The odor of tobacco and alcohol, the fragrance of cheap powder, was impossible to get rid of. The faint smell on Yang Lianting’s body severely stung his nose. Dongfang Bubai reluctantly raised the corners of his mouth into a forced smile, his face was as pale as paper, his body was as stiff and cold as ice. Dongfang Bubai’s heart sank into the depths.
The night sky was awfully dark.
In addition, Yang Lianting wholeheartedly wanted to gift all these thingies,[20] he had gone down the cliff to buy, as a present to make Dongfang happy. Naturally, he had not noticed Dongfang Bubai’s abnormality at this moment. He held onto his cold hands as he thought, This person has been waiting here for me for such a long time. Yang Lianting felt such heartache that he could not bear not to take him into his arms.
Dongfang was extremely thin.
Red robes and fine black hair, the scent of pinewood exuding from his body. In a light and quiet manner, Yang Lianting bowed his head and pressed a kiss on his body, then took a deep breath. The heavens knew how nice the scent of Dongfang’s body smelled, it smelled so nice it seemed addicting.
Dongfang Bubai stiffened from head to toe, he pursed his lips and stood still, letting Yang Lianting embrace him like this.
After a long time Yang Lianting let go of him, then excitedly said to him, “Dongfang, when we return, there’re some things I want to give you as a present.”
Dongfang Bubai pursed his lips, smiled at Yang Lianting and stayed silent, then let himself be pulled along into the interior of Blackwood Cliff. He rarely saw Lian di smile like this, he smiled with an excitement and enthusiasm he could not hold back. Yang Lianting’s starry eyes and sword-like brows were handsome and heroic, at this moment he was so dazzling he was unable to move his eyes away. Dongfang Bubai quietly gazed at Yang Lianting’s side profile, the more he felt good, the more he felt sorrow surge uncontrollably from within his heart. They had been together for such a long time, yet he had never seen Yang Lianting laugh like this. He was eternally either lost in thought or laden with anxiety, yet once he waded down the cliff and went into that brothel, the women there were truly able to make his Lian di this cheerful?
They walked all the way until they returned to the chambers. Yang Lianting contrary to expectation did not take out the things first thing after returning, instead he pulled Dongfang to sit down on the bed, helped him untie his outer garment and pulled up the blanket to cover him.
“On the way back, your hands were as cold as chunks of ice, what if your cold breaks out again?”
“I’ll go get you a few braziers to hold in your hands, alright?”
“Did you eat dinner already, are you feeling hungry? Looking at your complexion, I’m afraid that without my presence you did not eat anything no matter what.” Breathing out a sigh of regret, Yang Lianting lowered his head and kissed Dongfang’s forehead “I’ll go to the kitchen and prepare a few bites to eat for you.” As he was talking, he touched his own stomach and laughingly said, “I’m actually hungry too, I haven’t eaten anything tonight. Let’s have dinner together, alright?”
Dongfang Bubai watched Yang Lianting talk on and on, with no intention to disrupt his cheerful chatter. Yang Lianting did not know why, but Dongfang Bubai did not reply. Instead, his line of sight fell upon the bundles that Yang Lianting had held in his hands since returning. “Lian di, you said you have a present for me, is it wrapped in one of these bundles?”
Once he mentioned the presents, Yang Lianting set aside the other matters on his mind, then walked over to the table to place the bundles he carried on top.
“Look at my memory. I especially went down the cliff to buy these things for you, but I don’t know if you’ll like them or not.” As he spoke, Yang Lianting raised his head to gaze at Dongfang Bubai and smiled tenderly. In the shine of the candles’ light, his pair of pitch-black eyes looked particularly focused and brilliant. “Dongfang, I don’t know if you’ll like them or not, but I want to tell you that no matter what your appearance is like, I like it, and I accept it.”
“So, these presents… if you like them, I’ll often go down the cliff to buy them for you. If you don’t like them, don’t think too much, don’t get me wrong, alright?”
One of the bundles was opened and unfolded, within it was a delicate and exquisite piece of cloth, sewn into a woman’s dress. The long white muslin dragging on the floor, gave one the air of an immortal. The white dress was a beautiful and intricate piece of workmanship.
Opening and unfolding another bundle, within it was a grand lined long gown, upon its bright red cloth a phoenix in flight was elaborately embroidered with golden thread.
This is a bride’s wedding gown!
Dongfang Bubai retracted his line of sight, he suddenly stood up and stared at Yang Lianting in disbelief. Lian di brought him women’s clothes, bought him rouge and powder! Did he buy me these because he saw through my desire to be a woman, which I hide in the depths of my heart, or did he buy these because, after experiencing the joy of being with a woman, he now feels sick of me, a man, and wants me to dress up as a woman? His mind was in disarray, Dongfang Bubai could not think clearly. He only felt a dull throbbing pain in his chest, his face faintly paled, his body could not help but tremble but he acted as if nothing were wrong.
Noting Dongfang Bubai’s strangeness, Yang Lianting merely felt that his actions had made him flustered and embarrassed. He did not think further. He lightly sighed, stepped forward and held onto his hands. He then lowered his head and kissed his forehead as if he faced his most cherished treasure in this world.
“Dongfang, I’ll say it again.”
“No matter what your appearance is like, I like it.”
“If you like these presents, there’s no need to try and cover it up, just wear them for me in the future, alright? If you don’t like them, I’ll apologize to you and admit my mistake, I won’t go and buy these things in the future just to annoy you. Don’t think too much, don’t hold it all in, alright?”
Yang Lianting’s voice was intensely tender. Listening to him speak, the rims of Dongfang Bubai’s eyes reddened. He felt sour, felt angry, felt unspeakably aggrieved. He took a deep breath and looked into Yang Lianting’s eyes for a long time, before he slowly said, “Lian di, who you’d like me to be, is who I am.”
While talking, he picked up the grand red gown placed on the table, untied his outer clothes until he only wore his inner clothes and unexpectedly changed in front of Yang Lianting.
Dongfang’s skin was as white as snow.
In this life, perhaps due to his better practice of the Sunflower Manual compared to his past life, or perhaps for another reason, his body frame had become even more graceful.
Seeing the red color of the muslin gown shine in the candles’ light, Yang Lianting felt his heart set ablaze in an instant, felt an unspeakable fervor ignite.
Dongfang Bubai was changing clothes.
There is a beauty in the northern lands,
Who stands alone without peer.[21]
At this moment, Dongfang Bubai had not powdered his face, nor painted his eyebrows yet, his fair face was framed by black uncombed hair, which was draped over his shoulders in a supple and soft manner. The deep red gown made his figure seem more graceful and alluring, his temperament seem more unique than a woman’s. Standing in place like this, nearly made Yang Lianting unable to move his eyes away. He habitually stepped forward to take Dongfang Bubai into his arms, he had just raised his hands, when he rejected him.
Dongfang dressed entirely in women’s clothes, silently stood still, lifted his hands and looked at the extremely intricate clothes he was wearing. Lowering his head not looking at Yang Lianting he slowly said, “Lian di, don’t come over.”
Dongfang Bubai’s voice sounded soft and light, as if it would be blown away by the wind. “After meeting you, I always hoped to become a woman. I’ve been thinking, if I became a woman, I could openly and honorably be together with you, I could openly and honorably give birth to children for you.”
Listening to him speak, Yang Lianting’s heart could not help but tighten, his heart ached beyond words. He was about to speak when Dongfang Bubai lifted his head up little by little and gazed deeply into Yang Lianting’s eyes for a long, long time.
“Lian di, you once promised me one lifetime, one couple. Are you still taking your promise seriously?”
The light in Yang Lianting’s eyes did not flicker, his eyes did not shift away in the slightest. Staring straight into Dongfang’s eyes, he nodded his head and stated in low voice, word for word, without the slightest hesitation. “Yes, I am.”
“In this life, I, Yang Lianting, will only love Dongfang Bubai and no one else.”
Dongfang Bubai smiled.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes then slowly opened them again. At this moment, the Sun Moon Holy Cult’s Master, the prideful and awe-inspiring Invincible East, hesitantly opened his mouth to haltingly talk to Yang Lianting, word for word.
“Since you’ve promised me, I want you for a lifetime.”
“Yang Lianting, if you love women’s adornments and attire, I’ll dress myself in gorgeous adornments and grand attire all my life for you. If you want authority, I can also hand over this entire Sun Moon Holy Cult to you. However, since you promised to be with me alone today, you mustn’t be together with anyone other than me. I may hate that I cannot bear to kill you, but I’m willing to kill every person beneath the heavens. I’ll kill whoever you’re together with!”
In this life, I seek nothing other than Yang Lianting.
Dongfang Bubai stood still and stared at Yang Lianting, after a long pause he slowly stated, “Today a few guards said that you and that Wang Shi went down the cliff to a brothel together. The stench of powder on you is heavy, I dislike it.” Dongfang pursed his lips, faintly furrowed his brows, and let out a long breath.
“I’m very unhappy.”
“I was about to make my move, to go down the cliff and kill all of them.” He met Yang Lianting’s eyes, the color of his pupils was clear and limpid as if he were a child who had not undergone the ways of the mortal realm, yet the expression in his eyes was tainted with bloodthirsty killing intent. One had no choice but to believe that his words were no exaggeration, were no mere joke, believe that he truly thought this way.
Yang Lianting did not speak, looking into Dongfang Bubai’s eyes he waited for him to finish speaking. Dongfang Bubai took a step forward and stretched out his hands to hug Yang Lianting.
“But I still chose to believe in you.”
“Lian di, I believe your promise, one lifetime, one couple.”