Chapter 37: Betraying Gods and Buddhas, Staying True to My Heart

Chapter 37: Betraying Gods and Buddhas, Loyal to My Heart

Pei Yuhuai's hands were trembling. He couldn't imagine how Lan He had dragged his bleeding body through the snow to find him, step by step.

And still played along with his jokes and antics.

Pei Yuhuai's heart ached. He carefully undid his clothes, revealing a body covered in fresh wounds and old scars.

Besides the cuts from blades, there was a strange kind of wound—dense and clustered, as if made by specially crafted needles, oozing a steady trickle of blood.

His underclothes were soaked through with blood.

No wonder he looked so awful.

Pei Yuhuai leaned over the edge of the bed, trying to be as gentle as possible as he re-bandaged his wounds, but Lan He still furrowed his brow, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

That must hurt like hell.

Why does he have to be so stubborn? In this condition, he should've just waited for him to come back. Why'd he have to go out anyway?

"Pei Hang, Pei Hang..."

Pei Yuhuai heard a faint call and quickly leaned closer, only then realizing he was calling his name.

"I'm here, what is it?"

"Pei Hang..."

Oh, he's not awake.

Fine, let him keep calling.

Pei Yuhuai finished dressing his wounds, then quietly climbed onto the bed and curled up in his arms. Lan He instinctively wrapped his arms around him in response.

Time to sleep.

That night was actually decent—no nightmares. But in the morning, he nearly jumped out of his skin when someone barged in.

"Ah!! You, you..."

Pei Rongjing's mouth was wide enough to fit an egg. The kid was clearly shocked, his face totally frozen, like a statue.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!"

Pei Yuhuai bolted upright in bed, seeing Pei Rongjing in the doorway, still not processing: "What's wrong?"

"Brother, you, you and the State Preceptor..." Pei Rongjing stammered, pointing behind him, totally baffled.

"Hm?"

Pei Yuhuai turned his head.

Whoa.

He nearly jumped out of his skin.

Lan He was lying behind him, one hand still where his neck had been, his robe all messed up, hanging open across his chest.

Scandalous.

When he turned to look, his face froze too. On Lan He's collarbone, there were faint marks—must've been from last night when he lost control.

Luckily, Lan He's chest was wrapped in layers of cloth, so it was covered.

"Brother, why is the State Preceptor... in your... in your..."

"Don't read into it!"

Pei Yuhuai coughed lightly, pulled the blanket up to cover him fully, and forced himself to stay calm, got out of bed, threw on his clothes, and poured himself a cup of tea.

It's just that his hand...

was a little shaky.

Pei Yuhuai looked away, took a sip of cold tea, and steadied himself, then said quietly, "Shh, this was a total accident."

Pei Rongjing was still in shock, not able to process it.

"Look, the State Preceptor's badly hurt and still hasn't woken up. Last night I couldn't sleep, so I was out walking when I found him collapsed on the road, almost dead. I didn't know which room he was in, so I brought him here."

"R-really?"

"Of course. And it's freezing—I couldn't just sleep on the ground. You were already asleep, so I didn't want to wake you. I just made do for the night. Don't even get me started—my shoulder's killing me."

Pei Rongjing seemed to buy it and came around behind him: "Then let me rub your shoulders, brother."

"Sure, go ahead."

Pei Yuhuai added: "The State Preceptor's sensitive. If he finds out I picked him up at night, he'll definitely get all cold. Don't go telling people about this."

"Of course, I won't say anything."

"Good."

"How could the State Preceptor get attacked like this? Who'd dare to assassinate the court's State Preceptor? The Emperor's furious—if they catch the culprit, they're in for some serious punishment."

"Who knows..."

He wanted to know too—who had the guts.

And who was so determined to see Lan He dead.

The two chatted for a while.

Afraid Lan He might suddenly wake up, or mutter something indecent in his sleep, Pei Yuhuai quickly shooed Pei Rongjing off, telling him to fetch Abbess Nianzhen to change the dressings.

The boy scampered off happily.

When Abbess Nianzhen saw Lan He sleeping in Pei Yuhuai's bed, she was briefly surprised, but quickly composed herself and asked no questions.

She calmly changed both their dressings and left.

This time, Pei Rongjing didn't even need to be chased out—he happily followed along.

Good.

Pei Yuhuai closed the door.

"Pei Hang..."

"?"

Right on time, he woke up.

Lan He propped himself up against the edge of the bed, his face still pale, as if he'd just recovered from a serious illness.

"Come here."

Pei Yuhuai walked over and sat beside him: "Your wounds haven't healed yet, and they're bad. Don't move around too much—just lie there and rest."

"By the way, where'd you get those weird wounds on your body? Those people—they didn't seem to have any weapons that could make wounds like that."

Lan He remained silent.

Pei Yuhuai started to panic: "Those wounds weren't from them, so who did this to you? Could it be the ones who slaughtered your family?? Who the hell are they?"

"Say something—you're killing me here. Who exactly are they... mmm..."

The whole world spun.

Pei Yuhuai got pinned down on the bed, and afraid he'd press on Lan He's wounds, he tried to hold himself up with his arms.

Lan He grabbed his waist and slowly pressed him down, leaving him no way to fight back.

This was the most straightforward, most desperate kiss he'd ever gotten from Lan He while fully conscious.

"Lan..."

"Pei Hang, touch it." Lan He cut him off, his eyes burning. Pei Yuhuai's throat tightened, and he felt inexplicably nervous.

Could it be... could this stinky monk actually be giving himself up so willingly today?

Lan He grabbed his hand and slowly placed it on his own brow.

Pei Yuhuai: "..."

Got all worked up for nothing.

Lan He saw the disappointment flash across his eyes and chuckled: "What, disappointed? Or did you want to touch something else?"

Pei Yuhuai's face turned bright red. He could barely hold himself up on one arm anymore, and he quietly leaned to the side, mumbling under his breath: "You've got everything I've got. I don't want any of it."

"I'm bigger than you are."

"??"

"And I last longer too."

"????"

"And I've got more stamina."

"??????"

Pei Yuhuai's face cracked apart inch by inch. He couldn't say a word—he was completely choked up.

"So, are you satisfied with me?"

"..."

Pei Yuhuai silently turned his back: "Satisfied my ass. I'm extremely unsatisfied."

That was crude as hell.

But Lan He didn't think he was vulgar at all—instead, he found him utterly adorable, like a little dumpling, and wanted to gobble him up whole.

Even his back was gorgeous.

What was he supposed to do? A few more looks and he'd be burning up.

Lan He sat up and wrapped his arms around him from behind, his voice hoarse and broken: "Pei Hang, you're the one who provoked me first, and you're the one who made me break my vows. Once I've had a taste, I can't give it up. I can betray the gods and Buddha, but I'll stay true to my heart."

Every word was crystal clear.

Pei Yuhuai was completely stunned. He didn't really understand, and tried to pry Lan He's hands off.