note: this chapter has been slightly censored for gore. the uncensored version is on my patreon!
Suddenly, the air changed. The stifling heat and smithing smoke thickened. Qiu Yunru could feel his mind spinning, much like when looking into a memory shard. There was no such thing as a future shard in Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits--but perhaps this blacksmith had a special ability to let a player see the future.
In any case, he was feeling really sick from all the spinning!
The air grew unbearably hot, then suddenly cold, shocking Qiu Yunru's muscles. All sorts of sounds began to echo: screams, the clashes of metal swords, and a quiet weeping.
As the smoke faded, he could see that the ground beneath his feet was uneven and wet. It squished as he stepped, bumpy and shifting. What a strange landscape...
It was only when he picked up his foot to take a look that he realized the ground was covered in corpses.
Indeed, his boot was soaked through with blood. Qiu Yunru whirled around. The vast landscape of plains and hills surrounding him--it was all a sea of bodies!
The sun was setting, turning the sky a bloodred color that glinted off of swords and cultivator's robes scattered about. Even though it was only a vision, there was suddenly an overwhelming stench of rot.
A million bodies, rotting under a setting summer sun...
Qiu Yunru couldn't help it. He bent over and threw up.
I'm sorry, future-shard Senior...He thought weakly to whoever's body he had just thrown up on. I can't help it...Please understand...
Standing and wiping his mouth, Qiu Yunru heard a cold sigh.
That sigh had come from the only person standing amongst the wreckage. Up atop a hill of piled and contorted bodies, there was a tall and slender figure whose clean purple robes blew in the breeze, splattered with black blood.
What familiar robes...weren't those the robes Li Guiren had worn?
The person turned, and Qiu Yunru felt his heart seize.
Even with the shadows cast by the setting sun, those thick eyebrows, that snow-white skin, those phoenix eyes...
This was Li Chenyuan!
Qiu Yunru couldn't help but choke a little upon seeing this face. He'd never seen such a blank expression worn by his shidi. Even if it was visceral rage, extreme irritation, or a lofty coldness, he always expressed some kind of emotion. He had never looked so truly...
Dead!
Qiu Yunru realized then that he had made a mistake by choking out loud. That person's head suddenly turned, snapping to his location. Two glowing eyes peered down at Qiu Yunru, and that person's head tilted ominously.
"Who are you?" His voice was like ice. That, at least, Qiu Yunru was familiar with.
Qiu Yunru felt his chest constrict under that heavy gaze. "I'm your...shixiong...Qiu Yunru..."
"Shixiong?" That person's lip curled with distaste. "I've never had one. What an interesting ploy."
There was a flash.
Qiu Yunru's chest exploded with numbness.
The world tilted.
When he could see properly again, Qiu Yunru saw that he was lying sideways on the ground. His body felt strange: numb and cold, he couldn't feel his legs. Looking down, he nearly passed out on the spot.
He had been sliced directly in two!
When he looked down, the sight was too horrible to describe. His own blood pooled all around him, soaking even his hair as he gasped for air. His heart had begun to pound so loudly in his ears that he couldn't hear anything else.
He clawed in panic at the bodies below him and looked around, realizing that there were tears of terror pouring down his cheeks.
Where had Li Chenyuan gone?
Suddenly, there was an unbearable squelching sound, and a cold pressure exploded in Qiu Yunru's abdominal area.
Li Chenyuan had casually walked up to him and stepped on him, grinding his heel down expressionlessly. It was as if he was merely squishing an ant.
"Hmm," He murmured. "There's something strange about you."
He leaned down with narrowed eyes, tilting his head to examine Qiu Yunru's face.
"Perhaps we do know each other."
Qiu Yunru was too dizzy to speak. He could feel the blood leaving his body, causing his vision to fade at the corners. His ears screamed with a high-pitched ringing.
"Dying already?" Li Chenyuan remarked, unimpressed. "What a shame. If you had managed to survive, I might have liked to talk."
With that, he lifted his boot and crushed Qiu Yunru's skull.
______
Qiu Yunru awoke with a gasp.
His head pounded wildly, and his ears were still ringing. The sunlight was too bright, and his lungs felt heavy and tired. In fact, it was difficult to breath at all. As he tried to breathe in, each breath stopped short of bringing him enough air, and he began to cough violently. Water spilled from his lips.
...Sunlight? Water?
There had certainly been no sunlight or water in the blacksmith's abode. So, was this another vision, or had he been sent back to the mortal realm?
He coughed again, clawing at the ground and feeling sandy dirty beneath his fingers. He could feel the cold wetness of heavy robes clinging to his body, and something hard and cold was pressing into his side.
This must be the mortal realm, then. What robes besides the ceremonial robes could be so heavy and uncomfortable?!
Someone grabbed his torso and began to drag him away from the lake and further onto the shore. There was shouting all around, but to Qiu Yunru's waterlogged ears, it sounded like an old radio warbling unpleasantly.
"Qiu-ge!" A voice shouted. Qiu Yunru's heart pounded in his ears, and he jerked away from that voice instinctively. "...Qiu-ge?"
"To the infirmary, immediately." That was He Yongliang. "Cai-jie, please accompany us."
"Let me come," that voice, Li Chenyuan's, said firmly. A face swam into Qiu Yunru's vision--Li Chenyuan's, looking extremely concerned. Upon seeing him, Qiu Yunru's skin began to crawl, and his abdomen tingled uncomfortably.
Even if it wasn't him, some version of this kid had just cut him in half, crushed his organs, and shattered his skull. How could he not be a little terrified?!
"He can't come," said another voice firmly--Cai Mingzhu.
"Why not?" Li Chenyuan snapped.
Finally, Qiu Yunru was beginning to be able to keep his eyes open in the blinding morning sunlight, and the sounds around him didn't feel so far off. He coughed once weakly.
"I'm awake..."
"Qiu-ge!" Li Chenyuan leaned down over him again, phoenix eyes wide and shining with worry. Once again, they were filled with tears.
Qiu Yunru closed his eyes. He really couldn't look at that face right now without feeling sick...
He Yongliang spoke up with a tone more somber than Qiu Yuru had ever heard him: "Chenyuan, take his sword. Cai-jie, come with us. I will carry him."