The Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Ye Yin Ju had never chosen anything for himself, no matter if it was killing, staining himself with blood or fighting. There was no need for him to have any emotions, he just had to follow others' orders to the word, and he had never considered whether that way of living was wrong.

He put all of his mind on proving his strength, wanting to be in the most eye-catching place, and being approved by others, that was all.

But ever since Ye Yin Ju bit that human and felt remorse for it, he began to have something an assassin should never have—emotions.

He started to doubt himself.

The confused Ye Yin Ju finally realized that he had never fought for himself before.

So… the so-called approvals were nothing more than his attempts to hide the emptiness inside of him.

He told Gu Ting Yu that there were things he couldn't comprehend, but what he really couldn't comprehend weren't things; instead it was but one emotion.

It was an emotion he didn't want to show, because it was a polar opposite to his thoughts of wanting approval, it was a kind of emotion that involved showing weakness willingly.

After coming to understand this emotion, he decided he had to do something.

He only wanted to help make Gu Ting Yu's wish come true after he asked what his goal for coming here was.

Then, he confirmed Gu Ting Yu's feelings towards the sacred beasts.

Gu Ting Yu trusted them, it was a trust no-one could disrupt, and that was exactly why he was at ease.

"State your reasons!" When Ye Yin Ju's mind returned, Tong Ying was looking at him furiously.

He dodged the flames flying towards him then replied blandly, "There aren't any significant reasons."

"You can't win against me. If you want to earn the human some escaping time, you better not stupidly waste your life."

Flames encircled the two of them; the heat made Ye Yin Ju's vision blur.

A low laugh came, and Ye Yin Ju said, "I have never been so happy fighting before in my entire life."

Dark clouds coming from the East began to gather, and a little while later, light droplets of rain started to fall down like flower petals.

The rain did not stop the flames; instead, the light wind boosted their intensity.

Tong Ying seldom got angry, but this time it was as if he was overtaken by something, he was extremely angry and started attacking fiercely.

When inside the Flaming Shield Circle, one's spirit energy would be lowered, becoming as weak as that of a human.

But Ye Yin Ju was different—even if he couldn't use his spirit energy, utilizing his strength, he was able to dodge all of Tong Ying's attacks.

All of his strength came from training and were in his blood and bone; Tong Ying had never encounter someone who would take him on with their own physical strength before.

"You…" Just how strong are you, exactly?

Tong Ying lost his focus for a split second as a dark shadow closed in on him silently; Tong Ying evaded subconsciously, but a few poison-laced needles flew past his cheeks. Tong Ying had his hand right at Ye Yin Ju's chest, ready to kill.

Wham!!!!

Ye Yin Ju gave a light moan, he was flung a few feet away from Tong Ying in just a split second.

Tong Ying rubbed his own forehead. Everything happened too fast, he wasn't sure if he had touched Ye Yin Ju or not, but he couldn't have survived that blow.

Ye Yin Ju kneeled with one leg on the ground; his chest was burned, black hair slid down his shoulder under the rain, his head was lowered, and he was faintly panting. Tong Ying couldn't see his expression.

"Tong Ying, have you heard of that prophecy?"

"I know!" Tong Ying cut in angrily, "I never believed in that stupid prophecy, so seeing you guys betraying the Evil Source one after another, I really don't understand, why!?"

Ye Yin Ju laughed and said, "I don't know the others' motives."

"Humph!" More and more uncertainty rose in Tong Ying, "Don't you dare tell me that you love him, also don't say rubbish like you want to be with him."

"Me betraying the Evil Source has nothing to do with him."

"Then why…"

"I only want to do things that make me feel at ease." As for whether I like Gu Ting Yu, that's my own problem. Of course, I won't think about who will be with who in the end. "It's my turn to ask, what is your reason for staying with the Evil Source?"

Tong Ying stopped and the blurry face of a boy came across his mind… that child's soft voice, that kind light, that soothing scent…

I can't remember, dammit, why can't I remember!!

"Ugh?!!!" Tong Ying's face changed at a high pace, those were all the faces he had seen before, the atmosphere was odd, Tong Ying was insecure and worried…

A thousand years ago, he met the strongest person alive, and that person told him he would tell him the answer to his question as long as he stayed by his side, guarding him. When he would wake up a thousand years later, he would bring that person to Tong Ying.

Tong Ying knew very well that he was a lazy person, he wasted his time doing nothing special and giving up halfway when he faced difficulty, but there was that one thing he could never give up on.

"To… to find a person."

One day… one day, I am going to see you again.

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Inside the cave, Gu Ting Yu curled up in the corner in a very deep sleep.

"Xiao Yu… Wake up…"

Gu Ting Yu slowly opened his eyes, everything was blurry. When he finally saw the trio's faces illuminated by soft light coming from a floating gold sphere, he immediately opened his eyes wide, "Nian Xing!? You guys, how are you here…"

Seeing Nian Xing's lips forming a big smile, tears rolling out of his eyes; Qing Que held him back and asked Gu Ting Yu worriedly, "Does your injuries still hurt, are you uncomfortable anywhere?"

"I'm fine," Gu Ting Yu held onto Qing Que's arm. "How about you guys, how are your wounds?"

Zhuo Yin stood at the side shaking his head, indicating that he was fine.

Gu Ting Yu looked around the cave; that man carried him here before he had fainted. He gazed upon the unfamiliar black clothing on him, it seemed like that person changed his clothes. Gu Ting Yu suddenly remembered something and asked, "Where did that black-dressed person go?"

Zhuo Yin's face turned pale the moment he heard Ye Yin Ju's name; he immediately walked up to Gu Ting Yu and unbuttoned his shirt.

"Zhuo Yin?"

"Did he do anything to you?!"

Gu Ting Yu's white skin was exposed to everyone's gazes; below the collarbone, the two pink nipples stiffened due to the cold, fingertips brushed over the familiar body, Zhuo Yin was relieved that there weren't any glaring marks on Gu Ting Yu.

But Zhuo Yin was still not completely reassured, he opened up Gu Ting Yu's shirt all the way below his waist, until Gu Ting Yu started to resist.

"Zhuo Yin, stop it, he didn't do anything to me." He patted Zhuo Yin's shoulder lightly and said seriously, "I'm fine, truly, I'm fine."

After Gu Ting Yu said so, Zhuo Yin finally let out a sigh of relief and used all of his strength to take Gu Ting Yu into his embrace.

Gu Ting Yu tried to calm his bubbling emotions, seeing all of them safely back to his side, his burdened heart was finally at ease.

"How did you guys find this place?" Gu Ting Yu asked after a long while.

Qing Que frowned, "Now that you mention it, it was really weird; we were fighting with Tong Ying, then Ye Yin Ju suddenly came out of the cave and lured us inside, then the huge boulder shut us in."

"Ye Yin Ju…" Gu Ting Yu muttered the name repeatedly, then raised his head and asked, "Where is he now?"

"Who the heck knows," Nian Xing said angrily. "The person he was carrying at the time was wearing your clothes, it made me thought that it was Xiao Yu."

Qing Que nodded, "This is what's weird. Why would he mislead Tong Ying like that? He even left the real Gu Ting Yu to us."

Nian Xing clicked his tongue, "Maybe they've had a fall out."

"What are your thoughts on this?" Qing Que suddenly looked at Gu Ting Yu.

Gu Ting Yu was deep in thought, contemplating silently.

That person…

He had originally promised to bring him along and search for Zhuo Yin and the others, but he just harshly brought him here halfway. Among the chaos, that person took his clothes and used his spirit energy to create a clone of him.

"These clothes have your smell," that person explained calmly, and then Gu Ting Yu began to feel weak, sinking into a deep sleep.

In his hazy consciousness, he heard the man cautioning him, "Go straight into the cave… Good luck."

Gu Ting Yu lowered his head, remembering the fragments of time he spent with the man. He couldn't grasp that man's actions and thoughts; maybe he was just imagining it, but he had the feeling that the man was truly trying to help.

————————

Ye Yin Ju fell in the pouring rain, his fresh blood mixed with water, as he quietly slid down his weakened body.

Only a bit of smoke was left from the battle, it made it difficult to imagine how fierce the battle that just took place was. The man's face still bore no emotion; his black clothes were in tatters, and his originally injured skin beneath his clothes was now completely covered in blood.

Ye Yin Ju squinted his eyes, trying his best to see, but to his dismay he couldn't focus, as his eyes seemed to be covered by a layer of smoke.

"Is this worth it?" Tong Ying's voice showed a hint of empathy.

That human you know nothing about, is he really worth all this?

Ye Yin Ju didn't reply.

Tong Ying suddenly understood something—the source of all obsessions was simple. Ye Yin Ju had things that he wanted to hold onto, and the same went for Tong Ying.

He turned around, walking towards the cave but suddenly his feet trembled.

A hand was holding his ankle tightly, very tightly.

"Let go," Tong Ying frowned.

Ye Yin Ju didn't do as Tong Ying had said; his grip tightened instead.

Tong Ying felt pity for the man. He understood, he knew that Ye Yin Ju was a stubborn one… He wouldn't fight with others to get Gu Ting Yu for himself, but he would use the last bit of his life to save Gu Ting Yu.

This was Ye Yin Ju's loyalty, clean with no regret.

The sharp tip of Tong Ying's boot swung towards Ye Yin Ju's abdomen. The sound of cracking bones reached Tong Ying's ears, but Ye Yin Ju was still holding on, not giving in. Fresh blood seeped out from Ye Yin Ju's torn fingernails. He suddenly arched his waist and jumped up when Tong Ying tried to kick him away!

"Agh!!" Pain pierced Tong Ying's forehead, he gasped for air and stared at Ye Yin Ju with his blood-red eyes.

Tong Ying subconsciously kicked Ye Yin Ju in the chest when he was still in the air, breaking his ribs; Ye Yin Ju fell like a piece of paper but hit the ground hard.

At the same time, the needle in Tong Ying's forehead sparkled with a mysterious blue light.

"… If you kill Gu Ting Yu… you will never… find the person you seek…"

The curse with Ye Yin Ju's life as payment bound Tong Ying irrevocably. In that moment, the blue needle sank into Tong Ying's forehead.

"Ughhhhh……" Tong Ying held his forehead in pain; his last hope was gone. Ear-wrecking screams echoed throughout the cold land.