Yue Jingming rarely dreamed.
Rain poured down in torrents. A thick fragrance filled the humid, oppressive air. A man and woman whose faces he could not see smiled before him. He reached out and grasped a piece of soft cloth, but their laughter abruptly became shrill screams. Scalding blood splashed across his face and chest, hot and heavy enough to crush the breath from him.
A fox demon in its true form stared at him with scarlet eyes, sharp claws closing around his throat.
A rooster crowed outside. Yue Jingming abruptly opened his eyes, only to discover that the weight from the dream had become reality.
Xiao Chunhe was practically sprawled across his entire body, his head burrowed into the crook of Yue Jingming’s neck. Warm breath fell evenly across his skin. Their clothing was tangled together, leaving the two men in a posture far too intimate.
Even Xiao Chunhe’s hair was soft and fragrant. Yue Jingming tilted his head, trying to avoid the strands tickling his face. The man lying over him suddenly shifted and almost rolled off the bed. Yue Jingming instinctively reached out and steadied his waist. The unfamiliar warmth beneath his hand made his arm stiffen.
Xiao Chunhe murmured, burrowed deeper against his neck, and went back to sleep.
“…” Yue Jingming stared at the decaying beams overhead, slowly withdrew his rigid arm, and said, “Fellow Daoist Xiang, it is time to wake.”
“Mm.” Xiao Chunhe answered indistinctly. After quite some time he opened his eyes, apparently unable to understand where he was. Propping one hand against Yue Jingming’s chest, he lifted his head and looked around.
“Get off first,” Yue Jingming reminded him.
Xiao Chunhe looked down at him blankly.
Yue Jingming stared back without expression.
Xiao Chunhe suddenly inhaled sharply. An ambiguous, teasing smile followed, and he deliberately pressed closer. “Good wife, I truly thought you were some desireless immortal. Turns out even you can’t escape such worldly things.”
Not satisfied with that, he caught a strand of Yue Jingming’s hair and brushed it against his nose, smiling shamelessly.
Yue Jingming pushed him away and sat up. “A man’s qi and blood are naturally vigorous in the morning. This is ordinary. The same is true for you.”
Xiao Chunhe noticed the faint redness at the tips of Yue Jingming’s ears and became delighted. He immediately wrapped his arms around Yue Jingming’s neck from behind. “It isn’t even daylight yet. Since we’re idle anyway, why don’t I teach you how to subdue that worldly thing?”
Anger instantly surfaced in Yue Jingming’s eyes. “Last night you said all that nonsense was only joking. You said we were friends.”
“Friends should help one another even more.” Xiao Chunhe rested his chin on his shoulder. “Sleeping beside you was incredibly comfortable. How could I bear to watch you suffer? You only need to try it once to understand that guiding is better than blocking…”
Yue Jingming shoved him away in fury and got out of bed.
Xiao Chunhe blinked at him, startled. “Hm?”
The door closed with extraordinary restraint, without so much as a slam. Xiao Chunhe laughed until he nearly folded over. Then he noticed Yue Jingming’s outer robe still lying on the bed, and slyness flashed across his foxlike eyes.
Yue Jingming washed in the courtyard and circulated a minor heavenly circuit before his chaotic thoughts finally settled. Nearly half an hour later, sounds began coming from the other room. Only then did he remember he had left without his outer robe and returned inside.
The instant he entered, an intense unfamiliar scent filled the air. He looked toward the bed and saw Xiao Chunhe lying there lazily, his robes loose and disordered, clutching Yue Jingming’s outer robe to himself and breathing in its scent with obsessive enjoyment.
Yue Jingming’s eyes widened in shock.
Instead of avoiding his gaze, Xiao Chunhe deliberately continued what he was doing and even quickened his movements, his fox eyes fixed directly on Yue Jingming. The breaths he had previously suppressed became openly audible. His reddened eyes looked soaked in wine, his gaze dark and damp, yet when he looked at Yue Jingming it contained the fierce hunger of a beast and the greedy allure of a spirit.
“Hm…” He gave a low laugh, looking completely satisfied under Yue Jingming’s horrified stare. “My good wife. Learned anything?”
The door slammed hard enough to shake the room.
Xiao Chunhe collapsed laughing onto the bed, still hugging Yue Jingming’s robe.
Yue Jingming was so angry that his temples throbbed. Whether his eyes were open or closed, he kept seeing the other man disheveled, clutching his robe while doing something so shameless. He felt disgust, anger, and even a sense of having been deceived and mocked. These strange and complicated feelings were unlike anything he had experienced in more than twenty years, leaving him almost unsure what to do with them.
Absurd!
Completely improper!
His chaotic fury peaked when Xiao Chunhe finally emerged neatly dressed and casually sat beside him as though nothing had happened.
Xiao Chunhe gave him a brilliant smile. “What’s wrong? Why do you look so terrible?”
The village head asked worriedly, “It got cold during the storm last night. Did Daoist Master catch a chill?”
“I am fine. Elder need not worry.” Yue Jingming’s expression returned to normal.
“It was quite warm last night.” Xiao Chunhe peeled a boiled egg and offered it over. “Rongxi, here.”
Yue Jingming looked at that long pale hand and inevitably remembered what it had been doing earlier. He lowered his eyes. “No need. I am full.”
He rose from the table and left.
“I washed my hands.” Xiao Chunhe looked at him with injured innocence.
Yue Jingming turned and went back inside.
Xiao Chunhe smiled and finished the egg himself. He told the worried village head, “It’s nothing. He’s thin-skinned and embarrassed.”
The old village head suddenly understood. “Oh… oh!”
After breakfast they prepared to leave. Wang Dawu brought many things to give them, all of which Yue Jingming repeatedly refused. Finally Xiao Chunhe took a live chicken himself and smiled. “All right. We’ll take this. If you keep insisting, my senior brother really will get angry.”
Yue Jingming had indeed worn a grim expression all morning, so the village head did not press them further. “If you two are traveling north, make sure to carry more provisions. I hear several northern counties are suffering famine. Be very careful.”
Yue Jingming nodded. “Many thanks for the warning.”
The village head watched them leave. Only when he later returned to tidy the side room did he discover several triangular protective talismans neatly arranged on the table along with half a string of copper coins. By then, the two Daoists were already far away, leaving him only able to sigh repeatedly over having met such good people.
The dirt road after the downpour was muddy and difficult. Xiao Chunhe kept avoiding puddles and therefore walked slowly. When he looked up, Yue Jingming had already gone far ahead without once reducing his pace.
He was truly furious this time.
Holding Yue Jingming’s forgotten outer robe, Xiao Chunhe called after him, “Good wife! Su Zheng! Fellow Daoist Su! Senior Brother!”
Yue Jingming continued walking without acknowledging him.
Xiao Chunhe shouted, “Rongxi, wait for me! I really know I was wrong!”
Watching that merciless back grow more distant, Xiao Chunhe finally used lightness skill despite his condition. He stepped across several branches and quickly caught up, reaching for Yue Jingming’s arm. “Rongxi, listen to my explanation.”
Yue Jingming violently shook him off. “If you never regarded me as a friend, why say all those things last night? This morning you even did that in front of me. I do not mind your jokes, but you had no right to humiliate me to this extent!”
“I…” Xiao Chunhe opened his mouth but could only say, “I’m sorry. I genuinely couldn’t restrain myself. If you’re angry, hit me or curse me. I won’t fight back.”
Yue Jingming’s expression was cold. “No need. I was simply poor at judging people. Give me half a bottle of blood. I will give you the prescription for your illness, and from then on we will owe each other nothing.”
Xiao Chunhe froze. “You want to sever our friendship?”
Inside his sleeve, Yue Jingming’s fist clenched tightly, yet he remained silent.
“Fine.” Xiao Chunhe lowered his eyes and took out a dagger. “I’m not someone who clings desperately to people. You only chased after me because you wanted the demon heart anyway. I won’t give you that, but blood is fine.”
He raised the blade and drove it toward his own chest, only for Yue Jingming to seize his wrist halfway.
Bushes and shallow pools lined the muddy road. Frogs and cicadas cried incessantly. The air after the rain was humid and oppressive, heavy with the raw smell of wet vegetation.
Xiao Chunhe’s boots sank into mud, and his brocade robes were covered in splashes. He stared at Yue Jingming. “I truly cannot control my feelings for you. But I have never considered that affection shameful, nor have I wanted to humiliate you. I can hardly cherish and love you enough. If it were anyone else, I would have a thousand ways to make them unable to leave me. From beginning to end, when have I ever forced you?”
Yue Jingming’s expression tightened. “I do not like men.”
“I know. That’s why I only became your friend.” Xiao Chunhe’s gaze dropped uncontrollably to his lips, and his throat moved. “What happened this morning had a reason. Then you suddenly came back. You already know that seeing you makes it harder for me to control myself. Rongxi, I need time to suppress these feelings. You really shouldn’t be so harsh with me.”
Yue Jingming took the dagger from him and lowered his eyes. “Blood from a fingertip will be enough.”
Xiao Chunhe gritted his teeth. “Then cut off my finger, throw me into this wilderness, and let me die of illness!”
Yue Jingming: “…”
“You chased me when I ran. You promised to cure me, and now you want to abandon me. Where in the world is there such a convenient thing?” Xiao Chunhe narrowed his eyes. “If you take the blood and leave right now, I’ll cut my throat the moment you turn away.”
Yue Jingming remained silent for a long time before saying, “Return to the inn first.”
Xiao Chunhe raised an eyebrow and followed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yue Jingming’s hand and immediately took it. Yue Jingming stiffened and tried to pull free, only for Xiao Chunhe to grip tighter.
“I washed my hands,” Xiao Chunhe said, half furious and half embarrassed.
Yue Jingming, unusually unsettled, never managed to shake him off. The return road was muddy and uneven, and in the end he practically pulled Xiao Chunhe along the entire way.
The innkeeper’s boy sat beneath the shade outside, fanning himself. From a distance he saw the young Daoist who had left yesterday. Looking more closely, he realized the Daoist was carrying the extravagant brocade-clad young master on his back. The formerly immaculate Daoist now had mud all over his robes and shoes and was even carrying a live chicken in one hand. He looked thoroughly incongruous, yet somehow more human.
“Aiya, Daoist Master. What happened?” The boy hurried forward.
“Nothing. He is only tired.” Yue Jingming handed him the chicken. “Please stew this.”
“Of course.” The boy accepted the chicken and several copper coins and hurried into the kitchen.
Half-dead across Yue Jingming’s shoulder, Xiao Chunhe groaned, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have used true qi.”
His injuries were not healed, and he had rushed after Yue Jingming. At the time he felt nothing, but halfway back he suddenly coughed blood and nearly lost his life for real. No matter how furious Yue Jingming was, he could hardly abandon him.
“Stop talking.” Yue Jingming carried him upstairs.
Xiao Chunhe wrapped his arms around his neck. “You’re terrifying when you’re angry. I won’t dare provoke you next time.”
Yue Jingming opened the room and put him onto the bed. “Be quiet and rest.”
Xiao Chunhe refused. He studied Yue Jingming thoughtfully. “Finding that moyao really matters to you. Even after I angered you so badly, you still refuse to abandon me. Do you have any clues?”
Yue Jingming shook his head. “Only the general direction.”
“If what you said is right and the Chalcedony Demon Heart carries its aura, I may be able to deduce the exact location.” Xiao Chunhe took out a palm-sized compass. “As long as…”
“Wait until you recover.” Yue Jingming returned the compass to him. “I’ll decoct the medicine.”
With that, he went downstairs.
The door opened and closed, plunging the room into silence.
Xiao Chunhe sat up and pulled his trouser leg higher. Sure enough, the gu demon that had once lain dormant at his ankle had climbed toward his calf. The skin from ankle to lower leg had turned filthy black, and grotesque blue veins spread through it like a spiderweb.
If one day you find someone you truly love, the deeper you love him, the stronger the gu demon will become. Your desire will burn more fiercely until it devours every scrap of flesh and every organ in your body, and when the gu is complete, you will die.
The cure is simple. Join with the person you love, then eat his heart. That is how you survive.
“Tsk.” Xiao Chunhe lay back and covered his eyes. “This is bad.”
What a cunning gu demon. Apparently even merely saying someone was beloved counted.