Murong Qiufeng stared at the corpses for a long time, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter—not because he’d discovered anything, but because the stench was unbearable. At first he managed, but after breathing it in for too long, paired with the ghastly sight before him, his stomach turned. He tried to hold it in, but the effort kept him from focusing, and in the end he learned nothing.
Shangguan Ye, on the other hand, strolled the scene with ease. When he returned, he found Qiufeng’s brows pinched so tightly they could probably crush a mosquito. Amused, he slipped an arm around Qiufeng’s waist and pulled him away from the carnage.
“Let’s go back.”
“Hm? But…” Qiufeng blinked. “Did you notice something?”
Hou Qianxing, standing nearby, pricked his ears at once, though he made no remark about their closeness.
Shangguan Ye hesitated, then spoke evenly. “I did see something… but it’s too soon to say. Handle the aftermath here. I’ll send someone to coordinate with you later.”
Hou’s eyes lit up. At least there was a lead. The worst case would have been nothing at all. He bowed gratefully.
Shangguan Ye only nodded, tightening his hold on Qiufeng as they left. Spotting the crimson stains at the hem of Qiufeng’s white robes, his brows creased again. “We’ll need to wash that properly.”
Qiufeng shifted uncomfortably, but his mind stayed on the case. “What did you see? Was it really the work of martial world assassins? I couldn’t tell what weapon caused those wounds.”
Shangguan Ye arched a brow, lips curving into a humorless laugh. He was about to answer—then stopped. “I’ll tell you later. For now, we’re going home. You reek of blood, and I don’t like anyone else’s scent on you.”
Qiufeng was speechless. He could tell Shangguan Ye was deliberately withholding something, but he also knew Shangguan Ye never spoke without reason. So he let it go.
In truth, Shangguan Ye kept silent because he didn’t want to disgust him—the victims hadn’t been cut down with blades at all. They’d been ripped apart. Whoever had done it had relied on brute force, bare hands strengthened perhaps with hidden claws or weapons, but still… torn to pieces. This was no ordinary killer.
When they returned, Shangguan Ye didn’t even wait. He whisked Qiufeng straight into the private hot spring in the courtyard. By the time Qiufeng’s feet touched the stone, most of his clothes were already stripped away. Shangguan Ye was just as ruthless with his own, shattering them off with a pulse of inner force before pulling him into the steaming water.
The moment they slipped under, Qiufeng shoved him away, trying to put some distance between them. His face was crimson. Ye’s domineering ways always left him with no room to resist.
They’d been intimate before, but never like this—in broad daylight, under an open sky, in near-transparent water. How could he stay composed?
Ye’s eyes never strayed. He watched every blush, every twitch of Qiufeng’s body, his lips curved in a lazy, wicked smile. The pale tips of Qiufeng’s ears flushed crimson, his black hair drifting across the water, strands clinging to his neck and shoulders. The sight was enough to ignite a hunger in him.
Beneath the surface, Qiufeng’s lithe body was all too visible: the taut line of his back, the slender waist, the curve of his hips, the long pale legs… Ye’s blood burned hotter than the spring.
Qiufeng, unbearably self-conscious, tried to distract himself. “What do you think of the case?”
No answer. The silence stretched strangely long. There wasn’t even a ripple of water. Unease prickled at him. Shangguan Ye was never this quiet.
“Ye?” he called softly. No response. Then he saw bubbles rising where Shangguan Ye had been. His heart lurched—Shangguan Ye was still injured. His wounds shouldn’t be touching water.
“Ye!” Panic surged through him. He splashed forward, gripping Ye’s shoulder to haul him up—
—but before he could, his body jolted and went rigid. A startled gasp escaped his throat as strong arms pulled him down, seating him across Ye’s lap.
The “drowning act” had been a ruse. Shangguan Ye surfaced with a grin, his hands already roaming possessively, his dark eyes glinting with mischief.
Qiufeng’s shame flared hotter than the spring. “You—! You scared me half to death!” He grabbed Shangguan Ye’s neck in fury, but Shangguan Ye only stole a kiss against his lips, chuckling.
“Then you shouldn’t ignore me. Otherwise, I might just ‘drown’ for real.”
“You—!” Qiufeng sputtered, then suddenly realized how compromising their position was. His whole body flushed red. He tried to push off Shangguan Ye’s shoulders. “Let me go.”
Shangguan Ye only laughed low in his throat, eyes glittering. “Don’t move, sweetheart. You’re already trembling…”
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