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[blindforlove]

@daozhang

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[action] - sometime before the bulletin board on the 5th

[noneforyou]

[ It's not the sort of thing they do every night, but it's not rare either: Xiao Xingchen exploring the halls of the hotel and poking into whatever nooks and crannies he comes across, and Xue Yang tagging along to do his own information gathering and keeping a close watch on just what it is that his sort-of-roommate is finding out about. Just because there hasn't been much that it's been dangerous for Xiao Xingchen to discover hasn't meant it's been nothing, after all.

Tonight hasn't been particularly exciting up to this point, a few traces of ghosts that led nowhere being the most notable occurrences. Xue Yang is just waiting for this most recent trail to go cold too, but as they follow the ghost along, what happens is anything but. Suddenly the entire space seems to shift, the temperature not truly dropping but feeling chilly all the same. Xue Yang feels a familiar pricking sensation that's not all that unlike a couple of his workshops back where they came from. Places heavy with spirits and the feeling of lingering. ]

Daozhang, do you--

[ sense that, are the words that he loses as he suddenly spots an odd shimmer ahead. Instead what comes out of his mouth isn't the end of the question, but a much more certain, ]

There's something ahead of us.

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen keeps the pace in his stride as he walks, but he tenses. His brow furrows, words nearly silent for only his companion to hear.]

What does it look like?

[He strains to listen. So far, the most unusual matter about this area happens to be how quiet it is compared to the rest of the resort so far, with him only hearing a few clinks and clattering sounds. Unlike the strange area beyond a mirror he once found himself inside, this place still has the comfortable temperature around most of the place.

Though he has no reason to assume this new find is dangerous yet, he keeps up his guard for the both of them.]

[noneforyou]

Lights.

[ The answer is immediate, clarification less so: even with a cultivator's sight it's a bit hard to make out until they get a little closer. Xue Yang continues to focus on making out the different shapes, letting Xiao Xingchen be the one on guard for any sudden attacks. ]

Lanterns. Lots of lanterns. People, too, I think. Not sure if they're alive. [ It's hard to tell if they're breathing from this far away. ] Most of them are in sitting positions but not really moving. There's a whole space here.

[blindforlove]

[Naturally, Xiao Xingchen can dispel threats without his sword. His hand still curls around where the hilt should be. He isn't sure if playing the game will make the hosts of this resort return it to him, just as he's unsure about anything regarding this supposed game, but he can't wait for even his own self to settle his feelings about what to do there.

He needs to confront matters like these. Out of the concern of the safety of others, as well as a sense of normality in his own life.

Without speaking further, he continues ahead. If they're still only sitting people, he has no reason to ready himself for combat yet, only listening close in case they eventually react violently. He relaxes slightly, but still stays on guard.]

Lanterns... yet it's rather quiet for a celebration.

[The image conjured in his mind is that of people observing a festival. In this place, it wouldn't be unusual for others to notice the ghosts doing so. A wistful memory of a lantern festival - the only lantern festival he had ever seen - softens his expression for a moment.]

[noneforyou]

[ Xue Yang is too preoccupied with studying the space to be paying attention to see that change in expression, much as he would have loved having a new sore spot to "innocently" prod. Instead his brow furrows. ]

Yeah. It sure looks like one though. The people sitting are running stalls--sort of. They've got blankets with stuff spread out on them. I can't see any food but it looks like they're selling objects. Hey.

[ Xue Yang calls out to one of the nearby peddlers, someone with skin so aged and sunken that it's hard to tell if they're man, woman, or otherwise. They slowly lift their gaze to meet Xue Yang's, expression mostly exhausted and a bit hollow, but their eyes seem human enough. ]

What's up with all the decorations?

[ The person is silent, and after a few seconds, lowers their gaze back to continue vacantly staring at their wares. Xue Yang scowls and makes a soft tch under his breath. ]

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen only hears his companion's displeased response, and comes to the conclusion that the other party must have signaled no desire to answer. Lightly clearing his throat, he decides to ask as well, just to be sure.]

Pardon me, but what is the nature of this business?

[He receives as much of a response his friend did, the question hanging awkwardly. Though he can only guess the reason for their reticence, he turns his attention back to his friend for more answers, his expression a bit confused and embarrassed.]

I have my doubts about a business stall that doesn't advertise their wares... but what sort of objects do they appear to be selling?

[Knowing that the objects are laid out on blankets, he keeps his steps small and deliberate.]

[noneforyou]

Junk. A lot of it looks like it's jewelry but it's all broken and dirty.

[ He reaches down and grabs what looks like a quarter or perhaps a third of a thick bracelet. ]

Shit like this can't even be worn or put anywhere. What's anyone gonna do with this? Melt it?

[ "It binds to the ankle," the shopkeeper suddenly speaks up. Their voice is as old-seeming as their face, raspy, perhaps a touch feminine. "On the left will give you a taste of what you've long dreamed. On the right will give you a whiff of what you've recently desired. A day and a half's time."

Xue Yang stares for a couple seconds before muttering without fully meaning to, ]

The hell does that mean...?

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen waits for the vendor to respond, but the voice falls silent. Ever since he could remember, Baoshan Sanren would also speak in soft-spoken and cryptic tones; he would often explain further for all of his shimei and shidi when needed. Humming in thought for a moment, he answers.]

Perhaps... if you wear it on your ankle, you'll smell or taste what you enjoy.

[The two of them have encountered stranger objects here before.

He crouches down, reaching around for anything that feels particularly interesting.]

[noneforyou]

Huh? That's stupid.

[ If he'd been here for less time he'd also call it bullshit, but at this point he really wouldn't be surprised if it actually did that. He turns it over in his hands a few times idly, watching carefully as Xiao Xingchen's fingers brush over the different items.

"For those who seek not to be weighed down, a moment may their feet leave the ground," the shopkeeper murmurs raspily as Xiao Xingchen's touch traces what seems to be a broken pin or some other sort of hair accessory. The next thing seems to be some sort of gemstone set into a dull fixture, even the stone itself looking like its lost all sparkle. "Chilled to the core that one is, never to warm, no matter how flames and fire lick." ]

[blindforlove]

Oh? I'd have thought you'd love to have the taste of sweets on your tongue for a day.

[Xiao Xingchen picks up the items, the pin in his left hand and the stone in his right.

Rolling over the stone in his hand, he supposes he'll take the shopkeeper's word for it that it won't warm, given how bitingly cold it feels right now. He searches for the fixture for a moment before he sets it back where he found it. If he had any less self-restraint, he'd rub his hand against his leg to heat the skin back up.]

I suppose someone else can find a use for this stone.

[But not him, so he turns his attention to the pin.

He twirls it between his fingers, trying to find what's so unusual about it. However, he certainly notices the very moment that his feet lift off of the floor in front of the wares--he just can't tell if he's ten feet above the ground or just above it! By the time he tries to reach for the floor, his fingers just miss it as he starts to rise higher.]

Ah...!

[His robes and hair billow as if underwater, also unconstrained by gravity as he reaches for anything to hold onto.]

[noneforyou]

[ At the response to his muttering, Xue Yang's expression screws up into a slight scowl. Something about Xiao Xingchen's statement is wrong, but he's having a hard time figuring out what it is, much less how he'd try to explain it, so instead the remark is met with silence.

When Xiao Xingchen starts to panic, Xue Yang can't help it: he lets out a burst of laughter. He definitely didn't expect to get the chance to see Xiao Xingchen flailing about tonight.

From how his voice still comes from above Xiao Xingchen's crouching form, it's easy to guess that Xiao Xingchen hasn't floated very high. Still, Xue Yang shifts slightly, positioning his right side a bit more prominently towards him. If the man flails enough that he tries to grab onto Xue Yang, he wants to make sure his left hand is far out of reach. ]

Guess that one works, huh? You really aren't weighed down at all.

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen hears the man's laughter... from over him, and immediately feels both relief and embarrassment. At least it was only his friend here to see him lose his composure this way (though he will ignore all of the other embarrassing situations he's ended up in).]

Oh.

[Reaching towards the other man, his hand closes above his friend's right elbow. He can judge from the feeling of it where he's oriented and he straightens himself up just in time for gravity to set back in. His feet land lightly and without sound, hair and clothing falling back into place.

He gives his friend a small smile.]

I suppose it does. Though I am... not too suited for flying anymore. Especially now, when we're indoors practically all of the time.

[As much as he'd tell himself to not dwell on the past, the loss of flying has less reason to trouble him these days anyway. His smile becomes a bit sad, but he merely crouches down and feels around for where he found the pin. As he does, he brushes against something that must be like a miniature face, made of the smoothest stone. Curious, his fingers explore more of it and he finds himself brushing through what feels like realistic hair. It does feel disconnected from a body, however...]

[noneforyou]

The garden and vale are probably not too bad to fly in. Too bad about our swords, though.

[ And Xiao Xingchen would certainly continue to not fly even if he had his back, or a replacement.

"For that which crowns, long shall it be."

Xue Yang isn't even paying attention to the words anymore as he turns over the item he's still holding in his hands, then almost shoves it in the peddler's face. ]

So how much are you asking for this junk?

[ "..." They're quiet for several seconds. "A day and a half's time. Or fifty chips." ]

at the funhouse

[blindforlove]

[After waking and coming to his senses - a simple matter that this point, with how used he is to such happenings - Xiao Xingchen ventured deeper into the funhouse. Naturally, he hoped to find as many others to escort out of this strange place. It was all too disorienting to be any fun, and he was grateful to at least have a choice between blocking it all out or switching to his enchanted blindfold to see any other hints that he might need to find.

He steps past a threshold into a hall, the scent of decaying wood within bringing forth memories of the past. He doesn't linger on it long as he finds another figure here and swiftly steps towards them.]

Are you all right?

[noneforyou]

[ Xue Yang is here on his own. And this space is so expansive that there's no way he'd just coincidentally bump into Xiao Xingchen, so there was no need for him to be in disguise at the moment. Or at least, that was his thought.

During his wandering through the funhouse, one of the portraits had caught his attention. It seemed familiar yet not, somehow, and though he instantly guessed it was the hotel being strange again that didn't stop him from taking a few steps closer.

But then a voice calls out to him and snaps him back to the present, startling him and immediately freezing him in place afterwards. Xiao Xingchen is here?... Can he see? Can he not?

There's only one safe option for Xue Yang here. Without responding he slips a candy in his mouth and immediately swallows, then walks down the hall and away from Xiao Xingchen. He needs to buy himself just a bit of time as he tries to set his disguise in place before the man manages to get a look at him. ]

[blindforlove]

W-Wait--

[Xiao Xingchen hesitates at first as he sees the figure move in the direction away from him as he calls out. Is it an apparition of the hotel? Or someone who can't hear him?

He starts to walk closer, trying to makes sense as he approaches, but he doesn't want to rush over and startle them. Though as he gets closer, he notices one of the paintings on the walls. The surprise is great enough that he turns away from the figure for a moment to look at the painting more closely.

It's of a young woman in the kind of clothing that he can recognize. Her eyes appear clouded and white, and she carries a bamboo stick in her hands.

Though he had never seen her before, he can't help but wonder as he looks closer...]

[noneforyou]

[ Xue Yang does not wait.

Pretending not to hear he continues forwards, making his way further into the building along the strange hallway. By now he's become used to arranging his face without a reflection to look at, so the process goes smoothly. By the time he's pulling out a fake pinky from the stub on his left hand, Xiao Xingchen's footsteps behind him have already--

--stopped?

Why did he stop?

Xue Yang turns around in surprise and catches sight of what Xiao Xingchen, then what he's looking at. Before he thinks to stop himself he blurts out, ]

Little Blind?

[ Why is a picture of her here? Did she get brought here too? ]

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen's gaze is pulled over towards the figure, now revealed to be his friend without a name. He briefly wonders why he didn't react to Xiao Xingchen's presence at first, but he can suppose that he was still confused with where he is, given the state of this place. He's too surprised by the other sight before him to give it much thought for the time being.]

You're here, too...

[His voice sounds absent as he turns to look back at the painting, expression soft and wistful.

Life has turned out to be more strange than he could have ever expected. Actually having the chance to see his friend once felt outside the realm of possibility, but A-Qing as well? He had thought he no longer needed to think of the old coffin house as his home anymore, resigned to believing that A-Qing would surely get along fine without him, as long as she made sure to not do anything too bold. Now seeing her, he feels a pang in his heart. The matters of his heart have only become even more complicated in this place.

At least back then, he could pretend he had put the past behind him as he preoccupied himself with that uneventful life.]

So this really is her.

cw: reference to canon death

[noneforyou]

[ Outside of Xiao Xingchen's focus, Xue Yang's eyes narrow. Still, he evens his tone a bit as he walks over. ]

Yeah. Small, ugly, has those eyes that can't see anything.

[ There's annoyance in his voice, though not quite contempt. ]

Wonder what a picture of her is doing--

[ But his voice suddenly catches as his gaze lands on a different portrait. A few spots down from A-Qing, understated for how shocking the subject is, is another familiar face. But this isn't someone left behind where they came from, or even before that: this is Xiao Xingchen.

His clothes are a memory, stolen from him here and never returned, the familiar mostly-white robes those of bygone days. Their color makes the red on them all the more stark, a crimson pouring from a deep gash in his neck, the oil paint with candlelight dancing on it almost making it look freshly-spilled. Similarly stained are the bandages across his eyes, as if tears but not, a sight Xue Yang hasn't seen for an even longer time.

He doesn't finish his sentence. He's already forgotten what he was even saying. ]

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen is pulled from his amazement from seeing his other companion, shaking his head in light exasperation.]

Must I keep the peace even when you two aren't together?

[He never perceived their bickering as anything other than just that. The two of them were simply so similar on some level that they couldn't help butting heads, it felt like.

But as his friend cuts off, Xiao Xingchen looks up as well. Is there something dangerous here? Looking to his friend, he follows the man's gaze.

By now, he had come to believe that he was used to this place's tricks. Usually it was a matter of being inconvenienced for the purpose of having sex, likely because the entire place had to be some sort of cauldron. The place had all matter of technology to make their lives convenient to help towards that end, and so it was easy to forget about the other side of it all: the hotel's dark and violent nature.]

I-I... what is...

[His throat tightens, making it difficult to choke out his words, the feeling only worse as his gaze fixes onto the gash across his portrait's neck.]

[noneforyou]

[ Xue Yang continues to stare, eyes wide, unmoving for a good several seconds.

Then suddenly a sharp bark of laughter pierces the air, and the corners of his mouth twist upwards. ]

Really? Really? [ His next laugh slips out without any breath to it. ] You're gonna--try to show us this? Some bullshit like this? Do you really think we'd take this seriously?!

[ But his expression freezes again as Xiao Xingchen's voice drifts over, a ragged whisper, its direction distinctly not from the man next to him.

"You... did this..." ]

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen's own voice - saying something never said - chills him to his very core as the words ring in his ears, but he knows he must keep his wits about him. It could be a diversion for something else preparing to attack. He mustn't forget the instincts he's honed for a night hunt, no matter how comfortable this place may be.

He takes a quick glance to his sides and tries to sense if anything might approach.

Clearing his throat, he manages a calmer tone, even if he can't rid himself of the slight quaver in his voice.]

Come, do not pay it any mind. Surely it's some cruel idea of a trick.

[He steps back, which gives him a clearer view of all the portraits nearby. To the other side of A-Qing's portrait, he sees many other faces he can recognize from their world. One of them appears without a head, with the only clue to his identity being that of a muscular upper body. He doesn't have much time to give that much thought as he looks to the other side to find another face.

Xue Yang.

Facial features older and more haggard, blood flowing freely from where his arm once was... all the life drained from his eyes.

Xiao Xingchen forgets his own advice as he stares again, wordless.]

[noneforyou]

[ Xue Yang keeps his gaze on the portrait for several seconds longer, his eyes roaming the picture, taking in every detail--that's right, it has to be a trick. It has to be. Just this place fucking with them again...

And only after realizing he's still staring does he manage to forcibly tear his gaze away. Back to Xiao Xingchen, distinctly alive and uninjured. But his expression now--

Xue Yang knows immediately that he shouldn't look and yet his gaze follows the direction of Xiao Xingchen's face anyway, and he feels his heart stutter at what he sees. That's... that's himself. But he realizes it immediately, there's something off. His facial structure is slightly different from the one he sees in the mirror, and those clothes... he's never worn those before. So is this just a picture crafted by someone who doesn't quite know what he looks like? Or is it supposed to be far in the future from his present self?

--He's not supposed to recognize himself, he belatedly realizes, and forcibly turns his gaze to Xiao Xingchen once more. ]

... Daozhang?

[ His throat feels dryer than he expected it to. ]

[blindforlove]

[Xiao Xingchen is too focused on the portrait to notice what the other man is doing until he calls out for him. He doesn't hesitate in turning away and giving a tilt of his head, motioning for the man to follow. Though he tries to look collected enough to focus, the color has drained from his own face in turn.]

Let's leave this place.

[He would much rather brave the challenges and dangers of the other rooms than stay here any longer.

Fist so tight it shakes, he strides towards the threshold of next room.

The room ahead appears to be a tunnel with an illusion within making it appear to spin. It's nothing like he's ever seen before, and even more disorienting than the rooms before, but it doesn't slow his approach. If anything, the look of it seems to be distracting enough for his thoughts. At least he can focus on what to do next, rather than consider his feelings at this moment.]

[noneforyou]

[ Xue Yang can see the lack of composure in Xiao Xingchen, but for some reason he doesn't feel like teasing him about it today. His eyes unconsciously fall to the location of Xiao Xingchen's neck, currently obscured behind his hair. He's used to seeing the suit on the back of it when he gets glimpses, but for some reason right now he finds himself not wanting to see it. He's glad that even if he does it'll be black, colorless, not red like he's seen on some others.

... Why is he even dwelling on this? It's stupid. No one would be able to land such a blow on Xiao Xingchen of all people. He would only be able to if he crushed him first, and that weird voice had blamed him for whatever happened. Or Xiao Xingchen? But probably him.

His own portrait was painted wrong, too. It's stupid to dwell on this.

Following close, Xue Yang reaches the threshold of the strange tunnel soon after Xiao Xingchen, and pauses only to quickly observe it and make sure it's actually steady. But no, double-checking it, it's just a trick that makes it seem like it's spinning. He follows Xiao Xingchen in...

... and the moment both of them are inside, the floor seems to give a lurch to the side that's slow yet sudden at the same time. Even with a cultivator's balance, Xue Yang finds himself unexpectedly stumbling. ]