"What's your fortune?" Yuan Ji asked, tilting his head to YueChen's side.

"Hmm?"

"I saw you coming out from the seer's hut, you took a fortune test, no?"

"Maybe."

"What did you get?"

YueChen only responded with a gentle smile, his mouth tightly shut. With that one gesture, it was clear as day that he didn't want to talk about it.

If it was YueChen, there's an eighty five percent of bad luck. He attracted them like a magnet, pulling all the unfortunate incident to him. Too bad that the accidents and incidents were too harmless to actually kill him—otherwise that boy would be overjoyed.

Going to hell or heaven doesn't matter, dying was the first priority.

Whatever this suicidal child got, it might be something along the lines: You're okay, perfect day.

That probably was the reason YueChen was being pouty like a little child. Yuan Ji didn't give it anymore thought, resting his cheek on the teen's shoulder.

After a few moments, Yuan Ji became bored with the sceneries. Only barren ground in sight as they passed the borders. His fingers started to trace the light freckles on YueChen's face, mapping the constellations on the latter's skin.

Under people's eyes, YueChen kept a calm face, serene expression on that. No one knew what's inside his mind, except for himself. No one noticed a turbulent storm in the teen's eyes.

The armor was heavy, the helmet slightly too big. His body drenched with sweat from his head to his feet. Autumn was nearing, but it was still too hot.

When they stopped, YueChen had fled as far as he could, leaving the warring attire and his weapon behind. Not a single person realized that the number had reduced.

"How far?"

"Half a mile, perhaps. I sense no trouble ahead." Yuan Ji replied, running by his side.

YueChen could only bit the inside of his cheek as he ran. The last sentence brought relief, but also more dread.

Yuan Ji summoned a dark cloud over themselves, covering them from the sun. Light shower accompanied their escape.

The cave was in a mountain, the mouth hidden by boulders. Fortunately, they found a gap thrice their size, otherwise Yuan Ji and YueChen had to climb up the boulders.

The inside of the cave was covered with stalactites, the center was a small clear spring.

Zhen Ding Lang Jian was embedded deep in the water, perfectly sealed and tangled with all sorts of water plants. Yuan Ji's eyes gleamed at the sight of his sword, but he didn't take a step forward.

I don't wish to leave.

YueChen saw the deity balled his fists, being silent for a short moment, so he spoke, "It's fine."

Yuan Ji always did it out of habit, when he had something in his mind, something that he couldn't say heartlessly, he'd ball his fists. "But—"

We've come this far.

You aren't going to back away now, right?

Don't be a coward for once.

The words he uttered few months ago returned to him. He expected the same in the teen's eyes when he met his gaze, but when he hesitantly looked into the other's eyes, he only saw warm gentleness.

I don't want to ascend. I want to stay.

How selfish.

"It's fine. Your sword isn't going to separate us. We've bonded, right? Surely not even the worst could break the life-binding oath. If you ascend, you ascend. I'll still remember you and love you." He reached for the other's hand and held it, intertwining both hands, crossing their arms.

Yuan Ji mostly focused on his voice, not his words. YueChen's voice was light, not deep the slightest bit at all—even could be described as a little feminine-sounding for a male. He took a deep breath and nodded.

Taking the nod as his cue, he let go of the deity's hand and dived into the water.

Just like three months ago. A self-proclaimed mission to reclaim the sword. Diving in the cold water with Yuan Ji. Hopefully this time wouldn't open another portal to the past.

If they could do it successfully, did that mean they'd leave this era? Not seeing the MiZi Village or the lady seer or A-Die anymore. No more village children and farmers. No more kitchen fight or story-telling.

They probably would return to the present, where YueChen was being oppressed because of his abnormalities, because of him being an ace. Back to the homophobic family, back to the boring school, back to himself.

Yuan Ji followed him not long after, having composed himself to his original plan.

The two figures slowly swam deeper, as though dancing in the water.

Pulling Zhen Ding Lang Jian out wasn't hard this time. It only needed a hard tug to be uprooted from the ground.

Everything went smoothly, in a blink of eye they had surfaced and walked out the spring.

Yuan Ji held the sword in one hand and walked to the center of the cave, swinging it back and forth. YueChen watched the deity fussing at the sword with a unfathomable look, trying to dry himself in the edge near the cavern wall.

"What's wrong?" Yuan Ji asked after a moment of silence.

As for the answer, it was Zhen Ding Lang Jian. It lightly hummed, its spiritual energy slowly dissipated.

The sword had been suppressing the dark energy in this cave, supported by its element—water. But now that the sword was no longer in the spring, the only thing to take over the deed was an equally strong dark aura. And there was no such thing right now with them.

Feeling uneasy, Yuan Ji iterated his question, "YueChen?"

The teen was awfully quiet, and the deity couldn't help but to turn his head to YueChen.

What he saw was pure horror.

At least fifty, if not more, pitch black swords impaled the teen from behind. Red pooled beneath the half-kneeling figure, his clothes drenched in blood. A layer of black mist wrapped the teen.

Yuan Ji subconsciously dropped his sword, he rushed to his host, but was restrained. Someone grabbed his arm, Yuan Ji took a brief glance to the person, it was one of Hu Nan's subordinates—Dian Ye.

"Let me go! YueChen's badly hurt! Let me go!!!"

The one mentioned was unmoving, the rise and fall of his chest was no longer visible, the slightly dull eyes dimmed.

One look and you could tell that Yang YueChen was no longer alive.

Yet Yuan Ji refused to acknowledge it. He screamed and fought the junior martial deity.

Ghosts gathered at the teen's dead body, cheering gleefully.

"Don't let them devour his soul! Please! Please!" His cries went through deaf ears, unheard and unheeded by the other.

Dian Ye saw that there was no probability of the teen for being alive, on addition to the growing number of ghosts and demons gathering there. He could only snatched the fallen sword and dragged the other deity out here.

Out of danger, and back to the heavens.