Chapter Text
Being stuck like this was even more frustrating than being stuck in that man-eating wall. At least then, outmatched as he was, he’d been able to try and fight back. Now, rocking back and forth, he couldn’t even focus on his opponent, let alone punch him in his stupid face. And whenever he was given the brief chance to wobble to a stop he was disoriented and completely paralyzed. Realizing with bitterness that he couldn’t fight his way out of the situation, his bleary gaze sought out his shixiong. He caught sight of him some distance away – standing with his shovel in hand and gazing out of a hole in the wall – right before he was sent swinging again.
Yin Yu had hit him with that shovel and then run from him, throwing palm blasts and curses at him, even though Quan Yizhen had only wanted to talk. But why would he have dug him out like that if he didn’t want to be around him? With a sigh that he couldn’t release, he was about to give up on receiving his shixiong’s help now when a swing forward briefly gave him a glimpse of Yin Yu looking right at him. Heart leaping, he endured the fall backwards only to find that Yin Yu had already turned away by the time he was propelled forward again. Maybe he had imagined it, he thought, helplessness lodged tight in his throat. Despite the dizziness he tried to keep his eyes fixed on his shixiong, just in case he turned his way again. He didn’t know what difference it would make, but just seeing him again did help a little.
He wanted to shout, to reach out, to wave his arms or jump up and down; anything to get Yin Yu to look his way again. But Crimson Rain Sought Flower had made that impossible. All he could do was throw the ghost king an ugly look that went completely unnoticed.
Time passed strangely, either as a result of the spell Crimson Rain had cast on him or because of the rhythmic swaying he was being subjected to. He found himself nodding off then startling awake again and again. Every time he woke he tried to find Yin Yu: mostly he was settled near the wall, watching their surroundings, but now and then he really was looking at Quan Yizhen, though the look on his face was hard to read. Was he worried? It wasn’t like Quan Yizhen could chase after him in this form.
He heard His Highness’ voice from somewhere far away and for a while the rocking stopped. He decided that he would have to give His Highness some more gold bars to fix his crappy little shrine as soon as he could, either before or after he beat up Pei Ming. Then he noticed that Yin Yu’s troubled expression was gone, but no matter how long Quan Yizhen stared he didn’t turn to look at him again.
Soon Pei Ming started up his torments again. Quan Yizhen was definitely going to beat him up first, then pay back His Highness. For a while everything was spinning and his impotent rage only made it worse. When he was finally able to see straight again he saw that his shixiong was not only staring right at him but had even stood again, looking like he wanted to step forward. Quan Yizhen’s heart pounded with excitement; maybe Yin Yu really was going to get him out of this miserable situation too.
But when he’d rocked back to see again, an uncomfortable expression had crossed Yin Yu’s face and he hadn’t moved. He wished he knew what that expression meant, he wished he knew what so many of Yin Yu’s expressions meant, but he probably wouldn’t have been able to understand it even if he weren’t so dizzy.
He wasn’t sure what it was that finally distracted Pei Ming and he didn’t really care, but there was a lot of shouting involved. In all the noise and confusion Yin Yu quickly and quietly stepped over. Then, to Quan Yizhen’s unutterable delight, he scooped him up and carried him away. It was an odd sensation, since he couldn’t actually feel anything in this form, but he could tell that Yin Yu’s hands were cold. He wanted more than anything to grab those hands and warm them up.
All too quickly he was being put back down, close to His Highness and Crimson Rain, and Yin Yu had silently returned to his post. He wasn’t being bowled over anymore, but Quan Yizhen’s head was still reeling. His shixiong didn’t want to talk to him, but he was still willing to help him, and that mattered. He took the quiet moment he’d been afforded to consider everything.
The first thing he was going to do when he got back to normal was talk to his shixiong. Even if he had to chase him again. Even if they had to fight first. There would have to be a chance eventually.
~
He fell to the ground where his shixiong had dropped him, weak and overwhelmed. It had never been like this before. When he was young, a child on the streets, he had enjoyed every fight, even when he took a beating. He had been fighting for its own sake, for the fun of it. Now, he was fighting for his life, for Yin Yu’s life, and he was losing. Now he couldn’t even stand up to protect the only person who mattered to him.
Through darkened vision he saw Yin Yu clutching desperately at his wrist, saw the way his panicked glance flew to him for the briefest moment, wordlessly calling out to him for his help. But he couldn’t move, he couldn’t reach out, he couldn’t do a thing to help him or to save him. He could only cry out, uselessly.