The two of them were like a cat playing with a mouse, giving off an unmistakably intimate and suggestive atmosphere.
Luo Cheng’an narrowed his eyes slightly, and his heart slowly sank.
The increasingly ominous feeling he had had ever since entering Wutong Stronghold became even stronger at this moment.
He had originally thought that once they entered Wutong Stronghold, Xi Yu would be able to obtain Zhuohua easily.
Now it seemed that there were difficulties at every turn.
How could this be?
Xi Yu shouldn’t have been unable to sense Zhuohua.
Yet now, not only could Xi Yu not sense her, that fox-like Lu Zhixing had somehow used some trick to make Xi Yu take the initiative to approach him again.
Luo Cheng’an sneered.
Lu Zhixing really was lucky.
Let him enjoy himself for a few more days. They had already come this far, so what was the harm in letting him feel pleased with himself for a few more days?
Thinking of this, the jealousy burning in Luo Cheng’an’s chest finally eased somewhat.
A smile appeared on his face, and he grabbed Xi Yu’s other arm.
Xi Yu took the two of them around for the entire afternoon, practically visiting every corner of Wutong Stronghold, especially those “people.”
There was nothing unusual about the demons. They were all merely minor demons, and their cultivation was fairly decent thanks to being nourished by the spiritual power within Wutong Stronghold.
What surprised Xi Yu was that none of these demons carried much murderous aura.
Whether human, demon, or even immortal, everyone would have more or less some murderous aura.
Yet the demons in Wutong Stronghold had none.
It showed just how nourishing this stronghold was.
As for those people—
No, calling them shells would be more appropriate.
They laughed, cursed, became angry, and joked just like ordinary people. To the naked eye, there was no difference whatsoever.
But Xi Yu could see that their souls were already gone.
They were dead.
Yet they weren’t completely dead either.
Their physical bodies remained incorruptible through spiritual power, and as long as they stayed inside Wutong Stronghold, they could live like normal people.
But the moment they left Wutong Stronghold, they would instantly turn to dust.
Xi Yu sat on a swing and looked at Xiaoyu, who was playing with the others in the distance, and Xiaohua, who turned his head to look at him.
Xi Yu blinked.
Xiaohua immediately looked away, as though that glance had merely been an accidental sweep of his eyes.
But Xi Yu was certain that Xiaohua could see him.
……………………….
Strangely enough, Xiaohua and Xiaoyu had neither flesh nor blood, but they had souls.
They were neither demons, humans, immortals, nor devils.
Xi Yu couldn’t see through their true forms. Both of their souls were shrouded in a mass of mist, so thick that even he couldn’t see through it.
If there was only one person in this stronghold who truly had flesh and blood, it was probably the Holy Son, Fu Ye.
That evening, Fu Ye didn’t come over to dine with them again.
Xiaohua and Xiaoyu brought their meal over.
This time, Xiaohua didn’t leave immediately after delivering the food. Instead, he said to Xi Yu, “Someone will bring your meals tomorrow. Xiaoyu and I have something important to do.”
Xiaoyu had already nestled into Lu Zhixing’s arms.
“Big Brother, you’re so handsome~ Can I kiss you?”
Xiaohua frowned.
“Come here.”
Xiaoyu wrapped his arms around Lu Zhixing’s neck. Seeing that, he didn’t even have time to wait for permission before hurriedly planting a kiss on Lu Zhixing’s cheek.
Smack.
It was particularly loud.
Xi Yu’s brows furrowed at the sight.
Xiaohua’s brows furrowed even more deeply. He immediately reached out to pull Xiaoyu away, forcefully dragging him off.
Before leaving, he even gave Lu Zhixing a cold look.
Lu Zhixing touched his cheek and watched Xiaoyu’s retreating figure, the corners of his lips slowly curling into a smile.
Xi Yu looked at Lu Zhixing and raised a brow.
Luo Cheng’an muttered while eating, “Why didn’t he kiss me? Am I not handsome? How unfair! How unfair!”
After eating, Xi Yu returned to his room and lay down.
After entering the stronghold and being nourished by its spiritual power, the aura around Lu Zhixing had become very stable.
And it wasn’t only because of the stronghold.
Last night, Xi Yu’s spiritual power had gotten all over Lu Zhixing.
Xi Yu leaned against the edge of the hot spring, unconsciously touching his ring, his fingertips slowly moving beneath the water.
He wondered whether Lu Zhixing would come again tonight.
He probably would, right?
From what Xi Yu had seen last night, Lu Zhixing had clearly enjoyed himself.
Xi Yu understood Zhi Yue’s personality better than anyone.
He was stubborn to the point of preferring to shatter like jade rather than bend like a roof tile.
Even though he had lost his memories now, his fundamental nature wouldn’t change.
Although he had claimed that he was afraid Xi Yu would be bewitched by someone else, Xi Yu had already told him that wouldn’t happen.
Yet the little cub had still stayed behind.
That meant he probably didn’t dislike this.
Xi Yu didn’t dislike it either.
Not only did he not dislike it, he liked it very much.
If he liked it, then the little cub must like it too.
Since they both liked it…
Xi Yu smiled playfully and snapped his fingers.
The next second, water suddenly exploded from the hot spring.
Xi Yu turned his head and closed his eyes.
Only after the splashing water settled did he turn back.
He met Lu Zhixing’s somewhat bewildered gaze.
Lu Zhixing was standing there half-naked, his eyes shifting slightly.
Most of the water that had just splashed upward had landed on his face and body, drenching him completely.
Droplets of water slid down Lu Zhixing’s neck, traveling along the shallow hollow between his chest and abdomen before disappearing into his black suit trousers.
Xi Yu propped up his head, his eyes burning as he admired this beautiful sight of a man emerging into the water.
Standing in the middle of the pool, Lu Zhixing’s gaze was unfocused for a brief moment.
Being teleported was something that happened to him often, but this time he was…
Lu Zhixing finally came back to his senses and met Xi Yu’s half-smiling gaze.
Xi Yu had a high, straight nose. His half-wet hair rested against his forehead, his eyelashes long and the outer corners of his eyes slightly raised.
His eyes shimmered with tenderness and seduction, as though they contained tiny hooks that had caught Lu Zhixing’s heart, leaving it tingling and soft.
His sleepwear clung to his skin, half-open and exposing a large expanse of his chest and collarbones.
His skin had been warmed to a faint pink by the hot water, and scattered red marks crossed over one another.
They were naked evidence of desire.
Lu Zhixing’s gaze fell upon those red marks, and he was somewhat delighted.
He had finally not seen any marks on Xi Yu’s neck and had known that Xi Yu must have erased them. He had even felt a little disappointed.
He hadn’t expected there to be more elsewhere…
Lu Zhixing stared intently at Xi Yu.
He licked the water droplets from his lips, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed.
Xi Yu noticed the small movement, and the smile in his eyes deepened.
He crooked a finger.
“Come here.”
Upon hearing the command, Lu Zhixing’s body reacted faster than his mind.
He crossed the distance in three quick steps and crouched in front of Xi Yu, making himself slightly lower than Xi Yu’s seated position.
Xi Yu’s body below his chest was submerged in the water.
Because Lu Zhixing was crouching, everything below his shoulders was submerged as well.
The hot spring water wasn’t particularly hot, but a hazy mist rose from its surface.
Normally, it would have been nothing special.
But now, when Xi Yu looked at Lu Zhixing through that thin veil of mist, even the mist seemed ambiguous.
“Just now…” Xi Yu’s fingertips landed on Lu Zhixing’s bare shoulder and gently rubbed it.
Knowing perfectly well, he deliberately asked, “Were you planning to take a bath?”
Lu Zhixing nodded.
His mouth was dry, and he couldn’t speak.
Xi Yu’s fingertips felt like feathers as they brushed over his shoulder and collarbone, making him tremble uncontrollably.
Xi Yu knew Zhi Yue’s state of happiness like the back of his hand.
He knew that Lu Zhixing was feeling extremely good right now.
But Xi Yu hadn’t enjoyed himself yet.
How could he let Lu Zhixing enjoy himself?
Xi Yu withdrew his hand and pretended to blame himself.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t realize Lu-ge was bathing. I’ll send you back now—”
As Xi Yu spoke, he raised his hand.
But he raised it somewhat more slowly than usual, while his gaze remained fixed on Lu Zhixing.
Hearing this, Lu Zhixing hurriedly caught Xi Yu’s wrist.
“Don’t… don’t send me back.”
“Then, Lu-ge…” Xi Yu asked gently, “do you want to take a bath with me?”
As Xi Yu spoke, he lowered his head.
His breath brushed against Lu Zhixing’s forehead, making his eyelashes tremble.
If Lu Zhixing hadn’t understood what was happening before, how could he possibly fail to understand now?
Xi Yu was doing it deliberately.
Deliberately tempting him.
Even if Xi Yu hadn’t known that he was coming to take a bath, Lu Zhixing was certain that Xi Yu had deliberately summoned him here with wicked intentions.
Otherwise, why would he be in the hot spring with so much of his skin openly exposed?
Xi Yu definitely wanted to…
Lu Zhixing blinked at Xi Yu.
Then, slowly, tentatively, he pulled Xi Yu’s wrist toward his lips and placed a kiss on it.
As he kissed him, he looked up at Xi Yu.
Seeing that Xi Yu didn’t stop him, he opened his mouth, took a small piece of the soft flesh at Xi Yu’s wrist between his lips, and gently nipped at it with his teeth.
The slight pain was completely negligible beneath the tingling sensation.
Xi Yu could no longer sit still.
He pulled his wrist back, grabbed Lu Zhixing by the neck, and shoved him into the water.
Before long, several pieces of clothing floated to the surface of the hot spring, concealing the intertwined figures beneath the water.
As desire surged, Xi Yu was tightly entangled by Lu Zhixing.
He thought that if the little cub were in snake form right now, he would probably be wrapped around him so tightly that Xi Yu couldn’t even breathe.
Speaking of snake form…
Xi Yu suddenly remembered that snakes seemed to have two of those.
Outside the window, the moonlight swayed among the shadows, unable to penetrate the waters of the hot spring.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Xi Yu finally broke through the surface, his slender hand resting against the blue-green stone beside the pool as he tried to use it for leverage and climb out.
But before he could even lift his foot, Lu Zhixing wrapped his arms around him from behind.
Xi Yu’s voice trembled. His shoulders shrank slightly as he gritted his teeth and said,
“Enough, Lu Zhixing…”
Lu Zhixing’s chest pressed against Xi Yu’s back. Little by little, he locked their hands together and whispered beside his ear,
“Not enough.”
Then he pulled him back into the water.
…………………………
Late at night, Xi Yu lay on the bed, his eyes vacant.
Lu Zhixing held his hand and wrapped him in his arms, running his fingers over his finely trembling back.
The blanket loosely covered the two of them. Xi Yu’s lower leg stuck out from underneath it, revealing red marks around his ankle where it had been restrained.
“That’s enough, Lu Zhixing.”
Xi Yu expressionlessly pressed down on Lu Zhixing’s wandering hand.
“Don’t you have a post-nut clarity period?”
At this point, Xi Yu had become so pure and free of desire that he could practically become a monk.
He really had no idea what had gotten into Lu Zhixing…
He was genuinely having a hard time keeping up with him.
Lu Zhixing’s scattered kisses fell against Xi Yu’s ear and the corner of his lips.
His voice was hoarse, wrapped in desire.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t serve you well enough, and then Yu-Bao would go find someone else.”