Shen Yan, the Black Tortoise High God, has been worshipped by the dynasty for six hundred years. He presides over war and bloodshed, and prefers peace and quiet.
It is said that whenever war breaks out, the High God descends into the mortal world. The one he chooses is the rightful heir to the throne.
The first time Shen Yan met Jiang Wuhe, the boy was seventeen and had climbed Guixu Ridge alone to seek a teacher.
Heaven's will foretold that this boy could inherit the empire. Seeing him shivering in the snow, his lips and teeth blue with cold, Shen Yan's heart softened, and he agreed to take him in.
Three years later, Jiang Wuhe left the mountain, and a palace coup began. Half a year later, he was defeated. Just before he was to be taken to the execution ground, he sent Shen Yan a message through a secret technique, asking to see him.
For the sake of their teacher-student bond, Shen Yan went. He never expected Jiang Wuhe to place a swaddled infant in his arms. The baby inside was sleeping soundly.
Shen Yan froze, instinctively trying to push the bundle away.
Jiang Wuhe gripped his hand. "A Yan, he's only two years old. If he stays with me, he'll really die."
"If you hadn't sent me down the mountain back then, this child should have been..."
Shen Yan cut him off. "Wuhe, I am your teacher."
"If you won't acknowledge that, then let us say we were teacher and friend alike."
Jiang Wuhe gave a bleak smile. "I'm not asking you to save me. Save him, at least. Let me entrust him to you."
"Call him Jiang Chengfeng."
In the end, Shen Yan left with the baby in his arms.
Eighteen years later, an old acquaintance came to the little house where they lived in seclusion.
Jiang Wuhe stood at the doorway, watching the young man playfully draped over Shen Yan's shoulder. His gaze was unreadable.
"Chengfeng, behave yourself. Give Uncle Shen some room."
After that, Shen Yan's little courtyard was quiet by day, but at night he was always visited by a thief climbing in through the window.
"...What is it this time?"
"I can't sleep when Uncle Shen isn't here."
"Then go to sleep. I still have a deployment map to study."
"My father was just using you! He thinks that because you're a High God, ageless and immortal, you can fight wars in every direction! He doesn't care at all..."
Shen Yan did not even look up. "He is the one chosen by Heaven's will. I am sustained by his offerings, so I should serve him."
"But now he's waging war recklessly." Jiang Chengfeng said bitterly, then suddenly asked, "Heaven's will only said that the fate of the nation rests with our branch of the family, right?"
Shen Yan stopped writing and looked at him quietly.
"What if I can prove that he's not the one, and that I am?" Jiang Chengfeng traced the mottled scars across Shen Yan's back. "Then you won't have to get hurt anymore."
"First you said he was using me, and now you're making bold claims."
Shen Yan smiled, radiant as a clear spring day, making the candlelight seem dim. "Are you trying to take advantage of me while I'm vulnerable?"
The young wolf's eyes shone. "Are you going to forbid me?"
"No."
Even as Jiang Chengfeng closed in, Shen Yan remained composed. "But until you prove it, I'll still stand on his side."
"Even if he wants my life?"
"Yes."
"Then come and take it."
Jiang Chengfeng pinned him against the back of the chair and lowered his head, baring his fearsome canine teeth. "If he wants to kill me to prove his way, I'll destroy the Way to win my husband!"
"Which husband?"
"...The 'husband' in 'teacher.'"
"It can only be the 'husband' in 'teacher.'"
Shen Yan let him kiss him clumsily, his eyes still clear, untouched by desire. "Until you achieve it, I won't acknowledge a single word of it."
"You will."
The young wolf bit down hard on his lower lip. "No one else could do this to you."
"And no one else loves you the way I do."
A spicy little bonus scene:
Puppy: Give me a kiss.
Black Tortoise: Sure. (He's even pretty good at it.)
Puppy: Who taught you how to kiss?
Black Tortoise: I've watched pigs run for thousands of years. It's not that hard.
Puppy: ...What about this? And this? Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything?
Black Tortoise, outwardly calm, knees trembling and internally thinking: What kind of unorthodox cultivation is this? Has the child gone into cultivation deviation?
So one day afterward, the Black Tortoise sat up straight and asked, "What kind of moves have you been learning?"
The puppy looked confused. "Which ones?"
Black Tortoise: "The ones... you practice with me."
The puppy finally caught on: So he really doesn't know how! He has no idea! He hasn't done this with anyone else!
But the puppy grew up and turned into a bad dog. He sidled over with a pitiful look and said, "Actually, I'm dying. I have a terminal illness."
Black Tortoise: "?!"
Puppy: "Practicing with you is the only thing that can ease the pain. You won't leave me to suffer, will you?"
Remembering what happened last time, the Black Tortoise felt a shiver of fear. But the child was begging so earnestly that he could only steel himself and agree. "...All right."
And then they did it again!
Both are pure and devoted to one another, 1v1, happy ending, younger male lead, age gap of six hundred years?
The seemingly good-natured but actually ambitious wolf pup as the pursuer x the aloof, cool beauty who has lived for thousands of years but is actually very innocent as the one being pursued
Taking advantage of someone while they're vulnerable: exactly what it sounds like
Theme: Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, taking advantage of a vulnerable moment is the best one
