Chapter Text
After Kun Lun left his house that evening, Shen Wei was left alone with his thoughts. He was a man of eccentric beliefs, but none of them were exactly related to a divine figure, rather they were tied to the webs of destiny. This time, though, he wondered if there was someone pulling the strings, making all of this into a big plot for amusement. The archaeologist couldn’t explain what he saw, couldn’t make sense of it, in truth, he couldn’t even believe it and all of that was driving him to the edge of a breakdown, which was uncharacteristic of him. He had always been a composed man, able to face anything with a gentle smile and a clear mind, no matter how troubling things got. Scolding himself for his thoughts, the male moved to stand in front of the bookshelf in his bedroom. His digits skimmed through the spine of the books as he read the titles looking for a specific one, ‘The Order of the Guardian’. The book told tales of a war that happened over ten thousand years in the past between humans and Dixing-ians, a species that looked just like humans, but came from another planet and could develop abilities beyond the human capabilities. Despite most people’s belief that the tales in this were all truthful, Shen Wei had always treated it as a work of fiction. To him, it sounded more like the town’s biggest market strategy to attract tourists. He didn’t know why he felt like reading it all of sudden, but maybe it was his subconscious plagued by wishful thinking, believing that it would provide him with answers.
Removing the book from where it was located, Shen Wei returned to the couch where he and Kun Lun had previously been seated in and reclaimed his spot on it, opening the book to read. He was not really in-depth with the story, just merely passing the pages to see if there was any mention of the Sword of Rupture. It could help if he knew more about the relic, but what he found instead was the mention of a familiar name, Kun Lun. That could be a mere coincidence, but seeing the detective’s name being mentioned in the book made Shen Wei’s eyes widen slightly. The male pushed the frame of his glasses further up his nose, adjusting them against his face, so he could properly read what was being said on the book and try to make any connections. Sadly, for him, the story didn’t delve much into the personal stories of anyone, it just told their deeds and how the war was ended with the agreement between humans and Dixing-ians.
Seeing no more mentions of Kun Lun in the book, the archaeologist decided to drop the reading and get some rest. He was not one to ever go to bed early, but he felt drained with everything that had gone down since he met the detective. With a sigh, Shen Wei changed into his pyjamas and fell onto the bed, wrapping the covers around himself as he laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. His glasses were removed when he turned off the light of the lamp on his bedside table. Despite his best efforts, the man couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep immediately, which was why he grabbed his phone to shoot a text to the other man.
From: Shen Wei
To: Detective Kun
We will talk to Huang Jin tomorrow. I have a plan.
11:35 p.m.
From: The Great Kun Lun
To: Xiao Wei <3
why r u still awake
did u miss so much u couldn’t wait till tmr
11:36 p.m.
From: Shen Wei
To: Detective Kun
I just wanted to inform you, so you wouldn’t make any plans.
11:35 p.m.
From: The Great Kun Lun
To: Xiao Wei <3
im sleepy now
we can talk abt out daet tmr
11:36 p.m.
It took Shen Wei some time to decipher Kun Lun’s texts, but once he did, he decided to stop bothering the man, who was probably only half awake at the moment. Not everyone had the same sleeping habits as he did. The archaeologist placed his phone back on the bedside table and turned to lie on his side. His efforts were directed towards trying to fall asleep. Like the detective had said, they could discuss all of this in the morning. There was no reason to overthink. With that in mind, the male finally managed to fall into the warm embrace of slumber.
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“Hello!” The voice greeted, making Chu lose his composure for an instant. “So, you are the famous Chu Shu Zhi. Changcheng has good taste.” The female was quite humorous and chuckled delicately as she stepped aside to welcome her guest inside. “Are you disappointed that he wasn’t the one to greet you first?” The boxer was yet to say something, but once he recovered from the momentary stupor, Shu Zhi subtly shook his head, features hardening to cover any trace of embarrassment the woman’s question could have caused on him. “You must be his aunt. The one that was asleep when I came here to drop him off last night.” His tone was not outright rude, but it was laced with suspicion. A mere defence mechanism against the nervousness he was feeling. Guo Li Min chuckled again and nodded. One of her palms came to press against the male’s shoulder blade, urging him inside. “Come on, the dinner is not ready yet, but everyone is waiting in the living room.” The auntie smiled and then pointed in the direction of the room where Chu had been with Guo and his uncle the night before. As if only now remembering the box in his hand, he extended it towards Li Min. “I brought dessert.” The message was delivered straight to the point, and finally, he cast his gaze elsewhere. “I’ll go put in the fridge. You go on along first.” Once again the woman gestured towards the living room and then left the boxer alone. Shu Zhi took a deep breath and only then did he force himself to move towards where the hosts were waiting for him.
When Chu entered the room, Guo was the first to stand up to greet him. The boy rushed to his side as if they were long friends who had not seen each other in ages. It was strange, but he didn’t stop Changcheng as the writer came closer, welcoming him. “Chu Ge, you really came.” He said, as if he had spent the whole day doubting the boxer would stay true to his word. “Didn’t I say that I was going to come?” Shu Zhi looked at Guo in a stern way now, and then looked away to greet the boy’s uncle with a glance and a nod of his head. When he made to move and take a seat by Guo Ying’s side, Chu felt a tug on the bag of his shirt and found Changcheng looking shyly at him, and despite the huff he released, the boxer still followed the writer into the couch opposite Guo’s uncle. They sat side by side with not much space between them, since this couch was smaller than the other one. Shu Zhi was about to comment on that when Guo Li Min entered the room, sitting beside her husband. Her gaze was friendly when it landed on him again. “So, Chu Shu Zhi, tell me more about yourself.” Chu didn’t have much to say about himself, and if he were to be honest, that was never something he had had to do before, so he was a little lost on what to say, something that was probably translated to his expression. “I’m a boxer, I work at Dragon City Boxing Academy, I live at Crown Street and that’s about it. There is not much to tell.” A shrug is added to the end of his sentence, and despite not having said anything exciting he can see how giddy Guo has become by his side, so he glances at the boy questioningly. Before any of the two can say anything, Li Min continues her quest of getting to know Shu Zhi. “What about your family?” The boxer instinctively swallowed in dry when he heard the question. His expression soured visibly and he avoided looking anyone in the eye, even if they had no way of knowing how sensitive of a topic that was. “They are all dead.” He said, in a voice that sounded more scolding than anything else. It would probably ruin his image in the eyes of Guo’s family, but he couldn’t help himself.
A long moment of silence passed between them, and from the corners of his eyes, Chu could see Changcheng hesitantly reaching for him and with brimming tears in his eyes. What is this dumbass even crying for? It’s not his family, he thought, but even then he could feel something softening inside of him at the sight. The quiet was disturbed by the voice of the maid, announcing that the food was ready. They didn’t touch the subject of the conversation again, but also didn’t say anything else as they made their way over to the dining room. The room was actually kind of cosy, Shu Zhi noticed as he took his place by the table beside Changcheng and facing the writer’s uncle and aunt. There was still tension in the air and no one seemed to want to address the elephant in the room, so they just proceeded like that. Food was served, all delicious looking food. “You know, Changcheng helped me cook all of this.” Guo Li Min said after a little while, trying to bring the mood back to a lighter tone. Chu turned his gaze to look at Guo again, only to see that the boy was wearing a proud, albeit shy smile. It made him feel some kind of weird palpitations inside of his chest. “You helped make all this?” He asked, in a faked tone of disbelief, just so he could tease the younger male. The writer eagerly nodded to indicate that yes, he had helped make the food. The boxer wondered if it was because of him. “Let’s eat!” Guo Ying said at least, bringing everybody’s attention back on the food. And then they started digging in.
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When they met up the next day it was already past noon. Shen Wei had been busy all morning running errands for the museum, even though he had asked for a leave. Kun Lun on the other hand slept late until he got a call from the other male asking him to meet at the archaeologist’s workplace at one in the afternoon, which gave him about half an hour to get ready and presentable enough for them to meet with Huang Jin, though this time he didn’t bother wearing a suit, just a button up and pants should be enough. Shen Wei was waiting for him at the museum’s entrance, he was dressed in a different suit than the day prior, but this one didn’t seem as new, that wasn’t to say that the man didn’t look just as stunning, though. The detective had to take a double take, his breath catching as he gazed at the man who had plagued his dreams, though in those dreams there was far less clothing involved. “You look too handsome, Xiao Wei. Are you trying to seduce me?” Those were the first words to leave Kun Lun’s mouth when the archaeologist approached him. He loved how the other male would always discreetly avert his gaze and shy away whenever he complimented him. “Are you ready to go?” Shen Wei asked and only then did the detective notice that the other man was not wearing glasses. “Say, Shen Wei, why do you not have your glasses on today?” He asked in curiosity, though he was a little distracted by how long the archaeologist’s eyelashes were. Shen Wei seemed like he was caught by surprise and instinctively smiled, shyly, lowered his head slightly and directing his gaze to the ground. “I seem to have scratched them somehow, so I had to wear contacts today.” Kun Lun, for his part, just nodded along, finally turning to walk back into the car, though not without commenting first. “You look good without them, too.” The archaeologist stopped at the car’s door, looking at Kun Lun at the other side, though he didn’t really say anything, even if words were at the tip of his tongue, ready to come out, but he swallowed them down. The detective looked back at him, chuckling faintly for a moment before opening the door to the driver’s side. “Aren’t you getting in Xiao Wei?” Shen Wei smiled, perhaps a bit timidly, but did exactly that.
Just like the last time, the drive to Huang Jin’s place didn’t take long. The only difference was that this time around the vendor was not expecting them, so when the maid welcomed them at the door, they were made to wait in the living room while she checked if her boss could meet with them at that moment. Kun Lun looked around them at the room with an analytical gaze, though he didn’t seem to be very appreciative of the decoration, that is, until his gaze landed on Shen Wei and he delivered that mischief filled smile that was one of his trademarks. “These rich people spend too much money on stupid things.” And with that he fished a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapping and then immediately sticking the candy between his lips as he kept looking at the archaeologist. “Some people compensate the emptiness of the house with decoration.” Shen Wei states matter-of-factly, but his attention is drawn to the way Kun Lun’s tongue is seemingly caressing the underside of the lollipop in slowly timed leaps. The detective doesn’t stop there, not now that he got the other male in a trance, so he circles the round candy with the tip of his tongue between wrapping his lips around it. Kun Lun applies light suction to the lollipop, only interested in the sound his action triggered and in the way the archaeologist seemed to swallow hardly while watching him. Sadly, they are interrupted by Huang Jin who came to greet them in person. “Gentlemen! I didn’t expect to see you two again so soon.” The vendor said, walking towards the two males and offering his hand in a greeting. “What can I do for you?” At first, both men remained silent, but then Shen Wei stood up, getting at eye level with Huang Jin and smiled reassuringly. “We would like to take another look at the sword.” The vendor looked at him in suspicion. He no longer seemed all that friendly. “Why? I thought everything was settled yesterday.” His tone was more accusing than inquisitive, but the archaeologist didn’t let himself be intimidated by that. “Mr Jiang said he has received another offer for the sword, but there can’t possibly be two Ea’s, so one of them must be a copy.” Shen Wei used the name of the owner of the museum to draw credibility into his words, but he also used all of his confidence into his speech, seeming apologetic at the proper time, as if he was ashamed of having to do such a thing. Huang Jin didn’t seem pleased, but he still conceded in the end. “Of course, of course.” He said, in a tone that made it obvious that it was against his will.
Anticipation had built inside of Shen Wei, and as they walked up towards Huang Jin’s office, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would have the same reaction upon touching the sword. Or even if Kun Lun, who had stayed silent during the conversation downstairs, would see anything. Upon entering the room they were told to sit while the vendor went to retrieve the sword. Not long after that Ea was brought to them. As they had agreed before, Shen Wei would be the first to touch the Sword of Rupture, pretending to be analysing it, and if he saw anything he would pass the sword over to Kun Lun to see if the detective would have the same reaction. So when Huang Jin opened the lid of the box where he kept Ea, the archaeologist approached the desk and took the relic into his hands. Even though he was more prepared for it this time around, it still took him a second to compute when his sight was suddenly replaced by that of a vision of the past.
Shen Wei was laid on a stretcher inside of what seemed to a laboratory. The archaeologist had wires attached to his body and looked like he was unconscious. Zhao Yun Lan was bent forward his nose almost touching the other male’s own as he smelt the unconscious man. The Chief was startled when the professor suddenly opened his eyes and then tried to play nonchalant, leaning back and looking sheepishly as if what he had done wasn’t completely weird, and even creepy in a way.
As he turned the sword over in his hands, the scene changed.
It was evening and they were inside a taxi. Zhao Yun Lan seemed like he was intoxicated, either that or profusely sleepy. The Chief dropped his head to Shen Wei’s shoulder, seeming comfort for a nap, but the professor didn’t allow it to go on for long, he gently extracted himself from the contact and place the other male’s head in an upright position, though he kept watching Yun Lan with contained adoration. Finally taking pity on the man, he went and pulled the Chief’s head back on his shoulder, which caused warmth to spread across his cheeks.
Shen Wei gulped soundlessly and bobbed his head in a nod, which was the planned signal for Kun Lun. His sight didn’t get back to the present time until the sword was off his grasp, but then his gaze was automatically directed to the detective, whom had an unreadable expression upon his features. In order to not let Huang Jin become suspicious, the archaeologist turned to him with a small smile. “It seems to be legitimate.” He said, nodding his head at the vendor, but Huang Jin didn’t seem to be looking at him, but rather at Kun Lun. “Why is he crying?” He asked, forcing Shen Wei’s head to quickly whip around to look at the detective. A sudden protectiveness broke inside of him, making him quickly unbutton and remove the top of his suit, so he could use it to take the sword from Kun Lun. The archaeologist rushed to deposit Ea back in the box where it was kept. “What happened to him?” Shen Wei ignored the vendor for the moment and, instead, walked back to the detective’s side. “What did you see?” He asked, face full of concern as one of his thumbs brushed against the corner of Kun Lun’s eyes, wiping the tears from there. “You were hurt… on the ground… There was… a lot of blood… I was chained to a pillar and… and there was someone hurting me, but then you got up… and stood in front of me to… protect me. I think you… died. I couldn’t see the rest.” The detective’s sentences were fragmented, as if he couldn’t say it all in one go. He also seemed so hurt. Huang Jin cleared his throat behind them. “What’s happening here?” He demanded, bringing the attention onto himself. Shen Wei turned to face him with a serious expression. “Let me ask you something.” He started, taking a couple steps closer to the vendor, features hardening. “Do you see anything when you touch this sword?” This time around the archaeologist was the one using an accusing tone. He demanded the answers as if entitled to them. Huang Jin seemed caught off guard by the way he cowered back closer to his desk, sweat pooling at his forehead all of sudden. The vendor raised a hand, using a single finger to tug at his collar, as if the shirt was suffocating him. “W-What kind of things?” The attempt at playing dumb only earned him a glare from Shen Wei. “Who sold you the sword?” He asked, taking another step closer to force a response out of Huang Jin. “His name is…”
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The rest of the meal was spent with light conversation going around them. Sometimes either Guo’s uncle or aunt would ask something about Chu’s life, but they steered clear of the family subject in order to not make him upset. Another thing was how much happier Changcheng looked. Even if the two men before them were really not together, Guo Ying and Guo Li Min that it would be just a matter of time before they delved into that kind of relationship. The writer had clear adoration and admiration for the older man, which he displayed without an ounce of shame. Shu Zhi, for his part, seemed very protective of Guo, even if he played the part of a cold and distant person. The boxer never allowed any of the elders to look down on the boy, no matter what, but he was also not directly nice towards Changcheng either, it was all in the small things. Eventually, Guo Li Min got up to fetch the dessert, and they kept chatting for a little while longer before finishing their meal and returning to the living room.
“Wait here. I have a surprise for auntie.” Guo Ying said as they arrived at the living room, leaving the others to make themselves comfortable. Guo Li Min seemed happy with the news, so she was wearing a smile on her delicate features, and her tone was light and laced with excitement when she talked. “I wonder what he got this time.” She started, and then gestured towards some of the decoration, as if to bring attention to them. “Auntie likes collecting antiquaries, so uncle always brings her new things when he comes across them.” Guo explained, looking at Chu, who had his eyebrow raised, waiting for an explanation. The boxer then took a better look at the items around. They went from antique vases to painting and other stuff he couldn’t exactly name. It didn’t take long for Guo’s uncle to come back with a packet in hands. Standing up, Changcheng took the packet from his uncle, opening it curiously. “What is this?” The boy asked as he glanced at the golden shard, which was heavier than it looked. “It’s a piece of King Arthur’s Round Table.” The older male replied, full of pride in his voice. The writer’s eyes instantly widened and he quickly picked up the relic from the packet. In an instant, everything around him shifted, and Guo was no longer among his family, but instead, in a place he didn’t know. He was seeing himself walking by the riverside, a bag hanging to his side, but the weirdest part of the vision was the faint smile on Chu’s face and the way the boxer pulled him into a tight hug. Flabbergasted, Changcheng yelps loudly, hands being thrown up in the air, dropping the shard of the Round Table, but luckily for him, Shu Zhi’s reflexes were fast enough to catch it before the relic hit the ground. Just like the boy, the boxer was plagued with a vision from the past. Chu saw himself seated on a leather couch, a genuine smile playing on his lips as he looked at Guo, who had a similar expression on his face. Their hands were linked in a discreet hold that made him feel warm on the inside. The vision was broken when the golden piece slid from his hand to the floor, but the boxer picked it up again, not caring that he was basically lying on the ground by this point. He wanted to see what would happen next, but this time the shard showed him something different. He was seated behind a desk, looking at three other people. One of them was Changcheng, lying on a leather couch, different from the one in the last vision. There was a man he didn’t know talking to Guo, but next to them was Shen Wei, the man that had helped him a few years back, when he didn’t know what to do with his life. This time what pulled him from the past was a hand shaking his shoulder. Shu Zhi looked up at the owner of the palm touching him, it was the writer. The realisation that such a weird thing had happened made him scan the room around him. Both the boy’s uncle and aunt were staring at them in confusion, and even concern, but he didn’t have time for that. The boxer stood up in a single move, and then his fingers came around Changcheng’s wrist, tugging the younger male with him as he left the living room. The shard was left on a cushion on the sofa. He heard voices calling for them from behind, but paid them no mind.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Chu released Guo from his grasp. He could see the writer was slightly scared by his sudden action, but decided to brush it off for the moment. He had more concerning matters at hand. “You saw something when you touched the shard of the Round Table, didn’t you!?” His words were more of a statement than a question, but still, he was pleased by the fast response when he saw Changcheng nodding slowly. “I-I s-saw us h-hugging, b-but we looked d-different.” The boy seemed to still be in a state of shock, but Shu Zhi couldn’t blame him. “I saw weird things as well, but I know someone that might be able to give us answers.” The boxer was staring blankly at nothing as he said that, and it made Guo worry for him, but instead of saying anything, the boy just tugged on Chu’s shirt to keep himself grounded. This dinner had taken a turn of events he had not expected, and he also wondered who Shu Zhi was talking to. He figured he would find out soon, seeing as the boxer was now tugging him towards the front door.
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Zhang Shi. That was the name that Huang Jin had given them, causing a bolt of rage to fall upon Kun Lun, because that was the same person that had hired him to investigate the stolen sword. Shen Wei tried to calm him down, but in the end, it was to no avail and they just ended up leaving the vendor’s house to go after Zhang Shi. The detective was particularly not fond of being played like that and he wanted answers as to why that… psycho would do such a thing. Despite his best efforts, the archaeologist didn’t let him drive, which was why he was currently seated on the passenger’s seat, face closed off and forehead resting against the closed glass. It had started raining, which was such a cliché thing that it made him feel like he was in some sort of Korean drama. “Are you sure he really lives there?” Shen Wei asked, throwing a glance at him, but Kun Lun didn’t bother looking back when he responded. “I met him there three times already. I think he was just waiting for when I was going to find out about his little game.” His voice became progressively angrier by the end of the sentence and he even slammed the side of his fist against the car window. “Huang Jin has probably already called him, so we need to be careful when we get there.” The archaeologist reasoned, though deep down he was more concerned about how the detective was feeling. Kun Lun had been in a bad state ever since he touched the sword. The detective just opened the glove compartment of the car, exposing a gun. “I can use that if he tries anything.” Shen Wei didn’t like the idea of that, so he decided that he would do everything possible to make sure things wouldn’t escalate to that point.
The rest of the ride was made in silence and Shen Wei almost missed the light banter Kun Lun would always bring up or the way in which the detective would find ways to shamelessly flirt with him. This change was not one he appreciated, it made his heart feel tight and filled him with worry. When they pulled up in front of a modern mansion in the richer side of town he noticed how Kun Lun didn’t even think twice before picking up the weapon and exiting the vehicle, leaving him to emit a deep sigh and then follow behind the other male. He was sure things were not about to go well in this meeting.