Meng Yao fought a fever and the aftereffects of malnutrition for three days. It should not have taken someone with high cultivation so long to recover from illness, but in his rare moments of lucidity, his expression showed only defeat. Even when he was finally conscious on the fourth morning, Ruien found him with his legs tucked up to his chest, gazing out the window at the gray skies outside without any expression.

Ruien sighed and took a seat beside him on the bed, setting down the tray of food he brought with him. "How about some solid food today?" he asked.

Meng Yao took a breath in and seemed to be attempting to find the correct expression for facing Ruien. In the end, he seemed dissatisfied with his options and his face remained neutral. He glanced at the tray of food.

"I thought meat would be too hard on your stomach, so it's mostly just root vegetables and rice," Ruien explained. "And…without seasoning. Sorry if it's too bland."

Meng Yao shook his head dismissively. "Not at all. Before the age of twelve I ate little but cooked millet and half-rotten vegetables. Thank you."

Ruien nodded, though he was feeling somewhat taken aback that Meng Yao would admit something so personal to him. If this were Meng Yao without a mask, though he might be a little depressing, Ruien decided he didn't dislike him.

After he had picked at his food for a time, Meng Yao glanced at Ruien again. "Nie Mingjue must not know that I am here, or I presume he would be tearing the Unclean Realm apart."

"Correct," Ruien said simply.

He pushed himself off the bed and moved to another part of the room to fix his hair properly for the day. He had only casually pulled it out of his face in order to wake up early and prepare food for Meng Yao, but Nie Mingjue was surprisingly fastidious about his myrmidons' appearance.

"…is anyone suspicious?"

"Well. The head cook thinks I'm secretly keeping a dog," Ruien answered wryly.

Meng Yao's eyes flicked skyward in mild exasperation. "I suppose I've been called worse," he said, insincerely. But then he grew more serious and murmured, "It is a risk…a great risk to you to do this for me."

Ruien glanced at him but said nothing. He placed his humble copper diadem in his hair as if he had heard nothing.

Meng Yao frowned up at him with an air of mild frustration. But eventually his gaze lowered again in reluctant humility. "If you're seeking to blackmail me, I'm afraid the days of my being able to answer any monetary or political demands are behind me."

Ruien raised an eyebrow at him, making it clear with his expression alone – on his clearly foreign face – how ridiculous it was to think any of those things might be of use to him.

It took Meng Yao a moment, but he eventually seemed to accept this. "All right…I see," he said distantly, as if speaking to himself.

Ruien bent down to the water basin he kept on his dresser, splashing some water on his face to refresh himself for the day. Bent down, he did not notice as the frail Meng Yao got out of bed and slowly approached him, all the while loosening the robe Ruien had lent him. In fact he only noticed his presence when the cloth fluttered to the ground in the corner of his eye.

He gasped and backed against his dresser as a naked Meng Yao drew in close, placing a hand against his chest. "You're surprisingly muscular for your size…" Meng Yao commented, in a voice that was suddenly sweet and softly erotic. "As I am now, I'm almost afraid you'll break me."

Breathing harshly, Ruien tried to get his thoughts together. Even though he had to acknowledge that even a sickly Meng Yao was more beautiful than anyone he had been with, the noticeable appearance of his emaciated ribs and hips was only pitiful. But no, he chastised himself. More importantly, he had to explain to him that this was unnecessary.

"A-Yao…look…I didn't do this for any reward," he explained softly.

Meng Yao nodded, his eyes still cast down toward Ruien's chest. "Of course. I'm just showing my gratitude."

His hand began to slide down Ruien's chest, growing closer and closer to a highly sensitive area. Ruien finally grasped his wrist, and again felt a wave of pity as he realized how small and weak it felt in his hand.

"And I appreciate that gratitude," Ruien said, concentrating hard on not having a physical reaction to a naked Meng Yao clasped in his grasp. "But I assure you, the sentiment alone is enough."

Meng Yao looked up at him with a hint of confusion. "I don't understand. Then why do this?"

Ruien sighed. "I don't know," he said honestly. "For the moment, your appearance is quite distracting. Please put on clothes and get back into bed."

"…by myself?" Meng Yao repeated dubiously, as if he still couldn't grasp that Ruien didn't want anything from him.

"Yes. Tempting though it is, please allow me to decline."

Though still seeming puzzled, Meng Yao did bend down to retrieve his robe, and allowed Ruien to guide him back into bed. "So what do you plan on doing with me?" he asked once there.

"…am I your husband, or your father? Why should I do anything with you?" Ruien asked in return, now almost annoyed that the normally strikingly intelligent Meng Yao still wasn't understanding him.

Meng Yao shrugged his scrawny shoulders. "You can't keep me a secret forever, Kang Ruien. And I have nowhere else to go."

Ruien let out a reluctant sigh. This was true. Eventually he would have to tell Nie Mingjue, but there was a way to go about these things and he would have to be extremely cautious and plan well. Even so, there was still a possibility that Mingjue would refuse to tolerate Meng Yao's presence, and would banish him from Qinghe too, if not outright imprison him or kill him.

Another possibility occurred to him, however. Ruien glanced at the frail creature in his bed, looking him up and down in appraisal, thinking of when he had first met him. "Assuming Clan Leader Nie neither accepts you nor kills you on the spot-"

"If we're betting, I favor the latter," Meng Yao interjected bitterly.

"-what would you say to moving to the Cloud Recesses?"

Meng Yao's already pale face seemed to grow even more so. For a moment he even seemed to grow older in just a few seconds, weariness and despair pulling him down toward the earth. His eyes flicked dangerously in Ruien's general direction. "Are you mocking me?" he asked in an undertone.

Ruien said nothing, curious about this reaction and wanting to see where it was coming from.

Meng Yao aimed an unforgiving glare at him. "Don't insult me by assuming I don't know who you are, Kang Ruien. If it concerns Nie Mingjue, you are not ignorant. I concern Da-ge, therefore if it is about me, you know it too. So you know I'm in a pathetic, hopeless love with him."

Ruien only took this in with mild interest, quite aware he was not talking about Nie Mingjue. "Strange. I had heard it was the other way around."

"…heard where?" Meng Yao demanded with a sudden urgency. Not excitement, to Ruien's surprise, but rather indignation.

Ruien shoved his head back toward the main buildings, specifically Nie Mingjue's study, adding a sardonic look that seemed to ask where else he might have heard it.

Meng Yao read his expression carefully to make sure, but then his eyes lowered in despair again. "The wedding…" he guessed softly.

Ruien nodded. Though Mingjue had not told the story in detail, one thing he referred to repeatedly in his rages was how foolish Xichen was for caring about this man. Only a transparent confession from the restrained and elegant man would provoke such persistent anger.

"Well no matter who loves whom," Ruien dismissed the issue. "He remains your only vocal supporter. If Clan Leader Nie will not have you, you may not have another choice."

"I'll have another choice," Meng Yao murmured with soft certainty, with no light in his eyes. "Clan Leader Jin was right. There is one trade I can do that does not ask for reputation or pedigree, and even turns a blind eye to other crimes."

Ruien let out a heavy, exasperated breath. "I see," he said softly, feeling unusually verbose in his growing irritation with this man. "You would rather torment Lan Xichen to death with worry than accept his help. It's reassuring to see that you haven't lost your overwhelming self-obsession."

Meng Yao took in a sharp breath and looked as if he had been slapped. "I…he…" he seemed to excite himself a little too much and struggled to breathe properly. Ruien helped him lay back in the bed. Meng Yao closed his eyes and tightened his jaw in torment. "There's no way out," he whispered. "He'll suffer no matter what I do."

"Then you might as well suffer together," Ruien said simply, then got up and left him to ponder that.

…

Later that night, Ruien knocked on Nie Mingjue's chamber door.

"Come in."

Though he entered as he usually would, closing the door softly behind him, after seeing that Mingjue was sitting with his ankle propped on his knee, polishing a piece of his armor, Ruien took the unusually bold step of sliding his knee alongside his clan leader's leg on the bed. As Mingjue raised an eyebrow at him, but obediently set aside his armor, Ruien straddled his waist and wrapped his arms affectionately around his neck.

He expected a reproach for this behavior, but was unexpectedly relieved when Mingjue's expression softened. His arms wrapped around Ruien, supporting his back, and when he looked up, his eyes lingered on Ruien's lips.

They shared a slow, sweet kiss. Mingjue ran the backs of his fingers along Ruien's cheek, then shifted some of his hair off his shoulder, stroking it to gently smooth out the tangles. Ruien's heart swelled in his chest at all this affectionate behavior, and he almost forgot what he was trying to do.

"Clan Leader," he said softly, trying to return some of Mingjue's affectionate touching by clasping his face in both hands, stroking his cheeks with his thumbs. "I have a favor to ask."

Mingjue frowned with mild displeasure. "It's irritating how well you know me," he said, and to Ruien's surprise, he seemed to be referring to his own receptiveness to favors after having been flirted with. "Speak."

"Well…a friend of mine is ill, and has sent me a message requesting a particular medicinal herb that doesn't grow well in his home, in Guangling. May I have your permission to travel there tomorrow to bring it to him?"

Mingjue's frown increased, and became hardened with suspicion. "What friend?"

"A former myrmidon of the Nie, who has since become a farmer. His name is Chang Lu."

"Oh…I remember," Mingjue muttered, seeming almost disappointed. "Why would he ask you and not me?"

"You terrify him, Clan Leader."

"Hmph," Mingjue scoffed. "Only the weak-willed and criminals are afraid of me. If he's afraid then he deserves to be."

Ruien offered a soft smile. "Agreed," he said, to which Mingjue glanced up at him with surprise. He placed a kiss on Mingjue's forehead as a parent would. "The righteous have nothing to fear from you."

"…so you don't fear me?" Mingjue murmured, almost under his breath.

He shrugged playfully. "Oh I wouldn't be so sure. I can be surprisingly wicked, Clan Leader."

Mingjue raised an eyebrow, but he seemed to catch on to the game. "Is that so?"

Ruien tilted his head noncommittally. Mingjue scoffed once more, but then grasped Ruien firmly and spun him around, pinning him to the bed on his back. Ruien smiled up appreciatively at him, brushing some of Mingjue's unruly hair from his face.

"Then I'll have to keep a better eye on you to keep you out of mischief," Mingjue told him in his soft, rumbling bass.

"See that you do," Ruien said, very much hoping that his enthusiasm, and the deep kiss which followed, would assuage any worries Mingjue had about where he might be going tomorrow. Of course it was not to Guangling, but rather to the neighboring Gusu.

Mingjue's large body leaned in close, nuzzling his neck as a dog would. As his mouth began to tease the skin of Ruien's neck with kisses and soft bites, Ruien just barely held back a moan. Even though Mingjue was surprisingly accepting toward doing these things with him recently, he was still nervous about turning him off with the sound of his masculine voice. They had also not had penetrative sex yet, as Ruien worried that might be one hurdle too high for Nie Mingjue.

But it became even harder to hold back his voice as Mingjue quickly undressed him and continued his kissing down Ruien's bare chest. It was an extraordinary feeling as Mingjue's huge arms would occasionally wrap around his torso and easily lift his whole body weight without effort. Ruien couldn't help impatiently shifting his hips, trying to avoid excess stimulation from rubbing against Mingjue's powerful body.

At one point, Mingjue stopped to look down at Ruien's chest admiringly. He spread his large fingers across Ruien's skin and drew his hand slowly down. "…you said you're a cut-sleeve when it comes to me," Mingjue murmured distractedly. "Does that mean other than me you like girls?"

Ruien raised an eyebrow at him. It would be more accurate to say he was Mingjue-sexual: after now knowing what Mingjue's touch felt like, he doubted he could become fully aroused for anyone else. But at the risk of pressuring him with too much devotion, he kept this to himself.

"A person's gender doesn't really concern me," he answered, being purposefully vague.

Mingjue gauged his expression for a moment, not seeming entirely convinced. "What is it you like about me then?"

This question was unwieldy and difficult to answer for Ruien. He thought for a time before shaking his head helplessly. "It's been so long since I started, it's hard to remember."

"Nh," Mingjue grunted, still seeming dubious but unable to articulate his feelings properly. He continued undressing Ruien, sliding his hands across each new area of bare flesh as it was revealed. "I heard you're keeping a dog," he said abruptly.

Ruien hoped that with his hands so low on his body, Mingjue couldn't feel the sudden increase in his heartrate. "Mm-hmm. I found it half-dead on a rainy night. I'm just a soft touch about these things."

Mingjue hesitated, and if Ruien didn't know any better, he could swear he looked somewhat hurt. "And…you didn't tell me because you were afraid I'd throw you out, along with your pup?"

This question was somewhat alarming for several reasons. It almost sounded as if Mingjue were perfectly aware that this was no dog they were discussing. But if so, realizing he could be subtle was quite a shock already. Why wasn't he angry? He must not realize it was Jin Guangyao specifically, or Ruien suspected he would be sliced clean in half by Baxia by now. Given that being thrown out was already a light punishment for secretly keeping a human being, he didn't know how to answer.

Mingjue's eyes met his for a moment, but again Ruien was shocked that he didn't see anger there. It was more like loneliness. Mingjue sighed. "Just don't let it affect your work. And don't come to me smelling like dog."

And then Ruien became unable to attempt a reply even if he wanted to, as Mingjue ducked down and slid Ruien's cock inside his mouth. A tiny sound escaped him as shock and pleasure vaulted through his body, and he quickly raised both hands to cover his own mouth. He could feel Mingjue's harsh, bear-like breath against his thighs. His mouth was so warm. In seconds, Ruien began to fear he couldn't hold back.

Fortunately Mingjue soon drew away, though he gave one last tantalizing lick with his large tongue, that one motion nearly robbing Ruien of sanity. He threw off his own clothes and this time crawled up to straddle Ruien's shoulders. In this position, he hardly needed to say what he wanted.

Ruien grasped his powerful thighs and brought his huge, throbbing cock into his mouth. As soon as he did, Mingjue shifted his hips forward, slowly moving on his own in and out of Ruien's mouth, each time bumping softly against the tight ring of Ruien's throat and sending shivers down Ruien's spine. He longed to let him in deeper, but was worried he couldn't handle the thickness. But even the sensation of having his airway repeatedly blocked was making Ruien impatient to cum, and he shifted his hips unconsciously in time with Mingjue's.

He thought Mingjue would want to cum in his mouth, but after a few moments, he slowly drew out again. He shifted back down the bed, and wrapped his legs around Ruien's to pull them tight together. He angled his cock down into the gap between Ruien's legs, slid deep between them and lowered his body comfortably down on top of him.

Ruien let out a shaking gasp as pleasant sensations flooded through him. Next to actual sex, he could not imagine a better feeling than this. He was trapped in Mingjue's strength, his leg muscles rippling against his skin. His hot, moist cock was rubbing against several sensitive areas between his legs. His own cock was already feeling wonderful just from the excitement, but was receiving constant stimulation from Mingjue's hard stomach rubbing against it. And everywhere he could see and feel, and even smell and taste, Mingjue's huge and powerful chest, and his brutal and handsome face.

After only a few thrusts of Mingjue's hips in this position, Ruien couldn't hold back a strangled noise of pleasure. To control himself, as his arms were wrapped around Mingjue and could not cover his mouth, he bit down into Mingjue's shoulder.

The large man let out a grunt which sounded like pleasure. The pace of his hips increased. One hand came to rest on top of Ruien's head and tilted his head back, so Mingjue could observe the pleasure on his face. Ruien repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, trying to make it obvious that he wanted to kiss, in order to make one last attempt to muffle his voice. Mingjue let out an impassioned breath and sank down over him, sliding his tongue deeply inside Ruien's mouth.

"Mmmh!" Ruien cried out helplessly, feeling like it would be impossible for them to be connected any deeper than this. He came almost as soon as Mingjue's tongue entered his mouth.

Feeling Ruien's cock twitch and spurt his cum between their bodies, Mingjue grunted softly again. He quickly pulled his cock from between Ruien's legs and stroked himself over Ruien's stomach, laying a stream of cum beside Ruien's there.

As they both panted to recover their breath, Mingjue slid down and seemed to want to go immediately to sleep, one arm and leg each draped over Ruien's body. "Stay here tonight," he muttered against his sheets.

In answer, Ruien merely shifted his body a little closer, closing his eyes and laying his head close beside Mingjue's.

…

The next day, he prepared breakfast for Meng Yao but left it for him while he was still asleep, setting off before sunrise. As the situation was extremely delicate, Ruien had no choice but to approach Zewu-jun directly, and hope he was willing to give him an audience.

As he had come unannounced, he had to wait for hours at the gate to the Cloud Recesses. At the changing of the guard shifts, the previous guard brought his request to Zewu-jun, and not long after he was given permission to enter. Another disciple guided him as far as Lan Xichen's study, allowing him to go in on his own.

The ethereally beautiful man, though it must be said Ruien found him quite pale and thin compared to the last time he had seen him, greeting him with a warm expression and invited him to sit for tea. Overwhelmed at this courteousness, Ruien could not even bring himself to sit down at the table with the beautiful gentleman and instead claimed he should not tarry here.

"Zewu-jun…may I ask that you cast a silencing spell around this chamber?" he asked in barely above a whisper.

Though at first he seemed reasonably suspicious, a hint of hope arose in Lan Xichen's eyes. He nodded a little numbly and took in a breath, gathering spiritual energy. He drew a seal in the air and sent out his spiritual energy to create a wall of silence around his chamber. Ruien nodded his thanks and knelt beside him, feeling the need to speak softly even so.

"I will be brief. If I had information on Meng Yao…what would you do, Zewu-jun?"

Xichen's eyes fluttered and his breath stopped. When it returned, it came in short bursts. Suddenly he grasped Ruien's arm. "Have you found him? He's alive?"

Ruien nodded. Xichen slumped forward, holding his head. He let out a heavy breath of relief, as if he had been holding it in for all the weeks that Meng Yao had been missing. Ruien again felt deep pity for him and wished he could change something about Meng Yao's self-hatred that currently kept the two of them apart.

"He is currently in hiding, but his situation is temporary and cannot continue. Zewu-jun, this is a lot to ask, but considering how much you favored him when he was still Jin Guangyao-"

"Of course," Lan Xichen interrupted him with hope in his eyes. "Of course I will protect him. You need hardly ask. Can he be brought here?"

Ruien sighed softly, admiring this graceful person even more by seeing his devotion. "Not easily. He is inside the Unclean Realm."

"Oh," Xichen said with quite reasonable disappointment and anxiety.

"There is…another problem. Though he admits he has nowhere to go, he claims he does not wish to come here."

Xichen's eyes dimmed yet further, and then slowly closed. He was silent for a long time, not seeming to know how to solve that problem. Of course this very modesty of his was one of his attractive points, but Ruien was getting quite fed up with this couple's inability to be honest with one another.

"…so you may have to kidnap him," Ruien added with a slightly playful air.

Xichen's eyes went wide in scandal. "K-…kidnap?!"

Ruien shrugged. "Cajole. Coerce. Or wrap him up in a reed mat and throw him over your shoulder, whatever seems appropriate to you."

"I couldn't…! If it goes against his wishes, I…"

"He won't save himself," Ruien said firmly. "So unless you can think of a way to convince him, if you want him alive and well in this world, I suggest you be willing to use a little force." He levied himself up to his feet. "I will leave for today. Before I do, please tell me when is the soonest you can come to see him, if not outright drag him back here with you."

Xichen's eyes traveled across the floor in front of him in deep thought. Finally, he looked up at Ruien with hope in his eyes again. "The next new moon?" he proposed softly.

Ruien nodded. "I'll be waiting." He bowed and left the elegant gentleman in a shell-shocked state as he hurried back to Qinghe. For some reason, he felt eager to see Mingjue's face as soon as possible.