CH 57

In the evening, Pei Xia crouched beneath the grapevines, hands covering his face, hesitant to move.

Tom, who passed by, curiously reached out a finger and poked his shoulder, “Captain, what’s wrong? Did you have an argument with His Holiness?”

Normally, aside from necessary personal time, Pei Xia would stick by Lucifer’s side. They were inseparable, so it was unusual for Pei Xia not to be with Lucifer when there wasn’t anything else to do. And today, Pei Xia hadn’t seemed to come near Lucifer all afternoon.

Seeing Pei Xia looking sad, with his face covered, and then noticing the bright light in the Holy Son’s room, Tom’s curiosity was piqued.

As Pei Xia crouched beneath the grapevines, his body suddenly trembled. He slowly lowered his hands from his face, revealing a pair of blushing eyes.

Tom was taken aback.

Oh my!

Could it be that they really did have an argument?

Fortunately, Pei Xia’s response quickly dispelled Tom’s assumptions. He spoke in a low voice, “No, we didn’t have an argument.”

Then what happened?

Pei Xia let out a choked, embarrassed sob and hung his head low, appearing very bashful. “It’s nothing; I just felt rejected.”

Rejected?

Pei Xia took a deep breath and sighed, “Sigh!”

Tom: “?” So even the Holy Son can reject someone, and the recipient is Pei Xia? That’s incredible!

Pei Xia continued slowly, “He asked me indirectly if I’d been possessed by a demon.”

Tom: “…”

Although he had no idea what had happened, he couldn’t help but feel that Captain Pei Xia seemed particularly pitiable.

Pei Xia stood up, leaning against the grapevine frame, massaged his slightly numb legs, and changed the subject, asking, “Is all the luggage packed and ready?”

Tom replied, “Yes, everything is packed, supplies are replenished, and the horses are fed.”

Pei Xia nodded, “In that case, get some rest, we’ll be departing tomorrow.”

“Captain, you should rest well with the Holy Son too!” Tom patted his shoulder and encouraged him, “Don’t be disheartened; things will get better!”

Pei Xia looked at Tom, who was unaware of the situation, feeling a bit better and regaining some confidence.

He turned and walked toward his room.

In reality, Lucifer hadn’t shown obvious signs of rejection. He was a gentle person, and he had been tactful. However, Pei Xia still sensed from his questions and expressions that he might not fully accept his evolution toward a more dominant and aggressive direction.

Pei Xia was perplexed and somewhat aggrieved. Had everyone suddenly stopped liking dominant CEOs? Or had his transformation been too rapid and scared the gentle Lucifer?

Should he give up the dominant CEO path or slow down the process? Pei Xia thought for a long time but couldn’t come to a clear decision.

Regardless, he decided to put it aside for now and deal with it later. Pei Xia casually pushed the door open, and inside, Lucifer was sitting by the bed, gently stroking a small bird.

“Where did the bird come from?” Pei Xia decided not to dwell on what had happened at noon and quietly approached Lucifer.

Lucifer lifted his hand, and the adorable bird nuzzled his fingers with its head, a sign of appreciation for his care. He smiled and explained, “I found it; it seemed to be injured.”

“It looks like you’ve already treated it. It’s very grateful and close to you.”

Lucifer nodded.

He gently scratched the bird’s neck with his fingertip and then, holding its plump body, released it out of the window. Then he turned his head and, with an expression so captivating that it was hard to look away, revealed a touch of sorrow.

“Unfortunately, birds like this one get close to me, but there are others who are not so willing to do so.”

Pei Xia: “You mischievous little—”

“Shh!” Lucifer was quick to silence him, raising two fingers to his lips. With a slightly helpless smile, he said, “Don’t force yourself to say such things.”

Though he said that, Pei Xia felt somewhat aggrieved. Was his performance really that bad? He lowered his head and cleared his throat, saying, “Alright, I understand.”

Seeing Pei Xia’s sulking expression, Lucifer’s brows furrowed briefly, but then he smiled. His fingers glided down and landed on Pei Xia’s chest, where he lightly tapped and said, “You always do this, and it makes me feel embarrassed.”

Pei Xia’s eyes lit up. “So I’ll be more tactful in the future.”

Lucifer blinked, and ripples formed on the surface of his icy eyes. “Good.”

With the minor crisis averted, the knight returned to his happily foolish state. Until bedtime, Lucifer shyly lifted a corner of the blanket and beckoned Pei Xia to join him.

Pei Xia lay down with stiff body movements.

However, Lucifer didn’t react at all.

Pei Xia thought it was just an ordinary night, despite sharing the same bed as lovers. They remained pure, both in appearance and within.

But when the lights went out and Pei Xia slept in a daze, a slightly cool body pressed against his back.

Pei Xia was startled and instinctively tried to push away the attacker who surprised him. He retaliated with an elbow strike.

After the strike, Pei Xia froze.

The figure pressed against his back, Lucifer, remained silent like an inscrutable statue.

Pei Xia slid forward cautiously and then rolled over to face Lucifer. He squinted at him and saw that Lucifer’s eyes were closed as if he was still asleep.

Unable to resist, he reached out to touch the ribs where he had just struck Lucifer, making sure he was unharmed.

“Fei Fei?” Pei Xia called out softly twice. When he saw that Lucifer still didn’t respond, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was close. Lucifer seemed to be in a very deep sleep. Pei Xia cautiously massaged the area where he had struck Lucifer’s ribs.

Suddenly, Lucifer’s hand shot out and grabbed Pei Xia’s hand!

Pei Xia was startled and thought that Lucifer had been pretending to sleep earlier.

In fact, Lucifer had indeed been pretending to sleep the entire time. He didn’t open his eyes but furrowed his brow, looking pale and thin in the silvery moonlight, with an expression of unease and pain on his face.

His lips parted slightly, and he murmured intermittently, “Pei Xia…”

Pei Xia shivered, immediately gently squeezing his hand, and said, “Fei Fei, I’m here.”

It seemed like Lucifer had a nightmare and was deeply trapped in it. Tears glistened in the corners of his eyes as he whispered, “Don’t leave me, don’t go, Xia.”

Pei Xia was deeply moved. He never expected that Lucifer had such deep-seated insecurities and was having nightmares.

Lucifer continued, “Not just now.”

The beautiful young man with golden hair appeared as if he were a divine being, humming softly and curling into a slightly fetal position. His voice sounded fragile, evoking sympathy.

Once, when Lucifer had nightmares in front of Pei Xia, he had taken off his own shirt1weakness without disturbing him. Now that they were lovers, how could Pei Xia turn a blind eye to Lucifer’s painful struggles in his dreams?

His heart was filled with a mixture of emotions, and he felt guilty for not being able to adjust his own emotional state sooner. He rubbed his eyes and decided to make an effort.

But not now.

Now, the most important thing was that Lucifer was having a nightmare.

He had to do something to rescue his beloved, fragile, and incredibly endearing lover from the nightmare!

Pei Xia grabbed Lucifer’s hand and pressed it against his face, expressing his pain, “Just give me a little more time, and I’ll definitely do it!”

In the midst of his nightmare, Lucifer might or might not have felt Pei Xia’s determination. He made a muffled sound and furrowed his brow, “Xia, don’t.”

Pei Xia nodded and firmly held his shoulders, beginning to shake him.

Lucifer, in his intermittent state, managed to say, “Xia don’t go.”

The person who had been sinking in the nightmare shivered and slowly opened his misty eyes.

“Fei Fei, you’re finally awake!” Pei Xia beamed with a happy smile, patting his chest gently. He said, “You had a nightmare just now. Come back to your senses. You can go back to sleep after!”

Lucifer’s voice was weak and stuttered, “Nightmare, me?”

Pei Xia grinned, “Yes!”

Lucifer, who had accidentally bitten his tongue, managed a difficult smile and said, “Thank you very much for waking me up from that nightmare.”

Pei Xia firmly responded, “Since we’re already lovers, doing this is simply expected. Don’t be polite with me!”

Lucifer winced in pain, closing his eyes.

Pei Xia thought he was still caught in the recent nightmare and reassured him, “Nightmares are all the opposite, Fei Fei. Don’t be afraid; I won’t leave you.”

With his eyes closed, Lucifer remained silent for a moment before whispering, “Really?”

“Absolutely!”

The beauty who had been awakened from the nightmare by Pei Xia chuckled and said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Pei Xia lay beside him, thought for a moment, then suddenly leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Lucifer’s cheek. Afterward, he swiftly retreated to his original position, pulled the blanket over his head, and burrowed under it.

Under the blanket, Pei Xia’s face was both red and hot, and his heart seemed to be dancing a lively jig, thumping loudly and refusing to calm down for a while.

Outside the blanket, Lucifer lifted his hand and lightly touched his cheek, the place where he had been kissed moments ago. The soft sensation lingered, captivating and heartwarming.

It was a day of grand farewell when Lucifer’s group left Smibabaka. They were the most remarkable figures in the city’s farewell procession, whether they were humans or orcs. No one had caused such a strong sensation like Lucifer.

The city’s residents were reluctant to see them go, and some even brought provisions and tried to follow them under the pretext of protecting the Holy Son.

This made Pei Xia nervous, and he tightly guarded Lucifer’s carriage. As soon as they left the city gate and had fewer followers, he urged the horses to gallop, running for two or three days to shake off the troublesome fans.

Afterward, they continued their journey to the capital of the Orc Kingdom, Beist. Along the way, they suddenly saw a massive shadow pass overhead.

The shadow came with strong winds and a formidable presence. Pei Xia looked up and saw a colossal silver dragon soaring in the sky.

With its wings spread, it moved at an incredible speed, quickly turning into a small dot in the sky. Pei Xia’s heart raced as he saw the direction the dragon was heading, and it seemed to be towards Beist.

Fortunately, after traveling on and off, they arrived in Beist after about half a month, and there was no sign of the dragon causing trouble in this area.

It was widely known that dragons were magical creatures that were domineering, possessive, and unreasonable. Coming across one was considered extremely unlucky.

So, avoiding them was the best outcome.

Beist was larger and more bustling than Smibabaka. Following the usual protocol, they rented a small courtyard to stay in. Considering the higher number of orcs here, Lucifer remained out of sight for the time being.

During the past half month on the journey, Pei Xia often entered the carriage to spend time with Lucifer, strengthening their bond. Don’t get the wrong idea; they didn’t do anything untoward. They simply communicated and played cards, nothing more.

After half a month of mental preparation, Pei Xia felt ready. So, on the first day in Beist, they surveyed the surroundings. On the second day, Pei Xia sneaked onto the street and bought a bouquet of vibrant red flowers.

The flower seller explained that these flowers were called Aphrodite, and giving them to someone symbolized deep love for that person.

That night, Pei Xia stood outside Lucifer’s room, taking deep breaths. He raised his hand, hesitated, and repeated the motion several times. After a long moment of uncertainty, he suddenly stumbled over something he couldn’t see, and with the bouquet in his arms, he pushed open the door.