The Endless Promise

53. Two Birds With A Stone

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That night, Weiyan had fallen into a fitful sleep.

All her previous dreams of an at least decent marriage with Luoyin had flown away, and all she could think was, 'I don't deserve him!'

She stirred in the middle of the night as she sensed Luoyin's aura.

But she instantly stilled her qi and pretended to sleep, unable to face him yet.

Meanwhile, an equally vulnerable Luoyin gently sat on the bed, his cheeks a bit reddened from the numerous congratulations, often accompanied with wedding wine!

It had been a jarring day.

Everything had gone according to plan, but then his dragon pearl suddenly appeared.

Yinying had searched around for a hint of it, and Luoyin himself had been trying to feel for it...

But there wasn't a single trace of the illusive pearl.

Luoyin pushed the thought away and turned to Xu Weiyan, who was sleeping.

She had left her veil on, which was customary, as the groom was supposed to lift the bride's veil, and he sighed and reached for the red and gold weighing rod on the table before them.

He hesitated before touching it, as the memory of his previous marriage weighed on him. But once he lifted the rod, it was as if his hand moved on his own and he used it to lift Weiyan's veil.

'Wah!' His breath hitched at the sight of her, and a warm feeling crawled up his neck. 'It's really a face that can fell geese and sink fish!' He grudgingly admitted.

Unconsciously, his hand reached out to shift a bit of hair off her forehead, but he quickly withdrew his hand and looked away.

'Tch! Luoyin's emotions are here again!'

'Oh? Still lying to yourself?' A small inner voice taunted him. 'Didn't you crave her company on Caoyang? Was that 'Zhang Luoyin' as well? Hmmmm?'

It was a thought Bailong had evaded since his awakening here in Luoyin's body. That feeling he hadn't quite been able to understand on Caoyang...

But accompanying the thought were memories of what happened the last time he let Xu Weiyan close!

He couldn't exactly blame her for his death. He knew that.

Xu Weiyan had stabbed him, but it wouldn't have killed him, and it had been his conscious decision to protect her and receive those hundred lightning bolts...

If he were being honest with himself, blaming Xu Weiyan in the first place had been petty... fueled solely by his hurt and anger over her betrayal.

As if he hadn't always known she had gone to Caoyang to kill him!

Now that he thought about it, the true cause of his death was whatever had made those lightning bolts target Xu Weiyan, instead of him.

If the lightning bolts had come after him, he would have been able to evade them, but they had been directed at Xu Weiyan, and in his weakened state, trying to shield her had him meeting the bolts head-on.

It was almost as if Tianlong knew Bailong would protect her.

But how and why?

He shook his head. There was no finding the answers in the here and now.

Either way, he was ready to admit Xu Weiyan confused him more than a little, and as the inner voice had just reminded him, this had begun right from Caoyang, which left him unsure of where Bailong's emotions ended, and where Luoyin's began.