ice vulnerability // shuangshui

five

black water’s sea, if not enraged by the need of blood, was almost eerily quiet and idyllic. yet the pure coal hue of the water made it look far more like stale blood than actual water. shi wudu let the breeze dishevel his loosely held hair and took a look at the far horizon. perhaps it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a boney creature jump out and dive back in.

“your fishy.”

“you underestimate them.”

“how would i dare?”

upon turning away, shi wudu saw the wall of a familiar jungle. it looked uninhabited, if not completely deserted. he knew it to be a false take, as the amount of little angsty creatures basking in the shadows was countless. he xuan followed his gaze and spoke up.

“just so you know, i didn’t bring you in to chain up and torture.”

shi wudu shrugged, “you can do whatever.”

“for real, stop looking like i’m offering you murder or i might start.”

“please, you do it every day.”

rightfully so. for some reason they counted their time in every-days now. how weird.. but why did qingxuan keep on looking at them knowingly and happily like his merit account kept growing along with pei ming’s shrinking. there was something fishy in the air. and they could obviously tell it.

their abomination of a relationship has changed. from the distant hatred to the open murder. it felt like entering this dark forest and never knowing when danger comes from around the corner. after murder there was silence, new challenges, perhaps acceptance but covered in denial. in conclusion, it was a mess. having lived through shit like this, they shouldn’t be talking. first of all, they shouldn’t even be alive. but the circumstances were… special. and eventually no one asked anymore.

he xuan wasn’t sure how much shi wudu would stand. he knew for a fact that he wouldn’t show a single sign of weakness but paint his face with this stubbornness because that’s what he did best. but this was just his go-to mechanism supposed to kick off the uncertainty and mostly taint other’s view just to create this pretty picture of a fearless, heartless, unrestrained god. deep inside, shi wudu was already at the verge of shivering just by being enveloped in the menacing aura of this place.

so he xuan decided to do something without thinking much about it. it came naturally like it wasn’t anything crazy at all, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he could feel the swirl of his own spiritual energy first circle through his body and then slowly tune down.

what shi wudu saw when he glanced at he xuan was also a sight to see. the silver pattern on his robes faded away, and the robe itself shrunk in size, the long wide sleeves tightening around the arms. then it was he xuan’s chest and shoulders that puffed up a little as if the weight he lost during the starvation period was restored. and along with that, the ghosty hue to his skin slowly let down, and the sun-kissed color climbed up to rosy cheeks. life was back even through his inky hair, and especially in the warm brown eyes when they looked at him again.

so there it was.

he finally met he sheng.

his first ultimate reaction was to look away and cough, “what are you doing?”

“closing off my spiritual powers after dressing into a scholar twink.”

shi wudu didn’t laugh, “what for?”

“because you think you will be manhandled and tortured on the spot. no, shut up,” he added noticing shi wudu’s displeased expression and opening mouth, “i don’t want to hear your self-centred confident bullshit you like to put through words that will send me flying to kick your ass. shut the fuck up.”