A Love Beyond Time

Pearl of Blood and Fire

**There are depictions of physical violence, sexual assault, drugged sex, and associated traumatic flashbacks.
**There are also depictions of gaslighting and emotional blackmail

**This chapter is super duper long..so please read slowly!

What is cherished becomes possessed.
What is gentle is pressed hardest by the cruel.
From pain, the jewel is formed.

Morning found Xue Chen in an extremely foul mood.

He sat on the cliff, head between spread knees, thinking of all the possible—and most agonising—ways to murder a dragon.

A dragon who happened to be his beloved twin brother. Well, once beloved. Now his mortal enemy.

And he was still there when Saito came by an hour later. Same place, same pose. Now muttering to himself as though he was cursing someone.

"What are you doing?" The Byakko sat, stretching his long legs out. "And why is it that every time I see you, you look as though you're planning some bloody massacre?"

"Be quiet, Gao Rui." The ominous response came from the mysterious abyss between the knees. "Or I'll massacre you."

Saito snorted, shook his head, and uncorked the large bottle he brought. The pungent herbaceous aroma of the revitalisation brew assailed his nose, making his eyes water slightly.

Extra strong. The way he needed it.

He took a deep gulp, felt his system revved to life instantly. Good.

"Ready to tell me why you look like a zombified dragon on the brink of mass murder?"

That head of platinum nest came up, and the story spilt from those pale lips the way the Yellow River spilt over the banks during rainstorms.

Ghosts babysitting. Ghosts stealing food. Ghosts disturbing sleep. Ghosts...

Midway through the tale, Saito finished the first bottle of tea. Started on his second.

"So, you had to make the heartbreaking decision of sacrificing your secret stash of midnight snacks for your beauty sleep." A black brow crooked. "Then why are you still...?"

"THEIR damned chewing noises!" Came the wail. "Throughout the damn night!!!!!!!"

Behind the wailing dragon and the gaping tiger, the gremlin-ghost owners of the damned chewing noises popped their misshapen heads out of the shrubs. Chewing on something yummy that they found in the grass. Very, very loudly.

"SEE? Why the bleeding Kunlun are they so damn LOUD?!"

Saito felt something blowing bubbles inside him. Tiny bubbles that went bloop, bloop, bloop, tickling his stomach and his throat. He cleared his throat, but more bubbles came a-blooping.

"Erm..." He pressed a fist to his lips. Coughed. "Well...you might want to ask Yu-Hu to get Zhong Kui to come get these little demons as soon as possible then."

"Ning said he will come soon." Was it two days? It was. Xue Chen's zombie brain thought.

"Uhm. That should be fine then." Saito drained the last drops from the bottle and corked it. Then he looked up at the pinkening sky. "Your favourite time of the day is here. Coming?"

Black-ringed grey eyes stared dumbly at him. Saito sighed.

"Breakfast. Food. Yummy food. Hot food."

The tiger briefly wondered if he should also throw in 'with your friend, Sagiri'. But thought better of it.