According to Liu Buli's arrangements, the Grand Elder's task was to feign persuasion and then contact Duan Liuyun, directing him to the meeting point.
The old man, desperate to survive, was extremely cooperative. He not only answered all of Liu Buli's questions but also volunteered the names of all the elders and hall masters involved in the plot. Liu Buli cross-referenced them with his memory; they were indeed all present at the meeting that day.
"When you return, if they ask, tell them I wish to cooperate with you," Liu Buli said slowly. "I trust your talent for acting, Grand Elder. I don't need to teach you much. You understand what needs to be done."
The Grand Elder nodded incessantly, his face a mask of fawning smiles. "Sect Master, please rest assured, I will handle this perfectly. May I ask, what do you plan to do with the others after this is concluded?"
Liu Buli smiled.
His smile was as beautiful as ever, and as chilling as ever.
Looking directly into the Grand Elder's eyes, Liu Buli countered, "Grand Elder, if this were your sect, how would you deal with elders and hall masters who harbored ill intentions and plotted against you behind your back?"
The Grand Elder froze, a chill crawling from his spine to his brain. He swallowed and tentatively replied, "I... I would expel them from the sect."
"Then you are truly a benevolent and merciful soul, Grand Elder," Liu Buli said, his words dripping with sarcasm despite sounding like praise. "I am not like you. I have no need for anyone who has betrayed me. And if I merely expel them, I fear they might seek revenge. Therefore, it is best to resolve this once and for all. Grand Elder, you must understand, only the dead can never do anything that annoys others."
As he spoke, Liu Buli waved his hand, signaling for the Grand Elder to leave. He added, "Given how much you've revealed, I'll give you a chance. I hope you seize it well. After all, being able to breathe is quite good, isn't it? Don't end up cold, you understand?"
The Grand Elder nodded vigorously.
He understood that Liu Buli was sparing his life.
In his eyes, the Sect Master now resembled the Black and White Impermanence emerging from hell. The fact that he wasn't claiming his life was the best news. The Grand Elder no longer dared to hope for anything more. He offered profuse thanks and then scrambled out of Liu Buli's courtyard.
Once the Grand Elder's presence had completely vanished, Liu Buli shook his head. The ruthlessness in his eyes intensified as he murmured, "To think you'd be happy just to be able to breathe... you're celebrating far too soon..."
If they dared to plot against his beloved, they wouldn't get a peaceful end.
He cherished that person more than anything, how could he let others lay a hand on him?
Liu Buli closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, the light in them had returned to the gentle gaze he reserved for Lu Wuming.
He turned his head to look at Lu Wuming, who lay beside him.
The boy was still in a deep coma, his eyes tightly shut, as if trapped in a terrifying nightmare.
His grip on Liu Buli's hand tightened, and he opened his mouth, uttering indistinct sounds, like murmurs, but unintelligible.
This state worried Liu Buli. He retrieved some sobering pills from his Qiankun bag and fed them to Lu Wuming. After watching him swallow, he gently pulled Lu Wuming into his embrace, patting his arm. Regardless of whether the boy could hear him, he continued to offer words of comfort.
Perhaps the medicine took effect. Lu Wuming whimpered in his arms for a while, and his breathing gradually stabilized. Liu Buli breathed a sigh of relief and carefully placed him back on the bed. As he rose to get some water, Lu Wuming's hand reached out and grabbed him again.
Liu Buli felt a mixture of helplessness and deep concern.
He looked back at the boy lying on the bed. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed that Lu Wuming's tightly closed eyes had, at some point, opened a sliver.
Liu Buli instinctively offered a warm smile. "Wuming, are you awake?"
Lu Wuming sniffled. Before he could utter a sound, tears welled up and spilled down his cheeks. He looked at Liu Buli's face, tears streaming down in large drops. He seemed to want to say something, but his drunken tongue was slurred, and his words were broken and incomprehensible.
Liu Buli leaned his ear close to his lips, listening intently for a long time before he finally understood.
As he had suspected, the little one had indeed had a nightmare.
In the dream, Liu Buli had abandoned him. He cried and pleaded, but he couldn't escape the room he was locked in.
The room was terrifyingly dark, yet eerily familiar.
There was no light.
Lu Wuming himself didn't realize how much he feared the darkness. It was something he was once so accustomed to, yet now, the mere thought sent shivers of terror through him.
He feared the darkness, or rather...
He feared losing his sun.
Under the influence of alcohol, the young man completely shed his usual pretense. He wept bitterly and heartbrokenly, as if releasing all the grievances he had suffered over the years. He clutched Liu Buli's neck, repeatedly calling out, "Shizun."
Lu Wuming had once believed that people only cried when they were in extreme pain.
He didn't understand the meaning of crying; it was merely a reflex, and the tears shed brought no change.
But now, it was different.
He knew what crying meant, and he knew his tears would be wiped away. He knew someone was always by his side, and every tear he shed would be met with heartfelt comfort.
He was lost in this comfort, lost in the other's gentleness.
He cried for an unknown length of time. By the time the effects of the alcohol began to fade and his tears had mostly dried, with the last vestiges of moisture clouding his eyes, he looked into Liu Buli's eyes and asked with a sob, "Shizun, you won't leave Wuming, will you?"
"Of course not," Liu Buli replied with absolute certainty. "Shizun will always be by your side. Unless you actively say you don't need me, I will never leave."
Lu Wuming held those words firmly in his heart.
He was truly afraid.
This was the first time he realized that immortality was of little use, for it only meant not dying, not ensuring he could always hold onto the people around him.
His lips trembled slightly, and Lu Wuming continued with a tearful voice, "Then... can Shizun kiss Wuming again?"