Find Him Through You

Rich, ridiculing laughter echoed in the alley as Lai Mingjie and Xu Rouguang left the Bloodvein Café. The director was still in a fit after Botangca opted to release him seconds after Xu Rouguang stood smiling at her. To be honest, he did warn her by asking her to get off. She didn't listen, and now, she had to bear the consequences. Even if she promised to keep quiet about Xu Rouguang's condition, she still ended up teasing Lai Mingjie about babysitting his killer as they left.

The winds had grown colder, and the night had gone late. At this hour, most people were already home asleep. Lai Mingjie and Xu Rouguang had the streets for themselves. With nothing more than lampposts to light their way, the two continued to walk in darkness. Lai Mingjie started yawning again as the cold wind was making him sleepy. With the cozy feeling granted by the aviators, he just wanted to lie down and sleep. Ah, this was dangerous.

Xu Rouguang didn't like the pitch-black pathway. He pressed a hand against his chest and closed his eyes as he stopped walking. Soft light then came from his torso and into his palm. Like a small ball, he picked it up and tossed lightly into the air. The light ball flew slowly like the head of a wisteria before multiplying into eight pieces. Four of them circled towards Lai Mingjie, which startled him. The immortal only chuckled as he caught up with him.

"Jie, do you like them?" He flicked one of those circling him and watched it bounce back into its position. "Very nice, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but you should refrain from using your abilities in public." Lai Mingjie laughed out as he found those little things cute. He had the urge to eat them, just to see if they could be eaten. His hand captured one and tried to squish it, but it didn't even feel like it had a body.

"...Is there... something between you and that woman, Jie? She gets too close." Xu Rouguang didn't like what Botangca was doing, and since she was afraid of him, he must at least make use of that fact. He really hated the distance she would get comfortable with Lai Mingjie... even the fact that even Lai Mingjie was okay with it.

"Oh, isn't it too early for you to get jealous?" The demon king shook his head before leaning an arm on Xu Rouguang's shoulder. "Botangca's a siren. Of course, she likes getting close to her prey. Unlike me, she retained her demonic power and arts. If she wanted to, she could cripple me in this lifetime."

Xu Rouguang only looked at him. He then gazed at the ground that he could see now. "I'm sorry, I must have behaved improperly in her place. It could have cost you more than money..."

An arm wrapped around his shoulders, and the director only hummed in a bitter tone. "Well, that's true, but hey, the world of the demons had always been hard, cruel, and very difficult. She knew I could have no control over you, especially that you could do anything you wish." He looked up at the dark night sky. "This plane is still for the immortals to command. The only fun we had as demons were the thrill of struggling. Somehow, seeing the frustrated look on those immortals and half-god deities' faces was the best thing in my life. Constantly killing around them, making them feel not in control for once... giving them the feeling of grief and betrayal...

"Call me awful, but I'm a demon king, okay? I'm not supposed to be kind... but right now..." The demon king sighed and dropped his head. He even massaged his forehead with his vacant hand for a moment. "Hahah, look at me talk. I talk a lot with Louyan, but not like this... damn, I feel like I'm getting really talkative around you."

The general nodded and giggled as he used his closer hand to stroke at Lai Mingjie's face. "Your real name is Emodao, right? Emodao, you kept on saying we're enemies, but I don't feel anything close to that. I might not have any of my memories, but it's a little strange to feel this way..."

Lai Mingjie almost froze as he felt Xu Rouguang's hand on his face. He closed his eyes and savored the strange warmth coming from that hand of his. Botangca mentioned that it was still Xu Rouguang's original body, but why was it so familiar in a different way? He never dreamt of being held by that headhunter so why would he like the feeling coming from these hands...?

He then opened his eyes and held the general's hand to slowly remove it. "Rouguang, I don't think we should be doing this. Let's focus on getting your memories back before dealing with your feelings. There's a chance that you could be misdirecting it to me."

"...I... I wish that isn't true." Xu Rouguang only had a bitter smile on his face.

It was a long walk, but they spent the rest of it in silence. The two went to sleep again for the remaining of the night before the sun would come up again. However, Xu Rouguang didn't manage to get a single minute of sleep. He kept on thinking about the things that he heard from the empress. He looked at his hand and stared at its lines.

He began to murmur, "Jie, what if... Director Duan summoned me using the ritual? How many lives did he need to do it?"

Lai Mingjie, whose eyes had been close, promptly opened. He only hummed as he rolled to his side facing Xu Rouguang and inched closer to the other person. "I doubt it. Old Glacier was a clean soul. There's no way he would kill humans for this, or else he wouldn't spend ten years waiting for you. Besides, immortals would be tainted if they had human blood on their hands. I remember seeing Old Glacier's immaculate purity when he said goodbye to me."

"He said goodbye to you?"

"Yeah, like I said, he was very gentle towards us—" Lai Mingjie suddenly tumbled in his spot as he tried to sit up in a hurry. He then rubbed his thumb and pointer on his chin. "He also said he stayed in JT, hoping to find someone..."

...

"I guess it's time for me to wait somewhere else." Duan Sheng hummed with satisfaction as he patted his table for the last ten years he worked in JT. He then turned to Lai Mingjie. "I was hoping I can find him through you. All these years..."

"Through me? Why me?" The incoming director was seated on the couch, watching the movements of the outgoing one with hawk eyes. "Who is that guy anyway?"

"One you might not want to see the most." The old man chuckled before pulling out something from his wallet. He then handed it to Lai Mingjie. "Emodao, when you see him, can you give this to him? I don't know what kind of state he'd be in when he gets here, but I'm sure you wouldn't care."

Lai Mingjie took a look, and it was an address. He only folded it and kept on his pocket. "I have no idea who you're talking about, Severed Glacier. Are you sure I'm live bait?"

The old man laughed out again. "Don't speak lowly of yourself, Emodao. He would always want to keep you alive."