Xin Lan could feel that Hua Lin Yu was finally reacting. He stroked his back, holding him tightly. “It’s alright. You can do it. Come on, open your eyes. Come back.”

Hua Lin Yu’s fingers twitched and finally curled around Xin Lan’s but his eyes were still tightly closed. He wanted to open them but … he didn’t know how and he was also afraid. Afraid of what he would see.

Would he really be back to his regular life or would he still see the nightmarish scenes in front of him? He wouldn’t be able to take it if it was the latter. It was bad enough seeing them when he knew it was a vision induced by the beguiling night tree’s fruit. At the very least, in that case, there was still some hope to escape from them. But if he now opened his eyes and they were still there … where could he flee to?

Xin Lan didn’t know what was going on but he realized that even though Hua Lin Yu heard him and seemed to want to follow what he said, he couldn’t. He furrowed his own brows and took a closer look at Hua Lin Yu’s condition, realizing that he was circulating his spiritual energy.

His thoughts churned and finally, he seemed to realize something. “What happened? Did you … take some kind of herb? You’re still circulating your spiritual energy so it’s going to remain in your system.”

Hua Lin Yu’s fingers shook. He had done it subconsciously, not even noticing it any longer. But now that Xin Lan mentioned it … he let go. He slowed down the circulation of his spiritual energy and the images in front of his eyes turned faint, the sounds falling back and becoming lower, the colors not as vivid.

The tears hanging on his eyelashes finally fell out of sheer relief.

“Oh, Xiao Yu.” Xin Lan pulled him closer, his fingers slipping into his hair. He had often imagined over the last few days how they would meet again. He never would have thought it would be like this. If he had known … he wouldn’t have wished to see each other again. He’d rather know that Hua Lin Yu was happy elsewhere with somebody else than to have to see him like this.

Hua Lin Yu’s circulation of spiritual energy finally came to a halt. The energy of the beguiling night tree’s fruit stopped interacting with it and then simply dissolved, not showing him any other visions but becoming a faint addition to his spiritual energy.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled but still kept his eyes closed, the fear not having left him just yet. He grasped Xin Lan’s hands more tightly though, his other one accurately finding his robe and clinging onto it.

Xin Lan wasn’t sure how far Hua Lin Yu had managed to pull himself out of the situation but he could feel that he wasn’t circulating his spiritual energy any longer and also realized that he wasn’t shaking anymore. He breathed a sigh of relief and tightly hugged him before tilting his head and kissing Hua Lin Yu’s forehead. “You did very well. Welcome back.”

Feeling the soft touch on his skin, Hua Lin Yu didn’t hesitate any longer. He didn’t think that he could only be imagining this. No, he was indeed back, and somehow, Xin Lan was at his side. He had no idea how this had happened. He didn’t know where Xin Lan had been or how he had figured out that he was in trouble but … he was here. What did he still need to be afraid of?

He blinked his eyes, his lashes fluttering. The tears flowed down his cheeks and he reached out to tightly hug Xin Lan. “Xin Lan …”

The dragon simply gave a hum and hugged him back. “It’s alright. I know it was scary but you’re alright now.” He rubbed his back, finally relaxing himself. He hadn’t realized how tense he was but with Hua Lin Yu in front of him like that, he had unwittingly frozen himself.

Hua Lin Yu nodded but still buried himself in Xin Lan’s arms, somehow afraid that he would leave again if he looked up. After all, they were still broken up. Not that he understood why right now.

That vision … he didn’t understand it. Who had that man been? How was he related to Xiao Li? Which vow had he broken? And why had he killed him? Because yes, even though he didn’t understand what was going on, Hua Lin Yu was very well aware that that person wielding the sword and doing those awful things had been him. What did that tell him?

In his subconscious, he killed a man that looked like Xiao Li while his emotions and thoughts were all a mess. That wasn’t the love he currently felt for that man. It was … it was completely nuts and he had no idea what to do with it.

“I had a vision.” With nothing to go off, he finally just did what he had always done and confided in Xin Lan. He didn’t know where he took the guts from. He had left him from one day to the other because he had fallen in love with somebody else. He had told him to leave when Xin Lan didn’t want to accept his decision and had professed his love for Xiao Li in front of him. Where did he take the courage to cry in his arms now?

But despite everything he had done, Xin Lan just continued to hug him tightly and nodded. “So that was what happened. Did you take some herb?”

Hua Lin Yu nodded as well. “The fruit from the beguiling night tree. It … it was awful.” He finally raised his head to look up at Xin Lan, only to freeze and stare at him blankly.

Xin Lan raised his brows. “What’s the matter? Is it not over yet?” His grip on Hua Lin Yu tightened a little but he also didn’t dare to use too much force so he relaxed his hands in a hurry. Then, he just looked at him, quietly waiting for a response.

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