Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

Chet stared at Cheng Yu's transparent body, his eyes growing brighter. He was calculating in his mind that he had to develop that spice as soon as possible, and then get Cheng Yu to agree to let him study it properly. The last thing that had interested him this much was the holy water from the Holy Spring, but Evand only brought it back to him much later, and that was only because Roshke happened to be going to the Holy Spring and brought some along; otherwise, Evand might never have remembered that he had this task. Although he wasn't angry, the waiting was really unpleasant.

Cheng Yu is different. If he agrees, he will definitely fulfill his request in a short time. Thinking of this, Chet could no longer contain his excitement and hurriedly ran back to his grocery store, plunging into his research.

With Cheng Yu's arrival, Snow's mood worsened. He noticed that Cheng Yu left behind puddles of clear, slimy liquid wherever he went, which looked disgusting, was difficult to clean, and ruined the tavern's environment. If it got everywhere, who would want to come and drink?

Seeing Cheng Yu's strange expression, Victor stood there blankly, unsure of what to say.

He quickly realized what was happening and turned to leave the tavern. He needed to call Hakan back from outside where he was clearing out monsters. Cheng Yu was back, and Hakan would definitely be happy; after all, Cheng Yu was his…partner. However, he wasn't sure if Hakan would still like Cheng Yu now.

Snow, seeing the ever-increasing amount of slime on the ground, finally lost his patience and kicked Cheng Yu out. "Cheng Yu, in your current state, you'd better not stay in the tavern. Find somewhere else to stay."

Cheng Yu awkwardly scratched his transparent head with his sticky hands, "I... didn't want this to happen either..."

Kicked out of the tavern, Cheng Yu wandered aimlessly through the streets. He looked down at his transparent body, thick liquid still dripping from it, and felt a wave of dejection. In his current state, forget about finding a place to stay; he'd probably be shunned even if he got close to someone.

Left with no other choice, he walked to the grove behind the tavern and found a clearing to sit down. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a soft glow on his translucent body.

"Sigh..." Cheng Yu sighed and looked up at the sky. A few white clouds drifted leisurely in the azure sky, forming a stark contrast with his current situation.

Just then, he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw Evand.

"Cheng Yu? What are you doing here?" Evan asked in surprise. He recognized Cheng Yu at a glance, even though he looked a little strange.

Cheng Yu's eyes lit up when he saw Evand. "Evand! That's great, you're back!"

He quickly told Evand what had happened in Hell City and asked him to help him find a place to stay. Of course, he still kept the details of the soul splitting and the parasitic slime a secret.

After listening to Cheng Yu's story, Evand was silent for a moment, then said, "How about this, you stay in my room for now. I'll find a way to restore you to your original state."

Cheng Yu nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Evand."

“There’s no need for such formalities between us.” Evand smiled, then led Cheng Yu back to the Spear Tavern.

Snow frowned when he saw Evand bring Cheng Yu back. "Evand, why did you bring him back? He looks like this..."

“Dad, Cheng Yu is my friend. I can’t watch him go homeless,” Evand interrupted Snow. “I’ll take good care of him and make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble for the tavern.”

Snow sighed helplessly. "Fine, whatever. But you'd better make sure he doesn't make a mess of the tavern."

“I promise,” Evand said firmly.

And so, Cheng Yu settled down temporarily in Evand's room. He knew he had to find that special spice as soon as possible in order to completely escape the shadow of Hell City and regain his freedom.

Snow watched Cheng Yu disappear around the corner of the stairs with Evand, and sighed helplessly. Then his gaze fell on the trail of sticky slime on the floor, and he immediately felt a headache coming on. He looked around, wanting to ask Witt for help cleaning it up, but Witt had vanished without a trace. It seemed he'd have to do the cleaning himself.

He grabbed a broom and rag from the bathroom and resignedly began cleaning up the slime residue on the floor and stairs. The slime was incredibly sticky, making it quite a chore to clean. Snow couldn't help but complain, "That kid, of all things to do, he had to become a slime! Now the whole tavern is covered in this sticky mess..."

After a while, the tavern door was pushed open with tremendous force, making a loud "bang" that warped the door frame. Snow looked up and saw a red figure rush in—it was Hakan. Seeing the damaged door, Snow's headache worsened, and he glared angrily at Hakan.

Feeling a little guilty under Snow's gaze, Hakan quickly said, "The door... I'll fix it later!" After saying that, he rushed upstairs without looking back. All he wanted now was to see his partner, Cheng Yu, as soon as possible.

A while later, Victor returned to the tavern, panting. Seeing the broken door and Snow cleaning up, he immediately understood what had happened. He went to Snow, took the rag from his hand, and said, "Boss, I'll do this work. You go and rest."

Snow glanced at Witt with satisfaction, thinking that Witt was more reliable. He handed the rag to Witt, turned and walked to the bar, ready to continue his work.

Meanwhile, in Evand's room on the second floor, Cheng Yu sat anxiously on the edge of the bed. He looked at his transparent body, his heart filled with anxiety and unease. He didn't know how to explain everything to Hakan, nor whether Hakan would accept him as he was now.

"Dong dong dong..."

The knocking interrupted Cheng Yu's thoughts. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then said, "Come in."

The door opened, and Hakan walked in. He immediately saw Cheng Yu sitting on the edge of the bed and froze.

"Cheng Yu... what is this...?" Hakan stared at Cheng Yu's transparent body, speechless with astonishment.

Cheng Yu forced a smile, "Hakan, I..."

Before he could explain, Hakan rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "Chengyu, I'm so glad you're alright! I was so worried about you!"

Cheng Yu was startled by Hakan's sudden hug. Feeling Hakan's warm embrace, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

“Hakan, I…” Cheng Yu choked up, wanting to explain everything, but didn’t know where to begin.

"Shh..." Hakan gently patted Cheng Yu's back. "Don't say anything. I know you must have been through a lot. Now that you're back, that's good."

Cheng Yu could no longer hold back, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Although Hakan used to be very unruly, he now seems like a really good man, but he is always so unworthy outside. Cheng Yu suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

He held Hakan tightly, feeling this long-lost warmth and sense of security. He knew that no matter what he became, Hakan would always be by his side, never leaving him.

The two embraced tightly for a long time before separating. Looking at Cheng Yu's completely new, transparent body, Hakan couldn't help but conjure up some strange images in his mind. He swallowed hard, suppressing his desire. He had to wait for Cheng Yu's consent before doing *that*, after all, this appearance was indeed somewhat...unacceptable.

Evand watched the two of them being so lovey-dovey, his face turning green. These two were actually going so far as to openly flaunt their affection right in front of him—it was simply too much! He thought to himself, if Nexus were here, or even Roshke. Thinking of Roshke, Evand felt a deep emptiness. Roshke had already returned to his original world, and the two of them would probably never see each other again. Although they had only spent a few days together, their feelings had already transcended friendship and blossomed into love.

But now wasn't the time to think about that. Seeing the two lovers still exchanging glances, Evand's temper flared instantly. "Since you two are so close, you don't need to stay in my room! Find yourselves a place to stay in the tavern!"

Two small, empty circles immediately appeared on Cheng Yu's slime face, indicating his shock. Then, the two circles turned into a slit, and large tears welled up from it. "Evind! We're best friends! How could you say such a thing?"

Hakan quickly reassured him, "Evand, don't be angry. We're just too excited because we've just reunited. Besides, it's not safe for Cheng Yu to stay outside in his current state."

Looking at the sobbing Cheng Yu and Hakan chiming in, Evand's anger gradually subsided. "Alright, alright, stop crying, really. But you two have to promise not to... well, you know what I mean."

Cheng Yu and Hakan nodded in agreement.

"Then you can stay in my room for a few more days until Cheng Yu recovers." Evans finally relented.

"That's great! Thank you, Evand!" Cheng Yu burst into laughter through his tears and hugged Evand tightly.

Although he could live in the basement room with Hakan, that would mean Witt would have to share a room with Snow, which would make the basement room dirty. The environment in the basement isn't very good, and if the slime is added, it would be even worse.

However, Hakan still has to stay with Witt, and Chengyu and Evande can only sleep together at night. After all, if Chengyu and Hakan are in this room, where will Evande go?

"Hey, hey, don't get all that slime on me!" Evan quickly dodged away, looking at Cheng Yu's transparent body with disgust.

Cheng Yu smiled awkwardly and quickly released Evans.

Hakan watched Cheng Yu and Evand playfully bickering, a gentle smile spreading across his face. He walked over to Cheng Yu and gently took his hand. "Let's go, let's rest in the room for a bit."

Cheng Yu nodded, then looked at Evande beside him, his meaning clear: he wanted the other to leave for a moment, leaving them some private space.

Evans shook his head helplessly as he watched the two begin to flirt again. He turned and went downstairs to help Snow clean the tavern.

Back in their room, Cheng Yu and Hakan sat side-by-side on the bed. Hakan looked at Cheng Yu's transparent body, his eyes filled with heartache. "Cheng Yu, you must have suffered a lot while you were gone, right?"

Cheng Yu nodded. "Yeah, but that's all in the past now. Luckily, I still have you, Hakan."

Hakan gently stroked Cheng Yu's cheek, "From now on, I will always stay by your side and never let you suffer again."

Cheng Yu held Hakan's hand with emotion, and the two looked at each other affectionately, their eyes filled with love.

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted the sweet atmosphere between the two.

"Please come in," Cheng Yu said.

The door opened, and Snow walked in. He was carrying a steaming cup of honey water, which he handed to Cheng Yu. "Cheng Yu, have some honey water to replenish your fluids."

Cheng Yu took the honey water and smiled gratefully, "Thank you, Uncle Snow."

Snow looked at Cheng Yu, his eyes filled with feigned affection. "Cheng Yu, you've suffered in Hell City. From now on, consider Spear Tavern your home. If you need anything, just let me know."

Cheng Yu instantly felt like he was being targeted by a ferocious beast. He swallowed hard, though he didn't have any saliva right now. He knew very well that Snow couldn't possibly be that nice to him unless the other party suddenly found a way to greatly increase the tavern's customer traffic through him.

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Snow. Just tell me what you're thinking so I can die knowing why," Cheng Yu said sincerely.

Snow smiled, a meaningful look on his face. "Hey, I can't disturb your time alone together. I'll tell you after you're done flirting." With that, he turned and left the room.

Hakan knew this was definitely not a good thing. Although Snow wouldn't do anything too drastic to them, he was their boss, and Hakan had just broken the door, making their situation even worse. He stretched out his dragon claw and gently patted Cheng Yu, comforting his darling, though his hands were covered in slime, he didn't care.

Meanwhile, Snow came down from the second floor. Evand looked at him suspiciously and asked what he had been doing upstairs. Snow shook his head and said he had just thought of something happy, telling Evand not to worry about adult matters. He then picked up a bottle of clear liquid from the bar and shook it, a faint smile on his face.

Just moments ago, while he and Vitt were cleaning up the slime, some slime from the rag accidentally dripped into a customer's drink. It was meant to be an accident, but the customer didn't even notice. After drinking the slime-mixed drink, he excitedly went to the bar, wanting to order another of this "special drink." He claimed it was the most perfect drink he had ever had. The other patrons in the bar also noticed this. They all knew this guy was usually very stingy, only ordering one drink at a time; the fact that he was ordering another for this drink was enough to show that it was truly extraordinary.

So now, Snow no longer cared that Cheng Yu's slime would soil the tavern; he wished Cheng Yu could produce more slime to make this special drink. He could almost see a steady stream of gold coins flowing towards him, his eyes gleaming with greed.

"Witt!" Snow called out excitedly, "Quickly, bring all the clean cups! We're going to have a grand celebration!"

Although Witt didn't understand why Snow was suddenly so excited, he obediently did as he was told. He took all the clean glasses from the kitchen and arranged them neatly on the bar.

Snow picked up a glass, carefully dripped a few drops of Cheng Yu's slime into it, then poured in the best malt liquor from the tavern, gently swirled it, and a "special drink" with a strange aroma was ready.

He handed the glass of wine to the customer from before, saying, "Try it, this is our tavern's newest specialty, 'Slime Kiss'."

The customer took the glass, downed it in one gulp, then closed his eyes to savor it. "Fantastic! This is simply divine!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Boss, another one, please!"

Soon, the fame of "Slime Kiss" spread throughout the tavern. Guests eagerly requested to try this magical drink, and the tavern's business became exceptionally booming.

Snow beamed as he watched the endless stream of customers. He hadn't expected Cheng Yu's slime to have such a wonderful use; it was a truly unexpected delight.

However, Cheng Yu and Hakan upstairs were completely unaware of all this. They were immersed in the joy of their reunion and had no idea of ​​the lively scene downstairs.

"Cheng Yu, what are your plans for the future?" Hakan asked.

Cheng Yu thought for a moment, "I still need to resolve my own issues quickly, and then I'll go see my master one last time, and then... I want to be with you, and we won't be separated again for a while."

Hakan smiled gently. "Okay, I believe you."

The two smiled at each other, their eyes filled with anticipation for the future.

Meanwhile, Evand sat alone at the bar, watching the bustling tavern, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He didn't know how to deal with his feelings for Roshke, nor where his future lay.

He picked up a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp. The bitter liquid flowed down his throat and into his stomach, but it couldn't dispel the bitterness in his heart.

He looked up at the window. Night had fallen, and the stars twinkled, as if telling ancient and mysterious stories.