"Stop crying!" Wu Yunsu was shorter than Xiaoqiu, but at this moment, his expression was more mature than Xiaoqiu's. He grabbed Xiaoqiu's shoulders, his voice growing sharper. "Your Highness isn't here. You can only rely on yourself now. Crying won't change anything. Your Aotian-ge never cries. He faces everything with a smile. If you want to learn from him, how can you imitate only his appearance and not his spirit?"
His tone softened. "Stop crying. You still have me. Though I'm a demon, I truly did abandon my demonic bloodline. You held me and carried me on your back for nearly a year. We've had our disputes and grievances, but I feel no hatred or disgust toward you. We're in this together. At a time like this, you can rely on me."
Xiaoqiu immediately stopped crying and said in a heavily nasal voice, "Rely on you? Your cultivation isn't even as high as mine."
"Cultivation isn't the issue," Wu Yunsu said. "At a time like this, I'm not crying, but you are. A real man sheds blood, not tears."
Realization dawned on Xiaoqiu. "...So you're actually a bit of a bastard. We don't even know whether Aotian-ge is alive, and you haven't shed a single tear. Clearly, I love Aotian-ge more. I really should get an Image-Retaining Pearl to record you right now, so Aotian-ge can see who really likes him."
"..." Even now, he was competing with him for affection. Wu Yunsu restrained himself and said, "Come to the Mind-Certifying Terrace with me. I'm going to have my heart certified."
Xiaoqiu wiped his tears away. Perhaps Wu Yunsu's calm had rubbed off on him; he was no longer quite so panicked. "Why are you going to have your heart certified?"
"I'll stay with you at all times," Wu Yunsu