Chapter Text
Ming Yi and Ji Bozai got married that day. Dressed all in red inside a fox’s den in the middle of a scheme to trick and hunt the fox.
In a sense, it was a copy paste of someone else’s dream wedding and not their own, without any mementos or vows or locations important to them or where they came from. Every detail was only for a piece of shit fox they wanted nothing more than dead.
Even the fox’s original bride hadn’t contributed to the wedding design. Her vow had been a forced fake vow to love, “Even if you don’t love me for real, you are my world” But to Ming Yi and Ji Bozai, that was also perhaps the most romantic thing. To get married in the middle of a passionate and dangerous scheme was just so… them. Completely accidentally, it was romantic.
When they escaped the fox’s illusion all three of them, including Zhang Tai, passed out. But Ming Yi got out better than them so was up in only a minute. Situ Ling had already been standing there, waiting, sensing something was wrong and that this was the place he needed to be and not Moonlit Blossoms with the rest of the wedding guests, where his own loyal fox was waiting to deal with any problems that arose anyway.
When Ming Yi awoke, he was holding her with genuine worry that seemed to lack the falseness she had become used to in her relationships. Her spiritual veins burned and she grabbed her wrist and groaned. Situ Ling saw and tried to help with his magic, which did work a little bit. He cursed that his magic wasn’t strong enough to be more effective. “It’s ok, you’re still helping a lot.” She comforted him.
“You were poisoned with Heavenly Grief weren’t you?” He said with such worry in his sparkling eyes. “No…” she said, less convincingly than if she had been intentionally sarcastic. “It’s ok, you’ll be ok.” He comforted and hugged her. She slowly sat up and looked at him, his perfect face washed with unhidden relief. “Why are you here?” She asked.
“Like everyone else I heard you were getting married so I came. When I saw that you didn’t go to Moonlit Blossoms with your wedding party I stayed behind, worried. I wanted to make sure you were alright.” “Oh. Why?” “It was suspicious that you didn’t go.” “I’m tough, of course I can handle it.” She smirked. “I know, of course, Ming Xuan.”
“Shhhhh!” She put her finger to his lips and glared at the still passed out Ji Bozai. His lips were soft but she didn’t react to that. “...He doesn’t know? So you did marry him for the Golden Millet Dream?” “Situ Ling!!!” She glared at him angrily, but he had a small smile.
“...Let’s talk somewhere else. I’ve got a boat waiting, why don’t we go for a little sail?” She grabbed his arm and dragged him to her boat. When they got on the boat she summoned Twenty Seven, who looked curiously and suspiciously at Situ Ling. “Who are you?”
“This is Situ Ling, the head of Judgement Hall. He already knows that I’m Ming Xuan and he’s on our side. It’s ok.” “Hmmmmmm” He said as he pursed his lips and glared at Situ Ling. “Well, if you trust him, then I will too.” But his expression didn’t change that much. They sat and talked for a while, calming down. Talking to Situ was so easy.
There was something about him she felt she could trust, much of that being logical reasons. He started sharing information. He was a prince from a rival kingdom entirely born without spiritual veins and had lived his entire life in pain and suffering from his brothers and family who only valued strength and violence when he had none. He was the runt of the litter and had only barely escaped culling.
“Humans don’t have litters or runts. We are royals, not pigs. You should have survived no matter what and there was no reason for them to treat you like that. Most farmers don’t even treat pigs like that. If you had no chance to inherit you should’ve lived a quiet existence, not been hurt intentionally.” “...Thank you. It means so much to hear that from you. You were always so strong and tough and independent and you told me I could be too. You were my inspiration while I was suffering.”
She blushed. “Well, thank you, I guess. Um. Yeah. But it wasn’t easy. A good dancer makes even the most difficult dances look effortless, a mediocre one shows struggle. I should know, I had to learn dance when I was in Moonlit Blossoms. It was actually really hard! I’m a prince for God’s sake!” “I’m sorry. I’m sure you were wonderful at it though.”
“Yeah, I was! That crazy madam Yuyue was a hardass for sure! She made us practice over and over and she sometimes hit us when we made mistakes! She doesn’t look that mean, that’s part of her tricks!” “Yuyue? The fox?” he acted surprised “Yes! She’s hot but that doesn’t mean she's good! Don’t get sucked in by her sexiness! Also don’t trust foxes!” She pointed to a bruise she got from her most recent fight and Situ immediately began trying to heal it with magic.
“I know I made it look easy, but my entire life I had to constantly fight and suffer too just to be strong and not show any weakness. In many ways my life here in Jiangxi Abyss as Ji Bozai’s toy is easier because I’m constantly supposed to show weakness. There’s difficulty too in that constantly though.
I think in a system obsessed with only the strong surviving we all lose. We are social animals, being ultra competitive like that only hurts everyone. In my kingdom, no one starves, not even the lowliest worker or disabled person. I know that as a crown prince that’s biased and hypocritical of me to say, but it’s a common thing in my kingdom everyone says that and it's been that way long before I was even born. Even people here say it about my kingdom, although they say it with jealousy and hate.
I know logically that it’s probably impossible for EVERYONE to be well fed and happy, but in the Abyss and your kingdom, there’s starvation and pain and glaring problems everywhere. It's so obvious. Yet in mine, it’s rare. There are rules for workers rights and feminism and lots of kinds of pain. It is a wonderful place. Perhaps that is why people turned against me so quickly when I lost the tournament and the divine rain. They are not used to struggling so a year of struggle seems so much more radical to them.
For people here this year with the divine is incredible and wonderful like a miracle. They’re determined not to get used to it and they seem to appreciate it more. At home the strange thing is to not have enough. There’s extra stores of food of course in preparation for an unlikely loss so my people will not suffer this year as much as the people of the Abyss did in the previous years. It is wonderful. Why don’t we try to adapt that for ourselves in our own lives? Try to be more like my people? Share with ourselves instead of needlessly suffering? Why must we always be fighting?”
“How profound. Let’s be strong and remember that we don’t have to be. Let’s also remember that military violence isn’t the only thing that matters. Diplomacy and soft power are also important for winning. Not everyone powerful is physically strong. Let’s use that to our advantage. Aside from your strength, we have many advantages. Maybe someday I can be good for something at least.”
“Well, it was genuinely strategically stupid of your family to dismiss you like that. You’re incredibly beautiful and charming, one of the most in the Abyss, they could marry you off or something. Dismissing you altogether as a failure seems shortsighted.” “...I’m beautiful and charming? You really think that?” “It’s just something people say a lot.” She said quickly and regretfully. She didn’t mean to say that he was so handsome, it sounded a lot more personal than she meant it. She meant it matter of factly because it was true and something people really did say often.
Situ Ling told her all about his real name, Chao Yuan, and his real title as the fifth prince of his kingdom. He even admitted his connection to the evil madam from Ming Yi’s nightmares, Yuyue. “She listens to you?! Oh come on, she doesn’t listen to anyone!” “We’ve known each other for many years and we came here together. I don’t know what else to say.”
Talking to him felt so much easier than talking to Ji Bozai. She could actually be herself and it didn’t feel like there were a million double triple meanings and hidden agendas. She and him were actual allies, hopefully. She was distrustful but somehow she trusted him.
Ji Bozai was gorgeous and awesome and so cool. It would be wrong to say that Situ Ling was more beautiful and hot because they were both the maximum. But there was something more charming and sweet about the prince. He was so cute and elegant and kind. Exactly the kind of man she had imagined marrying when he was a child when she had dared imagine it.
He had the same kind of sad backstory she couldn’t help falling for like Ji Bozai but he seemed more actually good. Everything with Ji Bozai was like a battle, which was addicting for a lifelong soldier, but everything with Situ Ling was like a conversation, like how it is with family like her mom or her teacher or her cat.
His princely beauty and elegance was apparent and unmatched. She had concocted entire battle plans for seducing Ji Bozai but with the Situ Ling the more she acted like herself the more he seemed to like her. He revealed his brother’s involvement and entrance into the Abyss.
“My brothers are all extremely cruel, ruthless and evil, not only for hurting me. It won’t be easy to fight them. They are so much meaner and more terrifying than Mu Qi Bai. He thinks that if he accepts their help then he can make Jiangxi Abyss rise in power and prosperity but my brothers and father will show no loyalty to Jiangxi Abyss and will burn it to the ground as quickly as it helps them. Mu Qi Bai is signing the death warrant for his own people. I act apathetic but I don’t want the people here to die and I do want this kingdom to do well. I want the best outcome here too. I am determined more than anything to be better than my brothers.”
Oh boy, things were about to become a lot more international. It was finally time for this internal political fight of who should rule this kingdom to become about which kingdom should rule the world. Her mountain kingdom had already ruled it, all she had to do was make sure it stayed that way. And also fight her own internal battle to rule there. Incumbents always have an advantage though. Her only disadvantage was her Heavenly Grief. “How about you keep calling me Ming Yi and I keep calling you Situ Ling? It’ll keep us both safer and everything simpler.” “Ok.”
With Situ Ling on her side, she could win the internal battle for the Abyss, help Situ Ling against his brothers, fight his kingdom, and win within hers. He had seemed so unassuming and somewhat useless at first, a handsome lazy nepo baby Judgment Hall leader, but now he was one of the biggest boons she’d obtained so far.
How lovely it would be if he was honest.
When Ji Bozai finally awoke, he was already on the boat with his new wife at his side. He was confused at first, and then he smiled when he saw her. She was excited when he woke up and gave him some soup. Zhang Tai was still asleep, but doing well apparently. “How long was I out?”
“For a while, I was starting to get concerned. It won’t be long until we’re home in the Wugoi Sea now.”
The pieces were beginning to fall into place but she still needed that Golden Millet Dream that literally everyone also wanted. Perhaps she still needed Ji Bozai as well. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. When they arrived back home they had the romantic moment from the show and she realized that she needed that stuff so she would have sex with him then. Of course, it was a very biased decision. The truth is she really, really wanted it.
Even if it wasn’t pragmatic she would do it with him now. Her conversation with that charming prince didn’t undo the reams of tension that living and flirting with that hot ass soldier had created inside her. She remembered that first night together where they had awkwardly taken off their clothes one by one and then set the damn island on fire.
Ji Bozai had burned down the building he used to put his soul well in. Both of them had thought that the extra fire had been done by accident and didn’t suspect the other at the time, but by their wedding night they already both knew. The cat had done his job but little did he know it had already been done.
Speaking of the cat, the next day he came curiously to Ming Yi. He had a cautious expression and reaction like he didn’t want to know the details. Ji Bozai made the heart connection and then he left to go get a wedding gift. She wasn’t sure exactly where he was but he packed the boat for a long journey and said he would be gone at least a day.
“Now’s your chance! Get the medicine!” Her cat insisted. “What’s wrong with you? Did he hurt you? You’re acting so strange.” The young cat had never been in rut or heat and was not old enough to understand sexuality. “I don’t want to betray him.” “He’s betraying you! If you don’t take it and you die it’ll be his fault! Go get the Golden Millet Dream now! You’ll die!”
“Maybe he’d give it to me if I asked.” “Are you willing to bet your life on that?! You always told me betting is wrong! And now you’re willing to bet your life on such a fickle, emotional thing! You can’t throw your life away like this, Ming Yi! There are people counting on you! What about your mother?! What about me?!”
Ming Yi adjusted her clothes properly so she’d be ready to leave Wuguoi Sea in a hurry and hesitantly walked over to the place they had burned down together the day she arrived. She held out her hand and felt the pull of the heart imprint. “Let me come to help you.” Her cat said. Really, he meant to help make sure she had the nerve to do it probably. “Ok fine.” She got sucked in.
“There it is!”
Ji Bozai really believed she was just a fairy and didn’t expect her to be able to access his soul well, so he had only added minor protections that cost her a petal to get through. Twenty Seven rushed her and was successful as she drank the whole thing in one try. It didn’t feel like anything at first, but she decided that the effects must take a while like the effects of the poison. She put charmed Heart’s Delight wine into the empty bottle and returned it to its spot in his soul.
Then she and her cat hurriedly returned to her room. She started cooking food for her husband. She was a crown prince, cooking mundane food for a man was an insane request. As relief filled her she was allowing herself to be frustrated at her situation and wonder if it was worth it. She had come up with a million plans for this moment but deciding and actually taking next steps took time.
She also finally allowed herself to process what she saw in Ji Bozai’s soul. It looked just like the Sunken Abyss. He had escaped it in person, but would never escape it in his mind. It was just like her admittedly less sympathetic obsession with being strong as a child that she could never escape.
What happened to the people of the Sunken Abyss? She had to help them.