The journey from the Green Jade Peaks to the city of Wú Jiǔ was completed in record time, leaving Jiao Ziyu so winded that he was actually on the verge of passing out. Mingyue had to have been similarly affected, but the cold rage seemed to have made him numb to the protests of his own body.

Worse yet, the residence was empty. It appeared to have been deserted somewhere in-between Jiao Ziyu leaving and him returning with Mingyue.

Had the Red Devil taken Jiao Ziyu’s visit as a sign that it was time to move his precious asset elsewhere? It was certainly possible. It definitely wasn’t impossible by any means. In any case⸺

“Let’s rest here for a bit,” Jiao Ziyu gasped. “Maybe they’ll be back soon?”

This was probably just wishful thinking on his part though, and with the look that Mingyue shot him, Jiao Ziyu sincerely hoped that they would be back and that they would be back soon. Because if not, then Mingyue might just snap Jiao Ziyu’s neck.

To think that the day would come when Jiao Ziyu would be so honestly terrified of his old friend – terrified yet horrifyingly attracted to him all at once. Maybe this was because Jiao Ziyu had been living in celibacy for so long – in spite of what many believed. Yeah, that was probably it. And if he managed to survive this, then he’d obviously have to go out and get laid.

Thinking this, Jiao Ziyu cautiously followed Bai Mingyue into the building.

 

---

 

The next few days were tense, but somehow not as tense as Jiao Ziyu had initially feared. However, the fact that they had spent days at the residence with no sign of its usual occupants was worrying to say the very least.

Would they be back?

Jiao Ziyu feared for the alternative.

Still, as the days went on, Mingyue’s wrath gradually subsided. It by no means dissipated though; it was always there, simmering just below the surface.

But Mingyue had even said thanks when Jiao Ziyu had given him a bowl of soup this morning, so that had to be a promising sign, no?

Still, Jiao Ziyu feared what might come if the youngster did not return.

At the same time though, he feared for what might happen if he did, and wanted to ask his fellow Peak Lord about his intentions towards the youth in order to better prepare himself for either alternative.

So far, Jiao Ziyu hadn’t quite managed to muster up the courage though. He would ask later today though; he’d already decided that.

But first, there was obviously some food to prepare. Thankfully, Jiao Ziyu had brought enough stuff along, because he’d rather not use much – if any – of the food already inside the residence. And this had less to do with a fear of poison – because they had already checked for that – and more to do with wanting to avoid the awkwardness that would undeniably arise when – not if – the usual residents returned.

Speaking of which⸺

There was a sudden ruckus out in the yard; the sound of raised voices and clashing steel.

Jiao Ziyu had a bad feeling about this.

 

---

 

Jiao Ziyu had a bad feeling about this. Jiao Ziyu had a very bad feeling about this, and this feeling by no means abated by the time he got outside and caught sight of Bai Mingyue facing off against someone that – judging by the attire – could definitely be assumed to be the rumoured Red Devil.

The latter was brandishing a quite mean-looking sabre, but he wasn’t attacking. However, the reason for this was more likely to be the black-and-purple-clad person in Mingyue’s grasp rather than the sword pointed in his direction.

Jiao Ziyu wondered what kind of situation he had just wandered into, and also if it was still possible for him to turn around, head back inside and stay there until the situation was somehow resolved without him. But then⸺

“Ziyu,” Mingyue said, not really looking at him. “Great timing.”

Great timing? Jiao Ziyu honestly wasn’t so sure, but certainly not about to question it either. “Yes?”

“Take him,” Mingyue said, clearly referring to the youth slumped against his side, and sensing the positively murderous gaze of the Red Devil, Jiao Ziyu found that he would much rather not.

However, caught in-between a ‘Red Devil’ and Bai Mingyue, it was more sensible to ally himself with the ‘devil’ he knew, right? Right?

"Okay then." Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself before cautiously stepping out into the courtyard.

Fortunately, the 'Red Devil' didn’t move to prevent Jiao Ziyu from approaching or from retreating once he had an unconscious rogue cultivator cradled in his arms.

Jiao Ziyu didn’t retreat too far however, only off to one of the corners of the inner courtyard. It was apparently far enough though, because the combatants nearly immediately resumed their duel.

Then again, calling it a duel was a bit excessive, because for now, it remained as a hostile standoff, and Jiao Ziyu was obviously concerned about the eventual outcome of that, but⸺

He turned back around, focusing his attention to the cultivator now laid out on the walkway. As Jiao Ziyu had already noted, the other was firmly unconscious, and the cause of it was evident; one of Mingyue’s gleaming silver needles was embedded into a very specific acupoint.

Seeing it, Jiao Ziyu thought that he probably shouldn’t stick his neck any further into this⸺ well, whatever it was. Even so, he found himself reaching out.

With deft fingers, he pulled out the needle – and with the needle gone, the youth snapped awake with a gasp and a spasm. And if not for Jiao Ziyu’s quick thinking, then the other might very well have ended up accidentally stabbing himself.

Fortunately, he’d had enough sense to hold the other down long enough to safely put away the needle.

“What the fuck?!” the youth gasped, voicing something that Jiao Ziyu himself would very much like to ask. He then immediately sat up, but proved unsteady enough to warrant some additional support, which Jiao Ziyu readily provided.

This earned him a definite look – but no aggression, which was good.

Then the youth lifted his gaze towards the rooftops to where the fight had apparently relocated. He then immediately attempted to rise to his feet. Jiao Ziyu didn’t stop him, but naturally stuck close enough grab him just in case. Because⸺ “I really wouldn’t jump into that fray if I were you.”

This earned him another look, this one decidedly irritated.

“Then do something, Jiao Ziyu!” the youth snapped, pointing towards the fighting pair.

Jiao Ziyu hesitated. He should probably do something, even though he would much rather not jump into the fray. Because if this went on, well, then there was really no telling how this would end. Because Mingyue, Mingyue was⸺

Suppressing a shudder, Jiao Ziyu put his hands into his sleeves. Then his fingertips brushed against something; one of those special-commissioned talismans of his. Realising what it was, Jiao Ziyu slowly exhaled and tried to steel himself for what was about to go down.

“I can try,” he said, keeping his voice very quiet. “But I probably only have one shot.”

The unspoken ‘Who should I use it on?’ hung in the air.

“Then use it wisely,” the youngster hissed. “I’ll handle the demon bastard.”

Oh. Okay then.

Knowing every second counted, Jiao Ziyu wasted little more time. He didn’t even say a prayer for himself, although he would undoubtedly need it, whether he succeeded or not.

But through divine intervention or otherwise, Jiao Ziyu did succeed. He did manage to send a lightning talisman up there and he did manage to get it to hit home and to activate it just in time – and once struck, Mingyue had just enough time to snarl and direct a positively murderous glare Jiao Ziyu’s way before dropping. And although the other was a high-level cultivator and thus unlikely to be significantly injured by such a fall, Jiao Ziyu still felt a surge of some emotion as he rushed to catch him.

The Red Devil obviously got there first though, halting Mingyue’s descent just long enough for Jiao Ziyu to get there before letting go, leaving him to stagger momentarily under the weight of a knocked-out cultivator. Jiao Ziyu was decidedly relieved though, right up until he remembered that Mingyue would definitely kill him once he regained his senses.

“Don’t say that!” someone hissed loudly, breaking Jiao Ziyu out of his spiralling thoughts. And as he snapped his head around, he caught the Red Devil’s laughter as the Little Hermit slapped the other’s hands away.

Then, the Red Devil turned towards Jiao Ziyu, flashing him a smile that bordered on a grin. There was something about it too – something unnervingly familiar – and Jiao Ziyu honestly couldn’t help but shudder.

“Well,” the Red Devil said, cupping his hands and bowing in some mockery of a greeting. “This has been pleasant and all, but⸺”

He dodged a hit originating from the Little Hermit, then caught the other’s wrist with ease and tugged at it, pulling the cultivator in front of him before hugging him close to his chest.

“This one’s mine,” the Red Devil announced, rubbing his chin against the other’s head with obvious affection. “You can’t have him, you understand?”

Huh.

The Little Hermit in turn simply rolled his eyes, exasperated but in no obvious distress.

“Demon Bastard,” he finally muttered. “We’ve talked about this.”

“Right,” said the alleged demon bastard, then turned his attention back towards Jiao Ziyu. “You guys are staying for tea, right?”

Well⸺ “I suppose?”

 

---

 

It was a weird situation, yes. But an invitation was still an invitation, and Jiao Ziyu still wanted some answers.

Besides, with Mingyue still out of it, Jiao Ziyu didn’t exactly feel comfortable bringing him elsewhere. Because there was honestly no way Jiao Ziyu had enough strength in him to bring Mingyue all the way back to the Green Jade Peaks, and bringing him to any regular inn seemed like the sort of thing that would result in all sorts of property damage. Like, sure, there was also the risk of property damage here – not to even mention Jiao Ziyu ending up at the receiving end of Bai Mingyue’s wrath. However, odd as it might sound, staying actually felt... safer.

So, shifting Mingyue onto his back, Jiao Ziyu followed the pair inside, trying not to think of what might happen after. Because Mingyue would undoubtedly try to kill him, and without the element of surprise, Jiao Ziyu really stood no chance at escaping him. But that was a problem for the Jiao Ziyu of the near future, not a problem for the Jiao Ziyu of the immediate present.

“Jun, go help him out.”

Clearly used to being ordered around, the Red Devil went over to assist Jiao Ziyu with getting Mingyue down and laid out onto a sleeping mat. Then and only then did he reach up to dislodge the mask, which had up until then been covering the upper part of his face.

The face of this ‘Jun’ person was undeniably handsome. It was also undeniably the face of a part-human part-demon hybrid – and one related to the upper echelons of certain parts of the Demon Realm at that, if those red clan markings served as any sort of indication. Actually, yeah, looking at them a bit more closely, those markings almost certainly belonged to the⸺

“What?” asked the apparent scion of the latest major Demon Realm dynasty – that Mingyue had just attacked, and very clearly aimed to kill.

“Youming Jun,” said the youngster, as if ordering around a prince of the Demon Realm was a perfectly reasonable pastime. “If you’ve got time to dawdle, you’ve got time to make tea.”

And Youming Jun just smiled and swaggered off, as if this blatant disrespect was something expected, even appreciated.

Perplexed, Jiao Ziyu turned to the youth for answers. And by the Heavens, did he have questions, starting off with the most obvious one.

“Who are you?”