Inside the room, the pressure of Li An's teeth against Leng Heng's Adam's apple did not relent. The medicinal power felt like a thousand needles racing through his veins, forcing him to cling tightly to the man before him.
Leng Heng's fingers were locked at the back of Li An's head, sinking deep into the snowy, warm fur. The faint, stinging pain at his throat, combined with the provocative brush of Li An's tongue, acted like a spark to a trail of gunpowder. The last thread of Leng Heng's "sanity" snapped instantly.
"Little White Tiger... you are looking for death."
Leng Heng's voice was a low, guttural snarl. With a sudden burst of strength, he hurled Li An off him, pinning him ruthlessly onto the freezing jade mat.
"Ngh!" A muffled groan escaped Li An.
The medicine had magnified his senses several times over. The searing heat of Leng Heng's palms clashing with the biting cold of the jade caused his golden slit-pupils to lose focus, glazing over with a mist of physiological tears. His tiger ears flattened piteously against his head, and the tip of his tail trembled, brushing past Leng Heng's waist.
Leng Heng looked down at him from a height. He watched this maniac who had slaughtered without blinking on the sacrificial altar now sprawled beneath him like a pile of broken silk, half-human and half-beast, shattered in a way that made one want to... destroy him completely.
Just as Leng Heng was about to take the next step, a sharp, ill-timed knocking sounded from the door.
"Doctor Leng, the Enforcement Team has arrived. They want to search the back mountains; they suspect a survivor from the altar fled into these woods."
It was the voice of Leng Heng's apprentice, A-Cheng.
Leng Heng's body stiffened, a flash of sinister malice crossing his eyes. He didn't release Li An. Instead, he grabbed a nearby fox-fur cloak and wrapped it tightly around Li An's provocative frame, leaving only the white tail visible twitching restlessly, unable to be retracted due to the medicine.
"I see no one," Leng Heng spat coldly.
"But... but the leader of the team is Immortal Yunsong. He insists he caught the scent of Divine Beast blood..." A-Cheng's voice trailed off, clearly terrified of his master.
At the mention of "Immortal Yunsong," Li An still trapped in a drug-induced haze stiffened almost imperceptibly.
In the original host's memory, Yunsong was the only person in the Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines who had ever shown him a shred of "kindness." Though that kindness was laced with arrogant pity, it was enough to trigger a reflexive, positive response from this body.
That tiny reaction did not escape Leng Heng's eyes.
Leng Heng's eyes narrowed. He maliciously rubbed Li An's reddened tiger ear, his voice hissing into the youth's ear like a poisonous shadow: "What? Hearing his name makes even your broken bones tremble? Little White Tiger, you know him?"
Li An bit his lower lip. The backlash of the medicine robbed him of speech, leaving him to glare at Leng Heng with eyes that were stubborn yet glistening with moisture.
To Leng Heng, that look felt more like a silent plea for rescue.
"It seems you really want to see him."
The darkness in Leng Heng's eyes erupted. He reached out and snatched a silver chain from the bedside—one usually used to secure rare, precious herbs.
With a sharp clink, the cold silver shackle locked around Li An's slender ankle.
"Leng... Heng..." Li An finally squeezed out the words, his voice sharp with suppressed rage. "You dare..."
"What is there I wouldn't dare?" Leng Heng tugged the chain, watching the tiger fur on Li An's ears puff up in fury. "I understand the way the men out there look at you. Whether it's pity or greed, they all want to take you away from this room."
Leng Heng leaned down. Under Li An's horrified gaze, he forced a bitter, fragrant red pill into the youth's mouth and tilted his chin back, forcing him to swallow.
"This pill will temporarily mask your Divine Beast aura. But the price is... for the next six hours, you will lose all strength. You won't even be able to make a sound."
Leng Heng smiled with satisfaction as he watched the light fade from Li An's eyes. He stood up, straightened his disheveled collar to hide the bite mark on his neck, and let his long black hair fall over his shoulders.
"Stay here quietly. Once I've dealt with those meddling 'scavengers,' I'll come back and settle the score for what you did just now."
The door slammed shut. The lock turned.
Li An lay powerless on the jade mat, the silver chain around his ankle glinting coldly in the dark. He could hear Yunsong's voice outside, and Leng Heng's flawless, icy responses.
He felt the medicine churning like a storm inside him, coupled with a suffocating sense of humiliation. Yet, deep within his golden eyes, a spark of absolute madness flickered.