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I.
At first, their journey went well. But entering the fourth month, Xie Yun’s condition suddenly worsened. When he began to lose consciousness, Ji Chong had to tie Xie Yun to his body as he rode his horse, hoping that he was heading to the right direction.
Eventually, they arrived at a seashore where an old man had been waiting for them with a fisherboat. Ji Chong initially thought the old man was suspicious, but when he called Xie Yun with his courtesy name, Ji Chong decided to trust him and sailed to a deserted island, away from the mainland.
II.
Xie Yun woke up to find himself lying inside a familiar cave.
He turned his head to see Ji Chong sitting cross-legged a few distance away from him, and wondered why Ji Chong had to be so far away when he just wanted to reach out and touch him.
“Where is the gold palace*?” Ji Chong asked, putting his chin on his palm as he tilted his head.
Xie Yun breathed out a soft laugh, “...Well, there’s a large cave,” he added, “And The Immortals.”
“It’s either the gold palace or the elixirs,” Ji Chong replied, “No one comes to Penglai to see The Immortals.”
“True,” Xie Yun admitted, “And one died saving me, so they’re technically not immortal.”
Suddenly, Xie Yun winced at the sharp pain in his chest. The poison had finally reached deep inside his body. It was getting harder to breathe, so he blurted out the first thing in his mind before he could lose his consciousness again, “Hand, please.”
Ji Chong walked up to the bed with a concerned look. He took Xie Yun’s hand in his and tangled their fingers together. “I can’t stay for too long.”
Xie Yun wanted to reply, but every second, his eyelids grew heavier. Unable to fight the drowsiness, he used the remaining energy he had to shake his head (which only resulted in a slight head movement) and give Ji Chong’s hand a gentle squeeze.
He hoped the gesture was enough to express his disapproval, because there was nothing else he could do when the darkness slowly engulfed him afterwards.
However, amidst the haziness, Xie Yun felt something soft and warm touching his cold forehead for a fleeting moment.
It was followed by Ji Chong’s voice.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back shortly.”
III.
Xie Yun already felt so much better the next time he woke up.
When he asked Ji Chong's whereabouts, The Abbot told him the other man just finished a long journey from the peak of snow mountain to collect Fire Lotus for him, and was currently resting in the other room.
Xie Yun didn't like the news.
“I already told him that I’m living on borrowed time,” Xie Yun nagged weakly after taking a big gulp from a bowl of broth Abbot Tongming made for him, “Why bother?”
Abbot Tongming didn't have the chance to answer, because Ji Chong suddenly appeared by the mouth of the cave, leaning his back on the stone entrance, arms crossed in front of his chest. “You’re welcome.”
Hearing that, Xie Yun looked up from his bowl and sighed. “Go back to sleep."
As usual, Ji Chong didn't listen. Instead, he greeted Abbot Tongming before he walked inside the cave to approach Xie Yun. “So what if you’re living on borrowed time? I’ll borrow more for you.”
Xie Yun grimaced a little in reply. Out of annoyance, he shoved the empty bowl to Ji Chong's chest and nagged him. “Do you know who resides in the snow mountain?”
“The pipa player?”
“That's Phoenix, dumbass,” Xie Yun answered, “He’s a Master."
"Well, this whole martial world is a southern thing. I don't understand," Ji Chong defended as he sat himself down on Xie Yun's bed side, “Besides, he isn’t as dangerous as you said. He only asked me to help him steal this strange seal with a... ripple mark on it? From some people, in exchange for the Fire Lotus.”
Xie Yun silently shared a look of horror with Abbot Tongming before he croaked out, “Are you aware of what you just did?”
“A good bounty hunter never asks questions. Only the payment matters," Ji Chong answered smugly, "So it's not that I'm unaware. I just don't care."
Xie Yun gaped as he stared down at the other man, making sure that all of his limbs were still attached to his body after fighting against whoever it was he stole the seal from. "They really made you into a lunatic back in the north."
"Not them," Ji Chong winked playfully, "You."
IV.
Ji Chong noticed that Xie Yun began to write and draw again once the fire lotus worked.
Don't get him wrong, Ji Chong was glad that Xie Yun slowly became himself again, but it seemed like he didn't want to show his creations to him yet (you know, since Xie Yun liked to show-off, he would've definitely showed it if he wanted to).
Of course that kind of behavior picked on Ji Chong's curiosity. He lost a few hours of sleep from staying up all night, wondering what was the deal that Xie Yun had to hide them from him.
Coincidentally, he was also the master of sneaking around, so one day, he secretly went into Xie Yun's room to take a peek while the latter was asleep.
It wasn't hard for Ji Chong to find the drawings. They were widely exposed - neatly stacked on a table across his bed. Upon spotting them, Ji Chong directly grabbed the one at top of the stack.
Turned out it was a drawing of a girl with a blade in her hand.
Strands of her hair were blown away by the wind, creating a dramatic effect. Based on her pose, she must be practicing martial arts. The words "Weed Spirit" were written at the bottom left corner of the paper.
Ji Chong couldn't help but remember about his encounter with Xie Yun months ago. Back then, Xie Yun told him that he had spent all of his money to buy blades for a girl he fancied. Xie Yun told him the girl actually liked him back, and had her mother accepted him, he'd love to stay in the girl's home for the remaining of the time he had.
This Weed Spirit must be her.
V.
The next time Xie Yun woke up, he found Ji Chong's arms wrapped around his middle, hugging him from behind. He wondered how Ji Chong managed to sneak into his room without getting caught by The Immortals (or maybe The Immortals already found out, but didn't do anything about it).
Xie Yun moved his body slightly to wake him up, "Juyao."
"Mmm…" Ji Chong hummed sleepily, burying his face in Xie Yun's neck, "Just a bit more."
At that, Xie Yun's pale lips curved into a lopsided smile. "Perhaps Your Highness doesn't find his room pleasant enough?"
"It's cold last night," Ji Chong answered.
Now, that was the biggest bullshit Xie Yun had ever heard. "....I'm literally a block of ice."
Xie Yun could hear Ji Chong heaved out a big sigh. The latter was about to pull his hands away, when Xie Yun quickly caught and held them in place. "Who asks you to let go?”
Silence.
Xie Yun wondered if his question was too complicated since it took quite a long time for Ji Chong to answer. However, much to his disappointment, Xie Yun only heard something unpleasant in reply.
"I’ll depart for the Fire Sage today.”
“You’re doing a bad business, Juyao," Xie Yun said, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "I’ve rented you for a year. Why are you so keen on leaving me alone now?”
Ji Chong chuckled in response, arms tightened around Xie Yun. “Should I get you a friend? So you won't be alone anymore."
“Who? Zichen?” Xie Yun asked.
Ji Chong scoffed in his ear. “You call a burden ‘friend’?” he continued, “Your standard really went down after I was gone.”
Xie Yun never thought about Zichen that way, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing a little at the comment. “Then who?”
“You’ll see.”
VI.
Ji Chong held Xie Yun in his arms and talked to him for hours until he fell back to sleep. After that, he departed from Penglai and rowed the boat west to pick up the 'Weed Spirit'.
Coincidentally, Ji Chong had met her at the Demons' Manor before.
It wasn't hard to notice her - he had never seen such a small girl with that much energy before. Moreover, she was pretty, and also as brave as, if not more than, all of the men who fought that day.
However, he had no idea about her relation with Xie Yun back then, so they parted ways only after exchanging a few words. She informed him where she was staying and told him to come visit should any trouble occurred between him and The Demons in the future.
It was ironic how he ended up visiting her for an entirely different reason.
After Ji Chong explained Xie Yun's entire situation to her, she demanded him to bring her to Penglai right away. It looked like she indeed had a strong feeling towards Xie Yun, and was determined (and clearly capable) to protect him.
Xie Yun was indeed lucky.
Ji Chong was surprised though, when he found out that she was the one who dispatched the whole Route Gang to find Xie Yun for months. It seemed like the girl had no idea about her mother kicking Xie Yun out of her home. She just thought that Xie Yun ran away again (Ji Chong didn’t understand why she emphasized on the word ‘again’; Xie Yun never tried to run away from him before), thus she attempted to find him.
“I’ll come with you to the Small Medicine Valley,” Zhou Fei insisted stubbornly as they floated on the fisherman’s boat back to Penglai.
Ji Chong sighed, “Someone who gave up efficiency to appear brave like you will die first in the battlefield, young lady.”
“Two fighters are better than one fighter.”
“Your friend Yang Jin will come with me and he is a martial artist, so there are two fighters and a hawk already,” Ji Chong replied, “After all, don’t you want to repay him?”
"That's exactly what I mean," Zhou Fei huffed and crossed her arm in front of her chest. “How can I repay him when you do all the work?”
The boat swayed a little bit and Ji Chong caught a glimpse of wooden miniature blade hanging on her neck. Somehow, he could already guess where it came from.
“He stayed with you all the time to keep you safe,” Ji Chong replied with a smile, “Now, it’s time for you to do the same.”
Biting her lower lip, Zhou Fei seemed to be thinking for a moment. Then she looked back at him shortly after and asked with a concerned face, “Are you sure about leaving the two of us alone?”
'Does she notice? How? Is it obvious? Am I caught red handed?'
"Why…not?"
She pursed her lips a little before she answered. "The Demons are hunting you because of what happened before."
Hearing her response, Ji Chong let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding before. "You make me seem like a bad man for making a pretty lady worry,” he teased, "It's fine. A hunter won't be hunted. Also, I just established my reputation here in the south. I don’t want to lose from you."
“Really?” Zhou Fei raised her chin, smiling smugly, “Just try if you can win from me then.”
Ji Chong patted the girl’s head and smiled, "Alright. So, I’m going to look for the Fire Sage and kill some Demons. You stay here and take care of him, deal?”
“Deal.”
VII.
Ji Chong should’ve taken Zhou Fei’s advice seriously.
Considering he was a new figure in the southern Martial World, Ji Chong didn’t expect The Demons to send one of their high calibre members to catch him, far away in The Small Medicine Valley.
Ji Chong wondered if they were just being a sore loser (who couldn’t admit their loss), or the ripple seal he stole was related to something important. Either way he was a war veteran who had dealt with deadly weapons. He couldn’t accept it if he had to die because of a freaking needle, even though it was poisoned.
As he breathlessly dragged his body into the (hopefully right) direction of the village, he contemplated whether he had lived his life the right way.
Even though he had left the palace for seven years, for some odd reasons, his title as a prince was never revoked. He bet his old man still had confidence that he would go home someday.
He’d love to see what kind of face the man would make, if he found out that he died so far away from home.
“Shit,” Ji Chong muttered under his breath, when black dots began to appear in his sight.
“Ji Chong!” Yang Jin called out, swiftly catching his arms before he could fall. “Hang on, we’re almost there. They’ll have the antidote for you.”
What a turn of events. He came here to take Xie Yun’s antidote, but ended up needing an antidote himself in the process. He wondered if Xie Yun was doing well right now. He must’ve been spending his time with Zhou Fei.
Ji Chong bet Xie Yun was smiling.
Xie Yun slept a lot after he got worse, so seeing his cheerful self became a rare occasion. And while he missed it, Ji Chong didn’t have the heart to see him awake either, because then he would notice the painful grimace on his face, and those expressions reminded Ji Chong that Xie Yun was dying.
He wished he could see Xie Yun awake and smiling once again.
“Ji Chong!” Yang Jin yelled, slapping his face, “Stay awake!”
That instantly snapped Ji Chong out of his thoughts. He jolted awake and found himself already lying on the ground. Yang Jin hovered over him, trying to keep him conscious.
“Fire...Sage...” he mumbled.
“What?”
Ji Chong began to feel like he would drift off once again, so he quickly grabbed Yang Jin's hand and put it over his chest pocket, where he kept the herb. “For... Anzhi…”
He wished it was clear enough to be understood by the bone-head.
VIII.
When Xie Yun woke up, Ji Chong was nowhere to be found. Instead, Zhou Fei appeared by his bed side, looking pissed.
He had a few guesses before, but he truly didn’t expect that she was the ‘friend’ Ji Chong meant previously. Moreover, this ‘friend’ somehow already knew about the sacrifice he made to save her fortress from The Demons, and went absolutely mad about it.
He reminded himself to give Ji Chong a piece of his mind once the latter was back.
Luckily, Zhou Fei wasn’t a dramatic crybaby. She calmed down right after she lashed out at him once, and soon, they were already talking as usual, while she fed him with a bowl of porridge.
He was actually reluctant to accept the offer, but in the end, he couldn’t reject. His aching body prevented him from even making the slightest movement, let alone feeding himself, and he'd rather swallow his pride than to starve himself on the brings of death.
“Your friend is a troublemaker, Xie Meimei,” Zhou Fei told him, “He and Phoenix ransacked the whole Demons’ nest for the seal.”
“You were there?”
“Of course. I don’t want to miss the fun,” Zhou Fei answered lightly.
Xie Yun smiled, trying to picture the scene in his mind. “How was he?”
“He didn’t attack aimlessly. It was clear that he only wanted the seal, so he only targeted the one who had it," Zhou Fei answered, shrugging.
Xie Yun tilted his head in wonder, “Who?”
Zhou Fei scooped another spoon of porridge for him and answered. “Chu Tianyu. When he was distracted by Phoenix, Ji Chong shot him with an arrow from afar. That went straight through Chu Tianyu’s heart. Very precise. Afterwards, since he fought alongside Phoenix that day, people started calling him Eagle.”
Xie Yun smirked, thinking about how fitting that nickname was. Eagle was the strongest hunter among the birds - free and unbounded to this world. Never had he imagined that the eagle would let go a little bit of its freedom to entertain a dying caged bird.
“Chu Tianyu is the reason why my dynasty crumbled,” Xie Yun told her with a faraway look on his face, “I wonder if he knows that he has freed me from my resentment.”
Hearing that, Zhou Fei sighed. She put the bowl down and looked at her lap dejectedly. “I tried to stop him and offered myself to go, but he refused,” she continued, “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Xie Yun smiled at her weakly, “He’ll come back."
IX.
Xie Yun was asleep when Ji Chong arrived in Penglai with the Fire Sage, a few weeks later.
As he handed the herbs, he truthfully told Abbot Tongming that his whole body felt like it was ran over by a carriage - accumulation from the fatigue of going through a long journey and Pathetic Clam’s poisoned needle.
Yang Jin managed to bring him back to the village on time, but since he was unconscious, he didn't have any say in his own treatment. He couldn't reject when they shoved the antidote down his throat, which turned out to have quite a horrible side effect. In result, he had to run a high fever for a few days, even when he was already awake.
The doctors insisted that he stayed until he recovered, but he was aware that Xie Yun needed the Fire Sage as soon as possible, so he decided to sneak out alone late at night, and went back to Penglai.
Upon hearing the information, Abbot Tongming immediately ushered him to his room and fed him with some decoction that made him feel a little funny. Nonetheless, It seemed to deprive him from the pounding feeling in his head, so he didn’t mind. Without the pain, he might able to have a good long sleep.
And it turned out to be true. Soon enough, he succumbed into the dreamland, lost to the world.
He didn’t know whether he was dreaming or not, but at one point in time time he could feel something soft and cold touching his hot forehead for a fleeting moment.
Xie Yun’s voice followed afterwards.
“Must you take so long?”
X.
When Ji Chong woke up, he found himself on Xie Yun’s bed. The other man was sitting by his side stroking his hair.
A thick blanket was draped around his shoulders, showing that the cold hadn't completely left him. But the added colors on his face showed that he had gotten better since last time, and Ji Chong couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
Xie Yun seemed to notice that he was already awake, because the hand that was stroking his hair suddenly stopped moving. “Didn’t I tell you that surviving those battles doesn’t mean you’ll live forever?”
“You might have to take that back now,” Ji Chong rasped out. “Since I’m still alive.”
Xie Yun took a sharp breath and withdrew his hand from Ji Chong’s hair.
"It's pure luck," he nagged. “What if the poison has no antidote? Are you interested in having Bone-Chilling inside your body too? Sure then, let’s go to Pathetic Clam and ask her for it. Let’s die together."
Ji Chong had expected a lighthearted reply like their usual banters, but it looked like Xie Yun really took the matter more seriously than he originally thought.
So the whole response left Ji Chong speechless.
After a moment of silence, Xie Yun continued. “What if you die alone in a deserted land, while I’m waiting for you here like an idiot?” he sighed helplessly. “I’m already dying. Please spare me from this kind of misery.”
Ji Chong abruptly sat up and grabbed Xie Yun’s hand. “There must be a way.”
“There’s no way!” Xie Yun replied frustratingly, “Stop putting yourself in danger to look for a dead end.”
Ji Chong didn't know what else he could do to calm Xie Yun down. It never happened before. So he did the first thing in his mind and pulled Xie Yun into a hug. His fevered body trembled upon touching Xie Yun’s frozen skin. “Sorry for making you worry,” he coaxed, stroking the other man’s back. “But, I’m not sorry about borrowing more time for you.”
Xie Yun wrapped his arms around Ji Chong and hugged him back tightly. “Honestly, you’ll only make me die faster with all the stress you gave me,” he answered, before pulling away to look at Ji Chong. “Also, why did you bring A-Fei here? You’re the one who promised to take care of me. What kind of gentleman hands his responsibility to a little girl? ”
“I did that exactly because I’m a gentleman,” Ji Chong replied, feeling so tired all of a sudden. “You’re already sick in your body, what will become of you if you also have lovesickness?”
Xie Yun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Pardon?”
“You miss her,” Ji Chong answered.
Xie Yun didn’t say anything in return. He just stared at Ji Chong with the most bewildered expression he could muster. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked. He raised a hand and put his palm over Ji Chong’s forehead, “Does the fever make you stupid?”
Ji Chong shrugged Xie Yun’s hand off in irritation. “You think I don’t know about the drawing?” he continued, “The small blade you carved for her, isn’t that your token of love? She wears it on her neck as if she’s your betrothed.”
Xie Yun gulped, “Juyao-”
“She dispatched the whole Route Gang to look for you, Anzhi. She doesn’t give up on you like you initially thought,” Ji Chong cut without giving Xie Yun a chance to finish his sentence, “So, you shouldn’t give up on her too.”
Ji Chong was an expert in the art of letting go, so he already knew that the suffocating feeling in the beginning was unavoidable. It would stay there for a few weeks, and he’d probably have to distract himself with all kinds of entertainment to numb the pain.
It was difficult, but as long as he kept on moving forward, the feeling would eventually dissipate. Soon, he’d wake up and find himself enjoying his meals again. He’d involve himself in another trouble again, and if he was lucky, he’d find himself a nice company in the most unexpected place.
He could do this.
“You have more time now,” Ji Chong added, his voice softened. He took Xie Yun’s hand and squeezed it gently, “Spend it with someone you love in a nice place and be happy.”
It was such a strange way to confess about one’s feelings, and Xie Yun was surged with all kinds of emotions. He didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry.
“You’re really asking for a beating.”
Ji Chong was displeased that his whole sentimental speech was being brushed off like that, so he let go of Xie Yun’s hand as a gesture of protest. He was about to put his feelings into words, when a pair of hands suddenly cupped his jaw and pulled him into a kiss.
It wasn’t rough, but it wasn’t exactly soft either. It felt exactly like how he had imagined Xie Yun’s kiss would be - stubborn and a little bitter from all the medicines he consumed.
Xie Yun desperately bit on Ji Chong’s lower lip to beg for an opening, and when Ji Chong finally complied, he instantly thrusted his tongue into Ji Chong’s mouth, sucking the latter's breath away.
They kissed slowly at first, but then their desire picked up and everything became more frantic. Xie Yun’s hands began to roam around Ji Chong’s body as they kissed, feeling down from his jaw to his shoulder, until he stopped at his chest.
Ji Chong had anticipated the latter to push him down onto the bed, but to his own confusion, Xie Yun abruptly stopped, his head sliding down to rest on Ji Chong's shoulder.
“Dizzy,” he muttered breathlessly.
Only then did Ji Chong realize that Xie Yun couldn’t stay up for too long until he was fully recovered.
Ji Chong quickly grabbed the other man’s shoulder and laid Xie Yun down beside him on the bed. “Calm down," he nagged, "Don't forget to breathe."
Xie Yun was panting with his eyes closed and answered in annoyance. "You won't shut up if I let you breathe."
“Then I'll gladly talk more from now on,” Ji Chong teased as he laid himself down, scooping Xie Yun in his arms. “Please do it again the next time you want to shut me up.”
“There is no next time if you still insist on handing me over to a little girl,” Xie Yun replied, turning his body around so he can wrap his arms around Xie Yun’s middle. “The drawing is just a farewell gift. I already gave it to her when I sent her off."
“Why?" Ji Chong asked, puzzled, "You like her."
"What kind of poison did Pathetic Clam give you to numb your brain like that?" Xie Yun replied impatiently. “Didn’t I just kiss you? Do you still need another explanation?”
“...People can kiss even if they don’t like each other,” Ji Chong replied.
Xie Yun scoffed in disbelief. "Who on earth would do that?"
Ji Chong swore to heaven that he would never tell Xie Yun about his kiss with Ma Zhaixing. “I just want to hear you say it.”
“.....”
"Please."
“Alright, I love you,” Xie Yun answered, sighing in defeat, “So please refrain yourself from dying before me.”
Ji Chong frowned, “I’m not letting you die.”
“You die when you die, you don’t need anyone’s permission,” Xie Yun replied.
“You’re contradicting yourself.”
Xie Yun closed his eyes in frustration. “I don’t know! Just promise me that you won’t leave again.”
Ji Chong pulled Xie Yun closer to him and held him tighter, “Promise me the same thing.”
“Okay.”