Chapter 71 - Sal, He’s in Love With That Elf
The night was falling when they returned to the Dragon Valley, but this didn’t hinder Suo Fei’s eager desire to resurrect Vixanne back to life.
As soon as they reached the ground, Suo Fei was already eager to use the artifact.
Hull looked at the sky and persuaded, “The resurrection artifact doesn’t have much energy left. If it doesn’t work this time, there wouldn’t be another opportunity. It’s best if we prepare well. Have a good rest tonight and do it tomorrow.”
Listening to Hull say this, Suo Fei was anxious beyond comparison. c.r.a.p, there’s still a success rate and failure rate?Don’t be so delusive!
However, he didn’t dare to say much as his fear of offending Hull was increasing by the minute.
Since Hull told him to have a good rest, Suo Fei didn’t voice out any objections.
Lil’ Nael’s tummy grumbled and he whispered, “Hungry.” Hull wanted to prepare a meal for Nael. Suo Fei thought that he should help Hull, especially since Hull had been trapped inside the abyss for such a long time. He had consumed too much physical strength. To let him cook was rather too inhumane.
And Samael… This ultimate gong-daren might be skilled at a lot of things, but when it came to cooking, he’s truly helpless. When they were in the Bois Canyon, Suo Fei had killed ferocious beasts with all his might in order to improve his power. As a result, he exhausted all his strength and couldn’t move an inch. It just so happened that there wasn’t any food available.
At that time, Samael still had an expressionless face, but he knew that it was a golden opportunity to show off his talents so he appeased Suo Fei to have a rest and he went to prepare a meal.
Samael asked him what he wanted to eat. At that time, they just happened to have caught a gigantic whale so Suo Fei suggested that they eat fish. The little cub madly nodded in agreement, expressing that he couldn’t swallow raw food at that time and wanted to eat cooked food.
Thus, Samael busily prepared the food for them.
At that time, Suo Fei was moved. He thought, Look, our ultimate gong-daren is so excellent and so outstanding. He can ward off enemies and is also a good cook. Suo Fei somewhat felt inferior.
Not long after that, Suo Fei discovered that he wasn’t a good cook at all! He was simply good at lighting up fires! Suo Fei was dazedly woken up by a soaring blaze. Before he could even react, Samael had already carried him and swiftly escaped the place.
After escaping, Suo Fei looked at the forest fire from a distance and then looked at the little cub who was covered in dirt and the ultimate gong-daren who still had a graceful bearing but was evading his gaze. Suo Fei was rendered speechless.
Since then, Suo Fei had to take on the heavy responsibility of cooking by himself.
Cough… n.o.body is perfect. Having a shortcoming is endearing, isn’t it? I’ll leave it up to your imagination how Suo Fei managed to hide in a corner to secretly laugh at Samael.
Thus, at this very moment, Suo Fei took the initiative to stop Hull and hurried to the kitchen with the fireball fatty.
It didn’t take him long to cook a soup and three dishes. Considering Hull’s condition, he only prepared light food. The little cub was dissatisfied because of this. Hence, Suo Fei had no choice but to roast a wild boar especially for him.
While Suo Fei was bustling about, Samael looked through a book in the living room. This was a habit that he had formed while in the Bois Canyon. One time, when Suo Fei was cooking, Samael asked if he could look through the books in his interspatial bag. Suo Fei naturally didn’t refuse.
He had a large number of books in his interspatial bag, all left by Vixanne. Suo Fei previously thought that they were rare spellbooks so he flipped through them with interest. It was true that there were a lot of rare spellbooks, but unfortunately, Suo Fei looked through them for nothing. There was not one that he could practice. If he put up these books for auction in Benesse City, he might be able to exchange it for a large number of gold coins. However, these things had been given to him by Vixanne so he didn’t want to sell them. Besides, he wasn’t so poor that he’d need to go to that extent.
Thus, if Samael wanted to read them, he was simply willing to let him read. If Samael could practice them, their fighting strength would increase by leaps and bounds, which was a good thing.
Thus, when Suo Fei carried out the food (the roasted wild boar had already been swallowed whole by the little cub), what he saw was Samael sitting on a chair by the window, flipping over a thin book. His slender fingers were on the paper that had yellowed with age and he had a relaxed expression. As night was falling, he was enshrouded with golden sunlight, making the scene seem more serene.
Suo Fei felt warm inside. He shifted his gaze and saw Hull at the other end of the room in the shadows. He was resting with his eyes closed as he leaned against a s.p.a.cious wooden chair. His body seemed thin and weak. As he wasn’t as tense as before, his beautiful face was somewhat wan and sallow. It hadn’t been obvious, but now Suo Fei thought that he must be extremely exhausted and tired.
Lil’ Nael lay sprawled across his lap, already asleep and snoring.
When Suo Fei came out, Samael looked up and threw a faint smile at him. Suo Fei winked at him and placed the food on the table.
Hull had not fallen asleep. When he heard the movement, he opened his eyes a little and saw the intimate interaction between Samael and Suo Fei. He stared blankly and then closed his eyes again. His body’s exhaustion seemed to have amplified.
During the two years they had spent in Bois Canyon, it was needless to say that Suo Fei’s cooking skills had improved by a lot. His reference material was Yalance’s specialties. It seemed delicious just by looking at its yellow-green appearance.
Upon tasting it, Hull flashed a rare smile and said to Suo Fei, “Tastes delicious.”
Although Suo Fei always felt that Hull was aloof and unapproachable, at this moment he felt that Hull wasn’t that bad. Anyone who had been praised would be in a good mood, not to mention that he would be able to resurrect Vixanne tomorrow and fulfill his much-awaited wish. Thus, Suo Fei was in the state that he would feel happy at looking at anyone.
After finishing the dinner, Hull said, “I’ll bring Nael to our old home to rest. We’ll come here early in the morning tomorrow.”
Suo Fei agreed and Hull left.
After leaving the house, Hull carried Nael and flew. Not long after, they reached an extremely tall wooden house. The house had been carved from a huge tree. It looked very impressive from afar, but looking at it closely, one would discover that the carvings were extremely meticulous, especially the relief sculptures that were simply vivid and lifelike.
Hull quietly looked at it for a while before entering the house. He went up to the second floor and put down the sleeping Nael. Then, he went to the second room on the right.
He had yet to open the door when he abruptly stopped. A deep and low sound came from inside the room, “Hull, you’ve returned.”
This voice was too familiar. Hull narrowed his eyes and stood in silence for a moment before he pushed the door open.
A man was sitting on the sofa at the center of the room. The hood of his black robes was pulled away, revealing the long, straight golden hair that hung right down to his waist. His skin was fair and glowing while his face was extraordinarily handsome. The corners of his mouth were raised slightly and a smile could be seen in his golden eyes.
Behind him, a blue-haired sylph stood quietly. He was extremely beautiful but not a hint of expression could be seen on his face and his blue eyes had always been blank.
Hull looked at him and said, “Salvag Bran.”
The blonde-haired man smilingly asked, “Why are you acting so unfamiliar? “Just call me Sal.”
Hull furrowed his brows as his initially relaxed mood became tense. He didn’t respond nor did he refuse. He merely sat on the other edge of the sofa, leaning backward and closing his eyes.
Sal didn’t get angry because of his dismissive behaviour. He spoke, “I’ve already told you before to stay in the treasury, but you refused to listen. You insisted on doing things your way. You didn’t know the situation outside at that time. Things had reached a dead end when Launay and his imperial guards disappeared but you still went out by yourself. Wasn’t that exactly what they wanted? To only be stuck in the bottomless abyss is already extremely fortunate.”
Hull remained as silent as before.
Sal continued, “I know that you were worried about him, but you can see that he’s still alive… You should know that he can’t die…”
As he said this, Hull suddenly turned to look at Sal. His emerald green eyes were fuming with anger, “You didn’t see anything, so shut your mouth!”
Sal’s eyes narrowed. A spurt of anger bubbled forth which he tried to suppress. He forced himself to remain calm as he said, “Hull, all of us have lived through it. There’s only us left in the once numerous Dragon race. I don’t want to be angry with you. I also don’t want to lose any more compatriots.”
As he said this, Hull’s expression became gloomy. A course of excruciating exhaustion coursed through him. He closed his eyes and quietly said, “Sal, I want to rest.”
Sal halted and he silently looked at Hull before he said in a deep voice, “You must wake him up!”
Hull suddenly opened his eyes and unwaveringly stared at Sal.
Sal didn’t cower back, “Hull, we need him!”
“No, he’s already done enough.” Hull paused before continuing to say, “He’s good now, a lot better than I thought he would be, so that’s enough.”
Sal sneered, “Good? How could he be good? He was born in the Demon Realm and was subjected to all kinds of bullying, humiliation and oppression. If someone else was subject to what he had experienced, they would have died hundreds and thousands of times. He escaped the Demon Realm and wandered to the Human territory where he was endlessly betrayed and incessantly abandoned. Could this still be called ‘good’?”
Hull was stunned. He didn’t know of these things.
Sal continued, “Do you really think that the elf is sincere towards him? Don’t make a joke. You still actually naively believed that intruder? They are greedy, self-indulgent and only do things that benefit them. Moreover, they have deep-rooted hostility towards us. Despite this, you actually thought that the elf really likes him? It’s nothing more than making use of him! Only a greater betrayal awaits him!”
As he continued, Sal spoke softly, “Hull, he belongs to you. You’ve been with him for so long. As long as he remembers the truth, how could he still like that elf? Could it be that the thousand years’ worth of affection between you two can’t even compare to that intruder that he had known for only a couple of years?”
These words were like sharp blades that pierced Hull straight in the heart. Griping pain a.s.saulted his stomach as he barely suppressed the endless memories and yearning to see him. But…
Hull closed his eyes as the scene of Samael interacting with the elf resurfaced in his mind. His facial expression, the expression in his eyes, those were things that Hull had never seen before. He had always believed that Samael was unsentimental. Thus, even though his hints had always been met with disregard, Hull optimistically believed that he was already special in Samael’s heart, so he didn’t pursue him aggressively.
But now… He saw a different kind of Launay, a completely different kind of him.
He discovered how much he had deceived himself back then.
Emotions that were hard to put into words surged into his heart. Hull felt weak all over. He covered his eyes as he indistinctly spoke with difficulty, “Sal, he’s in love with that elf.”
When he said this, he struggled to hold back his tears but was unable to stop the rim of his eyes from reddening. It was as if a sharp sword pierced his heart, puncturing all his self-consolation and was left powerless to face the reality that was revealed before him. He clearly realised that the affections between them that he had silently protected for thousands of years and which had already penetrated deep into his marrows were nothing but his wishful thinking.
A trace of impatience flashed in Sal’s eyes but it wasn’t revealed in his tone as he softly said, “Hull, you should think clearly. So what if he’s in love with that elf? That elf doesn’t deserve his feelings. You think that you’re helping him by letting him go, but in fact, you’re only harming him!”
Sal paused for a while before he emphasised, “The nature of those intruders is something that you should know better than anyone. He only covets his power, his wealth, or perhaps… his appearance. If something that’s more valuable to him shows up, he will abandon and betray him without the slightest hesitation. Think about it. If Samael’s really betrayed after investing his feelings, how much pain would he be in? Isn’t it easy to see?”
Sal spoke a lot. Hull listened intently and he recalled Suo Fei’s appearance. He pondered about it carefully and suddenly thought of a matter.
He turned to Sal and asked, “How could you know that he was born in the Demon Realm, that he wandered to the Human territory and that he had a bitter experience?”
Sal was somewhat stunned. He didn’t expect that Hull could still think so clearly in this situation.
Hull stared at him and asked, “Since you knew where he was, why did you let him go through these sufferings? Even if you couldn’t make him remember, you could still stop these things from happening! But you only watched on coldly! Sal, what do you mean by this?”
Being exposed in such a straightforward manner, Sal who was initially leaning backward became more indolent and wilful, “You should know why.”
Hull’s face became more freezing.
Sal coldly snorted and penetrating hostility could be seen in his golden eyes, “It’s true that I didn’t give him unnecessary care. The intruders can’t be forgiven for what they had done. I knew that Launay had been reborn, but I can’t make him remember the past, so I at least wanted him to remember his hatred! He must hate them, he has to!”
Hull retorted, “So you just looked on coldly? You watched him suffer desolation, bullying and betrayals? Sal, did you forget how you managed to survive?”
“I remember everything! But I couldn’t find you! I thought you were dead! If you were dead, no one could make him remember. I couldn’t let him forget our hatred, and I believe that if he woke up, he will definitely understand me.” Sal replied.
Hull stared at him for a long time before he turned his eyes away and said, “I’m not going to awaken him. He doesn’t have to bear this burden. He’s suffered enough.”
Sal suddenly stood up, “Hull, don’t let me force you!”
Hull recalled the little details of their journey as well as the Launay who leisurely flipped a book as the setting sunlight fell on him. He recalled the simple dinner and the affections between the two that he had accidentally witnessed. Lastly, he recalled Samael’s expression as he looked at the elf.
He knew him too well, thus it was clear for him to see. This made his stomach churn in knots. At the same time, he felt it more clearly than anyone else could.
Hull’s eyes drooped and his voice was low but resolute, “He’s good now, that’s enough.”
He had just spoken when Sal moved forward and grabbed Hull’s neck with one hand. A hint of ruthlessness flashed through his eyes, “You coward!”
Hull stared on calmly. He didn’t resist nor did he respond. He wasn’t Sal’s opponent in his best state, let alone now that he’s weak. Moreover, he couldn’t attack Sal… It was his clansman…
Sal fixed his gaze at Hull and sternly spoke, “Do you really think that I can’t awaken him without your acquiescence?”
Hull was stunned and felt it unbelievable.
“Hull, you know that I’m not going to kill you, but since you won’t acquiesce, you’ll inevitably suffer a bit.”
Sal glanced back to his left and called out in a low voice, “Summer!”
“Yes, master.” Summer immediately approached and held Hull.
Surprise could still be seen in Hull’s eyes when he felt a force that he couldn’t reject invading his body.
Not long after, Hull disappeared without a trace.
The ruthlessness in Sal’s eyes faded. He sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he already had jadeite green hair and emerald eyes. His appearance actually changed into Hull’s appearance.