Chapter 145: He had loved this person for a long time

“Why do you think I’m tricking you? Have I tricked you before?” Yu Le asked, feigning innocence.

As he spoke, he leaned completely onto Mo Cunzhi’s knees.

Mo Cunzhi didn’t know how to respond. He had once thought his junior brother liked his junior sister, but later realized Yu Le probably didn’t love anyone. He lived freely, unconstrained by emotions or relationships.

He says he likes people just for fun, for amusement, Mo Cunzhi told himself. It’s nothing serious.

Yu Le noticed Mo Cunzhi’s silence and knew he was caught up in his own internal struggle again. Shifting slightly, Yu Le suddenly frowned and asked, “Senior Brother, am I hurt?”

Mo Cunzhi answered, “You did suffer some injuries. It’s best not to use your demonic energy for now.”

Yu Le nodded in realization, “So that’s why. I feel sore all over. Ugh, even my back doesn’t feel right.”

He finally understood what he meant by “hurt,” and a flush of redness crept up Mo Cunzhi’s neck. He was too embarrassed to speak about it, and he didn’t even dare to recall the absurd scene from before.

Just thinking about the excessive things he had done to his junior brother under the influence of those white flowers made him feel ashamed and uneasy.

The rules and framework that the Wuyue Immortal Sect had imposed on him for years still influenced him.

He often forgot that he was no longer the chief disciple, who had to set an example and couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

“Senior Brother, I’m really uncomfortable,” Yu Le said, his fingers tracing along Mo Cunzhi’s leg.

“Sorry,” Mo Cunzhi immediately responded.

“Why are you apologizing? Was it you who hit me?” Yu Le said with a grin, “I forgive you, Senior Brother. I like you so much, even if you hurt me, I wouldn’t mind.”

Without realizing it, Yu Le had wrapped his arms around Mo Cunzhi’s waist. “Senior Brother, you feel the same way, right?”

His gaze subtly swept over the bite marks on Mo Cunzhi’s neck.

Beneath those tightly wrapped clothes, there were still many more marks he had left behind.

Although he knew Mo Cunzhi wouldn’t hold it against him, Yu Le still felt a rare twinge of guilt.

He was usually a little troublemaker, lying without blinking and hurting others without remorse, even twisting the knife in their wounds. It was rare for him to feel this guilty.

Mo Cunzhi noticed that after just a few words, Yu Le had already clung to him again.

They had been in close contact for so long that they were overly familiar with each other’s presence. The moment Yu Le approached, Mo Cunzhi’s body seemed to act on its own, instinctively embracing him.

When he wanted to let go, Yu Le grabbed his hand and placed it on his waist. “It doesn’t feel right here, Senior Brother. Can you massage it for me?”

Mo Cunzhi’s arm stiffened as he reluctantly gave him two presses.

Yu Le buried his face in his chest, laughing silently. His senior brother was just too much fun.

The scent on Mo Cunzhi had always been cold, like the snow on Hanya Peak, but now there was a hint of something more fragrant and alluring.

It was a scent he had picked up from him. Yu Le took a deep breath.

How strange—at first, he had found Mo Cunzhi annoying and wanted to mess with him. Then he found him interesting and wanted to tease him. Now, he liked him more and more.

Although Yu Le pretended to have “amnesia,” he was still fully aware of his surroundings.

Mo Cunzhi, realizing that the place was strange and unsafe, decided to take Yu Le to search for an exit.

He walked ahead, while Yu Le followed behind, lazily tugging at the belt around Mo Cunzhi’s waist as they moved along.

What Mo Cunzhi didn’t know was that Yu Le was aware of the original plot. He knew this secret realm had a powerful formation that required them to stay for a full month before they could find a way out.

Before that month passed, there was no way to find an exit.

So, Yu Le wasn’t in any rush. He just followed behind Mo Cunzhi, watching with interest as he explored, occasionally tugging at his belt to create small nuisances.

“Yu Le,” Mo Cunzhi called, wanting him to walk faster.

Yu Le chuckled and gave the belt another tug. “Senior Brother, I’m uncomfortable.”

Mo Cunzhi asked, “Where does it hurt?”

Yu Le replied, “Walking makes me uncomfortable.”

He didn’t say much, but Mo Cunzhi understood everything. Without hesitation, he turned his back to Yu Le. “Get on.”

Yu Le climbed onto his back without a second thought, comfortably resting there. His arms hung loosely around Mo Cunzhi’s neck as he played with the ends of his hair.

“Senior Brother, what was I like before?” he asked, bored.

Mo Cunzhi continued walking, taking a long while before answering, “Perhaps I never really knew the real you. I didn’t spend much time with you.”

Compared to their days together at the Wuyue Immortal Sect, their time interacting had been too brief.

But in such a short time, it was enough to overshadow the long, unchanging years before, transforming him into who he was now.

“I only know that you love pleasure, act on your whims, and once you set your sights on a goal, you’ll stop at nothing to achieve it.”

It didn’t sound like much of a compliment, and Yu Le raised an eyebrow.

“Unwavering and fearless, you never let anything or anyone shake your resolve,” Mo Cunzhi added finally. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Yu Le asked, “So, what do I like?”

“Deceiving people,” Mo Cunzhi said, his tone indifferent.

“Do I deceive everyone? Trick whoever I meet? That would make me pretty bad, wouldn’t it?”

Mo Cunzhi’s voice held a subtle shift. “You seem to enjoy deceiving me the most.”

“Hahaha!” Yu Le tightened his grip around Mo Cunzhi’s neck, speaking affectionately. “Then I must love you the most, Senior Brother. I wouldn’t go through all the trouble of deceiving someone I didn’t care about, right?”

Mo Cunzhi thought to himself that he shouldn’t trust Yu Le’s sweet words. He already knew his junior brother was skilled at weaving such charming and manipulative phrases.

“Senior brother, senior brother, what else do I like?”

Mo Cunzhi looked at the endless yellow-leaved trees ahead. “You like beautiful things.”

Whether it was beautiful clothes, elegant pastries, or decorative items, as long as it was pleasing to the eye, Yu Le liked it.

When Yu Le first came to his Hanya Peak, he replaced all the furniture and decorations in the small courtyard and even complained that there weren’t enough fresh flowers and greenery.

Because of this, Mo Cunzhi once thought of going to the northern snowfields to find plants that could grow on the cold cliffs, just to satisfy his picky junior brother.

He had even considered taking Yu Le there once he was in better health.

But what happened later made that thought seem laughable.

“Then I must love you the most, senior brother,” Yu Le sweetly said from behind. “Because when it comes to beauty, you’re definitely the most beautiful.”

Mo Cunzhi felt a slight unease in his heart.

No matter what the topic, Yu Le always found a way to steer the conversation back to this. Mo Cunzhi had lost count of how many times Yu Le had expressed his “fondness” since waking up.

He refused to admit that he was being swayed or affected by these words. Maintaining a calm facade, he said, “You don’t need to flatter me. I will make sure to get you out of here safely.”

Mo Cunzhi figured that his junior brother’s unusually clingy and flattering behavior likely stemmed from his lost memories and the insecurity that came with it. Plus, with his body weakened and his powers unusable, it was natural that Yu Le would want his care.

“There’s no need for that. Just focus on recovering.”

What a “rock-solid” man, Yu Le thought to himself, looking at Mo Cunzhi’s head. He couldn’t help but wonder if his head was carved from stone or perhaps frozen stiff by the winds and snow of Hanya Peak.

Despite everything Yu Le had said, Mo Cunzhi still didn’t believe him.

Yu Le raised his hand and gave Mo Cunzhi two firm taps on the head.

Mo Cunzhi began, “You—”

Just as he was about to question him, Yu Le, with a pitiful expression, showed him the back of his hand, playing the victim. “Senior Brother, my hand hurts.”

Sure enough, his fingers had turned red from the tapping.

But even more noticeable than the redness of his fingers was the series of lingering kiss marks on his wrist and arm.

Mo Cunzhi fell silent in an instant, turning his head away like a silent, smoldering volcano.

Still, he wasn’t angry, even after that. Yu Le huffed inwardly.

Fine, believe it or not—it didn’t matter. After all, whether he believed it or not, he was already his. There was no escaping that. Feeling pleased, Yu Le wrapped his arms around Mo Cunzhi’s neck again.

“Does Senior Brother have anything he likes?” Yu Le asked softly by Mo Cunzhi’s ear.

Mo Cunzhi had never really thought about it, and after some reflection, he realized there wasn’t anything in particular he liked.

“Does Senior Brother not like me?” Yu Le pressed.

“……”

“If you don’t like me, then that must mean you dislike me. Oh, I get it. You’ve said before that I deceive you, so no wonder you dislike me.”

Mo Cunzhi couldn’t see Yu Le’s expression, but his tone sounded dejected.

Mo Cunzhi furrowed his brows, remaining silent.

Since he didn’t speak, Yu Le also fell quiet, and the atmosphere grew heavy. The silence stretched on, making the time feel even longer and more unbearable.

When they finally stopped to rest, Mo Cunzhi got a glimpse of Yu Le’s face.

Seeing the downcast expression, Mo Cunzhi paused and said, “Why do you care about my feelings? Whether I like you or not isn’t important to you.”

Yu Le leaned against his own arm, no longer leaning on Mo Cunzhi, and replied weakly, “Since Senior Brother dislikes me, you don’t have to bother with me anymore.”

There was a long silence.

“It’s not that… I dislike you,” Mo Cunzhi finally said, though even he couldn’t fully untangle the complex emotions within him, let alone express them aloud.

“You deceive me, but you’ve also helped me. I don’t dislike you.”

Yu Le raised his head and quietly looked at him.

Faced with those eyes, Mo Cunzhi felt as though he was like a stone cracking open, with grass growing out from the hard, unyielding crevices.

He admitted softly, “Anything more I say might make me appear utterly ridiculous in your eyes.”

Yu Le didn’t tease him or laugh. Instead, he seemed thoughtful, trying to decode the difficulty written on Mo Cunzhi’s face.

Like a child who hadn’t understood the weight of his actions, Yu Le suddenly realized, with a hint of surprise, “I’ve hurt you, haven’t I? Are you afraid of me because of that?”

Afraid? Mo Cunzhi was startled, realizing with a jolt that, yes, he was afraid of him.

But it wasn’t fear of Yu Le’s power or status. Even when Yu Le’s cultivation had been weak, he had easily managed to hurt him.

Mo Cunzhi couldn’t lie to himself.

He had loved this person for a long time.

Even though it all began with mistakes and lies, some emotions, once born, are impossible to erase—it’s hard even to suppress them.

This unclear, tangled relationship that had stretched to this point was probably the most confusing thing in Mo Cunzhi’s life.

Suddenly, Yu Le took the initiative and grabbed Mo Cunzhi’s hand, pressing it to his own face, rubbing against the thick sword calluses on Mo Cunzhi’s palm.

“Don’t be afraid of me. You’re my senior brother, older than me, wiser than me. You’re supposed to teach me properly, right?”

Mo Cunzhi could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

This was how it always went. Every single time.

Whenever Yu Le spoke to him like this, whenever he looked at him like this, Mo Cunzhi found it impossible to be truly cruel to him.

As Yu Le held his hand, his soft lips planted a few kisses on it. Through the gaps in Mo Cunzhi’s fingers, Yu Le looked up at him, his long lashes fluttering as they brushed his skin.

Mo Cunzhi pulled back his tingling hand, but then he placed it on the back of Yu Le’s head, pulling him closer, kissing him deeply.

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