Saving Unpermitted

Chapter 64: Warmth

His body that was enveloped in the Erosion Swamp, gradually warmed up. The contrast between pain and comfort made Zhu Yanchen feel a bit dizzy. Something warm and soft was squirming and taking shape on his body. He opened his eyes wide, but the sticky darkness covered his eyeballs, making it difficult to see clearly.

Could it be that he was experiencing hallucinations on the brink of death?

He could hear the Erosion Swamp surging around him, making a sound like the ebb and flow of tides, as if some colossal creature was about to emerge from the vortex. Shu Jun completely fused with the Erosion Swamp. If he were to abandon rational thinking and lose his humanity in the midst of mental torment, an unprecedentedly powerful Erosion Swamp would be born.

However, the clamor gradually subsided, and the warmth around him increased. It was no longer the warm Erosion Swamp that enveloped him, but a human embrace.

Indeed, it must be a hallucination.

Zhu Yanchen sighed in his heart. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw two points of silver-white light in the darkness. They drew closer and closer, and then something warm and soft covered his lips.

It was a kiss, shallow and cautious, gentle and delicate, pure without a hint of desire. It felt as if the slightest exertion would cause him to shatter.

Shu Jun was indeed kissing with caution.

He didn’t know how to handle the overflowing emotions in his chest. The past bits and pieces were pieced together, his heart swelled, making it difficult to breathe. Rationality and madness retreated from his mind, and he could hardly think, leaving only uncontrollable emotions.

Zhu Yanchen was awake, he knew it. Those eyes as deep as ancient wells were half-closed, piercing through the darkness, quietly focused on him. Despite the surging emotions, Shu Jun’s movements were extremely slow, giving the other enough time to evade.

But Zhu Yanchen didn’t move.

Even though he had healed the other’s injuries, Marshal Zhu’s lips were still cold, carrying a hint of blood.

Previously, when he learned that Zhu Yanchen had dedicated his life to researching the Erosion Swamp, Shu Jun thought of him as a stubborn researcher. Now he deeply understood what it meant for him to have been “researching the Erosion Swamp for sixteen years”.

For a moment, Shu Jun even wished that “Smoke” was just an ordinary child. If he hadn’t been born into a privileged family, according to Zhu Yanchen’s persistence, he could have boldly opposed the player system and formed a decent resistance organization.

In that case, even if the path was limited and the contradictions were unsolvable, his friend could live freely and strive for a clear conscience.

But Zhu Yanchen ultimately chose to stand in a high position, attempting to solve this problem personally.

As a leader himself, Shu Jun knew what this represented—Zhu Yanchen couldn’t simply disregard and abolish the player system. If he couldn’t find a suitable reason, he would undoubtedly be overthrown by his ambitious competitors. While upholding the well-being of synths, he also had to shoulder the responsibility for human welfare.

In the current situation, this path was akin to a moth flying into a flame.

Even if he knew he couldn’t save him, even if he knew that changing everything would only be achieved through gradual progress, his once timid friend had become the first drop of water without hesitation.

“A’Yan, I thought you were a stable person.” Shu Jun moved his lips away and whispered softly. “Why are you so…”

He wanted to say foolish, wanted to say crazy, wanted to say stubborn, but in the end, he swallowed his words. Thinking back to when they first met, when this person deliberately acted distant, Shu Jun couldn’t even catch his breath.

He felt the urge to beat him up, but he didn’t even dare to embrace him too tightly. Fine, Shu Jun turned his head slightly and kissed Zhu Yanchen’s lips again.

The past couldn’t be regained, but from now on, he could at least be certain that the other person didn’t need to move forward alone.

To hell with waiting for the war to end before pursuing. This person was his—

Even if Zhu Yanchen didn’t have romantic feelings for him, this person was still his friend and family, and that would never change. The resentment instilled in him found an outlet; their thorns were smoothed away and transformed into determination and bittersweetness.

Shu Jun attempted to move his lips away again, and the darkness in his mind gradually dissipated, replaced by a mental script of how to sincerely explain this kiss later. But before he could finish that mental script, Zhu Yanchen kissed him back.

If Shu Jun’s previous kiss was cautious and tentative, as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, carried with compassion and comfort, then this kiss in return was fierce and filled with complete longing and desperation.

Zhu Yanchen firmly held the back of Shu Jun’s head, kissing deeply.

Shu Jun was stunned for a few seconds by a mix of pure confusion and joyful tingling. He refused to be outdone. He pulled Zhu Yanchen closer, passionately responding.

As if the missing pieces of a puzzle had finally come together, a faint crack echoed in the depths of his heart. Their breaths intertwined ambiguously, warm exhalations turning into boiling water. Neither of them wanted to stop, allowing the heat to rise and their lips and tongues on the verge of melting.

In the end, Zhu Yanchen’s tongue grazed the base of Shu Jun’s incisors. His A’Yan exerted a slight force with his hands, and the two finally separated.

“We need to support the festival venue.”

After catching their breath, the two almost simultaneously spoke.

Their kiss was passionate, and after they broke apart, a strange awkwardness filled the air. Shu Jun racked his brains and spoke again—

“Is your injury okay?”

“How is your body?”

Once again, they spoke in unison.

The heat from their prolonged kiss dissipated, leaving behind an awkward silence.

“…Let’s go get Monday first.” After a long pause, Zhu Yanchen spoke, his voice carrying a strangely wavering tone. “We both need light and examination.”

“Ah, yeah,” Shu Jun quickly responded. He straightened up and helped the weakened Marshal Zhu to his feet. While his injuries weren’t a concern, his physical strength had been drained and wouldn’t recover for a while.

However, even when supported, Marshal Zhu’s steps were still somewhat unsteady. The Vine Erosion Swamp had reverted to an ordinary Erosion Swamp, and Shu Jun hadn’t absorbed a significant amount of erosion to trigger a major transformation. The erosion under their feet was knee-deep, making it difficult to walk.

“Where is Monday?”

“Go about 1,200 meters in that direction.” The two were close together, so Zhu Yanchen raised his hand to point.

“Okay.” Shu Jun exerted his arm strength and firmly held onto Marshal Zhu’s waist, resolutely carrying him in front. Unfortunately, Zhu Yanchen was larger in size, and Shu Jun wasn’t adept at carrying someone like this, so his movements were slightly awkward.

After contemplating in place for a moment, Shu Jun nodded. The Erosion Swamp stretched upward, forming numerous black withered hands, carefully cradling Zhu Yanchen so he could lie down more comfortably.

…A rather alarming princess carry.

Zhu Yanchen: “…”

The ambiguous atmosphere vanished without a trace. Shu Jun’s expression was too righteous, and Marshal Zhu kept himself stiff and almost straight, giving the scene a somewhat inexplicable sense of tragedy.

As a result, as soon as Monday spotted them, it yelled in a mournful voice.

“Zhu! Zhu—dead—dead—”

“Shut up.” Shu Jun gritted his teeth and placed Marshal Zhu on a clean stone slab. As soon as he touched the ground, Marshal Zhu, who had been as stiff as a rod, relaxed a bit and sat up properly.

There were many things hanging on Monday. Shu Jun pulled them off with a flick of his sword, and all the luggage appeared before Zhu Yanchen.

Marshal Zhu drank a whole bottle of replenishing liquid. He was soaked in sewage and blood, but his complexion improved a lot. Shu Jun opened a backpack beside him and started a fire. Then he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Zhu Yanchen.

Zhu Yanchen’s dark eyes were fixed on him.

Shu Jun’s gaze softened, and he didn’t speak to explain. He just held Zhu Yanchen’s hand and extended his other hand, hooking their pinky fingers together.

Zhu Yanchen withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and then exhaled a long breath, as if trying to release all the suppression of the past sixteen years.

The two remained silent. The environment here was even more chaotic and terrifying than before the war, but Shu Jun felt as if the whole world had been washed and became much gentler.

“Shu Jun, help me take down the instrument over there… The white one. I need to check your blood indicators,” Zhu Yanchen said after a few minutes of absentmindedness. His tone carried an unprecedented lightness.

Shu Jun didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?”

“You take a break first. We’ll check in ten minutes. Then you rest for another twenty minutes, and when your strength recovers, we’ll go to the festival venue.” Shu Jun took out a watch and started timing in a professional manner.

Then Shu Jun snapped his fingers. Several clusters of amorphous matter formed into balls from the Erosion Swamp. They warmed themselves by the fire and crawled towards Zhu Yanchen.

The latter looked at those strange balls with suspicion.

“You’ll catch a cold like this.” Shu Jun commanded the ball-like entities to move forward. “And you’ve always liked cleanliness. With so much dirt on you, you definitely can’t stand it. I just let them clean the water and dirt off you without hurting you. During this time, we can talk… talk about…”

He wanted to say, “talk about the kiss just now”, but his tongue couldn’t cooperate.

Shu Jun racked his brains, trying to draft his words, while a few warm, amorphous balls approached Marshal Zhu. They gently rolled over Zhu Yanchen’s skin, removing moisture and completely decomposed the bloodstains and mud, not even touching a single fiber of his clothes. The soft balls crawled over the freshly healed wounds. Their touch as gentle as fingertips brushing, causing Zhu Yanchen to furrow his brows and let out a soft hum.

This time, Shu Jun’s thoughts completely fell apart, and all that filled his mind were the words, “digging one’s own grave”.

“I… I didn’t mean anything else,” Shu Jun said uneasily, crossing his hands and almost scratching himself with his claws. “Just now, I, no, it’s not… just now I—”

Zhu Yanchen quietly looked at him.

Shu Jun took several deep breaths, closed his eyes for a moment, and his words regained the air of a warrior. “Forget it, it’s not good to keep holding back. Let me be clear, A’Yan, after we handle the issues at the venue, we need to have a serious talk.”

He approached decisively and grabbed a squirming, amorphous ball. The ball squirmed in his hand for a moment, then obediently played dead.

“I’m just using this thing without any other intentions,” Shu Jun said with a stern face and a very serious tone. “But when I kissed you just now, I did have another meaning—originally, I wanted to wait until the war was over to say it, but just now, I remembered everything, and I couldn’t control my emotions.”

“I am sober. I kissed you, and I acknowledge it.” He approached closer, his beastly eyes narrowing into a thin slit. “However, you seemed absent-minded just now, so it’s better to clarify this matter.”

“You might not be clear-minded,” Zhu Yanchen said softly. “You have been disturbed by negative emotions for too long, and your memories have just returned. Under such an impact, you might instinctively rely on me.”

He paused cautiously, showing no emotion on his face.

“I agree, we should make things clear. After all, we have more important matters now, such as the situation at the festival and your health…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when he was forced to swallow the second half of his sentence.

Shu Jun placed a soft, amorphous ball on each side of Marshal Zhu’s head, sandwiching his cheeks in between. That handsome face was slightly creased from the pressure.

“I finally thought of the right words.” Shu Jun’s nails were sharp, so he didn’t dare directly use his hand, but instead used the amorphous balls and indirectly squeezed Zhu Yanchen’s face. “Is this what you wanted, A’Yan? Huh? If I wasn’t so worried, I really wanted to knock your head off—talking about negative emotions messing things up, damn it…”

Shu Jun gritted his teeth and swallowed his harsh words. A’Yan had always been stubborn and being alone for so many years made it inevitable for him to be emotionally obtuse. With limited time now, it would be difficult to reach a conclusion in this “who took advantage of whom” debate.

“Your negative thoughts haven’t changed at all. Fine, let’s talk. After we’re done at the festival, we’ll close the door and have a serious talk.”

Shu Jun revealed his sharp teeth, speaking slowly and ending with a bitter smile.

They were partners, war companions. They couldn’t run away from it. Now, they didn’t even need to consider the future. Whether it was a long-standing affection or an impulsive moment, he absolutely had to hold onto this complicated situation and make things clear.

With this in mind, he let out a fierce hum. Shu Jun released Zhu Yanchen’s face and used one of the amorphous balls to wipe the other’s hair.

Lost in his frustration, Shu Jun missed Zhu Yanchen’s gaze.

Marshal Zhu stared attentively at the person in front of him; his gaze like a beast ready to pounce, filled with determination.

The flames flickered, illuminating those bottomless eyes. Zhu Yanchen reached out his hand, hesitating subconsciously for a moment, but then he curved his lips and decisively grabbed Shu Jun’s wrist.

“Time’s up. It’s time for your blood test,” he said. “…You’re right, we need to resolve the matters at the festival as soon as possible.”