Chapter 78: Nian Yuzhuo
The light inside the cave was dim. Though Li Dong had inner strength that made his night vision better than most, it was still hard to see what kind of expression Nian Yuzhuo had at that moment.
He could only judge from the other man’s breathing and voice that he was… well, in a rather heightened state.
“Mm…” Nian Yuzhuo groaned against the stone wall, one hand clutching his collar tightly while the other braced himself upright.
“Sect Leader Nian?” Li Dong hesitated. He truly couldn’t bring himself to abandon the man to suffer alone like this.
When Nian Yuzhuo lifted his head and saw that Li Dong hadn’t left, a fierce look crossed his face. “You linger here deliberately to provoke me… Then don’t leave.”
He rose to his feet, grabbed Li Dong by the ankle, and in the shadow of his deep gaze gleamed hunger and desire.
Even in the dim light, Nian Yuzuo could see that jade-like face faintly emanating a layer of radiance in the darkness.
“What do you intend to do?” Li Dong looked down at him calmly, his voice level.
“What do you think?” Nian Yuzhuo pulled sharply on his ankle, and when Li Dong’s body fell forward, he wrapped his arms around the man he’d long coveted and rolled with him across the ground.
Li Dong barely opened his mouth to speak before the Sect Leader’s lips sealed over his.
…Damn, truly passionate.
Kissing was as natural to Li Dong as breathing.
He gave up resisting, hooked an arm behind Nian Yuzhuo’s head, and kissed him back.
When it came to skill, Li Dong could easily crush the 26-year-old virgin Sect Leader. In mere seconds, he’d turned the tables completely. Nian Yuzhuo, who had started as the aggressor, was quickly overwhelmed and conquered instead.
“Mm…” A muffled sound escaped from deep in the Sect Leader’s throat.
Li Dong used the man’s outer robe to cushion the ground. “Wait…” He pushed away the one clinging to him and turned toward the cave entrance.
Martial artists had sharp hearing, and Zhang Junluo, who had been sitting not far away, had already caught the unmistakable sounds of kissing. He refused to believe it.
Until the voice inside the cave confirmed it for him.
“Senior Brother,” Li Dong said, “please give us two quarters of an hour… Sect Leader Nian and I have urgent matters to discuss.”
“Very well.” Zhang Junluo’s expression twisted; he immediately stood and walked away.
“What urgent matters?” Nian Yuzhuo growled as he tugged at Li Dong’s robes. “If you mean to speak of pleasure, then say it plainly. He wouldn’t dare interfere.”
“So you’re this uninhibited…” Li Dong didn’t move, letting him have his way.
“Utter nonsense,” Nian Yuzhuo snapped. He didn’t want Li Dong to think him dissolute. In truth, since coming of age, he had always rejected intimacy until meeting Li Dong, who somehow awakened a long-buried craving for closeness.
“All right.” Once everything was settled, Li Dong declared the Sect Leader’s work done and took control himself.
“You—”
Li Dong silenced him with a kiss. When everything was finally over, he released the man to let him breathe.
“Su Lingya,” Nian Yuzhuo rasped.
“I’m here,” Li Dong answered softly by his ear.
“You… scoundrel…” Nian Yuzhuo trembled as he spoke, his fingers clutching Li Dong’s shoulders tight.
That was the only curse he managed to utter, after which he stopped resisting altogether.
Heart and body both yielded, swept up in the sweetness of that mutual embrace, something he’d never known before.
The way the other man leaned against his shoulder made Li Dong briefly dazed; for a moment, it felt like he was back in the warmth of a long-lost lover’s arms. Comfortable and natural.
But Nian Yuzhuo’s heart was in turmoil. As a child, he’d been sold into a brothel, and ever since, he’d despised the thought of submitting beneath anyone.
He’d believed that in this lifetime, he would never yield again. If anyone dared force him, he’d spill their blood without hesitation.
Yet now he had yielded and worse, without a trace of resistance. He’d even found himself clinging closer.
Nian Yuzhuo gritted his teeth, disgusted with himself even as his thoughts kept circling back to that man. “Lingya.”
“Yes.” Li Dong answered each time, no matter how many times he called.
Three quarters of an hour later, Zhang Junluo once again approached the cave entrance. Hearing the still-unending sounds within, his face turned ashen and he walked away silently.
In his heart, he cursed his junior brother for being so shameless.
Once their master learned that the third disciple had become entangled with the demonic Sect Leader, no amount of favoritism could save his standing or the position of future Sect Leader.
By the time he finished stewing in frustration, the cave had grown quiet again.
Li Dong glanced at the utterly drained Sect Leader beside him and sighed inwardly. “Sect Leader Nian?” He nudged him. “Are you all right?”
What mattered most now was whether the poison had been purged and if the man was out of danger.
“I…” Nian Yuzhuo caught himself before finishing. “Cough… I’m fine.” His arm brushed Li Dong’s leg, and the contact soothed him in a strange way.
“Good. Then rest.” Li Dong sat beside him, looking out toward the cave mouth, mentally estimating when dawn would come.
“You… actually…” Nian Yuzhuo remembered that night when the other man had rather knocked him out with a porcelain pillow than take the lower position.
“Hmm?” Li Dong’s expression was calm, his entire being radiating post-battle satisfaction.
“Nothing.” Nian Yuzhuo closed his eyes.
There was still an hour and a half until sunrise. Li Dong leaned back and dozed for a while.
When morning light finally spilled into the cave, it was a bright and sunny day.
“Junior Brother, how are you and the Sect Leader?” Zhang Junluo asked awkwardly from outside.
Nian Yuzhuo was woken by the sound of his voice. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying with his head in Li Dong’s lap, and froze.
“You’re awake?” Li Dong looked down at him.
“Mm…” Nian Yuzhuo murmured.
“Then get up. We should find a way out before we starve in here.” Li Dong rubbed his legs and spoke as evenly as ever.
No sooner had he finished than a voice suddenly sounded in the cave.
“I’m hungry,” Nian Yuzhuo said bluntly, though his eyes betrayed a hint of embarrassment.
“Let’s go find something to eat.” Li Dong stood, straightened his robes, and helped the Sect Leader up. “How do you feel?”
“I’m fine.” A faint flush crossed Nian Yuzhuo’s face, though his tone remained steady.
He fastened his belt and followed Li Dong outside.
“Senior Brother.” Li Dong called out.
Zhang Junluo turned and froze for a heartbeat before saying stiffly, “There’s no smooth path here. If we want to leave, we’ll have to climb down the cliff.”
“No rush.” Li Dong glanced at the unsteady Sect Leader beside him. “Sect Leader Nian’s hungry. Let’s find some food first.”
Zhang Junluo’s gaze flicked between them. After a moment, he nodded. “Very well.”
He had only a dagger left, his sword having been lost to the river.
“I’ll hunt.” Nian Yuzhuo leapt away before either of them could protest.
“Then I’ll gather firewood,” Li Dong said. “Senior Brother, you’re well-traveled. I’m sure you know how to start a fire in the wild.” He patted Zhang Junluo’s shoulder. “I’ll leave that important task to you.”
Zhang Junluo could only stay silent.
About a quarter of an hour later, Nian Yuzhuo returned, carrying a twenty-jin deer by hand.
“Wash it,” he said, tossing it to Zhang Junluo, who held the only knife.
“Mm.” Zhang Junluo caught it and then stopped him. “Chengqi, what are your intentions regarding my junior brother?”
The righteous sect would never allow their disciple to consort with a demonic leader, even if Nian Yuzhuo had already renounced his position.
“My intentions?” Nian Yuzhuo said calmly. “You should ask your junior brother.”
Zhang Junluo said nothing more and went off to clean the deer.
Li Dong, tasked with collecting firewood, searched half the forest without success. In the end, the Sect Leader came to help him gather a full bundle.
“Thank you, Sect Leader Nian,” Li Dong said.
That polite address made Nian Yuzhuo frown deeply. After everything that had happened between them, was he still being treated like a stranger?
He couldn’t tell whether Li Dong’s kindness meant simple concern or something more.
“Why must you sound so distant?” Nian Yuzhuo finally asked. “Do you… like me, even a little?”
“Isn’t that a foolish question?” Li Dong said as he carried the firewood forward. “If I didn’t like you even a little, why would I have done what I did last night?”
Nian Yuzhuo pressed his lips together, satisfied, and followed quietly behind.
When they returned, one in front and one behind, Zhang Junluo’s discomfort reached its peak. The two before him, his irritating junior brother and his long-time pen friend, looked far too intimate for his liking.
“Lingya, what will you do once we get out of here?” Zhang Junluo asked while turning the spit.
“I’ll report to Master, then perhaps travel for a while, or find a place to settle down,” Li Dong replied. “The world is vast enough for me to go anywhere.”
“How free-spirited of you,” Zhang Junluo said.
“I’ve lost my memories, haven’t I?” Li Dong smiled faintly. He accepted a piece of roasted meat, took a bite, and handed the rest to Nian Yuzhuo. “It’s cooked. Try it.”
Nian Yuzhuo ate from Li Dong’s hand.
The piece was big, and a trace of grease lingered at the corner of his mouth. Li Dong reached out and wiped it away with his fingers. “Here, hold it yourself.”
Zhang Junluo nearly choked. He turned away, pretending not to see.
“Roasted meat’s rather heavy,” Li Dong reminded. “Don’t eat too much.”
Zhang Junluo, recalling what he’d overheard last night, thought Li Dong was warning himself to take it easy after… exertion.
Then Nian Yuzhuo said, “It’s fine. I’ll recover in a few days.”
Li Dong nodded. “All right, then eat something lighter after we return.”
Neither of them noticed Zhang Junluo choking again, coughing hard enough to shake the trees.
Author’s Note:
【I feel a bit guilty that today’s update isn’t longer. Writing modern stories is still easier for me (hey!). The next two stories will both be set in modern worlds, and once those are done, this whole novel will be completed, should finish by the end of January.】
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