Chapter 75: Do You Truly Believe in Me That Much?

Chapter 75: Do You Truly Believe Me?

"You're... awake?"

Lan He did not answer, silently sitting up.

His disheveled long hair fell over his shoulders, and his white robes made his skin appear as pale as snow.

The two of them looked at each other in silence for a while.

A knock came at the door at just the right moment. Pei Yi knocked urgently: "Young master, are you in there?"

When he had returned, Pei Yi was not at home—he must have gone out looking for him. Now, he had probably heard that Pei Yuhuai was back, which was why he had come looking.

Pei Yuhuai glanced at Lan He, then got up to open the door.

Sure enough, Pei Yi burst into tears and threw his arms around Pei Yuhuai, wailing: "Young master, thank goodness you're alright. I thought something had happened to you, boo-hoo-hoo."

"..."

"People outside are all saying the National Preceptor is a monster, and that Prince Qi and the Imperial Son-in-Law teamed up to kill him. But you tried to stop them, so they got you too."

"What?"

"I found the spot where it happened—bodies everywhere, blood everywhere. Some of them were so mangled you couldn't even tell who they were. I thought you might be among them, and I searched for a long time without finding you. I was scared to death."

Pei Yuhuai was dumbfounded: "If you'd found me in that pile of bodies, that's when you should've been scared."

"Ah, right, right, right. Luckily I didn't find you, young master. Luckily you're still alive."

"Alright, alright, stop crying. A grown man blubbering like that—what does it look like?"

Pei Yuhuai handed him a handkerchief with a look of disgust: "Here, wipe your face with this."

Pei Yi took it and clutched it to his chest, tears of gratitude in his eyes: "I can't use your handkerchief for that, young master. I'm fine."

With that, he simply raised his sleeve and wiped his face.

"..."

Forget it. No use expecting too much from him.

"By the way, Pei Yi, you said people outside are saying the National Preceptor was killed?"

"Yes." Pei Yi nodded. "They say black energy was pouring off the National Preceptor, that he was a demon, and that Prince Qi and the Imperial Son-in-Law killed the demon because heaven willed it. Everyone's cheering."

Pei Yuhuai gritted his teeth in anger: "Heaven's will, my ass. They've got some nerve—they've even brainwashed the people."

Pei Yi blinked in confusion: "Young master, what are you saying? Isn't the National Preceptor a monster? Ever since you started secretly meeting with him, bad stuff keeps happening. Maybe he really is..."

"Is what?" Lan He appeared silently behind Pei Yuhuai, cutting off his words.

"???"

Pei Yi slapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head like crazy: "Nothing, nothing. I was just talking out of my ass. I don't know anything."

Clearly, Pei Yi had no idea Lan He was also here.

He had even assumed Lan He was already dead.

Pei Yuhuai said with a sigh: "The National Preceptor isn't a monster or a demon. It was Prince Qi and the others who framed him. We can't control what people think, but we have to stay true to what we believe."

Pei Yi nodded: "Yes, young master. You're right."

"You can go now. I still need to talk to the National Preceptor."

"Yes, young master. If you need anything, please call for me."

"Mm."

Pei Yi left the courtyard, looking back every few steps.

The wind howled.

Once again, only the two of them remained.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

After a long pause, Lan He spoke first: "Aren't you afraid of me? Ji Huaiyu was right—I'm a monster."

His voice was flat, but if you listened closely, you could hear loneliness and sadness underneath.

Pei Yuhuai's heart ached for him. He pulled Lan He into the room and reached out to embrace him.

"Of course I'm not afraid of you. If you wanted to hurt me, you've had a million chances to kill me by now."

Lan He was taken aback.

Pei Yuhuai smiled: "Don't worry, I'll always stand by you. And even if you really did want to kill me back then, you went soft in the end, didn't you?"

He looked up, meeting Lan He's eyes directly, his smile widening—but it did not quite reach his eyes.

"Lan He, to be honest, I once feared you, doubted you, and even hated you. Of course, that hate was pretty shallow—maybe I just needed someone to blame for all the chaos I couldn't handle."

"You truly—"

"Let me finish. I just want to say that whether you're human or some kind of monster, you're still the stinky monk I know now, the one who doesn't give a damn about Buddhist rules.

I don't know why you're like this, but I've always believed you're not a monster or a demon. So, Lan He, can you tell me the truth?"

Pei Yuhuai stared at Lan He with burning intensity.

Lan He's face went from shock to confusion, from a sigh to disbelief, from sadness to relief.

He said:

"Pei Hang, do you really believe in me like this?"

Pei Yuhuai nodded without hesitation: "Yes, I believe you, and I believe my own heart."

"Then I'll tell you—I'm really not an ordinary person, but I'm not a demon either. At first, I came to you just to mess with you and have some fun, and also..."

He hooked Pei Yuhuai's chin, pushed him down onto the table, and grinned like a maniac: "Do you remember the first time you came to me, asking me to help you prepare an antidote?"

Pei Yuhuai thought back and nodded, a little confused: "Of course I remember. That time, the drug messed with my head, I forced myself on you, and made you break your vows."

"Hahaha."

Lan He laughed openly, without holding back.

Pei Yuhuai added, "Later, I could pretty much figure out that you did it on purpose. You were deliberately seducing me, weren't you? I was your target from the very beginning."

"Yes, I did it on purpose. You were indeed my target."

Lan He's slender fingers slowly moved down along Pei Yuhuai's cheek, tracing his neck, feeling his heartbeat.

"Then what if I told you that memory of yours is fake?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"It means you've never been on top. Every time you thought you were on top, you were actually the one on the bottom. Got it?"

Pei Yuhuai's face was about to crack from shock: "What the hell are you talking about? At first, I was clearly..."

"I told you, I'm not just anyone. Since I drugged you the first time, I could easily do it again later."

"Lan He! You animal!"

Pei Yuhuai drew in a sharp breath, wishing he could kick this bastard out.

Lan He grabbed his wrist: "Too late. You already said I'm yours, so today, can I take good care of you?"

"No!"

Pei Yuhuai gritted his teeth.

Lan He leaned close to his ear, murmuring temptingly: "Don't you want to know what really happened back then?

I still have some of the drug left. Once you take the antidote, your memories will go back to normal, and those false memories will be wiped away."