countdown // beefleaf

1.

logically, in the world where time was counted in centuries and no one could fear death anymore, two friends of the past were bound to meet again.

that day when he approached him disguised as crimson rain, he xuan jostled the fan right into his hands. shi qingxuan didn't know it would affect his mortality, but black water demon xuan returned more than just his divine object.

he returned his immortality as well.

in practice, it only meant that shi qingxuan wouldn't age, and could only watch his companions grow older and weaker to eventually leave him behind and set off to the reincarnation cycle. shi qingxuan, as a demoted and banished god, wouldn't taste reincarnation anyway.

he could still die. every god could. just because they didn't age didn't mean they wouldn't fall victim and die, may his brother be a perfect example. following this piece of knowledge, he xuan would often tail behind, unseen, unfelt, but always on the alert. just how many times did he silently clean shi qingxuan's path so that he wouldn't stumble and break his neck? so many times. shi qingxuan was now a walking disaster.

watching him silently without him knowing was good. it did no harm to any of the sides, considering that in his current dead state he xuan wouldn't feel a thing anyway.

until this one day when there was only him and shi qingxuan, as he slowly revealed himself and stepped out of the shadows, standing in the safe distance away.

now as the roles have switched, he xuan felt unsure.

shi qingxuan's robes were filthy and tattered, just a one single layer of holes and dirt. the arm and leg he broke hanged loosely and made his walking rather crippled, but up towards his face, there was still this something purely out of shi qingxuan that dirt and insomnia couldn't cover.

he was smiling.

it was a slight lift of the corner of his lips while his eyes stayed wide opened and filled with emotion. he xuan guessed that it was fear, but he was wrong. he then guessed it was anger and hatred, but he missed it again.

whatever shi qingxuan felt in this moment probably wasn't to be described in words.

on the other hand, he xuan looked lost. centuries of silent pain shaped his face into emotional, grey canvas that soaked up every colour artist tried to put on. his eyes revealed nothing but caution, a signal that he didn't come here to wreck anything anymore.

for shi qingxuan, this was nothing else but the ming-xiong he always knew.

only to discover he didn't know a single thing.

but it truly was this ming-xiong of his. he had his hair tied up in the same ponytail, donning the same black robes. even the colour of his skin turned out alive; pale but alive.

after a long silence, shi qingxuan was the first one to open his mouth, "you... this form... why did you use it?"

he xuan looked aside at the ground before lifting his chin up again and shrugging, "if i didn't, i'd scare away every ghost in proximity."

and you. i would scare you.

shi qingxuan nodded in understanding as the fingers around his walking stick clenched slightly. he took a few breaths in before asking again, "but... does it matter if you scare them?"

he shook his head.

"then..." shi qingxuan hesitated. the inner fight he had inside his head was so loud he xuan almost heard his braincells toss and turn, "then change back."

"you think?"

shi qingxuan smiled, "there isn't any reason why you should hide."

he xuan thought of at least six reasons why. one, you'll pass out in fear. two, you'll pass out crying. three, you'll remember what happened all these years ago. four, i will really cause the local colony of ghosts to shriek and explode. five, i'm really ugly. six, neither of us really wants ming-xiong to die.

in the end, he closed his eyes. shi qingxuan was standing and watching as the lively skin colour faded into sickly white as the features on his face sharpened at the same time when his figure seemed to have lost in weight. the set of plainly black clothes began coiling with intricate silver wave pattern at the edges. he then lifted his pale hand up and unclasped the little hair crown, tossing it aside as his black hair trickled down.

black water sinking ships then took a moment to fix this mess of hair, and only after he made sure one heartbeat could still be heard did he look up again. the orbs in his eyes seemed to be glowing yellow.

shi qingxuan's expression didn't really change as he watched. now, he still managed to muster out a little smile as he said, "hmm... did the ghosts run away?"

he xuan nodded according to the truth, "they screamed and rushed away. one of them actually banged in the tree trunk and is laying unconscious."

shi qingxuan's mortal eyes couldn't see it, but he supposed it must have been a funny sight. he couldn't tell because of he xuan's unbothered, stone cold face.

at least this didn't change.

shi qingxuan quickly glanced down at his attire before attempting to joke, hell knows what for, "i feel underdressed."

that was precisely what he xuan was here for. he pulled out a bundled package from the middle of nowhere and casted shi qingxuan a questionable look, "this is for you. if i walk up to give it to you, will you too run into a tree?"

shi qingxuan laughed and shook his head, "i can't really run anyway."

ah. so that's why he stood frozen... he knew he didn't stand a single chance, so he didn't try to protest. even if it was true, he xuan didn't want it to be. he approached slowly, without needless movements or eye contact. when he was two arms away from the banished god, he reached out his hand and shook the package.

"take it."

"what's that?"

"for you."

shi qingxuan reached out and took it. the package was rather light. he turned it in his hand and felt intrigued, "what is t-"

but when he looked up, the man before him already vanished in thin air.