Chapter Text
A day has passed since Feng Xin shot Mu Qing.
The sun had just only risen, sunlight penetrating the small holes of the dark oak hut as he lay down on the other's bed—hard but it'll do. Mu Qing was shivering, covering himself with a blanket given to him, but at the same he felt as if he were in hell from his own body heat.
A gentle touch from a soaked cloth rested on his forehead.
Mu Qing could feel his red-flushed cheeks relax their color. His breathing was still uneven as another damp cloth traveled from his forearm to his palm.
His eyes were sealed shut; he couldn't see the other person, but he has become too familiar for Mu Qing to deny him.
"Your fever has worsened."
"And whose fault...is that?" He panted as his eyelids opened to see the other person, Feng Xin. His voice was still in a sarcastic tone, despite being seen as vulnerable right now.
"I'm already sorry, I'm making it up to you." Feng Xin rubbed the palm of Mu Qing's hand, massaging between his thumb and index finger.
"Are you? Because goddamn it, I don't feel good."
Mu Qing's chest rose up and down, breathing heavily. He could feel Feng Xin's eyes were full of concern, but he sets the thought aside. Because what the hell? A mere human was wasting his time on him; what does he want? Yes, he was amusing to Mu Qing, but he must have some hidden intention. He must do, and Mu Qing will make sure he can't do anything.
He shook his head, causing the damp cloth to slide off his forehead.
"Don't fucking move." And the damp cloth returned to his forehead just a moment later.
Mu Qing sighed and sank his body on the not so comfortable mattress, he tries to relax as much as he can.
He couldn't.
Because fuck.
As soon as he sank, his wings twitched in pain, and pressing down on the mattress triggered the pain that subsided, causing him to release a groan as he sat up.
"I...I don't want to lay down anymore," he said as he groaned, and Feng Xin nodded.
He soon felt calloused hands stroking his wings to settle him down, he breathes in relief.
"I-I'm no expert when it comes to treating another person..."
Mu Qing was no person, but he decided to hold his tongue that was aching to rebuke Feng Xin for calling him a "person". He waited to hear whatever the other had to say.
"So I'll find a trusted physician."
Mu Qing's eyes grew wide in terror after he was kind enough to listen to Feng Xin.
"And make people find out about my existence?!" He shouted, slipping his leg down to the side of the bed, an attempt to escape. "Are you crazy?!?"
Feng Xin held his wrist and his waist on the bed, restraining him.
"Calm down! I told you I'll find a trusted physician, I'm not letting anyone harm you, I just want you to be well!"
"WELL?! YEAH RIGHT, I'LL BE WELL WITH MY HEAD ON DISPLAY TO THE KINGDOM!!!"
Feng Xin sighed in exasperation, releasing his grip on Mu Qing's. He placed his hand to cover his own face.
"I assure you that no one would be able to lay a finger on you."
"How the heck could I trust you when you're forcefully making me knock on death's door?"
"If that was my intention, I wouldn't waste my time finding a physician so you could have the chance to escape when I could easily kill you right now, no?"
Mu Qing bit his lips. "I do not trust your physician."
"But do you trust me?"
"No, obviously no," he said, shaking his head.
Feng Xin stood up from his seat with knitted eyebrows.
"Fucking fine."
Mu Qing looked up to him with lidded eyes, and his flushed cheeks increasing its color.
"I'll find a physician, I don't fucking care if you'll leave or not when I'm gone. I'm taking my chance."
Before Mu Qing could say anything, Feng Xin had left him alone in a room, in a hut, where no one could find him.
Alone, he was thinking about what to do; to leave or to wait and trust?
Logically, he prefers the former. But, his legs refuse to move even a step outside of the hut.
He stared out of the window as Feng Xin's figure disappeared with the trees and bushes, and he clenched the damp cloth that had fallen from his forehead.
"Stupid Feng Xin, just you wait. When you come back, I'll be well on my own and I will smack you."
He slid his legs out of the bed and went to the kitchen, wobbling as he stayed bedridden for hours. Seriously, stupid Feng Xin.
The kitchen was only a few steps away from the bedroom and only a few steps away from the living room. Even though it was a hut, the place was bigger than most would expect. Feng Xin must have done the renovation. Obviously, it had a good exterior, but it looked shabby inside, with only a few pieces of furniture needed for every room. For instance, the bedroom only had a bed and drawers; the kitchen only had a stove, cabinets, and a few counters; and the living room only had a couch and cabinets. For sure, decorations weren't Feng Xin's thing; he preferred practicality.
Mu Qing took a glass and drank as much water as he could before wetting the almost-dry cloth with another round of water and placing it where heat radiated from his skin.
He let out a sigh and leaned on the counter as he slid on his shoulders down to sit on the floor, his back still aching from only moving around.
He looked over his shoulder to glance at his patched-up wings and tried to put them into motion, but he failed.
After all, Mu Qing was only a young deity, a junior to elder deities, and a beginner in this new life of his. He still needed to build up his cultivation before any creature could acknowledge his existence.
And with little to no acknowledgement, he's still at the bottom of power.
But shit, fuck Feng Xin, his arrows, and his shitty way of treating people. His time to build his cultivation has been delayed because of two fucking arrows. He would've been fine if it only left him wounds, but really? It gave him a fever—not to mention, it only got worse!
Even though Mu Qing couldn't die from these trivial illnesses, they did weaken his body to the point that cultivating would be a challenge, but it wasn't impossible.
An idea had suddenly popped up in Mu Qing's mind.
He should cultivate himself and heal himself in the process!
Mu Qing immediately picked himself up, using the counter as his escort to the living room, where the door to the outside was placed.
He reached the couch and stumbled upon himself, breaking the glass of the picture frame of the woman he saw yesterday.
As soon as his eyes lay upon the broken frame, his heart dropped.
Oh shit
Oh shit, oh shit
OH SHIT!
He didn't mean to break anything!
With his knees on the floor, panicking, he picked up the shards of glass.
He glanced over the photo of the woman he saw yesterday. He slowly picked it up, recalling how Feng Xin panicked over this picture frame.
Seriously, Feng Xin was stupid and weird.
He stared at it for a couple of moments before setting aside all the broken shards, leaving only the wooden frame and the photo.
"How annoying."
He rolled his eyes as he sat to stare at a damn photo and some broken shards.
"I better clean these up before Feng Xin comes back."
———
He did not end up cultivating that day.
The sun had begun to set, but his fever had not gone down.
With his legs folded on the couch, he looks out of the window.
He was definitely not wondering where the heck Feng Xin was.
Wrapping his blanket over his raven wings and his shoulders, he covered his whole body.
The hut is quiet, too quiet. Mu Qing could only hear his heavy breathing and the sound of faint crickets outside.
Seconds turned into minutes.
The moonlight illuminated the flushed cheeks.
Minutes turned into hours.
And Feng Xin had not returned.
The forest was dark, with only the moon as the source of light. His eyes scanned every corner, looking for something that just wasn't there.
No Feng Xin in sight.
No shadow, no figure, just nothing.
That's it.
"Fuck it."
Mu Qing pulled the blanket tightly, holding tightly of the hems that wrapped his shoulders and wings. Goddamn, it was nighttime, and it was goddamn cold. Stupid Feng Xin
He stepped out of the hut, touching the muddy grass. His feet felt unfamiliar after staying inside for a day or two. Glancing over the figures of trees, he took another step on the muddy grass that touched his feet sharply.
"I'm not looking for him."
He definitely was not.
"I'm escaping,"
That's what he said while scanning the forest that seemed to have parallel trees in his sight.
"I'm sick of this place."
He did not bring a blanket for comfort.
The steps he took were louder than he expected; the crickets chirped together with each step he made.
This was his forest—the territory given to him to take care of.
He was used to it.
Walking the path from where he last saw Feng Xin, he walked.
He only walked; he's not searching.
He was not setting aside any branches for something or someone.
He was not—
"Alright, where the fuck are you?!"
But then Mu Qing was startled by a rustling from behind. He turned on his heels to check, furrowing his brows as he spread the pit he made on the bush.
"Squeak!!!"
"AH! A RAT?!" He stumbled and fell on his back, injuring his already injured wings. He winched and let out a loud groan.
"S-SHIT!"
Great, just great. A deity, a god, kept harming himself in some ways.
useless, fucking useless.
Where the fuck was Feng Xin? Did he actually leave Mu Qing and never come back? Was finding a physician an excuse because he was sick of taking care of him? It's only been a day! It was his responsibility, for he harmed him and made him sick! Stupid Feng Xin, leaving him alone just like that. He's an idiot who acted dignified when he wasn't; he's a liar! And Mu Qing was an idiot too for staying inside a hut for the whole day, waiting for a dumbass who left him.
Mu Qing's eyes started to cloud with his now red-rimmed lower eyelids. He raised his knees to his face and sobbed uncontrollably.
He's alone, he's alone again. He has always been alone, no matter where he goes. Always.
What kind of idiot would have hoped he found a friend after being showered with a bit of kindness?
Mu Qing was an idiot who hoped.
His wings ached, but something in his chest overwhelmed any physical pain he was feeling.
He just wanted a friend.
Someone with whom he immediately clicked.
Someone who gently spread moist herbs to his wings in the middle of the forest.
Someone who held his hand as they walked the path.
Someone who called his name "pretty."
"Ah, seriously..." he sniffed. "I'm gonna kill you, Feng Xin! I swear to God!"
"Aren't you a God yourself?"
A sudden voice joined him, it was familiar. His steps were getting closer to where Mu Qing sat with his knees to his face.
"Shut up."
"Why so cold? Don't you miss me?"
A large hand fell on his head, grazing his flushed cheek, and he stilled.
"I don't. Go away..." His words were slurred.
"But I do; I've been looking for you." The voice sounded so full of mischief.
Mu Qing looked up and met the eyes he was very familiar with.
The rat was sitting on his left shoulder, fitting for a rat like himself.
"As if," he scoffed. "Pei Ming."
"Always giving me short responses, that hurts." He sneered.