After the bloodbath, dinner ended. Yu Sen had only eaten a small piece of blood-streaked beef, but now that he had relaxed, he felt worse than those who hadn’t eaten anything. The metallic taste lingered in his mouth, his stomach churned with acid, and he was hit with occasional blackouts. When he touched his forehead, he found that his temperature was slowly rising again.

Si Xuanyang led him back to their room. Even in his dazed state, Yu Sen still remembered Lance’s words: “Tomorrow night is probably when Lance will enter the coffin to sleep.”

Si Xuanyang glanced at him, frowning as he closed the door, and asked in a deep voice, “How do you know that?”

Yu Sen grinned, “He told me.”

“He told you?” Si Xuanyang’s tone rose slightly, his gaze locking onto Yu Sen’s face. He noticed something and gently touched his lips, where a drop of blood oozed out. “Why are your lips swollen? Did you bite them yourself?”

Si Xuanyang seemed to suddenly realize something. His fingers rubbed slowly along the corner of Yu Sen’s mouth, unconsciously pressing a little harder, leaving a mark on the pale skin. “Or was it… Lance’s hand that pressed them?”

The slight sting on his lips, and with them being nearly the same height, allowed Yu Sen to easily see Si Xuanyang’s dark, brooding eyes. Those eyes had lost some of their usual clarity and arrogance, replaced by gloominess and restraint, making Yu Sen’s heart race.

He recalled Guo Xiang’s appearance, suddenly aware that the castle might indeed be affecting people’s states of mind.

But oddly enough, this version of Si Xuanyang was kind of alluring. His hoarse, ambiguous voice and the warmth of his fingers sent Yu Sen’s heart pounding faster.

Yu Sen blinked, his eyes slightly misty from the fever, his eyebrows raised slightly as he whispered provocatively into Si Xuanyang’s ear, “No, Lance kissed them swollen.”

The tone was pure provocation.

…

Si Xuanyang’s pupils constricted, and he grabbed Yu Sen’s throat, “What did you say?”

His voice was dangerously restrained, his gaze brewing a black storm that threatened to tear Yu Sen apart. For a few seconds, Yu Sen’s weak stomach clenched painfully along with his heart, and he immediately softened, letting out a sigh and lowering his gaze in grievance. “But I was forced…”

Inside, he cursed this damned mouth countless times—it couldn’t even muster the energy to flirt anymore!

How embarrassing!

Since he couldn’t flirt verbally, he had to resort to something more straightforward.

Yu Sen pressed his forehead against Si Xuanyang’s, listlessly saying, “Forget it. You look so angry, so why don’t you kiss me back? You can’t lose.”

…

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Yu Sen’s vision darkened as Si Xuanyang’s teeth bit down hard. Damn it, is he really that competitive?

He didn’t expect someone who had just graduated from college to be so skillful in kissing, or maybe this body, modified by that cursed clock, had become extremely sensitive? Otherwise, why would his legs go weak when Si Xuanyang’s domineering tongue swept across his mouth?

When did he become so timid!? He was a few years older, after all! 

It was just a kiss, for crying out loud!

A French kiss…

That’s all!

His head spun, his heart pounded like a drum, and Yu Sen felt like his response to the kiss couldn’t keep up with Si Xuanyang’s fierce and passionate invasion. If this continued, he feared he might end up with the most embarrassing moment of his life—fainting from a kiss by a guy a few years younger than him.

This can’t be happening!?

How could he ever act superior in front of Si Xuanyang again?

With that thought, alarm bells rang in his mind, and Yu Sen used the last bit of his strength to push Si Xuanyang away with his elbow.

Si Xuanyang, who was pushed away with reddened eyes, licked his lips as if savoring something delicious and muttered, “You’re quite sweet, and I got more of the taste.”

Yu Sen groaned weakly, “…Help, have you been brainwashed by Lance? If this goes on, I’m going to have psychological trauma!”

Si Xuanyang furrowed his brow in irritation and tightened his arm around Yu Sen’s waist, “Are you bringing up him right after kissing me? Don’t you think I haven’t completely won yet? Let’s continue!”

Yu Sen quickly covered his mouth, mentally gritting his teeth: You still want to overpower me by force, huh? Just because you’re stronger? Wait until we get out of here, I’ll make you pay!

Then he mentally cursed the strange clock thousands of times.

But a wise person knows when to bend and when to hold firm. It’s better to concede here and not completely ignite this raging tyrannosaurus, or else the fire will burn him too.

“I was wrong! But he is the boss this time, how can I not mention him at all…”

Si Xuanyang noticed his softened tone and dazed expression, reached out to feel his forehead, and the scorching heat made him frown with a flash of concern in his eyes. He immediately half-carried, half-dragged Yu Sen to the bed.

Yu Sen misunderstood and, in terror, grabbed his sleeve, “Don’t, Yang Yang! Don’t be impulsive! Lust leads to doom!”

Is he really going to crash and burn today?

Si Xuanyang’s face darkened, and he angrily said, “You have a high fever, and what kind of filthy, obscene scenes are you imagining? I bet it’s thinking too much about that stuff that made your brain overheat!”

Yu Sen was speechless, feeling like it wasn’t Si Xuanyang who was just kissing and biting him moments ago.

Who’s the one with a mind full of dirty thoughts?

He teared up, “You’re too much! Even Lance was kinder to me!”

Si Xuanyang’s expression darkened further, his eyes burning with anger as he sneered, “Then why don’t you tell me how he was kind?”

Yu Sen vividly and exaggeratedly described the one or two minutes of chaos in the dining hall. By the end, his mind was so dizzy and foggy that he wasn’t even aware of his slurred speech.

The fire burning in Si Xuanyang’s heart gradually extinguished as he noticed Yu Sen’s pale face and drooping eyelids. His heart softened, and he sighed, gently holding Yu Sen and kissing the corner of his lips.

“Alright, I get it. From now on, I’ll try to be gentler and let that green grass on your head gradually wither away on its own, okay?  Don’t think about it now. Sleep, you need to rest.”

Yu Sen relaxed in his warm embrace, and his consciousness was quickly swallowed by darkness. Just before he fell asleep, he mumbled, “A man’s words are full of lies, a tyrannosaurus can’t be gentle…”

Si Xuanyang: “…”

So, in Yu Sen’s mind, he’s a tyrannosaurus?

Can’t he just be a person?

---

That night, the female ghost came again, and Yu Sen’s body was repeatedly tortured by extremes of cold and heat. His head throbbed painfully, and he felt so miserable that he wanted to smash his head against the wall, but his body was weak and powerless, unable to move. He couldn’t pull his consciousness away from the darkness on his own.

He had never felt like this before, as if his body was being torn into countless pieces, but the bones and flesh were still connected. Those countless pieces of flesh were being pulled and torn, but not fully severed. His struggles only intensified the pain. His heartbeat pounded louder and louder, like waves threatening to swallow him.

He could feel that Si Xuanyang hadn’t slept a wink, holding him, helping him breathe, giving him water, wiping the sweat from his body, and soothing him with kisses on his forehead…

He didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes, lying limp in his arms like soft mud, but his thoughts drifted far away. He thought that if this gentle little tyrannosaurus was like this, he’d have to make sure to marry him when they got out of here.

…

He didn’t know when he fell asleep again, nor how he was woken up. When he woke up again, it took him almost ten minutes to gradually focus his vision.

He looked at Si Xuanyang beside him and murmured, “Yang Yang?”

The panic and anxiety on Si Xuanyang’s face finally receded when he saw Yu Sen regain consciousness, and he sighed in relief, speaking softly, “You’re awake? How do you feel?”

“Like a last-minute revival…”

Si Xuanyang’s fingers trembled, and he furrowed his brow, about to say something when Yu Sen continued weakly, “Why do you look so haggard? Like you’ve aged ten years. Where’s my youthful and handsome secret lover? Where did you put him…”

“…”

Taking care of you all night, worrying about you all night—how could I not look haggard? You heartless guy!

Si Xuanyang sighed helplessly, “You should take a look at yourself first. You’re way more haggard than I am.”

“That’s why I said it’s like a last-minute revival.”

Si Xuanyang: “…You better stop jinxing yourself.” Great, by the end of the conversation, it was still him with the heart attack.

…

This morning, two more people were found dead in their rooms, both in very gruesome conditions.

It seemed that after those female ghosts left Yu Sen’s room, they didn’t idle away the long night and managed to find a couple of unlucky souls.

When Yu Sen heard the news from Si Nan, he didn’t say anything, mostly because he didn’t have the strength to say anything. He didn’t get to eat dinner last night, then went through such a long ordeal in the middle of the night, sweating profusely and almost dehydrating. It was already impressive that he could still stand.

Si Xuanyang led him downstairs, and Si Nan followed behind, staring at their clasped hands. Inside, he was becoming numb, just hoping that they were only enthusiastic about role-playing in the world of the clock and that once they returned to the real world, everything would go back to normal, understanding the true meaning of “friendly love and respect.”

But thinking that this might not be the last clock world and there would be more opportunities for them to bond, he felt a pang of desolation.

The road ahead was uncertain!

…

After breakfast, the four of them went to the corpse pit that Guo Xiang and the others had visited yesterday. Yu Sen was sensitive to the smell, and even from a distance, he was already retching and feeling nauseous.

Si Xuanyang told him and Luo Yu to stay put for safety while he and Si Nan went to collect the corpse oil.

After all, the note said “burn the silver-haired vampire,” so even if they killed Lance, they would still need to burn him to complete the task. Therefore, they had to collect the corpse oil.

Tonight was the time for action.

^[1]Author’s note:

Yu Ge—Not very strong but has big ambitions. Friends, type #YuGeIsTheTop#! Even if he is sickly, spoiled, scheming, and as beautiful as a flower, he is still the top!