Luo Li bit his lip tightly, tears blurring his vision.
This fool was definitely doing it on purpose.
Huo Lan clearly knew. He clearly knew…
Did he think that since Luo Li wasn’t resisting, it meant silent permission to keep going?
Tears clung to his eyelashes like dewdrops. As he lowered his gaze, fresh tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, tracing down his pointed chin and blending with the water stains on Huo Lan’s sharply chiseled, handsome face.
Water marks streaked the man’s high nose bridge and full lips. To claim he was unaware was laughable—no one would buy it.
He was doing it on purpose.
Purposely feigning innocence, taking advantage of the vulnerability.
The Ghost Hand pressing against him from behind seemed all too delighted by the scene. Luo Li’s legs tensed as he tried to pull away from those portraits and memorial tablets, but the Ghost Hand refused to grant him that small mercy.
Any closer, and he’d practically be sitting on Huo Jieqi’s portrait.
Fuming and frantic, Luo Li could only whimper through his sobs.
Huo Lan, meanwhile—who knew where he’d picked up such tricks?—kept teasing relentlessly, making escape even more impossible.
Just then, Huo Lan paused for a breath. He licked the glistening water from his lips and flashed a dopey grin. “Am I kissing you right like this?”
His fingers brushed lightly against Luo Li’s sensitive skin. “That day… I heard you in the room, talking to a man.”
Luo Li’s pupils shrank in shock.
So the eavesdropper lurking outside his and Chu Jing’s door that day had been Huo Lan!
“Don’t… be afraid. I won’t… tell a soul.”
Huo Lan’s voice came out hoarse. “Just… treat me like your little dog. That’s enough.”
He wasn’t greedy enough to demand exclusivity—no dreams of being Luo Li’s only one.
He was slow on the uptake, hopeless at so many things.
But he could learn from the other men around Luo Li.
As long as Luo Li didn’t shove him away…
【I can’t even—his simping is off the charts】
【Quit the act, okay? Talking all humble while forcibly hugging Little Rabbit and laying one on him? Not the face you had then】
【Who cares, just another roadside stray】
【Lapdog, lapdog—gotta lap to qualify, and damn, he lapped plenty】
【Yeah, got him all blissed out from the licking】
Luo Li was utterly helpless against this fool and could only shed weak, silent tears.
He struggled with his legs until he finally wrenched one free from the Ghost Hand’s grip, shuffling forward half a step.
The Ghost Hand shifted too, at last relenting. All its hands released him.
Luo Li paid no mind to anything else. He just wanted to snatch up the pants the Ghost Hand had forcibly yanked off him.
The trousers had fallen into a crevice in the cave floor. Luo Li knelt on the rough stone and bent down to retrieve them.
But the moment his fingers closed on one edge of the fabric, he felt his underwear snagged by a single digit.
That familiar icy touch—no need to look back to know it was the Evil Spirit.
The finger hooked the elastic waistband with malicious playfulness, then clamped down on the boy’s wrists and stripped the underwear clean off without ceremony.
Huo Lan stood by in bewilderment, clueless about what Luo Li was after and unable to offer any help.
Then came the boy’s voice, sticky and soft, broken by gasps. “Huo Lan… the thing to your right… pick it up for me…”
That scrap of white, thin fabric—a tiny triangle—had just been tossed by the Ghost Hand right beside Huo Lan.
Huo Lan fumbled along his instruction and found it.
Sure enough, there on the stone wall to his right lay that damp, soft piece of cloth.
“Is… this it?”
“Yes, quick—bring it here.”
Luo Li was frantically peeling the Ghost Hands from his body, clamping his thighs together to deny the Evil Spirit any purchase.
But the boy was no match in strength. The more he thrashed, the deeper he sank into its grasp.
And he couldn’t even use his skills—Huo Lan was still there. If a Player caught wind of his special abilities, his identity as the Boss would be exposed.
All because of this fool…
Luo Li’s damp lashes trembled as he glanced up, only to find Huo Lan frozen in place, stock-still.
He clutched that tiny bit of fabric, kneading it firmly in his fist.
“So wet…”
The thing in his hand carried Lili’s scent—strong and intoxicating.
And it was so small. What even was it for? So soft… still holding a trace of Lili’s warmth.
Luo Li grew frantic. “What… what are you doing? Give it back right now!”
Huo Lan seemed not to hear, his curiosity piqued. He stretched the little underwear open with his fingers.
In the Ancestral Hall’s dim candlelight, Luo Li couldn’t make out the details—just the pale, sheer fabric pressed against the young man’s palm. He pinched it slowly, then let it go.
Then Huo Lan held it up higher, lips tight as he swallowed hard.
He turned to Luo Li. “Lili, I… I think I’m sick again.”
“My body… it hurts so bad…”
The tiny triangle lay splayed in his broad palm. Huo Lan’s wide shoulders hunched as, right in front of Luo Li, he fumbled impatiently at the buttons of his own trousers.
The fool couldn’t even undress properly. After ages of tugging, the fastenings were more tangled than ever.
“No! Give it back!”
Luo Li burst into panicked tears. And at that exact moment, the Ancestral Hall’s heavy doors creaked open as someone strode into the cave.
Luo Li’s temple throbbed. In his desperation, he wrenched free of the Evil Spirit.
No time for more—he yanked on the long pants in a hurry, covering his bare lower half.
The Black Shadows around the cave vanished in an instant, slithering like a dark serpent into the water and out of sight.
Moments later, Huo Cheng pushed through the doors, his presence sending a chill through the air.
The stern young head of the family stood at the cave mouth and barked to those behind him, “That’s enough. We’ve found him—get out. I’ll handle this.”
No one had ever seen such a menacing expression on his face, laced with barely contained fury. They didn’t linger, withdrawing swiftly.
Huo Cheng’s gaze settled on Luo Li.
The boy’s hair was damp, strands plastered to his cheeks and neck. His ear tips glowed pink from the cold, and he hugged his arms, shivering lightly.
His pants hung loose at the waist, several buttons undone, dangling precariously and exposing half his porcelain-pale midriff.
Deep into the night, in this most sacred of places—the Ancestral Hall—no less, he’d found his father’s concubine entangled with his own brother.
Red, swollen marks lingered on Luo Li’s skin, as if from fervent sucking.
Huo Cheng drew a deep breath. “Why did you come here?”
Luo Li hadn’t yet cooked up an excuse. He couldn’t meet Huo Cheng’s eyes and lowered his lashes in guilt.
“This is forbidden ground—and someone just died here.” Reproof edged Huo Cheng’s voice. “Aren’t you afraid something might happen to you?”
“It… it wasn’t… Second Young Master…” Luo Li stammered.
“You know full well A Lan is the Second Young Master.”
Huo Cheng’s tone grew icier. “He’s your husband’s son. Father’s gone, but you’re carrying his child. Do you want his spirit tormented even in the afterlife?”
Luo Li’s pert, damp nose twitched. His brows knit, and mist gathered in his eyes.
Huo Cheng bit back the rest of his words, averting his gaze. He called for Huo Lan.
The foolish young man seemed to grasp the gravity, saying nothing more but pleading desperately on Luo Li’s behalf.
“We just… ran into each other. Lili’s a good person, Bro. Don’t yell at him.”
Huo Cheng’s expression didn’t soften a whit.
He approached the incense table and lifted Huo Jieqi’s black-and-white portrait, gently wiping the splattered water from its surface with his sleeve. His voice turned grave.
“A Lan, hand over whatever’s in your grip. Let me see it.”
It was too late for Huo Lan to hide anything now.
Huo Cheng took the flimsy little underwear and curved his lips in a smile devoid of any warmth. He looked straight at Luo Li.
The boy’s face gave everything away—his fair ears and neck flushed crimson.
Huo Cheng said nothing. He simply folded the underwear neatly and pocketed it.
“Everyone out.”
…
Luo Li and Huo Cheng walked back toward the Huo Mansion, one behind the other.
Servants had dragged Huo Lan away by force. As the Second Young Master, he faced no real trouble—but Luo Li, the little concubine, was another story.
In the dead of night, at a secluded corner of the mansion, Huo Cheng halted. He lowered his eyes to Luo Li’s waist.
“Don’t you even know how to button your pants?”
Luo Li had fretted the whole way and had clean forgotten.
He started to bend down to fix them, but Huo Cheng pressed a hand to his waist.
One by one, he fastened the buttons himself.
Huo Cheng kept his face impassive, but strange emotions roiled within.
Such a slender waist.
Skin so fair. The belly flat as a board—not a hint of pregnancy.
And… nothing underneath those pants.
That little underwear was now in his pocket.
Luo Li was going commando.
His second brother was a blind fool—how had he ended up with something so intimate?
Huo Cheng wasn’t one for baseless suspicions, but in this situation, his mind raced.
After a taut silence, he murmured, “What exactly did you and A Lan get up to in the Ancestral Hall?”
Luo Li’s heart hammered. He felt utterly beyond redemption.
“I know you’re still young. Father’s death left you lonely—it’s only natural to seek some relief.”
Huo Cheng released the waistband and leaned down, drawing slowly closer. “But couldn’t you hold out just a few months? Until the child in your belly is born?”
The closer he got, the harder it became to ignore that breathtaking beauty. With no makeup at all, how could his eyelashes be so long, his lips so red?
His outfit was plain too—simple fabric pants clinging to his thighs, the subtle inward curve at the crotch standing out starkly.
This beautiful boy possessed something only girls should have.
For some reason, Huo Cheng just couldn’t shake that thought from his mind.
Right then, he was even grateful that his younger brother was blind.
Otherwise, if Huo Lan caught sight of what lay beneath those pants…
Huo Cheng knew he would be consumed by jealousy, driven to madness.
Finally, he said, “Stay away from my brothers.”
Luo Li saw that Huo Cheng had no intention of throwing him out of the Huo Mansion, so he mustered a bit more courage and weakly shot back, “Don’t I need to stay away from you? You… you want me to go with you to that banquet too…”
Huo Cheng lowered his eyes. “I won’t do anything improper to my father’s widow.”
He pulled out the pair of underwear and handed it back to Luo Li. “Put this away yourself. Don’t let anything like this happen again.”
He turned to leave, then paused in his steps.
“I’ll keep everything that happened today hushed up. No one else will know.”
“In a couple of days, I’ll arrange for you to head to Jinzhou City as soon as possible.”
“But, but…”
Luo Li felt utterly wronged.
His carefully laid plan had been thoroughly disrupted by that stupid dog Huo Lan.
Now he was not only still going to Jinzhou City, but it had to be “as soon as possible,” rendering all his efforts for nothing.
He made one last attempt to resist. “But like I said, I’m not feeling well.”
“Not feeling well? You mean your child?”
The shadowed intensity in Huo Cheng’s gaze carried a leg-weakening pressure, and Luo Li nodded with a shiver.
“If you truly care about the child my father left you, then protect him properly. Don’t let just any man touch you so casually.”
Huo Cheng continued, “If you’re really unwell, there are better doctors in Jinzhou City.”
In other words, the matter was not up for discussion.
