The Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts

"I'm leaving."

"Oh…"

Beside the spring, sprays of water shot up from the five mouths of the spring. Droplets of water fell like rain. A huge whirlpool formed in the centre of the spring. This was the barrier gate that lead to the next palace.

Qian Lu held the Yue Xuan zither tightly as the sounds of water thundered. He gazed at Gu Ting Yu who was just a few steps away from him, and restrained his impulsion of wanting to move closer towards the other.

"You should leave quickly now." He said.

"…" Splashes of water that splattered into the air fell down from above, and landed on the two of them. Gu Ting Yu suddenly felt as though these drops of water were permeating into his skin and blood vessels, and flowing all the way to his heart.

Otherwise, why was his heart filled with tears right now…?

Seeing that Gu Ting Yu remained silent, Qian Lu sighed, "I won't die. The higher the rank of the sacred beast, the more capable we are of resisting the power of the barrier gates. You can feel rest assured to leave."

"Then… I'm leaving now."

"…" Qian Lu lowered his head, "You've repeated those words no less than ten times already."

Gu Ting Yu awkwardly gazed down at the floor. It seemed like his feet had been rooted to the ground.

"Aren't you a man? Why are you dilly-dallying for so long?" Qian Lu forced himself to turn around. Ice cold droplets of water constantly dripped down the side of his handsome face, "There's a time limit to the barrier gates…"

With his back faced towards Gu Ting Yu, Qian Lu heard a soft sigh echo behind him.

Qian Lu listened to the other person's footsteps as they turned around and left… the splashing sounds of the other falling into the clear spring quickly followed…. After a long while, the five mouths of the spring quietened down and the world returned to silence.

Qian Lu suddenly couldn't support his own weight and he collapsed back onto the floor. He tightly held the Yue Xuan zither close to his aching chest. The zither strings slightly glistened like crystals from being wet with water drops.

"… I really want to play for you."

_______________________________________

A few water snakes with gorgeous patterned scales emerged from beneath the lake. They twisted and turned their bodies as they slithed onto the shore.

The huge whirlpool that suddenly appeared on the surface of the river had just subsided. An unmoving human lay on the shore. The force of the whirlpool from before had washed the figure onto the river bank, but his body from the waist downwards was still immersed in the water.

More and more water snakes made their way up onto the river bank and surrounded the person. The longest snake with a black underside and green scales slithered up to the person's neck. When he detected the warm breaths of air that were being exhaled out, hints of excitement instantly sparked in his eyes. He bit down onto the person's throat, and sunk his venomous fangs into his skin.

These water snakes were commonly known as the Silver Jade Vernim. Their venom had a powerful paralysing and aphrodisiac effect.

"Ugh…." The piercing pain at his throat caused Gu Ting Yu to knit his brows.

The remaining dozen odd water snakes all rushed forward. Some slithered in from Gu Ting Yu's sleeves, whilst others entered from beneath his collar. Thin, long flowing lines could be faintly seen to be writhing beneath his soaked clothing. The warmth of Gu Ting Yu's skin seemed to be much suited to the water snakes' appetite. They intertwined with each other, and injected a large amount of venom into his body.

The sharp fangs of the snakes pierced Gu Ting Yu's chest. Venom and strings of blood exuded from the red and inflamed bite marks.

His breathing became more rapid… Gu Ting Yu who was in an unconscious state felt as though he was being harshly constricted by ropes that were studded with nails.

The water snakes were soft and slippery. However, their boneless bodies contained powerful strength.

Gu Ting Yu's body was covered with water snakes. Suddenly, the crowd of snakes became restless as if they sensed something.

They retreated from Gu Ting Yu's body and hurried back into the lake as quickly as they could.

The person who had arrived was a tall man with black hair and phoenix eyes. Hints of an intrigued smile swirled in his bright yellow pupils.

This person was the sacred beast that dictated the sixth palace — the snake king, Zhuo Yin.

Zhuo Yin made his way here by following the unfamiliar scent. When he arrived at the lake, he saw a human that was slightly convulsing.

After being bit by the Silver Jade Vernim, no obvious wounds would be left behind on the body. However, the remaining venom inside the body wouldn't dissipate. As the venom accumulated, it would slowly corrode away the person's soul.

Zhuo Yin gazed at the unconscious Gu Ting Yu. He leaned in close to Gu Ting Yu's ear and whispered, "Wake up."

Zhuo Yin's voice carried a bewitching charm. He bit on Gu Ting Yu's earlobe and exhaled damp hot breaths.

"…" Even though his entire body felt weak, Gu Ting Yu still tried to push the man away. His subconscious knew that something bad was about to happen.

"Ha… how long can you keep that up for… hmm?" Zhuo Yin ended with a slightly raised pitch as his ice cold lips slightly parted. An unbelievably long forked, red tongue slid inside Gu Ting Yu's ear and carefully explored the region following the ear canal.

"Ah…" His head felt numb. Gu Ting Yu felt a wet and soft coldness slowly eat away at his muddled conscious through his ear canal.

A pair of bright yellow eyes stared directly into his own. Everything around him started to blur as the breathtaking gaze became the only thing left in his world.

"Look at me…," the man said.

Rays of light gradually shooted into Gu Ting Yu's eyes like two sharp swords!

Amidst the chaos, a cracking sound resounded in the depths of his conscious —— *Crack* It was synonymous to that of an egg hatching, with the shell fracturing into small shattered pieces.

The ray of yellow light shone through Gu Ting Yu's strong defence, as if it shot straight through his soul.

Gu Ting Yu became highly alert. An extremely oppressive pain penetrated the depths of his conscious. Unable to tolerate such tormenting suffering any longer, a shrilling cry escaped his mouth.

The man restrained his struggling, and licked away the slightly salty beads of sweat on Gu Ting Yu's body in a comforting manner, "Relax. It's okay… relax…"

Entering Gu Ting Yu's mind, the man saw visions of chaotic and disorderly scenes —— a wall of strange red incarnations, an emaciated insane lady, a dirty narrow street, the gloomy sky, as well as desolation and fear that could not be told…

The scene suddenly became to tremble. A richly saturated colour that he had not seen before entered his vision: white flower petals carried by the gentle wind blew across and parted the gloom that had been deeply buried in his heart for a long time. The youth smiled in such a clean, warm manner… After that, it collided with the lonely soul that lay within the depths of the old castle, causing both of them to cry out. The two men gently spun along with the lithe and graceful melody…

Gu Ting Yu subconsciously knit his brows tightly together. An extremely anxious feeling spread inside his heart…. Someone… was currently watching him…

The scenes in his head rapidly elapsed like that of a film. A beautiful boy who had been stabbed with a sharp sword was gradually turning into ashes. Gu Ting Yu had never felt such a strong desire to rescue him… From then on, Gu Ting Yu started to try and enter this strange world, taking on the responsibility to save the other person.

The scene then changed into a desolate, black backdrop. The man who had a pair of black wings was brutal and strange. The hint of warmth that seemed to disappear as soon as it appeared made it hard for Gu Ting Yu to read the other person through their eyes.

The world finally returned to a temporary calm state. Ever since he entered this strange world, this was a rare period of time where Gu Ting Yu relaxed his vigilance.

Despite seeming cold, the white-clothed man's immaturity and secretive nature seemed rather moving in Gu Ting Yu's eyes. Gu Ting Yu even… wanted to stay by his side forever…

"Why do you feel remorseful…?" An enchanting, bewitching voice resounded. Zhuo Yin bent down over Gu Ting Yu's body, "You won't accept the fact that you've fallen in love with more than one person? You can't give them your complete love, is that why your heart cannot rid itself of remorse….? You have to know that there is no turning back… just like how a piece of white paper is forever stained after being splattered with ink."

Gu Ting Yu breathed harshly like that of a stranded fish with his eyes cast downwards. Zhuo Yin lifted a finger and gently skimmed across Gu Ting Yu's chest. Everywhere his finger slid past, he would trigger a series of ripples across the calm lake.