Chapter 53
The moment Zhuo Yichen regained enough strength to stand, he turned toward Pei Sijing.
His face was pale.
His eyes swollen from crying.
Yet his voice remained steady.
“Lock me in the dungeon.”
Everyone froze.
Ying Lei immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Zhuo Yichen didn’t even look at him.
“If I lose control again…”
His hands trembled.
“…someone else will get hurt.”
The image of the injured watchman flashed through his mind.
The blood.
The fear.
The scream.
His breathing became uneven again.
“I can’t risk it.”
“Yichen-“
“Please.”
The word sounded almost broken.
“I don’t trust myself anymore.”
Silence followed.
Then suddenly-
Zhao Yuanzhou stood.
“Pei Sijing.”
Everyone looked toward him.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“Leave.”
Pei Sijing blinked.
“What?”
“All of you.”
Nobody moved.
Zhao Yuanzhou looked at them again.
“Give us some time.”
Wen Xiao hesitated.
But eventually she nodded.
One by one, everyone left.
Until only the two of them remained.
Moonlight poured quietly over the empty courtyard.
Zhuo Yichen lowered his head.
Unable to meet Zhao Yuanzhou’s eyes.
“I attacked innocent people.”
His voice cracked.
“I almost killed someone.”
“You didn’t.”
“I wanted to.”
“You didn’t.”
The answer came immediately.
Firmly.
Without hesitation.
Yichen’s shoulders shook.
“But what if next time-“
Suddenly warm fingers lifted his chin.
Forcing him to look up.
Straight into golden eyes.
Eyes that had watched him through lifetimes.
Eyes filled only with love.
Nothing else.
“Look at me.”
Yichen tried to look away.
Zhao gently held his face.
“Look at me.”
This time he obeyed.
Tears immediately spilled down his cheeks.
“I don’t know who I am anymore.”
The confession escaped before he could stop it.
“I’m scared.”
“So scared.”
His voice became smaller.
“What if that’s the real me?”
“What if the demon is who I really am?”
A tear slid down his cheek.
“What if everything I’ve fought against my whole life…”
His voice broke completely.
“…is actually me?”
Zhao Yuanzhou’s heart ached.
Because he knew those thoughts.
He knew them too well.
Twenty thousand years of asking the same questions.
Am I a monster?
Am I dangerous?
Do I deserve to exist?
Slowly, Zhao rested his forehead against Yichen’s.
“No.”
His voice was soft.
Certain.
“The real you is the man crying because he hurt someone.”
Yichen froze.
“The real you is the man who would rather lock himself away than risk hurting another person.”
Another tear slipped down.
“The real you is kind.”
“Brave.”
“Stubborn.”
“Annoyingly righteous.”
A tiny laugh escaped between Yichen’s sobs.
Zhao smiled.
“There he is.”
Immediately more tears came.
This time harder.
Yichen finally broke.
He buried his face against Zhao’s shoulder and cried.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
He cried like a child.
Like someone carrying too much pain.
Too much fear.
Too much guilt.
“I didn’t want to hurt him…”
“I know.”
“I really didn’t…”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry…”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
The demon simply held him.
One hand stroking his hair.
The other around his shoulders.
Patient.
Steady.
Like an anchor in a storm.
Eventually Zhao spoke.
“Come with me.”
—
They climbed the familiar path together.
Past the trees.
Past the cliffs.
Until they reached the place where they had once watched the stars.
The wind was gentle tonight.
The sky clear.
Thousands of stars glittered overhead.
Zhao sat down first.
Then gently pulled Yichen beside him.
For a while neither spoke.
Only silence.
Only the sound of the night.
Then Zhao pointed upward.
“Look.”
Yichen followed his gaze.
The stars shimmered endlessly.
Tiny lights scattered across infinity.
“Do you see them?”
Yichen nodded.
“They’re beautiful.”
Zhao smiled softly.
“They’ve seen everything.”
Yichen looked at him.
“The happiest moments.”
“The saddest moments.”
“Wars.”
“Deaths.”
“Reunions.”
“Goodbyes.”
His eyes remained fixed on the sky.
“And yet…”
A gentle breeze moved through his dark hair.
“They still shine.”
No matter what happened below.
No matter how much sorrow existed.
The stars remained.
Quietly twinkling.
Steadily enduring.
Zhao turned toward him.
“So be like them.”
Yichen stared.
“When you’re happy.”
“Shine.”
“When you’re sad.”
“Shine.”
“When you’re scared.”
“Keep shining anyway.”
His voice softened.
“Because that’s what you’ve always done.”
The tears returned immediately.
But this time they weren’t as painful.
Yichen slowly leaned closer.
Then wrapped both arms around Zhao Yuanzhou.
Holding him tightly.
As though he never wanted to let go.
The demon smiled.
His arms immediately closed around Yichen.
Protective.
Warm.
Safe.
A gentle kiss landed atop Yichen’s head.
No words.
Just reassurance.
Just love.
Yichen closed his eyes.
Listening to Zhao’s heartbeat.
Feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
For the first time since waking-
the fear eased.
Just a little.
The stars glittered overhead.
The wind whispered through the grass.
And somewhere between sorrow and hope…
exhaustion finally claimed them.
Still holding each other.
Still wrapped in each other’s warmth.
They fell asleep beneath the endless night sky.
Like two weary souls who had spent lifetimes searching for one another-
and finally found a place where, for a few precious hours,
the world could not reach them.