The mist was relentless in its obscuration of nearby landmarks and other objects in the marsh. Even the sky was blotted out in a hazy indecipherable white. Rui Yifu could not tell the sun's current position in the sky, or if it was even still up. The mist had its own pallid white light that rendered the distinction between night and day meaningless, and perhaps not even the red moon's eerie light could pierce it. He glanced back up to the monstrous statue above them, then at the mist. Rui Yifu found himself speculating that the source of the mist was perhaps not the marsh, but the Bone Willow Mountain that remained shrouded from view. He could not tell how far or how close they were to it, but the strange qualities of the mist seemed to be something that would be sourced from an esoteric mountain rather than just the cycle of nature. A shuddering sigh from Bo had him turn his head to look at the other man. Bo's hand rested on Zhu'er's head, and for a brief second Rui Yifu feared that Bo might have figured out her actual state. Instead he simply stared ahead with an unfixed eye.

"I killed Li Chunning."

The words Bo spoke did not sound like they were for him, Rui Yifu thought before the full meaning suddenly hit him. Li Chunning... Li Baobao... the silly merchant's son... Rui Yifu remembered the misshapen corpse of vines and flesh that had sunk into the water when they had found Bo. His heart churned in his chest, that had not been a monster.

"Boss was right," Bo mumbled. "He was right."

The water rippled as some little bug swam beneath the surface, brushing against the semi-dry speck of land they sat on.

"He didn't deserve... I couldn't save him," Bo's words were shaking and uneven, like someone about to vomit bile.

Rui Yifu's hands were in his lap, turned upwards so the palms faced the sky. He looked at them expecting to see blood form and drip down his fingers. "What happened?" He asked quietly.

Bo swallowed, "I... you guys were gone so I was trying to follow where you went. I saw Li Chunning," he took a deep breath and leaned up against the statue, looking skyward. "I tried talking to him, but he muttered something about only seeing dust and then... he was struggling. He turned into that monster and I couldn't do anything," Bo was crying. Tears ran down his face and his remaining eye turned red as he tried wiping away his sorrow with his stained sleeve. "That thing wore him like a damn necklace and all I could do was just..."

"Bo-"

"He shouldn't have even been with us!" Bo hiccupped, "he should have been in his nice home with his mom and brother. He shouldn't have had anything to do with any of this!" He cried, slamming his fist on his thigh as he hid his face in his other hand. "...Maybe we should have left him in that tree."

Rui Yifu chewed on his lip, his sharp teeth lightly tearing the skin. The taste of copper washed over his tongue. "Bo, I'm the one who convinced Madam Li to send her son with us."

He had expected Bo to turn his guilty despair into anger against him, but Bo did nothing of the sort, instead he clutched his head and continued to softly sob. Rui Yifu wanted his anger, it was better than letting him dwell on it. It was, after all, Rui's fault first and foremost. If he had not gotten Madam Li to agree for his own selfish plans, then Li Chunning would still be at home. He would still be known as simply 'Li Baobao', the youngest son of a prosperous but abruptly unfortunate merchant family. What would his future have been like? Would he have married a nice young woman and raised a family? Dutifully remained a bachelor all his life to care for his ill mother and despairing brother? Perhaps try for the exams and get a job in the government? He had a good mind for numbers, and the tax bureau always needed more clerks.

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But all these thoughts were 'what could have beens'. They would never be.

He placed a hand over his chest, to tamp down on his own heart as it struggled with the weight of a tide made from grief and regret. What was one more body to the count? He looked over at Bo who was still softly weeping into his hands.

"He tried to go home," Bo's voice was barely above a whisper. "He had tried to go home. Out of all of us, he was the only one that had a home to go back to. Why did he change his mind?"

Rui Yifu chewed his lip again as he looked into the mist. He tried to imagine Li Chunning's thoughts after the argument, after he had abruptly left them to go home. His lips parted with a soft 'oh'. "He didn't."

"What?" Bo's voice regained some strength.

"You said he had become that monster," Rui Yifu was thinking aloud at this point. "It shows the same traits as Baichan's other creations. But that would mean he would have needed to be infected at some point. He was with us the entire up until we got to Liu Xie's house, then he decided to leave. We did not see him until we went past the Silent Mountains. How did he get there before us? Even with the steed given to him by Liu Xie, there would be no way it would have taken him directly past the Silent Mountains," Rui Yifu steepled his fingers together, grinding his teeth. "So the only thing that makes sense is that he had been found by Baichan some time prior."

"But why would he work with Baich-"

"He wasn't," Rui Yifu said. "Not willingly at least."

Bo looked over at Rui Yifu. His face was still a mess. The cauterized eye socket was a burnt disgusting thing and dried blood clung to his cheek and his shoulder length hair. "...He was dead, right? He died... right after he left."

Rui Yifu was unsure if he was surprised or impressed that Bo had so quickly put things together, but he nodded. "Yes, that's the only thing that makes sense. The only other person who would give us a straight answer would be Ji Ying, and she's-"

"Dead too."

"Mmm," Rui Yifu wanted to say she was more than dead. Celestial servants had the gift of agelessness but lacked a true spirit of their own. They could not cultivate one either. He remembered the sight of the small amber sun, glowing fiercely as it sprung to life and died in minutes. He had never heard a story of a celestial servant destroying themselves in such a manner, and wondered what it was that got her to suddenly decide to do so. Had the Amber Emperor retaken control of her? Or did Baichan simply have no use for her anymore and wanted to get rid of a loose end? He looked down at the slumbering child who rested her head on Bo's thigh and thought about asking her when she woke up. He glanced back at Bo, who still stared out with a mourning expression into the void of mist that surrounded them. They were so close to the Bone Willow Mountain, he told himself, but it seemed like things were only growing worse for them all. There was only one positive he could think of so far and that was none of the beasts Khenbish warned of had shown up. Then the realization came to him. "Bo? ...I know you blame yourself for Li's death. But don't wear it on your heart."

"I killed him."

"I did too," Rui Yifu caught his reflection in the water, a sad slightly inhuman face staring up at him. "I should have never suggested this to Madam Li. But... this was done on purpose."

Bo was silent but Rui Yifu could feel his eye scrutinizing him.

"Baichan knows we're close to our goal, so he sent Li Chunning to stop us. Or perhaps simply to kidnap Zhu'er, which ever happened first. Li Chunning's presence must have been why there's no other creatures around, they can sense the White Flame from him and want nothing to do with it. I believe Baichan is also purposefully preying on our hearts. We're tired, we're wounded, and..." He paused for a moment, the weight in his heart deepening, "we're miserable. The exact sort of person Baichan would likely prey upon."

A clapping came from the mist. Sharp and clear. Bo grunted, pained, but still grabbing the sword's hilt while Rui Yifu fetched his coral monks again.

"Wonderful! A wonderful deduction!" The voice was joyful, and gradually from the mist a figure appeared, or perhaps it was better to say it was forming from the mist. Its presence felt terribly familiar. Rui Yifu imagined surging tides and thrashing seas, and used his free hand to gently push down Bo's hands. The figure assumed a full shape, and Bo gasped because what stood before them a young very well dressed man in the many different colors and hues of jade.

Yet the face of Liu Xie looked at them with an amused grin.