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“…Aiya, what ghastly place did you dig up this news from?!”
Chen Gong, who’s been bored out of his mind for his entire journey, perks up slightly at the change of tone from the people in front of him. He’s just about approaching the outskirts of Huaizhou, and the most interesting thing that has happened thus far is a bee buzzing past a young man, who had reacted by shrieking three octaves higher than he’d expected. Then he’d eventually stopped and everything got boring again, so Chen Gong had to go back to kicking rocks.
The people up ahead have been speaking normally to each other up to this point, but now the atmosphere seems to have shifted. The man who’d made the exclamation is hissing madly to the guy who is presumably his companion, as if he’s involved with spreading an emperor’s darkest secret.
Chen Gong subtly speeds up his pace to hear them better, thoroughly intrigued.
“Are you taking me for a fool? There’s no way that’s true! This is all just hearsay!”
“But it is true!” his companion insists. “Many sources have said that they’ve seen the two of them together quite frequently lately, and they looked very familiar with each other!”
The man looks adamant to deny it. “Still— they’ve only been seen like this in public recently, no? It hasn’t even been a year! How could they have gotten married in that short amount of time?”
At this, his companion falters. Chen Gong eagerly anticipates their next words— just who exactly has gotten married? Why is it so shocking that they have? He racks his brain for potential outrageous matches in the jianghu, but nothing prepares him for what comes from the man’s mouth.
“Well… you know how Huanyuezong’s zongzhu is! Just imagine it: the formidable Yan Wushi paired with Xuandu Mountain’s Shen Qiao… with their combined power, it’s not that hard to believe that they would defy the typical traditions of courtship and marriage!”
Too shocked to pay attention to his surroundings, Chen Gong doesn’t notice the upcoming rock in his path and trips over it. He falls flat onto his face, then immediately pushes himself up to catch up to the two men.
“Hey!” he shouts, waving his hands frantically. “Hey, you two!”
The two men don’t look pleased to be interrupted. One of them glances at him and scoffs. “What do you want?”
“The rumours that you just brought up! Are they really—” he stutters a little, still stunned by the absurdity of it— “Married?”
The other man’s eyes flash in realization. “Were you eavesdropping on us?”
“What?!” Chen Gong laughs nervously, subconsciously taking a few steps backward. “Not at all, not at all! I’m just curious, please, gentlemen, I don’t want to fight.”
The two men exchange looks. They seem to come to an agreement, then turn to him with matching scowls.
“Hmph,” Man #1 says. “What’s the information worth to you?”
“Huh?” Chen Gong scratches his head. He doesn’t have anything of value on him, apart from his scrambled knowledge of the Zhuyang Ce, but he can’t just give that up. “I… Gongzi, please spare this lowly one! I’m not seeking trouble, I…”
“Alright, alright, it’s just some mindless gossip,” Man #2 snorts, taking pity on him. “There’s no harm in telling you. It’s like this— I’m sure you know of Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao, right? Someone told someone else who told another, and now it’s being spread that they are… romantically entangled.”
“Not just romantically entangled. According to half of the jianghu, they’re married.”
“It isn’t just baseless speculation if you think about it… Would any normal person tolerate someone who picks a fight with him every time they’re together if they aren’t close?”
“They can be friends—!”
Just like that, the two men dissolve into arguing once more. Chen Gong tunes them out, his plan for self-preservation rearranging itself piece by piece in his head.
Screw that face-skinning bastard and those greedy seekers of the Zhuyang Ce! Who’s afraid of them? He certainly won’t need to be if those rumours are the truth, with Shen Qiao and now Yan Wushi, by extension, on his side! If he recounts the hardships he’s survived with Shen Qiao and leverages their brotherhood, they’ll both have to protect him!
With that decided, Chen Gong bids farewell to Huaizhou. Clutching his sack of belongings, he takes off running in the direction he left from, already dreaming of the joyous life he will live for the rest of his days.
Good fortune and bountiful riches, I’m coming for you!
* * *
“SHEN-DAOZHANG,” Chen Gong yells, kicking down the inn room’s doors, “IS IT TRUE?!”
“...” Shen Qiao slowly sets down the cup of tea he was refilling and gazes blankly towards the demolished doors. “You’re back quite soon. Is everything alright?”
Chen Gong attempts to shut the doors that are hanging by their hinges, then gives up and marches over. He slams his hands down on the table with renewed vigour; the teacup rattles, but thankfully does not spill.
“WHEN DID YOU GET MARRIED AND WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED?!” Chen Gong explodes. “WE’VE BEEN THROUGH LIFE AND DEATH TOGETHER, BARELY ESCAPING WITH OUR LIVES. DO YOU STILL RECOGNIZE ME AS A BROTHER?!”
Shen Qiao chokes on air, coughing miserably. “I can assure you that I did not—”
“TO YAN WUSHI OF ALL PEOPLE! WAS HIS BULLYING OF YOU ALL JUST FOR SHOW?”
“Chen Gong, please lower your volume,” he tries to interject, to no avail. “Some people in the inn are still resting, it’s impolite…”
“HOW CAN I BE QUIET IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS?!”
With some effort, Shen Qiao levels a stern look at him. He can at least sense Chen Gong cowering, but his protests don’t stop coming, pouring out of him in rapid bursts.
“I just don’t understand!” he cries, pacing back and forth. “That old devil treats you like… like you’re a game of chess! Or… or some cattle to be sold! He plays with you, makes you a target by reading the Zhuyang Ce out loud and getting me mixed up in trouble too, not caring for what the consequences are… how is this… how can you be married to him?! Your taste isn’t that poor, is it?!”
Shen Qiao purses his lips, wanting to clear this obvious misunderstanding, but he has no idea where to begin. As he’s brainstorming, the room doors open once more, and a familiar set of footsteps stride inside. They carry pride and power in their wake, their aura radiating a certain violet ferocity.
Shen Qiao doesn’t need to use his eyes to know who’s entered, though he’s mildly surprised that he didn’t go through the window.
“I believe they got it right,” Yan Wushi drawls. “Poor taste or not, A-Qiao, you do make a fine husband for me.”
Chen Gong makes a strangled noise that sounds halfway between a screech and a wheeze. Yan Wushi seems to register the extra unwanted presence in the room and promptly delivers a smack to his neck, knocking him out cold.
Shen Qiao raises his head but doesn’t reprimand him. He makes no move to inquire on the reason for his sudden arrival either— Yan Wushi comes and goes as he pleases, after all.
“Ah, I dare not to be,” he replies. “Yan-zongzhu surely has many more suitable prospects for a spouse.”
Yan Wushi shakes his head, feigning hurt. “A-Qiao, A-Qiao, A-Qiao. Is it really that unbearable to be married to me?”
And Shen Qiao thinks about it, truly considering the question. What would it be like to be married to Yan Wushi? To be with him in life and death, travelling through eternal mountains and waters and laying each other to rest?
I know you want to ruin me. If I were bleeding in front of you, my chest cracked open, you would take my heart out and laugh. When I think about being buried, it only seems natural that it is with you. I wouldn’t complain about it; I would only wish that we had both gotten to live long enough for you to ruin me again. You want me to fall, but when I did, you were the one who put me back together.
Shen Qiao looks towards him, his mind settling. “Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad.”
Yan Wushi’s eyebrows lift. It’s an answer he wasn’t expecting to receive today. Pleased by it, he bends forward from his waist, leaning down to speak into his ear.
“You come around quite fast. The jianghu must have gotten something right about you willingly colluding with us evildoers.”
Shen Qiao turns his head away. “Not as much of a willful collusion than ceaseless stalking, I’m afraid.”
This makes Yan Wushi chuckle. “Ah, but why would I cease? A-Qiao, you’re the most interesting thing for tens of thousands of li. We’re having fun, aren’t we?”
“Whatever Yan-zongzhu wants to believe.”
“What one’s spouse says is always correct,” Yan Wushi purrs. “Why, A-Qiao, you’re learning the household rules already. What do you think about moving into my Huanyuezong tonight?”
Shen Qiao suppresses a smile. “Your offer is appreciated, Yan-zongzhu, but I will not be accepting it.”
A loud and dangerous laugh comes from Yan Wushi in response, though he utters nothing but a whisper to the wind. As if he’d come only for a confirmation, a promise, as fragile as it’d be.
“One day, dearest husband,” Shen Qiao thinks he hears. “I’ll wait for you.”
* * *
When Chen Gong wakes in an incense stick’s time, Yan Wushi has already gone. His hand rubs at the back of his neck, the skin rosy from where Yan Wushi had hit him. He looks dazed and starry-eyed, taking a moment to refocus his vision onto the seated Shen Qiao.
“What… Yan Wushi was here, wasn’t he? Aiyo, Shen-daozhang, your husband is so cool! I’m not sure when you got married, but I didn’t get you any gifts… the only gift I can give you both is myself! Please accept this humble offering of my worthless life in exchange for your protection!”
Shen Qiao doesn’t bother correcting him. Explaining won’t do him any favours but gaining him some peace of mind.
“I cannot protect you,” he says instead. “Neither can Yan-zongzhu, who is busy with his own sect’s matters. We mustn’t disturb him. It is best if we go our separate ways as we’d planned.”
Disappointment clouds Chen Gong’s features, his dreams collapsing in an instant. “But… he’s your…”
“This is for your own good,” Shen Qiao interrupts, his tone steadfast. “If it’s fated, we will eventually cross paths in the future.”
“Alright, daozhang,” Chen Gong says mournfully. “I’ll listen to you. The next time we meet, will you tell me the full story between you and Yan Wushi?”
Shen Qiao hums. Only if it hasn’t ended by then, and I live to tell the tale.
“I will.”
* * *
Dusk has already swept over the town when Shen Qiao exits the inn. His departure is soon overtaken by a lilting siren’s song, alluring in its melody.
“Shen-daozhang,” the voice choruses, “Do you like the present I gave you?”
So it was her. He keeps walking, but acknowledges the other’s presence with ease.
“Bai Rong.”
Bai Rong cackles, following him in dancing leaps from the rooftops. “Has this lowly one made such a lasting impression on you that you would recall my name so sweetly?”
“Guniang is certainly… unique.”
“My, my, what a high compliment! Do you have any more for me? Come on, Shen-daozhang, indulge me. What exactly did you think of my little scheme? Don’t spare any thoughts!”
“… It was well executed,” he allows. “You were… very thorough.”
Bai Rong giggles. “Ah, I’m blushing! When word of your affair reaches your precious Xuandu Mountain, what will you do?”
“Nothing,” he replies honestly. “The things of Xuandu Mountain are no longer of my concern. They may think however they wish, as long as Yan-zongzhu and I know the truth.”
“Oh? And what is that truth you speak of?”
The grooves of Shen Qiao’s bamboo staff press against his palm. He remembers when it was first made, snapped like a broken bone and tossed towards him, bringing a message with it.
You can go, but I’ll find you, it said. You have lost everything, but you cannot lose me.
“We don’t need to be married to be united in purpose and in soul.”
His response seems to surprise Bai Rong. When she goes silent from it, Shen Qiao smiles and steps away, and this time, she doesn’t give chase.
In a nearby alleyway, a man remains half-masked by the shadows, half-lit by the moonlight. He watches Shen Qiao go, the corners of his lips lifting.
A-Qiao, I’ll see you again soon.