The Villain Saves The Male Lead

For the next few days, Ren and Fang lived separately. Wolf moved into the house and accompanied Fang 24/7, while Pax took Ren to the apartment he kept near Sirocco's office.

Ren was quite listless. He barely ate or slept and all his work was done mechanically. He also seemed to have somehow sealed his magic away, which made Pax unable to use healing magic on him.

Pax was very worried. He'd managed to get Ren to tell him the parameters of the reflection magic he'd used on Fang, and it had shocked him so much that he'd almost broken the phone in his hand. Such magic was not only beyond the scope of the most powerful master magician Pax knew, but also something that was almost impossible to achieve because it left absolutely no margin for error. And yet Ren spoke of it casually, as if it was nothing to him.

Pax suddenly understood why Ren was suffering from magic surges. Magic was embedded in one's soul, but it was channelled through their physical body. And Ren's body was just too weak for the outrageously powerful magic of his soul.

Ren's reflection magic covered anything and everything that intended to cause harm to Fang, regardless of who the perpetrator was - or whether there was a perpetrator or not, which basically meant that even accidents were covered. However, daily activities, normal things - a stubbed toe, a bruise from training, a shaving cut...these didn't matter. But a car accident, a real fight...these did. Theoretically, it was brilliant and something Pax would love to study, having never seen such intricate magic. This is exactly why no one had noticed it before. Ren went ballistic when Fang was hurt in the slightest - Pax still remembered the time Fang got a paper cut and Ren ran around like a headless chicken looking for a medicated plaster - so everyone naturally assumed that any abnormalities shown by Ren when Fang was hurt was very much in line with how he behaved.

But besides appreciating the genius of the reflection magic cast by Ren, Pax was also angry. Since Ren wasn't able to channel his magic through his physical body too well, he'd directly cast a soul spell. Which meant that it would last for a lifetime.

Pax now understood exactly why Ren had overreacted like that when Fang had suggested breaking up and asked him to remove the reflection magic. Fang must have really wanted it - and this rejection of the reflection magic would directly tear into the soul of the caster. It wasn't a surprise that Ren had lost his reason. But if he'd gone into the space-time gateway with a ruptured soul like that... wasn't it simply asking for obliteration?!

Pax sighed and rubbed his temples to ward off an incoming headache. This idiot couple would be the death of him, he thought.

"I want to go to Sand Country," Ren said suddenly. "We can open another office there."

"And what about Fang?" Pax snapped.

Ren blinked. "Haven't we broken up?" he asked blankly.

"Fang said he wants to break up and you're simply agreeing to it?" Pax yelled.

"What else am I supposed to do? Force him into a relationship he doesn't want anymore?" Ren retorted. "I can't do that. He has the right to ask for a break up."

"He's just feeling guilty because his actions injured you," Pax said.

Ren shrugged. "Fang is not an idiot," he said simply.

"And this reflection magic you cast? It's linked to your soul and you can't remove it. What are you planning to do about it?" Pax demanded.

Ren smiled slightly. "That's not something Fang should be concerned about. I cast it of my own volition - Fang doesn't need to know or bother about it. If he asks, just tell him that it's been removed. I've sealed my magic anyway, so if Fang tries to probe or asks the babies to probe, they'll find the seal and think that the reflection magic is gone."

Pax frowned. "But it's impact will still remain. If Fang does get injured, it'll still be transferred to you."

Ren chuckled. "They don't need to know that, do they? Don't tell Fang or the babies."

Pax was suddenly very relieved that he'd already told the details of the reflection magic to his brother. Pax could now promise Ren whatever he wanted. But immediate agreement would be suspicious, so Pax argued," But surely Fang has the right to know about it and then make a decision about the break up?"

Ren shook his head sadly. "I won't tie him to my side using such pathetic means," he said. "As I said, it's not Fang's responsibility that I chose to protect him this way." He looked up at Pax. "I want Fang to be happy and healthy. Our relationship is clearly giving him more grief than it's worth. It's also not easy for Fang to make a tough decision like this... tell me, Pax, how can I possibly refuse to honour his decision? If I force him to stay with me, won't I be the same as those people in his past?"

Pax flung his notebook at Ren's head angrily. "Don't utter such nonsense!" he scolded.

Ren remained exactly where he was, and let the notebook hit him. There was a resigned look on his face, as if he'd lost all hope. It terrified Pax.

Pax cursed and rushed to him. "Are you all right?!" he asked solicitously.

Ren was silent for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm not all right," he said hoarsely. "It hurts, Pax. It hurts so much..."

Ren buried his face in his hands and broke down into tears.

Pax could only watch him helplessly and rub his back to comfort him.

"Send me to Sand Country," Ren begged. "Please, Pax. Let me go. I... I'll come back after I've licked my wounds."

Pax sighed, unable to bear the sight of that miserable golden gaze. "All right," he said softly.. "We'll go tomorrow."