Recaps

Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen arrived in plague-stricken Lingnan, where Shen tried to keep his distance from the Crown Prince but found himself increasingly drawn to him. After discovering that only one room in their courtyard had a bed, Shen heard Chu Xuanzhen confess that he wanted to kiss him in every corner of the place.

• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge that the Yong'an Stronghold captives had been released, while the stronghold's surviving children left its bloody ruins.
• Five days later, Shen Susu and the party entered Lingnan despite warnings about the contagious plague and saw the city overwhelmed by sickness and death.
• Chu Xuanzhen warned Shen Yangge to avoid contact with others, and Shen began taking notes as the carriage approached a group of beggars.
• Shen Yangge urged the driver to investigate the beggars, but they fled when the carriage kept coming, revealing their attempt to extort food.
• At their courtyard lodging, Shen Yangge learned that only one room had a bed and followed Chu Xuanzhen through the rooms until he believed him.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge that he wanted to kiss him in every corner of the courtyard.

Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen met Chengnan Prefecture Magistrate Lu Guangchen after arriving to deal with the epidemic. Shen Yangge challenged Lu Guangchen’s offer of a welcoming banquet, leaving the magistrate to apologize for his mistake.

• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge they would share the courtyard’s only room with a bed, and Shen Yangge ignored his suggestive remark.
• A guard announced that Lu Guangchen, the magistrate of Chengnan Prefecture, had come to visit, and Chu Xuanzhen ordered Shen Yangge to hide his face beneath a hat.
• Chu Xuanzhen brought Shen Yangge to the reception hall and seated him beside the place of honor.
• Lu Guangchen arrived with several women and respectfully greeted Chu Xuanzhen and Shen Yangge, while Chu Xuanzhen glared when Lu Guangchen stared at Shen Yangge’s hand.
• Lu Guangchen offered a welcoming banquet, but Shen Yangge pointed out the city’s dire condition, prompting Lu Guangchen to admit his mistake and apologize.

Lu Guangchen tried to placate Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen with beauties, but they rejected his advances and he left empty-handed. Shen Yangge mistook Chu Xuanzhen’s restraint for improving madness, while Chu Xuanzhen’s savage emotions continued to boil beneath his elegant composure.

• Lu Guangchen knelt and blamed his limited abilities for failing to address the plague, while Shen Yangge doubted his excuse.
• Lu Guangchen sent beauties to serve Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen, but Shen Yangge threatened them with a sword and made them retreat.
• After Lu Guangchen left, Chu Xuanzhen held Shen Yangge’s hand until his skin hunger eased, then questioned whether Shen Yangge was unwilling to be touched.
• Shen Yangge withdrew his hand and went to arrange dinner, thinking Chu Xuanzhen’s madness might be improving.
• After Shen Yangge left, Chu Xuanzhen smashed the tea and teaware as his suppressed violent urges surged again.

Shen Yangge tried to understand Chu Xuanzhen’s sudden agitation, but Chu Xuanzhen drew him close and revealed that he knew Shen Yangge’s secret. The chapter ended with Chu Xuanzhen holding and sniffing him as Shen Yangge tensed, fearing what he might do next.

• Shen Yangge noticed two ragged children watching the courtyard before they hurried away.
• Shen Yangge returned to find the hall cleaned and the tea set gone, then wondered whether Chu Xuanzhen had lost his temper.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge that he was agitated and insisted Shen Yangge could resolve what troubled him.
• Chu Xuanzhen took Shen Yangge’s hand, sniffed his wrist, and said he knew Shen Yangge had to touch other people’s skin.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked how Shen Yangge had developed his condition while holding him close and repeatedly stroking his wrist.
• Shen Yangge denied knowing how the condition began and clenched his free hand, bracing for Chu Xuanzhen to go further.

Shen Yangge fumed over Chu Xuanzhen’s advances, then spent the night tied up after sleepwalking and climbing onto him. When he urgently needed the toilet, Chu Xuanzhen refused to untie him unless he begged, and Shen Yangge threatened to piss on him.

• Chu Xuanzhen stopped his advances when dinner arrived, and Shen Yangge left the table angry and embarrassed.
• Shen Yangge tried to sleep far from Chu Xuanzhen, but woke in the night tied up and held in Chu Xuanzhen’s arms.
• System 615 explained that Shen Yangge had sleepwalked, straddled Chu Xuanzhen, called him a pervert, and tried to go home.
• Needing the toilet, Shen Yangge called out to Chu Xuanzhen, who asked whether it was urgent but did not release him.
• Chu Xuanzhen said he might untie Shen Yangge if he begged, and Shen Yangge threatened to piss on him.

Shen Yangge escaped after biting Chu Xuanzhen, who revealed his obsessive desire for him once he was alone. Two children later relayed Chu Xuanzhen’s hidden words to Shen Yangge, leaving him stunned.

• Chu Xuanzhen freed Shen Yangge, who bit his neck and then fled before Chu Xuanzhen could stop him.
• Chu Xuanzhen told two children to relay his later remarks to Shen Yangge while concealing that he had sent them.
• Shen Yangge encountered the children in the courtyard and asked what they wanted to tell him.
• The older child repeated Chu Xuanzhen’s words, leaving Shen Yangge wide-eyed and speechless.

Shen Yangge took in He Yimo and He Nuan, but holding He Yimo’s hand failed to ease his skin hunger syndrome. As the symptoms overwhelmed him, Chu Xuanzhen pulled him back inside and shut the door.

• Shen Yangge reassured He Yimo and He Nuan that he would protect them after they overheard the conversation with Chu Xuanzhen.
• He Yimo asked Shen Yangge to take the siblings in as servants, and Shen Yangge agreed, hoping to keep them safe from the plague and gain helpers.
• Shen Yangge tried holding He Yimo’s hand to ease his skin hunger syndrome, but his symptoms worsened and he hurried to Chu Xuanzhen.
• System 615 found a bug and told Shen Yangge he could endure the episode or postpone it and seek someone else, but Shen Yangge collapsed before choosing.
• As Shen Yangge tried to leave, someone seized his wrist and pulled him back, slamming the door shut.

After easing Shen Yangge’s skin hunger syndrome, Chu Xuanzhen refused to release him and revealed that Shen Yangge was his secret. He then forcefully kissed Shen Yangge, leaving him stunned and struggling for breath.

• Chu Xuanzhen held Shen Yangge close and promised to give him whatever he wanted as long as he behaved.
• System 615 told Shen Yangge that his skin hunger punishment had been withdrawn and warned him not to break character again.
• Chu Xuanzhen dragged Shen Yangge onto a couch, demanded that he beg to be released, and refused to let him leave to fetch Physician Liu.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge that his secret was him, then kissed him repeatedly until Shen Yangge was nearly unable to breathe.

After Chu Xuanzhen lost consciousness from Shen Yangge’s headbutt, Shen Yangge received another character-breaking punishment and tried to escape with two children. Su Shang blocked the door as the punishment’s start drew near.

• Shen Yangge headbutted Chu Xuanzhen, briefly knocking out his primary consciousness and allowing Shen Yangge to break free.
• System 615 told Shen Yangge that the headbutt counted as breaking character, and a ten-day punishment was scheduled to begin soon.
• Shen Yangge tried to leave Chu Xuanzhen’s room, but Chu Xuanzhen followed him and stopped him from closing the door.
• Shen Yangge ran back to the room where the two children were staying and told them to pack so they could leave that night.
• Shen Yangge found the door blocked by Su Shang, who refused to let him leave Chu Xuanzhen, while the punishment countdown continued.

Shen Yangge received a vampire-syndrome punishment that made him crave blood and forced him to avoid sunlight, while he remained locked in a room with two children. When Chu Xuanzhen opened the door, he shielded Shen Yangge from the sunlight and ordered him to open his mouth.

• System 615 told Shen Yangge that his punishment required him to drink blood and avoid sunlight for ten days, and that he had developed red eyes and lengthening teeth.
• Shen Yangge explained his red eyes to the two children as a flare-up of porphyria, then tried unsuccessfully to get Su Shang to unlock the door.
• At dawn, Shen Yangge felt an intense hunger for blood while the two children woke beside him.
• Chu Xuanzhen opened the door, and Shen Yangge accidentally stepped into sunlight, burning his earlobe.
• Chu Xuanzhen shielded Shen Yangge with his sleeve, pulled him close, and ordered him to open his mouth.

Shen Yangge struggled to hide the vampire-like symptoms caused by his punishment while keeping his illness secret from Chu Xuanzhen. After his teeth began bleeding and his bloodlust took hold, he bit Chu Xuanzhen’s neck.

• Shen Yangge resisted Chu Xuanzhen’s demand to open his mouth, discovered that his strength had increased, and left with He Yimo and He Nuan.
• Su Shang reported Shen Yangge’s strange words from the previous night, and Chu Xuanzhen considered porphyria and his red eyes.
• Shen Yangge avoided sunlight and ate with the children, then asked He Yimo and He Nuan to keep his illness secret.
• Chu Xuanzhen entered the kitchen and asked what they would not tell; Shen Yangge’s teeth began aching and blood ran from his mouth.
• As Chu Xuanzhen checked Shen Yangge’s racing pulse and carried him, Shen Yangge was drawn to his neck and bit him.

Shen Yangge discovered that he had become a vampire-like monster after biting Chu Xuanzhen and drinking his blood, while Chu Xuanzhen questioned him and indulged his behavior. Their exchange was interrupted by reports of political activity, and Shen Yangge asked to visit the common people.

• Shen Yangge realized he had bitten Chu Xuanzhen and drunk his poisonous blood, and worried that he would become poisoned too.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked whether his blood had tasted good and pressed Shen Yangge about his supposed illness.
• When Chu Xuanzhen touched Shen Yangge's fang, Shen Yangge felt strange urges and recoiled from the sunlight.
• A hidden guard reported that Lu Guangchen was gathering men and that a group sent by the Eighth Prince had arrived; Chu Xuanzhen ordered surveillance on Lu Guangchen and said Little Eight was coming.
• Shen Yangge asked Chu Xuanzhen for permission to go see how the common people were faring.

Shen Yangge tried to persuade Chu Xuanzhen to let him investigate the plague and visit Physician Liu, but Chu Xuanzhen agreed only on the condition that he would go too. After treating Shen Yangge’s sunburn, Chu Xuanzhen exposed his neck, and Shen Yangge struggled to resist the urge to drink his blood again.

• Shen Yangge asked Chu Xuanzhen to let him go outside and visit Physician Liu, hoping to learn about the plague and plan an escape.
• Chu Xuanzhen agreed to let Shen Yangge go but insisted on accompanying him, despite Shen Yangge’s protests.
• Chu Xuanzhen took Shen Yangge to the bedroom and applied ointment to his badly sunburned arm.
• Shen Yangge noticed the bite marks on Chu Xuanzhen’s neck and fought his growing urge to drink his blood.
• Chu Xuanzhen tugged open his collar and leaned closer while applying the ointment, drawing Shen Yangge’s gaze to his neck.

Shen Yangge struggled to resist his hunger for Chu Xuanzhen’s blood while tending to the Crown Prince’s wound. After Shen Yangge said he would accept human blood from the servants, Chu Xuanzhen seized him and bit his neck.

• Shen Yangge nearly bit Chu Xuanzhen while Chu Xuanzhen treated his sunburned hand, but Chu Xuanzhen stopped him and asked how often he needed blood.
• Shen Yangge claimed his blood ailment had only troubled him in childhood and that his mother had cared for him.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked Shen Yangge to apply ointment to his neck, and Shen Yangge hurriedly did so while suppressing his craving.
• When Chu Xuanzhen asked what blood Shen Yangge used to drink, Shen Yangge first said animal blood, then changed his answer to human blood.
• Chu Xuanzhen offered to have servants find human blood, and Shen Yangge accepted before Chu Xuanzhen grabbed him and bit his neck.

Shen Yangge recoiled from animal blood and refused the suspicious human blood Chu Xuanzhen offered, realizing the Crown Prince was testing him. Chu Xuanzhen discarded the bowl and exposed his own neck, leaving Shen Yangge stunned by the sweet scent of his blood.

• Chu Xuanzhen bit Shen Yangge's neck, then praised the taste of his blood, while Shen Yangge wondered whether the Crown Prince was teasing him.
• Shen Yangge spat out animal blood and recoiled from its foul taste.
• Chu Xuanzhen brought Shen Yangge a bowl of blackish human blood and ordered him to drink it.
• Shen Yangge refused the blood and claimed he no longer remembered drinking it when he was young.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked whether Shen Yangge had ever drunk anyone else's blood, then threw the bowl out the window after Shen Yangge said no.
• Chu Xuanzhen opened his collar and exposed his neck, while Shen Yangge sensed the sweet scent of his blood.

Shen Yangge struggled to resist Chu Xuanzhen’s increasingly forceful kisses, then accepted an offer to drink blood from him. After feeding, Shen Yangge learned that the foul bowl of blood Chu Xuanzhen had previously offered had come from a corpse.

• Shen Yangge moved toward Chu Xuanzhen’s exposed neck, but Chu Xuanzhen caught his chin and kissed him instead.
• Chu Xuanzhen pressed Shen Yangge to keep his eyes open and questioned him about whether the kiss had been good and why he had seemed distracted.
• Shen Yangge made an excuse about feeling tired, and a hidden guard’s report interrupted the awkward moment between them.
• System 615 urged Shen Yangge to choose another target for his death-seeking mission, and Chu Xuanzhen offered him blood.
• Shen Yangge drank from Chu Xuanzhen’s neck, and Chu Xuanzhen wiped the blood from his lips and offered to let him drink whenever he wanted.
• Chu Xuanzhen revealed that the bowl of blood he had previously offered Shen Yangge had come from a corpse, and Shen Yangge asked him not to repeat the joke.

When Shen Yangge’s courtyard caught fire, he rescued He Yimo and He Nuan, then found Chu Xuanzhen hiding in a wardrobe during a bout of madness. They escaped together, and Shen Yangge explained Chu Xuanzhen’s condition to the children while Chu Xuanzhen silently warned He Yimo not to reveal what he had seen.

• Shen Yangge woke to fighting and discovered people setting the courtyard ablaze while Chu Xuanzhen was missing.
• Shen Yangge led He Yimo and He Nuan toward the back gate, then returned to search for Chu Xuanzhen.
• Shen Yangge found Chu Xuanzhen sitting dazed in a wardrobe and urged him to escape the burning building.
• When falling debris separated them, Shen Yangge called to Chu Xuanzhen and threatened to drink someone else’s blood and marry a woman; Chu Xuanzhen then came toward him and kicked debris aside.
• Shen Yangge coaxed Chu Xuanzhen out of the courtyard, and the two joined the children safely outside.
• Shen Yangge told the children Chu Xuanzhen had been drugged, while Chu Xuanzhen signaled He Yimo to keep quiet.

Shen Yangge took Chu Xuanzhen away from the children to examine him, but Chu Xuanzhen grabbed his throat and forced him to drink his blood. Chu Xuanzhen then licked his own blood from his hand, while Shen Yangge wondered when he would return to normal.

• Shen Yangge found a hidden place for He Yimo and He Nuan to shelter while he took Chu Xuanzhen away to investigate the drug affecting him.
• He Yimo warned He Nuan not to upset Chu Xuanzhen, and Su Shang moved farther away from the children.
• Shen Yangge taunted the unresponsive Chu Xuanzhen and tried to pinch the back of his neck, but Chu Xuanzhen grabbed him by the throat.
• Chu Xuanzhen held Shen Yangge in place as Shen Yangge bit and drank from his arm, then licked the blood from his own hand.
• Shen Yangge wondered whether his bite had turned Chu Xuanzhen into a vampire, and System 615 assured him that the database and Supreme God had made no elementary mistake.

After drinking Shen Yangge’s blood, Chu Xuanzhen remained in a delirious state and demanded a kiss, then pinned Shen Yangge to a wall and kissed him. The next morning, Shen Yangge woke beneath Chu Xuanzhen’s robe and walked toward him as Chu Xuanzhen watched from a wall.

• Chu Xuanzhen refused to leave and demanded a kiss from Shen Yangge.
• When Shen Yangge said he would resign and marry, Chu Xuanzhen pinned him to a wall and kissed him repeatedly.
• Shen Yangge returned to his place, sat down to rest, and soon fell asleep.
• Chu Xuanzhen covered the sleeping Shen Yangge with his outer robe, gathered him into his arms, and played with his hair.
• At dawn, Shen Yangge woke beneath Chu Xuanzhen’s robe and saw him watching the sunrise.
• After He Yimo woke and lowered his head in fear of Chu Xuanzhen, Shen Yangge approached the Crown Prince.

Shen Yangge realized he might have fallen for Chu Xuanzhen, though he resisted admitting it. After Shen Yangge drank Chu Xuanzhen’s blood, Chu Xuanzhen kissed him and took him back to a place sheltered from the sunlight.

• Chu Xuanzhen pretended to fall from the wall, and Shen Yangge reached out to catch him before Chu Xuanzhen landed safely and sheltered him from the sun.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked whether Shen Yangge had been worried about him, and Shen Yangge denied it while inwardly wondering if he had begun to love him.
• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge he would never escape his grasp, then offered his neck for Shen Yangge to drink from.
• After Shen Yangge finished drinking, Chu Xuanzhen kissed him, and Shen Yangge instinctively clutched his robe.
• Chu Xuanzhen took Shen Yangge back to the courtyard and settled him in a dark place away from the sunlight.

Shen Yangge admitted to himself that he was beginning to like Chu Xuanzhen, but he still planned to escape rather than risk staying with him. When Chu Xuanzhen returned and showed him unexpected tenderness, he asked whether Shen Yangge would mind being kissed in public.

• Shen Yangge told System 615 that he might be falling for Chu Xuanzhen, then worried that a relationship with no future would bring misery.
• Shen Yangge considered provoking Chu Xuanzhen into executing him by staging a secret affair, but rejected the plan because it could endanger an innocent person.
• Shen Yangge decided to leave or resign once they returned to the capital, believing he had to escape to survive.
• System 615 admitted that strange, increasingly frequent data problems had surrounded the mission and that it did not understand why Chu Xuanzhen had not killed Shen Yangge.
• Chu Xuanzhen returned with a new black gauze hat, placed it on Shen Yangge, and held an umbrella over him at their new lodgings.
• Chu Xuanzhen asked Shen Yangge whether he would be upset if Chu Xuanzhen kissed him in front of everyone.

After Chu Xuanzhen left the city for two days, Shen Yangge stayed with Physician Liu while secretly planning to escape. By the next day, he had persuaded Su Shang to let him accompany Physician Liu outside the city, but an appalling sight in an emergency ward halted the chapter.

• Chu Xuanzhen told Shen Yangge he was leaving for two days and arranged for Su Shang and other guards to protect him.
• Shen Yangge visited Physician Liu and asked to assist him, while secretly studying the routes out of the city.
• Shen Yangge redirected Su Shang's attention by getting him to help with plague relief and medicine.
• The next morning, Su Shang agreed to accompany Shen Yangge and Physician Liu outside the city.
• Physician Liu took Shen Yangge to an emergency ward, where Shen Yangge saw something that nearly made him vomit.

Shen Yangge treated plague patients with Physician Liu, then faced an attack by County Magistrate Lu Guangchen, who had allied with the Seventh Prince. The townspeople protected Shen Yangge as Lu’s soldiers closed in, and Shen Yangge considered asking Chu Xuanzhen’s shadow guard for help.

• Shen Yangge helped Physician Liu treat critically ill patients and comforted a man afraid he would die.
• Lu Guangchen confronted Shen Yangge and ordered his soldiers to seize him, while Su Shang fought to protect him.
• Shen Yangge deduced that Lu Guangchen had allied himself with the Seventh Prince, who believed the Crown Prince had been captured.
• The townspeople shielded Shen Yangge and Physician Liu, forcing the soldiers to hesitate as Lu Guangchen ordered them to kill everyone.
• Shen Yangge worried Lu Guangchen would cut off the food supply, suppressed a sudden urge to drink blood, and heard System 615 suggest asking the shadow guard for help.

Shen Yangge overcame his worsening blood craving after Su Shang gave him blood supplied by His Highness, then rallied the plague-stricken townspeople against Lu Guangchen’s corrupt officials. The townspeople split into teams to gather supplies and scout, while Shen Yangge stayed in the city and chose to investigate Lu Guangchen’s residence.

• Su Shang caught Shen Yangge as he weakened and poured blood from a bottle into his mouth, reviving him.
• Lu Guangchen withdrew after the townspeople stood up to him, and an ill man’s son thanked Shen Yangge and offered his sister as a concubine.
• Shen Yangge addressed the townspeople, promised to fight Lu Guangchen, and helped organize teams to scout the residence, city gates, granary, and medicine storehouse.
• Su Shang and the townspeople persuaded Shen Yangge not to leave the city, so he decided to join the team scouting Lu Guangchen’s residence.

Shen Yangge and Su Shang infiltrated Lu Guangchen's residence to seek evidence of his alliance with the Seventh Prince, then set a fire to draw him away and rescue Liang Yu. As they escaped, Shen Yangge's explosive plan caused a blast inside the residence, leaving Lu Guangchen panicked.

• Shen Yangge and Su Shang scouted Lu Guangchen's residence and learned his death warriors made an assassination attempt risky.
• They entered the residence and found Lu Guangchen entertaining Liang Yu, who silently noticed Shen Yangge.
• Shen Yangge and Su Shang searched Lu Guangchen's room for evidence and plans, then set fire to its furnishings.
• Shen Yangge and Su Shang invited Liang Yu to leave with them while Lu Guangchen rushed to his burning room.
• Lu Guangchen chased the group, but Shen Yangge pulled Liang Yu over the wall and taunted Lu Guangchen.
• An explosion erupted inside the residence as Shen Yangge, Su Shang, and Liang Yu fled, and Lu Guangchen scrambled for help.