Chapter 48: Yan Huaixuan, You Have No Heart

Chapter 48: Yan Huaixuan, You Have No Heart

His small, delicate ears were hidden among his black hair, with a white-jade sheen. From Yan Huaixuan's angle, he could only see the young man's exquisite profile and his long, curled eyelashes.

Shen Lian's soft body pressed up against him.

It made Yan Huaixuan involuntarily think of how Shen Lian used to melt into him like he had no bones.

He'd not only coo sweet, clingy words, but also tilt his head up to kiss him.

The young man would cup his face, his whole upper body practically melting into his arms.

And with a shy, obedient look, he'd poke out his tongue and say, "Won't you kiss me, husband?"

Those words seemed to ring in his ears.

For some reason, the hand that always held a sword so steady was now trembling.

Shen Lian had been lounging around, waiting to see what Yan Huaixuan would do.

Then he felt a cool hand settle on his lower back.

Shen Lian froze.

Yan Huaixuan lowered his gaze, pressing his palm against the center of those two butterfly wings that seemed ready to take flight, then slowly traced down the elegant curve of his spine.

He could feel Shen Lian's body go rigid, yet before, when Shen Lian was in his arms, he'd always been so pliant.

Without realizing it, Yan Huaixuan's gaze darkened. When his palm reached the sharply cinched waist, he spotted the small dimples half-hidden beneath the clothes.

He'd seen those dimples before.

When Shen Lian was scheming against Ye Zhang, he'd deliberately flashed them at him—a bold, clumsy attempt at seduction.

Yan Huaixuan's breathing turned barely audible, heavier than before.

Just as his fingers were about to wander lower, Shen Lian suddenly started struggling.

"Let go. I don't want this anymore. I'm fine now."

Yan Huaixuan lifted his gaze, taking in Shen Lian's still-flushed cheeks and feverish breaths, but didn't let go.

Instead, he said, "Liar."

Shen Lian kept his head down. "None of your business. I said I don't want it."

But Yan Huaixuan seemed to have gone crazy. "The longer you stall, the stronger the poison gets. Eventually, you'll lose your mind."

"And outside, it's crawling with demons."

A Shen Lian who'd lost his mind would definitely be devoured whole.

But unexpectedly, Shen Lian said, "So what? Worst case, I'll just find someone. Isn't the place crawling with demons outside?"

"One or two."

"If that's not enough, I'll take ten or eight at once."

Shen Lian's tone was utterly careless. He completely failed to notice the frost gathering in the man behind him's eyes, inch by inch.

It wasn't until a vicious, bone-chilling wind ripped through the cave that Shen Lian realized something was off.

He shivered and looked up at the rocks being shredded by the storm.

"Yan Huaixuan, did you cause this?"

The moment Shen Lian finished speaking, his whole body was flipped over and shoved to the ground. But just as he fell, a snow-white robe was spread over the dry grass.

Shen Lian stared up at Yan Huaixuan, who loomed over him.

The look on Yan Huaixuan's face was more terrifying than anything Shen Lian had ever seen. Frost seemed to cling to the corners of his eyes and brows.

Shen Lian shook his head and thrashed, but his hands were still pinned above his head.

Yan Huaixuan lowered his head and suddenly bit his lip.

Shen Lian's pupils blew wide. The cool, warm sensation on his lips told him this wasn't an illusion.

Yan Huaixuan was actually kissing him.

And Yan Huaixuan had only acted on instinct, wanting to shut Shen Lian up before he said anything else that would wreck his composure.

But unexpectedly, the moment their lips touched, all the memories from that year came rushing back.

Yan Huaixuan instinctively softened his pressure, shifting into a gentler kiss.

He paused, thinking of what Shen Lian had done to him, then gently pried open Shen Lian's lips with the tip of his tongue, about to slip inside.

Shen Lian snapped back to reality and bit down hard on the man's tongue.

Yan Huaixuan's brows knitted slightly as he pulled back. Quick as he was, the tip of his tongue was still bitten through.

Shen Lian turned his head and spat out the blood, as if he'd tasted something filthy.

He thrashed desperately, his eyes locked on Yan Huaixuan.

"Yan Huaixuan, if you dare touch me again, I swear I'll kill you."

Why the hell would Yan Huaixuan kiss him?

Yan Huaixuan was about to say something when he saw that Shen Lian's hands were already rubbed raw, blood seeping out, his wrists nearly skinned. It was enough to show just how deep Shen Lian's hatred ran.

The spot where Yan Huaixuan's heart should have been ought to have stung, but instead it just felt hollow and empty.

He gently let go of Shen Lian's wrists, used his spiritual power to heal the wounds, and then traced a talisman onto Shen Lian's body.

Ling Yun, who was holed up inside Yan Huaixuan's body, suddenly felt his eyelids twitch violently. "Master! Your Spiritual Sea hasn't recovered yet! This is burning through your vital essence! It's just a little Jade Pearl poison—if Master would just dual cultivate with him, or if he'd just tough it out—"

Before he could finish, he found himself muted by Yan Huaixuan.

Ling Yun paced around in a panic.

Unlike spiritual power, vital essence was the most precious thing a cultivator had. Once lost, it could never be restored.

It must never be used unless there was absolutely no other choice.

But—Ling Yun glanced again at Shen Lian's heart.

He pressed his lips together and slumped down in defeat.

The moment Yan Huaixuan's talisman entered his body, Shen Lian instantly felt all the heat in his body disappear completely.

But Shen Lian felt no joy whatsoever—something suddenly brimmed in his eyes.

Shen Lian hauled off and slapped Yan Huaixuan across the face. "Yan Huaixuan, you're something else. One talisman could've fixed this, but you just had to mess with me this whole time."

"Watching me run around in circles for you—are you happy? Are you proud?"

Yan Huaixuan turned his head slowly. "No—"

But Shen Lian didn't have the patience to hear him out and cut him off flat. "Yan Huaixuan, you're heartless."

With that, Shen Lian pulled his clothes together and bolted out of the cave.

Only Yan Huaixuan was left standing there.

Outside, Shen Lian had no real idea where to go.

He suddenly felt annoyed—why couldn't he shake Yan Huaixuan? He trained like crazy, only to come back and get played by Yan Huaixuan again?

He found a rock, sat down, and stared off into the distance.

Chen Xue stood by his side and said softly, "Master, don't take it to heart."

Shen Lian zoned out for a moment, then pulled himself together.

"Don't worry about me."

Of course, he wouldn't stay upset for long—he'd just train even harder and climb higher, farther away from all this.

Something flickered deep in Shen Lian's eyes.

When he stood and turned, he came face-to-face with a pack of demons scrambling out of the woods in a panic.

When they saw Shen Lian, their eyes went wide. "A human?"

A chill ran down Shen Lian's spine, and he quietly tightened his grip on the pill in his hand.

But to his surprise, the demons didn't come at him—they just kept running in sheer terror.

Shen Lian took off running right after them.

Anything that scared those demons that bad couldn't be good news.

But Shen Lian ran—his cultivation just wasn't enough.

Before long, the demons ahead disappeared, and Shen Lian felt a low, rasping breath at his back.

Chen Xue's voice had a tremor of panic. "Master..."

Shen Lian whipped around and found himself staring at a shadow that blotted out the sky—a savage, nightmarish Black Dragon with eight pairs of wings, three horns, and cruel, slit-pupiled green eyes.

It opened its maw and roared straight at Shen Lian.