The horse kept moving at a steady pace.
Clip.
Clop.
Clip.
Clop.
The road stretched on and on beneath us, winding through patches of forest and open fields. The afternoon sun hung lazily above, warm but not unbearable, and a light breeze brushed against my face every now and then.
If I ignored the fact that I had died, transmigrated, borrowed someone else's body, and was currently being carried off to a suspicious cultivation sect by a beautiful woman who may or may not be using me as some kind of long-term resource…
…it was actually kind of peaceful.
For about five seconds.
Then Kai ruined it.
"Bro."
"…What?"
"We're on a horse."
I blinked.
"…Yes, Kai. I noticed."
"No, but really think about it." His tone grew more excited. "We're actually on a horse. Like, not a bike. Not a bus. Not a car. A horse. We've officially entered ancient China DLC."
Ruby snorted. "That is not what DLC means."
"It means extra content," Kai said immediately.
"That is not how you use it," Aqua replied.
Kai ignored him. "No, but seriously. This is crazy. We got truck-kun'd and instantly unlocked horse travel. This is peak isekai."
"Peak isekai would've included a system," Aqua said.
"Don't say that," I muttered.
Kai gasped dramatically. "Wait. You're right. Where is my system? Where's the voice going, 'Ding! Congratulations, host, you have awakened the Supreme Heavenly Otaku Sign-In System!'"
Ruby burst out laughing.
Even I had to hold back a smile.
Aqua sighed. "If a system did appear, it would probably assign you a task like 'Please stop being stupid for ten consecutive minutes.'"
Kai clicked his tongue. "Wow. Hater."
"Realist," Aqua corrected.
"I support Kai on this one," Ruby said cheerfully. "If we get a system, I want a beauty enhancement package."
"…We are already handsome," I said.
Ruby paused. "That's true."
Kai immediately jumped in. "Yeah, original body Lin Xuan is kind of cracked. Pure Yang Body and handsome? Bro spawned with protagonist face."
"Only face," Aqua said. "His settings are otherwise common."
"Hey, don't disrespect country bumpkin build," Kai shot back. "Sometimes humble beginnings are part of the meta."
I rubbed my temple internally. "Can we please not describe my new life like it's a game?"
"No," all three of them replied at once.
I went silent.
Honestly, that was fair.
Outside, Lou Yan remained composed, one hand lightly holding the reins as the horse moved along the dirt road. Her back was straight, posture elegant, every movement smooth and unhurried. Even from this angle, she looked like the kind of person who naturally belonged in another world.
Kai whistled lowly in my head. "I still can't believe this body bagged a cultivator wife."
Ruby made a noise of agreement. "She's really pretty."
Aqua answered flatly, "Your standards collapse too quickly."
"What does that even mean?" Ruby asked.
"It means beauty should not lower your guard."
Kai laughed. "Bro is out here treating attraction like a battlefield hazard."
"It often is," Aqua said.
"…You say scary things so calmly," Ruby muttered.
I let my head rest slightly, careful not to move too much. The rhythm of the horse was still strange. Not uncomfortable exactly, but definitely not smooth.
A few moments passed.
Then Kai spoke again.
"I have a very important question."
"No," Aqua said immediately.
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask."
"I know enough."
Kai ignored him. "Ai."
"What?"
"Do you think we know how to ride a horse?"
I froze.
Ruby froze with me.
Aqua went quiet for a second.
Then Kai started laughing.
"Oh no," Ruby said between giggles. "Oh no, no, no—"
"You're telling me," Kai continued, barely holding himself together, "that if Lou Yan suddenly says, 'Husband, why don't you ride by yourself for a while?' we are cooked?"
"…We are absolutely cooked," I admitted.
Ruby laughed harder. "Imagine getting exposed because we fall off a horse in the first ten minutes."
Aqua exhaled through his nose. "Correction. Ruby would fall off the horse. You would scream. Kai would panic. I would be forced to salvage the situation."
Kai protested immediately. "Why am I panicking?"
"Because you panic loudly," Aqua said.
"I do not."
"You absolutely do," Ruby replied.
I sighed. "He kind of does."
Kai sounded deeply offended. "Wow. Betrayal. I thought we were a family."
"We are," Ruby said sweetly. "A chaotic one."
"That's still family," Kai muttered.
The horse continued on.
Ahead, the road curved slightly around a grove of tall trees. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in scattered pieces, flashing across the path. Somewhere in the distance, birds chirped. The world felt vivid in a way that our old one often didn't. Too clean. Too open.
Too real.
It left me strangely quiet for a moment.
Ruby noticed first.
"…Ai?"
"Hm?"
"You okay?"
I thought about it.
"Honestly? I don't know."
That made the others fall silent.
After a while, I continued.
"I mean… we died. That happened. Now we're here. I'm in someone else's body. We might be in danger. There's a lot waiting ahead. And somehow all of you are still talking like this is just another weird Tuesday."
Kai was the first to respond.
"Well… if we freak out too hard, it won't help."
Ruby added, softer this time, "And if we're all still here, then it doesn't feel that bad."
Aqua was quiet for a heartbeat before speaking.
"The situation is dangerous," he said. "But panic will only waste effort. At present, the best option is adaptation."
I let out a small breath.
"That sounded almost comforting."
"It was not meant to be."
Kai snickered. "Bro comforted you by accident. Historic moment."
Aqua did not dignify that with a response.
Ruby, however, seemed to brighten immediately. "Wait. Since we're adapting, this means we should establish roles."
Kai groaned. "Why does that sound like a team project?"
"Because it is a team project," Ruby said. "We're literally sharing a body."
"Fair."
Ruby cleared her throat dramatically. "I, obviously, am the charm specialist."
Aqua said, "Self-proclaimed."
"I am very charming," Ruby replied.
"You are loud."
"I am lively."
"You are impulsive."
"I am emotionally expressive."
Kai laughed. "She got you there."
Ruby continued proudly, "Anyway, I'm best at acting normal."
"That part is true," I admitted. "You match Lin Xuan's vibe the most."
She sounded smug enough to glow. "Exactly. So in front of suspicious beautiful wives, I should take point."
Kai immediately said, "That sentence sounds insane without context."
"We have context," Ruby replied.
Kai considered it. "Fair enough."
Then he said, "In that case, I'm in charge of emergency reactions."
Aqua actually laughed.
Not loudly.
Not long.
But clearly.
Kai sounded offended all over again. "What? What's wrong with that?"
"Everything," Aqua said.
"Rude."
"You are the least suited person for emergency responses."
"I'm adaptable!"
"You are chaotic."
"Adaptable chaos."
"Panic with confidence," Ruby translated.
I couldn't help it. I laughed a little.
Kai grumbled. "Nobody appreciates genius."
Aqua said, "Your role should be spontaneous improvisation."
Kai paused.
"…That actually sounds cool."
"It means when all planning fails, you may accidentally be useful."
Kai went silent for two whole seconds.
"I choose to hear only the useful part."
"Of course you do," Aqua murmured.
Ruby clapped mentally. "Then Aqua is strategy and Ai is… leader?"
That made me blink.
"Leader?"
"Well, yeah," Ruby said. "You're tend to be the center."
Kai added, "And the one with the most stable default vibe."
Aqua said, "And final decision-making should remain centralized. Too many competing impulses will only create inefficiency."
I stared ahead, watching the road.
Leader, huh.
That felt heavier than it should've.
"…Fine," I said at last. "I'll take responsibility."
Ruby cheered.
Kai shouted, "Captain Ai!"
Aqua said, "Please do not encourage him."
This time even Ruby laughed.
The breeze picked up slightly as the horse moved out from the trees and back into open land. On either side of the road, low grasses bent and swayed. In the far distance, I thought I could see faint hills stretching beneath the sky.
For a while, none of us spoke.
Then Ruby suddenly said, "You know what I just realized?"
"That can't be good," Aqua said.
"We're all technically in our first historical drama."
Kai gasped. "Oh my god, you're right."
I already knew where this was going.
"No."
"Yes," Ruby said.
"No.
"We need ancient names for ourselves."
Kai was instantly on board. "Oh, this is good."
Aqua replied, "This is unnecessary."
Ruby ignored him. "Ai can stay Ai. That already sounds nice. Aqua…"
"No."
"…needs a cooler ancient-style name."
"No."
"Kai can be…" She paused dramatically. "Xiao Kai."
Kai burst out laughing. "That's not ancient, that's just me with downloadable content."
Ruby giggled. "Okay, fair. Then… Kai'an?"
"That sounds like a side character who dies protecting the village gate."
I snorted.
Aqua said, "An accurate fate."
"Can you not curse me?" Kai complained.
Ruby continued, undeterred, "Then Aqua can be—"
"No."
"Qing?"
"No."
"Lan?"
"No."
"Shen?"
"No."
Kai joined in. "Let's call him Old Man Aqua."
"Try it and I will find a way to silence both of you," Aqua said.
Ruby gasped dramatically. "Threats! On this beautiful day?"
"Yes," Aqua replied!
I shook my head internally. "Can we focus on not sounding insane first?"
"That ship sailed the moment we became four people in one body," Kai said.
Fair point.
After another stretch of road, Lou Yan finally spoke aloud.
"Are you feeling better?"
Ruby reacted before I could.
"…A little."
Her voice came out soft, appropriately reserved.
Natural.
Lou Yan glanced slightly to the side, though not enough for me to see her full expression.
"You slept quite deeply."
"Mn."
"You hungry .?"
"Maybe."
There was a short pause.
Then Kai whispered loudly in my head, "Wow. Domestic."
Ruby nearly choked internally.
I had to focus very hard not to let that leak into my face.
Lou Yan, thankfully, seemed not to notice.
Or if she did, she didn't mention it.
After a while, Ruby handed control back gently, and I took over again.
"That still feels weird," I muttered internally.
Kai said, "It's like passing the controller."
Aqua corrected him. "A disturbingly inaccurate but functional analogy."
Ruby sounded delighted. "We should practice more."
"Later," Aqua said. "In a safe environment."
Kai snorted. "Define safe."
"No immediate threat. No direct scrutiny. Minimal chance of death."
"That's a very low bar," I said.
"It is a realistic one," Aqua replied.
The horse gave another jolt as it stepped over uneven ground.
Kai made a dramatic noise. "I miss roads."
Ruby said, "I miss snacks."
I blinked. "You're thinking about snacks right now?"
"Yes."
"We died."
"And I'm still hungry."
Kai immediately backed her up. "Honestly? Same."
Aqua said nothing.
That made Ruby suspicious. "Aqua."
Silence.
"Aqua."
"…What?"
"Do you also want snacks?"
"…Irrelevant."
Kai gasped. "That means yes."
"It means the subject has no strategic value."
Ruby said triumphantly, "He wants snacks."
I had to bite back another smile.
This was ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
And somehow, against all logic, it kept me calm.
Maybe because as long as they were still bickering, things hadn't truly fallen apart.
Maybe because I wasn't alone.
Maybe because if I listened to Kai complain, Ruby chatter, and Aqua act superior for long enough, this impossible situation became… manageable.
Still insane.
But manageable.
The sun dipped a little lower.
The road went on.
And somewhere ahead was a sect, a future I didn't understand, and a life that didn't belong to me.
But for now—
For now, it was just the four of us, one body, one horse, and far too much nonsense.
Kai suddenly said, "Serious question."
Ruby groaned. "Why does that always sound dangerous?"
"If cultivation lets people fly later…"
Aqua sighed already.
Kai continued,"Do you think we'll each have different flying styles?"
There was silence.
Then Ruby burst into laughter so hard I nearly twitched.
I muttered, "What does that even mean?"
Kai said, "Like, Aqua would fly all calm and composed. Straight posture. Hands behind back. Full immortal young master mode."
Ruby wheezed. "That's true."
"Kai," Aqua said, dangerously calm, "keep talking."
"And Ruby," Kai continued bravely, "would definitely overdo it. Big sleeves, dramatic spins, maybe sparkles."
"I would not add sparkles!"
"You absolutely would add sparkles," I said.
Ruby gasped. "Ai!"
"I'm right."
"Traitor."
Kai barreled on. "And Ai would probably try to look dignified but secretly be panicking the whole time."
I went quiet.
"…Okay, that one might be true."
Ruby laughed again.
Then Kai delivered the final blow.
"And me"
No one answered.
Kai said, "Guys?"
Still no answer.
"Kai," Aqua said at last, "you would crash into a mountain."
Ruby lost it.
I did too.
Even Aqua made the faintest sound that might have been a laugh.
Kai was deeply offended. "You people are unbelievable."
"You brought this upon yourself," Aqua said.
"I was expressing cre
ativity!"
"You were predicting your own downfall."
Ruby was laughing too hard to speak properly. "A mountain—"
"Stop laughing!"
"No!"
I closed my eyes briefly and let the laughter fade into the sound of the road, the hooves, the breeze, and the distant call of birds.
Whatever came next would come next.
For now, this was enough.
And as the horse carried us onward toward a sect full of unknowns, I found myself thinking that maybe—just maybe—
getting isekai'd with these idiots wasn't the worst fate in the world.