Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Xie Zhigui had been trapped in the Misty Mountains, by the side of the demon Ming Fei Yu, for two years now.

Every day he was filled with regret for having rashly broken into the fortress of the living dead, for having approached Ming Fei Yu to avoid being devoured by other malevolent spirits, and most of all, for having seduced him to gain immortality and health.

He was hundreds of times more terrifying than any ghoul.

Two years earlier, on the day his first escape attempt failed.

Surrounded by ghouls and driven to a dead end, he fell to the ground, his body covered in dry leaves. Ming Fei Yu, in a sweep of crimson, approached his disheveled form. The once howling ghouls instantly fell silent, retreating fearfully, clearing space for them.

The eerie chime of silverware clashing preceded Ming Fei Yu's silent approach, like a specter. He gently lifted Xie Zhigui's pallid face, tears mixed with terror rendering him a pitiable sight.

Ming Fei Yu's brow furrowed as he used his long, pale, almost inhuman fingers to wipe away the tears. Xie Zhigui recoiled subconsciously. Ming Fei Yu, sensing his resistance, clicked his tongue in displeasure, released him, and turned to leave—only to have his sleeve tugged by a belated reaction from Xie Zhigui.

"Don't... don't go!"

Xie Zhigui's voice trembled. He lifted his head, looking almost pleadingly at Ming Fei Yu: "Don't leave me here!"

A mocking smile spread across Ming Fei Yu's strangely cold and beautiful face, his already crimson pupils flashing with a dangerous allure: "Aren't you afraid of me? It was you who disobeyed and ran here."

He had been kept in comfort at home, yet chose to be restless, scrambling through the labyrinthine Misty Mountains, and had blundered into the ghouls' hunting ground. Ming Fei Yu had arrived early but intentionally waited for him to suffer and learn a lesson before showing himself.

He could not forgive his mistakes so easily every time.

Plucking a dry leaf from Xie Zhigui's tousled hair, it crumbled to dust at his fingertips and was carried off by the chill wind into the night. He muttered "serves you right" under his breath, whether in sarcasm or anger, it was unclear.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

At this juncture of life and death, Xie Zhigui had to lower his pride and appease the only lifeline he had.

Xie Zhigui admitted to his selfishness, lack of fidelity, and his particularly strong instinct for self-preservation. He had exploited Ming Fei Yu's slight fondness and partiality to achieve his own ends.

Ming Fei Yu was terrifying, but at least by his side, immediate death was not a concern. Should he be abandoned in a fit of pique, thrown to these ravenous ghouls, then tonight would mark his demise, likely a grisly one at that.

"Take me back with you, please! I won't run again!" Xie Zhigui tried to muster the courage to meet his gaze. He knew his advantage lay in his expressive eyes, which, red and moist with fear, were most captivating—as if touched by the tender blush of peach blossoms in the rain, evoking pity. He was aware that Ming Fei Yu was susceptible to this tactic.

"Liar."

"I swear, I won't do it again! Really, I'm not deceiving you this time."

An ill-timed howl from a nearby ghoul sent shivers through Xie Zhigui, prompting him to hastily raise his right hand in oath, vowing not to deceive again.

Deliberately, he displayed the ring on his ring finger, with the ‘Longevity Thread’ linking it to Ming Fei’s ring finger. He had once sweet-talked Ming Fei after an intimate moment, saying: “Xie Zhigui loves Ming Fei; this ring as proof, this thread as a pledge. As long as the thread remains intact, our love shall never fade.”

Whether those words came from the heart or were mere fabrications didn’t matter. He had told countless lies; after all, he feared neither divine retribution nor thunder. In the end, Ming Fei always fell for his charms.

Sure enough, he noticed a slight flicker in Ming Fei’s gaze.

Seizing the moment, he continued: “Ah Yu, Second Brother, I truly realize my fault. I was merely scared of having a child.”

Not long ago, when Ming Fei had caressed his flat belly and seriously informed him, rather than asking or joking, “Wouldn’t you stop wandering if we had a child?”

That moment had struck him with cold fear, giving rise to several nightmares. In his dreams, he wandered with a swollen belly, receiving stares and whispers from passersby, feeling like a monster, rejected and judged by the world.

Upon awakening, his only thought was to flee. He had to run!

If Ming Fei wished to indulge in madness, he could not afford to join in the frenzy.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated himself, nearly paying with his life.

Ming Fei studied him for a moment before asking, “Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t want the child?”

“I did tell you!” Xie Zhigui's voice carried a mix of grievance and complaint, “You just wouldn’t listen.”

Ming Fei could be stubborn at times, especially about having a child — impervious to persuasion. Too much arguing would result in his waist suffering at night.

Ming Fei’s eyes narrowed slightly, clearly disbelieving that fear alone would drive him to escape, “You’re looking for excuses to deceive me again.”

“I'm not lying, Second Brother,” Xie Zhigui insisted, looking into his eyes with earnest, “You know I fear pain and death.”

Ming Fei fell silent, merely gazing down at him from his lofty position.

Xie Zhigui, unwilling to prolong the topic and feeling uneasy under Ming Fei’s stare, gingerly tugged at his garment, his expression twisted in pain: “Second Brother... my foot hurts. I think I twisted it. Could you possibly...”

“Ah Yu!!——”

Suddenly, Ming Fei grasped his chin forcefully, making him arch his neck upwards. The blue veins underneath his pale, delicate skin that bruised easily, became prominent, a skin so thin and fair that it would break with the slightest bite, leaving marks that took an age to fade.

Xie Zhigui's eyes widened with terror, shimmering with reflected light, as though he had wronged him once again.

Ming Fei gritted his teeth, bent down, and suddenly drew close. The proximity allowed them to feel each other’s breaths and heartbeats, fostering ambiguous and intimate fantasies.

“Second Brother, Ah Yu?” Xie Zhigui forced a smile, though it looked more pained than tearful. With a flutter of anxiety in his heart, he worried if this tactic still held sway over Ming Fei.

“Look at me, tell me who I am.” His voice, cold and beguiling, conjured boundless enchantment under the chilly moonlight. His face, strangely alluring and inexplicably captivating, exuded a non-human beauty—mysterious and mesmerizing, yet equally fearsome.

Xie Zhigui, wincing from the painful grip on his jaw, bravely met Ming Fei's intense gaze. That visage, no matter how often seen, still invoked awe and fear—an otherworldly allure, shrouded in mystery, bewitching yet terrifying.

“You are Ming Fei.”

“Incorrect.”

“Ah Yu?”

“Incorrect.”

Feeling the punishing force in Ming Fei’s grip, Xie Zhigui quickly corrected himself: “You are my lover!”

“Lover?”

“And also my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?”

Xie Zhigui carefully clarified: “Since we are not yet married, this is the only way to address you for now. After all, I will take responsibility for you, being cautious for now, but I will change it later.”

He emphasized the word “responsibility” deliberately, making a promise that might not be kept if Ming Fei desired a future; he needed to save his own life for now.

Ming Fei was not entirely pleased with these titles. He studied Xie Zhigui for a while, a tumultuous battle raging in his eyes. Finally, whether it was reason or desire that conceded defeat, his grip loosened.

“Dare to deceive me again, and I’ll truly kill you!”

Ming Fei warned him fiercely, his menacing gaze as if it could shatter him and swallow him whole.

Xie Zhigui exhaled as if he had just survived a calamity.

“I won’t deceive you,” Xie Zhigui pledged with an unblinking gaze, earnestly raising four fingers in an oath, pitiful yet sincere.

Relieved of his constraints, he stretched his tongue to soothe his aching jaw, and the next second, Ming Fei draped his coat over his head.

"Ah Yu?"

Before Xie Zhigui could voice his confusion, he found himself lifted into the air, cradled within the folds of an overcoat by Ming Fei Yu. His cheek pressed against a familiar yet perpetually cold embrace. Lifting his head, the coat slipped a little from above him.

"Cover yourself well."

Ming Fei Yu had felt from the start that the malevolent spirits’ gazes upon Xie Zhigui were inappropriate and infuriatingly so.

"Oh, oh." Xie Zhigui learned his lesson. Obediently, he pulled the clothes tighter with one hand while gripping Ming Fei Yu's lapel tightly with the other, quietly curling up in his embrace like a frightened little animal clinging desperately for a sense of security.

He dared not cause any more mischief before returning to safety.

Ming Fei Yu's icy gaze softened slightly. Holding him close, he stepped toward home in the moonlight. Beneath the silver-white light, his pupils were a terrifying crimson, yet twisted satisfaction arose from the other's docile behavior.

Xie Zhigui was unaware that the malevolent spirit that initially led the charge to devour him burst from the inside out without even a wail, pulverized into dust amidst endless agony by an invisible force.

Seeing this, the other evil spirits didn’t dare utter a sound, watching in terror as Ming Fei Yu's figure disappeared into the deep fog of Mount Wu.

Upon reaching the village of the living dead and seeing the familiar house where he had stayed, Xie Zhigui's heart, which had been in his throat the whole way, finally settled. Stealing a glance at the expressionless Ming Fei Yu, he pondered for a moment before suddenly wrapping his arms around Ming Fei Yu's neck and planting a quick kiss at the corner of his lips, pulling away the moment they touched, leaving Ming Fei Yu stunned.

It was thanks, a reward, and a soothing gesture.

Alone on Ming Fei Yu’s turf, and with Ming Fei Yu still not appeased, it seemed prudent to show some submission, to use some charm, to save a lot of unnecessary trouble and to prepare for the next chance to escape.

In Ming Fei Yu's eyes, Xie Zhigui's smile was exceptionally radiant, his eyes brimming with tears like stars, surpassing all creation.

"Thank you, Second Brother."

That was his way—acting cute upon gaining an advantage, his old habits resurfacing once he felt indulged.

Ming Fei Yu's gaze darkened, his grip seemingly grew firmer, and he changed direction toward another wooden building.

Xie Zhigui was all too familiar with that wooden building, and alarms blared in his heart: "How about you put me down? I can walk by myself."

Ming Fei Yu looked down and countered, "Didn’t you say I was your lover? Are you unwilling to share a bed with your lover?"

For the first time, Xie Zhigui was choked by his own lie. After a long struggle, he silently clenched his fist, aware that Ming Fei Yu was watching him, waiting for his response.

"Willing, I am willing."

"Good." Ming Fei Yu smiled with satisfaction.

Apprehensive about what might ensue, Xie Zhigui attempted in vain to say something to stop him: "But my leg hurts, my ankle is swollen, my face aches too, I... I..."

As if deaf to his complaints, Ming Fei Yu strode directly up the wooden steps, pushed the door open, and entered.

Then, the door closed behind them.

————

In the past two years, Xie Zhigui had been fully conscious for less than a third of the time, spending the rest in a daze, doing absurd things under Ming Fei Yu’s coaxing, sometimes remembering, sometimes not.

However, recalling certain amorous fragments later was sometimes worse than not remembering at all. He'd rather have amnesia, or bash his head in, yet he lacked the courage to die.

He knew something was off, that Ming Fei Yu likely didn't trust him and had purposely employed some trick to make him more docile and easier to manipulate.

Tonight was a full moon, and Ming Fei Yu would undoubtedly come for him.

Xie Zhigui fumbled in a hidden corner of the cupboard and retrieved a package wrapped in oil paper.

Unwrapping it, he found some red ash that sparkled under the faint yellow candlelight, too fine to discern with the naked eye. He had once thrown this substance into Ming Fei Yu's eyes, blinding him temporarily. This time, Xie Zhigui planned to mix it into the wine, curious if the effects would be enhanced when ingested.

The wine was already poured, but as he tilted the oil paper to add its contents, he hesitated for a moment.

This stuff... could it kill a person?

However, the longing for freedom quickly overpowered his concerns.

After all, Ming Fei Yu was not among the living; what was there to say of life and death? Besides, there was another troublesome matter waiting for him at home, and he was running out of time.

He could delay no longer.

With resolve, he emptied the contents into the wine, shook the jug to mix it, and poured out another cup to check. The liquid was clear, odorless; it seemed undetectable. Finally, he set the oil paper on fire with the candle, letting it fall to the ground where it turned to ash.

All preparations were complete; all that was left was for Ming Fei Yu to return and be coaxed into drinking it.

Soon, the clear ringing of the bell on the immortal line signaled Ming Fei Yu's return.

With an unaffected demeanor, he presented the wine.

Ming Fei Yu eyed the wine for a moment, then turned his gaze to Xie Zhigui: "What's this?"

"Wine."

Ming Fei Yu said nothing, just kept his gaze fixed on him.

Xie Zhigui quickly caved, deciding to tell the truth: "Alright, it's not just wine. I've added something."

"What did you add?"

"Poison."

"A deadly poison."

Xie Zhigui provoked him intentionally: "Dare you drink it?"

To Ming Fei Yu, his fierce manner was nothing more than child's play, and he chuckled: "I'll drink if you feed it to me."

"Fine."

Xie Zhigui took the wine into his mouth and, with trembling hands, wrapped his arms around Ming Fei Yu's neck, stood on tiptoes, and pressed forward, transferring the wine from his lips to Ming Fei Yu's.

The fiery liquor slid down the throat and rapidly ignited a searing heat, a flame that set ablaze the calm air surrounding them.

After feeding him, Xie Zhigui pushed him away.

"That's enough, let g— Ah!"

Ming Fei Yu seized the moment to wrap his arms around Xie Zhigui's waist, preventing his escape, and lifted his chin to claim a lingering, intoxicating kiss.

"Mmm, mmm..."

Xie Zhigui couldn't push him away and was only released when he nearly suffocated.

His heartbeat was so erratic it seemed to lose rhythm.

Then Ming Fei Yu leaned in, resting his chin on Xie Zhigui's shoulder, soothingly stroking down his back, and murmured to his trembling lover with cruel tenderness: "If it's truly poison, then let's descend to hell together."

It was like a serpent had kissed the flower he loved most dearly.