Xingchen could have him drink poison and he wouldn't question it. Zishu trusts him that much. Xiao Xingchen has earned that trust from the very start of their friendship.

So he pushes his aching body up when the other man comes back with tea, ignoring how every nerve screams in protest. It won't stop him any more now than when the nails had been in him, or when the spikes had been impaled through him. But he doesn't need to fight like this right now.

"I won't die, A-Chen. He's not dead, just not here. So I can't die."

But the promise of a dreamless sleep strengthens the quiet smile he manages for his sweet friend. "You already help."