In the dead of night, an eerie wind pierced deep into the bones of the passersby who still dared to roam the streets. Wanderers, thieves, and the hapless innocent were all bunched together, connected by a single string of fate. Although the crowd was a lot thinner now, compared to when the sun was out, there were still enough desperate people for a crime to happen.
The young woman would not normally be out at this time of night. It was just unfortunate that the physician who normally provided her grandmother’s medicine had just returned from their trip at this time. And her grandmother had long run out of medicine. If her grandmother didn’t get a dosage tomorrow around the same time, her illness would act up and the young woman would have to spend even more money that she didn’t have.
With a sigh of trepidation, she hugged the bundle of herbs closer to her chest and kept her head lowered as she made her way back into her neighborhood.
It was actually fine when you were out in the streets. Even if there was a chance that a crook was in the crowd, people usually didn’t turn a blind eye to a young woman in trouble. It was when she had to walk down these empty streets that her pace began to quicken. She knew she should keep her head up, so she could remain alert, but anxiety weighed down on her neck. Unwilling, her heart palpitated and her palms began to sweat. She tried to school her breathing, but every breath she took seemed to be shorter and quicker.
She made a turn down her street. Her home was at the very end. It was close now, but she still couldn’t let her guard down. There were few people who lived on this street and all of them were elderly. Even if she screamed and shouted, no one would help her.
The door was close now. She just needed to break into a sprint and she would make it. But just as her foot lifted to put her plan into action, the eerie wind solidified around her neck. The young woman’s joy was cut short. Her eyes bulged as her airway began to contract. The bundle of herbs fell to the ground quietly as she struggled against this supernatural force. Her vision began to blur around the edges. Just as she managed to squeeze out a short sound, she was suddenly dropped to the ground.
She gasped for breath, clawing at her chest and quickly grabbed the pack of herbs. She looked up, just in time to see two men in front of her.
One hugged a guqin close to his chest while the other grasped the dastardly wind with his bare hands. The man with the guqin glanced down with a sliver of pity in his eyes.
“It’s a good thing we came in time,” the man muttered. He shifted his instrument and helped the girl up. “Where do you live, Miss?”
The young woman shakily pointed to a house.
“I’ll walk you over,” Gui Yin offered. He glanced at Langxia, who gave him a slight nod.
The young woman allowed Gui Yin to guide her. And when the two arrived, she watched silently as Gui Yin drew a sigil on her door that glowed faintly and disappeared into the wood. A moment later, he pulled out a jade.
“This jade has three uses,” Gui Yin said as he pressed it in her hand. He gave her an apologetic smile. “We’ll try to get rid of the bad guys in the area as quickly as possible, but until then, you’ll have to be careful. It would be best if you don’t go out too much.”
The young woman stared at the man in front of him, who had the glow of a lord immortal. She almost couldn’t believe her own eyes. After all, why would a lord immortal come to a ratty town like theirs? On top of that, he just saved her—a petty little demon. Tears welled in her eyes as she clutched the jade tightly in her hands.
“…Thank you.”
“No need to cry,” Gui Yin said with a soft frown. He glanced at the medicine packet in the young woman’s hands and knew she hadn’t lived a great life. He offered a smile. “Thank you for giving us directions earlier this morning.”
The young woman managed a small laugh. She wiped her eyes, bowed low in gratitude, and entered her home.
Gui Yin joined Langxia and glanced at the man, still squeezed tightly by the neck.
“Feeling emotional?” Langxia casually asked.
Gui Yin glanced at him in amusement. “Yeah, well, it never gets easy.”
“You can’t save everyone you come across,” Langxia said.
“I know,” Gui Yin replied with a short scoff. He glanced at the man in Langxia’s claws, who was staring at him with pleading eyes. “And some people just aren’t worth saving.”
Langxia’s hand lowered, but he continued to drag the struggling man through the streets. “I thought you said we were going to follow him back.”
Gui Yin fell silent. He met Langxia’s gaze with dissatisfaction hidden in his eyes.
“I know, I know,” Langxia sighed. “Our Lord Immortal has always been so softhearted. How could he bear to let an innocent woman get hurt?”
“Well, I’m not that softhearted,” Gui Yin said. “It just didn’t seem like she would get out of it in one piece. And she has her grandmother to take care of.”
Langxia hummed and nodded gravely. “Our Lord Immortal isn’t softhearted—he’s just responsible.”
Gui Yin rolled his eyes. “You’re so obnoxious.”
Langxia laughed. “Am I?”
“Mn. Good thing you’re handsome,” Gui Yin said.
“Goodness, Qinle, please. We’re with company,” Langxia said, his nails digging into the man’s throat. On the contrary, the look he brought up to meet Gui Yin’s eyes was pure and innocent. “Where should we take him?”
Gui Yin glanced at the being who was less man than ghost and reached into his sleeve. Langxia watched with great interest as Gui Yin pulled out a lantern. A small smile played at his lips. It felt that Gui Yin always had something new or special sitting up his sleeve.
“What’s this?” Langxia asked as Gui Yin unlatched one side of the lantern.
Gui Yin held the lantern out from the bottom. He drew a sigil against the man’s chest and then on the side of the lantern. Langxia watched silently as the man’s face distorted in pain and eventually drained of color. His eyes widened with interest and trailed over to the lantern that began to grow brighter and brighter. Soon, the man grew limp in his hand and he released the man’s throat, allowing him to collapse onto the ground.
“So, he’s in here now?” Langxia asked in amazement. “Where did you get this?”
“My shizun made it,” Gui Yin said. He muttered another spell and drew another sigil. “He used it to capture fierce ghosts that couldn’t be easily exorcised. He would leave them in a temple and let the Buddhist monks pray for them until the resentment faded.”
Langxia raised a brow. “And you’re using it for this?”
Gui Yin’s fingers traced the lantern with a raised brow. “Well, he used it for other nefarious purposes before.”
“…Like what?” Langxia asked.
Gui Yin glanced at him.
“He was before my time. I can only look into the recent past and the distant future,” Langxia said. “I know nothing about the distant past.”
“This lantern wasn’t originally created for anything grand,” Gui Yin said. “It was originally made to hold the soul of his lover.”
Langxia fell silent.
Gui Yin let out a soft chuckle. “There’s a jinx at Shuangye Peak. They say that every head disciple will experience a heart wrenching love that will not have a good end. It’s been like that since the founding of the sect. Apparently the first peak lord of Shuangye Peak had something similar.”
He thought about it for a moment before adding, “I guess that makes Huo’er and Siyi both qualified to be peak lords.”
Gui Yin peeked at Langxia for his reaction, but instead of finding amusement, he only saw a set of furrowed brows and a pair of misty eyes.
“…What’s wrong with you?” Gui Yin asked.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hm?” Gui Yin raised a brow. A smile bloomed on his face as he stepped closer. “Why are you suddenly apologizing? Are you saying that you’ll be my heart wrenching love? You’re quite arrogant, aren’t you? Who said that I’ve even allowed it?”
“…No,” Langxia unconsciously smiled. “I was just thinking that…maybe I could have helped you avoid that heart wrenching love.”
Langxia suddenly felt a corner of his chest ache. His gaze lowered as he indulged in the pain that didn’t belong to him. He felt a warm touch against the corner of his lips, coaxing him to look up. Gui Yin smiled helplessly.
“You’re such a silly, silly man,” Gui Yin said with a soft sigh. He lifted another hand and held Langxia’s face. “You’ve done more than enough for me. You’re not allowed to feel guilty about one thing.”
Langxia leaned into Gui Yin’s touch. “I can’t help, but want you to be happy.”
“And I am,” Gui Yin said. “The happiness I feel now wouldn’t be any more or less than if I hadn’t experienced all those things. Besides, you always keep your promises. That makes me the happiest in the world.”
“Well, I try,” Langxia said. He turned slightly and kissed Gui Yin’s palm. “But I think it’s just a given that I will always come back to you.”
Gui Yin laughed. “Right, right, right. Even the Void Saint couldn’t keep you down. You’re so powerful!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ojcuzlj’r rwlif vlwwfv ja atf wfcalbc bo atf Nblv Vjlca. Xel Tlc ufcais gjc j atewy jmgbrr tlr mtffx.
“Valii ybatfgfv ys la?”
Ojcuzlj rtgeuufv. “Ktf oegcjmf lwqibvfv, rb P vbeya jcsatlcu bo tlw gfwjlcr. Dea…”
“Dea?”
“P kbcvfg tbk wjcs gfrfcaoei rbeir bcf Nblv Vjlca kbeiv yf,” Ojcuzlj rjlv.
Gui Yin’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I just find it odd.”
“…Odd? What’s this all of a sudden?” Gui Yin chuckled.
Langxia met Gui Yin’s gaze and slowly smiled. He took Gui Yin’s hands into his and gave him a soft kiss. “Nothing. I’m only teasing you.”
Gui Yin glared at him before swatting his chest. “Is this something to tease me about?”
“You got me so worried before, so I’m only getting you back a little bit,” Langxia whined.
“Can you be any more childish? I thought there was seriously something going on in your brain,” Gui Yin sighed. He shook his head and pulled out a handkerchief.
Langxia watched silently as Gui Yin attentively wiped each individual finger of the hand he had used to grab the creature.
“Seriously, scared me to death,” Gui Yin grumbled.
Langxia chuckled again and kissed Gui Yin’s exposed forehead. “Even if something were to happen, I’d be here to protect you.”
Gui Yin glanced at him. “Are you hiding something from me?”
“Qinle, I haven’t looked ahead recently; I have nothing to give,” Langxia said with a helpless shrug.
“If I believe you, then I’m stupid,” Gui Yin said. He was about to tuck his handkerchief away when it was snatched from him and then burnt to a crisp.
Langxia smiled. “I’ll get you a new one—clean and better.”
Gui Yin clicked his tongue. “Germ freak.”
Langxia chuckled, but gestured to the lantern in Gui Yin’s hand with a lift of his chin.
Gui Yin let out a long sigh. He lifted the lantern to eye level and then released it. To Langxia’s fascination, the lantern didn’t fall. Instead, it remained floating. He watched as Gui Yin muttered another spell before casting his command.
“Take us to where you were going to bring that young woman.”
The lantern began to move forward, floating as if it were under a trance.
The Soul Lantern was a cage made to trap Kui Wanming’s late lover, but it had been later modified to trap the souls of fierce ghouls and the like. Because of this, a set of spells and sigils had been brought into this world along with it. It was a special way of binding one’s soul to the lantern. Once bound, the soul would become a part of the lantern until set free. And because the lantern was a magical artifact that only recognized one master, the soul and lantern would obey their command.
“Would you ever use this lantern on me?” Langxia asked.
“If you died?”
Langxia nodded.
“I’m not going to disrupt the natural cycle of the universe,” Gui Yin said.
“You’re not very romantic.”
“How is trapping your soul romantic?” Gui Yin shot back. He thought about it for a moment, “If I did, then I wouldn’t use this one. I’d make another. This one has already been modified. It’s quite painful.”
Langxia smiled. “Then, if I passed before you, make sure to do that.”
Gui Yin rolled his eyes. “You’re talking about absolutely useless stuff. Did you forget that if you die, I also die?”
“That’s true,” Langxia said. He thought about it for a moment and turned back to Gui Yin. “I’ll be sure to find you at the Yellow Springs.”
Gui Yin shook his head. “You really have nothing better to think about, huh?”
“I’m planning out my eternity with you,” Langxia said, looking affronted by Gui Yin’s words. He shifted closer with a smirk. “Don’t you want that?”
“Get away,” Gui Yin scoffed. “Stop being so sticky. It’s gross.”
“Gross?” Langxia repeated. He chuckled and threw an arm over Gui Yin’s shoulders. “Then, how come you’re smiling?”
Gui Yin felt the base of his ears warm. He didn’t bother shaking Langxia off, but he also didn’t indulge the other man, who chuckled and whispered nonsense in his ear.
The lantern brought the two men outside of the city, to one of the many areas on Langxia’s map. As they drew closer, Langxia regained his serious appearance. His brows were furrowed as he tugged Gui Yin close to his side.
“Call the lantern back. I know where to go from here,” Langxia whispered.
“Are you sure?” Gui Yin asked as he reached out for the floating object.
Langxia nodded. “Even if it’s not that exact spot, we’ll be able to figure out now that we’re in this area.”
Gui Yin took the lantern back and released the soul. Before the soul could shoot out, Gui Yin took a hold of it and mumbled a purifying spell. The traces of ghost qi evaporated and the soul floated up to the night sky, seemingly becoming one of the million stars.
“You stay here,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin stared at him blankly. Before Langxia could leave, he grabbed his hand and pulled him back. “Why do I have to stay?”
“Just in case. You’ll be my look out,” Langxia said with a small smile.
“Do you think I was just born yesterday? Give me the real reason, or I’ll just take the both of us away,” Gui Yin said.
“It’s because I’m omnipresent,” Langxia said. “If you come with me, we’ll have to be extra careful. Wouldn’t it be better if I just snuck in, destroyed everything, and then come back out?”
Gui Yin frowned, his grip on Langxia’s hand tightening. “It’s still dangerous. You’ll be handling resentful energy. You can’t be too careful.”
“I know. I’ll be so careful,” Langxia said. “And if I need anything, I’ll call for you.”
Gui Yin pursed his lips.
“Don’t do that, it’ll get red,” Langxia said, swiping his thumb over Gui Yin’s lips.
“Give me the real reason.”
“My darling gets asthma from resentful energy,” Langxia said with a helpless sigh. He looked at Gui Yin’s cross expression and smiled. “Be good. I’ll be right back.”
Gui Yin glared at him, but slowly loosened his grip. “I don’t like when you do this. It makes me anxious.”
“Darling,” Langxia tucked Gui Yin’s hair behind his ear, “When have I ever lied to you?”
Gui Yin really couldn’t think of an instance where Langxia lied to him.
“I’ve always come back to you, haven’t I?” Langxia said with a smile.
“I’m not worried about that,” Gui Yin said. He sighed. “Last time you kept telling me to trust you, you went and got your arm exploded. Every time you tell me to stay put, I feel like something bad happens to you. Can’t you just let me come with you? I’ll cover my mouth. I’ll be careful.”
Langxia chuckled. “Then, you really aren’t going to like what I’m about to say.”
Gui Yin pursed his lips and finally let go of Langxia’s arm. “Fine. Whatever. Go get yourself killed for all I care.”
“My sweet treasure,” Langxia hummed as he removed his arm from Gui Yin’s waist. “Just trust me.”
Gui Yin rolled his eyes. “Get out of here. I don’t care anymore.”
Langxia grinned. He pressed a fleeting kiss to Gui Yin’s lips and seemingly dissolved into the shadows. His voice reached back to Gui Yin’s ears moments later, like the kiss of a dragonfly’s wings on top of the surface of a lake.
“I’ll make it quick.”
Gui Yin scoffed. He looked into the distance and soon sat down on the ground. He pinched at the tassel on his fan and let out a deep sigh. He disliked when Langxia hid things from him. It always gave him a sense of unease that seeped into his bones, making him feel like he was standing on a mat of burning charcoal.
Langxia soon disappeared from Gui Yin’s point of view. He traveled slowly and seemingly with little purpose. If anyone caught a glimpse of him, they’d think that he was out for a casual stroll. However, his senses were heightened. His gaze flickered whenever he caught a sliver of movement from out of the corner of his eyes. The horrible, throbbing headache that had started the moment they stepped into this area did not go away. Instead, it had gotten stronger.
In fact, Langxia hadn’t wanted to leave Gui Yin by himself, but he also knew that this headache wasn’t a normal headache. It reminded him of one he had had centuries ago when he and Gui Yin had gotten ambushed as children. An entire lifetime that was not his to live was shoved into his mind until he melted into a fever that lasted several days.
It was a prophecy.
Even before it was bestowed upon him, Langxia already had certain feelings boiling within his gut. It was a mixture of pain and anger. These were most likely his own reactions to what would happen. And the only thing that could hurt him is if something happened to Gui Yin.
Of course, leaving Gui Yin by himself was also not safe. He was open to attacks. He could be ambushed again. But there was something in the back of Langxia’s mind that told him the danger would not be outside, but within the confines of this hideout. And Langxia was always one to trust his instincts without question.
Soon, Langxia managed to find the entrance to the hideout. It was half burrowed under a tree, but upon closer inspection by any high-level cultivator, one could see that it was an illusion.
Langxia’s brow furrowed.
Half Moon Cult had always been careful. If they made this one so obvious, it either meant that they had become audacious or that this was meant to be a trap.
A rare sense of unease took over Langxia as he descended the steps down into the dungeon.
The dungeon was cold. The walls were coated in an odd slime that made Langxia cringe. Under normal circumstances, perhaps he would have preferred to walk closer to the wall, so as to not trigger any mechanisms. But when he was faced with that hideous display, he could only turn away and give up on the idea.
His gaze was trained on the ground and the space ahead of him, but the longer he walked, the more unsettled he became.
There was no way an organization that had so much to hide would let any intruder in so easily.
His fingers twitched at his side and his staff appeared in his hand.
It was definitely an ambush waiting to happen.
Eventually, Langxia was met with another long hallway but, this time, the hallway was lined with doors. His gaze shifted from one side to the next until his eyes settled on a door that was teeming with demonic energy.
Something dripped onto his face.
Langxia lifted a hand and wiped the viscous liquid from his cheek. His expression pinched, but he slowly froze. He flicked his wrist to rid himself of the slime and slowly drew his gaze up.
What he saw first was a row of sharp teeth. Next, he found that the sharp teeth were sitting on what could be a face. And above those sharp teeth were a set of bulging eye whites. Connected to the head was an unseemly body and along with that body came a set of—
Langxia jumped out of the way as soon as the large claws descended upon him.
The entire dungeon shook as the creature splatted onto the ground. Its head rotated on its neck and it scurried towards Langxia.
Langxia took a baffled step back. More than fear, what he felt right now was…disgust.
What kind of twisted person would create such a disgusting creature?
Langxia didn’t quite care that it was currently tearing down the walls around him. If someone was smart or perhaps even lucky enough to manage to make this thing, couldn’t they have made it more pleasing to the eye? Even ghosts, who were killed by asphyxiation, looked far better than this!
The creature seemed to sense Langxia’s animosity towards its looks. With an angry roar, it charged forwards with even greater strength than before and successfully punctured Langxia’s shoulder.
Langxia’s expression pinched in disgust. He cut off the creature’s hand and ripped it out. Even though his shoulder was already beginning to mend, Langxia could smell a sickeningly sweet rotting scent coming from himself. He glanced at his arm and it was already beginning to blacken.
Langxia clicked his tongue in irritation and glanced at the creature.
Without a second thought, he turned on his heel and ran towards where the creature was clearly driving him to. He kicked the door down to where the furnace should be and slammed the door shut in the disgusting monster’s face.
Once there, he quickly took a pill that would stifle the poison that was beginning to course through him. He let out a short, inconvenienced sigh, as he flicked his staff.
“Qinle is going to be angry at me again,” Langxia said.
Not just Gui Yin, but also Xun Yunding. He would never hear an end to their nagging.
“Is that really what you’re concerned about?”
The familiar voice didn’t surprise Langxia. After all, enemies would always meet on narrow roads, much less a room that was this narrow.
Langxia glanced over his shoulder at the hooded man and tilted his head. “And here I thought you were a heroic spirit, who was willing to sacrifice himself to his cause. Was that whole theatrical display just an act for a coward to escape?”
A shrill, sharp laugh left the hooded man’s mouth.
“Our shining Grace has always said that there was an interesting half breed who was always standing in his way. Now that I’ve seen you, I must say that I am impressed,” the hooded man said.
“Your shining grace,” Langxia echoed monotonously. “Has he agreed to be that?”
The hooded man fell silent. Although Langxia couldn’t see his face, he estimated that there were several bulging veins on his forehead by now.
Langxia spun his staff and poked the large furnace that sat not too far from them. “Are you surprised that Lord Ninglan isn’t here, Void Saint?”
The man’s silence carried on until it broke out into a manic laugh. The laugh made Langxia glance over at him, but he still continued to put pressure on the furnace.
“Oh, my, Palace Lord Sun. You really think you’re omnipotent and undefeatable, don’t you?” the man asked.
“On the contrary, I think about my pitiful existence every day,” Langxia said. His eyes narrowed. “But judging by your reaction, you must not be who I think you are.”
Before the hooded man could react, Langxia jumped forward. Staff clashed with the side of the sword, sending sparks flying. Within the confined space, the hooded man had nowhere to go. Langxia eventually forced him into a corner, but before he could rip the man’s hood off, the man clenched his jaw and twisted his hand towards Langxia.
A swirl of unidentifiable shadows surged towards him.
Langxia slashed his staff downwards and caught the back of the man’s cloak before he could escape. The two men slammed against the furnace and fell onto the ground. When Langxia looked up, his expression showed a hint of surprise.
The man slowly stood as he held his chest. He glared at Langxia poisonously as his lip twitched into a half smirk and half scowl.
“No wonder you weren’t afraid of dying,” Langxia murmured as he stood. “If you’re willing to rip souls apart, you would definitely be crazy enough to implant your soul in another’s body.”
The unfamiliar face twitched horrendously, as if it were a television set glitching between two channels. It was clear that the souls were not harmonious, but since the body hadn’t decayed and melted away yet, it was clear that the other party had been willing.
Langxia’s headache had grown to a crescendo. The edges of his vision was beginning to blur and he was running out of patience. He sighed and lifted his staff.
“Any last words, Palace Lord Li?”
Li Huanwei laughed boldly, his voice shifting between pitches. He placed a hand on the furnace. Despite the steam rising from the contact point he didn’t flinch.
“I should be the one asking you that, Palace Lord Sun.”
When the seconds grew into minutes and the minutes felt longer than hours, Gui Yin stood up.
With the way their souls were connected, it wasn’t difficult for Gui Yin to pinpoint Langxia, but he was worried that if he appeared now, it would be inconvenient. But something in his chest told him that if he didn’t go, Langxia might end up in trouble or hurt.
His feet moved before he could think anymore.
He followed where his heart told him to move, but was still careful to make sure that there weren’t any guards or traps along the way. The closer he got, the eerier he found it. There was no sign that anyone had been through here. There were no bodies on the ground and no blood splatters on the walls or the floor. Everything was unnervingly peaceful and quiet.
Gui Yin still kept his guard up as he drew closer to the hidden base. He had felt a sharp pain in his arm for a brief moment. He assumed that it wasn’t life threatening, since it had passed so quickly, but now that he was at the scene of the accident, he couldn’t even sense a trace of danger.
Then, he came to a standstill.
He could feel the ground rumbling before any of it even happened. He looked over his shoulder just as a loud explosion happened from behind him. He was blown forward. The trees surrounding him caught fire and millions of souls flew into the sky, howling for justice. The sounds were loud enough to make Gui Yin’s ears ring.
Along with it, followed a deceivingly soft, mellow scent.
Gui Yin placed a hand over his mouth.
Smoke from regular fire would not be deadly to cultivators, but this wasn’t any regular fire. It was True Samadhi Fire that burnt relentlessly until its target was completely devoured and it could not be put out by regular water or rain. The smoke was not just toxic to regular people, but would kill them in an instant if they were not protected by an immortal aura. And if you were a cultivator, it was still extremely poisonous.
Ghost cultivators would not use True Samadhi Fire.
Gui Yin hurried into the flames, ignoring the way the fire licked at his exposed skin, nearly melting even the sigils that were sewn into his clothing. He ignored the wailing ghosts and followed the pull of his soul until he reached a set of crumbling double doors.
Just as he reached for the door handle, he was bombarded by a new scent.
The screech found Gui Yin before he even saw the creature. It descended from above and almost latched onto Gui Yin’s back. However, at that moment, the double doors fell open and revealed the person on the other side.
Gui Yin stared in wide-eyed shock as the familiar staff was yanked out of the monster’s skull and fell to the ground.
His body moved faster than what his brain was comprehending. He reached out and immediately caught the man, whose face had turned sallow. His eyes were glazed from the smell of the flames, but his expression was angry as he clenched his jaw and held tightly onto Gui Yin’s arm.
“Qinle…Qinle…”
“I know, I know. Let’s get you out of here,” Gui Yin shakily said.
He missed the way Langxia shook his head and he didn’t notice the extra pressure that was used to clutch onto his arm. If he had noticed, he would also register the desperation behind Langxia’s soundless words.
Gui Yin held tightly onto Langxia and forced himself to teleport at least three times before he finally collapsed on the ground. He gasped for air as the fire billowed and smoked far behind them. He glanced back and watched as it slowly reached for the trees and grass, devouring everything in its path.
As a partially guilty party, Gui Yin stood and set up a shabby array that contained the fire. But, in doing so, the remainder of his energy was spent.
He collapsed onto the ground and stared up at the sky that had become clouded with rain. He glanced over at Langxia as his chest heaved. The phantom wound in his shoulder twisted and festered, but he instinctively knew that it wouldn’t be life threatening. When the first few raindrops touched his eyelids, Gui Yin finally sat up.
He first popped in a detoxifying pill for himself and Langxia, then he set up a shelter and pulled Langxia underneath it. He wouldn’t be able to travel anywhere else tonight. Although the smoke wouldn’t kill him, Gui Yin was drained. If he used this remaining energy to move them, he wouldn’t be able to help Langxia either.
The man in his arms was pallid and almost lifeless. Gui Yin’s heart hammered in his chest as his hand shakily wiped away the rain water that tainted his skin.
“Sorry,” Gui Yin whispered. “I didn’t mean to let you fall into the mud like that…”
There was no response.
Gui Yin gulped as he carefully set Langxia back down. He numbly began to tug at the man’s clothes. “First…the wound…”
The sight of the real injury made Gui Yin freeze. He didn’t know when he started moving again, but when his soul came back to his body, medicine had already been applied. Because the wound had started closing by itself, it still contained a bit of the venom that had been injected with it. Luckily, Langxia had managed to contain it before it spread anywhere else, but he would definitely need to replace his arm again.
By Gui Yin’s side was a set of antidotes for all sorts of poisons. The one he seemed to have settled on was one for ghost qi. It was coincidentally what Gui Linghuo often used and would often run out of. It was a good thing that Gui Yin had made a habit of keeping a normally useless medicine around.
Gui Yin finished wrapping up Langxia’s wound and sat back down against his ankles. He stared blankly at the unmoving man and felt a familiar sense of dread washing over him. It settled in his chest, like the raindrops pooling in the cusp of a leaf, and slowly trickled down until it splashed and caused his stomach to roil.
His fingers dug into the muddy soil beneath him and he attempted to swallow the lump in his throat, only for him to choke it back out. He coughed, gagging slightly as he forced himself to stand. He rushed to the side and vomited. His dry heaving didn’t settle until a clap of thunder woke him from his stupor.
Gui Yin’s nails raked at the tree bark. For a moment, his knees weakened and almost gave in, but he held himself up.
If he fell into his own vomit, Langxia would definitely avoid him for the next few days.
The thought amused him and gave him enough strength to wobble back over to the other man. But the sight of Langxia didn’t bring him any comfort. He was unmoving, like a corpse and his lips had gotten so pale.
First was anxiety and denial, then was sorrow. Gui Yin pressed a hand to his eyes and forced his emotions further down. What was he doing? Langxia wasn’t dead. He was fine. He was alive and he would recover.
…But Gui Yin knew this wasn’t what it was about.
Gui Yin took care to rinse out his mouth. Only when he was sure he couldn’t taste his own bile anymore, he returned to Langxia’s side. He sat down beside him and carefully scooped the comatose man into his arms. He pressed his ear to Langxia’s chest and listened to the weak, but audible heartbeat.
He was still alive.
He wasn’t like Kui Wanming, who died humbly and horribly despite his heroic deeds.
He hadn’t pushed Gui Yin away in order to protect him, only to fall to his own miserable fate.
He would wake up.
He’ll talk again.
He’ll hug Gui Yin again and tell him that everything is okay. That he wasn’t at fault. That he didn’t fail to protect him.
Langxia would bring him warmth and comfort. And his stupid, selfish guilt would be eased.
“Shizun…”
The word fell on deaf ears, but like a rusted key that had finally been found, it released a torrent of emotions that had been selectively forgotten.
All the pain, all the anguish, and all the self-blame.
Gui Yin squeezed his eyes shut as those useless tears fell against Langxia’s chest.
“Please wake up soon,” Gui Yin whispered. “I don’t want to be alone again…”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA <- really the third thing i want to say but its most pressing rn;;;;;;
first thing, i love their love (tho now my heart aches instead of lifts thinking of it T-T LANGXIA!!!!!!)
second thing, THE LI FATHER!? im running back to my notes and all im seeing is multiple “i love Li Fangyin” with many hearts akxbskdh i didnt think the guy was this deeply involved, woah…..
thanks for reading!!!
AAAAAAARHG POOR GUI YIN!!!!