Chapter 15#

Cell - Like a Wild Beast Marking Its Prey#

Breath exchanged, lips and teeth met.

A wild storm, lightning and thunder.

An extremely intense kiss: Yanzhi struggled with all his might, and Xiao Cuan suppressed him with all his strength.

It didn’t seem like the lingering tenderness of a romantic embrace, but more like a world-shattering, fierce fight.

Xiao Cuan bit Yanzhi’s lip until it bled. Yanzhi’s stubborn streak flared up, and he also forcefully bit Xiao Cuan’s mouth open.

Blood mingled with saliva, breath mingled with gasps.

Xiao Cuan pressed Yanzhi tightly; the two were so entangled they couldn’t be separated.

An unknown amount of time passed before Xiao Cuan, cupping Yanzhi’s face, gave his lip one last heavy suck, licking away the bead of blood before finally letting him go.

Yanzhi gave Xiao Cuan a forceful push, wanting to shove him away, but he didn’t budge. Instead, Yanzhi himself fell into the corner.

He raised his hand and haphazardly wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

In the darkness, a pair of green eyes, like those of a wild wolf, seemed to glow faintly for a moment.

The next instant, Xiao Cuan gripped his wrist and moved his hand away.

“Try wiping it one more time.”

Yanzhi couldn’t see Xiao Cuan’s face clearly, but Xiao Cuan could see Yanzhi’s every movement perfectly.

It wasn’t fair.

Yanzhi tried to pull his hand back, but failed.

He leaned against the corner. Because of the struggle just now, his body was incredibly soft, almost unable to stand.

Sensing that he was about to slide down the stone wall, Xiao Cuan raised a leg to brace against his knees and gripped his shoulders with both hands, hoisting him up and pinning him against the wall, refusing to let him escape.

Xiao Cuan gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, “I only kiss you once, and you act like you’ve been bitten by a dog, scurrying all over the room, even hitting and biting me.”

“When Xie Yi gave you sugar cakes, you didn’t mind at all; you took them and tucked them into your robe, and even held his hand.”

Yanzhi didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he suddenly felt that when His Majesty said this, besides hatred, there seemed to be some grievance in his tone.

But Yanzhi didn’t dare think too much about it, nor was he willing to.

He paused and only said, “Those were just sugar cakes… they had nothing to do with Young Master Xie. I was greedy and gave him money, asking him for help…”

“Still lying!” Xiao Cuan interrupted him sharply. “If he hadn’t brought them to you, how would you even know what sugar cakes were?”

“I certainly do know!” Yanzhi also raised his voice. “I certainly know what sugar cakes are; I’m not a fool!”

“Idiot.” Xiao Cuan squeezed a sentence from his throat through gritted teeth. “You are an idiot.”

After these words fell, neither of them spoke again.

The cell was shrouded in silence.

Yanzhi had completely run out of strength, leaning against the wall, panting uncontrollably in small, shallow breaths.

Suddenly, Xiao Cuan leaned in close, lowered his head, and rested his chin on Yanzhi’s shoulder.

Toe to toe, chest to chest.

Through the thin fabric of their clothing, the two were pressed very, very close. Yanzhi could almost feel the rise and fall and the beating in His Majesty’s chest.

Xiao Cuan took a step forward, completely forcing Yanzhi into the corner and pressing almost all of his weight onto him.

Xiao Cuan’s hot breath hit Yanzhi’s neck, scalding him so much that he instinctively turned his head away.

But the next moment, Xiao Cuan grabbed his head and forced him to turn back.

The two stood together like this.

The world was chaotic, everything was silent; only the sound of heartbeats remained.

For a long, long time.

Yanzhi truly had no strength left. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, wanting to just lean against the wall and rest for a bit, when Xiao Cuan suddenly spoke—

“Say it again.”

Yanzhi was puzzled and froze for a moment.

Without even looking up, Xiao Cuan said in a low voice, “The matter of the sugar cakes—say it again.”

Regaining his senses, Yanzhi hurriedly said, “I heard someone else mention sugar cakes and was momentarily greedy, so I gave Young Master Xie money and asked him to help me buy them and bring them into the palace.”

“Mm.” A beast-like “purr” came from Xiao Cuan’s throat, taking it as an admission. “Is this the first time?”

“…Yes.” Yanzhi was truly not very good at lying, but as things stood, he had no choice but to lie.

Fortunately, His Majesty didn’t hear it—or rather, His Majesty no longer wanted to hear it.

Xiao Cuan finally said, “It was Xie Yi who seduced you.”

Although it was a question, the tone was one of certainty.

He was giving Yanzhi one last chance. As long as Yanzhi nodded and said it was Xie Yi’s fault, he would castrate Xie Yi, and this matter would be over.

But now, the usually obedient Yanzhi insisted on opposing him on this matter.

“No, it was I…”

Before Yanzhi could finish, Xiao Cuan cupped his face and heavily blocked his lips again, stifling his words.

He kissed him for a long time, until Yanzhi was panting for breath, before Xiao Cuan let him go.

“Repeat it.”

“It’s not Young Master Xie’s fault… mmm…”

Xiao Cuan cupped his face again and kissed him once more with precision.

“Repeat it!”

“Young Master Xie didn’t…”

Xie Yi, Xie Yi, Xie Yi again!

Xiao Cuan never wanted to hear those three words from Yanzhi’s mouth again!

Xiao Cuan blocked Yanzhi’s mouth for the third time.

—This was repeated five times.

Every time Yanzhi spoke to clear Xie Yi of responsibility, Xiao Cuan blocked his mouth.

Toward the end, as long as Yanzhi opened his mouth, before he could even make a sound, Xiao Cuan would kiss him.

By the end, Yanzhi’s mouth was numb, his tongue was numb, he couldn’t even catch his breath, and his speech was slurred.

He finally understood that he shouldn’t keep mentioning “Young Master Xie.”

He simply lowered his head and stopped talking.

Let it be. Anyway, His Majesty already had an answer in his heart.

If His Majesty wanted to castrate him, then let him be castrated.

In a few days, after he was castrated, he would plead with His Majesty again; His Majesty should be easier to talk to then.

Since he didn’t speak, Xiao Cuan also lowered his eyes, gripped his wrist, and squeezed his fingers.

It was this hand.

This was the very hand that had touched Xie Yi’s sleeve.

Xiao Cuan gripped Yanzhi’s right hand and rubbed it vigorously twice, as if trying to wipe away any filth that might be clinging to it.

The next instant, a fine, dense sensation of both pain and itching came from Yanzhi’s fingers.

Holding his hand, Xiao Cuan lowered his head and used his sharp canine teeth to rub and gnaw at the knuckles of his fingers, as if he wanted to bite off a layer of skin.

Yanzhi was startled and tried to pull his hand back, but failed.

He turned to flee, but Xiao Cuan stood before him like a mountain, pinning him in the corner so tightly that not even a breeze could pass through.

Just like a wild wolf gnawing on its prey.

Without a word, Xiao Cuan moved up from his fingers, biting the back of his hand, then lifting his sleeve to bite his arm, and finally nipping at the back of his neck.

Yanzhi’s legs instinctively went soft, almost making him unable to stand.

With one arm around him, Xiao Cuan used the other to unfasten his own outer robe, draped it over Yanzhi’s head, gathered him inside, and rubbed vigorously, messing up his hair.

He wanted Yanzhi’s entire body, top to bottom, to be permeated with his own scent.

He would use his own scent to mask any scent from outsiders.

Just the outer robe was far from enough.

The scent wasn’t strong enough.

So Xiao Cuan also unfastened his inner garment, baring his own upper body, and wrapped Yanzhi in it.

Not enough, still not enough.

There was still the scent of an outsider.

The next moment, Xiao Cuan suddenly saw something and reached out to tear at Yanzhi’s clothes.

It was this!

It was the clothes on Yanzhi’s body.

Yanzhi had been running around outside in them for half the day, pulling and tugging with Xie Yi for half the day; it was this garment that was covered in an outsider’s scent.

Seeing him try to tear his clothes, Yanzhi hurriedly resisted: “Your Majesty…”

“Don’t move!” Xiao Cuan barked sternly. “If you don’t want to be castrated, don’t move!”

Yanzhi froze, and the next moment, the clothes on his body fell to the ground.

Xiao Cuan wrapped him in his own clothes, but still felt it wasn’t enough, so he continued to kiss him—from the back of his neck to his cheeks, from his cheeks to his chin, and then all the way down.

Just like a wild beast marking its prey.

A wild beast would lick its prey all over, making it wet and sweaty to declare its ownership.

Xiao Cuan spread his outer robe over the pile of hay, placed Yanzhi on it, and then pinned him down and began to bite him.

Naturally, Yanzhi couldn’t withstand such a fierce assault. He struggled to run but was held firmly by Xiao Cuan.

When Xiao Cuan bit him in a vital place, Yanzhi finally didn’t dare struggle anymore, quieting down and lying on the robe.

A moment later, feeling it was sufficient, Xiao Cuan straightened up and pulled open the thin garment Yanzhi was wrapped in.

He opened his arms—bronze tendons and iron bones, a copper wall and iron bastion—and gathered him entirely into his embrace.

No clothing could compare to him personally taking the field.

Yanzhi was already weak, and after crying several times, the warmth on his body had long since vanished; he was trembling slightly.

Xiao Cuan’s heart was filled with rage, his blood was surging, his muscles were taut, and his body was scalding hot.

Cold and hot, they merged together.

The two finally met with absolute honesty, pressed against each other without any barriers.

In the next instant, the scents of the two in the cubicle fused and erupted, excluding any outsiders.

Xiao Cuan held Yanzhi tightly in his arms, and Yanzhi leaned softly against him, his head resting on Xiao Cuan’s shoulder.

Xiao Cuan wanted to ask again: “It was Xie Yi who seduced you—”

Halfway through the sentence, he felt it was a mood-killer, so he changed his words—

“Say you like me.”

Yanzhi lowered his eyes, unsure if he hadn’t heard or simply had no strength to speak.

Xiao Cuan frowned, his movements becoming more forceful. He held Yanzhi’s shoulders, demanding he look at him: “Yanzhi, say you like me!”

“I like…” Yanzhi lowered his head, his forehead against Xiao Cuan’s chest, and whispered, “I like Your Majesty.”

“And that long string of words.”

“I like Your Majesty… especially like… very much like…”

As Yanzhi spoke, he suddenly developed a sob in his voice and began to cry.

“In all the world… the number one favorite in all the world!”

He cried, his hot tears falling onto Xiao Cuan’s chest and sliding down.

Yanzhi finally couldn’t hold it back and broke into a loud wail.

“But Your Majesty doesn’t like me at all!”

“Your Majesty always bullies me, Your Majesty always scares me, Your Majesty always suspects me, Your Majesty locked me in the purification room, Your Majesty even bullied my friend… Your Majesty doesn’t listen to my explanation at all…”

“Your Majesty doesn’t keep your word! Your Majesty bullied my friend! Your Majesty has caused me—I’ve caused the death of my only friend!”

He accused him loudly, and finally reached a conclusion—

“I don’t want to like Your Majesty anymore! I never want to again…”

Before he could finish, Xiao Cuan suddenly pounced forward, pinning him onto the small bed made of clothes.

“Idiot, do you know what you’re saying?”

Facing Yanzhi’s accusations, Xiao Cuan never knew how to coax him; he would only suppress him with louder and more ferocious words.

“You ran off to pull and tug with Xie Yi yourself—is that my fault?”

“You wanted to eat sugar cakes—if you had told me, would I not have bought them for you? Is that also my fault?”

“You go running around everywhere yourself, gaining so much favor with a bunch of people—is that also my fault?”

“If you could see it, I would have laid it all out for you long ago! And yet you’re the one feeling wronged!”

Xiao Cuan gripped his chin and said seriously, “Idiot, you said it yourself—”

“‘I like Your Majesty! I like you very much! I especially like you! I want to serve Your Majesty forever! I want to stay with Your Majesty forever!’”

“You make this wish every year on your birthday, and you say these words to me day and night. You were the one who said you liked me. Are the words you speak so casual?”

“What does the fact that you like me have to do with whether I like you or not?”

“In all these years, hasn’t it always been like this?!”

After being yelled at by him, Yanzhi didn’t dare speak again.

In fact, he hadn’t even heard what His Majesty said; he was simply stunned by His Majesty’s coldness and severity.

He just lowered his head, biting his lower lip, the words he had just spoken echoing in his ears—

But Your Majesty doesn’t like me at all…

Your Majesty doesn’t believe me at all…

Your Majesty doesn’t even believe me when I make friends…

Seeing him crying miserably, Xiao Cuan took him into his arms again.

Their shadows overlapped.

Facing each other, their chaotic heartbeats merged.

Xiao Cuan took a deep breath, slightly softened his voice, and said again, “I don’t like you, but you can’t stop liking me, and you certainly can’t go off and like someone else, do you understand?”

Yanzhi neither nodded nor shook his head, only feeling his cheek go numb from the vibration of His Majesty’s chest as he spoke.

When he didn’t answer, Xiao Cuan asked again, “Do you understand?”

Only after Yanzhi gave a slight nod did Xiao Cuan, as if granting a favor, raise his hand and stroke his head.

“Lately you’ve been too naughty, dallying with others and pulling and tugging with outsiders; you’re restless every day.”

“When you become a bit more well-behaved, I’ll like you a bit more.”