The next morning, Yi Chen woke up wrapped in the arms of the man he loved, the man who had given him so much pleasure just a few hours ago and the man who had held back his desire, just to make sure he was comfortable enough with that first experience where he showed him so tenderly how to please and be pleased and he was grateful for that.
However, there was no time to indulge in that passion a second time, as there were more pressing matters to attend to for the sake of Wen Xiao and Bai Jiu. Later, if they still had the chance, they could pick up what they had left unfinished, as he was sure that Zhu Yan was simply taking his sweet time to teach him step by step how to be a full lover, given his inexperience. Nevertheless, he got out of bed, carefully untangling himself from Zhu Yan's warm arms, and grabbed his clothes to put them on.
Last night, Yi Chen had summoned water to cleanse themselves after they finished arousing themselves, so at least they were clean, even if they had remained naked for the rest of the night under a blanket, because the pleasant feeling of Zhu Yan warm skin against his cooler one had lullaby him to sleep. As he put on his pants and his multiple layers of robes and was about to reach for his belt, he felt Zhu Yan's arms hugging him from behind as he kissed his neck. This made Yi Chen smile, and he turned his head to kiss him back, but on his cheek.
"Did you enjoy our exploration last night?" Zhu Yan asked, pressing his naked body even closer so that Yi Chen could feel every muscle in his body as he take in his rich scent.
"I did enjoy it very much." Yi Chen replied, leaning into that strong body he loved so much.
"Then, do you want some more?" Zhu Yan tempted him, and Yi Chen blushed as he gulped.
"I do want more... but not now. The sun has already risen and I need to get the antidote before Wen Zongyu changes his mind." Yi Chen said and Zhu Yan sighed.
"Then let me help you with that..." Zhu Yan took Yi Chen's belt from his hand and gently put it around his slim waist and closed it behind his back. "Let me comb your hair next... it's all messed up right now." He suggested, but Yi Chen preferred for him to put on some clothes so he declined the offer.
"I'll do my hair, so please put on some clothes, because having you naked moving around is distracting..." Yi Chen said as he finger-combed his long, silky black hair until it was completely untangled, gathering it up into a ponytail at the top of his head and then tying his dark headband. When he turned around, Zhu Yan was already fully dressed in his usual elegant robes as perfect as ever.
"How did you do that?" Yi Chen asked in amazement as he was sure Zhu Yan had not move an inch, too busy staring at him since he started combining his hair.
"I have my dressing spells. Do you want to practice one? I'd be happy to teach you."
"Oh really? I thought you'd be more interested in undressing me than dressing me again." Yi Chen joked, and Zhu Yan laughed.
"You're getting better at come back. Shall we go?" Zhu Yan took a few steps forward when Yi Chen stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"Stay here and get more rest. You need it after everything you endured yesterday. I know you seem good enough for what we did last night, but I can tell you're very weak right now."
"Xiao Zhuo, I can tolerate weakness, but what I can't bear is you finding yourself alone with a man as sinister as Wen Zongyu, whom I don't trust at all. We started this together, so let's keep it that way until the end."
"I will be in no danger, I promise."
"Xiao Zhuo..."
"Zhu Yan..." They stare at each other for a minute before Zhu Yan sighed in defeat.
"What about something in the middle? I go with you down the mountain and keep my distance when we are close to the meeting place. That way you can go alone, but if they try something, I will be close enough to help."
"Then you come back here to rest, deal?"
"Deal and let's seal it with a kiss..." Zhu Yan suggested as he pull Yi Chen toward him and kiss him nice and slow until they were out of breath.
"We have to go now..." Yi Chen whispered taking the long box that contained the Ever-Burning Wood with one hand and his sword with the other. Zhu Yan led him out of the room toward their next destination on Mount Kunlun while placing his hand on Yi Chen lower back. Of course, they found Pei Si Jing already waiting for them, ready to fight side by side with their commander, which caught Yi Chen's attention when he saw her alone.
"Where's Wen Xiao?" Yi Chen asked as they stooped before leaving for the meeting place.
"Your spell worked too well, and she's still asleep." She told him, and Yi Chen looked at Zhu Yan worriedly. He was new to spells, so perhaps he had overdone it without meaning it.
"Don't worry, I'll go check on her. Pei Si Jing, I'll leave him in your hands. Make sure he doesn't get into trouble."
"Of course."
"You're aware that I can hear both of you perfectly, right?" Yi Chen asked, looking at them both, and Zhu Yan smiled as he put his arm around his lover's shoulders.
"Of course." He winked at him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek before walking back to the room where Wen Xiao was resting peacefully. Although Yi Chen was worried as they descended the mountain, Pei Si Jing was confident that Wen Xiao was fine. She was breathing more regularly than the previous nights, her pulse was steady, and she seemed relaxed despite the pain she was feeling from the poison. She simply slept a little longer or so she believe anyways.
They made their way down the mountain until they were close enough to the rendezvous point for Yi Chen to ask Pei Si Jing to wait for him there, and this time she did so without hesitation, knowing that Zhuo Yi Chen, the demon hunter, commander, and heir of the two strongest demons in existence, was more than capable of taking care of himself, despite their previous teasing. She was only there to support him in case those from Chongwu Camp played too dirty to let it pass.
When Zhuo Yi Chen arrived alone at the foot of the mountain and into the forest, Wen Zongyu and Zhen Mei were already waiting for him, so he walked toward them until Wen Zongyu asked him to stop.
"Did you bring the real thing or just a fake? You don't seem devastated by the death of your... friend, so I doubt that what you got there is real at all." The man said, and Yi Chen opened the box so the two could take a look inside. To his surprise, Wen Zongyu finally came face to face with what he had obsessed over for years.
"The Ever-Burning Wood... I finally have it!" Wen Zongyu exclaimed as he took a step forward, but Yi Chen stopped him.
"It's not yours yet. Where's the antidote?" Yi Chen asked, and the other man took a small bottle out of his long sleeve and showed it to him.
"Put the Ever-Burning Wood there, and then you can have this." Zongyu pointed to a flat stone near Yi Chen, who complied as he slowly approached the rock and placed the box on it. He then took a few step back.
"Give me the antidote!" Yi Chen shouted and the man throw it into the air and just when Yi Chen was about to catch it, someone else did it for him. It was Ao Yin and immediately Yi Chen went after her.
His expression is one of unwavering determination, his eyes sharp like the edge of his Cloud Light Sword who radiates a bright glow, illuminating his features and will to take the antidote back. Yi Chen lunges forward with swift precision, his sword slicing through the air towards Ao Yin. She evades with remarkable agility, her body twisting in mid-air as she counters with a flurry of slashing strikes aimed at him.
"This is mine now!" Ao Yin taunts, her voice smooth yet laced with menace as she flickers behind him like smoke.
"Dream on!" Yi Chen steadies himself as he replies, turning to face her just in time to block another vicious swipe from her claws. He can feel the power radiating off her like she is as desperate as he is for the antidote, yet only one of them could have it and it was not going to be her.
As their duel escalates, flashes of light illuminate their combat, the Cloud Light Sword gleams brighter against Ao Yin's shadowy figure each time it connects or deflects an attack. They dance through the clearing, each movement punctuated by grunts and gasps with both of them wanting to have the upper hand.
Despite Ao Yin's agility and ferocity, Yi Chen was still the strongest, as not only did he have his sword more powerful than ever, but he also had his own demonic energy that could power his strikes until he finally found an opening and brought her down with a powerful kick. Ao Yin gasped on the ground as pain assaulted her stomach. The antidote had fallen from her hand when Zhuo Yi Chen had first attacked her, and now she was both defeated and without the very thing she risked herself for.
Once he took care of her, Yi Chen focuses on those from the Chongwu Camp and saw Wen Zongyu so transfixed into the Ever-Burning Wood, that he moved forward, boosted by his demonic energy and struck him directly in his heart. Zhen Mei was stunned for a moment before he was about to unsheathe his sword, but Yi Chen was faster and in the blink of an eye, he has his Cloud Light Sword at his neck, while Wen Zongyu agonized trying to reach the deadly fire with his bare hand.
"The Ever-Burning Wood... so close... I can finally have it... it will be... mine... all mine." Wen Zongyu whispered as he crawled on the ground to reach the product of his obsession with ragged gasps. Too late, Yi Chen realized that the man was deluded enough to try to touch it even at death's door.
"Mortals cannot touch it directly! You will burn!" Yi Chen screamed, but the man reached for the fire anyway. To his horror, Wen Zongyu touched it with trembling but determined hands, and in just a few seconds, the man burned intensely as he screamed, turning into black ash on the spot. Yi Chen gulped in terror as he watched the man burn to death, glad that his Zhu Yan was a great demon strong enough to prevent the fire from doing the same to him a long time ago.
Ao Yin was quite affected by that sight as well, but she was there on a mission to save the one she loved, so taking the opportunity that Zhuo Yi Chen was busy with Zhen Mei, she searches for the bottle that contained the antidote and grabs it, opening it to take out the contents in her hands, but to her surprise, nothing came out, nothing at all.
"Where's the antidote?!" She yelled at Zhen Mei in frustration, but the man simply stared at her with a blank expression.
"There's no antidote." He said, and Yi Chen moved his Cloud Light Sword, now with a fierce brilliance, closer to his throat, to the point of drawing blood.
"What do you mean? Do you want to die too?" Yi Chen pressed on, but even with such a powerful sword slicing through his skin, there was nothing he could do to try and save himself.
"The poison in Li Lun, as well as the Goddess Wen Xiao, is incurable. You can kill me now, but that fact will never change, unless someone with demonic energy is willing to absorb the poison into their own body. That's the only way, but it also means that whoever takes the poison will also die eventually." Zhen Mei said, and Yi Chen was once again thrown into a position where he needed to find another way out or die.
Back at Mount Kunlun, Pei Si Jing was following Bai Jiu who suddenly materialized in a whirlwind of leaves and walks towards the entrance, making her leave Zhuo Yi Chen by himself as she is worried that Li Lun would do something against Wen Xiao or even Zhao Yuan Zhou now that he was at his weakest to finally settle the score now that he was going to die.
"Bia Jui!" She shouted openly, hoping her young friend would find a way to escape from his inner prison, but the person who turned to look at her was undoubtedly Li Lun, who was still controlling Bai Jiu's body.
"Wait Pei Si Jing! That's not Bai Jui!" Ying Lei shouted from behind her, but she already knew who he was. She was just waiting for a reaction that might never come.
"Why are you here? Ao Yin is fighting for your life down the mountain. Why come here now?" She asked, fearing that he was actually looking for Zhao Yuan Zhou.
"Leaves return to their roots, in that respect, mortals and demons are the same. You have no need to worry about me doing anything against you. I can't even take the steps necessary to enter the place where I wish to die..." Li Lun whispered as blood spewed from his mouth and he fell onto the white snow, staining it red.
"Is it really too late for you?" Ying Lei asked sadly, for it pained him to see a dear friend die in front of him and not be able to do anything to prevent it.
"This time is your win... although the death of your friend along with me can also be called your loss." He smiled faintly.
"Then why don't you just give him back already?" Ying Lei asked, as if he was going to see him die, at least he would like to be able to say goodbye.
"If you wanted me to die so badly, it serves you right if you can't get back what you want..." Li Lun said weakly.
"My grandfather should be very disappointed with you in the afterlife." Ying Lei said as he look down at Li Lun who simply sighed.
"Then I will apologize to him when we meet again soon."
"Don't act so conceited, you won't see my grandfather in the afterlife. He was an honorable mountain god who gave his life to save not only the one you wanted to destroy, but the entire Wilderness as well. His soul will rest in a higher plane than yours." Ying Lei corrected him, and Li Lun chuckled.
"That's right..." He whispered, and in a flash of white, a figure rushed toward the fallen young man and held him close. It was Ao Yin, who obviously hadn't obtained the antidote.
"Ao Yin..." Li Lun whispered, using his true eye to allow her to see him as he truly was in his final moments.
"I failed you, my Lord... there was no antidote..." She said, almost sobbing.
"It was an impossible task from the beginning... I should have known Wen Zongyu would not play fair with the demons, when he didn't even spare the goddess." Li Lin barely managed to whisper.
"You're wrong... no matter how much he wanted your death, I won't allow it."
"You have no choice..."
"Yes, I do... you give me freedom when I was in despair and a place to be happy in this cruel world, and in return, I will give you back the life I owe you, as well as my love..." She said, gently kissing Li Lun's forehead and absorbing the poison into her body with her hand at the same time.
"No... what are you doing?" Li Lun protested, trying to take her hand off him.
"Detoxifying you."
"Stop... I don't need you to do this for me... I accept my fate..."
"But I don't."
"Ao Yin... I said stop..." Li Lun struggled to break free, but was too weak to do so.
"I'll never let you die if I can help it. I should have died a long time ago anyway... dying for you is my wish and my honor." He said as he absorbed the poison faster.
"No! Stop! Stop!" He struggled harder, but she was the one who finally let go of him, as the poison began to take effect in her body and she spat out blood, falling to the snow in her true form.
"Ao Yin! Ao Yin!" This time, Li Lun was the one holding her in his arms with desperate need.
"I'm glad I managed to save you." She smiled at him as she gently placed her hand on his cheek.
"You're not going anywhere, so don't give up now." He whisper as he cover hers with his.
"I'm not a great demon like you, nor a half god like the boy, so the poison will kill me faster, but it doesn't matter... Live well for me, my Lord, remember me as I am... and don't regret anything." She whispered looking at his beautiful face one last time before turning into a cloud of glittering dust in his arms and Li Lun cried and then screamed his heart out before finally fainting.
AN: Thanks for reading darlings and see you next time.