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Shen Wei licked his lips to better taste the sweet, lingering flavour of Kunlun’s gift—a strange and hard sort of food that he had never tasted before.
“Try it, it’s good!” Kunlun had said with a charming smile, and Shen Wei had to admit he had been right.
The sweet-tasting thing gave Shen Wei a small sense of pleasure—he was not used to eating things self-indulgently since food was a precious commodity in ancient Haixing and everything tended to be rather unappetizing and bland. War rations were, to Shen Wei, a means to an end, but he did not take pleasure in this sort of sustenance. However, Kunlun’s ‘candy,’ as he had called it, was a different thing altogether. For the first time in his life, Shen Wei had tasted something on a whim rather than out of necessity. Plus, the taste of the food was juxtaposed to the man who had proffered it, and Shen Wei could not disassociate the two as Kunlun’s words and smiles fused in his head with the sweetness of the candy, creating an image that sent his heart a-fluttering.
When the cat tribe Yashou had interrupted Shen Wei and Kunlun’s conversation around the piece of candy—and when Shen Wei had only just noticed a particular glint in Kunlun’s eyes and a knowing curve of his mouth while observing him—Shen Wei had been left alone as Da Qing had whisked Kunlun away from him. The new discovery of this strange food—and the budding sensations that came with it—were cut short by the news of war brewing once more, and Kunlun’s imminent departure.
Before picking himself up to follow after Kunlun and Da Qing, Shen Wei’s attention had been momentarily drawn to the metallic shine of the candy wrapper, previously discarded by the warlord when he had unwrapped the item and stuck it in his mouth. Shen Wei blushed delicately at the memory of having had the candy suddenly popped into his mouth after Kunlun had already slicked its surface and worked at releasing its sweetness with his tongue and lips. Of course, it wasn’t Shen Wei’s first time having to share with others—he had been a soldier for so long that propriety and personal space were already foreign concepts to him—but things were different with Kunlun.
Things were always different with Kunlun.
Shen Wei picked up the discarded piece of paper and smoothed it gently between his thumbs and forefingers until its surface was nice and flat with its swirly design now clearly visible underneath the shine of the moon above his head. Smiling to himself, Shen Wei placed the little item inside his robe, pressed flush over his heart, before following after Kunlun and Da Qing. Work had to be done, it would seem, and Shen Wei was not one to shrug off his responsibilities.
Upon entering the hideout in the rock, Shen Wei found Kunlun, Da Qing, Ma Gui, and Fu You huddled around the table, pouring over maps and military reports of sightings around ancient Haixing. It was a difficult job to sort through the reports as a lot of them were falsely made in an effort to throw their team off the scent of evildoers. Still, Shen Wei and his men were a force to be reckoned with and, being the muscle behind Ma Gui and Fu You, no one dared oppose them too much.
“What’s happening?” Shen Wei asked, approaching the table from the opposite end of where Kunlun and Da Qing stood side-by-side.
“Reports claim that the Hallows have been sighted nearby,” explained Ma Gui.
Shen Wei’s heart skipped a beat and, looking to Kunlun for confirmation of this news, found the other standing with his head down, refusing to look him in the eye.
“A-are we sure they’re legitimate reports?” asked Shen Wei around the ball of emotions that had formed in his throat.
“Yes, the information has been double-checked by one of our scouting teams. The Hallows were last seen in the hands of a band of ruffians crossing the mountains on foot,” confirmed Fu You as she wrapped a hand around Shen Wei’s in silent solidarity.
If anything, it was clear to Fu You that the fearless soldier was shaken by the news about the Hallows, and she suspected it had nothing to do with the artifacts themselves, and everything to do with the man stubbornly ignoring him across the table.
“My Lord, we will need your cooperation again…” said Ma Gui with embarrassment tinting his words. He felt bad for always having to rely on this young man to do all the heavy lifting, and worried that Shen Wei would one day turn up in his cave, cold and motionless beneath a piece of heavy jute after a fatal battle. Unfortunately, Shen Wei was the only one capable of rescuing the Hallows—and the only one who stood half a chance at succeeding.
“Yes, of course,” agreed Shen Wei, unaware of his superior’s turmoil at having to send him out to his death once more.
“I’m going with you,” spoke up Kunlun, finally locking eyes with the gentle youth for the first time since he had joined the meeting.
“Lord Kunlun, there’s no need for you to—"
“Yes, there is,” he replied emphatically, and Shen Wei stared back blankly as he tried to make sense of Kunlun’s sudden seriousness.
“…”
“I told you you’re not alone anymore, Shen Wei.”
Shen Wei gave him a small smile while his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. Fu You’s grip on his hand tightened, but the sensation felt distant compared to the blaze he could see in Kunlun’s eyes.
“My Lords, you don’t have to leave right away, but the sooner the better. We don’t want to lose track of the Hallows again,” said Ma Gui with an apologetic smile. “Rest for a few days and gather your troop before departing,” he proposed, and Kunlun and Shen Wei both nodded in agreement.
This would be, after all, their last few days together before Kunlun—no, Zhao Yunlan—was forced to return to his own time period. Naturally, Shen Wei was not made aware of the exact details of Kunlun’s mission, but Ma Gui and Fu You were all too familiar with his peculiar situation, and they knew that their forced separation would be painful for both.
Zhao Yunlan hated that he had to keep Shen Wei in the dark about his real identity, but he knew that to impart with the truth would be to risk the stability of the entire universe and, more importantly, his delicate future with the older version of Shen Wei…
He wouldn’t risk it—he just couldn’t risk the safety of the world, nor Shen Wei’s feelings, either.
Lost in thought, Zhao Yunlan failed to notice that everyone had packed out and that Shen Wei was the last one remaining, patiently waiting for him to take notice and address him. He was always like this, thought Zhao Yunlan. Shen Wei was always waiting in silence on the sidelines for him to move first. This was partly why Zhao Yunlan had been so suspicious of the professor at first—he had a knack for showing up in the strangest of places, always wearing a gentle, shy smile and exuding great amounts of patience and self-restraint. Of course, when Zhao Yunlan had discovered Shen Wei’s true identity as the Black-Cloaked Envoy, everything had made sense, but his meeting with the younger soldier Shen Wei proved that the man had always had the same steadiness about him that shook Zhao Yunlan to his core.
‘Why are you like this, my Xiao Wei?’ wondered Zhao Yunlan with a rueful grin directed at the little soldier.
“K-Kunlun,” started Shen Wei with his characteristic bashfulness. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, anything!” replied Zhao Yunlan, inviting Shen Wei to come and sit next to him on his side of the table.
“I was wondering if… if you have any more of that—I don’t know what it’s called—that thing you gave me earlier?”
Zhao Yunlan tilted his head to the side in a bird-like fashion before understanding Shen Wei’s words.
“Ah, you mean the lollipop—the sweet candy? You liked it?”
“Y-yes,” nodded Shen Wei with an embarrassed blush spreading across his cheeks.
“Aiya, no need to be so shy! Let’s see…”
Zhao Yunlan tapped across his chest to feel for any hidden object beneath his robe, then dug around in his fur pouch but came out empty-handed.
“Ahh, sorry, Shen Wei, it would seem that was my last one…”
Shen Wei seemed disappointed at the outcome, and Zhao Yunlan chuckled at his honest expression: so pure and child-like, unable to hide his feelings.
“If I had known you’d like it so much, I would have brought a boxful with me!” exclaimed Zhao Yunlan with a laugh. “Shen Wei, you need to be more honest with me,” he added, referring to how Shen Wei’s future self usually scolded him for eating too many sweets and rarely ate any himself.
“That… that’s not it,” explained Shen Wei, averting his eyes from Zhao Yunlan’s mirth-filled face. “I just…”
“You what, Xiao Wei?” asked Zhao Yunlan with a softened voice thick with multiple undertones.
Feeling emboldened by how the conversation was going, Zhao Yunlan figured he had nothing to lose, and so he raised a hand to stroke a long strand of dark hair that hung loosely over Shen Wei’s shoulder. Shen Wei’s blush deepened at the gesture, but he did not shy away from the touch, subconsciously leaning towards Zhao Yunlan instead as the latter ran the inky-black strand through his fingers.
Zhao Yunlan was an expert at reading people and at decoding their expressions—a happy consequence of his job as an investigator—and, at that moment, he had the absolute certainty that, from the moment Shen Wei had seen him on the hillside after he had saved him, the young man had picked up on the spark between the two of them and had fallen for him instantly.
The problem with this situation was that ‘Kunlun’ was not real—and Shen Wei’s obvious attraction to the warlord was perhaps being confused for admiration. Shen Wei, who had always been on his own, was suddenly put in front of someone whom he not only admired from all the legends, but who also told him pretty words to sway his heart.
Chiselled face.
Youthful beauty.
You’re not alone anymore.
You have me.
Zhao Yunlan intended to make it clear to Shen Wei that this was not simply a case of misplaced admiration, but he was completely side-swept when the dark-eyed beauty took the initiative to press his still sticky-sweet lips to Zhao Yunlan’s plump ones.
The kiss lasted half a second as their lips barely brushed due to Shen Wei’s sudden panic; his body had apparently moved on its own accord, and now he was unsure of his actions. Zhao Yunlan took in Shen Wei’s enlarged eyes as the shock of his own boldness registered in his brain.
“I… you…” struggled Shen Wei, scooting backwards and away from Zhao Yunlan on their shared bench.
“… Shen Wei,” started Zhao Yunlan, but the youth swiftly sprung to his feet in nervousness.
“I-I have things to prepare before we leave,” Shen Wei explained as he walked away in quick, sure strides and vanished out of the cavern, leaving Zhao Yunlan to deal with the aftermath of his bold move on his own.
Once outside of the hideout, Shen Wei breathed in large gulps of air to calm himself, then walked around the vicinity to expend his sudden excess of energy. Feeling agitated beyond words, Shen Wei reprimanded himself for having been so forward—what if Kunlun hated him now? What if he was disgusted by his advances? Shen Wei would never forgive himself if his precipitation had caused the other to retract his friendship… Shen Wei didn’t know how to have meaningful relationships with people. The only human connection he had had was with his brother, and that obviously wasn’t the same as with Kunlun. Shen Wei didn’t know how to express himself in front of the object of his affections, and he was so very afraid of losing Kunlun’s interest—the only person who had ever taken an interest in him.
Placing a hand over his heart to steady the incessant beating that was taking place, Shen Wei felt the little metallic wrapper move against his skin and, remembering that he had placed it there for safekeeping, pulled it out to examine it once more.
Truly, there was nothing out of the ordinary with this object—that was, for someone like Zhao Yunlan—but to Shen Wei, it carried the weight of the whole universe in its shiny surface. Entranced by its pretty design, Shen Wei turned the wrapper in his hands over and over again until the swirl on its surface blurred in his eyes, and he was sure he could see Kunlun’s face in it instead.
Shen Wei decided that, if Da Qing was allowed to have cat bells to keep him connected to his master, then he would keep the wrapper, encase it in amber, and wear it near his heart at all times as a reminder of the man it had belonged to. And so, in the middle of the night, Shen Wei made his way for the forest in search of tree resin—a substance he knew he could use to his advantage. Picking his way through the forest in total darkness was a feat in itself, but Shen Wei was experienced in spending his nights out in the forest, and he was fast in finding what he needed to create his memento.
Even though he was not an expert craftsman by any stretch of the imagination, Shen Wei had learned from an old blacksmith who sometimes tinkered in jewellery-making that pine tree resin could be heated then shaped and, once hardened, the resulting material would be sturdy enough to become wearable. Granted, it wasn’t as beautiful as genuine amber that took millions of years to form, but Shen Wei was pressed for time, so copal would have to do instead.
Shen Wei searched until he found a tree that had enough of the sticky substance for him to harvest and, using the backside of his blade, he scraped off the resin and collected it in his cloak—he only needed a little bit, and he didn’t want to injure the tree in the process, so he worked carefully and gently until he felt he had enough for his purpose.
Excited by his project, Shen Wei returned to the hideout, but stayed clear of the cave—he wasn’t ready to face Kunlun just yet; he wanted to complete his trinket first—and settled near the campfire. With a swish of his hand, Shen Wei sent a wave of dark energy to start up a fire and, heating up the pine resin on his blade, he observed how the substance changed from a milky white colour to a golden hue instead, reminiscent of the sweet-tasting candy—and Kunlun’s warm brown eyes, too. Shen Wei didn’t have any moulds to work with, but he did have handy powers that could contort the resin into whatever shape he wanted and so, focusing with his hands to shape the rapidly hardening liquid into a sphere, he added the precious wrapper at its centre and encased it, effectively preserving and safeguarding it for the next few hundred centuries.
Shen Wei was so focused on his work that he didn’t hear Zhao Yunlan’s careful approach and, when the latter wrapped his arms around his neck from behind, Shen Wei jolted out of surprise, dropping the newly crafted orb, and watched it roll away and nudge itself in between two rocks.
“Shen Wei… where did you go?” questioned Zhao Yunlan, comfortably nuzzled against Shen Wei’s neck.
“K-Kunlun?”
Zhao Yunlan deeply breathed in the scent of pine that permeated Shen Wei’s skin and clothing.
“You smell so strongly of pine—more so that usual. Did you decide to go wood-chopping in the middle of the night?” he asked with a laugh.
“I went for a walk,” lied Shen Wei, not wanting to explain the true purpose for his midnight stroll—his desire to preserve a piece of Kunlun near his heart felt personal and private, despite the fact that Kunlun was the very reason for this desire in the first place. Shen Wei didn’t think he could explain it without sounding strange, so he decided to safeguard this specific secret instead.
“Xiao Wei, why did you run away, mm?” ask Zhao Yunlan in all seriousness, turning Shen Wei around in his arms so that he faced him. “Did you think I would be mad?”
Shen Wei wasn’t prepared to have this conversation, so he simply stared back through wide eyes, struggling as heat crept up his neck in shame.
“Xiao Wei, answer me,” pressed Zhao Yunlan, leaning into him alluringly when he saw that Shen Wei didn’t resist his touch.
“I… I was afraid,” he replied in a small voice.
“Afraid of what exactly?”
“… that you would hate me as a result. I was impulsive, I shouldn’t have—”
“Shh, stop that crazy talk. How could I hate this great beauty, mm?” asked Zhao Yunlan rhetorically and, grazing Shen Wei’s cheek with his parted lips, smiled against his face when Shen Wei shuddered out of contentment.
Shen Wei sputtered to refute the compliment and to continue with his feeble attempts to explain his behaviour in a rational way, but the sensation of Zhao Yunlan’s lips on his skin distracted his thoughts and pushed all doubts aside as he relaxed in his arms instantly.
“You don’t need to be afraid of me, ever,” explained Zhao Yunlan, “I want you to remember me, Xiao Wei. When I’m gone, I want you to remember me—this—us.”
With his heart full and his eyes shining wildly, Shen Wei wrapped his arms around Zhao Yunlan’s neck and pulled him forward to meet his awaiting lips in a tender kiss, full of longing and unabashed love.
“How could I possibly forget you,” answered Shen Wei, and Zhao Yunlan moved to pepper kisses across his face and down his neck, each one with increasing passion and urgency as the previous one.
Despite the weight of Zhao Yunlan’s looming departure, he and Shen Wei made the best of the short amount of time they had together, spending a night of pure love together, then sitting up to catch the rising sun. Shen Wei’s carefully crafted jewel lay half-forgotten a few feet away, but in his heart, his beloved ‘Kunlun’ was now further imprinted on his soul—no amount of time would ever destroy his feelings for him, and no amount of distance would make him forget the only person who had ever taken the time to listen to him, to learn about him, and to care for him with true earnestness and honesty.
There would be time enough for Shen Wei to finish crafting his keepsake, but right here and now was much more important to him. As the golden sun made its journey upwards past the horizon, its rays caught on the little bejewelled orb, causing it to cast fiery reflects that scattered in great arcs across the ground, glowing from the inside out and dancing against Kunlun’s profile, causing Shen Wei’s heart to swell with love at the sight.
Yes, time would be less painful to traverse now that Shen Wei knew he had a tether to guide him home.
The End.