74 Don't panic, Shizun

This time around Xi Zirui is disoriented only for a moment before fully regaining his senses.

"Ni Ni!" he shouts, letting her name scratch his throat raw. "What happened? What the fuck happened?"

He can't believe this. Everything was going so well, he was home free, almost a year living in peace with Han Yu, where had he gone wrong?

"Ni Ni is sorry Host, but there was nothing she could do," Ni Ni says, her voice echoing through the white space. "Su Xueyi bite off his own tongue."

For all the effort Xi Zirui went through to ensure Su Xueyi survived, despite everyone who wanted him dead, suicide wasn't an option he considered.

He lets out a mirthless chuckle, he's always one step behind.

He thinks of their sunny little apartment, of lazy mornings in bed, of Little Thunder jumping into their faces to demand they get out of bed to feed him.

Xi Zirui isn't going to have any of that again.