Xiao Hua
"Master Hua, where are you?" Hei Xiazi asked on the phone, while Xiao Hua parked his car in the VIP lot of the Xin Yue Restaurant.
"I'm about to meet with Huo Xiu Xiu in a restaurant. I think she is still trying to find what happen to her aunt Huo Ling and to be honest I can't blame her. If I were in her position, I will do everything I can to try to find out what happened to a member of my family... hell, I'm in her position right now with Xie Lian Huan missing too." Xiao Hua answer a bit tired.
"Will you tell her? About what happed to her in the Golmud sanatorium?" Xiazi asked him.
"Unless forced, I will keep it to myself, because the true is actually crueler than her staying missing. She must not be even human by now and for all we know there no chance to change her back, because Chen Wenjin had said it was too late for her." Xiao Hua said sadly.
"That's sad stuff... but well, you are right, it's better for the Huo family to remember her as she was before turning into a monster... as always, you are too kind."
"I'm not kind, just not that cruel, by the way where are you?" Xiao Hua asked, as it had been a couple of days since he hear from him.
"On a job, of course."
"Are you working for Wu Er Bai or Cox Hendry?"
"Ah, I can't tell you all my secrets... but just to warn you, Cox Hendry is definitely making a move on a rural town in Banai..."
"Banai? Why will he want to go there?" Xiao Hua asked curiously and he hear Xiazi laugh.
"Probably for the same reason Wu Xie did as well..."
"Wait, Wu Xie? Is that idiot in troubles again?"
"You know he is a danger magnet, but you don't need to worry about him. He have Yaba Zhang and Pangzi with him..."
"Not to mention you as well, perhaps?" Xiao Hua pressed his luck.
"Still not telling you my job secrets... by the way, you are not cheating on me, with the Huo girl, right?"
"Idiot, take care and come home as soon as possible or I will truly cheat on you." Xiao Hua said to his man before he hang on him. Their relationship was surprisingly stable despite his doubts it would when they first start it. At the very least, his personal life was taking a turn for the best, the rest of it was still... uncertain.
"Alright, let's get this over with." Xiao Hua whisper to himself and went out of his car and into the restaurant in which he was appointed to meet with Xiu Xiu. She was already waiting for him on a lone table at the top floor of the expensive restaurant and he smiled at her.
Their relationship have always been a friendly one and he wanted to keep it that way. However, as they discuss about the tapes she manage to get her hands on and realize Huo Ling was the one crawling on one of the tapes, Xiao Hua new he too may be pulled into something else as well, just like pretty much, everyone else. His next destination... Changsha.
Wu Xie
The next morning Mr. Gui give them the directions to go to the address Wu Xie had shown him and they went on their way and walked for what felt like hours until reaching the silt house in which Xiaoge had apparently lived before. They find it at the end of a wide road, quite far from the village and after seen it, rundown and all, Pangzi thought that in the impoverish time it was constructed, it should have been seen as luxury... to have a big house all for himself.
"Xiaoge... any kind of recognition of been here?" Wu Xie asked hopefully, but Xiaoge simply shock his head after looking at it for a few minutes.
"Okay then... let's get in and see if it have something that can lead us somewhere..." Pangzi said and they go up the stairs and get inside without problems.
The house was cover in thick layers of dust and pretty much empty, with almost nothing aside from a bed, a table, as sit, a dresser, a chest and a few baskets hanging all over the place.
"Xiaoge, I take it back. Your house may look big and luxury from the outside, but to be honest is quite poor in the inside."
"Pangzi!"
"What? Is true, right? He must have been a poor farmer at that time." Pangzi added.
"At least he had a place to stay, a home to return to..." Wu Xie complained.
"Oh... right... Pingxie priorities, no harassing the amnesic boyfriend..."
"Shut up!"
"Sorry, sorry Tianzhen, don't take it to heart..."
"Then just look around and see if you can find anything that can give us a clue of Xiaoge's past." Wu Xie said and Pangzi saluted in a military way, saying to Wu Xie a 'yes sir' which make Xiaoge smirk. He knew the two of them constantly fight for one thing or another, but they stick together as family, no matter what. A family of which he now was part of it.
"Hey, that baldheaded Chu wasn't laying to me when he said there were pictures in the house..." Wu Xie said and by pure instinct, Xiaoge prevented Wu Xie from seen more into the dust covered crystal.
"Don't..." Qiling whisper to Wu Xie and he stopped in the act, a little bit startle when Xiaoge held his hand so suddenly.
"What? Do you remember something?" Wu Xie asked.
"No..." Xiaoge said softly, then looked around. Wu Xie was his lover, a man he cherish above all else, so if he instinctively stop him from seen all the pictures, perhaps there was something or someone in them that he didn't want Wu Xie to see just yet.
He headed for the bed and touch it, feeling that there was something around there that picked his instincts.
"Is there a trap door? Perhaps under the bed? Did you set traps inside the house?" Wu Xje asked him.
"No... but this is wrong..." Qiling said back.
"What's wrong?" Pangzi asked.
"The room... it wasn't set like that..." Xiaoge answer and in a sudden move, he stood and grab the border of the empty bed and threw the it against the wall, then kick the wooden wall with force, braking a low part of it.
"Wait, Xiaoge! You don't need to wreck your house like that!" Pangzi protested, but Qiling ignore him. He just remember leaving something important there and he wanted to find it before he could forget the location again.
Wu Xie bent over to his side, when he tried to find something inside the hole he had just made. A big long box was there and it was heavy, so both of them pulled it at the same time to have more momentum, but just when the box was almost out, someone else took it from then on the other side of the wall and ran away with it.
"What the hell?!" Wu Xie yelled as he lost his balance, when the weight was so suddenly taking from his hand and Pangzi catch him, however, Qiling was already on his way, before Wu Xie yelled for Pangzi to chase after the unknown man that had grabbed the metal box out of the sudden.
Thus an intense chase begin with all three of them chasing after the man, dressed with a long coat that also had a hoody. Qiling was not going to let anyone take that it was his, so he follow the man in a full sprint, no holding energy back. His focus in catching up with the man that was unusually fast, considering he was no common man and yet, he needed to use his full speed to get closer.
However, he was determine to stop him and he had more abilities than just run, so he jumped into trees and eventually catch up to him, jumping down in his current path. The collision was unavoidable, as it was the fight that came next.
Qiling was without a doubt a good fighter and Wu Xie had praise his abilities while he had tell him about the way he deal with their many troubles, including tugs. Thus he was confident he could take that man down as well as any other that was in his way. He jumped over the man who did the same and as they clashed, the metal box fell into the ground, away from him.
The man try to grab it again, but hell will freeze over before Qiling allow him to do that, right under his nose. His combat instincts were good, so he manage to keep the man from the box in each try he made and at some point, their fight became like a dance, similar in technique, but different in execution.
Qiling was faster and stronger, yet the man also manage to block his multiples attacks, from all kinds of angles, even if just at the last second. At some point, they kicked each other and fall apart, just in the same moment, Wu Xie and Pangzi catch up to them.
"Xiaoge!" Wu Xie yelled and knowing the other man was quite dangerous, Qiling kicked the metal box that was close to him with enough force to send it to Wu Xie, so he could ran back to safety, but the man take the chance to target an easier prey, which end up to be Pangzi.
Despite his military training, Pangzi was still not at the same level of the all covered man, but Xioage interfered before he could have end up hurt and throw the man to the floor after some wrestling well done. The man looked surprised for a moment before he try to get away from Qiling's firm hold.
Nonetheless, the man was cunning and manage to escape his hold when the fabric of his coat tear around his arm and part of his chest. With nothing else to hold into, Qiling backed up a few steps by inertia, while the other man, stood and watch them. It was then, that all three of them could see a big tattoo on the man's chest and arm, pretty similar to the one Qiling had when heated up.
"Xiaoge... he have the same tattoo as you..." Wu Xie whisper in shook, but the man dashed away, seen that he could not win that fight anymore. Qiling chased after him again and both Pangzi and Wu Xie try their best to catch up, but Wu Xie fall into the ground when he slipped into some fresh mud.
"Tianzhen!" Pangzi shouted as he hear him fall and turned to see him down.
"Go... I'm fine..." Wu Xie manage to said, as he panted for breath and stood again, then grabbed the metal box he was carrying and follow the path his friend had used.
Pangzi keep up running into the woods, until reaching a riverbank in which Xiaoge stood, while looking at the distance.
"Huh? Xioage? Where is he? Didn't get him?" Pangzi asked out of breath.
"I lost him..." Xiaoge said, as he stared away, then Wu Xie finally showed up.
"Hey guys... why did you stop?" Wu Xie asked as he stop by Xiaoge, which catch him when he almost fall.
"We lost him." Pangzi answer.
"What?" Wu Xie asked as he looked at Xiaoge.
"Come on, he was someone not even Xiaoge could catch. Just who the hell is that guy?" Pangzi asked, not expecting that turn of events when he wake up in the morning.
"I don't know." Qiling said and Wu Xie bend, trying to breath a bit better, while Xiaoge held his arm.
"Cunning old man... I'm so dead tired... let's just have some rest here..." Pangzi suggested.
"Resting sounds good... Xiaoge, let me sit." Wu Xie said and Qiling let go of his arm and sit by Wu Xie. He notice that his lover face had a stain of mud over his nose.
"Did you fall?" Xiaoge asked and Wu Xie blushed in embarrassment.
"When do I not? Gravity just love me down." Wu Xie said and Pangzi laughed, but Xiaoge simply removed the mud from Wu Xie's nose with his sleeve, which make Wu Xie blush even harder.
"Oh... is it too dirty?" Wu Xie asked as he try to clean himself, but only managing to make it worse and Pangzi to laugh harder.
"Ah, Tianzhen, it's not gravity who likes you down, it's the earth that likes you sprawl all over it. There is a nice river here, why don't we take a bath and clean that dirt away?" Pangzi said and Wu Xie fumed.
"I'm fine!"
"What do you said, Xiaoge? Do you like your boyfriend all cover in mud?" Pangzi teased and Xioage unexpectedly stood and took off his black jacket and throwing it on the floor. Wu Xie blushed even further.
"See? He doesn't want a dirty boyfriend..." Pangzi laughed again, as Xiaoge keep up undressing himself, for Wu Xie to suddenly be face to face with Xiaoge's boxers... one with a cute chick on it, which make his face really burn this time in outrage. How dare he mock his Xiaoge like that...?
"Why you???!!! Paaaannnngzzzzzziiii!!!!!!!!" Wu Xie yelled so hard that it was almost hear all the way to the village, yet the teaser run away into the river as Wu Xie chased him down. See them play like that, Xiaoge smiled for the fraction of a second and join them.
AN: 😂 Thanks for reading, this last part was different from the original, but their relationship is different now, so I needed another approach, hope it was a fine one. Let me know what you think. Until next time, please take care.