The road outside was bathed in golden sunlight, alive with chatter and the clatter of wooden stalls being built by the sect's ordinary folk. The scent of fresh ink, steamed buns, and summer dust drifted through the air, too human, too peaceful for someone like him.
Xio stood at the domain's gate for a long moment, his hand hovering over the seal. Behind him lay silence — that suffocating silence he'd once called home. Ahead stretched noise, warmth, and motion.
He could almost hear the voices of his past whispering again — the betrayal, the helplessness, the cold that had once eaten through his bones. But this time, he refused to let them in.
His lips curved faintly, neither a smile nor defiance — just the quiet resolve of a man who had bled enough.
With one firm motion, he opened the domain. Sunlight poured over him like judgment and forgiveness at once. He stepped out, his every movement measured and commanding, even with the faint tremor of pain at his side. The world turned its face to him again — bright, ordinary, unaware of the darkness that had just walked among them
He summoned his shadow owl and flew toward his secret chamber, the hidden enclosure where he kept Kirihito. He felt a rising mix of impatience and complex emotion, a familiar yet ever-shifting feeling. Even the air seemed to exhale this strange tension.
The flight seemed endless. Then, he felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere—something was off.
He looked down and saw, far below, a familiar figure sitting on the ground, surrounded by dark, black hair.
"Wèi… here?" he whispered to himself. He didn't think twice before diving toward the figure.
And it truly was Kirihito.
The snake demon had indeed sneaked out of the domain Xio had constructed, having found its weakness.
Kirihito was blissfully happy, playing with human heads he had hunted earlier from the Bayakuya Village. They were women's heads and chest parts, which he was currently calling "over-sized breads."
"No, I can't press my lips with you!~ I want someone else~!" Kirihito mocked in a high-pitched voice, pretending to be the first head.
"No, you have to do it! At least give me your breads!" he mocked, moving the second head forward with his right hand, making them look like one was demanding a kiss and the other was refusing.
"Mmmph!! You dared to say no to me?! Just watch what I do!" Kirihito mocked angrily, then crashed the two heads together in a mock fight.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeeeahhh!! I'll kill you!!" He bit back a giggle as he continued his deadly, joyful doll play, thoroughly enjoying himself. His hands and face were smeared with grime, but he was utterly absorbed.
Finally, he threw his head back and laughed childishly. "That was fun! I'm grateful that butterfly forgot to seal me properly!" he said happily.
Inside, his dark side mused: It would be more fun if I was able to drink more of their blood… but the insects have too much fat on their bodies.
"What's going on here?!" Xio's voice suddenly boomed from behind him, his arms crossed, his expression dark and thunderous.
Kirihito was so completely caught off guard by Xio's presence that he jumped up, the severed heads scattering in various directions, as he stood straight and looked at Xio.
"Ah, butterfly, you're here?" he said softly, tilting his head, adopting a facade of innocence while looking like a psycho who had just finished a murder spree.
Xio blinked, trying not to be disarmed by the "dark cuteness." His eyes drifted to the scattered human heads. Poor humans. They only served one good purpose: to be Wèi's plaything.
"Yes, I'm here… but why are you outside? Didn't I tell you not to come out of the chamber at any cost?!" Xio demanded, then he deliberately showcased the bag of dragon fruits, making sure Kirihito saw it.
Kirihito's smile instantly faded into a look of light panic. He understood he had taken a massive risk, and now his beloved dragon fruits were under threat.
"Nou… dragon fruit! You really brought it?!" he cried, childishly trying to snatch the bag, but Xio held it out of reach.
"I've kept my promise… but you didn't keep yours. Now, should I break mine too?" Xio asked, his serious tone slightly goofy against the backdrop of their absurd standoff.
"No! Give Wèi Wèi his dragon fruit, Insect Xio! It's mine, mine, mine!" Kirihito demanded, closing the distance between them. They began twisting and turning over the bag of fruit.
"No! You're a liar, and liars aren't allowed to eat fruits without an apology!" Xio insisted.
"What is that apology?!" Kirihito asked, genuinely confused.
Xio froze. He doesn't even know that simple thing, yet he speaks in dual meanings and flirty compliments?
"It means… you have to be ashamed of what you did."
"How do I do it??"
Xio blinked, unable to believe his ears or his eyes. He had never encountered a yokai quite like him. "Say… 'sorry' to me."
"What does it even mean??"
"Just say it if you want the fruit."
"Does it hurt if you tell me?!"
"It means you'll not do it again. You feel guilty about it."
"But that's how I play! You said Wèi can't lie, so that's the truth!"
"Wèi Yīlíng!" Xio snapped.
"What??"
"I'll eat up all these alone and roam into the beautiful markets without you if you don't listen to me."
Kirihito panicked. "No! Wèi can't die of boredom! I'm… I'm sorry! OK?!" he finally managed to pronounce the strange new word.
Xio felt a silent satisfaction, like a patient teacher who had finally completed a difficult lesson with his student.
"Well then…" He sighed, a faint smile finally touching his lips, and handed the entire bag of dragon fruit to Kirihito.
"Wèi's heart beats for you!" Kirihito declared dramatically, hugging the bag of fruits close to his chest. He picked out the smallest one, saving the rest for a last, best impression.
Xio's heart skipped a beat again at Kirihito's sweet, genuine-sounding words. He cleared his throat, distracting himself from the heat rising in his cheeks, ready to make Kirihito even happier.
"Let's go back to the chamber to get you changed… We'll go to town. Together."
Kirihito froze, looking at Xio with his mouth slightly parted.
Then, he broke down into a wide, joyous smile. "Wèi will go outside this cursed village?!"
Xio nodded.
Kirihito didn't need anything more. He began jumping and bouncing in excitement. "Let's go, let's go, or Wèi will get late!" He sprinted off toward Xio's chamber in the forest to change.
Xio chuckled faintly and followed him, like Kirihito's second, protective shadow.
The forest wind caught in Kirihito's hair as he ran, strands flashing like threads of silver and crimson between the trees. His laughter echoed—soft, light, and almost too innocent for a being who carried curses in his blood.
Xio walked behind him, his steps slow but steady, watching the boy twirl ahead. For a fleeting moment, the world didn't seem cruel. The sunlight filtered through the branches, scattering across Kirihito's pale skin, and for once, Xio allowed himself to believe that this—this brief, ordinary joy—was real.
"Don't run too far," Xio called out, though his tone lacked any real warning.
Kirihito turned mid-spin, walking backward with that bright grin. "Then keep up, or Wèi will leave you behind!"
A small smile tugged at Xio's lips, the kind he didn't know he was capable of. He didn't answer—he simply followed, his shadow stretching long and dark behind him.
Unseen by either of them, the faint shimmer of a red petal drifted to the ground—a spider lily blooming out of season.
The forest grew quiet again.
The day had just begun, and so had the illusion of peace.