It was considered rude to fly down directly to the hot spring in case others were already bathing, so there was a path leading to it, and the outskirts were surrounded by bamboo. Fortunately, it was devoid of other humans when they arrived. The water let off a thin cloud of steam that curled over the rocks and it was a turquoise shade, half opaque with sunlight dancing over the surface.

Qin Yan was so enamored by it he stripped without hesitation, clothes flying everywhere, then plopped into the water.

Song Heqing was startled. “It’s hot!”

Qin Yan was standing at his full height (3.51 feet!), but only the tip of his forehead was visible above the waterline. To him, it was truly a paradise of temperature and moisture. Anything Song Heqing said became a slur of words like the calling of a whale after it traveled through the water. 

Song Heqing was even more alarmed. He knelt at the edge of the pool and fished him up.

“Are you all right?! Can you breathe? Is it too hot?”

Qin Yan furrowed his brow from the cold air. “I'm okay. I don’t need to breath that often, so underwater is fine, heat is also good. Please put me down.”

“…”

It was a bit embarrassing to overreact, and Song Heqing silently put him back in the water. All that was left was the water-distorted expression of a content Qin Yan and a massive island of floating purple hair.

Song Heqing took one last glance before undressing as well. He neatly folded all his articles of clothing, one by one …

AND SO we begin the obligatory rant of how drop-dead gorgeous the protagonist’s physical features are. It was as though an OCD, androgynous, dedicated-to-perfection immortal sculpted Song Heqing in order to make others aware to the point of shame how inferior they were. Muscles ran down his chest without a single one being lopsided or asymmetrical. His jaw line tapered then curved a hint, giving a cold and sharp expression. None of his body parts were overly muscular, he was like a sleek jaguar or graceful deer, and his skin…oh heavens, his skin! It was a supple color of wheat, a shade ephemeral yet healthy. His hair silky as black waves on the sea at night, light reflecting off like moonlight. And the shining amber of his eyes like a deep cavern filled with mica, gold, and silver, a pitfall into bewitching one’s soul to become lost and disoriented.

For women who are particularly elegant on the outside but thirsty on the inside, it was said that merely peering at the opened collar of his robe would cause saliva to form in their mouths. Naturally, men weren’t spared either. 

There was only one thing marring his appearance, a splotchy scar on the small of his back, reddish, and from an injury he gained when the Song clan¹That was his family's clan, before he was enslaved at Wangzi's. was destroyed…still, he was not too masculine, not too feminine.

The epitome of elegance. Refinement. Charm.

Truly fit to be the ultimate stallion protagonist, he could twist hearts around fingers and people would still swear on their mother’s graves he had class. 10/10! Anyway.

Qin Yan was not looking. He’d noticed Song Heqing undress from the corner of his vision but didn’t care that much. Yes, Qin Yan was someone who was 80% blind to appearances. He was capable of judging if someone was mostly good or bad-looking, then it would hardly come into his mind. Personality was obviously more important. Plus he didn't like to make eye-contact with others!

Interesting, how these things play out.

Song Heqing sunk into the water with a sigh, sitting along the bottom, and idly stared at Qin Yan’s mass of purple hair. It was sort of like discolored seaweed.

There was a drawn out, but pleasant, silence. Only the trickle of spring water entering the pool and the cry of a golden eagle in the sky above. Two swords, silver and black, sat together along the edge of the pool.

Qin Yan was revitalized by the purity of the spring water. Eventually, he used his feet to paddle to the surface like a small duck, clinging to the ledge. 

Song Heqing glanced at him. “Done?”

“I only wanted to come to the surface. What about you?”

“Maybe a little longer.”

Afterwards, Song Heqing opened his mouth, seeming to want to ask something else, but hesitated. His tone turned delicate, as though willing to retract his next words at any moment.

“So…do you miss your previous life?”

Qin Yan just shrugged. “Some.”

Song Heqing lowered his gaze.

“Not a lot. Some things were better in my previous life...er, the culture was very different from here. But it isn’t as though I wish I could go back, since I’ve already died there. I just feel bad for my parents and friends that were left behind.”

“Then,” Song Heqing whispered, “was the first time you died painful?”

Qin Yan frowned. “I don’t know how I died.”

His tone was matter of fact, as though talking about it wasn’t difficult, but that was precisely because it bothered him to think about it. Qin Yan instead opted to stare at the surface of the water before dragging his arm through it and dousing Song Heqing over the head.

The small arms could fling a surprising amount of water into the air.

Song Heqing rubbed his eyes. “…Qin Yan!”

Although the protagonist’s hair was wondrous, it could not resist natural laws physics, and large chunk of it sagged over his face. The water made his skin shine from the last bit of sunlight on the horizon, and translucent drops ran down the strands of hair and the bridge of his nose.

Qin Yan gave a grin that was sweet and adorable, looking ready to splash more water.

“…” Song Heqing wiped the hair off his face. He couldn’t help but smile as well.

Qin Yan splashed at him again, but this time Song Heqing was prepared. He used his forearm to block the water from hitting his face while saying, “Spare me!”

Qin Yan narrowed his eyes and sunk below the water. In fact, now that Song Heqing mentioned his death he ended up thinking about it and System S again. He can’t push off such an issue no matter how much it scared him, because System S made it clear he would keep coming back to haunt him…

“…could System S be a demon?” Qin Yan asked.

It was convenient that Qin Yan could communicate even when his face was submerged underwater, and this way their conversation switched to one of complete privacy. 

“I’ve also considered it, and am uncertain,” Song Heqing paused to think. “That scum does have the ability to cross through the sect’s demonic warding array without being destroyed or detected, so it can’t be a lesser ghost. However, a demon should be more powerful than what we saw yesterday. When I attacked System S it was forced into retreat almost immediately, but perhaps what we faced wasn’t its main body.”

“I just wonder who put my soul into a demon eggplant, and for what reasons…”

“It will be hard to find an answer unless we have the chance to interrogate that scum or the ‘goddess’ it mentioned…but there are many beings with the ability to transfer souls. I’ve heard of a few renowned cultivators who can do so, as well as demonic cultivators who have abused such a power. What makes soul manipulation a rare occurrence is the difficulty of finding the correct vessel for the soul. A soul will reject and dissipate from any unsuitable vessel.”

This struck Qin Yan as odd.

Since…he died, then his soul would have dissipated, too, like how everyone’s does after death. Two options came into mind. He died, and System S or whoever happened to find a vessel that suited his soul immediately, and this vessel happened to be an overpowered demon eggplant. On the other hand, if the demon eggplant vessel already existed, all System S had to do was leisurely search for a suitable soul that could be a hosted inside of it…

The first option relied on happenstance. The second was a deliberate, malicious scheme.

Well, Qin Yan was a bit depressed. He probably didn’t die from suffocating in blankets. He glanced at Song Heqing, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Qin Yan thought, “I still don’t know how I died, but I guess I got murdered...”

There was a slight sound from outside the pool. A leaf crunching unnaturally, and at such an inept time, too. Song Heqing immediately tensed. He shifted so Qin Yan was positioned behind himself and put out an arm protectively.

“Who’s there?”

Qin Yan’s view was mostly blocked, but the figure of a person with straight brown hair appeared at the top of the stairway. Their hands were visibly trembling.

“Um!” is all that stranger managed to say.

“Oh, it’s you.” Song Heqing relaxed.

“E-e-elder brother Song! I’m sorry. I went up the stairs without really thinking, and then…then…then-”

“It’s fine. It was just an accident.”

Qin Yan examined the interloper. He appeared younger than Song Heqing, perhaps seventeen or sixteen. His eyes were almond shaped and he fidgeted like an anxious goody-two-shoes that hadn’t hit puberty. The silver token that hung from his belt indicated he belonged to Dauntless Peak, but his figure was reedy. 

Qin Yan poked his face out of the surface of the water.

“Good afternoon. My name is Qin Yan. Nice to meet you.”

This was not a proper introduction based on the etiquette of ancient times, but it was all Qin Yan knew. 

The pupils of the youth flickered to Qin Yan, some panic swirling their depths. He looked back and forth between Qin Yan and Song Heqing, his face paling.

“M-m-my family name is Huiliang, given name Wen! Sorry but I’ve got a prior arrangement! I have to excuse myself...”

He ran back down the stairway and disappeared.   

Song Heqing and Qin Yan looked at each other, then Qin Yan titled his head with confusion.

“Wasn’t he going to soak in the spring? Am I scary?”

Song Heqing shook his head. "Junior-brother Huiliang was rescued from Wangzi’s estate when we brought down Phoenix Demonic Sect. He entered Eagle Sect as a servant on Senior Brother Cui’s recommendation, then it was discovered he had talent for cultivation, so Peak Lord Sun accepted him as a disciple…but he’s rather skittish.”

Qin Yan could see that Song Heqing felt some sympathy for the boy. He could easily understand the horrors of Wangzi, and didn’t want to imagine what a good-looking boy like Huiliang Wen had been through.

“But it doesn’t explain why he ran away?”

“I have a guess,” Song Heqing carefully brushed some hair off Qin Yan's face. “Huiliang usually wears female clothing and paints a scar over his face, but it seemed that he removed it when he came to bathe. Perhaps he was self-conscious to speak to us without it, so he quickly escaped.”

Qin Yan was more confused. “Er, he does appear pretty feminine. But Eagle Sect members already saw him at Wangzi’s estate, so wouldn’t they know he’s a man and gossip about it now?”

Song Heqing was indifferent. “Who knows. Others should keep their mouths shut.”

“Yeah…”

The two had a number of other conversations before leaving the spring, and besides realizing that he was probably murdered it was an enjoyable day, so Qin Yan slept peacefully at night for once...