this was the last thing that jiaoqiu would have ever expected.

every xianzhou native, at some point in their life, will eventually be faced with the curse that comes from their extended lifespans; that is, getting afflicted with mara. it’s an inevitable reality that all will have to answer to, as a long-lasting punishment for the selfish actions of their ancestors’ wishes for immortality.

typically, getting stricken with mara is more likely to happen to those around their 800s—some theorise that it must be the brain reaching its limit of amount of memories that it could handle at once. others say that the cause is actually more tied to genetics and the cells that make up the body.

and you—you had been getting the early symptoms of being stricken with the curse of mara.

why hadn’t you told him about this sooner?

why did you only choose to mention it now?

that is what he’s most upset about; although, he remains mindful to school his expression into a stricter one as he takes great care in making specific dishes tailored to helping you heal. not only is jiaoqiu your lover, but he is a healer, for aeons’ sake—and a renowned one, at that. if anything, he should have been the one who you had informed first!

he knows that mara is incurable. he knows that the best he can do is try to slow it down as much as possible, but that won’t mean it’ll stop its progression entirely; which is why jiaoqiu has been all over you lately. regardless of whether or not you had the spice tolerance for the amount of chili he’s dumping into the dishes that he’s been feeding you, he insists that it’s all for your health, for your wellbeing, to make sure that you won’t be turning into a mindless abomination by tomorrow morning—just trust him. please. let him try to cure you.

...he can’t possibly lose you, too. jiaoqiu doesn’t think that he’ll be able to take it.