( Here Wen Kexing is in the early hours of the morning, carting a wooden crate over one exquisitely draped shoulder. He weaves as he comes, unbalanced, jovially humming away to himself. From the state of his hair and the general smudged air around his eyes he looks like he hasn’t slept yet, that or he’s been deep in his cups for some while.

The box hits the ground with a thud, fat parcels of something spilling from the sides. Wen Kexing turns to the lone vendor setting up shop with an expectant air. )

Is Aetius not here? Tch, he told me to meet him, I’m a busy man you know! ( He kicks the his wares, wobbles further, sighing as he reaches for the coin purse at his waist. ) Well, can you fetch him? I’ll make it worth your while.

( Coins slip from his fingers, spiralling into the street. The person before him watches with wide, eager eyes. Wen Kexing hiccups, weighs the purse in the palm of his hand, dropping himself down so that he can lounge on top of the submission crate, trying to reach the coins with his boot. ) You can have this if you bring him back before I pass out, mm? Hurry now.

( The prospect of money seems to do it, the other man scurrying off as Wen Kexing finds a flask in the inner folds of his robes. He takes a deep gulp and then as if an entirely different person, rises steadily to his feet. The wobble is gone, and with single minded focus he aims a kick to the rusting lock of the submission box, leaning down to throw the whole thing wide open. It’s only after he’s pulled the paper out that he speaks, voice missing the slur from before. )

Can I help you?

( Amidst the carnage Wen Kexing is a blurred shape. He darts through the air towards, his fan shot out in an arc of deadly precision towards the throat of an attacker. The blood splatters across the person it had been intending for its lunch, but Wen Kexing can hardly apologise for that, not when he’s hoisting them up by the elbow and back onto their feet. )

Run, get out of the arena.

( There is a sword on the ground just beyond them, abandoned, or more likely dropped as its owner became a corpse. He picks it up now, testing the weight of it in his hand. It’s not one he’s exactly used to but he seems capable enough when he takes a running leap, burying it into the chest of another monster’s chest.

And then, to his nearest companion. )

Are the bodies getting back up?

If anything appears asking for soup I'm not going to be held responsible for my actions.

( Because it's always creepy abandoned places and he always has a vaguely ridiculous time of it. At least, he tells himself, this one didn't include a statue of his beloved trying to kill him. He can take the ominous lighting and the ever present spectre of a man he doesn’t recognise, they’re hardly harmful. )

“As fast, as nimble”? Judging from the corpses outside, maybe some of their gladiators should have spent more time studying these precepts.

( The light dims to red again, Wen Kexing throwing a wry smile to his companion over his shoulder. ) Ah, our friend is back –.

Ah-Xing. ( The smile on Wen Kexing’s face freezes almost instantly, his whole body going taut and still. He is an animal hearing a crack in the underbrush, every single atom of his body suddenly honed on the sound of shuffling feet just beyond him. ) Ah-Xing, Little Ghost, have you forgotten all that I have taught you?

( Wen Kexing’s hands twitch, empty, the shadowy figure coalescing into the shape of a man, crowned and red-faced, holding a rod in one hand. ) You will learn this lesson again.

Ignore it. ( There is an emptiness to Wen Kexing’s voice this time, the laugh drained out. ) It’s not real, don’t listen to it.

( He still has not looked behind him. )

( There is something to be said about fighting yourself, though even Wen Kexing would find the story he could tell heavy-handed and awkward. The vision of himself lunges, is sidestepped, a hand thrust into the space between his shoulder blades to send the spectre staggering. )

Now I know why Zhou Zishu was so upset with me before! You can’t just grope whoever you like!

( Calling out to the sound of feet he hears approaching just as he shoves his doppleganger bodily into the water. )

You might want to find somewhere else to clean up?

anything goes! find me at discord: sadgaydna or qingya if you want to plot