The path grew harsh as the carriage left the main road, wheels grinding over stones and roots. The carriage swayed with every jolt, shadows rising and falling like waves.
Chen Huo had been holding his breath since morning, but now his face turned pale as wax. Sweat beaded on his brow. He clutched his mouth as though something forced itself out.
HUUURK!
The carriage jolted again. With a groan, he leaned to the side and vomited, retching until his throat was raw.
"BY THE HEAVENS—" Jiang Rui gagged, pressing his sleeve over his nose.
"Brother Chen!" Zhao Wuming reached to steady him, but recoiled at the sour stench, brows furrowed."You've been ill since morning. Why force yourself to hold on?"
Chen Huo clenched his jaw, pale as bone. "I thought... I could bear it." Another violent heave cut him off.
Groaning weakly, he collapsed against the cushions.
Sun Yan was already grinding herbs, her hands quick and precise. "Drink this," she urged, passing him a bitter green brew.
Chen Huo swallowed, but moments later his stomach lurched again. Sweat drenched his back, his eyes rolled faintly.
"Impossible... that medicine has never failed before."
The carriage fell silent.
"Wait," Min He squinted. "Didn't you two come straight from the capital?"
"Yes," Wuming said proudly. "We've been traveling since the first day."
"And the distance… is what? Six hundred miles?" Jiang Rui leaned forward, voice sharp.
"Six-fifty," Wuming corrected.
"...And how exactly did you travel?" Sun Yan asked slowly.
"By fo—" Wuming froze.
The whole carriage stared.
"…By what?" Jiang Rui narrowed his eyes.
"...By foot," Wuming muttered.
Silence.
Then Wuming slapped his chest. "Brother, forgive me! I only learned about the mountain terrain after we set out! I thought it would be smooth road the whole way!"
Chen Huo groaned again— HUUUURRK! Vomit splattered across the floorboards.
"AHHH! It's on the floor!" Jiang Rui shrieked, waving his fan uselessly.
Li Qiong finally stirred. His eyes shifted toward the curtained window. Then, calm as ever, he raised a hand.
"Stop the carriage."
The driver yanked the reins. Horses stamped against the uneven ground. Li Qiong stepped out without another word, tall figure vanishing into the dusk.
"Did he just—leave us?!" Jiang Rui hissed.
"No way," Min He said, popping a candied fruit into her mouth. "Brother Li wouldn't."
Moments later, Li Qiong returned. In his hand were pale-petaled flowers and jagged leaves, fresh with dew. He handed them to Chen Huo.
"Chew the leaves. Inhale the flower."
Chen Huo blinked weakly. "Can… this work?"
"Do as I say."
Too weak to argue, Chen obeyed. Bitter leaves numbed his tongue; the sharp fragrance of the blossom cleared his head. His eyelids grew heavy, and he slumped unconscious.
"HE FAINTED!" Min He cried.
"HE'S DEAD!" Jiang Rui shrieked.
"Brother Chen!" Zhao Wuming shook him violently. "Don't you dare ditch me! Not after we swore brotherhood under the Ancestor Tree!"
If you die now—" I will Protect Huo Lan for you
"Move!" Sun Yan pushed him aside, fingers against Chen Huo's pulse. She exhaled. "…He's alive. Unconscious, but alive."
Still, the panic didn't ease.
"What leaves were those? What flower? It's not in my manuals!" Sun Yan flipped frantically through her book.
Min He stuffed snacks into her mouth, wide-eyed. "What if he turns into a ghost? Or a zombie?! I can't fight a zombie!"
Jiang Rui pulled talisman paper from his sleeve, biting his thumb for blood-ink. "Merciful heavens, if he rises, this seal will bind him back into the grave!" His brush shook, smearing strokes across the paper.
The coachman gripped the reins until they creaked. "I can't drive with a corpse in the cart! Horses smell death—they'll bolt, I swear it!"
Chaos swallowed the carriage—wailing, muttering, curses, Min He's ghost stories. Through it all, Li Qiong sat in silence, tall frame steady, face unreadable.
Night fell. They camped beside a clearing, firelight flickering orange across anxious faces.
Chen Huo stirred. "…Wu—Wuming… wa—water…" His voice rasped like gravel.
"Zombie!" Zhao Wuming roared. His fist crashed down.
Thud!
Chen Huo grunted, knocked back into half-consciousness.
"Brother Zhao!" Sun Yan grabbed his arm. "He's alive!"
"He sounded like a corpse!" Wuming argued, fist trembling.
Jiang Rui raised a half-finished talisman. "Don't come back up if you're dead!"
"IDIOT!" Sun Yan snapped.
The coachman muttered prayers on repeat, refusing to look away.
They finally laid Chen Huo by the fire, bandaged and silent. His eyes flickered open once—only to snap shut again when he saw Wuming glaring like an executioner. He dared not speak.
Chen Huo twitched on the ground, tears sliding from the corners of his eyes. These bastards… they want me dead. I'm surrounded by lunatics.
and wuming i won't forgive you. if you make a move on my sister... you bastard
When Li Qiong returned from the forest with fresh roots, he found madness.
Wuming sat with axe planted in the dirt, watching Chen Huo like a hawk.Sun Yan shielded Chen with her herb pouch in hand.Jiang Rui and Min He huddled over zombie scrolls.Mei Lanyin composed a funeral poem.The coachman muttered nonstop prayers, reins clenched white-knuckled.
"…What are you all doing?" Li Qiong asked.
"Brother Li, it's your fault!" Wuming pointed. "You poisoned him with strange leaves!"
"It was suspicious!" Min He added, cheeks stuffed with persimmons.
Jiang Rui waved his talisman. "He already sounded like the dead!"
Even the coachman shouted, "He's cursed! It's plague!"
Li Qiong's gaze slid over each of them, then to Chen Huo—who lay trembling, a tear sliding from the corner of his eye.
For a long moment, silence. Then—Li Qiong laughed. Clear, steady, cutting through their panic.
"You people," he said. "Those were nothing but Crimson Pepper Leaves and Celestial Blossom Lily. They cure dizziness, settle heat, and calm the mind."
The group froze.
"…So you're saying—" Wuming muttered.
"I'm saying," Li Qiong crouched by the fire, setting the herbs down, "your sworn brother is very much alive—and pretending to be asleep."
Wuming's jaw clenched. Chen Huo whimpered. Min He stuffed another snack in her mouth. Jiang Rui coughed and hid his talisman. Mei Lanyin folded her poem away.
The fire crackled. Li Qiong prepared the roots with calm hands, while Chen Huo buried his face in his arms, silently vowing revenge.