The Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts

Chapter 50: The God's Tears

"He's the son of God? AHH-" Suddenly, an invisible surge of power rushed out of Gu Ting Yu's body. The sudden tremendous force was so incredible that it made Liang Yue feel at a loss for words.

At first glance, Gu Ting Yu seemed to be at ease while the ten unseen glows of light flowed through his muscles and bones straight towards his heart.

No, it can't be! Huan Sheng questioned alarmingly, "What did you put in his body?"

Moments later, the impact began to weaken, and Liang Yue started thinking amidst the confusion, "Put… what…" Then, it suddenly occurred to him, "The beads! Yes, ten transparent beads!"

Huan Sheng's eyes widened; he ran towards Gu Ting Yu and pulled his legs apart to check. "Tell me, where did these beads come from?!"

"What are you doing?" Liang Yue asked furiously when he saw Huan Sheng sinking his fingers into Gu Ting Yu's back entrance, and he quickly pushed him away.

Huan Sheng showed an astonished expression, pausing briefly. With a stern face, he said: "Pass him to me."

"What?"

"Pass him to me now, or it'll be too late!"

Liang Yue put Gu Ting Yu down on the ground, and pulled his buttcheeks apart. The entrance that was originally full of beads was now left empty, with muscles swollen.

The beads were gone.

"Don't tell me - you don't know what those beads are?"

Liang Yue shook his head, "I found them at the place where the meteor crashed. Back then, the beads were glowing brightly, just like earlier. Then, when I had them on my hands, they became a set of normal transparent beads."

"… I can't believe that the beads that had been missing for a thousand years were actually in your hands. These ten beads are called [Ming Lei]."

Ming Lei - the tears of the First God. Legend said that they contained a huge amount of mysterious powers. Then, when they got stained with Zhu Que's blood, they gained the powers of rebirth. After the sacred war, it was the only treasure that the First God had left behind. Thus, numerous battles were fought over it.

Countless souls battled in the contest over Ming Lei, but later, it got stolen by the feathered clan from Zhu Que's safeguard.

Since then, there hadn't been any news about it.

"I'm not sure why Ming Lei got absorbed into his body, but Ming Lei's power is only temporarily stabilizing his soul. If we drag this out, his soul will still scatter away!" he frantically glanced at Gu Ting Yu's pallid face, "At this point, only that person can save him!"

Liang Yue tightened his hold on Gu Ting Yu, like a vulnerable child who is afraid of letting his precious treasure be taken away, "He won't. Qian Lü has never saved anyone who doesn't matter to him."

"But we have to try!"

"No."

"With my current powers, there is no way I could bring him through the barrier gates, so please, open the barrier gates with your powers!"

"…"

"Liang Yue!"

"I… don't want to."

When I let go of his hand, he almost died horribly. I will never let him go again…

"Liang Yue, I beg you, he can't just die like that."

"I beg you too, just let us be together forever, won't you?"

Huan Sheng suddenly calmed down from his angered panicking. He took a deep breath and replied as though it was to remind himself as well.

The last thread hanging in Liang Yue's heart instantly snapped.

[That human… he never wanted to stay by our side.]

Realizing that, Liang Yue's breathing started to tremble uncontrollably. He took off the silver rings from Gu Ting Yu's chest and stood up. He then handed over his beloved into someone else's hands.

Huan Sheng did not look at Liang Yue's expression. He just thought that the falling feathers in the air resembled black withered flowers.

After this farewell, will there be any possibility of a reunion again?

Will I never, ever be able to have you?

He stared at the vanishing shadows as Liang Yue's vision began to blur. The intense pain from his chest quickly spread throughout his entire body. He started to lose his powers as he couldn't support his body anymore… but he persisted, like the tombstone that's guarding a grave. He stood there, not moving an inch, as he gazed at the place where the human had disappeared, as though the next moment he might suddenly reappear.

Just like when they first met.

He raised his head to see the stars in the darkened night sky; they seemed to be just within reach.

Then he suddenly understood.

The vast sky full of stars - it could never be obtained, but Liang Yue knew that it was there. He could see them, he could miss them, he could…

[… love him.]

—

The moon was hanging up in the sky. Simple and elegant purplish thin smoke swirled around the bamboo forest. The silvery moonlight reflected on the murmuring spring water. The night was calm and quiet, like a poem's verse, as the sound of spring water flowing became even clearer.

At the source of the spring water, five mouths of a spring surrounded a single pavilion. Inside the pavilion, there was a zither.

A man with silver long hair was resting beside the zither as though he were asleep.

The deep water was so clear that the bottom could be seen easily. The man within the abyss of seclusion had an intelligent face, yet distant appearance; the whole scene was like a dream, a fantasy - a perfect picture of a wonderland.

Huan Sheng held Gu Ting Yu tightly in his arms as he reached the edge of the spring water. The mouth of the spring acted like a natural form of screen, not allowing anyone to get near the pavilion.

"Qian Lü… Please wake up…"

Huan Sheng's pleading echoed off the water bank, as a serene breeze passed by, making the bamboo forest rustle in response.

Yet the breeze stopped, and nothing happened.

"Qian Lü, I know you can hear me." Beads of sweat formed on Huan Sheng's forehead, as he tightened his grip on Gu Ting Yu,

He was uncertain if he could persuade Qian Lü to save a human whom he had never met before…

Qian Lü, the in-charge of the fifth palace, was a special existence. For the past thousand years, Qian Lü had never shown concern about the revival of the Evil Source, nor did he care about the dispute outside of his palace.

The tunes of his zither could cure any trauma in this world. However, this zither had not been played for the past thousand years.

"You must save him. Because he…" Huan Sheng paused for a moment, then he continued, "… [Ming Lei] is in his body."

The spring water came to a standstill silence, which was then followed by loud rumbling noises, as the water splattered in all directions; the man with silver hair opened his eyes.

"You mean the First God's tears, Ming Lei?"

"Yes."

"Didn't it get stolen from Zhu Que's hands a thousand years ago, disappearing without a trace?"

"It's a long story. Now, though, it's within this human's body."

Just as he'd finished his sentence, Huan Sheng felt a sudden pang of pain in his chest. While he was distracted, Qian Lü appeared right before him. He hovered his hand over Gu Ting Yu's body as he searched; true enough, he could feel Ming Lei's weakened powers.

Qian Lü landed his palm onto Huan Sheng's chest, making use of the opportunity, when Huan Sheng put up resistance and grabbed Gu Ting Yu from his arms. "Stop! What are you going to do?"

"Remove the beads." Qian Lü was just about to split open Gu Ting Yu's exposed abdomen, when he felt a sudden chill that gave him goosebumps. He turned around, and for the first time, he saw Huan Sheng revealing such an emotional side.

Huan Sheng shouted almost desperately: "If he dies, you will never, ever obtain Ming Lei!"

Qian Lü frowned; he could sense the unusual divergence from the human's body. He could sense Ming Lei's existence, yet he couldn't find the actual form of it.

"What exactly happened?" Qian Lü asked puzzledly.

"Ming Lei has already been absorbed into the blood and bones of this human. If you want to obtain Ming Lei, you must save him first. Otherwise, Ming Lei will completely disappear along with this human's death."

Qian Lü got up on his feet as he stared down at Gu Ting Yu, seemingly considering something.

"I will only promise to give you Ming Lei, but you will not touch this human. Is that clear?"

"Oh?" Qian Lü smirked, "Huan Sheng, why not worry about yourself first?"

Huan Sheng froze briefly, then held his hand out. Under the glowing moonlight, he saw two opaque shapes in his palm.

Oh no - should he not intake the flower dew, he wouldn't make it.

Gu Ting Yu lay on the ground unmoving, yet there were so many unknown threats awaiting ahead. Huan Sheng squatted down and caressed the man's cold cheeks, "… I'm leaving."

The dimmed, dark-green lights formed a barrier passageway to the depths of the Twelve Palaces. Just before Huan Sheng stepped forward, he glared straight into Qian Lü's eyes as he threatened firmly, "Don't hurt him…"

[Or else I will never let you off.]

Once Huan Sheng disappeared within the dim glow, Qian Lü smirked arrogantly.

He turned to look at Gu Ting Yu, thinking for a moment. Then, he reached out his hands and pulled Gu Ting Yu's buttcheeks apart.

His nimble fingers pushed into Gu Ting Yu's entrance relentlessly, and moved around, as if searching for something. His two fingers swirled around deep within the inner muscles, but other than the tight wetness wrapping his digits, there wasn't anything else.

Ming Lei was indeed not within his body. Qian Lü frowned again; this was the first time he ever saw Ming Lei bonding with a human body in such manner.

This human's life force was way too weakened; he was using that last bit of power in his body, barely holding onto his life.

Qian Lü showed no signs of wanting to save the man's life. On the contrary, he leaned down to Gu Ting Yu's nape, and bit down gently.

If Ming Lei had already been absorbed into the human's blood, then he could simply drink all of it while the man was still alive, and that would do the trick. However, just as he parted his thin lips and his teeth touched Gu Ting Yu's skin, a stream of air began to stir abruptly. The sleeping power within Gu Ting Yu's body suddenly blasted against Qian Lü.

Blood seeped out from the corner of Qian Lü's mouth, as a sudden flash of light sliced past his lips.

What's going on… Qian Lü muttered, as he maintained his elegant posture, wiping away the glaring redness from the edge of his mouth.

"Dissolving within the blood, huh…?" he held the organ in between Gu Ting Yu's legs, as he laughed playfully, "Other than blood, there's still this thing…"

—

T/N: I hate typing Qian Lü's name; it's so irritating to type. Lol. Btw, it's pronounced as 'L-yu' if you're curious. 😉

P.S.: Recap of the past few palaces for the dearest readers who have survived this far! (We're halfway through the whole story now!!!)

First Palace: Palace of Maze

Sacred Beast: Bai Zhi Ao / Huge white canine

Second Palace: Palace of Bloodthirst

Sacred Beast: Xiu Er / (half) Werewolf

Third Palace: Palace of Vanity

Sacred Beast: Qing Que/ Peacock

Fourth Palace: Palace of Greed

Sacred Beast: Liang Yue / Crow

And up next!

Fifth Palace: Palace of Egoism

Sacred Beast: Qian Lü /???

Make a guess what was Qian Lü's original form!!!

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