight when the odds were against him.
Shan Cheng suddenly stretched out his hand again and turned him over, switching their position to face-to-face. Yan Yaoxuan hesitated whether or not to take this opportunity to punch him. Considering the consequences of failure, he was still discouraged and did not move.
Being so close, he could see Shan Cheng’s bloodshot eyes more clearly. He looked haggard, and his eye sockets seemed to be deeper. His lips were dry and were beginning to peel. It seemed that things had been difficult for him these days.
Shan Cheng touched his hair. Yan Yaoxuan made him itchy. He had let him go, yet he kept appearing in front of him from time to time, poking him.
He rested his head on Yan Yaoxuan’s neck and smelled him.
This pervert… Yan Yaoxuan endured the itching on his neck and cursed silently in his heart. Still, if he was a pervert, Yan Yaoxuan was also abnormal. He thought he would be hugged by Shan Cheng for half an hour at most, but as soon as he was embraced, he fell asleep all afternoon and was only awakened by the need to pee. He opened his eyes and looked at the darkness in front of him. He could still feel the heat of Shan Cheng’s body.
It was hot.
When he moved for a moment, Shan Cheng woke up. He hugged Yan Yaoxuan tightly, frightening him so much that Yan Yaoxuan quickly said, “I… I need to pee.”
Shan Cheng got up and turned on the lights.
Yan Yaoxuan got up, only to find that half of his body was numb. He probably slept in this uncomfortable position for too long. The numbness became stronger, causing him to take a few deep breaths and let out some hisses. Shan Cheng stretched out his arms and carried him up.
“Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me,” he shouted hurriedly.
Shan Cheng said, “I’ll carry you to the bathroom.”
“Don’t move.” Yan Yaoxuan slowed him down. “Let me down. I’m fine.”
Shan Cheng ignored him. Instead, he carried him into the bathroom and then put him down when they got there.
Yan Yaoxuan untied his pants and glanced back. Shan Cheng closed the door and went out. Yan Yaoxuan immediately locked the door to the bathroom. After peeing, he sat on the toilet and touched his pocket before remembering that his phone was in his jacket.
He looked at the window of the bathroom and heard Shan Cheng shout outside, “Are you done? I need to go too.”
Yan Yaoxuan thought for a while, then opened the door. This was a good time for him to escape.
Who knew that as soon as he was about to go outside, Shan Cheng stopped him and said, “Dare to run?”
Yan Yaoxuan didn’t speak.
“If you run away today and I catch you, I will lock you up,” Shan Cheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan said, “Where would I run? A monk can’t run away from a temple. I won’t run.”
After speaking, he turned slightly to his side and pushed open the door. After leaving the bathroom, he took a deep breath and glanced quickly into the bedroom. When he saw his coat, he immediately ran over, picked it up, and took out his phone.
Shit. He was so excited that his hands were trembling. It seemed pointless to call the police, and it was too embarrassing to let Gao Weicheng know. What he should do now is quickly escape.
He didn’t bother to even put on a shirt. He grabbed his jacket and quickly ran towards the entrance. When he opened the door, his eyes were red with excitement as he turned around and shouted, “Shan Cheng, just you fucking wait!”
After saying that, he slammed the door with a bang and quickly ran out. It was still raining outside, and it was heavier than during the day. The roads in this area were muddy. While running, he took out his phone and looked at it when suddenly a “ding dong” came through and he got a message.
He was taken aback for a moment before clicking on it and suddenly exploded.
This fucking pervert. This… Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. While he was asleep, this Shan Cheng…
Just when his face was flushed and emotional, Shan Cheng called him. As soon as he connected, he immediately scolded him, “You perverted son of a bitch. While I was asleep, you actually…”
“Just to prevent you from doing this. If you don’t come back, I’ll post it online.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“You think I wouldn’t dare?” Shan Cheng said coldly. “I’ll give you two minutes. Come back here by yourself, or I’ll post it.”
After speaking, Shan Cheng hung up.
Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me. This Shan Cheng is a fucking pervert. God damn, you son of a bitch!
He lowered his head and looked at the picture of him breastfeeding on his phone again, then he put his phone into his pocket with a flushed face.
Shan Cheng was making a cup of coffee. As he added a piece of sugar, he heard a knock on the door outside. He took the coffee and opened the door. After taking a sip, he saw Yan Yaoxuan standing outside with wet hair and a slightly red face, looking at him with hostility.
“Come in,” Shan Cheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan said, “I… I wasn’t running away. I just went out to get some air.”
Shan Cheng said, “Your hair is wet. Are you cold? Have a cup of coffee.”
Yan Yaoxuan felt that Shan Cheng was terrible. However, Shan Cheng had returned to his usual gentle and handsome appearance. He treated him very well and gently. Moreover, Shan Cheng had deleted the photo in front of him to show his sincerity.
Although he repeatedly said that there were really no other photos on his phone, and he even showed him his phone, Yan Yaoxuan was so discouraged after seeing the perversion of Shan Cheng that he completely surrendered to him.
Perhaps part of the reason was because he likes Shan Cheng. Liked him to the point that he deliberately provoked him. If it was someone else, he probably would fight to the death. While Shan Cheng’s love for him was terrible, it made him, who was young and passionate, a little excited. His heart was haunted by desires, as if he wanted to refuse but also welcome*.
*(欲拒还迎) Idiom referring to wanting to refuse (hating the other person) but unwilling to offend them in action, so they adopt a method of welcoming.
It seemed he liked this kind of domineering and strong personality, but his dignity did not allow him to admit it.
Shan Cheng did as he promised and only slept with him for the next two days. When Shan Cheng was cooking, he laid in bed honestly, daring not to go anywhere.
In the past two days, he has learned a lot about Shan Cheng, such as his upbringing and the problems in his family. Old Man Shan was completely subdued by Shan Cheng and sent his mistress and illegitimate son back to China. He thought this matter was over, but Shan Cheng told him, “How can this matter simply be washed away.”
He had abhorred his father’s cheating for many years, and he was planning with his mother for a divorce, which was bound to cost Old Man Shan.
Yan Yaoxuan whispered, “You don’t need to tell me about your family.”
“I’m just letting you know that I hate cheating. I never will, so you better not, or I’ll kill you.”
He was still so cruel, even to his parents.
Yan Yaoxuan listened to what was in his heart, but he had never been in a relationship and was full of longing for love. He understood this single-minded view and felt that Shan Cheng’s actions were both abnormal and sentimental.
His contradictory feelings for Shan Cheng made him feel terrible, as if there were some kind of mysterious magnetic attraction he felt towards him. It was as if he had the beautiful face of a 0, but when he took off his clothes, it revealed his true nature as a very fierce 1.
And this made him feel… excited.
He had never thought about being a 0 before, and now not only did he have to be a 0, it was to be a 0 for Shan Cheng. It would require great courage to be a 0 for Shan Cheng and be fucked by him, because he didn’t know what kind of situation he’d be facing, given the size.
Yan Yaoxuan hesitated for several days but took advantage of the opportunity to be expelled from university and sneaked back to China.
Kinky Thoughts:
BT is slang for perverted/abnormal.
All I can say about this chapter is they both need serious therapy.
He really hadn’t thought about Shen Jintai for several days, unlike when he first came back from China, he would dream of him all the time. Compared with Shen Jintai, Shan Cheng has become less terrifying. Shen Jintai was going to become his sister-in-law. Yan Yaoxuan still felt uncomfortable about it, as he still wanted him.
Although the restaurant was very high-end, it was small. There was only one chef, who arranged all the meals by himself, and four waitstaff, two men and two women, of which Shan Cheng was the most conspicuous one due to his height.
As soon as Yan Yaoxuan entered, everyone in the restaurant saw him. He calmly found a seat and sat down as a waiter came over.
This time, it was a foreign woman. After greeting him, less than ten seconds later, Shan Cheng came over and said, “This is my friend. Let me do it.”
The woman was taken aback for a moment before giving him a smile and leaving.
Yan Yaoxuan said, “I’ll have the same as last time.”
Shan Cheng said lightly, “Okay, please wait a moment.”
Yan Yaoxuan turned his head and glanced at him, seeing Shan Cheng’s straight back. When he glanced down, he eyed his sturdy and firm ass.
He used to like Shen Jintai’s gorgeous and heroic appearance and figure, but now he seemed to prefer this kind of thin yet muscular man. Looking at Shan Cheng’s long legs and well-proportioned head, he felt his figure was really good.
After a while, Shan Cheng brought his order. Yan Yaoxuan didn’t speak as he ate his meal normally. Halfway through eating, he glanced back slightly and found Shan Cheng standing in the distance, staring at him the whole time.
He quickly turned around and continued to eat his meal. When he finished, he quickly left, leaving a bunch of uneaten food behind. As soon as he walked outside, before he got into his car, Shan Cheng chased him out and called to him from the entrance of the restaurant. “Yan Yaoxuan.”
Yan Yaoxuan’s heart tightened. He looked back with an indifferent face, coughed, and asked, “What?”
“Don’t come here again,” Shan Cheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan’s heart jumped violently, and he sneered, “I’m a customer, so I can come if I want.”
Shan Cheng didn’t respond but just looked at him. Yan Yaoxuan felt that the way he looked at him was hot and fierce. He felt a little discouraged as he drove off in his sports car without having any further conversation with him.
He didn’t want to go home, so he went to see Gao Weicheng. Gao Weicheng was a partier who either would attend car clubs or parties held by rich second-generations. Recently, he had found himself a new girlfriend and was partying with her at a bar.
When Yan Yaoxuan entered, he saw a bunch of flirtatious bitches inside. Gao Weicheng came to greet him and said, “You should have more fun. My wife has a few sisters who are very good, with big breasts, thin waists, and nice asses. Let me introduce you!”
“Your wife changes men more frequently than she changes clothes. Don’t ruin the word wife.”
Gao Weicheng smiled and put his arms around him as they went inside. Yan Yaoxuan found that while Gao Weicheng was rich and surrounded by a bunch of fair-skinned, beautiful women, the girlfriend he was dating had a snake-like face similar to those online celebrities. He went to the bar in a daze. He didn’t understand how Gao Weicheng could consider her a beauty, as he felt he was more interested in her chest, which was quite big, and her light skin.
He didn’t understand the aesthetics of straight men. He wasn’t interested in any of the women that Gao Weicheng introduced him to.
He felt that he shouldn’t waste too much emotion on a somewhat dangerous character like Shan Cheng. He looked around at the men present. He might have been too successful in pretending to be a straight man, as he exuded no gay aura, so there weren’t any men that approached him to strike up a conversation with him.
Today’s modern society was very open-minded, especially abroad. While he pretended to be straight, he really wasn’t afraid of revealing his sexual orientation. The reason he never told Gao Weicheng was because of his crush on Shen Jintai.
The first time he fell in love, it was with Shen Jintai. However, Shen Jintai was obsessed with his brother, which meant the two brothers were fighting over a man—a fight that he had no chance of winning. He felt too ashamed of this, so he dared not tell anyone.
In order to draw a clear line with Shen Jintai, he deliberately pretended to be a straight man and buried his secret love in his heart. He was so good at pretending that even Gao Weicheng was fooled and thought he liked women.
He drank two more glasses of liquor depressingly and got drunk.
At this time, Gao Weicheng revealed his brotherhood. He sent his girlfriend off and personally took Yan Yaoxuan home. When they got there, he stayed back to take care of him.
Yan Yaoxuan slept until he woke up thirsty in the middle of the night and got up in a daze. Only then did he see that there was still a person lying beside him. He was taken aback, turned on the light quickly, and saw Gao Weicheng rubbing his eyes and looking at him in a daze.
“Awake?” Gao Weicheng sat up and said, “I’ll get you what you want.”
“Thirsty,” he said.
Gao Weicheng got up and went to fetch him a glass of water. Yan Yaoxuan took a sip and said, “It’s cold.”
“You have been here for so long, yet you’re still not used to drinking cold water?”
Even though he said that he went to pour him a glass of hot water. Yan Yaoxuan was used to drinking hot water, as he had a kettle at home.
Yan Yaoxuan drank it up within a few gulps. Gao Weicheng laid back on the bed and yawned. “Had enough?”
Yan Yaoxuan said, “You’re so kind to me.”
Gao Weicheng smiled and said, “Honestly, I don’t treat women this good.”
Although they were both guys, the two of them were different. They got along well with each other, and he had always taken care of Yan Yaoxuan. He was a few months older than him, so he regarded himself as an older brother. Women would try to court and please him, while the Yan Yaoxuan beside him was like a young master whom he served.
“I want to confess one thing to you,” Yan Yaoxuan said with emotion through his drunkenness.
“What?”
“I don’t like women. I actually like men. I’m gay,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
Gao Weicheng sat up all at once. “What the hell?”
“I’m a gay.”
Gao Weicheng scratched his head, thinking that he had drunk too much, and he was a little confused, so he said, “Oh.”
“Are you still friends with me?” Yan Yaoxuan asked.
Gao Weicheng said in disbelief, “What age do you think this is? I don’t discriminate. You are still you.”
Yan Yaoxuan was very moved and patted Gao Weicheng on the shoulder.
Gao Weicheng said, “You have been unhappy recently. Is it just because of this?”
He still didn’t plan to tell Gao Weicheng about Shen Jintai. He felt it was too shameful and felt that it was better not to tell anyone about this matter. It was enough that his brother and Shen Jintai knew about it.
“I’ve fallen in love with that kid Shan Cheng.” Yan Yaoxuan planted himself on the bed.
Yan Yaoxuan laid on the bed and said with a smile, “The young man is very handsome.”
“Is he straight?”
“Bent,” Yan Yaoxuan said. “I have tried it.”
This shocked Gao Weicheng even more than Yan Yaoxuan’s confession. The fright in the middle of the night was so much that he couldn’t process all this information. “Shan Cheng… You better switch to someone else.”
“Why? I am not worthy of him?”
Gao Weicheng said, “It’s not… buddy, the one who bottoms…”
Honestly, he never expected Yan Yaoxuan to be gay, let alone the other one, but seeing as how both Yan Yaoxuan and Shan Cheng both were, if he were to guess who the gong was, then it would 100% be Shan Cheng, and that would mean Yan Yaoxuan was the shou!
When they had sex, his good buddy was going to become… Fuck… he felt it was a little bit too…
“Laozi’s a 1,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
Gao Weicheng was even more shocked. “Shan Cheng’s a 0?!”
Holy fuck! Such a ruthless guy with a good background turns out to be the bottom?!
The picture was so beautiful that he dared not think about it!
“He’s also a 1, so we’re both PK*,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
*Usually stands for player killing, so I think in terms of this context he meant they’re both trying to subdue each other.
Gao Weicheng: “…”
Yan Yaoxuan said, “This girl is a fierce horse. The master’s whip has to beat him a few times before he can be honest. Just you wait.”
What the hell? Girl?
Gao Weicheng felt that Yan Yaoxuan had really drunk too much. He looked at Yan Yaoxuan lying on the bed and said, “Actually, I didn’t know you were gay, so I recommended some pretty girls to you. In fact, I also know a few gay guys. Just today, the handsome guy who came with my wife, Kerry, is my wife’s little sister. Despite being a man, he looks like a little fairy. If you like that type, I’ll introduce you. Forget about Shan Cheng. Let’s not die, okay?”
Yan Yaoxuan had already closed his eyes. He poked Yan Yaoxuan with his foot, but Yan Yaoxuan didn’t move, as he fell back asleep quickly.
Gao Weicheng could no longer fall asleep. He couldn’t digest what he found out tonight for a while. He got out of bed and went to drink some cold water.
—
Yan Yaoxuan was acting desperate. It seemed that the more provocative he was, the happier he became. Thinking of what Shan Cheng said made him a little angry and itchy.
He doesn’t want him to come back, but what can he do about it?
So, he went back to the restaurant again, where Shan Cheng worked the next day.
It was slightly raining that day. After he entered, he found a window seat and sat down. This time, he came early. It wasn’t lunch time yet, so there was almost nobody in the restaurant and Shan Cheng wasn’t working. He looked around and didn’t see him while he was served by another waiter.
He wasn’t really hungry. He just wanted to come over to provoke him. After fiddling with the fork in his hand for a while, he took a few measly bites. Water drops slowly started to cover the glass, blurring it, and he couldn’t see clearly outside.
Does Shan Cheng only work at night and not during the day?
He didn’t have the appetite to eat anymore. When he was about to get up, he suddenly found someone standing outside the glass window. When he looked up, the other party tapped on the glass with his finger.
He got up and looked closely and found that it was Shan Cheng. He was so frightened that he subconsciously touched the cup with his finger. He quickly stretched out his hand to grab it, then turned his head to look, and saw Shan Cheng looking at him very seriously.
Yan Yaoxuan calmed down for a while, got up, and put on his coat. When he arrived at the entrance, the waiter handed him his umbrella. When he opened his umbrella, he saw that Shan Cheng had already reached the door. He didn’t stop but continued to walk forward, as Shan Cheng followed closely behind, causing him to walk faster. Looking back, he saw that Shan Cheng didn’t have an umbrella with him, and his body was drenched in the rain, but his eyes kept staring at him the entire time, like a criminal with bad intentions.
He held his umbrella up and looked at him and asked loudly, “What are you doing following me?”
“I want to talk to you,” Shan Cheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan said, “I have nothing to talk about with you.”
Shan Cheng didn’t respond. The downpour was getting so heavy that his hair was soaked, and his chin was decorated with beads of raindrops. His facial features became more vivid, looking a little haggard and pale.
Seeing a beauty in a sickly state was painful. Yan Yaoxuan felt that although Shan Cheng was abnormal, he was still a law-abiding person. He knew what enough was, so the danger wasn’t actually that strong.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“My place is nearby,” Shan Cheng said. “If you want, let’s go there and talk.”
Yan Yaoxuan put a hand in the pocket of his coat and asked, “Don’t you need to go to work?”
“Already quit,” Shan Cheng said.
After he finished speaking, he walked in the other direction, took a few steps, stopped, and looked back at him. Yan Yaoxuan followed him. Despite the rain, he did not share his umbrella with Shan Cheng but only followed closely behind.
He was actually a little nervous. He didn’t know what Shan Cheng was planning, so he was uneasy. He imagined unbelievable things such as Shan Cheng descending into madness and raping him or that he was some kind of criminal on the run and wanted to kill him. He thought about it for a while, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt perturbed, so he took out his cellphone, wanting to send a location or photo to Gao Weicheng. However, when he picked up his phone, he felt nervous again.
This was the second time he had come to Shan Cheng’s residence. There was already a pool of black water that had formed from the rain. The old apartment building looked even more dilapidated in the rain. When they entered the elevator, he closed his umbrella, causing the water drops to fall everywhere. He said, “I told Gao Weicheng I went to see you.”
Shan Cheng responded with a “hm” as the elevator door opened, and he took the lead and walked out.
Yan Yaoxuan asked, “Has everything at home been resolved?”
Shan Cheng glanced back at him.
“Gao Weicheng told me the rumors,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
“Solved,” Shan Cheng said. His voice was low and pleasant to listen to.
After walking outside without an umbrella, Shan Cheng’s body was completely drenched. His hair was still dripping with water.
Yan Yaoxuan said, “Then why haven’t you moved home yet? It’s too rundown here.”
“I’ve already started to move,” Shan Cheng said as he opened the door.
Yan Yaoxuan put the umbrella at the door and then entered. The apartment was not much different from the last time he came. It was just that it was raining, so the lighting in the room was dim. He glanced back and saw that Shan Cheng had closed and locked the door.
He was taken aback and immediately became alert. Shan Cheng leaned his back against the door, stretched out his hand, and took off his soaked shirt, revealing his strong, muscular body.
His mixed race of half European and American made him look all the more handsome, especially when it was matched by his cold face. He had more hair on his body, which was extremely disproportionate to his face.
“I told you yesterday, don’t come to the restaurant again. Why are you here again today?” Shan Cheng said.
Because of his actions of locking the door and undressing, Yan Yaoxuan was already at the height of his anxiety. He didn’t dare say “Because I want to”. Instead, he swallowed those words and said, “I… I like the food in that restaurant.”
“If you torture me, don’t blame me for torturing you,” Shan Cheng said again.
Yan Yaoxuan took a step back and said, “Who’s torturing who?”
“I gave you a chance. If you don’t cherish it, then don’t blame me,” Shan Cheng said. It seems he wasn’t planning on answering the question.
Yan Yaoxuan was about to get goose bumps. He pursed his lips and noticed that Shan Cheng was walking towards him, causing him to take a slight step back. Seizing the opportunity, he rushed towards the door. Who knew that Shan Cheng had stretched out his arm, grabbed him directly by the waist, and picked him up with a single arm?
Holy crap!
The author has something to say:
Here comes the black order.
Kinky Thoughts:
I really like Gao Weicheng, especially how he responded to Yan Yaoxuan after his confession. Too bad he’s straight. Would make a much better match than that giant walking red flag… Then again, Yan Yaoxuan himself is also a walking red flag.
Chapter 225: Crazy Temptation on the Edge of Danger
Yan Yaoxuan’s relationship ended without incident, but he didn’t know why he couldn’t forget about that man. Perhaps it was due to having such strong feelings for him. Shan Cheng was like a fire that kept burning inside of him. Although the person was gone, the burn was still there and would be warm and tingling from time to time.
He couldn’t let go. Although he didn’t see Shan Cheng, he still heard gossip about it, mainly coming from Gao Weicheng.
The Gao family and the Shan family had frequent contact. He heard Gao Weicheng say that the Shan family had been in chaos recently.
“His father has an illegitimate son outside that’s 19 now. I don’t know how he was able to hide it for so long. Wasn’t the old man sick some time ago? As a result, the mistress took her son and rushed over to the country, creating a mess. The old man and the old lady wanted to take this opportunity to rectify the name of the illegitimate child, but Shan Cheng disagreed and moved out, saying that if the mistress and the illegitimate child came in, he would not recognize his father, while his mother had no reaction.”
“Who is the old man, and who is the old lady?”
“The old man is his father. He had him late, so he’s in his 60s this year. The old lady is his grandmother, who should be in her 80s,” Gao Weicheng said. “But you can’t blame him. If it were me, after more than 20 years of being an only child, to suddenly be told that your father had an illegitimate kid outside, not to mention the internal power and wealth struggle, just for my mother alone, I would’ve kicked them out.”
Yan Yaoxuan remembered that Mrs. Shan, whom he had met, was kind and humble. He didn’t really expect her to have such a troubled private life within her family. He asked, “Are they going to divorce?”
Gao Weicheng looked at him in surprise. “What kind of divorce will an old husband and his wife have? Besides, their family is large, so divorce wouldn’t be so easy. I think Mrs. Shan wants to stay married but is determined to block the mistress and her illegitimate child from entering the door.”
This was a pretty common practice among the elitist wives.
Yan Yaoxuan said, “At least Shan Cheng is the son of the Shan family. Even if he leaves home, his life won’t run into problems. A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.”
“The thing is, when he left, he didn’t take a single penny. He was quite stubborn about it. I guess he felt that if he didn’t act determined enough, the old man in their family wouldn’t care too much about it. Still, no matter how good an illegitimate child is, it still won’t have the same affection as the one he raised at home. Besides, Shan Cheng is more capable. The illegitimate son of their family is Shan Wei, who looks pretty ordinary. He’s just a dandy. The old man probably doesn’t even want this son had he not been coaxed by the mistress. Shan Cheng probably knows this as well, so he can only act in this way to hold his father to the fire.”
This was in line with someone like Shan Cheng’s personality. He didn’t seem to be a white lotus that would just leave home cleanly and honestly and make room for an illegitimate kid. Above all things, he seemed quite ruthless.
“Then does he have money to eat?” Yan Yaoxuan said.
Gao Weicheng said, “I heard that he went to work, which made his old man extremely angry.”
When Yan Yaoxuan heard this, he immediately asked, “Where does he work?”
“As a waiter in a restaurant,” Gao Weicheng said. “What’s the matter? Why are you so interested in him?”
Yan Yaoxuan said, “I want to enjoy the service by a young master.”
Gao Weicheng couldn’t stand him, so he took him to the restaurant. As soon as they entered, Yan Yaoxuan saw Shan Cheng.
This was a person who had a human face and the heart of a beast. With his waiter’s uniform on, he looked even more handsome and thin. Yan Yaoxuan slightly lowered his head, pretending not to see him, but Gao Weicheng nodded generously at Yan Yaoxuan.
They found a place to sit by the window, and Gao Weicheng sat down and said, “Don’t you want to see him? Why are you pretending you didn’t see him when we came in?”
As soon as his voice fell, he saw Shan Cheng walking over with the menu.
Gao Weicheng smiled and said to Shan Cheng, “I heard that you are working here. Turns out it was actually true.”
Shan Cheng glanced at Yan Yaoxuan, who simply pursed his lips and said nothing. Shan Cheng handed over the menu to Gao Weicheng. Before Gao Weicheng had the chance to pick it up, Yan Yaoxuan stretched out his hand and grabbed it. “Can you tell me what is the most popular dish in your restaurant?”
*It’s basically a pâté made to look like an orange.
“What’s good about it?”
Gao Weicheng said, “You haven’t eaten it before?”
Yan Yaoxuan looked up at Shan Cheng, “It looks like an orange with a few pieces of bread. What’s so special about it?”
Shan Cheng said, “It’s made to look like an orange that you spread on bread. The main course is flounder and venison, and the orange is filled with duck liver sauce.”
He spoke in a mixture of English and Chinese, which Yan Yaoxuan couldn’t understand much, causing his face to turn red. He felt that if he kept going, he would lose his composure, so he handed the menu to Gao Weicheng. “I want this. You can order the rest.”
Gao Weicheng ordered two other dishes.
“It’ll be out shortly.” After Shan Cheng finished speaking, he took the menu and left.
Yan Yaoxuan glanced at his back and said, “How perfunctory.”
“What are you up to?” Gao Weicheng said, “Don’t make fun of others.”
“Look at his character. Can’t you tease him?” Yan Yaoxuan said.
“This restaurant is pretty famous. My mother and others go here often. He probably works here on purpose.” Gao Weicheng whispered. “This kid is not easy to mess with, so don’t fuck around with him. While Jackson and the others act indiscriminately, when it comes to Shan Cheng, even they wilt.”
“He looks very kind,” Yan Yaoxuan said. “Why is he so hard to mess with? Everyone seems to shiver and hide their tails at the mention of him.”
Gao Weicheng told him, “He is very handsome and thin, so he looks like a rich kid who’s easy to bully. When we were in the same high school, some people thought he was an easy target, but they were all beaten up very badly. When people fight, they just try to teach each other a lesson so they have bragging rights, but he fights like he’s planning on going to prison. Don’t you think it’s terrible? To tell you the truth…” Gao Weicheng approached him and whispered, “Don’t you think he’s a bit…”
“Perverted?”
Gao Weicheng laughed. “That’s not true. Anyway, I don’t get along well with him. Otherwise, since we’re both Chinese, we could have been pretty good friends a long time ago.”
Yan Yaoxuan thought to himself, ‘Fuck, why didn’t you say so earlier? If laozi knew his true face, how would I dare provoke him?’
When Gao Weicheng saw Shan Cheng looking towards their table from across the crowd, he immediately sat upright and coughed. After a while, he found that Shan Cheng was still looking their way, and he felt a little guilty. He didn’t know what had happened between Yan Yaoxuan and Shan Cheng, so he thought Shan Cheng was staring at him.
“How are you doing with your homework? If you take it easy and fail the exam again, you’ll be expelled from school.”
Yan Yaoxuan said, “Why are you bringing this up while we’re eating? It’s annoying.”
Shan Cheng brought up the dishes they ordered, and the two of them left after eating. When he left, Yan Yaoxuan glanced back again, and when he saw Shan Cheng staring at him, he turned his head quickly in fright.
He felt that his nature was a bit petty, and he wanted to go back. This time around, he didn’t take Gao Weicheng with him but went by himself.
Even if he couldn’t figure out what or why he was doing this, he felt a mysterious attraction to Shan Cheng. He didn’t seem to hate him, and he kept wanting to provoke him, wanting to tease him. This attraction in Shan Cheng even made him forget about Shen Jintai in China. It was dangerous yet exciting.
For those who went through this the first time, narrowly escaping death from their training exam, it was usually like this. Song Zhicun saw this and didn’t comfort them, because there were more dangers waiting for them in the future. If they needed to be comforted every time, such a weak person was not fit for the Special Administration Bureau.
They needed to adjust their mentality, make themselves more adapted to this environment, and be able to complete their tasks in extreme danger at any time. This is the quality of being a member of the Special Administration Bureau.
Dong Zhi suddenly opened his eyes and said in a daze, “There is another person… who doesn’t seem to be dead.”
“Who?” Song Zhicun asked.
Dong Zhi gasped, “He fought with me and wanted to blow up the groove…”
Long Shen stroked his back and Dong Zhi spoke more coherently. “He originally fell not far from me, but when we left the main hall, I didn’t see his body.”
The young man’s appearance was so outstanding and weird that it was hard not to be impressed by his image.
Song Zhicun frowned. “There is only one way out, where can he go?”
No one can answer this question. They’d all come out the same way and had narrowly avoided death. The cave had collapsed, and they couldn’t go back for the time being. Even the bodies of their companions couldn’t be recovered yet.
Upon receiving the notice, Ye Cheng arrived quickly, and he was accompanied by the leaders of the Yinchuan office.
Song Zhicun briefly told them about the situation. When he heard that two people had died below, the leader of the office changed his expression and hurriedly said, “Leaders, please get everyone in the car and go back to rest. We have already contacted the hospital. We’ll send someone to guard here, and we’ll go down and search for their bodies. If there’s any situation, we’ll report it to you at once!”
Long Shen frowned and said, “Don’t search for the time being.”
The following situation was unknown. The python most likely will hide in the river, so it won’t cause trouble, but an accident could happen if they have people go down there to search with no direction.
While the sacrifices of their companions are important, the lives of the living are also equally important.
When he said this, the people in the office naturally did not dare disobey, so they hurriedly asked the branch office for reinforcements and sent someone to guard the area.
The grievances of the world do not disappear, thus providing an environment for demons to breed. This time, however, the Archfiend was completely wiped out, and it won’t be able to regain its vitality for at least hundreds of years. The Special Administration had solved a serious problem, but at a high cost. Long Shen and Song Zhicun were heavily injured fighting the Archfiend and couldn’t guard the area, so they had to hand over the duties to the branch office.
Everyone got into the car one by one and went back. When they looked at the royal tombs outside the window, the hearts of many were mixed. There were traces of relaxation and relief, but the mood was indescribably heavy.
Many of them were injured, and the corners of their mouths were still bleeding. They could only take temporary medicine to relieve their internal injuries from Ye Cheng, then go back for a full examination and treatment.
Dong Zhi also suffered a serious injury, but it was a “blessing in disguise” as he had been sleeping since he resurfaced from the underground, so he didn’t feel the pain of motion sickness or vomiting on the ride back.
Long Shen looked sideways, seeing him leaning against the window with his head tilted while frowning lightly. He wasn’t sleeping well.
He surmised the reason behind how Dong Zhi was able to prevent the explosion was because he had invited god again. He also knew that he had repeatedly ordered Dong Zhi to not use the skill so easily, because the previous two times had consumed a lot of energy and spirit, but the situation was urgent at that time. He was fighting against the Archfiend and could not break away for a moment, and everyone else was blocked off by the ghouls, so he could only telepathically tell Dong Zhi to find a way.
Facts have proven that this apprentice did not disappoint him, and his potential was beyond imagination. Without incense or a seal, he was able to invite a Yin God by just chanting the mantra alone, and it seems the person he invited was no ordinary person either.
However, the price he paid for this was also huge. Dong Zhi’s face was completely drained, no longer having even a hint of blood on it. It was pale, almost transparent, making the sight all the more shocking. Long Shen didn’t know how long it would take for him to recover.
What’s even more troublesome was his body. Just now, Long Shen had taken his pulse and found that he was exhausted internally and externally, and his qi and blood were heavily deficient. To put it bluntly, let alone being able to use talismans, if he doesn’t take good care of himself well, it’s estimated that he’ll be chronically ill in the future.
Long Shen secretly sighed, and when he saw the other party’s face wrinkled into a ball, his heart softened a little unconsciously. He stretched out his hand to smooth the frown between the other party’s eyebrows.
After a while, with a squeak, the bus braked, slamming Dong Zhi’s head into the window and causing his body to lean forward. Fortunately, he was wearing a seatbelt and was stopped by Long Shen in time; otherwise, his forehead would’ve suffered. Still, he didn’t wake up.
Long Shen untied his seatbelt, moved his shoulders to the side and let Dong Zhi rest his upper body on his lap to avoid the tragedy of slamming his head again.
The sun shone from the window on half of Dong Zhi’s head, and that warmed him up. It was too hot, and not only did it not have the slightest sense of romance, but it also made his hair quickly burn up.
Long Shen tried to pull the curtain up to the middle so that the other party could sleep more comfortably, but the curtain was broken. Frowning slightly for a moment, he placed his palm on the top of Dong Zhi’s head, casting a thin shadow on the latter’s cheek to separate the light from the dark.
The wheels on the bus continued to roll forward, taking them away from the place where they had experienced life and death. The mausoleum of the Western Xia Dynasty stood behind them solemnly, unchanged for thousands of years.
—
“Leaders, the conditions here are not good, so please make do.”
Ye Cheng pressed the switch on the wall, causing the lightbulb above his head to turn on dimly. As he walked down the steps, Long Shen and Song Zhicun followed behind.
Zhong Yuyi was also there and had godless eyes and looked to be in poor spirits. He was temporarily called over in the middle of last night to assist in the interrogation.
After placing the wounded, Song Zhicun and Long Shen left the hospital as they had other business to attend to and couldn’t stay there to recover from their injuries. They rushed to the office, guided by Ye Cheng, to meet with Zhong Yuyi.
The office of the Special Administration Bureau located in Yinchuan was in an old independent villa in the old urban area. The community was built many years ago. At that time, the neighbors who could afford such a property like this were all rich. With the aging of the community, many people gradually moved away, and the Northwest Branch took advantage of the cheap price and bought it. Like the Yinchuan office, the attached basement could occasionally be turned into an interrogation room, such as now.
Song Zhicun looked at the dimly lit basement, which was comparable to a haunted house, and couldn’t help but complain, “I say, won’t your office change into a few brighter lightbulbs? If you told people this is the Special Administration Bureau, people would think you’re lying because, looking around, this looks more like a haunted house!”
Everything was fine, but since Song Zhicun had opened the floodgates, this triggered Ye Cheng’s chatterbox, and he started complaining, “Boss Song, it’s not like we’re cheap. The funds allocated to us by the branch are too small. We don’t even have enough toilet paper, so our employees have to bring their own. Tell me, is there any other office that is poorer than us?”
Song Zhicun immediately changed his tone and began to comfort him, “Xiao Ye, it’s wrong for you to think this way. In fact, the General Administration Bureau allocates funds to branch offices in accordance with regulations every year, but after all, our Special Administration Bureau has a unique type of work and often destroys some buildings and facilities involuntarily. The maintenance cost is not a small amount, so financial constraints are also a common situation. We must learn to adapt and solve it rather than complain about it.”
The corners of Ye Cheng’s mouth twitched. However, for fear that Deputy Director Song would make another long-winded speech, he quickly shut up.
There wasn’t much space in the basement, but it was enough to fit a table and a few chairs. A man in handcuffs and a gauze wrap under his clothes sat across the table. It was Fujikawa Aoi, who they had captured in the tomb.
He lowered his head; his expression was sluggish and motionless. They didn’t bother with him directly. Long Shen nodded slightly to Zhong Yuyi, who then walked up to Fujikawa Aoi, pulled out an incense burner from out of nowhere, lit an incense stick, and inserted it into it.
The smell of incense was a bit weird. It was similar to sandalwood, but it had a sweet and greasy taste.
Ye Cheng was a little curious. He knew that Zhong Yuyi was good at inviting gods, but he had never seen it with his own eyes. Now that they were about to interrogate Fujikawa Aoi, was he going to use the power of a god to force him to answer? Would it be a Japanese god to make the opponent succumb?
As he was thinking about it, Zhong Yuyi took out a pen from a cloth bag, dipped it in cinnabar, and drew a symbol on Fujikawa’s forehead.
“Fujikawa, raise your head,” Zhong Yuyi said.
The sound reverberated faintly in the basement, and with the dim lighting, it felt more like a prelude to a ghost story.
Fujikawa shook slightly, and he raised his head obediently.
“What’s your name?”
“Fujikawa Aoi.”
“Where are you from?”
“Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture.”
Zhong Yuyi asked a few more irrelevant questions, and Fujikawa answered them all one by one, but did not hesitate.
Ye Cheng was secretly surprised.
Judging from his expression, Fujikawa seemed to be controlled by a certain technique, which was somewhat similar to hypnosis, but Zhong Yuyi’s skill was much stronger than hypnosis.
Zhong Yuyi finally got to the point.
“What are you and your apprentices doing all the way in China?”
Fujikawa was silent for a moment and said sternly, “…For the bronze mirror.”
Zhong Yuyi: “Your ultimate goal.”
Fujikawa: “…”
Fine sweat began to appear on his forehead, and his brows frowned tighter and tighter, as if resisting Zhong Yuyi’s pressure.
Zhong Yuyi lit another incense stick, which was a little thicker than the previous one. The rich aroma quickly filled the basement. Ye Cheng couldn’t stand it. He quietly took two steps back and looked at Long Shen and Song Zhicun. They looked like usual, and their eyes were focused on Fujikawa.
“What is your ultimate goal?”
“…In order to destroy, destroy, the stone tablet.” Fujikawa finally spit out a few words with difficulty.
Zhong Yuyi: “Why destroy the stone tablet?”
With the key secret poured out, the rest will be much smoother.
“I don’t know, Otowa Hatsuhiko asked me to come.”
Zhong Yuyi: “You are not only the Onmyoji but also the priest of the Ise Shrine. How can Otowa Hatsuhiko command you?”
Fujikawa Aoi: “His… identity is a bit special. He has close contacts with the imperial family, and he said he could save Eiko.”
The Eiko was, of course, referring to his most beloved disciple, Kitaichi Eiko.
Last time on Changbai Mountain, the master-apprentice duo wanted to make the bone dragon their shikigami, but they failed. Kitaichi Eiko was beaten senseless by Long Shen that she was permanently disabled and it ruined her cultivation. Fujikawa Aoi had raised her since childhood and thus poured an insurmountable amount of sweat and effort into her. Naturally, he was unwilling to have such a result, so he tried his best to heal her.
The basement was silent. Except for Fujikawa’s words and gasps, everyone else deliberately suppressed their breathing.
Song Zhicun wrote some questions and handed them to Zhong Yuyi to have him ask him.
Zhong Yuyi took the note and continued to ask, “What’s the origin of Otowa Hatsuhiko?”
Fujikawa Aoi opened his mouth and didn’t say anything.
Zhong Yuyi asked again.
Fujikawa Aoi’s face became paler, and his gasps became heavier, so that in the end, the corners of his mouth overflowed with blood, but he still refused to say a word. Seeing that his condition was deteriorating and for fear that he would die, Zhong Yuyi hurriedly changed the subject.
“Then did Otowa Hatsuhiko heal your apprentice in the end?”
“…Healed.” Fujikawa made a murmur from his throat, and his expression looked brisker than just now.
Zhong Yuyi: “The young man who came with you, whose weapon is made of silk, what is his origin?”
“I… don’t know. He was sent by Otowa.”
As soon as Zhong Yuyi saw that Long Shen and the others had nothing to ask, he patted Fujikawa on the forehead. “You will forget everything tonight. Go to sleep.”
Fujikawa fell to the ground softly and was unconscious.
Song Zhicun frowned, not optimistic. “It seems that another big fish has been brought out!”
Ye Cheng couldn’t help but ask, “Boss Song, has the Archfiend really been wiped out?”
Song Zhicun nodded. “The Archfiend has been completely destroyed by us, so it cannot easily be reborn, at least within a hundred years. However, according to Fujikawa, this Otowa Hatsuhiko is not someone so simple. Even Fujikawa could be used as a weapon by him. Wherever you point it, counting the time on Changbai Mountain, his purpose is obvious. The stone tablet. Boss Long, what do you think?”
Long Shen asked Ye Cheng to take Zhong Yuyi to rest first. Ye Cheng knew that the two leaders had something to discuss with each other, so he said to Zhong Yuyi, “The lounge is ready for you. Let me take you there.”
Zhong Yu yawned, as if he was too sleepy to open his eyes.
After the two left, Long Shen said, “I have been sending someone to investigate Otowa, but I can’t find anything yet. The Otowa Conglomerate made its fortune after World War II and had strong financial ties. On the surface, they are no different from other traditional Japanese chaebols, but they are also well-connected in both political and economic circles.”
Song Zhicun nodded in pain. He thought he had caught a big fish, but who knew he would find that there was something bigger behind said big fish.
“But on the plus side, at least we know who is coveting the stone tablet. Perhaps we can dig out the secrets of the stone tablet from him.”
It was embarrassing to admit that if it weren’t for the Japanese, they wouldn’t have known about these stone tablets that were buried all over China. Judging from the inscriptions on these stone tablets, their history was likely beyond their imagination. With the advent of two tablets appearing one after another, the cloudiness around them seemed to be lifting bit by bit.
However, after removing it, more mysteries came surging forward, covering the mysteries with an even heavier fog.
Song Zhicun said, “Could Otowa Hatsuhiko have any connections to demons? Or is he a demon himself?”
Long Shen: “It’s possible.”
Song Zhicun frowned. “This is troublesome.”
China has vast territory and abundant resources. People with ulterior motives can hide their identity and enter the country easily. If normal people are hard to find, don’t bother mentioning powerful demons and monsters.
The Otowa Conglomerate is powerful and has deep ties. While the Special Administration Bureau must operate in the light, they can hide in the dark. As long as their opponent moves his finger, he could cause them endless trouble. What’s trickier is that the opponent is likely to have more information about the stone tablet than they do. Failing to crack the secret and location of the stone tablet would put them on the passive receiving end.
However, as of now, there was no better option.
“What about Fujikawa?” Song Zhicun asked.
Neither of them were fledglings. To be able to sit in this seat, in addition to strength, they must also have a comprehensive means of dealing with problems that didn’t only resolve to killing and burying people.
Long Shen glanced at the unconscious Fujikawa. “I want to exchange him for Dong* Jilan.”
*Different character than the Dong in Dong Zhi.
Song Zhicun opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end sighed. “Well, after so many years, whether Lao Dong is still alive or dead, it’d be best if we could get him back.”
Long Shen nodded.
When the important matter came to an end, Song Zhicun couldn’t help coughing while clutching his chest. “I still have to go back to the hospital to lie down for a few days. I’m really too old now and can’t compare to before. A few years ago, I was seriously injured but could bounce back immediately!”
Long Shen said, “Let’s go and get some rest.”
Song Zhicun said, “I know you also have been injured. Don’t act so tough. Leave it to Ye Cheng. Though the kid has an unreliable mouth, he’s still capable.”
Long Shen let out a sigh and turned to look at Fujikawa, who was still unconscious. The latter face was like gold paper, where it still holds some slight exaltation of the past.
Over the years, many people have left the Special Administration Bureau, going overseas incognito, to help the country deal with things that couldn’t be done so openly.
Like ordinary overseas peacekeepers, there were those from the spiritual world as well. Not only could their activities not be publicized in the news, but there were also many unsung heroes who had sacrificed their lives and had failed to return to their roots. Sometimes, even their relatives didn’t know what contributions they had made, but Long Shen and Song Zhicun, as well as every member of the Special Administration Bureau, have never forgotten them.
While their life and death remained unknown, and even tombstones could not be erected for them, in the hearts of Long Shen and the others, they could recite almost all their names. It was forever engraved in their hearts, never forgotten.
Even if they were unknown, they would never lose their greatness.
—
The moment Dong Zhi regained consciousness, he almost thought he was still underground, being chased by a giant python that was right behind him. When he saw a big face in front of him, he almost screamed.
The doctor straightened up and asked in a warm voice, “How is your body feeling now?”
Still confused and befuddled, Dong Zhi could only describe truthfully, “I have no strength. I feel soft and unable to move, and I feel dizzy when I lie down.”
His voice was also hoarse.
The doctor nodded and didn’t say much. He told him to take a good rest and then left.
Dong Zhi looked around. He was in a single ward. It’s estimated that he got preferential treatment this time, but the doctor didn’t say anything, so it made him feel a little uneasy.
What about his friends? Where is his Master? Where is Boss Song?
His thoughts didn’t last long as his mind remained muddled, and he quickly fell asleep again within the blink of an eye. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he woke up and saw Gu Meiren sitting by the bed, looking at him with a sad expression.
Earlier, Dong Zhi felt that something wasn’t quite right, and combined with the doctor’s treatment just now and Gu Meiren’s face, his heart pounded, thinking that he might not only be seriously injured but it was terminal.
“Are you awake? Are you feeling uncomfortable? Do you want me to call a doctor?” When Gu Meiren saw him open his eyes, her expression changed to joy.
Dong Zhi propped himself up on his elbow that didn’t have the infusion needle, wanting to sit up. Gu Meiren hurriedly stretched out her hand to help him and put a pillow behind his back.
“Are you okay? What about Ba Sang and the others?”
Gu Meiren touched the side of her face. There was a wound there that hadn’t scabbed over yet.
“I’m fine. I just suffered some minor scratches. Others suffered varying degrees of injuries. Liu Qingbo broke a rib, and he’s now lying in the ward next to you. Zhang Song had broken a hand, and two people had suffered concussions.”
Dong Zhi asked cautiously, “What about me?”
Gu Meiren stopped talking.
After letting his imagination run wild, Dong Zhi thought he was too seriously injured to be healed, so he forced a smile and said, “I can bear it. Just say it.”
Before Gu Meiren could say anything, Long Shen came in. He walked as usual, steadily, and wasn’t dressed in a hospital gown, but from a glance, Dong Zhi could tell that he looked worse than before.
“Boss Long!” Gu Meiren got up to greet him.
“Master,” Dong Zhi said.
Gu Meiren looked back at him in amazement. As soon as Dong Zhi came out of the underground, he passed out. Long Shen couldn’t talk about accepting apprentices at that time, because except for Song Zhicun, no one else knew that Dong Zhi was already accepted.
Long Shen nodded to Gu Meiren. “Go next door and have a look.”
Gu Meiren knew that they had something to talk about, so she hurriedly left.
As soon as she left, Dong Zhi couldn’t help but ask, “Master, is there something wrong with my body?”
Long Shen didn’t scold him for thinking about it, but frowned, as if there was something unspeakable. When he saw his reaction, Dong Zhi’s heart froze.
“Are you trying to hide it from me?”
Long Shen: “I didn’t want to hide it from you, but you have been lethargic, so I haven’t found the chance to tell you.”
Dong Zhi couldn’t help but feel sad when he heard this. He felt that his life was really too sad. He had a terminal illness before he officially joined the Special Administration Bureau. He hadn’t even touched his Master’s hand!
Thinking about this, without any ramp up, he burst into tears. Long Shen was taken aback and didn’t even resist being held by Dong Zhi.
“Master, I was ready to sacrifice myself before I went down. I’m not surprised that something has happened this time. It’s just that it’s hard to be reconciled!” Dong Zhi sniffed.
Long Shen took out his hand and patted the back of Dong Zhi’s hand. “Some things must be given up. You don’t need to be too persistent.”
Dong Zhi became even more sad in my heart. “Actually, if nothing else, I still have one wish. I must tell you, otherwise, I’m afraid it’ll be too late in the future!”
Long Shen frowned. “You just can’t invite gods anymore. It’s not like you’re dying. Why are you acting like this?”
Dong Zhi replied sluggishly, “Huh?”
Long Shen: “I didn’t expect you to be so obsessed with inviting gods. Even if you can’t invite gods, as long as you practice with your Changshou Sword and the thunder technique taught by Fang Lao, in the future there will be no loss.”
Dong Zhi stammered, “I-Don’t I have a terminal illness?”
Long Shen: “Who told you that?”
Dong Zhi: …I imagined it myself.
He was grateful but felt a little lost in his heart. Fortunately, he didn’t reveal the matter that was hidden at the bottom of his heart. Otherwise, their master-disciple relationship would probably be over.
Dong Zhi remembered that Zhong Yuyi once said that when you invite a Yin God, you often encounter a situation where the Yin god you named to invite wouldn’t come, just like when they had that class at the farmhouse. Zhong Yuyi failed to invite Guan Yu and Yue Wumu one try after another. They both failed, not because Zhong Yuyi’s abilities weren’t good enough, but because the two he wanted to invite were largely famous, high in status, and had great tempers. They weren’t Gods that could just simply be invited on a whim. Secondly, they may not “hear” your request when you try to invite them. Finally, even if they did hear the request, they may not come if they’re in a bad mood or they simply didn’t like you.
Therefore, some magicians who can invite gods will not mention it, besides those who are liars and pretenders. If one has the capability to, in order to succeed every time, they will not try to invite any specific Yin God, but aim to invite whoever they can. This has also become a trick used by some so-called “masters” to deceive people. For example, they talked nonsense to their customers, patting their chests, ensuring them that they could invite any immortal, when in fact, at most they could only invite a fox spirit or a weasel spirit and the likes. For those more immoral, they would invite a lonely ghost and pretend to be someone else’s relative.
At that time, Zhong Yuyi talked about a case of a folk family who wanted to invite a god, but they encountered a charlatan. They all thought the story was very funny and enjoyed themselves but didn’t think too much of it.
But now, Dong Zhi recalled these thoughts, not because he wanted to reminisce about the fun times.
There wasn’t any incense burner or incense at the moment, and his limbs were tied, so he couldn’t form the prayers. The only thing that moved was his mouth.
Would it still be useful to just recite the mantra? Still useful.
His previous Master, Fang Yang, once told him that spells and talismans were channels for human beings to communicate with all creatures under heaven and earth, and they were also the most effective form of communication. As long as one was sincere, it could be possible to invite a righteous god. The rest of the other steps, such as burning incense and doing the seals, were just auxiliary.
Now that it had come to this point, he could only make a last desperate attempt. Dong Zhi closed his eyes and began reciting a prayer in his heart.
I am Dong Zhi, a disciple of the Hezao Sect. I am here with my companions to stop the Japanese conspiracy, punish evil and destroy demons, clean up the three realms, subdue fiends, and overcome all dangers and disasters. I earnestly implore all passing gods to help me. In return, this disciple is willing to offer his utmost sincerity to serve at thy beckoning!
Thousands have died in this underground cave. For what it was worth, they definitely were the most wronged souls, but Dong Zhi didn’t want to invite them. They most likely were ordinary people in their previous life, and now they have gathered their grievances here because they have died in vain. That resentment was refined and turned them into ghouls and thousand corpse figurines. Not only will they not be able to help, but it’s also very likely that they’ll do bad things.
However, deep in the underground here, were there any reliable Yin Gods passing by who would hear his prayers?
He hoped not to invite any of the kings of the Western Xia Dynasty. If he invites someone like Li Yuanhao or something, what use would it be? He has to be able to fight!
Dong Zhi tried his best to empty his mind, not thinking about any more nonsense. He tried his best to discard all disturbing factors from his five senses. The noise of fighting gradually faded away and the threat of the ghouls and thousand corpse figurines seemed to no longer exist. Even the life and death confrontation between the Archfiend and Long Shen was forgotten by him. Everything was forgotten, as his mind was filled with incantations that he chanted silently while not thinking about anything else.
His body no longer seemed to feel the sensation of the silk thread that was tightly wrapped around him. His body gradually became lighter, as if he was suddenly floating, but he didn’t leave his body completely. Dong Zhi slowly opened his eyes. His consciousness still exists, but it seems that he was no longer the only one in his body.
It was a very subtle feeling. Even though he had invited Yin Gods several times, he still couldn’t adapt to it. Another consciousness became dominant in his body and his own consciousness was squeezed aside involuntarily, creating a hazy feeling that left him seeing and hearing everything as if they were separated into a different world.
At that moment, he heard a voice. To be more precise, the voice sounded in his mind a bit like Long Shen’s telepathy, but it was different. The voice sounded majestic and thick, with layers of echoes, seemingly like an ancient voice, as if music was blaring from the sky.
“What you ask for is to punish evil and destroy demons, yes?”
At the moment when the word “yes” fell, his body became light, and all the threads were disconnected.
As countless ghouls poured out from under the groove, the groove gradually emptied. Seeing that no more ghouls appeared, the handsome young man finally stepped forward and walked towards it. The groove was a square three feet in length. It was possible for a person to go through, but he did not rush down, but first squatted on the side, lowered his head to look in for a moment, then he took out something from the bag he was carrying.
Explosives. Moreover, it was a large amount. This kind of explosion was estimated to blow up the groove, the entire underground area, and even the Imperial Mausoleum would be affected.
But the young man’s face remained unchanged, as if what he was holding was only a piece of food or a bouquet of flowers. He acted completely normal as he picked up the pieces of dynamite to toss them into the groove.
At a critical moment, a person flew up next to him and kicked the explosives away. The dynamite the young man was holding, as well as the bag holding them, flew to the corner of the cave.
The young man didn’t rush to pick it up, but turned his head and raised his eyebrows in surprise. “How did you break free from those silk threads?”
As soon as he finished asking this, he immediately became keenly aware of the changes in Dong Zhi. The Dong Zhi in front of him was not the fledgling newcomer of the Special Administration Bureau that he had just fought.
“Who are you?” The young man frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice.
Dong Zhi’s face was like a stone-cold iceberg, emotionless, but in his eyes, there were slight hints of compassion.
“A silk string who was fortunate enough to cultivate as a human being. Why not continue on the right path but instead get involved in human disasters and help demons?”
The young man’s face changed, and he shouted, “Who the hell are you?!”
Dong Zhi looked at him blankly without speaking.
The young man reacted quickly and then smiled. “I see. It turns out this kid can invite Yin Gods. I didn’t really expect he had such capabilities. I wonder which Yin God your excellency is. Is it the head of this tomb, King Liang? Or a king of Western Xia?”
Dong Zhi: “My name is taboo. You cannot ask. Retreat quickly and don’t disturb the peace here, and your life will be spared.
The young man smiled slightly and said, “I respect that you have lived here for thousands of years, so I asked politely. Even if you don’t say it, I am entrusted by others. I am a loyal person, so I must complete this matter today.”
Before he finished speaking, silk thread had swept towards Dong Zhi. His ten fingers spread in his hands, and the transparent silk shot out in unison. Before he was halfway through his sentence, the silk thread had already reached his opponent.
This skill was extremely powerful.
The ten silk threads in his hand were sharp enough to break gold and cut iron. They attack in three ways: upper, middle, and below. They cast a net that encompassed everything, as if they were something with three heads and six arms approaching Dong Zhi. It was impossible to avoid them. The silk thread carried a fierce wind, which was different than when he was using it to bind Dong Zhi previously. If any part of his enemy’s body was touched by them, their limbs would be immediately cut off.
But when the silk thread arrived in front of the enemy, the opponent disappeared out of thin air. The young man was taken aback and couldn’t help following his movements, reacting extremely quickly by suddenly turning his head. As expected, Dong Zhi appeared behind him, holding the Changshou Sword that had been thrown aside some time ago. He pierced the young man’s body with an unpredictable speed.
The young man let out a cry of pain, and his body swept forward, not daring to stop at all. The Changshou Sword that Long Shen gave Dong Zhi, naturally, wasn’t an ordinary sword. Its power, combined with the divine might the Yin God imposed on it, easily penetrated the young man’s body, splattering blood everywhere.
The young man fell to the ground and looked at Dong Zhi standing in front of him with the sword in horror. His face remained cold and emotionless. The young man felt blood gushing up from his throat so that he didn’t dare breathe hard, let alone move.
However, Dong Zhi remained still. He “realized” that his body wasn’t moving to chase or kill the enemy completely. He wasn’t pretending or goading his enemy, but rather it was because his body wasn’t able to support this God. In other words, this Yin God is too powerful; so powerful that even the young man wasn’t a match for him, but the “container”, Dong Zhi, was too weak, so the Yin God could not fully integrate with him. Either the body becomes damaged, or the Yin God will leave.
He also sensed that the Yin God did not want to kill this young man.
“Heaven cares for all living things*. It’s not easy for this one to cultivate into this. I do not want to kill him.”
*(上天有好生之德) It means to have the virtue to cherish all living beings and not kill them.
“Who are you?” Dong Zhi couldn’t help asking in his mind.
The Yin God did not answer him but said, “I am only a wisp of divine thought, not a true God. I have traversed for thousands of years and had been consumed here for around 8 years before you summoned me. After this, I will disappear. I hope you will cherish yourself.”
Dong Zhi was taken aback. Before he could ask, he felt that his body suddenly sank. He fell to the ground involuntarily as blood surged from his chest. He was so uncomfortable that he couldn’t help but cough up a mouthful of blood.
At this moment, the duel between Long Shen and the Archfiend had also reached a critical moment.
In the world, love and hatred could never dissipate. The power of resentment breeds overtime and eventually condenses into magical energy, giving rise to the Archfiend. Thus, they would never die out and would always make a comeback every once in a while. This time, the Archfiend seemed to be particularly cunning and made countless incarnations of itself. Even if it was destroyed several times over, there would still remain remnants of its demonic energy that would condense again after several days. In this underground cave, with ghouls and thousand corpse figurines, it was a natural environment that could provide nourishment for the Archfiend. Its magical energy would be continuously replenished here, which meant that they were fighting on the Archfiend’s homecourt.
Long Shen was surrounded by demonic energy from all directions. He felt it more profoundly than Song Zhicun and the others because the more powerful his resistance was, the more powerful the suppression of demonic energy was. It seemed the stronger he was, the more the black mist would surge around him, as if the Archfiend was arrogantly laughing at his desperate attempt, wanting to make him give up his resistance and completely submit to the demonic energy.
He remained motionless, as his body condensed all the qi into the light of his sword that was in his hand. The glimmer of light tumbled endlessly as demonic energy filled half of the cave, but it never disappeared. Although the size of the light shrank, it kept getting brighter.
“What good can the old men of the Special Administration Bureau give you? They let you run around all day long when they had things for you to do, but they haven’t even given you the director position!”
“Long Shen, you have a dignified half-immortal body, but you beg for scraps under the hands of others. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
“My demonic energy can give you eternal power. As long as the world exists, demonic energy will always remain. You don’t need to be a lackey for the Special Administration Bureau. Let alone listening to others, you’ll be free to do as you please. You are you and can achieve ultimate power in the world! Join me, Long Shen. The power is all around you. Why not merge with them!”
These voices weren’t spoken by the Archfiend. They were the evil sounds made by the demonic energy that reached straight to the bottom of one’s heart. They were tricks used by demons to deceive people.
Even those with a profound cultivation base might not be able to resist the drive of their own desires. With a single thought of becoming a demon or god, they would fall into the devil’s way in the blink of an eye and would never recover. There were many legends and allusions about fallen gods in ancient and modern China and abroad, not to mention all the people in the world. Those who were fragile were easily swayed by the intoxication of glory and wealth. They wanted to enjoy themselves but were too lazy and unwilling to work hard for it, hoping instead to take shortcuts so they’d achieve success without the effort. These had become weaknesses, allowing demons to invade people’s hearts.
As such, the Archfiend didn’t believe that Long Shen had no weaknesses.
The violent wind bulged the cloak high, and under the cloak, the face of the Archfiend loomed. If Dong Zhi or He Yu had witnessed this, they might have been shocked as there was no human face under the hood. There were no facial features, and all that was there was a mass of swirling demonic energy. The black qi kept flowing out, absorbing all the demonic energy from the ghouls and blending with them as if they were becoming one with each other.
Long Shen moved suddenly. He slowly pushed the sword forward, inch by inch, into the tumbling black mist. The light remained unabated. From the eyes of outsiders, his speed looked very fast as his body melted with the sword of light, turning into an arc that shot at the Archfiend.
Song Zhicun and Li Ying were struggling as they slowly gained the upper hand. The ghouls fell one by one as everyone gathered together, their backs against each other, carrying all sorts of weapons to kill the ghouls as they rushed them from all directions.
Liu Si continuously whipped his whip until his arm became completely numb, decapitating ghouls’ heads with each strike. Ba Sang and Gu Meiren worked together to attack and defend each other, cooperating seamlessly.
Li Ying cooperated with Zhang Song and Liu Qingbo to deal with several Onmyoji, such as Fujikawa Aoi. Although they were just fledgling, their courage was not weak. Under the siege of several shikigamis, they did not waver. Though Liu Qingbo only had a short dagger in his hand, although it wasn’t as refreshing as the Feijing Sword, he still masterfully used it as it scarred and drove those skikigamis to exhaustion.
In the past, Fujikawa Aoi would never even put these green boys on his radar, but he had been severely injured by Long Shen and He Yu on Changbai Mountain, and his injuries have not yet healed.
It was not his proudest disciple, Kitachi Eiko, who assisted him this time around, but a different male disciple, Tani Rui. Although he was also his right-hand man, he wasn’t as talented as Kitachi Eiko. This time, Tani Rui went with him to assist Fujikawa Aoi and also to avenge Kitachi Eiko, his younger martial sister. He was fierce and wanted to cut down his enemies.
Unexpectedly, he not only failed to kill his enemies, but now he was in danger. Tani Rui’s shikigami was cut down by Zhang Song’s sword, causing it to stagger away, hitting against the cave’s stone wall. With a loud crash, the shikigami dissipated in the air and shattered, causing Tani Rui to scream as he fell down, spurting blood everywhere.
Seeing that Li Ying and the others were temporarily able to control the situation, Song Zhicun took a breath and ran to Long Shen and the Archfiend.
“Long Shen, let me help you!” he shouted. Holding the seal of Acala with both hands, he jumped up and slammed the demon on the head.
“Lin!”
Although he had learned Taoist dharma from the leaders of Mount Longhu, this demon slaying seal was learned from a monk that he met when he was traveling in Yunan and Guizhou. Through Song Zhicun’s own research and improvement, there should be no doubt how powerful it was.
His roar was like a drum in the early morning, condensing almost all of his entire strength. It suddenly broke through the heavy demonic aura, as if the sky had rained lightning down, cutting through the shackles of the Archfiend’s enchantment, creating a burst of life!
With the light from the sword in front and the demon slaying seal in the rear, both sides clashed with the black qi as they entangled each other and fought fiercely. Energy swirled and surged around. The black qi roared as it tried its best to expand outwards but was suppressed by the two rays of light. Black and white stirred, forming a vortex.
The black mist slowly shrank and retreated sharply, surrounding the Archfiend, Long Shen, and Song Zhicun. In order to destroy the white light, it tried its best to concentrate its powers for its final struggle. However, the white light refused to back down from the black mist. With the powers of Long Shen and Song Zhicun combined, a noise erupted, pushing everyone away as a shockwave sonic boom emitted outward.
The area filled with white light, like the long-awaited daybreak, that completely expelled the darkness, returning the light back into the world.
The cave shook violently, causing gravel to topple and the ground to tremble. Everyone felt unsteady on their feet and fell again as soon as they stood up.
After a long time, everything became calm. When the smoke dissipated, the faces of the Japanese changed. Long Shen and Song Zhicun fell to the ground, but the Archfiend had disappeared, leaving not a single trace behind.
The ghouls and thousand corpse figurines were scattered all over the ground and everything remained quiet.
Tani Rui’s chest was aching. He was affected by the shockwave just now and suffered internal injuries. He could no longer summon his shikigami. When he looked around, he saw that the enemy’s side didn’t fare any better. His gaze fell on the explosive bag in the corner of the cave. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to get up and walked over. He picked up the bag and threw it into the groove, then went to get the detonator that had been dropped on the ground.
As soon as his legs tightened, he fell to the ground, caught off guard. When he looked back, he saw Dong Zhi had hugged his calves and tripped him. Without hesitation, Tani Rui punched him in the face. Dong Zhi endured the pain and fought back, returning his face punch with a gut punch. The two sides scuffled with each other. They were seriously injured and exhausted. Without their magic and abilities, they had no choice but to resort to the most primitive form of combat: brawling.
Tani Rui’s figure was much stronger than Dong Zhi’s, giving him a natural advantage. Dong Zhi had punched him several times in the stomach, causing him to curl up in pain. As he was about to reach the detonator, Dong Zhi jumped up from behind, hugged him and twisted him to the side as he raised his knee to jab at his opponent’s most sensitive area.
“Ahhhhhh!” Tani Rui shouted in pain.
Dong Zhi was just about to reach the detonator when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Suddenly, his eyes darkened as he staggered a few steps and leaned against the stone wall.
The Japanese who attacked him from behind were trying to finish him off when Liu Qingbo came from behind and stabbed him in the back with his dagger, causing him to fall to the ground with a thump. He was no longer breathing.
“I-This can be considered returning your favor, right?” Liu Qingbo grasped his knee as he panted.
Dong Zhi held back the dizziness and said intermittently, “Explosive, bag, under the groove. You can’t let the Japanese blow it up. Go get it!”
Liu Qingbo heard this as he saw Tani Rui climbing forward towards the detonator. He ran to him and kicked him away, then jumped into the groove and retrieved the bag of explosives. Seeing Song Zhicun and Long Shen relieved, he got up and walked towards them, saying proudly, “Boss Long, Boss Song, I got it…”
The ground suddenly shook, and the amplitude got bigger. Cracks in the ground quickly spread under the stone statue.
Song Zhicun’s expression changed as he said to Liu Qingbo, “Run!”
Dong Zhi staggered, picking up the detonator not far away and holding it tightly in his hand, being extra cautious for fear of accidently detonating it.
Behind him, the huge stone statue shook as cracks started to appear on its upper body, spreading out densely, before it broke off and smashed down on top of Dong Zhi.
“Get out of the way!” Liu Qingbo saw the scene coming as he crawled out from under the groove, but it was too late for him to run over and save him. He could only shout with exhaustion.
At a critical moment, a figure wrapped its arms around Dong Zhi’s waist and flashed into the corner with him. The next moment, the head of the stone statue hit the ground heavily, exploding countless pieces of dust everywhere.
“…Master?” The moment just now had made him dizzy. His eyes were shaky and overlapping, and he couldn’t see the figure clearly.
“Give me the detonator!” Long Shen said.
Dong Zhi did not hesitate to hand over the detonator. Long Shen pushed him out of the way and said loudly, “This place is about to collapse. Hurry and get out!”
The shaking became more and more severe, causing most of the stone statues to collapse. Rocks began falling from the surrounding stone walls. Everyone retreated, evacuating one after another.
Long Shen turned his head and ran towards the groove. Dong Zhi didn’t know what he took out of his pocket, but he laid down on the edge of the groove and fiddled with one hand underneath it.
Dong Zhi looked back and saw Long Shen’s figure in a daze. He didn’t want to abandon him. Long Shen got up after arranging it properly, and when he saw him running back, he yelled, “What are you doing back?”
Dong Zhi: “Let’s go together!”
Long Shen didn’t care about reproaching him anymore. He simply picked him up by the waist and ran out.
With a bang, the stone statue completely collapsed, crushing Tani Rui, who didn’t have time to escape. Smoke, dust, and stones completely submerged him.
Liu Qingbo ran out with the explosive bag in his arms with a distressed face.
“Boss Song, what should I do with this thing!”
Song Zhicun grabbed it as everyone ran in the direction of where the original pool was. Without saying a word, he opened a waterproof bag and stuffed the explosives in it.
“Get into the water. This place is likely to collapse too!”
As soon as his voice fell, the cave behind everyone was already shaking and debris had already collapsed, blocking the entrance to the main hall just now.
Everyone went into the water one after another, as Dong Zhi was dragged in by Long Shen. He didn’t have the strength to swim, but before he sank to the depths below, Long Shen grabbed him and directly supported him, allowing him to surface for air.
This was the place where they first fought the giant python.
“Wake up!” Long Shen patted him on the cheek. His face was as white as a sheet of paper, and he was drenched as he remained motionless.
He had exhausted the last bit of his strength after inviting a god just now and fighting with Tani Rui. Let alone his arms, he couldn’t even lift a finger.
Long Shen couldn’t help it and had to directly carry him.
“Is this a fantasy or reality right now?” Some people weren’t sure as they looked around.
The feeling of the ground shaking continued. The most obvious change was that the water level had begun to rise, and the river had started surging. Song Zhicun frowned and glanced around. Suddenly, he saw five huge red lightbulbs floating in the distance in the dark and immediately said, “It’s real. Hurry up and follow me. The python is coming!”
The giant python was heavily injured and had lost one of its eyes to them. It deemed them its mortal enemies and refused to relent until it killed every single one of them. When it saw Song Zhicun and the others, its five “lightbulbs” speeded up and instantly narrowed the distance between the two sides.
Everyone rushed with all their strength and swam alongside the river before reaching the shore and running wildly towards the exit.
Dong Zhi was carried on Long Shen’s back and wasn’t aware of all the events that were currently taking place, which was both a blessing and a misfortune.
As the “lightbulbs” got closer, a huge snake head bent down and opened its big mouth to bite at Gu Meiren, who was lagging at the end. Ba Sang turned back in time and stretched out his hand to pull Gu Meiren forward. The head narrowly missed and snapped at the air as it saw the two figures disappearing into the small corridor ahead. The python hissed and roared as it slammed its head into the wall without hesitation.
Boom!
This wasn’t the noise made by the giant python, but the underground cave that had just completely collapsed. After crossing the threshold from the passage and returning to the main tomb, they could finally regard this place as safe.
Everyone looked back, and in the darkness, they couldn’t see anything. They could only vaguely hear the movement of the rocks collapsing. Everyone was tired and fell to the ground, looking at each other in shock.
Song Zhicun said worriedly, “Under the groove…”
Long Shen said, “I have used the seals given by Daoist Master Li and Elder Zong to seal it. The collapse should not spread there. We can dig it up afterwards.”
Song Zhicun sighed. “I suppose that’s the only way. It’s a good thing it wasn’t blown up by the Japanese.”
Liu Qingbo glanced at the aftermath and saw a figure quietly moving towards the exit of the tomb. Without hesitation, he threw his dagger at the opponent’s shoulder blade, causing him to scream as he fell to the ground.
“Still trying to run away, you fucker!” Liu Qingbo sneered.
Xiang Yongnian rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the collapsed Fujikawa Aoi. “Motherfucker. These Japanese have caused us so much trouble. They were almost the death of us. If I don’t kill him today, I won’t be surnamed Xiang!”
“Stop it!” Song Zhicun ordered. “Fujikawa is still useful to us, so you can’t kill him. Bandage him up briefly first. We’ll take him to the hospital when we go back.”
Xiang Yongnian remained unconvinced. “Boss Song, they tried to kill us several times just now, and they almost blew the entire cave up. We have so many scruples with them!”
Song Zhicun said angrily, “You are a member of the Special Administration Bureau, not a street gangster! Only hooligans and ruffians can be happy seeking revenge. He’s a well-known figure in the Japanese cultivation world. All his companions have died below. This time, he’s the only one alive. If he’s also dead, what do we use as a bargaining chip when we ask for benefits later?”
Xiang Yongnian didn’t expect this, so he was taken aback for a moment before he felt ashamed.
When everyone got out of the tomb and returned to the thief’s hole, Song Zhicun surveyed the area, and before the subbranch came to pick them up, he took the opportunity to lecture them, “Of course it’ll feel great to kill him now, but you’ll only know the sorrow when you realize how much interest you lost later down the line! In the future, when you go out and do things, it’ll be under the name of the General Administration and the country. Therefore, everyone must think in the long term. Don’t just look at immediate gains and care only about personal happiness. That kind of thing will never benefit you!”
Truthfully, he didn’t need to say all these things. After all, very few of them were impulsive and irrational, especially now that they have matured after this life and death experience. Not counting the veterans, they could at least now be qualified as a member of the Special Administration Bureau.
The air was full of Gobi yellow sand, and at the end of the rolling mountains, there was a clear and deep blue sky. They felt the value of light after they had escaped from the darkness underground.
Those thrilling life-and-death moments that they had just experienced became a thing of the past that they never wanted to recall, because they had left behind two companions who had not even started their apprenticeship yet but were now buried sleeping below.
The sun’s rays felt surreal. They would all rather bask in this sun for an hour than go back down for another minute.
Kinky Thoughts:
In the end, only two people died… Wasn’t expecting such a small number.
Yan Yaoxuan was a little excited and nervous. He felt like he was going to succeed today.
But… isn’t Shan Cheng being a bit too fierce? Why was there no feeling of a 0 at all?!
He pushed Shan Cheng hard, directly pushing him down on the bed. He tore open his collar and panted. Shan Cheng moved up, looked at him with a smile, and unbuttoned his shirt by himself, revealing a large, sturdy chest.
Yan Yaoxuan threw off his shirt and rushed up, trying to grab Shan Cheng’s ass with his hand, but who knew that Shan Cheng clasped his hand and kissed him with a smile?
“Do you know that in foreign countries things actually aren’t so clear?” Shan Cheng said.
“What?”
Shan Cheng said, “Who’s the gong and shou. Don’t be so old-fashioned.”
Although Yan Yaoxuan had drunk, he wasn’t inebriated. When he heard this, he felt something was wrong. He immediately put on his pants to get up, and Shan Cheng hooked his neck and said, “Trying to run again?”
Yan Yaoxuan said, “I’m not running. If you want to be a 0, let’s continue. If you want to be a 1, I won’t do it.”
“You don’t have to,” Shan Cheng said as he fished Yan Yaoxuan back, turned over, and pressed him down.
Yan Yaoxuan pushed hard, but he couldn’t move at all. Shan Cheng was taller and stronger than him, and he was suppressing him in all directions. He felt a sense of fear floating up.
Shan Cheng pressed him and said, “What are you afraid of? I can still eat you.”
“Get off.”
Shan Cheng smiled and went to kiss him directly. Yan Yaoxuan couldn’t push him away, so he bit Shan Cheng’s lip.
The two rolled into a ball on the bed, not like they were making out but as if they were fighting. Shan Cheng, who he always thought was quiet and gentle, now seemed like a different person. His expression was fierce, and his eyes were even fiercer, and the strength in his hands was even more terrifying. Yan Yaoxuan had limited strength, so after several struggles, he was sweating all over his body, but his sense of fear became stronger. He bit Shan Cheng on the shoulder fiercely.
If there was a little force in Shan Cheng before, this bite seemed to bring out the beast within him. Shan Cheng ripped open his waistband and turned him over with one hand, leaving Yan Yaoxuan dumbfounded.
In a hurry, he cursed and swore, and after a few words, he was afraid that Shan Cheng wouldn’t understand his curses in Chinese, so he shouted, “Fuck you!”
Shan Cheng gave him a hard blow to his ass, causing Yan Yaoxuan’s leg to straighten as the hit was pretty hard.
It’s over. The beauty he thought was actually a monster with painted skin*. Now he had torn off the skin and was going to eat him!
*Reference to <Strange Tale from a Chinese Studio – Painted Skin> by Pu Songling. You can read it by clicking the Wikipedia. The TLDR is basically a guy picks up a girl and makes her his concubine, but she turns out to be a demon wearing human skin.
Just when Yan Yaoxuan’s hair was about to all stand up, he didn’t see any movements from Shan Cheng. He looked back and saw Shan Cheng panting on his lap, then stroking his hair as he got up and off the bed.
Yan Yaoxuan hurriedly got up and put on his pants. His ass was still sore from being beaten. He ran outside the bedroom. Only then did he gain the courage and shout, “Get out of my house now!”
Shan Cheng was sitting in the bedroom, but there was no movement. Yan Yaoxuan got dressed and walked cautiously to the door of the room. Just as he was about to look inside, he saw Shan Cheng coming out.
He immediately got discouraged and shrank outside the door.
Shan Cheng stopped. His hair was a mess as he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Yan Yaoxuan said, “Hurry up and pack your luggage and get the fuck out!”
Shan Cheng didn’t speak. He went back to his bedroom and, after a while, came out with a suitcase. The incident happened so suddenly, leaving Yan Yaoxuan in a daze. His ass still hurts fiercely, and he felt that it was no longer fun. That slap just now really hurt. This Shan Cheng was terrible. It felt like his true nature had suddenly been revealed.
After Shan Cheng came out, he glanced at him and said, “Then I’ll leave.”
Yan Yaoxuan didn’t speak.
The light in the living room shone on Shan Cheng. His shirt was buttoned up incorrectly, as half of it was still hanging down. His collar wasn’t fastened, revealing a slightly flushed chest, and his hair was a mess. However, his facial features were more vivid under the light, still fair and glowing, showing off that compelling handsomeness, but his eyes seemed abnormally flushed as he left the house with his luggage.
The bouquet of red roses was still on the ground, with scattered petals everywhere. The roses had been trampled on and were destroyed and broken. Yan Yaoxuan wiped his mouth and found traces of blood on the back of his hand.
He could hardly admit that he felt hurt when he was slapped.
The restaurant that Yan Yaoxuan took Shan Cheng to was the most upscale restaurant he had ever been to. During the meal, he secretly ordered a car filled with flowers by excusing himself to go to the bathroom.
He was good at romance, and since he had money, it made romance much easier.
“Are you used to eating here?” he asked Shan Cheng.
Shan Cheng said, “Although I rarely go back to China, my old man and my mother have authentic Chinese stomachs, so they usually eat Chinese food at home.”
“I have eaten all the world’s delicacies, but Chinese food is still the best.” Yan Yaoxuan poured another glass of wine for Shan Cheng as he spoke.
After drinking a bit, he wanted to drink more with Shan Cheng. It was best if they drank lightly, to loosen themselves up but not to the point of being drunk. That way, if he made a move on Shan Cheng, the other party could still respond.
He still remembered the scene after Shan Cheng had stripped down. To subdue such a person, a little alcohol was needed.
“Is it okay?” Yan Yaoxuan asked. “I don’t know how much you drink.”
“The amount is good,” Shan Cheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan thought his alcohol tolerance was pretty high. He often drank with Gao Weicheng and others and even developed his own method of getting rid of hangovers.
He smiled and clinked his cup with Shan Cheng. When Yan Yaoxuan felt that he was getting a bit red, he found that Shan Cheng’s face was also a little red, so he filled each of their cups again and drank another glass before they left.
Since they both had been drinking, Yan Yaoxuan called a driver to take them back. As he sat in the back, he started to become dishonest. Under the influence of alcohol, it encouraged people to become more courageous.
He wasn’t afraid that the driver in front would see him, so he stretched out his hand and touched Shan Cheng’s thigh. Shan Cheng turned his head and looked at him, then gave him a smile as he took his hand and rested it on his lap.
Yan Yaoxuan moved his whole body towards him and stretched out his other arm. He wasn’t a lecher, as he only wanted to create the atmosphere, so he touched Shan Cheng’s arm for a while, then caressed it and said, “I didn’t expect your arms to be so muscular.”
Shan Cheng didn’t speak.
It was a little dark in the car. When Yan Yaoxuan saw that he didn’t speak, he thought he was being shy. He liked a shy Shan Cheng. The domineering man inside him rose sharply, and his movement and tone became more dissolute as he said, “You didn’t drink too much, did you?”
As he said it, he touched Shan Cheng’s cheek.
Yan Yaoxuan always felt that he really had a physiological desire for Shan Cheng from the beginning. When he touched Shan Cheng’s warm and smooth cheeks, he recalled the fiery excitement he had when they first met, and his heart pounded loudly, causing his entire body to become hot.
Shan Cheng did not stop him, and this acquiescence made him even more emotional. It seems that he can accomplish something tonight. Today, he had not only wine but also romance.
When they arrived at the entrance to his home, Yan Yaoxuan asked the driver to leave. The moon was hanging brightly in the sky. He glanced up and stretched himself as he said to Shan Cheng, “Can you help me open the trunk? I bought something.”
Shan Cheng came over and opened the trunk. As soon as he opened it, he saw that it was filled with dozens of red roses.
Yan Yaoxuan put his hands in his pockets, walked over coolly, and asked, “Do you like it?”
As he said it, he stretched out his hand and took a bouquet of roses and handed it to Shan Cheng. When Shan Cheng received it, he impatiently pulled Shan Cheng into his home. As soon as the door opened, he grabbed Shan Cheng domineeringly, pulled him towards him, and pressed him against the door.
When he was up close to him, Yan Yaoxuan realized that due to his height difference with Shan Cheng, he had lost a bit of his momentum. He stood on his tiptoes slightly and finally caressed Shan Cheng’s head.
What is a 0 doing being so tall?!
Shan Cheng still held a rose in one hand and looked at him with a smile.
This person was more beautiful than flowers. Yan Yaoxuan’s heart was beating like crazy when he saw this. Beauty, I’m coming.
He leaned in and kissed him. At this moment, Shan Cheng turned his head slightly and avoided his kiss.
He’s still playing hard to get. This only turned Yan Yaoxuan on further. He liked the wild type, as if they were waiting to be tamed by him!
“What?”
Yan Yaoxuan said solemnly, “If you accept this brother’s flowers, then you’re his person. Won’t you let me kiss you?”
“If we kiss, that means we confirm our relationship. Have you thought about it?” Shan Cheng asked.
Yan Yaoxuan chased his lips impatiently. “Cut the crap.”
As soon as the voice fell, Shan Cheng tossed the flower away in his hand and held Yan Yaoxuan’s face, pulling him in for a fierce kiss.
After accepting, he deliberately sent a message: [Who?*]
*This was sent in English.
After about an hour, he received a reply from Shan Cheng: [Sorry, I just saw it. I’m Shan Cheng.]
After Yan Yaoxuan saw it, he immediately replied: [Do you want to be a 0 for me?]
After sending it, he cheerfully waited for Shan Cheng to reply to him as he put his legs on the sofa.
Shan Cheng responded quickly this time: [Why don’t you have a look? Are you free recently? I’d like to invite you out to dinner.]
Most likely due to yesterday’s experience being too exciting, Yan Yaoxuan’s feelings seemed to move towards Shan Cheng, and he was a bit reluctant to give them up. This was the first time he had close contact with a man, and it felt fresh and exciting, especially when Shan Cheng responded to him. The confrontation between two men trying to conquer each other had a strong sense of speed and friction.
It was fine to just kiss and touch, and if things progressed further, then he could do it. He was captured by desire so he replied: [Okay.]
After replying, he laid on the bed and thought about how he could change a 1 to a 0, so that he could get that beauty Shan Cheng to lie under him. When he thought about conquering him, he felt a strong sense of accomplishment.
When he was about to fall asleep, the appearance of Shen Jintai appeared in his mind again. Alas, there was no one in the world who could compare to Shen Jintai, at least not for him.
The next morning, Shan Cheng sent him an address and made an appointment with him for dinner tomorrow.
Yan Yaoxuan went with Gao Weicheng to buy clothes. Gao Weicheng asked, “Why are you so showy all of a sudden?”
“I have to be one day.” He changed into a suit. “What do you think?”
“Do you want to hear the truth?” Gao Weicheng said.
Yan Yaoxuan nodded.
Gao Weicheng said, “Honestly, I think your brother looks natural wearing suits, and you’re more suitable for wearing casual clothes.”
“I can’t compare with my brother, can I?” Yan Yaoxuan asked.
Gao Weicheng said, “No, you two have different styles. Of course, you look good in formal wear, but at our age, we don’t have formal occasions to attend, so who would wear a suit? Don’t be as old-fashioned as your brother.”
Yan Yaoxuan picked out two formal suits. He felt that he couldn’t look too young. He needed to have the 1 aura that he should have. He had never competed with his brother, as he thought he had already lost in this regard. Compared to his brother, he didn’t look as mature or stable, so he could only use his brother as his role model.
After buying clothes, he went to get a haircut. With a comb-over side cut, a suit, and shiny leather shoes, he drove his most beloved sports car to where they agreed to meet.
Since his intention wasn’t to have sex, when he met Shan Cheng, they chatted unexpectedly. The more he looked at Shan Cheng, the more pleased he became. Apart from the fact that Shan Cheng was a little taller than him, every other condition was good too. Fair, thin, with a handsomeness that was almost exquisite and a little exotic, though overall he looked more Asian. His conversational skills and temperament were outstanding. It was a pity for this person to be only a one-night stand. Rather, it was better to be one’s lover instead.
Yan Yaoxuan felt that he couldn’t ruin this little 1 beauty, who he would make a 0, so he changed his mind from the intention of a one-night stand to a more serious conversation around love.
With that in mind, he made three more appointments with him this way, and on the fourth appointment, he visited Shan Cheng’s residence. As a result, when the two of them entered, they found that someone was inside.
“You don’t live alone,” Yan Yaoxuan said slyly.
Shan Cheng frowned.
Shan Cheng lived in an apartment that was small, so from the entrance he could see the entire living room. There was a maid cleaning up, and a lady was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. She was on her phone. When she saw them come in, she smiled and said, “A’Cheng, you’re back.”
The lady was taken aback when she saw Yan Yaoxuan, smiled, and asked, “Friend?”
Shan Cheng said to Yan Yaoxuan, “My mother.”
Yan Yaoxuan became embarrassed as he respectfully greeted his future mother-in-law. “Hello, Auntie.”
“You’re Chinese. You look very tall and handsome,” Mrs. Shan said as she kept looking at Yan Yaoxuan. Shen Cheng blocked her sight and interrupted, “Why did you come without telling me in advance?”
“Your grandmother asked me to bring you things from home. I called, but you didn’t answer.” Mrs. Shan waved her hand and smiled at Yan Yaoxuan. “Don’t just stand at the door. Come in and sit down.”
“If you have nothing to do, go back. I have something to talk about with my friend,” Shan Cheng said.
Mrs. Shan nodded immediately when she heard his words. “Alright. I’ve cleaned up the room for you. Ms. Zhang, let’s go.”
Aunt Zhang picked up her bag and kept smiling at Yan Yaoxuan. He was taken back by the two of them.
Shan Cheng said, “I’ll send them off.”
After speaking, he walked out with Mrs. Shan. As soon as he entered the elevator, Mrs. Shan smiled with joy. “Are you in love?”
Shan Cheng said, “We just met.”
“He’s Chinese. I was afraid that you would find a foreigner. I can’t get along with foreigners. The young man is very handsome. What’s his name? What does he do?”
Shan Cheng said, “Don’t come visit me if you have nothing to do in the future. Now give me the key.”
Mrs. Shan stuffed the key into his hands. “You can’t do this when you fall in love. Who else can tolerate you besides me?”
“I know,” Shan Cheng said.
“There are some things that can’t be put away, so you have to eat them quickly. If you don’t finish, give some to the young man. He’s Chinese, so he must like to eat. What’s the young man’s last name?”
“Yan.”
Mrs. Shan nodded, then narrowed her smile, and said, “I put tens of thousands under your pillow. You should spend it and tell me once you run out. You’re so silly for not wanting anything. Money is cheap compared to our relationship.”
Shen Cheng said, “Just leave it be. I have my senses.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Mrs. Shan said. “I know it in my heart, so I won’t suffer any losses.”
Yan Yaoxuan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the apartment and looked out. The view and the decoration of the house were very general. It didn’t seem like a place Shan Cheng would live, considering his status. Mrs. Shan was indeed an elite. What she was wearing on her hands and neck was expensive jewelry.
When he heard the door open, he glanced back and saw Shan Cheng come in.
“Your mother seems to have brought you a lot of food,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
Shan Cheng said “Nn” and opened several boxes on the table, all of which were Russian-style dishes. “Take whatever you want to eat.”
Yan Yaoxuan took a piece and tasted it, then looked at the apartment and said, “You live here?”
Shan Cheng said, “Nn. I recently moved out of my home, so I’m on my own.”
“This place is too small, and the building is dilapidated. Why don’t you move into my place? There are so many empty rooms that you can have one. I won’t charge you rent.”
If Shan Cheng lived with him, he could take with short hands and eat with soft mouths*. He could eat tofu and flirt with him, and perhaps he would be able to push Shan Cheng in the direction that he intended. Living under the same roof could lead to many things developing.
*Idiom meaning to take advantage of others by giving them benefits.
Yan Yaoxuan made up his mind. “I strongly encourage you to live with me.”
Unexpectedly, Shan Cheng agreed and said, “Then I’ll go pack.”
Yan Yaoxuan was so happy that he immediately helped Shan Cheng. He had very few items, so with a few pieces of luggage and a packed suitcase, everything was settled. When they returned to Yan Yaoxuan’s place, he gave Shan Cheng the room next to his.
When he took Shan Cheng to dinner, he also rushed to pay the bill. “I’ll take care of it.”
What a joke! How could a rich man like him, who invites his little 0 beauty out to dinner, make him pay?!
Yan Yaoxuan felt that he had finally regained a little bit of his dignity. This feeling was great, and he wanted to find more of it tonight!
Kinky Translations 