Hongyan bent down to grab hold of his nephew.
“Well,” he said, mostly to himself. “This afternoon sure took a turn.”
In truth, the Demon King, Youming Hongyan, had intended to wait more than a few hours before checking in on his wayward nephew. However, faced with his advisor Xunyun’s words and look of exasperated disapproval, he had changed his mind and set off to the Human Realm.
Predictably, there had been no sign of the brat where Hongyan had dropped him. However, picking up a faint scent of blood, Hongyan quickly moved further downstream and ended up stumbling across quite a scene.
On one hand, Hongyan was relieved; that he hadn’t accidentally managed to off his late sister’s offspring by means of negligent homicide. On the other hand, though⸺ “He’s not dead. I just knocked him out.”
The still bleeding cultivator said nothing in response, just stared dazedly at the wet and crumpled form of Hongyan’s nephew for a good while. Hongyan couldn’t really blame him though, because Little Jun had evidently done a number on him, and the only reason the other was even conscious right now was because of the qi-replenishing pills Hongyan had provided. “Why?”
In truth, that ‘why’ could have been referring to a bunch of different things. Hongyan however chose to interpret it as he liked, explaining that this was in fact his nephew and that Hongyan didn’t want to kill him unless he absolutely needed to.
“Maybe you should,” the youngling said in turn. “But⸺”
His eyes slid back shut, and for a brief moment, Hongyan thought that the other might just have passed out again. But then, the young cultivator finally said: “I don’t even care anymore. Just⸺”
He looked up, and Hongyan stared right back into those fever-bright eyes.
“⸺kill me first,” he said, the cultivator that Jun had inadvertently marked. “I can’t deal with this shit again...”
Then, with this said, the other promptly collapsed again, leaving Hongyan to wonder.
“Can’t deal with this shit again, huh?” Hongyan mused as he looked towards the crumpled form of his nephew. Then, after a brief moment’s consideration, he moved closer, bent down and then promptly hauled the brat up by the back of his collar, resisting the urge to give him a rough shake.
Instead, Hongyan brought him over and laid him out on next to the young cultivator, then took a step back to simply look at the two. Those robes were certainly not those of any sects Hongyan knew about, so it was likely a rogue cultivator then. Still⸺
“⸺kill me first.”
“I can’t deal with this shit again...”
“Again, huh?” Hongyan mused to himself as he crouched back down to rest his hand against that fevered brow. “I do wonder...”
The young cultivator’s eyes slid open just a fraction, hazily watching for a brief moment before once again sliding shut as consciousness left him once more, leaving him a limp deadweight as Hongyan picked him up. There wasn’t a whole lot of weight to speak of either, and Hongyan found himself tsking at the fact.
Then, shifting the other to one arm, Hongyan bent down to grab hold of his nephew.
“Well,” he said, mostly to himself. “This afternoon sure took a turn.”
As it turned out, his evening wasn’t much better, because after dumping his nephew somewhere he would neither die nor be able to escape, Hongyan had resumed tending to the young cultivator.
Even demons could have an adverse reaction to getting marked, and for a human – cultivator or not – there was an even greater risk.
Furthermore, Little Jun had largely drained the other of qi in order to sustain himself, leaving him much too weak to conceivably handle such a thing, and left untreated, the young cultivator would almost certainly perish.
Granted, treatment wasn’t exactly risk-free, but⸺
It was still better than nothing, right?
With this thought in mind, Hongyan quickly got to work, providing a slow but steady influx of qi to keep the other’s condition from deteriorating any further.
It didn’t seem to be working though, and Hongyan wasn’t quite sure why. He wasn’t quite sure, but⸺
When the boy’s breathing slowed and then eventually ceased, Hongyan couldn’t help but be saddened not just by that but by the thought of Little Jun undoubtedly hating him for it – much like he hated Hongyan for a whole lot of things. And Little Jun would hate himself too, probably. But⸺
The boy would’ve died with or without Hongyan’s intervention, and frankly⸺
The body on the bed suddenly twitched, then spasmed, and in the following moment, the boy shot up, drawing in desperate breaths as his wild eyes darted around the room, seeing but not really seeing.
Oh, Hongyan thought. Okay then.
He reached out, only for the other to immediately pull back, then scramble away. There was no real reason to stop him though, because these were Hongyan’s private chambers, and no one would be going anywhere until Hongyan personally allowed it.
Still⸺
The boy retreated until he was pressed up against the wall, staring at Hongyan with wide eyes while opening his mouth without a sound. But then⸺ “...Why?”
His voice cracked, tears spilling over as he suddenly broke down crying, sliding down the wall. “Why?! Kill me! I can’t do this all over again! Let me die already! System, just let me die!”
That last portion was more of a quiet wail, barely audible as the other hid his face in his hands. But Hongyan had heard it just fine, and suddenly, he understood.
After quickly retrieving a blanket, he slowly made his way over, making an earnest attempt not to spook the other any more than he already had.
“There is no System here,” he said, trying to reassure him. “I am Youming Hongyan, the Demon King.”
This earned him a decidedly blank stare. “What Demon King?”
What Demon King, indeed? Well, it hardly mattered, because Hongyan quickly took advantage of the boy’s confusion to wrap him in the blanket. “You’ve never heard of me?”
A tiny headshake followed. Then, the boy promptly froze, staying perfectly still as Hongyan reached out to wipe away his tears, crooning softly.
“Don’t worry,” he said, imbuing the words with just enough compulsion to soothe any immediate alarm. “We’ll figure this out. But I really think you should rest some more, don’t you?”
Rest, he thought. I’ll figure something out...
After determining that the other’s vitals were reasonably stable at least for now, Hongyan reluctantly stepped out to check in on his nephew.
As it turned out, his late sister’s spawn seemed to be doing just fine – better than fine, even. He was even awake, and spitting mad about a lot of things.
“What did you do to shixiong?!” he immediately demanded, trying to get at him through the bars. He obviously wouldn’t be getting anywhere though, and the cage would keep him from slipping out using other means.
That said though⸺ “Shixiong?”
Hongyan couldn’t help but blink, because as far as he was aware, shixiong was a title used for older, more experienced disciples at a cultivation sect. But⸺
Jun bared his teeth, clutching at the bars, his pupils slit. “If you’ve hurt him, then I’m gonna⸺”
Hoh?
“Little Jun,” Hongyan said at last. “Right now, you’re in no position to be making any sort of demands, and as far as that... shixiong of yours is concerned, he is not well. He’s still alive, yes, but he might die yet, thanks to your actions.”
Hongyan gave the words a moment to land, and land they certainly did.
“But⸺” Jun’s eyes glowed crimson. Then gradually, the glow began to die down, and once it did, his pupils were once again round and his eyes a duller shade of reddish brown.
“Oh.” He clutched at his chest. “I⸺”
He then looked towards Hongyan, evidently dazed.
“Oh,” he said, leaning more heavily against the bars. “You’re here to kill me, aren’t you?”
Hoh. “I actually haven’t decided yet. In fact, the decision isn’t really mine to make.”
“But...” Jun mumbled, lowering his head. “The bite. I have to take responsibility...”
Hah.
“Clearly, you’re still out of your mind – that is if you were ever in your right mind to begin with,” Hongyan sighed. “I just told you, didn’t I? That shixiong of yours is not well. If nothing is done, he will die.”
Well, if the young cultivator was indeed what Hongyan suspected, then that might not actually be the case. Hongyan obviously had no intention of telling Jun that though.
“Then all the more reason!” Jun snapped, oblivious to the direction of Hongyan’s thoughts. “Let me out! I have to go to him, to Yue-shixiong! I have to complete⸺”
Yue-shixiong, huh?
Again, Hongyan couldn’t help but sigh. Because honestly⸺ “You’re out of your mind. He likely saved your life pulling you out of that river, after which you nearly ended his, and now you seek to tie him to you forever? I won’t let you see him. In fact, I won’t even let you near him. I will however give you a choice.”
“...A choice?” Little Jun licked his lips, appearing chastised and utterly lost.
“Yes,” Hongyan said. “To be selfish or selfless. Choose. At this rate, Little Yue will die. But by consuming your flesh and blood, then perhaps⸺”
There was no real guarantee, but⸺
“Take it,” Jun said, reaching out. “Take as much as you want.”
It was a start, Hongyan supposed as he returned to his chambers with three vials of blood. It was a start, but there was still much work to be done.
But first, there was Yue, watching Hongyan with fever-bright eyes.
“Drink it,” Hongyan softly instructed, holding out the first vial.
Little Yue looked from him to the vial and back, then finally reached out to take it. His hands proved decidedly unsteady however, so Hongyan brought the vial closer instead and tipped the contents of it into the boy’s throat, then held him in place as he reached for another.
By the time the third vial was empty, Little Yue was no longer pushing against his grip as much as he was clinging, tears silently rolling down his cheeks. It proved an undeniably distressing sight, and instead of pulling back and giving the boy some time and space to sort himself out, Hongyan opted to do the exact opposite, wrapping his arms around the boy all the more firmly and tucking the other’s head underneath his chin.
Hongyan didn’t really intend to purr – it was more of an instinctual response than a conscious one. However, once he’d started, it proved impossible to stop, even more so as the youngling burrowed deeper into his embrace before finally dozing off, leaving Hongyan to ponder a lot of things.
The end result of the treatment turned out to be good however – even better than expected, Hongyan would say. Still⸺
Seated at his desk, Hongyan was catching up on some paperwork when his most trusted advisor Xunyun and her partner Qiuyu walked in, then promptly did a doubletake at the sight before them.
“Oh,” Qiuyu then said, leaning in for a closer look. “Where did you find that one?”
Xunyun meanwhile asked a far more practical question, namely: “What are you planning to do with it?”, it being the sleeping youngster tucked against Hongyan’s side. Her eyes meanwhile seemed to say something else entirely, namely: “You better not be planning on adopting that one”.
This by no means escaped her partner Qiuyu, who promptly tugged at Xunyun’s sleeve and smiled, directing a meaningful glance Little Yue’s way before looking back at her as if asking: “If he can’t keep it then can I have it?”
This obviously that made Hongyan bristle just a little. Also⸺
“He’s not mine,” he said. “I’m just looking after him for the time being.”
Indeed, he was, and indeed, the same could’ve been said about Hua Hongzhu, who also technically wasn’t his, but would’ve been far better of if she’d just cut ties with that family of hers and let Hongyan convince Xunyun and Qiuyu to take her in – because the latter was clearly getting broody if the avian’s glances served as any sort of indication. Because indeed, the interest Qiuyu had taken in Little Yue seemed to be entirely unrelated to food.
Or perhaps she could indeed sense it – sense that the other wasn’t quite as human as he initially appeared?
And if Hongyan’s suspicions were correct, then⸺
It didn’t really matter. Had Little Yue been a slightly less complicated case, then he might’ve considered it, but now? Now he most certainly wouldn’t, and once Little Yue started showing signs of waking up, Hongyan promptly dismissed the others, though Qiuyu certainly pouted and would’ve probably lingered, had Xunyun not taken her by the arm and physically begun dragging her away – and not a moment too soon, because no sooner had they left before there was an audible intake of breath, followed by a slight tug on his sleeve.
“Little Yue,” Hongyan said, turning his head to look. “You’re awake.”
The other was indeed awake, but it would’ve probably been an exaggeration to say that he was completely lucid. However, as Hongyan had come to learn, a non-lucid Yue tended to be a decidedly more forthcoming one.
Sometimes, he would start talking entirely on his own, and Hongyan would be sure to listen, filing the information away for later. As things were, he paid particular attention to any information regarding the entity known as the System, which Little Yue insisted was out there looking for him.
“Do whatever you want with this body,” he had said in an unwitting echo of Hongyan’s memories. “Just... make sure that I’m really dead. I’ve had enough. I don’t⸺ I don’t want to be used anymore.”
Hongyan could understand such a sentiment, even though he harboured no real intention of going along with it. He understood, and he sympathised, yes, but if he had any sort of choice in the matter, then he would make sure that the other lived on for many years to come. Little Yue was still young after all – even counting all of his years – and even though he’d certainly been through a lot – with or without Hongyan’s nephew’s involvement – he would likely be okay eventually.
Speaking of said nephew though⸺
“So,” Hongyan said, arms folded across his chest. “Time travel, huh?”
Little Jun glared, but didn’t bare his teeth. By this point, Hongyan had let him out of the cage but with firm reassurances that Hongyan would definitely shove him back in there if he didn’t behave – because clearly, there would be no more tossing him into any rivers at this point in time.
“Yue-shixiong told you,” Little Jun said instead, begrudgingly lowering his head.
Hah. “Little Yue tells me all sort of things. Honestly, he saved your life and that’s how you treated him? That’s how you repaid him? No wonder Little Yue says he’s had enough – suffering such treatment, I would’ve had enough as well.”
“I didn’t know!” Jun hissed. “If I’d known, then I would’ve done something, but I didn’t, because nobody told me that he’d been the one to⸺”
Ah, honestly⸺ “If you consider a life debt a requirement to lift even a finger in someone’s defence, then I have obviously failed as a parent. Honestly, your mother aside, your father would’ve been appalled.”
Heck, even Hongyan was appalled. Still⸺
“What’s done is done, and what really matters is what happens from here,” he said. “Little Yue has expressed an interest in seeing you, so I’ve been thinking about allowing it. Mind you, I don’t think you should expect any forgiveness, especially not at this point in time. He might give you a chance eventually though. But that’s up to him and not up to you, understood?”
Jun bowed his head, releasing a slow breath through his nose. “Understood.”
Well, in hindsight, Hongyan was certainly glad that he had allowed this particular talk – and that he’d stuck around to see it come to fruition. Because the first words out of Little Yue’s mouth, soft but with jagged edges, had been: “I don’t really like you. And you don’t really like me either, despite what your hormones keep telling you.”
There was something undeniably alluring about it; the contrast in-between the docile youngling who’d attached himself to Hongyan’s sleeve and the being that was now staring coldly at Little Jun.
“I don’t like you,” Yue reiterated, narrowing his eyes at him. “But if you agree to help, then I’m willing to give you a chance. And if you do manage to find and kill the System, then I’ll even consider marrying you.”
Hoh? “What happens if someone else manages to kill the System? Would you offer them your hand in marriage as well?”
“Of course,” Little Yue said, and without the slightest bit of hesitation at that. “It’s only fair that everyone gets a chance, no?”
As it turned out, even half-mad, Little Yue was not dumb – quite far from it, as a matter of fact. Magnificent, truly.
Had Hongyan not already had another in his heart, then he too might’ve been ensnared – which wasn’t to say that he wasn’t already. Still⸺
What would Little Xue think? Hongyan privately wondered.
As for the current Peak Lord Bai however⸺
“Honestly⸺” Hongyan said, directing himself to the convalescing patient. “I haven’t heard of you pulling any raids into Hua territory lately, so how did you end up getting poisoned again? Or were you simply too damned stubborn to make use of the last batch of ingredients I left you for the antidote?”
Mingyue said nothing in response. His stubborn refusal to meet Hongyan’s gaze said plenty however. Honestly⸺
“Yes, yes, I can tell that you’re upset. Still, don’t you have any semblance of self-preservation? Heading here in a rush, completely disregarding your body’s limits – limits inflicted by your own refusal to ask for my help, by the way – what would you have done if you hadn’t made it this far? You’re old enough to know better, Mingyue, and right now, I don’t really have time to deal with your antics.”
The current Peak Lord Bai took obvious offence to that. Hongyan wasn’t done talking though.
“So...” He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m going to hazard a guess and say that you’re here for Little Yue rather than for my brat of a nephew. Both are currently under my protection though, and any harm or offence directed towards them is also directed towards me, understood?”
Predictably, Mingyue hadn’t taken this news all too well.
Still, this was honestly nothing in comparison to how he’d reacted when Little Yue had attached himself firmly to Hongyan’s side and proclaimed that he’d never go back to the Green Jade Peaks and that he’d much rather stay here and marry the Demon King – an idea that probably horrified Hongyan as much as it did Bai Mingyue, and if looks had been able to kill, then he would’ve been killed at least three times over.
