In hindsight, Jiao Ziyu was surprised that he hadn’t just snapped. Then again, this was still the Demon King, and Jiao Ziyu obviously knew his own limits. Besides, going by the look on the Sect Leader’s face, he had been far from the only one contemplating violence.
By now however, additional time had passed – and quite a few events as well, leaving them in the present.
“I didn’t think I’d actually say this,” said Sect Leader Yeguang, who had once again invited himself into Peak Lord Bai’s residence. “I didn’t think I’d actually say this, but I think I’ve actually stopped regretting not kicking you lot out of the sect. All my efforts at reconciling with the other sects have gone to waste, sure, but⸺”
The demon toddler chattered cutely, burrowing into the crook of his neck, and Yi Yeguang actually looked close to tears as he went on to say: “If anything bad ever happened to Princess Báilián, I’d kill everyone here and then myself.”
He most likely meant it too. “What about Princess Hónglián?”
The other’s response was swift, practically automatic. “Princess Hónglián is a vicious predator who can take care of herself.”
Well, on one hand, that was indeed correct. On the other however⸺
“They’re twins.” – or, well, they belonged to the same clutch or litter – whichever applied in this case.
“I stand by my earlier statement,” Yi Yeguang deadpanned, and he was far from the only one with said opinion.
It hardly mattered though.
Princess Hónglián was out in the garden, stumbling after Youming Jun like a little duckling while Peak Lord Cheng hovered anxiously behind her – and as Jiao Ziyu looked, he honestly couldn’t help but ponder the deep irony of both the Sect Leader and the other Peak Lord volunteering themselves as childminders to the offspring of the Demon King. Jiao Ziyu didn’t really see the need to question it though, and neither did anyone else – not within earshot, at least.
And as it turned out, the other Peak Lords had been up to quite a few things outside of Jiao Ziyu’s purview. Because after they had beheld Bai Jixue’s apparent offspring with the Demon King, a fair number of spirit stones had changed hands – and of the Elders, two had grumbled something about finally being able to ascend whereas the third, Elder Huang, had grinned widely as the seeming winner of some long-running bet.
And Jiao Ziyu had pointedly not asked, because he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know and that he’d rather have plausible deniability when Bai Jixue inevitably turned up to exact his vengeance.
There was one thing that Jiao Ziyu really did want to know though.
“So, when’s the Demon King coming to pick up his progeny?” Jiao Ziyu asked Little Yue, who’d gone to the Demon Realm to ask directly.
Little Yue, sporting an entirely new set of braids in his hair, only offered up a mild shrug in response and some mild, mild reassurance. Because⸺ “I’ve been told it’ll be at least five more years until they’ve absorbed enough Yang energy to be allowed back. Not sure it’ll be enough though – for some people.”
And indeed, Jiao Ziyu knew exactly which people the other was talking about. Ah, honestly, he felt ready to start tearing his own hair out!
“I honestly don’t get it though,” he said. “They – a whole bunch of them – were cooing – freaking cooing – at the direct offspring of the Demon King. And of Bai Jixue, but let’s not get into any of that.”
“I don’t have enough data to say for sure,” Little Yue said at last. “But if I had to guess, then I’d say it’s some sort of evolutionary adaption.”
Uh⸺ “It's an evolutionary what now?”
Little Yue reached up, tracing a finger over his new braids, clearly deep in thought.
“A defence mechanism,” he finally decided, then elaborated with: “If it’s very cute, then it’s more likely to be taken care of than eaten.”
Jiao Ziyu just stared at him – because how could he not, honestly? Because⸺ “No way. Bai Jixue wasn’t like that at all. Bai Jixue was⸺”
Awe-inspiring, but also intimidating to most. Cold, yet also⸺
“I must say that I do admire Grandmaster Jixue’s self-control,” Little Yue suddenly said, cutting right into Jiao Ziyu’s thoughts.
Self-control? “What do you mean?”
This earned him a definite look. Then Little Yue just sighed, shook his head and then finally just went: “I mean, why wouldn’t I? If that master of yours had been taunting me like that, then I would’ve probably eaten him.”
And upon hearing this sudden and extremely unexpected and disturbing confession, Jiao Ziyu immediately took a step back.
Then, once an opportunity presented itself, he promptly left to look for Mingyue, and as he sensed Little Yue’s gaze boring into his back, he experienced a sudden chill and immediately began to walk faster.
“So?” Jun says, leaning against the doorway of Yue’s private study. “Why is Jiao Ziyu insisting Bai Mingyue check you over? He seemed to think that you might’ve been possessed or something.”
“I’m not possessed,” Yue scoffs. “I merely expressed my admiration for Grandmaster Jixue’s self-control and said that I would’ve eaten that Jiao Zilei guy if he’d been taunting me like that.”
And not just probably – definitely.
“Okay,” Jun says, slowly making his way over. “Now, I’m mildly alarmed.”
Annoyed, Yue lifts his gaze only to find Jun standing awfully close now and eyeing him strangely. “What?”
Jun says nothing for a good moment, then finally: “I think we might need to consult an expert.”
“Congrats,” Bai Jixue said, directing himself towards Youming Jun. “Turns out you’re not the only demon bastard in this union.”
“As expected,” said one visiting Demon King, patting his nephew on the shoulder. “Excellent instincts.”
Jiao Ziyu wasn’t sure what to call it though – because honestly, what were the odds? Freaking unbelievable.
“This technically makes three now, doesn’t it?” the Demon King said next, leering very obviously at Mingyue, who initially said nothing. The expression on his face said an awful lot however.
“Get out,” Mingyue finally spat, and everyone left.
Jiao Ziyu didn’t though. Instead, he finally turned towards his cultivation partner and asked: “Mingyue, is there maybe something else that you’ve forgotten to tell me?”
Clearly, a certain someone had been keeping secrets, and although Jiao Ziyu wanted to push, he figured that he might as well wait until the dust had settled. Because apparently, Little Yue had started manifesting some sort of demonic heritage, and he and Youming Jun would be accompanying Bai Jixue and the Demon King back to the Demon Realm and stay there until Yue’s condition had become a bit more stable.
And this was honestly fine, because frankly, Jiao Ziyu felt that they were probably ill-equipped to deal with that sort of thing. Besides, given the confrontation that Jiao Ziyu was planning, he figured he’d rather do it without an audience.
Mingyue didn’t make things particularly easy for him though, because the latter was clearly trying to avoid him.
And so, Jiao Ziyu backed off, returning to his own peak. He did after all have his own duties to attend, duties that he might’ve somewhat been neglecting during the time he’d acted as a support to the extended Bai lineage.
Jiao Ziyu had briefly considered summoning either Yixuan or Xiyu back to deal with things, but had ultimately opted against it, figuring he might as well make use of this opportunity to go through some old paperwork.
It sure took a while though, and Jiao Ziyu saw little need to hurry. He also saw little need to stop, continuing well into the night – and now much like many nights before, the moon hung bright but low in the starry skies.
Jiao Ziyu pointedly didn’t look though – because right now he was busy, and choosing to remain so.
And it wasn’t that he was oblivious to the fact that he had a visitor – more than one, even. Because Jiao Ziyu had known almost straight away, even if he made no move to acknowledge it. Instead, he just dipped his brush in ink and made a few corrections before moving onto the next document to repeat the process.
Then, suddenly finding a certain crimson-haired menace peering at him from around the corner, Jiao Ziyu finally just sighed and motioned for Princess Hónglián to come closer, and as she did, Jiao Ziyu quickly picked her up and settled her on his hip.
“Hello there, little menace,” he muttered. “Did Mingyue send you here to terrorise me?”
Jiao Ziyu wasn’t quite sure if the child was old enough to understand what that meant, but⸺
Princess Hónglián blinked and then quickly pointed in direction of the garden and quipped: “Báimíng-xiōng.”
Hah, right. “Shouldn’t it be either Míng-shīfu or Míng-shúfù?”
But the child just shook her head and insisted “Báimíng-xiōng”, and Jiao Ziyu just sighed, because he wasn’t about to argue with a child – and especially not with this one, who seemed to be on her best behaviour tonight.
“Fine,” Jiao Ziyu said. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
With the demon child still on his hip, he pushed the door open and stepped outside.
Then he stopped, staring at the figure standing out into the garden – because that was undeniably Bai Mingyue, although for some reason, he was wearing that thing again – that weimao that he’d once claimed from Bai Jixue and then somehow failed to return. The other was also carrying a child; Princess Báilián, quiet as usual. In fact, there was even a high chance that she was sleeping, because that was what she usually did when Mingyue carried her.
Her menace of a sister meanwhile wouldn’t, typically eager to go around and explore, and picking her up always carried the definite risk of getting scratched or bitten.
Thus, when the crimson-haired menace started wiggling, Jiao Ziyu knew to let her down immediately and then looked on as Princess Hónglián ran back to Mingyue, disappearing and then reappearing at his side, tugging at his long sleeves.
Mingyue said nothing though, and as the moment dragged on, the crimson-haired menace turned her gaze back towards Jiao Ziyu, clearly frustrated.
And with that, Jiao Ziyu sighed, and finally decided to take the first step – or at the very least the next one. Then, with a quick glance towards the moon – so full and bright – he looked towards Mingyue where he stood, showered in pale moonlight.
“Say,” he said, sliding his hands up his sleeves as he took another step. “Will you ever let me see you – what you really look like?”
Mingyue said nothing in return, not at first. But then he snorted and muttered something under his breath, and while Jiao Ziyu couldn’t quite hear it himself, he did see the crimson-haired menace mouth it and drew his own conclusions from there.
“Yeah, no,” Jiao Ziyu said as he continued walking. “I really doubt it. I mean, if you were, I wouldn’t mind, of course. I mean, I’d probably be relieved if your true form was at least a little ugly, because⸺”
“It’s not a matter of true form,” Mingyue said, reaching up to adjust the weimao. “I have different forms, but they’re all me.”
Huh. Well⸺ “Then there’s no problem.” Jiao Ziyu smiled, coming to a stop before him, and then said: “I’m sure I’ll love you equally in all of them.”
It was a quite brazen statement, sure, but that didn’t mean that it was any less true. Sure, Jiao Ziyu might’ve initially been fascinated by Mingyue’s looks, but if that had been everything, then he would’ve been content to continue watching him from a distance.
“Are you sure?” Mingyue asked softly. “I wouldn’t want to startle you.”
Hah.
“Honestly, at this point, what would even shock me?” Jiao Ziyu asked, leaning in. “I mean, I already know about your master, and I already know about your disciple, and I already know about my master’s half-demon bastard and the whole bit where my master got together with the Demon King’s sister and ended up killed and eaten and sealed inside a sword. I mean, on one hand, I feel like I might have had enough shocks and surprises for a lifetime. But on the other hand, I feel as though there’s little more that can honestly surprise me. I mean, next thing I know, you’ll be telling me you’re actually a dragon or something...”
He’d said that last part mostly in jest, but the way that Mingyue’s breath suddenly hitched gave him a definite pause.
“Oh,” he said, not really sure what to say. Then, realising how this might be interpreted, Jiao Ziyu stepped forward instead of pulling back and – in a reflection of that time at the Lake of Bones – he reached out to part the veil, and this time around, Mingyue let him.
“So,” Jiao Ziyu said at last, reaching even further to cup Mingyue’s face, brushing his thumbs against the revelations previously hidden behind the veil. “Dragons and phoenixes, huh?”
And eyes like glaciers finally locked with his – his relatively plain ones that had always served him so well.
“Don’t worry,” Jiao Ziyu said, leaning in. “Scales or feathers, horns or wings, claws or fangs – or everything all at once. No matter which forms you take, I’ll love you all the same, and I hope you’ll do the same for me. There’s no real need to hold back – except maybe in bed, because you know, unless you’ve got any more surprises to spring on me, I’m still just a human after all.”
“Not just,” Mingyue said in turn, sliding his free hand around the back of Jiao Ziyu’s neck, pulling him even closer. “Human. Nothing more and nothing less.”
Yeah, but⸺ “Are you sure? I mean, you’re a dragon. Surely you deserve someone better and I’m pretty sure that you could’ve found someone far more⸺”
“It’s not a matter of deserving,” Mingyue said. “It’s a matter of choosing.”
Oh. Okay then. “Then it’s really simple, isn’t it? You chose me and I chose you – and I stand by that choice, whether you’re a human or not. I would like to know more though, unless you’d mind, of course?”
Jiao Ziyu wouldn’t mind waiting though, because this was probably enough revelations for one night. Also, there was a sudden tugging at his robes, so he quickly stepped back to pick up the crimson-haired menace before he ended up getting bitten again.
“What do you want to know?” Mingyue finally asked as Jiao Ziyu straightened back up with the child once again on his hip.
“Depends,” Jiao Ziyu said. “What do you want to tell me?”
Going by the silence that followed, this was either nothing at all or Mingyue struggling to make up his mind. And it was apparently the latter, because then, finally, he said: “I love you.”
And while this honestly came as no surprise, Jiao Ziyu supposed it was a start.
The End
