Qinghe and Wei Xiang lay on the bed, slowly rocking together while their hands wandered restlessly over each other's bodies. Insistent need pulsed through them, turning the atmosphere thick and heavy with l.u.s.t.

But in the midst of things, a hesitant knock unexpectedly interrupted them.

Startled, the couple paused.

Qinghe quickly used his spirit sense and determined that it was his master who had come to visit, carrying a wrapped jade scroll in his hands.

"Who is it?" Wei Xiang asked his lover in a husky voice.

His sweaty brows lowered in a frown, Qinghe answered, "It's my master. He seems to have brought something for me."

Hearing this, Wei Xiang tried to slide out of his lover, but he was barely halfway out when Qinghe held him in place by locking his ankles behind his beloved's waist, refusing to let Wei Xiang withdraw.

Wei Xiang shot Qinghe an exasperated look. Then smiling wickedly, he purposefully drove back in, making sure to hit his lover's sweet spot while reaching over to pluck at the stiff buds on his chest.

Not expecting that he would be retaliated against in this way, Qinghe gasped and groaned, forgetting for a moment about his master waiting on the other side of the door.

Outside the room, Zhen YiLan heard his disciple seemingly crying out in pain and became worried. In a concerned tone, he called out, "Qing-er, are you alright?"

But Wei Xiang still refused to ease up as he started moving once again, sliding in and out of his little lover's slickened pa.s.sage in torturously slow motions.

Qinghe bit his lip and forced himself to reply to his master, his voice deep and throaty, "Yes, Master…I'm fine so…," he panted breathily before being able to continue again, "…I'm okay. I'm just busy….…I'll come and find you later."

However, hearing how strange his disciple sounded, Zhen YiLan remained unconvinced and started banging on the door. "Qing-er, you don't sound alright! Let me in! Let your Master come help you out!"

Still unrelentingly moving within his beloved's soft and tight channel, Wei Xiang once again hit that particular spot with firm and measured strokes, sending sudden waves of pleasure flooding through Qinghe.

In a hoa.r.s.e voice, Qinghe couldn't help but curse loudly, "f.u.c.k!"

The banging on the door suddenly stopped as if in surprise.

Zhen YiLan would've never thought that his disciple knew or was capable of using such an obscenity.

Leaning down beside his little lover's ear, Wei Xiang whispered laughingly, "Do you want your master to come 'help you out' with this?" Wei Xiang began running his fingers over Qinghe's member, indicating what he meant by 'this'.

Qinghe's face twisted in a grimace as he tried not to imagine that.

Wei Xiang remained ruthless as his hands and mouth roved over his beloved's body, constantly stimulating Qinghe to the point of making him lose his reason.

"Qing-er? Do you need me to get someone to help? Wait, your master will break this door down and come rescue you!"

Qinghe suddenly froze, jerking out of the pleasurable haze of desire. He called out frantically, "No! Master, wait!"

On the other side of the door, Zhen YiLan halted, his mind filled with confusion and distress. "Qing-er, just tell your master what's wrong!"

Qinghe pushed Wei Xiang away to gain a moment of reprieve to steady his voice. But unrelentingly, Wei Xiang dipped his head to mercilessly suckle on his beloved's throat.

This new a.s.sault on his senses sent another wave of inescapable heat flooding through him, softening his resistance and causing his body to melt back into the sheets. And since a more delicate phrasing eluded him in this state, Qinghe blurted out loud bluntly, "Master, I'm in the middle of getting f.u.c.ked, can we please postpone this for later?"

"…"

"…"

A second of shocked silence descended over them. Even Wei Xiang stopped what he was doing to lean back in disbelief.

Then the sound of someone startled into sputtering came from the other side of the door, accompanied by something solid dropping onto the floor and hurried footsteps das.h.i.+ng away as if fleeing.

Realizing what he'd just said out loud to his master, Qinghe felt abject embarra.s.sment turning his already flushed cheeks into a deeper shade of red.

Dropping his head beside his little lover's, Wei Xiang burst out laughing. "Qinghe, you…you really…are something."

Clenching his b.u.t.t to squeeze his lover's member still lodged deep inside him, Qinghe admonished, "And whose fault do you think all this is?"

Wei Xiang gasped as his beloved's hot inner muscles tightened around his shaft, then retorted, "Oh? And who was the one who refused to let me go in the beginning?"

Unable to refute, Qinghe flushed as he ordered, "Stop talking and start working!"

Grinning evilly, Wei Xiang complied.

Soon, calls for mercy and loud shouts of pleasure rang out amid the rapid sounds of flesh slapping against flesh and the strained groaning of the wooden bed.

By the time they finished, Qinghe felt that his throat was more sore than his b.u.t.t. His lover's prowess in bed were truly too terrible to behold, especially when he got all riled up like this.

As Wei Xiang slowly and carefully cleaned his beloved's pa.s.sage, he looked on amusedly at his little lover's puffed cheeks.

"Are you mad?" Wei Xiang asked, trying to keep all traces of mirth out of his voice.

Qinghe nodded forcefully, then declared, "Yes, I'm mad! You didn't even give me a chance to touch you in all the ways I wanted to. Doing all those things one after another, how can you expect me to keep up? Xiang, I'm realizing that you are very mean!"

Though his beloved spoke in a reprimanding tone, all Wei Xiang wanted to do was to pinch those cheeks and wax poetic about how adorable he was.

"Now, now, Qinghe…don't say that. I'll make sure to make it up to you next time, alright?" Wei Xiang placated as he finished his task, using a soft cloth to pat his lover dry.

After contemplating with a thoughtful expression, Qinghe finally nodded. "Alright, I'll consider it acceptable for now," he declared haughtily.

Wei Xiang felt his fingers itching. He really wanted to press his little lover back on the bed and go another round to make it up to his beloved right here and now. But before he could act on his impulse, Wei Xiang suddenly remembered about how they had been interrupted before, as well as how his lover's master seemed to have dropped something outside their door.

He should probably check on it now.

Sighing, Wei Xiang draped a robe over himself and walked to the door before opening it to take a look. On the floor, there was a small jade scroll that seemed to have slipped out of its wrapping cloth.

"Xiang, what did Master drop?" Qinghe asked from within the room, lying lazily on the bed without a st.i.tch of clothing on.

Closing the door and bringing the jade scroll inside, Wei Xiang replied, "It seems to be some sort of a high-level cultivation manual. Let me take a look at it first."

Qinghe made a sound of a.s.sent, s.h.i.+fting on the bed to get more comfortable as he saw his lover opening the scroll to glance over its contents.

Wei Xiang's brows suddenly rose, a strange, antic.i.p.atory grin curving his lips.

Seeing this, Qinghe's head perked up in interest. "What is it? What did you find?"

His eyes sparkling, Wei Xiang answered, "This seems to be a dual cultivation manual, and an extraordinary one at that."

Qinghe's interest was suitably piqued as he sat up while continuing to listen.

Wei Xiang went on, "It has two very important uses: One, it can greatly improve and stabilize one's cultivation. This will be particularly useful for you because of your restrictions, especially since you'll be taking part in the Hundred-Year Tournament soon. And second, it can actually help two people form a soul bond. The longer we practice from this manual, the stronger the bond will grow, until our fates themselves become altered and entwine together."

Qinghe blinked, not understanding what his lover meant. But since Wei Xiang seemed impressed, Qinghe deduced that it must truly be something very amazing.

But Qinghe was never one to leave his curiosity unsatisfied, so he asked inquisitively, "Xiang, what's a soul bond?"

Rolling the scroll back up again, Wei Xiang sat down on the bed beside his little lover and explained, "It's a special type of connection that happens between two souls. Lovers with a soul bond have their lives and fates bound together. If one of them dies, the other will inevitably follow within moments. And even after death, their fates will remain tied, leading them to each other when they reincarnate."

As he heard this, Qinghe felt wonder welling up in his heart.

If they practiced dual cultivation according to this manual, then did it mean that he and his Xiang would be together for a literal eternity?

With excitement surging within him, Qinghe asked, "Xiang, do you want to try it? Let's try it!"

But Wei Xiang's brows were drawn in a frown. "There seems to be a condition though. We can only practice this manual if we can fulfill it."

Qinghe also frowned. "A condition? What is it?"

"The only requirement is that, for the soul bond to form, we will have to share our minds for a short while," Wei Xiang replied. Then looking at his beloved, he spoke seriously, "I don't mind doing this. But Qinghe, if you don't want to, then that's also fine."

Waving his hand to dispel his lover's worries, Qinghe regained his enthusiasm. "No, I want to. Let's do it."

Wei Xiang felt his gaze warming with affection. If it was to this person, then he would gladly tie his soul.

"Alright then," Wei Xiang agreed with a helpless smile. "How do you want to do this?"

His eyes brightening, Qinghe immediately said, "Xiang, I want you in your half-beast form."

Shaking his head, Wei Xiang could only reply indulgently, "Very well then. But let's prepare you before first. I can hardly do that with my claws out."

Qinghe nodded, then helpfully pulled up his knees and bent over so that his lover could begin.

As he began preparing his beloved, Wei Xiang took his time to carefully ready his little lover so that Qinghe would be able to accept the two members he had in his half-beast form with minimal pain and discomfort. Wei Xiang used up almost half a bottle of oil and persevered until his entire hand could fit through his little lover's opening, and yet he still wasn't sure if it would be enough.

After an hour of preparations, Wei Xiang finally s.h.i.+fted into his half-beast form and began entering his beloved from the rear.

Qinghe's hands were fisted over the bed's headboard, his flushed cheek lying atop the wide and flat wooden edge. His knees were spread apart as his thighs trembled with strain, his back curved as his bottom was unreservedly presented for his beloved to press deeper into.

Enveloping him from behind was Wei Xiang's body, one claw-tipped hand resting on Qinghe's hip and the other slowly guiding his shafts into his little lover.

Wei Xiang had already managed to push in one of his members and was now carefully inserting in another, taking the utmost care to avoid causing his beloved any pain.

As Wei Xiang pushed on, the slender body under his strained to accept the additional girth, the line of his beloved's spine stretched taut. Wei Xiang's eyes were drawn to a small droplet of sweat that was slowly sliding down that arched spine. Unable to help himself, he dipped his head to halt its descent, his lips closing over and sucking in that little drop of moisture.

Qinghe shuddered as he felt his lover's hot mouth on the middle of his back. He felt it very keenly as Wei Xiang's lips and tongue slowly swept upward, seeming to leave a trail of fire in their wake as they finally reached the back of his neck.

As Wei Xiang lightly traced his mate's fragile nape with the sharp tips of his fangs, he felt Qinghe begin to tremble. Burying his nose in his little lover's neck, he scented the fresh rush of desire flooding his mate.

His chest rumbling with pleasure, Wei Xiang asked, "So you like that?"

Being tormented for so long while being prepared and teased like this on the side, Qinghe was already nearing his limit. Unable to string together coherent words, Qinghe could only moan and whimper. "X-Xiang…p-please―ah!"

Wei Xiang had lightly nipped the side of his lover's throat, licking and nibbling at the soft and fragile skin with enthusiasm.

Biting his lower lip, Qinghe wordlessly bent his head to the side, exposing more of his neck. Feeling the sharp fangs sc.r.a.ping against his skin sent an inexplicable shudder of thrill and pleasure rus.h.i.+ng through him. An embarra.s.singly low and drawn out moan slipped out of his gasping mouth.

As Wei Xiang kept pressing himself into his mate's tight heat with one hand, the palm of his other hand slowly moved from where it had been placed on his little lover's hip and over to his soft belly.

Unable to help himself, Wei Xiang began stroking the smooth and sweaty skin in small, steady motions. Under this softness, Wei Xiang felt bunched ridges of abdominal muscles clenching and relaxing as his beloved's supple waist twisted restlessly. It fascinated him how though his lover's body was actually well-built, his body type ensured that his muscles stayed hidden under a layer of softness, making him look less muscled than he was.

On the other hand, feeling the intense friction of the rough scales and the tips of those sharp talons being lightly drawn across his vulnerable stomach, Qinghe couldn't help but begin to squirm and plead. "Xiang, faster…please…m-more…touch me more…"

Wei Xiang wordlessly complied, his beast instincts inwardly hissing in satisfaction that his mate sought his touch with so much desperation.

His hand slid to the side, over the swell of his lover's hip and down to his thigh that was taut and trembling with strain. Slowly kneading the firm flesh, Wei Xiang moved his palm to the inside of Qinghe's thigh, his fingers brus.h.i.+ng over the smooth and soft skin.

As those rough fingertips trailed up and down, tracing burning lines over the sensitive skin, Qinghe let out an unrestrained groan. "Xiang…touch me…there."

Knowing what he meant, Wei Xiang smiled as he obliged, his palm dragging up the inside of his lover's thigh and landing on his stiff and dripping shaft.

As Qinghe felt his beloved's hot palm sliding up and down his member, he was almost driven mad by the unbearable friction caused by the edges of the small scales covering his lover's skin and the sensation of the tips of those sharp black nails lightly dragging along his vulnerable shaft.

Qinghe panted, his breaths quick and short. His body trembled as the vivid sensation kept rocketing through him. All along, Wei Xiang had kept slowly and steadily pus.h.i.+ng himself into his lover.

Suddenly, Qinghe's body snapped taut as he gasped sharply in pain.

Wei Xiang immediately stopped thrusting into him and asked in a tone saturated with concern, "Qinghe, does it hurt?"

"Only a b-bit," Qinghe answered, his voice unsteady.

In truth, it felt like his insides were splitting in half. A little inspection with his spiritual power revealed that there was no tearing, but the burning pain was still like a sharp lance as it shot through him.

But Qinghe still felt that it was tolerable. He had already figured out that no matter how much they prepared, doing it for the first time with Wei Xiang in his half-beast form would still hurt very much. There was no easy way past this, so Qinghe wanted to bear it for now and quickly move on from the pain so that he could have his lover in his other form as well.

Besides, Qinghe already felt his insides healing and the pain subsiding as his spiritual energy circulated quickly to mend his bruised and injured inner muscles. Though it still stung somewhat, the pleasure from being filled and stretched by his lover's members soon drowned out any discomfort.

Not knowing this, Wei Xiang frowned worriedly and began to withdraw. "Since it hurts, let's stop for now."

"Xiang, no! Please, don't," Qinghe burst out, his hand looping behind him and around his lover's waist to hold him in place.

Wei Xiang felt complicated at his little lover's vehement rejection. In a helpless tone, he began, "Love, if it hurts―"

Qinghe quickly interrupted him, "It's only a little bit, I promise. It's already gotten better. And…Xiang, I really, really want to do this. So let's keep going, okay?"

Knowing how his beloved tended to often ignore his own discomfort in favor of others, Wei Xiang remained unconvinced. To make sure, he bent down and buried his nose in Qinghe's neck, breathing in deeply. Qinghe instinctively exposed his neck further once again.

Due to Wei Xiang's senses having gotten sharper in his half-beast form, along with the light layer of sweat strengthening Qinghe's scent, Wei Xiang could easily deduce what Qinghe was feeling from the scent exuded by the various hormones swimming in his lover's bloodstream right now.

From just a whiff, Wei Xiang could smell Qinghe's strong arousal mixed with a hint of pain, but he didn't scent any fear, distress, anger, or other negative emotions from his beloved. In the end, he could only conclude that…his little lover really was enjoying this despite the pain.

Wei Xiang didn't know what to think about this.

Sensing that his lover was wavering, Qinghe struck while the iron was hot and pleaded in a soft voice, "Xiang, it's okay. I really want this. So let's continue, please?"

Realizing that his beloved might have a slightly m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic streak in him, Wei Xiang was finally forced to give in. Even though this newly discovered tendency of his little lover might make things a little complicated sometimes, Wei Xiang was determined to satisfy his beloved to the utmost.

"Alright then, but let's take it slower. And if you feel the pain getting worse, you will tell me, alright?" Wei Xiang commanded unbendingly.

Qinghe bit his lip, but still nodded. What his lover asked of him was very sensible, so he saw no reason to refuse.

And so they continued.

By the time both of Wei Xiang's members were fully and snugly seated inside his little lover's tight pa.s.sage, the couple was panting and sweating, their faces flushed and eyes glazed.

Qinghe felt his entrance stretched impossibly wide, his inner walls wrapped firmly around his beloved's members without even the slightest bit of s.p.a.ce in between. By now, the sting of pain had also subsided until it was nothing more than a vague ache. His insides felt filled to the brim, the sensation causing Qinghe to squirm restlessly.

He wanted to start moving, start feeling his lover's shafts sliding in and out, driving swiftly through his slickened channel. But Wei Xiang very firmly held his beloved's s.h.i.+fting hips in place, waiting for his lover's pa.s.sage to get fully accustomed to his girth.

"Xiang…quickly…" Qinghe moaned complainingly.

With a strained chuckle, Wei Xiang spoke, "Love, did you forget why we started this in the first place? We should use the manual and begin dual cultivating now."

Qinghe blinked, his hazy mind finally recalling that there was indeed such a thing.

Trying to suppress his need, Qinghe asked hoa.r.s.ely, "H-How should we do it?"

"Hm, maybe it would be better if we sat facing each other?" Wei Xiang suggested.

Qinghe nodded. "Okay. Let's do that."

Wei Xiang thus slowly slid out of his beloved and sat down cross-legged on the bed. Then reaching out and pulling his lover towards himself, Wei Xiang parted Qinghe's knees and placed them on either side of his hips.

A soft blush claimed Qinghe's face as he felt the heads of his lover's stiff members positioned right under his opening. Steadying himself with his hands on Wei Xiang's shoulders, Qinghe slowly lowered himself onto the hard shafts beneath him. He lightly panted, his eyes squeezed shut and his lashes quivering as he felt the thick heads slowly pus.h.i.+ng into his entrance, parting his inner walls and pressing further in.

Wei Xiang intently studied every twitch and tremble on his little lover's face, his mouth curving up in a gentle smile. One of his hands held his shafts steady as his beloved bore down on them, gradually taking them into himself.

This time, Qinghe felt that the whole process was quite painless and that it even felt very pleasurable. Soon, he had completely taken in his lover's shafts, the penetration in this position feeling deeper than before.

Opening his eyes and finding Wei Xiang's smirking face right in front of him, Qinghe couldn't help but feel slightly bashful and awkward.

Wei Xiang took out the dual cultivation manual and opened it, placing the jade scroll on the bed in such a way that they could both read from it.

The procedure explained in the scroll detailed how one should regulate their spiritual energy, which spiritual pathways to use and which nodes and points to gather their power in, how to open their minds and let in their lover's consciousness, and how to seamlessly circulate their spiritual energies between them and through each other's bodies.

While maintaining their position, with Wei Xiang's members still sheathed within Qinghe's body, the couple diligently absorbed this new knowledge, the concepts within fascinating and the methods meticulously explained.

Once he was done, Qinghe turned his face away and commented embarra.s.sedly, "Maybe mixing s.e.x and cultivation wasn't such a good idea."

Also having finished with the manual, Wei Xiang looked up and raised an eyebrow regally as if his lover wasn't currently sitting on his little twin dragons. "Oh? Why so?"

Giving a light cough to cover his discomfiture, Qinghe replied, "I feel like I'm doing homework on the bed rather than…something more fun."

Wei Xiang's eyes glittered with amus.e.m.e.nt. Leaning in to his beloved, he whispered huskily while kneading his little lover's b.u.t.t, his voice playful, "Little Student, why haven't you started yet? You better complete your homework soon or this instructor will have to punish you."

Feeling his mouth suddenly going dry, Qinghe swallowed thickly and asked with hidden antic.i.p.ation, "Punish me? How?"

"By giving you more 'homework' to finish, of course," Wei Xiang answered with a wicked smile, his hand squeezing his beloved's backside more firmly.

Unable to contain his reaction, Qinghe s.h.i.+vered, his cheeks flus.h.i.+ng harder in response to his lover's teasing voice and warm palms ma.s.saging his rear in steady motions.

Wei Xiang's hands slid down, the points of his nails dragging along as his palms settled on the back of his little lover's thighs, keenly feeling the strength of the firm muscles and the smoothness of the soft skin under his hands. In a deep voice, he spoke, "We should begin."

Qinghe nodded unsteadily, then closed his eyes and brought his lips to his lover's. As the couple opened up and clamped their mouths over each other's, they slowly began circulating their spiritual energy using the method in the manual.

And carefully, hesitantly, they sent out their spiritual energies, cautiously guiding it to enter their lover's body.

Suddenly, Qinghe sensed a rush of warm and vigorous energy flowing through his spiritual channels, feeling smooth with a light tang of metallic sharpness. Qinghe immediately recognized this as Wei Xiang's essence and gladly allowed it into him, letting the bright streams of energy course through his meridians.

Similarly, Wei Xiang felt Qinghe's spiritual energy flooding his pathways, calm and slightly cool like distilled moonlight. The clear currents of energy felt pleasant and pure as they flowed through him unhurriedly, their taste familiar and soothing.

As they exchanged their spiritual energies, letting it flow from their bodies into their lover's at a steady pace, the couple slowly and deliberately relaxed the barriers in their minds, following the manual's instructions to let the other person in, to let them see from their perspective and feel what they felt for their beloved.

As he lowered his mental barriers, Qinghe felt Wei Xiang's thoughts and impressions of him filling his mind.

The first time Wei Xiang saw him in the hidden realm, he had been attracted to the mystery around Qinghe's soul and had felt respect for his intelligence and decisiveness, but that was it. He hadn't felt any particularly deep or earth-shaking emotions.

Later, seeing Qinghe in his true appearance as he bathed in the stream that day had been so very tempting, and knowing that this enchanting person was also competent enough to see through his concealment only made Wei Xiang more interested. But Wei Xiang still hadn't intended on taking it any further.

However, the more time he spent watching Qinghe, the more he was drawn in.

Feng Qinghe had a sharp mind and was obviously strong, having both talent and ability in spades. He was neither too humble and nor too arrogant. But all this was only scratching the surface.

Qinghe was kind, yet not naïve. He could be cold and aloof, yet also playful and cute. Once he chose to care about someone, he gave them his all. Yet for all his compa.s.sion, he also stood strangely removed, as if he wasn't a part of this world, looking indifferently over everything from the same height as the stars. It was very rare for him to be truly moved, seldom laughing from his heart or seething with pure rage. It was to the point that it couldn't simply be explained away by saying he had a mild temperament.

With a strange personality that was exceedingly hard to grasp. Feng Qinghe was someone who Wei Xiang thought was very difficult to understand.

But the more time he spent in his presence, the more Wei Xiang realized that he enjoyed this little cultivator's company.

Seeing him go about his day with a.s.surance and grace, watching him getting into trouble yet staying calm despite the dire situation, then witnessing his cute side as he acted spoiled and childish, observing his interesting reactions when he was teased… As Wei Xiang beheld all this, he had become bewitched by Feng Qinghe before he even knew it.

And so, when he finally realized that he wanted this little cultivator, rather than waiting, Wei Xiang had directly asked him to become his lover.

After Qinghe agreed and Wei Xiang started spending more time with him, he discovered even more fascinating facets to Qinghe's personality. Wei Xiang was surprised to find that his affection kept growing impossibly deeper the longer he stayed with his little lover.

He realized he loved to see Qinghe smile and laugh. He liked that twinkle in his beloved's eyes when he was planning something devious, or that gleam of inquisitiveness that lighted up his gaze whenever he became curious. Wei Xiang felt irresistibly charmed by both his lover's intelligence and innocence, thinking him cute yet also respecting him as an equal. He adored how Qinghe acted playfully or melted into his embrace, his body soft and pliant, and he enjoyed seeing the obvious excitement flus.h.i.+ng his little lover's face whenever Wei Xiang proposed doing something s.e.xual.

There were a million things, both big and small, that made up Feng Qinghe, and Wei Xiang held each and every one of them dear.

All of these thoughts and emotions of his lover filled Qinghe until he felt that his heart would overflow with warmth.

Similarly, Wei Xiang was also immersed in Qinghe's thoughts of him.

Seeing through his eyes and perceiving the world through his mind, Wei Xiang finally understood just how different Qinghe truly was.

Qinghe's heart was an ocean of calm, his spirit clear and unwavering while his mind constantly kept working. Through Qinghe, Wei Xiang felt the essence of wind stretching around them in all directions, enveloping and categorizing everything while constantly monitoring for movements. Qinghe's every action was carefully taken, aiming for maximum effectiveness. What others perceived as his elegance was in fact just Qinghe moving his body in what he deemed to be the most efficient way.

Wei Xiang felt how Qinghe had to constantly redirect his attention to consciously display the emotions he felt or thought he was supposed to feel on his face, carefully arranging his expression to make it show what he wanted it to. It was only when he was alone or with the twins that he didn't need to make this effort.

And now, he sometimes even did this when he was with Wei Xiang, since being with his lover just felt so comfortable.

In the beginning, when Qinghe had first perceived Wei Xiang's presence lurking in the shadows in the hidden realm, he only felt indifference. Unless the Sentinels hiding in the dark interfered with his plans, he was determined to ignore them.

When he felt Wei Xiang following him back to his home, Qinghe felt faint surprise, but nothing more. He more or less trusted that the Sentinels wouldn't hurt him without reason, and so he'd once again ignored him.

It was only when Wei Xiang rescued him by the cliffs that Qinghe finally recognized his presence.

The first thing that struck Qinghe was Wei Xiang's face. He thought it was stunning.

And yet, as he saw through his little lover's eyes, Wei Xiang was surprised to find that Qinghe couldn't actually perceive whether a person's appearance was beautiful or not. Though he could remember and recognize every line and angle of another's facial features, he was unable to judge them. So his preferences were purely based on what he read from the other person's expressions.

Qinghe thought Wei Xiang was stunning because of his sharp eyes that danced with liveliness, the sardonic tilt of his lips that conveyed equal parts disdain and amus.e.m.e.nt, the confident slant of his eyebrows that showed his self-a.s.suredness.

And then Wei Xiang had gone above and beyond to help Qinghe, getting him safely back to his room and accompanying him afterward.

Despite his sharp tongue and his eyes that constantly showed how unimpressed he was with the world, Wei Xiang had still taken the time to help him.

Realizing this, Qinghe felt that this Sentinel was actually very intriguing.

After that, being teased by him and then being s.h.i.+elded by his wings on Starry Mountain Peak, Qinghe had started feeling closer and more at ease with Wei Xiang. Slowly, Qinghe started noticing the details of Wei Xiang's physical attributes, which was something that he had never truly shown an interest in before with others. This was the first time Qinghe had ever truly felt physically attracted to someone, though he didn't recognize it at that time.

And then, when Wei Xiang had proposed becoming lovers, Qinghe had felt shocked yet curious. Since he didn't feel averse to it and even felt somewhat interested, he decided to give it a try.

But Qinghe had never have imagined just how much he would grow to like this lover of his.

Qinghe saw Wei Xiang as his closest friend and also a teacher, someone who didn't mind guiding him whenever he felt lost and carefully pointing him in the right direction. Everything, from his soothing voice to his steady bearing, his patience and his calm maturity, but also his teasing and his sharp tongue, all of it slowly captivated Qinghe.

He liked how Wei Xiang laughed, free and exuberant. He liked bantering with his lover and rolling in the sheets together every night. And he especially liked Wei Xiang's half-beast form because he thought that the wildness of it perfectly embodied his lover's personality.

He liked Wei Xiang's warmth and nestling in his lover's arms, but Qinghe also felt very protective of his dear beloved. One of the very few things that could truly make him angry was the thought of his lover getting hurt, either physically or emotionally.

Just by seeing or thinking of Wei Xiang, Qinghe could feel the calm in his heart stir and the coldness of his mind melt. He wanted to spend an eternity with his lover, just feeling his smile under his fingertips, filling his ears with his beloved's smooth voice, and seeing his lover's eyes flash with wickedness, always staying by each other's side and sharing their lives.

Wei Xiang was so, so very precious to Qinghe that he didn't know how to express it. He could only try with all his might to make sure that his lover would never be sad or dissatisfied, always giving his Xiang everything of himself in an attempt to show his lover just how beloved he was.

As Wei Xiang felt all this through his connection with Qinghe, his heart grew overwhelmed.

The pair of lovers thus shared their consciousnesses, seeing each other's thoughts of the past, the satisfaction of their lives at present, and the expectant hopes of their future together.

And as their minds were welcomed into each other while resonating in harmony, Qinghe and Wei Xiang's souls slowly stretched, then connected, melding to form a nascent bond that tied their fates together.

When Qinghe and Wei Xiang finally opened their eyes, they keenly felt the connection between their souls, just like how their bodies were connected below.

Without a word exchanged, the couple started moving, sounds of pa.s.sion soon ringing out. And by the end of the night, both their minds and bodies were filled with bliss and soul-deep satisfaction as they nestled together.

From now on, this was how they wanted to spend their eternity.