‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Everyone had gone to their respective tents but Deliw remained to extinguish the flame before he retreated to bed. By Reed's recommendation, Jakhyer just stayed behind around the fire despite his body throbbing from the cold. These two couldn't talk about anything personal or anything at all because Deliw is just mere messenger and Jakhyer is the all reputable shuitian sect master. Their conversation would be so unnatural if they wish to respect the disguise.

" I thought I would be sleeping with you but I guess I can't do that . I feel cheated ", he sulked as he was turning off the fire .

" Go to bed and stop being so childish ", Jakhyer shooed him

' even you trying to be angry at me sounds like we share the blue bond',

Blue bond is a marital bond between two wolves who have a blue vein for each other. This is a very rare form of marriage since wolves don't always have blue veins for each other. Others go their whole life without ever seeing it on their bodies not because they don't have a fated mate nor that they haven't met them but due to that they refuse to let it show as the power of their state of mind allows them to be able to inhibit the reaction.

In the case of Deliw, he spent all his life living up to his father and so he suppressed his feelings not realizing that along with them was the visibility of the vein.

As much as it may sound bad , the effect is very much reversible but that can come at a disadvantage . For example Deliw being sure that Jakhyer is his fated one but the minute he throws down his walls ,the vein won't show. In conclusion for all the times that Deliw has met or thought of Jakhyer he has not once experienced the vein effect which was part of the reason that he fell so painstakingly upset about the feelings he has for Jakhyer.

This verifies that one wolf can have it but the other won't. Howbeit the one that doesn't ,may have deep feelings of love like Deliw for their companion enough to get them into wedlock. It is not a guarantee that the latter will remain with that sort of love for their spouse forever because at any time their fated one might come and the marriage will feel like hell for them since they didn't marry the one they love .

To help them sleep at night ,some wolves believe that for every wolf only three individuals can make their veins glow. Their fated one, their greatest provocation and their past fate. However this is a complete lie. Only the fated makes the glow . It's still quiet a mystery how a wolf can have such intense emotions of love but have that other one not be his or her fated one. Perhaps it is just a series of feeling like the wolf has met the right one only to be welcomed by disappointment on the journey of preparing them for the real right one.Meaning that right now , ever since Deliw was with Jakhyer, though his heart was somersaulting to every little thing , Jakhyer is not his fated one .

Jakhyer looked at him. Deliw smiled and he told him that if he feels a wolf touching him at night, he SHOULDN'T suspect him. Obviously that's a rhetorical statement as no else dares to touch Jakhyer aside from him. After those naughty words , Deliw walked off .

****

Adrain laid on Kijad's lap and his white hair was scattered all over his legs.

Adrian was reading a guide of exilirs and Kijad was assembling everything and familiarizing himself with the cases. The station commander of Inor gave him the files and by order of the pseudo chief , entrusted them to the royally appointed messenger named Sahil which is Deliw's stage name.

" Do you feel something too?", Adrian pressed underneath Kijad's chin and he murmured an affirmation to Adrian.

Adrian got up and he looked at Kijad. He proceed to blow air into Kijad's ear making him freeze.

Kijad slowly turned to look at Adrian who had his eyes closed. He inhaled deeply.

Seeing Adrian acting cute when he looks like he had just been running through a tornado is more sad than it is adorable. Somehow he appears very unwell and malnourished added to being on the verge of a breakdown. This exuberance on his face means that he is definitely unhappy but he is hiding it and the question is why.

'Why are you trying so hard ? I can still tell that you aren't happy !', he thought but never voiced anything that he thought to his company.

He responded by touching his hair and Adrian dancing his head to the motion. Sometimes he can't even understand what is going on in Adrian's life even though they are already in arm's length with each other. If feels like a lie to consider himself as his brother when they feel so distanced.

***

Valian tossed a bunch of stones around. His meridians were feeling stiff because they have been forbidden from turning to wolves or even doing anything that will expose their energy levels so they just go about like seating ducks.

Joln was reading a book that he found on his desk not really knowing who put it there. He has been so engaged in it that almost all the words that Valian said hit on the outside for him.

" Are you reading fluff ? ", He tossed a stone to him but Joln destroyed it using his qi energy.

" Are you stupid? Sect leader said not to use our powers in secret! What if we get in trouble?",

" Says the guy who is keeping our tent warm with his fire element ",

Valian kept quiet!

He isn't the one keeping the tent warm. Kijad would have long known and scolded him for this therefore since Kijad hasn't voiced nor other wolves of their tents being warm at night , it must be someone who has the ability to give out warmth at such a steady slow rate that it is almost impossible to detect through the semi-developed meridian sensory techniques of the school.

This is a technique used amongst cultivators where they are able to tell if qi is following through a certain thing. It is mostly common after a dual cultivation practice.

A dual-cultivation is the marital union for cultivators . This practice comes on three steps . The first is to check and magnify the blue vein , next to meditate together on an encirclement and finally to influx energy. A symbiotic relationship will be successful if the cultivators can't differentiate their own bodies from their spouses

With time , schools taught it to practitioners incase they ever have to engage in the dual cultivation process . Normal Marriage or Blue bond are bonded by law and spirit respectively but dual-cultivation extends to the next five hundred years worth of qi. Even after death they are still bonded. Their descendants can't intermarry and will have to cultivate with each other and as well as their partners if they wish to get in the dual-cultivation line. Otherwise risk having illegitimate children who are hated by the celestial court.

To summarize everything, there are three types of marriage. Normal marriage where a couple gets united because they think they are in love or are forced by society. The second is blue bond which is the rarest, where both spouses have a blue vein for each other . Finally dual-cultivation. This marriage takes many forms but is solely between two cultivators. Whether or not they share a blue bond is a different matter .

Anyway Valian secretly learned deeply on this technique by buying books from the black market. A heavily forbidden act! Therefore he can't tell Joln that the influx isn't his since he is going to pressure him to explain despite he being able to casually just say it isn't his. Or maybe he should mention that his tent had always been warm ever since he returned from the night watch with

( Joln placed the book down and went outside)

He spotted Jakhyer staying by the flameless spot .

' does he come here every night? Or perhaps his wounds are acting up again?',

He walked up to him and tried to place his jacket on him but he didn't because he remembered that last time Jakhyer was really not happy with that gesture.

" Should I start the fire?", He spoke softly

Jakhyer ignored him because all he thought was that he is about to end up fighting with Joln.

" Keeping the fire all night helps", he barked at him

" How do you know?"

" Because when I was hit..", he didn't speak because Jakhyer raised his face to look at him.

He advised him to stay warm but Jakhyer ignored him.

This was getting very akward.

"Atleast I am trying to make peace!",

"I don't fight with cubs!", He murmured loud enough for Joln to scream at him.

"don't call me a cub!it's okay for you to act all gracious and noble when you look like a chameleon on shrewd alcohol... ",

" Joln, I am your senior. Honor your limits you uncultured child. It's more dishonoring to witness your bad manners than to listen to your constant whining. I didn't ask you to carry your disrespectful self to me so stop acting as if I owe you something for your biased concern ",

" Bastard! ",

Joln stormed off but instead headed towards the east-side of the camp.

" Go after him!", He whispered and Reed flew towards Joln.

" I am bored . Let's have a party", Chulee chuckled while peeking at the scene that just unfolded.

The blob of mud thawed from his body and dissolved into nearly fifty half-decomposed wolves with scarlet eyes. The wolves had forked tongues the length of a foot and and spewed black saliva that upon dripping to the ground corroded the grass immediately.

Like a commander of hell , Chulee snapped his fingers and the wolves dispersed towards the tents.

**

Jakhyer turned his head to the side when he heard distant steps.

***

" What was that!", Kijad asked Adrian who had fallen asleep on his lap.

Immediately he stormed out towards Jakhyer.

Jakhyer had already threw up spells to check for life but wasn't getting any reading. Kijad tried to pair him up but got the same results.

" Let me go see what it was!", Kijad flew off but then Adrian followed behind

Jakhyer got in a state of confusion. He has to protect the remaining sect and Deliw. Joln is on an emotional rage while Adrian could get in danger if he is exposed to demon energy.

This is one of the curses Jakhyer got when he married a woman that the heavens had cursed for illegitimate lineage.

It started when Jakhyer refused to ascend since he wanted to experience life before becoming a god. A few years later ,they commanded him yet he begged not to. This time it was due to a woman. The third time he was instructed to ascend was when he wanted to marry her. Without regard to the order, he went ahead and wed her. A few months later when they found out Adrian's mother was expecting, they increased their threats saying if he doesn't come they will take Adrian's life five days after his birth. He had no choice at this point but if he went , he would never be able to see Adrian so he practically refused. Jakhyer journeyed to the council of death and begged them not to receive Adrian's life. The darklords couldn't help him as Adrian wasn't yet alive. But they made a deal with him that they can take half of his energy and give it to Adrian . The condition was that she gives birth to a still-life , then they will give Adrian the life of a zombie.

Jakhyer takes his energy to them and they dilute it and give it to Adrian . Basically that means the celestial court doesn't know he is alive and the afterlife doesn't recognize him as a foreign being but rather as someone walking on the threshold of life and death.

This means that dark energy flowing in him can be dealt with by any cultivator causing him to die. And it also means that dark creatures resonate with him and can use him like a battery to boost themselves.Kijad doesn't know this. Ryle thinks that Adrian has dark energy but doesn't quite trust his intuition. Reed was the intermediate between the darklords and the angel of life during Adrian's birth.

Adrian's dark energy is too supreme and channel to be detected by mortals and the heavens.

Anyway when the heavens were informed of the still-life, Jakhyer was suspended for twenty years. This was because they believed that he had been contaminated by the effect of fathering a corpse . It's now only a matter of time before they call him again and when they send a representative, she will find Adrian and that is just chaos waiting to erupt.

Nevertheless that should be a bit less catastrophic because the council of death still hasn't announced what they stand to benefit from this deal!