𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 !!
❤︎
LUO BINGHE CHASED AFTER THE FIGURE WITH THE FACE, Y/N FOLLOWING CLOSELY BEHIND HIM.
the figure was a little blurry, but it looked like that of a child's considering their height. "binghe!" y/n yelled, trying to grab luo binghe's attention, but he was ignored. luo binghe seemed determined to catch the figure with the face. what if it was their only chance to escape? y/n wanted to scoff.
demons liked to toy with their prey. obviously, a demon luring in its prey wouldn't come out with all the horns and the ugliness—no, they need their prey to trust them enough to lure them into a trap. a child was one of their number one choices to go with.
they went through passageways, and tight little alleyways as they chased after the little boy. luo binghe chased after the child on the ground, squeezing through tight alleyways that the child could easily slip through. y/n didn't want to deal with all of that, so he jumped up into the rooftops, running along the stone tiles while keeping an eye on the chase happening below.
the child turned down another alley and quickly skidded to a halt as a tall wall loomed over them. y/n paused as he caught up with the child. why, it was only a little boy. he looked extremely malnourished, with a thin and bony body, with his shaggy mane of hair messily tied into a ponytail.
it hid his face well enough as y/n couldn't see his face. he wondered how luo binghe thought he had a face. "shixiong!" luo binghe exclaimed, looking up at him. y/n jumped down, landing beside him. they both turned towards the little boy. he looked up at the wall and looked around, trying to find an escape route.
"hah! look at the little bastard!" the two disciples turned around and saw a group of kids walking towards the shaggy little boy. they were wearing tattered clothing like the little boy, but they seemed a lot more healthier when compared to the little boy. they walked right through y/n and luo binghe as they were only illusions.
it looked like they were the type of children who roamed the streets to bully the weaker kids into submission. "how dare you come and try to steal our jobs, huh?" luo binghe's body tensed as the bullies circled the shaggy little boy. they threw him to the ground, laughing maniacally before they began punching and kicking the poor boy. they didn't look like they were pulling their punches, no. there was a hundred percent malicious intent behind each hit.
"this is..." luo binghe muttered, gritting his teeth at the sight. the little boy curled helplessly into a ball as he could do nothing against the continuous strikes of the other boys. one of them grabbed him by his hair, lifting his head up for everyone to see.
the little boy's face was revealed and luo binghe's face turned as white as a ghost. y/n's heart was immediately riddled with guilt and sadness.
the little boy was luo binghe. y/n immediately grabbed luo binghe by the arm, trying to pull him away so he wouldn't have to watch such a heart-wrenching sight. "binghe." he muttered, moving to stand in front of him. "shixiong, we should stop them." luo binghe told him.
"binghe, we can't touch them." y/n responded quietly. "these are all just illusions conjured by meng mo, from your memories." he finishes, giving luo binghe a sympathetic look. he places his hand on luo binghe's cheek, making sure to keep his eyes on him.
"look at me, just look at me."
but luo binghe's eyes keep wandering over to the scene of the three boys brutally beating up the younger version of himself. it was a cruel thing to watch, and it squeezed y/n's heart with an uncomfortable feeling, practically choking him with it. but they weren't allowed to touch anything.
"if you touch them, we'll only go deeper into the dream." y/n continued. "if we go any deeper than this, then you'll only hurt yourself even more." luo binghe bit his lip as he tried his hardest to stop himself. he tightened his hand into a fist. "i-i..." his eyes went from y/n's sympathetic e/c eyes, to the sight of the brutality.
"do you really want to kill yourself that bad?!"
"kill him!"
"he had nothing to eat, right?"
"hah! he won't starve if he'd just die!!"
the little boy glanced up at the boys, giving them a hard stare as if he was telling them he wasn't going to give in to their bullying. this seemed to piss off the little boys even more as they began to beat him up even harder than before. they beat him up so bad, that luo binghe thought he saw a tooth fly out.
"what was that look for, huh?!"
"you wanna go blind?!"
one of the boys grabbed the child luo binghe by the back of his tattered clothes, ripping them off even more. "you bastard!!" the little boy screamed, lifting his fist as he prepared to bring it down on luo binghe's bruised face.
the current luo binghe shook his head before he raised his fist, condensed qi gathering onto his hands. "stop that!!" he roared, dashing towards the bullies in the scene before them, pushing y/n away from him.
"binghe!" y/n called before he released a choked gasp as his back slammed against the wall of a nearby house. what- i'm inside a dream, aren't i? how am i feeling pain? y/n grunted as he slid down, his back aching terribly.
luo binghe raised his fist before bringing it down on the kid who seemed to be the leader of the little posse of bullies. the hit never landed though, instead, it seemed to fire back on him. luo binghe was thrown away from the impact, landing on the ground a few feet away.
"binghe.." y/n grunted as he pushed himself off the ground. he rushed towards luo binghe, ignoring the stinging pain on his spine. he was quick to lend a hand as he bent down on one knee to offer his hand. "binghe, are you all right?" y/n asked, giving him a worried look.
"i'm fine, shixiong." luo binghe grumbled. "they're part of your consciousness. attacking them is attacking yourself, so be careful!" y/n scolds him. "if you get hurt, we may never be able to leave this place." luo binghe widened his eyes in worry as he heard his senior's words.
"shixiong-" before he could say anything, black smoke erupted around them, swallowing them both whole. "shixiong!" luo binghe extended a hand as he tried to grab ahold of his senior.
he managed to grasp onto something through the black smoke. when the smoke finally disappeared, he sighed in relief when he saw that it was just y/n. "shixiong." he happily says, relieved that his senior was all right. "keep your guard up. it looks like we're in another illusion." y/n says, looking around in suspicion.
it looks like they were standing in front of luo binghe's old home. the house itself was like a small, rickety shack. it looked so close to collapsing that y/n feels like he could make the house fall apart with a single breath.
"binghe, please listen to what i have to say." y/n grabbed luo binghe's hands, but the younger of the two avoided his eyes. i caused trouble for shixiong again. was the singular thought in his mind as he remembered how agitated y/n looked when they landed in the second illusion.
"binghe!" y/n exclaimed, shaking him a little in an attempt to make the teen look at him. "ignore everything and anything you see from now on. don't touch anything, don't look at anything. just look at me." y/n tells him, tightening his grip on luo binghe's hands. "do you understand?"
luo binghe looked up at him, before his eyes transferred to the house behind y/n. "this place is..." luo binghe took a few steps forward, going towards the house as if there was something drawing him towards it. y/n looked at him, seemingly offended. he opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but luo binghe had already disappeared into the house.
a fit of coughs could be heard inside, and it sounded like whoever it was, they were in a lot of pain. to see luo binghe's memories like this was heartbreaking for y/n.
he was lucky enough to have grown up in a privileged household where he lacked in almost nothing. he grew up happy despite the numerous obstacles that were thrown in his family's path. y/n shook his head. he was inside of luo binghe's memories, how could he be reminiscing about his own past right now?
luo binghe opened the door to the house and rushed inside. a woman was inside the old house. she tried to cease her coughing as she goes to sit up. "binghe, are you home?" the woman weakly asked. luo binghe crouched down on her side. "mother." he whimpered.
y/n stood in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe as he simply watched. maybe luo binghe needed this.
"mother!" luo binghe looked behind him, seeing the young luo binghe again. he was covered in dirt and bruises, but he tried his best to walk straight as he approached his bedridden mother. "mother, you should be resting." the young luo binghe worriedly tells his mother as he kneels at her bedside.
the woman coughed, "after lying down for so long- i felt like doing the laundry..." she croaks out in a weak voice. y/n turned away from the scene. he couldn't handle seeing it anymore; seeing luo binghe's mother suffering greatly as his younger counterpart tried his best to make things easier for her.
y/n shook his head. "if father hadn't killed the enemy general and gained fame, he would've died... leaving mother all by herself." he wrapped his arms around himself. a single twist of fate would've decided y/n's future. would he even still be a disciple of qing jing peak?
if his father hadn't come back from the war, back to his pregnant mother, y/n and his brothers probably would've grown up the same as luo binghe.
the thought of it sent shivers up y/n's spine. would i have been able to keep myself sane and alive? he shook his head before exhaling sharply. he turned around to check up on luo binghe, but to his surprise, the younger luo binghe went running out the door, bumping into him. yet the little boy kept running before he disappeared into the dark smoke.
y/n peered inside the old shack, "that boy... i want to see him grow up so much.." he heard the woman sigh. y/n's brows knitted in worry as he looked at luo binghe. he walked towards him before he placed a hand on his shoulder. "let's go." he quietly tells him.
if this were all real, y/n would've left luo binghe by himself so he had more time to be with his mother. but they were inside an illusion, inside the dreamworld where the demon, meng mo, can change anything and everything with just the snap of his bony fingers.
luo binghe didn't listen to him though. "mother, binghe has grown up..." he tells the woman before grasping her frail and bony hands in his. y/n immediately grabbed his hand, pulling it away from the woman just as she disappeared, turning into dark smoke. "don't touch her!" he told him, but it was too late.
"mother! don't leave me!" luo binghe cried as he struggled to set himself free from y/n's hold. the woman disappeared, and so did everything else around them as again, a cloud of dark smoke engulfed them.
the smoke cleared after a few seconds, and they were presented with another illusion. the young binghe was on the ground again, his frail body hunched over something y/n couldn't see. he was protecting it fiercely against the onslaught of attacks from the same bullies from one of the earlier illusions.
"i'm not a thief, i swear!" little luo binghe cried. "i got this porridge from the kitchen!!"
"bastard, that was our kitchen!!" one of the bullied sneer as he stomped on luo binghe's head. "if we didn't agree to it, that means you were stealing!" another one adds, landing a kick on luo binghe's sides.
worried, y/n looked towards luo binghe. he grabbed him by the arm, trying to have him face him. "binghe, don't look at them!" he yelled, trying to get through to luo binghe. but he was angry, so nothing y/n said went through to him. his eyes were glaring daggers at the bullies, getting angrier by the second.
"hahaha! he looks like a little dog!"
"why don't you bark for us?"
"we'll let you go if you bark like a dog!"
"come on, bark!"
the evil laughter of the three bullies echoed all over the dreamscape. luo binghe stepped forward as he began condensing qi into his hands again. y/n widened his eyes. he quickly stood in front of luo binghe. "binghe!! calm down!" y/n exclaimed. for a moment, luo binghe seemed to have snapped out of it as his eyes flickered to y/n's.
but the laughter of the bullies grew louder in luo binghe's ears, preventing him from hearing anything else. he pushed forward, but he didn't push y/n away. he just walked forward, the aura he created was strong enough to push y/n away. "stop that, you bastards!!" but y/n was strong enough to hold him back. he pushed luo binghe back with one hand and luo binghe stared at him in complete awe.
"luo binghe!! calm down!" he yelled into his face. "stop getting carried away by your emotions! i know that these memories are painful to see, but you have to snap out of it! what happened in the past is in the past! you're here now, where people respect you, even shizun! and..." y/n tightened his hand into a fist as if he were building up the courage to say something else.
with a final burst of energy, he slammed the palm of his hand on his chest as he proclaimed with full confidence, "and i'm here!"
luo binghe was stunned. silence surrounded them both. even the haunting sounds of the bullies' laughter seemed to have disappeared into the background as luo binghe's eyes were on y/n's. "shixiong..."
but in the blink of an eye, they were in another memory. they were back in the old shack. "mother! wake up, please! wake up!!" y/n pressed his lips into a thin line before turning to luo binghe, worried expression seemingly never leaving his face. the cries of the young luo binghe squeezed his heart in the most uncomfortable way.
"mother please, don't scare me like this! wake up!! i brought you the porridge!!"
the guanyin pendant could be seen on the woman's hand as she slowly lowers it. her hand fell open, and the guanyin pendant slipped out of it.
luo binghe had reached his breaking point. "binghe, let's g-!!" with a powerful roar, a burst of energy surged forth from him, causing y/n to go flying as his aura was enough to shatter the illusion. y/n tried landing back on his feet, but another energy attacked him mid-air, grabbing him by the neck.
it felt sinister. the feeling it gave y/n made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. he struggled to free himself from the sinister aura's hold, but he couldn't do much when he couldn't summon his aura. "binghe- help- urk!!" y/n let out a strangled noise as he was suddenly slammed into the ground by the dark aura.
"shixiong!" luo binghe exclaimed. he went to run towards him, but was blocked by the same sinister aura that harmed his senior. he fended it off with his own aura, and as it was his own dream where he was supposed to be the one person in control, he successfully drove it away.
the malicious aura vanished into smoke before taking the form of four familiar figures. "no way- ming fan..?" y/n struggled to get up as he watched luo binghe clench his teeth in anger. ming fan seemed to be holding out an item as he laughed along with his posse.
"that's-"
"hahaha! it's just a fake!" ming fan scoffed. "just get lost! there's no place for you here in qing jing peak! y/n-shixiong isn't here to help you out anymore!"
y/n grunted, "the dream... it's out of control now."
under so much pressure from his emotions, luo binghe finally exploded in fury. he coated his fist in pure qi before rushing towards ming fan and his group. he expected to land a powerful blow on them, but to his surprise, he was blown away by the impact.
"binghe!" ming fan and the others seemed to laugh even harder as if to rub more salt into the wound. growling, luo binghe got up again, rushing forward to land more punches towards ming fan as a fruitless attempt to get them to go away. but every time his punches landed, he would be sent flying, the strength of his punches returning to him. meanwhile, ming fan and his group kept laughing at him.
luo binghe staggered on his feet as he tried to stand straight. "give me back.. my jade pendant.." he muttered, glaring at ming fan, who held his guanyin pendant in his hand while laughing in mockery at luo binghe. "this sad and pathetic little thing? why don't you leave qing jing peak, and maybe i'll return it? hahaha!!"
y/n could do nothing but watch as he struggled to even get up. "binghe..." he weakly calls. "stop..."
"give me back mypendant... give me back my mother!!"
y/n could barely react in time as a burst of energy surged forth from luo binghe, sending y/n flying again as if he were nothing more than a ragdoll. he landed a few meters away from the scene, his entire body in a lot more pain than he expected. he watched helplessly as luo binghe stubbornly continued the continuous onslaught of attacks, despite being repelled back every single time.
"stop that... luo binghe..!" y/n cried in pain as he could feel pain spreading all over his body. but he couldn't be thinking about himself, not when luo binghe was actually hurting himself through his memories as if he had lost all sense of reason. a sinister aura began growing around luo binghe as his frustration grew.
"this is bad..." y/n muttered, struggling to get on his feet. "his soul will be crushed if he continues this."
more and more punches were thrown with each passing second, but luo binghe didn't dare stop. he was overwhelmed with rage, all the years he spent under everyone's shadows as everyone made a mockery of him... all of the bitter rage and sadness he felt was finally released. he wasn't going to stop until it was all gone, until everything was gone.
"why..." luo binghe was thrown away again, but he was able to get back on his feet rather quickly. instead of growing weaker, luo binghe seemed to be growing stronger. each hit he landed on the illusion was more powerful than the next, and it seems like this time, he was charging up for a final, powerful assault.
"why does everyone look down on me?!" luo binghe cried to the heavens as his body became enveloped with powerful qi. he dashed forward, his fist coated in powerful, condensed energy.
luo binghe drew his fist back and released a powerful war cry. then, his fist landed.
to his surprise, his fist didn't make contact with the illusion of ming fan and his posse, instead, his shixiong stood before him. "shixiong!!" his body was already in so much pain from constantly being thrown around by luo binghe's aura, now that he's received the brunt of it, he felt like his soul was punched out of his body.
the senior disciple let out a weak cough before dropping to his knees. "shixiong!" luo binghe went to try and grab him, but his hand went through as dark smoke from the surroundings gathered around them, swallowing them both. "shixiong?!" luo binghe called. the ground beneath his feet disappeared. he expected to fall down, but instead, he floated. his body floated within the dark smoke as he kept his eyes open, trying his hardest to find his precious shixiong.
but he couldn't see anything. he couldn't even see his own hands.
luo binghe curled himself into a ball, the image of his shixiong dropping before him as if he had just taken a killing blow for him, was stuck in his mind, filling up his body with guilt. he grabbed his hair in frustration as he began to sob, the dark smoke around him beginning to swallow him up whole as he felt cold all over his body.
"binghe..." a familiar, warm voice called out to him. he slowly lifted his head. from the darkness of the smoke, he saw what looked like, a glowing hand, reaching out towards him. "binghe, wake up."
the hand gently touches his cheek, and he instantly leans into the touch. "you have to wake up, binghe!!"
( 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽 | ✓ )
( words: 3000+ )