Chapter Text
[128 AC]
A man dies and his spirit falters. If his heart was left with an unfinished desire, then his soul will remain, and his corpse will rise. The body will only perish upon the completion of its owner’s wish.
If a fierce corpse crawls out of the tombs of Qinghe and makes it all the way to Lanling to present himself before you, at least you’ll know his wish involved you.
His eyes remained open, an unfinished desire in his soul.
All for you.
Nie MingJue lay struggling on the metal table of the hidden room, bending the metal chains that bound him.
Splatters of blood marked the table, the floor. Axe, daggers, saw, mallet— all sorts of tools and weapons littered the ground. Jin GuangYao sat amidst the weapons and stared quietly at the fierce corpse on the table.
Nie MingJue glared fiercely, expression savage. His once jet-black eyes were clouded white, showing only the black of the pupil, which trained onto Jin GuangYao alone.
Jin GuangYao raised an elegant brow and laughed soundlessly.
“Da-ge, what are you doing here?”
He picked up the axe and leaned on it to lift himself off the floor. Slowly, he moved towards Nie MingJue, laughter light and hoarse.
“Won’t you close your eyes?”
Keeping one hand on the axe, he gingerly reached out his other hand to Nie MingJue’s eyelids, closing his eyes. But as soon as he removed his hands, the eyes opened again, and glared right back at him.
Jin GuangYao held no fear in his eyes. Instead, they held a desperate hope and longing—as if the one before him wasn’t the sworn brother he had feared all his life, but a lover whom he had promised his life to, the light of his life.
His voice was so soft, one could almost taste the sweetness in it.
“Why did you come?”
An equally sweet voice said, with laughter:
“To take your pathetic life!”
With a flip of his hand, as if out of control, Jin GuangYao swung the axe towards the source of the voice. It flew from his hand and grazed the man’s ear, cutting loose several strands of hair.
“Jin GuangYao, you fucking lunatic!”
LianFang-zun, who was normally sharp and composed, turned his head. His face was ghastly pale, and his hair was damp with sweat. He glared through the dim light, seething with anger at Xue Yang - like a demon from beyond.
Xue Yang scoffed, “Look at you. You make a good pair with the one on the table.”
Jin GuangYao glowered. “Fuck off.”
“So you want to know why he came back for you.” Xue Yang grabbed a chair and sat right on top of the splattered blood some old, some new. “Simple! Release him. Then you’ll see whether he wants to kiss you, fuck you, kill you, or kick your ass.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at your face—you’re a perfect match for that fierce corpse!” Xue Yang fished a candy out from his qiankun bag and chewed loudly as he spoke. “There could be more than one obsession which turns a man into a fierce corpse. Maybe he just wants to beat you and discipline you. If you can last through it all, let him do as he please, then he’ll die down on his own when his resentment dissipates.”
Xue Yang said this dumb idea with a flippant tone. He paused, but he wasn’t rebuked. Jin GuangYao had his eyes trained on the struggling fierce corpse, and appeared to be seriously considering the option. Finally, he murmured, “This cannot be what breaks me.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Xue Yang swung an arm around Jin GuangYao’s shoulders with a shit-eating grin, “With the way he lunged at you yesterday, he definitely wants to rip you apart. As for what will happen to you afterwards… Don’t worry, I’ll write it down and burn it for you."[1]
Xue Yang fished out another candy and popped it into his mouth. He hummed a merry tune, “LianFang-zun, don’t be scared, the key to a lover’s suicide is to have no fear!”
Jin GuangYao picked up a dagger lying on the ground. It hit the wall with a sharp ding! , leaving a deep gouge.
Xue Yang snickered, but just as he turned to leave, LianFang-zun’s voice rang out from behind, “Release him.”
In the light of the single lamp inside the secret room, it was impossible to tell day from night.
Jin GuangYao removed his gauze cap and let his hair fall loose like water. He picked up his axe, hunching forward like a prowling beast and glaring daggers at Nie MingJue.
— Why did you come back for me?
Nie MingJue roared in the noise of a typical fierce corpse. Jin GuangYao resisted the urge to cover his ears.
His face wore an expression of pure savagery, eyes so sharp they could eviscerate, rage as ugly as the actual fierce corpse that he faced.
— Why are you still watching me?
“Release him,” he commanded.
The chains went slack with a clunk. The fierce corpse rose, the muscles of its pale, icy arms bulging with tension. A clawed hand shot towards Jin GuangYao's thin, exposed neck like lightning—but JinGuangyao's lips curved upwards, and he raised his hand towards the fierce corpse, as if prepared for an embrace...
—The sharp axe in his hand formed a perfect arc. Meeting the angle of Nie MingJue's approach, aiming for the fierce corpse's neck, Jin GuangYao swung down.