章 40: Encounter in the Forest

The previous night, in the forest north of the Black Fang base.

Chen Xiande looked up at the sky and sighed in frustration. Dawn was beginning to lighten the edges of the horizon and he was still stuck in this blasted forest!

Because he had been starved for days and his cultivation had only just returned, he was currently too weak to sustain a spell of flight, so he had no choice but to walk. Since there were forests on all sides, he had carelessly thought that if he headed in a random direction and kept going, he'd eventually make it out. Then he could find the nearest sect and see if they had a transportation array that was connected to the Heavenly Peak Sect.

He hadn't expected to not be able to find his way out at all!

Not only that, but he also seemed to have been circling around the same place all this time! He had seen that same tree eleven times already! But no matter in which direction he headed, he always returned here.

What was going on?

Just as Chen Xiande was wondering if he would spend his whole life going in circles like this before eventually dying here, he heard the sound of someone approaching. He looked to the side vigilantly as an unfamiliar man clad entirely in black drew near.

His clothes were unlike the black and gold uniform of the Sentinels or the opulent black of his junior brother's torturer. Instead, this man's robe was unadorned and pitch-dark. His face was stunning and beautifully proportioned. His seductive lips were raised up in a charming smile, black eyebrows arching upwards over his phoenix eyes that were half-lidded with suppressed laughter. He moved with the grace of a predatory cat, his movements smooth and indolent. His long unbound hair swayed freely in the wind.

Though he looked young and lively, Chen Xiande knew that this person must be several hundreds of millennia old just by the sheer amount of power wrapped around him.

"Oh dear, there seems to be a lost little white sheep wandering in my territory. Maybe I should take it home and eat it up," the man said in a melodious voice tinted with playful mirth as he walked leisurely towards him.

Chen Xiande paled as he tried to shrink back. This must be a demonic cultivator, and a high-ranking one at that!

Though the demonic cultivators no longer murdered people or refined souls like before due to the authority of the Sentinels―or more specifically, the Sentinel Grandmaster―they were still somewhat looked down upon by the righteous faction. There was no boiling enmity like before, but some dislike had still remained after the Great War. But since both factions were balanced in power now, neither side acted too haughtily. Disregarding the mild discontent, one could say that both sides were cordial towards each other.

But that didn't mean that every single person was like this.

If the demonic cultivator who was making for Chen Xiande felt strongly against the righteous faction and killed him, there was nothing Chen Xiande could do. Even if his murderer was punished later, all the justice in the world couldn't bring him back from the dead, after all.

Damn! He really should have cultivated more! He shouldn't have left so impulsively to find his own way out.

As regrets filled his mind, Chen Xiande unconsciously retreated step by step to put more distance between them, until he suddenly found his back pressed against a tree.

Stiffening, Chen Xiande looked around to see if there was anywhere he could escape to.

As if sensing his intention to flee, the demonic cultivator easily leapt and landed directly in front of him, caging Chen Xiande against the tree, his arms on either side.

"Little Sheep, are you planning on escaping before you compensate me for trespassing?"

"C-compensate?" Did he want money? His sect would probably pay for it if he asked them to…

"Hmm," the demonic cultivator murmured mischievously. "Yes, you can pay me slowly with your body," he said as he ran his foot up and down Chen Xiande's leg enticingly. The demonic cultivator knew his own appeal and tried to use it to its full advantage.

Too bad his charm didn't work on Chen Xiande, who didn't even realize that someone was attempting to seduce him.

The sight of his junior brother being tortured was still fresh in his mind. And as someone who loathed pain, watching such a thing had been like witnessing his own nightmare come to life, its remembrance still haunting him. So when the demonic cultivator mentioned paying with his body, he immediately assumed that the man wanted Chen Xiande to let him torture him to enact payback.

With widened eyes, he tried to push the cultivator away from him. But the black-robed man simply captured Chen Xiande's wrists in his hands and pressed them up against the tree.

"Are you still trying to run?" he asked amusedly. Was the little sheep playing hard to get?

Panicking at the thought of being tortured, Chen Xiande tried to think of a way to escape and found an opening. Though his hands were restrained, his legs were free. So he immediately brought up a knee, aiming for the other man's groin.

Surprised, the man immediately let his prey go and jumped back to avoid the sudden attack, and without wasting a moment, Chen Xiande turned around and ran.

It was too bad that his kidnappers had taken away all his defensive items. He was still too weak to summon his spiritual weapon or mount a useful attack. What should he do now? He couldn't run forever. Plus, navigating the hurdles in this uneven terrain was sapping his energy faster.

Chen Xiande suddenly felt warm breath brushing over his ear as a voice whispered playfully, "You can't escape me this easily, my little sheep~"

Startled, Chen Xiande promptly tripped and fell. Thankfully, the ground was flat here and without any exposed roots or rocks, or else he would have been more seriously injured.

As he was lying there on the ground dazedly trying to regain his bearings, he felt a warm weight settle over his back as fingers encircled his wrists again, pressing them into the ground.

Warm breath tickled his ear once more as the demonic cultivator spoke, "Are you done?"

"…" Chen Xiande felt aggrieved in his heart. Just who was this man and why was he so hung up on him?!

But if Chen Xiande knew the identity of this man pursuing him, he would surely be shocked even more.

This black-clad demonic cultivator's name was Hei NingYu. He had single-handedly united all the demonic sects long ago and was now the undisputed leader of the demonic faction. When he heard a loud boom sounding so near to the border of his territory, he came over to take a look hoping to temporarily cure his boredom.

But before he could reach the source of the racket, he found Chen Xiande wandering in the defensive array that protected the boundary.

At that time, Chen Xiande was wearing his perpetual frown, looking like an old man in a young body. Hei NingYu thought that if he didn't scrunch his face up so much as if constantly displeased with the entire world, this righteous cultivator might look at least moderately handsome.

With nothing better to do, Hei NingYu had planned to watch this wandering sheep roam about cluelessly for a bit more before he'd lead him out. So he settled in and observed with interest as Chen Xiande first went straight down the path, then finding himself returning to the same place, he frowned deeper and turned right. The next time he turned left, then diagonally in each direction.

Hei NingYu watched him as the night turned long and Chen Xiande became increasingly more frustrated at ending up in the same place again and again.

Irritated, Chen Xiande kicked a rock lying by his feet. The rock went flying and hit a tree, chipping off some of the bark and revealing the light beige trunk underneath.

Looking somewhat guilty, Chen Xiande walked up to the tree and crouched down, his fingers hovering over the injury he'd caused to it.

Having been ignored and scorned by people for most of his life, Chen Xiande had long since gotten used to talking to inanimate objects to dull his loneliness. So he began scolding the tree to hide his feelings of remorse for hurting it.

"Well, you were the one who didn't move out of the way!" he admonished.

The immobile tree: …

The expression on Chen Xiande's face turned guiltier. "I guess it's not your fault since you can't move, but still… that doesn't mean it's my fault either!"

Tree: …

Finally sighing as if in defeat, he said, "Okay, fine, I'm sorry. Are you happy now?"

He begrudgingly patted the tree, as if trying to soothe it.

Not expecting this grumpy-looking fellow to act so sensitive towards a tree of all things, Hei NingYu laughed silently at Chen Xiande's silly antics, his hand clutching his stomach as he doubled over.

As Chen Xiande wandered around in circles and returned to the same area, he avoided looking at the chipped tree trunk each time as if trying to ignore his own ignoble misdeed. Hei NingYu burst out in silent laughter every time he saw this guilt-ridden behavior.

After a couple more rounds of this, Hei NingYu had finally decided to show himself to this little sheep and seduce him into bed. He found Chen Xiande amusing and interesting enough, and if he got bored, he could end things easily.

And if he didn't get tired and this grouchy looking righteous cultivator actually managed to keep his interest, then he would just have to hold on to him.

Thinking back on this while he was currently pinning Chen Xiande down, Hei NingYu smirked as he continued whispering into Chen Xiande's ear, "For almost injuring my precious family jewels, I'll exact some extra payment from your body."

Chen Xiande stiffened in fear. Was he saying he'd torture him more? Why did he have to be so incompetent in running away? Maybe if he'd stayed, he wouldn't have to suffer extra now.

Seeing that there would have been no way to escape even if he had had full mastery over his spiritual energy, much less as he was now, Chen Xiande could only resign himself to his terrible fate. He started shivering in dread as he imagined what lay in his future.

Hei NingYu felt the body under him stilling at first as if giving in and thought Chen Xiande had accepted his advances. Seeing his excessively pale face as he began to shiver in apparent nervousness, Hei NingYu wondered out loud, "Little Sheep, could it be that…this will be your first time?"

Chen Xiande hesitantly nodded. Well, this definitely would be his first time being tortured.

Surprised, Hei NingYu quickly flipped over the person lying under him. Before he knew what was happening, Chen Xiande's face that had been pressed to the ground was facing up at the brightening sky as the demonic cultivator was now settled over his hips, his hands still grasping Chen Xiande's wrists.

"You have no experience at all? None?" Hei NingYu asked to confirm, stupefied.

Nodding cautiously again, Chen Xiande swallowed his reservations and pleaded tentatively, "I…don't like pain, so…please don't hurt me too much."

Seeing those wide beseeching eyes blinking up at him, Hei NingYu felt like his heart was being squeezed. His gaze softened as he bent down to tenderly whisper, "It's alright, Little Sheep, I'll take you gently and make sure to take good care of you all night long~"

Hei NingYu's hair shushed softly as it slipped down, the silky strands tickling Chen Xiande's cheek. Well, at least his tormenter had promised to be gentle… Wait, what?! Did he just say all night?!

The reluctant expression on Chen Xiande's face turned even more fearful as he asked horrified, "Why would you want to torture me for a whole night? Isn't an hour or two enough? I might have trespassed, but it isn't that serious of an offense, is it?"

"…Torture?" Hei NingYu suddenly felt like he was a chicken trying to talk to a duck. "Why would I torture you?" Was it some kind of code word kids these days used?

Chen Xiande didn't know why he was asking. He spoke slowly, "Y-You said you wanted me to pay with my body… Wasn't it just another way of saying you wanted to torture me?"

"…" How on earth did this little fellow connect this to that? So all this time he was trying to entice him...was wasted?

Hei NingYu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How absurd was this!

Wanting them both to be on the same page, he explained in a soft, intimate tone, "Little Sheep, the payment I am asking from you is the kind that takes place on the bed."

Confused, Chen Xiande asked, "Why would you do something so wasteful?"

What? Hei NingYu was having trouble keeping up with this little white sheep's strange thought process. Maybe he was getting too old to understand the younger generation…

Chen Xiande continued, "If you torture me on the bed, then wouldn't you get blood all over your sheets and have to throw them away? I've heard that bloodstains are hard to get off fabric, you know."

"…"

For a second, Hei NingYu could only stare at him speechlessly, his mind blank.

Then finally unable to bear it anymore, Hei NingYu collapsed on top of Chen Xiande, his body shuddering in laughter until he was gasping for breath.

Being squished like this suddenly while his sincere advice was met with laughter, Chen Xiande's face darkened.

He was only trying to be considerate, so there was no need to mock his good intentions by laughing so rudely!