A message arrives, attached to the bolt of an unknown messenger wielding a crossbow. The origin of the message is clear though, as is its intended recipient.
The message doesn’t reach him however, as it gets intercepted midway through.
Bai Mingyue easily breaks the seal and unfolds it, narrowing his eyes at the message there.
Frustrated, he then crumples it in his hand, and in spite of the coldness surrounding him, the paper is quickly set alight.
He takes a deep breath, completely unbothered by the bluish flames licking his palm. Then he promptly dismisses them, promptly turning on his heel. He only gets a few steps before stopping though, freezing in place.
Then, he’s back in motion, twisting around to point his blade at the intruder’s throat.
“Why the fuck are you here?” he immediately demands.
And the red-haired demon smiles and says⸺
“Mingyue?!” Jiao Ziyu gasped, just as the immortal holding him by the back of his lapels made a noise that was practically a growl.
The reaction made sense though, because next to Mingyue there was another – a tall red-haired demon dressed in fine cloth and fur, looking quite well-groomed and high-ranked and yeah, Jiao Ziyu was almost absolutely certain that he was currently in the presence of the Demon King. Fuck.
“You...” Bai Jixue’s voice spoke of danger and impending violence and destruction, and when the other relinquished his grip, Jiao Ziyu was all too happy to scurry away, even if this put him way closer to Lord Hua and his lot and to the Demon King’s soldiers. Because at that moment, somehow, they all seemed like the lesser threat.
“Me,” said the Demon King, amber-coloured eyes gleaming as he bared his teeth in a smile. “Long time no see, Little Xue.”
Little Xue?!
Jiao Ziyu snapped his eyes back to the immortal, who promptly tore the weimao from his own head and snapped: “Spare me your drivel, you son of a bitch.”
Oh, holy⸺
The Demon King’s lips twitched, his pupils going slit. “I can assure you that there were no bitches involved in my conception, Little Xue.”
“Really?” Bai Jixue drawled, either immensely confident in his own abilities or severely lacking in his sense of self-preservation. “Did you ever meet your mother?”
These two... did they know one another? Their behaviour so far clearly seemed to indicate something to that nature, and as the Demon King’s eyebrows furrowed, there was a twitch to Mingyue’s as well.
Then again, Mingyue was standing right next to the Demon King, the very Demon King that his venerable master seemed fully intent on angering to death right at this moment. Was he a hostage? Considering everything, it wasn’t entirely unlikely.
And Bai Jixue seemed to have drawn similar conclusions, because he soon pointed his fan their direction much like one would typically brandish a sword.
“Little Yue, come over here.”
Bai Jixue’s voice was surprisingly soft, surprisingly calm in spite of the rest of him. Mingyue also visibly reacted to the old nickname. He didn’t immediately move though, looking first towards the Demon King as if asking for permission – an action that only added to Bai Jixue’s ire.
Permission was apparently given too, because soon, Mingyue stepped forward, moving towards them. He’d almost crossed the entire distance when Bai Jixue moved to meet him.
For a good moment, the pair just stood there, watching one another. It was a long overdue reunion no doubt, and yet, now wasn’t the time for nostalgia – and they both seemed aware of this, at least to an extent. Mingyue was the first to make his move though, presenting his wrist for inspection – and Bai Jixue readily took it, sending in a thread of qi to examine his condition more closely.
To Jiao Ziyu’s eyes, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong with him though – no, if anything, then Mingyue looked to be in perfect health. The only thing that probably wasn’t good was his mood, because while Bai Jixue examined him, Mingyue’s gaze shifted elsewhere, fixating upon Jiao Ziyu.
And Jiao Ziyu obviously wasn’t sure how to interpret that – because although he thought that he read some degree of relief in the other’s gaze, there was obvious irritation as well. And understanding the cause, Jiao Ziyu felt ashamed and promptly averted his eyes, and when he looked back, it was to the sight of Mingyue pulled into a tight embrace.
Bai Jixue was hugging him, holding on tightly as if fearing that the other would be torn from his grasp the moment he let his guard down and, well, all things considered⸺
Jiao Ziyu swallowed, wanting to avert his eyes once more. Because somehow, the scene before him didn’t feel like it was for his eyes – nor was it for the eyes of anyone else there, but⸺
Fear. It seemed so strange ascribing such an emotion to the immortal in front of him – because in Jiao Ziyu’s eyes, Bai Jixue had always been someone who’d inspire fear rather than experience it himself.
In hindsight, it really didn’t make sense though, because although abnormally powerful, the other had never been truly exempted from such a fundamental part of the human condition – and it certainly wasn’t something exclusive to humans either, because there was no mistaking the fear experienced by Lord Hua and his lot – and Jiao Ziyu rather thought he could feel it from elsewhere as well, from the soldiers surrounding them.
It might’ve just been his imagination, but⸺
Mingyue’s arms came up, seemingly to return the embrace – a heart-warming scene, truly. But then Jiao Ziyu noticed it; the small black needle held deftly in-between Mingyue’s fingers. He opened his mouth – to ask, to warn, to do something. However, right at that moment, Mingyue locked eyes with him, stalling him just long enough to stab the needle firmly into the back of Bai Jixue’s neck.
The immortal let out a noise, practically a squawk, and then almost immediately slumped, Mingyue taking his weight and guiding them both down onto the frozen ground, right next to where the weimao lay discarded.
Not quite believing his eyes, Jiao Ziyu moved closer. He didn’t get there before the Demon King though, but even so, he kept going. No one saw it fit to stop him either, so soon, Jiao Ziyu was close enough to get a better look at what had apparently transpired just now – well, technically not that, but rather the aftermath.
And as he did, Mingyue looked up, an unreadable expression in his eyes where he sat with his venerable master practically on his lap.
It made for quite a sight, even without the Demon King crouching right beside them, weimao in one hand and the other against the immortal’s face – and there was something decidedly unusual about it, now that Jiao Ziyu was both closer and seeing it from a better angle. There were patches of skin that looked strange and almost iridescent when a ray of sunlight suddenly landed upon them, having broken through the cover of clouds no longer held under Bai Jixue’s sway.
As for the immortal himself, well, from what Jiao Ziyu could observe, the other was clearly out of it. The question was for how long – and also why. Mingyue didn’t seem to be overly concerned about the latter though – and why should he be, given his own actions? Instead, he turned his attention towards the Demon King.
“Don’t waste time,” he said quietly, accepting the weimao as it was handed to him.
This was about as much time as was wasted though, because the Demon King swiftly bent down, and when he straightened back up, he had Bai Jixue’s limp form cradled in his arms. The other didn’t seem quite as out of it as before though, given the light furrow of his brow.
Mingyue clearly noticed it as well, because as he got back to his feet, he stepped in close. He clearly did something as well, because when he stepped back a moment later, Bai Jixue was once again firmly unconscious.
“Don’t waste time,” Mingyue said. “This won’t keep him down for long.”
To this, the Demon King smiled. “Pleasure doing business with you, Peak Lord Bai,” he said, and then promptly vanished with his prize.
His troops stayed behind though. But Jiao Ziyu found that he didn’t really care about them. Instead, he focused his attention upon Mingyue, trying to figure out what he’d just witnessed. Because to him, that thing just now had looked an awful lot like Mingyue selling out his venerable master to a Demon King with unscrupulous intentions.
Noticing his look, Mingyue finally said: “It’s for his own good. He’ll get in the way otherwise.”
Jiao Ziyu honestly didn’t know what to say to that, so he ended up not saying anything at all. Clearly, there were still too many things beyond his grasp, and for now, Jiao Ziyu found himself woefully out of his own depth and found that he didn’t like it very much.
Around them, temperatures once again began to rise now that Bai Jixue was no longer influencing them. Soon, the whirling snowflakes had been entirely replaced by flower petals, originating from the cherry trees all around them.
Mingyue looked up at them for a brief moment and then cocked his head to the side in a distinctly birdlike fashion.
“The trees are dying,” he said, sounding very much like his master as he put on the latter’s weimao. “There is no such thing as an everlasting spring, and without sufficient rest, there can be only death.”
And with those words, he bent down to pick something up. It turned out to be Bai Jixue’s fan, and it vanished quickly into one of Mingyue’s sleeves. In its place, there was Hánlěng, which Mingyue quickly mounted.
“Let’s go,” he said, with complete disregard of any of the demons or of anyone’s struggles to come to terms with everything.
As for Jiao Ziyu, well, he obviously scrambled to follow. He did chance a glance behind him though, confirming what he’d already begun to suspect – the forces of the Demon King bowed their heads towards them – towards Mingyue, that is – indicating that the latter had definitely not been a hostage just now but something else entirely.
Clearly, Jiao Ziyu still knew too little. Clearly, he was still⸺ “Sorry.”
They were both airborne by this point, and as Mingyue turned his head, he also pushed the veil aside, then away altogether. “For what?”
For what, huh? “Should I just pick a few things or do you want the entire list?”
A long moment passed. Then Mingyue directed his gaze back ahead.
“No need,” he finally said, eyes firmly upon the horizon. “Let’s hurry.”
Well⸺ “Where are we headed? Aren’t those things over there the Blue Mountains?”
To be perfectly honest, Jiao Ziyu had a whole lot more questions to ask – questions such as ‘What in the actual fuck?’ and ‘Did you just help the Demon King abduct your old master?’. He didn’t ask them though, not yet.
“They’re not there,” Mingyue said, not even sparing them a glance.
“How?” Jiao Ziyu asked.
For a long moment, Mingyue said nothing. Then finally, he mentioned that Hánlěng could track down anything it had cut once, which was informative yet at the same time utterly perplexing.
“The more severe the wound, the easier it can be tracked,” Mingyue further elaborated. “Those things may have happened in another lifetime, but as with our memories, certain things got carried over.”
Licking his lips, Jiao Ziyu then swallowed, almost afraid to ask. Then he realised that he didn’t really need to – Youming Jun had already told him. Still⸺ “If Hánlěng can track down anything it has cut once, and severe wounds are easier to track, then how come you didn’t⸺ Back then, you already knew, didn’t you? The identity of the ‘Little Hermit’?”
“I knew the demon brat had him,” Mingyue answered, surprisingly forthcoming. “But until then, I didn’t know whether he truly remembered or not.”
“You knew because he recognised me,” Jiao Ziyu realised. “And because he knew about the poison, and because he used strange words.”
“Yes,” Mingyue said. “He and Master Bai always did have that thing in common, especially so during periods of heightened emotion – well, that and them both having a spiritual leech.”
Spiritual leech? “You mean like a parasite?”
“Yes,” Mingyue said, wearing a quite dark expression.
Well⸺ “What are you going to do about it?”
For a long while, Mingyue said nothing. He didn’t say anything even as they began their descent. But then, once he’d stepped off his blade and offered his hand to help Jiao Ziyu get down from his, he finally said: “I know now that those things can be wounded – wounded and separated from their hosts. If possible, I’ll kill them. If not, then I’ll make sure they won’t touch Master or Little Yue ever again.”
Huh. “And so, you struck a deal with the Demon King... and helped him take your master away.”
“Yes,” Mingyue said, curling his strangely hot fingers around Jiao Ziyu’s. “Because those leeches are capable of many things, including controlling their hosts.”
Oh.
