Chapter 144: The wolf is coming
Mo Cunzhi had his eyes closed.
When he was the chief disciple at the Wuyue Immortal Sect, his presence was imposing. He was renowned, cold, and stern, always surrounded by a heavy aura of blood and killing intent.
When disciples made mistakes, it was mostly him who punished them, showing no mercy.
Even those who hadn’t made any mistakes often felt nervous and scared just by seeing him.
As a result, few people in the sect dared to approach him. The only image they had of him was a lone figure dressed in black, always by himself.
The disciples respected and feared him, but few genuinely liked him.
No one dared to get close, so few people noticed that this senior brother actually had an exceptionally handsome appearance.
When he closed his eyes and wasn’t deliberately frowning or exuding killing intent, there was even a hint of fragility that didn’t match his character.
But this was merely an illusion brought by his beauty. Something beautiful and shiny isn’t always glass; it can also be diamond.
Yu Le lay on the chest of this “diamond,” poking his chin with his finger. His hand traced the smooth line of Mo Cunzhi’s neck, circling around his Adam’s apple, and landed on his collar.
He wore his collar high, but still, several newly healed wounds were visible. These were the marks left by Yu Le when he had bitten him in his delirious state.
Logically, Yu Le’s cultivation had significantly weakened, and he was in a frail condition. Mo Cunzhi should have been able to handle him with ease, but Yu Le still managed to sneak attack him several times, leaving these wounds.
Each time, Mo Cunzhi acted as if he wasn’t the one injured, stopping Yu Le only to prevent him from becoming bloodthirsty.
This man was very beautiful, but he was covered in many “scars,” somewhat “damaged.”
Once Yu Le calmed down, no longer running around or causing trouble, he found that this person before him evoked a sense of tenderness, making him want to get closer. Wrapping his arms around Mo Cunzhi’s neck, he buried his head and began to lick his wounds.
Mo Cunzhi felt something wet against his cheek and, for a brief moment, thought he was still meditating in the bamboo forest of the forbidden area behind the Wuyue Immortal Sect, where that fearless little blue fox used to nudge his cheek with its nose.
When he opened his eyes, he realized it wasn’t that far from the truth.
His junior brother, with the same clear and innocent gaze as the little blue fox, was sitting on top of him, hugging his neck and affectionately nuzzling his face.
The bloodstained inner garment that the junior brother had worn during their frantic fight had long been torn. Now, he was dressed in clothes taken from Mo Cunzhi’s storage pouch.
All of Mo Cunzhi’s clothes were black, so the junior brother was draped in an oversized black robe. His arms, exposed through the sleeves, appeared strikingly pale against the dark fabric.
He seemed like a soft and harmless young boy, but in reality, he was forceful and self-centered. Once he latched onto someone, Mo Cunzhi found it impossible to escape.
Just like now—Yu Le nestled obediently in his arms, but Mo Cunzhi knew that if he showed any sign of resistance or tried to make Yu Le let go, Yu Le would immediately become angry and ruthlessly leave wounds on him as punishment.
The tenderness and obedience he showed while licking Mo Cunzhi’s wounds was as intense as the cold ruthlessness he displayed when inflicting them.
Mo Cunzhi wrapped his arms around Yu Le’s waist and closed his eyes again.
The ground was covered in soft white grass, with tiny flower buds sprouting sparsely from the roots, each as small as a fingernail, blooming unnoticed and releasing a faint fragrance.
Yu Le gently caressed Mo Cunzhi’s cheek, but something didn’t feel right. It was as if small, fine hairs were tickling inside his flesh, making even his bones itch.
He wanted something, but he wasn’t sure what it was.
Feeling a hand slipping inside his robe, Mo Cunzhi found it increasingly difficult to continue resting.
He grabbed Yu Le’s hand and reasoned with him, “You’re not thinking clearly right now.”
Impatient, Yu Le pushed him straight onto the ground, his expression tinged with frustration at being stopped.
Mo Cunzhi: “…”
His back hit the ground, crushing a patch of small white flowers beneath him, and the juice released from the crushed petals made their scent even more potent.
As Mo Cunzhi inhaled the fragrance, he immediately felt a wave of heat rise within his body.
Thanks to his junior brother, he now had plenty of experience and naturally understood what this sensation was.
Yu Le’s unusual behavior was also related to these suddenly blooming flowers.
The scent didn’t have any mind-altering properties, but it did serve to enhance excitement. Mo Cunzhi circulated his spiritual energy to suppress the surge of desire.
While he was willing to endure it, Yu Le wasn’t. He didn’t care at all about their surroundings and acted purely on instinct. When Mo Cunzhi refused to let him remove his outer robe, Yu Le simply tore at it.
The two of them wrestled from grappling to a full-on fight. Mo Cunzhi firmly restrained Yu Le’s hands, sweat forming on his forehead, and whispered, “Hold on. These flowers are strange. We don’t know if they pose any harm. Don’t let them control you.”
In such a vast secret realm, the only plants were the trees with yellow leaves and the white grass on the ground. Mo Cunzhi was particularly cautious of them.
Since Yu Le had been affected by these unknown plants, it made Mo Cunzhi even more vigilant.
Even in his instinct-driven state, Yu Le knew how to get what he wanted.
Seeing that brute force wasn’t working, he blinked and switched to a pitiful expression, one that seemed to beg for something.
His eyes shimmered with unshed tears and a pleading look as he affectionately kissed Mo Cunzhi’s cheek and nose, kissing him haphazardly on the head, and urgently biting at his collar.
Even though he couldn’t form words, the whimpering sounds he made tugged at the heart.
The sound of his ragged breathing, more than the fragrance of the white flowers on the ground, stirred Mo Cunzhi’s emotions, causing him to unconsciously loosen his grip on Yu Le’s hands.
No matter what method he used, Yu Le always managed to get what he wanted.
He pulled Mo Cunzhi’s loosened hand behind his own waist, refusing to let him look away, communicating all of his emotions and desires to this overly disciplined man.
Under the force of Yu Le’s gaze and actions, the senior brother was utterly defeated.
They rolled from one patch of white grass to another, flattening the once soft ground into a muddy mess. Their robes, hands, and hair were all soaked with the fragrance of crushed grass.
At first, Mo Cunzhi tried to maintain some restraint, intending only to help Yu Le find some relief and then stop. But under Yu Le’s relentless persistence, it was as if a dam had burst. He was irresistibly drawn into the depths, unable to hold back any longer.
To Mo Cunzhi, this felt like a wild and absurd dream. It was all too much, far beyond what he had ever allowed himself to experience, shattering the self-control and restraint he had held for so long.
For a long time, he seemed to forget everything, losing himself entirely to the presence of the person with him.
The more they tangled together, the more those long-buried emotions and feelings surged, impossible to suppress.
The white flowers continued to bloom around them, and their fragrance, like aged wine, only deepened with time, intoxicating him further.
The sounds, expressions, and movements all blurred together.
Mo Cunzhi thought he might have said something, his lips brushing harshly against Yu Le’s, urging him to speak.
Yu Le was laughing, but also seemed to be crying. His brows furrowed as he gazed at him with an expression hazy and filled with mystery.
The yellow-leaved trees around them all looked the same at first glance, but the way they felt under his touch was entirely different.
The marks left on the trees, the way the branches broke when grasped, and the leaves that fell with a shake—each sensation was distinct.
The scent, the shivers.
The fragrance was laced with a faint but persistent metallic tang. The white grass felt soft and slippery, much like the texture of long hair.
But the warmth of the skin was even more intense.
With all restraints cast aside, nothing remained but the most primal desires deep within.
Time became meaningless.
The trees continued shedding their leaves, layer upon layer covering the ground. As the trees shed, they grew, repeating the cycle endlessly, with no end in sight.
They eventually rolled into the water. The icy coldness snapped Mo Cunzhi back to clarity, if only for a moment.
He grasped his sword, and as he unsheathed it by an inch, he ran his hand harshly along the cold blade, the sharp pain barely pulling him from the endless descent into indulgence and chaos.
He cast a quick glance around but immediately looked away.
It was all too much—a chaotic mess, both the traces they had left and himself.
They couldn’t stay here any longer; they had to get out of the range of these white flowers.
Yu Le’s hands were still wrapped around his neck. Mo Cunzhi took a deep breath, quickly threw on his outer robe, and carried him forward.
The white flowers along the path had bloomed even more profusely than before, densely packed like clusters of snow.
As Mo Cunzhi passed, he destroyed all the flowers in his wake, scattering them like falling snow.
Yu Le remained lazily nestled against him.
Mo Cunzhi’s expression was tight with tension. He didn’t spare a glance at Yu Le, too focused on ensuring he didn’t fall from his arms.
He raced forward, wildly tearing through the trees and grass, venting the unresolved heat and intensity still burning within him by violently destroying everything in his path.
…
Yu Le eventually woke up.
He was dressed neatly in a set of clothes that didn’t quite fit. From the inner garments to the outer robe, even down to the boots and socks, everything was properly in place.
He was resting his head on a stone near a pond, and the ground around him had been torn up, revealing the black soil underneath.
The little white flowers that had been everywhere before were now gone.
Yu Le slowly sat up, leaning against the piled stones at the water’s edge, touching his waist and running his fingers through his loose hair.
After sensing his body for a moment, he realized that the artificial demon core inside him had already been mostly consumed, and the most dangerous phase had passed.
It had happened even faster than he had expected.
It seemed that his senior brother had taken good care of him. Remembering some things that happened while his mind was clouded, Yu Le’s eyes, hidden behind his long hair, curved into a smile, his gaze slowly filling with playful mischief.
The sound of light footsteps broke the moment, and the teasing expression on Yu Le’s face quickly vanished.
He turned his head to see Mo Cunzhi approaching from afar, holding his sword in hand, and noticing that Yu Le had woken up.
Mo Cunzhi’s steps faltered for a brief moment, becoming hesitant and slightly unsteady. His expression was also somewhat unnatural.
Yet, he still approached Yu Le and instructed, “Stay here. Don’t wander off.”
Earlier, Mo Cunzhi hadn’t been able to find a way out of the secret realm, nor the end of the forest. He had no choice but to return and clear away the white flowers, creating this small clean area.
“Where is this place?” Yu Le asked.
Mo Cunzhi suddenly realized that Yu Le had regained his senses, but the next moment, Yu Le asked curiously, “Who are you?”
“What do you mean? You don’t remember me?” Mo Cunzhi grabbed his wrist to examine him more closely.
There were still some internal injuries, but his condition had stabilized considerably. There was no reason for memory loss.
“I don’t remember. Who are you? I feel like I know you, like we’re very familiar.”
Yu Le observed his expression, pretending to be deeply curious about everything around him. “And who am I? Why are we here?”
Mo Cunzhi tried to discern if Yu Le was joking, but his demeanor was too convincing.
After asking a few more questions, Mo Cunzhi was forced to accept that Yu Le had truly forgotten everything.
Seeing his senior brother’s transition from doubt to silent frustration, Yu Le laughed inwardly.
Senior Brother, you really haven’t learned after all this time. How do you still fall for it so easily?
“What’s the relationship between us?” Yu Le asked with a deliberately naive expression, feigning innocence.
Mo Cunzhi said, “…You used to be my junior brother.”
Yu Le asked, “I used to be your junior brother, but what about now?”
Mo Cunzhi remained silent.
“Even though I don’t remember,” Yu Le continued with a smile, leaning in and placing his hand on Mo Cunzhi’s knee, “I feel like we aren’t just senior and junior brothers anymore. Aren’t we married? We must be lovers, right?”
Mo Cunzhi asked, “Why do you think we are… lovers, or married?”
Yu Le’s gaze, filled with warmth and charm, was captivating. He answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “When I look at you, I feel like I like you. So, you must be my lover.”
Mo Cunzhi froze, staring at him, his body stiff.
“You… like me?” His tone was odd, then he suddenly seemed sure. “You’re trying to trick me again.”
Yu Le: “…” He didn’t even notice when I was really tricking him—what a fool.