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Chapter Text

00

“Wu Xie.”

Someone was calling.

“Tianzhen, don’t joke around! We’re in trouble!”

Everything felt so light, but his eyes were so heavy. It seemed like he had been dreaming for so long, such a vivid dream, yet he couldn’t remember what he was dreaming about. Floating between the state of wakefulness and the quiet lure of sleep, Wu Xie got the feeling that his body was ignoring his frantic demand to wake up, as if he had been deprived of his energy, leaving him powerless.

Amidst the rampant and disordered noises of the inevitable fight, he could sense someone with a black turtleneck asking the fat man beside him with his solemn gaze after checking for any wounds.

“I don’t know, he just suddenly fainted.” Pangzi defended himself from any possible baseless accusation.

“He's fine.” Zhang Qiling looked back at Wu Xie, who had just suddenly fallen unconscious, and a faint frown formed on his face. He brought him on one shoulder and put him under a big tree, letting Wu Xie rest comfortably. Behind them, a banyan tree swayed as the gentle breeze came, shaking the branches and leaves. The sun proudly hung in the sky as the shadow slowly emerged within the nearby bushes. 

“Damn, not again!”

Pangzi groaned at the sight of monsters already surrounding them. Fortunately, it wasn’t a big deal for two Class A and one Class S hunters like them. The monsters’ levels were too low, but still, their numbers seemed endless.

“How is Tianzhen, Xiaoge? Should we just retreat or deal with those things real fast?”

Zhang Qiling shook his head.

They had been best friends for years, but there was also a time when Pangzi didn’t know what his good brother was thinking, just like now.

“What? Are you going to kiss the sleeping beauty?”

The monster began to lunge at them.

“If you’re gonna do it, do it fast! The villains are coming!”

Meanwhile, Wu Xie cursed Pangzi inwardly. Who said he couldn’t hear them? He just couldn’t wake up. How could he say such a thing to Xiaoge? He might not buy that joke, but just imagining it could cause him to faint for the second time for a completely different reason. Grumbling at Pangzi’s antics, he was caught off guard when his lips were touched by something warm, wet, and slick….

He froze.

What the hell is this?

Sometimes, curiosity was stronger than motivation or ambition. Thus, Wu Xie tried his best to open his eyes. He blinked one, two, three times until a shadow of a person appeared in his vicinity.

Then he lowered his eyes, his gaze searching for an answer. Ah... it was just a Mana Potion…

[Congratulations! You have obtained 【???】. Complete a specific condition to activate it.]

Huh??

Pangzi's cheers faded as he felt like he was floating again, and soon everything went dark.

01

In a world where the name ‘grave robber’ had transformed into what people called the ‘hunter,‘ where Luoyang shovels had turned into swords or spells, and tombs were no longer robbed, but dungeons were, Wu Xie and the others still couldn’t escape fate.

The hunters existed as the country’s army, whose purpose was to save the land. Wu Xie, who was once a rookie hunter, met a well-known S-class hunter, Zhang Qiling, through his uncle’s accidental broker. None foresaw the wheel of fate turning from that point onward, retracing the old stories from another world. They crossed paths multiple times until the sacrifice, the promise, and the reunion were once again engraved in their story.

Zhang Qiling had entered the Bronze Door, the legendary dungeon that only opened once every ten years and was claimed to be the only source of the super-rare item, an immortal elixir called the ‘Ultimate.’ Nobody knew whether that item truly existed or was just a story from the old days. Nevertheless, he still guarded it as part of the next generation’s duty. Who knew what was inside? Only the chosen one would eventually carry the weight of the eternal secret.

And for the first time in his life, he didn’t want someone to bear such a burden and lose his true self. Zhang Qiling could never take this gamble.

In those ten years, Wu Xie had searched for the remnants of Zhang Qiling's past, step by step, walking in the same direction. He learned about the Zhang and the Wang Guild, as well as their complicated, prolonged conflict that stretched across generations. As the leader of the mysterious and elusive Zhang Guild, a guild formed by and for the Zhang family itself, Zhang Qiling had no choice but to seek cooperation from outsiders, the Nine Gates Guild, as his own was on the verge of collapse. However, he ended up unilaterally withdrawing from the agreement for someone he had known for two years. After all, the hunters of the Zhang Guild were known for their long lives.

Later, Wu Xie’s confrontation with the Wang Guild raised his fame, and everything he had experienced turned him into a famous A-class hunter throughout the nation. Eventually, the rookie hunter had grown up.

Ten years later, Zhang Qiling returned and learned that Wu Xie had defeated the Wang Guild. In essence, there was no need to worry about the ‘Ultimate’ anymore. Even though the Wang Guild could enter the mysterious dungeon, he made sure that what they were looking for was nothing but mere wishful thinking.

Not long after, Wu Xie decided to retire from being a field hunter and resigned from the guild. Together with Zhang Qiling and Pangzi, he established a small restaurant that quickly became a local hub, where hunters exchanged news and rumors over meals, and where they occasionally took on hunter quests to help rookies gain experience and level up.

***

Xilaimian, Yucun.

Wu Xie scanned through his inventory, deeply focused. If his eyes could emit powerful energy, he would’ve burned a hole in it. Pangzi, who had just finished cooking in the kitchen, found him sitting at one of the tables.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I got an item the other day, but I can't find it anywhere.” Wu Xie put his fingers on his chin while sorting out his items one by one.

Pangzi was now sitting down across from Wu Xie. “What kind of item? Something rare?”

“I don’t know, it only appeared for a brief moment before I passed out.”

“You sure?” Pangzi poured himself a cup of tea, “Maybe it was just your imagination. Anyway, we still don’t know the cause of your sudden blackout.”

After searching for a long time, he found no results. “Didn’t Xiaoge say I just lost too much mana?”

“Yeah, right, but not why you suddenly ran out of mana.” Pangzi's eyes squinted at Wu Xie, “Have you felt anything weird lately?”

Wu Xie shook his head. “I think it’s just the dungeon trait, but I’m not sure. Xiaoge and you were fine, though.”

Wu Xie contemplated the exact reason and tried to recollect his memories. It was just an ordinary dungeon, a B-level one at that; it wasn’t that hard for them to clear. They were short of ingredients for their new dish, so they needed to collect them in that dungeon. They even managed to take a nap in turn since they had completed their mission pretty early. After that, they were ambushed by low-level monsters, and suddenly, he lost consciousness. There was nothing out of the ordinary except for…

Can it be counted as weird?

“Even the legendary Zhang Qiling didn’t know. What am I supposed to know?” Pangzi’s comment brought Wu Xie back to reality. “Alright, Tianzhen. Let’s search for it later—we have a job to do now.”

Pangzi stood up and readied himself for the next busy hour. This was almost lunch rush hour, so many hunters came to replenish their strength.

Wu Xie closed his inventory and pinched his forehead before joining Pangzi.

In the corner that no one paid attention to, a pair of clear eyes silently gazed at him.

“Hey, boss, I heard you also accept quests from other hunters. Can you help me clear a dungeon?” A bold customer asked Wu Xie when he delivered their order.

The dungeons appeared periodically; however, a dungeon must not stay too long in this world. It needed to be cleared before the countdown ended, or else the dangerous creatures would crawl out of the dungeon and kill everything in their path. If the hunters succeeded in clearing them, the dungeons would disappear within three days after completion.

“Yes, sometimes. It depends on our needs.”

A middle-aged man who had just spoken handed Wu Xie his name card. “Can we talk privately?”

Wu Xie scrutinized the name card; he was no longer associated with any guild since his retirement. Then, as if seeking an opinion, he shifted his gaze to Zhang Qiling, resulting in their eyes locking.

Zhang Qiling, who had observed him from afar, curtly nodded.

The guild was built to accommodate the hunters, and above the guild was the Guild Association, which regulated the rules among hunters and guilds.

Wu Xie had agreed to meet that customer after closing time. Now, the four of them gathered around a table near the counter.

“Alright, I’ll get straight to the point. I’m a B-class hunter from the Guild Association, and I need your help to clear a certain dungeon. It appeared a week ago, but no one can clear it so far.”

“No one? For real? Then it’s gotta be dangerous.” Pangzi jumped in bewilderment. After the coffee machine let out a soft beep, he rose from his seat and walked over to pick it up in the kitchen.

The Guild Association was the leader of all guilds, and every guild had to abide by it. It often released a series of missions for the hunters to complete. These missions ranged from D-level, which was the easiest, to A-level, which was the hardest. Every time people completed a mission, there would be a reward. Most of them were money, but sometimes there would be a rare item or weapon as well. It had many talented members from other guilds who joined in case of an emergency, so it was unusual for a dungeon to remain uncleared in the hands of expert hunters.

“No. On the contrary, this dungeon is way too peaceful.” Ignoring the sense of disbelief from others, he continued, “We were always stuck in this peaceful moment. We knew that we needed to trigger an event to proceed, but without a single clue or hint, we couldn't do it.”

Pangzi plopped down next to the B-class hunter after delivering the drinks to their table, a rectangular wooden one with two long seats. Across from them, Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie sat down beside each other. Shooting a glare at his drink, which clearly stood out from the others, Wu Xie couldn’t help but silently ask Pangzi, ‘Why milk tea?’ with his eyes. Pangzi nonchalantly replied that Xiaoge had made it for him earlier. Wu Xie shut his mouth in an instant.

As though clearing his throat, Wu Xie then asked, “What kind of place is it?”

“This dungeon resembles a small village. No monsters, no instructions, no hints, and not even objectives appear in the system information—just your average peaceful village. Our hunters tried to clear it many times, but they failed.”

Every dungeon had different clear conditions. Aside from the countdown for completion, sometimes there was also a time limit for hunters to be inside the dungeons.

“Is there a time limit for hunters?” Wu Xie asked, probing for more information.

“Yes, 24 hours.”

“When does the countdown end?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

The heavy silence engulfed them.

Pangzi slapped the table, not too loud but enough to break the silence.

“Man, we’re in an emergency. Why did you just show up today?” Pangzi grimaced, snapping out of frustration.

“Look, there's disagreement in the association. They told us to let it be, since no monster activity was detected inside,” the B-class hunter tried to explain himself. “But my direct leader thinks there must be a hidden danger, so he ordered me to ask for help from the Iron Triangle.”

The Iron Triangle was their party name when they were still active hunters, though they had retired and no longer accepted official missions from the Guild Association.

For the sake of humanity, Wu Xie intended to accept the offer. He gave each of his teammates a look and realized they were on the same page.

“What’s the name?”

Zhang Qiling, who had been quiet the entire time, finally spoke, startling the B-class hunter.

Honestly, Wu Xie found it a bit unusual for him to take an interest in a dungeon.

The B-class hunter jolted in surprise. Because of the sudden change of topic, it took a moment for him to answer Zhang Qiling’s question.

“Re, Red Village.”

02

“Red Village?” Wu Xie repeated the name inwardly. Somehow, he had a strange premonition about it—like something earth-shattering was going to happen.

“Tianzhen, that guy’s already waiting outside. Let’s go,” Pangzi yawned and tapped his shoulder.

It was still dawn when the three of them prepared to raid the dungeon. They hardly got any sleep, but since time was tight, they had to go there as soon as possible.

Last night, after the B-class hunter explained the entire situation, they struck a deal and agreed to raid the dungeon early the next morning. Fortunately, it was located about 20 kilometers from Yucun, neither too far nor too close. There wasn’t much to prepare, since the B-class hunter had offered to provide everything, including picking them up and giving them a free ride.

As soon as Wu Xie flopped into the back seat, the person beside him said, "Catch some sleep.”

Wu Xie nodded obediently.

“Why red, though? Are all the buildings there red?” Pangzi asked the B-class hunter driving beside him.

“Not at all. The buildings look just fine. There’s even a signboard at the village entrance, and it was automatically registered by the system.”

Since it was still early in the day and the distance wasn’t particularly far, the B-class hunter drove at a comfortable speed.

“If the system can detect it, there should be more information, right?”

The B-class hunter then opened the car’s interface, signaling Pangzi to look for the information himself.

A large panel was displayed before him, filling his vision with the dungeon list. Pangzi was momentarily awestruck as he started searching for the information they needed.

Wu Xie was starting to drift off when the light from the panel blinded him. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance, trying to see what it was.

It was a privileged feature accessible only to registered members of the Guild Association. Somehow, it reminded him of the days when he was still a guild leader. He had money, ability, a strategic mind, and held an important position. However, none of those could satisfy the longing in his heart.

Wu Xie closed his eyes, holding the urge to sneak a look at the person beside him.

After a while, he could hear faint snickering from the front seat.

“Hey, buddy, do you call this information? Seriously, even the difficulty is unknown?”

“Just like I said before. But I heard people say that if we can clear it, our wish will come true.”

Pangzi burst out laughing even more, “And you believe that?”

The B-class hunter raised his eyebrows.

“I bet it’s a rumor your higher-ups spread on purpose to motivate the hunters.” He emphasized the word ‘motivate,’ giving it another meaning.

“Even without it, I’ll make sure you all get a good reward after this.”

Their conversation gradually faded, and Wu Xie's consciousness eroded layer by layer until the sounds of the outside world were completely blocked out. Xiaoge was right; he had been having trouble sleeping these past few days. He kept having the same dream over and over. It wasn’t a pleasant dream for sure. After waking up, the only thing that left a deep impression on his mind was that pained expression—a person with a gloomy look, like the gray sky above him.

Wu Xie had fallen asleep with his head leaning on the rear window. Seeing the occasional bumps as they passed over the uneven road, Zhang Qiling opened his inventory, took out a blanket, folded it neatly, and intended to place it between the window glass and Wu Xie’s head. However, just as he was about to do so, the car shook, causing Wu Xie to fall into his arms instead.

“Ngh, Xiaoge… don’t...” A ray of sunlight shone through the glass, illuminating his sleeping face.

“What on earth is he dreaming?” Pangzi lifted a brow, amused.

Zhang Qiling didn’t reply and gently adjusted Wu Xie’s sleeping posture into a more comfortable position. After quietly observing his reaction, he slipped his arm around him in an attempt to shield his face from the sunlight. Then, he heard Wu Xie murmur something in his sleep—soft, but sharp.

Pangzi, who was getting used to his silent demeanor, didn't mind it. Unlike him, the B-class hunter peeked into the rearview mirror out of curiosity. He was wondering whether the rumor about them was true or not.

It was a rumor about a secret relationship between the leader of the Zhang Guild and the leader of the Nine Gates Guild.

In this world, the law didn’t care who you chose to marry, as long as both parties could perform the marriage oath, a special contract between two hunters. It was equivalent to a marriage certificate in another world.

Back then, discussions about them had flooded the Hunter Forum, becoming a hot topic for an entire month. Fortunately, ever since Wu Xie resigned from his former position, the talk about them had died down. Still, people loved to spread rumors and gossip about others’ lives; it was like second nature.

Over half an hour later, they arrived at the mountainous area. The snow-capped mountain stood majestically on the horizon; below it stretched a vast evergreen forest. The dungeon was located inside the forest, but luckily, it wasn’t too deep inside. After crossing a small river and walking for another 10 minutes, they finally reached their destination.

In the distance, they could see a signboard plank signaling the end of their journey. It was written in a very beautiful style of calligraphy, contrasting with the old and weathered wooden plank.

“We’re here,” the B-class hunter announced excitedly.

03

To their surprise, the Iron Triangle found the villagers to be very welcoming, showing no signs of anything out of the ordinary at all. If there were no obvious transparent gate at the entrance of the village, people would think it was just a typical village in the suburbs, not an unclear dungeon.

The villagers greeted them warmly, expressing their joy and enthusiasm for seeing people from outside their village.

“Aren’t they bored by now? I bet loads of people have come here before us.” Pangzi spoke under his breath, trying not to be heard.

“We have prepared a place for you. Please enjoy your stay.” Smiling warmly, the village chief then assigned one of his people to escort them to the designated location.

After a while, there was a voice coming from the earpieces they had used before entering the dungeon—reminding them that no matter what kind of appearance they had, they weren’t human.

Some time ago, they briefly discussed the plan they had agreed on yesterday. One person would stay outside the dungeon to check the situation, give them support if needed, and pay attention to the countdown time. The B-class hunter worked professionally. He gave them each a communication device and also installed a special drone to observe their condition from above, as well as to transmit a signal.

“Didn’t you say a drone? I don’t see anything.” Pangzi scanned the sky. He spoke quietly so that the guide wouldn’t hear them. 

[It’s a special drone. Look at the magpie in the tree at 7 o'clock. I used that skin as camouflage.]

It was his ability as a support. He wasn’t good at face-to-face confrontation, but in providing support, the B-class hunter was the best in his team.

“Cool~ Can I request the skin?”

[Thanks, but it only has bird skins.]

“Ah, what a shame. Tianzhen, what kind of bird do you like?”

“....”

“....”

[....]

“I’m not talking about Zhang-ow-ow!”

A quick jab landed on his side, giving him a clear warning. 

Wu Xie remembered this kind of joke from when they raided a dungeon that belonged to the Zhang family. He wouldn’t let Pangzi tease him in front of the “landlord.” He wanted to curse but found himself shutting him up instead.

Looking back now, their relationship was still the same. Wu Xie secretly took a short glance at the person walking beside him.

At some point, weird feelings rose from within his heart whenever the distance between them grew nearer. At first, he thought that the odd sensations were just a sense of contentment from getting closer to the person he believed was unreachable, the source of the overarching enigma. Until he belatedly realized that what he felt toward him was something entirely different. Wu Xie had never felt anything like this, not even for Pangzi, his good brother. He had only ever felt it once, and only for that one person.

It felt like there were stepping stones laid out before him. He had taken ninety-nine steps toward the other, chasing him relentlessly. Yet the one last step was nowhere to be seen, shrouded in fog or sunken beneath the water. He had no choice but to stop, as if afraid that a single misstep might send him falling into the pond.

In the near future, he would come to realize it had taken him quite some time to notice—he had never truly crossed those forty-nine stones. That person had walked the same path, and somehow, they had met halfway.

“Damn, it hurts!” Pangzi complained while rubbing his side.

The loud protest brought Wu Xie back to reality; he ignored his whining.

Upon arriving at their temporary residence, the guide said, “You three can rest here.”

He pointed at the B&Bs. They were each given a room with a bathroom attached.

“We have a welcome party at seven in the evening. It’s your welcoming party, so make sure to come. I will pick you up later. Excuse me,” he added before politely taking his leave.

After the guide was nowhere in sight, Zhang Qiling spoke softly to him, “Be careful.”

Wu Xie was accustomed to his unspoken message; he would go scout the surrounding area and leave the party to him and Pangzi to gain more information from the villagers.

He nodded in understanding. “You too.”

In the end, only Wu Xie and Pangzi attended the party. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice that they were missing one person.

04

The next morning, the Iron Triangle officially started their raid, or to be more precise, their expedition. The welcoming party was uneventful, and even the scouting was fruitless. It seemed that what the B-Class hunter had said was right.

The Red Village was a small settlement at the foot of a mountain. It was almost entirely surrounded by the lush green of the evergreen forest, except for a nearby river and the single road, which was difficult to traverse.

Wu Xie checked his hunter watch. Ever since they had discovered that this dungeon ran on a different timezone, he had felt a bit restless. The time tracker had become useless; it had stopped working altogether. What was even more puzzling was that the time difference didn’t follow any exact pattern, leaving them with no way of knowing how long they had been inside. Only the B-class hunter standing guard outside could tell.

“It happens sometimes.”

Wu Xie looked at the source of the voice. “I’ve never raided this kind of dungeon before.”

“This one is rare.”

“Do you think it’s dangerous, Xiaoge?”

Zhang Qiling returned Wu Xie’s gaze and said, “It means we have a longer time to explore this dungeon.”

“That’s good. At least we have time.”

However, it had been three days and two nights since they had arrived, yet the village remained as peaceful as ever. Day by day, they were losing hope as the countdown drew near. Just like the other hunters’ teams before them, they hadn’t found a single clue. They had tried everything: exploring the forest, going around the village, and even joining the villagers’ activities, but it was still nothing.

The night fell, and portable lanterns accompanied them throughout the journey. After exploring all day, they decided to take a rest before heading back to the village.

“I've never seen a dungeon like this,” Pangzi grumbles while checking his inventory for something useful.

“Neither have I,” Wu Xie replied absentmindedly, busy taking notes.

He had found a huge stone to sit on, discovering a comfortable place as he scribbled in his notebook. “This dungeon is harder to complete than the Wang Guild’s artificial dungeon,” he added.

Pangzi clicked his tongue, “That damn trap. How about you, Xiaoge?”

There was no answer. Wu Xie tilted his head in his direction.

“No.”

A bit later, an answer came.

Wu Xie felt that something was wrong.

Zhang Qiling crouched on one knee, studying the ground three steps away from him. For a long while, he didn’t move. A faint frown lingered on his face, yet his gaze seemed to wander past the overgrown grass before him, fixed on something far beyond this place.

Wu Xie put his notes back into his inventory and walked over to squat beside him. Zhang Qiling’s hand was resting on the ground, and as Wu Xie followed his gaze, there was nothing worth attention. 

He didn’t move until Wu Xie was already beside him. Catching the curiosity in Wu Xie's gaze, Zhang Qiling lifted his clenched hand and held it out before him. No matter the time and space, some things had never changed.

Wu Xie’s eyes dropped to his hand that seemingly concealed something inside. Before he could ask what it was, Zhang Qiling beat him to it.

“Tell me your wish,” he said as Zhang Qiling looked at him.

Caught off guard, Wu Xie turned his eyes to him and repeated, “My wish?”

That’s unexpected… Why suddenly-

“I’ll make it come true.”

Zhang Qiling then opened his hand, revealing a firefly that flitted between them—its glow illuminated their faces before flying into the night sky.

Wu Xie paused. It felt like he was forgetting to breathe, and then…

Ba-thump.

He could feel it—how his heart was suddenly racing for a reason he didn’t dare to think of. It was a feeling that was familiar yet unfamiliar, like a hidden wish quietly waiting to be found.

“I don't know…” he answered eventually.

“Then just think about it.”

He could only nod.

“Are you two done flirting like newlyweds?"

Pangzi was now perched on a huge stone behind them, his arms folded.

“We’re not flirting.”

How could he even dare to think Zhang Qiling was flirting with him? One glare, and he’d kneel down on the spot—or worse, he might end up kicked straight into a tree.

“So, newlyweds then?”

“Don’t joke like that.”

Pangzi could throw any joke at them, but with Zhang Qiling here, Wu Xie was careful with that kind of humor, not wanting to make Zhang Qiling feel uncomfortable.

“Why? If it turns out to be true, then I hope you two have a happy marriage.”

“....”

“....”

“There’s no time.”

This time, Zhang Qiling cut into their little exchange, picking up where they had left off earlier. “We need to trigger a certain scenario to proceed.”

[Ahem, just a reminder, the countdown will end in four hours.]

Wu Xie mulled it over, then spoke his thoughts aloud. “Four hours left… It’s already night here, so we might have one day left. Tomorrow, at the latest.”

“Tianzhen, aren’t you an expert at making things happen? Go on, touch something.”

Wu Xie retorted, “You want me to be unlucky that much?”

"Relax, with Xiaoge here, nothing bad’s gonna happen to you."

That night, heavy rain poured over the village. It was the first rain since they had stayed there. Wu Xie was woken by the sound of droplets hitting his roof. There was a small hole, and water dripped steadily through it, soaking his bed. Grumbling about the bad hospitality, he got up, clutching his pillow, which was thankfully still dry.

He thought about sleeping in the living room, but there was no such thing. After a moment’s hesitation, his first instinct was to head for Zhang Qiling’s room, but he decided against disturbing him. So, he went to Pangzi’s instead, only to be assaulted by the sound of his snoring.

In the end, he circled back to Zhang Qiling’s room. After all, they used to share a bed before.

He hesitated to knock, but before he could, the door swung open. Zhang Qiling was already awake. Wu Xie froze, his hand still suspended awkwardly in the air.

“The roof’s leaking, my bed’s getting wet."

Zhang Qiling nodded and let him in.

The bed was exactly like his own. Although it was smaller than the one they had shared in Yucun, it was still enough for two grown men. Soon, they lay side by side.

Zhang Qiling hadn’t slept yet, his eyes on the man sleeping beside him. For some time now, Wu Xie had been talking in his sleep, as if chanting a spell. He had heard it countless times, as if Wu Xie were haunted by the same dream every single night.

He needed to know.

Zhang Qiling wanted to alleviate his worries, even in his dreams, but all he could do was hold his hand, transmitting a warmth that belonged to a person—silently assuring him that he was here.

That night, Zhang Qiling had a strange dream. At that moment, he finally understood what kind of dream Wu Xie had seen.

The sun had already risen. Normally, Zhang Qiling would have been up, busy with his morning routine by now, but today was different. That dream lingered in his mind, and somehow the person beside him had ended up in his arms, seeking warmth after the chill of his dreams, contrary to the sweat that trickled down from his temple. He gently wiped it away.

A sudden commotion stirred outside, but Zhang Qiling didn't care. He was unusually lost in thought.

His contemplation was interrupted by the sound of the door breaking open. Instinctively, he summoned his sword—only to find Pangzi and the village chief standing there, gasping in disbelief.

Zhang Qiling frowned. Something was wrong.

Wu Xie, who was just waking from the noise, rubbed his eyes in confusion. “What’s wrong?” he asked, but no one responded.

The calm before the storm. An hour before the countdown, it happened.

The village chief’s words tore through the dull morning like thunder in Wu Xie's ears, heavy with a sense of foreboding.

“Both of you must bear the consequences of defying our norms!”

A shiver ran down Wu Xie’s spine.

“Prepare the wedding ceremony,” the chief ordered his people, ignoring the three men now standing there with an imaginary question mark hanging over their heads.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

05

Everyone had gathered in the village hall. Sitting side by side at the center, he and Zhang Qiling felt like criminals awaiting execution. Wu Xie stole a glance at the man beside him from the corner of his eye—or maybe he was the only one who felt like a wrongdoer. Zhang Qiling looked as calm as ever, with no trace of guilt in his expression. Of course he did. After all, it was all his fault to begin with.

… No . It wasn’t his fault either.

“Please listen, Chief. We didn’t do anything. The roof was leaking, there was nowhere else to sleep, so I went to his room-”

“Silence, Mr. Wu. We don’t accept excuses.”

According to the custom in this village, sharing a bed was taboo, and the two people involved had to marry, regardless of gender.

Wu Xie was baffled by the village chief’s explanation. He wanted to let out a series of colorful words, but his brain felt as if it had just stopped functioning. He mentally counted how many times he and Zhang Qiling had already slept together. Luckily, Yucun had no such custom, or else he would’ve been a bride ages ago.

This dungeon’s scenario is too wild! Who came up with this idea?!

Just as he was about to argue, a light squeeze on his shoulder caught his attention. He looked up to meet Zhang Qiling’s gaze.

“It’s fine. Let’s get married.”

Wu Xie’s eyes widened; his expression now might have resembled that of the subject of a famous painting.

That's it? Just like that? What has gotten into him today?!

It had never crossed his mind that Xiaoge would accept this absurdity right on the bat; it almost felt like he was the one who had the idea of proposing to him.

No. Don't think anything of it!

Warning bells rang in his head, his brain buzzed, and no words escaped his mouth. — This is too much!

Amidst the confusion, he caught sight of Pangzi sitting across from them, giving him a thumbs-up. He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the situation, and Pangzi even mouthed, “Good job!”

“Wu Xie.”

He was about to curse angrily, but a sudden call stopped him, seemingly like an avalanche extinguishing his already burning mind.

Wu Xie looked back at him, “Yes?”

Zhang Qiling quickly seized on the word and gave him a slight nod. He turned toward the village chief in quiet determination. “We will take responsibility.”

Wu Xie felt that he was the only one suffering from this marriage… Though in another way, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

The leaky roof—the actual culprit—had been fixed by the villagers early that morning, and by the afternoon, the wedding ceremony was held.

Wu Xie didn’t remember how or when he got back to his room. He was now wearing a long white brocade cloak embroidered with intricate gold patterns, with stretch lace as the outer layer, and a veil hanging from his head, swaying with every movement. Honestly, Wu Xie thought he was going to be sacrificed, not get married.

Pangzi stood by the wall. As the self-proclaimed best man, he accompanied Wu Xie, waiting for some signal to start the wedding ceremony.

“Still can’t get in touch with him?”

“Nope. No signal.”

Aside from the shocking news earlier that morning, there had also been a sudden loss of contact. The B-class hunter couldn’t be reached; the earpieces they used were all damaged, and even the magpie had vanished. Because of that, they had no way of knowing the situation outside the dungeon or how much time remained on the countdown.

“Looks like we have to clear this dungeon ourselves. No big deal,” Pangzi said.

Before the villagers urged the groom and bride to get ready in their respective rooms, Zhang Qiling had mentioned that he presumed the countdown outside might have stopped, causing the time here to start ticking again. He showed the time device to Wu Xie and Pangzi, and almost instantly, they all agreed that this must be the important event they had accidentally triggered, especially since Pangzi already guessed it. He then recalled their conversations from the night before and burst out laughing. Wu Xie grimaced and reprimanded him to be careful of what he said from now on. Therefore, if they wanted to proceed with clearing the dungeon, they had no choice but to follow through with it.

“Who would’ve known this dungeon had a romantic storyline to follow?” Pangzi was the first to comment.

Wu Xie could never have imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that clearing a dungeon would require a marriage.

“The preparations are ready!” One of the villagers announced, practically brimming with excitement.

Wu Xie was escorted to the ceremonial hall by several villagers and his best man. When they arrived, a light tap fell on his right shoulder, along with a tease, “Look, your husband’s there.”

Wu Xie ignored him, but he looked straight at Zhang Qiling.

Zhang Qiling was already waiting in the ceremonial hall. Wearing the same white cloak but without the outer layer, he stood patiently in the middle. Wu Xie, as the bride, would come later to stand side by side with him.

As Pangzi and the bride’s entourage handed Wu Xie over to the groom, he said, “I, Pangye, wish you two a happy marriage!”

Wu Xie wasn’t sure whether it was a genuine congratulation or just Pangzi trying to mess with him.

“Tianzhen, don’t come crying to me if you can’t bear your ass getting stabbed." Then, he got closer as if whispering a secret. “You know the trick, right? Just beg him, you'll be fine.”

“....” He was now certain it was the latter.

Although they had agreed to go through with this wedding, reality still poured down on Wu Xie’s head like cold water, leaving him dazed throughout the ceremony.

They had signed a marriage contract as hunters and bowed to each other. The final part of the ceremony should have been the village chief offering his blessings, bringing it to a close.

The village chief stood on the small podium before the groom and the bride, preparing to give a speech. As he started to speak, a dark cloud enveloped his body, and an obvious evil energy crept out from him.

"Now, TIME TO FEAST!!"

The village chief suddenly turned into a monster. He roared and opened his mouth wide. As if consumed by hunger, he lunged at them in a flash.

Still distracted by the sudden sound of a notification, Wu Xie missed the moment to dodge. The monstrous fangs were just about to tear him apart when someone wrapped their arms around his waist and pulled him out of danger.

“Xiaoge!” Wu Xie was startled, but soon he realized what had happened.

The cloak fluttered in the wind, but it was no longer pure white, as if it had been contaminated with red color. Zhang Qiling quickly pulled Wu Xie behind a huge pillar, tucked away the veil, and swiftly tore open their cloaks.

They were both momentarily stunned.

White snowflakes that blended with some red unexpectedly fell onto them. Once the parasites left their hosts, they dispersed into white and red blood snowflakes, swept away by the wind.

Zhang Qiling realized it at once. The cloaks were parasites, sucking blood through their mana. It didn’t affect him as much as it did Wu Xie because of the higher concentration of Qilin blood in his veins. In a rush, he tore Wu Xie’s cloak away. Only then did it sink in what he had just done.

Wu Xie shuddered at the sudden cold against his bare skin from the waist up.

Is he trying to show off his strength by ripping my clothes?

Zhang Qiling took off his hunter jacket and handed it to him. “It feeds on your blood a little too much. Your clothes got stuck to it.”

Noticing that Zhang Qiling still had a turtleneck underneath, Wu Xie put on the black windbreaker without complaint. There wasn’t much difference in their sizes, but there was still a subtle change when he wore it. He felt it was slightly bigger, giving him a sense of security. Fortunately, it was just a cloak, not the full attire.

Wu Xie shifted his gaze back to Xiaoge, intending to signal that he had finished putting on the jacket, but ended up locking eyes with him instead. He felt a little embarrassed—he had been so lost in his own little thoughts.

Did he wait too long?

Afterward, they joined Pangzi in battle and realized that the whole village had already become a monster’s den, revealing the monsters’ true forms.

Pangzi welcomed them as he swung his spear at the monsters. “Well, well, you guys are finally here! Careful, they feast on the newlyweds!”

When Wu Xie appeared beside him, Pangzi raised an eyebrow in amazement. He looked Wu Xie up and down as if he were observing a specimen. He instantly recognized what Wu Xie was wearing. “What are you two doing? Having fun, huh?” He winked at Wu Xie.

A monster lunged at them, but they dodged swiftly. “Xiaoge, watch out! They’re trying to steal your wife!”

“Can you be serious for once?” Wu Xie shot back, firing his handguns from a distance to give Zhang Qiling cover.

Wu Xie had two types of weapons. For melee combat, he usually used the Big White Dogleg, but when acting as support, he wielded a pair of black handguns.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qiling rushed toward the dungeon boss that had previously tried to attack Wu Xie, the former village chief. The Black-Gold Ancient Sword glinted at the sight of its prey.

That monster boss had no face. Its entire head was just an enormous mouth, lined with jagged fangs like knives. Blood gushed from wounds all over its body like a fountain, while thick saliva spilled from its gaping maw. There was no trace of a human left on him.

To think he had been so close to being eaten, Wu Xie secretly labeled Zhang Qiling as his savior. Thanks to him, he had been saved without a single scratch like a thousand times before.

And now, it was his turn to do the same. In one fluid motion, Wu Xie slid the special bullets into the magazines, raised both handguns toward his target, and pulled the triggers without hesitation. The bullet hit the target perfectly, and it was now struggling to break free from the binding cord. It was a special bullet coated with a binding spell that was used to restrain its movements by tying it down.

Even without saying a word, Zhang Qiling knew this was his chance to finish it. The Black-Gold Ancient Sword slashed at its vital point and caused the monster to growl in pain before dispersing into thin air.

Seeing their boss defeated, the other monsters fled into the forest.

“What now? We’ve defeated the boss, but nothing happened?” Pangzi said in wonder.

Normally, a system notification would pop up whenever the hunters succeed in clearing the dungeons.

“Should we destroy it too?” He jerked his chin toward the village hall.

Pangzi was about to throw three fireballs into it when a hand held out in front of him, stopping his action.

“No need.”

“Got any clues, Xiaoge?” Pangzi asked.

Then, as if answering Pangzi’s question, the ground trembled beneath them. The village hall slowly transformed into a huge cave.

“A cave?” Pangzi and Wu Xie mouthed at the same time.

“Get ready.” Zhang Qiling promptly stepped inside the cave.

However, just as Pangzi followed his steps, an invisible wall stopped him from going any further, leaving him standing alone in the entrance of the cave.

Pangzi groped its surface. “What the hell is this?” He rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

“Could it be a barrier?” Wu Xie tried to touch it, but he passed it through just fine.

They tried to find a method to solve it, but it was useless. It felt like it just appeared out of nowhere.

“Is this cave only for newlyweds?” Pangzi furrowed his brow in exasperation. 

Wu Xie glanced at Zhang Qiling, who looked into the system information. As if answering his unspoken question, Zhang Qiling shook his head.

“In that case, Pangzi, just wait here. We’ll take care of the rest,” Wu Xie suggested.

Having no choice, Pangzi relented, “Okay, fine, go to your bridal chamber. I won’t stop you anymore.”

Wu Xie didn't bother to respond to the joke. He followed behind Zhang Qiling, his right hand hovering over the Big White Dogleg's scabbard, ready for the fight ahead.

The cave was huge, but its depths looked like those of an ordinary cave, with an earthy smell and a rough path. After walking for quite some time, they finally arrived at a dead end. That said, this dead end wasn’t empty; there was an altar built inside, covered in red candles, all of which were lit. In the middle sat a small, exquisite bottle of elixir.

Red snowflakes landed on the liquid inside the bottle as if they had immediately melted into it. A seal was beginning to take shape.

They made their way to the altar, and then Zhang Qiling suddenly said, “There are three types of dungeons.”

Zhang Qiling walked around, observing every nook and cranny of the altar. “Survival, trial, and ritual,” he continued.

Wu Xie thought about what Zhang Qiling had said; it was basic knowledge for hunters. A survival dungeon was one where you had to endure for a set amount of time to clear it. A trial dungeon required defeating the boss, while a ritual dungeon demanded completing a specific ritual. Among them, the trial type was the most common, and the ritual type was the rarest.

Wu Xie followed Zhang Qiling’s movements, and when they halted right in front of the small bottle, Wu Xie understood.

“You mean we have to do a ritual? What kind of ritual is it?”

“We've started it. We just need to finish it.” Zhang Qiling paused for a moment before telling him in a soft tone, “Check your notification.”

It clicked in Wu Xie’s mind that he had forgotten about the system notification that appeared right after their wedding ceremony. It seemed he also failed to notice how Zhang Qiling knew that he had received notifications, since only marriage partners could see each other’s stats.

A soft ding sounded, and a flash flickered across Wu Xie’s face. There it was—indeed, a notification.

[System Notice] Congratulations on your wedding! You have now met the conditions. 【Eternal Vow】 is now in progress. Consume the required item to complete the contract.]

“The wedding?”

He nodded.

“Didn’t we already finish it?”

“Not yet. It’s just the beginning.”

“So we have to drink that elixir to finish the ritual, right?”

Wu Xie tried to take the small bottle from the altar table, but Zhang Qiling's hand grabbed his wrist halfway, preventing him from touching it. He was puzzled. Wu Xie tilted his head in confusion, and his eyes asked for an explanation.

Zhang Qiling stood still in silence, but his mind kept recalling the dream he had last night. 

There was a tombstone engraved with the name of a person who was once his only connection to this world.

He used to live in the moment, cherish every single day, and be grateful to taste such a luxury as being with him in this unjust span of life. He learned to enjoy his life from him, with him. However, he couldn’t deny that people would not last forever, and some moments were meant to be forgotten. Separation was always painful, for some things were simply irreplaceable. The quietness he displayed seemed unbothered on the surface but was broken inside, because deep down, he also couldn’t—didn’t want to forget the person buried underneath, refusing to use Zhang's family method to move on without hanging on to the lingering attachment.

He just won’t do it.

Unbeknownst to him, a lingering soul that carried a boundless obsession appeared before him. He couldn’t ascend because of his unwillingness. He was repeating apologies again and again, even though it was never his fault. Who’s to blame when the heart betrays rationality? It had never been easy.

“Don’t torment yourself like this...”

And those whispers faded into the winter breeze.

Zhang Qiling had decided. He wouldn't let it happen—when regrets were the only things left.

“Wu Xie, this isn't our world.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

Wu Xie was taken aback, beyond surprised. He was now facing Zhang Qiling as if they were competing in a staring contest. Forget about seeking an explanation; Zhang Qiling's next statement made Wu Xie even more bewildered.

“This is your dream.”

06

That day, Wu Xie had suffered from a sleeping disorder. It was either due to insomnia or a nightmare; the creeping anxiety would not go away unless he could see that person and ensure that all that happened wasn’t just a dream—that this time it wasn’t a hallucination. Wu Xie didn’t tell him, but Zhang Qiling didn’t need his confession to know.

In early August, Zhang Qiling had ordered someone to deliver an object from the Zhang family ancestral home. He had remembered it some time ago, thinking it would be a great way to improve Wu Xie’s sleep quality, and even Pangzi agreed.

It had been days since then, and his order should arrive in Yucun by today. Thus, early this morning, Zhang Qiling busied himself looking for medicinal herbs to treat sleep disorders in the mountains. So that he could come back earlier than usual.

That morning, Wu Xie was still sleeping in his room. Pangzi deliberately let him sleep longer; he knew that his good brother couldn’t sleep properly, especially at this time of the year. While doing his daily chores in the yard, an uninvited silhouette appeared in front of him.

“Yo! It’s been a while.”

“What are you doing here?”

Zhang Haike walked over to Pangzi and shoved a bundle wrapped in pale golden cloth in his face. “The patriarch asked us to deliver this.”

“Ah, that’s right. Give it to me.”

Pangzi was about to take it, but the holder intentionally backed away.

“It’s only you here?”

Pangzi folded his arms and answered lazily, “Your patriarch is up the mountain, and Tianzhen is still sleeping.”

Zhang Haike handed it over to him after satisfying his curiosity.

However, seeing he hadn’t left yet, Pangzi added, “If there’s nothing else, you can go now.”

“This is how you treat a guest.”

“Didn’t you say you came here to deliver this thing?”

His head twitched—very much like a courier. “Fine. I've got something to do anyway.”

Then he left just as fast as he came.

Pangzi went into the house and put the bundle on the table. He opened it carefully and found a small lacquered wooden box nestled within. It was an incense burner set; inside sat a small, ornate incense burner made of bronze, adorned with intricate patterns and motifs carved into its surface.

The incense burner stood on three legs designed to hold fragrant incense powder and had two handles. Its lid was decorated with an elaborate floral pattern and topped with a small, sculpted figure of a qilin.

“What beautiful craftsmanship!” Pangzi was amazed and wondered how much it would cost.

Pangzi meticulously arranged the incense burner. He chose the sandalwood fragrance, just as Xiaoge had told him before he went to the mountain. When he finished, Wu Xie came out of his room.

“What are you doing?”

“Here. Burn this when you want to sleep.”

He handed the small Qilin incense burner to Wu Xie.

Wu Xie observed it for a moment before asking, “Where’s Xiaoge?”

“He’s up the mountain. Go get something to eat. I’ve prepared steamed egg custard with jujube and chicken soup.”

Wu Xie curtly hummed, the bags under his eyes becoming more noticeable.

Xiaoge had yet to come back, and Wu Xie absentmindedly looked at the incense burner he had placed in his room. Judging by the exquisite craftsmanship and the small qilin figurine on top, it was clearly from the Zhang family. He smiled knowingly, then lifted the lid and lit the incense.

Soon after, he fell asleep.

“Where is Wu Xie?”

“Huh? He’s sleeping?”

Pangzi was surprised to see Zhang Qiling suddenly appear on the doorway. He had been lounging in the living room, playing a game. The television was still on, showing a documentary about marriage traditions in rural areas that had long been forgotten.

Zhang Qiling strode over to their room. When he opened the door, the relaxing aroma of sandalwood filled the space. His gaze fell on the figure lying on the bed and the small censer on the bedside table.

He was late.

Realizing that something was not right, Pangzi followed him and asked, “What’s wrong, Xiaoge?”

“Don’t come inside.” Zhang Qiling closed the door slowly.

“Did something happen to Tianzhen?”

“It’s the wrong incense.”

A deep frown appeared on Zhang Qiling’s usually indifferent face, and this time, he didn’t bother to care about it. He dialed the phone with a mechanical precision he rarely displayed.

Some time later, those responsible for this mistake finally came to Yucun. In Pangzi’s eyes, they looked so pitiful. The three of them knelt in the yard, seeking forgiveness from their patriarch the moment they showed their faces.

“My apologies, Patriarch. I’ve made a mistake.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. I know you don’t feel guilty at all.” Pangzi nonchalantly picked at his ear.

Zhang Haike ignored Pangzi’s opinion and bowed deeply to the ground. The others followed—who wouldn’t, when a heavy atmosphere hung over them and an oppressive aura emanated from their patriarch’s indifferent face?

The combination was utterly terrifying.

Zhang Haike raised his head and began to argue. “I was only responsible for delivering it. He’s the one who took it out of the ancestral home.” He pointed at the person beside him, showing no sense of camaraderie.

“That’s not true. I asked Qianjun to do it.” Zhang Haiyan then pointed at Zhang Qianjun Wanma in the same way his fellow Zhang had done earlier.

“Is there something wrong with it?” Zhang Qianjun asked with unfeigned confusion.

Everyone turned to look at him.

They had rushed straight here as soon as their patriarch contacted them, but no one had told him what had happened. Zhang Qianjun had dug out every kind of incense burner he could find, yet they were all wrapped in the same cloth.

Zhang Haiyan then explained to Zhang Qianjun, “The one sent to the patriarch was a Qilin incense burner, and the incense powder inside was made with special ingredients mixed with Qilin blood. It has a powerful calming effect on the mind, but it often induces intense, vivid dreams—dreams that are difficult to wake from for those without Qilin blood or whose Qilin blood is not strong enough. The only way to awaken is to fulfill your wish within the dream. Once your mind relaxes, you will wake up. There is even a record of someone who awoke with their wish granted in reality, though that was extremely rare.”

He paused, his voice lowering. “That said, if you fail to wake before the incense burns out, your soul will be trapped in the dream forever.”

“You three should repent,” Pangzi said, as if speaking on Zhang Qiling’s behalf.

“Hand it over.” Ignoring their apologies, Zhang Qiling’s cold voice demanded the item he had requested earlier over the phone. 

“Yes. It’s here.”

Zhang Haike gave him a small object wrapped in fine silk. Zhang Qiling opened it to confirm what was inside, and there was another incense burner with the same design.

“Xiaoge, that’s…”

He nodded, assuming Pangzi already knew what he was going to do. Then, Zhang Qiling went back inside the house.

“Can we wake him up using it?” Pangzi rubbed his chin.

“It was originally a pair. If someone accidentally trapped their soul inside the dream, another person would need to pull their soul back and wake them up using the other one in the pair.” Zhang Haike said.

Zhang Haiyan smacked his fist into his palm in sudden realization. “Right, there’s also this method.”

“How's it done?” Pangzi asked.

“These paired incense burners can link their dreams through physical touch.”

Zhang Qiling lit the incense and placed the censer close to the other one. Then he lay down next to Wu Xie and held his hand. Because of his blood, it took a while for the incense to work.

“This is your dream,” Zhang Qiling said as a matter of fact.

What did I just hear?!

To Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling wasn’t the kind of person who would joke about something like this. After a while, he sighed and accepted the reality.

“So what should we do? I need to wake up, right?”

Zhang Qiling casually took the small bottle from the altar, wrapping it in his hand. “This elixir is the embodiment of your wish. Our blood has fused in it.”

He rubbed its surface, which looked like a Chinese snuff bottle, only slightly larger, with a jade stopper on top.

Wu Xie watched as those fingers moved along the floral pattern.

“The purpose of this incense is to fulfill your wish. Once achieved, you will wake up naturally.”

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Wu Xie; he finally understood why Xiaoge had asked about it before. He had thought about what he wanted that day, and then… wait-

If that elixir wasn’t just a way to complete the wedding but a reflection of my own wish… then doesn’t that mean… my wish all along was to get married to him?

“....”

Wu Xie froze, unsure of what to say.

He wanted to deny it, but at this point, it would have been pointless. A flush of embarrassment slowly crept over his face, and his thoughts were all jumbled up.

Damn it! What a bizarre wish this is!

“No, it’s more than that.”

Zhang Qiling seemed to know what he was thinking, as if he could read his mind.

Sometimes, people wished for things they didn’t truly mean and regretted them later. This dream could reveal the deepest desire, even one the dreamer was unaware of. Zhang Qiling was certain that, at one time, Wu Xie had realized what it was but simply let it be buried by time, leaving only a trace of unwillingness.

Wu Xie contemplated what Zhang Qiling had said to him. If the wedding was just the beginning, and it wasn’t his wish, it was even more than just a marriage.

Then, could it be what he was wishing for…

He broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t just an ordinary wish; it was like 【Eternal Vow】.

Zhang Qiling had seen through his wish.

“Since you already know, will you grant it?”

Wu Xie couldn’t help but ask. He must have been out of his mind, but he needed to know. It wasn’t enough just to guess, not after they had gone too far to turn back.

Zhang Qiling recalled his conversation with Pangzi when they were waiting for the Zhang trio to arrive at Yucun. He didn’t know why Pangzi had brought this matter up all of a sudden, but what he had said would never leave his mind.

“Tianzhen has so many worries, about us, about you… He can try to live in the moment just like you do, but even if he managed to do it, those worries would come back, just like today.” He paused for a bit. “At least, live without regrets. If there’s a chance for you and Tianzhen to get what you deserve — what you truly want, I trust you to take it.” Pangzi lightly tapped him on the shoulder. “Give him a chance to choose his own fate.”

Zhang Qiling had witnessed countless meetings and separations. He was so used to it that he had no choice but to feel indifferent. Sometimes, longevity wasn’t a gift but a curse. He could only be content by wishing time would stop so he could savor the moment as he pleased—but without him, it held no meaning.

Even so, if he could, Zhang Qiling didn’t want Wu Xie to experience the same, because living together required another sacrifice. It had never been easy, yet here he was, standing in front of him like he was the center of his universe.

How bold—how pure and sincere those feelings were.

Wu Xie swore he saw a faint, bitter smile on those lips, but when he blinked, it was gone.

“It won’t be easy for you.”

“I know.”

“Don’t regret it.”

“I know.”

Whether back then or now, it was always the same.

“Like I said years ago,” 

“If you need someone to accompany you to the end, I won't refuse. I want to go with you.”

Wu Xie looked at him with unwavering resolve. “I want to accompany you to the end. I mean it.”

Wu Xie hoped the person in front of him would bask in the joy of life, no matter how silly or mundane it was—to fill him with the happiness he deserved, and to walk beside him to make sure it was real. He had wronged so many people in his life, but this wish couldn’t be hidden anymore, now that Zhang Qiling had found it.

“This time, I won’t let you go.”

After a pause, Wu Xie nodded. “I know.”

“Then, you’re mine.”

“I-”

Wu Xie’s chest tightened as the realization hit him. His heart felt like it might burst.

In the next second, Zhang Qiling opened the small bottle, drank the elixir, and then leaned in to share it with Wu Xie mouth-to-mouth.

Wu Xie froze in place. His mind felt as if it had stopped working. He was caught off guard, but he obediently swallowed as soon as something warm and wet flowed into his mouth. Even after all the liquid had slipped down their throats, they continued to share that warm, wet touch. Their tongues danced together inside Wu Xie’s mouth. An embarrassing wet sound echoed through the entire cave, but Wu Xie couldn’t bring himself to care. Never had he imagined his first real kiss with Zhang Qiling would be this overwhelming. Was it because neither of them had ever experienced something like this before?

Dizzy, Wu Xie felt as though he might faint at any moment.

Then a ding sounded in front of them.

[Congratulations! You have consumed 【Wedding Wine】. 【Eternal Vow】 is now complete.]

What a name... , Wu Xie complained inwardly.

And slowly, the world slipped away from his sight.

07

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a familiar ceiling that he knew so well. A dull headache throbbed at his temples, as if he had just woken from a very long and vivid dream. Yet soon after, he felt so refreshed, as though he had been born again, as if something flowed through his veins and gave him a sense of rebirth.

“Finally, the sleeping beauty wakes up.”

“What happened?” He asked Pangzi, who was sitting on the stool beside the bed.

Wu Xie propped himself up on his elbows, trying to sit on the edge of the bed. Then, a strong hand steadied him from the side. He turned and realized it was Zhang Qiling.

And then, he remembered everything.

“You guys can come in!”

Wu Xie had no idea whom Pangzi was calling, but soon the door opened, and members of the Zhang family entered one after another.

“What are they doing here?” Wu Xie asked, frankly displeased.

“What else? They owe you an apology for causing trouble, you know.”

“Ah, right… the incense.”

Wu Xie still hadn’t forgotten what Zhang Qiling had told him about it while they were inside the dream.

“Wait, why would I-”

Zhang Haiyan quickly shut his mouth, a silent warning from behind Wu Xie sending chills down his spine.

“It, It’s our fault. We apologize for causing such a ruckus.”

They all bowed their heads slightly in unison.

Wu Xie smiled in contentment, thinking it was such a rare scene he should have taken a photo and posted it on his WeChat moments.

“Tianzhen, what’s that on your hand?”

Wu Xie stared down at the inner wrist of his left hand, which Pangzi had pointed out. Just above his seventeen scars, there was a beautiful lotus-shaped mark.

“Since when did you get a tattoo?”

“I don’t know....”

Wu Xie studied the mark on his inner wrist, as if trying to decipher its meaning and origin.

Zhang Haike, who had accidentally caught sight of the mark, screamed in disbelief. “No way! Wu Xie, you, and the patriarch?!”

“Isn’t that a soulmark?” Zhang Qianjun spoke up, feeling proud that he had finally recognized something.

“Patriarch… It can’t be true, right?” Zhang Haiyan tried to confirm, though he already knew the answer was inevitable.

Pangzi frowned upon seeing the mark; it was indeed a beautiful lotus pattern. “Soulmark? Your Zhang family has this kind of thing, too?”

Zhang Haike crossed his arms and smiled smugly.

“Of course. That’s also why the Qilin incense burners come in pairs. Long ago, these censers were used in a ritual to find lifelong partners—a soul-binding contract. Because of intermarriage within the clan, it was difficult to find a suitable partner whose blood wouldn’t conflict and bring misfortune to their offspring. Those with Qilin blood would often mark their chosen partners in this way; the mark was called a soulmark. Yet the requirements were so strict that our ancestors eventually abandoned the practice. Over time, it turned into nothing more than a legend.”

“I’ve heard about it. It requires both parties to have compatible Qilin blood and matching souls. It sounds simple, but in fact, it’s hard to find,” Zhang Haiyan added, nodding his head in agreement.

Wu Xie had a hunch that somehow he and Zhang Qiling had completed some sort of forbidden ritual, and they were sharing lifespans because their souls were connected. If one died, the other would also die, like that?

So, it was true—not the "forbidden" part, though.

Wu Xie watched Zhang Qiling as he got out of bed. He was sure that for whatever reason, Zhang Qiling had been against it—but in the end, they had done it, not just because of Wu Xie’s wish, but also because of Zhang Qiling’s. Wu Xie knew it was a compromise.

“Then, congratulations to the three of you! You’ve witnessed such a rare occurrence of finding the lady of the house!”

The three of them went pale at the realization and glanced at Wu Xie.

Before, it had been just a silent agreement without any real title, but now that it was official, the reality hit them differently.

Zhang Qiling couldn't take it anymore and finally said coldly, “You should go back home.”

Pangzi slapped his thigh. “Right! Go, go, all of you!”

As if giving Zhang Qiling his full support, Pangzi got up from his seat and winked at both Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie.

Somehow, Wu Xie sensed déjà vu.

Pangzi led the Zhang trio out of the room, leaving the couple alone.

A hand reached out in front of him. Wu Xie knew who it belonged to—there was no need to even look up. He took it without hesitation, and soon after, he was pulled out of the bed.

Wu Xie’s left hand was held by Zhang Qiling’s right, while his other hand somehow ended up on Wu Xie’s waist. Wu Xie was confused by the sudden change in position, but soon he didn’t have time to think about it.

Zhang Qiling observed his lotus mark, which glimmered under his gentle touch as he traced it. The hand he held twitched in surprise when he lowered his head and gently planted kisses on the mark, moving down to the scars—one, two, three… all the way to seventeen.

Wu Xie watched, dumbstruck, as his lotus mark glowed and grew slowly under Zhang Qiling’s warm touch, bit by bit, enveloping his scars, like a lifelike, delicate vine. Then he understood, if Zhang Qiling’s tattoo appeared when his body temperature rose, his mark was triggered in almost the same way—it was the warmth of Zhang Qiling’s presence.

Absent-mindedly gazing at his slowly fading mark, Wu Xie belatedly realized how close Zhang Qiling’s face had drawn to his neck and how he brushed his lips against his scar, while his other hand slid from Wu Xie’s hand to the side of his face, softly stroking the hair at the back of his ear. Then he gradually closed the distance between them. Their foreheads touched, and tender smiles curved their lips. There was no need for words, as their hearts were beating at the same rhythm.

And then their lips met again. Albeit late, Wu Xie tried to return the kiss, his whole body trembling at this new sensation. This time, the kiss was very gentle, like being touched by soft feathers.

Wu Xie had never wished for immortality—he… no, they just wanted to be with each other for a very, very long time.

END

Chapter Text

00

“吴邪。”

有人在呼唤。

“天真，别开玩笑了！我们有麻烦了！”

一切都感觉如此轻盈，但他的眼皮却沉重无比。他似乎已经做了很久的梦，一个如此生动的梦，却记不清梦见了什么。在清醒状态和睡意那静谧诱惑之间漂浮，吴邪感觉到他的身体无视了他疯狂想要醒来的要求，仿佛他的精力被抽干了，让他浑身无力。

在一片不可避免的打斗的喧闹混乱声中，他能感觉到一个穿着黑色高领衫的人，在用严肃的目光检查完他是否有伤后，看向他身边的胖子。

“我不知道，他就突然晕倒了。” 胖子为自己辩护，以防任何可能无端的指责。

“他没事。” 张起灵看着刚刚突然昏迷的吴邪，脸上浮现出淡淡的皱眉。他把吴邪的一只胳膊搭在自己肩上，把他安置在一棵大树下，让吴邪舒服地休息。他们身后，一棵榕树随着微风摇曳，晃动着枝叶。太阳高傲地悬挂在空中，树影渐渐出现在附近的灌木丛中。

“靠，又来！”

胖子看到怪物已经包围了他们，发出 groan（呻吟/抱怨）。幸运的是，对于像他们这样的两个A级和一个S级猎人来说，这不算什么大事。怪物的等级太低，但数量似乎无穷无尽。

“天真怎么样，小哥？我们是该撤退，还是赶紧解决掉那些东西？”

张起灵摇了摇头。

他们已是多年的挚友，但有时胖子也搞不懂他这位好兄弟在想什么，就像现在一样。

“啥？你要亲醒睡美人吗？”

怪物开始向他们扑来。

“要亲就快点儿！反派来了！”

与此同时，吴邪在心里咒骂胖子。谁说他就听不见了？他只是醒不过来。他怎么能对小哥说那种话？他（吴邪）可能不会买那种玩笑的账，但光是想象就足以让他因为完全不同的原因第二次晕过去。正对胖子的搞怪行为咕哝着，他猝不及防地，嘴唇被某种温暖、湿润、柔软的东西触碰了……

他僵住了。

这他妈的到底是什么？

有时候，好奇心比动力或野心更强大。于是，吴邪尽力睁开了眼睛。他眨了一次，两次，三次，直到一个人的影子出现在他附近。

然后他垂下目光，视线搜寻着答案。啊……原来只是一瓶法力药水……

[恭喜！你获得了【？？？】。达成特定条件即可激活。]

哈？？

胖子的欢呼声渐渐模糊，他感觉自己又漂浮起来，很快一切陷入黑暗。

01

在一个“盗墓贼”之名已转变为人们所谓的“猎人”的世界里，洛阳铲变成了刀剑或法术，墓穴不再被盗，但地下城（副本）却被攻克，吴邪他们依然无法逃脱命运。

猎人作为国家的军队存在，目的是拯救这片土地。吴邪，曾经的新手猎人，通过他三叔偶然的牵线，结识了著名的S级猎人张起灵。无人预见命运的齿轮从那时起开始转动，重溯着另一个世界的旧事。他们多次相遇，直到牺牲、承诺和重聚再次铭刻进他们的故事。

张起灵进入了青铜门，那个传说中每十年才开启一次、据称是超稀有物品——名为“终极”的长生不老药——唯一来源的神秘副本。没人知道那物品是否真的存在，抑或只是古老的故事。尽管如此，他仍然守护着它，作为下一代职责的一部分。谁知道里面有什么？只有被选中的人最终才会承担起这永恒秘密的重负。

而有生以来第一次，他不想让某人承担这样的重负并失去真正的自我。张起灵绝不敢冒这个险。

在那十年里，吴邪一步步追寻着张起灵过去的痕迹，朝着同一个方向前行。他了解了张氏公会和汪氏公会，以及他们跨越世代、复杂持久的冲突。作为神秘莫测的张氏公会（一个由张家人为自己建立的公会）的领袖，张起灵不得不在自家公会濒临崩溃时寻求外部合作者——九门公会的帮助。然而，他最终为了一个相识仅两年的人，单方面退出了协议。毕竟，张氏公会的猎人以长寿著称。

后来，吴邪与汪氏公会的对抗提升了他的声望，他所经历的一切将他变成了全国知名的A级猎人。最终，那个新手猎人长大了。

十年后，张起灵回归，得知吴邪已经击败了汪氏公会。本质上，不再需要担心“终极”了。即使汪氏公会能进入那个神秘副本，他也确保他们所寻找的不过是一厢情愿。

不久之后，吴邪决定从一线猎人岗位上退休，并辞去了公会职务。他与张起灵和胖子一起，开了一家小餐馆（喜来眠），这里很快成为了当地的一个据点，猎人们在此吃饭交换消息和谣言，偶尔他们也接些猎人任务，帮助新手积累经验升级。

喜来眠，雨村。

吴邪仔细扫描着他的物品栏，全神贯注。如果他的眼睛能发射高能射线，恐怕早已将其烧出一个洞。刚在厨房做完饭的胖子，发现他坐在一张桌子旁。

“怎么了？”

“我觉得前几天得了个物品，但到处都找不到。” 吴邪用手指抵着下巴，一边逐一整理物品。

胖子现在坐在吴邪对面。“什么样的物品？稀有货？”

“不知道，它只出现了一瞬间，然后我就晕过去了。”

“你确定？” 胖子给自己倒了杯茶，“也许只是你的幻觉。反正，我们还是不知道你突然晕倒的原因。”

找了很久，他一无所获。“小哥不是说我只是法力消耗过度吗？”

“是啊，但是没说你为什么突然法力耗尽。” 胖子的眼睛眯起来看着吴邪，“你最近感觉有什么不对劲吗？”

吴邪摇摇头。“我觉得只是副本特性，但我不确定。小哥和你都没事。”

吴邪思索着确切原因，试图回忆。那只是一个普通副本，还是个B级的；对他们来说清理起来并不难。他们新菜式缺食材，所以需要去那个副本收集。他们甚至因为任务完成得早而轮流小睡了一会儿。之后，他们被低级怪物伏击，然后突然，他就失去意识了。除了……

这能算奇怪吗？

“连传奇的张起灵都不知道。我哪能知道？” 胖子的评论把吴邪拉回现实。“好了，天真。待会儿再找吧——我们现在有活儿要干了。”

胖子站起身，为接下来的忙碌时段做准备。这差不多是午餐高峰了，所以很多猎人来这里补充体力。

吴邪关闭物品栏，捏了捏眉心，然后去给胖子帮忙。

在无人注意的角落，一双清澈的眼睛默默地注视着他。

“嘿，老板，听说你也接其他猎人的任务。能帮我清理个副本吗？” 一个大胆的顾客在吴邪上菜时问道。

副本会周期性出现；然而，一个副本不能在这个世界停留太久。它需要在倒计时结束前被清理，否则危险生物会爬出副本，杀死沿途一切。如果猎人成功清理，副本会在完成后的三天内消失。

“是的，有时接。看我们的需求。”

刚才说话的中年男子递给吴邪一张名片。“我们能私下谈谈吗？”

吴邪仔细看了看名片；他退休后已不再与任何公会有关联。然后，仿佛寻求意见般，他将目光转向张起灵，结果两人的视线交汇了。

一直在远处观察他的张起灵，简短地点了点头。

公会的建立是为了容纳猎人，而公会之上是公会协会，负责规范猎人和公会之间的规则。

吴邪同意打烊后与那位顾客会面。现在，他们四人围坐在柜台附近的一张桌子旁。

“好吧，我直说了。我是公会协会的B级猎人，需要你们帮忙清理某个副本。它一周前出现，但至今无人能清理。”

“没人？真的？那肯定很危险。” 胖子惊跳起来。咖啡机发出轻柔的提示音后，他起身走去厨房拿。

公会协会是所有公会的领导者，每个公会都必须遵守其规定。它经常发布一系列任务供猎人完成。这些任务从最简单的D级到最难的A级不等。每次人们完成任务，都会有奖励。大多是金钱，但有时也会有稀有物品或武器。它有许多来自其他公会的天才成员加入以应对紧急情况，所以一个副本在专家猎人手中未能被清理是很不寻常的。

“不。相反，这个副本太和平了。” 无视其他人怀疑的感觉，他继续说道，“我们总是卡在这个和平的时刻。我们知道需要触发某个事件才能继续，但没有任何线索或提示，我们无能为力。”

胖子把饮料送到他们的长方形木桌（配有两张长椅）上后，扑通一声在那位B级猎人旁边坐下。对面，张起灵和吴邪挨着坐在一起。吴邪瞪了一眼他那杯明显与众不同的饮料，忍不住用眼神无声地问胖子：‘为什么是奶茶？’ 胖子若无其事地回答说小哥之前给他做的。吴邪瞬间闭上了嘴。

像是清了清嗓子，吴邪然后问道：“那是个什么样的地方？”

“这个副本类似于一个小村庄。没有怪物，没有指示，没有提示，甚至连系统信息里都没有目标——就是一个普通的和平村庄。我们的猎人尝试清理了很多次，但都失败了。”

每个副本都有不同的通关条件。除了完成的倒计时，有时对猎人在副本内的时间也有限制。

“猎人有时间限制吗？” 吴邪问道，试探更多信息。

“有，24小时。”

“倒计时什么时候结束？”

“后天。”

沉重的寂静笼罩了他们。

胖子拍了下桌子，不太响但足以打破沉默。

“哥们儿，这很紧急啊。你怎么今天才出现？” 胖子因懊恼而尖声说道。

“听着，协会内部有分歧。他们让我们别管了，因为里面没有检测到怪物活动，” B级猎人试图解释。“但我的直属领导认为肯定有隐藏的危险，所以他命令我向铁三角求助。”

铁三角是他们还是活跃猎人时的队伍名称，尽管他们已经退休，不再接受公会协会的官方任务。

为了人类，吴邪打算接受这个提议。他给了每个队友一个眼神，意识到他们想法一致。

“名字？”

一直沉默的张起灵终于开口，吓了B级猎人一跳。

说实话，吴邪觉得他对一个副本产生兴趣有点不寻常。

B级猎人惊得一愣。因为话题突然转变，他过了一会儿才回答张起灵的问题。

“红，红村。”

02

“红村？” 吴邪在心里重复着这个名字。不知为何，他对此有一种奇怪的预感——仿佛某种惊天动地的事情即将发生。

“天真，那家伙已经在外面等着了。走吧，” 胖子打着哈欠拍了拍他的肩膀。

三人准备攻略副本时，天还没亮。他们几乎没睡，但由于时间紧迫，必须尽快出发。

昨晚，在B级猎人解释了全部情况后，他们达成了协议，同意第二天一早攻略副本。幸运的是，它位于距雨村约20公里处；既不太远也不太近。没什么需要准备的，因为B级猎人主动提供了一切，包括接送和免费交通。

吴邪刚瘫进后座，旁边的人就说：“睡会儿。”

吴邪顺从地点了点头。

“不过为什么叫红？那里的建筑全是红色的吗？” 胖子问旁边开车的B级猎人。

“完全不是。建筑看起来挺好的。村口甚至有个招牌，是系统自动注册的。”

因为时间还早，距离也不算特别远，B级猎人以舒适的速度开着车。

“如果系统能检测到，应该有更多信息吧？”

B级猎人然后打开了车的界面，示意胖子自己查看信息。

一个大面板显示在他面前，充满了他的视野，上面是副本列表。胖子一时看得入迷，开始搜索他们需要的信息。

吴邪正要打瞌睡，面板的光亮刺到了他。他恼火地眯起眼，想看看那是什么。

这是只有公会协会注册成员才能访问的特权功能。不知怎的，这让他想起了自己还是公会会长的日子。他有钱，有能力，有战略头脑，身居重要职位。然而，所有这些都无法满足他内心的渴望。

吴邪闭上眼睛，忍住偷看身边那人的冲动。

过了一会儿，他能听到前座传来轻微的窃笑。

“嘿，哥们儿，你管这叫信息？说真的，连难度都是未知？”

“就像我之前说的。但我听人说，如果我们能清理它，我们的愿望就会实现。”

胖子笑得更厉害了，“你信那个？”

B级猎人扬了扬眉毛。

“我打赌那是你们上级为了激励猎人故意散播的谣言。” 他强调了“激励”这个词，赋予了它另一层含义。

“即使没有这个，我也会确保你们之后得到丰厚的报酬。”

他们的谈话逐渐模糊，吴邪的意识一层层被侵蚀，直到外界的声音被完全阻断。小哥说得对；他过去几天一直睡眠不好。他反复做着同一个梦。那肯定不是一个愉快的梦。醒来后，唯一在他脑海中留下深刻印象的，是那张痛苦的表情；一个神色阴郁的人，就像他头顶灰色的天空。

吴邪头靠着后窗睡着了。看到车经过不平整道路时偶尔的颠簸，张起灵打开物品栏，拿出一条毯子，整齐地叠好，打算把它放在车窗玻璃和吴邪的头之间。然而，就在他刚要这么做时，车晃了一下，导致吴邪反而倒进了他的怀里。

“嗯，小哥……别..” 一束阳光透过玻璃照进来，照亮了他睡着的脸。

“他到底梦到什么了？” 胖子觉得有趣，挑起眉毛。

张起灵没有回答，轻轻调整了吴邪的睡姿，让他更舒服。在静静观察了他的反应后，他用手臂环住他，试图遮挡他脸上的阳光。然后，他听到吴邪在睡梦中低语——声音轻柔，但清晰。

胖子已经习惯了他沉默的举止，并不介意。与他不同，B级猎人出于好奇瞥了一眼后视镜。他在想关于他们的传闻是真是假。

那是一个关于张氏公会会长和九门公会会长秘密恋情的传闻。

在这个世界，法律不在乎你选择与谁结婚，只要双方能履行婚姻誓言——一种两个猎人之间的特殊契约。它相当于另一个世界的结婚证书。

那时，关于他们的讨论淹没了猎人论坛，成为整整一个月的热门话题。幸运的是，自从吴邪辞去以前的职务后，关于他们的谈论已经平息了。尽管如此，人们还是喜欢传播谣言和八卦别人的生活；这就像是第二天性。

半个多小时后，他们到达了山区。雪山在地平线上巍峨耸立；山下是一片广阔的常绿森林。副本位于森林内部，但幸运的是，不算太深。穿过一条小河再走10分钟，他们终于到达了目的地。

远处，他们能看到一块标志牌，预示着他们旅程的结束。上面的书法非常漂亮，与古老风化的木板形成对比。

“我们到了，” B级猎人兴奋地宣布。

03

令铁三角惊讶的是，村民们非常热情好客，丝毫没有表现出任何异常。如果村口没有明显的透明大门，人们会以为这只是郊区的一个典型村庄，而不是一个未清理的副本。

村民们热情地迎接他们，表达着看到村外人的喜悦和热情。

“他们到现在还不腻吗？我打赌在我们之前来过很多人了。” 胖子压低声音说，尽量不让人听见。

“我们为你们准备了住处。请好好享受你们的停留。” 村长热情地微笑着，然后指派他的一名手下护送他们到指定地点。

过了一会儿，他们进入副本前使用的耳机里传来声音——提醒他们，无论它们外表如何，它们都不是人类。

不久前，他们简要讨论了一下昨天商定的计划。一个人留在副本外查看情况，必要时提供支援，并注意倒计时时间。B级猎人工作很专业。他给了他们每人一个通讯设备，还安装了一个特殊的无人机从上方观察他们的状况并传输信号。

“你不是说无人机吗？我什么也没看到。” 胖子扫描着天空。他小声说话，以免向导听到。

[是特殊无人机。看7点钟方向树上的喜鹊。我用了那个皮肤作为伪装。]

这是他作为支援人员的能力。他不擅长正面冲突，但在提供支援方面，这位B级猎人是他的团队里最棒的。

“酷~我能请求那个皮肤吗？”

[谢谢，但它只有鸟类皮肤。]

“啊，真遗憾。天真，你喜欢什么鸟？”

“....”

“....”

[....]

“我不是在说张-嗷-嗷！”

一记快速的戳击落在他身侧，给了他一个明确的警告。

吴邪记得他们攻略一个属于张家的副本时开过这种玩笑。他不会让胖子在“房东”面前取笑他。他想骂人，却发现自己反而让他闭嘴了。

现在回想起来，他们的关系还是一样。吴邪偷偷瞥了一眼走在他身边的人。

不知从何时起，每当他们之间的距离拉近时，一种奇怪的感觉就会从他心底升起。起初，他以为这种奇怪的感觉只是一种满足感，源于接近那个他认为遥不可及、是一切谜团源头的人。直到他后来才意识到，他对他的感觉是截然不同的。吴邪从未对任何人有过这种感觉，甚至对胖子，他的好兄弟，也没有。他只感受过一次，而且只为那一个人。

感觉就像他面前铺着垫脚石。他已经朝着对方走了九十九步，不懈地追逐着他。然而那最后一步却无处可寻，要么笼罩在迷雾中，要么沉没在水下。他别无选择，只能停下，仿佛害怕一步踏错就会坠入池塘。

在不久的将来，他会意识到自己花了相当长的时间才注意到——他从未真正跨过那四十九块石头。那个人走了同一条路，不知何故，他们在中途相遇了。

“靠，疼死了！” 胖子揉着身侧抱怨道。

大声的抗议把吴邪拉回现实；他无视了他的抱怨。

到达临时住所后，向导说：“三位可以在这里休息。”

他指了指那些民宿。他们每人分到了一个带独立卫生间的房间。

“晚上七点我们有一个欢迎会。是给你们的欢迎会，请务必参加。我晚点来接你们。失陪了，” 他补充道，然后礼貌地离开了。

等到向导看不见了，张起灵轻声对他说：“小心。”

吴邪习惯了他未说出口的信息；他会去侦察周边区域，把从村民那里获取更多信息的任务交给他和胖子。

他会意地点点头。“你也是。”

最终，只有吴邪和胖子参加了聚会。幸运的是，似乎没人注意到他们少了一个人。

04

第二天早上，铁三角正式开始了他们的攻略，或者更准确地说，他们的探险。欢迎会平淡无奇，甚至连侦察也一无所获。看来那位B级猎人说的是对的。

红村是一个山脚下的小定居点。它几乎完全被常绿森林的葱翠绿色所包围，只有附近的一条河和一条难以通行的单一道路。

吴邪检查了他的猎人手表。自从发现这个副本运行在不同的时区后，他就感到有些不安。时间追踪器已经没用了；它完全停止了工作。更令人费解的是，时差并不遵循任何确切的模式，让他们无法知道自己在里面呆了多久。只有在外守候的B级猎人能知道。

“有时会发生这种情况。”

吴邪看向声音的来源。“我以前从没攻略过这种副本。”

“这种很罕见。”

“你觉得危险吗，小哥？”

张起灵回望着吴邪，说：“这意味着我们有更长时间探索这个副本。”

“那很好。至少我们还有时间。”

然而，自从他们到达以来，已经过去了三天两夜，村庄仍然一如既往地平静。一天天过去，随着倒计时临近，他们逐渐失去希望。就像之前的其他猎人团队一样，他们没有找到任何线索。他们尝试了一切：探索森林、在村庄周围巡视，甚至参加村民的活动，但仍然一无所获。

天色已晚，便携式提灯陪伴着他们的旅程。探索了一整天后，他们决定在返回村庄前休息一下。

“我从没见过这样的副本，” 胖子一边抱怨，一边检查他的物品栏，看有没有有用的东西。

“我也没有，” 吴邪心不在焉地回答，忙着做笔记。

他找到一块大石头坐下，发现了一个舒适的地方，在笔记本上涂写着。“这个副本比汪氏公会的人造副本还难完成，” 他补充道。

胖子咂了咂嘴，“那个该死的陷阱。你呢，小哥？”

没有回答。吴邪朝他歪了歪头。

“没有。”

过了一会儿，答案来了。

吴邪觉得有点不对劲。

张起灵单膝蹲下，研究着离他三步远的地面。很长一段时间，他一动不动。淡淡的皱眉停留在他脸上，然而他的目光似乎穿过了面前茂密的草丛，固定在远超出此地之外的某物上。

吴邪把笔记放回物品栏，走过去蹲在他身边。张起灵的手放在地上，吴邪顺着他的目光看去，那里并没有什么值得注意的东西。

直到吴邪已经在他身边，他才动。捕捉到吴邪目光中的好奇，张起灵抬起他紧握的手，伸到他面前。无论时空如何变幻，有些东西从未改变。

吴邪的目光落在他那只似乎藏着什么东西的手上。还没等他问那是什么，张起灵抢先了一步。

“告诉我你的愿望，” 张起灵看着他说。

猝不及防，吴邪转眼看她，重复道：“我的愿望？”

这太意外了……为什么突然——

“我会让它实现。”

张起灵然后张开手，一只萤火虫在他们之间飞舞——它的光芒照亮了他们的脸庞，然后飞入了夜空。

吴停顿了一下。感觉像是忘记了呼吸，然后……

扑通。

他能感觉到——他的心脏为何突然加速跳动，为一个他不敢细想的原因。这是一种熟悉又陌生的感觉，像一个隐藏的愿望，静静地等待着被发现。

“我不知道……” 他最终回答道。

“那就想一想。”

他只能点头。

“你俩像新婚夫妇一样调情完了吗？”

胖子现在坐在他们身后的一块大石头上，双臂交叉。

“我们没有调情。”

他怎么敢认为张起灵在和他调情？一个眼神，他就能当场跪下——或者更糟，可能直接被踢飞到树上。

“所以，是新婚夫妇咯？”

“别开那种玩笑。”

胖子可以对他们开任何玩笑，但有张起灵在场，吴邪对那种幽默很谨慎，不想让张起灵感到不舒服。

“为什么？如果是真的，那我祝你俩婚姻幸福。”

“....”

“....”

“没时间了。”

这次，张起灵打断了他们的小小交流，接上了他们早先中断的话题。“我们需要触发某个特定场景才能继续。”

[咳咳，提醒一下，倒计时还剩四小时。]

吴邪仔细想了想，然后大声说出了自己的想法。“还剩四小时……这里已经是夜晚了，所以我们可能还剩一天。最晚明天。”

“天真，你不是最擅长触发事件了吗？来，摸摸什么东西。”

吴邪反驳道：“你就这么想我倒霉？”

“放松点，有小哥在，你不会有事的。”

那天晚上，大雨倾盆而下，笼罩了村庄。这是他们停留以来的第一场雨。吴邪被雨滴敲打屋顶的声音惊醒。屋顶有个小洞，水不断滴下来，浸湿了他的床。他抱怨着糟糕的招待，爬起来，抓着他幸好还干着的枕头。

他想过去客厅睡，但那里没有这样的东西。犹豫片刻后，他的第一本能是去张起灵的房间，但决定不去打扰他。所以，他去了胖子那里，结果却被他的鼾声袭击。

最终，他又绕回了张起灵的房间。毕竟，他们以前也同床过。

他犹豫着要不要敲门，但还没敲，门就开了。张起灵已经醒了。吴邪僵住了，手还尴尬地悬在半空。

“屋顶漏了，我的床湿了。”

张起灵点点头，让他进去。

床和他自己的一模一样。虽然比他们在雨村共享的那张床小，但仍然足够两个成年男子睡。很快，他们并排躺下。

张起灵还没睡，眼睛看着睡在他身边的人。一段时间以来，吴邪一直在说梦话，像是在念咒语。他听过无数次了，仿佛吴邪每晚都被同一个梦困扰。

他需要知道。

张起灵想减轻他的忧虑，即使是在梦里，但他所能做的只是握住他的手，传递着属于一个人的温暖——无声地向他保证，他在这里。

那天晚上，张起灵做了一个奇怪的梦。那一刻，他终于明白了吴邪看到的是什么样的梦。

太阳已经升起。通常，张起灵这时候已经起床，忙着晨间例行事务了，但今天不同。那个梦在他脑海中挥之不去，而且不知何故，身边的人最终躺在了他的怀里，在梦境的寒意后寻求温暖，与他太阳穴滑落的汗珠相反。他轻轻将其擦去。

外面突然一阵骚动，但张起灵并不在意。他异乎寻常地陷入了沉思。

他的沉思被门被撞开的声音打断。本能地，他召唤出了他的剑——结果发现是胖子和村长站在那里，难以置信地喘着气。

张起灵皱起了眉头。有点不对劲。

刚被噪音吵醒的吴邪，困惑地揉着眼睛。“怎么了？” 他问，但没人回应。

暴风雨前的平静。倒计时前一小时，它发生了。

村长的话语像雷霆一样撕裂了沉闷的早晨，在吴邪耳中沉重而不祥。

“你们两人必须承担违背我们规范的后果！”

一阵寒意窜下吴邪的脊柱。

“准备婚礼仪式，” 村长命令他的人们，无视了现在站在那里、头顶仿佛挂着无形问号的三个男人。

“你开什么玩笑……”

05

众人齐聚在村堂中央。他和张起灵并肩坐在中间，活像等待处决的罪犯。吴邪用眼角余光偷瞄身旁的人——或许只有他自己觉得像个罪人。张起灵一如既往地平静，脸上看不出半分愧疚。他当然不会愧疚。毕竟从一开始就是自己的错。

……不，其实也不是他的错。

“村长您听我说，我们真的什么都没做。是因为屋顶漏雨没地方睡，我才去他房间——”

“吴先生请保持沉默。我们不接受辩解。”

按照这个村落的习俗，同床共枕是禁忌，当事人必须成婚——不论性别。

吴邪被村长的解释搞得晕头转向。他真想爆一串粗口，但大脑仿佛刚停止运转般空白。他在心里细数自己和张起灵同床共枕过多少次。幸好雨村没这种习俗，不然他早就当上新娘子了。

这副本剧情也太野了！谁想出来的馊主意？！

正当他要争辩时，肩头被轻轻一捏。他抬头撞进张起灵沉静的目光。

“没事。我们结婚。”

吴邪瞪圆双眼，此刻的表情或许堪比世界名画《呐喊》。

就这么答应了？就这么简单？他今天到底哪根筋不对？！

他万万没想到小哥会直接接受这种荒唐事，简直像是早就盘算着要向他求婚似的。

不。别再胡思乱想了！

警铃在脑中狂响，太阳穴嗡嗡作响，却半个字都吐不出来。——这也太超过了吧！

混乱间他瞥见对面的胖子正对他竖起大拇指。那家伙完全是一副看好戏的表情，甚至用口型说道：”干得漂亮！”

“吴邪。”

他正要发作，却被这声呼唤截住话头，仿佛雪崩骤然淹没了熊熊燃烧的思绪。

吴邪怔怔回望：”怎么了？”

张起灵迅速抓住这个字眼，几不可察地颔首。他转向村长，语气平静却坚定：”我们会负责。”

吴邪觉得自己才是这段婚姻里吃亏的那个……虽然从某种角度来说，倒也没错。

漏雨的屋顶——真正的罪魁祸首——早在清晨就被村民修好，而婚礼仪式则在下午举行。

吴邪不记得自己是怎么回到房间的。此刻他穿着绣金纹的白色锦缎长袍，外层覆着弹性蕾丝，头纱随着动作轻轻摇曳。说实在的，他觉得自己更像要被献祭而不是结婚。

胖子靠在墙边。作为自封的伴郎，他陪着吴邪等待婚礼开始的信号。

“还是联系不上？”

“没信号。”

除了早晨那则惊悚通知，他们还突然失去了所有对外联络。B级猎人联系不上；通讯耳麦全部损坏；连磁雀都消失了。因此他们无从得知副本外的状况，也不清楚倒计时还剩多少。

“看来得靠自己通关了。小意思。”胖子说道。

早在村民催促新郎新娘各自准备前，张起灵就推测外界时间可能已然静止，导致副本内时间重新流动。他将计时器展示给吴邪和胖子看，三人瞬间达成共识——这必定是意外触发的重要剧情，尤其胖子早就猜到了。他想起昨晚的对话突然爆笑，吴邪黑着脸警告他以后说话注意点。所以要想推进副本进度，他们只能硬着头皮走下去。

“谁想得到这副本走的是恋爱剧情？”胖子率先吐槽。

吴邪做梦都没想到，通关副本还需要结婚。

“准备就绪！”某个村民高声宣布，兴奋得几乎手舞足蹈。

吴邪在村民和伴郎的护送下来到礼堂。途中右肩被轻轻一点，伴着戏谑的低语：”瞧，你老公在那儿呢。”

吴邪懒得搭理，目光却直直望向张起灵。

张起灵早已等在礼堂。同样的白袍却少了外层薄纱，他静立中央。作为新娘的吴邪稍晚才到来，与他并肩而立。

当胖子和送亲队伍将吴邪交到新郎手中时，胖子高声说：”胖爷我祝二位永结同心！”

吴邪不确定这是真心祝福还是胖子的恶作剧。

“天真，要是屁股疼可别来找我哭诉。”接着他凑近仿佛分享秘密，”你知道诀窍的对吧？求求他就没事。”

”......“他现在确定绝对是后者。

尽管同意完成婚礼，现实仍如冷水浇头，让吴邪在整个仪式中都恍恍惚惚。

他们以猎人身份签下婚书，交拜成礼。仪式最后本该由村长献祝词圆满收场。

村长站在新人面前的小台子上准备致辞。刚要开口，黑雾骤然笼罩其身，邪气肉眼可见地漫出。

“现在，盛宴开始！！”

村长瞬间化作怪物。他咆哮着张大嘴巴，如同被饥饿支配般猛扑过来。

吴邪正因突然响起的系统提示分神，错过了躲避时机。獠牙即将撕裂他之际，有人揽住他的腰际将他带离险境。

“小哥！”吴邪惊魂未定，但很快意识到发生了什么。

披风在风中翻飞，却不再纯白，仿佛染上了绯色。张起灵迅速将吴邪带到巨柱后，掀开头纱，利落地扯开两人的礼袍。

两人同时愣住。

掺杂着些许艳红的雪白雪花意外落在他们身上。当寄生虫离开宿主后，它们化作红白相间的血雪，被风吹散。

张起灵立即意识到：礼袍是寄生虫，通过法力吸食血液。由于他体内麒麟血浓度更高，受到的影响远小于吴邪。情急之下他撕开吴邪的礼袍，这才反应过来自己做了什么。

吴邪因突然暴露的上半身肌肤感到一阵寒意。

他撕我衣服是要秀力气吗？

张起灵脱下猎人外套递给他：”它吸食了你过多血液。衣服和伤口粘在一起了。”

注意到张起灵内里还穿着高领衫，吴邪默默套上黑色风衣。两人尺寸相差不大，但穿上后仍有些微妙变化。他感觉略宽松的版型带来了安全感。幸好只是外袍，并非全套礼服。

吴邪转回视线想示意自己已穿好外套，却再度撞进那双深邃眼眸。他有些窘迫——自己刚才居然在胡思乱想。

是不是让他等太久了？

随后他们加入胖子的战局，发现整个村落早已化作魔窟，怪物们显露出原本形态。

胖子挥枪横扫怪物迎接他们：”啧啧，二位总算度完蜜月了？小心点，这些家伙专吃新婚夫妇！”

当吴邪闪身至他身旁时，胖子惊讶地挑眉。他将吴邪从头到脚打量得像观察标本般，立刻认出那件外套：”你俩搞什么？玩情趣呢？”对吴邪使了个眼色。

怪物扑袭而来，他们敏捷闪避。”小哥当心！他们要抢你媳妇！”

“你能不能正经点？”吴邪反击，同时双枪远程火力掩护张起灵。

吴邪配备两种武器：近战常用大白狗腿，支援时则用一对黑色手枪。

与此同时，张起灵直冲向先前袭击吴邪的副本首领——前村长。黑金古刀映出猎物的寒光。

那只首领没有面孔。整个头部就是张血盆大口，参差獠牙如刀丛。全身伤口喷涌着瀑布般的鲜血，黏稠唾液从巨口滴落。早已没有半分人形。

想到自己差点被生吞，吴邪默默给张起灵记上一功。和以往千百次一样，他被他护得毫发无伤。

而现在，该轮到他了。吴邪流畅地将特制子弹压入弹匣，双枪瞄准目标毫不犹豫地扣动扳机。子弹完美命中，怪物正挣扎着想摆脱束缚咒——这是涂有缚咒的特殊子弹，能禁锢行动。

无需言语，张起灵心领神会地抓住决胜时机。黑金古刀斩向要害，怪物在痛吼中消散殆尽。

见首领溃败，其余魔物纷纷逃往山林。

“现在怎么办？首领都打完了还没动静？”胖子疑惑道。

通常猎人成功通关时，系统提示都会立即出现。

“要不要把这也砸了？”他朝村堂扬了扬下巴。

胖子正要扔出三个火球，却被一只横伸的手拦住。

“不必。”

“有线索了小哥？”胖子问道。

仿佛回应他的疑问，地面突然震颤。村堂缓缓变形，化作巨大洞窟。

“洞穴？”胖子和吴邪同时愣住。

“准备。”张起灵率先步入洞中。

然而当胖子跟随而入时，却被无形壁障阻挡在外，独自留在洞口。

胖子摸着透明屏障抱怨：”这什么玩意儿？”懊恼地揉着额头。

“难道是结界？”吴邪尝试触碰，却毫无阻碍地穿了过去。

他们尝试多种方法都无济于事，这屏障仿佛凭空出现。

“这洞窟只许新婚夫妇进？”胖子恼火地皱眉。

吴邪看向正在查阅系统信息的张起灵。仿佛回应他未尽的疑问，张起灵摇了摇头。

“那胖子你在这等着，我们处理完就出来。”吴邪提议。

无可奈何的胖子妥协：”行行行，入你们的洞房吧，胖爷不拦着了。”

吴邪懒得回应调侃。他紧随张起灵身后，右手虚按在大白狗腿刀鞘上，备战状态一触即发。

洞穴十分宽敞，但深处与普通洞窟无异，充斥着泥土气息与粗糙径道。行走许久后，他们终于抵达死路。说是死路也不尽然——其中筑有一座祭坛，铺满红烛且尽数燃亮。中央供奉着精致的小药瓶。

绯色雪花落入瓶中药液，仿佛瞬间融于其中。封印正在逐渐成形。

他们走向祭坛，张起灵忽然开口：”副本分三种类型。”

他环视祭坛每个角落：”生存型、试炼型与仪式型。”

吴邪思索着张起灵的话：这是猎人基础知识。生存型需坚持特定时长通关；试炼型要求击败首领；仪式型则需完成特定仪式。其中试炼型最常见，仪式型最罕见。

吴邪跟随张起灵的动作，当两人在小药瓶前停步时，他恍然大悟。

“意思是需要举行仪式？具体要做什么？”

“仪式已开启。只需完成最终步骤。”张起灵停顿片刻，轻声提醒，”看系统通知。”

吴邪这才想起婚礼结束时出现的系统提示。他似乎也没注意到张起灵如何得知他收到通知——唯有婚姻伴侣能互相查看状态栏。

轻叮声响起，微光掠过吴邪面容。果然有一条通知：

[系统提示] 恭贺新婚！已满足条件。【永恒誓约】进行中。服用指定物品完成契约。]

“婚礼？”

张起灵颔首。

“不是已经完成了吗？”

“只是序章。”

“所以需要喝下那瓶药水完成仪式？”

吴邪伸手欲取药瓶，却被张起灵中途握住手腕。他困惑地歪头，用眼神寻求解释。

张起灵静立不语，脑海却浮现昨夜梦境。

那座刻着人名的墓碑，曾是他与这世界唯一的联系。

他曾经活在当下，珍惜每一天，感激在这不公的生命长度里能与他相伴的奢侈。他学会享受生活，从他身上，与他一起。然而他无法否认人事终有尽时，有些时刻注定被遗忘。离别总是痛苦，因为有些事物无可替代。他表面的平静看似无波，内里却已破碎——因为他同样无法、也不愿忘记长眠地底的那个人，拒绝用张家族方式斩断执念继续前行。

他绝不妥协。

未曾察觉间，一缕承载无尽执念的游魂浮现眼前。因不甘而无法超生。他反复道歉，尽管那从来不是他的错。当心意背叛理性，又能责怪谁？这从来都不容易。

“别再这样折磨自己......”

呢喃消散于冬风之中。

张起灵已做决定。他绝不会任其发生——当遗憾成为仅存的永恒。

“吴邪，这不是我们的世界。”

“你...什么意思？”

吴邪猝不及防，震惊不已。此刻他与张起灵面对面仿佛在进行瞪眼比赛。更别提寻求解释——张起灵的下一句话让他更加茫然。

“这是你的梦境。”

06

那天，吴邪一直受睡眠障碍困扰。要么失眠要么噩梦，除非亲眼确认那个人存在，确认一切不是梦境——确认这次不是幻觉，否则那种噬骨的不安就不会消散。吴邪没有说出口，但张起灵不需要告白也了然于心。

八月初，张起灵曾命人从张家祖宅取一件器物。他前些时日忽然想起此物，觉得对改善吴邪睡眠大有裨益，连胖子也表示赞同。

时隔多日，今日该送达雨村。因此清晨一早，张起灵便上山寻找治疗失眠的药材，只为比平日更早归来。

上午吴邪仍在房中酣睡。胖子特意让他多睡会儿，他知道自家好兄弟总是睡不安稳，尤其每年这个时节。正当他在院中忙活日常琐事时，一道不请自来的身影倏然出现。

“哟！好久不见啊。”

“你来干什么？”

张海客走向胖子，将用淡金色布匹包裹的物件怼到他面前。”族长让我们送这个来。”

“啊对，交给我吧。”

胖子正要接过，对方却故意缩回手。

“就你一个人？”

胖子抱臂懒洋洋答道：”你们族长上山了，天真还在睡觉。”

满足好奇心后，张海客才将东西递过来。

见对方仍不离开，胖子补充道：”没事的话你可以走了。”

“这就是你的待客之道？”

“你不是说专程来送东西的？”

张海客嘴角一抽——活像个快递员。”行。反正我还有事。”

随即如来时般匆匆离去。

胖子进屋将布包放在桌上。小心揭开后，里面是一只漆木小盒。是套香具：盒中摆着青铜所铸的精致小香炉，炉身刻满繁复纹样，三足鼎立可承香粉，双耳对称。炉盖雕着精美缠枝莲纹，顶端栖着一尊麒麟小像。

“好手艺！”胖子惊叹不已，暗忖这得值多少钱。

胖子仔细布置香炉。依小哥上山前的嘱咐选了檀香。刚安置妥当，吴邪便从房里出来。

“搞什么名堂？”

“给。睡觉时点这个。”

他将麒麟小香炉递给吴邪。

吴邪端详片刻问道：”小哥呢？”

“上山了。先去吃点东西，准备了枣蓉鸡汤蒸蛋。”

吴邪低低应声，眼下乌青愈发明显。

见小哥仍未归来，吴邪心不在焉地打量房中香炉。从精绝工艺与顶部的麒麟小像可知必是张家之物。他了然一笑，揭盖燃香。

不多时便沉入梦乡。

“吴邪在哪？”

“嗯？睡着呢？”

胖子惊讶地看着突然出现在门廊的张起灵。他原本正窝在客厅打游戏，电视还开着，播放关于乡村婚俗的纪录片，讲述那些早已被遗忘的传统。

张起灵大步走向卧室。推开门时，宁神的檀香盈满空间。他的目光落在床上安睡的身影与床头柜的小香炉上。

还是迟了。

察觉有异的胖子跟过来问：”怎么了小哥？”

“别进来。”张起灵缓缓关门。

“天真出事了？”

“香错了。”

素来淡漠的脸上浮现深重蹙痕，这次他无暇掩饰。以罕有的机械般精准拨通电话。

一段时间后，造成失误的责任人终于赶到雨村。在胖子看来，这几人简直可怜透顶。三人刚露脸就跪在院中向族长请罪。

“属下失职，请族长责罚。”

“别演了。我看你们压根没觉得愧疚。”胖子闲闲掏耳朵。

张海客无视胖子的吐槽，毕恭毕敬俯身叩首。另两人紧随其后——当沉重氛围与族长冷脸上散发的压迫感交织时，谁敢不跪？

这组合简直骇人。

张海客抬头争辩：”我只负责送达。是从祖宅取货的人搞错了。”他指向身旁同伴，毫无战友爱。

“胡说。我让千军去取的。”张海盐立即以同样方式甩锅给张千军万马。

“东西有问题？”张千军万分疑惑地问。

众人齐刷刷看向他。

他们接到族长联络就火速赶来，根本没人告知原委。张千军翻遍所有香炉，偏偏都用同款布料包裹。

张海盐向张千军解释：”要送给族长的是麒麟香炉，炉内香粉掺了特殊配料与麒麟血，有极强安神效果，但会引发强烈梦境——没有麒麟血或麒麟血不够浓厚者难以苏醒，唯有在梦中达成心愿才能解脱。一旦心神放松自会醒来。甚至有记载称有人醒后美梦成真，不过极其罕见。”

他声线一沉：”但若在香燃尽前未能醒来，魂魄将永困梦中。”

“你仨好好忏悔吧。”胖子宛如张起灵发言人。

“拿来。”无视请罪声，张起灵冰冷的嗓音索要电话中要求的物品。

“是。在这里。”

张海客递上细绸包裹的小物件。张起灵展开确认，正是另一只相同纹样的香炉。

“小哥，这是......”

他颔首默认胖子已猜到自己要做什么，随即转身回屋。

“用这个能唤醒他？”胖子摩挲下巴。

“本是成对器物。若有人意外困于梦中，需另一人用配对香炉引魂归位。”张海客说明。

张海盐恍然击掌：”对，还有这法子。”

“具体怎么做？”胖子追问。

“这对香炉能让使用者通过肢体接触联通梦境。”

张起灵点燃香粉，将香炉置于另一只旁。随后躺到吴邪身侧握住他的手。因麒麟血之故，香效发作稍缓。

“这是你的梦境。”张起灵陈述事实。

我刚才听到了什么？！

对吴邪而言，张起灵绝非会开这种玩笑之人。静默良久，他终是叹息着接受现实。

“那该怎么办？我需要醒来对吧？”

张起灵随手取过祭坛上的小瓶拢在掌心。”这药液是你心愿的具象。我们的血已融于其中。”

他抚过瓶身——似鼻烟壶而稍大，顶配玉质壶盖。

吴邪凝视那修长手指流连于缠枝莲纹。

“此香旨在成全心愿。一旦达成，自会苏醒。”

灵光乍现，吴邪终于明白小哥此前追问的缘由。他那日确曾思及所愿，然后等等——

若那药液不止是完成婚礼的步骤，而是我内心愿望的映照...难道说...我真正的愿望一直是与他成婚？

”......”

吴邪僵在原地无言以对。

他想否认，但至此已毫无意义。绯色慢慢爬满脸颊，思绪乱成一团。

该死！这算什么奇葩愿望！

“不，不止如此。”

张起灵仿佛能读心，早看透他所思所想。

世人常许下非本心的愿望而后悔。此梦能照见最深层的渴望，连做梦者自身都未察觉的渴望。张起灵确信，吴邪某刻曾意识到这点，却任其被时光掩埋，只余一丝不甘。

吴邪咀嚼张起灵的话语。若婚礼只是开端，并非他真正的愿望，那所求必然远超一场婚姻。

那么，或许他渴望的是......

他惊出冷汗。那绝非普通愿望，而是【永恒誓约】。

张起灵早已洞悉他的心愿。

“既然你知道，会实现它吗？”

吴邪忍不住问。他定是疯了，但他必须知道。不能仅靠猜测，毕竟他们已走得太远，无法回头。

张起灵想起张家三人抵达雨村前与胖子的对话。不知胖子为何突然提及此事，但那番话已烙刻心间。

“天真心事太重，担心我们，担心你...他试着像你一样活在当下，就算勉强做到，忧虑总会复涌，就像今天。”他停顿片刻，”至少，别留遗憾。若有机会让你和天真得到应得的——你们真正想要的，我信你会抓住。”胖子轻拍他肩膀，”给他选择自己命运的机会。”

张起灵见证过无数相遇别离。他已习惯到不得不麻木。有时长生非恩赐而是诅咒。唯有祈望时间静止，才能随心沉醉每寸光阴——但若没有他，一切毫无意义。

即便如此，若有可能，张起灵不愿吴邪经历相同苦楚，因为相守需要另一重牺牲。从来都不容易，但此刻他站在这里，仿佛自己就是他宇宙的中心。

多么勇敢——多么纯粹真挚的情意。

吴邪发誓看见那薄唇掠过一丝苦笑，但眨眼便消失无踪。

“你会很辛苦。”

“我知道。”

“别后悔。”

“我知道。”

无论彼时此刻，答案始终如一。

“就像多年前说过的那样，”

“如果你需要一个人陪你走到最后，我不会拒绝。我想和你一起。”

吴邪目光灼灼望向他：”我想陪你走到最后。我是认真的。”

吴邪希望眼前人能沐浴生之欢欣，无论多傻多平凡——用他应得的幸福将心填满，并肩同行确认真实。他此生亏欠太多人，但这份心愿既已被张起灵发现，便再无法隐藏。

“这次，不会放你走了。”

静默片刻，吴邪颔首：”我知道。”

“那么，你是我的了。”

“我——”

吴邪心口一紧，蓦然醒悟。心脏悸动得几乎迸出胸腔。

下一秒，张起灵启开小瓶饮尽药液，俯身以口相渡。

吴邪彻底僵住。大脑仿佛停止运转。猝不及防间，温湿热流已涌入喉间，他乖顺地吞咽。待所有液体滑入咽喉，两人仍共享着温热湿吻。舌在吴邪口中缠绵交缠。羞人的水声回荡洞窟，吴邪却无暇顾及。从未想过与张起灵的初吻会如此汹涌澎湃。是因为他们都未经人事吗？

晕眩感袭来，吴邪觉得自己随时会昏厥。

叮声在面前响起。

[恭喜！服下【合卺酒】。【永恒誓约】已完成。]

这名字真是......吴邪暗自吐槽。

渐渐地，世界从视野中消融。

07 终章

当他睁开双眼，首先映入眼帘的是再熟悉不过的天花板。太阳穴隐隐作痛，仿佛刚从漫长而真切的梦境中苏醒，可很快又感到通体舒畅，恍若新生，似乎有某种力量在血脉中流动，赋予他脱胎换骨般的轻盈感。

“总算醒啦，我们的睡美人。”

“发生什么了？”吴邪撑着身子坐起，向床畔板凳上的胖子问道。这时一只有力的手从旁扶稳他，转头便对上了张起灵的目光。

刹那间，所有记忆奔涌而归。

“都进来吧！”

吴邪正疑惑胖子在唤谁，房门应声而开，张家族人鱼贯而入。

“他们来做什么？”吴邪毫不掩饰不悦之情。

“还能干嘛？这群惹祸精欠你个交代啊。”

“啊对...那些香。”

吴邪猛然想起梦中张起灵告知的真相。

“等等，我怎么会——”

张海盐刚开口便噤声，吴邪身后投来的冰冷视线让他脊背发凉。

“是、是我们的过失。给您添了这么大麻烦，实在抱歉。”

众人齐刷刷躬身致歉。

吴邪心满意足地勾起嘴角，暗忖这百年难遇的场面真该拍下来发朋友圈。

“天真你手腕上是什么？”

顺着胖子所指的方向，吴邪垂眸看向左腕内侧。十七道伤疤之上，赫然绽放着一朵精致的莲形印记。

“什么时候去纹身了？”

“我不知道......”

吴邪凝神端详腕间图腾，试图破解其中玄机。偶然瞥见印记的张海客失声惊呼：”不可能！吴邪你居然和族长......！”

“这不是魂印吗？”张千军万马得意洋洋地抢答，似乎终于扬眉吐气。

“族长...这是真的吗？”张海盐试图求证，虽早已心知肚明。

胖子凑近端详那枚莲纹，蹙眉道：”魂印？你们张家还有这讲究？”

张海客抱臂得意一笑：”自然。所以麒麟香炉从来成对出现。古时这类香炉用于缔结终身伴侣的仪式——魂契。因族内通婚盛行，很难找到血脉不冲突又不会给后代带来厄运的合适伴侣。拥有麒麟血之人会以此法标记选定的伴侣，称为魂印。但由于条件过于严苛，先祖最终废止此法，久而久之便成了传说。”

“我也听说过。”张海盐点头附和，”需要双方麒麟血相容且灵魂契合。听起来简单，实则难遇。”

吴隐隐约明白，自己与张起灵阴差阳错完成了某种禁术，如今灵魂相系，共享寿数。若一人逝去，另一人也会随之殒命？

果然如此——虽然”禁术”之说并不准确。

吴邪望着张起灵起身。他确信无论出于何种缘由，张起灵曾反对此举——但最终他们还是成了，不仅因为吴邪的愿望，也源于张起灵的私心。吴邪明白，这是两人相互妥协的证明。

“那就恭喜三位了！难得见证主母册立大典！”

三位张家人顿时面色惨白，偷瞄吴邪反应。先前不过心照不宣的默契，如今名分落定，倒叫人无所适从。

张起灵冷声开口：”你们该回去了。”

胖子拍大腿附和：”对对对，赶紧都回去吧！”他起身朝两人眨眨眼，一副全力护驾的架势。吴邪莫名觉得这场景似曾相识。

待胖子领着张家三人离去，一只手伸到吴邪面前。不必抬头也知道是谁，他毫不犹豫地握住，随即被带下床榻。

张起灵的右手与他相扣，左手却揽上他的腰际。吴邪正为这突兀的姿势困惑，很快便无暇思索——那人正垂首细看他腕间莲印，指尖抚过处泛起流光。当温软唇瓣依次吻过魂印与十七道伤疤时，吴邪惊得指尖轻颤。

他怔怔看着莲纹在张起灵的触碰下渐次蔓延，如栩栩如生的藤蔓缠绕疤痕。忽然福至心灵：若张起灵的纹身因体温升高显现，他的印记亦然——一切皆因张起灵存在的温暖。

待吴邪从恍惚中回神，发现张起灵的脸庞已贴近他颈侧，唇瓣轻擦旧伤，原本交握的手不知何时移至他耳后，正温柔抚弄发丝。他们额首相抵，唇边漾开缱绻笑意，无需言语，心跳早已同频共振。

当双唇再度相触，迟来的回应让吴邪浑身轻颤。这个吻异常轻柔，如同被羽毛拂过。

他从未渴求长生不死——他...不，他们只是渴望彼此相伴的时光，能再漫长一些。

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