Chapter Text
Ming Li was startled into awareness by pounding on the door. He was still laying on the floor, the room bathed in darkness aside from the glow of city lights. A blanket was laid over him and he pulled it around himself as he sat up. It was cold enough in the room that he could see his breath and condensation began to fog up the glass of the windows.
Ming Li stood, padding over to the door. He looked at the monitor for the door camera and saw the panicked faces of Shen Yuan and Shang Ke.
Wonderful.
“Didn't Laoshi tell us to stay separated?” Ming Li asked when he opened the door.
“You're the one who freaked me out with that phonecall,” Shen Yuan said, shoving his way inside. “Are you alright? What happened?”
“Tian Bingchuan and I fought,” Ming Li stated. “Everything is fine.”
“Getting into a fight is the opposite of fine,” Shen Yuan said. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“You’ve seen me with worse injuries, Yuan-ge,” Ming Li replied, a weak smile on his lips.
“Tian Bingchuan! Get your ass out here!” Shen Yuan yelled.
“Cucumber-bro, what the hell?” Shang Ke whisper-shrieked, tugging on Shen Yuan’s arm. “You’re scrawny as hell, he’ll beat your ass.”
Tian Bingchuan walked into the living room in his nightclothes, a glare on his face. “Why are there guests in the middle of the night?” he asked, letting his expression melt into one that was more amicable. It was so disgustingly fake.
“Look here, asshole,” Shen Yuan said as Shang Ke whined and tried to keep holding him back. “If you lay another finger on–”
“He provoked me, Shen-ge,” Tian Bingchuan replied. “He was looking for a fight and I gave it to him.”
Shen Yuan turned back to Ming Li. “What the hell, Ming-di?” he cried.
“I told you everything was fine,” Ming Li replied. “I overreacted when I called you. I apologize.”
“Er-ge is going to be so pissed when he gets here,” Shen Yuan said.
“You actually called Laoshi?” Tian Bingchuan asked in disbelief.
“Why would you actually call Laoshi?” Ming Li asked. “I am not–”
“I thought you were being murdered you idiot!” Shen Yuan yelled, smacking the back of his head. It made Ming Li wince and rub at the tender spot on his head. “Do you think I wouldn’t take that seriously?!”
Ming Li just stared at him.
“Right…of course,” Shen Yuan sighed. “Ming-di, I don’t want to see you getting hurt, okay? Don’t do stupid or reckless things. I was ready to fight the idiot for you.”
“Shen-ge, you’re so mean,” Tian Bingchuan pouted. “I am Laoshi’s student too. Shouldn’t you call me Tian-di or Bing-di? I’m younger than Ming-xiong too.”
“Pouting isn’t cute on a grown ass man,” Shen Yuan replied, causing Shang Ke to start laughing.
“I thought you were attracted to pathetic,” Shang Ke said. “After all, you seem so interested in Ming—”
Shen Yuan stepped on his foot, making him scream.
“You think I am pathetic?” Ming Li asked.
“You think Shen-ge likes Ming-xiong?” Tian Bingchuan asked at the same time.
“I am a writer,” Shang Ke said, rubbing his foot. “I can see possible ships. I’ve connected the dots–”
“You haven’t connected shit,” Shen Yuan growled.
“I’ve connected them!” Shang Ke put his hand over Shen Yuan’s mouth. “Cucumber-bro likes cute, innocent sheeps that seem pathetic and in need of help. He’s a caregiver deep down in his cold, icy heart–”
The door crashed open, causing Shang Ke to scream and jump towards Shen Yuan. Standing in the doorway was Liu Yufeng with Shen Xiu standing behind him with a look of disgust on his face.
“You’re such a brute,” he said.
“You said to get the door open,” Liu Yufeng replied. “I don’t know how to pick locks. What did you expect me to do?”
“Yuan-di, little rat, what are you doing here?” Shen Xiu hissed. “Didn’t I tell you to stay separated?”
“You thought I wouldn’t come if Ming-di was being murdered?” Shen Yuan asked. “Come on, Er-ge, you know I wouldn’t just sit by–”
“I can take care of myself,” Ming Li said.
“You wouldn’t have called if you could take care of yourself!” Shen Yuan yelled.
“Well, you need to go back to your safehouses,” Shen Xiu stated. “Especially since it seems this…incident was a hoax.”
The newly broken open door slammed shut on its own, the electric lock lighting up as if it was still functional.
“What the hell?” Tian Bingchuan furrowed his brows.
The screens around them lit up, letting out a static noise that grew louder and louder around them. The room was bathed in blue light, the word ‘ERROR’ crawling across the screens in a repetitive chain.
“Shit,” Shen Xiu hissed, crowding them all close together.
[ERROR! First Draft Character has entered the New Draft! Recalling Previous Character Renditions!]
A cold female voice rang out through every electronic device. The static sound grew louder before everything went silent, the screens shutting off and swallowing them if darkness.
“Stay close to one another,” Shen Xiu commanded.
“I thought you wanted us to separate,” Shang Ke hissed.
“I was trying to prevent this,” Shen Xiu growled.
“What is ‘this’?” Shen Yuan asked.
[Beginning Transferring Process…]
The room was suddenly full of light, burning their eyes and blinding them. They suddenly felt weightless as gravity left the room.
[Transfer Complete! Entering Multi-Player Mode!]
Gravity returned and they were falling. Surrounding them was nothing but sky and clouds as they plummeted to the hard earth below. Shang Ke screamed, muted by the force of their fall. He grabbed at Shen Yuan and Ming Li who were closest to him, shutting his eyes in fear.
It took several moments for Shang Ke to realize they had stopped falling and were now on the ground. He opened his eyes, staring up at Shen Yuan’s unimpressed face from where he sat nearly in the man’s lap. Ming Li looked just as disappointed with his bicep hugged tightly to Shang Ke’s chest.
“You’re so loud,” Tian Bingchuan said.
“Where’s Er-ge and Liu-ge?” Shen Yuan asked.
“We must have been separated,” Ming Li replied.
“Where are we?” Tian Bingchuan asked. “What on earth is going on?”
“The demon,” a voice hissed, startling them. Shang Ke looked up at the group of people standing before them.
They looked like they had stepped out of some xianxia C-drama with their elegant robes and long flowing hair. Standing at the head of the group was a tall man in blue-green robes. He was slender with a cold, furious look on his face. And next to him was–
“Er-ge?” Shen Yuan furrowed his brows. The boy looked like Shen Xiu, an exact carbon copy of his face when he was a teen. But that couldn’t possible be Shen Xiu. The boy next to him couldn’t possibly be Liu Yufeng either.
“Oh my god,” Shang Ke said, eyes wide with fear. “We’ve been isekaied!”