The die is cast.

“After taking the antidote, you will be paralyzed and unable to move for half a day.” Fu Zhi handed the medicine bottle to Beigong Juechen, his expression emotionless as he spoke. Beigong Juechen raised an eyebrow, smiled slightly, and took the bottle without hesitation, drinking it down. He tossed the bottle aside and sneered, “I’m stuck in your little pavilion anyway. Whether I can move or not makes no difference.”

Fu Zhi shook his head indifferently, “We need to go to the courtyard. Within two hours of taking the antidote, you must be exposed to sunlight. You took it too early, so now I’ll have to carry you out.” Beigong Juechen’s eye twitched stiffly. He looked at Fu Zhi, whose demeanor was icy and detached, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Clearly delighted, yet insisting on maintaining a serious facade—such a cold-faced man truly is… rather adorable… Beigong Juechen mused to himself, then lazily stretched out his arms.

Fu Zhi frowned in confusion. Beigong Juechen glanced at him languidly, “Aren’t you going to carry me out? What are you waiting for?” A suspicious blush appeared on Fu Zhi’s pale face as he slowly leaned over, one hand wrapping around Beigong Juechen’s shoulder, the other beneath his knees.

Sensing Fu Zhi’s awkwardness, Beigong Juechen’s barely-there smile widened. He casually rested his hand on Fu Zhi’s shoulder and said, half-joking, “If you dawdle any longer, the sun will set.” Fu Zhi pressed his lips together and finally scooped him up, carrying him swiftly toward the courtyard below the pavilion.

Beigong Juechen watched the blush on Fu Zhi’s pale cheeks with amusement, then suddenly leaned closer. Fu Zhi’s hands trembled, yet he held Beigong Juechen steady in his arms. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Beigong Juechen whispered, “How come I never noticed before—you blush so easily.” His lips were only a palm’s breadth from Fu Zhi’s face, and his warm breath brushed across Fu Zhi’s skin. Beigong Juechen was pleased to see that Fu Zhi’s face grew even redder.

Unable to restrain himself, Beigong Juechen burst into laughter. The days of suppressed anger and tension seemed to ease at last. Fu Zhi stopped walking, looked down at the laughing man in his arms, and said coldly, his face still flushed, “Stop laughing. If you don’t, I’ll take you back inside and let your poison go unresolved.”

Beigong Juechen kept laughing. He lifted his eyes and said, “You can try.” Fu Zhi’s brows furrowed; he stared at Beigong Juechen, as if pondering his words. Beigong Juechen’s bold laughter didn’t falter. After a moment, Fu Zhi sighed and resumed his brisk pace.

It was their agreement, after all—Fu Zhi could not break his promise.

In the courtyard, a rocking chair awaited, layered with a thick brocade blanket. Fu Zhi gently placed Beigong Juechen onto the rocking chair, covered him with another thin quilt, and sat down beside him.

The wind was not strong today, yet still cold. The afternoon sun was gentle, not hot, but comfortable as it shone upon them. Beigong Juechen closed his eyes and chuckled softly, “It’s been more than ten years since we’ve basked in the sun together.”

Yes, basking in the sun. When they were young, the two would gather herbs, and when tired, lie on the grass under the sun. Back then, Beigong Juechen and Fu Zhi were only teenagers. They already displayed early signs of aloofness and pride, but still indulged in childish things—like sunbathing.

Recalling the past, even Fu Zhi’s chilly expression softened. He looked at Beigong Juechen, peaceful with his eyes closed, and quietly replied, “Yes.”

Beigong Juechen fell silent, gently rocking the chair. The courtyard grew quiet, broken only by the occasional sound of wind.

Fu Zhi dragged his own seat closer, silently watching Beigong Juechen. His brows and eyes, always cold, now carried a trace of warmth. Beigong Juechen was beautiful, and proud—beautiful to the extreme, proud to the extreme—making people yearn for him, and that yearning was often tinged with reverence, as with Qi Yong.

Beigong Qiyi once said his love was pure love, but in truth, his love was indeed only love, yet from the start it carried the resolve to break rather than bend. His love was not just love, but destruction.

Only Fu Zhi’s love was the purest—pure as blank paper. He had no need to fill it with words; he simply loved Beigong Juechen quietly, without reverence, nor possessiveness. His only selfish act was this one—asking Beigong Juechen to stay with him for ten days.

His love was simple, yet weighty. Perhaps this was why Beigong Juechen could not refuse him. He understood Fu Zhi’s loneliness, understood the man himself, and naturally understood his love. Fu Zhi’s love was light, yet so heavy.

Beigong Juechen slowly opened his deep green eyes, and their gazes met unexpectedly. Fu Zhi’s expression remained calm, but it stirred waves in Beigong Juechen’s eyes. Those beautiful emerald phoenix eyes became even more stunning, so much so that even Fu Zhi, usually so composed, was captivated and lowered his head.

His lips hovered just a breath away from those gentle red lips, but he did not close the gap.

Because someone had arrived.

Beigong Qiyi looked at them coldly, his hands clenched tightly. “Master Fu Zhi,” he said icily, “I entrusted my brother to you, not for you to do such improper things.”

Fu Zhi’s brows knitted together, about to look up, but Beigong Juechen reached out first, grabbing Fu Zhi’s collar. He was indeed powerless now, making the movement difficult. Fu Zhi stared at him in surprise. Beigong Juechen cast a sidelong glance at Beigong Qiyi, smiled coldly, and pressed his lips firmly to Fu Zhi’s.

Beigong Qiyi’s expression changed abruptly. He narrowed his eyes at their entwined lips, a blood-red tint surfacing in his dark gaze.

A dead leaf brushed Fu Zhi’s hair. Beigong Juechen released him and turned to Beigong Qiyi, whose expression was cold. He didn’t even glance at Beigong Juechen, only glared at Fu Zhi with reddened eyes, his fists clenched tighter. Fu Zhi stood unmoving, indifferent, but in the next moment, he sprang into action.

Beigong Qiyi moved as well, leaping before Fu Zhi. The flexible sword hidden in his sleeve flashed out, weaving a dozen sword flowers in an instant, lunging straight for Fu Zhi. His sword was fast, but Fu Zhi was faster. His white sleeves billowed in the wind, and he had already slipped behind Beigong Qiyi.

He struck at Beigong Qiyi’s back. Beigong Qiyi could have dodged, but stood still, unmoving. Fu Zhi frowned in surprise, but his hand could not be withdrawn.

His palm landed heavily on Beigong Qiyi’s back. Beigong Qiyi staggered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Yet, to Fu Zhi’s astonishment, Beigong Juechen at the side also spat out a mouthful of blood.

As Fu Zhi hesitated, Beigong Qiyi smiled faintly, and with a reversed grip, stabbed his sword deep into Fu Zhi’s left side, piercing through. Fu Zhi’s vision blurred; he squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, Beigong Qiyi’s sword was already aimed at his chest.

He could not evade this blow. To be precise, he could no longer counter Beigong Qiyi’s attacks.

Yet the sword did not pierce his chest. As the tip tore his clothing, Beigong Juechen’s cold voice rang out, “Stop.” The sword halted instantly, advancing no further.

Blood stained Beigong Juechen’s lips, and Beigong Qiyi’s as well, his sword still pressed to Fu Zhi’s chest. Beigong Juechen spoke indifferently, “Beigong Qiyi, what do you intend?”

Beigong Qiyi wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at Beigong Juechen, smiling slowly. “What do I intend? Brother, I’m only here to take you home. I’ve missed you terribly these days, but…” His expression shifted, smile vanishing completely. His clenched hand moved again, staining Fu Zhi’s white robe with dark red blood. “I missed you so much, yet you betrayed me!”

Beigong Juechen sneered, “Beigong Qiyi, between us, what is there to call betrayal?”

Beigong Qiyi’s gaze grew colder. He glanced at Fu Zhi and mocked, “There was Qi Yong before, now Fu Zhi. Brother, your charm is truly remarkable. But…” He withdrew his sword, sealed Fu Zhi’s acupoint, and strolled to Beigong Juechen’s side.

Beigong Juechen had no strength left. He closed his eyes, expressionless. Beigong Qiyi squatted down, gripping Beigong Juechen’s jaw forcefully. “Brother, you once said that if not for the Beigong surname, I would have been trampled by thousands. Now I want to ask—at the Hundred Demons Palace, and here, have you ever been taken by others?”

Beigong Juechen’s eyes snapped open, icy as frozen jade. He turned his gaze to Beigong Qiyi and smiled seductively, a smile that made Beigong Qiyi’s heart tremble. But Beigong Juechen’s next words changed his expression instantly.

“If I say yes, what can you do? What’s done is done. What can you change?”

“Brother, what did you say?” Beigong Qiyi asked in a low voice. Beigong Juechen kept smiling. “I said, even if I have, what can you do?”

Beigong Qiyi’s bloodshot eyes glared at Beigong Juechen; rage twisted his lips into a bitter smile. “Well, brother, very well. I never realized before that you were so—so shameless, so filthy!”

Beigong Juechen snorted coldly, closing his eyes and refusing to look at him. Beigong Qiyi turned to the side, eyeing Fu Zhi, whose brows were tightly knit and face as cold as iron. Beigong Qiyi’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Brother, I really want you—and everyone else—to know whose you truly are!” As he spoke, he began to undress Beigong Juechen with deliberate slowness.

Beigong Juechen’s hands clenched tightly, his thick brows knotted in distress. But he could not move, and could only let Beigong Qiyi part his legs. The next moment, his hands gripped the brocade beneath him fiercely, as Beigong Qiyi ruthlessly pierced his dry passage, forcing himself inside.

Author’s note: Honestly, my heart aches for Master Fu Zhi. Thinking of the ending I’ve given him makes me sad. His love for his brother is the purest—so pure that he cannot have him. Sigh, the first half of this chapter is at least a little sweet.