So they were running across the inner courtyard.

Think of good escape plan in 3 minutes? Nope. Nothing was connecting within Qin Yan's bloodthirsty mind. 

They were running entirely in the open, others watching with gaped mouths, nothing to hide their hurry whatsoever. Song Heqing had certainly seen better days. He was slow, his breathes short and labored like he could collapse at any moment. This was the worst escape attempt Qin Yan could have ever imagined. Would rate 1/10.

Song Heqing also thought it was silly to escape this desperately, but it was all because some strange emotion in his gut told him he couldn't leave without Qin Yan, so he lingered when he shouldn't have and got caught. And, it actually felt pretty good to run away like this.

With Qin Yan by his side, he felt unstoppable.

…so one plant and one naïve protagonist continued to run.

They passed through the inner sect to the outer, entering a large, open area. Two watch towers loomed next to the main gate in the distance, and a wall built high, made of black stone. So far no one had hindered them, but there was a shudder in the air as all the demonic energy seemed to stir at once and rushed towards the depths of the inner court.

Qin Yan could sense the immense presence of Wangzi approaching. 

"#$%*...to think he purified the poison so quickly."

This was bad. 

Unaware he was doing so, Qin Yan's hand was clenching Song Heqing’s from fear and rage and hatred, face distorting as he glanced at the people they passed by. He wanted to kill each and every one of them. He wanted to kill that guy with the sister-complex. Most of all he wanted to go back and kill Wangzi. How can he leave without killing him?! Tear out his spine, and grind those twisting horns on his head into dust. If he can only devour him…

He flung out an arm and a nearby guard was skewered like a mushroom on a kabob.

Song Heqing quickly said, “Qin Yan, it’s all right. Don’t pay attention to these people. We’ll get out of here, and once we escape, come with me to explore the world…right?”

Qin Yan’s expression softened at once. “...Okay.”

He almost thought it was funny, the shorter, younger of the two of them was comforting the taller, older one. But he liked it, liked that Song Heqing genuinely seemed to care about him. Livid shouts came from behind them and ruined the moment. 

“Kill them!”

“K-KILL THE DEMON!”

Actually, all the people chasing after them sounded sort of hesitant. Qin Yan had killed countless sect members, so he was the monster that haunted their most recent nightmares, what made them jump as they turned a corner and wash their hands before bed. Even nameless mob-characters wouldn't be so stupid as to throw their life away in exchange for nothing. As such, only a small number directly approached the two to fight.

 More shouts. “E-everyone in the interrogation room is dead…apprehend them if you can?”

“Orders from the Great Lord, let them both suffer one-thousand deaths for their betrayal! Or die trying...”

“Ready, aim, shoot—”

A volley of arrows came from the top of the walls along the outer gateway. Qin Yan’s vines knocked them away, and the few close enemies were sent flying into the dirt. Song Heqing also swung out his sword at a foe or two, but wasn’t very good at it from his recent wounds. He even began to wobble unsteadily. More arrows came, coated with various poisons or flames.

And a low, sinister laugh echoed over the courtyard.

Having emerged from his inner chambers, Lord Wangzi stood far behind them in the distance, at the archway between the inner and outer sect. He was acting cool and evil, as though he hadn’t played with an eggplant all night. In his palm was a black-silver flame that sputtered and shook. It slowly expanded into a gigantic fireball. 

“Purple Nightshade—” he boomed. “You dare to betray me for a lowly slave? A pity I’ll have to punish you.”

There was a barrage of anger points, cluttering Qin Yan’s vision at the most vital time. 

“You have another name?!” shouted Song Heqing, clenching Qin Yan’s hand tighter. Apparently, his current concern was not being incinerated bones-and-all.

“…no.”

Qin Yan swore to the nth heaven that if someone else called him 'Purple Nightshade' one more time...technically, eggplant is in the nightshade family, the leaves and flowers are toxic with a compound called solanine¹WELCOME to chemistry with Qin Yan! Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family within the genus Solanum, such as the potato, the tomato, and the eggplant. It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers. In more severe cases, hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, hypothermia, and death have been reported., but calling him a nightshade is like giving a fancier name to something to make it less silly. Like an eggplant.

Ah, but now was not the time to get involved in scientific plant classification.

The ground shuddered as Lord Wangzi hurtled his black flame across the courtyard, destroying everything in its wake in a line of three meters. The flame enlarged further as it flew, white tips sending out sparks that melted skin and stone alike until finally disintegrating all it touched to ash and char. 

Qin Yan really couldn’t let Song Heqing hobble along anymore. He pulled him up and stuffed the boy against his chest, then shifted his spare arm into vines that expanded over their bodies like a shield from behind. He layered it seven times, worth about three meters of plant fiber defense. Simultaneously, he controlled his main body to surge forward like a wave at Wangzi.

He did not have the leisure to be concerned for it.

Vines in the garden came at Wangzi from behind, clutching at his ankles, stabbing towards him and interrupting his vision, trying to poison him further. He was forced to multitask, and the black flame shooting towards them shrunk ever so slightly in size. 

"Put me down," Song Heqing said, struggling weakly in Qin Yan's arms.

“What can you do? Hold your sword. Don’t distract.”

****Frustration +25—

**Humiliation +13—

***Anger +9—

And BANG—!

The black flame hit.

White sparks ricocheted everywhere like a rain of lava. Several people nearby screamed and clutched their arms as the sparks left coin-sized holes straight through their skin. At this rate, Wangzi would probably kill a fifth of his sect as collateral. 

Qin Yan's vines were no match as the flames covered them, not even as he grew more to replace the disintegrated. There was brief sense of loss as part of his body disappeared from the scorching flame forever. No matter what, he couldn’t grow back his arm.

But it allowed him and Song Heqing to reach the gate.

Wangzi was still occupied with burning off an endless jungle of vines from that tangled at him from the garden, each barb laced with that corrosive purple poison. Even if the poison would not kill him, it was better not to be afflicted too many times, so he had no choice but to deal with them. This would buy the two just enough time...

Qin Yan swung his remaining arm to blow a hole straight through the outer gate. The defensive array on Wangzi’s estate was also easily breached, then shattered, but this has used up all his final reserves of energy. At this point he ran forwards with no further plans. He wasn’t sure how it’d work out, especially when Wangzi could literally hurtle balls of flame that could burn anything out of existence.

A hand shook his shoulder.

It was Song Heqing in his arms. He’d been trying to grab Qin Yan’s attention for a while.

The boy pointed into the sky. “Use a firebird!”

Qin Yan understood at once. He threw vines high up like a lasso and latched onto the nearest firebird. The tendrils sunk into the bird's legs and gave a small whip, compelling it to fly off as fast as possible. Once they'd gained some height the arrows would dip and fail to reach them and the estate of Wangzi appeared to turn small and insignificant below.

It was true that firebirds were the size of a small airplane, extremely nimble in the air, and flew at high altitudes, but Qin Yan didn’t want to admit that these birds with the most obnoxious cackle he’d ever heard would be the key to success at this moment. 

The firebird, flying so fast the wind stung, gave a nervous, "KaKu kAkAkA KaK-"

Qin Yan frowned. No no no, nothing is due to this stupid bird. It’s Song Heqing who managed to salvage the situation with his protagonist brainpower despite being wounded, and suggested he use his vines in such an imaginative way. Qin Yan could not help but take a glance at the Song Heqing still lodged in his arms, then remembered he was wounded.

As expected, Song Heqing had grown quiet after that last outburst of energy during their escape. There were dark circles under his eyes and many open cuts were bleeding.

“Hey,” Qin Yan placed a hand over his cheek, and there was an unusual warmth in his words. “Take a rest. We’re flying until we leave the Sect's territory.”

Song Heqing had relaxed his guard against him completely. He nodded slightly, then tucked himself into Qin Yan’s chest, closing his eyes. 

…

Lord Wangzi scoffed as he stood in the garden of Phoenix Demonic Sect. The vines of the eggplant prevented him from killing the two scums, but now it had been reduced to black charcoal. It seemed that the demon would go beyond the reason of any other living creature to resist his control. Everything about it was illogical.

Nonetheless, his mood was not entirely ruined.

A wide, malicious grin lit over his face, and wisps of smoke danced across his ivory fingertips.

If he can't have the demon, then neither can anyone else.