15 The King of Spirits

Xu Jiyu's hands are wrapped around the King's neck, both of them having tumbled to the ground after his previous lunge.

The four kneeling figures stare at the scene with wide eyes, disbelief written all over their faces. The King could have easily dodged that weak human, but why didn't he?! Was he really the all-powerful Spirit King?!

"Y-You…" Xu Jiyu stammers out, hands trembling. He can't find the strength in his body to apply pressure on the King's throat. His breathing ragged, Xu Jiyu wears an extremely pained expression. With his peripheral vision, his attention is completely focused on one person: Liu Jian.

...Or should he say, the King of Spirits?

A burning anger courses throughout his veins. He wants so badly to kill the person beneath him, to suffocate him to death and vanquish him. But when he sees his partner's expression twisted in anguish, he hesitates.

Liu Jian—no, the King of Spirits peers up at him with those familiar platinum hues. Those same platinum eyes that held the entire universe within them. Now, they only held sorrow and despair. But for what reason? How could the King look at him like this, as if he were actually hurt by Xu Jiyu's actions?

He refuses to believe in this disgusting, cruel spirit. Yet...

"Don't…" Xu Jiyu says weakly, unable to tear his shimmering eyes away from the King's expression. "Don't make that kind of expression… I—"

Xu Jiyu's lips tremble as his vision blurs once more. He feels something wet upon his heated cheeks, and only then does he realize he was crying.

Sitting on top of the King, he slowly loosens his hold on the King's neck. He couldn't do it, after all… because—

"Give me… no, return Liu Jian to me!!" Xu Jiyu sobs, voice hoarse. He uses his fists to uselessly pound on the King's torso, tears dripping onto the man's cheeks below.

The King is completely stunned, silently staring up at Xu Jiyu's mournful expression. What did he mean by 'return Liu Jian'? It couldn't be that Xu Jiyu believed that—

"Give him back!! Get out, you damned evil spirit!!" As if he were a child throwing a tantrum, he continues to pummel the King with weak punches while repeating the same lines over and over again. "I hate you! I hate you to death!"

"Y-Your Majesty, would you like us to teach that stupid human a lesson?! He dares strike you in such an unjust manner?!" Evil spirit number seven hesitantly speaks up, trying to regain the favor he'd just lost.

"...." The King doesn't reply, but the piercing glare he sends towards the spirit is enough of an answer.

Evil spirit number seven shrinks back with an 'eeep!' and continues to obediently kneel. Meanwhile, the other spirits were sneering at him behind his back. After all, they had just blasted the King with their spiritual power combined, so wasn't spirit number seven just being a hypocrite, ah?!

Xu Jiyu had already blocked out the world from his mind, never relenting his hits. He only wants his dear partner to return. Even if the time they had spent together was short, the thought of losing Liu Jian was just too painful for him.

...If he lost Liu Jian, he'd have to return to traveling alone. Never once in his hometown did he truly have a friend, a companion he could genuinely trust. Throughout their journey, he felt himself grow more attached to his partner, even if he had foolishly tried to deny it.

Only now, when he had lost his partner did he finally realize his own feelings. The truth is, he—

"I'll return him to you."

The familiar voice says, while catching Xu Jiyu's wrist. The youth's tear-ridden golden hues widen in disbelief.

"...Huh?" Was all the younger of the two could utter, still frozen in shock.

The King repeats with a more serious tone, "I'll return Liu Jian to you."

Liu Jian… could return? The King wasn't going to stay in his partner's body? The youth's jaw slackens, but he doesn't have anything to say. Instead, hundreds of relieved thoughts began racing within his mind.

Seeing as Xu Jiyu didn't answer and only stared at him, the King continues: "But only on one condition."

Xu Jiyu snaps out of his initial shock at those words. Gulping, he asks, "W-What is it…?"

If the exchange was something impossible, then would he be willing to do it for Liu Jian?

A few heartbeats pass in between them.

Until finally…

"You have to unconditionally trust Liu Jian," the King says seriously. "Only then, I will return him to you."

"..." Xu Jiyu's gaze never leaves the King beneath him, carefully scrutinizing the man's expression. He didn't appear to be joking, but—was it really that easy? Wasn't this King a cruel spirit that kills everything and everyone in his path? There are so many doubts clouding his mind, but…

"I've… always trusted him unconditionally. In fact, I… trust him with my entire heart and soul."

The words leave his lips before he even thinks about it. Though his eyes are swollen from crying, he hastily wipes the tears away with his sleeves and sniffles. "I can only continue to trust him foolishly like this… so long as you return him to my side."

The King is silent for a moment, platinum hues gleaming red once more. It seems the King had just made a decision of some sort, himself. With a heavy sigh, he finally says with an icy tone, "Then so be it. Get off of me."

Xu Jiyu doesn't have time to respond before he's easily pushed off to the side by the King's strength. The King of Spirits then proceeds to stand up, dusting himself of the dirt that had accumulated upon his body from being pushed down earlier.

He doesn't spare the youth another glance as he turns around, raven-black hair fluttering behind him. "I will keep my end of the deal. So, you'd better keep yours, commoner."

A sad smile appears upon the King's lips, his expression solemn. However, the youth doesn't see this. He only sees the King's incredibly lonely back.

"I… I will! So—please just return to the Spirit Realm and stop wreaking havoc for us humans! I just want Liu Jian back, and for the world to be in balance again…" Xu Jiyu hastily pleads, digging his nails so deeply into the palms of his hands that it creates crescent marks upon his skin.

He really believes that the King of Spirits had 'possessed' Liu Jian after the blast…

"Who are you to stop me, anyway?" The King coldly replies, feeling an intense emotion swell up within his chest. He doesn't want to hurt Xu Jiyu, but…

"You're just a weak cultivator that can't even reach the middle stage of the Qi Condensation stage. Not only that, but your spiritual roots are so faint, I can barely sense them. If I wanted to destroy the humans, tell me, what could you possibly do to stop me?"

"I—!" Xu Jiyu starts, his expression dim, but he's quickly dismissed by the King's interjection.

The King sneers, "I don't care for what a mere human like you has to say. I'll return your partner to you as you wish."

"Wait—!" Xu Jiyu cries, but his plea falls short when he sees Liu Jian's body go limp.

The four kneeling spirits watch as the King begins falling, the immense spiritual energy they had felt this entire time finally dissipating into thin air.

The youth doesn't hesitate as he runs over to the taller male's body, barely catching him in the nick of time.

"The—The King… he…" Evil spirit number eight whispers in stupefaction, and the rest of spirits understood.

The King of Spirits… has finally returned to the Spirit Realm.