Chapter 80 Outburst
Thanatos lost his focus for a moment.
He was laying on Yanluo’s antique, carved canopy bed, his head resting against the embroidered pillow. The satin quilt was haphazardly piled at the foot of the bed, slightly wrinkled.
The thick curtains hung down, obscuring the bed, dividing the cramped space into an isolated world. In this world, it was just him and Yanluo.
Yanluo had pinned his wrist, adorned with a silver bracelet, to the headboard. The bracelet clinked softly, the sound ringing through the quiet.
Yanluo’s hand was much larger than his, pressing down on his pale, snow-like wrist, rendering him completely motionless. Thanatos’ fingers twitched, attempting to resist, but they were quickly ensnared by Yanluo’s, their hands intertwining in a tight, unyielding grip.
“Don’t move,” Yanluo murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to his fingertips.
The Eastern man, whose grip held Thanatos’ wrist, let his long, satin-black hair fall free. His ornate outer robes had been discarded, lying forgotten on the floor, while the collar of his white undergarment hung torn and disheveled. His eyes, once as clear as a gentle breeze under moonlight, now swirled with dark, heavy shadows.
Yanluo felt that this scene was familiar.
It looked like the dream he had once had.
It was a delusion, but also a premonition.
He bit the young man’s earlobe, his breath brushing against his ear.
“I wanted to say it the first time I held your wrist. It’s so slender.”
A beast in human clothing, stripped of its attire, leaves only the beast.
Thanatos’ ears twitched. He turned his head away, stifling a muffled groan. His lips were a deep crimson, half stained by Yanluo’s kiss, half from his own biting.
Yanluo turned his chin to face him, gently rubbing his lips with his thumb. “No need to hold back. There’s no one else here. If you bite through them, I’ll be heartbroken. If you really can’t stand it, bite my finger.”
Thanatos refused to bite Yanluo’s finger. Instead, he raised his hand and placed Yanluo’s wrist over his own chest.
There was no heartbeat.
Only a layer of pale, smooth skin covering rigid bones.
His trembling body spoke of love in place of the beat of a heart or the rise and fall of breath.
The God of Death, accustomed to hiding in the shadows, revealed his bare form for the first time, like an oyster opening its hard shell to expose the soft flesh within, offering up its most beautiful pearl.
Yanluo lowered his gaze.
The galaxy in the boy’s silver eyes outshone the River of Forgetfulness, flowing into a misty haze. His red lips, like the blood-red petals of red spider lilies, were kissed into a delicate and blooming state.
Yanluo’s face was close, mere inches away.
Thanatos remembered their first meeting, when he and Yanluo had been just as close. Back then, he had been stiff with tension, and since then he had maintained a safe distance of more than one meter.
As they grew more familiar, he had become accustomed to always being led by Yanluo, carried, held, and hugged. Even zero distance contact became something he could accept.
But now, that familiar distance had taken on a negative value, about to reach a depth unlike any before.
Dangerous distance.
Thanatos raised his arm, unexpectedly draping it around his neck, and burying his face in Yanluo’s shoulder.
Yanluo was momentarily surprised, but quickly gathered the little reaper into his arms, sitting him on his lap, holding him tightly as they faced each other.
The sudden sharp pain made Thanatos instinctively bite down on Yanluo’s shoulder.
Yanluo gently stroked the little reaper’s trembling back, murmuring softly, “It’s alright, Thanatos. Bite harder. I love you.”
Thanatos held Yanluo tightly, the broad embrace and soothing voice offering him an immense sense of security. The sudden confession left him momentarily stunned.
Thanatos gradually released his bite.
Yanluo was not dangerous.
The closer he got, the safer he felt.
Thanatos whispered something softly.
Yanluo leaned down to listen, his brows twitching slightly as a faint smile curled at the corners of his lips.
The little reaper had spoken in Greek.
He said, “I love you too.”
Thanatos opened his eyes, staring at the canopy above the bed, feeling a moment of confusion.
This wasn’t his room.
He slowly lowered his eyelashes, his sluggish mind beginning to piece things together.
Oh…… this was Yanluo’s bedroom.
Last night, Yanluo had said he was going to teach him a phrase.
And then, he taught it to him in bed.
Thanatos wasn’t a naive and ignorant child. He wasn’t so easily swayed by sweet words into bed.
In the end, it was his choice.
His physical condition wasn’t great, but he didn’t feel particularly tired, nor was there any soreness in his bones.
Yanluo had been gentle, careful to consider his feelings.
To his surprise, Yanluo was a beast beneath the bed sheets, but a gentleman above them. He was truly one of a kind.
It turned out, he had misjudged Yanluo.
A few days later, thinking of today’s thoughts, Thanatos felt the urge to take his scythe and end it all.
……
The Black and White Impermanence took a leave to go on their honeymoon. Venus and his family soon followed, setting off to explore the vast, scenic beauty of China.
The apartment was suddenly empty, with only Yanluo and Thanatos left behind.
Slowly, Yanluo revealed his true, beastly nature.
When other gods still resided in the apartment, Yanluo had been proper, only practicing with Thanatos in the bedroom. In the early days, he had been careful, always worried that the little reaper might get tired or hurt.
Over time, he realized that while Thanatos was physically weak, he was still a god, not someone fragile who couldn’t withstand things. So Yanluo gradually became more daring.
Once the other gods had left, Yanluo felt free to do as he pleased. He had long been thinking about the various plays Meng Wan had described, and now that his relationship with Thanatos had progressed, he was eager to try them all and make his dreams come true.
He coaxed Thanatos into unlocking new experiences, from the bathroom to the balcony, and even the sofa.
Thanatos always felt embarrassed, his face flushed with deep shame. But under Yanluo’s gentle persuasion, he obediently played along, quiet and compliant, too well-behaved for his own good.
Yanluo, carried away, went to great lengths.
As the saying goes: either explode in silence, or perish in it.
After bullying the little reaper for so many days, Yanluo, in his belief that Thanatos was too easy to push around, finally pushed him too far.
Thanatos stood in the living room, his expression unreadable as he watched Yanluo, who was working on the sofa.
Today, Yanluo was dressed in a shirt, scribbling notes in a notebook with a fountain pen. It was an entirely ordinary work scene, yet the bite marks on his shoulder, the kiss marks on his neck, and the scratches on his arms were all visible. He could have hidden them with long sleeves or used his divine powers to erase them, but instead, he left them on purpose for Thanatos to see.
The most notable detail, however, was that the shirt was far from clean.
Just yesterday, Yanluo had coaxed Thanatos into wearing nothing but this oversized boyfriend shirt. He had been harassed from the sofa on the first floor, up the four flights of stairs, to the bedroom.
Once they returned to the bedroom, Thanatos was physically exhausted, but Yanluo still didn’t let up. The sight of the little reaper helplessly clinging to him on the stairs had awakened the beast in Yanluo’s heart. Every time Thanatos tried to escape, he was pulled back by his ankle.
In the end, Thanatos had no choice but to transform into his black robes and curl up, muttering, “I’m tired.”
Yanluo pulled off his hood, his voice suddenly serious. “In Chinese wedding tradition, the bride’s veil should be lifted by the groom. I’ve taken off your hood, does that count as lifting your veil? Does that mean you’ve married me? A little fatigue on the wedding night is worth it.”
Thanatos, completely taken in by his words, obediently allowed Yanluo to strip him from his robe.
And then he was almost stripped to the bones.
Thanatos, feeling utterly wronged, shed a few tears and willingly peeled off his own skin, transforming into a skeleton. Why bother lifting a veil? If he had the ability, he could lift his skull instead.
When Yanluo saw the little reaper beneath him turn into nothing but bones, he wasn’t scared in the least. Instead, he grew even more excited.
He ran his hands over each of Thanatos’ two hundred and six bones, touching every single one, even licking his ribs and spine, kissing each of his finger bones.
Thanatos’ bones were about to fall apart.
Yanluo, still unsatisfied, remarked, “If we were to take all these bones and stew them into a pot of soup, my little reaper’s bone soup would be the tastiest one.”
……The series of perverse actions pushed the God of Death to the brink of fury.
All the old grievances and new grudges combined, the silver-haired youth emanated a heavy, suffocating air.
In the next instant, the God of Death appeared, cloaked in black, holding his scythe without mercy, swinging it directly at Yanluo.
Yanluo quickly changed out of his flamboyant attire, donning his royal crown and formal robes, one hand gripping the Book of Life and Death while the other used the Judge’s Brush to intercept the scythe.
Yanluo’s eyes curved into a faint smile. “Thanatos, don’t be angry.”
In response, Thanatos swung his scythe again with even more force.
Yanluo dodged just in time. The scythe struck the sofa, splitting it and the coffee table into splinters, sending glass shards and fabric scraps flying in all directions.
Yanluo’s eyelid twitched as he quickly darted up the stairs to evade the attack.
It looked the little reaper was genuinely angry.
Truthfully, Yanluo had gone too far last night. For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt.
But then he remembered the sight of the little reaper, half-suspended on the stairs, his body held tight in Yanluo’s arms, desperately clinging to him as he sobbed……
How could anyone resist that?
Let the little reaper smash a few pieces of furniture to vent his anger. It wasn’t like Yanluo couldn’t just use magic to restore everything afterward.
Yanluo had barely stood on the stairs for a few seconds when Thanatos’ scythe came down again, slicing through the entire staircase that connected the first and second floors.
Yanluo leaped to the second floor. “Thanatos, calm down, I’m sorry about last night—”
Thanatos made it clear he didn’t want to hear it by angrily throwing a string of skulls at Yanluo.
Yanluo quickly jumped to the third floor, his previous position instantly filled with skulls. He had just regained his footing when he saw Thanatos soaring up behind him, his skeletal wings spread wide, holding the scythe coldly.
Yanluo: “……”
I was wrong. Really.
Got too carried away, and now I’ve messed up.
The little reaper was tearing the place apart, the apartment shaking violently. Thanks to the protective barrier Yanluo had set up, it didn’t affect the neighboring apartment, but the noise was enough to be heard.
In the neighboring apartment, a few spirits were chatting when they suddenly heard the sound of smashing and crashing. They all fell silent for a moment, looking at each other.
“Did you guys hear that?”
“Was that an earthquake?”
“There’s no way there’s an earthquake in King Yan’s territory. Sounds more like someone next door is having an argument and smashing things.”
“With so many demons in the neighborhood, it’s normal for conflicts to arise. Probably just a small matter.”
The spirits didn’t pay much attention, about to continue their previous conversation.
“Boom—” The sound of something crashing to the ground from the ceiling.
Spirits: “……”
That sounded like a deep-seated hatred.
The noise went on for quite a while before finally starting to subside.
They listened intently for a long moment, making sure no more sounds followed. It seemed like the fighting was over.
The inside of the Yanluo Apartments had turned into a ruin.
Thanatos had struck with precision. The rooms belonging to the Black and White Impermanence and Venus’ family were untouched, not even a lock disturbed. Everywhere else was completely destroyed, so much so that those two intact rooms seemed like floating palaces in midair.
The silver-haired god stood amidst the collapsed rubble. His powerful bone wings easily sliced through steel bars and shattered walls. He was still dressed in his black robe, with only his delicate, pale face exposed. Holding the massive scythe, his silver eyes gleamed with an icy coldness.
If a tiger doesn’t roar, people might really mistake it for a sick cat.
Thanatos was usually so obedient and soft, and in bed, he was delicate, with a quiet and calm personality. Yanluo nearly forgot that Thanatos was still a powerful god with top combat power.
Yanluo glanced around, sighing lightly. “Little Reaper, our home is gone.”
Thanatos remained unmoved.
Don’t think for a second that he didn’t know Yanluo could restore everything with a single spell. Besides, Yanluo surely didn’t just have this one residence.
Clearly, Yanluo wasn’t concerned about the ruins either. He quickly changed the topic. “How about I come back to your place with you?”
Thanatos couldn’t keep up with Yanluo’s train of thought.
Yanluo continued, “We can visit your King of the Underworld and your brother, and while we’re at it, I can propose.”
Nothing could stop Yanluo’s desire to speed up the progress bar.
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