Chapter 2
Zhao Yuanzhou does his best to hide in plain sight, finding spots to chill, to dream, or to think that aren’t exactly un-findable, but are not so easily discovered, either. One had to put at least a little effort if they wanted to have a chat with him during the past few days and mostly it was Ying Lei whose nose could always tell him exactly where the Great Demon was and, sometimes, even the state he was in. He made it a very unusual and peculiar practice to come up with new recipes of foods he prepared with a hefty portion of white jade dusted either into fine powder or slightly larger pieces – he was still experimenting with this new type of tasteless spice that only the Great Demon could consume without flinching. After all, he had spent more than a few thousand years sipping on his bitter jade drink, but now, suddenly, there was some variety, and he even got to taste a pretty decent flowery wine that was only a little bitter.
“The Great Demon of the Wilderness should not be hiding away like a demon cub. Try this, let's see if this jaded cake can make you feel better,” Ying Lei would say, smiling, always making sure Zhao Yuanzhou had something new to try every day as if he needed fixing and healing and being taken care of all of a sudden. Zhao Yuanzhou heard that Zhuo Yichen was patrolling non-stop – first checking whether the fox’s little stunt actually hurt anyone, then – just to vent out some of his brewing emotions and maybe, just maybe, not to be inside the Demon Hunting Bureau where he could meet the Great Demon at any given moment.
“You do realize I don’t need food,” Zhao Yuanzhou would say, sitting in the darkest, deepest, and broodiest corner of the garden no one probably even knew about, apart from this sunshine boy. Him, and maybe Wen Xiao, who took it upon herself to check on Zhao Yuazhou from time to time. He was almost sure she was doing the same for Zhuo Yichen. But no matter how long the Great Demon thought about some decent way out of this mess they had inadvertently created, the solutions seemed to escape him. He thought the good old ‘pretending nothing actually happened’ could work at least for one of them, but more often than not he was finding his own gaze drift back to Zhuo Yichen whenever they were sitting together and discussing some cases or simply sharing a meal. And more often than not that gaze would find his lips or his neck or that delicate jawline, or those beautiful deep-blue eyes, always making the other man stop mid-sentence and sometimes even forget what he was talking about, casting a dazed look at the Great Demon and swallowing hard, with tension hanging in the air so palpable they could probably slice it with a knife. Or a sword.
The Cloud Light Sword was behaving nicely most of the time, as if it became more tame having absorbed a decent amount of Zhao Yuanzhou’s blood – again. Until – it wasn’t, and it started acting up at the most innocent moments when Zhao Yuanzhou would be simply sipping on some tea with Zhuo Yichen passing by, that delicate blue glow immediately giving away the younger man’s attention. Or when Zhuo Yichen would be training and the Great Demon would be passing by, drawn in by the beautiful sword dance, stopping if only for a moment to enjoy his liquidy movements – and the sword would give them both away, not allowing them even a slither of play-pretend that nothing happened. Or those other times when Zhao Yuanzhou would catch Zhuo Yichen staring into a bowl of tea absent-mindedly, so deeply lost in thought that he didn’t even notice there was someone around. And when he did finally notice, his sword would start pulsating with that already familiar light signaling… what exactly? Zhao Yuanzhou couldn’t really tell and it seemed that speaking using actual words instead of burning stares was still not on the table, for some reason.
Whatever mixed signals Zhao Yuanzhou thought he was receiving before, now stopped being mixed, and he knew that for a fact. What he didn’t know was how to make things better – whatever experience he had with humans, it didn’t prepare him for this particular and the most special one.
“It’s not for your body, it’s for the soul,” Ying Lei says, watching Zhao Yuanzhou get lost in thought utterly and totally, as it often happened these days. “Look, I made some almond jelly. It’s a very special recipe, I bet you’ve never tried one of these before,” he grins at the Great Demon, making sure he eats a spoonful and then some more as if Zhao Yuanzhou’s well-being actually depended on it.
“You’re wasting your talent on me,” Zhao Yuanzhou nods to him gracefully, “Better make some for Xiao Zhuo-daren, just… a little sweeter,” he says, his mind drifting back and forth between the fox, that night, the bloodied kisses, and the other ones before that, and the current sad circumstances of their lives that involved nothing like that, and probably never will.
“It’s funny you should say that,” Ying Lei beams at him, ignoring the Great Demon’s melancholy that seemed to become his prevailing colour lately, “Zhuo-daren said the same thing. That I should make one for you and add some jade to it, but not too much, so it doesn’t taste bitter,” he watches Zhao Yuanzhou take a few more spoonfuls of the almond jelly instead of answering him, uttering a vague ‘m-hm’ as if not believing this to be true.
“You’re a bad liar, Little Mountain God,” he says, finally, having finished the dessert that did taste delicious despite the familiar bitterness that was meant to curb his malicious energy some more. Ying Lei leans in just a little, looking happy for reasons only he could understand, which seemed pretty much his usual state no matter what was happening around - good, bad, or utterly insufferable.
“And that is also exactly what Zhuo-daren told me, word for word,” he chuckles, looking pleased that the Great Demon finished his dessert, even if it was just to avoid talking. He was picking up some bad habits from each member of their weird little family and Zhao Yuanzhou actually fears what Bai Jiu will become when he grows up, if they stay together like this. As far as father and mother figures were concerned, none of them were good enough material. Only Zhuo Yichen, as gentle and caring as he was, seemed to be the perfect older brother for the boy. Ying Lei, on the other hand, was becoming sharp-tongued like Wen Xiao, bringing his own sweet mischievousness to the mix.
Zhao Yuanzhou looks at him for a few long moments, wondering how this ray of sunshine found his way into the hearts and minds of everyone in the Demon Hunting Bureau, including Zhao Yuanzhou. And he kept on doing it so effortlessly, using the ultimate language of love – delicious food that he used as medicine, as actual meals, and sometimes even as bribes to get closer to people (and, unsurprisingly, it always worked like a charm, especially with Bai Jiu).
“Was me coming to the Demon Hunting Bureau a mistake?” Zhao Yuanzhou asks Ying Lei, not really hoping for an answer. He was just starting to think that his arrival had messed things up majorly – for everyone involved. Wen Xiao was happy (for now), but as far as the rest of them were concerned… It seems he only made everyone’s lives more complicated. And the life of that one demon hunter in particular.
Ying Lei actually spends a considerable amount of time pondering over this question, looking comically serious and, possibly, in need of a jug of wine as well. Zhao Yuanzhou is wondering whether he also was cute and innocent like that at some point in his life because he had no recollection of it whatsoever. As if his life has always been about suffering, and guilt, and trying to make amends with the people he has hurt and was hurting still.
“I’ll put it like this…” Ying Lei grabs the pompoms adorning his hair and fiddles with them while talking, giving away that he’s nervous – either to share his thoughts, or simply being around the Great Demon, whom he actually revered as someone Great despite watching him mess things up on a regular basis. “...if you do something and it makes you happy… and you aren’t hurting anyone else… then it’s not a mistake. It’s definitely a good thing,” he avoids looking at Zhao Yuanzhou, but his words have a ring of truth to them, one that could be so obvious to someone so innocent, yet infinitely painful for someone as guilty as Zhao Yuanzhou.
“You see, I didn’t come here to be happy. I came here to die,” Zhao Yuanzhou confesses, not really knowing why exactly he’s telling him all this. Maybe because he was the only other demon in the Demon Hunting Bureau and knew what it was like – to grow up without the warmth most humans had while going from kids to teenagers and then to adults. And yet, Ying Lei was just a baby himself – a youngster by demon standards, barely a teenager if translated into human years. Still, even 300 years in the Wilderness counted for something because that experience was much harsher and lonelier than anything a human could ever imagine. Most of them didn’t have any parents or even teachers once they were thrown into the stormy current of life, growing up with the whole world teaching them the basics of survival and then, if they’re lucky, of love and care and empathy. But for some demons that moment never comes and they die just as they are born – nearly feral, infinitely lonely, wild, free, and having experienced none of the emotions that both tormented humans and made them happier than any other living things on earth. Because happiness did come with sadness and pain and suffering. You had to go through all of those emotions and states to understand each of them and appreciate them for what they are. Maybe… Zhao Yuanzhou has forgotten about that or simply chose not to remember that simple truth, afraid to hurt someone he didn’t want to see in pain. And trying not to get hurt himself, afraid that he might not survive any more of that.
Ying Lei raises his eyes at him, looking fearless and less smiley, showing some of his truer colors, or rather, some of that inner core that allowed him to remain happy and caring and sweet despite all the suffering he must have seen in the world and experienced himself – both in the Wilderness and in the human realm.
“Dying is easy, Great Demon. Death will find you either way, whether you want it or not. Living is what requires real courage. Continuing to move on and push forward no matter what life throws at you,” he says it like he means it, like it’s the ultimate truth of life, of this world, of every being’s existence. For a moment there, Zhao Yuanzhou wants to believe him. That there are still good things waiting for him ahead. And not just a queue of messed up lives and hurt people left behind after he’s gone.
“And if you like something – you should pursue it. Or him,” the grin is back on Ying Lei’s face and now it’s more knowing than ever, reminding Zhao Yuanzhou of Wen Xiao for some reason, “He may hate you at first, but people change if you take care of them and give them delicious foods,” his smile becomes even warmer as he remembers something, “Bai Jiu used to hate playing with me before, and now I asked him to show me around the city, and he agreed! And not only that – I asked Wen Xiao to give me some money to buy more foods in the market to cook a few extra things… and she agreed, too! It’s easy, isn’t it? Sometimes all you need to do is ask. Or just tell them that you want something. Otherwise, people will never know,” he finishes his little happy speech with a broad smile that lights up his whole being, leaving Zhao Yuanzhou flabbergasted for a few long moments.
“Is it that easy?” he asks, finally, still feeling a little startled by the sheer amount of life’s wisdom delivered to him with this simple, yet delicious almond jelly dessert.
“It may not be easy, but it’s worth a try. Or you will die wondering what could have been,” Ying Lei collects the dishes and casts another mischievous glance at Zhao Yuanzhou, “A bird told me that Zhuo-daren is spending a lot of time on that pretty bridge overlooking the river,” he actually winks at the Great Demon as if sharing a huge secret and the other man can’t suppress a smile, watching him being so goofy, yet so sincere at the same time.
“Is that bird’s name Wen Xiao?” he asks, feeling his heart getting lighter, and then some more, as yet another decision blooms inside of his heart. Zhuo Yichen might have decided something that night, but this doesn’t mean he has to agree to it. And, more importantly, this doesn’t mean that he can’t even try changing the tide, so to speak. The worse that could happen – he would get rejected straight into his face. Which, yes, would hurt like crazy, but at least they both would get some clarity on the matter. And if he doesn’t, well, they can see where they can go from there, if anywhere at all.
“The Great Demon has spent too much time in the human realm. Birds have a perfectly understandable language of their own,” Ying Lei beams at him, “Just like rocks, and rivers, and grass. All you need to do is ask,” he then disappears the same way he always arrives – easygoing, effortless, pretty much always uninvited, but so welcome nonetheless. Zhao Yuanzhou slowly stands up, thinking that he may not understand life and people all that much, even having lived for thousands of years, if even a baby demon seems to have a better grasp on reality than he does right now. Or maybe, just maybe, he has been too blinded by his own guilt and suffering and fear to mess up even more that he didn’t even consider the feelings of the other. Who was, indeed, much younger than him and much more human, and could be feeling even more lost right now, especially knowing that he, too, had a tendency to close up and distance himself from the people who cared about him to avoid showing too much emotions. The two of them did, in fact, have a lot in common. So much so that their friends had to take it upon themselves to build a few bridges of communication, if they couldn’t do it on their own.
‘Do I dare to pursue him, though?’ Zhao Yuanzhou asks himself walking up to a familiar bridge gently lit by the moon and some distant illumination of the streets where people were slowly walking by not even noticing a lonely figure sitting out there in the midst of the darkness.
‘Do I dare to just leave him be if he rejects me?’ Zhao Yanzhou asks himself stepping onto the bridge, knowing that he has already been noticed judging by a soft sigh and a barely there turn of the head to acknowledge his presence.
‘Do I dare to simply ask him about what he really wants, if anything at all? With me,' Zhao Yuanzhou asks himself coming up close to that familiar figure, noticing a small jug of wine in his hands and slightly slouched shoulders, which was very atypical for him, a person who was always so calm, and collected, and a little strained, and extremely attentive to everyone around him, but not to himself. To see him like this made Zhao Yuanzhou’s heart hurt a little, but it also made him hopeful – that whatever it was, he could make things better. Or he could at least try.
“A bird told me I would find you here,” he says softly, stepping a little closer, and Zhuo Yichen’s sword answers him even before the man himself does, with a low hum and a pulsating bluish light. Zhuo Yichen only sighs at that, putting the sword to his other side, revealing a spot for Zhao Yuanzhou to sit, and moves a little as if inviting him.
“Was that bird’s name Wen Xiao?” Zhuo Yichen asks, looking a little exhausted, and more than a little lost in thought, but that quickly changes as Zhao Yuanzhou lowers himself by his side, making sure he sits close enough to feel the other man’s warmth, and breath, and touch. They’ve been avoiding each other these few days that seem like weeks now and Zhao Yuanzhou actually missed his company, just simply like that, being together, sitting, talking, going on about some cases.
“In my case, it was Ying Lei,” Zhao Yuanzhou confesses, watching him attentively, trying to understand what would be the best course of action right now, what words could fix things, them, if any at all. “I feel like I owe you an apology,” he says carefully, “I couldn’t fight the fox back then… the whole city would have suffered, and not only the Tianxiang Pavilion. Waking up your sword was the only option to save everyone,” his insides tighten from the sheer intensity of what he’s feeling. It’s a weird mix of the fear of being rejected and misunderstood with a longing to be accepted, and wanted, and loved, and touched. He never realized he needed all that, had been needing it for a long time now – before he met this young man, beautiful inside out. That Zhuo Yichen would start changing him to the point that he would think less about dying and more – about being with him, in any way or form he could, that was something hard to admit, and the Great Demon was realizing all of it just now, sitting so close, yet not having the right to touch, to embrace, to kiss, and to caress. Those mixed signals he was getting must have been there for quite some time before he finally spotted them, yet he still had to make sure before taking that one step forward, and then one more. Afraid of what it would mean to him and to his grand plan of going out in style, beautifully, dying by the hand of a man he has wronged, and who is now looking lost, and pained, and carefully choosing the words he should use as if afraid of pretty much the same. What will it mean for them both if Zhuo Yichen acknowledges that he’s feeling all that – towards a man he had sworn to kill, uttering the most earnest oath he could produce at the time.
“Do you regret not waking up the sword earlier? You could have stopped me before…” Zhuo Yichen doesn’t say it out loud, but the way he lowers his eyes, hypnotizing the jug of wine in his hands, tells Zhao Yuanzhou more than any words ever could.
“I regret only one thing - that I had to wake up the sword at all. Because I didn’t want to stop you,” Zhao Yuanzhou says quietly, not knowing how the other man will react to that, but it is the truth, “Even if you’d hate me after that… I wanted to know what it felt like. I was selfish, and I couldn’t say ‘no’ to you,” as far as confessions were concerned, Zhao Yuanzhou doesn’t remember himself being so frank with anyone ever. Now he understands that it might be the most important thing in both human and demon relationships. Just being truthful, no matter how painful or embarrassing that truth was. No matter how vulnerable it made him feel, and open, and helpless.
He watches Zhuo Yichen’s lips curl up if only a little.
“You wanted that,” he states, not even asking at this point, and that must mean something to him because a portion of the tension hanging in the air dissipates almost immediately, making Zhao Yuanzhou wonder just what exactly he imagined in his head. That he was the one who somehow offended Zhao Yuanzhou, did something against his will?
“I wanted that… very much,” he confirms, searching Zhuo Yichen’s face for some more hints, but then decides to simply ask, because, obviously, imagining things didn’t work quite well for both of them, “Did you think I wouldn’t?” and if Zhuo Yichen’s blush and frown are of any indication, he indeed thought something along those lines.
“I didn’t know what to think. You show up smelling like you’ve been entertained by the whole Tianxiang Pavilion and, frankly speaking, looking the part. Wearing more jewelry than their poshest concubines – and don’t give me that look, I have to go there for work all the time,” Zhuo Yichen casts a glaring gaze at him and takes a sip of wine just to hide his embarrassment and a decent amount of jealousy, which, Zhao Yuanzhou had to admit, was both cute and hot for some reason, making his chest burn a little, and then some more. “But then you talk about gathering information, and I choose to believe you because it’s better to believe that… than all those other things,” he fiddles with the ring Zhao Yuanzhou gave him, still wearing it on his index finger, and the Great Demon has to admit he chose both the perfect design and the perfect gem that complimented Zhuo Yichen’s deep-blue eyes and strong, yet delicate hands. Zhao Yuanzhou thinks that he wants to both dress him beautifully and undress him, in various ways. He wouldn’t change a thing about him, but there was this innate desire to gift him something pretty, to make him a little happier than before, and then some more, to look at him, just admiring his beauty, but then, also, to have him, touching every inch of his body. And that is something he hasn’t felt in a very long while, thinking he was no longer worthy to have this type of intimacy that could, eventually, lead to his happiness.
He came to Zhuo Yichen to be granted death, but was blessed with life instead. He was begging the gods to end his misery, and they did, but in a way he didn’t expect, and didn’t even dare to hope for.
“So when Hu Xian told me to wait for you, that she would show me your true face, I did just that. Even before I was fully taken over by that sweet magic of hers. What does that say about me?” he finally turns to face Zhao Yuanzhou, looking conflicted, but handsome beyond all possible measure, and Zhao Yuanzhou forgets how to use human words for a few long moments.
“That we are quite alike, you and me,” Zhao Yuanzhou says softly, realizing it to be true at least to some extent. They even avoided each other the same way after everything happened instead of talking things through. “But you should never trust an ancient beast like that, especially a fox,” he manages a faint smile, noticing a few tears glide down Zhuo Yichen’s cheeks and raises his hand to wipe them off, still not sure if he’s allowed to do this, to touch him in any way.
“Not even you?” Zhuo Yichen asks with an already familiar smile gracing his lips, always so timid, yet now directed fully and totally at Zhao Yuanzhou. His goodness was contagious, his innocence was shining brightly and sweetly like a full moon in the middle of the night, yet the Great Demon still found himself longing for more. Even if it will irreversibly change them both, turning them into something else, more than they’ve ever been – on their own.
“Especially not me,” he leans in to whisper those words, still holding Zhuo Yichen gently by the cheek, but doesn’t proceed, not right away. “What if I told you that we don’t need some fox’s magic to try things… just to see if they work or not?” he says carefully, looking into Zhuo Yichen’s eyes and finding an ocean of desire there very similar to his own, mixed with a bit of shame and a considerable amount of fear, but it was there nonetheless.
“Can we really go back… if they don’t?” Zhuo Yichen mirrors his gesture, touching Zhao Yuanzhou’s face with his fingertips, lightly and carefully, as if afraid to break him, or to wake up from a dream that seemed too good to be true. If anyone was dreaming here, it was Zhao Yuanzhou, and he didn’t want to wake up no matter what.
“We can only try and find out,” the Great Demon murmurs gently, feeling a familiar wave of heat rise between them, as if their forces, the very nature of their powers, were attracted to each other even before their owners have figured things out, pushing them together gently, but steadily, with Zhuo Yichen’s word sending delicate pulsating waves of light all around them and Zhao Yuanzhou's darkness enveloping them both like a warm cozy cloak.
This time it is Zhao Yuanzhou who draws in closer for the kiss, brushing his lips against Zhuo Yichen’s ever so lightly as if he was a summer breeze caressing the other man. And when Zhuo Yichen closes his eyes, and sighs softly, licking his lips after that one gentle touch, letting go of whatever tension that was still left in him about all of this, about Zhao Yuanzhou and the fox and his own deeply suppressed desires and the fear of what happens next, the Great Demon kisses him one more time, carefully taking the lead, if only a little, caressing his mouth with his lips, and letting his tongue slide in a bit deeper, feeling Zhuo Yichen pull him closer, and then some more, hugging him by the waist. It seems the innate desire to touch and undress was yet another thing they had in common, and Zhao Yuanzhou was wondering how many more such desires they could uncover if they decided to follow this path a little further. When they stop kissing to breathe in some air, having totally forgotten they were sitting on the bridge in the middle of the night and pretty much anyone could see them at this point, Zhuo Yichen says breathily:
“Is it just me, or Wen Xiao knowing that old fox is awfully suspicious? She did manage to talk some sense into her, way too quickly,” he traces a strand of Zhao Yuanzhou’s hair with his fingers as if unable and unwanting to let go or to stop what they started.
“Oh, absolutely,” Zhao Yuanzhou says nodding lightly, but his mind has started going blissfully blank again, “Do you want to maybe… go back… and ask her some questions?” he says, not even trying to pretend he’s not looking at the other man’s lips at this point, which was a very freeing feeling.
“Go back – most definitely. Ask questions – later,” the way he says it, with his voice low, sounding more than a little excited, makes Zhao Yuanzhou’s heart race faster than ever before. They get up simultaneously, both feeling drunk from the sheer intensity of what they were feeling and the Great Demon has to admit that wine has nothing on Zhuo Yichen’s lips and the softness of his skin and the hotness of his body next to his own.
“Works for me…” he whispers, realizing that they will try a variety of those things they were talking about a few minutes earlier soon enough, to see if they work or not. And for some reason, he had no doubts whatsoever that they both would love it, every single bit of it. Whatever questions they both had for Wen Xiao – they would have to wait until the morning.
Ying Lei lets out a heavy sigh of relief, watching the two figures collect themselves from the picturesque bridge, looking a bit drunk from the sheer closeness of each other and also those few deep kisses they shared so eagerly. He smiles broadly to himself and uses the talisman to rush to the Demon Hunting Bureau and tell Wen Xiao that their plan has, indeed, worked, although with some alterations, and she was right to make everyone take a night off, including most of the night guards, knowing that someone, or rather two someones wouldn’t be able to keep their hands off each other any longer as they walk through the dreamy passages of the Demon Hunting Bureau filled with moonlight and wispy shadows and the low humming of winds.
And so they do, walking slowly and feeling as if they are flying through the night, stopping by for a careful touch or two, shedding layers of fabric as they go through the rooms leading to Zhuo Yichen’s bedroom, until there’s not a single one left, and everything falls to the floor, including the jewelry and embellishments – all, but that one beautiful ring with a huge sparkling sapphire that still adorns Zhuo Yichen’s index finger. Zhao Yunazhou makes sure to kiss all of his fingers one by one, and the palms of his hands, and the knuckles, and the wrists as he glides further up, pressing him into the bed and caressing him whole with his hands and his lips until there is not a single trace of composure left, until sweet little moans start escaping Zhuo Yichen’s mouth, until whatever Zhao Yuanzhou is doing to his body becomes unbearable to the point that he arcs his back, looking like a vision, a hot dream, beautiful in his nakedness, and vulnerability, and the desire to have more, to give more, to be taken, and to take in return. And as his hands, strong from the years of training with the sword, are gliding along Zhao Yuanzhou’s bare back, and sides, and thighs, tracing every inch of his body, pressing them closer together, there is a realization that this, whatever it was, doesn’t have to stop, not ever, for as long as they are alive and see each other for what they are, and accept, and hold, and caress, and take care, and let be taken care of in return.
As they are lying in bed hours later, still unable to sleep from the sheer intensity of it, still not wanting to untangle their bodies, just touching, and fondling each other lazily in the afterglow of pleasure, Zhuo Yichen takes it upon himself to whisper an oath of a different kind, one that could, possibly, counterbalance that other one, if not fully negate it, making Zhao Yuanzhou stare into his eyes feeling startled, yet happy, and if only a little worried, but also relieved beyond words could ever describe. And as he kisses his neck, hiding his face in its elegant curve, he whispers some words of his own, earning himself a gasp and a gentle pull of his hair, when Zhuo Yichen pulls back to glance into his eyes as if not believing his ears.
“For eternity?” he asks in bewilderment, but already giddy with happiness and an array of some other inexplicable, yet undoubtedly pleasant feelings bubbling up within his very being, sending shivers of deliciously hot arousal across both their bodies all over again.
“For eternity,” Zhao Yuanzhou confirms and gently presses his lips to the other man's hand, and his fingers, and that ring that has suddenly become something more than just a pretty piece of jewelry he ‘accidentally’ put on him, and then proceeds to kissing some other parts of his body as well, making Zhuo Yichen laugh happily and Zhao Yuanzhou has to confess to himself that he could listen to that sound forever, and then some more.
Back at the Tianxiang Pavilion Wen Xiao pours Hu Xian a full cup of wine, looking at her apologetically, but not feeling any remorse whatsoever.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this, Ren-jiejie,” she says courteously, having learned some good manners from Zhao Yuanzhou during all those months they spent together, among a few other useful and not-so-much things. Old demons, apparently, enjoyed their little theatrical games more than anything else in this world, and Hu Xian was no exception to that rule. Apparently, the only thing they liked more was messing with humans on all possible levels, and the more mess they created, the more alive they felt. Or so Wen Xiao thought, gazing at the gorgeous demoness looking all relaxed and very well-fed and fully content for the first time in a long while.
“No you’re not,” Hu Xian casts a glance filled with laughter at her, but accepts the cup of wine nonetheless, looking as gorgeous as ever, but this time in her human form, with her hair made into a gorgeous updo and that very familiar pin adorning it beautifully. The fake case Wen Xiao put together looked believable enough, especially with those seals she forged and an actual angry letter from a not-so-angry city head’s wife who was part of their little circle of female friends gathering at Tianxiang Pavilion every now and then to gossip and have some delicious wine. Hu Xian, going by the name of Lady Ren, was running the whole thing, so when Wen Xiao whined about two of her most favorite men dancing around each other for so long, making all their lives miserable watching all that prancing without any action whatsoever, she suggested to use a bit of her very special and extremely sensual love magic that only ancient foxes possessed. And since Hu Xian knew Zhu Yan from before, playing a prank on that ‘old demon’ seemed like an exceptionally fun idea to her at the time. Well, it did pay off in the end, after some trial and error, and Wen Xiao could finally celebrate, knowing that things would change considerably after this night.
“Guilty as charged,” she admits and graces the other woman with one of her prettiest and sweetest smiles. Pei Sijing, who’s sitting right next to her, so deliciously close now after everything they’ve experienced together, shakes her head a little, pouring herself some wine, too.
“That was way too dangerous, jie. One wrong move, and they could’ve destroyed the whole city,” she says, casting a careful glance at the fox, sprawled lavishly on colourful cushions, looking way too pleased with herself, and also – incredibly pretty. Having an ‘aunt’ like that, as the fox liked to call herself regarding Wen Xiao, definitely had its perks, but foxes were unpredictable creatures, she could tell that much.
“Zhu Yan would never have attacked me, especially after seeing that boy so deliciously lose his composure bit by bit. I do know a thing or two about desire, believe me,” she smiles charmingly at both of them, pouring them some more wine, and looks dreamily outside the window, “I realized the Great Demon has truly madly deeply fallen for Zhuo-daren the minute I saw him snooping around the Tianxiang Pavilion looking like that, I mean my girls here could have lost all their clients as well as their jobs that very night, I kid you not,” she watches Wen Xiao’s face light up with amusement as she remembers the way the Great Demon glided into the room on that fateful night and how all their jaws dropped a little, but not as much as Xiao Zhuo’s, goddess bless his innocent soul, who literally lost all his ability to speak and, it seemed, to think as well, for more than just a few minutes. And that is yet another thing that helped her trick both of them into ‘investigating’ this case. Ultimately, they wanted to be tricked, and that one gentle push granted by the very peculiar fox magic ended all their suffering. At least, a considerable amount of it.
“Who could have thought that the Bing Yi boy would turn out to be so strong and so stubborn,” Hu Xian chuckles, remembering their small play orchestrated for two fools, so obviously in love, yet so blind to each other’s feelings it was actually becoming ridiculous. Even she could feel the tension, and she had spent just a few minutes around them.
“You have no idea,” Wen Xiao takes a sip of wine, hugging Pei Sijing and looks at her lovingly, feeling the stress of these past few days slowly dissolve in her warm embrace and an even warmer gaze.
“You live up to the Goddess’s name, Wen Xiao,” Hu Xian smiles at her sweetly and lazily like a cat that has eaten a delicacy, and stretches out on the pillows, watching two women with the utmost interest, enjoying whatever displays of love she could lay her eyes on. She knew passion, and affection, and desire, and lust, and all kinds of love and fondness that were born between people, usually, just two, but sometimes that warm fire would spread, taking over a few more souls, bonding them, binding them into something more. It was a rare treat to see humans and demons care for each other so much. And if those two would find her actions somewhat iffy or unethical and would decide to come after her again, she would grace them with so much of her love magic, that they wouldn’t get away with only kissing in front of her, she could guarantee that much. And that, she had to admit, didn't sound like such a bad thing after all.
“I had the best Shifu in the world,” Wen Xiao chuckles lightly, laying a gentle kiss on Pei Sijing’s shoulder, and they spend the rest of the evening just chatting about sweet nothings, feeling absolutely content with each other.