Jiang Zhou was still in a state of shock, his heart pounding wildly as he subconsciously looked at him.
Ji Yunlang was simply too fast!
Seeing the panic in his master’s eyes, Ji Yunlang’s purple eyes darkened, and the anger in the depths of his gaze flared even brighter. The edge of his sword pressed a few inches closer as he asked, “Are you afraid?”
Jiang Zhou remained silent, locking eyes with him.
In his mind, he thought: A young disciple, an athletic disciple, a fast disciple not only is your master afraid, but your master was almost scared to death.
He did not even know if his disguise’s face had reset properly. If it was crooked, Ji Yunlang might just stab him to death on the spot.
Ji Yunlang stared at him without moving. His gaze slowly traveled down Jiang Zhou’s face to the spiritual locking chain around his neck, and he called out, “Master.”
Jiang Zhou did not answer. He tilted his face slightly to the side to avoid the sword and took the initiative to grab Ji Yunlang’s hand, intending to lead him away.
Ji Yunlang refused to budge. The sword remained pressed against the side of Jiang Zhou’s face, though the anger in his eyes upon seeing him had now turned into a cold stillness.
Seeing that he could not pull Ji Yunlang’s hand down, Jiang Zhou reached out with both arms, wrapped them around his waist, and hugged him. Exerting a bit of force, he pushed him back a few steps. Just as he was about to let go, a hand firmly gripped his own waist.
Ji Yunlang refused to let him pull away, pulling Jiang Zhou tightly into his embrace. His tone was laced with impatience. “Why are you hugging me? You are playing this trick again. The moment I catch you, you come to behave obediently for me. What if I hadn’t caught you? Were you planning to hide from me for the rest of your life?”
Held tightly in his arms, Jiang Zhou looked up and peered over Ji Yunlang’s shoulder. He happened to spot a small black blur running away with a pattering sound not too far behind them.
Good for you, Tantan. What a bad little cat.
Jiang Zhou had already thought of a hundred ways to shave the cat’s butt. The more he thought about it, the less he could control himself, and his hands unknowingly gripped Ji Yunlang’s clothes tighter.
Feeling his master trembling nervously in his arms with heavier breathing, a cold smile crept onto the corners of Ji Yunlang’s lips.
As expected, Jiang Zhou could no longer even keep up his act. Having finally regained his freedom only to be caught again, his master must be feeling utterly despondent, right?
It did not matter. This time, he would use sturdier chains and harder locks to crush Jiang Zhou’s hope piece by piece, until.
“Yunlang.”
Jiang Zhou suddenly called out to him. The arms wrapped around his waist tightened as he said in a trembling voice, “Stop pinching.”
Since moments ago, Ji Yunlang’s hand had been venting his anger on Jiang Zhou’s waist by pinching him back and forth. He kept twisting the flesh, alternating his grip with shifting pressure, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, sometimes shallow and sometimes deep. If Jiang Zhou had not clenched his teeth to endure it, he would have already let out a long, miserable, and melodiously winding cry from his throat.
Ji Yunlang refused to stop. He pinched a piece of flesh hard, tightly confining Jiang Zhou—who was twisting his waist to escape within his arms. “Why? Do I disgust you? Do you hate me touching you? Master, you have fallen into my hands again. Before, when I wanted to live a proper life with you, treating you to good food and drinks, you wanted to run away. Fine. From now on, I will take you to the Bafang Region and lock you up. I won’t let you wear clothes, and I won’t give you food. That place has no shortage of cages and chains. Let’s see where else you can run.”
Before he could finish his harsh threats, Jiang Zhou truly could not bear it anymore. He pushed Ji Yunlang away forcefully, took two steps back, and rubbed his own waist soothingly.
“You.” Ji Yunlang flared with rage and reached out to grab him, but Jiang Zhou proactively stepped forward, took his hand, and walked ahead at a brisk pace.
His objective was clear as he headed toward a specific direction, leaving Ji Yunlang to be pulled along by him.
Ji Yunlang stared at their joined hands. Since Jiang Zhou remained silent, Ji Yunlang conjured up various ropes and shackles along the way, trying to slip them onto Jiang Zhou’s hands.
One moment, he felt the surface of the rope was too rough and would chafe the skin, so he put it away.
The next moment, he felt the shackles were too hard and would bruise the bones, so he put them away as well.
After trying back and forth, the spiritual locking bracelet was still the gentlest and best-looking option.
However, since that chain had snapped once before, it had already lost its efficacy. Even if he put it back on Jiang Zhou now, it would be completely useless.
He really was losing his ability to keep Jiang Zhou by his side.
Having nothing else left to put on Jiang Zhou’s wrists, Ji Yunlang reversed his grip and held his hand in a death grip.
“Master,” he spoke up, “where are you taking me?”
Jiang Zhou was searching for the little cat that had flashed past earlier. It was only when he walked to this spot that he sensed Tantan’s aura growing further away, seemingly heading back into the city.
Jiang Zhou cursed it up and down in his heart. What a wonderful cat. He had been caught by Ji Yunlang outside the city, and the cat knew exactly how to head back on its own.
Now, he had to go back into the city as well.
He looked around and saw clusters of small flowers blooming nearby. Pulling Ji Yunlang over, he bent down to pluck a few and held them out before Ji Yunlang’s eyes.
Ji Yunlang did not take them. A spiritual light shot out from his fingertips, burning the flowers to ash.
Jiang Zhou did not let go of the flowers quickly enough, and the fire traveled down the stems to burn his fingers. Ji Yunlang glanced at the injury but remained silent.
Jiang Zhou plucked a few more flowers for him. This time, the flowers and his burned fingers were presented together before Ji Yunlang. Ji Yunlang coldly slapped the flowers away. “Save your tricks.”
Being rejected a second time, Jiang Zhou stopped plucking. He stood silently on the spot, locking eyes with Ji Yunlang.
Afterward, Ji Yunlang brought him back to the inn.
Once they entered the room, separated only by a wall, Jiang Zhou indeed smelled Tantan’s aura next door. He wished he could go back right now to teach it a lesson.
Seeing him distracted, Ji Yunlang sat down on a chair and scooped Jiang Zhou into his lap. “Let me ask you.”
Jiang Zhou looked at him.
Ji Yunlang wanted to ask him many things, but he did not know where to start. After a moment of thought, he muttered, “Forget it.”
He would ask later.
He grabbed Jiang Zhou’s hand, wiped away the slight burn on his fingertips, and then rested his head against Jiang Zhou, holding him without a word.
Even though he had recovered what he lost, he could not feel any joy at all.
Just now, the moment he opened his mouth, he was threatening Jiang Zhou again. He only knew how to threaten Jiang Zhou, vainly hoping to use this to keep him forever.
To Jiang Zhou, he was merely an disliked, rogue pursuer. Jiang Zhou would find him annoying, hate him, and feel forced to feign compliance out of fear.
How exactly could he keep Jiang Zhou by his side?
Held in his arms, Jiang Zhou shifted his gaze to the side of Ji Yunlang’s neck, where a bite mark lay exposed.
Noticing his gaze, Ji Yunlang raised his hand to cover it. Jiang Zhou pulled his hand away and gently touched the mark with his fingertips.
Jiang Zhou did not ask how it got there, and Ji Yunlang did not proactively explain. He allowed Jiang Zhou to touch it for a while before grabbing his hand and saying, “Kiss it.”
Jiang Zhou thought he wanted a kiss on the lips, but just as he turned his head, Ji Yunlang pushed his head back and tapped the spot Jiang Zhou had just touched. “Kiss here.”
Resting his hand on Ji Yunlang’s shoulder, Jiang Zhou leaned down slightly, pressing his soft lips against the bite mark.
Ji Yunlang added, “Lick.” A warm, damp tongue swept across, moistening the mark.
Ji Yunlang cradled the back of Jiang Zhou’s head, pressing him into the crook of his neck. “Master, I don’t care how you do it, find a way to cover up the original mark, or else I will.”
He was still threatening Jiang Zhou. Before he could finish his sentence, he let out a muffled groan. Jiang Zhou had used his teeth. Since Ji Yunlang wanted to cover up the mark left by Hu Ye, Jiang Zhou would bite it himself, leaving a deeper and heavier imprint on top of it.
By the time he finally finished biting, the spot was bleeding. Jiang Zhou tasted a hint of metallic sweetness on the tip of his tongue, and Ji Yunlang’s breathing beside his ear grew ragged.
Ji Yunlang held him tight, grabbing his hand and forcing him to grip it.
During this, half of Jiang Zhou’s body was pressed against him, their foreheads resting together. Hearing the messy, impassioned sounds by his ear, Jiang Zhou asked in confusion, “It was just one bite.”
The reaction was immense.
Ji Yunlang wrapped his arms around his waist, placing a kiss near his ear as he murmured, “Don’t stop.”
When they finally came to a halt, Jiang Zhou’s palms were rubbed red, and Ji Yunlang’s clothes had been rumpled and dirtied.
His chest was still heaving, and his voice carried a breathy pant as he pinched Jiang Zhou’s waist in dissatisfaction. “It is all your fault. You are so loose, seducing me the moment you came up. We are outside right now, do you think we are at home?”
Who was loose? Who was the one telling his master not to stop? Who was the one telling his master to go faster?
Jiang Zhou rubbed his wrists. Whatever his disciple said went; he would not argue with him.
Ji Yunlang pulled him to sit on his lap, pinching the silver chain around his neck to inspect it. Confirming that it was still locking his spiritual energy, confusion flickered in his heart. Jiang Zhou was clearly wearing the chain, so how had he hidden his aura over the past few days?
Ji Yunlang had been in a rush before leaving, so his clothes were put on haphazardly, having only thrown on the outer robe hanging on the rack. After the chaotic intimacy just now, his collar was now wide open, threatening to expose a large portion of his skin with a single tug.
Jiang Zhou stared at it and reached out to touch it. Ji Yunlang did not stop him, assuming all of Jiang Zhou’s actions were merely life-saving tactics.
Jiang Zhou’s hands remained restless, moving further down as he touched. Ji Yunlang slapped his hand away, holding his hips to pull him forward so he sat closer, looking at him as he asked, “Does Master only have his hands left to use?”
Jiang Zhou replied, “No.”
Ji Yunlang continued to stare at him, staying completely still and silent.
Only then did Jiang Zhou realize that despite meeting his disciple for so long, they had not kissed yet. Thus, he wrapped his arms around him and gave him a gentle peck on the lips.
Ji Yunlang finally smiled. He pressed him down and kissed him thoroughly for a long time, trailing his kisses down his neck to undo his clothes. Along the way, he lifted Jiang Zhou’s leg slightly and murmured, “Sit properly.”
Having gone without intimacy for too long, both of them were losing their restraint. Between the kissing and touching, the situation was growing increasingly intense. Ji Yunlang could no longer hold back and was about to flip him over to press him onto the table. Before he could move, Jiang Zhou suddenly called out, “Yunlang.”
“Hm?”
The moment Ji Yunlang answered, Jiang Zhou lowered his head and planted a firm kiss right on his chest.
Ji Yunlang looked at him with a bizarre expression. “What are you doing?”
Jiang Zhou reluctantly pulled his clothes back together.
In the next instant, a hand chopped down sharply against the back of his neck.
Jiang Zhou carried his unconscious disciple to the bed, altered his disguise’s face, turned around, and left the room.
The moment he entered the neighboring room, he saw Tantan on the table engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a little snake.
The two of them occupied opposite corners of the table. Tantan’s back was arched, its fur standing on end, exposing its fierce little fangs.
The little snake propped up the upper half of its body, its eyes vicious, ready to strike at any moment.
Jiang Zhou walked over. He first flipped a teacup over to trap the little snake completely underneath, then positioned Tantan properly on the table, tilting its rear upward before revealing a blade.
Tantan still did not know what it was about to experience. It turned its head to look at him in confusion. “Meow?”
The kitten did not have much fur on its rear to begin with, but fortunately, Jiang Zhou’s blade work was top-tier. With a few swift strokes, he lightened the load on both of its left and right butt cheeks.
Tantan sat dazed on the table, feeling the chilly breeze on its bare rear, while the muffled sound of the little snake thrashing wildly inside the teacup echoed out in mockery.
Jiang Zhou pulled the little snake out again, peeled away its outer skin, and yanked out the long skeleton inside. He broke it apart piece by piece, tossing it next to the bare-bottomed kitten.
This was the disobedient tail of the Bone Dragon.
Even though the broken bones had been dismantled, they still hopped up and down to mock the kitten. Tantan slapped it with its paw pad and sat right on top of it, staring at Jiang Zhou with pure grievance. “Meow, meow.”
Jiang Zhou ignored it.
The reason Tantan had run out earlier was because it sensed the aura of the Bone Dragon, leaving the inn specifically to fetch this little snake back.
Tantan and the Bone Dragon had never gotten along, clashing every single time they met.
The kitten and the little snake were still relatively easy to manage. Once in the past, the two of them had transformed into a Black Tiger and a Giant Dragon to fight. He and Jiang Shishui had been driven half to death by the chaos caused by the two fierce beasts, and they never dared to let them meet again since.
He ordered Tantan to turn back into black mist to drape around his neck, leaving the broken bones to assemble themselves back together and wriggle away to find the skin that had just been shed.
Then, he tapped the table and spoke toward the window, “Come in.”
Husheng was currently hanging outside the window with both hands gripping the ledge. Hearing the command, he poked half of his head up to look, cautiously scrambled through the window, and stood before him, calling out meekly, “Big Brother.”
Jiang Zhou asked, “Did you bring it out?”
Husheng nodded, then shook his head. “No, it… it brought me out!”
Jiang Zhou countered, “It is the same thing.”
“Oh.”
Husheng poured him some tea and tried to negotiate, “Big Brother, can you please not tell my sister-in-law?”
Jiang Zhou paused. “Who?”
“Just…” Husheng flushed and pointed toward the room next door.
“You have always,” Jiang Zhou hesitated, “called him that?”
“Yeah. I praise you in his ear every single day, I’ve been doing it for several years now!” Husheng stated proudly, adding, “Furthermore, every time I praise you, Big Brother, I make sure to curse his wife. So don’t worry, Big Brother, in my sister-in-law’s heart right now, you definitely aren’t any worse than that wife of his!”
Jiang Zhou asked, “How do you curse her?”
“How else could I curse her?” Speaking of this, Husheng sat down on a chair in a huff and poured himself a cup of tea. “His wife treats him terribly. Extremely terribly, super terribly! Once, my sister-in-law was severely injured and almost died, yet he insisted on going home to find his wife, saying he wanted to cook for her and sleep with her, and that his wife would definitely take care of him so he could rest at home for a long time. In the end, he brought his injuries back exactly as they were, and it was even worse than before he left. And another time.”
The more Jiang Zhou listened, the deeper his brow furrowed. In Husheng’s words, the wife Ji Yunlang kept in the Celestial Continent was cold, ruthless, selfish, and ungrateful—placidly accepting Ji Yunlang’s love while offering absolutely none in return, never caring whether he was injured or dying. Because of this, Ji Yunlang was always in a terrible mood whenever he returned from the Celestial Continent, sitting in the Senluo Beast Bone Hall staring at the moon all night without uttering a single word.
However, in Jiang Zhou’s memory, from the moment he was abducted by Ji Yunlang to that estate, Ji Yunlang had detested him touching his injuries. Even a simple question would be met with cold mockery.
Jiang Zhou had once thrown a tantrum over this. Yet before his anger could even mount, Ji Yunlang became even angrier than him. Pulling a rope out from God knows where, he furiously bound Jiang Zhou hand and foot, tossing him onto the daybed before drawing his sword and walking toward him step by step.
Jiang Zhou’s mind had raced with thoughts back then as he tried desperately to figure out Ji Yunlang’s intentions. He thought that having arguments while living together was perfectly normal. No matter how angry Ji Yunlang was, he surely wouldn’t use a sword to lop off certain parts of his master that shouldn’t be lopped off.
As Ji Yunlang drew closer, he silently pressed his thighs together.
When he realized Ji Yunlang had no intention of striking there, Jiang Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately wait, Ji Yunlang’s sword was aimed at his heart?
It was only then that Jiang Zhou noticed those purple eyes had long since turned bloodshot. The look Ji Yunlang gave him was filled with grievance and hatred; Ji Yunlang truly wanted to kill him.
However, that sword did not plunge into his chest in the end. Instead, it scraped past his face and stabbed deeply into the bedboard.
Ji Yunlang threw himself over to hug him, muttering, “Master, it hurts so much, stop making me angry.”
Ji Yunlang held him tightly without moving. The wounds on his body were left completely unattended, blood flowing outward.
Bound as he was, Jiang Zhou could not touch him. He could only watch helplessly as the fresh blood soaked through both of their garments. Ji Yunlang lay on top of him, unclear whether he had fallen asleep or lost consciousness.
Fearing he would slip away just like that, and having only his mouth left available to use, Jiang Zhou extended his neck and bit Ji Yunlang’s face several times, forcefully waking him up.
When Ji Yunlang opened his eyes, Jiang Zhou was hovering with his mouth wide open, poised to take a massive bite. Seeing him awake, he silently closed his mouth.
Ji Yunlang touched his face, which was covered in tooth marks, got off him, and stood before the mirror to look at himself for a while. Without a word, he pulled out a medicine chest to tend to his own wounds first. Afterward, he flipped Jiang Zhou over, retrieved a cool, smooth, and massive pillar of fine jade, and thoroughly expressed his fury into Jiang Zhou amidst his master’s terrified and startled gaze.
Having just had a fight, Ji Yunlang had not wanted to face Jiang Zhou at home, yet Jiang Zhou had bitten his face full of marks, leaving him unable to step out or see anyone. All of his frustration had to be taken out on Jiang Zhou.
After that incident, Jiang Zhou learned his lesson. Whenever he encountered an injured Ji Yunlang, he would avoid him as much as possible. No matter how much his heart ached, he would not extend a hand. His disciple was still young and possessed his own distinct temperament; as his master, he ought to be understanding.
Husheng was still talking endlessly, showing just how deeply he detested Ji Yunlang’s wife.
As Jiang Zhou listened, he silently pulled out a half-embroidered handkerchief.
It was pale pink, lacking only half a small flower. Jiang Zhou was a genius; this kind of task could not stump him.
Husheng’s gaze was drawn over, and he asked in confusion, “What is this, Big Brother?”
Jiang Zhou answered, “A flower.”
Husheng remarked, “A worm.”
It was an unfinished piece that had yet to display its true form. Husheng lacked the appreciation for it, so Jiang Zhou did not hold it against him.
For the next few hours, he sat in the room all afternoon. Husheng and the little snake watched beside him as he smoothly and confidently embroidered the remaining half of the flower onto the handkerchief.
“Wow!” Husheng gasped in amazement, causing a surge of pride to rise in Jiang Zhou’s heart.
“Two worms!”
Jiang Zhou dragged the pleading Husheng along with him back into Ji Yunlang’s room.
That strike of his palm had been quite heavy, and Ji Yunlang had yet to wake up. He approached, preparing to tuck the handkerchief into Ji Yunlang’s robes.
If things truly were as Husheng said that his disciple felt miserable every time he left his master to be alone—then given that he had run away again today, there was no telling how distressed Ji Yunlang would be upon waking.
At a time like this, Jiang Zhou could perfectly deliver the handkerchief. When his disciple woke up and saw it, he would know that although his master had temporarily left him, his master’s handkerchief would remain by his side forever.
With this exquisitely crafted piece, any other handkerchief would pale in comparison.
Jiang Zhou pulled open his collar to find a place to stuff it. Husheng stood trembling on the side, quietly urging him, “Big Brother, hurry up, don’t wait until sister-in-law wakes up. I absolutely cannot let him catch me!”
Ji Yunlang was wearing very little, leaving Jiang Zhou no way to tuck it into his collar. Ultimately, he decided to place it right into his palm, so he would be able to feel his master’s handkerchief the moment he woke.
The moment he laid it down, the hand that had been loosely draped over the edge of the bed suddenly tightened, gripping him firmly right through the fabric.