Entanglement

Once inside the tent, Milo buried himself in a corner, hugging his knees, trying desperately to calm the metallic taste of blood rising in his throat.

He thought it might be due to that monkey-infused wine or the Heavenly Maiden's Tears; his head was incredibly dizzy. Those savages ate raw meat and drank blood; he certainly didn't have that kind of constitution. Milo's thoughts raced, and he curled up in a corner, his body burning and trembling slightly.

After dealing with matters outside, Blaise opened the tent flap and immediately spotted Milo in the corner.

She gently tapped his shoulder with her toe, but there was no response. Had he fallen asleep? He was curled up like a little dog, looking rather pitiful. If she didn't know he was a wicked man, she probably would have instinctively felt sorry for him.

After checking the confiscated items and confirming that the haul was quite substantial, Blaze looked down at Milo, who was curled up on the carpet.

The miscellaneous people on the cruise ship were cleaned up very well. After disembarking, they won two more battles in a row. The spoils they had captured should be enough to satisfy Xi Gong for half a year. Although he did not manage the business, the sense of accomplishment was still indescribable.

Blaise suddenly felt an itch, an itch that made him want to find a way to externalize this exhilarating pleasure.

Over the years, he lived a life unlike most people in the army. They loved cigarettes, fine wine, women, and men; they always had something to alleviate their loneliness. He couldn't find a single thing. Many people thought he was strange, and he'd heard those comments countless times; eventually, he himself found them strange. Wasn't he a man? Why didn't he have desires? Perhaps he was just born impotent. These doubts persisted until the day he returned to the Happiness Mansion with Milo.

Seeing that person strip naked in front of him, he inevitably became aroused. The feeling was particularly intense, making him flustered and confused. If he hadn't received the news, he himself wouldn't be able to say what would have happened that night.

As for those times on the cruise ship, he later thought about it carefully and realized that it probably wasn't so much out of anger; he simply wanted to peel off that pretentious facade, simply to find a legitimate excuse to thoroughly humiliate him.

He felt like he was trapped in a maze, constantly convinced that this stand-in was Theo, yet that was impossible. So what was he doing? Why was he being so easily manipulated by this spineless coward?

Thinking of this, Blaze squatted down, helped Milo straight, and saw that he had opened his eyes groggily.

Suddenly, Blaise's heart skipped a beat.

It's not uncommon for people to look alike, but why are their eyes so similar? If Milo weren't so annoying with his mouth, and were a bit gentler, more sunny, and simpler, he would be almost identical to Theo.

The thought of Theo suddenly caused Blaise a dull ache in her heart.

Blaze grabbed Milo's ankle and used the only clean towel in the tent to wipe the mud off his feet. He wiped them very clean and carefully, and when he touched the areas injured by animal traps, he was extra gentle.

Milo struggled on him, which annoyed Blaze, so he grabbed his ankle, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and placed him on a clean mat.

"Don't touch me." Milo pushed his shoulder, his voice not loud, but his words were sharp.

What can he do if he insists on touching him?

Blaze was a little unhappy and pinched Milo's cheek as punishment.

Milo slapped his hand away, and then her hands hung limply at her sides.

Blaze noticed the scar on his wrist, and as if remembering something, he peeled back the shirt on his shoulder, revealing the redness and swelling from the bone setting.

For a moment, I felt a mix of emotions.

There's no one in this world who can stab him twice while still alive. Milo's injury wouldn't have been much to him on his own, but now that I think about it, it was actually quite serious for this fragile guy.

This cunning swindler, seeing that he couldn't fool anyone anymore, immediately started to act aggressively. In fact, if he had continued to deceive them a little longer, he might have been willing to continue playing along.

Blaze pinched Milo's face again and was suddenly surprised to find that his cheeks were unusually hot. Looking closer, he saw that Milo, who was fast asleep, had unknowingly shed two lines of clear tears.

Blaise had seen too many opponents, and every single one of them wept bitterly before dying. The only exception was Milo. It seemed that no matter how much he was tortured or hurt, he wouldn't shed a single tear.

Why are you crying now?

Blaze ran his fingertips across Milo's thin cheek, wiping away the tears that had accumulated in the hollow of his nose, and in a daze, he seemed to hear a soft murmur.

He had hearing problems and couldn't hear clearly, so he adjusted his hearing aid, leaned down, and put his ear close to Milo's face, and the babbling became clear.

It sounded like he was saying, "Mom, it hurts so much."

Blaze suddenly felt a pang of tenderness. But then she thought, Milo is an orphan, where would he get a mother? But upon further reflection, even if he isn't an orphan, isn't that practically the same as not having a mother?

With no one around, no one would know what he was doing, not even the swindler could detect it or resist. But strangely, the desire he had felt for this person had mysteriously vanished, replaced by a soft heart that he himself couldn't explain.

Blaze slowly bent his knees, placed Milo on his lap, and began to rock him gently, as if he had never been taught, to make him as comfortable as possible. He then slowly brushed away the wet hair from the side of Milo's face.

Logically speaking, Milo is not short, nor does he look thin, but he feels quite frail when you pick him up.

Don't make me angry anymore, and you won't feel pain anymore.

Blaise thought to himself.

*

For two days in a row, Milo stayed in a bamboo house, which was Blaze's exclusive territory in Gan Valley. There were people patrolling all around, and not even a fly could get in.

During this time, Milo had two high fevers. It's hard to say whether it was because he was frightened by seeing too much blood along the way, or because of the infection caused by new wounds piled on top of old ones.

When Milo woke up intermittently, he could always feel someone sitting on the bed feeding him water and wiping his sweat. He wanted to overturn the other person's bowl or say something hurtful to Blaise, but he was too weak to do anything and could only let himself be manipulated like a puppet.

One day, Milo woke up groggily and felt a cold sensation on his abdomen. The touch was slippery and a little itchy. He glanced at it and was so shocked that he almost fainted.

The white python was sleeping coiled up beside him, with a section of its tail resting on his stomach.

Turning my head again, I saw Blaise, shirtless, chopping something in the wooden building, his back tattoo undulating with his muscles.

Milo couldn't take it anymore, so he grabbed a wooden bowl from beside the bed and smashed it at Blaze's head. But the guy reacted incredibly fast, catching the bowl with a backhand grab.

Milo dared not move his body, only his lips moved: "Get it down... quickly..."

Blaze adjusted his hearing aid, slowly walked over, reached out and scooped up the white python, then carried it out the door. After doing all this, he turned around, grabbed the chopped food into a wooden bowl, stirred it, and presented it to Milo.

Blaise gestured: Eat.

Milo looked at the whitish bits of meat cooking in the wooden bowl and felt nauseous, glaring at Blaise.

Blaze gestured: It's human flesh, I'll chop that pretty boy up.

Milo's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his lips trembled unconsciously.

Blaze raised an eyebrow and gestured: You're scared too? If you don't eat it, I'll really go and chop him up.

Milo hesitated, trying to suppress his urges. Blaise picked up a bone and held it to Milo's mouth. Milo ate it, realizing it was probably large poultry or something similar; it had no flavor at all.

Blaise put down the bowl with satisfaction.

Despite Blaise's surveillance, Milo forced himself to eat with his bare hands.

Blaise sat on the edge of the bed, silently watching him.

Milo narrowed his eyes when he caught a glimpse of the crystal ball beside the bed.

He smashed this thing to pieces back in the pigeon coop, and now it's been roughly pieced together, with only the base and interior remaining.

Blaise took him everywhere he went.

"Theo Green gave it to you?" Milo suddenly asked.

Blaze was slightly taken aback, probably not expecting Milo to bring up the taboo between the two of them.

The name Theo Green briefly pulled Blaise's thoughts back to many years ago.

That was the first time he left the rainforest, and he stumbled into a bustling city, which led to the beginning of all his mistakes.

In the pristine Western-style villa, he vented his frustration by chopping down palm trees with a dagger in the inner courtyard, and no one dared to stop him. He stayed there for several months, but his uncle didn't come to take him back. He couldn't understand a word the people here spoke, which made him very irritable. They said they wanted to see his parents, but he was always busy.

Nobody remembers him.

One day, a burst of laughter filled the quiet villa. Many adults in suits walked past on the second floor. He looked up and felt the sunlight was blinding. In the dim light, a handsome boy glanced at him from afar and gave him a bright smile, which instantly captivated his heart.

He couldn't describe the beauty of that first glance; he only felt an emptiness in his heart, and he would always remember that smile.

He started trying to find ways to escape. Wanyang was a big place, and he finally met that handsome boy again.

A boy dressed in a white robe with a cross around his neck was distributing gifts at the entrance of a cathedral. One of the gifts was a mass-produced crystal ball, unremarkable, tied with a red ribbon, with a flame burning within the snowflakes, and humming a tune when the switch was pressed.

His heart was pounding, and he found himself joining the prayer queue as if by some strange impulse.

The handsome boy handed him the gift with both hands, blinked his dark eyes, and suddenly said, "I remember you, at Uncle Dale's house."

He couldn't understand what he was saying, and could only look around nervously.

"Can't find your family? Come in, there's something nice to eat here. I'll have my mom and dad take you home."

He ate a red apple in the church, mingled with the devout believers, and listened to a handsome boy sing songs he couldn't understand.

The boy's parents, also religious, were very gentle and even tied a prayer wreath around his wrist. During the drive, the handsome boy wasn't discouraged by his silence; instead, he kept trying to make him laugh and get him to speak. Finally, he spoke in a muffled voice, and the boy laughed with delight, "Wow, I knew you weren't mute!"

He didn't understand the source of his laughter, but he liked that he laughed because of him.

Upon arriving at the Western-style villa, we knocked on the door and were greeted by a serious-looking middle-aged man, with a large group of people standing behind him.

"Daller, is this your child? He ran into the church."

The man who opened the door placed his heavy hand on his shoulder and pulled him inside: "Come in and talk. We just thought of a business deal and were having some trouble with it, and you just happened to be here."

As they parted, the handsome boy jogged up, patted him on the shoulder, and held out the crystal ball: "Will you come visit me again?"

For the first time, he was anxious because no one understood his language, and he searched the room for someone who could explain it to him.

As they huddled together, a woman in a red dress stroked his hair.

He looked up at the woman's blurry face, belatedly called out "Mom," and asked in a daze, "Who is he?"

"His name is, I think, Theo. Theo Green."

Theo Green... Theo Green...

When he read it aloud, his tongue had to touch his teeth. He had read it silently countless times, and he knew each word so well that he could even mutter it in his sleep. But in reality, he had never read those words to that person in his entire life.

The broken crystal ball seemed to testify to his despicable nature. If he hadn't gone to Wanyang, perhaps the Green family wouldn't have suffered that catastrophic disaster.

Blaise felt as if a thorn had been plunged into his heart. He began to sign heavily, warning Milo: You are not allowed to speak!

Milo put down his bowl and remained silent.

After a long silence, Blaise frowned and gestured: Why aren't you saying anything?

Milo looked up: "You told me not to speak."

Blaise choked, then gestured: You can speak now.

Milo quickly turned his face away: "I don't want to talk about it, I don't like to talk about it, I don't want to talk about it." He closed his eyes tightly, curled up on the mat, and sullenly vented his anger, "It tastes awful, it's disgusting, I'm definitely not eating it, you might as well just kill me."

Blaze stared at Milo's huddled figure, momentarily stunned.

A moment later, Blaze suddenly pursed his lips, but the emotions rising in his eyes were impossible to suppress. He hurriedly got up and went out, and only relaxed his brows after he was sure that Milo could not see or hear him.