While Chenyin usually looked a bit silly, she was someone who had genuinely followed Suyu through the school of hard knocks and seen the world. Her handling of affairs was reasonably reliable without ever major blunders, or Suyu would never have trusted her with the Demon Palace.
Furthermore, based on Suyu’s understanding of her, this girl was extremely protective of her life and always left herself a safety net when facing danger, she would never just die so inexplicably.
He carried her to the couch and tucked her in with a quilt, the girl’s peaceful, sleeping appearance wrenching at his heart.
Lowering his head with loose strands of hair veiling his expression, Suyu always felt a few more degrees of fear toward life and death than ordinary people.
Because he had lived through it, that kind of pain was carved straight into his bone marrow.
Kicking the door open, Qingmo brought news that might or might not be considered good. “Her soul has only temporarily detached. Chenyin’s soul is somewhere else, and we need to go find it.”
With the six realms as vast as they were, how easy could it be to search for a single stray soul?
Yet deep within Suyu’s heart, an indistinct answer was already forming.
I know where she is.
Rolling banks of fog blocked the path ahead. Just as Qingmo stopped in his tracks and heard the snap of a dead branch, a dark shadow suddenly swept past in his peripheral vision. Clenching his zither strings tightly in readiness, he barked, “Get out here! What kind of coward hides and sneaks around!”
The only response he received was boundless silence.
To rescue Chenyin, Suyu and he had come to the village where Suyu first encountered her. Who could have expected that the moment the two of them stepped foot inside, thick fog would rise all around them, with shadowy figures flickering through the mist at irregular intervals and forcing them to split up.
Remaining vigilantly in place, Qingmo suddenly sensed the air currents shifting soundlessly behind him as the thick fog churned. A pale hand abruptly reached out from within and rested on his shoulder.
The sharp zither strings instantly coiled around it, requiring only the slightest application of force to shred that hand into a bloody mess.
“Qingmo, it is me.” A familiar voice chimed in just in time, halting the tightening of the strings.
Fanning away the mist before his eyes, Qingmo beheld Suyu’s pale, bloodless face. “Suyu! I finally found you!”
Lowering his head to untangle the strings, a wave of lingering fear washed over him. “Give a warning before you speak next time. Your hand almost got crippled.”
The Ghost Fiend never held back when striking, every single move aimed to kill, and the zither strings had wrapped around with immense tightness. Even though he managed to release his strength in time, crisscrossing bloody welts had already been left across Suyu’s wrist.
Unbothered, Suyu lowered his arm to cover the marks with his sleeve, though he hadn’t expected Qingmo to let his guard down so easily. “How did you know I was actually Suyu? Weren’t you afraid I was some phantom from this fog pretending to be him?”
That joke fell rather flat. As if pointing out a foolproof method, Qingmo raised his hand right up to Suyu’s chest, raising an eyebrow in silent prompt.
The other man caught on instantly, yet deliberately dragged out his movements to tease him, raising his hand to hover right against the palm-facing side of Qingmo’s hand.
Under Qingmo’s sharp, piercing gaze, he stopped a mere inch away.
Had he dared make contact like that, that hand would truly have been minced into ground meat by the Seven Absolute Strings instantly.
Lifting his gaze to meet Qingmo’s eyes with a faint smile, Suyu shifted his fingertips to change direction, resting them gently on the back of Qingmo’s hand as he slowly folded all four fingers into his own palm.
Qingmo let out a sudden breath of relief.
This was a secret code they had agreed upon: grabbing the other person’s four fingers from the back of the hand.
Since their identities were verified and to prevent any accidents, Suyu didn’t let go of his hand either. “Mind at ease now? This mystical fog is treacherous, and we cannot afford to get separated again. Follow me first.”
“Oh.” Acknowledging with a soft hum, Qingmo obediently let himself be led forward hand in hand.
Suyu’s palm was slightly cool, pressing directly against his own furnace-like warmth that seemed to possess an endless supply of vitality, genuinely managing to warm him up a bit.
Only, feeling as though he had just been somewhat played with, Qingmo glanced down at the hand Suyu was holding and hatched a mischievous little plot with a flash of inspiration.
“Ahem! Suyu, have you ever heard a story like this?”
“I am all ears.” Not expecting Qingmo to be in the mood for storytelling right now, Suyu couldn’t help feeling curious.
“Well, it goes like this: Legend says there was a pair of immortal companions the envy of everyone who mistakenly wandered into a forest one day. After sunset, the forest filled with thick fog. Fearing they would get lost, the man grabbed the woman’s hand tightly as he walked ahead to scout the path. Finally, the night passed, the fog vanished, and they welcomed the sunrise of a new day. But just as the man celebrated, he looked back while holding his beloved’s hand…”
He didn’t continue because Suyu had stopped walking in front of a dilapidated wooden hut.
The latter let out a soft sigh, turned around to shake Qingmo’s hand slightly, and picked up the rest of the tale: “He discovered his beloved only had one arm left.”
“How did you know?” Unfrightened, Qingmo felt distinctly dissatisfied.
The wooden hut’s door was ancient and dilapidated, shedding tiny fragments of debris with the slightest push. Opening it revealed an even more choking wave of dust. Covering his nose and mouth with a muffled voice, Suyu murmured, “He used this story to scare me too, though it did not work the first time.”
Qingmo scoffed. “You have zero romance in you.”
“This is Chenyin’s home.” Suyu closed the door, which served purely for decorative purposes, and sealed a reinforcing layer of barrier with a silent hand seal.
Surveying the surroundings, Qingmo noted a single table and several chairs covered entirely in spiderwebs, truly devoid of any worldly possessions. “Looks like a place where humans live. Isn’t her true form a bird?”
Suyu fell silent for a moment. “It is the tree outside, but since this house has long been uninhabited, she simply claimed it as her own.”
Delighted by such uninhibited appropriation, Qingmo chuckled, “Takes after me, what a promising child!”
The world was broken beyond repair, while a little cat patched things up. Having just finished reinforcing the door and wiping down the tables and chairs, Suyu noticed mist beginning to seep in through the window cracks, to prevent those strange entities from following them inside, he had no choice but to continue casting and strengthening barriers.
Compared to Qingmo, who sat idly resting his chin in his hand and spacing out, Rice Cake proved exceptionally industrious.
Yawning, Qingmo’s gaze involuntarily followed Suyu’s movements. A cat working with such earnest dedication possessed a unique charm, and the Demon Lord was naturally no exception.
Staring unblinkingly at those handsome features, his thoughts began to wander wildly.
Qingmo loved beauty and equally appreciated attractive people, a trait evident from his daily fondness for admiring his own reflection. Suyu was a textbook definition of a striking beauty whose looks only grew more captivating over time. The only regret was that they hadn’t both been stationed in the Linyao Palace back then, otherwise Qingmo would surely have rushed over to make friends the very first time he laid eyes on him.
Perhaps growing accustomed to each other’s presence, his recent appreciation for Suyu had escalated uncontrollably.
Across the room, having finished securing the barrier cautiously, Suyu turned around only to crash straight into Qingmo’s burning, unmasked gaze.
Seating himself directly across from him without a sound, Suyu asked, “Is there something on my face?”
“Nothing.” Overcome by a brief flash of embarrassment at being caught red-handed, Qingmo answered honestly, “Who told you to be so good-looking.”
Compliments from him were a rare sight indeed, but Suyu loved hearing them, a smile blooming at the corners of his lips. “How rare to capture your eye. Could it be that you fancy me?”
Though Suyu tossed the words out with a playful, joking air, he secretly harbored an underlying desire to test the other’s attitude.
Qingmo was visibly stunned. The previous embarrassment vanished entirely, replaced by a stomach full of genuine confusion.
He truly couldn’t wrap his head around it. “…Colleagues? Would you ever fancy a colleague?”
Suyu hadn’t anticipated that this would be the crux of his hesitation, transforming an instantly ambiguous atmosphere into a serious debate. “What is wrong with that? Though I have never experienced it, I feel that a colleague’s status does not obstruct two people with mutual affection.”
“That’s a colleague we’re talking about!” Jumping up and slamming his palm on the table, Qingmo argued persuasively, “You see each other day in and day out, and you have to deal with work together every single day! I couldn’t possibly stare at a face like that when I go to sleep at night!”
The mere thought was terrifying enough to give him goosebumps, forcing him to hug his poor, pitiful self.
“This…” Suyu’s lips twitched slightly, never having approached the problem from this angle before.
Perhaps he really should resign and step down.
Massaging his temples with a sigh, Qingmo waved a hand dismissively. “Forget it, you do not understand. After all, your older brother is your boss.”
Truly, communication was impossible.
This probe yielded no substantial gains, yet it forced Qingmo to realize that he might genuinely harbor some inexplicable feelings toward Suyu. It was only kept subtle because the barrier of their colleague relationship had masked it so well.
If it were…
No, no, no, no! How could I possibly have such thoughts, the man has a beloved!
He suddenly slapped himself right across the face, producing a remarkably crisp smack.
Suyu froze in shock. “Qingmo…?”
Putting a bit too much force into it, his cheek genuinely stung, though fortunately no marks were left. Grimacing and rubbing his cheek, Qingmo muttered defensively, “My head was a bit muddled, just waking myself up.”
Narrowing his eyes with a flicker of suspicion hidden in their depths, Suyu stood up and slowly approached him. “Wanting to wake up? I happen to have a much better method.”
“What… what are you trying to do?” Watching the other man’s face close in on him, Qingmo inexplicably flushed red, realizing with dismay that his breathing had grown hurried.
A gentle smile laced with unmistakable mischief hung on Suyu’s face as he pressed both hands onto Qingmo’s shoulders, his fingertips brushing against the soft fabric of his robes before, under Qingmo’s bewildered gaze, stripping his outer garment away.
A rush of cold air struck him, causing Qingmo to shiver and clearing his foggy head instantly.
It wasn’t until Suyu chuckled softly and draped that very garment over his own shoulders that Qingmo realized he had been tricked.
Was this fat cat trying to use a seduction trick just now?!
“Give my clothes back!” Qingmo’s face flushed crimson, though this time purely out of boiling anger.
Feigning a weak cough against his fist, Suyu adopted a frail tone. “It is too freezing, and since you do not mind the cold anyway, stay cool for a while.”
“……You deserve to be dumped!”
Showing basic concern was out of the question, was this sickly invalid expecting people to wait on him hand and foot?
As the first faint glimmers of dawn broke, the bizarre mist finally dissipated. The village remained exceptionally tranquil, with villagers passing each other on the roads without exchanging words, accompanied only by the occasional sound of footsteps.
Having slept with his head pillowed on his arms across the table, Qingmo fluttered his eyes open to find Suyu sitting opposite him, eyes closed in light slumber, still draped in the outer robe he hadn’t managed to snatch back the night before.
Glancing at the sunlight outside, Qingmo lowered his voice and rasped hoarsely, “Suyu…”
The other man kept his eyelashes closed, offering no response.
“Asleep?” Tilting his head to peer closer, Qingmo wondered how this sickly cat could maintain such a rigid, upright posture even in his sleep.
Supporting his forehead with one hand, Suyu cast a dense, dark shadow from his long eyelashes. Following the direction of his closed gaze, Qingmo noticed something seemingly pressed beneath Suyu’s other arm.
It looked like a book. Craning his neck as far as it would stretch, he could barely make out neat handwriting—April…
Before he could investigate further, a hand suddenly cupped his chin and shoved his head back into place.
Opening his eyes, Suyu folded up the booklet and tucked it away securely before speaking in a flat tone. “What kind of cultivation technique were you practicing bright and early in the morning? If you wanted to look at me, you could have done it openly.”
A vein throbbed on Qingmo’s temple. Lately, this fellow possessed a miraculous ability to easily ignite his wrath. Lowering his voice into a soft, sweet-sounding threat, he hissed, “I am going to pluck every single hair off your cat body!”