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Chapter 42 - The Bonding Game

The fire crackled in the brazier, casting dancing shadows across the courtyard walls of Zhang Tian's private residence. This wasn't just any room; it was a spacious chamber open to the crisp night air, offering a panoramic view of the star-dusted sky stretching over jagged mountain peaks. 

It was deep into the night, the kind of hour when secrets softened and walls lowered. A bottle of spiritual wine glowed with faint blue light beside them, its contents already half-consumed.

"We need a game," Jia Wei Xin declared suddenly, swirling her cup with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Zhang Tian raised a brow. "What sort of game? Sparring? I call dibs on hitting the sect leader first."

Liu Mo Fei didn't even look up from his cup. "Try it and you'll spend the night regrowing your limbs."

"No violence," Jia Wei Xin cut in, grinning. "It's called Truth or Dare. A game I learned somewhere... very far from here. You'll love it—or hate it. Either way, you're playing."

The two men stared at her, clearly unfamiliar.

"It's simple," she explained, scooting forward. "We spin an object—usually a bottle, but in this case…" she reached for Zhang Tian's dagger and placed it on the stone floor, "...this will do. Whoever it points to gets asked: truth or dare."

"You ask them 'Truth or Dare?' If they pick truth, they must answer honestly. If they pick dare, they have to do what you say."

Liu Mo Fei smirked. "And if they refuse either?"

"They drink." She raised her cup. "And if your answer is too vague, dodgy, or smugly annoying? We make you drink anyway. And, the person who just completed a dare or took a drink gets to spin the next round. We call that 'Loser Spins.'"

"Sounds devious," Zhang Tian said. "I approve."

"It's chaotic," Liu Mo Fei said. "So also fitting."

They formed a loose triangle around the brazier, the glow of the fire illuminating their faces under the vast expanse of stars. The air was cool and crisp, carrying the scent of pine from the distant peaks. The silence was broken only by the crackle of the fire and the occasional distant call of a night bird.

The first few rounds were light-hearted: Liu Mo Fei dared Jia Wei Xin to sing a song of her sect, which she did with surprising grace, her voice carrying through the quiet courtyard.

Jia Wei Xin, in turn, challenged Zhang Tian to confess his most embarrassing childhood memory, a task he met with a stoic silence that seemed to defy the rules.

"Not good enough, Zhang Tian!" Jia Wei Xin declared, tapping the wine jar. "That was more of a stoic declaration than a 'confession.' Drink!"

Zhang Tian frowned, unused to being challenged, but a faint amusement touched his lips as he picked up the cup and took a measured sip of the strong wine. Liu Mo Fei snickered.

Next, Liu Mo Fei's truth was a confession of his most elaborate prank pulled on an elder. Zhang Tian simply grunted, signaling it was acceptable.

As the wine flowed and the sky deepened to an inky black, the questions grew bolder, the dares more revealing. It wasn't long before Zhang Tian and Liu Mo Fei—both masters of strategy in their own right—began to fully grasp the nature of the game. Beneath their polished smirks and offhand remarks, their eyes sharpened. Calculating minds clicked into motion, and a mischievous undertone crept in. The dagger spins grew suspiciously accurate.

Jia Wei Xin, tipsy and laughing too hard to notice at first, missed the growing glint of rivalry behind their playful banter. Because while neither man knew where her heart would eventually land, they were men trained never to lose.

 Zhang Tian flicked his dagger so it spun in a perfect blur. It landed pointing to Jia Wei Xin.

"Truth or dare?" he asked, eyes gleaming.

"Truth," she said, unfazed.

"Between me and Liu Mo Fei," Zhang Tian said, voice deceptively casual, "who's your first pick for husband material?"

Jia Wei Xin looked at both of them with exaggerated seriousness, as if judging the final round of a martial arts tournament. Her gaze flicked from Liu Mo Fei's cool smirk to Zhang Tian's smug grin. She squinted, then leaned slightly to the left, then to the right, swaying just a little.

"Husband material..." she echoed dreamily. "You both have way too many abs for me to think straight."

She paused, sighing dramatically. "One's annoyingly noble, the other's infuriatingly hot-headed. I like both… in completely inconvenient ways." She blinked, as if surprised by her own words, then giggled. "But who cares? Let's drink to this madness!"

She raised her cup triumphantly.

Liu Mo Fei and Zhang Tian exchanged glances—equal parts amused and exasperated—and clinked their cups with hers.

She took a hearty gulp and immediately coughed. "Demon Sect wine is like swallowing flame," she wheezed.

Both men laughed, and the sound of their shared amusement echoed into the night sky, tangled between rivalry and affection.

Jia Wei Xin, having just drunk, now spun the dagger. This time, it landed on Liu Mo Fei.

"Truth or dare?" Jia Wei Xin asked, eyes glinting.

"Truth."

Jia Wei Xin tapped his chin. "Have you ever wanted to abandon your sect?"

A beat. Then: "Yes. Many times. Before I realized staying gave me the power to change it."

Jia Wei Xin watched him carefully, surprised by the vulnerability in his voice. Liu Mo Fei didn't look at her when he said it—but she knew who that change had started with.

Next round: Liu Mo Fei spun the dagger and it pointed at Jia Wei Xin again.

"Dare," she said, bold as ever.

Liu Mo Fei smirked. "Use a pet name for yourself for the rest of the game."

"What?"

"You know. Sweetheart. Bunny. Firecracker." Liu Mo Fei winked. "Or whatever your Sifu calls you when no one's listening."

Jia Wei Xin deadpanned. "I choose… Supreme Commander Hot Buns." Liu Mo Fei nearly choked on his wine, sputtering with laughter. Zhang Tian, usually so composed, threw his head back and roared with laughter, wiping a tear from his eye. "Acceptable," he gasped.

The next spin landed on Zhang Tian again.

"Truth," he said.

Jia Wei Xin's eyes narrowed. "What's your greatest fear?"

He didn't grin this time. "Being forgotten. Or worse... being unneeded."

The quiet that followed wasn't awkward. It was reverent.

Jia Wei Xin blinked, then raised her cup with a crooked smile. "Well, you're needed now. Mostly for comic relief, but still."

Zhang Tian huffed a laugh, and even Liu Mo Fei cracked a smile.

The fire popped. The game continued.

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