After the initial shock, Zhu Yan led them inside the house he had conjured out of thin air. The place was spacious, elegantly decorated, comfortable, and warm. However, the brothers weren't particularly interested in the accommodations, as they both had many unanswered questions about their ancestor Bing Yi and the true power of the great demons, not to mention the reason for Zhu Yan's presence in their world.
Thus, although Zhu Yan was very eager to show off his power and refined taste as a host to impress the two brothers, he was ultimately largely ignored, rudely by Zhuo Yichen and politely by Zhuo Yixuan, and so they ended up sitting on the comfortable floor cushions next to an elegant table to obtain the information the great demon had offered them as bait to make them stay longer.
"I know you're very curious about your ancestor Bing Yi, so ask away, dear Zhuo brothers, though it's your decision to believe or not what I will tell you." Zhu Yan looked at Yichen for a moment, waiting for his snark remark, but the young man kept his mouth shut, and Yixuan smiled.
"Of course, great demon Zhu Yan, and in return, you can ask us anything you want to know, and we'll gladly answer all your human curiosity, unless we can't for safety or personal reasons." Yixuan warned, expecting that Zhu Yan would dig deeper into Yichen's life, as he could see his interest growing with each glance directed to his brother.
"Okay, I'll answer one question from each of you, and you guys will answer one in turn. Zhuo Yixuan, your question first, as the eldest brother, you have that right." Zhu Yan said, showing respect to Yixuan for being the first to catch his interest, which led him to meet the second brother with he had so much joy.
"Well then, why do you stay here and not wander around or attack us like the other demons do?" Yixuan asked first, and Zhu Yan looked at him with a serious expression, then at Yichen.
"I made a promise a long time ago to my father, Ying Long..."
"Wait, what? You're the son of the demon god Ying Long?" Yichen interrupted, and both Zhu Yan and his brother sighed.
"Didi, please let him explain." Yixuan kindly said to his brother, who blushed slightly, returning to his usual shyness under his brother's gaze.
"Yes, I am Ying Long's son. When my father was still alive, he wasn't a demon, but a divine beast, a dragon, just like his best friend, Bing Yi. Back then, they were both very powerful, almost gods. Bing Yi achieved godhood first and was appointed guardian of humanity by Nuwa. Centuries later, my father became a god and assisted him in his labors. They spent centuries protecting humanity until things started to change. My father warned many arrogant and bloodthirsty divine beasts that they were getting out of control and not to overdo it, but they didn't listen and instead rebelled against the gods."
"It was then that the divine beasts became demons, tainted by the evil energy coming from humans, as Nuwa created them from the earth, which was already contaminated by the chaotic energy from the creation of the world. Because humans born contaminated, as they grew in number and faced hardships, they released malicious dark energy, and over the centuries, that energy gave rise to new demons, changing the energy that the divine beasts cultivated, contaminating them to the point that they could no longer share the world without seeking blood and dominance."
"This wasn't what Nuwa intended, but since she had already realized her mistake in using earth for her creation instead of divine energy, or something that wasn't already tainted, she couldn't undo what was too late to stop. My father tried to reason with the tainted divine beast and demons, and spent centuries trying to prevent the impending war with the gods, but ultimately failed, and war broke out anyway."
"My father and Bing Yi, at some point during their many centuries together before the war, became lovers, but when war broke out, they were forced onto opposing sides. Bing Yi was bound by his duty to protect humans, and Ying Long couldn't allow the demons to be destroyed, because if humans weren't guilty of Nuwa's mistake in their creation, the demons couldn't be either, as it was their energy that tainted them, slowly changing them, with some becoming violent and others unwilling to follow the rules the gods had imposed on them."
"Then the war began, which lasted a long time. Many demons were killed, but also gods, mostly minor ones. If the war escalated, it could end up destroying heaven and earth. So my father and Nuwa came to a truce and a solution. My father's power was that of creation, and Nuwa also possessed hers, as well as the power of sealing. Ying Long offered his life to create a separate realm for the demons, where they would be at peace and no gods would interfere, which they called the underworld. Nuwa was supposed to seal the realm completely so that no demons could escape, but while she was sealing it, a rogue divine beast fought her, and Bing Yi intervened, fighting the fox beast, giving Nuwa time to seal the realm. But when she was about to finish using the last stone, the rogue divine beast stole the celestial stone, and Bing Yi went after him, with rumors saying he sealed him away somewhere, but never returned to confirm that rumor as a fact."
"With the job still incomplete, demons could cross the still-open rift between the two worlds, and since sealing demons was the reason my father offered his life, I accepted his job and crossed the gate to protect it until it could be fully sealed. By the time of the war, I was young, but quite powerful in my own right, and before he died, perhaps fearing something would go wrong or later reunite with his lover Bing Yi, he transferred some of his power and soul to me. Thus, when demons attempted to cross the gate, I was powerful enough to stop them, killing those who refused to return, causing other demons to fear me to the point where only great demons, like myself, would come to challenge me every few centuries."
"That is, of course, why I can't leave this place, for if I do, a greater demon might find the opportunity to cross over and wreak havoc on this side, killing countless demon hunters before I can stop or prevent it. My father was a soft-hearted god, as was Bing Yi, and that softness of heart breaks them in the end, so to prevent the same thing from happening to me, I choose to stay away from humans, avoiding contact with them for centuries I lost count on. I also served ties with my demon friends from before the war, all to keep my father's promise to never allow another war, to never let the demons seek their own destruction, as my father also has the gift of foresight."
"My father knew that if the war escalated further, the gods would eventually kill them all, overpowering the great demons, which were still essentially divine beast, and if his sacrifice gave them at least a chance to avoid that fate, even in isolation from this world, he was willing to do it. He bound his power to all demons and created a world for them to thrive on, but most demons were unwilling to give up what they had and many demons, especially beasts, now have a taste for human blood, so they still persevere and will keep doing so until the rift is finally close." Zhu Yan explained it in detail, and Yixuan found it quite truthful.
It made sense and explained many things that didn't fit with human legends. If the great demons were tainted divine beasts, then that explained why Zhu Yan had such overwhelming power; it also explained why he had never left the gate and why he didn't conquer humanity on his own, when he clearly could have done so without any humans strong enough to stop him; and it also explained why other great demons appeared every few centuries but never reached even the inner ring barrier. Yixuan had seen with his own two eyes, eyes that cannot be deceived, how Zhu Yan had built a barrier to protect the demon hunters from their fight and felt the great demon retreat from where he came from. His entire story fit together perfectly, and even if he tried his best to find a loophole, he couldn't deny the facts.
"Okay, that sounds about right, I give you that, but then why contact demon hunters now? What made you change your mind? Because I doubt you're simply bored. And what about the demons in the forest? Where did they come from if not the demon realm? And if we humans created this malicious dark energy, where is it concentrated now? We're not turning into demons or beasts, we're not killing indiscriminately, we..." Yichen started to say, but as he said it, he realized that it wasn't entirely true, as humans had killed indiscriminately before. There were humans who acted like demons and beasts, especially in small villages controlled by powerful people, and he remembered that even Bai Jiu's small village had been abandoned for many years by the Demon Hunting Bureau. That help they so desperately needed never came, leaving the boy motherless and turning him into a demon hunter. If humanity in general weren't busy fighting demons, how much would they differ from them?
"Yes, we are indeed tainted... we have been since the beginning of time." Yixuan said, coming to that conclusion as well.
"But..." Yichen tried to insist, but Zhu Yan leaned too close, causing him to flinch from his sudden proximity and intense gaze.
"Xiao Zhuo... you've asked so many questions, and I've answered as I said, but I haven't received anything in return. When is it my turn to ask? When can I find out more about you...?" That last question was whispered directly into Yichen's ear, and he blushed as he moved away so quickly that he almost fell to the ground if Zhu Yan didn't hold his back to prevent him from falling.
"You! Why do you always touch me?"
"Why do you always fall?"
"I didn't fall!"
"You were about to fall just now, same with that cliff and the tree. Am I wrong?"
"No, but I'm not even in my real body right now."
"So should I let you fall just because your body is somewhere else? Didn't I warn you before that even in spirit form you can get hurt?"
"I wasn't going to get hurt."
"Oh, should I let you go then...?" Zhu Yan said as he was going to remove his hand from his back from where Yichen still have most of his weight.
"No, wait!"
"Make up your mind, dear Xiao Zhuo... you're confusing your brother too." Yichen looked at his older brother, who seemed to be indeed a little confused by his antics. He could see that Zhu Yan was teasing his brother and enjoying it greatly, but it seemed like his brother didn't really mind the touch either, despite his protests.
"Ge, it's not like he said! He's just trying to tease me." Yichen said as he settled back onto the floor cushion. However, Yixuan was already beginning to suspect that his little brother might be inclined to fall in love with someone from the same sex, the same way he was, and he sighed. Not because he disapproved, but because he hoped Yichen would provide their father with an heir. Now it seemed that the possibility of their Zhuo surname extending for several more generations was becoming increasingly remote.
Then he remembered what Zhu Yan had said before about Bing Yi's love for Ying Long, and he finally understood. Divine blood was powerful and usually contained traces of the original blood. It was passed down through generations that Bing Yi's inheritance did not come from a direct child of Bing Yi, but from an already born child of the original Zhuo family, who had been bestowed with his blood along with a seal, so that the baby could absorb the blood slowly as he grew, rather than all at once, which would have killed the child.
"Didi, it's fine, but be fair to the great demon. He gave us answers, now let him ask." Yixuan said, now starting to feel the exhaustion from the prolonged absence of his real body.
"But he...! He..." Yichen protested, blushing even more, and Zhu Yan was close to laughing.
"What? Xiao Chen?" Yixuan asked.
"He said he wanted to know more about me." At that, Yixuan looked at Zhu Yan, who looked back. There was mischief in his gaze, yes, but also something deeper, something that perhaps, like them, was reflected in his blood, inherited from the demon god Ying Long. Could it be that he, too, was attracted to Yichen because of his resemblance to Bing Yi?
"Great demon Zhu Yan, were you born the same way as Bing Yi's descendants? For us, it was a drop of his divine blood in our lineage, in a child. I know it's your turn to ask, and I apologize for being rude, but I see you have a special interest in my brother, and I wonder..."
"You're wondering if it's because of his resemblance to Bing Yi. Well, the answer will be yes and no. Yes, because like your Zhou family, I wasn't born from Ying Long in the way humans are conceived, but as a white ape, and I've been cultivating divine energy since before it was tainted. However, I was a child when I met them, and Ying Long, always curious (or perhaps because of his foresight) and kind-hearted, granted me his blood so I could accelerate my cultivation and be stronger, as he found me so small that he thought I was dying."
"Were you?" Yichen asked with interest, which didn't go unnoticed by either of the other two men in the room.
"No, I wasn't dying, but I was very weak. Perhaps if we had never met, I might have died over time, as another, stronger demon could have killed me."
"So then what?" Yichen asked again.
"He granted me his blood, which in my case wasn't sealed, so I assimilating it and Bing Yi helped me stabilize and cultivate it. From then on, I became a great demon, born of Ying Long blood. In return, I became his son, taking on a human appearance very similar to his, though not entirely, and I traveled with them for centuries. So yes, it's in my blood to be attracted to Bing Yi, but Xiao Zhuo only resembles him in appearance, because his personality is completely opposite to that of the dragon god. So no, it's not just because of his blood. Otherwise, I would like Zhuo Yixuan more, as he quite resembles Bing Yi when he lived in this realm."
"But that means you're interested in him, right?" Yixuan wanted to clarify that point the most.
"Again, yes and no. Yes, because there's something about him that attracts me, and no, because it might be curiosity and loneliness. After so many centuries alone, protecting humanity, and still being considered a bloodthirsty demon, when I only killed when I had no other choice... I'm growing tired and seeking my own freedom. There's also unexpected news from the demon realm, which also pressures me to contact you."
"What news?" Yichen asked more.
"Something is awakening somewhere within the demon realm, and if it's the one Bing Yi was rumored to have sealed, that means trouble not only for humans, but for all demons."
"Why?" Yixuan asked this time.
"Because the one who fought against Nuwa, that fox demon, was a divine beast that became a god before it was named a demon, a chaos god rather than an auspicious beast, and before Bing Yi dealt with him, he tried to kill both gods and demons, for he hated them fiercely."
"Why?" Yichen asked curiosity was surprisingly constant.
"That will be a story for another time. I need something for when you get back, right?"
"Why are we going back? Haven't you already given us enough information?" Yichen said, and Zhu Yan chuckled.
"You're ungrateful, what a disgrace to the noble lineage you carry in your veins."
"That's because you shamelessly told me and right in front of my brother you were interested in me. So what now? Will you court me or something for information?"
"May I?" Zhu Yan asked as he looked at Yixuan, who understood that he was just teasing his little brother, who blushed more, although the golden glow they have makes it a little harder to notice.
"Don't look at my brother. The answer is a resounding no." Yichen exclaimed outrageously.
"Xiao Chen, he's not serious about pursuing you, at least not for now. However, I think we indeed, need to go back for more. Right now, I'm almost at my limit, as this spiritual form is new to me, and I'm afraid I need to return to my body soon, we both need to go."
"Oh..." Yichen said, and to Yixuan that sounded somewhat like he was disappointed.
"You can go back and report to your superiors what I have told you and then return with your respective units here. The reason is very simple. Whatever may come your way may be more powerful than me and I will need your help this time, so I plan to train you all, to awaken your divine blood."
"Can you do it?" Yichen asked in surprise.
"Of course, and I have much to teach you from my time with Bing Yi. So, are you interested now, my Xiao Zhuo?" Zhu Yan asked him as he moved closer, causing Yichen to swallow his heart at the closeness, their lips about to touch.
"Great Demon Zhu Yan, please be nice to my brother, he's too young to understand some games."
"I don't play games... but you're right, he's very young and easily teased, how adorable. Xiao Zhuo, you're just my type."
"You cheeky monkey!" Yichen's face burned, making its golden glow almost blinding, and Zhu Yan laughed.
"Bring him back, Zhuo Yixuan, or can I call you Xiao Xuan, since you're both Zhuo and Yi?"
"I don't mind, I understand that formalities are unnecessary with demons."
"Good, then return by teleportation, like Xiao Zhuo did with his unit, and everything will be ready to receive you. I may be teasing younger brother a little, but I'm completely serious about one thing, we need to join forces to survive whatever may come. It's for both our sakes, so return as soon as you can. I don't know how much time I have to try to awaken your blood and train you, so a second earned is a second not wasted."
"I promise we'll return as soon as possible. I need to gather my team, but Xiao Chen's team is already with him. I'll ask my superior to come, but they could at least be here in a few minutes. Is that alright with you, great demon Zhu Yan?" Yixuan asked, and Zhu Yan smiled pleased.
"Of course, but please call me Zhu Yan..."
"Zhu Yan, then... he'll be back very soon."
"I will be eagerly waiting..." Then they just disappear the same way they suddenly appear in his tree.
AN: The reason the gods would overwhelm the demons in a prolonged war was simple, the powerful gods were many while the great demons in league with their power were fewer. Thanks for reading I hope you like it, see you next time, until then, take care.