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[daozhangs]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, XIAO.XINGCHEN. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 *** XIAO.XINGCHEN has joined 018.07.154.55 <XIAO.XINGCHEN> You have reached Xiao Xingchen. <XIAO.XINGCHEN> I am often away from my laptop, but I will do my best to answer as soon as I'm able.

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[daozhangs]

( while xingchen can't exactly say that he senses jiang wanyin's seething, he certainly perceives it regardless - he hears it in his breathing, feels it in the tension all but radiating from where the man now sits. xingchen isn't fool enough to think that his fetching the tea has somehow offended. jiang-xiong is angry on his behalf.

his nameless companion was often also angry on his behalf, anytime he was slighted at the market, anytime he pretended not to notice the beggar he just gave coin to then turned around to pick his pocket. it had warmed him, selfishly. he wonders now how many of them xue yang had gone back to threaten, murder even if given half the chance. xingchen was a fool to let it warm him as it did.

and yet he once again finds himself warmed by this seething on his behalf, like a fool. perhaps he'll always be a fool. at the very least, he knows that jiang-wanyin's fury is just - that it won't end in harm coming to those who don't deserve it.

at the very least, the words that come do well to dump cool water on that warmth, though he smiles a quiet appreciative smile regardless. with a shake of his head, ) A generous offer, but your company is quite enough. ( he won't be having jiang-xiong scrubbing his blood from the furniture. ) I should be able to tidy up well enough in the next day or so. I find that my senses are quite a bit sharper now, so finding that which is bloodied shouldn't be difficult.

[legbreakings]

[ At least there is that - Jiang Cheng's fury burns bright and hot, but the lash of the whip and the strike of his sword are reserved for those he believes to be deserving of it. The ones who have turned their back on righteousness, who have taken to harming others with their wicked tricks and unorthodox methods... or who do worse. Who have become something worse, or serve something worse.

Payback will come. In due time. If there is one thing the last 16 years have taught Jiang Cheng, it is some measure of patience.

He cradles the tea cup between both hands, enjoying the warmth more than anything else. ]

It doesn't matter to me. I'm not afraid of a little bit of blood. [ Or teeth. Let's not forget the teeth. Does Xiao Xingchen even know they are scattered everywhere? ] You wouldn't put any great hardships on me.

[daozhangs]

( to be entirely fair, xue yang also turned his blade on those he felt deserving. it's just that jiang wanyin's perspective of such things is far more in line with xingchen's own. more able to be trusted, even if the target were not one of the gods which rule this place.

as for the offer, he swallows his kneejerk refusal and takes a moment to consider, lifting the tea to his mouth to sip it despite the temperature. xingchen did assure obi-wan that he would ask for help if help is needed. he'd like to think he'd have the sense to do so regardless, but his word was given, and so he asks himself: does he need this help? )

I think, ( he says, slow and considering, ) that this is a task which I should undertake on my own. I think that completing it unaided might do me some manner of good. ( which is not, at least, an offhanded rejection just for the sake of refusing to impose.

a beat, and a sightless glance at where he's moved the abandoned mug. ) Though it would be of great value to me if you could help me assess the scope of the mess I've made. ( he straightens a bit, head tilting fractionally as he pulls together a mental picture of the place - a thing which he wasn't able to accomplish just a couple of hours ago, and yet now he can. thoughtfully again, ) The blood, I'm able to find. There's at least one more mug somewhere, I should find that well enough too - and the teeth, I know that those are somewhere in front of the bathroom door. I think I've just heard you move my garments aside, so I've found those as well. Is there anything else?

( aside from the mess on his very own face, that actually pretty much covers it. )

[legbreakings]

[ Jiang Cheng lets his gaze wander through the room once more, checking that there is nothing else which Xiao Xingchen won’t be able to make out by touch alone. No, that’s it, pretty much, which means… His eyes rest on the dried blood trails running down from his blood-soaked bandage and he scowls. Can’t avoid the measuring snake in the room any longer. ]

Your face [ he blurts out with his usual measure of tact and grace. He crosses his arms over his chest just to deal with his own discomfort and the scowl deepens. ] You need to change the bandage over your eyes and wash your face.

[ Vague, maybe, but he’s not going to humiliate the man further by expounding on the mess that he is. He is tactless, not purposefully cruel - not unless someone actually deserves his cruelty, anyway. ]

[daozhangs]

( his face? one hand lifts to rest fingertips on his own cheek (too low, it misses the blood), then lifts to the bandages. those, at least, do perhaps feel different than they should. )

Ah, forgive me, ( he says, mildly perplexed. ) I changed them just yesterday, I'm not sure how-... ( but that's when his fingertips skim across a slightly rougher bit at the crest of his cheek. rough with salt from when he wept, or so he had thought before, but why would it still feel like this?

though he stopped mid-word, his mouth closes, pressing to a line for a long moment. then, ) Thank you. I hadn't realized. You've likely just saved me quite a bit of embarrassment in the future. ( all while he's standing again now, making his smooth and steady way back toward the bathroom. it may occur to jiang wanyin, if he thinks about it, that this isn't a facet of the change. that xingchen's face and bandaging were similarly bloodied when he first encountered him in that museum.

xingchen doesn't bother to close the bathroom door this time, it should be quite quick. the bandage is removed and set aside (he'll deal with that later), and after the brief run of the faucet, his face is scrubbed somewhat thoroughly with a damp rag. when he re-emerges, both hands hover up behind his head, attempting to tie a simple knot with these clumsy clawed hands. it doesn't occur to him to ask for help, instead saying, ) There's that taken care of.

[legbreakings]

[ Jiang Cheng cringes a little as he watches Xiao Xingchen make the discovery for himself, as he watches the realization on his face... If he could, he would have spared him the embarrassment.

Yet all he can do is murmur his assent and patiently wait for him to return, trying to make as little fuss about it as possible. Even if his thoughts do wander, and wonder. As far as he knows, what lies beneath the bandage is the same as has been before, he had even been wearing bloodied bandages like this when they first met at the museum. This issue must be older than the monstrous transformation.

When he returns, all Jiang Cheng has for his acknowledgment of the situation is a bland, polite smile. ] Of course. [ And that's it, he is willing to leave it at that, no further questions even though he is burning with curiosity. ]

How have you been settling in? Before... this happened, anyway. I'm impressed you're still living in the city. I didn't last a week.

[daozhangs]

( were jiang wanyin to ask instead of sit there and burn, xingchen would answer. such a thing should be known between them by now. he answered for all that he had done, his deepest and darkest secrets laid bare, what could he possibly stand to hide after that?

but the curiosity burns silently within jiang wanyin and xingchen is none the wiser. instead, they've turned the conversation to his choice of residences. he hums thoughtfully, and - ) Quite honestly, I didn't plan to. I - ( ope, he sure did just clip his thigh on the table - both hands fumbling with the bandaging means he doesn't have one to guide himself and he definitely misjudged the turn back into his seat. his lips press together with an huffed exhale that from anyone else would likely have been some sort of curse if he were the cursing sort. but then he's stepping around the corner properly to sink into his seat, continuing as if nothing happened. ) - I suppose I assumed that I'd know the right place to settle once I found myself able to travel peninsula.

[legbreakings]

Of course. I hope you can travel soon. [ It would do him well, Jiang Cheng thinks, to return to his ways of being a traveling cultivator. Maybe it would remind him of the better days in his life. Of course now with the change... His eyes lingered on his friend's new body and he stifled a sigh. He himself moved easily among humans since the only thing that made him stand out was his foreign dress. Xiao Xingchen would have a far harder time now with his fearsome appearance. ]

Not everyone out there hates and fears monsters. There are even a few communities where they live and work together peacefully. I had thought of settling in one of them and protecting the people but it's so terribly far away from the water. But I think that would be good work. We are still cultivators at heart, we are obligated to do our best to help people with whatever cursed powers we have now.

[ The truth is: he hasn't been able to make himself think much of the future anymore after killing, that had stolen his optimism, but it still feels right to say it. Maybe it will become true again. ]