Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Peony detected the killing intent and immediately yanked Yang Bai back, but it was already too late.

Chen Shenzhi grabbed Peony by the throat, unleashing a torrential surge of water around him that sent Yang Bai flying and enveloped both of them.

Yang Bai fought with everything he had to save Peony but was sent flying again by the rapidly swirling currents.

In this life-or-death moment, Peony betrayed her former master without hesitation, driving a dagger into Chen Shenzhi’s chest.

Chen Shenzhi stood perfectly still, allowing the blade to pierce his chest without even a flicker in his smile.

“What exactly do you see in that fool?” Chen Shenzhi glanced at Yang Bai, battered and bruised yet still trying to rescue Peony, his expression mocking. “Just because of that cup of milk tea?”

The dagger pierced Chen Shenzhi’s body, yet not a single drop of blood appeared.

Peony thought of him as a monster but retorted defiantly, “I like him, and it’s none of your damn business!”

Chen Shenzhi wasn’t angered. “Fine. Since you’ve lived this life, it’s good to have something to hold onto.”

With that, all the water surrounding him rushed toward Peony. She didn’t even feel pain as her entire body dissolved into the water, absorbed completely by Chen Shenzhi. With her last ounce of strength, she shot one last look at Yang Bai.

Her sleek combat suit crumpled emptily to the ground.

Chen Shenzhi let out a sound of awe-filled satisfaction. The long-dormant power within him, accompanied by a chilling, damp aura, rapidly froze his blood vessels. The skin on his cheeks cracked and peeled away inch by inch, revealing dark, gleaming scales.

The shadow on the sand stretched and twisted eerily, transforming into a black cobra.

Or perhaps a python was more fitting—its coiled body towering two stories high.

With yellowish-brown cold-blooded vertical pupils and a forked tongue longer than a person’s height.

But Yang Bai saw only Peony’s disappearance. She was gone.

The girl who had protected him all along, the girl who loved milk tea…

He lunged madly at the python, wildly attacking its hard scales.

“Where is Peony?! Give her back!” His voice was hoarse with rage, barely containing his final fury and hope.

The python effortlessly flung him several meters away, then slithered up to him, its tongue flicking against his face with the hiss of a cold-blooded creature.

“As you can see, she has become a part of me.”

Chen Shenzhi watched his horrified despair with pleasure. “You could also say she’s dead.”

Yang Bai’s sanity snapped completely. He lunged at Chen Shenzhi. “I’ll kill you!”

His strength was negligible against the python. In an instant, he was ensnared by the massive serpent, struggling to breathe.

But rage numbed him to pain; his mind was consumed with killing the monster before him.

“Do you wish to join her?” Chen Shenzhi’s refined tone, paired with the icy hiss of a snake, resembled Hades freshly emerged from hell. “Very well, lest she grows lonely.”

The serpent’s coils tightened slowly, savoring the thrill of its prey’s death throes.

Yang Bai felt his bones on the verge of shattering, his breath growing fainter. Blood seeped from his ears, eyes, and nose, dripping onto the dark scales before being absorbed.

Just as he thought he would die, the crushing pressure vanished abruptly. He collapsed onto the sand, gasping for air until the suffocating darkness receded.

When he looked up again, Chen Shenzhi was gazing down at him with an intensely complex expression.

“Your surname is Yang?” Chen Shenzhi asked, unusually inquisitive. “Who is your mother?”

Yang Bai wiped the blood from his face with his arm. “I’m your damn father!”

Chen Shenzhi ignored his cursing. “Your mother is—”

Boom—!

A bullet—or more accurately, a micro-shell—exploded squarely in Chen Shenzhi’s face. The blast sent Yang Bai flying three meters backward, scrambling frantically down the dune until someone hauled him up.

“Xiao Bai, are you alright?”

Yang Bai thanked them instinctively, then froze rigid when he saw the face.

No one knew that face better than he did—every wrinkle around the eyes was etched in his memory.

But in his mind, that face always wore an ingratiating smile and carried the lingering scent of machine oil—not clad in mercenary-style combat gear, shouldering a micro-rocket launcher of an unrecognizable model.

Yang Bai heard his own dazed voice. “Dad?”

Boss Yang shielded him, signaling with a gesture. Over a dozen shadowy figures emerged from the dunes behind them, even armed with heavy machine guns, all aimed at Chen Shenzhi in the distance.

Chen Shenzhi had been blasted to pieces, half his body a bloody mess. But as Yang Bai watched, flesh and bone regenerated layer by layer, skin covering it perfectly, like the White Bone Demon’s transformation.

“Is he… really not a monster?”

Chen Shenzhi, now fully restored, picked up his glasses from the ground and looked at Boss Yang, his tone complex and suddenly understanding. “So it’s you… No wonder back then…”

“You stole the Rebirth Gland,” Boss Yang accused sternly.

Chen Shenzhi sneered. “Our teacher’s legacy rightfully belongs to me.”

“And you transplanted it into yourself,” Boss Yang stated flatly.

“So what?”

“I’m taking that gland back for her.” Boss Yang wasted no more words, hoisting the rocket launcher again and aiming at Chen Shenzhi.

“Hah, you’re nothing but a dog she picked up off the streets. Do you really think you matter?!” Chen Shenzhi’s smile twisted grotesquely. As he spoke, he transformed back into the giant python, swatting Yang Bai and his father aside with its tail before charging toward the ambushing mercenaries, sending them into chaos.

Yang Bai feared the worst, but Chen Shenzhi showed no interest in prolonging the fight, swiftly slithering deep into the desert.

During the tumble, Boss Yang fired another shot, which Chen Shenzhi dodged.

The mercenaries behind them—all East Asian—approached the father and son. “Captain, what’s the plan?”

Boss Yang stared intently in the direction of Chen Shenzhi’s escape. “Don’t pursue. In a natural environment, we’re no match for a mutated being.”

“Understood.” The team began packing up, disciplined and orderly.

“Dad… what’s going on?” Yang Bai finally found the chance to ask.

Everything he’d experienced today felt like a fantasy movie, one that trampled scientific ethics underfoot.

“We’ll talk on the way. We need to find your brother—he’s in danger.” Boss Yang patted his son’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

*

Shen Hui let out a tormented, agonized sob.

"No..." He was completely consumed by the heat, his voice hoarse, only able to make hoarse, futile noises.

He sank into the soft fur, his neck covered in slightly red claw marks left by the Wolf King in a state of extreme excitement, which stung slightly when sweat ran over them.

But Shen Hui could no longer care about any of that. Yan Gui had surprised him by injecting a second dose of the catalyst in the bathroom, and the sensation was even more overwhelming than the first.

It even allowed him to face Yan Gui in his Wolf King form.

Gu Yu had once said that the first injection was to promote gland development, while the second was to promote growth of the reproductive cavity.

The newly developed organ was extremely delicate, so stimulation had to be maintained throughout the entire development period. The hardest part for the other person was the quantity—enough was needed to stabilize the size of the cavity, which would also affect their future compatibility.

This medical advice, which sounded like some kind of perverse kink, was utterly absurd. Shen Hui had once suspected that Yan Gui had forced Gu Yu to write it under threat to satisfy his own perverse interests, never imagining that he would one day experience the entire process from start to finish.

And that quack doctor Gu Yu!

Shen Hui was completely broken, his rationality melted away, utterly pliant and docile.

Yan Gui had never seen Shen Hui like this. The animalistic nature that had never fully subsided erupted completely. He bit, licked, and rubbed his fur against Shen Hui's fair skin, wanting to keep him in his jaws.

Shen Hui wouldn't refuse even the most excessive actions, only letting out single-syllable crying sounds when completely overwhelmed: "Too much..."

Yan Gui would teasingly verify if the medical requirements had been met. If they had, he would wrap Shen Hui in his arms, coaxing him to form ice with his hands for use, then punish him under the pretext that the size wasn't right.

Barely conscious, Shen Hui could only cry in his embrace.

But the punishment continued, forcing him to reshape the ice according to Yan Gui's demands.

And finally, he had to apply it to himself.

For seven days, they indulged relentlessly.

Only when the effects of the catalyst faded did Shen Hui finally collapse from exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep in Yan Gui's arms.

In the early hours of the morning, Yan Gui silently opened his eyes in the darkness.

The feral, animalistic glow in his eyes had completely vanished, and that power had been fully tamed, becoming a part of him.

Yet he was terrified, his heart trembling.

He had said awful things to Shen Hui, done awful things.

The clothes stained with unidentified fluids, the toys, the red ropes—all silently accused him of his excesses, especially during the latter days when he had maintained his Wolf King form.

That form retained all the characteristics of a beast, and he had even shamelessly grinded against the tracker; Shen Hui had collapsed into tears every time he did that.

...

How intensely stimulating those scenes were back then was how much the remaining ashes now left Yan Gui horrified.

Would Shen Hui hate him when he woke up?

Would he abandon him again?

He was wrong. Even if Shen Hui had someone else in his heart, he just wanted to stay by his side...

Shen Hui's sleepy murmur interrupted his boundless fear.

He had squeezed Shen Hui too hard, hurting him.

Shen Hui was already sleeping uncomfortably, his long eyelashes damp with tears, sticking together as they fluttered slowly in the darkness before finally opening.

Yan Gui froze, holding his breath.

Shen Hui's gaze was momentarily dazed, but clarity returned after a blink.

He whispered, "Yan Gui."

Yan Gui answered almost desperately, "I'm here. I'm sorry, I..."

Shen Hui tried to turn and face him, but the slightest movement caused such discomfort that he frowned deeply and gasped sharply.

The memories of those seven absurd days flooded back in an instant, especially the sensation of switching between ice and heat.

Now that he was awake, it felt even more stimulating and intimate.

Yan Gui immediately held him, trying to make up for it as he said, "I'll take you to clean up right now!"

But Shen Hui stopped him.

Yan Gui, too anxious, looked at him with confusion and guilt.

A faint, almost imperceptible blush colored Shen Hui's cheeks as he tried to sound calm. "Didn't Gu Yu say it needs to be retained for twenty-four hours?"

Yan Gui didn't understand at first, explaining straightforwardly, "The reproductive cavity is stable now. It doesn't need to be maintained for that long anymore."

But Shen Hui still didn't move. His lips parted and closed without words, as if what he wanted to say was too embarrassing to say.

Finally, with defeated embarrassment, he avoided Yan Gui's gaze and spoke softly, yet clearly audible.

"Like this... I can."

Yan Gui was stunned by the shock of joy.

Shen Hui bit his lower lip and confirmed again, "I like carrying your scent on me."

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