Xie Xie's Terrible Luck

Xie Xie had never found Wu Changkong's voice so pleasant in his life.

It was practically a pardon.

His tears had not even dried before he bolted out of the office, where a huge hole in the wall sent cold air and cotton stuffing flying everywhere. Tang Wulin tried to grab him but caught nothing but a wisp of wind. He ran even faster than when Shadow had chased him, with only one thought in his mind: find an all-night internet café or Tang Wulin's bed—anything, so long as he never set foot in that filming location for "Xie Xie's Survival Report" again.

But when someone was unlucky, even drinking cold water could chip their teeth.

By the time he reached the dormitory building, a gust of night wind made Xie Xie smack his forehead. His phone! At noon, Shadow's "It's so nice that it sprouted" while feeling around his sleeve had scared his hands into shaking, and he had casually left his phone by the pillow. These days, no phone meant no life—especially with no map, no flashlight, no contacts, and no way to find his way back to Tang Wulin's place in the dark.

"...Fuck." He cursed, but his feet were faster than his brain, already turning toward the dormitory entrance.

Third floor.

Middle of the last row.

Windowsill.

Plastic chair.

Every word was a ghost story. Xie Xie stood at the stairwell corner, listening to the distant plane trees by the athletic field, where Shadow's bloodstains might still be hanging. His teeth chattered. But his phone had the picture he had secretly taken of Yun Ying eating buns, grease stains and all, and the game account Tang Wulin had promised to help level for him.

"She just got blasted through a wall by Teacher Wu's sword. She has to be nursing her wounds, right..." Xie Xie forced down a gulp of courage and crept up to the third floor on tiptoe as if heading for execution.

The dorm room door was ajar.

He clearly remembered bracing a chair against it when he left that afternoon. Now the chair sat perfectly in front of the desk, as if mocking his wasted effort.

The room lights were off. Moonlight streamed in through the window Shadow had overturned. There was a puddle on the floor—the trace left by the thermos he had knocked over. The smell of mint mixed with panic had long dissipated, but a faint scent lingered in the air, sweet and cloying like rotten flowers.

Xie Xie held his breath, crouching like a cat as his eyes locked onto the shining black screen beside the pillow.

One step.

Two steps.

His fingertips were about to touch the edge of the phone—

"Back already?"

The voice came from the direction of the sofa.

Not from outside the window. Not from under the bed. From the fabric sofa in his own dorm room.

All the blood in Xie Xie's body froze instantly, colder even than Wu Changkong's Heavenfrost Sword Qi. He stiffly turned his neck, inch by inch.

Long white hair gleamed gray-blue under the moonlight. Shadow sat there cross-legged, her black shirt open at the collar, fresh blood from between her ribs staining the fabric dark red. Yet her red eyes curved in a smile, and she was pinching the corner of Xie Xie's pillow as though holding a cat by the scruff.

"Little brother, you forgot something." She picked up the phone and gave it a shake, the lock-screen light illuminating her smiling face. "Or did you miss me and come back to visit me in prison?"

A croak escaped Xie Xie's throat, like a chicken being strangled. He backed away and crashed into the bedframe, making the metal ring.

Shadow gently put the phone back by the pillow and stood up as though her wounds did not matter. "Why run? I tore Teacher Wu's little ducky, not you. I even helped you fold your blanket just now. Guess what?" She leaned half a step closer, her breath brushing his ear.

Xie Xie exploded.

He had never moved so nimbly in his life. He vaulted over the bed, slammed through the half-open door, and sprinted madly down the third-floor corridor. The stairs! Jump down! Teacher Wu had said to jump out the window and run!

Shadow's lazy voice drifted after him, unhurried and unhurried:

"Little brother runs so fast... but you went the wrong way. The first-floor exit is on the left."

"Ooh, you ran into a flowerpot. Did that hurt?"

"Don't pant so hard. I don't like eating lungs... though maybe I could try a bite."

Xie Xie did not listen at all. All he could see was Shadow sitting on his sofa and pinching his pillow, a sight more horrifying than any horror movie. He raced down the second-floor stairs and turned onto the path outside the dormitory area. Half the streetlamps along that road were broken, and the shadows of the plane trees reached out with claws and fangs. Only one coordinate remained in his head: Yun Ying! Yun Ying had said she was returning books to the library, so she should pass this way on her way back to the dorm! As long as he ran into her!

He ran until his vision darkened and his lungs felt like a broken bellows.

Then he really did run into someone.

Not Yun Ying.

Yun Ying's shoulder.

"Fuck—" Yun Ying cursed as the books in her hands nearly flew out. Looking down, she saw Xie Xie. The guy sprang away as if his ass had been burned, his face white as a freshly painted wall as he pointed behind her and stammered, "Y-Y-Yun Ying! She, she, she—"

Yun Ying frowned and looked where he was pointing.

Among the plane tree shadows, long white hair swayed. Shadow strolled out slowly, the bloodstain between her ribs looking as if someone had smeared sauce on it beneath the moonlight, her red eyes far too bright in the dark.

"Big Sister Yun Ying." Shadow tilted her head, her smile crisp and sweet. "Long time no see. Your spear barrel is polished pretty bright."

Yun Ying narrowed her eyes, tucked the books beneath her arm, and reached behind her back. "How the fuck did you crawl all the way here after getting hit by Teacher Wu's sword? Don't want your ribs anymore?"

"I do." Shadow scratched her face with a short blade. "But I can't sleep when little brother runs off. I never settled the score for that shot of yours going wide last year. Shall we settle it while we're at it today?"

Before her words had even faded, pinkish-purple mist burst open with a pop. It was not the all-encompassing haze from the office area earlier, but a concentrated peach-colored thread that shot straight at Yun Ying. Yun Ying sneered and swung her spear. With a clang, she shattered the mist thread at close range, scattering sparks and ice shards.

"Psycho." Yun Ying cursed, but she had already slid sideways to widen the distance.

Taking advantage of the opening, Xie Xie hunched over and darted toward the nearby bushes. His foot had barely touched the grass—

"Where do you think you're going, little brother?"

Shadow's voice came from half a foot behind him, making every hair on Xie Xie's body stand on end. He spun around. Shadow was exchanging three moves with Yun Ying, the Glazed Blade spinning around her and forcing Yun Ying half a step back. But Shadow flicked her left wrist, and a long string of peach-red tail blades silently slipped from behind her back like a living snake, coiling around Xie Xie's ankle and yanking.

Xie Xie let out a howl and face-planted, ending up with a mouthful of dirt.

Without even turning around, Shadow smiled as she knocked Yun Ying's spear aside with the flat of her blade. "Sit still and watch the show, good boy. Why run? It's not like you've never watched big sister fight before."

Yun Ying had originally intended to follow up with another strike, but when she saw Xie Xie being dragged back, she cursed, "Useless," without stopping her attacks. She knew too well that someone like Shadow never fought conventionally. The Flame-Reaver Spear drove Shadow back with a close-range thrust, then stabbed toward the old wound on Shadow's shoulder blade. Shadow sidestepped it, the frenzy in her red eyes fading into faint amusement. The Glazed Blade turned into a feather-like downpour and sprayed toward Yun Ying. Yun Ying swept her spear across, knocking down most of it, while the remaining shards sliced through her jacket. As soon as beads of blood emerged, she wiped them away and flung them to the ground. "Teacher Wu's sword didn't freeze some sense into your head?"

"He was being polite." Shadow smiled. The tail blades were still wrapped around Xie Xie's foot as he clawed at the ground, trying to undo the knot. With a tap of Shadow's toe, Xie Xie was dragged back to her feet. "Big Sister Yun Ying's spear is fast, but you're not crazy enough. I'm crazy, so when you chased me down that day, I dared to steal the kill."

The two fought in a tangle. There was none of Wu Changkong's Soul Emperor-level spectacle that could freeze glass apart, but every move drew blood. The butt of Yun Ying's spear slammed into Shadow's fresh wound between her ribs. Shadow grunted, then slashed upward at Yun Ying's jaw. Yun Ying leaned back, and Shadow used the opening to lunge forward like a feather. A glazed shard grazed Yun Ying's ear and embedded itself in a tree trunk.

Xie Xie huddled by Shadow's feet like a kidnapped hostage. His phone vibrated in his pocket—maybe Tang Wulin was messaging him—but he did not dare take it out.

"You two... fight if you want... just don't drag me into it..." Xie Xie trembled.

Shadow glanced down at him, her red eyes curving. "Scared, little brother? After big sister finishes fighting, we'll go back to your dorm. I'll teach you how to make soup."

Yun Ying thrust her spear and forced Shadow back half a step, taking a breath. "Xie Xie, if you're still fucking alive, crawl farther away!"

Xie Xie really did crawl, his elbows scraping the ground. Shadow's tail blades loosened by half an inch, and he had barely begun to laugh in relief—

Shadow knocked Yun Ying's spear aside, spun with the momentum, and the tail blades snapped tight. Xie Xie was reeled back again, landing hard on his ass. "Ah! My tailbone!"

Yun Ying: "..."

Shadow: "Good boy."

Yun Ying cursed and unleashed her full power. Shadow got serious as well, and pinkish-purple mist exploded again. This time, the mist carried the scent of her blood. The two fought from the middle of the path to the edge of the plane tree grove, leaving broken branches scattered everywhere.

Xie Xie sat on the ground with his back against a trash can, watching two figures whirl beneath the moonlight. Shadow's white hair and Yun Ying's brown ponytail tangled together before springing apart. Spears clanged against blades, and he suddenly felt... this was even more like a horror movie than Teacher Wu's office.

And his phone had died.

Tang Wulin would not come.

Wu Changkong was probably repairing the little ducky pajamas.

Shadow fought while letting her attention wander. Her red eyes occasionally swept over him, her smile never fading, as though this fight was as relaxing as strolling through a backyard. Yun Ying grew more serious with every exchange. A Glazed Blade cut a bloody line across her shoulder, and she spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. "You fucking... really don't value your life..."

"I do," Shadow replied, her voice sickeningly sweet. "I value little brother."

Xie Xie swallowed, quietly reaching into his pocket for the offensive soul tool Tang Wulin had given him. Useless. Shadow would definitely snap his wrist first.

He looked toward Yun Ying. Shadow had just forced Yun Ying back with a slash, sending her crashing into the wire fence. Shadow followed her half a step, blade pressed to her collarbone, red eyes looking down at her. "Big sister lost. This time I held back and didn't kill anyone..."

Yun Ying panted, her spear falling to the ground. "...Then fucking kill me if you can."

"Why would I kill you? Little brother would cry." Shadow tipped her blade aside and sliced off a lock of Yun Ying's hair. She turned, flicked her tail blades, dragged Xie Xie up from the ground, and pulled him against her. Resting her chin atop his head, she said, "Look, little brother is shaking like a sieve."

Xie Xie's vision went black.

Shadow left a trail of blood behind her, yet she carried herself as leisurely as if she had just gotten off work. She waved her blade at Yun Ying. "Big Sister Yun Ying, see you around. We'll talk spear techniques next time."

Yun Ying pushed herself upright against the wire fence, blood soaking through her jacket at the shoulder. Gritting her teeth, she said, "You fucking... don't touch him."

"I already did." Shadow smiled, holding Xie Xie as she backed toward the dormitory building. Her tail blades released his ankle and pinched the back of his neck instead, like she was carrying a cat. "Little brother, let's go back inside."

Xie Xie was dragged along, his feet scraping the ground. He struggled twice, but Shadow pressed her fingertips harder. The back of his neck went numb and sore, and he did not dare move anymore.

Yun Ying shouted something from behind them, but he did not hear it clearly.

The plane tree shadows stretched long. Shadow's white hair brushed his cheek, and her red eyes glanced back at him from the darkness.

"Don't be scared. No plastic chair tonight. Sit on your sofa instead, and we'll have a little talk..."

Xie Xie's throat creaked like a rusty door hinge.

The dim, motion-sensor light at the dormitory entrance flickered on, then went out.

Shadow's shoes stepped onto the stairs. Tap. Tap.

Xie Xie was half-pushed and half-carried up to the third floor. Wind poured through the broken window at the end of the corridor.

A key slid into the lock. Click.

The door opened.

The sofa was still in the same place.

Shadow gently set him on it, her red eyes curving as she looked at him.

"Little brother, guess..."

Xie Xie curled into the corner of the sofa, hugging a cushion. He watched Shadow, bloodstained yet utterly at ease, occupying his "home," while distant, indistinct curses from Yun Ying below suggested she was calling for reinforcements. Suddenly, he felt that Wu Changkong's words—"Even jumping out the window and running is better than staying"—were the gentlest lie in the world.

Because Shadow had said—

Whether she came depended on her mood.

But once she came, she did not check the almanac.

The sofa springs creaked.

Shadow picked up his phone, unlocked it, and replied for him: "Big Sister Gu Yue, have you eaten?"

Then she set it down and patted his cheek.

"Be good. Close your eyes. You still have Teacher Wu's practical class tomorrow morning."

Xie Xie did not dare close his eyes.

But Shadow spun her blade around her fingertips, its gleam reflected in his pupils. Outside the window, that tuft of hair in the plane tree swayed in the night wind.

As if it were laughing.