Chapter 122: Back To That Key Moment ②

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Chapter 122: Back To That Key Moment ②

Pupu rarely had anywhere to go out and play, so to keep her from getting bored, Shang Ke used the surrounding terrain to build her an amusement park, complete with slides, swings, hammocks, treehouses, climbing ladders, a small pool, a clay-sculpting area, and more.

As one attraction after another was added, it was as though an entirely new world had opened before Pupu’s eyes. Every day brought a new surprise, and she bounced around happily like a little angel.

Only after seeing all this did Tylor suddenly realize how much he had overlooked. In the past, he had only made sure Pupu had enough food and clothing, while Shang Ke considered every aspect of her life. No wonder Pupu liked Daddy better. Compared with Shang Ke, Tylor practically looked like a model example of child neglect.

Watching Shang Ke build little mud houses with Pupu, Tylor once again thanked the heavens for their mercy. With the two of them beside him in this life, he could die without regret.

As the amusement park gradually took shape, the children from the nearby villages somehow discovered it and began sneaking over to play. Once they realized the owners had no intention of chasing them away, they stopped bothering to hide and showed up excitedly every day, more punctual than they were for school.

Shang Ke was happy to let things develop that way. He hoped Pupu could spend more time with children her own age. Her memory was excellent, but her reactions were somewhat slow, and she rarely spoke in front of strangers. She had little sense of fear, was simple-minded, and seemed almost incapable of being frightened. In the past, whether confronted with bloody scenes or subjected to abuse, she had never cried or made a fuss.

Although Pupu still carried demonic energy, it had very little effect on other children unless someone was naturally antisocial to begin with. If she hadn’t been at the very center of the Devil’s Tree back then, she never would have passively absorbed the demonic energy in the first place.

Tylor still had to rely on sheer willpower to suppress the demonic energy inside him, but Pupu had nothing to worry about. demonic energy simply couldn’t get anywhere with that straightforward little mind of hers.

At first, Pupu resisted this group of children who had invaded her territory, but after repeated contact and a few tentative attempts to interact, she gradually lowered her guard and joined in. She still spoke very little, but to the other children she had clearly become an aloof little queen with enormous authority. She rarely gave orders, but whenever she did speak, everyone obeyed.

With that many little troublemakers around, chaos was inevitable. After Shang Ke’s vegetable garden was ravaged for the Nth time, he finally decided to do something about it.

Shang Ke opened several plots of land off to one side and handed them entirely over to the children to plant and manage. Since most came from farming families, they were already familiar with agricultural work, but before this they had only ever helped their parents. Now that they had vegetable plots of their own, they couldn’t help being excited. After Shang Ke cooked them several delicious meals with produce from his own garden, they were completely won over and threw themselves wholeheartedly into the work.

Whenever Shang Ke taught Pupu to read and write, he also taught the other children. Once the vegetables and fruits ripened, he would take them on picnics and let them pick vegetables, catch fish, and cook for themselves. The results were usually horrifying, but the children still ate everything with tremendous enthusiasm.

Before the children left, Shang Ke would sometimes give them tasty snacks to take home. The next day, their parents would return the favor with fruit, yams, wild game, and other gifts.

The parents soon discovered that after spending time with Shang Ke’s family, their children were gradually becoming more sensible and developing plenty of good habits—washing their hands before meals, keeping things clean, not littering, voluntarily helping with household chores, and so on.

Because of this, the parents had an excellent impression of Shang Ke’s family and were more than happy to let their children spend time with them. Whenever Tylor went to the villages to trade after that, the villagers welcomed him with overwhelming enthusiasm. Unlike the flirtatious attention he had once received from village girls and young married women, this new warmth came sincerely from people of every age and from every direction.

Autumn passed into winter, and the weather gradually turned colder. Tylor had prepared plenty of warm clothing for Shang Ke and Pupu well in advance.

Shang Ke soon noticed that everything Tylor bought was of excellent quality. As far as Shang Ke knew, Tylor had enough money to live comfortably but was hardly wealthy. Yet the fur coat Pupu wore alone was worth almost half a year’s income for an ordinary farming household, never mind all the other finely made items.

That night, while lying beneath the covers, Shang Ke asked him, “Do you have a private stash of money somewhere?”

Tylor answered with surprising honesty, “Mm.”

Shang Ke raised an eyebrow. “Where did it come from?”

“I’m a prince of the Holy Empire.” With a status that high, how could he possibly not have his own private funds?

“I seem to remember someone living like a savage in the snowy mountains a year ago.” Shang Ke lay on his side with his head propped on one hand, idly trailing a lock of hair across Tylor’s arm.

“You came back, so I stopped being a savage.” Tylor’s dark eyes were deep and his expression lazy as he reclined against the pillows. Without anyone noticing exactly when it happened, the gloom and weariness of those three years had faded away, restoring his former brilliance. Golden hair, deep eyes, powerful muscles, a perfectly proportioned body—his entire being was as dazzling as the sun.

Under Shang Ke’s care, Tylor had become radiant again. Even dressed in the plainest clothing, he could not conceal the noble bearing ingrained in him. No outsider seeing him now could possibly imagine how wretched he had looked a year earlier.

But in Shang Ke’s eyes, Tylor was simply Tylor. He would never distance himself because Tylor had fallen into hardship, nor act deferentially because he was a prince. That was one of the reasons Tylor loved him. After becoming a half-demon, Tylor had encountered far too many hypocrites—people who flattered him to his face while secretly guarding against him, yet were too afraid to openly reveal even the slightest disgust.

Only those whose wills were weak would fear demonic energy in their hearts.

“You’ve already had contact with the imperial family?” Shang Ke asked curiously.

“Mm. I ran into the imperial guards in Dako City.” Tylor made no attempt to hide it. “They wanted to escort me back to the capital.”

Shang Ke smiled. “So they’ve been searching for you all this time. Even after you became a half-demon, they still wanted to bring you home.”

Tylor said nothing and merely looked deeply at him.

“What is it?” Shang Ke wondered why he was giving him such an inscrutable look.

Tylor lifted Shang Ke’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Keke, haven’t you noticed?”

“Noticed what?”

A smile appeared at the corners of Tylor’s eyes. “The demonic energy in my body is already gone.”

“Huh?” Shang Ke stared at him in disbelief. It’s only been a year. How could it have disappeared this quickly?

“Once faith is rebuilt, the demonic energy naturally fades.” Tylor stroked his head. “It isn’t only me. The demonic energy in Pupu is almost gone as well.”

That left Shang Ke feeling somewhat conflicted. Osari, the original owner of this body, had been a King-level Apostle, and the demonic energy was rooted too deeply within him. It was equivalent to having a seed of the Devil’s Tree planted inside his body. Even though the Devil’s Tree had been sealed and that seed could never sprout again, there was no way for Shang Ke to completely purge the demonic energy from himself.

Tylor and Pupu were different. Although they had absorbed demonic energy, the Devil’s Tree had never controlled them. As long as their power of faith became strong enough, they could recover completely.

“What’s wrong?” Tylor asked softly when he saw Shang Ke frown.

“If the demonic energy inside me can never be removed, would you mind?” Shang Ke asked.

Tylor smiled. “The person I fell in love with was you—the you who was filled with demonic energy from beginning to end yet never once betrayed your true heart.”

Shang Ke’s eyes curved happily, and he rewarded Tylor with a kiss.

Tylor’s gaze darkened. He pressed Shang Ke down and deepened the kiss, his hands beginning to roam over his body.

“Wait.” Shang Ke struggled just enough to ask, “Are you planning to go back to the capital?”

“What would I go back for?” Tylor slipped a hand beneath Shang Ke’s clothes and slowly stroked him up and down.

“You’re a prince of the Holy Empire. What do you think you’d go back for?” Stop licking me everywhere. It fucking tickles!

Tylor kissed his way downward while replying casually, “The prince of the Holy Empire lives happily here. He has a lover, a child, fresh air, and simple, honest neighbors… This is the prince’s home.”

Shang Ke fell silent until Tylor bit one of his sensitive spots, drawing a soft sound of protest from him.

“Stop overthinking things. Let’s get down to business.” Tylor gathered the blankets around them and rolled over on top of Shang Ke.

His body was abruptly filled as Tylor pushed his cock inside him, followed immediately by a storm of hard, rapid thrusts.

Shang Ke cursed inwardly: Fuck this so-called “business”! Would it kill you to warn me before sticking it in?!

It wasn’t entirely Tylor’s fault. Shang Ke’s body was flexible, tight, and resilient, clinging firmly around him so that every thrust in and out brought intense pleasure. The harder Tylor thrust and the deeper he went, the stronger the friction became, which was why he especially loved driving straight in and thrusting into Shang Ke over and over again—as if a thousand times a day still wouldn’t be enough.

If Shang Ke weren’t so well suited to him, an ordinary person probably couldn’t have endured Tylor’s boundless stamina and overwhelming sex drive.

Outside the window, snow drifted through the bitter cold, while inside the room, heat raged beneath the covers and passion rolled in waves…

The winter weather was bitterly cold, but the children’s enthusiasm for playing showed no sign of fading. Shang Ke hadn’t even gotten out of bed when their laughter began drifting in from outside.

Shang Ke opened the window and looked down. Pupu was bundled up warmly and appeared to be having a snowball fight with the other children. More accurately, she was supervising their snowball fight. Whenever she noticed one child falling behind, she would throw a snowball to help even the odds, while none of the other children dared throw one at her.

A pair of arms wrapped around Shang Ke’s waist. Tylor lazily rested against his shoulder and watched the children play with him.

“The children are already up, and we’re still lazing around in bed. What kind of example are we setting?” Shang Ke shoved him aside and began searching everywhere for his clothes.

Tylor simply leaned against the headboard and watched him, his upper body bare to the cold air as though he couldn’t feel the chill at all.

Shang Ke bundled himself up tightly and walked several steps toward the door before turning back. He bent down and kissed Tylor lightly on the lips. “Happy New Year.”

Warmth filled Tylor’s eyes. Soft strands of Shang Ke’s hair slipped through his fingertips before their owner lightly drifted out of the room.

Shang Ke made steaming millet porridge and soft white steamed buns, then called the children over to eat together.

Seeing their little faces flushed red from the cold, he hurriedly poured warm water into a basin and had them soak their hands first.

More than a dozen little hands crowded into the basin, wriggling around like crabs, and the small house instantly filled with lively noise.

Once the children had eaten their fill, Shang Ke gave each of them a red hat and assigned them several tasks: hanging colorful lanterns, sorting fragrant beans, and folding paper flowers.

These were New Year customs of Turan. There were no firecrackers or couplets, but the brilliant colors and fragrant scents gave the celebration a charm all its own.

A year ago, Tylor could never have imagined that he would someday possess such a peaceful, ordinary life. No matter what price he had to pay, he would protect everything before him. He never wanted to experience that soul-crushing loneliness a second time.

If anyone dared try to destroy it, Tylor would make them wish they were dead!

A cold determination flashed through Tylor’s eyes.

“Tylor, what are you standing there for?” Shang Ke called from nearby. “Come help us hang the lanterns.”

The coldness around Tylor vanished instantly. He swept to Shang Ke’s side like the wind, took a lantern from one of the children, and, beneath dozens of watching eyes, began hanging decorations with all the aloof dignity of a noble prince…

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