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The last thing Luo Binghe could remember was the crushing darkness of Xin Mo. He’d been trying to get back to that other Shen Qingqiu. But Xin Mo was resistant, and they’d fought. Finally, Xin Mo cut a fissure into the world’s stitching, and he’d fallen through.
The searing bright sun shone through his eyelids. Slowly opening them, he was greeted with the vast, blue sky. Nothing like the demon realm, or the human realm now that he’d taken control.
As his vision cleared, he could see gilded palaces all around.
Where am I?
“Heya!” A face popped up before him. Startled, Luo Binghe tried to scramble away. But his limbs felt like putty, and he only flailed weakly.
“Did you just ascend? I haven’t heard of any heavenly trials recently. What’s your name?” She held her hand out for Luo Binghe to take. He weakly grabbed it and pulled himself off the ground.
“I’m Luo Binghe,” He responded, “Who’re you?”
“My name’s Shi Qingxuan. I’m the wind master!”
Luo Binghe didn’t understand anything that was coming out of her mouth, but nodded anyway.
“Let’s go see Ling Wen, she’d know where your palace is going to be.”
Luo Binghe’s face screwed up in confusion. My Palace?
Shi Qingxuan pulled Luo Binghe along the golden streets. He followed along, trying his best to appear composed.
It was a lot brighter here than back in the demon realm. The sky was clear. People had real smiles, not ones plastered on so as to appeal to him. The air wasn’t filled with ash and tension, but laughter and the sun’s rays. The roads were lined with grand palaces, each one greater than the last. It was nothing like the rubble Luo Binghe had left behind.
✦✦✦
Shi Qingxuan was unlike anyone Luo Binghe had ever met. She didn’t bend to meet his whims, but she wasn’t cruel. She was bubbly, kind, and fun. She had a personality. She wasn’t like any of his wives back home, who were all soft spoken and meek. She was passionate and fierce.
Luo Binghe stuck by her side. He was in an unfamiliar land, and no matter how perfect it looked, his guard was up. It had been three weeks since he arrived, and Xin Mo still wasn’t letting him back home.
He was forced to stay in Shi Qingxuan’s palace, since he hadn’t ascended. Apparently he was a deputy god, whatever that meant.
“Binghe! Wanna go to the mortal realm?” Shi Qingxuan approached Luo Binghe.
“Sure,” Luo Binghe replied. Even now, he didn’t always know what she was talking about.
Shi Qingxuan turned away, and Luo Binghe took that as a sign to follow. He rushed to catch up to her quick pace.
Shi Qingxuan always walked like she had places to be, but never arrived anywhere. She spent most of her days with Luo Binghe wandering around, finding things that sparked her interest.
Maybe that’s what he was. A new, shiny thing that caught her eye.
Luo Binghe didn’t mind that thought too much. Shi Qingxuan was the only person who wasn’t befriending him just to survive, and he didn’t want to lose that.
✦✦✦
The slow, sluggish, feeling of thinking through alcohol was starting to creep into Luo Binghe’s head. But his demonic side fought against it, keeping him sober. You can’t be intoxicated if you’re fighting for your life after all.
“I’m glad you showed up, Binghe. It's lonely, being a god,” Shi Qingxuan turned towards Luo Binghe. Her words were starting to slur, just ever so slightly.
“Really? You seem to be friends with everyone,” He replied. Shi Qingxuan was known by every person he came across, no matter their ranking.
“Most of them are just scared of my brother. They don’t care too much for me.”
“Oh.” Luo Binghe didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t had much practice with comforting people, he usually just looked into their eyes lovingly and all was resolved. Or he killed the problem, same thing.
Shi Qingxuan broke the silence with her smile, and Luo Binghe relaxed. They continued to talk even as the moon rose to the middle of the sky, illuminating the night.
“Come’on, let’s go outside.” Shi Qingxuan pulled Luo Binghe up. Her cheeks were flushed – was it too warm, or she’d had too much to drink, Luo Binghe didn’t know.
The moon’s light reflected off the lake outside. Shi Qingxuan guided Luo Binghe to sit at the water's edge, sand shifting below him as he sat down.
“It’s pretty,” he mumbled. He hadn’t seen such pure water in a while.
“It is, isn’t it? I haven’t been able to come back in a while, but this is where I used to spend my time. Those water lilies have always been here, I used to try and land rocks in the flowers.”
Luo Binghe laughed. It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t rough. When was the last time he had been able to relax and smile?
“Here, why don’t you try?” Shi Qingxuan handed him a small, round rock. It was smooth beneath his sword-calloused fingers.
“Alright.” He swung the rock into the lake, and heard it splash against the water. Even in the dead of night, he knew he missed by a mile.
Shi Qingxuan giggled, and handed him another. He tried over and over, until he didn’t hear the telltale splash of failure.
“You did it!” Shi Qingxuan threw her arms around his torso. Luo Binghe threw his head back to stare at the stars, a smile spread across his face and-
The next thing Luo Binghe knew was Shi Qingxuan’s lips against his. They were soft, just like her. No one had ever kissed him like this before. She wasn’t forced, she wasn’t hesitating or pulling away.
Shi Qingxuan pulled away to breathe.
“We should go back to the capital now, yeah?” Shi Qingxuan smiled.
Luo Binghe didn’t reply. Shock overtook him, leaving him dumbfounded and wide-eyed.
Shi Qingxuan – kissed him? He hadn’t even tried to seduce her, was she just taking advantage of him for power?
But he didn’t hold any power in this world. He was useless here, and yet Shi Qingxuan still kissed him.
Maybe Shi Qingxuan didn’t love him, maybe it was just an accident. But Luo Binghe didn’t care, because there was that small, small, chance she did. And he would risk it all for someone’s love.
“Yeah.”