The Moonlight illuminates the blood-soaked black jade!

The next morning, Ying yue found it difficult to get up. Sitting hurt and Zhen yan had only superficially arranged his clothes last night, so he had to change completely. A sharp pain shot through his back and he glared angrily at Zhen yan.

To his surprise, the demon looked down in shame and didn't dare look him in the eye. Unlike Ying yue, he looked neat. His clothes were on and even his hair was in order. He leaned against the tree trunk, behind which they had sought shelter from the wind yesterday, and only hesitantly raised his eyes.

»How...« Zhen yan began softly.

»I'm fine,« Ying yue hissed at him. But his wobbly steps belied his words. Zhen yan pressed his lips together and nodded. ‚So I don't have to hold back again?' he teased him. Ying yue spun around. ‚Hold back?' He hissed angrily, without going into it again. That amused the demon no end. A radiant smile formed on his lips and even sparkled in his eyes again. He seemed really happy.

Ying yue's heart did a somersault. Embarrassed, he looked around and cleared his throat. »I... you... could be a bit more careful,« he murmured, embarrassed. Zhen yan was with him in a flash. He lifted his chin and looked deep into his eyes. »Did I hurt you?« he asked gently, guilt shining in his eyes. Ying yue brushed his hand away.

»I said I'm fine,« he replied, and again, his next steps punished his words. »Shall I carry you?« Zhen yan offered. Now Ying yue's face turned bright red. »No!« he said firmly and swung himself onto his horse. Almost instantly, he froze. Zhen yan suppressed a grin as he looked up at him innocently. Through gritted teeth, Ying yue repeated, »I'm fine.« Half an hour later, Ying yue was leading the way down the narrow path, with Zhen yan leading the horse by the reins.

Ying yue headed straight for the family residence; he wouldn't survive another night with this lecherous Yao. For the first time, he breathed a sigh of relief when the white roofs of the estate shimmered through the branches of the trees. He had never been happy to be at home, but now even this white prison seemed like a refuge. No sooner had they crossed the threshold than chaos broke out in the estate.

Zhen yan had no longer bothered to control his demonic aura; they had been on their own for too long. With an apologetic smile, raised hands and a slight shrug of the shoulders, he allowed the guards to surround him. Ying yue pushed the reins of his horse into the hand of a guard who hurried over. The stallion stood calmly and eyed the scene with medium interest. It had already seen and experienced too much for Zhen yan to be able to scare it.

»That's not necessary!« he said, appeasing the angry men and laying his hand on one of the raised spears.

»And how necessary!« a loud, full voice rang out. Ying yue flinched and Zhen yan's eyes darkened briefly. Yi Rui qin came rushing in, wearing a robe in the colors of the Bai clan. »I told you to get rid of the demon, and yet you lead him straight into the middle of your family?« He got worked up and glared at the young man angrily. ‚He shall be riddled with all ten thousand spears,' he shouted furiously. Ying yue gritted his teeth as another, lighter voice sounded.

»What's going on here?«

»Er Gongzi,« the sword master greeted him respectfully and bowed before the narrow, wiry figure that came running. Lingxi looked back and forth between his Qianbei, Ying yue and the demon.

»What is he doing here?« he asked in disbelief. ‚Didn't you say he would never set foot in the estate?'

»Things have changed, would you rather let him roam outside the estate alone?« Ying yue asked back. Zhen yan had his hands clasped behind his back and snorted in offense. That they were talking about him like a stray dog.

»He must be killed on the spot,« Rui qin said sternly.

»He is here with me and will also leave with me. You are welcome to delay this matter even further or you can just let me go and talk to father,« Ying yue replied just as angrily. He had become so familiar with the reactions to being with Zhen yan that he hadn't considered the difficulties that would arise for them if he invited him to the Bai residence.

Lingxi blinked a few times. He realized that everyone present was waiting for him to make a decision. He looked almost a little too young and helpless, but then he quickly regained his composure.

»Take the demon to the dungeon and chain him up. He is to be closely guarded during my brother's stay. How he is to be dealt with is for my father to decide,« he finally decided. Ying yue breathed a barely audible sigh of relief.

Of course Zhen yan would not have been killed, but he had successfully avoided the chaos. He nodded to the tall demon as he allowed himself to be led away. Zhen yan gave Yi Rui qin a menacing, dark look as he walked past him and whispered to him as he passed,

»Your time is only borrowed!«

Rui qin merely gave his statement a contemptuous snort. If it were up to him, this demon would not be released from the dungeon unscathed. He followed the guards and threw an angry glance at Ying yue as he passed. Only he and Lingxi remained.

»He Gongzi,« Ying yue greeted his brother formally. Lingxi gave him an angry look.

»Why did you bring him here? Father will be very angry,« said the younger brother.

»He doesn't know yet?« Ying yue asked half-seriously and raised an eyebrow. Lingxi kicked a pebble aside and straightened his shoulders.

»Just rumors. Father is hard to read, you know that. He has merely taken note of the information that has come to his ears about you, nothing more,« he admitted. ‚But as the head, it is not for him to act hastily,' he immediately defended his father.

Ying yue nodded, what could he say? He didn't want to lecture his brother, for him the difference in rank between them wasn't big enough. He still saw a threat in him and had to justify himself for everything. »I won't stay long, just a few days and then I'll report back. Wang Gongzi will soon assemble and call up troops to deal with the growing threat of demons,« he explained. ‚Zhen yan and I...'

»What ties do you have to this demon?« Lingxi blurted out. »You didn't really bind him to you, did you? Why is he following you? What is the purpose?« he threw question after question until he was out of breath.

Ying yue eyed his little brother, had he been persuaded that he had made a contract with a demon to become head of the family? Such claims would be quite similar to his stepmother and some other officials in the Bai estate. He rolled Xiaodan back and forth in his hand, finally making up his mind.

»Come with me,« he said, walking past Lingxi through the estate. A little perplexed, Lingxi followed his big brother until they stood in the spacious ancestral hall. Incense sticks swirled around and filled the air with a burning, spicy smell.

Ying yue sat down on one of the cushions and placed Xiaodan in front of him, then he motioned for Lingxi to sit next to him. »Here, all our ancestors shall bear witness to what I am about to tell you,« he said. He swallowed, still finding it difficult to speak freely and openly. He arched his back and waited until Lingxi had gathered all his courage to sit down next to him.

»First of all, I have no interest in running this family. I was never really a part of it and there are too many who would gladly stab me in the back with a knife,« he began. »But you are different, you were treated as part of this family from the beginning.

You are respected and father thinks very highly of you, which is why he tries to involve you more in family matters than in fighting,« he said. Lingxi snarled. Ying yue managed a fleeting smile.

»Believe it or not, I have found my soul mate in Zhen yan and we are connected in a way that goes far beyond taming or a contract.« Lingxi choked on his own words, which he couldn't get out. »And if I have to give up the name Bai when the demon plague is over and the seal on the Daiyu Plain is restored, I want to spend my days peacefully with him on Wushan.

Until now, I always thought that I would die in a fight or on a battlefield. Growing old or even settling down were dreams I didn't dare to dream.« He looked at Lingxi, who had turned red and was staring intently at the family trees, as if they would catch fire at any moment at the outrageous words.

»No matter what anyone says, I never have and never will have the ambition to become head of the family,« he said again emphatically. The message seemed to have passed Lingxi by. Maybe he should have made that clear before the Zhen yan incident.

Lingxi blinked violently and tried to look Ying yue directly, so it was difficult to look at his otherwise cold, confident brother in the same way as usual. He would not have expected this confession of love from him now.

»I put him in the dungeon,« he said quietly.

»That was a good decision,« Ying yue nodded.

»But... he... you...«

»I'll finally be able to sleep peacefully again for a night.«

Lingxi jumped up, a fiery blush had spread across his face.

»You're shameless,« he called softly, since they were still in the ancestral hall, then he ran away. Ying yue watched him go in surprise.

»Me?«