Chapter 2263: Fierce Love of the Miao Border Youth 26

The human figure was just a decoy; they had been following them all the way to this cave.

Corpse fluid seeped from the cave walls, glowing faintly under the torchlight; Jin Chen stepped over the scattered bones, gripped Nan Yixing's hand tightly, and walked in side by side.

On the stone table sat a tung oil lamp; beside it sat a person, whose fire‑lit face was etched with deep grooves.

"Is it you?" Jin Chen narrowed his eyes. That day, when Nan Yixing first came to Qianping Mountain Stronghold, he was the middle‑aged corpse‑chaser Jin Chen had rescued in the back mountains.

He did not lower his guard; his wrist twitched slightly, and the silver bell chain made a faint clink. "That day you said you were a corpse‑chaser."

The middle‑aged man beside the stone table set down his ceramic jar and leisurely wiped his hands.

"I haven't yet thanked the young master for saving my life. I am indeed a corpse‑chaser, and I also raise corpses."

He lifted his head and gave a strange smile: "Just as the young master both treats and applies gu, there's no conflict."

Nan Yixing surveyed the cave's furnishings without changing his expression.

Several ceramic jars sat on the stone table, their contents soaking in things he did not wish to examine closely.

In the corner lay several rolls of familiar cloth—the very burial shrouds they had found in the forest.

The man rose slowly, took down an oil lamp from the stone wall, and said, "Young master, physician, follow me inside—I've been waiting for you here a long time."

Phosphorescent fire glowed dimly in the cave; the corpse‑keeper's bony finger lightly tapped the ceramic jar on the stone table. "This cave winds nine times and eighteen bends—only those blessed by heaven can find their way here alive."

Inside the jar, the black‑shelled beetle fluttered its wings, striking the copper‑coin‑patterned jar and producing a faint rattling.

Jin Chen lowered his gaze to the crawling corpse‑worms on the ground and said, "So someone had you wait here especially for me."

Who could it be?

Nan Yixing suddenly thought of the mysterious Miao King, his brows knitting involuntarily as he tightened his grip on Jin Chen's hand.

"If the young master arrives first," the corpse‑keeper lifted the jar's lid, revealing the black‑shelled beetle glowing with phosphorescent light inside, "I will give you this black‑shelled beetle that can dispel the life‑replacing gu."

Jin Chen's violet eyes narrowed slightly as he tapped the jar's rim with his fingertip. "And if it isn't me?"

Corpse‑keeper: "If Jin Que arrives first…" He lifted the lid of the other jar; the gold‑thread worm flickered with faint golden light in the darkness. "I will give him this gold‑thread worm."

"The gold‑thread worm can stabilize the gu and pacify the soul, but…"

"But what?" Nan Yixing pressed.

"Once the gold‑thread worm is used, the life‑replacing gu becomes symbiotic with the pulse, leaving no possibility of dispelling it."

Nan Yixing's expression froze for a moment; when he came to, he could not ignore the strange feeling stirring in his heart.

Isn't the Miao King very indulgent toward Jin Chen?

Jin Chen caught Nan Yixing's bewilderment and smiled, saying, "Brother, Jin Que is also his grandson; in your Han terms, it's basically… flesh of the same palm and back."

After Jin Chen finished speaking, the curve of his lips slowly fell. "Then I'll take both of these."

No sooner had his words fallen than a red snake shot upright, its fangs aimed at the corpse‑keeper.

The corpse‑keeper's withered claw twitched. "Young master, this is—"

"What's wrong?" Jin Chen's fingertip flickered with gu markings. "I need both a way to dispel the gu and a guard against anyone with ulterior motives. Will you agree or not?"

Corpse‑keeper: "……" "If I don't agree, do I still have a life?"

"Yes, then young master, take them all."

Before leaving, Nan Yixing deliberately lagged a few steps behind Jin Chen, and while Jin Chen walked ahead, he quickly asked the corpse‑keeper, "Who placed the life‑replacing gu? Do you know?"

Although he was merely asking, the coldness in his eyes was too intense; the brows and eyes beneath his cinnabar mole were half‑hidden in the cave, and the corpse‑keeper felt a nervous dread of daring to lie.

"……Yes, the Miao King."

Indeed it was.

Nan Yixing could not describe what he felt after receiving that answer.

When he first arrived at Qianping Mountain Stronghold, he thought Jin Chen was a favored, indulged, barbaric youth, carrying the wildness of one unschooled in worldly affairs from the mountains and forests; that allure was unmatched by anyone.

Perhaps it was because their first glance was too stunning, so the more he came to know him, the more his heart ached.

If……

The wavering scale in Nan Yixing's heart finally tipped to one side, and he made a silent resolution.

He wanted to take Jin Chen away from here.

Qianping Mountain Stronghold is too small—how could it compare to the vast, boundless world outside?

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total now 67!】

Jin Chen turned his head; Nan Yixing happened to be walking out of the cave, heading toward him.

Jin Chen reached out, their ten fingers locking together, yet he was soon embraced; he lifted his gaze, wrapped his arms around Nan Yixing's waist, and saw the corpse‑keeper hurrying away.

"Brother, what did you just say to that person?"

Jin Chen tilted his head and lightly kissed him.

"I asked who gave you the gu." Nan Yixing had never thought of hiding it from Jin Chen.

Everyone in Qianping Mountain Stronghold keeps things from Jin Chen; if he did the same, how would he differ from them?

Jin Chen hummed nonchalantly, not really caring, "The Miao King."

Jin Chen actually knew.

Nan Yixing's heart gave another jolt; he lifted his eyes to look at Jin Chen, only to see his gaze faintly smiling.

"I've known all along, but what's wrong with you?" Jin Chen tapped the corner of Nan Yixing's eye. "It's red."

Nan Yixing's long lashes fluttered, his tone softening further as his fingertip brushed Jin Chen's cheek.

"I've just made a decision."

He did not continue explaining; his tone shifted, and he said, "You've got the black‑shelled beetle—hurry and dispel the gu. They don't care for you, but I will."

Jin Chen's lips curled slightly; he rubbed his face against Nan Yixing's to kiss him, murmuring indistinctly, which made Nan Yixing's ears tingle and his whole body go limp.

Nan Yixing instinctively moved to press his ear, but the kiss followed, and then the sensation of his earlobe being wrapped in warm moisture spread through his limbs.

The hand he had just raised suddenly curled, his breathing falling into an irregular rhythm as he wrapped his arms around Jin Chen's back.

It was as if they were weaving an invisible net with love.

Deeply entwined and heart‑wrenching, etched into bone and heart.

When Jin Chen and Nan Yixing returned to the wooden hut where they were temporarily staying deep inside the circular altar, the elders' looks as they glanced over seemed to comprehend something, filled with the complexity of words left unspoken, yet in the end no one said anything more.

Only A San believed that he had still managed to keep the elders and the high priest well in the dark.

Not far from the wooden hut, Jin Que stood beneath a tree, silently observing all of them; after watching Jin Chen and Nan Yixing enter the hut, he finally put away the poisonous insect he had been toying with in his hand, then lifted his head to gaze at the approaching dusk.