Chapter 114

This whole thing about infection.

Hearing this, Xiayu felt an urge to shrink away. Yet nestled in Yinghuai Lu's embrace, he felt his pride waning. He straightened his back, trying to suppress his rising smile, gripping Yinghuai Lu's fingers as he began recounting past events.

Perhaps habituated to pinching leopard paw pads, Xiayu now had an urge to pinch anything within reach. He'd pinch Yuan Yuan during the day and Yinghuai Lu at night, grasping at anyone close.

Yinghuai Lu held Xiayu close, listening intently as Xiayu narrated his past with a tranquility as if recounting a tale, occasionally rubbing cheeks with the temple of Xiayu's forehead.

"When spoken about, it seems like so much happened, but it was all within a few years."

Xiayu, fixated on the curtains swaying in the wind, spaced out momentarily. Suddenly, he understood why he felt so calm discussing the heart-wrenching abandonments and the challenges of survival from his past.

It truly felt as if it had been a long, long time ago.

So long that Xiayu's current life is dominated by other happy, joyous, and sweet moments, leaving no room for the bitter memories not worth revisiting.

Yinghuai Lu tenderly kissed the contour of Xiayu's ear.

As his breath glided across Xiayu's cheek, Xiayu shrank back, neck tingling, and murmured a languid complaint, "That tickles."

Yinghuai Lu kissed him once more.

Xiayu squeezed Yinghuai Lu's fingers tightly.

Yinghuai Lu swiftly caught Xiayu's fingers with his own.

Xiayu chuckled, "We're acting quite childish, aren't we?"

Yinghuai Lu didn't smile.

He remembered when Xiayu first came to him, too timid to voice any demands. Any kindness shown to him — even if merely done out of courtesy — Xiayu would strive to repay in kind.

Like an esteemed kitten that had been abandoned and roamed for a long time, caution and unease were evident in its blue eyes.

The grip around Xiayu's arm tightened ever so slightly.

Snuggling closer into Yinghuai Lu's embrace, Xiayu grinned, eyes soft, "All that's in the past now."

"Those who once bullied me... they've all been dealt with. I thought I would still care, but when I vaguely heard about it later, it took me a while to realize that I don't really mind anymore."

Their hands intertwined, the warm touch and the enveloping embrace healed even the deepest scars in Xiayu's heart, leaving no trace.

"Other than the stuff related to the zombie virus..." Xiayu tilted his head, a few strands of hair slipping into Yinghuai Lu's collar, "are just trifles not worth fretting over."

The old Xiayu's life was consumed by the Duke's mansion and political marriages. His one act of rebellion led him away from the capital star, which was akin to a cage, costing him his life in the process.

The present Xiayu had witnessed vast galaxies, revered snowy mountains, touched the pristine waters of lakes, and run through dense forests... No one confined him, no one shackled him. He had only his companion walking beside him and the silent support of his family.

Nestled in Yinghuai Lu's arms, Xiayu lifted his chin, straining to look up at him.

The pose was somewhat awkward, yet Xiayu was unwilling to distance himself from the embrace he so cherished.

Yinghuai Lu gazed down at him.

Although the young man claimed indifference, laughing lightly, a faint blush tinted the corners of his eyes.

Captivated by Xiayu, with their eyes locked, Yinghuai Lu yearned to kiss him.

Once, when his sister was with the emperor, she was always affectionately close to him.

The younger Yinghuai Lu didn't understand, but now, all he wanted was to hold Xiayu close and never let go.

Recognizing the love and longing in those deep purple eyes, Xiayu straightened up, catching Yinghuai Lu's lower lip with his teeth and teasing it gently.

And then gave a soft peck.

Yinghuai Lu, having been beaten to the punch, couldn't help but laugh wryly.

Xiayu inquired, "What about Your Highness?"

Yinghuai Lu: "What?"

"When His Highness was young, was he ever bullied?"

Finding the upturned posture a bit straining, Xiayu tilted his head back down, gazing at the swaying treetops outside and the twinkling stars.

Yinghuai Lu paused for a moment before slowly replying, "No."

Xiayu, skeptical, pressed, "Really?"

After another brief silence, as Xiayu began to turn, Yinghuai Lu lowered his head, resting his forehead against Xiayu's shoulder and muttered, "...Well, if I must admit, there was this one time."

Feeling the weight on his shoulder, Xiayu blinked.

Yinghuai Lu whispered, "When I first went to the border, a tall middle-aged man approached me, saying his daughter was sick and required a large sum of money. So, I teamed up with him for a mission."

"Later... he took all the mission rewards and disappeared. Only afterward did I find out that he didn't have a daughter at all."

When Yinghuai Lu first took on a mission at the border, he hadn't yet entered military school. The proud but naive young man was completely duped by the first person he encountered.

That young man back then wasn't the invincible force he's known as now, nor a symbol of the empire. Those months spent on border missions scarred him repeatedly. When he returned to the imperial star, Uncle Zhou, while tending to his wounds, felt only deep sympathy.

"What happened after? Did Your Highness ever find him?" Xiayu asked softly.

Yinghuai Lu hesitated, then shook his head, causing a slight sway in Xiayu's frame.

"I didn’t need the money. He... perhaps he had genuine need."

Yinghuai Lu felt it was merely a lesson learned, a reminder not to be deceived again.

But when Xiayu posed the question about whether he'd ever been bullied, Yinghuai Lu instantly recalled that man.

The memory was so vivid.

Xiayu gently grasped Yinghuai Lu's hand, lifting it slightly, and tenderly kissed the tips of his fingers.

Xiayou found the prince quite endearing.

The prince, once a beacon for many, plunged into an abyss due to a disorder of his spiritual energy. For a long time, he, who was once a renowned war deity, was confined to a wheelchair.

He wasn't saddened by the scars from the battlefield. Many revered him, but many also despised him. In this era of peace he helped establish, the citizens saw him as a symbol, while his peers plotted for their gains after his demise... Yet, he accepted all of this with equanimity.

Speaking of injustices and being deceived, his thoughts often wandered to his unremarkable youth and memories of being misled.

The more Xiayou thought about it, the more endearing she found it, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

The elder felt a bit embarrassed and silently held his lover without uttering a word.

Xiayou tilted her head and affectionately nuzzled Lu Yinghuai's.

Golden and black strands of hair intertwined, inseparable and closely bound.

"In the future, if anyone ever bullies Your Highness, come and tell me."

Lu Yinghuai paused and looked down at Xiayou with a deep gaze.

Xiayou confidently said, "We are partners, family, and lovers; we are meant to support and comfort each other."

Partners, family, lovers.

The ordinary sequence of building a family was somewhat chaotic for them.

They were first bound as partners, gradually evolved into family, and finally became intimately connected lovers.

A smirk graced Lu Yinghuai's lips: "Alright, and you, Xiaoyou, should tell me first."

Xiayou nodded: "Of course."

The two embraced each other, watching the moon traverse the sky. As Xiayou yawned, she murmured, "I don't really understand why, after my rebirth, my body feels like it did at the end of the ancient blue star era... I thought only my soul returned. I've looked up so much information on the star web."

Although most of it was fantasy literature, without a shred of factual basis.

"However... Your Highness, the infection is truly severe."

The zombies Xiayou had seen were all ferocious and devoid of any reason, leaving a rather unfavorable impression.

He didn't understand why, after being bitten, he could harmoniously coexist with the zombie virus—perhaps a unique spiritual power?

And so, he worried about Lu Yinghuai.

Yet Lu Yinghuai gently asked him, “Do you remember the first time we met?”

Xiayou was taken aback by the question. After pondering for a moment, she realized Lu Yinghuai was referring to their very first encounter in its truest sense.

At Lu Yinghuai's pairing banquet.

However, Xiayou was in bad shape then. After catching a brief glimpse of Lu Yinghuai during her struggles, she fainted. When she awoke, she found herself in the marshal's mansion's medical room.

Lu Yinghuai looked down, saying, “At that moment, your blood had dripped onto my hand.”

Any drowsiness in Xiayou's mind vanished instantly. She swiftly sat upright, facing and kneeling towards Lu Yinghuai, her expression filled with shock.

“My... my blood?!”

Xiayou's adam's apple quivered momentarily.

“It's alright, it's just my blood—it should be okay. The zombie virus requires a wound to infect...”

Xiayou’s words stopped abruptly, she hesitated, “Your hand at that time...”

Lu Yinghuai revealed a detail he had kept to himself, never sharing with anyone, “Back then, I had just finished treatment. My fingers had some minor abrasions.”

What seemed to be a trivial scrape might have healed in just tens of minutes. But fatefully, within that window, Lu Yinghuai met Xiayou.

Xiayou's lips quivered, her face expressionless.

Lu Yinghuai continued, “Given your healer identity, I didn't initially connect it to the blood. But later on, I realized…”

After a significant pause, Lu Yinghuai spoke softly.

“It's not just your spiritual energy, Xiaoyou. Everything about you has a curative allure to me.”

Xiayou whispered, “But why didn't Your Highness back then...”

Lu Yinghuai raised his hand, gently caressing Xiayou's hair, his fingers tracing her cheek tenderly.

And in that moment, Xiayou understood everything.

At that time, Lu Yinghuai was on the brink of collapse, both physically and mentally.

If word got out that Xiayou could heal him, neither the Emperor nor the army would bet on Xiayou's potential and instead forsake the invaluable Lu Yinghuai.

Sacrificing an insignificant C-level healer for an Empire's marshal is a trade-off no one could refuse.

Yet Lu Yinghuai, the only one privy to this secret, kept it to himself without uttering a word to anyone.

He had planned to distance himself from Xiayou after saving him, forever burying the secret he'd inadvertently discovered.

Little did he know that, following an unexpected period of chaos, fate would intertwine their lives indefinitely.

"Before I lost consciousness due to my uncontrolled psychic powers, the last thing on my mind was you."

Back then, Lu Yinghuai wished the young man a future full of unknowns and hope.

"When I finally roused, I caught a little rascal tugging at Yuanyuan's hind leg."

The speaker had a twinkle in his eyes, while Xiayou's cheeks flushed recalling his actions, wishing he could vanish on the spot.

"And then..."

Lu Yinghuai intoned.

"I heard that young man announce with such casualness to a crowd—"

"I am the Marshal's wife."