Spades was silent for a moment before saying, "I don't understand."
Bai Liu curled his lips lazily into a faint smile. He seemed amused by Spades' expression.
"What don't you understand?"
"I don't understand why you only hate me," Spades answered honestly.
Bai Liu withdrew from his arms and sat down across from him. He propped his chin on his hand, a drowsy look in his eyes, and spoke with a half-smile.
"You ripped out my heart and made me lose a very important game. You also killed the most important being to me. Isn't that enough reason for me to hate you?"
A drop of wine slid from the tip of Spades' hair. His breathing remained steady.
"You've had many enemies. Every one of your current teammates has hurt you before, and you don't hate them."
"You don't hate someone simply for winning or losing a game."
"And I didn't kill anyone." Spades looked directly into Bai Liu's eyes. "I killed the monster whose heart you hid."
"I'm not the only player who tried to destroy that monster. The people around you—your teammates—have all tried to kill it."
Bai Liu turned his face away coldly. "But you were the only one who succeeded."
"No." Spades stared at him. "I didn't succeed. My intuition tells me that the monster's heart is still alive because of you."
He paused.
"I thought you killed it after you left the game."
Bai Liu's breathing grew faint. His gaze unfocused, and the fingers of his right hand twitched slightly.
"No."
"…It committed suicide."
"Then you can't blame me for its death." Spades' voice was calm. "I'm no different from the other players around you."
His lips pressed into a thin line.
"But you don't hate Tang Erda. You don't hate anyone on your team. You don't even hate Alex, who was once hostile to you."
There was visible confusion in his expression.
"Why do you only hate me?"
Bai Liu looked away. "—Don't make it sound like you know me well. This is only the third time we've met—"
He stood up as if to leave.
Spades reached out and grabbed his wrist firmly. His gaze was sharp, and there was an almost imperceptible heaviness in his tone.
"—Why do you treat me differently?"
Bai Liu's eyelashes trembled slightly. A thin stream of alcohol slid down the back of his hand, and his index finger moved involuntarily.
"Answer me, Bai Liu."
Spades' dark eyes seemed to grow like thorny vines, wrapping around him layer by layer, forcing him to confront the truth hidden beneath the tangle.
"What is it about me that's different from you?"
Before Bai Liu could respond, a sudden uproar erupted at the tavern entrance, breaking the stalemate in their quiet corner.
Deafening whistles and sharp celebratory blasts echoed from the doorway, accompanied by astonished laughter and teasing cheers.
Bai Liu quickly pulled his hand free. "There's a game event happening. Let's deal with that first."
"You haven't answered me." Spades remained motionless, stubbornly blocking his path. "Why?"
Bai Liu took a deep breath, raised his head, and sneered.
"I just hate you. There's no reason. You don't need a reason to hate someone. Can you understand that?"
Spades was silent for nearly ten seconds.
He didn't say yes or no. He didn't move aside. He simply stood there and said quietly, "Oh."
"You got your answer." Bai Liu looked up at him. "Can you move?"
For the first time, Spades averted his gaze.
He lowered his head and lifted the whip hanging near his knees, as if preparing to strike an invisible enemy.
"…How long are you going to hate me?"
The Reverse God had once told him that hatred without reason had a time limit.
So he asked.
Bai Liu was silent for a while. His shoulders relaxed slightly.
He spoke softly—
—but at that exact moment, the explosive pop of champagne corks drowned out his voice.
Spades saw Bai Liu smiling at him amid the roaring cheers, his lips moving as he said something.
But he couldn't hear a single word.
Colorful bouquets rained down over their heads.
Spades frowned and leaned closer. "I didn't hear what you said."
"Forget it." Bai Liu smiled, brushed past his shoulder, and ran toward the crowd.
Spades turned and followed his gaze.
In the center of the tavern, Guy stood wearing a wedding dress and a snow-white veil, holding fireworks in his hands. Opposite him stood Alex, utterly stunned.
The surrounding soldiers formed a wide circle. They clapped above their heads, stomped their feet in rhythm, and hummed an off-key wedding march.
Amid the cheers, Guy dropped to one knee. He lifted a bouquet high toward Alex, who still looked blank, and smiled brilliantly.
"Alex, forgive me for planning this wedding without telling you."
"I hope this is more of a surprise than a shock." His tone was playful and gentle, though tears shimmered in his eyes. "Hey—just because I'm dressed a little strangely doesn't mean you have to look like that, right?"
As if finally waking from a daze, Alex stiffly fell to his knees.
Blushing, trembling, he pulled Guy—still in the wedding dress—into a tight embrace. Tears streamed down his face. His voice was hoarse, and he could only repeat broken fragments.
"God… God… God…"
Guy stroked the back of Alex's head, eyes red, unable to stop smiling. His voice softened further.
"I'll take that reaction to mean you're willing to marry me?"
Alex nearly sobbed. "Guy! I love you, Guy!"
Guy helped the crying Alex to his feet.
There was no priest to officiate—the priest was still praying over fallen soldiers in the military medical camp—so the two of them exchanged vows before everyone present.
After all, their marriage would not be blessed by God.
The soldiers, who hadn't witnessed a joyful occasion in a long time, were so excited that Guy's wedding dress was nearly trampled beneath their rough boots.
Even if it was an absurd, secular ceremony—on the eve of war, there was no scene more comforting than two lovers embracing and kissing through tears.
It didn't matter whether they were men or women. What mattered was that they were alive. And that they loved each other.
God may not bless them—but God has never blessed anyone here.
The crowd was noisy. In the corner, Spades stared at Tang Erda expressionlessly.
Tang Erda: "…"
Bai Liu had gone with Guy to help deal with the aftermath of the wedding chaos, leaving Spades in Tang Erda's care and asking him to look after the half-drunk number one player.
Although Bai Liu claimed that Spades was drunk, he didn't really look drunk.
Although…
Spades asked slowly, one word at a time, "What is marriage?"
Tang Erda racked his brain before answering, "It's a ceremony people hold when they reach a certain age. If they want to spend their lives with someone they like, they introduce each other to everyone and complete the legal procedures."
Spades was quiet for a while, as if digesting the explanation.
Then he asked, "What is a certain age?"
Tang Erda pressed a hand to his forehead in pain. He had already answered countless questions. This man didn't cry or cause trouble when he drank—but he asked an endless number of questions.
And he was persistent. If you didn't answer, he would find various ways to make you answer.
Tang Erda sighed. "Probably over twenty for women and over thirty for men?"
Spades looked at him from the side. "How old are you?"
Tang Erda stiffened. "Thirty-five… or thirty-six."
Spades made a small sound of acknowledgment.
"Then why aren't you married? Is it because you don't have a partner?"
Tang Erda, shot once: "…The situation is complicated."
Spades tilted his head slightly. "The person you like doesn't exist?"
Tang Erda, shot twice: "…"
"The person you like is married to someone else?"
Tang Erda, shot three times: "…"
Seeing that Tang Erda didn't respond, Spades continued calmly, "The person you like—"
"Alright." Tang Erda let out a long, long sigh. "I'll tell you."
If Spades didn't get an answer, he would keep guessing. And for some inexplicable reason, his strange intuition always landed on the most painful possibility.
Tang Erda had already grown numb from all the invisible bullet holes Spades had put in him tonight.
He took a large gulp of wine and stared at the empty glass in a daze. "The person I like… he likes me too. But he's gone."
After receiving the answer, Spades was quiet for a moment.
Then he suddenly asked, "Will Bai Liu hate the person who marries him?"
"?!?" Tang Erda was caught off guard by the abrupt change in topic. But since Spades' questions had always jumped around unpredictably, he thought hard and gave a cautious answer.
"Probably… not?"
"People usually like the person they marry."
Although it was difficult for Tang Erda to imagine who Bai Liu would ever agree to marry.
He vaguely remembered seeing in Murphy's Magic Mirror that Bai Liu had once fallen in love when he was young—but that person had long ago been tortured to death in the orphanage. It was nothing more than a premature love story of the great demon Bai Liu, one that ended before it truly began.
The whip resting on Spades' knees shifted slightly.
He straightened his back, let out a low "oh," and nodded solemnly.
Tang Erda blinked in confusion, "???"
Why does he look like he's found the answer to something?
Meanwhile, Alex hugged Guy's shoulders, crying and laughing at the same time. The young man who had earlier advised Bai Liu and Spades not to drink was now clutching a bottle and enthusiastically drinking with everyone who came to congratulate him.
Less than fifteen minutes later, he was slumped drunkenly against Guy's shoulder, repeating only one phrase: "I love you."
This unconventional, carnival-like wedding finally reached its last step—the bouquet toss.
"The person who catches it will be the next to get married!" Guy stood on the stage, supporting Alex as they prepared to throw the bouquet backward. He counted down cheerfully, "Three—two—one—!"
A group of curious older soldiers eagerly rushed forward to grab it.
But the moment the bouquet left Guy's hand, a black whip flashed through the air like lightning. It hooked the bouquet mid-flight and vanished.
The soldiers froze: "!!!"
There it is again! Mysterious Eastern kung fu!
Spades caught the bouquet and held it solemnly in his arms. At some point, he had also taken Guy's wedding veil and tilted it over his own head.
He looked exactly like Guy during his proposal—an imitation without the slightest attempt at originality.
Then, in full view of everyone, Spades knelt upright and raised the bouquet toward Bai Liu, whom he had forcibly pulled over.
Bai Liu looked at him expressionlessly, not moving an inch.
Spades paused.
His proposal script had been disrupted by Bai Liu's complete lack of cooperation.
After a moment of recollection, he repeated Guy's opening line with serious sincerity:
"Hey… although I'm dressed a little strangely, you shouldn't be making that face, right?"
Bai Liu: "…"