A bit of a mess

"All right," agreed Lai Yiteng, swiftly going out from the boulder to distract the creature. He had not expected such an injury to befall Xian Wu and felt somewhat agitated.

He let the salamander run after him, chasing him over the ground before he jumped onto a boulder to avoid its body slam. Xian Wu's location was also kept in the back of his mind as he dodged attacks.

The main difficultly of the salamander now was its tail, the whip-like way in which it flew out was rapid and hard to block because of its flexibility. Its speed proved difficult for even Xian Wu's own force and blade arts to overcome.

So Lai Yiteng drew it out, planning to find a way to immobilize that tail even if for but a few seconds. After all, Xian Wu had already said it, while the beast was powerful, it was also dumb and easy to trick. As it scuttled after him, Lai Yiteng went back toward the place that Xian Wu planned to ambush from, picking up the speed of his feet to gain a bit of distance from the creature.

When he was only a few paces away from the face of the boulder he turned on his heels. He lifted into the air and flipped backwards, soaring directly behind the monster. The salamander sprung at the opportunity to use its tail to attack, but Lai Yiteng dodged, and his hands reached out to precisely snatch the long and slippery tail as it flew through the air!

Black and purple goo ran between his pale fingers and discolored his arm, but he held tight.

The beast became confused, it tried to move its tail, but it wouldn't budge. Several of the beady pupils in the eyeballs on its head swivelled backwards at Lai Yiteng.

A second later Xian Wu burst around from the edge of the boulder, his eyes sharp and focused as he drew back his blade with the aura of Graceful Dragon Martial Arts. He struck with speed at the distracted beast's neck, slicing into the exact same spot Lai Yiteng had with his palm strike earlier.

The monster's body shuddered as the saber dug into the flesh under its chin.

A black mouth soon opened and gurled as it tried to lunge at Xian Wu, but it was stuck in place as Lai Yiteng pulled back on its tail.

If Xian Wu could use two hands right now there was no doubt its head would have been cleaved off with one strike--but in this case he was reduced to one arm. Muscles flexed under his layers of sleeves as he cut through the tough muscle and tendon within a few pulses of strength.

A detached and black salamander head thunked onto the dead earth.

Dark blood with hues of purple spurted everywhere, raining down on Lai Yiteng and Xian Wu. The salamander's limbs were twitching and the fingers on its feet curling as it lost control of its body.

Xian Wu stabbed into the opening of its neck, letting his blade pierce through to its core of cultivation and finally stilling the beast for enternity.

His expression was severe and gloomy.

It wasn't because he was taking the battle that seriously, but because of all the gunk and blood just got on him from severing its head.

But Xian Wu nevertheless exhaled a breath. Thank the heavens that was over.

Lai Yiteng dropped the limp tail in his hand and trotted over. A stinging sensation wound about in his chest, his heart giving strange palpitations, but it was over. They'd killed it! Took long enough, and its final throes of death had been so wondrous with gore!

Lai Yiteng savored that moment, looking at the decapitated body of the salamander.

Alas, he'd never make up his mind if it were cute or not.

He was more surprised at how well he and Xian Wu worked together during the fight. He never even thought about trusting someone enough to fight side by side, and yet it had unfolded naturally just a bit ago. It almost felt good. He couldn't help but look at Xian Wu with a new kind of outlook. The blood that dripped of his hair, the sharp eyes with hints of frivolousness, and the concise and ruthless forms of Graceful Dragon Martial Arts.

At this moment Lai Yiteng was a bit enamored by the blood-covered Xian Wu, adrenaline still rushing through his veins.

…because you know, that's when most people become attracted to another, during the heat of battle, when the other person is covered in the blood of their enemies.

Hot.

Xian Wu, naturally unaware of Lai Yiteng's thoughts, futilely tried to wipe the filth off his face and clothes, managing to smear it around. He was dead ass tired. Bending down, he managed to get a small sample of the monster's flesh and goo into a ceramic vial. The human-like fingers on its feet gave him a sense of foreboding. This whole thing had been a mess.

And they smelled like corpses.

How does Lai Yiteng stomach that with no change in expression? Huh?!

Xian Wu stared at the cause of this entire situation, Lai Yiteng. There was a mix of exhaustion and resignation that he felt, as though the puppy he was raising stirred up trouble but that it wouldn't do any good to reprimand it at this point.

A few of Xian Wu's fingers slicked back his bloody hair.

"…Yi'er," he prompted, "…well, I was really wondering, and I know we've already had this conversation, but…can you consider leaving this mountain? Maybe we could not stay here. Instead, what if we left immediately?"

Lai Yiteng had been staring at Xian Wu, contemplating those strange emotions he'd been feeling, and was now snapped back into reality.

"I agree. This is a very inhospitable place," he admitted easily, much better than their heated argument before. It only took him having to fight off a crowd of ghouls and a strange monster to convince him that the cons outweighed the pros.

"Great, I think so too!" Xian Wu said, fake enthusiasm ripe in his tone. "Let's leave this mountain now! Preferably to the nearest source of clean water!"

Lai Yiteng nodded dumbly, one of his ears not hearing as well as the other, then then stumbled a step forward. Now that the battle was over, his limbs began to ache and the tightness in his chest grew stronger. He hated that it would not recede.

After a few more trying steps forward, he felt his arm lifted. It was wrapped over Xian Wu's shoulder as the older man helped hoist him up. Lai Yiteng sucked in a breath.

Both of them were ragged and exhausted, but Xian Wu pasted a smile on his face all the same as he said, "Let's lean on each other, all right? We'll make it out of here before you know it."

The inside of Lai Yiteng's head felt mushy.

"Okay…"

The two's breaths, almost close enough to mingle, were some of the only sounds heard as they muddled onward over the dead ground and through the field wrought with boulders.

Lai Yiteng felt like his head was getting dizzier the farther they went.

Xian Wu would be the one to lift his boot and kick a ghoul to death if another one happened to find them. He'd pressed acupoints on his arm to prevent the paralyzing poison from spreading, and besides that injury was in good health.

The air of the place was stale and the sky perpetually cloudy, it was only after walking a couple of miles that Lai Yiteng saw a break in the gray clouds above, a patch of blue.

In the distance was the rolling slope of another mountain where plants were green and lush, and mist hovered over the peak with an air of mystery. They were finally close to returning to the living world rather than a ghostland.

Lai Yiteng vaguely realized he would not have much opportunity to bring up a certain topic if he did not do so now. He deliberated before asking, "Earlier, did I injure you?"

After all, he'd kicked Xian Wu in such a vital place and didn't hold back at all. What if something was broken?

Xian Wu paled as he remembered that iconic moment. "Yuuup. It's fine. Let's not mention that again...and I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that again, either."

"…" Lai Yiteng frowned. "If you corner me again, I make no promises."

Xian Wu laughed flatly, somehow resisting the urge to drop Lai Yiteng off his shoulder and onto the ground.

"Fine then. I won't! I was also being too forceful at the time."