Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! Enjoy this next chapter :)

- Chapter Start -

It was Wen KeXing who pulled back first, smiling and beautiful despite his splotchy cheeks and leaking, pink tipped nose. He framed ZiShu's face with trembling hands, two long thumbs wiping away the wetness on his cheeks.

"A-Xu, you did it!"

ZiShu grabbed his arms with hands that were no steadier.

"Lao Wen, how do you feel?"

"Good as new. Better, even! But A-Xu, you gave up the chance of immortality for me."

ZiShu grinned at him, giddy with happiness.

"Immortality?" He shook his head. "Won't miss it."

Wen KeXing huffed out a laugh and ZiShu began laughing as well, bemused and quite possibly drunk on love, on life and a Wen KeXing who felt warm and radiated good health. ZiShu was about to smother him with kisses when their stomachs rumbled, one after the other.

Wen KeXing blinked, pink lips forming an 'o' of surprise, like that time at the Zhao Coffin House when he was under that hallucination drug

"Was that you or me?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Me," ZiShu told him with an unrepentant grin. "I could eat an ox!"

"Me too. If properly cooked." Wen KeXing looked around them, wrinkling his nose at the sacks of spoiled grain. "Fancy ice and snow?"

ZiShu shook his head.

"Hm. What about the spiders here? There are cobwebs everywhere."

ZiShu wrinkled his nose and shook his head again.

"I have a better idea, Lao Wen. Let's go home - well, let's go back to Ping An Manor. We have people waiting for us. Besides..." He trailed off as a thought struck him.

"Besides?"

"Ye BaiYi. After he transferred the LiuHe Kung Fu to you, how did he look?"

Wen KeXing's forehead crinkled, his expression turning guilty.

"I didn't notice. I rushed after you as soon as he was done."

And even then, he had barely made it. They stared at each other, seeing the unspoken worry in each other's eyes. Then ZiShu got to his feet and pulled his soulmate up, giving him a quick, hard kiss.

"Let's go back," he suggested. "We can come here another time."

"Agreed."

ZiShu shook out his robe before putting it on. He smiled when he saw Wen KeXing fingering his silver hair with an odd look on his face.

"At the risk of inflating your already inflated ego," he said, reaching out to flick the shorter strands near his face. "You look great. Just don't let it get to your head."

The uncertainty in Wen KeXing's eyes vanished, replaced by a mischievous glint.

"I look great?"

"I'm not repeating myself."

"A-Xu...!"

"What did I say about not letting it get to your head? It's big enough already!"

Smiling, Wen KeXing bent down and picked up the LiuHe Kung Fu book, smoothing out the crumpled pages.

"Ready to dig our way out?"

"Lead the way," ZiShu told him. "Besides, I need my hairpin back."

Wen KeXing raised an eyebrow at him.

"You mean the key? That's my hairpin."

"Nope, you gave it to me so it's mine now."

"... for safekeeping!"

ZiShu raised an eyebrow in turn.

"Is that the only reason?"

Wen KeXing shook his head, eyes soft.

"But then I have nothing to wear in my hair."

"I'll buy you another," ZiShu promised.

"Alright. Please make sure it matches my new hair colour."

ZiShu rolled his eyes, lips twitching.

"You're vain enough as it is. I've changed my mind, you can have your hairpin back," he said with a straight face.

"No, you promised to buy me a new one!"

Paying him no mind, ZiShu stepped down from the white circle.

"A-Xu!" Quick footsteps followed, familiar and beloved. A long fingered hand wrapped around his own, squeezing it.

ZiShu smiled and squeezed back.

- o -

Ye BaiYi surfaced from a deep sleep, slowly gaining consciousness. His body felt heavy and stiff like he had been sleeping for a long time. Opening his eyes, he looked around the unfamiliar room.

BeiYuan and Wu Xi stood near the door, conversing in low voices. He couldn't make out what they were saying even though his hearing was exceptionally keen. But it made him recall what had happened and where he was. Jerking upright, he grunted in pain when his body protested.

The other two men turned and approached the bed, BeiYuan with a wide smile and Wu Xi without.

"Senior Ye, you're awake," BeiYuan said. "How do you feel?"

Ye BaiYi glared up at him.

"Where's the brat?"

"KeXing? He rushed off to save ZiShu as soon as you finished transferring the LiuHe Kung Fu to him. That was four days ago."

"Four days?" Ye BaiYi repeated in shock.

"Five, actually," Wu Xi said, deadpan.

"Five?!" Throwing back the blankets, Ye BaiYi leaped out of bed, ignoring his protesting muscles, and swaying as the room spun merrily around him. "I've been out that long?"

Two hands clamped onto his shoulders and pressed down. Hard.

"Sit down!" Two voices chorused.

Taken by surprise, Ye BaiYi sat.

"Senior Ye, please take it easy," BeiYuan said.

Ye BaiYi scowled at him.

"Get me a mirror."

BeiYuan hesitated, but Wu Xi didn't, grabbing a hand mirror from the nearby table and handing it to Ye BaiYi.

The face in the mirror reflected curiosity and then shock. While Ye BaiYi had never been vain of his looks, only of his martial arts, the tired face staring back at him with sunken eyes, white streaked hair and lined skin gave him a dreadful pang. It reminded him of that Long Que brat in that smelly cave at Shu. Grimacing at the memory, he thrust the mirror back at Wu Xi.

It was his decision to descend from ChangMing Mountain and enjoy hot food and liquor. It was his decision to transfer the LiuHe Kung Fu. He didn't need thanks or looks of pity.

"I'm hungry," he stated. "Is there anything to eat?"

Wu Xi snorted in indignation.

"Who do you think-" he began, but BeiYuan nudged his arm and smiled.

"A QinLai is preparing his famous chicken congee."

"Congee is old people's food!" Ye BaiYi glared at him. "I still have all my teeth!"

He ignored Wu Xi who now looked like he wanted to hit him over the head with his staff.

"A QinLai's congee is very tasty," BeiYuan said. "We'll have our lunch with you. Wu Xi, would you help me, please?"

The shaman stomped over to the door and wrenched it open. He probably knew BeiYuan didn't want to leave him alone with Ye BaiYi.

"We'll be back in half an hour," BeiYuan said and followed Wu Xi out.

"Don't think I don't know you burned that Drunk Like A Dream incense for me!" Ye BaiYi shouted after them. Wu Xi peeked in again with an evil grin before shutting the door with a snap.

"Who invented that evil thing anyway?" Ye BaiYi groused to himself. Five days! Anything could have happened in five days!

Had the brat reached the World Armoury in time?

Had he saved Qin HuaiZhang's disciple?

They were such idiots, each willing to go the extra mile to save the other, even to the extent of sacrificing-

Well, wasn't that why he had transferred the LiuHe Kung Fu from ChangQing into himself in the first place?

Ye BaiYi shook his head. They were all fools. Fools in-

"Bah!"

He couldn't even go after them in the state he was in.

It was fine. Neither of those brats were stupid. They would soon figure out that passing the refined Qi between them would heal the brat's destroyed meridians and ensure that they not only survive but retain their martial arts. They would likely choose to be immortal.

After all, wasn't that what everyone wanted - the chance to live forever?

Besides, they had each other. That would make their long lives much easier to bear.

Drawing his legs up to sit cross legged on the bed, Ye BaiYi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. With daily meditation, he could live another year. He didn't intend to spend it here at Ping An Manor though. Better to wander the world and partake of its joys - sunrises and sunsets, serene landscapes, food and wine - while he still could.

He had meditated for maybe ten minutes when a commotion outside his room made him open his eyes, annoyed. Then he recognised that youthful voice as belonging to Qin HuaiZhang's disciple's disciple.

"They're back! Shifu and shishu are back!"

- o -

The brat and Qin HuaiZhang's disciple smelled of horses and looked like they had ridden hard, hair windblown and robes dusty. The brat's hair was fully white, which caused an unexpected pang in Ye BaiYi, but he looked good. They both did, brimming with health and grinning from ear to ear.

Whatever guilt Ye BaiYi had felt about withholding the side effects of using one's body as a furnace died a quick death.

"Old monster!"

"Ye-qianbei!"

"What's the meaning of barging in like this? Did you leave what little manners you had at the Armoury?" He demanded, still sitting on the bed.

As they exchanged sheepish smiles, he turned to glare at Qin HuaiZhang's disciple's disciple who stood outside the door and looked like all was right with his world once more.

Of course. His parents had returned for a visit, hadn't they?

"You two couldn't wash up first before bringing in all this dust?" He growled at said parents, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, we were worri-" Qin HuaiZhang's disciple began only for his soulmate to cut him off.

"Old monster, you look terrible!"

- Chapter End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! This story was meant to be nothing more than a simple alternate ending of Ep 36, but YBY saw me writing this chapter and demanded to be added in. Now, why does that sound familiar? *sighs* Anyway, please leave a comment if you enjoyed it :)