"WHAT… What happened to me?" Gu Mang stammered in confusion.
He didn't describe his condition in more detail. But Mo Xi, with a downward flick of his gaze, immediately saw the messy stain on Gu Mang's underclothes and sank into an uncomfortable silence.
Gu Mang was unsettled by this reaction from his body. "I don't feel quite right… Am I sick?"
"You're not," said Mo Xi. "You're not sick."
Gu Mang's face was still flushed from the dream, and his breathing was rapid. He looked down at his own pants in helpless confusion. "Then what's going on here?"
His blue eyes were wide, giving Mo Xi the impression of a pure and innocent wolf cub. However, this wolf cub's questions were too embarrassing. The old Gu Mang had once charged at Mo Xi with an erotic booklet to give him a "coming-of-age lesson," but Mo Xi was too thinskinned; no matter the circumstances, he could never do anything of the sort.
"You're just…having a normal reaction," Mo Xi replied. "It was only a dream, that's all."
Gu Mang quickly nodded. "It was just a dream. I dreamed of the night you came of age again. We…uh…we were sleeping together, and then we did…some very strange things."
Mo Xi said nothing.
"You looked like you really liked it… You seemed very happy…"
Mo Xi was especially adept at dealing out torment in bed—without fail, he pushed Gu Mang until he was choking back sobs, his body limp and his lips moving in pleas for mercy. Yet it was difficult for Mo Xi to say anything lewd if he wasn't pushed to the limit. Conversely, Gu Mang had always spouted the most mortifying things during their wildest entanglements, though whether he was trying to provoke Mo Xi or simply couldn't shut up was anyone's guess. Those words added fuel to an already raging fire, goading the youthful Mo Xi until he couldn't suppress his fervor. The world became firewood and flames, and the man in his arms the only source of water. He plunged repeatedly into the depths of this sweet spring, seeking to dampen the scalding heat in his heart.
Gu Mang blinked, his eyes watery and bewildered. "So you liked doing those things with me, right?"
Mo Xi wanted to say no, but before the word could leave his lips, Gu Mang continued pensively, "I think I liked it. It felt really good." He looked up, his face still tinged with the flush brought on by those memories. "It seemed like you needed me."
Mo Xi immediately stilled.
"It's good…to be needed by someone," Gu Mang said softly. "For someone to get happiness from me, not because of hatred or venting—that felt…so good."
"Do you know what you're talking about?" Mo Xi asked.
"How I felt back then," Gu Mang replied sincerely. "I'm talking about how I felt back then. On the night you came of age—I've remembered everything now. Some of those feelings, I don't understand and can't describe. But the others, I know I really liked them."
Mo Xi felt as if he'd been dealt a heavy blow to the heart. Ever since Gu Mang defected, Mo Xi had wondered what Gu Mang had felt toward him. He often thought that Gu Mang had been half-heartedly placating him, dealing with him, toying with him—or perhaps that he had been pestered into doing what Mo Xi wanted. When the word liked entered his ears after seven long years, he suddenly didn't know how to react.
"I've been living with you this whole time, without ever helping you out and always making you mad. Why didn't you tell me I could make you like me like that?"
Mo Xi jumped to his feet like a cat whose tail had been trod on. Swallowing hard, he glared through red-rimmed eyes. "Who—who said I liked you? Stop imagining things."
Gu Mang's eyes widened in puzzlement. "But you were clearly…"
"That was just a dream. Seems to me like you've had too much medicine; you can't even tell dreams from reality!"
Gu Mang wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say. His tense, upright posture sagged slightly; he seemed disheartened, yet also unconvinced. After a moment's downcast thought, he suddenly stood and captured Mo Xi's lips with his own, pressing their mouths together.
Mo Xi's ears buzzed; all the blood in his body rushed toward his brain. For a split second, the world flashed white.
It was just like the past, like the days Mo Xi remembered in his dreams—Gu Mang looping his arms around his neck, pulling him down, his tongue pressing in between his teeth, lingering and tangling, making soft, wet sounds.
Gu Mang felt a sudden sharp pain at the tip of his tongue. Mo Xi was shoving him away. "You…" Mo Xi panted, his lips, usually cold and colorless, flushed red by their passion, making for a singularly arresting sight. But this beauty's brows were drawn tight in fury, glaring daggers that pierced clean through Gu Mang. Mo Xi was so angry he couldn't speak. Only after a long while did he yank at his lapels which Gu Mang had pulled into disarray, drawing them closed. "You really…have no sense of shame!" he snarled.
Gu Mang rubbed at his lips. Mo Xi had bitten him so viciously he had drawn blood, like an anxious beast trapped in a dead end. But there was something Gu Mang had finally confirmed.
"You're lying to me."
Mo Xi was silent.
"That wasn't a dream. It was real." Gu Mang swept a glance over the lower half of Mo Xi's body. "Just a moment ago, I felt you against me."
Mo Xi could muster no response. At last, he flung aside the door curtain and strode out of the room, his expression black as pitch. When Gu Mang hurried after him, Mo Xi turned and furiously jabbed a finger at his chest. "Stay where you are! Tell anyone about what happened tonight and I'll send you back to Luomei Pavilion the minute we return!"
"Where are you going?" Gu Mang asked.
"None of your business!"
"But aren't you sleeping with me?"
"Listen up, asshole," Mo Xi bit out through gritted teeth. "A gentleman knows what to do and what not to do. I will excuse your inappropriate actions today because I know your mind isn't clear. But I've told you now, so if you still dare—" Mo Xi choked on his words for a moment; this "gentleman" couldn't bring himself to describe Gu Mang's scoundrel behavior. He snapped, "If you still dare do anything like that again and seduce me, I'll see that you pay for it!"
His tone was fierce, but when paired with the parting of those freshkissed, suggestively pinkened lips, he inevitably became less imposing. Not only did his threats fail to quell Gu Mang, they conjured up the image of the Mo-shidi who had flown into an embarrassed rage at Gu Mang's teasing all those years ago. Even if many of the details from back then still eluded him, this feeling was like an unsealed jug of fine wine, suffusing the air with its rich scent. Gu Mang lowered his head and couldn't hold back a puff of laughter, just like in the past.
It would've been all right if he hadn't laughed. Now, Mo Xi's expression immediately grew darker, and his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. But although Gu Mang had recovered some of his memories, he at least wasn't quite so much of a troublemaker as he had been. That burst of laughter was pure reflex; upon seeing that Mo Xi was upset, he restrained his amusement and obediently knelt on the bed. "I'm sorry," he said earnestly. "If you don't like it, then I won't do it again. Please don't send me back to Luomei Pavilion."
Only then did Mo Xi leave the cabin, anger still etched in every line of his face.
Out on the deck, he bumped into Jiang Yexue in his wooden wheelchair. He looked up at Mo Xi in astonishment. "Xihe-jun, who provoked you? Why are you so angry?"
Mo Xi pressed his lips into a thin line and said tersely, "No one provoked me. What are you here for?"
Jiang Yexue smiled. "I was on my way to bring you quilts. Do you need any?"
"No."
"What about Gu Mang?"
"He's plenty warm. It would be better for him to sleep on bamboo mats."
"You fought with him again?" asked Jiang Yexue.
Mo Xi flicked his sleeves angrily. "It's his own fault."
"You two are really…" Jiang Yexue smiled faintly. "Long ago, when Gu Mang was stubborn and mischievous, he loved nothing more than to make you mad. How does he still anger you so, even when he's like this? But…upset or not, you should still give him an extra quilt. His health isn't as good as it used to be, and now he's weak to the cold. If he caught a chill, it would cause even more problems on this journey. You shouldn't bicker too much with him."
Mo Xi fell silent. At length, he reached out to take the quilt Jiang Yexue offered. "Many thanks."
When morning came, they found themselves hovering above the Dream Butterfly Islands. Jiang Yexue took out his compass and silently recited an incantation. The little object gleamed with brilliant light, then pointed toward a small island in the southeastern portion of the archipelago. "Bat Island is there," he said.