Chapter 53: Please, Brother

Wenren Sheng felt like this person could drag him down at any moment.

Although he knew He Mu wouldn’t let him choke on a mouthful of water, his tail might still end up completely soaked.

Wenren Sheng shrank back a little, stepping on He Mu’s shoulder to push some distance between them.

“Bro, what are you doing?”

He Mu let him step on him and even reached out to tease the tail resting on his lap a couple of times.

“Helping you groom your tail,” he said. “I got it dirty anyway.”

Wenren Sheng quickly shook his head. “No, you definitely won’t groom it properly and will just take the chance to… grope me again.”

He Mu looked exasperated and amused. “Is that the image you have of me?”

Wenren Sheng blurted out, “Brother is exactly that kind of person.”

His intentions had been seen through.

He Mu sighed lightly and said honestly, “Alright, I do want to clean it up for you and touch your tail a bit at the same time. Aren’t you in your Heat Period lately? It should feel good if I touch it, right?”

Seeing his honesty, Wenren Sheng huffed lightly and said somewhat smugly, “Still pretending. I’ve seen right through you.”

Why make excuses for something like this? Just say it directly. Wenren Sheng thought.

Although he cherished his fluffy tail a lot, at the same time, he would make boundless concessions to He Mu.

Forget helping him clean his tail—even if He Mu proposed using his tail for that naughty thing right now, he would grumble a bit and then agree.

He could feel that He Mu had no ill intentions toward him. This was his way of pursuing him and expressing his love.

He should accept it properly.

With that in mind, Wenren Sheng lowered his leg and scooted forward voluntarily, smoothing out the tail on his knee.

“Be gentle, okay?” he cautioned seriously. “If you mess with it like that again, it’ll shed fur.”

He Mu propped up his face, looking at Wenren Sheng with a beaming smile as one hand caressed the fluffy tail, his movements very gentle.

“Shengsheng,” he asked suddenly after a moment, “do you like Cangzhou City?”

At those words, the tip of Wenren Sheng’s tail twitched.

He paused for a moment before mumbling, “…Yeah, I like it.”

He Mu’s fingertip teased that little tuft at the tip, asking casually, “Why do you like it?”

“I just do,” Wenren Sheng pursed his lips. “Everyone living here is a demon. There are no humans to bully me. It’s safe, and Master is here too. She takes good care of me.”

As he spoke, the tip of his tail swayed guiltily, scratching back and forth in He Mu’s palm.

“And… and the clan kin left behind by the clan leader. They like it here too. This is the best place for demons to live, way better than Fragrant Ze Mountain. I definitely will—”

No.

At that point, Wenren Sheng suddenly realized he’d said too much and quickly shut his mouth.

Oh no, that wasn’t what he meant. He just wanted to tease He Mu a little. How did he accidentally say something like that?

He Mu used to be the Mountain God of Fragrant Ze Mountain, after all. He definitely wouldn’t be happy hearing that. Would he get angry? This was bad…

He looked at He Mu in a panic.

“Shengsheng.”

But in that glance, he found He Mu looking right back at him.

A soft ripple shone in his eyes, filled with endless gentleness and not a hint of anger.

“What about me?”

He asked softly.

They’d finally reached this question. Wenren Sheng’s face flushed red, and he quickly averted his direct gaze, his body instinctively tensing up.

His hands curled up, pressing against his knees as he murmured, “You…”

Why had the water suddenly gotten so hot?

His heart pounded wildly, like it was going out of control.

He Mu stopped touching the tense tip of his tail and instead lifted his hand to stroke Wenren Sheng’s ear tuft, asking in an even softer voice, “Shengsheng, with me here, would that make you a little happier?”

Wenren Sheng buried his head even lower. The long hair draped over his shoulders drifted down slightly, brushing the edge of He Mu’s cheek.

“I-I…”

Seeing him stammer and unable to respond, He Mu leaned forward and affectionately rubbed their noses together.

Wenren Sheng thought he was going to kiss him and hurriedly closed his eyes.

But this time, He Mu didn’t kiss his lips. Instead, he moved to Wenren Sheng’s ear and lightly kissed his ear tuft.

“You don’t want to go back to Fragrant Ze Mountain, and I won’t force you. But I want to stay by your side. Wherever you go from now on, I’ll follow.”

His lips pressed against Wenren Sheng’s ear as he spoke the sweetest words in the most seductive tone.

“I don’t want to miss even a single second of your life anymore. I love all your emotions, all your joys and angers. I love your hatred and your mercy, your gentleness toward the world, the way you show your love.”

“I also love the way you look… so pleasured that you lose yourself.”

He didn’t even need any response from Wenren Sheng for these feelings. He could love him like this for a lifetime.

As he spoke, he took hold of Wenren Sheng’s lightly trembling hand in a comforting grip.

“I should have told you all this the moment I saw you,” He Mu said. “Earlier, I couldn’t hold back and was too abrupt with you. Sorry.”

Wenren Sheng was so shy that tears welled up in his eyes. He breathed heavily with difficulty before finally meeting He Mu’s gaze again.

Seeing that aggrieved expression, He Mu’s heart nearly melted.

“Why are you crying, Shengsheng?” He Mu laughed. “I said I want to pursue you. These are words I should tell you. You don’t have to respond right away. Take your time to think about it, okay?”

At those words, Wenren Sheng wanted to cry even more. Tears plopped down one after another, several drops landing on the back of his hand.

He didn’t even know what he was sad about—or maybe he was happy? His heart was a total mess, full of every emotion but impossible to sort out.

He really didn’t hate Cangzhou City. It felt more like home, a place where he belonged, somewhere he should stay long-term.

But he also couldn’t bear to part with He Mu, or Fragrant Ze Mountain, or those precious memories. That was his real hometown.

He didn’t have the courage to choose.

Yet He Mu seemed to read his mind, resolving all of Wenren Sheng’s worries. He even said he’d wait for him to figure it out and stay by his side no matter what answer he gave.

So how was he supposed to respond to that…!

Whenever times like this came, Wenren Sheng didn’t want to think.

Ignoring his still-damp tail, he instinctively lunged forward and hugged He Mu’s neck, the whole person splashing into the water with a “splash.”

“Hey, watch your tail.”

He Mu hurriedly cupped his butt and lifted him higher so the fluffy tail wouldn’t get wet.

Wenren Sheng had no attention to spare for that. He Mu’s embrace was steady, so he directly hooked his legs around He Mu’s waist, clinging to his upper body like a koala.

“You’re acting spoiled.”

Wenren Sheng’s voice was a little hoarse, still carrying a sobbing tone.

“I hate you!”

It clearly sounded like coquetry. He’d obviously been moved to tears by the sweet words.

He Mu’s initially tense heart relaxed a lot. He took the chance to pinch Wenren Sheng’s waist and tease him. “Then you haven’t seen what real spoiled behavior looks like.”

Wenren Sheng’s wolf ears twitched from the pinch, and he hugged He Mu even tighter.

“Pervert,” he grumbled resentfully. “You only know how to act perverted, then say stuff like that to coax me after. Do you think I’m that easy to fool?”

He Mu didn’t feel like he was being cursed at all. After pinching his waist enough, he started rubbing Wenren Sheng’s fluffy tail, slowly stroking from the base to the tip and feeling the subtle tremors from the body in his arms.

“How are you not easy to fool?”

He was just like when he was little.

Wenren Sheng’s eyes were red-rimmed. After having his tail rubbed for a while, he sobered up a lot and somewhat regretted jumping into the water to hug He Mu.

His current position was extremely awkward—wrapped around He Mu, unable to get down into the water or reach the edge. He could only let He Mu touch him freely.

His tail was stroked several times without warning and quickly curled up shyly, wrapping around He Mu’s wrist.

“Don’t touch anymore,” Wenren Sheng pleaded softly. “Put me down, Brother.”

He Mu kissed his shoulder and, as requested, set him back on the edge of the pool.

Tear tracks were still visible on Wenren Sheng’s face as he panted lightly and released his embrace.

But his body didn’t relax from He Mu letting go. Instead, it grew even hotter, like he had a fever.

In that instant, Wenren Sheng realized what was happening. He hurriedly wiped away his tears and tugged his clothes down to cover himself.

“I… this is just, demons in Heat Period are like this. D-don’t look!”

He Mu was perfectly calm. “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. I heard some lustful demons need it several times a day. This is only your second time. Totally normal.”

Wenren Sheng pursed his lips and kept covering himself regardless.

“Anyway… don’t look.”

He Mu propped one hand on the pool edge and raised a brow. “Then what are you going to do? Handle it yourself?”

Wenren Sheng let out a forceful “Mm.”

He Mu didn’t believe Wenren Sheng could handle it himself. He’d probably tire himself out and end up tearfully begging for help again.

Though that look was pretty cute too.

But today… better let him off.

With that thought, He Mu decided on a quick resolution. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed Wenren Sheng’s flailing hands in two or three moves, and leaned down to—

Wenren Sheng immediately realized what he was doing and refused in horror. “Bro, absolutely not!”

Unable to move his hands, he could only frantically cup He Mu’s cheeks to keep him from getting closer.

“It’s quick, really.” He Mu said confidently.

Wenren Sheng broke down. “Quick my ass! I-I don’t want it!”

“Then I can go slow, follow your lead.”

“That’s not what I mean at all!”

As they were locked in a stalemate, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the door.

Then a voice came from outside, interrupting them.

“Young Master, are you in there?”

It was Ye Lan, the subordinate of Yi Jinxiang.

“Oh no,” Wenren Sheng hurriedly pressed down on He Mu’s forehead. “It’s Master’s deputy.”

He Mu showed a disappointed expression and grumbled, “What does he want?”

Wenren Sheng’s face reddened slightly, looking troubled. “I don’t know. Didn’t I ask those two Snake Demon Sisters to pass the message that I wouldn’t be going to see her lately…”

He glanced down at his legs. He Mu had just left several finger marks on them, standing out starkly on his pale skin.

If Ye Lan found out he was bathing together with a strange man and being this intimate, he’d definitely panic and run straight to tell Yi Jinxiang.

Then Wenren Sheng would be totally done for. He’d be so mortified he’d want to burrow into a hole forever.