278: 6.38 Yearn For Light

6.38 Yearn For Light

"R—Regius…" Jillian breathed shakily as he sought Lu Yizhou's eyes, terrified.1

Cyrus had stepped in right in the nick of time to stop the sword with his bare hand. His sleeve slipped down, revealing pale skin covered in hard silver scales and pointed nails. After he gently yanked the sword out of Jillian's hand, Luan took over the blade at its hilt and sheathed it back. But none could pay attention to them right now. 

Jillian was shaken terribly, his fingertips shaking where it was loosely curled into a fist. Just a little bit more… Just a little bit more and he would have driven the sword into Regius' chest with his own hands. "Why…?" His voice was strained and the rims of his eyes reddened even more. 

The hurt that bled through that one word struck Lu Yizhou a blow more painful than if his chest was pierced through with the sword. He didn't flinch, but that was a near thing. 

"That's right!" Izher stepped out behind him and pointed at his chest. Anger colored his face. "Why the hell are you standing in front of me?! If he wanted to stab me, then let him do it! I really hate it when you think that it's okay to get hurt to protect me!"

Lu Yizhou let out a heavy sigh. "You know I can't just watch and do nothing." That sentence successfully forced the words back into Izher's throat. Turning to Jillian, Lu Yizhou watched as a crystalline tear slid down his cheek. Just in one glance he could already tell what the other was thinking about. He had never intended to hurt them, any of them. But the fact stood still that he had and it hurt, Lu Yizhou thought he deserved to have his heart stabbed with a sword. 

"Sweetheart…" He reached out to wipe the tears away. Jillian, who didn't cry even when the wolves bit off chunks of his flesh. Jillian, who didn't even cry as he watched his comrades perished in the war. Jillian, his brave sweet Jillian. "It's okay. Nothing is your fault. I would have stopped the sword in another way if Cyrus hadn't stepped in. You won't be able to hurt me." 

Jillian staggered into his arms and Lu Yizhou hugged him tight. What he didn't know was that Jillian was glaring at Izher through his shoulder and Izher responded with sticking his tongue out. "I was scared…" Jillian snuggled closer into his neck. "...that you will leave me."

"Foolish thought." Lu Yizhou knocked his chin on Jillian's crown. "I won't."

Jillian pulled away slightly to look at him. Tears dampened his lashes and the tip of his nose was red, making him look lovely and miserable in equal measure. "Is he really your… l–lover?"

Lu Yizhou suddenly felt a telltale of an incoming headache. He knew that there was no way Jillian would have let go of this matter. Lying wasn't an option and the thought of denying the claim was enough to make him feel so awful, he would rather die than do it. Staring into Jillian's pleading eyes, he let out an exhausted sigh. "It's true." Jillian's eyes dimmed and Lu Yizhou hastily added before that pretty head of his could think of the worst case scenario. "But it's not like what you're thinking about. Jillian, I have something I need to tell you—"

"I don't care."

Lu Yizhou blinked. "...What?"

"I said, I don't care what he is to you." Jillian grabbed hold of his lapels and fiercely declared, "You're a God, who wouldn't have one or two romantic flings when you have been alive for so long? You two might have been together in the past. But now, at this moment, you're mine; only me and me alone. Okay, Regius? You… You must stay with me until I die. After that…" He choked on his words and struggle was visible on his face as he finished the sentence. "After that, you are free to return to him. But for now, can you only look at me?"

Lu Yizhou: "..."

From his peripheral vision, he saw Cyrus hiding his laugh behind his wide sleeves — even though his curving eyes had given him away — Luan's facial features were twitching crazily but in the end he still managed to keep a straight expression. But there was one person who wasn't so sensible. Izher threw his head back and guffawed so loud that the entire manor and the houses around it could hear him.

"Is this funny to you?!" Jillian glared before shifting his hopeful eyes back to Lu Yizhou.

Lu Yizhou held his forehead with a pained look. What kind of man did Jillian think he was? Goddamnit, he sounded so much like a cheating bastard with Jillian as the benevolent and faithful first wife.  "Jillian, I am not two-timing you. Not now and not ever. So you won't have to degrade yourself like that. I love you—"

"What about him?!" He jutted his chin toward Izher who was enjoying the show.

"—I love both of you." Lu Yizhou said helplessly and then grimaced at how it sounded. He was truly a cheating bastard. "But there's a reason for that. As much as I want to explain everything to you in person, the sun is rising in a few minutes." He turned to Cyrus and Luan. "Can you…"

"Leave everything to us, your honor." Cyrus agreed readily. "We will make sure to smooth out any misunderstandings with the Duke. However, you ought to be exhausted right now. Please have a rest first and we will talk about everything slowly later."

"But—"

"Sleep." Luan said and in the next second, Jillian's eyes turned glassy and blank. "Tuck yourself into the bed and have a good night's rest." Lu Yizhou watched as Jillian took his sword from Luan and walked briskly down the pathway toward the main gate before disappearing inside the manor, secretly amazed. He looked nothing like a sleeping man except for his unfocused eyes. It seemed like he had to reassess his opinion about Luan after everything he had seen today. After making sure that Jillian had arrived in his room, he turned to Izher and leveled him with a silent stare. 

"What's with that look?" Izher raised one of his brows, taunting.

"Do you really mind?" Lu Yizhou asked instead, startling the other into silence. "Are you serious when you ask Jillian to choose between me and his country?"

Izher stared at him for a moment, his face unreadable. Lu Yizhou felt a twinge of discomfort in his chest. After being together for a few lifetimes, it was sufficient to say that he was confident he could read his lover like an open book. But with Izher's appearance, Lu Yizhou's confidence came tumbling down and he came to a harsh realization that he really didn't know his lover as much as he thought. 

"What if I am?" Izher countered with his trademark not-quite-a-smile smile.

"Why?"

"What's why?"

Lu Yizhou gestured toward the general direction of Jillian's room. "You two are one and the same. Why are you so adamant on making him suffer?"

"I don't know." Izher shrugged. "Has it ever passed your mind that maybe… I am jealous?"

Lu Yizhou's brows slowly knitted. Jealous? Jealous of what?

Izher began to count with his fingers. "He's staying with you all day, he can cuddle you however he likes, he can kiss you, touch you, and suck your dick—" Lu Yizhou cut off his words, unable to listen any longer, pulled him close by wrist and caught his lips, swallowing the surprised gasp into his own mouth. He seized the chance when Izher's lips were open to lick inside his mouth, prodding and searching for his counterpart before entangling them together. The kiss abruptly turned messy, wet and dirty. They were panting when they separated — although both of them clearly knew that breathing was unnecessary, in their cases.

Lu Yizhou stared deeply into his lover's dazed eyes. "Who says you can't?"

"Lu Yizhou," Izher chuckled breathlessly and Lu Yizhou frowned when he tried to struggle out of his grasp. "I am the God of Plague. You will receive the backlash if you stay with me any longer."

"I don't care." Lu Yizhou said. "You can cast your curse on me. I will bear it all."

Izher's eyes widened by a fraction and for a while, they merely looked into each other's eyes. Lu Yizhou delighted in the fact that he could begin to notice the shadow of his lover hidden beneath Izher's tough facade. Maybe… Maybe he only needed to try a bit harder, a bit longer until he could finally understand this dark side of his lover.

"Lu Yizhou, you…" For the lack of things to say, Izher merely shook his head with a wry smile. "You do realize that as long as I exist, people will continue to suffer, right?"

"I do," Lu Yizhou said quietly. So what? was what he didn't say out loud. He would give his protection to this country Jillian was born and live in but other than that, the world could burn for all he cared.

Someone cleared his throat beside them and Lu Yizhou startled. Fuck, he had forgotten that Cyrus and Luan was still here. No wonder that they were the legendary pair of mythical beasts, they could really hide their presence very well. "I apologize for interrupting your heart-to-heart talk, but I think there's some important matter we need to address. For starters, the person who has awakened the God of Plague from his slumber."

"Who is it?" Lu Yizhou asked.

"He goes by the name… Ernoul."

Ernoul? Lu Yizhou frowned. It seemed like he had heard it somewhere before. Where was it? Lu Yizhou couldn't seem to recall and this time, there was no 666 who would remind him.

"In case you forgot," Cyrus added as he sensed the confusion on Lu Yizhou's face. "He's the 47th Chief Tribe of the Barbarians, Maia's father."

Only then did Lu Yizhou recall who it was. Maia's father, Ernoul, the Chief Tribe. So he was the one who prayed for the country's destruction desperately enough to summon a God? It wasn't like Lu Yizhou had never doubted him. Ernoul's main goal had always been the throne. Now that the war had concluded peacefully on the ground of doing something he hated the most — to lower his pride and ask for help — he must have been unreconciled. However, Lu Yizhou didn't take into account how far his animosity could go. No, he should have. No one knew how dark a human's heart could be more than him. There was no excuse for his negligence this time.

"Right, that fucker." Izher chuckled darkly, the smile never reaching his eyes. "Praying so vehemently for his enemy's destruction. Day and night, all day long. Are you going to kill him, Lu Yizhou? But it's too late, I have already granted his wish in exchange for power to get here. If he's killed, then I will go back into slumber."

"You won't." Lu Yizhou said firmly. "I will pray for you every single day. This way, you won't have to leave."

Izher was startled. "You—"

Cyrus cleared his throat again. Irk flashed through Lu Yizhou's eyes and judging from how Luan stepped forward and protectively put Cyrus behind him, it seemed like he wasn't the only one who was annoyed. "I apologize once again, your honors. But that's not the main thing I want to talk about." Lu Yizhou gave a gesture to go ahead and Cyrus continued saying with gravity in his eyes. "I understand where the God of Plague is coming from. But at this rate, against the incurable disease, people will begin to turn to God once again."

Lu Yizhou sucked in a sharp breath as realization dawned on him.

"That's right." Cyrus sighed heavily. "When humans have started to lose their way amidst the dark, they will yearn for light. Sooner or later, the God of Light, the one who will defeat all of you, will also be awakened from his slumber."

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