Though the sun had merely just set, with the night now draping over the central plains of Zhonglai, no one could deny the warm glow of the Mid-Autumn festival emanating over the walls of the Imperial Capital.
It was a bright, standing as a ray of hope for any distant wanderer travelling the vacant Central Plains, and come later that brightness would scour the clear skies glistening with many dazzling lanterns.
Outside the giant, festive walls, there was a silence that murmured with the occasional scuttle, the hoot of an owl, and the gentle running of the surrounding moat.
Although this moat was manmade, its water was fed by the connecting rivers from each region, separating them diligently. If viewed from above, it was as if the land itself drew an array for all the gods to see, showing just how connected and prosperous the lands of Zhonglai were.
A picture of a serene landscape, painted diligently. At night, this painting was void of disturbances, which was likely due to the Imperial City attracting most travellers.
Along the moat, just a twenty-minute walk from the Imperial Capital's gate, one of these rivers connected haphazardly. Near that river, the entrance to a forest that stretched far and wide, vaster than the eye could ever imagine. It was home to many animals, creatures, and bugs alike—while most were asleep, hidden away, burrowed, or in their nests, the nocturnal ones rummaged along.
Dusk was the opportune time to hunt, without the daily sound of people to disturb their hearing.
At the riverside, a small rabbit, who'd yet fallen asleep, was scuffling through the tall grass when suddenly it froze. Next to the rabbit, the grass flattened with a loud thomp! and then an aggressive gasp!
A person emerged from the water, his pale eyes bloodshot like a ravaged beast.
The rabbit fled in such a hurry that it practically looked like an out-of-control boomerang in its confusion.
"Fuck!" Shan Si shouted aggravatingly, pulling himself up from the river, but not before he tossed Tao Hua up first. His breathing heaved the moment he finally collapsed on the ground, staring up at the light-polluted night sky. There were very few visible stars, but the ones that twinkled were magnificent.
It was a view they had never had back in Chuhen Palace, not with the storm raging on every night for the past two hundred years.
Next to him, Tao Hua was still bundled up, but his face emerged from the robes, and he soon turned to his front. Prostrating on his knees, hands flat against the ground, he violently coughed up water.
"I…" Shan Si breathed, turning to look at Tao Hua's face. The poor thing had his eyes clamped shut with each cough, bending his head just enough for his drooping, wet hair to flop forward onto the grass. His limbs were trembling from having just surfaced from the frigid mid-autumn waters.
This very image…it could have pierced Shan Si's heart and destroyed it.
So, despite his own apparent exhaustion, he extended his arm to Tao Hua, dragging him onto his thighs. He felt heavier than usual, soaked from head to toe in water. Shan Si quickly moved forward and began to remove the source of the weight: two drenched outer robes.
It left him with his inside robe; the one designed more wifely than anything. Shan Si would have been dubbed a shameful liar if he said the sight wasn't one to behold, especially with how it clung to his body.
But now wasn't the time!
"I'm so sorry," he said gently, just as Tao Hua's coughing finally seemed to calm down, replaced with heavy panting. "I only have so much spiritual energy…when away from Jianlai."
Finally, he tossed the two outer robes aside and helped position Tao Hua, his hands against his hips. The sloshing sound of the fabric was so distinct it almost echoed—truly, they both were a mess!
Once settled, Shan Si smoothed the stringy black strands of hair out of Tao Hua's face. Due to the nipping cold, Tao Hua's cheeks, nose, and ears were flushed red, but the same could be said about Shan Si for once. Though his was much lighter and less noticeable.
Normally, his resolve was strong, but the fact that he was actually reacting to the temperature meant he had little energy to circulate Qi through his body. Likely used up through their escape from the Imperial Capital.
For most of their time traversing through the water, just after Shan Si permitted Tao Hua to use his senses once more, Shan Si had clumsily ignited a spell that allowed them to breathe underwater.
But, like most things, that spell could only grant them so much time. Eventually, the space it consumed constricted, and Shan Si was left with no choice but to pull them both out of the river.
The goal was to avoid capture, and they'd done so for now. He really had no other choice but to spend so much of himself than was allowed to assure their succession.
Glancing back at the tall walls, Shan Si muttered, "I'm…sure…they're still looking for us. We'll use the forest to escape. It's not ideal, and we're on the other side of the Imperial Plains, but these trees eventually meet Buzhi Forest."
Tao Hua nodded, his hands now pressed on Shan Si's chest, his body straddling awkwardly. He was still trying to regulate his breathing, and because of that, he couldn't help but feel as though the exhaustion and freezing temperatures would cause him to collapse at any moment. So, he leaned his body forward, his cheek squashed against Shan Si's chest.
Eyes returning to Tao Hua, Shan Si patted down his hair and apologetically smiled. "There's a few abandoned huts through the forest from scholars and Daoists who preferred a solitary lifestyle. Can Tao Hua bear it a little longer?"
Staring ahead at the blurring trees, relaxed by the slow thumps against Shan Si's chest, Tao Hua slowly acknowledged with a low, "Mn."
He could have fallen asleep then and there had Shan Si not urged him up.
As they rose into competenece, Shan Si picked up the two robes, slung them over his arm, and then lifted Tao Hua exactly how he did in the Imperial Capital; bridal. The endurance this man had stunned Tao Hua wide awake, rendering him speechless. He knew Shan Si was strong, but never actually weighed just how much strength or talent this man carried.
When he thought about it, it really was impressive. From scaling the Imperial Palace to threatening his father, fighting who knew how many guards, swimming through the water, and now managing his own exhaustion to carry Tao Hua, mixed feelings coursed through him.
Deeper into the trees they traversed, yet no noise, rattle, or shifting shadow could peel Tao Hua's gaze away from Shan Si. It was filled with determination; a focus that couldn't be confused for anything else. Tao Hua felt every part of him stir with an unknown, overwhelming sensation when he realized that most of Shan Si's sacrifices were designated to keep him safe. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place, right?
Tao Hua wrapped his arms around Shan Si's neck, used them to leverage himself upward, and kissed the sharp edge of his jaw before burying his face into the nape.
He whispered a low, barely audible, "Thank you."
Laughing, Shan Si simply tilted his head toward Tao Hua's. "Ah, how I enjoy those words more."
Too distracted and he'd lose his way through the darkness, so he made it his goal to reach a hut as soon as possible, allowing Tao Hua to rest silently in his arms.
Luckily, not too far from the capital, there was an opening that emitted moonlight. The entrance was paved with a stone path, and on both sides was a flimsy fence, blocking out tall grass and then a murky pond. In the corner of the clearing was a thatched hut, aged but still in commendable shape.
Shan Si placed Tao Hua down on his feet and slowly, he creaked open the entrance, peeping his head inside. Once he was certain there wasn't a single soul to be heard, he held the door wide open and smiled warmly at Tao Hua's hesitation.
"We'll leave as soon as our clothes dry off. Don't worry."
It was true that there was a bit of reluctance when Tao Hua peered into the hut, but none of it was about whether or not another person would arrive, or if it had an owner. He trusted Shan Si's intuition.
It was the blossoming feelings within him, making his skin tingle, that gripped him with uncertainty. Since the confession the night before, they grew bit by bit, and it was only now that Tao Hua truly felt paralyzed by them alone.
But if he stayed outside any longer, the cold would eventually have its way with him. Therefore, he rushed ahead into the hut behind Shan Si, fixating on the back of his neck and dryly swallowing.
Chapter end.