Twenty-Five

Nothing had ever tasted sweeter, more intoxicating than Zhou Mu. You Qi already knew what hid behind that soft mouth—teeth sharp enough to devour the whole world... and that danger only made his blood run hotter. Jealousy and unease, hunger and dread, all tangled together—he couldn't wait to explore, urgent and drowning.

Even after years in shackles, You Qi was still a Fierce Beast to the bone, and in that instant it seemed to erupt completely. His arms locked tight around Zhou Mu, wanting to press him into his chest; the human form made the gesture look entirely different.

Zhou Mu's eyes went wide. For a full ten seconds he didn't react. What did this mean?

His hand still rested at You Qi's throat. His keen senses caught every one of You Qi's breaths. Zhou Mu's usual brute-force approach didn't mean he had nothing but brute force—if he wanted, he could have torn You Qi apart along the muscle lines barehanded, just as cleanly as he'd cut down the Tiger Eagle.

But in those ten seconds, Zhou Mu felt something unfamiliar stir awake in stages. The fingers curved lightly against You Qi's throat loosened without his noticing...

Zhou Mu caught the scent of the small wound the Mouth Cage had left. The sweetness bloomed. You Qi's movements turned at once like a beast too long away from its master, falling in a storm.

Zhou Mu finally identified what it was on You Qi's body that differed from appetite. The world said the Fierce Beast You Qi was bound by the six desires, greedy for slaughter, quick to hatred—yet no one ever saw how fiercely his love burned.

That was why You Qi had come at him. The puzzle solved, the bad mood of recent days seemed to ease with it. Zhou Mu sank in slowly, like walking through fine rain, the rustle of falling leaves endless.

Whether from inexperience or the glutton's nature, sharp teeth grazed the tender red by accident. A fresh drop of blood welled from the new wound and was taken by Zhou Mu. At once, fireworks exploded in You Qi's mind, a sudden downpour.

The hot kiss of blood beneath sharp blades pulled them both further into abandon...

Forgetting the argument, forgetting every contradiction between them—settling it the most primal way. Kiss me, or kill me.

The sound of a drone drifted down from the sky.

—The moment the two had rolled down the slope and plunged into the bushes, the audience had been on edge. A battle between Taotie and You Qi—even combat majors might go centuries without seeing a live match at this level.

They rolled together and still traded clean moves. Only Fierce Beast against Fierce Beast made for a proper fight; Taotie finished other students in a single bite.

Fixed cameras couldn't catch what was happening in the thicket, and neither of them had leapt out. Honoring the audience's wishes, the drone dropped lower, searching into the bushes.

Lower and lower. Through the gaps in the branches, the colors of their clothes were visible—they still seemed tangled in combat.

The audience watched, tense.

But the next instant, a Wind Blade whipped out—whether by accident or on purpose, it split the drone in two. The feed died, returning to the wide shot...

A long moment.

You Qi drew back from Zhou Mu slightly. He heard Zhou Mu's movements, heard Zhou Mu's voice—both as drunk as his own. When he looked into Zhou Mu's eyes, still the bright, clear hunter they always were... only the depths had taken on a different shade. But that was enough to prove Zhou Mu liked it too.

You Qi drew courage from it. He looked at Zhou Mu and asked: 'In your heart, I'm not the same as Cang Bi, right?'

Zhou Mu had been taught never to tell prey the truth, never to let them think they could read his intentions. But in this moment, Zhou Mu thought for three seconds and told the truth: 'Right.'

This truth hadn't been hard to find back at Jinyuan, but only now did You Qi dare to ask, and only now did Zhou Mu choose to answer. Yes—he'd thought about it. It really was different from Cang Bi. Different from Gongzi Cong too.

He wouldn't share food with Gongzi Cong, and he certainly wouldn't spare a meal that walked up and offered itself.

You Qi's whole body felt soaked in warm water, the hollow in his heart finally finding ground. When Zhou Mu had used those familiar words to comfort Cang Bi, You Qi had truly feared that the Zhou Mu he'd seen was nothing more than the cunning hunter's clever trick—that feeling had nearly driven him mad.

He didn't care how it had started, or at which point he'd changed from being food.

'I like you, I like you so much...' You Qi cupped Zhou Mu's face and pressed kisses to it, thumb pressing his lower lip. 'If one day you want to eat me, please start here.'

Hearing You Qi say the word 'like,' Zhou Mu's eyes shone brighter.

He'd just tasted You Qi's blood—still good—but Zhou Mu cared more about another fresh, unfamiliar satisfaction he'd felt.

He had once seen the way You Qi had said to him, 'Don't be afraid of me'—the unguarded vital point he'd laid bare so plainly had shocked him. What kind of Fierce Beast would do that voluntarily, without being threatened? Zhou Mu had always relied on intimidation to make other Feral Race offer up their lives.

And now, even after learning Zhou Mu's identity, You Qi still chose to submit completely.

Zhou Mu sat up, straddling You Qi's waist. He bent his head and kissed the wound on You Qi's lower lip, his words carrying two meanings: 'I promise you.'

...

Under the eager gaze of the entire audience, the bushes finally moved. A hoof stepped out first.

It was You Qi!

No way, no way—he'd still been in human form when they rolled down, and now the fight had pushed him into his original form? And You Qi had actually beaten Taotie?

Another drone in the arena cautiously lowered its altitude, zooming in to capture the scene.

Yan Xingke, watching from above, went wide-eyed. This couldn't be—he was certain Zhou Mu's ferocity was the worst he'd ever seen. Even without the Banishment on You Qi, he wasn't sure You Qi could take Zhou Mu.

But if Zhou Mu had won, given his style just now, would You Qi really still be in one piece?

The audience felt everything slow to a crawl... wait, no—the broadcast really had switched to slow motion. You Qi's head slowly emerged from the thicket, and an uproar broke out at once.

The Mouth Cage was gone!

You Qi's Banishment Rune had been drawn by Hand Teacher himself, and now it had been removed. The intensity of their fight was clear—You Qi had erupted, breaking through the Banishment, and that was how he'd beaten Taotie... truly terrifying.

But the commotion inside hadn't seemed that loud, which made people even more curious. How exactly had he fought? Could he really handle Taotie that easily? Though You Qi's Wind Blade really was sharp.

All those questions were answered when You Qi fully emerged.

You Qi, transformed into his original form, stepped out of the bushes. Zhou Mu, still in human form, sat on his back—small compared to the Fierce Beast's body, but riding with easy composure. In his hand he gripped a torn Mouth Cage, his body rising and falling gently with You Qi's stride.

He glanced up at the drone. Though he was looking up, his relaxed bearing made it feel more like he was looking down on everything. Not a scratch on him—nothing to suggest he'd just been through a great battle—yet he was unmistakably riding what looked like a tamed You Qi...

Without the Mouth Cage binding him, You Qi looked as docile as could be.

The audience fell into another wide-spread silence, unable to express the shock in their hearts.

Even You Qi couldn't withstand him?

Zhou Mu's gaze shifted to the slope, as if remembering there were still other opponents. He licked his lower lip and said: 'Let's finish the match, shall we? We need to pick the top three, right? Let me think... who else could make it through...'