Chapter 2: A Warm Bone

Mo Jingxuan woke up in an endless darkness. At this moment, he felt his body being pressed upon, heavy enough that he could not react for some time. After existing in a soul state for nearly three years, his own body weight was incredibly uncomfortable.

Unable to figure out the situation, Mo Jingxuan stayed still. What he was much more worried about than himself was the situation that flashed before his eyes before he lost consciousness, Xiao Ying covered in his own blood. He was eager to leave this place, to ensure he was okay.

“Click,” the sound of iron hitting iron rang out as Mo Jingxuan struggled, and he fell still.

“Squeak–” the sound of the door opening was heard, followed with light shining in and some messy footsteps coming close enough that they seemed to be immediately next to Mo Jingxuan.

The footsteps stopped, Xia Qifan and the others standing quietly by the bed as they looked at the sleeping man hugging a bone. One frowned as he asked, “Zi Bo, what did Doctor Fang say?”

Zi Bo looked uneasy as he responded, “If this continues, the boss may end up…he may join Mo Jingxuan.”

Everyone present was shocked, “What did you say?!” Ren Yue almost yelled as she grabbed Zi Bo by his collar with trembling hands.

Zi Bo ignored the hand on his neck, looking at the person laying on the bed with a firm expression, “I plan to go against the wishes of the boss…If we hypnotize him so that he forgets everything about that person, maybe we can pull him back from the edge, or….”

Ren Yue weakly let go of his collar and staggered over next to the bed; the woman who had built up a reputation for being short-tempered, iron-blooded, and shrewd was now staring bitterly at a man who seemed frail enough to die with the flick of a wrist. “That’s fine, that’s fine. He loved him for so many years, they tortured each other for so long, experienced so much pain and suffering, and this is the ending?? One is dead, the other is going crazy, maybe it is better that he forgets. To take away his suffering, forget it, don’t suffer…he shouldn’t suffer any more….”

Taking a deep breath, Zi Bo raised his hand to check the time, “I have asked Doctor Fang to contact the best hypnotist, he should be arriving soon.”

Ren Yue took a deep breath before nodding, bending over to fix Xiao Ying’s clothes while she collected herself, “Feng Yuan, go get some hot water, I’ll wipe him off.” The young man who was standing off to the side with worried eyes stammered his agreement before turning out of the room.

“Is it really okay to do this?” Xia Qifan was a little uncertain, “Boss has loved him for so many years….if we just drive that person out of his life so abruptly….”

Zi Bo squeezed Xia Qifan’s shoulder, reassuring him, “As long as the boss doesn’t follow in that person’s footsteps, everything will be okay.”

Wiping his face, Xia Qifan knelt by the bed, preparing to remove the bone from Xiao Ying’s arms. “Huh?” His hands stopped before he touched it, “Yueyue, Zi Bo, look at this. Don’t you think this bone is a bit…strange?”

Zi Bo and Ren Yue nodded together, “The voices we heard in the forest today were not normal; things have already gone beyond the normal range of human cognition.” Xia Qifan instantly thought of many theories involving ghosts and gods; rubbing his arms, he looked at the other two and said, “That bone….”

Zi Bo sighed, he had never believed in those supernatural events, but that morning could not be explained even by him. “Now is not the time to think about these things; no matter how incredible things have been today or how strange this bone is, we can’t leave it with the boss. It will only aggravate his condition further. Boss bought a piece of land in the cemetery before, saying that he would have the two of them be buried together after they grew old, now….let him be buried there first….” After speaking, he sighed heavily, knowing that this decision was one that could not be unmade.

“Yeah,” Xia Qifan reached out once more, but just as he touched the bone, the sleeping man on the bed opened his eyes.

“Don’t touch him!” Xiao Ying was furious as he struck aside the one who dared to touch his Mo Jingxuan.

Xia Qifan was thrown to the end of the bed, his chest hitting the bedpost. He groaned, holding his ribs, and looked at Xiao Ying, who had woken up in surprise, “Boss!”

Ren Yue hastily looked at Zi Bo beside him and left the room; he needed Doctor Fang to prepare a new tranquilizer.

“Come back.” Xiao Ying sat up, his face cold as he held the bone in his arms.

Zi Bo paused and turned to face him. “Boss…”

Xiao Ying didn’t look at him, his full attention on the bone, “Don’t blame me for disregarding our past brotherhood if you drug me once more.”

“…Yes,” Zi Bo saw that his boss was serious. If he was caught even once trying to go against his delusions, he knew he would be killed without a chance for regrets.

“You don’t need to worry about me; go and investigate. Bring me the person who hurt him. Alive.” His voice was eerily calm as he relayed his orders, and the three listeners glanced at each other, knowing that their boss was not quite yet gone.

But after these sentences were said the man was once more unresponsive, cuing them to leave the room and him in peace. Zi Bo sighed, “Hypnosis is no longer possible, boss will never allow it in his current state.”

Xia Qifan nodded, “He should have guessed our thoughts, I will not be going against his wishes in this case. I am not ready to die yet.”

Ren Yue rubbed her temples, “Fortunately, his mood is much more stable than before. He should be fine to be left alone without worry for his safety.”

“That’s because he is still obsessed in his heart. The boss needed to find that person before, but now that he’s found, he’s dead. If we aren’t wary, the murderer who caused this all may very well become the boss of him, revolving his entire life around him. If his fixation is not solved, boss will surely suppress himself until he goes crazy again. And it may be worse than before now that Mo Jingxuan is gone….” Zi Bo sympathized with Ren Yue’s headache; after working with the boss for so many years, he understood his thought process too well to not stress over this.

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Listening to his words, the other two fell into silence. Feng Yuan came back at this moment and felt his heart skip a beat at the unusual atmosphere. No longer caring about the water he had fetched, he grabbed Xia Qifan by the arm, “What’s going on? What happened?”

Xia Qifan brushed him off saying, “He’s awake and seems to be fine.” After speaking, he pulled the man with him, heading back downstairs, “Don’t bother him for now, it’s more important to find who murdered Mo Jingxuan…this is the first task given by the boss after he woke up.”

Feng Yuan was relieved, his face relaxing as he followed the group downstairs.

—————————————————————————————————————–

Back in the room, Xiao Ying stared at the bone in his arms some more, focusing on the indelible drops on it. With the bright red blood shining as if calling for him, the corners of his mouth curled up as he kissed the cold, hard surface tenderly.

That’s his blood; he and Jingxuan were one at this moment.

Mo Jingxuan had broken free from the shackles of the darkness when Xiao Ying woke up earlier. He had heard everything that was said, including how cold the man had become when he mentioned his murder.

He could see the way the man kissed him, so affectionate even after his death.

He could even feel the man’s lips imprinted on the bones, the dry and peeling lips bringing a prickly sensation.

But he couldn’t speak; he couldn’t even move…When he wanted to hug the other, reassure him that he was fine, he was powerless. Compared to the him of before, the irony felt as if the gods had nothing left but free time and boredom, to actually play a joke of the degree.

The idea of hugging this distressed man was still not born of love; however, it was purely from distress. Reluctance. And regret.

Yes, Mo Jongxuan knew that even after all this time he could not fall in love with this man. Even after using his life as the price to see how passionately the other loved him, the only return he could offer was of forgiveness. And after he forgave Xiao Ying, what was left was not love. No, perhaps pity, but never love. He could hate him, feel sorry for him, but the time he was given was nowhere near enough for him to return such a heavy love.

Perhaps if they met in another world, he would easily fall in love with this man. But in this state the possibility had disappeared long ago, he was already dead. Even now, he can see and hear but has no heartbeat, no temperature. With nothing left, he was merely a bone.

Days passed, and Xiao Ying tried over and over again to make the bone he loved so much respond to him, just like that day in the woods. But the results left much to be desired, only disappointment being produced. And with each failure, Xiao Ying also lost a bit more hope. His body was degenerating, becoming thinner and weaker at an alarming rate.

During the days when he accompanied Xiao Ying to search for the murderer, Mo Jingxuan was still unable to move on his own, helplessly watching on as the man became a husk of himself. Soon he was completely bedridden, asleep for nearly 20 hours a day. But even when things had reached this point, Xiao Ying never let go of him, always keeping him firmly pressed to his chest.

Mo Jingxuan looked at the man’s sunken eye sockets, feeling a pang in his heart. He no longer was eager to find his murderer, time had passed, and any clues that could still be found were difficult to trace. His half-brother had hidden too deeply, and with the title of the young master of the Mo family, no one would ever imagine that someone so gentle and elegant murdered his dear brother out of jealousy. Even if the investigation was successful, the time spent on it would never be returned. Instead of living the life he still had for revenge, Mo Jingxuan was more eager that Xiao Ying would live a good life, forget about him and recover.

However, the man couldn’t hear his thoughts and refused to take any advice related to resting. He turned away the doctor with a strong attitude, rejected any medicinal supplements, and maintained only the most basic vital signs as he waited weakly for the moment when the murderer would be brought before him.

Away from Mo Jingxuan, Xia Qifan and the others also accelerate their search, almost to the point where their anxiety seemed a match for their boss’s.

And then, Mo Heng, the young master of the Mo family, was brought to Xiao Ying’s bed.

Xiao Ying woke up and stared down at Mo Heng. He had been thrown to the ground yet still managed to maintain his elegant expression, as if his persona had truly become his identity.

“All of you, leave,” Xiao Ying didn’t look at the others as he gave his order.

“Bo…” Xia Qifan was about to object when Zi Bo cut in.

“This is no longer a matter that is up to us, come back downstairs with me.” Zi Bo pulled Xia Qifan with him and walked out the door, Ren Yue and Feng Yuan following close behind.

“But…” Xia Qifan was still not assured.

“No buts, this is the problem that plagues the boss. If he wants to solve it alone, then he must solve it alone.”

Ren Yue seemed worried, “The result will definitely be good. He will untangle his emotions and come back. He won’t….he won’t go completely crazy after this right…right?” But no matter how she asked, no one answered her.

As the silence consumed them, the prayers in their hearts all echoed one thing. Please let the result be good, and not….

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