Finally a bath

Xian Wu was about ready to cry in joy when they crested the last hill and came upon green grass. He savored the feeling of life under his boots as he stepped forward, welcoming the fresh air and birdsong through the forest. He'd supported Lai Yiteng with his one good arm along the whole way, the younger had grown more exhausted the farther they trudged.

He listened for the sound of water and eventually heard the babble of a stream. He was sure that he'd seen a body of water from the other mountainside around here. A lake, or at least a large pond.

"We're almost there," he told Lai Yiteng.

Lai Yiteng's head was beginning to sink in fatigue from the distance they'd stumbled. After all, using his martial arts had made him sickly, moreover, the salamander ruptured one of his eardrums and he was rife with a number of smaller wounds. His dark eyelashes hung lower, but he was determined to keep consciousness.

Xian Wu finally kicked open some ferns and saw a clear and pristine lake, surrounded by forest with sunlight dancing off its water. This was as good as an oasis.

He let Lai Yiteng slide to the ground as he prioritized his own cleanliness.

Xian Wu raced over to the lake water while still maintaining a few strands of elegance, of course. He neatly stripped himself down, taking a moment to pull out his hair tie with his lithe and muscular body on full display before he dove into the water.

It was ice cold, but he didn't care too much. He sighed, his eyebrows arching in contentment. Even better, he found that even his paralyzed arm was recovering with time, and he could twitch all his fingers again.

This was not near as good as his hot bath back at Graceful Dragon Sect, filled with salts and petals, but it would do in order to take off the outer layer of filth on his body. He splashed water up onto his chest and sunk his head underneath before bursting back out to breath a minute later.

Then he saw that Lai Yiteng was still sitting on the shore, his back hunched slightly as his eyes dully watched the scenery.

"Yi'er~" he called. "Why aren't you coming in? It's cold but refreshing, I swear."

"Aren't you shameless?" Lai Yiteng grumbled with bitterness. Xian Wu had stripped earlier without even turning away, entirely careless. Lai Yiteng would never admit that he'd stared at the number of scars along his body. "You have no sense of decency."

Xian Wu just laughed. He slicked his hair dark back, his bangs curling along the sides of his face as he exposed his forehead with a thin scar on his temple that added to his rugged charm.

"What does it matter? We're both men anyway! …and you shouldn't prolong how long you keep that disgusting filth on you."

Lai Yiteng narrowed his eyes dangerously before giving a soft sigh. After great hesitation, he reluctantly removed his stained robes and placed his luggage to the side, but did not take off his undergarments. An iridescent stone slipped out the dirtied robe.

Right, it was the shiny object that that crow had tried to point out to him. He lifted it up in the sunlight and watched a rainbow sheen envelop it.

There was quite a bit of blood and fleshy gunk stuck to it.

...Lai Yiteng held it in his hand as he waded into the water to wash off. Within the lake, his white inner robes billowed out along the water. He dipped his head under, then rubbed his palm along the egg-like thing.

"What's that?" asked Xian Wu, lifting an eyebrow. "I didn't know you liked collecting rocks."

Lai Yiteng pointed at Mildew perched on a pine tree nearby.

"That crow led me to it. I'm not sure what it is, but maybe it's worth money."

"…" Xian Wu was immediately suspicious of the egg-like object. First of all, Mildew was a mystical demon crow, so it didn't get attracted to regular trinkets and baubles. Who knows what kind of ancient and terrible artifact it could be or how sinister a purpose it served. "Er…maybe I could take a look at it later?"

Pausing, Lai Yiteng warningly said, "You may, but it's still mine to sell."

Then he found a rock jutting out of the surface of the lake that he could wrap a pale arm around and lean against, letting out an unconscious sigh; The cold of the lake really felt good on his aching muscles. His figure was also quite ethereal and tempting when surrounded by the misty lake water, translucent fabric clung onto his body, almost making his appearance more enticing than if he'd just taken off that final layer of clothing.

"Wow…you look tired," noted Xian Wu after a while, seeing Lai Yiteng quietly leaning against that rock as though about to fall asleep.

When Lai Yiteng had been fighting alongside him, the younger showed no signs of fatigue or illness, quite flawless in martial technique, but now that he saw him now, it seemed that it had just been because he was pushing himself.

Yellowish and blue bruises were faintly visible through the thin layer of inner robe, they marred his abdomen from the fight with Gojun Lao a few days ago, and his complexion leaned on the pale side as always. Perhaps he broke through his limits with bursts of adrenaline. But now that it was over, he would suffer the consequences.

Even so, Lai Yiteng had been a member of Lotus Sect, and his habits still stuck, he always kept his back straight and posture proper, matching his calm expression. To think that he was actually so surly and vicious…

"Where are your eyes wandering?" Lai Yiteng asked pointedly, proving Xian Wu's inner complaints about him being surly true.

Xian Wu coughed awkwardly. "Nowhere of course…by the way, did I happen to give you a jade dragon earring when I was drunk?"

"Yes."

"Sooo…about that, me giving it to you was a mistake," Xian Wu made a placating expression, "can I have it back?"

"No."

Xian Wu was stunned. "No?"

"You already gave it to me, and one who has given something should not ask for it back, that is courtesy. What happens to it now is at my discretion," lectured Lai Yiteng.

Besides, Xian Wu was a drunk deadbeat when he handed it over, shouldn't he get some retribution for his irresponsibility?

Xian Wu felt a vein throbbing on his forehead and gave a thin smile. "It's true that it was my mistake to give it in the first place, but I still need it back. It was my deceased shifu's…"

Lai Yiteng's lips curled downwards. It still felt like some organs were twisting around in his abdomen, his heart clenching now and again, and his mood was tenuous at best. He stalked out of the water and fished the earring from his luggage, then marched up to Xian Wu in the lake.

In silence, he held the earring out to him with two fingers.

Xian Wu felt an inexplicable twinge of guilt as he accepted it back.

Well, maybe Lai Yiteng really liked his earring, because for some reason he seemed very loathe to return it? Of course Xian Wu did not know that Lai Yiteng had previously thought about pawning it off, but then again, Lai Yiteng was a fickle person who did not have a good handle on his own emotions. Perhaps he'd also attached some subconscious value to the earring, otherwise he would not complain so much about having to return it.

Xian Wu opened his mouth to ask about it or perhaps make shallow promises about how he'd buy the younger another earring later, when he saw Lai Yiteng expression wince and he took in a thin breath.

"Are you-" but Xian Wu did not have the leisure to finish asking his question as Lai Yiteng clenched a hand over his heart before coughing up a mouthful of dark blood.

It trickled down his jaw as his eyes went unfocused. His body collapsed into Xian Wu's.

"Nooo!" Xian Wu gripped along his shoulders, dissatisfied by a number of things which included having a man pressed against his naked body. It also included that Lai Yiteng relasped in illness. After all, he should have been stricter, not let him go to places like haunted mountains... "Not this again," he bemoaned, "come on, Yi'er, just wake up! Think of all the money I'd save on detoxifying materials!"

Lai Yiteng, of course, was out cold.