Chapter 57 [VIP]

The embrace gradually intensified, carefully avoiding the injured shoulder as he pulled the person into his arms. His tongue pressed against her teeth, excitedly exploring another warm, moist spot.

The person in his arms did not resist, limp and submissive to his every whim. Xu Xing's face softened, a smile appearing on his lips. All his previous negative emotions dissipated, and he focused solely on enjoying this moment of intimacy.

Jiang Zhuochen's hazy eyes were filled with moisture, his tongue was being teased and caressed by the other's, an indescribable tingling sensation spread throughout his body, and his waist instantly slumped. Xu Xing steadily caught him, and they pressed even closer together.

Only when the invasion deep into his mouth, and a panicked fear gripped his brain, did his muddled thoughts gradually clear. Jiang Zhuochen raised his hand to push the other's embrace away, two sobs escaping from deep within his throat.

"Ugh...no..."

Xu Xing regretfully bit his lower lip, and when they parted, his burning gaze was undisguised, so intense that Jiang Zhuochen looked away in fear.

Gently wiping away the saliva from the other's lips with her fingertips, her lips curled up in pleasure, her voice undisguised: "You have no strength left, are you sure you still want to resist?"

Jiang Zhuochen was extremely ashamed and indignant, wanting nothing more than to throw this person into a trash can, pack him up, and burn him to ashes in an incinerator. Seeing the other person staring intently at his mouth, he covered it with his hand, his hoarse voice rasping through his fingers: "What's wrong with you?!"

The voice, already dry and hoarse from lack of water, gained an extra tone at the end, causing the sentence to lose its intimidating power and instead possess a hazy, alluring quality.

Xu Xing's eyes darkened, and he leaned closer. "Just feeding you water."

Ignoring the pain, Jiang Zhuochen bent his legs and used the momentum to back away. His heart pounded wildly the moment the other person got close, and the lingering heat was about to return.

"Why are you running?" Xu Xing wrapped his arm around his ankle, glancing at the bandage on his shoulder that was even redder from the movement. Her tender thoughts were replaced by a surge of pity. "You know it hurts, yet you still won't behave. Sit up straight, I'll change your dressing, and then you can eat."

"No, I don't want you!" Jiang Zhuochen shook his head violently. "Get out! I don't want to see you...!"

Xu Xing pulled away from his lips and asked in a low voice, "Don't want what?"

Jiang Zhuochen replied without hesitation: "No... um!"

Xu Xing pulled away the hand covering his mouth, kissed him again, and then asked, "What don't you want?"

"No…"

Jiang Zhuochen retreated to the head of the bed, his hands and feet restrained by the other person, and his mouth was blocked as soon as he opened it. This happened several times, and his whole body turned red. He pursed his lips, not daring to act impulsively again.

Xu Xing was amused by his words, "Does not speaking mean you agree?"

"Ugh ugh ugh!" Jiang Zhuochen, wary of the person opposite him, hummed a few sounds in his throat. After all that commotion, he was even weaker, and the sound was so soft that it was almost inaudible.

So Xu Xing pretended he couldn't hear it.

He moved closer, blocking both sides as the other person tried to pull away again, ignoring the ticklish resistance, and pulled down the undone clothes, carefully unwrapping the blood-soaked gauze.

Seeing the worsening of the wound, Xu Xing frowned deeply. Without a word, he took out the first-aid kit and gently cleaned, disinfected, applied medicine, and re-bandaged the wound.

Jiang Zhuochen turned her head away from him, but her body trembled slightly from the pain. Xu Xing's movements became slower, and after finishing bandaging, he lowered his head and kissed the wound.

"Don't take your health for granted in the future."

Hot breath lingered on his skin, and Jiang Zhuochen was tormented to the point of tears. "Why…?"

Xu Xing paused, his heart filled with helplessness finally turning into a soft sigh. "Isn't it obvious? Then why do you think I kissed you? Just to make you behave?"

"I have no idea…"

“You know,” Xu Xing interrupted him, reaching out to stroke his cheek. “You’ve liked someone for so long, how could you not know?”

He was just a despicable thief who took advantage of the fact that the moon didn't move and seized every opportunity to hide it in his arms.

"Eat something first." As expected, Xu Xing didn't get a reply. He didn't force it, and in the instant he stood up, he adjusted his expression and brought over the porridge.

As the perfectly cooked pork rib congee was brought to his lips, Jiang Zhuochen lowered his eyes and after a long while spoke softly, "I can do it myself."

“You injured your shoulder, it will be inconvenient to use your hands.” Xu Xing remained motionless. “I promise you, I will leave after I finish eating.”

Jiang Zhuochen glanced at him, said nothing more, and opened her mouth to eat the porridge. Xu Xing also kept his word; after finishing his bowl of porridge, he immediately turned and left without looking back.

The quiet solitude allowed Jiang Zhuochen to cool down and finally have time to think about what had just happened. As he thought about it, he covered his face with his hands and collapsed onto the bed in despair.

Oh no, he's not clean anymore.

Jiang Zhuochen wiped his lower lip with his fingertip, and after realizing what he had done, he was so frightened that he quickly flung his hand away, expending all the strength he had regained from eating and drinking his fill on the bed.

Whether he likes someone or not, he hasn't said it out loud. How can that person be so unreserved? Doesn't he worry about the other person not accepting it and causing trouble?

He was incredibly annoyed. He had been so focused on saving his master before, he couldn't understand how things had come to this... so suddenly?

Besides, if this person dares to kiss you today, who knows what even worse things he might do tomorrow? He's in this half-dead state now, so he's completely at the mercy of others.

Jiang Zhuochen felt increasingly uneasy; he needed to recover quickly, find the Longevity Lamp, and leave this place.

But how long would it take for his body to recover with just medicine... Jiang Zhuochen suddenly remembered that he wasn't exactly an ordinary person either. These past few days, he had been arguing with Xu Xing, and in his anger, he had forgotten that he still had the elixir for treatment.

He opened the jade bottle, poured out a pill and put it in his mouth. Although his spiritual energy had not yet been able to circulate, his tired body felt much lighter.

Over the next few days, Jiang Zhuochen became awkward at mealtimes, perhaps because he had been frightened into submission. He would wolf down his food and finish it in the shortest amount of time, then stare longingly at the door, silently urging Xu Xing to hurry up and leave.

Once the pain from the wound subsided, Jiang Zhuochen calculated the days and realized that the talisman sealing the spiritual power should be nearing its end.

As night fell, Jiang Zhuochen felt the faint flow of spiritual energy within his body. With a sudden thought, he stood up and stretched his limbs.

"What kind of ridiculous conditions are these? I won't agree to them."

Whoever wants to be locked up here can come; he doesn't want to.

He pressed his ear to the door and listened for a while. After confirming there was no sound, he walked to the sealed window. Although he didn't have much spiritual power, it was enough for the time being.

Just as he was about to force his way out, the sound of a door opening suddenly came from behind him. Before he could retract his hand, he bumped right into Xu Xing, who was carrying the medicine.

Xu Xing's expression immediately turned cold. He gently closed the door and approached step by step. "So eager to leave?"

He had assumed the other person's unusually quiet and cooperative behavior over the past two days was because they were still uneasy about what had happened a few days ago, and had at least given up on leaving. He never imagined they were just still recovering and waiting for the right opportunity.

So, as always, he never took his words seriously.

Jiang Zhuochen faced him, put her hands behind her back, and felt inexplicably guilty: "You locked me up here without even asking my opinion. No one would want to stay."

“I told you,” Xu Xing said, suppressing a smile, “that I had you stay here to recover from your injuries.”

"Then why did you lock the door?" Jiang Zhuochen asked him. "Can you honestly say you didn't intend to trap me here, preventing me from going anywhere?"

"Yes," Xu Xing readily admitted.

"Why?"

“Because I can’t stand you repeatedly risking your own safety for others.” Xu Xing said each word clearly, staring straight at him. “When you die, you should rest peacefully in the earth, instead of disturbing the peace of the living. You needlessly sacrificed your disciple’s life; I don’t think your master was any good after all.”

"You're talking nonsense!" Jiang Zhuochen vehemently denied it. The slight disturbance in his mind caused by the other person turned into anger after hearing him speak ill of his master. "How dare you say such things about him! He's my master. I know him better than you do. If you can't stand it, let me go. Who needs your affection!"

Who needs your approval?

Xu Xing's face darkened completely. He grabbed Jiang Zhuochen's arm, closing the distance between them. "Want to leave? How? Your master is still in my hands. Even if I can't break that broken lamp, I have plenty of ways to make sure you never find it again. With your inability to even take care of yourself, do you want to try?"

Jiang Zhuochen was stung by the man's words, and even his breathing became heavy. His usually lively eyes lost their moisture, and he glared angrily at the other person.

He broke free from his restraints and retreated to the window, pale blue spiritual energy swirling around his fingertips. "At least for now, you can't stop me."

Xu Xing laughed in exasperation, "Who said I can't stop it?"

Then, Jiang Zhuochen saw the other party take out two talismans, and the familiar patterns on the papers made him shudder.

"You'd better think about whether it's faster to break the window and escape, or faster for me to catch you."

He had nowhere to retreat, his back pressed against the wall, watching helplessly as the other person drew closer and closer, his teeth almost biting his lip until it bled.

Just then, a phantom image flashed before them, forcing the tense standoff to a halt. The next moment, the Longevity Lamp hovered between them, while three steps away to their sides, the Master's spirit slowly materialized.

Jiang Zhuochen unconsciously loosened his grip on his lower lip. The familiar face and reassuring eyes caused his pent-up grievances from the past few days to erupt all at once.

He sniffled and accused in a tearful voice, "Master, he bullied me!"

This was the first time Xu Xing had fully examined the illusory figure in front of him. From head to toe, apart from the difference in hair length, he couldn't find any other differences. The more he looked, the more irritating it became, and the jealousy and resentment churning in his chest grew exponentially, almost threatening to overwhelm his reason.

He sneered, "You think you can stop me with just these few wisps of remnant souls?"

To everyone's surprise, the slightly transparent soul did not refute, but calmly and deeply met Xu Xing's gaze.

The meaning in his eyes was complex and hard to discern; there was helplessness, sighs, and a trace of... a familiarity that Xu Xing couldn't understand.

Then, to the astonishment of the two, the master's soul transformed into a wisp of light and swiftly merged into Xu Xing's body.

A note from the author: