Don't You Remember Me?

Darkness had eaten everything around the entire city aside from those with little bulbs to keep them lit. The moon had risen high in the sky, but the fading color had surfaced at the horizon. Dawn would be breaking soon, but Lai Mingjie hadn't slept properly yet.

The two had been scouring the unit for that certain piece of paper he received from Duan Sheng. Around four in the morning, Lai Mingjie finally found it tucked in a book he only kept as décor. He was never a reader of books or any kind of written literature; he'd rather enjoy music. The demon king sighed and excitedly opened it, hoping to find a helpful clue. However, his face only twisted in annoyance as it was indeed Duan Sheng's home address. He then sighed and pulled out a chair to sit on.

"Rouguang..." The demon king looked over his shoulder, noticing how slowly Xu Rouguang was going through the clothes in the dresser. "I found it. You can stop raiding my dresser now. Are you trying to pick one to make off with?"

"Sorry, I was just having fun taking a look at your clothes..." Xu Rouguang chuckled and apologized with a bashful bow. He was trying to look for the paper, but he couldn't help but be dazed by what he sees and smells. He then walked to Lai Mingjie whose face was filled with annoyance. The general took a look at the paper and grew a bit disheartened as well. "...It doesn't seem to be really helpful."

"Heh, what did I expect to see though? I should have guessed." Lai Mingjie raised the paper to the light in the middle of the room. "I just thought we'd find a good clue." He then twitched and threw his head back some more, getting a glimpse of Xu Rouguang. "Old Glacier knew you lost your memories, right? Don't you think he was trying to gather information as well?"

Xu Rouguang looked down at Lai Mingjie who was making quite a strange pose from his perspective. However, the way his hair fell back and seemed disarrayed and twirled... sent a quick tug at the general. His mellow gaze seemingly grew filled with mischief; even his lips curved in a little evil way. He then moved to loom his face over his boss'. "Jie, can you not move for a few seconds?"

Lai Mingjie sensed something different in this general again. His comfortable aura suddenly felt like a violent gale that was threatening to slice him into pieces. The demon king's eyes narrowed as he gritted his teeth. "Hey, stop doing that, or I'll fight you."

As if a spell breaking, Xu Rouguang straightened his back and chuckled as he circled to get in front Lai Mingjie so he wouldn't need to bend his neck like that. "Sorry, sorry. It just felt like fun to do."

"The last time you said 'fun', you disemboweled five thugs." Lai Mingjie got his head at a decent angle and rubbed his nape. "Seriously, don't scare me like that. I never told anyone, but I'm really scared of you..."

"...Me?"

"Haha, who wouldn't get scared by a maniac? Whenever I see you from a distance, you're so behaved and soft-spoken. Even if you were slaughtering other demon armies, you kept your cool. You're only making this bored, disgusted face." Lai Mingjie began laughing, but his eyes were almost crying. "The moment I make my entrance, you'd drop everything and scream like a thousand hissing cats. I can't forget how you run amok every time we met in battle. Aiyah, makes me think you got a lot of loose screws."

He then cast a gaze at Xu Rouguang, a ridiculing, toothy grin on his face. "Seeing you right now, you probably did have issues for real. You're shifting from an imperial princess to a deranged murderous wife in seconds..."

Xu Rouguang only smiled weakly, not knowing how to deal with this. He didn't have complete control over the faces he made, but he never told Lai Mingjie about it. The truth was... he did not only lose his memories, but he had lost the majority of his self-restraint. Perhaps Lai Mingjie could guess since he freely cut people if there were no consequences against Lai Mingjie.

The general only sat on the floor, too close that he could rub his face against Lai Mingjie's knee. He kept his head low, his finger tapping against his boss' foot. "Do... do you hate me, Jie?"

Lai Mingjie brought his eyes down at the man trying to look pitiful as his feet. For some reason, he remained quiet. It was not that he indeed hated Xu Rouguang—well, it would be more befitting to say he didn't hate the Xu Rouguang he could see right now. The General Xu from his first lifetime was the worst kind.

Then again, this scene... this churning loathing cooking from the depths of Lai Mingjie's soul... it was all too familiar. This... happened before.

'Don't you... remember me?'

The demon king's eyes suddenly widened. Right, General Xu did this before. At that one time he was dying at Emodao's feet. He also lowered his head like a pitiful dog and gently held onto that huge monstrous foot. With blood dying his clothes, hair, and skin red, Xu Rouguang spoke in such a soft voice for the very first time.

'Don't you... remember me?' was all he asked before Emodao kicked him off.

Entering a dying state wasn't a new thing for the two of them, and it was funny how they were the only ones who could drive each other to be so risky that they would fight to the death each time. It was worse for Xu Rouguang who had the body of a human. His frame was much smaller and more fragile than Emodao's demon skin. Even if he could regenerate faster than any human could and even if he had become deathless over the years, he would still be in immense pain after every battle.

How could Emodao forget about the only time Xu Rouguang showed weakness in front of him? Maybe it was because it felt like a ploy he saved himself from. Then again, looking back at that moment, that was the deathless, insane general being a proper human for once. The fact that he showed weakness... could have been a sign of familiarity.

They knew each other? How come Emodao never recalled anyone named Xu Rouguang before him?

A sigh came from Lai Mingjie as he quit thinking about it. He only raised a hand to his forehead and massaged it to calm himself down. Argh, he's a demon king who was annoyed by thinking; how come all he could do these days were think, think, and think?

That was the only time he felt the weigh on his thigh. The demon king looked down at Xu Rouguang again as he realized that the man had taken advantage of his lack of response... and slept by using his thigh as a pillow. Instead of shaking him off, Lai Mingjie only caressed Xu Rouguang's head as if giving him the permission he should have asked for. The director only leaned against the seat and tried to get some shut-eye even if it was only for a few minutes.

With his hand resting on Xu Rouguang's head, Lai Mingjie continued to drift into sleep. However, the general was wide awake, wearing a smile as he kept his eyes closed.

"...I wish I can remember you..."