How had the monster been able to come after them? Ling thought there was no way it could have gotten rid of all those rocks blocking the entrance by itself. He was right.
After Chao had prevented it from following them into the passageway, it had struggled for a while, trying to clear away the rocks. After its paws, claws and jaws had failed it, it had dropped on its haunches and let out a haunting howl.
In mere seconds, it felt that familiar touch- a woman's gloved hand, running slender fingers through its thick fur.
She was tall, not like a woman, but tall like a girl of seventeen or so. Her rose pink silk dress draped in delicate layers to the ground, clinging to her figure as though wet and magnifying the slim waist and soft curves of a body that could undoubtedly awaken lust in a most pious monk. A golden mask covered the upper half of her ageless face, revealing shell pink cheeks and rosebud shaped lips that could by themselves turn heads until necks broke. Her midnight black hair, usually pinned away from her flawlessly smooth face to the very last strand, was left to flow down her shoulders, framing it instead with an air of elegance.
"You disappoint us,"she murmured"we have such high hopes for you, don't you know? I brought suitable prey to you, the least you can do is actually succeed in devouring them. Why do you let me down so?".
The beast whined, looking up at her. This person was the first of these beings that walked on two legs it had ever seen. She had been there when it was born, holding out her hand to it, speaking in that low voice of hers.
Finally she turned to look at the rocks.
"They went through here, and shut you out? How clever. Listen,"she bent so she was eye to eye with it"if I get rid of these obstacles, you will eat them to the last morsel,or die trying, alright? Seriously,we need to move on to the next stage of the experiment. It's long overdue".
She rose, and the beast rubbed its head submissively against her long pink boot.
"Good boy".
She stretched her hand, and black flames erupted from her fingertips, instantly burning the rocks to ashes.
"Run along now,"she nodded towards the exposed passageway"it won't be pretty if you fail me again".
*
*
*
"Gosh!"Yingyue exclaimed in frustration"if you signal for help at least make yourself easier to find!".
Haoran picked offence immediately.
"Can you even hear yourself right now?"he said harshly.
"What? You're only going because you think it might be Chao, so if you're planning to accuse me of insensitivity, you better reconsider".
For some reason, that only annoyed Haoran more. How dare she doubt him? She made it sound like he was being unreasonable and paranoid, but of course she wouldn't understand. When it came to him and Chao, nobody ever did, not even Chao himself.
How was he supposed to explain the way his chest always constricted around his heart whenever Chao was in trouble? That he was certain who that signal came from because his chest felt that way right now, making breathing rather difficult.
No, he would not bother explaining. She would not understand, anyway. Nobody ever did.
They had been on the move for more than an hour already, but they were yet to find who they were looking for.
"Could it be..."Yingyue mused"that the person in danger was taken away or something...".
What was she saying? What gives her the right to carelessly voice his fears like that?
The mere thought of it had been eating up his insides, lacing them with a very physical pain.
"Shut up!"he roared, turning sharply.
Yingyue blinked out of her daze, taken aback by his uncalled for reaction.
"What? It's only right that we consider every possibility. Besides, even if Chao really is in danger, Shijie isn't dead yet, remember?".
That was true.
Haoran had actually forgotten they had member of the A-list with them. The juniors were her responsibility, she would do everything in her power to ensure their safety.
Recalling that, Haoran relaxed a bit, and his voice lost some of its harshness as he replied.
"You're right".
"Oh,"Yingyue blinked"I...am. And you, are you okay?".
"What's that supposed to mean?".
"Well, Mr Pan Haoran does not say something so meek to anyone but Chao. It was a little creepy just now".
"You...".
"It was a pleasant surprise, though. I got the funniest thought for a second".
"What?".
"You have an agreeable side to you, too. You can be pretty mean, but deep down you're a good person".
Haoran stared at her.
Was this girl that simple? How did saying "you're right" automatically make him a good person? Was she just desperate to see good in everybody? He thought that was a disease unique to Chao alone. How many of such tender minded human beings were there, anyway?
He looked away.
"Don't call me a good person. It makes me itchy".
He wasn't a good person. He knew that better than anyone. Good people didn't say mean things to others, good people didn't ignore people in trouble simply because they weren't Pan Chao, good people showed kindness and sympathy to others, and they definitely did not snap at weeping people.
Haoran had tried harder than anyone knew, and failed, to find that emotion people called "compassion" within himself. And it had not taken him long to realize that most people did not possess it, either. With most people, it was all an act,a meticulously perfected art.
But not Chao. With Chao, kindness was an innate quality, self-sacrifice a reflex action.
People like him were least likely to survive the cultivation world. From the very first day they met, Haoran had known that he had to protect that boy. He wasn't a good person, but Pan Chao was.
Haoran was so deep in thought that it took him a while to realize that Yingyue was laughing at him.
"You...! What are you laughing at?".
"You, obviously".
"I had no idea I was so clownish"Haoran replied coldly.
"No, not clownish"she replied earnestly"just... how do I put this... A-Han is pretty refreshing".
Haoran's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
What was "refreshing" supposed to mean, exactly?
"I used to wonder why Chao likes you so much. Now I know"she smiled and walked ahead"pick up the pace. We're slacking off all of a sudden".
Wait.
Haoran didn't understand at all. What was that? What did she now know, exactly? And what was this about Chao liking him? Wasn't Chao simply putting up with him? Chao was a nice person, after all. He did not show animosity to anybody no matter how much they deserve it, but of course that didn't count as "Chao likes you so much", did it?
Haoran had a lot of questions, questions he could no longer ask because he was hurrying to catch up to her, and the moment had passed. But he felt a bit strange, for some reason,as if he was seeing her for the first time.
It felt... strange. It felt strangely like the first time he had met Chao.
Six years ago, on a bright summer day, under a magnificent golden rain tree carpeting the ground with lovely yellow petals.
Something about it had felt magical.
But most especially, it had felt... warm. A warmth that had nothing to do with the weather.
*
*
*
Falling into the very lake he had made a mental note NOT to fall into gave Chao quite the shock. But there really was no time to be shocked, because the waters were tossing and turning,as if determined to turn them into a mass of fractures.
Chao grabbed Ling's hand and held on tight, so that they could at least wash up on the same shore, since any attempt to swim in here would be as futile as trying to split a mountain with a pair of chopsticks.
After what felt like a lifetime of being bullied by the waters, the two boys finally spotted land, and without delay they swam for it with aching limbs.
They dragged their tired bodies out of the lake, spluttering and shivering. The water was freezing cold, and the atmosphere on land was not warm, either. Fortunately, it was just cold, not freezing. And unfortunately, Ling had lost his bow and arrows.
"A-Ling, are you okay?".
Ling leaned on a wall and closed his eyes in exhaustion.
"I'll let you decide"he mumbled.
He was just talking for talk's sake, of course, but Chao actually summoned that floating flame of his and began to examine him like some sort of physician.
Guilt gnawed away at the enforcer as he took note of Ling's injuries. His injured arm looked a whole lot worse than before- the skin was in shreds, and although it was still bleeding profusely, the water had washed away enough blood for Chao to catch small glimpses of white bone through the mess that was his flesh. Then there were the deep cuts and gashes marring his back, and multiple bruises all over his body from the lake's manhandling.
Ling did not say a word as Chao stripped him of all but his trousers and shoes.
He did not even open his eyes, which worried Chao a bit.
"A-Ling".
"Hmm?".
"Are you sleepy?".
"... tired...".
It was strange. Ling felt as if someone was siphoning all the strength in his body, leaving him so completely fatigued it was almost painful.
"Don't fall asleep. You need to stay awake".
Maybe Chao shouldn't have said that, because as soon as he did Ling felt the lulling hands of sleep begin to snatch at him.
"I'm glad I brought a medicine pouch along. I'll see what I can do for your wounds...".
And that was all it took to send those lulling hands packing. Ling's eyes flew open and he grabbed Chao's hand.
"Are you stupid?".
"...?".
Chao could not work out exactly why in the world he needed to be asked such a question.
"Look at you,"Ling added"you haven't even looked at yourself, have you?".
"Me?"Chao looked down at his body"oh...".
His clothes were torn beyond repair, and angry bruises, even a few cuts, were visible on the exposed skin. The lower left leg of his trousers was drenched in blood from an injury he would rather not inspect. And these were in addition to the painful ache in his right shoulder that made moving a source of unspeakable agony.
But none of that mattered to him right now, not when there was an injured person right in front of him. Why was Ling asking if he was stupid? Wasn't this only logical?
And after all, compared to Ling's condition...
"This is nothing"he said honestly.
But Ling only looked at him as if he was the most absurd curiosity he had ever come across.
"You don't know what you're saying. Give me that thing".
Before Chao could protest, Ling swiped the pouch out of his hand and patted the spot beside him.
"Sit. The earlier we take care of those injuries, the better".
Chao stared.
Why did this feel familiar?Oh, yes. This reminded him a lot of Haoran. A-Han,who had braved a snow storm once to bring him back to the Mist Oasis when he lost his way in the fog even though he could have easily left the task to an older person, ended up with a bad cold, and yet gotten annoyed when Chao offered to do his homework since his hand was too shaky to write properly.
Chao could not help but frown slightly.
Was there something about him that made them feel he wasn't strong or something? Could it be that they did not consider him worthy or capable enough to handle anything?
"Why are you just staring?"Ling's voice drew him back to the present"did you hear me at all?Hey...".
Chao exhaled.
It was fine, he decided. He was not the best cultivator around. Far from it. Infact, he was not even cut out to be a cultivator in the first place, and he knew it. But that was fine.
Just please... nobody restrict him from doing the little he could to help those who did deserve to be called cultivators do the things he couldn't. That much was enough for him.
"It's fine, A-Ling. Let me have it"he stretched his hand for the pouch.
"Huh? Did you even hear...".
"It really is fine,"Chao smiled"your wounds will get infected if I don't take care of them immediately".
Something about that smile completely erased every single comeback Ling had conceived in his mind. Before he could think better of it, he mutely handed the pouch back to the enforcer.
"Thank you,"Chao proceeded to untie it"thank you, A-Ling".
What, Ling thought.
Thank you for what, exactly?
What sort of human being was this person, anyway?
"Give me your hand, A-Ling. Let's start from there".
Ling neither responded nor reacted.
Chao's concerned eyes met his.
"A-Ling?".
No.
This didn't feel right to Ling. He felt like a thief, and he really could not recall ever doing anything to deserve... this.
"A-Ling"Chao spoke as though coercing a child, taking hold of the boy's injured arm.
Ling did not resist as he began to rub the powdered herbs into the broken skin.
He went next for Ling's chest, pausing for a moment as his eyes lingered on an old scar that was obviously made by a blade. From the looks of it, it must have hurt a lot, and bled a lot.
But Chao asked no questions, and Ling was grateful for that. There were more old scars, though the rest were much smaller compared to that one. After applying the herbs carefully everywhere he needed to, Chao proceeded to rip up what was left of his outer robes.
"What are you doing?"Ling asked.
"Hm?"Chao responded distractedly.
"I asked what you are doing".
"Oh,"Chao flushed with embarrassment"well... you see... this is...".
Ling was still looking at him, so he cleared his throat and mumbled.
"I don't have any bandages... this is the best I can do. Sorry".
Ling stared.
Sorry? What was he sorry for? He was tearing his own clothes and at the same time apologizing for not having anything better?!!
What in the...
"That's far from the point, idiot! Don't just rip your clothes like that, do you want to freeze to death or something?!".
"Oh?Oh... I didn't think of that... sorry".
"Quit apologizing already! Seriously, are you an idiot or what?!".
That was when Ling paused.
Wait, how many times had he called this boy an idiot today?
Since when did he even learn to call someone an idiot?
He never would have imagined there was anyone more frustrating than Yingyue and yet here they were.
If Chao had not been watching him, he might have screamed aloud and pulled at his hair.
He was so absorbed in the intricate art of mentally kicking himself that he did not even notice when Chao finished binding up his injuries.
"There,"he said triumphantly"do you feel better, A-Ling?".
"Y-yeah..."Ling mumbled,a little flustered.
"Good".
"What about you?".
"Hm? I exhausted the herbs. Maybe I should start carrying more than one pouch on my person..."Chao trailed off into his thoughts, completely oblivious to the fact that Ling really wanted to beat him up at the moment, and was now beating up himself for even wanting such a thing.
Okay, Guangchang Ling was sure now.
Meng Yingyue was not going to be the death of him. A certain Pan Chao was.