Chapter 335: The Divine Tomb of the Underground Palace (22)
Yan Shixun had imagined countless possibilities of what might happen after Ye Li passed the trial. He had even prepared himself for the worst—that Ye Li might die within it.
But what he had never expected… was that Ye Li wouldn’t need to be found by him at all.
—As long as he stood there, Ye Li would come running to him.
No matter where he was.
Just like Ye Li had once promised him.
As long as he needed him, he would appear.
Ye Li had never once broken his word to him. Every single promise he had made had been fulfilled, one by one.
The moment that gentle, familiar voice whispered into his ear, and he felt that solid and secure embrace from behind, Yan Shixun’s eyes slowly widened. His gaze trembled violently, and he instinctively held his breath, afraid that it was all just an illusion.
But the arms wrapped firmly around his waist were cool and strong. That familiar scent enveloped him, carrying with it a deep sense of security and undeniable strength…
Who else could it be, if not Ye Li?
For a moment, Yan Shixun couldn’t speak. He stood there in a daze, allowing Ye Li to pull him tightly into his arms.
Only after a long while did he manage to speak, his voice trembling: “Ye Li…?”
“I’m here.”
Ye Li bent down slightly, resting his chin in the hollow of Yan Shixun’s neck. He nuzzled gently against the cool, delicate skin of his beloved, sighing contentedly.
To him, happiness was never about the vastness of the universe or the grandeur of the Great Dao. His ambitions didn’t lie in the heavens or on the path of ultimate truth.
His happiness and everything he desired… were found in one person.
—Yan Shixun.
In his previous life, Ye Li had given all his time and vitality to the battlefield where he fought with his life on the line, offering everything for the lives he protected behind him.
Even through hundreds of years ruling Fengdu, he had never once relaxed. He silently stood guard between the realms of yin and yang, life and death, ensuring the living world was not disturbed by wandering spirits, that wronged souls could seek justice, and that even the most malevolent ghosts received fair judgment.
As the Lord of Fengdu, he had never failed humanity.
On the contrary, it was the human world that had again and again revealed its deepest, ugliest sins before Ye Li’s eyes. With naked malice, it had disappointed him time and time again.
In the end, he had given up hope in the human world altogether, declaring that it was beyond salvation.
But just when the final flicker of light in Ye Li’s heart was about to be extinguished by a relentless storm, a young boy’s figure had appeared before him—shielding him from the raging winds, guarding that last sliver of light—so that he wouldn’t lose hope in humanity entirely.
From that moment on, to Ye Li, Yan Shixun became heavier and more important than the entire human world.
He no longer loved the world he had guarded for a thousand years, the one that had wounded him so deeply. But he loved Yan Shixun with all his heart—he swore it in the name of the gods, with heaven and earth as witnesses, that his love would never waver until death.
And his beloved… loved the human world.
If that was the case… then this world would remain his burden to carry.
For the life that Yan Shixun longed for—for the people who had guarded his tomb across hundreds and thousands of years—
Ye Li willingly endured the excruciating, soul-shattering pain. Once more, he faced the blood-soaked memories of the past, allowed himself to embrace and accept who he had been in the chaos, and chose to walk again upon the path of absolute reason and justice.
Just as the Great Dao was unrelenting.
At that moment, beneath Ye Li’s black robes, his tall frame still bore wounds that had yet to stop bleeding. The pain lingered in every inch of his muscles, and he had to grit his teeth just to keep himself from crying out.
Ye Li didn’t want Yan Shixun to know. He still held onto what had happened during the battle with the generals, and he would never allow Yan Shixun to see him in such a weakened state, giving anything else a chance to take advantage of it.
To him, there was no need for Yan Shixun to know.
He was well aware that while he endured the trials of heaven and earth, the exorcist he loved dearly wasn’t having it easy either.
They walked different paths, side by side, and neither of them wanted to cause the other worry, drag each other down, or become a disappointment.
So, let them meet again at the finish line.
By then, he would show him a perfect version of himself. He wondered—would that be the person Yan Shixun had once hoped to see?
Ye Li’s arms around Yan Shixun tightened. He buried his face into the crook of Yan Shixun’s neck, breathing in the crisp, clean scent of the one he loved. It made him take a deep breath, entirely intoxicated by this moment of undisturbed bliss.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Though his body was exhausted—nearly drained from the process of losing strength and then regaining it even more fiercely—his heart felt full. His half-lidded eyes fluttered as he fought the pull of sleep. All he wanted was to stay like this, wrapped around Yan Shixun, and fall into deep slumber.
To Ye Li, this was the most profound happiness he could imagine.
Like a cold wind in winter, laced with snowflakes that swept through mountain valleys—strong enough to disperse all evil and corruption, to cleanse the heavens and earth. And once spring arrived, everything would bloom anew.
Every time Ye Li thought of how he had forgotten Yan Shixun on that battlefield in the past, he was filled with an unspeakable fear of losing him again.
That fear made his embrace grow tighter, as if he wanted to merge his lover into himself.
Never to be separated again.
The force tightening around his waist made Yan Shixun frown slightly. He sensed something was wrong with Ye Li.
“Ye Li, what’s wrong?”
Yan Shixun reached back, placing his hand on Ye Li’s arm. “Are you hurt? Or is something wrong with your soul? Let me see—ah!”
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden sharp pain shot through the back of his neck.
At the same time, his skin picked up on something else—something cool and damp, along with a breath brushing against his neck.
Yan Shixun froze.
Ye Li… had bitten the back of his neck.
In that instant, Yan Shixun completely forgot what he had been about to say. His mind turned into a tangled ball of yarn, utterly scrambled.
He opened his mouth but only managed a few incoherent syllables.
A flush of red bloomed beneath his eyes, quickly spreading to his cheeks and the tips of his ears.
Yan Shixun had endured wounds beyond what most people could imagine. He had pushed through them with clenched teeth, killing malicious spirits even while bleeding, until the very end.
He once believed no pain could bring him down. Endurance was second nature to him.
But he had never expected that a wound made by teeth could be so intensely present—so hard to ignore—that it completely overtook his senses. His entire awareness was now focused on his neck.
A hundred counterattacks flashed through his mind. If he wanted to, with the current distance between them, he could easily throw Ye Li over his shoulder and slam him to the ground. Escaping from this hold would be effortless.
What’s more, Ye Li hadn’t put up any guard against him at all. Even the arm that held him close was filled with gentle affection, showing no intent to hurt him.
When Yan Shixun raised his beautiful, defined hand into the air, he found that no matter what, he couldn’t bring himself to move it any closer toward Ye Li. His hand was trembling.
…Forget it.
Yan Shixun sighed inwardly. Instead of grabbing Ye Li and throwing him over his shoulder, his hand gently landed on Ye Li’s and slowly interlocked their fingers.
“Let go.”
Pulling himself out from the mess of thoughts in his mind, Yan Shixun managed to find his voice again. He tried his best to suppress the heat on his face and said calmly, “Ye Li, let go. Are you a dog or something?”
Laughter flickered in Ye Li’s eyes, as gentle as spring waters in April.
He slowly released his teeth, and when he saw the vivid red bite mark he had left on Yan Shixun’s neck, he couldn’t help but lean in again. His cool, damp lips fell on Yan Shixun’s neck, kissing him again and again—soft, delicate, and tender.
Only then did Ye Li’s heart finally settle back into his chest, reassured that Yan Shixun was safe in his arms, and that no one could ever take his beloved away from him.
Not even Heaven, Earth, or the Great Dao would be allowed to interfere.
Holding Yan Shixun in his arms, Ye Li let out a low chuckle, finally feeling a tangible sense of reality—that he had passed through the trial and returned to Yan Shixun’s side.
Faced with such a Ye Li, all the things Yan Shixun had been ready to say turned into a single sigh. Slowly, he began to ask about what had happened during Ye Li’s trial.
“Before you came back, the hundred thousand soldiers of Fengdu had already accepted their corpses and reintegrated the past they once abandoned back into themselves.”
Yan Shixun’s expression gradually grew solemn. He asked with great seriousness, “And you, Ye Li? What’s your answer?”
“If you don’t want to…”
Yan Shixun lowered his lashes slightly and looked toward the coffin beside him.
If you don’t want to, then I won’t force you. It’s the world I want to save, so I’ll shoulder the full responsibility. I trust you, and I’m joyful that I can walk this path with you.
But I’ll never make you do something you don’t wish to do.
Especially when it’s a matter of life and death, with the risk of complete soul annihilation should we fail.
Yan Shixun kept the second half of that sentence in his heart and only said aloud, “This isn’t the only way. If you don’t want to do it, then I’ll look for another solution.”
“Shixun, even when you lie to me, you look beautiful.”
Ye Li chuckled softly, tearing through Yan Shixun’s lie. “We both know clearly this is the only way to resolve everything in one stroke.”
“Don’t worry, Shixun. I’ve never been unwilling.”
Ye Li lowered his gaze gently. “Being with you—how could I possibly be unwilling?”
Inside the coffin, the ancient corpse of a war general from a thousand years ago—perfectly preserved without a trace of decay—began to crumble the moment Ye Li appeared. It broke down into countless glowing motes of light that slowly floated upward, rising out of the coffin.
Those lights drifted through the dark cavern like a swarm of fireflies, dancing all around the two of them.
Yan Shixun stood dazed in place.
No one could destroy the corpse of a ghost deity.
Except… the ghost deity himself.
That corpse had disintegrated into countless specks of light because of Ye Li’s own will, warmly surrounding Yan Shixun.
Even without a human form, Ye Li’s love for Yan Shixun was still evident in every flicker of light—impossible to conceal.
“You…”
Yan Shixun’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. With difficulty, and unable to hide his excitement, he confirmed, “Ye Li, you’ve already made up your mind… to become the Great Dao?”
There was no need for words. Ye Li’s power rippled outward in waves. Black mist filled the vast cavern and continued to expand, sinking all the way to the deep veins of the earth.
The heavens and earth trembled slightly.
Many speculated whether it was a minor earthquake, and the seismic bureau was baffled.
Only Yan Shixun knew that from this moment on, Heaven and Earth had truly become one with Ye Li.
His veins were now the ley lines of the land. His strength upheld the earth and kept the sky from ever falling.
Tears shimmered in Yan Shixun’s eyes.
“Even in a moment like this, what you’re thinking about is still the Great Dao?”
Ye Li sounded a little helpless.
But he understood very well what kind of radiant, dazzling soul he loved. Yan Shixun would never abandon his responsibility—never.
And that was exactly who his Shixun was.
Ye Li chuckled quietly, his chest trembling with the sound.
His thin lips moved close to Yan Shixun’s ear, breath brushing against his lover’s neck. His voice, low and husky, carried endless tenderness and intimacy.
“Shixun… I don’t want the Great Dao. I only want you.”
Yan Shixun opened his mouth to respond, but his ears turned red.
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