Chapter Text
Who said that would be a good idea? Who thought it would be no big deal, after all what could go wrong?Oh yeah that was him!
It was only a little cave that literally everyone went to. Who cared that there were tales that some kind of monster would live down there. Pah, he would laugh them right into his face. Who would be scared of some fairy tale monster after all, this was probably just some stray animal or a teen who thought they were oh so funny. There was nothing to be scared about! And he was sure to prove it!
Yes, these were exactly his thoughts. And at the moment he told Xie Lian and the others just that, he actually thought that it was a pretty good idea. He was determined and not even Xie Lian could reason with him about it. He would do it! He would find proof and he would rub it, everyone else who said otherwise, right under their noses!
Right now he just wished that he could kick his past selfe for this stupid idea of his! This whole thing could only end in a catastrophe…
Just hours before Shi Qingxuan had prepared everything just perfectly! After he finally found a backpack of his brother, no way he would use his good bags for this kind of trip, he packed everything that he thought was needed to reveal the identity of this so-called monster. A flashlight, a map of the cave itself, some provisions, who knew how long he would be down there searching after all so better safe than sorry, obviously his handy and in case that the battery would run low in the most important moments he also backed an extra disposable camera. If he couldn’t catch whoever that was with all this, nobody could.
Of course he changed into the best outfit he had for something like this. Who said someone couldn’t be a monster hunter with style? Whoever said that was wrong! Even if probably no one said that anyway, but still!
Because the cave should be colder the deeper someone went he did wear a nice and cosy pullover in a cute pastel mint tone. Some skinny jeans just gave the over sized top just the right note. He had bound the hair that usually would frame his face perfectly into a light bun on the top of his head, he didn’t want to miss anything only because his brown locks were right into his face.
A last look in the mirror and Shi Qingxuan was sure that he was ready for everything that might come.
After all, even Xie Lian had stopped to text him after he had told him the hundredth time that he would go to prove something no matter what and that nothing would happen anyway.
It was only a cave that just happened to be close to their town. There was nothing special about that. As if he really would worry about some tales that someone from who knows when had fantasised about. They had no internet and television back then, of course they would make up such stupid stories.
Shi Qingxuan chuckled a bit at this thought. If these guys could just see that he would prove all of their stories being just some fake, they would start to cry for sure.
But he didn’t have to prove the ancestors anything, it was more about his friends who had the audacity to laugh about this idea of his but also not enough courage to walk in the cave and see for themself.
What heroes they were….Not!
But at least Shi Qingxuan was a man of his word otherwise he wouldn’t walk out of the house with his backpack over his shoulders and would head straight into the forest, right into the direction where the cave should be.
The cave in question was more…plain than the stories behind it would let someone guess. There was no majestic creature graved into it, or even some spooky decoration for the moment when tourists might be carted right here. To say it simply it was just a big boulder that just laid around. Everyone would probably just go around it without giving it a second view, it was just fair to do so. Then only if someone actually knew where they should look for the entrance it actually became more interesting.
The entrance was nothing more than a crack in the stone itself. Not too big, but enough for a grown man to actually not be able to walk through it to the other side.
What a good thing that he was slim enough to go through it without any big problems. Someone should say again that he would eat too much, that would be his proof that he was just perfect, that looked after all as if it was literally made for him.
Too easy.
Shi Qingxuan had to scrunch his nose the moment he took the first breath in this cave. It smelled so moldy that it was nearly breathtaking. Why didn’t he pack some air freshener?! He should have known that this wouldn’t be like some fresh breeze on a flower field. Coughing a few times, holding his nose closed. It didn’t help that much even if he only tried to breathe through his mouth, but at least better than nothing. Maybe at some time he could adapt to this smell, but right now was not the moment.
Mumbling a bit to himself that this stupid cave better was worth all the trouble he went through, not really noticing how far he actually did go already, Shi Qingxuan stopped as he heard something.
Looking around confused, but there was nothing and the sound was gone as well. What was this? Some kind of rasp or a rattle? No, that couldn’t be. There only was this one path that he just walked through for… who knows how long? There could be nothing behind him!
Haha…that probably was just his imagination and nothing else.
He was alone here and sometimes the mind just does these kinds of tricks, nothing else of course. No one of his friends would be so mean to follow him and try to scare him to death. No they weren’t that mean. Especially with someone like Xie Lian around, he would stop anyone who only just thought about doing something like this.
Shi Qingxuan was sure about this!
Trying to hum something as he went further, some song that came first into his mind, wasn’t it the easiest thing to do to distract his mind? He at least couldn’t hear the strange sounds anymore, so it worked. Or it was just his humming blocking out all the other sounds around him that were just too quiet.
As the brunette now concentrated more on the way before him, he only now realized that this cave, that should only be a little one by the way, was actually pretty large. Checking his clock he actually could confirm that he was walking through this path for more than one and a half hours. Why was it so large? And why did it go so far down? If some kind of animal was down here it sure was already dead and rotting.
Shi Qingxuan stopped. Looking down on his path and ending this humming as an audible crunch was heard from his boot. The flashlight shone upon the dark stones only to also reflect something white that just laid down there in between the rocks.
It was a…fishbone?
Well not only bones it was the whole damn skeleton of a fish! What animal could eat something without damaging the skeleton? Before something more important dawned on him! He was in a cave, deep down to be precise, how did a fish end up here? There was no water around the cave and there was no water here as well for sure!
Shi Qingxuan stopped his thoughts as something seemed to clear a fact that he just had thought about.
His head spinning around to the only way that was ahead of him as he actually heard something that sounded like a ripple. That…that wasn’t true now! Was his mind playing games again?
No he really could hear it and it didn’t stop only because he thought about something different. There was…water!
Starting to walk again, even faster than before, to reach whatever mystery was lying ahead of him. He would be the first to actually see this! It would be his discovery! What luck he got his camera otherwise no one would believe him!
It didn’t took the brunette that long to reach the end of this path and what apparently looked like the end of the cave even. It wasn’t what he had expected.
The cave looked like nothing on the outside and now there was a nearly endless path that went so far down in it and last but not least a room where an actual pond was in! As if this wasn’t the most impressive, the pond, even hidden in a dark cave, glimmered as if it would reflect the night sky and it was clear like glass. Looking up, Shi Qingxuan understood why the pond was shimmering, it came from the walls. Some minerals somehow shone and even more now that his flashlight shone upon them. He didn’t know how this was possible, he wasn’t that good with these things, but he knew that it was really pretty.
This was supposed to be some unimportant little cave and now it turned out to be so amazing. Even if he hadn’t found the monster everyone told about. Just some bones along the way.
Maybe they were just really old and the animal that lived here was long gone and the people from long ago just couldn’t handle a little bit of walking and were too scared by the sound of the pond. That must be it!
Wasn’t he just that smart! He only had to take some pictures to show the others and then everything would be done to his favour.
Taking the disposable camera out of his bag and looking through it, after he got the flashlight adjusted just right to actually have some light for it. Shi Qingxuan froze. Realizing something horrific.
The pond was still! It didn’t move and there was no wind to move it. Where did the ripple come from?!
His hands started to shake and so did the whole camera. Before his eyes widened as his whole body tensed up.
Something had touched him!
Who could that be? What could it be? There were no steps he had heard! It was just there all of a sudden and so light! What could have such a light touch? Shi Qingxuan didn’t know if he actually wanted to know, especially if it was in a cave that should be empty. There should be just him and this creepy pond that didn’t care about physics!
But there it also was again, that light rattle.
Shi Qingxuan couldn’t help it. He was scared but also somehow curious. He at least would like to know what would kill him. Still debating what he should do, turning around or not, the, whatever it was, took the decision from him.
Still holding the camera up before his eye, something appeared in front of the lens. A white shining body, only sockets where the eyes should be, some of the upper ribs were broken and so the sharp ends were missing. A little tock always sounded when the little head came too close to the lens as if they would pick on it.
It was the fish, the fishbones he did just step on only a few minutes before. How…? That couldn’t be! If something is dead its skeleton doesn’t start to move around as if it never had died!
The fish moved around, even picking on the trigger and apparently shooting a photo without noticing, only the click surprised it and let it swim? away a few inches.
Shi Qingxuan couldn’t breathe. It was as if he had fully forgotten how this was working. Before the first thing that finally made its way out of his throat was a long scream that echoed from all walls of this place and made it even louder than it should be.
The little fish moved back, as if startled. As if a skeleton should fear him! But what should he care about this?! The living dead never meant something good, this damn fish probably was close to attack him and eat his flesh! So there was only one option!
The brunette turned on his heels as fast as he could, nearly stumbling over his own two feet. Just to stop before this chase even could have started. Right in front of the path was a whole fishbone army, all kinds of shapes and sizes. If he knew anything about fish he probably could tell which kind they were, but even if, in this situation it wouldn’t help him a bit.
Another scream escaped his throat. The fish flinched back before they actually came closer. If Shi Qingxuan wouldn’t know better that they were about to tear his flesh from his bones, he would say they were curious. But he did know better!
“Please I might look good and tasty but I’m really not edible!” Stuttering between his words, he couldn’t believe that he would try to negotiate with some fishbones today. And even less he would have thought to be eaten by some. Could they even understand him? He didn’t know! They were just some fish!
But there was no time to think about it any further, as suddenly he lost his footing on the ground. He hadn’t noticed that he backed away, he forgot about the pond behind him, before it was too late and something from the edge crumbled away. Letting him fall into the pond.
The water was freezing cold and it took every breath out of his lungs as he met with it. He could feel his heart pound faster than before but no matter how much it tried the cold water took every warmth from his limbs away within seconds. Making his muscles stiffen even if he tried to go against it and swim back onto the surface. Screw the fishbones, drowning was way scarier right now!
But Shi Qingxuan couldn’t! He tried so hard to stay on the surface but nothing helped. His muscles ached already. His clothes were soaked and took him down. He couldn’t catch any breath because his lungs couldn’t hold onto the air he breathed. It was too cold! Going underwater more and more often, before he couldn’t resurface anymore. Only breathing in cold water.
He didn’t want to die here! He didn’t want to die at all! But he couldn’t do anything! He was too weak and it was too cold!
Only thinking about his friends and family he saw how the world started to blur before his eyes. Just feeling so light all of a sudden. It went darker, before there was even something darker in his vision before everything just went black.
His eyes shot open as he took a long breath. Coughing up water in the next moment, before breathing became way more easy. Shi Qingxuan’s breath was ragged as he let himself fall on his back, looking up at the ceiling. He could breathe, he could see, but how? He was close to drowning and now he lied here? Still alive!
What did happen? He didn’t know. He only knew that he had to go out of this cave before these fishbones would get him! But it was hard to move, his muscles still hurt like hell. What a good thing that the wind wasn’t that cold around this time of year. Letting out a relieved sigh before he looks puzzled up again. Wait a minute!? Wind?!
His eyes needed a moment to adjust, before he finally noticed that this wasn’t the ceiling of the cave, it was the actual night sky with stars and everything. How did he come here?!
Pushing himself forward to look around before he let out a little scream of surprise as he realized that he wasn’t the only one here. The person was nearly as dark as the night, so it didn’t surprise him that he couldn’t see him at first.
A grumble was the first answer of the stranger, who looked annoyed down to him.
“You are really loud.” was the only thing he said, his voice low but not intimidating, it somehow was nice to listen to.
Shi Qingxuan didn’t know what to think about this. His brain didn’t want to work at all. Just staring at the one in black, with these long black hair and these shining blue eyes. If he thought about it he couldn’t even think straight because of this other guy.
“How…? Did you…?” His voice sounded so raspy as if he hadn’t talked for ages and not only for a few minutes or so. Even if he shouldn’t he somehow felt embarrassed because of this. He had so many questions and wanted answers for them, but he couldn’t form even the slightest sentence.
“Yes.” This little word surprised Shi Qingxuan even more. It was not worded as a question but rather an answer. Did he really just want to say that he had saved him?
“I dive around here, it’s calm. And all of a sudden I have to stumble upon your body on one of those trips. You must have hit your head really hard in there for passing out that long. You were really lucky, if I wasn't around you would be a goner by now.” The one in black explained in a tone that sounded somehow disinterested and yet Shi Qingxuan could still feel the others' eyes looking at him from time to time. Was he actually watching that he felt alright and wouldn’t pass out again?
“I hit…my head?” An approving ‘hmhm’ came from the other at this. Did he really hit his head? Was this the answer for everything? Maybe it was? This cave had a pretty strange smell that maybe made him dizzy without him realizing. Everything that happened there couldn’t be true after all. Living fishbones, that was just too absurd, even for him.
“Thank you for…saving me…ehm?” These blue eyes met his for a moment before the one in dark looked away again.
“He Xuan.” was the only thing he said. Shi Qingxuan somehow found it funny.
“Thank you for…saving me, He-Xiong.” Repeating his thanks again now fully, while the other looked surprised at him, but didn’t mention the address the brunette just had used.
It took some time before Shi Qingxuan had gathered enough strength to not only sit but also stand on his own feet again.
Also to orient himself. And it was surprising to see that he was by the lake that flew close to the city, he could still see the light from here. It wasn’t even that far away from his own home.
How could he just start in the cave and end up here? Were there some connection? It must have been, otherwise he actually would have died in that damn cave if He-Xiong wouldn’t have dived around these parts and found him. But speaking of him he stayed this whole time by his side, mostly looking at the water in front of them. But it still was nice. He actually listened to everything Shi Qingxuan did talk about, only talking back a few times himself or just letting out some sounds to approve or negate it.
As the brunette finally was able to walk again and his whole hair and clothes weren’t that wet anymore, the one in dark even walked with him to the city. It was as if he would be walked home after some kind of date, which made him smile a bit.
Before he stopped abruptly as if something was wrong. Shi Qingxuan turned around surprised at this. He had thought he could offer He Xuan something in return for his help. Even if it was only something small like a drink.
“You find your way on your own now. I won’t go there.” Letting it out a bit huffed as if he just burned himself on something that wasn’t there.
“”Really? I thought you might come to my home and… I really would like to thank you for saving me.” At this moment he didn’t know how to word it better, he just wanted to spend maybe a bit more time with the other. But He Xuan only shook his head.
“No, I really can’t. Just go home.” With this the one in black just turned around as if everything was already said, and started to walk away. Somehow a faint panic started to bubble up in his core.
“He-Xiong!” He shouted as loud as he could. “Will we… Can we meet again sometimes?” Awaiting the answer nervously.
But He Xuan stopped in his steps and turned his head around to look from the corner of his eyes at the other. It was as if Shi Qingxuan saw a faint smile on the others lips, but it was too dark to actually be sure about this.
“Maybe.” Was the only word he gave as an answer and somehow it was enough for Shi Qingxuan. It was not a no, there was still a chance that they would meet again. At least he did know where he could find him.
The next few days were just the usual routine, beside the fact that Shi Qingxuan went nearly every day to the lake to see if he might meet He Xuan again. He even tried different times, but he never was lucky. But some day he would for sure.
He hadn’t told his friends what exactly did happen, only that he found a very pretty pond inside the cave, but most didn’t even believed this. There was no proof after all. But he didn’t mind. It was still a good moment in his eyes after everything that happened.
Today he couldn’t go to the lake, even if there wouldn’t be a lot he still had send the disposable camera in to see what it might have caught. Maybe he had made a picture of He-Xiong in his blurry mind. That would be a luck!
But as expected most of the photos were dark, someone only could imagine that there was a stone somewhere, but even that could be a mistake.
Flipping through the photos as he walked down the street, he suddenly stopped. There was actually one that showed something. But when did he make this? It showed the pond, the water was still, or? No it wasn’t.
Shi Qingxuan looked closer as if there was something hidden that he hadn’t seen before. Before he understood what it was. His eyes widened as he saw in the pond, close to a stone in the back, some waves came from that place making the water on the picture quiver. There was a head! And he knew that one.
Even if it wasn’t the best picture he still could make out the dark hair and the blue eyes. How could He-Xiong be in this picture by the pond? Didn’t he say he just dived there? And why didn’t he wear any equipment? He only could see bare skin, skin that looked way paler than the one he saw that night. What was just going on?
It took him some time before he realized something. He hadn’t hit his head! It was all true and this picture was the proof! He did not shoot it, it was that bonefish he had stepped on, he made it and got He Xuan caught on it. He could remember the dark shadow before he passed out, could it be that this was He Xuan as well? But if he was there, if he made the ripple in the pond from the beginning, what was he?
Could he really be the monster from the tales? Shi Qingxuan shook his head. That couldn’t be, he saved him, he was way too nice in his own way. He didn’t have to after all. He was no monster. But the brunette was sure that he wanted to find out what actually was going on, but for this he had to meet the black haired guy again. And he was sure that he would!