Chapter 47: The Secret of Lantis

Chapter 47: The Secret of Lantis

The room was dark, with only the occasional sweep of the ship's exterior searchlights through the porthole, casting intermittent light.

Xiao Sa was cornered between the bedroom door and the dresser by Lantis, the confined space dim and hazy, his hot breath igniting the air around them, the temperature rising steadily.

The soft, thin white light from the searchlight swept across, casting overlapping shadows of the two in the corner.

Lantis had one hand braced against the wall and the other pressing the back of Xiao Sa’s head, his broad chest tightly pressed against the other, firmly pinning him between his arm and the wall as if any relaxation would cause him to vanish.

Behind Xiao Sa was the cold metal wall, and in front, the fiery and firm chest, their hearts pounding like drums continuously struck, especially clear in the silent night.

Accompanying the heartbeats were the intimate and ambiguous sounds of their kisses, Lantis’s kisses always rough and passionate, just like his style, forceful and unyielding.

Today, however, he seemed to intentionally slow down the pace of his kisses, even ceasing to vie for dominance, instead teasing Xiao Sa with his moist tongue, with a hint of appeasement and seduction.

They knew each other’s bodies intimately, perhaps better than their own, knowing exactly where to ignite passion and make the other unable to resist.

Lantis rubbed his nose against the other’s cheek, wet kisses accompanied by sticky sounds, his voice hoarse as he called out Xiao Sa’s name between breaths.

His deliberate flattery pleased Xiao Sa, quickly piquing his interest. Lantis had exceptional core control; under his deliberate manipulation, his muscles seemed to move, constantly squeezing the other, their rising temperatures infecting each other.

Xiao Sa didn’t know when Lantis had learned this skill, but being so earnestly tempted by a man like Lantis, few could resist. Xiao Sa’s breathing gradually quickened, and he was no exception.

He wrapped one arm around Lantis’s narrow waist, his calloused fingertips caressing the small of his back, while the other hand gently traced the prominent spine through the silk robe, a sign of submission when bent.

Xiao Sa counted the vertebrae on Lantis’s spine, asking between kisses, “Your adjutant said you haven’t slept for days. How long has it been since you last took the suppressant? Why is your mental state so unstable?”

Lantis cupped his face, his rough fingers rubbing against Xiao Sa’s sharp jawline, “Since that first night we spent together, I haven’t used the suppressant again.”

His scorching breath landed on Xiao Sa's lips: "You are my suppressant."

Xiao Sa's chest heaved once, and he looked at him helplessly, gripping Lantis' right wrist and pulling it down to examine his palm. In the white light of the flashlight, he saw a small red mark where a cigarette had burned.

Xiao Sa frowned slightly: "When did you start smoking? Didn't you used to dislike it?"

Lantis clenched his palm, his ice-blue eyes blinking, and his gaze shifted away: "Just these few days, to stay alert. I won't smoke in front of you since you don't like the smell."

Xiao Sa raised his voice slightly: "What happened to your confidence when you controlled what I ate and drank? Why don't you control yourself?"

Lantis turned to look at him, unsure of Xiao Sa's meaning. After their argument today, he realized that many things Xiao Sa had said before were not what he had thought they meant.

Lantis stared intently into Xiao Sa's eyes in the darkness: "Can I take this as you caring about me?" Or are you still upset that I'm too controlling?

Xiao Sa narrowed his eyes: "What else could it be?"

Lantis seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, wrapping his arms around Xiao Sa's waist again, burying his face in the crook of his shoulder, and deeply inhaling the rich scent of agave pheromones, a dizzying intoxication that numbed his nerves like an electric current.

He savored the silence of their embrace, then suddenly mumbled: "Don't get a divorce."

Xiao Sa's fingertips caressed the side of Lantis' neck, which he had bitten countless times, licked his itchy canines, and asked softly: "Did you come out here to smoke in the middle of the night because you were thinking about this?"

He repeated his words from before bed: "I never said I wanted a divorce."

"Then why bring up the agreement?" Lantis lifted his head, frowning at him. "At first, I was just worried your body couldn't handle the mental sea's pollution, but after all this time, there's no sign of it affecting you."

Why are you still thinking about leaving? Is it because I stopped you from pursuing your career, so you can't bear to be with me anymore?

Xiao Sa fell silent, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Since their marriage, he had grown accustomed to living with Landis. His open-hearted sincerity, strength, steadiness, and unyielding pride had deeply attracted him, which was why he had been deliberately avoiding any tension between them.

He and Landis were ultimately not of the same clan.

Their marriage of chance had initially stemmed from a 100% match. Once I healed the turmoil in Landis's spiritual sea, he didn't need me as much anymore.

Landis pulled back slightly, his brows furrowing bit by bit as he gazed deeply at him. Xiao Sa's entire body was shrouded in shadows. Landis gripped his shoulder firmly, afraid that if he let go, the other would melt into the shadows.

"Why aren't you speaking? Am I not good enough for you? You're not even from this country, so why are you so set on joining the military? You say you want to find your clan members. You can give me the clues, and I'll help you find them."

Xiao Sa didn't dare tell Landis about his clan. He shook his head, "This is my own matter, and I'll handle it myself."

Landis's sword-like brows drew together, his eyes darkening with unvented melancholy, "Why won't you ever rely on me? Am I not your family? Just like when you were learning about mechs, you'd rather watch live broadcasts from the arena, some unknown Alpha, than come to me."

Xiao Sa looked at him speechlessly, unable to understand why Landis would care about such trivial matters.

"What about you, Landis? Have you ever relied on me? You always make decisions on your own. I don't understand what secrets you're hiding that make you so sensitive about me joining the military. You're always thinking about protecting me, but why don't you ask if I want to be protected?"

In response, there was a long silence.

Xiao Sa felt the temperature of the hand on his shoulder gradually cool down. He exhaled slowly, let go of Landis's hand, and turned to head back to the bedroom. Since Landis didn't want to talk, he wouldn't force him.

But at that instant, his wrist was gripped tightly. A fiery chest pressed against him as Landis tightly hugged him from behind, "Don't go, where are you going?"

Xiao Sa turned his head to the side, meeting Landis's gaze.

In Landis's icy blue eyes, a strong emotion surged, as if he was desperately suppressing a weakness and pain that didn't belong to him.

Landis's voice was low, "There's something I didn't dare tell you, and I didn't want to tell anyone."

Xiao Sa turned around, waiting for Landis's next words.

Landis took a breath, "I've told you about my childhood. My mother passed away when I was very young. It wasn't just from illness, but from enduring too much psychic corruption from my father, eventually withering away on her deathbed."

Xiao Sa said lightly, "I know, I saw it."

Landis was startled, suddenly looking up, "You saw it? How could you have seen it?"

Xiao Sa paused, then said, "When I was clearing the psychic corruption for you, I caught glimpses of some memories in the depths of your spiritual sea."

Seeing Landis's astonished expression, he explained, "I only did it to draw out the corruption in your spiritual sea, not to pry into your privacy."

Landis's lips moved, "What else did you see?"

Xiao Sa said, "Just brief fragments. You giving gifts to your stepmother and brother, you encountering your father on the battlefield."

Xiao Sa's fingers gently touched Landis's eyes, speaking in a gentle voice, "I know your father was corrupted and changed, but it's not your fault. There's nothing that can be done now, so don't blame yourself."

Landis looked up, "Is that all you saw?"

Xiao Sa raised an eyebrow, wondering if there was something else.

Landis took a deep breath. He let go of Xiao Sa, his hands hanging by his sides, his gaze shifting away into the unknown darkness somewhere.

After a long time, he finally spoke, his voice gradually becoming cold and calm, like someone sentencing himself:

"It was ten years ago. I was still a low-ranking officer back then. During a mission, I learned that my father was trapped. I didn’t think twice before rushing to find him. I was reckless and arrogant back then, unaware of the dangers of the battlefield. I charged straight into the contaminated zone. Not only was my father showing signs of mutation, but I was infected as well.

Xiao Sa frowned as he looked at him.

"But my rank wasn't high enough, so the inhibitor provided by the military was of a lower grade and concentration, which was ineffective in that situation. It was my father who gave me his high-grade inhibitor, allowing me to hold on until the rescue team arrived."

Landis took a deep breath, his Adam's apple subtly moving. His deliberately calm voice cracked slightly: "My father had been fighting for a long time by then. It was his last inhibitor. His final chance at survival after being polluted and mutated."

"But he gave it to me."

Landis supported his forehead with one hand, his lowered eyelashes casting shadows under his eyes, making him look haggard and exhausted, a stark contrast to the ever-composed and powerful general he was during the day.

"I witnessed with my own eyes how he, once a respected warrior, was gradually mutated into a monster."

The calmness shattered completely, and a hint of the intense emotions he had been hiding leaked out.

"First, his hands and feet became swollen and congested, eventually bursting through his sleeves and pant legs. Ugly scales slowly covered his skin, and his nails became long and sharp. Then his skin started to peel off, like an old tree shedding its cracked bark. His face seemed to be corroded and melted, no longer resembling his original appearance, his teeth becoming sharp and terrifying. In the end, he completely lost his human form, becoming a writhing mass of flesh. His eyes were nothing but whites, hanging in their sockets, staring straight at me..."

Landis was fully lost in his memories.

Xiao Sa felt his skin crawl.

He couldn't imagine how many sleepless nights it had taken for Landis to remember every detail of that scene from over a decade ago, each moment burned into his memory.

"Landis..."

Landis felt as if his chest was a broken windpipe: "Actually, when I was young, I resented my father. I blamed him for not fulfilling his duty as a husband to protect and accompany my mother. I blamed him for not fulfilling his duty as a father to take care of me, and for finding a stepmother who despised me."

"But in the end, I admired him more. His legend was everywhere in the military academy. He was so strong, steadfast, and invincible. He had established countless merits on the battlefield, like a guardian deity protecting the empire, a hero in the hearts of many."

"The only time he protected me was during our final farewell. His last words to me were..."

Landis paused here, a barely detectable tremor in his voice, and Xiao Sa suddenly felt a heavy premonition.

Landis closed his eyes: "He said, 'Kill me.'"

At the same moment, Xiao Sa felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Landis exhaled deeply, his suppressed voice sounding like an executioner delivering a sentence: "That was the first time I killed a humanoid mutant on the battlefield."

"I cut off his head, and I still remember the temperature of his blood splattering on me. The empire declared that he died heroically in battle. No one knows that I was the one who killed him."

A faint, bitterly ironic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Perhaps it's a curse."

"Not just him. Since then, I've killed countless mutated comrades, friends, and the soldiers under my command, so many that I've lost count."

"Each time, the other soldiers hesitated, but I was the one who had to do it. Gradually, I became numb."

Xiao Sa suddenly understood where the vast, abyssal pollution monster in Landis's spiritual sea—a metaphysical realm where his deepest fears and traumas manifested—had come from.

He couldn't imagine how Landis had managed to maintain his sanity with such immense willpower over the years.

Landis lifted his eyelids to look at Xiao Sa, his eyes hidden in deep shadows. In the dim light, Xiao Sa saw the fear in his eyes.

The Landis he remembered was always proud and strong, his defenses impenetrable. Yet here he was, showing such fear and vulnerability.

Landis reached out to hug Xiao Sa, burying his face in his shoulder, his arms trembling slightly: "I couldn't protect my mother, nor could I protect my father and other comrades. They were all the family I had left in this world."

"Xiao Sa, don't hate me, don't leave me. I have never disrespected you, nor do I want to control you. I just don't want to lose my last family member."

"I dare not imagine that one day in the future, history will repeat itself, and you will become like that again, and I will have to kill you with my own hands."

Xiao Sa’s gaze drifted upward, fixating on some distant, invisible point in the air.

He raised his hand and gently stroked Landis's golden hair, his slender fingers slipping through the strands, carefully combing the messy locks.

His breath brushed near Landis's ear as he lightly kissed his earlobe, speaking in a calm and certain tone, "That day will never come."

※※※

On the large bed in the bedroom, two tightly pressed bodies cast long shadows on the floor under the faint light from outside the window.

Tonight, Landis was particularly passionate. He sat on Xiao Sa's lap, one hand holding Xiao Sa's head, the other forcefully caressing the hot skin on the back of his neck, kissing him fervently.

His black silk pajamas hung loosely on his arms, revealing his bruised and marked-up chest. His golden hair, slick with sweat, clung to his forehead before Xiao Sa brushed it back, revealing his smooth brow.

By the faint light from the window, Xiao Sa carefully studied Landis’s face in that moment.

During the day, Landis always buttoned his collar to the top, completely wrapped in his military uniform, his expression cold and steady, nothing seeming to faze him.

When he examined others with his icy blue eyes, he exuded a sense of icy disdain, especially oppressive.

But at that moment, only Xiao Sa could see him shed his reserve and the dignity of a general, lost in passion, his usual restraint gone.

Xiao Sa's warm palm passed over the other's cheek, moving along the side of his face to grip Landis's raised neck. He still remembered the night on the warship when Landis had lunged at him in a frenzy.

He had also gripped Landis's neck then, a throat so vulnerable that a slight force could have snapped it.

The difference was that back then Landis had completely lost his reason, whereas now he was almost offering his vital spot to Xiao Sa.

Xiao Sa looked down, observing the marks of possession he had left on Landis's chest and the two obvious tooth marks on the side of his neck, his entire body wrapped in his pheromones, marked as completely possessed by an Alpha.

A deep sense of satisfaction washed over him, like a trainer who had finally tamed a powerful and untamable lion.

He held the lion in his arms, rubbed his golden hair, and forcefully nipped at his neck, his sharp canines gently rubbing against Landis's Adam's apple, savoring the appetizer before the main course.

Landis frowned unbearably, his muscles tensing all over, his throat vibrating with a low moan.

Xiao Sa's spine tightened, a shiver of electric pleasure running through him, his heavy breaths falling on the other's ear, his hoarse voice saying, "Landis, let me see the core strength of a general."

Landis let out a broken sound, his chest vibrating, his solid eight-pack abs contracting and expanding, a deep and helpless smile escaping his lips, "You always compete with me, refusing to admit defeat. Why aren't you putting in more effort now?"

Xiao Sa pried open his lips with his wet tongue, ruthlessly scraping away the last bit of oxygen, his movements increasingly forceful, coaxing more pheromones out of Landis.

Satisfied, he inhaled deeply, enjoying Landis's crisp cedar scent, and drawled, "And you always say you want to protect me, not letting me endure any hardship or fatigue. Why aren't you taking on more now?"

Landis was speechless.

With a mocking laugh, Landis bit hard onto Xiao Sa's lips, pressing and sucking fiercely.

Xiao Sa immediately let out a hiss, unsure if it was due to the bitten corner of his mouth or something else.

They held each other for what seemed like an eternity until Landis, sensing the perfect moment, whispered heavily into his ear, "Xiao Sa, let's have a child."

Xiao Sa was stunned, his body still wrapped in a warm, lazy comfort. His eyes blinked slowly, widening in disbelief. "You can have a baby?!?"

Landis pursed his lips, seeming puzzled by Xiao Sa's ignorance. "Of course I can't, but the empire has advanced technology for growing embryos outside the body. We can use our genes to create a child that’s ours in a lab."

Maybe if they had a child, Xiao Sa would stay with him and give up the idea of leaving.

Genes...

Xiao Sa’s rationality snapped back. He frowned inwardly. He couldn’t let his genes leak. If what Landis said was true, the consequences could be disastrous.

And what about their different species? Could his alien genes and Landis's really combine to create a normal child?

What if they ended up with a strange baby?

Xiao Sa felt torn. He didn’t dislike children, and he didn’t mind having one with Landis, but this situation was too complicated.

Seeing Xiao Sa’s conflicted expression, Landis’s brows furrowed in disappointment. Did Xiao Sa not want to have a child with him?

When they were on their date, Xiao Sa had clearly said he liked kids. Was it just that he didn’t want to have one with *him*?

Landis gave him a long look, about to say something, when Xiao Sa slowly spoke up. "Landis, I might be infertile."

???

"How could that be? I’ll get the doctors to check you out tomorrow, just to be sure."

Xiao Sa awkwardly coughed. "You know, I have a physical disability."

Landis: "..."

Curiously, Landis asked, "Then how can you be a spiritual healer? Your constitution is really strange. I know a medical doctor who works at the empire’s mental energy lab. Want me to take you there?" Was it a genetic mutation or some rare condition?

Xiao Sa shook his head vigorously, scrambling for an excuse. "Maybe it’s a trade-off for my unique condition."

The two stared at each other for a moment. Landis studied him, his eyes softening, but he didn’t press further. Xiao Sa finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After Landis fell into a deep sleep, Xiao Sa quietly entered his spiritual sea again.

The once barren desert was now a thriving grassland, the central oasis expanded and vibrant, the lake reflecting the beauty of the flowers.

The negative energy that had once clouded the entire spiritual sea was slowly fading away. Xiao Sa believed it wouldn’t be long before it fully returned to what it once was.

He gently lifted Landis’s head into his arm, unable to stop himself from wondering—if Landis knew the truth about his origins, if he was part of the humanoid mutants, would Landis still love him? Would he still want to have a child with him?

Xiao Sa lightly kissed Landis’s forehead, determined to tell him everything—about his past, his race, his true identity—once he retrieved his gem necklace in two months.