Chapter Text
The Drowning
Shang Qinghua didn’t inhale very much water. He dry drowned, which is when the body shuts the airway to stop water from entering the lungs. This is why resuscitation was easier. In addition to this, Mobei Jun’s blood kept him alive. As it’s hinted at in the story, Mobei Jun does not need to breathe and does not need oxygen. Therefore, Shang Qinghua was able to survive because there was blood in his system that did not need oxygen in order to continue brain and heart function.
However, Shang Qinghua’s body without the blood was dying, so the blood was attempting to return to Mobei Jun. He was in nature/the earth, so he was able to go to Mobei Jun. However, unlike the last time he was able to see and hear the creatures, he was not in Mobei Jun’s resting place. It’s a special shared place, not fully in the realm humans are in, so Shang Qinghua wasn’t actually present when he could see and hear Mobei Jun. He was essentially traveling within Mobei Jun.
Mobei Jun
The creatures don’t speak like humans do, which is why Shang Qinghua can only understand them when he’s had Mobei Jun’s blood. The reason he can understand Mobei Jun in his original form is because in order to still speak to Shang Qinghua, he secretly shapeshifts a larynx and other human parts so that he can speak like a human.
As mentioned in the story, when any of the creatures experience a strong emotion, the earth responds as if submitting to the creatures. This often manifests in storms, the ground rumbling, the trees moving, et cetera. When Mobei Jun thought Shang Qinghua was going to die and his blood couldn’t heal him, he became so distressed that the he actually created a physical chasm in the earth in the forest near the lake.
From this point on, anytime Mobei Jun is upset, it’s felt more intensely because the fault line responds to him, too. The creatures keep it from causing too much damage, but everyone is careful not to provoke him, even the creatures. They’re afraid of Mobei Jun creating a bigger one, one that would destroy the town.
Shang Qinghua had kept the seeds when he went to the greenhouse, and after the fic, they build their own garden. Mobei Jun would excel. Shang Qinghua knows the basics of gardening, but Mobei Jun is of the earth. Shang Qinghua’s garden flourishes with the help of Mobei Jun. They build a small house around the garden to keep it safe from the other townspeople, and they keep it locked with a padlock. Because they built it together, they are both allowed inside without permission from the other.
When Shang Qinghua was in his subspace toward the end of the story, Mobei Jun is speaking lowly, so low Shang Qinghua’s ears can’t pick it up, but he hears Mobei Jun’s mouth moving. He was saying: “My love, my beloved, my cherished one. Stay near to me. Do not be far away from me. Stay near and then nearer still.”