Chapter One Hundred And Eighty Five - I don’t have morning after regrets

Leon awoke with aches in places that caused him to blush and with a languid gentleness emanating from every pore. There wasn't any pain of the chrysanthemum, which surprised him, as he was expecting there to be. It seemed that oil was more than just a lubricant to ease the passage of entry. However, it didn't prevent all problems that stemmed from the deflowering of a male by his top.

Jin Li's eyes gazed over the glowing, young alchemist lying beside him and felt somewhat smug. He lazily threw his arms around the other's waist and dragged him closer in order to place a kiss upon his forehead. The skin that the two thin lips pressed against was overly warm, causing the youth to frown.

"You dare to fall ill following my grace?" Jin Li said, crossly, but the hand that tested Leon's temperature was light and careful. Leon's eyes fluttered closed and he thought of what knowledge he held from his previous life. Wasn't it that a possible side effect of receiving yang blessings was a stomach ache or fever? It was his first time and it couldn't be said that Jin Li was gentle as he too had no experience and did not know better.

Leon shook his head, feeling a bit dizzy and the strangeness of hot and cold warring within his body. "On the sh-sh-shelf," Leon said, his stutter a little more pronounced due to the tiredness the fever brought with it. "There are s-soft ice p-p-pills." Jin Li understood and climbed out of bed, offering Leon a vivid display of his honed frame with all its compact muscles and the curved line of his back. He flushed feeling the heat within his face even more prominently than before.

The martial artist found the bottle, flicking the small wooden label, that decorated all of the pill bottles upon the shelf now, with a finger, before pouring one of the precious pills into his hand. Then he knelt before the bed to press the pill between his lover's lips. The pill melted in Leon's mouth and the contents oozed down his throat. He felt a cooling wave rush along his sarcophagus and into his stomach and shivered as the effect then swept outwards and along the rest of his body. The momentary chill lasted but a moment before his inner temperature normalised and the excess heat disappeared along with the bitter coldness.

Jin Li waited for a few minutes before placing a hand along Leon's brow once more and nodding satisfied. "You are not allowed to get sick," Jin Li informed him. "This Lord still requires you to serve by my side."

"En," Leon smiled, warmly as he watched Jin Li throw on his inner robes before filling the kettle and relighting the stove. Tea was brewed and served with a mutter that Leon ought be grateful to the gracious him; Jin Li's pillow talk left a lot to be desired, but Leon really didn't mind. This was just who Jin Li was. His actions spoke louder than his words anyway.

"Sit up," Jin Li demanded, "or are you waiting for this Lord to personally place the cup to your lips to drink?"

Leon shook his head and pulled himself upwards, hissing in discomfort as his hips protested. Jin Li placed the cups upon the table and demanded to know what was wrong. Leon replied honestly; "M-my b-body aches a b-bit from..." he blushed brightly and noticed that his lover's ears shared a similar colour to his cheeks. "B-but this is n-normal. I'll b-b-be fine in a b-bit."

Jin Li's lips twisted in a slight sneer as he bit out the words; "You seem as if you have knowledge regarding the workings of relations between two men. This Lord is interested to know both the reason for this?" He did not hide the thick scent of vinegar accompanying his words.

"When I realised I h-had n-no feelings of like towards g-girls," Leon replied, honestly, "I d-d-decided to learn ab-bout how things w-worked b-between m-men." His words were soft, his face red, but his eyes were clear and without deception, allowing Jin Li to let go of the doubt in his heart, but he still asked;

"Then why not share this with me. You are this Lord's man and as a man, I surely wish to partake in relations with you." Leon did not point out the fact that Jin Li had resisted giving in to the symbol which to him represented masculinity but also that he did not have perfect will over his body, for quite some time.

Instead, he shared his own former fears. "I thought you m-might b-be d-disgusted."

Jin Li looked coolly over the jade white body before him, that was keeping its dignity only by the draping blanket over the lap and replied; "Why would I be disgusted by something that belongs to me? Your words make no sense." Leon smiled and nodded as if he was totally in agreement. "However from now on," Jin Li added, "you are forbidden from keeping secrets from me."

Leon did not hesitate by offering his agreement, even though he knew he held a large secret still within his heart. However, he vowed to himself that he would surely share this with Jin Li in time. Just not right now, he cringed as a certain ambiguous liquid began to trickle down his leg as he stood up from the bed.

After he cleaned himself up, he returned with a question of his own. "J-Jin Li, what is D-dual C-Cultivation?"