The next time Zhuo Yixuan woke up in Li Lun's arms, it wasn't with drowsiness but with the feeling that something was trying to draw his attention, like a pulse that didn't come from him or the place where he was lying. In reality, it came from his pouch, enlarged by a spell, where he kept the important objects or things he needed. Similar to the pouch Ying Lei used to store all kinds of vegetables, spices, a wok, and even his Kunlun dagger.
"You are awake already, Xuan? It's still dark; you can go back to sleep for a couple more hours," Li Lun whispered, gently kissing Yixuan's forehead.
Yixuan smiled genuinely at hearing him use the more informal and intimate version of his name. He was only called Xuan by the people closest to him: his family, friends, and now, his lover. Then, Yixuan tilted his head to kiss Li Lun more intensely. It wasn't an overly passionate kiss, but it was enough for Li Lun to feel his approval for joining the small club. He was learning, and Yixuan was simply delighted, forgetting for a moment the reason he had woken up.
"So, you are happy about that too." Li Lun affirmed, feeling it in every fiber of his being, just like Yixuan.
"Of course I am, and you can say that I was even expecting it..." Yixuan replied, giving him another gentle kiss, and then Li Lun chuckled.
"You're too simple to please with the smallest things. Get some more rest... to be honest, you should still be under the influence of Zhu Yan's spell, just like everyone else," Li Lun said, looking at him with a touch of concern.
"Something woke me up..." Yixuan confessed, while Li Lun looked at him with a frown.
"What do you mean? Is it Nuwa?" Li Lun asked worriedly, knowing that Yixuan had a deeper connection with her and she had possessed him, even if briefly, in the past.
"No, it's not her... I felt some kind of attraction coming from inside my robes, like a faint heartbeat." Yixuan moved away from Li Lun, just enough to reach for his pouch and pull it out from his robe. They both stared at it intently, feeling the strange sensation emanating from it.
The pouch felt warm in Yixuan's hand, as if some kind of heat were seeping through the spell and the fabric, and it pulsed like a heart with some kind of energy that Yixuan couldn't identify. It felt familiar and strange at the same time, as if he should recognize it, but not as something that belonged to him. Zhu Yan, who wasn't far away, with Yichen asleep in his arms, looked in their direction and observed the object.
"Please, don't open it yet... even if it's tempting you to do so." Zhu Yan warned Yixuan, instinctively feeling that whatever was inside the pouch wasn't ready to be fully unveiled yet, which caused Yichen to stir in his sleep.
Yixuan looked at the dark blue pouch again, realizing there was only one thing inside that would affect his brother, making him uncomfortable as he snuggled closer to Zhu Yan, muttering incomprehensible things, seeking comfort. Thus, he agreed with Zhu Yan's suggestion and put it back inside his robe.
"So, what's stirring inside Xuan's pouch? Is it the flower I gave him earlier? Zhu Yan, if you know anything about it, like what the heck that thing is..." Li Lun started to complain, but Zhu Yan's gaze stopped him, as it was the most serious expression he had ever seen on his face in his entire life.
"That flower is an illusion that even I can't decipher. That's all I can say for sure. What it is, what it hides, or why it affects Yichen so much, I can only speculate. So far, whatever that illusion conceals has only affected Yichen and no one else. To me, this suggests it must be related to Bing Yi, because the only person who has affected him in that way since childhood is Bing Yi. Back then when the incident happen, I don't think the flower wanted to harm Yichen, but rather to grant him power." He looked down at Yichen again, gently caressing his face.
"It could also mean that it needed a pre-established condition to reveal itself, or perhaps simply to move things forward. Back then, Yichen saw Bing Yi sealed inside a mountain, somewhere in the Crystal Valley. He saw the huge formation, the way to find his seal, and the whereabouts of Cheng Huang. It was the flower that guided us here, and thanks to it, we discovered that the demons were approaching the gate." Zhu Yan gently covered Yichen with the blanket that had shifted when he stirred.
"So, the flower is some kind of key to Bing Yi? Or perhaps to the formation itself? Because, ever since I picked it up, it has only led us to things that will ensure the humans, and our entry into the Valley. It seems Yichen is still connected to it in some way that he can't avoid. This makes me wonder, is the Crystal Valley calling for him?" Li Lun asked, and Yixuan sat down next to him, looking at his sleeping brother.
"If what the flower truly wanted was to reach my brother from the beginning, and it's indeed connected to Bing Yi, then that explains why Li Lun felt compelled to pick it for me. As brothers, we share a bond of blood and affection, which will draw him to me, and that will place him within the flower's range of power. Even if I, too, carry Bing Yi's blood, I am more connected with Nuwa than him, sparing me of the flower's influence. If all that is true, then we can be certain that the flower is indeed something either Bing Yi left behind for him or for you, Zhu Yan." Li Lun thought that Yixuan's reasoning was sound, and Zhu Yan wondered, not for the first time, what Bing Yi and his father had planned for all of them.
His father had seen too much in his life, and because of that, he was always conflicted about choosing the paths that led to the best outcome. However, one choice carried consequences that led to more possibilities that could affect the path he wished to follow. One example of that was that Bing Yi ended up sealed deep within an icy mountain in the Crystal Valley alongside a demon god, for had he not done so, the human and demon worlds would have been destroyed. Ying Long would never have wanted his beloved to suffer such a cruel fate, but Bing Yi was not going to prioritize his own life over that of humans and demons.
"Regardless of the flower's secrets or to whom they were meant to be held or known, there is still a fact that we can't change right now. More demons are coming our way, and our path to the Crystal Valley is not going to be any easier. If the flower is attempting to contact him once more, it might be a sign that time is running out or that it's trying to alert us to something else." Li Lun was almost sure that Huan Jing may not be the only one acting up behind the scene.
The fox demon was cunning, and although he possessed enough power to control many high-level demons, he had noticed that most of them were becoming far more restless than usual. The other great demons were no exception. They, too, were showing signs of venturing out of their territories, perhaps exploring the possibility of expanding their domains, but they hadn't yet approached the gate. Naturally, this made him suspicious, and he crossed the gate to alert Zhu Yan that the situation was changing and that he might soon be in danger.
"In any case, we'd better hurry to Crystal Valley as soon as possible. If the demons have ulterior motives with us, they'll follow us no matter where we go. The sooner we arrive in the Valley, the more we'll discover about the plans Bing Yi and Ying Long had for us." Yixuan still couldn't answer their questions, but he continued to feel that strange sensation coming from his pouch.
"I agree with Yixuan. The demons heading towards us have slowed down since Gu Yue and Zhimei's cores imploded. I can't say if the other demons felt the implosions of the cores, nor if there had been any change to their original plan. If they were planning to ambush us along the way, it was something we had already anticipated as one of the possible scenarios we might face. However, neither in training nor in reality will that possibility stop us. As soon as the others awaken, we will leave," Zhu Yan concluded.
"Do you hear that, Xuan? Lie down again and try to rest. When the others wake up, near dawn, we might not have another chance to rest like this. We might have to fight several high-level demons at once, so take advantage of this brief moment of peace." Li Lun advised his beloved, who smiled at him and moved closer so Li Lun could embrace him before closing his eyes again.
Zhu Yan's spell wore off on the humans right at dawn, and after a short discussion and some breakfast, they set off towards Crystal Valley. They walked for long hours, and both Zhu Yan and Li Lun still sensed that the other demons were coming, but were somewhat slowing down their advance.
Perhaps they really were planning an ambush, but Li Lun's domain was vast. Of course, vast territories were common among great demons. The only difference that distinguished Li Lun's domain from the others was that as a tree demon, he had absolute control over his territory, as nature itself submitted to him in mutual protection.
Still, the most relevant thing was that Li Lun's domain was the closest to the gate, just a couple of miles away, which made him an unintentional guardian of it, whether by destiny or by default. His constant presence in the proximity of the border between the two worlds was also another reason why very few demons dared to approach it.
However, as they got closer to where the other demons were waiting, Pei Siheng became increasingly concerned that something was amiss. He knew that both Zhu Yan and Li Lun were using their Truth Eye, which were more powerful than Wen Xiao's or Zhuo Yixuan's golden eyes, but saw nothing out of place yet.
Thus, he tried to control his restlessness and concentrate on the road, like everyone else. They were all tense at the possibility of being surprised, despite their precautions. However, Siheng couldn't get rid of that strange feeling deep inside his being. Since Yun Guang was paying more attention to Siheng than the rest, since he was still in transition, he noticed his concern and approached him. Since Bing Yi's sword was as famous as the dragon god, Yun Guang was to remain in his human form until Yichen needed him to fight.
"What's wrong?" Yun Guang asked him quietly as they walked, and Siheng sighed.
"Am I too obvious?" he asked in turn, and Yun Guang smiled at him for a moment.
Yun Guang concluded, "You are, but it's also because I pay more attention to you... as the core of our spell, of course," but Siheng's heart skipped a beat, knowing that his interest extended beyond the spell.
"Have you ever had the feeling that you are missing something that you should know? Or at least be aware of?" Siheng asked bluntly.
"Sure, but that usually happens when your instincts are trying to warn you of something you haven't realized yet. You're stronger now, Siheng, so dig deeper into that feeling, and maybe you'll find the answer." Yun Guang pressed him, knowing full well that not all attacks were illusions and that the demons waiting for them had many tricks up their sleeves. Sometimes, the deadliest attacks come from the simplest things hidden in plain sight.
"I can't lose focus on the road right now. We could be attacked at any moment," Siheng pointed out, emphasizing what was obvious to him, but Yun Guang knew better than to ignore his instinct. Particularly from someone who was once a demon.
"I got you covered. I can take control over your body temporarily through our bond and the fact that there are still some traces of your puppet demon nature lingering. Go ahead, expand your mind and see with your own eyes what your power has already perceived." His words once again surprised Siheng, who was beginning to realize that he was just like Zhu Yan and Li Lun: too powerful to understand their full capabilities.
"Yun Guang, you really are..." He tried to express his admiration for the divine sword spirit, but as Yixuan's golden aura spread out, mixing with the sunlight filtering through the treetops, Siheng caught a glimpse of light caused by something he knew perfectly well, because it was part of who he was.
As they passed them, he saw the remnants of a ghost thread reflected in the golden light of Yixuan's aura. This thread was entirely invisible to the human eye, but it had a hint of the energy of someone who was exactly like him—a ghost, a puppet, a doll. This was precisely the reason his gut told him he was missing something, since he nearly did. All around them there were perhaps hundreds of charged white threads, closing in on them. He first learned about her during Zhu Yan's training, so he now knew who they were facing.
"We are in a trap!" Siheng shouted, wasting no time, and unleashed his power in a huge wave that sent thousands of thin golden hair-like threads in all directions, cutting the barely visible threads of Zhi Ren, the Paper Doll demon.
AN: Thanks for reading, darlings, and I hope you have a wonderful New Year with your family, friends, or loved ones. Until next time, please take care and many blessings for the coming year.