Xie Ji gave a light laugh, unable to keep from grinning and revealing his snow-white teeth.
“Pfft…”
Yan Yu’an couldn’t help laughing. Seeing the others turn to look at him, he said: “To be honest, I thought you guys were good brothers.”
“Who’s good brothers with him!” Ning Bingque huffed and turned his head away, but Yan Yu’an still noticed his ears were a little red.
Xie Ji couldn’t help laughing too. His tail lifted slightly, and his tone was no longer as downcast as before. “Let’s go. We’ll all go take a look together.”
Shen Yuanzhou shook his head and gave him a deep look, lowering his head to hide his smiling eyes.
…
Further in was a forest. Only the cries of cicadas could be heard throughout the whole forest. Thick vines hung down from the trees, adding to this forest’s air of mystery.
“Are we really going this way?” Yan Yu’an hugged his arms and couldn’t help shrinking back. He kept feeling this place was colder than outside.
Xie Ji nodded. He could guarantee he definitely hadn’t gone the wrong way, but he also felt something was a little strange.
“Is this his ability?” Shen Yuanzhou’s voice was a little cold. He raised his eyes and touched the trees beside them, his tone inexplicably heavy.
Xie Ji glanced at him, a little puzzled as to why he’d ask that, but he still answered honestly: “I’m not sure. We separated when we were very small. I didn’t even know he was a mutant.”
Shen Yuanzhou fell silent. Yan Yu’an noticed something was off about him and leaned in to look at the trees. His expression changed slightly. He hurriedly turned to look at Shen Yuanzhou, and only after seeing him nod did he say quietly: “It seems we’ve run into a ghost wall…”
“A ghost wall?” Ning Bingque didn’t understand.
Yan Yu’an thought for a moment and put it a more fitting way: “Simply put, it’s Shen Yuanzhou’s ability.”
“!!!”
Xie Ji and Ning Bingque were shocked.
They involuntarily looked toward Shen Yuanzhou, who was standing off to the side with his head lowered, not knowing what he was thinking. Xie Ji moved his lips, wanting to say something.
But in the end, he didn’t speak.
“It’s nothing.” Shen Yuanzhou raised his eyes, and the next second, that tree actually slowly moved aside.
It was Yan Yu’an’s first time seeing Shen Yuanzhou use this ability. He couldn’t help his mouth falling open.
“Your ability’s pretty impressive.” Xie Ji glanced at him.
Shen Yuanzhou raised an eyebrow, and his sharp fangs emerged, a drop of pitch-black slime dripping from them.
Xie Ji watched that slime drip onto the ground, and the grass on the ground immediately withered.
“This is my main ability.” Shen Yuanzhou retracted his fangs and glanced at Xie Ji, inexplicably a little proud.
Xie Ji: “…” There was no need for that kind of warning.
Yan Yu’an found it a little funny and patted the back of Xie Ji’s hand soothingly.
Ning Bingque raised an eyebrow. This was also the first time in all this time he’d seen Shen Yuanzhou use this ability. Last time, when he’d learned Xie Ji only had one ability, he’d even wondered whether Shen Yuanzhou also only had one.
Before long, all the trees here had actually shifted direction, and even the grass poisoned by Shen Yuanzhou’s venom had moved from beside his feet to beside Ning Bingque’s feet—the farthest from him.
“We went the wrong way…”
After the vegetation here shifted position, Xie Ji scratched his head, his golden hair mussed into a mess by his own hand.
Ning Bingque lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Fortunately, they weren’t far from the correct direction, and soon a small hill appeared before them.
“That’s it!” Xie Ji pointed at the hill. “The stupid bird and I chased it here but couldn’t get in, and then my brother appeared inside and took that thing away.”
“You’re the stupid bird.” Ning Bingque clenched his fists and couldn’t help retorting.
Yan Yu’an rubbed his forehead and immediately stepped forward to soothe Ning Bingque again.
These past few days he really felt like a nagging mother—comforting this one for a while, then that one.
Fortunately, there was one Shen Yuanzhou who let him rest easy.
Thinking this, he couldn’t help sighing again.
The four of them walked to the front of the hill and saw a small path. Xie Ji wanted to go up and take a look, but unexpectedly the path was immediately blocked by tall trees.
“He has your ability too?” Ning Bingque asked, watching Xie Ji come back.
Shen Yuanzhou didn’t look at him. He shifted his gaze onto those trees, a little helpless. “Yes.” He paused. “I didn’t expect it either.”
Ning Bingque narrowed his eyes. Xie Ji’s younger brother was truly strange—if nothing unexpected happened, the person he’d seen when he came ashore should have been him.
“We can’t get up there.” Xie Ji said quietly. He drooped his head aggrievedly onto Yan Yu’an, and only after earning the displeased looks of the other two did he cheer up a little.
Shen Yuanzhou ignored him, but he still activated his ability to move those trees aside—yet after the trees were moved, that small path actually disappeared from sight too.
“Strange…” Ning Bingque raised an eyebrow, glanced at the path that had vanished without a trace, then at the glum Xie Ji, and slowly broke into a smile.
Time for him to take the stage.
His enormous wings beat, and Ning Bingque flew high into the air. He circled the hill, and his eagle eyes let him easily spot the hidden mountain pass. Satisfied, he flapped his wings and slowly descended.
“Follow me.” He said proudly, the excitement in his pale yellow eyes impossible to suppress. Then he walked over to Yan Yu’an and tucked a small flower behind his ear.
“Where did you get that?” Yan Yu’an was surprised. The red flower by his ear made him look even more bewitching—his pretty, soft black hair formed a sharp contrast with the fiery red blossom, and for a moment Ning Bingque’s breathing grew heavy.
But he quickly snapped out of it and gave a light laugh. “Picked it on a whim.”
Xie Ji: “!!!”
Shen Yuanzhou: “…”
Yan Yu’an couldn’t help swallowing. His gaze fell on the man’s firm, powerful muscles—there were a few scars on his back, but they only made him look more wild, while the feathers of his enormous wings were exceptionally smooth. He couldn’t help thinking of the scene of the man carrying him here.
Yan Yu’an felt his face grow a little hot.
Shen Yuanzhou gave Yan Yu’an a cold glance. His thin lips were pressed tight, and if you looked closely, they were even trembling slightly. He looked at Ning Bingque, who was walking at the very front leading the way, and a flame suddenly flared up in his heart.
He’s clearly my Snake Queen.
Shen Yuanzhou thought.
Xie Ji didn’t think so much about it. He only assumed it was Ning Bingque unilaterally teasing Yan Yu’an, and didn’t notice the subtle change in Yan Yu’an’s eyes at all.
Yan Yu’an felt himself pinned by a cold, slimy gaze. He couldn’t help shivering, and stiffly turned his neck toward the direction of that gaze—and saw Shen Yuanzhou with a completely calm face.
I must have imagined it…
Yan Yu’an touched his neck. After seeing Shen Yuanzhou smile at him, he turned around with lingering fear.
“We’re here.” Ning Bingque pursed his lips.
Yan Yu’an immediately snapped back to his senses. He slapped his head in annoyance and threw all those thoughts from just now out of his mind.
It must be because I’ve never been in a relationship that I think my brothers are handsome!
Yan Yu’an thought.
“This place doesn’t welcome you.” The youth’s clear voice brought Yan Yu’an back to his senses. He looked up at the boy who had appeared before him and couldn’t help swallowing.
Too beautiful.
The boy before him had snow-white skin and waist-length silver hair. His small, delicate oval face held a pair of pretty, grape-like eyes, and his rosy lips added a touch of bewitchment.
“That’s the person from just now.” Xie Ji’s face was expressionless. He glanced at Yan Yu’an, saw his expression was a little off, and then immediately glared viciously at the boy.
Yan Yu’an had never seen such a beautiful person. If not for the boy’s Adam’s apple, he really would have mistaken him for a girl.
“What’s your name?” he asked softly. But unexpectedly, the youth before him only gave him a proud glance, then crossed his arms and glared at him angrily.
“Who are you people? What are you doing here?” the youth said unceremoniously, his small, straight nose wrinkling.
Shen Yuanzhou narrowed his eyes, a little impatient. He’d never been interested in such impolite people.
Ning Bingque, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Yan Yu’an, saw his face full of embarrassment, and couldn’t help giving a light laugh.
The three of them had looked at Yan Yu’an for too long, so when this youth appeared, they weren’t all that struck by his beauty.
Yan Yu’an quickly snapped back to his senses. The youth’s upper body was bare, so the dense kiss marks on his snow-white body were exposed—bright red, like little plum blossoms in winter.
The youth narrowed his eyes and secretly sized Yan Yu’an up too, and couldn’t help sucking in a breath.
He knew he was pretty himself, but he hadn’t expected the youth before him to have such a distinctive air about him too.
“You’re very pretty.”
The youth’s unreserved praise made Yan Yu’an freeze, then he broke into a smile. “Thank you.”
“I wonder if I could have a private word with you.” Yan Yu’an said softly. He’d noticed that the fabric of the youth’s pants was clearly not made of materials from around here.
The youth didn’t know why either, but he felt an innate fondness for Yan Yu’an. He glared viciously at the other three men and made a face at them. “I advise you all not to go up.” He paused and looked at Yan Yu’an again. “Let’s go. What do you want to tell me?”
“Don’t go…”
Shen Yuanzhou shook his head at Yan Yu’an, but Yan Yu’an opposed him.
Yan Yu’an glanced at Shen Yuanzhou and comforted him: “It’s fine. I’ll be back in a bit. He won’t do anything to me.” He paused and revealed a small smile. “Besides, aren’t you all nearby? I won’t be in danger.”
“Are you coming or not?” The youth’s displeased voice reached his ears. Yan Yu’an immediately patted Shen Yuanzhou’s hand, gave Ning Bingque and Xie Ji a reassuring look, then jogged after the youth, whose eyes were full of impatience.
Only when they’d walked far away from them did the youth turn his head and carefully look Yan Yu’an over.
“You’re not from around here, are you.” Yan Yu’an pressed his lips into a smile, and seeing the youth’s flustered eyes, he couldn’t help laughing.
The youth glanced around, and only after seeing no one was there did he straighten up and say discontentedly: “What nonsense are you talking about? I—how am I not from around here?”
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