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“Shen Wei!” Yelled out Zhao Yunlan as he threw himself in front of the soldier, shielding him with his body.
“Kunlun!”
Bang! Bang!
Zhao Yunlan pulled the trigger of his trusty gun and aimed his shots straight at two Dixingren, hitting them squarely in the heart and causing them to vanish in a puff of smoke. Turning on his heels from his crouching position, Zhao Yunlan took in Shen Wei’s injured form and swore beneath his breath.
“Shen Wei, are you—” Zhao Yunlan’s words were interrupted by Shen Wei’s eyes widening and his hand on his chest as he roughly shoved him to the side.
“Look out!”
In the blink of an eye, Shen Wei had gotten up from the ground and stood in front of Zhao Yunlan, slashing his sword at a third Dixingren who had snuck up on them while Zhao Yunlan had turned his back. Shen Wei stood towering over the cowering man with the tip of his sword pointed inches from his throat.
“How dare you!” He bellowed with terrifying anger permeating his features. “How dare you attempt to injure Lord Kunlun? Go back from whence you came, you ungodly creature!”
With a swish of Shen Wei’s wrist and a swirl of black smoke, the bewildered man was sent hurtling through the void and back to Dixing to be sentenced for his crimes. Breathing heavily, Shen Wei planted his sword in the ground and slumped against it for support while Zhao Yunlan rushed to his side.
“Shen Wei!” He exclaimed, grabbing the injured soldier gently around the shoulders to help him up.
“I’m alright, Kunlun,” said Shen Wei weakly, blood pouring in great rivulets down one of his arms and darkening the fabric of his robes.
Shen Wei rarely got injured out in the field because his skills were much higher than the common Dixingren dissident, but this time he had been struck while trying to protect Zhao Yunlan from a particularly strong group of rebels. Zhao Yunlan was by no means helpless out in the field, but he soon found out that bringing a gun to a sword fight had its advantages and disadvantages. While reloading his weapon, he had been attacked from all sides at once, forcing Shen Wei to intervene and get himself injured in the melee.
“You are clearly not ‘alright,’ Shen Wei.” Replied the other with concern on his features. “Come, let’s get you patched up.” He added, pointing with his chin in the general direction of their camp.
“I can’t. There’s still work to be done,” he said, shifting his weight from his sword to Zhao Yunlan’s helping hands. “Besides, I’m used to it” he added with a tentative smile as if to make light of his injuries.
Zhao Yunlan was violently brought back to his memories of the future Shen Wei standing in his kitchen, suffering in silence from the dark energy leaving his body and feeding into Zhao Yunlan instead. Back then, the professor had spoken the same words and given him the same sad smile, and Zhao Yunlan had been so angry, so hurt by his actions and his disregard for his safety. He had yelled at the sad-looking Shen Wei and mocked his dedication without understanding why he was so adamant about protecting him.
This life... I’m returning it to you.
I’m not worth what you are doing for me.
You’re worth it.
Now, here in ancient Haixing, Zhao Yunlan realized that the future Shen Wei had simply echoed his younger self, perhaps in an effort to make Zhao Yunlan remember him—remember this specific moment—or maybe it was out of the habit of lying about his own feelings. Either way, the future Shen Wei somehow thought that he owed his life to Zhao Yunlan, but the latter wasn’t going to just sit back while Shen Wei sacrificed himself senselessly due to a ten thousand-year-old promise.
Zhao Yunlan frowned deeply and, feeling that same anger grip him round his heart, he grabbed Shen Wei around his middle and hoisted him onto his shoulder, ignoring the little soldier’s protests and cries of shock.
“K-Kunlun! Put me down—!”
“No.”
“Stop! We should pursue the remaining rebels while we can!”
“I don’t care. Your safety is more important.”
“…”
Shen Wei stopped struggling in Zhao Yunlan’s arms and let himself be carried away from the field all the way to the cool cover of the forest. Zhao Yunlan carefully deposited him against a tree trunk and made quick work of his many layers—much to Shen Wei’s stuttering and feeble attempts to push him back—to uncover the oozing laceration on his upper arm. Cursing, Zhao Yunlan ripped a section of his own outer robe and gently wound Shen Wei’s arms, effectively staunching the blood.
“Kunlun…” started Shen Wei shyly. “You know it’ll heal on its own, right? My powers will kick in any minute now…”
“Whatever. Powers aren’t infallible” he answered gruffly, thinking of the gentle professor in his apartment, bleeding out onto his kitchen counter and clearly in pain.
Noticing how angry Zhao Yunlan was, Shen Wei reached over and ran his cool fingers on his brow, forcing the knot that had formed there to loosen in the process. “There. Much more handsome this way” he said smiling, thereby lightening Zhao Yunlan’s mood.
“Shen Wei, ah, Shen Wei,” sighed Zhao Yunlan. “Why do you have to be so reckless?”
“… I’m sorry.”
“Just… be careful,” he said, settling for a simple yet heartfelt plea. Seeing Shen Wei bleeding made him want to make the ones who had caused his pain to suffer in unimaginable ways and, even though Shen Wei often said that he wasn’t bothered by it, Zhao Yunlan knew that he wasn’t completely bulletproof.
“Hei Pao Daren! Hei Pao Daren!”
Shen Wei shifted his eyes from Zhao Yunlan’s to take in the soldier running up to them. Shen Wei’s previously gentle smile and wide-eyed innocence were instantly replaced by the fearsome Black Cloak Envoy persona, and Zhao Yunlan saw his features shift and harden in front of his subordinate.
“What’s going on?” He questioned as the soldier bent his knee a few feet away from the pair in respect.
“My lords, there’s been a sudden surge of fighting over by the river. Our men thought they had suppressed the Dixingren, but they were suddenly ambushed and are now outnumbered. My lords, if you would please give this humble one instructions so that I can tell our brothers what to do.”
Shen Wei pondered for a moment, strategizing in his mind how he could save his men and defeat the horde in one fell swoop. Zhan Yunlan deducted that Shen Wei was taking too long to answer because the foot soldier felt the need to raise his head and brazenly meet Shen Wei’s pensive stare. The soldier’s eyes fell on Shen Wei’s injury and divested torso, causing Zhao Yunlan to rapidly pull up Shen Wei’s sleeve over his shoulder to hide him from prying eyes. Shen Wei may have been used to being around fellow soldiers all day long, but that didn’t mean that he had to be exposed to their scrutiny. Shen Wei’s porcelain skin was for Zhao Yunlan’s eyes only, and he was going to make sure of that.
Shen Wei blinked at Zhao Yunlan when the other dressed him, giving him a weak smile in return. Shen Wei’s face was always able to remain composed, but his ears often betrayed him like in this instant, much to Zhao Yunlan’s delight. Turning his attention back to the soldier, Shen Wei imparted with his makeshift plan.
“How many men are at the base camp right now?” He asked the foot soldier.
“Twenty-five, my lord.”
“And how many on the riverside?”
“About a hundred, my lord, give or take. The exact number is unknown considering that some may have perished already…”
Shen Wei frowned at that last remark. He wasn’t in the business of losing and sacrificing men. “Alright. Get the reserves at camp and tell them to rush to the river to aid their comrades. Lord Kunlun and I will go immediately to the battlefield to help.”
“My lord… if we pull out the reserves from camp, we run the risk of having our supplies stolen or burned while we’re gone. What would we do without our rations and provisions?”
“I know that, soldier, but what is more important right now? People’s lives, or material possessions? If that happens, we’ll figure it out afterwards, but for now, I won’t let our brothers die.”
“Yes, my lord!”
With that, the soldier ran to camp to get the reserves as instructed, and Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan prepared themselves to leave and rejoin the fight. Zhao Yunlan was none too pleased with this turn of events, but knowing Shen Wei, nothing in this world could stop him from saving those men, even if it meant risking his own life in the process.
“Shen Wei,” he started, grabbing hold of his uninjured arm. “Whatever happens, if you get hurt again, you have to stop and rest, okay? Don’t put yourself in danger in front of my eyes.”
Shen Wei nodded and gave him a smile as a response, but both knew that Zhao Yunlan’s words carried no weight when it came to Shen Wei’s decision-making. Once he was resolved to do something, he remained stubborn and unshakable in his decisions, and always carried out his plans without faltering.
The pair returned to the battlefield and were greeted by pure havoc as Shen Wei’s platoon fought tooth and nail against a considerably larger and more numerous troop of Dixingren. Shen Wei outdrew his sword and jumped into the fight with Zhao Yunlan in tow, ruthlessly slashing at anyone standing in his path. Zhao Yunlan easily matched each of Shen Wei’s strikes with shots ringing out like clockwork and making half a dozen enemies disappear within the first few minutes.
The other soldiers made way for the duo as soon as they arrived and watched in awe how they worked together perfectly in sync without even having to talk to each other. When Shen Wei would attack on the left, Zhao Yunlan would cover his right side, and when Zhao Yunlan would turn the opposite way, Shen Wei would naturally stand back-to-back with him to protect his rear. In this way, the pair was virtually untouchable. After a good twenty minutes of shooting and slashing, Zhao Yunlan felt that something wasn’t quite right. Looking around the battlefield, he noted how each of their fellow soldiers was locked in battle with two to three Dixingren and, no matter how many of the enemies were brought down, the numbers didn’t seem to budge.
“Shen Wei! Something’s wrong!” he yelled out in between the sound of his gunshots.
“What?”
“Something is wrong! It’s as if they keep respawning instead of dying.”
Shen Wei avoided a large Dixingren and spun out of his grasp to knock him out with the hilt of his sword. “Re—what? I don’t understand.” He said, ducking to avoid another one’s incoming fists.
Zhao Yunlan had played enough video games in his life to understand that monsters had a very annoying tendency of respawning in certain areas no matter how much you fought against them.
“Shen Wei, I think there must be someone controlling them!” He replied, retreating from a Dixingren and shooting him clean through the forehead. “Cover me!” He added and, leaving Shen Wei’s side, ran up into the throng and grabbed the first one he saw around the collar.
“Kunlun!!”
Shen Wei cursed loudly and sent several encroaching enemies flying with one powerful swish of his sword while Zhao Yunlan busied himself with slamming the one he had captured onto the ground and straddling his torso so that he couldn’t escape.
“Look at him, he’s not even… alive?” Proposed Zhao Yunlan, wrinkling his nose at the sight beneath him.
Shen Wei approached Zhao Yunlan and knelt by the man’s head, noticing his blank, vacant stare and the number of injuries on his person. “He shouldn’t still be breathing looking at all these bullet holes and slashes…”
“I’m not sure he is” replied Zhao Yunlan with a shudder. “Do you know about a power that allows you to control the dead? Or maybe bring them back to life?”
“No one can bring back the dead, that’s for sure, but there is a rare power called ‘necromancy.’ That would mean that one of them is the necromancer—the one who controls them. If we can defeat him, then the others will simply disappear.”
“Zombies. We’re dealing with zombies. Great!” Replied Zhao Yunlan laughing as though Shen Wei had said the funniest thing in the world.
Shen Wei frowned, visibly confused by Zhao Yunlan’s actions and words. “I don’t…” he started, only to be interrupted by Da Qing and the other soldiers’ timely arrival.
“Kunlun! What’s going on here?”
“Well, it’s about time you showed up, dead cat!”
“I was at camp, enjoying my fish, until this random recruit showed up telling me that my boss was dying. And what do I see when I get here? My boss just taking it easy, sitting on a Dixingren. Why did I even bother?”
“Pfft, ‘taking it easy’ my ass, dead cat. Look, I don’t have time to explain, but can you use that nose of yours to locate the living people?”
“The what now?” Da Qing turned to Shen Wei with mock concern. “Lord Envoy, did this idiot hit his head or something?”
“…”
“Shut up, Da Qing. Will you just do it, please? We’re looking for a guy who is clearly alive in amongst a horde of undead.”
Da Qing scoffed at Zhao Yunlan’s exasperation. “Alright, alright, calm down. Give me a minute.”
“Make it snappy. We don’t have all day,” replied Zhao Yunlan as the man beneath him suddenly decided he had had enough of being pinned to the ground and squirmed to try and break free.
Da Qing closed his eyes to better focus on his sense of smell, but the battlefield was jam-packed with all sorts of odours that were throwing him off. He selectively blocked out Shen Wei’s and Zhao Yunlan’s scents since he knew them well, and then progressively blocked all their comrades’ as well until he found one scent in particular that was a perfect mix of living flesh and acrid decay. Snapping his eyes open, he pointed stoically in the direction of the person he had pinpointed.
Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan exchanged a glance and, nodding in understanding, sprung up and ran side by side towards the area Da Qing had singled out. The duo slashed and shot at any incoming undead Dixingren and broke through a tight ring of enemies that protected a cleared-out spot where a single man stood in its middle, arms outstretched with dark energy swirling all around him.
“There!” Exclaimed Zhao Yunlan as he steadied his arm and took aim.
“No, don’t!” Replied Shen Wei, placing a hand on his arm and guiding him to lower his weapon.
“What?”
“We need him alive. His power is too rare to lose it like this. Besides, he has to pay for his crimes.” Explained Shen Wei as he gathered his own dark energy around his hands and aimed it at the man and caged him in a swirl of black smoke.
The man struggled briefly in Shen Wei’s invisible grasp, but soon gave up as he was no match for the all-powerful Black Cloak Envoy. Satisfied, Shen Wei sent him flying through a portal towards Dixing and, the minute he had vanished from Haixing, his puppet-like soldiers disintegrated in front of everyone’s eyes, leaving nothing but small piles of ash all over the ground. Exhaling with relief, Shen Wei turned to Zhao Yunlan and smiled sweetly.
“You did it, Kunlun, you saved us all once again!”
“What? I didn’t do anything. Da Qing found him, and you disposed of him. I just stood by and watched.”
“But you figured it out.” Insisted Shen Wei, eyes burning with admiration. “I was so busy fighting that I hadn’t even noticed that something was off. If you hadn’t pointed it out, we would still be fighting right now.”
Zhao Yunlan laughed lightly, running his hand through his hair in embarrassment. “It’s nothing, really. You can thank all my wasted hours playing games at home.”
“Games? What games? War and strategy games? Can you show me? I want to play with you.” He said with fervency and excitement.
“Ah, Xiao Wei, I have a whole host of games for you that are much more interesting that war, don’t you worry about that.” Replied Zhao Yunlan with a wink and, reaching out, captured Shen Wei’s chin between his forefinger and thumb.
Shen Wei blushed prettily at the implication and Zhao Yunlan’s sly smile. “I… erm, yes, well…” tried Shen Wei, visibly flustered. “A-anyway, thank you, Kunlun. I have so much to learn from you.”
“And I from you” said Zhao Yunlan fully meaning his words and closing the gap between them with a chaste kiss. If he had taught anything valuable to this Shen Wei, it was because his more mature and experienced counterpart in the future had taught him how to strategize and how to recognize when Dixing powers were at play.
After regrouping with their platoon, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan led the way to their base camp, secretly hoping that everything was fine and that they still had a makeshift home to return too. Luckily, their tents, rations, and supplies were all undisturbed, and there were no signs of anyone having entered their camp and rummaged through while they were gone. The men gladly settled into their bedrolls and tents, happy to have survived another day and blessing their lords Black Envoy and Kunlun for protecting them and being reliable leaders.
Once everyone had settled down, and Zhao Yunlan had returned to his own tent to wash up and change into a slightly less torn and dirty tunic than the one he had on during the day, Shen Wei came knocking and collected him for their nightly walk. Finding their way to their usual spot high above the sweeping forest below, they settled in and chitchatted through the events of the day.
“Well, that was quite the trying day,” started Zhao Yunlan, throwing his hands behind his head and stretching his legs in front of him.
Shen Wei sat stiffly next to him, still ‘stuck’ in his Hei Pao Shi persona. Zhao Yunlan looked over to his side and clicked his tongue in annoyance at the sight.
“Shen Wei?”
“Mm?”
“Could you please take off that damn ugly thing on your face so that I can admire you a bit more?”
Shen Wei jolted on his rock and stuttered his way through a response. “O-oh. I-I’m sorry, I forgot about it. It’s a habit.”
“Yeah well, it’s a habit I’d rather you lose.”
“Kunlun… you know I can’t…”
“Yeah, yeah, honour, respect, etcetera. I know. At least take it off when we’re together?”
“Y-yes—”
Amused, Zhao Yunlan suddenly reached out and yanked the mask off Shen Wei’s face, revealing his youthful features and wide-eyed shock.
“—!!”
“Shh” replied Zhao Yunlan, pressing a finger to his lips in a shushing motion and grinning behind it. “Much better this way. A little bit young, but it doesn’t take away from your beauty” he teased, knowing that Shen Wei hated being called young. He was an experienced soldier—and man—after all.
Shen Wei scowled and looked away, snatching the mask out of Zhao Yunlan’s hands and fiddling with it himself. Zhao Yunlan laughed heartily at the shy reactions of the man by his side, but carefully locked those memories in his heart with the intent of carrying them to his grave.
“Here,” he said, popping a lollipop in Shen Wei’s unsuspecting mouth.
“…” Shen Wei pulled out the strange item from in between his lips with a smacking sound. “What’s this?”
“It’s… erm…” tried Zhao Yunlan, searching for the right words. “It’s hard to explain, but just trust me. It’s nice.”
Nodding, Shen Wei replaced the item in his mouth, this time taking the time to savour each pass on his tongue and sucking on the sweet-tasting thing. Zhao Yunlan stared at him with unrestrained amusement and unveiled desire forming in his eyes. ‘Damn,’ he thought, ‘I didn’t think that eating a lollipop could look this good.’ Zhao Yunlan swallowed at the sight of Shen Wei unsuspectingly giving him a show by swirling his tongue around the hard candy and repeatedly moistening his lips. Just as he was about to make his move on the little soldier and teach him a thing or two about handling lollipops, Da Qing came running towards them in a panic.
“Kunlun! We have a problem!”
Aggravated by the interruption, Zhao Yunlan addressed his cat with a roll of his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“The Hallows have been found!”
Zhao Yunlan’s stomach dropped at Da Qing’s words and he saw how Shen Wei’s previously happy face instantly grew ashen. If the Hallows had truly been found, then that meant that it was time for him to go soon, and he wasn’t ready to leave by any stretch of the imagination.
“Let’s go, Da Qing” he declared, getting up to run after his cat and leaving Shen Wei behind. Zhao Yunlan couldn’t bear to look at him right now lest his feelings get the better of him.
Throughout the rest of the night and into the early hours of the morning, Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei, and Da Qing were briefed on the situation by Ma Gui and Fu You who had received reports that the Hallows had been spotted nearby by some of their scouts. The report said that a group of bandits were seen carrying a box that was suspected to contain the artifacts, and that a strange man dressed in white from head to toe was leading them across the land.
Zhao Yunlan prepared his gun by cleaning it and stocking it well with rounds after the briefing while Shen Wei sat listlessly near him and alternated between clenching and unclenching his fists on his thighs. Da Qing and the others had had the good sense to leave the pair alone before the final battle, knowing full well that separation was imminent for the two.
Shen Wei, who had always been talkative when it was just the two of them, suddenly found himself unable to speak as his emotions swirled in his heart at the thought of finding the Hallows. On the one hand, this was what he had been fighting for his whole life, but on the other hand, he knew that finding the artifacts meant having to say goodbye to his happiness. Was life even worth living, knowing what was going to happen? Shen Wei wished he could have stopped time and prevented them from finding the Hallows, keeping them locked for eternity in this bubble of unknowing, but the sun was steadily creeping upwards in the sky, and time could be stopped by no one.
Zhao Yunlan was equally lost for words, so he settled for gestures instead, taking Shen Wei’s hand into his own and intertwining their fingers. Zhao Yunlan ran his thumb across the soft skin of Shen Wei’s hand in soothing circles, trying to calm them both with this simple action. After a while of tense silence heavy with unspoken words, Zhao Yunlan reluctantly let go of his hand and led the way out of the cave and into the daylight where the rest of their troop was already waiting for their orders. Zhao Yunlan knew that this was his time to be strong for both of them, and so, strong he would be.
“Brothers,” he started, addressing the crowd of soldiers. “Today, our mission is simple but dangerous: recover the stolen artifacts and bring them back to safety. Whatever happens out there, know that you are doing it for the greater good, for the people’s rights to walk freely in the daylight, and for the futures of every citizen of Haixing and Dixing alike.”
The men cheered and clapped, encouraged by Kunlun’s words, and set about departing towards the group of rebels and the Hallows they carried. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan mounted their horses and set them into a gallop, rapidly gaining on the tracks left by the enemies on the run. Da Qing followed closely behind while the rest of their company moved on foot across the terrain, towing their supplies along.
Within half a day of tracking, the troop found the dissidents trying to flee from them, but Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan had the advantage of speed on horseback, easily closing in on their targets and circling around them several times while the rest of their men arrived, swords at the ready. The field erupted in a cacophony of metal hitting metal, screams, horse neighing, and bodies hitting the ground as the two groups clashed and fought with every ounce of strength they had. Shen Wei’s men had only just survived a long and difficult battle the day before, and everyone was still clearly exhausted, but they all fought bravely and fearlessly, spurred on by Zhao Yunlan’s cries of encouragement and Shen Wei’s unwavering focus.
Then, Shen Wei caught sight of the parcel they were after and quickly grabbed it from the Dixingren who was carrying it, throwing it to Zhao Yunlan right before the mysterious man clothed in white appeared before him. Shen Wei and the other man exchanged blows and, abandoning their weapons, resorted to dark energy instead, but soon found that they were equally matched. Shen Wei had never met an opponent who could keep up with his powers, so he was rather shocked to find out that this rebel leader was so incredibly powerful.
Zhao Yunlan signalled for Shen Wei to follow him and, breaking away from the man in white, he ran after Zhao Yunlan until they reached a clearing away from the main fight. Zhao Yunlan quickly undid the wrapping of the box and opened it to reveal the famed Hallows, all intact and lying inactively at the bottom of the box.
“This is it, the four Hallows: Merit Brush, Longevity Dial, Mountain-River Awl, and Guardian Lantern.” Said Shen Wei as he took the first two ones out of the box and let Zhao Yunlan handle the last two.
Zhao Yunlan looked at Shen Wei for a moment before resolving himself to try and activate the items. Taking all four into his hands, he concentrated and willed them to come to life, but nothing happened as they remained inert in his hands.
“Why isn’t it working…?” He asked out loud, turning the objects in his hands. “The wormhole should be open by now.”
“What’s that? Can I do something to help?” Replied Shen Wei, sensing Zhao Yunlan’s distress and wanting to alleviate his concern.
“Nothing… it’s just that now that my mission is complete, it’s time.”
“… time?”
“Time to leave.” Specified Zhao Yunlan in a small voice.
Shen Wei looked up from the artifacts to search Zhao Yunlan’s face, unable to hide his anguish behind his mask. Zhao Yunlan felt his chest constrict with pain at the sight of Shen Wei’s unguarded despair and hurt as realization hit him. This was it, this was truly happening, and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it.
“What do you mean, you’re leaving?” Interjected Da Qing who had overheard their conversation while he was approaching them. “If you go, I’m going with you!”
“Come on dead cat, be more mature, will you? You can’t go where I’m going, so stay here instead and be good.”
During their interaction, Shen Wei’s pained eyes never left Zhao Yunlan’s face, and the latter did his best to ignore his usually tender look boring into his profile, trying to hold him back with nothing but a stare. Shen Wei remained silent as his heart hammered incessantly in his chest while Zhao Yunlan spoke to Da Qing, trying to reassure him. The pair had a brief moment of kinship when Da Qing offered up his cat bells to Zhao Yunlan, thereby accepting him as his lifelong master, and Shen Wei felt irrepressibly jealous that, contrary to Da Qing, he had nothing to keep him tethered to the man who had captured his heart since day one.
Zhao Yunlan’s attempt to make peace with the situation and properly say goodbye to both his cat and his lover were interrupted by the man in white’s arrival along with the rest of the two armies. Zhao Yunlan fired his gun straight at him, but the latter easily stopped the bullets in midair with his powers, forcing Shen Wei to jump up and face off against him instead. Zhao Yunlan kept the other Dixingren at bay by firing his weapon at them while Shen Wei and the other man fought viciously with their powers. At some point, Shen Wei managed to land a hit with his sword, slashing the other man’s mask clean off and revealing a face that mirrored his own, down to the last detail. Stunned, Shen Wei’s eyes widened as he took in the person standing in front of him.
“Didi,” he called out gently as he removed his own mask.
“Ge?”
Shen Wei could hardly believe his eyes. He had seen his brother die—or so he thought—and had made peace with his loss a long time ago. Naturally, a part of him had always hoped that his brother would reappear in front of him one day, but he never could have imagined that Ye Zun would come back to be a powerful dissident and stand against everything that Shen Wei had fought for.
“Didi, you’re the leader of these rebels?” Questioned Shen Wei with the heartbreaking hope that he was wrong about his assumption.
“No… ge, that’s not it. I was forced... I had no choice!” Explained Ye Zun through his tears, kneeling in front of Shen Wei and clutching his hand to gain his trust.
Shen Wei was visibly moved by his brother’s plea, choosing to believe his words without question, and Zhao Yunlan silently cursed Ye Zun for using Shen Wei’s innocence and trusting nature to his advantage. Zhao Yunlan could see how much Shen Wei loved his brother, and Ye Zun’s devious nature was all too obvious as he twisted Shen Wei’s perception of their relationship with honeyed words.
Feeling sick, Zhao Yunlan watched as Shen Wei bent his knee to clasp his brother in his arms, tears running hotly down his face as guilt washed over him. “I’m sorry, brother. All these years, I thought you were dead…”
Then, Ye Zun’s face contorted as his false weakness fell away. “How could I, when it’s clearly meant to be you who dies?” he snarled and, in a flash, sent a wave of dark energy straight at his brother’s face.
Zhao Yunlan lost no time in discharging his weapon at Ye Zun, trying to draw his attention away from Shen Wei, but the latter was much too strong and deflected the bullets all the while throwing a shockwave of energy at the unprotected and trusting Shen Wei, sending him flying backwards and stunning him into inaction. Deciding to make his move, Da Qing attempted to attack Ye Zun, but he was no match for the evil twin and also ended up being thrown back by the sheer strength of his powers, instantly knocking him unconscious.
Panicked, Zhao Yunlan looked between both Shen Wei and Da Qing, deciding to rapidly check for Da Qing’s pulse since he was the nearest. Satisfied that he was still alive, Zhao Yunlan planned to move to Shen Wei’s side but was stopped by the Hallows suddenly springing to life and lifting up into the sky above them. Before he could make sense of everything happening, Zhao Yunlan felt his body being sucked into a whirl of wind and smoke as the Hallows opened the void above the foursome and the sky darkened considerably.
“Shen Wei!” Called out Zhao Yunlan, resisting the pull with every fibre of his being. “Shen Wei!!”
Shen Wei woke from his stupor and turned his head to look at Zhao Yunlan’s disappearing form.
“Shen Wei, whatever you decide to do, don’t regret it!” Yelled out Zhao Yunlan over the sound of the opening void. “Shen Wei!” He called out one last time, locking eyes with the bewildered little soldier before being completely absorbed by the powers of the Hallows and sent hurtling through spacetime.
“KUNLUN!” Bellowed Shen Wei unable to move from his spot.
Ye Zun turned to stare at his brother and take in his distraught face, understanding in an instant just how much this ‘Kunlun’ warrior had meant to his brother. ‘Gege, in your heart, there is someone more important than me, but in mine, you outshine everyone else.’
**********
Zhao Yunlan suddenly found himself in the swirling mass of forgotten objects and lost souls known as the void. Reeling from the time jump, Zhao Yunlan felt heavily nauseated by the jarring change of scenery but soon realized what had happened. The Hallows had successfully been activated and so, since the ancient world didn’t need him anymore, he had been thrown back into the void from where he had come from.
Massaging his temples against the incoming headache, Zhao Yunlan took in his surroundings. The void was such a strange place at the best of times, but it seemed especially eerie to him now that he had known the lush green forests and rolling hills of ancient Haixing for such a long time.
Turning around to get his bearings, Zhao Yunlan’s heart nearly stopped dead in his chest at the sight of Shen Wei calmly standing a few feet away, waiting for him to take notice of his presence. Zhao Yunlan started back in shock as his brain caught up with the information and then, laughing to himself at the overwhelming flood of emotions in his heart, he approached the professor who waited patiently with pale lips and unwavering eyes.
“Shen Wei,” called out Zhao Yunlan softly a few paces away from him, not daring to move any closer.
Time stood still in the void as the pair stared at each other and ten thousand years of knowledge passed between the two, forcing them to accept the reality of all that had passed, and all that was to come. In front of Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei remained impossibly still with only his eyes betraying his true feelings.
“I searched for ten thousand years to find you,” he said softly, tears brimming his eyes behind his wire-rimmed glasses. “I finally found you,” he added barely above a whisper.
Zhao Yunlan’s heart shattered as both immense joy at their reunion and visceral pain for Shen Wei’s suffering crashed over him simultaneously, causing his eyes to swim and match Shen Wei’s.
“I’m back, Shen Wei,” said Zhao Yunlan, and the pair laughed through their tears as though he had only been gone to the store to get some groceries.
The void around them rumbled as things started to move and spin, causing Zhao Yunlan to tear his gaze away from Shen Wei to take in the sudden change. “What’s going on?” He asked, feeling dizzy again from the swirl of colours around him.
“We should leave, Zhao Yunlan. The void isn’t stable. It could collapse at any moment.”
Zhao Yunlan wrinkled his nose at the appellation of his birth name. He was so used to being called ‘Kunlun’ that he had all but forgotten his true identity as ‘Zhao Yunlan.’ What was more, hearing that name come out of Shen Wei’s mouth was all the more discordant with his memories, especially after everything that had happened between him and Xiao Wei.
“Right, let’s go then.” Replied Zhao Yunlan before changing his mind. “Wait, no. What about Da Qing?” He asked, earning a pained look from Shen Wei as a response. “I want to see if he’ll be alright.”
Approaching the still opened window onto ancient Haixing, Zhao Yunlan peered down with Shen Wei by his side and observed how Da Qing, who had been knocked out by Ye Zun’s attack, woke from his limpness and quickly got up from the ground before joining in on the fight below. Relieved, Zhao Yunlan sighed and smiled to himself knowing that his cat would be just fine.
“Zhao Yunlan, we really have to go” urged Shen Wei as the void continued to rumble around them.
“Wait… what about Xiao Wei? I need to know what happened to him—”
Zhao Yunlan heard the sharp intake of breath from Shen Wei next to him at the mention of the nickname. Turning to look at him, he saw in Shen Wei deep pain and a twinge of jealousy permeating his usually calm and gentle eyes.
“We need to go. Now.” He repeated, grabbing Zhao Yunlan by the wrist with the intent to force him to leave if need be.
Zhao Yunlan twisted out of his grip and stepped back, looking desperately through the narrowing window over ancient Haixing until he saw the familiar mass of black robes and hair sprawled on the ground beneath.
“Xiao Wei!” He called out instinctively although he knew that the soldier couldn’t hear him through time and space.
Through the void, Zhao Yunlan saw how Shen Wei—his precious Xiao Wei—hugged himself on the ground and rocked his body back and forth as he wailed loudly through the pain of having seen ‘Kunlun’ vanish into the void.
Biting back a cry, Zhao Yunlan reached out to touch the vibrating image in front of him before Shen Wei could stop him. Suddenly, the whole void shook and thundered around them, and Zhao Yunlan was violently thrown back by the force field of the shimmering window.
“Zhao Yunlan!” Cried out Shen Wei, moving rapidly to his side and propping him up in his arms as he fell backwards. “Are you alright?” He asked in a panicked voice, but Zhao Yunlan’s eyes were glued to the young Shen Wei who had suddenly turned his tear-streaked face to the skies and was staring right at them—or so it seemed.
Unbeknownst to Zhao Yunlan, his actions had caused the sky in ancient Haixing to rumble and twist, giving the little soldier a glimmer of hope that Kunlun would reappear in front of him the same way he had disappeared. Zhao Yunlan’s heart twisted at the painful hope etched on Shen Wei’s beautiful face as his eyes searched the sky above him for a sign of the great warlord he loved so much.
“Xiao Wei…” called out Zhao Yunlan, entranced by the image and filled with pain akin to grief.
Zhao Yunlan had always known that his departure would wreck the little soldier beyond repair, but he had never considered that he would be equally crushed by their separation. Until it actually happened, Zhao Yunlan had figured that he would easily shift in his mind from the smiling, doe-eyed youth to the more mature yet gentle man, but reality was very different from what he had anticipated. Zhao Yunlan felt like a piece of his heart had been brutally cut out of his chest and laid out in front of him for him to see, yet he was unable to pick it back up again.
“Zhao Yunlan,” repeated Shen Wei, bringing him back to reality. “There’s nothing you can do… now, let’s go—”
“You don’t understand!” Said Zhao Yunlan as he turned on Shen Wei. “He’s all alone… he—”
“Of course I understand!” Interrupted Shen Wei with a mixture of pain and impatience in his voice. “I know better than anyone else what ‘he’ went through, what I—!” Shen Wei stopped himself, stemming his words by pressing his lips together tightly as his eyes screamed at Zhao Yunlan to understand the pain in his heart.
Zhao Yunlan choked back a sob, clearly torn between his feelings. He thought he had sorted out what he felt for both Shen Weis a long time ago, but now that he was faced with the inevitable, he didn’t know what to do. The little soldier he had so completely adored stood right out of reach in front of him, but his future self was currently by his side, holding him in his arms and begging him to choose him.
“That—” pointed Shen Wei at the wavering image of himself “—is the past. You can’t live in the past, Zhao Yunlan. You’re not from that time… you belong somewhere else. In the future.”
Zhao Yunlan stared back at Shen Wei as he tried to make sense of everything. The past may well have been done and over to Shen Wei, but to Zhao Yunlan who had spent several months there with the soldier Shen Wei and a young Da Qing, it felt like that was his reality—his time period where he had built a life for himself. Being torn away from it so violently was too jarring for his rationale to accept.
“I understand,” repeated Shen Wei, this time more gently as tears renewed in his eyes. “You love him as much as I love ‘Kunlun,’ even though I know now that he never truly existed—it was always you, Zhao Yunlan.”
“Shen Wei… he—you—had to suffer for so long on your own. I’m sorry.” Said Zhao Yunlan as he buried his face in his hands and cried in anguish beneath Shen Wei’s comforting, familiar hand. “If I could only go back and save you—protect you from the pain—”
“It’s okay,” said Shen Wei, running his hand through Zhao Yunlan’s hair. “It’s okay, I’m here, with you. That’s all in the past now and I don’t care about it anymore. Back then, I was young and confused, I didn’t know how to control what I was feeling, and I put a lot of pressure on you to make you stay, but I’ve grown since then.”
Shen Wei continued to explain as the words suddenly fell out of him like a waterfall. “I never stopped loving you, Zhao Yunlan, not for one second. I wholeheartedly believed that we would meet again, and I held on to our promise for all those years—” He said, moving to completely embrace Zhao Yunlan in his arms. “—and when we did meet again, back then at the university, I knew that everything you had said—all the things you had lovingly taught me—had come to serve their purpose.”
Zhao Yunlan gripped Shen Wei around his chest in a fierce hug, burying his face in his shirt and taking in the familiar, everlasting scent of pine on his skin. “Shen Wei, I don’t want you to think that I… that I…” Zhao Yunlan fumbled, trying to convey that he wasn’t enamoured only with his past self. He truly and unshakingly loved all of Shen Wei—past and future confounded.
“I know, Yunlan. I understand.” Simply stated Shen Wei, returning the hug with equal fervour. “I know that you loved him sincerely, and I thank you for it, but don’t think that ‘Xiao Wei’ is completely gone. He lives here—inside of me, forever. I may have a new job title and a different haircut, but I’m still the same ‘me,’ the ‘me’ who desperately loves you since the first day we met in ancient Haixing, the ‘me’ who searched the world over until I found you.”
“Thank you for keeping your promise to follow me across the centuries—to make me remember who you are even though I was an idiot half the time.”
“Of course,” replied Shen Wei, showing a smile in which Zhao Yunlan saw a glimpse of his beloved soldier. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way, Yunlan.”
Assuaged by his words, Zhao Yunlan felt the knot in his chest untighten as he understood that Shen Wei was here with him, finally reunited and as impossibly beautiful and fragile as he had been eons ago. Reaching up to caress the face he knew and loved so well, Zhao Yunlan kneeled between his legs and kissed him solemnly, imprinting on his lips all the unsaid feelings and mutual emotions he felt for this—no, for ‘Shen Wei’ as a whole being instead of a parcelled-out soul between generations.
Shen Wei leaned into him and breathed in the resounding love emanating from his lips. Finally, like a long-lost soul, Shen Wei had come home. Everything was in its rightful place, and everything worked in synergy as it should. The two Shen Weis had constantly been revolving around the same center of gravity, and even though it might have changed names, it was always meant to be Zhao Yunlan. Now that the soldier and professor had consolidated into a single, shining star, he knew that Zhao Yunlan would be forever and completely his.
The void rumbled around them once more, drawing their attention back to the impending disaster should they stay any longer in between the worlds. Shen Wei helped Zhao Yunlan up and, with a comforting arm around his shoulder, led him away from the diminishing window that looked into ancient Haixing. Zhao Yunlan resolved himself to walk away without looking at the anguished soldier’s face one last time, choosing rather to live in the present with ‘his’ Shen Wei and accept the past as a beautiful, distant memory that he would forever carry in his heart.
The future was burning brightly up ahead, and Zhao Yunlan gladly took his first step towards it with Shen Wei by his side.
-The End-