Chapter 31—I never stopped looking for you

by Bocchan13

The group disassembled into their own sleeping bags after their conversation. Lan Zhou walked swiftly to Song Yu and got into bed, his bag making soft squeaky sounds. Song Yu, with his back to him ignored the noise and tried to even his breathing. They were some distance away from the others in the cave, so the only noise Song Yu could hear was the Lan Zhou’s soft breathing.

“Song Yu,”

His eyes flurried open when he felt a small tug on his blanket. He kept his breathing stable, but his body stiffened slightly. Lan Zhou seeing this, smiled lightly before he tugged a little more.

“Song Yu, after you left I tried to find you. I heard that you and your father had a falling out and you secretly left the country. I was really sad that I never got a goodbye.” Lan Zhou’s finger moved closer, his fingertips touching the small of Song Yu’s back.

“After all of this happened, I never stopped looking for you.”

…

Lan Zhou spoke the truth. Despite his haste to find the pure ability user, throughout the entire journey from base to base, he always tried to find that small glimpse that Song Yu was alive. Each stop, he would ask the people if they had seen him. That picture, his only memento from the hairdresser shop was now crinkled and dirty from how many times he took it out of his pocket.

Every time people shook their head, lied and deceived him into believing he was there, he was met with disappointment again and again. Even Lan Zhou who was reborn remembered that night as if it happened yesterday.

Hearing this, Song Yu could only turn around, his eyes blazing with intensity. Song Yu did not believe it. Words were words; they could be soft as a lullaby or bitter with hate. Song Yu jerked his blanket back, his mood unknown.

“Why?”

Song Yu’s broken voice came out.

“Why would you look for me these 2 years? It was just one night. We only spent less than a day in each other’s company. Why are you so desperate to try to engage with me?”

Lan Zhou opened his mouth but closed it, his thoughts in turmoil. How could he express his feelings? There was no magazine or how-to book to help him. How could he tell him what he felt that night?

The night he fell in love for the first time.

What nonsense was love at first sight?

Lan Zhou didn’t understand. That feeling of desolation at the abandoned hotel room, or the distant scent of his body as it disappeared from his memory. All he knew that in the moment of connection between their bodies, he had vowed that he would treasure this man for the rest of his life.

But the rest of his life did not happen. Song Yu left, leaving his gaping open vulnerability in full view. He was not mad, but desperate to understand why the person he shared his most intimate self with…did not feel the same.

And now when he was right here asking him why?

Lan Zhou could only express one sentence that encumbered his feelings.

“Because I’m in love with you.”

Song Yu’s eyes widened when he felt his body being brought into an embrace. He had no chance to struggle when he felt a heartbeat next to his ears. The loud thumping was a stark contrast to the cold visage of the man in front of him, who looked deep into his eyes filled with longing.

“I just do. And I was very sad you left me.”

Song Yu wanted to believe him.

He too may have fallen in love at first sight. In another life they may have been happy. But dreams were just illusions for weak souls. He was that no longer. Lan Zhou might love him today, but if he saw the beautiful paradise he built, that love could change to greed. If he knew that he could purify water and soil, would he use his feelings to make him do his bidding?

Lan Zhou might not be like this, but this was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

His heart that fluctuated now steadied. The reasons why he did what he did were still relevant. He still could not trust Lan Zhou, no matter how many times he confessed.

“Let me go.”

Lan Zhou could hear the coldness in Song Yu’s voice and reluctantly let go. Song Yu scurried back to his own blanket, now covering his head with his back facing him.

“Tomorrow, I won’t see you off.”

Lan Zhou heard that sentence, his heart aching. Song Yu did not believe him. He didn’t know what Song Yu experienced in these two years…but the person before him was now a hardened and suspicious individual who couldn’t trust someone.

He had to earn it.

He vowed he would.

…

The rest of the night was uneventful. By dusk, the rain had stopped, leaving a crisp smell in the dense forest. Like Lan Zhou had promised, they set out before Song Yu could get out of his blanket. The rest of the gang had shot him looks of nervousness as if they were waiting for him to change his mind.

Lan Zhou was silent as he rolled his sleeping bag and took inventory of their food and water. It would last them for a few days. If they walked straight through, they might be able to find a car or a small base. He hoped that was the case.

No words were spoken as they opened the rock wall, facing the outside’s bright sunshine. Song Yu continued to watch them as they walked out, their backs straight. Not one of them looked unsure of their destination…because Lan Zhou was leading them forward. At the very front, Lan Zhou did not waver as he continued onwards, like a noble hero pilgrimaging to the holy land.

All of a sudden, they heard the sounds of zombies rampaging through the forest.

Shit.

He wanted to do a slo-mo walk. Where is his ‘Goblin’ moment??

The group had not made it 10 meters from the cave when they heard a stampede of zombies. Lan Zhou stopped immediately, causing the rest to be vigilant. Lan Zhou turned around and walked back to the cave, the rest scurrying behind

“Can you let us stay with you for a bit longer? I don’t think we can manage to kill them all.”

Song Yu wanted to laugh at his puppy-dog expression. Looking past him, he could indeed see almost a hundred zombies coming towards them. Furrowing his eyes in worry, he nodded.

“The cave won’t hold them off for long. We will be stuck here.”

The roaring zombie sounds got louder and louder, unbeknownst to them, they had them surrounded.

“Get in!”

Lan Zhou and Song Yu both saw that the zombies were being controlled. They seemed to be pumped with adrenaline as their frothy mouths snapped open and shut. Everyone hurried inside the cave, closing the rock face. A few seconds later, they heard a thudding impact of bodies as they rammed into the wall.

“Shit! Where the fuck did they come from?”

Wang Cheng went into his space and looked for their weapons, whilst Lu Jingxiu barricaded wall with ice.

“It won’t hold. Is there another exit?”

Song Yu shook his head. The zombie controlling the others was smart. This was a trap.

“There is a wall that’s thinner than the rest. Can anyone of you break through it?”

“Leave it to me!” Yu Ci hurried to where Song Yu indicated, his hands clenching into a fist. The impact of his punch was definite as it left a deep imprint. He had to hit it some more.

“Time?”

“Two or three minutes. Hold them off for as long as you can.”

Song Yu scrambled to put everything inside his space, not caring at all that anyone saw. They were now in dire straits. He saddled Derpy and put on his cloak and mask. The cosplayer was back. He followed Lan Zhou to help Yu Ci. The rock that Yu Ci was breaking through had already made a crack. Song Yu listened to the other side in case there were zombies there as well.

Lu Jingxiu was making another ice wall, but soon the rock face chipped as thrashing hands appeared.

“Shit! There’s more of them!”

Lan Zhou went back to the front leaving Song Yu, Yu Ci and Xiao Zi to work on the back. Xiao Zi healed Yu Ci every time his powers weakened. Song Yu saw this and couldn’t help himself.

“Step back.”

Yu Ci was gasping for breath. The wall wasn’t as thick, but he had dug almost a meter and it still hadn’t touched the outside. Song Yu’s palm emitted a bluish glow as his spatial blade made its awareness. Xiao Zi’s and Yu Ci’s eyes glowed blue as their gaze traveled from that vibrant blue to the blade made of pure energy.

Song Yu whipped his hand, the slice penetrating deeper into the rock, scraping off 6 inches.

“Take turns. Hit it and I’ll slice through the breakage. We will make more progress.”

Yu Ci nodded his head, punching the wall. The crack was made, and the blue spatial blade penetrated the crack, causing the rock to crumble.

Song Yu and Yu Ci worked together to break through while the front was dealing with the oncoming zombie hoard.

“Dang! How many zombies are there? I can’t see the end of them. Fuck!” Wang Cheng moved his hand away, mere inches from being bitten. The ice wall was now the only barrier. Lan Zhou had made a hole and started blasting blue flames, engulfing the front. They were in a cave and had little ventilation. The humidity skyrocketed, and all of them could smell the burnt flesh.

“Fuck, we’re in a giant oven aren’t we?”

Lan Zhou could not agree more. The more fire he used, the hotter it became inside. He looked backwards to see Song Yu, who emitted a blue light, a gigantic slice spanning the two meters embedding into the rock. He didn’t have time to admire the ability before he had to shout.

“We need to retreat! Time?”

“Almost there!”

Yu Ci had said this just before Song Yu used more spiritual powers, the blade causing a loud cracking sound. Seconds later, sunlight poured in as a space a meter in width and height opened to everyone’s eyes.

Bocchan13

Thank you everyone! We reached over 50,000 views and 200 readers! I'm so thankful to everyone! Because I'm in a festive mood, I'll draw another art piece for NEET life. Please write your suggestions in the comments section and I'll choose the most popular one!