"Lan Zhan," a gorgeous man wearing black and red robes had cooed. A bamboo flute was spun around by two of his fingers, while a pair of mesmerizing silver eyes stared up ahead. "Do you love me?"

"Wei Ying," a stunning and taller man had appeared, with white robes which seemed to imitate mourning clothes, and a frosty cold glance plastered over his face. "I do."

The tense atmosphere seemed to shatter as a domineering smile fumbled on Wei Ying's lips, "I already knew that, of course."

The two lovebirds captured each other in a heated staring contest, afraid to let go of that invisible grasp pulling them together-

"Senior Wei!"

"Wei Wuxian!"

"You man!"

Wei Ying frowned at the last name that was directed towards himself. If it were twenty years ago, nobody would be brave enough to holler out his name, less even think about him. "Don't you have a name for me?" He countered, but the owner of that last voice seemed to differ. "Uncle says that you don't deserve a name." The shorter boy in yellow robes with a vermillion mark appeased on his forehead had stated.

"Jin Ling," Wei Ying had hopped down from the stone he was sitting on. "Haven't you ever thought that your uncle's words are unreliable?"

"Senior Wei, I am very sorry about Young Master Jin," a boy who wore the same mourning clothes as Lan Zhan had stepped forwards, bringing his arms to circle around his earnestly bowed head. "We will make sure to keep an eye out for future incidents." That boy's name was Sizhui, who had a ribbon drifting behind his back as it tied around his forehead.

"Apologize." An almost identical boy had stepped outwards, throwing an undignified punch at Jin Ling's head. "Jingyi," Jin Ling darted the boy an unamused frown. "The next time you hit me, I'll make sure to feed you to Fairy-"

"Young Master Jin," Sizhui pleaded. "Please, HanGuang-Jun is right in front of us."

A sullen expression played on Jin Ling's face as he melted into a bow. "I apologize for that rude comment."

"Ya ya ya," Wei Ying yawned. "Just call me whatever you want. At this point, I can't even predict what's next to come out of that unruly mouth of yours."

Jin Ling's face went rigid and dark as he retrieved from the bow. "Of course."

The group of cultivators were surrounded by a silent bamboo forest within the GusuLan territory, which was currently inhabited by albino rabbits that Lan Zhan himself had picked up. Bamboo sprouts and ponds of crystalline clear water were commonly found in GusuLan, but nevertheless, it never bored Wei Ying even after so many nights spent there.

"What was so important for you all to call me?" Wei Ying asked, puzzlement clear in his eyes.

Panic seemed to grasp onto the three juniors as colour was drained from their skin. "Senior Wei, the... the moon is... getting closer." Sizhui managed to stammer out.

"The moon?" Wei Ying shared a confused look with Lan Zhan before looking upwards at the day sky.

"I don't see any," He bubbled before brushing shoulders with his husband, "How 'bout you, Lan Zhan?"

"Mn." Lan Zhan answered with a shake of his head.

"Senior Wei," Sizhui had shaken his head as well. "I'm not sure if it's the moon, but it seems like some sort of... enormously large meteorite. It's so large, it's like the moon, but on closer inspection, it's sort of like..."

"The Earth." Jin Ling and Jingyi shared a common glance.

Their uneasy faces had unearthed the shivers hiding underneath Wei Ying's skin. He rapidly pulled Lan Zhan by his arm and began to run off to a higher elevation ground. The two raced up a hill and found themselves taking an eyeful of the sky, which seemed to waver at their determined gazes. "The Earth? Where?" Wei Ying pondered.

It was then he realized that the sky wasn't so blue. The sky... had a mixture of blue and green... it was the Earth! And that wasn't all. There were two Earth's!

"Lan Zhan-" Wei Ying darted towards his lover, who seemed to have the same predicament. Their eyes widened to such an extent, it was as if they could pop out at any moment. Panic and adrenaline had struck at them, like thunder taking aim and electrocuting whatever stands in its way. It was then it happened.

The entire world began shaking. It was as if a violent grasp was crushing them to death, with the entire earth letting frightful croaks escape from its throat. "Wei Ying!" The Yiling Patriarch could clearly hear that distilled voice belonging to his husband, and it made his hair on his neck rise.

"Lan Zhan..." the world crumbled, as if it had completely fallen apart in bits and pieces.

The cold-faced man's face had no longer remained cold. Instead, it gained a new sentiment that hollered 'panic' to Wei Ying. The Yiling Patriarch had fumbled to his husband's side and clutched tightly onto his sleeves.

"I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!!!" He cried as loud as possible. I want you to fully understand that all the way to the abyss... even if our lives were to end exactly at this moment... It was like the Earth was tossed into a suspenseful blender, with its entirety drilled into mushed splatters. The ground cracked between the two lovebirds as they gripped on each other tighter than locks. Deafening crashes had arose from one corner to another, as if thousands of volcanoes erupted to foretell a signal.

Wei Ying could feel himself pressed up against Lan Zhan's chest, the two caught up in a deadlock.

Suddenly, the world stopped its shaking. The ground didn't crack any further.

The trees tumbled down amongst each other, creating a surreal image of dominoes. Bamboo sprouts had quivered at the tranquil aftermath, while leaves faltered from their branches. "It's over?"

Despite the end of the beginning, the two lovebirds didn't dare to pull apart from each other.

In fact, they held each other closer.

Wei Ying shared a dumbfounded face with his husband. Then, Lan Zhan let out a croak, "I love you too."

A relieved smile plastered on Wei Ying's face as he broke the rigid atmosphere. "I knew that, of course."

"HEY!!! Just what happened?" Jingyi's voice could been heard from miles away as the three juniors raced to the hill where Lan Zhan and Wei Ying embraced each other. "Yuck." Jin Ling frowned, taking a step backwards to sink into Sizhui's shadows. "Senior Wei, HanGuang-Jun, do both of you have any clue as to the sudden earthquake?" Sizhui asked.

"That was no earthquake," Wei Ying gasped. "That was..."

"The Earth against the Earth." Lan Zhan finished it off for him.

"How can there be two Earth's?" Jin Ling snapped.

"No, there aren't two," Wei Ying corrected. "There were three, including ours."

Shock seemed to paralyze the three juniors, with confusion bobbing up and down within their minds. Silence trailed after the long pause, as it seemed like nobody had anything else to say. "Brother," a similar figure to Lan Zhan had stepped forward from among the three junior disciples. His name was Lan Xichen, the prominent and pristine sect leader of GusuLan.

His every action was caught with a subtle elegance, as if there was no grace better than him out there.

Xichen smiled, but tints of worry was portrayed out there. "I was worried about you."

"Mn," Lan Zhan bowed his head without breaking eye contact. Wei Ying chuckled, "It seems that something bad is happening without our knowledge."

Xichen nodded, eyes full of concern. "I'm worried that someone is brewing evil once again, and if possible, would you and brother be willing to-"

"We'd love to!" Wei Ying chirped before Xichen could finish. "Lan Zhan and I will investigate on the sudden crash between the three Earth's, yeah, it's no big deal!"

"Three Earth's?" A perplexed expression attached itself to Xichen's face. "How could there be three Earth's?"

"It seems like this is something even the heavens can't explain." Wei Ying added before turning to Lan Zhan.

"Let's go."

Ten minutes. It had only taken the two lovers ten minutes before trouble had bestowed upon them.

"Are we lost?" Wei Ying was puzzled.

He and his husband had arrived at an intersection of two paths—one full of light, while the other one quite sorrowful. The main difference was the amount of life. One had species of many animals, while the other was dark and creepy. "I don't remember this intersection." Wei Ying brought a hand underneath his chin.

"Same." Lan Zhan declared.

"Was this intersection formed by the sudden earthquake?" Wei Ying pondered. "It's plausible." Lan Zhan added.

"Then, let's go..." Wei Ying reached out a hand, with a finger acting as a pointer. His arm swung around and around as he closed his eyes, letting the momentum bring him to to spin on the spot. Finally, he stopped, with his finger landing on a direction. When he opened his eyes, he realized that his finger was pointed at Lan Zhan, who wore an unamused frown.

"Let me try again." Wei Ying huffed, and redid the entire process—only to have himself falling into Lan Zhan's embrace from an overwhelming amount of spinning. "Let me choose." Lan Zhan sighed.

He chose the path full of life and colour, unsurprisingly.

Nobody with the right mind would pick the other path. They walked along the brilliant pathway, which had pebbles scattered around to bring along sound and texture of their movements. Gorgeous trees with healthy leaves had whistled along with the wind, as branches twitched from the birds twittering their songs at them. The entire mountain was fresh with the colour green, and full of animals.

"How is this place so safe from the earthquake?" Wei Ying mumbled.

It was extremely peculiar of how the place was safe and sound, but even more peculiar with how unfamiliar it was—and Wei Ying knew about everything in GusuLan. "I don't remember this place in Gusu." Lan Zhan frowned.

"Me neither." Wei Ying yawned by his side. "But it's so nice! I bet you we'll never go hungry from all these birds."

"We won't be roasting birds." Lan Zhan frowned.

"Yada yada yada." Wei Ying laughed.

The fun atmosphere had broken when a scream rang from the back of the mountain. "! SHIZUN! DON'T LEAVE ME, SHIZUN!!!" Wei Ying found himself going rigid at the whiny voice emitting from afar. Lan Zhan's frown seemed to deepen as he listened to the cries. "PLEASE, I BEG SHIZUN TO NOT LEAVE THIS LOWLY ONE!"

(師尊) =

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan shared a compatible glance before running off to find what was occurring behind that mountain. Their feet were light on the ground as they arrived behind the mountain and saw-

The giant mountain withhold thousands of young cultivators dressed in colourful robes, with a luxurious Peak at the top. A rainbow bridge had connected that Peak to several other ones, with a beautiful shine on everything. Many of those young cultivators were treating to each other's injuries, with medics running around everywhere. But in the centre of all that commotion were two men.

One wore a gorgeous light green robe that sunk to the depths of his knees, with a golden traditional Chinese Prince crown propping up his bun at the back of his head. A light green ribbon tied around that crown and swayed elegantly down his back. In one of his hands was a fan, with an exquisite forest painting. He held that fan open to cover the bottom half of his face, as if his life depended on that one keen action.

Down below his feet was another gorgeous man. He wore black and red robes like Wei Ying, with a golden pattern engraved on the back. A red mark was imprinted on his forehead, glowing like a candlelight on its last breath. He was on all fours while tugging at the other man's legs, hollering, "Shizun! Didn't you promise you'd never leave me?"

"You animal! Let go of me at once!" The green-robed cultivator snapped.

Wei Ying debated whether or not to interfere, but the other young cultivators all seemed like what was happening was normal. And so, Wei Ying had stayed hidden in his place. "NO!" The one at the ground had whined. "I WILL NOT LET SHIZUN LEAVE MY SIGHT!"

The so-called 'Shizun' had frowned, snapping his fan shut and throwing a hit at the other's head. "I'm just going to investigate about the sudden earthquake for a bit. What could possibly go wrong?"

"I don't know," the man on the ground gave out puppy dog eyes. "But if Shizun leaves me again..."

'Shizun' sighed, "Fine... I'll stay."

The other man cheered by caressing one of his Shizun's hands and getting off the floor. Those surrounding the two cultivators had rolled their eyes. It's happening again... their faces seemed to say.

"Let's go." Wei Ying nudged his husband, who nodded in response.

Wei Ying had taken a last look before leaving, but something made him stop in his tracks. The man who cried 'Shizun' had met eye-to-eye with Wei Ying, with a tense atmosphere screaming 'scram'. The scars of demonic cultivation seemed like nothing compared to the lit hatred within the man's eyes.

Shivers ran down Wei Ying's back as he quickly stumbled away.

"How did he notice me from so far away?" Wei Ying gasped, cold sweat rolling down his forehead. He had never met such a stranger that was so successful in his cultivation. "Let's hurry. It'd be bad if we were to be caught." Lan Zhan added.

Wei Ying couldn't even nod back. In fact, he was struck silent.

Finally, the two had left the mountain and arrived back at the intersection. "L-let's try the other path. I don't remember seeing it here either." Wei Ying stammered.

Lan Zhan agreed with a nod.

The two began their way to the other pathway, which was dark and unsettling. The trees seemed to wither as they stepped deeper inside the forest—even the temperature sank. "It's getting cold..." Wei Ying frowned.

No matter what anyone said, it felt like a freezer in there.

"Mn," Lan Zhan responded.

Wei Ying had struggled to stay warm as he rubbed his arms, hoping for heat to sprout from within himself. Instead, nothing happened. "Lan Zhan... I'm cold!" He whined.

Instead, his husband had no reaction.

"What a wasted opportunity." Wei Ying sulked. "You could've borrowed me your warmth or something..."

"Shameless." Lan Zhan sighed.

Suddenly, the two stopped. In the back of their head was a cry that was devoid of happiness and joy. In fact, it was so soft and gentle, Wei Ying's heart almost stopped. Whose crying can shatter one's heart so easily? Wei Ying pondered as he shared a glance with his lover. "Let's go find out who it is. Maybe they can help us with directions."

They began running closer and closer to the sound of the cries, meanwhile dashing behind bushes to hide their shadows. We're here! Wei Ying stopped alongside with Lan Zhan.

They arrived in front of a young man who crouched pitifully on the ground. The man wore fluttering white robes that seemed whiter than even Lan Zhan's, but with a hint of dirt smudged across the clothing. A bamboo hat rested on his back, while bandages wrapped around his neck and wrists. His hair was long and swift, fluttering against the wind's current as his golden eyes stared helplessly at the ground.

It turned out that a mantou laid where his sight was set upon. "My ... if that earthquake hadn't occurred... my money wouldn't have been wasted... what bad luck."

(饅頭)

Wei Ying sighed deeply in his mind. What a tragic story... my heart is deeply moved.

It was then he realized that the man down on the floor was... shorter than him! Happiness flooded in Wei Ying's heart as he felt successful. He wanted to brag to his fellow husband who frowned, but found it inappropriate for the weeping man. "Um..." Wei Ying took a step forward before clearing his throat. "Are you okay?" He crouched down to the same level as the man. Wei Ying extended out a hand to pat the man on the shoulder.

It was only a small action. But that small action had brought bad fortune upon him.

The sound of swords clashing against one another had erupted in the forest. Wei Ying's eyes had widened. Lan Zhan's back stood before him, while his robes fluttered from the outburst of wind belonging to the sudden impact. "Who are you?" A deep voice spoke.

That unfamiliar voice belonged to another gorgeous man, who had just arrived to the scene.

His eyes held an impolite gesture as he glared at the two lovebirds. He wore scarlet red robes, with one small portion of his long hair tied into a tiny braid resting unto his shoulder. Iron gauntlets were worn on both his wrists, with a red string tied to his middle finger. What caught Wei Ying off guard was the black eyepatch covering his right eye, and the large amounts of white butterflies fluttering around.

He had a scimitar in hand, which pressured against the hilt of Bichen—which was Lan Zhan's sword that imitated the coldest frosts. "An eye?" Wei Ying gasped. He noticed an eye on the hilt of the scimitar, which rolled wildly upon seeing the man who sulked over the wasted mantou.

"What are you guys doing here?" The mysterious eyepatch man deadpanned. "Nobody invited you here in my territory."

Wei Ying jumped up from the ground and flung his arms in the air to surrender. "We were just investigating the earthquake and didn't recognize this area... so yeah..."

The mysterious man's eyes had thinned. "Were you the one who made upset?"

(哥哥)

Wei Ying darted an eye towards the so-called 'Gege', who got up from the ground upsettingly—with one hand holding the wasted mantou. "San Lang, don't misunderstand." The 'Gege' spoke. His voice was daring and charming, as if he treated everything in the world with compassion. "I was just... upset that the earthquake ruined my food." He pouted, an adorable expression playing on his lips.

"Yeah, that's right!" Wei Ying argued. "We were just passing by and wanted to help him!"

"Mhm," the 'Gege' smiled sweetly. "San Lang... put your sword down please."

The so-called 'San Lang' hesitated to sheathe the scimitar, whose eye still rolled in pleasure at the sight of 'Gege'. "Only if he does so first." 'San Lang' glared at Lan Zhan, who glared back.

"San Lang..." the 'Gege' frowned.

It was then, another chilly storm had entered. "We've caught up." A new voice croaked. Wei Ying's eyes had widened when he recognized the two men who had walked from behind. They were the two men making all that commotion from the mountain and the peak!

The man with the fan had fanned himself. "Please explain what you two were doing earlier in Cang Qiong Mountain."

"Cang Qiong Mountain?" Wei Ying repeated.

"You're both intruders of our sect." The other man who had once yelled 'Shizun' had deadpanned.

"Yeah, I know, but it was only for investigation-"

Wei Ying was cut off from the man with the scimitar. "And you're all trespassing my property at this moment."

"Okay! I'm sorry, but you've got to understand that-"