“Sigh, I’m just a poor soul kidnapped by the plot, using every resource at hand to prevent the world from falling apart,” Xiao Zhenyun sighed.
Pitiful, yes. But also despicable.
Before Ye Feiran arrived, Si Di quickly briefed Hedgehog on the plot and informed him of the role he was to play on this trip. To prevent Jefferson from seeing anything he shouldn’t, Xiao Zhenyun put the hood back on him. This led Jefferson to mistakenly believe that these people wanted to silence him because they had exhausted his usefulness, causing him to tremble and pray incessantly.
“Don’t pee yourself, you’re not going to die,” Xiao Zhenyun warned him. “If you wet yourself, you’re really doomed.”
“I won’t, I won’t,” Jefferson quivered. “I haven’t had water for a day, I can’t even pee.”
“Serves you right,” Xiao Zhenyun didn’t sympathize with him. Armed with those drugs, this guy might have harmed countless men with weak vigilance before, and now he had the guts to even touch sentinels.
On the balcony, Hedgehog rubbed his chin and hissed like the snake spitting venom on his shoulder. “Last time I was responsible for kidnapping and detaining your brother, now I’m supposed to seduce your brother’s guide? What exactly are you guys up to? Could it be that Xiao Zhenyun hasn’t given up on your brother, so after failed attempts at detention and forced cliff jumping, he’s now planning to weaken from inside?”
“Don’t forget it’s a show,” Si Di couldn’t be bothered to explain further, just reminding, “Don’t actually touch the guide.”
“I’ve dealt with countless guides who wanted to climb into bed with me, and I never hesitated. You think I’d touch a marked guide?” Hedgehog scoffed.
“I’m mainly worried you’ll misunderstand the mission and have a strong sense of sacrifice,” Si Di frowned. Mercenaries betraying their allies to complete their missions wasn’t uncommon.
“Too much nonsense,” Hedgehog impatiently waved his hand. “What’s next? Shall I let the guide find a chance to escape the room, or should I find a way to leave?”
“I’ll have Si Chu arrive in time to beat you up, so when the time comes, you can just take a few punches and leave the room. The rest you don’t need to worry about.”
“Si Chu??” Hedgehog looked perplexed. “You calling Si Chu here isn’t…”
As he quickly organized the logic of the preceding and subsequent conversations, a sudden realization struck him. He then narrowed his eyes meaningfully, and the snake wrapped around it’s owner’s shoulder instantly coiled around his neck, spitting snake venom with a hiss.
Tai Ji emerged silently from the darkness, sticking close to Si Di’s leg. With beastly eyes glowing, the heavy wolf paw pressed against the ground, its nails tapping on the tiles, making crisp sounds.
“Black Wolf… Are you playing a double game with Xiao Zhenyun? Saying one thing to him and another to me?” Hedgehog’s smile didn’t reach his eyes this time, his voice subdued. “Xiao Zhenyun intends for me to truly overpower that guide, but you’ve distorted his plan, making me only play along. Then you call Si Chu to play the hero and save the day. All this elaborate maneuvering ends up deepening the bond between your brother and his guide… Black Wolf, does Xiao Zhenyun have some leverage over you, forcing you to dance around with him like this?”
If Xiao Zhenyun were here, he would have followed Hedgehog’s words with a touch of melancholy, saying, ‘The one who falls in love first, his love will always be more humble.’ However, apart from flirting shamelessly when seeking Xiao Zhenyun’s favor, Si Di had a sense of dignity at other times. Faced with Hedgehog’s logical deductions and poignant questioning, he could only avert his gaze and remain silent.
Hedgehog stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled meaningfully again. “Rest assured, Black Wolf, I’m still on your side.”
Si Di furrowed his brow. “What are you up to?”
“Just going to do something that’ll make you ecstatic,” Hedgehog snapped his fingers, sending the snake back to the spiritual domain, then opened the balcony door, adjusted his clothes ruffled by the cold wind, and walked into the warm room. Si Di knew this guy’s style; if he didn’t want to say it directly, it meant he was going to be cryptic. No matter how much he asked, it wouldn’t make a difference. So he could only follow him into the room, giving Xiao Zhenyun a helpless look.
Xiao Zhenyun: “?”
Ten minutes later, Ye Feiran stepped cautiously into the room like an alert little rooster, his bright red comb raised high.
Before that, Hedgehog and Xiao Zhenyun had both hidden in the bathroom, one sitting on the sink sipping ice-cold cola, the other sitting on a prepared chair drinking hot water.
“Si Di, you called me… huh, Jefferson?!”
Xiao Zhenyun was still holding his breath, listening intently to the outside noise when a hand suddenly waved in front of his eyes. Hedgehog raised an eyebrow, swiped something over, revealing a screen projected onto the bathroom’s wall. In the center of the screen was an aerial view of Ye Feiran, Jefferson, and Si Di.
“…,” Xiao Zhenyun frowned as he glanced back. When did this person set up the monitor?
Hedgehog played it cool, smugly crossing his legs on the table.
After crying to his brother about what happened during the day, Si Chu didn’t hide anything from Ye Feiran. So, when Ye Feiran saw Jefferson, he immediately strode over and kicked him in anger, then punched him in the eye, which was already bruised from Si Chu’s beating.
Si Di let the little chick vent his anger, then explained that he called him down to act as Jefferson’s translator, as he had a test that Jefferson needed to complete.
Ye Feiran nodded without any extra questions or inquiries about Si Di’s lover. He simply said he was glad to help Si Di.
The invitation’s 50 questions continued. Si Di turned the exam interface toward Ye Feiran, who quickly scanned the questions and began translating in a clear and articulate manner, “Question twenty-one”… Then his expression visibly froze.
Jefferson dared not rush. He sat on the chair like a large quail, eagerly awaiting the questions and options.
Si Di cleared his throat. “Xiao Fei.”
“Oh, Brother Di,” Ye Feiran finally reacted, and continued to translate despite stumbling over a couple of words. But seeing Si Di’s serious expression and Jefferson’s solemn demeanor, he quickly regained his composure and translated those strange questions as if he were an art student drawing a still life or a doctor in the urology department, expressionless.
With Ye Feiran’s help, the group’s speed in answering questions underwent a qualitative leap. However, when it came to the essay questions, the situation became subtly tense.
Four out of five questions involved personal experiences and reflections, as well as preferences and experiences. Jefferson knew that both of the people in front of him were more traditional and upright, and his image was already terrible enough. He didn’t want to provoke more hostility and invite another round of beatings, so his answers were conservative and within the range of what a normal person would tolerate.
Si Di entered the words into the answer interface, following Ye Feiran’s translations word for word. At that moment, a message from Xiao Zhenyun suddenly popped up on the terminal, with the golden deer head with two small antlers spinning in mid-air. After clicking on it, there was a short reminder: Jefferson’s answers are too restrained, make him tell the truth.
Xiao Zhenyun might not understand that circle, but just based on the bizarre props he saw in the basement of the Peach Blossom Club, and since Jefferson didn’t mention any of them, he could tell Jefferson’s answers were definitely wrong.
“Your answers are wrong,” Si Di warned, tapping the table with his knuckles. “Tell the truth.”
“I’ve been telling the truth,” Jefferson argued.
Si Di raised his gaze, sharp and piercing. He didn’t know Xiao Zhenyun’s standards for approval, but he unconditionally trusted the guide’s judgment. When he spoke again, his tone turned cold, “You understand what I mean.”
As an S-level Sentinel who had been in leadership positions for years, Si Di exudes an aura with every move he makes. And now, he deliberately used his presence to intimidate the foreigner who was still trying to be slippery. Jefferson had no choice but to bow his head in defeat and obediently answer the five questions again.
The new answers sometimes made Ye Feiran blush with embarrassment, marveling at how things could be played out like this, and sometimes feeling incredulous, giving him goosebumps.
After completing the entire set of questions, Ye Feiran’s worldview expanded by three acres.
Before parting, he couldn’t help but ask Si Di in a low voice at the door, “Brother Di, what exactly are you doing? I can refrain from asking, but Xiao Chu definitely wants to know, and I can’t lie to him.”
Si Di also had the burden of being an idol as an older brother and didn’t want to further damage his image in his younger brother’s eyes. So, he simply told Ye Feiran the truth, “There’s a related gathering, and the test scores are entry tickets. I need to go in to rescue someone.”
“Rescue someone?” Ye Feiran’s eyes flickered, myriad thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.
“Yeah, a brainwashed person.”
A gathering related to sexual fetishes… rescuing a brainwashed person… It wasn’t a public task for the guild or the Storm Team, but a private job Si Di had taken… It was clear to see how much importance Si Di placed on this mission, working overtime into the early hours of the morning during his vacation and keeping tight-lipped about related information…
Could it be—
“Brother Di, could it be that the person you’re rescuing…” Ye Feiran’s surprise was so great that peacock feathers seemed to sprout from his temples, “is Little Uncle?”
“…” Si Di struggled to keep up with Ye Feiran’s train of thought.
But considering Xiao Zhenyun, it was actually quite simple. Among the people Ye Feiran had known for over twenty years, only Xiao Zhenyun had ever had a relation with sexual fetishes, which had genuinely surprised him when he found out. Although later Si Chu had gone to great lengths to whitewash Xiao Zhenyun’s reputation, painting him as an angel on earth, Ye Feiran still retained some impressions.
Now that the old story was brought up again, Ye Feiran immediately imagined that after Little Uncle fell off the cliff and disappeared, he was trafficked into a sexual exploitation den. After all, Xiao Zhenyun’s appearance is quite striking, and being disabled would further arouse the perverted desires of abusers, as could be inferred from Jefferson’s answers just now. After that, Xiao Zhenyun was brainwashed and unable to contact the outside world, let alone escape.
Brother Di concealed the information and acted privately out of consideration for Little Uncle’s face, fearing that making it known to everyone would embarrass Little Uncle.
In an instant, Ye Feiran completed the logical chain, but heard Si Di expressionlessly say, “No, you’re overthinking it. Go back to sleep.”
“…” Ye Feiran didn’t believe it. “Really?”
“Really.”
As he was about to leave, Ye Feiran turned back again and said seriously, “Brother Di, if you need help, just let me know.”
“Thank you.” Si Di gently patted Ye Feiran’s head, then slammed the door shut.
Hedgehog appeared in front of Jefferson at some point, checking the test scores. “Not bad, a veteran pervert indeed. The objective questions have an 85% success rate, and the subjective questions are still being graded. Passing is pretty much guaranteed.”
Jefferson breathed a sigh of relief. “Can you let me go now?”
“That’s not possible,” Hedgehog grinned, showing his true colors. “Behave until next Tuesday. If we come back alive, then we’ll let you go.”
Jefferson asked in horror, “But what if you don’t come back?”
At the same time, Xiao Zhenyun and Si Di frowned in unison. “We?”
“If we don’t come back, then you’re out of luck,” Hedgehog said as he put the hood back on Jefferson, ignoring his protests and stuffing him into the large black bag, all the while excitedly saying to Xiao Zhenyun and Si Di, “Let’s go, let’s go together. A master can bring along at most two submissives who’ve been tamed.”
“I can accompany you, he can’t,” Si Di said firmly, not allowing any objections.
“You with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you don’t look like a master,” Hedgehog pointed at Xiao Zhenyun. “He, with his refined appearance, is the standard.”
Si Di protested, “Why are there stereotypes even in the sexual fetish circles?”
“So,” Xiao Zhenyun interrupted, “I’ll be the master, and you and Si Di will be the submissives?”
“Yes,” Hedgehog confirmed. “This is a gathering for masters to communicate and interact with each other. They will attract more attention. And apart from a few submissives used for display, the others occasionally disappear one or two at a time, which shouldn’t be a problem. I think having two submissives is also for the convenience of losing one, while the other one can accompany you.”
“…”
Regardless of Hedgehog’s extravagant words, Si Di had only two words: not happening.
But what was terrifying was that he turned around and found Xiao Zhenyun actually considering Hedgehog’s suggestion with interest.
The author has something to say:
Yun: Time to put on the dog collar.