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Miao Village rarely mobilized all its residents except on special occasions. Even for collective farming, only one member from each household would participate.
But this time was different. This time, the village chief’s son had disappeared.
He had vanished the night before his wedding.
The entire village turned out, scouring every corner of Miao Village—they might as well have dug three feet into the ground.
Yet, they still couldn’t find him.
The young man seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving not a single trace behind.
An eerie silence fell over Miao Village, thick with tension like the calm before a storm, suffocating and unbearable.
Logically, the disappearance of one person shouldn’t warrant mobilizing the entire village—even if that person was the chief’s son.
But the missing man’s fiancé was him—the man who could decide their lives or deaths in the blink of an eye.
Just being near that man filled the villagers with dread, a sense of facing an insurmountable force, utterly at his mercy.
They couldn’t even muster the slightest thought of resistance.
If they failed to find the missing groom, they would surely die.
Anyone who had lived in Miao Village long enough knew that the village itself was relatively safe. The herbs they cultivated helped pacify the gu worms, keeping them docile and confined to the fields.
But the woods surrounding Miao Village were another matter.
The gu worms there, unrestrained by herbs, were wild and vicious, devouring any living creature they encountered.
Even the villagers weren’t exempt.
After all, gu worms varied in strength—the strong preyed on the weak, an eternal law. Gu were, by nature, creatures of mutual consumption.
Only those that survived could evolve into something more formidable.
The herbs in the fields didn’t just suppress the gu worms—they also kept the villagers in check.
Though they were no longer entirely human, they had no desire to degenerate into mindless creatures, driven solely by the urge to consume and grow stronger.
But with no trace of the missing young man within the village, only the surrounding woods remained to be searched.
***
Deep in the woods of Miao Village, a young man stumbled shakily behind a tall figure. His delicate face was etched with unease and fear, as if even the rustling of leaves was enough to startle him.
This was all because the young man had just witnessed a swarm of gu worms frantically crawling toward him.
If not for the quick reflexes of the man in front of him—who sliced through the gu worms the moment they tried to get close—he would have already been parasitized.
But the man who saved him was no hero. After all, he was the one who had brought him into this deadly forest in the first place.
That young man was Ruan Qing.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself in the woods, kidnapped by none other than Miao Linyuan—someone he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Today was supposed to be his wedding day.
Yet here he was, trapped in this treacherous forest.
Miao Li must be sick with worry by now.
Ruan Qing pressed his pale, thin lips together, anxiety gnawing at him. But he didn’t dare stray from the man’s sight again.
It was precisely because he had wandered off earlier that he’d nearly been infested by the gu worms. Alone in this forest teeming with them, he wouldn’t last long.
The woods were the most dangerous place in Miao Village.
Because the village was surrounded by towering mountains, sunlight only broke through at noon. The rest of the time, the forest remained shrouded in deep shadow. The plants here had no tendency to grow toward light, making it impossible to discern direction.
Once you ventured too deep, getting lost was almost inevitable.
Even worse, the deeper you went, the thicker the mist became—blurring all sense of direction and obscuring everything around you.
Under such conditions, if gu worms or other dangers appeared, escape was nearly hopeless.
And yet, Miao Linyuan was leading Ruan Qing straight into the heart of the forest.
Ruan Qing didn’t believe for a second that Miao Linyuan intended to help him escape Miao Village.
Gu worms could never leave Miao Village.
Distracted—or perhaps just too busy watching his surroundings—Ruan Qing failed to notice the vines underfoot. His ankle caught, and with a sharp gasp, he lost his balance, stumbling forward.
Though Miao Linyuan walked ahead, his attention had never left the young man behind him. He’d noticed the vines long before Ruan Qing tripped.
But he didn’t warn him.
Instead, just as Ruan Qing was about to fall, Miao Linyuan stopped, turned, and took several long strides forward—so that the young man crashed straight into his arms.
Gripping Miao Linyuan’s shirt in panic, Ruan Qing’s delicate face was still pale with shock.
Miao Linyuan looked down at the man clinging to him, his expression unreadable, dark. Yet when he spoke, his voice was light, almost amused.
"In such a hurry to throw yourself at me?"
Ruan Qing's face paled then flushed at those words, and he instinctively tried to let go of Miao Linyuan's clothes and step back.
But the moment his grip loosened, Miao Linyuan wrapped an arm around his waist and yanked him forward, crushing their bodies together until not a sliver of space remained between them.
Ruan Qing was completely enveloped in Miao Linyuan's presence—overpowering, invasive, just like the man himself.
Darkly magnetic and ruthlessly possessive.
Uncomfortable, Ruan Qing pressed his lips together and pushed against Miao Linyuan's chest, but his feeble strength posed no real threat.
No threat, but it still angered Miao Linyuan.
Looking down at the man in his arms, Miao Linyuan smiled, though not a trace of warmth reached his eyes.
"What's wrong? You seemed plenty happy kissing Miao Ciyu. Can't even stand my touch now?"
Ruan Qing froze, his eyes widening in stunned disbelief as he stared up at Miao Linyuan.
That statement could only mean one thing—Miao Linyuan had seen him and Miao Ciyu together.
Had it been at the lake? Or… behind the bushes?
It only took him a second to conclude it must have been the lake. Otherwise, Miao Linyuan's reaction would have been far worse.
Not that the current situation was any better.
Miao Linyuan was like a rabid dog off its leash—unpredictable, uncontrollable. Once provoked, things would spiral beyond anyone's grasp.
Ruan Qing's lashes fluttered slightly before he finally bit his lower lip, his face burning with humiliation and unease as he lowered his gaze to avoid Miao Linyuan's stare.
But Miao Linyuan gave him no chance to escape. His long fingers gripped Ruan Qing's chin, forcing their eyes to meet again.
"Tell me—what does he have that I don't?"
It was a death trap. No answer would satisfy Miao Linyuan, especially not now, when he looked downright dangerous—like a viper coiled to strike, radiating terrifying, suffocating pressure.
Ruan Qing trembled, his face ghostly pale, his slender body shaking uncontrollably as he instinctively tried to shrink back.
But Miao Linyuan's grip was unrelenting. The struggle only left his pale chin flushed red, the pain summoning glistening tears to pool in his eyes.
At that moment, Ruan Qing looked fragile and pitiful—evoking a natural sense of sympathy. But Miao Linyuan didn’t show even a shred of compassion. His rough thumb rubbed a few times against Ruan Qing’s lips.
The pale lips instantly turned a rosy red, becoming even more alluring—like a fully ripened cherry, begging to be kissed.
A dark glint flickered in Miao Linyuan’s eyes. He pressed his fingertip against Ruan Qing’s lips with just enough pressure and let out a vague chuckle. “Drop the act.”
“Keep faking it, and I’ll get hard.”
