“Dreaming of me?”
Wenren Sheng straightened his back and turned to look at He Mu.
“What did you dream about me?”
He thought to himself that a divine being like He Mu probably wouldn’t have that kind of dream, but he still felt a faint flicker of anticipation.
If even the Mountain God had erotic dreams, then he wouldn’t seem so embarrassing.
But this baseless speculation was quickly shattered by He Mu’s next words.
He Mu’s expression seemed somewhat indifferent at the moment. He propped himself up on the bed and leaned back a little as he said, “I dreamed of what my life would be like after choosing not to ascend, meeting you, and living together with you.”
A life without choosing ascension?
Wenren Sheng had no real concept of “ascension.” He poked at his cheek and thought for a moment before saying, “Do you really want to stay with me forever?”
The coldness in He Mu’s eyes finally faded a bit, turning back into his usual gentleness.
He smiled faintly and said, “Of course I do.”
Wenren Sheng said, “Then we can both become immortals and live on forever. Wouldn’t that mean we could stay together forever?”
He Mu touched his face and asked, “Do you want to be family with me forever?”
Wenren Sheng originally wanted to blurt out, “Yeah.”
But the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t say them.
Family forever?
Did he really want to be family with He Mu forever? Without any selfish desires, just like how he treated the clan leader and his master?
It didn’t seem quite like that.
He really liked He Mu and naturally hoped to become lifelong family with him, never to part—that was their original promise.
But after growing up, especially after experiencing his first Heat Period in that dream, Wenren Sheng felt that what he wanted went beyond just becoming family with the Mountain God.
Perhaps… the Mountain God really was the one his heart yearned for?
The kind where he not only wanted to be together but also to share desires with each other, confess love, and rely on one another for life.
It didn’t sound so hard to accept.
But why was he always so pessimistic about this idea? Why did he feel that treating He Mu as the one his heart yearned for was something particularly bad?
He couldn’t help but think of what Yi Jinxiang had said: “not end well.”
Liking the Mountain God would also not end well?
Wenren Sheng didn’t answer this question. His mood suddenly dropped, and he hugged the quilt as he rolled to one side of the bed.
“I’m a bit sleepy,” he mumbled. “Good night, Mountain God.”
Seeing Wenren Sheng suddenly act like an angry rabbit, deliberately turning his back to him, He Mu felt extremely puzzled.
Were the things he had just said wrong somehow?
He Mu propped his head up with one hand and pulled Wenren Sheng toward himself.
“Wenren Sheng?”
Wenren Sheng wrapped himself up tighter and scooted back, refusing to respond, as if sulking.
He Mu tried to touch his hand again, but Wenren Sheng twisted away to dodge it.
“…”
So awkward.
He’s still just a kid, after all.
Thinking this helplessly, He Mu simply wrapped his arm around Wenren Sheng’s waist and pulled him into his embrace.
“!!”
The moment he pressed against He Mu, Wenren Sheng’s eyes snapped open. His heart pounded wildly, and he tensed up so much that even the arches of his feet stiffened.
Th-this was just like in that dream, wasn’t it?
The Mountain God wouldn’t touch his tail too, would he!
…No, calm down, Wenren Sheng. You’re human now—you don’t have a tail!
He quickly buried half his face in the quilt in He Mu’s arms and tentatively asked, “…What are you doing?”
He Mu didn’t make a sound. He lowered his head and buried it in Wenren Sheng’s shoulder.
Wenren Sheng wasn’t wearing a shirt, so the faint mole on the back of his neck was blatantly exposed. His body still carried the undissipated herbal scent, making He Mu want to take a bite.
“Shengsheng,” he endured for a moment before saying, “Do you hate me now?”
Wenren Sheng’s breathing even hitched. He Mu held his waist very tightly, their bodies almost pressed completely together.
He Mu’s breath was like a tightly woven net, binding him firmly within it, making all five of his senses focus only on him.
Wenren Sheng’s face flushed red. He clutched the quilt in his arms in a fluster and stammered, “N-no, I don’t.”
He Mu lifted his head slightly and murmured next to Wenren Sheng’s ear, “Then why have you been unwilling to talk to me lately?”
Wenren Sheng didn’t know how to explain it to He Mu. He was too embarrassed to say he was in his Heat Period, having those kinds of dreams all the time and becoming overly sensitive whenever he got close to He Mu.
He hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally blurting out, “I feel like I’ve grown up… I heard that others my age have already married and had children.”
He Mu chuckled softly and teased in a low voice, “You want to get married too?”
“No way!” Wenren Sheng retorted. “It’s that I don’t want to keep depending on the Mountain God like this. I want to be more independent.”
And what marriage?
He hadn’t even thought about marrying anyone.
If he had to, then it could only be with the Mountain God.
Wenren Sheng imagined himself wearing a bridal veil and bowing to He Mu in wedding rites. He shyly tugged at the quilt.
“Alright,” He Mu’s tone lightened a bit. “These past few days, you’ve been ignoring me. I thought you had a little girl you liked.”
Wenren Sheng pushed He Mu’s hand away, giving himself enough space to turn around. Then he turned to face him and looked at He Mu seriously.
“I don’t have any little girl I like. I only know one woman, my master. That’s it.”
“…If we have to count them, there are also the clan leader’s little rabbits. They’re not even a year old yet.”
He Mu had only meant it as a joke, but seeing how seriously Wenren Sheng answered—his cheeks still flushed—made him find it utterly adorable.
He pinched Wenren Sheng’s cheek and laughed. “Alright, alright, I get it. You don’t have anyone you like…”
“No,” Wenren Sheng lowered his eyes and softly interrupted him. “Don’t guess randomly, Mountain God.”
He paused, then added, “Once I figure things out, I’ll tell the Mountain God everything. For now, let’s just sleep.”
After saying that, he didn’t look up at He Mu’s expression again. Instead, he hugged He Mu back on his own initiative, burying his face in He Mu’s chest and nuzzling twice.
He Mu was stunned for a moment. He looked down at the kid in his arms, who was pressed fully against him, even draping a leg over him.
He was clearly even clingier than before.
So… did the kid hate him, or not?
Kids’ thoughts were so hard to figure out.
He Mu sighed inwardly, lightly patted Wenren Sheng’s back, and closed his eyes.
That night, just as the Fox Demon had said, Wenren Sheng had another dream.
Fortunately, the scene in this dream was finally no longer at the mountain spring, and there was no more of that sticky, damp strangeness on his body.
When he became aware, he found himself lying on the bed in the bedroom. Someone was leaning over him from the front, gazing down and casting a shadow over the bed that enveloped him.
The light and shadows outside the room were mottled, both bright and blurry, swallowing most of the scenery in vague silhouettes. Only the bed and the person remained.
“…Mountain God?”
Wenren Sheng called out instinctively.
He Mu hummed in acknowledgment. He took Wenren Sheng’s hand and placed it on his own face, closing his eyes to kiss the palm.
Wenren Sheng’s fingers curled slightly. He looked at He Mu somewhat at a loss.
The weight of this kiss was too heavy.
Even for someone as inexperienced and innocent as Wenren Sheng, it was hard not to read the affection in it.
After the kiss, He Mu rested his cheek against Wenren Sheng’s palm, gazing at him with ambiguous eyes.
Wenren Sheng vaguely sensed something off about He Mu, but he had no strength in his body, and his mind was foggy, unable to turn. For a moment, he had no reaction at all.
The He Mu in front of him stared at him for a moment before finally releasing his hand.
“Shengsheng,” he curved his eyes and said, “You’re dreaming of me again?”
Dreaming…
Right, this was a dream.
He Mu continued smiling and leaned intimately against Wenren Sheng’s neck as he asked, “What do you want to do tonight?”
With that, Wenren Sheng recalled the damp dream from last time, and his cheeks instantly flushed.
He shrank back a little, his body sliding downward.
“…I don’t want to do anything.”
He didn’t want to go through another dream of having his tail groped. Tonight, he was sleeping with the Mountain God—if he woke up with wet clothes again, wouldn’t he be found out?
He didn’t even dare think about something so embarrassing.
He Mu didn’t press him. He sat up straight and pulled Wenren Sheng up with him, so they sat facing each other.
Wenren Sheng habitually drew his legs in and rested them on He Mu’s lap.
He had liked sitting face-to-face with He Mu like this since he was little, though back then his legs were short, and He Mu could directly cradle him in his arms.
With the atmosphere a bit better, Wenren Sheng wasn’t so nervous anymore.
He looked up at He Mu with a beaming smile and asked, “Mountain God, are the things the you in my dream says true?”
He Mu replied matter-of-factly, “Of course. Am I someone who lies to you in your heart?”
Wenren Sheng nodded. “Yeah, the Mountain God always deceives me. Very naughty.”
He Mu rubbed his cheeks and said, “Then don’t ask.”
Wenren Sheng wasn’t happy with that. “I want to ask. And I want to ask the Mountain God a really important question.”
He Mu smiled and said, “Go ahead. I’ll answer honestly.”
Wenren Sheng hesitated for a moment, then carefully met He Mu’s gaze and asked:
“Do you like me?”
He Mu answered without hesitation, “I do.”
Wenren Sheng hurriedly pushed him. “Not that kind of like—the, that kind, you know… um…”
He racked his brains, then had a flash of inspiration and pointed at his own lips.
“The kind where you want to kiss me here.”
He Mu paused for three seconds, then grabbed Wenren Sheng’s ankle and supported his back, leaning in to kiss.
“Don’t kiss me!” Wenren Sheng stopped him urgently. “Just say it directly—don’t kiss me. I haven’t kissed anyone yet!”
He Mu opened his mouth as if to answer, but Wenren Sheng quickly covered it with his hand.
“Forget it, forget it. Words in dreams can’t be trusted. Don’t say anything!”
No matter what He Mu answered now, it would make Wenren Sheng’s heart race.
He had only just figured out his own feelings and didn’t want to hear any answer—not even in a dream.
Wenren Sheng earnestly instructed He Mu, “From now on, don’t say anything else, okay?”
Only after He Mu nodded did Wenren Sheng relax. He moved his hand away from He Mu’s mouth.
He scooted forward a bit and nestled obediently into He Mu’s arms, letting out a soft sigh.
“Actually, what I really want to know is, if I told you I’m a demon, what would you think?”
He said softly,
“Would you think I deceived you back then… and that I was too much?”
Wenren Sheng had always been very emotionally sensitive. He habitually assumed the worst for everything and believed it wishfully.
Especially after realizing his feelings, he felt more and more lost.
The lie from back then had become an unremovable thorn, buried deep for years, now finally surfacing along with his burgeoning affection.
What should he do?
On Fragrant Ze Mountain, some taught him knowledge, some taught him martial arts, but he had never seen the wider world. No one had taught him how to make amends for mistakes or how to face his own heart.
Everything was like looking at flowers in the fog—like this clumsy, blurry dream. He couldn’t tell where the boundaries were, where the end lay.
The He Mu in the dream truly said nothing. He only held Wenren Sheng tightly, his wet kisses and bites landing on his shoulder.
It hurt a little. Wenren Sheng couldn’t help but let out a low hum.
“It hurts so much,” he complained coquettishly. “You’re definitely a fake Mountain God. The real one wouldn’t bite so hard.”
But Wenren Sheng knew the dream was about to end soon, so he didn’t resist. Instead, he wrapped his legs around He Mu’s waist, holding him even tighter.
“Whatever. I don’t blame you.”
He mumbled,
“And don’t blame me for deceiving you, okay?”
