CH 88

TL: Moonlit

Just the thought of Bai Yu calling someone else “husband” filled Yin Shao’s heart with discomfort.

He felt as if an invisible hand had tightly clenched his heart, causing intense pain!

His mind seemed completely occupied by that adorable little demon.

He didn’t even hear the words their Master spoke next.

His mind was consumed by thoughts of Bai Yu.

After all, Yin Shao still remembered the first time he met Bai Yu.

That little guy had dared to hold him firmly and forcibly establish a relationship with him.

What if it had been someone else instead of himself?

Would he have done the same?

At the thought, Yin Shao’s heart throbbed painfully!

It felt as if there was a wad of cotton blocking his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

His fingers were already clenched into fists.

They were supposed to be two strangers by now.

But Yin Shao couldn’t help but feel extremely uneasy!

Especially when he thought about the possibility of Bai Yu being with someone else, it felt as if he couldn’t breathe anymore.

That indescribable sense of panic filled his entire being.

Yes!

And that snake!

That damn snake that had always been plotting against Bai Yu!

If it hadn’t been for him last time, that damn snake would have probably taken Bai Yu away by now.

Now that he had left, that snake would surely be eager to find Bai Yu again…

It wasn’t just the snake.

Last time at the market, when he and Bai Yu released lanterns together, wasn’t there someone inviting Bai Yu to take a boat ride with them?

If he hadn’t intervened back then…

Would Bai Yu have gone with that person?

An inexplicable sense of crisis surrounded Yin Shao.

Who knows how much effort it took for him to stand here?

The feeling of having something that belonged to him violated made his eyes darken.

He really wished he could immediately return to Bai Yu’s side and drive away all those people surrounding him!

After all, Yin Shao knew better than anyone how popular Bai Yu was.

His heart was in chaos and unrest.

Even though he had returned to the sect.

Even though there was no longer any connection between the two of them.

Even though he was the one who abandoned Bai Yu first.

But…

Why couldn’t he let go?

“Shao’er, is what I said acceptable?”

Their Master’s voice sounded at an inopportune moment.

Yin Shao was startled and snapped back to reality.

“What?” he asked.

“I said, let your wedding with Xiaoxiao be next month. How about that? You two are my proudest disciples. Previously, Xiaoxiao had poor health, and I had hesitations, but now that you’ve brought back the crimson fruit, Xiaoxiao will recover eventually. So let’s settle the wedding.”

Yin Shao hadn’t expected their Master to be so eager. He actually wanted to make him and his junior brother become partners next month.

Yin Shao was momentarily stunned, unable to refuse in time.

Their Master directly placed a hand on Yin Shao’s shoulder and casually said, intentionally or unintentionally, “Shao’er, could it be that you’ve developed feelings for that demon?”

Yin Shao instinctively rejected, “How is that possible?”

The same words had been spoken by Bai Yu in front of Yin Shao.

Back then, Bai Yu had said, “You love me.”

But Yin Shao knew he was human, and more importantly, he was a demon hunter.

How could he fall in love with a demon?

Regardless of the world’s morality or his own principles, it was an impossible thing!

“Master, I would never fall in love with a demon.”

Yin Shao’s voice was resolute!

He could never fall in love with a demon!

It was simply absurd…

“Very well, since that’s the case, it’s settled.”

Yin Shao stood there, firm and determined.

Although he strongly resisted in his heart,

Yin Shao wondered if he would feel less strange once he married his junior brother.

Perhaps he would be able to forget Bai Yu.

He felt as if he were sick…

His heart always felt inexplicably suffocating.

He had some understanding of the enchantment techniques used by demons.

But he had never heard of an enchantment lasting this long…

But if it wasn’t due to enchantment?

Why had he turned out like this?

Why couldn’t he control himself?

—

Recently, their Master had been helping the little junior disciple treat his cold illness with crimson fruit.

With the crimson fruit, Fang Xiao’s illness improved quickly.

In the past, he had never dared to step out of the sect. Every time he saw the other senior disciples leaving the sect, he would be filled with envy.

Now that his condition had just started to improve, he couldn’t wait to pull Yin Shao out with him.

The Lunar New Year was approaching.

The market outside was bustling with activity.

Fang Xiao had never been to such places before, and at this moment, he was exceptionally cheerful in the market.

“Senior brother, what’s that?”

Fang Xiao pointed at the candied hawthorn in the distance.

He had never been out of the sect and had never even seen candied hawthorn before.

Yin Shao looked at the candied hawthorn not far away, and his heart suddenly clenched.

Even his voice trembled slightly.

“This is candied hawthorn.”

“Senior brother, I want to try it.”

Fang Xiao ran over and bought a string, biting into it directly.

The candied hawthorn tasted sweet and sour, but Fang Xiao didn’t like overly sweet things.

He took only one bite and discarded the rest of the string.

“It’s too sweet. I don’t like it.”

He said, then pulled Yin Shao to another place.

Yin Shao looked at the discarded candied hawthorn on the ground and felt a wave of discomfort.

He had forced himself so hard to forget that figure, and yet it reappeared before his eyes just like that.

Bai Yu… loved candied hawthorn the most…

But it seemed that when they were together, he rarely had the chance to eat any.

The first time they ate it, it accidentally fell on the ground when he kissed him…

The second time, he bought it for him as compensation. But because he had to leave at that time, Bai Yu only took one bite before dropping it on the ground, covered in dust.

If Bai Yu were here right now, seeing so many candied hawthorns, he would definitely be very happy.

Yin Shao could even imagine the way his eyes would light up at the sight of those candied hawthorns.

His lips would curl up, revealing that cute and mischievous dimple.

His heart ached with discomfort.

Last time, Bai Yu even said that during the Lunar New Year, they would come to the market together…

But now he had someone else by his side.

What about Bai Yu?

Who would he be with?

Yin Shao had never known that yearning for someone could be so painful.

This feeling was akin to having a terminal illness…

If yearning were a sickness.

Then he must have been critically ill!

—

Yin Shao silently walked to the vendor selling candied hawthorn and bought a string for himself.

He held the string of candied hawthorn and took a bite.

He had never eaten such a thing before.

After all, this kind of thing was meant for women and children. He had no interest in it at all.

But now, he was acting so strangely…

Fang Xiao stood beside Yin Shao, looking at him with surprise.

“Senior brother, I didn’t expect you to like eating this. Do you find it delicious?”

Yin Shao’s eyes were filled with depth. He hesitated and said, “It’s delicious…”

“But I find it too sweet. Maybe I don’t like eating sweet things?”

“Is that so?”

Yin Shao took another bite of the candied hawthorn in his hand.

Why couldn’t he taste any sweetness at all?

He only felt that the candied hawthorn was incredibly bitter.

Unbearably bitter…

“By the way, senior brother…”

Fang Xiao secretly glanced at Yin Shao with his eyes. He lightly bit his own lips, and a blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Master told me that he wants us to become Dao partners.”

Fang Xiao felt extremely embarrassed.

“So, should I start calling you ‘husband’ from now on?”

Fang Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Yin Shao, whose face grew even redder.

His feelings of affection were about to overflow.

When he heard Master say that he should marry Yin Shao, he couldn’t express how willing he was in his heart.

So, originally, his illness required a month of treatment.

But he pleaded with Master to quickly cure him.

Originally, it seemed quite difficult.

However, the crimson fruit that Yin Shao gave him was not a genuine crimson fruit.

It was actually a demon’s core.

That core happened to neutralize the violent energy of the crimson fruit, so the treatment progressed exceptionally quickly.

While thinking about this, Fang Xiao took out the demon’s core given to him by Yin Shao.

In Fang Xiao’s eyes, this demon’s core was the token of their love. Even though it no longer served any purpose, he couldn’t bear to throw it away.

At this moment, the demon’s core had lost its crimson fruit energy, and all the red color had been absorbed by Fang Xiao.

But what Fang Xiao and even Master hadn’t anticipated was that this demon’s core turned out to be so pure and flawless.

The entire core was transparent, resembling a beautiful crystal bead.

It was nothing like the other cores that were either black or gray, utterly murky.

Even Master found it hard to imagine just how pure-hearted the demon who possessed this core must have been to produce such a pristine essence.

While Fang Xiao was thinking, he took out the demon’s core that originally belonged to Bai Yu and played with it in his hand.

“Senior brother, thank you for giving me this demon’s core. I really like it.”

“What demon’s core?”

Yin Shao didn’t remember giving Fang Xiao any demon’s core.

But when Fang Xiao suddenly mentioned the demon’s core, Yin Shao inexplicably felt a sense of panic.

In fact, deep down, he had been vaguely sensing something bad for a long time.

But he had pushed that feeling aside himself.

However, now it suddenly emerged inexplicably.

“It’s the crimson fruit you gave me last time.”

Fang Xiao explained with a smile to Yin Shao.

“Actually, what you gave me wasn’t a crimson fruit. Master said it was a demon’s core. Master also said that based on the appearance of the core, it should belong to a rabbit demon…”

Fang Xiao talked incessantly while taking out the demon’s core, which had originally belonged to Bai Yu, and handed it to Yin Shao.

The core had now turned into a pure white and transparent color.

Yin Shao stared blankly at the pure and flawless core, completely stunned. His mind was in turmoil.

“It’s impossible… Impossible!”

Yin Shao shook his head desperately.

He didn’t believe it!

This couldn’t possibly be a demon’s core!

Where would there be such a beautiful and flawless core?

Even humans would harbor impure thoughts. But this core was so pure.

Yet, the aura of a demon emanating from this core was clearly telling Yin Shao that it was indeed a demon’s core.

This meant that Bai Yu’s heart was so pure…

He had never harbored any ill intentions.

He had always been innocent and carefree…

Only a demon like him would possess such a core…

Yin Shao felt as if all his strength had been drained from his body.

He stood there blankly, feeling the surrounding silence. Even his heartbeat seemed to have stopped in an instant.

He suddenly remembered Bai Yu’s heartbroken expression when he wanted the crimson fruit…

In the past, Yin Shao couldn’t fully understand it.

Now he understood everything…

It turned out that what he wanted from Bai Yu was not the crimson fruit at all.

It was…

His life!

“Fang Xiao, tell me, what would happen to a demon if it lost its demon core? Can it still survive?”

Yin Shao mechanically uttered these words, feeling as if a crack had opened up in his heart, growing wider and deeper!

As a demon hunter himself, he knew very well what would happen to a demon without its demon core.

But he dared not imagine it.

“If a demon loses its demon core, it will revert to its original form. Without the support of spiritual energy, it cannot maintain its human form. I’ve also heard that some demons who lose their demon core even lose their consciousness.”

Fang Xiao earnestly answered Yin Shao.

He had no idea just how cruel his words were for Yin Shao.

His words were like a sharp knife, brutally stabbing Yin Shao’s heart, causing him such pain that he couldn’t even stand up straight.

“And what if it’s a rabbit demon… If it loses its demon core, what would happen?”

“If a rabbit demon loses its demon core, it will turn back into a rabbit. If it’s out in the wilderness… well, perhaps it will be eaten by the surrounding wolves or something.”

Fang Xiao paused for a moment, then added, “That’s what might happen.”