TSMITB Chapter47

After Sheng Qixiao left, the small building instantly became quiet.

Shen Que did not ask what Sheng Qixiao had been called away for. He knew that those old fogeys, every single one of them, were up to no good, so every time they sought out Sheng Qixiao, it naturally wasn’t for anything good.

But Sheng Qixiao wasn’t a good person either, so what happened to him was something he deserved. Shen Que felt that he should be smiling.

But he didn’t smile. He rested his palm against the railing, his fingers tapping on it lightly at irregular intervals. He watched Sheng Qixiao’s figure, which gradually shrank until it completely disappeared from view, unable to articulate the feeling in his heart.

Last night’s rainwater had soaked his heart, and the hidden luminescent butterfly herb had put him on a pyre to burn. A damp flame quietly sparked within his chest. It did not burn fiercely, yet it was impossible to put out.

Ke Di stood silently to the side, perhaps still remembering the grudge from when Gang Zi stuffed his mouth with a smelly sock. His face was very long. Shen Que boldly guessed that if he got any closer, he might hear the sound of Ke Di grinding his teeth.

Thinking of this, Shen Que was suddenly able to smile.

The next moment, his thoughts shifted. Connecting it with something else, his expression gradually dimmed, and he suddenly spoke. The question sounded somewhat abrupt in the small building that had been quiet for quite some time.

“Are there any special medicines in the mountains that can strengthen the body and give people immense power?”

Although he wouldn’t call himself a muscle man, he had never skipped daily workouts to stay in shape, and his physical fitness, honed by various extreme sports, was stronger than most ordinary people.

But in front of Sheng Qixiao, everything became futile. He was easily suppressed and controlled again and again, completely unable to fight back.

He felt the problem wasn’t with him; Sheng Qixiao must have been cheating.

Ke Di’s face flashed with an extremely complex emotion when he heard this. He wanted to speak but hesitated, finally shaking his head, “No. It might be because he is more… unique.”

Shen Que nodded highly supportively and didn’t press for details. He hadn’t expected to get any useful information from Ke Di anyway.

The two of them looked at each other, and once again, the room fell into silence.

“Then why do you stay in the mountains? Don’t you long for the outside world?” The silence lasted barely two seconds before Shen Que had a new question. His tone sounded very casual like pure curiosity with no malicious intent. “Why do the people who stay behind choose to stay? Is it because they can’t bear to leave this place?”

Ke Di frowned and thought for a moment. Although he had mentally prepared himself to be “grilled” by Shen Que before coming, when it actually required him to improvise, he inevitably showed some apprehension.

It wasn’t that he was timid. If it were before, he could have relied on Shen Que currently knowing nothing to talk back to him a bit.

But now, Shen Que and Sheng Qixiao were a pair blessed by the Spirit of Nature. How could he dare to act rashly?

He even wanted to metaphorically light a candle for his impulsive and reckless self from a while ago.

“It’s very complicated,” Ke Di touched his face as if lost in some past memory, “People on the outside aren’t necessarily free either.”

Shen Que stared unblinkingly at Ke Di, suddenly recalling the dream from last night that could be considered a nightmare.

He hesitated for a moment, then briefly described the scene in the dream by omitting the series of doubts he had upon waking about the authenticity of his memories.

No normal person would doubt their past experiences just because of a dream unless they were crazy.

He didn’t know where this seed of doubt came from. Maybe he really was infected by Sheng Qixiao, although he had never heard of mental illness being transmitted through blood, saliva, or negative intimate.

But what if?

Ke Di listened attentively while gazing thoughtfully into the distance. His expression didn’t change at all, and he didn’t say anything useful either, merely lamenting how quickly time passed.

“……” Shen Que ignored his pretense of profundity, maintained his gentle tone, and continued to ask him about Sheng Qixiao.

This time, Ke Di didn’t continue to pretend, only telling him to ask Sheng Qixiao himself.

“The things between you two are too complicated. I don’t know what I can and can’t say, so please don’t make it difficult for me.”

Such frank and honest words were truly rare in these mountains. Shen Que fell silent. The calm expression he had been pretending to maintain turned cold, and he no longer bothered trying to coax Ke Di into speaking.

Seeing his cold face, the worry in Ke Di’s heart finally subsided. He proactively started a new topic, “What do you want to eat for lunch? Actually, I’m a really good cook.”

Shen Que glanced at him indifferently, presenting an air of “I don’t know you,” and turned to walk away.

“Hey! How come your face changes faster than the fog rolls in!”

The sky, freshly washed by the rain, darkened later than usual. A thick, ink-black darkness slowly spread across and swallowed this corner of the world.

When Sheng Qixiao returned, the moon had just peeked out from behind the clouds, half-hidden. The bright moonlight dispelled the chill of the night dew clinging to him.

On the table were several plates of unidentified objects suspected to be food. They were charred and distorted, each uniquely characteristic, emitting an odor similar to charcoal, and the raw ingredients were indistinguishable.

Sheng Qixiao’s already furrowed brow tightened even more immediately. He lifted his eyelids and looked at Ke Di.

He remembered that although Ke Di’s cooking was poor, it wasn’t to the extent of changing the nature of the ingredients. And he even had the nerve to use several plates to portion out these “ancient relics” that had survived the catastrophe.

Ke Di spread his hands and gestured towards Shen Que with his mouth, “Don’t blame me. This is the result of that spoiled Young Master fending for himself.”

Shen Que picked up a charred, unidentifiable object, crunched it into his mouth, and looked at Sheng Qixiao with slight dissatisfaction, asking reluctantly, “Is my cooking that daunting?”

Sheng Qixiao wanted to offer comfort but didn’t know how to start. All the insincere words caught in his throat, and he wasn’t in a hurry to find an outlet. He pursed his pale lips and took out two plates of pastries from the small basket in his hand.

Ke Di’s eyes lit up immediately upon seeing them. Shen Que quickly got up and nudged away Ke Di, who was reaching for the pastries, “Go home, I’ll see you out.”

Sheng Qixiao couldn’t spare the energy to interrupt the two people’s bickering. He pulled out a chair and sat down somewhat weakly.

As he moved, his wide cuff slipped back slightly, inadvertently exposing a segment of his wrist, which was an abnormally pale blue-white due to excessive blood loss, and a fresh cut on it.

His gaze seemingly casually swept over Shen Que, who had chased away Ke Di and was now turning back. There was unconcealed expectation in his eyes.

But his expectation was disappointed; Shen Que’s eyes did not linger on him for even a second.

Sheng Qixiao’s expression dimmed. He remained silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “You used to care about me.”

“So what? What do you want to express?” Shen Que returned to his original seat, studying the bamboo-woven plate holding the pastries. After a while, he realized something and explained sincerely, “I wasn’t really feeling bad for you. I just wanted to find out how many unsavory secrets you all have. And of course, I was afraid that if you died, we’d all suffer.”

“Aren’t you afraid now?”

“You’re alive,” Shen Que’s mouth curved into a smileless arc, “And I haven’t been doing particularly well either.”

“Are you still mad? Because of what happened this morning.” Sheng Qixiao lowered his eyes. Excessive fatigue had invaded his mind, which was running sluggishly. He reluctantly threw out a bait, “Didn’t you want to know about other things in the village? Give me a kiss, and I’ll tell you.”

Originally, he wouldn’t have returned this early, but Ke Di had sent Xiao Pao to relay a message to him about Shen Que’s dream.

This both surprised and alarmed him.

Shen Que’s dream was not a dream, or rather, not merely a dream, but a reflection of reality.

It was a sign that the forcibly sealed past was quietly recovering.

Shen Que quietly looked at Sheng Qixiao. The cut on his wrist had already scabbed over, but his extreme paleness and weak, listless words made his current frailty easily apparent.

Weakness meant a drop in combat ability and a shift in who held the initiative.

Shen Que adjusted his sitting posture, picked up the teapot on the table, poured warm water for Sheng Qixiao, and then pushed the pastries toward him, his expression cold and hard, “You try the poison first.”

Sheng Qixiao glanced at him lightly, obediently picked up a piece of pastry, and slowly swallowed it with some water.

What was usually tedious to eat now exuded a uniquely tempting aroma, a taste Sheng Qixiao had never discerned before.

Shen Que sat straight like a statue while staring at Sheng Qixiao’s sickly pale lips. The sight was irritating to him.

With his palms resting on his knees, Shen Que hesitantly and slowly leaned in. He felt he had no evil intentions at the moment, nor did he want to show off his power while Sheng Qixiao was weak; he merely intended to kindly “add some color” to Sheng Qixiao.

The soft lips met Sheng Qixiao’s. The familiar sensation instantly made Shen Que forget his initial intention.

His teeth clamped down on Sheng Qixiao’s lips, grinding and biting without reservation. There was no tenderness or lingering. Shen Que vengefully employed the worst kissing technique of his life, wanting Sheng Qixiao to understand the consequence of deceiving and threatening him.

When he pulled back, the lips that were originally devoid of color looked as if they had been forcefully coated with a limited edition lip gloss. It was rosy, full, and glistening with a watery sheen, standing out prominently against Sheng Qixiao’s pale face.

Shen Que leaned back against the chair, lifting his chin, “Your turn to talk.”

A numb, prickly pain arose on his lips. Sheng Qixiao extended the tip of his tongue to lick them, his gaze murky as he stared at Shen Que, closing the distance between them without any warning.

The sudden movement stirred up a breeze, carrying a fresh fragrance that rushed into Shen Que’s nostrils.

With one hand braced on the armrest beside Shen Que, he effectively trapped him in the narrow space between the table, the chair, and his own warm, firm chest, their breaths gradually mingling.

“That one didn’t count. I was distracted, and besides, it was too fast.”

“That’s your problem.” Shen Que unhesitatingly grabbed Sheng Qixiao’s arm braced beside him with his fingertips pressing hard into the wound that hadn’t completely healed.

Sheng Qixiao’s invasive movement paused for half a second, followed immediately by an even more aggressive and deeper approach.

His kisses were always disorderly. Since Shen Que, the “teacher,” never bothered to teach seriously, he could only suffer the consequences and was forced to surrender his breath.

Shen Que still tightly gripped Sheng Qixiao’s wrist, his fingertips almost tearing open the new scab and sinking deeply in. He tried to use the pain to force the person in front of him to retreat, but this small amount of pain was nowhere near enough to make him back off.

With the other hand clasping the back of Shen Que’s head, Sheng Qixiao firmly held him in his control.

In the face of absolute strength, all struggle is futile.

Shen Que clearly recognized this fact.

Even though Sheng Qixiao was currently so weak and pale he looked like he might ascend to heaven at any moment, the inhuman strength hidden beneath that beautiful facade could still easily subdue him.

The intensity of the struggle suddenly decreased. The storm-like assault gradually transformed into an intertwining entanglement.

Shen Que closed his eyes, his thick, long eyelashes trembling lightly. He hated the feeling of being controlled, hated Sheng Qixiao, and hated that he was beginning to indulge in the intimacy Sheng Qixiao brought him, which was always intertwined with pain and lies.

“Shen Que, look,” Sheng Qixiao’s voice was severely hoarse, low after the passion, “You clearly, have feelings for me.”

Shen Que opened his eyes. Before the confusion in his eyes could dissipate, battle lines were drawn, “All my functions are normal. Anyone can make me react if they rub against me a couple of times.”

Sheng Qixiao chuckled softly twice, the vibrations from his chest making their tightly pressed bodies shift slightly. He seemed extremely pleased. He leaned in again and gently bit Shen Que’s lip.

“Stubborn.” He said like a sigh.

“If you think it’s too hard, then don’t kiss it.” Shen Que pushed him away forcefully before retreating a considerable distance along with his chair.

The smile in Sheng Qixiao’s eyes deepened. Having long forgotten what modesty was, he reached out with both hands, scooped Shen Que onto his lap, and before Shen Que could get angry, immediately buried his face in Shen Que’s neck as if utterly exhausted.

“I’m so tired, Shen Que. Let me lean on you for a bit.”

This sudden vulnerable posture froze Shen Que in place. The words of refusal rolled and rolled on his tongue but were eventually swallowed.

Sheng Qixiao, who was nestled in the warmth, slowly blinked his eyes. His eyelashes brushed against Shen Que, making him subconsciously retract his neck.

“Shen Que ah.” Sheng Qixiao drew out the final syllable, sounding both like a sigh and a lament.

He’s so soft-hearted, how can he be a villain.

“What’s wrong?”

“You squeezed me very hard just now.”

“You deserved that.”

“En.” So I will get it back.

“What do they want your blood for?”

Sheng Qixiao’s voice came muffled from Shen Que’s shoulder and neck, laden with deep fatigue, “I’m afraid if I tell you, you will leave me.”

“Don’t worry,” Shen Que raised his hand and patted Sheng Qixiao’s back, “Even if you don’t tell me, I’ll leave anyway.”

“……” Sheng Qixiao was silent for a long time, tightening the arm wrapped around Shen Que’s waist. He didn’t use coercion or temptation as he had in the previous days to make Shen Que abandon the idea.

In the quietness, the sound of rain pitter-pattering started up again in Shen Que’s ears, making a disorganized noise, much like his own current complex emotions.

But as he looked up outside the house; there was only a single moon hanging in the sky.

It wasn’t raining outside, so where was the rain coming from?

Sheng Qixiao in his arms had fallen asleep at some point. Having shed all his aggression from when he was awake, he surprisingly displayed a rare compliance and fragility that matched his age and looks.

If only he could always be like this, Shen Que thought haphazardly.