Up close, the changes were impossible to ignore.
Gou Feng looked far paler than usual, his face stripped of the healthy color Hei Bao had grown accustomed to seeing.
There was a faint weariness about him that no smile could conceal.
Even standing seemed to demand more effort than it should. His posture lacked its usual steadiness, as though fatigue had settled deep into his bones.
Hei Bao's gaze swept over him in silence, taking in every subtle detail.
The longer he looked, the more certain he became, that something was truly wrong.
The young man in front of him looked ill.
Without a word, he lifted one hand. His palm settled gently against Gou Feng's cheek.
At the same time, the oppressive pheromones surrounding them receded almost completely.
His thumb brushed lightly across the young man's face as he continued to study him in silence.
When he finally spoke again, his voice lost its earlier sharpness.
"Tell me honestly. Are you—"
He stopped, as he saw Gou Feng's pupils suddenly lose focus.
The young man's body swayed, just slightly, but Hei Bao noticed immediately.
"A-Feng?"
Gou Feng blinked slowly, as though struggling to stay conscious.
"Ge..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I..."
The rest never came. His knees buckled without warning. Time seemed to slow, and without warning he lost consciousness.
Hei Bao moved almost instinctively. Before Gou Feng could collapse onto the floor, his strong arms caught him.
The young man's body fell heavily against his chest, completely limp.
"...A-Feng?"
No response.
Hei Bao tightened his hold. One hand supported the young man's back while the other steadied the back of his head.
His brows drew together.
"A-Feng."
Still nothing. The silence surrounding them felt unbearably loud.
Hei Bao lowered his head slightly.
Gou Feng's eyes remained closed. His breathing was shallow. Far too shallow.
A chill crept down the pact leader's spine. His fingers instinctively pressed against Gou Feng's neck, searching for his pulse.
It was there, but weak. His heart clenched.
"Gou Feng."
No response.
For the first time, there was a crack in his normally steady voice.
The fear he had buried beneath centuries of discipline surged violently through his chest.
Without realizing it, his grip tightened even further around the unconscious young man.
"Gou Feng!"
His voice rang through the house, louder than before, stripped of its usual composure.
Yet the young man remained motionless in his arms.
Hei Bao stood frozen for a single heartbeat, staring down at the pale face resting against his shoulder.
Without warning, a memory surged to the surface.
A seven-year-old Gou Feng, covered in blood.
His face ghostly pale, his tiny body so still he looked more like a corpse than a child.
Only the faint, fragile pulse beneath his cold skin had convinced Hei Bao that he was still alive.
He remembered lifting that frail body into his arms. It had been terrifyingly cold.
The memory struck with such force that Hei Bao's fingers trembled.
Almost instinctively, he reached for Gou Feng's neck a second time and pressed two fingers once again checking his pulse.
Steady. The young man's pulse became steady again.
A quiet breath of relief escaped him. Only then did he realize he had been holding his own breath.
"...You nearly frightened me."
The words left his lips in a voice softer than he intended.
He drew the unconscious young man a little closer against his chest, as if reassuring himself that Gou Feng was truly here. That he was warm, breathing, and still alive.
Hei Bao closed his eyes for a brief moment and released a slow, weary sigh.
"...Forgive me."
His voice was low, almost lost in the silence.
"I shouldn't have lost my temper."
A brief pause followed before he added, his tone carrying a hint of quiet self-reproach,
"I don't know what came over me."
For someone who prided himself on his composure, losing control over something so trivial unsettled him far more than he cared to admit.
Cradling Gou Feng carefully, Hei Bao slid one arm beneath his knees and the other around his back before lifting him effortlessly into his arms.
The young man rested limply against his chest, his head leaning lightly against his shoulder.
Without another word, Hei Bao carried him upstairs.
The master bedroom was silent. The pact leader laid Gou Feng gently upon the bed before pulling the blanket over him.
He didn't leave immediately. Instead, he sat quietly at the bedside.
His gaze never left the young man's face.
He watched the slow, steady rise and fall of his chest, silently assuring himself that the young man was still breathing.
Only after several moments did the tightness in his chest ease.
The room remained quiet, disturbed only by the soft rhythm of Gou Feng's breathing.
Now that he had the chance to look with distraction, the signs were impossible to ignore.
Gou Feng had grown thinner. His face had become noticeably more drawn.
Thinking back, the young man had felt alarmingly light when he carried him upstairs. Far lighter than he should have.
It had felt as though he were carrying a handful of feathers rather than a grown man.
Hei Bao frowned.
How long has this been going on?
Why had no one reported it?
No.
Why hadn't he noticed?
The realization settled heavily in his chest.
His focus lingered back on Gou Feng's sleeping face. A loose strand of silver-white hair had fallen across his forehead.
Without thinking, Hei Bao reached out and gently brushed it aside.
The movement caused Gou Feng to frown faintly in his sleep, as though whatever burden weighed on him refused to let him rest completely.
Hei Bao's hand paused, before his thumb slowly smoothed the crease between Gou Feng's brows.
"...It's been a long time since I've seen you frown in your sleep."
He lowered his eyes.
"Have I been making you work too hard lately?"
Silence answered him.
"...Did Ge push you too far, A-Feng?"
There was, of course, no reply.
Gou Feng remained fast asleep, unaware of the quiet questions directed at him.
For reasons Hei Bao couldn't explain, the silence weighed more heavily on him than any answer ever could.
For a fleeting moment, the capable young man who carried out dangerous missions without a single complaint disappeared from Hei Bao's eyes.
Instead in the bed, what he saw was the child he had rescued years ago.
The stubborn little boy who would insist he wasn't tired, only to curl up on this very bed and fall asleep within minutes.
Back then, Gou Feng had worn every emotion openly. If he was happy, he smiled without restraint. If he was frightened, he clung to Hei Bao without hesitation. If something troubled him, it showed plainly on his face.
Somewhere along the years, that child had quietly learned to bury everything behind a calm expression.
And somehow... Hei Bao hadn't noticed when it happened.
Time had passed far too quickly.
When did that frightened child become a man?
And when had he become so accustomed to carrying everything alone that even those closest to him had failed to notice?
A faint, almost imperceptible smile softened Hei Bao's usually impassive face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
"Rest here tonight."
His quiet murmur dissolved into the stillness of the room.
"You can tell me everything tomorrow."
There was no reason to rush. Whatever things Gou Feng had been keeping from him.
It could wait until morning.
Hei Bao rose from the bedside and gave the blanket one final adjustment, making sure it covered Gou Feng properly.
Only after confirming he was comfortable did he finally turn toward the door.
He paused for the briefest moment before leaving, his eyes drifting back to the sleeping figure on the bed.
Then, without another word, he stepped outside.
The door clicked shut behind him with deliberate gentleness, preserving the quiet peace of the room.
"Ge! Ge! Guess what I saw today?"
The excited voice rang through the room before the small child came running inside.
Though his face was blurred, his enthusiasm was unmistakable.
"I saw an ant carrying a green bean all by itself!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with wonder.
"It was so tiny, but it was so strong! Isn't that amazing? When I grow up, I want to be just as strong... just like you!"
He laughed happily as he hurried toward the large desk buried beneath books, documents, and neatly stacked papers.
Seated behind it was a young man whose features were just as indistinct.
His head remained lowered, his brush never pausing as he continued writing through a pile of unfinished assignments.
Across the room, another man sat quietly reading.
A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.
Although the child's vision couldn't make out either of their faces, he knew exactly who they were.
"A-Hua," the older man called gently as he set down his pen.
"Did you go into the woods again?"
The child froze.
"Didn't I tell you it was dangerous?" the man continued patiently.
"What if you ran into a wild animal? Or got lost? How would your brother and I find you?"
The excitement on the child's face slowly faded.
Again...
It was always the same answer.
Whenever he wanted to share something exciting, they reminded him how dangerous the woods were.
Yet, whenever he wanted to spend time with them they were always busy.
Father always had work.
Gege always had homework.
The woods is the only place where he never felt alone, and always happy.
There were birds whose songs he had never heard before, flowers blooming in colors he couldn't name, butterflies with shimmering wings, and tiny insects strong enough to carry things many times their own size.
Spending time in that place they called dangerous makes his day feel like a new adventure.