Chapter Text
**Chapter One: Stuck Like Glue**
Xue Yang woke with a pounding headache, his vision swimming as he blinked against the dim, flickering light of an unfamiliar cavern. The air was damp, the scent of wet stone and something faintly metallic clinging to the back of his throat. He groaned, shifting—only to realize something was *wrong.*
Something cold and slimy was wrapped around his right arm.
He yanked instinctively, but whatever it was didn’t budge. Instead, he heard a sharp hiss beside him.
"Would you *stop*?"
Xue Yang turned his head—slowly, because his skull felt like it had been split open—and found himself face-to-face with none other than Jin Guangyao, who looked just as disheveled and pissed off as Xue Yang felt.
And *oh,* this was rich.
"Well, well," Xue Yang drawled, voice rough. "If it isn’t the illustrious *Lianfang-zun.* What’s the matter? Did hell spit you back out too?"
Jin Guangyao’s expression tightened. "I could ask you the same thing." He tugged at his left arm—the one currently bound to Xue Yang’s by a thick, translucent slime that refused to let go.
Xue Yang sneered. "You think *I* did this?"
"I think," Jin Guangyao said through gritted teeth, "that we should focus on getting *out* of this situation before assigning blame."
Xue Yang rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. He tested the slime again, poking at it with his free hand. It stretched slightly but didn’t break. "Gross. What *is* this stuff?"
Jin Guangyao sighed. "Some kind of spiritual adhesive, perhaps. Or a creature’s secretion."
"Great. So we’re stuck together until we find a way to dissolve it."
"*Or* cut it," Jin Guangyao muttered.
Xue Yang grinned. "Aw, don’t tell me you’re already thinking of taking my arm off."
Jin Guangyao shot him a look. "I’d prefer not to lose mine in the process, thank you."
They fell into an uneasy silence, both scanning the cave. The walls were smooth, almost polished, with veins of faintly glowing minerals threading through the stone. The path ahead sloped downward, disappearing into darkness.
"Well," Xue Yang said, heaving himself up and dragging Jin Guangyao with him. "Guess we’re going *that* way."
Jin Guangyao stumbled slightly but quickly regained his balance. "Must you be so *forceful*?"
"Would you rather sit here and wait for whatever made this slime to come back for seconds?"
That shut him up.
They walked in tense silence for what felt like hours, their footsteps echoing in the cavern’s vast emptiness. The slime between them shifted slightly but held firm, its surface glistening unnaturally in the dim light.
Then Jin Guangyao stopped abruptly.
Xue Yang yanked on their connected arms. "What *now*?"
Jin Guangyao’s jaw clenched. "...I need to relieve myself."
Xue Yang blinked. Then he burst out laughing.
"Oh, this is *perfect*," he wheezed. "The great Lianfang-zun, humbled by *bodily functions*—"
"*Shut up,*" Jin Guangyao hissed, ears red.
Xue Yang wiped a tear from his eye. "Fine, fine. But you’re *not* peeing with me attached to you."
Jin Guangyao exhaled sharply. "Then *help me find a solution.*"
Xue Yang smirked. "Guess we’d better find that exit faster, huh?"
Jin Guangyao looked like he wanted to strangle him.
Strangely, Xue Yang found he didn’t mind the company.