Amidst the darkness of the forest, in the icy air of the northern night, a small campfire was lit. Its blaze illuminated the surrounding, looming trees and the face of the stranger. The stranger sat comfortably close next to Yuelong and examined him from head to toe. His eyes glinted and the corners of his mouth slid upwards as his eyes went for a couple extra rounds of studying. After his eyes were satisfied with the beauty in front of him, he took a quick glance at Xiao-Ka. He paused for a moment, his eyes deep in thought, as if the teen had reminded him of someone he knew.

Xiao-Kai looked back at the stranger with a gaping mouth, questioning the stranger’s sense of logic. He just killed and threatened a gang of dangerously masked people, and now he’s smiling comfortably next to us!? He isn’t crazy, right?

Although Yuelong’s eyes were fixed on the orange blaze in the center, his attention was at the corner of his eye, fixed on the stranger’s every single motion. This man had a murderous intent just a few moments ago and now he’s smiling at us!? Dear Heavens, please do not let this crazy person accompany us.

“Well?” Yuelong cleared his throat. The stranger and Xiao-Kai both looked at him. “Aren’t you going to introduce your—?”

“Wait, hold on,” The man interrupted. “You don’t recognize me?” He pointed to himself.

Yuelong turned to the man and studied him from hair to boots. Lit from the flames, the stranger’s face was almost nearly perfect in every way. From the ratio of his facial features to the skin quality, it was nearly perfect, or at least, the closest to perfection that Yuelong had ever seen. He was well-built and in contrast to his previous actions, emitted an aura of kindness which Yuelong found to be unbelievable. 

The stranger stood up and turned slowly in a circle. Xiao-Kai watched the stranger spin around with grace and was instantly reminded of the performer he saw in the inn. 

“Does it ring a bell?” The stranger asked, a wide grin on his face.

Yuelong ignored him and channeled energy through his third eye. If he’s a demon, he’s pretty good at covering up his demonic scent, I’ll give him that… 

Nothing. The man was normal. From the flow of his energy throughout his body to the aura he emitted, it all showed that he was normal. Yuelong looked into the fire in disbelief. He just simply couldn’t accept the fact that just a while ago, this same man killed someone in cold blood and threatened to kill the others.

The stranger sat down again. “Well, I don’t blame you. I’m actually—”

“You’re the performer, right!?” Xiao-Kai suddenly shouted. He pointed at the stranger with desperate eyes and a wide smile.

The man chuckled. “This kid has good eyes!” He gave Yuelong a friendly nudge with his elbow. Yuelong glared at the stranger. 

“Oh wow!” Exclaimed Xiao-Kai. He moved across the camp and sat next to the stranger. “Does that mean you can do all those cool moves that we saw?” 

Yuelong watched in disbelief as Xiao-Kai left his side to sit next to a stranger they just met. His heart was currently a chaotic concoction of emotions, and his mind did not agree with the taste of this fusion of betrayal and abandonment.

 Yuelong leaned against a tree and watched the two engaged in a conversation about the performing arts. He crossed his arms, his mind still shocked from Xiao-Kai’s sudden seat switch and the stranger’s personality. What is this weird sour feeling? Could it be that I’m jealous? No, no, no. Me? Jealous?

“Hah!” Yuelong spoke aloud.

The other two looked at him. Now it was his turn to look like the crazy one. 

Yuelong could feel his cheeks set aflame from the gazes of his companions. He clamped his mouth shut and responded with a “can I help you” look. The other two paused for a moment and returned back to their conversation. Yuelong let out a slow breath of relief. 

“We trained for ages just to get that movement right, you know. It’s hard to learn this type of thing in one day. Usually, the longer you practice it, the better it becomes. It’s like braising meat, the longer you cook it, the more flavor it has.” The stranger explained.

“Oh, I see,” nodded Xiao-Kai, with a hint of disappointment. 

The stranger gave the teen a pat on the shoulder. “It’s alright, you simply can’t rush this type of thing.”

“I guess…” Xiao-Kai responded. “So, what do I call you?”

The stranger looked at the teen in surprise. “Did I forget to introduce myself?” 

“Yes,” Yuelong murmured to himself.

The stranger chuckled and glanced at Yuelong, who was focused staring into the fire. 

The man stood up and bowed. “My surname is Huang and my name is Mengjun.”

“So, I can call you Meng-ge?” Xiao-Kai asked.

Mengjun looked at the teen in surprise. Like a small child gifted with candy, a wide smile appeared on his face. “Of course! And what is my little brother’s name?” He wrapped his arm around Xiao-Kai.

“I’m…Lin Kai, but you can just call me Xiao-Kai,” the teen smiled.

“Mengjun…” Yuelong said, savouring each word. “Interesting name…”

“Yea, I suppose it is. There’s a story behind my name, you know.” Mengjun sat down. “My father was in the army when I was born. And on the very same night that I was born, my mother dreamt of my father in the army, so she named me Mengjun.”

“Wow! That’s so cool!” Xiao-Kai exclaimed. “What happened next?”

“Next? Nothing came next.”

“Huh? What happened to you? And your father? Did he come home?”

Mengjun paused for a second before answering, “That’s a story for another time. It’s getting pretty late. Why don’t you rest up?”

“I guess…” Xiao-Kai wrapped himself in his clock and curled up into a ball. In no time, the teen had fallen asleep. 

Mengjun looked at Yuelong. Before he could say anything, Yuelong insisted, “I can keep watch first, you get some rest.”

“You’re sure? I mean you fought those guys heads on, I didn’t do much except throw a couple knives.”

“Yes, you can rest up first,” Yuelong said firmly. 

Mengjun shrugged his shoulders and faced away from the fire. He laid down on the ground, rested his head on his arm, and fell asleep. 

Yuelong rested his gaze on Mengjun’s back. “Mengjun, Mengjun… interesting name. To dream of someone… I haven’t seen Lanyue in so long, maybe, just maybe, I can see him in my dreams.”

Eventually, as the moon walked its path through the sky, the blazing campfire reduced to a pile of hot embers. And the fire gradually lost its radiating heat and was nothing but dark charcoal. Yixiao Zhenjun, who promised to keep the first watch, was weary from his battle with the masked figures and fell asleep leaning against the tall tree.

As the moon sank below the stage of the skies, the sun rose and illuminated through the dark shapes of the forest. A light layer of frost had covered the entire forest grounds. Upon being touched by the golden rays of morning, they instantly dissipated into drops of sweet dew.

Yuelong woke up with a jolt. Paranoid with a possibility of an ambush, he immediately scanned the area with intensity, peering into every dark shadow of the woods. It was a calm autumn morning, no wind, no rustling, or any signs of abnormity. Realizing that they had survived the night completely unharmed, he relaxed his tensed body. I guess they didn’t come back for revenge. Or maybe their master was dissatisfied with them.

The image of a hooded figure whipping the masked group of people appeared in his mind. Yuelong shook his head in dismissal, stuffing the imaginary scene back to the depths of his mind. He looked at the two lumps of meat sleeping next to him. Xiao-Kai had his face turned inwards, facing the campfire, while Mengjun had faced outwards into the woods. 

Slightly annoyed from last night, Yuelong looked up to the skies, hoping the skies could help calm his inner heart. It was pale blue in comparison to the skies on a summer day. Even the floating clouds seemed slightly grey in contrast to the white summer clouds of his memories. The gloomy skies did not help with his current mood. Not one bit.

A yawn came beside him. Xiao-Kai reached his hands upwards and stretched his back. He scratched his left shoulder and opened his eyes. He was welcomed by a combination of a sarcastic smile from his older brother and a “you’re going to die” glare. The teen instantly put his hand down next to him and smiled nervously in response, “Good morning, ge!”

“Hm,” he replied. It was usually for Yuelong not to say much in the mornings because he wasn’t a morning person. But this time, he didn’t reply with words because he couldn’t get over the fact that he was jealous of Mengjun, who had successfully captured the attention of the cute, innocent Xiao-Kai.

Yuelong reached into his pouch and pulled out a jian-bing. Without looking, he handed the food to Xiao-Kai. “Eat, and we’ll be on our way soon.”

“What about Mengjun?” Xiao-Kai asked, taking a bite out of the jian-bing.

Yuelong took one look at the sleeping guy and said coldly, “No need, he can take care of himself.”

After the two had finished their quick breakfast, they gathered their belongings and were ready to leave. Yuelong took another look at Mengjun, who was still asleep on the forest floor. Really!? He’s still asleep? Yuelong shook his head in disapproval. Lazy…

“Come, Xiao-Kai, let’s—”

“Mengjun?” Xiao-Kai said gently, shaking his shoulder. “Mengjun? We’re leaving.”

No response.

“Mengjun? Mengjun!” Xiao-Kai roughly shook the sleeping figure’s shoulders.

“Could something be wrong with him?” Yuelong thought to himself. He quickly bent down and put his hand on Mengjun’s forehead. It had warmth, but not a normal person’s temperature. 

He put three fingers on Mengjun’s wrist. It was weak, which was normal for a person sleeping, but his instincts told him that there was something weird going on that he didn’t know. 

“Mengjun! Wake up!” Yuelong called out.