Ni Ji sank into the ocean.

He felt like he was completely shattered, his body and will melting into the warm seawater.

The depths of his soul ripped open, all those ugly, embarrassing things he didn’t want anyone to see, pouring out,

Appearing before the person he liked most.

Without a single shred of cover.

He didn’t know what he looked like at this moment, but he would rather be seriously injured and covered in blood than like this, making a fool of himself.

Ni Ji began to deeply regret that he hadn’t been able to control himself, that he had run out to take a look when he heard Lin Yuan’s voice.

It had just been from a distance, a quick glance. Yet Lin Yuan had turned her head and spotted him at once.

He was annoyed, yet also uncontrollably happy.

The entire ocean in his mindscape seemed to turn upside down, the world overturned, waves surging, and he was dragged into the giant waves, losing all control over himself.

Between the sky and the sea, it was as if a blood-red sun had set, heating up the entire ocean. The azure seawater had turned a light crimson.

Ni Ji, in the water, looked through the crimson sea surface, and saw Lin Yuan’s calm eyes.

She looked at him through the pink seawater, her expression clear, her clothes neat, not a trace of panic.

Cold, awake, unmoved, without any emotion.

A golden light flickered in the depths of those eyes, like a deity calmly looking at the sea, pitying the pathetic and ugly being before her.

Ni Ji tasted Guide pheromones.

Not the inferior artificial kind. But the purest, most natural scent that intoxicated sentinels, coming from a real, powerful Guide.

Ni Ji didn’t know where the Guide pheromones came from, he had already completely melted the moment Lin Yuan leaned down and kissed him.

He couldn’t tell what was gently touching his lips and teeth, what was softly licking and teasing.

It was as if the tip of his tongue had been bitten. An electric current ran through his entire body, his skin and blood tingling, even his scalp numb.

His consciousness sank, then was quickly pulled back up.

His gloves were taken off.

Why his gloves? Ni Ji thought sadly in his daze, no one knew that that was the place he least wanted to be touched.

That fabric, worn to protect him from being cut, which he never took off even when he slept, that constantly gripped his blade’s hilt, was being slowly peeled away.

As if having lost his last defense, everything he controlled was being stripped from him.

Lin Yuan’s Guide pheromones permeated the deep sea, their taste like the strongest, richest alcohol.

That aggressive scent invaded the depths of the sea, intoxicating the moment he smelled it.

It made him feel a slight pain, it was so disorienting, he wasn’t sure where he would fall to.

Ni Ji saw Lin Yuan’s long, flowing hair, the soft strands falling before his eyes.

That hair must be cold, it could alleviate his pain. He reached out from the water, grabbing those strands.

He began to feel like a fish, he was originally a fish.

Because of his yearning for something he shouldn’t yearn for, he had been caught in a fishing net, the wire cutting into his flesh, dragging him from the water to the shore, his body cut open, his soul exposed, laid out on a plate.

And he couldn’t resist, he could only lie there, his mouth open.

He knew Lin Yuan did something.

Lin Yuan’s hand.

At that moment, his pupils dilated. He felt a burning sensation, and he could no longer think, whether it was right or wrong, whether he should or shouldn’t.

Giant waves pushed him to the highest point, the sun’s halo burning before his eyes.

He wanted to refuse. When he opened his mouth, only an incredibly soft sound came from his throat, that tone making him ashamed.

The next moment, he fell back into the deep sea, gurgling bubbles and cold seawater enveloping him.

This familiar ocean had never felt so unfamiliar before. Unfamiliar waves, unfamiliar tides, unfamiliar colors.

Repeating endlessly, relentlessly.

Enough, Lin Yuan, Ni Ji closed his eyes, he didn’t know if he was crying.

He was too pathetic, like his most vulnerable heart was being held, gripped tightly, toyed with, at that moment, even his emotions became something at her mercy, rising and falling, completely defenseless.

He felt incredibly humiliated, yet also a faint joy, ecstasy wasn’t enough to describe what he was feeling.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be like this.

Through the crimson sea, he saw Lin Yuan leaning down, kissing him, pouring her pheromones into his world without reservation.

Soothing him, this fish, dying and reviving, dying and reviving.

The room they were in was very small, piled with debris.

They seemed to be huddled together amidst some hemp bags filled with cotton, wrapped in tentacles.

He could hear the sounds of many people walking back and forth outside the thin wooden door. A group of sentinels passed by the door, the heavy thud of their boots, someone coughed, someone spat.

Two people stopped, standing right by the door, talking.

“Where is he hiding? He’s really hard to find.”

“He’s incredibly skilled, so many people still can’t find him.”

“I really want to see just who this three-headed, six-armed fellow is.”

They didn’t know that the powerful sentinel they spoke of was lying right behind that thin wooden door.

The tentacles, tightly intertwined, guarded this small space, not letting a single trace of his overly strong emotions leak out.

They even erased the subtle sounds he made.

When would this end? Ni Ji didn’t know if time was even passing.

On the battlefield, surrounded by enemies, having the person he liked helping him like this…

It was the greatest torture, yet also the most intense pleasure.

He felt disgusted with himself, yet it also felt good to die like this, happily.

Above the sea, Lin Yuan’s eyes turned gold, like some cold, cruel monster, staring at the big fish tumbling in the water below.

Motionless, she effectively controlled her strength, not completely tearing apart the prey in her grasp.

She was still as calm as ever, her face expressionless, her clothes neat.

Watching him make a fool of himself, yet not showing a hint of mockery.

Clearly, she wasn’t affected by the bonding heat, which meant that he hadn’t truly become hers.

Ni Ji knew that Lin Yuan was a very kind person, she was always willing to help him, no matter what.

She was taking care of him, protecting his safety.

But he didn’t know why, at this moment, his heart ached, a sadness making him want to cry.