Only in the dead of night, deep inside Wushan Palace when Mo Ran was asleep, could Chu Wanning get up and caress Mo Ran’s pale face.

     Only then could he say gently, “I'm sorry; it's Shizun who didn't protect you well.”

     I didn’t protect you.

     I let them make you someone else’s pawn.

     You became a tyrant despised by thousands of people.

     No one in the world knows your true face. They don’t know that you were once kind; they don’t know that you were innocent; they don’t know that you were troubled because you couldn’t save the earthworms in the rain; they don’t know that you smiled brightly because the lotus flowers in the pond were blooming.

     Everyone in the world resents you for being cold-blooded and heartless, but they don’t know that you once scratched your head shyly and said, “I, I don’t have much ability, but if I make some spare money in the future, I’ll build more houses for people who don’t have a place to live like me before. That would be good.”

     Everyone hates you for killing and slaughtering, but they don’t know that you once told me, “Shizun, I want a holy weapon like Tianwen. It can distinguish between black and white, and it can also save lives.”

     Everyone is cursing you and wants to punish you.

     I know the truth, but I can’t give you back your dignity.

     People like Mo Ran were always very sensitive to others’ gazes, even when sleeping. His eyelids moved slightly, but before Chu Wanning could react, his eyes opened, “You…”

     Their gazes met.

     “What are you looking at?”

     Chu Wanning’s emotions had already been pushed to the limit, and he didn’t know how to react, so he turned over to avoid eye contact with Mo Ran, then said, “Nothing.”

     Mo Ran didn’t say anything. After a while, a warm body embraced Chu Wanning from behind, his sturdy, broad chest pressing against Chu Wanning’s back.

     In the dark night, Chu Wanning opened his eyes. The breeze blew the curtain in front of him, and behind him was Taxian-Jun’s warm embrace. The man’s voice was neither mocking nor languid as he said lightly, “You feel so cold and sweaty.”

     As he spoke, he leaned over and sniffed the side of his neck.

     “Did you have a nightmare?” Mo Ran chuckled with the ease of a person who had just woken up. “I smelled a little fear.”

     Chu Wanning didn’t answer, but he was indeed trembling slightly.

     It wasn’t because he was afraid, but because the sadness and self-blame almost destroyed him. He had almost exhausted all the strength in his body just to maintain this last bit of calmness.

     In the end, he finally managed to pass under Mo Ran’s eyes. Mo Ran didn’t notice his strangeness, and after yawning, he gradually woke up. He smelled Chu Wanning’s shoulder and hair again, then hummed in satisfaction.

     “But speaking of which, why does your body smell like flowers even when you sweat?” he said with a faint smile. “It’s like you’re a man made of wood and grass.”

     If he were teasing like this normally, he would definitely provoke an extremely embarrassed and angry scolding.

     That night, Mo Ran waited for a while, but Chu Wanning did not respond. He was a little surprised, so he simply got up and flipped Chu Wanning’s entire body over, covering him firmly again. His strong and broad figure completely enveloped the person beneath him.

     His eyes met his.

     He lay under him, their eyes only for each other.

     The unextinguished candle flame in the hall shone through the layers of gauze curtains. In such a dim light, Mo Ran stared at the handsome face that was so close to him.

     He still had the same sword-like brows, slanting phoenix eyes, high nose bridge, and an innate pride between his eyebrows.

     But for some reason, something felt wrong tonight.

     “What’s wrong with you?” He reached out and touched Chu Wanning’s cheek. His fingertips trembled, and the person below him suddenly closed his eyes, holding back all kinds of emotions.

     Mo Ran completely woke up from his sleep.

     He felt a thrill.

     Whether it was Chu Wanning’s furrowed eyebrows, his thin, pale lips, or his delicate face… all of it greatly satisfied the desire to conquer in his heart.

     But there was a vague sense of unease, so Mo Ran patiently asked him again, “What’s wrong with you?”

     Chu Wanning opened his eyes slightly, a fine shimmer reflecting in his half-closed eyes.

     He had no way to vent the pain and frustration in his heart, and finally, he said in a hoarse voice, “We… How did we get to this point?”

     “...”

     “If I had stopped it earlier, would it have been different?”

     Mo Ran didn’t answer. He thought Chu Wanning was quite laughable. He had been defeated by him for so long; he had married, become a concubine, and become his person.

     Everything was settled, so why was he having such wild thoughts tonight?

     There was no one else in Wushan Palace at night, only the naked couple on the bed. The fragrance of flowers floated in through the window, making Mo Ran feel relaxed and less inclined to get angry with this man who didn’t know what was good for him.

     His patience with Chu Fei was much better than his patience with the empress.

     So he looked at Chu Wanning’s endurance and pain with great interest. As he watched, his heart began to itch as if a flame had been ignited.

     So he joked with him lazily, “If Wanning had found out earlier, how would you have stopped me?”

     His fingertips caressed him inch by inch. Taxian-Jun was enticing and languid. “With your body?”

     Looking at the complex emotions in Chu Wanning’s eyes, Mo Ran’s eyes became moist and hazy. After a while, he cursed in a low voice. He couldn’t stand any temptation Chu Wanning gave him, whether it was intentional or not.

     There was no warning and no foreplay.

     Like a wild beast, he lifted Chu Wanning’s slender, firm legs and thrust in somewhat hurriedly.

     The semen from their previous session hadn’t been removed, and his entrance was used to the stimulation of being taken by a man, so it smoothly accepted his cock.

     When he thrust in, he and Chu Wanning couldn’t help but gasp and moan.

     Chu Wanning opened his misty eyes and saw Mo Ran’s broad chest and handsome face immersed in the satisfaction of sex. His beautifully full lips were opened slightly as he panted in pleasure…

     If the Eight Sufferings Long Hatred curse was originally born from desire, could it be that this broken body of his somehow ignited Mo Ran’s passion?

     He didn’t know.

     That night, he and Mo Ran had sex on the bed again and again. His mind, however, was in chaos, and he didn’t have the strength to resist as fiercely as usual.

     Perhaps it was because Mo Ran was provoked by his strange behavior or because Chu Wanning wasn’t in good health and his slight fever that day had caused it to be especially hot inside; in short, Mo Ran held him in his arms and thrust in quickly and deeply. He couldn’t stop holding Chu Wanning’s lips, holding Chu Wanning’s waist and buttocks, or lifting one of Chu Wanning’s legs and thrusting into him ruthlessly from the side.

     Chu Wanning’s heart beat rapidly, his adam’s apple bobbing, and his self-control wasn’t as good as before. Occasionally, he would even moan softly.

     His response made Mo Ran even more excited. Between the messy pillows, Taxian-Jun breathed harshly and asked in a low voice, “Is it here?”

     In fact, Mo Ran was very clear about Chu Wanning’s sensitive spots—after all, they had done it many times. However, Chu Wanning’s willpower was astonishing, and he rarely ever moaned, so Mo Ran wasn’t so sure.

     He changed the angle or position, and every time he adjusted, he would look at Chu Wanning’s handsome, frowning face.

     “Where do I fuck you? Where does it feel the best?”

     It was very messy.

     Everything was messy.

     Chu Wanning listened as Mo Ran kept moaning, kissing, and panting in his ears, the pain and passion intertwining like a torrential downpour.

     For the first time in his life, he felt like a duckweed, unable to grasp anything, unable to control anything, and unable to change anything.

     That night, for the first time, he felt so vulnerable.

     What’s worse was that even though he didn’t answer, Mo Ran quickly discerned which angles and positions he couldn’t stand the most from his trembling and expression.

     So, he thrust passionately and fiercely, penetrating Chu Wanning’s sensitive spot. At first, Chu Wanning could still bite his lips and endure, but then Mo Ran’s thrusts became even more vigorous and urgent, his sac colliding with Chu Wanning’s buttocks every time, and the sound of their coupling made him blush and turned his heartbeat into a mess. At the place they were connected, fluid poured out along with a large amount of wet stickiness…

     Chu Wanning was still trying his best to hold on, but Mo Ran lifted his hand and held his chin. His body was still struggling under him, but his lips were kissed, wet and hungry.

     Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.

     When the kiss ended, he wanted to hold back, and he wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

     He moaned and gasped helplessly under Mo Ran as he was penetrated.

     He tried to grasp onto the mattress, as if trying to hold onto his shattered pride, but it was no use. Mo Ran’s thrusts were too fierce and deep.

     His legs were trembling, and his toes curled. He couldn’t stop himself from moaning and groaning softly. Even when Mo Ran’s movements were at their most violent and forceful, he was disoriented. His legs were spread wide open, and his toes were tight. He gasped under him, almost losing his voice, “Ah… ngh… ah… ah…”

     At that time, Mo Ran’s eyes were very dark.

     The louder he cried, the more he lost his composure, and the fiercer he became.

     As a result, everything turned upside down, and even the bed was almost overturned. The bedding and pillows were all misplaced and slid to the ground. But the two people who were fervently entangled couldn’t care less.

     This sort of coupling could even be said to be very intimate.

     The sounds even made the palace servants on night duty outside blush when they saw Chu Wanning the next day, their eyes filled with searching ambiguity.

     He climaxed and was stimulated by him to the point of losing consciousness, the mattress becoming sticky and wet.

     In fact, it could be said that this was the first time since Chu Wanning had been imprisoned that Mo Ran was able to penetrate him to the point of release without using any drugs.

     In a daze, he heard Mo Ran say in a low voice, “It’s only natural for us to get to this point. Do you know why?”

     “...”

     “I’ve wanted you for a long time.” Mo Ran’s fingers sank into Chu Wanning’s long black hair. “I hated your high and mighty attitude. No matter what I did, I couldn’t please you.”

     Chu Wanning’s eyelashes trembled. It was almost a sharp pain.

     The man was still muttering incessantly beside his temples. It was obvious he was the one who was bullied, but the man who benefited from it was instead like a resentful woman thinking of the past. “No matter how well I did or how hard I worked, you wouldn’t even look at me.”

     No.

     There has once been peace between you and me—a pot of wine amongst the flowers, an umbrella held together in the rain, and a moon at the Mid-Autumn Festival. But you’ve forgotten, and I can’t mention it now.

     “So, you see. Only when I break your arms and legs, pull out your muscles and bones, and remove your claws and teeth will you lie under me obediently.” Mo Ran kissed him, his tone crazy and passionate. “Only when I become emperor can I oppress you, torture you, force you, and trample on you like this.”

     The place where he had just released was still burning hot, pulsating in his flesh.

     “To see you like this now,” Mo Ran said softly, “even if I’m condemned to hell and never reincarnate, it’s still worth it. It’s exciting enough.”

     He stroked Chu Wanning’s hair but still didn’t pull out.

     From that day on, Mo Ran began to have this habit—he wouldn’t pull out even if he knew Chu Wanning would get sick, and there were all kinds of disadvantages.

     There was a scorching fire in his heart, filled with desire and a ferocious bestial nature.

     Only Chu Wanning was his water, his box, the person he wanted to tear apart and kiss.

     As for Chu Wanning? After the initial pain, he began to slowly calm down and sort out all the clues he knew by himself, thinking about who had planted the Eight Sufferings Long Hatred Flower on Mo Ran and what exactly they wanted in the end.

     Although it was written in the records that the Eight Sufferings Long Hatred Flower was impossible to remove at the third stage, Chu Wanning was still unwilling to give up.

     He had always been stubborn and refused to admit defeat.

     He refused to accept his face.

     Day after day passed just like this.

     Without spiritual energy, it was very difficult for Chu Wanning to do anything, not to mention that he couldn’t let a second person know about it.

     It was difficult to find the mastermind behind the scenes and even harder to remove the Long Hatred Flower, but that person’s purpose of controlling Mo Ran was becoming clearer and clearer—

     Because Mo Ran began to practice the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death.

     “I can’t practice the Rebirth technique.”

     He still remembered the day Mo Ran stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back and looked at the chirping orioles outside. He said lightly, “After reading the archives, it is said that only those with strong yin energy can learn it.” As he said this, he turned around and looked at Chu Wanning. “I plan to practice the first forbidden technique.”

     “The Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death?”

     “What else can it be?”

     “...You can’t learn it.”

     Mo Ran smiled. “You have to try before bowing your head. Nothing has yet been done to say what might not be possible.”

     Chu Wanning shook his head. “The first forbidden technique changes fate against the heavens, tearing apart two different worlds. It’s forbidden by the heavens—”

     Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.

     Mo Ran’s expression was very nonchalant. “So what if it’s the heavens? Why do I need it to allow me? In my life, the thing I don’t believe in the most is fate.”

     So he began putting it into practice. The first forbidden technique had been lost for a long time, and the supreme Emperor Mo Ran had finally managed to find an ancient scroll after much difficulty, but the most important chapter was missing. Without the complete secret manual, no matter how strong Mo Ran’s spiritual energy was, it could only be used to cultivate a gate of space, and he couldn’t truly tear apart time and space.

     It was from then on that Chu Wanning began to understand the intentions of the person who planted the poisonous flower on Mo Ran.

     It definitely wasn’t for the sake of dominating the world. His guess was that the person’s ultimate goal was to open the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death, and not just a small crack. It was most likely that he wanted a complete merging of two worlds.

     Only very few people, such as Mo Ran, who were born with strong and overpowering spiritual power, would be able to do this.