Chapter 32: Sleep Now, the Night is Deep
Having finally figured things out, Li Yuezhou felt his entire body relax. After getting his fill of sleep, he slowly opened his eyes.
The setting sun spilled through the window, dyeing the entire room in a dusky yellow. Inside, there was a table, and someone was slumped over it, fast asleep.
It was his father leaning against the table. Li Yuezhou’s heart swelled with an aching tenderness; he knew that during the days he was unconscious, no one had gotten any proper rest.
But sleeping hunched over a table had to be uncomfortable. Li Yuezhou coughed softly, and Li Xiaolian, who had been resting, woke up with a sudden start. He hurried to the bedside and asked softly, "Zhou'er, you're awake? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Li Yuezhou shook his head slightly. "I'm not uncomfortable. Father, I want to sit up."
"Alright, alright." Li Xiaolian quickly supported him so he could lean against the headboard.
"Father, where is my brother?"
Li Yuezhou's voice was still a bit hoarse. Having not spoken for over ten days, it sounded soft and lacked strength.
"Zhaoye went to rest. He stayed by your side for days and refused to leave, so I forced him to go back and get some sleep," Li Xiaolian chuckled.
Li Yuezhou couldn't help but smile too. "Father, I'm sorry for making you all worry."
"Silly child, don't say that." Li Xiaolian’s nose stung. How could this child be so sensible? He actually wished he would act a bit more spoiled.
"Cough cough... Father, I'm so hungry."
"Okay, I'll go get you something to eat." Li Xiaolian gently patted his head, exactly as he always used to.
Once he was left alone in the room, Li Yuezhou leaned against the headboard, feeling a slight sting in his nose.
A short while later, Hua Yunsu came in. As usual, she checked Li Yuezhou's pulse. Sitting beside him, she said gently, "You're perfectly fine now. Just pay more attention to your health in the future, and don't catch a cold."
"Okay, thank you, Aunt Hua."
---
Even after he finished eating, Lu Zhaoye hadn't returned, which surprised Li Yuezhou a little.
Would his brother really go this long without coming to see him? In his hazy memories, Lu Zhaoye had stayed by his side all day, every single day.
Li Xiaolian let out a yawn and was quickly shooed away to bed by Li Yuezhou. "Father, go rest. I'm already fine. If I feel unwell during the night, I'll call for you."
Unable to argue with the stubborn boy, Li Xiaolian knew in his heart that his son was just being considerate.
Once alone again, Li Yuezhou didn't ask for the candles to be lit. Instead, he sat quietly against the headboard. The room was incredibly quiet, but it was bustling outside. Li Yuezhou sluggishly realized that it seemed to be the Flower Festival.
They had come to Anping County specifically for the Flower Festival but had encountered so much along the way. Counting the days, the festival had probably already passed.
It was a bit of a pity.
Aside from the indistinct, bustling voices of the crowd, Li Yuezhou vaguely heard the ringing of a bell. Perhaps it was some family's child playing outside. But soon after, the sound of the bell drew closer and closer, seemingly right outside his door.
He blanked for a moment, turning his head toward the door. The faint candlelight from the hallway cast a person's silhouette.
"Why haven't you lit the candles?"
Lu Zhaoye's voice drifted in from outside. It was as incredibly gentle as always, yet laced with hoarseness and exhaustion.
"...Brother?"
Li Yuezhou called out to him in the dark. The next second, the candle was lit, bathing the entire room in a bright glow.
Dark circles and weariness still hung beneath Lu Zhaoye's eyes, but his spirit was clearly much better. Seeing Li Yuezhou leaning against the bed, he pulled up a chair and sat beside him.
"Have you eaten?"
Li Yuezhou nodded slightly and asked in a low voice, "Brother, where did you go?"
Lu Zhaoye chuckled softly and pulled an object from his robes, the exact source of the bell chimes they had just heard.
"Put this on."
His voice was light but carried a firm resolve. Li Yuezhou looked closer and saw that he was holding several... pieces of jewelry. The jingling sounds came from two bracelets, and nestled among them was a delicate lock-like trinket.
"What is this..."
Lu Zhaoye lowered his eyes, took Li Yuezhou's slender hand, and slipped the smaller bracelet onto his wrist. With a clear jingle, a beautiful and exquisite gold bracelet now rested on his pale, delicate wrist, letting out chimes whenever he moved.
Then, he slipped the other bracelet onto Li Yuezhou's ankle. It was almost identical to the one on his wrist, just a bit larger.
Li Yuezhou was completely bewildered. Why was he suddenly putting bracelets on him out of nowhere? He pulled his foot back a little. The bracelet hadn't been fully secured yet, and his movement caused it to slip down slightly.
Lu Zhaoye's eyes darkened. Gripping the jade-like ankle, he forcefully slid the bracelet all the way on.
"Brother?" Li Yuezhou asked again. He didn't mind being made to wear jewelry, but it felt odd to him. Furthermore, Lu Zhaoye was giving off a very strange vibe...
"Mhm," Lu Zhaoye hummed in response. He untangled the final lock-like trinket and looked up at Li Yuezhou. "Put this on too."
Li Yuezhou blinked. Although he didn't understand, he was obedient, so he docilely stretched out his neck, allowing Lu Zhaoye to fasten the collar around it. However, with just the slightest movement, the bracelets on his wrist and ankle chimed, making him feel a bit embarrassed.
"Brother, what are these? Why are you having me wear them?"
Li Yuezhou was thoroughly puzzled. It was only after finishing the task that Lu Zhaoye finally revealed a genuine smile. "Zhou'er, you let me put these on you without even knowing what they are?"
"Huh?" Li Yuezhou tilted his head. "It's not like you'd ever harm me."
"Naturally, I wouldn't."
Li Yuezhou let out an "Oh," his tone light and relaxed. "Then that's all that matters. You'd never hurt me."
So reliant and trusting. For a moment, Lu Zhaoye didn't know what to say.
Sometimes, he actually hated this level of trust from Li Yuezhou. It was because Li Yuezhou had trusted him so implicitly that his illness was delayed, causing someone so fragile to fall into a coma for over ten days. Lu Zhaoye didn't even dare to recall the sight of him lying lifelessly on that bed.
Thirteen days. He didn't even know how he had survived them. Looking back now, it felt like a nightmare.
"Brother, has it been a long time since you rested?" Li Yuezhou looked up at him, his eyes filled with undeniable heartache.
"I'm alright. I slept a little."
Despite saying this, Lu Zhaoye couldn't hold back a yawn, prompting a soft giggle from Li Yuezhou. "Hurry up and wash up, Brother. Get some early rest. I'm perfectly fine here."
But Lu Zhaoye was incredibly stubborn, insisting on waiting until Li Yuezhou fell asleep before leaving. However, having just slept through the entire day, how could Li Yuezhou possibly fall asleep now?
Li Yuezhou rolled his eyes thoughtfully, then simply shifted toward the inner side of the bed. He patted the empty space beside him and smiled, "Then after you wash up, come lie down for a bit. I happen to have some things I want to talk to you about."
Lu Zhaoye froze for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily. He agreed and turned to leave.
---
Li Yuezhou leaned against the headboard, waiting for him to return. Having nothing better to do, he toyed with the trinkets on his neck, wrist, and ankle. These ornaments seemed to be made of pure gold, and they weren't light.
The bracelets were quite thick. They seemed to be hollowed out with little bells stuffed inside, so they jingled noisily with every movement. It was a bit loud.
Touching the one on his neck again, Li Yuezhou suddenly realized what it was. This lock-shaped ornament was unmistakably a longevity lock, something he had seen before. But usually, these were blessings given by elders to newborns. For an eighteen-year-old like him to wear one felt quite strange.
However... perhaps I truly terrified Lu Zhaoye this time. Li Yuezhou lowered his eyelashes, thinking to himself that otherwise, his brother wouldn't have suddenly made him wear these things.
A faint sigh echoed in the room. Li Yuezhou couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. Would normal brothers be this overly cautious with each other? Yet, he couldn't put into words what exactly felt strange, or where the feeling came from.
After waiting for a long time, just as Li Yuezhou felt he was about to doze off, Lu Zhaoye finally returned. He brought over a new quilt, spread it out, and slipped underneath it.
The fresh, misty scent of a recent bath washed over Li Yuezhou's face, but he wrinkled his nose, seemingly picking up on a different scent as well.
"Brother, what did you use when you bathed? Why is there a smell?"
Lu Zhaoye stiffened entirely. "What smell? Is it unpleasant?"
"Not really, it's just that I don't think I've ever smelled it before." Li Yuezhou didn't pay it much mind. Perhaps Lu Zhaoye felt he had been too unkempt these past few days and had deliberately scrubbed himself more thoroughly?
"What did you want to tell me, Zhou'er?"
Lu Zhaoye smoothly changed the subject, and sure enough, Li Yuezhou forgot his previous train of thought, shifting to the other matter.
"Brother, do you remember that dream I told you about before?"
Li Yuezhou thought for a moment and decided to lay everything out on the table. Keeping it from Lu Zhaoye always left him feeling uneasy. Moreover, since he could no longer see the upcoming plot, he was deeply worried that his father and Lu Zhaoye might run into more trouble.
"I remember. That dream... seemed more like a premonition." Lu Zhaoye pondered for a moment before asking, "Did you have another dream?"
Li Yuezhou shook his head. "No. Actually, it wasn't a dream at all."
Following that, he recounted his entire eighteen years living in the modern world to him. He shared every detail, including the mysterious voice he heard right when he transmigrated.
"...And that's how it is. When I looked at the book again today, there were absolutely no words left on it."
Li Yuezhou's voice was soft, and his heart was drumming a bit. Even though Lu Zhaoye had trusted him completely regarding the "dream" earlier, something like traveling across time and space wasn't something the other man would necessarily believe.
Lu Zhaoye remained silent for a long time before asking, "Then right now, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"Huh?" Li Yuezhou furrowed his brows. What did that mean?
Lu Zhaoye rolled over. The candle hadn't been extinguished, but because his back was slightly turned from it, his facial features appeared even deeper and more intense. His gaze, however, was exceptionally burning.
"You said that because the Demonic Cult harmed godmother back then, it caused one of your souls to go to another world. Now that this soul has returned, has it merged well? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Li Yuezhou blinked. He hadn't expected Lu Zhaoye to focus on this point. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I'm not uncomfortable anywhere. It just feels... like I was always meant to be here."
In a daze, Li Yuezhou also seemed to finally understand something. Even though he had lived in the modern world for eighteen years, he had always felt out of place. Whether with family or friends, he had always felt like an outsider.
Lu Zhaoye let out a breath of relief and asked again, "So you can no longer see future events?"
"Mhm, right. There's nothing in that book anymore." Li Yuezhou was a bit dejected. "Before, whether it was sneaking into the Demonic Cult during the martial arts conference, or dealing with the Demonic Cult experts this time, I saw it all in that book. But now there's nothing, and I don't know if you guys will..."
But Lu Zhaoye merely chuckled aloud. "Zhou'er, it's just like you said yourself earlier."
His voice was low, yet carried a light and breezy tone. "Our lives will never be written solely by a book. Even though we fell off the cliff, we obtained the sword manual and Fuxiao. Was any of that written in the book?"
Li Yuezhou shook his head. "No."
"That proves that we are the ones influencing the book, rather than relying on it to find our own lives."
Lu Zhaoye reached out and hooked his finger around the bracelet. The crisp chime rang right by Li Yuezhou's ear. He buried his head in the quilt, his voice muffled. "You're right, Brother. I was just overthinking things."
"It's fine."
Lu Zhaoye looked at the person before him with gentle eyes. Reaching back to extinguish the candle, he said softly, "Sleep now, the night is deep."
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