A peaceful night fell against silent surroundings.

Fan Yi stepped into the dining hall with furrowed brows. His hands were on his waist as he scanned the hall. There were only a few disciples who were eating their dinner late. Everyone else had returned to their dormitories or had gone off to take care of their other duties.

“Sect Leader, are you looking for someone?” a disciple asked.

Fan Yi turned towards the sound of the voice. “Oh, Heng Ri…have you seen Second Pillar or Third Pillar today?”

“Second Pillar said they won’t be back until tomorrow,” the disciple beside Heng Ri said. “As for Third Pillar…I haven’t seen him today.”

“Neither have I.”

“Me neither.”

Fan Yi frowned, crossing his arms with a huff. “How strange. Then, have any of you seen Lord Immortal Yu Lan?”

“I saw him,” Heng Ri said. “I think…I saw him sleeping in a tree in the forest near the library? When I passed by again later, he was no longer there.”

“No longer there,” Fan Yi murmured. He sighed out a thanks to the disciples and turned on his heels to head out again.

He had bumped into Li Qing and Su Han earlier, but neither had seen Wu Lingtian. Now Tian Xiewen had also disappeared. The only comfort Fan Yi could find in the situation was that, maybe, Tian Xiewen had dragged Wu Lingtian out to play. But even that was little to no comfort. Knowing Tian Xiewen and knowing Wu Lingtian, the two would mix like oil and water. They wouldn’t get along at all and even if they managed to, what Tian Xiewen found fun would not be what Wu Lingtian found fun.

Fan Yi rubbed at his temples and regretted having gone down the mountain to pick herbs without Wu Lingtian.

Fan Yi allowed his feet to carry him to the entrance of the sect. He glanced down the illuminated staircase but still saw no one. The furrow in his brow deepened and he thought about flying down to the city himself. He began to head back into the sect, but before he got too far he heard a loud impact on the ground behind him, followed by two grunts, one much louder than the other.

Fan Yi immediately turned. It was obvious that Tian Xiewen had been drinking. He was flushed down to his neck and his robes were somewhat disheveled. His hair remained neat, though a few strands framed his face in a way they never had before. Fan Yi’s eyes shifted onto Wu Lingtian, who carefully sheathed Tian Xiewen’s sword while supporting him with one arm around his waist. The taller man slumped forward and leaned bonelessly against Wu Lingtian. He was mumbling nonsense as he did so while Wu Lingtian merely hummed and replied with one-to-two-word answers.

Fan Yi stepped forward as Wu Lingtian stepped through the gates of the sect. “Has he been drinking?”

“Yes,” Wu Lingtian looked down at the head leaning against his shoulder. He looked at Fan Yi. “Where does he live?”

“I’ll take you there,” Fan Yi grabbed Tian Xiewen’s other arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. The two men began walking, dragging Tian Xiewen as if he were already a corpse. “What happened?”

“Third Pillar wanted to drink,” Wu Lingtian summed up his afternoon in the simplest of terms. Even when Fan Yi glanced over, Wu Lingtian didn’t offer any other information.

“I apologize for him,” Fan Yi sighed.

Wu Lingtian hummed.

“He didn’t say anything strange, did he?” Fan Yi asked.

Wu Lingtian shook his head. “He just spoke about meaningless things. He did not delve into his past, nor did he speak too much about the sect. When he did it was all trivial.”

Fan Yi nodded. That was good. It was better than saying something he would regret when he awoke.

Fan Yi and Wu Lingtian continued their trip in silence until they reached near the back of the mountain. Wu Lingtian observed the large building and glanced at the open room to the left of Tian Xiewen’s humble home.

“Third Pillar is a blacksmith?” Wu Lingtian asked.

Fan Yi glanced at Wu Lingtian, somewhat surprised that he took initiative to ask a question. “He is. Have you heard of the Phoenix Blacksmith?”

“The one who crafted Rui Sword?” Wu Lingtian showed a rare look of surprise. He allowed Fan Yi to pull Tian Xiewen from his arms and watched as Fan Yi laid Tian Xiewen down onto his bed.

“Yes, that one,” Fan Yi nodded. He carefully pulled Tian Xiewen’s shoes off and tucked him into bed. He stood and turned with a smile. “That was one of the first swords he made. It was well before we met, but even then, I had already heard rumors about him.”