Chapter 77: At Least Love and Desire

“It was just a dream of old times,” Wenren Sheng touched his nose and said guiltily. “Nothing else.”

He Mu stroked his hair and said, “When you first fell asleep, you kept crying nonstop in my arms.”

He cried until his body trembled, his tears soaking He Mu’s collar, while murmuring in his dreams, “Don’t be afraid,” “It doesn’t hurt,” as if he had fallen into a vast, empty nightmare.

He Mu kept his voice as calm as possible, not putting too much pressure on Wenren Sheng.

“Shengsheng, I’m your lover. If it’s really that hard, you can tell me about it.”

Wenren Sheng hesitated for a moment but still didn’t speak.

His head felt dizzy; he couldn’t think straight.

He knew He Mu wanted to understand the details of his past—this man had a thirst for knowledge about everything concerning him.

But fresh from waking from that dream, Wenren Sheng hadn’t sorted out his emotions yet, nor did he have a strong desire to express them. His heart was like a closed flower bud, sealing away all feelings for the time being.

When he couldn’t figure things out, Wenren Sheng instinctively avoided the issue.

“Don’t ask about this, Brother,” he wrapped his arms around He Mu’s neck and whined coquettishly. “I want a kiss.”

With that, he leaned forward to meet He Mu’s lips, pecking him twice quite proactively, like a clingy little bird.

The tears that had just fallen slipped between their lips, carrying a faint salty wetness. Wenren Sheng clumsily nibbled on He Mu’s lower lip, his movements light as if seducing.

After kissing for a while, He Mu gripped Wenren Sheng’s waist and parted their lips.

“Shengsheng,” he frowned slightly, his words laced with heartache, “you’re still crying.”

Wenren Sheng froze for a moment, then belatedly wiped the corner of his eye, indeed feeling a bit of dampness.

He Mu sighed and asked, “You had a really scary dream, didn’t you?”

Wenren Sheng pursed his lips, a hint of grievance coloring his eyes. “You know that and still ask… If Brother kisses me more, I’ll forget the nightmare.”

At those words, He Mu fell silent.

After a few seconds, he pressed the back of Wenren Sheng’s neck and claimed his lips again.

At least kisses and desire could numb the pain.

Since he didn’t want to talk, they might as well devote themselves fully to the pleasure at hand. At least this way, Wenren Sheng would feel good.

He Mu pulled up the covers casually, trapping the two of them in the small space. Wenren Sheng was pinned at the waist and didn’t resist; in this kiss, he slowly closed his eyes.

The lingering echoes of the nightmare were quickly overtaken by the more forceful demand of the kiss. He listened to the ambiguous licking sounds between their teeth, felt He Mu’s tongue pushing against his, and a numbness spread up his back, his bones starting to soften.

The air filled with wet erotic desire, gradually building, then condensing into thin sweat on their bodies and damp traces at his eye corners.

Before long, Wenren Sheng was kissed until his whole body heated up, and his tail even slipped out from under the covers.

“Brother He Mu,” Wenren Sheng breathed raggedly as he parted from He Mu’s lips. He took He Mu’s hand and placed it on his own waist. “I want you so much…”

He Mu’s gaze darkened as he teasingly stroked Wenren Sheng’s waist twice. “Don’t force yourself, Shengsheng.”

“I’m really hot.”

Wenren Sheng mumbled, cutting him off. He flipped over, straddled He Mu, and brushed his fingertips against He Mu’s crotch.

The Mountain God had indeed responded to him again—just one kiss and he was like this. What a lecher.

“Brother’s hot too,” Wenren Sheng said bluntly.

With a few “swish” sounds, the silk sheets slid open.

His fluffy tail swayed lazily. Steamed by the erotic heat, Wenren Sheng wasn’t very clear-headed. He braced his hands behind him on the bed, knees together, and proactively rubbed against He Mu.

“Is this… okay?” Wenren Sheng’s cheeks flushed peach-pink, his wolf ears obediently drooping. “Does Brother like it?”

He Mu narrowed his eyes slightly. His hand left Wenren Sheng’s ankle, sliding slowly up the skin of his leg to the bend of his knee.

He didn’t mind giving Wenren Sheng a chance to take the initiative—these were just ways to build arousal in bed. In the end, the result was always Wenren Sheng lying under him and crying.

But today’s situation was different. Wenren Sheng was throwing himself into lust to escape the pain.

It was less “initiative” and more “seduction.”

He Mu let him rub against him like a kitten scratching. When he could no longer endure it, he grabbed Wenren Sheng’s knee bend, flipped the tables, and pushed him down.

Wenren Sheng lay on the soft bedding, his long hair splayed out, obediently still.

“Don’t be mad, Brother,” he lifted his leg onto He Mu’s shoulder and shook the Ankle Bell on his ankle, saying shyly, “I’ll be good today.”

He Mu heard the crisp jingle of the bell by his ear and saw the flush on Wenren Sheng’s face. He felt his own rationality on the verge of collapse.

Did this kid even remember where he was?

This was the Divine Temple on Fragrant Ze Mountain, the place where Wenren Sheng had been taken in and raised from childhood. Every corner of this room bore traces of him growing from a child into a youth.

To be casually toyed with in a place like this, and still call himself a good, obedient child?

He Mu took a deep breath and said instinctively, “You really are…”

Halfway through, he paused, swallowed the words he wanted to say, and instead muttered, “You’ve got some nerve.”

Wenren Sheng blinked innocently.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” He Mu shook his head, caressed the Ankle Bell on Wenren Sheng’s ankle, and tugged the faintest smile at his lips. “Keep me company more tonight, Shengsheng.”

The next day.

When Wenren Sheng woke, he found a little sparrow nestled by his pillow, its head bobbing sleepily.

He rubbed his eyes and sat up, scooping the sparrow into his arms. He looked around.

“Brother?”

He Mu wasn’t in the room.

This wasn’t the little hut where Wenren Sheng usually stayed on Fragrant Ze Mountain either. The room was neatly lined with weapon racks, and strange magical talismans hung on the walls.

Wenren Sheng then remembered that he had accidentally wet the sheets last night, so they had slept in this room that He Mu usually occupied.

Thinking of the reason, Wenren Sheng shamefully buried his head, using the sparrow to hide his face.

Ah, he absolutely wouldn’t do something like that again next time.

Last night, because he didn’t want to tell He Mu too much about his dream, he had seduced him a little proactively. But he hadn’t expected a former Mountain God to have such poor self-control—he took the bait immediately!

Wenren Sheng hadn’t considered at all what to do after whetting someone’s appetite, or how to make He Mu stop at the right moment. In the end, he had only made things harder for himself.

He Mu had been especially excessive last night. Every time Wenren Sheng’s body reached its limit and he was on the verge of passing out, the man would wickedly use a spell to heal him, then start all over from the beginning. They repeated this several times, nearly breaking Wenren Sheng’s mind. Even now, thinking back made him a little scared.

“Wu…” Feeling embarrassed, Wenren Sheng let out a low whimper. “So annoying…”

“Who’s annoying?”

As he wallowed in regret, He Mu’s voice came from the doorway.

Wenren Sheng shivered and hurriedly used the back of his hand to cool his cheeks. “N-No one said you, anyway!”

Once the heat on his face subsided a bit, Wenren Sheng dared to peek up at He Mu.

He Mu wore only casual clothes, his arms bound tightly with black arm guards, and he carried two hoe blades in his hands. The blades looked brand new, as if just bought from down the mountain.

He Mu explained, “The Barrier hasn’t fully dissipated for some reason, so we can’t use big spells. Have to gather herbs ourselves.”

“Gather them yourself?” At that, Wenren Sheng quickly set the sparrow aside and swung his legs off the bed. “I’ll come help Brother right away.”

He Mu hummed in acknowledgment and pushed the medicine basket by the door toward him. “Stay by my side. If we work hard for three or four days, we should manage.”

Wenren Sheng changed into light clothes at top speed, shouldered the basket, and followed He Mu into the mountain woods.

At the third quarter of the yin hour, all things were just awakening.

Branches and leaves formed a green canopy, morning light piercing through the gaps to speckle the ground.

He Mu half-squatted and parted a cluster of grass, carefully identifying the usable herbs. He plucked a small piece and tasted it on his tongue.

Wenren Sheng stood by, hands on his knees, seriously observing and learning.

“What does it taste like?” he asked curiously. “Looks sweet.”

He Mu said nothing and plucked another piece to hand to Wenren Sheng.

Wenren Sheng took the leaf, mimicked He Mu by tasting it on his tongue tip. The expected sweetness didn’t come; instead, a bitter astringency made him frown.

“So gross…” Wenren Sheng pulled out the leaf, saying disdainfully. “Can Duoxiren really drink medicine made from this?”

“That’s his problem.”

He Mu smiled, gripped the whole bitter herb, spun his hoe blade, and neatly sliced at the root.

Wenren Sheng quickly turned around, gesturing for He Mu to put the herb in his own basket.

He Mu hesitated. “Won’t it be too heavy? Maybe I should carry it.”

“Brother, don’t try to hog all the credit,” Wenren Sheng said discontentedly. “Am I some fragile doll? This weighs less than a few Rabbits.”

When he was only as tall as a stool, he had already helped the clan leader carry baby Rabbits out to feed them grass.

He Mu sighed and placed the herb in Wenren Sheng’s basket. The two walked a few more steps down the mountain, continuing to search for the herbs on the list.

Halfway there, He Mu suddenly stopped and grabbed Wenren Sheng.

“Shengsheng,” he pointed to a sweet potato half-exposed in the distance. “Race me to that. Loser only eats sweet potatoes tonight.”

Wenren Sheng said, “But sweet potatoes are delicious.”

“…Fine, winner gets an extra sweet potato.”

Wenren Sheng’s eyes lit up, and he nodded. “Okay!”

With that, he unshouldered his basket and drew a line on the ground with his shoe tip.

“We start here. Ready, Brother?”

He Mu summoned Color Kill with a wave, stepped onto it, and lifted his chin at Wenren Sheng. “Ready.”

Wenren Sheng glanced at He Mu’s Amber Gold Sword.

Cheating with Sword Flight…

He huffed lightly, released the Transformation Technique, shook his ears, and reverted to his Little Wolf form.

But for such a short distance, Sword Flight might not be faster than him running.

“Then let’s go.” Wenren Sheng pawed the ground.

“Three, two—”

“One!”

The moment “one” fell, Wenren Sheng ignored He Mu and pounced forward on all fours!

But after just a few steps, he tripped over a rock that came out of nowhere. He curled into a ball and tumbled down the slope with a rumble.

He Mu: ?

He startled at the noise, his Sword Flight motion halting.

A moment later, he realized the danger and urged Color Kill to chase after.

“Wenren Sheng!”

A few seconds later, Wenren Sheng’s ball-form overtook the sweet potato’s roots. He Mu sped up, grabbing his scruff just before he hit a farther tree stump.

“Wenren Sheng,” He Mu halted Color Kill abruptly and lifted the Little Wolf high, face full of disbelief. “You tripped on that?”

As soon as he spoke, He Mu noticed something off.

There was no trace of a fall’s embarrassment on Wenren Sheng’s face—only the smugness of a plan succeeding. He flailed his four paws and cheered enthusiastically:

“First place! Brother fell for it!”

“…”

…He’d been tricked.

He Mu laughed helplessly. “That win wasn’t handsome at all.”

Wenren Sheng tsked. “Winning’s what matters. Why bother with handsome? Brother’s so childish.”

Childish?

At that, He Mu bristled. He pulled Wenren Sheng closer.

“Oh, I’m childish?” he said lowly. “Then the eighteen-year-old who still wets the bed—is he even more childish than me?”

Wenren Sheng: “…………”

“I beg you, Brother! Can you shut up!!”

Wenren Sheng yelled in breakdown and swatted a paw over He Mu’s face.

Right now, he really wanted to dig up that sweet potato and stuff it in He Mu’s mouth to shut him up forever!