What should I do, to keep you from dying?
Langmuir never thought that he would hear such words from Hun Yao one day.
In the past, they never avoided talking about death. Especially Hun Yao, who would often say things like “Be careful, I’ll kill you”, “You must want to kill me”, and “Unless I die”.
But when the real farewell came, the Demon King began to ask him for a hundred years, two hundred years, and…not to die.
Langmuir thought bitterly, how could the King be so cruel?
Especially when he had nothing left to give.
That night, after a long silence, Langmuir agreed to try living on the barrier cliff for a while. The condition was that Hun Yao would stop using demonic breath.
The Demon King seemed to have found a glimmer of new hope, and his dim eyes lit up faintly.
The next day, he prepared everything in half a day. The bone staff symbolizing power was still entrusted to the respected high priest Tada and the young king Tianpo. He led only one wildebeest, brought a carriage, and left the royal court with Langmuir.
On the barrier cliff, a small wooden house had been built at some unknown time.
It didn’t resemble the rough style of the demons, but it also didn’t quite look like human architecture. It was somewhat incongruous.
Langmuir was helped off the carriage by Hun Yao, and he couldn’t help but laugh when he saw it.
He said helplessly, “Is this your idea, my King?”
Hun Yao was a bit uncomfortable, “So much to do…as long as it’s livable.”
The Demon King ordered the construction of this house, naturally intending to make Langmuir a bit happier and more comfortable.
However, the time the demon army had been stationed in the human world was too short. After seven years, who still remembered what human houses looked like?
…In any case, as long as it was livable.
So, Hun Yao moved in with his slave.
The wooden house was not large, and the furniture was simple, seemingly ordinary.
But Langmuir keenly sensed something was off. He squatted down, reached out, and lifted a piece of wooden floor, instantly dazzled by the bright metallic luster – it was a whole layer of fine silver.
“My King…” Langmuir’s expression was complicated.
He knew that Hun Yao had no fine silver left, and to gather so much in such a short time…
“Don’t overthink.” Hun Yao came over and put the wooden board back in place, “Many of them were voluntarily contributed. There are many more demons who don’t want you to die than you think.”
In the first few days they moved in, Hun Yao’s old injuries were severely recurring, causing him to suffer from insomnia and palpitations every night. Langmuir, on the other hand, was sick and weak, and it was unclear who was taking care of whom after they moved in.
Neither side would give in, and they could argue over the smallest things, giving the wooden house a sense of mundane daily life.
On the reclining chair, Langmuir had just finished applying medicine to Hun Yao’s bleeding scales and was a bit tired.
He held his favorite firefox blanket, squinted his eyes, and was about to fall asleep. Taking advantage of this drowsy moment, he softly called out, “…My King.”
“Hmm?”
“You haven’t hated me for a long time, have you?”
“Who said I don’t hate you.” Hun Yao sat in front of the small stove, grumbling as he brewed medicine for the human. The medicinal soup bubbled and emitted a bitter taste, “You can’t possibly think that just because I don’t want you to die, I don’t hate you?”
Langmuir sighed, “This medicine is too bitter and doesn’t seem to be of any use. Can I not drink it?”
Hun Yao: “Bear with it, I’ll give you candy after you finish the medicine.”
Langmuir: “.”
Over the past seven years, they had weathered countless storms together. It was rare to have such a relaxed and comfortable time together.
Days passed, one after another. Every morning when the faint sun shone through the thinning barrier and fell among the scattered wildflowers, the wooden door would open.
The Demon King would carry the silver-haired young man outside, letting the pale cheek bask in the sunlight.
At this time, Langmuir often couldn’t wake up. Hun Yao would sit on the cliff, counting the wildflowers and patiently waiting.
Listening to the shallow breathing in his arms, he felt that he could count flowers like this for a lifetime.
When the human in his arms started to stir, it was also the warmest time of the day.
Langmuir would wake up and smile in surprise, reaching out to catch that golden light.
Hun Yao stroked his hair, thoughtfully, “If you could return to the human world, would your illness be cured?”
Langmuir’s smile disappeared immediately.
He often smiled, but if he deliberately didn’t smile, his entire demeanor would become somewhat cold, like a lofty snow mountain.
It was infinitely close to the image of the young son of god from fourteen years ago, sealed in the fleeting glimpse of the Demon King’s memory.
“My King, don’t joke about this.” Langmuir lowered his eyelids, “At this point, please let me go in peace.”
The human race’s Holy Monarch, who had been a slave in the abyss for seven years, had figured out the customs and power distribution of the abyss, and even achieved a position above all demons under the Demon King.
In the end, because his body was gradually weakening…he was sent back to the human world by the soft-hearted Demon King?
Then, the ending of this story would be too thought-provoking and too terrifying.
“What are you thinking,” Hun Yao said, “How could I possibly send you back to the human world. What if all your obedience and efforts over these seven years were all for the plot you made at this moment?”
Langmuir was reassured, he knew that Hun Yao was clear-headed.
Hun Yao added, “Even if I wanted to, the time for the barrier to weaken is far from now, I can’t break the barrier.”
Langmuir said regretfully, “If it weren’t for me shooting off your right horn that year, my King, you should have had the power to tear the barrier at any time.”
Hun Yao laughed, “But if you didn’t shoot that arrow, the evil Demon King could invade the human territory at any time, causing devastation and death…Langmuir, if you could go back to that time, would you still shoot that arrow?”
Langmuir was silent.
Hun Yao regretted it. Over the years, he had gotten used to provoking Langmuir with these things, but he shouldn’t have done so now.
“Let’s not talk about it,” the Demon King immediately softened his voice, “Hypotheticals are meaningless, let’s not talk about this.”
Langmuir coughed lightly and shook his head.
He lifted his face, his eyes surprisingly firm, “There’s always a way. If I could go back to that time, I would find a way.”
…..
Not to mention, ever since moving into the barrier cliff, Langmuir’s condition did seem to have improved.
His physical strength continued to weaken, and he was now even unsteady on his feet, but the symptoms of pain and coughing up blood were less, at least it didn’t look as scary.
The news reached the royal court, and many demons joyfully danced a dance of blessing. In front of the small wooden house, occasionally, there would be a bit more fine silver or medicinal herbs for recuperation, not knowing who had sent them.
Langmuir was surprised. He pulled Hun Yao over to look and asked doubtfully, “One or two is fine, but why would so many demons come to give things to a human? Did you use some cruel means to force them?”
Hun Yao was both annoyed and amused, “Nonsense, no.”
Langmuir suddenly felt that the world was strange.
It seemed that Hun Yao no longer hated him, his enemy, even though the Demon King didn’t admit it;
The demons in the abyss seemed to no longer hate him, a human, even though not many were willing to show their faces.
He had thought that the root of hatred had deeply penetrated the bones and blood of these different race brethren, and it would be hard to shake even if he exhausted his life.
But when he was about to reach the end of his life, he found that everything was much better than he had imagined.
At this time, the abyss was initially settled, and fortunately, it was peaceful, and it didn’t matter if Hun Yao disappeared for ten days or half a month.
The Demon King’s subordinates would often come to visit the barrier cliff, and Langmuir was still worried, asking about every little thing.
One day, he asked about the rebel army that had ambushed the Demon King back then, and asked with concern whether the ringleader had been caught.
The one who came to visit at that time was Tianpo, and the young king glared at him fiercely.
“It was just found out yesterday,” she said, “I’m going to report to my King today. The leader of those death-seeking ghosts is a tribal leader from the west, the great demon Guleilong.”
“As for the words shouted by a few captives, it is said to be a prophecy divined by their tribal priest. Coincidentally, Guleilong’s son has been showing abnormal signs recently, somewhat similar to the signs of bloodline awakening, so…”
Langmuir’s face darkened a bit.
“Prophecies, you can’t trust them too much.” Hun Yao sat at the head of the bed, scooping up the last bit of medicinal soup in the bowl with a small spoon, carefully feeding it to the patient.
He watched as Langmuir indeed drank it down, and there were no signs of him vomiting the medicine, then he continued, “Tada is the most prestigious priest in the abyss, and sometimes even he can’t divine accurately. Those priests from small tribes, nine out of ten are talking nonsense.”
Every time Tianpo came over, she didn’t like to stay long. Once she finished reporting, she wanted to leave.
Langmuir suddenly said, “Young king, please stay.”
Tianpo: “What do you want me for?”
Hun Yao: “What do you want her for?”
The Demon King and the young king spoke in unison, Langmuir couldn’t help but laugh, quickly holding Hun Yao’s hand to soothe him, “I have something to say to the young king…”
Hun Yao raised an eyebrow, “Tianpo, listen to him.”
“…Yes.” Tianpo ground her teeth in resentment, and had no choice but to drag her tail back.
Unexpectedly, Langmuir took another look at Hun Yao and said seriously, “My King, I want to talk to the young king alone. It will only take a moment, please…step aside for now.”
Suddenly, both Hun Yao and Tianpo’s expressions changed.
Tianpo was the first to be shocked, “Human, you have some nerve!”
Good, the slave actually dared to ask the King to step aside!
Unexpectedly, Hun Yao really stood up and walked out. As he passed Tianpo, the king’s scaly tail patted the young girl’s back, “Don’t provoke him, if he provokes you, bear with it.”
Tianpo was furious, “My King…!”
But the Demon King had already calmly walked outside the wooden house and closed the door.
Tianpo was so angry that her face turned red and her ears were hot, and she slapped the floor with her tail.
Damn, she cursed in her heart, damn human!
She was clearly the noble young king of the royal court, why should she be reduced to this!
Tianpo gritted her teeth, looking at the man on the bed who was smiling calmly.
“Langmuir,” she said, “you’d better spit out something useful, or else…”
Even so, she had already guessed what the human would say.
It was nothing more than those big truths, pretending to be mature and instructive. Cloaked in hypocrisy and condescension, that was what she hated the most.
“The young king doesn’t like me, I know.”
Langmuir was still smiling calmly, he lightly placed his right hand on his heart, “To save time, I’ll just say it.”
“As you can see, I’m about to die. But before I die, there’s one thing I’m still worried about.”
Tianpo: “Huh, what does it have to do with me?”
Langmuir: “It does.”
“Young King, I once told my King, you should know too…”
Langmuir looked up faintly, looking at the sky outside the wooden house window, “I can open the barrier of Gasuo.”
There was a sudden silence in the cabin for a few seconds.
Tianpo’s face still held that arrogant disdain and disgust, just like that, it stiffened and slowly twisted into a strange expression.
“What…?”
“This matter, I originally wanted to ask my King.”
Langmuir was very calm, he continued on his own.
“But I didn’t expect that the King would exhaust himself to save me. Now with the prophecy of Guleilong, I am worried. If possible, I don’t want to disturb his demonic breath anymore.”
“Fortunately, there is still some of my King’s demonic breath remaining in my body, if the young king can assist, it should be barely enough.”
“——Langmuir!”
Tianpo suddenly jumped up, she rushed to the human’s bed in a few steps, her face full of anger, as if she was about to open her mouth and scold something.
But the next moment, she felt a tightness on top of her head.
That always gentle human slave, actually reached out and grabbed one of her coiled horns.
It was such a fragile palm, but because it was too fragile, Tianpo was dumbfounded for a moment, she actually dared not move!
Langmuir just lowered his head like this, he lowered his voice very low, his beautiful eyebrows calmly hidden in the shadow, it was exactly like the image Tianpo had imagined——
“I want to ask the young king, before I meet death, can you lend me your demonic breath.”
——The human Holy Monarch who had endured in the abyss for many years, finally revealed his true face, and when he stabbed the demons with a deadly sword, he should have looked like this.
But the whisper of the Holy Monarch came to her ears, Tianpo clearly heard him say,
“I am here for the demons, to open the barrier above their heads.”
