Xiaoge

Ever since Wu Xie went out with Ah Ning and her team, Zhang Qiling had the nagging feeling that something was going to happen. Yes, they were just supposed to explore enough to find the missing companions that apparently had gotten inside the Devil City, either lost or looking for a better shelter from the sudden sandstorm that had hit them with its fury, but nothing in that place looked like an easy task, even when it should be.

Long hours had passed and the team was still searching, and even if Wu Xie kept in touch from time to time, to let him know they were doing fine, he felt restless. Soon, night was going to fall and that hellish place would be very cold, not to mention it was like a huge maze of sand and rocks, in which it was easy to get lost at any turn.

At night, he signaled Wang Pangzi and Pan Zi, so they could meet, as already planned, and go looking for Wu Xie. To be honest, he was already impatient to have to deal with Ah Ning's bunch of idiots, who were not a match for him at all, but kept getting in his way. Soon, the two came looking for him, and after Pan Zi dealt with the remaining Ah Ning's team, they left in search of their friend.

As time passes and there was no more communication with Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling's anxiousness begins to grow to a point it was plain to see by both of his companions, who keep bickering all the way, probably

influenced by the Devil City itself. As they camp on their second night, they can see Xiaoge staring at the night sky, looking lost and worrying. Both of them knew that Xiaoge

will not mutter a word of his inner concerns, but regardless of words, he will always care for Wu Xie the most, as his feelings for the young man may be carved deeper into His heart that he probably wanted.

Thus, they kept on walking for long hours under the scorching sun and cold nights, going in circles at first, then in and out of deceiving paths, as they tried to find their way towards the lost group, until they finally reached the place where they saw an old ship in the middle of that hellish desert. It looked like a bad omen, and Zhan Qiling rushed to the site, hoping to finally find Wu Xie and make sure he was fine. In more than one way, Wu Xie had become a safe line in his messed up life, and he would do anything in his power to keep the curious youth safe and unharmed for as long as he could. It was that important to him in that period of his life.

However, when he got close, the only thing he found were corpses lying in the ground below the broken ship, and his heart sprinted inside his chest with the intense fear that he would find Wu Xie dead as well Death was the only thing left on the camp, along with the broken vases and the wounds left behind on the skin of the men on the floor, probably made by the corpse eating bugs. Qiling looked around with his gaze, desperately discarding those he could clearly see, while deeply hoping not to find Wu Xie among the ones who had fallen. He was forcing his feet to drag along in search... searching... hoping for him to be lucky enough to have escaped the cloud of death once again.

Nonetheless, there was one corpse, half-covered with Wu Xie's jacket and just thinking it might be him, making Qiling freeze on the spot. Despite the heat of the day in the desert of Tamutuo, his body truly felt cold to the sight. He didn't dare take off the jacket off the body on the sandy ground, yet Pangzi did it for him, and then, he exhale a breath he was unaware to have it in hold. Out of relief, it wasn't Wu Xie, and Fatty did the same on his own dramatically way, telling them that if it had been Wu Xie's corps, he would become a monk. The corps bug that came out of the remains of the man just killed by it, Qiling slashed it with his sword with more force than necessary.

Those things had been a threat to Wu Xie, thus no mercy was shown to such cursed insects.

Next, was the struggle to find him as soon as they could. If they had encountered corpse bugs, then that was no small matter, as just one of them was dangerous enough to kill a bunch of people, so Qiling pressed forward, from minutes to hours to almost the end of the day. The exhaustion didn't really matter at that point, only to find Wu Xie before it was too late, so they kept on going until finally, they found Ah Ning's Dangshi cooper coins scattered around, which gave him renewed hopes to see him again soon.

Even though they hasted their pace at that point, it was only after night had fallen when he finally spotted Wu Xie's red-jacketed face and Qiling ran to him as fast as his legs allowed him to grab Wu Xie in his arms. Sighing in relief, to find him still breathing, he took the little water he had left and gently parted Wu Xie's lips to make him drink some.

"Wu Xie... drink it..." Qiling whispered to the man on his arms, as the other two checked on Ah Ning.

"How is him?" Pangzi asked, looking at Xiaoge, after sensing Ah Ning's pulse.

"Weak... but alive." Qiling answered as he carefully purred the water on Wu Xie's lips, a bit at a time, for him to slowly swallow it.

"Ah, that's our Wu Xie's luck! Damn, he gave me the scare... I truly can't picture myself becoming a monk for the rest of my life." Pangzi said as he finally sat on the floor completely giving in to exhaustion

"If we are talking about luck, Wu Xie is not the only one with a strong one. Ah Ning is also one hard to get rid of." Pan Zi said as he gave her water too.

"It had always been like that with her; she is too stubborn, even to die in this hellish desert. A shame she is so ungrateful, otherwise those two will make such a pair..." Pangzi said casually, and Qiling gave him a freezing look that made him swallow in dread. Oh, hell, no joking about that in front of Xiaoge, he thought.

"Never mind that Xiaoge... you have better chances than her anyway..." Another cold stare, and Pangzi was silent, suddenly very interested in the night sky. Pan Zi smirked.

Minding not about Fatty's comment, Qiling simply focused on keeping Wu Xie alive, and after he made him drink enough water, he sat by Wu Xie and held him to keep him more comfortable and give him some of the warmth back, because his body was still too cold for his liking. Pan Zi made a fire as they waited for Wu Xie to wake up and join them in the world of the living once more.

After a while of being embraced in his arms, Qiling felt Wu Xie's body relax and breathe more evenly, and there was even a small reaction when Wu Xie grabbed his jacked around his waist, before releasing it several minutes later. Qiling knew then that Wu Xie was about to regain consciousness, so he carefully let go of him and gently let him rest his back on the rock wall behind him, but stayed close, as always. That ordeal was finally over, and now that he had Wu Xie back, he planned on never letting him out of his sight for a while.

Seeing that Wu Xie looked better, Pang Zi had the 'brilliant' idea to take a picture of them together, as a proof of their friendship or more Like brotherhood. He sat by the other side of the exhausted Wu Xie and pulled him close.

"Hey, should we squeeze together like real pals?" Pangzi asked Pan Zi, while smiling like an idiot.

"This won't do Pangzi." Pan Zi said as he held the camera.

"Sure it will... Xiaoge, you come close too." Fatty demanded and Qiling complied, slightly moving a bit closer to Wu Xie, who he knew was already awake.

"Honestly, Pangzi, this is obviously fake. Do you still want it with Wu Xie still asleep?" Pan Zi insisted, feeling a bit bad for Wu Xie.

"Of course! Don't be so troublesome, Pan Zi. Xiaoge, make a sign." Fatty demanded again and Qiling moved his arm up in a close fist.

"Oh, come, show your fingers..."

He complained, and Qiling showed one finger with a deathly serious expression on his face.

"Better be two, okay?" Pangzi asked, and Qiling looked sideways at Wu Xie in resignation while he showed yet another finger. Pangzi had meant two different set ones, but oh well, that was already asking too much of a poker face.

"Ok, that's it." He sighed, and just when Pan Zi was about to take the picture, Wu Xie also showed his fingers for the photo, finally showing he was wide awake.

"I'm dead?" Wu Xie asked tiredly.

"Yep, and we are all reunited in hell. Hit yourself if you don't believe me." Pangzi answered. However, Wu Xie simply hit Pangzi instead; he honestly deserved it for taking advantage of him like that.

"Hey, why didn't you hit Xiaoge?" Wu Xie looked at Pan Zi tiredly

"I'm no match for him, and besides, it's you who deserved to get hit. A photo while I'm in such a state, huh? Are you for real?" Wu Xie asked.

"Where are you aware of it since when?" Pangzi asked.

"He was awake the whole time." Qiling said in a hushed tone. Then Wu Xie ignored Fatty to focus more on his third uncle's assistant.

"Hey, Pan Zi." He whispered.

"Wu Xie... we..." But Wu Xie shook his head in negativity.

"You don't have to say anything. I know it's my uncle's doing." Wu Xie said calmly.

"So you were really awake for a while... Damn, you are not as naïve as you used to. Now you are even being naughty. You had grown up." Pangzi teased, but Wu Xie was too tired to reply, so he let it go

"Do you know where your uncle is heading now?" Pangzi asked him next.

"He is in search of the Queen Mother's Palace and it's probably because of Chen Wenjin, right? They are looking for the same thing after all." Wu Xie declared.

"This kid knows a lot these days. Good to know, it saves us a lot of explainings..." Pangzi kept it up, but this time Wu Xie moved away, then faced him about the show he put off with the call that was now obviously made by his uncle. Damn Fatty, for running away with his uncle to the next adventure, leaving him behind, while being well paid, along with Xiaoge and even Hei Xiazi.

"Oh come on, you guys are been paid once or even twice, while I butt in with no monetary gain at all. I feel ripped off!" At that, Qiling felt a bit guilty, even if his main goal was not the money offered to him, as he looked at the enraged Wu Xie, yet he said nothing.

"Wow, calm down... don't get mad. We can head back now that we find you, so you can rest it off." Pangzi offered.

"Hell no! I'm not going back to be tricked by my uncle again. I'm tired of the 'it's for your own good speech' already. Besides, I know that Xiaoge had questions that still need to be answered about his past. If he is going, you can be sure that so will I." Wu Xie said firmly as he stared at Qiling for a long while, almost daring him to say otherwise. Their gaze was intense, like a silent war between oblivious lovers, but as usual, in the end Zhang Qiling was unable to say no to Wu Xie, even if he didn't want to put Wu Xie's life at risk more than necessary.

"Alright guys, since everyone is searching for the same thing, do you want to split up or join forces?"

Ning interjected at their discussion, seeing the chance to get them to their side to aid her on her own personal goals.

"Oh, ho, Miss Ah Ning, so you want to search with us?" Pangzi asked, but she ignored him.

"Ah, don't worry, we can divide the spoils later. It's a team effort after all." Fatty told her.

"That's fine with me. As long as you don't turn your back on us in crucial times, we have a deal." Wu Xie said to her, then looked at Xiaoge for his approval, and when he slightly assented, he looked back at Ah Ning.

"Very well, but time is of the essence. We need to find the Queen Mother's Palace as soon as possible."

Ah Ning said.

"If we miss the timing, we will have to wait for five years." Xiaoge said, very sure of it

"Then it's a good thing I have this..." Wu Xie said after he searched on his backpack and showed Ah Ning the diary he took from the Golmud Sanatorium. Chen Wen Jin's ultimate notes diary.

"Where did you get that?" She asked surprised.

"That doesn't really matter now. You can read it as you like, I have already memorized most of it, but there is just one thing I don't get it from what she wrote." Wu Xie said.

"What?" Ah Ning asked curiously.

"It." Wu Xie's answer and Qiling felt once again restless, yet, no matter the danger ahead of them, he was going to make sure Wu Xie and his group survive it no matter what.

Zhang Qiling

After they discussed what steps to take next, it was decided that they would resume their journey in the morning, after Wu Xie and Ah Ning recovered from their weak state. Seeing that Wu Xie still looked pale, Qiling took food from his backpack and offered it to him, and almost immediately he saw Wu Xie warmly smile at him, taking the pack from his hands.

Qiling silently sat by his side, glad to have him back. He had been worry sick as he searched the hellish place, fearing he might not find him in time. Now, after seeing that devastatingly pure smile, his heart was once again at ease, although skipping a few beats. At times like those, it was plain to see that Wu Xie was indeed his only connection to this world. The only one that moved his heart like no one else Of course, he cared for Wang Pangzi as well, but the feeling was completely different. Wu Xie got alone with Fatty quite well, like a true brother, and thus he also treated Pangzi more or less the same. In the end, it was because of Wu Xie that his lone world had opened up to a bigger one, and he found it warming and even welcoming.

"Hey, did I worry you that much? You look a bit lost in thoughts... sorry about that. It seems that troubles always manage to find me no matter where I go." That was the biggest true Zhang Qiling had heard in a long time. He smiled faintly, which seems to delight Wu Xie, granting him with another smile of his own.

"Xiaoge, my luck is strong, so I will not die so easily..." Wu Xie joked.

"This was close." Qiling refuted, and Wu Xie patted his shoulder.

"Alright, it was a bit too close... by the way, thanks. You certainly saved my sorry ass again." Qiling simply nodded and lay his back on the rock behind him, closing his eyes.

"You must be tired for rushing all the way here." Wu Xie whispered as he moved a little closer to Xiaoge, to give him a little of his warmth in return for saving him.

"Rest too." Qiling hushed and Wu Xie closed his eyes as well after a while of silence. With all the walking, dehydration, and hunger he just experienced, his body soon gave in to exhaustion once more, and just shortly after, both Pangzi and Pan Zi saw as Wu Xie slowly end up laying over Xiaoge's chest first, then lap.

That in itself was not surprising, given the fact Tianzhen was tired, but Zhang Qiling simply didn't move a finger to push him away; on the contrary, he put his hands over Wu Xie's arm and waist instead.

Tempted by the cute sight, Pangzi grabbed his camera and started taking pictures of them like mad from different angles, while they slept on each other's arms.

"Sorry, Ah Ning, but you really don't have a chance with Tianzhen at all... they are so natural, sleeping like that." He said to himself, as Pan Zi sighed in resignation. In all honesty, if Wu Xie really end up falling for Zhang Qiling, the Wu family will find themselves without another heir to inherit the next generation's legacy. Maybe it was already too late for the future of the family, unless Wu Xie finds himself someone else to take over the family in his place. Probably adopted.

Maybe the Wu family had been cursed the same as other families from the Mystic Nine, because out of three brothers, only the eldest end up marrying and having a single son, which looked a bit too infatuated with the closest thing to an immortal. A male one at that

The next morning, Wu Xie woke up feeling refreshed. Perhaps he had been too exhausted the night before, because he slept like a baby, not feeling even the cold that was typical of the desert nights, until Pangzi woke him up.

"Did you rest well, huh?" Pangzi asked almost mockingly to Tianzhen.

"I did, why? Did something happen?"

Wu Xie asked innocently, as he stood up and dusted his pants. Then Pangzi smiled, taking out his camera to show him the photos he had taken of him and Xiaoge while they slept.

Almost immediately, Wu Xie's face was on fire, and in his panic, he tried to reach the camera, but Pangzi backed off just in time to keep it away from his grasp.

"What the hell?! Are you a pervert now, taking photos of me on my weakest moments? Give it to me!" Pangzi laughed and ran toward Xiaoge, who was close, packing some stuff inside his bag.

"Xiaoge! Let's make a deal. I can give you a copy of this photo if you keep Tianzhen away." Pangzi teased, showing Xiaoge one of their tender pictures on the camera.

"As if he will agree to that. Make him delete it." Wu Xie insisted, quite sure that Xiaoge was going to stand at his side.

"Let him be." Zhang Qiling whispered, turning his back on them, and Pangzi laughed louder. Of course, Xiaoge will want a copy of that. Naïve Wu Xie, you are too green in matters of love, he thought.

"Wait, what? Xiaoge!" Wu Xie yelled, but of course, he was outrageously ignored. This time was definitely Pangzi's win.

"Enough playing, you two. It's time to go." Ah Ning told them with annoyance, and Wu Xie let it go.

hitting the road as soon as they were all ready for the hard day ahead of them.

Somewhere else inside the Devil City, two others had also begun their journey early in the morning toward the elusive Queen Mother's Palace. Hei Xiazi was walking side by side with Xiao Hua, talking about the diversions of the road and how they could handle them. Luckily for them, it seems that they had taken the right turns, and after a few hours of walking under the scorching sun, they finally found signs of some ruins.

"Is this it?" Hei Xiazi asked, as he looked down at the stone pillar with a sculpture at the top. With the passing of time, it was obviously eroded, but Xiao Hua was no ordinary man, thus he believed he could make a drawing of the sculpture, more or less restored, on paper.

"Are you sure this is the right time to be creative?" Xiazi asked, looking at his demanding companion.

"Of course. Go ahead and stand there, I need a focus point." Yeah sure, Xiazi thought as he stared at him. Their lone journey there had not been easy, but he had enjoyed it quite a lot. He never thought that the head of the Hua family was so stubbornly interesting and easy to talk to.

They had gotten along surprisingly well, to a point of teasing each other with each step. With only a few days, he could say he really liked him. Maybe that was how Zhang Qiling felt about Wu Xie and why they kept staring at each other so deeply. Hard times make bonds stronger... however, Xiao Hua was no Wu Xie, and he certainly was harder to catch, even when he knew he at least cared.

"Are you done?" Hei Xiazi asked after A few minutes passed.

"Don't move..." Xiao Hua insisted as he drew on his notebook, and half a minute later, he approached Xiazi to show him his drawing.

"You really restored it, such talent... but that looks like Birdmans."

"Have you seen them before?" Xiao Hua asked.

"Yes, there are such birds in the Heavenly Palace on the Cloud. Nasty stuff."

"The Heavenly Palace is in Mount Changbai, this is Tamutuo... this is interesting. Are they linked?"

"Probably. Blue Birds are traditional sculptures of the Heavenly Queen Mother. It's possible the Birdmans had evolved from hers... wait..."

"What is it? Is there any other connection you know about?" Xiao Hua asked eagerly.

"What's this? I had been standing here for so long and you only drew my sunglasses?" Xiao Hua ignored him.

"Blue Birds or Birdmans, it doesn't really matter. This must be the right place." Hua said.

"So heartless... alright, let's dig in around here and see if we can find an entrance." Xiazi conceded.

"Sure... here. It's all yours..." Xiao Hua said as he passed him the shovel. Resigned, Xiazi took it as he murmured to himself...

"Really too heartless... why do I like him again?" At his back, Xiai Hua smiled.

Back to where Wu Xie's team was, they had reached the vicinity of the river where the Heavenly Queen Mother's Palace probably was located. They watched at the horizon and Wu Xie theorized about the place. They were now very close, although there were still many miles of the desert in sight, but at least they were getting somewhere instead of getting lost.

Yet, as he thought about it and almost like in a curse, in the distance they spotted a red cloud moving toward their way.

"What's that?" Pan Zi asked, as Wu Xie focused his sight on the approaching thick cloud... then he realized with horror what it was.

"Corps Bugs! Run! RUN!!!" Wu Xie yelled and instantly they dashed for dear life as fast as they could and away from the deadly cloud of red insects that had already killed so many members of their group. But despite their mad dash, the cloud was getting closer and their road had ended off on a sudden cliff

"This is a dead end!" Pangzi shouted.

"Then let's go down, take out the ropes!" Ah Ning said as she searched in her bag for hers.

"Hey, I'm not going down there! We will be killed for sure and in the double at that." Pangzi panicked, seeing how high the cliff was and how short their ropes looked like.

"Idiot, we will die if we don't go down. Let's go!" Wu Xie demanded, and they all went down in a hurry, only stopping on their way down to look at the cloud of bugs that luckily remained at the top of the cliff instead of getting them as easy targets, while hanging on ropes.

"Huh? No following us down?" Pangzi asked, a bit surprised.

"Be grateful for that." Pan Zi said.

"Or maybe there is something worse than them down there. We are definitely in the right place." Wu Xie said as he looked down.

"Don't be a jinx now, Tianzhen." Pangzi whispered, trying not to think about what could be worse than corps eating bugs.

"Let's go down." Qiling said and started to slide down on his rope, closely followed by Pan Zi and Ah Ning. For Wu Xie, it took more time to do so, as Pangzi kept complaining. At the end, he was forced to cut the little that his rope had left to make him grab one of the vines that hang all over the cliff. There was evidence that the others had already done it, so it was safer than just fall down freely from their height.

"Wu Xie, when we reach the bottom, I will talk some sense to you. These things are not meat to hold a human weight!"

"The others had already do it! Just Keep going!

"They are not me!"

"I had told you many times to lose some weight!"

"It's my charm!"

"Just don't look down and keep going!"

"Wu Xie! If something happens to me I will..."

"Shut up! Nothing will happen!"

"That's what you say, but something really happens each time!"

"Do you prefer to die here and dry out for who knows what's down there?"

"Don't curse me!"

"Just do it! It's not that high now."

"Don't make me look down!"

"Stop complaining, I'm also doing the same thing as you!"

"I swear if I survive this madness..."

Then the sound of something snapping was heard and the next thing Wu Xie saw was Pangzi falling down.

"PANGZI!!!" He yelled as his heart raced like hell on his chest, but he didn't have the time to worry about Pangzi falling, as his own vine snapped too and he yelled his heart out as loud as he could, which made Qiling aware of his predicament and run as his life depended on it, to catch Wu Xie on his arms before he could hit the ground in full.

Wu Xie instinctively grabbed Xiaoge's shoulders, still with his eyes closed and the huge burst of adrenaline pumping on his veins.

"Wu Xie, its fine." Xiaoge whispered to him and Wu Xie opened his eyes to find himself hugging Zhan Qiling for dear life. With a deep blush on his ears, he let go of Xiaoge and smiled nervously. That was his second close call with the dead in less than a day, but at least both Pangzi, who was moaning in pain on the ground, but at least fine and him could live to tell the tale. Life was indeed the most precious treasure of all.

Zhang Qiling

"Hey! That's so unfair, Xiaoge. I fell first, why didn't you catch me? | I know you had a thing for Tianzhen, but we are still brothers and I could have been seriously injured, not to mention die." Pangzi asked as he rubbed his sore back, while looking at Zhang Qiling with accusing eyes.

"You are heavy." Qiling said simply, while Wu Xie's ears went red.

"Seriously Pangzi..." Pan Zi sighed as he walked toward Fatty.

"And it's not like that. I screamed harder than you did, that's why he hears me fall..." Wu Xie explained.

"Yeah, right. Such a selective hearing and care. I'm so moved to be left behind by you, Pingxie..." Pangzi said sarcastically.

"Pingxie? What the hell is that?" Wu Xie protested, looking at Fatty as he wanted to kill him.

"Isn't that what couples do when in love these days? Join names and all, they think it's cute." He kept up, and Wu Xie slapped the back of Pangzi's head in annoyance, while Qiling smirked slightly. For some reason, he was internally pleased with the nickname. It had a certain ring to it that sounded too good on his ears.

"Don't go naming us nonsense. I promise you that next time you fall, I will catch you myself no matter what." Wu Xie said, just to keep him from sprouting more embarrassing stuff.

"Ah, you are a true brother, Tianzhen, now give me a hand, my back is killing me." Pangzi said, extending his hand to him, and Wu Xie naturally grabbed it, trying to pull him up, when Ah Ning yelled at them to stop and stay still

"Wait! Don't touch him..." she said, although too late, as she kneeled by Pangzi to look at a bunch of eggs that were smashed by Pangzi's fall and the mess of liquid on both Pangzi and Wu Xie's hand.

"What is it?" Wu Xie asked, as he cleaned his hand on his own jacket and looked down at her that was moving around what was left of those strange things in the shape of eggs.

"Some creature eggs. They don't look to be the normal type... just look at their color and viscosity." She said, looking closer.

"Do you know of what?" Pan Zi asked curiously, also kneeling beside her.

"It should be snakes of some sort." At that, Pangzi forgot about his hurting back and pain and hastily stood up and away from the things. Snakes were no jokes, especially the deadly ones that could kill you in less than a minute.

"Xiaoge, this time be a good brother and protect me from snakes, huh?"

Pangzi said to Qiling as he turned to look at the other three, still examining the eggs. However, asking to be protected from them made Xiaoge focus on Pangzi's back, noticing a swelling that shouldn't be at the base of his neck. Thus, he moved fast and knocked out Fatty, right in front of Wu Xie.

"Pangzi!" Wu Xie yelled as he tried to catch him, but Qiling stopped him before he could touch him again.

"Don't... his neck." Xiaoge explained when he looked at him in surprise. Immediately, Pan Zi was beside him, taking a look at Fatty's neck where there was a kind of blister on his skin.

"For the gods, how did his back get into this state? I had never seen such a fast reaction," Pan Zi said.

"Clean it before it can grow more."

Xiaoge said, and Pan Zi did as he was told, taking out a medic kit from his backpack. Wu Xie came close to Ah Ning, trying to find some answers from her, but he only got her eying him from waist to top.

"Take off your shirt." she demanded.

"Huh?" Wu Xie was dumbfounded, as Xiaoge frowned at her words, obviously displeased with them. She simply pointed at Wu Xie's stain, annoyed with the recently named Pingxie couple that was getting on her nerves.

"You got some too. Check if there is any strange blister on you. It could save your life." Ah Ning said, then looked at Zhang Qiling.

"It's also in your best interest." She told him and passed them both. Wu Xie was a bit embarrassed, but he took off his jacked and checked his arms, legs, and neck, seeing nothing out of ordinary.

"Are you okay?" Qiling asked him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, luckily." Wu Xie said with a smile.

"Wake Pangzi up. We need to keep going." Qiling added, walking ahead.

"Yeah, yeah... let's just hope we can find our way in here." Wu Xie said as he walked pass Ning.

"The Palace of the Heavenly Queen Mother is at a swampland in the middle of a rainforest. As long as we keep walking toward the center, we will eventually find it." She explained.

"Then let's keep up with Xiaoge. Come on Pangzi... we better not lose sight of him here. You know he has a tendency to disappear when you least expected." And of that, they were all well aware of it.

After that, they keep on walking for A few hours later, Pan Zi shared his experience on the rainforests with them.

As they walked, Wu Xie began to feel uncomfortable, tired, and even dizzy. At some point, they reached a stream in which they could take a break. Giving Wu Xie a better look, Qiling asked him if Wu Xie was alright.

"I'm just not used to this heat and humidity." Wu Xie told him.

"And they said I'm the one who is not in shape?" Pang Zi teased, earning a hard glare from Xiaoge.

"This is a good place to take a break; we can replenish our water bottles and have something to eat before going. This kind of environment is hard to take for anyone. It will be fine after some rest." Pan Zi assured them, and so they listened to his advice.

"Pan Zi, we can drink this water, right?" Wu Xie asked, quite exhausted

"It should be fine to drink, just be careful. There might be snakes in the water too. Have a good look before you drink it." Pan Zi replied, and Wu Xie staggered his way toward the nearby stream and splashed some fresh water on his face. He was getting hotter by the second, and his head felt like it was spinning.

"So much for the slim guys, they can't take the pressure when during critical times." Pangzi joked, and Wu Xie showed him his middle finger from where he was, making Fatty laugh.

Unfortunately for Wu Xie, as he rebuked Pangzi's words with his hand up, it made him stager more, and pain rushed from inside his belly.

"Hey, what's taking you so long? Are you taking a shower? Do you need someone to scrub your back too?" Pangzi teased further, but stopped when he saw Xiaoge frown. Fortunately, this time it was not directed at him, because Xiaoge was focusing all his senses on Wu Xie's figure, and when he saw Wu Xie stagger even more, close to falling on his side, he dashed faster than they thought possible to actually catch Wu Xie before he could hit the rocks.

"Wu Xie!" Qiling shouted, taking his weight on his arms, as others were at their side immediately.

"Wu Xie!" Pangzi also yelled, and Qiling slightly slapped the young man's cheeks, in an attempt to wake him up, but in vain, as Wu Xie didn't respond with any of his caring attempts.

"What happen to him?" Pangzi aked as Qiling's heart beat hard on his chest. It was so hard that he could hear his own radical beating on his ears.

"Could it be the same thing that happened to Pangzi before?" Pan Zi asked in worry.

"It can't be. He checked himself before, right? He was fine." Pangzi said as he remembered what happened at that time.

"He didn't take off his shirt as I told him." After hearing Ah Ning say that, Qiling hurried up and opened Wu Xie's jacket and pulled up his shirt.

What he saw made his blood freeze on the spot with deep fear. There, in the left side of his stomach, there was a kind of skin film with something growing inside of it.

"What the hell is that? And how big is it?" Pangzi asked in shock.

"It must be the same fungus that was on you." Pan Zi answered.

"But mine was definitely smaller, way smaller than that," Pangzi argued.

"The one on you was taken care of at the time, while the one on Wu Xie was overlooked and allowed to

"It grew while we walked. The fool had let it grow this big without saying anything to us." Ah Ning said, and Qiling cursed himself for not noticing it before. Yes, he was aware that Wu Xie looked unwell, pale, and exhausted as they walked, but he had thought it was because of the exercise in the heat and humidity of the place, not because there was something growing on him like that.

Then, Wu Xie suddenly begin moaning in pain and struggle where he was laying. They hold him to keep him from reaching his stomach and try to remove whatever it was the source of his pain.

"Water... water... it's hot..." Wu Xie whimpered as he moved even harder under them.

"Wu Xie, calm down..." Qiling said, painfully watching him struggle.

"Let go... It hurts..." Wu Xie said, as they keep him as steady as they could

"It's no use. He's not even aware of what's happening to him." Pan Zi said, and Qilin held him with a hint of force, but careful enough not to really hurt him.

"Use a tranquilizer! Now!" Qiling

shouted, and the three of them held him down for Ah Ning to inject him. A bit after, Wu Xie calmed down and was back unconscious by the effect of the medication. Qiling gently held Wu Xie's head, also keeping it over the backpack in which it was resting. At that point, all of them sighed in relief that at least he would not struggle against them anymore.

"I don't know what that is, but it's certainly causing him to be this sick. Let's see if we can slice it open." Pan Zi suggested, and Qiling moved his hand down and touched the skin film with his fingers. He gently bordered it and pushed, to feel just how tightly it was to Wu Xie's flesh, and once again, deep worry was assaulting his core

"No. It's too tightly formed over his skin, we can't separate the two at this stage. Too risky." Qiling said, looking at the damaged skin, wanting to also remove it, but too insecure if that will cause Wu Xie even more harm than good.

"Just what's that? Fungus? Snakes?

What should we do then? If we don't remove it, it will make him sicker and he was in a lot of pain already. His face is as pale as paper." Pangzi insisted with anxiety.

"We can't cut it now." Qiling insisted.

"What? Are you letting that thing grow more? That will make it worse!"

"There is no other choice."

"At this rate, soon that thing will suck his blood dry!"

"It can't be cut that close to his skin."

"Xiaoge! This is Wu Wu Xie we are talking about! Your precious Wu Xie!!"

"I know!! I will do anything for him and even offer my life if it can save him, but I can't risk him anymore! It will do him no good now!" Qiling yelled back with deep hurt on his dark eyes and saw Xiaoge losing it in such a way, pretty much openly confessing his feelings for the sick young man, Pang Zi shut up his protests in shame.

Of course, out of all of them, Xiaoge cared for Wu Xie the most, when he loved him to that extent. There was no way that Xiaoge was going to let Wu Xie die right in front of him, so he calmed down.

"He is right, Pang Zi, there is no other way. Let's find out a better place to camp for the night and then see what can be done to help Wu Xie survive this." Pan Zi intervened, and as Xiaoge agrees, they take their things and keep on walking to find a place they could safely lay him down.

Qiling carried Wu Xie on his back, keeping an ear to his irregular breathing and body temperature. His worry increased tenfold when he felt Wu Xie's body getting colder, even when his own warmth should have kept him at least at a normal temperature. Then as they walked for longer, he could hear Wu Xie's breathing increase and become more lavored. Then he stopped for good.

"Xiaoge?" Pangzi asked alarmed.

"This place will do. I will check on him." Xiaoge said as he gently lowered Wu Xie and the other two men helped him lay on the rocky ground.

As soon as Qiling pulled Wu Xie's shirt up, he was once again deeply shocked and several times more worried for his life than when he could not find him on the Devil City. The thing had grown into something that was unimaginable, making the skin of the film look bloody and alien.

"Damn it! This huge already? Just what the hell is inside?" Pangzi panic again, but this time so did Qiling. Any more growing and it will cost Wu Xie his life and almost like in cue, Wu Xie begin to struggle again, while moaning in pain. Seen him like that was even harder than face a life alone and without memories. Wu Xie was simply too important to him to lose him. Just thinking of it make him taste despair.

"It's hot... Xiaoge... water..." Wu Xie mumble on his sickness and Pangzi ran to the nearby stream to take some on a container and came back in record time. Qiling touched his forehead, expecting it to be as hot as Wu Xie claimed, but find it cold instead.

"He is colder than normal." Qiling whisper.

"Then we can't wait any longer, Xiaoge!"

"Give me a lighter." Qiling asked, and in a hurry, Pan Zi took one from his pocket. Maybe sensing the coming pain, Wu Xie struggled even harder, screaming it.

"Keep him steady!" Zhang Qiling yelled over Wu Xie's own shouting, as he took a knife and put it over the flames of the lighting, to extract whatever damn thing that was hurting Wu Xie to that extent and then, cauterize the wound if necessary.

"Hey! Don't let him bite his tongue in this state." Ah Ning said as she threw a handkerchief to Pangzi, which gagged the struggling young man to muffle his despairing screams.

"Hold on, Wu Xie. It will be over soon." Qiling whispered and steeling himself for what he was about to do, he cut open the film, trying to Be both fast and gentle at the same time while removing the atrocities on his belly. He took out a few tiny snakes and extracted as much of the fungus liquid mixed with blood as he could, until it was clean enough to be closed and cauterized.

At that, Wu Xie passed out to oblivion once more, and they waited. A while later, Wu Xie's complexion looked better, and his temperature was normalizing. Qiling then went out in search of medicinal herbs he could use to prevent infection and heal him faster, and he was glad to find a few he could use not too far away from their camp.

Taking some water from the stream, he made a concoction of the herbs and put them over the wound. Night was coming, so they made a fire, and Qiling placed Wu Xie on a sleeping bag and laid it down by him, while holding his hand to make sure he was still alive

Yes, he was giving in to his feelings for Wu Xie and didn't care whatever the others like it or not. This experience was simply too close, just too close to becoming a living hell for him.

"Xiaoge..." Wu Xie whispered, and Qiling looked at him with such a deep gaze that made Wu Xie shudder at the intensity alone.

"Rest... I will look out for you while you sleep." Qiling whispered back as he squeezed his hand. Wu Xie faintly smiled, before he closed his eyes once more and let his head rest on Xiaoge's direction. He was sure that something had changed inside Xiaoge's core in the way he looked at him, and he just hoped he could handle whatever was coming from his poker face. He didn't mind becoming Pingxie, as Pangzi had named them. He smiled under Xiaoge's watch before he was fast asleep into the starry night .