INARTICULATION (MLM/MxM/M4M ORIGINAL)

4: Wow

Her Highness and her appointed General Fu have known Xun Jie longer than the demonic qi has roiled in his body, and far long before he received the redundant title of the Tiger of Jiao Xiang Palace.

MEMENTO MORI

In what felt like the blink of an eye, a month of life in leisure had passed. Wen Jingyi had been forced to resume his work with writing. The profits made from the final publication of Memento Mori's last chapter had been great, but the numbers would not stay high forever, and this made Wen Jingyi anxious.

And for once, there was no tea or coffee brewing in the morning.

Xun Jie had woken up and ran his hands through his hair as he searched for the comb. He looked for it on the coffee table but discovered it to be missing. He was quick to move his search for Wen Jingyi, thinking the man had taken it to comb his own hair this morning.

Xun Jie left the warmth of the couch and began calling out Wen Jingyi's name lowly.

Then he found himself looking into Wen Jingyi's room. Sure enough, he found him asleep on his bed, unmoving and curled in a heap of pillows and blankets.

Not wanting to interrupt his peaceful slumber, he moved his search to the restroom. There, he rummaged through the drawers and eventually found the comb among other hair-styling devices.

After retrieving it, he made his way back to the living room. There, he sat and ran the comb through his hair as he looked around more. He tried his best to discern more items from being pieces of technology and whatnot. He was always busy with having Wen Jingyi explain something to him, but on this silent morning, he finally had some time to himself.

There were books in the compartment that the television sat on. Some of them had been bound using olden techniques (that only Xun Jie would be so familiar with) while others had more modern techniques used. Xun Jie picked up one of the stitch-bonded novels and read the cover, discovering Wen Jingyi's name printed below the title. Its title read: Memento Mori.

Something in his gut told him he should not read this work, and the small size implied that it would be a short and simplified read. It had only been over a centimeter thick and gave Xun Jie no stress when he placed it back on the shelf and looked for a less intimidating title.

Absence seems intriguing, doesn't it?

Strange enough, this work also had Wen Jingyi's name printed underneath the title. Also, unlike the black and white cover of Memento Mori , this book had an illustration on its cover. It was in various shades of blue, mixed with highlights of white to create the image of a dragon drowning in its own sea.

Xun Jie made his way back to the couch before he flipped the book over to investigate it further. There, he found a synopsis.

Wen Jingyi felt he had lost a few years of his lifespan when he saw Xun Jie engrossed in one of his books. He burst into a wailing animal when he saw it was a familiar blue and white novel that he had been flipping through and fought back the urge to snatch it right out of his hands.

"Xun Jie, I'm not sure I would recommend that one for you. It has very saddening and complex themes..."

"I can handle it," he said as he flipped another page.

"The story drags on to be a three-volume series... You should try reading one of the lighter novels I have on the shelf."

"This one is fine," he responded, eyes unmoving from the open book. "I happen to have a lot of free time. Besides, I have found myself to be just over halfway through with this volume already."