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[Are you sure you’re all right?]
“I’m fine,” Luo Binghe grumbled as he brushed aside yet more hanging vines.
[Only, that wood nymph was really nice and helpful, and you didn’t even look at her. I thought you would… you know, marry her. Or something.]
“Because that fits the story?” Luo Binghe yanked at the brush a little too forcefully, uprooting half a fern. He tossed it aside, dirt spraying from the exposed roots in a wide arc.
[You would have gotten a lot of B-points for it, yes. Probably even enough to purchase the “Happy Ending HE HE HE” Package]
Shen Yuan blinked the words “Happy Ending” at Luo Binghe insistently, but Luo Binghe didn’t even seem to notice. So Shen Yuan followed after Luo Binghe, looming over his shoulder and passing right through all the greenery of the jungle. After all, Shen Yuan was completely insubstantial. Being a translucent floating screen had its perks, although Shen Yuan would trade it all in a heartbeat for the chance to pet Luo Binghe’s fluffy curls.
Luo Binghe stomped hard, audibly snapping twigs underfoot. “System, I don’t want any more wives.”
[Because you only want Shen Qingqiu?]
If Shen Yuan still had eyes, he would have rolled them. Really? Why was Luo Binghe, emperor of the realms, still wasting his time thinking about the scum villain he’d human sticked and tortured to death so long ago?
Well, Shen Yuan knew why. Luo Binghe had traveled to another realm and met another version of Shen Qingqiu and was now obsessed with obtaining one for himself. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense. But ever since Shen Yuan had died and woken up as Luo Binghe’s System, nothing had made any kind of sense at all.
Shen Yuan just had to roll with it. His favorite fictional character, going on quest after quest to earn enough points to get the Shen Qingqiu his heart apparently desired? If that’s what Luo Binghe wanted, Shen Yuan would make sure he got it!
And that was why they were currently tromping through this sticky, humid jungle. Well, Luo Binghe was tromping. Shen Yuan was delicately floating, a transparent blue pane that didn’t need to worry about the heat and blistering sunshine.
[Oh, wait, Binghe, look!] Shen Yuan wiggled his cursor in excitement.
Luo Binghe halted, and glanced about himself cautiously. “Another Black Moon Rhinocerous-python?” His hand went to the hilt of his sword.
[No, it’s a Candleflame Fluorescent Beetle! They’re an endangered species, you know!]
Shen Yuan hovered his screen over the beetle, pleased for once that he was invisible to everything except Luo Binghe. It meant he could creep in close and get a good look at the delicate wings. In the dark, they would light up in radiant patterns, leaving trails of blue light curling in the air behind them.
It wasn’t a very good survival trait with all the natural predators around. Which might be related to why they were so rare. But it was beautiful.
Luo Binghe crept slowly forward, and then leaned in to inspect the beetle himself. It startled and took off, and in the shade of the trees they did indeed see a faint glow follow in its wake. Luo Binghe watched it fly away, face thoughtful.
“Tell me about them,” he said.
Shen Yuan was happy to oblige. On one hand, he should probably be making Luo Binghe pay attention to the dangers of the trail and the flora and fauna around him. On the other hand, telling Luo Binghe about the flora and fauna of Proud Immortal Demon Way was probably his second-favorite thing about being Luo Binghe’s system.
As Shen Yuan went on and on, his window scrolled through the text more rapidly than most could follow. But even as Luo Binghe moved along the path, his eyes were tracing every word. And then when Shen Yuan ran out of steam and cleared away his text, Luo Binghe stopped, and turned. And smiled.
That was Shen Yuan’s very favorite thing.
Together they made their way to the abandoned ruins of an ancient fortress. Local legends claimed it was the home of all manner of terrifying creatures, but Shen Yuan remembered from reading PIDW that it was just a great breeding ground for a tiny species of mushroom with hallucinogenic properties.
[But if you steep it in black foxglove, the resulting mixture can be ingested to give someone visions of the future!]
Shen Yuan remembered that Luo Binghe had used this very trick to evade many assassination attempts and avoid entire wars from breaking out in the three kingdoms he ruled over. Of course, PIDW being what it was, the concoction also gave him several misleading visions that led to a great deal of harem drama. But Shen Yuan considered it, on the whole, to be a very useful tool.
[Simply collecting enough of the mushroom will get you 500 B-Points, since it’ll advance the story and unlock a new skill tree]
Luo Binghe stopped in the gap between two crumbling walls that might once have been an enormous door. “I only need 200 B-Points for the Happy Ending package,” he said quietly.
[That’s right! And then you’ll have, ugh, that Shen Qingqiu you wanted. Look, Liu Mingyan is superior in every way, I really don’t understand–]
“What happens to you?” Luo Binghe didn’t move, didn’t blink, as he stared at Shen Yuan’s glowing screen. “What will you do, when I’ve reached my goal?”
Shen Yuan hadn’t thought about it, really. The instructions manual that had been downloaded directly into his brain hadn’t gone into detail about what happened after. In fact, the complete lack of information had been rather ominous.
[I’ll probably just go off and be a System for a different Luo Binghe]
Shen Yuan tried to hide his anxiety at the thought, but the edges of his frame trembled and flickered.
Shen Yuan didn’t particularly want a different Luo Binghe. He liked this one. They had taken a while to get used to one another, but now they were getting along so well. Also, the crybaby version his Luo Binghe had met sounded weird and unappealing.
But although being a System was strange, Shen Yuan didn’t really want to stop existing, which was the other possibility. Going off to another world was still better than moving on in the reincarnation cycle or ceasing to exist. No reason to burden Luo Binghe with that idea, though! It might not even happen, anyway.
Luo Binghe didn’t move from the probably-a-doorway. He clenched his hands and looked down at the translucent caps of the mushrooms that littered the ground before him. And then, abruptly, he turned and stalked away.
[What. WHAT?!]
Shen Yuan was appalled.
[What are you doing?! They’re right there! You just have to pick a few! Maybe not even a few, I don’t think it specified, maybe just one…]
“I won’t do it,” Luo Binghe declared, striding back the way they’d come.
At this point Shen Yuan had to abandon the mushrooms to rush after him, blue screen bobbing.
[Binghe, I thought you wanted that Shen Qingqiu! You were doing all this for him! I don’t understand, this isn’t even like picking a new wife, it’s just a mushroom, you don’t even have to eat it!]
“I don’t want this! I’ll find some other way!” Luo Binghe practically growled the words. His qi was roiling with his agitation, making plants around him ripple and bend away.
If Shen Yuan had hair, he would have been pulling it in frustration. This was the easy way, it was just some damn mushrooms, what was Luo Binghe’s deal?!
[Ok, look, you got close enough. I’ll just mark it as done.]
It wasn’t what he was supposed to do, Shen Yuan knew. He wasn’t sure what the consequences of cheating like that would be. But Luo Binghe was so close to achieving his dreams and getting that happily ever after. And he deserved it! Hadn’t Shen Yuan seen how hard Luo Binghe worked, how much he had suffered, how incredible he was? He was so much more than any hero of story or song; he had a good heart. Broken and shattered, but not beyond repair, and Shen Yuan had seen joy light him up from inside.
Shen Yuan wanted Luo Binghe to have that happiness, every day, for the rest of his life.
“Don’t you dare,” Luo Binghe whirled on him with a snarl.
[Already done! And look, you have enough B-points now! So I’ll just purchase that Happy Ending package for you. No need to thank me.]
“System!” Luo Binghe’s red eyes were wild. “Don’t do this! I need you!”
[I’m here to help you! This is me, helping you!]
Shen Yuan watched the loading bar fill. The form of Shen Qingqiu began to materialize between them, and Shen Yuan felt his own screen dim and fade as the image of Shen Qingqiu grew more clear.
Luo Binghe watched Shen Yuan’s screen darken, and he didn’t look the least bit grateful, the jerk.
“Why are you trying to leave me?!”
[Why don’t you want to be happy?!]
Download Complete.
Shen Yuan blinked actual, physical eyes. That was weird. He twitched corporeal hands, feeling dirt under his fingers. A tree root dug uncomfortably into his back.
He turned his head to look, and saw long black hair shift with the movement. And a little further away, there was Luo Binghe. It was Shen Yuan’s Luo Binghe, he would know his Binghe anywhere. So Shen Yuan hadn’t moved on.
Luo Binghe was sitting cross-legged on the ground, clawed hands gripping his knees tight. His head was bowed and his shoulders slumped. He didn’t look like a man who had finally gained a love that crossed universes. Something was wrong.
Shen Yuan sat up and looked around, to see if he could spot Shen Qingqiu. And then a foreboding feeling filled him. He looked down at slim, pale fingers, that definitely weren’t his. It had been a while since he’d had hands, but he was completely certain.
The pale green robe sleeves that fell to his wrists were also a huge tip-off.
“Fuck,” Shen Yuan blurted.
Luo Binghe’s head came up.
“Oh god, Binghe, I’m so sorry,” Shen Yuan babbled. “Is this because you didn’t pick the mushroom? I can fix this, let me just figure out how to fix this.”
Shen Yuan had no clue how to fix this. This was supposed to be Luo Binghe’s happy ending, and here Shen Yuan was instead of the man Luo Binghe had wanted! And he wasn’t even a System anymore, there was no “Happy Ending” package option! What was he supposed to do?!
Luo Binghe leapt at Shen Yuan, knocking him down to the ground. Below, the tree root returned to press painfully into Shen Yuan’s back. Above, Luo Binghe’s weight was crushing him, elbows digging into Shen Yuan’s sides.
“How dare you try to leave me!” Luo Binghe’s face was inches away from Shen Yuan’s–or was it Shen Qingqiu’s? “I’m better than all the others! I’ll show you.”
Shen Yuan was startled by the fury in Luo Binghe’s gaze. “I just wanted you to have the one you wanted,” Shen Yuan said, knowing that he’d screwed everything up, but not wanting Luo Binghe to hate him for it. “You love him.”
“No.” Luo Binghe shook his head, dark curls tumbling free to dance around them. “Don’t go. I don’t care about him anymore. You’re enough. It’s you I want.”
“You’d pick… me,” Shen Yuan replied doubtfully. “Over all the Shen Qingqius in all the infinite worlds?” Luo Binghe had been so determined to find the man. How could someone like Shen Yuan compare?
“Yes. Over any other. Over everything. So don’t you dare try to leave me again.” It would have been a fearsome command from the Emperor of the Three Realms. But his hands shook where they clutched at Shen Yuan’s arms, uncomfortably tight.
This was too much feelings talk! Shen Yuan had a face now, but he wished he didn’t. It was warming in that unmistakable way that meant he was turning red. He clearly had a lot to unpack and process! This was completely out of the blue. Really, Luo Binghe wanted Shen Yuan? But gladness bubbled up in Shen Yuan’s chest; he wanted to stay with Luo Binghe, too.
“Can we at least get out of this jungle?” Shen Yuan asked plaintively. This place was unbearably hot and humid now that Shen Yuan could feel it, and he did not like the sensation.
“You’ll stay by my side?” Luo Binghe rose and helped Shen Yuan up.
Shen Yuan wobbled a bit, since standing was more difficult than he remembered. He leaned against Luo Binghe for support, and Luo Binghe wrapped a steadying arm around Shen Yuan’s waist.
Shen Yuan reached up and threaded his fingers through Luo Binghe’s curls. They were as soft as he’d always imagined.
“Wherever you want to go, I will follow.”