Demonic Seed 5

The candle flickered, shadowing his feature. His eyelashes curled, creating a silhouette against his cheeks. His hair was spread softly on the pillow and he had stopped sweating buckets. Ouyang Xueqing lowered her gaze and gingerly clasped his forefinger and held it in her palm. It felt warm now, unlike then.

She had slept so long in the afternoon that she was wide awake now. She should have followed Ling Xiaochen in exploring the town. After all, this was her first time going out of Capital City, yet she just couldn't have fun and left Ren Yupei alone when he was like this.

When she was sick and plagued with nightmares, he was always by her side, comforting her with his calm and serene presence. He didn't have to do anything. Just by feeling him by her side, she could let go of all her fears and slept soundly.

So, when he's like this, she too should stay by his side, right?

Ouyang Xueqing didn't know how long she stayed in that position. She jolted back to her senses by the mild squirm of the finger in her palm. She leaned forward and whispered. "Brother Ren?"

His eyes shut but there were slight movement of his lips. Ouyang Xueqing inched closer. "What?"

"…ng…Little Song…"

Hearing that familiar name, Ouyang Xueqing furrowed her eyebrows. She felt his forehead and jerked back when she felt the scalding hot skin. "Brother Ren!" She cried in alarm. "You have a high fever!"

 Ren Yupei was delirious and kept on mumbling the girl's name. Ouyang Xueqing bit her nails and took two more talismans before sticking it on his robes just like what she had done before. In that dim room, the light seemed to shine brighter than ever. She covered her eyes as the ray of light gathered in his chest and absorbed into his meridian.

Concern filled her whole as she sauntered forward and took his temperature again. Feeling the slightly warm skin, she sighed a breath of relief. It looked like the ghost qi went berserk when it got dark. She couldn't get her guard down. Every time when Ren Yupei's fever strike again, she readily stuck a talisman on him.

Nevertheless his lips kept on mumbling. "Little Song…don't go…"

Ouyang Xueqing's heart squeezed painfully and the rims of her eyes reddened. It pained her to see him like this. She knew that a girl named Little Song was someone that he had always cherished in the depth of his heart, and she mourned for their separation.

Actually, she didn't know who that girl was because that was the kind of person Ren Yupei was. The more he hold something dear, the more he kept it inside him and didn't let anyone know. She was often filled with wonder though.

What kind of girl she was to make someone like Ren Yupei loved her dearly?

What happened to them? Why did Ren Yupei always have nightmares every time he dreamed of her?

She just knew from his incoherent calls that Little Song was no longer here.

"Brother Ren." Ouyang Xueqing sobbed. She reached out and enveloped his hands tightly, trying to send some warmth onto his cold fingertips. "Brother Ren, don't be tortured anymore…"

If she could, she really wished she could take his pain away. Or at least, she could do something to soothe his suffering. He had always done everything for her, yet she haven't returned anything to him yet. They had always stayed together for the last 10 years, yet Ouyang Xueqing couldn't even see what laid beyond his heart.

Anxious, she observed his condition closely. He seemed like he was stuck inside the nightmares and couldn't find the way out. His face flushed, his brows furrowed and his teeth chattered. His body began to thrash around.

Ouyang Xueqing felt like her heart almost jumped out of her mouth. "B—Brother Ren!" She grabbed his shoulder to shake him awake, but he was really out of it as he writhed and groaned in pain. "Wake up, it's just a nightmare, Brother Ren!"

The sky outside was completely dark with no street lamps around. The cry of crows could be heard intermittently. It felt bizarre and uncanny, like there were shadows lurking inside the darkness, hiding behind their backs.

Ren Yupei's eyes flew open, and for that millisecond, there was a red glint that flashed across them. His breath was heaved and his eyes glazed. Ouyang Xueqing almost cry in relief. "Brother Ren, are you awake now?"

He didn't answer. Even though he was awake, it seemed like he was under some kind of spell. Ouyang Xueqing frowned and tugged his fingers. "Brother Ren?" She tried to reach him, but he gave no reaction whatsoever.

Suddenly, his pupil moved around the room before it fell on Ouyang Xueqing.

Staring at that darkened, deep eyes made Ouyang Xueqing shivered unknowingly. He was Ren Yupei, but at the same time, he wasn't. Her instinct was telling her that he wasn't the Ren Yupei that she had always known. But then, she couldn't held her tongue and ask weakly. "Brother Ren…?"

Ren Yupei stayed silent. He stared wide eye, and his pupils dilated. There was a dot of red in them. After Ouyang Xueqing almost had a mental breakdown from being stared intensely, he finally opened his mouth. "Little Song…"

Ouyang Xueqing gawked. She blinked rapidly. "Brother Ren, this is Qing'er."

But he kept on mumbling, "Little Song."

He pushed himself forward and before Ouyang Xueqing knew it, she was pulled into his embrace. His arms wrapped around her as his head leaned against her shoulder. "Little Song, you're back. Don't leave me. Don't leave me again, okay? I can't...not without you..." he mumbled.

"Brother Ren." She tried to push his shoulder away. His embrace was strong and steady, it was the arms that she was so familiar with, but she didn't know why that there was a little bit of fear in the tone. "I am not Little Song."

He snuggled deeper onto his neck. His breath fanned her skin, and she jolted. It felt a little weird, like she instinctively knew that something was wrong. "Brother Ren!" This time, she used all her strength, but the man didn't budge at all. "I am not Little Song! I am Ouyang Xueqing!"