Liang Ye’s physical condition was so good it was almost ridiculous. Even when covered in wounds and stabbed through the stomach, he woke up and enthusiastically gnawed through most of a roasted chicken.
Munching on some slightly burnt chicken wings with a crisp sound, he suspiciously stared at the strange objects next to the campfire, “Did you make all these?”
“Hmm,” Wang Dian scalded the cloth strips with boiling water twice, and only when the temperature had cooled down did he carefully wipe the shallow but toxic wounds on Liang Ye’s body, slowly wiping away the dried medicinal herbs. “I learned wilderness first aid and survival skills in college.”
The cloth strip was still somewhat hot, and Liang Ye dramatically hissed. Wang Dian grabbed his wrist, “Hurts?”
“Hmm,” Liang Ye nodded seriously, took a big bite of half a chicken leg, and picked at it choosily. “Such a shame, it’s really tasteless.”
“……” Wang Dian wanted to slap the cloth strip on his face.
Liang Ye thoroughly enjoyed Wang Dian’s meticulous care. Since meeting Wang Dian, he discovered that being injured or sick was quite an interesting experience, where he could unabashedly “command” Wang Dian.
“Stomach hurts,” After eating most of the bland roasted chicken and drinking lots of water, he began to feel weak. Leaning on Wang Dian, he belched contentedly, wiggling as if to recite all the pain he hadn’t experienced before, “Dizzy, cold…nauseous, uncomfortable.”
Wang Dian reapplied the crude herbal paste to his wounds and checked his abdominal injury, “Eating the remaining roasted chicken will make you feel even more sick.”
Liang Ye licked his lips magnanimously, “Saved it for you.”
“I’m not hungry,” Wang Dian had no appetite at all. He wiped the medicinal herbs from his hands, helped Liang Ye put on his inner garment, draped the outer robe over him, and carefully held him in his arms.
Liang Ye played with his hand for a while, and his breathing gradually became steady.
Wang Dian lowered his eyes, staring at Liang Ye’s pale face. His rational mind told him he should quickly find a way to leave, that their disappearance might cause chaos outside, but his eyelids grew heavier. He resisted drowsiness but was powerless to fight it, and finally fell into thick darkness, listening to the crackling of firewood.
He was awakened by suffocation.
The light from outside the cave stung Wang Dian’s eyes. The warm, moist sensation on his lips made his sluggish brain confused. He breathed dazedly twice before being engulfed by a surging kiss. The bloody and herbal scent of Liang Ye lingered in his nose. He stiffened his arm, not daring to move, and finally could only tightly grasp the hem of Liang Ye’s falling outer robe.
His curved fingers gripped the black fabric tightly, his knuckles turning a pale blue-white from the force. His scarred hand was tense, and the slanting sunlight outside the cave fell on the pale blue blood vessels.
Liang Ye half-lowered his eyes, savoring his restrained and bewildered expression with relish, watching him until his eye corners began to turn red before mercifully releasing him.
Wang Dian took a heavy breath, his moist eyelashes trembling slightly. Dust danced in the few rays of sunlight. Liang Ye reached out through the light before his eyes, his fingertips brushing over his thin eyelids, his voice satisfied and pleased. “Awake?”
Pressed against the stone wall behind him, his breathing unsteady, he stared at Liang Ye, watching his elegant and heroic half-kneeling posture. His temples throbbed painfully, and he said hoarsely, “Liang Ziyu, you’re afraid you might not die.”
Last night he had been so weak that breathing was difficult, but after sleeping, he now felt he could conquer the world.
Liang Ye grinned, incredibly proud. “Zhen has a good body.”
Seeing Wang Dian’s terrible expression, he reluctantly added. “Of course, mainly because you took good care of Zhen. If Zhen was alone, Zhen wouldn’t have survived such a serious injury.”
Wang Dian’s expression became even worse, his eyes looking like he wanted to eat Liang Ye alive. Liang Ye squinted and thought for a moment, slowly covering his abdominal wound, tentatively saying, “Ah, it hurts.”
Then he raised his eyelids to carefully gauge Wang Dian’s expression.
“……” Wang Dian sighed with a headache.
Damn this madman.
Seeing that if he didn’t pay attention, this guy would perform a seriously injured rock climbing act, Wang Dian grabbed his wrist and made him sit properly, “I’ll go outside and find something to eat.”
“I caught two big fish this morning, look,” Liang Ye proudly pointed at the two dead fish on the ground, with willow leaf knives piercing their bellies, and tangled silk threads not yet untangled. He felt incredibly thoughtful, with an expression begging to be praised, “You just need to skewer and roast them.”
Great, he called this “catching”.
Wang Dian was so angry he didn’t care whether this was a dream, he just wanted to roast Liang Ye with the fish.
The concave stone pot was filled with clear water. Wang Dian’s face was dark, he used the willow leaf knife to gut the two fish and threw them in, watching the water gradually boil.
Liang Ye sat obediently beside him, looking for something to talk about. “You made this?”
“Found it nearby,” Wang Dian looked at him like he was an idiot.
“Oh,” Liang Ye patted the dust off his knees and touched his nose.
In fact, since last night, Liang Ye had been feeling somewhat inexplicably strange. His instinctive vigilance and guard had suddenly vanished, which made him uneasy, but he couldn’t resist, always thinking… he wanted to be close to Wang Dian.
Even if they did nothing, just being close together made him feel comfortable.
The thoughts of possession and control were pushed to the edge, replaced by a desire to be closer.
He kissed Wang Dian but felt it wasn’t enough, yet what he wanted wasn’t physical intimacy, but another indescribable craving that couldn’t be obtained through manipulation, since he didn’t even understand what he wanted himself.
This made Liang Ye feel frustrated.
Wang Dian added some firewood to the fire, looking at Liang Ye sitting cross-legged with a serious expression staring at the fish soup, looking like he was starving. He couldn’t help but throw in two more pieces of wood, “Wait a bit longer.”
Liang Ye’s gaze fell on his face, and he swallowed, “Wang Dian.”
“Hmm?” Wang Dian was rinsing fish scales off the willow leaf knife, wrinkling his brow at the fishy smell, having firmly decided he wouldn’t touch the fish soup.
He waited for a long time but didn’t hear Liang Ye’s next words. After cleaning the knife, he handed it back to Liang Ye, “What’s wrong?”
Liang Ye took it, pinched the cool knife blade, cleared his throat, and said seriously, “Nothing.”
Wang Dian lifted his robe and sat next to him. Liang Ye’s eyebrows slightly moved, his mood instantly lifted. He happily put the cleaned knife back on himself, subtly moving closer until their calves were tightly pressed together.
“Don’t move,” Wang Dian placed his hand on Liang Ye’s thigh, carefully avoiding the wound. “Since we found a stone pot nearby, it means someone has been active here. The water flow is stable, and downstream might lead to a gathered village or town where we can contact the outside world.”
Liang Ye stared at the hand on his leg. Though Wang Dian’s palm was cool, the patch of skin he touched felt like it was being roasted by fire, both itchy and burning. He said seriously, “Wang Dian, remove your hand.”
Wang Dian looked at him confusedly, moved his hand away, and asked, “Why is your face red? Are you uncomfortable?”
Worried about a fever, he reached out to touch Liang Ye’s neck, pressing his forehead against Liang Ye’s, feeling a slight warmth. His heart sank, “Is the wound infected?”
The smell of Wang Dian enveloped him. Liang Ye’s breathing tightened, not knowing where to place his hands, feeling awkward and irritable. He frowned and said harshly, “No, Zhen is fine.”
Seeing him so tense, Wang Dian thought he was extremely uncomfortable and reached out to remove his clothing, “Let me take a look.”
Liang Ye grabbed his hand, using some internal energy to suppress the rising heat, and said casually, “It’s nothing.”
Wang Dian saw his restored normal complexion and leaned in to check with his forehead again, finding no trace of heat. He thought Liang Ye’s internal energy had worked and slightly relaxed.
The unseasoned fish soup was very fishy, but more nutritious than roasting. Wang Dian ladled a large bamboo tube for him. Liang Ye wrinkled his nose, wanting to push it away.
“Drink it, it’s good for your body,” Wang Dian, also disgusted by the smell, tried to persuade him, “It’s very fragrant.”
Liang Ye had always been stubborn, not listening to anyone, not even Wang Dian. But when Wang Dian held the fish soup to his mouth with a gentle, pleasant voice, it was like a spell was cast. Despite the two having similar voices, it sounded completely different in his ears.
He stared bitterly at the fish soup and drank most of it following Wang Dian’s feeding motion.
Ugh.
Wang Dian hadn’t expected him to drink so much and mockingly curved his mouth. Liang Ye caught this and, finding a reason for the awkward irritation that had bothered him all morning, gave a wicked laugh, “You drink too.”
“No need, I’m not hungry,” Wang Dian disgustedly moved back.
He’d rather die than touch a sip.
Liang Ye immediately took a big gulp and grabbed Wang Dian’s neck, kissing him. Wang Dian, worried about his wounds, didn’t dare move and clenched his teeth. Liang Ye pressed his thumb on Wang Dian’s neck, forcing his mouth open and making him swallow most of it. Much of the soup spilled down his chin and neck, leaving a sticky mess.
Liang Ye licked the soup from his mouth corner, staring at Wang Dian’s furrowed brow, feeling physically and mentally comfortable. He twisted his neck and said with a smile, “Isn’t it delicious?”
Wang Dian gritted his teeth and laughed, “Yes, have some more.”
Ugh.
Liang Ye laughed, “I’ll drink with you.”
“…………”
They ultimately reached a tacit agreement that no matter how nutritious, they absolutely would not touch another sip.
After this incident, Liang Ye felt he had returned to his previous way of interacting with Wang Dian, lazily sticking close to him. “If they want Zhen’s life, and they can’t find Zhen’s body in the Sipan Mountain, they won’t act rashly against Chong Heng… This seems like the middle to lower reaches of Changshui. We’ll find two fast horses, and we can quickly reach Zhangmu Mountain.”
Wang Dian, who was disgustedly wiping the fish soup from his neck, paused slightly upon hearing this. “Hmm.”
He discovered he didn’t want to discuss these matters, and was even selfishly hoping they wouldn’t find any villages or human settlements, that he and Liang Ye would just continue staying in this cave.
Just him and Liang Ye.
“When the mountain flood happened, why…did you push me?” Wang Dian looked at the campfire, its flames growing lower.
If he hadn’t pushed him that time, he might have avoided Bian Feng’s sword.
Liang Ye said righteously, “With your weak body, you wouldn’t have been able to run without me pushing.”
After clearing his throat, he actually hadn’t thought much at that moment. His instinct was just to make Wang Dian run. He knew he couldn’t easily die, but Wang Dian could die easily. Thinking of this made him angry, and he said with a displeased expression, “Why did you run back?”
Making him seem like an idiot who was stabbed by Bian Feng for nothing.
“What do you think?” Wang Dian carelessly lifted his eyelids, staring at him.
That strange feeling he had suppressed earlier returned. Liang Ye frowned. He seemed to understand, but instinctively felt it was unbelievable.
There was no reason for someone to risk their life for him. This sounded ridiculous and laughable.
Wang Dian wouldn’t be that kind of person. Neither would he.
They were selfish, unscrupulous, full of schemes, mutually restraining, each taking what they needed, constantly engaged in overt and covert struggles, fundamentally just using each other.
Wang Dian was his opponent to satisfy his conquest and stimulation, a fierce beast he wanted to raise and tame, a treasure he needed to guard against yet admired and loved.
Expressing love during intimate moments was just a mutual understanding, a form of foreplay that neither took seriously. Even before the mountain flood, they had been suspecting each other, delighting in stepping into each other’s traps.
Liang Ye couldn’t understand. This was more puzzling than the most complex conspiracy.
Wang Dian pulled at the corner of his mouth, “Stop thinking. Your dog brain can’t figure it out.”
Initially, he had indeed just wanted excitement, believing he could rationally control both their emotions, calmly watching himself sink deeper. By the time he realized, it was too late.
Liang Ye stared at him expressionlessly, looking distant and cold.
“Your Majesty,” Wang Dian turned and kissed the corner of his mouth, laughing softly, “You thought you were playing a game with me, pretending to be the way I like, enjoying it—”
Liang Ye frowned, restraining his impulse to kiss back, staring with a hard-to-read expression, trying to raise his defensive spines again but unable to do so. When Wang Dian reached out to touch his face, a strange anger and grievance surged in his heart.
“But this was always your true self,” Wang Dian sighed, half heartbroken and half amused, speaking to Liang Ye, and also to himself. “Idiot, you’ve played yourself.”
Pretending long enough will inevitably reveal the truth.
The campfire’s flames gradually extinguished, leaving only flickering embers.
Deeply entangled, revealing nothing, only because he truly liked him from the beginning.
“Let’s go,” he stood up, extending his hand to Liang Ye.
Liang Ye looked at him with a sinister expression. After a moment, he tightly grasped his palm.
“Don’t be so full of yourself.”
