“Oh?” Chi Qiqi let out an amused sound, asking, “What kind of beast is he?”
Shi Junyan leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “He kills for fun. You know the Yukong Sect, right? Not a single person survived after that night, and several recent mass-murder family wipeouts were all his doing!”
Hearing this, Chi Qiqi still wore a faint smile. What he said is correct; indeed, I was the one who did it all. Teasingly, he asked, “He’s so vicious are you afraid?”
“I’m not scared at all. If I run into him, I’ll definitely beat him until his teeth are scattered all over the floor!” Shi Junyan clenched his fist and declared firmly, “Sister-in-law, you don’t need to be afraid either. With Beisi around, that beast won’t even get within a mile of you!”
Chi Qiqi felt a momentary twinge of amusement at his own expense. Could these rogue cultivators really be completely fearless? Or is this just the blind confidence of newborn calves?
“Ah, we’ve gotten off topic! Hurry, keep going how on earth did you two meet?” Shi Junyan slapped his own forehead in vexation and steered the conversation back on track.
Chi Qiqi figured this big guy was simply harboring an extraordinary level of gossip. Just as he was about to speak, he caught a subtle movement outside and glanced toward the door before shifting his gaze back to the big guy.
Anyway, there wasn’t much to hide about this particular matter. He said, “In Chongyuan Village, a demonic entity appeared.”
“I know about that!” Shi Junyan slapped the table angrily, filled with righteous indignation. “It killed dozens of cultivators, and even the disciples sent out by the Kunhan Sect to train recently were slaughtered by it simply hateful!”
Chi Qiqi raised an eyebrow. “It seems you’re very well-informed about this.”
Shi Junyan secretly glanced sideways at Chi Qiqi, dodging the point with a hollow laugh. “It’s all just hearsay and gossip.”
Chi Qiqi didn’t expose him. In fact, the version currently circulating among the masses was precisely the narrative he had fabricated himself, so in a sense, it genuinely was “hearsay.”
“I also heard that someone single-handedly subdued the demonic entity. Could it be…” Shi Junyan winked repeatedly, tossing several suggestive looks at Chi Qiqi.
Catching those winks, Chi Qiqi realized the man had arrived at the exact conclusion he wanted. He provided the expected answer: “It was Beisi. I was nearly killed by the demonic entity, fortunately, he was there.”
Half-truth, half-fabrication, delivered without a single flutter of his eyelashes.
Shi Junyan clapped his hands in excitement, leaped off his stool, and exclaimed, “This is what they call a debt of life should be repaid with the body!”
A faint smile hovered on Chi Qiqi’s lips. Remembering the man’s flustered, embarrassed expression from back then, a soft chuckle inevitably escaped him.
Crack.
Shi Junyan stiffened and turned his head mechanically, locking eyes with Beisi’s profound, heavy gaze.
“What are you chatting about?” Beisi stepped into the room. His collar was neat and uncreased, his entire person as meticulous as ever.
“We were just talking about how we first met,” Chi Qiqi said, gesturing vaguely at the empty jade teapot on the table with a touch of playful complaint. “This tea tastes awful.”
Noticing Shi Junyan’s bewildered expression, Chi Qiqi remained completely unperturbed and simply ignored him, shifting his luminous eyes toward the man standing by the doorway.
“You, step outside.” Beisi didn’t even bother casting a glance in Shi Junyan’s direction.
Upon hearing this, Shi Junyan scrambled and rolled his way out of the room like a well-behaved ball.
“Are you planning to interrogate me in private?” Chi Qiqi watched as the man drew closer, deliberately provoking him.
Beisi avoided answering directly. Instead, he took out a crystal-clear jade teapot from his storage ring, placed it neatly on the table, and said, “Let me make the bed first.”
Chi Qiqi glanced at the translucent jade teapot filled to the brim with fresh tea. Pouring two cups for leisure, his gaze remained glued entirely to the focused man busy arranging the bed for him—broad-shouldered, tall, and possessed of a powerful, sinewy waist.
He stood up, padding across the floor like a curious little cat, and drifted closer. The tips of the man’s ears were faintly flushed and warm.
Chi Qiqi knew Beisi must have noticed him, yet the man deliberately kept his back turned.
Leaning gently against the man’s wide, solid back, Chi Qiqi found that his height conveniently allowed his forehead to brush right against the nape of the man’s neck. Tilting his chin up slightly, he could clearly sense the sudden, rigid tension rippling through the man’s frame. He murmured softly, “At what point did you start listening?”
Beisi continued his work without pausing, answering, “Right as I arrived.”
“Oh.” Chi Qiqi clearly didn’t believe him. He pressed, “Then why are your ears red?”
“It’s hot.”
With his back turned to Chi Qiqi, his expression remained completely hidden from view.
Chi Qiqi pretended to buy the excuse, nodding slightly. “I thought you heard the part about repaying with the body.”
“…You knew perfectly well,” Beisi’s voice carried a helpless, resigned undertone.
Chi Qiqi’s smile widened. Unable to resist, he poked a finger into the man’s back, teasing, “Were you feeling the same as me… thinking about that night?”
The man before him offered no counter-argument, yet his ears flushed an even deeper shade of crimson.
Unable to hold back a soft chuckle, Chi Qiqi stood on his tiptoes, leaned right against the man’s ear, and breathed in a voice as light as gossamer: “We really do owe each other a debt of life, so…”
The man abruptly whipped around. Caught completely off guard, their lips brushed past one another in a fleeting touch a brief contact that sent a sharp tremor straight down to their souls.
Face-to-face, their bodies pressed so closely together that the slightest shift was instantly felt by the other.
Chi Qiqi’s waist was firmly gripped by a strong hand, and before he could react, he found himself bumping straight into the man’s warm embrace. He recklessly teased, “Are you in that much of a hurry?”
With his entire body suspended off the ground his feet dangling in mid-air while his hips were directly hoisted up.
“That night, I entered your room…” Chi Qiqi wasn’t afraid. Teasing this easily embarrassed man brought a special sort of delight; the man’s eyelashes flickered at a noticeably faster frequency, his deep eyes locking onto him with an intensity that refused to let go, while his lips parted slightly as though he wanted to say something.
“I sat on your bed and said I came to save…” Chi Qiqi was suddenly hoisted upward again. Startled by the sudden motion, he instinctively tightened his grip, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck and locking his legs tightly around his waist, swallowing the rest of his words.
The moment his hips made solid contact with a flat surface, he finally relaxed his posture, drawing back just a fraction of an inch to look around—only to realize Beisi had actually hoisted him up and sat him directly on top of the table.
The freshly poured cup of tea trembled, spilling a few droplets that splashed across the rim.
Chi Qiqi gently tapped his hand against the man’s chest, murmuring vaguely, “Be a bit more gentle, you’re splashing the tea everywhere.”
Beisi remained silent, not sparing so much as a glance toward the spilled water. His dark, fathomless eyes churned like a stormy sea, surging with a fierce, predatory intensity akin to a wild beast that wanted to devour him whole and swallow him alive.
Seeing that specific look in his eyes, Chi Qiqi immediately knew what was coming. Yet instead of retreating, he turned the tables and chuckled, “You were standing outside the door the whole time, weren’t you? You just wanted to hear… me praising you.”
Even though his little scheme had been utterly exposed, it was nearly impossible to detect any trace of guilt on Beisi’s cold, stoic face.
Chi Qiqi curved his lips into a radiant, thousand-charms smile. Resting his arms across the man’s shoulders, his bright, luminous eyes locked unblinkingly with the man’s, and he whispered, “Saying those things to an outsider has no meaning. I want to tell you face-to-face, just between the two of us…”
Beisi pressed his lips into a tight line.
“When you saved me, you looked absolutely enchanting…” Chi Qiqi intentionally paused for a beat, feeling the temperature beneath his hands rapidly rising as he added, “Though personally, I think you look even more enchanting… in bed.”
His fingertip traced a soft, lazy line downward across the man’s shoulder, chest, and abdomen. Just as he was about to trace further down, his hand was firmly intercepted and caught by a hot, heavy grip. Tilting his head with an ambiguous, knowing hum, he murmured, “Especially when you’re putting your all into it…”
“Stop talking.” Beisi’s voice was strained, veins bulging slightly along his forearm as he fought to maintain self-control through a low, husky whisper.
“Why?” Chi Qiqi asked knowingly, though his own heart was fluttering wildly. Truth be told, he was eager to test things out himself; but since Beisi was always so agonizingly restrained, it was far too entertaining to tease him into losing his cool. He gave his ungrounded legs a playful sway, letting them brush lightly and intentionally against the man’s thighs, while his gaze drifted downward. “Is it because of this?”
Standing so close, Beisi was bathed in the scorching heat radiating from the man, his breath growing thoroughly erratic.
With his free hand, Beisi reached out and clamped a firm grip around the restless ankles, pinning them still.
Looking over the man’s shoulder toward the bed, Chi Qiqi noted that the platform had only been half-made. He smiled softly. “The bed isn’t even fully made yet.”
“Otherwise… right here,” Chi Qiqi drawled slowly, his voice dripping with suggestion. “Shall I… help you?”
The moment the words left his mouth, his lips were captured and sealed in a deep, crushing kiss.
Chi Qiqi was genuinely irritated whether he was angry at Beisi or at himself was hard to tell.
The bed was fully made now. He lay flat on his back, facing the inner wall, deliberately presenting nothing more than a stubborn, retreating shoulder blade to the man behind him.
His hands were aching and sore, and his skin felt tenderly sensitized, as though it had been rubbed raw. The man’s low, stifled groans seemed to still linger beside his ear, and his ears felt persistently hot and feverish.
“I… I was just scared,” Beisi slid into the bedding behind him, wrapping his entire body around him in a tight, enclosing hug, his voice carrying the awkward stiffness of a man desperately trying to coax a upset partner. “Don’t be mad at me, okay…”
Hearing this, Chi Qiqi debated continuing his silent treatment, but ultimately couldn’t resist. He rolled over, venting his lingering frustration straight onto the man by leaning forward and sinking his teeth right into Beisi’s shoulder—not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to vent his exasperation, like a playful nip from a small pet.
Damn it, the man had lasted for hours, making him feel as though he’d never reach the end, leaving his hands completely limp and exhausted.
And the worst part was, the man had practically bolted the moment things reached a crucial turning point, pulling his pants up and refusing to continue with a look of absolute, terrified resolve.
Whenever they grew intimate, his skin easily turned purple and bruised, looking frighteningly delicate. Though he knew his “mortal” body was actually exceptionally durable and easily healed without lasting damage, Beisi remained utterly traumatized, terrified of accidentally breaking his delicate “mortal” frame through overexertion.
Furious yet helpless, Chi Qiqi bit him again. He didn’t dare push the issue either; after all, if he pushed too hard and demanded a continuation, he’d have to explain why his mortal body didn’t break, which would mean exposing his true identity.
“I’m not angry,” Chi Qiqi muttered, unwilling to admit he was unsatisfied. He shoved the man away slightly.
Beisi buried his face against the crook of his neck like an oversized, apologetic puppy, murmuring coaxingly, “It tired Qiqi out. Should I rub your hands for you?”
Having vented his anger through the bites, Chi Qiqi felt his annoyance largely dissipate. He extended his hand, wordlessly granting permission. The next second, his hand was enveloped in warm palms, first receiving a tender, lingering peck right against the fingertips, followed by a gentle, rhythmic massage.
Watching the man’s focused, devoted expression with his excessively long, curled eyelashes casting delicate shadows across his face, Chi Qiqi found himself completely captivated.
Outside, night had fallen entirely, casting the soft, pale radiance of the moonlight across the floorboards. Chi Qiqi pressed his forehead lightly against the man’s, murmuring, “Our very first meeting was also on a night just like this.”
Hearing this, Beisi lifted his gaze. The moonlight poured straight into his eyes, making them shine brilliantly, until both of them felt the other was incomparably breathtaking.
“Mn,” Beisi replied softly, a trace of lingering gratefulness coloring his tone. “I’m just glad I arrived early enough, before you got hurt.”
Chi Qiqi smiled silently, keeping his eyes closed as he feigned sudden sleepiness.
Whether you arrived early or not, I wouldn’t have gotten hurt anyway.
Because… that demonic entity would have only been terrified of me.