Chapter 610: Dannie’s Big Suprise
Dan Heng was not having a good time.
That wasn’t to say that he was usually having a good time. Quite the opposite, actually, as whether it was planet-wide catastrophes or being dragged along by those two... he wanted to say idiots, but that sounded a little rude.
Even if it was true.
In any case, the point was that his life was very troublesome. Especially recently, with his return to the Xianzhou Luofu and all the subsequent events stemming from it. From the appearance of a Lord Ravager, the descent of a Stellaron — followed by the appearance of Stellaron Hunters and further accompanied by the revelation that a friend of his would one day fight Nanook, Aeon of Destruction, or the Ruin Author as those from the Xianzhou would call THEM.
A battle that would most likely be lost, as well.
Beyond that, for a while now, March had been acting strange. Between uncharacteristic outbursts and odd moments of distraction, it was clear to Dan Heng that she was struggling with something. Being as straightforward as she was, it wasn’t difficult to realize.
Then, there was Sunny. Around the same time as March’s change in behavior, he had somehow become a workaholic. At least, that was the case as far as Dan Heng could tell. Sunny seemed to either be constantly working on that Memory shop of his, or out running one unusual errand or another.
He ended up on a certain streamer’s livestreams recently, which Dan Heng suspected had more strings attached than meets the eye. He couldn’t quite fathom Sunny trying to gain fame just for the sake of it.
Due to his surprisingly affluent Memory business — it was obvious that Sunny was doing well for himself, considering he never once touched the Astral Express’ shared credit card — Dan Heng found himself slightly perplexed on the nature of his Aspect. Wasn’t it related to shadows, not Memory creation?
In any case, he was getting off topic. The point was that there was something wrong with both March and Sunny, in two completely different matters.
...But what was he supposed to do about it? He was the last person who should try to help others with their internal issues.
He hadn’t even solved his own—
Was he Dan Heng? Or Dan Feng? The latter should be an impossibility — they were far too different in terms of... personality. Dan Heng couldn’t possibly be as ruthless as that man.
And yet, when he called upon the vestiges of the past Imbibitor Lunae’s power, the voice in his head...
Could it be lying? No, it couldn’t. They could never do anything wrong. The only wrong was to fail. If genocide was what it took to resurrect Baiheng, then—
...Who was he talking about?
Well, whatever. It didn’t matter.
What did matter, however, was that he ended up finding a letter addressed to him on the Express:
"I have learned of your return to your home, how you upended the ancient seas and saved the world from danger. I am sure this has recovered your forgotten memories. In accordance with our old vow, we should once again roam our lands of past, drink in celebration and recount our great adventures."
Who had sent the letter, Dan Heng did not know. What he did know was that they specified to come to this specific part of Aurum Alley, so he had been waiting for a while...
As for why he accepted the invitation... he couldn’t quite say. It was something like instinct, laughable as that sounded coming from someone like himself.
Dan Heng had been content to stand around and wait until this mysterious messenger revealed themselves. Or until the day got so late that he could brush it all off as a prank.
What he wasn’t so receptive to, was the pes— bothersome Cloud Knight known as Sushang, who happened to unfortunately be around when he was.
Dan Heng gazed uninterestedly as Sushang excitedly rambled about this and that. He couldn’t have made that much of an impression, could he?
***
It was Jingliu.
Yanqing’s mysterious, terrifying teacher had crept up on Sunny, eluding his shadow sense.
And now, just a short distance away from Dan Heng and Sushang, she was crouched down behind the crate with him.
Sunny carefully eyed Jingliu out of the corner of his eye. There was a faint frown on her face, though with her eyes concealed behind that strange, moon-adorned blindfold, he couldn’t completely make out her expression. Her posture remained perfectly composed, however, which somehow made her presence even more unsettling.
She was crouched behind a crate. With him. As though this was a perfectly normal place for someone to be. Sunny decided not to question it. After all, the last time he had met Jingliu, he had ended up dueling one of the most terrifying swordswomen he had ever encountered while disguised as Mongrel. He still remembered that swordsmanship. He did not want to remember that swordsmanship.
"This young lady is getting in the way."
Jingliu’s voice was barely above a whisper. Sunny’s ears perked up. Then she turned her head toward him.
"You."
Sunny froze.
"Get rid of her, if you will."
There was authority in her voice. A lot of authority. Yet somehow, it still sounded like a polite request. Sunny stared at her for several seconds. Was she ordering him to do it? Was she asking? Was this some kind of test? Did refusing mean getting cut in half? Did accepting mean getting cut in half? His survival instincts eventually arrived at a very simple conclusion.
’Do it.’
Immediately.
Sunny took a deep breath. Then he rolled out from behind the crate with all the grace and dignity of a man who had absolutely no dignity to begin with.
"Dannie! Get away from that harlot! Your booty is mine, you hear me?!"
Both Dan Heng and Sushang turned toward him. Sunny pointed dramatically at Sushang.
Silence followed. Dan Heng stared. Sushang stared. Even Jingliu, somehow, seemed to pause. Sunny maintained his pose, internally feeling the homosexuality within well up while remaining completely committed to the bit.
"Wha...?"
Sushang’s face twisted into utter confusion.
"Huh?! Sunny?!"
Sunny didn’t give either of them the opportunity to recover. He suddenly pointed behind Sushang.
"What’s that?!"
Sushang’s head snapped around.
"Where?!"
"I don’t know!"
That was all the opening Sunny needed.
He vanished. A moment later, he reappeared beside Dan Heng, wrapped an arm around the taller man’s waist, and lifted him cleanly off the ground. Dan Heng’s expression went completely blank. Sunny’s grin became positively feral.
"Hey there, Princess Dannie."
"What are you—"
Sunny jumped.
The world dropped away beneath them. He landed atop the nearest building with Dan Heng still in his arms, the impact barely disturbing the tiles beneath his feet. Sunny immediately set him down and slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Shhh."
Dan Heng’s eyes narrowed.
Sunny’s own expression became serious.
"Trust me."
Dan Heng made a muffled noise that very clearly suggested he did not.
Sunny glanced back toward the crate.
Jingliu was gone.
He blinked a few times, scowling.
"...Creepy."
"Mind repeating that?"
Sunny froze. His blood ran cold.
Slowly, very slowly, he turned around.
Jingliu was standing directly behind him. Dan Heng was standing beside her. More accurately, Jingliu had an arm casually wrapped around Dan Heng’s shoulders. In her free hand was Dan Heng’s phone, its screen illuminated. She had apparently taken a selfie. With Dan Heng.
Sunny stared. Dan Heng stared.
Jingliu looked perfectly calm.
Sunny’s mind briefly stopped functioning.
How the hell was she so fast?!
Actually, no. More importantly—
"Wait."
Sunny pointed accusingly at Jingliu.
"I do mind."
His expression became suspicious.
"And what do you want with my boytoy?!"
Dan Heng’s expression became one of profound exhaustion. Sunny had seen many expressions on Dan Heng’s face over the past year — getting close to two, now. This one was special. It was the expression of a man reconsidering every decision that had led him to this exact moment.
Jingliu, meanwhile, tilted her head slightly. The air around her seemed to grow colder. Her posture changed. Her voice followed.
"He was my boytoy first."
Dan Heng made a muffled sound.
Sunny’s eyes widened jaw dropping.
He looked at Dan Heng. Then at Jingliu. Then back at Dan Heng. He squeaked:
"Betrayal..."
Sunny clutched his chest.
"That’s..."
He hesitated.
"...actually, you can handle that, big boss. I’ll just..."
Sunny took one careful step backward. Then another.
He really, really did not want to box with Jingliu. Not after what happened last time. So, with the dignity of a man making a completely rational tactical retreat, Sunny simply stepped off the roof.
Dan Heng’s eyes widened.
"Wait, don’t leave me—"
Too late.
Sunny disappeared over the edge.
A second later, there was a tremendous crash from below.
Sushang’s startled scream followed.
"...Ow!"