Xuě Lù jolted upright. The dreamworld shattered as his younger self closed his eyes for the last time.

How-

How was Láng Wényì there?

Did they recognise him the moment they met after the auction and never said anything?

"Xuě Lù!"

Someone was shaking his shoulders in an attempt to bring his soul back to the living world. And he opened his eyes to look straight into Láng Wényì's obsidian ones.

Did they know?

"What happened?"

Did they recognise him and kept him in the dark to use him?

"You were completely out of it."

How else could they have known Lǔ Bān's hiding place.

"I've been looking for you for days, you were nowhere to be found."

The White Dragon had called them Slayer of gods after all.

"We don't have much time left."

Did they kill a dragon too? Was that why the White Dragon wouldn't want to talk to them?

"Did you find the workplace?"

Why would he have needed to find it when Láng Wényì had been there themselves.

"Xuě Lù, please answer me. We have to move."

Unless they no longer completely remembered or were even controlled when they killed the man. Though that seemed unlikely, Xuě Lù had seen them kill the shifter in cold blood. His dream didn't seem that far-fetched.

"Please, don't die on me. I need you alive."

Wasn't that the whole problem? Apparently he knew something Láng Wényì desperately needed. Desperately enough to kill and lie for.

"Please, I can't do this alone."

Could he trust Láng Wényì enough that the thing would be for the greater good?

"You bastard, leaving me to fix this mess." Láng Wényì looked with empty eyes at Xuě Lù but didn't seem to see him.

No. But an alternative wasn't there.

"What- I- Where am I?"

Láng Wényì's neck almost cracked, so fast did they turn to look at Xuě Lù who pretended to wake up.

"You weren't responding. I've been trying to wake you up since I found you. During the journey you didn't sleep so I assumed something was wrong, especially when you didn't immediately wake up."

Xuě Lù didn't immediately answer Láng Wényì as he still pretended he hadn't been awake during their confession.

"We're running out of time, did you or did you not find the cave?"

Xuě Lù sat upright and looked around, while trying to formulate an answer. He should be able to find the cave now. But he didn't know what to tell Láng Wényì. He couldn't tell them he knew they killed him and Lǔ Bān.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find it. The notebook was weird and put me to sleep."

Láng Wényì looked at him and tried to find out if he was lying by searching his face. Xuě Lù desperately tried to keep his face impassive, but feared the amount of twitches it produced showed he wasn't telling the complete truth.

"Show me. I've found the remaining pieces, we should be able to put an end to this there."

An end, but which one were they talking about?

-

"This way then we need to keep walking to those trees."

Xuě Lù tried to lead the way, but every time he struggled to remember what way he was supposed to take, did Láng Wényì become more and more agitated. The poker face that they had kept intact since the first moment he had seen them was slipping.

"The entrance is between those two trees, they used some kind of disillusionment to obscure it."

Láng Wényì pushed Xuě Lù behind them to ensure they were the first to enter the cave.

"There should be some place where he melted the materials, that's where we can destroy the ring."

Xuě Lù wasn't sure what they meant with that, but happily escorted them further inside the cave. Hopefully Láng Wényì merely meant the forge and they wouldn't need to look farther.

"The forge is there."

Láng Wényì dumped their belongings on the table and started to inspect the forge and how to manually start the fire.

"Maybe you should-"

Without further ado Láng Wényì created a small flame within their hands and used that as fuel for the forge. Xuě Lù was very sure that was not how it was supposed to be started, but wasn't going to make a comment on it.

When the fire no longer needed any more tending to stay alive, did Láng Wényì turn around and collect all broken pieces of metal from the pouch they had been kept in. Ten small silver pieces broken by a force unknown to a human mind.

Láng Wényì opened the notebook to check, for one more time, if everything was correct, when it dissolved in smoke.

Xuě Lù let an undignified yelp escape as the smoke came back together to create the form of a humanoid creature.

One he belatedly recognized as the original owner of the notebook.

"Lǔ Bān."

The illusion smiled, but it had none of the warmth Xuě Lù had come used to from him.

"I see you have found my little hide-out once again. What should I call you now as you're no longer only a celestial slayer?"

Láng Wényì looked in complete disbelief at Lǔ Bān who had appeared out of nowhere.

"I go with Láng Wēnyì nowadays. Do you really hate everyone so much that you are willing to make bets like this?"

The man actually laughed at that accusation.

"An excellent name for someone like you, but now back to why we are all gathered together here."

The smile came as fast as it had appeared leaving a manic look on the man's face behind.

"You stole something from me, thinking you could get away with it. And now that it has become clear I've come out on top, you're trying to rectify your mistakes."

That, was not what had happened.

Láng Wényì didn't even react, but threw the metal pieces in the fire, melting them in an instant.

"When did Láng Wényì stole something from you, they killed you. That seems like a far bigger offence."

Both Lǔ Bān and Láng Wényì turned around to stare at him in surprise and spoke at the same time.

"So it worked."

"You remember?"

Xuě Lù tried to ignore their accusatory comments and to focus on the more pressing matters. Which proved to be a futile attempt.

"I wasn't sure what was the complete picture and telling you I knew you killed me would have a counterproductive effect."

Láng Wényì couldn't keep their surprise from their face, but Lǔ Bān demanded their attention once again.

"The, complete, picture. You know Xuě Lù I thought you were pretty smart, but that is honestly one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Láng Wēnyì killed you and me, yet you didn't know what to think about it?!"

Lǔ Bān was maybe rightfully outraged, but Xuě Lù wasn't going to apologise. He didn't trust the memories if they even had been memories. Láng Wényì wasn't to be trusted, yes, but that didn't mean Lǔ Bān was any better.

"Not that it matters anymore, you're both not fun at all to gloat at. But I shall release you from your misery Láng Wēnyì, it didn't work."

What did he mean?

"You missed a piece."

Why would Láng Wényì have missed a piece, they seemed quite thorough in their execution of everything.

"You were right in understanding that it could be destroyed, but only once all the pieces are together."

What would happen then if not all pieces were in one place?

"And there were eleven, in the fire there were only ten."

There weren't ten pieces in the fire.

"The ring doesn't want to be destroyed, it will choose a master and stay with them to protect them."

There weren't any pieces in the fire.

"Someone willing to use their powers, someone unlike you."

Why weren't there any pieces in the fire?

"Someone who will be reliant on its power and influence."

The horror on Láng Wényì's face was answer enough.

"Once broken you only have one chance to destroy it, when that one is gone the ring is restored and stronger than ever."

They had lost.

-

January 1, 2023

[grammar check]