Fang Hai didn't know what to say. It was like watching a cat claw at its own haunches, drawing blood because it had been chasing a ghost for too long.
"Li-shidi..." He started, his voice filled with pity. "I don't know how to say this, but..."
"Then don't!" Li Chenyuan slammed his palms down on the table, shooting to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted with fury. "If you don't know how, don't say it! He's probably dead, you should move on! That's what you're trying to say, isn't it?! Isn't it?!"
What could Fang Hai say in response? Nothing at all! That...That really was what he was going to say!
Li Chenyuan's dark phoenix eyes seemed to be brimming with tears for a moment. Holy shit--Fang Hai had really never seen him cry before! But just like that, they were gone. Li Chenyuan let out a high-pitched laugh, running a hand down his face and looking up at the grey sky.
It would rain soon.
"Fang-shixiong...You act like you care, but in you're just like all the others," He croaked, his voice suddenly quiet. "There's only one who supports me."
"Supports you...?" Fang Hai frowned, puzzled. Suddenly, he paled. "You can't mean--that guy? Lei Chenxi?"
"Of course I mean him!" Li Chenyuan laughed coldly, casting Fang Hai a sarcastic glare. "Just because he's the right hand of the Eight Purple Winds, he can't understand me? He lost his second wife a long time ago. What's more, we have contact with the Demon Realm. Qiu-ge is prob--definitely alive! So why is it you want me to stop looking, but someone like him helps me?!"
"You..." Fang Hai couldn't help but feel a little sick. He was feeling too sick to dwell on the fact that Li Chenyuan had basically compared Qiu Yunru to a wife...How shameless could this kid get?! "You can't be serious, Li-shidi. Don't you know what kind of things that man did when Li Guiren was in power? He's...Even if he supports you, he's the worst of the worst! Some even say he was worse than Li Guiren himself!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Li Chenyuan covered his ears, grinding his teeth. He took a few steps back from the table. A drop of rain fell down and nicked his ear. The rain was starting. "It doesn't matter what he's done--just that he can get Qiu-ge back! If all of you will only try to stop me, then it's you who is my enemy!"
"Wait!" Fang Hai stood, reaching out to grab Li Chenyuan's shoulder. He failed; Li Chenyuan wrenched his arm away, expression cold. Feeling a sense of growing dread, Fang Hai tried to speak a little softer. Maybe if he sounded more motherly, he could get Li Chenyuan to open up? "Li-shidi...You're not well. You look tired, and the way you're speaking...It's worrying. Shizun worries that--"
"Don't tell me about Shizun!" Li Chenyuan snarled, eyes flashing. "He wants to stop me as well. How can I trust him, anyways? He loved my father!" His lips twisted with rage. "You tell me that what I'm doing is bad, but you know what my father did. Yet, you want me to listen to a man who only stopped him when it was almost too late!"
Again, what could Fang Hai say? His mouth felt like it was full of sand.
Ever since the incident at Heixi Gorge, the story of Li Guiren and He Yongliang's sworn brothership had become a bit of a scandal, rising up from the ashes of old gossip and lit aflame again. By now, everyone had heard the rumors that He Yongliang, master of the Jade Clouds Sect, had been the close companion on Li Guiren back when they were young. Indeed, it wasn't until Li Guiren's kill count had reached nearly one thousand that He Yongliang had lured him out and killed him!
What a shameful story to come to light! Disciples of the Jade Clouds Sect had been ridiculed and scorned recently by the disciples of other Boahu sects, even as their masters tried to discourage such behavior. Even Fang Hai, who prided himself on being the Head Disciple of his Shizun, found himself struggling not flush in shame in the presence of Head Disciples from other peaks.
However, even with all of this shame, Fang Hai was an incredibly loyal disciple. What's more, he still believed that their Shizun was a good man. Even if he had done some things that were shameful because of friendship--or, ahem, love--he was still incredibly admirable! Hearing their Shizun be insulted by a fellow disciple was just too much.
"How disrespectful can you be? Aren't you ashamed?" He cried out, curling his fists. "How can you speak about our Shizun that way? Don't you know how much he cares about you? Are you that ungrateful?"
"Ungrateful? He can shove his care up his ass and go to hell!" Li Chenyuan snapped. What a crude thing to say--was he twenty years old, or twelve?!
"You--You, shut up!" Fang Hai shouted. "You've always been a poor disciple, disrespecting your master and elders, not appreciating others watching out for you! It's not that Shizun is worried for no reason--there are rumors that Lei Chenxi is helping you train your demonic cultivation. What if he'd manipulating you? What if he's using you? It's not that hard to see!"
"So what if he's using me? So what if he's manipulating me?" Li Chenyuan's voice had risen to a holler now. It was good that there weren't any other customers at the moment; they all surely would have fled in terror by now. "There's no way for me to get the Demon Realm besides becoming stronger. Whether he's using me or not, I'm almost there!"
"What about your control? Don't you remember what happened in Heixi Gorge? What if he's making you stronger, just to use you as a weapon?"
"If he wanted to use me, why would he help me control my abilities? My control is better than ever!" Li Chenyuan cast a cold look at Fang Hai, sneering. "Whatever. It's no use reasoning with you. I'm going to get to the Demon Realm no matter what."
With that, he turned to leave, The silk of his deep purple robes swirled around him. The fabric had been stained with raindrops by now, covered in splotches of darkness.
"Wait!"
Fang Hai felt a sudden terror seize his stomach. He'd been sent here to talk Li Chenyuan out of working with the Eight Clouds Sect. How was it that he'd failed so utterly? If there was any time that he needed to succeed for Shizun, it was now!
However, there was a distinct sinking feeling in his body that told him no matter how hard he tried, there was no use.
"What?" Li Chenyuan snapped.
"What will you do if you get there, and he's...?"
Li Chenyuan didn't turn around. A freezing air seemed to radiate from him, causing Fang Hai's breath to catch.
Without answering, he hopped on his sword and flew away.
Fang Hai stood there for a moment, blinking.
Then he collapsed onto the bench, groaning and holding his head. How was it that, even on exit, this kid managed to be the most disrespectful shidi he'd ever had the displeasure of interacting with?!