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Chapter 27

ZHEN

Zhen's heart hammered as he weaved between the trees. The broken chains of the manacles around his ankles dragged through

detritus of dead leaves on the ground. Every sensation was amplified—the bristle of moss underfoot, the whisper of wind through

the leafy dome, the earthy scent of blooms mingled with decay.

Up ahead, the cloaked figure darted swiftly and silently through the forest. He clearly knew not only the terrain but also

how to avoid leaving tracks; he stayed off dirt trails, vaulted over fallen logs, ducked under low-hanging branches, and took

shortcuts through thickets.

Who was he? There was something strangely familiar about the masked man's voice, his eyes... but Zhen couldn't place it.

The more important question: Why was he helping Zhen?

Zhen was too out of breath to wonder any further. He huffed under Xian's weight; he seemed to grow heavier with each step Zhen took. The other boy didn't—couldn't—move, but his accusing eyes bore into Zhen. Zhen wanted to reassure him, but he knew nothing he could say could convince Xian.

The masked man halted in front of a thick curtain of vines that hung from a rocky escarpment and almost completely concealed

the entrance to a grotto. He pushed the vines aside and gestured for Zhen to go first.

Zhen ducked inside, still carrying Xian. The air in the tunnel was cool, filled with the damp scent of lichens and minerals.

Stalagmites protruded from the ground, their tips flat and blunted, while stalactites hung overhead, their pointed edges like

daggers.

They ventured deeper until the underground passageway opened into a large cave. Gaps in the overhead rock crevasses allowed

shafts of sunlight in. In the center was an impressive column made of a massive stalactite that met a huge stalagmite rising

from the base to form a natural pillar.

Qing leaned against the pillar, still wearing the high-waisted green dress from the festival, although her long white sleeves

were now streaked with dirt.

Zhen stopped. "Qing?"

"Zhen!" Qing's wide grin promptly vanished when she caught sight of Xian in his arms. "What is he doing here?" Her head snapped toward the masked man. "You let him bring the prince ?"

"I didn't have a choice." The masked man waved his scimitar at Xian's and Zhen's linked wrists. "I wanted to set him free by cutting off the prince's hand, but your gallant friend here refused and insisted on bringing him with us."

Zhen lowered Xian to the ground, their wrists still connected by the cuffs. Qing came forward and threw her arms around Zhen.

"I was so worried," she whispered, burying her face in his neck. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

"Don't worry, I'm still in one piece." He embraced her with his free arm. "Why didn't you leave Changle like I told you?"

"I did," she replied. "I hid in the forest and cried out to the snakes. I told them a white snake spirit was in terrible danger."

She nodded at the masked man. "Some of the snakes went to him for help, and he found me in the middle of the night. We came

up with a plan to rescue you, and our friends agreed to help."

Zhen was again overwhelmed by that feeling of recognition. He had seen the masked man somewhere before—

"The equilibrium always finds itself, Little White One," the man said.

Zhen's jaw dropped.

"Hei Xing?" he breathed.

The man's eyes crinkled in a smile that was hidden behind his mask. "You remember my name."

"I could never forget," Zhen replied. The name meant "black star"—for the star-shaped design on the shell of the old tortoise

from the West Lake. "You saved my life. Again."

"Tortoises and snakes have a close affinity, after all," Hei Xing said. "The forest was alive with chatter that a white snake spirit was in grave peril at the hands of humans, and I thought to myself, Could that be the same young white snake I knew in the West Lake? Has he also traveled south to Changle, as I have? When I met your friend Qing, she told me everything that had happened."

Qing looked at Zhen. "There was something poisonous in the decoction that the prince's adviser made, wasn't there?"

Zhen nodded. "Realgar powder. I could smell it."

Qing frowned. "Then why did you drink it?"

"I thought the skills I cultivated in the past seven years as a snake spirit would be able to counteract the toxin, at least

for a short while," Zhen replied. "I never imagined the sulfur would be potent enough to make me transform uncontrollably

right there in front of everyone."

Hei Xing spoke. "You need many more years of cultivation before you're strong enough to withstand something so lethal to snakes."

Xian made a scratchy sound in his throat, catching Zhen's attention. He lay on the ground, stiff as a scarecrow, and his face

was contorted like he was trying to cough but couldn't.

Zhen looked at Hei Xing. "Can you release the prince's diǎn xuè point?"

"No," Qing said immediately. "I prefer him this way. Silent. Powerless." She stepped forward and glared down at Xian. "Doesn't

feel so good, does it, when you're the one at someone else's mercy?"

Xian's eyes stared daggers up at them.

"Qing, he was bitten by a snake," Zhen said. "If he can't move, the toxin in his bite might stagnate and fester. I don't think he's any kind of a threat against the three of us."

"First, I'll take this," Hei Xing told Xian, leaning down and removing the concealed dagger in Xian's ankle sheath. Zhen hadn't

even noticed the weapon was there.

Hei Xing tapped two fingers against an acupressure point on Xian's neck. A jerk went through Xian, and his entire body shuddered.

His rigid posture relaxed, and his mouth opened in a quiet exhalation. Zhen wondered if he would attempt to fight. But Xian

seemed to know there was no use, especially with Hei Xing ready to immobilize him again.

Zhen looked at the chain between their cuffed wrists. "Any idea how to get out of these?"

"That's easy," Qing said. She picked up a twig. "Just transmute this into a skeleton key, like you did when we were locked

up by those constables."

"I can't." Zhen pointed at his neck. "This collar suppresses my powers."

Qing turned to Hei Xing. "Can you do something?"

Hei Xing shook his head. "These cuffs are made of unbreakable bīn steel. They have powerful magical properties and can't be

unlocked by a transmuted key. Only one key in the world can open the lock, and our smart prince here very helpfully threw

it into the forest."

Zhen turned his attention to the snakebite on Xian's leg. The prince wore thick leather boots, which protected his feet, but the snake's fangs had penetrated his riding breeches. There were two swollen puncture wounds on his shin. The fact that Xian wasn't dead right now meant the bite was likely a dry one. Venom glands took time to replenish, and snakes had to be careful not to waste their venom when they weren't hunting. But even the minuscule amount of residual toxin in the dry bite had been enough to disable Xian's leg, which meant the snake that had bitten him was highly venomous. Healing Xian with his spirit powers would have been easy, but with the collar suppressing Zhen's abilities, he'd have to try the human way.

Xian recoiled as Zhen brought his mouth closer to the snakebite. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I need to get as much of the venom out before it spreads further." Zhen couldn't help thinking of the times his lips had

touched other parts of Xian's body, under entirely different circumstances, eliciting a completely opposite reaction...

Now he just hoped Xian wouldn't kick him in the face.

He sucked the puncture wound and spat out the bitter copper taste; he repeated the process a few more times before pulling

back. Qing looked chagrined. Hei Xing handed him a gourd-shaped water vessel. Zhen rinsed out his mouth, then poured some

water onto the snakebite. He tore a strip of fabric from the hem of his own tunic and tied it around the wound. The injury

would need a proper poultice, but this would have to do for now.

Qing crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Xian. "You don't deserve him."

The expression that flitted across Xian's face was hard to decipher, like trying to count dozens of butterflies in flight.

Zhen looked at Qing and Hei Xing. "Can you two give us a minute?"

"I'll climb to the vantage point above this cave to see if they've picked up our trail," Hei Xing said. "We should leave as

soon as possible. I know a safer hiding spot deeper in the mountains."

"I'll ask the snakes to search the forest for the key so we can get rid of this unwanted baggage." Qing shot Xian a hostile

stare. "And if you try anything funny while we're away, I'll use your intestines to make one of those decorative knots they

sell in the markets."

Xian glowered at her but said nothing. Zhen was sure no one had dared to speak this way to Xian in his entire life.

Qing and Hei Xing exited the cave, leaving Zhen alone with Xian. Some water remained in the gourd-shaped vessel, and Zhen

held it out to Xian. "Here. You must be thirsty."

Their fingers brushed briefly as Xian took the bottle. There was no spark, only a bitter reminder of the thrill that used

to go through Zhen each time they touched.

Xian drank the last drop before he lowered the vessel. His shoulders sagged, and somehow he seemed... smaller, like the

boy Zhen had left behind on the islet in the West Lake all those years ago. But his eyes were still fiery when he met Zhen's

gaze.

"Did you take the pearl as some kind of payment for saving me from drowning?" he asked.

A pang went through Zhen's chest. "Of course not."

"Then why ?" Xian's voice echoed off the roughened rocks above and around them. "For once in your life, tell me the truth: Why did you

take the pearl?"

Telling the truth would expose a shameful side of the reckless young snake that Zhen once was. But after everything he had

put Xian through, Zhen owed him this much.

"I wanted to experience what it was like to be human," he replied. "As a snake I watched humans from the lakes and canals,

and I envied your carefree lives, the way you could sing, dance, laugh, and... love."

The silence was barbed, sending a chill across Zhen's skin.

"That pearl was meant to heal my mother." Xian's tone was dangerously soft. "And you took it because you wanted to know what

it was like to walk on two legs and screw boys?"

Zhen flinched. Xian was their captive, but the deadly flash in his eyes made Zhen feel like he was the one at Xian's mercy.

"If you hadn't stolen the pearl, my mother would have been cured seven years ago," Xian continued. "Because of you, she has

suffered far longer than she had to, and now she's dying. I want you to remember this: Nothing, nothing in this world can ever make up for what you've done."

If only Zhen could turn back time—if he had never taken the pearl that day, Xian would've had it with him when he was rescued, and they would've used the pearl to heal his mother. Zhen would have continued to live as an ordinary snake in the West Lake, gazing wistfully at the people walking across the Broken Bridge, and Xian would have lived the past seven years without guilt and anger over his mother's illness. He and Xian would never have met in Changle, would never have drunk pu'er tea together or played wéi qí or kissed... Zhen's life would not have been so unforgettable, yet he would have made that exchange in a heartbeat. The

sacrifice would've been worth it.

Qing burst into the cave, breaking into Zhen's thoughts. "Found it!"

She waved a key triumphantly. Xian looked stunned.

"How did you find it so quickly?" Zhen asked.

"One of my fellow pit vipers saw the key sailing through the air and watched it land in the bushes," Qing replied. "She figured

it had to be important, so she got it and brought it straight to me. Hunter's instinct."

She gave the key to Zhen. With a smooth click, the cuff around his wrist fell open. Before Zhen could do anything else, Qing

reached out and snapped the open cuff around Xian's other wrist, chaining his hands together.

"We have a problem," Hei Xing's voice called.

They turned as Hei Xing appeared from the opposite end of the cave, looking grim.

"The prince's bodyguard is coming our way with reinforcements," Hei Xing reported. "Some guards must have escaped, gone back

to Changle, and raised the alarm. They're armed with sulfur powder, which they're spreading along the forest trail as they

advance. The snakes won't be able to help us this time."

Qing looked panicked. "What should we do?"

Hei Xing pointed at the opening in the rocks through which he had just come. "This is the only way out. It leads through the heart of the mountain and emerges on the other side."

"Let's go," Zhen said. "We'll leave Xian here for his bodyguard and their men to rescue—"

"Are you out of your mind?" Hei Xing retorted. "You were the one who wanted to bring him along, and he's the reason they're

so close on our heels. Now you want to let him go?"

"He can't walk with that snakebite!" Zhen replied. "I'm not sure how far I can carry him."

Hei Xing let out an exasperated noise. He dropped to his knee and put a hand on Xian's injured leg—from the dawning incredulity

in Xian's eyes, Zhen realized that Hei Xing was using his spirit powers to heal him.

"He's the only leverage we have." Hei Xing grabbed Xian's collar, dragged him roughly to his feet, and shoved him forward.

"If they catch up to us, we will need to barter him for our freedom."

Xian stumbled, still unsteady on his newly healed left leg.

Zhen immediately caught him. "Are you all right?"

Xian jerked his arm out of Zhen's grasp. "Don't touch me."

"I'm not going to ask as nicely as him." Hei Xing leveled his scimitar in Xian's face. "Move. Now ."

They escaped through the narrow archway in single file. In front of Zhen, Xian walked with a slight limp, as if he hadn't fully regained feeling in his leg. Snakes lived in burrows and dens, so Zhen was used to navigating in cramped underground spaces, but Xian kept bumping his head on the low ceiling as the passage rose and dipped, veering this way and that.

They finally emerged into another cavernous subterranean chamber, this one bisected by a wide chasm that was bridged by a

thin neck of rock. They stopped at the brink of the divide. Zhen's foot knocked over a small stone, which echoed several times

as it fell before abruptly fading out.

Hei Xing spoke. "I hope none of you are afraid of heights."

Qing and Zhen exchanged dubious looks. There was no way out but through.

Hei Xing went first, holding a torch, followed by Qing, then Xian. Zhen brought up the rear. The bridge was about three feet

wide, although it felt a lot narrower with the sheer drop on either side.

Halfway across, Xian suddenly tripped. He stumbled forward, but his left leg wasn't strong enough to bear his weight—

Zhen's stomach lurched. "Xian!"

Xian teetered at the edge just before falling over.

Zhen threw himself forward and grabbed both of Xian's cuffed hands. Everything happened fast; if Zhen hadn't possessed the

reflexes of a snake, Xian would've plunged too far for Zhen to reach him.

Qing spun around. "Zhen!"

From the direction of the cave they had left behind came the rumble of boots and men's voices. Their pursuers had found them

and were gaining ground—

"Let him go!" Hei Xing called out from his position in front. "We don't have time for this!"

Xian's eyes were wide with horror as he clung to Zhen's hands. "Zhen—"

Zhen looked at Qing and Hei Xing. "Both of you, go ahead without me."

"No!" Qing yelled. "I'm not going anywhere without you!"

"Listen to me, Qing!" Zhen's voice was labored from the effort of holding Xian's full weight. "Run. Don't look back."

A small stone whistled through the air and struck the back of Zhen's hand like the bite of a flying serpent. The sharp pain

made him loosen his grip a fraction.

One of Xian's palms slid out of his grasp.

"Xian!" Zhen's head snapped toward Hei Xing as another stone was fired at him. It narrowly missed his other hand, the only

thing stopping Xian from plunging into the infinite, empty depths. "Hei Xing, what are you doing?"

Hei Xing's eyes blazed in his masked face. "Drop the prince!"

"No!" Zhen shouted. "I left him behind once—I won't make the same mistake again!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Qing rushed forward, but Hei Xing grabbed her arm. She snarled, trying to extricate herself from his

grip.

"Over there!" came Feng's voice behind them. Running footsteps approached the bridge.

"Take Qing and get out !" Zhen roared.

Hei Xing let out a frustrated growl. He hoisted a struggling Qing over his shoulder and sprinted toward the other end of the bridge, where a trace of daylight lit the route to freedom. With a swish of his dark cloak and a last glimmer of Qing's green dress, they were gone.

Xian stared up at Zhen, his legs swinging wildly over the abyss that yawned below. Their joined palms were sweaty, and Xian's

hand was slipping out of Zhen's—

"I've got you," Zhen whispered. Below him, Xian strained to clasp Zhen's other hand—their fingertips touched, but neither

of them could manage a firm grip. "I won't let you go—"

Feng finally reached them. He leaned forward and grabbed Xian's arm, and together, with a grunt of effort, they hoisted Xian

back onto the bridge.

"Xian!" Feng caught his best friend's shoulders in both hands, and Zhen could see the worry and relief shining in his eyes.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

Xian's face was ashen, his gaze filled with disbelief as he looked at Zhen.

Before either of them could say anything, the guards accompanying Feng grabbed Zhen and dragged him away from Xian. They slammed

him facedown, and one of them shoved his knee painfully into Zhen's back. Zhen didn't resist as they twisted and bound his

arms behind him.

He had been given a second chance to make the right choice—and this time, he had stayed by Xian's side.

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