Juhua cried all the way back, her chest heaved with disjointed hiccups even as Zhang Wang apologized and did his best to rub little circles into her back. It was only when he was forced to lean over to give Yu Yanlin a kiss did she calm a little.
Zhang Wang had a keen feeling that this little girl had a very skewed image of himself and the demon king.
Alas, he could not say anything to her about that especially not now when she was rubbing tears and slobber into his shoulder.
Zhang Wang was exhausted as well, after finally tucking her into bed. Evening had fallen into night by then and he had no idea how so much time had gone by.
He was about to collapse into bed himself and let sleep steal him away but the door slid open and a waft of lotus soup assaulted his nose.
It wasn't enough to give him the willpower to rise though. At least not until the bed creaked and something shook him out of his half-asleep state.
Yu Yanlin's eyes were covered and Zhang Wang was looking at the intricate little designs of the blindfold. "You should eat."
He grumbled but the demon offered him a hand to help him up.
With bleary eyes, he blinked at the soup and steamed buns on the tray that Yu Yanlin had set down on the table. It probably wasn't good humor to ask, "Is this poisoned?"
It was hard to discern the demon king's reaction when his eyes were out of sight. He shrugged, back turned to Zhang Wang when he was walking over to the side of the side, "Who knows?"
His laughter was dry when he forcefully slid out of bed and went to prod at the soup. The flavoring was a little on the heavy side and not like Beast Master Wei's light hand when it came to seasoning. "Did you make this yourself?"
"I did not want to disturb Miss Wei."
"...Where did you learn how to cook?"
"Hm, my mother taught me." He answered bluntly, without giving many details.
It seemed weird a demon prince that later became king would be taught how to cook, but he decided not to inquire about it further. Zhang Wang used enough energy for the day and just wanted to sleep.
"We'll leave tomorrow," Zhang Wang said, "early, before Juhua wakes."
"You don't want to say goodbye?"
Zhang Wang pursed his lips. He did. But…what if Juhua threw another fit? He liked the company of children but only if they were laughing and joyful, not when they were crying and screaming curses at him. "I…Well, I'm not really good with snotty kids."
Yu Yanlin chuckled lightly, "You cannot possibly think I believe that?"
"Yeah, just go pull my leg now would you?"
"...I haven't a clue what you're referring to." Actually, Yu Yanlin did not understand Zhang Wang's words. But the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms had simply assumed that the demon king was being sarcastic.
Now with food settling in his stomach, Zhang Wang felt even more tired. Food coma always got him, in this life and the last as well. He leaned his head back, feeling the edge of the bed. Well he could just climb up to the bed from his spot on the ground. It wasn't that difficult.
No, it was totally difficult and he just wanted to wallow like a sack of potatoes, not moving an inch. He listened to the clattering of ceramic, Yu Yanlin no doubt cleaned after their meal like the good obedient servant that he was and brought it back to the kitchen.
Speaking of which…
Why was he the mom, according to Juhua!?
He grumbled a sleepy complaint but decided that it wasn't worth opening his eyes to. He could just take a quick nap there on the floor before crawling back into bed. For some reason, in his sleep-addled mind, this seemed like a reasonable choice.
When Yu Yanlin returned, he knew that the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms had really fallen asleep on the floor, even when the bed was just there right behind him.
This immortal was too much of an interesting person, he decided. His personality was unlike any other person he had ever the joy of meeting. Crass, sly but honorable in his own way. He was neither honest nor dishonest. Heroic, without being too virtuous.
Yu Yanlin crept up to the sleeping cultivator. At first, he only had the intention of shoveling the man back into bed and under the covers. But then he remembered that he might have been a little excited earlier today and used more spiritual energy than necessary when dealing with one pathetic flying boar.
Well…It wouldn't be good if his disguise suddenly undid itself in front of Miss Wei, now would it?
Zhang Wang slept. With his brows soothed and lips slightly parted he appeared so utterly peaceful, elegant. Like this, he seemed soft, like a gentle beauty that sung wrote letters of longing to the moon and spent their days sleeping and kissing exotic fruit and fanning their lashes at affluent kings. And though Yu Yanlin could not see, he could imagine this perfectly in his mind's eye.
The demon king had had beauties as such attend to him, with dainty visages that rivaled the moon's allure. And it wasn't as though Yu Yanlin did not favor them for their looks. He had. And he had entangled with them for both duty and pleasure.
And yet, none of them had inspired his imagination nor his lust in such a, dare he say strange, way.
His consorts made his ails alleviate after a long day. They clouded his headaches with their fragrant perfumes and soft bodies. But when this immortal…was different. Instead, Yu Yanlin felt a tingling that tickled the tips of his scalp all the way to the balls of his feet. It made him feel restless, anxious, like ants under his skin.
Perhaps he should have felt deep shame for taking a man in his mouth or being pushed down during a kiss.
But why should he care now? Yu Yanlin was no longer king. Honor, pride had all been useless as they were. He was no better than a servant, a slave. And he found he did not mind it so much either, to bow his head to this witty Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms that had bested him, the demon king.
Yu Yanlin wet his lips. He placed a hand on Zhang Wang's shoulder and shook him gently. "Zhang Wang," his voice was low, careful not to disturb the girl who slept behind them. "Zhang Wang, wake up."
But the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms only grumbled and flinched. A sigh escaped Yanlin's lips, and he tried to ignore the disappointment that welled up in his chest. Fingers brushed against Zhang Wang's sash.
"..." No response.
Another sigh left his lips. Left without much choice he decided it was best he simply kissed those lips. He bent down to brush those rose petal lips with his own.
Without resistance, he was able to take his time, be gentle. And first, he planted a chaste peck before pressing down more eagerly. A soft tongue licked the underside of Zhang Wang's upper lip. He could taste the remnants of lotus root soup.
And if this had been one of his soft, demure consorts he would have slipped their clothes off awake or asleep and they would have bowed their heads at him in thanks for being deflowered.
Yu Yanlin trembled at his own restraint, and lightly nibbled at the immortal's bottom lip. This felt almost dangerous. He didn't even dare place his hands on this person and opted instead to use the edge of the bed behind Zhang Wang as leverage.
And just when he thought he could pull away and feign innocence, a hand roughly grabbed the collar of robes and pulled him down when he tried to back off. An embarrassing gasp escaped as a warm breath tickled the shell of his ear, "What do you think you're doing?"