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“There is a being that thrives within the Endless Abyss, young one. It crawled from the bloodied pits filled with rotted corpses, and clawed its way to the top of the food chain; it is a thing of terror; a shadow of what it could have been - a remnant whose only creed is survival.
“Young one - you must listen to this elder - yes, listen, and do not be foolish. This creature is not something you can eliminate like those other monsters and weak demons.
“You must be careful - or you, too, will be lost.”
“ Aiya ,” sighed a shadowed figure from where it stood over a steaming pile of gore. “I didn’t even mean to kill this guy. Sorry, stranger.”
The bloody smear on the ground said nothing. The figure sighed once again as if it had. “I am glad that you are so forgiving. This Yuan thanks your magnanimity.”
With a short bow to this pile of gore, the figure walked away.
As the figure stepped out from the shadows, the red glare of the heavens (Or was it hell?) fell upon them - illuminating their figure.
The figure was that of a man; his features handsome and beautiful; but also frail; and his eyes, although half-lidded, somehow still shone like polished jade despite his sickly pallor.
But what truly drew the eyes was this man’s long, white hair that drifted lazily along the winds. For someone’s hair to remain free of blood and grime in a place like this was to be favored by the gods - for someone’s white hair to be so pure despite the environment would mean that they themselves must be a god - or an immortal.
And yet -
Yuan flicked the blood from his claws with a curious hum. “What should this Yuan do today, hm?”
He had been wandering for a long while - time having long since lost its meaning to the transmigrator (That meant something - what was it?) after he woke up in the body of a rotting demon corpse many, many years ago.
So long had it been that he had forgotten nearly everything about the world he was in - or at least, everything that was not a beast or a plant.
Names that used to have meaning became wisps in his mind - a half-remembered attempt at changing the world only to become immersed in mindless violence and bloodshed.
He had fought, and fought, and fought.
And then, he wandered.
His mind was not the same as it used to be. This he knew to be true. But Yuan found that he could not bring himself to care about his broken-ness. After all, if losing his mind meant he could go on living - then he’d just shatter through his barriers, and fall into insanity.
A smile stretched across his face - the expression uncanny in its sudden appearance.
“ Ahh~ it really is -”
He spun around suddenly, and drove his claws into the belly of the second demon that had been looming over him in a pathetic attempt to avenge her companion’s pointless death.
As blood poured out of her wounds and lips, Yuan leaned close to her pale face - close enough to see his reflection in her terrified eyes -
“- such a good day to die. ”
Her pupils shrank, and then her eyes glazed over as she succumbed to the poison being pumped through her blood.
Yuan watched, expressionless, as she collapsed to the ground - dead.
… And then he smiled, his eyes seemingly miles away. “Forgive this Yuan - he did not expect this demon to approach him so suddenly! Next time, he will greet you properly. For now, this Yuan must bid you farewell.”
With a bow, Yuan turned and continued to walk -
“...!”
He blinked.
His world was now dark.
How long had Yuan been walking?
“Oh no,” Yuan murmured, raising a finger to his mouth. “Yuan has gotten lost again. Oh, silly, silly Yuan. Who knows how many things he has missed? Stupid , silly Yuan!”
“Hey, you! I asked you a question!”
Yuan whirled around with a hiss. “I’m busy ! Shut up !”
Then he paused, eyes glazing over. “ Oh ? A guest? This Yuan greets you, stranger. How may this demon be of assistance?”
The stranger could be no older than seventeen - with a nice face that looked suddenly uneasy, and a great mass of curls for hair. His clothes and appearance were very dirty - as if he’d been rolling around in blood and filth. “What - what’s wrong with you?”
Yuan’s eyes focused, and he grinned, ignoring the blood that dripped down from his mouth after digging his fangs into his own finger. “This Yuan can see that this youth is struggling - why not allow this one to help? This Yuan will not kill you - I promise.”
The youth narrowed his eyes, and tightened his grip on his spear -
… forged from the depths of the volcanic pits, obsidian glass is only attainable through nearly fatal means - and yet it was no hardship for L̷̨̧̟͎̥̱͔̅́̄̋̉û̵͕̳͋̀͐̈́͜o̴̱̦̼̓̽͑ ̴̛͎̭̜̩̣̲́̿͌̕B̷̡͓̪̟̯̠̚̕͠i̴͕̮̫͍̠̝̠͌̑̽̆͒͠ǹ̶̪̱̮͚̬͐̄̆g̵̡̹̹̬̻̙̱̗̼͌̀̍̒̈́́ḣ̶̺̊̇́̌ę̷͍͇̭͍̞͍͆̈́̐́̈́̈̓͘ …
- and raised it to point it at Yuan, who cocked his head to the side, smiling serenely.
“I don’t believe you.” The youth said.
Yuan hummed, eyes crinkling. “ Mh. This Yuan asks for this youth’s name - ”
His smile suddenly widened, and in an instant he was in front of the youth, one clawed hand gripping the spear, and the other digging into the youth’s face. “ - unless he has no name? This Yuan can give you one! Yes, yes. This Yuan will name you!”
The youth struggled, his movements frantic and terrified. “N-no! Let go of me!”
“Tsk. Fine .” And then Yuan was six feet away, leaving the youth to stand on shaking legs. “But this Yuan still wants to name you.”
“I already have a name!” The youth snapped, pulling the spear closer to himself.
… the Obsidian Spear lasted longer than what was expected from a salvaged weapon - shattering during an encounter with a diamond-skinned hydra …
“Ah.” Said Yuan. “What is it, then?”
The youth heaved an anxious breath. “This disc - this youth is called …”
He paused.
Yuan hissed impatiently. “Well? Well? Get on with it! This Yuan is tired of waiting!”
“... Ming Fan.” He finished lamely. “This youth is called Ming Fan.”
“...”
“This Yuan does not like Ming Fan’s name; this Yuan thinks it is stupid, and hopes to give you a new name anyway.”
“But - it’s my name!” Ming Fan shouted.
… Is it? Yuan swayed from side to side, lost in thought. The name did not suit the youth at all. It was not -
It was not a worthy name.
Yuan cackled. “Too bad! Ming Fan is not the name for you! No, no ! You deserve something better! This Yuan will call you - “
Once again, he was before the youth - only this time he had the sense to knock the spear out of his hands, leaving both of his hands free to cup that pretty, terrified face.
“ - Baohé !”
The newly named Baohé was now Yuan’s companion.
Yuan felt happy about this, and definitely would not regret this decision in the future.
Baohé felt very differently about his new position in life, and was not afraid to voice his displeasure.
“This Bin - Ming Fan - has other things to do than entertain a crazy demon!” Baohé cried.
“Like what?” Yuan asked cheerfully, one clawed hand darting out to crush an invisible flesh devouring dragonfly.
He sniffed at its juices and wrinkled his nose. It was not mature enough to consume - what a waste. He threw the corpse aside with a pout, utterly unaware of the wide eyes that stared at him, speechless.
“... like learning how to do what this esteemed Yuan just did.”
“Ah! Baohé wants to learn from this Yuan?” Yuan asked. Learn? Learn. He would… teach? He would… lead.
Yuan’s giddy expression suddenly disappeared, and his eyes glazed over. “ Hmm… to the North now? Yes, yes. This Yuan must go… and help Baohé grow stronger! Yes, yes!”
He reached over to grip the frozen Baohé by the arm. “Come Baohé. This Yuan will show you the way.”
There were times when Yuan lost himself to time; but with Baohé, it happened less and less. The young man having to physically tug his lost Shizun back into the present.
Baohé steadily lost his fear of Yuan - which pleased the demon very much. It was nice to have someone who he didn’t accidentally kill -
Yuan flinched, and shook his head. “Ah, Yuan, Yuan. You silly, silly man. You simply forgot to greet them - yes. You forgot… ”
Baohé watched his Shizun with a complicated expression as Yuan covered his face with a clawed hand, and giggled.
“... Is Shizun okay?” He asked tentatively.
Yuan let his head drop, and rolled his neck to meet his young student’s (Ha! Isn’t that fun? ) gaze. “En. This Yuan is well. This one will show you a poison technique that this Yuan has found very, very useful.”
Baohé smiled. “This disciple is eager to learn from Shizun.”
Yuan’s head was filling with things he had forgotten.
… and over there was a unique item capable of restoring damaged meridians - perfect for Baoh é’s w̴̢̧̧̱̼̭͋r̶͍͚͎̣͌ȏ̷͉̩̖͓̮̹͊̌͠ń̸̦͔̪̞̤̻͑͗̐͐̕g̷̲̠̺̫͎̮͐͑͌̓̚,̵̧̙̣̍̒̍ ̸̭͔̭̖͑̀̄̅͝͝ẘ̸̭ȑ̵̼̄̓̈̽ǫ̸̲͈̕n̸͙̋̇̃́̓g̶̨̬̜̝͚̓̈́ underdeveloped veins…
Baohé was chattering at his side as he channeled his qi into the thousand petal lotus, the soft glow illuminating his happy face.
Yuan felt something in his chest squeeze uncomfortably. His grin remained in place, but the lotus in his hands shriveled and collapsed into a pile of dust.
“Ah! Why didn’t it work for Shizun?” Baohé asked worriedly, glancing over at the deceased plant. In comparison, his own thousand petal lotus had bloomed beautifully, accepting and assisting the boy in nourishing his qi. “Maybe if this disciple gave his lotus to Shizun…?”
Yuan let his grin soften. “No need. This Yuan knows why the lotus failed to accept this one’s qi.”
“Oh. Will he explain to this stupid disciple?” Baohé asked, pouting.
“Tch. Baohé is not stupid.” Yuan reached over, scattering the dust from his hands - and pat Baohé’s impossible soft curls (How is it still so soft? Another mystery of this world). “This Yuan’s qi is simply different to Baohé’s - and to other demons, besides.”
“Really?”
“En. When you are older - this Yuan will explain. At this time, Baohé must focus on improving himself, ah?”
“Yes, Shizun!” Turning back to the lotus, Baohé’s face became determined as he began to circulate his qi through his body once again.
Yuan watched, silent.
His eyes glazed over -
Baohé was not there.
“Baohé?” Yuan called, feeling something dark and painful throb where his heart should have been. “Baohé! Where are you?”
Silence.
“... Baohé?” Nothing.
Yuan grit his teeth. “Baohé! Answer this Yuan!”
Silence - not even the flapping of insect wings could be heard.
Yuan was suddenly on his knees, gasping. When had he fallen? Was he lost again? No, no -
Where was Baohé? Where, where, where -
“...!”
“..ZUN!”
“YUAN!”
Yuan’s eyes snapped open, and he wheezed in a choking breath. Before him, staring with equally wide and panicked eyes was -
“Baohé?” Yuan whimpered. “You are - here ?”
A somewhat older Baohé stared at Yuan, and then his face grew hard. “En, this Baohé is here.”
“ Haaa… this - this Yuan apologizes for h-his -” Yuan didn’t manage to finish before he was dragged into a fierce hold. His words died away, and his arms went limp at his sides.
“It’s okay, Shizun. Yuan. This Baohé isn’t going anywhere. This Baohé will stay with Yuan for as long as he is allowed!”
Yuan felt his eyes burn. “En?”
“En.” The hold on him tightened.
Yuan… felt something twist inside of his chest. His mind flashed back to the shriveled lotus - and he coughed.
Baohé later told Yuan that he had gotten lost for a few months - and that he had only managed to track him down due to one thing -
“Your hair, Yuan.” Baohé said solemnly, holding out a thin braid. “You must have been pulling it out as you wandered. This Baohé apologizes for not finding him sooner.”
Yuan reached out and curled Baohé’s hands over the braid, an odd sort of half-smile on his face. “No need. Baohé found this Yuan, after all.”
“Yes.” Baohé said, looking at him with his own smile. “This Baohé will always find Yuan.”
Yuan’s chest spasmed. He coughed.
And coughed, and coughed.
And then his world went black.
“Baohé?” Yuan mumbled.
“This Baohé is here, A-Yuan.”
“En. Good. This Yuan wants to ask Baohé something.”
It was long overdue, after all. Yuan had lost himself to time - and he knew that if it were to happen again then he would truly be gone - no matter what Baohé claimed.
Even those blood parasites that had squirmed their way into his torn finger all that time ago were no match for whatever it was that strung Yuan along.
Said parasites squirmed within his chest, forcing his long-dead heart to thud loudly in his own ears.
“What is it?” Baohé asked, leaning closer so that their noses were nearly touching.
Yuan studied Baohé.
… there was once a baby washed up on the shores of the Luo river, picked up by a tired but kindly washerwoman, who would go to raise that child as if he were her own…
He smiled.
“Your name… what was it?”
Baohé inhaled suddenly. His eyes, lowering.
“Baohé… has no other name. Baohé is Baohé. That is all I wish to be.”
“Mh. Alright.” Yuan sighed. “Baohé is Baohé. This Yuan understands.”
Who cared for an old name? Not Yuan. He gave Baohé his name, and so he would keep it for as long as Yuan remained.
And Yuan would fight to stay, just as he had fought long ago to leave.
Yuan grinned, clawed hand reaching out to Baohé.
Baohé met him halfway, leaning forwards with a grin of his own.
Yuan gently pat Baohé’s soft curls, and hummed. “What should this Yuan and his Baohé do today?”
Baohé beamed. “Whatever A-Yuan wants!”
“ Have you heard the story of the being that resides in the Endless Abyss?”
“Oh, yes.”
“I’ve heard that there is another.”
“Really?”
“Yes! They say that all it does is follow the first - but they say it looks different from it.”
“How so?”
“I’m not sure… they say the follower is a man - but also, not.”
“Huh, how strange.”
“Oh - look! The young masters from the other day!”
“Oh? Do you know them?”
“En. They were the ones who told me the story!”
“Do you think they have more stories?”
“Well… there’s one way to find out! Race you there!”
“Haha! Wait for me!”