“What!?” Yuelong stared down at the toxic-looking bottle in Mengjun’s hand. He looked deep into the dark liquid, skeptical that this tiny bottle can destroy an entire city. An emerald blob formed inside the liquid, just barely visible. The blob then shaped itself into a menacing face with hooked fangs and malicious eyes. A faint, maniacal laugh emerged from the back of his mind.

Yuelong took a step back from the bottle, his face deathly white. 

“Are you okay?” Mengjun quickly asked, putting a hand on Yuelong’s shoulder.

“I’m… I’m alright, just tired from last night,” Yuelong assured. But in truth, Yuelong felt extremely uneasy. The sound of the demonic laughter haunted him and this wasn’t his first time seeing this face.

After Lanyue had entered the Qianyang Sect, Yuelong constantly had nightmares of a demonic face, laughing at him. He would often wake up sweating in the middle of the night, too scared to make a single sound. Luckily, Lanyue was always there to comfort him. Gradually, as his training in the art of cultivation strengthened, the dreams faded along as well. But this was his first time in over fifteen years that the face had resurfaced.

Discord now clouded his mind. Faint, scarcely audible whispers emerged in and out of his ears. He could see Mengjun’s soft lips moving but no sound entered his brain. He felt his body had suddenly dropped into the river of the Tianhang River, becoming as light as the stars themselves. 

“Yiheng!” Mengjun’s voice suddenly pierced through the clouds of whispers. 

Yuelong felt himself fall against something soft and sturdy. The smell of roasted peanuts filled his lungs. He looked up, a blurry face now covered his field of vision. He reached up with his right hand, feeling at the soft skin of the face. It was oddly familiar.

“Lanyue… you came back,” Yuelong murmured. And everything sank into complete darkness.

Yuelong was aroused by a strong pungent scent. He sat up from the wooden bed and looked around the room. The three walls were entirely covered with small shelves, jars and urns were displayed in a big cupboard at the center of the room.

“Yiheng, how are you feeling?” A gentle hand patted him on the back.

Yuelong looked at the speaker. A lock of long, raven hair flowed down onto his shoulder. His large eyes glinted back at him. Yuelong looked into Mengjun’s eyes, his heart slightly fluttering with an unexplainable feeling. 

“Mengjun, it’s y—,” Looking close up at Mengjun’s face, Yuelong noticed a small dark spot at the edge of Mengjun’s left eye, the exact same as Lanyue. Yuelong’s eyes widened.

“Was this always there before?” Yuelong thought to himself. “It’s the same place as Lanyue… No, no, no, this must be just a coincidence.” 

“Don’t worry, Yiheng, Xiao-Kai is inside resting right now.” Mengjun assured.

“Resting? Where are we?”

“Oh, I brought you and Xiao-Kai to the local doctor. He said you fainted from an invasion of  impure energy because you overworked yourself.” Mengjun explained.

“Ah…” The demonic face flashed inside his mind. 

“What should we do now?” Asked Mengjun.

“About what?” Yuelong looked at Mengjun. He found himself staring at the beauty mark on his face.

“About the poison.”

“What poison?”

Mengjun pulled out the bottle of emerald liquid. “This.”

“So it’s poison…” Yuelong took one glance at the bottle and immediately found himself looking away. “How can a small bottle of poison destroy an entire city then?”

“The woman that I got the answer from,” Mengjun leaned in closer. Yuelong could feel the immense heat radiating from Mengjun’s face and body. 

“She’s apparently from Qingqiu Valley.”

“Qingqiu!?” Yuelong looked at Mengjun in shock.

“Why? Do you know Qingqiu? Do you know her?” Mengjun quickly asked.

“I’ve never been there but I’ve read about Qingqiu Valley,” Yuelong explained. “It’s a place from the Wastelands.”

“Wastelands…” Mengjun muttered to himself.

“Yes. Long ago, when the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou and his army, there were certain dangerous creatures that also threatened the existence and balance of the human world. So some Gods descended personally and banished them to a different realm called the Wastelands. There, the vicious beasts would fight amongst themselves and wouldn’t be able to interfere with this world. But quickly, the Gods found that some beings in our world had too much power over humans and also brought them to the Wastelands.” 

“So what is this Qingqiu Valley then?”

“Qingqiu Valley is a valley located in the east of the Wastelands. It is known for the vicious fox spirits that reside there.” Yuelong added. “But how did they escape the Wastelands?”

“The woman said she was from the nine-tailed fox tribe and they were forced to escape the Wastelands.” Mengjun said.

“Forced to escape?”

“Yeah, she said something about a war between the greatest beasts and monsters interfering with all the other beings.”

“But how did she escape?” Yuelong questioned. 

“I’m not sure about the details.”

Yuelong looked down in deep thought. “Since the wastelands is a replica of our world except in a different realm and she escaped from Qingqiu Valley, then she should have ended up in the East. Why did she come all the way to the North? Was it because she created an opening in the East? But opening the portal requires immense energy and power, a single fox spirit cannot do that…”

“About the poison, what did she say about it?” Yuelong asked.

“She refused to speak the name of the creature that procured it, but she did say that this poison is incredibly lethal to the human mind and nature.”

“To human nature? How so?”

“She said something about instead of affecting the physical body, it affects the meridian channels of the human body and can lead to the person’s drastic change of emotions. And in the end, it will only get worse and worse until they die of their own rage.” Mengjun revealed.

Yuelong pondered for a moment. “Is Murong Teng affected by this? But for a sect leader not to notice a poison in his own system? Or maybe it’s just entirely because of my rash actions…”

“Where is Xiao-Kai?” Yuelong searched around the room for the teen’s shadows.

“He’s in the back. The doctor is currently taking care of him.” Mengjun gestured to a room hidden behind the shelves on the wall. 

Yuelong stepped down from the wooden bed. The moment his feet touched the ground, his head felt a thousand pounds heavier and he stumbled sideways.

“Careful!” Mengjun called out, catching him in his embrace.

Yuelong put his hand on his forehead, covering the hotness in his face from Mengjun. “I’m alright. I’ll just check up on Xiao-Kai.”

“Oh, okay.” Mengjun released Yuelong from his arms and watched him stride like a flying immortal across the room. The warmth of Yuelong’s body still lingering in his arms.

After a short while, Yuelong came out of the room. Colour had returned to his paper white face, and his lips were once again a deep pink.

“How is he doing?” Mengjun asked.

“The doctor is taking care of him. Just a slight fever,” said Yuelong. “Come, let’s go.”

“Go? Go where?” Mengjun leaped off the wooden bed.

“To where the poison was used. There’s bound to be chaos happening soon.”

The sun had already long descended from its highest peak, almost completely gone from the horizon, leaving behind peach coloured clouds and purple shadows. Yuelong looked up at the sky, surprised that he was out cold for such a long time. The streets, to his disbelief, were almost empty. Half of the food stalls had already closed down. 

“It’s like that, you know.” Mengjun suddenly said. 

“What is?”

“The food stalls in the North. They usually close earlier because the northerners have a habit of sleeping early in autumn and winter.”

“I see…”

A group of people passed them, maintaining a two meter distance away from Mengjung. Yuelong noticed some scared looks on their faces, as if saying, “That monster! How horrific for someone like that walking in daylight!”

“Mengjun…” Yuelong asked. “How did you bring me and Xiao-Kai to the doctor from the boat?”

“Oh…uhh I carried you guys…” Mengjun responded with a smile. 

“Oh? Then you must be quite a strong guy? I’m curious about what kind of training you had as an opera actor now.”

Mengjun chuckled nervously, fiddling with his fingers behind his back.

Soon the two arrived once again in front of the giant pagoda.  The navy slate roofs and gold wooden beams overlooked the entire city and released an atmosphere of stability.

“We’re really going back in?” Mengjun asked, a slight annoyance in his voice.

“Yes.”

“Why though? They responded to you in such a harsh way, jailed us and now you’re helping them?” Mengjun complained.

Yuelong sighed. “Perhaps it can be my redemption for what I did.”

Mengjun shook his head in silence.

Yuelong took that as his agreement to assist him and smiled inside. He pushed open the giant gates and frowned at the sight.

The pagoda was no longer complete darkness inside, but a hollow shell of the building. Nothing was inside anymore.

“This is?” Mengjun stepped forward, peeking inside. “This doesn’t look like the same pagoda we went in.”

“Someone must have destroyed the mechanism from the pagoda to Huajing Shuizhuang.” Yuelong said as his brows furrowed. “Someone or something that is strong enough to break a centuries-old mechanism.”

“Maybe it’s Heaven’s will that we shouldn’t help them?” Mengjun suggested.

Yuelong ignored his remark. He felt extremely guilty now knowing that he humiliated Murong Zi at the banquet, later having her save him. And now Murong Zi is possibly at her life’s end from the poison.

“No, there’s another way.” Yuelong said confidently.

“What—” Mengjun’s eyes went wide. “You’re not suggesting that we swim, right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, that tunnel we escaped from is already flooded with water.”

“Then how?”

“Come, I’ll explain along the way.” Without another word, Yuelong turned and headed towards the direction of the docks.

“Remember how I said that some boats here are sentient beings and some have a human form?”

Mengjun nodded.

“Some spirits left unchecked will turn evil so the Lishui Sect is also in charge of keeping these boat spirits in line. And the ones with human form have to report to Leader Murong every once in a while.”

“And they have a secret tunnel that they use or something?” Mengjun guessed.

Yuelong nodded.

Mengjun responded with a single “oh”. 

Arriving at the docks, Yuelong opened his third eye and glanced at every single boat, searching for one that had a strong aura. 

“There,” Yuelong pointed to a familiar looking boat. 

As the two hopped on, an old man’s voice called out, “Sorry, my dear guests, I’m afraid I don’t take demons as my customers.”

A head emerged from the wooden deck, the old man’s eyes locked onto Mengjun. The head rose from the deck, following along was a wooden body that slowly softened in texture and morphed into one of a human’s.

“A demon?” Yuelong questioned, looking at Mengjun.

“Yes, my honoured guest, a foul demon lord.” The old man bowed.

Mengjun stood silently, his face completely blank. “But, I’m not…”

Yuelong walked up silently to Mengjun, his eyes studying his face. Mengjun could feel the intensity of Yuelong’s eyes, they were like two sharp darts continuously jabbing at you.

“You…” Yuelong started. He held out his palm. 

Mengjun looked down at Yuelong’s palm. He had a sudden urge to hold and kiss his long, beautiful slim fingers. The feeling of Yuelong’s soft lips against his resurfaced in his mind. HIs face blushed red.

“Can you hand me the bottle?” Yuelong finally asked.

“Oh!” Mengjun quickly took out the bottle and handed it to Yuelong. He felt an electric current run through his hand as he lightly touched Yuelong’s fingers. 

Yuelong held out the bottle to the boat spirit. “Look, my friend isn’t a demon, the aura that you see is from this.”

With one glance, the old man recoiled away from the bottle.

“Take us to Huajing Shuizhuang.” Demanded Yuelong.

The old man looked at him and Mengjun, pondering his decision. Finally, he said, “Why should I?”

“You have seen this,” Yuelong held the bottle closer to the boat spirit. “And it has been used in Huajing Shuizhuang, on the disciples of the Lishui Sect.”

“What do they have to do with me?” The old man said coldly. 

“Think about this,” Yuelong handed the bottle back to Mengjun. “If the Lishui Sect is harmed, who knows if the attackers will spare benevolent spirits like you?”

Without answering, the old man turned around to face the river. With one hand, he drew a circle in the air. Instantaneously, a small whirlpool emerged on the water’s surface. 

“Jump in.” The old man said.

Yuelong bowed in return. “Come along, Mengjun.”

“I thought we weren’t swimming again,” Mengjun murmured.

“What was that?” Yuelong asked.

“Nothing!”

“Don’t worry, I will protect you if anything happens.” Yuelong locked hands with Mengjun. 

Another electrical current zapped through Mengjun’s body. He looked at Yuelong then down at his hand.

“What? You want to get washed away from the water current?”

Mengjun tightened his hand. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

Hand in hand, the two jumped into the whirlpool.