After the bonding spell was done, they retired to have some rest and get use to the new feeling of being linked with others. That night, Pei Sijing's unit along with Yixuan were alone in the mansion, as Yixuan's unit was called back to the Citadel to take on a new mission that Fan Ying will personally lead. This was because of the warning that Li Lun had given him that the demons in the forest needed to be monitored at all times, because in the very moment that they found out that Zhu Yan was gone, they will act and slaughter all demon hunters in the forest on each ring to then head for the Citadel and so on.
Their mission was to quickly take care of those demons that had enraged Zhu Yan so badly, to prevent them from keeping gathering to ensure the safety of both demon hunters patrolling the forest and the Citadel stronghold. By Fan Ying's command, all towers in the tree rings were on high alert and that would be triple when they enter the demon world. When that time comes, Yixuan's unit will return along with Fan Ying to keep an eye on the gate as well as the rest of the forest.
However, that would be for later, because, at that moment, Zhuo Yixuan was sitting on his bed, surrounded only by the light coming through the open door, coming from the moon and the stars. He was there alone, his eyes closed and his calming aura spreading, sensing the presence of the others here and there sporadically, not completely present, but in glimpses.
So far, after two hours of their bonding, Yixuan couldn't sense any of the great demons, as he had expected, but he could sense a bit of his brother flashing in and out, perhaps when he argued with Zhu Yan or... kissed him? He wasn't sure, as his Xiao Chen had a special talent for harboring several emotions at once, all tangled up together, which makes it difficult to unravel them all and guess what caused each spike.
Pei Sijing was doing an excellent job shielding herself, and he could only sense happiness in her, probably because now her younger brother was gathering strength to be able to remain in his human form more permanently. The bond was giving him everything he needed, so Yixuan was also happy, and Wen Xiao, for her part, felt the same happiness that made him assume they were together. Their feelings were very subtle, almost like a caress of the wind moving away in the distance, as quickly as it had arrived.
Bai Jiu... Yixuan smiled at the slight panic that the young healer still felt, but he was getting better at controlling it, as it was not as intense as before, probably because Ying Lei had taught him how to tone it down and keep his shields stronger. Ying Lei himself was an unbreakable wall, as the shield master that he was, with a will as strong as the mountain god from whom he had inherited his blood and the teachings he had received from the only gods left in human lands.
Yun Guang, now that he had returned to his sword, was a blank page, except perhaps for a slight feeling of satisfaction. Was he happy that the spell was working as intended or that he liked their bond? He couldn't tell, as the sword spirit wasn't human. In a way, he was as complex as Zhu Yan and Li Lun.
Li Lun... thinking about him forced him to focus, to keep his feelings to himself. Since they kissed last night, he couldn't hide his smile every time they locked eyes. He could swear the tree demon could hear his heartbeat drumming so loudly it might burst. Their kisses had been long, very long, and had awakened a side of him that had lain dormant for years, and he was almost certain that awakening had been mutual. Two lonely souls finally finding what they were looking for, what they longed for, what they needed, and Yixuan had felt that loneliness for too long, even when his own was only a shadow of what Li Lun had live with for centuries.
Perhaps because he couldn't completely hide those feelings, Yixuan heard the sliding door to his room open and close shortly after, followed by very soft footsteps approaching. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who had entered, as the scent alone betrayed Li Lun—a scent full of sweet flowers and wood. Then, at that moment, Yixuan wondered, given that Li Lun's true form was a tree, was he in bloom right now? Pagoda trees in their human world bloom mostly white, but since he was a demon tree, would his flowers be white as well?
"My flowers, when they bloom, are brightly translucent. They glow with the intensity of my blooming, which means they can change color according to my feelings." Li Lun explained softly as Yixuan smiled and opened his eyes to gaze at the beautiful man on the edge of his bed.
"What color would they be shining right now, if you were blooming?" Yixuan asked, patting the side of his bed, to encourage Li Lun to accept the invitation and join him in bed.
"Red, a very bright red. While looking at you, no other color can better reflect my feelings like that one. Are you letting me into your mind on purpose, Zhuo Yixuan? You were always much stronger than this before." Li Lun asked, sitting beside him, looking at Yixuan with genuine curiosity.
"To be honest, I don't know. I was concentrating on the traces the others were giving, and then I thought of you. Did that make you come to me?"
"I was already on my way." That made Yixuan smile.
"I see. How are you handling this bond? I know you can block us all out, but if you want to understand humans better, this is a great opportunity," Yixuan suggested, and Li Lun took Yixuan's hand and pressed it lightly against his lips, something that pleased him greatly.
"Will you open up to me more?" Li Lun asked as he stared at the young man who was stealing his heart.
"I will if you do too." Yixuan responded with a gentle smile that made Li Lun wish he could see on his handsome face forever.
"Deal. You first." Li Lun replied, and Yixuan closed his eyes again to let him into his mind. His past, his family, the loss of his mother, then the care he gave Yichen since he was very young. He remember his brother, small and fragile, crying in silence after their mother's death and how that had broken his heart. Of the promise he made to himself to never let Yichen carry a burden that was not his. Then how from then on, they became inseparable for years. Their training together and how devoted they were with one another.
He remembered all those nights when Yichen always waited for him on the steps of the Zhuo family's front courtyard when he became a demon hunter in Tiandu City. While still very young, Yichen was always there to welcome him back, only failing when he fell ill. Even then, Yichen would sneak out of his room with a high fever to wait for his Ge. That fact cemented his love for his brother and family, his determination to keep them safe, and the reason why he agreed to go to the Citadel with his specialized unit before reaching the standard age, as he was barely in his late teens when he joined the hunters guarding the Forest of Convergence.
"You love your brother so much... with such purity... it's... something I never expected from a human," Li Lun confessed as he immersed himself in Yixuan's purity, finding it beautiful, bright, comforting, and inviting.
"Then I'm glad you can understand now. Just like demons, we can be much more than tainted beasts. Humans can become a variety of things, with will and actions, with values and compassion, with teachings and love, not only for ourselves, but for others as well. My bond with Xiao Chen is still special, however. Because our mother died when he was very young, he didn't fully understand what death meant at first, and even had a short period of time where he somehow believed it was his fault she left. Because of that, he became emotionally withdrawn, always doing what was expected of him or told without complaint, and he especially wanted to please me in any way he could, perhaps thinking that if not, I would leave him too..." At that, Yixuan paused as he tried to control the surge of emotion that the memory brought back, and Li Lin squeezed his hand to show him that he was there.
"It was painful to watch him cry alone, when he thought no one was watching him, and he did so almost every night, mostly alone in his bed, sometimes for hours, until I could no longer allow him to carry a burden that didn't exist. One night, I explained to him in more detail than our father, what death was, that our mother loved him tenderly and that he wasn't the reason for her death, that it was simply her time to join the stars. Then, after gazing at the bright stars that night for a while, I stayed with him to hold him until he regained his composure. The next day, I took it as my brotherly duty to look after him in our mother's place. After that, we become one at heart, and Xiao Chen looked up to me even more than our own father..." Yixuan smiled.
"That's so like you... from what I see, you are very protective of him."
"I am, and so is he, but as we grew older, our protective instincts grew as well—toward my unit, where everyone was my friend, toward our people, and toward our fellow demon hunters. That's why we took this job despite the risks it entailed," Yixuan explained, and Li Lun nodded.
"I see that and I guess that's why Bing Yi choose your family in the first place." He whispered.
"Just one more thing." Yixuan whispered as he allowed him to see deeper into his soul, as he grew, loved and cherished, but lonely on the inside. He'd felt a deep emptiness for most of his adult life, unable to find anyone capable of filling it, and Li Lun understood that all too well.
"Zhuo Yixuan... you..." Li Lun started.
"Then how about you let me in?" Yixuan interrupt him, and Li Lun gently placed a hand on his neck to pull him closer until their heads touched.
This time, Yixuan saw Li Lun's memories, from when he was a small sprout, his travels with the gods and Zhu Yan, to his involvement in the war and his lonely life in the demon world. His extreme loneliness at parting from Zhu Yan, not because he harbored romantic feelings for him, but because he had come to appreciate and cherish that way of life, where he was cared for and welcomed as a friend and even as family. Something he lost when the war broke out, leaving him only with resentment at being forced to be alone, when he had known companionship and longed for it for centuries.
As all those flashes of memories came to life in his mind, he was thrilled to see Bing Yi and Ying Long as they had been hundreds of years ago. He finally understood why Zhu Yan had told him that, physically, Yichen looked very similar to Bing Yi, although his personality was closer to his own.
The resemblance was striking, almost identical, except for the blue-gray hair, the small horns at the sides of Bing Yi's head, and his imposing, yet calming aura. Ying Long, too, looked strikingly similar to Zhu Yan, and seeing them meet again, (like a reincarnation of the originals), he felt as if the incomplete circle of Bing Yi and Ying Long had been repeated once more, hundreds of years later, with almost the same lovers trying to close it this time, hopefully with better luck.
He also had a very good look at the demonic world for the first time and, unlike what he expected, he saw an ethereal beauty mixed with danger. The demon world wasn't barren, nor impossibly polluted with malicious energy, as he would have expected. On the contrary, it overflowed with living, strange, luminous flora that made him feel as though he were walking inside a divine dream, and perhaps, in a way, he was.
After all, this was the world Ying Long had created for the demons, a world born of his wish for them to live in peace, without needing to cross into any other realm. So in a way, creating a world filled with ethereal beauty made more sense than endless barren lands covered in purple fog, where demons simply crawled around looking for their next prey. Ying Long had given them a world where they could cultivate purer energy and find joy beyond survival. It was a strange world, yes, but also deeply magical.
Seeing such wonder from his human perspective, Yixuan felt a pang of sadness. Li Lun's intense loneliness, so similar to his own, had blinded him to such an extent that he had denied himself a better life. Moved by that thought, Yixuan closed the distance between them and kissed him. Soft and tender at first, to make him feel he understood what it meant to be alone, even when literally surrounded by people he cared for, but none of them had been the one he needed as a partner, like his soulmate, the one he had waited for almost his entire life. Li Lun dove in too, savoring his unexpected similarity to Yixuan with something deeper than mere desire. With his power, he shield them both, so they could give in to that opening of their hearts. So that night was also one of long kisses, but also of deeper feelings.
Wen Xiao/Pei Siblings
The last time her brother had been with them, for a short time, they had danced, enjoying the feeling of having not only a loved one nearby, but also her family. Pei Sijing had been the happiest at that moment, but as for that night, she was in ecstasy. The three of them gazed at the stars from the balcony. Wen Xiao lay close to her, one arm around her waist and hers around her back. Pei Siheng lay beside them, smiling as he inhaled air, feeling it descend into his lungs, enjoying the sensation the bond gave him back.
He was sure it was the combination of Bai Jiu's restorative power and the enormous energy of the two great demons that had returned him to what he once was. A young man who became a demon hunter to protect his beloved sister, but sadly failed. Back then, when the demon took his soul and placed it in that puppet, he cursed himself for not being strong enough to prevent it, leaving his sister to carry that burden for years, saddening her and making her even more determined to hunt demons.
However, if everything goes as planned, he will have a second chance at life, to do better and improve. But this time he will not fail, this time he will protect his sister as she deserves, and of course, her lover as well. In fact, although he hadn't been physically present most of the time, he was aware of everything that was happening around his sister, which always carry him with her. So, he had come to care for her unit as much as she did, kind, young souls who accepted his fleeting existence without fear.
"Xiao Heng, you look so much better, even with just the moonlight and stars. Is it working as planned?" Wen Xiao asked, and he gave her a warm smile.
"Yes, I feel my soul strengthening, with a better hold of my humanity. Perhaps Bai Jiu's energy is reviving not only my soul, but also my wooden body, making it more human." He said, and Pei Sijing was soon hugging him tightly, tears of happiness in her eyes.
"Can you feel this, Didi?" She asked between sobs, and Pei Siheng rubbed gentle circles on her back.
"Yes, you're very warm... I had forgotten that fact." His sister hugged him tighter, tears of happiness falling even more heavily, and then Wen Xiao approached to hug him from the other side as well.
"You'll be human again in no time, dear brother-in-law." Wen Xiao said and he laughed, a heartfelt laughter making his chest expand and contract, as if it were alive. He hugged Wen Xiao as well, his happiness practically uncontrollable, surrounded by the warmth of his beloved sister and Wen Xiao. For him, this was already like paradise, and he was just beginning to feel what it was like to be human again, after so much time of cold emptiness and endless regrets.
"I hope so, and if one day that wish comes true, I'll invite you two to dinner. No, I'll ask Ying Lei to help me prepare dinner for everyone, and of course, with a special dish for my dear sister and sister-in-law." He said.
"That sounds good, Xiao Heng..." Pei Sijing whispered as she gently pulled away from his embrace to wipe her tears, as well as those of her brother, who closed his eyes at her gentle touch. It was such a wonderful sensation that he leaned into her touch and kissed her on the top of her head.
"Would you, lovely ladies like to dance again? A private performance this time, and as long as you don't start kissing, I can play my flute for you all night if you like." Wen Xiao laughed.
"I'd love to, so no kissing, dear Commander. Let's not embarrass your brother right away this time." Wen Xiao joked, and Pei Sijing smiled as she took her hand and led her into her room, closing the door firmly this time right after her brother. When the flute melody started, she offered her hand to Wen Xiao and held her close in their dance for half the time, while her Xiao Heng danced with them both, even without music.
It was such a special night that she didn't hide her happiness from the others, because thanks to them, she had the opportunity to experience it once again, and for longer than she had in years. She felt blessed and most of all, light, as a heavy weight had lifter from her shoulders, giving her the chance to have a family again.
AN: So this is how the bonding is making changes in this part one, making them closer and happier. I'm sorry if their dancing seems repetitive, but I think is Pei Siheng way to show them his love after years of been unable to do much than that. I hope you like it, next will be Ying Lei/Bai Jiu and of course Zhu Yan/Yichen. Thanks for reading and until next time, please take care.