In this endless darkness, between the sky and the sea, it seemed as if only he and this silent, ancient giant ship remained.
But Ke Xun knew this wasn't real. He knew everyone was still there, just separated by this abnormal darkness. They were both close and far apart, unable to see or hear each other. Despite having twelve companions, at this moment, everyone was utterly alone and helpless.
The slow, creaking sound emanating from the deck was all the more chilling in this situation.
Ke Xun slowly backed away, trying to make no sound. A few steps behind him was the wooden wall of the cabin. He wanted to lean against it, at least to put his back in a relatively safe position, but after tentatively retreating a dozen steps, he still couldn't touch the cabin wall.
Ke Xun stopped.
Yi Ran was right; in this situation, running away or hiding was useless.
Ke Xun tried to keep his breathing light so he could hear the surrounding sounds more clearly.
The creaking sound on the deck continued to move slowly not far away.
It was coming from the bow, and along the deck, it would first pass the central hall located in the middle of the ship. Shao Ling and his group would be the first to encounter it.
Ke Xun listened intently. In the vast yet dense darkness, the sound of the waves was hesitant and viscous, the ship rising and falling rhythmically. Suddenly, a gust of wind brushed past his ears, like brushing past someone, skin so close they were almost touching, body hair brushing against each other, sending a chill down his spine.
Ke Xun remained motionless, quietly slinging the crossbow to his arm, his hand tightly gripping the sharp-tipped bolt.
Suddenly, a faint, ethereal scent appeared behind Ke Xun, clinging to his back without touching his skin, merely hovering on the tips of his hairs, like a shadow.
Ke Xun felt a tingling sensation shoot up from his lower back, running down his spine, across the back of his neck, and all the way to the back of his head.
This tingling, itchy nerve stretched his entire back and head, making them tense, contract, tremble, and go numb.
Ke Xun stiffened his neck and back, trying hard to remain calm and continue to act as if nothing was amiss. Sweat was already sliding down his ears, down his neck, and into his shoulders, sticky and cool.
"Whoosh..."
A breath, whether it was the sea breeze or something else, brushed past his ear, cool and refreshing. The thing pressed against his back seemed to be preparing to move. Ke Xun felt the hair that had been rubbing against him slowly, slowly being pressed against his skin.
Closer and closer.
In the deep darkness, Ke Xun couldn't see anything.
But he knew that something could see him. It was watching him, like watching a bewildered blind man.
Humans deprived of sight are as fragile as fruit flesh without its shell, crumbling at the slightest touch.
Darkness is the source of fear, the root of vulnerability.
The thing behind him, in the darkness, slowly extended the tentacles of death towards the defenseless Ke Xun.
"Ke Xun!"
Mu Yiran's voice, like a ray of light, came from the direction of Ke Xun's right.
The thing behind him suddenly stopped, leaving Ke Xun with a chilling sensation.
"Yiran... how are you?" Ke Xun asked, finding his throat dry and sore from the long yet fleeting experience.
"I'm fine. Ke Xun, can you tell where I am?" Mu Yiran's voice was deep and steady.
"Yes, to my right, about ten steps away." Ke Xun's judgment of distance was always accurate.
"Good. Now, come to me. Don't worry about anything, just walk over as usual." Mu Yiran's calm voice gave one boundless courage and a sense of security.
Ke Xun made up his mind and, to avoid worrying him, tried his best to make his voice sound calm and collected: "Okay, I'm going."
He then took a step towards the direction from which Mu Yiran's voice came.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Ke Xun stopped.
"Ke Xun?" Mu Yiran waited a while, and when he realized there was no sound from Ke Xun's side, he asked in a deep voice.
"Hmm." Ke Xun responded, but still didn't move.
"What's going on?" Mu Yiran asked.
"'What's going on,' don't you have any idea?" Ke Xun said.
"Ke Xun?" Mu Yiran's voice carried a hint of wariness and doubt.
"Stop talking like my man! If you're going to fight, then fight; if not, then die!" Ke Xun's angry voice rang out unabashedly in the deep darkness.
"Ke Xun, don't overthink it," Mu Yiran said in a deep voice, emphasizing his tone, "When you can't figure out the situation, the worst thing you can do is make wild guesses."
"I'll guess your ass! Get lost!" Ke Xun was extremely annoyed.
"Ke Xun!" Mu Yiran said, both exasperated and angry. "Have you tested me enough? The last time we ate together, you personally stewed coconut chicken soup. Remember? You said there was a crucial step in making this soup. Many people are used to pouring coconut juice into cold water before boiling it together, but actually, you should boil the coconut juice first, then pour it into the almost-finished chicken soup to simmer together. That's how you get a clear, fragrant soup. For that soup, you used young chicken, and you also added red dates, goji berries, and pork bones. Ke Xun, do you need me to provide more proof?"
Ke Xun remained silent for a moment.
Mu Yiran seemed to sigh softly, then continued in a deep voice, "If you have no questions, come here. Ke Xun, come to my side."
In the darkness, Ke Xun didn't move, so Mu Yiran stopped urging him and simply waited quietly for him.
After a long while, seeing that Ke Xun still didn't move, Mu Yiran had no choice but to ask, "Ke Xun?"
"Oh." Ke Xun finally responded, but his tone was devoid of any emotion. "Yiran, then tell me, who was your first love? Who was your virginity with? When do you plan to introduce me to your parents, relatives, and friends? Will you share your wealth with me? Do you think I like you more, or you like me more?"
"Ke Xun, these questions are inappropriate right now," Mu Yiran seemed genuinely angry, raising her voice. "Stop messing around and come here right now!"
"If you don't answer, you're not a real Mu Yiran," Ke Xun remained oblivious, stubbornly standing still. "I'm sorry, in this situation, if I'm not careful, I could very well lose my life. Yiran, if it really is you, you should understand my feelings."
"…Okay." Mu Yiran was somewhat helpless, but ultimately indulged him. "My first love wasn't someone I know, it was the movie star, Marlon Brando. I really liked him when I was little, and it was probably because of my excessive infatuation with him that I became aware of my sexual orientation.
"As the protagonist of my 'first time,' this question is really unnecessary, but perhaps I can also take it as you praising my technique in another way.
"If we are lucky enough to leave this painting, and if you are willing, I can take you to meet my parents anytime and introduce you to everyone I know."
"Wealth is something I accept when I have it, and I don't covet when I don't. I'm willing to share everything I have with you, including wealth.
"As for the last question, Ke Xun, before, you liked me more, but from now on, I'll like you more."
Ke Xun remained silent for a long time until Mu Yiran called him again, at which point he chuckled softly: "I'm glad, Yiran, it seems we have a lot in common.
"You like Marlon Brando, and I like Alain Delon. I remember watching him in 'Zorro' when I was very young, wearing a black batwing shirt, a hood, and a top hat, his dashing sword-wielding was so cool it made my eyes sparkle.
"Later, I liked Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I don't know why, but I always felt they were similar in some ways, maybe their face shape? Maybe their mouths? Maybe it's some inexplicable temperament."
"Ah, and that guy who plays the stripper, Channing Tatum, tall, handsome, bad, and sexy. By the way, do you watch *Super Natural*? Dean, the older brother, is a total heartthrob. Come to think of it, it feels like it's been ages since I watched that show..."
Ke Xun rambled on for a long time until Mu Yiran suddenly interrupted him: "—Are you stalling for time!?"
Ke Xun stopped his incessant rambling and chuckled: "Yeah, look, it's almost dawn."
However, the surroundings were still a darkness deeper than ink, without any light.
"Ke Xun, you really are—" Even with his boundless indulgence of Ke Xun, Mu Yiran could no longer contain his temper. "You have no sense of proportion! Shut up now and come here!"
"You really won't give up until the light of day," Ke Xun sneered, showing no remorse or intention to go over. "Although you can read Yiran's memories, a monster is a monster, and something dirty is something dirty. You will never understand 'human' emotions.
"You answered the questions I asked Yiran earlier quite well, and they were in line with his personality and way of thinking. But you simply don't understand that liking someone doesn't mean invading their entire life and thoughts.
"Questions like 'Who was your first love?' or 'Who was your first time with?' I would never, ever ask him those kinds of questions. That's his privacy, his freedom, and his own life.
"And Yiran understands and trusts me. He knows I would never ask him such questions. So if I had asked him those questions just now, and if Yiran were really Yiran, he would definitely think I wasn't the real Ke Xun." So firstly, he won't answer my questions in such a conventional way anymore; secondly, he won't let me come near him again.
"As for questions like when to introduce me to his parents, relatives, and friends, I won't ask him either. I don't want to put any pressure on him. He's different from me; he has a family, a career, a social circle, and social status. He has too many things to consider, too many problems to face. I won't burden him with anything that would make him feel awkward or stressed. So, similarly, he understands me; he knows I would never ask him such a question.
"And as for sharing wealth—firstly, I don't lack money myself, and I don't have much desire or need for money. Nearly half of my money goes to helping my poor friends. I certainly can't live without money, but I won't crave money from the person I love; secondly, Yi Ran wouldn't believe I'm the kind of fool who would use money to test the depth of his feelings."
"And one last question, who likes whom more? If I were to actually ask that question, I would be insulting myself. If you have to calculate whether you're losing out in a relationship, then the only person you might love is yourself. Yi Ran won't answer that question, because he knows that answering it would be demeaning our feelings for each other.
"Oh, right, I forgot to remind you, all of my patient explanations were just to buy time. You're welcome."
This time, Mu Yi Ran was silent in the darkness for a moment before speaking again in a completely emotionless voice: "How can you be sure that I wasn't answering your questions so meticulously to test you, since I don't know if you're telling the truth?"
"Still not giving up?" Ke Xun's voice went from cold to indifferent, then from indifferent to a warm smile. "Actually, all of the above answers were superfluous. From the very beginning, when you asked me to walk towards you, I already knew you weren't Yi Ran, so no matter how eloquent you are later, I won't fall for it."
"Why?" "Mu Yiran's question was devoid of any emotion.
"Because," Ke Xun chuckled, "in this situation where we can't see anything, none of us know where danger lurks. If it were Yiran, he would never let me go to him in this situation; he would risk his life to come to me himself."
A glimmer of dawn suddenly shone, tearing through the eerie, endless darkness.