“Let me go.” Bu Bai said coldly while struggling to break free from Xing Yan"s imprisonment.
“Where do you think you"re going? To look for Yan Shu?” Xing Yan pressed Bu Bai down onto the bed, played with his soft hair, and spoke slowly and at length while emitting a dangerous aura. “Stop thinking about useless things, you are mine.”
Anyone could see the violence brewing in Xing Yan"s eyes and had to beware the danger of provoking him in his current state. However, the little sect master was clearly on a different wavelength. Being very smart, but also immensely prideful, he was unwilling to compromise on anything that he didn"t want to do. He angrily bit down on Xing Yan"s arm with great strength, piercing the skin and causing bright red blood to seep out. However, Xing Yan didn"t even glance at it and deliberately indulged this type of behavior. In his heart, as long as Bu Bai didn"t leave him, anything else could be tolerated and would even seem cute at times.
“Don"t hurt yourself trying to bite me” In order to help the little sect master bite more comfortably, he even deliberately relaxed his muscles and personally delivered his arm to Bu Bai"s mouth.
Xing Yan"s skin was delicate and easy to puncture with his sharp teeth. However, Bu Bai could see that the other person didn"t mind his biting. No matter how much strength he used, the other never showed any sign of pain. Instead, Xing Yan seemed to enjoy yielding to him, just as he had done many years ago. Not getting the reaction he was expecting, he quickly lost interest, loosened his teeth, and started to ignore the man.
Xing Yan was rather regretful when he finally retrieved his arm. At least his love had paid attention to him while biting; he feared that opportunities to occupy his attention like this will be hard to come by in the future. He cut off a piece of cloth and haphazardly bandaged his wounds. Then, he carefully used his sleeves to wipe away the bloodstains on Bu Bai"s mouth and said, “I need to leave for a bit, I"ll come to see you later.”
Bu Bai maintained an att.i.tude of won"t listen, won"t move, won"t speak, and let Xing Yan fiddle with him as he pleased. Only when Xing Yan took the sneakily gave him a goodbye kiss, did he spit out two words: “Get out.”
Xing Yan smiled bitterly. The hem of his fiery red clothes glided through the air in an arc as he turned to walk out of the room. His footsteps sounded like giant bra.s.s bells ringing in the mountains, slow and heavy, hoping for someone to stop his steps. No request for him to stay came.
Only after the footsteps faded into the distance and the door was locked, did Bu Bai finally allow himself to stare in the direction the lonely man had left in. The cold alienation faded from his eyes and they became limpid globes of water, he said: “I"m sorry.” I"m sorry for being unworthy of your feelings. I"m sorry for needing to take your life. I"m sorry for being unable to repay all the care you once gave me.
He plucked out a bottle of poison from thin air. It was selected especially for that person. It had no taste or smell, but it was potent enough that the poisoned person would only live for seven days at most, before pa.s.sing away peacefully. It was a gentle, but cruel poison.
Bu Bai took the antidote before smearing the liquid on his lips. He didn"t have the ability to mess with Xing Yan"s food; therefore, he could only do it this way. Quick. Simple. Gentle, yet cruel.
Xing Yan returned in the evening. The famous master of martial arts entered carrying light dishes in each hand. He hadn"t even paused to untie the sleeves he"d hitched up for cooking in his rush. His current image contrasted sharply with the one that was implied by his t.i.tle. He knew that Bu Bai would not respond to him, so Xing Yan sat next to him without asking and kissed him on the lips as usual. Unexpectedly, there was no resistance, and a little bit of sweetness made its way into his heart.
He knew that Bu Bai had already recovered for a while now, but didn"t think to change his habit of feeding Bu Bai. Fortunately, Bu Bai wasn"t a fan of creating trouble for himself, so he swallowed the food without complaint while ignoring Xing Yan"s idiotic smile.
After feeding him, Xing Yan did not move to leave, so Bu Bai also maintained his stiff posture and didn"t move. They remained at an impa.s.se until the moon was high in the sky. Bu Bai"s entire body was stiff and cold, but he stubbornly refused to give in.
The first to move was Xing Yan. He laughed as he approached to undress the little sect master. He noticed a tremor pa.s.s through the man and his chest became stuffy. Thus, he comforted him by saying, “Relax, I won"t make a move on you.”
Acting like a modest gentleman, he didn"t try to advantage of the man at all. Bu Bai might have really believed his abstinent act if he didn"t discover Xing Yan"s physical reaction. Later, when he was pushed onto the bed, Bu Bai thought that if Xing Yan tried to force him (t/n: to ****), he would really try to kill himself. After all, the only thing the man feared was his death.
Who would have thought Xing Yan really only hugged him and truly slept for the entire night without making a move on him. Bu Bai really had to admire the man"s endurance at this point. Despite his obvious desire, he really didn"t do anything more than a goodbye kiss in the morning.
Realistically speaking, the young sect master was not someone who would be moved by this kind of thing. On the contrary, anyone who disrespected him would not have a good ending (except maybe Yan Shu). However, Bu Bai was different. If you took out the attributes that came with his current body, Bu Bai was a kind and soft-hearted child. Now that the task was nearly finished, he wanted to use these last moments to be a little better to that person. It was the only thing he could do for him.
Therefore, the next day, Xing Yan was a little surprised to see someone waiting by the window for his return. Although Bu Bai was staring at the ground, his ears did not rest. Whenever someone pa.s.sed by, he immediately focused to distinguish if it was the one he was waiting for. His watery eyes were filled with expectations. In this mansion, the only one he could be waiting for was Xing Yan. Xing Yan"s heart felt satisfied. Was it possible that that person was beginning to accept his presence?
“Who is Xiaobai waiting for?” Asked Xing Yan.
“Waiting for dinner.” Bu Bai glanced at him with cold arrogance and exhibited a feeling of "how can a mere mortal understand my profound thoughts.
Xing Yan"s expression melted and he kissed Bu Bai deeply to calm himself down. Bu Bai"s face turned red from the kiss, but he did not put up the slightest resistance. The only sign of refusal was a soft push near the end. It was only a light push, yet it poked at the softest part of his heart.
Xing Yan smiled like a fool, and Bu Bai could only sincerely looked down on his IQ.
Xing Yan"s t.i.tle determined that he had a lot of things to deal with every day. He should only be able to spend a limited amount of time with Bu Bai each day, but recently, Bu Bai found that the time Xing Yan stayed with him was growing exponentially, as was the extent of his tiredness. When he asked the boss why, the boss told him that Xing Yan was giving up all the power his seat gave him, to give Bu Bai a wholehearted future.
Bu Bai was more even distressed, but the future was already set in stone. All he could do was compensate him as much as he could in these few days. He knew that Xing Yan was testing his bottom line and trying to see how much of his actions he could accept. Between his previous kiss and his frequent caresses, Bu Bai was trying his best to indulge in his behavior.
On the sixth day, Xing Yan asked him, “I want you… may I?” His expression was one of indescribable caution. There was room for Bu Bai to refuse, but he didn"t want to hurt him anymore. The little chin went up and he said arrogantly, “That depends on how well you serve me.”
Xing Yan, who had received permission, finally showed his true nature. He had wanted this person to a maddening degree. The man often ta.n.a.lized him without even realizing it himself. His cruel days of being able to look but unable to touch were finally over.
Unlike the brutality from the previous life, Xing Yan was very gentle this time, and Bu Bai didn"t feel any lingering pain. If one could put up with a certain someone who was particularly energetic, the atmosphere was unexpectedly happy and harmonious.
Xing Yan left before the sun even rose. On the other hand, the sun was already high in the sky when Bu Bai got up. He tidied up his appearance and sat before the table to pour himself a cup of tea. Silently, he waiting for the final conclusion of this story.
Xing Yan was busy in his study when his vision suddenly swam. He"d always been very clear about the condition of his body, so he didn"t ignore the slight anomaly and immediately measured his own pulse. The poison had already begun to show its sharp claws, and Xing Yan understood that he didn"t have much longer to live. He struggled and forcefully suppressed the poison.
It was not hard to guess who poisoned him. It was the one closest to him, the one who had hated him the most, and the only one who could make him drop all of his defenses – Bu Bai. Xing Yan walked quickly in the direction of his love. He needed to ask why.
Bu Bai didn"t expect that Xing Yan would still have the strength to come find him, but he was not afraid and looked at the man with a smile.
“Why?” Why must you treat me like this? Am I not good enough for you?
“I thought you understood.” Bu Bai said as he gently wiped his lips and closed his eyes to savored the bitter fragrance of the tea.
Xing Yan smiled bitterly. He did understand, but he didn"t want to. He knelt on the ground as his body withstood the attack of the poison. His eyes contained only that man even in the last moment of his life, yet his love didn"t still did not extend any pity to him.
Just as his heart began to falter, Xing Yan called upon his last burst of strength to thrust his sword into Bu Bai"s chest. His strike was impressively accurate – Bu Bai departed from the world the instant that he was pierced, and was spared the agonizing pain of death.
In the cold room, the man in red hugged his dead lover and shed a single tear. He used his palm to gently close the surprised eyes of his lover, dropped a kiss onto his lips, and left his final words of love: “How could I bear to let you suffer? I already told you, you are not allowed to leave me again. Even in death, my words must hold true." Leaving these words behind, he allowed his head to hang and his breathing to still, yet he was unwilling to let go of his grip on Bu Bai"s hands. Even in death, he grasped Bu Bai"s hand tightly like an immortal vine, entangled.
A year, a summer, a winter. The pain caused by the deceased slowly faded with time, and their story gradually became a distant memory for those involved. A man in green came before their tombs and poured a gla.s.s of light wine over their graves. (t/n: a form of respect for the dead)
“Clearly my age is the smallest of us all, yet I"m the only one still getting older. I want to be buried here when I die too. I can"t let you, Xing Yan, be the only one to prevail.”
The figure was Yan Shu. Perhaps he was really protected by the will of the heavens; somehow he survived even after being left for dead with such a fatal injury. He only heard what happened to those two men after he had recovered. Ever since the day Xing Yan forcefully took Bu Bai away, he"d already guessed that this might be the result. One was too proud and the other was too stubborn. He didn"t want to peel apart the scar on the wound, but he would still occasionally wonder if the three of them could have gone down a different path, less cruel path, if he had cherished those precious feelings all those years ago.
The peach blossoms fell piece by piece, as they formed a poem of their own.
This day of last year within these doors,
from faces the color of peach, dreams seemed to soar.
Now, it"s unknown where the people went,
yet the path of the peach blossoms remained unbent.
And that marks the end of this arc! On a side note, there was a lot of things going on last week (and it was my birthday ( ≧ ∇ ≦ )/) so I couldn"t really find the time to translate a chapter. Releases still might be unstable for the next 2-3 weeks, but after exams are over I promise to make everything up for this month :>
I have a new editor too! Welcome Atsam ?
Translated by Izreate
Edited by Atsam