Eucas_Rarlin

Yan Rui was a famous actor — rich, proud, and used to being in control.
One night, after filming a scene as a royal offering, he dies in a sudden accident… and wakes up in another world.

Now, he’s kneeling in a real temple, tied up in red silk, surrounded by chanting priests — and facing Mo Jue, a powerful and dangerous snake demon.

Mo Jue calls him “the offering.”
But Yan Rui refuses to be anyone’s sacrifice.

Trapped in a strange world of ancient empires, monsters, and deadly politics, Yan Rui must survive — and deal with the cold demon lord who watches him too closely.

But the more they clash… the more something dangerous begins to grow between them.

His Venom My Oath

The moonlight bled silver over the courtyard.

Yan Rui sat in silence beneath the sacred tree, its twisted roots coiling like veins through the stone. Mo Jue stood near the edge of the shadows, cloaked in his black robe, gaze distant.

After the fire between them, after apologies and restraint, the silence had returned — not tense, but weighted.

> "You keep saying I chose you before."

His voice was calm, but behind his words, the ache trembled.

> "I need to know, Mo Jue. No more riddles. No more pieces."

The god didn't move at first. Then, slowly, he came forward and sat beside Yan Rui, just far enough that their hands didn't touch.

His golden eyes gleamed in the dark.

> "Then I'll tell you," he said, voice low. "But once you know, you may never see me the same again."

Yan Rui's gaze didn't waver. "Try me."

The war-torn valley of Xiangliu moaned beneath the moonlight. Crimson mist curled between splintered trees, and the scent of burnt jade and divine marrow poisoned the wind. Somewhere beneath the wreckage of a fallen celestial tower, embers still glowed.

A shadow cloaked in silver-scaled robes, black hair dancing in the ash-swept breeze, his eyes twin lanterns of molten gold.

The evil devil feared by both mortals and gods. The one said to drink blood to lengthen storms. The one who once turned a thousand disciples into dust with a single breath.

Watching the battlefield like an artist admiring his own ruin.

> "Another celestial outpost falls," his voice murmured, sharp as a blade through silk. "Your turn, protector."

On the northern ridge, dressed in robes of sapphire and white, glowing faintly under the moonlight — stood the last of the Celestial Order.

Divine Protector of the Jade Realm. The youngest among the immortals to receive the mark of Heaven's Light. Known for his sharp mind, calmer than wind, colder than fire.

His long dark hair was braided back, his face calm, expression unreadable. But his eyes — when they locked onto the devil in the valley — shimmered with fury held under control.

> "I haven't even begun," Mo Jue smiled. "You're the only piece left that I actually want."

Rui Xuan raised his blade — forged from dragon bone, etched with sacred light.

Rui Xuan descended like a falling star.

Their first clash split the earth. Sound shattered across valleys. Clouds recoiled. Their powers were opposite — fire and frost, shadow and dawn.

Mo Jue struck with claws and serpentine flame. Rui Xuan countered with divine talismans, sword arcs wrapped in silver chants.

But after hours, blood streaked both their lips.

Mo Jue stood panting, licking the edge of his lip where Rui Xuan's blade had nicked him.

> "You fight like someone who doesn't know how to beg."

> "But maybe… you'd scream pretty, if I made you break."

Rui Xuan's eyes narrowed. "Then you'll die before you hear it."

That night, the battle ended in a draw.

Rui Xuan collapsed to one knee, blood dripping from his hand.

But something had changed in the air between them. Something far more dangerous than hate.

Mo Jue couldn't stop thinking about him. Not the sword. Not the light. But him.

> "You're mine now," Mo Jue whispered into the dark, standing atop a blood moon. "Whether you want it… or not."

ch 20 – What Came Before Us