Su Zui was in a bit of a pickle (18+)

Heat engulfed him, and Zhang Wang gasped, hands flying to grip Yu Yanlin's muscular thighs.

Yu Yanlin had a pleased look on his face, that was both gentle and victorious. Zhang Wang thought he was breath-taking.

"You feel amazing," the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms breathed, arching his hips upward to taste more of that delectable heat deep within the demon king's body. The color that was painted across Yanlin's skin was lewd, flushed with excitement with a thin sheen of sweat. The musky scent of sex was thick around them, and Zhang Wang didn't mind in the slightest.

Pale hips ground downward. Yu Yanlin's mouth was slightly open, his breathing deep. Eagerly, he began to move in swift up and down motions, devouring Zhang Wang's world with bursts of pleasure.

His stamina was tested that night. And they must have switched positions at least twenty times.

At least it felt that way when Zhang Wang woke up the following morning, his body sore and protesting each straining twitch.

He groaned, throat dry and parched with the telling throb of a headache that penetrated his skull with morning light. If it weren't for the soreness and nausea, he'd have happily allowed his consciousness to sleep back into the land of dreams.

He'd been dreaming of wings and a woman that beheld the beauty of a goddess. He met her under the full moon, in a tiny resident that existed in a bubble underneath a lake. It was a prison, but she told him that she didn't mind. She said to him that her name was Ban Yuewei, and he introduced himself as…

Zhang Wang scowled as another wave of pain hammered through his skull, and he blamed it on his overactive imagination. This was probably karma for lying about the dream to Sikong Yong.

"Drink this." The voice sounded both near and distant. Ceramic clattered against the wooden desk, and the familiar fragrance of tea tickled his nostrils. There was still the lingering musk of sex that wafted through the room, but Zhang Wang absently thought that it wasn't that strong despite what they had done the prior night. In fact, he didn't even feel half as sticky or as filthy as he expected to, and he partially wondered if Yu Yanlin had done the honors and gave him a good wipe down.

Ah, who could think that life could be lived in such a delightful way? Warmth fluttered in his chest, giving him the courage to peel his eyes open against the morning light. He drew his legs in and forced his fatigued body up into a seated position before grabbing the hot tea.

"Princess Ariunbayar is looking for us." Yu Yanlin's voice was lyrical, without a single mar of wear. He was fully dressed and sat at a table opposite the bed, his long locks free of tangles, and though his blindfold already obscured his eyes, Zhang Wang had no doubt there would be no dark circles to be found underneath.

Surely it had to be illegal to be that put together after the wild night that they shared. Zhang Wang was groaning inwardly at the thought, feeling like a pathetic slob of a mess in comparison. There had to be a reason why despite his twenty years of being in this world, he still had yet to come across a debugger that allowed him to ever move out of the 'mob character' stage.

Alas, reality was always a bit different than in books.

Whatever. He didn't feel like dwelling on it and instead allowed his mind to lazily linger on all the crazy things they tried last night. He was so enthralled by the memories he completely ignored Yu Yanlin's words.

"She's waiting downstairs. Was very insistent on seeing you this morning, but I insisted that you get some rest."

"Who? What? Where?" He said stupidly and sighed at the pathetic grumbling sound that came out of his lips. Zhang Wang took a sip of the tea, letting it warm his belly. "She's here? What does she even want?"

"Our help, apparently," Yu Yanlin hummed, "Will you help her?"

"Oh," Zhang Wang suddenly remembered the conversation he had with the Princess of the Steppes before taking Yu Yanlin to the village. He supposed that was something he couldn't really ignore and perked up, looking around the room for his discarded clothes. "Yeah. We'll help her."

He found them neatly folded at the foot of the bed, waiting for him. "You're too good for me." He said with little thought as he reached for them.

"I doubt that," Yu Yanlin replied mysteriously, only then noting Zhang Wang that he had spoken his thoughts outloud.

It made the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms scoff. In what aspect was Yu Yanlin not too good for him? Appearance-wise he was basically like a god. Strength-wise, well, he was the main villain for a reason, no? Even his personality was flawless and sound.

…For the most part.

Zhang Wang sighed and bit out, "Let's just get this over with." Even though he didn't have the energy to meet with anyone other than Yanlin at the moment.

"I could tell her to leave," the demon king offered.

"Nah, it's better not to…" Zhang Wang grumbled as he made his way to the door, missing the way that Yu Yanlin silently observed his every movement.

…

Su Zui was in a bit of a pickle.

You see, his liege had ordered him to find another Man-Eating Worm and place it in the North Blue Summits to make it as though the beast he'd slain still lived.

If he was going to be doing such a stupid thing, shouldn't King Yanlin just tell him to keep the beast alive? Alas, Su Zui wasn't going to ask too many questions. King Yanlin had always been a tad bit strange. It was what made the Cruel White King so interesting in Su Zui's eyes. He privately wondered if the man was going to slowly plot his revenge against the Blood Crane or something. Who knew, when it came to Yanlin. He was not like any other Demon King, definitely not like his father or even his mother.

But Yu Yanlin's intriguing personality still didn't alleviate the annoyance Su Zui felt toward his current task. He had sent out his servants in search and couldn't find a single stupid worm across the entire province. Maybe the one he'd killed to retrieve the Sacred Star Jewel was, in fact, the last of its kind or something.

What now?

He laid down in the underground tunnels, feeling lazy with the cool air that surrounded him, so far from any sunlit warmth. If he fell asleep, he might not wake for months, and if Yanlin found him, he would probably skin him alive for treason. If that were the case, Su Zui would be better allying himself with Yu Xinen, but it'd take a bit of asslicking before he could convince her not to slaughter him on sight. To think they'd been betrothed once.

Su Zui sighed, his eyelids already too heavy to open again. There was a slithering sound that echoed through the tunnels, inching closer and closer with many softer hissing noises. An assortment of snakes came toward him like a tsunami, varying in shape and sizes. They were all venomous and possessing demonic energy. They crawled all over him, whispering to him their knowledge and gossip. Su Zui hummed to them absently as the tunnel grounds rumbled with the movement of a particularly large specimen.

The snake was huge, its head almost as tall as a man as could swallow an elephant whole.

What a moment. Su Zui's violet eyes snapped open. He jumped to his feet, snakes falling from his body and slithering around his legs. When he turned around, the giant snake stilled.

The beast was about to tell its master news of its findings, but for some reason, the snake felt the chill dread tingling its entire, lengthy body. Su Zui grinned at it.

A worm and a snake, so long as they were roughly the same size, no one could tell the difference at first glance, right?

The poor snake would surely protest. But against Su Zui, it could do nothing as it was dragged by the end of its tail, from the cozy comforts of its underground tunnels all the way to the North Blue Summits.