Ch. 91 – This and That

“You two…..”

This scene was an exact replica of Hao Chen’s first day here, more than half a month ago.

Feng Ye opened his eyes with absolutely no expression on his face.

Because he really didn’t know which expression to wear in a situation like this.

Last time, he simply lay there with Hao Chen as if nothing was wrong. But this time…..

Feng Ye tilted his head and locked gazes with Hao Chen, who was also tilting his head to look at him.

Hao Chen’s eyes were deep and unfathomable, hinting at something unspoken.

Going by his words and how disheveled his robes were, something seemed to have happened.

But Feng Ye had no idea what that might be.

He had merely fallen into a brief slumber after his soul returned to his body, and during the adjustment period, he had entered that dream again. But this time, the dream had taken an unfamiliar turn. He had almost succumbed to it, but managed to break free due to the unexpected peng bird that Hao Chen had transformed into to drive away the darkness.

And now, things were like this.

Fang Yang’s tone was somewhat hesitant: “Were you two cultivating in bed again?”

Feng Ye: “…..”

Although Fang Yang’s question didn’t mean what most people would think in this sort of situation, Feng Ye normally would have wanted to clear his name.

But this time….he did want to defend himself, but he wasn’t sure if he had actually cultivated or not. So he didn’t say anything at all.

“Then I won’t bother you, Shixiong. I’ll come find you again this afternoon.” Fang Yang was quite perceptive this time, and saw himself out.

Feng Ye didn’t stop him. He really needed some time alone with Hao Chen to figure out what was going on.

With a creak, the wooden door closed in front of him.

Feng Ye then turned onto his side and looked at Hao Chen next to him.

Their eyes met, and Hao Chen spoke before Feng Ye could. He pulled his loosened collar back up, saying in a very tactful tone: “It’s fine if you don’t want to take responsibility. I won’t insist.”

He turned away as he spoke, leaving Feng Ye with a view of his back that spoke of lonely, forlorn acceptance.

Feng Ye thought this would be the end of it, but little did he know that Hao Chen was just getting started.

With his back to Feng Ye, Hao Chen murmured in a low voice: “Don’t feel guilty. Although losing one’s innocence in our line of work can have serious consequences, and some people might even hang themselves…..”

Feng Ye couldn’t help but reach up and touch his neck.

“Or cut their wrists.”

Feng Ye touched his wrist.

“Or stab themselves through the stomach.”

Feng Ye covered his stomach.

Hao Chen spoke in a placid tone as he listed these terrible consequences. Then he took a breath and said as if he was holding back tears: “In any case, I don’t blame you.”

But you’re implying that you do blame me, ah! Feng Ye complained internally. Hao Chen’s blame was almost tangible, like a rope wrapped tightly around his neck. And under the resentment, Feng Ye could detect a hint of a threat.

Hao Chen’s attitude clearly stated, if you don’t take responsibility, I’ll kill myself.

Feng Ye was not an irresponsible person, but the thing was….he really needed to know what happened.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He was completely nonplussed, and Hao Chen had unilaterally labeled him a scumbag who ran away after eating. He forcefully turned Hao Chen back toward him and propped himself up, looking down at Hao Chen as he asked: “What happened after I passed out?”

Hao Chen’s eyes darted around before he replied: “After you fainted, I carried you back and stayed to watch over you all night. Then, you did this and that to me while you were asleep…..”

His description was absolutely brilliant, immediately sparking a person’s imagination.

But Feng Ye didn’t fall for the trap, and asked directly: “What do you mean by ‘this and that?’”

Hao Chen’s words became vague: “Well, ah, various things…..”

Feng Ye narrowed his eyes. The fox had finally revealed its tail. This hesitant and evasive speech was definitely suspicious.

He said bluntly: “If you can’t describe it, then how about demonstrating it?”

“This…..” Hao Chen hesitated briefly, but he didn’t seem to have an excuse to refuse, and could only reluctantly begin the demonstration.

“While you were asleep, you suddenly seemed to be having a nightmare and started to move around a lot. You waved your arms as if trying to grab something, so I came over to check on you, and you…..grabbed my collar with your right hand like this…..”

Hao Chen grasped Feng Ye’s collar above him and continued: “Then you wrapped your left arm around my neck.”

He wrapped his left arm around Feng Ye’s neck and drew him downward. Their lips nearly touched, but Feng Ye turned his face away at the last moment, and only their noses brushed against each other.

Hao Chen was not satisfied with the results of his demonstration, and said while their noses were touching: “Then you kissed my cheek.”

Feng Ye blinked: “That’s it?”

Hao Chen blinked back: “That’s it.”

Was this what he considered to be losing his innocence?

The moment Feng Ye realized what was going on, a big # appeared on his forehead. Then, he raised his leg and kicked this fish who had climbed into his bed uninvited and tried to slander him.

The bed was small to begin with, and Hao Chen was only a finger’s width away from the edge of the bed. With this kick, he immediately rolled onto the floor.

Then he stood up and dusted himself off, and even had the audacity to argue his point: “Customs vary from place to place. Where I’m from, a kiss on the cheek is equivalent to robbing someone of their innocence, and one must absolutely take responsibility.”

Feng Ye’s eyelid twitched: “Why have I never heard of such a custom?”

Hao Chen’s words were largely true. His unconscious struggle in his dream may have caused him to grab Hao Chen’s collar, which was why his robes were in such a state of dishevelment.

But as for the notion that he had kissed Hao Chen on the cheek, that was probably a lie. No way was there such a coincidence. And even if it had happened, Feng Ye wouldn’t believe Hao Chen’s story.

The idea that someone had to take responsibility for a kiss on the cheek sounded like a complete fabrication to entrap him.

Hao Chen shook his head with an expression that suggested that he wouldn’t argue with an ignorant person. He said helplessly: “Is Fellow Daoist Feng Ye from the south?”

Feng Ye’s eyes darted around. He had lived in the Southern Ocean for a long time, which indeed made him a southerner, so he nodded in response.

Hao Chen’s eyes flickered. Another clue. He was quick to conceal his suspicion, and maintained his expression of helplessness: “So you’re unaware of our customs in the north. That’s really how we do things there.”

“Oh….” Feng Ye drawled. Despite agreeing, his tone clearly revealed his disbelief.

That said, he couldn’t be bothered to argue with Hao Chen any further. Now that he knew nothing had happened and that he didn’t need to take responsibility for this fish, he simply got out of bed, put on his shoes, and left the room.

He planned to go find Fang Yang and see what that silly boy wanted, then figure out what had happened in Lingxiao Sword Sect while he was asleep.

Hao Chen watched Feng Ye leave right in front of him. He didn’t chase after him like he usually would, nor did he try to argue with him about his innocence.

He simply watched Feng Ye’s receding figure with a complicated expression.

Who was Feng Ye?

Yinglong, the God of War.

While he wasn’t one hundred percent certain, Hao Chen knew that he was likely correct.

Feng Ye had inexplicably vomited blood and lost consciousness. Despite pretending to be weak and on the verge of death, after one nap, he was able to jump out of bed, likely having forgotten that he was supposed to be injured.

In fact, Hao Chen had suspected that Feng Ye was Yinglong the moment the God of War actually appeared.

The timing was too coincidental. Not long after Feng Ye fainted, the God of War manifested in the body of Fang Yang, his dear shidi. No matter how he looked at it, all of these coincidences were inextricably linked to Feng Ye.

But he simply couldn’t rationalize it in his mind. How could Feng Ye be Yinglong?

How was it possible?

Their personalities were far too different. Although Feng Ye did have a decisive and ruthless side, he was usually very gentle, both to Hao Chen and others.

He didn’t take the slightest offense personally, and never really held a grudge against anyone. This was the complete opposite of the God of War who, in the eyes of the masses, had turned the mortal world into a fiery inferno just because people had the gall to climb Jianmu in an attempt to reach the heavens.

Therefore, even though Feng Ye’s sword in the Floating Island Secret Realm had been similar to Yinglong’s, he didn’t think they were one in the same.

But as it turned out….he was wrong.

Any time he guessed something about Feng Ye, he never seemed to guess correctly regarding his identity or strength.

He’d initially thought that Feng Ye couldn’t possibly be stronger than him, but who would have thought…..

Hao Chen recalled the series of stupid things he’d done and felt a sharp pain in his cheeks, a pain that even his thick skin couldn’t withstand.

Despite his stinging face, he reminded himself that he had at least guessed one thing correctly – his age.

Feng Ye was indeed younger than him. Yinglong was at most only two or three thousand years old at this point, which was significantly younger than Hao Chen.

But guessing this one thing correctly was not worthy of celebration. It simply provided definitive evidence that he was an old fish eating a young dragon.

Thinking of this, Hao Chen came to the sudden realization that this entire time, he had been taking advantage of Yinglong.

He had taken liberties with a notorious villain, whom few in the heavens even dared to approach.

Not only would others refuse to believe it if word got out, but even Hao Chen himself felt a sense of unreality.

If Hao Chen had still been ignorant of Feng Ye’s true identity when he fainted into his arms like that, he definitely would have taken further liberties with him when he carried him all the way back to bed.

Although it was a sin to take advantage of someone in a moment of vulnerability, it would be a real loss not to at least touch him a couple of times.

But now that he suspected Feng Ye of being Yinglong, he didn’t dare to let even a finger go astray.

He did indeed stand guard at Feng Ye’s bedside all night, but kept at least a meter between them. Now that he knew who Feng Ye was, he could no longer approach him as casually as before.

After spending so much time with him, he felt that he had a decent grasp on Feng Ye’s character, but he couldn’t help distancing himself once his true identity was revealed.

This distancing was solely due to his wariness of a creature who was as powerful as himself.

Feng Ye had been unconscious for a day and a night, and Hao Chen had remained there the entire time while never crossing that one-meter distance.

He didn’t know how he would face Feng Ye in the future, or if he should treat him as he would treat Yinglong, maintaining a polite yet distant relationship and not interfering with one another.

Or he could continue to tease and pester Feng Ye just like before, shamelessly taking advantage of him wherever possible.

In fact, Yinglong’s appearance matched Hao Chen’s aesthetic standards quite well, but Hao Chen’s heart would never move for such a person. Setting aside Yinglong’s fearsome reputation, based on his strength alone, Hao Chen’s wariness would prevent him from harboring any improper thoughts. 

But the order had been reversed. His heart moved for Feng Ye first, and only afterward did he discover that he was Yinglong.

This wasn’t like buying and selling goods, where one could make an exchange if a deficiency was discovered. He had already given his heart away, and it was not so easy to take it back.

Therefore, even though Hao Chen knew that avoiding further entanglement with Feng Ye was the safest option, he hesitated to take that final step.

He didn’t draw closer, but he also didn’t distance himself.

With an indescribably complex expression, he watched over that person on the bed.

Then the unexpected happened, and that peaceful sleeper was no longer peaceful. His brow furrowed, and he flung his arms around. It was unclear if he was fighting someone or trying to grab onto something.

It looked like he was having a nightmare. A normal nightmare wouldn’t be a problem, but Hao Chen suddenly felt a chill that went right to his bones.

And although Feng Ye was obviously the source of the chill, it didn’t seem to originate from him.

A vein twitched in Hao Chen’s brow. As an ancient god, he was very attuned to potential crises, and realized that Feng Ye’s current situation was not good.

Without further consideration, he stepped forward and crossed the meter of space between them he had been so hesitant to infringe upon.

He shook Feng Ye and called out his name, but even as Feng Ye struggled more and more violently, he showed no signs of waking up.

Then, Hao Chen was pulled onto the bed. Something soft seemed to touch his cheek, then pulled away just as abruptly.

But Hao Chen had no time to figure out what it was. He rolled with the force of Feng Ye’s pull, then lay down beside him and closed his eyes.

Using a unique North Sea method, Hao Chen successfully connected with Feng Ye’s dream realm, where he saw a vast darkness that blotted out the sky.

Hao Chen was very aware of his own size, and even he felt like a speck of dust in the face of this boundless darkness.

He had only entered the outer layer of Feng Ye’s dream, while Feng Ye’s consciousness had been bound to the dark depths before him.

He was briefly at a loss, unsure how to locate Feng Ye in such a vast realm of nothingness and wake him up.

Just then, he saw a light shining at the edge of the dream.

It was the same dazzling light as when Yinglong summoned Fleeting Shadow.

But even the divine sword sharp enough to sever Jianmu was helpless against the abyssal darkness of this place.

Fleeting Shadow was blocked by the surging black mist. The sword pierced continuously through the haze blocking its path, but was hindered by successive waves of black mist that prevented it from advancing.

Seeing this, Hao Chen suddenly had an idea. He might not be able to locate Feng Ye himself, but he could use Fleeting Shadow to do so.

So he transformed into a peng bird, and with a flap of his wings, unleashed a world-shattering hurricane to clear the way for Fleeting Shadow.

He then shouted into the darkness: “Feng Ye!”

Not knowing if Feng Ye could hear him, he still called out with all his might.

Fortunately, he succeeded. The black mist receded, and Fleeting Shadow shot downward. The tides had turned, and the monster that was attempting to devour Feng Ye in his dream escaped.

The darkness shattered, dissolving into the light of day.

The dream ended.

When Hao Chen opened his eyes, he saw Feng Ye lying next to him suddenly sit up, panting heavily and visibly shaken.

Due to his abrupt awakening, Feng Ye didn’t notice Hao Chen at first, and Hao Chen remained silent rather than draw attention to himself.

He had crossed that one meter distance only due to the urgency of the situation, but had yet to come to an actual decision.

But when Feng Ye returned to his senses, Hao Chen subconsciously uttered those four shameless words.

When he realized what he’d just said and wanted to take it back, it was already too late.

Although his tone was still as irreverent as before, his inner feelings were completely different.

In order to avoid arousing Feng Ye’s suspicion, Hao Chen turned his back to him to hide his expression, speaking to him as he usually would while attempting to put on a mask of indifference.

By the time Feng Ye flipped him back over, his expression had returned to normal.

The two of them followed their usual pattern of interaction and messed around for a while, and when Feng Ye left, Hao Chen was finally able to drop the pretense.

He watched Feng Ye’s departing figure with a complicated expression, a myriad of thoughts swirling in his mind.

And at that moment, he came to a decision.

Whether he was Feng Ye or Yinglong, Hao Chen couldn’t leave him at this point in time.

The Yinglong in North Sea City must have been the fake, and was likely related to the boundless darkness in that dream. And that person was specifically targeting Feng Ye.

Feng Ye was indeed very strong, but even someone as powerful as the God of War nearly succumbed to his opponent in that dream.

Had Hao Chen not been here today, Feng Ye likely would have been dragged into the depths of the abyss, never to wake up again.

Clearly, Hao Chen was still very useful.

His sense of self-worth swelled, and he felt that Feng Ye wouldn’t be able to live without him.

As a responsible and dependable man, he would never leave the object of his affections to face danger alone.

Even if that person was Yinglong, he would not let him go.

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