However, before Yan Lin could make a move, Yan Li, standing within the room, took the first step. His expression was dark and obscure. Producing a large bath towel from nowhere, he walked toward him.
“How could a Senior Brother come out like this? What would happen if you caught a cold?”
Yan Lin… was once again speechless. He wanted to say that as a cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage, he wouldn’t catch a cold even if he soaked in ice water, let alone a hot spring rich in spiritual energy, which was purely beneficial to his cultivation.
Yet Yan Li had already wrapped him up with practiced movements, leaving only a wet head exposed, with a single strand of black hair curling up stubbornly.
Speaking of this, one had to mention the past, a memory too painful to recall. In order to fulfill his duties as a villain, Yan Lin had not only used the protagonist as a servant, bossing him around to bring tea and water, but had even allowed him to take over the trivialities of daily life.
At the time, he had been gloating to himself, while simultaneously worrying that the protagonist was being suppressed too hard by a villain like him, losing the sharp edge a protagonist should have—he even tried to mentor the other and tell him to pull himself together.
Thinking back now, it was clearly intentional on the other’s part!
At this moment, Yan Lin desperately wanted to grab the protagonist’s shoulders and shake him violently, asking: Since when exactly did you start turning crooked?!
In reality, with the other party at such a close distance, Yan Lin didn’t dare move an inch, fearing he might break some kind of balance and lead to unimaginable consequences.
But then again, why should he be intimidated by the current protagonist?
Naturally, it was because knowing the other party held hidden feelings for him gave him an especially hair-raising sensation, as if the other could swallow him whole in one bite.
So Yan Lin had been avoiding the topic, staying away whenever possible. Besides, with the Abyssal King acting as a shield now, it shouldn’t be a big problem… Where was that Abyssal King?
Yan Lin finally remembered the missing Abyssal King. He poked his head out from the bath towel and looked around. The room was tightly shut, and a strange flag was planted there; the Abyssal King, disguised in his juvenile form, was nowhere to be seen in the clearly visible room.
At this moment, a ghostly voice drifted from beside him, making Yan Lin shiver.
“What is your Senior Brother looking for? Tell Junior Brother and I will help you find it, shall we?”
Turning his head, the face inches away even wore a pleasant smile, the corners of the mouth curving slightly, yet the eyes were exceptionally dark, as if bottomless shadows were swirling within.
Yan Lin, with a strong survival instinct, pointed at the strange flag on the door: “What is that?”
The gaze finally shifted. Yan Li smiled slightly, his fingers hooking a strand of wet black hair and letting it slide through his fingertips.
“That? It’s a newly refined formation flag of mine. It can defend against all external intruders, especially against certain people with ill intentions… I happened to want to give it to Senior Brother as a gift, so I tested it first. The effect is quite good.”
…So, you just locked the Abyssal King outside like that?
Wait a minute, this formation flag can actually block an Abyssal King? This clearly falls into the category of a top-grade magical treasure!
Yan Lin was dumbfounded, to the extent that he temporarily ignored the mention of “people with ill intentions.” Then a thought occurred: if it can block even an Abyssal King, wouldn’t it also block the protagonist…
Yan Lin’s brows leaped with joy as he accepted it: “Then I shall trouble Junior Brother.”
Yan Li lowered his eyes. His gaze traveled through the slightly open bath towel, glimpsing the fair chest and the two faintly visible small red dots. His eye color deepened, but a smile remained on his lips:
“Senior Brother never needs to be polite with Junior Brother.”
Yan Lin’s mood improved, and he no longer minded why the other was in his room. Emboldened by his “skill,” he planned to burn the bridge after crossing it.
He raised his hand to push away the towel draped over him. Running his spiritual power through his body once, even the tips of his hair were dried in an instant. Tilting his head, he broke free from the protagonist’s embrace.
Clad in a white inner garment, his head slightly tilted, his silky black hair fell down. With fair skin and a bright, moving face—likely nourished by the spirit-rich hot spring—his cheeks were slightly flushed, his eyes were rippling with light, and his usually pale thin lips had deepened in color, making it extremely tempting to take a bite.
Unaware of his current appearance, Yan Lin was about to issue an order for the guest to leave when suddenly the world spun. He was pressed down into the pile of clothes he had just thrown aside.
Before he could react, in the next second, a warmth that did not belong to him appeared on his lips.
Pupils dilated in shock.
Dazed and completely unable to regain his senses—or perhaps simply too stunned—he was forced to feel that alien warmth acting willfully upon his lips, lingering and turning.
After a long while, the perpetrator lay on top of him, laughing lowly. He said in a deep voice by his ear: “Collecting a bit of interest~”
“That’s not too much, is it~ Senior Brother?”
…
The protagonist’s presence was gone from the room. The flag was still planted on the door, so Yan Lin was the only one inside.
Consequently, he gave up struggling and allowed himself to fall onto the bed, burying himself in the quilt, exposing only two uncontrollably hot, red ears, wiggling like a caterpillar.
After a long time, feeling as though he had finally calmed down, Yan Lin threw back the quilt and let out a long breath.
A “single dog” for two lifetimes and still pure as a whistle, Yan Lin never thought his first kiss would be taken by a member of the same sex—and the target was the protagonist!
Tell a joke: The protagonist forcibly kissed the villain.
Yan Lin: “…”
It was no use; as soon as he remembered the scene just now, Yan Lin wished time could flow backward so he could print a symmetrical red handprint on the right side of the protagonist’s face.
Facts proved that whether female or male, the first reaction upon being stimulated is to swing a hand…
Of course, the fact that the other party didn’t dodge was why Yan Lin succeeded. Furthermore, who would actually laugh out loud after being slapped?
Only that completely broken protagonist!
Yan Lin no longer hoped the other could be corrected. Now, he only wanted to work hard to save the collapsing plot and strive to end his mission one where he was a villain, yet didn’t act like a villain at all as soon as possible.
Yan Lin sighed more than once.
The Abyssal King, currently still locked outside, knew nothing about the formation arrays of the cultivation world and could only try to force his way in. Then, he watched with his own eyes as his partner, sporting a handprint on his face, pulled open the door and walked out.
Without even bothering to sneak into the room, Bai Si suddenly darted in front of him. No longer caring about the anger of being locked out, his gaze stared straight at the other’s face.
After a good while, he finally couldn’t help but burst into loud laughter.
That laughter was loud and piercing, the mockery dialed up to the maximum level—very much in line with the Abyssal King’s especially malicious mindset.
However, Yan Li only gave him a fleeting glance. The handprint on his face gradually faded until it disappeared, but the corners of his mouth remained slightly upturned, not ruined in the slightest by the Abyssal King’s laughter.
Or rather, it was likely displayed on purpose for Bai Si to see.
After a long while, the Abyssal King, having gradually caught the flavor of the situation, stopped laughing. Looking at the back of the other as he left composedly—not at all enraged by his mockery—he couldn’t help but wrinkle his brow slightly.
Then his gaze shifted back to the closed room. It felt as if something was itching inside his heart; he was extremely curious about what had happened to make Yan Li wear such a… weird and satisfied expression even while sporting a handprint.
Yes, Bai Si thought for a long time before coming up with such a fitting word.
He could see it now; his dear partner’s love for the little fellow was both crazy and distorted, yet extremely restrained. He didn’t know what the man was suppressing.
However, the thought of the sealed Monster bloodline inside the little fellow flashed through Bai Si’s mind, making his eyes narrow slightly and causing a faint feeling of dissatisfaction to surface.
If one were to put it that way, the little fellow also belonged to his Abyss, right?
If he just handed him over like this, wouldn’t it make him—the strongest and highest-ranking Demon King in the Abyss—look like he had no “face” (prestige)?
Bai Si found a reasonable excuse for his dissatisfaction. His eyes were once again occupied by intense malice, and he couldn’t help but smile, as if he had thought of another very interesting and clever idea.
…
When Yan Lin proactively took away the formation flag and opened the room, he went to find a certain shield which was not qualified at all.
Then, a dashing and handsome face abruptly leaned in front of him, smiling at him with great interest: “Little fellow, have you thought it through? Do you want to return to the Abyss with me?”
Yan Lin… What kind of madness is this guy having now?