The Wandering Samurai and his Beloved General (BL)

The swamp had turned into a terrifying place after the mages summoned more fog. It thickened to such a degree that the sun's rays could barely squeeze through.

Speaking of the crocodiles, they had noticed that bodies sometimes appeared from above for them to snack on. Shockingly, they could even differentiate between what was food and what was the feeder.

By the time the sun reached its peak, the ambushers found they no longer had to worry about random crocodiles leaping at them for a chomp.

In fact, some of them even flicked their tails to create loud noises, giving the ambushers the opportunity to grab an unsuspecting scout.

The Silver Dragons were utterly baffled.

They could only blame the curse for being too sinister.

Night had fallen once again, and the entire swamp suddenly went quiet.

"They're sending a battalion over."

Baili reported after landing firmly on the branch where Lanling and Haruki were perched. Ever since he had temporarily taken the right-hand position, he had been constantly relaying information about the movements of the Black Pythons.

It was unfortunate that he'd lost a couple of imps, but information still seemed to flow to his side.

It really made Haruki wonder just how many imps Baili had under his command. "They got impatient so quickly?" he wondered aloud.

Baili shook his head. "I suspect they already believe the army is hiding in the swamp. They just want confirmation."

"Black Pythons only see numbers," Lanling stated, his eyes drifting from the distance to the crocodiles. "They think losing a battalion won't change anything so they sent them to confirm our location."

"We have roughly two thousand soldiers against their ten thousand and only about six hundred in the swamp while the rest are on the outskirts," Baili's face turned pale. "Even I'm shaken, general."

Lanling calmly pointed downward. "What are you so afraid of? We have reinforcements."

Baili and Haruki looked down. Since they were above the fog, they could see what those within it could not.

A shiver ran down their spines.

Through the thin parts of the fog, they no longer saw the murky depths of the swamp. Instead, the scaly skin of the crocodiles covered every inch, and some were even lying on top of their kin. Their population seemed to have spiraled out of control.

"Fuck...! When did this happen??" Baili cursed in shock.

Haruki jolted his head to look at Lanling with wide eyes, equally surprised. He hadn't noticed anything unusual either. Wasn't it still possible to tread the waters last night? With this many crocodiles... you would walk from land and not even notice that the ground beneath your feet was no longer dirt.

Lanling playfully shrugged. "Didn't we feed them?"

Baili, still in disbelief, nodded his head in response. "Exponential growth?"

"Sort of."

"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the crocodiles are one entity," Haruki laughed in jest, but his laughter abruptly cut short when he met Lanling's smiling gaze. "...no way."

"Don't get too excited. If the ten thousand Black Pythons can't control this population, it'll be our turn to take responsibility." Lanling patted Baili on the shoulder, who had long turned to stone from the shock. "Have the mages and archers ready. I doubt the battalion will come in quietly."

Baili swallowed all his questions—"...Yes, general"—and left in haste.

Now that it was only the two of them, Haruki approached Lanling and embraced him from behind, casually resting his chin on his shoulder while side-eyeing Lanling's reaction.

A cheerful smile soon appeared on Haruki's face when he noticed that Lanling didn't seem to mind.

Lanling felt helpless.

He was truly weak to Haruki's constant probing and could only indulge him. "What are you thinking?"

"Hm? Nothing." Haruki nuzzled into the crook of Lanling's shoulder.

And Lanling's ears reddened from the contact. "Good."

For a long time, Haruki held Lanling in his embrace, content. It was quiet between them, but they both took pleasure in the moment.

"Lanling, can I ask you a question?"

"As long as it's not about the past."

Haruki paused. "How do you know all this?"

"Which one?" Lanling slightly turned towards Haruki, his lips almost brushing Haruki's forehead.

Haruki gathered his bearings before continuing the conversation. Lanling's lips had entered his vision and were dangerously close.

"...The curse and the fact that the crocodiles were one entity all along."

"..."

Haruki chuckled softly. "You can't tell me?"

Lanling shook his head and sighed. "I'm thinking."

Who knew how long it had taken for Lanling to answer him, but Haruki had long since been distracted by the fact that Lanling's weight had shifted toward him—their bodies no longer leaving gaps, their warmths merging as one.

His heart melted as he grew more confident and embraced him tighter.

"I have an older sister who is a cleric under the God Celestina," Lanling began. "She warned me about some of the curses in Qiyuan that I must avoid."

Haruki listened intently, immediately catching on that Lanling wasn't telling him everything. But that didn't matter—he was simply happy to know more about Lanling.

"Qiyuan's wilderness is very dangerous lately. A creature split into numerous crocodiles is starting to become common."

Qiyuan was the name the people living in this world called it. Legend had it that the one who named it came from another universe entirely. Some argued it was the Council of Mages. The more nature-obsessed ones said the world named itself.

"Does this creature have a name?"

"This..."

Lanling groaned at his question. He turned around completely, his hand naturally settling around Haruki's waist as he gazed into Haruki's eyes with reluctance.

Haruki was startled by his actions and almost forgot to hug him back.

Cautiously, he spread his hands over Lanling's lower back in response, his gaze absentmindedly meeting Lanling's.

"Are you that curious?" Lanling asked, looking down in deep thought, his brows furrowing as he pondered whether to tell Haruki or not.

Haruki couldn't care less.

Gently, he captured Lanling's chin with one hand and tilted his head upwards while the other hand pulled his waist closer.

"I'm more curious about the taste of your lips."

Lanling gasped, stunned.

A blush rapidly spread across his cheeks as his eyes trembled under Haruki's burning gaze.

Haruki, on the other hand, didn't appear flustered by his actions. He stubbornly stared at Lanling's lips, as though that single act was the only thing holding him back.

Lanling pursed his lips before finally speaking.

"...If you're that curious, then why not taste it?"