"I entered your dream last night."
Yin Wangzhi didn’t hide the golden finger of dream invasion, nor did he care to keep it a secret. "I originally wanted to give you a surprise."
A surprise?
Yu Sheng didn’t understand. What kind of surprise could there be in entering someone’s dream?
"In dreams, everything is free. You can’t speak here, but if it’s in a dream… you can talk."
"I also want to hear what your real voice would sound like."
Yu Sheng raised his eyes to look at him, unblinking.
"But you actually treated me as that person’s shadow..."
Shadow?
Following Yin Wangzhi’s subsequent words, Yu Sheng finally understood just how big the misunderstanding was.
Because he mistook the dream for the Ghost King’s domain, coupled with the various scenes, and the tense, evasive atmosphere in the dream, Yin Wangzhi misunderstood.
He had somehow learned that the reason Yu Sheng was captured that day was because he had actively approached the Ghost King’s palace.
From this, Yin Wangzhi deduced that Yu Sheng might have been enamored with the Ghost King.
Because of that admiration, Yu Sheng supposedly understood the Ghost King so well that he could even infer the Ghost King’s behavioral patterns and how he would respond to various changes...
Thus, Yin Wangzhi treated the person in front of him as a substitute for the Ghost King. But in the dream, Yu Sheng inadvertently gave himself away. Coupled with the strange feeling that occasionally arose in their daily interactions—where it seemed like Yu Sheng was looking at someone else through him—the misunderstanding deepened further.
By the time Yu Sheng understood what was going on and wanted to argue, Yin Wangzhi had already pressed him down onto the bed.
"I’ll prove to you who is truly the better one."
"If you don’t want to give me this chance, push me away now. Then leave, go find your Ghost King, and never come back."
Yu Sheng struggled to free his wrist, but after a kiss landed, he still couldn’t push him away.
One misunderstanding, two ways to respond: one was to let Yin Wangzhi stew in his anger or even sadness for a while; the other was to wait a bit, calm him down, and then explain.
The second option was clearly the way to go—no doubt about it.
Yu Sheng relaxed his body, his eyelids drooping slightly. From Yin Wangzhi’s perspective, his gaze seemed to curve ever so enticingly, inviting a kiss.
Yu Sheng spoke, "You’ll see who can give you the best."
"You’re so smart—you’ll figure it out."
Yin Wangzhi’s actions, like his personality, were straightforward and relentless. While this trait might strike fear on the battlefield, in moments like this, it made him almost impossible to resist.
He didn’t waste time pretending to be a gentleman. He didn’t understand subtlety or restraint. Even the faint trace of gentleness in his movements felt like bait, leading his target straight into his trap. It was the deceptive calm before a storm that left one trembling in anticipation.
He had clearly been wanting to do this for a long time and made no effort to hide it. No—perhaps he wanted Yu Sheng to notice.
Only now did Yu Sheng truly realize just how restrained and gentle his disciple Wangzhi had been toward him.
Practically the epitome of a gentleman.
He wanted to call out, but all he could do was gasp for breath.
His mind grew hazy, thoughts rising and falling like waves. Amid this chaos, Yu Sheng found himself reflecting for once.
Maybe… maybe Yin Wangzhi wasn’t entirely wrong.
From the very first time he met him, he had indeed been looking at him and thinking about his future disciple through him.
In essence, it was a bit heartless. It was unfair to the Wangzhi in front of him.
If Yin Wangzhi found out that even now, Yu Sheng was unintentionally making comparisons, who knew how he would react…
Yu Sheng gazed at him, his eyes seeming to shimmer with moisture. A trace of mischief flickered deep within them, like a fish darting through clear waters. But Yin Wangzhi, sharp-eyed as ever, caught it instantly, which only made his efforts even more vigorous.
Before long, Yu Sheng noticed streams of pure yin energy flowing into his body, filling his limbs and bones.
What was this… was this that kind of dual cultivation?!
Yu Sheng's eyes widened slightly, but Yin Wangzhi seemed intent on not letting him steal a glance or get distracted. Leaning in, he sealed Yu Sheng's lips and blocked his view entirely.
Mmph… On the surface, it seemed like he was being bullied, but in reality, he was the one reaping all the benefits…
Should he call Yin Wangzhi straightforward and honest, or laugh at him for saying one thing and doing another?
Yu Sheng only felt warmth spreading through his body, so comfortable it was as if he were drunk. His consciousness blurred, and his thoughts spiraled out of control. He began to wonder—when he returned, how should he face his disciple? And how had things even come to this point?
This wasn’t like him…
Could it really be because he had turned into a ghost, that his behavior, personality, and temperament were also affected as a result?
The old him had never thought so deeply about such things. That subconscious impulse to avoid everything had always covered up the truth.
All he knew was to run away, to feign ignorance, to hide whenever he felt nervous. He refused to truly face himself or see things clearly.
But now, at last, he understood why he felt nervous, why he was afraid, and what he was pretending to ignore.
It turned out, he really…
…really couldn’t resist anymore.
If he had truly felt nothing, why would he fear his disciple’s closeness? It was only because he was afraid of becoming an unworthy master.
Only now, when things couldn’t possibly get any worse, could he reveal his truest thoughts.
Yu Sheng tilted his head back. During a brief moment of respite, he softly returned a kiss.
He really wanted to escape completely, to flee from his foolish and cowardly true self, to live freely and recklessly without a care in the world...
Ah.
If this division continued indefinitely, would he one day become like his three disciples? Clearly part of the same person, yet mutually repelling one another, forgetting their shared origin, and never again able to connect on the same wavelength?
It seemed... he was beginning to understand something.
"Don’t get distracted."
His earlobe was gently bitten, and Yu Sheng trembled all over as though a fatal switch had been flipped.
Yin Wangzhi paused, then immediately seized on this weak spot, biting and kissing his ear relentlessly, refusing to let it go. The person in his arms, now completely agitated, struggled even more earnestly.
One round, then another—Yu Sheng gradually came to realize the pros and cons of his soul-body form.
The downside was that in situations like this, he seemed inexhaustible; as long as there was enough yin energy, he could keep going endlessly.
The upside—or perhaps also a downside—was that if the other party didn’t want to stop, it really wouldn’t stop.
After some thought, Yu Sheng decided to classify both as downsides.
This was inhuman!
Finally, when he was completely exhausted and fell into a deep sleep, thinking he could finally rest…
Yin Wangzhi followed him into his dream.
"If it’s in a dream, you won’t get tired, right?"
Yu Sheng: "…Too much!"
Ah. In dreams, he could really talk now.
"I won’t go overboard," Yin Wangzhi said, his tone deceptively gentle. "I just want to hear your voice."
So this was the voice he wanted to hear?!
Yu Sheng had naively thought Yin Wangzhi was being romantic and thoughtful, wanting to hear him talk, to have deep, heartfelt conversations about life, dreams, and the fleeting beauty of the world!
Wait—if he could talk, that meant he could explain!
Yu Sheng hastily pushed him away, speaking at lightning speed to clarify. He insisted it was all a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding, that he had never harbored unrequited feelings for the current Ghost King, nor had he ever seen Yin Wangzhi as a mere stand-in.
"So really, really, you don’t need to prove anything to me…!"
Please, spare me?
"Mm…"
"I’ve always just admired you, thinking that one day, you’d surpass this Ghost King, overthrow his rule, and become an even greater Ghost King yourself. That dream didn’t mean anything else!"
"Didn’t mean anything else?" Yin Wangzhi narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Are you saying you weren’t dreaming of being intimate with me? Now you’re saying it wasn’t?"
What the hell—why does he only listen to half of what I say?!
Yu Sheng felt like crying but had no tears, his heart flooding with grief.
"You—you’re being unreasonable! You know perfectly well that’s not what I meant…"
Without the authority of being a master, it really was far too easy to end up at the mercy of others…
Yin Wangzhi reached out to touch the corners of Yu Sheng’s eyes, smoothing the furrow in his brow, and held him close. Even as he whispered into Yu Sheng’s ear, his hands wandered without restraint.
"I want to keep bullying you like this.
"I want to see you every day, just having you by my side is enough.
"Even though there’s nothing left in you for me to use, and I gain no benefit from this."
"I don't want to kill you, nor do I want you to leave. In fact, I even want to lose out a bit to you."
"You're not prey, not an enemy, and not a subordinate... I've never encountered anything like this before."
"This kind of relationship, this kind of feeling... do you know what it's called?"
Oh no...
These words—why did they feel so familiar, so much like his feelings?
Yu Sheng clutched his chest. Within the uncontrollable dream, one firework after another shot into the sky, exploding into a riot of colors.
It had only been a few days of relying on each other to survive. They had just evaded pursuers together, saved each other here and there, and, well, done some other things a few times. How had it turned into this?
Seeing Yu Sheng stay silent, Yin Wangzhi pressed on, persistently asking by his ear,
"Do you know the answer?"
"I-I-I…"
Yu Sheng was panicking to death. These words alone were enough to leave him tongue-tied, but Yin Wangzhi was growing increasingly unruly, stoking the heat in his body and forcing tremors or other reactions out of him.
"If you want to know... figure it out yourself. Once you've figured it out, then… mmph…!"
No, no, no—absolutely not. He was going to leave soon, to return. Confessing his feelings now would only hurt Yin Wangzhi, wouldn’t it?
He couldn’t be so awful, pulling up his pants and walking away, leaving Yin Wangzhi to face everything alone, waiting in vain for years and years…
Ah... no wonder. No wonder, back when Yin Wangzhi fell off that cliff, his temper had seemed so terrible. Could it have been because of this moment?
...
The two of them spent the entire night in an indescribable dream. When they woke, a crisis awaited.
Yu Sheng didn’t have time to discern where their pursuers had come from, but the ambush felt more dire than ever before. It seemed Yin Wangzhi believed his end was near because, at the last moment, he handed over that dream-invading ability.
Of course, since it was just a skill, transferring it didn’t require the same effort as what Zhan Xiaotian had gone through.
"I noticed you seem to enjoy talking, and your voice is pleasant."
"Keep this for yourself. If you ever feel bored or lonely in the future, just find a few people you like and sneak into their dreams for a chat."
His words sounded like a farewell. Had they not both managed to escape in the end, Yu Sheng might have truly believed he’d doomed the protagonist.
Back in the human world, Yu Sheng felt a mix of emotions and a profound sense of shock. As that memory ended, his mind could only replay the same phrases over and over:
"This isn’t me, this isn’t me, this definitely isn’t me—no, no, no…"
"Such enthusiasm, such initiative, such skill! How could I ever..! Please, let me just die here right now, please!"
On the other side, Yu Sheng from the ghost world had also watched his own memory and remarked, "Tch, so naive."