Take a Bite
That was an order.
It was control.
It was the one-way compulsion of the blood pact, overriding reason and brokering no disobedience.
Even so, did he really have no power to resist at all?
Had he been controlled any less in the past?
In his previous two lives, he had fought with everything he had. Even if it meant his meridians snapping and his spiritual mind shattering, he would break free from any control that went against his true will. Back then, tightly bound by threads, he could still manage to reach a stalemate with the rules at critical moments...
Why now, in this third life where Yingshi's existence had brought him infinitely close to freedom, was he unable to recreate the resistance he had always been so adept at?
The control level of the blood pact was almost higher than all other secret arts in this world, but it could not be higher than the rules that created everything.
This was not the most terrifying enemy he had ever faced.
Yet at this moment, he actually could not muster a single ounce of will to fight against it.
The rising body temperature brought on by Yingshi's command made every breath he exhaled scorching hot. A tingling sensation shot down Shuangjian's spine. His Adam's apple bobbed fragilely, as if he were drinking some kind of poison that he knew was dangerous but had no choice but to swallow.
He tilted his head back, his jawline taut. The moment he squeezed his eyes shut, his stiff body was pushed by some indescribable force, stepping inside just a moment before the stone door closed...
Sharing a room with Yingshi.
...And it just had to be the Gate of Hiding.
A door that, once entered, could not be easily escaped.
Although there was no danger inside the Gate of Hiding, there were no conditions that could be met to leave early; one could only exit after staying for a sufficient amount of time.
He had indeed broken through it by force in his previous two reincarnations, but this time... he perhaps had many reasons making it difficult to force his way out.
The first was that even if he got out, couldn't Yingshi just use the blood pact to draw him back?
And the second... he was fundamentally different from his previous two reincarnations. His body was brimming with demonic energy. If he failed to control it properly during an outbreak, the demonic energy might accidentally mix with his spiritual power when destroying the altar, which might alert the people of the Dao One Immortal Alliance.
The altar... the altar was somewhat different from the Tianshan Snow Plains... Right now, there was no second Qin Yuman beside him yearning to become a demon, so it was only natural for him to act more cautiously...
Shuangjian's gaze looked straight at Yingshi, who was still smiling at him, completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation. He gently licked his lips. In that instant, his mind wove countless reasons to support him as he continued to walk obediently toward Yingshi.
The instigator was so drunk she was delirious. She seemed completely unaware that her command was tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house. She even reached out to him, still in a posture demanding a hug.
Shuangjian... hug me... she said again.
...
Shuangjian's fingers curled slightly. His body temperature was currently so high that it broke past human limits; perhaps Yingshi would flinch away the moment she touched him.
But even so, he just needed to execute the order.
Even though Yingshi had not used the incantation of the blood pact when she said those words...
He stepped forward, only one thought left in his mind: make Yingshi feel uncomfortable so she would voluntarily stay away from him.
But he hadn't considered what he would do if Yingshi didn't feel uncomfortable.
Scalding hot hands cooperatively wrapped around her waist, and a male body entirely different from her own pressed against her front. Yingshi was dazed for a moment, but quickly reached out to hook her arms around the other person's neck, subconsciously hanging onto him.
So warm. Unlike the freezing cold stone, it was something to cling to...
She clung to Shuangjian just as one would cling to a fragrant, warm blanket on a winter morning. At times like this, she didn't feel hot anymore. It seemed the heat had always been burning in her heart, rather than her body running a fever.
...This was Shuangjian. She knew it. Only Shuangjian smelled this good.
Because of his elevated body temperature, that fragrance seemed to scatter outward, a little richer than before, making it even more intoxicating.
He smelled so delicious... Yingshi suddenly really wanted a taste.
But how does one taste a person?
If she took a bite of Shuangjian, it would hurt him.
And if she just took a lick, what if he really was as delicious as she imagined and she couldn't bring herself to let go?
Yingshi felt a bit distressed from her own anxiety.
She let out a whimper, on the verge of tears, and exerted her strength, forcefully pushing Shuangjian down to the ground.
Maybe she should sleep. Her current state was wrong; she couldn't think at all...
Yingshi pushed Shuangjian down and sprawled completely over him. Like a koala, she pressed her head against his violently heaving chest.
The ground was cold, but Shuangjian's body wasn't... she thought in her muddled state.
Caught completely off guard, the young woman's body smashed down onto him. The moment he hit the ground, a muffled groan escaped Shuangjian's lips.
Through the thin fabric, the person on top of him transferred a wildfire-like heat and softness.
They were pressed too closely together. He could feel Yingshi's softness. With her head buried in his chest, her own chest was pressed against his abdomen... Shuangjian's face was already burning blood-red.
She had found a heat source, and in turn, became his heat source. It was hotter than the high fever brought on by the demon core, burning so fiercely that his vision blurred. Aside from Yingshi, he could no longer see anything clearly; aside from Yingshi's voice, he could no longer hear any other sound.
The arms that should have pushed Yingshi away began to hold her against his will. It was not a polite, light embrace, but a tight, possessive hug.
His fingers had already sunk into the fabric at her waist, it was out of line and excessive enough, yet it felt as if he wanted to go even further.
At this moment, any thought of making her voluntarily stay away had long turned to ash. He couldn't bring himself to push Yingshi away. That attraction came from the depths of his soul, and he had long been drowned by it. Even if the demon core hadn't flared up, he feared he would be just as hopelessly entangled.
Mhm... Being suddenly hugged tight, Yingshi let out a vague nasal sound. She didn't struggle, but instead pressed against Shuangjian even more cooperatively.
She needed to be held tightly too... because she felt uncomfortable, an indescribable discomfort. Instinctively, she felt she needed to be held with great force. But now that it was happening, she still felt like something was missing, still uncomfortable.
Chunri
...
Restraining the urge to bite Shuangjian was already agonizing enough; why were there other discomforts affecting her?
Tears moistened the corners of her eyes without warning. Yingshi felt as though she was being bullied by those strange, uncomfortable sensations.
She whimpered unbearably twice, then suddenly flipped over with force, lying down on the freezing ground herself. Then, she grabbed Shuangjian's arms with both hands and pulled him down on top of her.
Shuangjian... come up here... she babbled incoherently, looking at Shuangjian with hazy, drunken eyes. I'm uncomfortable... cover me... heavier...
Shuangjian was pulled off balance by her, practically falling over her in a clumsy yet compliant manner.
He propped his hands on the ground beside her ears and wedged one knee between her legs, forming a posture that completely enveloped her.
From this angle, he could clearly see her flushed red cheeks, her damp and misty eyes, and her slightly parted lips carrying the scent of wine.
Was that... normal wine?
After this inquisitive thought sprouted in his mind, the knuckles of his hands pressing against the ground turned white. Sweat rolled down the side of her forehead, dripping into Yingshi's scattered hair.
She lay defenseless beneath him, like a flower waiting to be plucked, its petals still covered in dew...
It was a devastating perspective, one that could make a person abandon all scruples. Only the most primal and savage urges grew stronger, threatening his crumbling restraint.
"Help me..." Yingshi, beneath him, suddenly began to sob softly again. She reached out, hooked her arms around his neck, and pulled him closer. Her warm, alcohol-laced breath puffed directly against his lips. "Shuangjian... I don't feel well... help me sober up..."
How was he supposed to help?
Channel spiritual energy? But he couldn't use his spiritual energy right now.
He was clearly the one... who needed help the most right now.
"Use your hands..." Yingshi murmured drowsily. Following her body's most instinctive desires, she whispered right against his ear, her hot breath drilling into it. "...touch me... pat me..."
As she spoke, she seemed to feel cold, or perhaps she was seeking closer contact. She unconsciously tightened her casually parted legs, perfectly trapping his knee that was wedged between them.
With a boom, Shuangjian's mind went blank, and the last shred of clarity in his vision was dyed crimson.
He snapped his eyes shut, trying to block everything out, but his nose was already filled with her scent.
He couldn't do it anymore.
He admitted that he was a weakling with no willpower.
He had lost, and lost miserably.
He lost so crazily, so crazily that he wanted to live as if there were no tomorrow... Could he?
Perhaps what he had entered from the very beginning was not the Gate of Hiding, but the Gate of Death where Yingshi existed...
Shuangjian opened his bloodshot eyes and struggled to prop himself up a little. Gazing into Yingshi's intoxicated eyes, he spoke word by word, his hoarse voice carrying a trace of humble devotion that even he didn't notice, "If you feel uncomfortable... use the blood pact to control me..."
Control me to stop.
But for now...
He would become the executor who "helped" Yingshi.
Making his resolve in what could be called a tragic and heroic manner, his scalding hand caught Yingshi's fingers, ready to start helping from here.
But he didn't expect that his actions would still seem too slow and tepid to Yingshi.
"I can't hold back anymore..." Yingshi cried softly, though no tears fell. She was merely using the sound of her faint weeping to relieve her discomfort. Staring at Shuangjian's handsome face, which was still some distance away from her, she anxiously recited the blood pact's incantation again, "Shuangjian, let me take a taste, okay..."
A plate of exquisite delicacies was placed right in front of her, letting her smell its aroma constantly but forbidding her from taking a bite. Her discomfort must have come from this.
She would definitely bite down gently; she definitely wouldn't break his skin...
But the moment she made this vow, Shuangjian had already leaned down. The light touch on her lips made Yingshi suddenly widen her eyes.
However, her hazy eyes remained hazy even when widened.
The other vague words she had yet to utter were blocked. Her brain grew increasingly dizzy, as if she were lying on a feather bed, sinking endlessly...
Behind her ears, the back of her head, and her entire body felt a tingling, numb itch. She unconsciously closed her eyes, stuck out the tip of her tongue, and carefully licked the seam of Shuangjian's tightly pressed lips.
"..."
In that instant, Shuangjian shuddered.
This was undoubtedly a signal of invitation.
He should... take it a step further to execute Yingshi's request.
Shuangjian's eyes darkened. With his eyes open, he wantonly watched Yingshi's closed eyes and her long eyelashes fluttering in indulgence. He pried open her defenseless teeth, driving straight in to entangle the tongue that had lured him in, absorbing all the wine and moisture in her mouth.
"Mnn... mm..."
Yingshi was completely overwhelmed by this sudden, fierce offensive.
Her oxygen was stripped away. An unfamiliar tingling sensation spread rapidly from their connected lips and tongues to her limbs and bones, turning her already muddled mind into complete mush.
She could only endure it passively, letting out soft whimpers from her throat. The arms that had been hooked around his neck had limply fallen at some point, changing to lightly grip the fabric at his chest.
It smelled too good...
The cold fragrance on Shuangjian's body, mixed with his burning body temperature and his unique breath passed over through their lips and tongues, was a hundred times more delicious than any delicacy she had ever imagined.
His lips, his tongue, the strength of his embrace, his hot breath spraying across her face, they were all so delicious, and he was even feeding them to her willingly... How could there be such a blissful thing in the world?
It made her sink involuntarily, even clumsily and shyly attempting to respond to that entanglement.
So this was what it felt like to taste Shuangjian.
...This was very much like kissing.
This thought flashed vaguely through Yingshi's brain, which was soaked in alcohol and unfamiliar pleasure.
But... of course it wasn't kissing.
A more stubborn realization clearly surfaced in the gaps of the surging tide of passion, close friends did not kiss.
Close friends, of course, were just helping each other out... Yes, that was it...
