There is no Redemption for A Scum Villain

Chapter 63

The sun had only been setting when the people, who had set out at noon to die, had returned back to the mountain already, safe and sound. The air on the mountain was clear and slightly chill despite summer being just around the corner. Shen Qingqiu inhaled it deeply as he sat there in their garden on Qiong Ding Peak.

Never in his life had his lungs lusted for this pure mountain air like this. There was no smoke in the air, nor the stench of iron and blood-soaked dirt. Just the scent of rocks and leaves and blossoms. It smelled alive.

Shen Qingqiu quietly hummed the tune of a song that he couldn't remember the name of, as he dipped the cloth he held in his hand into the basin of water resting beside him. Yue Qingyuan was sitting before him, his hand resting on Shen Qingqiu's shin, where he was slowly rubbing the fabric of the man's pants in little circles.

When Shen Qingqiu began cleaning Yue Qingyuan's back, he slightly flinched and looked over his shoulder. Only when he had looked at Shen Qingqiu's face for a moment did he turn back around to look ahead.

Shen Qingqiu did not comment on it. He had asked too often already and spoken to the man, without a proper answer. Instead he just kept one hand of his pressed flat against Yue Qingyuan's skin, so he knew to expect touch.

He wasn't mad or even disturbed that Yue Qingyuan was so odd all of a sudden. For a month he had been 'odd' even when he hadn't been just like this. His nerves had been strained so long and he had just been holding on for him. The thought that Shen Qingqiu would be killed right in his arms had just been the last straw.

Yue Qingyuan wasn't afraid that he would be hurt. He was just making sure that Shen Qingqiu was still there and still unharmed.

Shen Qingqiu knew his Qi-ge. The man was strong, but when it came to matters concerning his safety, he could break from the smallest touch. He would just give him the time he needed and take care of him for the meantime. And this 'taking care' included cleaning him of the blood that had flown from his wound.

Only washing out the cloth once, dyed the water in the basin a faint red. Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but stare at the little curtain of red spreading through the water and losing itself slowly. He really despised this color.

After what felt like hours, he tore his gaze away and went back to washing Yue Qingyuan's back.

"I am going to touch you with the cloth now," Shen Qingqiu said quietly, before touching the cloth to Yue Qingyuan's skin again. Just as expected, Yue Qingyuan stayed calm this time. He even sighed contently as he felt the touch.

"We are alive, Qi-ge..." Shen Qingqiu whispered, slowly leaning close, "I am alive. And I will remain alive."

Yue Qingyuan had always been a man of words. He was good at speaking them, but when they were spoken to him, their effect was different than with most people. Shen Qingqiu's words were his world. What Shen Qingqiu said shaped his reality. At least it had been like that for the majority of his life.

Right now, Yue Qingyuan was shaken. Shen Qingqiu knew beforehand what he was asking of this man and he had known that he wouldn't be fine in case they would make it. He hoped that his words could bring this man back to reality.

"You will not let it happen that I go before you," Shen Qingqiu continued, "You protect me. You have protected me today too. This here on your back is why we still live. You protected me..."

It did not matter if it was the truth. Whether it had been Yue Qingyuan who had eventually kept them alive or Wu Chen or Wu Wang or all of them. It would only be what he was telling Yue Qingyuan was the truth, that he would eventually believe.

"Look..." Shen Qingqiu reached around Yue Qingyuan to grab his hand and laid it on the man's chest, "Your heart is beating. As long as it does, I will be here. My heart beats with yours. It stops when yours stops and yours stops when mine does."