Lost in ecstasy and lust, Taxian-Jun pulled off the belt of the person beneath him, whose robes were disordered, revealing the deep blue and purple marks underneath. His movements paused for a moment as if he remembered something, and his gaze was dark and hot, like two clusters of fire amidst ashes.

     After a while, he closed his eyes and sighed. “Forget it…” He also knew that if he were to continue, Chu Wanning would probably be torn apart by him.

     “I will… spare you for today…”

     In the tranquility of this place, he finally let go of the person in his embrace and didn’t do anything too extreme. But he still lowered his head, his adam’s apple bobbing, and kissed his lover’s eyebrows all the way down… until he finally landed on his neck, where he bit gently with his sharp white teeth. Then he straightened up and picked up the man who had been pressed down on the table.

     The porridge simmered and bubbled.

     Taxian-Jun clumsily tidied up Chu Wanning’s clothes and coughed lightly. His voice was still low but warm. “The porridge is done. Go, fill a bowl.”

     Although Chu Wanning was confused by his actions, he was usually temperamental. Moreover, he also thought this was just a dream, so he didn’t think too much about it. Besides, it was much better to eat a good meal than to pursue absurd pleasures, so he opened the lid of the pot without a word.

     “Serve more.”

     “...You want to stuff yourself to death?”

     Taxian-Jun smiled faintly. “You can try.”

     As he spoke, he sat down at the table.

     Although he really wanted to go over and see what Chu Wanning’s pot of porridge looked like, he still had to put on the airs of an emperor. So, he sat upright at the table and even put on an indifferent expression.

     However, when the porridge was served, Taxian-Jun could no longer be careless—

     The porridge was overcooked. There was too much water, and it wasn’t properly salted. Before he even touched the spoon, he knew it would be a familiar flavor that he hadn’t tasted for a long time.

     “Eat.”

     “...”

     Taxian-Jun stared at the small bowl in front of him for a long time. He stirred it with the spoon but didn’t put the porridge in his mouth.

     Chu Wanning glanced at him. “If you don’t eat, it’ll get cold.”

     “...Oh.”

     He scooped up the porridge and brought it to his lips, then hesitated before putting it down.

     Chu Wanning finally noticed that something was strange about him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

     “It’s nothing.” Taxian-Jun smiled but still maintained his cruel and disdainful look. “It’s so poorly cooked. I don’t want to eat it anymore.”

     “...”

     “It’s too stuffy in here. This Venerable One is going out to get some fresh air.”

     After he finished speaking, he pushed the untouched bowl of porridge away, got up, and walked towards the door. When he was about to reach the door, Chu Wanning’s voice sounded behind him.

     “If you don’t eat,” Chu Wanning’s voice was very calm. It was a calmness tempered by being humiliated by him many times. “then I will have to dump the whole pot.”

     Most of the things he made for him were thrown out anyway.

     It had been like this since the day his wontons were first knocked to the ground.

     Taxian-Jun suddenly turned around. “Don’t touch it! …I mean…” He coughed to cover up his loss of composure. “just leave it for now.”

     “Leave it for what?”

     “...You don’t have to worry about it.”

     He pushed the curtain aside and went out. Under the eaves, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

     He was actually a corpse. No matter how much he looked like a living person, he was still a walking corpse. Unlike a living person, he could no longer eat.

     Years ago, he had committed suicide in Wushan Palace and was made into a living-dead corpse to be used by Cold Scale Sacred Hand. Cold Scale Sacred Hand had come to this world through a space-time rift, and he had been left in that tattered and broken mortal world to act according to his orders. It had been nearly ten years like this.

     In the ten years, he was a walking corpse and had never eaten anything again. But he wasn’t a glutton, so he never felt any regret about it.

     It wasn’t until today, when he sat in front of a bowl of egg drop and lean meat porridge with a poor flavor and aroma, that he suddenly felt lost—

     Why was he no longer alive?

     He had waited for so many years, and finally, in these few days, he had obtained a Chu Wanning that belonged entirely to him.

     But he couldn’t even eat a bowl of porridge made by that person.

     What did porridge cooked by Chu Wanning taste like?

     He stood under the roof tiles with his eyes closed and tried to recall. After a long time, he suddenly raised his arm and covered his eyelashes. No one could see clearly what kind of expression he had on his face at this time; only his pursed pale lips and the line of his jaw could be seen.

     Then he lowered his arm and opened his eyes, which were slightly red at the corners.

     His memory was bad, and he wasn’t very smart. If the tip of his tongue could still taste a bit of sour, sweet, bitter, or salty, he might be able to recall. But his bones and blood were cold, and his lips and mouth had no sense of taste. So even though the bowl of porridge was right in front of him, he couldn’t remember what it tasted like.

     He would never know again.

     Deep into the night, he went to find Shi Mei.

     Beside the cold pond in front of the ancestral hall’s Heavenly Palace, the handsome man stood barefooted, his toes touching the cold spring water and stirring up the starry water.

     Seeing that he had come, Shi Mei raised his eyebrows slightly. As if he knew why he had come, he said with a cold, mocking expression, “It’s such a beautiful day. I didn’t expect that His Majesty the Emperor isn’t accompanying Chu-zongshi in the secret chamber but has the leisure to come find me instead.”

     Taxian-Jun didn’t want to beat around the bush with him, so he asked directly, “Is there any way to temporarily make This Venerable One the same as when I was alive?”

     “...” Shi Mei swept his gaze across him twice. “Even though you are a living-dead person, you should not be affected in bed.”

     “I’m not talking about that.”

     “Oh, so what do you mean?”

     “...To eat.” Taxian-Jun said coldly, “This Venerable One wants to eat.”

     Shi Mei’s eyes were dark, and he asked thoughtfully, “Does the emperor want to eat that bowl of wontons?”

     “Other than my shige, no one in the world can make it well.”

     Shi Mei smiled. “It’s rare that you can think of him today.”

     Taxian-Jun’s memory of Shi Mei was messy and unstable; sometimes he could recall, and sometimes he couldn’t. But most of the time, he had no impression of Shi Mei, so when he mentioned his “shige” today, Shi Mei couldn’t help but feel a sense of novelty.

     He asked, “Hey, you stay with Chu Wanning on Mount Jiao all day long. Why don’t you think of your Mingjing-shixiong?”

     “...”

     This was more or less what it meant not to know each other.

     After a while, Emperor Taxian-Jun said, “As you said, This Venerable One’s body is too full of yin energy. Before I get a new spiritual core and am completely reborn, I shouldn’t go to see my shige. He’s of water attribute, so This Venerable One would hurt him.”

     Shi Mei didn’t feel bad about lying at all. “That’s right.”

     “So why are you asking about wontons?” Taxian-Jun looked at him coldly. “Don’t you know not to bring it up?”

     Shi Mei smiled and said, “I’m just curious. In this world, other than wontons, what kind of food would make Emperor Taxian-Jun, who has tasted all sorts of delicacies, not want to forget?”

     “...”

     “What, you don’t want to say it?”

     “...”

     “Then let me guess—Chu-zongshi must have cooked for you, right?”

     Seeing that Emperor Taxian-Jun’s expression changed slightly, and his lips pursed, Shi Mei smiled and said, “I’ve heard that Chu-zongshi of Sisheng Peak is the worst at cooking. You sure are interesting to be able to swallow it down.”

     Taxian-Jun’s face darkened. “Just tell me if there’s a way. There’s no need to be so long-winded about the rest.”

     “There’s definitely a way. I’ve told you about it a long time ago.”

     Taxian-Jun frowned. “What is it?”

     “The initial way.” Shi Mei said softly, “Get Mo-zongshi’s spiritual core as soon as possible. If I give you his spiritual core, you’ll be exactly the same as when you were alive.”

     An orange blossom floated along the water. Shi Mei moved his toes a little, and the white, fragrant flower was caught in the gap between them. Although the flower was white, it wasn’t as immaculate and delicate as Shi Mei’s skin.

     Shi Mei looked at the flower trapped by his toes that could no longer float and smiled. He said, “The two of us will work together. The sooner we get the spiritual core, the sooner I can obtain your total power. As for you, the sooner you can eat what you want to eat.”

     After a pause, he raised his eyelashes as soft as feathers. “I can see the person I’ve missed day and night.”

     “...”

     “So please cooperate with me, Your Majesty.”

     “Before, you wanted This Venerable One to kill people at Guyue’ye. And later, you wanted This Venerable One to summon a great Zhenlong army to attack Sisheng Peak. This Venerable One has done all of this. How do you want This Venerable One to cooperate with you? You might as well say it all at once.”

     Shi Mei clapped his hands and smiled. “Good, that’s great. Actually, there isn’t much else I need you to do next. There’s only one last thing.”

     “Go ahead.”

     “Come with me to Tianyin Pavilion. Our chess game has come to an end. It’s time to close the net.”

     When he said this, Taxian-Jun noticed a dove with golden tail feathers perched behind Shi Mei. It was the spiritual bird Tianyin Pavilion used to send messages.

     “Did Tianyin Pavilion send you news?”

     “Yes.” Shi Mei stretched out two long fingers, holding a thin piece of paper. “It’s good news. Everything is going according to our plan. It’s not pleasant to be a good person; Mo-zongshi gave up his spiritual core to protect the peace of the cultivation world, but no one wants to give him merit for it.”

     He smiled, twisted his fingers, and used a spell to instantly fold the letter into a paper butterfly before throwing it to Taxian-Jun.

     “See for yourself.”

     “There’s no need.” Taxian-Jun took the paper butterfly but didn’t unfold it. He looked at Shi Mei with his black eyes. “Just tell me, when will we make our move?”

     “The trial will take place in three days. Then three days after will be the execution.”

     “Six days?”

     Shi Mei stroked the wings of the golden-tailed dove with a very gentle expression. Suddenly, a brightly colored snake with a triangular shaped head darted out of his sleeve and bit the dove’s neck in a flash. In the next moment, it swallowed the gentle bird into its belly.

     All of this happened as fast as a flash of lightning. Shi Mei’s expression didn’t change, as if he were already used to this.

     He smiled and brushed away a broken feather before he raised his head and said, “That’s right. So we’ll stay on Mount Jiao for three more days, then go to Tianyin Pavilion and wait.”

     The feather fell into the pond, and ripples spread out gently, shattering the reflections of the two men on the shore.

     “His spiritual core will give you unstoppable power. This way, you’ll have everything you want very soon."

     After the conversation was over, Taxian-Jun returned to the secret room on Mount Jiao with a heavy heart.

     Chu Wanning, who seemed to have been reading a book, had fallen asleep on the table. His white sleeves fluttered like the first snowfall.

     He stood beside him and gazed at him for a while. He was just like a lone lamp or a simple book. He had experienced the prosperity of the mortal world, known bright and vibrant luxuries, and seen all kinds of beauties.

     Chu Wanning was nothing.

     What’s there to look at? he thought gloomily. But his adam’s apple moved, and he couldn’t help but lean over and embrace the man, burying his face in the crook of his neck and nuzzling against it.

     “...” Chu Wanning was awakened by him and opened his eyes. His phoenix eyes were confused and gentle at first, but then he remembered the cruelty of this Emperor Taxian-Jun in front of him. His eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp.

     All of these changes fell into Taxian-Jun’s eyes. The frustration and unwillingness in his heart grew more and more like weeds. Finally, he couldn’t bear it anymore and picked Chu Wanning up.

    “What are you going crazy for—ugh!”

     With a muffled groan, he was pushed against the wall.

     Taxian-Jun kissed him passionately and desperately, from his neck to his lips, from his lips to his chin. As he breathed heavily, he asked, “Do you like me?”

     “...”

     “Chu Wanning, do you like me?”

     “What are you doing? Why are you suddenly…”

     But Taxian-Jun didn’t seem to want to know the answer. He just wanted to ask the question. As for what the answer was, it had nothing to do with him.

     Or perhaps it was because no matter what the answer was, the path of return was too vast, and there was no turning back, so no matter what he said, it was useless.

     “If I wasn’t Emperor Taxian-Jun and became a zongshi like you, would you be willing to be with me? Would you be willing to treat me better?”

     He bit the side of Chu Wanning’s neck one last time, as if he wanted to suck his blood.

     It seemed that this was the only way he could prove that the person in his arms belonged to him and not to the Mo Weiyu who was so different from himself.

     But the moment he lowered his eyelashes, his voice became hoarse.

     “Do you ultimately like him that way more than me like this…?”

     “Mo Weiyu, what are you talking about?!”

     That’s right, Chu Wanning’s memories were still messy. He only had memories from his previous life and no impression of this life. Of course, he wouldn’t understand what he was saying.

     It was probably only at this moment that he completely belonged to Emperor Taxian-Jun.

     He suddenly felt very sad.

     He didn’t know why, but there was even a hint of undisguised misery in his voice.

     Taxian-Jun touched his lover’s neck, and in the end, he asked softly, “If I take away his spiritual core… will you hate me even more?”

     There was nothing more incomprehensible than being denied by yourself.

     Taxian-Jun hugged the person in his arms.

     “But you are This Venerable One’s person…”

     “Don’t betray me.”

     When he mumbled his selfish desires, he even felt despairing.

     Perhaps after being alone for so long, even the sharpest knife would be blunted.

     “Eight years. Since he was reborn, how long has he had you? How long have I been alone, waiting in the other mortal world?”

     Lonely Wushan Palace, wandering without a purpose.

     “Don’t leave me a second time… The first time, I could still die. But if you leave me a second time… I won’t even be able to choose death.” Taxian-Jun frowned, the gloom and madness in his brows concurrent with sadness and paranoia. “I won’t be able to bear it…”