Swapped

"Why the sudden interest in my social life, Silver Lantern?" Yaxiu's tone was breezy. "I can't even hit back with the same insult—after all, you don't have any relationships left." After injuring his left shoulder, the functionality of Yaxiu's left hand had noticeably dropped. Yet just as his superior cultivation realm had failed to let him overpower Weise earlier, his injured left arm still didn't cause him to lose ground in the melee; moving it just hurt a bit. "Does hitting back at me accomplish anything?" A soft chuckle slipped from behind the fox mask. "The point is what you yourself think." "If you were trying to sow discord or deliver a psychological shock, you succeeded," Yaxiu said. "I never looked at it the way you described, but thinking it over, you actually make some sense. "You Senluo folk, under the extreme pressure of imminent death, the conditioning of your faiths, and a total lack of entertainment, really do all have the makings of philosophers." Hearing Yaxiu's admission, Weise's breathing grew brisk with eager anticipation, and she could not wait to press her point: "Changing the subject is meaningless. As long as your heart accepts this thought, the seed will take root and sprout. You will soon realize that you don't have any companions at all—" "Oh, but I do." Yaxiu tangled Weise's right hand with his left, reversing his grip on his sword to slash at her throat. "What you said makes sense, but how does that mean they aren't companions?" "You consider such a parasitic relationship companionship? Then a snail and its shell must be companions too." "They see themselves in my eyes," Yaxiu said, staring into the eyes behind the mask, "because I am watching them, too. "Maybe I really am just a vessel for them to project their true selves upon, but am I not looking up to them as well?" Weise gritted her silver teeth. Even though her physical stamina was largely depleted, she forced out another surge of power, abruptly accelerating her offensive and focusing her strikes on Yaxiu's left arm, trying to break him completely. Yet Yaxiu still kept pace with her tempo, saying, "I might yearn for a mundane, peaceful life, but does that mean I don't love thrilling adventures? How could I not? Even when I stayed at home, I'd play those earth-shattering virtual games just for the thrill. "I admire them, Silver Lantern. Igola has a terrible personality and a massive desire for control, but just like me, when faced with a twisted and bizarre order, he loves striking back at the world through a grand, mocking farce. Perhaps the bond between us began with that very spectacle of a prank. "Harvey's interests are far from ordinary. Though I've been corrupted enough by him to almost understand him, no normal person could ever accept him. But I respect his willpower. Misunderstood, unloved, his legacy severed, no matter how grim his circumstances he never complains, and he even tries to drag us into the pit with him... If he died here in Senluo, he would undoubtedly become a grand law. "The same goes for Slay All Crows. As someone loathed by the Void Realm, he accepted his own ordinariness, yet refused to accept the fate of a mortal. Mercury Trojan doesn't dare show his face because of him, you fear his fatal strike, Silver Lantern, and we respect him as a combatant on equal footing... How could I not revere him? "And the sword sorcerer who longs to become a screen maiden, or the Purple Moth trying to overturn a divine miracle... Even if their dreams aren't necessarily noble or righteous, I still look up to them. "Whenever I see people of such steadfast devotion, I feel..." Yaxiu's lips curled upward. "Perhaps I came to this world just to witness their brilliance." "Boring," Weise said coldly. "Perhaps only someone as empty as you could walk alongside people driven by such disparate desires... You are nothing more than strangers thrown together by coincidence, not kindred spirits by any stretch." "How many true kindred spirits are there in this world anyway?" Yaxiu said. "Even dreamers sharing the exact same goal have different wants. You have such strict requirements for companions, Silver Lantern, but to my mind, as long as people can respect and admire each other's dreams, that makes them companions. "Because admiration is the wheel of bonds—it leaves shared tracks along the journey." *Swoosh!* Yaxiu reversed his sword grip and slashed hard across the fox mask, but the mask was surprisingly well made, leaving only a faint scratch. "For instance, Silver Lantern, although I don't agree with your ideas, I admire your determination." Weise's assault suddenly accelerated, but Yaxiu countered move for move. "You bottled everything up inside, hid within the Calamitous Fire Temple, threw your lot in with the Four Pillar Cult, and didn't break away to walk alone until the very last moment. No one understood you, everyone hunted you down, yet your will never wavered; even in the face of setbacks, you never gave up. "Sometimes I even feel like the protagonist of some boring story—no plan, no ideals, nothing at all—yet stubbornly forced to stand in the way of a villain like you, who has grand ambitions, far-reaching plans, and unyielding resolve. "If we could have sat down and talked from the very start," Yaxiu said, "perhaps you wouldn't have had to go this far." At that moment, Weise suddenly remembered the history of an alternate timeline mentioned by the avatar of the Illusion Mirror Dragon. In that timeline, she had not destroyed the Calamitous Fire Temple, Mercury Trojan had not assassinated her, she had not used the Dragon Blood Cultivation System, and she had gained an ally... But that was the tale of another timeline. As time passed, the wound on Yaxiu's left shoulder grew more severe. Blood flowed freely, draining his stamina with alarming speed, while the influence of the blood seed intensified. Weise was exhausted as well, but Yaxiu was reaching his breaking point much faster— *Smack!* Yaxiu was kicked flying across the room, and Weise caught the airborne Sword of Honeyed Words and Belly Dagger. She did not pursue immediately, instead letting out a long, ragged exhale. Sweat soaked her entire body, dripping down to form a small puddle on the ground in the moments she stood still. Yaxiu was equally exhausted. The moment he halted, his flesh and bones ached so terribly he could barely lift a limb; every single cell screamed in protest against the forced overtime. Pushing himself up to sit, he looked at Silver Lantern stepping toward him with sword in hand and said, "You were so fixated on the word 'companion' just now. I thought you were jealous of me." Weise did not answer. Gripping the sword with both hands, she had no intention of showing mercy this time. "But it finally dawned on me," Yaxiu said. "You were actually jealous of what I give to them, weren't you?" In that split second, Weise's hand trembled. Seizing the precise opportunity, Yaxiu grabbed her wrist, wrestled the longsword back, and both rapidly sprang apart to opposite corners of the hall. Unbeknownst to them, the four passages arranged in a cross around the perimeter had quietly opened—perhaps they had been fighting too fiercely to notice. Unlike the passages in the Cicada Dormancy Hall, the passages in the Cicada Nymph Hall were also portals of light, which seemed to teleport them directly somewhere else. Yaxiu and Weise exchanged a distant look across the room. At first, both believed they could take down the other, but now, they only wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Watching Silver Lantern vanish into a light portal, Yaxiu also let out a long breath, turned, and stepped into his own portal. He immediately felt someone beside him and reached out to rest a hand on the person's shoulder. "Support me a second... I'm really exhausted this time..." "Sure thing~" Hearing a sultry, mature voice playing cute, Yaxiu froze, his head turning stiffly. He saw a fox mask. * The instant Weise stepped out of the light portal, she leaned against the back wall, almost completely drained of strength. Pressing a hand against her pounding heart, she took shallow, rapid breaths to disperse the heat from her body. *How could I possibly be jealous of him, let alone... It's just a hormonal imbalance brought on by intense combat... Stop overthinking...* Weise swiftly composed her thoughts, turning her head to ask, "How did things go on your—" The next second, she froze. A ruthless swordsman, twin blades at his waist, was leaning against the passage wall, watching her with cold, indifferent eyes.