Chapter 96

Chapter 96

"Come find me tomorrow, okay?"

Bai Tu's words kept echoing in Huo Changfeng's mind. He crouched low on a tree branch, his tail thumping against the trunk restlessly. A startled animal bolted from the bushes, but he didn't even open his eyes; a tentacle shot out, snaring it. His sting pierced its neck for an instant kill.

He guided the tentacle to bring the warm, fresh kill before him, opened his eyes for a glance, then lowered his head to eat.

This was already his tenth prey since last night. From initial revulsion and nausea, he now actually started to find it tasty.

Huo Changfeng tried tearing off pieces of meat with his hands, but soon found his arms and chest covered in blood. He stopped, opting instead to bite and tear directly with his mouth, making a clean, efficient job of the meal.

The sun came up. He jumped down from the tree and ran agilely out of the mountains, stopping by a small stream to wash.

The stream water was clear as a mirror, reflecting the azure sky. Gazing at his reflection, he was suddenly afraid.

The sky was blue, the moon hadn't fully set yet, hanging pale and faded in one corner. The nearby clouds were picturesque, making him look even uglier.

He remembered Bai Tu loved such scenes. On some future day, if they came to sit quietly by this stream, would Bai Tu think he ruined the view?

He hesitated by the water's edge, as if he couldn't muster the courage to accept this reality, and also couldn't muster the courage to wait for Bai Tu to accept it.

He arrived at the familiar road. It was no surprise that Bai Tu wasn't there. He went to Bai Tu's building, paced around the entrance a few times, then lay down.

He could sense no other life in the building besides Bai Tu. Bai Tu was completely safe now. If there was any danger, he was the only danger.

Bai Tu's faint scent drifted down, making his mouth water, grateful he had eaten his fill before coming each time.

Huo Changfeng closed his eyes, tucked his head between his arms, and lay still. The sun rose and set, dawn turned to dusk. Huo Changfeng looked up at the building; no light was on in Bai Tu's apartment.

Would Bai Tu be sad and upset that he hadn't kept the appointment? Would he not eat properly because of it?

Huo Changfeng hesitated, then finally got up and went inside.

He went up floor by floor, soon reaching Bai Tu's door, only to find it wasn't just unlocked, but wide open.

He froze, instinctively ducking behind the corner of the stairwell, then peeked half his head to look inside.

Bai Tu was sitting on the sofa, in profile to the door, head slightly bowed, his figure looking thin and lonely in the gradually dimming interior light. His profile was clear and smooth, with no eye patch. Huo Changfeng didn't dare get any closer, greedily watching from afar, only to suddenly realize in the next second that Bai Tu's eyes were closed.

In that instant, his heart gave a violent jolt, overwhelmed by a feeling he couldn't name.

His footsteps could be made utterly silent, without anyone noticing. Bai Tu couldn't know when he would come. That meant Bai Tu had been waiting with his eyes closed.

How long had he waited? Had he been sitting on the sofa all day?

Huo Changfeng stepped into the room without a sound. All the doors inside were open. He clearly saw the bedroom he had destroyed was now cleaned up and repaired: the ceiling and walls patched with cement, the wooden floor brand new, the bed replaced.

The bed was a solid wood king-size, spacious enough for three, covered with fluffy, soft bedding. A paper flower grew among a full jar of crystal cores, as vivid as a real rose. Beside the glass jar, two pebbles were pressed.

Huo Changfeng gazed at all this for a long while, then walked to the sofa, lowered his head, and rubbed his forehead against the back of Bai Tu's hand.

Bai Tu's hand trembled. His lips quivered a few times, but no words came out.

Huo Changfeng said to him, "Open your eyes."

The moment Bai Tu opened his eyes, Huo Changfeng caught a fleeting glint of tears. He waited nervously for Bai Tu's reaction, but Bai Tu flew into his arms and hugged him firmly.

*

Huo Changfeng and Bai Tu started sharing a space again. The weather grew hotter, and Bai Tu didn't feel like going out as much. Huo Changfeng's body was cool, so Bai Tu often stuck close to him. But Huo Changfeng disliked him getting too near, often lying on the carpet himself, and would have Bai Tu go sit on the sofa.

*Don't look.*

Huo Changfeng dragged over a nearby sand tray and wrote on it.

Bai Tu was lazily sprawled on the sofa, seeming in good spirits, unconsciously swinging his calves up and down, accompanied by intermittent silver bell chimes. Hearing this, he tilted his head, looking directly at Huo Changfeng as if asking why he couldn't look.

Huo Changfeng forced himself to look away from those two pale calves and got up from the carpet.

"Going out again?" Bai Tu quickly asked.

Huo Changfeng nodded, writing on the sand tray: *Be back soon.*

He leaned close, lowered his head to nuzzle Bai Tu's neck, then strode out of the room.

Bai Tu sat up straight, looked at the sand tray on the floor, and puffed his cheeks in frustration.

Ever since he could open his eyes, Huo Changfeng had refused to speak, no matter how much Bai Tu pressed. He would only avert his gaze, avoiding an answer, and continue using his sting to write in the next conversation, even procuring a dedicated sand tray.

Bai Tu grabbed a cushion and poked it as if venting, then flopped back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, pondering where the problem lay.

When Huo Changfeng said he'd be back soon, he meant it. In less than an hour, sounds came from the doorway. Bai Tu sat up to see Huo Changfeng bent over, wiping his hands and feet at the entrance.

He didn't wear clothes, so his palms and soles inevitably got dusty when returning. Bai Tu had prepared a damp towel by the door to prevent him from lingering outside like he did at first.

Huo Changfeng wiped diligently, a bulging bag slung over his back. Bai Tu didn't need to open it to know it contained food, clothes, and other supplies for him.

Bai Tu waited on the sofa, but minutes passed and Huo Changfeng was still wiping his feet. If he didn't know Huo Changfeng had thick pads protecting his soles, he'd worry they'd get chafed raw.

Tired of waiting, he simply ran over barefoot, took the bag from Huo Changfeng's back, and reached out to touch Huo Changfeng's belly.

"You ate outside again before coming back?"

Huo Changfeng stiffened, the scales on his abdomen snapping shut tightly. Bai Tu withdrew his hand, urging him to come in while carrying the bag to the living room, chattering on: "You always leave me to eat alone, won't even sleep with me, such a big bed but you insist on sleeping on the floor, is the floor that comfortable..."

He talked for a while without hearing a response. Looking back, he saw Huo Changfeng shrinking in the entryway, not daring to breathe, one foot still on the towel, stiff as a board.

His lips pursed. "Do you find me naggy?"

Huo Changfeng instantly shook his head like a rattle-drum.

Bai Tu gave him a suspicious look, saying fiercely, "If you dare, you're dead." Then he placed the backpack on the table and began unpacking.

After a while, Huo Changfeng sidled over and pushed the sand tray forward:

*Don't touch my scales.*

*They can cut.*

Bai Tu immediately reached out and stroked his back, playing the accuser first: "So you won't sleep with me because keeping your scales retracted is too tiring?"

Huo Changfeng, caught off guard by the touch, was checking Bai Tu's hand when he heard the accusation. He stiffly shook his head.

Bai Tu spread his perfectly fine palm for inspection, then continued unpacking. He didn't know where Huo Changfeng had been, but he'd gotten several sets of clothes and shoes, several jars of face cream and two tubes of hand cream, plus a box of building blocks for children, and the rest were snacks, biscuits, bread, milk, and juice.

Clearly not from one place. In less than an hour, he also had to fill his own stomach. Who knew if he'd eaten enough in such a short time.

But he was genuinely surprised Huo Changfeng still needed to hunt. Not surprised he ate raw meat, but surprised he still needed to eat, and with considerable frequency, because in the research institute in his past life, he had never seen Huo Changfeng eat.

Thinking of this made him angry again. Those bastards didn't even give Huo Changfeng food.

A surge of inexplicable anger rose in him, so that even folding his clothes carried a hint of irritation.

Seeing him silently stewing in his own temper, Huo Changfeng wrote on the sand tray again:

"Am I boring you?"

Bai Tu stopped what he was doing, stared at the words for a moment, then turned to face Huo Changfeng with a stern expression.

Huo Changfeng held his breath, awaiting his judgment. Suddenly, he felt his face grow warm, followed by Bai Tu's face suddenly filling his vision. Before he could react, he felt something soft press against his lips, leaving him frozen in place.

Bai Tu took his face in his hands, still looking serious. "Then how are you going to make it up to me?"

Huo Changfeng repeated dazedly, "Make it up?"

Perhaps his reaction pleased Bai Tu, who laughed, not a trace of seriousness left as he kneaded Huo Changfeng's face like dough. "Actually, things are pretty good as they are now. You have a lot of time to spend with me, unlike before when you were always weighed down by worries and duties, and we hardly ever saw each other. But, I'm still a little angry."

Bai Tu's face turned stern again. "Since you won't talk to me or sleep with me, I'm going to get rid of all your stuff, including this sand tray and this rug."

Huo Changfeng felt his face grow hot, probably looking a mess. He wanted to lower his head, but Bai Tu showed no intention of letting go.

He just looked down, trying to hide it, finally managing to squeeze out a sentence after a long pause: "My voice doesn't sound good, and I don't look good when I sleep."

He felt completely ugly in every way, a fact that couldn't be changed. But in front of Bai Tu, he only wanted to reveal one side at a time, as if when Bai Tu could only hear his voice or only see his appearance, he wasn't so utterly wretched—at least there was something redeemable.

Bai Tu frowned. "How do you know your voice doesn't sound good or that you don't look good when you sleep?"

How could he not know?

"I can hear, and I can see."

"I can hear, and I can see too. Although..." Bai Tu hesitated, then let go and took a step back to look Huo Changfeng over.

Huo Changfeng was now more beast-like, his body covered in scales, his limbs muscular and robust, especially his legs. He was more accustomed to moving on all fours than standing upright. To adapt to this change, his palms and soles had developed a thick layer of flesh, becoming broader and sturdier. His fingers had also grown thicker, with nails resembling claws, colored like obsidian like his scales, slightly curved and very sharp.

Perhaps to maintain balance, he had a thick, long black tail, also covered in fine scales, somewhat like a snake's tail. Although he had hidden it now, Bai Tu also knew that along his spine were rows of bony spikes, and he had pairs of blade-like bone spurs on his elbows, knees, and ankles.

On either side of his spine, four slender tentacles grew from his flesh. These tentacles lacked scales but were covered in fine, soft fuzz, making them quite pleasant to touch as long as one avoided the stingers at their tips.

The scales on his body grew sparse from his neck, disappearing entirely by his jawline. The skin on his face was closer to a bluish-black hue. Perhaps to accommodate the two pairs of compound eyes on his forehead, his brow had become more prominent. Usually, these four compound eyes remained closed, appearing as four thin slits. His ears had also become pointed, fitting more closely to his head.

A tremor ran through Huo Changfeng's heart, and under Bai Tu's unwavering gaze, he couldn't help but retreat.

"Although your voice and appearance are indeed different from before," Bai Tu said, "they're not bad to listen to or look at. At least, I still enjoy hearing you speak and like how you look now."

Compared to lying sick and weak on an exam table, Huo Changfeng now exuded vitality, able to eat heartily and freely, possessing his own little moods and thoughts. This was truly a fortunate thing for him.

Huo Changfeng still insisted, "When I'm asleep, I can't control myself well."

Every part of him could potentially harm Bai Tu—his scales, bone blades, stingers, claws, teeth—any one of them could make Bai Tu bleed. He even feared that one day, in his sleep, he might fail to suppress his appetite and wake to find Bai Tu reduced to nothing but bones.

He would break.

More shattered than the moment he woke and saw himself in the mirror.

"You won't hurt me," Bai Tu asserted confidently. "Just like you didn't hurt that butterfly."

Huo Changfeng was stunned. The mire that had sealed everything in his heart cracked open with fissures at this moment.

Those rewards Bai Tu had asked for... they were actually all for him.

Bai Tu gazed at him steadily. Seeing no response, he pursed his lips, about to say more. Huo Changfeng stared at him unblinkingly, as if trying to etch his image into his heart.

"If you don't believe me, we can try sleeping together for one ni—!"

Before Bai Tu could finish, he was suddenly pounced upon by Huo Changfeng, who had abruptly sprung into action, knocking them both onto the rug. Bai Tu shook the hair from his eyes and met Huo Changfeng's intense stare.

Pinning him down, Huo Changfeng stared silently at his face. He was so focused that he seemed unaware his two pairs of compound eyes on his forehead were simultaneously opening wide.

Bai Tu blinked, bewildered. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Huo Changfeng observed his reaction, seeing himself reflected in Bai Tu's clear eyes. There was no disgust, no surprise—only normalcy, as if he were no different from any ordinary person.

Finally unable to restrain himself, he lowered his head and kissed Bai Tu.

His touch was too gentle. Bai Tu tilted his head and giggled. "That tickles."

Huo Changfeng continued in this position, slowly licking the side of Bai Tu's face. It held no suggestive meaning, more like an animal's way of showing affection.

Bai Tu's face was soon wet from the licking, but he suddenly understood something from this action. He actively raised his arms to wrap around Huo Changfeng's neck, pressing their foreheads together, his eyes curving into happy crescents.

"See? I told you nothing would happen."