51 2-19

Since Yu Qingyu had no idea how to respond, he fell silent, just staring into the distance, lost in thought.

Liu Wei, who didn't let his eyes off Yu Qingyu not even for a second, gradually got tired of waiting for an answer. Eventually, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and furrowed his brows. "Was that supposed to be your way of making up for how you set me up back in my world?" he asked, with a hint of mockery in his voice. "Do you think that sacrificing yourself now will change anything? That I will suddenly forgive you, and we'll be all good?"

Yu Qingyu lowered his head, biting his lip. "No, I…" he muttered, his eyes glued to the ground. "I didn't really… I mean… I just saw you about to get killed, and I just jumped in without thinking…"

Hearing Yu Qingyu's mumbling, Liu Wei scoffed loudly. "Wow, what an amazing person you are! Saving others so altruistically! You're practically a saint!" he exclaimed, his words practically dripping with sarcasm.

Yu Qingyu lowered his head even more, his long, tousled hair falling forward and shielding his face from view. He tried hard to stop his eyes from tearing up, but Liu Wei's words just hurt too much.

He never thought of himself as a good person, but he certainly wasn't all that bad either. He always strove to be the best he could, always trying to do what he thought was the right thing to do, and be nice to others… So being judged harshly like that really stung.

But at the same time, he couldn't blame Liu Wei for seeing him that way. He did betray him, after all. True, he had his reasons. There was not only his mission, but also the fact that if he didn't, plenty of other people would die. But he also knew Liu Wei's past. His thirst for revenge was not unjustified. With all the man went through in his life, of course he wouldn't be so forgiving…

The lump was rising in Yu Qingyu's throat, making it difficult for him to speak. But he still wanted to explain himself, even just a bit, even if it wouldn't make any difference. 

"I know that there's no way saving you here would make up for what I've done to you," he spoke up slowly in a shaking voice. "And I won't ask you to forgive me or let it go. I know that even if I were to die for you here, it would be meaningless… After all, that's not even my real life, my real body, my real world… So it doesn't compare to what happened to you because of me, when you were captured and dragged to Chuxi City."

Yu Qingyu paused, and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Liu Wei was silent, not saying a word or reacting in any other audible way, but Yu Qingyu had no courage to look at him to see his expression. But Liu Wei was still sitting right next to him, so Yu Qingyu hoped that he was at least listening.

"But I want you to know, that I truly regret it. I know that it's too late for that, and you might think that I'm saying it just because you followed me here to get revenge, but… That is truly how I feel, and I felt that way from the start… When I spent time with you in your hideout, I already felt guilty about what I was going to do… But in the end, I selfishly chose to do the mission. I'm sorry."

Once Yu Qingyu finished speaking, the silence fell between them once again. 

After what felt like an eternity, the silence got disrupted by the rustling of clothes, as Liu Wei moved. "Whatever," he answered curtly, standing up. Then, he entered the labyrinth, not waiting for Yu Qingyu.

Although Yu Qingyu could use some rest, it was certainly not the best place for it. It would be best to get out of the demon realm first, but judging by his previous experience with the labyrinth, it would probably take a few days… Even after all the time he spent here, he wasn't any more familiar with the place. All the paths looked exactly the same to him.

But they should at least find a cave, and set up a protective array. It would be much better than resting out in the open.

Since he had no idea where to go anyway, he just followed behind Liu Wei. At least this way, he could focus on his own spiritual energy, to check whether he has been infected. And indeed, he noticed some traces of demonic qi, but thankfully, they were faint, and hadn't reached his spiritual core yet. He sealed his meridians to stop it from spreading. It seemed he should go back to the sect soon to get healed…

Suddenly, Yu Qingyu stopped, rooted in place. Preoccupied with examining his own condition, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, until unexpectedly, he crossed over back to the human realm.

Liu Wei led them straight to the rift in the boundary between the two realms. But it hasn't even been that long, two, three hours at most!

"How…" Yu Qingyu couldn't help but mutter under his breath, looking around.

Liu Wei raised his eyebrows and scoffed lightly. "Not everyone is as bad with directions as you."

Yu Qingyu was so surprised that all that had happened between them just a few hours ago completely flew out of his mind. "Does that mean that when we were wandering around the labyrinth for so long back when we just arrived, you were already aware that we were running in circles? Why didn't you say anything then?" he asked with incredulity.

A hint of smirk appeared in a corner of Liu Wei's mouth, as he shrugged his shoulders. "Why would I? It's not like I wanted the trip to bring any results…"

Right. Yu Qingyu almost forgot. 'But then why did you lead us out so fast now?' he thought to himself, but he didn't dare to ask the question out loud. After all, it must have been just because Liu Wei didn't want to stay in the demon realm any longer. It couldn't possibly be because of the state Yu Qingyu was in, right?