Chapter 187 - 4.52 Broken Sword
Tension bled out of Lu Yizhou’s shoulders, one he didn’t even know he had. He shut his eyes in relief and bent down, catching Heimo’s lips with affection so vivid and intense that it made the man cry even more.
Heimo would carry this bittersweet taste with him and engraved it to his flesh and bones, he would burn it to his blood so he could keep living just with the memory that he was loved, that someone was willing to forsake everything just for his sake. Lu Yizhou bit down on the man’s bottom lip before pulling away. Heimo whined and chased after his mouth but the man simply pecked him on the corner of his lips, his cheeks, nose, eyelids, every single part he could find on Heimo’s face. He was kissing the sadness and tears away. This wouldn’t be a farewell, he conveyed through the kisses. This was a promise.
"Wait for me..." Lu Yizhou breathed as he leaned his forehead against Heimo’s and stared deep into his amber eyes. "No matter what appearance you take, no matter what kind of identity you have, I will find you and return to your side."
"Promise...?" Heimo’s lips wobbled, his voice so small that it was barely a whisper.
"Promise." Lu Yizhou dropped one last lingering kiss to his forehead and Heimo’s eyelids fluttered shut, basking in the kiss that he knew would be the last. He didn’t struggle when Lu Yizhou pushed him into Uncle Luqiu’s arms who was already waiting behind, he didn’t struggle when he was brought further and further away from Lu Yizhou, he didn’t struggle even after Lu Yizhou disappeared from sight. His eyes were blank, devoid of any lights. He was like a puppet whose string was cut. He had no idea where Uncle Luqiu took him and he didn’t realize it either when Luqiu Ning and Luqiu Hong were hugging him tight from both sides, crying into his shoulders.
He looked up to the dark sky with an empty gaze and saw Uncle Luqiu pass through the crack in the sky, giving them one last affectionate look before he turned away. His back drifted further and further as the crack slowly mended itself. The crimson moon disappeared and the gate to the demonic realm was closed, once again revealing the sun that continued to offer its warmth to the people below.
What followed after was a blur in Heimo’s mind. He saw a transparent dome forming around the area, sealing Lu Yizhou and the group of cultivators together. There were many, many shouts, curses, sword clashing against sword, and the cries of war and bloodlust. When Heimo came to, he was already kneeling on the edge of the barrier, hammering desperately on it with his fists which he knew contained no strength, calling his beloved’s name again and again. "Lu Yizhou... Lu Yizhou!!!" He could sense Lu Yizhou’s soul power throughout the barrier. The revelation sunk into him like a harsh slap and he felt his entire body going limp. Lu Yizhou was using his own soul to create the barrier for the massacre, one which couldn’t be broken nor intruded until... the caster’s death.
That’s why, when the barrier abruptly shattered into thousand pieces of lights, Heimo knew, felt it through the hollow ache in his chest and the impending despair, that he had lost his beloved.
The rowdy area became deathly tranquil, the scent of blood and death thick in the air. Through the hazy consciousness of his mind, he registered Luqiu Ning and Luqiu Hong calling out to him. Still blankly, he looked up and when he saw what was in front of him, he came to awareness; so sudden like someone had just pulled his head up from underwater, so sudden like he had just re-learned how to breathe again and for the first time, felt the vivid pain of lack of air in his lungs.