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Looks like that’s it.
Pei Xiu, whose true embodiment was in the capital of immortals in the palace of Ming Guang, slowly opened his eyes, letting Lord Wind Master deal with his unconscious clone from now on. Let him drag it, let him even destroy it in displeasure — why would he care?
His mind was still desperately trying to find some way out of the situation, but in his heart he already knew that it was over and there was no point in trying to grasp at the last straw held up by mad hope that somehow everything would turn out not the worst.
He was never so lucky.
There was no point in trying to run away. If he did it, he with his own two hands would destroy even the slightest chance to restore his good name in the eyes of other heavenly officials. If he ever had one.
Pei Ming was right. He should have been more friendly with the others, then maybe he would have found some valuable allies. But Pei Xiu always thought that it was simply impossible for him, that any pathetic attempt he would come up with would seem impossibly fake.
As he was about to embark on a last minute rush of pleasurable life, he reached his index and middle fingers to his temple, but stood still, surprised to see his hand tremble. Yes, his weak clone was shaken by the memories of two hundred years ago, which he wanted so much to get rid of and which resurfaced again against his will at the sight of the destroyed city, but for it to affect his real body? So utterly strange.
He put his hands down, squeezing one against the other, still feeling deep-tucked emotions trying to burst out, making him tremble, and wasted a few precious seconds trying to handle himself.
He was having too many delays.
"General, do you have a moment?" Pei Xiu calmly addressed Pei Ming through the personal communication array and, having risen, slowly adjusted the clothes with one hand.
When the silence lasted, he looked to the side with concern, not knowing what to think.
"Sometimes I think that you purposely choose moments when I find it hard to answer," Pei Ming joyfully replied, interrupting in the middle of the sentence for a few incredibly long moments. Pei Xiu, with a slight frown, remembered that it was on this day that General Ming Guang was going to come down to the earth to deal with the creature that had raged in his domain. Xiao Pei, thinking only of his own problems, just forgot about it. "What happened, you missed me?"
"Yes," he briefly admitted, once again astonished that over time the voice of his obnoxious general began to calm him down so much. At last he found the strength to leave the room and go to the exit of the palace.
Pei Ming chuckled, quite pleased, probably thinking about what to do with him when he returned to Heaven, and Pei Xiu couldn't bear to disappoint him ahead of time, since news of his subordinate’s failure had not yet spread.
"So you wanted to say something?" after a long pause, during which Xiao Pei went out into the street, he asked warmly, and then cursed sharply.
"Do You have everything under control?" the younger man couldn't resist asking, even though he knew that Pei Ming was doing much better than himself in any case.
"Of course. A clingy creature, but nothing unusual," he assured him almost immediately. "So what did you want to tell me?"
Pei Xiu, walking slowly down the street to Jun Wu’s palace, holding one hand behind his back, raised his head and saw two young men and his own lifeless clone lying on the ground, covered in blood. Lord Wind Master, having spotted him as well, angrily pointed his fan at him.
He did not want to hurry.
"That I love You," he said calmly, feeling how his heart was getting heavier with each step.
It was not clear whether the next brief pause had occurred because of his words or because of the fierce fight. Pei Xiu was about to ask again if his general was all right, but Pei Ming finally spoke.
"Did you create a mess over there, A-Xiu?" he instantly got serious, and Pei Xiu replied with the same brief "Yes", thinking that at such a moment his voice should be trembling. Instead, it was just as cold as usual. "Wait a bit, I’ll come back and take care of everything."
Pei Xiu wanted to answer that even General Ming Guang could not deal with every problem, but knowing that Pei Ming understood it already, he left this remark unsaid.
"In response to such words You should say that You love me back, don’t You think?" trying to keep the same tone, he asked and stopped in front of the couple of heavenly officials, throwing an indifferent look at his clone.
"I love you, and you know it," said Pei Ming immediately, making Xiao Pei sigh in the knowledge that the general gave up the fight, leaving all business for later.
"That’s it, but You still have to learn so much, General," smiling slightly, Pei Xiu taunted him half-heartedly, holding out his spiritual weapon to Lord Earth Master, deciding that the thin untrained arms of Lord Wind Master wouldn't be able to handle the heavy weight of his sword.
"What happened?" Pei Ming demanded an answer.
"Who are you talking to?" Shi Qingxuan inquired with displeasure, clearly disapproving of the fact that the criminal he had caught did not for a moment remove his fingers from his temple, continuing to communicate with someone.
"It doesn’t matter anymore," Pei Xiu said coolly and answered the Lord Wind Master’s question out loud. "With General Ming Guang."
"Don’t even think that he can somehow find a way to acquit you," Lord Wind Master said, as he watched his companion hold the sword in one hand and grab the lifeless clone with another, preparing to carry him further. "Maybe when he finds out what you’ve done, he won’t even try."
Pei Xiu hated it. He hated that part of himself which was piercingly whining, choking on guilt, as well as the other part which desperately hoped that Pei Ming would not leave him, despite everything that had happened.
It felt like there was a raging flame in his chest, which made it hard to think, act and breathe properly, and it felt as if keeping that flame hidden was harder than ever. Except, of course, that time when he learned that Ban Yue allowed herself to be tortured time after time in order to calm the anger of the fallen warriors.
Pei Xiu would like to know what the purest and most noble Lord Wind Master would do if he were in his place, but for him, overprotected by his older brother, any hardships seemed to be unknown.
"I am very sorry. I let you down," pushing trough the last few steps to the palace of Jun Wu beside two heavenly officials, he said quietly through the communication array, eagerly listening to every troubled word that Pei Ming gave him, but not answering any of them, only barely audibly confessing before when he finally took his fingers away from the temple, breaking the connection. "I’m hurting."
Fighting alone makes no sense. If the general is utterly disappointed in him... then so be it.