TW: Implied past rape, insensitivity

The three decided to lay low and hide, waiting for the other team to come so that the three could ambush them. If they didn't arrive in the next ten minutes or so, they’d go on the offence.

“What does it mean to ‘hold the fortress’, anyways?” Luo Yanmei whispered to Guo Qiuyue. 

“There’s a large room in the centre of the fortress. Whoever has control of that is holding the fortress. As you’d assume, if all the other groups are eliminated, we pass the test by default,” Guo Qiuyue replied. “I was too vague earlier.”

That made it less likely that the other team would go on the offence if they suspected that there was another team attempting to invade, since they didn’t know there were only three of them and they had to defend the room, especially since they were missing at least two people. However, if they didn’t suspect that the three were here, they might send one person to scout the tower out, since they had definitely heard it collapse.

It was also possible that Lei Chonglin and Wu Jianzhu had found a way in and were currently laying low as well. If so, it’d be good if they could reunite, regardless of tension, and knock out the other team easily in a perfect victory. However, if this didn’t happen, the three of them could probably still beat the other team, even if it was riskier. “Luo Yanmei, can your art only sense things that are connected to the ground?”

The taller girl nodded. “Yeah, unfortunately.”

“Can you check for Lei Chonglin and Wu Jianzhu?”

The girl sighed slightly, but closed her eyes and began to focus. “There aren't more people than before. They’re probably still in the air.”

Guo Qiuyue flipped his braid over his shoulder while dusting more dust off his robes. “It’s a shame that Wu Jianzhu will pass regardless of whether he does anything or not if we do, but at least Lei Chonglin won’t fail just because Wu Jianzhu dragged him away.”

Luo Yanmei snorted. “Poor guy deserves better than him. What a fucker.”

“I know you’re having a fight, but I thought you two and Wu Jianzhu were good friends…?” Instantly, Ai Mingxia covered her mouth after the question she had wanted to ask so long escaped at long last. Shit. She’d finally let her curiosity get the better of her. If she angered them, then they could definitely gang up on her in this state.

Neither answered her. They simply stared at each other with undecipherable looks on their faces. Ai Mingxia almost sighed, looking at the lines etched on their faces. There was another way that the fox spirits and the humans were different. Humans kept their laughter, sadness and anger penciled up in the lines around their mouths and in their foreheads, and it wasn’t until they died that they learnt to let it all go at once.

Eventually, ten minutes passed. Ai Mingxia asked Luo Yanmei to check for Lei Chonglin and Wu Jianzhu again, which she obliged with another small groan. No sign of them. She could be lying, but Ai Mingxia doubted it. She didn’t seem to be that petty.

They crept to where they surmised the centre of the fortress must be, encountering no resistance. Just as they were about to enter the short arch that blocked it off from everything else, Wu Jianzhu flew out still hovering on his sword, arms crossed and a cocky smile on his face. Blood stained his robes.

Ai Mingxia couldn’t help but gape.

Had he been expending both his and Lei Chonglin’s qi to float the whole time just to spite Luo Yanmei and Guo Qiuyue? He’d even risked either him or Lei Chonglin being knocked out for his pride.

Guo Qiuyue seemed stunned, composure broken, fumbling and almost dropping his sword. Luo Yanmei found her voice first. “You petty bitch! What the fuck? Is Lei Chonglin alright?” Evidently, she had the same thought process as Ai Mingxia.

“I’m fine!” A squeak sounded. Lei Chonglin, arm wrapped in gauze, flew out the room as well. He and Wu Jianzhu both dismounted their swords at last. 

“I’m surprised you were even able to beat them, what with your lack of expertise,” Guo Qiuyue said evenly. Really, Ai Mingxia was curious too. The defenders would have the advantage, Lei Chonglin was still below average at fighting and Wu Jianzhu not so far above the curve. 

“Don’t insult Lei Qiu —”

“Guo She’s not insulting Lei Chonglin, he’s insulting you, you idiot!” Luo Yanmei and Guo Qiuyue glared daggers at Wu Jianzhu, who huffed and glared back. Lei Chonglin stood awkwardly in the side, a look of worry creasing his face.

Ai Mingxia sighed. 

They still had two or so hours left before the test ended, even though they had already won. A long, long two hours. Why was this test so long in the first place? Three hours would’ve been fine. Two, even.

Eventually, they stopped glaring at each other long enough to move into the central room. There was a large blue rock in the middle, not quite crystal, but still pretty, glinting in the torchlight that lit the stone room. Bandages were strewn across the floor; perhaps Wu Jianzhu and Lei Chonglin had attacked when the other team was attending to their wounds. Shelves of gauze, other medical equipment, spirit stones, and other items lined the walls. She’d have to scour it out and see if there was anything valuable there she could take.

Lei Chonglin was the first to sit, slumping down beside the wall. Ai Mingxia sat down straight-backed not too far from him. Instantly, Luo Yanmei, still shooting occasional glares at Wu Jianzhu, began to tend to her wounds. She was efficient and generally well practised; by the time she was finished and released the qi staunching Ai Mingxia's wounds, Ai Mingxia felt as if she hadn’t gotten hit and grazed by multiple large pieces of rubble. The atmosphere wasn’t as tense as it was before, but there was still an underlying something. 

“Thank you,” she said politely. Luo Yanmei smiled at her and began to continue rifling through the shelves, probably also looking for rare items. Guo Qiuyue joined her, the two of them whispering with steely looks on their faces.

Ai Mingxia took the shelves at the other side of the room, ignoring Wu Jianzhu and Lei Chonglin. 

Stuffing as many spirit stones, gauze and medicinal herbs into her robes as she could fit as she went, she was pleasantly surprised when she came across an interspatial ring and a few talismans right next to each other. Really, she was surprised the other group hadn’t gotten to all the items first. She doubted it was a trap since nothing else on the shelves had been, so she slipped the ring onto one of her fingers, put all the things she had with her excluding the sabre into it, and assessed the talismans. It was a magical experience: they just disappeared into thin air. 

She recognized one of the talismans as an illumination talisman, another as a chain talisman, and the last as a transportation talisman. Her eyes brightened, and she put them inside the ring before the others could notice. 

Suddenly, Wu Jianzhu spoke. “Qiuyue, Yanmei, I’m sorry. That’s it. There. I said it.”

Guo Qiuyue turned around, spirit grass in hand, and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that to look good in front of Lei Chonglin?”

Wu Jianzhu’s eyebrows quivered. “I — I mean it, really. I shouldn’t have been so offended so quickly. You did burn my arm, though, so…”

“You were trying to attack him first. And you made Liu Xiuying bleed!”

“She shouldn’t have gotten in the way,” Wu Jianzhu refuted. “And you healed her anyways.”

“Do you have any idea of how stupid you sound right now? Evidently, your arm’s fine now too,” Luo Yanmei retorted, jaw clenched. Indeed, the ugly burn mark on Wu Jianzhu’s arm had fainted. Ai Mingxia assumed Lei Chonglin had done it for him. She honestly doubted Wu Jianzhu could’ve tended to his own wounds with such precision. “And you shouldn’t have tried to attack Guo She in the first place.”

“He burnt my arm, you halfwit —” It seemed Guo Qiuyue really had been right; he hadn’t meant the apology at all. 

“And I’ll do it again,” Guo Qiuyue interrupted. He sent a look at Luo Yanmei, a silent question that nobody else could decipher. With a sigh, Luo Yanmei reluctantly nodded. “I suppose it has to be said. It’s because of what you called her. I’m sure even you can figure it out?”

“Somebody who didn’t have a brain and blindly followed your orders?” Lei Chonglin gaped at Wu Jianzhu’s blunt words. Ai Mingxia felt the same way.

“Well, yes. That too. For how intertwined our pasts are, I’m surprised you would say such a thing, though it pales in comparison to your real transgression,” Guo Qiuyue replied snidely.

“Stop talking like that, you’re not a real noble. Those yellow clothes getting to your head?” Wu Jianzhu sneered. He’d said so earlier, but this caught Ai Mingxia’s attention. It would explain why Ai Mingxia hadn’t ever heard of a Guo clan, and it only increased her respect for Guo Qiuyue’s skill.

“That’s enough,” Luo Yanmei cut in, her voice suddenly stern. “You called me a whore, you insensitive prick. Don’t you remember?” 

“What — Oh. You’re still fucking upset about that? It was years ago. Definitely not worth burning my arm.” As soon as the words left Wu Jianzhu’s mouth, Ai Mingxia could feel the edges of something sensitive, something dangerous, and she would’ve backed away right out of the room if she weren’t leaping to stop Guo Qiuyue as his hands alit with flame again and he jumped for him.

“Of course she’s still upset about it — I’ll burn your whole body!” Despite his threats, he extinguished his qi as soon as Ai Mingxia held onto him. She didn't even feel any hint of heat. “Do you have any idea what it’s like…!” 

"You — You bloody "— Luo Yanmei couldn't finish her insult before she burst into a slew of tears and hiccups, and Guo Qiuyue broke through Ai Mingxia’s grip with astonishing strength to bolt towards the taller girl and hold her, hand in hand, skin on skin, so tenderly that Ai Mingxia couldn’t bring herself to move. She’d comfort Luo Yanmei too if she felt she could.

But she couldn't. Just like before.

“Do you?” 

Guo Qiuyue’s tone was quieter, more melancholic but far from gentle, as he soothingly ran one of his hands through Luo Yanmei’s hair, the other never letting go. Luo Yanmei, overflowing with pain, the pain of a past that had never truly left, buried her head into his shoulder, and Ai Mingxia’s heart ached.“I saw Luo Ning in shambles, and though it’s not the same, it’s enough. And it should be enough for you too.”

“Luo Ning this, Luo Ning that. You call me Wu Chao, but neither of you ever invited me to call you by your birth names…!” Motherfucker. Was that all it was about? She hadn't thought he'd be this shallow.

“Is that what this is all about?” Guo Qiuyue questioned softly. “You… You’re really something, aren’t you?”

“I — It’s just you two were always so close and even though I always assumed the two of you were, well —”

“You assumed?” In contrast with his gentle embrace of the howling Luo Yanmei, Guo Qiuyue's tone, though still soft, was dark, dangerous. 

“You shared a room and you obviously always liked her and it’s not like she could’ve stopped you —”

“I wouldn’t do anything that Luo Ning wouldn’t want. And I'll always listen to her.” Despite the hard finality his words had, they were soft, reassuring, like rain watering a flower. Ai Mingxia swallowed, throat feeling especially dry.

Luo Yanmei choked out a few strangled words through her sobs. “I — I know. I’m sorry. I forget sometimes. That you’re not like them.”

Guo Qiuyue pulled her closer. “It’s alright.” Her fingers gripped tightly on his robes, so hard that if not for the enchantments they would’ve torn. Ai Mingxia could feel the slightest hint of wetness at the sides of her eyes as well. 

“...I…” Wu Jianzhu looked genuinely taken aback, a shadow of regret finally crossing his face. He stepped back, dropping his sword onto the ground with a resounding clatter. He wet his lips and swallowed, hard. "...I..."

“Get out,” Lei Chonglin suddenly ordered, tone steely. “We're over, Wu Jianzhu.”