Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

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Chapter 43

Huo Fenghua bathed and changed in his own room, put on a fresh set of clothes, and neatly tied his long hair back. Seeing it was about the right time, he figured Su Zeyang’s meeting with the Prime Minister’s people should be over by now, so he left the side courtyard again and went to look for Su Zeyang in his room.

Su Zeyang still wasn’t there. He and Lu Xi were in the front courtyard. When Huo Fenghua arrived, Su Zeyang was having Liu Yong transfer the jade ruyi they’d found in the storeroom into a clean box.

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help asking, “Who’s this birthday gift for, anyway?”

“Wang Chu,” Su Zeyang said.

Huo Fenghua froze. “You’re going to pay your respects at his birthday banquet?”

Su Zeyang nodded. “After all, Tianzong and Eldest Brother are still officials of the court.” The surface courtesies still had to be done.

Huo Fenghua asked, “When?”

“Tonight,” Su Zeyang answered.

“Tonight?” Huo Fenghua hadn’t expected that. “You’re going alone?”

Su Zeyang nodded.

Huo Fenghua thought of Feng Tianzong. Feng Tianzong must already be in the city but he just couldn’t openly return to the General’s Manor. Tonight he’d probably come back to find Su Zeyang.

Huo Fenghua mulled it over. Once Feng Tianzong returned, Su Zeyang definitely wouldn’t be willing to be intimate with him anymore. It had taken real effort to get Su Zeyang to agree to let him have his turn once. If they didn’t do it in the daytime, he probably wouldn’t get another chance at night.

So he circled around Su Zeyang, taking a few steps, moving from one side of him to the other.

Lu Xi was in the middle of talking to Su Zeyang and got squeezed aside. He couldn’t help asking, “Young Master Huo, do you need something?”

“I have a few words I want to say to Young Master Su,” Huo Fenghua said.

Lu Xi looked him up and down, thinking Huo Fenghua sure had an awful lot he wanted to say to Su Zeyang in private, but he still said, “Everything’s ready. Tonight, just have Liu Yong accompany you, Young Master, and make the trip.” Then, still uneasy, he added, “If you don’t like staying over there, I’ll send someone to fetch you and say there’s something urgent at the Manor and bring you back early.”

“It’s fine. Steward Lu, you don’t need to worry,” Su Zeyang said.

Lu Xi nodded. “Then I’ll put everything in order. Young Master Su, if you have something to do, go ahead.”

Su Zeyang turned to Huo Fenghua. “What is it now?”

Huo Fenghua lowered his voice. “In your room.”

They returned to Su Zeyang’s room, one after the other. Walking behind him, Huo Fenghua reached back and latched the door shut, then stepped up and hugged Su Zeyang around the waist from behind. He whispered in his ear, “Senior Brother, now you’ve got time.”

Su Zeyang raised a hand to touch his face, but said, “Now there’s no time. I need to change and get ready to go to the Right Prime Minister’s residence.”

Huo Fenghua wanted to say, Come on, it’ll be quick, but the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back. It felt humiliating. He could only let go and sigh. “I’m not comfortable with you going alone. I’ll go with you.”

Su Zeyang lifted his hands and began to undress. “You’re coming with me? Missing your old drinking buddies?”

Huo Fenghua sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to stroke his smooth side waist. “No. I’m worried Wang Anzhi will bully you.”

Su Zeyang shot him a look. “You think he can bully me?”

“He runs his mouth,” Huo Fenghua said. “Who knows what he’ll say. It’s better if I’m there with you.”

Su Zeyang changed into a white outfit with subtle silver embroidery at the cuffs. It looked much more elegant. “If you want to go, then come. I know you can’t stand being cooped up in this residence.”

That line left Huo Fenghua momentarily stunned. After a while he looked up and asked, “If you know I can’t stand it, then why do you still want to lock me up?”

Su Zeyang gazed out the window, his expression going distant. “If you’re determined to leave, then go. It’s just a matter of how you leave. It has to be planned carefully.”

“Wouldn’t you miss me?” Huo Fenghua asked.

Su Zeyang said softly, “What good would missing you do? Your heart isn’t here. You’ve tried every way you can to run. Am I supposed to lock you up for my own selfish desires?”

Huo Fenghua reached out and caught his hand. “You shouldn’t be trapped inside these high walls either. Come with me.”

Su Zeyang clasped his hand back, but said, “I can’t.”

Huo Fenghua pulled him into his lap and Su Zeyang didn’t struggle. Huo Fenghua kissed him.

Su Zeyang returned the kiss, lingering and deep. After a moment he stood and smoothed his clothes where they’d wrinkled from sitting. “Wait a little longer. I need to think about how to handle this.”

Huo Fenghua stared blankly, looking hurt.

Su Zeyang looked at him and said, “If you keep making that face, I’ll lock you up and won’t let you leave.”

Huo Fenghua lowered his head and sighed. When he raised it again, his expression was clear and bright. “By the way, back at Luofeng Ridge, that curse formation had three slips of paper. Whose birth data was on the one in the middle?”

Su Zeyang unhurriedly adjusted his sleeves. When he looked up to answer, he only said, “This has nothing to do with you. Don’t ask again.”

Huo Fenghua frowned. “Fine, I won’t ask. Who cares whether the Feng family ends up with no heirs!”

By evening, Su Zeyang and Huo Fenghua took a carriage to the Right Prime Minister’s residence. It was Wang Chu’s sixtieth birthday, and he was hosting a huge banquet. Nearly all the dignitaries and nobles in Yujing had prepared gifts to pay their respects. Even the emperor had sent longevity peaches from the palace.

When they arrived at the Wang residence, the place in front was packed with bustling carriages and hordes of people.

There were too many guests that Wang Chu had no energy to pick a fight with Su Zeyang. He accepted the gift, exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries, and invited them in to sit.

Just as Su Zeyang and Huo Fenghua reached the inner courtyard, a servant hurried after them and called, “Young Masters, please wait.”

At once, many guests turned to look.

Su Zeyang asked, “What is it?”

The servant didn’t recognize them. Uneasy, he said, “My Young Master says… He invites the two Young Masters to go to the side courtyard and stay with the women of the household.” Huo Fenghua glared at him, and his voice grew smaller and smaller.

Su Zeyang’s face showed neither pleasure nor anger. He nodded. “Please thank Young Master Wang for me. We won’t be going to the side courtyard. It would make the ladies uncomfortable. Tell Young Master Wang we’ll find a place to rest on our own.”

The servant glanced toward the front courtyard. Huo Fenghua saw Wang Anzhi standing in the crowd, looking their way with a half-smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Huo Fenghua gave him a cold, mocking smile back.

Su Zeyang seemed not to have seen him at all. He turned and walked deeper inside.

Huo Fenghua followed behind, folding fan in hand, clicking his tongue with a “Tsk.”

“Don’t mind him,” Su Zeyang said.

Huo Fenghua asked, “We delivered the birthday gift. Why aren’t we leaving?” His skin was thick, but he still didn’t like being humiliated like this.

“I have serious business to handle,” Su Zeyang said softly. “You just eat and drink and enjoy yourself.”

Huo Fenghua snapped the fan open and fanned his face, puzzled what “serious business” Su Zeyang could possibly mean.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a place to talk.

Passing through an arched gate beneath a rockery, they entered the inner courtyard. Only then did Huo Fenghua realize the Right Prime Minister’s Manor was much larger than the General’s Manor. In the middle of the vast inner grounds was a huge pond, complete with covered walkways and pavilions. Weeping willows were planted all around it, and guests were chatting under the willow branches and admiring lotus flowers.

Su Zeyang was the sort of person who drew eyes everywhere. But even more people began whispering the moment they recognized Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua had once been a notorious playboy in the capital. Even as a hostage prince, he’d run with Wang Anzhi and other well-born youths for years, haunting brothels and taverns, always stirring up trouble.

In Yujing, plenty of people recognized him, whether they held office or not.

But ever since an imperial decree had married him to General Feng Tianzong as a male concubine, he’d never appear in the city again. No one expected to see him at the Right Prime Minister’s birthday banquet.

Someone asked in a low voice, “Who’s the man beside Huo Fenghua?”

Someone else answered, “That’s General Feng’s male wife, Su Zeyang.”

The first person seemed to realize it, then smiled ambiguously and praised, “A beauty. Both are beauties.”

Both beauties naturally meant Su Zeyang and Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua stood there, fanning himself as he endured everyone’s stares. After a while he grew irritated and said to Su Zeyang, “I’m going to get some pastries.”

Su Zeyang nodded.

Huo Fenghua walked into the crowd. A group of middle-aged men had been chatting together, but when he approached, they immediately fell silent, watching him leave with disgusted looks before resuming their conversation.

On a stone table in a pavilion were delicately made osmanthus cakes. Huo Fenghua popped one into his mouth, finding it soft, fragrant, sweet, melting in his mouth. He immediately reached for another to bring to Su Zeyang.

Just as he stepped out of the pavilion, lanterns all around the pond were being lit. Night had fallen. It looked like the banquet was about to begin.

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

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Chapter 42

Su Zeyang’s kiss felt different from Feng Tianzong’s. It was softer, with none of that aggressive possessiveness. He was like cool water—enveloping you, and yet capable of drowning you all the same.

Huo Fenghua tightened his arms around Su Zeyang, hooked his tongue and sucked, his fingers lightly tugging at Su Zeyang’s belt.

Very quickly, Su Zeyang caught Huo Fenghua by the collar and shoved him to the side. But Huo Fenghua’s feet stayed planted firmly on the ground. Su Zeyang couldn’t budge him. After all, Zixi hadn’t been famous for nothing; decades of cultivation weren’t a joke.

Su Zeyang looked a little surprised. And Huo Fenghua had already locked onto his wrist and forced him down onto the crates behind him.

Huo Fenghua was just about to let out a smug laugh when Su Zeyang, nimble as ever, slipped sideways, regained his footing, and twisted Huo Fenghua’s arm back. At the same time he lifted his foot and kicked behind Huo Fenghua’s knee, making Huo Fenghua obediently sit down on the crate himself.

Su Zeyang looked down at him. “In such a short time, where did you get so much inner energy?”

Huo Fenghua was angry at first. He’d gotten all that inner energy and still couldn’t beat Su Zeyang. But hearing the question, he couldn’t help grinning smugly. “Guess.”

“I can’t guess,” Su Zeyang said.

Huo Fenghua sighed. “You’re so boring. Have you heard of True Master Zixi in Fengming?”

Su Zeyang lifted his chin slightly as if searching his memory. Huo Fenghua, seeing that innocent expression, felt his heart stir and reached out to wrap an arm around his waist.

Su Zeyang then patted Huo Fenghua’s hair. “I think I’ve heard of him.”

Huo Fenghua said, “He’s actually a lecherous, shameless old monster. Master stole one of his golden pills and fed it to me, and I ended up absorbing decades of his cultivation.”

Su Zeyang said softly, “What golden pill could be that powerful? I’ve never heard of absorbing someone else’s cultivation. Show me.” As he spoke, he offered his hand to Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua took it, kissed his arm once, and said, “How would I dare try? What if once it starts, it won’t stop?”

Su Zeyang was still puzzled. He pressed two fingers to Huo Fenghua’s pulse, trying to gauge his inner energy. But Huo Fenghua grabbed him in return, tugged him down, and pressed close to kiss him, murmuring intimately, “Is this really the time to talk about that? We clearly have other things we can do.”

Su Zeyang looked down at him. His long lashes trembled slightly, and suddenly he reached out and yanked open Huo Fenghua’s lapels, exposing a broad stretch of pale, clean chest.

Huo Fenghua sat on the solid wooden crate, tilting his head back.

Su Zeyang kissed his neck, one hand sliding up over his chest, thumb rubbing one nipple.

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help panting lightly. Meanwhile, his thoughts turned lively. His hand traced along Su Zeyang’s supple waistline, slid down to his ass, and gave a firm squeeze.

Su Zeyang shot him a look and took Huo Fenghua’s nipple into his mouth.

That was when Huo Fenghua said, “You abandoned me at Luofeng Ridge.”

Su Zeyang’s movements paused.

With grievance in his voice, Huo Fenghua continued, “You’ve been back in the capital so long, and you never came to find me. You didn’t even ask about me once.”

Su Zeyang straightened and looked at him. “The curse is a matter of great importance. I—”

“You do it for Feng Tianzong, but you wouldn’t do it for me!” Huo Fenghua cut him off.

Su Zeyang looked at him, confused. “Last time… were you uncomfortable?”

Huo Fenghua stood up too. “I wouldn’t say I was uncomfortable. But I want to make you feel good too, Senior Brother.”

Su Zeyang said, “Last time I did feel good.”

Huo Fenghua lowered his eyes. “You left me at Luofeng Ridge…”

Su Zeyang turned and sat down on the crate, unfastening the knot at his collar. “Come, then.”

Huo Fenghua lit up with delight. He lowered his head and kissed Su Zeyang, speaking indistinctly as he did, “You can’t take it back now.”

Su Zeyang answered softly, “Mm.”

Huo Fenghua tugged his clothes open, one hand pinching his waist, the other kneading his chest. Hearing Su Zeyang’s breathing grow heavier, he felt satisfied. He nibbled lightly at Su Zeyang’s shoulder. “Senior Brother, I really like you.”

Su Zeyang stroked the back of his neck, fingers catching in his hair, and sighed faintly.

Huo Fenghua wasn’t satisfied. “Do you like me?”

Su Zeyang opened his half-lidded eyes. “I do.”

Huo Fenghua didn’t ask whether he liked Feng Tianzong more or him more. Instead he said, “Then you have to remember me for the rest of your life.”

Su Zeyang leaned back, legs spread slightly, and answered, “Alright.”

Huo Fenghua lowered his head, about to undo his belt.

Suddenly, both of them heard footsteps coming this way.

That went without saying for Su Zeyang, but after gaining decades of inner energy from Zixi, Huo Fenghua felt his senses had sharpened a lot. The footsteps were still some distance from the courtyard, yet he could clearly judge their direction. He immediately lifted his head and looked at Su Zeyang.

Su Zeyang was looking at him too. With silent understanding, they both stopped, stood, and adjusted their clothes, tying their sashes.

By the time Liu Yong walked through the courtyard gate, Su Zeyang and Huo Fenghua were already continuing to rummage through the boxes.

Liu Yong crept up to the storeroom doorway and knocked on the open door. “Young Master Su, the Prime Minister’s residence has sent someone.”

Su Zeyang closed the lid of a wooden box and asked, “What is it?”

Liu Yong said, “It’s Xu An, the Prime Minister’s personal attendant. He says the Imperial Princess is ill and wants to invite Doctor Du from our residence to examine her.”

Doctor Du had once followed Feng Tianzong onto the battlefield as a military physician. His medical skills were excellent. Later, growing older and with no family, Feng Tianzong had invited him to live at the General’s Manor, to treat people in the household and also to let him spend his later years in comfort.

Su Zeyang said softly, “The Imperial Princess is ill?” He hesitated slightly, then said, “I’ll go see Xu An.” Something like that couldn’t simply be ignored.

After speaking, Su Zeyang looked to Huo Fenghua. “Will you keep looking for the jade ruyi here?”

Huo Fenghua looked displeased at being interrupted when things were getting good. “I don’t even know what you’re looking for.”

Su Zeyang said, “Then go back to your room and get yourself sorted out first. Steward Lu should’ve already passed the word along. Qingqing probably knows you’re back too.”

Hearing the name Qingqing so suddenly, Huo Fenghua felt a wave of longing as well. He nodded. “Then I’ll go see Sister Qingqing first.”

Huo Fenghua returned alone to his small side courtyard. When he pushed the door open, he saw Qingqing sitting on a stone stool in the yard, staring off into space. He called softly, “Sister Qingqing!”

Qingqing jerked her head around, stood up, and said, “You really came back?”

Huo Fenghua walked over with a grin. “I’m back! Did you miss me?”

Qingqing didn’t answer. She just looked at him. After a moment, her eyes turned red.

Huo Fenghua froze and said, “Don’t cry. Why are you crying the moment you see me?”

“Who’s crying?” Qingqing lifted a hand to wipe her eyes. “I thought you’d never come back.”

Huo Fenghua felt a sour ache in his chest. He asked her, “So these days… you’ve been here alone keeping watch?”

Qingqing said, “Yeah. Every day I have to clean the room and the courtyard. By the time I’m done, it’s already afternoon.”

Huo Fenghua took her hand and said softly, “Really, don’t cry. I won’t be staying long. I’m still going to leave.”

Qingqing froze slightly, glanced outside, and said in a low voice, “You still want to slip away?”

Huo Fenghua didn’t explain his plans in detail. He only said, “Don’t worry. Before I go, I’ll make Feng Tianzong decide for you and marry you into a good family.”

Qingqing didn’t even have time to feel shy. She just asked, “How will you leave? The General and Madam won’t let you go.”

Huo Fenghua said, “Don’t worry about that. Before I go, I still have some things I need to handle. When the time comes, I’ll prepare your dowry. Keep this secret for me. Don’t tell anyone, alright?”

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

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Chapter 41

Feng Tianzong left the horse to Huo Fenghua who rode into the city alone and returned to the General’s Manor.

Ever since he’d come to this world, he hadn’t stayed in Yujing for long before he was abducted and taken to Xichou. Now that he was back, it truly felt like a lifetime ago.

He led the horse slowly through the capital and even had to ask people for directions before he found the way to the General’s Manor. Back then, he’d exhausted every scheme to escape; now, no one was forcing him, yet he was still coming back willingly.

The main gate of the General’s Manor was shut tight, leaving only a side gate open for entry.

Huo Fenghua led the horse over and knocked. The gatekeeper, Wu Tong, took a long time to respond. He opened the side gate only a narrow crack to peer out. He’d looked impatient, but the moment he saw Huo Fenghua standing there with a horse, he froze.

Huo Fenghua didn’t urge him.

Wu Tong looked him up and down, then yanked the door open. “Young Master Huo? You… you… how did you come back?”

After Huo Fenghua went missing, Su Zeyang had left the residence to search for him. The servants didn’t know what had happened. They’d only heard, from a few maids who served close in, that Young Master Huo had run off with a prostitute from the pleasure quarter.

Even before marrying the General, Young Master Huo liked to frequent brothels and taverns, and later he’d even thrown himself into a lake in a suicide attempt. Saying he’d eloped with a prostitute sounded plausible enough. So the rumor spread from mouth to mouth, and all the servants believed it. Only because the matter was serious, Steward Lu had strictly forbidden anyone from repeating it outside, so it didn’t leak beyond the residence, though inside the household people gossiped constantly.

Now Huo Fenghua had returned alone. Wu Tong’s jaw practically hit the ground. He had no idea what had really happened.

Seeing him stare blankly, Huo Fenghua said unhappily, “What? You’re not letting me in? I’m still Young Master Huo of this manor, aren’t I?”

Wu Tong finally snapped out of it and hurriedly stepped aside. “Please come in, quick. I’ll have someone go report it at once, tell them you’re back—”

“No need.” Huo Fenghua stopped him and handed him the reins. “Is Young Master Su in the residence?”

Wu Tong answered, “He is. Young Master Su hasn’t gone out today.”

Huo Fenghua nodded. “Then I’ll go find him myself. You don’t need to worry about it.”

He’d been away from the General’s Manor for months now. Aside from the change of seasons, the plants and paths inside seemed much the same. Only Huo Fenghua’s state of mind had shifted completely. Thinking of Su Zeyang made his heart flutter, yet there was also a faint unease.

When he reached the inner courtyard and passed the lake where he’d once thrown himself in seeking death, he suddenly remembered how, at Luofeng Ridge, Su Zeyang had handed him off to Wen Heyi and left without hesitation. His mood sank at once.

As he crossed through a courtyard gate, he ran into Zhu’er, the little maid who attended Su Zeyang. Zhu’er’s eyes widened. She clapped a hand over her mouth, looking as if she’d seen a ghost.

Huo Fenghua said, “What, saw a ghost?”

Zhu’er stammered, “Yo-Young Master Huo?”

Huo Fenghua said to her, “Young Master Huo asks you: is Young Master Su in his room?”

Zhu’er shook her head. “No. Young Master Huo… when did you come back?”

“I just got back.” Huo Fenghua said. “I’m going to see Young Master Su now. Where is he?”

Zhu’er pointed toward the back courtyard. “He’s in the storeroom with Steward Lu.”

“The storeroom?” Huo Fenghua glanced that way, waved his hand, and said, “Got it. Go do your work.”

Zhu’er still stood there, dumbfounded, watching him head for the back courtyard.

The General’s Manor storeroom didn’t hold anything especially critical. Mostly it contained gifts exchanged with court officials and rewards bestowed by the emperor over the years for Feng Tianzong’s military merits.

Before Huo Fenghua even reached it, he heard two people talking at the storeroom entrance. One was Steward Lu Xi, and the other was, of course, Su Zeyang. Huo Fenghua leaned out from behind the courtyard gate and saw Su Zeyang in clean white robes, his long hair neatly tied back, speaking to Lu Xi. Then Su Zeyang sensed the movement at the gate and turned—his eyes meeting Huo Fenghua’s.

For an instant, both of them froze.

Lu Xi also heard the sound and looked over. He didn’t notice Su Zeyang’s expression, only came down the steps in surprise and walked into the courtyard. “Young Master Huo? You’re back?”

Unlike the other servants, Lu Xi naturally knew why Huo Fenghua had left. Seeing him return alone still shocked him.

Huo Fenghua’s gaze slid off Su Zeyang’s face. He said to Lu Xi, “Yeah. I’m back.”

When Su Zeyang returned earlier, Lu Xi had asked about Huo Fenghua’s whereabouts. At the time, Su Zeyang had said Huo Fenghua wouldn’t be coming back for the time being. Now Lu Xi couldn’t help glancing at Su Zeyang. Su Zeyang only stared at Huo Fenghua without any reaction. So Lu Xi said, “It’s the best thing possible that you’ve come back.” Seeing the dust and travel-wear on him, he added, “I’ll have the servants prepare hot water and food. Young Master Huo has been through a hard journey. Would you like to return to your room first to rest and freshen up?”

“No need,” Huo Fenghua said. “There are some things I want to say to Young Master Su.”

Just then, Su Zeyang’s attendant, Liu Yong, came out of the storeroom carrying a wooden box. He asked, “Is it this ruyi, Young Master Su?”

Su Zeyang turned back, opened the box, then closed it again. “No.”

Liu Yong saw Huo Fenghua too and looked equally stunned. “Young Master Huo?”

Su Zeyang said, “I’ll find the jade ruyi myself. Liu Yong, you can go.”

Liu Yong stared. “Young Master?”

Su Zeyang took the box from him, then said to Lu Xi as well, “Steward Lu, you should go rest too. I’ll speak with Young Master Huo for a bit.”

Lu Xi bowed slightly. “Then I’ll take my leave. Young Masters, take your time.”

Liu Yong had no choice but to bow too, following Lu Xi as they left the storeroom area together.

Su Zeyang carried the box back inside. Huo Fenghua followed him in and saw many crates stacked in the storeroom. In one corner were numerous scrolls and paintings, piled together.

Watching Su Zeyang set the box down, Huo Fenghua asked, “What are you looking for?”

“A jade ruyi,” Su Zeyang replied.

“What for?” Huo Fenghua asked.

“A birthday gift for someone,” Su Zeyang said, then began opening other boxes, searching for the jade ruyi he’d mentioned.

Huo Fenghua stepped closer. “Senior Brother, you were so ruthless to me. You really could do it?”

Su Zeyang paused, turned to look at him. “There are priorities. I didn’t have a choice.”

Huo Fenghua stepped closer again, until their noses were nearly touching and their breaths mingled. Only then did he say, “Feng Tianzong was in a hurry. I wasn’t.”

Su Zeyang lowered his eyes. “Martial Uncle treated you fairly well.”

Huo Fenghua still felt wronged.

Su Zeyang lifted a hand, pressed it to the back of Huo Fenghua’s neck, and brought their lips together.

Huo Fenghua, as if venting his anger, bit back hard.

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

---

Chapter 40

Deep in the night, everything was quiet.

On the inn’s broken old bed, Huo Fenghua kept his back to Feng Tianzong, turning his head to tangle tongues with him. He felt Feng Tianzong’s rough palm stroking over his body, sliding up to his chest. Two fingers pinched his nipple and tugged gently.

Huo Fenghua’s breathing quickened. He wanted to turn over, but Feng Tianzong’s arm pinned him in place and wouldn’t let him move. One hand toyed with his nipple, while the other slid down to grip his half-hard shaft, kneading it with just the right pressure.

Feng Tianzong kissed Huo Fenghua’s shoulder.

Huo Fenghua turned his head back and said, “There’s a hole.”

Feng Tianzong gave a soft “Mm,” and after a moment said, “Then don’t make any noise.”

In a drafty wreck of a room like this, of course it wasn’t soundproof either.

Huo Fenghua squeezed his legs together in discomfort and even felt the bed give a small creak.

Feng Tianzong pushed his hand between his thighs, stroking the tender skin of his inner thigh, and lightly kneading his balls. Huo Fenghua tipped his head back. While forcing himself to keep his breaths quiet, he stared toward the broken hole, trying to make out what was on the other side. But it was pitch-black over there, and he couldn’t see anything.

Huo Fenghua said, “Maybe someone will look.”

Feng Tianzong actually chuckled and asked him, “Do you like that?”

Huo Fenghua wanted to say he wasn’t that shameless, but just then he felt Feng Tianzong tug his pants down a little. Feng Tianzong’s thick cock poked out and pressed against the cleft of his ass.

He immediately got tense. “You’re going in just like this?”

Feng Tianzong didn’t rush. He buried that hard heat into the crack between Huo Fenghua’s cheeks and began to grind in slow strokes. “Want it?”

Huo Fenghua closed his eyes. “Not that badly.”

Feng Tianzong seemed to laugh again, still reaching around to stroke and soothe the rigid length at his front, unhurried.

Huo Fenghua swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He panted hard, and then suddenly a light flared up in the room across the hole.

His breath caught. In the neighboring room, a young man who looked like a scholar stood by a table, lighting an oil lamp.

Sensing Huo Fenghua go silent and hold his breath, Feng Tianzong pressed his cock to the entrance behind and slowly slid in.

Huo Fenghua couldn’t hold it. He sucked in a sharp breath, clenching hard around him, wrapping Feng Tianzong tight.

Feng Tianzong’s breathing turned rougher too.

The scholar next door had sat down under the lamp to read, but maybe he heard something. He lifted his head with a strange look.

Right then, Feng Tianzong drew back slightly, then thrust in hard, forcing the head against Huo Fenghua’s sensitive inner wall. Huo Fenghua jerked, slapped a hand over his mouth, and swallowed down that soft, spring-lush cry.

Feng Tianzong stroked him as he rocked his hips and slammed into him, and whispered in Huo Fenghua’s ear, “If you like it, then cry out.”

Huo Fenghua kept his hand at his lips, his words shattered by the intermittent thrusting. “Can’t… can’t disturb someone… reading…”

Feng Tianzong seemed amused. He reached up, brushed Huo Fenghua’s long hair aside, and kissed his cheek.

But even if Huo Fenghua refused to make a sound, the bed beneath them squealed and creaked with gleeful enthusiasm, and in the still night it was loud.

Huo Fenghua worried in secret. With the inn’s rotten, drafty wooden walls, he feared everyone staying there could hear their bed.

The scholar next door stared blankly for a moment, then actually stood and walked toward the wall.

Watching him come closer step by step, Huo Fenghua could only feel Feng Tianzong’s hard, burning cock deep inside him. Every time it pried through slick flesh and ground along his inner walls, it sent tremors through his whole body, creating sharp and relentless pleasure. He was boneless, swaying with Feng Tianzong’s movements, until he saw the scholar reach the bedside. The man seemed to notice the hole and crouched as if to take a closer look.

Huo Fenghua snatched up a pillow and slammed it over the hole, blocking the view.

Feng Tianzong’s lust flared. This position wasn’t enough. He braced Huo Fenghua’s waist, flipped him over, and knelt on the bed. Then he gripped his waist and hiked his hips up, pounding him hard.

Huo Fenghua lay facedown, one hand still clutching the pillow to plug the hole, all his senses consumed by the burning friction inside him.

Feng Tianzong kept one hand on Huo Fenghua’s cock, feeling it grow harder and harder, until Huo Fenghua shuddered and spilled in his grasp. His ass clenched tight, soft flesh twisting and milking the cock inside him, forcing Feng Tianzong to pull back a little. Only when Huo Fenghua went slack did he drive in again with a brutal thrust.

This time he showed no mercy. He fucked him for a long while, until Huo Fenghua hardened again, and then, gripping his waist, he buried himself all the way inside Huo Fenghua and came.

Even after he finished, Feng Tianzong stayed wedged between Huo Fenghua’s cheeks, unwilling to pull out. Only when Huo Fenghua’s waist ached unbearably and he reached back to push him did Feng Tianzong finally withdraw slowly, gather him up, and roll over to lie down holding him.

The next morning, when they checked out, the innkeeper’s gaze kept sliding back and forth between Huo Fenghua and Feng Tianzong.

Huo Fenghua’s skin was always thick. He smiled at the innkeeper. “Can you hurry it up?”

The innkeeper flicked his abacus beads as he settled their bill.

Huo Fenghua turned to glance at Feng Tianzong and saw his expression calm, as if the innkeeper weren’t staring at him at all. Huo Fenghua felt grudging admiration. Looks like Feng Tianzong’s skin was even thicker than his.

After paying, they left the inn. Huo Fenghua walked ahead, about to head for the stables to fetch the horses, when he realized Feng Tianzong hadn’t followed. He turned back and saw Feng Tianzong staring at a mark in the corner by the wall, then changing direction after stepping out.

Huo Fenghua recognized the mark too. It was left by Feng Tianzong’s men. It looked like they’d found Su Zeyang’s whereabouts.

Huo Fenghua hurried after him. They reached a teahouse on the street corner. A little boy ran out of the teahouse and tugged at Feng Tianzong’s hem.

Feng Tianzong crouched, and the boy whispered in his ear, “Madam has returned to the General’s Manor.”

After he said it, the boy turned and ran off, using the copper coins he’d just gotten to buy candy.

Feng Tianzong rose slowly and told Huo Fenghua, “Zeyang is already back at the General’s Manor.”

Huo Fenghua nodded. “Then let’s get back as quickly as we can.”

After that, they traveled day and night without pause. Every evening, Feng Tianzong would help Huo Fenghua circulate his energy and guide it to clear and smooth his qi. Later, as their true qi connected and flowed back and forth between them, even Feng Tianzong felt his inner energy grow by a fair margin.

This time, after ten days on the road, they returned to Yujing.

Before entering the city, Feng Tianzong suddenly reigned in. He jumped down from the horse, held the reins, and looked up at Huo Fenghua. “I won’t enter the city with you.”

Huo Fenghua was startled. “You’re not going in?”

Feng Tianzong said quietly, “I won’t go in with you. I’ll disguise myself and slip into the city, and I won’t return to the General’s Manor right away either.”

Huo Fenghua jumped down as well. “Then where are you going?”

Feng Tianzong said, “I’m a General who was sent on a campaign by an imperial decree. I can’t return to the capital privately without first reporting in, so I can’t move openly.”

Huo Fenghua froze, then understood. He asked, “Then should I tell Senior Brother you’re back?”

Feng Tianzong hesitated a little. “Not yet. I’ll arrange it myself.”

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

---

Chapter 39

After Gu Guangji finished gnawing on the rabbit, he wiped the grease from his mouth, stood up, and walked over to Huo Fenghua to take his pulse.

Huo Fenghua held out one hand.

Gu Guangji stared at his pale arm but didn’t know where to start, looking troubled.

Huo Fenghua lifted a hand and pressed it to his dantian. “I won’t suck inner energy anymore. It feels different from earlier.”

Feng Tianzong crouched beside him and asked, “How is it different?”

Huo Fenghua thought for a moment and said, “Just now, I could feel inner energy flowing from my palm along the meridians and finally returning to the dantian, forming a loop. But now I can’t feel that anymore.”

Gu Guangji asked, “Really?”

Huo Fenghua nodded. “Absolutely. Besides, even if I were going to suck someone’s inner energy, I wouldn’t absorb my Master’s. That’d be utterly unfilial.”

Feng Tianzong said, “He’s afraid you can’t control yourself.”

Huo Fenghua sensed quietly for a moment longer, then spread his wrist. “Really, it won’t happen.”

Only then did Gu Guangji squat down. Carefully, he reached out to feel Huo Fenghua’s pulse, and at the same time told Feng Tianzong, “If he sucks my inner energy, use the whip and pull me away—no, whip him away instead. Got it?”

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help laughing. “What, like I’m an electric shock?”

Gu Guangji asked, “What?”

Huo Fenghua shook his head. “Nothing. Master, hurry up.”

Gu Guangji finally set his fingers on the pulse point, nerves taut. Before he even felt the beat, Huo Fenghua grabbed his wrist and shook it violently.

For an instant, Gu Guangji jolted in fright and almost kicked Huo Fenghua away, but he quickly realized there was no inner energy flow at all. Huo Fenghua was just messing with him. He instantly roared, “I’ll beat you to death, you little bastard!”

Feng Tianzong hurried to hold Gu Guangji back and said to Huo Fenghua, “Quit it!”

His voice dropped, carrying authority.

Huo Fenghua immediately lowered his head and obediently said, “Yes, General.”

Gu Guangji was still fuming, but he did take Huo Fenghua’s pulse carefully. He found the pulse full and unusually strong. Clearly, a surge of inner energy was swelling through the meridians, speeding up the blood flow and making his whole body unbearably feverish. So he said, “That old demon Zixi poured his whole life’s cultivated, thick inner energy into a pill, and he swallowed it in one go. It’s already lucky he didn’t explode. His dantian can’t hold that much, so it’s running wild through his meridians, heating his blood everywhere. That’s normal.”

Feng Tianzong asked, “What should we do?”

Gu Guangji said, “What do we do? We can only slowly guide it back into the dantian. This isn’t a one- or two-day thing. Are you heading back to Yujing next?”

At the question, Huo Fenghua and Feng Tianzong exchanged a look. Feng Tianzong answered, “Yes.”

“Then you’ll be traveling together for another ten days. Along the way, you keep circulating your power to guide and clear his meridians, so the inner energy returns to his dantian. Teach him the method too. Maybe in a couple of days he won’t feel so hot,” Gu Guangji said. Then he had Huo Fenghua sit up, pressed both palms to his back, and fed his own inner energy into Huo Fenghua to help guide the swollen meridians.

A short while later, Huo Fenghua still felt scorching and miserable, but the limp weakness all over him eased a lot.

Feng Tianzong watched, still worried. “Is there any way to prevent him from absorbing other people’s inner energy?”

Gu Guangji glanced at him. “If I had a way, I wouldn’t have been scared out of my skin just now. To be honest, this kind of thing… is strange. I didn’t expect Zixi’s alchemy to produce something like this. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Huo Fenghua, draped in clothes, said, “If you don’t even know what it is, how dare you make me eat it?”

Gu Guangji scratched his cheek. “A pill that old demon refined to eat himself wouldn’t harm him, right?”

Huo Fenghua gave a soft snort. “That old demon was so perverted. What if it’s some kind of obscene aphrodisiac that makes you last forever?”

Gu Guangji considered it solemnly for a moment, then said, “Wouldn’t that be doing you a favor?”

Feng Tianzong coughed lightly. “Senior, you’re not coming back to Yujing with us?”

Gu Guangji answered without hesitation, “Of course not. I’m still wandering the martial world. There are lots of things I haven’t done. What would I go to Yujing for?”

Huo Fenghua asked, “Where do you want to go?”

Gu Guangji squatted down, propped his cheek with one hand, and thought hard. After a long time without deciding, he said, “We’ll see. I’ll just go wherever my feet take me.” Then he stood and brushed off his hands. “I’m leaving.”

“Right now?” Huo Fenghua asked in surprise.

Gu Guangji waved. “I’m off.” Then he told Feng Tianzong, “Treat my disciple well. Both of them.”

Feng Tianzong lowered his gaze slightly. “I know.”

Gu Guangji chuckled. His body seemed to float as he leapt out of the cave.

That left only Feng Tianzong and Huo Fenghua.

Feng Tianzong helped him straighten his clothes, then suddenly asked, “Did you look at the birth data on that slip of paper?”

Huo Fenghua paused and looked at him. “I know what you want to ask. I saw that slip. I don’t recognize that birth data.”

For a moment, Feng Tianzong seemed to let out a deep breath. Huo Fenghua didn’t know if he was imagining it. Then he added, “But I can’t guarantee it isn’t me.”

“What do you mean?” Feng Tianzong’s voice sank.

Huo Fenghua raised a finger and tapped his head. “When you were away, I jumped into the water to kill myself, but I didn’t die. I knocked my head up. A lot of things are blurry.”

Feng Tianzong looked at him expressionlessly.

Huo Fenghua spread his hands. “You don’t believe me, right?”

Feng Tianzong said, “I believe you.”

Huo Fenghua didn’t buy it. “Liar. I know you don’t.”

Feng Tianzong finished dressing him and tied his sash. “I’ve been in contact with you before. Back then, you were nothing like you are now.”

Huo Fenghua asked, “What was I like back then?”

Feng Tianzong didn’t continue. He only said, “If we don’t hurry, we’ll probably have to sleep out in the open again tonight.”

Huo Fenghua stood up and tugged at his collar to fan himself. “Let’s go. Tonight we’ll find somewhere cool to stay.”

As Feng Tianzong walked out of the cave, Huo Fenghua said, “Do you think I conspired with someone to mess with the Feng family?”

“No,” Feng Tianzong answered quickly. “The you from before didn’t have that kind of nerve or bearing. And we don’t have a grudge.”

Huo Fenghua said, “The hatred of a fallen kingdom doesn’t count as a grudge?”

Feng Tianzong gave a light laugh. “I’m just a sword in someone else’s hand. The one you should truly hate for your fallen kingdom lives in the palace. If you want revenge, you shouldn’t come to me.”

Huo Fenghua sighed. “I don’t think I have that kind of nerve or bearing either.”

He would never see the Huo Fenghua from the past again, but even just imagining it, he could picture what kind of person that had been. Using the same body, he couldn’t help feeling a little wistful and melancholy.

That night, they stayed in a broken-down inn whose guest rooms were drafty on all sides.

When Huo Fenghua entered their room, he smelled mold and rot. He asked Feng Tianzong, “Do we really not need to change to a better inn?”

Feng Tianzong set their bundle on a chair. “Weren’t you the one who said you wanted an inn that was cool?”

Huo Fenghua sat on the edge of the bed, feeling cold air pouring in through cracks in the window. He nodded. “It is cool.”

As soon as he said that, he started taking off his clothes. By the time Feng Tianzong turned around, he’d stripped clean.

“What are you doing?” Feng Tianzong asked.

Huo Fenghua lay down on the bed. “I feel awful.”

Feng Tianzong went over and helped him sit cross-legged, then sat behind him. He pressed both palms to Huo Fenghua’s back and, just as Gu Guangji had instructed, began guiding his inner energy to channel and ease the excess.

Huo Fenghua closed his eyes and followed the flow inside his body. He also tried to gather the excess inner power running wild in his meridians back into his dantian. It was slow, but the bloated pressure gradually eased.

When they finished circulating, Feng Tianzong got up from the bedside. Huo Fenghua had already collapsed back onto the bed, stretching out.

Huo Fenghua watched Feng Tianzong blow out the candle. The room dropped into darkness. He heard the sounds of Feng Tianzong returning to the bed and removing his clothes.

After a while, when his eyes adjusted and he could make out the long outline of the person beside the bed in the moonlight filtering through the window, he saw Feng Tianzong climb onto the bed in white underclothes and lie down on the outer side.

Huo Fenghua rolled over with his back to Feng Tianzong, facing the wall, and suddenly murmured, “Huh.”

Feng Tianzong waited a moment, then asked, “What?”

Huo Fenghua said, “There’s a hole in the wall.”

Hearing that, Feng Tianzong turned and moved closer behind him to look at the hole, then asked, “Want to plug it?”

Huo Fenghua’s body pressed against his, and he instantly felt a wave of coolness. His whole body was burning like a little furnace, so he burrowed into Feng Tianzong’s arms.

Feng Tianzong hesitated briefly, then still reached out to hold him.

Huo Fenghua turned his head and kissed Feng Tianzong on the lips.

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

---

Chapter 38

They found a cave along the road and tied the horses at the entrance. When Feng Tianzong carried Huo Fenghua inside, Gu Guangji stood at the mouth of the cave looking around and said, “I haven’t eaten a thing since I got up this morning. You two go in first. I’ll go find something to eat.”

After speaking, he gave a light hop and landed in a big tree nearby.

Feng Tianzong carried Huo Fenghua deeper into the cave and gently set him down. Then he felt how damp and chilly it was inside and wanted to gather some firewood to start a fire.

Huo Fenghua’s hands were bound. He could only tilt his head up at him and shout, “Don’t go. I need to take my clothes off.”

His whole body was burning. The cloth stuck to his skin like torture. Sweat had soaked all his hair and plastered it to his face, making him look pitiful.

Feng Tianzong had no choice but to crouch down and start undoing his clothes. As he loosened Huo Fenghua’s collar, he said, “Don’t move around.”

Huo Fenghua’s eyes were watery. He asked, “Are you scared I’ll suck your inner energy? Are none of you going to dare touch me anymore?”

Feng Tianzong said, “No. There’ll be a solution.”

Once his bindings were removed and his clothes loosened, Huo Fenghua could move his hands again. He tugged at his clothing himself, though he had no strength. He pulled off his top, revealing pale skin still marked with traces of last night’s intimacy, and unsatisfied, kept trying to strip his pants too.

Feng Tianzong watched him. “That’s enough.”

Huo Fenghua said, “No. Take them off, take them off. It’s stifling down there. It hurts.”

So Feng Tianzong helped him remove his trousers as well. Huo Fenghua lay there completely naked on the ground, arms spread and let out a long breath.

He stared blankly at the cave ceiling.

Feng Tianzong sat down beside him and asked, “How long are you going to lie there?”

Huo Fenghua glanced at him. “Until I die.”

Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Before Gu Guangji even reached the entrance, he was already shouting, “I caught you a rabbit!”

Feng Tianzong grabbed the clothes Huo Fenghua had taken off and covered him with them.

Gu Guangji moved fast. When he ducked into the cave, he happened to see Feng Tianzong covering Huo Fenghua and said, “What’re you covering him for? When he was little, I even bathed him. There isn’t anything on him I haven’t seen.”

Huo Fenghua lifted his head. “When did you ever bathe me when I was little?”

Gu Guangji had a rabbit in his left hand. With his right, he tapped his own head, thinking hard. “Got it wrong. Not you, it’s your Senior Brother. I bathed him.”

Hearing that, Feng Tianzong lifted his head and shot him a cold piercing glare.

Gu Guangji didn’t notice at all. He looked at the dim light inside the cave and said, “Why aren’t you making a fire?” He handed the rabbit to Feng Tianzong, then ran back out to gather firewood.

When Gu Guangji returned, he started a fire in the cave, skinned and bled the rabbit, and set it over the flames to roast.

Huo Fenghua thought the fire was too hot, so he retreated to a corner of the cave and lay on a large stone slab, rolling back and forth restlessly.

Feng Tianzong sat beside Gu Guangji, glancing over at Huo Fenghua from time to time.

As he roasted the rabbit, Gu Guangji asked Feng Tianzong, “Why’d you go and provoke that old demon Zixi for no reason?” Then he sighed with emotion. “This time, Zixi’s martial arts are ruined. Once I spread the news, his enemies will come knocking, and they’ll make him wish he were dead.”

Feng Tianzong replied, “We came to find you, Senior.”

Gu Guangji looked at him. “Find me?”

Feng Tianzong asked, “Did Zeyang come to see you?”

Gu Guangji said, “Oh, you’re here for Su Zeyang? Yeah, he came. I told the little disciple. He came to see me, we exchanged a few words, and he left right away.”

Feng Tianzong asked, “Did he come to ask you about the Feng family curse?”

Gu Guangji stared at the rabbit, sizzling as fat dripped out. “You heard about it too?”

Feng Tianzong said, “Only a little.”

So Gu Guangji said, “He asked me if that was a curse formation, and how to break it.”

Huo Fenghua, hearing this, quieted down. He pressed his face to the stone slab and listened.

Feng Tianzong asked, “What did you tell him, Senior?”

Gu Guangji picked up a stick and drew a circle in the dirt, marking several points. From a distance, Huo Fenghua felt he was drawing the formation they’d seen in the cave.

When he finished, Gu Guangji tapped the center with the stick. “This is the diagram my eldest disciple drew for me. If that formation is arranged strictly according to these positions, then it’s a vicious curse formation meant to make someone’s bloodline die out.”

Huo Fenghua, still sprawled on the slab with one hand propping his cheek, said, “But Senior Brother already dug out the wooden box in the center.”

Gu Guangji chuckled. “There is a way to break it, but it’s definitely not as simple as smashing the setup. Otherwise the formation wouldn’t be worth much. I haven’t seen it myself, but according to Zeyang, he dug up a wooden box in the center. Inside were three people’s birth data. Two were the Feng brothers. That means the remaining one is the true core of the formation.”

Feng Tianzong’s expression turned solemn. “Explain.”

Gu Guangji scratched his chin. “That’s how the method works. The center of the formation was dotted with that person’s blood. That means it has to be someone close to you. They used his blood to lay the formation, then sent him to your side to complete it. Only then is the curse formation whole.”

At that, Huo Fenghua’s lashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

Feng Tianzong’s face didn’t change. “So how do you break it?”

Gu Guangji said, “There’s a very simple method.” He stabbed the stick hard into the circle’s center. “Kill that person.”

Huo Fenghua and Feng Tianzong asked in unison, “Anything else?”

Gu Guangji looked at them, puzzled. “Your reactions are exactly the same as Zeyang’s. Right now, that’s the simplest way, and the person’s easy to find. Why are you asking ‘anything else’ without even thinking? There is another method, but it’s a lot more trouble. You kill the one who set the formation and use his blood to sacrifice it and break the curse. But I don’t think that’ll be easy.” As he spoke, he stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Huo Fenghua asked, “Why wouldn’t it be easy? You don’t even know who set the formation.”

Gu Guangji said, “If he can lay a formation like this, he’s obviously not ordinary. This kind of vicious ancient formation has basically been lost. That one book in the Xianyuan Sect about ancient formations is a lone copy. Aside from me, no one’s likely seen it. So how did he even know these curse formations existed? If I ever get the chance, I’d actually like to talk with him and exchange notes.”

Huo Fenghua said, “What ‘not easy’? You’re clearly just interested in him and don’t want anyone killing him, right?”

Gu Guangji smiled. “How could that be? If someone lays a formation this vicious, they’ll suffer backlash. Even if you don’t kill him, he probably won’t live many years.”

Feng Tianzong asked in a low voice, “So Zeyang left after that? When did he come to see you?”

Gu Guangji tipped his head back and thought. “About twenty days ago.”

Feng Tianzong did the math. “From here back to Yujing is a little over ten days.”

Huo Fenghua asked, “You think Senior Brother went back to Yujing?”

Feng Tianzong said, “If he wants to trace the source of that curse formation, he’ll go back. Someone with deep hatred for my Feng family would either be in Xichou or in Yujing.”

Huo Fenghua thought about it. “If he went back to Yujing, you should’ve heard something.”

Feng Tianzong sighed softly. “Maybe soon.”

By now Gu Guangji’s rabbit was roasted through. He snapped off a glossy, dripping rabbit leg and waved at Huo Fenghua. “Come on, lucky you, good disciple.”

Huo Fenghua lay there lazily. “I don’t have the strength.”

Gu Guangji handed the rabbit leg to Feng Tianzong and pointed toward Huo Fenghua.

Feng Tianzong, lost in thought, didn’t react at first. “What?”

Gu Guangji glared like he wanted to beat sense into him. “Go feed him. Can’t you see he can’t get up? Isn’t he your wife or what?”

Hearing this, Feng Tianzong took it, got up, and sat beside Huo Fenghua. “You want me to feed you?”

Huo Fenghua nodded.

Feng Tianzong tore off a strip of rabbit meat with his fingers and held it to Huo Fenghua’s mouth.

Huo Fenghua bit down on the meat, and also caught Feng Tianzong’s fingers in his mouth, lightly licking them before turning his head away to chew and swallow the meat slowly.

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

---

Chapter 37

Huo Fenghua retched for ages and still couldn’t bring the pill back up. Outside, across a courtyard, there was a loud commotion like people were fighting. Suddenly, a purple figure flipped over the roof and landed in the courtyard in front of the alchemy room.

Gu Guangji was patting Huo Fenghua’s back. He lifted his head and said, “I told that Feng kid to hold off that old demon Zixi. Useless!”

Still dry-heaving, Huo Fenghua couldn’t help snapping back, “You keep calling him an old demon. Of course Feng Tianzong can’t beat him.”

Gu Guangji shot him a look. “That’s not right. Why are you speaking up for that Feng kid? Your Senior Brother likes speaking up for Feng-kid too! One or two of you, always siding with outsiders.”

The young Taoist who’d been trembling in the corner saw Zixi appear. Terrified of being killed, he bolted outside, shouting as he ran, “Master! The alchemy didn’t fail! The Qi-Gathering Golden Pill was refined!”

Zixi was striding this way. He froze mid-step. Joy exploded across his face. “Where is it?”

The young Taoist stopped and pointed at Huo Fenghua. “He ate it!”

The ecstatic look on Zixi’s face froze. “What?”

The young Taoist’s face was smeared with furnace ash, tear tracks cutting clean lines through the grime. “I couldn’t snatch it back. They stole it and ate it.”

Zixi’s chest heaved violently. His eyes were bloodshot with rage. The healthy flush on his face swelled into a purplish red. His hands curled into claws as he lunged toward Huo Fenghua, roaring, “I’ll cut open your stomach and take my golden pill back!”

The moment the words left his mouth, a long whip snapped toward his neck, blocking his advance. Feng Tianzong had caught up.

Zixi spun. His five fingers, hard as iron hooks, clawed at Feng Tianzong’s shoulder. Feng Tianzong ducked aside. His whip swept toward Zixi’s waist but this time Zixi didn’t dodge. He let the whip wrap around him, then seized it and yanked hard causing Feng Tianzong’s footing to break. He stumbled two steps forward before he managed to brace himself again.

Gu Guangji looked out the window and clicked his tongue. “Useless!” With that, he slapped a hand onto the window frame and shot out like a dart, diving straight for Zixi’s back.

Zixi released Feng Tianzong’s whip and turned to meet Gu Guangji head-on.

Huo Fenghua braced one hand on the window ledge. He’d completely forgotten about retching now, staring as Gu Guangji and Feng Tianzong fought Zixi from front and back in the courtyard.

The young Taoist stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do. Huo Fenghua discreetly waved at him. “Run!”

The young Taoist looked at him, face streaked with tears. “Run where?”

Seeing how hopelessly dumb the boy looked, Huo Fenghua sighed and stopped bothering. He turned back just in time to see Zixi’s steps grow messy under the combined pressure of Gu Guangji and Feng Tianzong. His face turned purple from the strain, Zixi retreated.

At that moment, Zixi sprang backward with a fluttering movement and landed on the far side of the courtyard. While still in midair, he pulled a small gourd from his robes, popped the cap, and poured several pills into his mouth.

Huo Fenghua shouted, “He’s popping pills!”

After swallowing them, Zixi’s aura surged violently. His face shifted from purple to a dark, almost blackened shade. He slammed a palm toward Gu Guangji, who’d rushed up. Gu Guangji met him palm-to-palm and was driven back by that brutal internal force, nearly crashing into the opposite courtyard wall.

“Master!” Huo Fenghua cried out in alarm.

Feng Tianzong didn’t dare meet him head-on. He whipped toward Zixi’s face, moving his feet as he dodged the heavy gusts of Zixi’s palm strikes.

Gu Guangji used the opening to scramble back up, rubbing his bruised lower back with a grimace. “That old demon takes pills to spike his power like this, isn’t afraid of backlash killing him on the spot?!”

Huo Fenghua shouted, “Master, Feng Tianzong can’t hold on much longer. Get in there!”

Gu Guangji glared at him with displeasure, but seeing Feng Tianzong truly was barely managing, he lunged back into the fight.

Right after Huo Fenghua shouted, he suddenly felt his dantian turn hot and swollen. He had no idea what was happening. He pressed a hand to his lower abdomen and immediately felt a current of internal power rush into his palm, surge along the meridians of his arm, enter his torso, and then pour back into his dantian.

What the hell? He stared blankly. Not just his dantian, even his heart began pounding hard, heating up. In seconds the heat spread through his entire body.

His legs went weak instantly. He slumped on the window ledge and called out, “General, I’m so hot—”

Feng Tianzong was gripping the whip with both hands, trying to choke Zixi with it. Hearing Huo Fenghua, his face changed. He glanced over. The distraction earned him a sharp elbow to the chest causing him to stagger back two steps.

Zixi seized the advantage. He feinted past Gu Guangji and chased Feng Tianzong, grabbing the whip’s tail and looping it around Feng Tianzong’s body to shove him toward the wall. At the same time, with a slick slide of his foot, he skimmed under Gu Guangji’s airborne strike, caught both of Gu Guangji’s legs, and flung him up into the air.

Then Zixi slapped a palm to the ground, borrowing force like a great bird skimming water, and shot straight to the window, right in front of Huo Fenghua.

It was all one seamless chain of movements. By the time Feng Tianzong and Gu Guangji stabilized and rushed over, Zixi already had one hand clamped around Huo Fenghua’s throat, lifting him up, while the other hand drove five fingers toward his abdomen, trying to rip him open and dig out the pill.

Feng Tianzong’s voice went hoarse. “Huo Fenghua!”

Huo Fenghua felt like he was melting from the heat. Suspended in the air, feet unable to touch the ground, he grabbed at Zixi’s wrist. The instant he made contact, he felt a long, deep current of internal power pour violently into his palm, racing along his meridians straight back to his dantian.

Zixi’s fingers, already touching Huo Fenghua’s lower belly, suddenly lost their strength and clawed at nothing. Horror flashed across his face. He realized his internal power was being sucked away by Huo Fenghua in an endless stream. He tried to fling Huo Fenghua off, but it was as if his wrist had glued itself to Huo Fenghua’s palm. No matter how he pulled, he couldn’t break free.

“Let go of me—” Zixi’s voice trembled as he said it, just as Feng Tianzong and Gu Guangji reached the window.

Huo Fenghua was suffering too. His body was already overheated and swollen, and now this massive influx of internal power made his meridians and dantian feel like they were about to burst apart. He yelled as well, “You let go of me—”

Feng Tianzong reached out to shove Zixi away, but Gu Guangji grabbed his hand. “Don’t move rashly!”

“What’s going on?” Feng Tianzong demanded.

No one could answer him.

In only a short span of time, Zixi’s once-full cheeks rapidly caved in. He aged before their eyes, as if instantly entering the last moments of his life. When the last thread of his internal power was sucked out, his hands finally released Huo Fenghua’s wrist. With nothing left to support him, his body slid down the wall to the ground.

Huo Fenghua also collapsed. He rolled on the floor in agony. That burning, swollen sensation was driving him insane.

Feng Tianzong and Gu Guangji jumped through the window into the alchemy room, but neither dared touch him at that moment.

Huo Fenghua’s dantian was surging with power, yet his body was limp and weak. He was burning miserably. He tried to tug at his clothes but couldn’t manage it. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

Feng Tianzong crouched beside him.

Huo Fenghua reached out a hand to him. “General… I feel awful…”

Feng Tianzong sucked in a breath.

Gu Guangji said awkwardly, “No. If you touch him now, he’ll probably suck your internal energy away too.”

Huo Fenghua understood. He pulled his hand back against his own body and said in pain, “Then don’t touch me. Help me take my clothes off.”

Feng Tianzong made up his mind. He lifted Huo Fenghua from the floor. “Not here. We can’t strip you here. We’ll get back first, then take them off. Move.”

They didn’t bother with Zixi lying there, drained of all power. They left the temple immediately. Feng Tianzong originally planned to bring Huo Fenghua back to the inn first, but as soon as they were out, the Celestial Master Temple started searching the whole town for them.

Feng Tianzong had no choice but to pack up, take Huo Fenghua, and leave Fengming Town together with Gu Guangji.

As they rode, Huo Fenghua was wrapped in cotton cloth, his hands bundled inside so he couldn’t move them. Leaning against Feng Tianzong’s chest, he whimpered, “I want to take my clothes off…”

Feng Tianzong said in a low voice, “Not yet.”

Huo Fenghua’s voice was soft and weak. “I’m so hot. I’m about to explode.”

Feng Tianzong still only said, “Hold on a bit more.”

Huo Fenghua went quiet for a moment, then made a sound. “Bang!” He said, “I exploded.”

Feng Tianzong finally couldn’t take it anymore. To Gu Guangji, who was riding ahead of them, he said, “Senior, let’s find a cave and rest before we continue.”

He was afraid that before Huo Fenghua actually exploded, he himself would be driven mad first.

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

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Chapter 36

The inner courtyard of the Celestial Master Temple was far quieter than Huo Fenghua had expected. Gu Guangji grabbed him and leapt over several roof ridges without running into a single person.

Later, Gu Guangji brought him to an alchemy room in the inner courtyard. The two of them lay on the roof. Gu Guangji shifted aside a gray roof tile and peeked in. Huo Fenghua saw a young Taoist inside, keeping watch by the alchemy furnace.

He was about to speak when Gu Guangji, quick as a cat, lifted a hand and covered his mouth, then shook his head at him. After that, he whispered into Huo Fenghua’s ear, “Did you practice the manual I gave you?”

If Gu Guangji hadn’t mentioned it, Huo Fenghua would’ve almost forgotten. When he’d been traveling with Wen Heyi, he’d trained along the way. Later, with Feng Tianzong, his attention got pulled elsewhere and he’d stopped practicing. Now that Gu Guangji asked, he still thick-shamelessly nodded, pretending he’d practiced.

Gu Guangji narrowed his eyes at him, doubt written all over his face. “You really practiced, yet you don’t even know the breathing and qi-circulation method? You’re panting like that. The moment that that old demon Zixi shows up, he’ll sense you!”

Huo Fenghua froze, then tried to recall what the manual said and the breathing method Wen Heyi had taught him. He gradually softened his breathing, stretching it long and light until it was nearly imperceptible.

Gu Guangji looked like he’d just met the dumbest student alive, glaring at him in disgust. “If you can’t persist in martial training, it’s meaningless. From today onward, no matter whether you’re eating or sleeping, don’t forget to regulate your breath and cultivate qi.”

Huo Fenghua nodded quickly.

Gu Guangji heard his breathing grow distant and faint, then patted his chest to signal him to pay attention below.

The young Taoist inside stood up with a tray in his hands, opened the door, and walked out. The two of them crouched on the roof and waited until he’d gone far away. Then Gu Guangji grabbed Huo Fenghua and flipped down from the roof, quietly pushing the door open and slipping inside.

In the center of the alchemy room stood a large alchemy furnace. The fire was blazing, making the air inside scorching hot. Several meditation cushions lay on the floor beside the furnace. Along the left wall was a cabinet full of small drawers containing ingredients and medicinal materials. Along the right wall stood a grand armchair. And straight ahead was a statue of the Celestial Master.

Gu Guangji shoved Huo Fenghua behind the statue and made him hide.

“Where are you going?” Huo Fenghua asked in a hurry when he saw Gu Guangji about to leave.

Gu Guangji whispered, “I’ll help you find that Feng kid. Stay here quietly. Don’t do anything. Just don’t get discovered. Once I find that Feng kid, I’ll come back for you.”

Huo Fenghua wanted to say, Then don’t bring me in here in the first place! But before he could get the words out, Gu Guangji had already vanished out the door, leaving him alone in the alchemy room.

Not long after Gu Guangji left, the young Taoist from earlier returned, sat down beside the furnace, and kept fanning the flames with a palm fan.

Huo Fenghua didn’t dare move at all. He could only do as Gu Guangji said, keeping his breathing light and slow so he wouldn’t be discovered.

After a while, he didn’t know how long, only that it felt like a very long time, two more young Taoists entered. This time it was a boy and a girl, both delicate-featured and pretty. They told the one fanning the fire to move aside, sat down on the cushions, and then started taking off their clothes.

Huo Fenghua forced down his shock and carefully peeked out through a gap beside the statue.

The pair quickly stripped naked, while the young Taoist by the fire acted as if nothing was happening, eyes fixed on the furnace. The two of them, naked, only huddled around the furnace for warmth. They did nothing else, until someone outside pushed the door open and came in.

This time it was a Taoist in purple robes. His beard and hair were completely white, yet his face glowed with health. The three young Taoists in the room all dropped to their knees and bowed to him, calling, “Master.”

The purple-robed Taoist nodded, walked over, and sat down in the armchair. He said to the boy and girl, “Come here.”

They went to his side. The boy knelt to massage his legs, while the girl stood beside him to knead his shoulders, conveniently blocking the line of sight between the purple-robed Taoist and the statue.

Huo Fenghua didn’t dare relax. He was certain this Taoist was True Master Zixi.

Zixi sat in the armchair and asked the young Taoist fanning the fire, “How much longer?”

The young Taoist replied, “Reporting to Master, another half an hour.”

Zixi said, “I’ve told you many times what makes this pill precious. Be careful. If you botch it, I’ll stuff you into the furnace and burn you too.”

The young Taoist trembled all over, kowtowing repeatedly. “Disciple understands. Disciple wouldn’t dare…”

Zixi glanced down at the boy by his feet and said coldly, “Stupid and dull. You can’t do anything but knead legs?”

The boy’s hands paused. Then he reached between Zixi’s legs, undid his belt, pulled out the dark-colored penis there, opened his mouth, and took it in.

Zixi pulled the girl onto one of his legs and sat her there, his hand rubbing and kneading her tender body.

Seeing they were no older than fourteen, Huo Fenghua felt sick. He shut his eyes. Those townspeople were scrambling to send their children to the temple to become Zixi’s disciples, never imagining they were delivering them into a den of lust to be humiliated.

For a time, the only sounds in the alchemy room were the girl’s soft moans.

Huo Fenghua kept his eyes shut, but he could feel the subtlety of breath cultivation. He was lazy by nature. When Wen Heyi taught him, he learned it, but mostly practiced martial techniques. He’d never put in the effort to train internal power.

Wen Heyi had once said that the manual Gu Guangji passed to him was actually extremely refined. It could even pass as the sect’s core cultivation method. If he trained diligently, given his age, in another twenty years he’d achieve something. Becoming moderately well-known in the martial world would be no problem. But Huo Fenghua didn’t want “moderately well-known.” Besides, in twenty years he’d be nearing forty. What would martial fame do for him then? He’d rather open a gambling house, make money, become a rich local boss, keep a wife and concubines, and live carefree. So after learning it, he’d forgotten.

Now, practicing again, he felt a faint thread of internal energy gathering in his dantian, and as he breathed in and out, it slowly grew.

After Zixi finished defiling the boy and girl and his beastly desires were satisfied, he waved them out. He restored himself to a perfectly proper appearance, then paced before the furnace.

The young Taoist fanning the fire was drenched through with sweat. He didn’t dare stop for even a moment, working the palm fan hard.

At this final stage, the pill required fierce fire. At the peak of the flames, cold water was used to extinguish the furnace. Then the doors and windows were opened and the furnace left to cool gradually. Only then would the pill be complete.

Zixi had taught him all this. This “Qi-Gathering Golden Pill” was already Zixi’s fifth attempt and still hadn’t succeeded. Each time, he’d adjusted materials and fire control. Each time, he insisted it would succeed. And if it failed, he blamed the furnace attendant.

All the young Taoists used for alchemy were orphans the temple Taoists had picked up from outside, with no parents. When the alchemy failed, Zixi would shove them into the furnace and burn them to death. No one would look for them. They would die, and that was that.

This furnace attendant had once witnessed Zixi kill another pill boy who’d grown up with him. Back then, he’d been so frightened he’d lost control of himself, pressing his face to the floor and not daring to lift his eyes.

If today’s alchemy failed, he knew he wouldn’t live either.

The fire grew hotter and hotter. Even Huo Fenghua, hidden behind the statue, was soaked through with sweat. Zixi’s mind was wholly fixed on his golden pill, and he still hadn’t noticed there was someone hidden in the room.

When the flames nearly surged out of the furnace, Zixi shouted, “Time’s up! Why aren’t you moving?”

The young Taoist threw aside the fan, grabbed a bucket of water, and splashed it onto the flames. Such a sudden temperature drop could easily crack the pill. By the proper method, the furnace should’ve been cooled gradually. But this Qi-Gathering Golden Pill was Zixi’s life’s work. By his own claim, once refined, it could increase a person’s power by sixty years. Many of the ingredients were extremely difficult to obtain. After so many failures, his remaining precious materials were only enough for this last pill. This time, success was mandatory.

The sudden cooling was something he’d stubbornly insisted on after repeated failures. He was arrogant to the core. If anything went wrong, it would never be his fault.

After the flames were extinguished, the young Taoist ran to the window and opened it. Outside in the courtyard, a figure flashed past.

Zixi rushed to the window and barked, “Who’s there?” He braced one hand on the sill, about to chase out, but then thought of the pill and pulled back, shouting, “Guards! Someone’s trespassed into the inner court! Go check!”

He returned to the furnace anxiously, and said to the young Taoist, “Open it!”

Though the fire had been put out, the furnace was still searing hot. The young Taoist used a wooden clamp to grip the lid. His hands shook as he lifted it.

Zixi’s palm was slick with sweat too. He stared into the furnace and saw only a pale layer of ash. There was no golden pill at all.

The lid slipped from the young Taoist’s grip and clattered to the floor. He backed away in terror.

Zixi’s ruddy face seemed to swell and turn purple. He lifted his hand and struck toward the young Taoist’s head. If that palm landed on the crown, the boy would die instantly. But just as he struck, another shadow flashed outside the window. Zixi chopped down, then hastily pulled back and leapt out the window, ready to vent all his rage on the intruder.

The young Taoist shrank his neck and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for death, but the blow never came. Zixi had been distracted. His strike went wide and slammed into the furnace instead, smashing it apart with a bang.

Ash exploded through the room. The young Taoist opened his eyes and saw Zixi was gone. He breathed a brief sigh of relief, then collapsed on the floor, unable to get up. He knew that once Zixi returned, he’d still die. Blank-eyed, he looked around, trying to find something to end his own life first, rather than be burned alive.

Huo Fenghua, hiding behind the statue, also got a faceful of ash. He silently wiped the dust off his face. Then he heard a light tapping sound, like marbles falling onto wooden boards. He opened his eyes and searched and saw a tiny golden pill pellet had dropped not far in front of him.

The “golden pill” was incredibly small. It wasn’t anything like the big ones he’d seen on TV. It was no larger than a tear drop. Seeing Zixi wasn’t in the room, he went over and picked it up. He raised it close to examine it, only to see the young Taoist grab a pair of scissors and stab toward his own throat.

Huo Fenghua jumped in fright. He burst out from behind the statue, lunged forward, and snatched the scissors away. “Isn’t it better to live? Why are you trying to kill yourself?”

The young Taoist’s face was smeared with ash, two clear tracks of tears running down. He cried in panic, “Who are you?”

Huo Fenghua lied, “I’m the reincarnation of the Celestial Master. I’m here to save your life.”

The young Taoist really had seen him come out from behind the statue. And though Huo Fenghua’s face was dusty, his features were striking, especially his bright, captivating eyes. The boy froze, then said, “Really?”

Huo Fenghua had heard Zixi and the young Taoist’s conversation earlier. He said, “A golden pill, right? Take a look. Is it this one?”

He pinched the tiny pill between his fingers and held it up. The young Taoist leaned in to examine it, even sniffed it. His face filled with shock. “Yes. This is Master’s Qi-Gathering Golden Pill!”

The pill had been so tiny, buried in the ash, that neither of them had seen it at first.

Then the young Taoist whispered, “How can it be so small? Did it actually succeed?” He’d never seen a pill this small.

“A Qi-Gathering Golden Pill?” At that instant, a head dropped down into the window from outside, hanging upside down as it spoke.

Huo Fenghua turned and saw Gu Guangji dangling outside the window, peering in.

Gu Guangji stared at the pill in Huo Fenghua’s hand and barked at the young Taoist, “Is this the Qi-Gathering Golden Pill? I’m asking you!”

The young Taoist nodded. “It is. I’m sure.”

Gu Guangji reached a hand toward Huo Fenghua. “Give it.”

The young Taoist panicked. “No! That belongs to Master!” He reached to snatch it from Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua dodged, took two steps to the window, and handed the pill to Gu Guangji. Then he muttered, baffled, “What do you want it for? You’re practically senile already.”

Before he could finish, Gu Guangji flicked his hand and tossed the pill into Huo Fenghua’s mouth. The pill was tiny and slick. As Huo Fenghua spoke, it rolled straight down his throat, and he swallowed it.

Huo Fenghua clapped a hand over his throat and stared at Gu Guangji in horror. “What are you doing?!”

Gu Guangji chuckled. “The life work of that old demon Zixi, I might as well let my disciple benefit.”

Huo Fenghua’s face was still full of panic. He grabbed the wall and started gagging, trying to vomit it back up.

Gu Guangji sensed something wrong. He grabbed the window ledge, flipped into the room, and patted Huo Fenghua’s back. “What’s wrong? It shouldn’t be poisonous!” Then he looked toward the young Taoist inside.

The young Taoist was staring at them too, equally panicked and lost.

Huo Fenghua gagged and said, “There’s mercury in it! What if I die from heavy metal poisoning? I’m totally fucked!”

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

---

Chapter 35

Feng Tianzong closed the book and walked over to the tub. The tub wasn’t very big, and he didn’t want to strip and get in, so he simply wrapped an arm around Huo Fenghua and lifted him out.

Huo Fenghua was dripping wet, soaking Feng Tianzong’s clothes. When Feng Tianzong set him down, the floor instantly became wet as well.

Feng Tianzong had Huo Fenghua brace both hands on the rim of the tub and lift his hips. Through his pants, he pressed forward into the slick cleft between Huo Fenghua’s wet ass.

Huo Fenghua hurriedly said, “I’m still bathing.”

Unhurried, Feng Tianzong stroked his wet, smooth waist. “Then why’d you tease me?”

Huo Fenghua said, “I invited you to bathe with me. I didn’t tell you to do lewd things.”

Feng Tianzong chuckled. “And tying that bell there isn’t lewd?”

Huo Fenghua said, “The bell’s mine. I’ll tie it wherever I want.”

Feng Tianzong reached around to the front and lightly flicked Huo Fenghua’s penis, making the bell chime. “You’re my male concubine. I’ll do whatever I want.”

Only then did Huo Fenghua suddenly remember he was still Feng Tianzong’s male concubine. Over time he’d almost forgotten, though lately he’d certainly been fulfilling his “concubine duties” to the fullest.

Feng Tianzong thrust in, pushing his cock into the soft, loosened hole that had been soaked warm in bathwater. The tender flesh, warm and supple, gripped his thick length tightly—squeezing hard as he entered, clinging unwillingly as he drew out.

Both of them let out a satisfied moan. Feng Tianzong pinched the base of Huo Fenghua’s shaft and said, “If you like it, keep it tied on.”

Huo Fenghua didn’t even have time to answer before the impact knocked him unsteady. The tub rocked with him, sloshing hot water all over the floor.

They went at it for half the night. When Huo Fenghua woke the next morning, his waist was still sore and weak, and down below it felt as if he were still holding something inside him.

Feng Tianzong was already dressed, long hair tied up, standing tall by the bed. He held the bell and shook it beside Huo Fenghua’s ear, murmuring, “Time to get up.”

Huo Fenghua opened his eyes and looked at him. “Everything hurts. I can’t get up.”

Feng Tianzong sat on the edge of the bed, pulled him up, set him on his lap, and dressed him. Huo Fenghua leaned lazily into his arms and smiled. “General, you’re so good to me.”

After breakfast at the inn, Feng Tianzong and Huo Fenghua strolled to the Celestial Master temple.

Every morning, the temple’s incense offerings were at their peak. Believers came in droves to burn incense and beg for pills, and a long line had already formed outside the gates—men and women, old people and children alike.

Feng Tianzong and Huo Fenghua didn’t stand out among them.

After entering, they each took an incense stick and offered it before the Celestial Master statue.

Once they’d finished, they moved away from the crowd and walked deeper along the eaves on either side. Halfway in, they were stopped by a middle-aged Taoist priest, who said, “The inner court is not to be entered without permission. Please return.”

Feng Tianzong didn’t force his way in. He and Huo Fenghua detoured away from the path leading to the inner court.

Just then, a pretty young Taoist nun slipped past them and went straight into the inner court.

Huo Fenghua stared after her graceful figure and said, “Give him some silver. See if he’ll let us in.”

Feng Tianzong said, “Why bother with that?”

He led Huo Fenghua out of the temple and into a narrow alley to the right. On the left side of the alley was the temple’s brick-red wall. It was secluded and quiet, with not a single passerby.

Feng Tianzong said to Huo Fenghua, “Wait here. I’ll go in and take a look.” With that, he sprang lightly up, landed atop the wall, and flipped into the temple’s inner court.

Huo Fenghua watched his figure disappear, then glanced around the desolate alley. He thought that rather than waiting here, he might as well go back to the inn and sit with a cup of tea. If Feng Tianzong came out and couldn’t find him, he’d go back on his own anyway.

He took a couple steps, then thought again. True Master Zixi’s reputation was huge, so he surely had some real ability. Feng Tianzong was sneaking in like this; if he ran into True Master Zixi, would something happen?

So Huo Fenghua went back, uneasy, pacing a few steps.

Suddenly, he heard a sound from the far end of the alley, near a corner.

There was a pile of junk stacked there. He and Feng Tianzong had already seen it when they came in, but now the noise drew him closer. As he walked over, a leg suddenly stuck out from beneath the pile.

Huo Fenghua stopped, holding his breath, staring.

Someone was hiding there, and Feng Tianzong hadn’t noticed at all when he came in.

After the leg appeared, it went still again. When Huo Fenghua moved closer, two arms stretched out from beneath the junk. The person underneath stretched lazily and let out a long yawn. When he shoved the pile of heap aside, he saw a disheveled man with a gray bread that was matted together and a bird’s nest hair. It was none other than his master, Gu Guangji.

Gu Guangji looked up and saw Huo Fenghua too. He froze for a moment and said, “Young man, you look kind of familiar.”

Huo Fenghua lifted a hand as if to clutch his chest, suddenly understanding what it meant to be so angry your chest hurt. He ground his teeth and smiled. “Familiar? I’m your disciple, Master!”

“My disciple?” Gu Guangji looked blank at first. After a while he got to his feet and burst out, “Fenghua? Is it you, Fenghua?”

Huo Fenghua resisted the urge to brace himself against the wall and said weakly, “How kind of you to still remember me, old man.”

Gu Guangji hurried over. “It really is you! It’s not that I don’t remember you. The last time I saw you it was at night. I couldn’t recognize you in the daylight.”

That wasn’t a sentence Huo Fenghua found remotely comforting.

Gu Guangji examined him in surprise. “Why are you here too?”

Huo Fenghua immediately asked, “Did Senior Brother come looking for you?”

Gu Guangji nodded. “Yeah. He came to find me earlier. He’s already left.”

“Left?” Huo Fenghua hurriedly asked, “Where’d he go?”

Gu Guangji spread his hands. “How would I know? He didn’t tell me where he was going. But what about you? Did you come to Fengming Town alone?”

Huo Fenghua said, “No. I came with Feng Tianzong.”

“That Feng boy came too?” Gu Guangji looked startled. He lifted a hand and stroked his beard. “One and then another, all running over here. What for? Where is that Feng boy now?”

Huo Fenghua pointed at the wall. “Inside.”

Gu Guangji stared up at the tall wall, eyes widening. “How bold is he? I’ve been in Fengming Town for half a year and I still don’t dare provoke that old Taoist Zixi. And he just climbs straight over the wall? He isn’t afraid that old demon Zixi will catch him?”

Huo Fenghua’s heart clenched. “Is Zixi really that formidable?”

Gu Guangji twirled his beard between his fingers. “I haven’t seen his martial arts, but his alchemy and his skill at bewitching people are genuinely impressive. These past two years he’s been refining a pill that can greatly increase a person’s cultivation. If he succeeds, it should be coming out of the furnace any day now—maybe even in the next day or two.”

Curious, Huo Fenghua asked, “What pill’s that powerful? Like a leopard fetus muscle changing pill*?”

*It’s a pill from the novel The Deer and the Cauldron by Jin Yong, supposedly extremely powerful and can control people. Given that the book was created in 1972, naturally Gu Guangji has no idea what Huo Fenghua is referring to.

Gu Guangji looked at him. “What? Say that again?”

Huo Fenghua had just blurted it out casually. He waved it off. “That’s not important. The important thing is, Feng Tianzong won’t be in trouble, right?”

But Gu Guangji was still hung up on what he’d said. “Leopard fetus muscle changing pill? That sounds amazing. Where did you hear about that thing?”

Huo Fenghua sighed. “The Deer and the Cauldron.”

Gu Guangji pressed, “The Deer and the Cauldron? What kind of record is that?”

Huo Fenghua shook his head. “Stop asking irrelevant questions. Can you take me inside to find Feng Tianzong? I’m worried something will happen to him.”

Gu Guangji sized him up from head to toe. “Wait. What’s your relationship with that Feng Tianzong kid? Feng Tianzong is your Senior Brother’s husband. How’d you end up mixed up with him?”

Huo Fenghua pressed a hand to his throbbing temple. “Feng Tianzong is my husband too. I’m his male concubine. Master, what exactly do you still remember? Are you getting too old that you’re becoming senile? Maybe you should just stay home.? Look at you, filthy and stinky. What ‘traveling the world’? How’s that any different from begging?”

The tirade made Gu Guangji stare in a daze. A moment later, he grabbed Huo Fenghua by the collar. “You want to find that Feng boy, right? Come on.”

With that, he hauled Huo Fenghua up and leapt onto the Celestial Master temple’s wall.

---

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

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

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

---

Chapter 34

When they set off the next day, Huo Fenghua’s cold symptoms had eased quite a bit, but he was still weak and limp all over. Feng Tianzong lifted him onto the horse and seated him in front, leaning back against his chest.

This time Feng Tianzong seemed to have a clear destination. After leaving the small mountain village, he followed the road straight toward the southeast.

Huo Fenghua asked lazily, “You know where Senior Brother is?”

Feng Tianzong answered, “Song Wei found Gu Guangji’s whereabouts.”

Huo Fenghua perked up a little. “Master? Where’s my Master?”

Feng Tianzong said, “Your Master’s probably trying to cultivate his way into becoming an immortal.”

“What?” Huo Fenghua was completely baffled.

Feng Tianzong glanced down at him and said, “He’s in Fengming Town. We’re heading there now. If we ride hard, it’ll take ten days.”

Fengming Town lay within Donglin territory, right at the southernmost border between Donglin and Xichou. Keep going farther south and you reach foreign lands inhabited by many different tribes.

It sat at the intersection of three regions. Many Han people and many southern tribes gathered there to trade, making it a lively and bustling major town in the south. About ten years earlier, a “True Master” named Zixi had appeared in Fengming Town and built a Celestial Master Temple there. Rumor had it that True Master Zixi was a great alchemist, and that the golden pills he refined could bring the dead back to life. From then on, countless people went to the Celestial Master temple in Fengming Town to seek his immortal medicines. For a time the temple’s incense offerings flourished and the believers were innumerable, including not only Han people from Donglin and Xichou, but also many minority peoples from the south.

True Master Zixi then founded a sect called the Yuzhen Sect, which could be considered an offshoot of Taoism. He accepted believers widely and had enormous influence in the south.

Gu Guangji had been a devoted believer in Taoism all his life and had studied many Taoist arts. In his later years, he tossed the position of sect leader to Huo Fenghua and traveled among famous Taoist mountains. Now he had ended up in Fengming Town.

Feng Tianzong said that riding hard to Fengming Town would take ten days, but in reality, because he and Huo Fenghua shared one horse, and even when they switched to a fresh mount along the way, they arrived twelve days later, and it was already afternoon.

As soon as they entered Fengming Town’s territory, Huo Fenghua caught the scent of incense lingering in the air. He saw many people dressed like Taoist priests walking through the streets.

He and Feng Tianzong each led a horse and first found an inn to stay at. Then they sat down and ordered a table of food and wine.

While eating, they heard a nearby table discussing that True Master Zixi had been recruiting new disciples lately.

A middle-aged man said, “Why don’t you have your son go and take the True Master as his master?”

The man across from him replied, “I had him go last year. The True Master wouldn’t take him.”

The middle-aged man said, “That makes sense. The True Master’s disciples, whether men or women, all have to be spiritually bright and good looking. If ordinary people don’t have enough spiritual aura, the True Master won’t accept them.”

“Ah,” the other man sighed. “My wife’s been bedridden lately. I paid a fortune to beg for two pills from the True Master, and she’s still not improving.”

The middle-aged man patted his shoulder. “Go beg for one more. Her illness must be too severe. Two pills might not be enough.”

The man glanced outside. “We’ll see tomorrow. It’s already late, and the Celestial Master temple has probably closed its doors to visitors.”

After that, the two drank a bit more, then stood up, said their goodbyes, and left the inn.

Huo Fenghua and Feng Tianzong listened in silence. After the two men left, Huo Fenghua said to Feng Tianzong, “Is this True Master Zixi taking disciples or running a beauty pageant?”

“A beauty pageant?” Feng Tianzong looked at him.

Huo Fenghua waved a hand, not bothering to explain what a pageant was. He lowered his voice. “Don’t you think this True Master Zixi sounds suspicious?”

Feng Tianzong asked, “Suspicious how?”

Huo Fenghua said, “It sounds like a cult. Doesn’t the court suppress them?”

Feng Tianzong replied, “The Yuzhen Sect is just a martial world sect. If no one’s rebelling, why would the court suppress it?”

Huo Fenghua grabbed his bowl and shoveled a big mouthful of rice, chewing as he spoke. “Anyway, I think there’s something wrong with this Yuzhen Sect. It’s probably some scammy cult that swindles money and sex.”

Feng Tianzong looked at him with his mouth full of rice and said, “Has no one taught you that you don’t speak while eating, and you don’t speak in bed?”

“In bed?” Huo Fenghua chewed for a long time before swallowing everything, then leaned close to Feng Tianzong’s ear and whispered, “So once we’re in bed, does the General want me to make noise, or not?”

Feng Tianzong stared at him for a moment, raised a hand and wiped a bit of vegetable oil from the corner of his mouth, then lowered his gaze. “Eat properly.”

After the meal, they took a turn around Fengming Town. The Celestial Master temple’s gates were indeed shut, but the heavy incense smell in the air still hadn’t dispersed. Besides the incense, Huo Fenghua also caught the sulfur scent of alchemy. He said, “Where is my Master, exactly? It’s been so many days. He might’ve already left Fengming Town.”

Feng Tianzong said, “Song Wei has had people following him the whole time. Even though we don’t know exactly where he’s hiding in Fengming Town, if he leaves the town, I’ll definitely get word.”

“This town’s huge,” Huo Fenghua looked around. “Then we can only search slowly.”

Feng Tianzong tilted his head up toward the gilded plaque above the temple gate and said, “Tomorrow morning, we’ll come here first.”

Hearing that, Huo Fenghua also looked up at the bold characters on the plaque, then suddenly said, “Don’t tell me my Master has taken True Master Zixi as his master and gone to be his disciple?”

Feng Tianzong gave him a look.

Huo Fenghua kept his head tilted back, brows drawn tight. “Then wouldn’t I have an extra grandmaster?”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Feng Tianzong said. “Let’s go back.”

The south produced jade. On their way back to the inn, Huo Fenghua ran into a foreign trader selling jade bells. Each bell was tiny, no bigger than a thumb segment, tied with a red cord. When shaken, it chimed clearly, delicate and fine.

Huo Fenghua found it interesting, so Feng Tianzong took out silver and bought it for him.

On the way back, Huo Fenghua kept shaking the bell. The sound was crisp, though you had to hold it near your ear to hear it well. He brought it up beside Feng Tianzong’s ear and shook it until Feng Tianzong grew annoyed and snatched it from his hand.

Huo Fenghua immediately said, “Give it back.”

Feng Tianzong lifted the bell with a light laugh and neatly dodged Huo Fenghua’s hand when he tried to grab it.

Huo Fenghua missed and pulled his hand back. “When we return to the General’s Manor, we’ll have to separate anyway. Can’t you at least leave me a keepsake?”

Feng Tianzong paused, his smile fading as he looked at him.

Huo Fenghua seized the chance to snatch the bell back and shook it happily in his hand. “Heh. When the time comes, I’ll make Senior Brother give me something too, as a memento.”

Back at the inn, Huo Fenghua told the attendant to heat water and bring it up to their room. They’d been rushing nonstop on the road, often sleeping out in the open, and it had been a long time since they’d been able to bathe properly. Now that they were in Fengming Town, there was no need to hurry. They could rest properly.

Huo Fenghua sat in the wooden tub and soaked in comfort. He set the jade bell on the surface of the water, watched it slowly sink, then fished it back up.

Meanwhile, Feng Tianzong sat at the table with a book spread open beside an oil lamp flipping through the pages.

After playing around for a while, Huo Fenghua leaned on the rim of the tub and looked at him, calling, “General, General!”

Feng Tianzong didn’t even lift his head, only giving a soft “Mm.”

Huo Fenghua asked, “What book are you reading?”

Feng Tianzong picked it up and showed him the cover. It read: Biography of Zixi.

“True Master Zixi’s biography?” Huo Fenghua asked.

Feng Tianzong said, “Yeah. I borrowed it from the innkeeper to skim.”

Huo Fenghua rested his chin on his arm. “Stuff like that was definitely written for him by someone he paid. What’s there to read? Come soak with me instead.”

Feng Tianzong didn’t respond.

Huo Fenghua thought for a moment, ducked his head under the water and fussed around for a bit, then suddenly stood up in the tub. Facing Feng Tianzong, he said, “General, look at me.”

Feng Tianzong turned to look and saw that Huo Fenghua was completely naked. His cock was half hard and there was a red string tied around it, with that little jade bell hanging beneath it.

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