"Lu Yi? Are you a moron!? Leave me alone!!"

  Ah, that brings back memories... Lu Yi... How foolish. Liang He said he was the true monster because I hadn't wanted to kill anyone. He truly doesn't know me at all... And now? It's too late to correct him. I'll be dead here soon, and then...I guess I can face Lu Yi's wrath then...

  As a strange chill wrapped around Xieren's seemingly weightless form, he felt a pang of warmth suddenly embrace his hand. A startled gasp escaped as Xieren opened his eyes. He hadn't fallen a great distance, not at all, and up above, Xieren could still see Liang He, and...

  "Wh-what? Wh-what are you doing!?" Xieren's heart sank, and his stomach turned. Liang He had grabbed his hand. Xieren's now completely bare hand. Liang He looked to be in pain, but Xieren was unsure whether this was due to the precarious situation or his touch.

  "Help me out...a little!"

  Xieren sucked in his breath at the command. He was feeling a spreading sensation of guilt. He couldn't deny this! He had to help! Though fear was clawing at his brain every moment, every breath, he tried to climb his way up as Liang He pulled, his muscles straining from the effort. As Xieren was pulled higher, Liang He grabbed his clothing, and as this progressed, the climb became easier before, eventually—Thud!

  They collapsed. The bridge rocked and shook from the impact, as well as a slight gust of wind blowing through, but the two were exhausted and didn't react to what had previously been a nerve-wracking phenomenon. Even so, Liang He, who was pinned beneath Xieren, tapped the prince's back. Breathless, Xieren, with shaking, uneasy movements, sat up, surprised to see Liang He's face so close to his own. Liang He was in no mood to joke, nor tease, and simply said, "Let's go..." pointing back to the safety of the earth behind them.

  With some effort, the pair crawled with caution across the remaining parts of the bridge to the land a mere three meters away. Eventually reaching it, they collapsed just as they did before; both exhausted and incomparably drained. Xieren was slowly beginning to put things together. For a moment, he had been too stunned to realize what exactly had happened, but now that he was back to safety, it was all coming together.

  "Liang He..." Xieren could only mutter the name at first, but then, with more gumption, he repeated, "Liang He! You...you—!"

  "I saved you again. I know." With a drained smile, the thief tilted his head to the side, a bead of sweat running down his chin. The man had struggled to hold onto that rickety bridge and Xieren. He may have been amazing in his physical prowess, but the strength he had to call upon to catch Xieren not once, but twice was astounding for a normal man!

  "No," Xieren countered. The two sat one in front of the other, and Xieren was growing tense as his form drew in closer to Liang He. "No, that's not it! You..." He peered down at his hand before he could complete his sentence. "You touched me. You touched my hand! Let me see your—" Before Xieren could even finish talking, Liang He did as told and lifted his hand balled into a fist. Opening his fingers, he let one of Xieren's gloves fall open, dangling from his middle and index in the light breeze.

  "What..."

  "I caught it earlier when it fell off... Your other one, not so much..." Liang He's eyes drooped as he glanced away, as if embarrassed by this. Xieren began to reach for it, but he hesitated part of the way there. "Your hand. I want to see it." Liang He gave no response to this at first. After a moment, he dropped the glove and opened his hand. Xieren was confused. He stared at this hand, the hand that had held his own, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. It was a large, strong hand that was rough and dirty, but this was completely expected of Liang He's. Aside from this, there were no blemishes that Xieren could see.

  "You... Do you feel fine?"

  "I feel fine, gege." Liang He gave a flat response, a lack of interest on his face.

  "Liang He, how? You shouldn't feel fine! You should be..." Xieren's voice cut off as his mind began to wander. That scene in his bedroom haunted him, and he did his utmost to ensure he wouldn't think of it again, and yet this happened. How could Liang He possibly be fine?

  "I should be what, gege? Dead? I'm fine, it's true." Reaching out, Liang He's hand drew nearer to Xieren, and he pulled back immediately in response. Perhaps this was just some sort of fluke? If Liang He touched him again, he couldn't possibly be fine after that! "Liang He! Don't! If you touch me again you will be hurt!" Liang He had withdrew his hand at first. But still, despite the warning, Liang He reached out again, but instead of touching Xieren, he touched the flower that was tucked into his collar. Pulling it out, he twirled it in his fingers, watching it flutter. "I told you it was a charm, did I not, gege?" With a smirk, Liang He tucked the flower back into his companion's collar, Xieren frozen the entire time.

  "Despite the...unpleasant events that have just transpired, things seemed to have worked out pretty well." Passing the glove back to Xieren, Liang He stretched before climbing to his feet. Xieren, still resting on the ground, could only look at the glove without a single word. How did this happen? Liang He had most certainly touched him—he felt it. No question. It couldn't have truly been the doing of some little flower that Liang He had decided, out of thousands of flowers, to call a charm, right? That was simply inconceivable!

  But, what other answer could there be? Xieren couldn't sit with this. What other answer was there? There had to be one.

  "Gege? Are you coming?"

  "A-ah. Right." Xieren struggled to his feet. Seeing this, Liang He moved to help, but Xieren hurried to a stand. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he couldn't risk letting Liang He touch him again. "U-um. What—" Before Xieren could finish, Liang He's attention was diverted to his right. Xieren glanced over, and from one of the bushes next to the ledge of the cliff poked out a fox. Not just a fox, but Xieren's glove dangled from its mouth.

  "Wha—"

  "..."

  Dropping—no, setting the glove down in the grass with care, the fox turned and burrowed its way back into the bush, disappearing as quickly as it had come. Xieren and Liang He had no time to give any real response to the appearance of this creature. Once it had vanished, Xieren finally began to push out the words, "That fox again?"

  "The same one that led us to the cliff?" Liang He's head dropped to the side as he folded his arms, his chin lifted as he peered down at Xieren with a glint in his gaze. "Yeah," Xieren said in a low voice. "It's the same one. I wonder why."

  "It likes you probably." Liang He gave a lazy chuckle. Xieren unconsciously shook his head as he knelt down to pick up the glove. Without a doubt, this was his glove. But how and when did that fox get it? "How strange," he whispered to himself as he slipped it back onto his hand.

  Stolen story; please report.

  "Are we good to go?"

  Xieren wanted to say 'no', but he said, "Yes," instead. He couldn't possibly ignore what had just happened, no matter how much he wanted to. He wanted to believe it was some strange fluke, or maybe they didn't actually touch somehow, but he knew better than that. He knew his curse was rearing to strike, it had been since their journey started, and yet, just now, it did nothing when Liang He's hand made contact his own. Something wasn't right.

  "..."

  "Do you want to say something, gege?"

  Xieren was shaken from his piling concerns with a start. Liang He, as he was leading the way, had stopped and turned back to face him. "Oh, uh..." Xieren pondered how to answer this. He wanted to press this further, but he knew Liang He wouldn't budge; not at all. He would never get an answer from him. Instead, he decided to say something else. "I want to tell you about the curse."

  Liang He rose a brow. "Haven't you already?"

  "I didn't say everything." Glancing up at Liang He, he added, "I'm sure you knew that anyway." Liang He's mouth momentarily rose into a smile before going away. "True. Go on then. We can talk and walk. You already know that."

  Without pause, the two moved on, leaving the dangling bridge behind them. Xieren only hoped that they wouldn't have to cross the bridge again for any reason.

  "So," he began with knitted brows and a weak voice, "I told you the beginning, but not much else."

  Liang He said nothing.

  "My teacher, my advisor was the first to be affected, this you know. This was what resulted in my first form of exile."

  "As a hunted criminal," Liang He said in a jovial tone, "I didn't realize there were so many forms of exile."

  "There are," Xieren responded, his face and voice portraying gloom. "Anyway, my teacher resigned from working by my side months later, and the only one who stood with me was my attendant, Lu Yi."

  "Lu Yi?" Liang He asked, though it didn't sound like a true question, almost as if he was asking for the sake of it.

  "Yes," Xieren answered regardless. "He was only a year or so younger than I, but he was years wiser. He did his utmost to ensure I was cared for, and yet..." Xieren froze. He didn't want to finish that sentence. He would be forced to admit how uncouth he truly was. How unruly and vile.

  "..."

  "Gege?" Liang He paused his steps before turning back to Xieren.

  Xieren had started this, he may as well finish it. "...And yet," he paused, swallowing his nerves. "I treated him like dirt. I took his words of kindness and hope and crushed them the way I crushed his soul with bitterness and disinterest." Xieren swallowed again, his heart throbbing madly as the memories replayed in his mind. "As if that weren't enough, I..." No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't force the words. Liang He waited, but when Xieren didn't continue, he spoke up. "Gege. Don't speak anymore if it is too painful."

  "No. I can handle it." With a sigh, he forced himself to go on. If I can't come to terms with this, why am I even here?

  "One day, those five years ago..."

  "Why are you here?"

  Lu Yi stood at Xieren's back, his hands on his hips. "Why do you think I am, Your Highness? To uphold my duties as your attendant." Xieren groaned. He was facing a mirror at the far end of the room. Dressed in a light garment. His current state told Lu Yi he was about to get changed.

  Turning back to Lu Yi, Xieren spoke in that weary, worn way he had adopted. "You really don't understand, do you?"

  "You are the one who doesn't understand," Lu Yi snapped. Xieren winced, his typically droopy eyes growing wider than he or Lu Yi were accustomed to. "Your Highness," Lu Yi pushed, "you have turned a blind eye to my attempts time and time again, and I have refused to back down. I will return each and every day. Do you know why?"

  Xieren simply stared at his young acquaintance. After a lengthy pause, he replied, "You're afraid you'll look like you failed, right?"

  "Your Highness—"

  "Don't chalk it up to a sense of duty!" Xieren's presence immediately shifted from meek and non-existent to intruding and harsh. "You can shut up about that. It's not your sense of duty, but your talents! You have a shit ton of potential and you're trying to prove how great you are for when you quit!"

  "Do you know how ridiculous you sound? Your Highness, you are my friend! I...I think so." Lu Yi's tense expression softened, and his wheatish complexion warmed ever so slightly. "You are not merely my prince, my master, whatever people think. I have stayed by you as your friend, offering advice as a friend, and wishing for your fortune as a friend... That..." The gentle, fragile tone of Lu Yi's voice strained as anger erupted. "That is my sole purpose for remaining by your side! My sole purpose for caring for you! Your Highness, I..."

  "Stop it, Lu Yi."

  "I will not!" Approaching Xieren with solid, confident strides, Lu Yi stopped directly in front of the prince. Xieren was growing agitated.

  "Your Highness, you are merely in denial. In shock! As long as you live, I will remain your attendant; your friend! I don't care what you say or do to me."

  "Shut up, Lu Yi! Stop it!"

  "No! I will make these promises and I will uphold them!"

  As Xieren's anxiety grew, as his fear grew, he tried to move away, but the persistence of Lu Yi was proving this tactic impossible. Lu Yi reached out to rest his hand upon Xieren's shoulder, "Your Highness, I will help you! In any way I can—"

  "Stop it!!"

  Xieren waved his hand past Lu Yi's. Only barely was any contact made. Lu Yi hadn't even realized it, and simply withdrew his hand on instinct. But Xieren had noticed, and his breath caught in his throat, his dull, miserable eyes widening in a rush of fear and confusion.

  "Lu yi..."

  Lu Yi was confused at first, but a sudden tingling in his fingers caused him to turn his hand and look. A black spot had formed on his fingers, like the makings of a bad bruise. But, within a matter of seconds, it had spread to the back of his hand, like a body of black ink poured into a water basin. Xieren wanted to back away, but the mirror behind him stopped him from moving any further. He wanted to look away, but...he didn't know why, he couldn't.

  Lu Yi watched in horror as the smudge spread, but as it spread, the original blur changed from a mere smudge to dead, peeling patches of skin. Crawling its way under his clothes, the tingling morphed into sheer pain as he felt his insides dying, rotting away, and eating themselves. Lu Yi tried to keep quiet, tried to hold it in, but the pain was unbearable! He screamed and howled!

  Xieren was frozen in fear as he watched this youth rotting away before his very eyes. Xieren couldn't bear it. He shut his eyes and covered his ears. He couldn't bear it! He couldn't!

  The youth was in utter agony. He wanted help, he didn't want to die! He wanted to call out to Xieren, but he couldn't. The prince was hurt enough as is! The rot spread to his face and then...

  This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real, this isn't real!! Lu Yi can't die!

  Xieren's memory failed him. For the longest of times, Xieren had convinced himself Lu Yi had never died. He simply refused to show up.

  It was that same day, only half a day later, when some of the servants had lost track of Lu Yi and went searching for him, Xieren's room being one of their first searches. When they opened the doors, they were startled by a strong, nauseating stench. Cautiously entering, they found a bundle of clothes in front of a mirror with, what appeared to be a large pile of ashes with portions of body parts protruding; a broken arm, a portion of a leg, and part of a head, its mouth left agape with a look of sheer terror or agony.

  The servants were disgusted, horrified by this atrocious sight. In the corner, behind the foot of the bed sat the royal prince, huddled up into a ball with a far-off look in his dim eyes. The servants were petrified and not one of them could get themselves to move any further. But Xieren had noticed them. With a slow, sleepy turn of his head, he spoke to them, his voice small, "Lu Yi... He's gone. Lu Yi is supposed to be here... I have to tell him something...I feel like..."

  Xieren had never recalled this specific moment. None present for the discovery had the nerves to relay it to him at any point, and thus, it had eluded him completely when he managed to 'recover'. Only a mere seven moons later, he was on his way out of the palace and moving toward his new home; Nanshan. It took many, many nights and days before he realized what had happened, and by then he was wholly terrified. He had killed someone! And in a way, he was positive that, for a moment, he might have felt relieved. Lu Yi didn't have to deal with his garbage any longer. He was free, but at a serious cost. For a split second, Xieren thought that it may be for the best.