Chapter 364 - Explicit Painting

In the starless chilly night, Rui Fei sat at the figurehead of Blue Urchin his mood as gloomy as the weather. He leisurely placed his arm on his bent knee as he flipped the jade tile in his hand. His gaze was fixed intently on that jade tile gently caressing it.

A violent cold breeze brushed against his cheeks sweeping his silvery grey hair haphazardly in all directions covering the mist of water in his lowered eyes. Because of the cold breeze, his cheeks were crimson from the biting chill cutting through his skin.

He looked innocent and dazed with his dry lips slightly parted. Scratching the characters on the jade tile with the nail of his thumb the pain in his chest intensified. He was dangerously dangling at the thin border between his rational mind and madness. This meant any little stimulation could tip the scale to the other side and he would have a terrible outburst.

The only thing that kept him from losing his mind was his motivation to find his love and since Qilin Hao knew where he was then there was still hope. As long as there was hope to find him he would keep himself sane.

He slowly raised his head and saw Red Bane with the crimson dragon on its mainsail roaring with the wind sailing at full speed in front of him leading the way. As long as it sailed he knew they would find him. 

While he dazedly stared ahead, Rui Yewan who had been watching over Rui Li came up to the main deck to look for his older brother. When he saw his lone figure sitting at the figurehead his chest tightened.

He seemed to see a trace of that reclusive young boy who stayed in a disgusting dungeon by himself all over again. This was something he didn't want for either of them. The past was in the past and it should stay in the past but it seemed when they moved away from the shadow of the past something bad would happen and reopen old wounds.

He sincerely hoped they would find Ji Yao soon otherwise his brother might really lose his mind for real. Building up his courage he walked over and silently stood beside Rui Fei not bothered by the cold chill blowing through his hair.

The two brothers one sitting and the other standing silently watched Red Bane in tacit understanding. Rui Fei knew his brother was there to comfort him. Even though no words were exchanged he could feel the comfort and care coming from his brother.

Rui Yewan had his head lowered thinking of something to say to make him feel better. He really didn't want his brother to give up and lose himself to his emotions turning into something he is not but what could he say that would comfort him?

Frustrated a little he tightly gripped the railing of the ship as his lips opened to say something. But as he opened his mouth a strong arm pulled him over and his brother hugged him. He actually hugged him. When this realisation hit him Rui Yewan couldn't help but feel distraught.

For his brother to hug him it meant that he was truly heartbroken. Rui Yewan could only suppress the urge to cry as he closed his eyes. Like this, the two brothers comforted each other through this tough time.

Rui Fei chose to cope with the pain like this which was highly unusual for someone who was always walking on a thin wire and at risk of throwing a tantrum. On the contrary, it was Ji Wen who chose violence as a means to cope.

After his queen went to sleep he entered his son's cabin to assess the damage. He had already instructed people to carefully clean up Ji Yao's cabin and store away anything broken lest it was important to his son.

The floor had been cleaned and the broken furniture replaced but the floor still had a crack on it from the dagger thrown by Emperor Rui earlier. Ji Wen crouched down and traced the cracks on the floor with his fingers recalling the look in his son's eyes when Qilin Hao attacked Rui Fei.

How could he as a man who has been smitten for more than a decade not be able to identify that look? Even the look in Rui Fei's eyes was easy to spot from a glance. They were deeply in love with each other and he had a feeling that even if they don't approve of their relationship his son would just run away with that boy.

He couldn't help but ask himself why his son didn't fall in love with anyone else. At this point, he didn't care whether it was boy or girl as long as they weren't an enemy. Even Xiaoyu was perfect for him but his son had to fall in love with one person he couldn't be with.

Why did it have to be someone from a clan with generations and generations of deep-seated hate with his wife's clan? The two weren't even associated with Niuq but they were still affected by that place, a place they had never seen and clans they weren't even a part of.

He didn't want to upset his wife but he also wanted his son to be happy. As this thought lingered in his mind he slowly raised his head and spotted something sticking out from under the bed.

Getting up Ji Wen slowly strode over and knelt at the bedside. Underneath the bed was a painting wrapped carefully but from the looks of it, it wasn't stored there initially. It seemed that when they were trashing his son's cabin it fell under the bed.

Ji Wen pulled it out and sat on the bed not sure what to think. With his long slender fingers, he carefully unwrapped the painting. A crimson robe partially sweeping the ground was the first thing he saw at the corner of the canvas. Something in his heart at that moment told him not to open the rest. He was like that one parent who would snoop on their child's phone fully aware that they might find something they don't like in that device.

His mind was screaming at him to put it back and respect his son's privacy but he knew that he won't be able to sleep thinking about it. Thus he unveiled the rest of it and his body immediately froze when he saw that well-drawn masterpiece.

It was gorgeous but also explicit making his heart grow cold. It was the image of his son in a crimson robe loosely hanging on his body with his chest partially exposed. On top of him was stupid Rui Fei holding his waist and his other hand entwined with Ji Yao's as he gazed at him with a lustful gaze about to press him down.

A loud thunderous roar permeated the silent atmosphere followed by a fierce lightning bolt striking the figurehead of the ship that it caught fire.. Rui Fei who was hugging his brother was so startled letting go of his brother as he saw that mighty strike start a fire on Red Bane.