“Xi…”

Mi Lu tried once more, and unsurprisingly, his voice stuck again. He frowned in discomfort, pondering for a moment before he asked HuLü Yan, “What’s going on? I couldn’t speak just now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was startled to realize he could indeed speak, so he attempted again.

“I like…”

And once again, he choked.

Mi Lu shook his head, thinking there was something wrong with his throat. Just as he was about to try saying something else, HuLü Yan raised his hand and covered Mi Lu’s mouth.

The smile on HuLü Yan’s face faded a bit. Though he still seemed to be smiling, the expression was a little more forced and stiff.

“Don’t say anything.” HuLü Yan let go of him. Initially, he had hesitated, but now he couldn’t think about it anymore, so he stopped Mi Lu’s next words with a kiss.

Dazed, Mi Lu allowed HuLü Yan’s kiss until he tasted something fishy and bitter, which snapped him back to his senses, and he pushed HuLü Yan away.

“Stop kissing me for a second.” Mi Lu frowned more deeply, his eyes filled with resistance as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

HuLü Yan, caught off guard by the push, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mi Lu’s ears flushed slightly as he muttered softly, “It has a taste.”

HuLü Yan understood right away, “You’re disgusted by even your own stuff.”

“Who wouldn’t be?”

“I don’t mind.” HuLü Yan said brazenly, “As long as it’s yours, I like it.”

Mi Lu almost wanted to grab his clothes to cover HuLü Yan’s mouth, but thinking his clothes weren’t clean, he could only use his palm to stop him, “Just stop talking.”

HuLü Yan squinted and smiled, then leaned in to lick Mi Lu’s palm.

Mi Lu: “…”

Without a word, he pulled his hand back.

HuLü Yan took the opportunity to press closer, like a child clinging to a beloved toy, his hands wrapped tightly around Mi Lu’s waist and back.

“I like you, Liu Liu, I really like you,” HuLü Yan murmured softly, as if speaking to himself. “You saw me smell that incense too; I can’t lie to you. I like you, I really, really like you.”

Mi Lu finally understood—the reason he couldn’t say the word “like” to HuLü Yan was because of that incense?

Although he knew his feelings toward HuLü Yan might not be romantic, he couldn’t possibly feel nothing for him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come this far with HuLü Yan.

Mi Lu tried to explain, “I…”

“Don’t say anything more.” A smile reappeared on HuLü Yan’s face. He rested his chin on Mi Lu’s chest, his gaze wandering over Mi Lu’s eyes and brows in a trance, and he said, “It’s fine, as long as I like you.”

It didn’t matter if Mi Lu didn’t like him.

It didn’t matter if Mi Lu hated him.

It didn’t even matter if Mi Lu wanted to leave him.

He didn’t need Mi Lu’s affection. From the moment he realized his own feelings, he knew he was destined to obtain Mi Lu through less-than-honorable means.

As long as Mi Lu stayed by his side, he was content.

Everything else, he could do without.

By the time they dressed and descended from the high platform, it was already late into the night.

They returned to their new quarters, lying down on a large, soft bed that the servants had decorated with a vibrant red cover.

As soon as Mi Lu lay down, he felt HuLü Yan’s hands and feet entwine with his again.

HuLü Yan liked to hold Mi Lu like this while sleeping, hand to hand, foot to foot, as if they were inseparable twins born together.

HuLü Yan gently touched Mi Lu’s face, “Go to sleep.”

At first, Mi Lu found this position somewhat suffocating, and he would have nightmares off and on. But gradually, he got used to it, and even started to feel a sense of security being wrapped in HuLü Yan’s arms like this.

Soon, he drifted off to sleep in a daze.

However, he didn’t sleep through to dawn.

Around the fourth watch, he vaguely felt as if he was being watched. And the more he ignored it, the stronger that feeling grew.

Mi Lu had no choice but to open his eyes and look in the direction of that gaze.

In the next instant, he locked eyes with a pair of dark, deep eyes.

Through the thick night, he could clearly see HuLü Yan’s long, narrow eyes, quietly watching him without a blink.

Startled, Mi Lu instinctively tried to sit up, only to be pushed down by HuLü Yan’s hand.

HuLü Yan patted him reassuringly on the waist, “Why are you awake?”

Mi Lu looked at HuLü Yan, still catching his breath. “Are you not sleeping?”

“About to.”

Mi Lu rephrased, “Can’t sleep?”

“No.” HuLü Yan leaned closer, planting a feather-light kiss on Mi Lu’s lips. “I just wanted to look at you.”

Mi Lu chuckled, “What are you looking at me for?”

“To make sure you didn’t run away.”

Mi Lu: “…”

Noticing Mi Lu’s exasperation, HuLü Yan closed his eyes, moving closer to snuggle against him, burying his face in Mi Lu’s neck, and suddenly said, “My mother used to treat me very well.”

Mi Lu sighed, his fingers threading through HuLü Yan’s hair, gently smoothing it down.

“Gradually, she stopped being kind.” HuLü Yan raised his chin in Mi Lu’s neck, staring intently at the side of Mi Lu’s face. “Don’t treat me like that.”

Mi Lu’s fingers paused for a moment in HuLü Yan’s hair, then continued, “I won’t.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“Hm.” Mi Lu replied, “I won’t lie to you.”

HuLü Yan was pleased, pecking Mi Lu’s chin, “My good Liu Liu.”

Mi Lu felt ticklish but didn’t want to push him away, so he endured HuLü Yan’s nuzzling. After hesitating for a moment, he finally voiced what he had been keeping to himself for a long time, “Do you want to find your real mother?”

HuLü Yan, who had been nuzzling him, froze at the words.

“I mean, HuLü Wan,” Mi Lu looked down into HuLü Yan’s eyes, gently saying, “I was just thinking that HuLü Wan might still be trapped at the Wen family. After everything, I wonder if she’s alright. If you want, I’ll go with you to find her.”

HuLü Yan fell silent for a moment, then unexpectedly asked, “Do you want me to go find her?”

“Why ask me?” Mi Lu laughed, “This is your decision. Shouldn’t you decide for yourself?”

Without hesitation, HuLü Yan said, “I’ll listen to you.”

“Then let’s go,” Mi Lu said.

He wanted to see who was orchestrating everything from behind the scenes.

Since this powerful force had uncovered the truth of HuLü Yan’s lineage, they might as well climb the steps laid out before them. Soon, they’d uncover the next truth.

The plot had already deviated far from the original line, so let it deviate even further.

Four days later, the other city lords arrived one after another at Drunken City.

After a major purge, Drunken City was engulfed in a deathly silence. Although the bodies and blood had long since been cleaned from the streets, the ominous atmosphere from the recent battles still loomed over the city, which had once again undergone a dramatic change in leadership.

After passing through the guards’ inspection, the first to arrive, the City Lords of Jade City and Zhang City, were each ushered into separate carriages prepared for them.

The carriages rolled steadily along, and after a few cups of tea’s time, both carriages stopped outside the City Lord’s mansion.

The two city lords’ entourages immediately stepped forward, escorting their lords out of the carriages. They walked grandly into the mansion.

Although the Jade City and Zhang City lords had harbored resentment toward each other over resource disputes for years, here in the City Lord’s mansion of Drunken City, they acted meekly, like quails, avoiding even looking sideways.

Years ago, when the conflict between the righteous and demonic factions became public, they had vaguely heard some rumors.

First, that the descendants of the Lin family had reappeared.

Second, that this Lin family descendant might be the child named HuLü Yan.

It was for this child that Lady Wan had managed to persuade the Palace Lord of Yaqi Palace to ally with the Star Moon Pavilion and over ten other factions to break with the righteous sects.

They had believed that the glory of the demonic realm would return under the guidance of the Lin family descendant, yet this so-called descendant vanished into thin air.

And he remained missing for four years.

During those four years, those who had initially trusted Lady Wan’s words faced endless ridicule, and some even asserted that Lady Wan had fabricated such an absurd story just to try and unite the demonic factions.

But some still held faith in Lady Wan’s words. Despite her unruly and arrogant personality, she was not known to speak nonsense.

The key issue was—

Within the demonic realm, infighting continued unabated, with life-or-death clashes becoming common. If the righteous factions were to unite and attack, they would stand little chance of fending them off.

If the Lin family descendant appeared and led the demonic realm to its former glory, wouldn’t they be able to stand up against those hypocritical righteous sects?

With that thought, the Jade and Zhang City lords grew increasingly excited.

After a long walk to the reception hall, they saw someone seated in the chair ahead and, without a second thought, led their followers to kneel.

“Your humble servant, Jade City Lord Jing Zi’ang—”

“Your humble servant, Zhang City Lord Lu Hai—”

“Pays respects to the City Lord.”

Mi Lu, the one being saluted, stiffened, silent for a long moment before elbowing HuLü Yan behind him.

HuLü Yan, holding Mi Lu on his lap, rested his chin lazily on Mi Lu’s shoulder, only speaking after a while, “What’s with the kneeling? Stand up.”

Jing Zi’ang and Lu Hai rose slowly, offering flattering smiles. But when they looked up, they froze in unison—

Why were there two people sitting in that chair?

In that kind of sitting position, no less!

So which of these two was the Lin family descendant they were looking for?

Without time to think further, the servants brought over two chairs and poured tea.

Seeing this, Lu Hai got an idea. After sitting down, he picked up his tea, took a sniff, and put on an exaggeratedly impressed expression, “What a fragrance! I’ve drunk tea for years, but none of it has ever captivated me like the tea in your esteemed mansion.”

Afterward, Lu Hai looked at Mi Lu and HuLü Yan with a hopeful gaze, waiting for a response.

Seeing that HuLü Yan had no intention of answering, Mi Lu, not wanting Lu Hai to feel awkward, forced a smile and said, “This is just leftover tea from the previous City Lord. We don’t pay much attention to such things, so we used it to entertain the two city lords. We hope you’ll excuse any lack of hospitality.”

“Oh, no, no, how could that be? Your hospitality is more than enough; we are the ones imposing!” Lu Hai waved his hand, feeling quite pleased. As he watched Mi Lu, he thought, No wonder he’s the descendant of Lord Lin Chong, though he bears the surname HuLü, he’s exactly as refined and handsome as I imagined.

Compared to rough people like themselves, he really was a class apart.

Lu Hai looked over at HuLü Yan, furrowing his brow slightly, and after some deliberation, he cautiously asked, “Pardon me, Lord, but is this gentleman the City Lord’s consort?”