“What reminder?” Wang Dian asked.
Liang Ye immediately closed his mouth and straightened up.
When Wang Dian wanted to ask more, Liang Ye touched the back of his hand inconspicuously, and he immediately closed his mouth.
Yue Jingming walked up to them, ignoring the slight red energy of romantic destiny between them, “Liang Ye, this was the path you chose yourself, do you still remember?”
Liang Ye raised his head to look at him.
Back then when he decided to leave, Yue Jingming and Xiao Chunhe waited for him for five whole months. In the end, he still chose to return to Northern Liang. When Yue Jingming came to find him, he only expressed regret with one sentence.
“I remember,” Liang Ye said in a deep voice.
Yue Jingming’s gaze fell on Wang Dian, “Dwelling on the past only breeds demons. If you don’t even trust yourself, being entangled in pain is pointless. Liang Ye’s path was his own choice, and so is yours.”
“Walk the path you’ve chosen yourself.”
After speaking, he swept his whisk, and both of them fell flat on the ground simultaneously.
It took Wang Dian quite a while to come to his senses, only to find that Liang Ye had already pulled him up. Yue Jingming had disappeared from the room. After being dazed for a moment, he suddenly burst out in anger. “What right does he have to lecture me!?”
Liang Ye held him and said softly, “They can hear us next door.”
Wang Dian said angrily, “So what if they can hear, I–mmph.”
Liang Ye held the back of his head and kissed him. Wang Dian struggled a bit, but after losing strength, he really had no energy left. The kiss made his mind even more confused. “Damn…they can hear!”
Liang Ye smiled mischievously, his sharp canines grinding against his lips, yet his voice was soft as he begged, “…just a bit more.”
Wang Dian felt he was being too clingy, but found it hard to convince himself to refuse. His already unclear mind felt like it had turned to mush as Liang Ye kissed him thoroughly.
He wearily rested his forehead on Liang Ye’s shoulder, eyes half-lowered as he caught his breath. “What’s this about cultivation methods and damaged foundations?”
Liang Ye lowered his head to bite his hair, eyes downcast as he muttered unclearly, “Don’t know, Zhen’s body is perfectly fine.”
“I don’t remember anything.” Wang Dian closed his eyes then opened them again, looking seriously into Liang Ye’s eyes. “If I really was Liang Ye in my past life, I don’t have any related memories. What I went through, how I died – I have no impression of any of it.”
Liang Ye gripped his wrist and said in a deep voice, “Don’t listen to Martial Uncle and the others’ nonsense.”
“Let me finish.” Wang Dian tightly grabbed his collar, seriously feeling the sound of his heartbeat. “I don’t care if this world is real or if it’s a dream I constructed. I don’t care what Yue Jingming and the others want to do. As long as you’re still breathing in front of me, I won’t trust anyone else. I only trust you.”
In this absurd, chaotic, bizarre and precarious world, Wang Dian’s entire being was floating. His precarious mental state didn’t allow him to trust what he believed to be rational judgment. Perhaps he really had transmigrated, perhaps this was just an empty dream he was having, perhaps he was awake, perhaps he had been hallucinating all along.
When all the dust settled, when he opened his eyes, he might see Liang Ye, or he might see the stark white ceiling of a hospital.
Wang Dian’s eyes were dark and deep, like an endless abyss, looking at Liang Ye with near calmness.
Liang Ye stared at him, his gaze carrying a somewhat intrigued smile. “Wang Dian, you trust me?”
He possessed an almost beast-like sharp intuition. Wang Dian was clever, cunning, and had the same vigilance and coldness as him. Even though they had reached this point, even though they were intimately close, they still remained mutually guarded. Their revealed feelings were heavily decorated and beautified. Once one side exposed a weakness, the other would unhesitatingly pounce to bite the other’s throat, completely becoming the victorious one in the dominant position.
Like now.
Wang Dian was very dangerous when his depression acted up, extremely aggressive, yet his confused and frightened appearance made him seem to have a few hints of false fragility, making one want to protect him out of sympathy, while also being tempted to destroy him.
The desire to dominate and possess that rose in his heart made his blood begin to boil. Liang Ye’s mouth twitched unnaturally. He wanted to put on a gentle and sympathetic exterior, to make Wang Dian expose his vulnerable neck trustingly under his fangs, but the twisted and excited light in his eyes betrayed him, making his smile seem inappropriate.
He whispered in Wang Dian’s ear, like lovers’ tender murmurs, unconsciously becoming coaxing, “Wang Dian, who do you trust? Say it again.”
“Trust you,” Wang Dian tightly held onto him in his confusion, saying softly, “Only trust you.”
Liang Ye’s breathing carried uncontrollable trembling as he contentedly embraced him, saying against his ear, “Then from now on, you can only listen to what I say.”
“…Mm.” Wang Dian buried his head in the crook of his neck, frantically taking in his scent, mumbling, “If I die, you shouldn’t live either, okay?”
“Alright.” Liang Ye fiercely bit the neck he had been coveting, tasting the sweet iron of blood. He raised his head, wiped the crimson blood with his fingertips, grabbed Wang Dian’s chin to lift his head, then seriously applied it to Wang Dian’s pale lips while looking down.
The bright red blood was both gorgeous and decadent. Liang Ye’s breath caught, then he grinned at him and said, “If you have that ability.”
Wang Dian smiled, lowered his head to lightly kiss his fingertips, his tongue curling away the remaining blood. He stared at Liang Ye as he gently licked the blood from his lips, “Of course.”
If he died, no one else should live.
“Shall we?” Liang Ye leaned in to kiss the remaining blood on his lips, his breathing becoming heavy and rough as he reached to undo his clothes sash.
“Just to please you?” Wang Dian let out a low grunt, not resisting, eyes half-closed as he leaned against him.
Liang Ye’s expression turned displeased, “You just said you’d listen to everything I say.”
“Tired.” Wang Dian frowned.
Liang Ye didn’t make a sound, probably considering that next door could hear, and said softly, “Then I’ll hold you while you sleep, won’t go inside.”
Wang Dian didn’t respond, his breathing had already become long and even.
Liang Ye held him and kissed him for a long while before finally settling down to let him sleep.
On the other side of the wall.
Xiao Chunhe was shocked, and after processing for a while, looked at the unmoved Yue Jingming beside him, “Why do I feel like neither of them understood what you meant?”
He was clearly telling them to stay true to their hearts!
Why did it turn out so inappropriate!
Yue Jingming gave him a bland look. Xiao Chunhe moved closer to him, narrowing his alluring fox-like eyes, “This guy is simply crazy. If you really separate them, believe it or not, he’ll fight you to the death?”
“This is the path he chose himself, I won’t interfere.” Yue Jingming sat motionless, using his whisk to block his constantly approaching face.
Xiao Chunhe grabbed his whisk, narrowing his eyes to say, “Thankless task, as stupid as ever.”
“Xiao Chunhe, calm your mind.” Yue Jingming said coldly.
Xiao Chunhe rolled his eyes and found a spot to meditate by himself.
****
Wang Dian only slept for one hour before waking up. Outside, the sun was setting. He got up with a dizzy head. Liang Ye was just coming in with a secret letter.
“Martial Uncle modified Li Bu’s prescription, how do you feel after drinking it?” Liang Ye walked to the bedside and touched his sweat-dampened forehead.
“Much better.” Wang Dian looked at the secret letter in his hand.
Liang Ye handed it to him, “Tomorrow at noon, Bian Cang wants to execute a hundred officials in front of the council hall.”
“Has he gone mad?” Wang Dian opened the letter and quickly scanned it, thinking briefly before understanding, “He wants to draw you out?”
“Zhen must appear.” Liang Ye sat on the bed edge, “But Zhen can’t figure out where his confidence comes from.”
“By doing this he’s not leaving himself any way out, he just wants to die together with you.” Wang Dian rolled up the letter in his hand, “Let’s make an assumption – if he lost his family because Liang Cong caused the deaths of Bian Rufeng and Bian Xin, he might hate everyone so much he wants to drag them all to death with him. But at that time, Liang Hua, wang Xusui and Cui Yuxian were fighting fiercely, it was his chance to benefit from their conflict, but he didn’t do it, instead enduring under Cui Yuxian for many years…
Taking another step back, even if he truly lacked power then, when you were muddleheaded and hadn’t taken control, that was the perfect opportunity to eliminate you. Why wait until you had gained real power, won battles, and were at your peak to seek this path of death? He’s even eagerly forcing you to appear?”
Liang Ye’s index finger lightly tapped his palm, “He was waiting for an opportunity.”
Wang Dian grabbed his finger, moving close to whisper, “If we assume that mysterious State Preceptor from back then was the origin of everything, and Northern Liang suddenly declined from its peak period, let’s add a premise – if those ethereal things really exist, wouldn’t everything make sense?”
Liang Ye raised his eyes to look at him.
“This State Preceptor wanted something from Northern Liang. Following this logic, he was likely waiting for a particular time. As emperor, you happen to be his biggest obstacle – perhaps he needed you to wait until this time.”
Wang Dian grinned, “And your master appeared at just the right moment.”
Liang Ye’s gaze suddenly turned sharp, “What do you mean?”
Wang Dian’s eyebrows twitched slightly, “Liang Ziyu, think carefully. If Cui Yuxian hated Taoists so much, why would she agree to let Yue Jingming enter the palace to save your life? And who was it back then, and for what purpose, that made you drink a whole bottle of Crane’s Crown Poison that almost killed you?”
(TL: “鹤顶红” (Hè Dǐng Hóng) refers to a highly toxic poison, historically depicted in Chinese literature, especially in wuxia stories. It’s said to be made from the red crown of a crane, but in reality, it’s likely a mix of real poisons like cinnabar (mercury sulfide), arsenic compounds, or other deadly substances.)
“Most importantly, if Yue Jingming truly wanted what was best for you, why did he ignore it when you drank White Jade Soup for over ten years and became mentally unstable?” Wang Dian’s voice was both composed and bewitching, “I’m not saying your master is that State Preceptor, but there must be some connection between them, and you know nothing about it. They never intended to tell you either.”
Liang Ye looked at him with an unreadable expression.
“And my arrival here has countless connections with them. Even if they weren’t responsible, they must know some inside information.” Wang Dian said, “How can you be sure that my coming here isn’t because some people want me to completely replace you?”
Liang Ye’s jaw tightened as he stiffly turned his neck, “Wang Dian, during this sleep, you were thinking about all these things?”
“Yes, because there’s no one else in this world who wants you to live more than I do.” Wang Dian smiled gently and considerately, gripping Liang Ye’s fingers tightly as he forcefully intertwined their fingers, “So don’t trust anyone except me.”
“Whether it’s fate or destiny, seize it yourself.”
