80 6.4

While Moqi Baihui silently watched, Ning He splashed up from beneath the water so that glittering droplets sprayed around him in a halo, creating an illusion that he was some water fairy playing secretly, a fantasy which was fortified by the chime-like giggle that rang out a beat later. With his brilliant eyes shining like stars in the dark, the boy spent long minutes brushing his soapy fingers over his torso, the white foam dissolving and returning to tantalizingly expose flashes of bare flesh, although the water which reached his hips hid most of him from view. Still, the skin that was revealed was gilded silver in the moonlight, deepening the scene's ethereal impression.

Moreover, when Moqi Baihui's eager eyes followed the youth's smooth washing motions that trailed gradually down his lean chest toward his lower abdomen, his mouth dried. Unlike the slim physique portrayed by Ning He when he was clothed, his nude form was elegantly carved, and more of those beautiful lines were revealed with his every action, which caused the water to sway teasingly. Staring at the hand that had reached underwater, Moqi Baihui bit his lip; despite being aware that he should either announce his presence or withdraw, he couldn't bear to look away.

Actually, it was fairly odd for him to be so stunned—even though he had only ever encountered naked bodies for examination purposes due to his passion for research, reasonably speaking, he should have built up some immunity to nudity long ago. Nor had he once doubted his professionalism before, since he had certainly never become engrossed with anyone else's figure in this way. Just as he was deliberating over why he was acting so uncharacteristically, however, the boy dashed out of the river, teeth audibly chattering, and his thought process stopped. As if he was some kind of addict, he was uncontrollably drawn back in, enthralled again by the view of the flexing and releasing muscles in Ning He's long, straight legs and narrow feet.

But suddenly, as Ning He bent down to retrieve his robes, Moqi Baihui narrowed his eyes, his heated interest transforming into clinical investigation.

There, stretched across the boy's shivering back, was a collection of wounds, with a row of fresh, blotchy gashes on top of various faded scars, it was evident that the boy had been injured regularly. More significant was that the marks were all clean, indicating that someone had deliberately cut that tender skin. No matter how vulnerable Ning He was, with his foolishness and average talent, he was still undeniably the so-called bully of Jade Sword Mountain, who would have the guts to do such a thing? And why would the child not directly report the matter to his father so that the culprit could be punished?

The answer to this question, which Moqi Biahui had no way of discovering yet, was that the original owner simply hadn't even realized that he was being dissected, because the lacerations had apparently been treated to be permanently numbed. They were so well hidden, in fact, that Chen Yu himself had only noticed them in the process of inspecting this body head to toe. As for where the scars had come from, he naturally had a guess, but he was willing to enjoy the thrill of the mystery.

Rather than that, what greeted his eyes when he turned around was more of an issue. While he'd sensed the fervent gaze directed at him that had abruptly appeared as he had been wading into the river, he'd allowed it, expecting it to be Moqi Lirong from the high level of qinggong necessary to cover such a distance in the short seconds between Chen Yu's survey of his surroundings and his dip into the water. Now, however, a quick glimpse from under his lashes was enough for him to discern that it was the white twin who had been staring at him all along, the man was so deep in thought about something that he was stuck barely hidden between the trees, awkwardly peering at him.

Damn it, he'd been hoping to gauge Moqi Lirong's reaction to test whether he was his lover, now it had turned into a waste of time. But at the thought, a faint suspicion crossed his mind.

To be quite honest, when he had believed that it was the black twin watching him, he had felt that the intensity of the peeping tom's scrutiny had been high enough to support his hypothesis, the fervent scrutiny was exactly what he would have expected of the pervert. Applying the same logic to the current situation, then, it made sense to consider Moqi Baihui, who had proven to be the enthusiastic voyeur instead, as a possibility. In this way, the twin who had been neglected due to Chen Yu's focus on Moqi Lirong was included in his shortlist, although, taking into account the additional evidence for Moqi Lirong, Chen Yu decided that he would first rule him out then move on to his brother.

Having settled his priorities, Chen Yu angrily blushed and pointed at his second candidate. "Y-y-you!" After a short hush during which only his heaving breaths could be heard, he awkwardly corrected, "M-Master Moqi, how much did you see?!"

Moqi Baihui imperceptibly curled his lips. The boy seemed to think that he appeared intimidating as he yelled, but his flushed cheeks and the hastily draped robes clinging to his wet skin, combined with the teardrop-shaped mole that highlighted his energetic eyes, were purely adorable, like a small kitten baring its claws.

At the youth's cute stumble over the proper way of addressing him, the guilty panic that had engulfed Moqi Baihui subsided completely and was replaced by amusement. This Ning He was truly a straightforward, unbridled type ah, even referring to someone of his shishu's generation as 'you.' Of course, he and the boy's master, Ning Taio, hadn't actually ever trained under the same teacher, but, in order to make up for his inadvertent peeking, he resolved to accord Ning He the title of shizhi. Perhaps if he accompanied the child during this trip, he could influence him into having a more restrained personality.

Thus, assuring himself that there was no way he could have been spotted earlier and clearing his throat to restore his calm voice, Moqi Baihui reinforced his scholarly air and leisurely replied, "No need to be shy, shizhi, I just arrived to tell you that for everyone's safety, it's best if we all move together. If you really want some privacy, at least let me know where you're going, all right?"

Pouting sulkily on the surface, Chen Yu sneered inside. What 'no need to be shy,' what 'just arrived,' what 'shizi,' was that tent in your crotch also something someone somehow stuffed in your pants? En, this shameless brain hole was very familiar...

Nevertheless, he merely spit out, "I can take care of myself!" and ran off, leaving behind a stunned Moqi Baihui to gape after him. How had he offended his little shizhi? Had he realized that he hadn't entirely told the truth? If possible, he'd been planning to inquire about the cuts on his back...Shaking his head at the complexity of youth, Moqi Baihui silently followed along behind the boy.

It was only when he rejoined the still joyful group and caught his twin's brow twitching at him that he remembered what he'd gone to the riverbank for in the first place. According to Lirong's observation, Ning He seemed to have some silly intentions toward him and therefore might, depending on these delusions, not take proper care of his safety. Since he was the son of a peak leader, it would be far less troublesome if he didn't die, which was what had pushed Moqi Baihui into approaching him to issue a warning. Of course, in the end, he'd been so distracted by the boy's body that he'd totally forgotten about this issue...

Out of the blue, however, a hint of dissatisfaction rose. Everyone acknowledged that he was the friendlier twin, why had Ning He paid attention to Lirong and not him? Shouldn't he be the obvious target if the boy wished to have someone protect him? Considering the matter, he scanned the clearing for the boy and halfheartedly replied to his twin's unspoken inquiry. "It wasn't really a situation where I could bring up the topic."

While Moqi Lirong was sure that something unusual must have happened for his brother, who was far more experienced in diplomacy than he was, to have had difficulty, the sole reaction he gave to this bare excuse of a justification was a sharp glance at the other's notable groin. Nevertheless, this was enough to goad Moqi Baihui into confessing with a helpless shrug, "He was bathing..."

Then, both loath to admit that he had lost sight of his task due to that alone and wondering whether Lirong might have heard something that he hadn't that might shed light on who was harming Ning He, he continued, "His body had some cuts on his back—"

Before he could ask anything, however, he was cut off by Moqi Lirong jumping up and rushing over to the boy who was holding what looked to be a packet of medicine.

Once he'd returned to the pack of teenagers, Chen Yu had positioned himself at a distance and, leaning against a large tree trunk, arranged a sweet rice ball within easy reach. Thus, with his critical supply prepared, Chen Yu was sniffing reluctantly at the just-opened brew, determined to identify its ingredients in one fell swoop, when a large hand suddenly snatched the packet away from him. By the time he recovered from his surprise and raised his eyes, the huge figure of Moqi Lirong had gotten close enough that their noses touched and reflected in his sight was the other's thin lips pursed tightly together in a slight frown.

In a deep voice, the man glared at the packet, then turned to Chen Yu and demanded, "What is this?"