The Nine-tailed Fox falls down a hole

Lan Tian picks up Lu Meng gently from the floor, helping him to his feet. Wu Yun moves to his other side, supporting his shoulder.

The wound around Lu Meng's waist has started bleeding again. Wu Yun looks around the room looking for something they can stop the bleeding with.

"Take this," Xue Zhuan says, and unfastens the sash around his waist, letting his robes drape open from his shoulders like a sleeved cape.

Wu Yun wraps the sash tightly around Lu Meng with Lan Tian's help. Lu Meng lets out a huff at the tightness of their binding.

"Now I can't breathe for an entirely different reason," he says, running his fingers over the makeshift bandage.

Wu Yun pats his back. "At least this way all your blood will stay inside you."

Lu Meng mumbles, "Along with all my air."

Wu Yun is relieved that Lu Meng is well enough to make jokes. Despite how grueling it was, he's clearly feeling more optimistic now that they have one of Jiang Tanmei's hun souls.

The house is as silent as it is empty. Wu Yun keeps an ear out for any other sound that might indicate that another soul is nearby.

"It's a good thing Min Guifen could not harm Jiang Tanmei in any way in his current state," Wu Yun muses. 

"He must have dragged his souls here somehow, since they died on the same day," Xue Zhuan says, stepping around a suspicious floor beam, it's lighter in colour than the ones around it, therefore, likely rigged.

"Maybe he had help, that's what Yu Songdi seems to suspect," Lan Tian suggests, pulling Wu Yun to his side when it looks like he's about to walk over the wooden beam Xue Zhuan just avoided.

"I didn't have time to ask, who are you?" Lu Meng says, turning to Xue Zhuan.

Xue Zhuan, never one to miss a chance to be dramatic, bows deeply with a flick of his sleeves, and announces, "Xue Zhuan, King Zhuanlun, at your service."

Lu Meng turns to Wu Yun with an alarmed look. "How did the two of you manage to enlist the help of one of the Kings of the Underworld?"

"Well, actually, me and-"

Wu Yun stops him with a hand in front of his mouth before he can say any more. "It's a long story.

In his haste to silence Xue Zhuan, Wu Yun doesn't notice a second conspicuous different colored floor beam and walks straight into it.

Lan Tian does, and jumps forward to stop him, the result is that both of them end up falling into the huge hole that opens up beneath their feet.

They fall in a heap all over each other. Lan Tian supports his weight on his extended arm to avoid crushing Wu Yun, who just lies on the dusty ground, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" Lan Tian asks, running his other hand under Wu Yun's head to check for any signs of wetness on his head.

Wu Yun nods, "I'm fine."

"Your thick skull broke the fall," Lan Tian says with an indulgent smile.

 Wu Yun slaps his arm with one of his wide sleeves.

"Are the two of you alright?" Xue Zhuan asks from above.

It's only when Wu Yun looks up to follow the sound of his voice that he notices how far they have fallen, Xue Zhuan is just a dark silhouette cut against a background of dim light.

His skull must be really thick, not to have spilled his brains all over the ground.

"We're fine," Lan Tian says, while pulling Wu Yun to his feet by the hand.

"I don't think we can reach you down there," Xue Zhuan says. "You'll have to find a way out."

"It's fine, the two of you keep looking for Jiang Tanmei's souls." Wu Yun dusts himself off, and checks that nothing seems broken.

"You two have the other mirrors," Lu Meng says, shouting down at them.

Right, that's not ideal. "Just stay safe, and we'll find you once we get out of here," Wu Yun says.

He has no idea where here is exactly. It doesn't look like the floor below the one they were in, but then again, buildings don't seem to adhere to any logic in the Underworld, so they could be literally anywhere in the palace.

His surroundings don't tell him much. They fell into a dank, dark room, and the only light they can see comes from the hole several zhang above. 

"Hold my hand and we'll stay close to the walls," Lan Tian says, extending him his hand.

Lan Tian walks cautiously ahead. Touching the rough wall on their side and sweeping his feet in an arch in front of them, to make sure there are no other hidden traps.

Wu Yun holds on to his hand and tries not to cause any more trouble.

He starts feeling restless after some time, the silence feels as oppressive to him as the dark walls. 

"You said once that you felt sorry for Lu Meng and Jiang Tanmei, but I think they're very lucky to have each other," he says, remembering the tender way in which Lu Meng tried to touch the figment of soul as if it was the real person.

"It must be nice, having someone so devoted to you, by your side, your whole life," Wu Yun continues.

Lan Tian remains silent for some time, just walking steadily forward, until he says, haltingly, "I don't think it's necessary for two people to have met when they were children to be devoted to each other."

"I guess not, Ling Yan only met Shu Luan when he ascended, and he still spent four hundred years trying to piece his soul together."

Lan Tian is glad for the darkness. That way Wu Yun won't see how much it pains him to hear those names. "You mean you. You spent four hundred years trying to piece his soul together."

Wu Yun can't help thinking about himself and Ling Yan as different people. He might have experienced memories of his past life in the form of dreams, but they still don't feel like his memories. They're not something he remembers has having happened to him.

He only notices he fell quiet when Lan Tian says, "Should I call you Ling Yan, from now on."

Wu Yun's rejection is almost visceral. "No, my name is Wu Yun."

Lan Tian turns back to look him the eye, a sad smile weighting down the bow of his lips. "That's just a silly name I gave you. It's not a real name."

His words hit Wu Yun harder than any punch. He can't explain why, but all that he is now, started with the name Lan Tian gave him. 

"I might have been Ling Yan once, but I'm Wu Yun now," he says, holding Lan Tian's gaze, willing him to understand. "My name was the first gift I ever got. And it came from you, so don't say it's silly."

He hears Lan Tian's sharp intake of breath. "I wish I could give you more than that."

Wu Yun squeezes his hand. He doesn't understand why Lan Tian gets like this sometimes, like his words are barely scratching the surface of what he really wants to say.

"You give me enough, but you could start by appreciating the gift I gave you, too. Or do you think Lan Tian is a silly name?"

Lan Tian lets out a small, dry chuckle. "No, it's a good name. I like it very much."

Wu Yun wishes it was clear enough for him to see the way one of the corners of Lan Tian's lips rises up higher than the other, when he smiles.

"You know...every time someone says my name, I think of you." Wu Yun says, voicing aloud a thought he has had many times.

Whenever someone calls him, it's is as if he can hear an echo of Lan Tian saying 'Wu Yun', for the very first time.

Lan Tian says nothing but he stops walking. He looks up the dark ceiling above them and says, almost whispering. "Like being flogged with a silk whip."

Wu Yun remembers that conversation, when he admitted that the words Lan Tian said to him sometimes hurt him very tenderly. 

He doesn't know why they hurt each other in this way. He wants to apologize, but he doesn't know what for.

"I'll help you look for him," Lan Tian says, sudden. His words bring Wu Yun out of his reverie. "For Shu Luan."

"Oh. I thought you were going back to your river, once we got our original forms back," Wu Yun says.

Lan Tian lets out another short laugh, but there's no mirth in it. "That hasn't been an option for a long time."

"Oh," Wu Yun says again. 

He has always thought that eventually Lan Tian would leave him. It wasn't something he liked thinking about, but he knew it would happen eventually.

Now that he knows that it isn't, he doesn't know what to do with the warmth blooming in his chest.

"I'll help you kill the Jade Emperor too. I don't understand why that's something you want, but whether if it's because of something he did when you were Ling Yan or not...I'll stay by your side." 

The resolve in Lan Tian's voice humbles Wu Yun. He doesn't know what to do.

The only thing he can think of is to reach forward and run his fingers across the planes of Lan Tian's cheek. Feel the face he has come to know as well as his own.

Lan Tian holds Wu Yun's fingers and presses them closer against his skin.

It's only then that Wu Yun notices how close they are standing, their noses barely a cun apart. The darkness is like a blanket surrounding them, and Wu Yun is moved by an instinct he doesn't recognize to draw even nearer.

He tilts his face up, and his nose bumps against Lan Tian's. It's such a small touch, but it sends shivers running down his spine. 

He can feel Lan Tian's warm breath against his lips. As close as they already are, he realizes it's not enough. 

Some irresistible pull is drawing him closer, his eyes close of their own accord.

His heart is beating frantically inside his chest, he thinks he can hear the violent thump of it pumping against his ribcage.

"What is that sound?" Lan Tian asks suddenly, pulling away and looking to the side.

His words breaks the spell weaving like a silkworm thread around them, and Wu Yun opens his eyes.

That's when he notices that the sound he thought was the frantic rhythm of his chest, is in fact, someone sobbing.