A lament, a Question and a surprising Answer!

Ying yue listened intently, but the silence in the temple was too loud. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears and the violent beating of his heart. Mei ling was exceptionally strong; her claws had injured him on the neck at an unprotected point.

He felt the blood running from the four scratches and soaking his robe. Xiaodan provided him with a small light, but still, not much was visible. He illuminated the dusty, broken floor, the stone altar, on which plates, bowls and incense burners were still piled up. But everything was covered with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. When he illuminated the base of a statue, he raised his sword. The statue was so tall that he could only illuminate the lower part.

As far as Ying yue could tell, the statue represented a man in wide, elegant clothing and jewelry. He stretched the blade even further. The robe the man was wearing was casually wrapped around his upper body, revealing his naked chest. He seemed muscular, and even though there were no weapons decorating the image, he must depict a warrior. Scholars were often shown with high-necked robes and scrolls.

In one hand, the man held a white rabbit with red eyes, but this too was covered by a thick layer of dust. Was this Tuér Shen? Had the strange stranger not lied when he claimed to be a god? Just as Ying yue was about to step onto the altar and illuminate the face, the door behind him crashed open. The bright light of the full moon broke through the thick layer of clouds and a shimmering silver glow poured through the battered wooden double doors.

»Zhen yan?« Ying yue called out and almost slipped on the stone altar. The tall demon approached him with long strides. His black hair was disheveled and his robe was badly damaged. There was a wild look in his eyes that momentarily pushed into the background the calm, level-headed man he usually was. He wrapped one arm around Ying yue and pulled the swordsman close to him.

»What happened?« Ying yue asked in surprise. Zhen yan looked as if he had been through a bitter fight just like Ying yue.

»I had to use a little more strength than planned to disable her magical formation and the little will-o'-the-wisps to come to you!« Zhen yan explained breathlessly. ‚Where is she?' he growled angrily. Ying yue laid his hands on Zhen yan's arms, feeling the green smoke lick over his skin, the blood at his throat drying and the pain receding. He shook his head.

»I don't know, after our fight she dragged me here, I haven't seen Mei ling since,« he replied. He thought of the question the demonic bride had asked. »Are you my husband?« And of her surprised expression when she said, »You're not my husband, you're already taken.« And of the outburst of furious anger. His heart was beating up to his throat, he didn't dare to look Zhen yan directly in the eyes.

Since the incident in the tea room, when he had gotten drunk, he had kept his distance. In fact, he was afraid of what would happen if Zhen yan crossed the next line. Goosebumps spread over his arms and back to his scalp. Zhen yan pulled him even closer to him. Ying yue swallowed.

»She's probably nearby, I'll kill the bitch!« Zhen yan whispered softly in his ear.

He had put a hand around Ying yue's face and pushed it slightly upwards. With his thumb he stroked over his lower lip and opened his mouth slightly. Despite the angry sparkle in his green eyes, he looked gently at the young man.

Then he pressed his lips on Ying yue's. Surprised, he stumbled backwards, but Zhen yan didn't let him go. The demon tongue entered Ying yue's mouth. He tasted sweet and hot and a little like blood. Ying yue gasped. He stumbled and rammed his back into the altar. Zhen yan pressed his upper body onto the dusty altar and didn't let go. The demon danced with his tongue, tightly entwined, barely giving Ying yue room to breathe.

Ying yue braced himself against the altar, trapped between the stone and Zhenyan's body, which was pressed close against him, barely leaving any space. He could feel his heart pounding wildly and breathing heavily. Zhenyan pressed him flat against the altar, the piled-up bowls and cups fell clattering to the ground and swirled up the dust.

Ying yue raised his hands to push the demon away, but his attempts were much too weak and ended up with him helplessly clawing at his robes and pulling them even tighter. Powerlessly, he felt Zhen yan briskly feeling his whole body.

»Zhen...« Ying yue started, but the demon sealed his mouth and every objection with his hot kisses. His gentle, little touches turned into a whole storm. Ying yue didn't dare to move his hands and touch Zhen yan. While the demon bluntly slid his fingers over Ying yue's body, not leaving a single inch untouched. When he had peeled Ying yue's upper body out of his robe and covered his collarbone and chest with hot kisses, Ying yue managed to gasp for air.

»Zhen yan!« he called hoarsely. With one hand, he clawed at the demon's black hair, while with the other, he tried to grab hold of something on the altar. This was definitely not the right moment, but he couldn't even manage to tell him to stop, let alone put him in his place.

Panting, the two rolled around on the altar and momentarily forgot the danger they were in. He bent his head back and squinted, drenched in sweat. Dangling from the ceiling, two scarlet eyes glared at him. With all his strength, he pushed Zhen yan away and rolled onto his side as Mei ling crashed from the ceiling into the altar, splitting it down the middle.

»You really are shameless,« she snarled. Zhen yan laughed.

»I've been told that before,« he joked. Then his expression darkened and he looked murderously at the demonic bride. ‚Time to put you in your place, this man is mine!' he said in a low, dark voice that had a timbre to it that made those around him sway.

Ying yue had straightened his clothes and Xiaodan was held firmly in his hand. Green smoke swirled up, Zhen yan opened his umbrella and blocked Mei ling's claws. His eyes narrowed when he saw the splinter in her chest. A surging wind filled the air and the demoness felt the heat before Xiaodan could cut off her head from behind. She ducked and put a few meters between herself and the two. Her expression darkened when she saw Zhen yan and Ying yue standing side by side. Zhen yan shot Ying yue a glance.

»Go!« he said. Ying yue looked at him, at his serious face with the furrowed brow and pursed lips. He looked from Zhen yan to Mei ling, he had to find her bones. With a last glance at Zhen yan, he gripped his sword tighter and nodded to him before he quickly disappeared. Mei ling wanted to follow him, but Zhen yan held her back.

When the demon bride turned around, a cold shiver ran down her spine for the first time in two hundred years. The demon's hair had come loose, black-green smoke covered his body and flickered threateningly up at him. His green eyes had taken on a dark glow, and the smile on his face froze. He looked at her coldly and calculatingly.

»Time to teach you some manners!« he snarled angrily. Holding the umbrella in front of him like a shield, he raised his other hand and held his index, middle and little finger in front of his lips. ‚On your knees!' he whispered softly, but his voice had taken on a menacingly dark undertone and fell like a curse over the bride.

It bounced off the walls and crashed over the temple like waves. He trembled, dust and debris trickled from the ceiling. Zhen yan looked up. He must not destroy the temple while Ying yue was still inside. The demonic bride slowly went to the ground and knelt, writhing in agony. She rumbled. The green smoke had settled on her and hissed on her skin. She looked at the great demon with bloodshot eyes.

»You should be ashamed of yourself,« she spat. »With a human and then a cultist at that. Have you no decency at all?« she asked angrily. Zhen yan gave her a cold look.

»Jealous?« he replied icily, raising one mocking brow. Mei ling shrieked angrily. The smoke struggled to stay on her skin.

She jumped up and hurled half of the altar at him. He used his oil umbrella to deflect the stone table against the wall, which trembled and gaped with a large hole. An icy wind blew through the ruin. She rushed at him, but was stopped again by the overwhelming power that engulfed the umbrella. Her eyes flashed.

»Either way, your future won't be rosy,« she sneered, her face twisting into an ugly grin. ‚A human and a demon – that never ends well. Inevitably, you will fight each other, your differences will be insurmountable. What will you do then, great demon?' She pressed harder and harder against his defenses. Zhen yan's eyes glowed ominously.

He held back for now. »Are you going to kill him? Or are you going to let him kill you?« Mei ling laughed maniacally. Zhen yan's mouth lifted up at the corners, and he lowered his umbrella so that he could look her directly in the eyes.

»I'm afraid you don't have a say in this, my dear. I don't think you know what love is,« he replied. ‚We would never leave each other!' Mei Ling's laughter trailed off. With an angry scream, she threw herself at the umbrella, and Zhen Yan had to back away. He raised his hand, but the temple began to shake violently. He had to lure her outside.

So he lowered the umbrella and gave her a free target on his throat. Mei ling did not hesitate and advanced on him with her long claws. Zhen yan pushed himself off the ground and led the demonic bride out of the temple just centimeters from his throat. As soon as they reached the forecourt, he turned and threw her to the ground with a swing of his umbrella.

But Mei ling did not let herself be stopped. She was quickly back on her feet. The storm was now raging around them and thick raindrops were falling from the sky. Zhen yan's hair was whirling wildly in the raging wind and his clothes were being tossed to and fro. Mei ling didn't hesitate for long and rushed at him again, Zhen yan ducked away from her attack, turned and came very close to her.

Just before he could grasp the splinter in her chest, she pushed him back with a mighty kick. She had seen through him. With a hiss, her long fingernails extended further until she had five long, sharp daggers on each hand. She rammed them into the ground and threw debris at the demon before leaping into the air to pierce him from above.

Zhen yan blocked the debris, but then retracted his scarlet umbrella so as not to damage it when Mei ling came from above. It brushed against his robes, leaving a gash across his face. Zhen yan wiped the blood from his cheek.

»I've put a lot of effort into this body,« he said slowly. ‚Besides, I like the way Ying yue looks at him. Don't push it!' Black lines began to form on his neck and face, as if the image of the beautiful man were slowly shattering. The green smoke was saturated black and the whole environment

descended into an unspeakable, black vacuum. Everything was black, so that she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. Mei Ling listened intently. Somewhere in the distance, she heard the faint tinkling of bells. When she rushed towards the sound, she found only a weakly glowing bracelet made of red threads and cracked prayer bells.

The splinter of black jade began to buzz and vibrate hotly in her chest. A bolt of pain shot through her body, and before she knew what was happening, her body was torn to pieces, bones splintered, skin burst open and blood poured out onto the black ground. She gasped. She could only keep her body together with great effort. Rage and anger seethed inside her.

»If he saw you now, in your true form, do you really think he could love you? Mortals are very limited in their thinking. They reject everything that is different,« she spat. Hands, long slender fingers glided out of the darkness and closed around her head, pushing her tangled black hair aside and pinching roughly. A voice close to her ear made the pain in her head explode.

»You have never loved and have never been loved, so how dare you judge me?« Mei ling was pressed hard to the ground. She felt her shattered bones give way further as they tried to heal at the same time.

»You can't kill me,« she gasped, ‚not in this form!'

The darkness was becoming more frightening, more oppressive, she couldn't escape, and each time before her body could heal and reassemble, she was crushed again.

»We'll see about that!« Zhen yan whispered in her ear.