The next day after Gaam Yuk Ying was medically evacuated, the cultivator camp was attacked.

It was simply a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gou Dzing was sitting alone on the edge of the camp, distracted by his thoughts, when he caught sight of a faint dust cloud on the eastern horizon. He squinted at the dust, testing the abilities of his Dragon Eyes. A glitter of gold skittered through his dark eyes, and then he could see them, a horde of demons rushing towards the mountain.

Gou Dzing turned and raced back into camp. “Lady Gong!”

“What's up, Little Gou?” Gong Lau Yan was seated in the dining tent, a cup of tea in one hand and a draft plan of the region around the mountain in the other. Her hair was untied, and she looked like she had only recently rolled out of bed.

“There are demons headed this way from the east. They're armed.”

She leapt up, tying her hair as she exited the tent and calling to the loong soldiers to prepare for potential combat. Gou Dzing rounded up disciples, and they all watched as the small demon army approached at speed.

There was no calling of orders or gesturing; these warriors had setup their plan beforehand and were now simply carrying it out. A lightning raid. Strike fast and hard.

The information they relied on to plan this attack, however, was clearly out of date. They had not expected to come across a platoon of human cultivators and loong soldiers.

The demons struck at everyone and anyone. The disciples, at first uncertain as to whether they should join the melee, now found they had no choice. They had to fight or die, or at least be seriously injured.

"Mountain disciples, earth barriers!" Gou Dzing ordered. "Everyone gather!"

Within moments, mounds of earth rose, forming a shield around the camp behind which they could shelter and retaliate. Those with long-distance skills began to fire out on the attacking demons.

"Si-hing, do we protect our demons as well?"

What our demons? Gou Dzing glanced around, eyes catching everything. Somehow he couldn't avoid seeing - the jutting ribs of attackers and defenders alike, a demon bleeding out on the ground with a mouthful of torn flesh from the demon attempting to stab them with a sharpened rock, figures bludgeoning and scratching and punching each other...

His vision seemed to be tinged a little pink, but he blinked to clear his eyes. Do they protect the demons, or not?

“No. We defend our camp, no more.”

Awful screams of anger and pain from demons on both sides rent the air. Even if they did intervene, Gou Dzing couldn't tell the difference between one side and the other.

"Soldiers, these demons are unskilled in combat," Gong Lau Yan called. "Respond with non-lethal defence."

"Mountain disciples, staggered earth barriers and pits." The Grandmaster rallied the students.

"Reflective Arts, mirrored surfaces in between."

Within moments, obstacles were springing up between the attaching force and their target, and the lightning raid was in shambles. One of the attackers, evidently some kind of leader, gave a great rasping cry, and suddenly the attackers abandoned the fight, streaming away from the mountain as quickly as they had come.

The next day, another raid, this time from an army coming from the north-east. Again, the camp took to defence, the soldiers and cultivators pale and grim behind their barriers as the demons hacked and bit at each other.

Gou Dzing blinked and squinted. It seemed as though he could see through the very bodies of the demons, as if they were formed of a thin mist. He could see the way a four-armed demon with two heads had the front of its body slashed completely open, bursting open like a ripe fruit, despite the fact it had its back to him. The struggling figures before him were solid, yet clear as glass. He felt dizzy, untethered.

Something began to seep from his eyes and down his cheeks.

"Si-hing!” one of his juniors seized his shoulder. “Blood!"

He couldn't look away.

"Little Gou.” Wong Tang's voice brought him back to reality as she covered his eyes. “Your sight arts are straining your body. Lau Yan and I will handle the rest. Disciple...?”

“Mo Tong, Grandmaster.”

“Disciple Mo Tong, take your Si-hing to the medical tent.”

Mo Tong carefully led Gou Dzing through the camp to the empty tent, and helped him sit on a bed. “Are you alright, Si-hing? Do your eyes hurt?” He found a wet cloth and cleaned the blood from Gou Dzing's face.

“Not at all. They feel a little prickly, that's all. You should go back and join the others. I doubt the demons will come sneaking through here.”

“Are you sure, Si-hing?”

“You were one of the first scouts when the demons first appeared, weren't you?”

“Ah, yes. I travelled to Dzue last year after the first reports.”

“Then it would be good for you to be out assisting. You have more knowledge than most.”

“Well... Grandmaster!”

“You can go, Disciple Mo. Little Gou, how do your eyes feel?"

"They don't hurt. What happened?" He felt her sit down on the bed beside him as Mo Tong exited the tent.

"Your eyes were straining beyond the current capabilities of your body. You need to work up to that kind of level."

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"I could see through them..."

"Eventually you'll even be able to see through most things. But you're not ready yet. Keep your eyes closed for now. I'll check on you again in a si."

"What's happening outside? Is anyone fighting the demons?"

"Is that what you would have done?"

"Honestly... No, Master."

"We're disrupted them. As with the previous attackers, they're looking for a fast strike and retreat, not a pitched battle."

"Casualties?"

"None so far."

Gou Dzing sighed.

To his surprise, so did Wong Tang.

"Master?"

"The more I watch you, the more I think I made a mistake in not guiding you down the healer's path earlier."

Gou Dzing chuckled, surprising his Master this time. "Master, the experiences I've had so far have taught me so many things. There's no mistakes."

"Who's this sage disguised as our Little Gou?" Gong Lan Yan laughed, entering the tent.

“Lady Gong? If you're here, then who-”

“The demons have already retreated. Let's have a look at your eyes.”

Gong Lau Yan quickly lifted Gou Dzing's eyelids. “Hm. Looks dramatic, but it's not too bad. You'll be okay. You definitely overdid it though.”

“How? I don't even know what I did.”

“Lie down and rest for now,” Wong Tang advised. “Once you're rested, we'll have a talk and I'll guide you.”

She and Gong Lau Yan left the tent, discussing the battle as Gou Dzing fell back on the bed.

Now with his sight shut down, his other senses were sharpened. A cultivator's senses were already more sensitive than an ordinary person, but this was on another level.

Of all of them, his sense of touch seems to be the most heightened. The feeling of the bed below him, the cloth of the bedcovers, the vibrations of his own heartbeat, all these things seemed almost unbearably present. He breathed deeply, the rush of air in his lungs harsh and raw and brought his consciousness within, away from his overstimulated body and instead towards his internal state, the flow of hei from his middle to upper daan-tin, the dizzying rise of shen from his upper daan-tin...

The faintest of vibrations brought him out of his meditations. Light, regular impacts. Footsteps, coming from the opposite direction from where the loong soldiers and human disciples were gathered.

"Who's there?" he asked, keeping his voice low and even.

He was answered by a hair-raising, familiar laugh. "Oh no, the big bad cultivator caught me! Too bad he can't do anything about it!"

"Teem Djeung Baak. What exactly is it that you want?"

"What I want?" He could almost see her, tipping her head quizzically to one side, her gigantic eyes even wider with false-innocence. "You could die, for a start."

"Why's that?"

"Little Handsome has less time to play with me now. That's not fair. You can't keephim all to yourself."

"But you can?"

"Of course. So play nice and die."

Gou Dzing had been silently gathering soil below the bed, and it was lucky that he did, otherwise he would not have been able to react in time to the atack that Teem Djeung Baak launched at him. The earth barrier closed around him just in time to block something that sent a wave of heat and shock over him, but a second later he opened the trap he had laid under her feet – a large hole in the dirt that he had left covered with a thick enough layer of earth to bear Teem Djeung Baak's weight until the very last minute.

She feel, but he felt and heard her leap up the side and out again within moments. The earth barrier had strengthened to the density of rock, but her barrage of attacks was making it crack faster than he could compress earth to harder and harder minerals.

Still, it did the job of delaying her, which was all he needed. He could feel below him the vibrations of people approaching. Two were approaching at high speed, light and fast and... one was very familiar.

"Litle Handso-"

There was a clash of metal, a snarl like a feral animal, a screech of pain, then wild laughter. And then, silence.

Gou Dzing cast about in his shelter, seeking sound or vibration. His breathing was already becoming a bit laboured in the closed air of the earth barrier. "Ga- Yuk... Yuk Ying?"

"...here."

The earth barrier crumbled. Suddenly surrounded by the scent of blood and burnt flesh, Gou Dzing held his hands out, but found nothing. "Yuk Ying? Are you okay? Are you injured?"

"Your eyes."

"Yeah, I overdid the Dragon Eyes, apparently. Come here?"

He felt Gaam Yuk Ying move closer. He could feel the heat coming from the other's body. "Can I hug you?"

"... do you want to?"

"Yes. Very much."

At last, Gaam Yuk Ying moved within reaching distance. Gou Dzing folded his arms around him and buried his face into Gaam Yuk Ying's robes with a sigh of satisfaction. He didn't seem to be injured. “I'm sorry I took so long. Are you okay? How's your body?”

“Still here.”

“Ha... Can I...?”

Gaam Yuk Ying stood still and let Gou Dzing run his hands over his face. Faint lumps and oddly smooth patches met his fingers; it was evident that Gaam Yuk Ying had residual burn marks over his skin. Holding him close with one arm, Gou Dzing moved his other hand down to find Gaam Yuk Ying's fingers. There were scars on these too.

“Do they hurt?”

“No.”

Gou Dzing pressed Gaam Yuk Ying's hand to his face, kissing each finger individually. “It was... hard without you. I kept wondering if you were okay. I regretted not going with you.”

“Better to stay here.”

“I could have learnt more about healing if I went back. I could have helped look after you. I'm sure of it now, I'm not suited for war.”

“Why?”

“There's been several raids by other demon settlements. I wanted to fight against them, as if somehow these demons here are... I don't know, our friends? Allies? We just happen to know them a little longer. We can't even communicate.

“My head's so full of thoughts. We're suppose to be here to observe and learn, not get involved. And yet I made this sudden judgement that our demons were in the right, and those other demons were the bad ones. And then I realised what I was thinking, and got so mixed up that I almost froze and caused my juniors to be in danger-”

“Did you?”

“Did I...?”

“Freeze. Cause the juniors danger.”

“Well, no, everyone's safe-”

“Then, that's fine.”

Gou Dzing chuckled, then laughed out loud. “See, this is why I need you here. So decisive.”

“... is it okay?” Gaam Yuk Ying's usually clear, low voice had a distinct waver. Gou Dzing pulled him down onto his lap.

“Yuk Ying?”

“Yes.”

“I love you. Very much.” He leaned into Gaam Yuk Ying's neck, breathing in his fresh, clear scent. “Whoever, whatever you are. It's you. I was surprised at first, but after thinking about it, the answer is really so obvious. So let's stay together like this, okay?” He twined his fingers through Gaam Yuk Ying's.

For a while, the only sound was Gaam Yuk Ying's uneven breaths. Then, his fingers tightened around Gou Dzing's in return. “Chan Bik is returning.”

“Bik Si-mui?” Ah, the second person he had heard approaching. “She's as fast as you are now.”

“Yes.”

“Gou Si-hing? Are you okay? What happened to your eyes?”

He explained again before asking. “Where's Teem Djeung Baak? What happened? I couldn't quite tell.”

“She got away again, the slippery sn- that bitch. Hey, Gaam Si-hing, why are you just innocently sitting on Gou Si-hing's lap when there's a severed hand right there. At least clean up first!”

“A hand?”

When Chan Bik and Gaam Yuk Ying rushed into the tent, Teem Djeung Baak had been pelting fireball after fireball into the stone barrier that Gou Dzing had built around himself. As she swung back her left arm to strike, Gaam Yuk Ying swung Lou Fu Ngan, slicing her hand clean off, and Chan Bik had leapt forward and viciously cauterised the bleeding stump with a bright orb of pure, searing hei. Even if Teem Djeung Baak could find a genius doctor, there was no way she could get her hand reattached now.

She evidently realised this immediately, as she abandoned the limb and fled from the tent, wildly laughing, with Chan Bik pursuing closely.

“That creep! How could she laugh like that, like she was entertained? Gaam Si-hing cut her hand off! I burnt her!”

“How did she get away?”

Chan Bik's voice was troubled. “She blew up the ground in front of me. By the time I recovered and the dust cleared, she was gone. How is she so skilled? Do you think... maybe she's better suited to Fire arts than me.”

“That's not true.”

“Cheng Si-mui?”

“Gou Si-hing, what on earth have you done to yourself now? Did you peep at Gaam Si-hing undressing so he poked your eyes out?”

“Yeah. Serves me right.”

“Gou Si-hing, did you really? How could you?”

“I was joking, Bik Bik.”

“Sing Sing, don't do that, you know I can't tell.”

“Sing Sing?”

“Isn't it cute?”

“Stop teasing me!”

And just for a moment, Teem Djeung Baak, and the fighting demons, and the dry, tormented land outside, were all forgotten.