After another two and a half years, Tian Shi appeared in Zeku kingdom, a few months after Ru Quan and Mao An saved the male lead...
Bing Shi's trading houses could be compared to small malls. The slow supply couldn't meet the high demand; thus, the prices of items skyrocketed. Bing Shi, who accumulated a high debt due to Fei Lan wiping out her warehouses clean, became wealthy again.
Wrapped in a blanket like a sushi roll outside of the carriage, Bing Shi was forced to take a rest on a couch near a campfire while Ru Quan cleaned up the whole carriage.
In simple black pants, his body showcased strength and discipline. Scars marked his chest, reminders of battles and victories. Veins snaked across his forearms, revealing his prowess. Broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, creating an imposing yet graceful figure. Every move exuded effortlessness, a result of years of honed perfection.
While changing the sheets, Ru Quan sensed an intense gaze behind him. Turning around, his mouth twitched in response.
"Soo handsome ♪♫," Bing Shi cheered on him like a little fan-girl, blowing flying kisses in his direction.
'I'm starting to understand how Mao An could love three different people at the same time.'
It took Ru Quan lots of mental strength not to behave like Xuan Mu, resulting in an oppressive response, "Why are you not sleeping? Cover yourself."
"Yes, sir!" she grinned as she curled herself up. Until the time he called himself Xuan Mu, Bing Shi knew that he was still Ru Quan. He didn't want to make it more stressful for her, wanting to help her instead. He assured her that he was Xuan Mu's soul.
Something that took Ziek years to acknowledge took Ru Quan a few days. Despite knowing that he might lose his identity one day, he let himself be slowly devoured by the other two.
'~The doctor's death, the spatial rings, everything increased Fei Lan's hatred towards you. She didn't show it on her face, but her actions sold her out. She wanted to overthrow you by stealing everything away.'
Bing Shi miscalculated and made a mistake. Maybe if she saved the clinic doctor, it would have ended differently. She only watched from far away how he was being tortured. Just to find out whether Fei Lan could arrive on time, if she could bring a dead person back to life, and many more things. Both, she and Fei Lan, were at fault, so why did she need to shoulder all the blame?
'~ Only if you pushed your grudges and feelings aside like with Cheng Young, you could have gained even more benefits.'
'It's impossible to get on everyone's good side.'
'~ Fool. You didn't try hard enough.'
'I tried... in the past... And see how it ended? I worsened everything. Xuan Mu died. I don't want history to repeat.'
The pit Bing Shi dig herself = thinking she would be able to keep the promise, she made a wrong deal with Fei Lan. She also pushed Fei Lan to Zhao Rong, thinking that her problems would be solved easily, only for them to increase.
'~ This mistake will cost you your life one day.'
'I know, I'll try to prevent it.'
'~ Learn and get stronger.'
Bing Shi was far from Fei Lan, who only retaliated against those who provoked her, or villains that were so pointlessly cruel that they 'deserved' to be killed—the type of villains that made the protagonist look especially good in comparison.
This wasn't a life inside a novel where Bing Shi could slap the word BAD on the forehead of a woman, just because she disliked that woman. Yes, Fei Lan might have a superiority complex, but in reality, Bing Shi had done much worse things.
'It's so hard to be a good person.'
She couldn't justify the fact that she was inflicting many innocent people by collaborating with precisely such types of villains and criminals, who were much worse than Fei Lan in terms of morals. (aristocrats, corrupted officials, government, Hasan, Ru Quan, etc.)
After wiping the floor of the carriage, Ru Quan picked up his sushi-roll. Seating himself at the armchair, he placed Bing Shi on his lap, "Still cold?"
The absentminded Bing Shi nodded her head. In case another host like Fei Lan appeared, her mind wouldn't stop imagining various situations. Creating new courses of action; she would then analyze all the possible outcomes.
'Why is her body always so cold?' Sliding his arms under the blanket, Ru Quan rubbed her icy hands and back, trying to put his Bing Shi to sleep. He was baffled at how quickly he moved on the moment his two lifetimes etched themselves into his existence, together with this woman.
Bai Meili was always here, suffocating Ru Quan under his skin. She was here when his heart was burning. She was here when it tore apart. Her lasting presence couldn't cure him; he continued to bleed until he became numb.
She was dragging him down whenever he tried to climb out. She was not worth it! So why?! Why couldn't he let go? The fight with himself coursed through his veins as he allowed Bai Meili to bury him beneath, continuously, again and again.
Bing Shi lent him a ladder so he could set himself free, and her hand, so they could go through it together.
"She didn't do something to you, did she?" Ru Quan kissed her fingers with trembling lips, staring into her drowsy eyes. Damnit. She woke up with just a little stir. Other times, she could continue her half-awake sleep like a little monk. She needed to rest.
"Maybe? I don't know." She studied his worried expression, feeling a tad mischievous, "Darling. I like three different men. How did you still not dispose of me yet?"
Ru Quan coughed up. "These three men are connected by one mind, body, and soul."
"I can't believe that you found an excuse for my cheating bum," Bing Shi looked at him strangely, expecting a different reaction, "I'd have never thought that you, out of all people, would agree to a polyamorous relationship. If you had an opportunity, would you separate from each other and get your own body?
"I... We would probably kill each other on the first opportunity." Ru Quan caressed her back, warming her up. If everyone was polyamorous, cheating wouldn't have existed. How beautiful the world would be. Unfortunately, he wasn't that open-minded. "You don't mind my personality?"
"You knew what a horrendous person I was, and still I'm, yet, you decided to help me, the one who didn't deserve anyone's help." She licked him gently, tickling his neck. It was incredible how oddly similar yet contrastingly different they were in nature.
"Hm?" Letting his little vampire do whatever she wanted, Ru Quan breathed in deeply, pretending to be stunned, "Since when did my good girl turn horrendous?"
She placed her head on his shoulder, facing his long neck. "Darling, I'm serious. Here I'm, trying to be a decent person, and here comes you, turning me into your partner in crime. I know what horrid things you've done and still are doing, but I'm turning a blind eye to it."
'A decent person? What the fūck is that?' he glanced down, meeting her relaxed eyes, "Open your eyes then."
Because he knew how she was not okay with the way he did some things, he had been holding back to an extent, while her morals were becoming more and more twisted. They didn't need to change the other. The change occurred naturally. What could he say? They've been influencing each other too much.
Hiding her face, she bit his neck, "I hate what love makes me do."
"Mm..." He hissed in pain, "I hate what love makes me do, too... I never asked to be turned into a decent person. Shall we break up and marry?"
"Worst of all, we're doing it of our own free will," Bing Shi sighed in exaggeration, "Mm, we should. If we don't hurry, someone might discover all our crimes. Then, we will be finished. Totally doomed...and..."
"Screwed?" He chuckled, kissing her cheek, 'Just now... Fūck. Did I just propose to my Bing Shi?'
"Yes, that too. Ah, even my mind is getting dirtier." Bing Shi collapsed on his shoulder, pretending to be dead, "I just imagined you, screwing me over."
"Only now? I've been tortured by that though long before I came to pick you up."
Due to some random people, they had to be separated by thousands of miles again; he couldn't wait until his personality stabilized. His mind suddenly miscirculated. He didn't know who proposed. Was it Xuan Mu, Ru Quan, Ziek, or all of them? At that moment, he dearly wished for Bing Shi to carry another identity — his wife. He always did.
Bing Shi placed her cold hand on his bare chest, feeling how his heart pumped its life into her. She then saw his face, finding everything she thought she lost before. "Darling, what about my new surname?"
"Mrs. Xuan..." It took him only a millisecond before making a final decision. Did she just agree to his proposal by asking about her new surname? This woman... Why couldn't she just say a simple YES?!
Thinking it through, only Xuan Mu was always on time to come to Bing Shi's rescue. The only one who appeared by her side when she needed it the most.
He clasped her hand, and another ring appeared on her ring finger, oddly similar to the one she found inside Xuan Mu's wallet in the past. Xuan Mu, the one who connected them together. Despite there being hints of little monster being in love with Ru Quan, she didn't deem him worthy enough for her to fight for, nor did she feel good enough for him.
"Did I hear right?" Bing Shi hid her face in his chest, squealing in joy as she started to bawl her eyes out, "You're spoiling me too much."
"Don't celebrate yet. I'm still here." He hugged her tightly; his hand went through his red flocks in panic; her tears were worse than an army of gruesome soldiers. "It's only because it suits our names the most."
"Really?" Looking up at him, she flashed him a bright smile similar to a toothpaste commercial before hiding her face in his chest again, voicing out carefully, "Xuan Bing Shi, Xuan Mu, Xuan Ru Quan, and Xuan...ehh...bwahaha."
"Ziek Black," Ziek studied her ring finger, kissing it carefully. (Xuan=Black)