Only Human Here 25

So, your friend now…" Wei Huan attempted to speak, genuinely curious about Su Buyu's current stance. From his recent observations, Su Buyu seemed to be nostalgic.

Losing Yang Sheng was already a painful experience for him. In the initial days, Wei Huan would dream almost every night of childhood scenes, where Yang Sheng was always the one watching over him. Regardless of the adventures he embarked on, Yang Sheng was the one silently supporting him. Even waking up, Wei Huan was drenched in cold sweat, wanting to rush and explain, to salvage what he could. Yet, lacking any evidence of his innocence, explanations couldn't bring back the life of his dear friend's father.

He didn't want to lose anyone else.

"It's been a long time," Su Buyu said, his gaze dimming. "He's a demon; once gone, he can't return." He looked at Wei Huan with a forced smile, "Although I say you resemble him, it's just a feeling. You don't really look alike. Still, I can sense his presence in you, or maybe it's just my long absence making me hallucinate a bit."

Listening, Wei Huan was briefly lost in thought. When Su Buyu paused, he forced a smile, "If your friend knew you missed him so much, he would surely feel happy."

"Is that so?" Su Buyu's eyes drifted, focusing on a few birds in the sky.

"If he knew, he would at least send me a dream," Su Buyu added with a distant look.

Hearing this, Wei Huan was momentarily stunned.

The sensation of being forced to conceal the truth was too complex. Perhaps in the eyes of many, he seemed heartless. In reality, he had imagined his own death, considered how Yang Sheng would feel learning about his and his father's deaths in battle. He tried to empathize, pondering how Su Buyu, who had always treated him like a younger brother, lived during the seven years of his apparent demise.

But what could he do? Those seven years had passed.

Now, he dared not reveal the truth of his return to anyone. Born into a position of privilege, he had to acknowledge the harsh reality of being cast into the depths.

Both fell into silence, and eventually, Su Buyu spoke, "I shouldn't have burdened you with such heavy matters. It feels odd, doesn't it? Like fabricating a tragic story for sympathy."

"Are you curious why Yun Yongzhuo formed a bond with a human like me?" Wei Huan asked, aware that Su Buyu couldn't be unaware of this, given the widespread knowledge in the mountain and sea.

Su Buyu's fingers lightly tapped the cup's edge. "Saying you're not curious would be a lie. However…" Rustling sounds came from the flower tree behind him, and the next moment, something fell. Su Buyu waved his hand, and a water sphere appeared in mid-air, catching a small fire mouse that had dropped from the begonia tree.

The water sphere gradually descended to the ground, dissolving away. After the little fire mouse stood still, shook off its fur, bowed to Su Buyu, and then scampered away.

Watching the little creature go, Su Buyu turned back. "Where was I?"

Wei Huan couldn't help but smile; Su Buyu was still the same. "It seems you're indeed not that curious."

"Oh, right," Su Buyu chuckled. "I've never been able to figure out Yongzhuo's thoughts, so I've gotten used to it. Besides, not meddling in others' affairs is always right. His family is prominent, and he doesn't need to care about others' opinions."

Wei Huan didn't agree with this. He felt that Yun Yongzhuo did care too much about others' opinions, which made his life exhausting.

"You don't want to meddle, yet you come to find me."

Su Buyu shrugged. "Not contradictory. I'm not looking for you because of his bond with you. It's just that the timing I chose might have led to misunderstandings. I wanted to find you the day after the selection ceremony, but with the new students arriving, many trivial matters awaited me, so it got delayed. There's nothing important; I just wanted to tell you."

After explaining, he turned to look at Wei Huan, eyes gentle. "You are not an anomaly in the mountain and sea."

Suddenly, Wei Huan felt a sense of déjà vu; the roles had just swapped.

"As long as you accept yourself and acknowledge who you are, everything isn't that difficult."

After saying this, Su Buyu glanced at the time, stood up from the bench. "It's getting late; I have to return to Shangshan. If you need help, feel free to let me know. After all, we both have human blood running in our veins, allies in some sense, right?"

Wei Huan nodded, watching Su Buyu turn around and walk away.

"Wait a moment."

Su Buyu turned back, eyes puzzled.

Almost impulsively, Wei Huan stood up awkwardly. He nearly revealed his identity to Su Buyu but hesitated in the end. Not because he feared exposing his identity, but in this unclear situation, he worried about becoming a liability.

"Um…," Wei Huan raised his empty cup, "Thanks for the juice; it's delicious. I really liked it."

A faint smile appeared on Su Buyu's lips. "He used to like it too." After saying this, he turned away again, leaving the place.

Wei Huan sighed in relief; he couldn't afford to take risks now.

Dying as a traitor was a well-orchestrated conspiracy, and he needed to be cautious. The fewer people who knew about his resurrection, the better. Involving Su Buyu in this web of deception would only make things worse. He couldn't afford to lose anyone else.

Tossing the empty cup into the trash bin, Wei Huan returned to his classroom alone. Yang Ling was chatting with Yanshan Yue, and other demons cast mocking glances at him, finding amusement in the fact that he was seemingly kept by Yun Yongzhuo.

Wei Huan walked towards his seat without looking around, but suddenly, several orange flames surrounded him.

"Don't go."

Who's so idle…

Turning around, Wei Huan faced a guy sitting on the desk, legs crossed, staring at him with a mocking smile. As Wei Huan turned back, the guy pushed his hands back and jumped down from the table, approaching him step by step. "Don't be scared; I'm just curious. What does Instructor Yun see in you?"

The scent of a Tengu.

Wei Huan stared at the Tengu named Zhao Xingjian in front of him. The family crest on his earlobes was a crescent moon in orange, something Wei Huan had noticed on the day of class assignment. This kid always had a group of followers, proud and arrogant. Being a big demon by birth, it was understandable to have some pride, but this kid was even more arrogant than Yang Ling, wasting a good face and having such a bad temper.

In his mind, Wei Huan shook his head; some people who seemed like school bullies on the surface were just complete drama queens on the inside.

Speaking of which, Fengyao Academy used to have a Tengu too, equally annoying, but at least he didn't have such glaring red hair. Wei Huan realized, Zhao Xingjian… Zhao Yuecheng…

Oh my, could this be the little brother of that big dog? The names of this family are truly something, a legend of stars and moons?

Thinking like this, Wei Huan looked at his face again, and he couldn't help but see the resemblance to the big Tengu. Initially, Zhao Yuecheng, the big Tengu, always wanted to follow behind Yun Yongzhuo, who never paid him much attention. This big dog always found trouble with him for no reason, irritating everyone in Fengyao Academy.

Seven years had passed, and he hadn't seen the big dog yet, but he first encountered their little puppy.

"I found it strange before, how could a human enter the Mountain and Sea?," Zhao Xingjian sneered. "Later, I heard you encountered Instructor Yun outside the gate, even went up to hug him. Tsk, sure enough, a human, using such low methods," he leaned towards Wei Huan, whispering, "Did you enter through the back door?"

He deliberately emphasized the words "back door," wearing a nasty smile. The surrounding demon students also joined in the laughter, enjoying the spectacle.

Zhao Xingjian scrutinized Wei Huan's face, then hopped off the table and walked over, reaching out to pinch Wei Huan's chin. "Well, among humans, you do look quite good. Keeping one occasionally for amusement can be interesting. But with Yun Instructor's background, daring to risk being reported and implicated in front of his family, I'm puzzled. What kind of charm do you have to attract people?"

I'm curious too, little puppy.

Wei Huan remained silent, just staring at him, allowing him to be disgusting. Since his rebirth, he had heard all sorts of unpleasant words and didn't find them bothersome anymore.

"Thinking back now, you aced the written exam, and during the practical competition, Yun Instructor happened to be the judge. Even in the selection ceremony, he was present. He even rushed to save you during a small practical task," Zhao Xingjian circled around Wei Huan, then suddenly stopped. "Hey, what are the chances of such a coincidence in this world?"

You're right. Wei Huan affirmed silently in his heart.

Seeing him so calm, Zhao Xingjian became displeased. He coughed and stretched his neck, "Oh, even we little Bifangs were almost taken down by your powerful background. Fortunately, in the end, we relied on our strength. Otherwise, such scandals would have really disgraced the ancestors of the Mountain and Sea."

Yang Ling couldn't hold back any longer and slammed the table, standing up.

Look, look, he's angry now. Zhao Xingjian was smug. However, the next moment, Yang Ling began to scold, "Are you brain-dead? There's no scandal between me and this idiot human. I won him fair and square with my abilities." After saying this, her tone softened a bit, "Although this idiot human talks a lot and is annoying, always causing trouble for me and making my brother ask me to apologize to him, always bothering my sister Shan Yue…"

Hey… Wei Huan felt helpless. Miss, can you get to the point?

Surrounded by flames, Wei Huan, who had been coughing, suddenly spoke up. "But!"

Distracted by this interruption, Yang Ling forgot the rest of her words and followed Wei Huan's lead. "But… but he does have strength. Yun Brother, not… Yun Instructor wouldn't cheat for a student." Yang Ling looked at Zhao Xingjian and continued, "Besides, last time, Yun Instructor and this idiot human had close combat during the practical class. Why didn't you step forward to fight him if you're so capable now?"

Sitting at his desk, Yanshan Yue calmly flipped through a book, lightly adding, "Certainly, it can't be because he likes Yun Instructor."

This duet is well-sung. Wei Huan immediately got into character, adopting an exaggeratedly innocent victim expression he had been maintaining since earlier. Now, he switched to the role of a bystander enjoying the show, "Oh~~~"

"What 'oh'!" Zhao Xingjian was so frustrated that he couldn't express himself clearly. "Who said I like Yun Instructor! Nonsense!"

Yanshan Yue lifted her face, using her usual indifferent expression to look at the now visibly upset little Tengu, "I said you don't like him."

The little Tengu panicked, "Yes, yes, I don't like him." After saying this, he angrily waved his hand, and the flames around Wei Huan disappeared. "I just can't stand unfair things!"

The bell rang.

"If you think it's unfair that I'm kept, " Wei Huan finally spoke after the bell ended, "you can also ask Instructor Yun to keep you. I don't mind at all."

Zhao Xingjian was taken aback, "Keep me? How can you call that keeping! It's called forming a contract!"

Wei Huan calmly chuckled, "Oh, right, forming a contract. So, Yun Instructor and I also formed a contract. Since you're clear about it, you don't need to keep saying 'kept' like an ignorant elementary school student."

"You—"

"Besides," Wei Huan smiled even sweeter, "you do understand what forming a contract means, right? It's akin to a certain kind of agreement. Now, what's an agreement?"

Wei Huan swayed side to side, playfully counting on his fingers while continuing, "Roughly speaking, it can be a contract for selling oneself, then rounding up a bit, it could be a property deed, rounding up again, it might even be a marriage contract. And rounding up one more time is…"

Seeing Zhao Xingjian's expression getting worse, Wei Huan felt immensely satisfied.

Yang Ling played along, "What is it?"

Wei Huan tilted his head, looking triumphant, "It means I am his old…"

"Wei Heng."

Damn.

I can't believe… I can't believe… I can't believe…

In almost an instant, Wei Huan sensed the demonic energy right behind him!

His body shivered uncontrollably, like a rat whose legs went limp when it heard a cat's meow. Without thinking, he changed the last word he hadn't finished saying, almost blurting it out without thinking, "…wife."

After saying this, Wei Huan turned around, forced a smile at Yun Yongzhuo, lacking confidence and face, and said, "Right, hus… husband…”