Fu Jing had fallen asleep with his bandaged arms folded on the table, his head resting on his hands. When he woke up, he was surprised to find himself wrapped in a fur cover.

The morning air was cool and foggy, the grass blades and leaves around him blanketed in frost.

Fu Jing had stormed out of the bath without putting on his boots, and his hair and body had still been wet when he’d left the palace. He shuddered slightly, pulling the fur cover tighter. As he moved his arms, he noticed that his body was a little numb. Just like the surrounding greenery, he was covered in a thin layer of frost.

Even though he’d just taken a bath yesterday, the event at the hot spring and the morning dew on his skin made him long for another one. He hadn’t had any time to wash the blood off his body, but the very thought of entering the bath filled him with dread.

As he pondered his dilemma, a deep voice suddenly sounded behind him.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Fu Jing startled. He only begrudgingly turned to face the owner of that voice—his despised demon with the reddish-brown hair and the two black horns.

“I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth to conceal his trembling jaw.

“You should take a bath to heat up.”

“Piss off.”

“Hu– …Fu Jing, I won’t hurt you if you stay in my bed. I promise.”

“Yeah, right. Your word means shit.”

“Have I ever broken my promise?”

“You JUST did! Last night, remember?!”

Xuan Qi placed a hand on his hip and cocked an eyebrow. “I promised I’d never harm you in bed. And did I?”

Fu Jing fell silent. Thinking back on it, the demon was right.

A violent shiver ran through Fu Jing’s body. The cold had finally caught up with his senses.

“S-So… if I s-stay in your b-bed, y-you won’t t-torture me?” he asked, unable to control his trembling jaw any longer.

“Yes.”

Fu Jing jumped up to run straight for that bed, but his legs forced him to his knees. Still weak from the night before and numb from the freezing cold, they couldn’t support his weight. Fu Jing dropped to the ground, rubbing his forehead in embarrassment.

Xuan Qi took a step forward. “Want me to carry you?”

But Fu Jing stopped him right there. “Stay where you are!” he hissed. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

Heeding Fu Jing’s command, Xuan Qi retracted his foot. He watched Fu Jing struggle to get up, then slowly hobble past him.

Xuan Qi couldn’t help but chuckle.