In another part of the mortal realm, Xiang Yu appeared right in front of Xiao Li.

“Who —”

Before the demon could finish, Xiang Yu struck out and tilted his head to not get dirtied by his blood.

Xiao Li clutched his throat and stared at him in shock. He wanted to ask what in Heaven’s name was going on but he could only make a choked sound.

Xiang Yu stared at him, his brows furrowing when he saw Xiao Li still standing. Back when he had killed Yan Xia, he had succeeded with one slash, cleanly separating his head from his body. It seemed that if he only used his hands and some spiritual energy, that wasn’t enough.

He pursed his lips and then figured that he might use the few moments this demon had left to give voice to his grievance. “You dared to kill me! Well, I should have known. Nobody with that face could be a good person.” He hesitated for a moment and tilted his head in the other direction.

Actually, there was a person who wasn’t really that bad despite his looks: Bai Mu. When he had thought to have fallen in love with him, Bai Mu hadn’t taken advantage of that and had instead stayed true to his fiancee. Clearly, his demonic side couldn’t be very strong.

Well, whatever.

He focused on Xiao Li again who was finally toppling over and nodded with satisfaction. “You can great Yan Xia from me in hell. Now, I’ll have to go. Xin Lan is waiting for me.” With that, he opened yet another gate, leaving for the meadow in the Demonic Ancestor’s Poisonous Herb Garden without even bothering to check whether Xiao Li was indeed dead.

Anyway, Xiang Yu didn’t need to worry. Xiao Li still hadn’t died thanks to his physique as a half-demon but he was almost at that point. He still heard Xiang Yu’s words and it suddenly dawned on him what must have happened. He clenched his hands into fists but there was no medicine for regret and contrary to Hua Lin Yu who had had a master alchemist willing to save him right next to him, Xiao Li was alone without the means to deal with his injury. Thus, after another couple of moments, he finally drew his last breath, his eyes still wide open.

Xiang Yu couldn’t care less. He was already standing in the meadow and watched Xin Lan who wasn’t kneeling too far away, the body of Xiang Yu’s mortal reincarnation still wrapped in his arms.

Xiang Yu stared at him, not sure what to feel. That there … that was him. He had looked into that face for several years and even though he knew that he was actually Xiang Yu, he still felt a lot like Hua Lin Yu.

Maybe it was because they were somewhat similar. Even though he had been born a trueborn god and Hua Lin Yu had been a mortal, they had both been young when they had fallen in love with the wrong person, making mistake after mistake until they met their demise. And then, there were also their feelings for Xin Lan.

Xiang Yu retracted his gaze and turned to that man from the dragon race instead, his feelings all over the place. He really … didn’t think that Xin Lan was too bad. Just look at how he was still mourning his lover despite the fact that all of this had started only because of the oath he had sworn. This man … he was worthy of falling in love with.

Xiang Yu took a hesitant step before finally walking over and stopping next to Xin Lan. He looked at the way that he was tightly holding that body but still seemed careful with it as if he couldn’t bear to hurt him even after his death. The hair had been brushed back from the face and the blood wiped away. Obviously, Xin Lan had wanted to make him look presentable.

Xiang Yu lowered his head, not sure what to do. He wanted to say something but he didn’t have the words. How did you start when the man you liked was holding onto the dead body of your last mortal reincarnation? This was rather awkward …

Xin Lan had long noticed that somebody had approached him but he currently couldn’t care less. He simply held Hua Lin Yu, tears running down his cheeks while his heart squeezed in pain.

He had always thought he loved Jinde but compared to the feelings he had held for this youth, that had been nothing. And now, Hua Lin Yu was gone. He wouldn’t come back. The worst thing was that he couldn’t even follow in the footsteps of those poor souls who waited for their lover’s reincarnations. After all, Hua Lin Yu would return to being that crazy fallen god again. How was that the same?!

He took a shaky breath and gently rubbed Hua Lin Yu’s cheek. He didn’t know what to do but he knew that he couldn’t simply stay here. No, he should bring him somewhere save and give him a proper burial. Also, he wasn’t the only person who had cared about him. There was Hua Lin Yu’s Master, his martial siblings from the Jian Yi Sect, and the Hua family members, of course. He had to inform all of them.

His body froze when he thought of that. He didn’t mind telling everyone but … he didn’t want to let go of Hua Lin Yu. He knew this was simply his dead body and not the actual person. It shouldn’t matter. But then, he wanted to keep at least this. He wanted to … he wanted to bury him where he could be with him, where he could mourn him. If he went to his family or the other people who had been close to him … wouldn’t they request the body from him?

Xin Lan’s fingers tightened. No, he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t give this up. Call him selfish but he needed to have at least this much. He might not have been able to have the life he had wanted with him but at least in his death, he couldn’t give up on him.

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