Wenzhi immediately covered his palm over Xinyuan’s eyes, pushing his head back. "This is entirely the wrong time and place for this conversation. I need to keep my head clear and use my brain properly if we’re going to survive this. So shut up."

"But can we do it again?" Xinyuan breathed. "You can even fuck me this time."

Wenzhi couldn’t believe his ears. He slowly removed his hand from Xinyuan’s face, staring at him in utter disbelief. Xinyuan stared right back, completely serious, waiting for an answer.

"You would really like that?" Wenzhi asked, his voice dropping.

"So much," Xinyuan smiled.

Wenzhi took that as a challenge. "If we aren’t killed in the next hour, then fine. I’ll fuck you until you can’t walk. Now can you shut your mouth and stop looking at me with those—"

He wasn’t even able to finish his words because Xinyuan immediately stole a kiss from him. A deep, filthy, hungry kiss that sent raw electricity straight through Wenzhi’s veins.

It blanked his head and scattered his thoughts, his entire being focusing on how Xinyuan’s tongue-fucked his mouth.

Wenzhi breathed into his mouth, returning the kiss with equal hunger. Xinyuan groaned, catching the lingering, cherry-sweet taste of Wenzhi’s lollipop mixed with the sour undertone of the wine he had just drank.

Wenzhi reached out, fisting Xinyuan’s hair from behind to pull him closer. Xinyuan gripped the fabric at the side of Wenzhi’s shirt.

"Wait..." Wenzhi rose and climbed directly onto Xinyuan’s lap. He straddled him fully, their breaths turning ragged and even more filthy as Xinyuan clamped a highly possessive grip around Wenzhi’s waist, locking him in place.

Right at that moment, the air inside the private booth transformed into razor-sharp spears made out of pure wind, lashing right at them. But Xinyuan’s dark mist was faster. The shadows erupted from his skin, solidifying into dense shields that slashed through the oncoming solid winds.

Wenzhi became abruptly aware of the combat. Xinyuan’s mist was actively battling an aggressive, external ability, but the Esper had absolutely no intention of breaking away from the kiss.

Wenzhi wanted to use his brain, but his brain was completely trying to reboot as Xinyuan bit down hard on his lower lip, leaning back just a bit to let them catch their breath.

The dark mist swirled around their booth like a white-hot hurricane, shielding them completely from view. On the outside of the curtains, the mist had spread out like massive tentacles, crushing the wind spears and shattering the other weapons the invisible attacker was creating.

"They noticed us," Wenzhi breathed against his lips, his grey eyes blown wide.

"They can wait," Xinyuan whispered, and took Wenzhi’s lips again.

Wenzhi let out a breathless laugh directly into the kiss. "You are insane...."

His words melted into a drawn-out moan as Xinyuan slid his bare hand up underneath Wenzhi’s shirt, caressing the warm skin of his torso before pressing his thumb firmly against his hardened nipple.

The intensity deepened the kiss, and their raw, synchronized wavelengths brushed and mixed against each other with ease, flooding the imprint with pure adrenaline.

"Hmm. But you seem to like it," Xinyuan whispered, breaking the contact again.

Wenzhi frowned at him, a flush creeping over his freckled face that only made Xinyuan smile wider.

Finally, Xinyuan let his hands slip to Wenzhi’s hips, his expression sharpening as the heavy combat vibrations outside the booth intensified.

"Fine," Xinyuan murmured, his eyes flashing red for a split second. "Important matters. Got it."

Wenzhi gripped Xinyuan’s shoulder as he slid off his lap, bracing himself against the couch. He reached up, roughly ruffling Xinyuan’s dark hair, which made the Esper smile.

But the moment Xinyuan rose to his full height, the smile vanished.

His dark mist immediately imploded, then violently burst outward. The shockwave tore through the entire structure of the club.

Sharp, jagged cracks spider-webbed across the walls in an instant, triggering a wave of panicked screams from the packed dance floor.

Chaos erupted as terrified people trampled over each other to sprint toward the exits. The building began to crumble, deep fissures tearing down the walls and spreading all the way out to the road outside, caving the street in before finally halting.

Out in the neon-lit parking lot, six Espers managed to scramble clear of the wreckage. Their faces were twisted into distinct scowls of rage and shock.

On the side of one female Esper’s neck, a vivid tattoo of a red drop of blood stood out under the streetlights.

Among them stood Shao Jingxin, still maintaining his stolen guise as Ru Yi.

"How the fuck did they know we were here? You bastard!" one of the Espers snapped, turning fiercely on Jingxin.

"Do not scream at me, bitch," Jingxin snapped right back. The voice belonged to Ru Yi, but his eyes had bled into a predatory gold. "I do not know how this happened either."

"Why isn’t Youran coming out?" another Esper demanded, scanning the rubble.

Before anyone could answer, the dark mist surrounding the shattered building began swirling directly in front of the group. The shadows sucked clean back into a single point, materializing into Xinyuan. His left eye burned red, locking instantly onto the fake Ru Yi.

"You really outdid yourself, Big Brother."

Shao Jingxin gritted his teeth.

Right then, a thick, grey mist shot out from the debris, stretching and snapping toward Xinyuan.

Xinyuan reacted instantly, clashing his own dark mist against the assault to neutralize it.

As the grey mist cleared, Wu Youran stood there, her golden hair disheveled and her chest heaving. Blood trickled down her forehead from a fresh wound.

"Shao Xinyuan. Finally." she breathed, wiping the blood from her brow with the back of her hand.

Xinyuan didn’t waste breath on a response and a sickening crack of fracturing bone echoed, making Youran screech in agony as her left arm twisted.

Before she could drop, Xinyuan was directly in her space and lifted her clean off the ground by her neck.

The other Old Blood Espers immediately ignited their abilities all at once, launching concentrated blasts straight at Xinyuan.

Desperate and panicking, Wu Youran summoned a massive burst of her grey mist, slamming it into Xinyuan’s chest.

The impact forced him back just enough to loosen his grip, sending her crashing to the dirt. She clutched her bruised throat, coughing and breathing hard, knowing she had been a single second away from a snapped spine.

The remaining four Espers, all high-tier SS ranks, charged Xinyuan simultaneously to lock him down.

Shao Jingxin didn’t join them. Instead, he rushed straight to Wu Youran’s side, his form shifting as he discarded the female Guide’s skin, reverting back into his original form as Shao Jingxin.

While Xinyuan fought the four Espers at once, Wu Youran gritted her teeth, hauled herself up, and delivered a vicious, stinging slap right across Jingxin’s face.

"I told you to be absolutely careful! But of course, you were sloppy enough to get caught again!" she hissed.

Jingxin’s head snapped to the side. He went entirely still, the skin of his cheek flaring a dark red.

Slowly, he turned his golden gaze back to Youran, his expression hardening.

"And after all your damn bragging," he whispered, his voice dripping with malice, "he almost broke your neck."