Lin Shijin’s ear was twisted again. Feeling utterly bewildered, he clapped a hand over it and retreated several steps. “You… you’re the one who called me an idiot last time.”
He stared at the face identical to his own, confusion welling in his heart. How had it entered his dream?
Could it be the original owner?
But the original owner had already been gone when he arrived.
Lin Shijin asked, “Who are you?”
“Do you still not know?” The man slowly bent towards him, those icy, wintry eyes reflecting his figure. Though the two looked exactly the same, their temperaments and expressions could not have been more different.
“I am you, and you are me.”
“Without me, there is no you. Without you, there is no me.”
Lin Shijin was completely muddled. He was almost dizzy from it. After a moment, he seized on what felt like the important part. “So… it was you who twisted my ear last time.”
And had accused him of seducing men.
“It was me,” Lin Fuheng said, studying the face that mirrored his own. His lashes lifted slightly; his gaze held a faint chill as his fingertips slowly pinched the boy’s chin.
“My waking time is short. Listen carefully. Go to Wuxiang Mountain and find Qiushui. It’s waiting for you there.”
Lin Fuheng’s eyelids lowered. He had slept for a thousand years, and now only a fragment of his soul remained. It was weak, thin, liable to disperse at any moment.
Times had changed. Although he had no idea how Feng Rugao had managed to summon his reincarnation, it was easy enough to guess it hadn’t been through any kindly means.
Wuxiang Mountain… he had founded it, back then.
Lin Fuheng’s eyes reopened slowly. “Go to Wuxiang Mountain, take first place, and you’ll be able to leave Fuguang. You’ll earn your freedom.”
Lin Shijin was at a complete loss. Wasn’t the Qiushui Sword Fuheng’s sword? What did he mean by waiting for him? And taking first place at Wuxiang Mountain?
He simply assumed this was yet another version of himself inside a dream. The moment he heard “first place”, he immediately drooped. “What are you talking about? Of course I can’t take first place.”
“It’s already a miracle if I’m not last.”
The youth’s soft voice carried a hint of shame. He snuck a glance at him… half frightened, half curious.
Lin Fuheng: “…”
He swallowed down the urge to cuff him. This was himself, after all. The youth’s current good-for-nothing state was partly his doing. But this flimsily sweet temperament certainly wasn’t.
“If you don’t take first place, just wait for Feng Rugao to lock you up,” Lin Fuheng sneered, his eyes deepening. His grip on the youth’s chin tightened, tinged with frustration.
“Do you really not understand? This trip… is the last chance he’s giving you, and you insist on going against him. Once you return, he’ll imprison you and keep you as his little plaything day and night.”
“That’s not all. He may well dose you with medicine, make you forget that good Shixiong of yours, fill your heart and eyes with only him… until you remember nothing else.”
Lin Shijin was dreaming, yet the pinch still hurt. He stared at him in disbelief. The man’s words left his mind ringing, everything feeling faintly unreal.
“What are you saying… Shizun isn’t that sort of person.”
He refuted instinctively, though part of him had already begun to waver. A chill crept slowly up his spine.
“Not just Feng Rugao. Those cats and dogs as well, including your shixiong. Best keep your distance,” Lin Fuheng said in a low, cold voice. “None of them are worthy of you.”
Lin Shijin: “…”
He had no idea who these cats and dogs were. All he heard was Sheng Rufei. His knack for latching onto the oddest detail remained unrivalled. A moment ago he had been slightly frightened; now he murmured, “It’s me who’s unworthy of Shixiong.”
“Shixiong is good in every way.”
His cheeks flushed faintly; he was practically bubbling pink. Just mentioning his shixiong transformed his whole demeanour… shy, bright-eyed, soft.
Lin Fuheng’s expression cooled. “Your shixiong took advantage of you last night. He bit your ear while you were asleep.”
“Rubbish! You’re the one who keeps pulling me, and now you’re blaming my shixiong,” Lin Shijin muttered. He wasn’t stupid. The man in front of him was a repeat offender. How could he compare to Sheng Rufei?
Lin Fuheng: “…”
Lin Shijin fidgeted inwardly. Even if Sheng Rufei had bitten him… would that count as stealing a kiss?
“Remember my words,” Lin Fuheng said. Staying any longer would only cause his soul to dissipate faster. “If you can’t do it, you’ll suffer the consequences yourself.”
“And I won’t be able to help you.”
His figure faded and vanished. On the bed, Lin Shijin’s eyelids fluttered, but he didn’t wake.
He drifted into more disjointed dreams, none of which featured the man again. By the time he finally stirred, Sheng Rufei was waking him.
They had to rise early to continue their journey. Lin Shijin was still groggy. He blinked up at Sheng Rufei, who brushed a fingertip against his cheek before withdrawing.
“Shixiong?”
The dream from the previous night flashed through his mind, every word still vivid. That other self… he wasn’t sure whether it had truly been him, but the things he had said…
Qiushui Sword. First place at Wuxiang Mountain. Feng Rugao.
His thoughts were in a tangle. Should he tell Sheng Rufei? He remembered the man saying Sheng Rufei had bitten him. If he could confirm that…
He glanced at the youth beside the bed, unaware that Sheng Rufei was quietly watching him. Lin Shijin padded over to the bronze mirror.
Turning his head slightly, he spotted a faint bite-mark at the tip of his ear.
As he stared, Sheng Rufei’s gaze drifted towards him, pausing for a moment.
So Sheng Rufei really had bitten him!!
Lin Shijin’s emotions twisted together… shock, disbelief… and a little something else. If the man in the dream had been right about the bite, could the rest be true as well? And he really hadn’t expected Sheng Rufei to secretly bite him.
Pretending not to notice, he turned around and looked at Sheng Rufei with studied casualness. “Shixiong, it felt like someone twisted my ear last night. It hurt a bit before I slept.”
Sheng Rufei paused in the middle of packing. “When did it start hurting?”
“I don’t remember the time.” Lin Shijin studied his expression. It was still that cool, unreadable face, as if he knew nothing at all.
Quite the actor.
He stepped closer. “Shixiong, have a look?”
Sheng Rufei’s gaze flicked briefly to his ear before withdrawing. “Does it hurt now?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Last night I dreamt of a man who looked exactly like me. He said my ear hurt because someone bit it.”
Sheng Rufei lowered his gaze. Neither spoke. The silence grew faintly awkward. Feeling strangely self-conscious, Lin Shijin met his eyes and whispered, “Was it you who secretly bit me, Shixiong?”
Sheng Rufei: “…”
He received no answer. He asked and asked until the wooden block’s ears turned red. Eventually Sheng Rufei finished packing, and the two of them headed downstairs.
Following behind him, Lin Shijin nearly laughed. He watched the back of Sheng Rufei’s hood, where his ears were conveniently hidden and darted forward to tug his sleeve.
“Shixiong, slow down, don’t rush.”
It was still dark outside. As they stepped out of the inn, Lin Shijin noticed several scourge-slayers standing guard. Among them was the man who had picked up his token the previous day.
A carriage waited outside, guarded by several scourge-slayers. Its side was marked with the same longsword-and-crescent motif. They wore black hooded robes; two stood with swords in their arms, one chewing on a stalk of grass as he glanced over.
They watched the two youths carefully. The day before, their commander had insisted one of them was the fated match he had calculated.
“Which one?”
“The one at the back. The one who doesn’t look very clever.”
The two scourge-slayers at the carriage muttered among themselves. They had been instructed to keep an eye on their lord, lest their deputy tried to abduct his supposed fiancée.
The two youths emerged one after the other. The youth in front had most of his face hidden by his hood; his bearing alone revealed an extraordinary air, and his strength was likely formidable.
The one behind was the deputy’s so-called destined lover was delicately beautiful, quietly radiant, and a little too lively. He seemed rather dependent on the aloof figure ahead of him.
Noticing their stares, the youth in the back edged closer to the cool-faced youth, wary.
Lin Shijin could feel the scourge-slayers watching them. He moved a little nearer to Sheng Rufei and whispered, “Shixiong, are they watching us?”
“Mm.” Sheng Rufei’s senses were razor-sharp. His gaze flicked across, and he stepped in front of the youth, speaking in a low voice. “Get into the carriage first. Wait for me inside.”
“Alright.” Lin Shijin answered obediently. Just before climbing aboard, he glanced back. The man who had picked up his token the day before was looking in his direction. Still shrouded in a hooded robe, his face couldn’t be seen. But his silhouette was unmistakable.
A strange jolt ran through Lin Shijin. Something felt off. He lifted the curtain and slipped into the carriage.
Sheng Rufei turned. In the distance stood the Scourge-Slayer Envoys. The crescent-moon motif on their longswords caught the light, reflecting a cold gleam. None of the men moved.
The two sides faced each other in utter silence. The air tightened. Sheng Rufei’s expression was indifferent; his fingers rested lightly on the scabbard. He could sense the hostility coming from the young scourge-slayers opposite him.
And more faintly still, he could tell the other’s cultivation was anything but low.
Just when the atmosphere had grown brittle with tension, the scourge-slayers chewing on a stalk of grass inside the opposing carriage yawned loudly, shattering the stillness.
“Master, isn’t it about time?”
“If we don’t leave before the city gates close, the morning market will start. That’ll be trouble.”
At that, Cui Haoxue finally withdrew his sharp gaze, then followed his men back into their carriage. It rolled forward at an unhurried pace, the scourge-slayer snapping the reins before disappearing round the corner.
Only after watching the carriage vanish did Sheng Rufei board his own, steering it out of the city in the opposite direction.
“They’ve gone the other way. That boy’s quite wary. They must be heading for Wuxiang Mountain. Looks like we’re taking the same road.”
The grass-chewing slayer lowered his gaze, flicked the curtain aside with a fingertip, and asked, “Master, shall we follow them?”
*
Author’s Note:
Sheng Rufei: Everyone ships my wife with someone else. Even my wife ships someone else with my wife. Anyone but me.
