Mengjun turned his head around one last time at the unconscious Yuelong. Amidst the people that were tied up against the wooden poles, Yuelong was the only one that stood out to him. A demon lit up a nearby fire, illuminating the charming features on his face.

 A sense of serenity washed over Mengjun’s heart. It has been a long time since he last felt himself at peace. Mengjun wished that this moment would last forever. He could look at the sleeping beauty for an eternity. But the cruel reality shook him out from his fantasies. A demon gave him a push into a tunnel and Yuelong vanished from his sight.

Mengjun shook his head, erasing the image of the unconscious Yuelong from his mind. “Why am I thinking of that?” He recomposed himself and lifted his head up. A flash of deep gold flared in his eyes as he adjusted to the dark.

After the He Luo King defeated Yuelong, Mengjun pretended to be unconscious, which gave him the advantage of spying at the enemy’s movements. Everyone was brought to a hidden cave across from the city, including the disciples of Lishui. The Lishui disciples and their master were bundled up like pigs ready for the roast and were carried by the large crowd of demons.

Taken to the cave, they were all tied up to wooden poles. The demons had helped themselves to a delicious meal of roasted Lishui disciples, which incited anger and fear amongst the humans. The screams and cries of the witnesses had woken up the majority of the humans. But they were quickly silenced by the presence of the He Luo King, who bashed them unconscious with his trident.

The He Luo King took one, long look at Yuelong’s face and ordered him to be taken to his resting chambers. Seeing that Yuelong was going to be taken away, Mengjun ignored the pain from his stomach and volunteered in his place without hesitation, knowingly sacrificing himself to protect Yuelong.

“Come mortal,” A demon had lifted up an animal hide hanging from the wall. “The king wants you to be washed before you serve him.”

Mengjun slightly lowered his head and walked into the small room hidden behind the animal hide. Hot steam surged into his face. Mengjun took a whiff of the steam. “Coconut and the ocean…”

As the steam faded away, a large pool appeared. Purple and blue petals floated atop the bath while the edges were lined with colorful stones and gems.

As he was admiring the pool, a claw pulled at his sleeve. Mengjun looked at the hawk-faced demon.

“What? Humans keep their clothes on for bathing too?” The demon snapped.

“...”

“Then take it off!” The demon shouted.

Mengjun reluctantly untied his belt and handed it over to the demon. The layers of his clothing slid off one by one, revealing a purple bruise around his abdomen on his tender, white flesh. After he was undressed, he carefully dipped a toe into the water. It was warm to the touch.

Mengjun released a moan as he sat down into the pool. “Ahhh…” 

The heated water was perfect in temperature. Mengjun rested an arm on the edge of the pool and leaned his head back. He grabbed a fistful of petals from the water and held it up to his nose. He took a deep intake of the scent. 

“Yuelong ah… Yuelong,” He muttered to himself. “Do you know why I volunteered in your place?”

Mengjun sat up straight and fidgeted with the petals in his hand.

“It’s because… I want you to know the pain of betrayal and death. To steal a place in your heart and when you open up to me…”

His eyes flared gold. The petals exploded in his hands and landed into the water like confetti.

“You will die by my hands and my hands only.”

Mengjun smiled to himself. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, bathing in the hot waters of his dreams.

It was not long after that the demon servants returned with garments and prepared Mengjun for the night. 

Dressed in a long, velvet robe, Mengjun followed the demon servants deeper into the cave. Stalagmites hung menacingly from the ceiling, but Mengjun stalked behind with a venomous smirk. 

Finally, arriving at a large wooden door, a demon grabbed the metal ring that acted as the door handle, and knocked thrice. The huge door creaked open, revealing the chambers of the He Luo King.

Similar to the bathing pool that Mengjun bathed in, a similar pool was placed at the center of the room, surrounded by white, transparent curtains that would later conceal the unspeakable acts that would happen. The demon servants closed the wooden doors.

Even though it could mean his fate had come to an unfortunate end, Mengjun was confident that it wouldn’t be the case and walked deeper into the room. He lifted a curtain and sat cross legged on the edge of the pool.

He leisurely fished out a couple petals from the pool and fidgeted them in his hands. Just a few moments later, bubbles popped out from the pool. A large hand grabbed the edge of the pool opposite to Mengjun, and pulled. A chiseled, gray-skinned hunk emerged from the depths. This time, the He Luo King looked a lot more human than before. There were no traces of the tentacles from their first encounter.

“Well, well, well, aren’t you a handsome one?” The He Luo King’s deep voice rang out. 

Without looking at the creature, Mengjun responded with a cold “hmph”.

And that was all it took to induce fear into the enemy. A chill went down the He Luo King’s spine. He felt that the mortal in front of him was no longer the same human that he had caught. But he quickly dismissed it as lustful thoughts replaced his natural instinct.

Mengjun’s new gown was given to him by the He Luo King, which meant that it was purposely revealing. The creature nearly drooled at the sight of Mengjun’s smooth, pearly legs. His eyes followed the legs up to Mengjun’s bare chest and up to his face where his wet hair flowed down his shoulder. A natural reaction occurred in the creature’s lower body.

As a beast, one of their main purposes in life is to reproduce. But in the case of the He Luo King, it was to cultivate. Since the species of He Luo lived in seas and oceans, their bodies were dominantly Yin regardless of their gender. And to attain stronger powers, they must achieve a balance of Yin and Yang. The best way to do that is to absorb the essences of a human male.

The creature slid back into the water and swam up to Mengjun’s fine legs. He reached out with his webbed hands, desperate to touch and feel the smooth, silky skin. But before he had a chance, he was stopped short. 

Mengjun had stopped the creature with a single movement. Pressed up against the chest of the beast was Mengjun’s foot. 

“Desperate are we?” Mengjun taunted with a flirtatious look.

Blinded by lust, the creature drooled and replied with a look of thirst and hunger for pleasure.

“How about this, if you can catch me, I’ll let you have me.” Mengjun suggested.

The creature laughed. “You are either stupid or overestimating yourself. Fine, let’s have it your way then.”

Mengjun slowly released his foot from the creature’s chest. “The game begins…now”

Immediately, the creature made a lunge for his prize.

With the reflexes of a tiger, Mengjun did a back-hand-spring and dodged the first catch of the creature.

“So close, yet so far,” Mengjun mocked.

This incited a stronger desire in the creature to catch this handsome man. The creature leaped out from the pool, splashing water everywhere. The He Luo King made a second lunge at Mengjun.

With a single jump, Mengjun lifted himself off from the ground and into the air. Using the creature’s head as a stepping stone, he propelled himself towards the edge of the pool.

The creature caught nothing but air. Further lured by the luscious body of Mengjun, his true form was slowly revealed and tentacles sprouted from his back. Like the heads of a hydra, the tentacles fanned outwards, creeping slowly towards Mengjun.

“I will get you, pretty boy! And make you my queen!” The He Luo King proclaimed.

Without warning, the tentacles picked up speed and shot themselves in Mengjun’s direction. Unfaltered, Mengjun leaped backwards, landing on the other side of the pool. He gently tapped the surface of the water and gathered a single drop of water on his middle finger. With a single flick, the water was transformed into a deadly, flying weapon. Crystalized and condensed by his energy, the water drop shaped into a single needle of frost.

The He Luo King suddenly felt a sharp jab in the middle of his chest. He looked down and saw a tiny blue dot. “Hah! Nothing but a small bug’s tricks!” Ignoring the small wound, his tentacles once again extended their sliminess towards Mengjun.

“I wouldn’t be so sure…” Mengjun smirked.

Stopping an inch away from Mengjun’s velvet robe, The tentacles of the creature suddenly dropped onto the floor. 

Finally realizing that something isn’t right, the He Luo King panicked. “What—what did you do!? Why—why do I feel so stiff!?”

 Like an actor on stage, Mengjun twirled his sleeves, covered the bottom half of his face with a sleeve and laughed. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“How can a mortal like you accomplish this? Who’s the mastermind? Is it Yuelong? Tell me or else I will make you pay…” The creature threatened.

“Let me enlighten you, creature,” Mengjun casually strided across the surface of the pool. The water rippled gently from his feet. “What you suffer from is merely the skin part of what I practice. You are merely my testing subject.”

“You fucking son of a bitch!” The creature roared, attempting to strike the man before him but was stopped by the stiffness of his joints. It was like he had been frozen in place. 

“Tsk tsk tsk, such vulgar language,” Mengjun pinched at the air with his index finger and thumb. A barely visible needle materialized between his fingers. “This right here, is called the Red Frost. Do you know why it’s called the Red Frost?”

“Keep jabbering and see if I rip that fucking mouth off from your face!”

Ignoring his rude remark, Mengjun continued, “Once someone is hit by the Red Frost, they will see a red dot where they were struck, or in your case, blue because your blood is blue. And afterwards, their body will be invaded by the surrounding Yin energy, freezing up their innards until they die from the cold.”

The creature was too stunned to speak. Never has he heard of something so cruel and vicious from someone so handsome. The more charming someone is, the more you have to be aware of them.

“But sadly, I haven’t mastered it yet and the effects haven't reached the point of death,” Mengjun sighed.

A sudden realization came to the creature’s mind. “You! No! It can’t be! You’re supposed to be dead!” He looked away in fright. No longer did he have the urge to possess this man’s body, rather, he was the one willing to sacrifice himself right there and then so he doesn’t have to endure this man’s presence.

At the same time, a battle occurred in the main cave. Uncured of their venom, many Lishui disciples lost their conscience and turned against each other. Unequipped and tied to wooden poles, they bit and chewed on each other. The sport had attracted all the demons in the cave. They cheered and clapped at the brutal scene. 

“Fan gong-zi! Fan gong-zi! Wake up!” A sweet voice rang.

Yuelong slowly opened his eyes to the faintly lit cave. His ears were full of beast-like howls and roars of the human voice.

“You’re finally awake! We have a chance right now to break free, the demons aren’t watching!”

Yuelong looked at the speaker. It was Murong Zi. A lock of hair covered half of her dirtied face, yet despite all this, it wasn’t enough to cover her beauty.

“Murong gu-niang! What happened?” Yuelong quickly glanced around him. “Where’s Mengjun?”

Murong Zi opened and closed her mouth, unsure of how to reply.

“Where is Mengjun?” Yuelong asked again.

“He got taken away by the He Luo creature.” She answered.

“What!?”

“You were going to be taken away first, but then he suddenly volunteered in your place…”

“So it wasn’t a dream, it was real,” Yuelong muttered to himself.

“Fan gong-zi, this is our chance to break free! The demons aren’t keeping watch right now, we must break free,” Murong Zi repeated. “And then we can go save your friend!”

“Right!” Yuelong answered. The image of Mengjun in the creature’s clutches incited flames from the depths of his heart. He wasn’t going to let anyone take away his friends again.

He quickly felt the ropes around his wrists and concentrated his energy into his fingertips, attempting to slice away the ropes with pure energy. Nothing. Yuelong tried again. Nothing.

“Where are my powers!?”