Xi Yu only then remembered what he had promised Luo Cheng’an before leaving.
He had been so preoccupied with Lu Zhixing’s affairs that he had completely forgotten about it.
Xi Yu glanced at the time. It was eight in the evening, which was about right.
He looked toward the balcony. Lu Zhixing still hadn’t come over.
Could it be that he wasn’t coming tonight?
That was fine, too.
After all, with their link in place, Xi Yu would know if Lu Zhixing felt unwell.
After a pause of two seconds, Xi Yu got up and said to Luo Cheng’an, “Come with me.”
Luo Cheng’an’s eyes sparkled as he excitedly followed him.
Xi Yu walked to the balcony and turned his head to look toward the balcony of Lu Zhixing’s home. There was still no movement.
A hint of something resembling disappointment flashed through his eyes. The emotion came so suddenly and disappeared so quickly that even Xi Yu himself failed to notice it.
He withdrew his gaze, and spiritual power gathered in his palm. He slowly swept it across the sky.
The next second, the pitch-black night sky, glittering with countless stars, was illuminated by fireworks formed from spiritual power.
Brilliant colors flowed across the sky, dazzling and magnificent.
“Oh my god!” Luo Cheng’an gripped the balcony railing, his face flickering between light and shadow beneath the fireworks. His joy seemed to radiate from his entire body. “It’s so beautiful, Brother.”
Xi Yu rested his elbow on the railing. For once, he felt that this moment was beautiful, and an expression resembling nostalgia appeared on his face.
Watching the fireworks, the curve of Luo Cheng’an’s lips grew wider. He glanced at Xi Yu’s profile from the corner of his eye.
Finally… finally…
His wish had come true.
Luo Cheng’an murmured, “So beautiful. I finally got to see these fireworks.”
It had been tens of thousands of years.
He had waited tens of thousands of years for this fireworks display.
The fireworks he had thought he would never see were finally before his eyes at this moment.
The promise Lan Xing had made tens of thousands of years ago had finally been fulfilled today, ten thousand years later.
………………..
The light of the fireworks reflected in Luo Cheng’an’s pupils, which were tinged with a moist sheen.
Ten thousand years ago, Lan Xing had once taken Zhuyi down to the mortal realm to have some fun.
He had been held back by trivial matters and was unable to descend to the mortal realm, so he could only use the Liuguang Mirror like a thief, secretly spying on everything the two of them did.
Compared with the monotonous days in Heaven that never seemed to change, life in the mortal realm seemed so beautiful.
He watched as Lan Xing held Zhuyi’s hand, accompanying him in playing the qin, drinking wine, and watching fireworks in the mortal realm.
Once, through the Liuguang Mirror, he had seen a princess born into the mortal royal family, and fireworks had been set off throughout the night.
That night, Zhuyi leaned against Lan Xing’s shoulder and acted spoiled with him. Lan Xing, whose face was breathtakingly beautiful throughout the Three Realms yet usually as cold as frost, wore a smile for the entire night.
That was the first time he had found Zhuyi’s very existence completely unbearable.
He hated it so much.
Why did he have to be the Crown Prince of the Celestial Clan?
Why couldn’t he be a lowly, insignificant spirit beast?
If that were the case, would he have been the one standing beside Lan Xing?
From then on, every day, he kept recalling that fireworks display and Lan Xing’s face.
Later, on his birthday, Lan Xing asked him what he wanted.
He said he wanted Lan Xing to accompany him to watch a fireworks display.
But he never got to see it.
The God-Demon War had claimed Lan Xing’s life and scattered his soul.
He never got to see those fireworks.
Yet his obsession only grew deeper with each passing day.
Luo Cheng’an looked at Xi Yu. “You really did what you promised me.”
Xi Yu looked at the fireworks, smiling as he gazed at Luo Cheng’an, and drawled lazily, “Of course, little bro.”
The bittersweet joy in Luo Cheng’an’s heart was instantly scattered by Xi Yu’s words. He rolled his eyes. “Okay, no more talking.”
After his rebirth, he had indeed become much more lively.
Luo Cheng’an moved closer to Xi Yu and suddenly linked his arm with his, resting his head on Xi Yu’s shoulder.
Xi Yu’s fingertips twitched, but he did not push Luo Cheng’an away.
Separated by a single wall, Lu Zhixing sat on the edge of his bed. Through the tightly closed floor-to-ceiling window, he watched the magnificent fireworks, his expression dark and ominous.
Xi Yu had spent too much energy over the past two days. After setting off fireworks for two hours, he could no longer hold out and wanted to sleep.
He pushed away the reluctant Luo Cheng’an. “Go, go, go. Go back and sleep.”
Luo Cheng’an was unbelievably obedient. He listened and walked out of the room. The instant the door closed, he disappeared from the spot.
At the same time, Xi Yu took out his phone, opened the Weibo account he had registered earlier, and posted the carefully considered message he had edited after deliberating over it again and again.
Then he went to bed.
In the darkness, Xi Yu buried his head under the covers, the warmth in the tips of his ears quietly rising.
A barrier had been erected in the dimly lit room.
The footsteps behind him drew closer and closer, but Lu Zhixing seemed not to hear them at all. His eyes remained fixed on the now completely dark night sky.
Standing behind him, Luo Cheng’an smiled with delight.
“How was this fireworks display that belongs only to me, Lord Demon Venerable?”
Lu Zhixing turned his head. His expression was so dark that it seemed water could drip from it. The aura around him was terrifying, and an overwhelming pressure capable of destroying heaven and earth surged toward Luo Cheng’an.
Luo Cheng’an’s legs weakened slightly, and his face paled somewhat, but the smile on his face only became more triumphant.
“Are you angry already? The things you took from me—I’m merely taking one of them back now.”
Before Zhuyi appeared, he had been the only person beside Lan Xing.
Lan Xing was an extremely protective person. He had spent many years becoming Lan Xing’s only friend, occupying the one and only special place in Lan Xing’s heart.
Lan Xing had once offered up a strand of his primordial spirit to forge a magical artifact as a gift to celebrate his coming of age.
The God Lan Xing, who never attended any banquet in all of Heaven, would attend every single one of his birthday banquets.
Back then, there had only been him.
Only his name could be associated with Lan Xing’s.
But after Zhuyi appeared, everything changed.
At first, he had not taken Zhuyi seriously at all.
A spirit beast that could not even transform into human form was nothing more than a little pet.
But later, Lan Xing’s gaze lingered on Zhuyi for far too long.
A person who had always hated trouble was willing to bring Zhuyi along and offend more than half of Heaven just to stand up for a spirit beast.
Later, Lan Xing would repeatedly turn down his invitations because of Zhuyi.
In the end, throughout the entire Three Realms, when people mentioned Lan Xing, the name that followed his was no longer his.
It was Zhuyi’s.
Zhuyi, whom Lan Xing had personally named, held a discipleship ceremony for, and given enough status and dignity to.
A lowly spirit beast had stolen away every special thing that should have belonged to him.
How could he not hate him?
Luo Cheng’an looked at Lu Zhixing. Blood was already spilling from the corner of his lips, but his expression was almost crazed.
Zhuyi had stolen so many years from Lan Xing.
Now, at last, he was going to give them back.
He cut off the barrier concealing their auras. Because his true form had been damaged, a crack appeared in the barrier.
Luo Cheng’an’s triumphant expression suddenly froze.
“Are you insane? If you break the barrier, both our identities will be exposed!”
Lu Zhixing looked coldly at Luo Cheng’an, a chilling smile curling at the corners of his lips.
“Then we’ll die together. I really can’t stand seeing you this pleased with yourself.”
As Lu Zhixing spoke, he stood up, looking as though he really intended to shatter the barrier and make sure they both went down together.
Luo Cheng’an panicked slightly.
He was afraid Lu Zhixing would truly go crazy. If he shattered the barrier and exposed his identity, and Lan Xing learned that he had been the one who gave Zhuyi the method to reconstruct his divine soul, Luo Cheng’an would not get off lightly either.
Luo Cheng’an took a step back, but refused to back down verbally.
“You took so many things from me. Now I’m merely taking one thing back, and you can’t even keep your composure. Zhuyi, you should taste the pain I once suffered.”
“You want to expose your identity? Sure…” Luo Cheng’an braced himself against the wall to withstand Lu Zhixing’s pressure and sneered. “If you’re not afraid, what do I have to be afraid of? At worst, he’ll hate me. But I think he’ll despise you even more.”
Luo Cheng’an looked at Lu Zhixing’s terrifying expression.
He was gambling.
Gambling that Lu Zhixing would not dare to actually shatter the barrier.
He was afraid of Lan Xing learning about those things.
But Zhuyi would only be even more afraid than him.
Zhuyi would never—and would never dare—let Lan Xing know that he had fallen into the demonic path.
The spiritual power on Luo Cheng’an’s body was concealed. Right now, he was no match for Lu Zhixing.
The divine and demonic powers surged toward him at the same time. He felt as though every blood vessel in his body was about to burst, while his bones were being crushed under excruciating pressure.
Cold sweat broke out across his body.
Yet he stared straight at Lu Zhixing without yielding in the slightest.
The transparent barrier gave a crisp cracking sound.
Luo Cheng’an’s heart had already risen into his throat.
The instant the barrier was about to shatter, Luo Cheng’an was already preparing to escape.
But the aura around Lu Zhixing suddenly retracted.
The pressure bearing down on Luo Cheng’an vanished.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead, but he breathed a sigh of relief as he stared at Lu Zhixing.
He had won the gamble.
Lu Zhixing really did not dare.
A trace of contempt flashed through Luo Cheng’an’s eyes. He was just about to speak when Lu Zhixing suddenly laughed, the delight in his voice almost overflowing.
Looking at Luo Cheng’an’s provocative expression as though he were watching a clown putting on a ridiculous show, Lu Zhixing said, “You’re right. My shizun will definitely hate me if he knows I’m a demon. But now…”
“He likes me. He likes me so, so much.”
Luo Cheng’an frowned. “How shameless can you be to say something like that? You think you’re still Zhi—”
He did not finish speaking before his pupils contracted.
……………………
Lu Zhixing slowly took out his phone and held it in front of him.
The Weibo interface was displayed on the screen.
The username was “Xi Yu Yu Yu Yu Yu Yu,” without even a profile picture.
It was obvious that his real name had already been taken when he registered the account, leaving him helpless.
It was a completely bare-bones new account.
Twenty minutes earlier, it had posted a single Weibo post, and by now, the number of likes had already surpassed one million.
Yet the post itself was incredibly simple.
[Mutually in Love @Lu Zhixing]
Luo Cheng’an murmured, “How could this be…”
“Why couldn’t it be? Huai Xi, no matter how you imitate me, I will always be special in my shizun’s heart.” Lu Zhixing put his phone away, carrying the absolute bearing of a victor. “Whether I’m Zhuyi or Lu Zhixing, I’m the only one who can make my shizun fall mutually in love with me.”
Whether it was the fireworks or anything else, none of those things were things he had stolen.
They should have belonged to him in the first place.
The smile on Lu Zhixing’s face did not gradually fade until after Luo Cheng’an had left.
Thinking about Luo Cheng’an’s hateful, resentful eyes, he turned his head after a long while and looked at the pitch-black night sky.
Then he let out a mocking laugh.