Dugu Bo: Youth Is Wonderful (Please Keep Reading~)

Ye Xunfeng did not hesitate for long. With a sigh, he went straight inside.

He knew he was not good with words, nor was he someone smooth-tongued. So he would lay everything bare.

If Ah Yin would not accept it, then he would take her back and hide her away.

A faint trace of obsession flashed through Ye Xunfeng's eyes.

The mist around the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was thinner than it had been during his last visit.

When Ye Xunfeng landed, Dugu Bo was meditating by the spring. Sensing the disturbance, he opened his eyes and froze for a moment upon seeing him. Then, tactfully, he rose and headed toward the distant woods, jerking his chin toward the wooden cabin before leaving.

Ah Yin was inside, and she was in a bad mood.

Ye Xunfeng stood outside the cabin without immediately pushing open the door.

Dim yellow lamplight seeped through the crack, and he could vaguely make out a figure sitting motionlessly at the table.

He raised his hand and knocked twice. When there was no response, he knocked twice more.

"Senior Dugu, I told you I'm not hungry." Ah Yin's muffled voice came from inside, carrying a hint of impatience.

Ye Xunfeng froze for a moment.

Ye Xunfeng pushed the door open and entered.

Ah Yin sat at the table, holding a cup of tea that had long gone cold. Her gaze was fixed on the tabletop, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Hearing the door open, she raised her head. The instant she saw Ye Xunfeng, her eyes visibly lit up, but that glimmer quickly faded, like a candle snuffed out by the wind.

She lowered her head and set down the teacup. Her voice was very soft. "Why are you here?"

There was an indescribable distance and bitterness in Ah Yin's voice.

Ye Xunfeng walked over and sat across from her.

The cabin was small, and so was the table. Sitting face-to-face, their knees nearly touched.

Ah Yin leaned back and moved her chair back half an inch.

Ye Xunfeng watched her movement without speaking.

The room remained silent for a long while. Only the oil lamp on the table occasionally crackled, spitting out a few sparks.

"I heard you became Pope." Ah Yin spoke first, her voice somewhat muffled. "I also heard the Saintess is pregnant with your child."

She emphasized the words "Saintess."

Ye Xunfeng nodded. "Yes."

Ah Yin's fingers curled against the tabletop, then slowly relaxed.

"Then why did you come?" She raised her head, her blue eyes staring directly at him, their rims already reddening. "Don't you have her now? Don't you have a child now? Why did you still come looking for me?"

Ye Xunfeng met her gaze without avoiding it.

"Ah Yin, what happened that night was because Qian Xunji drugged me." His voice was not loud, but every word was clear. "I'm sorry. I lost control."

Ah Yin's lashes trembled. Her lips moved, but she could not say anything.

"But that isn't an excuse," Ye Xunfeng continued. "It already happened, and the child has been born. I won't evade responsibility. After all, the child is innocent."

He paused, leaning closer to her. "But so are you."

Ah Yin turned her face away and refused to look at him.

"Do you know how long I waited for you?" Her voice began to tremble. "You told me to cultivate here, so I did. You told me to wait for you, so I waited. Every day when I woke up, the first thing I did was ask the Blue Silver Grass whether there was any news of you—whether you were well, whether you had been hurt."

She turned back to him. Tears had already fallen, streaming down her cheeks and landing on the table one drop at a time.

"And what did I get for waiting? You having a child with someone else."

Ye Xunfeng reached out, wanting to wipe away her tears.

Ah Yin slapped his hand away, raising her voice. "Don't touch me!"

Ye Xunfeng's hand froze in midair for a moment. Then he directly seized her wrist and pulled her from her chair into his arms.

Ah Yin lost her footing and fell into his embrace. She struggled twice, but he held the back of her head, pressing her face into his chest.

"Let go of me!" Ah Yin pounded Ye Xunfeng's chest with her little fists. "Let go of me!"

"I won't." Ye Xunfeng tightened his arms around her, resting his chin atop her head. His voice was low and steady. "I never will, for the rest of my life."

Ah Yin's struggling gradually stopped.

She leaned against him, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Her tears soaked a large patch of the fabric over his chest.

Ye Xunfeng said nothing more. He simply held her, gently patting her back with one hand.

The flame of the oil lamp swayed, casting two overlapping shadows upon the wall.

Only after a long while did Ah Yin's crying gradually subside.

She raised her head from his embrace. Her eyes were red from crying, as was the tip of her nose. She looked utterly disheveled, yet she still glared at him stubbornly.

"Do you think I'm easy to bully?" She sniffed, her voice still thick with tears. "Do you think I can't live without you?"

Ye Xunfeng looked down at her, her face reflected in his purple eyes. His tone was calm but certain. "It's not that you can't live without me. You can't bear to leave me. And I can't bear to leave you either."

Ah Yin opened her mouth, wanting to refute him, only to realize she could not say a single word.

Because she truly could not bear to leave him.

Ever since that year, when he descended from the sky in that forest and saved her life with a single spear, she had known that she would probably be trapped by this man for the rest of her life.

"Ah Yin, I won't lie to you and say I have no feelings for Bibi Dong." Ye Xunfeng softened his voice. "What happened that night was an accident. She gave birth to my child, and I will take responsibility for her."

Ah Yin pressed her lips tightly together.

"But you." Ye Xunfeng reached out, his thumb gently brushing away the tear tracks on her face. "You were the one I wanted from the very beginning. Not because of responsibility, not because of guilt. It was because I wanted you. I wanted you from the first time I saw you."

Ah Yin's eyes reddened again.

"Stop saying such nice things to coax me." She turned her face away, but her voice had softened, no longer carrying the same stubbornness as before.

"I'm not coaxing you." Ye Xunfeng turned her face back so she had to look at him. "Ah Yin, when you reach Rank Seventy, I'll marry you. I'll marry you properly and let the entire continent know that you are the wife of Ye Xunfeng."

Ah Yin was stunned.

She looked into his eyes, searching for even a trace of perfunctory deception. But after looking for a long time, she saw only sincerity and certainty.

"Y-you mean it?" Her voice trembled slightly.

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Ah Yin bit her lip and remained silent for a long time.

The oil lamp flickered, letting out a faint crackle.

"She... Bibi Dong, does she agree?" Ah Yin lowered her head, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.

"My affairs do not require anyone else's consent." There was an unquestionable dominance in Ye Xunfeng's tone. "If I say I'll marry you, then I will marry you."

Ah Yin raised her head and glanced at him before lowering it again, her fingers unconsciously tugging at the embroidered pattern on his lapel.

"I won't fight her for you," she said in a muffled voice. "But don't even think about hiding me away."

Ye Xunfeng smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Why would I hide you? It's not as if you can't be seen. To others, you will be the Pope's wife and beloved."

Ah Yin slapped his hand away and glared at him, but the corners of her lips had already curved upward despite herself.

She leaned back into his arms, pressing her face against his chest and listening to his strong heartbeat.

"Ye Xunfeng," she softly called.

"Mm."

"If you dare lie to me, I'll... I'll return to the Blue Silver Forest and never see you again."

Ye Xunfeng lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "That day will never come."

Outside, Dugu Bo leaned against a large tree, a wine jug in hand. He tipped his head back and took a swig, then sighed again.

"Youth really is wonderful." He muttered to himself, then turned and walked several steps away, leaving this little patch of heaven and earth to the two people inside.