Chapter 141: Shizun, Don’t Strip!

The two of them got back to work after their tea, but Chu Wanning

knew he was in for it as soon as Mo Ran lifted the mallet. The vigorous

motion made the lines of the young man's body look all the more taut and

defined. The sun's golden rays poured over his skin like a waterfall, sliding

over his sensual, chiseled muscles. He lifted his arms, and his already wide

shoulders appeared even broader. The muscles of his smooth chest were

like sunbaked rocks, firm and solid, harboring an intense heat and strength.

The wooden mallet slammed into the mortar, sank deep inside the

moist softness of the rice cake, and trailed a sticky white as it lifted again. It

was one swing after another with that immense, inexhaustible strength. Chu

Wanning thought that if he were really accidentally hit by Mo Ran's strike,

as he had warned, he just might be crushed under him, shattered into pieces.

Mo Ran concentrated as he worked, his breath coming heavier now,

chest rising and falling to the beat of his heart. Sweat clung to his brows

and the jut of his throat bobbed slightly every now and again. The muscles

in his arms flexed with each swing. Watching him, Chu Wanning suddenly

couldn't help but recall that dream he used to have over and over. In it, he

had lain on Mo Ran's bed, being thrust into like the rice cake in the mortar,

being kneaded and humiliated until his body went soft…

He stared off into space until he heard Mo Ran calling him.

"Shizun."

Or maybe Mo Ran had called him several times already.

"Shizun. Shizun?"

Chu Wanning snapped out of it, but his heart raced madly in his chest

and a faint light wavered in the depths of his eyes. His throat bobbed, and

his eyes were a little unfocused as he responded, "Hm?"

Mo Ran's clear gaze was fixed on him from above. The heat of his

body made his eyes seem even more fiery than usual. He said, "Shizun, turn

over."

Chu Wanning was miles away, lost in that gaze, in those words. He

felt dreams and reality folding into one another, becoming as one. He

suddenly felt dizzy, scarlet red flashing before his eyes. He saw two people

tumbling in red bedding embroidered in gold with a dragon and phoenix, a

well-built man on top of another, tumultuous waves of red in an ocean of

desires, the toes of the man beneath tightly curled, his calves twitching.

"Shizun, turn over…"

He could practically feel that man's hot breaths against the back of his

ear.

"Let me see your face while I fuck you."

Shocked by the images that had risen in his mind unbidden, Chu

Wanning squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head—what was that? A

hallucination? Or an overly vivid recollection of that dream? Heart

thudding, he could feel the slide of cold sweat over his skin even as hot

blood raced through his veins.

Sensing something amiss, Mo Ran put down the wooden mallet and

came to his side. "Shizun, what's wrong? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." Even Mo Ran's voice made Chu Wanning's heart tingle

like it was being nibbled by insects. Chu Wanning shoved him forcefully

away, hating the way his own mind had betrayed him. He raised his eyes in

a furious glare, the corners of those phoenix eyes tinged the faintest of reds

from humiliation, breath coming heavy. "The sun is too hot. I was just

feeling a little dizzy. Don't stand so close to me; you're all sweaty."

Mo Ran glanced down and at himself saw that he was indeed quite

sweaty. Well aware that Chu Wanning was a stickler for cleanliness, he

immediately stepped away and reproached himself. But his concerned gaze

remained fixed on Chu Wanning, unwilling to look away for even a second.

Chu Wanning kept to himself after that. By the time the rice cakes

were steamed, and everyone gathered to sit and eat, he was nowhere to be

found.

"Oh, Chu-xianjun? He said he had a bit of a headache, so he went

back to rest in the cabin," the village chief said. "His cheeks did look a little

flushed. I hope he isn't running a fever."

The moment Mo Ran heard this, he grew anxious. He left off helping

them store the rice cakes and instead dashed back to the small courtyard

where the two were staying.

Opening the door revealed only an empty bed, and he grew more

anxious still. He heard the sudden sound of water sloshing from the kitchen

and raced over, shoving the curtain aside—only to see Chu Wanning

completely naked and standing barefoot on the red clay floor, in the middle

of dunking a bucket of water over himself.

It was the end of October, well into autumn…was Chu Wanning

fucking serious, washing himself with cold water?! Mo Ran was completely

dumbfounded, his face shifting between blue, then white, then red as he

stared at his naked shizun. He felt like he could hear nothing but the rumble

of his blood flowing, like the surging tides of the Qiantang River. He

couldn't believe his eyes…

This was the first time since his rebirth that he was seeing Chu

Wanning's body in its entirety, perfectly vivid and perfectly clear. No haze,

no concealment, nothing. There was only a familiar physique, this body that

tore down his defenses and slammed open the floodgates of his memories.

He felt like all the blood in his body was boiling, surging like lava, trying to

break free of his skin and flesh.

Chu Wanning's body was exactly as he remembered. He suddenly

found that he couldn't breathe. He could see the perfect curve of Chu

Wanning's shoulders, the lean strength in those lines like that of a bow

pulled taut, tension ready to be unleashed. He could see Chu Wanning's

shoulder blades, moving beneath skin as delicate and exquisite as thin ice.

His gaze traveled down with the streams of water—oh yes, it followed

those rivulets as if they were carrying his gaze down, down, down to Chu

Wanning's slender waist, to the dip of his back where two dimples lay. The

water pooled within those dimples like an intoxicating liquor, promising to

poison any who tried to slake their thirst on him.

Even further down, and there were those pert, shapely buttocks, like

autumn-ripe fruit, plump and sweet. Mo Ran knew too well the exquisite

ecstasy that would come from touching that fruit, knew the shuddering

pleasure that came from joining with it, so intense it felt like his very soul

might shatter and meld into the person beneath him. A heady, addicting

flavor that drew him back, time and again.

"Mo-xianjun!" All of a sudden, someone was calling for him. "Moxianjun, are you there?"

Startled, Mo Ran turned, but the door curtain was whipped aside

before he could stop it. Ling-er came through it, saying, "Why did you run

off in such a hurry? My mom sent me to fetch you. We're about to eat the

sweet rice cakes, do you—" She caught sight of the bathing Chu Wanning,

and her voice died in her throat.

Chu Wanning was frozen, speechless. Ling-er was also frozen,

equally speechless, until—

"Ahhh!" The girl screamed, covering her eyes in a panic.

Chu Wanning's expression was dark as could be as he scrambled for

his clothing, uncharacteristically fumbling. When he'd first fled back to his

room to cool off, there was no way he expected not one, but two uninvited

guests to barge in on him. What the actual hell! He'd stripped as he entered

the kitchen and dropped his clothing right by the door; he'd always been

casual about these things. Was he now supposed to make his way across the

length of the kitchen, stark naked, right in front of a young lady, to fetch his

clothes?

As he stood caught in this dilemma, Mo Ran strode over and pressed

his hands against the wall on either side of Chu Wanning, blocking him

from view in a mock-embrace. He turned and said to Ling-er, "Get out."

"Ah! Right! Yes!" The girl broke from her momentary stun and

stumbled out in a hurry, running far away in shock.

Chu Wanning remained completely silent.

Mo Ran's face was gloomy. Only after he made sure the girl was

really gone did he sigh in relief and turn his gaze back—only to meet with

Chu Wanning's cold expression.

He realized at once that his actions were very much like a ferocious

hound protecting his food, baring his teeth to scare off intruders before

turning back around, whimpering, to lick and eat the hard-won prize. His

arms were still braced against the wall. In order to keep Chu Wanning

firmly shielded, he had pressed very close, close enough that he could pick

up Chu Wanning's scent, and he froze unconsciously…

His head was burning, dizzy and heavy.

Smell was the sense with the greatest power to evoke memories and

desires. The aroma of meat would make one hungry, smelling plum

blossoms would make one think of winter snow, and so on and so forth.

Lust was no exception. Mo Ran felt his mind surge, and the wall of

determination he had so painstakingly erected seemed to crumble right

there. Chu Wanning's scent was a spark that landed in Mo Ran's hot and dry

chest, igniting his animal instincts, ready to burn him to ash.

In their daily life, Mo Ran's heart would flutter despite himself any

time he got close to Chu Wanning, regardless of how covered up and

properly dressed he was. And now that person was before him, stark

naked…

He desperately wanted to seize Chu Wanning's icy cold wrists, still

dripping with water, wanted to twist Chu Wanning around and push him

against the wall while ripping his own clothes off, wanted to press his chest

firmly against that man's back, wrap his arms around him, hold him down

as he drove brutally into him. Just as he had in the previous life when he

had held absolute power over this person, had indulged liberally in the

sweet allure of shuddering breaths and sweat-slick bodies.

He really couldn't take it anymore… He wanted him so badly.

Mo Ran's breathing abruptly turned heavy. He didn't speak, and

neither did Chu Wanning make a sound. The two stood pressed against the

wall, so close they would be touching if not for Mo Ran's arms bracing

himself, muscles taut and trembling as he endured.

Do not touch him. Do not touch him.

Respect him. Cherish him.

Do not repeat those immoral absurdities. Do not.

He told himself this again and again, mechanically repeating it in his

mind. The weather was cold, but a thin sheen of sweat slowly began to form

on his forehead.

You can't… You can't… Mo Ran, you can't… Don't let your mind

wander…

He gulped and closed his eyes with a shudder, blocking out that

scalding gaze, but there was already a dazed expression on his face…

Normally, Chu Wanning would have sensed that something was

strange. But right now, he wasn't much better off than Mo Ran. Possibly

worse. He might have looked calm and collected, but it took all his

formidable willpower to keep this pretense alive.

Mo Ran's breaths were so hot and heavy, carrying with them an

intense, masculine scent that threatened to scorch him. And the arms

pressed against the wall were so powerful. Though he and Mo Ran had yet

to spar since his return from the dead, Chu Wanning knew full well that in a

match of physical strength, discounting spiritual power, those arms would

completely dominate him, crush him into dust.

Unwilling to meet Mo Ran's eyes, he lowered his gaze to Mo Ran's

chest.

Though they weren't pressed together, Mo Ran was standing so close

that you could barely run a thread between them. Chu Wanning could

distinctly feel the raw, masculine tension radiating from that warm chest,

engulfing him in its blaze. That heat could melt the coldest glacier in the

world and turn it into an uncontrollably overflowing spring.

"Shizun…" he heard the young man say all of a sudden. He couldn't

tell if it was his imagination, but he felt Mo Ran's voice sounded a little

rough, filled with a steamy, heated lust. Mo Ran had called him Shizun

many times before; calmly, respectfully, furiously, jokingly… But this was

the first time Chu Wanning had ever heard Shizun said like this: nursed

between his lips and teeth, ground together with raw lust, almost filthy, yet

deeply alluring. It was enough to make Chu Wanning feel like his very

bones were going numb.

Impossible. Mo Ran would never address him like that. He'd heard

wrongly, he was overthinking it. It was his heart that was filthy.

He instinctively backed away. His naked back hit the ice-cold wall,

eliciting an involuntary shudder, and his quivering lips parted slightly, so

that he looked almost helpless, vulnerable.

Mo Ran's pupils darkened even further. He stared at those pale, dewy

lips. Though he made no move, his imagination ran wild. He thought about

lowering his head to press his lips to Chu Wanning's, prying them apart and

brutally violating this virginal forbidden territory with his burning tongue.

He thought about what it would be like to take Chu Wanning's waist in his

hands, to hold him so bruisingly tight that he would leave marks on Chu

Wanning's skin.

No matter how he repressed himself, the blood of a wolf still surged

in Mo Ran's veins. His natural instincts would always be scorching hot and

violently ruthless; he would always tear the person he took to bed into

shreds, devouring them whole from the inside out, lapping up every last

drop of blood, every last morsel of flesh.

He could never become tame.

He closed his eyes as he suppressed the boiling lava in his chest. This

was dangerous. He knew full well how men's desire, once awoken, made

them little better than beasts. He knew that he needed to chase this

oblivious rabbit away while he still had self-control left. He withdrew his

hands and said, voice hoarse, "Shizun, I'll…go get your clothes."

Thick and heavy breaths brushed against Chu Wanning's lashes.

Mo Ran turned and walked toward the door in long strides to pick up

Chu Wanning's discarded robes.

Chu Wanning was still leaning against the wall. He felt completely

drained, as if he had just run a hundred miles and couldn't catch his breath.

He narrowed his phoenix eyes a little, and saw that Mo Ran had his back to

him, gathering the clothes he'd tossed aside as he'd stripped. Suddenly, Chu

Wanning remembered the state of a certain body part and froze for a few

long moments. His mind started racing.

When Mo Ran had come in earlier, Chu Wanning had been sluicing

himself off with his back to the door. When Chu Wanning had turned

around, Mo Ran had been pressed so close he hadn't looked down, so he

hadn't noticed the evidence of Chu Wanning's arousal. But if Mo Ran were

to turn around after picking up the clothes, then the Yuheng Elder's haughty

and pristine reputation, the aloof and ascetic image Chu Wanning had

maintained for so long, would crumble to dust in an instant.

Chu Wanning panicked. Mo Ran had already sorted and tidied up his

robes and was holding them in his hands; he was about to turn his head…

Chu Wanning was left with only two choices. One: pretend his legs

suddenly hurt and crouch down. Or, two: jab his disciple's eyes out.

Before he could settle on one of these two awful options, Mo Ran had

already turned. "Shizun, you…"

You what?

Mo Ran didn't finish his sentence. At the sight before him, whatever

he'd been about to say never made it past his lips, the words irretrievably

lost.