While the Pavilion Master and his partner were being lovey-dovey, Ye Xiao had also swiped two bowls and slumped back into his seat, carelessly nudging one toward Ye Lan with his elbow. Ye Xiao had previously sneaked tastes of Ah-Heng and Ah-Shu’s Shaochun and Huadiao wines; they had been pungent and spicy, nothing short of self-torture. This time, he sniffed cautiously, sensing that the plum wine seemed much milder. He took a tentative sip, then barked, "Crap! This tastes awful!" He slammed the bowl onto the table and pushed it away, grumbling with disgust, "How can anyone like such foul-tasting stuff..."
Muttering curses, he turned his head only to see that Ye Lan’s bowl was already completely empty.
Ye Xiao was speechless. "...How did you finish the whole thing?"
Ye Lan looked at him blankly. "Didn't you tell me to drink it?"
"You don't think it tastes bad? I didn't realize you were such a heavy drinker." Ye Xiao clicked his tongue in amazement. "Well, it’s a waste to pour it out. You can have my bowl too."
Ye Lan obediently took the bowl handed to him and downed the full serving as if it were ordinary water.
Ye Xiao broke into a cold sweat. "Why are you drinking so fast? Won't you feel sick...?"
Ye Lan replied, "I feel sick."
Ye Xiao said considerately, "Uh, if you feel dizzy, don't force yourself. Just let me know and I'll take you back—"
Before Ye Xiao could finish his sentence, he saw Ye Lan tilt off his chair and hit the floor face-first with a dull *thud*.
Ye Xiao: "..."
Hearing the commotion, Jun Xuanheng turned around and saw Ye Lan collapsed on the ground. He snapped, "Drunk already? You’re bullying Ye Lan again!"
Ye Xiao, unable to defend himself, said, "I’m innocent! I didn't know he was this fragile."
Jun Xuanheng hurriedly said, "Quick, carry him on your back to go rest. The wind is strong here; be careful he doesn't catch a cold."
Ye Xiao wailed, "Carry him? My foot! I can barely walk myself..."
Upon hearing this, Jun Xuanheng became very worried. "Are you feeling unwell? Physician Lu isn't here today; let Ah-Tan check on you."
Ye Xiao clutched his aching, battered shoulders and said with a tremble, "Better not. Forget I said anything, I’m perfectly fine. I’ll take him, I’ll take him..."
***
Ye Lan regained consciousness amidst a rhythmic, swaying motion.
His head throbbed, his vision was blurred, and a wave of nausea churned in his gut. After a long moment of confusion, he gradually realized he was being carried on someone's back, moving slowly through a corridor.
On either side lay a vast lake, its waters shimmering with the lingering glow of the setting sun. A thin veil of evening mist swirled around the mountains as twilight approached, gradually staining the forests with deep hues. The mountains and water met at the horizon in a single line; Ye Lan felt the world was vast and breathtaking.
Ye Lan felt he must be dreaming, for his life had known only high walls and chains; he had never seen such an open, magnificent sight.
And the person carrying him possessed a nostalgic, familiar scent.
Almost unconsciously, he blurted out the name he held closest to his heart: "Guimao..."
"Oh, my great ancestor, you’re finally awake." Ye Xiao, finally seeing the hope of liberation, stopped his pace and turned his head to say, "Get down and walk yourself. Spare my life."
Ye Lan stared at his face, dazed for a moment.
Once he snapped out of it, he tore himself away from Ye Xiao’s arms as if struck by lightning and retreated rapidly.
Ye Xiao was wondering what kind of fit he was throwing now when he heard Ye Lan point at him in terror: "Gui... Guimao???"
Ye Xiao responded smoothly, "Yeah, what?"
Ye Lan looked around in a panic, seeing no one else, and asked hurriedly, "You... you’re talking to me?"
Ye Xiao said, "Who else? A ghost?"
The flush on Ye Lan’s face, already steamed red by the alcohol, seemed to deepen by several shades.
"What’s wrong with you now? Hurry up and let's go." Ye Xiao leaned one hand against a red lacquered pillar and the other against his waist. "My poor waist is about to snap; I want to get back and rest."
"Go back? Back where? You..." Ye Lan’s tone was extremely cautious, almost on the verge of tears. "You know me?"
"Wow, are you the idiot or am I? You’re the only one who doesn't recognize people; there’s no way people don't recognize you." Ye Xiao curled his lip in disdain. Lacking the patience for nonsense, he urged, "Let’s go, Ye Lan."
Ye Lan’s expression froze. He stood dazed for a moment before asking, "Ye Lan... who is that?"
"...You don't remember again?"
Ye Xiao had a massive headache. He sighed and complained, "Why did you have to pick this time to have an episode? You really know how to find trouble for me... couldn't you wait until I was lying down to lose it...?"
Ye Xiao felt his waist had reached its limit, so he had no choice but to say, "Hey, I can't take it anymore. You carry me."
"Car... carry you???" Ye Lan was startled, shaking his head frantically as he backed further away. "This... this is n-n-not g-g-good!!"
Ye Xiao was also bewildered. "What’s not good? It’s not like I haven't been carried by you before?"
Ye Lan’s back hit the railing; he had nowhere left to retreat. He was shaking like a leaf, his vision swimming. "W-w-what did you say? I... I’ve c-c-carried you?? N-n-no way???"
Ye Xiao gritted his teeth and sneered, "More than just carried me—you almost knocked my head off."
Ye Lan slid down to the floor, his eyes losing focus and his expression turning vacant. After being dazed for a while, he let out a sniffle, and two lines of clear tears rolled down his face.
Ye Xiao was shocked. "Holy crap, what the hell is there to cry about?! If anyone should be crying, it’s me!"
Seeing that the man seemed frightened out of his wits, Ye Xiao figured he shouldn't hold a grudge against a fool. Resigned, he gathered his internal energy and turned back to help him up. "Alright, stop messing around. Just come back with me first..."
Unexpectedly, before he could take more than a few steps, Ye Lan—like a startled rabbit—bolted from the corridor and vanished into the bushes.
The speed of the movement and the skill of the technique were practically the pinnacle of his lifetime of martial arts.
Ye Xiao’s patience finally snapped. He punched the railing and shouted, "Dammit! Come or don't! Get lost then!!" He turned back indignantly, prepared to leave, but in his fury, he took too large a step. A sharp pain shot through his back, and he doubled over, trembling.
"What happened to you?" Ye Lan’s fuzzy head poked out from a gap in the branches. He asked cautiously, "Guimao, are you hurt?"
Ye Xiao gritted his teeth and shot him a glance, too piqued to acknowledge him.
Ye Lan added, "Y-y-your face doesn't look very good... do you need help...?"
Ye Xiao rolled his eyes and glared at him: *You know I need help! Then hurry up and carry me! You moron!*
Ye Lan’s heart raced under the heat of his anger. Becoming even more terrified, he ducked back into the dense woods. When he returned, he was clutching a branch as thick as a wrist. He handed it over with great solemnity and said, "You hold the branch, and I’ll help you back..."
"Hah???" Ye Xiao was so angry he nearly exploded on the spot. He slapped the branch away. "Why are you so annoying!! If you’re going to carry me, do it! If not, get lost!"
Ye Xiao muttered to himself: *Why is Ye Lan being so wishy-washy today? I actually miss the old Ye Lan a little...*
After struggling with himself for a long time, Ye Lan finally knelt before him, trembling. Ye Xiao slumped onto his back with a sigh of relief, feeling as though he had just lost ten years of his life. Ye Xiao waited a moment, but the person carrying him remained motionless. "Uh, do you not know the way? If you don't know, just ask. Here, follow this to the end, then head east..."
Ye Lan felt his legs go weak. With a sob in his voice, he said, "You... turn your head away a bit... don't blow air on my neck... *wah*..."
Ever since he woke up, he had felt lightheaded and unable to steady his steps. Now, with Ye Xiao’s breath hitting his back, it felt like a hundred claws were scratching at his heart.
Hearing this, Ye Xiao immediately turned his head to adjust his direction and exhaled a puff of warm air right against Ye Lan’s earlobe. *You’re always messing with me! Now I’m going to mess with you! I’m going to blow on purpose!*
The effect was instantaneous. Ye Lan collapsed onto the ground with a *thud*.
Ye Xiao fell heavily along with him, feeling as though he had shattered into pieces. "Oh my god, ow, ow, ow, it hurts..."
At that moment, Ye Xiao finally understood a truth: if you court death, you will die.
Fortunately, they behaved themselves after that, and no other incidents occurred. By the time a shivering Ye Lan had delivered Ye Xiao back to their room at the inn and settled him in, the sky was completely dark.
Ye Lan asked where he was hurt, how bad the injury was, and if he should call a physician, only to be met with a barrage of curses from Ye Xiao.
Ye Lan was utterly bewildered, clearly having no idea why he was being scolded. Usually, he would have crawled into the blankets right next to Ye Xiao, but today he turned and left the room, sitting on the threshold to stare blankly into the distance.
Ye Xiao lay comfortably for a while. Catching a glimpse of that silhouette at the door, it suddenly looked familiar. He then remembered the days of training in Yexing during their youth. In those many days and nights when Ye Lan had not yet spoken to him, he had stood guard at the door of Ye Xiao’s room just like this, staying up from dusk until dawn.
"Ye Lan?"
He called out, but Ye Lan seemed to be lost in thought and didn't react.
Ye Xiao thought for a moment, then tried, "...Bingxu."
Ye Lan was struck as if by a bolt of lightning. His whole body shuddered, and he whipped his head around to look at him. His eyes held a tempestuous wave of emotion unlike anything seen before. He trembled, "You... you didn't get the person wrong... you really know me..."
Ye Xiao helplessly patted the empty spot on the bed beside him. "You don't remember again. I don't blame you. Come here, I’ll tell you everything one more time."
Ye Lan hesitated for a while, then reluctantly approached a few feet, sitting on the floor against the wall.
Ye Xiao urged, "Get up here! Why are you hiding so far away? I’m not going to eat you."
Ye Lan’s face turned bright red. He huddled in the corner of the bed and said, "It’s fine here, no need to trouble yourself, no need to trouble yourself."
Ye Xiao rolled his eyes at the ceiling: *Why is this moron being so tedious today?*
"Hey, dummy, listen up. You used to be called Bingxu. Later, we both graduated from Yexing and met our current Master together..."
Ye Xiao picked out parts of their journey over the years and recounted them. Ye Lan crouched in the corner of the bed, hugging his knees, listening in stunned silence. It was unclear if he actually understood.
As he spoke, Ye Xiao glanced back; Ye Lan looked like he wanted to bury his face in the floor.
When he reached the part in Jun Garden where Ye Xiao had told the Master he liked Ye Lan and asked the Master to give Ye Lan to him, a tiny, weak sound like a kitten’s whimper came from the dark corner of the bed: "Eee-ing..."
Ye Xiao was so angry he punched the mattress. "Why are you crying again?!"
Ye Lan had already rolled himself into a ball and shrunk toward the foot of the bed. "You... you continue... Q口Q..."
When Ye Xiao finished the whole story, he asked with furrowed brows, "That’s about it. You, do you understand?"
Ye Lan replied, "I understand."
Ye Xiao didn't believe him but was too lazy to argue. He patted the empty space he had left beside him again. "Then hurry up and get over here to sleep, so the Boss doesn't nag me later about bullying you."
Ye Lan shook his head. "I don't dare sleep. I’m afraid... I’m afraid if I sleep, the dream will end."
A moment later, Ye Lan brought water and carefully wiped Ye Xiao’s body down, even helping him apply medicine and tucking him in. His hands were nimble and his movements proper; if Ye Xiao weren't so clever, he almost wouldn't have been able to tell the man was currently a "fool."
Ye Xiao was very satisfied.
However, when it came to sleeping together, Ye Lan stubbornly refused to agree, insisting on hiding far away to catch the cold draft. Whether Ye Xiao called his name or even looked at him, Ye Lan would jump in fright. He was disobedient and difficult to communicate with—even more so than usual.
Ye Xiao had a real headache.
The next morning, Ye Lan woke from his nap with a start at the door and groggily crawled back onto the bed.
Ye Xiao asked him a few questions and found that he had finally sobered up, becoming as obedient as he always was.
Ye Xiao reflected deeply on the painful experience and, after much effort, finally identified the root of the issue.
Later on, whenever Ye Xiao went out, he always kept various fine wines on hand. Jun Xuanheng was very puzzled; Ye Xiao didn't like the taste of alcohol, and Ye Lan couldn't hold his liquor, so who were all these exquisite nectars for?
But that didn't matter.
Lately, Ye Xiao hadn't been slumping in bed every few days to skip work on account of "illness." Truly a cause for celebration, a cause for celebration indeed.
***
