"A-Fan," he whispered, his hot breath blowing against the back of my ear. He was too close and he even pressed his chest against my back.
I wriggled. "Get off me."
The more that he moved his body closer until I was flattened against the hard wall.
"Yuan, this is so awkward!" I scolded.
"I won't do anything to you," he whispered. "Just listen to me."
I tried to calm my anger down. "I will listen, but let me go."
After heaving two deep breaths, he finally released my hands and took a step back.
I drew a relieved breath and turned around to face him.
"There is something that I need to tell you," he said. "It's very important. It's a rather complicated one so I can't say it here. Let's go to a safe place. You may return here later should you choose to."
"I'll meet you some other place during the day. Do not come dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night. No decent person does that."
"I could not get a chance to speak to you during the day. The devil has been guarding you like a dog watching over his precious bone."
"I'll find a way."
"No. It's either we talk tonight or we might never have another chance."
"Then say it here."
"I told you it's complicated and you might not like it. I won't risk you reacting violently and wake the devil up."
"Stop calling him the devil!" I rasped, which somehow surprised me why I was speaking in defense of Ruan Yanjun, even though I myself had been referring to him the same way.
"A-Fan!" he softly exclaimed. "You've been enchanted by the devil!"
I stiffened. I remembered that dark cultivators had a spell called the Devil's Charm that allowed them to enthrall a person.
After considering the possibility for a moment, I shook my head.
So far, I was still sane and I felt no odd feelings towards Ruan Yanjun, and I did not think the leader of the world-renowned Eternal Damnation Sect would resort to such an underhanded method. He may be a devil, but he still possessed some decency.
"A-Fan."
Liang Yuan and I held our breaths as we turned to the door, where the voice came from.
Speak of the devil! He must have heard the commotion, or one of his men guarding the door must have and had gone to wake him up.
"Are you alright in there?" Ruan Yanjun asked. His voice was calm, but I knew too well how he never showed emotions even in a state of anger.
I tried to respond, to tell him that I was fine, but my throat felt too tight my voice would certainly not sound well, and he'd definitely notice it.
Liang Yuan knew he was short of time so he grabbed me on both arms and shook me. "Let's leave right away. There's no time to waste."
"No, you leave right now before he barges in. Hurry."
"You are not the orphaned commoner you think you are. You are way more than that," he said in a desperate attempt to lure me to leave with him. "Come with me and I will tell you everything."
He tried one last time to drag me along, but it was too late.
As I heard the door open, I pushed him out of the window.
I quickly turned around and found Ruan Yanjun's dark figure approaching. I could only hope that Liang Yuan had made it out in time.
I did not dare utter a word and even tried to make my heart stop beating so he would not sense the fear within me.
He bent down and picked something up. When his silhouette became clearer, I realized he had the ball of light in his hand. Liang Yuan must have dropped it on the floor earlier.
"A light cultivator," he concluded as he stepped closer to me.
I did not desist when he gently pushed me to the side so he could look out of the window.
He smirked. "General Liang it is."
I froze.
He knows Liang Yuan?
"Like a rat scampering back to his filthy hole."
I thought he would follow Liang Yuan, but to my relief, he turned to me instead. He held my chin and tilted my head up so he could see my face.
I felt the tension in his breath when he probably noticed something.
"How dare that rat ruin my A-Fan's perfection." He gently brushed his thumb over my lower right cheek. When I felt the sting, that was the only time I realized that I was wounded. I probably got it when I fought with Liang Yuan.
"It's just a small cut," I said.
"If someone cuts Jinjing's face, will you say the same?"
I definitely would not allow anyone to harm Jinjing, not especially her face. "She's a woman. I'm a man. The situation should not be compared."
"It's precisely because you are a man that I am very protective of you. There are many beautiful women in this world, but a beauty like yours is rare."
I did not bother to respond anymore. Hearing those words from him made me want to throw up. I'd rather pretend I heard nothing.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked again.
I shook my head.
"What did he tell you?" he asked.
"…It's nothing."
"A-Fan, you're not a good liar."
"He was just trying to convince me to leave you and go with him."
"And?"
"I have given you my word. I will not leave."
He sighed and released my chin. "I think that man likes you."
I frowned. "Lord Ruan, he's my sect brother and my cousin."
"I've heard of cousins getting married."
I flushed. "We are both men."
"That's exactly what I mean. Two men, who are cousins, getting married."
I flushed even more. "Lord Ruan, please don't utter ludicrous things."
He smirked. "Does it sound too revolting to you?"
"It does."
He laughed deeply. "Once you regain your sight, you will never believe the things you will see. You might wish you should have just remained blind."
I pondered about what he said.
Does that mean that such kind of immorality is a normal scene in the secular world?
"Come. Sleep in my room."
My eyes widened.
"Your admirer will come back to abduct you. Do you still want to stay here?"
He was right. Liang Yuan might return and I did not want to continue arguing with him.
Without uttering any objection, I reached for my things and followed Ruan Yanjun to his room. The moment I walked in, he closed the door.
"Sleep on the bed," he said. "I'll stay on guard."
I was embarrassed to think that I would be sleeping while he stayed up to guard me. "I think I'll just stay awake and keep you company."
"You are sick. You need to rest. Right now."
Without saying another word, I left my things on the table and lay down on the bed.
He turned off the light and my vision became pitch black.
I felt him sit on my side.
"Close your eyes and sleep," he demanded.
I closed my eyes but no matter how I tried, I could not fall asleep. While the devil was sitting right beside me, I could not feel safe, but if I returned to my room, the risk would be greater.
This would be a long sleepless night.