Of course, when Jiao Ziyu had thought that he’d be back later, he hadn’t expected later to be just three days later, and judging by the expression on the Demon Prince’s face, neither had he.
“Yue’s down at the clinic,” the other wryly informed him, blatantly assuming that Jiao Ziyu would be there for the rogue cultivator, and not for the self-exiled(?) demon prince with apparent feline tendencies.
From the looks of it, Jiao Ziyu had probably interrupted the other’s late morning nap. He didn’t feel particularly guilty about it though − not in the slightest, as a matter of fact. Because he too had lost sleep recently and the one before him bore no insignificant amount of responsibility for that one – mostly by association, yes, but nevertheless⸺ “May I come in?”
He got levelled with a definite look for that; a tired look, sure, but a piercing one nonetheless.
“Depends. For what purpose?”
The words were accompanied by a slightly fanged smile that was almost definitely a threat. By now however, Jiao Ziyu was far too used to the other’s antics to really pay it much heed. Because, honestly⸺ “Like last time, I’m obviously just here to talk, not for some hairbrained revenge scheme. I don’t have a death wish.”
“Hoh?” The demon bastard’s smile grew. “Are you sure about that?”
Hah. Jiao Ziyu did wonder.
“So,” the Demon Prince said, taking a seat. “Are you here about Demon Realm diplomacy or...?”
Well, in truth, Jiao Ziyu was there for a whole bunch of reasons, but⸺ “Not today.”
“Some other day then,” the Demon Prince said. “So, what do you want?”
What did Jiao Ziyu want?
Jiao Ziyu wanted a lot of things – he wanted some answers, yes, but he also wanted to get away from the wildly spinning rumour mill that was the Green Jade Peaks.
Worse yet, the gossip had breached containment – as in, what had initially started out as an internal sect matter had suddenly become everyone’s business, which it definitely wasn’t.
Truthfully, Jiao Ziyu hadn’t even realised just how bad it was until he’d overheard the ladies over at the Gentle Springs Pavilion talking and then been asked about it directly by one of them, seeing as to how they now knew that he was at least marginally involved with the Green Jade Peaks.
Their questions probably shouldn’t have caught him quite as off guard as they had, but Jiao Ziyu had found it difficult to keep a straight face when he’d been asked about some of the more outrageous rumours.
Because according to some, the legendary medicinal cultivator Peak Lord Bai – a beauty as illustrious as he was reclusive – had abruptly taken one of the other Peak Lords as his lover in an attempt to spite his former lover, who was none other than the Sect Leader himself.
Another rumour disputed this however, stating that Peak Lord Bai was as beautiful as he was callous and that he’d simply chosen a new cultivator to act as his cauldron, while yet another rumour claimed that it was merely a potion mishap and that Peak Lord Bai’s virtue had been compromised, leading to the unnamed Peak Lord taking responsibility – either eagerly or grudgingly; there seemed to be disagreements in regards to that.
It would suffice to say that Jiao Ziyu was appalled, and not just by the rumours and how quickly they’d spread, but rather how they had originated.
Seeing that only two people could’ve witnessed anything even remotely indecent, Jiao Ziyu had gone to seek his answers straight from the source – and since Peak Lord Cheng wouldn’t look at him and was definitely avoiding him, Jiao Ziyu had gone straight to the Sect Leader himself.
And Sect Leader Yeguang in turn had finally confessed what Jiao Ziyu had already suspected – namely that Cheng Kong was indeed the person who’d blabbed, even though he wasn’t the one who’d spread it around. And indeed, Sect Leader Yeguang hadn’t mentioned the real culprit by name. However, the very fact that he wouldn’t already told Jiao Ziyu everything that he needed to know.
“In that other future... my disciples... after I died... did they... how did they do? Which of them succeeded me? Did they do a decent job of it?”
Feeling eyes upon him, Jiao Ziyu finally looked back towards the Demon Prince, confirming what he had already sensed. The other was indeed staring, staring at Jiao Ziyu with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty.
“Why do you need to know?” Youming Jun asked at last, tilting his head slightly. “That future won’t happen. Why does it matter?”
Hah.
“Why?” Jiao Ziyu couldn’t help but chuckle weakly at that. “It matters because it does. It matters because I’m sick of it. I’m just so damned sick of it all!”
At this, the Demon Prince’s confusion and uncertainty gained the company of definite concern.
“Okay,” Youming Jun said. “I think this calls for something stronger than tea.”
Jiao Ziyu supposed it did.
“I think we do have some alcohol,” the other continued, moving to rise. “I don’t drink, and Yue doesn’t either, but... he keeps it around for... what was it? It’s basically for purification purposes but I’m pretty sure he calls it something else.”
Huh. “Disinfectant?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. How did you know?”
How did Jiao Ziyu know? “Mingyue has that as well. I asked about it once, and he called it that and told me to leave it alone.”
“Hoh?” said the Demon Prince. “Well, Yue’s not that prickly about it. Rather, he thinks I should use it more often, like with cleaning knives and such. I mean, I normally use heat for that sort of thing, and Yue says that’s fine as well, because heat normally kills... well, whatever he calls those teeny tiny things that make people get stuff like diarrhoea.”
Huh. “Does he... often say such things?”
The Demon Prince sat back down. “Say what things?”
Well⸺ “Things like ‘data’ and ‘disinfectant’ and such.”
Youming Jun took a moment to think about it. Then finally, he said: “Yue says a lot of things, especially when he’s... as he himself puts it... ‘out of his mind’. I can’t say I understand most of it though.”
Huh.
“Has Little Yue ever...” Jiao Ziyu began, then immediately thought better of it.
“Has Yue ever done what?” Youming Jun asked.
Jiao Ziyu wasn’t sure if he should go on. He probably shouldn’t, all things considered.
Still, recent events and his recent thoughts about taking an extended leave from the Green Jade Peaks had inevitably dragged up certain memories to the surface, and now, seated across from someone who might actually both know and be willing to answer his questions, Jiao Ziyu kind of thought ‘Eh, why the Hell not’.
“Penalty,” he said. “Points⸺”
The Demon Prince immediately stiffened. Jiao Ziyu wasn’t done though.
“⸺Ridiculously OP. Fucking OOC restrictions. Syst⸺”
The Demon Prince moved – he moved so quickly that Jiao Ziyu barely even saw him move. Because in-between one moment and the next, the other had drawn his sabre, and Jiao Ziyu quickly found himself at the business end of it.
“Where did you hear those words?” Youming Jun hissed, and his blade and eyes both bled a deep glowing crimson.
This had suddenly gotten incredibly dangerous – Jiao Ziyu certainly recognised this, and he slowly raised his hands, willing himself to remain calm. Because truthfully, he wanted nothing more than to run, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think that he wouldn’t get caught. He also wasn’t stupid enough to reach for any of his hidden talismans, because given the other’s keen reflexes, Jiao Ziyu would have his throat cut open long before he’d had time to activate any of them.
So, recognising that fight and flight were both out of the question, Jiao Ziyu instead took a deep breath – as deep a breath as he could manage, given the sword pointed at his throat.
“Look,” he said. “Those words, yeah, I know them. As for how I know them, I’ll obviously tell you. Just... put the sword down, please.”
Youming Jun just narrowed his eyes at him. He eventually did withdraw however, but he didn’t put the sabre away. Instead, he laid it out onto the table, his eyes still gleaming as he leaned onto his elbows and regarded Jiao Ziyu with a frightening intensity.
“Okay...” He wasn’t quite sure where to start, actually – wasn’t quite sure what to say. His heart was pounding.
“Okay, so...” He felt strange – a bit dizzy almost. “Sorry, just... give me a moment.”
He looked at the sword – looked at the sabre where it lay there on the table, the blade glowing a faint crimson. He looked at it and felt slightly sick – slightly sick and strangely drawn towards it all at once. It wasn’t a conscious decision for him to reach out towards it, and he quickly caught himself and withdrew the hand.
“Sorry,” he quickly said, not sure what had just come over him. It was almost as if he’d just⸺ It was as though something had just⸺ “Look. This is going to sound really insane, but...”
He trailed off, not really sure what he was doing – what he’d just been about to say. But then⸺ “May I touch it?”
There was a beat of silence, just long enough to highlight just how strange – not to mention ambiguous – that sentence had just sounded. And Jiao Ziyu was truly mortified to have been the one to say it. Honestly, he’d been trying to deescalate the situation, not... this!
“Peak Lord Jiao, I’ll have you know that I am happily married,” the Demon Prince finally said, his mildly scandalised tone accompanied by decidedly impish smile. That was good though, because the fact that the other was making fun of him implied that Jiao Ziyu was probably no longer in immediate danger of getting skewered.
“Your blade,” Jiao Ziyu clarified. “Please allow me to take a closer look.”
It was a strange request; he was very much aware of this. However, this whole situation was strange. This whole situation was⸺
“Hoh?” Youming Jun tilted his head slightly to one side, levelling Jiao Ziyu with a somewhat thoughtful but nevertheless assessing look.
Jiao Ziyu had no idea as to what the other was thinking, and honestly, this probably went both ways. In any case⸺ “Look, I don’t know you people quite as well as you people seem to know me, but⸺”
Where exactly was he going with this again?
Ah, right. “Your sword. That glowing crimson sabre of yours. Please allow me to take a closer look.”
He was already looking though, his gaze inevitably drawn towards it. In fact, he found that it was getting increasingly difficult for him not to reach out towards it. It was almost as though he was being⸺
“Hóngyá,” Youming Jun said, and as he did, the blade gleamed. It was aptly named; Red Fang. Judging by its presence alone, it wouldn’t have been outrageous to assume that the blade had been around for a while and that it had drunken the blood of many before it had fallen into the hands of Youming Jun.
That said however, looks could be⸺
“You can’t touch it,” Youming Jun finally said, and in one swift moment, the thing had been returned to its sheath, and Jiao Ziyu immediately recoiled, suddenly freed from its strange compulsion.
“What the Hell was that?”
“Yeah,” the Demon Prince said, looking from the sheathed blade to Jiao Ziyu. “What the Hell was that?”
The other sounded quite perturbed as well – and if such hadn’t been the case, then Jiao Ziyu would’ve probably yelled at him. Now however, he instead found himself slumping in his seat, supporting his aching head.
“The sword,” he then said. “When was it forged?”
“No idea,” the Demon Prince said. “It was a gift from my late mother, and she already had it by the time I was born, and I’m pretty sure she tried to assassinate Old Uncle Hongyan with it.”
Ah. “And your esteemed uncle simply let you have it?”
“He had it. I stole it back.”
Ah.
“Now,” the Demon Prince said. “Are you just going to just sit there and stare blankly at my sword all day or are you actually going to do anything with it?”
The sudden quip brought Jiao Ziyu out of it – out of... whatever that had just been.
Honestly, what had come over him just now, trying to touch what was clearly a very cursed sword?
Well, at least he’d asked for permission first, because one didn’t lay a hand upon another person’s blade without permission, because that sort of thing was basically asking to lose a hand. Still⸺ “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
Actually, Jiao Ziyu knew exactly what had just come over him – a compulsion, and a particularly strong one at that. The fact that he’d barely even noticed was freaky to say the very least, and he felt a chill at the thought of what might’ve happened to him if he’d actually gone through with it.
Spiritual blades – particularly those of high-level cultivators – tended to be rather temperamental and oftentimes quite picky in regards to whom they allowed to wield them or even come near them.
Blades forged for a particular cultivator was one thing though, and those passed down was another. The latter tended to be more difficult to deal with, because when multiple cultivators had wielded the same blade, the blade tended to pick up impressions and habits from all of them.
Also, some spiritual blades were just inherently cursed; they were typically more powerful than the rest, but that power always came at a steep price. Wielding some led to one's lifespan getting shortened, whereas wielding others led to mental corruption. And the latter typically led to the former, because mental corruption tended to lead to qi deviation, and qi deviation typically led to injuries, death, or further qi deviations which in turn led to death.
Jiao Ziyu shivered. Now more than ever, he was immensely glad that his own blade was nothing special. Besides, in recent years, he hadn’t even used it all that much. Bai Mingyue’s however⸺
Well, to be perfectly honest, Jiao Ziyu didn’t know an awful lot about Hánlěng. He probably knew more than most though, both about the blade and about the person involved in forging it.
Feared and revered by cultivators and demons alike, many still spoke of the former Peak Lord Bai despite the years that had passed since the former’s ascension. Those who knew his name typically refrained from speaking it out loud though, seemingly fearful that it might just summon the immortal back to the mortal plane.
They were most likely worrying about nothing though. Because if speaking Bai Jixue’s name out loud would be enough to summon the immortal in question, then he would’ve appeared in front of Jiao Ziyu a long time ago. And Jiao Ziyu probably had a whole lot more to fear than most, especially so considering recent⸺
“Jiao Ziyu,” Youming Jun said, and suddenly the blade was gone and Jiao Ziyu could finally breathe again.
“Sorry,” he said, trying to calm his furiously beating heart. “I think I might actually need something stronger.”
