[July 21] [Shendiao Xialu] The Heaven of Our Choosing

[lilacfield.livejournal.com]

Title: The Heaven of Our Choosing
Day/Theme: July 21/I'd rather sleep my whole life away
Series: Shendiao Xialu
Characters: Xiao Longnu, Zhou Botong
Rating: G

Shendiao Xialu © Jin Yong, et al.


The spiders' venom took some time to subside, and when it did, Zhou Botong started to talk, half to himself, half to the cave walls. Or so Xiao Longnu assumed, as he seemed to expect no reply. She watched the cave entrance, ready for a sneak attack, and so far caught no signs of one.

"That bald-headed old donkey can take his stinking old flag with him," Zhou Botong mumbled. "I don't want it anymore. He can take it to his king or wipe his butt with it for all I care."

That last sentence ignited within her the memory of a young boy with a loud, brash mouth, a boy who had once left traces alongside hers on cold dark floors; Xiao Longnu silently willed him away. "The flag is a precious object to them. They will treat it with respect."

Zhou Botong blew a raspberry, an eerily mischievous sound in the gloominess of the cave. "You see? You see? Power is nothing but a nuisance! You have to do this, can't go near that, must take care of something else. Those little fools at Quanzhen once asked me to be the next leader - have you ever heard of anything so dreadful?" This was followed by a yelp of pain and ragged breathing as Zhou Botong hurriedly returned to regulating his internal energy.

The image of the boy obediently dwindled away, but the floors did not, and the well-trodden hallways that defined their limits. "It can be exhausting, too. Power, I mean. And such a crowded life these kings must lead."

"Absolutely," Zhou Botong agreed, and her childhood home had never appealed to Xiao Longnu as poignantly it did then.