EDEH Chapter 142

Sang Jue once again experienced the feeling of that day when he dreamed of falling into the abyss crack, except this time he was awake.

 

Though perhaps not awake either.

 

Cool wind from outside blew in through the window, the gray horizon stretching endlessly. Unlike the neatly dressed Huo Yanji, Sang Jue was completely naked, like a slippery fish lying on a cutting board awaiting slaughter. Unable to bear the excessive pleasure, he instinctively twisted and struggled to escape, but the hands on his waist were too firm—no matter how he struggled, they didn’t budge an inch.

 

Actually, he could have pushed away… but couldn’t bear to.

 

So mouths could touch there, so he could be swallowed whole.

 

It was fine, there was still one left.

 

If his wife really wanted to eat it.

 

Sang Jue had never had such feelings before—like a fish that could swim entering unsuitable deep waters, sinking to the bottom while conscious.

 

His eyes were wide open, yet it felt like a dream.

 

The world was cast behind, whatever impending separation, whatever conspiracies and schemes all dissipated in the hazy mist of tears… the dim ceiling was very clear, yet so blurry.

 

He was about to shatter, or perhaps drown.

 

He didn’t have the trembling that made high-ranking people bow their heads like human partners did, but it made his thoughts more determined… he didn’t want to leave Huo Yanji in this sinful world.

 

Huo Yanji was suffering, he knew.

 

…

 

They still didn’t go to the final step. Even drunk, Huo Yanji remained restrained, only saying “can’t.”

 

Previously when Huo Yanji said “can’t,” Sang Jue always couldn’t understand, but now he somewhat did.

 

This was the restraint of a human general, restraining himself from bullying a dragon who understood nothing.

 

He domineeringly crashed into Huo Yanji’s embrace, wanting to be held, to be held tightly.

 

Only this way could he have something to depend on.

 

Face pressed against neck, gentle night breeze blowing in, scorching air mixed with intense alcohol, neither spoke.

 

“If I return underground, will you miss me?” Without waiting for Huo Yanji’s answer, Sang Jue added: “You’re not allowed to say no.”

 

“Maybe I will.”

 

“Why maybe?”

 

“Because that’s something that hasn’t happened yet. I don’t know what it will be like.”

 

“Oh…” Sang Jue suddenly pushed away from Huo Yanji’s shoulder, like a scumbag dragon who didn’t recognize people after pulling up his pants: “Aren’t you going to brush your teeth?”

 

Based on previous observations, Huo Yanji might not be a clean freak, but he definitely loved cleanliness.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

Huo Yanji casually wiped his lips with his fingertip, though there was nothing there.

 

Sang Jue licked the corner of his mouth and ran to the door, taking out a pale green gemstone from his jacket.

 

Huo Yanji had been watching his movements the entire time and immediately recognized this wasn’t one of the previous gems: “Where did this come from?”

 

“I blackmailed Ling Gen for it.” Sang Jue extended his hand palm up, indicating for Huo Yanji to take the gem.

 

“For me?”

 

“Yes.” Sang Jue said seriously, “People without a romantic relationship have to pay service fees for making love. I felt very good just now, thank you.”

 

“…” For a moment, Huo Yanji seemed to return to those days a few months ago when he wanted to drag Colin out and beat him up. He didn’t know exactly how much random nonsense Colin had taught Sang Jue.

 

Looking back now, everything had changed. Colin was in the Fifth District, Wei Lan guarding the underground city area, gazing at each other across thousands of kilometers.

 

Busy military affairs left them no time to think about personal feelings. Perhaps only in occasional moments of relaxation would they suddenly remember that they still missed someone they’d never see again.

 

Huo Yanji slowly took the pale green gemstone, lowering his eyes without speaking.

 

After one night passed, four more residents had committed suicide in the city—and this was only what was discovered. Based on data analysis, the undiscovered cases were at least in double digits.

 

Because of this, Huo Yanji, who should have been resting, attended a meeting early in the morning.

 

The research institute reported their previous findings to the military. Although they found it incredible, the military and patrol units quickly reacted, strengthening patrol systems.

 

They didn’t announce the inconceivable “mental contamination”—true or false, it would only cause greater panic.

 

For those in high positions, no matter what happened, concealment was always the first reaction, to maintain stability.

 

Sang Jue went to pick up Huo Yanji and also saw Ling Gen coming out with him.

 

The two were clearly distinct. Ling Gen hesitated to speak several times but was deterred by Huo Yanji’s coldness. Finally, he said from afar: “I’m very sorry about the explosion.”

 

Huo Yanji saw Sang Jue wearing a mask in the distance and glanced back: “You should say that to the dead soldier and the two still lying in the ICU.”

 

Ling Gen silently lowered his eyes. Making two innocent soldiers hover between life and death to achieve his goal—was he guilt-free? Of course he felt guilt.

 

But if given another chance, he would still make the same choice.

 

“Yanji—” Coming down the steps, the old general who was about to get in his car suddenly called out to him, “All the resources you need have been prepared, and the troops have been approved.”

 

Huo Yanji hummed in acknowledgment.

 

The old general said: “Rest assured, I will definitely give appropriate punishment for what Ling Gen did. I won’t let that lieutenant die in vain.”

 

Huo Yanji said: “I hope you keep your promise.”

 

“Definitely.” The old general gave a definitive answer. Looking at Huo Yanji through the car window, he paused for a moment and said, “Yanji… be careful on this journey.”

 

Huo Yanji didn’t answer, and the old general seemed not to expect him to.

 

The window slowly closed, the vehicle started, and the old general turned to look out the other window, meeting eyes with Sang Jue standing under the corridor of the opposite building.

 

After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze expressionlessly. His back, which had been straight his entire life, suddenly softened as he leaned against the seat back and closed his eyes weakly.

 

“Do we need to leave early?” Sang Jue asked as he watched Huo Yanji walking toward him.

 

He didn’t ask like before whether something major had happened in the city. But he didn’t need to ask—he could feel the different atmosphere.

 

The entire world seemed to be undergoing some silent changes. He could even see tiny black mists in the air, though others seemed completely unaware.

 

Sang Jue guessed that yesterday’s person who jumped from the rooftop was related to these changes. The people in the main city were all becoming strange, with an indescribable eerie feeling.

 

They all seemed calmer now—today there were far fewer protesters.

 

“Yes, it’s best to leave early. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to force yourself.”

 

Due to the sudden situation of “mental contamination,” their action needed to be fast. The higher-ups who knew about this plan only wanted to satisfy Sang Jue quickly and resolve this chaos.

 

Actually, no one was confident. No one knew whether Sang Jue could truly end the contamination—this was just their last desperate gamble.

 

They had still held onto hope that even if Sang Jue was useless, they could at least struggle on for another hundred years, and maybe a turning point would come.

 

But contamination had targeted humans. It was more uncontrollable than genetic contamination—invisible and intangible, with greater unknown crises quietly approaching.

 

Humanity was about to break.

 

“Then let’s leave early.” Sang Jue didn’t want to be stared at with strange looks anymore, didn’t want to take two steps and see humans falling from high buildings, crashing bloodily right in front of him.

 

His vision and sense of smell were too good—he was always the first to discover such things.

 

He didn’t like these ugly, blood-stinking scenes.

 

Maybe because Huo Yanji didn’t like them either.

 

On Huo Yanji’s side, since the affairs in his hands had been transferred to others during the seven days he was kidnapped by Sang Jue and hadn’t been fully taken back, there wasn’t much official business to hand over for this trip. He could be said to be unencumbered, ready to leave at any time.

 

But there was one more thing to do before that.

 

They went to register their marriage.

 

Very low-key, with no witnesses—no one knew except the staff. Sang Jue nervously rehearsed his vows, not wanting to embarrass himself later.

 

“Please sign here, both of you.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Sang Jue carefully wrote the characters “Sang Jue” stroke by stroke in the spouse column.

 

He remembered how Millie had been fierce with him—he couldn’t read until he was six. But the Doctor would patiently hold his hand, teaching him how to spell and write his name.

 

The first four characters he learned were “Sang Jue” and “Anya,” and the first eight included “Prince” and “Evil Dragon.”

 

At that young age, the innocent little evil dragon truly believed that princes and evil dragons would become friends like in some fairy tales.

 

Definitely not proper fairy tales.

 

After writing the final vertical hook stroke, Sang Jue stared at the marriage registration oath for a long time.

 

Until Huo Yanji asked: “Regretting it?”

 

“No.”

 

Sang Jue handed the paper to Huo Yanji.

 

Huo Yanji also wrote very seriously, but quickly. His handwriting was scrawled and sharp, in stark contrast to Sang Jue’s neat and elegant writing.

 

“After stamping it and recording an oath video, it’ll be done.”

 

“Okay.”

 

·

 

Sang Jue was very quiet throughout the journey, only insisting that Huo Yanji hold him to sleep at night.

 

If Huo Yanji said “no,” Sang Jue would stare at him with those beautiful eyes, as if saying “I’m going to die, and you won’t even fulfill such a small request.”

 

Knowing Sang Jue was being deliberate, it would still end with Huo Yanji’s soft sigh and compromise.

 

Not only was Sang Jue quiet, Huo Yanji was the same. Except for losing composure that day when Sang Jue was brought back by Ling Gen, he had now returned to his usual demeanor.

 

But unlike his past composed calmness, Huo Yanji also carried an indescribable ‘stillness.’

 

This continued until they reached the Fifth District and met Colin again after a long absence, breaking this strange atmosphere.

 

Sang Jue imitated how humans greeted each other: “Long time no see, Colin.”

 

“General…” Colin first saluted Huo Yanji, then replied with complex emotions, “Long time no see, Sang Jue.”

 

Compared to other remote areas, the Fifth District was quite close to the main city and had always had strategic exchanges. Colin knew basically everything about Sang Jue’s situation.

 

That the innocent young man he knew wasn’t actually human… thinking about it, it was unexpected yet reasonable.

 

How could humans possibly be so wonderful?

 

Sang Jue observed for a while and said: “You grew a beard.”

 

Colin unconsciously chuckled, giving his usual attitude: “Too busy, no time to shave, and Wei Lan…”

 

He paused, then softly completed the unspoken words—”and Wei Lan isn’t here.”

 

Colin’s appearance was indeed unsightly now. Unlike peacetime soldiers, he was stationed in the war-torn Fifth District where being “unkempt” was normal—his hair was too messy to manage, his face often had patches of gray and white, his skin had been rough for a long time, and his already disfigured face looked even more pitiful.

 

Colin’s stubble was at least a week unshaved. If he’d known the general was coming, he would have groomed himself in advance, but he’d received the news at the last minute and had to keep it secret.

 

He didn’t know what secret mission the general had come for, but seeing Sang Jue, who should have been under control, he could guess this mission was related to Sang Jue.

 

They only had a brief five-hour meeting. After a short rest, they would head to the Waste Waters research highland a hundred kilometers away.

 

Colin brought them to a famous food stall in the Fifth District, with all kinds of strange foods.

 

The Fifth District was much more run-down than the main city, with collapsed buildings everywhere, dirty streets and alleys, and people coming and going all carrying the violent aura of those who lived by the blade.

 

Compared to the main city, the Fifth District was like an abandoned slum. To develop, it would need to solve not just the monster problem but had a long road ahead.

 

Colin was ordering: “The ingredients might be a bit strange, but they all taste good.”

 

Sang Jue suddenly poked him.

 

Colin instinctively turned his head: “What’s wrong?”

 

Sang Jue asked: “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

 

Colin was stunned: “Afraid of you for what… Even though you’re more awesome than me, I’m not going to fight you.”

 

Huo Yanji quietly ate his snack, watching these two interact.

 

“Do you believe now that I can beat you?”

 

“I believe, I believe.”

 

Colin smiled wryly, finally remembering that when they first got acquainted, he had thought Sang Jue was just a pretty face and had jokingly mocked who he could possibly beat.

 

Now it seemed the question should be who Sang Jue couldn’t beat.

 

Sang Jue delivered another blow: “I have a wife now.”

 

“Didn’t you already…” Colin stole a glance at Huo Yanji, swallowing back “didn’t you already have one.”

 

“We registered our marriage.”

 

Huo Yanji beside him didn’t object to the term “wife,” clearly having gotten used to it, even humming in acknowledgment of Sang Jue’s declaration of ownership.

 

“Congratulations…” Colin instinctively offered congratulations, but then a wave of sadness rose in his heart, for himself and Wei Lan, and also for Sang Jue and Huo Yanji.

 

They were naturally opposed, destined for unhappy endings.

 

After eating, they would rest briefly at the arranged accommodation before departing.

 

When Huo Yanji said it was time to get up, Sang Jue was still lying on top of him, as dependently as in countless past sleeping positions.

 

Cheek pressed against chest, Sang Jue quietly listened to Huo Yanji’s heartbeat: “Why can’t humans live if their hearts are removed?”

 

“It’s complicated.” But Huo Yanji still briefly explained the reasons.

 

Sang Jue made an “oh” sound, not sure if he was listening.

 

“Don’t bring them, let’s just go by ourselves.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“They won’t be useful, they’ll just hold us back.” Sang Jue propped up his body and suddenly said, “Soldiers die easily. If it’s just you and me, I’ll protect you well and help you complete the mission.”

 

Huo Yanji looked at him for a while, both hiding their own thoughts in their eyes. He said: “To destroy the Waste Waters highland, we need a lot of explosives. They’re heavy.”

 

“I can transform back into a dragon and fly there. I can carry however heavy it is.”

 

“Not afraid of heights anymore?”

 

Sang Jue nodded slightly, was quiet for a moment, then casually said: “But dragons always have to grow up.”

 

His heart predictably contracted, another new thorn piercing in. Huo Yanji was long used to it, his expression remaining calm: “Alright, let me arrange things for them.”

 

Sang Jue’s ears twitched: “Mm…”

 

He stared at Huo Yanji’s back as he got up and left, not moving for a long time.

 

These days, the entire world seemed to have the same weather. The sun had completely disappeared, heavy black clouds pressing down, making it hard to breathe.

 

Sang Jue walked to the window, seemingly catching something in his hand.

 

However, if an outsider were here, they would discover his hands held nothing at all.

 

Sang Jue “grasped” a wisp of black mist so fine it was almost imperceptible to the eye, then tilted his head to look at the gloomy street.

 

The Fifth District had also been affected. Some residents remained coldly indifferent to all the commotion around them, calm yet often staring at certain places or people, making those still conscious feel chilled to the bone.

 

It was as if something was gradually draining away all emotions and desires, severing the characteristics that belonged to humanity.

 

Contamination had created a group of tranquil madmen.

 

***

---