"...I saw him the other night," Qiu Yunru gasped weakly. "In a dream. He's working with the Eight Purple Winds Sect. He...we..."
A pause as he gasped for air.
"YOU WHAT? GO ON, DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING, LITTLE FOOL!"
What a relentless, merciless volcano this was! Even as Qiu Yunru was on the verge of suffocating to death from the lack of oxygen in the burning air here, it still demanded more!
"I really...need a bit of air..." Qiu Yunru wheezed weakly. "I can't...go on much longer..."
"AH." The Maw rumbled, its lips twisting in annoyance. Below, its obsidian-puddle children wailed. What a terrible sound! And one couldn't even tell what they wanted by it--every time they made noise, it really sounded the same! "I SEE. FORGIVE ME. THIS ONE FORGETS THAT YOU MORTALS ARE SO FRAGILE. WEAK."
As if being hoisted up on an invisible string, Qiu Yunru was suddenly yanked up through the air. It wasn't a small yank, either. No--he flew up at least a hundred feet in one second, air whistling through his ears.
The air here was a bit clearer, and less smoky. Qiu Yunru gasped, his eyes filling with tears. His ears were ringing now, and he could hear his heart pounded within his skull. If he had stayed suspended there a little longer...Holy shit. He'd really been just a minute away from completely dying. It's not that he was surprised--of course being suspended over a vat of lava was deadly. It was just that, he'd been so woozy, and he'd been babbling so much, and he'd been recalling so many memories about that kid, that he hadn't noticed how close he'd come to death! What a terrifying feeling...!
Of course, the Bloodred Maw was not yet done with him. Down below, its craggy face melted back into the rock. A moment later, it appeared much farther up, just a few meters from Qiu Yunru's face.
Qiu Yunru wiped at his eyes, coughing. "Does my lord want me to keep going with the story?"
"MMMMMM. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH. YOU MAY GO."
Qiu Yunru blinked.
"...Ah?"
The Maw's glowing eyes blinked slowly. "THIS ONE HAS ENJOYED YOUR STORY. AFTER EONS, I HAVE ONCE AGAIN HEARD A TALE OF HUMAN LOVE."
"...Really?"
"MMMMMM. I WILL HEAR A STORY FROM THE OTHER HUMAN NOW."
With that, Qiu Yunru was flung out of the volcano at the speed of light.
He crashed down a moment later at the rim of the volcano, sprawling like a sack of rice.
He had to admit, he was in a bit of shock.
"Qiu-wanbei!" There was Liao Li's voice calling out to him. Above, Liao Li's face appeared. His eyebrows were furrowed with worry, and his face was as pale as a ghost's. "I...I really thought...!"
He reached out to touch Qiu Yunru's forehead with a shaking hand.
"Li-qianbei," Qiu Yunru croaked feebly. "You should know...It's going to want a personal romance story..."
Liao Li frowned, his face paling further. It was clear what he was thinking: had this guy gone insane from the heat?! Just what had happened to him down there? However, he never got a chance to open his mouth and ask out loud, for at that moment, a gust of wind swept Liao Li off his feet and yanked him straight down into the depths of the Bloodred Maw.
Qiu Yunru lay there in silence, smacking his dry lips and closing his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh. His brain felt like a thick mush.
What an absurd experience. There's really nothing left to say...
Even for a game with infinitely generated unique content, he'd never had something so odd happen in a Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits playthrough. What a pain in the ass this world was...