Yang Lianting allowed himself to indulge for a moment, to be intimate with the one he endlessly yearned for in his dreams.
Only when Dongfang Bubai was sleeping did he not seem as cold and indifferent as usual.
Or as lonely.
Only when he was asleep did his whole body’s silhouette lose its sternness and appear soft and supple, did his white skin seem as translucent as thousand-year-old treasured jade.
But his eyebrows would still deeply furrow.
Lips touching, lips parting.
Yang Lianting silenced the reluctance in his heart. He smiled bitterly and raised his hand wanting to caress Dongfang Bubai’s cheek as he had done in the past yet he stalled once his hand was about to touch his face.
Clenching his hand into a fist, he ultimately withdrew it.
The chamber was peacefully quiet.
From time to time he heard the faint sound of the candle wicks crackling and the curtains fluttering in the nightly breeze. Sitting on the edge of the soft bed, Yang Lianting gazed at the sleeping Dongfang Bubai.
After gazing at him for a long, long time did the horribly thin, wan and haggard figure from his past life unconsciously emerge in his mind. Even though he had peerlessly stood atop the Wulin, even though he had entrusted his entire heart to him, the man in red who had borne all the suffering, all the torment he had caused him had still been the loneliest one beneath the heavens until the very end. And the Dongfang before him?
He was cold, proud, and unconstrained.
Even though it was lonely at the top at least his heart was still his own, at least no one would become the Invincible East’s sole weakness in this life.
For a moment he hesitated, yet he ultimately did not want to provoke him a second time. His innermost feelings, the tip of his heart, seemed to be stabbed by a blade. The pain was dull yet the wound continued to seep blood that densely flowed and dripped downward, drop by drop.
He did not know how much time passed.
Yang Lianting eventually rose and, half a step away from the bed, silently stood still. He deeply gazed at Dongfang, his brows knit tightly together and his lips curved into a soft smile; as if he wanted to speak, his lips lightly moved yet he stood up and turned to leave with quiet steps.
Once Yang Lianting turned his back toward him, the sleeping Dongfang Bubai’s eyelashes lightly fluttered and his eyes slowly opened. Eyebrows deeply creased and eyes looking complex, he felt furious and offended, felt dazed and uncertain.
The moment Yang Lianting’s lips touched his own Dongfang Bubai woke up. Heart skipping a beat, he even habitually wanted to raise his hand to kill Yang Lianting with a single strike of his palm. Not knowing why, once he smelled the faint aroma on the man’s body and heard him sigh, Dongfang Bubai lay still on the bed as if his acupoints were hit. Yang Lianting sat at his side for a long time, while he pretended to be asleep at his side for a long time. In the peacefully quiet chamber, he could even hear Yang Lianting’s breathing, feel the gaze of his eyes on him for a long time. To Dongfang Bubai this serene intimacy felt truly delicate. No one had ever dared to be so close to him, dared to offend him like he had.
Towards Yang Lianting, towards this man, who inexplicably became the biggest anomaly in his heart, his heart held hostility and killing intent. However, he could not take a single, miniscule action against him, he could not bear to lift his hand.
Yang Lianting’s back was truly handsome.
Shrouded in the dimly burning candlelight, even wearing the ordinary yellow guard uniform Yang Lianting’s figure made him unexpectedly unable to move his eyes away from him. Dongfang Bubai lightly pursed his thin lips yet his beating heart felt like it were thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil.[10] Unable to sort out his unclear feelings, he felt uncomfortably irritated.
Yang Lianting gripped the door handles, he was about to open the wooden doors. Possibly due to the connection between their minds, he paused his footsteps and stood still, then slowly turned his head and glanced back.
Dongfang Bubai did not expect to meet Yang Lianting’s pair of eyes. Instantly he froze, yet it was already too late to close his eyes again. Dongfang lost his bearings, feeling faintly frightened and bewildered.
Looking into Dongfang Bubai’s cold and solemn eyes, for an instant, fireworks exploded in Yang Lianting’s heart only to fade and leave him feeling both sorrowful and joyful at once.
Dongfang is awake.
Then that one kiss he gave him was with his tacit consent. To Yang Lianting this was undoubtedly the best, the very best event since rebirth. He nearly failed to suppress the waves of emotions flooding his heart. He swallowed dryly, took a deep breath, and walked to Dongfang Bubai’s side once again.
“Yang Lianting, you–”
Dongfang Bubai initially felt a little flustered and avoided his eyes out of habit, he did not know what to say. After a while, he finally recalled that he ought to express the mighty and imposing manner befitting of the cult master. He was about to rebuke him, when he was stunned by Yang Lianting’s next action.
Opening his eyes wide, not knowing how to react.
Yang Lianting kissed him once again.
Rather, offended him once again.
The kiss expressed complex feelings that Dongfang could not understand, expressed the joy of regaining something after it had been long lost, expressed the guilt and yearning passing through two lifetimes. Yang Lianting let go of the constraints in his heart and placed the entirety of his feelings into this deep kiss.
He forgot all and deeply kissed the man before him.
Dongfang Bubai felt overwhelmed initially, then enraged, yet after feeling enraged his mind gave in to the temptation of Yang Lianting’s long and loving kiss.
In this life, apart from martial arts, when had he experienced this? Short of breath, eyes hazy, and mind losing consciousness, Dongfang Bubai wanted to resist but was too stunned by the kiss to react. A gentle kiss imbued with overflowing, cherishing, and intense love.
“Dongfang, I won’t let go of you again.”
Hearing the words whispered beside his ear, Dongfang Bubai was stunned still and then slowly opened his eyes. Looking into Yang Lianting’s eyes, as if caught in a daze.
The man gazed at him in the dim candlelight, his pupils pitch-black and profound, illuminated by the flickering flames a clear reflection could be seen within. Time flowing like water, passing through many years, as if the pitch-black horizon were lit up by the fist light of dawn. The moment Dongfang Bubai saw his own reflection in his eyes, the rims of his eyes reddened and from the depths of his heart a bust of indescribably distinct emotions rose.
Time passed.
Yang Lianting let go of him panting heavily, Dongfang Bubai lay on the soft bed; seemingly in tacit agreement, the two of them stayed silent for a long time. Dongfang pursed his lips, emotions indiscernible, his voice so soft it was nearly inaudible.