The young boy Xue Yang was running away from a vendor who he had just stole an apple from. He turned on some alleys, skipped a few canals and bumped into some passerby before finally losing the man.

He tossed the apple up and catching it just to be tossed again. He smiled triumphantly at his success.

As he threw the apple up in the air once more, it didn't land back on his hand. Instead, someone else caught it.

"Give me back my apple!" he commanded the stranger. A young man probably just a few years older than him. Wearing a black robe and holding a black Fuchen in one hand and his apple on the other.

"This is not yours" the young man replied "You stole it"

"That's none of your business!" Xue Yang jumped up to grab the apple from the stranger that's a few inches taller than him. "Give it back!"

"If you can reach it, I'll buy you one more"

With the potential of gaining another apple that can be considered as his dinner for that night, Xue Yang kept on jumping and reaching as the young man tease him.

Suddenly, Xue Yang's feet lifted from the ground high enough for him to be able to finally grab the apple. He wasted no time and just snatched it away from the bully.

"That's not fair" tye young man complained, looking behind Xue Yang "Why did you help him?"

Another young man had just put Xue Yang down after lifting him up. He was wearing a white robe and holding a white Fuchen.

"We shouldn't bully others, Zichen" the white robe young man gently scolded the one he called Zichen.

"Oh alright" Zichen gave in. "Let's go, Xingchen. It will be dinner soon"

The two started walking when Xue Yang grabbed on to Zichen's robe. Making him halt his steps and turned back.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"You said you would buy me another apple if I can get this from you" Xue Yang reminded him of the deal.

"You didn't get it on your own" Zichen reasoned "Xingchen helped you"

Xue Yang's face turned dark with a mixture of dismay and embarrassment. But it all faded when the one called Xingchen grabbed his hand and led him somewhere.

"Hey! Let go of me" Xue Yang tried to break free from Xingchen's grip but the latter was holding him with determination. "Where are you taking me?"

Xingchen didn't answer and just continued walking. Soon, they reached the stall where Xue Yang stole the apple from so he tried once again to escape, thinking that Xingchen will surrender him to the vendor.

"You!" the vendor instantly got angry upon seeing Xue Yang "You little thief!" the vendor was about to him him with a stick when Xingchen shielded Xue Yang with his arm.

"Xingchen!" Zichen exclaimed "Are you alright?"

Both Xue Yang and the vendor were shocked but Xingchen just smiled and handed the vendor two pieces of silver taels.

"One is for the one he got from you in advance" Xingchen said, not wanting to use the term 'stole' "And the other is for this one" he got one more apple before walking away with Xue Yang's wrist still in his hand.

He only lets go of the boy when they were far enough from the vendor.

"Here you go" Xingchen handed him the other apple "As promised"

Xue Yang blinked a couple of times before accepting the fruit.

"Aren't you gonna say thank you?" Zichen scolded him.

"Why should I? This is part of our deal" Xue Yang still watches over his pride.

Xingchen then pulled out something from his sleeve and placed it on Xue Yang's hand.

Xue Yang stared for a moment at the three pieces of tiny candies wrapped in paper before looking back at Xingchen.

"Th . .thanks" he uttered shyly without making any eye contact.

"You're welcome" Xingchen smiled.

They bid him good night and they went their own ways.

The next day, Xue Yang waited on the same spot where he had parted from the two, hoping to see them again. And he didn't get disappointed. The two came back. They would let him accompany them in roaming around and when it's time to part again, Xingchen would always leave him with three pieces of candies.

For the first time, Xue Yang felt happy. He grew fond of the two, especially Xingchen who always gives him candies and treats him nicely.

On day, the two didn't show up in the morning so Xue Yang waited. But to his dismay, night time came again without any trace of them.

From then on, Xue Yang would come and wait on the same spot for a few hours in hopes that maybe they would come back but they never did. So he grew tired of waiting and decided to move on.

He felt betrayed and abandoned. He really thought that he had finally made friends but in the end, they left him as well. Just like his parents.

Xue Yang held an unreasonable grudge for years.

A few years after, when Xue Yang had become a grown up lad, he discovered the yin iron hidden inside the Chang manor. He stole it and cultivated it, causing his present angry manner. The yin iron had made him irritated, mad and disoriented.

When he finally reunited with the two, he only saw them as the people who betrayed him. The people who left him alone. He was more angry at Xingchen as he always gives him an unexplainable feeling in his chest that bothers him all the time. Everytime he would see Xingchen, his heart beats too fast that it makes him mad. He couldn't understand the why he always finds himself wanting to see and be near Xingchen all the time. He had mistaken the feeling as an urge to hurt Xingchen and kill him. For he believes that Xingchen was the one who betrayed him big time.

. . .

Xuanyu sucked in a very deep breath and blowing it out in one go. Wuxian felt a bit dizzy so he stayed still for a few moments.

They had just finished doing the Empathy with Xue Yang and they saw where his anger had started.

"It's all your fault, Daozhang~" Wuxian straight up blamed Xingchen.

"Me?" Xingchen couldn't believe it "What did I do to him?"

"He's in love with you and you left him hanging" Xuanyu was even more straight forward.

"Me!?" Xingchen was on the verge of losing his composure.

"Xiao-xiong, that day that you left with saying goodbye to him, that's when it all started" Xuanyu explained. "Now, because of the yin iron's control on his mind, he had mistaken the longing and his feelings of wanting to be with you as an urge to hurt and control you"

"Looks like, he wasn't good at handling abandonment" Wuxian added.

"That day, we didn't have a choice" Song Lan explained on Xingchen's behalf "Baoshan Sangren summoned us to help on some important matters. It took us a few years to finish the task she gave us"

Xingchen looked at Xue Yang with guilty eyes.

"I'm so sorry" Xingchen uttered as he touched Xue Yang's face. He was still in his mind zone that's why he doesn't react.

"We're gonna meet him inside his mind and help him decide" Wuxian said as he and Xuanyu closed their eyes again.

Soon, weapons appeared Suibian, Chenqing, Huobian, Chipiaoren, Jiangzai and Sangqing floats around them.

. . .

"Xue-xiong!" Xuanyu called out to Xue Yang.

They ended up in an old looking town with torn down houses and empty stalls. There was no sign of anyone there.

"Xue Yang!" Wuxian joined in in calling him. "Xue Chengmei!"

"Where could he be?" Xuanyu asked.

"Should we look inside the houses?" Wuxian asked back.

So they started kicking and forcefully opening the doors of each houses until they finally found the sleeping Xue Yang.

"Seriously?" Xuanyu exclaimed "How can you sleep in a situation like this?" he gave Xue Yang a gentle kicknon his side to wake him up.

"You!" Xue Yang jolted up and pulled out Jiangzai.

"Oh!" Wuxian pulled Xuanyu and they both took two steps back. "We're not your enemies. We're here to help"

"Help? What help? Where am I?"

"We're inside your mind" Xuanyu answered "You need to find yourself so you can finally decide if you would still want to continue using the yin iron or give it up and go back to cultivating with your Jiangzai"

"Why do I need to choose? I can use them both"

Xuanyu and Wuxian looked at each other with questioning eyes.

"Why would you want to use both?" Wuxian stepped forward and looked him straight in the eyes "Do you plan on killing more people?"

"I need Jiangzai to kill Xiao Xingchen and Sangqing to turn him into an obedient puppet" Xue Yang smiled menacingly "The dead ones are better. They are more obedient. I can make him follow me whenever I go and make him do whatever I want"

"So this is your way of courting him, huh?" Wuxian nodded while Xuanyu tried to suppress a laugh.

They were just interrupted when a voice spoke.

"It's time to choose"

They all turned to see another Xue Yang standing a few feet away from them.

Xue Yang walked over to his doppelganger and smirked.

"And if I don't choose?" Xue Yang pushing his luck.

The doppelganger shifted it's gaze on one side where another Xuanyu appeared. He was holding Huobian and Chipiaoren when all the sudden, the sword burst out into flames and disappeared.

The real Xuanyu clenched his fist as he watched his past self.

Then another Wuxian appeared. He looks like he was falling while being devoured by hundreds of dark souls. Suibian dropped on the ground while Chenqing stayed in his hand. Real Wuxian could only smile bitterly as he remembered the past.

"You can't have everything you want" the doppelganger spoke again "There must be choices to be made"

"You're right" Xue Yang took out both Jiangzai and Sangqing. Held onto them tight and without a word, he slammed them to each other "And I choose them both!"

Darks souls came out from everywhere and started entering Xue Yang's body. He dropped down on his knees, trying to endure the unimaginable pain.

"Xue Yang!" Wuxian and Xuanyu run up to him and grabbed him on both arms. They tried to pull them apart but they just got blown away by the dark souls. And because of their interference, some dark souls started entering their bodies as well.

. . .

Song Lan and Xingchen watched as Huobian and Suibian slowly disappeared.

"The choices they made" Song Lan muttered.

Just then, Sangqing and Jiangzai started shaking furiously until both of it exploded and disappeared.

Xingchen kneeled down beside Xue Yang and tried to wake him up.

"A-Yang! Wake up" he tried shaking his shoulders but still, no reaction. "A-Yang!"

After a few moments, Wuxian and Xuanyu had woken up. They stood up immediately and tried everything to wake Xue Yang up, buy none seems to work.

"He needs something very shocking to wake his senses up" Wuxian said "Something he wouldn't believe to actually happen in his life"

"He needs to be separated from the illusions in his mind" Xuanyu added.

They think for a while before Xingchen finally decided on soemthing. He dropped on his knees right in front of Xue Yang and held both sides of his face. He heaved up a deep sigh before diving in to something he knew he would never forget.

Xingchen kissed Xue Yang on his lips. The kiss lasted for a few seconds until Xue Yang's eyes opened wide with genuine shock. He pushed Xingchen away and backed up.

"You!" he felt his face heat up and his heart pounding in his chest "What did you do to me!?"

"Aiyo~ Xue-xiong" Wuxian have had enough of this confusion "You have to understand that you don't really want to kill Xiong-shufu. You actually likes him so much that's why you want to turn him into a puppet. So you two can be together always"

"Impossible! How can I like someone who abandoned me? No. I will kill him!" Xue Yang turned to Xingchen "I will kill you! You will die in my hands!"

Xingchen calmly nodded. He stepped towards Xue Yang and once again, kneeled in front of him. He then grabbed his hand that's holding Jiangzai and placed it next to his throat.

"If that's what will really make you happy" Xingchen closed his eyes and waited for his bitter destiny "Then go ahead. Kill me"

"Xingchen!" Song Lan was about to pull Xingchen away but Xuanyu stopped him.

"Don't worry" Xuanyu whispered to Song Lan.

They just stood there and watched as Xue Yang's trembling hand slowly lowers down as his tears started to stream down his face.

"You . . . you left me" Xue Yang's voice had turned soft.

That hit Xingchen harder than anything. Those three words felt like sharp knives that cuts through his heart.

"I'm sorry" was all he could say "I'm really sorry"

"You finally said it" for the first time, Xue Yang smiled. A genuine smile.

Xingchen grabbed him into a hug and cried with him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry" he repeated those words as if it will bring everything back "I'm sorry, A-Yang. I'm sorry"

Xue Yang gently pushed him amd looked him in the eyes.

"Ca . . can I . ." he swallowed an invisible lump in his throat "Can I . . stay with you?"

Xingchen nodded aggressively and pulled him in a hug once again.

"You can stay. We will always be together from now on" Xingchen had finally gave in to his desires "I will never leave you ever again"

Xue Yang could finally feel the real happiness in his heart.

Song Lan pulled Xuanyu and hugged him as well.

"Hey! Can you be a little less sweet around me? My Lan Zhan is not here" Wuxian complained to them and they all laughed about it.

"Thank you, Wei-xiong" Xue Yang said.

"It's nothing. At least now, everybody is happy"

"Yeah"

"So, I'll go back to Yiling now. Lan Zhan must be waiting for me all night already"

They bid him goodbye and the four of them went back to the small house inside the secluded coffin town called Yi City.