Blue light filled every corner of the room. Even the cream-colored curtains around the bed and the darkest recesses of the walls glowed with it. As the king watched the light shining from the Sea God’s Lamp, he began to tremble uncontrollably. It was the instinctive reverence for the Sea God felt by everyone born in this kingdom.
“Dear Sea God, forgive me. I cannot awaken Prince Lan Tang.”
Even with his eyes closed, Wen Sheng could feel the light. His voice was cool and composed, as though he were offering a solemn prayer.
The king could not help hoping, though he did not even know what he hoped to hear. His aging heart pounded so violently that it seemed ready to burst from his chest. He was witnessing a messenger speak with a god. He could no longer doubt who Wen Sheng was.
Wen Sheng truly was the Sea God’s messenger…
He stood quietly beside him, barely daring to breathe. He feared that the slightest sound might disturb Wen Sheng. So he waited, hoping Wen Sheng would bring him the answer he longed for…
The vast bedchamber was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Sweat dampened the king’s palms. Then a deep, resonant voice came from the Sea God’s Lamp, as though it had traveled up through countless layers of water from the ocean floor.
“There is an ill-omened person within the palace. That person came from hell and carries malevolent energy. Wen Sheng, you cannot save Lan Tang.”
Wen Sheng slowly opened his eyes. The brilliant light caught in them, turning their gray-blue color into a mesmerizing deep blue. He looked like a spirit from the ocean depths, beautiful enough to steal a person’s soul. He gave a soft sigh and parted his pale pink lips.
“Yes, Sea God.”
The Sea God…
It was the Sea God!
The king had suspected it already, but hearing Wen Sheng address the owner of that voice still left him shaken.
It truly was the Sea God—the deity who, until now, had existed only in their imaginations!
The king could no longer maintain his last shred of royal composure. He dropped to his knees before the lamp.
“Sea God, please save my son. I beg you.”
His hair was white, and tears shone in his eyes. In that moment he looked less like a king than an ordinary father pleading with a god for his child.
Wen Sheng had been about to take his hand away from the lamp, but he paused. Seeing the king like this, he left it where it was. The king noticed, and gratitude flickered through his tears.
“Sea God, if you save my son, I will offer you any sacrifice you ask. Please save him. Please.”
For a long while, the king’s pleas were the only sound in the room. Just as he began to think there would be no answer, the voice spoke again, even deeper than before.
“An evil spirit from hell seeks to destroy the royal family. Its power is still weak, however, and evil spirits fear the light. Find the ill-omened person it has possessed and make that person endure the cleansing of the blazing sun for seven days. Your son may yet have a chance.”
A chance…
“But who is the ill-omened person?” Wen Sheng asked.
The king remained frozen in place, too overwhelmed to speak.
“Wen Sheng, you have overstepped.”
The voice from the lamp was calm, yet it carried crushing authority. Wen Sheng’s face instantly went pale, as though the rebuke had hurt him. He lowered his head and replied humbly.
“Yes, Sea God. I was wrong.”
Seeing Wen Sheng turn so pale, the king hurried to speak on his behalf.
“Sea God, please show me the way.”
“I cannot interfere in human affairs. But I can tell you this: the possessed person has an impairment. And Lan Tang has been surrounded by malevolent energy for more than three months.”
As soon as those words ended, the light from the Sea God’s Lamp vanished. Only then did Wen Sheng raise his head and withdraw his hand. He bent down slightly and helped the king, who had collapsed in distress, back to his feet.
Once the king was back on his feet, his thoughts remained in turmoil. He could not tell whether his son might recover, much less what the Sea God’s final words meant. He could only turn to the last person who might offer him an answer: Wen Sheng.
“Lord Wen Sheng, what exactly did the Sea God mean?”
Wen Sheng did not answer at once. He placed the Sea God’s Lamp back in its case before turning to the king. His expression was composed, his voice devoid of emotion.
“Three years ago, an evil spirit cursed Prince Lan Tang and caused him to fall into a coma. At first, it was not a serious problem. But three months ago, the person possessed by that spirit entered the royal household and came very close to the prince. The curse on Prince Lan Tang grew stronger and has been eating away at his soul day by day. If you find the ill-omened person the spirit has possessed and expose that person to the fiercest midday sun for seven days, the sunlight may drive the spirit away. Then Prince Lan Tang may have a chance to wake.”
As Wen Sheng carefully explained the Sea God’s words, the king finally understood. So that was it. Lan Tang had been healthy since childhood, yet had suddenly fallen into an endless sleep. An evil spirit had done this to him! Worse still, that spirit had now found its way into the royal household and was causing his son further harm!
“But this ill-omened person…”
Making the possessed person undergo the cleansing of sunlight would be simple enough. How was he supposed to find them?
The thought that someone in the royal household could be harming his son at every moment made the king want to tear the evil spirit apart.
He was the king of a nation, but he was also a father. He could not bear anything that hurt his child.
Wen Sheng shifted his feet and looked toward Lan Tang on the bed. The prince was breathing steadily, his complexion healthy. Wen Sheng’s gaze softened further, and a trace of warmth finally entered his voice.
“Those possessed by evil spirits usually have some impairment. The Sea God also said that malevolent energy has surrounded Prince Lan Tang for just over three months. In other words, the person you seek entered the royal household around that time. Follow those two clues.”
Wen Sheng did not look at the king as he spoke. His eyes remained on Lan Tang, so he missed the strange change that briefly crossed the king’s face.
After all this, the king’s doubts about Wen Sheng disappeared entirely. When Wen Sheng said he needed to rest, the king personally led him to the most luxurious guest chamber and made sure he could rest undisturbed.
“Your Majesty, you need only keep today’s conversation with the Sea God in your heart.”
The king suspected nothing. Discussing a deity in private would be gravely disrespectful, and he understood what he needed to do.
“Rest assured, Lord Wen Sheng.”
Wen Sheng nodded. A gentle smile touched his lips, warm enough to make anyone who saw it feel as though they were standing in a spring breeze.
Only after the king left did the smile slowly fade. Wen Sheng strolled to the table and poured himself a cup of tea.
“Nicely done.”
Balala gave an excited little beep.
“Lord Shiqing, I was amazing, wasn’t I? Hehe, flawless! My voice changer is great, right? I used that voice when I dated someone online before. My boyfriend was completely smitten, hehe~”
“Cough—cough. Dated… online?”
Wen Sheng nearly choked on his tea. It was rare for him to lose his composure.
“Are you even old enough to be dating?”
Balala sounded deeply offended.
“Lord Shiqing!!! I just look cute!!! I’ve been a system for twenty-four whole years!!!”
…
Wen Sheng thought perhaps he ought to compliment it.
“But are you sure that voice would attract handsome men who’d want to date you?”
“Lord Shiqing!!!! What’s that supposed to mean? I’m a mighty top!!! My voice changer has charmed more adorable bottoms than I can count!!! And recently I met a boy who’s incredibly sweet and gentle. I really like him. He even said I have a lovely voice! Once this final world is over, I’m going to meet him in person!!!”
…
Well. That was something.
An amused smile played at Wen Sheng’s lips. Balala clearly had no idea how it came across. At most, it was a feisty little bottom. A top? More like it had appointed itself one.
Seeing Balala lost in its own happy thoughts, Wen Sheng decided not to dampen its spirits. He went to the hot spring pool attached to the bedchamber. A bath would ease his weariness—though his body was not really tired, since he had slept well the night before. What he needed was to steady his mind, which still had not recovered from seeing Lu Yan.
“Play the recording of what happened after I died in the previous world. Then go offline.”
Wen Sheng sank into the hot spring and let the warm water envelop him. He settled into a comfortable position and closed his eyes. The image that appeared was of Qi Yan carrying his body away from the battlefield, his face empty of expression. The battle was over. Wu Yi stopped Tang Wan from trying to take Wen Shilan’s body from him.
As Yan Shiqing watched, that suffocating ache returned, leaving him almost unable to breathe. He had thought Qi Yan would take him back to the werewolf planet. Instead, Qi Yan brought him to his villa—the place where they had first met.
Qi Yan laid Wen Shilan on the bed. His eyes were bloodshot, but he did not release any healing energy. He fetched a basin of water from the bathroom and, in the simplest way he could, wiped every trace of dust and blood from Wen Shilan’s body.
Then he undressed, climbed into bed, and held Wen Shilan against him. Neither of them wore anything. Wen Shilan’s body was cold with the unmistakable coldness of death. As a werewolf, Qi Yan was so much warmer. It was as though he were trying to bring Wen Shilan back to life with his own heat.
The lights went out, leaving the room dim and still. After a while, a faint sob broke the silence. It grew louder, full of anguish and despair he could no longer contain. Qi Yan had nowhere for his grief to go. He buried his face against Wen Shilan’s neck and breathed in desperately, but there was no begonia scent. Not even a trace.
He could no longer smell the scent that belonged only to Wen Shilan. That realization tore apart the last of his composure.
Qi Yan had never loved anyone but Wen Shilan. Everything he knew about love had come from him. He had no way to ease such immense pain. All he could do was cry, each broken sound filled with despair and helplessness.
Yan Shiqing’s closed eyes trembled. A tear slipped free and fell into the hot spring, sending a faint ripple across the water.
Who knew how much time passed before Qi Yan finally stopped crying? He turned on the light. His eyes were terribly swollen, and he looked so wretched that he bore no resemblance to the king of the werewolves. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he raised a hand. Silver energy gathered in his palm, and without hesitation, he drove it into his own chest.
Yan Shiqing’s hand clenched beneath the hot spring water. Only when he realized Qi Yan was not trying to kill himself did he relax slightly. It was still an act of self-harm: Qi Yan had taken another drop of blood from his heart.
Members of the werewolf royal family each possessed three such drops. A single drop could cure countless illnesses. The one Qi Yan had placed in the stone he gave Wen Shilan had vanished when Wen Shilan’s godstone shattered.
Werewolf heartblood could also preserve a body from decay for a hundred years.
After extracting the second drop, Qi Yan placed it between Wen Shilan’s brows.
Taking heartblood did not shorten Qi Yan’s life or diminish his energy, but the process felt like hundreds of ants devouring his heart. The pain was almost unbearable.
This time, Yan Shiqing watched from the outside. He saw Qi Yan stay in that villa like a living corpse, neither eating nor drinking as he kept vigil beside Wen Shilan’s body. Only when he had no choice but to return to the werewolf planet did he take Wen Shilan away from the place that held their happy memories.
That winter, the new king of the werewolves married the fallen war god of Silan. Werewolves chose only one mate in their lifetime, so no one opposed their king’s decision. Fierce and warlike as they were, their devotion in love surpassed that of anyone on the other planets.
The year after Qi Yan and Wen Shilan’s wedding, Qi Yan’s parents had an adorable little wolf pup. When Qi Yan saw the child for the first time, he smiled for the first time since Wen Shilan’s death. It was a smile of heartfelt joy and relief.
The recording ended there.
His heart missed a beat. He was grateful the recording had stopped. If there had been more, he truly would not have dared watch it. His instincts told him that whatever Qi Yan did next would be something he could not bear to see…
Qi Yan had still been alive in the final image, but Yan Shiqing had a feeling he would not hold on much longer…
Yan Shiqing’s eyes flew open, their corners tinged a striking red. He drew one ragged breath after another, trying to ease the dull ache in his chest. With difficulty, he got up, dressed, and buried himself in the soft, comfortable bed.
He wanted to sleep. Once he was asleep, he could forget everything that hurt. All those moments of heartbreak and grief that left him unable to breathe would disappear.
And Yan Shiqing could sleep. His subconscious coaxed him under, as though some protective instinct within his body were shielding him by drawing him into a deep slumber.
Leave a Reply