Chapter Text
Wu xie waits for Xiao ge as he has promised, sitting on the ground beside Pangzi waiting for the gates to open and the figure to walk out, all the years planning just for today makes Wu xie happy, now all that’s left is to be reunited with the man again so he waits for the doors to reopen, as he can’t himself because he left the ghost seal at the camp, he didn’t want to wait but now he has no choice but to wait for the gates to reopen on their own. So he waits, he waited 10 years and now 3-4 hours won’t make a difference.
Xiao hua is also here with Hei-yi and he’s glad for their company, the gates open and finally the man walks out but he stills his movement the moment he sees us. That shouldn’t be his first reaction right, why has he stopped in the middle?
Wu xie stays put trying to draw the conclusions of what’s wrong, he hears Pangzi running off towards his direction shouting Xiao ge, Hei-yi also follows suit but Xiao hua waits beside me asking me Wu xie, what’s wrong?
Wu xie try not to think about that one possibility but when he hears the next line, his heart drops.
Pangzi comes towards pulling Xiao ge along and mouthing the words, he doesn’t remember.
Wu xie close his eyes tries to control the raging emotions inside him and swallows them up and tries to put up a smile as he promised the reason he went instead of him
“Welcome back, Xiao ge” Wu xie tries his best to give him a smile and prays it worked but the man doesn’t respond and doesn’t utter a word, he just stands there looking at us.
Pangzi looks distressed and I try to calm myself down and look at Xiao hua,
Xiao hua seems like he wants to say something to me but I shake my head indicating thats it not the best time for it and he looks at me for a second and nods.
“Let’s get out of here first, shall we?”
Xiao hua looks at Hei-yi and they move towards the exit showing the way they came from which was different from ours.
Wu xie looks at Xiao ge’s direction indicating him to follow us but the man stays put to the spot he’s standing at.
So now he doesn’t trust us either
Pangzi stares at me, and I tell him to go forward. He does what I ask him and now I am alone with him.
I stare at the man, he hasn't changed one bit, a smile comes across my face.
“Xiao ge, we need to go.” I tell him trying to make my sound not sound rough nor try to shutter.
He stares at me, not moving.
If this keeps up I won’t be able to move him, I try to move towards his direction but as soon as I take a step forward, he takes a step back and I stop in my tracks, this action seems like someone stabbed me right now.
He’s afraid of me
“Xiao ge” I beg “Please” my voice sounds frail but I try to smile at him.
it was what I promised.
It works, he finally moves and walks towards the exit but as soon as he’s out of sight, a tear fell down from my eyes, staying in this cold cave makes me want to just collapse down and start crying but I can’t do that, I need to move forward, I wipe the tears away and follow them out.
After getting out of the cave, we make out way towards the camp, I stay back at the rear and try to watch his direction in case he runs away from us -but more importantly from me-
He doesn’t leave but it doesn’t allow me to get a sense of breather either, I stare at him like a hawk afraid he will run away from me because now I absolutely mean nothing to him, meaning I am not worth for him to be staying here.
After we arrive at the camp, the rest of my men for the first time meet the person their boss has been waiting for years and they try to ask him questions but the said man is taking a fighting position.
I run to him and place a hand on his shoulder only for him to shake my hand off,
I will be lying to myself if the action doesn’t hurt me but right now it’s not the time
I glare at the men to back down and Pangzi goes ahead to deal with them, leaving me with him alone for the second time.
“Xiao ge” I speak “No one is going to hurt you here, not anymore. So please don’t leave”
He looks at me but not responding so I continue, “I need to go have a word with my friends so if you want anything, you can ask the man” I point towards Pangzi.
Xiao ge doesn’t say anything but I know he gets the message, I go towards where the rest are and look back at the black attire once more before I enter the tent.
***
Xiao ge
When he came out of the gate, he didn’t remember anything except his name Zhang qiling which felt more like a collar attached to his neck rather than a name to remember and be content about. Beside feeling uncomfortable over his name and his lack of memories, he knew one thing, he had completed his mission but not knowing what it was but in his heart there was lingering that he felt happy of finally getting out but he didn’t know why he felt like that
But as soon as he came out he saw people standing outside the gate, the first instinct was for him to fight these unknown men . He just knew that these would be grave robbers and they shouldn’t have stepped a foot here, he knew he could fight, he could use his long fingers and he knew he could beat them but as soon as he wanted to fight. A man with a bigger build came running to him shouting Xiaoge!!! Followed with a man who was wearing something that was covering his eyes.
The man came closer and embraced him with a hug to which he pulled him aside, the man who saw him changed his expression from happiness to eeriness and the other man also stared at him for a moment.
“Who?” he speaks for the first time, and the other man's face goes grim again.
He looks to the other man and they share a glance before the other man points in the direction to the other two men standing and he tells him to come with us.
He doesn’t move but instead thinks whether he would be able to fight all four of them together but the two men wait for him and he naturally follows them, his fighting instincts up and ready for a fight if the situation calls for. He makes his way towards the other two but he stays a few feet away from them just in case.
The man who shouted him the word Xiao ge says something to the other leaner man whose expression goes grimmer as soon as the words are passed by.
He stares at me, his eyes looking for something in me. They linger a bit longer before he talks to another person about getting out of the cave.
He hears him saying to the prettier man who is called Xiao hua and the man who is covering his eyes- Hei-yi to take them out. They lead to the supposed exit but I don’t move, he sees me rotted in my place.
“Pangzi, go out. We will follow you” the man who is Pangzi stares at the two of us before following the man's order.
Now it leaves the two of us, the man takes a step forward and I unconsciously take a step back, he sees the man freeze in place and he can see the hurt in his eyes and he questions himself why is he so much in pain?
The man doesn't move but instead tries to smile and say “Xiao ge, please” he hears the man’s voice begging him.
He doesn’t know why but he doesn’t like this man begging him so he moves and goes to the said so called exit.
After coming out of the cave, he feels someone staring at him from the back. He feels someone’s eyes glued to his entire movements and even though he doesn’t remember he can feel that this person's gaze holds no menace.
They arrive to a camp and he stops in the middle when he finds too many people here all trying to gather around him, he thinks it was a trap and stands in a stance waiting to fight but as soon as he does it, the next thing he knows all the men are withdrawn and he feels a hand on his shoulder which he roughly shakes off and when he looks at the person, he regrets what he did because he see the man’s eyes again and he feels his stomach churning.
“Xiao ge” he hears that name again “No one is going to hurt you here, not anymore . So please don’t leave”
His words sound the sincerest he has ever known and it leaves him in a trance. The man looks at him again and then says he needs to talk to his friends and if he wants anything ask Pangzi and he makes his way towards the tent and looks at me one more time before entering the tent