The Monsters All Covet Him - Chapter 30

Those footsteps were rapidly approaching.

Lin Yang realized with a start that his body was beginning to turn transparent. By the moment the temple doors were pushed open, his form had become completely translucent.

His hand, which had been clasped with Lin’s, passed right through Lin’s body.

He could no longer touch him.

Lin’s hand was suddenly empty. He reached out frantically to grab Lin Yang, but his hands only swept through air. Panicked, Lin cried out, “Lin Yang, why are you becoming transparent? I can’t touch you! Are you going to disappear?”

Before Lin Yang could respond, the group had already crossed the courtyard and reached the inner sanctuary.

The young man leading them was clearly Fu Bai from a hundred years ago.

His gaze fixed upon Lin, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes. He turned to give a few instructions to the people behind him, and they left immediately, leaving only Fu Bai behind.

Fu Bai did not step forward. He maintained a socially safe distance from Lin, his handsome face displaying a gentle smile. “Child, you have finally returned. I have been waiting for you here for a very long time.”

“Waiting for me?” In an instant, Lin seemed to completely forget Lin Yang’s existence. His body moved uncontrollably toward Fu Bai. “You are the first human I have ever seen. Do you know me?”

Lin Yang snapped his head toward Lin in shock.

Standing below the steps, Fu Bai answered, “Naturally I know you. You are my child, and I am your father.”

Lin felt a natural, magnetic pull toward the man in front of him, making him instinctively want to believe everything he said.

“You are my father… what is a ‘father’?”

Fu Bai was internally tense. He had set up the formation according to ancient texts, never imagining he would actually summon an Evil God. But to his surprise, was the Evil God actually a youth of eighteen or nineteen?

Could such a youth truly possess the power of a god? Could he really save humanity?

The boy’s eyes were too clean, filled with an innocent naivety like a deer in the forest that would be easily hunted. He looked incredibly easy to deceive.

If he could solidify his status as the boy’s father, the god would be under his control. He absolutely could not let those wicked Silver Jiao seize him.

Fu Bai forced himself to stay calm, his voice heavy with grief. “It seems you have forgotten me. You fell gravely ill when you were young. The Great God told me only He could save you. To keep you from dying, I had no choice but to let the God take you away. The God said that once you were healed, the formation would naturally bring you back. It was I who cast the spell to bring you back to this world.”

Fu Bai let a tear fall.

Seeing Fu Bai’s tears, Lin’s heart softened instantly. He bounced over in a few steps and clumsily wiped the moisture from the corner of Fu Bai’s eye. “Please do not be sad. I am very happy that you brought me back to this world. I like it here very much, Father.”

Fu Bai’s eyes widened slightly. A god… is this easy to trick?

Could he really believe such a loophole-ridden lie so easily?

Lin Yang watched everything unfold. He found it difficult to connect the Lin of a hundred years ago with the Lin of a hundred years later.

Fu Bai had once said that the eyes of an Evil God could not be looked upon, and his voice could not be heard, yet now Lin’s silver eyes were gazing innocently at Fu Bai, and Fu Bai showed no signs of discomfort.

Where, then, did that intense agony from the future come from?

Lin Yang thought back to the night he had almost succumbed to becoming an Evil God himself. It was because of pain—a continuous, unbearable physical pain that corroded all flesh and blood.

Would Lin go through that too?

A strong intuition told Lin Yang that he had to separate Lin and Fu Bai.

He walked between them and turned to Lin. “Lin, listen to me. This person cannot be trusted. Come with me, okay?”

Lin did not react.

Lin Yang realized a terrible problem: Lin could no longer even hear his voice. Furthermore, when Lin told Fu Bai that he was the first human he had met, did that mean the memories of his time with Lin Yang had been wiped away?

Was it due to the constraints of time and space?

The past could not be changed. If his actions would cause a different outcome, he would become a variable in time and be erased by it.

Fu Bai was still playing the role of the compassionate father, his grief unabated. “It is a blessing that you have returned, though your mother… she can never come back.”

The pure, easily fooled Lin took the bait. “What happened to Mother?”

Fu Bai let out a heavy sigh. “Your mother was murdered by the Silver Jiao. They originally lived in the sea, but they were no longer satisfied with life beneath the waves. They wanted to expand their territory, so they came ashore to fight humans for their land. They can control water and their power is too great. Humans are no match for them; we can only let them trample us. The casualties have been heavy.”

Lin patted Fu Bai’s shoulder. “Perhaps I can help you, Father. I am an Evil God. You can make a wish to me, and I can fulfill your desire.”

Fu Bai looked at the silver-haired, silver-eyed youth and tentatively made his first wish. “I wish for humanity to win the war against the Silver Jiao tomorrow.”

“Your wish shall come true.”

Lin Yang observed closely. As Lin accepted the wish, no strange physical changes occurred.

Fu Bai did not offer to take Lin away. He told Lin that the outside world was still dangerous and instructed him to stay here for the time being, warning him not to let any ill-intentioned beings find him—especially the Silver Jiao.

Lin looked a bit disappointed. “Father, won’t you take me home? It is very empty here. I am very lonely staying by myself.”

Fu Bai’s expression was unnatural. The ancient books called this being an “Evil God” the word “Evil” carried weight. Privately, he did not want Lin to have too much contact with humans.

He would handle all the prayers. If there was a backlash, let it fall on him alone. All his relatives were already gone; he didn’t care about life or death.

Seeing Lin’s disappointed face, he felt a twinge of guilt. The Evil God looked like nothing more than a half-grown child. For someone who loved company so much, living in this temple was indeed dull. He softened his tone. “Once the war between humans and the Silver Jiao is over, I will take you home.”

Lin nodded, and Fu Bai hurried out of the temple.

After Fu Bai had completely left, Lin Yang’s body solidified once more. He stood right in front of Lin, his dark eyes filled with worry.

Lin was startled by Lin Yang’s sudden appearance, though the alarm in his silver eyes was quickly replaced by a smile. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

Lin Yang looked into Lin’s silver eyes; they were filled with curiosity and the gaze of a stranger.

He doesn’t remember him.

Lin Yang’s eyes curved into a soft, sad smile. “My name is Lin Yang. I am your lover.”

The silver-haired, silver-eyed young deity looked puzzled. “Lover… what is that?”

Lin remembered nothing.

Lin Yang took Lin’s hand. “A lover is the person who will stay by your side until the very end. Can you refuse Fu Bai’s prayers?”

Lin shook his head. “An Evil God cannot refuse a prayer. Once a wish is made, it will be fulfilled, for better or for worse.”

Lin Yang’s expression turned grim. “You mean as long as someone comes to the temple and makes a wish, it will come true? Even if the wishes contradict each other?”

“That’s right. It is a power I was born with.” Lin observed Lin Yang’s heavy expression and his voice grew quiet. “Does that make you unhappy?”

If such prayers were used maliciously, they would inevitably bring unforeseen disasters to the entire world.

Lin Yang had tested it; the current Lin had no means of self-protection. Fu Bai already knew about the prayers. If Fu Bai were to learn more…

Lin Yang’s throat tightened. Many words were caught at his lips, but he couldn’t speak a single one.

This was the past that had already happened. No matter how much Lin Yang said, it would be erased by history; it was a meaningless struggle.

Witnessing this past was too cruel for Lin Yang. He had to watch the destruction of a world with his own eyes and watch Lin be swept by fate onto a path of ten thousand agonies.

Lin Yang’s hatred for the Evil God was built on the basis that the god represented sin. But what if the Evil God was also a victim?

Lin Yang hesitated, meeting Lin’s cautious gaze. Finally, he said, “I am just worried about you being used by bad things, Lin. I don’t want you to be in pain.”

Lin hugged Lin Yang. Although it was the first time meeting this human, he loved his scent. He felt an uncontrollable urge to be close to him. Beneath his hollow chest, something was struggling to come out, like a bright red seed trying to take root and sprout.

He rubbed his cheek against Lin Yang’s, his eyes joyful. “It’s okay if I’m in pain. Now that you’ve appeared before me, I don’t feel bad anymore. We really are lovers, aren’t we? Otherwise, why would I like you so much the first time I see you? It feels as if I have known you for a long time as if I have loved you for a long time.”

As he spoke the word “love,” Lin dazed for a moment. Messy images flashed through his mind: a palace of eternal silence, a floating blood-colored eye.

He didn’t understand what those unseen images meant, but he felt a profound sense of suffering. He repeated the sharp, screaming voices: “Lin… Yang?”

Were those malevolent emotions screaming for Lin Yang?

“You remember my name?” Lin Yang hadn’t introduced himself just now.

Lin was submerged in those piercing emotions. “Is that your name? Are they calling you?”

“They?”

Lin Yang looked around. There was only him and Lin; no third party was present.

Lin told him truthfully, “A crystal palace and a blood-colored eye suddenly appeared in my mind. There were many voices in the images, calling ‘Lin Yang’ over and over, obsessed and sharp.”

Hearing this, Lin Yang felt the wound in the center of his wrist—long healed with not even a scar remaining begin to throb with unbearable pain again.

He lowered his eyes. “I have never been to a palace, nor have I seen a blood-colored eye. The ‘Lin Yang’ they are calling is not me.”

“Oh,” Lin responded softly, but he couldn’t help feeling that those voices were calling the Lin Yang standing right in front of him.

Lin Yang stayed in the temple that night. Lin insisted that Lin Yang sleep with him in the giant circular pool, but Lin Yang refused.

The circular pool was transparent. Lin Yang watched as Lin rested his head on his fish tail and his silver eyes slowly closed. He fell asleep.

A hundred years later, Lin would spend most of his time sleeping at the bottom of the temple pool, but that water wasn’t clean; it was Lin’s own blood.

This was the first time Lin Yang saw Lin lying in a clean pool. He looked like an elf described in an ancient fairy tale. Lin Yang’s gaze lingered on Lin’s undeveloped wings he was an elf who hadn’t fully matured.

After Lin was fast asleep, Lin Yang quietly left the temple.

Passing through the giant stone labyrinth, a small pebble fell in front of him. A muffled, thick voice spoke up, “Hello, my name is Lin Lin. There is a small snake crawling on my back and its bite is very uncomfortable. Can you help me drive it away? I can tell you the way out of the labyrinth.”

Lin Yang looked up sharply. The massive stone was rooted there, wearing a wreath of flowers on its head. Compared to the Lin Lin from a hundred years later, it was more than twice as tall.

The voice was definitely Lin Lin’s.

Lin Yang’s eyes grew red. His voice was very soft, as if he were afraid of startling him. “Okay, I’ll help you. My name is Lin Yang. Can we be friends?”