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It wasn’t normally obvious, but in direct sunlight, those eyes held a subtle hint of death.
He worked hard to do what he could, as much as he could, but it really couldn’t be considered benevolent or compassionate. He just wanted to feel a little more useful.
Daqing, who was flopped belly down on his container of dried fish, responded before Zhao Yunlan could. “Lao-Zhao used to fuck around all over the place and had a bit of a reputation. I think his mom is just a little traumatized.”
“Damn fatty, if you keep spouting bullshit, I will throw you out of this car,” Zhao Yunlan said flatly.
“I told her my love for you can stir up a storm and shatter the world. If she gives her blessing, she gets to have a second son from now on—buy one, get one free. That’s a phenomenal deal. And if she doesn’t, I’ll kill myself for love, and she won’t have any sons. My mom’s smart. She’ll do the math. Don’t worry.”
was almost as if the metal of the key burned Shen Wei’s fingers. He curled them slightly. “For me…?”
“Of course! The key to our house.”
Shen Wei felt as though his heart had been submerged in water. It was tender, soft, and swelling in his chest.
Shen Wei took a long look at him. So much emotion and longing, so agonizingly repressed for thousands of years, and Zhao Yunlan had casually set it all ablaze with absolutely no warning. The intensity was rapidly reaching a breaking point, and with it, an indescribable sadistic urge welled up in Shen Wei’s heart. He ached to gather Zhao Yunlan in his arms and smother him there, to crush every bit of flesh and bone to dust and melt it in his palms, preserving this moment for eternity.
The world inside his heart was collapsing, and yet in front of Zhao Yunlan, he couldn’t bear to even draw a harsh breath. Only his gaze burned.
Shen Wei let out a slow breath, leaning sideways against the window. The warm, fading glow of the sunset brushed his skin, lending a touch of brightness to even his ever-pale complexion. As he quietly watched pandemonium break out in the living room, he couldn’t help the small smile that made its way over his face.
Shen Wei reached out and stroked Zhao Yunlan’s creased brow with a fingertip. “Don’t frown. No need to worry.”
Zhao Yunlan deflated, unable to bear seeing him like that. Despite wanting answers, he didn’t press further.
Shen Wei didn’t say anything. He just gave Zhao Yunlan a deep glance
A heavy unease rose in Daqing’s heart. It felt like an invisible hand was pushing everyone toward a predetermined destination. His fur stood on end.
Now, for the first time, he truly understood what it meant for someone to be “so deep in lust’s grip that they felt brave enough to challenge the sky.”
Beauty could drive these stupid men to do anything!
The real tragedy was that Zhao Yunlan had yet to get it out of his pants.
No matter what they want you to do, under no circumstances should you agree. Wait for me to come home. —Wei
Zhao Yunlan showed no outward reaction, but the ice in his expression thawed ever so slightly.
Guardian was audacious, slippery, and sneaky, and had only ever mastered three talents: shamelessness, leading people in circles, and evasion, any of which was more than enough to keep anyone busy for a while.
A reaper had recently reported that even blindness wasn’t enough to stop the Guardian from welcoming someone to his bed. Surely that must indicate that he had no contact with the Emissary? Otherwise, how could the Emissary possibly tolerate…
it almost seemed like he was protecting something—carrying out some sort of duty that only he knew about.
For a moment, the Soul-Executing Emissary—Shen Wei—wanted nothing more than to pound him into a hash brown. The fury that washed over him made even the black mist surrounding him tremble.
After a quick look around to be sure they were alone aside from the black cat, Zhao Yunlan got up and hugged the Emissary. It was like embracing an ice sculpture. “What’s wrong? Are you angry?”
Zhao Yunlan spread his arms. “Don’t be angry, you know it’s bad for you. If anything were to happen to you because you were too angry, it’d break my heart. Shen Wei? A-Wei, xiao-Wei, babe… Come on, don’t ignore me. Say something.”
Unable to bear hearing another word, he took a few steps further away.
Something seemed off between the two of them, but no one could put a finger on why.
the Emissary would never allow Zhao Yunlan to head back alone, leaving him no choice but to take Zhao Yunlan up the mountain with them. After all, that was his beloved. Even if the Emissary were entertaining notions of defecting, Zhao Yunlan’s presence would give him second thoughts. The Emissary certainly wouldn’t dare take action with him there.
But after the long journey, in the first moment he set foot on Kunlun, he fully and abruptly understood what it meant to be bound by blood. It was a profoundly peculiar feeling, as though a data cable had reached into the depths of his very soul and connected him to this mountain range.
For a brief instant, everything else left Zhao Yunlan’s mind. He forgot all the complicated scheming and plotting in his mind, the mishmash of beings around him, and even Shen Wei, who was still angry.
In Shen Wei’s eyes, there was only one person in the world.
He was unable to contain himself a moment longer. Black mist rose from his sleeve and enveloped Zhao Yunlan, cutting him off from everyone else’s view. He was for Shen Wei’s eyes only, as though they were the only people left in the world.
Shen Wei laughed bitterly at himself. Thousands of years ago, he would have gladly died in exchange for one more look from that man…and yet, at the same time, he’d felt himself unworthy of sullying those eyes. But now his greed was bottomless. He wanted nothing less than to be his beloved’s one and only, and to be the only one who could so much as lay eyes on him.
Someone harshly shoved Zhao Yunlan aside. The fierce wind, reeking with blood, blew into his eyes. He was unable to force them open. As a great clang rang out, everyone turned to look and saw that the mountain of an axe had been stopped in its descent by a thick blade three chi and three cun long. Below the axe, the Soul-Executing Emissary was like an ant holding up a behemoth. Fierce wind ripped at his sleeves, revealing slender, pale hands. There came a small crack as the Emissary twisted his wrist,
Ghost Face’s gaze landed on Zhao Yunlan. Somehow, the smile on his face grew even creepier. “Oh, I see the Guardian is here too. No wonder.”
I don’t know anything, he thought. But you know me, don’t you?
“Silence!” The Soul-Executing Emissary’s shout tore the air.
“You only managed to sneak your way to the peak of Kunlun Mountain thanks to my soul fire. Did you really think this was your territory?” Those words seemed to hit harder than either lightning or thunder.
I know what you look like.” Feeling Shen Wei stiffen,
I really wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
He didn’t bother to take the youchu, who were still heading for Zhao Yunlan. Every one of them was cut down by the Soul-Executing Blade without getting within a meter of Zhao Yunlan.
Turning back, he said to Shen Wei, “Whoever gets home first, remember to leave the door unlocked and the lights on. Love you.”
Go to bed early. Be good.
“First, the clichéd question: will you break up with that teacher?” “Absolutely not.”
“Passion is a beautiful thing. I know how it is. I was young once too. But if a love faces too many obstacles, I don’t condone pursuing it.
Love is very resilient, but it’s also delicate.
I hear what you’re saying, but there are people in the world where it’s not about how great they are, or how it feels like you can’t live without them, but rather the feeling that if you do wrong by them, you’re lower than scum.”
“First, persistence can be a virtue, but if you’re inflexible and insist that something must last forever, you’ll fear loss even while you hold that thing in your hands. You won’t be able to see your path clearly. Second, of course you should have a sense of justice, but if you’re consumed by the idea that something must be right or wrong, it’s easy to develop tunnel vision. There aren’t that many absolute rights or absolute wrongs in the world.
finally, while life and death are tremendously important, if you live your entire life in terror of death, you’ll never really live at all.”
