Chapter 57#
Bai Heng#
The surroundings fell into a momentary silence.
The youth stood in the center of the hall, head bowed, his thin shoulders trembling slightly. His dark hair hung down, half-shrouded his eyes.
The person who, not long ago, had been radiant and smiling on Kunwu Mountain was now despondent. The onlookers watching couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sorrow in their hearts.
Yin Yuheng asked with a trembling voice, “A transaction…?”
His identity denied, his name stolen, and now he was being passed around like a tool.
How miserable must he feel?
Xue Ciling suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Yin Yuheng, and said with difficulty, “I didn’t expect… I didn’t intend to give you away. I thought the Blue Sky Attraction would be enough…”
Xue Ciling didn’t know why he was explaining. He was clearly just an insignificant substitute, yet he couldn’t bear to see that look on his face, as if he were about to cry. Just one look, and his heart ached.
Yin Yuheng’s eyelashes fluttered, and he stared at him blankly.
Lu Yan interjected indifferently, “So City Lord Xue knows now. Are you going to go back on this deal?”
Xue Ciling’s breath hitched, and he was speechless for a long time.
Yin Yuheng curled his lip in self-deprecation, turned his face away, and said no more.
Lu Yan said coldly, “Since you’ve still chosen to give him up, what’s there to explain?”
Lu Yan loathed these people who claimed to love his A-Heng, and coveted him, yet did things that hurt him.
Lu Yan had dreamed over and over of Yuheng’s weak state—coughing blood, unconscious. His anger hadn’t faded with time; instead, it grew more intense. Li Guanghan, Shen Liyuan… they claimed to be madly in love, but they were all accomplices in Yuheng’s death. Yuheng was afraid of the dark and pain, and he was insecure, yet he had to endure abandonment and betrayal time and again. Where was there any letting go? He just forced himself not to care.
Lu Yan also hated himself for not being able to reply to Yuheng’s transmission when he needed him most.
Lu Yan’s gaze swept over Xue Ciling, suppressing his murderous intent. He glanced at Yin Yuheng and said, “Let’s go.”
No one dared to disobey the Demon Emperor’s command. Yin Yuheng held the Blue Sky Attraction, head bowed, and stumbled forward. After a few steps, he suddenly turned back and looked at Xue Ciling.
The wind blew his hair, revealing a pair of sorrowful eyes.
Xue Ciling stood in stunned silence. He watched Yin Yuheng turn away and grow distant, his heart in turmoil. The heart that had been filled bit by bit was suddenly empty again. A cold wind pierced through his chest, and a bone-chilling cold washed over him, turning his face pale.
He wanted to step forward, but his feet wouldn’t move, not until Yin Yuheng disappeared from his sight.
Xue Ciling suddenly realized that that last look was the end for the two of them. From then on, no one would ever gently pull his hands again; no one would ever walk into a mountain of blades or a sea of fire for a single “I want it” from him.
*
The luan carriage was parked outside Kunwu Mountain.
Yin Yuheng walked all the way out. Xue Ciling didn’t speak, and Li Guanghan didn’t stop him again. Perhaps considering that the Blue Sky Attraction could only be used if Yin Yuheng was alive, Li Guanghan coldly sheathed his sword, barely hiding his murderous intent.
However, the boy named Zhu Anning followed for a step with red eyes.
Yin Yuheng followed Lu Yan and didn’t look back again. On the surface, he was preoccupied and his gaze was dim, but internally he was full of interest and curiosity. He looked at Lu Yan in front of him, his thoughts in a mess.
Is this the person from my dream?
Why would I dream of him?
Lu Yan. Yin Yuheng recited the name in his heart, unable to connect him with the sinister and malicious scum gong from the plot.
Yin Yuheng had already realized that what was happening now was different from the book, yet vaguely similar. It was as if someone behind the scenes had scrambled the entire plotline, causing everything to develop along another path.
Who was it?
Perhaps because Yin Yuheng’s gaze was too focused, Lu Yan finally couldn’t help but stop his steps.
“Follow me to the Three Barren Mountains first and cultivate for a while.” Lu Yan’s tone was as calm as a deep well. He didn’t turn back, as if he didn’t want to see Yin Yuheng. “To use the Blue Sky Attraction, the soul must be condensed to be effective.”
Yin Yuheng blinked: “Cultivate?”
He was a puppet made by Xue Ciling; he didn’t have a complete spiritual platform or meridians in his body. Cultivation was useless to him.
“Just condensing the soul is enough, you don’t need to cultivate meridians,” Lu Yan finally turned back to glance at Yin Yuheng. “Your soul is unstable; you must recuperate.”
Yin Yuheng nodded obediently.
Seeing his action, Lu Yan’s breath hitched. With a stiff face, he turned and walked away, not looking at Yin Yuheng again.
Yin Yuheng: “?” Was there a problem with his nodding?
“Do you have your own name?” Lu Yan asked dryly. “Think of one yourself.”
Yin Yuheng immediately understood; Lu Yan didn’t want him, a substitute, to use his white moonlight’s name.
Yin Yuheng didn’t care. After a brief thought, he smiled and said, “Bai Heng.”
Lu Yan stopped abruptly again, looking at Yin Yuheng with a complex expression.
Yin Yuheng looked confused.
Lu Yan hesitated, then gritted his teeth, turned, and boarded the luan carriage.
Yin Yuheng: “…” Was he not allowed to be called Bai Heng either?
It’s said that the Demon Emperor Lu Yan is moody and unpredictable. It’s actually true!
“The carriage in front is His Majesty’s. Young Master, let’s sit in this one behind.” A girl in a goose-yellow dress approached with a smile. “You can call me Oriole.”
Oriole? The Demon Clan’s naming was quite straightforward.
Yin Yuheng gave a polite smile: “Thank you.”
He didn’t mind which carriage he sat in. With his identity, he indeed wasn’t qualified to ride with the Demon Emperor.
“You look so beautiful when you smile.” Oriole’s eyes were bright. “Don’t be sad anymore.”
Was she comforting him after witnessing the farce earlier? Yin Yuheng chuckled and coughed lightly: “Thank you, Miss Oriole. I’m fine.”
He spoke frankly, but to others, it looked like a forced smile. The pity in Oriole’s eyes deepened.
Some people are naturally likable, and Yin Yuheng was undoubtedly such a person. Oriole brought him into the carriage, said he looked weak, and insisted on giving him many elixirs. Yin Yuheng emphasized that his body was just a puppet and that the elixirs were useless.
“What’s wrong with being a puppet? I’m a bird!” Oriole encouraged. “Be a little better to yourself.”
Yin Yuheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had to accept the elixirs and thank her sincerely.
The luan carriage traveled through the sea of clouds and soon arrived at the Three Barren Mountains.
Yin Yuheng jumped off the carriage and looked at the blue sea and clouds before him. The Demon Clan’s divine hall was situated on the mountaintop, surrounded by clouds and mist, illuminated by the scorching sun, magnificent and grand.
Oriole noticed Yin Yuheng’s focused gaze and introduced, “This is the Three Barren Mountains. Not far away is Yanggu, the place where the sun rises.”
“It’s very grand,” Yin Yuheng said with a smile.
Oriole said proudly, “Of course! This is the divine hall where His Majesty resides.”
The Golden Crow rules the day. Lu Yan was now a divine bird who had truly accepted the full inheritance. Wherever he went, the sky would brighten.
“Don’t believe the rumors outside that His Majesty is cold-hearted and murderous. Those are all lies spread by the rebel remnants! Although His Majesty is a bit aloof, he’s actually fair in rewards and punishments and will never kill the innocent. You can rest assured.”
Yin Yuheng heard her admiration and respect for Lu Yan and couldn’t help but smile: “I know.”
*
Bai Heng.
Lu Yan softly repeated the name, recalling the first time they met outside Chaoge, and A-Heng’s smiling face.
He was clearly the culprit who had shot and wounded him, yet he had run to save him, telling him half-truthfully, “My name is Bai Heng.”
Lu Yan lowered his eyes slightly, unable to resist a brief smile that quickly vanished.
He rubbed the black bead in his hand, wondering if it could really be such a coincidence.
A person can imitate an appearance and a voice.
But those subconscious little movements, the tone at the end of a sentence, the look in the eyes when pretending to be sad, the expression of being seemingly obedient but actually distracted when nodding… and that indescribable sense of familiarity.
Lu Yan lowered his eyes, his thumb gently rubbing his palm.
He had thought of a miracle happening many times, but he knew in his heart that A-Heng was unconscious in Chaoge. He didn’t dare think too much, afraid it was all wishful thinking.
He didn’t even dare to see the youth he had brought back. Just one look, a few words, and his mind was in chaos, as if in a dream.
The more they were alike, the more he feared.
Lu Yan closed his eyes.
He suddenly remembered something and called his subordinate.
“Have you arranged a residence for him? Let him recuperate well and get familiar with the Blue Sky Attraction,” Lu Yan said with a frown. “Don’t let the people below gossip and let him be bullied.”
He was alone, of unknown origin, in a special situation, and someone brought back by him. Lu Yan knew that sometimes gossip could ruin a person.
The subordinate complied, then hesitated, “Actually… you probably don’t need to worry about that?”
Lu Yan looked up in confusion.
The subordinate gave an awkward smile: “Oriole asked me for several bottles of elixirs, saying she was giving them away. The young master of the Fox Tribe also ran over, saying he wanted to see the beautiful brother. I heard some people said some unpleasant things and were already taught a lesson by Oriole. Now in the divine hall, almost everyone who has seen Young Master Bai Heng has nothing but good things to say about him.”
Lu Yan: “…”
He had overthought it.
“By the way,” the subordinate remembered something else, “that young master of the Fox Tribe is still in Young Master Bai Heng’s room right now.”
Lu Yan glanced at the water clock.
It was already the hour of Hai, and the night was growing late.
At this time, what could they be talking about?
Lu Yan couldn’t help but stand up: “Let’s go take a look.”