Back at Li Lun's place, everyone was resting side by side with their respective partners, near a bonfire that Zhu Yan had lit, which provided them with warmth, but did not burn the grass on the ground. Everyone was shocked by the demon hunt they had done just a few minutes ago, which ended with two large core explosions, something they never imagined would happen. Now they were left with more questions than answers, along with more uncertainty than before.
Li Lun rested with his back against Yixuan's chest, sitting between his open legs with his eyes closed. Yixuan leaned his own back against a tree trunk, watching the strange blue and purple fire, which waxed and waned like any other bonfire, only a different color. He had been very scared that something might have happened to Li Lun, since Li Lun had chosen to protect him before thinking about his own safety. He knew well why he had done it, but even so, he feared that he would get hurt because of him, like when he decided to take the damage during his training so that his powers could be awakened. Therefore, he hugged him gently, allowing him to rest under his protection this time. Li Lun had not protested when he called him to rest with him.
Yichen was lying with his head on Zhu Yan's lap on a mat and under a sheet. Zhu Yan combed his long black hair that had a soft blue glow from the fire with his own fingers to reassure him that everything was fine. Yichen had been quite shaken by the explosion, the fall, the feeling of all that raw, dark energy that enveloped them as they lay on the ground, the horrible sound of something breaking, the horror of seeing it happen too close for comfort, so Zhu Yan kept him close, watching over him and making sure he was okay. The explosion took them all by surprise, as a core implosion was not something even Zhu Yan had seen before.
Ying Lei and Bai Jiu were sitting close to each other, holding hands. Their usual jovial energy, completely drained by something sinister. Their bodies leaned towards the fire, seeking more heat. Wen Xiao rested her head on Sijing's shoulder, their hands also clasped, and Sijing drew circles on Wen Xiao's hand, perhaps hoping to calm their inner turmoil. Siheng had his back resting on Yun Guang's back, supporting each other, and sometimes Siheng rested his head on the crook of Yun Guang's neck, closing his eyes.
"None of that makes sense. How can a demon implode like a bomb? We had hunted demons for a long time and that... has never happened before. Demons turn to dust when their cores are destroyed. We all have seen it, no explosion, not that sickening thing this Huan Jing demon had forced on them... It was terrifying, even if we were physically safe from the impact." Ying Lei voiced, as the silence was getting on his nerves.
"A demon core is not meant to implode. A spell was cast for it to happen. You see, a strong demon can control other demons, less powerful than them. Both me and Zhu Yan can do this, but it's not something either of us will do. Controlling others, means you are forcing them against their will, which is something no one wants to done on them. Demons that did this in the time of the gods were severely punished. Thus, demon control, became taboo, even after the war. No one wanted to provoke another war with the gods, so it became an unspoken rule among great demons not to be done." Li Lun was still taken aback by that fact.
"But can they cast that kind of spell on you both?" Yichen asked as he opened his eyes and looked at Zhu Yan, visibly worried, but Zhu Yan smiled at him.
"No, Baoebei, you don't need to worry about that. We, great demons, can't fall in control of others, nor can our cores be destroyed in such a way. That spell is a physical one, it had a direct connection with the cultivation they have, and the more years it passes while they have that mark on them, the more explosive it will become. What is unclear here is, if the demons were willing to carry the mark in exchange for power, or if they were forced. It could have gone both ways, but we will never be under that nine tail fox influence." Zhu Yan assure him, gently caressing Yichen's handsome face.
"Then, the other demons coming our way have this mark too? Can we prevent them from imploding like that, when they fail? I mean, I know they are demons who had committed horrible crimes, even against their kind, they are fiends, but that kind of way of dying is... repulsive. I could feel both of their horror, the realization of betrayal, the intense pain, even if it lasted for a few seconds, like it was my own... And to be honest, I don't want to experience something like that again." Wen Xiao tremble and Sijing pull her closer, as she hugs her and rubbed her arms, whispering soft words like, 'everything is fine now', to make her feel more secure.
"I can, but that would give me away, if I'm not already," Zhu Yan replied, never looking away from Yichen's blue eyes.
"I can too. So, if there's a chance, let me do it," Yun Guang offered, and Siheng tensed behind him.
"Will it be dangerous for you?" Siheng asked, resting his head on his neck.
"No, not in the same way as it would be for the rest of you. I am a divine sword, I am not affected by physical damage. Even if the explosion occurred right in front of me, without a shield, the impact would do nothing to me. I have too many layers of protection done on me by gods, during my forging. I was even forged by the ever burning fire of the heavens, my metal extracted from the depths of a divine mountain, not to mention what Ying Long offered for my inner core, my cultivation and my consciousness. He gave me life and a part of his power, while my body gives me strength and immortality. I can nullify a mark made by a demon, regardless of whether it is weak or strong. I can even nullify Zhu Yan's spells, until he becomes a god." At Yun Guang's words, Zhu Yan laughed and Yichen looked at him curiously.
"Is that laughter because of one of those stories, you didn't let Yun Guang tell me before? How about you tell them to me now? Come on, it will ease this oppressive atmosphere." Yichen looked at Zhu Yan so intensely, that he lifted him off his lap, enough to give him a soft kiss. Yichen closed his eyes and allowed it, blushing, but delighted.
"Zhu Yan always tried to play tricks on me, especially when I didn't expect them. However, he always fails, even when he got help from Li Lun..." Yun Guang confessed, and Li Lun chuckle in Yixuan's arms.
"So you did it?" Yixuan asked with amusement.
"The monkey forced me..." Li Lun returned the accusation to Zhu Yan.
"I did not! You were the one who wanted to test the extent of his abilities the most. You wanted to defeat him more than me," Zhu Yan accused, and Yixuan laughed.
"So you were a mischievous tree, too?" Yixuan asked in good spirit, unconsciously spreading his golden aura to purify the oppressive atmosphere left by the fight. Li Lun noticed this and smiled, closing his eyes again.
"He was indeed as bad as me," Zhu Yan confirmed.
"They both were, but that was their nature, and I took it as useless pranks..." Yichen laughed.
"Baobei, don't laugh. You should be defending my honor, not enjoying the insult," Zhu Yan complained.
"What insult? What he said was nothing but the truth..." He turned his head, to try to hide his smile. However, Zhu Yan gently lifted him up again to snuggle him closer, which made Yichen laugh even more, and rested his head on his chest, which became partially covered by his long hair. The one, Zhu Yan had been playing with, earlier.
"I'm your Baobei... Yichen... stop taking his side..." Zhu Yan gently brushed Yichen's hair away from his smiling face. He was glad that now he was in better spirits, smiling again, instead of trembling in shock on his arms.
"But he is my sword, and we are bonded since childhood..." Yichen defended himself, which made Yun Guang very happy. It was always a pleasure for him, to see that the young man held him in such high esteem. It was a fact, that they had bonded since he chose him as his Master.
"Come on, Zhu Yan, don't be so hard on him. I've carried him to bed, more times than you have in the past," Yun Guang teased, and Yichen looked at Yun Guang in surprise.
"What? You did? When? I had never seen you in your human form, before living in Zhu Yan's mansion," Yichen asked, also looking at his brother for some kind of unspoken confirmation.
"Those nights when you cried yourself to sleep, after your mother died, I shapeshift and take you back to your room. There were times when your brother almost caught me doing it, since he knew you were crying alone too. But when he came to look for you, I had already taken you back. Only when he was too close for me to shapeshift, he would find you asleep in you hiding place," Yun Guang explained, and Yixuan smiled at him.
"I see, and that explains some things. I always thought that it was a bit strange, that Xiao Chen had returned on his own, all those times I couldn't find him in his usual hiding place. He really did cry himself to sleep many times, and I notice that his sword was always by his side. Thank you, for taking care of my Didi. Back then, he really needed it," Yixuan's aura became warmer.
"Lucky kid..." Siheng murmured softly, and Yun Guang smiled, tilting his head to the side to look at him, seen, a faint blush coloring his ears.
"I can carry you to bed too, if you want." Siheng blushed even more.
"That would be too much for my mortal heart. Imagine, a very handsome immortal god, carrying me in his arms to bed... Zhu Yan, you lose this round." Siheng closed his eyes in embarrassment, unable to shake the forbidden image from his mind. Zhu Yan grunted, feigning defeat and there were more smiles showing up.
"Now I'm jealous, Baobei, can I kiss you?" Yichen laughed as he blushed, and so did the others, finally feeling more normal again.
"Shameless monkey...", but Yichen himself put an arm around his neck and kissed him with soft kisses between smiles. Seeing them so cute, Wen Xiao giggled. Pei Sijing hide her with her hand.
"Thank goodness you can now call Zhu Yan by his name, since there are no more demons around. But we have to be prepared for the next coming wave. What are we going to do with those? We know for a fact, that they follow Huan Jing as their Master, but he doesn't care about them at all. It's obvious, he even tricked Gu Yue into challenging Li Lun, making her believe that he was injured from his fight with Zhu Yan." Wen Xiao pointed that out again, and Li Lun rolled his eyes.
"They were idiots to fall for a lie like that," Li Lun said, and Yixuan gave him a gentle blow on the chest.
"Stop teasing Zhu Yan. He always won, don't forget it," Yixuan whispered in his ear, causing Li Lun to sigh.
"The demons need to be stopped before they can try to cross the gate, under Huan Jing command. As a nine tailed fox demon, he had a lot of cards up his sleeve and I may know some of them, but he has proven to be more resourceful than expected." Zhu Yan warned them, and they looked at each other.
"Wen Xiao, you have the gift of precognition bestowed upon you by the goddess. She appeared to you in your dreams before. Right now, her spirit is free to be summoned. Get some sleep and see if you can contact her. If not, you all need to rest. The last battle may not have been physically difficult, but it was, emotionally. Li Lun and I will keep an eye out for demons. I can sense their presence from a great distance, and Li Lun can send more leaves around. Although I swear, he has already flooded this whole world with them." Ying Lei laughed, and Bai Jiu smacked him on the thigh.
"Come on, that was funny..." Ying Lei defended himself and Bai Jiu snorted at him.
That was so cute that Ying Lei couldn't help, but kiss him on the forehead. Bai Jiu's eyes widened, as his face grew hotter than Yichen's. Ying Lei, instinctively covered his ears, waiting for one of those loud screams of his, when he got scared, nervous, or surprised. However, what came was another blow, to his ribs, this time, and everyone laughed as Bai Jiu melted with embarrassment.
"Well, whether I can summon her or not isn't the problem right now. To be honest, I'm not in the mood to sleep. I'm afraid I might have nightmares." Wen Xiao confessed, and Yichen trembled again in Zhu Yan's arms. As Zhu Yan looked closer at each of the humans, he saw a similar fear.
The demon world was beautiful in many ways, but also a terrifying place. The demons were too corrupted, their actions horrific to a human mind unaccustomed to such malice. They had trained tirelessly to face them head-on, to defeat them, but the horrors that came with hunting true evil demons, were a different kind of battle, that no one could be protected from. Facing such cruelty, only by experiencing it many times, would dull their emotions. However, the brief time they would spend there, would not provide them with any real relief.
"I can use one of my one-word spells, to make you sleep without nightmares..." Zhu Yan looked at the man in his arms, who sighed with visible solace.
"Please do, at least this time. If there are more core explosions on our way to Crystal Valley, at least we'll be more prepared to handle them, but for now, we all need some peace of mind." Yichen whispered, taking one of Zhu Yan's strands of hair and nervously twirling it around his finger. This broke Zhu Yan's heart. His Baobei was so young, so kind and pure, that such vile actions and energy could affect him more deeply than others with more experience.
"Xiao Zhuo Ge, is right. That will be a great help. Tomorrow we'll be back to normal, and it will be easier for us to deal with it after a good, dreamless sleep." Bai Jiu added to his Ge request, since it was also his own. Zhu Yan looked at Li Lun for confirmation.
"Go ahead. It's what everyone needs." Li Lun said, as he removed himself from Yixuan, so he could lie down too. Yixuan was an experienced warrior, like Pei Sijing, which made him less affected by the events of the fight, but a quiet, peaceful rest was still a kind of paradise. Yichen remained nestled in Zhu Yan's arms, his hand still holding onto his long hair.
"Zhu Yan..." He was about to ask him not to leave him, but Zhu Yan already knew and gave him a soft kiss.
"I'm not going anywhere, Baobei. I'll be by your side when you wake up." Yichen smiled.
"That's my beloved monkey... I love you, Zhu Yan." He said, and Zhu Yan's heart melted as he gave him another longer, but gentle kiss.
"I love you too, Baobei. You're safe here, get some rest." Yichen settled more comfortably in Zhu Yan's arm, and closed his eyes. So, when everyone settled themselves comfily on their mats, with their special ones by their side, Zhu Yan placed his finger to his lips and cast his spell.
"Sleep." He murmured, and a cloud of red smoke covered everything around them. He had commanded them only to sleep and not to dream, which would keep the nightmares away. Both Li Lun and Zhu Yan kept watch for any approaching demons while they rested, without separating from their mates.
Hours later, Wen Xiao finds herself in a golden field of extreme beauty, a place that could only be called paradise. Perhaps she had unconsciously summoned the Baize goddess, but when she turned, she was quite surprised to see Sijing's figure lying on the soft golden grass, a short distance from where she stood. Just as she was about to move closer to her, she felt the still, divine presence of the goddess behind her. Turning again, the goddess smiled kindly at her.
"You two are so intertwined that even in this summoning, she remains with you, even if she is unaware."
"Is she alright?" Wen Xiao asked worriedly, and the goddess Baize nodded.
"She is. Zhu Yan's spell is strong."
"Then, please, goddess, can you give us more guidance about things within the demon world..." The Baize goddess, gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Do not fear, Wen Xiao. None of your destinies will be trampled by evil demons. You were all chosen because your hearts are stronger than that. Even if the path you are walking may confuse you at times, you will find a way, and you always will... remember that..." The goddess began to fade, and Wen Xiao found herself drifting back to peaceful sleep.
AN: Thanks for reading, this in is just them been human. Until next time, please take care.