In the early spring night, it gets dark early. When I left, a few inches of light could still be seen faintly in the sky. But when I went back now, the sky was already dark.

In the cold night, in the black ink-covered night, there was not even a trace of moonlight, but the more he walked, the more desolate his heart became. At a loss, there was only one thought left -

What should he do now? What can he do?

Returning to the room, Chen took out the wooden box hidden under the bed and counted the silver and banknotes inside. Then he stood up to take the green sandalwood bracelet hanging on the head of the bed, wrapped it in silk cloth, and put it into the box.

He wanted to send all of these to Xichuan.

But when he calmed down and thought about it carefully, this happened three days ago. The prince and the master must have received the news at the first time. The people they sent must have left on fast horses early in the morning. Who would be willing to send them off for him now?

He felt sore all over, and after the impulse just now, the breath in his heart was deflated. He sat down on the ground holding the box, and his heart gradually grew cold.

Like a carbon-black forest after a wildfire, all life had disappeared, and the wind blew away the countless ashes, spreading endless loneliness in his heart.

For Shen Que, the most terrifying thing was not the sudden accident, but that he found himself powerless.

He could only wait anxiously for news in Kyoto, thousands of miles away from Xichuan. He could do nothing except pray for Shen Luo in his heart.

Mid-afternoon.

Lin Xie walked slowly into Lansheng Courtyard. He didn't know if it was intentional, but every step he took was on the footprints left by the mute. The obviously larger shoe prints tightly covered the lower marks, leaving only a vague outline of the latter.

However, the door of that room was closed. Lin Xie took out an iron hook from his sleeve with ease and reached into the crack of the door, but he did not hear the sound of the bolt falling to the ground immediately.

He took a step forward and looked through the tiny crack in the door, only to find that the mute's door was not locked at all. Lin Xie reached out and pushed it gently, and the door opened.

He squeezed in and locked the door, then turned to look at Shen Que who was leaning on the table. He had his chin supported by one hand and a wine glass in the other. There was not even a plate of peanuts on the table, only wine that he was chugging down cup after cup.

"Why are you hiding in the room drinking alone?" Lin Xie suddenly asked.

Chen, who was sitting at the table, was startled by the sudden sound and choked on his drink. He tilted his head and started coughing violently, his face turning red.

Lin Xie took a few steps forward, patted him on the back, and waited until he had recovered his breath before speaking again: "You've become a bad person, learning to drink like others."

Shen shook his hand and shook it off. Even though he was drunk, he still hated him.

Lin Xie was not annoyed. He climbed up with his hand and rubbed and kneaded the teeth marks on the back of his neck, making that circle of skin even redder than the broken wound.

Shen was annoyed with him, so he moved the chair to the side and slapped his hand away again.

"Why are you so fierce?" Lin Xie looked aggrieved, as if the hand that bullied him just now was not on his body. He said aggrievedly, but he used all his strength with his hands. He grabbed Shen Que's wrist and twisted it hard, then took a sip of wine from his hand.

"Tusu wine?" Lin Xie frowned and said disdainfully, "It's so sweet."

Shen usually didn't drink any alcohol, so naturally he didn't store any wine in his house. This jar of Tu Su wine was sent by the mansion on New Year's Day. He didn't have time to taste it on New Year's Day, so he hid it under the bed.

He couldn't hold his liquor and got drunk after just a few drinks, not to mention that he had already finished half a jar of wine.

Seeing Lin Xie trying to grab the wine from him, Chen raised his hand and hid the jar in his arms. Unfortunately, the jar was not sealed, and he grabbed it in a hurry, so the wine spilled, wetting a large area on his chest.

"Are you drunk?" Lin Xie laughed, "What's so precious about this broken wine?"

He had never seen Shen drunk before. His dark round almond-shaped eyes were sparkling, and his cheeks and eyes were flushed, as if he had been left in the fields for a whole day. He looked simple, naive and cute.

But Shen didn't answer, he drank too much and felt uncomfortable physically and mentally.

He used to not understand why there were so many alcoholics in this world, but now he knows that life is too painful when sober, so they use alcohol to get drunk and have a dream, and when they drink until their brains are numb, the pain is not so severe anymore.

Seeing that even his eyelids were red, Lin Xie couldn't help but move closer to him and bit his lips, tasting the bitter and sweet taste of wine.

Shen felt pain and pushed him away.

"I've touched you everywhere," Lin Xie, who had been pushed away, moved closer and pressed his nose against his, with their lips less than two inches apart, "Touching your mouth, what's the problem?"

His tone was frivolous, and just one sentence brought back memories that Shen Que didn't dare to recall carefully.

"Why?" He suddenly raised his hand and looked at Lin Xie with a look as sharp as a knife, as if he wanted to peel off his skin and bones. "Why do you treat me like this?"

Lin Xie was slightly stunned. It was the first time he saw such extreme and sharp emotions in Shen Que's eyes. In the past, even if he was extremely hateful, he would just glare at people, so gentle that it seemed as if he had no edges at all.

"Why?" He lowered his hand, as if his spine had been pulled out. He fell softly and leaned on the table. His eyes were red, but he didn't cry. He just looked more sad than crying.

Why did God choose him among millions of people in this world, making his father hate him and his mother dislike him, making him speechless, and giving him such a lowly body!

Why, why is he like this? He lives a law-abiding and well-behaved life every day, but he still attracts such people to bully and trample on him.

Lin Xie suddenly stretched out his hand and pushed back the messy hair that hung in front of his forehead. The black hair intertwined with his slender white knuckles, like an overturned charcoal basin on the snow.

The mute's slightly moist eyes were forced to show, his long eyelashes curled and covered with a bit of moisture. Lin Xie's heart beat faster, and the boundless desire burned up again.

I want to bully him, bash him, tear him to pieces, every inch of him will become muddy, and then this stubborn and hard mute will become soft, with red eyes and face, and become like a living stone.

Hate him if you want, Lin Xie doesn’t care at all.

So he twisted his chin and forced him to raise his head. Their hot breaths met and the mute actually responded, showing a little bit of his fangs like a domestic animal and biting as if to vent his anger.

Intoxicated by the alcohol and the fire in their hearts, the two embraced and kissed each other, their lips and tongues intertwined, igniting the fire of desire.

In the dim candlelight, Lin Xie picked him up from between his legs and carried him on his shoulders like a captured prey, while the dazed mute fell obediently on his back.

When the mute was pressed on the couch, Lin Xie caught a glimpse of his lips moving. He could obviously not make any sound, but he was still trying to speak.

He leaned closer and watched his lip movements. With just one glance, he understood.

What he said was, "Hurt me."

Lin Xie felt like a string in his brain suddenly broke, making him feel like he was drunk. The remaining rationality was gone, and only the beast-like desire remained in his heart.

Tossing and turning, there was only clouds and rain on the couch.

Shen seemed to be trapped in a cold winter, with thousands of miles of ice all around him. He walked thousands of miles before finally finding this bonfire. He knew he would be burned to ashes, but he still jumped on it like a self-mutilator.

It’s already sad enough, so what if it hurts a little more?