The light burning Yuan Xia’s eyes soon transformed into a white, five-storied pagoda. Each yer looked more vish than the st, and under the sunlight, the entire structure shimmered with a thin golden halo. Yuan Xia could barely see the sky behind its looming peak.

  He stepped backwards and almost tripped.

  Gncing down, Yuan Xia could make out what looked like a small tree branch. Intertwined, the branches underneath his feed spread like a maze, weaving in and out of each other. Little clusters of clouds formed at the tips, like patches of flowers.

  Yuan Xia’s eyes shifted to the outskirts of the tree. If he walked to the edge….

  The abyss below froze him in pce.

  If anyone fell, wouldn’t they be done for?!

  As Yuan Xia stood rooted, a young man with blonde hair and multi-coloured eyes came up behind him.

  “Oh? A child?” The man had a haughty face and voice, seemingly pampered since youth. “And you look like him too. The Demon Lord Yuan Xia, am I right?”

  From behind his Dark Clouds, Yuan Xia scrutinized the newcomer. He had a shade of hair near-perfect to Yuan Xia’s, and even his pale skin gave a simir allure. But his eyes, one green and one blue, didn’t match the Demon Lord’s at all.

  Had this man also been summoned here by the Elders?

  “But I look more like Yuan Xia than you ever will. That’s why I was sent up here by the Elders.” The haughty voice continued. “I don’t know how you got in, but just know that Hua ChunMing is mine.”

  An arrow of pity stabbed through Yuan Xia. This man shouldn’t have come. Having been branded the title of ‘Demon Lord -lookalike’ felt more akin to public humiliation than anything else. Gesturing with his hands, Yuan Xia tried to send the man away.

  Not understanding this gesture, the man scoffed instead. “Are you trying to insult me, boy? I can pretend to be mute too.”

  He took a deep breath and stanced, making a series of obnoxious gestures that Yuan Xia couldn’t make out in the slightest. Deadpanning, Yuan Xia tried again, this time waving towards the opposite end of the pagoda.

  Yet the young man ignored Yuan Xia’s warning and spped his hand away.

  “Stop trying to fool me. We’re in the same boat.” He gred, tossing his hair over his shoulder. “You’re here for the money too, aren’t you?”

  Now Yuan Xia felt vexed. What money? He stomped his foot in retaliation, regretting it as he once again tripped over a stray branch. The tumble took him straight to the edge of the tree, where the deep drop down beckoned towards him with the promise of death.

  A second or two of silence fell, before the lookalike began to ugh in schadenfreude. He kicked Yuan Xia’s side, just enough to keep him teetering, then strutted off towards the pagoda.

  “You deserve this. Stay away from Hua ChunMing and his money; they’re both mine!”

  Yuan Xia had no strength left to argue. He could only y low, wondering how such a narrow-minded person could even enter Heaven’s Law Sect.

  After a while, Yuan Xia forced himself back onto his feet. The young man had long disappeared into Hua ChunMing’s abode. Not wanting the overconfident youth to get into trouble, Yuan Xia followed after—struggling a bit to open the heavy iron doors.

  Shining metalwork in big fonts greeted him, spelling out the words ‘Pagoda of Ordinance’. Daunted, Yuan Xia quickly made his way through the first floor, reaching out to touch the museum-quality relics and delicate statues. The ground, made of pure gold, shimmered and reflected his blurry features.

  The more floors Yuan Xia climbed, the less trinkets he could feel, and the more depressive the atmosphere became. The second floor at least carried accommodations, but as he reached the third and fourth, he could only find a few items scattered about. These floors were practically storage units.

  When he reached the top floor, a single, opaque folding screen greeted him.

  Before Yuan Xia could pull it aside, he heard the jingle of a small bell. Someone unsheathed a sword, and a coquettish and haughty voice followed.

  “Hua ChunMing! Take a closer look, it’s really me!” The familiar voice took a step back, chuckling with nervous ughter when he realized the sword-bearer wouldn’t put his weapon down. “You’re drunk out of your mind. Come on now, put that scary-looking sword away—”

  “Your first mistake was letting even a single word out of your mouth.” A deep voice shook, choked with tears.

  “But I am Yuan Xia!” The lookalike stood his ground, unrelenting. “See, I even have that cursed citrine earring—”

  A series of thuds echoed throughout the pagoda.

  The ground’s vibrations gradually came to a halt, and a warm, wet liquid that was too hard to make out in the dark soaked through Yuan Xia’s cloth shoes.

  Gripping the handle of the folding screen until his knuckles turned white, Yuan Xia squeezed his eyes shut.

  He recalled a simir situation decades ago, in his first life, back when he first met Hua ChunMing.

  —

  After Yuan Xia was taken by the demons, he was locked away in darkness. The Demon Queen had told him that he’d be safe, and that this space could be used to ‘hone’ his senses… yet she did not allow him to take even a step out of her castle. He could only hear stories from the servants around, about how the world changed, how the Demonic Faction grew stronger by the day under the Queen’s rule.

  The eternal darkness felt oppressive at first. But he got used to it

  So when the Demon Queen came down herself to escort Yuan Xia out, he felt surprised for the first time in decades.

  She told him he had a mission, one that only he could fulfill. Yuan Xia didn’t have time to ask about the mission’s contents—with a snap of the Demon Queen’s fingers, he found himself at an inn, with just his sunbrel to defend himself.

  That was when Yuan Xia received his citrine earring. Seeing for the first time, the world appeared so colourful that Yuan Xia stood stunned.

  A woman’s voice brought him to his senses, and he noticed two figures beyond an opaque folding screen. The woman’s speech had a flirtatious quality, its intonations swaying as if persuading the man across from her.

  But as the conversation continued, the woman’s tone grew more and more panicked. The man sat still, ignoring her advances. In the end, she couldn’t get her final word out before the gre of an annoyed sword cut through the darkness.

  Yuan Xia gasped. Almost immediately, he csped both of his hands to his mouth. How could he have forgotten—this wasn’t a show, he’d just witnessed murder…!

  The shadow of that murdering sword came flying in Yuan Xia’s direction. Hastily, he sidestepped to dodge.

  “Reveal yourself.” A deep voice, followed by the man’s heavy footsteps. He reached out, threatening to pry open the folding screen to behead the intruder behind it.

  Yuan Xia wondered if the Demon Queen predicted this would happen. Sending him behind a thin folding screen… wasn’t this just begging for his death??

  But Yuan Xia couldn’t finish his thought—the man’s long fingers had already wrapped around the edge of the narrow panel.

  “Calm down. I mean no harm.” Yuan Xia whispered, his voice airy as he tapped his sunbrel against the ground.

  A silent showdown ensued from both sides of the screen. The man on the other side pulled his sword out of the wall, and Yuan Xia lifted his sunbrel in response. The atmosphere grew suffocating, yet for the next shichen and a half, neither let their guard down.

  Surprisingly, Hua ChunMing gave in first. He lowered his sword, pacing backwards.

  “Is that….” He hesitated, the shadow of his head directed at Yuan Xia’s silhouette. “An umbrel?”

  “What if it’s a sword?” Yuan Xia muttered back, his posture steady.

  “I don’t attack the unarmed.” Hua ChunMing fell onto the bed behind him, and a small bell chimed with his movements. “Rest assured.”

  Accepting that Hua ChunMing had seen through his lie, Yuan Xia twisted the sunbrel to rest against his arm like a cane. “Well, it’s actually a sun-brel. And it’s most certainly not very useful in a fight.”

  “... I see.”

  The atmosphere lifted as they both sighed in relief.

  “Who are you?” Hua ChunMing asked, patient.

  “I am the Demon Lord.” Yuan Xia responded btantly, hiding nothing , a hint of teasing in his tone. “Are you afraid of me?”

  “The Demonic Faction has no Lord, other than their Queen. You cannot fool me.” With a sigh, Hua ChunMing shook his head. A familiar chime made Yuan Xia wonder if that bell he’d heard was somewhere in Hua ChunMing’s hair.

  “Well. I was just appointed.” Retorting, Yuan Xia folded his arms. “You’ll know of me soon enough.”

  A pause.

  “You don’t seem like a bad man.” Hua ChunMing began cleaning his sword. “Or like a demon, for that matter.”

  “You haven’t even seen me yet.” Yuan Xia leaned against the wall. “How would you feel if I told you that not all demons are bad?”

  Satisfied with this answer, Hua ChunMing fell quiet.

  Yuan Xia still didn’t know what the Demon Queen wanted him to do. But he appreciated Hua ChunMing’s open-mindedness, and for a second, he thought that he wouldn't mind conversing with this stranger more.

  Not once did either the Righteous Leader or the Demon Lord try to pry open the folding screen.

  “I’ll tell you a secret.” Yuan Xia closed his eyes, thinking of ways to break the silence.

  “Hm?”

  “It’s my birthday today.”

  Hua ChunMing rose from his bed, surprised. Now that Yuan Xia wasn’t panicking, he found himself measuring the height difference between himself and his new acquaintance. The tter stood shorter by just an inch or two, which amused Yuan Xia. His eyes curved with a smile.

  “You seek praise like a child.” Realizing that his reaction was odd, Hua ChunMing sat down again. “I’ll… ahem, indulge you then. How old are you?”

  “113.”

  Hua ChunMing gasped.

  Then, a stifled ugh came from behind the screen. “That’s rare… we aren’t too far off. I’m younger by three years.”

  “Rare indeed.” Yuan Xia pretended to gasp as well. “Then does that mean you’re 110? My, what a baby.”

  “I can’t believe you’re older than me. You act like a child.” Hua ChunMing fired a response of his own. “So how long do you pn to stay here, Demon Lord? Not going home to celebrate?”

  “Celebrate….” Yuan Xia dropped his head.

  With nothing left to counter with, awkward silence filled the air again. Yuan Xia heard shuffling from behind the screen.

  Realizing the time, Yuan Xia reached for the door behind him. “I think it’s about time for me to take my leave.”

  No one would celebrate his birthday once he returned to the darkness. No one had, for the past 100 years.

  But meeting this new friend was enough.

  “Wait—”

  Hearing shuffling behind the screen, Yuan Xia recalled his foot from the doorway and turned with an arched brow.

  “Your name?” Hua ChunMing reached out towards the folding screen.

  Yuan Xia pced his hand on the wooden frame, keeping the screen shut. “Please call me Yuan Xia.”

  The screen remained open as Yuan Xia’s new acquaintance acknowledged Yuan Xia’s wish for anonymity. “Then call me Hua ChunMing.”

  Hua ChunMing—the new Righteous Leader of the Orthodox Factions? Yuan Xia’s jaw fell. Did he just miss the opportunity to finish the Demon Queen’s one powerful opponent off?

  So that’s why he was sent on this ‘mission’.

  But Yuan Xia couldn’t bear to turn against his new friend. No one had spoken so fondly to him ever since he became a part of the demonic faction. Even if the Demon Queen punished him, he felt that he could bear anything as long as he knew that Hua ChunMing was still alive.

  “Yuan Xia?” Hua ChunMing called from beyond the opaque folding screen.

  “Ah—” Yuan Xia bnched. He couldn’t make up any more excuses. “I really have to go.”

  “Oh.” Hua ChunMing’s pleasant voice drooped with disappointment. “Then, take care. Will I see you again?”

  To that question, Yuan Xia could only sigh with a smile.

  “Who knows.” With that, he stepped out of the inn room and disappeared back into the darkness.

  He wouldn’t see Hua ChunMing again for the next 10 years.

  —

  The air felt heavy as Yuan Xia snapped out of his trance. The murderous intent from the Righteous Leader behind the folding screen was as clear as day. This was nothing like the tranquil ambience of their first meeting.

  Something fell from a table, clinking as it rolled towards Yuan Xia. He held his breath in trepidation. Noticing that Hua ChunMing wasn’t moving, he slowly bent down to pick the item up.

  A jar of wine. The lingering scent of osmantus. It soothed his chaotic mind.

  Heartbeat settled back in his chest, Yuan Xia picked up the jar and held it close. Heavy footsteps closed in, and a hand reached for the wooden frame of the folding screen.

  “Reveal yourself.” Hua ChunMing’s undeniable voice had completely transformed from something pleasant, becoming tainted with danger, depression, and desperation.

  Yuan Xia trembled. He’d never heard this side of the Righteous Leader before. All of a sudden, he realized just how carefree and oblivious he must have appeared when he first sought Hua ChunMing’s empathy.