Chapter 142 - I Am Not Ready

["Ah Yue, one day I will not be by your side. What will you do then?"

He paused from playing with his lover's fingers, pressing their rings together. Arms around his from behind as he leaned into the warmth. Sitting as they watched the plum blossoms bloom, emitting their natural scent.

"If you are not by my side, I would rather die than live without you."

He felt a kiss to the back of his head.

"I need you to live on."

"Ah Li, why do you ask me this? Do you not wish to be beside me any longer?"

Wang Li pressed closer to him and wrapped his arms tighter.

"There is no lifetime that I do not wish to be beside you, my love." He turned and kissed his king who deepened it. Large palm cradled his face and he blinked softly at his husband.

"My heart is forever yours, Ah Yue," Wang Li whispered, "No matter what happens or where I go, you are my only path."

"Why does it sound like you would leave me…?"

Ying Yue whispered back and Wang Li let out a soft smile.

"Wherever you go, I will follow my wife. Did I not tell you how much I am obsessed with you?" The raven haired man pecked his lips over and over as he spoke and the blonde let out a small giggle.

"Please remind me."

"As you wish, my love."]

"Enough, my husband. I… Ah Li," he whispered softly and he stared at the wounds on his husband, "Why… all these times. You've been planning this…"

Even covered in snow and blood, his king looked magnificent.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me? Why weren't you honest about this?! I would have-"

"-tried to find a way? I know… but my beautiful wife," Wang Li sighed with a smile, "I do not deserve you."

"Do you not?"

He questioned desperately as each petal of his heart fell like the flowers around them.

"I am not special, Ah Li."

"You are."

"Not without you! You… you are everything to me, Wang Li. Please…"

He could hear the crunching of snow leading to him and his lover moved closer. Cold hand cradled his face and he leaned into it with his golden eyes closed.

"We must do what the Heaven wishes of us," thumb caressed under his eye, "We must complete the prophecy."

["You don't wish to be the chosen?"

"I wish to live my life freely, Ah Yue, don't you?"

He saw silver eyes investigated his golden ones, searching for the truth. The blonde frowned as he thought about an answer. Letting out a sigh, he looked straight at his best friend and spoke from his heart.

"I do. I want to do as I wish and love who I want, but… but to be chosen from the Heavens is an honor, Ah Li. We must do what is asked of us."

Pulling his hand out of the soft caress of the blonde's fingers, Wang Li looked at the moon and sighed.

"You should not return here anymore and we should no longer meet, Ying Yue."

"What?!" The blonde shouted and he turned his silver eyes to see watery golden eyes, large with anger.

"No."

"No?"

"No, I will not stop seeing you just because… just because you are with that man and you two are… together… we could still be friends and we could still meet. I know maybe we can't meet a lot because you will be with him more, but… but… please don't leave me."

"Ying Yue-" Wang Li tried softly, but he wouldn't… he couldn't!

"I love you Wang Li! I will only leave you alone if you don't love me back, but I know you love me too," he finished shouting and had crawled onto the king's lap during his daze. Breath coming in and out in stutters, he blinked quickly to not miss the man before him, afraid that he would just disappear from him.

"If you wish to cry, Ah Yue, then do so," the raven-haired male held his wrists as his hands shook against the man's cheeks.

"No," he shook his blonde locks steadying himself, "I won't."

His nose was twitching and his eyes watered, but he refused to let tears drop down his eyes. He told himself to remember the long dark lashes bordering the moonlit eyes, silvered with a slight red hue that he could see from how close he was to his lover.

"Breathe, Ah Yue."

The calmness of the king's honeyed voice softened his heart and Ying Yue's shoulders dropped.

"I thank the Heavens for bringing you to me," Wang Li breathed out a smile against his wrist, and he fell harder for him.]

Ying Yue shook his head tightening his hold on his husband and he stared teary eyed. Dark lashes lined with puffs of white as the moon watched the two of them on the brink of goodbye.

["I see," the elder closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, "You cannot see him any longer."

The blonde pouted and shook his head stubbornly.

"Did he not tell you?" His master looked at him with saddened eyes, "You were chosen to kill him."

Ying Yue felt his entire world turn bleak as the blood dropped from his face. His heart was hurting. His master never lied to them and this… he… he couldn't do it. Wang Li… he must have known what he was destined to do then.

'You are the death of me,' Wang Li whispered to him under the stars and he felt bile rising from his throat.

'You should not return here.'

'Do you know why they call me king?'

'You think too highly of me.'

'I cannot leave, Ah Yue.'

"Why? Why should I kill him? I don't understand," he cried.

"He is the Ghost King, Ying Yue," his master whispered and sat at the edge of the bed, "He is the ruler of the dead."

Covering his face with his hands, Ying Yue cried loudly feeling his heart breaking.]

Lips pressed to one another as snowflakes dusted tears slipped down his cheeks to merge with the snow below.

["Ah Yue is very kind to me, from the first time we met to now, I am honored to be in his heart."

Wang Li finished and ran his thumb over his cheek and Ying Yue looked at him with so much love.

"That is enough," the redhead stated with a glare, "what is your purpose, Ghost King?"

"My purpose is to create chaos."

"You mean deaths."

Wang Li did not reply, but the narrowing of his silver eyes made fear trickled into his bones. Ying Yue grabbed the king's hand and spoke up.

"Do you have to do it? Create chaos?"

"Someone told me being chosen is an honor. We must do what Heavens ask of us."

Ying Yue felt the blood in his face dropped. Those words were his own and though he still felt that way… a part of him wish he never spoken those words aloud.

"Why? If you create chaos, then-" the brunette questioned but stopped immediately with his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Ying Yue questioned leaning forward.

"Ah Yue," his lover whispered and his golden eyes looked to silver ones, "… for you. I must create chaos and death."

He shook his head and held tighter to the hand in his. His heart was beating faster as he thought about what Wang Li had to do, what he had to sacrifice for him.

"No, no, there is no need to do that. There is… there are already problems in our world. You don't need to do anything."

"You don't understand," he felt fingers touched his face as gently as feathers on his skin.

"Please, Ah Li," he murmured fingers shaking against his lover's hand.

"My purpose, Ah Yue, is you."]

"I… I am not ready, Ah Li. Please… Please. A little longer," he cried clutching to his lover, pressing himself closer hoping to merge within the cold body.