For as long as Li Fenghuo could remember, he had always been compared to that man.
"Shen Qianye this. Shen Qianye that."
"Why can't you be calm like him?"
"He reached the next realm first—again."
It was enough to make him want to spit fire—literally, considering his cultivation path.
So when he stood at the foot of the Heavenly Radiance Sect's cold stone stairway, the first thing he saw was exactly the person he least wanted to meet.
Shen Qianye, descending the steps as if the whole world were too noisy for him. Pale white robes, moonlight drifting around him like it belonged there. A sword resting at his hip, silent and dangerous. Silver eyes not even bothering to look at Fenghuo at first.
Of course.
Of course this man wouldn't look at him unless he absolutely had to.
Fenghuo clenched his jaw. "Move."
Shen Qianye finally glanced at him—just a small shift of his eyes, like Fenghuo was nothing more than a breeze he couldn't be bothered with. "You're blocking the path."
Fenghuo almost exploded on the spot. "I said move first!"
A long moment of silence stretched between them.
Somewhere in the distance, a crane cried.
Very dramatically.
Shen Qianye stepped forward, stopping right in front of him. Close enough that Fenghuo could see the faint moon-shaped mark on his forehead. Close enough to smell the cool scent of spiritual energy drifting from him—like frost under starlight.
"I don't take orders from you," Qianye said quietly.
Fenghuo's hands curled into fists. "And I don't like your face."
"Good," Shen Qianye replied without missing a beat, "because I don't show it to please you."
Fenghuo's fire qi surged.
This man—this infuriating, flawless, graceful, irritating man—had a talent for turning him into a volcano.
Before he could argue back, a golden scroll shot into the air above them, bursting with light. A sect announcement.
"All disciples of Heavenly Radiance and Crimson Blaze must gather at the Valley of Echoes.
A demonic beast of unknown origin has appeared.
Two representatives from each sect will be paired for investigation."
Fenghuo froze.
This… sounded bad.
No, this sounded exactly like the kind of terrible fate the heavens would give him.
Shen Qianye exhaled softly. "Try not to slow me down."
"What makes you think I'll be paired with you?" Fenghuo snapped.
But even as he said it, the scroll unfolded again—specifically glowing at them.
"Shen Qianye of Heavenly Radiance.
Li Fenghuo of Crimson Blaze.
You two will act as a joint team."
Fenghuo stared at the glowing letters.
No.
Absolutely not.
Anyone else. Literally anyone else. Even a rabid boar would be better than this walking ice block.
Shen Qianye sheathed his sword with an irritatingly smooth motion. "Let's go."
"I didn't agree to—"
"You don't have to." Qianye walked past him, long hair brushing lightly against Fenghuo's shoulder. "Your sect already did."
Fenghuo's breath hitched at the unexpected closeness.
He hated that reaction.
He hated him.
Yet, despite all the irritation boiling in his blood, his feet still followed Qianye down the path toward the Valley of Echoes.
Because deep inside, beneath the rivalry, beneath the anger, beneath the thousand small grudges… there was a truth Fenghuo refused to acknowledge.
Some part of him always walked toward Shen Qianye.
Even when he didn't want to.
And the heavens, in their cruel humor, seemed determined to keep pushing them together.