INHA Chapter 125

The subsequent matters no longer required Xu Dongyou to handle.

However, the trending topic about this incident still hung at the top, with countless people paying attention to it. Many said they were glad Xu Dongyou was there; otherwise, this incident likely would have ended with numerous casualties.

After returning home, Xu Dongyou received a warm welcome from his parents, who prepared a lavish meal for him. Beside him, Xu Yangchen felt that Xu Dongyou’s performance at that moment was particularly impressive, but he admired even more the mysterious person who had saved Xu Dongyou with a single strike.

“Bro, who was that person? Is he from your department too?” Xu Yangchen asked, full of curiosity.

Xu Dongyou knew that Zhu Yuan didn’t plan to reveal his identity, so he simply said, “That’s a secret.”

“But if it weren’t for him… Hey, Father Xu, later you should cook a special dish and let Dongyou take it over to this person as a token of gratitude.”

Father Xu and Mother Xu knew that the handlers didn’t lack money, and as for daily expenses, they were all covered by the bureau’s funding. So they could only use this simple way to express their gratitude.

Xu Dongyou didn’t want to dampen his parents’ spirits, so he smiled and nodded. He then took the dish to Zhu Yuan’s place because he also wanted to properly thank Zhu Yuan. Before Xu Dongyou arrived, the Anomaly Handling Bureau had already sent several gifts as thanks to Zhu Yuan.

However, knowing that Zhu Yuan didn’t want those people lingering too long, they soon took their leave. They instructed Xu Dongyou to convey their sincere gratitude for Zhu Yuan’s timely rescue.

Before Xu Dongyou could knock, the door opened.

It was as if Zhu Yuan had known Xu Dongyou was coming. At that moment though, Xu Dongyou hesitated, feeling a swirl of conflicting emotions until Zhu Yuan’s figure suddenly appeared before him. Zhu Yuan fell silent for a few seconds and said, “Come in.”

Saying that, he stepped aside.

Xu Dongyou walked in and looked around; nothing had changed since his last visit, as if Zhu Yuan had left no trace in this room.

A strange sense of panic surged within Xu Dongyou, an emotion he couldn’t quite articulate. Although Zhu Yuan was standing right there, he felt as if Zhu Yuan could vanish at any moment, slipping through his grasp.

Zhu Yuan poured a glass of water for Xu Dongyou, his gaze fixed on him, concealing the turmoil within that belied his outward calm.

After a while, it was Zhu Yuan who spoke first, “Next time, don’t face any danger alone.”

Just a little more and the other party would have been in danger.

Although the other party had already formed a pact with him, when Xu Dongyou encountered a crisis, the power of the pact would activate the dragon bones within him to protect Xu Dongyou.

But in the past, he had always been sealed within the great array, unable to help Xu Dongyou at all.

This time, however, his body acted before his mind could, doing something even he hadn’t expected—protecting Xu Dongyou.

Afterward, he had no regrets.

Instead, he became even more aware of how important Xu Dongyou was to him. Perhaps, he needed to have a serious talk with Xu Dongyou about this. The days ahead were long and he had to protect Xu Dongyou, ensuring that he wouldn’t face any dangers alone.

But would the other party be willing?

For the first time since ancient times, Lord Zhulong felt a sense of insecurity when it came to a human.

After a moment of silence, Xu Dongyou softly said, “The situation was too critical at the time. If I hadn’t stepped in, more innocent people would have been injured, or worse, killed.”

So no matter what, he never imagined that Zhu Yuan would show up at that moment.

Zhu Yuan’s appearance stirred a glimmer of hope within Xu Dongyou, but he also felt that it was impossible for Zhu Yuan to like him.

After all, the other party was an ancient being, having seen all kinds of people. How could he possibly develop feelings for someone like him?

Both of them hesitated, filled with doubt when it came to matters of love, and neither was confident.

However, both unknowingly shared the same thought: they wanted to reach a definitive conclusion on this matter.

“I…”

“You…”

They both spoke at the same time, then stopped in sync.

“You go first,” Xu Dongyou said. The courage he had mustered moments ago had completely faded. He thought he could take this moment to mentally prepare himself.

Zhulong was not one to be indecisive. Once he made a decision, he would see it through to the end. He straightened his back slightly, his expression and demeanor becoming very serious.

This made Xu Dongyou tense up involuntarily as well.

What was the other person going to say?

“There’s something I want to tell you, and perhaps you’ll find it surprising,” Zhu Yuan began with some prelude, then earnestly said, “Xu Dongyou, I want to be with you forever until the end of my life.”

He wasn’t skilled at speaking words of love, only able to give such a promise in this indirect way.

After forming a pact, unless he died, Xu Dongyou would forever share half of Zhu Yuan’s life force.

But Xu Dongyou wouldn’t die because of it.

That’s why neither the demon clan nor ancient beings would easily form pacts with others, because it was akin to giving the other person half of their life, while the other party didn’t have to bear any risk.

Xu Dongyou’s mind went completely blank. Even if he were slow, he could clearly understand the meaning behind Zhu Yuan’s words.

The reason he was stunned was because he was so shocked that he couldn’t react.

After a long moment, Xu Dongyou finally found his voice again. With a mix of hope and nervousness that even he could feel, he asked, “Are you serious?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how you feel about it,” Zhu Yuan replied.

Overwhelmed by a wave of immense joy, Xu Dongyou worked hard to say, “Actually, I feel the same.”

Zhu Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “From now on, half of my life belongs to you.”

Although Xu Dongyou didn’t fully understand what that meant, he could feel the power and the commitment hidden in those words. He couldn’t help but break into a quiet, happy smile.

Even now, he still felt a little dizzy, unable to believe that the issue that had troubled him for so long had reached such a perfect resolution.

It really felt too much like a dream.

It was so wonderful that he could hardly believe it. If this truly was a dream, he wished it would never end.

The two finally realized each other’s feelings. With the emotional foundation they already had, there was no awkward phase like most couples experience. Instead, their relationship deepened further.

Both of them were now thinking about spending the rest of their lives together.

However, they would probably need to inform the Anomaly Handling Bureau and Xu Dongyou’s parents.

But they hadn’t yet figured out how to explain it.

Little did they know, the Anomaly Handling Bureau and even the demon clan had already begun to sense something. The Bureau sent the chief and the demon clan’s Elder Chen to discreetly inquire with Zhu Yuan about the situation. Unexpectedly, Xu Dongyou was also there. The atmosphere between the two had a subtle and distinct feeling, which immediately made both the human and the demon understand everything.

There was no need to ask further.

Even though the idea of their cub being together with the ancient Zhulong sounded absurd and unbelievable, the demon clan never really imposed many restrictions when it came to matters of the heart.

As long as the demons didn’t get involved with humans.

Moreover, they dared not separate Zhu Yuan and Xu Dongyou—after all, the demon clan was under Zhulong’s command.

The chief, however, thought differently. He had more to consider. The demon clan’s strength was already formidable, and after thousands of years of cooperation, they had built a strong mutual understanding.

But Zhulong’s power far surpassed that of the demon clan. With Zhulong now paired with one of their cubs, did this imply something more?

Zhu Yuan only needed to glance at him to understand the chief’s concerns. He said, “I will not interfere in human affairs, nor in demon clan matters. And what I’ve said before still stands.”

He had no desire to control this world.

So even if the world belonged to humans, it didn’t matter. Besides, a stable human realm would only make it easier for him to enjoy his time with Xu Dongyou in peace.

The chief quietly breathed a sigh of relief and left with Elder Chen.

Not long after, the central bureau secretly contacted Elder Bai. No one knew what Elder Bai had said, but the Anomaly Handling Bureau quieted down and began focusing on searching for more teleportation arrays.

Recently, strange events have been happening frequently. There had been numerous incidents where monsters attacked large gatherings of people and the number of resentful spirits had also been increasing.

This led the Anomaly Handling Bureau to strongly suspect that the Lord of Darkness was up to something again. Or perhaps, the dark forces had realized that Zhu Yuan had been released from the sealing array, and they were gathering strength in an attempt to confront him and seize control of the human realm.

In the days that followed, Xu Dongyou continued his work as usual. He visited Zhu Yuan every day, and when work got busy, Zhu Yuan would come to accompany him, though no one around them noticed Zhu Yuan’s presence.

Their relationship deepened once again.

Xu Dongyou thought about it for a long time before deciding to tell his parents about his relationship with Zhu Yuan, hoping for their blessing.

Zhu Yuan knew that Xu Dongyou wasn’t actually the biological child of his parents, but it was they who had saved him years ago, allowing him to grow up safely. Because of this, Zhu Yuan cared deeply about what these two humans thought.

When Xu Dongyou returned home, he subtly told his parents that he had fallen for someone and that they planned to spend their lives together.

Mother Xu was stunned.

She had never imagined that her son, who had never shown much interest in relationships, had quietly gotten a girlfriend. After the initial shock, she couldn’t stop smiling and said, “Then you should bring this person over one day. Let’s have a proper talk between the two families.”

Father Xu, who rarely had much say, also expressed his joy and congratulations. He nodded enthusiastically and started planning to prepare a big feast to welcome the other family.

Xu Dongyou hesitated before saying, “But… the person I like is a man.”

The joy on his parents’ faces froze instantly, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just heard. His mother struggled to regain her voice. Unlike before, she didn’t have a huge reaction to the news, but instead restrained herself and asked again, “You like a man?”

Xu Dongyou nodded, feeling a little embarrassed, then nervously asked, “How do you feel about it?”

If his parents didn’t agree, he wasn’t sure what he would do. It was the first time in his life that he had truly fallen for someone.

Seeing Xu Dongyou’s anxious expression, his mother was reminded of the day Father Xu had brought him home. He had been such a small, fragile bundle, and holding him felt like he could be hurt at any moment.

That adorable child was the one they had worked so hard to raise.

Mother Xu swallowed the lump in her throat and said, “Your father and I would never stop you. But you need to understand, this path isn’t as easy as you might think. If neither of you regrets today’s decision, your dad and I will support you.”

Father Xu nodded in agreement.

To him, the idea of two men being together might seem a bit far-fetched, but all he wanted was for his child to be happy.

And if one day Xu Dongyou’s birth parents tried to stop him from being with this person, Father Xu knew he would stand by his son no matter what.

---