52 Fate was fickle, playful, and cruel

The library was quiet. And when Liu Sumeng looked around he only found Xu Hexian lying on the ground with a book splayed open on his face. Sunlight poured in from the windows and the boy's belly rose and fell in a languid rhythm.

"..." Remembering a terrible encounter with a specific type of book a while back, Liu Sumeng was a little hesitant with peeling away the book on his friend's face. Not to mention, the title was odd as well. Just what was 'Swordplay: Rapturous Ecstasy in Red Edition' supposed to mean?

But Chen Anyue was nowhere in sight so he did what he had to do and carefully put the book aside without peeking at its contents. "Wake up," Liu Sumeng commanded as he shook the younger cultivator awake.

"W-what?" Xu Hexian blinked at him and looked to his surroundings. His hands were quick to grope around in search of the book he was reading earlier. His wide eyes blinked up in alarm, "Where did you put it?"

Liu Sumeng pointed at the floor next to Xu Hexian, "What are you doing?"

The boy looked at him with a raised brow. "Ah, Meng-xiong! Well," he cleared his throat, "I just thought things were going to get really busy and serious soon. You know I don't really do serious and busy, right?" He shrugged and thumbed the pages of the strange book. "I guess I'm just slacking a bit because I know I won't be able to in the near future."

"Don't slack." Liu Sumeng scolded automatically, which earned him a pathetic little pout.

"I knew you'd say that. But I'm doing research as well!"

His research was definitely a little suspicious, especially with the kind of book he was holding in his hands. Liu Sumeng said no words but he made sure to give a very pointed glare. Xu Hexian's expression faltered, "Ah, please don't look at me like that…I'll be good I promise." he groaned and closed the book before turning his attention to his martial brother, "What are you doing here anyway? Are you looking for a book?"

Ah right. Liu Sumeng shook his head, "Where's Anyue?"

"Your lovely fiance?" A sly smirk stretched his lips, one that the Ivory Sword Saint did not appreciate. "Hmm let me think about that."

Liu Sumeng glared even harder. Nervous laughter bubbled out of Xu Hexian's lips. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Hey, hey, I'm not asking for a beating okay? But if you want to find Chen Anyue you should go look for Ye-xiong instead. He has a better idea about her routine than me, okay?"

Brows furrowed. He had no idea what Xu Hexian was talking about but he heeded those words anyways. And decided to set out in search of his older brother. But even after he rounded the halls twice and circled the courts a few additional times, his older brother was nowhere to be found.

Liu Sumeng even came across one lazy Guanghai Elder perched upon a treetop like a cat, napping under the afternoon and sun and wholly unbothered by the winter breeze. He couldn't help but kick the tree.

Tree branches rustled and Liu Langce's arms wrapped around the tree trunk without stirring from his rest. Liu Sumeng felt his brow twitch so he kicked even harder.

Liu Langce was jolted from his rest, his eyelids slowly peeled open as he balanced on his shaking perch. "Ah… if it isn't Xiao Chao. What are you doing? Why are you bothering me? What happened to respecting your elders?"

Right. Liu Sumeng would gladly give his respect to someone that actually deserved it. To this lazy and scandalous Elder, he was very blunt and clipped with his words, "Where is Xiongzhang?

The Guanghai Elder rolled his eyes and laid his head back down, "Even though we haven't seen each other for so long… Even though I raised you since you were a babe… You only seek me out when you're looking for someone else." He clicked his tongue in annoyance before he was assaulted with another wave of coughs.

Liu Langce wasn't the only one annoyed, "Shizun. Since you're sleeping outside in the middle of winter, I'm not surprised that you got so ill."

The Guanghai Elder grumbled but he closed his eyes without a word of acknowledgment. This guy…!

Liu Sumeng didn't want his headache to get any worse than it already was. So he asked again, "Where is Xiongzhang?"

The Guanghai Elder lifted a finger and pointed towards the main gates, "Who knows? Probably went down to the village to get more booze. Ah, I could use some booze right now," he grumbled before erupting into another coughing fit.

"You need medicine, not booze." Liu Sumeng scolded before wandering off.

Liu Langce rolled his eyes and scoffed, "What a brat." And soon his breathing would even out and the Guanghai Elder drifted back to sleep upon the tree branch.

...

Liu Sumeng descended the mountain and made his down to the village and there the villagers greeted him with polite words and slight bows. An old man even offered him two jugs of alcohol for half the price. Tempting but he resisted. And instead asked the old man if he had seen the older Liu brother.

The answer negative.

He couldn't help but start to wonder if this was all just a wild goose chase after all.

Nightfall came early in the winter and draped the sky with darker shades. The stars twinkled above and Liu Sumeng was still wandering the village alone. Resignation was heavy upon him. It had all been a fruitless endeavor and it was about time he headed back home.

Defeated, he followed a lesser-known trail up the mountain. Liu Sumeng was struck with uncertainty and confusion. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel. On the one hand, he avoided another day of breaking Chen Anyue's heart. But now it was just going to be put off farther. That wasn't what he intended and yet fate was fickle, playful, and cruel. As he was making his way through the forest trails, a pair of familiar voices drifted along with the wind.

For a moment he thought he'd imagined them. Liu Sumeng paused. He then quieted his steps and followed. There was the light of a light floating along the main road. Liu Suye had a few jugs of wine in one hand and in the other, a lantern. Beside him, Chen Anyue was giggling at what seemed like a joke and nudged him in a way that told of a good friendship.

Liu Sumeng stilled and watched them from the safety of a dense grove. He reminded himself that now was his chance to approach her, to break the news. But there was an odd feeling that brewed in his heart. Something akin to longing and pity.

The two souls that laughed lightly across the quiet mountain trail were two souls that Liu Sumeng owed much to. He couldn't bear the thought of disturbing them in this precious moment of peace…

He felt eternally sorry and awash with guilt.

Liu Sumeng was planning to only watch from the shadows. But there was another person who caught sight of him tucked away behind darkness had other ideas about what was going on, assuming thoughts much different than the reality of those in Liu Sumeng's mind.

This person was foolish and crept up behind the Ivory Sword Saint. A hand came down to grab the white-clad shoulder but Liu Sumeng's reflexes were faster. Liu Sumeng reached up and snatched the wrist that reached for him and twisted the person's arm, locking their movements.

"Ah-!" But the voice startled the Ivory Sword Saint with its familiarity, distracting him enough to get tangled up in shuffling feet when Yuan Xuelan was thrown off balance.

Yuan Xuelan tripped and fell into Liu Sumeng's arms. They were matched for height now, but Liu Sumeng was had more mass and Yuan Xuelan could feel the outlines of solid muscle beneath him. His face was pressed flush against Sumeng's solid chest and he gripped the Ivory Sword Saint's bicep with his left hand for balance.

It was warm in the Ivory Sword Saint's arms and it took Yuan Xuelan a moment to shove the other back. He sputtered like an idiot and tried to look away but was still stealing subtle glances towards the other man, "W-what was that for!?"

"...Sorry. I didn't know it was you."

Yuan Xuelan clicked his teeth and looked away. He was about to ask what Liu Sumeng was doing but he was no longer sure if knowing the answer would please him. So instead he went with, "If you weren't standing around so suspiciously I wouldn't have bothered you."

Liu Sumeng wasn't quite certain what Xuelan was talking about, "You don't bother me." In fact, he was rather happy. They had barely spoken in the past several days and he definitely wasn't expecting Yuan Xuelan to be the one to approach him first.

But he became curious. Just what did Xuelan seek him for? He waited patiently for the answer.

There appeared to be something on Yuan Xuelan's mind, a thought that was caught on the tip of his tongue but refused to articulate. He was frowning and stared from Liu Sumeng to the path traveled by Chen Anyue and Liu Suye. After a moment of debate, he finally said, "They've been training together."

Liu Sumeng blinked, "Training?"

"Y-yeah. You know. My Shijie she's not good with a sword. She wanted to learn a style that suited her more. That's when she found out about Huamian-jun's expertise."

"Ah," Liu Sumeng finally nodded in understanding. In his past life, Chen Anyue didn't take martial arts very seriously and cultivated through other methods like playing music and meditation. He had almost forgotten himself that she could be quite the adversary behind the might of her Golden Rope.

It was only appropriate that she trained with Liu Suye who did not stick closely to the strict style of the Heavenly Sword Sect. This was all very logical and reasonable in the Ivory Sword Saint's mind and he didn't notice that Yuan Xuelan was having some strange ideas about what Liu Sumeng was thinking about.

The younger cultivator bit his lips before blurting out, "So…you don't have to worry."

…Worry? What was Yuan Xuelan saying? Liu Sumeng scrunched up his brows in confusion.

"My Shijie definitely wouldn't do anything weird behind your back!"

"..."

"..."

Liu Sumeng bowed his head and brought a hand to his face.

This gesture seemed to worry Yuan Xuelan farther so he continued to sputter, "M-My Shijie is not a slippery person! So don't you ever doubt her! S-Sumeng? Are you okay?"

Cautiously, Yuan Xuelan reached out to tap Liu Sumeng on the shoulder.

"Pfftt." The eyes that looked up from loose black strands of hair were crescented and alluring. A secret smile peeped from behind the hand over his face and-

Oh. He was laughing. And Yuan Xuelan's heart was frozen.