ATAVID CH106

The next day, when Jiang Qunyu crawled up, Wei Xun was still asleep.

He parted his inner robes to take a look, and sure enough, his entire body from top to bottom was covered in a dense mess of purplish-blue bite marks. Fortunately, they only looked terrifying but didn’t actually hurt.

Inexplicably, his mind drifted back to a long time ago, back to the days when the two of them wished for nothing more than each other’s death. In those days, they would constantly come to blows at the slightest disagreement. Even though he had been a soul body back then, demonic energy would still sizzle and seep out from his wounds.

Whether it was by tacit agreement or for some other reason, both of them mutually refrained from using demonic energy, making their fights a fairly balanced back-and-forth. Jiang Qunyu had never suffered a loss; every single time he stared at the scratches he had left all over Wei Xun’s face, he would laugh himself silly with joy.

As for Wei Xun, he would only narrow his grim eyes, glaring at him coldly while dropping a few chilling, vicious warnings, telling him to stop seeking death, otherwise a day would inevitably come when he would do this or that to him.

Tsk tsk.

Times had truly changed. Who could have guessed that their fighting would eventually move onto the bed?

If someone had told them back then that they would become Dao companions in the future, the two of them would likely have formed an unprecedented united front—first seizing that person to give them a thorough thrashing, and then staring at each other while dry-heaving.

Just visualizing that scene made Jiang Qunyu find it hilarious, his eyes curving with amusement.

And as he truly laughed out loud, he leaned forward affectionately to wrap his arms around Wei Xun.

Wei Xun woke up right as he was laughing. His long eyelashes fluttered open. The sky outside the Yujing Pavilion had turned a hazy gray once more, indicating it was likely around afternoon. Jiang Qunyu was currently clinging to him in a rather awkward posture.

“Sleep a bit longer?” Reaching out to support Jiang Qunyu’s waist, he sat up, pulling the other along to straddle his lap. His legs lightly enclosed him, and his jaw rested leisurely against Jiang Qunyu’s shoulder, a lingering laziness and utter satisfaction remaining within the depths of his eyes.

Jiang Qunyu no longer wanted to sleep, asking with great enthusiasm, “Guess what I was just thinking about?”

The hazy gray daylight from outside the Yujing Pavilion filtered in, casting a faint, soft glow across his cold, delicate porcelain skin. Wei Xun’s pitch-black eyes shifted slightly, his Adam’s apple rolling imperceptibly. “Thinking about what?”

“Thinking about how the two of us used to wish for nothing more than to kill—”

A sudden, sharp sting at the side of his neck brought Jiang Qunyu’s words to an abrupt halt. Immediately following that, he could clearly feel Wei Xun delivering a lick.

Jiang Qunyu couldn’t help but raise his hand to tug at Wei Xun’s hair, his knuckles burying into the strands. “Wei Xun, are you a dog?!”

Every single time he felt like the two of them were finally about to start a normal romantic relationship, Wei Xun would instantly shatter his illusions.

Wei Xun nipped at the side of his neck once more before releasing his hold, letting out a cold laugh: “I still want to kill you right now, too.”

Jiang Qunyu shifted his hand, slapping it against the man’s face. “Speak a bit more nicely.”

Wei Xun was forced to alter his phrasing, his lips pursing slightly: “Want to fuck you to death.”

Jiang Qunyu: “…”

Before he could even manage to hurl a few curses, Wei Xun slowly pulled his chin away from his shoulder, leaning his torso backward to abruptly widen the distance between them.

Under Jiang Qunyu’s shocked gaze, Wei Xun lowered his eyelids, his thick, dense eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.

He reached out, capturing the very hand Jiang Qunyu had just used to slap his face, and lowered his head to lick it piece by piece.

His warm lips and tongue first enveloped Jiang Qunyu’s slightly cool fingertips, then thoroughly pressed over the soft flesh of his pads, before deliberately and unhurriedly sliding into the tight spaces between his fingers.

As the damp, hot sensation surged all the way up his fingers, Jiang Qunyu felt the hairs across his entire body stand on end. His scalp tingled in waves, and a rush of itching, burning heat shot straight to the crown of his head, causing him to shudder uncontrollably from the intensity.

Yet the scene before him was also far too intimate—the young man was dressed in a pristine white inner robe, his ink-black hair cascading behind him like a waterfall, and his lips were stained with a shallow sheen of moisture. When he lifted his eyes to look up, his dark irises churned with an intense, deeply heavy wave of emotion.

Jiang Qunyu felt his throat go dry. Ultimately failing to restrain himself, he exerted some force to push Wei Xun flat against the bedsheets, leaning over to aggressively deliver two deep bites against the side of the man’s neck in return.

Lying flat on the bed, Wei Xun tilted his head, letting out a soft laugh: “Why do you love copying me so much?”

Having bitten his fill and feeling that his anger was appeased, Jiang Qunyu straightened up and agilely climbed out of bed. Smoothing down his slightly wrinkled hem, he turned back to glare at him, speaking with deep resentment: “Whether you deliberately seduced me just now is something you know best in your own heart.”

Wei Xun didn’t deny it either. Letting out a low laugh, he followed suit and stood up, taking a few steps to arrive right before him. Leaning down, he gently nuzzled his nose against Jiang Qunyu’s slightly cool nose tip—intimate and natural—before taking his hand to lead him toward the inner chamber to wash up.

Jiang Qunyu was in high spirits at the moment, but he hadn’t forgotten about their primary objective. After the two of them had joyfully assisted each other in binding their hair, Jiang Qunyu thought for a moment before saying, “Let’s head to Tiandu City in a little while.”

Wei Xun lowered his gaze as he buckled the jade belt around the other’s waist. Hearing this, he paused, remaining silent for a brief moment. “Jiang Qunyu.”

“Hm?” Jiang Qunyu lifted his eyes. “What is it?”

Wei Xun’s tone was flat: “When it comes to Xuan Jin, will your heart soften?”

Jiang Qunyu also fell silent for a fleeting instant, before shaking his head: “No. He is not Wen Xingyao.”

He was merely Xuan Jin. If he was Xuan Jin, his heart would not soften.

They had agreed—only for a single day.

Wei Xun let out a soft sigh: “I certainly won’t either.”

“The fact that he deceived you is reason enough for me to kill him.”

Jiang Qunyu had originally felt a bit melancholic, but upon hearing these words, a shallow smile rippled within the depths of his eyes again. Drawing out his words, he teased, “Oh—Wei Xun, you are so incredibly overbearing.”

Wei Xun: “…”

He extended his hand, his palm pressing against Jiang Qunyu’s forehead to keep him from leaning too close. “Behave yourself.”

Jiang Qunyu curled his lips, deliberately acting aggrieved: “Look at you, what an absolute scoundrel. Last night you were holding onto me and refusing to let go, yet now you won’t even let me lean against you.”

Driven to an amused laugh by his antics, Wei Xun remarked calmly, “I’m willing to bet that if you lean over right now, you likely won’t be able to step a foot out of the Yujing Pavilion tomorrow either.”

Jiang Qunyu instantly behaved himself, pulling back a bit of distance as he spoke in a weighty, earnest tone: “We should really practice some moderation.”

Wei Xun didn’t care to acknowledge this remark. Locking his hand around the other’s, he pulled him a bit closer, guiding him as they stepped out of the Yujing Pavilion.

Seeing him play dead, Jiang Qunyu relentlessly scratched the palm of his hand: “A little moderation?”

“Wei Xun?”

Wei Xun still remained silent.

“A-Xiong?”

Wei Xun arched an eyebrow.

Finding this entirely beyond words, Jiang Qunyu continued to switch titles: “Husband?”

“Mm,” Wei Xun answered without a moment’s delay.

Jiang Qunyu let out a cold sneer. He knew it!

This despicable man, Wei Xun, certainly called him all sorts of pleasing things while in bed—alternating between A-Xiong, Husband, and Wife—yet the moment they were out of bed, he demanded to be called those titles in return.

However, as the old saying goes: a little impatience spoils great plans. For the sake of his own future comfort and to avoid being relentlessly tossed about every single day, uttering a few more sweet titles was no big deal.

“Husband, husband, husband,” Jiang Qunyu repeated without a single pause. “Does it sound nice?”

Wei Xun let out a light laugh: “It sounds nice.”

“Right? I think it sounds nice too.” Striking while the iron was hot, Jiang Qunyu immediately leaned in a bit closer to guide him into the trap: “Then we have a deal—a little moderation?”

Wei Xun cast a sideways glance at him, offering a flat counter-question: “For instance?”

Jiang Qunyu’s eyes lit up, knowing that this meant there was room for negotiation. He immediately cleared his throat: “Once every seven days.”

Wei Xun said coldly, “Keep dreaming.”

Choked by his blunt refusal, Jiang Qunyu took a step back: “Five days.”

Wei Xun: “Three days.”

Three days…

Three days was acceptable, he suppose. It was certainly better than doing it every single day.

Jiang Qunyu thought to himself silently.

After a brief moment of inner turmoil, he ultimately nodded his head, accepting it rather reluctantly: “Then three days it is.”

He had assumed the matter was thoroughly settled, yet he hadn’t anticipated that Wei Xun would tack on an additional condition: “Of course, if you are the one who actively requests it yourself, then that will not count, and it won’t be factored into this agreement.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qunyu nearly tripped over his own feet. Abruptly lifting his eyes to glare at him, he said in absolute shock, “What kind of person do you take me for?! I am nothing like you!”

Staring at his explosive, bristling display, Wei Xun remained noncommittal.

In any case, after chatting through a few bizarre topics, the slight melancholy within Jiang Qunyu’s heart had long since vanished entirely, leaving him so irritated that he wished nothing more than to bite Wei Xun a couple more times to soothe himself.

The Cloud Citadel and Tiandu City were both located within the borders of the Demon Realm. Coupled with the fact that Wei Xun had already attained the integration stage of cultivation, it took barely the time of half an incense stick for the two of them to return to the location where the Mirror of Inquiry rested.

Catching sight of the Mirror of Inquiry, Jiang Qunyu thought of Xuan Jin and Qin Shiyue. Picking up their previous topic, his tone turned serious: “Didn’t I mention this to you before? I once met the Heavenly Dao of this world. Back then, I caught a whiff of a faint, cold fragrance radiating from his body, resembling the kind of burning incense used when offering worship to deities inside ancient temples. This exact same scent is something I have smelled on Xuan Jin as well.”

“The Heavenly Dao also stated that as long as one ascends to godhood and receives worship, this cold fragrance will naturally envelop them.”

“Yet this scent has not always been present on Xuan Jin.”

Recalling every single detail of his time spent with Wen Xingyao, he stated word by word: “At the very least, I never smelled it when I first met him. It wasn’t until we entered the Eastern Mirror Lake City together that the crisp, cold aroma of burning incense gradually began to appear on his body.”

“Later on inside the underground palace, that scent vanished once more.” Jiang Qunyu felt that his hypothesis was highly logical. “Therefore, is it possible that he is only truly Xuan Jin whenever that cold fragrance appears?”

After all, inside the Mirror of Inquiry, Xuan Jin had explicitly stated that during their time in the underground palace, he had never once deceived him.

Presumably, even Xuan Jin himself drew a stark, distinct line separating Wen Xingyao and his own persona as two entirely different individuals.

Wei Xun halted his steps, the aura surrounding his body turning slightly heavier as he gathered Jiang Qunyu into his arms.

Jiang Qunyu: “?”

He pinched Wei Xun’s waist. “What kind of madness are you throwing now?”

Wei Xun questioned him, “Do you smell any kind of scent radiating from my body?”

Jiang Qunyu was thoroughly speechless, though he had grown used to it. “You truly need to consume a bit of petty jealousy every single day just to be happy.”

Wei Xun didn’t care. In his view, Jiang Qunyu ought to be exactly like him—thinking of him at every single moment, with eyes that could solely perceive him.

Had Jiang Qunyu posed such a question to him, he would have been able to utter the most perfect, pleasing answer without a shred of hesitation. Thus, he remained relentless, the sourness in his tone practically overflowing as he stubbornly repeated: “Tell me.”

Jiang Qunyu felt that Wei Xun was incredibly clingy, yet he thoroughly enjoyed it. Smoothing his fur with delight, he coaxed, “Why are you comparing yourself to them? They can’t even hold a candle to you.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Qunyu himself felt a bit embarrassed, a faint, shallow pink creeping over his pale earlobes.

He truly hadn’t lied to Wei Xun. The cold fragrance on Xuan Jin and the Heavenly Dao was a detached, distant incense of worship found high up within temples—icy and remote.

But Wei Xun was different. His body carried an aura that belonged uniquely to himself—crisp yet gentle, resembling the very first snowfall dropping during the dead of winter, lightly blanketing the vigorous pine branches. It was sharp, clean, and refreshing; in any case, Jiang Qunyu liked it very much.

Only then did Wei Xun release him with a look of smug satisfaction, stating flatly, “He should have already ascended. However, likely due to some unknown reason, his soul fell into the mortal realm, growing up under the identity of Wen Xingyao, before later awakening within his physical body. Presumably, during their time at the Eastern Mirror Lake City, his divine status was unstable and his soul had not yet fully returned to its proper place, which gave rise to the scenario where Wen Xingyao and Xuan Jin took turns controlling the physical vessel.”

This lined up perfectly with most of Jiang Qunyu’s deductions. “Regrettably, at present, he is solely Xuan Jin.”

After all, ever since their reunion, he had continuously smelled that cold fragrance radiating from Xuan Jin’s body.

The two walked a bit further past the Mirror of Inquiry when the air suddenly turned chillingly cold and viscous, to the point that even the surrounding vegetation had withered into a grayish-black ash.

Stepping further forward, their field of vision abruptly cleared. Tiandu City had arrived.

The former capital city of the Demon Realm had long since lost the magnificent grandeur of its golden age. Ever since the river of blood had flowed overnight, wiping out every single living being within the walls, all that remained now was a dead city imprisoned by resentment and absolute silence.

Looking out at a single glance, the entire city was terrifyingly quiet. There was no sound of wind, no chirping of insects, nor even a single shred of life. Only broken walls and ruined pillars stood silently beneath the dim, gloomy vault of heaven, with mottled stone bricks still bearing the traces of long-dried blood.

Resentment as thick as ink continuously seeped out from the cracks in the ground and the dilapidated walls, twisting and spiraling into thin strands, blanketing the area like a dark mist.

Yet right outside Tiandu City, a pristine white figure stood tall. Bearing a long sword upon his back, his entire being appeared elegant, clean, and completely out of place amidst this sinister, grim city.

As if catching the sound of their footsteps, the individual slowly turned around. His features were gentle, and the corners of his lips were curved into a shallow arc. It was actually Shen Peiqiu.

He quietly gazed at the side-by-side figures of Wei Xun and Jiang Qunyu, his tone peaceful and soft, resembling an ordinary old friend reuniting after a lengthy separation: “It has been a long time.”