The White Moonlight Turns Out to Be a Black-Hearted Lotus - Chapter 24

Pei Xu had not expected such an answer and was momentarily dazed.

He tilted his face up to look at Ji Yuanhui, then reached out his hand to touch the man’s face. Ji Yuanhui lowered his head, proactively kissing Pei Xu’s fingertips before they could make contact.

Pei Xu curled his fingers inward; Ji Yuanhui moved away, only to lean in and kiss him properly.

During the kiss, the person in his arms wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close.

“Your Highness, I am another year older…” In an extremely intimate posture, their noses brushing against each other, Pei Xu pleaded in a very soft voice, “Don’t push me away again.”

Ji Yuanhui saw his own reflection in Pei Xu’s eyes—eyes so clear, a pure black, quietly reflecting his own expressionless face.

His jawline was taut, an expression of someone suppressing something with all their might.

To allow Pei Xu to live a normal life, Ji Yuanhui felt he had done his best to hide his rampaging possessiveness, but occasionally, this thing would still spiral out of control and claw its way out of his body.

Especially when they were alone, he always wanted to lock Pei Xu up, or even consume him entirely.

But he wasn’t so mad as to actually put those thoughts into action. Thus, when he truly couldn’t endure it any longer, he would bite Pei Xu. The neck, the wrists, the collarbone… the strength used was light; perhaps Pei Xu thought it was merely ordinary flirtatious kissing.

But today, he failed to restrain his strength slightly, and Pei Xu let out a muffled groan from the bite.

Ji Yuanhui snapped back to his senses. He stopped and gently rubbed the bite mark on the side of Pei Xu’s neck with his thumb. “Are you afraid?”

Pei Xu’s eyelashes trembled with tension. He thought for a moment and then said, “A little…”

Ji Yuanhui suddenly got out of bed, seemingly going to search for something.

Pei Xu wanted to drape some clothes over himself and sit up, but Ji Yuanhui’s movements earlier hadn’t been gentle, and his clothes had been torn. Consequently, he could only huddle under the quilt and wait.

Ji Yuanhui returned quickly, holding a small box of ointment and a jade pendant in his hand.

“Our token of love.” Ji Yuanhui pressed the jade pendant into his hand, turning gentle again as he slowly kissed him. “Will holding it make you feel better?”

Pei Xu held the jade pendant, appearing dazed for a moment. Then, with a lingering obsession, he hugged Ji Yuanhui’s neck and lifted his waist to cooperate with the movements of his hands. His voice carried the innocence of someone encountering this for the first time: “Is it like this?”

“Yes.” Ji Yuanhui watched the person in his arms being coaxed into opening his body to him, placing a kiss on the corner of his reddened eye. “Very good.”

Pei Xu panted softly, his mind in a state of chaos. He didn’t know if what he was doing was right, but if Ji Yuanhui said it was right, then it was right. If Ji Yuanhui praised him even a little, he ceased to care about anything else.

Ji Yuanhui’s gaze dropped to the person in his arms. Pei Xu’s eyes and cheeks were flushed, his gaze misty. He truly had no strength left, so he could only grasp onto the man as support.

Ji Yuanhui lifted one of his legs to rest over his shoulder, kissing his calf, and then leaned down again, cupping his face carefully and preciously to kiss him.

Pei Xu pressed his hand against the man’s chest, his voice seemingly carrying a damp mist as he pleaded in a weak, soft tone: “Slower…”

Ji Yuanhui brushed aside his sweat-dampened forehead hair and pinched his neck while kissing him, letting out a soft chuckle: “Do you really want it slow?”

He was answered by intermittent, irrepressible cries and gasps.

When Pei Xu lost himself and tried to hide, Ji Yuanhui pinched his chin, admiring his face as it was immersed in desire.

“So beautiful it makes one’s heart ache…” Ji Yuanhui bit his earlobe gently, murmuring in a low voice, “I want to lock you up.”

[Is that true…]

Pei Xu gazed at him for a long time with a tender, deeply attached look. His moistened eyes were like a pool of spring water that had just seen rain. “Keep looking at me with that gaze from just now, Your Highness.”

Ji Yuanhui’s palm rested against his face, as if cupping a pool of spring water or a handful of moonlight. “What gaze?”

“The gaze that wants to break my wings and lock me up.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

He shook his head, his gaze drifting aimlessly, his cheeks flushed light red. “I like it.”

[I like it so much…]

“What are you thinking about now?” Ji Yuanhui supported him by the waist, pulling him on top to become even more inseparable. “Say it.”

Pei Xu braced himself against the man’s shoulders, his voice broken: “Your Highness… tie me up.”

“With rope…”

“Or with love.”

It was a rainy spring day. When Ji Yuanhui woke up in the damp air, he still felt a hard-to-ignore sense of confinement around his neck.

Pei Xu’s arm was locked around his neck, his head resting against his chin, his whole body snuggled into his chest as if he wished he could embed himself into him.

Ji Yuanhui stroked his hair and kissed the top of his head.

It was a good thing; Pei Xu was becoming increasingly close to and trusting of him.

At the very beginning, he would only curl himself into a small ball that didn’t take up much space, as if terrified of being driven away. Later, he slowly began to stretch out his body, and now, he seemed to have fewer misgivings. He was no longer afraid of being driven away, but rather afraid that Ji Yuanhui would leave.

Ji Yuanhui lifted a corner of the quilt, his gaze sweeping inch by inch over Pei Xu’s body.

The shoulders, the waist, the base of the thighs… every place that could be hidden under clothing was covered in a dense array of kiss marks and bite marks.

Ji Yuanhui covered him back up with the quilt and buried his face in Pei Xu’s chest to breathe him in. He felt very secure; Pei Xu was covered inside and out with his marks. Every patch of skin bore his branding.

Probably because he was exhausted from yesterday, Pei Xu had not yet woken up.

Ji Yuanhui began to toy with his body out of boredom, his hand gripping the man’s waist, lost in thought as he pinched it.

Ji Yuanhui vaguely remembered once dreaming that he and Pei Xu had a rather disobedient child, but he couldn’t quite imagine how someone with such a thin waist and such a frail frame could bear a child for him.

He averted his gaze, choosing not to think further on it.

His hand continued to move upward, his rough fingertips brushing against a red and swollen area. He saw Pei Xu’s brow furrow in his sleep because of it, so he doubled down and lowered his head to touch it.

“Your Highness…” Pei Xu woke up amidst the tingling and stinging sensation, helplessly hugging Ji Yuanhui’s neck and calling out again, “Your Highness…”

Ji Yuanhui raised his head as if nothing had happened, even considerately pulling up the quilt for him. “What’s wrong?”

Pei Xu’s brow was piteously furrowed. “It hurts a bit, I think the skin is broken…”

“Is that so? Let me feel.” Ji Yuanhui moved his hand over. “It seems a bit swollen, but the skin shouldn’t be broken.”

Pei Xu rested his forehead against the man’s chest and said softly, “It hurts…”

Ji Yuanhui’s hand still didn’t move away, waiting for him to speak up and make a request. “If you want me to let go, just say so. Don’t just suffer without knowing how to refuse.”

“If Your Highness likes it this way, you don’t have to mind me.” Pei Xu rubbed his forehead gently against him. “I’m okay.”

Ji Yuanhui noticed his subconscious fawning—a behavior of constantly consuming himself in order to retain the other person.

“Rongrong.” Ji Yuanhui moved slightly, creating some distance between them and shifting to a level gaze rather than looking down. “Listen to me.”

Pei Xu nodded. “I’m listening.”

“To me, you are the most important, the absolute most important, do you understand?” Ji Yuanhui looked into his eyes. “You don’t need to deliberately cater to me. I love you exactly as you are.”

Pei Xu looked back at him. “To me, Your Highness is also the most important. Everything regarding Your Highness is important.”

“No, Rongrong, you are the most important. You yourself are the most important.” Ji Yuanhui corrected him. “Nothing else is as important as you. Your most vital task is to protect yourself and keep yourself happy.”

[Your Highness is the most important.]

Pei Xu refuted him in his heart. Perhaps because he saw that Ji Yuanhui was speaking seriously, he verbally agreed.

Seeing his dismissive answer, Ji Yuanhui repeated once more: “Rongrong is the most important.”

Pei Xu blinked and smiled, murmuring “mm-hmm.”

[Your Highness is the most important.]

Ji Yuanhui didn’t give up: “Rongrong is the most important.”

Pei Xu said, “Thank you, Your Highness. I know.”

[Your Highness is the most important.]

Ji Yuanhui: …

Every time he said a sentence, Pei Xu refuted it in his heart.

“Deceptive compliance.” Ji Yuanhui pressed the man’s head into his chest with a hint of helplessness. “You haven’t listened to a single word I’ve said.”

Pei Xu hugged him back, his cheek pressed against his chest.

[It’s just that Your Highness is the most important.]

Stubborn to the core; once he decided on something, nine oxen couldn’t pull him back.

“Fine, I am the most important.” Ji Yuanhui settled for the next best thing. “Just for my sake, you must be well. Put your own safety first above all else; anything else we can discuss later.”

Pei Xu hummed in response, though it was unclear how much he had actually taken to heart.

He had a face that looked submissive, but in reality, when he turned stubborn, he wouldn’t listen to a single word.

Ji Yuanhui’s teeth itched with a mix of frustration and helplessness.

The boy was already so pitiful; Ji Yuanhui truly couldn’t think of what else he could do to him.

If he’s stubborn, then he’s stubborn. He would just have to raise him with more care.

After washing up and eating breakfast in the morning, Pei Xu received a belated birthday gift.

“My master said he was confused from drinking and remembered the date wrong, he is truly sorry…”

The little Taoist boy handed two small bottles of something to Pei Xu, then pulled out a letter and handed it to Ji Yuanhui. “Master said there were some things he forgot to tell the Great One, and he has written them all down here.”

Pei Xu saw that the little Taoist boy was quite young, so he beckoned to a following servant: “Xiao Shan, bring some pastries for this little Taoist master.”

The servant was quick and immediately brought a plate of mung bean cakes.

Being young after all, the Taoist boy said hesitantly, “I cannot stay long, I must leave soon…”

Pei Xu found the child cute and had someone fetch oil paper to wrap the pastries, handing them to him: “Just take them with you.”

“Um…” The little Taoist boy hesitated for a moment, then finally accepted them joyfully. “Thank you!”

Pei Xu felt the child’s eyes resembled a certain type of small animal—a puppy, or perhaps a little fox.

Watching the little Taoist boy leave, Ji Yuanhui unfolded the so-called letter, which was just a scrap of paper.

“Congratulations, congratulations, may you be united in heart for a hundred years. I won’t wish for you to have a son early, because you can’t produce one right now. It suddenly occurred to me that I forgot to mention earlier: the medicine I gave you has a side effect of preventing pregnancy. When you want to have a child, remember to stop the medicine.

The two bottles newly sent: the blue bottle is your medicine, and the white bottle is a birthday gift for the great-grand-daughter-in-law. Although, it doesn’t matter which of you two takes this stuff; it serves to heighten the mood. Since you’re grown up, enjoy yourselves properly. Wait, I’ve forgotten which bottle contains which medicine. Eh, it’s not a big problem; it won’t kill anyone anyway. Just taste each one and you’ll know what’s in the two bottles.

Yep, that’s it.”

The veins on Ji Yuanhui’s forehead throbbed as he read. He crumpled the letter into a ball: “Disrespectful old charlatan…”

Pei Xu, not understanding, looked at the two small bottles. “What is it? What is inside these bottles?”

“Nothing, they aren’t anything good. I’ll take care of them.” Ji Yuanhui took the small bottles from Pei Xu’s hand and said righteously, “That charlatan loves to make strange things; don’t go eating them randomly.”