Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Before Shen Yuan was able to do or say anything about their rapidly approaching demise, he sensed someone rapidly approaching from behind, then dashing past. Xie Lian tossed his hand, and his silk band whipped out in an instant.

"Please wait! We just need to ask for directions!" cried Xie Lian.

Shen Yuan stared at him in disbelief. Directions? Directions were what he was worried about right now?!

The man barely managed to dodge, though it slowed him for just a moment. Illuminated by the glow of the nearby lava, his face finally came into view.

"Mu Qing!" Feng Xin shouted. "You bastard, stop right there!"

As if Mu Qing would ever do that! Without so much as looking back, he bolted. Really, he wasn't doing a very convincing job of proving his innocence.

The others had only just started after him when the ground lurched violently beneath their feet.

The scarlet-gold lava surged and swelled over the river’s banks, spreading with great speed and rushing straight toward them! They were about to be overtaken, but they had already encountered an identical problem before coming here. This time, the difficulty level was just a little bit higher.

"Feng Xin!" Xie Lian called. "There are probably a lot of empty-shelled people in there. They'll float, so you should be able to step on them instead of sinking!"

Probably, at least. They floated in the flood before. Logically, they ought to float here too. Unless stepping on one simply drove it under and sent whoever was unlucky enough to be standing on it plunging directly into molten rock.

Xie Lian had already spotted an empty-shelled person frantically paddling through the lava, and jumped. He landed easily and without fanfare.

However, that did not make Shen Yuan feel even remotely better about the fact they were now expected to hop on floating corpses in a river of lava. Sure, he had done so before, but that was different! The stakes were much higher now!

He glanced toward Pei Ming almost involuntarily before looking back at the molten river. There wasn't exactly time to debate safer alternatives (assuming such a thing even existed) but every instinct he possessed screamed that throwing himself onto something bobbing in lava was an excellent way to die a second time.

Unfortunately, the lava made it very clear that it wasn't interested in waiting for him to come to terms with it.

Whatever! This was fine!

Without any time to waste, Shen Yuan jumped to one of the empty shells. When he landed, Shen Yuan was delighted to discover that these empty-shelled people were larger than the ones they’d previously encountered. Even when he touched down on their backs, they only dipped slightly and kept floating on the surface of the lava stream. As long as the creatures didn’t start anything, they could practically serve as little boats!

Pei Ming landed easily on the neighboring empty shell instead of one farther ahead.

"Stay close," he said. "If one of these things decides to flip over, it'll be easier to catch you."

Shen Yuan decidedly ignored him and his flirting.

Feng Xin targeted one and leapt aboard. He brandished his bow and threatened the empty-shelled person, “Swim properly! Don’t sink!”

The threat of a weapon, naturally, made the empty-shelled person work even harder, not daring to offend him. Meanwhile, Hua Cheng only had to cross his arms and glance down for his empty-shelled person to behave and abandon all thoughts of trying anything wicked. It swam the fastest, going full power the whole way.

Well, Shen Yuan wasn't entirely sure whether empty-shelled people possessed enough intelligence to understand speech, but there certainly wasn't any harm in trying!

"Please don't dump me into the lava. I promise this'll be over quickly for both of us."

To his immense relief, the empty-shelled person continued paddling without protest.

Nearby, Pei Ming scarcely acknowledged the one carrying him.

"Steady," he said simply. Whether it was the calm confidence in his voice or simply good fortune, the creature obediently kept its course. Pei Ming's gaze drifted back to Shen Yuan, a smile on his face. "If yours gets any bright ideas, jump to mine."

…Could he not stop being like that even in this situation?! Shen Yuan was not a maiden or a damsel in distress to be constantly fretted over and teased! 

As for Xie Lian, he joined his hands together in a prayer and very sincerely negotiated with his empty-shelled person. “Take me for this ride, please take me for this ride! I’ll burn incense for you afterward! You don’t want incense? Then what offerings do you want? Just let me know!”

It was both amusing and sad to see how hard he was trying to keep afloat.

The empty-shelled person was obviously extremely dissatisfied, and every so often it would swing its arms to try to force him off. But Xie Lian was as sticky as gum, and even as he tumbled, he refused to be bucked. As usual, Xie Lian was in the worst position of them all!

Shen Yuan really didn’t know how a protagonist could have such terrible luck…

The five of them rode these creatures and flowed with the current. The farther downstream they went on their “rafts,” the steeper the slope became and the faster they went. Over and over, they had to dodge obstacles jutting up from below the molten rock. It was awful!

After a while, they finally caught up to Mu Qing.

“Mu Qing! Why are you running?!” Feng Xin yelled.

Mu Qing was also using an empty-shelled person as a surfboard, and he shouted his response over his shoulder. “What, should I wait for you all to attack me together?”

Shen Yuan was at a loss for words. “We aren’t here to attack you!”

Feng Xin nodded. He had a bow in his hand but no arrows. “First explain how you suddenly disappeared from the armory!”

Mu Qing looked back again, sneering. “You all-”

Before he finished, Shen Yuan saw what lay ahead. His pupils shrank rapidly, and he shouted, “Ahead of you!”

Mu Qing whirled around. Only then did he discover that their path was coming to an abrupt end.

Some sort of underground chasm opened up in front of them, with a vertical drop hundreds of meters down. The lava rushed toward it, faster and faster as their sloping path grew steeper, carrying them toward the precipice. Mu Qing was caught by surprise at the sudden drop, and by the time he came to his senses, he was already tumbling through the air like some sort of slap-stick comedy.

Mu Qing and the empty-shelled person under his feet disappeared in the blink of an eye. The other five were only a few moments behind him, rushing toward the cliff’s edge.

At the last second, Ruoye flew out far behind them and wound itself a few times around an upturned palace eave, then tied itself into a knot. With one hand gripping Ruoye and the other firmly around Hua Cheng, Xie Lian sent the other end of the silk band toward Shen Yuan, Pei Ming, and Feng Xin.

“Catch!”

With the silk band to link them, the five clumsily steadied themselves. They were only six meters away from the drop at most. If they’d been just one step slower, they would have gone over. They had literally saved themselves on the edge of a precipice, but lava was still pouring down nonstop, so Xie Lian gave another order.

“Withdraw!”

Ruoye quickly shortened itself and carried the five of them toward the palace. Soon after, they leapt onto the roof. It was a larger building than the ones surrounding it, so its roof was quite spacious. There was no fear of its stone foundation getting washed away by the lava, so they could relax for now.

After steadying himself for a moment, Shen Yuan stared at the cliff’s edge in shock. It was a long moment before he said in disbelief, “Did Mu Qing...?”

Wiping away beads of sweat on his forehead, Pei Ming panted and replied, “He didn’t!”

Poking his head out to peer over the furthest edge of the palace rooftop, Shen Yuan could see a long saber nailed into the rocks at the edge of the cliff, a pair of hands clutching its hilt tightly. Below the hands was a red, flustered face with vigorously gritted teeth.

Right now, Mu Qing was in a horrifying position. He was hanging parallel to the waterfall of flowing lava. Fiery sparks splashed his face, burning his brow. If it wasn’t for the sheen of spiritual light protecting his body and blocking most of the searing heat, his whole head would’ve been on fire, burnt beyond recognition. But that protective layer of spiritual light wouldn’t last long, and his bones would still dissolve into nothing if he fell into the pool of lava. It was nerve-racking just to see him.

Feng Xin asked, “What should we do?! Your Highness, can that white silk band of yours reach him?”

Xie Lian had already tried that and was now calling Ruoye back to pat the flames off it. “I can’t! He’s too far! Ruoye caught fire partway!”

Pei Ming frowned. “Can Zhishi work?”

Shen Yuan shook his head. “If Rouye burnt, Zhishi definitely would.”

Small tongues of flame were singing Mu Qing’s robes, and the hilt of his saber was scorching hot. Yet he still gripped it hard, afraid to let go and afraid to look down.

If he let go, there was nothing but a pool of blazing fire waiting for him below. The countless spirits of the dead wailed, their starving cries echoing all around. It was like they were calling out to the one struggling to hang on for dear life above them, beseeching him to hurry and join their cohort.

Mu Qing held on to the saber’s hilt with a death grip, his pale forehead covered with sweat. When he saw the others in the distance, his mouth moved like he wanted to call for help. But even at a time like this, he was the kind of person who had great difficulty forcing the words “help” or “save me” past his lips.

Besides, no matter how easy it would be for Hua Cheng to save him, he probably wouldn’t. It was hard to tell with Feng Xin too. Shen Yuan and Xie Lian were the only ones who would be willing to rescue him, had the ability to do so, and could persuade the other two to help. Pei Ming was there as well and seemed pretty willing, but he didn’t seem like he would be much assistance here. Really, none of them seemed like they would be able to do anything.

In the end, Mu Qing pulled himself up with enormous effort to shout to them, veins bulging slightly on his forehead as he did. “Your Highness! Your Majesty!”

Xie Lian was scanning the area rapidly but looked at him when he heard the call. Mu Qing held back for a good while, then sucked in a breath and yelled with a beet-red face.

“...Believe me! Your Highness, you know I’m not lying, right? You know I wouldn’t have really harmed any of you, right?!”

“...”

The way he spoke to Xie Lian, so full of hope, like he was hanging on to the last thread of his life, made Shen Yuan remember another scene from another time. A time many, many years ago, when Xie Lian had begged Mu Qing with the same desperate hope as dusk fell overhead, “You know I’m not lying, right?”

Both Xie Lian and Mu Qing’s minds were brought back to the same scene. As Mu Qing realized that he’d asked for help with the wrong words (and in doing so, reminded Xie Lian of something he shouldn’t have at a time like this) the color of his face slowly changed.

With desperation, he turned to Shen Yuan. “Your Majesty! You know what it’s like with a shackle, you have to understand that I’m telling the truth! I would never betray you guys!”

Shen Yuan bit his lip. “I… Yes, but…”

He wanted to believe in Mu Qing, really he did. After all, they were bonded by their similarity of a shackle. A brotherhood, in a way. But him running all the time and never giving a straight answer unless cornered didn’t paint a pretty picture.

From behind Shen Yuan, Hua Cheng spoke quietly. “Gege, Shen Yuan, before you make your decision, I must remind you of a few things.”

Xie Lian finally snapped out of it. “What is it?”

“First,” Hua Cheng said, “unless the lava stops flowing, rescuing him will mean risking your own lives.”

But who knew when it would stop? The saber’s hilt was already red hot, and Mu Qing wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer. How could he possibly hang on until then?

Xie Lian stayed quiet, and Hua Cheng continued. “Second, if Mu Qing has already given himself to Jun Wu, Jun Wu will certainly have a way to extract him from peril. But you, on the other hand, will definitely be risking your lives. And the possibility that he has indeed surrendered is significant. Think about the way he acted this entire trip.”

There certainly was a lot of evidence against him. Knocking Feng Xin out, luring them into the armory, refusing to admit he attacked Feng Xin and even making accusations back, disappearing without a word after the armory went berserk, the coincidental timing of the lava stream’s intrusion…

But, then again… Jun Wu had orchestrated situations before. While it certainly was different to this, he had made it seem like Shen Yuan was at fault for Mount Tonglu closing and locking Xie Lian inside, framing him for something he hadn’t done. Who’s to say this wasn’t another situation like that? Just as back then, Jun Wu could be trying to cause a divide, to cause havoc and uncertainty between them so they weren’t able to look at the full picture.

The saber’s hilt was burning hot, and Mu Qing let out a loud shout. He dropped one hand and hung for a while using only the other, but didn’t dare support himself like that for too long and quickly clutched the hilt with both once again. Wisps of white vapor were smoking from both palms, and while there was quite a distance between them, those on the palace roof could almost smell the stench of burning flesh.

Pei Ming had a hand on his chin. He seemed to be brainstorming ways for them to get Mu Qing out of there, as there was no way he would simply let him die.

Hua Cheng casually let loose a silver butterfly. The wraith fluttered its wings and flew a few hundred paces, but it dissipated into silver smoke and vanished before it got even a third of the way to Mu Qing. Shen Yuan understood he was demonstrating that the wraith butterflies couldn’t help, that it was a dead end and not worth dying for.

Mu Qing also saw the silver butterfly vanish, and his expression gradually turned into one of resignation as he understood. No one here could save him, and no one seemed to believe him. Thanks to his choice of words triggering unpleasant memories, there was no reason for Xie Lian to help him at the risk of his own life. As for Shen Yuan, he couldn’t get a good read on him but figured he was in the same boat.

Frustration bubbled up at the unfairness of it all. But he refused to give up, even on the brink of despair. Mu Qing gritted his teeth and shouted to them, “If you don’t believe me, that’s fine too. But I will never fall that easily!”

He gripped the hilt hard and attempted a midair spin to stand upon it. Yet he had only raised himself a few inches before he sank violently.

Mu Qing’s eyes reflected the countless bloodred vengeful spirits that had merged with the lava below. Their faces and limbs contorted and twisted as they pressed themselves onto his leg and pulled him down! The vengeful spirits were originally one with the lava, but they popped out without warning, one after another, to hang from his lower body, heavy and boiling hot. It was like adding fuel to the fire, and Mu Qing was driven to the verge of madness.

“Get lost!”

It wasn’t like he had never come close to death over the course of centuries, but it had always been when he was heavily wounded in some conflict. A death by drowning in lava was a thousand times more horrifying than death by injury. He imagined himself turning into a wisp of smoke like that wraith butterfly, leaving the world without a trace, and couldn’t stand it.

At last, Mu Qing’s hands reached their limit. His fingers loosened slightly, no longer able to maintain their grip.

The space under the saber emptied, he had fallen! Two silhouettes plunged downward to the blazing lava pool.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Despite his devastated screams, once he’d plunged for a bit, the drop came to a violent stop. He was suspended in midair.

Head half-numb, Mu Qing hadn’t yet regained his senses. His instinctive reactions were still intact though, and he quickly felt his body to discover that a white silk band had wrapped itself around his waist.

It was Ruoye, of course. But the palace where Xie Lian perched was nowhere near the cliff where Mu Qing fell. If Ruoye couldn’t reach earlier, how could it have caught him after he had fallen so far?

Mu Qing gazed upward and discovered with considerable shock that Xie Lian wasn’t on the palace roof at all. He was right above his own head. And not only that, but Shen Yuan was holding onto Xie Lian’s hand, creating a chain between the three.

Earlier, Mu Qing had nailed his long saber into the rocks and managed to hang on to the hilt for some time. And right now, Shen Yuan was half crouched upon that very hilt.

Xie Lian was rapidly reeling Ruoye in with one hand, and he only breathed in relief when he saw Mu Qing was alright. “Thank goodness, thank goodness, we made it in time.”

“Your...Your Highness? Your Majesty?” Mu Qing muttered.

The events of the last few seconds had been too much for his frazzled brain to sort out, leaving him deeply confused. The roof was so far from the cliff’s edge, with no landing points en route within the rolling lava. They could’ve only jumped halfway at most. How had they gotten here?

In the distance, Pei Ming’s voice rang out. “Shen Yuan! Your Highnesses! Are you all alright?”

When Mu Qing glanced in his direction, he saw Pei Ming, Feng Xin, and Hua Cheng standing atop the palace roof. Hua Cheng was watching them with his arms crossed, focused solely on ensuring Xie Lian and Shen Yuan’s safety and indifferent to anything else. Feng Xin, meanwhile, seemed far more outwardly concerned. At the midpoint between the palace and the cliff where he fell, a frigid, ink-black longsword stood upright in the incessant flow of red-hot lava.

Fangxin!

So that was it! Mu Qing finally understood how they had made the crossing.

At most, they could only make half the needed jump, they’d never be able to make it all the way from the safety of the palace rooftop to rescue him from the cliff. Thus, Xie Lian had hurled out Fangxin and nailed it into the lava stream to create a landing point. Using Fangxin as a stepping stone, they then leapt near Mu Qing’s saber and just barely caught him with Ruoye at the last second. Shen Yuan had then grabbed onto Xie Lian’s hand from where he had landed on the saber, holding both of them up.

“I was trying to think of a way over. It took some time, since there was nothing helpful lying around,” Xie Lian said. “You were also panicking. Don’t lose your head, otherwise you’ll only fall faster.”

Mu Qing had thought Xie Lian’s silence was him hesitating on whether to save him, but it turned out that Xie Lian was just trying to think of how to save him. Thank goodness that he’d kept such a clear head in such a dire situation.

As for Shen Yuan, he wasn't sure what to think of him. Ever since that incident at the Palace of Divine Might, he’d gained a newfound respect for the man, but his true feelings were always a mystery to Mu Qing. Earlier, Pei Ming had brought up something about a fusion, and Shen Yuan hadn’t denied it. It hadn’t been the right time to ask then, but maybe he should at some point. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as Mu Qing had thought.

The beads of sweat on Mu Qing’s forehead rolled thicker as he looked up and saw that Xie Lian had reached down for him, Ruoye tied around his waist with Mu Qing attached it and a broad smile on his face.

“In any case, I know it’s a bit overdue, but I’m not extending a hand too late, right?”

“...”

Perhaps it was because he’d been gripping the saber hilt for too long, but Mu Qing’s arms felt impossibly heavy. He couldn’t raise them an inch.

Xie Lian stretched his hand lower. “Come.”

Mu Qing finally took hold. His entire arm trembled, but Xie Lian yanked forcefully and the two were pulled up by Shen Yuan. The three stood together on the hilt of Mu Qing’s long saber.

Shen Yuan, meanwhile, was sighing in relief as he rubbed his shoulder. He really, really had thought they’d been done for! It was a good thing Xie Lian had a plan, Shen Yuan had just jumped in without thinking like he had at the pit so long ago. If Xie Lian hadn’t had a plan, well… He shivered at the thought. Though, he would admit, that nearly ripped his arm out of his socket! He didn’t even want to know the extent of the damage if he’d only had a mortal body…

Still, he turned back to the palace and cupped his hands around his mouth. “It worked!”

“Very good, Shen Yuan,” Pei Ming replied. “Now you three need to come back now! It’s not safe down there!”

No need to tell him twice! A sword like this was not meant for three people to stand on!

He nodded. “We’ll be right over!”

Xie Lian turned to Mu Qing. “Can you still jump? If not, I can take you.”

Mu Qing’s lips moved. “I...”

Xie Lian studied his expression and said decisively, “I’ll take you.”

He grabbed him by the scruff of his robes. In the past, Mu Qing probably would’ve rolled his eyes and protested Xie Lian’s manhandling, griping about the disrespect. But now, Mu Qing couldn’t muster a single word.

Xie Lian was just about to leap when all three unexpectedly felt their feet dip. As if things weren’t bad enough, the long saber driven into the rocks just had to pick that exact time to come loose!

Hua Cheng’s face changed color. “Gege!”

At the same time, Pei Ming shouted, “Shen Yuan!”

This time, three figures plunged together toward the crimson-red lava pool.

Shen Yuan could still think fast in that sort of ass-to-the-fire moment.

He spun several times in midair and caught the long saber by the hilt with one hand, wedging it into the rocks once more like they were nothing but butter.

Clang! Sparks flew, brilliant and dazzling like grains of gold flecked across Shen Yuan’s protective aura of spiritual light. Without that aura, even a speck of those flames could burn a large hole in someone!

[ Badass Points increased! +10 G-Points! ]

Ruoye pulled Mu Qing and Shen Yuan back up, as it had grabbed onto Shen Yuan when they fell, and he said to them solemnly, “This saber won’t be able to take the weight of three grown men for long. This can’t continue. Between the three of us, only one can remain. Maybe two, if we’re lucky.”

Mu Qing slowly came back to his senses. “Are you saying...?”

“You can go,” Xie Lian said, and Shen Yuan nodded.

“...?”

Flummoxed, Mu Qing gaped. Before he could speak, Xie Lian grabbed him and hurled him upward with a shout.

“Watch your landing!”

Mu Qing was thrown away from the cliff and quickly found that he was flying toward where Fangxin stood. Pulling himself together, he flipped in the air and landed on the hilt of the sword.

Only then did he understand why Xie Lian had to throw him.

Perhaps Xie Lian and Shen Yuan could make the long jump from the saber hilt from its new position several dozen paces down. But he couldn’t make a jump that long. The only way he was going to make it that far was with the help of Xie Lian’s mighty throw.

Feng Xin wiped away his cold sweat. “Thank goodness your Highness reacts fast!”

Hua Cheng, however, wore a severe expression.

“Gege! Shen Yuan! If you don’t come back soon, I’m going to have to come and get you!” he called down below.

Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow. They weren’t children!

His voice carried a note of warning, and Xie Lian hurried to reply, “We’re coming back up now! Everything’s fine, we can handle it. We can jump back by ourselves! Don’t come down here.”

Only then did Hua Cheng’s demeanor relax a little, though he still watched Xie Lian with an unblinking gaze.

"Xie Lian, you go next," Shen Yuan said.

Xie Lian shook his head. "No. We'll jump together."

Shen Yuan glanced at the saber beneath their feet. The blade had already begun to bend where he'd driven it back into the cliff, the metal glowing an angry orange beneath his feet.

Yeah, no. This thing was one wrong step away from becoming liquid.

"No," Shen Yuan spoke quickly before Xie Lian could object again. "You can make the jump from here. I can too. But if we both jump at once, this thing's going to shift again. We might not be as lucky as last time."

He nodded toward Fangxin, where Mu Qing still stood rooted to the hilt. "Go over there first. Mu Qing's exhausted. If he has to make that jump by himself, he'll probably hesitate and mess up somehow. If you're there, he'll follow you."

Or, at the very least, he’d be able to throw him again.

"Besides," Shen Yuan added, "if you get over there first, Hua Cheng will stop looking like he's about to jump down here to get you."

Xie Lian glanced back. Hua Cheng’s gaze remained fixed on Xie Lian with unnerving intensity, looking entirely prepared to leap the moment anything went wrong. Though Pei Ming looked the exact same, Shen Yuan knew Xie Lian would care more if he pointed out Hua Cheng.

"...Alright," Xie Lian relented.

Shen Yuan let out a breath. Thank goodness! Xie Lian leapt over and landed on Fengxin with ease. Now, why did Shen Yuan have this happen? Simple! Jumping downwards and hitting a target was easy and pretty hard to miss, but jumping upwards? Shen Yuan had no faith in his abilities to leap up there. Xie Lian going first meant that even if he did miss, Ruoye could just catch him!

As Shen Yuan stood on the saber, building up the courage to jump, the lavafall behind him had suddenly parted. A pair of hands stretched out from the other side of the falls and quickly seized him. The creature had clearly come from within the lava flow, but its hands were frighteningly cold and Shen Yuan shuddered at their touch. What the fuck?!

Before he could even think to wrench himself free, the grip around him tightened and Shen Yuan stiffened. He had a feeling that if he struggled even a little, every bone in his body would crack from the force alone. That, or he would be dropped into the lava below. It was a bit hard to tell with his mind reeling.

He heard Pei Ming exclaim from above, “Shen Yuan?!”

Similarly, he heard Xie Lian and Hua Cheng call out as well.

The owner of the hands hugged Shen Yuan tightly, then threw them both off the saber. Shen Yuan was shocked, but those above saw very clearly what had seized him from behind.

It was a man clad in white robes who wore a half-crying, half-smiling mask. It looked as if he was rejoicing and grieving.

White No-Face!

Ruoye flew out from Xie Lian’s wrist, reaching out towards him, but before Shen Yuan could even think to grab it, one of the hands holding him released, took Ruoye, and pulled.

Xie Lian grit his teeth to fight back, but the power holding the other end was too great. Not only couldn’t he reel it in, it yanked him down with it too. Mu Qing, seemingly without thinking, reached out to grab Xie Lian but only succeeded in falling down as well.

The whole thing had happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Shen Yuan's brain had caught up with what was going on, they were already falling. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to fight back!

As he plunged amidst the wild, fiery sparks, Shen Yuan heard laughing by his ear.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha... Naive! Too naive, Xianle! Did you really think it would be that easy to achieve a perfect happy ending?”

Although the words weren’t directed to Shen Yuan, he still felt shivers down his spine. Jun Wu was one creepy motherfucker!

Scorching waves of heat came from below, but his mind shivered with deadly cold. Awash in conflicting ice and fire, Shen Yuan caught a glimpse of the domed ceiling, glowing with firelight. He could vaguely see two shapes in silhouette, one in red and the other black, both approaching rapidly. Who else could they have been but Hua Cheng and Pei Ming?

Well, great! Were they all going to die together?! Shen Yuan didn’t consent to this! Not! In! The! Slightest!

As it turned out, he wasn’t dead. Yay! Instead, he was drowning. Not yay. Perhaps in mind-blowing shock or perhaps in the scorching-hot lava. It was hard to tell.

It was a long time before he slowly came to.

The moment he woke, he found he was lying on cold, solid ground. Mu Qing was slumped nearby, staring blankly at him while Xie Lian crouched next to Shen Yuan.

[ Protagonist Satisfaction Points increased! +15 G-Points! ]

Seeing him awake, he looked immensely relieved. “Shen Yuan! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Shen Yuan stared at him for a moment, just processing what had happened. At least he hadn’t been knocked out by the System this time! Small wins.

However, that brought up another thought. He sat up in a flash, startling Xie Lian. “Pei Ming!”

He’d jumped in the pit hadn’t he?! With Hua Cheng!

The moment he sat up, Mu Qing snapped out of it and yelled, “Stay still!”

On reflex, Shen Yuan had reached out to push himself off the ground to stand, but his hand touched nothing but air. He lost his balance and would’ve toppled if it weren’t for Xie Lian steadying him. 

Only after the surprise wore off did he realize he wasn’t on solid ground at all. He was lying on a bridge! He’d found himself in an immense natural cave. Its dome arched into the vast night sky, and a desecrated bridge floated beneath the canopy.

Constructed from wood and stone, the bridge’s body was shattered and scorched a terrifying pitch-black. It had weathered thousands of years of storms and was burdened with ashes from countless blazes. It hung in midair without any pillars of support, and both ends stretched endlessly into infinity. Its beginning was unknown, its end was unforeseeable, and its direction was a mystery. In some parts it was as wide as nine meters, but others were so narrow that only one person could cross at a time.

A red-hot lava pool roiled hundreds of meters beneath the broken bridge, like the red basin of hell.

Was this…the Heaven-Crossing Bridge?

Those words were the first to pop into Shen Yuan’s mind at the sight. Two thousand years ago, the Crown Prince of Wuyong built a bridge to the heavens in an attempt to save his people from disaster. Could this bridge be all that remained?

He remembered being yanked into the lava by White No-Face. How had he ended up on this bridge?

Whatever! That wasn’t important right now!

“Where’s Pei Ming and Hua Cheng?” The group was quite literally being split apart! Why Shen Yuan had been kept with Xie Lian and separated with the others, though, he had no idea.

“Don’t bother, they’re not here,” Mu Qing said. He remained seated to the side.

Shen Yuan turned to him, frowning. “How did we end up here? Did someone activate a Teleportation Array?”

Xie Lian nodded, helping him to stand up fully. “That’s our theory. We were falling straight for the lava pool, but were sent here halfway down. You were knocked out on impact and we wanted to wait until you woke up to make a move.”

Well, that was nice of them! Poor Feng Xin, though. All five of them had fallen, and he was the only one who’d stayed up top. He was probably cursing up a storm again. Still, finding Hua Cheng and Pei Ming was the priority. Where had they been sent?

Shen Yuan sighed, shaking his head. He walked over to Mu Qing and held a hand out. “Are you alright?”

Mu Qing gave a complicated expression. He stared at the hand extended to him. After a long silence, he shook his head. “I can’t. All my limbs are injured.”

Shen Yuan drew his brows together. “What? How?”

He crouched and briefly checked him over. Sure enough, both of Mu Qing’s hands were covered in bright red burns, and there were more on his legs. He could probably only shuffle along slowly.

After a moment of contemplation, Xie Lian offered, “Let me assist you, then.”

He pulled Mu Qing up and slung his arm over his shoulders. With Shen Yuan on his other side, the three began to walk, supporting Mu Qing as they went.

They had only taken a few steps when Mu Qing blurted, “Why?”

“Why what?” Xie Lian replied as he surveyed their surroundings.

“I thought you’d be more suspicious of me after you found out that I was fine,” Mu Qing said. “I can understand his Majesty, but…”

“Oh,” Xie Lian replied after he trailed off. “Well, no.”

“Why?”

“Because I know.”

“Know what?”

“That you weren’t lying,” Xie Lian replied.

“...”

It was difficult to describe the expression on Mu Qing’s face, and Shen Yuan could only tilt his head.

“Didn’t you ask us to believe you? We believe you. That’s it,” Shen Yuan said, quite matter-of-factly. There was more to it than that, far, far more, but that was all that mattered at the moment.

[ Protagonist Satisfaction Points increased! +10 G-Points! ]

"I couldn't have put it better myself," Xie Lian nodded, and Mu Qing was speechless, expression baffled. “How should I put this...? I’ve technically known you for centuries, right? So I know you’re not like that. Haven’t I said it before? You might spit in someone’s cup, but you’d never dump poison in there.”

Mu Qing was almost touched by the first part, but his face turned dark when he heard the second half.

“Enough with the unnecessary example! Seriously, don’t say that again. I wouldn’t spit either! I’d never be so classless!”

Shen Yuan laughed. “I don’t think the details matter. You’d have no reason to betray us like that. I won’t deny, I was suspicious for a bit there, but… Well, I thought about it logically.”

Xie Lian smiled. “Besides, even on the one-in-a-million chance that we were unlucky enough to misjudge you, you can’t beat us. We’d slap you dead in one blow, you’re not a threat at all. Ha ha ha!”

Well, Shen Yuan had been trying to be a little nice about it…

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Mu Qing grumbled. “You’re trying very hard to make me so pissed off that I die.”

“Ahem, I’m joking. In any case...” Xie Lian stopped laughing and clutched Mu Qing’s arm as he scanned the path forward. “If Jun Wu really did bind you with a cursed shackle because you refused to do something evil, then I can’t let you pay a terrible price for it,” he stated calmly. “Because you did the right thing.”

Mu Qing glared at him for a long time. At last, he spat through his teeth, “Xie Lian, you really are-”

“Save it,” Xie Lian interrupted before he could continue. “Do you think I don’t know what you think of me? You’re still depending on me and Shen Yuan to carry you right now, so don’t say anything that’ll make me want to toss you into the lava.”

Shen Yuan shook his head, amused.

Mu Qing humphed. “And here you are, saving me even though you know what I think of you.”

“You know, I think the same way. By saving you, I’m just following my own principles. That’s it,” Xie Lian replied. “Your actions have always been mystifying to me, and I definitely wanted to punch you to death for a while back then. But I didn’t manage to do it, and at this point, I’ve lost interest. No matter how incomprehensible you are, and no matter how much I want to punch you, your sins don’t warrant death, you know? If I can save you, of course I’ll do it if I can.”

Shen Yuan nodded, readjusting his grip on Mu Qing’s arm a bit. It was exactly that. Even if Mu Qing was truly guilty and had sided with Jun Wu, there was no way he would let him die, let alone in such a horrific way. Death wasn’t something he wished upon anyone.

Mu Qing snorted a few times like he was deflating. After a moment of quiet, he added, “Your Highness, I actually-”

Just then, the ground under them grew unsteady, and their faces changed color.

Mu Qing was wounded and couldn’t react in time, but fortunately Xie Lian and Shen Yuan moved with godly speed. Shen Yuan quickly released Mu Qing’s arm, trusting Xie Lian to support him as he pushed off with the tips of his toes, landing lightly ten meters ahead. Xie Lian landed next to him with Mu Qing in tow. Behind them, the section of the bridge they had just been walking on cracked, broke away, and began falling straight down into the lava.

Rrrumble!

A section of the pitch-black bridge crashed into the hellish scarlet basin. The vengeful spirits roiling in the pool had been waiting for a long time, and they quickly reached for it. Hundreds of pairs of hands fought to grab on, as if they wanted to use it to escape from the sea of suffering, but there were too many of them. The stretch of broken bridge couldn’t support all of them, and it sank quickly. The three above watched, shaking, then they exchanged a look.

“It seems this bridge isn’t very stable!” Xie Lian commented.

Shen Yuan gaped at him. What was with that Marvel level quip! Xie Lian, now was not the time to crack jokes. They almost just died!

Mu Qing opened and closed his mouth. He’d probably planned to say that they might as well turn back since the area of the bridge they had been lying on before was quite stable and spacious. But there was no way back now that the stretch behind them had collapsed, and retreat was no longer an option. The only way for them was forward, but the narrowing path ahead was treacherous and danger hid all around them. Each step they took could potentially send them falling into the lava!

Without another word, Xie Lian hoisted Mu Qing onto his back. “We can’t stay in the same spot for too long. Who knows when this thing will collapse. Shen Yuan, do you think you can keep up? I’m going to dash through.”

Shen Yuan nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

Xie Lian smiled. “Just wanted to make sure. Mu Qing, hold on tight!”

As promised, Xie Lian leapt forward with flying steps and Shen Yuan rushed to join him. The farther they traveled, the more suffocatingly tight their footpath along the bridge became. Even the most substantial areas were not much wider than a doorway, and the narrowest areas no wider than a person's waist, but neither of them faltered.

Even with Mu Qing on his back, Xie Lian's footing remained impossibly steady. He sprang from one stretch of solid ground to the next with practiced ease, every landing as light as a swallow skimming over water. If any martial gods had been there to witness it, they would've had nothing to criticize. Every step was placed with frightening precision. Centuries of fighting without spiritual power had refined his control over his own body to an absurd degree.

Shen Yuan found himself grinning. Keeping up wasn't difficult, he found. Not that it was hard to run before, but it almost felt like he’d gotten a power up. He pushed off one crumbling stretch of bridge and landed exactly where he'd meant to, his feet touching down for the briefest instant before he launched himself forward again. Spiritual energy coursed through him without restraint, his body moving faster than his mind could finish the thought. Every jump carried him farther than he expected. Every landing felt weightless. Ah, why had he been afraid of leaping on that sword before? This was incredible!

Another section of the bridge gave way behind them with a deafening crack, and Shen Yuan couldn't help but laugh. Mu Qing looked at him like he was crazy, which he supposed was a reasonable reaction. He should've been terrified. They were sprinting across a bridge suspended over a sea of lava filled with enough vengeful spirits to make any sane person run for the hills. Instead, all he could think was that this was so much fun!

[ Protagonist Satisfaction Points increased! +10 G-Points! ]

They continued like this for a while when, suddenly, a pillar of fire erupted before them without warning, blocking their path forward. Only their incredible reflexes allowed them to brake in time. They were a hair’s breadth from charging right into the fire and being burnt to a crisp. They looked down and realized that thousands of vengeful spirits the color of molten rock had gathered in the pool below. The spirits screeched and cackled as they reached toward them. These were the ones responsible for the pillar of fire.

Shen Yuan’s ears were beginning to ache from the noise. “What are they screaming about?” he wondered.

“‘Come down, join us, rot to death here!’” Xie Lian mumbled.

Mu Qing stared at him, horrified. “You understand them? Aren’t they speaking in the Wuyong tongue?”

Ah, right. He hadn’t been there for that whole talk, had he?

“He can understand them from implanted memories,” Shen Yuan briefly explained.

Mu Qing gave him a look. “Right, because that explains everything.”

Shen Yuan could only shrug. “There’s too much to explain right now.”

Xie Lian simply sighed. “They’re...the people of Wuyong who fell into the lava and burned to death after the Heaven-Crossing Bridge collapsed. Careful not to get tangled up with them, they’ll pull everything they see into the pool. Just as I suspected. These are the remains of the Heaven-Crossing Bridge!”

“Will they be absolved if they pull people in?” Mu Qing questioned.

“No,” Xie Lian replied. “That won’t happen, no matter what they do. These vengeful spirits will never receive absolution, but they enjoy seeing others suffer their fate.”

And that was precisely why they would never receive absolution and had to suffer the torment of this basin of hell. 

The molten vengeful spirits were quite displeased that they still hadn’t fallen, and they crept together to whisper amongst themselves. Suddenly, they all joined hands, ready to make their next attack. Shen Yuan and Xie Lian broke out into a run. A pillar of fire burst forth, and the already-damaged bridge was devastated even further.

Well, they obviously couldn’t just keep taking a beating without retaliating! The three of them continued racing across what remained of the bridge while pillars of fire burst from below one after another, each one forcing them to veer, leap, or duck before it could catch them. Xie Lian tried sending a blast into the basin as they ran, but he didn't have much spiritual power left and it fell well short of the spirits. Mu Qing fared a little better, yet even his attack couldn't quite reach the enormous crowd gathered below. The vengeful spirits had banded together, and with so many of them in one place, their combined power was immense.

This, of course, left only Shen Yuan. Keeping pace beside Xie Lian, he raised Zhishi and fired a blast downward without slowing. The burst of spiritual energy tore straight through the basin, reducing nearly all of the molten spirits beneath them to ash and giving them a brief opening before the next pillar could form.

"Well done, Shen Yuan!" Xie Lian praised as they continued running.

Shen Yuan was just about to grin when he caught sight of the basin below. The spirits he'd just destroyed were already being replaced. The lava churned violently as more charred hands reached out from beneath the surface. Burnt corpses climbed over one another, shrieking loud enough to make his ears ring until the gap he'd made disappeared completely.

...Seriously?!

Another pillar erupted directly in front of them. Shen Yuan jumped aside with Xie Lian and Mu Qing, firing another blast into the basin as soon as his feet hit the bridge again. Another enormous section of spirits vanished. A heartbeat later, more crawled out to take their place.

Then more climbed out. He fired again, more disappeared, and even more came back. Again. Again. And again.

They never stopped moving. Every few steps another pillar of fire forced the three of them to dodge out of the way while Shen Yuan answered with another blast into the sea of resentful spirits below. His spiritual energy never faltered, but neither did the ghosts. Every opening he created vanished almost immediately beneath another mass of screaming corpses climbing over the edge of the lava. There wasn't even time to appreciate the damage before it was gone!

Still, Shen Yuan kept firing. A pillar of fire rose up, and he blasted it apart. Another formed farther down the bridge, so he aimed there instead. Then another. Then another. His spiritual energy never slowed, and neither did the ghosts. It wasn't tiring. It was just...pointless!

"They're not running out," Mu Qing said as another column of fire narrowly missed them.

"I noticed!"

Shen Yuan fired again without breaking stride. Same result. More spirits disappeared, more immediately replaced them. At this point, he wasn't accomplishing anything besides buying them another second to keep running.

Xie Lian glanced down at the basin before looking back at him. "Shen Yuan. It's alright. More will just replace them."

Shen Yuan already knew that. One look below was enough to tell him everything he'd done over the last several minutes had amounted to absolutely nothing! The basin was just as crowded as it'd been when they'd first arrived. No matter how many spirits he blasted apart, there were always more clawing their way out of the lava. There were far just too many.

Shen Yuan let out a long sigh before lowering Zhishi. "...Fine."

Xie Lian smiled faintly.

The creatures below cackled and pointed at the three with great excitement, as if they were watching a highly entertaining show. It was incredibly vexing that they couldn’t put a dent in them at all! Mu Qing, still on Xie Lian’s back, cracked his knuckles. He radiated hate and fury.

A moment later, Mu Qing gritted his teeth and panted a few breaths. He’d clearly found the resolve to make a very difficult decision.

“Your Highness… Xie Lian, put me down!”

Shen Yuan frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

“You love your life and you’re terrified of death!” Xie Lian replied as he dashed along. “You’d never say something like that!”

Veins bulged violently on Mu Qing’s forehead. “Well, sorry for loving my life and being terrified of death! But I’m going to die either way... So put me down before I change my mind!”

“Stop joking around. Don’t talk anymore. You’ll make me lose focus,” Xie Lian said. “What matters right now is finding the end of this bridge as soon as possible.”

“Who’s joking around?!” Mu Qing exclaimed. “If this really is the Heaven-Crossing Bridge, who the hell knows how much longer we’ll have to run? They’ll throw us off sooner or later. Put me down and go on ahead, I’ll kill all that slippery trash down there!”

Then he lightly pushed off Xie Lian’s shoulder and leapt away, landing behind them. What the hell was he doing?! Was he suicidal?! Shen Yuan turned and took a step toward him, but Mu Qing warned him otherwise.

“Don’t come back here, the path is narrow. We’ll both fall if you do!”

Shen Yuan glanced down. Unfortunately, he was right. He had no choice but to pause. Mu Qing humphed again.

“You know, your Majesty, your Highness, we do think the same way. You think I’m incomprehensible? Well, the feeling’s mutual.” He met their gazes headon. “At this point, I might as well just tell it to you straight. I’ve got a whole bunch of opinions about you both.”

“Uh...well...I knew that already. For ages now,” Xie Lian said, and Shen Yuan nodded a bit awkwardly. Mu Qing really hadn’t tried to hide it…

“Oh really?” Mu Qing told Xie Lian coldly. “Then do you know that I often thought you relied on your status too much? That even though you were his Highness the Crown Prince, even though you had good fortune, your skills weren’t that much better than mine?”

“...”

“I also thought that you probably only liked doing all those good deeds for show, because you wanted all the praise and flattery. And that you only helped me because of that. I was the perfect subject for you to demonstrate your sympathy and kindness on. To be honest, some of my opinions haven’t changed, even now. Maybe they never will. Even if I push these thoughts down, they’ll come back eventually.”

At that point, Shen Yuan felt ashamed on Xie Lian’s behalf. “There’s no need to say stuff like that in such detail to the man himself, you know?!”

However, this just turned Mu Qing to turn on Shen Yuan.

“And you!” Mu Qing snapped, turning to him. “I thought you were impossible to understand. One moment you ignored everyone, the next you were defending me when no one else would. Then after you came back, you were completely different again. You acted like you’d forgotten half the world, but you still threw yourself after his Highness every chance you got. You’d barely spoken to anyone for centuries, then suddenly you were chasing after him, looking for him, defending him... It was infuriating!”

He clicked his tongue. “You always left me wondering what you were thinking. Sometimes you treated me better than anyone else ever had. Other times it felt like you barely knew who I was. I couldn't tell whether you cared, whether you were avoiding me on purpose, or whether you really had no idea what was going on anymore.”

Mu Qing folded his arms. “Even now, I still think you care too much about his Highness. If something happened to him, you'd move heaven and earth without thinking twice. I know you'll look after him. I've never doubted that. But...it would've been nice if someone had looked at me the same way."

Shen Yuan winced. He had been kind of neglecting everyone else, hadn’t he? Since he got to this world, he’d been so busy sticking to the protagonists’ thighs that he’d never really cared much for the others. The closest he’d gotten to caring for anyone else was with Pei Ming and Shi Qingxuan, but those… Well, those two were drastically different cases.

He opened his mouth to apologize, yet, unexpectedly, Mu Qing continued with, “But more often than not, I’m still...kind of in awe of you. Both of you.”

Shen Yuan was taken aback. Huh?!

Mu Qing gathered his courage. As though someone were choking him, forcing him to speak, he stiffly said,"Isn't that normal? You...you're both rather amazing. You're...also better people than I am. In short, I...very much wanted...to become your f-f-friend."

“...”

Shen Yuan had never in a million years imagined he’d ever hear that from Mu Qing’s lips. Though they were stuttered, forced, and stiff, they were such honest, sincere, sensible words!

Next to Shen Yuan, Xie Lian’s eyes were wide. “You...”

Mu Qing had finally squeezed the sentence out through the cracks of his gritted teeth, and he let out a long breath. “That incident after Xianle’s fall...no matter if it was right or wrong, no matter if I was in a difficult situation, I still owe you an apology.”

Xie Lian seemed stumped for a moment. “...It’s all water under the bridge, so let it go. But let’s not worry about it now. We need to get out of here first!”

Mu Qing raised his voice. “He told me that if I fell under suspicion, you would take advantage of the situation and not save me even if you knew I didn’t do it. That you wouldn’t believe me because you hate me. And that… That his Majesty would never take my side with you there.”

Everyone there knew exactly who “he” was.

“I didn’t agree to help him, but even so...everything he said, I’ve thought before,” Mu Qing continued. “Deep down, I always thought you hated me, that you despised me, so I... I’ve always... Anyway, you don’t actually think that way. I’m glad.”

Another pillar of fire roared to the skies, and Shen Yuan and Xie Lian backed away a few steps to dodge it, moving farther from Mu Qing. As for Mu Qing, his rage surged and he flung himself down, slapping his palm violently on the bridge’s surface.

Shen Yuan gaped. “What are you doing?!”

As expected, the stretch of the bridge caved in and crashed down, taking Mu Qing along with it. “Distracting the trash!” Mu Qing shouted to him in midair.

He couldn’t believe it! Mu Qing really was suicidal!

The broken bridge slammed into the pool and stirred a surge of towering waves. The molten vengeful spirits swarmed over happily, ready to drag him in with them. Yet unexpectedly, a booming blast swept past and dissipated a large field of them. Amidst the wailing of ghosts, Mu Qing stood at the center of the broken bridge and sneered. The spiritual light enveloping him blazed brightly.

“Did it feel good to start those devious fires, you gang of gutter trash? Well, I’ve finally come down here, so don’t run away now!”

Now his blasts could finally reach those molten vengeful spirits! But just because he could reach didn’t mean he wouldn’t have the same issue Shen Yuan had.

Mu Qing raised his bloodred palms and swept wildly at the vengeful spirits, killing to his heart’s content. He was so forceful that the vengeful spirits who had been watching the show from further downstream scattered, screaming as they swam away in all directions.

“...”

So, now that the plot demanded it… The spirits were actually being destroyed? What kind of world was this?!

Fire had started to catch on Mu Qing’s sleeves and hems. Xie Lian hung over the bridge’s edge above and called to him, “Mu Qing?! How high can you jump?”

“Why do you have so much garbage to say?! Why haven’t you left?!” Mu Qing shouted.

“It’s not his fault,” Shen Yuan argued back. “You finally said something sensible for the first time in your life, and then you jumped off! How could we leave now?!”

Mu Qing was outraged. “What do you mean, ‘finally said something sensible-’”

Before he could finish, the broken piece of bridge under his feet sank a few notches. All their faces changed. At this rate, he really was going to be engulfed by the lava, his bones dissolving into nothing but air.

Mu Qing’s face was a ghastly shade now, despite his previous high spirits. He closed his eyes and raised his palms, as if he planned to seek a more straightforward death by smashing through his own skull before he burned alive.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, don’t be rash! I’ve got a plan!” Shen Yuan hastily cried.

Mu Qing opened his eyes again. “What plan?”

Crap, why had he said that?! He didn’t have a plan in the slightest! Mu Qing was about to burn! “Xie Lian! How far can Ruoye reach?”

Xie Lian responded without delay. “Halfway!”

“Great! Toss it down! Mu Qing, jump and catch it! I’ll pull you up!” Shen Yuan ordered, and Xie Lian threw Ruoye off the edge to dangle. Please work, please work, please work, please work, please-

Mu Qing’s face paled by another shade. “If I could jump, would I need to think of another way out?!” He went back to trying to muster the courage to smack himself dead.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Xie Lian exclaimed. “Really, wait! We’ll think of something soon!”

“Well, out with it, then!”

Shen Yuan was tearing at his own hair. Something. Something! Quick, think of something!

...He had nothing! Even Xie Lian seemed to be at a loss! Stupid Mu Qing, why had he decided to be their friend only to try and kill himself?! “Oh, I just wanted to say that I respect you and want to be your friend. Now that that’s done, I’m gonna take our newfound friendship and go jump off a bridge to hell!” What kind of a friend was that?! A terrible one, that’s what!

Mu Qing raised his hand again. Yet unexpectedly, amidst their spiraling despair, another hand slapped away his suicidal fist, then grabbed him bodily. With a dazed Mu Qing dangling in his hold, the man leapt!

Suddenly, Shen Yuan saw the other end of the white silk band tighten, and he was both surprised and overjoyed to see why.

“Feng Xin?!”

The broken bridge piece on which Mu Qing had stood sank completely into the depths of the lava stream, bubbling as it did. Feng Xin dangled from Ruoye, gripping it with one hand while the other held an ashen-faced Mu Qing.

“Your Highness, quick, pull us up!” Feng Xin yelled at Xie Lian.

There were more empty-shelled people paddling in the lava, meaning Feng Xin had likely ridden them here from upstream. There was no time to ask questions, and the two hurried over to a section of the bridge that was somewhat wider and sturdier before pulling them up. As the two were steadily lifted, a new band of molten vengeful spirits gathered beneath them, shooting resentful glares upward and grumbling in their huddle. Soon, another pillar of fire shot up.

Well. It was good to know they came and left whenever the plot needed them! (That was sarcasm, by the way. He hated those things' inconsistency.)

Feng Xin and Mu Qing were hanging in midair and couldn’t dodge on their own, so Shen Yuan and Xie Lian had to pull Ruoye and hurry several steps away to evade the attack. But there wasn’t anywhere else on the bridge as spacious or stable, so after dodging the blow they could only return to where they’d been.

A pillar of fire nearly swallowed Feng Xin whole. He lurched out of the way at the last second and roared, “What the fuck is wrong with you pieces of dog shit?! Attacking people while they’re already down?! You’re all fucking shameless! Fuck your entire family!”

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but let out a startled laugh. “You really want to fuck their families? Have you looked at them?! I'd rethink that if I were you!”

The vengeful spirits hadn’t given up. Giggling, they appeared ready to continue their ambush. Feng Xin’s temper had peaked, and he pulled Mu Qing up.

“Hold on to this!”

Mu Qing numbly did as he was told and grasped the white silk band. His reaction was a little dull because the shock was just too great. After all, he had truly thought he was about to die. Without the need to hold him, Feng Xin could free up a hand to retrieve the longbow on his back as well as several wooden sticks he’d picked up along the way. Using the sticks as arrows, he held the bow in one hand and used his teeth to bite back the bowstring. He nocked the sticks, pulled the bowstring back steadily, and let fly four arrows at once! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The arrows plunged into the fiery pool, and where they struck, blossoms of waves erupted. The molten vengeful spirits tumbled over themselves in terror, once more scattering. Gratified at last, Feng Xin cussed.

“See that?! I said I’d fuck you up! Fucking pieces of dog shit! This ancestor can blow all of you away with one hand!”

At last, the four stood together upon the Heaven-Crossing Bridge.

Shen Yuan wiped at his sweat over and over. His heart was still pounding. “Feng Xin, how did you get here?”

At that question, Feng Xin immediately clutched his head. “How did I get here? All five of you jumped in, what else was I supposed to do? I almost went fucking crazy! I found my way to the bottom of the cliff, then drifted all the way here. I only stumbled on you three because I followed all the rumbling and shouting. What were you doing, jumping into the lava pool?! Madness!”

Mu Qing, who had finally come to his senses, exclaimed, “I was dragged in!”

Shen Yuan nodded in agreement. “Exactly! Do you think we would’ve come here if we could?!”

Feng Xin startled. “Huh? I didn’t mean you, your Majesty! I meant him!”

Shen Yuan gave him an incredulous look. “And what about Xie Lian? It’s not like he chose to jump in!”

“I-” Fang Xin was flummoxed.

Xie Lian cut in. “Alright, alright, alright, calm down. All that aside, you were an absolute godsend, Feng Xin. A major help! You know what they say: Sometimes, people really...really need a helping hand to get by. Really!”

All four had been scared half to death. They gasped for breath, their faces ashen. But after sorting themselves out and pulling through that mess, they didn’t dare stick around. Feng Xin hoisted Mu Qing onto his back, and they continued leaping along the Heaven-Crossing Bridge. As they went, they exchanged what they knew, and Xie Lian learned that Feng Xin hadn’t seen Pei Ming or Hua Cheng either. He couldn’t help but worry. Where were they? They would have to search along the bridge as they went.

“By the way, I overheard a little of what you were screaming about earlier,” Feng Xin said to Mu Qing, who was on his back. “The first bit was infuriating. It made me want to beat you up. But I never imagined you actually thought all that deep down, you little bastard!”

“...”

Mu Qing’s expression had gone completely dark. Feng Xin turned to Shen Yuan and Xie Lian.

“Didn’t I tell you? This guy’s feelings are more twisted than a resentful concubine’s in the depths of a harem. He’s completely unfathomable!”

“...”

Seeing the stormy look on Mu Qing’s face, Xie Lian gestured for Feng Xin to stop. Feng Xin was entirely oblivious, though, and turned to Mu Qing to continue.

“If you wanted to be friends with his Highness, then you should’ve just said so! I really don’t know what you were thinking, going around making people sick with all that sarcasm just because you thought his Highness despised you so much that you couldn’t be friends. And his Majesty is the same way! He’s been kind to everyone since we’ve seen him again, hasn’t he? Why wouldn’t he want to be friends with you?”

Xie Lian gave up and waved dismissively. “He’s been like that since we were young, hasn’t he? Don’t scold him anymore. Look, his face is all red.”

“...”

Unable to bear it a moment longer, Mu Qing yelled, “What the fuck?! What the actual fuck?! Can’t you two just shut up?!”

“You seem to have caught Feng Xin’s vocabulary. It’s not very polite to swear,” Xie Lian reminded him.

Feng Xin piped up. “You said it yourself! You very much wanted to be his Highness and his Majesty’s f-f-friend!”

He even purposely imitated Mu Qing’s teeth-gritted stutter. Mu Qing’s expression had gone savage, and his hand had crept behind his back to seek his saber.

Shen Yuan laughed, reaching over to pat Mu Qing’s head before he could stop himself. “Mu Qing, it’s fine, really. I would love to be your friend. I thought we already were friends, honestly.”

Mu Qing’s face reddened enough that he looked away, hand having forgotten to grab his saber and dropped absently at his side.

“Alright, now we’ve cleared the air. Anyway, just remember this: His Highness never thought you were beneath him,” Feng Xin added. “Other than that time you crossed the line and he got mad, he’s never said a single bad word about you in front of me! So just act like a normal person from now on. Talk normally and express yourself normally. I’m gonna yell at you if you get sarcastic again!”

Mu Qing hung his head and quietly listened to the first part, but the latter half had him rolling his eyes. “Haven’t you yelled at me for centuries at this point?”

“Mu Qing, you’re a heavenly official. You have to pay attention to your image, alright?” Xie Lian reminded him. “You can’t roll your eyes so often, your devotees will object if they see.”

“Please,” Mu Qing said. “This guy swears all day in the Upper Court.”

Feng Xin humphed. “That’s because you deserve it.”

“Stop bringing up old quarrels with me,” Mu Qing said. “Didn’t you also ditch His Highness to go sire a son?”

Veins were popping on Feng Xin’s forehead too now, and he rolled up his sleeves. “You trying to start a fight?”

Mu Qing sneered. “Fight yourself. If you didn’t shit-talk me to his Highness all day, do you think I would’ve been so convinced that he looked down on me and got all weird about it?”

They’d devolved into that vicious cycle of arguments again, and Xie Lian spoke up. “Will you two stop airing each other’s dirty laundry at a time like this?"

Mu Qing rolled his eyes again and scoffed. “Besides, you freaked out so badly back then. So what if he robbed someone? If I were his Highness, at that point I would’ve already robbed eighteen wealthy, prominent households without batting an eye. You’re the one who made such a big deal out of it by relentlessly demanding an explanation from His Highness.”

Sweating over all this back-and-forth, Xie Lian glanced over his shoulder. “Wait a sec, there’s no need to air mine either! Anyway... San Lang! Help me find San Lang! Ha ha ha ha...”

Shen Yuan gave a soft smile as he watched the trio. They really were all such good friends. Even though he had friends himself, he wondered what it was like to have a dynamic like them.