Chapter Text
It took Shen Yuan a full week to realize he'd transmigrated into PIDW.
In his defense, he'd woken up to a sky filled with blood rain, raging walls of hellfire, and a shadowy thing trying to take a bite out of his leg. He'd had to hit the ground running (literally, because that shadow thing had been hungry and fast) and hadn't had much time to take in his surroundings.
Luckily he was fast in this life. His strange new set of goat-like legs seemed to help with that.
His legs weren't the only odd thing about his new body. He had a set of tall, twisting horns that spiraled out of his forehead and a tail that flicked from side to side when he was agitated, which was most of the time, because he'd died and transmigrated into the worst place ever. And honestly, he hadn't been a great guy in his past life, but surely he hadn't done anything bad enough to deserve this? Maybe his comments had made a few people cry, and at least one guy had quit the internet entirely because of how ruthlessly Shen Yuan had dissected his comment on a chapter of PIDW, but that guy was probably way better off now! The internet was a toxic place. Shen Yuan had made sure of it.
It wasn't until he spotted a swarm of giant snake-headed millipedes that he realized what was happening.
He knew these monsters--not just the ones in front of him, but also the strange tigers that had chased him the day before (ruby-eyed tiger lizards) and the shadow thing that had been biting him when he'd woken up (a nightmare mist wraith). These were the sorts of creatures he'd collected merchandise of! He'd skimmed untold thousands of words of smut just to learn more about them! He'd been one of the top contributors to their wiki!
As he ran from the millipede swarm, he found himself grinning.
The Abyss was a terrible place to transmigrate into, and he was small and weak, at least compared to the other creatures here. But for the first time since he'd arrived, he felt hope. He wasn't helpless, not anymore. After all, who knew the Abyss better than him? Even Airplane had bowed before his encyclopedic knowledge in the forums!
He could navigate this hellscape--no, with his knowledge, he could master it.
And if he was lucky enough to find Luo Binghe? He might even escape it.
Despite his optimism, the Abyss was a big place, and getting his bearings proved more difficult than he'd expected. It didn't help that he was slowed down by his hunger. He tried to go the foraging route at first, but there weren't a lot of non-aphrodisiac options to choose from, and so he found himself joining the other Abyssal monsters in their favorite pastime: hunting those weaker than himself.
There weren't a lot of those options either, but at least he wasn't at the complete bottom of the food chain. While defending himself from a juvenile spider-lion, he found that he had sharp, retractable nails that were perfect for both deterring predators and snagging prey. He'd worried at first that he wouldn't have the guts to kill a creature--it certainly wasn't something he'd ever done before! But by the time he found a something small enough for him to safely attack, he was so dizzy and disoriented from starvation that not only did he enthusiastically cut off the star-feathered owl's head with his claws, but afterwards he crouched on the ground and started ripping into it raw like some sort of wild beast.
It turned out his new body had some inhumanly sharp teeth, too.
He'd spent the next half a day worried about getting some sort of Abyssal parasite from the uncooked meat, but it seemed his new constitution was sturdier than his previous one. Monster carcasses and tainted water were all easily digested in his OP stomach!
Which raised the question: was that something all demons could do? Or was he part goat demon? They were supposed to be able to eat almost anything, and he did have horns and hoofed feet. He couldn't remember goat demons having claws, though, or sharp teeth like he did. He'd examined himself in the first puddle he could find, but the only PIDW demon he even faintly resembled was a succubus, and those were always female (and he'd left a sizable rant in the comments when he'd discovered that genius bit of lore).
He caught his lucky break when he stumbled upon the notoriously deadly acid swamp. He wasn't stupid enough to enter the swamp himself, but to the east of it was a river that could be followed all the way back to the obsidian mountains, at the base of which was an oasis--a walled garden full of beautiful dryads, succulent fruit, and sweet, clean water.
And when he journeyed there and climbed the wall, one look was enough to tell him what he needed to know: Luo Binghe hadn't been there yet!
Shen Yuan wasn't too late!
It was easy to tell that the garden hadn't been touched by the protagonist. The dryads that lived there had loved Luo Binghe, in every sense of the word, but on his departure they'd given up their human forms to become trees. The pleasure had been too much, they'd said, weeping. How could they go on, having known it, and knowing that they'd never feel it again?
Luo Binghe had always remembered the hospitality they'd shown him, though, and after his empire was established he'd come back. Using a magic flower, he'd coaxed them back into human form and then straight into his harem in an extra that Shen Yuan had been tricked into buying (the description had promised that Luo Binghe would return to the Abyss to right old wrongs, and Shen Yuan had been so excited and so gullible) .
But these dryads were happily frolicking, splashing each other with water from the pond and braiding each other's hair. Cherry petals gently floated on the wind, and the smell of flowers filled the air.
Shen Yuan considered the scene in front of him. It was picturesque--overly so, honestly, bordering on kitsch, but after weeks of wandering the Abyss it looked like paradise.
If he could wait for Binghe here, the Abyss wouldn't be so bad!
He pulled himself into a crouch on the top of the wall. He was suddenly, horribly aware of his demonic form. And did he still have blood on his face from his previous meal? He probably did, but the dryads were already turning to look at him, and there was no time to wash it off even if he could find clean water.
He gave them his best grin, remembering too late that with his sharpened (and possibly bloody) teeth, it might come across as more threatening than friendly.
"Hello!" he called to them, waving. "This one's name is Shen Yuan, and--"
The first vine caught him by surprise. When it whipped across his chest, he jerked back, almost falling from his perch on the wall. The second vine he caught, and its thorns dug into his palm as it squirmed in his grasp.
"Hey!" More vines were speeding towards him. He let go of the one in his hand and danced sideways, trying to avoid their grasps.
"Your kind isn't welcome here," said one of the dryads, her beautiful face twisted in fury. At her gesture, another wave of vines rose from the ground and raced towards him.
He'd known the dryads were far from defenseless--nothing survived in the Abyss long without being deadly in its own way--but he hadn't expected to be attacked unprovoked. He was no Luo Binghe, but even if they didn't find him attractive, surely this was a bit of an overreaction?
"I'm not trying to hurt you! I just need a place to stay for a bit!"
The vine dryad sneered at him. "And I suppose you're hoping we'll feed you, too?"
He eyed the abundant fruit trees filling the garden. There was far more food here than they could eat, and even if they did run low, they could just grow more!
"Well, if it's not too much trouble…"
The dryad 's face flushed a furious red. "You dare!"
Another vine struck him, across the face this time.
"Fine!" He'd expected more civility from Binghe's future wives, but clearly he'd overestimated them. Maybe when he found Binghe he could convince him to go with quality over quantity with his future harem. "Enjoy being trees for all I care!"
He jumped down from the wall and ran, but not before grabbing a few handfuls of fruit from the nearest tree.
When he was out of sight of the garden, and vines had stopped bursting through the ground to try to rip his legs off, he pulled out the stolen food. He'd gotten peaches, and when he bit into one, it was sweeter than anything he'd eaten in a long time.
But despite how good they were, and how many he'd taken, they didn't fill the pit in his stomach.
That wasn't new. Nothing he ate down here seemed to make him full. Perhaps he had demonic nutritional needs he wasn't meeting? Or perhaps Abyssal food just sucked.
Even the hunger wasn't as bad as the cold, though. It hadn't been mentioned in the book at all, which was ridiculous, because it was constant--even in areas that should have been warm, like the lava pits--and it grated on him as much, if not more so, than the unquenchable hunger.
His clothes were probably at least partially to blame. The entirety of his outfit was a transparent gauze waist wrap (he refused to call it a skirt) and fluttering belt decorations that barely offered him modesty, much less warmth. He knew demons had different standards about these sorts of things, but this was ridiculous. Clothes were also for protecting a person from the elements, a concept the designers of his outfit had clearly been unfamiliar with.
There was nothing to be done for it, though, at least for now.
He kept walking.
Before the dryads' garden, Luo Binghe had visited the toxic fume-filled acid swamp. After the garden, he'd gone to the snowy peak of the tallest obsidian mountain--a place of piercing cold, jagged rocks, and cutting ice. Just thinking about trying to wait for Binghe in either of those places made Shen Yuan want to die a little bit.
But after the mountain…
Shen Yuan headed south towards the Misty Valley. It was there that Luo Binghe would eventually fight the colossal fringehead turtle in one of PIDW's coolest (in Shen Yuan's opinion) and most deadly fights. He'd done it to win its treasure--a legendary sword only surpassed in power by Xin Mo--but that wasn't why Shen Yuan was excited.
The colossal turtle's kaiju proportions meant that, despite being relatively slow and calm, its presence scared away most of the dangerous Abyssal predators. This had been crucial for Luo Binghe, who'd ended up losing his arm in his battle against it. That had been the first time he'd had to regrow an entire limb, and during his month-long recovery he'd been so weakened that he'd struggled to fend off even the low-level monsters in the area.
Those had been a couple of humbling chapters for Luo Binghe. Other readers had complained that the pacing was too slow, and that it wasn't fun to see the protagonist struggle against such easy monsters, but Shen Yuan had loved it. This was one of the few fights that Luo Binghe had almost lost! His near-defeat had taught him that no matter how strong he was, there would always be someone stronger, and that realization had set him on the path to gaining as much power as possible--at any cost.
But more importantly, the cave that he'd stayed in had been relatively safe, with access to easy-ish prey and clean water--just what Shen Yuan needed. And there would be no chance of sleeping in and missing Luo Binghe, because his fight with the turtle would be an epic multi-day battle! It was perfect!
And maybe, once he set up, he could see about making something a little warmer to wear.
It took a few weeks to get within sight of the Misty Valley, but once he did it was impossible to miss. The colossal fringehead turtle towered over the landscape, as tall as a mountain and about as wide as one too. Every now and then Shen Yuan would see its great maw open, the bones on the side of its mouth snapping out and distending to create a wide, inescapable net of flesh that whole flocks of flying monsters would disappear into. Getting stepped on by it would be instant death, but luckily when it wasn't being attacked it moved very, very slowly.
The cave Shen Yuan was looking for was along the steep hills that encircled the lake at the valley's center. When he found it, it was filled with giant salamander-scorpions, but he'd been expecting that. Looking forward to it, really.
After all, it had been a long journey, and he was always hungry.
The fight to clear his new cave home was laughably easy. The salamanders were large and venomous, but they weren't fast enough to pose a real threat now that Shen Yuan had gotten the hang of his claws and teeth. Before long he'd cleared the upper level of the cave and had a decently sized pile of salamander corpses. He could dig in immediately… or, now that he had settled into a safe-ish home and didn't need to worry about smoke attracting unwanted attention, he could cook them! Like a civilized demon! The thought of warm, cooked meat, crispy from the fire, made his stomach rumble.
Only problem: how did a person go about starting a fire without a lighter?
Flint rocks were a thing, probably. A thing he didn't have.
He gathered wood from the surrounding forest anyway and arranged it hopefully into a pile, just like he'd seen people do on tv. Luo Binghe had used his demonic energy to start his fires--perhaps Shen Yuan could do the same?
He gestured imperiously towards the wood like he imagined Luo Binghe would do.
Nothing.
He held his hand out and concentrated, thinking of a flame.
Still nothing.
He did have demonic energy, right? He focused inwards, and sure enough there was a hint of something--weak, but unmistakable--pulsing through his veins.
He tried urging it to come out of hand, and for a moment, that seemed to work. The energy moved, the air sparkled, and then...
More nothing. The energy shimmered for a few seconds, then dissipated.
Well. He supposed if he was ever in a life or death situation where he needed to sparkle, he'd be okay.
Continuing to eat the salamanders raw wasn't ideal, but it didn't look like he had a lot of other options at the moment. At least he had enough food now, even if the quality was questionable. Each salamander was the size of a pig--eating an entire one would have been impossible for a human, and should have been almost enough to burst even his demonic stomach.
He ate two. By the end, his stomach was painfully distended, the dizziness had receded, and he was still hungry.
It shouldn't have been possible. He couldn't eat another bite, and yet…
A hunger pang rippled through him, undeterred by the feast he'd just eaten.
He wanted to scream. He did, a bit. But at the end of it he was still hungry, and now his throat was sore and he was tired, too. He curled up at the mouth of the cave, trying to soak up some warmth from the sun's weak rays, and went to sleep.
The next order of business was his clothing.
He didn't have a knife, but his claws were perfect for stripping the pelts off the bone-clawed bats that he found deeper in the cave. He wasn't sure how to tan a hide--he was pretty sure chemicals were involved somehow--but he didn't need them to last forever. There were more than enough bats in the valley to keep him warm until Luo Binghe came.
The cleaned pelts went out into the sun to dry, and he set off to explore his new home.
The Misty Valley's permanent fog deadened the air and lent a muffled, mysterious quality to the landscape. The reduced visibility was an issue at first--he walked right into a three-headed blood bear--but he quickly discovered that it cut both ways. He might not be able to see monsters coming, but they couldn't see him, either. Within a few weeks he'd managed to build a healthy stockpile of meat, which he stored in the frigid lower sections of the cave, along with a variety of furs.
The three-headed blood bear made an especially wonderful blanket, if he did say so himself.
But like with his hunger, the cold he was feeling seemed inescapable. The furs took the edge off, but no matter how many pelts he wrapped himself in he could still feel a chill deep in his bones.
If the problems plaguing him were nutritional, there didn't seem to be anything in the valley that would help. Over the course of the next month he tried everything--fish from the river, berries from the forest, and even some suspicious looking mushrooms that had left him sweating and confused for days. None of it helped.
He had plenty of time to continue to experiment, though. Until Binghe came, he had nothing to do but wait.
The Abyss was a lot of things, but Shen Yuan had never thought that it would be boring. Now, he was reconsidering.
It didn't take long to become familiar, and then bored, with the relatively small selection of monsters in the valley. The fringehead turtle was still cool, but it almost never moved other than to open and close its mouth. Watching it was like watching the landscape itself--beautiful and impressive, but not exactly entertaining.
While he was on the run, he'd been homesick plenty of times. He'd yearned for the safety of his apartment, the softness of his bed, and the convenience of being able to have food delivered to his door the instant he felt hungry.
Now, though?
He'd kill for an internet connection, and he absolutely did not mean that metaphorically. Even the shittiest webnovel would have been a welcome respite from the damp and dreary repetition that defined his days.
That wasn't to say that his life was entirely uneventful. A few months in he found a salt deposit, and was able to dry out some of the meat. Having a non-raw food option didn't help with his hunger, but it did wonders for morale.
He also discovered a use for his sparkle power by accident while trying to hunt down a voracious needle-toothed mole. The creature wasn't all that dangerous, but it was single-handedly destroying all of Shen Yuan's favorite berry bushes, and it was nearly impossible to catch. He'd been running after it for days, but every time he got close it would burrow down into the ground and zip away.
He was watching it tunnel away from him for what felt like the hundredth time when, without thinking, he put out his hand and pulled.
Just like before, the air seemed to shimmer as his energy flowed out of him. This time, though, there was an effect.
The mole paused, then shivered. As Shen Yuan watched, incredulous, it turned around and began to stagger towards him. It was breathing hard, and it seemed…confused. Docile. Almost friendly. Shen Yuan almost felt bad slitting its throat when it came within his reach.
Almost. The scarcity of berry bushes meant he was on an almost all-meat diet after that for months, though mole-meat did add some welcomed variety.
Shen Yuan wasn't sure how long he waited. The seasons didn't change in the Abyss, and by the time he thought to start marking down the passage of days, so many had passed that he could only make a rough estimate. He thought he'd probably been in his new life for half a year, but there was no way to be sure.
By the time Luo Binghe showed up, there was almost a year's worth of tick marks. He was just adding on another when he felt the walls of the cave shudder.
There was only one thing that could move the earth like that.
This wasn't the first time the fringehead turtle had decided to move locations. On rare occasions it would take a walk, deciding for unknown reasons to move further into the valley, or to wade into the lake. The first time it had happened, Shen Yuan had rushed out, excited, only to be met with the awe-inspiring but still ultimately disappointing sight of the turtle meandering slowly around.
He tried not to get his hopes up as he raced for the mouth of the cave, but it was impossible. If this was the fight, if this was Luo Binghe--
It was.
Even from all the way on the ground, Shen Yuan could see him--a speck of red and black rocketing around the turtle's head, sending out wild slashes of fierce demonic energy. The turtle's mouth opened, and for a second it looked like Luo Binghe would be caught off guard by the extending jaw, but no! He dodged, escaping the turtle's bite at the last possible second, and even used his proximity to deliver a devastating blow to the membranes of the turtle's mouth.
Shen Yuan cheered.
At his yell, the distant figure of Luo Binghe seemed to pause. Had he heard Shen Yuan, even from such a distance? Truly, the protagonist was too OP!
In case Binghe was watching, Shen Yuan gave him a big smile and wave.
For a few minutes Shen Yuan was only able to watch, equally stunned and elated by the realization that Luo Binghe was here. After a cold and hungry year Shen Yuan wasn't alone anymore. He actually had a chance to leave the Abyss, and he was going to meet his favorite character while doing so! As soon as he was able to collect his wits, he turned away from the battle and began to climb the steep slope behind his cave.
The ground wasn't the best spot to watch the fight from, but he'd prepared for that. In PIDW the showdown had been near the lake, and there just happened to be a lakeside outcropping of rock that was high enough up to boost him over the trees. Over the course of months he'd spent time preparing his viewing area--mostly for a lack of anything better to do--which meant that he was now able to settle comfortably into a pile of furs set in a hollowed out log and enjoy a clear view of the fight.
It wasn't quite a couch and a tv, but it was close enough.
The fight was every bit as epic as he could have hoped. Luo Binghe was like a force of nature. Even with his shitty temporary sword he was cutting through bone and shell with frightening ease, his fierce sword glares flashing through the sky like lightning. The turtle was tough, though, and now that it was threatened its movements were unsettlingly fast. Its neck extended far past what seemed reasonable, giving its jaws incredible reach and agility. Its feet were clawed, too, and when Luo Binghe made the mistake of attempting to approach from below he was almost cut in half. He narrowly dodged in a masterful show of athletics, but that put him within range of the mouth.
Shen Yuan cheered again when Luo Binghe stabbed at the turtle's eye, using its instinctive flinch to escape--and again, Luo Binghe paused, seeming to hear him.
Would his cheers distract the protagonist? It would be hard to stay quiet while watching such an exciting battle, especially after a year of boredom, but for Binghe's sake he'd have to try.
As exciting as the fight was, it would last for three days and nights. Binghe was cool, but no amount of cool could be riveting for that long. Shen Yuan had, in fact, drifted off a bit after the first day, and was comfortably napping in his fur pile when a nearby explosion startled him awake.
For a heart-stopping moment he thought that it was already over, that the explosion had been the turtle's defeat, and that he'd missed the majority of the fight--but no, the turtle was still standing, its head snaking from side to side as it looked for Luo Binghe.
It wasn't hard to guess where Luo Binghe was.
Shen Yuan nervously watched the smoking crater that had appeared in the mountainside near him. Unsettlingly near him. The turtle had thrown Luo Binghe with so much force that the trees near the impact had been reduced to splinters--if he'd landed a hundred meters to the left he'd have hit Shen Yuan's viewing couch, and Shen Yuan would have been done for.
After a few moments the dust began to clear, revealing a bruised and broken looking Luo Binghe in its center. He staggered to his feet, and now that Shen Yuan could see him clearly, one of his legs looked…wrong. Shen Yuan wasn't a doctor or anything, but he was pretty sure knees weren't supposed to bend in that direction.
And then Luo Binghe's demonic energy flared, and there was a wet, grisly cracking as his healing took over. The broken limb straightened with a painful looking snap, and the cuts and burns that covered his body began to clear, healthy flesh crawling over the injuries and absorbing them.
Shen Yuan was staring, but he couldn't help it. Luo Binghe's healing abilities were too cool! Kinda gross, but cool!
Luo Binghe hardly seemed to notice his injuries. As soon as his leg had righted itself, he strode out of the crater, his sword held at the ready and his eyes locked on--
On Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan swallowed. Shit.
Of course Luo Binghe would perceive him as a threat. Shen Yuan couldn't blame him! From Binghe's perspective, he was just another Abyssal demon, and those were rarely friendly.
Had Luo Binghe let himself be thrown here on purpose in order to kill Shen Yuan? He certainly didn't seem surprised to see Shen Yuan here. The close proximity of the crater was looking less and less like a coincidence, and wow--had Binghe managed to aim himself while being thrown by the turtle? He truly was too OP!
Killing Shen Yuan was probably a good strategy from Luo Binghe's perspective. If Shen Yuan was planning on killing Luo Binghe or stealing the turtle's treasure for himself, it would be easy to do so after the battle. No matter who won, Shen Yuan would be able to sweep in and finish off the survivor, keeping all the goods for himself. It made perfect sense for Binghe to eliminate him now before he could pose a bigger threat down the line.
Shen Yuan's actual post-battle plan had been to convince Luo Binghe of his good intentions. He'd be able to tend to the weakened Binghe's wounds and feed him and give him shelter, and by the time Binghe was strong enough to pose an actual threat to Shen Yuan, he'd be so grateful that he'd take him along in his escape from the Abyss!
Meeting Luo Binghe before the end of the battle hadn't been the plan, but it hadn't been entirely unforeseen, either. Shen Yuan could roll with this.
"Good morning!" he said, giving Luo Binghe his best and brightest smile.
Whatever Luo Binghe had been expecting from him, it hadn't been that. Luo Binghe blinked, then paused, glaring at Shen Yuan suspiciously.
Ah, his threatening aura was truly incredible! Shen Yuan was sure he'd be trembling with fear if he wasn't trembling from excitement.
He held out his hand, and Binghe tensed.
"Salamander-scorpion jerky?" Shen Yuan asked, waggling the strip in his hand around. He felt a bit like he was coaxing a stray dog to come closer. See Binghe? Just food, no need to be skittish!
Luo Binghe stared at the jerky. "What."
"Salamander-scorpion jerky. That fight looks rough, and I'm sure you could use a snack. I have extra, if you want any." He'd stocked enough in his viewing couch to nibble on for multiple days. It wasn't exactly popcorn, but as snacks went it was fine.
Luo Binghe frowned at him. He took another step forward, his blade still raised. "I don't know what you're playing at--"
He was interrupted by an ear-drum shattering roar. The fringehead turtle had caught on to Binghe's whereabouts, and was approaching at turtle speed--which was to say, surprisingly fast.
Shen Yuan wasn't thrilled about being charged by the turtle, but it was probably for the best. Luo Binghe didn't look enthusiastic about the salamander jerky and Shen Yuan didn't have a lot of other tricks up his sleeves.
Other than his trump card, of course.
"Take this!" Shen Yuan tossed a small sack to Luo Binghe, who caught it on instinct.
"What--"
"It's venom from the salamander-scorpions. Smear it on your blade."
Binghe seemed taken aback. He gave Shen Yuan an incredulous look, then peered suspiciously down at the sack. "This bag is…hairy?"
"It's made out of a bone-clawed bat. Don't ask what part." The turtle was almost on them. Shen Yuan tensed, readying himself to run. "And aim for the back of the front left knee--that's its weak spot."
Binghe still looked suspicious, but he undid the knot tying the top of the sack closed and poured the venom on his blade. "Just so you know--if this backfires on me somehow, I will survive, and I will kill you," he said.
"Yeah, alright, you're welcome," said Shen Yuan, but he didn't think Luo Binghe heard him--he was already in the air, back on his sword and speeding towards the turtle.
Salamander-scorpion venom was a potent paralytic that Shen Yuan had discovered the hard way during his second month in the valley when a salamander had snuck up behind him. His transmigration story might have ended there if he hadn't fallen on top of it and used his last moments of movement to slit its throat. He'd spent almost three full days frozen on the cave floor, and if any monsters had come across him during that time, that would have been that.
When he'd recovered he'd gotten it into his head that he could use the stuff to hunt, because how cool would it be to coat his claws in venom and have stun claws? And it had worked! Kind of! He could lightly scratch a monster and it would go down, paralyzed and practically gift wrapped for him. But the venom had the unfortunate quality of being transferable when eaten--which he'd found out after spending another three days on his cave floor.
It wouldn't stun a creature as large as the turtle, of course, but it didn't need to. After a few minutes and some strategic cuts by Binghe, the turtle's movements began to drag, its reactions just a hair slower and its movements a touch lethargic. It wasn't a big change, but it was enough to make a difference.
The effect wouldn't last long, and Luo Binghe clearly knew it. As soon as the turtle's movements began to slow he focused his attacks on its legs. A feint drew the turtle's mouth in the direction of its hind leg, and then Luo Binghe doubled back, aiming his sword for the back of the knee and-
"Ah! Sorry! The knee on our left, not its left!" Shen Yuan yelled.
He couldn't see Binghe's face from this distance, but he could feel the glare.
Luo Binghe changed course, aiming for the other knee. The turtle roared, and its head whipped around to follow him, but it was a fraction of a second too slow--its jaws clamped down, barely missing Luo Binghe's sword arm, and a moment later its leg buckled.
Shen Yuan had experienced earthquakes before. The turtle hitting the ground was similar, only it was accompanied by a tidal wave of water displaced from the lake and an explosion of demonic qi as the turtle focused all of its power in one last-ditch attempt to take out Luo Binghe.
It wasn't enough, of course.
The attack, for all its power, was desperate and clumsy--the turtle was injured and disoriented from the fall, and it showed. Luo Binghe faltered, visibly battered by the qi attack, but he flew forward, driving his sword deep, deep, deeper into the turtle's eye until his full arm was buried, and the turtle was dead, and the fight was over.
Luo Binghe pulled his sword back and collapsed. Shen Yuan watched for a few minutes, but Binghe didn't move.
Cautiously, Shen Yuan began to approach the battlefield.
He comforted himself with the knowledge that, even if Luo Binghe was awake, Shen Yuan surely didn't have anything to be scared of. He'd helped him, right? Binghe would probably be grateful!
"This is all your fault."
Shen Yuan paused. He was dragging Luo Binghe back to his cave (literally--he'd tried to carry him bridal style, but Binghe was heavy). "It's not that bad, is it?"
Luo Binghe was barely conscious, but he still managed to flail furiously at Shen Yuan from the ground. "Not bad? Not bad? It bit my hand off!"
"It'll grow back."
"That's not the point! You directed me to the wrong leg, and I almost died!" Binghe was snarling, which would have been intimidating if Shen Yuan wasn't currently holding his ankle and dragging him through the dirt.
To be fair, he'd tried to drag Luo Binghe by the shoulders first, and Binghe had tried to bite him.
"I already apologized for the ambiguous instructions," Shen Yuan said. "Besides, if I hadn't helped you, how long do you think it would have taken you to find that missing scale on the back of its knee, hm? Ages! And without the venom I lent you, you'd probably have lost a lot more than a hand in the process." An entire arm, to be precise.
"So you want me to be thankful? How do I know it wasn't your plan for me to be injured, for me to be weakened, so that you could prey on me?"
Him being injured and needing help kind of had been in Shen Yuan's plan, though not for the reasons Binghe thought. "Listen, I know you're suspicious, but I'm telling the truth. I don't want the turtle's treasure, and I don't want to kill you."
Luo Binghe didn't respond. When Shen Yuan glanced back, he saw that Binghe had passed out, finally succumbing to his injuries from the battle. Or, possibly, his injuries from being dragged to the cave. The path they were on was rocky, and Shen Yuan supposed Binghe's head had been bouncing a bit.
Either way, the rest of the walk to the cave was blissfully silent.