Hei Chi's POV

Xian's mere presence brings me peace; his eyes, the way he quirks his brow and laughs...even his walk reminds me of my beloved Zhen, my brother, the only one who stood by me.

Having Xian next to me filled the emptiness Zhen had left behind when he was struck down by heaven.
We have been spending meal times together, Xian and I. Mostly, we discuss YiJun's works.

I am still unsure if Xian's guardian is heaven's sword...the great General that father had pinned his hopes on after abandoning me.

I don't know if Xian fancies him, but he is definitely taken with his works.
From what Dong had reported to me and how Xian had reacted to me when YiJun's body was under my control, I was left confused about whether he was the fallen angel I was looking for.

There was also the fact that Xian was still untouched; if YiJun was indeed an angel, there was no way they would be able to deny the pull.

Anyway, I have stopped thinking about all those things...for now.
Xian is with me, and as long as he is by my side, no one can stop me from taking over the Heavenly Realm.
No celestial being had the power to defy Xian; the boy was the underworld's most powerful secret weapon.

Over the past few days, I have been contemplating whether I should tell Xian the truth...the whole truth, but I can't comprehend how he might react.

Though my voice worked on him, he had refused to surrender to it; it was like there was a wall around his soul, keeping me from touching it...influencing it, and with time, it had only grown stronger.

Why?

How!?

What had eventually pushed me to have 'the talk' with Xian was a call from YiJun that evening before we had sat down for supper.

'I need to see you.' That is all the recluse had said before suggesting that we meet; promising to get back to him with the details, I had disconnected the call.

I had no choice but to tell Xian the truth; I wanted him to stay and wanted him to return with me to the underworld willingly.

That evening when I tell him that his father was an angel, I expect him to dismiss the thought or ridicule me, but he doesn't do that.

Xian's curiosity is palpable when he gives me a chance to elaborate.

"Before humans came into existence, there was light and darkness both were born out of the lifegiving tree that stands tall in heaven's garden till date." I started, and he nodded, gesturing me to go on.

"The two opposites, both unrestrained, collided till a line was drawn to separate them; 'The Light' became the Heavenly realm, and the dark lay the seeds that became the foundation of the underworld.
Unsatisfied with being controlled, darkness broke out, threatening to swallow its creator; to defend itself the eternal tree created Bǎohù; as with all else, its counterpart Qūzhújiàn came into existence as well."

"What were they?" Xian's eyes narrow, "Bǎohù and Qūzhújiàn."

"They were the swords of creation and destruction; they were brothers but mortal enemies as well." I clarify; he mouths an "oh"; YiJun's books had never mentioned them.

"What happened next?"

"What are swords without masters, right? It was then that the eternal tree bled. The first drops created YuTiandi and his twin, YuGau; the two brothers became the masters of the swords Bǎohù and Qūzhújiàn, respectively; for centuries, they fought, till one day, YuTiandi finally tricked YuGau and acquired Qūzhújiàn. He pierced his brother's heart with his own sword and thought that that was the end, but he was wrong. From YuGau's blood rose beings that could manipulate darkness: seven of them, to be precise. Soon, they had overpowered YuTiandi, but just before darkness could consume him, Bǎohù broke into a million shards; it shielded YuTiandi and pushed the hoard along with its seven generals back to the underworld.

Now the bearer of Qūzhújiàn, YuTiandi, along with the shards of light, created a barrier that darkness couldn't enter."

"Hold up!" Xian thrusts his palm out, "What does all this have to do with my father" the boy yawned, "I am really sleepy; can we talk about it tomorrow?"

His lack of interest saddens me; I guess I shouldn't have started from the very beginning, "I am sorry, Xian, but can you stay for a bit more?" I request, and he sighs, looking bored.
"Fine, continue."

"YuTiandi is who YiJun refers to as Heavenly Father in his books."

"Oh." Understanding flickers across Xian's features, and he leans in, looking mildly interested.

"The shards of light transformed into an army of seven hundred angels."

"You were one of them, am I right?" Xian guesses, looking proud of himself.

I almost want to agree with him, if only to keep that expression for a little longer.

"No." I shake my head, and he mutters an "oh" again.

"We, your father and I, were a little different from the rest. Father created us with his own hands; I was the first, meant to lead heaven's army. The Heavenly Father gave me a brother. Zhen, that's what he was called. He was your father. Soon-"

"Who was your mother?" He interrupts, rendering me speechless; I contemplate how to answer him, then shake my head, "We didn't have one; as I said, we were created by father."
I expect more questions, but Xian signals me to go on.

"Everything was good for a while; Darkness organized themselves into an army as well, but they were leaderless; with negative emotions dominating their senses, they could never match up to us: the celestial beings. Alas, all good things must come to an end; our family broke because I wanted something my father could never accept. He punished me, and when your father begged for mercy, he was labeled a traitor too. We were thrown out of heaven shortly after. Once we were gone, he made sure that we couldn't set foot in our home."

"What did you want?" Xian asks innocently, looking so much like Zhen that I itch to pull him in my embrace, but I refrain from doing so...I had lost that right the day I had possessed YiJun.

"I fell in love with a demoness. I wanted to spend my life by her side. At that time, father was sowing the seeds to create the mortal realm; this place was not protected...there was nothing to stop the darkness from entering, and it seeped in. Heavenly Father could tell that something tainted had entered his precious creation, so he sent me to take care of it." My throat dries up, and try as I may, words fail me.

Xian keeps staring at me expectantly for a few seconds before reaching for my hand unexpectedly, "Mr. Zhu, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I understand that there are some things the mere mention of which brings nothing but pain."

"It's not that." I lie.

Xian was right; thinking about what had followed still hurt like no time had passed at all...I was still stuck in the moment I had lost her.

"Mr. Zhu, why don't we continue tomorrow?" The boy suggests with sincerity and kindness glimmering in his almond eyes; the act pleases and pains me; it gathers and breaks me all within a span of seconds.

I nod my head, and he gives me a smile before leaving me alone in the mahogany-lined walls of the study.

My mind wanders to the first time I had laid my eyes on this young boy, a spitting image of Zhen.

We had found no physical evidence to prove that he was my deceased brother's son; nonetheless, I just couldn't shake the feeling that he was the one whose voice had called to me days ago.

If I had any doubts about his identity, they had vanished the day, exactly a week ago, when I had possessed YiJun's body.

Xian ran hotter than humans; my voice clouded his mind; it was beside the point that it could not breach it.
Lastly, how could I discount the fact that no human could push me away with so much resolve as he had done when I had...

Once again, I am reminded of my despicable act; I want to take back what I have done, alas...

I reach for my phone and dial YiJun's number; he picks it up without delay.

"Yes?" He asks expectantly, and I take a deep breath before replying, "Come to my place tomorrow night at eight."

"Mn." He replies and disconnects the call abruptly, leaving me in the dark about his reason for him wanting to meet me so urgently after a week of being MIA.

I close my eyes and lean back on my couch. All that is left for me to do now  is to wait...wait to finish my story and hope that when YiJun arrives to take his charge back, the boy would pick me over his guardian.

{Note:- That is it for this update.

Who do you think will Xian choose? Will Hei Chi let Xian go?

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