Chapter 78: Fried to a Crisp, Golden on Both Sides

The sky gradually darkened as night grew thicker.

Judging the timing right and the drug’s effects kicking in, Gu Changhuai quietly slipped up to Rong Ye’s door.

Just to be safe, he knocked lightly first and called out softly, “Immortal Lord? Immortal Lord, are you asleep? Rong Ye?… Little Rong-rong?”

“…”

He tried several forms of address in a row but got no response from inside. Gu Changhuai’s heart settled back into his chest. While marveling at how effective Hua Mei’s drug was, he crept forward, pushed open the door, and slipped inside.

A figure lay quietly on the bed.

Gu Changhuai thought to himself that the drug’s effect was almost too strong. Rong Ye usually meditated to regulate his breathing; it was rare for him to lie down like this to rest.

This made it all the easier for him to approach.

Taking advantage of the drug’s peak potency, he sat on the edge of the bed and silently studied the incapacitated Rong Ye.

It was deep into the night, with Rong Ye dressed in dark cyan sleep robes, his collar slightly open, the quilt draped over his waist, his eyes peacefully closed and breathing steady—as if he were truly at anyone’s mercy.

Gu Changhuai’s expression turned strange for a moment. He hadn’t expected the words he’d spoken just recently to come true so easily. He stared fixedly for a long time before reaching out to caress the handsome face’s brows and eyes, lost in a daze.

His fingertip shifted to the long lashes and gave them a flick. He recalled the past he’d seen in the Dream-Making Flower’s illusion—the shocking, emerald-green eyes like grandmother gems that belonged to Rong Ye.

As if possessed, he leaned down and brushed his lips against Rong Ye’s eyelids.

In an instant.

The atmosphere shifted abruptly. Gu Changhuai felt the air around him turn cold. Looking down, he suddenly met a pair of eyes identical to those in his memory—deep, cold emeralds.

“？!”

Gu Changhuai’s pupils contracted. Terrified out of his wits, he bolted upright to flee, but his body wouldn’t budge. Looking down, he saw a hand reaching from behind, pressing against his abdomen. Before he could react, the world spun around him, and in a moment, their positions flipped.

He was hauled onto the bed, lying in the spot Rong Ye had just occupied. That faint, chilling cold fragrance enveloped him instantly, like a little bug voluntarily stepping into a spider’s web.

Gu Changhuai nervously swallowed. Trying to reason, he said, “Immortal Lord… how about you hear me out…” But halfway through, he abruptly stopped, his eyes widening.

Above him, Rong Ye’s expression was dark. He gripped Gu Changhuai’s wrist and lifted it up.

Gu Changhuai always dressed casually at Waterside Residence. With his hand raised, the wide sleeve slid down, bunching at his elbow, exposing his slender, pale forearm in plain sight.

Now, Gu Changhuai truly didn’t dare move a muscle.

Rong Ye lowered his gaze, his eyes fixed darkly on him without a flicker. From his superior position, his high nose bridge brushed against the pale skin, sniffing as if exploring a prey’s scent, laced with an intimate intent.

Sensing something off, Gu Changhuai’s fingertips trembled. He tentatively called out, “…Rong Ye?”

The other showed no reaction, still expressionless as he nuzzled along the skin of his forearm, leaning down toward his neck.

Scorching breaths sprinkled on his neck, making Gu Changhuai shudder all over. He instinctively withdrew his hand to cover Rong Ye’s mouth and nose, groping at the other’s body, only to be dazed by Rong Ye’s abnormally high body temperature.

No, this wasn’t right…

Gu Changhuai began to doubt his life choices when his hand was suddenly given a light nip. Dissatisfaction flashed in Rong Ye’s eyes as he caught the fingers covering his mouth and nose between his teeth.

Stray long hair fell from his temple, obscuring most of Rong Ye’s face. Backlit as he was, Gu Changhuai couldn’t make out his expression clearly, but he sensed the atmosphere growing subtly charged.

The man above leaned down to press against him.

“Mmph—”

Gu Changhuai’s eyes instinctively narrowed, his slightly parted lips sealed. The other was unhurried, gently sucking on his lip, toying with it like a pool of warm water that slowly eased Gu Changhuai’s tension.

Just as he thought it wasn’t so bad, his breath was stolen away. His teeth were pried open, and a flexible tongue wrapped around his own with forceful dominance, claiming his breath entirely without refusal.

Gu Changhuai was kissed dizzy, a teardrop unconsciously welling at the corner of his eye. Entwined too tightly, he couldn’t catch his breath.

Pinned between the bed and the tall figure above, he helplessly kicked his legs. The quilt tangled into a mess, his robe hem and pant legs sliding up. Realizing escape was impossible, his pale legs lay powerless amid the dark bedding.

Only after a long while was his mouth released.

Gu Changhuai’s vision swam, his dazed eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Almost before his brain caught up, his hands moved on instinct. He pinned Rong Ye’s hands, flipped their positions, straddled his waist with his knees, and knelt over his abdomen, temporarily subduing him.

Rong Ye let out a muffled grunt but didn’t resist, merely staring at him with dark eyes.

Gu Changhuai averted his face under that gaze, feeling deeply uncomfortable and not daring to move. There was something hard and dangerous pressing at his tailbone, making his already blood-red ears burn even hotter with anxiety.

This was tricky.

Tricky enough that Gu Changhuai was at a loss.

He admitted he lusted after Rong Ye’s beauty, but wasn’t this too fast?! His courage was great, but not to this extent. If they really got entangled like this, wouldn’t a sober Rong Ye tear him apart?!

Gu Changhuai hurriedly sent a transmission to Hua Mei. “Those drugs you prepared for me before coming to the Cultivation World—that vial, was it really a sedative??”

Hua Mei, puzzled, replied, “Yeah. It’s a sedative, an aphrodisiac sedative. What’s up?”

Gu Changhuai glanced at Rong Ye, who looked impatient with slightly furrowed brows, and choked. As if you don’t know what’s up—you nearly got me killed!

Not wanting to broadcast the matter, he mumbled, “Nothing, I was just about to use it and noticed the taste was off, so I came to ask.” Just as he finished, the transmission cut off abruptly.

Rong Ye raised his hand, spiritual power dissipating from his palm. Not only had he severed the transmission, but a stronger force spread outward, instantly erecting a barrier outside Waterside Residence that no one could approach or whose voice could penetrate.

Gu Changhuai’s eyelid twitched.

The next moment, he was pressed down again.

…

Gu Changhuai’s breathing grew unsteady. Gasping for air, he couldn’t help tilting his neck back, the water in his eyes finally spilling over as tears.

His ankles were caught in a palm and spread apart. His tears fell fiercely, only to be kissed away.

His hands flailed in the air, grasping at nothing, so he clung to the relentlessly tormenting Rong Ye like driftwood. Unable to control himself, he wrapped around him, wanting to speak but sobbing too hard. His knuckles flushed pink against pale skin, standing out starkly. In frustration, he nipped at Rong Ye’s chin twice.

Then his waist was pinned, and Rong Ye pulled him closer into his embrace, settling deeply. Gu Changhuai shuddered, trembling as he exhaled.

His tears fell even harder. He felt swollen, yet it was exquisite.

He felt just like that silver fish, fried to a crisp, golden on both sides. He could only keep drawing in breaths to sustain himself. Finally, limp, he dropped his head onto Rong Ye’s shoulder, leaning all his weight against the other.

Even his divine sense was coaxed out, hooked and entwined strand by strand.

Later on, in a haze, Gu Changhuai felt himself being thoroughly drenched, like a little boat bobbing on the water’s surface, rocking and swaying, scooped up and completely enveloped in an embrace.

Before fully passing out, only one thought remained in his mind—he’d really turned into a silver fish!