Chapter Text
“Are you sure this is where you want to go?” Shang Qinghua looks at his best friend, Shen Yuan, with a bit of concern. “Bro, this looks sketchy as hell.”
“Yes, and it adds to the charm,” Shen Yuan responds dismissively, focusing on the bag he was packing. He already had one suitcase packed, and he was forcing down messily folded and rolled clothes into another.
His doctor, sweet man that he is, finally dropped the whole “you have one year left,” bomb on Shen Yuan, and instead of panicking and saying his goodbyes and all that shit, he saw an opportunity. He was going to finally, finally, go to this weird eerie area in a small, unknown part of China. He had been reading about the legends and folktales in the province, and though most of it is similar to the folktales of other areas, he just felt weirdly drawn to this specific place. Call it a hunch, but it basically felt like it was calling his name.
Shen Yuan already kinda accepted the fact that he was going to die early. He’s been sickly since birth, and no matter how much money his bigshot parents blew on trying to heal him, he knew it would all go to waste. With multiple illnesses like a stutter in his heart, a problem in his respiratory system, and an overall weak body, Shen Yuan made peace with the fact that he won’t be here for long. And with this fact further confirmed by his doctor, he could finally use his death wish!
Yeah, yeah, immoral. Whatever. Let him live! (For a year.)
“Charm?!” Shang Qinghua borderline screams, incredulous at his friend’s survival instincts-- or lack, thereof. “You’re gonna get eaten out here, or maybe even, I don’t know, cursed, or something.”
“Does it get worse than this, Airplane-bro?” Shen Yuan says, and a pillow is promptly chucked at him.
“Do not joke about that!” Shang Qinghua borderline shrieks. “Anyways, look at these pictures,” he slides the laptop to Shen Yuan and the latter finally looks up from the growing pile of clothes he was working on, squinting at the… pictures on the screen.
Turning back to packing, he says, “Looks like a dream!”
“It looks like it was taken on a calculator.”
“You fucking bourgeois,” Shen Yuan says to him, throwing the pillow thrown to him earlier. “Maybe the tourists couldn’t afford a high-quality camera!”
“You live in a penthouse and I’m the bourgeois?” Shang Qinghua throws two pillows at him. He will not lose! “I hate rich people.”
Shen Yuan barely hums a response, deep in thought. He thinks about how these are his final months. It seemed surreal, but also not? He didn’t know how to describe how everything felt. It’s like… he knew this was going to happen, so why did he feel all stuffy? Whatever. He was gonna have this great adventure and have this whole month all to himself! He would meet that fascinating emperor, or his bones, at least-- he swore on it!
Before he could spiral down deeper, his best friend’s voice came ringing in his ears again.
“Bro, why do you want to go to this place again? Some kind of folktale, was it?” Shang Qinghua was still on the site for the island itself. The forest he was about to venture into was, unsurprisingly, not documented enough. This only made his curiosity grow, instead of falter and turn to fear. Despite the stutter in his heartbeat, Shen Yuan had grown indifferent about the existence of demons and the like, because, well, what devil could be worse than his older brother?
“Yeah, it’s a folktale about this emperor,” Shen Yuan said. “More like, an overlord, I guess?”
“His name was Luo Binghe or something, and the tales say that he ruled over both the human and the demon realms,” he continued. “He came from a poor background, his only family being a poor washerwoman who picked him up from the icy river he was abandoned in. Hence, the name.”
“He’s half-demon, I guess, his dad was a heavenly demon and his mom was a cultivator, who died after lowering him onto the river. Apparently, he wasn’t even supposed to be… conceived. Anyways, he was pushed into the abyss by his own master for being a demon, so it was pretty rough on him,” he said, still rummaging through the pile of clothing as Shang Qinghua listened intently. “When he came back, he got his rightful revenge on everybody that wronged him and married 600 women! He also has this really cool sword, Xin Mo or something.”
“Just what type of gothic demonic bullshit are you into?” Shang Qinghua mutters under his breath, still mindlessly scrolling on the laptop.
“He’s cool, shut the fuck up,” Shen Yuan says. “So, anyways, legend says that after killing his old master, the master became a ghost? Like, one of those ghosts with grudges in the ghost realm. So, he came back to get revenge and he placed a curse on the emperor, making him a beast, and damning the palace and everyone who lived in it to be forgotten. That's as much as the folktale goes, but I really feel like there's... more.”
“That’s kinda sad, bro,” Shang Qinghua tells him, lying on his back now, staring at the ceiling. “I could write a novel about that.”
“Right? Anyways, the whole area is basically unexplored, so it makes it all the more interesting. The locals say there's nothing like that on the island, but I will beg to differ. Also, do write the novel so I can thrash it.”
"Yeah, yeah, but if you get lost, or eaten, or cursed, or drowned, your parents aren't allowed to sue me, okay?" Shang Qinghua looks at him with what seems to be a glare but he also looks scared. As he always is. “I’ve booked your stupid tickets, you fly next week and spend about a month and a half there.”
“Thanks, Airplane-bro,” Shen Yuan pushes him off the bed and plops himself down. “If I find a hot demon or something, I’ll make sure to mention your name.”
_(:□)∠)_
Once the plane had landed, Shen Yuan took a bus to the nearest urban area in the province, making his way to the Airbnb he had booked. Curtly greeting the owners and going over the house rules, they left the keys to him and he immediately plopped down on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
His slumber was filled with dreams of an impeccably handsome demon lord, bright red eyes matching the glow of his forehead mark. The man approached him, extending a hand, calling out a soft “Shizun.”
Shen Yuan shifted in his bed.
The dream invaded his mind, multiple intangible scenarios overlapping, from a sword that radiated black smoke and resentful energy cutting his limbs apart and spilling hot tea on a young boy, to pushing the same boy into the fiery hands of a crack in the earth and wicked calls of shizun all rang in his head. Shen Yuan jolts up, waking up with cold sweat trickling down his face and neck.
What the fuck was that?
Shaking off the thoughts, he quickly tried to forget about the dream he just had. Shen Yuan sat up, gave himself two slaps on each side of his face, and looked at his phone and checked the time. Barely past two in the afternoon.
Getting up from the bed, he makes his way to the kitchen to get something to eat. As he walked, his head felt funny, and there was a weird sensation in his limbs; like they were going to fall off. He disregarded the tingles, knowing his weak and sickly body well enough to know that it was (probably) nothing, despite the feeling being new. He was well-acquainted with physical pain, this was no big deal. He was about to die, anyway. Brushing it off, he sat down and started munching on the bowl of cereal he made. That's how far his culinary skills go, almost eating an expired cup of ramen that one time. If he had swallowed those noodles, Shen Yuan would've found himself prematurely six feet under.
Shen Yuan ponders on what to do for the rest of the day. He could bundle himself up in the bed and binge read a web novel, or he could go outside and use the bicycle that came with the Airbnb booking and… sightsee? Maybe he should consider the latter option and sightsee, and not waste the money his parents worked very hard for in order for this trip to happen. Hah.
Making up his mind, he grabbed a hoodie, put it on, and went cycling.
The scenery of the province was beautiful, and the way it was near the sea really tied in the whole serene feeling. As he cycled, he could hear waves crashing against the rocks beneath the flat road he was on. The spring sunshine bounced off his glasses, but the rest of his face basked in its warmth. Shen Yuan appreciated the good weather; a light breeze and gentle sunshine. There were even cherry blossom trees! Truly, it was a picturesque scene. Snapping a few quick pictures, he stopped his bike and took in the view. The population here was less than a thousand people and less than a hundred families, making the aura around cozy. As he looked over the sea, he saw the island he was supposed to go to. Recognizing it, his eyes fixated themselves on the island and he saw what seemed to be the silhouette of a palace, large gates and all.
He squints.
That isn’t supposed to be there. He’s seen the pictures of the island; if there was an actual palace, then more tourists would’ve taken pictures. It could even boost tourism!
He spots a few fishermen by the shore and approaches them. “Hello, excuse me,” he greets politely, and the fishermen look at him with confused gazes, but smile gently nonetheless. “I was wondering about the, uh, palace. On that island, over there.” He lifts a finger to point to the island.
The fishermen share confused looks. One of them turns to Shen Yuan and asks, “Sir, what palace?”
Shen Yuan frowns. Were they playing a joke on him?
“That one, the tall palace,” he says again, pointing to the island once more.
“Sir, just what palace do you speak of? There has never been anything of the sort there,” another fisherman responded. “We all grew up here and we have been to that island multiple times. There’s nothing there.”
His frown deepens. Not wanting to humiliate himself any further, he responds with a, “Sorry, I must’ve seen wrong. Maybe they’re just trees.”
The fishermen gave him the same practiced gentle smiles and returned to their work, and Shen Yuan returns to his bike on the road. Strange. He rubbed his eyes with his fists under his glasses. Taking another look at the island, he finds that the silhouette had gone. Maybe he really was delusional. That dream was doing weird things to his brain. He wondered if it was because he had skipped his midday medications.
Cycling back to his Airbnb, his head was awfully distracted as the silhouette of the palace felt vaguely familiar to him.
The next day, Shen Yuan rose up early and cycled to the shore. Today, he would be visiting that island. Honestly speaking, he could barely contain his excitement, he was vibrating is and his hands were shaking at an abnormal frequency. Taking a deep breath to regain his composure, he blames his behavior on the caffeine and focused on his island exploring day.
He had brought a small backpack that contained his phone, his pocket charger, a film camera, a portable mini fan, his wallet, one pack of Oreos, a scarf, his inhaler, and other medications. Feeling like a kid on his first field trip, Shen Yuan emanated positive energy, beaming smile and all, even greeting the townspeople when he passed by the local market.
When he saw the fisherman that was going to take him, he greeted politely and flashed him a smile. Shen Yuan recognized him to be one of the fishermen from yesterday.
“Good morning, uncle!” Shen Yuan greets, puts on the lifevest given to him, and gets into the boat as the older man pushed the boat into the sea. “Good morning sir, are you ready?”
With an overly excited nod, they sail into the sea. The journey was short, however, the scenery didn't fail Shen Yuan. Wherever he turned, it would be so beautiful, he'd have his breath taken away. Bamboo forests were cluttered around, and cherry blossom trees stood out in the sea of green. There were flower petals falling and floating near shores, and Shen Yuan was truly taken away. He had to take pictures of everything! The fisherman looked amused to see such an excited kid, striking up a conversation with his customer.
"It's very beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.
Shen Yuan nodded harshly, "It is!"
The fisherman chuckled bemusedly at Shen Yuan's enthusiasm. "This view is the pride of our island. Some say our ancestors chose this place because it was so striking.
"Oh..." Shen Yuan pondered. "Uncle, can you tell me more about the history of this place? Folktales, anything. If it won't be such a bother."
"There isn't much to say, really," the fisherman says to him. Shen Yuan will not leave this boat without a single tip about that emperor.
"What about... Luo Binghe?" he tries, leaning in. "An emperor, who ruled over both realms. Do you happen to have anything about him?"
The fisherman's eyes turn confused. "Hm? There is nobody named that way in any of our tales." He continued, "We have heard of the twelve peak lords, and the four great sects. However, there is no name like 'Luo Binghe' that pops up in any of our tales."
Shen Yuan looks absolutely devastated. He nods, nonetheless. "Oh... alright. Thank you, uncle."
The fisherman nods and says, "Sir, we have arrived." Once they reached the shore of the island, Shen Yuan paid the fisherman in bills and thanked him.
“If you need to go back to the mainland, the next boats will be here at 7 PM, sir,” the fisherman tells him.
Shen Yuan says, “I will keep that in mind. Thank you, uncle! Be careful on your way back!” The fisherman pushes his boat offshore and makes his way back to the mainland. Once Shen Yuan cannot see him, he turns to face the forest. Adjusting his backpack and glasses, he took a deep breath and let his feet take him from the beach into the secluded forest.
About a quarter into the forest, it starts getting colder. Not chilly, but actually freezing cold. Shen Yuan wraps his arms around himself to keep warm. As he walks further, the cold air had gone sharper, nipping at his skin. He was almost certain his nose was ruby red. Grabbing the scarf he brought and bundling himself up, he pulls up the weather app on his phone, with the status “Sunny” staring back at him, mocking him.
This was the same thing it told him last night! It said it would be a sunny morning, that’s why he brought the mini fan! Stupid, inaccurate, weather app!
He shivers and realizes there’s nothing he could do now, and he walks further. Tucking his hands into his hoodie pockets, he tries to warm himself up but to no avail. Soon after, he felt something wet touch his nose. He was wiping it off with a finger when more dropped on his face. Snowflakes. It was fucking snowing. In May.
Staring at the dark sky in disbelief, Shen Yuan was frozen in place. It was so hot when he had arrived, so someone please explain to him just why in the absolute fuck is it snowing on him.
Feeling helpless, he leaned on a tree and slid down. Shen Yuan seriously pondered his luck, closed his eyes and let himself feel pathetic. After a few self-deprecating moments, he heard a low growl. He initially ignored it, telling himself that it was probably just the leaves or something.
Another growl. This time, it came from right beside him. Shen Yuan’s eyes snapped open, and as he slowly turned his head to the right, he heard and saw the panting and growls of a wolf. Keeping calm, he swallowed and tried to even out his breathing. He closed his eyes again. Maybe he was imagining it. He took a deep breath and he opened his eyes once more.
Now, instead of one wolf to his right, there was seemingly a whole pack of them, surrounding him. Their teeth were bared, and their eyes glowed red. Their stance made it look like they were going to pounce, Shen Yuan noted.
Well, fuck his life sideways, then.
_(:□)∠)_
See, take Shen Yuan’s word for it. If you’re surrounded by an angry pack of wolves, you do not stand up slowly and make a run for it. They have four legs! They run more than you do! You have asthma! You do not stand a chance! Make better life decisions.
Shen Yuan isn’t sure how he’s still alive after wrestling two wolves in order to survive. He himself barely had his sweater and shirt on him, a few tears also on the legs of his pants. Red blotches stained his clothes, and his skin was scattered with scratches so deep they would scar. There was a gash on his leg, and he could barely stand. He really, truthfully isn’t sure why he was still alive. By the time a third one was about to push him to the ground for his turn to beat up and bully the puny human, ready to tear off his skin and bones, someone - no, something, appeared.
It wasn’t quite human.
Shen Yuan could barely register the appearance of the thing that fought the wolves and drove them away, the blood on his eyes rendering him blind. He’d hidden his glasses in his now very slashed backpack well before the wolves greeted him because they fogged up in the cold, so they were as safe as they could be. Hugging the backpack to his chest, unable to move, the thing starts moving towards him.
Shen Yuan doesn’t even care if this monster kills him, eats him, whatever. He couldn’t move, anyways. However, the monster picks him up, bridal style, and flies them up and away. He had wings. These arms holding him aren’t quite human, Shen Yuan notes, and the claws on his fingers dug slightly into his skin, but not hard enough to harm nor draw more blood.
Shen Yuan tries to ignore the blood clouding his vision and looks at the one who was carrying him. All he could see was a glowing red mark on his forehead and a pair of bright red eyes. Before he could take in the rest of his appearance, Shen Yuan knocks out cold.