You're Blushing

Mu Yuan slowed his pace, walking side by side with Ling Yan.

The path ahead wasn't very smooth. The mountain was steep, and the two of them gripped their swords tightly, pushing through thorns and weeds, holding onto thick tree trunks as they made their way towards the camp.

After a period of silence, the two reached a gentler mountain path, and Mu Yuan continued to ask: "Then why did you come here?"

Ling Yan used his iron sword to flick away a poisonous snake hanging from a tree branch, stopped walking, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and turned to look at Mu Yuan.

"Is the General referring to the Mu family army?"

Mu Yuan nodded.

Ling Yan switched the iron sword from his right hand to his left, then tightened his grip on the hilt.

He thought: It seems this General is extremely doubtful.

Alright, then I'll be even more direct.

Ling Yan slung the iron sword over his shoulder, showing Mu Yuan his white teeth, trying to make his smile appear sincere, harmless, and slightly idiotic:

"For you, General! The General is the Xingling Kingdom's universally admired Guardian General. Being able to join the Mu family army is every man's dream. I am willing to follow the General's lead in all things!"

[Boss, how come I never noticed before, your shame is so...]

[Hmm?]

Considering its own safety, Mei immediately changed its way of expressing itself: [Your acting is truly superb! Just now, when General Mu heard you say you came for him, those limpid eyes of his sparkled with a hint of excitement, so endearing.]

[What nonsense are you spouting?]

Mei sniffled.

[Boss, we're in the world of a novel, an ocean of words. I've unknowingly been infected by the atmosphere here. I think I've become cultured.]

Ling Yan rubbed his temples. The current situation was already headache-inducing enough, and Mei couldn't even speak properly.

"What's wrong?"

Mu Yuan's voice sounded beside him. Ling Yan cleared his throat and said, "Nothing."

Strangely enough, Mu Yuan's voice, though clear as a spring, seemed to have a hook, scratching at his heart and making it itch.

This feeling was very similar from what he gets from that one person.

Ling Yan unconsciously looked at Mu Yuan again.

Then, he dismissed his overly absurd thought.

How could it be? That person had clearly been personally sent to Prison Star by him.

So, was it because of Mu Yuan's character setting?

Ling Yan recalled what Mei had mentioned when introducing "To the Realm of Flesh"—

"Seductive uke."

Ling Yan still felt unfamiliar with this setting. He didn't know what "uke" was, but "seductive"...

His thoughts unconsciously drifted back to the scene of their first meeting last night.

Ling Yan's gaze swept over Mu Yuan's fair and handsome face, his sculpted jawline, his perfect profile.

Sensing Ling Yan's gaze, Mu Yuan turned his head, a hint of doubt in his twilight-like eyes.

For a moment, their eyes met.

["The young master should only be seen in paintings; only I truly know his essence. Depicting his beauty to the ends of the water and the sky, he is surely not a person of this mortal realm." Ah, the General is truly too beautiful, it can't help but inspire my poetic soul!]

[Mei.]

[I'm here, Boss.]

[Hibernate for thirty minutes.]

[Ah, Boss, I was wrong...]

Beep—

Having put Mei in "time-out," Ling Yan's ears finally found some peace.

Ling Yan touched the tip of his nose and initiated a new topic with Mu Yuan: "General, it's getting dark. We won't make it back to the camp today. Let's find a place to rest."

Mu Yuan withdrew his gaze, looked up at the setting sun in the west, pondered for a moment, and nodded in agreement.

Pushing through the undergrowth, they walked along and heard the sound of gurgling water. They exchanged a look and involuntarily quickened their pace.

After walking for less than ten more minutes, they passed through the pine forest. A damp, watery air filled the surroundings, and they finally arrived at the stream.

Ling Yan gathered some damp stones to make a makeshift circle and chopped some small pine branches.

Mu Yuan picked some dry leaves, lit them with a fire starter, and used them to ignite the pine branches, starting a fire. Then, he sat down on a relatively flat rock, closed his eyes, and said with a hint of exhaustion in his voice: "This river is the one next to the camp. Once it's light tomorrow, we can just follow it downstream."

As Mu Yuan spoke, there was a sudden "plop" sound nearby.

By the time he reacted, Ling Yan had already tossed two fish onto the bank.

He had shed his soft armor and upper garment at some point without Mu Yuan noticing and was now bare-chested in the river, catching fish.

Mu Yuan's body involuntarily shivered.

"Hey, are you crazy? This is Snowgate Island!"

Ling Yan shook his head, splashing water onto Mu Yuan's face. Mu Yuan frowned in displeasure, and Ling Yan chuckled softly.

That smile made Mu Yuan momentarily lose himself, forgetting to wipe the water from his face.

As the captain of the star police team, Ling Yan's physical skills always ranked first on Prison Star. He didn't have an ounce of excess fat, his chest muscles were full, and his eight-pack abs were symmetrical.

Although Mu Yuan had previously been chased by Ling Yan across what felt like the entire galaxy, he had never seen Ling Yan like this before.

Even though the original owner of his body was often in the military camp and surrounded by many well-built men, someone like Ling Yan was indeed rare.

While Mu Yuan was in a daze, Ling Yan had already walked over and sat down beside him. Mu Yuan cleared his throat, composed himself, and moved slightly to the side.

Ling Yan casually used his upper garment to wipe the water from his body and then put the shirt over his head.

The muscles on his body stretched and contracted with his movements, and Mu Yuan's gaze was involuntarily drawn to him again, his Adam's apple bobbing uncontrollably.

Ling Yan only wore his upper garment, without the outer soft armor. He reached out to warm his hands by the fire, glancing sideways at Mu Yuan. The warm golden light of the fire flickered in his chestnut eyes.

He grinned cheekily and said casually: "General, you're blushing."