The ones who should leave and the ones who shouldn't leave have all left. Yan Shu laid alone upon the cold floor of the Devil’s Hall. Tears streamed from his eyes and slid down his cheeks before hitting the ground with a distinct noise.
The heart that was supposed to be joyous, cramped in pain. He curled up uneasily, holding tightly onto that small scented sachet. In his mind, appeared the sorrowful look on that youth's face as he left that night five years ago. His mouth kept on chanting: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…". There was nothing more conclusive than death. From that point on, Yan Shu knew that he would never be able to find another person who could love him with as much sincerity and intensity as that youth.
Xing Yan dressed Bu Bai in the same clothes as him. He looked at his striking lover and said, “I'd always thought that you would look good in these clothes. Sure enough, you really do look lovely in it”
Bu Bai’s inky hair was scattered. It flowed like water down his back and settled gently onto his fiery red robes. He rested quietly in Xing Yan’s arms, eyes peacefully closed. Xing Yan interlocked his hands with Bu Bai, all ten fingers joined together. His hands were smooth, soft and flexible. It made Xin Yan unable let go of the hand and leave. Although he knew that once Bu Bai's body entered the ice chamber, it would become stiff and rigid – never again as delicate as it is now, he had no choice. He couldn’t think of any other way to preserve his body. His Master had always hated being lonely, how could he allow him to quietly fade away confined underground? He couldn't endure it.
Xing Yan could no longer remember the weather on the day that he'd placed the man inside the ice chamber. The environment outside could not affect the conditions within the ice chamber anyway – there was fundamentally no differentiation between warm and cold in the chamber. His only recollection of that day was how he had personally delivered that man step by step into the room full of ice and snow. That man who used to be so afraid of the cold did not so much as twitch throughout the entire journey.
Bu Bai was still wearing the scarlet robe when Xing Yan carefully combed his ink-like hair. It was strikingly bright in this field of ice and snow, like a flame, leaping out of the ice. The scene warmed Xing Yan’s heart despite the lack of heat.
I will keep you company from now on. It'll only be me by your side, devoted entirely to you, forever.
It was deep into autumn the day that Bu Bai died. Only bare branches remained in the field of peach blossoms inside the courtyard (1) of the Demonic Sect's manor, making the scene appear particularly colorless and desolate. The death of his lover melded together with the barren branches of the peach blossoms to become an unmentionable wound in Xing Yan's heart.
He uprooted the original field of peach blossom in the residence in favor of the bright red plums. They were flowers that bloomed brighter the colder it was. Perhaps that fire-like color would make his winter a little less bleak.
Finally, a year of death had been fulfilled, and Bu Bai slowly drifted out from the heavy darkness. The first thing he saw was the blindingly white ice chamber and the vibrant red plums blooming outside.
There was no one in the courtyard. If not for the carefully organized residence, Bu Bai feared that he would have mistaken the place for a long-abandoned manor. He frowned slightly, lightly touched his thin red clothes, and involuntarily shivered.
“Boss, under normal circumstances, shouldn't I be buried 6 feet under already? I had even mentally prepared myself to claw my way out of my grave, but look at this, I've been preserved so well.” Bu Bai felt that the entire situation was odd. He'd already passed away for so long, yet mild warmth lingered on his fingertips – warmth that belonged to a living being.
“Who was it?”
The Boss threw a glance at him and said, “It was Xing Yan.”
“As expected, that little angel Xing Yan is really good to me.” Bu Bai thought of that person and his eyebrows softened unconsciously. Walking down the steps, his slim white feet tread quietly on the smooth floor. He didn't make the slightest noise. Gently climbing over the wall, Bu Bai left the mansion.
“Don’t you want to see Xing Yan?” asked the Boss.
“I'm going to leave him anyway, why should I trouble him further?” It wasn't that Bu Bai didn't know that what he was doing was cruel, but he knew that to everyone in this world, he is just a passerby. A passerby who will ruthlessly abandon them after finishing his mission – that's why he didn't want to have too many emotional ties with others. So regardless of whether it was Xing Yan or any of his followers, he is always looking for opportunities to detach himself from them.
Using the Boss' little radar, Bu Bai found Yan Shu very quickly. The man in green was standing near the window on the second floor of a restaurant. His calm eyes swept through the noisy crowd on the streets, yet he seemed to see nothing.
Bu Bai stood on the roof opposite him and observed his actions. According to the timeline, it was nearly time for the protagonist's trusted friend to betray him. He only needed to protect him from the shadows and wait for an opportunity to assassinate the traitor. Bu Bai figured that his martial arts should be among the best in this world, so it should be a piece of cake for him to kill someone.
Unfortunately, that was only his wishful thinking. In reality, after a year of being stored in the ice chamber, the cold qi had already permeated into his organs, severely injuring them. Bu Bai’s body was now extremely weak. By the time Bu Bai noticed this, he had already involuntarily spit out his first mouthful of blood. The faint smell of iron quickly attracted Yan Shu’s attention. However, when he turned to examine the situation, he was blinded by the petals in the sky and only caught a fleeting glimpse of red cloth.
His felt uncertain, but it wasn't convenient to investigate deeply now; his eyes were attracted by the melodious music. Today was the day of the Courtesan Parade (2). Yan Shu never bothered with events like this since there was already someone within his heart. No beauty under the heavens could catch his eye. Even today's viewing was an unexpected coincidence.
The scene behind the sedan shades was not as beautiful it was outside. Bu Bai used one of his hands to control the courtesan’s slender waist, and the other to seize his throat. “Don’t move.” After a near-discovered by Yan Shu, he had quickly slipped into one of the parading sedans and trapped the surprised courtesan from behind.
A clear male voice sounded: “What does gongzi (3) seek?” Yun Shi looked down at the hands gripping him. They were deathly white and cold, yet still exuding an extraordinary sense of beauty. Using this information, he roughly estimated the stranger's age and appearance.
“Obviously, I seek a beauty.” Bu Bai never forgets to maintain his character setting – a sect master who loves to molest children. As his age increased, he also developed the hobby accordingly. Now, as long as someone is even slightly attractive, he will automatically start to flirt.
Then came a light laugh: “Why must gongzi use this kind of method to seek a beauty? Our store is open to all patrons.”
Bu Bai loosened the hand at Yun Shi’s throat and turned to stroke the skin on his face instead. As he slid his fingers over Yun Shi's tantalizing lips, he whispered: “This gongzi likes to have people who are willing.” Another wave of pain hit him just as he finished speaking, causing him to loosen the other hand holding Yun Shi's waist. He curled up and coughed uncontrollably, hacking out droplets of fresh blood.
At that moment, the curtain suddenly shifted, revealing the gorgeous face of the courtesan, and inadvertently exposing Bu Bai behind him. Although it was only for a fleeting moment, it was enough for a viewer to notice. Yan Shu froze blankly in the same position for a long time before finally reacting, “Bu Bai, that’s Bu Bai.” As he spoke, tears began to course down his cheeks.
Behind the curtains, Yun Shi felt the sense danger recede and turned around just in time to see Bu Bai coughing blood. The deathly pale man was wrapped in a thin red gown. He appeared very weak, yet even in such a state, he showed a fragile charm surpassing even Xi Shi.
t/n: Xi Shi is one of the four famed beauties of ancient China. She was praised for her sickly beauty – like the about to fall over dead kind of fragile and enchanting (?) beauty. Apparently, she was very prone to disease too. (Google 西施 for more info)
“Gongzi, I'm willing.” Yun Shi panicked and said in an effort to stop the stream of blood flowing from the corner of Bu Bai's mouth. Then, to prove himself, Yun Shi did not hesitate to kiss him. It was obvious that the man was not as mature as he acted when he immediately started struggling. However, as the kiss deepened, the signs of struggle also gradually weakened. Yun Shi released the unconscious man, distressfully covered him with his own clothes, and kept dabbing away at the bloodstains on Bu Bai's lips with his handkerchief. Please don't bleed anymore, ok? It was as if he had returned to the day that he had been sold. His mother had desperately tried to get him back but was beaten to the ground. At that time, her mouth was also had an endless flow of blood like him. Soon after, she died.
I don’t want you to die. Yun Shi held Bu Bai’s cold body; the man was really morbidly thin. He did not know where he came from or where he would go. He only knew that at this moment, he needed him.
The parade ended early, and the servants were startled to see their courtesan descend the sedan carrying a strange man in his arms. Based on the look in the courtesan’s eyes, he didn't seem like a person of weak significance.
Yun Shi took Bu Bai into his room, put him on his bed and waited quietly for the doctor to come, but the one to arrive first was not the doctor. When Yun Shi heard someone violently shove open his door, he reflexively hid Bu Bai and got up to deal with the intruder.
The one who entered was a handsome young man. One could tell from a single that he was from a good family, yet his behavior had zero correlation with his "superior upbringing”. He roughly grabbed Yun Shi’s arms and asked, “Is Bu Bai here with you?”
“He's not here.” Yun Shi replied.
Yan Shu suddenly laughed, but his face was cold. He said, “I don’t believe it.” With a flick of his fingers, he struck Yun Shi's acupoint and walked inside.
“Stop!” Yun Shi called towards the figure of Yan Shu, his usually gentle eyes contained a deep, bitter coldness. He was unable to move; the despair of being unable to protect his loved ones no matter how hard he tried overwhelmed his senses.
Yan Shu walked towards the bed and recognized the one he had been yearning for day and night with a single glance. A year had passed, and they've all weathered numerous storms, yet this person remained the same as he had been that year. As if he would always be here, never changing.
“Bu Bai.” Yan Shu gently called the man's name with an apprehensive heart. His fears could not be dispelled unless Bu Bai woke up. “You must wake up, ok?”
Yan Shu held Bu Bai’s hands and tried to use the warmth of his own body to expel his chill. He waited like a man in a deep well, as long as he sees the slightest hint of a rope, he will desperately hold on, even if an even deeper well of despair awaited him on the other end of the rope.
“Yan Shu.” After enduring an hour of torment, Bu Bai regained consciousness.
“It’s me. You’ve finally returned.”
The hug was too heavy, and Bu Bai nearly fainted again. Only after ruthlessly biting his lower lip, could he barely maintain consciousness: “Let go.”
“I apologize for hurting you; I was simply too excited." Yan Shu acted like a child that had done something wrong; he didn’t even know where to put his hands anymore. Only after summoning all of his courage did he dare to look at Bu Bai meekly in the eye.
“Yan Shu, I don’t owe you anything anymore. Everything that I owed, I'd already given my life to repay. Don't you think it's enough already?”
Perhaps it was because he'd been longing for him for too long, but Yan Shu has pretty much forgotten how much he'd once hated this man, and how he'd forced him to the point that he had no choice but to give up his life.
“No, that's not what I mean.” He tried explained.
“Then what do you mean? You want to kill me another time?” Bu Bai looked at him coldly, with guarded eyes.
“I like you, that's all I mean. I want to take care of you and bring you home.” Word by word, Yan Shu said everything that he'd wanted to but couldn't say a year ago. He wanted to grasp that tiny possibility for a future together.
“I don’t believe it.” These three simple words answered everything. So what if Yan Shu was willing to give up everything, that person who was willing to foolishly wait for you to turn around is long gone.
“What if I must take you with me today?” Regardless if he must resort to coercion or something worse, he will do anything to make that person stay in his sight forever.
“I dare you to try.” The man was just as proud as a year ago. His physical weakness couldn't diminish his ego by even a fraction of an inch. His neck was raised slightly in defiance. Even at a disadvantage, he was still so enchanting that people couldn't stop their hearts from moving for him.
Yan Shu tried to knock the man unconscious, but Bu Bai’s martial arts were also not weak; he could even be said to be slightly stronger. That's why, after a few moves, even though he couldn't defeat the Yan Shu, the other man couldn't obtain victory either. They were at an impasse. Unexpectedly, Bu Bai's vision suddenly became black and he fell straight backward. The blood he threw up splattered all over Yan Shu.
Translated by Izreate
Edited by Avis