In his sleep, Meng Huaize stirred slightly, his mind beginning to surface from the depths of unconsciousness. He felt a strange and intense discomfort in his chest, different from the usual weight of Wu Yue lying on him. This sensation seemed to radiate from deep within, burning hot.
The discomfort was overwhelming, but in his muddled state, he couldn’t figure out what to do. He struggled for a long time before finally sweating profusely and opening his eyes.
The sky had already darkened by this time, with only a faint red and bluish glow left on the distant horizon. The room was dim, unlit, making it hard to see clearly.
His chest rose and fell rapidly. For a moment, his vision was blurred, unable to make out anything. After a while, as his frantic breathing slowed down, the shapes of objects in the room gradually became clearer.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Meng Huaize closed his eyes again. He hadn’t expected to have slept from noon all the way until dusk.
Perhaps it was because Wu Yue had been constantly absorbing the demonic power from the inner elixir within him. As the vessel for the elixir, Meng Huaize, being a mere human, could not avoid being affected. Over the past few days, he had been sleeping much more than usual.
As this thought crossed his mind, the discomfort in his chest returned.
Instinctively, Meng Huaize reached out to rub his chest, but his hand landed on something smooth and warm… Warm? Smooth? Alarmed, Meng Huaize’s eyes shot open. His sluggish limbs and senses quickly kicked into gear, but before he could fully process what was happening, his hand moved over the slippery surface again.
This was definitely not Wu Yue’s wolf paw. As soon as that realization hit him, Meng Huaize let out a loud scream and jumped backward, scrambling to the farthest corner of the bed in terror.
His heart raced, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead. His wide eyes scanned the dark room, and finally, he noticed the outline of a figure standing silently beside the bed.
The figure was tall and motionless, seemingly unaffected by Meng Huaize’s sudden outburst. Though his features were shrouded in shadow, Meng Huaize could feel an oppressive presence radiating from him, as if the man were watching him with a cold and detached gaze.
Meng Huaize’s mind went blank, his chest tightening as though crushed by an invisible force, making it difficult to breathe. He tried to speak, but his throat felt blocked, and no sound came out.
Suddenly, the man spoke in a low, cold voice, brimming with indifference: “You’re awake.”
Meng Huaize’s mind went numb, his body frozen. The voice was completely unfamiliar…
In the dim light, Meng Huaize could barely make out a dark shape rising from the bed, stretching from the headboard all the way to the foot, an ominous shadow in the gloom. Terrified, he wanted to scramble off the bed, but he didn’t dare to recklessly move past the eerie figure.
Just then, the last sliver of light disappeared from the horizon, and the world plunged into complete darkness.
The shadow, disturbed by his movements, shifted sluggishly. Meng Huaize kept a wary eye on it, but soon, the shadow stilled once more.
Shivering, Meng Huaize called out hesitantly into the darkness, “Wu Yue?”
There was no response.
Meng Huaize’s heart raced, and he had no idea where the wolf had gone. Never before had he wished so desperately for Wu Yue to be by his side as he did now. Keeping a wary eye on the strange figure on the bed, he whispered nervously into the thick darkness of the room, “Wu Yue!”
The thing on the bed stirred again, and Meng Huaize immediately fell silent.
“Hmm,” came a muffled voice from within the shape, sounding groggy and half-asleep, “What is it?”
Meng Huaize’s skin crawled. The slippery thing sounded exactly like Wu Yue! Could this creature have eaten him? He recalled strange tales his grandmother once told him—some spirits, after devouring someone, could mimic their voice and appearance.
Fear gripped Meng Huaize, but mixed within it was a cold sorrow. He thought of Wu Yue—even though the troublesome wolf had eaten his food, slept in his bed, and threatened his life, the thought of him being dead didn’t bring relief. Instead, it made Meng Huaize feel unexpectedly heavy-hearted. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
He froze for a moment, utterly out of place. The shadowy figure on the bed shifted slightly, and something slipped off its surface, like a layer of skin being shed. Meng Huaize was too stunned to move, just huddled in the corner of the bed, staring blankly at the scene.
The dark shape grew taller, and soon, two golden points of light appeared in the darkness.
“Meng Yunzhou?” the figure called out.
No response.
Suddenly, a golden light flared up, floating in the air, illuminating the bed and the surrounding canopy, and revealing the dark figure on the bed.
Wu Yue, with a trace of sleep still on his face, sat there, the covers sliding down to pool around his bare waist and abdomen. He lifted his hand and realized that in his sleep, he had transformed into human form. But as he glanced down under the blankets, he realized he’d forgotten to put on any clothes in his drowsiness.
He looked up at the corner of the bed, where Meng Huaize had fainted in fear. Seriously, was it really that terrifying?
Meng Huaize had been dreaming, surrounded by darkness, looking around but seeing nothing but blackness. Yet in his ears, a constant, eerie sound of crunching echoed. Meng Huaize couldn’t figure out what it was. He called out for Wu Yue several times, but there was no answer. Instead, the crunching grew louder. Suddenly, he realized—it was the sound of a monster chewing on the wolf cub’s bones…
“Wu Yue!” Meng Huaize jolted awake, finding daylight spilling into the room. A beam of light landed on the covers beneath his chin.
His chest heaved as though a drum was beating inside it. He stared at the light for a long time before he stiffly turned his head, carefully looking to the side.
A mess of black fur lay scattered across his neck. The fur was surprisingly fine, almost luxurious, Meng Huaize thought numbly. His gaze drifted downwards, and through the silky black fur, a face emerged—dark brows, a high nose, and sharp lips, all peaceful in sleep.
Wait, a face?
Startled, Meng Huaize shot up in bed. The thing next to him, which had been draped over him, stirred slightly at the movement, its handsome brow furrowing before it shifted into a more comfortable position, fully exposing its face in the morning light.
Meng Huaize stared at it in silence for a moment, then a suppressed scream erupted from his chest: “Who are you?!”
The human-like figure furrowed its brows and opened its eyes—golden, familiar. They narrowed dangerously, and that only made Meng Huaize’s heart race faster.
“Why are you yelling? Do you want to die?” the figure threatened.
The voice—it was Wu Yue’s. The tone was also unmistakably his. Meng Huaize’s gaze settled on the face. In the sunlight, it was as flawless as a piece of jade, though now it carried a sharper edge. When Meng Huaize looked closer, he could even see a resemblance to the child from a few days ago.
“Wu… Yue?” Meng Huaize asked hesitantly.
Wu Yue grunted in acknowledgment, casually lying back down on the bed, stretching his bare arm across the covers.
Meng Huaize, without thinking, reached out and touched the arm. Wu Yue paused at the unexpected touch and watched as Meng Huaize’s eyes reddened with emotion.
Meng Huaize said nothing, but his eyes filled with tears as he wordlessly started to get out of bed, only to be pulled back by Wu Yue. After a couple of futile attempts to break free, Meng Huaize, utterly frustrated, buried his face in the blankets.
“What’s wrong?” Wu Yue asked again.
After a long pause, Meng Huaize’s muffled, agitated voice came from beneath the covers: “I thought you were dead, you jerk! I was happy, okay?”
Wu Yue blinked in surprise, then a glimmer of amusement danced in his eyes. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at Meng Huaize, who was still burying his face in the bed. Raising an eyebrow, Wu Yue asked, “Were you scared, thinking I was dead?“
“I was not!” Meng Huaize retorted hotly. “I thought a new monster had shown up and eaten you, and I was thrilled!”
He let out three sarcastic “haha”s, clearly still angry.
“Ah, that explains it,” Wu Yue mused.
Explains what? Meng Huaize perked up his ears suspiciously.
“You fainted from fear last night.”
Fainted?! Meng Huaize’s mind raced back to the events of the previous night. His face turned not just red, but a deep, burning crimson. He wanted nothing more than to vanish beneath the earth or knock himself out just to forget the sheer embarrassment of it all.
Wu Yue yawned, stretched out his arm, and casually pulled the mortified Meng Huaize into his embrace, tilting his head to rest against the back of Meng Huaize’s neck. He nuzzled him once before closing his eyes, clearly ready to nap again.
“What are you doing?!” Meng Huaize exclaimed, his skin tingling from the contact.
When Wu Yue was still in his wolf form, he had spent a lot of time draped over Meng Huaize, often resting his head on his neck or chest. At the time, Meng Huaize had just felt a bit squashed and found it slightly hard to breathe. He hadn’t thought much of it. But now, this wolf had turned into a living, breathing man. Meng Huaize stared at the bare arm wrapped around his chest and belatedly recalled Wu Yue’s exposed skin from earlier… A man who wasn’t even wearing clothes…
Two men tangled up together—It is so inappropriate! Meng Huaize’s face flushed red as he struggled desperately, but Wu Yue’s strength, whether in wolf form or human form, far surpassed his. Meng Huaize simply couldn’t break free.
“You just fainted, not a big deal,” Wu Yue said.
“Stop talking about it!” Meng Huaize felt like steam was about to rise from his skin, his body burning hot, and even through the thin layer of clothing, Wu Yue could feel the heat radiating from him.
“Fine, I won’t,” Wu Yue sighed. Now that he was in human form, it seemed he’d also gained a bit of conscience, becoming somewhat more reasonable. “Let’s sleep for a bit longer.”
“I’m not sleeping! Let me go,” Meng Huaize croaked, his throat dry and hoarse. “I want to get out of bed.”
“Shut up,” Wu Yue’s patience ran thin quickly. His voice turned cold and threatening.
Meng Huaize immediately went quiet, his body tense. The domineering wolf behind him pressed tightly against his back, and Meng Huaize felt as if there were a layer of needles between them, prickling him unbearably. He wanted to escape, but there was no way out.
After a long silence, he mumbled, “Fine, I’ll sleep. But could you at least put some clothes on first…”
Wu Yue let out a low growl near Meng Huaize’s ear, sending a shiver down his spine. Reluctantly, Meng Huaize lowered his head and closed his eyes in frustration.