Chapter 25: As If With All His Heart
In the blink of an eye, Li Yuezhou caught onto another layer of meaning. "So, Brother, you really believe me?"
Lu Zhaoye chuckled, sounding somewhat helpless. "When has your brother ever lied to you?"
"Hmm, that's true. You wouldn't lie to me." Li Yuezhou rested in Lu Zhaoye’s embrace. The two seemed long accustomed to such intimacy; after all, it was perfectly normal for brothers to be deeply reliant on one another.
He looked up at Lu Zhaoye. His eyes, still glistening from his recent tears, reflected Lu Zhaoye’s face, making it seem as though his entire heart and soul belonged to this one person.
Lu Zhaoye opened his mouth but paused, unable to speak for a long while. He simply stared intently at Li Yuezhou as it felt as though a vine had quietly taken root within his chest, winding itself tightly around his heart.
"Mm, I won't lie to you," Lu Zhaoye murmured, his voice so low that Li Yuezhou could barely hear it.
"Then I'll go back to rest. I'm so sleepy."
Having just cried and experienced such wild emotional swings, his naturally frail constitution was catching up with him. Though his earlier dizziness had faded, it was quickly replaced by waves of overwhelming exhaustion.
Knowing about his poor health and the ordeal he had just been through, Lu Zhaoye decided not to let him return to his own room.
"Wash up and just sleep here with me."
Li Yuezhou nodded. Lu Zhaoye stepped out to call the waiter for hot water, and Li Yuezhou washed up quickly. Tossing the towel aside, he looked visibly drowsy. Seeing this, Lu Zhaoye simply stepped forward, scooped him up into his arms, strode to the bed, and gently laid him down.
Li Yuezhou didn't feel anything was amiss. They frequently shared a room anyway and were deeply familiar with each other's presence.
The moment his head touched the pillow, which was steeped in Lu Zhaoye's scent, Li Yuezhou sank into a deep slumber, completely oblivious to the burning gaze fixed upon him.
Lu Zhaoye sat at the edge of the bed, his back to the candle flickering on the center table. The shadows cast across his face added a heavy touch of gloom to his features.
He quietly watched the sleeping youth. Li Yuezhou, sensing nothing out of the ordinary due to their familiarity, unconsciously rubbed his soft cheek against the plush pillow.
He took a deep breath before slowly leaning over, committing every visible detail of Li Yuezhou's face to memory. His gaze felt almost tangible as it swept over every single inch of him.
After a long time, Lu Zhaoye took off his outer robe. Instead of getting another quilt, he slipped under the covers and lay down directly next to Li Yuezhou.
The moment he entered the bed, Li Yuezhou sensed the familiar warmth and instinctively huddled closer.
The much frailer body nestled against his own. With midsummer approaching, their clothing was thin, and even their heartbeats seemed to intertwine.
Lu Zhaoye restrained himself and gently pushed Li Yuezhou away, but a second later, the sleeping youth rolled right back into his arms.
Feeling helpless, Lu Zhaoye had no choice but to wrap his arms around him. His mind was still churning over what had just happened, yet amidst the chaotic thoughts, he too slowly drifted off to sleep.
---
Early the next morning, Li Yuezhou woke up in a room filled with Lu Zhaoye's familiar scent. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he finally noticed a neatly folded set of clothes.
He picked them up and shook them out; they had clearly been prepared for him by Lu Zhaoye.
He couldn't help but sigh in admiration. His brother was too thoughtful, too gentle. How could there be such a wonderful person? Telling him the truth yesterday had been the right decision.
He hoped that tonight... they could alter the tragic ending written in the book.
Li Yuezhou lowered his eyes. He wanted to open the book and check the details again, but he felt an inexplicable sense of resistance.
Forget it, I'll deal with it later.
After washing his face, he headed downstairs. Just like the previous days, Lu Zhaoye and the others were sitting in the lobby eating breakfast. Seeing him come down, they waved him over.
Taking a few sips of his porridge, Li Yuezhou asked, "Has Big Brother Yi returned?"
He paused after speaking, recalling the suspicions he and Lu Zhaoye had shared the night before. He glanced up at Lu Zhaoye, who remained expressionless. Catching Li Yuezhou's gaze, Lu Zhaoye simply met his eyes and offered a faint smile.
Li Yuezhou quickly lowered his head, determined not to let anyone else notice anything unusual.
He vaguely guessed Lu Zhaoye's plan: he wanted to see what kind of excuse Yi Rufeng would make when he returned with reinforcements today.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why, when they were already certain they were facing a formidable demonic cult expert, his father had only sent a few men with average martial arts skills.
Logically speaking, even if Lu Zhaoye hadn't learned the truth last night, he would still be deeply suspicious of the dispatched men. How would Yi Rufeng try to talk his way out of it?
Around noon, Yi Rufeng finally returned. Exactly as Li Yuezhou had seen in his dream, he brought back only a scattered handful of men, all of whom possessed mediocre abilities.
The moment he saw this group, Lu Zhaoye furrowed his brows tightly. "Just this many? Didn't you tell Godfather that a demonic cult expert might be involved?"
Yi Rufeng glanced back at the men he brought, stepped forward, and leaned in close to whisper, "Zhaoye, let's go inside to talk."
Seeing his secretive manner, Lu Zhaoye was slightly bewildered but followed him into the room nonetheless.
Propping up his chin, Li Yuezhou watched the two of them walk inside, wondering what kind of charade they were playing. He then turned back to look at the newly arrived group.
Seeing Li Yuezhou, the men bowed respectfully in greeting.
Looking at the young, naive faces before him, and realizing that they were all destined to die at the hands of the demonic cult purely because of Yi Rufeng, Li Yuezhou felt a sudden, fierce surge of anger.
"You all need to be careful tonight. If you can't win, just run. My father won't blame you for it."
The man who appeared to be their leader smiled but said nothing.
Though the Young Master had their best interests at heart, the Alliance Leader's orders could not be defied. Their life's purpose was to fight the demonic cult; it was a battle to the bitter end.
Before long, Lu Zhaoye and Yi Rufeng emerged from the room. Li Yuezhou took a peek and noticed that Lu Zhaoye's expression was perfectly normal, and his interaction with Yi Rufeng remained as casual as ever.
"Brother."
Li Yuezhou leaned against the back of his chair and looked up at him. Lu Zhaoye reached out, ruffled his fluffy hair, and said, "Stay in the inn tonight. Rufeng and Hu Pei will stay behind to keep you company."
"Ah?" Li Yuezhou was stunned. Why was it still following the plot? No, wait, there was a slight difference, Hu Pei was staying behind. In the original storyline, Hu Pei had gone with them.
Neither Yi Rufeng nor Hu Pei voiced any objections, readily agreeing to the arrangement.
Once the others returned to their rooms to rest, Li Yuezhou dragged Lu Zhaoye into their room. "Brother, brother, what did he say to you?"
"He's trying to drive a wedge between me and Godfather."
Lu Zhaoye dropped the sentence casually, but it left Li Yuezhou rooted to the spot in shock.
Almost instantly, he connected the dots. "He wants you to think that Father intentionally wants you to die here?"
"Probably. He left it deliberately ambiguous." Lu Zhaoye poured himself a cup of tea and let out a cold snort. "Since he only brought these few people, I'll just have to take the lead myself."
Right as his voice trailed off, a loud crash echoed from outside. Startled, Li Yuezhou hurriedly stood up, only to see Cen Yi barge straight into the room. "Zhaoye! Another person has gone missing!"
"What?!"
Lu Zhaoye rushed forward, gripping Cen Yi's shoulder as he asked anxiously, "What happened?"
"A commoner came to report a case today. He said his son went out to sell vegetables this morning and hasn't returned. We asked the nearby vendors, and they all said his son sold out early and headed straight home."
Lu Zhaoye glanced outside at the crowd curiously peering into the room. Shutting the door, he said coldly, "Didn't they say those people only emerge once every seven or eight days?"
Cen Yi's face paled slightly. "I don't know."
Li Yuezhou was nervous, but a sudden flash of realization struck him. He grabbed Lu Zhaoye's wrist and said urgently, "Brother! Could it be..."
He looked at Lu Zhaoye, and Lu Zhaoye immediately understood what he was implying. Only Cen Yi looked utterly baffled as he watched the two speak in riddles.
"What? Who? What is it?"
Lu Zhaoye gave Cen Yi a profound look and suddenly changed his mind. "Don't come with us tonight. Stay in the inn. Keep a close eye on Yi Rufeng, and make sure you protect Zhou'er."
Suddenly thrust with a new mission, Cen Yi was thoroughly confused. However, having absolute faith in Lu Zhaoye's judgment, he hesitated for only a moment before nodding in agreement. "I can do that, but can you tell me why? Is there a problem... with Yi Rufeng?"
Truth be told, Cen Yi also knew Yi Rufeng, they just weren't very well acquainted.
"It's hard to explain right now. Just keep an eye out. Later tonight, Godfather's side... might send more people over. If you need to bring them to find us, make sure you take Zhou'er with you. Ignore Yi Rufeng no matter how much he tries to stop you."
Hearing such grave instructions, Cen Yi's expression turned intensely serious. He wasn't stupid; he fully grasped the heavy implications behind Lu Zhaoye's words.
"Understood. Leave it to me."
Receiving Cen Yi's firm assurance, Lu Zhaoye breathed a slight sigh of relief. "There's no time to lose. We move out right now!"
With that, he turned, pushed the door open, and went straight downstairs to leave a few final instructions. From the upper floor, Li Yuezhou looked down and noticed that Yi Rufeng's expression hadn't shifted at all; he maintained his usual calm demeanor, adding only a carefully measured hint of concern.
"Young Master, do you know what Zhaoye is planning to do?"
Li Yuezhou smiled smoothly. "Big Brother Cen, you can ask my brother yourself when he gets back."
Seeing this, Cen Yi didn't press the matter. He simply grinned. "You're acting more and more like your brother. Always so secretive, only saying half of what you mean."
"Not at all, don't talk nonsense, Big Brother Cen."
The two chatted comfortably, which helped dispel much of their underlying anxiety. After a while, Yi Rufeng came upstairs carrying a tray of food. "Eat something. I'm afraid tonight won't be a peaceful one."
Li Yuezhou merely nodded without saying a word. Cen Yi took the food and thanked him, "Thank you. You should get some rest early. If things go wrong on their end, we'll still have to go help."
Yi Rufeng maintained his nonchalant smile, nodded, and returned to his own room.
Cen Yi looked at the food in front of them and asked, "Do you want to eat some?"
"No, I'm not hungry right now. Besides, I wouldn't dare eat anything he brings."
Li Yuezhou hadn't forgotten the deadly suspicions he shared with his brother. He was on extremely high alert when it came to Yi Rufeng.
Cen Yi said nothing, nor did he eat the food; he simply set it aside.
When night fell, Cen Yi quietly got up and disposed of the meal. When Yi Rufeng later came to check, Cen Yi casually told him they had finished it.
Observing him, there didn't seem to be anything outwardly unusual about the man. Li Yuezhou rubbed his eyes, a gesture Yi Rufeng quickly noticed. The latter smiled and said, "If you're tired, Young Master, you should rest early. Constable Cen and I will stand guard outside. Everything will be fine."
Li Yuezhou nodded. It wasn't that he trusted Yi Rufeng, he trusted Cen Yi.
Seeing the youth return to his room, Yi Rufeng struck up a brief conversation with Cen Yi. However, since the two barely knew each other, the chat quickly grew awkward.
Cen Yi decided to take the initiative and excuse himself. "I'm feeling a bit tired as well, so I'll head back to rest. Sorry to trouble you with the first watch. Wake me up after midnight, and I'll take the second."
"Alright."
Watching Cen Yi retreat to his room, Yi Rufeng stood alone and gazed out at the bright moonlight, his thoughts utterly unreadable. A gentle evening breeze drifted in through the window, fluttering his long dark hair and his moon-white hem, making him truly look like an untouchable immortal under the moon.
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