The Stone King's Lover (石王的愛)

Chapter 75

Xie Yi-jun

2005 years after The Long Night

Hêi'àn City

<Weixiao Square>

Xie Yi-jun was experiencing perhaps the most intense déjà vu of his life, having the sense that he was in a crowded place, unable to move, being hugged rather passionately by someone unknown-

I must be dreaming of the day I woke up in Sanlín City, again...

Frowning and struggling to even so much as open his eyes, the King barely managed to exhale softly;

"Reian?"

What followed was the sound of someone's soft chuckle and then the breathy words-

"Not quite."

Yi-jun's whole body reacted to hearing such a familiar voice, and now he was sure he was asleep. Forcing himself to open his eyes, the first thing he saw was the staggering rays of sunlight, blinding him.

This isn't a dream? Where am I?! The last thing I remember is The Howling Cave... Su Lan, and pushing Reian out of the way-

Then Yi-jun's gaze sharpened, fixating on the figure in front of him who was gently holding the King's shoulders...

Not believing his own eyes, he blankly thought about how beautiful the one before him was. The King's whole body was shaking from the effort to stay standing as he hissed;

"Jin Songcai?!"

A brilliant smile, one that he used to cherish beyond anything else, spread across the man's face, and Xie Yi-jun only realised when he heard the man laugh again that he had suddenly thrown his arms around Songcai's neck.

Tears blurring his vision, Yi-jun could hardly choke through his rapid-fire questions as his lack of balance caused the both of them to fall to the ground.

"What are you, where are we? Have I died?!" The King gasped, clutching onto Songcai like his life depended on it-

"How are you here?! Are you real-"

They were sitting there in the dirt, Yi-jun feeling as if every cell in his entire being had suddenly come back to life the minute he heard the man's voice. And Songcai just hugged him tighter, stroking the King's hair gently as he shook with sobs.

"I'm here, Xie-jun... I'm here. Everything's going to be okay,"

Bursting with confusion and joy, and some other more powerful emotion that felt a little like fear, Yi-jun pulled away only for Songcai to pull him back with a desperate sigh. They held each other, listening to the sounds of both of their breathing; Yi-jun's shallow, until Songcai eventually broke the silence with words that only puzzled the King more.

"I'll explain everything, but first..." he whispered in his ear, "We must find Wen Reian-"

Tearing away, Xie Yi-jun could only blink in astonishment. What is happening, how does-

It was then, the King finally saw where he was.

Tucked away at the center of obsidian peaks that touched the sky, was a small gathering of houses and buildings, a place that he knew like the back of his hand, with everything looking exactly as it did back then. It was Gen Jin, a town at the heart of Hêi'àn City...

And it was real-

Speechless, Xie Yi-jun had to take a few seconds to realise that Songcai had stood already and was reaching out a hand to him. With the shining sun acting as a halo, the King felt his heart thud solidly in his chest at the immeasurable beauty of his lover, a man he never thought he would see again.