ATAVID CH56

Jiang Qunyu froze completely.

It was as if something had detonated in his mind, leaving it a blank slate. Yet, the warmth on his lips remained vivid—so vivid he could even feel that Wei Xun’s lips were slightly dry, carrying the cool, faint chill of early spring.

He blinked.

And blinked again.

—Fuck.

Jiang Qunyu jerked backward so hard his head nearly slammed into the tree trunk behind him. He covered his mouth with his hand, eyes wide, staring at the young man with the indifferent expression before him as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Y-You—” He stammered for a long time, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Wei Xun remained seated exactly where he was, his posture composed, as if nothing at all had just happened.

The white silk bandage that had been covering his eyes had come loose and fallen to the ground at some point. He lowered his gaze, shielding the dark, obscure emotions in his eyes.

Jiang Qunyu covered his mouth, his face burning as if it were about to catch fire. His heart was drumming irregularly in his chest, as if a hundred rabbits were kicking him from the inside.

Wei Xun must be insane! he thought.

He thought it, and he asked it. As he spoke, he fiercely wiped his lips with his hand, as if trying to scrub the sensation off his skin: “Wei Xun, have you lost your mind?!”

The teenage Wei Xun was only seventeen; he still couldn’t mask his emotions very well. Even though he appeared calm on the surface, a thin, scarlet blush was creeping up his neck and earlobes.

Facing Jiang Qunyu, he was in a surprisingly good mood: “I’m not insane.”

“If you’re not insane, then you, you, you, you…”

Jiang Qunyu’s heart was in chaos. The words “You kissed me” rolled around on his tongue, but he couldn’t spit them out.

Wei Xun tilted his head slightly and asked, “What about me?”

Jiang Qunyu choked.

The warm sun filtered through the dense apricot blossoms and leaves, casting shattered shadows that swayed with the breeze. Petals drifted down, landing on Wei Xun’s shoulders and at Jiang Qunyu’s feet.

After a long while, Jiang Qunyu decided to just let it all hang out. He gritted his teeth: “You kissed me!”

A shallow smile rippled through Wei Xun’s eyes as he replied: “Mm.”

Mm?

Mm?

Mm!

Jiang Qunyu glared at him, a breath stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.

Just as Jiang Qunyu was feeling at a complete loss, Wei Xun finally spoke again.

“Why?” he asked, his tone flat. “Weren’t you trying to resolve his obsession?”

Jiang Qunyu was stunned.

Resolve his obsession? Is this, what the fuck, a way to resolve an obsession?

Jiang Qunyu was irritable, and the absurdity of it made him laugh: “You mean to say your obsession is me? Then why hasn’t the illusion vanished yet?”

At this, a faint shadow covered Wei Xun’s brows and eyes.

He let out a scoff.

He thought to himself: He had only dared to kiss Jiang Qunyu.

He hadn’t expected that “idiot” (his future self) to be unsatisfied with just this and want more?

But what right did he have? Setting aside the fact that “Wei Xun” had fallen into demonic cultivation, he had killed Jiang Qunyu twice—he didn’t deserve him.

Thinking of this, Wei Xun’s mood improved again. He curved his lips and agreed with a pleasant tone: “My obsession is you. Even if I enter a nightmare, it is only because of you.”

“I originally thought he was the same, so I thought if I kissed you, this illusion might vanish and we could get out, but it didn’t.”

Jiang Qunyu stared at him blankly, still unable to recover from the kiss, his brain feeling like mush.

Wei Xun continued, his tone carrying an indefinable sense of bewilderment: “Jiang Qunyu, he doesn’t like you.”

He tilted his head slightly, trying to get Jiang Qunyu to give up on the idea of saving “Wei Xun” and stay behind to keep him company.

Looking toward where Jiang Qunyu was, he curved his lips into an arc: “But I like you.”

Ever since Wei Xun kissed him, Jiang Qunyu’s heart had been pounding violently.

Hearing these words now, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, rooted to the spot, unable to move.

When he heard Wei Xun’s denial earlier, his heart had calmed down somewhat, and he had been babbling nonsense, only to be wound up again by Wei Xun’s words: “Setting aside that I don’t like men, he and I fight every single day when we’re outside; he couldn’t possibly like me…”

Before he could finish, Wei Xun interrupted: “I said, I am fond of you.”

Jiang Qunyu finally couldn’t choose to only hear the first half of the sentence.

He didn’t know what to say for a moment, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.

After a long time, he stammered out, “You’ve finished your medicinal pills; I’ll go steal some more for you.”

Then, he ran away in a panic.

Behind him, the apricot petals were swept up by the wind he created, then drifted down again in a flurry.

Wei Xun remained seated.

He “looked” toward the direction Jiang Qunyu had fled, listening to the hurried footsteps fade away.

Lowering his eyes, he hooked his lips and smiled, in a very good mood.

Jiang Qunyu actually returned that night, but he didn’t show himself.

He sat in the tree, peering in through the half-open window, looking at the youth sitting by the window frame.

The moonlight draped over him, cold and chilly, like a thin layer of frost. He had held that posture for a long time—so long that Jiang Qunyu began to wonder if he had fallen asleep.

His mood was complex.

Very complex.

He even suspected that everything that happened during the day was a dream—a nightmare!

Jiang Qunyu viciously speculated about Wei Xun’s psyche. He thought, Could it be that Wei Xun hasn’t forgotten what happened later (in the ‘future’) and kissed him on purpose to disgust him?

As for why his own ears and neck had turned red, Jiang Qunyu felt that was normal too; after all, at that moment, even he had been so disgusted that his heart rate accelerated.

Right, that’s it.

He successfully convinced himself.

Whatever. We’re both men, it doesn’t matter if we kiss.

It was just a touch, nothing more.

Jiang Qunyu continued to persuade himself.

Besides, it’s cold outside. I don’t want to sleep in the tree. It’s warm in the room; if I get cold, I can just hold Wei Xun to sleep.

Wait. Jiang Qunyu’s body stiffened.

The young Wei Xun hasn’t grown up yet; he’s in his prime. What if I hold him and he gets some… indescribable reaction, and he thinks I like him?

The fog in Jiang Qunyu’s brain cleared.

He denied his previous guess and felt he had found the truth.

Subconsciously ignoring the thousands of years of the cultivation world, he affirmed his own thought process.

Relieved, the heavy stone hanging in his heart dropped lightly.

But long after, staring at that cold silhouette inside the window, his spirits deflated, and he slumped in the tree, motionless.

…He would just sleep in the tree for a day.

…

…………

Ten days later, Jiang Qunyu still hadn’t appeared.

Only occasionally, Wei Xun would find medicinal pills on the table or bedside.

He lowered his eyes, his fingertips caressing the cold porcelain bottle.

Was I too aggressive?

Wei Xun pursed his lips.

He began to gloomily blame his “other self” outside. He had originally wanted to send Jiang Qunyu away—who told that idiot to want more than just a kiss?

It made Jiang Qunyu stop coming back.

Wei Xun’s gaze dropped, falling uncontrollably toward the censer quietly burning in the corner of the room.

That night, at midnight.

Jiang Qunyu, having slept in the tree for ten days, finally couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed the door open, pretending to be composed, only to see Wei Xun standing right in front of the door.

Jiang Qunyu: “…”

Fuck! He had seen Wei Xun sleeping on the table earlier!

When did he wake up?

He let out a “haha” laugh, his voice dry: “What a coincidence.”

Wei Xun didn’t give him a hard time; he responded flatly and walked forward to close the door: “Mm.”

Then he returned to the table, very considerately pouring Jiang Qunyu a cup of water: “Drink.”

“Oh, oh.” Jiang Qunyu nodded blankly, walking over stiffly, holding the cup with both hands to drink.

The room fell quiet.

He couldn’t help but glance toward Wei Xun, discovering that Wei Xun seemed to have returned to his former self, no longer saying bizarre things to disgust him.

Tension in his heart, he tentatively tested the waters: “Have you calmed down?”

Wei Xun curved his lips.

The smile was faint, looking somewhat unfathomable in the candlelight.

“It’s alright,” he said, his tone peculiar. “I re-evaluated my feelings for you.”

Jiang Qunyu’s heart skipped a beat.

Then he heard Wei Xun continue: “Perhaps I am not ‘fond’ of you, but rather, living together with you day and night for the past year gave me some illusions.”

Jiang Qunyu suddenly let out a breath of relief.

His movements became much more natural. He sat down in front of Wei Xun and playfully patted his shoulder: “Your brain must have been kicked by a donkey if you thought you were fond of me. It’s normal, it’s normal—at this age, it’s understandable.”

As I thought!

That’s great, Wei Xun is normal again.

Wei Xun’s expression cooled slightly, but it wasn’t obvious. His tone remained gentle as he lifted his eyelids, looking at the hazy figure before him.

“Thank you for the pills these past few days.”

“Don’t mention it, don’t mention it.” Jiang Qunyu was happy, leaning in closer: “Do you feel your cultivation has recovered a bit?”

Wei Xun shook his head: “No.”

It’s just… he could faintly see a little bit of light and shadow now.

Hearing this, Jiang Qunyu felt a slight disappointment, but he didn’t forget to comfort him: “It’s fine, I’ll go find you some better pills in a few days.”

Wei Xun smiled and agreed.

By now, Jiang Qunyu had received the answer he wanted from Wei Xun and finally let his guard down completely.

He hadn’t slept well in that tree.

Sitting in the warm room now, surrounded by familiar warmth, the fatigue of the past ten days surged over him like a tide. His eyelids began to fight, and he grew sleepy.

Jiang Qunyu yawned, a bit of moisture brimming in the corners of his eyes.

He sniffled, feeling like there was a faint fragrance in the room—faint, like eaglewood incense.

He asked groggily: “Did you burn incense today?”

“Mm.” Wei Xun’s voice came from beside him, carrying no discernable emotion. “To calm the mind.”

“That’s good.” Jiang Qunyu yawned again, his eyelids growing heavier. “I’m so sleepy, I’m going to sleep for a bit.”

As he spoke, he subconsciously moved toward the bed.

But the next instant, he seemed to recall something, and his movements stiffened. Under Wei Xun’s increasingly cold aura, he turned his feet and leaped up onto the rafters.

Under the beam, Wei Xun looked up.

The candlelight flickered, the intermittent light falling on his face, half-shrouding it in shadow, the other half appearing pale.

He asked gloomily: “Are you not sleeping on the bed tonight?”

“…” Jiang Qunyu didn’t speak.

He couldn’t say he was afraid Wei Xun would go crazy again and suddenly say he liked him!

It was hard enough that he had finally calmed down; if they slept together tonight, what if he misinterpreted it again?

Jiang Qunyu began to spout nonsense: “A few days ago, when I was out looking for pills, I happened to see a physician. That physician said my waist was bad and I needed to sleep on a harder bed. I think I’ll just sleep on the rafters these days.”

Wei Xun was expressionless; his cold, detached face showed no ripples in the candlelight, though the aura around him seemed to grow a few degrees colder.

He said: “As you wish.”

Jiang Qunyu didn’t care about him anymore. He closed his eyes and, before long, fell into a deep sleep.

The night was as dark as ink, settling into absolute silence.

Only occasionally, the wick of the lamp would snap, the pitter-patter sound unusually clear in the night.

The youth sat still for a long time before finally getting up to open the window completely.

The night wind was cold, carrying the chill of early spring as it swept inside, thoroughly blowing away the remaining eaglewood incense.

Jiang Qunyu was sleeping soundly and only felt the cold. He frowned in his sleep, subconsciously moving toward the warmth he was used to.

His body felt light, his feet hit empty space, and he tumbled down from the rafters.

The sensation of weightlessness lasted only a second; the next, he landed in a cool, steady embrace. The strength was light, yet the hold was incredibly tight.

Wei Xun lowered his eyes, steadily cradling him in his arms.

He didn’t speak, only slightly tightening his arms, pressing the man into his chest to shield him from the cold wind blowing in.

The candlelight flickered, casting light on his pale, calm profile.

Wei Xun just held Jiang Qunyu like that, step by step, walking toward the bed curtains.

After laying the man gently inside the drapes, he didn’t rise immediately. Instead, he lay down beside Jiang Qunyu, enveloping him completely in his embrace.

Wei Xun reached up and pulled off the white silk, his hazy vision not seeing things very clearly.

But his dark, gloomy gaze still rested unscrupulously on Jiang Qunyu’s sleeping face for a long, long time.

In the silent night, there was only the sound of their intertwined breathing.

The next instant, he slowly leaned down and took Jiang Qunyu’s lips into his mouth.

It wasn’t a fleeting touch, but a long, near-predatory kiss.

He kissed him both gently and fiercely, grinding and rubbing, as if he wanted to carve this person into his very bones and blood, or perhaps as if he were confirming something.

Only when the lips of the person in his arms were wet, flushed, and slightly swollen did he pull away slightly.

The night was terrifyingly quiet.

Yet Wei Xun’s heart was pounding out of control, each beat heavier than the last, his chest aching, causing his eardrums to hum.

He suddenly curved his lips and let out a laugh.

The laughter was bone-chillingly cold, carrying a thick, inseparable obsession and self-mockery.

He lowered his head, pressing against the corner of Jiang Qunyu’s burning lips, and whispered: “Beating so fast… how can you say I am not fond of you?”