Lin Kong was a beginner with no experience. After giving up halfway last time, he’d pretty much avoided doing anything more with Hermes. If he accidentally hurt the other and got his neck snapped with a “crack”—what a pitiful way to go that would be.
But after coming back from the temple today, Lin Kong happened to realize something—maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t completely insignificant in Hermes’ eyes. In fact, he might even mean a little something to him. Otherwise, why would Hermes go through all that trouble to save him?
But still…
“Why?”
Lin Kong’s question came out of nowhere—more like a whisper to himself than something meant to be answered. He reached out to brush aside the stray strands of hair at the side of Hermes’ face, only to see a soft shimmer of moisture in those crimson eyes. Hermes’ eyelids were half-lowered, lips slightly parted from the kiss, dazed and pliant—like someone far too easy to take advantage of.
Lin Kong couldn’t help but lean in and press a gentle kiss to his lips. Truthfully, this man before him was fierce and cruel, and had always treated him like prey. By all logic, Lin Kong should’ve been afraid of Hermes.
But this forest was far too lonely. And after being saved by him today, it was hard not to feel a strange sense of reliance—like the two of them were in this together, whether they liked it or not.
“Mutual dependence”—that kind of bond runs deeper than friendship, heavier than family, and more possessive than love. Because in your world, there’s only him—and nothing else remains.
At that moment, Lin Kong found himself thinking: maybe living out his days with Hermes wouldn’t be so bad after all. After all, the man was beautiful, powerful, protected him when it mattered, and even brought him food. What more could he really ask for?
But unfortunately, Hermes’ thirst to kill hadn’t gone away.
And worse yet—he might not even be looking for a partner…
Lin Kong slowly clasped Hermes’ cool fingertips and guided them to the side of his neck, creating a loose, embracing posture. Then, without warning, he sat up from the stone bed and pulled Hermes into his lap, settling him there face to face.
Hermes caught that familiar scent lingering on Lin Kong’s body, and a strange heat began to stir deep within him. Unable to resist, he pressed closer to the warmth of the other’s body, brow furrowed as he murmured two words— [It hurts…]
Lin Kong let out a quiet laugh. He kissed Hermes once, then pulled away. Kissed him again, then pulled away—like he was teasing a cat. Hermes, unsatisfied, tilted his head up like a child chasing after candy, his eyes dazed, a hint of crimson tongue slipping out—seductive, whether intentionally or not.
Lin Kong wrapped an arm around Hermes’ waist, his fingers gently pressing against the other’s lower lip, rubbing it over and over until it flushed a deeper red. Only then did he finally let go. “You always use your spiritual power to talk to me,” he said. “I’ve never actually heard your voice.”
Hermes frowned, not quite understanding what he meant.
Lin Kong lowered his voice and asked, “Do you still remember my name?”
He had told Hermes before.
“Lin Kong. My name is Lin Kong. Can you say it?”
Hermes didn’t remember the names of his prey—just as humans don’t bother naming the grains of rice in their bowls. But when faced with Lin Kong’s beautiful black eyes, he instinctively furrowed his brows, and after a moment, slowly uttered two clumsy, unfamiliar syllables: “Li… Kou…?”
Lin Kong corrected him with a smile: “Not ‘Li Kou’—it’s Lin Kong.”
“Lin… Kong?” Hermes tried again.
This time, it was much closer to perfect.
“That’s right,” Lin Kong said. “My name is Lin Kong. From now on, call me by it.”
Lin Kong didn’t know how much longer he could survive here. A month or two—fine. But if it dragged on for ten, eight years, or even the rest of his life, he was afraid that with enough time, he might forget who he was entirely.
Before he realized it, dusk had fallen. Lin Kong turned his head toward the cave entrance, just in time to see the sun sink behind the mountains. From this small opening, there was no way to take in the vast, boundless sky beyond. It felt as though they had both become frogs at the bottom of a well, staring up at a sliver of sky.
And nightfall—was the perfect cover.
Hermes didn’t know what Lin Kong was doing. He only sensed the other reaching toward his back again and instinctively grabbed Lin Kong’s wrist. [What are you doing?]
Lin Kong paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer. “Don’t worry,” he said finally. “I won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
It was just a gradual process, after all. If it didn’t work, he would stop.
Lin Kong spoke softly as he gently withdrew his wrist, then began helping Hermes relax his muscles, more patient and experienced than the last time.
Hermes couldn’t help but grip the edge of the stone bed, the sharp rocks cutting into his palms, sending a cold, dull pain through his hands. His brow furrowed deeply, as if all his senses were split in two—one half following Lin Kong’s touch, the other absorbed by the scent of Lin Kong’s body.
Hermes’s breath hitched for a moment. Unable to resist, his gaze fell to Lin Kong’s smooth, exposed neck. Without thinking, he lowered his head and bit down, his sharp teeth breaking the skin, and the metallic, sweet taste of blood spilled into his mouth.
“Mmm…”
Lin Kong let out a muffled groan, and for a moment, both of them felt the pain.
Hermes didn’t intend to kill Lin Kong—at least, not right now. He wrapped an arm around Lin Kong’s neck, tasting briefly, his tongue swirling over the wound, fighting to suppress the primal urge to feed.
Lin Kong had briefly feared he might be bitten to death, but as he looked at Hermes beneath him, it seemed that the other was no better off. Hermes, almost as if losing his soul, clung tightly to him, lazily burying his face in his chest. In his arms, he had turned into a soft puddle of warmth.
Hermes had stepped into a completely unfamiliar realm, his mind going blank. He was a cold-blooded creature, supposed to despise warmth, yet in this moment, he was drawn to Lin Kong like a spell, pressed close to him, feeling an almost overwhelming sense of comfort and ease.
In a daze, Hermes thought to himself, It turns out it wasn’t as painful as I imagined. If I’d known, I should’ve let Lin Kong have his way last time…
Outside the cave, a cool breeze blew, but inside, the temperature continued to rise.
By the late hours of the night, Lin Kong was already starting to feel sleepy. He pushed Hermes to the side, closed his eyes, and tried to catch up on some rest. But instead, Hermes rolled over and pinned him down.
Hermes’s voice was low and filled with dissatisfaction. “Lin Kong—!”
He wasn’t finished yet.
Lin Kong sighed and opened his eyes to look at him. “Big brother, I haven’t eaten much today.”
He had fought on an empty stomach all night, and he was already impressive enough—anyone else would’ve been long gone by now.
Hermes looked down at Lin Kong from above, his silver hair cascading over his shoulder, falling softly across Lin Kong’s face, itching slightly. His voice carried a hint of mockery as he spoke: [You, as prey, are really fragile.]
Lin Kong thought to himself that humans were a paradox—strong yet fragile all at once. He smiled and nodded brightly.
“Yes, yes. I’m very fragile, and I’m easy to kill.”
But…
Lin Kong paused mid-sentence, then reached up to gently touch Hermes’ cool face, his tone half-serious, half-playful. “Hermes, if I ever have to die, dying by your hand wouldn’t be so bad.”
At least, they were familiar with each other. No outsider needed to get involved.
Hermes had always planned to kill Lin Kong. If not today, then tomorrow. But for some reason, when he heard Lin Kong casually laughing and saying he was so easy to kill, those words stirred an uneasy feeling in Hermes.
The cave fell silent for a moment.
Lin Kong noticed that Hermes was sitting on top of him, a light sheen of sweat covering his skin. The fatigue had finally faded. He reached over and grabbed a black robe, draping it over Hermes, then decisively stood up from the stone bed. “Let’s go. We’ll take a bath.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
To his surprise, Hermes didn’t argue. But as he tried to get off the bed, his legs suddenly gave way, and he almost fell face-first to the ground. Fortunately, Lin Kong was quick enough to catch him, pulling him into his arms just in time.
“Hey,” Lin Kong said, his arms wrapped around Hermes’ waist, a half-smile on his face as he teasingly asked, “What’s wrong with your legs?”
Hermes gritted his teeth and didn’t respond: […]
For the first time in his life, Hermes learned what it felt like to be embarrassed. Annoyed and furious, he shoved Lin Kong away and, with a cold swipe of his sleeve, stormed out of the cave.
Tonight, the blood moon was still shining, though its color wasn’t as deep as before. It was pale and faint, with a soft pink hue spreading along the edges—it was actually quite beautiful.
Lin Kong and Hermes soaked in the water, using some body wash to quickly clean up before returning to the cave to rest. Fatigue hit him like a wave, and it wasn’t long before he fell asleep.
Lin Kong liked to cuddle a pillow when he slept, but since the cave didn’t have that luxury, he made do with hugging his coat. Hermes lay beside him, wide awake, unable to shake the discomfort that filled his body. He turned his head to see Lin Kong sleeping soundly, without a care in the world. A tight, simmering feeling burned inside him.
“Swish!”
Hermes snatched the coat from Lin Kong’s arms. With nothing left in his embrace, Lin Kong furrowed his brow and, half-asleep, instinctively turned and wrapped his arms around Hermes. He felt the hardness of Hermes’ body instead of the soft fabric.
“So hard…”
Lin Kong muttered in dissatisfaction, then fell back into sleep.
[…]
Hermes pressed his lips together, and the strange, simmering anger in his chest gradually subsided.
How strange.
Hermes thought to himself—why was he sleeping with prey? And why had they been so intimate?
Yet, this question remained unanswered even as the morning light broke.
As the red sun rose above the horizon, its rays pierced through the cave, waking Lin Kong from his sleep. He turned to look beside him and saw Hermes still nestled in his black robe, fast asleep. For some reason, Lin Kong gently got up from the stone bed, moving quietly.
The early morning air was still a little chilly. Lin Kong put on a denim jacket and stepped out of the cave, squatting by the creek to wash his face. He vaguely remembered the waterfall mountain he had visited yesterday was not far off. Following the path in his memory, it wasn’t long before he found a group of zergs gathered at the cliff’s edge. To his surprise, it was the same group of elderly and sickly zergs from yesterday.
Lin Kong parted the bushes and walked over, casually asking the leading elder, “Huh, how come you’re all here so early?”
Hermes still wasn’t awake.
The elder recognized Lin Kong. Yesterday, he had been right beside Hermes, looking very close, and the elder didn’t dare to offend him. He replied honestly: [Lord Hermes told us to wait here. We didn’t dare be late.]
Lin Kong glanced around, noticing that the number of zergs had increased exponentially, with many young, strong zergs among them. “It didn’t seem like you had this many zergs yesterday. How come there are over thirty more today?”
To his surprise, the elder suddenly dropped to one knee in front of Lin Kong, bowing deeply with a gesture of great respect. His voice was filled with urgency as he pleaded: [These are members of other tribes. They’ve come to help hunt the Stone-Piercing Beast. Please, ask Lord Hermes for more time. We will definitely offer this Stone-Piercing Beast to the Zerg King.]
If they used themselves as bait for the stone-skin beasts, the entire tribe might end up being devoured. It might be better to take a final gamble and hunt the beasts themselves—perhaps they could even gain a slim chance of survival from Hermes’ hands.
Lin Kong didn’t answer or refuse the elder’s plea. Instead, he placed a hand over his shoulder and glanced toward the cave behind the waterfall, his curiosity piqued as he asked: “Is the Stone-Piercing Beast really that difficult to hunt?”
The elder explained, [The Stone-Piercing Beast prefer to live in dark, damp mountain caves. The tunnels are winding and narrow, so we can’t even get inside. That’s why hunting them is so difficult.]
Lin Kong gave him a glance and asked, “So, how do you plan to hunt them?”
The elder lowered his head, falling silent for a moment before replying, [Blood. We can lure them out with blood.]
It turned out they were planning to sacrifice a few of the older zergs to save the rest of their tribe.
Lin Kong had thought they had come up with some clever plan, but this was the solution: “Can’t you use smoke?”
The elder looked confused. [What?]
Lin Kong demonstrated with his hands, explaining, “Light some branches at the entrance of the cave. When the smoke builds up, it’ll force the beast out.”
The elder was still puzzled. [Fire? What fire?]
Lin Kong scratched his head in confusion. “Don’t you usually use fire?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Kong suddenly realized that the zergs in front of him were forest dwellers. Like Hermes, they probably didn’t eat regular food and most likely didn’t use fire. He quickly apologized and said, “Wait here for a moment.”
His lighter was back in the cave. After speaking, Lin Kong retraced his steps, quietly slipping back into the cave while Hermes was still asleep. He grabbed the lighter and returned to the waterfall mountain to demonstrate to the elder:
“Look, this is fire. When it lights branches, it produces smoke. The cave is narrow and airtight, so the stone-skin beast might be forced out by it.”
“And there’s no trees around that mountain, just the waterfall and river. Once we’re done, we can put the fire out right away. No need to worry about any lingering dangers.”
As Lin Kong spoke, he pressed the lighter, and a small blue-orange flame flickered to life, dancing briefly before it was snuffed out.
The elder stared at the flame, suddenly understanding. [So this is fire.]
Normally, on rainy days, if a tree in the dense forest was struck by lightning, it would catch fire. However, the temperature was so high, and the flames would die out quickly, so no zerg ever dared approach.
The elder seemed intrigued, hesitating as he extended his hand. [Then…]
Lin Kong didn’t immediately hand the lighter to him. Instead, he said, “You all wait outside. I’ll go get Hermes.”
These primitive zergs didn’t know how to use a lighter. If something went wrong, it could cause trouble. It was safer to have Hermes come over and handle things. As Lin Kong spoke, he was about to turn back to the cave, but then he noticed a figure in black emerging from the dense forest. It was none other than Hermes.
Lin Kong was taken aback. “Hermes?!”
The lower-ranking zergs were also startled, immediately dropping to their knees in fear. It was clear that Hermes had a strong reputation, one that rivaled or even surpassed that of the Zerg King.
Having just woken up and noticed that Lin Kong was missing, Hermes had traced his scent all the way to this spot. His expression darkened, clearly not in a good mood. [Who told you to come out here?]
Lin Kong obediently stood behind him. “I just wanted to take a walk. When I saw you were asleep, I didn’t want to wake you.”
Lin Kong spoke, his gaze casually glancing at Hermes’ waist and legs hidden beneath his robe. Not bad for a non-human, he thought. The recovery abilities are impressive.
However, Hermes’ expression didn’t soften much. His cold, calculating gaze swept over the kneeling zerg tribe members, an unreadable emotion hidden behind his eyes. [You’re going back to the cave immediately. You’re not allowed to leave.]
Lin Kong was momentarily stunned, thinking, After all that, just one day as husband and wife, and he’s acting like a ruthless jerk. He lowered his voice, trying to sound less confrontational: “Aren’t you hunting the Stone-Piercing Beast? Can I watch from the side?”
He pressed the button on his lighter, its flame briefly flaring up. “If we use this to light some smoke, we might be able to drive the Stone-Piercing Beast out without using them as bait.”
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