Yang Lianting covered him with the soft blanket, lit calming sandalwood incense to help him sleep, and left a few dim candles burning before he quietly exited the chamber.
Dongfang Bubai kept his eyes open from beginning to end as he watched Yang Lianting’s every action. The flickering light of the red candles shone in his black pupils. He wanted to maintain a calm expression yet his heart beat frantically. Only after Yang Lianting left the room, did he slowly close his eyes and conceal the complex and elusive emotions within.
Tonight’s events happened suddenly, so suddenly they set off huge waves in a tranquil heart like an ancient well, set off waves that swept him away in a direction he could not control.
Yang Lianting had said, ‘Dongfang, I won’t renege.’
Dongfang Bubai clearly remembered how, in an unconcerned and unhesitant tone, Yang Lianting had firmly promised him, ‘If I renege, I’ll succumb to the Three Corpse Brain Pill, the three corpse bugs eating my brain and dying without a whole body.’[12]
He had reassured him, ‘I don’t care about being pointed at by a thousand fingers, I’m willing to bear the world’s insults for you.’
These words.
Dongfang Bubai took a deep breath, his mind swaying. In the dimly lit chamber covered in shadows, he wanted to laugh but a thought abruptly crossed his mind. The light in his eyes dimmed, the emotions within uncertain and disheartened.
Yang Lianting did not leave right away. Instead, he stood still before the doors for a while, looking at the mellow light shining through the windows he softly laughed. In this moment, his eyes looked lovingly tender and moved, as if he had found the one he cherished after searching the flow of time for hundreds of years.
Yang Lianting had the patience.
He only wanted Dongfang to be beside him for a lifetime. He had the patience to wait for Dongfang to open up his heart to him to tell him all the secrets, all the unbearable matters that he didn’t dare to say, and to entirely place himself in his hands with peace of mind. In his past life he had been too stupid and too abhorrent. Under such circumstances he had relentlessly hurt Dongfang. In this lifetime he had long been fully prepared and was willing to use his lifetime to tell Dongfang the answer in his heart.
Yang Lianting didn’t know how long he stood still before the doors, but Dongfang Bubai should’ve fallen asleep. Suppressing his emotions he rubbed the back of his head and smilingly turned to leave. Since reincarnating and experiencing death once, it had already been a long time since he was as emotionally agitated as today. He felt like a little brat.
“Hey, Brother Yang, you’re back!”
Seeing Yang Lianting’s figure, several guards stood up from their seats with friendly and flattering expressions. “You’re back from the Cult Master? We’ve always known that a hero like you, Brother Yang, will definitely be favored by the Cult Master.”
“Look, look, as expected, those who dare to oppose Brother Yang must be blind.”
Their mouths all spouted flattery, their eyes all stared at him with different thoughts hidden within, they feared offending him or intended to fawn on him.
‘This Seat is his reliance.’ Dongfang Bubai’s single sentence had spread throughout Blackwood Cliff overnight. Guard Yang, who had risen from an insignificant nobody into a famed person, was not to be offended and should be curried favor with. But, he was in no mood to listen to the empty words of these people.
Remembering Dongfang Bubai’s deep red earlobes, his heart filled with intense emotions, and he couldn’t prevent his old face from flushing faintly red. He coughed to keep his composure but the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears as he loudly and happily laughed out loud like a brat. Ignoring the baffled guards, who questioningly stared at each other, he directly walked back to his room.
“Brother Yang… Something good must’ve happened, right?”
“Do you guys know? I don’t.”
“Laughing so happily… The Cult Master must’ve given him benefits.” The guards speculated for a while but could not figure out what had happened, how could they know that a casual guess was close to the truth.
The Cult Master had indeed given him benefits.
Cough, cough. But the benefits he had received should not be known to these outsiders.
In the early morning, the dark sky was covered in dense fog. Yang Lianting woke up, wrung a towel in cold water and wiped his face clean, then changed into a new set of clothing before he was ready to leave. The light in his pair of pitch-black eyes shone brightly, he did not appear exhausted. While thinking about what dishes to prepare for Dongfang Bubai’s breakfast, he opened the door intending to head for the kitchen.
Stepping out the door, he raised his head, and was stunned.
“Dongfang?”
Looking into each other’s eyes all of a sudden, Yang Lianting was slightly surprised yet Dongfang Bubai was visibly flustered. He evasively shifted his eyes away and tried to maintain his stern yet clumsy expression, not knowing what to say for a long time.
Once the mood between them turned awkward Yang Lianting returned to his room, grabbed his best set of clothes from within, and unfolded them. He took a step forward and draped them over Dongfang Bubai’s body. Not allowing him to object he naturally took hold of his hands and softly squeezed them to warm them.
“Why did you get up so early?”
“In the mornings, the fog is dense and the wind is chilly atop the cliff. Return to your chambers, alright? Both your hands feel ice cold! I’ll prepare breakfast for you, what do you want to eat? Whitefish vegetable congee or Osmanthus steamed buns?
Yang Lianting behaving naturally reduced Dongfang Bubai’s momentary awkwardness. Unaccustomed to their closeness, thin lips pursed, Dongfang Bubai wanted to quickly pull his hand out of Yang Lianting’s, wanted to express the cult master’s prestige. He deliberately acted cold and distant yet Yang Lianting quietly gazed into his seemingly indifferent eyes and his lips curved into a smile. He did not say a word, but his line of sight briefly halted on the bright red tips of Dongfang Bubai’s ears and his thin smile deepened. Acting as if nothing had happened he casually opened his mouth and asked, “Dongfang, why’re you before my door so early in the morning?”
Hearing him ask, Dongfang Bubai’s expression became even more oddly complex. He turned his face aside, trying to maintain his stern expression. “This Seat merely woke up early to practice qigong, and came by to check if you are slacking off–”
Before he could finish speaking, Yang Lianting stretched out his arms and tightly embraced him. He had spoken the truth, atop the cliff the mornings and evenings were freezing cold, the gales strong, and the fog dense. Currently, Dongfang Bubai’s hairband and red robes, even his skin beneath, were all covered in a layer of frost and cool to the touch. Dongfang Bubai had always been too thin, so holding him like this Yang Lianting wanted to warm him and felt unwilling to let go. Raising his hands to gently coax him, he tenderly and patiently patted his back as if he wanted to deeply rub the one in his arms into his bones and blood. He knew why Dongfang Bubai appeared here before dawn. This person in red had always been too insecure, sensitive and suspicious to the extreme. He fears I’ll regret, he fears… I’ll flee.
This fool.
Dongfang Bubai had forgotten that, in this life, clearly he had forced him to submit, forced him to walk down this difficult path alongside him. Even if I die ten thousand deaths I’ll never regret.
The clearer his heart saw, the more his heart softened.
Yang Lianting did not break away, he wanted to lead him by the hand and walk toward the residence but Dongfang Bubai was startled by his firm hold. Dongfang Bubai, who did not have the slightest fear facing off against ten thousand enemies, pursed his lips, furrowed his eyebrows and looked hesitant at this moment. He wanted to pull his hand out of Yang Lianting’s hold.
“Yang Lianting, hurry… and let go!”
It was early in the morning and the cult’s teachings were strict it would not be long before the cultists would get up one by one. If others see Yang Lianting and me beings this close together…
The light in Dongfang Bubai’s eyes dimmed. He did not care in the slightest, but that did not mean Yang Lianting did not care.
Last night his heart had been in turmoil, caught in a trance he had thought and thought about Yang Lianting’s confession. Last night he had felt pure joy yet his cowardice and self-loathing had thrown him into turmoil. Yang Lianting had been serious, but he had yet to face the ridiculing and discriminatory stares of others, face the thousands of pointed fingers, face his reputation being dragged through the mud. He was a stunning seven-chi[13] tall man, able to hold up heaven and earth,[14] naturally he was ambitious and wanted to make a name for himself in the Jianghu, Yet he chose to be together with me. Dongfang Bubai’s eyes faintly darkened. Thinking of his body’s hidden incompleteness, his mood turned oppressive, wanting to turn and leave.
Yang Lianting pulled his hand.
In their past life they had been together for many years, how could Yang Lianting not know what Dongfang thought about? It only took one look, one action, for him to guess his thoughts. He could not help but want to sigh.
“You need to hold my hand, so you don’t get lost.”
He said such a sentence with neither beginning nor end, as if he were coaxing him, but abruptly Dongfang Bubai’s eyes lit up and he looked at Yang Lianting in hopeful disbelief.
“You haven’t told me what you’d like to eat. From today on, day after day, I’ll help prepare your meals and basic necessities,[15] without forgetting a thing, alright?”
Perhaps Yang Lianting’s voice was too gentle, or perhaps his eyes were too serious. For a moment, Dongfang Bubai’s throat felt like it was blocked, felt intensely sour.
“It is said that a gentleman should stay far from the kitchen,[16] which man… would run to the kitchen every day?”
Dongfang Bubai’s words were faint yet Yang Lianting tightly held onto his hand and smiled. Not caring in the least, he simply raised an eyebrow and lightly said, “If it’s for my beloved, I’ll naturally be happy to prepare meals for a lifetime.”
Lifetime.
Hearing this one word.
Dongfang Bubai’s heart swayed. Stunned still he vaguely felt a particular feeling in the depths of his heart, submerged beneath waves of confusion.
“Yang Lianting.”
Dongfang Bubai creased his eyebrows and opened his mouth to interrupt him. Yang Lianting halted, turned his head to glance at him, and patiently waited for him to speak.
“Hearing you say a lifetime, I feel endlessly joyful.”
Pursing his lips, he stayed silent. Dongfang Bubai’s dark eyes looked faintly hazy, faintly hesitant. Only after a long while, did he meet Yang Lianting’s eyes with a soft smile.
“I feel like, I’ve wanted to hear you say this a lifetime ago.”
Listening to him speak, Yang Lianting’s heart contracted and he stared at the one before him in disbelief. Taking a deep breath, he felt their surroundings vanish into thin air. Not caring if others would come, not caring if others would see, he took him into his arms wanting to rub him into his bones and blood.
The man seemed to be laughing loudly, yet his voice sounded oddly low and hoarse. “You’re right, I must’ve owed you in my past life, so I’ll return it all the more intensely in this life.”
“Yang Lianting, you–”
Dongfang Bubai hesitated for a long time, perceiving through his internal energy that no one entered their surroundings, slowly and stiffly raising his hands, he returned Yang Lianting’s hug.
Uncertain and cautious.
“I… I’m likely a few years older than you, from now on can I call you Lian di?”
Hearing him ask, Yang Lianting inhaled sharply, and the rims of his eyes reddened instantly. He forcibly held back his strongly surging emotions, took a deep breath, and responded hoarsely.