Shen Lei looked around to make sure that there really was nothing left to do and then pulled Luo Lin to a corner of the room. They were the ones who’d have to check out the situation outside as soon as there were traces of people from the demonic faction arriving so it was best to remain somewhere closer to the entrance. Apart from that … he also wanted a few moments alone with Luo Lin. Or, well, at least not somewhere in the middle of a big group of people.

The two of them sat down against the wall and Luo Lin exhaled deeply. “I hope everything will go well. This … might be the only break we will get before … well, whatever may happen.” Yes, nobody could say whether they would get to see the end of this battle. Maybe after this moment, he and Shen Lei wouldn’t have a single moment together alone anymore.

Shen Lei could imagine what he was thinking. He squeezed his fiance’s hand and shook his head. “Don’t imagine the worst. We have a plan for the next stage and after that … we’ll see. Maybe we will indeed get some reinforcements until then.” Of course, they both knew that this was unlikely but he didn’t want Luo Lin to dwell too much on the worst case scenario. That certainly wouldn’t help him rest up.

Luo Lin also understood that being too negative ahead of time would only negatively impact his condition later on. Wasn’t that why he had talked the younger disciples out of their daze earlier? Now, he shouldn’t make the same mistakes.

He shook his head, not dwelling on it any longer, and instead turned to look at Shen Lei. If there was only this moment … then he wanted to make it count. “When we go back …”

Shen Lei raised his brows when Luo Lin trailed off, not sure what he meant.

“Well … let’s not wait too long to hold the ceremony.”

Shen Lei’s eyes widened and he tensed up at once. They had promised to get married after all of this but with everything else happening … it had seemed like it was so far into the future that he hardly dared to think about it. But now … come to think of it, after another two battles, they could return home. At that moment, there really wouldn’t be anything holding them back.

Luo Lin blinked his limpid eyes at him, waiting for Shen Lei’s response. At this point, he had no doubts any longer. While he might not have believed before that any man would stay with him for the rest of his life, this was not a concern when it came to Shen Lei. No, for once, he truly trusted a person not to abandon him. So even if his fiance didn’t say anything and even tensed up like this, he didn’t start to worry.

Shen Lei took a deep breath and regained his bearing. He lightly squeezed Luo Lin’s hands and then leaned down, pressing a kiss on their backs. “We will make it out of here alive and I’ll make sure that you’ll have the most beautiful ceremony the sect has ever seen.”

Luo Lin smiled lightly and shook his head. “It is alright as long as you are there.” At this point, he didn’t dare ask for more. Just making it out of this alive together and being able to hold a ceremony was enough.

Shen Lei didn’t say anything in response. Of course, he knew their circumstances just as well and knew that whatever lofty promises he made now might not be worth much. Still, if they indeed made it back … he would not hold back from giving Luo Lin whatever he wanted. Not just because his little fairy deserved it but also because he himself wanted it. He had waited for that moment for so long, how could he not go all out?

He smiled to himself and then let go of Luo Lin’s hands, instead carefully wrapping him in his embrace. “We’ll make it out of here.” Even if they couldn’t be certain … he still wanted to say it. At the height of battle, they could hold onto these words and quietly repeat them to draw some strength from them.

Luo Lin nodded as well and wrapped his arms around Shen Lei’s waist. “We will.” Even if it was uncertain, they ought to try their best.

Shen Lei rubbed his lover’s back and buried his head in the crook of his neck, closing his eyes. There was nothing left to do and hardly anything left to say. “Let’s try to rest.” He opened his eyes again and raised his head, looking into Luo Lin’s eyes. “We’ll need all the strength we can muster.”

Luo Lin nodded but continued to look at Shen Lei. He indeed felt exhausted. While he was relatively comfortable with using the dreamscape by now, the same couldn’t be said about the ability he had copied from Yun Bei Fen. In fact, the amount of energy he needed to expend to use it was enormous.

Theoretically, he should be able to rely mostly on the dimensional energy he had realized existed but … well, he had too little practice so he could only make up for it with a larger amount of spiritual energy. And while his spiritual energy was very pure, the available amount likely lagged behind that of other cultivators at his level. After all, he seldom simply meditated quietly to draw in more spiritual energy. In the past, this had never been an issue but now … well, it was too late to change.

Shen Lei could see that there was still something on Luo Lin’s mind but he faintly shook his head. “Don’t think too much. Just rest. You need that more than anything else right now.”

Luo Lin finally sighed and closed his eyes. Yes, no matter how much he regretted not having been more diligent in the past, he couldn’t change it now. The only thing he could do was to ensure that he dealt with his current exhausted state so he wouldn’t be more of a drag on Shen Lei later on.