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 room was too quiet. The runes along the walls still pulsed faintly, as though breathing. A soft, ever-present vibration hummed beneath the floor — not from machinery, but power. Old, abyssal power. Mo Jue's domain.

It was neither cruel nor comforting.

It just was — like the man himself.

Rui Xuan shifted and hissed under his breath. His side still burned where the salve had been applied. The bandages, once black, were now stained rust-red.

But the weight in his limbs said otherwise.

The curtain to the adjoining chamber stirred.

And Mo Jue returned — carrying a tray.

The tray held only one thing: a steaming bowl of broth, dark and spiced, scented with wolfroot and bloodfruit.

Mo Jue set it on the nightstand beside him.

> "You haven't eaten since the ambush," he said.

> "And whose fault is that?" Rui Xuan muttered, glaring at the bowl. "You attract enemies like rot draws flies."

Mo Jue raised a brow. "Then stop flying so close."

He turned, but Rui Xuan stopped him with a wordless sound — a tired exhale.

> "...Thank you," Rui Xuan said quietly.

Then he sat, not on a throne, not on a chair — but at the edge of the bed, close enough for his knee to brush Rui Xuan's.

A faint smirk tugged at Mo Jue's lips — but his eyes never left Rui Xuan's face. For once, they weren't devouring him like prey. They were… searching.

💔 The Question That Shouldn't Be Asked

Rui Xuan finally spoke, voice tight.

Mo Jue tilted his head. "To you? Or to myself?"

"You do. That's what makes this worse."

Rui Xuan looked away. "You kill without mercy. You curse children in the womb. You devour souls like fruit."

> "And you still let me touch you," Mo Jue said, soft.

> "Don't mistake necessity for permission."

Mo Jue leaned closer — not enough to touch, but enough for the air to shift between them.

> "Then what is it when your breath hitches every time I speak your name?"

> "When your pulse spikes every time I draw near?"

> "When you dream in my language?"

Only Rui Xuan's ragged breathing gave him away.

> "Good," Mo Jue replied. "Then hate me honestly."

The heat in his words wasn't anger. It was grief twisted into desire — fury sharpened into obsession.

> "Because even if you run, even if you fall back into the light you serve, you'll still carry my shadow."

> "Heal quickly. The goddess of spring is marching toward the front lines. And they've sent a new weapon — one even I fear."

Rui Xuan looked up, blood still drying on his skin.

> "Is this why you saved me? For war again?"

> "No," he said. "I saved you so you'd see me when the world ends."

When Mo Jue left, he didn't shut the door.

He left it ajar — as if waiting.

Rui Xuan stared at it, heartbeat echoing in his chest, tasting the bitter broth without ever lifting the spoon.

Because what scared him wasn't the poison in his wounds.

It was the part of him that wanted to follow.

Ch 27 – A Cage with No Bars