Heavenly Soul [BL] - Extra 22

crimson_carnation

The late afternoon sun was bright and cheery, lighting up the sky in a happy blue. Underneath, Kong Min and Ying Xulin strolled along leisurely on a well-worn path. On their left was a line of shops and on their right was a weathered wooden railing. Past the railing stretched the sparkling greenish-blue surface of a large lake, appearing boundless.

His hands folded behind his head, Kong Min looked around with a smile. “This place has changed a lot in the last hundred years or so. The colors look more vivid somehow. Ah-Xu, have you ever come here?”

Ying Xulin had put away all his nonhuman features for this excursion to the world outside. Except for a faint sense of otherworldliness, he seemed almost completely human now. Hearing Kong Min’s question, Ying Xulin seriously peered at the buildings and the people around them, then turned to look at the lake. With a confused expression, he said, “I do not know. Human places all look the same.”

Kong Min chuckled. “Come now, Ah-Xu. You should at least remember if the places you went to had a lake like that.”

But Ying Xulin only frowned. “The last time I ventured out was sixty thousand years ago, so the lake might very well have shifted its position or shape, or formed only after my visit. I cannot say. All the vegetation here is also only a few thousand years old. As for the land itself…it’s difficult to make it talk. It always tends to be uncooperative.”

Kong Min’s eyes gleamed with helpless mirth. This man was always so strange. But he couldn’t deny that he liked it nonetheless and found him interesting.

Lowering his hands, Kong Min clasped them behind his back and shifted closer to Ying Xulin. “It’s alright if you don’t remember this place. After spending time here together with me, I will make sure you’ll make memories that you’ll never forget. Even if this place is forgettable, this day with me will not be.”

Ying Xulin’s eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat. Why did it feel like his beloved was insinuating something? Just what was he planning to do to make him remember this day?

Seeing Ying Xulin’s confused expression, Kong Min smirked to himself. Sure enough, teasing this man was always fun.

Just then, a voice cut into the subtle atmosphere between them. “Kong Min, is that you? What are you doing here?”

Kong Min and Ying Xulin turned their heads in the direction of the voice. A group of two men and a woman wearing casual clothes in dark colors exited a restaurant and quickly made towards them. When the group finally reached them, a man with a mole on his jaw—the one who had just called out to Kong Min—began talking, “The last time I saw you, you were so busy that you were on the verge of death. Did you finally decide to take a break now that things eased up? But if you’re going to the red-light district to have some fun, why are you taking the longer route?”

Sensing Ying Xulin’s scowl without even having to look at him, Kong Min coughed. “No, I’m not going that way. I’m just taking a stroll to relax my nerves from that horrendous mountain of paperwork I just finished. It was so endless that I swear the papers were either haunted or breeding.”

The two men laughed while the woman shook her head in sympathy. “Yes, I know what you mean. Our logistics department had been grossly overworked until recently too. We just got a new batch of juniors, so we were busy training them on top of everything. Thankfully, things are starting to smoothen again now that the Grandmaster and Senior Officer Wei are working together, with Disciple Feng also helping out. Just because of those three, everyone’s workload has decreased by a lot in these past few years.”

The others all nodded. It sure felt great to have some time to themselves now.

“But still, it’s been too long since you joined us to let out some steam, Officer Kong,” the other man who had a wiry thin body and wildly curly black hair protested. “The people in the backrooms have all been missing you. Especially that Lord Tai you introduced last year.”

Kong Min quickly replied, “No, I…I’m not going to be participating in any group events.” He was planning on finding a proper time and finally telling Ying Xulin that he would like to become his lover. As such, he was naturally going to be faithful to him and never sleep with another person again from now on.

But thinking that Kong Min was only worried about finishing work and that it would be temporary, the others all nodded in understanding. It was rare for this fellow brother of theirs to take work this seriously, so they would support him and not tempt him further.

Meanwhile, Ying Xulin felt very pleased at hearing that Kong Min hadn’t lain with anyone for a while. And seeing how unenthusiastic Kong Min seemed when that idea was brought up again now, his happiness only increased. As his lips curled into a small smile, the group of people suddenly turned their attentions to him as one, as if irresistibly drawn to him.

Getting a proper look at Ying Xulin for the first time, the three Sentinels sucked in their breaths with wonder.

“This… Who is this man? Kong Min, how come I didn’t know that you had such a handsome friend?” the man with the mole who first called out said. His gaze stayed fixed on Ying Xulin’s face the whole time he spoke.

“If you introduce him to the backroom, everyone will want to have a taste,” sighed the woman.

The thin man with curly hair stepped forward while holding his chin and peered up at Ying Xulin’s face. “Hmm, he’s absolutely exquisite. Where did you find such a treat?”

Kong Min scowled, irritated. Stepping before Ying Xulin as if to shield him, he declared, “He’s off-limits. Stop staring.”

The three Sentinels widened their eyes. When had Kong Min ever refused to share anyone with them? Had their dear promiscuous Officer Kong finally set his sights on one person?

“Oho, how interesting,” the woman said with a smirk. She tilted her head to get a good view and looked Ying Xulin up and down. “So this is your fatal type.”

Kong Min pressed his lips together and forced down his blush, unwilling to give anything more away.

The man with the mole clapped Kong Min on the back. “You have very good taste, Kong Min.”

“Yes. It’s a pity we won’t get to invite him to play with us. But hey, it’s even more entertaining to see you of all people fall,” the man with curly hair grinned cheekily.

Kong Min felt like covering his face or diving behind the nearest bush to hide. How could he have forgotten how nosy these guys were!

At the side, Ying Xulin was utterly baffled at how the gazes directed at him seemed more intense than before. He didn’t understand what they were talking about and didn’t try to either. But being stared at like that with such gleeful expressions still made him feel cautious. Turning to his beloved, he asked, “Kong Min, why do these humans stare at me so?”

Kong Min sighed at his blatant impoliteness. “…Ah-Xu, ‘these humans’ are right here, you know? They can hear you.”

Ying Xulin blinked confusedly. “Yes, I am aware. So what?”

Kong Min sighed again. He supposed it was too much to expect normal manners from a reclusive being who had minimal experience in interacting with humans. “Ah-Xu, talking about someone right in front of them is rude. If you have a question about why someone is doing something, you might as well directly ask them.”

Ying Xulin swept a gaze at the group of three. He had to speak to these humans? Why? With a huff, he turned back to look at Kong Min. “No, humans have too many complicated things they have to keep in mind while conversing. I’d rather talk only to you. I have no need to be friendly with anyone else.”

The three Sentinels suppressed smiles, their eyes glittering. Rather than taking offense, they only felt more interested in this person. From the way he referred to them as humans repeatedly, he didn’t seem to be a human himself. As such, they didn’t mind his lack of etiquette. They were more curious about what sort of a being he was and what his thoughts towards Kong Min were. From the way he always kept near to their senior officer, he must be pretty close to Kong Min.

Meanwhile, Kong Min looked at Ying Xulin with an exasperated smile. “Alright, why do you not want to speak with others? Is it because they’re unfamiliar?”

Ying Xulin nodded, then paused. In an aggrieved voice, he said, “Except you, I also can’t distinguish between other humans. Mixing up names and misgendering humans is considered bad. But how do I know whether to address them as a male or female? They are all too similar with their number of limbs, the features of their faces, their long hair, and other aspects. Different sexes of humans do not have any defining markings like some of the beasts to distinguish between them as well. I do not understand the differences between their clothing. And I’ve also been told by my brother that it is impolite to look down at a person’s chest or between their legs to try and determine their gender. Asking them is also considered rude. But how else is one supposed to distinguish between them? Hmph, humans are too confusing. Interacting with them is troublesome.”

Kong Min massaged his head. He really didn’t know how he could answer this. What Ying Xulin said wasn’t all that unreasonable after all. And what humans considered common sense wasn’t something that could be easily taught either. He had to admit that he had no choice but to give up on this subject for now.

On the other hand, the three Sentinels all had to look away or clamp their hands over their mouths to force down their laughter. This person had such delightful views! As expected, the person who could capture the heart of a renowned manwhore like their beloved senior officer had to be special in some way!

The man with the mole grinned and elbowed Kong Min playfully, “Your companion is pretty amusing. Make sure to pursue him properly so that you can keep this interesting person tied to your side.”

Kong Min felt his cheeks warming and opened his mouth automatically to argue, but then he closed it again without refuting those words. Well…they were not wrong.

From beside him, Ying Xulin glared at the man with the mole dissatisfiedly and declared, “I am the one pursuing him. Why would someone as good as Kong Min have the need to pursue anyone?” Then reaching out and looping a hand around Kong Min’s waist, Ying Xulin pulled him close as if saying that he didn’t want him to get any more closer to these humans who had such silly thoughts.

But far from being offended, the three Sentinels chuckled happily and let out whistles.

“It seems you don’t have much work to do to trap the beauty, Officer Kong!” the curly-haired man said.

“Just what did you do to him to make him fall for you this hard?” the woman teased.

“Now I’m getting jealous. Just admit that you came here today to make us suffer by publicly displaying your affections this much!” the man with the mole playfully grumbled.

Kong Min buried his head in Ying Xulin’s shoulder and laughed. “Ah-Xu, you’re getting really smooth with you compliments.”

Ying Xulin tilted his head. Compliments? But he just said the truth.

Seeing his clueless look, Kong Min’s face softened into an affectionate smile. This man was too adorable! Hooking a hand behind his neck, Kong Min pulled down Ying Xulin’s head and gave him a peck on his nose before leaning back. Ying Xulin raised his fingers to carefully rub at his nose with an expression of wonder.

Kong Min had already turned to face the others to smile cheekily and say, “Alright, you’ve interrupted our date enough. I and my Ah-Xu shall now depart in search of more romantic pastures where we won’t be disturbed by errant officers. Enjoy your break and then work hard, my diligent little ducklings.”

The three Sentinels had some choice things to say in reply before finally letting the pair go. As they were walking away, Kong Min turned back to give them a smile and placed his index finger on his lips in a ‘hush’ gesture.

The man with the mole raised his eyebrows while the woman showed a wry smile. The curly-haired man rolled his eyes dramatically. But all three nodded to show that they understood. For someone as unrestrained as Kong Min, it must have been difficult to come to the decision of tethering himself to one person like this. He might need some time to come to terms with it, so they would keep his relationship a secret for now. He would reveal it when he felt it was time.

Giving them a grateful look, Kong Min turned back to Ying Xulin, continuing to talk to and tease him as they walked leisurely. As their bodies stayed close, their shoulders and upper arms occasionally rubbed together. Their faces remained turned towards each other, their attention focused only on the person before them while excluding the rest of the world.

In this way, they continued on.

……

Kong Min led Ying Xulin to eat together in a secluded table at a restaurant to let him sample some human food before they resumed their journey. Kong Min took time to enjoy certain street foods or fruits on the way, cheerfully munching on them and sharing some with Ying Xulin. By the time Kong Min decided he felt full, the afternoon had already given way to the dimness of evening.

As they both continued along the path, the atmosphere gradually changed. Oil lamps and paper lanterns hung across the street while fluttering banners lined with golden tassels decorated the houses. The sparkling brilliance of the lanterns stood out in the fading light, dazzling the eyes and gladdening the spirit. A soft golden glow seemed to suffuse the air, casting a feeling of cheer and wonder unique to the celebration of festivals.

Seeing how the locals were letting little paper lanterns shaped like lotuses float into the lake, Kong Min’s eyes gleamed. Wanting to see the stream of floating lights from up close, he dragged Ying Xulin into an empty house’s back garden and leaned over the wooden railing to peer into the lake below.

Floating quietly on the dark surface of the lake, the paper lotuses were lit softly from within, seeming mesmerizing as they gently swayed back and forth with the waves. The way their lights reflected on the water and shimmered as if with a life of their own made the scene look even more magical. Illuminating only a small portion of the dark waters, the lanterns were like a sprinkling of stars at the corner of the night sky’s vast expanse, feeling all the more precious for the smallness of their existence.

As Kong Min watched this scene, Ying Xulin studied his beloved’s expression fixedly. He drank in the curve of Kong Min’s happy smile and the awe glittering in his gaze. Such a simple thing could bring his beloved so much joy. How strange. But Ying Xulin reflected that the pleasure he felt at seeing his beloved’s delight was even stranger.

After half an hour, the lotus lanterns had drifted so far away that all Kong Min could see were a few specks of light. When he finally turned back, Kong Min was greeted with Ying Xulin’s intent gaze and his small smile. Coming out of his surprise, Kong Min chuckled and teased, “Am I really that captivating that you’re ignoring all the wonderful scenery in this place in favor of gazing at me?”

Ying Xulin earnestly nodded. “Yes.”

Kong Min blushed and turned away, grumbling, “Damn, it’s so difficult to tease you sometimes. But your cuteness gets me every time…”

Ying Xulin felt the inexplicable urge to laugh at his beloved’s complaining tone.

As he stepped away from the railing, Kong Min studied the garden they were in. Most of the plants here had plump flower buds adorning them. Due to the descending night, the buds were more or less closed.

Kong Min observed, “It seems that all these flowers are the variety that bloom at dawn and close by night. They must all look glorious when fully open. It’s a pity that despite being wood-based, my ability does not include making flowers blossom.” Turning to Ying Xulin, he grinned, “Otherwise, I could have made the entire garden flower at once as a romantic gesture towards you~”

Hearing this, Ying Xulin’s eyes suddenly brightened. So doing such a simple thing could also count as a romantic gesture?

Turning to Kong Min, Ying Xulin solemnly stated, “If you wish to see it, then I will make them bloom for you.” Without looking away from his beloved, he waved a hand. Tendrils of his power spread out to convey his command and the plants obeyed.

The garden bloomed.

Kong Min’s eyes turned wide with wonder as he saw the brightly colored flowers opening their petals for him, blossoming into large, full blooms. Ying Xulin did this for him. He did this just to make him happy. Kong Min couldn’t suppress the smile stretching his lips. After a few minutes of drinking in the gorgeous sight, he turned to Ying Xulin and breathed softly, “Ah-Xu, thank you.”

Ying Xulin’s gaze was tender. “Is this sight as beautiful as you hoped?”

Seeing Ying Xulin’s gentle and loving expression directed at him, Kong Min felt a flash of bashfulness. Suddenly pulling Ying Xulin towards him, Kong Min buried his face in his shoulder to hide his silly grin and silently nodded. After a pause, Ying Xulin lifted his arms and wrapped them around his beloved, carefully hugging him and patting his back. “Then that’s good. I’m glad if I could make you happy.”

Feeling a blush warming his face, Kong Min pressed his face deeper into the crook of Ying Xulin’s shoulder. If he hadn’t already decided to agree to accept Ying Xulin’s proposal, then this might’ve been the moment that convinced him.

As the dusk slowly darkened to night, the two embracing figures finally parted. Turning away from Ying Xulin with his ears still burning, Kong Min resolutely took the older man’s hand and began marching out of the garden. “There are still a lot of things left to see! Nighttime is when festivals gain the most color! Come, Ah-Xu, we’ll go and take a look!”

Ying Xulin’s expression remained gentle as he nodded. “Mn.”

Kong Min dragged him over to wander through the festive atmosphere in the street and commented on the various food stalls and entertainments. But since Ying Xulin didn’t show as much interest in them as he did in Kong Min, Kong Min decided to keep moving on in an attempt to find something that could grab Ying Xulin’s attention. He was afraid that if the older man kept looking at him with so much affection, he might blush such a vivid red that he’d rival the glow of even the brightest of lanterns.

But after walking for hours, Kong Min finally had to give up on redirecting Ying Xulin’s gaze. His Ah-Xu’s attention showed no signs of budging and he was only exhausting himself even more. Stopping, Kong Min leaned on the railing still lining the right of the street and sighed. “Ah-Xu, I’m a bit tired. Let me rest on you.” Saying so, he promptly plopped his head on Ying Xulin’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

Ying Xulin blinked, then wrapped a hand around Kong Min and let him lean more of his weight on him. He murmured softly, “Do you wish to go back?”

Kong Min frowned and shook his head. “No. It’s been a while since we got to spend this much time together. I missed you. Can we stay like this for a bit more?”

“Yes, we can remain like this as long as you wish to.” Ying Xulin then turned his head and placed a kiss on the top of Kong Min’s head. He realized that he liked learning such gestures from his beloved, then lavishing them back on Kong Min with affection. It settled him and made him feel a serene contentment he’d never felt before.

Kong Min smiled, his consciousness blurring with sleepiness despite him remaining standing. Being with Ying Xulin felt so relaxing…

And so, as Ying Xulin held his beloved close and made sure he wouldn’t topple, he felt Kong Min beginning to drowse. Ying Xulin didn’t dare to move much, remaining still and increasing the warmth produced by his own body so that his beloved would be as comfortable as possible.

Minutes passed slowly by and Ying Xulin gradually shifted his attention to the humans energetically scurrying about in front of him.

The majority of the people seemed to consist of couples and families. Plenty of the families towed around little children who giggled and laughed, skipped and ran around, acted noisily or threw tantrums. Ying Xulin studied the children for a few moments before suppressing a sigh. These little humans were the most difficult to distinguish between. Even the small identifiers in gender that were present in adults were missing in these small ones.

As Ying Xulin continued to study the stream of brightly dressed humans on the street, he spotted a certain child running while clutching onto the hand of a parent. The child and parent laughed together like co-conspirators and looked around before finding a small crevice between two stalls and crouching there. They made ‘shh’ motions at the stall vendors and peeked out. A bearded man with a small, helpless smile was looking around, calling out to someone. Ying Xulin guessed that he was calling the names of those two hiding people. Were they playing a game? He remembered Kong Min once explaining a similar game where people hid and one of them had to find them all. Maybe this was something like that.

After the bearded man passed them by cluelessly, the parent and child stood back up from their hiding place and laughed to themselves happily. One of the vendors smiled along and shook their head before offering something flat and round to the little child. The child looked at the parent, and seeing them nod, accepted the food and began eating with relish. The food left crumbs on the child’s cheeks and mouth, prompting the parent to chuckle amusedly and wipe the child’s face.

The child grinned and lifted up the snack. “Mother, do you also want some?”

Ying Xulin tilted his head. So the parent was a mother? That meant…they were a female? But what about the child?

The mother smiled and nodded. “Since it’s so rare for my glutton of a daughter to offer me food, how can I refuse?”

Ying Xulin nodded to himself. So the child was also a female.

The girl looked at her mother quizzically and asked, “Does that mean yes?”

Laughing, the mother nodded. “Yes, it’s a yes. Now give me a bite.” Bending, she nibbled off a small bit and made a big show of chewing it and swallowing, then said exaggeratedly, “Mmm, it’s very delicious! As expected of something my darling daughter shared with me!”

The girl grinned happily and went up on her tiptoes to smack a loud, wet kiss on her mother’s cheek, then continued to eat. The mother smiled affectionately and lifted up the child. “Come, let’s go and find your father. Now I’ll see how he’ll refute me when I say I was better at hide-and-seek than him when we played together as children.”

Seeing her mother’s smug smile, the child giggled. She only knew that her father was in trouble again.

As the mother and daughter pair began walking in the direction the father had just gone in, Ying Xulin looked at their retreating figures with thoughtful eyes.

“Playing with family is always fun, isn’t it?” Kong Min suddenly said without lifting his head from Ying Xulin’s shoulder.

Ying Xulin turned his head to see Kong Min peering at the mother and daughter too before redirecting his gaze to him. “Ah-Xu, I think I rested enough. If I stay here like this anymore, I’ll fall deep asleep. Let’s go and see if there’s something else that can catch our eye.”

Saying so, Kong Min smiled cheerfully as usual and straightened.

Ying Xulin frowned. With hesitation, he asked, “Kong Min, you…do you miss your mother?”

After giving him a look of confusion, Kong Min shrugged. “Everything I know about my mother, I heard from the people at Yuese Lian. Because I was only three when she died, I don’t retain many memories of her…or at least not enough to miss her now. But what I know about her made me respect her as a person.” Kong Min’s voice sounded wistful, but if he felt any pain, it was too well-hidden for Ying Xulin to sense even through the conduit.

Thinking about how he was the reason Kong Min didn’t get to know his mother, Ying Xulin felt the sudden weight of guilt and the stab of remorse within his chest. The Kong Min right now might not miss his mother, but what about when he was a child? Did he ever see other children talking about, being spoilt by, or having fun with their mothers and feel pain? When Ying Xulin first met Kong Mei and asked for her life in exchange for helping her son, he hadn’t thought or cared about the impact losing a mother would have on her child. But now…he couldn’t help but wonder: How many smiles and laughs had Kong Min missed because of him? How many games was he unable to play with his mother in cheerful human festivals like this one? How many happy memories was he unable to make because Ying Xulin decided to indulge on a whim and ask Kong Mei for her life?

But all his regret wouldn’t bring back Kong Min’s mother. She was gone forever. Human lives were that fragile and fleeting. For the first time, Ying Xulin understood how weighty the sin of taking a life was. No recompense he could pay would suffice to make up for such an injustice. No wonder murderers were so reviled by humans. And didn’t he deserve to be treated like that as well? Wasn’t he just another callous murderer?

Yet, despite taking away something so precious and irreplaceable from Kong Min, he still had the gall to want him to be his lover. He still dared to think of him as his beloved. What right did he have to expect Kong Min to treat him as his most important person when he had been so inadvertently cruel to him? The fact that Kong Min was this good to him till now rather than hating him was in itself far more than anything he had a right to dream of.

Feeling it was weird how silent Ying Xulin was being, Kong Min turned to ask him if something was wrong, but froze in shock. Clear trails of tears rolled down Ying Xulin’s face. Ying Xulin made no attempt to cover them or wipe them away, just unabashedly showing his sadness. His dark green eyes seemed to reveal emotions that flowed out from the depth of his soul, expressing his sorrow, helplessness, and self-loathing.

“A-Ah-Xu?!” Kong Min called in alarm. “What happened? Why are you crying?”

Ying Xulin blinked pitifully and replied in a slightly choked voice, “I…I did something so terrible to you. I killed your mother and now I can’t bring her back. When I think of how sad you would have felt as a child without a mother…I…I really…hate myself…”

Kong Min could only stare at him blankly for a moment. Where had all this suddenly come from?! But seeing how despondent Ying Xulin looked as his head hung down, tear after tear rolling down his damp cheeks, Kong Min felt his heart clench. He couldn’t bear to see this person looking so miserable, especially because of him.

Kong Min held Ying Xulin’s chin with one hand while he used the sleeve of the other hand to gently wipe away the tears. “Ah-Xu, don’t be like this. I actually had a happy childhood. If you looked through the gem often at that time, you would have seen it too. Though I will admit that there were times I wished I had a mother, it wasn’t nearly as heart-wrenching as you’re imagining.”

Ying Xulin let Kong Min dry his face and lifted his head. “Really? But…how can that be?”

Kong Min stepped closer, peering into Ying Xulin’s eyes to convey his honesty. “I had a large family. Everyone in Yuese Lian took care of me as if I was their own child. I had enough familial affection to spare and I never once felt lonely or unloved there. They didn’t just feed, clothe, and shelter me. They also taught me, helped me when I needed them to, listened to me seriously, and let me grow as a person. We played and teased and laughed with each other. There were different types of people in Yuese Lian and they all had their own ideas of how to raise a child, so I’ll admit that it was pretty chaotic most of the time. And of course, mistakes happened, but that’s how it is in every family. However, I never wanted for anything while I was with them. And while I can’t say if it would have been better if I had a mother, I can certainly say that it was no worse.”

Ying Xulin’s expression eased. Knowing that Kong Min was able to be happy as a child despite what he did stabilized his mood a bit. “Then…do you hate me for taking away your mother? Do you think I’m a murderer?”

Kong Min raised his brows. Just what sort of things even went on in his Ah-Xu’s head to make him think of such questions? Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Kong Min replied, “No, I do not hate you for any reason and I don’t think you’re a murderer either. My mother made the choice to give you her life, and I know that she thought it a cheap price in return for me being saved. On top of that, at the time when you made that deal with my mother, you were not familiar with human laws, ethics, or morals. You were not raised as a human surrounded by people teaching you human principles. You thought as differently from humans as humans do with beasts. That is not to say that you are similar to beasts, but that you are just as different from humans as they are. I don’t feel that it’s fair to judge you by human standards when you don’t think like one.

“But if we were to judge you in that way, then wouldn’t we also have to reward you for all the land we use, all the food we harvest, all the minerals we mine, and all the trees we cut to make houses and furniture from? You are the earth and everything that comes with it, and we humans only flourish because of you. So tell me, Ah-Xu, does that mean that you will accept the gratitude and worship of all humanity?”

As Kong Min finished speaking, his eyes twinkled with suppressed chuckles. As he’s expected, Ying Xulin wrinkled his brows and shook his head. “It sounds troublesome.”

Kong Min solemnly nodded. “So you see? That is why we shouldn’t judge you by human standards. You are not a murderer. In fact, you are actually a very good being who has helped far more than he has hurt.”

Ying Xulin looked doubtful, but still nodded. Since his beloved went through so much effort to try and convince him, he would believe it. After all, the only opinion he cared about was Kong Min’s.

Now that the discussion was closed, Kong Min was eager to divert the topic. “Alright, now let’s go and enjoy some more of this festival before getting back. I still have work in a few hours.”

Wanting to spend more time with his beloved, Ying Xulin also quickly nodded. And so they both once again joined the stream of people walking through the well-lit street and continued onward. Whenever Kong Min saw something curious, he would nudge Ying Xulin and point it to him. But the same problem as before persisted. Ying Xulin showed only minimal interest in things, preferring to gaze more at Kong Min’s expressive face or making small and understated gestures of affection.

Kong Min felt both bashful and frustrated. He wanted Ying Xulin to enjoy his time with him. He wanted to dazzle his Ah-Xu with new sights and sounds, letting him make special memories before finally asking to become his lover to deliver maximum impact. But Ying Xulin seemed determined to ignore everything except Kong Min. How was he supposed to work with this?!

Just when Kong Min was wracking his brain once again to come up with something that would catch Ying Xulin’s attention, Ying Xulin suddenly stopped and looked back. Just now, he’d caught the gleam of something gem-like in a familiar shape from the corner of his eye, piquing his curiosity.

Realizing that Ying Xulin had stopped, Kong Min halted as well and turned to ask, “Ah-Xu? What is it?”

Ying Xulin’s eyes were fixed on a certain stall selling varieties of sweet snacks. “Kong Min, what are those colorful things on sticks?”

Kong Min looked in the same direction as Ying Xulin and spotted a small jar with candies on thin sticks. The candies sitting atop the bamboo sticks were shaped like little animals, flowers, butterflies, and even a peach-colored hand. There were some that looked like simple rectangles with blunted edges as well. The colors ranged from a mild tea green, pink, yellow, and brown to vivid red, purple, and translucent white.

After studying it for a few moments, Kong Min explained to Ying Xulin, “They appear to be hard candies of some sort made into shapes. I’ve never seen their like before. It must be something the mortals started making recently. Do you want some?”

Ying Xulin nodded.

Giving him an indulgent smile, Kong Min led him to the stall and told him, “Choose whichever you like. I’ll pay for it.”

Ying Xulin picked one of the candies without hesitation. It was shaped like a golden-brown squirrel with eyes that seemed to glint with mischievous laughter. “I want this one,” Ying Xulin stated.

Kong Min’s lips twitched. This guy… Remembering that one time Ying Xulin compared him to a squirrel, Kong Min shook his head wryly. Then reaching out, Kong Min chose a candy for himself too. This candy was more delicately shaped than most. It had a brown candy branch that wound around the end of the bamboo stick and extended from it, with small five-petaled red flowers, also made of candy, blooming along this branch. The tiny translucent petals shone like rubies in the bright light of the lanterns hanging above, looking very vivid.

After paying the shopkeeper, Kong Min and Ying Xulin set out again, walking along with the flow of the crowd with a candy each. Kong Min looked at the one in his hand with a tender smile, amusement and anticipation gleaming in his eyes. Then lifting his gaze up, he turned to see how the little squirrel was being treated―

―just in time to witness Ying Xulin unhesitatingly chomping down on it, breaking off the top half of the squirrel and chewing it with crisp crunching sounds. His expression held curiosity as he seemed to be assessing the candy in his mouth.

Kong Min, “…”

Ying Xulin continued to bite down on the rest of the candy until he finished eating the entire squirrel. To Kong Min’s horror, Ying Xulin then went on to eat the bamboo stick as well before looking down at his empty palm with regret. “The wood was dry and old, but it had good flavor.”

“…” Kong Min was once more rendered speechless.

After taking a moment to gather himself, he finally burst out, “Ah-Xu, that stick was not for eating!”

Ying Xulin looked at him with puzzlement. “Then why was it stuck into the food?”

Kong Min sighed and explained, “It was just to hold up the candy and serve as a handle so that our hands don’t get sticky.”

Frowning disapprovingly, Ying Xulin expressed, “That is a wasteful use of such fine wood.”

Kong Min’s lips twitched, but he couldn’t really refute his words. And since eating the wood didn’t seem to give Ying Xulin any problems, he chose to let it go as just another eccentricity of his soon-to-be lover.

“That may very well be,” Kong Min finally conceded, then spoke, “But I have to say, Ah-Xu, I expected you to treat that squirrel candy more gently because it reminded you of me.”

Ying Xulin nodded. “Yes. That is why I chose to consume the little squirrel so that I could absorb it into my body rather than leave it outside and risk it becoming damaged or rotten.”

Kong Min shook his head in helpless amusement. So he had a reason after all.

Looking down at the flower-shaped candy in his hand, Kong Min smiled as his expression turned soft. Lifting his gaze to meet Ying Xulin’s, Kong Min suddenly asked, “Ah-Xu, did you know? In a certain kingdom in the past, there was a custom where one would present a bough of fresh flowers to the one they fancied as a way of declaring romantic interest. If the flowers withered without the sender getting a reply in return, it meant that the receiver was declaring that they were not interested. But if they wished to take it further, then the receiver would invite the sender to spend time together.”

Ying Xulin tilted his head, not understanding the point of this story. But he still dutifully nodded to show he was listening.

Kong Min’s eyes gleamed as he solemnly presented the stick with the red flower-shaped candies to Ying Xulin. “Here, Ah-Xu. This is my version of a flower-laden bough. With this, I’m declaring my romantic interest in you now.”

Ying Xulin’s eyes went wide with disbelief and shock. It took him a moment before he could lift his trembling fingers to accept the candy. “Kong Min…you… Are you saying that…?”

Kong Min smiled warmly. Reaching out, he held Ying Xulin’s free hand and began walking. Ying Xulin followed along in a daze, his gaze never leaving Kong Min’s face as he waited for an answer with both anticipation and apprehension. Crowds of people surged around them, smiling, talking, and laughing. But the pair seemed to be ensconced in their own bubble filled with a tense yet hopeful atmosphere.

After gathering his thoughts for a few minutes, Kong Min began to speak, “Ah-Xu, it’s been so long, more than thirteen thousand years or so, since you first asked me to give you a chance. I did, but I also know that it wasn’t easy for you to keep pursuing me for so long. I am someone who hates being restrained emotionally. And the notion of being tied down to only one person without being able to sleep around with whoever I like whenever I want did indeed feel very restricting to me. That is why I was unable to decide whether the like I felt for you was strong enough to push past that and truly evolve into love.

“And yet, I won’t deny that there were times when I felt that I was being very cruel to you by sleeping with others to sate my physical needs. However, if I’d stopped doing that and decided to become your lover due to my guilt or because I felt sorry for you, then the emotion driving our relationship would not be love, but pity. You deserve better than that.”

Ying Xulin grew thoughtful, yet his gaze didn’t leave Kong Min’s face for even a moment.

Kong Min continued, “Another thing that made me hesitate is that I often need to blow steam and spend my energy rolling around on the bed with other similar-minded people. It’s something I loved to do and I didn’t want to give it up so easily. Also, I was used to the noise that came with being surrounded by so many others, since I was after all raised in a lively place where people gave and received bodily affections openly. The Order of Sentinels that has become my home might not provide for my sexual needs in that way, but it is also a bustling place. Time always seems to rush forward in the midst of so much movement, chatter, and action. In contrast, Ah-Xu, you’re so quiet and reclusive. Whenever I’m with you, time seems to stop and the world seems to grow still.”

Ying Xulin’s heart clenched, making him want to look away. But he still forced himself to keep his gaze on Kong Min. If that sort of atmosphere was what his beloved preferred, then maybe he didn’t like spending time with him after all…

However, Kong Min then went on, “But I realized that I like it. The silence and calm around you is warm and comforting. And the more time I spent with you, the more I realized I liked you as well. I like seeing you smile that small smile of yours. I like how peaceful you seem in the Forest’s Cradle. I like how you’ve grown more open with me and how much importance you place in my needs and the words I say. I like how despite all the power you have, you live such a simple life. You are not a human, and the way you think is not something I will ever be able to fully understand, but that is okay. You are perfect as you are. I wouldn’t want you to force yourself to become more human or change yourself in any way you don’t feel comfortable with. No matter what, I will like you.”

Turning to Ying Xulin, Kong Min finally stopped and said, “Ah-Xu, after being able to thoroughly think through it all, I’ve realized that I also love you.”

Ying Xulin froze, his mind going blank. He was unable to do anything but stare at his beloved. Such sweet words… It felt unreal that he was finally able to hear them. He found that there were so many emotions thundering through him that he couldn’t even react. What was he supposed to do to convey what he felt? How should he express these incomprehensible human emotions filling him?

But not minding his apparent speechlessness, Kong Min continued smiling as he spoke, “The way our first couple of meetings went might not have been ideal, but after that, you have been so patient with me. You didn’t restrict me or urge me. You let me decide in my own time, at my own pace. Ah-Xu, you’ve always been there for me, and I realize that I always want to be there for you as well. It isn’t pity or just friendship I feel for you. I’ve grown jealous when I hear of you sleeping with others, and I’ve felt the need to tie you to me as well.

“The thought of being restricted by my own feelings was scary, I’ll admit that, but I want to do this. Spending time with other people in or out of bed has become so lackluster compared to the time I spend with you. Knowing that I can always access you through the gem feels so reassuring. Whenever I let my thoughts drift, they always float to you. And knowing that you already love me enough to let me take my time figuring it all out despite how uncertain you must feel only makes me more confident in my decision.”

Lifting his hands, Kong Min framed Ying Xulin’s face and smiled softly, “Ah-Xu, I love you. I want to be your lover. I will never again sleep with anyone else by my own will. From now on, if you want, you and I will be together.”

Ying Xulin’s eyelashes trembled before squeezing closed. His lips opened, but no sound came out. Ying Xulin abruptly pulled Kong Min into a hug, his arms tight around his beloved’s body. In an unsteady whisper, he said, “I love you, too. I love you a lot. I love you very, very much.” Even this much was not enough. He needed to somehow express more of his bubbling emotions, but Ying Xulin didn’t know how, so he could only hug Kong Min tighter.

Ignoring the creaking of his bones, Kong Min chuckled and patted his new lover’s back. “Yes, yes, I know, I know.” His Ah-Xu had already conveyed more than enough of his devotion to him with his words and actions, time and time again. That was the one thing he wouldn’t doubt.

Seeking to lighten the mood, Kong Min said, “Ah-Xu, loosen up a little. You’ll crush the candy in your hand at this rate and then we’ll both have sticky candy fragments all over us.”

Ying Xulin quickly let go and looked at the candy in his hands. The petals of some of the red flowers had indeed cracked. Ying Xulin frowned. It was so fragile. This was his beloved’s declaration of romantic interest. He couldn’t have it getting damaged and missing pieces. He wanted to always own all of it!

And so, Ying Xulin opened his mouth and directly stuffed the candy flowers in.

Crunch, crunch, crunch. And then the candy, along with its bamboo stick, was gone.

Kong Min, “…” Well, this was the man he was tied to now. He should just try to get used to it.

……

After spending some more time in the festival by walking hand-in-hand on the street, cuddling together while resting at the sides, and kissing passionately in shadowed corners, it was finally time for the date to end. Kong Min asked Ying Xulin to accompany him back to the Sentinel compound and Ying Xulin agreed. Kong Min used the shadows and transported them both to just inside the compound’s doorway.

Within the Sentinel compound, officers milled about as usual, some still garbed in their uniforms while others were dressed in casual clothes. The atmosphere here was relaxed and friendly, with people talking, laughing, teasing, taunting, playfully heckling, or enthusiastically yelling at each other. A small square training area was situated at the side, surrounded by many officers who were looking at the ongoing training match with considering eyes. One of those officers was Wei Xiang. He sat on the low wall bordering the training area and critically assessed the two juniors who were currently sparring with each other to gain experience.

Sensing the arrival of Kong Min and someone else, Wei Xiang turned around. He was just about to offer a sarcastic greeting to his senior brother when his eyes landed on Ying Xulin. Wei Xiang froze, his eyes widening. While he was surprised at Ying Xulin’s presence, it was not what startled him. What Wei Xiang felt shocked about was Ying Xulin’s soul and how it seemed to have gone through a significant change from the last time he saw him.

When Wei Xiang had gone to the Spirit Bewildering Forest millennia ago to confront Ying Xulin after he tore out Kong Min’s throat, he had gotten a look at Ying Xulin’s soul. It had been a deep, hypnotic green with wisps of black curling at the edges and strong rays of golden light shining from within, pouring out through the gaps. But now, there were bright hints of white and silvery grey as well. Grey and white were colors Wei Xiang had only ever seen in the souls of humans, including deities. To see those colors in the Master of Land’s soul signified the increase in his humanity, reflecting just how much Ying Xulin had changed from that time.

Shaking these thoughts away, Wei Xiang tried to understand why his senior brother would bring the Master of Land here. Thinking about how Kong Min had sped away this afternoon to make yet another payment, Wei Xiang wondered: Could it be that the payment that Kong Min had been asked for this time was to bring the Master of Land here to the Sentinel compound? Deciding that that must be it, Wei Xiang sighed.

By now, Kong Min had already spotted Wei Xiang and pulled Ying Xulin towards the training area to talk to him. In a cheerful voice, Kong Min greeted, “Junior Brother, how nice to see you after half a day! Are you here to thrash someone in the guise of sparring again?”

Wei Xiang narrowed his eyes. “If you have the time to prance around like this, then I hope you had the time to finish your work as well.”

Kong Min rolled his eyes. “Tch, yes, I already finished it. Junior Brother, you’re so uncute! Here I was hoping that after going at it all the time with Little Bro, some of his cuteness would rub off on you.”

Before Wei Xiang could respond, the Hou Yu who was standing nearby earnestly nodded and stated, “Yes, Little Brother Feng is very cute. He’s the cutest person!”

The Qian Ming standing beside him also nodded seriously. “I agree. And compared to our Little Bro, Senior Officer Wei really is too uncute!”

Wei Xiang, “…”

His eyes glinting, he remarked with a sharp smile, “Officer Qian seems to have a lot of free time to be able to comment on your senior officer like this. Maybe we should once again increase your responsibilities to fill up your free time appropriately and make your work feel more challenging for you.”

With an expression of dismay, Qian Ming gaped at Wei Xiang before exclaiming, “Senior Officer Wei, you are always so petty!”

Wei Xiang nodded to himself cheerfully. “I see. So you want me to assign even more work to you. Duly noted.”

“…” The Qian Ming who randomly blurted out his thoughts finally managed to keep his mouth closed this time. His heart wept tears of blood. Why was he always being targeted by this bad-natured senior officer of his!

At the side, Kong Min was grinning gleefully. See? He wasn’t the only victim of his junior brother’s bullying! And watching Wei Xiang tormenting others was really entertaining!

“By the way, how’s Little Bro doing? Did you bring him with you today?” Kong Min asked.

Wei Xiang nodded. “Yes. And Qinghe insisted on bringing the wyvern egg we’ve decided to try and hatch first.”

Kong Min blinked with surprise. “He brought it here?! What does he want to do by bringing an unhatched egg here?”

As if answering his incredulous question, Qinghe walked out into the hall from within the building. Holding up a bluish silver egg, he seriously explained to it in his clear and pleasant voice, “…and this is the training area. This is where your Father Xiang beats up― ehem, trains new recruits. When you grow up, you have to come and help him here and try to get along with everyone too, alright?”

Smiling helplessly, Wei Xiang enlightened his stupefied senior brother, “He’s giving a tour of the Sentinel compound to the egg.”

Kong Min, “…” Why was it that every person he knew was such a weirdo?! He’d admit that they were all adorable in their own way, but they were still undeniably odd!

Meanwhile, seeing Qinghe enter, the officers watching the match all suddenly got up and surrounded him. Even the two fighting junior disciples stopped what they were doing to turn towards him. The group of officers immediately began pleading with Qinghe to let him touch the egg. This was after all an egg laid in ancient times by the Sovereign of the true dragon clan! Not only that, but it also contained their Senior Officer Wei’s sibling by birth! When this egg hatched, Wei Xiang and Feng Qinghe would adopt the newborn wyvern as their child and probably bring it here to play a lot. Just thinking about a lively little toddler or baby wyvern waddling around here in their headquarters was enough to bring a smile onto the officers’ faces. They couldn’t help but feel affectionate and protective towards this egg. And so, they all wanted a chance to pat and rub the egg, to coo endearments at the baby inside, and to lavish their care on it.

Unable to refuse in the face of their hopeful expressions, Qinghe gave them the egg after warning them to be extremely careful. Only after getting their repeated assurances did he leave the egg to them before walking to Wei Xiang and sitting down beside him.

Looking up, Qinghe smiled at his lover’s senior brother and his companion. “Hello, Sentinel Kong. And…who is the person with you? You seem to be quite close.”

Kong Min chuckled and proudly introduced, “This is the Master of Land, Ying Xulin, who I’ve managed to charm with my irresistible seductive wiles.”

After shaking his head at Kong Min’s joking tone, Qinghe smiled up at Ying Xulin. “Hello, Master Ying. I hope Sentinel Kong hasn’t been bullying you too much.”

“Hey!” Kong Min burst out in mock-indignation.

Ying Xulin tilted his head and said sincerely, “Kong Min is very good to me.”

Qinghe’s gaze danced with mirth, but he seriously nodded. “That’s good then. It seems like Sentinel Kong really does behave much nicely towards you than with most others.”

Ying Xulin’s expression immediately brightened. So his beloved was especially nice to him? Hmm, his beloved’s junior brother’s mate seemed like he was a good person.

Kong Min could only watch his lover’s increased cheer wryly. His Little Bro’s skill with making good impressions on people was really too scary sometimes.

Done with greeting them, Qinghe turned to Wei Xiang and saw his lover staring fixedly at the egg being petted and passed around by the officers. Qinghe sighed and smiled. Leaning into the side of Wei Xiang’s body, he looped an arm around his beloved’s waist and rubbed his cheek on his shoulder to get his attention. In a soothing voice, he reassured, “Xiang, it’s alright. I already have the wind keeping watch over the egg. If the force used to touch the egg approaches even a third of the amount necessary to damage its shell, then I will immediately have the wind take it away from them.”

Hearing this, Wei Xiang’s tense body relaxed and his gaze finally left the egg. Since his little lover was keeping watch, he could rest assured. Kissing the top of Qinghe’s head, Wei Xiang murmured, “Thank you, love.”

Qinghe smiled happily and snuggled closer to Wei Xiang.

Meanwhile, after having gotten his chance to play with the egg, Qian Ming detached from the group of Sentinels and headed towards them. Stopping in front of Qinghe, he spoke up, “Little Bro, I realize I haven’t seen that demoness for a while. She hasn’t been unleashed into some poor, unsuspecting mortal town, has she? Do you have any idea where she is?”

Hearing this, Kong Min immediately exclaimed with horror, “Little Bro, your mother is here?! Oh dear heavens!”

Qinghe chuckled and cheerfully nodded. “Yes, Mother is here. If I remember right, she took Father with her and said she was going to go spar with some of the officers in the larger training area located in the northeast section.”

With an expression of terror, Qian Ming immediately fled in the opposite direction to avoid crossing paths with her.

Meanwhile, Kong Min winced and said, “The medical office is going to be clogged up by the end of the day with all the poor sods she beat up again. If I didn’t know better, I’d really think Wei Xiang and that woman are related by blood. The way they both like to thrash people to within an inch of their lives in the guise of sparring while smirking evilly is exactly the same. This pair of sadists…” Kong Min shivered seemingly in dread. “They’re too terrifying.”

Turning to Kong Min with a perfectly innocent face, Wei Xiang spoke, “What do you mean ‘smirking evilly’? I merely smile to express my enthusiasm at being able to spar with my fellow officers. Senior Brother, please do not slander your junior brother like this. It’s unfair.”

Still leaning against Wei Xiang, Qinghe dutifully nodded to back up his lover. “Yes, it’s unfair!”

Kong Min’s mouth twitched. “Are you both ganging up on me again?”

Their faces splitting into grins, Qinghe and Wei Xiang nodded.

Kong Min sullenly turned away. “Hmph, I refuse to be teased like this. Who cares about you two evil brats. I still have my pure and innocent Ah-Xu to play with.”

Ying Xulin blinked at him confusedly. His beloved thought he was pure and innocent?!

Wei Xiang narrowed his eyes, looking between his senior brother and the Master of Land suspiciously while Qinghe chuckled. Gazing up at Ying Xulin, Qinghe curiously asked, “Master Ying, do you mind if I ask you something? I’m not sure if it might be a personal question, so feel free to not answer if you don’t wish to.”

Ying Xulin frowned and nodded. “Ask your question and we will see.”

Qinghe smiled wider and turned his body to face him. “Of the three of you—the Master of Land, the Master of Oceans, and the Master of Skies—who is older? Was there any particular order you were all born in?”

Kong Min looked at his beloved with interest, also anticipating the reply. Wei Xiang just raised a brow. His little lover was being as inquisitive as always, but this was nevertheless an interesting line of questioning.

Not seeming to be much bothered, Ying Xulin answered, “There is no older or younger among us. I and my siblings were all born at the same time. We are of equal age. However, the level of our maturities, as humans perceive the concept, varies according to the way we interact with the world and its lifeforms. To put it simply, based on the life each of us prefers to lead and the experiences we’ve gained, we three have different levels of maturity.”

Kong Min nodded thoughtfully. He supposed the way the Master of Oceans seemed more seasoned than his own Ah-Xu made sense now. It was because Ying Xulin had too little experience in the world outside the Spirit Bewildering Forest.

Qinghe’s eyes grew half-lidded as he pondered for a few minutes before speaking, “Then may I ask how you and your siblings came to be?”

Wei Xiang shot his beloved an amused look. His Qinghe sure wasn’t holding back with his questions. Beside Ying Xulin, Kong Min perked up his ears, eager to hear his lover’s response again.

Ying Xulin contemplated for a few moments, his dark green eyes swirling with unfathomable thoughts. In his smooth voice, he answered simply, “We came from Mother.”

Wei Xiang frowned. “I’m guessing you’re referring to this world? But why call it ‘Mother’? Why not ‘Father’ or ‘it’?”

“There is a reason we call her Mother,” Ying Xulin calmly said. The color in his eyes seemed to deepen, the air of unearthliness he’d kept suppressed spilling out. It made the skin of those in the vicinity prickle with awareness. The weight of eons filled his words, the stillness of eternity shrouding him. But seemingly unaware of the change in atmosphere, Ying Xulin continued to explain, his voice bearing a measured cadence, “Of the heavenly beasts, there is one species called the world turtles. They float through time and space, wading through the stars, and when they wish to, they settle inside a lifeless, barren world. They burrow deep under its layers and sleep. In their slumber, they emit boundless spiritual power. Their vital energy suffuses the world and sparks the beginning of life.

“Our world had existed for a long time. At some point, it developed its own land, water, and air. But it was not until a female world turtle made her home within the earth of this world that it started to gain life. The first existence to be given life by her was the world itself, and as a result, we three siblings were born as the manifestation of the world. That is why we consider the world turtle slumbering in the depths of this world as our mother.”

Kong Min looked at him with fascination. It seemed there was a lot he had left to learn about his Ah-Xu. But that was alright. They had all the time in the world to slowly understand everything about each other.

Meanwhile, as he was sunken in contemplative thoughts, Wei Xiang suddenly saw his little lover smiling slyly. Lifting a brow, Wei Xiang asked, “Love, what are you plotting now?”

Qinghe chuckled happily and shook his head. “Nothing. I just thought of a more proper and delightful new name for a certain friend.”

Wei Xiang smiled in helpless amusement. Whoever Qinghe was planning on teasing had his sincere sympathies.

Pulling on Ying Xulin’s sleeve, Kong Min asked, “Ah-Xu, when you and your siblings were born, how did you look? Did you have human forms or…?”

Ying Xulin took a moment to think back to those distant memories before answering, “No, we did not have physical bodies. We were nothing more than the sentience of the land, waters, and the skies. Our consciousnesses were simple and we did not have the ability to form thoughts. But after millions and billions of years, our consciousnesses grew more complex and we developed minds and egos of our own. After plants and beasts came to be, we fashioned physical bodies similar to them out of curiosity to experience what they did. It was only much later after humans started propagating in the world that we took on human forms. We do not have genders, so we experimented with taking on various types of bodies until we settled on the ones we felt the most comfortable with.”

Kong Min’s eyes sparkled as he took a step back and looked his lover up and down. “Hmm, I like the way you turned out then. No, the truth is, no matter how you ended up, I would still like you. My Ah-Xu will always look the best.”

A warm pink suffused Ying Xulin’s cheeks, dissipating his mysterious atmosphere as he looked away shyly. “I…I also think the same about you.”

Kong Min grinned. Seeing the almighty Master of Land blushing and speaking so sweetly was really too adorable for his heart to handle!

Suddenly, a commotion broke out, redirecting everyone’s attention. From deeper inside the building, Feng Chunyi was striding out towards the training area while dragging a harried Feng Huixin by his hand. Spotting her son and son-in-law, Feng Chunyi wordlessly turned to march in their direction.

Meanwhile, Feng Huixin spotted Ying Xulin and narrowed his eyes. Even if he had never seen the Master of Land in person, he could feel this person’s connection to the land easily enough to guess his identity. However, Feng Huixin soon noticed how, when standing beside the Master of Land, his second disciple seemed even more buoyant and cheerful than before. But there was also an unexpected sense of Kong Min being grounded without being tied down, bringing out the maturity in him. He seemed like he’d finally found a person who could balance his flighty personality.

Feng Huixin’s gaze softened. So it turned out that his second disciple had chosen a place for himself that he was content with, and that place was beside the Master of Land. This was not an unexpected revelation, so Feng Huixin merely felt happy for his disciple and accepted it.

By now, Feng Chunyi had almost reached her sons. But as she got close enough, she finally realized that there was a person she’d never seen before standing here. Her gaze fixed on Ying Xulin and her face split into a wide smile. “Who is this? He looks strong. Can he fight?”

Ying Xulin felt like he was prey being pinned under the sight of a predator. It was a new and strange sensation, and not one he was sure he liked. As the woman’s eyes stayed fixed on him with piercing intensity, Ying Xulin had to suppress a shiver.

Sensing Feng Chunyi’s interest in his lover, Kong Min turned to quickly start pushing Ying Xulin towards the entrance of the Sentinel compound without bothering with being polite. “Ah-Xu, run! If you remain here any longer, you might get stuck with having to spar with that madwoman!”

Ying Xulin felt confused, but still obediently listened to his beloved and made his way out swiftly.

Kong Min finally heaved a breath in relief and wiped his sweat at that close call.

Having missed her opportunity to secure a new playmate to abuse― ehem, she meant to play with, Feng Chunyi was dispirited. Feng Huixin felt amused as he patted his pouting wife to appease her while Qinghe had to suppress his laughter. Wei Xiang simply sighed and shook his head, but didn’t say anything. After all, he didn’t want his mother-in-law’s attention to get diverted to him. In the mood she was in, she’d probably ask him to spar with her.

Deciding to take one for the team, Qinghe stood up and motioned to the empty training area. “Mother, why don’t you help me train for a bit?”

Feng Chunyi perked up again and happily went to clash swords with her son. Wei Xiang and Feng Huixin stayed at the edge of the training area to watch them. Wanting to make their escape while Feng Chunyi’s attention was occupied by Qinghe, the group of officers silently returned the wyvern egg to Wei Xiang before leaving.

Kong Min stayed to watch the fight for a while before deciding he was too tired to remain standing. Choosing to be lazy, he simply used the shadows to get to his room and slumped down on the bed. He’d need to get up and work in less than two hours, so he might as well rest as much as he could.

As he thus began to doze, he dreamed of a certain enchanted clearing and the man who was always there to welcome him. Kong Min smiled peacefully and sank deeper into sleep.

……

“Team Leader, are you free enough to participate in a group event tonight? We have all the usual people gathering there,” asked an officer with an anticipatory expression. He and Kong Min were currently standing outside the black building housing the Order’s offices, having just come out after finishing up their work.

Kong Min blinked to clear his daze and shook his head. “No, I won’t be coming. Actually, can you help me by telling the others that I’m not open to sleeping around anymore? I’m in a very serious relationship now.”

The officer’s mouth dropped open. “Wait, what?! So…you’re never going to be available for any naked fun with us ever again?!”

The Wei Xiang who happened to be passing by at just this time halted in his tracks and turned to look at his senior brother. Did he just hear that right? Kong Min was going to stop sleeping around?!

Meanwhile, Kong Min patted the distraught officer on the shoulder and nodded. “Yes, so can you please tell everyone? I don’t want any misunderstandings.”

The officer nodded sadly. He wondered just who the lucky bastard who was able to successfully woo their Senior Officer Kong was. But understanding that it wasn’t his place to ask, he silently slunk away.

Kong Min sighed. Now that that was done, there was just one more thing he had to do.

Suddenly, he heard his junior brother’s voice asking from up close, “Second Brother, what’s wrong? For you of all people to say you’re never going to orgies again… Are you sick?” Wei Xiang pressed the back of his hand to Kong Min’s forehead as if assessing his temperature.

Kong Min slapped his hand away with a huff. “What do you mean ‘me of all people’? You’re acting as if I can’t live without fucking. I’ll have you know that it’s been months since I last had sex!”

Wei Xiang took a step back, his eyes widening in shock. “Kong Min, just what happened to you?! Did you end up getting some well-deserved disease that makes you unable to get it up at all? Have you been cursed due to how carelessly you sleep around?”

Kong Min snarled, “No!” Then he grumbled, “I just don’t feel interested in doing it with other people now.”

His eyes narrowing, Wei Xiang asked astutely, “Other people? Other than who, exactly?”

Kong Min froze, then sighed. Reaching out, he clamped his fingers around Wei Xiang’s wrist and began dragging his junior brother into the black building again, walking straight to his office. Wei Xiang looked surprised, but still decided to stay quiet and see what his senior brother was up to.

Pushing the door to his office open, Kong Min entered with Wei Xiang and closed the door. Pulling his junior brother over to the desk and making him sit on the chair resting perpendicular in front of it, Kong Min began pacing in the small clean space left on the messy floor.

Wei Xiang leaned back on the chair and looked around at the various piles of items, mostly maps and geographical texts, pushed to the corners of the room. Sighing, he commented casually, “Your office is as cluttered as always. This is why I was against giving you a personal one. I knew you’d keep it as messy as your room.”

Kong Min stopped his pacing and looked around the office. Then rolling his eyes, he muttered, “Leave off, will you? I didn’t drag you here to nag at me to clean again.”

“Then why did you drag me here?” Wei Xiang asked.

Kong Min stayed silent for a few moments before finally saying, “I and Ah-Xu decided to become lovers.”

Wei Xiang pressed his lips together, but nodded. “I suspected as much. You were awfully friendly with him when you brought him here. Just make sure that bastard doesn’t hurt you again.”

Feeling relieved that his junior brother didn’t react as strongly against it as he’d feared, Kong Min walked to his desk and finally sat down behind it in his seat. Resting his elbows on the table, he leaned forward. “Thank you, Junior Brother. Do you mind if I…ask for some advice? It’s regarding my and Ah-Xu’s relationship. I think you’re more qualified in that aspect.”

Wei Xiang’s eyebrows rose. “By all means, go ahead.”

Kong Min spoke, “Can you help me think of an idea to make our first time special?”

Wei Xiang looked at his senior brother incredulously. “All these thousands of years and you’ve both never once slept together?!”

Looking away, Kong Min coughed. “We might have done sexual things, but I thought Ah-Xu might prefer to save having sex for when we truly became lovers.”

Shaking his head, Wei Xing rested his chin on a hand and asked, “What exactly do you have in mind for your first time then?”

Kong Min straightened with shining eyes. “I was thinking that maybe I should ask some meaningful favor from Ah-Xu so that I can then go to his clearing and use paying with my body as an excuse. I can’t think of anything romantic to ask for though. What request do you suppose I should make this time?”

Wei Xiang sighed. “Kong Min, first tell me this. Have you ever gone to the Master of Land’s clearing for a reason not related to paying him for favors?”

Kong Min’s racing thoughts screeched to a halt. Tilting his head in consideration, he finally replied, “…Actually, no. I don’t think I ever have.”

Wei Xiang rolled his eyes. “Then the answer is simple. It will be more meaningful for your first time if you go to his place and directly ask him to sleep with you, not for any payment but because that’s what you want to do.”

Kong Min looked at him blankly, then suddenly grinned. “Yes! As expected of my Junior Brother! You’re really more experienced in romance and making thoughtful romantic gestures.”

Wei Xiang was unimpressed. “And here I was thinking it was only common sense.”

But Kong Min was too happy at finally figuring it out to let his words dampen his mood.

Seeing his senior brother smiling like a fool, Wei Xiang sighed again, his expression softening. Kong Min already had so much experience in matters of bed. And yet he looked so happy and excited at the prospect of sleeping with his lover as if it would be his first time. No matter what he said outwardly, Wei Xiang still felt his heart grow warm at this sight.

“If that’s all you needed, then I’ll be going now. I was about to answer Master’s summons when I got sidetracked by you.” Wei Xiang informed as he got up and headed for the door.

But before he could open the door, he felt his senior brother forcefully tackle him from behind and hug him tight. Wei Xiang maintained his balance and asked with exasperation, “Kong Min, what is it now?”

Kong Mn chuckled and said sincerely, “Thank you very much for your help, Wei Xiang.”

Wei Xiang’s expression eased unconsciously. Coughing, he patted his senior brother’s arms that were wrapped around his torso. “Alright, enough, I didn’t do anything special. Now get off me and get back to work. You have a reconnaissance mission today, don’t you?”

Kong Min let go and laughed, “Fine, fine, I’ll start on it. You go and see what Master wants then, Junior Brother.”

Wei Xiang nodded and opened the door before finally leaving the room.

Kong Min smiled to himself. His junior brother could be so adorable sometimes. As he thought back to their conversation, Kong Min’s mind drifted to Ying Xulin. Soon, they’d have their first time together. Smiling eagerly at the thought, he set out to work as well.

……

Kong Min stood on the outskirts of the Spirit Bewildering Forest and reached up to press his hand over the gem. <Ah-Xu, I’m here to visit you. Can you make a path for me?>

<…Kong Min?!> Ying Xulin’s voice sounded surprised. <You… Why are you…? Why did you come here today? I don’t think you have anything left to pay for.>

Kong Min smiled and teased, <Are you saying I can’t come visit my lover without a reason?> His tone turning self-reproaching, he went on, <That brat Wei Xiang made me realize that I haven’t been treating you as well as I hoped I was. From now on, I’ll visit you even if I don’t have any favors to pay back. And you are free to visit me whenever you want as well as long as I’m not in the middle of field work.>

<Really?> Ying Xulin’s voice sounded excited. <You wouldn’t mind?>

Kong Min chuckled. <No, I won’t. Even if you visit me when I’m taking a bath, I’ll only ask you to join me~ Now, won’t you prepare a path for me, please?>

The vegetation in front of Kong Min parted in answer, with the usual tiny mushrooms with caps glowing blue-green lining the cleared pathway on either side. However, the floating clouds of luminescence and the cheeky little guide squirrel that generally accompanied the mushrooms didn’t show this time. Kong Min didn’t mind and started walking along the trail.

Since the connection with Ying Xulin was still open, Kong Min began chatting. <So, Ah-Xu, I have something important to ask you when I arrive. Are you in the Forest’s Cradle?>

After a moment of silence, Ying Xulin replied, <No, I was visiting the border of my brother’s territory that runs along the eastern side of the forest. But I’m on my way there now. I will be there to greet you when you arrive.>

Kong Min’s eyebrows shot up. <So you were at the beach? Do you go there to talk to your brother often?>

<No. He was the one who called me out of the blue this time. He said he wanted to see me since it’s been too long since we met physically,> Ying Xulin explained.

Feeling intrigued, Kong Min asked, <Oh? How do you interact with each other usually then?>

<We talk telepathically.> After a brief pause, Ying Xulin informed, <I’ve arrived at the Forest’s Cradle. I will wait for you.>

Kong Min smiled. <I’m almost there too.>

After a couple of minutes, Kong Min reached the clearing and entered it. At the center, Ying Xulin was waiting for him as always. His gaze was fixed on Kong Min, shining with happiness at being able to see his lover so unexpectedly.

Kong Min walked up to Ying Xulin and unceremoniously pulled his head down for a kiss. Ying Xulin quickly retracted his fangs and eagerly complied, his hands pressing onto Kong Min’s back to pull him closer. Their mouth eagerly melded over each other’s, their tongues enthusiastically reaching out to entwine and caress one another. After a few minutes, Kong Min leaned back, his face flushed. Seeing Ying Xulin trying to follow his lips with his own while wearing a hungry expression, Kong Min let out a husky laugh and pushed back on his lover’s shoulders. “No, wait. Ah-Xu, I have to ask you something.”

Ying Xulin straightened and took in deep breaths, waiting.

Composing himself, Kong Min spoke, “Ah-Xu, I want us to have out first time now. Is it alright?”

Ying Xulin’s eyes widened. Anticipation began to gleam in them as he nodded, “Yes, I would like that very much. But Kong Min, are you sure?” His gaze searched his beloved’s face for the slightest sign of hesitation. He had to suppress the urge to connect to Kong Min’s emotions again just to confirm that his lover really wanted to do this.

Kong Min smiled and nodded. “Yes. I’ve been wanting to do this for the longest time.”

Stepping back, Kong Min retrieved a thick quilt he’d prepared just for this moment and spread it onto the ground covered by bumpy roots. Understanding what he wanted, Ying Xulin waved a hand and quickly smoothened the roots under the quilt as well. Kong Min folded his legs and settled down on the quilt. Then reaching out and spreading his arms in welcome, he looked up at his lover. “Ah-Xu, come here. Let’s start.”

Ying Xulin took a step forward, then suddenly froze. “I…”

Kong Min tilted his head in confusion before realization dawned. Smiling widely, he said, “It’s alright if you’re nervous or uncertain, Ah-Xu. I’ll start and slowly show you what to do. I can take the lead this time. Is that okay?”

Ying Xulin let out a breath in relief and nodded. He’d only lain with three people before and he’d never been particularly enthusiastic with any of them. As a result, he hadn’t paid attention to what he should do to give his partner pleasure. But it was different with Kong Min. He wanted his beloved to feel good with him. However, his lack of experience made Ying Xulin unsure if he could achieve that.

He was afraid he would end up making it feel as unpleasant or painful as Ying Xulin’s own first time lying under another man had been. But he should’ve known that his Kong Min wasn’t the sort of person to just lie down and expect him to please him selfishly. His beloved would share his burden and be beside him, teaching him anything he didn’t know. For the first time, Ying Xulin felt relieved that Kong Min was more experienced than him and that he would know what to do to make this enjoyable for them both.

Meanwhile, Kong Min got busy with removing his clothes and setting them aside. Ying Xulin’s attention snapped to him, his gaze intensifying as layer after layer of fabric fell off his beloved’s shoulders. Ying Xulin eagerly took in the sight of the exposed copper-hued skin stretched tight over defined muscles that shifted and rolled as his Kong Min moved. Kong Min stood up to do away with his boots and pants as well. Once he was completely naked, he sat back down on his knees, his legs slightly parted. His posture was relaxed and unselfconscious. Ying Xulin swallowed, his eyes growing deep.

Kong Min smirked and said, “Ah-Xu, you should sit there and watch as I prepare myself for you, alright?”

Ying Xulin felt his breathing growing deeper with lust and nodded. But before he could sit down, Kong Min spoke again, “Aren’t you going to take off your clothes? I want to appreciate my lover’s body too~”

Ying Xulin halted, then slowly began to undo his clothes. Feeling his beloved’s gaze pinned on him made his body grow hotter and hotter with every item of clothing he removed. The more skin he exposed, the more the sensation of Kong Min’s eyes brushing over his body increased. It made his skin feel more sensitive. Once Ying Xulin was naked as well, he sat down and folded his legs before placing his clenched hands on his thighs. His gaze then fixed on his beloved again.

Kong Min licked his lips as he looked Ying Xulin up and down. Hmm, now he really wanted to get started soon. But he should first put on a show to get both of their appetites stoked.

His actions slow and languid, Kong Min lifted a hand to lightly brush against one of the nubs on his own chest. His lips curled into a sultry smile as his eyes grew half-lidded, remaining locked on his Ah-Xu’s gaze. His fingers rubbed the small bud, causing it to perk up, before lightly squeezing and pulling it.

Ying Xulin’s lips parted, his breaths feeling too warm. As his eyes stayed fixed on his beloved’s fingers, watching them stretching and rolling that little point, Ying Xulin’s body grew tense with the stirrings of arousal.

Kong Min lifted his other hand to start working on the remaining berry, pinching, twisting, and rubbing the two nubs while he observed Ying Xulin’s captivated expression with interest. Currents of pleasure spread from the little nubbins as Kong Min kneaded them, but the way Ying Xulin’s gaze was fixed on him made it feel even more titillating. He pushed his chest up, making the two erect points protrude even more, causing Ying Xulin’s breathing to speed up.

As his own arousal increased, Kong Min slid one of his hands down from his chest, passing over his midriff and stomach. Seeing his lover’s gaze following it, Kong Min flexed his abdominal muscles, making them tighten and roll under his skin temptingly. Ying Xulin unconsciously licked his lips. His hand dipping down between his thighs, Kong Min gripped his own hardness and began moving his palm up and down. He widened his thighs to both get better access to his member and to show an unimpeded view to his beloved’s hungry gaze. Ying Xulin leaned forward without realizing, his vision filled only with his lover’s bewitching figure.

As one hand kept moving on his shaft while the other played with the buds on his chest, Kong Min began to pant. The steady friction he gave himself combined with his beloved’s obvious interest in him pleasuring his own body pushed his arousal higher. Languid heat filled his limbs, making him increase his pace, his fingers growing more insistent. His eyes remained fixed on Ying Xulin’s face, his need soaring higher at the sight of his lover drinking him in so intently. The liquid heat spread through him in quick pulses, slowly pushing him towards the edge. Kong Min felt his climax beginning to rush at him and abruptly stopped. His body felt too hot with desire, but he was unwilling to release this soon.

Ying Xulin frowned. Why wasn’t his beloved continuing? Seeing him stimulating himself had been so fascinating!

After taking a moment to bring his raging need under control, Kong Min got up on his hands and knees and went up to Ying Xulin. In a husky voice, he spoke, “Ah-Xu, it’s time for me to prepare myself now. Won’t you help me?”

Ying Xulin felt confused. “How do you want me to help you?”

Kong Min lifted a hand and pressed three fingers to Ying Xulin’s mouth. “Here, suck them. The wetter you can get them, the better.”

Ying Xulin nodded and parted his lips. He felt his beloved’s fingers slipping in and clamped his mouth around them. Lifting a hand, he wrapped his fingers around Kong Min’s wrist to keep it in place as he began sucking and licking the digits in his mouth. He made his tongue sweep all over them, even sliding it between the fingers, before finally pulling his lover’s wrist away. “Is it okay now?”

Kong Min let out a heated breath. “Hmm, yes. Ah-Xu, your tongue felt so hot and wet. I want you to use it to lick all over inside me later.”

Ying Xulin felt heat creeping up his neck even though he didn’t quite understand what his beloved meant. But he still nodded. No matter what Kong Min wanted to try, he was willing to do it.

Kong Min chuckled and put some distance between them before lying on his back. Folding up his knees, he parted them to give his Ah-Xu a good view before reaching down with his wet fingers. “Ah-Xu, pay attention now. This is how you’ll have to prepare me in the future.”

But Ying Xulin didn’t need to be told. His eyes were already fixed on the little pucker revealed between his lover’s buttocks, intently watching one of the fingers that had just been in his mouth pushing into that small opening. Ying Xulin clenched and unclenched his hands. He very badly wanted to use his own fingers to explore inside Kong Min. But feeling uncertain, he decided to first watch and learn this time. He would have the chance to use this knowledge and touch inside his beloved later.

Meanwhile, Kong Min finished pushing in one finger and slowly began thrusting it in and out. It had been so long since he’d taken anything into him that he’d become very tight. After he felt his passage grow to accept one finger, he pushed in another and tried to widen his channel. He could feel Ying Xulin’s burning gaze on him and swallowed. He wanted to hurry and welcome his Ah-Xu into him already. His brows tightening, Kong Min let out heated breaths as he sped up the preparation. His fingers moved in and out, occasionally spreading open to widen his passage until all three of the wetted fingers fit inside without issue.

Kong Min removed his fingers from his entrance and simply laid panting on the quilt for a few moments. Then slowly getting up, he looked at Ying Xulin’s flushed face and piercing gaze. Kong Min felt a mixture of shyness and pleasure. He hadn’t even touched him, yet his lover was already so aroused just from watching him.

Before Kong Min could say anything, Ying Xulin spoke, “Is the preparation done? Can I come and touch you now?”

Kong Min grinned. “My, very eager, are we?” Patting the space before him, he said, “Ah-Xu, come and lie down here. Let me ride you in the beginning this time until you get the hang of it, alright?”

Ying Xulin didn’t waste any time on lying down on his back before looking up at Kong Min with an anticipatory gaze. Kong Min grinned and straddled his lover’s hips. Bending down, he framed Ying Xulin’s face with his palms and kissed him once on the lips before straightening. Ying Xulin’s hands reached out to touch and caress Kong Min’s thighs. Wonder and appreciation bloomed in his face as he felt the smooth skin and firm muscle under his hands. “Kong Min…you feel very good.”

Kong Min smiled wider. His palms slowly slid up his beloved’s abdomen and chest as he remarked, “So do you. And let me now reward my Ah-Xu for generously complimenting me~”

Lifting his hips up, Kong Min reached down to position the head of Ying Xulin’s hardened member right under his opening before bearing down. Ying Xulin hissed out a breath as the heat of his beloved’s body slowly enveloped him. It felt so soft and tight and wonderful that it was all Ying Xulin could do to stop himself from thrusting up.

Meanwhile, Kong Min bit his lower lip, his pupils expanding at the sensation of a thick and hot shaft slowly burrowing its way inside him, stretching his entrance wide open and forcefully pushing apart the walls of his passage. It dug in deeper and deeper, squeezing its way into him. By the time Ying Xulin’s member was fully seated within him, Kong Min had to steady himself by placing his hands on his lover’s abdomen for support. His Ah-Xu’s throbbing length felt too big, the penetration in this position making it reach in too deep. Groaning, Kong Min said, “Ah-Xu, you feel so good inside me. How does being within me feel to you?”

Ying Xulin shifted and panted, his fair cheeks reddened with intense arousal. “K-Kong Min… You’re so tight and hot. I…I like it very much.”

Kong Min chuckled with satisfaction. Leaning down, he gripped and kneaded one of the stiff buds on Ying Xulin’s chest while his mouth descended on the other one. He nipped and licked the little point before sucking it strongly while his fingers twisted and pulled the other nub. Ying Xulin arched back and moaned helplessly. His chest thrust up on its own as his head arched back into the quilt while his hands curled into the fabric. Bursts of pleasure spread out from the two sensitive points on his chest. Such strong sensations were too unfamiliar to him, rendering him unable to prepare or defend against them.

Kong Min lifted his head up and smiled charmingly. “Ah-Xu, you’re so sensitive. I’m afraid that if I keep going, you’ll end up coming right away.”

Ying Xulin panted and looked up at Kong Min dazedly, not understanding. He only knew that his beloved seemed to be enjoying tormenting him with this sort of stimulation, so he remained still while waiting for Kong Min’s ministrations obediently.

Kong Min’s expression softened with affection at seeing this. Straightening again, he let his palms drag down Ying Xulin’s smooth chest and stomach. In a thoughtful tone, he commented, “Ah-Xu, now that I’m feeling you up, I’m realizing that you’re muscled more like a scholar who exercises regularly than some experienced warrior.”

Ying Xulin frowned. “Does my physical form displease you?”

Kong Min shook his head and leaned down to peck his beloved on his chin. “Of course not. I love you as you are.”

Ying Xulin’s expression eased into a shy smile. Kong Min felt it tug at his heartstrings and couldn’t help but dip his head for another quick kiss.

Sitting up again, Kong Min decided to tease his Ah-Xu a bit more. He reached back and cupped his lover’s balls in a palm. And as he gently pressed and rolled them within his hand, he simultaneously squeezed and released his inner muscles around Ying Xulin’s thick shaft. Ying Xulin shuddered and moaned softly. His chest heaved harder. “Kong Min…please… It feels too good, but…”

Kong Min smirked. “But you want even more?”

Ying Xulin shifted restlessly and nodded.

Kong Min stopped his playful torment and chuckled. His gaze roved over his lover, eagerly drinking in his helpless state. By now, Ying Xulin’s control over his body had begun to slip. His hair had fully turned to thin vines, their color the same green as his eyes. The little leaves growing from the vines curled and uncurled in agitation while the tiny white flowers were in full bloom. In the meantime, the vines had begun to writhe and twist, scrabbling around on the quilt as if searching for purchase. Ying Xulin was panting, his expression dazed. A thin layer of sweat covered his defined body, highlighting all the dips and hollows. His Adam’s apple kept bobbing restlessly as he struggled to control himself so that he could let Kong Min do as he wanted with him.

Kong Min felt enchanted by this sight of his lover, his ardor increasing.

Deciding to stop playing and begin, Kong Min slowly rose up. He groaned as he felt Ying Xulin’s member drag its way out of him. Then lowering his hips again, Kong Min took the hard length fully into him once more. As Kong Min thus began moving up and down in a steady rhythm, Ying Xulin’s hips began accompanying him on their own. Kong Min gasped, his head bowing. His hands wandered on his beloved’s skin, stroking and massaging the firm flesh. Kong Min traced the tense lines of his lover’s body and drove Ying Xulin mad with need. Ying Xulin’s hands moved up and down Kong Min’s straining thighs, sliding over his supple hips and waist, seeking to touch as much as he could. As the heat in their bodies burned stronger, they both tacitly increased the tempo, slamming their hips together harder and harder. A whirlwind of desperate need and sweet pleasure drowned them, gradually whipping them into a frenzy.

Ying Xulin’s voice grew deep as he gasped and groaned. His lips peeled back from his teeth, exposing his sharp incisors. His hair thrashed about with more urgency, his muscles bulging. He felt so lost in this unfamiliar tide of powerful sensations. But when he gazed up, he saw his lover pumping his hips up and down with the same franticness. It made Ying Xulin felt grounded again. As he looked at his beloved through eyes glazed with passion, the sight of Kong Min riding atop him made Ying Xulin overflow with awe and affection.

Kong Min’s loose hair that was usually pulled up now freely flowed down his shoulders, framing his face and sticking to his sweaty skin. His copper-hued skin was flushed with arousal, looking warm and inviting. His muscles bunched and rolled as he moved, his tight passage gripping and releasing the hard member as his hips moved up and down in concert with the pulses of need shooting through Ying Xulin. Kong Min’s breathing sounded hoarse, intercepted with little moans and soft groans. He didn’t hide the enjoyment he felt from Ying Xulin’s body at all even as he pleasured Ying Xulin with his own.

Seeing this, Ying Xulin felt satisfaction filling him. This was now his person, his Kong Min. After so long, his lover had finally, fully accepted him. This man always teased and played with him while grinning mischievously, his eyes sparkling with liveliness and humor. He always grumbled and acted dissatisfied with his junior brother, but when the people he loved needed him, he would always be there trying to do his best to help them. He might act willful or irresponsibly sometimes, but he could also be as calm and mature as the situation required.

Whenever Ying Xulin felt lost with human emotions and customs, Kong Min would guide him patiently and explain things in an unassuming way. Even when he’d hurt him, Kong Min had still chosen to forgive him and gave him another chance while telling him what lines he should not cross in a reasonable manner. It made Ying Xulin grow less uncertain and feel more comfortable and closer with his beloved. It made him understand that he was allowed to make mistakes as long as he took responsibility for them and apologized, then learned from them. He would not be hated or pushed away as long as he explained himself and made suitable amends. Knowing that reassured Ying Xulin.

His Kong Min was so good to him. He was so bright and wonderful and full of life. He was so beautiful and tempting, the emotions expressed in his face and the fluid movements of his body mesmerizing. The way his beloved looked lost in the waves of pleasure right now, his body moving faster and faster, the way he made Ying Xulin’s need rise higher and higher, feeding the taut thread of desperation and yearning that connected them both, flowing through them, pushing them into a more frenzied state…all of it made Ying Xulin want to hold him down and drive into Kong Min as his lover twisted and writhed with uncontrollable pleasure under him. He wanted to be wild and unrestrained with the person he loved.

As these urges brimmed over, filling him up and overflowing, Ying Xulin gave in with a growl.

The Kong Min who was completely absorbed with satisfying his insistent desire yelped as he was suddenly flipped over and pressed down. Before he could get back his bearings, he felt a strong hand settle on the middle of his back to firmly hold him down while another gripped his hip to keep him in place. A stiff organ abruptly pushed into his entrance, prying apart his inner walls to thrust in deep with one powerful stroke. Kong Min’s body jerked forward due to the forceful motion. But before he could steady himself, the intruding organ quickly began to drive in and out of him relentlessly, sliding through his tight channel and providing unbearably pleasurable friction.

Kong Min arched his back and gasped breathlessly. His Ah-Xu was so intense! Giving out a hoarse laugh filled with unrestrained joy, Kong Min encouraged, “That’s right, Ah-Xu. Fuck me nice and hard!”

Ying Xulin gave out another growl and complied, his hips pumping with more force as his hand clenched on his beloved’s hip. The sweet heat gripping and wringing his member felt too good. The feeling of his lover’s slick skin shifting and sliding under his hands was too satisfying. Every hoarse cry and drawn-out moan that slipped out of Kong Min’s lips pushed him to increase his speed. Ying Xulin’s eyes filled with mad desperation, his thick member continuing to ruthlessly plunder his beloved’s soft tightness.

Meanwhile, Kong Min felt the hand on his hip slide down to his inner thigh to pull his legs open wider. He groaned and widened his legs before tilting his hips to receive each thrust more fully. His fingers clenched on the quilt under him as he sucked in deep lungfuls of air. His mind was completely filled with the sensation of his Ah-Xu pumping into him, that hard shaft diving deep inside him and rubbing over his sensitive inner walls. Gasping and panting, Kong Min instructed, “Ah-Xu, make it go a bit deeper…mn, yes, on the lower side…a bit to the right and― Ah! Ahhh…yes, yesss…”

As his pleasure point was hit, Kong Min’s body melted into the quilt. He let out low moans and shuddered, his eyes squeezing closed tightly. His body shook with the impact of Ying Xulin continuing to plunge in and out of him, their hips colliding together. Kong Min began to writhe helplessly as wave after wave of pleasure flooded him. It seemed that once his Ah-Xu found a way to make him come undone, he wasn’t content to let it go. Ying Xulin made sure to slam the tip of his shaft on that pleasure spot again and again, ruthlessly taking advantage of it to push his beloved to the peak.

Kong Min let out a long, broken scream as his orgasm suddenly crashed over him. He shuddered and twisted as his member released thick streams of white liquid onto the quilt and his belly. His thighs trembled with strain as he pressed his cheek into the fabric under him.

But before the waves of brutal ecstasy could recede, Kong Min felt Ying Xulin loop an arm over his waist and straighten, pulling him upright to sit down heavily on the thick organ that still pulsed vigorously while buried within him. Feeling the rigid length suddenly being shoved even deeper into him, Kong Min arched back and shouted hoarsely, “A-Ah-Xu!” More release rushed out of his shaft as his climax extended.

Ying Xulin did not allow the thundering pleasure crashing through Kong Min to abate as he used his hands to raise and lower his beloved onto his member. He could feel Kong Min’s body against his, the exhausted muscles of his beloved’s back twitching and quivering while Kong Min let out helpless cries.

Under the relentless barrage of pleasure, Kong Min’s body had long lost its strength, kept moving purely by the strength of Ying Xulin’s arms as Kong Min leaned back into his lover limply. While Ying Xulin’s member continued to hit his pleasure point again and again, another intense deluge of ecstasy surged through Kong Min’s powerless body, making his back snap straight as his head fell back. A thin scream scraped its way out of his raw throat as he trembled weakly. More release spilled out of his shaft and flowed down.

Kong Min felt tears trickling down the corners of his eyes as he was overwhelmed by the pleasure battering him again and again. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. “A-Ah-Xu…I c-can’t…it’s too much…”

Ying Xulin’s lips pressed to his cheek, his voice sounding rough as he asked, “Should we…stop?”

Kong Min gritted his teeth, but shook his head. The sensations were too overbearing, but he didn’t want to stop yet. He could probably go on for a bit more.

Reassured, Ying Xulin breathed into his beloved’s skin, “Good.”

As Kong Min trembled harder at the feel of his Ah-Xu’s warm breath brushing over his damp skin, he suddenly felt Ying Xulin reach over with a hand to pump his member. Kong Min moaned brokenly, another spurt of release erupting from his already wrung out shaft. Kong Min whimpered, “Ah-Xu…please…”

By now, Ying Xulin was already pushed to the brink of orgasm. His hands moved to grip Kong Min’s hips tighter, lifting and lowering his beloved onto his member at a frenetic pace. Ying Xulin’s breathing felt hot and heavy. He was almost there, almost at the edge…

Sensing it, Kong Min gathered his scattered wits and turned his head. He brushed Ying Xulin’s cheek with his own and whispered intimately, his voice croaky and quavering, “Ah-Xu, even though I feel scraped raw, you still feel so good. Being held by you feels too wonderful. Ahh, my Ah-Xu…I love you so much…”

Hearing such words of endearment, Ying Xulin bowed his head to press his forehead against Kong Min’s shoulder as he finally went over the edge with a hoarse shout. He plunged one last time into his beloved and stilled, holding him tightly. Kong Min felt blistering streams of release geysering into him in thick bursts and groaned at the strong heat drenching his tender insides. Unseen to them both, the flowers at the edges of the clearing sent out explosions of luminous pollen at the same time.

Held in his lover’s arms, Kong Min could feel his Ah-Xu’s body shuddering with the force of his climax. A deep moan slipped out of Ying Xulin. Kong Min could feel trickles of fluid dripping from his filled passage and trailing down his inner thighs as Ying Xulin’s orgasm went on and on. It was more than a minute before the seemingly unending eruption of liquid shooting forcefully into him finally stopped. Ying Xulin’s hold on him slackened, his body slowly relaxing while he panted irregularly.

Kong Min lifted a heavy hand and stroked his beloved’s arm in comfort. Ying Xulin finally let go and Kong Min labored to get up. His lover’s member made squelching noises as it finally slipped out of him. Kong Min felt liquid gushing out of his entrance, but ignored it for now.

“Ah-Xu, you really wrung me out. Now I’m so tired and sleepy…” Kong Min groused in a soft voice. Flopping down on a clean stretch of fabric, he closed his eyes and patted the space beside him, “Come, lie down. We can sleep together.”

Ying Xulin’s deep green eyes stayed fixed on his beloved as his breathing slowly grew regular. Going over to crouch beside Kong Min, he reached out a hand to touch his lover’s flushed cheek. It was so soft and warm. It was just like how the rest of his skin had been when he’d caressed him all over just now. Immense satisfaction at that thought filled Ying Xulin.

Kong Min opened a single bleary eye and looked up. “Ah-Xu?”

“The book you gave me said that you should clean up properly afterward,” Ying Xulin explained.

Kong Min yawned and turned onto his back. Pulling his legs up, he parted them. “Here, you can help me by cleaning me up. I’ll just sleep.”

Ying Xulin smiled affectionately and nodded. “Yes, I’ll take care of it.” Retracting his claws, he reached out towards his lover’s dripping opening.

But as Kong Min felt his Ying Xulin’s long fingers sinking into him, rubbing over his sore passage while trying to draw out the liquid from within him, he grew restless and more awake. Kong Min shifted his bottom and decided to help his beloved. Widening his legs, he strained and pushed out with his inner muscles, expelling some of the thick fluid from inside him. He felt Ying Xulin quickly wipe it away with a cool and wet cloth before trying to remove the rest of it. But the more he was touched, the more Kong Min felt his need raising his head. Fuck, would his lecherous body ever have enough?! How could it not be satisfied even after getting fucked so much?!

But what else could Kong Min do except stay like this and bear it?

Within a few minutes, Ying Xulin was done with cleaning up his beloved and put everything away. Not bothering with clothes, he laid down beside an equally naked Kong Min and snuggled close, preparing to sleep. But feeling his Ah-Xu’s bare skin, so smooth and warm, sticking to his body like this and inadvertently rubbing over him, Kong Min felt his kindled lust increase even more. Ahh, what should he do? He could probably just take care of it by hand, but…his Ah-Xu was right here! Maybe he could just ask him if he felt like going another round?

Kong Min’s mind whirled with thoughts, the haze of sleep having long flown away. Sensing his lover’s restlessness, Ying Xulin blinked his eyes open to look at him inquisitively. “Kong Min? Is something the matter?” Then as something occurred to him, Ying Xulin’s voice grew anxious as he asked, “Did you not like something we did today?”

Kong Min realized he was frowning and smoothened his brows. Turning to Ying Xulin, he smiled and reached out to poke his beloved’s nose. “Do I look like the sort of person who wouldn’t say what was on my mind if I didn’t like something?”

Ying Xulin’s worry eased and he smiled back. “Then what’s wrong?”

Kong Min hesitated, then spoke, “Ah-Xu, for our first time, you did me in your home. For our second time, would you let me reciprocate?”

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in, but when it did, Ying Xulin’s eyes widened as he stiffened with reluctance. “I… Do we…have to do it?”

Kong Min reached out to cup his Ah-Xu’s jaw, his thumb gently brushing his cheek. “No, we don’t. But I realize that you must have a shadow in your heart against being taken by anyone due to your experience with that inconsiderate man before. I want to dispel that. Of course, I won’t like you any less or feel angry with you just because you refuse. You can also take your time to think about it if you are uncertain now. But Ah-Xu, I want you to believe me when I say that if you do agree, I will treat you with as much affection and love as I am capable of giving. I will take care of you like the wonderful treasure you are.”

Ying Xulin’s face grew red. He looked away from Kong Min’s sincere expression and collected his thoughts. After a few minutes of careful contemplation, Ying Xulin finally nodded. “Alright. I’ll let you do it. But…can we stop if it hurts?”

Kong Min’s heart melted as he quickly nodded. “Yes. If it hurts you or makes you feel too uncomfortable, then we should definitely stop. However, the beginning might hold some discomfort, so I want you to give it a chance before deciding to stop. Is that okay?”

Ying Xulin nodded and pulled Kong Min closer, then buried his face in his beloved’s hair. “I’m only agreeing to this because it’s you,” he clarified.

Kong Min chuckled. “Yes, I know. My Ah-Xu is so good to me.”

Ying Xulin nodded again. After a few minutes of relaxing together, he leaned back and asked, “When should we do it?”

Kong Min’s smile widened into an eager grin. “There’s no time like the present~”

Getting up, Ying Xulin set about gathering his clothes in preparation to dress and set out. But Kong Min sat up and said, “Ah-Xu, there’s no need to put on our clothes. We’ll have to remove it again anyway. Come here, I’ll transport us over directly to my room through the shadows.” Kong Min held out a hand.

Ying Xulin turned to him and nodded. Walking towards him with his clothes still clutched in his arms, Ying Xulin unhesitatingly took his beloved’s hand. Kong Min looked up and smiled at him. The pair’s figures turned to smoke and dissolved into shadows, leaving the Forest’s Cradle empty of everything but the used quilt.

……

Kong Min’s room was shaped like a long rectangle. On one of the long sides of this rectangle was a row of windows that spilled the diluted golden light of evening into the room. Pinned to the wall adjacent to the one with the windows were various small pieces of paper with handwritten notes, large spreads of practically illustrated maps, and torn pages from a book with detailed building layouts drawn by hand.

The corners and edges of the room were occupied with neat piles of various things like stacks of books and scrolls, compasses, spyglasses, and strange, unidentifiable apparatuses, along with flat boxes filled to bursting with paper talismans of all shapes and sizes. Securely locked trunks and mystically warded boxes in black color sat here and there, looking mysterious and ominous. Chests of drawers and a wardrobe rested against the wall opposite to the windows and beside the bed. Some of the drawers were carelessly left open, papers haphazardly spilling out of their overstuffed confines.

The moment Kong Min and Ying Xulin appeared in the room, Kong Min made a sound of surprise and quickly strode over to the papers that had fallen down. As he gathered them, Kong Min groused under his breath, “Damn, I have to give these to Wei Xiang by tomorrow morning in good condition or he’ll chew me out again. That pedantic junior brother of mine… Does he have to get so bent out of shape just because of a few crinkles on the papers?”

As Kong Min kept muttering while gathering and binding the papers together with twine, Ying Xulin looked on with amusement. Walking forward, he curiously peered around the room, taking in the orderly chaos of the place where his beloved lived. The only part that remained without clutter was the bed. The sheets were without a single wrinkle and the quilt was folded and placed neatly at the side.

After Kong Min finished reordering his drawers, he closed them with a sigh of relief and turned to see his lover staring inquisitively at his bed. Smirking, he said, “Ah-Xu, if you’re that curious, why don’t you lie down on the bed and see how comfortable it is for yourself?” Standing up, Kong Min languidly strode towards Ying Xulin as he continued, “If you do, we can start right away.”

Kong Min could see Ying Xulin tense. He was just starting to wonder if his beloved needed some more time when Ying Xulin let out a deep breath and placed the bundle of clothes in his arms down beside the cot. Ying Xulin then climbed onto the bed before stiffly lying down on his back. His voice sounding strained, he said, “I’m ready.”

Kong Min’s lips stretched into a helpless smile. Walking up to the bed, he crouched beside it and poked Ying Xulin’s cheek. “Ah-Xu, are you nervous?”

Ying Xulin blinked, then nodded honestly.

Kong Min stroked his fingers up and down Ying Xulin’s arm reassuringly. “You don’t have to be. It’s not some stranger you’re going to sleep with. It’s only me.”

Ying Xulin considered his words and nodded slowly. His beloved was right. His previous experience with that other man hadn’t been pleasant at all, but his Kong Min wasn’t like that person. His lover had never once behaved callously or selfishly towards him, especially when they were doing anything sexual.

Seeing Ying Xulin frowning deep in thought, Kong Min silently got up to climb on top of his beloved. Ying Xulin’s eyes widened as he snapped to awareness, but he didn’t push Kong Min away. Kong Min straddled his waist and leaned down, framing Ying Xulin’s face with his palms before pecking him once on the mouth. Remembering how Kong Min had done the same thing before in the clearing, Ying Xulin relaxed. Familiarity bred comfort, making his dread of the upcoming situation lessen.

Straightening, Kong Min said, “This doesn’t have to be just me doing things and you lying down and taking it. Ah-Xu, you can touch me too. In fact, I’d greatly enjoy it.”

Ying Xulin’s eyes shone as he immediately reached out and pulled Kong Min closer. Kong Min quickly stabilized himself by placing his elbows on either side of Ying Xulin’s head. He chuckled huskily at his Ah-Xu’s enthusiasm, then moaned as he felt Ying Xulin’s lips trail from his shoulder to over his collar bone, spreading soft warmth in their wake. When Kong Min felt his lover’s mouth settle on his throat, a spike of instinctive fear shot through him, left over from before. But Kong Min undeniably trusted Ying Xulin. He knew that his Ah-Xu would never hurt him. That trust combined with his current stimulated state caused the fear to turn to sharp thrill, heightening his arousal. Kong Min panted and cupped the back of Ying Xulin’s head, his fingers stroking through the thick hair.

After confirming that Kong Min wasn’t terrified like before, Ying Xulin began to nip and suck his beloved’s throat. Kong Min shuddered and let out a low groan. Ying Xulin felt the sound thrum under his lips, making them tingle. He slowly slid his mouth down, tasting and savoring his lover’s smooth skin with his tongue, lips, and teeth along the way. When he reached Kong Min’s chest, Ying Xulin eagerly took in one of the light brown buds into his mouth, assessing its texture with the tip of his tongue. The skin here wasn’t smooth, but it was very soft and felt delicate in his mouth, making him lick and suck it with care. Not wanting to leave the other nub unattended, Ying Xulin teased it with his hand, rubbing and pinching it gently. Kong Min shuddered and let out breathless gasps, his body twisting restlessly. Ying Xulin wrapped an arm around his beloved’s waist to hold him in place as he continued to happily feast on the two cute little points perked up on his lover’s chest. By the time Ying Xulin was satisfied enough to let go, the two berries had turned a ripe red, glistening in the faint light.

Kong Min bent his head to snuggle into the crook of Ying Xulin’s neck, taking in large gulps of air. When he managed to steady himself, he lifted himself up and edged backward. Reaching Ying Xulin’s legs, he carefully parted them to settle in between. Kong Min looked up to see if his beloved was okay with this.

Ying Xulin’s eyes had grown half-lidded, his dark green irises almost taken over by the expansion of his pitch-black pupils. His dusky red lips were wet and parted slightly. His cheeks were dusted with a faint pink. There was no fear or rejection in his gaze, making Kong Min feel relieved. Using his hands, Kong Min slowly bent Ying Xulin’s long legs upward and pulled them further apart. His eyes darkened at the sight of his lover’s aroused member standing in front of him, but Kong Min quickly brought himself under control. He’d have plenty more opportunities to play with it later. His gaze slipped further down, past the hanging balls and to the small opening that looked tightly scrunched closed.

Licking his lips, Kong Min lifted his head to meet Ying Xulin’s gaze before saying, “Ah-Xu, I want to begin now. Is that alright?”

Ying Xulin barely hesitated before nodding. His experience till now already differed so much from what happened before that he understood it would be different this time. There was a sense of intimacy, consideration, and tacit understanding between him and Kong Min that he hadn’t had with that man before. He knew that if he wanted to stop or do something specific, he could simply communicate that to Kong Min, and not minding his own needs, Kong Min would listen to him. There was nothing for him to worry about.

Having gained Ying Xulin’s permission, Kong Min turned his head to press a kiss to the top of his lover’s thigh. Taking out a bottle of lubricant from his spatial storage, Kong Min poured some of its contents onto his fingers before rubbing them together to spread it evenly.

Ying Xulin frowned at the bottle. It was shaped like a small vase the size of a palm. It had a round bottom that was connected to a long and thin stem at the top. The end of the stem was blunt, with a small hole at the very tip to let out some strange, clear liquid. In an uncertain tone, Ying Xulin asked, “Kong Min, what is that?”

Kong Min smiled and explained, “It’s lubricant. When you apply it on certain surfaces, it makes them slippery. If I put it on my fingers, I can push them more easily into you. I can then spread it inside your passage so that when I enter you later, it’ll be much smoother with lesser discomfort.”

Ying Xulin’s eyes narrowed. So this liquid was actually this useful. If just applying it can make it less painful, then… In a contemplative voice, Ying Xulin suggested, “Then is there a way to pour it into me so that it’ll make my insides even more slippery and easier to enter?”

Kong Min’s head jerked up in surprise at this bold and utterly unabashed statement. His wide eyes met his beloved’s gaze, but Ying Xulin only blinked back at him innocently, waiting for an answer. Kong Min laughed. “Ah-Xu, it’s just our second time and you’re already getting kinky. But yes, we can do that too if you’re okay with it.”

Ying Xulin confusedly nodded. He hadn’t thought much before making his suggestion. It had only felt logical to him to want to have more of that liquid coating his passage to make it less painful and troublesome for himself. Had he done something strange again?

But soon, the sensation of something cold pressing onto his entrance quickly redirected his thoughts. Ying Xulin stiffened instinctively and frowned. “What…?”

He felt Kong Min’s hand stroking his thigh soothingly before his lover’s voice said, “It’s alright, Ah-Xu. Since you want me to pour it into you, I decided to directly use the bottle to do it. Just relax.”

Ying Xulin forcibly loosened his body. Immediately, he felt something thin poking into his opening and sliding inside. He had to struggle to not clench up again. It felt so strange and uncomfortable, but it was also small enough that it didn’t feel like too much of an intrusion. Ying Xulin sensed it steadily traveling into him, parting his tight inner walls until it reached a tighter inner ring of muscles. Ying Xulin took in deep breaths, trying to relax it.

Meanwhile, rather than forcibly pushing through the tight ring of flesh, the slender tip began rocking back and forth gently. The feeling of the slender length rubbing the walls of his channel made Ying Xulin want to shift restlessly, but he managed to hold himself still. The small motions of the thin length managed to loosen the inner ring of muscles enough that the tip of the bottle could finally slip through.

Once the entire stem had finished entering him, Ying Xulin felt the bottle slowly being tilted up. He cooperatively raised his hips to go along with the motion. Cold liquid began trickling into his passage, startling him. It slowly filled his insides, making him instinctively clench his inner muscles. But it didn’t halt the feeling of being steadily filled by the cold liquid at all. After a few moments, the liquid gradually started to warm due to the heat of his body. It felt more comfortable now.

Ying Xulin began to pant, his body feeling hot for some reason. He shifted on the sheets, the sensation of the fabric rubbing against his skin making him want to moan. “Kong Min…it feels odd,” he complained, not realizing how his voice sounded low and languorous with need.

Kong Min swallowed. His Ah-Xu sounded too tempting for his own good. “Do you want me to stop,” he asked his lover.

Ying Xulin pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

Kong Min raised an eyebrow and asked, “Then do you want me to take the bottle out?”

Ying Xulin frowned and nodded.

Kong Min immediately slipped the slender spout out of his beloved. As a thin stream of wetness trickled out of Ying Xulin’s entrance, Kong Min watched it with a mesmerized gaze. Reaching out, he pressed a fingertip to the small opening to halt the flow of liquid before asking considerately, “Ah-Xu, I’m going to prepare you now, alright?”

Ying Xulin let out a breath and nodded. “Yes.” With so much of that lubricating liquid inside him, it shouldn’t be that painful now, should it?

Receiving his agreement, Kong Min slowly pushed in a finger. The hot flesh gripping his slickened digit felt exceedingly wet and soft. Kong Min watched with fascination as his finger sank into his beloved’s bottom. Once he felt his fingertip breach the inner ring of muscles, the tight channel seemed to eagerly suck him in. Kong Min’s eyes gleamed brightly at the feeling. He looked up to gauge Ying Xulin’s reaction.

Ying Xulin was pressing his lips together, his brows scrunched tightly. Worried, Kong Min temporarily took out his finger from within Ying Xulin and moved forward to settle over him. Ying Xulin blinked up at him with glazed eyes. Kong Min placed an affectionate kiss to Ying Xulin’s forehead and asked in a soft voice, “Ah-Xu, do you want me to stop?”

Ying Xulin shook his head. “It felt strange, but it didn’t hurt.”

Kong Min chuckled. “It doesn’t have to be painful for you to not like it.”

But Ying Xulin shook his head again. “No, it’s alright. I would like you to continue, but…can you remain like this? I want to be able to touch you.”

In the face of Ying Xulin’s hopeful expression, how could Kong Min refuse? He quickly nodded and resettled himself so that he could touch below while still staying within his lover’s reach. Ying Xulin pulled him closer and ran his lips over Kong Min’s jaw while murmuring, “Now you can continue.”

Kong Min let out a husky chuckle and complied. His finger once more entered his beloved’s opening, steadily pushing in as deep as it could. Kong Min felt Ying Xulin’s breathing deepen and smiled, beginning to thrust his finger in and out. Ying Xulin’s toes dug into the sheets as he exhaled in surprise at the sudden stimulation. The movement of his lover’s finger within him made the liquid inside him ripple and slosh against his inner walls, some of it even spilling outside. Ying Xulin couldn’t help but tighten the muscles in his back and waist in reaction. The sensation was too strange, but the steady rhythm of the swaying liquid didn’t feel too bad.

Ying Xulin let out another deep breath. It had been too long since the first time he had been entered, so Ying Xulin didn’t remember much about how it had been back then. But right now, being able to be intimate and sense his beloved’s care was enough to make being invaded from below more easy to accept. He did not feel the same sense of rejection as before. Maybe it was due to the lubricant he’d already had inside him, but it seemed very effortless and even somewhat pleasurable to receive his beloved’s finger into him.

After a few more minutes, Kong Min added in another finger, carefully inserting it in. Ying Xulin let out a soft sound at the feeling of being stretched and wrapped his arms around Kong Min. His hands restlessly mapped over his lover’s back, taking comfort from the way Kong Min’s muscles shifted under his smooth skin.

Kong Min let out a moan at the sensation of his beloved’s warm hands and the sharp tips of his nails dragging over his back, spreading ripples of pleasure wherever they went. Ying Xulin’s palms slid down to knead Kong Min’s firm buttocks before slipping further below to caress the backs of his thighs. Kong Min kept his fingers moving inside Ying Xulin while burying his face in his lover’s chest. Ying Xulin felt hot puffs of breath on his skin and glided his hands up to hold Kong Min closer.

Maintaining his position, Kong Min increased the number of fingers again, carefully thrusting three of them into his beloved. Ying Xulin let out a heavy breath and shuddered as he felt his insides being forced open so wide. He could feel more of the excess liquid being squeezed out of his channel due to the increased size of the intruder pushing into him. His legs widened unconsciously, his knees pulling up even more as if to cradle Kong Min’s body with his own. Kong Min turned his head to place a small peck on Ying Xulin’s chest in encouragement. Ying Xulin gave out a short groan, his mind completely focused on the increasingly pleasurable friction in his passage along with the feel of his beloved’s warm body pressed against his.

Kong Min kept moving his fingers, twisting and spreading them to stretch open Ying Xulin’s tight inner walls as much as he could before finally taking them out. Most of the lubricant had already flowed out by now while the rest thoroughly coated Ying Xulin’s inner walls to turn them slick and slippery. Just the thought that he would soon be able to feel his beloved’s soft flesh wrapping around his stiff and throbbing member had Kong Min’s need increasing. He carefully brought it under control before pushing himself up and off of Ying Xulin’s chest.

Kong Min peered intently into Ying Xulin’s eyes. “Ah-Xu, shall we begin?”

Ying Xulin was panting, his body beginning to flush a faint pink. He nodded unsteadily and sighed out a hot breath, “Yes.”

Kong Min’s gaze heated up, his eyes turning hooded. Licking his lips, he held his shaft in one hand and placed the other hand on Ying Xulin’s hip, massaging it in reassurance. Moving forward, Kong Min pressed the thick head of his member against Ying Xulin’s glistening entrance and pushed in.

“Ahh…” Ying Xulin let out a helpless sound. His spine stretched taut as he tried to deal with the sensation of something big and blunt forcing him open and slowly pressing in. He breathed harder, trying his best not to resist. The sensation of his insides being expanded to their limit to accommodate his beloved’s organ was strange. But as the hard length continued inching into him, dragging over his already stimulated passage and pushing in steadily, Ying Xulin felt waves of pleasure slowly spreading outwards, gaining intensity. There was no pain or discomfort, making him exhale in relief. He relaxed further at the thought that the person currently entering his body was his Kong Min. As more and more of his channel was thus conquered, molten heat began flowing through Ying Xulin, making his body feel languid and heavy with lust. He shifted and moaned as pleasure softly lapped at his senses.

Kong Min panted with the strain of holding back and continued to study Ying Xulin’s expression, making sure his lover was alright. The tight, wet heat of his beloved clamped onto his shaft, trying to greedily suck him in. It felt so good, the thought of slamming into the welcoming softness making him dizzy with need. But Kong Min forced himself to go slow, his muscles bunching with the strain of controlling himself. Satisfying his own hunger wasn’t as important as taking good care of his beloved.

Ying Xulin’s eyes were glazed with desire, his hands clenching on the sheets. He felt like his body was burning up from the inside. Fidgeting restlessly, Ying Xulin automatically searched for Kong Min with his gaze. His eyes locking onto his lover’s face, he unclenched his fingers and reached out with a hand while calling out softly, “Kong Min…”

The feathery sound tugged at Kong Min, making him bend down and take his Ah-Xu’s hand. As his hips kept pushing forward, he pressed a gentle kiss to Ying Xulin’s palm before lowering his head and capturing his lips. Ying Xulin gasped breathlessly and opened his mouth. Kong Min secured his lips over his beloved’s and their breaths mingled. Their tongues ventured into each other’s mouths, sliding and caressing one another sensually.

Below, Kong Min’s hips finally met Ying Xulin’s as his member grew fully sheathed. The feeling of being completely enveloped in his beloved’s hot and slick flesh, his shaft being squeezed strongly by those tight and twitching inner muscles, was almost too much for Kong Min. He let out a low groan into Ying Xulin’s mouth, prompting Ying Xulin to stroke his lover’s back soothingly. His hands began roving over Kong Min’s skin, his palms sliding along his spine before smoothing over his shoulders and down his sides. Ying Xulin kneaded and massaged his beloved’s defined body, tracing over the taut skin and straining muscles. His mouth continued to suck at Kong Min’s while his passage was filled to the brim with his lover’s hot member.

Kong Min’s arms and thighs trembled as they went soft with pleasure. But he forcefully steadied his limbs to continue holding himself up. Kong Min leaned back from the kiss and gasped for breath. Not wanting to separate, Ying Xulin slid his lips down to trace them over Kong Min’s jaw and throat, making his beloved shudder and moan hoarsely. Kong Min felt too hot as burning need filled his body to bursting. He needed more of this heat. He needed more of his Ah-Xu.

Kong Min gripped Ying Xulin’s hip with a hand and pulled his shaft out before driving it back in. Ying Xulin’s lips parted against his lover’s skin as he hissed at the sudden spike of pleasure. Kong Min gritted his teeth and continued to move his hips, thrusting in and out in a quick rhythm. His hand clenched on Ying Xulin’s hip before making its way up his waist, pressing and rubbing firm circles into the sensitive skin. Ying Xulin let out a shuddering breath, his body arching. His hands clutched onto Kong Min’s shoulders for stability as the relentless friction of his passage being plundered by his beloved’s thick member wrenched a string of moans out of him.

Kong Min swung his hips madly, his strokes smooth and powerful. The sound of his thundering heartbeat felt too loud to his ears, almost covering the slap of flesh against flesh. Kong Min bent his head to eagerly sweep his tongue over Ying Xulin’s arched neck before sucking the sweaty skin, leaving little red marks. Trailing down, he traced his Ah-Xu’s prominent collarbones with his teeth before pressing soft kisses to the hollow of his throat.

Ying Xulin twisted, his hands holding on tighter to Kong Min’s shoulders as he cried out louder. His legs lifted of their own accord to wrap tightly around his beloved’s waist. Pleasure gathered under Ying Xulin’s skin and wound tighter and tighter. The relentless wash of stimulation pushed him to the peak before his orgasm exploded. Ying Xulin trembled and gasped, his body bowing backward. Translucent fluid shot out of his member, splattering both of their bodies with its liquid heat.

As Ying Xulin’s slick and soft channel clenched and pulsed due to his climax, it tightly wrung Kong Min’s thrusting shaft. Letting out a short yell, Kong Min let go of his control and erupted. Hot streams of liquid surged out of his member and poured into Ying Xulin’s passage. The realization that his beloved was releasing into him sent Ying Xulin tumbling into another orgasm. His arms and legs wrapped around Kong Min, holding him close. Kong Min buried his face in his Ah-Xu’s shoulder and let the continuing tides of ecstasy sweep him away.

The pair of lovers stayed like that, their bodies shuddering as helpless gasps and ragged moans intercepted the sounds of their labored breathing. Their trembling slowly eased as their climaxes receded, leaving them panting in each other’s arms, their sweaty skins stuck together tightly. The light outside the windows had long faded away, leaving only a lingering warmth in the room.

Kong Min wanted more than anything to simply drop off into blissful sleep right on top of Ying Xulin. But mustering some strength, he sat up with a groan and got off the bed.

“Kong Min?” Ying Xulin rose up on his elbows and called hoarsely.

Shooting him a reassuring look, Kong Min said, “I’m just going to draw up a bath. I can clear out your passage there before we bathe together.”

Ying Xulin nodded and settled back down into the bed. His gaze stayed fixed on his beloved as Kong Min brought out a large tub from his storage space already filled with steaming water. Kong Min hung a few cloths over the edge to use later and turned back to Ying Xulin with a playful smile. “Do you want to come over yourself or do you want me to carry you?”

Ying Xulin gave it a moment of serious thought before deciding not to trouble his lover. Getting up, he slowly made his way to the tub. A stream of whitish liquid dripped down his thigh, making him instinctively tighten his inner muscles and frown.

Kong Min chuckled. “Leave it. You can just clean it up in the tub.”

Ying Xulin nodded and stepped into the warm water with Kong Min following behind. As Kong Min lifted and positioned Ying Xulin’s legs on the tub’s edge and extracted his release from within his lover, his fingers remained careful and gentle. Though Ying Xulin felt restless, he didn’t feel awkward at all, continuing to stare intently at Kong Min. Once they were done, Kong Min put away the used cloth and began washing himself up with practiced movements, removing the sweat and release on his body accrued from all their couplings. After drinking in his beloved’s movements for a few more seconds, Ying Xulin also followed suit, his hands slow and methodical as they moved over his skin.

In the peaceful silence, the sound of splashing water was the only thing heard.

Ying Xulin felt contentment filling him. Just a small thing like sharing a bath with his beloved in this dim light felt like an intimate and close moment. The calm and still atmosphere felt soothing and comfortable.

Breaking the quiet, Kong Min asked in a soft voice, “So, Ah-Xu how was the sex? Did you enjoy it better than with that man your brother set you up with before?”

Ying Xulin nodded and earnestly answered, “Yes, it was incomparably great. If it will always be like this, then I don’t mind doing it again. It didn’t even hurt or feel very uncomfortable.”

Sensing his surprise, Kong Min shot him an amused smile. “As I said, it’s not supposed to be painful, Ah-Xu. But it does make me wonder, just how horrible was that man in bed to make you have such low expectations? Why did the Master of Oceans even choose such a person for you?”

After taking a few moments to recollect that unpleasant memory, Ying Xulin replied, “That man wasn’t as kind or caring as you. There was no mutual affection or respect there. And it was also painful and very bothersome to bear. That man seemed to have been introduced to my brother by someone he trusted, and that man also showed interest in me during our meeting, so my brother was sure he’d treat me well. I don’t think he’d have asked me to lie with him otherwise.”

Kong Min’s eyes narrowed. In a serious voice, he asked, “Ah-Xu, you don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to think about that day. But I feel like I have to ask: What all did that guy do to you?”

Ying Xulin blinked confusedly. Why did his beloved get so serious all of a sudden? But since Kong Min wanted to know… Thinking back to that time, Ying Xulin recalled, “The second the door closed, that man pushed me down face-first onto the bed. It was very rude. He didn’t use that strange liquid you used to prepare me, and he barely took a minute to ready me. It was very uncomfortable and I told him to stop. But he started laughing smugly for some reason and held my hands down before directly entering me. It was painful. I even felt blood coming out. Really, that man was beyond inconsiderate.” Ying Xulin frowned in displeasure. After being treated so nicely by his beloved, Ying Xulin felt even more indignant at that man’s behavior.

Flickers of anger burned in Kong Min’s gaze, but Ying Xulin was too busy thinking about that day to notice. He continued, “That rude person even tried to pull my head back by my hair. But after I used my free hand to twist his wrist and almost dislocated it in warning, he changed his mind very quickly. After that, I was mostly just trying to bear it until it was over. I wanted to use force to break free and leave that place, but I wasn’t sure if I could do that without hurting that man. My brother told me that I shouldn’t hurt humans unless they deserved it, and I wasn’t sure if this man deserved being hurt, so I decided to just get through it and complain to my brother later and let him make the judgment.

“But then that man got too excited and ended up being the one who used too much force. I had reduced the regenerative capabilities in my body back then to avoid suspicion, so when that man ended up causing internal bleeding, my body was unable to repair the damage as quickly as usual. It hurt a lot and I felt very irritated at his carelessness, so I unthinkingly kicked that man away. I thought I’d held back quite a bit, but his chest still caved in. Brother was in the building too and came rushing over to take care of everything. However, he later scolded me for using too much force.”

Ying Xulin’s face reflected his dissatisfaction with that outcome. He had been the one who suffered the most, and yet he was scolded! After grousing about his brother a bit more, he brought his mind back to the present. However, Ying Xulin realized with surprise that Kong Min was wearing a furious expression.

Ying Xulin hesitated. Was Kong Min angry at him too? “…Do you think I used too much force as well?” he asked uncertainly.

Kong Min felt like his heart was both breaking into pieces and burning with immense rage. Despite the unfathomably long time he’d lived for, his Ah-Xu was such an innocent and inexperienced soul. How could someone treat him like that?! It was clear how oblivious his beloved had been, not even understanding how wrong what happened to him was! Just thinking about him being so helpless while he was being hurt so terribly made Kong Min’s chest ache with a fierce protectiveness.

Leaning forward, Kong Min gently enfolded his lover in a hug and patted the back of his head. “No, I’m not angry at you. I am, however, extremely furious at your brother and that bastard who sexually assaulted you! Ah-Xu, you shouldn’t have had to go through such a thing. If that man was able to somehow survive till now, I’d have torn him apart with my bare hands―or even better, I’d have set my torture-happy junior brother loose on him! I’d like to have a word with that brother of yours as well for letting you get treated so badly, then allowing that scum to roam free without consequences!”

Ying Xulin felt both puzzled and distressed at his lover’s agitation. Though that memory gave him a bad taste even after so many hundreds of thousands of years, Ying Xulin still didn’t understand why Kong Min seemed to hate that incident this vehemently. But what he did realize was that his beloved was only angry because he cared for him very much.

Wrapping his arms around Kong Min and rubbing his back soothingly, Ying Xulin said, his voice as smooth and calm as usual, “It’s alright. I’m fine. And my brother didn’t let him go without consequences. After that incident, I remembered to complain to him about how painful and unpleasant it had felt, how that man didn’t stop when I wanted him to, and how injured my body had ended up getting. My brother immediately went off to find that man again while saying something about how he’d castrate him very slowly by cutting it off one thin slice at a time.”

Tilting his head with confusion, Ying Xulin went on, “He even asked me if I wanted to watch him torture that man, but I don’t understand why he thought I would find that interesting. It would have been very messy and noisy. I also didn’t want to see that man’s face again, so I declined. My brother later said that the payback had gone even better than he’d expected and began laughing in a very pleased manner. I don’t understand why he was happy at all. But after that, my brother also began behaving guiltily. It was confounding. After all, he wasn’t the one who hurt me, and he didn’t know that that man would behave so terribly either. I do not see the point in my brother taking the blame. He is very strange.”

Kong Min’s anger wasn’t completely gone, but the satisfaction of knowing that the person who’d hurt his Ah-Xu had suffered was enough to dissolve most of it. Grinning viciously at the thought, Kong Min said, “I’m glad that man got what he deserved. Ah-Xu, maybe your brother isn’t that bad after all.”

Ying Xulin seriously nodded. “Yes. Apart from a few mischiefs, my brother has been good to me.”

Kong Min frowned. “I can sense that. But still… Why did he force you through those sexual experiences in the first place?”

Ying Xulin hesitated and lowered his gaze. Looking at the reflection of their embracing figures on the rippling water, he slowly spoke, “A long time ago, after my brother came to know about the reason I was cursing people in the Forest’s Cradle, he visited me. He hugged me and said he wanted to help me not be alone anymore. He asked me to live with him, but I didn’t want to leave my home. And so, he advised that if I had a lover and formed a family of my own, I wouldn’t have to leave the forest and I also wouldn’t feel so empty again. That was why I reluctantly agreed to let him help me with finding my sexuality first. But after trying those three times, the thought of staying with those incomprehensible humans and having to have regular sex with a human lover felt too troublesome, so my brother’s advice went unimplemented.”

Ying Xulin then affectionately nuzzled Kong Min before continuing, “But that is alright. I have you now.”

Kong Min held him tighter, his eyes squeezing closed as he whispered, “Yes, you have me now.” Ah, his Ah-Xu was really too precious for words! Forget sleeping, at this rate, Kong Min was afraid he’d end up wanting to pamper his lover with his body and go for another few rounds of intense and passionate fucking. And, well, since they had become lovers already, why shouldn’t he?

Therefore, letting go of Ying Xulin and leaning back on the tub’s wall, Kong Min lifted his legs and widened them, placing his feet on the tub’s edge. Ying Xulin blinked. His gaze was inevitably drawn down to the view under the surface of the clear water, towards his beloved’s member and the little opening between his buttocks. Covered with water, the already tempting view gained a hazy quality, making Ying Xulin want to reach out and touch his beloved again to ascertain that it was indeed real. He wanted to run his hands and lips over Kong Min’s skin, slowly exploring the lines of his supple body. He wanted to watch his lover’s light brown eyes grow hazy with need, his lips swollen with kisses. He wanted to hear him cry out with pleasure as his body quivered and writhed.

Ying Xulin let out a deep breath as he felt his need rising. But before he could get his reaction under control, Kong Min tilted his hips up and beckoned him with a finger. “Come here, Ah-Xu. I want you to let me comfort you with my body. I’ll show you just how much more pleasurable sex can be.”

Ying Xulin’s eyes grew dark as he looked deep into Kong Min’s gleaming gaze. He immediately leaned forward as if bewitched. Since his beloved was inviting him…

Their reaching hands met each other’s skin, touching and caressing while their lips devoured one another. Ying Xulin’s growing hardness soon found his lover’s softness, plunging in. The couple’s figures entangled once more, their bodies making lewd sounds as they joined together and parted again and again. The tub rocked back and forth while clear water cascaded over its edges in large splashes. They moaned and gasped and screamed each other’s names as they came undone under the onslaught of excruciating pleasure. And then they started it all over again after moving to the floor, standing up against the wall, bent over the edge of the bed, before finally landing on the bed itself.

In this way, the night passed, giving way to dawn.

……

The bright morning light lit up the corridor, throwing glowing shapes on the walls and floors. Wei Xiang strode through it, his boots making nary a sound as he made for his senior brother’s room. As the current leader of the Order of Sentinels, he was now in charge of collecting and going through high profile reports, and Kong Min was supposed to provide him one such report today. Knowing how frivolous his senior brother was, Wei Xiang wanted to see if he needed any extra time or some extra incentive in the form of threats to finish that report.

Reaching Kong Min’s door, Wei Xiang knocked and waited. There was no response. Sighing, he simply pushed it open and entered. His usual admonishments had already surfaced to the tip of his tongue before Wei Xiang had to close his mouth. This senior brother of his was really too incorrigible.

Kong Min’s room was currently suffused with the scent of sex. A bathtub filled halfway with water stood forgotten at one side, the floor around it still wet. Suspicious splatters and whitish patches laid scattered on the floors and walls.

On the bed, Kong Min sat on Ying Xulin’s lap, the pair facing each other. Their bodies were sweaty, their chests heaving with deep breaths. They were clearly joined below, but Wei Xiang was glad that he wasn’t subjected to that view at least. All he could see was Ying Xulin’s back and his head bent over Kong Min’s chest. His teeth were clamped over one of Kong Min’s perky nub, pulling on it gently while his fingers played with the other one. Kong Min had his head thrown back, his Adam’s apple rolling up and down the column of his arched throat. His fingers were tangled in Ying Xulin’s hair, an endless stream of deep groans and sensual cries slipping out of his reddened lips along with instructions, “…un…ah…ahhh…Ah-Xu, more…yes, suck it more…hnn…use your tongue…mm, just like that…feels so good…”

Wei Xiang sighed. In truth, he had already witnessed this senior brother of his in far more compromising situations than this while he had to retrieve Kong Min from orgies that had employed some very creative methods of seeking pleasure. And so, even though Wei Xiang had to see his senior brother like this, and even though Kong Min noticed his junior brother’s presence in his room, neither of them cared about it particularly. And understanding that Kong Min wasn’t bothered, Ying Xulin blissfully continued his ministrations on his lover’s little buds as well.

But seeing how Kong Min barely spared him a single peek before blithely carrying on with what he was doing, Wei Xiang felt veins throb in his head. He growled with dissatisfaction, “Kong Min, fucking seriously?!” As the current leader of the Order, didn’t he deserve a little bit more respect than that?!

Kong Min’s hands dragged down Ying Xulin’s smooth back, savoring the feeling of his lover’s slick skin and shifting muscles before looking up at Wei Xiang with a cheeky smile. “Yes, I’m fucking very seriously right now. So, Junior Brother, why don’t you leave for now and come back again in a few hours?”

Wei Xiang massaged his forehead and reprimanded, “I cannot believe that you brought one of our most important targets for surveillance right into the Order’s headquarters! Kong Min, you―”

Kong Min interrupted him with a drawn-out moan as he felt Ying Xulin’s hot mouth sweep up to nibble on his neck. But he didn’t forget to wave a hand at Wei Xiang to dismiss his worries while saying huskily, “It’s fine. Don’t worry. Ah-Xu isn’t a threat.”

Ying Xulin gave Kong Min’s neck a long lick before turning his head towards Wei Xiang. His dark green eyes churned with hunger and deep emotions. In a raspy voice, he stated, “As long as Kong Min doesn’t ask me to, I will not interfere with your organization. I will also not do anything illegal that could put Kong Min in a difficult situation. So you can be at ease, beast.”

Kong Min smiled and affectionately rubbed his cheek against Ying Xulin’s. “Aww, Ah-Xu! You’re so sweet towards me!”

Ying Xulin’s eyes gleamed with quiet joy as he pressed a soft kiss to his beloved’s jaw. “Yes.”

Wei Xiang’s lips twitched as he witnessed their shameless canoodling. Why did their words not feel reassuring at all? Sighing again, he decided that just in case his senior brother’s lover did indeed create any problems in the future, he had to start preparing countermeasures and appropriate procedures in advance. Maybe he could also enlist his master’s and little lover’s help. After all, due to his relationship with Kong Min, the Master of Land could be said to have become family as well.

Seeing Kong Min and Ying Xulin continue to cuddle, Wei Xiang gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, whatever. You both can keep snogging and screwing each other all you want. I’m just here to get that finished document about the incident of demonic fog leakage from that crack in the ground near Zifan Village. Second Brother, you did finish that, didn’t you?”

Kong Min had just started moving his hips up and down. Feeling the slow drag of his lover’s thick member inside him, he moaned throatily. He squeezed his eyes closed while more sweat beaded on his forehead. As Wei Xiang words filtered through his haze of arousal, Kong Min nodded and replied, “Yes, yes…I finished it.”

Patting Ying Xulin’s shoulder, Kong Min called hoarsely, “Ah-Xu, can you please…get the bundle of papers…in the left chest’s…second drawer for me? It’s the one I put away…first thing…yesterday evening… Hng…deeper…ah, yes…you feel so good…hmm…”

Ying Xulin’s eyes darkened, his hands raising and lowering his lover’s buttocks with more vigor. Meanwhile, one of his locks of hair turned in a green vine, slowly extending towards a certain bureau before pulling out the indicated drawer. After lifting the papers at the top that were wrapped into a bundle with twine, the vine brought it to Wei Xiang. All the while, Ying Xulin’s gaze was fixed only on Kong Min, drinking in his beloved’s expression that was filled with naked lust and heated with passion.

Wei Xiang paid them both no mind and took the bundle of papers offered to him by the vine. He cursorily flipped through the top of the papers to check it.

Meanwhile, Kong Min ran his teeth along the curve of Ying Xulin’s ear before whispering in a raspy voice, “Ah-Xu, seeing how flexible your vines can be, I’m getting all sorts of deliciously naughty ideas~ After this, will you hold me down using your vines and take advantage of my defenseless body? Will you use my hole and come into it again and again until it’s filled to bursting with your essence? Will you tease and torment me and deny me release until I’m begging you and screaming your name?”

Wei Xiang’s eyebrow twitched, but he determinedly kept ignoring them.

Hearing such blatantly provocative words from his beloved’s mouth, Ying Xulin almost climaxed right then and there. Hugging Kong Min closer while panting, Ying Xulin earnestly replied, “If you do not mind…then I would very much like to do all that to you.”

Kong Min chuckled and nibbled his lover’s ear. “Yes, I’d love it if you could do that. And after that, I can be the one to tie you down with my set of restraints and play with your body until you’re engulfed in pleasure. Would you be okay with that?”

Ying Xulin hesitated. But thinking about how intuitive and considerate Kong Min’s treatment of him always was, Ying Xulin’s worries were dispelled. He nodded, “Yes. As long as it’s you, I will let you do anything you want to me.”

Kong Min groaned. “Ah-Xu, do you even know how enticing you sound? It makes me want to eat you up right this instan―”

“Alright, I’m done,” Wei Xiang interjected. “Everything seems to be in order this time at least. Since I got what I came for, I’ll leave you both to your fucking then.” With that, he quickly opened the door and strode out before firmly closing it behind him again. He was not interested in witnessing his senior brother slowly corrupting the Master of Land. And to think he had actually been worried about how Kong Min’s lover was treating him…

Shaking his head, Wei Xiang started walking back to his office, his steps as steady as before. But his mind began drifting towards a certain thought, making him frown contemplatively. The junior officers along his path all bowed respectfully while sneaking a peek at his expression. Seeing him wearing such a serious face as if pondering about some great issue while a hefty bundle of paperwork rested in his arms, it made them all think about how hard their senior officer was working these days. No, they couldn’t let their Senior Officer Wei carry all the burden! They had to work hard too! And so the officers went about carrying their responsibilities with renewed determination.

Little did they know that the important thought Wei Xiang was pondering upon was something completely unrelated to work.

Thinking back to Kong Min’s comments about how Ying Xulin could use his vines, Wei Xiang had been hit with the sudden epiphany that he could do the same to his little lover with his golden strings. Unknowing to the officers who cast him their respectful gazes, Wei Xiang continued to think about all the wonderful ways he could torment his Qinghe with the golden strings, his expression deceptively solemn and deep with concentration.

……

Kong Min and Ying Xulin’s days were filled with happiness. They slowly began sharing their lives with each other, giving way to a deeper understanding between them.

For example, Kong Min had taken Ying Xulin to visit Yuese Lian, showing him around the place and recalling memories. He took him to visit the grave of a certain wounded snake he’d once brought home, only for it to die due to its injuries. He led him to the natural pond of white lilies he used to love splashing around in when he was a child. He pointed out the tree from where he’d liked to spy on the people chatting below in the shade. But once, a squirrel had bitten his butt while he was crouched on one of the tree’s branches, making him yelp and fall down into the midst of the people he was spying on. Needless to say, he never used that tree again. He also developed a dislike for squirrels.

Hearing the story, Ying Xulin had laughed, his voice light and pleasant. It seemed that despite his tendency to constantly watch Kong Min through the gem at that time, he had still missed many little instances like this.

In return for the tour of Yuese Lian, Ying Xulin took Kong Min on a tour of the Spirit Bewildering Forest, introducing him to some of the most humane and intelligent monsters dwelling within. Ying Xulin showed him various wondrous sights and delighted in his beloved’s astonished or awed expressions.

Kong Min took Ying Xulin to formally introduce him to his master as his lover. For the first time, Ying Xulin had felt nervous at the thought of meeting someone. After all, he knew that his lover placed a lot of importance on his master’s opinion. But seeing how accepting and supportive Feng Huixin was, Ying Xulin’s worries slowly subsided.

Later, Ying Xulin and Kong Min went to the beach to meet with the Master of Oceans as well. Learning from how Kong Min introduced him to the people he considered family, Ying Xulin also dutifully introduced his lover to his brother. After bickering for several minutes, Kong Min and the Master of Oceans struck an accord about protecting and caring for Ying Xulin together. He might be the powerful Master of Land, but they both agreed that he was too inexperienced with the world and its people to be left alone for too long. The Ying Xulin who didn’t want to be lonely was naturally happy with their decision, though he didn’t understand the basis for their worry. If someone acted badly with him, couldn’t he just use his monsters to tear them up a bit or use his vines to catapult them a few kilometers away to punish them? However, this only strengthened Kong Min and the Master of Oceans’ belief that they had to always keep an eye on him to avoid him inadvertently causing trouble for himself.

Kong Min and Ying Xulin also had many more dates, both within the forest and outside in the mortal world. But no matter what new things they experienced together, their dates would always end up with an enthusiastic romp in the sheets.

Whenever they had free time between Kong Min working for the Order and Ying Xulin tending to the forest, the couple spent most of it either at Kong Min’s room or in the Forest’s Cradle, just talking or doing things together. This meant that their belongings were now spread between their places. Some of Ying Xulin’s clothes and certain other items could now be found in Kong Min’s room, and some human furniture filled with Kong Min’s things could also be found in the Forest’s Cradle, giving the enchanting glade a more homey look. For example, there was a bed piled high with thick and comfortable quilts and soft pillows at the center, some plush chairs around a large table at the side, and a few chests of drawers wrapped and held in place by vines near the edge of the round clearing.

Currently, Kong Min was sitting atop the large table, weaving and knotting several ropes together to create a hammock. Ying Xulin rested on a chair near him, his posture straight as he stared intently at how Kong Min’s defined fingers nimbly worked with the ropes. And since Kong Min was speaking, Ying Xulin listened to him carefully as well.

As his hands kept moving swiftly, Kong Min was saying in a leisurely tone, “…and so, Wei Xiang will be going to off to help Master and play with his little lover in the heavenly realm for a few weeks again, which means his lieutenants and I will be left to take care of things. It might get a bit busy, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get any significant time off work. So Ah-Xu, can you come and live in my room until I can get time to visit here again?”

Ying Xulin tilted his head in consideration. “So your master will not be there?”

Kong Min shot him a wry look. “It seems you’ve taken a liking to him. If I weren’t so sure of your fidelity, I’d suspect you were starting to like him romantically~”

Ying Xulin shook his head. Even though he knew that Kong Min was only teasing, he still felt the need to clarify, “No, I only like you in such a way. I will only ever love you.” Then pausing, he confessed, “But I like the way your master explains human things to me properly rather than expecting me to understand everything. For example, he explained to me about the confounding human ritual of drinking tea while talking, or the concept of why certain things are considered tasty and why some are not. It was very enlightening and easy to understand.”

Kong Min chuckled. “That’s good then. I think Master is able to explain such vague concepts because he had to teach them to his son before. Knowing Little Bro, he’d have definitely asked for lots of explanations and the logic behind each of those things. And when one learns how to explain those concepts to a child, they will be able to explain it to almost anyone else. Speaking of which, Ah-Xu, if you want to learn about more human things, I could get you some children’s books. They have explanations that are easier to understand.”

Ying Xulin nodded. “If you think it’ll help me learn more, then I’d like to take a look at them.”

“Yes, they’ll definitely be helpful,” Kong Min reassured.

As Kong Min realized that he was nearing the end of the ropes, he put in more concentration into weaving them together. His tongue peeked out from between his teeth, his eyes narrowing.

Seeing it, Ying Xulin’s gaze warmed with affection. He remained silent, waiting for Kong Min to finish with what he was doing.

A few minutes later, Kong Min finally tied the other end of the ropes together tightly and stood up on the table. “Aha! Behold my finished hammock! Now all that’s left is to secure it. Ah-Xu, can you tie it between those two trees?”

Ying Xulin curiously looked at what only seemed like a tangle of ropes, but still nodded. Making the trunk of the two trees Kong Min pointed to extend out its wood in thick tendrils, Ying Xulin helped Kong Min secure the two ends of the hammock. Kong Min went to get some quilts and pillows to line its rough rope surface, making it into a cozy, swinging haven. He eagerly climbed into the hammock and wriggled happily. Then extending a hand, he called, “Come, Ah-Xu. Lie down beside me. We can snuggle together and sleep. It’ll be blissful.”

Ying Xulin gave the hammock a dubious look, but still climbed onto it, his motions careful. But when he lied down beside Kong Min and sent the hammock swinging again, Ying Xulin felt his stomach lurch. He wanted to get off and have his feet on solid ground again. This contraption seemed too unstable!

Kong Min chuckled at Ying Xulin’s anxious expression and hugged him close. “Ah-Xu, it’s okay. I won’t let you fall. Here, hold onto me and everything will be alright.”

Ying Xulin squeezed his eyes closed and buried his head into Kong Min’s shoulder, not daring to look at the swaying scenery. Thankfully, the rocking of the hammock soon subsided, making Ying Xulin brave a little peek through slitted eyes. Seeing that everything was still and stable once again, he breathed a sigh in relief. He tried not to move much lest this unstable thing be sent swinging again.

Kong Min suppressed his laughter at Ying Xulin’s cautious expression. “Ah-Xu, do you want to get off?”

Ying Xulin shook his head. “Since you are here and you enjoy this, I will also stay here with you.” After all, his life that had once been as stable and still as the ground had been sent swinging into disorder because of Kong Min. Slowly, Ying Xulin had come to enjoy that. So maybe he would one day come to enjoy this rocking contraption too. He would never know unless he tried. And even if this thing did give away and sent them falling, he was sure that he and Kong Min would protect each other. They would always be there for one another.

Ying Xulin held Kong Min tighter, closing his eyes and relaxing his body in preparation for sleep. Kong Min smiled and did the same. Their heads rested together, the sensation of their lover’s warmth soaking into each other as they dropped off into pleasant sleep. A stream of glowing dots flowed past their slumbering figures. In the distance, strange beasts howled and roared, their voices sounding muffled and distant from the clearing. Leaves rustled high above the hammock as a gentle breeze brushed their peaceful faces.

In this way, the couple slept while wrapped in the timeless tranquility of the Forest’s Cradle, content in the knowledge that they would remain together for as long as they lived.

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