Capturing My Demon King Costar

MY COSTAR MAKES A FRIEND

This time, when Yao Shen blinks his eyes open, he's no longer being a witness to one of his past memories.

He's laying on the dusty floor of the tunnel below the wall. A thick cloying smoke coats the air. He covers his mouth and nose in the crook of his arm and tries to make sense of what happened.

After his eyes adjust to the darkness, he immediately notices Xin Hulei and Tan Liansi laying not far from him -- their eyes also closed.

He gets close to Xin Hulei and notices the rapid movement of his eyes under his eyelids.

But is he relieving the Crown Prince's memories, as Yao Shen had been, or his own? The last time Yao Shen saw the Crown Prince's memories, Xin Hulei was there with him, so it seems unlikely.

As expected, all attempts to rouse him prove unfruitful.

This is similar to what happened when Gao Wu attacked them -- except back then Xin Hulei, Jincan and Heimao were trapped inside their own minds. Yao Shen is sure that whatever is happening here is Si Wang's doing.

It's disconcerting that he isn't here. The hairs on the back of Yao Shen's nape stand up in alarm, but there's no sign of him wherever he looks, despite the ever present feeling of being watched.

He remembers how he just stepped from behind the curtains in the brothel room, without either the Crown Prince or Xin Hulei being aware of his presence and his discomfort increases.

He should find a way to get Xin Hulei and Tan Liansi out of here, they're far too vulnerable like this. Yao Shen alone can't go against Si Wang.

Or...he could lay down next to Xin Hulei and use his ghost king abilities to slip into his dream with him.

The thought is foreign and intrusive and Yao Shen immediately rejects it. He doesn't think it would be a good idea to do that. He would just be exposing himself, and all of them, to more danger--

But he might learn some more useful information that way, he should really see what Xin Hulei is reliving right now.

The more Yao Shen fights against the intrusive thoughts encouraging him to slip into Xin Hulei's dreams the stronger the impulse grows.

Before he knows it he's already crawling on his hands and knees to lay down beside Xin Hulei's immobile body, unable to stop himself.

He looks up at the dark ceiling of the cave in apprehension, knowing that something is happening to him. Knowing that he isn't fully in control of his body right now.

His eyelids feel heavy, and he's powerless to fight the impulse to give in into this unnatural sleep.

---

Yao Shen wakes up with a gasp. All around him there's fire and noise. He's disoriented both by being in Xin Hulei's dream, as well as by all the screaming around him.

A groan near him gets his attention, and when he looks at the side, he finds the Crown Prince, bleeding profusely from several cuts on his forehead, crawling on his front towards where Xin Hulei is lying unconscious.

Ghosts are screaming and running in all directions, trying to get out of the building. Perhaps giving into learned behaviours form their lives as humans which tell them to run away from fire and to avoid danger. Perhaps they think they can somehow become "deader" than they already are.

In the meantime, the only two heavily injured people who might yet lose their lives receive no assistance.

When the Crown Prince reaches Xin Hulei's side, it becomes obvious he's still breathing, despite the gory sight of his destroyed horn, and all the fresh blood seeping through his bandages.