Lìngxì stood frozen, the world tilting beneath his feet. He couldn't believe his eyes—or rather, the eye he could no longer see on Kage Ou's face. The realization hit him like a physical blow: Kage Ou had given a part of his own sight, his own essence, to him.
Is it... located in my eye socket, or... inside? Lìngxì's thoughts raced, frantic and silent. No, not the eyes themselves. Lànhuā and Xio didn't notice anything different about my gaze. It's deeper. It's settled within my core.
His eyes narrowed, darting between Kage Ou's steady form and the flickering shadows of the room. "Kage... don't joke like this. It's not funny," he whispered, his voice trembling as he instinctively cupped his own face, his fingers searching for a seam, a sign, a lie.
"And I'm serious, too," Kage Ou replied. His voice was uncharacteristically gentle—a rare, fragile vulnerability he reserved only for the man before him. Yet, tonight, that gentleness felt heavier. Deeper.
Lìngxì swallowed hard, a wave of desperate energy surging through him. He moved forward—fast, clumsy, and utterly frantic. Despite the lingering heat in his cheeks from the earlier embarrassment of the wardrobe change and their suffocating closeness, the weight of Kage Ou's sacrifice eclipsed everything else.
He stumbled, his legs still weak from his ordeal. "I told you to be careful!" Kage Ou hissed, rushing forward to catch him, his hand firm on Lìngxì's upper arm.
Lìngxì didn't stop until he was standing before the golden-black marble mirror, chest heaving. He stared at his reflection. He looked pale, his eyes watery and wide with shock. The temple gem was no longer shattered, but the faint cracks remained, throbbing with a dull, rhythmic ache. His veins felt brittle, as if the sheer pressure of the new spiritual energy flowing through him might snap them at any moment.
He peered into his own eyes. There was no warm red glow—only the familiar royal blue beneath his snowy lashes.
Kage Ou stepped up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The touch was light, yet the gentle squeeze of his fingers felt like an anchor. In the mirror, their reflections merged. Kage Ou's cheek was lightly flushed, his expression a complex tapestry of confidence and softness.
Lìngxì tensed, looking down at the hand on his shoulder. Usually, he would have recoiled; he avoided physical touch like a bird avoids a snare. But tonight, his defenses were crumbling. It felt... useless.
He has seen everything... I still can't believe it. Trying to keep this distance feels like trying to hold back the tide with a paper fan. If a 'good friend' does this... why can't I just accept it?
Lìngxì lifted his gaze back to the mirror, locking eyes with Kage Ou. His breath hitched. There it was—the empty, shadowed space where Kage Ou's right eye should have been.
"You're still as much of an idiot as you ever were!" Lìngxì hissed through gritted teeth, his voice thick with a cocktail of anger and raw emotion.
Kage Ou merely tilted his head, a faint, smirk-like smile playing on his lips. He stepped closer, his fingers reaching out to deftly fix the loose collar of Lìngxì's white silk robe. "I don't regret giving it to you. In fact, I'm glad. Living my final days with one eye won't hurt nearly as much as living them without..." He paused, clearing his throat, a hint of genuine embarrassment crossing his features. "...without a hug."
Lìngxì stared into Kage Ou's remaining left eye. He saw only his own reflection trapped in that dark iris. I'll say no. I always say no. So why is it so hard to speak the word tonight?
"You know why your debt was never considered paid?" Kage Ou asked, breaking the silence.
Lìngxì blinked, refocusing. "You're making things worse. Just tell me what you did to your eye," he demanded, his impatience masking his growing anxiety.
Kage Ou sighed, his hand sliding from the collar to the small of Lìngxì's back. "Fine. Two questions, two answers. Firstly: the eye. You were in critical condition; your powers were sealed, and your soul was fraying. I used the eye—the seat of my spiritual sight—to bridge the gap and save you. And as for the payment..." He swallowed hard. "I wanted you to offer something real. Something of your own accord, not because I demanded it. Since you never did... the debt remained."
Lìngxì felt as if another spiritual bomb had been dropped. "What do you even mean? I've gifted you countless things! And how was I even dying?"
"It's a long story, Birdie. A meaningful one," Kage Ou purred, his voice dropping into a low, predatory vibration as he stepped even closer. "I'll tell you everything. But I don't think I can sleep tonight without a freaking hug."
The tone was playful, but the look in his eye was anything but. It was a hunger that went beyond a simple embrace. Lìngxì's heart hammered against his ribs. He stepped back, his voice cracking. "K-Kage Ou... you're being far too arrogant tonight! You can't just demand things because you saved—!"
His breath jumped into his throat as his back hit the edge of the heavy marble table. Before he could move, Kage Ou's hands slammed down on the wood on either side of his hips.
Lìngxì was caged.
"You should be like this more often," Kage Ou murmured, a thoughtful, devastating smile on his face. "Cute, sweet, and flushed... instead of scolding me for every curse I utter. All I've craved is one sweet hug, yet here you are, fluttering away. Do you think I'll squeeze the life out of you just because I'm a 'vile' demonic cultivator?" He let out a soft, melodic chuckle.
Lìngxì looked away, biting his lower lip. He was furious at his own panicked, bird-like behavior, but his body refused to obey his pride. He opened his mouth to retort, but the words died when Kage Ou's hands moved.
With surprising gentleness, Kage Ou gripped his waist and hoisted him upward, seating him firmly on the edge of the table. Kage Ou then stepped into the space between Lìngxì's legs, closing the final gap between them.
"Sit down. Relax. Then I'll listen, and you'll listen," Kage Ou said, his earlier tension vanishing, replaced by a calm, protective aura.
Lìngxì's face was now a brilliant crimson. He covered his eyes with his hands, unable to handle the intensity. "Stop being so casual! Get back to normal! Don't come any closer!" he yelled into his palms.
"I am normal," Kage Ou's voice was right at his ear now, vibrating with suppressed laughter. "But you're acting weird, and it's... making things very hard for me." He leaned in closer, his breath warm against Lìngxì's skin. "And if you're worried about the 'dressing' incident... it's nothing. I didn't see your body."
Lìngxì froze.
"My eyes were covered with three layers of black ritual fabric," Kage Ou whispered, sharing the secret like a sacred vow. "I would never look at you like that... unless you were the one to ask for it."
Lìngxì's heart skipped a beat, a shiver racing down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. The revelation that Kage Ou had respected him even in his unconscious state left him breathless, his protests dying in the silence of the room.