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Bai Xiaosheng wakes to the night sky spinning above him, the sound of a crackling fire, and the smell of burning wood. His throat is unusually parched, and every one of his limbs feel unnaturally heavy. His stomach churns, and a sour taste fills his mouth.

He gags, shooting up and turning over on his side to throw up. 

For many moments, there is only him and the spill of sickness onto the forest floor. Heat crawls over his skin, and yet he is shivering. And through it all, he continues retching, even when nothing comes up anymore.

At some point during all this, his hair has been pulled back from his face, and there is now a firm hand resting between his shoulder blades, soothingly rubbing small circles. When Bai Xiaosheng can finally stop heaving, sure that nothing more can possibly come up, he leans back into the touch, looking up. For a second, he thinks he is looking at Yan Hui, haloed by light. But then he blinks, and realizes that the firelit eyes above him belong to Tian Yao.

“You came,” Bai Xiaosheng whispers hoarsely, the words cracking in his aching throat, coming out as a garbled whine instead. 

Tian Yao probably doesn’t understand what he said, but he doesn’t ask Bai Xiaosheng to repeat himself either. He only nods, handing Bai Xiaosheng a flask of water.

“Drink slowly,” he says, as if speaking to a child.

Bai Xiaosheng wipes at his mouth and listens, taking small sips until the flask has been drained. And then he promptly falls back on the bedroll and falls asleep.

When he wakes again, he thankfully does not throw up. But the nausea is still there, and he has to take numerous deep breaths before sitting up. Tian Yao must have moved him, because there is no pile of vomit beside him. 

You thoughtful dragon, Bai Xiaosheng thinks to himself with a tired snicker. He pushes his right sleeve up, examining the bandages wrapped around his forearm. Another thing Tian Yao has done, he realizes, as he pulls himself up to stand on shaky legs.

He must have slept through the night and most of the morning. It is almost noon, the sun shining down from directly above him. Bai Xiaosheng scans the small campsite. The fire is still going, but Tian Yao is nowhere to be seen. For a moment, Bai Xiaosheng wonders if Tian Yao found him just to abandon him, but then, he hears the sounds of footsteps. Tian Yao emerges from the east, strands of his white hair a sharp contrast to his dark outfit, looking as if he plans to go into battle.

“Tian Yao,” Bai Xiaosheng can’t help but breathe out in equal parts wonder and relief. “Where did you go?”

Tian Yao holds up a net with two fresh fish. “Fishing. Sit down and I’ll prepare them.”

It’s only then that Bai Xiaosheng realizes just how hungry he is. Which he really should have figured, having emptied the contents of his stomach earlier. Eager, he walks forward, dropping down to sit beside Tian Yao as he cleans and spears the fish over the fire. The two of them don’t exchange any words, but the silence is comfortable, relieving even. Bai Xiaosheng’s head still pounds, more so now as he stares at the roasting fish, mouth watering and stomach grumbling. He tamps down the urge to ask Tian Yao if it will be ready to eat soon. To his delight, as soon as the first fish is ready, Tian Yao hands it to him.

Bai Xiaosheng doesn’t wait before biting into it, making a happy noise as warmth immediately fills him, even if it burns being right off the fire. He has never particularly liked fish, but suddenly, he can’t get enough. He needs to hold himself back from devouring the fish, or else he knows he would get sick again. But it still takes almost no time at all to strip it down to the bone. 

He tosses the bones back into the fire with a sigh as Tian Yao presents him with the other roasted fish.

“Really?” Bai Xiaosheng says. 

Tian Yao only raises an eyebrow, as if to ask, well, do you want it or not? And Bai Xiaosheng definitely wants it. He’s halfway done with the second fish when he realizes that it is the last one.

“Wait, aren’t you going to eat?” Bai Xiaosheng asks, mouth full.

Tian Yao shakes his head. “I’ll be fine.”

Bai Xiaosheng nods, finishing off the rest of the fish. Having eaten, he already feels better. The pounding in his head has gone down, as the tremors in his hands have stopped. He still feels odd, though, as if he is unmoored from his body. With a frown, he tries to conjure a shadow in his palm. Nothing happens. 

With an edge of panic, he tries again, only to fail once more. He looks up and realizes Tian Yao is watching him closely.

“I can’t summon my shadows,” he says, as if Tian Yao hadn’t just seen him.

“You haven’t fully recovered,” Tian Yao says. “And it’s noon, your powers are always weakest at noon. Try again in the evening.”

He’s calm enough for both of them, and it eases Bai Xiaosheng’s nerves. Not for the first time that day, he is grateful for Tian Yao. Which reminds him–

“I suppose I should thank you for coming,” Bai Xiaosheng says. “I wasn’t sure if you would when I sent that distress signal, but I didn’t know who else I could have called.”

Tian Yao cocks his head to the side in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I come?”

Bai Xiaosheng isn’t sure how to respond to that. Despite Yan Hui helping to heal the scars his mother and clan had left on his soul, his instinct is still to expect people to leave him, to rely on only himself. Reaching out to Tian Yao through the huawei had been done out of a desire for survival more than trust, but he had doubted anything would come of it. Yesterday, he was sure he was breathing his last, alone in the middle of the Misty Forest. But now, Tian Yao is here, and Bai Xiaosheng is alive.

When he doesn’t answer, Tian Yao shifts the conversation. “When I found you, you were practically blue. It was poison, some type I have never seen before. I had to use my dragon flame on your meridians, and it still wasn’t enough, so I had to wait until you could purge it from your body.”

“That’s why I was throwing up,” Bai Xiaosheng realizes, tapping his chin in thought. 

“Yes,” Tian Yao says. “What happened?”

Bai Xiaosheng furrows his brow, thinking back. It is a bit of a blur now, but if he focuses really hard, he can put the pieces together.

“I was in the Misty Forest, checking on the old opening to the Fu Yin’s Sea of Consciousness like every year to make sure the seals are holding. No one ever comes that way anymore, but this time, there were people there, three of them. Just outside, around all the tombstones. I asked them who they were and what they were doing outside the lair, and they said they had come to find pieces of… of the Lady of the Dark Aura.”

The moment Bai Xiaosheng says Yan Hui’s old title, he sees Tian Yao’s face go white. His hands fist on his lap, his shoulders tense, and his jaw clenches. Bai Xiaosheng had expected as much, and he grimly continues telling his account, carefully watching Tian Yao to make sure he doesn’t say anything that might push the dragon into doing something rash.

“I told them they wouldn’t find pieces of her there and to get lost. They insisted, saying I just couldn’t see like they could. I said that they were being ridiculous, and that the Lady of the Dark Aura was gone even before Yan Hui had passed. And that’s when they attacked. I fought them, and I had them, but there was a fourth one, hiding in the forest. She slipped in and sliced my arm with a poisoned dagger. I managed to ward them away from the entrance, but after that– well, you know.”

Bai Xiaosheng had lain on the ground among the tombstones, sure he would join their owners soon in their fates as he choked on his own blood frothing in his mouth. Somehow, he had remembered the huawei that Feng Qianshuo had insisted on giving them all after the battle against Fu Yin had been won. He managed to call for Tian Yao, weakly relaying that he needed help before he fell into unconsciousness. His words had been a slurred mess, and he had no idea if Tian Yao understood him at the time, or if he would even know how to find him. At least, he thought, he could say goodbye to someone. But it seemed fate - or rather Tian Yao - had been on his side after all.

Tian Yao takes in the information stone-faced, but there is a hint of familiar rage behind his eyes, a promise of devastation. It makes Bai Xiaosheng shudder. He is really grateful they are on the same side now, that they have been for all these years, and he pities those who would be considered an enemy by the Dragon King.

“For nearly a year, I have heard whispers about a…a sect, for lack of a better word,” Tian Yao says, his voice low. “They call themselves the Children of the Lady of the Dark Aura. They worship her. I dismissed it at first, because there have always been fanatics interested in our story, in Yan Hui. But Huan Xiaoyan reached out to me a few weeks ago, saying Qingqiu had been infiltrated by one of the sect members. The sect member had ransacked our old apartment, and nearly made off with Yan Hui’s personal effects. He even managed to harm Huan Xiaoyan. Luckily, she was fine, and the sect member was detained and interrogated.”

Bai Xiaosheng grimaces. He doesn’t know what the sect member tried to take, but judging by Tian Yao’s expression, it must have been something important. 

“The sect member wouldn’t divulge anything,” Tian Yao concludes. “But Feng Qianshuo probably knows something. I was headed to see him when I got your call. As fate would have it, you ran into the sect as well.”

Bai Xiaosheng huffs out a humorless laugh. “As fate would have it,” he echoes. “So, what’s the plan? Are we going to track down this sect and make sure they regret their sorry existence?”

“We?”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Bai Xiaosheng flippantly replies. “I’ve been involved since they decided to poison me. Besides, this matter concerns Yan Hui. I can’t just let it go.”

Tian Yao is silent for a long moment, but eventually he nods, standing and extending a hand to Bai Xiaosheng to help him up. “It would be good to have your help. Come, we should head out now if we want to make it to Yongzhou City before dark. We’ll recuperate there for the night.”

Yongzhou City is just as vibrant as five years ago when Bai Xiaosheng had first met Yan Hui and Tian Yao, perhaps even more so now. The city has rebuilt itself, becoming a hub for spirits, Taoists, and mortals alike. Xian Ge and Feng Qianshuo played no small part in making that happen. 

“I’m surprised neither of them have run for mayor,” Bai Xiaosheng says as they make their way to Wang Yu Tower. 

“I don’t think either of them have political aspirations,” Tian Yao says. “I think they prefer quietly running things behind the scenes. Everyone in the city knows who is really in charge anyway.”

“You mean Xian Ge.”

“Of course.”

They reach the entrance to Wang Yu Tower where they are let into the main hall by a flustered servant who practically trips over himself as he runs to fetch his mistress. Moments later, Xian Ge is walking out, her son in tow at her side.

“Tian Yao, Bai Xiaosheng!” she calls, her bright smile and rosy cheeks making her glow. Years have not diminished her regal beauty that, had it not been for Xian Ge insisting otherwise, Bai Xiaosheng believed could only belong to a spirit (in his defense, Yan Hui had agreed with him, and in fact had been the one to bring up the topic first).

Tian Yao nods in greeting, giving her a soft smile as his eyes flicker to her forehead. “Xian Ge, it has been too long.”

“Well, whose fault is that, Longzhu?” Xian Ge teases. She turns to her son at her side, nudging him forward with an encouraging smile. “Go on, A’Yu, say hello to Tian Yao and Bai Xiaosheng. You remember your uncles, don’t you?”

Feng Yu walks forward with the confidence of his parents, grinning as he waves. Bai Xiaosheng crouches slightly, smiling and waving back. 

“Hello!”

“Of course I remember Bai-shushu,” Feng Yu says. “Did you bring me anything from your travels?”

“A’Yu!” Xian Ge scolds.

“It’s okay,” Bai Xiaosheng says with a laugh. “Not this time, but next time I will, I promise.”

Tian Yao’s gaze is pensive as he lowers himself to one knee in front of Feng Yu, stroking the top of the child’s head. “Look at you, you’ve grown so big since I last saw you. How have you been?”

Feng Yu smiles at him, too, albeit more hesitantly. “I’m good, Longzhu. I’m sorry, I don’t think I remember you that well.”

“Ah, well, that’s to be expected,” Tian Yao says. “Last time I saw you, you were only a baby.”

Bai Xiaosheng looks thoughtfully between the two. He had assumed Tian Yao would stay in touch with Xian Ge more often, but it sounded like it had been a few years since Tian Yao had come to see her and her family. He looks up at Xian Ge, who is watching Tian Yao with concern. When she feels his eyes on her, she looks up at Bai Xiaosheng. She nods once at Tian Yao, quirking up an eyebrow.

Bai Xiaosheng shakes his head, mouthing, “Later.”

Xian Ge nods, and the two of them turn back to Tian Yao and her son.

“Where are you coming from?” Feng Yu asks.

“Qingqiu,” Tian Yao says, turning to look up at Xian Ge. “We’re actually looking for something, and we hope your parents can help us.”

“Is something wrong?” Xian Ge asks, her brow furrowing, her hand subconsciously drifting to her abdomen. Tian Yao notices the movement, too, his eyes landing on her stomach for a split second too long before he looks back up to meet hers. He stands up, his face solemn.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Tian Yao settles on.

Xian Ge frowns, but doesn’t press in front of her son. “Alright, we’ll discuss over dinner. I’ve had rooms for both of you made up, go and wash up and get some rest, okay? I’ll send someone to get you once dinner is ready.”

Bai Xiaosheng brings up a hand to cover his mirthful smirk as Feng Qianshuo trips and curses upon entering the courtyard, where lanterns and a table has been set up for their meal. 

“Tian Yao?!” Feng Qianshuo exclaims, rushing forward. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here, too, you know,” Bai Xiaosheng grumbles, put off by the lack of acknowledgement. 

Feng Qianshuo glares at the shadow spirit. “Yes, but you’re here every other month. You mooch off us too much.”

“It’s what Yan Hui would want,” Bai Xiaosheng deadpans. 

“You can’t say that every time!” Feng Qianshuo says. “And now look, you’ve upset Tian Yao.”

Tian Yao rolls his eyes. “I’m not upset, you can bring up Yan Hui.”

Despite his dismissal, the words come out too quiet. Ever since they have arrived at Wang Yu Tower, Tian Yao has been subdued, more than usual anyway. He is present enough, but he is lost in thought, his eyes straying to empty spaces as if he is following ghosts. 

“Alright, alright, everyone calm down,” Xian Ge says, entering with servants trailing behind her with dishes stacked in their arms. As the servants set the table, Xian Ge sternly looks over the men. “Will you play nice?”

Bai Xiaosheng snorts, but when he looks up, Xian Ge has her eyes narrowed at him. He knows there is nothing she could do to him, and yet, he finds himself afraid of disappointing her. He swallows and nods quickly. Beside him, Feng Qianshuo is already nodding and muttering apologies to his wife.

With both of them pacified, Xian Ge hums in satisfaction as she takes her seat at the round table, prompting the others to follow. As they pile their plates to begin dinner, Bai Xiaosheng glances at Tian Yao. With a frown, he notes Tian Yao isn’t eating enough, especially since he hadn’t eaten anything earlier, when they were in the forest. Surreptitiously, Bai Xiaosheng slips an extra baozi onto Tian Yao’s plate. 

“So, what’s all this about?” Xian Ge says, once they have gotten past the appropriate niceties. “You said you needed our help?”

Bai Xiaosheng and Tian Yao exchange a terse look, and Feng Qianshuo and Xian Ge anxiously lean forward, recognizing a shift in the two spirits’ temperaments. With a sigh, Tian Yao begins his explanation, describing the events that had come to pass so far regarding the Children of the Lady of the Dark Aura. When he reaches the most recent attack, he lets Bai Xiaosheng take over to tell the tale. Xian Ge and Feng Qianshuo take their accounts in with grave faces that grow alarmed when they hear about Bai Xiaosheng’s poisoning.

“You’re okay now?” Xian Ge asks urgently.

“Obviously, he’s okay,” Feng Qianshuo says, even as Xian Ge slaps at his arm. “He just ate half of the fried pork.” But even as his words tease, Feng Qianshuo is obviously concerned, scanning over Bai Xiaosheng from head to toe.

Fatherhood really does suit him, Bai Xiaosheng idly thinks.

“Yes, I’m alright,” Bai Xiaosheng says. “Tian Yao arrived and saved me.”

“I extracted most of the poison and made him purge the rest,” Tian Yao says. “But his spiritual powers haven’t recovered yet. If you could check him over with your huawei, later, it would be helpful.”

Feng Qianshuo nods. “Of course. What else do you need from us?”

“Any information you have on the Children of the Lady of the Dark Aura,” Tian Yao says. “All we really know so far is that they worship the Lady of the Dark Aura. They claim Yan Hui’s name behind their deeds, and they’ve caused trouble in Qingqiu. They tried to steal….” He swallows then. “It doesn’t matter what they tried to steal. But they hurt Huan Xiaoyan in their attempt, and it sent Zhu Li spiraling. And I refuse to let them continue to dishonor Yan Hui. Does your information network know anything about who they are?”

Feng Qianshuo steeples his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table as he leans back in his seat. He looks skyward, deep in thought for several long moments, before he gasps, looking back down to meet Tian Yao’s eyes. “I had heard something a couple years ago, but nothing about it told me it was related to Yan Hui, otherwise I would have called you right then. I’m sorry.”

Tian Yao shakes his head, waving off the apology. “You couldn’t have known.”

“It was about this new sacred sect, mysterious and unknown,” Feng Qiangshuo says. “Well, mysterious and unknown to most people, I suppose, but Qijue Group has managed to gather some information. The sect claims to have been following the teachings of Youming Fu. I assume they got their hands on it after we publicized the book all those years ago. Of course, they don’t have a translation, so they must have managed to come up with their own, or they are lying. Either way, from my reports, they haven’t been particularly successful.”

“But from what Tian Yao and Bai Xiaosheng told us today,” Xian Ge interjects, “this sect might have another agenda.”

“The ones who attacked me said they were searching for pieces of Yan Hui,” Bai Xiaosheng says. 

“Pieces of her?” Xian Ge asks, pointedly looking at Tian Yao. “Like when Tian Yao was dismembered?”

Bai Xiaosheng shrugs. “I wasn’t sure what they meant, but I don’t think so. Everyone knows how Yan Hui died. Maybe they are looking for her consciousness?”

Tian Yao snorts. “If that is the case, they are fools. Yan Hui’s consciousness can’t be found in Fu Yin’s hideout.” His gaze softens as his eyes drift over the courtyard, but then quickly hardens again. “But they believe they can gain something by finding a fragment of her. I won’t allow them to use her like that.”

Bai Xiaosheng turns back to Feng Qianshuo. “Do you know where we might find them? How many of them are there? I was attacked by four of them, but I don’t think that was all.”

Feng Qianshuo shakes his head. “No, it’s more like a few dozen members, last I heard. I believe they’re found on Tong Luo Mountain, on the outskirts of the villages.”

Tian Yao freezes at that piece of information. His eyes widen, and his nostrils flare. Bai Xiaosheng squints, wondering if Tian Yao is exhaling smoke.

“Tong Luo Mountain? Are you sure?” Tian Yao practically demands. 

Feng Qianshuo’s mouth falls open and his eyebrows fly up in surprise at Tian Yao’s sudden intensity, but he nods.

Tian Yao curses under his breath. “Alright,” he says, abruptly standing. “We’ll head out tomorrow afternoon.”

Xian Ge stands, too. “We can go with you,” she says. “Wouldn’t it be better to have our help?”

Tian Yao pauses, his gaze drifting down. “We both know you can’t, not now. Don’t worry about it, Bai Xiaosheng and I will take care of it. Just focus on yourself and your family.”

She purses her lips, but nods in acceptance. “Still, if there’s anything I can do before you leave, let me know.”

“Thank you,” Tian Yao says, nodding once at her. With that, he spins around, his robes flaring out behind him as he purposefully strides back inside. 

For a moment, the remaining three sit in silence, the air heavy between them. Bai Xiaosheng looks at the plate Tian Yao left behind. Only half of his food has been eaten, and the baozi he had slipped onto it remains untouched.

Finally, Feng Qianshuo speaks. “What did he mean, when he said you can’t go now?”

Xian Ge startles, her cheeks coloring as she turns to her husband. “I’ll tell you later.”

Bai Xiaosheng suspects he knows, so he quickly changes the subject before Feng Qianshuo can ask anymore questions. “Ah, Feng Qianshuo, do you think you can check me over now?”

Feng Qianshuo nods. “Let’s go inside.”

A quick examination with the huawei reveals that there is no lasting damage. The poison is a stubborn one, and Bai Xiaosheng’s meridians are “clogged,” as Feng Qianshuo describes it. It is nothing some meditation and rest cannot fix. More worrying, however, is the fact that the poison is unlike any Bai Xiaosheng has encountered before, effectively blocking his spiritual power despite having been extracted – and in his few centuries of living, he has encountered a lot of poisons. Feng Qianshuo takes note of this information, before asking for a sample of Bai Xiaosheng’s blood.

“Your blood should have enough of the poison left to observe it, “ he explains. “My uncle’s workshop may have been destroyed, but I have my own set up now. I’ll take it there and have them make an antidote to speed up the healing process. It will be ready by tomorrow when you leave.”

Bai Xiaosheng gratefully nods, taking the proffered dagger to pierce his thumb and bleed into a vial that Feng Qianshuo holds out. Once they are done, Feng Qianshuo bids him a good night, telling him to get some rest. 

He plans on doing just that, but then there is a knock on the door, and Xian Ge is slipping in.

“Coming to see me, after your husband is gone?” Bai Xiaosheng says with an overexaggerated gasp. “How scandalous.”

Xian Ge rolls her eyes, sitting down on the settee. “Don’t be so dramatic. Have a seat, I want to talk.”

In the years after the fight against Fu Yin, the two of them had become good friends. Yan Hui had brought them together, and after she was gone, Bai Xiaosheng couldn’t help but want to be around Xian Ge. At first, it was to feel connected with another person who had been there in Longgu while the world was falling apart, and then again in the final fight. It was to be seen by someone else who had loved Yan Hui. But as he got to know her, he came to truly enjoy her company, and they became friends on their own terms. Now, he frequently visits to check in with Xian Ge, spoil her son, and argue with her husband (the last of which is done especially in memory of Yan Hui). 

“I feel as though I’m in trouble,” Bai Xiaosheng says, taking a seat beside her. “I don’t know if you’ve always been so authoritative or if being a mother has made you like this.”

Xian Ge laughs. “I think my husband can attest that I have always been like this. But speaking of being a mother, thank you for diverting him earlier.”

“So you are…?” Bai Xiaosheng trails off with a meaningful look.

She nods, her hand coming up to rest where a baby bump will eventually grow. “I am. I just found out a week ago.”

He grins widely. “That’s great news! Congratulations.”

Xian Ge nods enthusiastically, a small smile playing on her lips. “I haven’t told Qianshuo yet. I’m planning on surprising him in a few days.”

“Wonderful,” Bai Xiaosheng croons. “I’m sure it will be perfectly romantic.”

She flicks his forehead. “You will never stop thinking about romance, will you?”

“I can’t help it,” he says. “Besides, it worked out well enough for Tian Yao and Yan Hui, didn’t it?”

At the mention of their friends, the mood in the room falls. Xian Ge frowns, absentmindedly stroking her midsection.

“Tian Yao, is he okay?” she asks. “He was quiet today. He barely touched his food.”

Bai Xiaosheng winces. “I know. I think he’s just worried about all this sect stuff. He probably wants to put an end to it before it disgraces Yan Hui’s name.”

Xian Ge nods, but she doesn’t seem convinced. “It really has been so long since we’ve seen him. The last time was right after A’Yu was born. Tian Yao doesn’t come by as often as he should, no matter how much we invite him. I worry he is isolating himself without Yan Hui.”

Of course he is, Bai Xiaosheng thinks. Stupid dragon. 

“You’ll look out for him, won’t you?” Xian Ge says, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Bai Xiaosheng nods, giving her a mock salute. “I’ll consider it my personal mission on this trip. And you know I always complete my missions.”

Bai Xiaosheng is supposed to be meditating, but his mind keeps drifting to his conversation with Xian Ge, and to the baozi left on Tian Yao’s plate. With a sigh, he gives up on meditation, going to the kitchens instead. He finds the leftovers from dinner, including the steamer with the remaining baozi. Filling up his handkerchief with three buns, he heads to Tian Yao’s room.

As expected, Tian Yao is not asleep. He is busy writing, his hand moving rapidly down a piece of parchment. There is a pile of sheets that have already been filled with text on his right. 

“Bai Xiaosheng,” Tian Yao greets him, putting down his brush and tidying up the pages. “You should be resting.”

“I brought you baozi,” Bai Xiaosheng cheerfully declares.

Tian Yao blinks at him before turning his face away. “I already ate.”

“You didn’t eat enough,” Bai Xiaosheng says. “But it’s no matter, I’m here to change that.”

Tian Yao frowns, a hint of irritation on his face as cheek twitches. “I told you I’m fine. I didn’t ask for a keeper.”

“I’m not your keeper.” Bai Xiaosheng takes a seat across from Tian Yao, forcing the handkerchief of baozi into his hand. “But if we’re traveling tomorrow, you need your strength.”

Tian Yao puts the handkerchief aside, much to Bai Xiaosheng’s consternation. He had planned on being more gentle when he brought it up, but his annoyance makes him blurt it out. “Why don’t you ever visit Xian Ge and Feng Qianshuo?”

Tian Yao does not answer.

“They’re happy to see you, in case you haven’t noticed,” Bai Xiaosheng presses ahead. “I know you don’t visit Qingqiu all that often, either. This time you went because of your apartment being raided. But when was the last time before that? And what about Longgu? I stopped by a few weeks ago, and the elves said they hadn’t seen you in months. Where are you, Tian Yao?”

Tian Yao’s hand drifts up to his chest, landing over his heart. He doesn’t seem to realize he has done it, though. 

For several moments, he is silent. Finally, he breathes out a whispered, “I can’t.”

It is so hushed, that Bai Xiaosheng barely hears it. His brow furrows, and he leans forward. “What do you mean?”

Tian Yao clenches his eyes closed, letting out a shuddering breath as if he is in pain. “She is everywhere. In all the places we’ve been, in all the people we’ve met, the ghost of her is there. I see Huan Xiaoyan and Zhu Li, and I think about our marriage, short-lived as it was. I see Xian Ge and Feng Qianshuo, and I think about how our lives might have been had she been here. I see you, and I think she would have loved to be as free as you are now. I see Longgu, and I remember all the pain I gave her. Everything is a reminder of her.”

Bai Xiaosheng exhales shakily. He knew Tian Yao was still grieving, but he hadn’t realized that in the years that passed, Tian Yao had barely moved forward.

“Did you ever think Yan Hui wouldn’t want you to isolate yourself?” Bai Xiaosheng asks. “She saw you as free and soaring above everyone, but never alone.”

Tian Yao smiles sardonically. “Of course she did. But what does it matter? She isn’t with me, so I am alone. And perhaps, when she comes back, she will realize that she shouldn’t be with me at all. Ever since she met me, all I gave her was suffering.”

“I’m really fighting the urge to hit you right now,” Bai Xiaosheng says, pursing his lips.

“You can, if you want,” Tian Yao says. “I won’t stop you.”

“Of course, you won’t,” Bai Xiaosheng says. “You’re lucky I don’t have my spiritual power back yet. Now listen here, Dragon, your love saved Yan Hui. When she comes back, I bet that the first thing she will do is find you.” 

Tian Yao snorts. “The first thing she will do is find some baozi.”

Bai Xiaosheng throws his hands up. “Fine! The second thing she will do is find you. Because no matter what you think, she wants you. She will always want you. Even after you stabbed her and took the heart protection scale back, she wanted you. She used to call for you in her sleep, and cry when she thought I wasn’t listening, no matter how much she pretended she was over it.

“Tian Yao, if you really don’t want to hurt her anymore, then live for her as she would want you to, and when she is back, don’t deny her.”

Bai Xiaosheng doesn’t know if he got through to Tian Yao. But slowly, Tian Yao slumps forward, the tension in his shoulders leaving. He takes a deep breath, picking up the handkerchief again and opening it, taking one of the buns in hand.

“You really do care for her,” Tian Yao says without a hint of scorn. “I’m sorry, for what it’s worth.”

“Pfft.” Bai Xiaosheng waves him off. “Putting aside the fact that I never had a chance, I don’t think it would have worked with Yan Hui. Over time, I’ve come to realize that I may have… misinterpreted.”

Tian Yao raises an eyebrow, curious. He doesn’t say anything, though, waiting for Bai Xiaosheng to continue. The shadow spirit suddenly feels self-conscious, but that doesn’t stop the confession from spilling from his lips.

“What I felt for Yan Hui…is what I now feel for you,” Bai Xiaosheng says.

Tian Yao opens his mouth to answer, then quickly closes it again. And then repeats, like a fish. 

“I’m flattered,” Tian Yao eventually says, clearing his throat and not quite meeting Bai Xiaosheng’s eyes. “But you know I’m devoted to Yan Hui. I suppose when she comes back, if she’s open to an arrangement, I’ll think about it, but I don’t think either of us would really want to–”

It takes a moment for Tian Yao’s blabbering response to register, but when it does, Bai Xiaosheng experiences a full body cringe, his face flooding with heat. “You… NO! No, that’s not what I want. I didn’t mean…” 

He trails off, covering his face, unable to handle being perceived. He really wishes he still had his powers right now, if only so he could melt into the shadows and slink away. Thankfully, Tian Yao is patient, waiting for him to elaborate without judgment. 

“I meant,” Bai Xiaosheng says when he manages to compose himself, “that when you came to save me, I had the same feeling I did when I saw Yan Hui back then. And it wasn’t the first time. Do you remember when I was under Fu Yin’s control, while Yan Hui was in his Sea of Consciousness? It was you who came for me then, too, breaking me out of it. You helped liberate me, just as Yan Hui did. When I look at the both of you, I see light, and I want to protect that. 

“I never really understood love. I never experienced it, not properly. I think I must have loved my mother once, but my memories of her have been ruined. I spent decades searching for love in couples, and that was the only comparison I had. So when I realized I cared for Yan Hui, I thought it must be that. But later, I realized what I feel for her isn’t like the love between you two. I think of Yan Hui as my family, and now, I can’t help but think of you that way, too - because you both came for me when I thought no one would.”

With a heavy sigh, Bai Xiaosheng hesitantly looks at Tian Yao, unsure how he will react, dreading it even. Unexpectedly, though, the corner of Tian Yao’s lips twitch up, and Bai Xiaosheng realizes the dragon is giving him a smile. It is small, but it is there and it is warm, and it might be the first real smile Tian Yao has had since the two met up yesterday. 

“Consider this a promise then,” Tian Yao says. “As family, I will always come back for you.”

Bai Xiaosheng lets out a shaky, relieved laugh. “And I will do the same. Now eat. I won’t leave until you do.”

Tian Yao shoots him an exasperated glare, but finally brings the baozi in his hand to his mouth.

They depart the next day during midmorning. Xian Ge and Feng Qianshuo see them off at the gate of Wang Yu Tower.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” Feng Qianshuo says, fussing over them. 

He had given Bai Xiaosheng two vials of antidote for the poison, reporting that the poison was discovered to have been made from equinox flowers. Bai Xiaosheng had downed one of the vials immediately, and another he pocketed in case they needed it again while facing off the Children of the Lady of the Dark Aura. A flick of his hand had shadows flocking to his command once more, proving the antidote worked.

Bai Xiaosheng shakes his head. “We’ll be fine.”

That doesn’t mitigate Feng Qianshuo’s concern though. “I had my informants do some extra intel after our conversation last night to make sure the group we had been tracking was the one you were looking for. It is, but my network uncovered some more details. Apparently, in the past few months, this group has been getting more… aggressive. They’re going into nearby villages, attacking the people, and raiding. They never take any prisoners, just cause destruction and leave. They’ve only been attacking small, poorer villages, so it’s been largely overlooked. It sounds like these people are more than thieves.”

Bai Xiaosheng frowns, meeting Tian Yao’s eyes. The dragon is furious, his eyes glinting with restrained violence.

“I should have kept a closer eye on them,” Tian Yao says, rubbing at his temple. “I knew about them, and I didn’t do anything. And now, people have gotten hurt.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” Xian Ge says. “We also could have kept a closer eye on the situation.”

Tian Yao exhales. Despite her reassurance, it is obvious that he won’t stop beating himself up over his oversight anytime soon. All he says is, “We’ll keep you updated on how it goes.”

“Be careful,” Xian Ge says. “And don’t just send updates, visit again soon.”

“That only goes for Tian Yao,” Feng Qianshuo declares. “Bai Xiaosheng can stay away.”

Xian Ge elbows him in the side, shooting him a glare, before flashing a smile at Bai Xiaosheng. “Don’t listen to him. We’d love to have you back, too, Bai Xiaosheng.”

“See, Xian Ge is on my side,” Bai Xiaosheng crows. 

“Well she married me,” Feng Qianshuo says.

“But does she love you most?” Bai Xiaosheng says.

Feng Qianshuo scowls. “She does. Right, Xian Ge?”

“Of course not,” she says. “Everyone knows I love Yan Hui the most, and then you and Bai Xiaosheng are tied for second place.”

Feng Qianshuo squawks as Bai Xiaosheng barks out a laugh. To the side, Tian Yao smiles indulgently, shaking his head at their antics.

“Xian Ge!” Feng Qianshuo whines.

"I'm kidding," she says. "Second place isn't a tie."

"It is me, though, right?" Feng Qianshuo says. Xian Ge doesn't respond. "Xian Ge, why aren't you saying anything? I'm above Bai Xiaosheng, aren't I?"

“I will visit again once we’re done taking care of this,” Tian Yao says, cutting in and saving Xian Ge from having to answer. “And I’ll bring you the mangosteen from Longgu you liked last time.”

Xian Ge practically lights up. “Yes, thank you! I can’t believe you remember. I’ve been craving those so much, I was practically preparing to take a trip myself!”

Feng Qianshuo looks between the two suspiciously. “What do you mean? What’s so special about the mangosteen from Longgu?”

“Nothing,” Xian Ge quickly says. “You better follow through, Tian Yao. I won’t accept empty promises.”

“I’ll make sure he does,” Bai Xiaosheng says, and Xian Ge gives him a warm grin. “Tell A’Yu goodbye for us, and we’ll see you soon!”

With that, the two of them set off. As they walk away, Bai Xiaosheng says, “Do you think Feng Qianshuo will figure out Xian Ge is pregnant anytime soon?”

Tian Yao raises a single eyebrow. “You’re such a gossip.” But then, after a moment, he says, “Not until Xian Ge tells him.”

“Ha, you like to gossip, too!” Bai Xiaosheng says with glee. Tian Yao turns his face away, but Bai Xiaosheng can see the tip of his ear turning red. Taking mercy on him, he decides to hold back on teasing him. “That’s probably for the best. Xian Ge said that she was planning a surprise to tell him.”

Tian Yao hums. “How fortunate they are.”

They reach Tong Luo Village quickly. Once they leave the city of Yongzhou, Tian Yao transforms into his dragon form and carries Bai Xiaosheng almost the entire way there. He lands in the forest a good distance away, though, saying they should walk the rest of the way. 

“I don’t want the sect to know that I’m here,” he explains once he turns back into his human form and begins guiding them towards the village, down a narrow wooden walkway suspended over the wetlands.

Bai Xiaosheng nods, but his face twists with indignation. “That’s all well, I don’t mind walking. But why did you make me sit so far back on your tail?!”

Tian Yao smirks. “The last time you were anywhere near my tail, you stomped all over it. Or have you forgotten about the cold spring?”

Bai Xiaosheng flushes. “Fine, fine, you have a point. I apologize. Can I sit on your head next time?”

“No.”

“Why not?!” Bai Xiaosheng isn’t proud of the way it comes out as a whine, but who can blame him? Riding a dragon by the head is an experience most can only dream of.

“You’re not my wife,” Tian Yao says. And Bai Xiaosheng has no retort for that.

They arrive at the village gates in due time, Tian Yao walking in like he knows the place like the back of his hand. His presence garners stares, and whispers trail them as they make their way, Tian Yao purposefully striding forward.

“Where are we going?” Bai Xiaosheng whispers, discomfited by the way the villagers stare but don’t approach. Everyone knows who Tian Yao is, and he cuts a recognizable figure with his white hair, but there is something different about the way the villagers watch him.

“Home.”

Bai Xiaosheng’s brow furrows. He thought Longgu was the dragon’s home. What was so special about this poor, backwater village? He’s about to ask another question when a huffy, flustered woman suddenly crosses their path. She is short, with dark hair pulled back in an updo striped with gray hairs, and a puckered face with a thin smile.

“A’Fu!” she says, voice saccharine sweet. “Ah, I supposed Longzhu would be more appropriate, wouldn’t it?”

“Auntie Zhou,” Tian Yao says, tilting his head in greeting.

“A’Fu?” Bai Xiaosheng echoes, looking between the two with disbelief. “Auntie Zhou?”

“It’s so good to see you again,” she simpers. “The neighboring villages have been dealing with attacks. We’ve been lucky so far, but we were afraid we would be next. With you here, I’m sure the village will be safe, won’t it, Longzhu?”

Tian Yao gives her a tight smile, nodding once, but doesn’t say anything as the woman titters on.

“Where is your wife? Has she returned yet?” This ‘Auntie Zhou’ is clearly asking mostly out of nosiness, but there is still a hint of concern.

Tian Yao shakes his head.

The woman sighs in a combination of pity and… relief? Her hand comes up to rub at her butt for some reason. Bai Xiaosheng realizes there is a story there that involves Yan Hui, and he snickers as he resolves to glean every detail once he is alone with Tian Yao.

The noise catches Auntie Zhou’s attention, and she finally seems to notice Bai Xiaosheng’s presence, her eyebrows raising to her hairline and her eyes widening comically. She leans forward, lowering her voice inconspicuously. “Who’s this? Have you taken a husband?”

Bai Xiaosheng chokes, sputtering as he tries to respond. Tian Yao seems more composed, but his left eye is twitching erratically.

“No,” is all Tian Yao says, without offering further explanation.

Auntie Zhou isn’t satisfied with this though, puckering her lips as she skeptically looks Bai Xiaosheng up and down. Bai Xiaosheng puts his hands on his hips, giving her the same treatment.

“Who are you then?” Auntie Zhou asks, wrinkling her nose as if she smells something bad.

“I’m Bai Xiaosheng,” he boasts. “Tian Yao’s best friend.”

“You’re not,” Tian Yao says. “That’s Yan Hui.”

“I’m your best living friend, aren’t I?” Bai Xiaosheng asks.

“No, that’s Huan Xiaoyan.”

“You didn’t even hesitate! You’re so cruel to me, when I’m the one who matchmade you and Yan Hui in the first place.”

At this, Auntie Zhou interjects. “What are you talking about? How could you matchmake them? I’m the one who got them married.”

Bai Xiaosheng’s jaw drops, and he nearly falls over at the audacity of this woman. How dare she take credit for his work? “No, absolutely not. That was my doing. Tian Yao, tell her!”

Tian Yao coolly raises an eyebrow. “No, she’s right. You didn’t know Yan Hui and I were already married when we first met you?”

“You were WHAT?! ”

Bai Xiaosheng seethes as he sips as he sips his wine. Tian Yao had pulled out the alcohol to assuage Bai Xiaosheng’s temper, but it did little to quell his anger. It’s been a few hours since they have settled into the house, and the entire time, he has refused to speak to Tian Yao. All this time, he had believed he was the one who had pushed Yan Hui and Tian Yao together. To find out they had been married from the start, that they had been matchmade by someone other than him… it was a betrayal of the highest degree.

“Are you done throwing a tantrum?” Tian Yao asks.

Bai Xiaosheng looks away resolutely. 

Tian Yao sighs. “I thought you wanted to know about my connection to this village.”

Unfortunately, Tian Yao has him there. Interest piqued, Bai Xiaosheng turns back to face Tian Yao, pouting. “Fine, yes. I want to know.”

Tian Yao shakes his head, clearly amused by Bai Xiaosheng, but Bai Xiaosheng doesn’t care. Ever since they came to the village, he realized Tian Yao was regarded differently here. Tian Yao had called this place home, and it was apparently where he and Yan Hui had first married. He really wants to know the story behind it.

“Fifteen years ago, when my soul was first released from the soul-binding wood, I regained my mortal form and came here. My dragon bones were sealed away in a cave in the mountain at the center of the lake, and I could feel their essence calling to me. I made it all the way to the forest on the outskirts of this village before passing out. When I woke up, Madam Xiao, the owner of this house, had found me and brought me here.

“She called me her grandson, A’Fu. And no matter how much I tried to insist I wasn’t, she was a stubborn old lady. She nursed me back to health, and it took about a month before I realized that she wasn’t a fool. She knew I was a spirit the whole time, albeit a lost and injured one. She had compassion for me, and she gave me an identity and kin in this world. I couldn’t leave her after that, and with no way to obtain the bones, I could only stay and take care of her for her remaining days. She truly became my Nainai. And Tong Luo Village, for a time, became home.”

As Tian Yao finishes, he sips delicately at his cup, eyes far away. Although the story had been relayed passively, Bai Xiaosheng could hear notes of melancholy and affection as Tian Yao told the tale. Part of him cannot help but be jealous that Tian Yao managed to find someone to care about him without even trying. But mostly, he feels empathy for his muted grief. There is no one in this house. It is not difficult to figure out that his Nainai is gone. 

“What about Yan Hui?” Bai Xiaosheng asks, trying to move on to something happier. “When did she come in? And why does your auntie seem afraid of her?”

Tian Yao chuckles, ducking his head, and strands of his white hair come loose and brush his jaw. “I saw Yan Hui in the market one day. I instantly felt a connection to her, a string drawing us together.”

“Very romantic,” Bai Xiaosheng says, nodding in approval.

“Not really,” Tian Yao huffs. “It was the heart protection scale. And when I realized she had it, I knocked her out and kidnapped her.”

“....” 

Okay, Bai Xiaosheng really isn’t sure what to say to that. It worked out, he supposes. But still, there was absolutely no finesse in Tian Yao’s technique, and he couldn’t not judge the dragon for that.

Tian Yao continues. “When I brought Yan Hui home, Auntie Zhou manipulated Nainai into marrying us so she could collect the dowry. Actually, Auntie Zhou used to take advantage of Nainai. I discreetly stopped it when I could, but overall, I wanted to avoid most of the villagers. I never spoke to them, so they all assumed I was dull. When Yan Hui came though, she defended us, harshly kicking Auntie Zhou and slapping her face in front of the entire village.”

There are many things Bai Xiaosheng wants to say. How funny it is that the villagers all thought Tian Yao was dumb, how it’s so typical of Yan Hui to want justice even for her kidnapper, how he wishes he could have been there to see Auntie Zhou get slapped silly. But all that comes out is, “So Auntie Zhou didn’t really matchmake you! She was just doing it for the dowry.”

“Technically, she did,” Tian Yao says. “We did get married.”

“Fine, fine, you got married,” Bai Xiaosheng waves off. “But I’m your only true matchmaker. Do you come back here often? It’s well-kept, and it does not seem like anyone else has moved in.” 

If Tian Yao is surprised at the change in topic, he doesn’t let it show. “It was our first home. When Yan Hui comes back, if she wants to come here, I want to make sure it is ready for her. I try to come back and clean up every few months. If I don’t make it, Auntie Zhou knows to take care of it.”

“You’re much more sentimental than I thought,” Bai Xiaosheng muses, mostly to himself. He wonders if that is something all people in love are like, attaching so much meaning to things he would not think twice about. It is funny to think back to how he thought he wanted such a relationship with Yan Hui, or at all. He had tried to have romantic relationships with a few mortals and spirits in the past years with his newfound freedom, short affairs and dalliances that never lasted more than a couple months, but nothing ever clicked. Eventually, he realized that while he liked the idea of romance, all he ever wanted for himself was a family. 

And now, looking at Tian Yao, thinking of Yan Hui, he had that. 

“Her wedding dress,” Tian Yao suddenly says. 

Bai Xiaosheng startles. “What?”

“The thing that the sect member in Qingqiu tried to steal,” Tian Yao explains, before downing the rest of the wine in his cup. His fist clenches on the table, and his voice dips into an anguished snarl. “They tried to take her wedding dress. And when they realized they were cornered… they set it on fire. Huan Xiaoyan put it out and managed to save most of it but the left sleeve and collar are destroyed beyond repair.”

No wonder Tian Yao was pursuing the sect so vigilantly now. Bai Xiaosheng can’t imagine the rage the dragon must have felt, the pain of having such a significant memory with Yan Hui tainted in such a way. No words can comfort him, so Bai Xiaosheng doesn’t bother. Instead, he asks, “So, what’s the plan then? When are we going after them?”

Tian Yao tucks his loose hairs behind his ears, resolutely saying, “Tomorrow night, during the full moon. We’ll have an advantage with your shadows then.”

Bai Xiaosheng nods. Then he refills both his and Tian Yao’s cup. “Go on then. What happened between your wedding and our meeting?”

He knows pieces of it, having heard from Yan Hui. But he wants to hear Tian Yao’s side of it. Tian Yao ruefully smiles, then launches into the tale of the first and second time he stabbed Yan Hui’s heart, while Bai Xiaosheng continues to be bewildered by how Yan Hui managed to fall in love with him after that. Love truly is insane, he thinks.

Tian Yao flies Bai Xiaosheng across the lake, circling around the mountain once before landing on the west, on the opposite side from the entrance to the cave.

“It was where my bones were sealed, and where Yan Hui healed Qi Yun from the Taoist sects,” Tian Yao had explained. “I thought about it last night. If they are going to be anywhere in the mountain, it will be there.”

Once they land, Bai Xiaosheng uses his shadows to take them the rest of the way, creeping into the tunnel entrance of the cave. Even before they step foot inside, there is an oppressive energy pressing down on them. Traces of dark aura linger and waft through the air, but it is not as strong as Yan Hui’s or Fu Yin’s had been. 

The dark aura would not be worrying on its own. Although Yan Hui had stopped it from taking over the world, dark aura still exists in corners of the world, more in some places than others. After all, yin and yang must coexist; where there is light, there must be dark.

The actual issue is the way the dark aura in the cave seems to flow, as if it’s spinning, coalescing around a center. Something or someone is controlling it, Bai Xiaosheng realizes The dark aura is being drawn in, its power harnessed. He looks to Tian Yao, about to ask if he has also noticed, but Tian Yao has his eyes closed, his hands making a sigil in front of him. Tian Yao exhales, and his face tenses.

“What is it?” Bai Xiaosheng whispers.

Tian Yao blinks his eyes open, uncertainty flickering across his face. “Nothing. Just… for a moment, it felt like Yan Hui’s mind’s eye. Not exactly, but a poor imitation of it. Like a room covered in mirrors, trying to seem bigger than it is.”

Bai Xiaosheng frowns, not sure what to make of that. “Let’s keep going.” 

They continue down the tunnel, and as they get closer to the main cavern, a humming sound fills their ears. It starts soft, low, but the further in they walk, the louder it gets, droning and heavy to the point that Bai Xiaosheng can feel it reverberating in his bones. 

When he first entered the cave, he wasn’t afraid. He knows he is powerful, and he has Tian Yao with him, so there is no reason to be afraid of whatever they might have to confront. And yet, with the humming rippling through him, Bai Xiaosheng feels a rising wave of apprehension. He swallows, wondering if Tian Yao is feeling the same way, but before he can ask, they’ve entered the main cavern.

Tian Yao has been here before, but Bai Xiaosheng has not. He looks around. It is dim, but there is a faint glow from residual spiritual energy in the air, and from the flames flickering within stone lanterns that rise up from the reflective blue stream which splits the cave in two, separating them from a raised, circular dais carved with intricate markings. The only way to reach the other side with the dais is the stone steps in the water. He squints, trying to look on the far side of the dais. There is a short staircase leading to a doorway, and he wonders what lies beyond.

The source of the humming was apparent the moment they stepped within sight of the cavern. On their side, there are dozens of people dressed in dark robes, humming softly. A quick estimate has Bai Xiaosheng counting about seventy heads. It is unclear whether they are mortals or immortals, spirits or Taoists. All of their faces are obscured by dark hoods. As they hum, a dark aura wafts up from each of their bodies. It comes in thin tendrils, barely there black wisps which then float to the other side, where they circle around the dais in a whirlpool, obscuring the center.

Despite the fact that the center is indistinct, a gravelly voice echoes from within it. “Release the worries in your heart. Understand the underlying meaning. Empty is as empty does. Implanted in one’s mind through sight. Only then shall you see.”

The words of the chant are familiar, and Bai Xiaosheng quickly realizes why.

“Youming Fu?” he asks.

Tian Yao shakes his head. “Not quite. They are missing parts of the chant, and they have not translated the parts they do have correctly.”

“Can you see who is conducting the chant?”

“I can sense a person at the center of the dais. Maybe two. The energy is too chaotic to distinguish, and it’s too hard to see.”

“If you use your dragon flame, it could dissipate all the dark aura.”

“It would also reveal our presence. And we don’t know if all these people are here of their own free will, or if they have been controlled by whoever is in charge. I don’t want to hurt innocents.”

Bai Xiaosheng chews on the inside of his cheek. He hadn’t even considered that.

“Maybe the best course of action would be to just… introduce ourselves?” he asks.

For a moment, Tian Yao only stares at him incredulously. Then he purses his lips, appearing to mull it over, before he shrugs. “Alright. Stay in my shadow.”

“Are you serious?” Bai Xiaosheng says, not quite believing that Tian Yao is taking his suggestion.

But Tian Yao doesn’t answer. He is already stepping out of Bai Xiaosheng’s cover. He strides forward, and Bai Xiaosheng quickly melts into Tian Yao’s shadow, following his every step. If anything goes wrong, at least they still have an element of surprise with him there.

Somehow, Tian Yao walks through the robed, humming crowd and makes it all the way across the stone steps without being stopped. He only comes to a halt right before the circular dais, halfway up the stairs. He doesn’t say a single word, only conjuring his Dragon Fang Sword, engulfing it in flames.

Instantly, the chanting from the center of the dias stops, and the humming follows, stuttering to an awkward end. The dark aura that had been spinning around the dais slows.

“Longzhu,” the gravelly voice that had been chanting says. “The Children of the Lady of the Dark Aura have been waiting for you. Welcome.”

“A warm reception, and yet you won’t show your face?” Tian Yao asks.

The gravelly voice chuckles. And then, the dark aura explodes outward to the sides of the cavern, where it clings to the walls. With the dark aura out of the way, a man is revealed. He is sitting cross-legged, donning a black robe and jacket, with his dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail. A neatly trimmed mustache and beard frame his face, but most striking of all is the scars that litter his cheeks and forehead, as if he had been mauled by an animal of some sort. One even crosses through his left eye.

Beside him is an altar, behind which is a screen. On it lies a copy of the Youming Fu, likely one that had been distributed years ago according to Yan Hui’s plan when they were preparing to face Chang Lan, and a crimson blooming equinox flower. There are also pieces of chain link, and a jian that exudes a powerful aura. And alongside it all is a neatly folded, yet blood-stained red robe with pieces of leather armor. In the blink of an eye, Bai Xiaosheng jumps from his hiding place in Tian Yao’s shadow to the shadow cast by the altar, counting on its stability should a fight break out.

“Who are you?” Tian Yao snarls.

The man on the dias cocks his head, as if amused by Tian Yao. “I am Luo Fan, head acolyte of our temple.”

“Temple?” Tian Yao echoes.

“Yes,” Luo Fan says. “We are the Children of the Lady of the Dark Aura. Years ago, when the dark aura was taking over our village, I saw firsthand how the Lady of the Dark Aura came and saved us, absorbing the dark on her own. All of us have such stories, and thus, all of us have become her devotees. 

“You see, Longzhu, the dark has always existed in the world, and will exist long after we are gone. The only path worth following, then, is the Lady of the Dark Aura’s, the one who has mastered the dark aura for the sake of being our savior. We worship her as our goddess, and in return she speaks to us.”

“You lie,” Tian Yao says. “Or perhaps you are being lied to. Yan Hui does not speak to you.”

“She does,” Luo Fan says. “How else would we have known to find the Heavenly Jian inside Sanchong Mountain, or the chains that shackled her on Chen Xing Mountain? How would we have been able to find her robes at the bottom of the Obsidian River, the very robes she shed when she killed her past self and embraced her role as the Lady of the Dark Aura? She is the one who led us there.”

Tian Yao’s eyes flicker to the altar, to the red robes. His face blanches.

“We have found the way to be in communion with our Lady,” Luo Fan continues. “And now she guides us. It is you who she does not speak to, Longzhu, because you have not found the way. But if you join us, you may be guided by her, as well.”

“She guides you, does she?” Tian Yao says with a sarcastic laugh that sends a chill down Bai Xiaosheng’s spine. “She guides you to attack Qingqiu, to steal into her residence and to destroy her own belongings? She guides you to desecrate villages in her name? You disrespect her, and it ends today.”

“The wedding robe was an unfortunate mistake, I will admit,” Luo Fan says, almost repentant. “But she forgives us. We only do what is necessary. This is what she wants.”

“Do not,” Tian Yao says, punctuating each word, “ presume to know what she wants.”

“You do not understand her reasons as you are not one of us.”

Tian Yao begins to stalk up the stairs in slow measured steps, his sword trailing a fiery tail behind him. “Tell me, what is the reason she gave you, then?”

At his approach, Luo Fan stands. “We had to cause destruction and pain in order to cultivate the dark aura. And with these personal effects, her consciousness draws closer. Together, we will bring back her true form. Our Lady needs us to return to this world.”

Tian Yao freezes, his breath hitching, and in the shadow of the altar, Bai Xiaosheng’s heart skips a beat. Yan Hui…returning to this world?

“We only require one final piece,” Luo Fan finally says. “You already know what it is, don’t you, Longzhu? Will you help us?”

Tian Yao’s lip curls in disdain. “I will not give you anything.”

“Perhaps it would help you to hear from our Lady yourself,” Luo Fan says.

And then, an ethereal yet soul-shaking familiar voice is echoing through the cavern.

“Tian Yao… Tian Yao, you’ve come.”

Yan Hui, Bai Xiaosheng recognizes. It has been years, but it is unmistakably her. The same soft inflection, the same affectionate tone that she used to use whenever she called Tian Yao’s name. Perhaps… perhaps the Children of the Lady of the Dark Aura know what they are talking about.

Without even realizing it, Bai Xiaosheng steps out of the altar’s shadow.

“Tian Yao, I need your help. You’ll help me, won’t you? I need the heart protection scale. Help me.” 

“It’s her,” Bai Xiaosheng murmurs, looking up to meet Tian Yao’s eyes, feeling as though he is looking through a fog. “You have to give it to her.”

“Tian Yao, please.”

But Tian Yao doesn’t even look at him. He has his eyes closed, his head tilted back as he listens to Yan Hui continue to call his name. He shudders, pain crossing his face, even as he sadly smiles.

And then he swings his sword, sending out an arc of dragon flame that Bai Xiaosheng has to dissipate into his shadows to avoid. Yan Hui’s voice stops calling for Tian Yao.

“What the hell?!” Bai Xiaosheng hisses, rising back to his feet. His ears ring, and he feels oddly dizzy, but at the same time, it is as though a haze has been lifted from his mind.

“It isn’t her,” Tian Yao says to him. “Snap out of it.”

Luo Fan is not as lucky as Bai Xiaosheng. He did not manage to avoid the dragon flame, and now struggles to get back on his feet, stumbling and swaying. He clutches his left arm close to his chest, moaning in pain, and Bai Xiaosheng has the sickening realization that the sleeve has been burned through, and mangled, charred flesh is all that remains of the arm. He must have put the arm up to shield himself. 

Shaken, Bai Xiaosheng looks away. 

“That is not Yan Hui, and you have not mastered the dark aura,” Tian Yao sneers at Luo Fan. “It has mastered you. You claim that you need destruction and pain to cultivate the dark, but you are wrong. Yan Hui mastered the dark aura out of love. Your acolytes may be manifesting the dark aura, but they are not in control of it.”

Bai Xiaosheng sharply inhales as he finally catches up. They had been tricked. Or at least, he had been tricked. Tian Yao had recognized that it was not Yan Hui immediately, and had not fallen for Luo Fan’s ill-founded logic for even a moment.

But Luo Fan had been in front of them the entire time. How could he have cast the auditory illusion? 

Warily, he scans the crowd of acolytes on the other side of the stream. None of them have moved the entire time during the confrontation between Tian Yao and Luo Fan, nor have they made a sound. It is as if they are puppets on a string, lying in wait, unable to do anything without their puppeteer to control them. 

Bai Xiaosheng whips back around, feeling eyes on him. But neither Tian Yao nor Luo Fan are looking at him. The feeling doesn’t go away, though, so he feels for the shadows, and that is when he realizes.

There is another person, hidden in the shadows of the gate beyond the dais.

Without hesitation, Bai Xiaosheng reaches for the shadows by the gate and pulls . 

A woman in familiar looking white robes comes out, restrained by shadows and landing on the floor on her knees in front of Bai Xiaosheng. She looks up, revealing a young, pretty face behind loose strands of dark hair messily falling out of her ponytail. But it is sinisterly warped, her eyes wide and filled with hate as she bares her teeth.

“So, it’s you,” Bai Xiaosheng says, almost casually looking her up and down. “Your garb…you don’t happen to be from Guang Han Sect, do you?” 

She glares up at him but doesn’t say a word. Instead, she  spits at his feet, saliva flying, and Bai Xiaosheng wrinkles his nose in disgust, stepping back half a step to avoid her spittle.

Tian Yao is also looking her over, glancing between her, Luo Fan, and the crowd of still, robed acolytes behind them.

“You’re the one controlling them,” Tian Yao says, eyes narrowing. “You took advantage of their weakness, lied to them, told them they were bringing Yan Hui back. You used Yan Hui’s name to incite chaos. Who are you? And what do you really want?”

“ Longzhu .” She uses his title, but it is mocking, a taunt. “I don’t expect you to recognize me. I am Xue Dandan, and I was once a disciple of Guang Han Sect, until you destroyed my home.”

Tian Yao scoffs. “It was Su Ying who destroyed your home. And last I checked, Guang Han Sect may not stand anymore, but most of its disciples survived, and they have merged with Chen Xing Mountain.”

Xue Dandan shrieks, tears beading in the corner of her eyes. “It isn’t the same! It’s ruined! It was my home, and you ruined it! You and Yan Hui don’t deserve to know peace! I will take your heart protection scale, I will kill you, and I will bring Yan Hui back so I can kill her, too! I will not rest until I erase every trace of you and Yan Hui from this world!”

She lunges at Tian Yao, then, or at least she tries, but Bai Xiaosheng’s shadows restrict her.

“Alright, crazy,” Bai Xiaosheng says, rolling his eyes as he turns to Tian Yao. “We need to free everyone from her control.”

Tian Yao nods, looking around the cavern. “She isn’t powerful enough to sustain the spell on her own. She is using an external source, something powerful to tether everyone to her. Destroying it will release her power over the acolytes. Where do you think…?”

He trails off before he finishes speaking, his eyes drifting to the altar. Bai Xiaosheng comes to the realization the same moment Tian Yao does. There are a number of powerful items on the altar - the Heavenly Jian, the shackles from Chen Xing Mountain, and Yan Hui’s clothes imbued with her aura. It is the perfect tether.

Bai Xiaosheng carefully watches as Tian Yao realizes what this means; he will have to destroy Yan Hui’s robes and armor. The other items have some meaning, but they are all objects that would be better off forgotten. The robes, though, are one of the few physical remnants of her left in this world, and Tian Yao will have to let it go. 

“Do you want me to do it?” Bai Xiaosheng says, voice hushed.

Tian Yao shakes his head, clenching his jaw. He approaches the altar, and gently brushes the back of his knuckles against the folded red robe, as if it were Yan Hui he was touching instead. He lingers for a long moment, and then he pulls back, conjuring his flame and lighting the altar on fire.

The fire blooms, illuminating the cave. The flames leap high, sparks flying out and catching the dark aura that lingers at the edges of the cavern, and the fire spreads, burning the darkness away.

Bai Xiaosheng can hardly take his eyes off the wondrous sight, no matter how much the light hurts. Truthfully, he isn’t even looking at the fire. He is looking at Tian Yao, his dark, leather armor and snow white, flowing hair as it whips around him at the center of the inferno. 

A surprised, confused shout cries out, and then another, and then another. Bai Xiaosheng startles and whips around to see the robed acolytes, ripping off their hoods to reveal a mix of human and spirit faces as they look around in a panic.

“Don’t worry!” Bai Xiaosheng quickly shouts, trying to get ahead of the crowd before they fall into chaos and hurt themselves. “Longzhu is here, he is cleansing the dark aura. You are safe! Please use the tunnel behind you to exit this cave, and you will be outside and able to go home soon.”

His words have their intended effect, and the panic dies down. Slowly, the crowd ambles out, and Bai Xiaosheng breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that there won’t be any unnecessary casualties today. He turns back to the dais, just as Tian Yao reigns in the flames. The smell of ash lingers in the air, but the space is undeniably purified now.

The only ones left in the cave other than Bai Xiaosheng and Tian Yao are Luo Fan and Xue Dandan. Luo Fan must have passed out from the pain at some point, as he lies unconscious. Xue Dandan, however, is frothing at the mouth.

“You think you’ve won?” she hisses. “I may not be able to bring Yan Hui back, but I will see you dead, Longzhu, I swear!”

Before Bai Xiaosheng can register what she is doing, spiritual energy bursts out of her. It is probably the last of her reserves. She springs at Tian Yao, dagger in hand poised to thrust into his heart.

It is a clumsy move, though, and Bai Xiaosheng does not even need to interfere before Tian Yao catches the dagger by hand. It slices into his palm, but Tian Yao doesn’t seem to notice as he disarms her, throwing the dagger to the side. Bai Xiaosheng’s shadows restrain Xue Dandan once more, and this time, he hits the back of her head, hard enough to knock her out.

“Sorry,” he tells Tian Yao. “Probably should have done that before.”

Tian Yao shrugs. He suddenly seems too tired, too weary to talk, and the purpose that had appeared in his eyes over the past few days has dimmed.

“Let’s just go,” he says. “Can your shadows carry Luo Fan, too?”

Bai Xiaosheng nods, weaving his shadows around the man and following Tian Yao as he exits the cave.

Bai Xiaosheng uses his shadow portal to drop off Luo Fan and Xue Dandan at Chen Xing Mountain upon Tian Yao’s recommendation. They weren’t sure of the extent of Luo Fan’s knowledge and involvement in Xue Dandan’s true plan, but Tian Yao said that Chen Xing Mountain would figure it out, and if Luo Fan was innocent, Chen Xing Mountain would at least care for his wounds before releasing him. Of course, Qingqiu might try to extradite Luo Fan and Xue Dandan to enact their own justice, but Bai Xiaosheng and Tian Yao agreed that it was no longer their problem to deal with. Zi Chen and Zi Yue greet them at the gate just as the sun is rising to take the two prisoners. After a quick exchange of words, during which Tian Yao is mostly silent, Bai Xiaosheng takes them back to the house in Tong Luo Village.

The moment they exit the portal, Tian Yao is falling to his knees. 

“Tian Yao?!”

Bai Xiaosheng drops down next to him, trying to support him. Blood froths and dribbles out of Tian Yao’s mouth, dripping down his chin.

“The antidote,” Tian Yao mutters, breathing heavily, the words slurring together. Sweat trickles down his temples and plasters his white hair to the sides of his face. “Do you… have the antidote?”

Bai Xiaosheng stares at him, incredulous. Somehow, he manages to sputter out, “You got poisoned when she cut you, and you didn’t say anything?! It’s been at least a couple of hours!” 

Tian Yao glares at him, but the effect is diminished by how wan his face is. “Can we… maybe discuss… later?”

“Right, right,” Bai Xiaosheng says, rushing to reach into his belt and pulling out the vial with the antidote. He pulls Tian Yao halfway onto his lap and tilts his head back, emptying the liquid contents into his mouth.

Tian Yao swallows, shuddering in relief. Almost instantly, his shallow breaths even out.

And then, he slumps over in Bai Xiaosheng’s arms, unconscious.

“Stupid dragon,” Bai Xiaosheng mutters, not for the first time, and certainly not the last.

Bai Xiaosheng is nearly falling asleep in his seat when he sees movement in his periphery. He jolts awake, turning to see Tian Yao shifting into a sitting position on the bed.

“You’re up,” Bai Xiaosheng says with a sigh. He finally feels as though he is able to breathe easier. Tian Yao had been knocked out for most of the day, and while Bai Xiaosheng was sure the antidote had worked, he wasn’t sure if there was anything else he could do for Tian Yao other than to let him rest.

Tian Yao nods once, a short movement, and for a moment he doesn’t say anything. Then, he makes a sour face.

“Bucket,” he hoarsely says.

Bai Xiaosheng rushes to push a wooden bucket on Tian Yao’s lap, managing to make it just as he starts throwing up. With a wince of sympathy, Bai Xiaosheng rubs his back. 

Tian Yao heaves for a while. When he’s done, he puts the bucket on the floor, and reaches for the cup of water Bai Xiaosheng had left at his bedside.

“Better?” Bai Xiaosheng asks.

Tian Yao nods. 

“Good, then I can yell at you without remorse,” Bai Xiaosheng says. “WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!”

Tian Yao doesn’t so much as flinch, and Bai Xiaosheng takes it as incentive to continue.

“You were so careless,” he shouts. “Both you and I know that you didn’t have to grab the knife to stop her, but you did anyway. You didn’t even use your dragon flame to shield your hand, which I know you can do. And sure, maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal if it was just a cut, but it was poisoned! And I’ve had that poison in my system, I know you can start feeling its effects almost immediately. Why didn’t you say anything? Tian Yao, are you even listening to me? Do you think you’re invincible, just because you’re the great millennium dragon? Or do you just think you can throw your life away? Because you can’t! People are counting on you. Yan Hui is counting on you.”

Tian Yao takes in a shaky breath at Yan Hui’s name, finally moved. “I know. I know .”

Tian Yao blinks blearily, his eyes misting over. He draws his knees up, leaning his arms on them. He looks so devastated, so pathetic, that Bai Xiaosheng is suddenly spent, no longer having the energy to be mad at him.

“Then why?” Bai Xiaosheng asks quietly.

“I’m so tired,” Tian Yao says. “When I heard her voice today… I knew it wasn’t her. But still, it was the first time I heard her voice in years, and it killed me. And then, burning the altar, it was more like a funerary pyre. When it was over, I just didn’t want to live anymore, not without her.”

Bai Xiaosheng sits in stunned silence, unsure of how to even begin comforting Tian Yao. Tian Yao, the Dragon King who fought the dark aura on his own for days on end to protect what was left of the world. Tian Yao, whose love is the thing of legends, turning his hair white in seconds.

The same Tian Yao who is now uncontrollably shaking, hands fisted in his blankets and eyes clenched shut to keep from crying, even though he is failing, tears leaking out and streaming down his face.

“I’ve been trying so hard,” Tian Yao whispers. “But it’s been five years, and I don’t know if I’m any closer to finding her than I was when I started. I am spreading my dragon cultivation techniques so the traces of her can grow stronger, so she can come back. I am trying so hard to have hope, to keep being the man Yan Hui loved, to be the dragon she dreamed I would be. But it is getting harder everyday. When I burned Luo Fan, I was glad. I wanted to hurt him more. I wanted to kill him, and even though I knew he could be innocent, I didn’t care. I wanted everyone in that cavern dead.”

“But you didn’t do it,” Bai Xiaosheng says. “You couldn’t. You wouldn’t. ”

“Grief makes strange creatures of us. You saw what it did to Xue Dandan.”

“But you aren’t like Xue Dandan.”

Tian Yao scoffs, full of self-deprecation. “You don’t know that.”

“I do,” Bai Xiaosheng argues. “Because I used to be that ruthless, so I know that isn’t you. Unlike me, you have never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

He doesn’t hold back in bringing up his past. His own dark side is something Bai Xiaosheng has come to terms with. He knows it was influenced by Fu Yin, but he also knows that he made those choices, even when he didn’t have to. He is ashamed of it, but all he can do now is try to be better, to be worth the faith Yan Hui has put in him.

“As for Yan Hui,” Bai Xiaosheng says with a soft chuckle. “For you, she would defy fate, the stars, the rules of the universe. You have to trust that she will come back. So no more isolating yourself, and no more suicidal crusades, okay? I’ll stick with you if I have to, just to make sure you don’t go off and get yourself killed.”

Tian Yao looks into his eyes, somewhat dazed. And then, his gaze flickers up to Bai Xiaosheng’s forehead.

“What? Is there something on my forehead?” Bai Xiaosheng asks, reaching up to rub between his brows.

Tian Yao looks down at his hands that had been clenching the blanket. He loosens his grip on the quilt, shaking his head with a weary smile.

“No,” Tian Yao says. “You’re fine. Thank you for reminding me of what I had forgotten.”

Bai Xiaosheng sits at the short pier right outside of the house, swinging his legs as he watches the sun set. The sky is a blend of blue, pink, and gold, and he sighs, breathing in the crisp evening air. 

Tian Yao has gone to pay his respects to his Nainai. After he is done, they plan on heading out and going to Longgu, where they will be picking up mangosteen for Xian Ge. And after that… well, he isn’t sure what comes after that. But he thinks whatever happens, he will stick with Tian Yao for a while longer.

As he muses, the wind blows over him, ruffling his hair. It smells sweet, and he closes his eyes, taking in its wildflower fragrance. 

Thank you .

His eyes snap open, and he looks around, frantic. He knows that voice. But he can’t tell if he actually heard it, or if it simply popped into his head. 

“Yan Hui?” he calls.

There is no response.

Bai Xiaosheng shakes his head. Maybe he is just hearing things, he thinks, especially after the crazy week he has had. But just in case she is listening, he decides to speak to her.

“Yan Hui,” he says. “I’ll keep looking out for Tian Yao for you, okay? But you better come back to us soon. Your husband is kind of a wreck without you.”

The wind passes over him again, kissing his cheeks, and he takes that as an answer.