Provoked by Xiu Yuan, Xiao charged at him again, spear in hand.
The two plunged into another fierce battle.
"You're not much good either. How come you're already giving out?" Xiu Yuan propped himself up with his spear, panting as he forced the words out.
"Aren't you doing the same?"
Xiao was in much the same state as Xiu Yuan, panting from exhaustion and unable to move.
It was already daytime on the second day.
Ever since Xiu Yuan had stirred Xiao's fighting spirit yesterday morning, they had fought for another day and night, from daylight into darkness, then from darkness until midday.
Any evil spirits that came to cause trouble were dealt with along the way.
They hadn't interfered with the fight at all.
When these two fought, they generally beat up anyone who tried to intervene first.
Whenever evil spirits appeared, they unleashed a flurry of attacks, killed them all, then returned to focusing on their own fight.
By now, both had squeezed out their last scraps of strength. Even standing was a struggle, and they could only hold themselves upright with their spears.
Neither seemed willing to fall. Somewhere in their minds, whoever gave out first now would be the loser.
A contest between men was just that straightforward.
As children, all it took was someone saying, "Whoever pees the farthest is the best."
And a distance-peeing competition would begin.
When they grew a little older, all it took was, "If you can touch that leaf, you're awesome."
And a whole crowd of boys would jump up and down beneath a tree.
What girls considered childish and boring was, in fact, the romance of men who refused to yield.
In short, no matter how trivial the matter, they had to find out who was better.
"You're about to give out, aren't you? Just fall down. What's the point of forcing yourself?"
Xiu Yuan practically squeezed those words through clenched teeth.
His stamina had reached its limit. His legs had begun to tremble, and he was about to give out.
"Your legs are shaking. You're the one forcing yourself, aren't you?"
Xiao would sooner die than yield, refusing to fall first no matter what. His body had also begun to tremble slightly.
His strength was completely spent.
And so the two stubbornly stood their ground, attacking each other with words in an attempt to break the other's resolve.
Yet even then, neither could claim victory. In the end, they both fell together.
"You fell after all." Lying flat on the grass, Xiu Yuan gave a faint chuckle.
"You fell first."
Xiao also lay flat on the grass, gazing up at the clear blue sky as he stubbornly insisted.
"No, you did. Your knees hit the ground first," Xiu Yuan retorted.
"I was 0.2 seconds later than you."
"That's because the grass on my side is a little taller than the grass on yours."
"Bullshit." At that moment, Xiao felt an unprecedented sense of ease.
It seemed he...
Hadn't talked to someone like this in a very long time.
He had already forgotten the last time he had felt so at ease.
Was it when Rex Lapis had pulled him out of the Abyss?
No.
It wasn't.
That had been hope. That had been gratitude.
What he felt now was more like friendship.
"Friends..."
He quietly murmured the unfamiliar word.
Friends...
Three of his friends had died, and one had vanished without a trace...
Xiao remembered. He remembered what this feeling was.
It was how he had felt when he was with the other four Guardian Yakshas...
Back then, they had fought side by side, slaying demons and vanquishing evil.
Now, only he remained...
No wonder...
No wonder I forgot what this felt like...
Seeing Xiao's expression, Xiu Yuan knew this battle hadn't been in vain.
"What did I tell you?" Xiu Yuan suddenly spoke.
"What?" Pulled from his memories, Xiao answered.
"Adepti just live a little longer, that's all," Xiu Yuan reminded him.
Xiao froze briefly at those words, then said earnestly, "It's different. Destroying evil spirits may be easy, but bearing their karmic debt requires constant vigilance over a long time. One careless moment could send you plunging into the Abyss."
"If you can do it, why can't I? You're looking down on me, aren't you?"
Xiu Yuan immediately tried to get up and argue with him, but he was so exhausted that he could barely prop his upper body up.
"I'm not looking down on you. I'm afraid..."
"Afraid, my ass. If I'm not afraid, what are you scared of? Quit yapping."
Before Xiao could finish, Xiu Yuan cut him off.
Then Xiu Yuan seemed to think of something else.
"Ohhh..."
"I get it..." Xiu Yuan gave a strange chuckle, looking at Xiao oddly.
"What do you get?" Xiao asked in confusion.
"You're afraid I'll steal your job, aren't you? If I turn out to be better than you and Rex Lapis appoints me a Guardian Yaksha, you'll be out."
Xiu Yuan nodded, convinced his theory was absolutely correct.
Xiao was so exasperated by those words that he almost laughed. For a moment, he didn't even know where to begin refuting them.
"You're not saying anything, so you admit it. I knew it! No wonder you didn't want me messing with evil spirits. Never would've guessed you had so many tricks up your sleeve!"
"Whatever makes you happy." Xiao no longer had the energy to argue.
This fellow's thoughts jumped around too much.
He had a little trouble keeping up.
If he argued, Xiu Yuan might produce some other bizarre theory.
Thinking of it that way, he might as well go along with him.
"Relax. I'm not interested in your position as a Guardian Yaksha, so don't worry so much about losing your job."
"Anyway, don't you think I'm pretty damn impressive? Even an Adeptus like you couldn't beat me."
At Xiu Yuan's words, Xiao finally couldn't stay lying down.
He also propped his upper body up and retorted in a low voice, "Stop spouting nonsense. When did I fail to beat you? You clearly fell first."
"The grass on my side was a little taller. By rights, you should've hit the ground first."
"Hey, there's a problem with that reasoning."
"What problem?"
"Goddammit! Let's fight again!" Xiu Yuan rose angrily.
"Bring it on! You think I'm afraid of you?" Xiao refused to back down.
Grrr...
Just then.
An ill-timed sound came from their stomachs, one after the other.
Both froze and exchanged a glance.
"Damn it. I'll deal with you after I've eaten." Xiu Yuan stood and put away his spear.
"That's exactly what I was going to say." Xiao did the same.
The two were like peas in a pod.
Yet a contest between men could arise over anything in the world.
Just like now.
Both fellows, despite barely having any strength left, began walking toward Liyue.
That should have been perfectly fine, except their damned competitive streaks started acting up again.
They walked faster and faster, each trying to get ahead of the other.
In the end, both broke into a run.
They rushed into Wangshu Inn at astonishing speed.
"One Almond Tofu!" ×2
They spoke in unison.
In an instant.
Everyone in Wangshu Inn turned to look at them.
"I want two!" Xiu Yuan declared.
"Three." Xiao didn't yield either.
"Four!"
"Five!"
"Damn it, you're deliberately going against me, aren't you!" Xiu Yuan rolled up his sleeves in fury.
"You're the one picking a fight!" Xiao met Xiu Yuan's gaze head-on.
Thank you all so much for the gifts! Seeing them has really fired me up, so here are three chapters. If there are enough gifts, I can even post four updates, or five! Finally, men remain boys until the day they die!
Before you continue