Shi Mei first fed Chu Wanning a healing elixir, then bent over, his soft and slender fingers sinking into the ink-black hair like ten bewitching white snakes. He lifted the back of Chu Wanning’s head and pressed his forehead against his own.

     “Zhuang Zhou’s dream, the incarnation of a butterfly, always accompanying him through the night…”

     He muttered the incantation softly, but as he continued to recite it, he suddenly stopped.

     He initially wanted to cast a spell to remove some of Chu Wanning’s memories. This was one of his best spells, which he had used on Mo Ran before.

     However, probably because the soul in Chu Wanning’s body was very disordered and his memories were still in the process of recovery, he was very resistant to the outside world. He found that this trick didn’t work on Chu Wanning.

     “This is a real nuisance.” He closed his eyes, then opened them.

     A pair of peach blossom eyes lingered with an enchanting brilliance. He stared at Chu Wanning with these eyes, then recited again, “Zhuang Zhou’s dream, the incarnation of a butterfly, always accompanying him through the night. Yesterday was like flowing water, drunk on this mountain…”

     There was some effect this time, but it wasn’t perfect.

     His incantation was like a huge stone thrown into a pool. Although it had caused tens of thousands of ripples, it would soon return to its original state.

     But it didn’t matter. It was good that he would forget for a while.

     He didn’t want to see Chu Wanning’s mind filled with killing intent when he went to the sea of desire with Chu Wanning.

     That would be too distasteful.

     “Shizun, you’ve been sleeping for such a long time. It’s time for you to wake up now.”

     This soft call was like a curse. After a while, Chu Wanning’s eyelashes moved slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.

     Because of Shi Mei’s spell, his consciousness temporarily became blurred, suspended in his previous life, and stopped after Shi Mei’s death.

     In the past, Chu Wanning was hurt too deeply by Mo Ran’s lost love. Subconsciously, he always thought that it would be nice if it could be changed. So, his spiritual consciousness went back to those years.

     However, a person’s three souls and six spirits were already intricate to begin with, and Chu Wanning’s body now contained the souls of two lifetimes. Therefore, even though Shi Mei had cast a spell on him, his mind was still in chaos, and he looked like he was in a dream.

     Some of his memories were in disarray, and he couldn’t tell the difference between dreams and reality.

     “...Shi Mingjing?”

     “Yes.” Shi Mei’s voice was very gentle, suppressing a kind of twisted tenderness. “It’s me.”

     Chu Wanning seemed to be very tired, and his high fever made him feel uncomfortable all over. He only replied faintly and closed his eyes again.

     Shi Mei knew that he was acclimating, so he wasn’t in a hurry and waited calmly beside him.

     After a while, he heard Chu Wanning sigh with his eyes closed. “I’m afraid I’m dreaming. It’s great that you’re still alive.”

     He knew that his memories stopped after the Heavenly Rift in his previous life, but he didn’t expect him to have such an emotional reaction. Shi Mei’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt a sense of bitterness that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

     “You can’t bear for me to die?”

     “...You’re still so young… There are so many people who like you…” Chu Wanning said softly. “It shouldn’t be you. I’m sorry.”

     “...”

     “It would be good if it was me. At least no one would be too sad.”

     The bitterness in his heart became more and more vivid, stirring up his dead heart. He first had this feeling when Chu Wanning walked home with him under the same umbrella. Later, after so many years of scheming, the people around him either died or scattered.

     He lurked in the dark, treating himself as a heartless stone.

     Later, he really thought of himself as a rock, and it was only today that he truly felt the existence of his heart again.

     It was sour, sweet, bitter, and itchy.

     He clearly knew that he shouldn’t have such emotions. The rain would corrode the boulder, and the soft moss would make him fall apart.

     But he still couldn’t help but grab Chu Wanning’s hand, his heart beating wildly.

     He opened his mouth, but his throat was dry. He swallowed again, then asked, “What about you? Are you sad that I died?”

     “...”

     “Have you ever been sad?”

     Chu Wanning’s phoenix eyes were half-open. Under his long and thick eyelashes were a pair of eyes that carried too many thoughts. Shi Mei tried hard to look inside, trying to catch a trace of a sharp edge to his emotions.

     But there was none.

     Just like how water alone was water and wheat alone was wheat, a kind of feeling that was simply placed there would always be that kind of emotion.

     It was a pity that a person’s emotions could never be singled out. Shi Mei’s death had caused him sadness, pain, and self-reproach, which later turned into regret. With so many emotions mixed together, it was like wheat mixed with water, fermented and changed, so it was no longer what it used to be.

     Shi Mei asked with deep obsession, “Shizun, if you were given another chance, would you be willing to give up your life to save me just as you were willing to save him?”

     Chu Wanning’s eyes were empty.

     “Would you?”

     “Shi Mingjing…” He only had time to say these two words before his lips were suddenly blocked violently.

     He had waited so long for the answer, but when it was really about to be revealed, he didn’t dare to listen. He didn’t want to hear it.

     Shi Mei thought he probably knew the answer.

     The resentment in his chest ran rampant. He kissed the man on the bed in retaliation, greedily sucking on him. At first, Chu Wanning didn’t react at all; it was only when Shi Mei’s tongue tried to pry his mouth open and go inside that he suddenly woke up from the dream and opened his eyes.

     “Agh—”

     “Shh, don’t make a sound.” Shi Mei took a breath and touched Chu Wanning’s throat, casting a silencing spell. “You taught us this spell before, saying that it would prevent us from making a sound in dangerous situations. Did you ever think that one day I would use it for this purpose?”

     As he spoke, he ignored the confusion and resentment in Chu Wanning’s eyes. His jealousy and desire almost made him lose his composure. “Shizun, do you know? It’s been two lifetimes. I’ve worked hard, step by step, and I haven’t lived a single day in peace.”

     He tied Chu Wanning’s hands and feet to the bed frame, while gritting his teeth and saying, “I am not a normal person, and what I’m about to do doesn’t allow me to be a normal person, but so what? If that puppet Emperor Taxian-Jun can do whatever he pleases, why should I have to be cautious?”

     As Shi Mei said this, he saw Chu Wanning struggling furiously under his body.

     He felt both pain and pleasure.

     “Now, I have figured it out. Whether you are happy or not, you have to enjoy life to the fullest… Shizun.” He straightened up and began to take off Chu Wanning’s clothes. “It wasn’t easy to get to this point. You should let me taste you. Consider it a reward for your disciple, hm?”

     The severely ill person didn’t have much strength to resist, so Shi Mei took his robes off easily. The air was slightly cool, and the light was dim. The sharp lines and tight muscles of the man’s body were covered in discolored marks and bruises left by Mo Ran.

     Shi Mei’s eyes darkened, and he whispered to himself, “He’s really too ruthless.”

     After saying this, he raised his hand and grabbed Chu Wanning’s chin, looking into his eyes.

     The pair of phoenix eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of fog at this moment. Chu Wanning probably wasn’t able to distinguish between dreams and reality. He probably felt that everything in front of him was too absurd to be real but also felt that the touch was too real to be fake.

     Adding on the confusion of the memories of his past and present lives, it wasn’t easy for him to react immediately.

     “I’m not like him.” Shi Mei stared at Chu Wanning for a while, his eyes gradually softening, but there was still a trace of mania in the gentleness. “He doesn’t know how to make you addicted. You’ll try me and know he is nothing.”

     With that, he began to undress himself.

     He had just finished bathing and was only wearing a bathrobe. It easily slipped to the ground, revealing his delicate body as exquisite as a piece of jade from Mount Kun.

     “Shizun…”

     He murmured, pressing his body on top of him.

     Regardless of whether this was a dream or reality, Chu Wanning was so disgusted that he couldn’t bear it. His entire body trembled, and his face was ashen.

     “Your body is so hot.”

     “...”

     He knew that if he let go of the forbidden curse on Chu Wanning at this moment, this man would probably yell and threaten him with death. But Shi Mei still couldn't help but caress him and murmur, “Will it be hotter inside?”

     “Shi… Mingjing!”

     When Shi Mei heard the sound, he was suddenly startled.

     “...You broke away from the Silencing Curse?” He raised his eyes and looked at Chu Wanning’s face. “You, you’re really…”

     Chu Wanning’s lips trembled as he coughed up blood and said hoarsely, “You are insolent! Get out of here!”

     Shi Mei was silent, looking down at the man under him.

     Was this person too fierce?

     Too stubborn?

     Or was he too unresigned to accept his fate and admit defeat?

     There were so many things he wanted to say that he didn’t know what to say when they came to his lips.

     In the end, Shi Mei just smiled, and when Chu Wanning was about to angrily shout his next words, he suddenly covered his mouth, quickly removed his hair ribbon, and tied it between his lips.

     “Since you are able to break free of my spell, then I can only tie you up. Sorry, Shizun.”

     Facing those shocked and angry yet also alarmed and humiliated eyes, Shi Mei only felt his blood boiling. He leaned over and whispered in Chu Wanning’s ear, “In a while, no matter how good you feel under me, you must remember to call to me softly. His Majesty the Emperor is right outside. If he hears you like this under me, do you think he’ll be happy?”

     Shi Mei’s fingers slid down little by little, lingering on each mottled blue and purple kiss mark. When he went farther down, Chu Wanning only felt that he was about to be nailed through by shame.

     His memories were disordered and stopped in his past life, when he hadn’t yet discovered the secret of Mo Ran’s curse, so he hated Mo Ran very much.

     But he hated his own shamelessness even more.

     Even though he was so humiliated, so disgusted, and so disappointed in Mo Weiyu, when he was hugged by Mo Ran, when he listened to Mo Ran’s gasps, and when the man’s sweat gathered on his abdomen and dripped onto his body, he couldn’t help but feel excitement and pleasure.

     Even during the most frenzied moments of lovemaking, he could feel himself secretly hoping that Mo Ran wouldn’t stop, that he would continue tearing himself apart and penetrating his soul.

     The lingering wind and rain gave him an illusion of peace.

      When he was lying in Mo Ran’s arms, he would occasionally feel that nothing had happened—that this person who kept tormenting him might also love him.

     But Shi Mei was different.

     Although he didn’t know why he fell into such a bizarre nightmare, when Shi Mei touched him, he only felt anger and fear. He could not stand this kind of entanglement at all.

     He didn’t like it at all.

     Shi Mei’s body was different from what he remembered. He was very tall but still smooth and fair, with soft and elegant lines as if carved from sheep’s fat, and the scent on his body was fresh and fragrant.

     It wasn’t the hard and vigorous body he was used to—

     He was only used to Mo Ran’s body. Although the man’s skin was pale, the blood of a ferocious beast surged underneath, and it was extremely wild. That purest masculine breath was like a scorching sun, burning his heart.

     Although there were times when the smell of blood and iron lingered in the air.

     It was very hard and very cold.

     But the sturdy chest was extremely hot.

     Chu Wanning suddenly opened his eyes. His bound hands struggled uncontrollably, and there were traces of blood on his wrists. Two red marks appeared at the corners of his eyes from the humiliation.

     But his struggle was useless. The bed was soft and covered with a thick animal skin, so he couldn’t make too much noise.

     Shi Mei watched him fight like a cornered beast with great interest. Finally, he smiled and said, “Shizun, why waste your energy? Do you not believe that I’ll make you feel good?”

     As he spoke, he lifted Chu Wanning’s slender and firm legs and wedged his waist between them. His eyes were dark, and he was about to enter like he had imagined countless times before.

     Chu Wanning suddenly closed his eyes. He bit his lips until they bled, and his nails sank into his palms. All the muscles throughout his body had tensed up, not because he was afraid of the pain that would invade later.

     But because of shame.

     It was too humiliating, whether all of this was real or not.

     If it was fake, he would be ashamed of himself for having such a dream. If it was real, then he was ashamed of himself for being so stupid. He had accepted three disciples, and two of them had these kinds of treacherous thoughts.

     He had always been a person who was used to reflecting on himself first.

     If Mo Ran’s desire could be said to be his own problem, then it was just his problem. But what about both Shi Mei and Mo Ran?

     He couldn’t help but wonder if he had done something wrong or if he didn’t act like a teacher, causing two of his disciples to succumb to such wolfish ambitions in bed one after another.

     What was wrong with him that made him deserve to suffer like this?

     “...”

     They were in a tense deadlock.

     After a long time, there was still no movement.

     Chu Wanning slowly opened his eyes. His dark brown eyes turned, only to see that Shi Mei was frozen in place for some reason. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

     He still didn’t fully understand why Shi Mei would have such an expression. His eyes moved down a few inches, and he saw a scene that made him speechless—

     …

     What… is that…?

     The heavy atmosphere from before was swept away, and Chu Wanning felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

     Well… well the thing under Shi Mei’s body was actually gold???

     This situation was so absurd that Chu Wanning stiffly turned his head away, not wanting to hurt his eyes.

     But after a moment, he felt that something was wrong—which normal person would have anything of this color?

     So, he braced himself and turned his face back. He looked again with a pale face.

     This time, he saw clearly that it wasn’t Shi Mei that was golden, but a little golden dragon that had appeared out of nowhere and occupied Shi Mei’s position. The little dragon strangled it tightly, then raised its head angrily. It looked at Shi Mei as if saying that if Shi Mei dared to move, it would immediately crush the thing it was wrapped around into dust.

     Chu Wanning: “...”

     Shi Mei: “...”

     The little demonic dragon bared its teeth and roared at the unlucky guy it had trapped. “Waa, aa—!!”

     If it weren’t for the fact that his hands were bound, Chu Wanning would have raised his hands to support his forehead at this moment. He really didn’t want to look at it.

     “...” Shi Mei was silent for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, “What’s going on?!”

     As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of the stone door opening, and Taxian-Jun’s vicious face appeared from behind the door. His voice sounded like a threatening cloud of murderous intent.

     Taxian-Jun stepped through the door and crossed his arms. His eyes swept across the “Golden Dragon Pillar,” his killing intent tinged with a bit of scorn. Then he opened his mouth and said coldly, “Miss, please get off the bed.”

     Shi Mei was so furious from embarrassment that he didn’t understand what he meant for a moment. He said angrily, “What Miss? Who?”

     “My apologies.” Taxian-Jun carefully examined the thing the dragon was wrapped around. “It turns out to be a Young Master. Young Master is too young, so This Venerable One didn’t notice it at first.”

     The little golden dragon climbed on top of the pillar, its whiskers curling up. It bared its teeth and called out to its master in agreement, “Waa, ah—!!”

     To humiliate a man to this extent was the limit. No matter how calm Shi Mei was, he couldn’t help but feel his veins bulge and his face turn red. Unfortunately, his clothes were in a mess, and he was tied up by a strange dragon that had come from nowhere. Even as he got angry, he was weak and simply stopped talking.

     Emperor Taxian-Jun walked towards him. He stood next to the bedpost, crossed his arms, and leaned against it.

     “Hua Binan, do you really think that because you aren't making any noise, This Venerable One doesn’t know what you’re doing?” He narrowed his eyes, and his handsome face was filled with contempt. “Do you really think This Venerable One is three years old? Hm?”