Ships and Love

Knowing

Song Lan x Xue Yang

Fluff

Emotional

Past

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It seemed that the heavens intended to toy with him, as the very man who caused his best friend's death reappeared in front of him. Although the other's appearance was haggard, Song Lan would never mistake him for someone else.

That messy black hair and eyes that glinted red, who else had those features if not that damned Xue Yang?

He gritted his teeth. He did not retain his speech, but he could still speak using his Qi, connecting with others' minds and talk to them. However, despite his curiosity, he didn't reach out to the man and walked away.

The scent of blood was thick, permeating his senses. Song Lan didn't expect such a despicable person, able to hide himself from his best friend, to be beaten up that badly. The last time he was beaten up by his best friend's martial niece and his partner, who else could've ruined the damned person that much?

Song Lan didn't go back, but he didn't go forward either. The other was not a good person, especially the way he had treated him, and the way he had fooled his best friend. Although he knew he couldn't say anything about the way he treated his best friend, he had hurt his best friend before, he wasn't qualified.

He could feel the weak tremors of Xingchen and Qing's souls in the small bag he carried everywhere. Only their souls were left from that day, yet, he couldn't help but have the hope that Xingchen would come back to him. Even if he was just a soul.

He clenched his hands, clenched it, and unclenched it multiple times. All those painful memories, when he was controlled by that despicable creature, he could remember it vividly. When that despicable creature made him attack his best friend, that despicable being forcing Xingchen to make that helpless face...

He knew about everything he had suffered, he knew of those events. He had experienced them, he had been helpless once.

His mind told him to leave. What was the use of associating himself with a dying corpse? The corpse would die anyway and it would never be good, especially with that damned person in the same sentence.

However, his guts forced him to turn around, despite his mind's protests, and walk towards the barely breathing corpse. Song Lan remembered how the man looked in his prime, although he wasn't the most good looking, he would always have a pair of mischievous eyes and a smirk etched on his lips. Whatever happened to him to bring him to this sorry state?

His face was deformed, his hair was uneven, not even tied. He was bleeding from multiple spots and the wounds didn't look fresh. It was true that a villain would never die, while the good would die like trampled grass.

As if he had found his resolve, he picked the person he hated the most and walked to the next city.

***

"Here is your food."

He knew he didn't need food, but the man sleeping on the bed would. He couldn't understand himself, saving such a despicable creature who definitely didn't deserve breathing the same air as Xingchen. His heart didn't listen to his mind. His instincts led him to do this. In his heart, he told himself, it would be the last time he would help the villain.