Xie Jianyu pressed his lips together and shook his head.
At the same time, he fought hard against the overflowing emotions in his heart.
His mother had long ago left the world. She left before Xie Jianyu could memorize her face. He only knew what she looked like from portraits. How ironic that the first time he saw her in a corporeal body was when a demoness tried to coax him out of his barrier.
Xie Jianyu closed his eyes despite his burning wish to capture every detail of his mother.
His mother was gone.
His mother could not possibly dwell in the Demonic Realm.
This creature in front of his barrier was none other than an ingenious illusion engineered by the demoness.
Xie Jianyu’s mother shed beautiful tears. She sobbed while she elegantly wiped her tears away.
"Mother knows that you suffer a lot... My Jianyu... my child. I am so sorry for leaving you behind so soon. My sin has prevented me to re-enter the reincarnation cycle. Oooh, my son... I have been waiting for you to save me..."
"LIES!" Xie Jianyu shouted. "Stop using my mother’s form to mess with my heart!"
CRACK
Xie Jianyu stared at the cracking area in his barrier.
Oh, no. He let the illusion get to him.
"Kukukukuku..."
"Jianyu..."
Xie Jianyu’s mother opened her mouth in a silent scream. Darkness slowly crept up her delicate figure and swallowed her completely.
Pain flashed in Xie Jianyu’s eyes.
Another cracking sound was heard. His defense was slowly weakening.
No, no, no.
Xie Jianyu shook his head again and again. He reprimanded himself in his heart. How could he be so weak? He let that demoness see his weakness!
Hazy, purple wisps of demonic energy crept into the crevices in Xie Jianyu’s barrier. The Crown Prince clenched his jaw and formed a hand seal to repair the cracks in his barrier.
And then, another voice was heard. This time it was a man’s voice.
"Hey, Xie Jianyu!"
"..."
"Xie Jianyu, where are you? I am here to save you!"
Zhang Fengxi.
The alpha was his cheerful, ignorant self. He sounded as if he were rescuing Xie Jianyu from a little ditch at the Human Realm, and not from the hellish pit of the Demonic Realm.
"Hey, open up your barrier. Come on, I am taking you back to the Heavenly Realm."
Warmth filled Xie Jianyu’s heart when he saw Zhang Fengxi’s face again.
Xie Jianyu smiled. The alpha was just another illusion, but Xie Jianyu was happy to see him.
"Zhang Fengxi..."
Xie Jianyu refrained from putting both of his hands against the barrier.
Zhang Fengxi... Xie Jianyu wondered if he would see the alpha again. Was he going to be able to go back to the Heavenly Realm?
What if he could not?
"Zhang Fengxi..." Xie Jianyu called out in a soft whisper.
Zhang Fengxi stared at him with an unknown expression. Afterward, he dropped all friendliness and said, "Xie Jianyu, you are such a liar. You deceived the entire realm, including me."
A pair of hands crept from Zhang Fengxi’s back and wrapped themselves around the alpha seductively. The owner soon showed himself. Liu Wenyuan smirked at Xie Jianyu.
"I like Wenyuan better," Zhang Fengxi said as he looked at Liu Wenyuan with affectionate eyes.
He pulled the omega to his arms and held him by his waist in an intimate manner. His expression turned severe as soon as he looked back at Xie Jianyu.
"Xie Jianyu, you are such a nuisance," he said cruelly. "You should just stay here forever. Let me be happy with Wenyuan."
"..."
Zhang Fengxi’s words cut into Xie Jianyu’s heart like a sharp blade. This was probably his greatest nightmare, to hear the hatred-filled rejection directly from Zhang Fengxi’s mouth.
And all that although Xie Jianyu tried his best to stay away from Zhang Fengxi and Liu Wenyuan.
Why?
He did not deserve this accusation.
The initial grief slowly morphed into fury.
"Then just go," he snarled at the two apparitions in front of him. "Go and live happily ever after together."
Zhang Fengxi and Liu Wenyuan were made for each other, a match in heaven indeed! They should just stay away from him, both of them!
CRACK
CRACK
CRACK
The ice barrier shattered as Xie Jianyu’s concentration crumbled into pieces.
"AAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Once his protective barrier disappeared, Xie Jianyu swung Winter Frost like a madman.
The two figures in front of the barrier vanished like ghosts. The sword cut through the darkness. Xie Jianyu did not expect to hit anything, but Winter Frost ended up hitting something hard.
CLANG
"Rahhhhhh...!!!"
Xie Jianyu fought against his invisible opponent in the darkness. The other party gasped when he recognized Xie Jianyu’s voice.
"Xie Jianyu, stop!" Zhang Fengxi shouted out loud. "It’s me!"
"You demon!" Xie Jianyu howled. He landed one attack after another indiscriminately. If Zhang Fengxi did not have his Three Realm Spear with him, he might just be lynched into pieces.
"Xie Jianyu!!!"
Zhang Fengxi pinned Xie Jianyu to the ground. The omega flailed desperately.
"Get off me, demon! Get off me!!!"
"Xie Jianyu! What the hell are you blabbering about? It’s me, Zhang Fengxi!"
"..."
Xie Jianyu froze. He slowly turned his head and stared at the alpha who gave him wary looks.
"Don’t you recognize me? I am here to save you."
"..."
Another illusion, no doubt.
Xie Jianyu raised a leg and kicked Zhang Fengxi’s stomach hard. Zhang Fengxi doubled up from pain and snapped for air.
"Xie... Jian... yu!" he spoke each syllable through gritted teeth.
The Crown Prince leaped to his feet lightly. A ringing sound was heard, and then Zhang Fengxi felt Winter Frost’s blade against his neck. The hand that held the sword was steady. One faulty movement and Xie Jianyu was going to stab him with the sword.
"I am not going to be tricked again, demon!"
"..."
Zhang Fengxi cleared his throat. He then pointed at something behind him.
"Do you maybe mean ’that’ demon?"
Xie Jianyu warily lifted his eyes.
The demoness that tormented Xie Jianyu with illusions was currently lying motionlessly with her face planted on the ground.