Chapter 228: I hate you.

Rio, who had just settled on another rock, intending to be left alone, froze stiffly.

"Why aren’t you talking? Weren’t you quite bold and lecherous before? What’s with this attitude now? Pretending to be a saint?"

Moon’s grip tightened as his gaze fixed on Rio’s blue eyes.

"..."

Without getting a response, Moon’s stomach churned even more.

"Fuck!"

"Talk! Why aren’t you talking? Why are you avoiding me now?"

He released Rio’s collar and shoved him back with enough force to make his back thud against the rock.

"..."

Moon took a step back and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You! Don’t give me that attitude! I fucking don’t care! Why are you so upset and sad all day? You’re messing with my head! You’ve ravished my body, and now you’re acting as if you’re the victim!"

"..."

He began pacing back and forth before turning to Rio again.

"If anything, shouldn’t I be the one avoiding you? Shouldn’t I be the one who’s upset and sad? What are you pretending to be the victim for?"

"..."

Seeing that Rio was still looking at him blankly without saying a word, Moon almost felt like tearing his hair out.

He suddenly lifted one foot and stomped it onto Rio’s tail, which was resting on the grass.

Rio’s gaze slowly fell to the foot on his tail.

His eyes fluttered.

Moon suddenly felt his very soul tremble in ecstasy.

And for the first time, he felt something other than that extreme, cold sadness coming from Rio.

Moon’s eyes widened slightly as he looked down.

"...?"

This time, he was speechless. ’Is this man a masochist? He wants to be trampled?"

Then Rio spoke in a cold, clear voice.

"You should leave."

"YOU!"

Moon gritted his teeth. "Don’t give me orders."

"I’m not avoiding you," Rio continued, as if answering his earlier accusation.

He reached out and touched the foot resting on his tail. His fingers trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

But Moon saw it.

"You hate me," Rio said as he gently removed Moon’s foot.

Then he looked up at him.

Moon stared at Rio for a long, long time.

He hadn’t expected such a direct statement.

That extreme feeling of loneliness suddenly began to engulf him again.

"Block your heart. You can do it," Rio said before standing up.

He intended to hide himself away.

But Moon suddenly raised his hand and cast a spiritual net.

"RIO! Don’t give me that shit! I should be the one giving you shit!" Moon shouted.

His voice trembled.

He couldn’t let this man go.

Deep down, he already knew what he would choose.

He had never wanted to be an ordinary human.

He wanted to become an immortal.

And besides, if he destroyed his cultivation, his dantian would be uprooted. The four tiny buds he had painstakingly nurtured would die.

That was something of his own.

Something he could live for.

His last hope.

He couldn’t kill them.

Nor could he destroy himself.

Rio turned around but made no attempt to resist the sudden spiritual restraint.

He stood there with a deep frown.

After a long silence, he closed his eyes and asked,

"What do you want?"

’What do I want? You’re fucking asking me what I want?!’

Moon grumbled inwardly.

"What else? I want to fuck you," Moon uttered with a deadpan expression.

This time, a very faint light flashed through Rio’s eyes.

Confusion, surprise, and pleasure.

Moon could feel all of it.

He was tracking every single emotion.

He really wanted to shake that depression out of Rio so he could get rid of it himself.

"You... don’t hate me?" Rio asked.

"I hate you."

"Then?"

"Then what? You forced yourself on me before. Now I’ll force myself on you! We’ll be even."

"..."

Rio looked at him indifferently, but Moon felt as though he was secretly mocking him.

"What’s with that face? Do you think I can’t?"

He took a step toward Rio, grabbed his collar, and yanked him down.

"I can fuck the hell out of you." He uttered each word at a time.

Before Rio could respond, Moon leaned forward and kissed him hard.

Rio’s eyes widened sharply.

His pupils dilated, and he jerked backward in surprise.

Seeing that reaction, Moon finally felt a sense of accomplishment.

’So, he can be disgusted after all.’ He thought.

He leaned closer, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.

"What? You hate kissing? Or do you hate looking at someone’s face while fucking?"

He chuckled, but Rio remained silent.

That silence irritated Moon more than anything.

He grabbed Rio by the neck and bit his lips before kissing him again, this time with even more force.

Yet, instead of pushing him away, Rio’s hands tightened around his waist this time.

Then, all of a sudden, his face turned red.

He buried his burning face in the crook of Moon’s neck.

"I don’t hate it," he mumbled.

Moon froze.

"...What?"

"Fuck! Let go!"

He flinched and pushed Rio away. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the man’s flushed face.

"What did you say?"

"I don’t hate it."

Rio looked at him. Even his ears had turned bright red.

"You don’t hate it, yet you never kissed me?" Moon’s voice rose in disbelief. "Rio, are you even human? Didn’t I cry just for a kiss?"

Rio’s expression twisted slightly, and another deep jolt suddenly ran through Moon’s soul.

His vision blurred.

For a brief moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to embrace someone, to kiss them, to hold them close.

Yet something seemed to stand between him and that desire, something he desperately wanted to hide.

The feeling was so intense that Moon broke out in a cold sweat.

’This isn’t mine.’

He recognized it now.

He was feeling something buried deep inside Rio’s depression. It was as though a part of Rio’s heart had been exposed to him, revealing an emotion the man had kept locked away for far too long.

Moon stared at him, pressing further.

"Rio, did you ever have even a little affection for me? Did you hate me? Then why didn’t you listen to me? Why wouldn’t you even give me a kiss when I asked?"