Chu Wanning had one leg raised and hovering steadily over the water surface. Upon hearing Mo Ran's shout, he turned around and gave Mo Ran a quizzical look. Mo Ran almost had a heart attack then and there. He ran toward his shizun and pulled him away from the pond by his waist. Even after they were safely away from the pond, Mo Ran's heart could not stop pounding against his ribcage. He was so scared. Chu Wanning just went through a delicate resurrection process. What if Mo Ran had come a minute too late? Would he find his shizun floating on the pond, dead again, just like how he was during the two years that Taxian-Jun refused to let him die???
Mo Ran could not stop his tears from falling.
"Wanning, what did you do?" he wept bitterly. "Why did you want to harm yourself like that?"
It pained Mo Ran even more to realize that the body in his arms was so thin, so frail. He knew that the four years of seclusion would take a toll on Chu Wanning's body but he did not expect Chu Wanning to be barely more than a bag of bones! It was as if the man in his arms could disappear at any time. As if he could evaporate into thin air without even a single goodbye, just like what he wanted to do in the Underworld. Disappear. Erase his whole existence. Mo Ran wanted to squeeze Chu Wanning hard but he did not dare to. He was afraid to break him. All he could do was hold him tight and sobbed into his shoulder like a child.
"Don't leave me," he begged. "Please don't leave me again."
-I cannot take it. I cannot see you dead for the third time. I would rather die than have you die on me again…
-Shizun, please punish me however you want. Don't neglect yourself again, alright?
Chu Wanning patted Mo Ran's back clumsily.
"But I only wanted to take a bath."
Mo Ran grabbed Chu Wanning's shoulder and glared at him with a tear-streaked face.
"In the cold pond?? Not allowed!" He snapped angrily.
Chu Wanning looked dejected. "But I… I just want to wash up…"
Mo Ran swept Chu Wanning up in his arms with one swift movement and carried him back into the bed-chamber like a princess. The fact that Chu Wanning was as light as feather only served to land another stab into Mo Ran's heart.
"If you want to take a bath, I will draw a warm bath for you. Don't move anywhere, don't do anything. I will get you a bathtub first."
Chu Wanning let himself be carried into the bed-chamber without resistance. When he saw the bag of food on the table, his eyes perked up.
"Did you bring me something?"
Mo Ran almost forgot about the breakfast. He put Chu Wanning down on a chair.
"Yes, I brought you some breakfast."
Mo Ran took out the tofu pudding, the soy milk, the buns, and the pancakes from the bag and spread them like a little feast on the table. Chu Wanning's eyes lit up in joy.
"For me?" he asked incredulously, glancing up at Mo Ran as if the latter was the nicest man that he had ever met. Mo Ran flushed visibly, but he also felt sad. Chu Wanning deserved to have someone bring him breakfast like this every day. Pamper him, feed him, make him feel safe. Why did he not think about doing this kind of thing earlier? If only he had been nicer to his shizun...
"Yes, you have to eat everything."
Chu Wanning grabbed the jar of soy milk first and sipped on it happily. As Mo Ran watched Chu Wanning's happy expression, the dark clouds in his heart dispersed gradually. The hands that were cold from fright slowly warmed up. His heart stopped beating like crazy, and he could breathe normally again.
Mo Ran caressed Chu Wanning's cheek carefully, afraid that he would choke from his sudden touch.
"Is it delicious?"
Chu Wanning nodded.
"Do you want some?"
Mo Ran swallowed. He wanted some milk, but he wanted to sample the milk directly from Chu Wanning's soft lips. He wanted to suck at Chu Wanning's tongue and made him flush and breathless from his hungry kisses. Before that perverted thought dug deeper into his mind, Mo Ran shook his head frantically to expel it completely.
"Oh, what a pity. It is very delicious," Chu Wanning said, mistaking Mo Ran's wild headshake for utter dislike toward the soy milk.
Mo Ran swallowed hard. What the hell was wrong with him? Yesterday he wanted a kiss. This morning he also wanted a kiss. He wanted to worship his shizun respectfully, but why was it that he kept wanting to do more than just kiss the ground he walked on?
-Stop it, Mo Ran!
-You promised to be good to him.
-To love him.
-To respect him.
-You must not harbor dirty thoughts about your Shizun.
-He is a god up in heaven.
-You shall not lust after him, not even in your daydreams!
Mo Ran took a meatbun and split it in half to show Chu Wanning the fragrant minced pork inside. It was unfortunately seasoned with scallions. Mo Ran's heart dropped to the ground. Chu Wanning disliked scallions.
The man in front of him pressed his lips tightly as he stared at the scallion bits all around the meat filling.
Mo Ran thought about giving Chu Wanning the vegetable bun instead, but Chu Wanning took the meatbun halves from Mo Ran's hands and bit into one of them.
"Wanning, don't you hate scallions?"
Wanning nodded. "Mmm."
Mo Ran poked at his hand, urging him to return the meatbun halves to him. "Come, don't eat it anymore. Eat the vegetable bun, alright? It has no scallions."
"No," Chu Wanning said resolutely. "Mo Ran already made the efforts to get these meatbuns so I will not waste them."
-Oh, Wanning…
Chu Wanning's sweetness was like a nail to Mo Ran's coffin.
Chu Wanning extended his hand and offered the untouched half of the meatbun to Mo Ran.
"Eat with me?" he asked.
Mo Ran smiled. "Alright."
They shared half of everything, even the tofu pudding that Mo Ran hated so much. The only reason he was able to swallow it was because the sight of Chu Wanning eating happily was enough to push the food down his throat and prevent it from coming back up his throat.
After they finished the large breakfast, Chu Wanning raised a finger and wiped the oil away from Mo Ran's lips using a napkin. Mo Ran got to look at Chu Wanning's beautiful phoenix eyes that radiated softness and affection. Then the gentle lines framing his face, the accentuated nose bridge, the pale pink lips, the knot at his throat, the… Mo Ran swallowed hard again. He balled his fingers into fists.
-No.
-No no no.
-Respect him. Adore him. Love him.
-Do not have any untoward feelings toward him!
Chu Wanning licked the pudding sauce off his own lips, the tongue appearing and disappearing quickly like a shy maiden that was hiding from a ravenous wolf.
Mo Ran almost combusted from the inside. He would give anything. ANYTHING. To just pin Chu Wanning on the bed again and pry his mouth open and…
Mo Ran cleared his throat a few times. Would Chu Wanning question it if he suddenly started to bang his head against the wall a few times? He should go back to secluded meditation to expel the dirty thoughts away from his mind. As soon as possible. He could hear qi deviation knocking at his door.
"Um…" Chu Wanning mumbled. "The bath…"
"Oh, right!" Mo Ran quickly stood up. He was relieved to have something else to do other than fantasizing about kissing Chu Wanning. "Don't go anywhere," he reminded Chu Wanning. "Sit here. Don't move. Don't do anything. I will be back soon. Very, very soon."
Chu Wanning nodded. "Un."
Mo Ran wanted to borrow a bathtub from Sisheng Peak, but the thought of letting Chu Wanning bathe in the same bathtub that hundreds of random disciples used previously filled him with extreme disgust. It was not appropriate at all! Mo Ran thus stepped on his saber and flew to Wuchang Town to get Chu Wanning a brand new bathtub.
Relieved to find his shizun being obedient and not trying to jump into the pond again, Mo Ran quickly filled the bathtub with cold pond water and heated it up using his spiritual power. He even put up a barrier with warming property around the tub so the water would not cool down too quickly.
Mo Ran respectfully put room dividers to separate the bathtub from the rest of the room and sat outside while Chu Wanning took a bath. He urged Chu Wanning to keep talking to him so that he knew that Chu Wanning was doing fine.
"I can bathe just fine," Chu Wanning said. "Don't worry."
Mo Ran could not say that he simply did not want to take the risk. He was worried that Chu Wanning was doing a lot more than he was supposed to do. Did Master Huaizui mean that Mo Ran should just watch over Chu Wanning as he drifted in and out of sleep? Was he even allowed to eat and bathe? How many hours was he allowed to stay awake? Arrrghhhhh so many questions. Mo Ran cursed himself for not asking Master Huaizui in detail about what Chu Wanning could and could not do.
On top of that, unsavory thoughts started to invade Mo Ran's mind again. Behind the room divider, his Shizun was naked. Unable to see the man's naked form, Mo Ran's hearing sense was amplified by at least ten times. He could hear the sound of water pouring down Chu Wanning's jade skin, the sound of Chu Wanning playing with the bathwater. The sound of Chu Wanning rubbing his limbs with fragrant soap bars… His slender arms, his straight back, his fair chest, his narrow waist, his shapely legs, his…
Mo Ran ended up banging his head on the floor repeatedly. He was in hell. If he had only been imagining himself ravaging Chu Wanning's lips before, now he was literally imagining himself rubbing every part of Chu Wanning's body with his large, coarse hands. He wanted to clean the man behind the divider with his tongue, only to dirty him again by every means possible, making him submit under his body as their sweaty limbs were closely intertwined and climb the peak of pleasure together…
He could almost see Chu Fei's face when the wave of pleasure shook him violently, forcing him to let out a sweet moan as he struggled to get away from Mo Ran to no avail. It only served to squeeze the gigantic rod in his body even more, propelling Taxian-Jun to pump into him savagely for his own thundering release…
"Mo Ran?"
Mo Ran lifted his eyes to see a pair of bare, alluringly tender feet in front of him. Chu Wanning ended his bath early when he heard mysterious banging sounds beyond the room divider. He stepped out of the bathtub and stood in front of Mo Ran, water dripping languidly down his wet form. Fearing for his life, Mo Ran did not dare to look up at all.