lonelydream | INBOX (for eastbound)

Stop.

[ His voice is quiet but sharp, a whip-crack that makes it abundantly clear just how he managed to hold so many men under his control. ]

You are not her.

( He looks up, startled, and then pulls a face. )

Aren't I? How many people are dead because of me, Ah-Xu? ( He set the ghosts out for a reason, to sow the seeds of chaos, to upheave the Jianghu. There would have been other ways to uproot his enemy, he's sure of it, but he had chosen the bloodiest, the cruellest. He had wanted the mayhem with a viciousness that clings even now, that desperate need to watch everything fall apart. Even after months and trying to rebuild himself he still craves it. He isn't a good man, not by a long shot. )

I can sit here and be appalled that someone else's monster has killed women and yet - I opened the door to men like Lovelace. I knew what I was doing, I knew what might happen. Your silly little disciple is an orphan, and that's my fault too. ( He knocks back the wine, the guilt acidic in his belly, but he keeps his voice impassive. ) I should have killed all the Devils when I had a chance, but I didn't. Because I needed them. So it makes me wonder what Messalina needs with her hers. That's all.

[ Zhou Zishu has, unfortunately, never been very good at comfort. He thinks too logically for that, most of the time, and is not quite compassionate enough, and right now, faced with Wen Kexing's pain, he feels it acutely. Reaching out, he takes the wine from Wen Kexing's hand and sets it on the table. ]

Lao Wen.

[ He says it softly, then, and then more gently: ]

Lao Wen. Philanthropist Wen. Would your stance change if you thought Messalina's goals were noble? If it turns out she is doing this for some greater good?

[ Zhou Zishu is not a good man. He's cold, ruthless, and though he regrets the innocent lives lost in the machinations of powerful men, he knows he would make all the same choices, do the same things. Wen Kexing is different though, ruthless as he may be, and Zishu loves that about him. ]

Maybe.

( A flicker of something, a frown. He looks at Zhou Zishu - or rather, his chin, not quite daring to meet his eyes. ) I might even sympathise with her, if I thought about it too for too long. I don't know, Ah-Xu.

( He is always ensnaring himself in his own thoughts. )

It made me angry, the first time I heard about it. It's entirely possibly I've reacted when I shouldn't. But they're making us choose either way. I don't know if we have the option to abstain. And I've - ( There, slightly shifty. ) - well, I may have pushed my weight around a bit with a senator. I'm involved, but you don't have to be.

If you're involved, I'm involved.

[ Said as though it's just simple fact--because it is. ]

Don't twist yourself up into knots about it. Ultimately, what happens will happen. If things go poorly... There are other ways to solve those problems as well.

( The relief that follows is surprising, Wen Kexing suddenly aware of a lack of anxiety he hadn't realised he was holding. )

If you find you disagree with me then tell me, mm? You've more a head for these kind of things. ( From what he knows of Zhou Zishu's time before him, anyway. It's not much, but with that and the growing up in a sect maybe he has more of a handle on things that Wen Kexing cannot comprehend. ) We can argue about it, it'll be fun.

Either way, until we get out of Ephes we're beholden to all the nonsense. I almost miss the jungle. No one was giving speeches there.

The...jungle.

[ That sounds sticky and gross, and while Zishu is perfectly fine being muddy, sweaty, and dusty if he needs to be, he does also like being able to clean off at the end of the day if it's possible. ]

Good for fishing.

( Look at your wife, he's adaptable! )

Less wine though, you'd have never survived.

Wine is very important.

Don't worry, I'll keep you well in your cups.

( The flash of a grin. )

At least the paperwork has it's uses. No one cares if I liberate the stock as long as I do what I'm here for.

It's yours, after all. So that makes it mine as well.

( He props his chin in the palm of his hand, eyeing Zhou Zishu. There's something different about the little dance they do, and it makes something go warm and enchanted in his stomach. Nervous, too. )

I suppose it does.

( A smile, softer than his usual mischievous ones. He's just so glad the other man is here, that they have each other now. )

[ He glances over, catching that look on Wen Kexing's face, and hurriedly raises the bottle to take another drink. Under that sort of gaze, his ears go pink. ]

( Oh?

Oh!

That's cute. He wonders if the reaction is new. Certainly any time Zhou Zishu has been flustered by him before he's reacted with far more angry bluster than this cute little display. It leaves Wen Kexing insanely jealous of the future him, which feels silly but he can't help it. That version of him knows what all of this means, knows how far he can go. Still, he lets Zhou Zishu off the proverbial hook, waving a hand. )

All right, help me get through this and we can abscond early. I can show you around. Or we can go downstairs and drink to our heart's content, who's going to stop us!

Show me around first, and then we can drink.

[ If anything happens, he wants to be aware of where he can go, what places are allied with Wen Kexing, what sort of people he might have to avoid. ]

Aiyah, such a taskmaster.

( Dramatic sigh included, but Wen Kexing's grin says he knows exactly what Zhou Zishu means and will do it accordingly. It's not exactly a hardship. )

You're looking forward to telling me all your opinions, I know.

It's been a while since I had a rapt audience, of course I am.

( A beat, and then -. )

At least one that understands me. ( Which Zhou Zishu does. Even when he was hiding his origins the other man understood him. He can pick apart even the things Wen Kexing struggles to understand himself. ) It'll be easier, now you're here.

I'll be sure to point out all the ways you're wrong.

[ He won't actually, not when he really does plan to frm his understanding of this place and its politics based on what Lao Wen says. He thinks it'll make Wen Kexing laugh, though. ]

( A snort, an eyeroll. )

I'm sure you will. Rightfully wrong, though. You'd never do something just to cause a fight.

Of course not. I'm a lover of peace and quiet, dont you know?

[ Why does it feel rather as though they've switched roles, Philanthropist Wen? ]

( Another helpless noise of amusement. )

Mhm. All right, paperwork. If you want a tour I need rid of this first.

Shall I help?

[ He can, you know. Even without the knowledge and information necessary, he's good at extrapolating context clues. ]

You're sitting there and being pretty, that's already help enough.

( A grin, before he shrugs. )

If you'd like, I don't mind.

[ he rolls his eyes, but settles down at Wen Kexing's side to flick through the pages. ]

What should I look out for?

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