Life: A Black and White Film (一生一世，黑白影画)

Chapter 15.4 - From Hell it Came, as Hell it shall Stay (4)

Chen Yuan knew, from this moment, that it was all over.

Standing in a spot only five steps away from the sofa, his eyes took in Cheng Muyun's profile.

Thirteen years of friendship.<>This UNAUTHORIZED copy was taken fromhui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com

From when Cheng Muyun first became a part of the Moscow operations team, Chen Yuan had been the shadow behind Cheng Muyun. Countless times he had brought that man who was now sitting on the sofa safely out of danger. This included that period in China. In the ten years that Cheng Muyun had been a monk, he had also lived in the wild, mountainous area for ten years.

There were even times, as he crouched on the snowy ground roasting wild game, when Chen Yuan himself had felt as if in a daze.

Would he and Cheng Muyun be accompanying each other in this way for this entire lifetime? Cheng Muyun would be out in the open, in the light, while he was in the shadows... Sometimes, he had hoped that Cheng Muyun would never come back out from seclusion.

Wearing his gray robes, his head shaved, and staying forever in that dilapidated temple deep in the mountains that did not get more than a few worshippers, weren't those so very good?<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

He knew that from the moment he had stepped into that kitchen and opened up that cupboard of spices, there was nothing he could argue about. His hand holding that object was already proof of everything—he had betrayed Cheng Muyun.

Cheng Muyun extended his arm and pointed at the armchair beside him. "Sit."

Chen Yuan walked over.<>Please support the original translation at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com instead

Cheng Muyun added another sentence. "Put that thing you are holding on the table."

Chen Yuan was slightly taken aback for a moment, and then slowly, he set onto the table that relic that carried an image of the Buddha.

Cheng Muyun nodded. "Sit."<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com instead

Chen Yuan was about to sit down when his wrist was enclosed in a grip. Cheng Muyun's fist slammed into his stomach. Painfully, he doubled over, his knees buckling to the ground. His face and body were being borne down on by Cheng Muyun and pinned against the fabric of that armchair.

In that endless silence, Cheng Muyun did not do anything.<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com

His forehead pressed against the back of Chen Yuan's shoulder. Softly, in a voice that the other people in the room could not hear, he stated, "I am truly sorry that it is you."

"I am very glad," Chen Yuan answered, his voice also barely perceptible, "that you are still alive."

That day, Chen Yuan had been in a spot not far from the explosion and enraged elephant herd, watching as the elephants madly trampled the bamboo platform. Heaven knew how he had wished he could have done as Fu Yiming had, throwing everything else aside and simply rushing in to save Cheng Muyun...

Protecting Cheng Muyun had already long ago become his instinct.

Chen Yuan did not struggle, nor did he move. His gun was behind his waist, but the thought of using it did not even cross his mind. He had shed himself of all the strength in his body, closing his eyes like someone who was dead.