Chapter 185 - 4.50 Time’s Up
It was at that moment that Heimo arrived with Luqiu Hong shortly behind him, Luqiu Ning safely cradled in her arms. As soon as the two caught sight of the demon, they gave a sharp gasp. Luqiu Hong instantly burst into tears whilst Ningning merely gazed at her father with a dazzling smile, seemingly uncaring for his different appearance. Whereas Heimo... Heimo was staring straight at Lu Yizhou, his hunched shoulders and the blood that was pouring steadily out of his mouth. Before he realized what was happening, he had jumped in front of the man and held his arm, grateful that the array no longer kept him away.
He sought Lu Yizhou’s face worriedly. "Are you okay?! What happened?!" He glanced down at the ivory sword that was in a worse condition than before and his face blanched. He almost looked like he was going to vomit. Turning to the demon who was healing Luqiu Ning, Heimo demanded, trying to keep the anger out of his voice and failing miserably. "Uncle, did—did you do this to him?!"
Luqiu Hong’s sharp eyes snapped to both of them, confused at Heimo’s protective stance and wary of Lu Yizhou. She had clearly been briefed of Lu Yizhou’s involvement in this matter, otherwise he suspected that the woman wouldn’t hesitate to fight him even at the expense of her own life.
"Lan’er..." Lu Yizhou tried to tug him back except when he exerted strength, more blood coagulated out of his mouth and he bent over to hurl them out.
"Lu Yizhou!" Heimo sounded as if he was going to cry, fear creeping into his trembling body as he supported the man’s swaying body.
Uncle Luqiu’s eyebrows almost rose to his hairline at their interaction. He gave a short wave and the pressure that was pressing down on Lu Yizhou disappeared abruptly and the relief was so overwhelming that his sight faded for a second. When he came to, he had Hexue stabbed to the ground as a support and Heimo’s arms around him, pressing Lu Yizhou’s head to the crook of his shoulder as if wanting to hide him away from sight. Lu Yizhou’s ears were ringing and voices came back to him like a tidal wave in time for him to hear the demon’s question.
"Lan’er, are you protecting him without truly knowing his real purpose toward you?"
"I don’t care," Heimo replied in a firm tone. His arms around Lu Yizhou tightened and they were so close that Lu Yizhou could hear the underlying tremor on his voice and his rapid heartbeats. He closed his eyes for a brief respite and relished in his lover’s presence. "I don’t care what he wants from me. One thing I know is, he has always acted with my best interests at heart. Again and again, he has protected me, treated me with nothing but kindness and gentleness but I... " He swallowed the lump on his throat and even though his next sentence was directed to the demon, it felt like he was confessing to Lu Yizhou instead. His voice was small and fragile. "I have always doubted him, even though I know there was no way he would do something to harm me. I have been such an awful person..."
"You are not." Lu Yizhou forced himself to look up, straight into Heimo’s clouded eyes. "You are not allowed to say that to yourself."