The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Chapter 35: This Seat Slipped

That night, Mo Ran gazed at the wall with his chin in his hand.

On the other side of that wall lay Chu Wanning and Xue Meng's bedroom.

Shi Mo was fastidious; he neatly folded the freshly laundered clothes on the bed, not a single crease in sight. Then, he went downstairs to ask for hot water to be brought up for a bath.

The soundproofing in this inn wasn't particularly effective. In the silence of the room, one could vaguely hear the movements from next door.

Chu Wanning seemed to have said something, but it was too indistinct to make out. However, Xue Meng's voice followed promptly—

"It seems a bit tight."

Mo Ran's dog-like ears perked up, twitching attentively.

The little phoenix next door asked, "Master, does it hurt?"

"...It's fine, carry on," Chu Wanning replied.

"I'll be gentle. If it hurts, just tell me."

"Stop blabbering. Either do it or don't."

Mo Ran's eyes widened in shock. "???"

Although he knew that there was no way those two would be together, what kind of conversation was this? What were they doing?

The puppy's ears were practically pressed against the wall, catching the faint rustling of clothing and, if he listened closely enough, even the muffled groan that Chu Wanning tried to suppress.

He had heard that sound from Chu Wanning countless times in bed—when his master was either feeling immense pleasure or pain, he wouldn't utter a sound, always gritting his teeth and his eyes glistening with dampness. At such moments, all it took was a little more pressure to hear Chu Wanning's shattered breaths...

"Wait... wait a moment." Chu Wanning's voice was hoarse as he said in a low tone, "Don't touch... that area."

"Okay." Xue Meng hesitated before whispering, "Then Master... will you do it yourself?"

"Mm."

Which area?

What on earth is going on? What spots aren't to be touched? What do you mean by 'do it yourself'? What exactly are these two up to?

Mo Ran's face darkened.

By the time he realized what was happening, he had already pounded on the door to the neighboring room.

There was a hurried rustling from inside. The puppy's expression grew even worse as he gathered his breath, "Shifu, you two—"

The door creaked open.

Xue Meng stood inside, looking impeccable, with a half-bloodstained piece of gauze in his hand. He squinted at Mo Ran, utterly confused.

"What are you doing? Shouting in the middle of the night. Did you run into a ghost?"

Mo Ran opened his mouth, then foolishly shut it again. His gaze swept past Xue Meng and landed on Chu Wanning, who sat at the table with fresh gauze and medicine spread out before him.

"You two are…."

Xue Meng glared, "Applying medicine, of course. Shifu's shoulder hasn't fully healed yet. A few wounds have gotten infected from not changing the dressing in days."

Mo Ran: "..."

He asked in a daze, "I-I mean, it's too tight, right...?"

"Too tight?" Xue Meng knitted his brows, pondering for a moment. "Oh, the bandage. I tied it too tightly before. Some blood clung to the wound, making it difficult to remove."

Midway through his sentence, he suddenly paused and looked at Mo Ran suspiciously.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?"

Mo Ran rolled his eyes, barely managing to salvage his already ruined dignity. "The partitions in this inn are so thin. Anyone could have been listening. Don't believe me? Go try it yourself. If you lean against the wall, you can even hear breathing."

"Oh, is that so?" Xue Meng nodded, but then something struck him. "Wait, how would you know? Did you press your ear against the wall?"

Mo Ran: "..."

Xue Meng flew into a rage. "Mo Weiyu, you're so twisted!"

Mo Ran retorted angrily, "How do I know what kind of beastly things you might do to Shifu!"

Xue Meng was an innocent soul, unfamiliar with this particular subject, and thus had no idea what Mo Ran was talking about. He became even more agitated, "What nonsense are you spouting?!" Then, he turned his head, pouting, "Master, look at him –"

Chu Wanning put on his outer robe, buttoning up the loose collar as he walked over, combing through his hair with a cool and detached demeanor. He gave Mo Ran a thorough once-over from head to toe.

"What's going on?"

"I... I heard something from next door..." Mo Ran stumbled over his words, mustering up the courage, "Well, I thought Xue Meng was bullying you..."

"What?" Chu Wanning didn't understand. His eyes narrowed, "Who's bullying me?"

Mo Ran wished he could slap himself, "...."

They stood awkwardly, staring at each other when Shi Mo joined them.

"Aran? Why are you at Master's door?"

"I... uh..." Mo Ran was even more flustered, "It's just, there was a misunderstanding."

Shi Mo chuckled, "Did you resolve it then?"

"It's settled, it's settled," Mo Ran repeated. "Shi Mo, didn't you ask the waiter to bring hot water for a bath? Master hasn't had one yet, right? I'll go downstairs and ask them to send more."

Shi Mo said, "No need." He took out four small bamboo plaques and smiled. "The waiter mentioned that there's a natural hot spring near the inn. The owner has built a dedicated bathhouse. With these tokens, you can go and take a bath. One for each of you."

Mo Ran felt that as a gay man, he shouldn't bathe with the other three. It was fine with Xue Meng, but in Shi Mo's eyes, he was as holy as a deity, so Mo Ran dared not imagine further. As for Chu Wanning, Mo Ran knew from their intimate encounters after his rebirth that he might lose control of himself at the sight of the man undressing.

Covering his face, Mo Ran said, "I'm not going."

Xue Meng was aghast. "You're going to sleep without bathing? How dirty!"

Mo Ran replied, "I'll have the waiter send hot water up."

Shi Mo was confused. "This inn doesn't boil water. All guests go to the hot spring to bathe."

Mo Ran: "..."

With no choice, Mo Ran had to join them in taking their spare clothes and heading to the hot spring. The inn was quite clever; knowing that most of its guests were sword-seeking cultivators who came for Jin Chengchi, they named the bathhouse "Jin Cheng Xun Ying" for good luck.

Mo Ran, fearing he might lose his senses, hurriedly changed his clothes and tightly wrapped a towel around his waist before darting off to the bathhouse. He found a secluded spot in the pool and submerged half his face underwater, a white towel perched on his head, as he exhaled bubbles with each breath.

As it was quite late, there were only a few people in the bathhouse, scattered far apart. With half his face submerged, Mo Ran dared a quick glance and sighed in relief. It was Xue Meng.

Though Mister Xue was handsome, he wasn't Heaven-Stepping Lord's type. They exchanged glances, and Xue Meng pointed at him. "Stay away from me."

"Why?"

"I think you're dirty."

Mo Ran chuckled softly.

Amidst the steamy haze of the bathhouse, after a while, Xue Meng, who was scrubbing himself with soap, suddenly called out, "Master, over here!"

Half of Mo Ran's face was still underwater, and he nearly choked upon hearing this. Though he knew he shouldn't look, his gaze still involuntarily wandered towards the shore.

That glimpse nearly proved fatal. Unprepared, Mo Ran accidentally swallowed two mouthfuls of bathwater. Ignoring the disgust, he hastily submerged himself deeper, leaving only his eyes above the surface.

He never would have imagined that Chu Wanning and Shi Mo would emerge together.

One was slender and delicate, with long, raven-black hair cascading down their shoulders, wrapped in a towel—none other than Shi Mo.

Originally, Mo Ran should have been most eager to sneak a peek at him. Yet, he ended up only stealing a fleeting glance. He genuinely revered Shi Mo like a bright moon and dared not casually ogle in public.

The other figure was tall and stern, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a muscular, taut physique—Chu Wanning. His hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and he wore a loose, white bathrobe that covered him decently save for one flaw: the garment was too spacious, and the collar remained unfastened, exposing a large expanse of smooth, firm pectorals.

Mo Ran stared at him, feeling as if he were being suffocated by the hot spring, cooked alive.

He wanted to look away.

But his eyes refused to obey, fixed intently, unable to shift even the slightest bit. His ears gradually turned red.

Through the misty vapor, Chu Wanning seemed to glance at him, but then again, maybe not. Casually, he cast a waterproof barrier over the area where his bandages were, before stepping into the hot spring. His robes floated around him, revealing glimpses of his legs—firmly toned and elegantly proportioned.

Mo Ran: ".................."

He could no longer endure it, closing his eyes as he submerged entirely beneath the water's surface.

Even with the bath towel around his waist, his reaction was still far too...

Mo Ran felt incredibly wronged.

He genuinely disliked Chu Wanning, despised him to the core.

But his body stubbornly remembered their past passions, those intimate moments that could turn even the hardest of bones into tenderness. It recalled all those blush-inducing, absurdly forbidden episodes between them.

His Adam's apple bobbed as inner turmoil raged within him.

Mo Ran was on the verge of tears from frustration.

He was terrified of despising himself for the first time—how had this happened? Shi Mo was still right there, so what was the point of him acting out in this delirious infatuation toward Chu Wanning?

Even if they had been intimately entwined in their previous lives, shared pleasures in the sheets...

All of that was in the past now.

How could he be so preoccupied with Chu Wanning's well-being when he had a junior sister to consider? It was disrespectful and inappropriate.

After a long while of focusing on his breathing to suppress wicked thoughts, Mo Ran finally managed to quell the flame in his lower abdomen. He then abruptly emerged from the water, shaking off the droplets and wiping his face with a towel. As he opened his blurred eyes, he found himself staring directly into Chu Wanning's face.

And all the water from his head had splashed onto Chu Wanning's face. A droplet was now hanging precariously, suddenly sliding down his sharp, dark brows before trickling down, almost dropping into those captivating phoenix eyes.

Chu Wanning: "............"

Mo Ran: "............"

This was terrible. Mo Ran had been holding his breath underwater and couldn't see his surroundings.

Chu Wanning was also unaware that Mo Ran was lurking there; he had come over to fetch the incense box without a second thought. Before he could even touch it, he was suddenly drenched in water by the person who had unexpectedly surfaced.

The hot spring was deep, and its buoyancy was considerable. Dizzy, Mo Ran attempted to step back but slipped, landing precisely in Chu Wanning's arms.

"Ahh!"

"..."

Author's Note:

Today's scene from the drama: "The World You Hear Is Not Mine"

Phoenix Child: Seems a bit snug.

Little Pup: !! ? ? !!

Phoenix Child: Master, does it hurt?

Big White Cat: It's nothing, carry on.

Phoenix Child: I'll be more gentle. If I hurt you, tell me.

Big White Cat: Stop fussing, either do it or don't. Enough said.

Puppy: Woof woof woof!!! What are you guys doing!!! Angry!! Woof woof woof!

Husky Jr.: ...Ah? I was massaging Master's shoulders.

Phoenix Child: So the tension you mentioned refers to...

Husky Jr.: The muscles in the shoulder being tense. What else did you think it could be?

Silence...

Many years later.

Handsome and Majestic Husky (Does such a creature exist?): Seems like it was indeed a bit too tight.

Phoenix Child: !!??

Husky: Did it hurt, Master?

Big White Cat: It's fine, carry on.

Husky: I'll be gentler. If it hurts, just tell me.

Great White Cat: So much fuss, just do it or don't.

Phoenix pondered for a moment at the entrance, convinced that Husky was massaging his Master's shoulders.

Sigh~ How strong this silly Husky's grip is. Little Phoenix rolled his eyes, thinking to himself - it's only a shoulder massage, yet Master's voice seems a bit hoarse now. Not good, not good at all.

He fluttered his feathers and left, unaware that he had missed an opportunity to be a heroic bird saving the day (helplessly shrugging).