Circus of Horrors (10)
They walked out of the circus tent completely unscathed. Joker didn’t even look back as he rushed outside, as if some monstrous beast was chasing him.
Chen Li blinked in surprise, a sudden swell of pride rising in his chest.
[System, was I really that fierce just now?]
System 001 hesitated, then gave up trying to explain. As long as he’s happy.
System 001: [Uh, yeah, yeah, totally.]
Chen Li was amazed—he felt like he had truly grasped the essence of “pretending to be fierce.”
He basked in his own self-satisfaction, completely forgetting the goodnight kiss he had just agreed to.
At that moment, the puppeteer walked over. She wore an exaggerated cupcake-style dress, layers of pink frills printed with cute teddy bears. Her pink twin tails were curled into bouncing ringlets.
She walked straight toward Fu Moyang, but stopped about two meters away, likely wary of Chen Li.
She got straight to the point: “You’re the one who saved Tingting, right?”
Tingting was the name of the magician.
She had only managed to survive thanks to some emergency healing items.
Fu Moyang gave her a cold glance: “No.”
If it hadn’t been for the little lamb’s soft heart, he wouldn’t have intervened at all.
The puppeteer didn’t believe him: “I just wanted to thank you.”
With that, she handed Fu Moyang a pink business card.
He initially didn’t want to accept it, but when he caught a certain sneaky little NPC glancing over curiously, he raised his hand and took the card.
Seeing him accept it, the puppeteer gave a small nod, then turned to help the magician back to her room.
The other players began to leave one by one. At the very least, they were safe for today.
Fu Moyang handed the card to Chen Li.
Chen Li quickly looked away: “I don’t want it.”
Even though he was clearly dying of curiosity.
Fu Moyang chuckled: “I insist on giving it to you.”
In the end, curiosity won. Chen Li took the card and read it aloud: “Hearts Guild?”
“It’s the second-ranked guild,” Fu Moyang explained. “That’s an invitation card. You can join them directly with it.”
For context, the Hearts Guild, known for being second in overall strength, had an entry exam that eliminated tons of players every month.
Chen Li’s eyes lit up: “That’s amazing.”
It was just a simple expression of admiration.
But Fu Moyang’s expression shifted slightly. He gave a soft cough: “The Hearts Guild’s leader is a narcissistic woman.”
What’s so amazing about that? Was the little lamb really that easy to impress?
Chen Li didn’t notice the slightly sour tone in Fu Moyang’s voice. He just felt a bit regretful.
After all, he was an NPC—there was no way he could join a player guild. And Fu Moyang, the top-ranked player, still hadn’t been successfully recruited by any guild.
. . . . .
They didn’t see Joker again for the rest of the evening, so Chen Li was finally able to enjoy a peaceful dinner.
Afraid of offending the picky young master—especially after the last time he criticized the steak—the chef had gone all out to make this dinner perfect.
Goat milk desserts, caviar tarts, honey-glazed roast chicken…
Chen Li was stuffed, his belly round from overeating.
Fu Moyang stood off to the side: “Young Master, it’s time for bed.”
There was a subtle trace of anticipation in his voice.
At this moment, Chen Li still didn’t sense the looming danger. He obediently nodded and followed him upstairs. This time, he remembered to pay attention to the paintings in the corridor. As expected, on the fifth floor, only two of the ten frames had been blacked out.
No one died today, so the rest of the paintings were untouched.
In a great mood, Chen Li walked into the room. Behind him, there was a distinct click.
He immediately turned around like a wary little animal: “Did you just lock the door?”
Fu Moyang smiled, bringing his hand from behind his back: “I’m just worried it might not be safe at night.”
“I don’t want you helping me bathe,” Chen Li said suspiciously.
It was a shame, but Fu Moyang knew his cover was blown. The bashful little lamb would never let him help with something like that again. He had no choice but to step back: “Alright.”
The young master’s room was large, but the soundproofing wasn’t great. The sound of running water from the bath could be heard loud and clear by the man outside.
Fu Moyang kept his eyes lowered, expression unreadable. There was no hint of joy or anger—only the tension in his clenched jaw betrayed the effort it took to keep himself in check.
The image of the fair and delicate-looking young boy flashed through his mind once again.
Just thinking about the goodnight kiss made all the restraint worth it.
When Chen Li came out, he nearly jumped in surprise at the silent man standing there with his head bowed. He nervously said, “It’s your turn to shower.”
The man stood up without a word and walked into the bathroom.
A faint fragrance still lingered inside. Besides the scent of flower petals, there was something else—something uniquely alluring.
A scent no ghost could resist. Naturally, even a powerful ghost king was no exception.
Chen Li lay drowsily on the bed, nearly dozing off. He started to feel like the man was taking a bit too long in the shower.
[001, Fu Moyang’s not going to faint in there, is he?]
He had almost fainted once before from soaking too long.
System 001 couldn’t quite associate the terrifying ghost with the idea of fainting and hesitantly replied: [Maybe he’s just… very into cleanliness?]
Luckily, Chen Li didn’t press the issue. His eyelids slowly fell shut, and just as he was about to drift off, the covers were suddenly lifted. A cold body slipped under the blanket, instantly chasing all his sleepiness away.
Chen Li whimpered and whispered in protest: “Why did you take a cold shower?”
Fu Moyang covered his eyes with his hand, his voice slightly hoarse: “Don’t look at me like that. Otherwise, the shower was pointless.”
Chen Li: ???
He blinked in confusion, wondering if the man had somehow scrambled his brain in there.
What, does just looking at him make him dirty?
Completely misunderstanding the situation, the little lamb turned away in a huff, unwilling to deal with him. But then a hand firmly pressed his shoulder and turned him back around.
Fu Moyang’s gaze darkened: “Did you forget something?”
“Forget what?”
Fu Moyang: “…What you promised me at the circus today.”
“Oh!” Chen Li suddenly remembered. “The goodnight kiss!”
His face flushed red, and his eyes grew misty and bright.
Hmm… why is Fu Moyang acting like a little kid?
Fu Moyang hummed in acknowledgment.
His steady heartbeat suddenly kicked up, thudding wildly. His gaze dropped involuntarily to Chen Li’s lips.
They looked… sweet.
He reached out and gently brushed the boy’s lashes. Beneath them, his starry eyes shimmered with something soft and bright. Gradually, that hand slid downward. Just like at the circus, those long, powerful fingers intertwined with the boy’s, locking them tightly together.
His voice was resolute: “Goodnight kiss.”
Chen Li, whose hand had been caught, had no way to escape—truthfully, he had long since lost the right to refuse. Like a lone wolf patiently laying down sweet bait, Fu Moyang had finally gotten what he wished for: his dear little lamb had stepped willingly into a nest no one had ever discovered before.
Chen Li curled his fingers in embarrassment: “Alright, then.”
He leaned in gently, so close their breaths nearly mingled. At that moment, Fu Moyang suddenly tensed and, acting entirely on instinct, shut his eyes.
A light, soft kiss landed on his cheek.
Fu Moyang opened his eyes in shock. His heart skipped a beat, and the feather-light touch on his heart instantly turned into a blazing fire.
A ghost king does not fear fire, yet even he blushed from the heat.
Chen Li blinked in surprise: “Your face is so red!”
It was the first time he’d seen the man like this.
Fu Moyang’s expression became unusually strange. He tried to appear calm, but his thundering heartbeat betrayed him. In a gruff, annoyed tone, he tried to sound nonchalant: “Your goodnight kiss is just a kiss on the cheek?”
Chen Li tilted his head: “What, would you rather a kiss on the forehead? That’s what my mom did when I was a kid.”
He just felt that kissing Fu Moyang on the forehead with a look full of maternal love would be… odd.
Fu Moyang fell silent. Clearly, he felt the same way.
He was the one who had asked for a goodnight kiss, and now he was being difficult about it.
For the first time, Chen Li realized how hard it was to understand this man.
He was so sleepy that he soon closed his eyes again, drifting off, his breathing gradually evening out.
Fu Moyang looked down at his very “responsive” little brother, then pressed a hand over his pounding heart.
For the first time, he seriously questioned his own self-control.
. . . . .
Chen Li woke up after a night of sweet dreams and nearly jumped out of bed at the sight of someone standing nearby. He mumbled sleepily: “Don’t you ever sleep?”
His just-woken voice was still soft and sweet, like sticky rice.
He was just casually complaining, assuming the man had simply woken up early.
System 001: No… He really didn’t sleep at all.
He had been watching the host all night.
Though this wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, it felt much weirder this time—occasionally, he even touched his own cheek and gave a goofy smile with an unreadable meaning.
Fu Moyang didn’t answer the question. Instead, he took out clothes and began dressing Chen Li.
After the past two days together, Chen Li had gone from feeling awkward to completely used to it. He didn’t even need Fu Moyang to speak—he just knew when to lift his arms or raise his legs.
As the system sarcastically put it, he was practically born to be served.
Today, he was dressed in a simpler set of aristocratic clothes. The oversized gemstone at the collar had been swapped for a black bowtie. When the two of them walked down the stairs together, they immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Both master and servant wore black and white suits—Chen Li’s was detailed and exquisite, while Fu Moyang’s was minimalist and elegant. Their auras complemented each other perfectly.
For a moment, the players were stunned. They almost forgot that the beast tamer was just another player like them—not a native of this instance.
Joker had been in a great mood, humming a tune, but the moment he saw Fu Moyang’s appearance, his face fell.
Deliberate.
That man had done this on purpose!
A low growl rumbled from his chest, like he was about to attack at any moment.
The dart thrower sitting next to him nearly jumped out of his seat in fright.
But Joker’s odd behavior lasted only a few seconds. By the time the two had fully descended the stairs, he was back to normal—as if nothing had happened.
He thought to himself that there was no need to argue with someone who was destined to die.
No matter how much the beast tamer struggled, he was going to die here today.
And then, the sweet little cotton candy would be his alone.
He would hide the cotton candy—hopefully where those damned old geezers wouldn’t find it.
Thinking of this, Joker grinned with his red-painted lips in anticipation: “Dear Young Master Rum, I wonder how well you slept last night?”
“Not bad,” Chen Li replied coolly, lifting his chin slightly. There was a hint of confusion in his gaze. “But it seems you didn’t sleep well, Captain.”
There was a strong scent of blood on Joker, as if he had just returned from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. His hair, usually slicked back with gel and perfectly tidy, was slightly disheveled.
Joker’s expression brightened as he replied politely: “Thank you for your concern. I spent the whole night preparing for today’s performance. I guarantee you’ll love it.”
For the first time, Chen Li felt a sense of unease and asked: “Who’s performing this time…?”
Joker gave a sinister smile: “Why, it’s the most thrilling act in our circus—the beast taming show, of course.”
Author’s note:
Ta-da! Bet you didn’t expect someone to be this pure.
Fu Moyang: I want a big, big goodnight kiss—preferably a long, wet French kiss. (closes eyes)
Li Bao: smooch!
And Fu Moyang, who only got a kiss on the cheek: (completely stunned with excitement)