Chapter 64#

Apology#

Yin Yuheng’s complexion was very poor.

This kind of pale and haggard look, in Xue Ciling’s eyes, was proof of Yin Yuheng’s suffering. He couldn’t imagine how much torment Yin Yuheng had endured among the Demon Tribe.

How was Lu Yan treating Yuheng… Lu Yan was cruel and tyrannical, having recently purged the entire Demon Tribe; if he treated his own kin this way, how could Yin Yuheng fare well in his hands?

Xue Ciling’s heart tightened bit by bit, as if a hand were clutching his throat, making it difficult to breathe.

“Yuheng…”

Surrounded by trees, mottled light and shadows fell on Yin Yuheng’s hem. In the shifting light, Xue Ciling couldn’t see the dark expression in Yin Yuheng’s eyes. His heart sank, grew numb, and turned cold.

“City Lord Xue, why are you here?” Yin Yuheng asked faintly, without much sincerity.

Yin Yuheng had dreamed all night, was feeling restless and lethargic, and didn’t have much energy to investigate the reason for Xue Ciling’s appearance here. Moreover, it was no longer the time when he was forced to live under Xue Ciling’s hand to survive, so there was no need to continue playing the role of a substitute.

Everything about Xue Ciling had nothing to do with him.

For irrelevant people, Yin Yuheng was too lazy to spend much effort. Seeing Xue Ciling’s Adam’s apple bob and him remaining silent for a long time, he said lazily, “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.”

“Yuheng!” Seeing Yin Yuheng turn away without any lingering attachment, Xue Ciling cried out in a panic.

Yin Yuheng turned his head slightly and gave him a cold glance.

“You resent me, don’t you?” Xue Ciling’s gaze was dim. “Resent me for deceiving you, abandoning you, treating you as a replacement… you resent me.”

“Resentment?” Yin Yuheng raised an eyebrow. Not worth it.

This person was quite good at adding drama for himself.

If it weren’t for the sudden encounter today, Yin Yuheng would have almost forgotten that someone like Xue Ciling existed, so how could there be resentment?

Simply put, he hadn’t kept him in mind at all.

“No resentment,” Yin Yuheng said calmly. “I was originally a puppet made by City Lord Xue. You gave me a life, and I provided some returns; it’s only right. From now on, we are even. When we meet, we are just passers-by. City Lord Xue need not dwell on it.”

…Even, need not dwell on it?

After being personally sent to the Demon Tribe by him and suffering humiliation, this person said they were even?

How could it not be owed? It was just that… he didn’t want to see him…

A bitter smile appeared on Xue Ciling’s face. “You hate me.”

“…” Yin Yuheng didn’t want to talk anymore and turned to leave.

“Don’t go!” Xue Ciling suddenly grabbed his sleeve. “Don’t go back. Even if you don’t want to see me, don’t stay by Lu Yan’s side. He’s also just treating you as a substitute; you’ll be played to death by him…”

Xue Ciling’s voice was restrained, suppressing his surging emotions, but his eyes were uncontrollably red.

Yin Yuheng, however, recalled his life of idle eating, drinking, and playing in the Demon Tribe these days and fell silent for a moment.

He sighed and turned back to look at Xue Ciling.

Finally, in a small corner of Xue Ciling’s body not tightly covered by his clothes, he saw an unhealed bloody gash.

Yin Yuheng remembered that every fifteenth of the month, the night of the full moon, Xue Ciling would go mad and fall into a demonic state, uncontrollably self-mutilating.

Yin Yuheng’s stay with the Demon Tribe was so relaxed that he hadn’t paid much attention to dates and months. Thinking back now, yesterday was precisely the third full moon night he had spent since leaving Luxia City.

As expected, Xue Ciling’s illness had flared up again. He didn’t know how Xue Ciling had spent these three nights. Judging by the wound, it might have been more severe and crazed than previous episodes, with fingernails digging deep into the skin to the point that the flesh was turned outward. Yet, after regaining clarity, Xue Ciling hadn’t even had time to tend to the wounds, hastily covering his disheveled state with his robes to rush over and find him.

…What did he come to see him for? Still hoping he would ward off the demonic energy and take the injuries for him? Or looking for warmth here?

“Yuheng… come with me.” Whether it was heartache or the pain of the wound—perhaps both—it made the powerful City Lord Xue tremble even more violently in front of Yin Yuheng.

Yin Yuheng frowned and wanted to pull his hand back, but Xue Ciling gripped his sleeve tightly, clearly not intending to let go.

“City Lord Xue.” Yin Yuheng’s tone was cold. “His Majesty the Demon Emperor is very good and has not mistreated me. You don’t need to worry. Please show some self-respect.”

“He’s very good?” Xue Ciling laughed out of extreme anger. “Look at how poor your current complexion and spirit are. If he were so good, could he have let you become like this? Yuheng, don’t be afraid. I’ll take you away… we’ll quietly leave Sahuang Mountain, leave the Demon Tribe…”

“You’ve misunderstood. I’m just in a bad mood; it’s not His Majesty’s fault.” Yin Yuheng forced himself to explain patiently. He felt that during this period of self-cultivation on Sahuang Mountain, his temper had improved quite a bit.

…Mainly because Xue Ciling’s cultivation was higher than his, and it wasn’t easy to have a fallout face-to-face.

“Yin Yuheng!” Xue Ciling wouldn’t listen and said angrily, “In the Demon Emperor’s heart, you’re just a plaything traded back to save his beloved! You’re still speaking for him?”

Yin Yuheng stopped talking.

Xue Ciling was clearly trapped in a paranoid state, impossible to comfort and difficult to communicate with.

Seeing that Yin Yuheng was no longer opposing him, Xue Ciling’s voice gradually stabilized. The groggy, frenzied feeling from the flare-up of his old injuries welled up in his heart, but he forced it down again. He stared at Yin Yuheng infatuatedly, curled his lips into a gentle smile, and said in a low voice, like a lover’s murmur, “Yuheng, Yuheng… I know, you blame me. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I apologize to you. Give me a chance, let’s go home… let’s go home, okay?”

“I’ll be good to you in the future, good to you alone… I’ve burned all the puppets; I only need you… I won’t look for the Crown Prince of the Li Dynasty anymore; I only want you. Yuheng, forgive me…”

Xue Ciling was too afraid, afraid that his Yuheng would be harmed again. He couldn’t lose Yuheng again. He wanted to keep Yuheng by his side, pamper him well, and make up for all the goodness he hadn’t been able to give him before.

Even if Yuheng hated him, he would accept it; it was his fault to begin with. He couldn’t see his own heart clearly and had committed a mistake, pushing away the only warm light that had shone into his life, almost making it irreversible.

He was willing to coax him humbly, doing things he had never done before, letting Yuheng vent his anger, begging for a little change of heart from Yuheng.

“I am not your Yuheng.”

“How can you not be?” Xue Ciling’s hands tightly gripped Yin Yuheng’s wrists. “You are unique, my Yuheng. I will never leave you behind again. Come with me…”

Yin Yuheng’s expression was cold, with no intention of moving.

Xue Ciling’s breathing became heavier and heavier. Finally, he growled hoarsely, “You’re unwilling to leave. What are you still lingering for?”

His mind was somewhat unclear, and he spoke without thinking: “Could it be that you’re still reluctant to leave the Demon Emperor? Could it be that you’ve even fallen in love with him?”

Yin Yuheng’s patience was also gradually wearing thin. Too lazy to talk more, he simply tried to bluff his way through: “Can you let go? Yes, yes, yes, I like His Majesty…”

Out of the corner of his eye, Yin Yuheng caught sight of a figure, a black one. His voice paused for a moment and took a sharp turn.

“…’s face.”

…

Yin Yuheng saw a piece of a robe, black.

Lu Yan? Why would Lu Yan be here?

Yin Yuheng’s expression froze, feeling the thrill of being caught red-handed speaking behind someone’s back, and he suddenly felt a bit guilty. At the critical moment, he remembered his “gentleman’s agreement” of “mutual dislike” with Lu Yan and quickly changed his tune.

Yin Yuheng gave a light cough and comforted himself. Liking Lu Yan’s face and liking Lu Yan were two different things. He hadn’t broken the agreement—how many demons, large or small, in the entire Demon Tribe who had seen Lu Yan didn’t like his face? Especially after inheriting the Golden Crow’s legacy, Lu Yan had added an air of nobility and decisive aura; wherever he stood, he was too dazzling to hide. It was perfectly normal for him to appreciate Lu Yan’s face.

Yin Yuheng quickly calmed down and began to feel justified.

What was he nervous about? He hadn’t done anything! Although he thought this, Yin Yuheng still silently increased the force to pull his hand back while calling out softly, “Your Majesty!”

Xue Ciling was startled, and the strength in his hand subconsciously loosened. Yin Yuheng quickly pulled his hand back and retreated, standing several steps away from him. In the next moment, Xue Ciling felt a sudden surge of scorching heat envelop him, and sweat continuously poured from his body, seeping into his wounds and stinging painfully.

He raised his head and saw, amidst the fragmented light in the forest, a man in black robes walking slowly, one hand behind his back, passing through the dappled shadows of the trees. He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, with deep pupils that seemed to hide a heavy night. The man just looked over calmly, and Xue Ciling felt his body beginning to burn from the bones and blood, as if he would turn into a pile of ashes in the next moment.

Xue Ciling’s expression twisted slightly, but he couldn’t make a sound.

It was Lu Yan—

As long as Lu Yan wished, wherever the Golden Crow Demon Emperor went, the blazing sun would scorch the sky, and divine fire would burn the heart.

The sensation of being roasted by fire was an indescribable horror. Xue Ciling struggled to breathe, but Yin Yuheng, standing not far from him, didn’t feel the slightest discomfort. He even had the mood to rub his wrist and flash a grateful smile at Lu Yan.

Lu Yan had precise control over his power.

In the dead silence, Lu Yan finally spoke.

“City Lord Xue, our transaction was completed long ago. He is my person. An outsider stepping into the grounds of the Sahuang Mountain Temple without cause is considered an offense.”

Xue Ciling gritted his teeth.

The scorching aura finally dissipated a little. Xue Ciling suddenly arched his back, his whole body as wet as if he had just been fished out of water. He persisted in raising his head, staring straight at Lu Yan.

He didn’t respond to Lu Yan’s words. His gaze was fierce, as if he wanted to burn a hole in Lu Yan’s face.

After a long while, just as Lu Yan was about to frown, Xue Ciling suddenly burst into loud laughter.

He laughed happily, even to the point of tears.

Yin Yuheng’s movement of rubbing his wrist paused, and Lu Yan’s brow furrowed.

“Yuheng,” Xue Ciling said intermittently, “you just said you like his face?”

Yin Yuheng: …

Xue Ciling continued to widen the curve of his lips: “His face, his eyes—they look like mine, don’t they?”

Yin Yuheng was stunned.

“You still have me in your heart, don’t you? I knew you wouldn’t want to leave me… Yuheng…”

His Yuheng was so good. When his old injuries flared up, Yuheng would rather be hurt himself than let go of his hand and protect him. How could Yuheng not want him?

Now he understood, Xue Ciling thought.

Yuheng hated him, but he also couldn’t let go of him. Yuheng was unwilling to go with him, yet he projected his feelings for him onto Lu Yan.

He still liked him.

What a logical explanation.