16 Why don't you...?

Zhang Wang coughed, loud and awkward and forcefully looked away. He took the blindfold and put it next to their hanging clothes, where it won't get wet. "Your eyes are blue."

"Are they?" Yu Yanlin reached up and touched his eyelid with a frown. He looked down at his reflection to confirm the truth.

They were indeed blue. A beautiful shiny sapphire hue that was as clear as the world's most precious jewel. Zhang Wang didn't know what he ate or drank earlier to make his brain wax such useless poetics. He decided to chalk up his wayward thought as practice for flirting with the ladies when time came.

"Yeah, you're already running out of spiritual energy? So damned soon!" Zhang Wang scowled at this, trying to take his thoughts off the kiss they shared so passionately. Argh! What a terrible miscalculation on Zhang Wang's side.

A peach blossom pink crept its way up Yu Yanlin's neck and into his face. "Well," he cleared his throat, "Saliva is not very…rich."

And who was this idiot pretending to be shy? Zhang Wang felt dizzy from all of this but blamed it on the rising heat of the hot spring instead.

"Don't tell me you want me to give you my blood or something." He hissed, purposely looking away, because seeing Yu Yanlin's appearance only served to infuriate him. Elegant without losing a touch of masculinity, the demon king seemed innocent when he clearly wasn't. Zhang Wang pretended that the way the branches twisted on a nearby tree was particularly artistic and imagined himself trying to paint it.

He could, even though he was quite out of practice by now…

"Blood isn't safe…! I wasn't talking about that." Yu Yanlin was visibly flustered. He sighed, attempting to recompose himself by fixing his hair. "No matter. Please forget that I said anything."

"..." Wait if it wasn't blood that was being talked about…

"Are you insane!" Zhang Wang yelled, only to slap himself in the face and groaned from the realization. Well, homosexuality was not outright forbidden upon in this world. With that being said, it wasn't without stigma either and Zhang Wang was simply not interested. "Never mind! I'll just go along and pretend that you didn't say anything."

Yu Yanlin nodded stiffly and kept silent.

The atmosphere turned odd and heavy and Zhang Wang felt like he was itching with something dirty that festered under his skin. He resolutely pretended like he wasn't bothered, despite also making sure that his attention was fixated on the setting sun, and not the person that was sharing the spring with him.

It was taking an unreasonable amount of time for the glowing disk to dip under the horizon. Zhang Wang felt sleepy the more he stared, wondering if his retinas would scorch if he refused to look away.

Slowly, his anxiety disappeared with laziness. Why should he be so concerned anyway?

The truth was, there were many reasons to be concerned.

But Zhang Wang decisively convinced himself that he was not in the mood to spend his energy worrying uselessly over things.

He only wanted to sleep, drink wine, and see beautiful women.

He had no parents left in this world to stay filial to. Many of his friends had died in the heinous war as well. And the girls he showed affection to?

Those never failed to leave him for someone or something else.

Zhang Wang was not interested in self-pity. Rather, he had simply lost the willpower to angst over all the dark details that melted away into the day-to-day reality of this world.

The day-to-day reality that many people believed would change after the demon king was dethroned.

Said demon king who was now quietly sharing the hot spring with him. This man who would obediently lower his head and speak casually about suicide to make Zhang Wang's life easier.

"..." It was strange to think about, like a disjointed reality that didn't quite match up with expectations.

Then again, Zhang Wang was never one of those people who simply believed that getting rid of one demon king could be the harbinger of a more hopeful morrow. He was too jaded to hinge his hopes on simple ideals. So what if Yanlin died? Another demon would soon replace him. Zhang Wang suspected it would be the demoness he collaborated with to bring about Yanlin's ruin.

But maybe he'd be proven wrong though. Who knew?

Such somber thoughts eased the heavy tension that sat in his chest earlier. This time he was able to glance over at Yu Yanlin without any strange feeling bubbling up.

Yu Yanlin's illusion had completely come undone.

The sharp glare of dusk's final fiery hues were bright on the demon king's silver locks. A long tail swished back and forth in warm waters.

'This person is strange,' Zhang Wang thought absently.

Yu Yanlin caught Zhang Wang's stare. He perked up, a light blush coloring his visage. "Forgive me for this appearance."

But Zhang Wang didn't really understand where the apology came from. There was no one else around anyway, they should be fine. Zhang Wang shrugged and finally stood to step out of the spring.

He wouldn't have mind staying longer if only there alcohol to be had under the moonlight. But alas there wasn't, and he was feeling the itch of impatience creep through his blood.

"Your true form isn't too bad," he hummed, the words tumbled out of his lips without much of a second thought. "I like your ears. They're cute."

"Oh. Thank you."

That…was kind of awkward wasn't it? Sweat dribbled down the side of Zhang Wang's face but he did his best to keep his nonchalant demeanor and simply went over to their hanging clothes and began getting dressed.

The night felt pleasantly chilled against his skin. He listened to croaking of frogs and crickets and not to the water that splashed and shifted behind him. A pale arm reached over to grab the other set of garments off the tree branch.

Zhang Wang lost a battle with his self-control and peered behind him. He saw black robes being pulled over a well defined set of shoulders. Upon closer inspection he could see a constellation of pale moles there but they were quickly hidden away by dark fabric.

Yu Yanlin was a sight for sore eyes and Zhang Wang felt almost inadequate for the damned name 'Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms' in front of this man. Even if he hated that name in the first place.

He cursed his own thoughts and remembered he still had to transfer enough energy for this demon to fix his appearance.

But Zhang Wang supposed, if it was just something that had to be done out of necessity, then he didn't have to put too much thought into the act.

He didn't have to worry too much. After all, they were just doing what had to be done.

And if it was this person, Zhang Wang didn't have to vomit at the idea of kissing him. Or maybe even…

"Come here," Zhang Wang said, though they were already standing extremely close.

The command seemed to confuse Yu Yanlin a little, causing that signature little divot between his brows. But he still took a step closer. They stood chest to chest, close enough to feel the heat radiating off the other.

All Zhang Wang had to do was hit his head up a little for their lips to touch. Yu Yanlin parted his mouth eagerly and welcomed the kiss. Zhang Wang felt hands that settled on his waist and he felt that blistering flare inside his belly. Something akin to a challenge.

He did not like the feeling of being treated like a woman. He did not enjoy how Yanlin's hands pressed on the small of his back, making his frame feel delicate and small compared to the person in front of him.

Zhang Wang opened his eyes, and saw Yu Yanlin's blue ones looking down on him. He wasn't sure he liked this angle.

The Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms pulled away. Inspiration struck him. He licked his lips. "Hey. Why don't you kneel?"