Chapter 70: Where Did These Tentacles Come From!

Chapter 70: Where Did These Tentacles Come From!

His soul seemed to leave his body in an instant. Shen Junlan’s soft limbs entwined around Huo Yanchi, his slender, pale fingers pressing against Huo Yanchi’s lips as he weakly coughed twice.

It was absolutely maddening. Huo Yanchi had somehow learned seductive arts that felt like they were practically killing him.

It wasn't just physical anymore—their souls were entwined.

Shen Junlan’s eyes were slightly closed, his soul seemingly cradled by Huo Yanchi. A delicate, tender sprout emerged, only to be wrapped by tentacles that came out of nowhere.

Wait—tentacles.

Good heavens, Shen Junlan was going crazy. Huo Yanchi was a perfectly normal person—where did these tentacles come from?

Eight of them! Eight!

"Brother, wait, wait a moment."

Shen Junlan squinted slightly; he seemed to perceive the spiritual energy attached to Huo Yanchi’s soul. To be precise, it was different from his own spiritual energy—closer to… divine power.

Was Huo Yanchi truly just an ordinary person? It didn’t seem like it.

"Baby, did I do something wrong?"

Yes, absolutely wrong.

His soul was still entangled. For every bit Shen Junlan tried to break free, Huo Yanchi’s tentacles tightened their grip, unrelenting, as if they were trying to take his life.

"Huo Yanchi, I think you need to calm down first. For example, you could start by telling me why you know the dual cultivation technique."

Huo Yanchi raised an eyebrow. Honestly, wasn’t it obvious?

The only one who knew about this was Liu Qishan. It had to be Liu Qishan.

"Xiao Yezi, do you like it? I specifically went to learn it from Brother."

Damn.

He’d lost face. How could he have the nerve to ask someone else about such a thing, especially an elder who had watched him grow up? That was someone he had called grandfather for over two hundred years.

It was over. His image in Liu Qishan’s mind would never be the same again. How could he ever face him?

"No, it’s not about whether I like it or not. It’s that you shouldn’t have asked Brother about it."

So embarrassing. What if Liu Qishan thought it was because he had developed a taste for it and was trying to cling to Huo Yanchi, going to great lengths to ask for these things?

"Baby, you don’t need to worry about anything. I’ve taken care of it all. I told Brother it’s mainly for your benefit."

Great, just great. The more he explained, the worse it got. He couldn’t clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

"Huo Yanchi, you don’t need to do this. I don’t really care about these things."

"I care."

Huo Yanchi’s response was so resolute that Shen Junlan was left with no way to refuse. Especially since, no matter what step Huo Yanchi took, it was always for his benefit.

"Brother, do you know that this technique he gave you actually entangles our souls?"

Huo Yanchi shook his head and drawled, "It just feels very different. I didn’t know souls could have sensations too."

Shen Junlan hummed in response, hesitating and struggling for a long time before ultimately deciding not to mention the tentacles to Huo Yanchi.

He was completely unaware. If he were suddenly told about it, he might be frightened.

How could a perfectly normal person suddenly grow tentacles?

"Baby, it must be that I’m not trying hard enough. You can still talk."

Ah—

No, it was a miracle that he could still speak. It wasn’t that Huo Yanchi wasn’t trying hard enough.

Under Huo Yanchi’s relentless efforts, Shen Junlan indeed no longer had the strength to speak. He was physically and mentally exhausted, his soul felt like it had left his body, as if he couldn’t go on anymore.

Huo Yanchi brushed aside the damp hair on Shen Junlan’s forehead and gently kissed it twice.

"Xiao Yezi, it’s very late. Let’s rest."

Heh, Shen Junlan was so moved he almost cried. Rest? He could actually rest now? That was wonderful.

***

Shen Junlan slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up. He didn’t feel any discomfort—on the contrary, he felt refreshed and clear-headed.

The side where Huo Yanchi had slept was cool to the touch, suggesting he had been up for a long time.

"Brother, are you home?"

Shen Junlan mumbled the question, not really expecting a response. His eyes were slightly closed when he suddenly felt a tightening at his side. Huo Yanchi’s arm hooked around his waist, and he gently kissed his forehead—a damp, gentle kiss.

"Good morning, my dear boyfriend."

"Morning."

They exchanged a lingering, sticky kiss, with Huo Yanchi’s hand still resting on Shen Junlan’s waist, gently massaging it.

"Xiao Yezi, does your waist feel uncomfortable at all?"

"No, it’s fine. Why didn’t you go to work?"

Huo Yanchi coughed twice. It was all because of how intense things had been the previous night. His Xiao Yezi wouldn’t wake up no matter what, and Huo Yanchi had been so worried he was running around in circles, almost calling Liu Qishan.

Considering how much Xiao Yezi cared about this, Huo Yanchi had held back.

"Baby, I was worried about you."

"Get lost." Shen Junlan pushed away Huo Yanchi’s approaching face. If he was worried, he should have stopped, not asked things like, "Can you still go on?" or "Are you still okay?"

"Just go to work. I’ll rest a bit more."

Shen Junlan was waiting for Huo Yanchi to leave so he could secretly message Liu Qishan. He wanted to ask about those tentacles and what was going on.

"Baby, are you disdaining me? Why are you sending me to the company so eagerly?"

"President Huo, it’s almost ten o’clock. You should be at work. President Huo, how could I ever disdain you? Please go."

Huo Yanchi held onto Shen Junlan’s waist without moving, and after a long pause, he said, "Xiao Yezi, come to the company with me, okay?"

Ah, really. Huo Yanchi rarely acted like this, so how could he refuse?

"Alright, let me get ready."

In the hospital room.

Huo Hongqing stared vacantly at Huo Yaoyang. In just one night, the Huo family had fallen apart, and he still couldn't understand how his most gentle son could secretly be such a person.

With someone watching the room, Huo Hongqing couldn't say everything he wanted. He held Huo Yaoyang's wrist, appearing calm on the surface but gripping with a lot of force.

"Xiao Yang, are you okay?"

Huo Hongqing's tone was ice-cold. His gaze was cold, filled with resentment.

"Xiao Yang, guess how your mother is doing."

Everyone understood the meaning behind these words. When Huo Yaoyang looked at Huo Hongqing, his expression remained calm and gentle, but the words that came out of his mouth cut deep.

"Dad, we all share some blame for what happened to Mom."

Who shares responsibility? Huo Hongqing was furious; he felt like slapping Huo Yaoyang right then and there.

A murderer, pinning all the blame onto others—and that was his mother, the mother who loved him most.

"If you had loved her a little more, given her some care and affection, she might have been in a better state of mind. She loved me and was willing to do anything for me, even commit crimes."

"Dad, why couldn't you love her more? In this family, is there anything you care about? You don't love Mom, you love those questionable women outside the family. You don't love Huo Yanchi—he's too domineering. And you don't love me either—I'm sick. You're afraid of Grandpa, and you're afraid he won't hand the company over to you."

Huo Yaoyang let out a cold laugh, his voice full of scorn. "Oh, right, you might actually like that love child. Too bad, he's done for."

He would never have children again.

Huo Yaoyang hadn’t meant for it to go that far, but why did Wu Yaozong have to stick his nose into the company, trying to take what was his? Since he couldn't see reason, he had to be taught him a lesson.

"What did you do?" Huo Hongqing's emotions suddenly got worked up. His arm was gripped tightly by Huo Yaoyang, who yanked him down forcefully, staring directly into his eyes.

"Dad, what's wrong? Don't get so worked up."

It was terrifying, really scary.

Huo Yaoyang was even scarier than he had imagined. Everyone seemed to be in his grip—first Huo Yanchi, now Wu Yaozong.

Yaozong, Yaozong... Huo Hongqing suddenly remembered Yaozong's illness. He had thought it was Huo Yanchi's doing, but it was actually Huo Yaoyang all along.

That was a living person, a life.

"Dad, I want to rest now. You should focus on your own responsibilities and take care of Grandpa."

Huo Yaoyang was confident that the doctors' and Zhou Jiayun's statements would be consistent. It was now a waiting game—as long as there was no evidence, nothing would happen.

"Huo Yaoyang—"

"Hmm? Dad, is there something else?"

The gaze that fell upon him was so heavy that even someone as experienced as Huo Hongqing couldn't bear it.

It was menacing, making it impossible to meet his eyes.

"I... I should go."

Huo Hongqing's legs felt weak. Leaning against the doorframe, he breathed heavily, his palms clammy with fear. He was afraid Huo Yaoyang might actually try to kill him.

That look in his eyes—it really seemed like he wanted to kill him.

Right, Yaozong—he needed to see about Yaozong first. What did "done for" mean? Was it what he thought, or something else?

The room fell silent again. Huo Yaoyang rubbed the faint wrinkles at the corner of his eye, his rage building up. He couldn't face the Huo family calmly.

They were all healthy and well, while he was the only one suffering. Well, if that was how it was, then they should all be sick and miserable too—so he wouldn't be alone.

Rays of sunlight filtered into the room, and an eerie dark energy seemed to emanate from Huo Yaoyang, making a faint crackling sound in the light.

It was the stench of death.

***

When Huo Yanchi arrived at the company, it was almost noon. He had a quick lunch, drank some water, and then threw himself back into work.

There was too much to do, and Huo Yanchi was overwhelmed.

Shen Junlan placed a few glasses of water nearby, stood behind him, and gently massaged his shoulders, occasionally planting a kiss on him. Huo Yanchi, energized like a machine, felt incredibly motivated.

"Brother, keep it up!"

Go, go, go!

Huo Yanchi sped through the documents, his mood lifted by Shen Junlan's tuneless singing and the warmth in his heart.

"Xiao Yezi, take a break."

Hmm, all that kissing was getting to him.

Shen Junlan's gaze dropped lower but quickly shifted away. He coughed lightly, walked over to the sofa, sat down, and began looking through his phone.

He glanced up, making sure Huo Yanchi was busy, before quietly texting Liu Qishan.

[Xiao Lan: Bro, is it possible for someone to have tentacles?]

[Bro: Huh?]

[Bro: What did you and Huo Yanchi do this time? What kind of play is this? Don't tease me.]

Shen Junlan went quiet for a moment. After thinking for a while, he concluded that his brother was more cultured than him, knowing about "play."

[Xiao Lan: Bro, it's not that. I mean, spiritual tentacles.]

[Bro: Impossible. Humans can't have those. Probably Huo Yanchi isn't normal—maybe he's some kind of monster or something.]

A monster? His Huo Yanchi was no monster.

[Xiao Lan: He's not a monster. He's Huo Yanchi.]

[Bro: Sorry, my bad. Maybe he's some kind of evil god or something. But that doesn't make sense either. It shouldn't be possible.]

Shen Junlan thought so too. Huo Yanchi was nothing like an evil god—he was more like an immortal.

[Xiao Lan: Bro, don’t tell Huo Yanchi, okay? I'll keep observing. He doesn't know.]

Shen Junlan cleared the chat history and lightly rubbed the corner of his eye.

He thought to himself, his Huo Yanchi was definitely a good person—the best person in the world.