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When Xue Yang opened his eyes, he knew there must have been a mistake. He was tucked in a set of silk sheets that were so soft he could feel their worth. Not only that but the room was cool. Maybe even chilly? Yet, from just a glance at the window, it seemed like winter was a ways away. What the– Xue Yang tried to think as he attempted to collect himself. His thoughts were hazy and his mind was unclear. “You–” an all too familiar voice said, startling him. When Xue Yang looked up towards the voice he saw her and froze. He offered the familiar girl an eery smile and said, “If you behave this time, maybe history will not repeat itself.” The girl cocked her head at him as if confused and backed away hesitantly before rushing out and slamming the door to Xue Yang’s room shut behind him. He let out a boisterous, hardy laugh. The door clicked open while Xue Yang laughed on. “It seems like you’re finally up,” another all too familiar voice said. This time, Xue Yang’s laughter paused. It was more hushed and in thought. This could not be happening. No. This is not the afterlife of sorts. It was definitely a nightmare. It had to be. There was no way he was here. There is no way his soul would follow me. He being Xiao Xingchen, who stood in front of him with the young girl in his arms, sobbing. When Xue Yang's eyes landed on the pair, his teeth clenched and muscles stiffened. Memories from what could have been thousands of years ago–or just one lifetime ago–hit him like a pile of bricks being dumped on his head. The sensation was nauseating. This had to be a bad joke because why else was he here with someone who had wanted him dead and whom he had sought to kill out of spite? In all honesty, it sounded like the workings of a bad joke. It hit him then that Xiao Xingchen would have enjoyed that sort of bad joke. Xue Yang smiled to himself. Xue Yang did not know how he was going to respond to this new Xiao Xingchen in this new but odd, luxurious world.The child in Xiao Xingchen's chest sobbed on, "Make the scary man go away, baba..." Xiao Xingchen bounced her lightly in an attempt to calm her. Xiao Xingchen whispered, "Wei-gege will be having a play date later. If he sees you crying like this, I'll have to tell Wei Changze to have Wei-gege can come to visit next week and--" "Nnnoooo! Today!" A-Qing said, panicked. Xiao Xingchen smiled and giggled. Xue Yang cursed under his breath. He hated hearing that damn laugh. In his last life, as he had now assumed this was a new one, Xiao Xingchen had been the kind of person who was easy to make laugh. He would laugh at almost anything even the cheesiest and worst joke. "So..." Xue Yang said. Xiao Xingchen looked at him thoughtfully before bowing and said, "I apologize for my daughter's rudeness. She is usually more filial than this." Xue Yang narrowed his eyes at the young girl who stuck her tongue out at him and quickly hid in her father's chest. Before Xue Yang could say anything, Xiao Xingchen said, "Do not be too upset with her. She is rather shy around strangers and has been so since my partner passed." "I see," Xue Yang said rather empty but did not push it. He might have already guessed who that past partner was but he also didn't know anything about Xiao Xingchen's past intimate relationships either. It could have been anyone, for all he knew. "You were one of my students once, right?" Xiao Xingchen asked. "Or were you a former patient of mine? There's just something about you that...seemed oddly...familiar." He doesn't remember? Xue Yang thought to himself a bit more relieved. An idea suddenly hit Xue Yang. Maybe, this was a sign. In his last life everything had gone devastatingly wrong for strings he pulled too far. However, maybe this time, in this bizarre universe that was cooler than normal and had strange lights that flickered on and off manually, he had the opportunity to redirect his fate and change it for the better. History did not have to repeat itself. Xue Yang smiled. He needed to start somewhere. He said, "Something like that." "Well, in any case, what is your name?" he asked. Xue Yang paused for a moment. He wasn't sure how he was going to answer. He had lied so many times beforehand that lying seemed like the natural thing to do but he wasn't on the streets, and much less that former life, anymore. This was his chance to start fresh. Xue Yang's face blanked before he smiled stiffly and said, "I don't remember. I just remember...A-Yang." Xiao Xingchen seemed like he was trying to put a name to a face. None seemed to match up. "I feel like I've heard of you somewhere. Maybe at the clinic? I'm sorry if I can't remember very well. But, my good friends, Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren, will be coming over with their son and they can help you better." "I appreciate it," Xue Yang said before saying, "And what is this called again?" "This?" Xiao Xingchen asked and turned to see Xue Yang pointing at one of the TVs that were turned on. "A television," Xiao Xingchen said through giggles. "Anything else?" Xue Yang examined Xiao Xingchen closely before taking the pen out of Xiao Xingchen's shirt pocket and looking away. He said, "No, Doctor Xingchen."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The weeks that followed held nothing but annoyance in their wake. Xue Yang hated the idea of tailing someone everywhere they went, but that seemed necessary here considering the contraption outside of Xiao Xingchen's home came to life with the use of a tiny device that sent a light to the car. The first time Xue Yang saw it, he was in complete dismay and awe. 'Where were the flying swords? Weren't they flying?' he had thought. His lost gaze had made Xiao Xingchen smile as he guided him into the "vehicle" he would later learn was called a car. Xue Yang quickly learned what a doctor's office was and became familiar with the modern clinic's surroundings. Other doctors and nurses worked in the tiny facility but it was fairly limited as the clinic was for needy patients that could not afford surgical care. "I could not find a file on you..." Xiao Xingchen said. "I spoke with Cangse Sanren and she said she would look in the records. A-Yang-" he started as he put a hand on Xue Yang's shoulder and squeezed lightly, "We will find--" "I just want..." "You want...?" "I want to....start fresh," Xue Yang said as he looked at his hands. There was no blood on his hands yet. And there did not have to be. Xiao Xingchen's lip bobbled before he checked his watch and said, "I need to get to work but you are more than welcome to stay in the breakroom." Xue Yang looked toward the breakroom and nodded. As Xiao Xingchen was about to head back he said, "My partner went blind...before they passed...they something peculiar to me...they said..." Xue Yang waited but nothing came. Xiao Xingchen shook his head. "Nevermind. It is nonsense." Before Xue Yang could ask for clarification, Xiao Xingchen's pager went off. He cursed hushly and rushed off. The topic of past lovers' words never came back after he ran off. Xiao Xingchen worked long hours but he continuously brought Xue Yang along with him as if he were bound to bring the young doctor great fortunes. 'If only he knew,' Xue Yang found himself thinking one time when Baoshan Sanren, Xiao Xingchen's teacher came to visit him. Deep down he told himself not to feel hopeful about anything. He should not want to crave this knowledge but being a part of Xiao Xingchen's life meant that he lusted to know. Xue Yang had off-handedly heard of Baoshan Sanren, rumored an immortal cultivator during his lifetime, but had never believed she was real. There were always rumors of so many different things back then, even for the ones he did not start himself or set oil to flames with a little help. However, he never fanned any rumors of Baoshan Sanren. There was no need to. Those rumors spread on their own like urban legends. He saw no sign of this amazing Baoshan Sanren in the morning. Xue Yang spent the entire morning eating a bag of chips in the breakroom and attempting to document anything he remembered for Xiao Xingchen. This world was too bizarre for him to throw out cultivation rhetoric which he had made the mistake of making a few weeks prior with Xiao Xingchen who only stared at him dazed and confusedly yet like he was trying to puzzle everything together. It had been an irritating time that had led to a string of bizarre questions he now wished he could forget altogether. "A-Yang," Xiao Xingchen called, tiredly. Xiao Xingchen snapped off his gloves and tossed them in a metal waste bin. He whipped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "Ah?" he asked. "We are going out to lunch with some friends," Xiao Xingchen said. "The ones I told you about before. I finally coordinated everything and I think they can help you set up official paperwork since...well, it seems no one really knows anything about you." Xue Yang smiled toothily, "Okay. But, I want dessert." "Only if there is time; if not then afterward." Xue Yang sighed loudly. "Fine, but this had better be worth it." As they left, Xue Yang stepped out first. He almost thought he heard Xiao Xingchen say 'me too'. "By the way, how was she...?" "She?" "Baoshan Sanren? Your master?" Xiao Xingchen froze, taken aback. "What? Did I say something wr--" "No...I mean, it is just that she--one time, she mentioned off-handedly that she no longer uses an old family title and when I asked her about it, she said the title was 'Baoshan Sanren'. How do you..." Xue Yang became stoic while Xiao Xingchen remained confused. The two left for the event together but traveled in utter silence, one of which was harrowing.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
A-Qing awaited their arrival in the corner of the end of the street. She had her school bag on over he little shoulder and her hair in pigtails with ribbons tied to their ponytails. "A-Song usually did her hair better," Xiao Xingchen mumbled to himself a bit disappointed. "I am not very good." "It's simple," Xue Yang said as a matter of fact. "Yeah but I wish I could give her the more elaborate styles she wants from the pictures online," Xiao Xingchen said with a heavy sigh. "Some things some of us are better at than others. My weakness is children's hair styling." Xue Yang almost burst out laughing at Xiao Xingchen but the giddiness converted to rage. His expression became cold and grim. "You could have asked," he muffled. Xiao Xingchen threw him a surprised look. "You would offer to do her hair?" "Why not? Even these little tykes need a guiding hand. Who else will guide them?" Xue Yang said with a shrug. It became a routine from then on for Xue Yang to do A-Qing's hair in the mornings before the two left for the office. Through technological frustrations, Xue Yang quickly learned not just about hairstyling, but about the wonders of the likes of sites that played annoying mini clips between his lessons, known as advertisements, between his lessons. If he still had his old body and cultivation, he would have long off-ed it all. There was a particular Saturday morning when Xue Yang was doing A-Qing's hair, and he said, "I appreciate it." "Yeah right. Give me some candy and maybe I'll believe you," Xue Yang said. "What are you, a child?" Xiao Xingchen teased. This only served to anger Xue Yang. "Child? What child?! I don't see one except your daughter." "I was only kidding," Xiao Xingchen said, chuckling to himself. He spun on his heels. Xue Yang's hands tightened to fists as his cheeks flushed. He hated being looked down on and much more by Xiao Xingchen. He bet everything that Song Lan, wherever he was, was looking upon them now, laughing. He would not make a fool of himself in this second chance at life. He needed to fix what had been broken. "Yeah?" Xue Yang started as he put a hand on Xiao Xingchen's shoulder and twisted him around. Xiao Xingchen's eyes widened as Xue Yang's thumb and forefinger caught his chin and tipped it up to face him. The two were still, Xiao Xingchen in Xue Yang's hold rather daintily. "A-Ya--" Before Xiao Xingchen could finish, Xue Yang's lips were upon his. "Xue Yang," He corrected and bit Xiao Xingchen's bottom lip. Xiao Xingchen clutched Xue Yang's shirt, squeezing the fabric between his fingers like his life depended on it. Their bodies swayed lightly as their lips smacked through heavy breaths. Xiao Xingchen only released for gasps but Xue Yang was quick to pull him back for more kissing. The two maneuvered themselves fiercely and vigorously with little synchronization at first, but then Xiao Xingchen's hand came up and gently placed itself on Xue Yang's jaw bone, With the use of his tongue, he helped guide the kiss while Xue Yang guided their bodies away to a more private space. Before closing the door to the bedroom, Xue Yang watched Xiao Xingchen toss his glasses away. He quickly took a peak and saw the A-Qing seated quietly with headphones on giggling away at the cartoons on her tablet. He would have usually detested such a sight but, for once, he did not mind in the least. Quite the opposite, he was grateful the brat would be distracted. Hearing Xiao Xingchen call to him, he closed the door behind him, locked it, and pulled off his shirt. In the heat of things, neither of them had been thinking. But Thought was needed to convey what they were feeling for each other at that very moment. Enraptured in lust, this gave way to the depths of their hearts fully. Xiao Xingchen's low moans that escaped when he tried to be silent were the only noise aside from the bed's squicks. The two were like magnets or two red strings of fate bound together, they needed each other to connect and anyone else would never work. Xue Yang thought more on this as Xiao Xingchen rested on his chest with his eyes shut. He had done so much to assist his rehabilitation and aid him in trying to get him --the former owner of this body that is--his memories, going so far as to take him to doctors to get treatment. But there was no treatment for rebirth. Baoshan Sanren had said as much the day she passed by him and whispered something into Xiao Xingchen's ear. He thought the lights in his eyes had gone out a bit. There was only, here and now. And the rest of this modern eternity.
He had only seen her briefly but from what Xiao Xingchen had mentioned of her prior, Baoshan Sanren did not age. Yet, the woman he met, this present Xiao Xingchen's master, had aged and quite a bit at that.
"Your soul," she had said, almost hurt. "You were one, but now you are intertwined? What fate has been bestowed that could have tormented your soul this deeply?"
Xue Yang grimaced knowing Baoshshan Sanren took advantage of Xiao Xingchen's absence to speak with him alone. It was clear that she was an immortal no matter her looks and remembered everything perfectly.
"Tormented?" Xue Yang asked. "Maybe you are reading the situation incorrectly. Maybe I am the cause of my own chaos and destruction?"
"Fair enough," she said after a long pause. Eyeing him wearily, she lightly cleared her throat and straightened her posture before continuing, "I cannot say we all walk on a clear, conventional path laid out for us like a sturdy, planked bridge. I think the opposite, it is individuals like yourself and Cangse Sanren's son that remind me of some bridges which consist of only a single plank."
Upon hearing this, Xue Yang pursed his lips. A single plank bridge, huh? He had never thought of his life like that but when put simply, the path he had previously been forced down had been a difficult one. Maybe for Cange Sanren's son --whoever that was-- the journey had been different but for him, he knew he had probably misstepped and fallen too far to be pulled out and in too deep to be forgiven.
"Will those that I have met on my journey, before this, remember my shortcomings and misdeeds?" he asked.
Baoshan Sanren narrowed her eyes. She stared deeply into Xue Yang's own. If this was what Xiao Xingchen's specimens felt like under his microscope, then Xue Yang wanted none of it. His foot stepped back in hesitation. In this foreign body, he was nothing. He held no power like the kind he once did in his past life. This body, he had found, was weaker.
Baoshan Sanren frowned slightly before shaking her head. She said, "A-Yi would say I am pressing matters too firmly but A-Yi is like A-chen. She would not remember it, but I know sometimes, fragments come to her, similar to nostalgia. Sometimes, she falls into a depressive state after a nightmare and I know I have she might have remembered something unpleasant from her past life," Baoshan Sanren said as she straightened the papers in her clipboard as if checking for something. "Will they remember entirely? I cannot say as there is no guarantee. But from what I have experienced so far, it is unlikely."
"Did you really give up immortality...for this?"
"No. I gave up immortality for her," Baoshan Sanren corrected as she pointed toward a nurse with dark hair attending to patients.
"I see," Xue Yang said. "So, you bounded yourself to Lan Yi?"
There was a pause.
"I thought the scrolls were exaggerating when they said--"
"It' is not entirely a truth or entirely a false. I purposely fabricate myths and tales to keep the truth of immortality and cultivation a secret," Baoshan Sanren paused for a moment before saying. "There are consequences to this that people should never be forced to find out--"
"And you think you are the best judge to decide who finds out and who does not?"
"It was just to keep the knowledge to a controlled group," she admitted. "Think of it as the humans do with medical testing. There's a controlled group that receives the trial and a placebo, that does not but are nonetheless told they have the possibility for it."
Xue Yang waved his hands at her. "I don't understand your logic. Why hide? Was it shame? Fear? Ha! I could never believe the Baoshan Sanren to be a coward. Xiao Xingchen only spoke highly of you."
Baoshan Sanren said nothing. "You can think and assume what you'd like. It's incorrect. As I said before, it was all out of devotion and love for my cultivation partner. That is it."
Xue Yang laughed on. "Do not say such funny things."
"I think the humor will die when you realize who is responsible for tethering your soul together," Baoshan Sanren said coldly.
Xue Yang's laughter did indeed die immediately and his smile wavered.
"Xiao Xingchen's late lover had a unique ability not many humans have..."
He knew they were bound; however, this had not been what he had been expecting in the slightest. Baoshan Sanren had disclosed that much. The rebirth had taken place by someone no one would ever know, but he had long heavily suspected was Xiao Xingchen's late lover who passed, Song Lan. He was not sure if this Song Lan was the same as the one before but this one went so far as to fuse them because of Xiao Xingchen's shattered soul in an attempt to continue his reincarnation cycle. This backfired for him though. It was never meant to altar fate and yet, it altered more than just time. It tempted their sensitive nature and set them out of balance. This Xiao Xingchen would never know of his late lover's sacrifice but he was here now. He would not let any sacrifice go to waste. Xue Yang sighed but smiled. A hand played with Xiao Xingchen's hair as he slept. He thought he would miss the old Xiao Xingchen more but having him like this...it was unusual and refreshing and...it was pleasant and he could live with it, contently.