Chapter 42

Luo Li felt that comparing Huo Lan to a stray dog just now wasn’t quite appropriate.

Though he was blind and foolish, when it came to his physique and stamina, he didn’t resemble a stray dog at all.

That day too, in his hands, it had lasted so long before…

Luo Li was pressed down onto the bed by him. The fool had already tried his best to be gentle, but for this delicate little concubine, it was still terribly rough.

He was forcibly pulled into the other’s embrace. Huo Lan’s scorching lips brushed against his earlobe, instantly throwing Luo Li into disarray.

“You… what are you doing!”

Huo Lan didn’t know what he himself wanted to do.

He carefully protected Luo Li’s lower abdomen. He had no other intentions; he just couldn’t bear to watch the little concubine suffer.

But he wasn’t feeling well either. It was like an old ailment flaring up again. Pressed against Luo Li’s small, soft body, he desperately craved an outlet to vent.

How exactly had his father done it?

How did children come about?

He really wanted to know.

He needed Luo Li to teach him.

“Lili…”

Huo Lan didn’t dare act rashly. This was Lili’s room, not his. He couldn’t dirty Lili’s bed too.

Luo Li was frantic with anxiety. He knew the physician would bring Huo Cheng over tonight. If that man saw him lying in bed like this with his second brother, it would be over.

“You… stay away from me.”

The boy shoved him hard, his sweet voice already tinged with a thin sob. “If your father finds out, he won’t let you off!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a deafening thunderclap exploded outside the door.

In the biting winter cold, dry thunder cracked from nowhere. The red lanterns outside the ancestral hall swayed wildly, as if waves of Yin Energy were pouring into the room. Luo Li couldn’t help but think of the deceased Xi Wang again.

The blood beads around his ankle were also faintly glowing.

It was as if Huo Jieqi were right nearby at that moment, watching his fake outer chamber consort getting improper with his son.

In his desperation, Luo Li wrenched himself free with all his strength and stumbled off the bed.

Before Huo Lan could catch up, he yanked open the door and fled outside.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten that he wasn’t familiar with the layout of the Huo Mansion. He darted around like a headless fly and soon lost his way completely.

It was then that 007 reminded him, “Don’t forget your item.”

Luo Li came to his senses and remembered the [Tracking] he had obtained from the instance earlier.

As the glow of the [Tracking] flickered at his fingertips, Luo Li ventured step by step into the deeper darkness.

The red lanterns ahead grew clearer. He suddenly realized: the item had led him to the ancestral hall.

It made sense, after all. He still had a mission to release the suppressed evil spirit.

Luo Li hesitated. Going back now probably meant he’d never get another chance to come here alone.

What if…

He took this opportunity to search for the evil spirit?

He steadied himself for a moment, then steeled his nerves and headed toward the red lanterns.

No wonder the Huo Family had built their mansion on the mountain. The ancestral hall actually connected to a deep, shadowy cave.

Along the tunnel leading to the cave entrance stood ancient stone statues overgrown with moss. Some were missing hands, others heads, cracked into pieces or toppled over.

The youth supported himself against the damp stone walls, his snow-white calves trembling nonstop. The cave’s humid mist climbed up his legs. He rose onto his tiptoes and stepped onto the ground; the path ahead was full of water.

At the deepest point stood the memorial tablets of the Huo Family ancestors. Dim candle flames flickered on the pallid wax, like ghostfire in the darkness.

Luo Li braced himself against the stone wall and carefully stepped across the water.

Finally, he stopped before the towering stack of memorial tablets.

On the incense table besides the tablets sat Huo Jieqi’s portrait. The stern, dignified patriarch was dressed all in black—not at all like the gaudily jeweled rich man in Luo Li’s stereotypes. Huo Jieqi wore nothing ornate, just somber and austere.

Now facing this man’s portrait, Luo Li inexplicably felt a pang of guilt.

As if he had truly done all sorts of shady things behind this person’s back with his son.

He quickly averted his gaze and looked up.

Above the cluster of memorial tablets loomed a particularly striking black stone statue.

It was hard to say what exactly the statue depicted. Its upper body was plastered with talismans, leaving only the lower half visible. Its seated pose was utterly arrogant, one leg crossed over the other, with what looked like tentacles coiling around its waist.

It looked sinister at first glance.

Luo Li vaguely sensed that the talismans covering it were probably what suppressed the evil spirit.

But no matter how he stretched on tiptoe, he still couldn’t reach the statue.

Luo Li simply tried climbing onto the incense table. But just as he perched there, footsteps echoed from outside.

Someone had come looking?

There was a gap behind the memorial tablets. Luo Li hunched down and squeezed into it.

He had just hidden himself when he glimpsed the newcomer through the gaps between the tablets.

…It was Huo Lan.

He had no idea how a blind, foolish man like him had found this place. He stepped right into the water without noticing, groping along the stone walls until he reached the incense table.

Seeing it was him, Luo Li relaxed a bit. After all, Huo Lan couldn’t see; he just needed to find a chance to slip away.

But just as he prepared to sneak past Huo Lan, the young man spoke.

“Um…”

“Lili, is that you here?”

Luo Li froze mid-step.

He held his breath, not daring to respond. Sweat seeped from his palms, gradually soaking his sleeves.

Huo Lan sniffed. “I can smell it—your scent… so sweet.”

“Are you… angry? It’s all my fault, I’m sorry. But I… I couldn’t control myself.”

“For several nights, I’ve been dreaming of you. Lili, I miss you… so much.”

His words were too blunt. Luo Li flushed crimson, even less willing to reply.

At that moment, voices calling for someone came from outside the ancestral hall. Servants and attendants were shouting for the second young master. It was unclear if they’d come inside.

Luo Li grew more tense, but Huo Lan seemed oblivious, continuing to speak to himself.

“I know my brain is slow… Big Brother and Third Brother both despise me. Only you treat me so well.”

“I’ll treat you well too! I mean it, I like…”

“What about your illness? Is it any better?”

Before the words finished, Luo Li suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth.

Leaning close to his ear, he whispered, “Fool, be quiet!”

The attendants called for the second young master outside but didn’t dare enter the ancestral hall. After all, anyone who had trespassed before had been harshly punished by Huo Cheng. They only hoped Huo Lan would hear and come out on his own.

But Huo Lan was suddenly tackled into his arms by the small, sweet-scented little madam, nearly losing his footing. All he could do was hold on tight, forgetting everything else.

Luo Li listened intently to the sounds outside. Gradually, the calls faded. It seemed they had no intention of coming in.

Only then did he relax. He slowly released his grip and pulled away from Huo Lan.

The fool grinned vacantly, but before he could speak, Luo Li cut in first. “Didn’t your father forbid you from entering the ancestral hall?”

Huo Lan blinked, not understanding.

Luo Li struck first and accused the other. “You trespassed into the ancestral hall. If the eldest young master finds out, you’ll definitely be punished. So no one can know about today, got it?”

Huo Lan paused for a few seconds, then nodded vigorously.

Luo Li sized him up, increasingly seeing him as a big, dumb oaf. After a moment’s thought, he ordered, “Ahem, come here.”

Huo Lan obediently approached.

Luo Li spread his arms. “Hug me.”

Flattered and surprised, Huo Lan hurriedly scooped him up.

“Lift me higher.”

The youth was light; raising him was easy. With a gentle flex of his arms, Luo Li’s toes left the ground.

He reached out and successfully grabbed the stone statue. But before he could celebrate for half a minute, Huo Lan—the one holding him from below—suddenly shifted the arm at his waist to cup under his small rear.

His palm supported Luo Li’s thigh. Huo Lan lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the warm inner side.

Luo Li shuddered all over. Shame and anger flushed his face red. Without hesitation, he drew up his knee to kick him.

But in that motion, his grip slipped, and the stone statue tumbled to the ground.

It rolled into the water with a splash.

“Ah! It’s all your fault! Put me down!”

Luo Li jumped from his arms to retrieve the statue.

The talismans on it were soaked, peeling off easily. But the broken edge was razor-sharp. He wasn’t paying attention, and it sliced his finger, drawing blood.

The blood dripped right onto the statue and vanished instantly.

Luo Li’s heart pounded. But after waiting a while, nothing happened.

Strange… Was the evil spirit not here?

Yet when he looked up, the shadow behind Huo Lan began to twist under his gaze.

The shadow swelled rapidly. Soon, the black shadow blanketed the entire cave wall. The writhing darkness gained substance, racing along the ground toward Luo Li.

Then, a pitch-black hand emerged from the floor.

It seized Luo Li’s ankle.

Another pressed against the back of his knee, slowly parting his legs.

This thing… had more than one hand.

The “hand” was ice-cold and damp, yet clever. It quickly undid the buttons at his waist, then tugged down his trousers through the open waistband, pushing aside the thin underlayer.

Sturdy tentacles then slid under his thighs, princess-carrying him up and placing him on the incense table before the memorial tablets.

Right beside Huo Jieqi’s portrait.

Huo Lan, oblivious to it all, took a nervous half-step forward, tentatively extending his tongue.

“Lili, I just held you… Could you, could you…”

He swallowed hard. “Give me another kiss. Just pretend it’s like kissing a little puppy.”

Luo Li was bound by the Ghost Hand and could only let out muffled “mmph mmph” sounds. To Huo Lan’s ears, they sounded like agreement.

He knelt down slowly, inch by inch, until his lips met the boy’s wet, sweet ones.

This kiss wasn’t intense. Instead, he carefully suckled and licked at Luo Li’s extended soft tongue. His lips wrapped around the tender tip, drawing it in densely to its deepest point before gently releasing it, as though afraid Luo Li might feel uncomfortable.

Or rather, it felt more like savoring a delicacy.

Saliva welled up in Luo Li’s mouth, with glistening drool dripping from the tip of his tongue. The foolish young master’s ears flushed red. Even though the saliva he swallowed carried a mix of sweet fragrance and faint saltiness, he relished it like rare ambrosia, smacking his lips with evident delight.

But Luo Li had no way to push him away.

His hands and legs were both clamped tight by the hands emerging from the darkness.

Huo Lan was utterly lost in the kiss, completely oblivious to the scene unfolding around them.

Of course, he couldn’t see how the Ghost Hand had pulled down the Little Concubine’s long pants, leaving those pink-white, plump thighs to quiver faintly while garish red flushes crept up over the knees. All that reached his ears were the boy’s occasional low gasps and, amid the kisses, a few soft whimpers spilling from his throat.

Those intermittent whimpers gradually took on the timbre of sobs.

…Only Luo Li himself knew that this blind, idiotic young master didn’t even know how to kiss.

To the point that he was kissing the wrong place.