8 Zao Xing

Zao Xing took his hand off his eyes and caught the man with his chest. His head fell onto his shoulder and his eyes slowly closed. Ye Delun fell into a deep sleep.

Zao Xing smiled tenderly at the young man and ran his hand through Ye Delun's dark baggy hair. He picked the man up and gently placed him on the bed. He quietly lifted the covers and tucked the man in. Planting a light kiss on his forehead, Zao Xing mumbled, "Whatever my dear Delun asks..."

And with that, he turned off the lights and left with the door closed behind him.

Stepping through the corridor, Host's demeanor changed. From a sincere lover to a feigned mystery. A sadistic smirk formed on his face and excitement in his steps. The swirling on the walls replicated this feeling. The sound of his footsteps seemed to resonate throughout the hallway and the soles of his shoes seemed to stick onto the floors as if it was made of marshmallows.

The surrounding area appeared to look malleable. The walls melted and spread like butter. The whirling and twisting of the wallpaper design slid off like it was living. It crawled up his body and up to his hands.

Host looked at it and spoke to it like it was human. "Open the door to the resident, Xue Peng. Lead him to the main room." The black mass that used to be the intricate designs all over the walls covered his whole hand, enveloping it like a glove.

The ground he was standing on started a wave behind him. It swelled like the ocean and took everything in its way. It flowed beneath Host, he put his hand forward and let the gauntlet-like mass flow along with it.

The tide moves ahead of him through the passageway, all the way towards the unsuspecting Xue Peng. Who was currently wondering when he would be taken back.

Host watched the wave until it was out of sight. The ground beneath his feet hardened again and the red carpet replaced itself with hardwood floors. His smile turned pleasant and the white swirls on his own black mask moved like worms.

He turned to the side and a corridor opened itself in front of him. Not at all surprised, he walked through. Only two steps in, he ended up in the main room. Gao Shunyuan stood waiting for him at the side.

"Something is strange about this group." He said. His dull amethyst eyes seemed to shine with doubt. "The ones I left to find their own way ended up making it back even without the house's help."

"Mine was the same." He nonchalantly replied. He chuckled lowly, "Except for the older two, of course, the house had to help them before they became frustrated enough to hurt it. " He walked towards the same spot on the sofa Ye Delun was seated. He brushed his fingers against the armrest and sat down with his elbow rested upon the armrest.

Gao Shunyuan furrowed his eyebrows, "And because of that, I think we should just finish them all at once, we can't afford anything bad to happen." He paused when Host lifted up his hand to tell him to stop.

"It'll be fine. Whether the house is endangered or not." He leaned his head onto his hand. "And you know we can't do them all at once. I shouldn't need to repeat myself."

Gao Shunyuan looked like he wanted to speak more, but was stopped by the sudden breathing of the ground.

"Go back to your room, I can handle it from here." Host commanded. Gao Shunyuan clenched his fist tightly and appeared to want to start an argument, but nevertheless, left the room like Host had told him to.

The ground breathed again below him, but Host didn't react to it. He relaxed in his seat and thought of something that created a smile on his face.

The fires that lit up the room suddenly went out, making the room dim. Footsteps were heard and the door to the main room creaked open.

Xue Peng stuck his face through the crack in the door and gasped in surprise. "W-what the?" He let go of the door but it didn't close. Xue Peng quickly backed away and the doors shot open, revealing on the other side a room similar to Ye Delun's. Except for the large portrait on the wall, which was instead a portrait of Xue Peng's face.

"Hello~" Greeted Host as he turned his head back to look at the large man. "Fancy meeting you here." He gave the man a wave and motioned with his hand. "Come in, come in. Take a seat or maybe stand, it doesn't matter. But come over nonetheless." He said in a joyful tone as if inviting over a friend.

Xue Peng hesitated, seemingly not wanting to come over. "Since when? Why did the door to my door lead to here? What nonsense is this?" He exasperatedly spoke. The disbelief appeared to blind him to the situation.

"It's okay, you're just tired. It was a long walk over here, yeah?" Host placatingly said, sounding like he was sympathizing with him. "You can come and sit on the sofas to rest your feet if you want?"

Xue Peng stood shocked for a moment. He processed what Host was saying. He nodded his head in a daze, "Y-yeah, that sounds good." So he moved over to the couch across from Host and plopped down.

They sat in silence for a moment. Host relaxed back into his hand. A smile played at the edges of his lips. He thought for a moment before he opened his mouth, "You know," He started. "There are things that a man can't forget. Do you ever feel like that?"

Xue Peng seemed started by the conversation, "Y-yeah, I guess. Sometimes."

"And whenever you can't get forget it, it gets stuck in your head." He moved the hand away from his face. "You end up never forgiving it, and hating it for the fact that it won't leave your mind. That's what I'm feeling right now. I get this feeling a lot, most of the time not creating hate, but the opposite." He paused and looked at Xue Peng in the eyes. "But it's not like that with you." He stood up from his seat and moved closer towards the sweating man.

Xue Peng caught onto the mood and began to stand up, but Host held him down by the shoulders. He tried to move, but the unbelievable strength behind the grip was too much for him.

"Looking at you annoys me. The thought of what you said won't get out of my mind and I can't help but want to get rid of the cause. A 'pull it out from its roots' kind of situation."

He leaned downward enough for their faces to level with each other. A large sadistic smile formed on Host's face, "And what luck was it that master ended up picking you~"