"Hahaha—ha—ha! Oh gods—stop— I can't—!"
Han had collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air as he laughed uncontrollably.
Mo Zhan stood over him with an expression full of irritation, watching his friend's dramatic meltdown with growing hostility.
The moment Mo Zhan finished telling him what had happened the previous night with Lan Sizui, Han had completely lost it.
"Hey! You brainless idiot," Mo Zhan snapped. "What's so funny?!"
Han wiped tears from his eyes, still wheezing.
"Well—come on! How am I not supposed to laugh at my best friend's first romantic scene?"
Mo Zhan kicked at him, missing as Han rolled away.
Han composed himself just enough to smirk mischievously.
"So… tell me. Who was on top and who was on bottom?"
Mo Zhan froze.
"…What do you mean, 'top' and 'bottom'?"
Han answered with infuriating calm:
"In a relationship between two men, one plays the feminine role—the bottom—and the other plays the masculine role—the top."
It took Mo Zhan a full three seconds to process that.
Then he threw a pillow at Han's head.
"For the last hour I've been telling you it was an accident! He was interrogating me, that's why he pinned me down!"
Han snorted, watching Mo Zhan's messy hair bounce with every movement.
"Good thing he let you go. If he reported you to the elders, you'd be scrubbing the training grounds for a month."
Mo Zhan pulled his knees to his chest and growled,
"Whatever…"
Then suddenly he jerked up sharply.
"Wait—where the hell were you last night? Why didn't you hear anything from Lan Sizui's room? You went to check Yulin before I did!"
Han scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
"Yeah… about that. I didn't check."
Mo Zhan narrowed his eyes.
"…Why not? Wasn't that the plan?"
Han shrugged.
"You failed. You even got caught. So now we're even."
Mo Zhan groaned and gave up. Sometimes Han was so serious no one could refuse him—other times he was so carelessly illogical it made Mo Zhan want to scream.
Han stood, dusting off his clothes.
"Come on. Let's get some fresh air."
Mo Zhan was tired anyway, so he followed.
Outside was bright and peaceful. Butterflies fluttered through the air, and fluffy white birds sang from the tall branches.
Near the courtyard stood a round marble table with six seats.
Yulin, Xiao, and Yi'er sat there quietly, sipping Heavenly Tea.
Han's eyes lit up. He practically sprinted toward the group to sit beside Yi'er—obviously for her.
Mo Zhan was glad to see everyone together, but the moment his eyes met Xiao's, it felt like the weight of the world fell onto his shoulders.
His face soured instantly as he reluctantly took the seat across from him.
Xiao squeezed his eyes shut and muttered just loud enough:
"Useless idiot…"
Mo Zhan gave a mocking smile.
"Ugh. Why do I suddenly feel nauseous?"
Xiao realized the insult was directed at him and bristled, but answered with a sharp tongue:
"Some people eat too much. Even when they're full, they keep stuffing themselves. Of course they end up feeling sick."
Mo Zhan paused—then smirked wickedly.
"Well, at least those people are healthier than certain walking skeletons."
Everyone knew he always teased Xiao for being thin and bony.
Xiao closed his eyes, clearly trying not to explode.
The others, long accustomed to their constant bickering, exchanged tired looks.
Xiao took a slow sip of tea.
"Some people are born brainless. They just talk and talk. Best to ignore them."
Mo Zhan grinned, stepped back, and dramatically cleared his throat.
"I may not be as beautiful as Xiao, but I'm certainly not as bad-tempered and—"
"SHUT UP!"
Xiao lunged forward, face red.
He swung his hand toward Mo Zhan's chest, but Mo Zhan dodged easily.
Xiao swerved and struck again. Mo Zhan staggered backwards but kept his balance—clearly stronger than before.
He retaliated immediately, throwing talisman spells to disorient Xiao.
Han shook his head.
"If these two ever go a day without fighting, it'll definitely be the end of the world."
Yi'er giggled.
"They've been like this since day one. Xiao never fights with anyone—except Mo Zhan."
Han reached up, picked a peach from a nearby branch, and offered it to Yi'er.
She blushed and thanked him warmly.
Yulin laughed softly at their sweetness, then looked back at the chaotic battle between Mo Zhan and Xiao.
Right then, Mo Zhan slapped a talisman onto Xiao's back.
"Paralysis Seal!"
Xiao froze on the spot.
Mo Zhan walked around him with a click of his tongue.
"Oof. He gets so cranky when he's trapped."
Xiao smiled coldly.
"You're giving yourself too much credit."
Mo Zhan raised a brow.
"What—"
But Xiao suddenly looked past him.
His eyes flashed purple.
"SHOU NEHUA!"
A sword materialized in the air and shot toward Mo Zhan like lightning.
Mo Zhan instinctively looked behind him—too late.
There was no room to dodge.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Clang!
No pain.
He opened his eyes and saw the sword lying harmlessly on the ground.
Beside him stood a glowing figure—bright, steady, unmistakable.
Lan Sizui.
Mo Zhan smiled instantly.
"You little lifesaver… thanks for that."
Then he snapped at Xiao,
"Hey! We weren't trying to kill each other! That's cheating!"
Xiao opened his mouth to retort, but Lan Sizui's voice cut through the tension.
"Fighting is forbidden in the inner courtyard… Mo Zhan, release the seal."
His tone was cold and commanding as he took a seat with the others.
Mo Zhan approached Xiao with a smirk, pinched his cheek, removed the talisman, and prepared to sit beside Lan Sizui—
but Xiao slid into the seat first with a raised eyebrow.
Mo Zhan muttered,
"Fine… whatever."
They settled into an uneasy silence.
But it didn't last long.
Hurried footsteps approached.
Jiwu arrived, out of breath and pale with fear.
Yulin stood immediately.
"What happened? Why are you so shaken?"
Jiwu took a deep breath.
"You all need to go to Qingyi Tower. Right now."
Mo Zhan yawned lazily.
"Doesn't sound like something to freak—"
"No." Jiwu's voice cracked. "You don't understand. The demons—they've entered the mortal realm. They're devouring souls."
Silence fell.
Cold.
Heavy.
Absolute.
Faces drained of color.
It had been a hundred years since anyone had seen a demon.
Why now?
This—
this was where the true story began.
Where their real adventure stepped into the shadows.