I-It wasn't a kiss!

Xian Wu had already sprung up to support Lai Yiteng, helping him stand.

"That's a horrible question!" Xian Wu snapped with anxiety. "We're going back to the house, try to walk, alright? It's just a little ways. I can't carry you because I've been poisoned."

Lai Yiteng better not die, otherwise what was the point of letting himself be hugged on the ground when he could've been going after his life's greatest enemy?! Xian Wu had difficultly holding up his body when he stood, his limbs weak, but the situation took an even worse turn.

The current Lai Yiteng with a dulled mind and ears ringing from the flute had a hard time processing Xian Wu's words. He heard something about 'poison' and it was when he was opening his mouth to speak that he had a coughing fit instead. His chest heaving weakly.

A sharp and biting wave of pain went through his body.

Lai Yiteng could do nothing but lean on the already injured Xian Wu's shoulder as he puked up more blood as though his gut had gotten stabbed. Those bizarre shifts in his physical appearance retracted gradually. The long nails as well as the sharp teeth went back to normal, and his pupils slowly gained their black pigment as though painted with ink.

He was so exhausted. All his surroundings blurred as his eyes went dull.

Lai Yiteng's arm slipped from Xian Wu's shoulder as he thudded to the ground mid step.

Xian Wu's heart raced. He was already breathing heavily from the strain of moving under the effects of poison, but now it felt like his heart rated increased again. Increased in a way that was stuttering and quick from anxiety.

Great.

Just great!

Now both Bo Penglai and Lai Yiteng were in critical conditions.

Well…Xian Wu knew that Lai Yiteng couldn't possibly be healthy. But how was he gonna carry him back to the house. At a loss, Xian Wu took a deep breath as he let his knees sink onto the ground. He felt for Lai Yiteng's pulse for the umpteenth time.

He was breathing, however slow it was.

What did that fucker Chen Yuwen want with him?

That shift in Lai Yiteng's appearance, those comments about creating 'dragons'? It couldn't possibly be in a literal sense, could it? That would be absurd.

But Xian Wu had little time for questions. His eyes were growing heavier by the seconds. Although he didn't want to be cruel, he had no choice but to grab Lai Yiteng's arms to drag the smaller man back into the house. He hadn't the strength to carry him, and couldn't just leave him outside in the cold night air.

Not if there was any chance of Chen Yuwen returning.

He managed to get him inside and threw a spare quilt onto the floor was a bed. Xian Wu wiped his forehead of sweat.

Which can of worms to open first? Bo Penglai, or Lai Yiteng?

Hm, well. At least Penglai had a bit of first aid done to that hole in his stomach!

Lai Yiteng on the other hand…he glanced at the black strands of hair that hung over the younger's face…was a bit touch and go. And when Xian Wu said 'touch and go', he meant 'touch and go with death'.

Xian Wu figured he might as well try to give him the usual concoction and hope for the best.

Speaking of hoping for the best…Lai Yiteng would recover his wits and intelligence, right?

The worse possible outcome was that Lai Yiteng stayed batshit crazy, talking to trees and all that. He didn't even know what he'd do if the situation came to that. He didn't even want to consider it as a possibility. 

He was going to believe that the mental issues caused by that damn flute were temporary. 

Xian Wu almost wanted to bite his nails from the anxiety of it, though. Instead he went up and brew the usual medicinal drink, taking a moment to down a tonic for himself as well, then brought the usual medicine to Lai Yiteng on the ground.

…there was a slight problem.

Before, Lai Yiteng had always had some dreg of consciousness left to help keep his body functioning while he was unconscious, as most people had. So, Xian Wu only had to prompt him to swallow the medicine even if he were sleeping by using his internal force and skill with acupoints.

But right now he couldn't use them from the poison.

A thought popped into the exhausted Xian Wu's mind. It was, 'mouth to mouth transfer?'

…no. Actually, he didn't like that idea!

Xian Wu felt a dangerous kind of thought had just crossed his mind. Was that all he could try, though? Wasn't there something better?? No, he could think of nothing. 

Xian Wu saw the blood dotting the edge of Lai Yiteng's mouth and his deathly pale complexion

…fine. Who cares about these little things when Lai Yiteng looks like he's at death's door.

Xian Wu managed to prop Lai Yiteng's body up slightly. His mind was jittering with uncertainty as he drank a gulp of that disgusting medicine from its wooden bowl. If Xian Wu was being pretty honest with himself, he wasn't particularly disgusted, but...

I-Is he…really gonna do this?

He stiffened but leaned down nevertheless, close enough to see the dark eyelashes of Lai Yiteng's face and his elegant features. T-This is…this is a necessary…deliverance of medicine. Or so Xian Wu told himself.

He decided not to think about it any longer! He squeezed his eyes shut as he pressed his lips over Lai Yiteng's, then pried them open with his tongue. Slowly he fed the liquid to Lai Yiteng, taking his hand and massaging the younger's throat to get him to swallow.

The process wasn't overly sensual, but certainly intimate in a way that made Xian Wu somewhat uncomfortable. He sat up soon enough and cleared his throat awkwardly.

Thank the heavens that's over.

Now that the situation had temporarily stabilized, Xian Wu could do nothing but…lie down on the floor next to Lai Yiteng, grab part of the quilt to cover them both, and go to sleep.

He sure as hell couldn't stay awake any longer. He'd think of a solution to this mess tomorrow morning.

…

In the morning, Lai Yiteng was still unconscious.

The other, however, Bo Penglai, was awake and eating a dumpling. He kept several in the depths of his robe that no mortal could understand, so even when stabbed by Chen Yuwen, he was able to keep his red bean-filled treats safe. Now he was eating them as both late breakfast and lunch combined.

After living off the streets for quite some time, Bo Penglai never really cared if there was a bit of dirt or blood on the outside of the dumpling. As long as it wasn't rotten, all was well!

Xian Wu was leaning on the doorframe. He'd tied a thin bamboo slip onto Mildew's leg and sent the bird off to deliver a message not more than one minute ago.

Mildew had been lying low for some time after it ate that little black salamander…what Chen Yuwen may have bene referring to as a 'dragon'. And yet, it'd shown itself again early this morning. 

Song Zhengxi would soon know of the events that transpired and send a group to meet them here, then they could return to Graceful Dragon Sect with a full guard of his loyal sect members. 

In short, Xian Wu could not afford to take his time and wait for Lai Yiteng to make up his mind any longer. He would bring him back to Graceful Dragon Sect -preferably while unconscious- and deal with the aftermath later.

What choice did he have besides that? He'd already given him several weeks to think it over, but now the situation had shifted. 

Chen Yuwen could return, or summon those of Lushang Sect. It was clear that the ties between the two was deep. There was a relationship buried who knows for how long. These cruel and unworldly 'experiments' were not so simple that only Lai Yiteng was caught up in them.

…in any case, he needed to get back to manage his sect.

The only thing was that, hm--how would he bring Lai Yiteng back without causing a huge stir? After all, Yi'er was a bit infamous for dismembering some important fellow from Lushang Sect right now.

Xian Wu needed to think of a good way to disguise him, at least for a little while.