Chapter 282: The Sky Palace (3)
Lan Meishan felt an ache in his chest as he watched those violet eyes narrow with instinctive hostility. An invisible wall had slammed shut the second Jun Haoxuan’s name entered the conversation.
They had all agreed that Haoxuan would keep his distance until Ningyan was comfortable enough to tolerate him. But seeing the scars of that hatred up close was a bitter pill to swallow.
"It is peaceful here, A-Yan," Meishan said softly. "The spiritual energy in the Sky Palace is abundant. We will help you. I promise."
Ningyan pressed his lips into a tight line. His jaw clenched as if he were preparing to fight the offer, but the tension slowly drained from his posture with a resigned breath.
"Fine." His shoulders loosened slightly. "I won’t resist your help. Recovering my memories is what I want anyway."
A wave of subtle relief washed over Meishan’s features. But before he could speak, he saw Ningyan’s shoulders tremble with a slight shiver. Though there was no snow or biting winter wind, the night air rising off the spiritual lake carried a chill that seeped easily through loose inner robes.
"We should go back inside," Meishan murmured, extending a palm toward him.
Ningyan placed his cool fingers directly into Meishan’s.
Meishan’s long fingers closed gently around his, wrapping him in grounding warmth as he led him back into the quiet warmth of the chamber. He guided Ningyan toward the edge of the wide bed as if the phoenix was fragile that might shatter if handled with anything less than devotion.
Ningyan didn’t protest the gentle treatment. If anything, a trace of quiet contentment settled over his face.
The moment Meishan released his grip, Ningyan sat on the bed. "How have you been?"
Meishan paused, caught off guard by the soft inquiry. "Why do you ask?"
Instead of taking a seat beside him on the bed, Meishan lowered himself gracefully to the floor in front of Ningyan.
Ningyan stared down into his eyes. "The last time we saw each other... you kissed me."
Meishan’s fingers twitched.
"You knew I was staying in the White Tiger Clan," Ningyan continued. "So why didn’t you come for me?"
Meishan opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat. He slowly averted his gaze.
"It was impossible not to," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper, rich with suppressed longing. "I wanted to fly to your side a thousand times over. But... I believed Rong Yue might be able to protect and heal you in ways I could not."
Ningyan blinked slowly, his mind growing hazy.
A heavy, sudden sleepiness was settling over his limbs. Rationally, he knew he shouldn’t be feeling this way. He had been knocked out and brought here entirely without his consent. By all rights, he should be furious.
And yet... he felt safe.
His eyelids fluttered, growing heavier with every passing breath.
Was it because of Meishan’s presence? Or was he simply exhausted from his own broken mind?
He told himself to get a grip.
He wanted his memories back. He wanted to understand himself again, to reclaim his identity so he could finally let go of all this hatred and confusion.
More than anything, he wanted to accept the love and care being offered to him.
"He helped me," Ningyan admitted softly, his voice barely a whisper in the quiet chamber. "But I need you too."
Meishan’s expression softened.
"Even though Wuhen knocked me unconscious, I still need him as well. I know that." Ningyan lowered his gaze, his fingers tightening slightly against the soft bedding beneath them. "But Haoxuan..."
He hesitated, a deep furrow forming between his brows.
"I suppose I need his help with whatever it is he can do. I just..." He frowned, frustrated with himself. "I can’t seem to feel anything warm toward him."
Meishan’s gentle smile slowly disappeared. "Why?"
Ningyan looked away, unable to meet the serpent beast probing gaze. "I can’t—"
"He has never hurt you." Meishan’s voice remained gentle, but there was an unyielding firmness beneath it now. "The wars you remember are in the past. The hatred between our kinds isn’t what it used to be. The war you believe your people are still fighting..."
His gaze held Ningyan’s, refusing to let him retreat into his shell. "...is one you are steering now."
Ningyan’s fingers curled tightly into his robes. He hated how the words pierced straight through his pride, exposing the raw, irrational foundation of his grudge.
Meishan wasn’t lying to him.
That was precisely what made it hurt so badly.
Ningyan finally broke eye contact. "I’d like to sleep."
"Very well." Meishan rose gracefully to his feet and turned toward the door.
Ningyan’s head snapped up, and he immediately stood from the bed. "Wait."
Before he could stop himself, his slender fingers caught Meishan’s waist. "Don’t go. Please."
Meishan turned back, surprise flickering across his features.
Ningyan lowered his head, his voice crumbling into a vulnerable, soft plea. "I’m frustrated with myself too."
"I’m not leaving," Meishan reached up and gently cupped Ningyan’s face. "I was only going to bring you some warm tea."
"There is no need." Ningyan’s eyelids were already growing dangerously heavy, his lashes fluttering against his cheeks. "Let’s just sleep. I’m... suddenly very tired."
A faint, knowing smile touched Meishan’s lips. "I prepared a special calming incense burner to help you sleep more peacefully."
Ningyan barely heard the words.
His body swayed, his knees buckling beneath him.
Meishan caught him by his waist before he could fall. "Careful."
Ningyan’s head fell softly against Meishan’s broad shoulder, his consciousness already drifting away into a deep, heavy haze.
Meishan carefully lifted him and guided him back onto the bed. Settling beneath the silk covers beside him, he wrapped his arms around his husband, pulling his back flush against his chest and holding him close.
Ningyan’s rapid breathing gradually evened out into a deep, tranquil rhythm.
^•^
When Ningyan’s consciousness returned, he was no longer in the warm chamber of the Sky Palace.
He found himself standing entirely alone in his crystal space.
The vast, infinite expanse surrounding him was choked with a thick, writhing blackish-red corruption.
The demon crystal pulsed rhythmically.
Ningyan stared at the oppressive mist warily, his guard fully raised.
Something sharp caught his attention.
A small crack of azure-blue light was shining directly in the center of the crystal.
His brows furrowed in confusion. "What..."
He slowly took a step forward, then another, drawn toward the glow.
The closer he came, the clearer it became. The heavy corruption surrounding the crystal had been forcibly peeled away, cleansed by a cold divine power, leaving behind something entirely pure and translucent.
It looked like a pristine piece of flawless crystal blue glass, suspended delicately within the suffocating darkness.
It was so... Untainted.
Ningyan stared at it, his heart pounding in his chest. Why was this here?
He slowly raised a trembling hand. His fingers hovered for a second before finally pressing against the glowing blue light.
The instant his skin made contact, a wave of long-buried memories crashed directly into his mind.
A modern classroom. Children laughing in the yard.
Warm, golden sunlight streaming through a glass window. A gentle young man named Li Wei.
His loving parents. His death.
His first life.
The Celestial Academy. Intense battles.
Wuhen. Rong Yue. Meishan. Haoxuan...
His children.
Everything flooded back at once! Too fast! Too overwhelming!
Ningyan staggered backward, clutching his skull as fragments of two entire lives collided inside his mind.
"Ah—!" He ripped his hand away from the blue light!
Ningyan dropped into a crouch, both hands clutching his head as an agonizing scream tore from his throat.
"Stop!" Tears burst from his eyes, burning down his pale cheeks. "Stop...!"
They were actively being ripped away from him again!
Through a tear-blurred vision, Ningyan watched in horror as the blue glow vanished. Swallowed whole by the corruption once more.