Chapter 45
Days turned into weeks.
The small cottage beneath Kunlun became a temporary home for three unlikely companions.
Hua Xing.
The wounded little demon Zhu Yan.
And Li Lun.
The demons recovered quickly.
But outside the cottage, the world remained unchanged.
Every few days, news arrived.
Another demon hunted.
Another village attack.
Another execution.
Another accusation.
The hatred between humans and demons only grew stronger.
One evening, Hua Xing returned from the city carrying books and medicine.
His face was darker than usual.
Li Lun immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
Hua Xing remained silent.
Zhu Yan handed him tea.
Only after a long pause did Hua Xing speak.
“Three young demons were killed today.”
The room fell silent.
Li Lun’s expression hardened.
“Why?”
“No reason.”
“No reason?”
Hua Xing laughed bitterly.
“They said demons are dangerous.”
Zhu Yan lowered his head.
Li Lun clenched his fists.
“Humans are ridiculous.”
But Hua Xing suddenly stood.
His calm demeanor was gone.
For perhaps the first time, the two demons saw genuine anger in him.
The scholar’s sleeves trembled.
His eyes burned.
“I argued with them.”
Li Lun blinked.
“You did?”
“I did.”
“What happened?”
Hua Xing laughed once.
Without humor.
“I asked them why.”
“Why every crime committed by one demon becomes the crime of an entire race.”
The room became quiet.
“I asked them if innocence only belonged to humans.”
His voice grew sharper.
“Does a child deserve death because it was born a demon?”
Neither Zhu Yan nor Li Lun spoke.
Hua Xing looked toward the distant mountains.
Toward Kunlun.
Toward the heavens.
Toward the Baize Order.
His frustration finally erupted.
“What is the Baize Order doing?”
The words shocked both demons.
No one spoke of the sacred order like that.
Yet Hua Xing continued.
“If maintaining balance means watching innocent lives die-“
His voice cracked slightly.
“Then what kind of balance is that?”
The wind outside suddenly became louder.
“Is killing innocents the only power left in this world?”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
For a long moment, nobody moved.
Then Zhu Yan quietly stood.
The young demon placed a cup of tea before Hua Xing.
No words.
Just the tea.
The scholar looked down.
Then up at him.
Zhu Yan smiled faintly.
“You sound like someone trying to save the world.”
Hua Xing sighed.
“I’m failing.”
“No.”
The little demon shook his head.
“You cared.”
Li Lun folded his arms.
For once, he wasn’t teasing.
“Most people don’t.”
The setting sun filtered through the windows.
Painting the room gold.
For the first time, Hua Xing realized something.
The demons before him were not monsters.
One was stubborn.
One was troublesome.
Both argued constantly.
But neither deserved the hatred they received.
And somewhere deep inside his heart-
a seed was beginning to grow.
A belief.
A dream.
A future where humans and demons could stand beneath the same sky.
Even if the world thought such a dream was impossible.
Across the room, Zhu Yan secretly watched him.
The scholar didn’t notice.
Li Lun did.
And immediately groaned.
“Oh no.”
Hua Xing looked up.
“What?”
Li Lun pointed at Zhu Yan.
“He’s doing it again.”
Zhu Yan froze.
“What?”
“That look.”
“What look?”
“The stupid look.”
Hua Xing became confused.
“What are you talking about?”
Li Lun buried his face in his hands.
“Nothing.”
Then he pointed at Zhu Yan again.
“You are absolutely doomed.”
The little demon immediately threw a pillow at him.
And for the first time that day-
Hua Xing laughed.
❄️❄️❄️❄️✨✨✨✨⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️
The memory shifted again.
This time, it was evening.
Warm lanterns glowed throughout the market streets.
People laughed.
Children ran between stalls.
Musicians played soft melodies in the distance.
For once, there was peace.
Hua Xing walked beside Zhu Yan through the crowd.
The scholar carried a stack of books beneath one arm.
The little demon carried absolutely nothing useful.
As usual.
“You should stop buying sweets.”
Hua Xing sighed.
“You’ve eaten seven.”
“It was six.”
“It was seven.”
“It was six and a half.”
Hua Xing closed his eyes.
“That isn’t helping.”
Zhu Yan laughed.
For a moment, everything felt perfect.
Danger seemed far away.
The hatred between humans and demons seemed distant.
Just a scholar.
And a demon.
Walking beneath lantern light.
Then Zhu Yan stopped.
“Hua Xing.”
Something in his voice made the scholar pause.
When Hua Xing turned around, Zhu Yan was suddenly serious.
Painfully serious.
The mischievous smile was gone.
The teasing was gone.
Only nervousness remained.
“Hua Xing…”
The demon swallowed.
Then forced himself to continue.
“I want to stay beside you forever.”
The noise of the market seemed to fade.
Hua Xing stared.
Zhu Yan’s hands trembled.
But his eyes never wavered.
“Marry me.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The lanterns swayed overhead.
Hua Xing froze.
The words struck him like lightning.
Because he knew.
He had known for a long time.
Knew every glance.
Every smile.
Every moment Zhu Yan looked at him when he thought nobody noticed.
And that frightened him.
Because he felt it too.
More than he should.
More than he was allowed.
He was human.
Zhu Yan was a demon.
The world would never permit it.
Never.
His expression hardened.
Not because he didn’t care.
But because he cared too much.
“No.”
The smile slowly disappeared from Zhu Yan’s face.
“Hua Xing…”
“I can’t.”
The scholar’s voice shook.
“I can’t marry you.”
Zhu Yan’s heart broke.
Right there.
In the middle of the crowded street.
The world suddenly felt very cold.
His voice became smaller.
“Why?”
Hua Xing looked away.
Because if he looked directly at him-
he might not have the strength to refuse.
“I don’t have those feelings.”
The lie left his mouth like poison.
The moment he said it-
he hated himself.
Zhu Yan stood motionless.
His eyes slowly reddened.
Then he laughed.
A small, broken laugh.
“I understand now.”
Hua Xing’s heart sank.
No.
You don’t.
But Zhu Yan continued.
His voice trembling.
“You’re just like them.”
“Hua Xing-“
“You think I’m a demon first.”
The scholar’s face paled.
“No.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“You do!”
People began turning to look.
But Zhu Yan didn’t care.
His eyes were full of tears.
“After everything…”
“Hua Xing…”
“After everything…”
The scholar suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
“Listen to me.”
But Zhu Yan wouldn’t.
Because he was hurt.
Because he was scared.
Because he loved him.
And because he believed he had just been rejected for what he was.
Not who he was.
The sound echoed sharply through the market.
Slap.
The world stopped.
Both froze.
Neither had expected it.
Hua Xing’s hand trembled.
Zhu Yan touched his own cheek.
His eyes widened.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then Hua Xing whispered:
“…Zhu Yan.”
But the demon stepped back.
One step.
Then another.
Tears spilled down his face.
For the first time since they met-
he looked at Hua Xing like a stranger.
Then he turned.
And ran.
“Hua Xing…”
Gone.
The scholar immediately chased after him.
“Zhu Yan!”
But the crowd swallowed him.
The lanterns blurred.
The night became endless.
And Hua Xing never caught him.
Not that night.
Not the next day.
Not the day after.
Because before he could find him-
everything fell apart.
The authorities had discovered rumors.
Rumors of a scholar helping demons.
Rumors of treason.
Rumors of betrayal.
The General of Pijiang wanted an example.
Someone to blame.
Someone to execute.
So they chose Hua Xing.
The scholar never resisted.
Never begged.
Never denied it.
Because the accusations were true.
He had helped demons.
And if given the choice-
he would do it again.
The execution took place beneath a Blood Moon.
The sky glowed crimson.
Like fresh blood across heaven itself.
Hua Xing knelt in chains.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
But calm.
The General stood before him.
“Pity.”
The man smiled.
“You could have had a glorious future.”
Hua Xing laughed quietly.
“My future wasn’t yours to decide.”
The blade rose.
The crowd watched.
And somewhere-
very far away-
a demon finally arrived.
Too late.
Zhu Yan saw it.
The chains.
The blood.
The execution platform.
The scholar he loved.
And then-
the blade fell.
The world shattered.
Something inside Zhu Yan broke.
Completely.
Irreversibly.
The Blood Moon overhead burned brighter.
The sky screamed.
The earth trembled.
For the first time in history-
the gentle little demon disappeared.
And something terrifying was born.
The General barely had time to turn.
Golden eyes met his.
Eyes overflowing with grief.
With rage.
With loss.
“Hua Xing…”
The name left his lips like a prayer.
Then came destruction.
The General died first.
Then his soldiers.
Then the executioners.
Then everyone who raised a weapon.
Blood painted the streets.
The moon turned redder.
And the heavens looked away.
Because on that night-
a demon loved too deeply.
A scholar died too early.
And Zhu Yan was cursed forever.
Not for the lives he took.
But for the hatred he embraced when he lost the only person who had ever looked at him and seen-
not a demon.
But a soul worth loving.
And thousands of years later…
Even now…
Zhao Yuanzhou’s voice trembled as he finished the story.
Because after twenty thousand years-
the wound still had not healed.