"Susu," a soft voice rang in my head, waking me from my slumber. With a warm touch, she caressed my hair.
I woke up that morning with Yinou in my bedside, her face carved a smile, it was the sugar to my morning coffee.
"You're finally up," she whispered. Normally, I'd be the one to go to her tent, but this day, she went to mine. What's up?
"Hmm..." my eyes blurry as I rubbed them. "I recognize your voice..." I followed, "Yinuo, you miss me that much?" I didn't bother to ask why she was here; there was certainly a problem. I remembered how she would always come to me with that look every time she wanted to rant when they were still back in Jade Dragon Sect. I wanted her to tell me herself.
"Yes, I missed you so much," Yinou embraced me in a tight hug.
"What's this sudden affection shower?" I laughed. To which she playfully hugged tighter, and finally let go, holding my hand. "I won't hide this from you...but I'll be gone for a while again,"
Before I could say something, she said, "Susu, listen... I'll be fine, this will be just a safety measure... I need to go back to... a place."
I repeated, "Dungeon?" We looked at each other. "To go back?... You've been there before?... Oh, I get it, it's Su Ning." I clenched my fist at the thought that he originally put Yinou in a dungeon. Yes! He hated her because of Zhang Li, but that much? What else has he done to her? I got up, about to stomp my way to Su Ning, when Yinuo froze my movements. "Yinuo, I just want to talk to him!" I said. To which she replied, "It's not like I'm forced to go back. It's also my choice. Listen, please... do this for me... I want you to be strong. Alright?" Yinou said, hugging me, and I hugged her back. All I care about is Yinuo, my master.
That afternoon, I saw her leaving with Su Ning, her figure disappearing in the view as they rode off their horses.
"Yinou, are you tired?" Su Ning asked, his gaze lingering on me, a hint of concern in his deep brown eyes. He must have noticed the sweat clinging to my skin, my clothes damp with exertion. "Hmm, no..." It was just the heat. I wasn't tired, not really. We were almost in Dongying Kingdom, just a few kilometers away.
The sound of his voice, clipped and decisive, halted the horse. "Let's rest for a while. The sun is burning... You might get cooked. I don't want to carry your unconscious body," he said, a wry amusement playing at the corners of his lips.
There was an open shade nearby a hill, a small, shabby shelter that was barely more than a clearing. "I can see your look," he said, catching my eye roll, "Don't be so picky."
I settled down, feeling the weariness in my limbs despite my denial. Su Ning, went to fetch fresh water from a nearby river. The sun was sinking towards the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink. "Damn it!" I thought, my frustration growing. Do we have to settle here for the night? I couldn't, I wouldn't! Why had we even stopped? We should be pushing on.
An approaching footstep interrupted my thoughts. It was Su Ning, returning. "Here...water."
The bottle he held was a stark contrast to the vibrant sunset. It was clear, yet tinged with a brownish hue, and the faint metallic scent made my stomach churn. "You're going to kill me with-"
"It's clean! Drink this and don't argue with me," he interrupted, holding the bottle close to my face. "Do you want me to feed it to you?"
I took the water. Forget it! Better be food poisoned than die of thirst - I'd a hundred percent look like a dried fish if I die of thirst. The sun had dipped below the horizon, the last rays of light casting long shadows across the landscape. The sky was a tapestry of orange and pink, a perfect match for Su Ning's beautifully layered hanfu.
"We'll settle here for the night," he decided, his voice firm. "You get firewood, I'll hunt for something to eat."
The wind whistled through the pines as I made my way uphill, the weight of the firewood bundle hurting my back. The sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the valley. A familiar pang of something, longing? It struck me as I paused, taking in the scene.
There was something deeply, unsettlingly familiar about the way the light danced on the water, the way the trees huddled together. It felt like a dream, a memory I couldn't quite grasp. Then it hit me. This was the place. I'd been here before, not as Yinou, but as who? The immortal? Perhaps, my original self?
I knew that version of me once existed, yet I couldn't remember.
It was all now just a vague memory...I couldn't remember my name, my face, my life before, all swallowed by the fog of time. Yet, this place, this scene, I knew it with a certainty that sent chills down my spine. It must have been important.
I went back down the hill, the weight of the wood pulling at my shoulders. The familiarity of the scene, however faint, had awakened something deep within me. It was important. It had to be.
My shabby shelter was a beacon of warmth, a small fire crackling in the hearth. Su Ning, his face smudged with soot, was already there, deftly roasting a rabbit over the flames. I chuckled, "Only one? You're getting soft."
As I helped him prepare the meal, the sleeve of my tunic caught fire. I didn't notice, too engrossed in the task at hand. But Su Ning sensed the danger. He quickly extinguished the flames, pulling me close to roll up my sleeve. "You're really eager to be cooked?" His eyes, reflecting the firelight, shone with an intensity that startled me.
He offered me the choice cuts of the rabbit—the tender leg, the plump breast—while he quietly chewed on the gristle and bones.
I noticed.
He knew I did.
Neither of us said anything.
As night fell, I curled up in the corner of the makeshift shelter, my back almost pressed against the rough stone wall. Across from me, Su Ning settled into the opposite shadows. The fire crackled between us, throwing soft light across his face, tracing the sharp edges and the tired hollows beneath his eyes.
"You're not worried?" I asked, voice low, nearly swallowed by the flames. "That my demon core might... act up?"
He didn't speak for a moment, just fed a small stick into the fire, watching the embers glow.
Then he looked up, a faint smile curling on his lips—not mocking, just familiar. Tired.
"I'm more demon than the demon itself," he murmured, voice hoarse from smoke. "What have I got to fear?"
I froze.
For a second, it wasn't Su Ning I saw—but Lin Jian, sixteen and reckless, eyes bright with firelight inside a narrow cave. We'd been lost then too, trapped in a twisted challenge designed to break alliances. He wasn't even on my team—I had been left alone, my team scattered after turning on me out of jealousy. I'd been hiding above, watching them destroy one another while waiting for my moment to strike.
But then Lin Jian had stumbled into the fray. Someone ambushed him.
I moved without thinking. Took the hit. Got eliminated.
I never understood why—until I saw the broken pendant tied around his wrist, it was the one he was hugging as he slept the previous night, muttering about a sister he missed.
I hadn't known his story then, but I feel obliged.
Now I know why.
And I still didn't regret losing for him.
My breath caught, chest tight from the memory—and Su Ning's voice, again, dragged me gently back.
"You know…" he said slowly, tossing another twig into the fire, "that time… when your team tried to backstab you?"
I blinked. My head turned sharply. "What?"
He didn't look at me, only stared into the flames, expression unreadable.
"They hated how 'Master Xinyue' praised you. You knew that, right?"
My throat tightened. I didn't respond.
Su Ning let the silence stretch before adding, almost offhandedly, "I eliminated them. Every last one. Thought you'd win if I just cleared the way."
His voice dropped, roughened just slightly.
"I was disappointed when you got eliminated too. Thought you'd make it."
My fingers curled tightly into the worn straw blanket. I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, something soft hit me in the chest.
A heavy fur coat.
I stared down at it. I hadn't even seen him carrying one.
"…What's this?"
Su Ning turned away slightly, his tone a muttered grumble now. "It's cold. You'll catch a fever and I'm not carrying you down the mountain."
It was such a dumb excuse. The kind people say when they can't admit they care.
I pulled the coat tighter around me. It was larger than I expected, heavy with heat and some faint, wild scent I couldn't place—snow, pine, maybe blood. Definitely him.
Wrapped in it, I sank deeper into the corner, watching him poke at the fire like it owed him answers. The flames lit the underside of his jaw, the edges of his cheekbone. There was ash on his knuckles. His eyes looked far away.
Slowly, my body began to warm, but my mind refused to rest. I closed my eyes anyway.
Just for a moment.
Time passed, or maybe it stood still.
And then—
His voice. Soft. Low. Like it wasn't meant to be heard.
But I heard it.
"You shouldn't be the one paying for all of this…"
There was a silence that felt like it pressed against my ribs.
"I was too late with her," he said, barely above a whisper. "I didn't even get to hold her hand. She was already gone."
The fire crackled.
"But you… you're still breathing. You still fight."
His breath hitched, like he was choking on something too old to cry about.
"…Just don't disappear too. Please."
A beat.
Then he coughed, shook his head, and muttered, "Tch. Stupid girl probably fell asleep already…"
I didn't move. Didn't open my eyes. My fingers, still buried in the coat, curled just a little tighter.
He didn't say anything more after that. Just sat there, staring into the fire, keeping watch like a quiet sentinel.
And for the first time in weeks, even with everything breaking inside me, I felt like I might actually fall asleep without dreaming of blood.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
"There's so many mosquitoes here, must I keep fanning her from these little beasts?" Su Ning thought to himself.
Wow. She looks like a buddha in this position. She, even in her sleep, would rather sleep uncomfortably than lean on a shabby wall? It's not even that dirty, it's just old.
What a dirt freak. This is the exact Yinou I knew. I'm glad...she retrieved that piece of her. I couldn't help but smile a bit, she's just ridiculous.