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Chapter Text

It took Shen Yuan a full week to realize he'd transmigrated into PIDW. 

In his defense, he'd woken up to a sky filled with blood rain, raging walls of hellfire, and a shadowy thing trying to take a bite out of his leg. He'd had to hit the ground running (literally, because that shadow thing had been hungry and fast) and hadn't had much time to take in his surroundings.

Luckily he was fast in this life. His strange new set of goat-like legs seemed to help with that. 

His legs weren't the only odd thing about his new body. He had a set of tall, twisting horns that spiraled out of his forehead and a tail that flicked from side to side when he was agitated, which was most of the time, because he'd died and transmigrated into the worst place ever. And honestly, he hadn't been a great guy in his past life, but surely he hadn't done anything bad enough to deserve this? Maybe his comments had made a few people cry, and at least one guy had quit the internet entirely because of how ruthlessly Shen Yuan had dissected his comment on a chapter of PIDW, but that guy was probably way better off now! The internet was a toxic place. Shen Yuan had made sure of it. 

It wasn't until he spotted a swarm of giant snake-headed millipedes that he realized what was happening.

He knew these monsters--not just the ones in front of him, but also the strange tigers that had chased him the day before (ruby-eyed tiger lizards) and the shadow thing that had been biting him when he'd woken up (a nightmare mist wraith). These were the sorts of creatures he'd collected merchandise of! He'd skimmed untold thousands of words of smut just to learn more about them! He'd been one of the top contributors to their wiki! 

As he ran from the millipede swarm, he found himself grinning. 

The Abyss was a terrible place to transmigrate into, and he was small and weak, at least compared to the other creatures here. But for the first time since he'd arrived, he felt hope. He wasn't helpless, not anymore. After all, who knew the Abyss better than him? Even Airplane had bowed before his encyclopedic knowledge in the forums! 

He could navigate this hellscape--no, with his knowledge, he could master it.

And if he was lucky enough to find Luo Binghe? He might even escape it. 

Despite his optimism, the Abyss was a big place, and getting his bearings proved more difficult than he'd expected. It didn't help that he was slowed down by his hunger. He tried to go the foraging route at first, but there weren't a lot of non-aphrodisiac options to choose from, and so he found himself joining the other Abyssal monsters in their favorite pastime: hunting those weaker than himself.

There weren't a lot of those options either, but at least he wasn't at the complete bottom of the food chain. While defending himself from a juvenile spider-lion, he found that he had sharp, retractable nails that were perfect for both deterring predators and snagging prey. He'd worried at first that he wouldn't have the guts to kill a creature--it certainly wasn't something he'd ever done before! But by the time he found a something small enough for him to safely attack, he was so dizzy and disoriented from starvation that not only did he enthusiastically cut off the star-feathered owl's head with his claws, but afterwards he crouched on the ground and started ripping into it raw like some sort of wild beast.

It turned out his new body had some inhumanly sharp teeth, too.

He'd spent the next half a day worried about getting some sort of Abyssal parasite from the uncooked meat, but it seemed his new constitution was sturdier than his previous one. Monster carcasses and tainted water were all easily digested in his OP stomach! 

Which raised the question: was that something all demons could do? Or was he part goat demon? They were supposed to be able to eat almost anything, and he did have horns and hoofed feet. He couldn't remember goat demons having claws, though, or sharp teeth like he did. He'd examined himself in the first puddle he could find, but the only PIDW demon he even faintly resembled was a succubus, and those were always female (and he'd left a sizable rant in the comments when he'd discovered that genius bit of lore). 

He caught his lucky break when he stumbled upon the notoriously deadly acid swamp. He wasn't stupid enough to enter the swamp himself, but to the east of it was a river that could be followed all the way back to the obsidian mountains, at the base of which was an oasis--a walled garden full of beautiful dryads, succulent fruit, and sweet, clean water. 

And when he journeyed there and climbed the wall, one look was enough to tell him what he needed to know: Luo Binghe hadn't been there yet! 

Shen Yuan wasn't too late!

It was easy to tell that the garden hadn't been touched by the protagonist. The dryads that lived there had loved Luo Binghe, in every sense of the word, but on his departure they'd given up their human forms to become trees. The pleasure had been too much, they'd said, weeping. How could they go on, having known it, and knowing that they'd never feel it again? 

Luo Binghe had always remembered the hospitality they'd shown him, though, and after his empire was established he'd come back. Using a magic flower, he'd coaxed them back into human form and then straight into his harem in an extra that Shen Yuan had been tricked into buying (the description had promised that Luo Binghe would return to the Abyss to right old wrongs, and Shen Yuan had been so excited and so gullible) . 

But these dryads were happily frolicking, splashing each other with water from the pond and braiding each other's hair. Cherry petals gently floated on the wind, and the smell of flowers filled the air. 

Shen Yuan considered the scene in front of him. It was picturesque--overly so, honestly, bordering on kitsch, but after weeks of wandering the Abyss it looked like paradise. 

If he could wait for Binghe here, the Abyss wouldn't be so bad!

He pulled himself into a crouch on the top of the wall. He was suddenly, horribly aware of his demonic form. And did he still have blood on his face from his previous meal? He probably did, but the dryads were already turning to look at him, and there was no time to wash it off even if he could find clean water. 

He gave them his best grin, remembering too late that with his sharpened (and possibly bloody) teeth, it might come across as more threatening than friendly. 

"Hello!" he called to them, waving. "This one's name is Shen Yuan, and--"

The first vine caught him by surprise. When it whipped across his chest, he jerked back, almost falling from his perch on the wall. The second vine he caught, and its thorns dug into his palm as it squirmed in his grasp.

"Hey!" More vines were speeding towards him. He let go of the one in his hand and danced sideways, trying to avoid their grasps. 

"Your kind isn't welcome here," said one of the dryads, her beautiful face twisted in fury. At her gesture, another wave of vines rose from the ground and raced towards him.

He'd known the dryads were far from defenseless--nothing survived in the Abyss long without being deadly in its own way--but he hadn't expected to be attacked unprovoked. He was no Luo Binghe, but even if they didn't find him attractive, surely this was a bit of an overreaction?

"I'm not trying to hurt you! I just need a place to stay for a bit!" 

The vine dryad sneered at him. "And I suppose you're hoping we'll feed you, too?"

He eyed the abundant fruit trees filling the garden. There was far more food here than they could eat, and even if they did run low, they could just grow more! 

"Well, if it's not too much trouble…"

The dryad 's face flushed a furious red. "You dare!"

Another vine struck him, across the face this time.

"Fine!" He'd expected more civility from Binghe's future wives, but clearly he'd overestimated them. Maybe when he found Binghe he could convince him to go with quality over quantity with his future harem. "Enjoy being trees for all I care!"

He jumped down from the wall and ran, but not before grabbing a few handfuls of fruit from the nearest tree.

When he was out of sight of the garden, and vines had stopped bursting through the ground to try to rip his legs off, he pulled out the stolen food. He'd gotten peaches, and when he bit into one, it was sweeter than anything he'd eaten in a long time.

But despite how good they were, and how many he'd taken, they didn't fill the pit in his stomach. 

That wasn't new. Nothing he ate down here seemed to make him full. Perhaps he had demonic nutritional needs he wasn't meeting? Or perhaps Abyssal food just sucked.

Even the hunger wasn't as bad as the cold, though. It hadn't been mentioned in the book at all, which was ridiculous, because it was constant--even in areas that should have been warm, like the lava pits--and it grated on him as much, if not more so, than the unquenchable hunger.

His clothes were probably at least partially to blame. The entirety of his outfit was a transparent gauze waist wrap (he refused to call it a skirt) and fluttering belt decorations that barely offered him modesty, much less warmth. He knew demons had different standards about these sorts of things, but this was ridiculous. Clothes were also for protecting a person from the elements, a concept the designers of his outfit had clearly been unfamiliar with.

There was nothing to be done for it, though, at least for now. 

He kept walking.

Before the dryads' garden, Luo Binghe had visited the toxic fume-filled acid swamp. After the garden, he'd gone to the snowy peak of the tallest obsidian mountain--a place of piercing cold, jagged rocks, and cutting ice. Just thinking about trying to wait for Binghe in either of those places made Shen Yuan want to die a little bit.

But after the mountain…

Shen Yuan headed south towards the Misty Valley. It was there that Luo Binghe would eventually fight the colossal fringehead turtle in one of PIDW's coolest (in Shen Yuan's opinion) and most deadly fights. He'd done it to win its treasure--a legendary sword only surpassed in power by Xin Mo--but that wasn't why Shen Yuan was excited.

The colossal turtle's kaiju proportions meant that, despite being relatively slow and calm, its presence scared away most of the dangerous Abyssal predators. This had been crucial for Luo Binghe, who'd ended up losing his arm in his battle against it. That had been the first time he'd had to regrow an entire limb, and during his month-long recovery he'd been so weakened that he'd struggled to fend off even the low-level monsters in the area.

Those had been a couple of humbling chapters for Luo Binghe. Other readers had complained that the pacing was too slow, and that it wasn't fun to see the protagonist struggle against such easy monsters, but Shen Yuan had loved it. This was one of the few fights that Luo Binghe had almost lost! His near-defeat had taught him that no matter how strong he was, there would always be someone stronger, and that realization had set him on the path to gaining as much power as possible--at any cost. 

But more importantly, the cave that he'd stayed in had been relatively safe, with access to easy-ish prey and clean water--just what Shen Yuan needed. And there would be no chance of sleeping in and missing Luo Binghe, because his fight with the turtle would be an epic multi-day battle! It was perfect!

And maybe, once he set up, he could see about making something a little warmer to wear.

It took a few weeks to get within sight of the Misty Valley, but once he did it was impossible to miss. The colossal fringehead turtle towered over the landscape, as tall as a mountain and about as wide as one too. Every now and then Shen Yuan would see its great maw open, the bones on the side of its mouth snapping out and distending to create a wide, inescapable net of flesh that whole flocks of flying monsters would disappear into. Getting stepped on by it would be instant death, but luckily when it wasn't being attacked it moved very, very slowly.

The cave Shen Yuan was looking for was along the steep hills that encircled the lake at the valley's center. When he found it, it was filled with giant salamander-scorpions, but he'd been expecting that. Looking forward to it, really. 

After all, it had been a long journey, and he was always hungry.

The fight to clear his new cave home was laughably easy. The salamanders were large and venomous, but they weren't fast enough to pose a real threat now that Shen Yuan had gotten the hang of his claws and teeth. Before long he'd cleared the upper level of the cave and had a decently sized pile of salamander corpses. He could dig in immediately… or, now that he had settled into a safe-ish home and didn't need to worry about smoke attracting unwanted attention, he could cook them! Like a civilized demon! The thought of warm, cooked meat, crispy from the fire, made his stomach rumble. 

Only problem: how did a person go about starting a fire without a lighter? 

Flint rocks were a thing, probably. A thing he didn't have. 

He gathered wood from the surrounding forest anyway and arranged it hopefully into a pile, just like he'd seen people do on tv. Luo Binghe had used his demonic energy to start his fires--perhaps Shen Yuan could do the same? 

He gestured imperiously towards the wood like he imagined Luo Binghe would do.

Nothing.

He held his hand out and concentrated, thinking of a flame.

Still nothing.

He did have demonic energy, right? He focused inwards, and sure enough there was a hint of something--weak, but unmistakable--pulsing through his veins. 

He tried urging it to come out of hand, and for a moment, that seemed to work. The energy moved, the air sparkled, and then...

More nothing. The energy shimmered for a few seconds, then dissipated. 

Well. He supposed if he was ever in a life or death situation where he needed to sparkle, he'd be okay. 

Continuing to eat the salamanders raw wasn't ideal, but it didn't look like he had a lot of other options at the moment. At least he had enough food now, even if the quality was questionable. Each salamander was the size of a pig--eating an entire one would have been impossible for a human, and should have been almost enough to burst even his demonic stomach.

He ate two. By the end, his stomach was painfully distended, the dizziness had receded, and he was still hungry.

It shouldn't have been possible. He couldn't eat another bite, and yet…

A hunger pang rippled through him, undeterred by the feast he'd just eaten.

He wanted to scream. He did, a bit. But at the end of it he was still hungry, and now his throat was sore and he was tired, too. He curled up at the mouth of the cave, trying to soak up some warmth from the sun's weak rays, and went to sleep.

The next order of business was his clothing. 

He didn't have a knife, but his claws were perfect for stripping the pelts off the bone-clawed bats that he found deeper in the cave. He wasn't sure how to tan a hide--he was pretty sure chemicals were involved somehow--but he didn't need them to last forever. There were more than enough bats in the valley to keep him warm until Luo Binghe came. 

The cleaned pelts went out into the sun to dry, and he set off to explore his new home.

The Misty Valley's permanent fog deadened the air and lent a muffled, mysterious quality to the landscape. The reduced visibility was an issue at first--he walked right into a three-headed blood bear--but he quickly discovered that it cut both ways. He might not be able to see monsters coming, but they couldn't see him, either. Within a few weeks he'd managed to build a healthy stockpile of meat, which he stored in the frigid lower sections of the cave, along with a variety of furs.

The three-headed blood bear made an especially wonderful blanket, if he did say so himself. 

But like with his hunger, the cold he was feeling seemed inescapable. The furs took the edge off, but no matter how many pelts he wrapped himself in he could still feel a chill deep in his bones. 

If the problems plaguing him were nutritional, there didn't seem to be anything in the valley that would help. Over the course of the next month he tried everything--fish from the river, berries from the forest, and even some suspicious looking mushrooms that had left him sweating and confused for days. None of it helped. 

He had plenty of time to continue to experiment, though. Until Binghe came, he had nothing to do but wait.

The Abyss was a lot of things, but Shen Yuan had never thought that it would be boring. Now, he was reconsidering.

It didn't take long to become familiar, and then bored, with the relatively small selection of monsters in the valley. The fringehead turtle was still cool, but it almost never moved other than to open and close its mouth. Watching it was like watching the landscape itself--beautiful and impressive, but not exactly entertaining. 

While he was on the run, he'd been homesick plenty of times. He'd yearned for the safety of his apartment, the softness of his bed, and the convenience of being able to have food delivered to his door the instant he felt hungry. 

Now, though?

He'd kill for an internet connection, and he absolutely did not mean that metaphorically. Even the shittiest webnovel would have been a welcome respite from the damp and dreary repetition that defined his days. 

That wasn't to say that his life was entirely uneventful. A few months in he found a salt deposit, and was able to dry out some of the meat. Having a non-raw food option didn't help with his hunger, but it did wonders for morale.

He also discovered a use for his sparkle power by accident while trying to hunt down a voracious needle-toothed mole. The creature wasn't all that dangerous, but it was single-handedly destroying all of Shen Yuan's favorite berry bushes, and it was nearly impossible to catch. He'd been running after it for days, but every time he got close it would burrow down into the ground and zip away. 

He was watching it tunnel away from him for what felt like the hundredth time when, without thinking, he put out his hand and pulled.

Just like before, the air seemed to shimmer as his energy flowed out of him. This time, though, there was an effect.

The mole paused, then shivered. As Shen Yuan watched, incredulous, it turned around and began to stagger towards him. It was breathing hard, and it seemed…confused. Docile. Almost friendly. Shen Yuan almost felt bad slitting its throat when it came within his reach.

Almost. The scarcity of berry bushes meant he was on an almost all-meat diet after that for months, though mole-meat did add some welcomed variety.

Shen Yuan wasn't sure how long he waited. The seasons didn't change in the Abyss, and by the time he thought to start marking down the passage of days, so many had passed that he could only make a rough estimate. He thought he'd probably been in his new life for half a year, but there was no way to be sure.

By the time Luo Binghe showed up, there was almost a year's worth of tick marks. He was just adding on another when he felt the walls of the cave shudder.

There was only one thing that could move the earth like that.

This wasn't the first time the fringehead turtle had decided to move locations. On rare occasions it would take a walk, deciding for unknown reasons to move further into the valley, or to wade into the lake. The first time it had happened, Shen Yuan had rushed out, excited, only to be met with the awe-inspiring but still ultimately disappointing sight of the turtle meandering slowly around.

He tried not to get his hopes up as he raced for the mouth of the cave, but it was impossible. If this was the fight, if this was Luo Binghe--

It was.

Even from all the way on the ground, Shen Yuan could see him--a speck of red and black rocketing around the turtle's head, sending out wild slashes of fierce demonic energy. The turtle's mouth opened, and for a second it looked like Luo Binghe would be caught off guard by the extending jaw, but no! He dodged, escaping the turtle's bite at the last possible second, and even used his proximity to deliver a devastating blow to the membranes of the turtle's mouth.

Shen Yuan cheered. 

At his yell, the distant figure of Luo Binghe seemed to pause. Had he heard Shen Yuan, even from such a distance? Truly, the protagonist was too OP! 

In case Binghe was watching, Shen Yuan gave him a big smile and wave. 

For a few minutes Shen Yuan was only able to watch, equally stunned and elated by the realization that Luo Binghe was here. After a cold and hungry year Shen Yuan wasn't alone anymore. He actually had a chance to leave the Abyss, and he was going to meet his favorite character while doing so! As soon as he was able to collect his wits, he turned away from the battle and began to climb the steep slope behind his cave.

The ground wasn't the best spot to watch the fight from, but he'd prepared for that. In PIDW the showdown had been near the lake, and there just happened to be a lakeside outcropping of rock that was high enough up to boost him over the trees. Over the course of months he'd spent time preparing his viewing area--mostly for a lack of anything better to do--which meant that he was now able to settle comfortably into a pile of furs set in a hollowed out log and enjoy a clear view of the fight. 

It wasn't quite a couch and a tv, but it was close enough.

The fight was every bit as epic as he could have hoped. Luo Binghe was like a force of nature. Even with his shitty temporary sword he was cutting through bone and shell with frightening ease, his fierce sword glares flashing through the sky like lightning. The turtle was tough, though, and now that it was threatened its movements were unsettlingly fast. Its neck extended far past what seemed reasonable, giving its jaws incredible reach and agility. Its feet were clawed, too, and when Luo Binghe made the mistake of attempting to approach from below he was almost cut in half. He narrowly dodged in a masterful show of athletics, but that put him within range of the mouth.

Shen Yuan cheered again when Luo Binghe stabbed at the turtle's eye, using its instinctive flinch to escape--and again, Luo Binghe paused, seeming to hear him. 

Would his cheers distract the protagonist? It would be hard to stay quiet while watching such an exciting battle, especially after a year of boredom, but for Binghe's sake he'd have to try. 

As exciting as the fight was, it would last for three days and nights. Binghe was cool, but no amount of cool could be riveting for that long. Shen Yuan had, in fact, drifted off a bit after the first day, and was comfortably napping in his fur pile when a nearby explosion startled him awake. 

For a heart-stopping moment he thought that it was already over, that the explosion had been the turtle's defeat, and that he'd missed the majority of the fight--but no, the turtle was still standing, its head snaking from side to side as it looked for Luo Binghe. 

It wasn't hard to guess where Luo Binghe was. 

Shen Yuan nervously watched the smoking crater that had appeared in the mountainside near him. Unsettlingly near him. The turtle had thrown Luo Binghe with so much force that the trees near the impact had been reduced to splinters--if he'd landed a hundred meters to the left he'd have hit Shen Yuan's viewing couch, and Shen Yuan would have been done for.

After a few moments the dust began to clear, revealing a bruised and broken looking Luo Binghe in its center. He staggered to his feet, and now that Shen Yuan could see him clearly, one of his legs looked…wrong. Shen Yuan wasn't a doctor or anything, but he was pretty sure knees weren't supposed to bend in that direction.

And then Luo Binghe's demonic energy flared, and there was a wet, grisly cracking as his healing took over. The broken limb straightened with a painful looking snap, and the cuts and burns that covered his body began to clear, healthy flesh crawling over the injuries and absorbing them.

Shen Yuan was staring, but he couldn't help it. Luo Binghe's healing abilities were too cool! Kinda gross, but cool! 

Luo Binghe hardly seemed to notice his injuries. As soon as his leg had righted itself, he strode out of the crater, his sword held at the ready and his eyes locked on--

On Shen Yuan. 

Shen Yuan swallowed. Shit.

Of course Luo Binghe would perceive him as a threat. Shen Yuan couldn't blame him! From Binghe's perspective, he was just another Abyssal demon, and those were rarely friendly. 

Had Luo Binghe let himself be thrown here on purpose in order to kill Shen Yuan? He certainly didn't seem surprised to see Shen Yuan here. The close proximity of the crater was looking less and less like a coincidence, and wow--had Binghe managed to aim himself while being thrown by the turtle? He truly was too OP!

Killing Shen Yuan was probably a good strategy from Luo Binghe's perspective. If Shen Yuan was planning on killing Luo Binghe or stealing the turtle's treasure for himself, it would be easy to do so after the battle. No matter who won, Shen Yuan would be able to sweep in and finish off the survivor, keeping all the goods for himself. It made perfect sense for Binghe to eliminate him now before he could pose a bigger threat down the line.

Shen Yuan's actual post-battle plan had been to convince Luo Binghe of his good intentions. He'd be able to tend to the weakened Binghe's wounds and feed him and give him shelter, and by the time Binghe was strong enough to pose an actual threat to Shen Yuan, he'd be so grateful that he'd take him along in his escape from the Abyss!

Meeting Luo Binghe before the end of the battle hadn't been the plan, but it hadn't been entirely unforeseen, either. Shen Yuan could roll with this.

"Good morning!" he said, giving Luo Binghe his best and brightest smile.

Whatever Luo Binghe had been expecting from him, it hadn't been that. Luo Binghe blinked, then paused, glaring at Shen Yuan suspiciously. 

Ah, his threatening aura was truly incredible! Shen Yuan was sure he'd be trembling with fear if he wasn't trembling from excitement. 

He held out his hand, and Binghe tensed.

"Salamander-scorpion jerky?" Shen Yuan asked, waggling the strip in his hand around. He felt a bit like he was coaxing a stray dog to come closer. See Binghe? Just food, no need to be skittish!

Luo Binghe stared at the jerky. "What."

"Salamander-scorpion jerky. That fight looks rough, and I'm sure you could use a snack. I have extra, if you want any." He'd stocked enough in his viewing couch to nibble on for multiple days. It wasn't exactly popcorn, but as snacks went it was fine.

Luo Binghe frowned at him. He took another step forward, his blade still raised. "I don't know what you're playing at--"

He was interrupted by an ear-drum shattering roar. The fringehead turtle had caught on to Binghe's whereabouts, and was approaching at turtle speed--which was to say, surprisingly fast.

Shen Yuan wasn't thrilled about being charged by the turtle, but it was probably for the best. Luo Binghe didn't look enthusiastic about the salamander jerky and Shen Yuan didn't have a lot of other tricks up his sleeves.

Other than his trump card, of course.

"Take this!" Shen Yuan tossed a small sack to Luo Binghe, who caught it on instinct. 

"What--"

"It's venom from the salamander-scorpions. Smear it on your blade." 

Binghe seemed taken aback. He gave Shen Yuan an incredulous look, then peered suspiciously down at the sack. "This bag is…hairy?"

"It's made out of a bone-clawed bat. Don't ask what part." The turtle was almost on them. Shen Yuan tensed, readying himself to run. "And aim for the back of the front left knee--that's its weak spot."

Binghe still looked suspicious, but he undid the knot tying the top of the sack closed and poured the venom on his blade. "Just so you know--if this backfires on me somehow, I will survive, and I will kill you," he said.

"Yeah, alright, you're welcome," said Shen Yuan, but he didn't think Luo Binghe heard him--he was already in the air, back on his sword and speeding towards the turtle.

Salamander-scorpion venom was a potent paralytic that Shen Yuan had discovered the hard way during his second month in the valley when a salamander had snuck up behind him. His transmigration story might have ended there if he hadn't fallen on top of it and used his last moments of movement to slit its throat. He'd spent almost three full days frozen on the cave floor, and if any monsters had come across him during that time, that would have been that.

When he'd recovered he'd gotten it into his head that he could use the stuff to hunt, because how cool would it be to coat his claws in venom and have stun claws? And it had worked! Kind of! He could lightly scratch a monster and it would go down, paralyzed and practically gift wrapped for him. But the venom had the unfortunate quality of being transferable when eaten--which he'd found out after spending another three days on his cave floor.

It wouldn't stun a creature as large as the turtle, of course, but it didn't need to. After a few minutes and some strategic cuts by Binghe, the turtle's movements began to drag, its reactions just a hair slower and its movements a touch lethargic. It wasn't a big change, but it was enough to make a difference.

The effect wouldn't last long, and Luo Binghe clearly knew it. As soon as the turtle's movements began to slow he focused his attacks on its legs. A feint drew the turtle's mouth in the direction of its hind leg, and then Luo Binghe doubled back, aiming his sword for the back of the knee and-

"Ah! Sorry! The knee on our left, not its left!" Shen Yuan yelled. 

He couldn't see Binghe's face from this distance, but he could feel the glare.

Luo Binghe changed course, aiming for the other knee. The turtle roared, and its head whipped around to follow him, but it was a fraction of a second too slow--its jaws clamped down, barely missing Luo Binghe's sword arm, and a moment later its leg buckled.

Shen Yuan had experienced earthquakes before. The turtle hitting the ground was similar, only it was accompanied by a tidal wave of water displaced from the lake and an explosion of demonic qi as the turtle focused all of its power in one last-ditch attempt to take out Luo Binghe.

It wasn't enough, of course. 

The attack, for all its power, was desperate and clumsy--the turtle was injured and disoriented from the fall, and it showed. Luo Binghe faltered, visibly battered by the qi attack, but he flew forward, driving his sword deep, deep, deeper into the turtle's eye until his full arm was buried, and the turtle was dead, and the fight was over. 

Luo Binghe pulled his sword back and collapsed. Shen Yuan watched for a few minutes, but Binghe didn't move. 

Cautiously, Shen Yuan began to approach the battlefield.

He comforted himself with the knowledge that, even if Luo Binghe was awake, Shen Yuan surely didn't have anything to be scared of. He'd helped him, right? Binghe would probably be grateful!

"This is all your fault."

Shen Yuan paused. He was dragging Luo Binghe back to his cave (literally--he'd tried to carry him bridal style, but Binghe was heavy). "It's not that bad, is it?"

Luo Binghe was barely conscious, but he still managed to flail furiously at Shen Yuan from the ground. "Not bad? Not bad? It bit my hand off!"

"It'll grow back."

"That's not the point! You directed me to the wrong leg, and I almost died!" Binghe was snarling, which would have been intimidating if Shen Yuan wasn't currently holding his ankle and dragging him through the dirt. 

To be fair, he'd tried to drag Luo Binghe by the shoulders first, and Binghe had tried to bite him.

"I already apologized for the ambiguous instructions," Shen Yuan said. "Besides, if I hadn't helped you, how long do you think it would have taken you to find that missing scale on the back of its knee, hm? Ages! And without the venom I lent you, you'd probably have lost a lot more than a hand in the process." An entire arm, to be precise.

"So you want me to be thankful? How do I know it wasn't your plan for me to be injured, for me to be weakened, so that you could prey on me?"

Him being injured and needing help kind of had been in Shen Yuan's plan, though not for the reasons Binghe thought. "Listen, I know you're suspicious, but I'm telling the truth. I don't want the turtle's treasure, and I don't want to kill you." 

Luo Binghe didn't respond. When Shen Yuan glanced back, he saw that Binghe had passed out, finally succumbing to his injuries from the battle. Or, possibly, his injuries from being dragged to the cave. The path they were on was rocky, and Shen Yuan supposed Binghe's head had been bouncing a bit.

Either way, the rest of the walk to the cave was blissfully silent.

Chapter Text

When Luo Binghe woke up he was on the floor of a cave. Across from him that ridiculous, infuriating succubus was sitting on the ground, chewing on--what had he said it was? Scorpion salamander jerky? Luo Binghe had eaten a lot of disgusting things in the Abyss, but the greyish, glistening strips of meat in the succubus' hands still managed to turn his stomach. 

The succubus had to hate it, too. Not only did it smell disgusting--like a combination of wet socks and rancid cheese--but lifeless flesh was a far cry from his species' preferred diet.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Luo Binghe asked, watching the succubus startle at his voice and almost drop the jerky. "Is that why you helped me? So that you could feed?"

Was the creature under the impression that losing a hand would weaken Luo Binghe enough that he'd be easily overpowered? Or did the succubus think so highly of his own charms that he thought Luo Binghe would roll over and submit to him without a fight? Either possibility was ridiculous. The temporary loss of his hand was inconvenient, but he was far from defenseless, and while the succubus was attractive enough in a sharp, masculine sort of way, he wasn't so handsome that Luo Binghe would abandon all common sense and allow himself to be fed on. 

Though if seduction was the succubus's plan, he had an odd way of going about it. Luo Binghe had never seen a succubus show so little skin before. Almost every inch of the demon was covered in coarse, ugly furs and hides.

"What? You think I helped you for food?" The succubus blinked at him. "I mean…I am hungry--"

He certainly looked it. He'd abandoned the human camouflage that his kind so often wore, displaying his inhuman legs and horns for all his potential prey to see and be warned off by. There were also deep hollows under his eyes and cheekbones--not enough to detract from his beauty, of course, but enough to tell Luo Binghe that this particular succubus hadn't fed properly in a very, very long time. 

"--but I doubt you have anything to offer me. I didn't see any food on you, and I'm certainly not going to eat you," the succubus said, laughing a little, which--

Luo Binghe blinked. Was he…being rejected? By a starving succubus?

Luo Binghe liked to think he had a healthy sense of his own attractiveness. He might have started out life as a scrawny street rat, but his popularity with women and demonesses in recent years spoke for itself. Not that he wanted the succubus to want him. 

It was just a little insulting, was all.

He felt his face flush with humiliation. "I wasn't offering, though I don't think you're in much of a position to be picky right now."

The succubus gave him an odd look. "I guess? Although…wait, are you saying you do have something for me to eat?" His long ears perked up hopefully.

"No!"

The succubus's ears drooped back down in disappointment. "Ah. I didn't think so." He sighed. "Salamander it is, then. At least until we get out of the Abyss."

Luo Binghe paused. Everyone in the Abyss wanted to escape, but something about the way he'd phrased it…

"You know how to get out," Luo Binghe said. It wasn't a question.

The succubus grinned. "Have you ever heard of Xin Mo?"

The succubus--who'd introduced himself as Shen Yuan--had to be some sort of fallen noble. It was the only explanation Luo Binghe could think of for how he was so inept at basic survival skills.

"You don't even know how to light a fire?" Luo Binghe asked, incredulous. "How have you survived this long?"

"I did alright," Shen Yuan said defensively, but he still huddled close to the fire that Luo Binghe had lit. It was as if he hadn't seen one in years…which, Luo Binghe supposed, it was possible that he hadn't.

"By what definition of alright? You've been surviving on raw vermin and your clothes are rotting."

"They are not! They're--actually, some of these ones are rotting. Hold on." Shen Yuan trotted out of the cave, and a few minutes later returned with a new fur wrapped around his torso. It was as ugly and awkward as the first, but the skin was less stiff, and the smell was marginally less offensive.

"I never did get the hang of tanning things properly," Shen Yuan said apologetically. 

"We need to get you real clothes. I'm not traveling long distances with someone who smells like that."

Shen Yuan perked up. "Oh? So you've decided to travel with me?"

"You haven't given me much choice."

Luo Binghe had heard enough rumors of Xin Mo to know the information Shen Yuan was giving him was accurate--or at least, accurate enough to be worth pursuing. And it eased something in his chest to learn Shen Yuan's real reason for helping him. The succubus had clearly seen his prowess during the battle and decided he was strong enough to tame the legendary Xin Mo. 

The legendarily lost Xin Mo…which Shen Yuan claimed to know the location of.

"What do you mean I haven't given you a choice?" Shen Yuan said. "You can choose to search for Xin Mo on your own. And I'm sure you'll find it. Eventually."

"You could always just tell me its location," Luo Binghe said, but Shen Yuan only laughed. Refusing to give up the only piece of knowledge that made him useful was a smart move, and Luo Binghe might admire it if it wasn't about to make his life infinitely more inconvenient. And irritating. And potentially smelly, if he couldn't find Shen Yuan something else to wear. "You're sure you don't have any other clothes?" 

Shen Yuan hesitated. "My other outfit is a bit… cold."

Meaning it was revealing. "Are you worried about my sensibilities?" Luo Binghe asked, amused. "It's normal for succubi to wear such things."

"What?" Shen Yuan's eyes widened. "I'm not a succubus! I'm a guy!"

Luo Binghe nodded--the proper term for a male of his species was 'incubus', wasn't it? "My apologies. You're-"

"A goat demon! Hybrid. I think." 

Luo Binghe paused. He gave Shen Yuan a once over, but the man remained a near-perfect example of what an incubus looked like, and Luo Binghe had been around enough of his species that his sexually-charged demonic energy was unmistakable.

"A goat demon," Luo Binghe said, unimpressed. Did Shen Yuan think he was an idiot?

Shen Yuan nodded. "And my other outfit really isn't fit for weather like this--"

As if it wasn't a perfectly warm day.

"--so I'll stay in the furs until we can find something better."

Luo Binghe decided to drop it--for now, at least. He turned his attention back to the fire. A hunk of salamander was roasting over it, and while the meat still had a grey-ish, slimy quality that Luo Binghe didn't care for, it had charred up nicely along the edges. When it was done he sprinkled it with salt from Shen Yuan's supply along with some herbs that he'd collected on his travels, and the end result was tolerable enough that it could almost be called edible.  

Almost. There was no fixing the wet-sock flavor.

Shen Yuan seemed to have a higher opinion of it than Luo Binghe did. When he bit into his portion he moaned, his eyes closing as he savored it. He leaned his head back, displaying his long, pale throat as he swallowed, and Luo Binghe found his eyes involuntarily following the movement of Shen Yuan's adam's apple.

It was quite a sight, though the eroticism of the moment was undermined by the savage way Shen Yuan began ripping into the meat immediately afterwards. His teeth flashed as he tore at it, snapping through the tendons and chewing through the bones with a feral enthusiasm that sent saliva and bits of partially chewed fat flying.

Was it even possible for an incubus to be bad at seduction? Before he'd met Shen Yuan, Luo Binghe would have said no. 

"Do you know how long it's been since I've had a hot meal?" Shen Yuan sighed when all the meat was gone. He wiped his mouth and lower face with the back of his arm. "Do you think if I get you a cooking pot you could make a soup? I'd kill for a hot bowl of soup right now."

"You want me to feed you…"

"Yes?"

"...by cooking for you?"

Shen Yuan gave him a nervous look. "Only if you want to! I'll help, of course! I'm not asking you to serve me or anything, it's just…" He looked longingly at the chunk of salamander Luo Binghe was still eating. "You made it taste really good."

Luo Binghe handed over his portion--in truth, he wasn't hungry enough to power through the flavor--and Shen Yuan dug into it eagerly.

If Shen Yuan thought the salamander tasted good, how would he react to an actual meal? Luo Binghe couldn't help but imagine the ecstasy on Shen Yuan's face if Luo Binghe cooked for him properly.

Unless, of course, Shen Yuan's tongue was just so strange that he really did like the taste of these salamanders. If so, would he even enjoy ordinary food? Everything else about the incubus was odd--it wouldn't surprise Luo Binghe if he was defective in this way, too.

If it had been possible, Luo Binghe would have taken off to look for Xin Mo immediately. He needed to regrow his hand first, though--having only one hand didn't weaken him by much, but some Abyssal monsters were dangerous enough that even a slight disadvantage might be enough to spell his defeat, and from what Shen Yuan said, there'd be some tough fights ahead.

Re-growing parts of his body, however, was more difficult and time-consuming than he'd hoped.

"I'll need another few days," Luo Binghe said, frowning at his fingers. It had been almost a week, but only two of them had regrown. The rest remained stubbornly stumps.

"There's no rush!" Shen Yuan said, smiling, and for someone who had to be starving and desperate, he really did seem relaxed about the delay. "We have more than enough supplies here to wait for however long you need!" He gestured cheerfully to the salamander carcass that he was cleaning.

Luo Binghe channeled more qi towards his hand, urging it to heal faster.

He had to admit, though--other than the food, spending time in the Misty Valley wasn't all that bad, especially compared to other locations in the Abyss. It was relatively peaceful, he wasn't starving or in pain, and Shen Yuan's company wasn't completely intolerable. He mostly wanted to hear stories of Luo Binghe's adventures, and when Binghe obliged him, he was always an attentive audience, full of enthusiastic reactions and excited questions. No detail was too small, no fight too boring--Shen Yuan wanted to hear it all.

Shen Yuan had been alone for a long time, if Luo Binghe had to guess.

Luo Binghe had slept lightly the first few nights, but Shen Yuan didn't ambush him in his sleep like he'd half expected (not that Shen Yuan would've been able to do much--Luo Binghe had slipped his blood parasites into the first meal they'd shared). The incubus instead seemed content to stay on his side of the cave, even falling asleep with his back turned to Luo Binghe as if he didn't feel like he had anything to fear from a strange, powerful demon sleeping in his home.

It should have been impossible for someone so naive and trusting to have lasted long in the Abyss. And yet, here Shen Yuan was.

"Were you a noble before you ended up here?" Luo Binghe asked. Shen Yuan did all the menial chores happily, fetching firewood and water and food for Luo Binghe without complaint, which suggested he'd been a peasant or servant in the demon realm. But when Luo Binghe offered him supplies to tie back his hair, he'd fumbled with the comb and leather hair tie so badly that Luo Binghe had been forced to take over out of pity. 

Touching the incubus's silky, long hair had proven to be a surprisingly pleasant experience. 

"What? A noble?" Shen Yuan laughed. "No. Why do you ask?" 

"You don't know how to comb your own hair," Luo Binghe pointed out as he tied Shen Yuan's ponytail into place. How was it possible that his hair smelled so good when the rest of him smelled so bad? "It's not an unreasonable assumption."

"Ah. Well, I might have been a noble? I think I hit my head when I fell down here, and I don't remember much of my time before the Abyss."

That… almost made sense.

"You don't remember how to comb your hair, but you remember where Xin Mo is?"

Shen Yuan shrugged. "Amnesia's funny like that, I guess."

For the past year, Luo Binghe's goal had been to kill the colossal fringehead turtle and then steal the sword that it guarded. The legendary weapon was rumored to contain the thwarted fury of all the creatures the turtle had eaten, and it was a powerful enough sword that he'd be able to take on tougher opponents, which would in turn give him access to even greater treasures and gear. It had taken months of searching, training, and preparation to bring him to the moment when the sword was finally his to take.

And now he was planning to dump it almost immediately when he upgraded to Xin Mo. He stared at the turtle's corpse, and couldn't help but feel like it had all been a bit of a waste of time.

"You'll still need it to get Xin Mo," Shen Yuan said when he suggested skipping the ordeal of searching for the turtle's hoard and retrieving the weapon. "The monsters between us and it are no joke."

"The turtle's hoard is buried underwater. Searching the entire lakebed could take weeks!" And Luo Binghe really, really didn't want to spend the next few weeks here, not when he could potentially be out of the Abyss in the same amount of time.

"Two months, more like it, but don't worry--I know exactly where it is."

The secluded inlet that Shen Yuan led him to was almost entirely hidden by the surrounding forest and mist. Binghe gave the water a resigned look. It looked deep, but not so deep that he couldn't reach the bottom with some effort. He began to peel off his robes, but stopped when he heard Shen Yuan make an alarming choking noise. 

"Are you alright?" Luo Binghe turned to see Shen Yuan frantically averting his eyes.

"You're taking your clothes off?" Shen Yuan said, his voice high and strangled. "All of them? Aren't you going to at least leave your inner robes on?"

"Why would I? The real question is why you aren't. Don't tell me you're going to try to swim while wearing all that." He nodded towards the hateful furs. If they smelled this bad while dry, he couldn't begin to imagine what they'd be like if they got damp.

Judging by the shocked look on Shen Yuan's face, he hadn't planned on swimming at all.

"But-"

"Don't tell me you weren't going to help me look for the sword? You promised you'd show me how to find it," Luo Binghe said.

"The water looks cold, though."

It did. "Good thing you know exactly where the sword is."

Shen Yuan frowned, but he obediently started pulling off his furs. He turned his back to Luo Binghe to do so--and really, was the incubus shy of all things? Or was this part of some convoluted seduction attempt?

If so, it wasn't completely failing. Watching the furs fall away to reveal Shen Yuan's strong back, lithe waist, and powerful, graceful limbs was like watching mud being washed off a priceless gem. Luo Binghe found his eyes lingering despite his better judgment. As his eyes traced over Shen Yuan's spine, he saw him shiver.

"Are you alright?" Luo Binghe asked.

Shen Yuan half turned, and Luo Binghe expected that this would be it--Shen Yuan would give him a line about needing someone to help keep him warm (or something equally ridiculous) and then he'd walk towards Binghe with his beautiful, sleek body on full display, and press himself close so that their now-naked bodies were flush. Perhaps he'd pull Luo Binghe down onto the beach right then and there, his thighs wrapping around Binghe's hips, his back arching up as he gasped and squirmed eagerly in Binghe's embrace.

Luo Binghe still wasn't interested in being drained of all his energy, but…

He gave the incubus's ass another appreciative look. Perhaps they could reach some sort of an agreement. The incubus could have a small snack, and in exchange Luo Binghe could enjoy a couple pleasant hours.

Even now Shen Yuan's cheeks were flushing a delicate pink, his ears twitching in excitement and his tail lifting, as if to better display himself. When Luo Binghe met his gaze, however, he didn't see the seductive expression he'd expected. 

"I'm alright," Shen Yuan said, his eyes wide and confused. "It's just, I feel…warm?"

Of course he was--he could now bask in the sexual energy that his skin inspired. If he wanted to pretend to be coy, though, Luo Binghe could play along.  

Luo Binghe smiled, and his expression was seductive--he knew the effect his dark eyes and roguish grin could have. "Perhaps now that your skin is exposed to the sun, you're able to soak up the heat," he said. "It'd probably be better to leave the furs off from now on. For your own comfort."

"Perhaps." Shen Yuan seemed flustered by the suggestion, but it was clear he was basking in the heat of Luo Binghe's gaze. His shoulders, which had been permanently hunched as if he was huddling in on himself for warmth, finally straightened.

But Shen Yuan wasn't walking towards him, or making any of the expected moves, or saying any of the expected lines. Did he want Luo Binghe to approach him first?

"If you need someone to help warm you further-" Luo Binghe tried, but Shen Yuan shook his head before Binghe could finish his sentence.

"I'll just get cold again as soon as we get in the water," he said. "We can light a fire later."

He began wading into the lake water, leaving Luo Binghe no choice but to follow. Perhaps he was right, though--having sex on the lake shore sounded fun in theory, but Luo Binghe knew from experience that sand had a tendency to get where it shouldn't. Waiting until they finished their chore and returned to the cave was the sensible option.

Finding the sword was as quick and easy as Shen Yuan had promised it would be. It had been buried, invisible, along with several tons of gold and gems under a thick layer of silt, but Shen Yuan had swum straight for it. Once they'd found it, digging it out and swimming back to the surface had only been a moment's work.

Luo Binghe was glad. His hand was almost healed, and he was eager to start his journey to find Xin Mo--but at the moment, he was even more eager to get back to the incubus's cave.

Shen Yuan emerging from the lake, rivulets of water sliding down his form and making his skin glisten, had been a sight to behold. He'd immediately ruined it by putting on some of his furs, however, and the worst part was, Luo Binghe couldn't figure out why. 

"You're warmer without them," he'd pointed out when Shen Yuan had shimmied back into those horrible pants. Their smell alone had been enough for Luo Binghe to hate them, but now that he knew what they were hiding? He wanted to set them on fire and scatter their ashes for the sin of denying him the view.

"I can't just walk back to the cave naked!" Shen Yuan had protested, blushing.

"Why not?" It wasn't as if Shen Yuan had anything to be ashamed of. He was well endowed--not as well as Luo Binghe was, of course, but he certainly had nothing to be embarrassed about--and he was clearly feeling better now that he was able to soak up the warmth of Binghe's desire. Why deny himself that?

But Shen Yuan had refused to see sense. He'd worn the pants all the way back to the cave, and, when he'd been coaxed into taking them off again, he'd immediately put another set of clothes on.

The new clothes were an improvement--anything would be--and were much more in line with the incubus/succubus outfits Luo Binghe was familiar with. The transparent gauze wrap fluttered around Shen Yuan's waist and thighs in a way that drew the eyes, and was barely opaque enough to hide the more intimate details of his body. Because this was the Abyss, and life was hard, it was also tattered and a bit stained, but even in its rough condition it was the sort of garment that could lure in an incubus's prey without fail.

Luo Binghe was already lured in, though. What was the point of continuing to tease?

Perhaps he needed to be more direct. 

"Do you still need someone to warm you?" he offered.

Shen Yuan gave him a grateful smile. "Oh! Yes, a fire would be wonderful."

Later, after suffering through another salamander roast, Luo Binghe reached over and brushed Shen Yuan's lips with his thumb. "There was a bit of food," he said to Shen Yuan's questioning look.

Shen Yuan nodded gratefully, and continued eating.

As they were settling down for bed, Luo Binghe loosened his robes, letting them fall open suggestively. "Let me be blunt," he said, a bit desperately. "I can tell you're hungry. And while I was hesitant at first…well. Let's just say that I'm no longer opposed to working out a deal."

This, at least, got Shen Yuan's attention. "Really?" he asked, his face lighting up with excitement.

"Really."

"Alright." Shen Yuan thought for a moment. "Once we get out of here, when it's time to eat I'll gather all the ingredients and help with prep, and you can do the cooking for both of us. How's that sound?"

"...Is my cooking all you'd like to eat, though?"

Shen Yuan nodded. "I can't think of anything I'd rather have!"

Like he had on previous nights, Shen Yuan kept to his side of the cave while he slept, leaving Luo Binghe alone and cold, and wondering if it was possible to be jealous of his own meals.

Chapter Text

Shen Yuan couldn't help but feel a little sad when it was finally time to leave the Misty Valley. His time there had been boring as all hell, and he was sick to death of the perpetual dampness and overabundance of salamanders, but it had meant home and safety for the past year. 

In the Abyss, those qualities weren't to be taken for granted.

Luo Binghe noticed him looking back over his shoulder as they made their way out. He gave Shen Yuan a comforting pat on the back. "Without the turtle to scare them off, larger monsters will move in. You wouldn't be able to stay even if you wanted to."

"I know."

Luo Binghe's hand lingered, rubbing gently up and down Shen Yuan's exposed skin. It felt strange not being covered in furs, but his original gauze outfit was warmer. Somehow. It only made sense to wear it, and Luo Binghe didn't seem to mind, so Shen Yuan was doing his best not to be self-conscious about it. 

After so long without human contact, even something as innocuous as Binghe's hand felt like a brand on his skin, sending strange shivers through his body and making his chest go tight.

But the strangest part was the heat that swept through him. After feeling so cold for so long, it was almost too much to bear. Shen Yuan felt his face flush and his skin break out in a sweat.

"Is everything alright?" Luo Binghe peered at Shen Yuan for a moment, then smiled, apparently pleased at whatever he saw in Shen Yuan's expression. He leaned closer until their noses were practically touching--and really, had no one taught the protagonist about personal space? "It's natural to feel sad when leaving a home, even a temporary one. If you need comforting--"

Shen Yuan quickly ducked out from under Luo Binghe's hand and stepped away before something catastrophic happened, like his cheeks bursting into flame, or his heart beating out of his chest. "I'm fine," he said, and it wasn't even a lie--at least, not for long. 

After all, how could Shen Yuan be sad when traveling the Abyss with Binghe turned out to be so awesome?

All the fights Shen Yuan had read about and loved--like when Luo Binghe had defeated the razor-tailed demon condor, or outsmarted the ancient lynx-spirit of the emerald labyrinth--he now had a front row seat to! Even better, he could participate in them! He was nowhere near as strong as Binghe, of course, but his claws and teeth weren't just for decoration. His ability to lure creatures closer came in handy occasionally, too, though it did cause Luo Binghe to give him strange looks.

"Really?" Luo Binghe asked, confused, the first time he saw Shen Yuan break out in sparkles. "You're seducing a tiger wasp?"

"What seduction? I'm just luring it closer," Shen Yuan said. It had been following them for days, hidden in the thorny, toxic tree tops, and had been ambushing them whenever it thought their guard was down. It hadn't been particularly good at it, but it only needed to get lucky once. Luo Binghe had seemed willing to wait it out, but Shen Yuan (as the primary target) wasn't willing to take that chance, not when he had the ability to call it out and finish the fight on his terms. 

Luo Binghe hadn't argued with him, but he wore the same, strange frown when Shen Yuan used his lure on a spiked boar a few days later.

"Why don't you ever use it on me?" he asked, and on anyone else his expression might have been called a pout.

Shen Yuan laughed. "If I want you to come closer, I can just call your name."

But the best part of traveling with Luo Binghe was the ability to get close to the creatures and plants of the Abyss. Now that he had OP back up and wasn't in constant fear for his life, Shen Yuan could stop to smell the flowers! Metaphorically, at least, since he wasn't keen on getting sex-pollened.

"Binghe, look! A venomous hundred-year lily!" Shen Yuan said as he dodged one of its strikes. 

"I'll take care of it." Luo Binghe unsheathed his sword and moved forward to cut the flower off the snake-like vine, but Shen Yuan stopped him.

"If we can extract it from the ground without damaging it, we can use it to scare away the swarms of nettle moths that come out at night."

"And how do we extract it without getting bitten?" Luo Binghe asked, but Shen Yuan was already rummaging around in his qiankun pouch (which Luo Binghe had graciously lent him after Shen Yuan had tried to use a bat-skin bag while packing). He pulled out a strip of salamander jerky and tossed it to the lily.

The lily snapped it up, then gagged.

"I don't understand." Shen Yuan frowned at the plant, which had wilted slightly. "They're supposed to eat meat. Maybe it doesn't like it because it's been dried?"

"Maybe," said Luo Binghe. 

Later, as they were hunting down some three-headed shrews to feed to the apparently picky lily, Luo Binghe looked at him thoughtfully and said, "Shen Yuan is very knowledgeable about Abyssal wildlife."

"It's my favorite part of this world." Other than Binghe, at least. Though now that he was thinking of it, by taking so many shortcuts, was he depriving Binghe of the chance to learn the intricacies of these monsters for himself? Shen Yuan had learned it all from following Binghe's adventures. It would be terrible if his assistance now meant that Binghe didn't have crucial knowledge later on! "I can teach you what I know, if you want," he offered.

Luo Binghe smirked. "If you do, should I call you Shizun?" he said. "I've never been a great student, but for you, I think I could be good. Or bad, if you prefer."

"As if Binghe could be anything but wonderful. I'm sure any past failings were on the part of the teacher," Shen Yuan said. He reached out and took Luo Binghe's hand.

Binghe's smile grew wider as he looked at their linked hands. He raised his eyebrows, giving Shen Yuan an appraising look. "Oh? You like the idea of being my Shizun, hm?"

"Not really." Just the thought of the fate in store for Luo Binghe's actual Shizun was enough to send chills up his spine--the more distance between him and that, the better. He turned Luo Binghe's hand over and gently placed a small pile of spider slugs in his palm. 

Luo Binghe stared at him, then at the slugs, his wolfish grin falling into a confused grimace. 

"...What are these?"

"Bait!" It had taken all morning to gather so many, but there were now enough to catch shrews for both them and the lily. 

Shen Yuan might not be a proper Shizun, but he could at least teach Binghe what his original self had learned from the Abyss. And maybe a few extra things that would make future fights a little easier for him, because honestly, the poor guy had suffered enough. He beckoned Luo Binghe closer, then demonstrated how to tie a string of hair around the slug so that it could be puppetted into looking like it was moving.

Shen Yuan had never taught anyone, but he thought back to the online university classes he'd taken before he'd dropped out, and tried his best to channel his inner lecturer. "Three-headed shrews prefer live prey," he said, "so you need to drag these around in front of their burrows to lure them out. Now, the way to find their lairs is to look for raised mounds of grass in open areas like plains…"

Lou Binghe listened diligently, and within the hour they'd caught enough shrews to make a mini feast of them. It didn't sate Shen Yuan's hunger any more than the salamanders had, but it tasted good and it took the edge off, and seeing Luo Binghe full and content made the effort more than worth it.

The lily was easy enough to pick after that--all it took as tossing it a shrew every few hours, and in return it guarded them through the night, snapping up nettle moths before they could get close enough to shoot their needles at anyone. With it around they could both finally get a good night's sleep, and between that, the tasty Binghe-cooked meals, and the newfound warmth he felt, Shen Yuan was feeling better about life than he had since he'd transmigrated. 

Maybe even since before he'd transmigrated. 

His previous life had been comfortable, but he'd been alone and waiting just as surely as he had been in the Misty Valley. What he'd been waiting for, exactly, he wasn't sure--maybe for life to start, or for death to come. Mostly for PIDW to update. 

That wasn't to say the Abyss wasn't terrible. It was just as hellish and deadly as it had been described in the story. Objectively it was worse than his cozy apartment. It was worse than almost everywhere. That was the point of it. 

Still, Shen Yuan found himself smiling more often than not. 

PIDW being PIDW, it wasn't long before they ran into their first aphrodisiac. They were wading through the blood marshes when Luo Binghe stumbled, brushing against a black flower that pulsed for a moment before releasing a cloud of thick, sticky pollen. The look he turned on Shen Yuan was equal parts sheepish and desperate.

"Shen Yuan," he said. "I think these are-"

"Love's deadly embrace." Luo Binghe had encountered them in the original story, too, and they'd almost killed him. 

Luo Binghe took an unsteady step towards him, his pupils already dilating and sweat beginning to bead on his brow. "I feel-"

"I know." When Luo Binghe had originally encountered this flower, he'd been quickly consumed by lust to the point of incapacitation. If it hadn't been for his heavenly demon heritage and a nearby demoness who'd been willing to help him release the toxins via a full chapter of papapa, he'd have perished within the hour.

But in the story he hadn't encountered this particular flower until much later. The helpful demoness wasn't around yet, and wouldn't be for another year or so.

"Shen Yuan," Luo Binghe said, his voice rough. "I need-"

"An antidote!" Shen Yuan said.

"No-"

"I know of one!" He looked frantically around the clearing. The demoness who'd originally helped Luo Binghe overcome the flowers' initial effects had shown him how to craft an antidote for any future encounters. The ingredients should all be nearby--Shen Yuan just had to find them. He turned towards the treeline, but a hand on his shoulder pulled him back around.

"Shen Yuan! Please." Luo Binghe was suddenly pressing close, his breath hot against Shen Yuan's cheek. Binghe's arms wrapped around him, squeezing him tight against his firm chest, and further down Shen Yuan could feel…

Shen Yuan swallowed hard. The size of the heavenly pillar hadn't been exaggerated.

How much pain must Luo Binghe be in to approach him for this, though? His heart went out to his poor friend--or at least, it would when it stopped beating so fast.

"Finally," Binghe breathed as his hips began grinding against Shen Yuan. There was no finesse in the movement, only animal desperation.

A strange feeling filled Shen Yuan. There was pleasure and excitement (which were shocking enough on their own. Did it feel this good because it was Binghe? Or was it like this with all guys?) but there was also a sense of satisfaction, of satiation. The permanent, hungry pit in his stomach felt, ever so briefly, less bottomless.

It was strange enough to shock him out of his stupor and into action.

"I'm sorry, I have to go!" Shen Yuan said, wriggling out of Luo Binghe's grasp.

"But-"

"I'll be back!" Shen Yuan turned away and ran for the forest as fast as his goat-legs could go, ignoring the frantic shouting behind him.

The antidote was made from the rare jade-lotus root mixed with a toad-raven's feet and stewed in demonic blood, and probably tasted terrible. Luo Binghe's face certainly looked sour as he drank it.

"Are you alright?" Shen Yuan asked. 

Luo Binghe nodded curtly. He seemed like he was recovering, though he looked a bit disappointed. Whether that was at the taste of the potion or the lack of a sexy demoness to flush out the toxins with, Shen Yuan couldn't be sure.

They encountered sex pollen three more times over the following month, but Shen Yuan was prepared for all of them. The erotic vines in the Strangling Jungle could be countered with diluted piranha-eel venom; the fertility spores of the Fungal Expanse could be washed off with blood; and the obsidian jaguar-frog's poison could be waited out, though the effects were uncomfortable.

Luo Binghe was particularly irritable with the solution to the last one. "I don't understand," he practically wailed when Shen Yuan pushed him into an icy pond and instructed him to stay there for the next hour. "Don't you want to be at full power? Aren't you tired of being weak and hungry?"

"I'm not weak," Shen Yuan replied, a touch hurt. He was no Luo Binghe, but he could do things his past human body could never have dreamed of achieving even if he'd dedicated his life to the gym. 

As for hunger… 

He'd had plenty of time to contemplate his condition over the past year. It was possible that his unquenchable appetite was something all lower-level demons felt--it would certainly explain their seemingly bottomless aggression and greed. If that was true, then advancing far enough in cultivation to practice inedia would solve his problem, and dual cultivation with Luo Binghe would be an efficient way to increase his power enough to accomplish that.

And even Shen Yuan, as straight as he was, couldn't deny the protagonist's OP sex appeal. His body certainly reacted favorably to Binghe, and if he imagined doing…things…with Binghe, which he didn't because he was straight and also because there wasn't a lot of privacy to take care of the kind of physical reaction those thoughts might inspire, but if he did, he imagined it wouldn't be too bad.

It might even be good, despite them both being guys. After all, this was Luo Binghe. Was it even possible for him to have bad sex?

But Luo Binghe wasn't truly willing--that was the frog's poison talking. And so Shen Yuan backed out of Luo Binghe's reach, putting enough distance between them that neither of them would be too tempted.

"Don't worry," he said as Luo Binghe slumped dejectedly down into the water. "I'm not the kind of person to take advantage of a friend like that."

Binghe only stared tiredly at him in response. 

Shen Yuan had been diligent, bordering on compulsive, about counting the days towards the end of his time in the Misty Valley. Seeing the notches on the cave wall grow over the course of months had been one of the only ways he'd been able to anchor himself, to convince himself that time really was passing and he wasn't just reliving the same day over and over.

It was harder to keep track of the time as he journeyed through the Abyss, but he estimated about two months had passed when he saw signs they were nearing the end of their journey. And as difficult as life in the Abyss was, Shen Yuan found himself reluctant for it to actually be over.

When they found Xin Mo, they'd escape together…and then Luo Binghe would leave. He had the demon realm to conquer, a harem to acquire, and an empire to build. He wouldn't have the time or need for Shen Yuan anymore. 

Things would be good for Shen Yuan too, of course! He'd have a whole new realm to explore, and a life to start! Maybe he'd even find a food that would make him feel full! But he found his steps slowing as they approached their final destination, and when the opportunity arose for a small detour, he took it.

"It should only add a few hours," he told Luo Binghe as he pulled him away from the acid river they'd been following and led him towards the nearby mountain. "It'll be worth it."

Luo Binghe looked skeptical but didn't argue.

The site Shen Yuan was heading for had been one of his favorites in the original story. Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky had, of course, ignored its potential and only used it as the backdrop for more papapa, but despite the author's best efforts to rush past it, it had still left an impression. 

By the time they'd hiked high enough to reach a cliff that had a good view, the sun had begun to set.

"Watch the trees below us," Shen Yuan said, nodding towards the blackened, gnarled branches of the forest below. There were no leaves, so it was easy to see when purple lights began to appear on the trunks and crawl their way up the branches.

"Are those…frogs?" Luo Binghe asked.

"Lightning frogs," Shen Yuan said, nodding. "They come out at night to feed. Just wait." He sat down on the edge of the cliff, and a few moments later Luo Binghe joined him.

Over the next hour, frogs continued to crawl up the branches, coating the treetops until the forest canopy was an ocean of twinkling purple light that stretched as far as the eye could see. Occasionally some of the lights would flare as frogs fought for food, or mates, or more favorable tree branches, sending competing crackles of lightning sparking through the air.

"It's beautiful," Luo Binghe said, and when Shen Yuan looked at him, his face was calm and unguarded in a way he hadn't seen before. "I didn't know the Abyss could be like this."

"It's nice, right? I mean, the frogs will kill you if you touch them--they're still Abyssal creatures--but they're pretty."

Luo Binghe smiled. "They are."

They watched the blanket of purple undulate beneath them for a while. As the night deepened, the frogs gradually began to retreat, their lights moving back down the branches and disappearing into the tree trunks. As the forest canopy dimmed from a brilliant light to gentle glow, the remaining frogs glittering sporadically in the darkness like stars in the sky, Luo Binghe turned towards him.

"Thank you for showing me this," he said. The hand he cupped Shen Yuan's face with was gentle, as were his eyes when he leaned close. 

"I'm glad you liked it." Shen Yuan blinked, and wow--he could count Luo Binghe's eyelashes from here. He tried to pull back to a reasonable distance, but Binghe's hand on his face held him still. "I've been hoping we'd pass by here near sunset. The book that described it said the view would be spectacular."

"Your book was right," said Luo Binghe, his eyes flicking across Shen Yuan's face. "It's breathtaking." He leaned forward.

His lips were softer than Shen Yuan had imagined they'd be. 

In PIDW, Luo Binghe's kisses had been as OP as his fighting skills, and…yeah. That tracked, Shen Yuan thought, his head spinning as Luo Binghe's mouth began to move against his. It was good. Really good. And Luo Binghe wasn't even at full power, romantically speaking. He'd had a decent amount of experience, but nothing like what he'd have ten years from now. 

Would it even be possible to survive a kiss from him at that point? Or would a person just spontaneously combust? 

Shen Yuan's own mouth, seemingly without consulting his brain, was returning the kiss. As their lips moved together, Luo Binghe pulled him closer, his hands moving to caress Shen Yuan's neck, his back, his hips. One hand came to rest on his backside, Binghe's fingers stroking the base of his tail in a way that sent electric bolts shooting up his spine. 

Shen Yuan shuddered. Despite the chill of the evening he felt deliciously warm, and as Luo Binghe's hands continued to drift lower he could feel his own body respond. Shen Yuan wasn't gay (he really wasn't! In his old life he used to watch porn with women in it, and sometimes he even got off to it!) but there was no denying that he liked this, that he wanted more, that he needed--

He broke the kiss, gasping. Luo Binghe gave him a once over, his eyes lingering on the gauze tent at Shen Yuan's lap. He smirked, looking far too pleased with himself. That level of smugness after a kiss shouldn't have been hot. And yet…

Shen Yuan could understand his own physical reaction, and his own enthusiasm for the kiss. This was the protagonist, after all! It didn't matter if they were both guys--being attracted to Luo Binghe was hardwired into this universe. It was only natural! 

But why would Luo Binghe want him? 

Binghe liked beautiful women, and Shen Yuan was a man. And a goat, maybe. It didn't take a genius to see that things didn't add up. 

"You stepped on a spotted grey mushroom on the way here, didn't you?" Shen Yuan said.

"What?" Luo Binghe, who'd been leaning in for another kiss, pulled back. "A mushroom? No, I--"

"They're fairly common on this mountain. You probably didn't see it in the darkness, but don't worry. I came prepared." The antidote was a pungent oil made from the skin of a local snake. The snakes in question were somewhat tricky to find, so when Shen Yuan had happened upon one he'd grabbed it just in case. He pulled the snake's carcass out of his bag and began rubbing it gently under Binghe's nose. 

Luo Binghe jerked away, gagging, but Shen Yuan followed, making sure to spread a sufficient quantity of the oil onto Binghe's nostrils before letting him escape.

As soon as he was free of Shen Yuan's grasp, Luo Binghe scrambled away, his face twisted from the smell. "Shen Yuan! What--"

"The Iron Desire's spores have an aphrodisiac effect, but I've applied the antidote. You should feel better in a few minutes."

Luo Binghe did not look like he was feeling better. His face had turned a bright, furious red, tinged with green from the smell-induced nausea, and he was glaring at Shen Yuan in between rounds of retching.

"Do you have any idea how bad that smells?"

"Yes!" Shen Yuan's whole bag reeked, now, but… "It's actually the bad smell that counteracts the spores! It's alright if it makes you throw up, by the way. That actually helps clear the spores out faster."

Usually Luo Binghe was enthusiastic about learning, but this time he didn't seem to be in a scholarly mood. He refused Shen Yuan's hand when he offered to help him stand, and the walk back down the mountain was made in stony silence. 

Luo Binghe did end up throwing up. He managed to hit Shen Yuan's hooves while doing so, in a way that Shen Yuan couldn't help but feel was suspiciously deliberate. 

A week later, when Shen Yuan followed Luo Binghe out of the depths of the Eternal Midnight Crevasse and into the red light of the Forsaken Desert, he saw the monumental plateaus in the distance and knew with a sinking heart that their journey was over.

"That's where the undead dragon that guards Xin Mo lives," Shen Yuan said, pointing towards the tallest plateau, whose top was so high that it was entirely obscured by the clouds that swirled ominously around it. 

Luo Binghe reached for his sword as if to fly straight there, but Shen Yuan grabbed his arm, stopping him. "We can't go there right now."

"Why not?" 

"You're not powerful enough to win that fight yet."

The glare Luo Binghe gave him in response would have been intimidating if it hadn't been so clearly full of hurt. "You doubt my abilities?" 

"I said you're not powerful enough yet. But there's a way to fix that." Shen Yuan steeled himself. The next part of this conversation was going to be awkward. "You can increase your power through…well. Through dual cultivation." 

"Dual cultivation, hm?" Luo Binghe didn't look angry at the inappropriate topic of conversation, at least. If anything, he seemed to relax a bit, giving Shen Yuan a knowing smile. "Was that your plan all along?"

"Well, I mean. Yes." The plot point in front of them was as unavoidable as it was shameless. 

In the original story, Luo Binghe had attempted the fight, lost, and been forced to retreat to tend his wounds. While doing so he'd run across a cave of starving succubi who'd recently fallen into the Abyss, and…well. Everyone had sort of helped themselves. It had been a fairly mutual exchange, despite the succubi's predatory nature--they'd gotten food, Luo Binghe had gotten power, and Airplane had gotten a full week's worth of exclusive content that readers had paid through the nose to read. 

And the best part was, it hadn't hurt Luo Binghe at all! His OP heavenly demon powers meant that the succubi could feast to their heart's content without fear of draining him dry. It made sense for them to visit this particular plot point even though Luo Binghe wasn't injured. He not only needed the power-up, he needed it more--the content they'd skipped was sure to have put him at least a little behind!

Shen Yuan hadn't brought it up before since it was a bit awkward to talk about, but surely Luo Binghe wouldn't object to a week spent in the company of beautiful ladies? It was hard to read his expression, though. His eyes were dark as he stared at Shen Yuan, and while he didn't look angry, there was an intensity in his smile that sent goosebumps crawling across Shen Yuan's skin. 

Shen Yuan fidgeted. "If you're unwilling…"

"I'm willing," Luo Binghe said. "Very much so. If this is your grand plan, then I'll play my part. But why wait until now? If I needed to power up, wouldn't it have made sense to do so early on, and make the fights prior to this that much easier?"

That was true, but…"There weren't exactly many opportunities to dual cultivate until now," Shen Yuan pointed out.

"I know that's not true."

Shen Yuan blushed. There had been some beautiful demonesses that Shen Yuan had routed them around, but that was because time was a factor! And several of those ladies had frankly been unwise additions to Binghe's harem. Really, Shen Yuan was saving Binghe future hassle by skipping them. 

"Trust me," Shen Yuan said. "This is for the best. We just need to head to the cave at the base of the smallest plateau--that's where the women are."

"What women?"

"The ones you're going to dual cultivate with." 

Hadn't they just gone over this? There was no reason for Luo Binghe's face to look as blank as it did. "The cave is full of succubi," Shen Yuan explained. "They'll feed on you, but with your heavenly demon heritage you'll be alright, and you'll gain a lot of power."

Luo Binghe was silent for a long moment. 

"And what about you?" he said eventually.

"Me? What about me?"

"Aren't you going to help in the fight? Don't you need to dual cultivate and increase your power as well?" Luo Binghe was frowning. Shen Yuan couldn't help but feel that the conversation, which had seemed to be going so well, had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

"Of course I'm going to help you fight!" he said. "I…I guess I should find someone to dual cultivate with as well." He hadn't considered it, but it did make sense, and it certainly wasn't an unwelcome prospect--traveling with Luo Binghe had left him pent up in a way that he would enjoy relieving. 

"So you're going to dual cultivate with one of the women in the cave?"

It was very possible that he wouldn't be able to without being drained of power himself--he wasn't a heavenly demon with OP sex powers--but he could give it a shot. "I'll try," he said. "There are a lot of succubi there. At least one of them should be interested in me, right?"

The sour, tired look Luo Binghe gave him in response was frankly uncalled for. Shen Yuan might not be at the protagonist's level of charm, but he wasn't that bad! He could definitely woo a woman! Probably. Maybe. In theory, at least.

He'd played dating sims, anyway. Real life romance couldn't be that much different.

Shen Yuan would be the first to admit that he could be obtuse. He often missed social cues, and it wasn't uncommon for him to find out, years too late, that his friends had actually been inviting him along when they'd paused meaningfully after mentioning that they were heading out to a restaurant, or that a girlfriend had been hinting at wanting something more when she'd invited him into her room to see her new bedspread (in his defense, the bedspread had been a bit ugly and he'd thought he'd done well at the time by finding something nice to say about it before leaving). 

Some things, however, were too obvious for even him to misunderstand.

"So," Shen Yuan said, staring in shock at the succubi who'd come out of the cave to greet them. The cave was still a little ways off, but as they walked closer and its denizens came into clearer view, there were some facts that were rapidly becoming very hard to ignore. "I don't think I'm a goat demon."

"You don't say."

"...I might be a succubus?"

"Incubus," corrected Luo Binghe. He didn't even bother to look at Shen Yuan as he said it, too busy squinting suspiciously at the succubi they were walking towards. He…did not look like this new information was rocking the foundations of his world.

Shen Yuan couldn't say the same for himself. He looked back at the succubi and tried not to panic.

They'd looked like normal women when they'd first approached, but as soon as they'd caught sight of Shen Yuan they'd begun to transform. The air around them had shimmered as their long, twisting horns, cloven hooves, and elegant tails appeared.

That hadn't happened in the novel. Their true form had been described, but they'd kept their human façades on while with Binghe. Now that they'd dropped the act, it was impossible not to see the resemblance. 

"Incubus," Shen Yuan repeated numbly. 

"That's what you call male succubi, right?" Luo Binghe looked at him as if he expected Shen Yuan to know that, which he should! But there hadn't been any incubi in PIDW. Airplane had left that part out--due to fear of how his mostly-male fans would react, no doubt. The coward.

Shen Yuan was absolutely going to kill that man if he ever had the chance. 

"You didn't know," Luo Binghe said, and his full attention was on Shen Yuan now, his eyes wide with shock and--was that pity? Concern? A dawning realization? Shen Yuan couldn't tell.

Then the implications of Luo Binghe's words hit him.

"You knew?"

"How could I not?" Luo Binghe said, gesturing at all of him, which, now that Shen Yuan had a succubus to compare himself against, was fair enough. Binghe looked like he wanted to say more, but they were within earshot of the succubi cave now, and one of them--the leader, presumably--was making her way over. 

Her smile towards Shen Yuan was welcoming, but it sharpened into something more predatory as she shifted her gaze to Luo Binghe. She ran her eyes over his form hungrily, and as Shen Yuan watched, the air around her seemed to shimmer and sparkle.

Even her demonic energy was the same as his, Shen Yuan realized with a sinking stomach. Only now, from an outside perspective, he could see the allure for what it was.

"Welcome to our humble home, traveler," she said, reaching out as if to stroke Luo Binghe's chest with her elegant, clawed finger. "I wasn't expecting to meet someone so handsome and powerful in such a place. Truly, fate has been kind to us. Won't you come inside so my sisters and I can welcome you properly?"

Luo Binghe grabbed her hand before it could make contact with his chest. Without batting an eyelash the succubus moved forward, angling to press her body against his, but a quick burst of Luo Binghe's qi stopped her.

Her eyes widened. 

"Wait, you're actually powerful?" She stared at Luo Binghe in shock, then gave Shen Yuan an incredulous look. "I was just saying that to flatter him. If he's got so much power, why do you look so hungry?"

"Er," said Shen Yuan.

"Have you had trouble seducing him? He does appear to be somewhat resistant. Did you bring him here because you needed help subduing him?"

"No, I--"

"Because we can definitely help with that." The succubus leader gestured to the group behind her, and a moment later they were surrounded by grinning women with sharp teeth and glittering claws.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Shen Yuan said faintly. 

Luo Binghe drew his sword and shoved aside the succubus whose wrist he'd grabbed. 

"There's no need to fight," Shen Yuan said as the succubi closed in, swiping at Luo Binghe with their claws.

"He's here willingly!" he said as Luo Binghe lashed out with his blade and demonic qi, throwing his attackers back and smashing them against the ground and rocks.

"He's normally very friendly!" he promised as Luo Binghe kicked aside a succubus who'd just tried, and failed, to rip his clothes off.

Luo Binghe was more than a match for the group in front of them, but as the fight continued, more and more succubi swarmed out of the cave. Before long the air was heavy with the succubi's allure, potent enough that even Luo Binghe was starting to falter. When he turned to look at Shen Yuan, his pupils were blown wide and he was beginning to sway.

A particularly powerful wave of succubi allure swept over them, and Luo Binghe staggered. The leader was back on her feet, and the air crackled with demonic sexual energy as she approached.

Luo Binghe groaned softly and fell to his knees.

"Binghe!" Shen Yuan grabbed him, trying to pull him back up to his feet, but Binghe only slumped down further, his eyes dark and unfocused.

In the original story Luo Binghe had been enthusiastic about dual cultivating with the succubi. This had been the best part of the Abyss, for both Binghe and the readers! He was supposed to be enjoying this.

He was supposed to be willing.

But he wasn't. Perhaps, Shen Yuan was realizing, the original story had changed more than he'd anticipated.

"Alright, that's enough," Shen Yuan said, stepping between Luo Binghe and the succubi leader. The succubi leader frowned at him in surprise.

"It's a bit late to have second thoughts about sharing," she said. "We're starving, and you've brought a multi-course feast straight to our doorstep. Step aside"

"He doesn't want this," said Shen Yuan.

"He will once we're done with him."

Shen Yuan glanced behind him. Lou Binghe's body certainly was ready to go--his generous anatomy meant that his physical excitement could be easily seen even through his robes--but his head was lolling to one side, his face dazed and slack. He was in no shape to be making decisions. He probably couldn't even stand.

When he'd first encountered Luo Binghe, Shen Yuan hadn't been able to lift him. Shen Yuan was stronger now, though--not just from fighting alongside Luo Binghe, but, in all likelihood, from feeding off Binghe's ambient sexual energy. 

As unsettling as the thought was, it had made him strong enough. He picked Luo Binghe up, threw him over his shoulder, and ran.

The succubi didn't let him go without a chase. They were desperate, but so was Shen Yuan, and he had the advantage of having insider knowledge of the area. Once he found the canyon of gold and answered the ancient stone guardian's riddle (before she had a chance to ask it, which seemed to irritate her) he was able to make it through the gates and lose their pursuers.

He and Luo Binghe were safe, at least for the moment.

Luo Binghe blinked at him slowly when Shen Yuan lowered him gently onto the ground between the piles of golden baubles. He continued to watch, dazed, as Shen Yuan opened their qiankun pouches and began pulling out the supplies to set up camp.

After a few minutes he joined, silently helping Shen Yuan clear the ground for sleeping. By the time it was all done, clarity had returned to his eyes, and he was watching Shen Yuan with a cautious expression. 

"Are you disappointed?" Luo Binghe asked, sitting down next to Shen Yuan.

"What?" Shen Yuan had been pulling out the last of the dried salamander, but at Binghe's words he paused. "Why would I be?"

"I ruined your plan. The succubi are hostile now--it's unlikely either of us will be able to dual cultivate with them without risking our lives."

Succubi did have a tendency to snack praying-mantis style on men who'd upset them. Shen Yuan supposed that included Luo Binghe, now, no matter how much they'd fawned over him in the original text.

"They probably wouldn't have let me dual cultivate with them anyway, since I'm…you know," Shen Yuan said.

"An incubus."

"Yeah. That." It was too much to think about, and so Shen Yuan didn't. He held out a salamander jerky strip to Luo Binghe, who shook his head. "The real question is: how are you going to power up without dual cultivation?"

There were other women Luo Binghe could cultivate with, but they'd have to backtrack. It would add weeks to their trip--maybe longer, since a single woman wouldn't be able to dual cultivate nonstop the same way a group of starving succubi could have. 

"I don't see why we have to change that part of the plan," Luo Binghe said. "We can still dual cultivate."

"We'll need to head all the way back to the Fungal Expanse before we find anyone who-"

"Shen Yuan." Luo Binghe turned to fully face him, then gently but firmly took hold of both of his hands. "Please, for once, listen to what I'm saying."

"What do you mean, 'for once'? I always--"

"Shen Yuan. We can dual cultivate. Together."

"Oh." Shen Yuan looked down at their clasped hands, then up at Luo Binghe's expression: exasperated and earnest and undeniably unaffected by any sort of sex pollen. "Oh."

"...Do you want to?" Binghe asked, after a moment of silence while Shen Yuan's brain quietly tried to make sense of the situation, failed, and shut down.

And really, as shocking as the proposition was--as impossible and unreal as the idea of Binghe wanting him like that was--there was only one answer.

Shen Yuan nodded numbly. "Yes," he whispered, and the hunger in Luo Binghe's answering grin put his own to shame.

Chapter Text

Luo Binghe was not a virgin, nor was he inexperienced at sex by any stretch of imagination. He'd bedded (and walled, and floored, and on one memorable occasion, horsebacked) dozens of women in the Abyss. Many of them had also been trying to kill him and/or eat him--this was the Abyss after all--but despite the dangerous thrill of his experiences, he'd become somewhat jaded to the pleasures of the flesh.

Or at least, he'd thought he had. The sight in front of him was making him question himself. 

Shen Yuan was on his hands and knees, resting comfortably on a pile of thickly embroidered blankets and pillows that they'd scrounged from one of the treasure piles. His clothes--what little he'd had--had been discarded sometime shortly after Shen Yuan had breathlessly, incredibly, finally said yes.

The moments following that "yes" were already blurring together in Luo Binghe's memory. They'd kissed, and hadn't stopped kissing, and Binghe's hands had been full of so much of Shen Yuan's warm, toned skin that he was practically dizzy with it, and Shen Yuan's hands had been on him in turn, equally eager and shaking with excitement. 

Letting go of Shen Yuan to find comfortable bedding had been agony. Waiting while Shen Yuan rummaged around in his bags for an ointment to ease their coupling had been equally torturous, in part because Shen Yuan had kept trying to explain what creature he'd made the ointment out of and Luo Binghe really didn't need to know that right now.

"Maybe," he'd eventually suggested when Shen Yuan had begun ramping up into one of his lectures, seemingly forgetting that both of them were naked and hard, "you can teach me about the medicinal properties of scaled-rat mucus later."

"Oh. Alright," Shen Yuan had said, and then he'd handed the ointment over, turned around, and gotten down on all fours. His back had arched and his tail had lifted, presenting himself to Luo Binghe, and Luo Binghe had been forced to grab the base of his cock to prevent himself from coming on the spot. 

The ointment--the origins of which he was decidedly not thinking about right now--was warm and slick, and it tingled pleasantly on his fingers when he rubbed them together. 

It was going to feel divine. He made sure to gather up a generous amount, reached towards Shen Yuan, and--

"I hope that ointment is for you, cultivator!" a voice shouted from the edge of the canyon.

Luo Binghe's sword was in his hand in an instant. He whipped around, pointing his blade towards the sound of the intruder. "Who's there?" he shouted. 

He knew he probably cut slightly less of an intimidating figure while naked, but he couldn't bring himself to care. 

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me already!"

"Is that the succubus leader?" Shen Yuan asked, looking up towards the top of the cavern. At the interruption he'd scrambled backwards, pulling the blanket he was laying on around himself in a show of modesty that should have been ridiculous coming from an incubus, but somehow wasn't when that incubus was Shen Yuan.

Luo Binghe followed his gaze, and sure enough--the succubus leader had somehow managed to climb to the top of one of the towering plateaus that formed the sides of the cavern and was standing above them, staring down and laughing.

He sent a sword glare slashing towards her, but the distance was too great. It smashed harmlessly into the rocks, close enough to her location to make her jump, but too far away to seriously threaten her.

"She can't get to us," Shen Yuan said quietly. "Look at the cavern walls--they're impossible to climb down." He pointed towards the near-vertical cliff-faces, the sides of which had been coated in smooth, polished gold. "The only way in is through the stone guardian, and she doesn't know the password."

Luo Binghe put his sword down reluctantly. If he couldn't kill her, and she couldn't get to them…

"Why are you here?" he asked her, frowning. "Just trying to spoil our fun?" 

"Oh, not at all!" she said. "I'm here to join it! But if that isn't possible--"

"It's not!" Luo Binghe snarled.

"--then I'll enjoy the show. At the end of the day, sexual energy is sexual energy. Even if I can't participate in the feast, I can savor the crumbs that fall my way. But you're not doing it right."

It had been a long time since someone had insulted Luo Binghe's skills in this particular area. He bristled. "If you don't like what you see, then leave!"

"It's not that the view is bad! Not at all." The leer in her voice was unmistakable, even from this distance. "And please--feel free to do whatever makes you happy. But your incubus friend feeds on yin energy. If you want him to ever be anything more than an emaciated shadow of himself, you'll need to switch your approach."

That…made sense.

"Oh," said Luo Binghe.

"What?" said Shen Yuan. He looked between Binghe's face and the distant succubus. "Wait, does she mean…?" 

"That I'll need to take the receiving role? Yes," Luo Binghe said.

Shen Yuan's face paled. Luo Binghe swallowed down the complicated mix of emotions that threatened to overtake him in the face of Shen Yuan's obvious discomfort, and began to gather up their supplies.

"Come on. There's a more secluded area just around the corner," Luo Binghe said. He wrapped Shen Yuan in the blanket and shepherded him further into the canyon, away from prying eyes.

"Good idea, that'll definitely work. There's no way I'll follow you and watch anyways," the succubus leader shouted, but they both ignored her. 

The new area wasn't far, and it offered a few gold-plated statues that they could camp behind that gave the illusion of privacy, even if Luo Binghe was pretty sure the succubus would still be able to see over them from her vantage point. Shen Yuan was uncharacteristically silent as they set up. It wasn't until Binghe pulled the ointment out that he finally spoke.

"I wouldn't ask that from you," Shen Yuan said. He wasn't meeting Luo Binghe's eyes, and as he spoke, he scuffed aimlessly at the golden floor with his hooves. "Since you'd need to…you know…we can just not. We'll find someone else, and-"

"Am I not pleasing to you?" Luo Binghe asked sharply, the rejection stinging him into responding when honestly, he wasn't even sure this was something he wanted. In his original plan, Shen Yuan would be under him, and while the experience might vary from the ones he'd had previously, he knew about what to expect. His cock would feel nice, Shen Yuan would moan a bit, and everyone would have a good time.

But being the one who was pushed down? What would that feel like? It wasn't something Luo Binghe had ever fantasized about, and even in his teen years when self pleasure had been his only option, he'd never explored sensations like the ones he'd feel if he agreed to this. Surely it was possible for it to feel good--and he felt confident that, if their roles were reversed, he'd have been able to ensure that Shen Yuan enjoyed himself--but how? He couldn't imagine himself finding such a sensation anything but uncomfortable. 

But the idea that Shen Yuan didn't want him in that way--that there was something lacking in him, that he wasn't good enough--was intolerable. 

Shen Yuan's eyes widened at his words. "What? No! You're wonderful!"

"Then why don't you want me? Was intimacy with me only agreeable when you thought you could turn your back and imagine someone else? Or--"

"I just didn't think you'd want to bottom, is all!" Shen Yuan interrupted, looking alarmed. 

"Well I do," Luo Binghe said, crossing his arms. And he did. Even if it wasn't pleasurable, there was no way it could rival the other pains and indignities he'd endured in his life up till now. He hadn't run away from those challenges, and he wouldn't run away from this one, either. Especially when backing down now, after making such a fuss, would cause him to lose face in front of Shen Yuan.

"Oh. I mean, alright. If you're sure?" Shen Yuan said. His words were hesitant, but his eyes were already roaming hungrily over Luo Binghe's body, Binghe noticed with satisfaction. The desire that had been squashed so ruthlessly when they'd been interrupted was clearly beginning to rise again, along with other parts of Shen Yuan's anatomy.

"I'm sure," said Luo Binghe. He pulled Shen Yuan firmly into a kiss, not giving him a chance to have second thoughts, and they sank down onto the blankets together.

Luo Binghe had always found sex to be pleasant. He felt good during the act in a gentle, warm, unhurried sort of way, and afterwards he was generally sated and relaxed. It was like a good bottle of wine without the hangover. Who wouldn't enjoy such a thing?

He'd never fully understood his partners, though--as nice as sex was, the screaming and moaning and babbling from the women he'd lain with had always seemed over the top. He'd half-wondered if it wasn't at least partially an act, an exaggerated reaction to make him feel good. 

He knew better, now.

"Ah!" he yelled as Shen Yuan's hips snapped into him, his cock hitting the strange, intense spot inside of Binghe that sent stars pinwheeling across his vision and pleasure shooting through his veins. Shen Yuan, for all that he'd stammered at the beginning that he didn't have much experience, seemed to be unerringly drawn to that spot. First his fingers had found it, and had wrung an orgasm out of Luo Binghe before he'd quite realized what was happening. Then, when Shen Yuan had finally entered him (and Luo Binghe had never imagined he'd be impatient for such a thing, but he'd never imagined it could feel like this), Shen Yuan had hit it on every thrust.

It was almost too much. And yet, somehow, not enough.

"More," Luo Binghe choked out. He'd been embarrassed about the nonsense spilling out of his mouth at first, but he was long past that now. "Shen Yuan, please."

"Fuck," Shen Yuan moaned. "Binghe…"

The cursing was new, too. Shen Yuan didn't seem to realize he was even doing it. When Luo Binghe glanced over his shoulder, Shen Yuan's face had gone slack from the sheer bliss of it all, his eyes glazed with pleasure. The hesitancy that he'd shown at the beginning of their coupling was gone as his body seemed to remember what it had been made for.

There was no way Shen Yuan's body was virginal--Luo Binghe knew this, even as the thought of Shen Yuan with other partners filled him with a sour, directionless rage. Shen Yuan was an incubus, after all. He'd surely done this dance thousands of times, far more than Binghe had himself, and it showed in the skill of his movements.

Shen Yuan didn't seem to remember those times, though, even if his body did. Luo Binghe couldn't help but feel smug about being his first in that respect, at least. 

And truly, Binghe couldn't be all that mad about Shen Yuan's experience, not if it meant he got to feel like this.

He cried out as Shen Yuan increased his pace, and his moans were as loud, if not louder, than the women whose reactions he'd scoffed at. Had sex been like this for them this whole time? Had Luo Binghe really been making do with 'pleasant' when 'earth-shattering' had been an option?

Luo Binghe's stamina, which had always been impeccable, gave way quickly under the waves of pleasure washing over him. He felt himself tensing up embarrassingly early, and then his orgasm was on him before he had the chance to try and stave it off. 

Behind him, Shen Yuan gasped and his hips stuttered, and a moment later Binghe felt a warmth flood into him.

The sensation was equally strange, pleasurable, and disappointing. Luo Binghe let out a shaky breath. That had been faster than he'd have liked, but vastly more enjoyable than he'd expected, and he supposed they could always go again later. He waited for the sense of relaxation, of satiation, to hit. 

And he waited.

And waited.

A prickly, hot desire began to tingle in his gut, then spread to his limbs. 

"Shen Yuan…" 

"Mmmph," said Shen Yuan, his head buried in the back of Binghe's hair. At Binghe's words, he began to move, nuzzling at Binghe's nape. "Do you know how delicious you smell right now?"

Luo Binghe glanced back. Shen Yuan's eyes were dilated and unfocused--he looked drunk on pleasure, and the knowledge that Luo Binghe had been the one to make him look that way made Binghe's chest clench with a different sort of joy. Still…"Shen Yuan!"

Shen Yuan's tongue flicked out, tracing a line down Luo Binghe's neck. "I can taste your pleasure. It's unbelievable, Binghe, it's so sweet."

The tingling desire that had been spreading through Luo Binghe's body was becoming more intense. His cock, which had never had the chance to truly soften, was already so hard that it was aching. "Shen Yuan. Listen to me! Is incubus essence an aphrodisiac?"

Shen Yuan's only answer was to bite down on Luo Binghe's neck, his sharp teeth drawing blood and piercing Binghe with an equal amount of pleasure and pain. Luo Binghe shouted, startled, and Shen Yuan growled--actually growled, deep and self-satisfied and possessive--and pulled out long enough to roll Luo Binghe onto his back and thrust back in.

"It is an aphrodisiac! So is incubus saliva!" called a voice.

Luo Binghe looked up at the canyon walls. The succubus leader was directly above them--still separated from them by the sheer, unclimbable walls, but those walls were slightly shorter, here. She was close enough that if Luo Binghe called for his sword, he might be able to land an attack with a well-aimed sword glare.

He did not call for his sword. 

"What's the antidote?" he asked, his voice breathless as Shen Yuan began to move in him. He could feel his mind becoming fuzzier and his body become looser, more welcoming and more responsive to Shen Yuan's increasingly frantic movements. 

"It'll wear off," she said.

"Eventually," said another succubus, and now that Luo Binghe was looking, there were multiple of them. A crowd, even, all gathered at the cliff's edge to watch. "The hungrier he is, the more potent it will be. Hang in there!"

He tried to snarl at them, but any threatening effect that he might have achieved was ruined when he gasped halfway through as Shen Yuan shifted his grip, wrapping Luo Binghe's legs around his waist and beginning to thrust in earnest. 

He heard laughter. He should have been humiliated, but he was rapidly losing his ability to care, or even to  focus on anything other than Shen Yuan. 

He tightened his legs, urging Shen Yuan on. Shen Yuan responded eagerly, his tail wrapping tightly around one of Binghe's thighs and his mouth returning to worry at the bite mark from earlier. 

The bite had been deep enough to draw blood, and even now Luo Binghe could feel his blood parasites spreading through Shen Yuan's body, joining the ones he'd fed him during that first meal so long ago. He could stop this easily--could freeze Shen Yuan in place and leave and wait until the desire worked its way out of his body one way or another.

He arched his back, pressing himself closer instead.

Distantly, he thought he might have heard cheering from the top of the canyon, but he was too far gone to tell for sure.

It was difficult to tell how much time had passed. It felt like at least a day, going by his fragmented impressions of the shadows lengthening, and then stars shining above him, and then the sunrise painting the ground under his shaking hands a brilliant yellow-orange. At some point he found himself on his side, Shen Yuan behind him and in him and barely moving. It was dusk (again?), and Shen Yuan's breathing was evening out, but the fire in Luo Binghe's gut was still burning. 

If the strength of Shen Yuan's aphrodisiac depended on his hunger level, then he must have been very hungry. And was that any surprise? Until recently, Shen Yuan hadn't even known he was an incubus. It was impossible to guess when his last real meal had been.

How exactly he'd managed to be ignorant of his own nature, Luo Binghe wasn't quite sure. Either his head injury when he'd fallen into the Abyss was far worse than he'd let on, or something else was at play. Luo Binghe thought back to some of the sinister spirits and ancient artifacts he'd come across, many of which offered great riches, but always took more than they gave. He could easily imagine such a bargain giving Shen Yuan the knowledge to tame the Abyss while simultaneously taking away his power to do so by stripping him of his memories, leaving him like a newborn babe, unable to even feed himself.

He could only imagine how much Shen Yuan had suffered, alone and hungry and cold. But despite his suffering, his instinct on first finding Luo Binghe had been to help him. The sinister ulterior motives Luo Binghe had been bracing for had never manifested. Shen Yuan had been nothing but genuine, kind, and supportive--rare traits in any realm, and even more so in the Abyss.

Luo Binghe was more than happy to support him back, and make sure Shen Yuan never felt the numbing bite of cold or the pain of hunger ever again. But in order to do that, Shen Yuan needed to move.

Luo Binghe wriggled a bit, trying to get a response, but Shen Yuan only sighed sleepily.

"Are you alright?" Luo Binghe asked, canting his hips backwards hopefully.

"I am," Shen Yuan said, his voice rough. "I feel…full."

Luo Binghe felt a warm sense of satisfaction bloom in his chest. Still, the aphrodisiac effects from Shen Yuan's previous hunger lingered. 

"If you're full, then can I…?" Luo Binghe pulled away, wincing as Shen Yuan slipped out of him, then turned to nudge Shen Yuan's legs apart.

Shen Yuan nodded, yawning. Luo Binghe knelt between his knees and got to work.

Luo Binghe had always been a fast learner. He might not have been with men before, but he'd remembered (and could probably never forget) what Shen Yuan had done with his fingers to make him feel good. It wasn't a huge leap to apply those same techniques to Shen Yuan.

It didn't take long for Shen Yuan to start squirming, the sleepiness fading from his face. By the time he was ready for more than fingers, Shen Yuan was panting, his tail thrashing impatiently and his whole body writhing as Luo Binghe found and massaged that same, wonderful spot inside of him. 

"I'm ready, I swear," Shen Yuan said, his voice breaking. "I didn't spend half this long getting you ready!"

"I'm bigger than you," Luo Binghe pointed out.

"Rude," Shen Yuan said, but when Luo Binghe did start to press in, his face tightened, and Luo Binghe knew he'd been right to go slow. 

He didn't rush now, either, alternating between gradually pressing in, stroking Shen Yuan's cock, and nibbling at Shen Yuan's chest and neck. It was slow going--almost tortuously slow, when everything in Binghe wanted to bury himself in Shen Yuan's tight heat now--but he knew how good this could feel, and he wanted Shen Yuan to experience it, too. 

When Luo Binghe eventually-- finally --fully sheathed himself, there was a smattering of applause.

"What was that?" Shen Yuan said, looking around frantically. His eyes widened as he spotted the cluster of succubi above them. 

"Don't worry about them," Luo Binghe said. "Don't even look at them. Look at me." 

"Have they been watching--" he started, but then Luo Binghe began to move--slowly at first, carefully, but aimed precisely as to bring Shen Yuan the most pleasure--and Shen Yuan's voice trailed off into a moan.

They didn't speak for a while after that. 

Eventually, they needed to sleep. And Luo Binghe needed to eat, though they quickly found out that he was able to do so while Shen Yuan also 'ate' if they positioned themselves right.

"Do you think we're strong enough to win Xin Mo yet?" Shen Yuan asked as he thrust lazily into Luo Binghe.

Luo Binghe considered it as he laid on his back and nibbled on the remains of their rations--which were lasting a lot longer now that only Luo Binghe was using them. They had been dual cultivating for quite a while now, but…

"Let's go a little longer. Best to be safe," he said, and wrapped his legs around Shen Yuan's waist a little tighter.

At one point they ran out of water. Before they had the chance to discuss leaving, a rope with a bucket of water was lowered down to them from the side of the canyon.

A few weeks later, additional lube was delivered the same way.

During his first year in the Abyss, Luo Binghe had been ensnared by a Wanting Willow. It had lured him close with the promise of fruit, and once he was within range of its hypnotic branches he'd fallen asleep without realizing it. In his mind he'd eaten the fruit and continued on his journey, quickly finding an exit from the Abyss and returning to lead a life of fame and fortune in the human realm. If he hadn't seen the illusion for what it was (his tip off had been Shen Qingqiu apologizing to him--something that could never happen in anything but a dream), he might have lived out his remaining days there.

Back then he'd woken up just in time to fight off the roots that were trying to bind and digest him. But if he came across a Willow now, and it fed him a dream of getting to live out his days like this--entangled with Shen Yuan, secluded from the world with no worries and nothing to do all day but bring each other pleasure--he wouldn't have wanted to wake up. He would have wanted it to last forever.

But, as Luo Binghe understood all too well, outside the dream realm all good things come to an end.

"This is going to be the biggest fight of your life," Shen Yuan warned as they approached the plateau at the center of the storm's vortex. "The undead dragon can't be killed, only dismembered. And its toxins will--"

"Incapacitate even a heavenly demon. So you've said," said Luo Binghe.

When their food rations had run out, and the succubi had proven unable to hunt for meat to keep Luo Binghe fed, they'd been forced to pack up their supplies and leave the canyon. They were now powerful enough that succubi were keeping their distance, at least for the moment, but it was best to leave the Abyss sooner than later.

Luo Binghe should have been ecstatic. This was the moment he'd worked towards, and trained for, and dreamt about for years. But now, with escape from the Abyss finally imminent, all he could feel was disappointment. He hated being trapped here, and always would, but for now Shen Yuan was trapped here with him. Once they were free, Shen Yuan could leave. 

Luo Binghe gritted his teeth at the thought of it. 

Shen Yuan also seemed worried, though for different reasons. Ever since they'd begun to approach the final fight, his ears had been low and his tail had been twitching in agitation. He'd also run Luo Binghe through the information on the fight more than once.

"You need to aim--"

"For the weakened vertebrae near the base of its skull. I know."

Perhaps his tone was too dismissive--instead of calming down, reassured that Luo Binghe understood the fight, Shen Yuan began to twitch harder.

"Binghe! You need to take this seriously!" he said, frowning.

"I am."

 "I know you're powerful, but this fight won't be easy!"

But it was.

And when it was all over, and the bones of the dragon were shattered, separated, and sealed, Shen Yuan almost looked disappointed. 

"That's not how it was supposed to go," he said, gesturing angrily at the dragon's shattered carcass as if it had personally offended him. "We were supposed to struggle! For at least a week! It was supposed to be a monumental task to make even a hairline crack appear on its bones, which we should have had to fight to do while it shredded us with its razor claws and poisoned us with its fangs and shook our very souls with its roar. We should barely be alive right now!"

The only injury was a small cut on Luo Binghe's cheek which was healing even as they spoke. "It was no match for the two of us working together," Luo Binghe pointed out. Especially now that they'd increased their cultivation and Shen Yuan was no longer starving. With his full incubus strength in effect, he was a formidable ally.

"I suppose," Shen Yuan said grudgingly. "We did dual cultivate for longer than planned. A lot longer. And they helped, too, I guess."

The succubi that had followed them had joined in the fight once they'd seen Xin Mo and realized the stakes. They weren't as powerful as Shen Yuan, not having fed recently, but there were a lot of them. 

And now they were watching Luo Binghe with glittering eyes and sharp claws.

"We're waiting," said the succubus leader. "You promised us a way back home."

Luo Binghe nodded, and reached to take Xin Mo.

Shen Yuan had warned Luo Binghe about this part, too, but he'd clearly been more worried about the dragon. For the first time, Luo Binghe felt that Shen Yuan had gotten things very, very wrong.

The dragon fight had been easy.

Xin Mo was not.

From the instant he touched its hilt, he could feel its cruel tendrils worming their way through his mind, through his soul, looking for an answering darkness. First it searched for his anger, and it found plenty of it: simmering rage and a thirst for vengeance, all underscored by a bone-deep certainty that he'd been wronged, that he hadn't deserved to be hurt, and that the people who'd caused him that undeserved pain should suffer it themselves a thousand fold.

Luo Binghe had spent his early nights in the Abyss dreaming of ways to make his Shizun pay for what he'd done. Shen Qingqiu needed to experience at least as much pain, humiliation, and betrayal as Binghe had. And Binghe had plans for how to make that happen. He'd frame his Shizun, destroy his name so thoroughly that even his fellow Peak Lords abandoned him, then lock him in prison. Once there, Luo Binghe would be able to inflict every wound he'd suffered himself as a disciple and in the Abyss, and he wouldn't have to stop there.

Yes, Xin Mo whispered. You can hurt him. You should hurt him. You need to hurt him, to make right what he's done…

But even as Xin Mo scrabbled to gain a purchase on his anger, he could feel it fading.

Towards the end of his time in the Abyss, Luo Binghe's thoughts hadn't been focused on revenge. He was still angry--and he might always be angry, at least a bit--but that flame had been tempered. His days had become filled with Shen Yuan, who'd fought alongside him and cared for him in such a strangely awkward and earnest way that Luo Binghe couldn't bring himself to doubt Shen Yuan's intentions. And then when he'd gotten Shen Yuan to face his own nature, and they'd lain together…

He could feel Xin Mo shift its focus. He's yours, it said, and Luo Binghe's whole body thrummed in agreement. Keep him. Lock him away, where no one else can touch him with their filthy hands or their unworthy eyes.

The desire was so strong it was almost a compulsion. He found his body moving towards Shen Yuan--to steal him away and hide him from the world for eternity--and it took all his will to halt his feet, to stop from grabbing Shen Yuan and running right now.

Shen Yuan looked at him with wide, trusting eyes. "Binghe?" he asked. "All you alright? Is Xin Mo…?"

Luo Binghe could imagine those eyes dimming as Shen Yuan became resigned to his cloistered life away from the wonders of the world he talked so much about. He could picture Shen Yuan's warmth cooling, growing cold, as he began to look at Luo Binghe as his jailer and not his lover.

You could force him to be happy, Xin Mo promised. With the right herbs to muddle his mind, a zoo of exotic creatures to keep him entertained, and sex to keep him full and content...

It would be heavenly. 

But would that numbed version of Shen Yuan be able to chatter about the world like it was something new and precious, or blush when Luo Binghe looked in his direction for too long? Would he know, deep down, that he'd been trapped?

Would he hate Luo Binghe for it?

Xin Mo wasn't entirely wrong. Luo Binghe could make Shen Yuan happy…just not like that.

He could feel Xin Mo hiss in frustration. But you want him, it snarled.

Luo Binghe did.

Then fuck him already! 

That, Luo Binghe could do.

The first ones through the portal were the succubi. They whooped and cried out in joy as they stepped from the rocky, dead plateau of the Abyss into the lush, grassy field of the demon realm.

"We won't forget you!" the succubi leader promised as Luo Binghe and Shen Yuan followed them through.

"Yes, your time in the canyon was very memorable," agreed one of her sisters.

"I meant that we owe you a favor," the succubus leader said, but she was grinning and she didn't dispute the other's words. The group moved, dancing and shouting and singing, into the surrounding forest, heading back to their home.

And then it was just him and Shen Yuan. 

Shen Yuan was watching him cautiously. Luo Binghe knew he was worried about him--Binghe hadn't spoken since picking up Xin Mo and creating the portal--and the ridiculousness of the situation, especially after the thoughts Xin Mo had unburied in his mind, made him want to laugh. Shen Yuan should be scared of him, not for him.

But he wasn't scared of Luo Binghe. He never had been.

That thought made Luo Binghe smile as he gently pushed Shen Yuan to the ground and began undoing the other man's belt.

"Binghe," Shen Yuan gasped. There was concern in his eyes even as he laid back and arched into Luo Binghe's touch. "Binghe, are you alright? Xin Mo…"

Xin Mo's dark energy was swirling around them. Denied violence, it had focused all its power and desire on a different sort of release. 

Luo Binghe saw no reason to fight it. It had been almost half a day since he'd lain with Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan had to be hungry by now, and Luo Binghe had needs of his own.

"You warned me that Xin Mo could feed on sexual energy," Luo Binghe said as he stripped off his own clothes. 

"Yes…"

"And so do you."

Shen Yuan nodded, his eyes wide and hungry as more and more of Luo Binghe's skin came into view. 

Binghe reached between his own legs, quickly fingering himself open. He didn't have the patience to do it properly, but he was still somewhat relaxed and slick from their previous time together. It would have to do.

"Then let's eat," Binghe said, and lowered himself onto Shen Yuan.

Later, when both Xin Mo's and Shen Yuan's hunger had been sated, they began their trek north towards what Shen Yuan promised was the nearest demon town. 

"What do you plan on doing next?" Luo Binghe asked, trying to keep his voice casual. They hadn't talked much about what they'd do post-Abyss. Luo Binghe supposed that, deep down, he hadn't really wanted to know.

What if Shen Yuan said he'd remembered his family, and wanted to return to them? What if he wanted to settle down somewhere alone?

"I think I want to travel," Shen Yuan said. He smiled, and maybe Luo Binghe was imagining it, but he looked a bit sad. "There are lots of places I'd love to visit, lots of creatures I'd like to see. Plus, I'll need to keep myself busy now that I won't have you to keep me company." He gave a small, self-deprecating laugh.

Luo Binghe felt himself go cold.

Keep him, shouted Xin Mo. Grab him now! Don't let him go!

He forced Xin Mo down, and his smile only trembled a little as he asked, "And why won't I be keeping you company?"

Shen Yuan paused. "...Do you want to keep me company? Don't you want---I don't know--revenge? Power? An empire?"

He'd turned to face Binghe, and while he looked surprised at Binghe's question, he also looked…hopeful?

He didn't actually want to go separate ways, Binghe realized with a rush of relief. Even the suggestion that Binghe might spend more time with him had made his face light up.

And in the end, what was revenge, or power, or an empire compared with that?

"Maybe I also want to visit some of these wondrous locations you're always talking about," Luo Binghe said, and his heart was beating fast, now--faster and harder than it had during his fight with the dragon.

"You do?"

"I do," Luo Binghe said. "As for an empire…" He grinned, baring his sharp canines. At the sight of them, Shen Yuan swallowed thickly. "I can always conquer the places we visit that I deem worthy. Or that you like best. Perhaps we can build an empire together out of your favorite destinations, with all of your favorite creatures."

The idea was intoxicating. He'd win any battle he needed to in order to prove his strength, and Shen Yuan would be so impressed, so pampered, so cared for. He'd be full and happy and he wouldn't want to leave.

He didn't want to leave, even now when Luo Binghe had nothing, was nothing. That in itself was a heady enough thought to make him dizzy. 

"Oh." Shen Yuan was blushing, now. "You'd do that for me?"

"I would, and will if you say the word. As for power…" Luo Binghe pulled Shen Yuan close. "We just beat an undead dragon without breaking a sweat. But if you don't think I'm strong enough--"

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"--then I can think of an enjoyable way to increase my cultivation until I meet your expectations."

"...Well," said Shen Yuan. "When you put it that way."

Shen Yuan, as it turned out, was very interested in Luo Binghe gaining more power--so much so, in fact, that they had to pause their trek several times in order to do so. 

Luo Binghe had no complaints, though. His empire and his revenge could wait. He'd get to them…eventually. Probably. In his free time, with whatever energy he had left over, which might be rather limited, now.

Someone needed to feed Shen Yuan, after all. Luo Binghe was more than happy to oblige.