Chapter 259: Demon Crystal
"Are you going to kill me?" Rong Yue asked the question so casually that it almost sounded like a joke. If anything, he looked amused.
Ningyan slowly rose to his feet, looking down at him with a deep frown. "You seem to be enjoying this."
"I am," Rong Yue admitted without a shred of shame. "The truth hurts, little bird. Especially when you’ve placed all your faith in the beasts who betrayed you and especially when you’re beginning to realize the weight of everything you’ve done."
Rong Yue stood as well, his tall frame casting a long shadow beneath the warm lantern light.
"But don’t misunderstand." A faint smile tugged at his lips. "I am no saint."
Ningyan swallowed hard.
The crimson-black in his eyes slowly receded until they returned to their natural violet hue. Yet the demonic aura around him lingered, as did the dark veins winding across his neck. He simply stood there, breathing unevenly, desperately trying to understand.
"But..." His voice grew hoarse. "Why? Why would they kill me... and then tell me the Divine Beast Clans did it?"
His brows knitted tightly. "My kin... they’ve suffered for centuries. They were nearly wiped out. They..."
He couldn’t finish. His voice lost its certainty, his thoughts tangling into an impossible knot. Nothing made sense anymore. If Rong Yue was telling the truth, then everything he believed, everything he had fought for, everything he had become...
Rong Yue noticed Ningyan’s breathing was becoming too quick, too shallow.
"Ningyan."
No response.
"Ningyan."
Still nothing.
With two quick strides, Rong Yue crossed the room. His hands settled firmly on Ningyan’s shoulders, gently forcing him to meet his gaze. "Breathe."
Ningyan frowned, instinctively trying to pull back, but Rong Yue’s grip tightened just enough to hold him in place.
"Breathe," he repeated, softer this time.
Ningyan glared at him, but then... he inhaled. Slowly. Exhaled. Again. Another breath, and another.
The tightness crushing his chest gradually eased, and his vision steadied. Only then did Rong Yue release his hold.
"...It’s too much," Ningyan muttered.
"No, no, It isn’t," he added immediately, his voice stubbornly defying the faint moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes. "I just... need to remember. If I remember, I’ll stop questioning everything."
Rong Yue studied him quietly before asking, "How much have you remembered on your own?"
Ningyan thought carefully. "Fragments. Yan Wuhen. Lan Meishan. I think... Jun Haoxuan. The Celestial Beast Academy and... A few names."
"Names," Rong Yue urged, his eyes instantly brightening. "What names?"
"Su Mingze." Ningyan frowned, looking genuinely confused. "...Li Wei. And... I’ve begun remembering another life. I don’t know if it was before this one... or something else entirely."
Rong Yue looked surprised.
"Another life..." he murmured. "You’ve already reached that point..." He fell silent, lost in thought.
Before he could continue, Ningyan rubbed his forehead with a frustrated groan. "This is giving me a headache."
Reaching into his sleeve, he drew out the red and gold flute.
The instant Rong Yue saw it, his eyes rounded. "...The flute," he whispered, his voice softening. "You still have it."
Ningyan looked down at it before raising a brow. "You know this flute?"
A quiet laugh escaped Rong Yue. "Know it?" His smile turned deeply nostalgic. "It belongs to you, but it was originally Wuhen’s." His expression abruptly darkened. "...No wonder we could never find it."
Ningyan tightened his grip on the instrument. "It helps. When I play it, I remember things. I found it inside my cultivation space."
Rong Yue stared at him, looking genuinely astonished. "...Inside your cultivation space?"
His expression abruptly turned serious, and without thinking, he reached toward Ningyan’s chest.
Tap!
Ningyan reacted instantly, smacking Rong Yue’s hand away with the flute before taking two hurried steps back. His ears had already turned a bright, betraying red. "Hey!"
Rong Yue blinked, then broke into a warm, genuine laugh, his tiger ears twitching happily. "What? You’re my husband."
Ningyan pointed the flute at him as though it were a sword. "That doesn’t mean you can touch me whenever you please!"
Rong Yue’s smile only widened. "...It doesn’t?"
His tone was so utterly sincere that Ningyan couldn’t tell whether the tiger was teasing him or asking a completely genuine question.
"It doesn’t," Ningyan snapped.
Why was he suddenly so flustered? Clearing his throat, he tried to regain his composure.
Rong Yue simply smiled before taking another slow step closer. "Then..." he asked gently, "may I hold your hand?"
"No."
The answer came so quickly that Rong Yue almost laughed. He merely shrugged. "There is another way to awaken your memories."
Ningyan’s arm lowered at once, his fingers tightening around the flute. "What way?"
"I need you to invite me into your crystal space."
Ningyan frowned. "My crystal space?"
Rong Yue nodded. "I wish to confirm something."
"No." The refusal was immediate. "My crystal space is dangerous. I’m the only one who can withstand it."
A teasing smile appeared on Rong Yue’s lips. "...Are you worried about me, little bird?"
"I’m not," Ningyan scoffed, folding his arms. "It simply contains an overwhelming amount of demonic energy."
"I know."
"Then why would you knowingly walk into it?" Ningyan asked, looking at him as though he had lost his senses. "If it’s only to restore my memories, we’ll find another method."
Rong Yue’s gaze softened as he stepped closer. "And if... there’s someone who can enter without being harmed?"
Ningyan studied him silently.
Rong Yue lifted one hand. "Let me touch you. I only need to confirm whether it’s still there."
"What is?" Ningyan narrowed his eyes.
"The crystal," Rong Yue whispered, his voice dropping to a near murmur. "...The Dragon Crystal."
Ningyan blinked. "How do you..."
Before he could finish, Rong Yue’s palm settled lightly over the center of his chest. Silver light suddenly ignited within his blue feline eyes, and in an instant, his consciousness plunged into Ningyan’s crystal space.
Endless darkness. Howling winds. The cries of countless restless spirits. Boundless demonic qi surged like a raging sea.
Then, at the very heart of that endless abyss, a colossal blackish-red crystal pulsed like a living heart.
Boom.
Its aura crashed into Rong Yue. Before he could take another step, an overwhelming force violently expelled him, forcing his hand away from Ningyan’s chest.
He staggered back half a step, breathing noticeably heavier as the silver light faded from his eyes.
"...It’s not the Dragon Crystal." Ningyan watched him carefully. "It’s a Demon Crystal."
Rong Yue remained silent for several breaths, his expression growing solemn. Finally, he looked back at Ningyan. "...You’re staying with me."
Ningyan blinked. "What?"