Reunited with the Devil (Part 2)

RUAN YANJUN

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As the carriages came to a halt, Peng Enlai's barked orders drifted back to me, muffled by the thick curtains of my carriage. I was half asleep until I heard his name.

"My name is Luo Fan. I am here on behalf of Abbot Mo Wenyan of Endless Plain Sect."

My breath hitched. For a moment, I thought I had misheard. The name, that voice—it struck me like a lightning bolt, scattering my thoughts.

Could it truly be him? Was this some cruel trick played by the heavens, or had I finally gone mad, haunted by the specter of the man I had once betrayed?

I leaned forward and tugged the edge of the curtain aside. I peered through the small gap, my heart pounding in a way I had not felt in years. There, standing in the middle of the group, was…

I closed my eyes tight, thinking that my mind must be playing tricks on me. But when I opened them again, he was still there.

Luo Fan.

My A-Fan.

Alive and well.

A tremor ran through my fingers as I tightened my grip on the curtain. My breath came in shallow gasps, my chest constricting as though an invisible force had reached inside and squeezed my heart.

This could not be real. It had to be an illusion.

For months, I had steeled myself to accept that Luo Fan was likely dead, his frail body consumed by the White Vulture. I had buried any lingering attachments in the cold, calculating part of my mind where I locked away regrets. But seeing him alive, standing there under the waning sunlight, sent a jolt of emotions rushing through me that I couldn't entirely suppress.

Shock. Relief. Anger.

Yes, anger.

How dare he survive without me? How dare he stand there, looking so composed, as if my betrayal had not broken him?

I narrowed my eyes as I assessed him. His cultivation level read as only a second level. Two years, and he hadn't progressed? Disappointment burned in my chest. Had all my efforts been for nothing? I had traded him for an ancient scroll because I believed he had potential, because I thought that throwing him into the depths would force him to rise.

Yet now, it seemed he hadn't risen at all. Or so I thought, until I looked closer.

His skin glowed with a newfound vitality. His face, though familiar, bore a calm confidence I didn't recall. His eyes—those defiant, piercing eyes—now sparkled with life, as if the weight of his burdens had finally lifted. Even his posture spoke of a man who had grown beyond the fragile, uncertain priest I once knew.

And the White Vulture… it was gone. Somehow, impossibly, he had purged it.

A smirk tugged at my lips.

The fool had survived. No, more than that—he had thrived. Against all odds, against everything I had expected, he stood here, alive and well, more beautiful than ever.

Perhaps I had been right about him all along. Perhaps throwing him to the wolves had awakened something extraordinary within him.

However, I couldn't help but suspect something.

Why is he here? After what I had done to him, why would he willingly place himself in my presence again?

The answer was obvious. He had come for revenge. I could see it in the way he carried himself, restrained yet brimming with intent. He had come to repay me for my betrayal, to make me suffer as he had suffered.

The thought was thrilling.

What kind of revenge do you have in mind, A-Fan? I wondered, my smirk widening. Whatever his plans were, I would be ready for him.

Peng Enlai's questioning continued, but I paid little attention to the other two light cultivators accompanying him. They were irrelevant, pawns sent by the Light Sect Alliance. The only one who mattered was Luo Fan, my A-Fan.

Still, the presence of light cultivators intrigued me. When the Light Sect Alliance had offered their assistance, I had been suspicious. Their supposed reasons—to preserve peace in the continent by ensuring my survival—were too convenient. I had agreed to their terms only because it amused me to play along, and because I had demanded they send me someone valuable as collateral. I had expected Abbot Mo Wenyan himself, a pawn of great worth. Instead, they sent two lackluster fighters and… my A-Fan.

If they had gambled that Luo Fan's presence would disarm me, they weren't wrong. I could never bring myself to harm him, no matter what he might plan against me. The Light Path Alliance probably believed that his presence would tie my hands, and unfortunately, they were correct.

But that didn't mean I couldn't use this to my advantage. The two others—Yu Guo and Cai Jian—were likely spies. Their lives were inconsequential. But I could put them to good use eventually. Luo Fan, however, was an enigma, one I couldn't afford to underestimate.

I let the curtain fall back into place and leaned against the carriage wall, a thousand thoughts racing through my mind. My heart hadn't calmed since I first heard his voice. Memories of the past flooded in unbidden— the gentle glow in his eyes when he smiled, the fierce defiance in his gaze upon discovering the dark core I had implanted in him, and the lingering warmth of his lips when I kissed him goodbye.

And now, here he was, returned to me by fate. My darling A-Fan.

Whatever plans he had, whatever vengeance he sought, I welcomed it. Let him try to destroy me. I would either crush him under my heel or… no, there was no "or."

I smiled to myself, the thrill of the coming game invigorating me. The only question left was whether Luo Fan would play along, or whether he'd realize too late that in this game, I always win.