The fire pit was large, so the fish cooked well, though they burned a little. The River demons all complimented him on his cooking techniques, and promised to show off to any humans they captured. Xu Jian had assumed they were merely complimenting him, but when they set off again, the stray fishermen they met were harassed by the River demons with Fish Preparation Questions. It was an improvement from silent intimidation, but made Xu Jian exhausted.

The walk was nice, though; Xu Jian hadn't been out in nature in a long time, and the air felt pure and vibrant. He wasn't nostalgic for his past life, but it was the first time in a while he felt like he could enjoy this new world without it being a concession.

The River demons loved to talk, and told him the names of plants they knew and birds they recognized. Not a single hour went by without their light babbling. It really was a comfortable way to pass the day.

When night fell, they made camp around a fire even bigger than the one used to cook the fish, and Ying Long prepared it himself, as if taking pity on Xu Jian's meager oxygen supply.

The fish returned, though Xu Jian didn't have to prepare any of it. River demons couldn't eat red meat raw, so Ying Long also took charge of hunting a few rabbits and preparing them himself.

“I have no use for arrows when they would damage their fine pelts,” Ying Long told Xu Jian, showing off the perfectly intact corpses.

Xu Jian gave him a strained smile.

The River demons continued their chattering, mostly about things they like to eat and how Ying Long spoiled them by lowering himself to hunting for their sake, the urge to compliment him seeming almost compulsive. Xu Jian had never spent time with people who talked this much. He liked that it took the burden off him to contribute.

They got ready to turn in early. The entourage of eels went to the river to dampen their skin after spending so long next to a fire, leaving Xu Jian alone with a demon Lord.

Xu Jian tested his feet, and winced at having to walk on bruises. He peeled off the fabric socks, then the bandages.

His feet looked in good health, though the bruises were still ripe. The paste had been washed away.

“Where did you get those injuries?” Ying Long asked. He was lounging on the grass like it was a fine bed.

“They walked me over the roughest terrain they could find.”

“Who walked you?”

“My friends.”

“Your friends tortured you?”

Xu Jian paused.

“..When I was about twenty, I got annoyed with a junior disciple. He kept training in the water. He was an excellent swimmer. I felt that since we were on the water already, it might be that I was doing something wrong, so I wanted to harass him for it. I strung him up to a rock and made him swim against the rapids.”

Ying Long narrowed his eyes, his face firm with a gradual understanding.

“It was only a few hours, but he left, and never came back,” Xu Jian said softly.

it was the truth, but he received no reward for it.

“Come,” Ying Long said, holding out his hand.

Xu Jian came over on his hands and knees. Ying Long took one of his hands and held it up. The rope burns were obvious.

“I suppose you think you deserved this as well?” Ying Long asked.

“I deserved to be whipped.” Xu Jian pulled his hand away. “I was worried they'd string me up wrong and I'd drown, but they did a good job.”

If Xu Jian didn't have Path of Wind, he'd have to walk up the rock over and over again, and his feet would be in such poor condition he wouldn't be able to walk back. Probably worth concern. But he doubted it would have killed him.

Ying Long looked at him with a sardonic sort of pity, and raised his arm high, creating a canopy from his cloak.

“It's cold at night, and we have no blankets. Come.”

The old ‘huddling for warmth’ gambit. Xu Jian understood what Ying Long's approach to him was, now; back in his world, it was usually women and youths who were subject to this, but he'd observed it often enough.

A man would look for vulnerable women and lovebomb them, inviting them in their house and showering them with gifts and adoration. Then, when they were grateful and dedicated to their seemingly perfect boyfriend, he would do whatever he wanted. Some men just wanted a companion willing to enable their awful behaviour, but mostly it was abusers, and ever so often, human traffickers. Sometimes both.

Well, Xu Jian never had any face, and he knew Ying Long was the former category of Lovebombing Stranger. This type wasn't actively malicious; he had a friend who would pull shit like this all the time. People like this hated conflict, had no self-awareness, and were infuriatingly stubborn. No matter how you approached their overtures, they always tried to be smug about it. The only thing that seemed to work was to act with a cool head and steady heart.

Without hesitation, Xu Jian tore Ying Long's robes open.

Ying Long flinched back. Xu Jian ignored him, sticking his head under the fur of the outer robe and crawling inside. He didn't fit all the way in, even with their size difference, so he wormed around his back so his head stuck out behind Ying Long's neck and his legs rested just over his waist. After a bit of uncomfortable adjusting, he had to set an arm over his waist too, in order to have enough room.

Ying Long was silent for a long, terrible moment. Xu Jian busied himself shoving Ying Long's massive swath of hair over his head so it wouldn't tickle his face.

There was still an inner robe between them, and Xu Jian wasn't even wet this time. There was no reason for Ying Long to complain. If he wanted to embrace someone, he could ask for a hug.

Xu Jian was not removed or chastised, so he made himself comfortable. When the River demons returned, they came with another demon, holding a net full of Xu Jian’s quest items. She lit up when she saw Xu Jian tucked away underneath Ying Long's hair.

"Thank you. I was waiting for those," Xu Jian said. No one acknowledged his position.

“I wanted to watch the humans,” the demon said shyly.

“I didn't need it yet. Don't worry."

Her eyes seemed to flicker between whatever expression Ying Long was making and Xu Jian's face, but she offered no further discussion.

The demons all made their bed far away from the fire. Xu Jian used the fur lining as a pillow while resting his forehead against the soft fabric of Ying Long's inner robe. He could feel the enormous body underneath him shudder.

Well, Ying Long was right. Bundling up with another person for warmth felt good. It felt...it felt like walking in a warm building after years and years of being out in the elements. Stuffy and constricting and innately temporary. A brief reprieve.

He thought it would have felt like that even if he was still an office worker who kept his nose clean.

Ying Long made an unhappy noise, and Xu Jian fell asleep satisfied.