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Feet ran like flames across the grass, desperate, giving no attention to the noise they made. Fleeing away from the cries in the streets begging for mercy, fleeing away from the insatiable screams lusting for blood.
The darkness of the night hid them while torches burning the fury of the destroyed villages illuminated the road ahead.
Without looking back, the two men followed the path of forgotten arrows, in search of a temporary hiding place. Sha Lin kept his pace a few steps forward, sliding his gaze everywhere as Zhin struggled to keep up with his running.
Suddenly, behind the tall grass, they found a house, falling apart, where only past spirits would dare to live. The young man did not think twice when he saw the chance in front of them, showing the way to the other man.
A strong push opened the door — almost knocking it down. His nimble feet didn't feel relieved for finding shelter, instead, he kept moving through the collapsed rooms, looking for threats hidden in the shadows, making sure no one arrived before them.
Zhin did not follow him, taking time to close the door slowly and, without any further effort, lean against the peeling wall.
Out of breath, he felt his blood boiling fast inside his veins, trying to soothe the pain in his body.
Tired, his eyes closed for a moment and his sword fell from his hand, making a sharp noise on the floor. In his mind, all the curses he could think of have repeated, recalling the moment he was dragged out of combat by Sha Lin.
After running all over the place, aiming his arrow at the dark, the young man returned to the first room, wanting to let the older man know that they were safe. However, his words vanished from his mouth when he saw him struggling to stand on his feet.
Sha Lin couldn't feel sorry for his situation and even less did he regret what happened. Seeing Zhin's stubbornness in fighting the persistent pain was exactly what he expected. His strength overflowed even in the worst of situations and, that will to live, keeping the young man relieved.
Crossing his arms and hiding a smile, Sha Lin stared at him, seeing his angry eyes glowing red in the moonlight.
“Who would imagine that once again we would be stuck together” speaking in his usual playful tone, he watched the man's face grow furious, hearing his voice.
There was no answer, not even another provocation. Sha Lin laughed, leaning against a fallen wood near the door. He knew he needed to help him, but he also wanted to admire this treacherous work of destiny against them.
Zhin, on the other hand, did not want to sit around and take part in this show. With difficulty, he bent picking up the sword from the ground, and, holding firmly, he took steps forward.
“I’m going to cut you!” His voice spits out the words, making it clear to the boy that if he didn’t do a thing, he would end up in pieces.
“Hey, hey! Stay still” jumping back and putting his hands in front of him, he tried to keep Zhin from getting any closer. “Your wounds are open!”
“Shut up! I don’t need your concern, traitor.”
Despite screaming and being ready to fight, the man’s body was still badly injured. It took him just one more step for his legs to give in and force him to lean on his sword to avoid falling to the ground.
Sha Lin watched him, standing not too far. He could laugh or make a joke to ease the tension around them, but he didn't. His heart weighed seeing the man suffering.
Zhin stared at the ground, biting his teeth. It was humiliating; however, he wasn’t going to let these wounds stop him from moving.
Standing again, he staggered backward, walking away with his eyes fixed on the young man's worried face.
“I can take care of myself” dragging himself to reach a broken pillar, in the center of the house, Zhin spoke as a warning for the other one to stay away.
Sha Lin sighed. He knew it wouldn't be easy to get him to agree with his help, but he needed to do it. After all, why else would he have saved him from the insane soldiers earlier?
“Ok, I get it” throwing his hands up, he spoke, trying to appease the situation. “You can be mad at me as much as you want, but, right now, you don't have much of a choice.”
“I can do this!”
“No, you can't.”
Zhin's yells showed his annoyance over the situation and made it a suggestion for the young man not to abuse his patience further. That’s why Sha Lin tried to keep his tone down, as gentle as possible, to show that there weren't bad intentions behind his acts.
Zhin's fists closed when the boy took a step forward. It was useless to talk to him.
“Stop being so stubborn, old man.”
Sha Lin knew he had crossed too many lines since the moment he meddled in the man’s fight, but, perhaps, that tired sentence has crossed the bottom line.
He saw Zhin's eyes widen and felt the angry energy weigh around him. The boy knew that nothing he said now would stop the man from wanting to kill him.
He saw Zhin support himself on the pillar and push his body forward. The only thing he thought of doing was taking a step back, ready to run, but stopped himself when he saw Zhin choke and almost fall forward.
Instinctively, Sha Lin stared down, finding the man's pants stained by a dark color dripping from his wound. The man had been losing blood since they left the battle, and now that his body was cold, he was feeling the pain spread easily to every corner of his flesh.
“See?” He spoke loudly, watching Zhin growl like a threatened animal. As bad as it was, the boy thought this would be the right time to approach, but stopped again when he saw him raise a hand in protest.
“Don't!” He said it aloud. His fast breathing made the young man finally stop. Zhin pushed his legs back, taking a few long minutes to be able to move and return to the same position as before. “Don't get close to me...”
Sha Lin watched him with raised eyebrows. The sound of shoes dragging across the floor echoed in the abandoned house, adding pain to his chest.
He couldn't give up, but insisting would only make the older man more agitated. He needed to find a solution or, at least, give them time.
“Fine…” he whispered, sitting down among the filthy remains on the floor.
Slowly, Zhin leaned his back against the pillar. Taking his own time, he slid his body until he finally reached the floor with a painful groan stuck in his throat. He laid the sword beside him, resting his head on the cold plaster, in an attempt to calm himself.
His cut breathing echoed around the place as Sha Lin's eyes watched him, wondering how long it would take for him to pass out before accepting his help.
He was always stubborn and never accepted anything if it wasn't done his way. Zhin was exactly as Sha Lin remembered and it made him smile. It had been so long since he left him, and even after all that, things remained the same.
Accidentally, a low laugh escaped his lips, attracting the other's suspicious eyes.
“Ah...” turning his face, he tried to hide his smile. “I just... I missed moments like this.”
There was no answer or change in the man's annoyed face. However, that was exactly what kept the young man smiling.
Memories flooded his mind and made his heart race. Zhin was not honest — in every sense of the word —, but he had been the person who wrote the most pages in the boy's life. In addition, that was another reason why he knew he couldn’t just be sitting there.
“Which reminds me, that I still know how to deal with you” speaking through treacherous smiles, Sha Lin stood up.
“Don’t make me repeat myself” his words followed the threatening tone, trying to create a wall between them, but, this time, it was no use. At that moment, Sha Lin was ready to fight him back.
As if they both knew what the other would do, they moved forward together. Sha Lin jumped towards him and Zhin grabbed the sword.
Quick as the wind, the young man approached, holding his wrist tightly, ensuring that he wouldn’t raise his weapon against him.
Their eyes met. One angry and the other playful.
“I'm not going to touch your sword, but neither will you” the boy slammed his hand against the floor, forcing him to let go, and, with his leg, he managed to push it away from them.
Zhin's teeth gleamed in the dark as if he wanted to eat the boy alive in his hatred. Sha Lin could feel it, almost leaning over him, the heat emanating just as he felt the tremors of pain spreading through the older man's body.
“Don't be an old fool” he whispered, letting go of his wrist and giving him room to accept defeat.
Zhin did not respond, as a wounded animal that trusts no one, he just watched him, letting him act, but prepared to attack when he least expected it.
Sha Lin sighed, relieved to finally get him to agree, and without wasting any more time, he hurried to look at the injuries.
There were several cuts on the older man's body, but none was as dangerous as the one on his leg. Sha Lin forcefully tore the cloth over his thigh, letting them both see the open wound in his flesh. He whispered something pitifully that Zhin didn't even bother to hear. He was more furious to know that he had let this happen to himself.
His eyes strayed from the blood to the young man, watching him quickly take out bandages and some ointments from inside the bag of arrows. Confused, he watched him act as if this was something normal in his routine. Although curious to ask why he carried it, he held back. He was still angry.
Sha Lin's caring hands cleaned the wound as best as he could before spreading the solution over the cut. He tried to be as gentle as possible, though he could still hear Zhin bite his teeth to trap the painful grumblings in his mouth. The older man's breathing had become heavy while the medicine acted in his body.
Seeking something to distract his mind from the pain, Zhin turned his eyes to the young man's focused face. He saw the boy kneeling in front of him, showing no defense, and he thought that if he reached out his hands now, he could grab him by the neck and end this hunt.
“You are pathetic.”
Zhin's heavy voice broke the silence. Sha Lin looked at him startled and then laughed, going back to treating the wound.
“Oh, no. Please, no need to thank me, sir.”
“Stupid” the playful response made him answer back angrier. Shaking his head in disappointment, he continued to watch him smile. “You won't have a chance like this again.”
“Chance?” He asked in a confused tone as if he didn't know what he meant. “Of having you in my hands, unable to move or fight me?” He questioned before raising his face with a raised eyebrow, seeing Zhin's troubled face. A smile formed on his lips before he tied the bandage. “Don’t worry; we can work this out later.”
“If it was me, I wouldn’t go easy on you… I'll still hunt you down until it's over” he spoke quietly, without taking any frightened reaction from the young man.
“That’s why I'm glad you are the one hurt here” he finished his sentence with a short laugh that made the other man mumbled.
“Ah, it's useless talking to you!”
Sha Lin knew that this was Zhin's way of trying to keep him away. He knew the man well enough to know that he still hated him for what he did, but that he also had the same memories in his mind.
Ensuring that the bandage would not loose, he finished the job. Sitting on his feet, he observed the result, nodding to himself.
His eyes looked up to see Zhin's eyes on him. With a short laugh, the boy leaned forward, bringing his face close to his.
Zhin did not move when their noses almost touched and even less changed the direction of his gaze when Sha Lin stared at his lips.
They felt each other's warm breath touching their icy faces. They felt their hearts beat silently, not wanting to be caught. The prey and the hunter, face to face without knowing what would happen in the next move.
“Done” Sha Lin spoke smiling, seeing the dark eyes in front of him calm down for a moment. “It’s not so bad, huh?”
Pushing his body back, he gave them space, still chased by the other's gaze.
Letting a bitter laugh escape his nostrils, Zhin quickly rested his hands on the floor, trying to support his body up. When Sha Lin realized what he intended to do, his eyes widened and his voice became loud.
“Stop! If you don't rest, you won't heal!”
“I'm good enough to walk!”
“No!”
He knew that Zhin would not hear him again, so he didn't give him time, acting without thinking.
In a quick move, he dragged his body over Zhin’s and, crossing his arms, sat on his waist.
Zhin let out a painful growl before staring at him with his mouth wide open.
“What are you-”
“Now, stay still and rest” he ordered as if sitting on the man’s lap was not a strange move.
Zhin watched him incredulously, moving his hands in the air, signing to the body over him, while Sha Lin watched him giving not a single care.
“And you think I can rest like this?!”
“Well, just try” he answered with a trick smile.
Zhin couldn't believe the young man's boldness, but he couldn't fight him right now. His body was tired and the wounds throbbed on his skin. Now, he even wondered if he really wanted Sha Lin to move out.
“Be a good boy, Zhin.”
Abusing his luck a little more, Sha Lin said, showing his teeth and watching the other man's confused eyes shine with interest.
Disbelieving what he had just heard, a laugh escaped Zhin's lips. His hands stopped at the young man's knees as he thought about what he could do to punish him for this disrespect.
“Hah… I’ll make you regret saying this.”
“Later!”
He could be stubborn and hate the situation, but he found it funny to see the young man trying to hold him down that way.
“Fine” with a smile on the corner of his lips, he finally agreed. “Princess…”
Sha Lin just smiled, listening to the provocation and pretending not to feel the gentle touch of his fingers caressing his knees. Without moving, he watched Zhin snuggle, closing his eyes.
“Just don't go anywhere…”
His grunt made the young man feel his heart skip a beat. He knew that Zhin was tired and, the next morning, he wouldn't even remember what he said, but, at that moment, those words made him want to stay. At least, a little more.
“Heh... I won't.”