Faraway Wanderers

Zhou Zishu abruptly stopped walking and sized up the four cave entrances with a frown. Theres water and wind in here, the chances for someone to poison us are low, He said.

He wouldnt call himself an expert in medicine-related matters, but the current Emperor during his years as Crown Prince used to be acquainted with a young shaman from South Xinjiang1who was held hostage at the capital. The shaman was following orders from the Shaman Valley to use the pugilist scene in Zhong Yuan2as test subject for their medicine, and most of the South Xinjiang-originated remedies and poisons which were unheard of at that time were brought here by him.

Zhou Zishu might not possess an intensive knowledge, but he had seen enough to know that there had yet to exist a poison that could cause hallucination for this long.

Wen Kexing nodded, So someone has used divination to find ways to trap us heredo you know anything about it?

Zhou Zishu replied calmly, The stuffs about three directions, eight trigrams and sixjias3?

You mustve studied a lot of things, even this Wen Kexing said in surprise.

Zhou Zishu was nonplussed. Of course I dont, thats all I know about it. He decided to sit down as walking further was an impossible feat. While leaning back onto the wall, he carelessly let the wound graze the surface. He shivered and slightly grimaced, unable to process the fact that a mere wild beast could agonize him to this state; but such was the life of being seen as a nuisance everywhere he went.

Wen Kexing thought about how he at least knew what three directions and eight trigrams actually was and felt a sense of intellectual superiority; but after he remembered that Zhou Zishu sold himself for two silvers, the superiority fell flat. So he sat down beside the injured man, tilting his head to look at the wound, somewhat delighted at the others misfortune, Serves you right for treating a monster like a little girl.

Zhou Zishu closed his eyes to recuperate, paying no attention to him.

Wen Kexing silently stood up, walked away and returned after a while. Zhou Zishu felt a spike of coldness on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes to Wen Kexing using a soaked piece of cloth to wash the wound.

On instinct, Zhou Zishu avoided the touch, but Wen Kexing held back his shoulder, Dont move.

Zhou Zishu asked with a pained face, Where did you get the water from?

The river. Wen Kexing replied. After some thinking, he added, Its running water, really clean.

Zhou Zishu felt his hair stand on end. He knew it was running water, so drinking from it was no problem, much less using it to treat injuries; but he couldnt stop thinking about those underwater creatures roaming around under there.

Sharp-eyed Wen Kexing happily teased the other after noticing the goosebumps, Can you really be disgusted when you look like a ragged beggar yourself? Come on, stop acting like a maiden.

Zhou Zishu knew the other had a point; nevertheless, he glanced at the others handkerchief witheringly. The fragrance from ita gentle and elegant smell of beauty productsattacked his nostrils, and at the corner was a small but exquisitely embroidered orchid. The size was a bit too big and it looked too plain for a maiden to use, but if this was a mans what kind of person would carry this on them?

He couldnt help but give Wen Kexing a weird look and teased the man back since no one was around, My good friend, why are you carrying a maidens belongings, is there a story behind this?

Wen Kexing, who was carefully removing the bloodstained fabric from the open wound, immediately tore the clothes with more force after hearing that, face blank. Zhou Zishu let out an Ow!, grimacing. Only then did Wen Kexing answered in good spirits, This is a personal gift from the famous courtesan and gentleman Su Yue from Yang Zhou City, you shouldnt have asked if you dont want to make an ignorant fool of yourself.

Then he continued to tear Su Yues gift into pieces and used them to cover Zhou Zishus wound.

Zhou Zishu had no idea people from Jiangnan were that open-minded. He asked without thinking, because even back when the capital was thirty miles from the Wang Yue river and was ruled by that degenerate Emperor, the concept of a male courtesan was not heard of anywhere.

Wen Kexing looked at him with pity, Were you born in utopia? Is everyone from Tian Chuang a country bumpkin? Or was my guess wrong?

Zhou Zishu scoffed, Never have I said that I

Before he could finish, Wen Kexing moved at lightning speed to dig at a major acupuncture point on his chest. If the target was at another place on his body and was covered by clothes, Zhou Zishu would not feel anything; but he was exhausted and the unruly Nails were acting up, so that very light attack was the last straw. He cried out, body bent over in pain, You

Wen Kexing rubbed his chin, his tone knowing, Your internal injuries are very serious, and seeing how capable you are, theres no way Tian Chuang will let you go easily. But from what I heard, the deadly reputation of the Nails of Seven Apertures for Three Autumns is no jokes; yet I see that you can still behave normally and run around in great spirits. Even if you act a little silly, that silliness definitely isnt caused by the Nails. Did I really guess wrong after all?

Zhou Zishu gritted out while sweating buckets, Wen Kexing, screw screw your entire ancestors

Seeing that the man stopped putting on an act with all of his blah blah blah Brother Wen whatever nonsense, Wen Kexing felt accomplished even though he just got cursed at. He replied nonchalantly, My ancestors are just dust now, I dont even know their names, so that might be an impossible feat. Though, if you can remove your disguise, and under that is a stunning face, Im perfectly willing to be a replacement for my forebears.

Zhou Zishu was still gritting his teeth tightly, body wound up like a shrimp and trying his best to keep the Nails under control. At the others ramblings, he interrupted in irritation, Would you shut the fuck up?

Wen Kexing shut up immediately, crossing his arms and watching by the side with not a single ounce of guilt.

After an undecipherable amount of time, Zhou Zishu opened his bloodshot eyes. Even though outsiders could not see what his real expression was, it was clearly not pleasant, Its morning now.

The Nails had calmed down, which signified dawnthey had been trapped in this strange cave for an entire night.

Wen Kexing was not anxious either. He nodded at that, Seems like whoever lured you herepossibly on purposereally wants you dead.

Whoever luredyou. Zhou Zishu replied.

Its obviously you, Im a good person. Wen Kexing wouldnt admit defeat.

Zhou Zishu ignored him, grasping at the wall to stand up. He leaned on it and started calculating the way to escape. Wen Kexing asked by his side, Arent you afraid, Zhou Xu?

I am, Zhou Zishu replied.

Wen Kexing stared at him, slightly surprised. Zhou Zishu continued very seriously, I havent gathered enough merits yet, if I enter Hell now, who knows what Ill reincarnate into.

Wen Kexing firmly said after some thought, You definitely werent a good person before, then.

He didnt wait for Zhou Zishus reply, If thats the case, isnt it too late to start merit gathering now?

Zhou Zishu straightened his back and walked toward a direction, Why? Havent you heard of the saying the second you drop the knife is when you become Buddha?

Wen Kexing chased after him, Where are you going?

Im going to eat dog meat, Zhou Zishu said, That person only traps us here

Traps you. Wen Kexing corrected.

Zhou Zishu glanced at him with contempt, continuing, That beasts head is quite hefty, feasting on that is enough for us to last a few days. Without it therere still the underwater creatures, so we definitely wont starve. Doesnt matter who that person dressed in black is, theyll show themself eventually.

Wen Kexing said in horror, You were afraid of the dirty river water just yesterday, and now you want to eat those things that live in it?

And are you going to starve yourself to death and let those things eat you instead? Zhou Zishu replied and concluded, How saintly of you, Brother Wen.

The light couldnt reach the cave, but fortunately Zhou Zishu brought with him some lighters since he planned on escaping in the night. There was also a luminous pearl that he stole from the riches; the pearl was small but it was enough for them to move around. The faint light cast over half of his face; and Wen Kexing saw not the unpleasant features, but very bright eyes that were directed at him, carrying an indescribable hint of playfulness.

That look was somewhat familiar.

Wen Kexing thought long and hard about it, but he couldnt remember which beauty those eyes belonged to, so he stayed silent.

In the moment when both of them said nothing, Zhou Zishus ears caught the sound of a breath that was neither his nor Wen Kexings. He smiledas expected, someone was not feeling very patient right now.

He then stood by the river and bent down to wash his hands, killing another monster that was sneakily attacking in the process. He lifted it up and threw it on the ground; the creatures neck broke and it drew its last breath without even making a sound. Zhou Zishu scooped up the water and drank leisurely.

Wen Kexinga carefree hoodlum himselfstared at his companion thoughtfully before using the tip of his toe to kick the corpse away and drank the river water like the other.

At that moment, a blade of wind came at them from behind. Wen Kexing dodged it by stepping aside, seemingly predicted it as he looked calm. A blade grazed his robes and fell into the water with a Splash!. Zhou Zishu laughed, his arms crossed as he stood to one side to enjoy the fun, See, Brother Wen, didnt I say that theyre after you? And youre definitely not the good type either, seeing that they devote this much effort to deal with you.

There were blades coming at him from every direction of the cave; those blades completely went past Zhou Zishu to charge at Wen Kexing, creating a maze of weaponsbut Wen Kexing didnt struggle at all, hisqinggongso much more skillful than Zhou Zishu had estimated.

Internally, though, he was cursingthis Zhou person was such a vengeful and petty one; not only was he not good, he was utterly contemptible.

Wen Kexing lifted his arm to bat away another blade, which brushed Zhou Zishus pants and planted itself on the ground. Is leaving one to sink or swim your way of gathering merits, my beautiful Zhou?

Footnotes.

1Xinjiang is one of Chinas administrative subdivision, located in the northwest of the country.

2The central plains of China.

3 (qmn dnji) is an ancient form of divination in China. The elements mentioned by Zhou Zishu are some of the aspects of Chinese metaphysics that this technique is based on

Zhou Zishu abruptly stopped walking and sized up the four cave entrances with a frown. Theres water and wind in here, the chances for someone to poison us are low, He said.

He wouldnt call himself an expert in medicine-related matters, but the current Emperor during his years as Crown Prince used to be acquainted with a young shaman from South Xinjiang1who was held hostage at the capital. The shaman was following orders from the Shaman Valley to use the pugilist scene in Zhong Yuan2as test subject for their medicine, and most of the South Xinjiang-originated remedies and poisons which were unheard of at that time were brought here by him.

Zhou Zishu might not possess an intensive knowledge, but he had seen enough to know that there had yet to exist a poison that could cause hallucination for this long.

Wen Kexing nodded, So someone has used divination to find ways to trap us heredo you know anything about it?

Zhou Zishu replied calmly, The stuffs about three directions, eight trigrams and sixjias3?

You mustve studied a lot of things, even this Wen Kexing said in surprise.

Zhou Zishu was nonplussed. Of course I dont, thats all I know about it. He decided to sit down as walking further was an impossible feat. While leaning back onto the wall, he carelessly let the wound graze the surface. He shivered and slightly grimaced, unable to process the fact that a mere wild beast could agonize him to this state; but such was the life of being seen as a nuisance everywhere he went.

Wen Kexing thought about how he at least knew what three directions and eight trigrams actually was and felt a sense of intellectual superiority; but after he remembered that Zhou Zishu sold himself for two silvers, the superiority fell flat. So he sat down beside the injured man, tilting his head to look at the wound, somewhat delighted at the others misfortune, Serves you right for treating a monster like a little girl.

Zhou Zishu closed his eyes to recuperate, paying no attention to him.

Wen Kexing silently stood up, walked away and returned after a while. Zhou Zishu felt a spike of coldness on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes to Wen Kexing using a soaked piece of cloth to wash the wound.

On instinct, Zhou Zishu avoided the touch, but Wen Kexing held back his shoulder, Dont move.

Zhou Zishu asked with a pained face, Where did you get the water from?

The river. Wen Kexing replied. After some thinking, he added, Its running water, really clean.

Zhou Zishu felt his hair stand on end. He knew it was running water, so drinking from it was no problem, much less using it to treat injuries; but he couldnt stop thinking about those underwater creatures roaming around under there.

Sharp-eyed Wen Kexing happily teased the other after noticing the goosebumps, Can you really be disgusted when you look like a ragged beggar yourself? Come on, stop acting like a maiden.

Zhou Zishu knew the other had a point; nevertheless, he glanced at the others handkerchief witheringly. The fragrance from ita gentle and elegant smell of beauty productsattacked his nostrils, and at the corner was a small but exquisitely embroidered orchid. The size was a bit too big and it looked too plain for a maiden to use, but if this was a mans what kind of person would carry this on them?

He couldnt help but give Wen Kexing a weird look and teased the man back since no one was around, My good friend, why are you carrying a maidens belongings, is there a story behind this?

Wen Kexing, who was carefully removing the bloodstained fabric from the open wound, immediately tore the clothes with more force after hearing that, face blank. Zhou Zishu let out an Ow!, grimacing. Only then did Wen Kexing answered in good spirits, This is a personal gift from the famous courtesan and gentleman Su Yue from Yang Zhou City, you shouldnt have asked if you dont want to make an ignorant fool of yourself.

Then he continued to tear Su Yues gift into pieces and used them to cover Zhou Zishus wound.

Zhou Zishu had no idea people from Jiangnan were that open-minded. He asked without thinking, because even back when the capital was thirty miles from the Wang Yue river and was ruled by that degenerate Emperor, the concept of a male courtesan was not heard of anywhere.

Wen Kexing looked at him with pity, Were you born in utopia? Is everyone from Tian Chuang a country bumpkin? Or was my guess wrong?

Zhou Zishu scoffed, Never have I said that I

Before he could finish, Wen Kexing moved at lightning speed to dig at a major acupuncture point on his chest. If the target was at another place on his body and was covered by clothes, Zhou Zishu would not feel anything; but he was exhausted and the unruly Nails were acting up, so that very light attack was the last straw. He cried out, body bent over in pain, You

Wen Kexing rubbed his chin, his tone knowing, Your internal injuries are very serious, and seeing how capable you are, theres no way Tian Chuang will let you go easily. But from what I heard, the deadly reputation of the Nails of Seven Apertures for Three Autumns is no jokes; yet I see that you can still behave normally and run around in great spirits. Even if you act a little silly, that silliness definitely isnt caused by the Nails. Did I really guess wrong after all?

Zhou Zishu gritted out while sweating buckets, Wen Kexing, screw screw your entire ancestors

Seeing that the man stopped putting on an act with all of his blah blah blah Brother Wen whatever nonsense, Wen Kexing felt accomplished even though he just got cursed at. He replied nonchalantly, My ancestors are just dust now, I dont even know their names, so that might be an impossible feat. Though, if you can remove your disguise, and under that is a stunning face, Im perfectly willing to be a replacement for my forebears.

Zhou Zishu was still gritting his teeth tightly, body wound up like a shrimp and trying his best to keep the Nails under control. At the others ramblings, he interrupted in irritation, Would you shut the fuck up?

Wen Kexing shut up immediately, crossing his arms and watching by the side with not a single ounce of guilt.

After an undecipherable amount of time, Zhou Zishu opened his bloodshot eyes. Even though outsiders could not see what his real expression was, it was clearly not pleasant, Its morning now.

The Nails had calmed down, which signified dawnthey had been trapped in this strange cave for an entire night.

Wen Kexing was not anxious either. He nodded at that, Seems like whoever lured you herepossibly on purposereally wants you dead.

Whoever luredyou. Zhou Zishu replied.

Its obviously you, Im a good person. Wen Kexing wouldnt admit defeat.

Zhou Zishu ignored him, grasping at the wall to stand up. He leaned on it and started calculating the way to escape. Wen Kexing asked by his side, Arent you afraid, Zhou Xu?

I am, Zhou Zishu replied.

Wen Kexing stared at him, slightly surprised. Zhou Zishu continued very seriously, I havent gathered enough merits yet, if I enter Hell now, who knows what Ill reincarnate into.

Wen Kexing firmly said after some thought, You definitely werent a good person before, then.

He didnt wait for Zhou Zishus reply, If thats the case, isnt it too late to start merit gathering now?

Zhou Zishu straightened his back and walked toward a direction, Why? Havent you heard of the saying the second you drop the knife is when you become Buddha?

Wen Kexing chased after him, Where are you going?

Im going to eat dog meat, Zhou Zishu said, That person only traps us here

Traps you. Wen Kexing corrected.

Zhou Zishu glanced at him with contempt, continuing, That beasts head is quite hefty, feasting on that is enough for us to last a few days. Without it therere still the underwater creatures, so we definitely wont starve. Doesnt matter who that person dressed in black is, theyll show themself eventually.

Wen Kexing said in horror, You were afraid of the dirty river water just yesterday, and now you want to eat those things that live in it?

And are you going to starve yourself to death and let those things eat you instead? Zhou Zishu replied and concluded, How saintly of you, Brother Wen.

The light couldnt reach the cave, but fortunately Zhou Zishu brought with him some lighters since he planned on escaping in the night. There was also a luminous pearl that he stole from the riches; the pearl was small but it was enough for them to move around. The faint light cast over half of his face; and Wen Kexing saw not the unpleasant features, but very bright eyes that were directed at him, carrying an indescribable hint of playfulness.

That look was somewhat familiar.

Wen Kexing thought long and hard about it, but he couldnt remember which beauty those eyes belonged to, so he stayed silent.

In the moment when both of them said nothing, Zhou Zishus ears caught the sound of a breath that was neither his nor Wen Kexings. He smiledas expected, someone was not feeling very patient right now.

He then stood by the river and bent down to wash his hands, killing another monster that was sneakily attacking in the process. He lifted it up and threw it on the ground; the creatures neck broke and it drew its last breath without even making a sound. Zhou Zishu scooped up the water and drank leisurely.

Wen Kexinga carefree hoodlum himselfstared at his companion thoughtfully before using the tip of his toe to kick the corpse away and drank the river water like the other.

At that moment, a blade of wind came at them from behind. Wen Kexing dodged it by stepping aside, seemingly predicted it as he looked calm. A blade grazed his robes and fell into the water with a Splash!. Zhou Zishu laughed, his arms crossed as he stood to one side to enjoy the fun, See, Brother Wen, didnt I say that theyre after you? And youre definitely not the good type either, seeing that they devote this much effort to deal with you.

There were blades coming at him from every direction of the cave; those blades completely went past Zhou Zishu to charge at Wen Kexing, creating a maze of weaponsbut Wen Kexing didnt struggle at all, hisqinggongso much more skillful than Zhou Zishu had estimated.

Internally, though, he was cursingthis Zhou person was such a vengeful and petty one; not only was he not good, he was utterly contemptible.

Wen Kexing lifted his arm to bat away another blade, which brushed Zhou Zishus pants and planted itself on the ground. Is leaving one to sink or swim your way of gathering merits, my beautiful Zhou?

Footnotes.

1Xinjiang is one of Chinas administrative subdivision, located in the northwest of the country.

2The central plains of China.

3 (qmn dnji) is an ancient form of divination in China. The elements mentioned by Zhou Zishu are some of the aspects of Chinese metaphysics that this technique is based on