Chapter 43
They walked for a long while in silence.
The road behind them slowly disappeared into mist, as if Tiandu itself had chosen to forget where they went.
Yichen finally stopped.
“This is… where?”
Zhao Yuanzhou didn’t answer immediately. He simply pushed aside a curtain of hanging vines.
Behind it was a house.
Small.
Old.
Almost hidden entirely by time and nature.
If someone didn’t know it was there, they would walk past it a hundred times and never notice.
A wooden gate stood slightly crooked, half-covered in moss.
The courtyard inside was quiet, with a single old tree leaning toward the roof as if listening.
Zhao Yuanzhou stepped inside first.
Then turned back.
“I like it here,” he said simply.
Yichen frowned.
“You… live here?”
Zhao nodded.
“Sometimes…It’s quiet.”
Yichen stepped in more slowly, scanning the place.
The air was different here.
The house itself looked worn, but not abandoned. Someone had taken care of it-carefully, quietly, as if trying not to be noticed.
Yichen touched the wooden pillar.
“It’s ancient.”
Zhao Yuanzhou leaned against the doorway.
“It’s honest.”
The courtyard had a small stone table, cracked with age. A few teacups sat there, slightly mismatched, as if collected over years instead of bought at once.
Yichen noticed it.
“You brought people here?”
Zhao hesitated.
“Once.”
“Who?”
A pause.
Then, quieter:
“People I couldn’t keep.”
That answer made Yichen stop asking.
Instead, he walked further inside.
The house was small, almost too small for someone like Zhao Yuanzhou , the great demon of wilderness.
And yet-
it fit him.
Too well.
Yichen finally spoke again.
“You really like hiding in places no one can find you.”
Zhao Yuanzhou looked at him.
“It’s not hiding.”
“Then what is it?”
A faint smile appeared.
“Waiting.”
Yichen didn’t respond.
He just stood there, looking at the old courtyard, the quiet roof, the way sunlight barely reached inside as if even the world outside had trouble remembering this place existed.
Then he said, softer than before:
“Waiting for what?”
Zhao Yuanzhou didn’t answer right away.
His gaze shifted toward Yichen instead.
And for the first time, there was no distance in his eyes.
Only something steady.
Something that had been there far longer than words.
“I don’t know,” he finally said.
Then, after a pause:
“But you’re here now.”
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Yichen walked a slow circle around the small courtyard again, arms folded, eyes narrowing as he inspected every corner like he was judging a military base rather than a hidden house in the middle of nowhere.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“It’s not really neat.”
Zhao Yuanzhou, who was casually leaning on the doorway, blinked.
“…Not neat?”
Yichen pointed at the slightly crooked fence.
“That.”
Then the uneven roof tiles.
“That.”
Then the stone table with a crack running straight through it.
“And that.”
Zhao Yuanzhou followed his finger each time, nodding very seriously like he was receiving battlefield reports.
Then he said, completely calm:
“It’s functional.”
Yichen turned to him.
“This house looks like it was assembled in seconds.”
Zhao Yuanzhou didn’t even deny it.
“It was.”
A beat.
Yichen stared at him.
“You made this in seconds?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The demon thought for a moment, then answered honestly:
“I needed somewhere to live.”
Yichen scoffed immediately.
“So you just waved your hand and dropped a house here?”
“I didn’t ‘drop’ it.”
“You absolutely dropped it.”
Zhao Yuanzhou considered this.
“…Maybe.”
Yichen exhaled through his nose, half annoyed, half amused despite himself.
“So what you’re saying is-this entire mysterious hidden residence…”
He gestured around dramatically.
“…is basically emergency architecture.”
Zhao Yuanzhou nodded once.
“Yes.”
Yichen rubbed his forehead
“I can’t believe I was expecting some ancient, elegant demon sanctuary.”
Zhao Yuanzhou tilted his head slightly.
“It is ancient.”
“It is not elegant.”
A pause.
Zhao Yuanzhou looked genuinely thoughtful.
“That’s fair.”
That admission made Yichen stop for a second.
Then he let out a short laugh.
“You really live like this?”
The demon shrugged lightly.
“I don’t stay in one place long.”
Yichen looked around again, this time more quietly.
The wind passed through the courtyard.
The crooked house didn’t look impressive.
But it felt… real.
And for someone like Zhao Yuanzhou, that was probably the closest thing to comfort.
Yichen finally muttered:
“…At least fix the roof.”
Zhao Yuanzhou’s lips curved faintly.
“If you stay longer, you can fix it.”
Yichen shot him a look.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m just offering responsibility.”
“That sounds like a trap.”
“It’s not.”
A pause.
Then Yichen walked past him into the house.
“…I’ll fix the table first.”
From behind him, Zhao Yuanzhou’s quiet laugh followed him into the courtyard…
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Night settled over the hidden house like a soft blanket.
The courtyard was quiet except for the faint sound of water flowing from the small pond tucked behind the trees.
Zhuo Yichen paused when he saw it.
“…There’s a pond.”
Zhao Yuanzhou, who had been following him like a shadow all evening, immediately brightened.
“There is.”
Yichen turned slightly.
“I want a bath.”
A beat.
Zhao Yuanzhou nodded very seriously.
“I can join.”
Silence.
Yichen slowly looked at him.
Then spoke with absolute calm.
“I’m not like those shy omegas who panic and start screaming….”
Another pause.
“I’m the commander…”
Zhao Yuanzhou blinked.
Yichen continued, already walking toward the pond.
“And I’m not going to say no politely. I’m going to say this very clearly.”
He stopped at the edge of the water.
“Go to the other side.”
Then added, without even turning his head:
“Let me have my peace. Or I’ll kill you…”
Zhao Yuanzhou hummed thoughtfully.
“…That sounds like consent with extra steps.”
Yichen immediately threw him a look.
“Try me.”
The demon raised both hands.
“Fine. Other side.”
He obediently walked around the pond.
Yichen exhaled, satisfied, and loosened his outer robe.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Yuanzhou called out from the opposite side.
“I thought I would be the one getting your cooked food tonight.”
Yichen paused mid-step.
Then scoffed.
“You thought wrong.”
Zhao Yuanzhou sighed dramatically.
“Then what am I supposed to do in this house?”
Yichen’s voice was flat.
“Exist quietly.”
The demon continued, voice calmer now.
“I can’t cook. I can’t sew. I can’t even keep a house properly built.”
Yichen muttered:
“Finally some self-awareness.”
Zhao Yuanzhou ignored that.
“So I was thinking…”
A beat.
“…maybe I should try doing something useful.”
Yichen narrowed his eyes.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“I could learn.”
“You? Learn?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
Then, reluctantly:
“…From you.”
Yichen stared at him for a long moment.
Then turned back toward the water.
“No.”
Zhao Yuanzhou frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I like living.”
A faint laugh came from the other side of the pond.
Soft.
Real.
Yichen finally stepped into the water, muttering under his breath:
“…Great demon, useless at everything except annoying me.”
Zhao Yuanzhou’s voice followed gently through the night.
“That part I excel at.”
Yichen closed his eyes.
“…Unfortunately, yes.”