A boy stood at the edge of the riverbank, his gaze fixed on the restless black water below. He looked no older than sixteen. His long black hair was tied loosely behind him, and the plain white robe clinging to his body was stained beyond saving. Half of it was soaked with his own blood, the other half with mud.
He took one step forward. Then another.
The water swallowed his ankles, then his knees, then it rose past his waist, cold and merciless against his skin. Still, he did not stop. His expression did not waver.
Whatever hesitation a normal boy might have felt had long since burned away. There was only a dreadful stillness left in him, he plunged beneath the surface of the river which closed over his head.
One breath. Two. Three.
Just as the water began to claim him fully, a hand shot into the river, seized him by the arm, and yanked him upward with brutal force.
The boy broke through the surface with a gasp, water pouring from his mouth as he coughed weakly. Before he could even gather his senses, the stranger behind him dragged him roughly through the shallows and hauled him back onto the bank. He was thrown onto the mud without ceremony, landing hard on his side.
"Are you crazy?" a voice shouted above him.
Wushuang lay there for a moment, chest rising and falling with exhausted breaths, before slowly opening his eyes to see the insolent person who dragged him out of the water. Standing over him was a boy around his age, perhaps a little older,
The stranger blinked, taking in the blood and mud smeared across Wushuang's clothes. "Woah… you're all bloodied up. Did someone beat you? Is that why you were trying to drown yourself?" He said with and stretched out a hand, intending to help him up, but Wushuang slapped it away and pushed himself upright on his own.Attempt number two had failed. A quiet sigh escaped him.
The boy crouched in front of him, leaning in with shameless curiosity. "Hey," he said, poking Wushuang lightly on the forehead. "Are you deaf? Not even a thank you?"
Wushuang frowned and turned his face away. "Go away."
"Oh?" The boy grinned, clearly amused rather than offended. "So you do speak. And you've got an attitude too." His eyes dropped to the wounds visible along Wushuang's arms and collar. "You're hurt."
"Mind your own business," Wushuang said coldly.
He wanted the boy gone. Every moment he lingered was another moment Wushuang was being denied the one thing he had finally decided for himself.
The boy stared at him in bewilderment, never had he seen someone so provoked at being saved. "I just saved your life."
"I didn't need it." wushuang said coldly
"Well, you got it anyway," the boy shot back, rolling his eyes. "So be grateful."
Wushuang said nothing. He simply looked away, his silence colder than the river itself.
The boy studied him for a moment, then clicked his tongue. "I advice to treat those wounds. And perhaps drown somewhere people won't see you, people drink from this river, you know. No one wants a corpse floating up in their water." He laughed.
Wushuang snapped his head toward him, dark eyes sharp with anger. The insolence of this stranger. "Who are you?" he asked at last.
The boy's face brightened at that. "Me?" he said, placing a hand dramatically over his chest. "I go by many names. Scoundrel, brat, hey you there, move aside, kid. Get lost."
Wushuang stared at him, visibly confused. That only made the boy laugh harder. He bent over, holding his stomach as though he had never heard anything funnier in his life. When he finally straightened, he wiped at the corner of his eye and grinned.
"But," he said with a flourish, "you may call me Lianju."
"Lianju…" Wushuang repeated, the name unfamiliar on his tongue. He frowned faintly. "That is a strange name."
Lianju snorted. "Says the boy who was trying to drown himself five breaths ago."
"I would have succeeded," Wushuang said flatly, "if you had not interfered."
The easy amusement on Lianju's face faltered at that, he looked at the boy before him, at the blank heaviness in his eyes, the exhaustion in the way he held himself, at the blood soaking through his robe. This was not the childish recklessness he had first assumed. There was something far more frightening in it.
"A little boy like you, wasting your life like that…" Lianju muttered, more to himself than to Wushuang. He shook his head. "If I hadn't happened to pass by, you would really have died."
Wushuang lowered his head and said nothing more.
"Why?" Lianju asked after a moment, his voice losing its teasing edge. "Why were you trying to sink yourself in the river?"
Wushuang bit lightly against his lower lip, his gaze fixed on the ground. The answer was there, somewhere behind his silence, but it was clear he had no intention of offering it.
Lianju stared at him for a moment longer, then let out a quiet sigh and rose to his feet, dusting the mud from his clothes.
"Fine," he said. "Keep your secrets." He held out his hand again.
"At least let me treat your wounds. And if you still want to drown yourself after that…" He tilted his head, a crooked smile returning to his face. "Then I will gladly see you off."
Wushuang looked up at him, for a few long seconds, he hesitated. Then, slowly, he reached out and placed his hand in Lianju's.
A small fire crackled in the quiet night, its orange light flickering across Wushuang's face as he sat motionless beside it. Across from him, Lianju crouched with easy familiarity, turning a rabbit over the flames, the scent of roasting meat slowly filling the air.
Ever since Lianju had dragged him from the river and bandaged his wounds, Wushuang had barely spoken. He sat wrapped in silence.
Lianju glanced up at him, then tore off one of the rabbit's legs and held it out. "Here," he said. "Take this."
Wushuang did not even look at him.
Lianju let out a sigh. Rising to his feet, he crossed the short distance between them and forced the piece of meat into Wushuang's hand. "If you insist on dying," he said, "at least eat first. Can't have you arriving in the underworld on an empty stomach." A quiet chuckle followed his words.
Wushuang lowered his gaze to the roasted meat now sitting in his palm. The smell drifted past him, rich and warm, and as if his body had been waiting for permission, his stomach gave a low, embarrassing rumble.
Without hesitation, he bit into it and whatever dignity he had left vanished under hunger. He ate quickly, almost desperately, finishing the piece in no time at all.
Lianju laughed when he saw it and handed him another strip of meat, which Wushuang took at once and began eating just as hungrily.
"Hey, kid," Lianju said, settling back down by the fire, "you still haven't told me your name."
Wushuang paused.
His name. What use was it?
He said nothing and continued eating, pretending not to have heard him.
"So rude," Lianju scoffed, "I told you mine when you asked." He pouted, then reached beside him and passed over a flask. "At least slow down before you choke."
Wushuang took the flask and drank. The moment the liquid touched his tongue, he frowned. "What is this?"
"It's cheap wine," Lianju said lightly "I… borrowed it from a friend." he added.
Wushuang turned to stare at him. "The way you say borrowed makes it sound like you did not borrow it at all."
Lianju clicked his tongue. "What does a little brat like you know? If I say it was borrowed, then it was borrowed." He leaned forward and reached for the flask. "If you don't want it, hand it back."
But Wushuang drew it away from him. "I want it."
Lianju slowly leaned back, looking rather guiltier than before. Plainly, the wine had not been borrowed.
Still, neither of them said anything more about it.
For a while, only the crackle of the fire filled the silence between them.
Then Lianju spoke again, his voice quieter this time. "Kid… what were you doing by the river all alone? Where are your parents?"