Chapter Text
“General Hua!”
The voice was muffled, like he was hearing it from the other side of a thick wall.
“Quick, grab him!”
Xie Lian felt two firm hands wrapping around his arm and tugging. Eyes closed, disoriented, he drifted out of consciousness as he was pulled from the water.
Xie Lian came to slowly. Half of his body felt numb, the other half was on fire.
“Pei-ge… Pei-ge, I think he’s waking up.”
Xie Lian tried to stifle his groan.
“Shh, shhh,” the voice said. It was a feminine voice, soft but urgent. A spear of pain shot down his core as his body was shifted, tilting him up slightly. “Pei-ge, quickly!”
“I’m coming,” a boy’s voice replied calmly. No, boy wasn't right, he sounded older, maybe a teenager. There was the sound of steps coming closer.
Xie Lian wanted to open his eyes, but they were so heavy. He winced as he was shifted again. Two firm hands gripped his shoulders and he was positioned against someone’s lap. He heard a rustling of fabric, and then felt a warm body brushing up against his side. A moment later, a bowl was being pressed to his chin.
His throat felt like it had been scraped raw. He started coughing when he tried to swallow the bitter liquid. Coughing made the pain so much worse. Tears streamed from his eyes. There was a sharp pressure under his ribs. His lungs ached.
A hand rubbed at his chest, trying to sooth him. “Shh, General Hua, you’re okay. You’re going to be okay,” the girl said. He could feel eyes on him, even as disoriented as he was. Someone was trying to reassure him? It was a strange feeling.
The bowl was pressed to his lips again. Carefully, using all of his focus, Xie Lian managed to swallow a mouthful. It went down thick and warm, acrid as smoke. It was a blessing when, utterly exhausted, he fell back asleep.
The next time Xie Lian woke up, he remembered what had happened. He opened his eyes.
Banyue was lying fast asleep at his side, curled up in the dirt. She was clutching one of his hands.
He watched her gentle breathing for a moment. There was a worried crease between her eyebrows even in sleep. He looked up and took in their surroundings.
They were sheltered in a small room — hard packed earth floor and cracked walls supporting a thatched roof. The building was a ruin. White sunlight streamed in through an opening in the near wall where an entire chunk had crumbled away. On the far side of the room, the roof had half collapsed, partially blocking the door. An abandoned house? Xie Lian wondered.
He was lying on a thin bamboo mat, half covered by a threadbare sheet. Slowly, he raised his head to get a better look at the other side of the shelter.
He locked eyes with Pei Xiu. The boy was sitting up against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest. He looked alert but exhausted, like someone who was determined to stay awake.
“You’re awake.” He said quietly. Putting his hands on his knees, he moved to get up. “How do you feel?”
“What happened?” Xie Lian croaked out. Talking was agony on his throat.
“Banyue got caught in the middle of a battle. You were out on the front line, trying to save her, but the two battalions overwhelmed you. You got her out, but they attacked you from both sides. They trampled you before you could retreat.” he knelt by Xie Lian’s free side as he spoke and reached for his wrist. “When they came back to collect the wounded, they thought you were dead and threw you in the river. Banyue and I, we….” He paused and swallowed. “We followed you downstream. We wanted to give you funerary rites. Only, you weren’t dead.”
This was by far the most Xie Lian had ever heard Pei Xiu speak at one time. The boy had always been reserved, withholding his words until he had measured out what he was going to say. Even as he spoke now, every sentence was well formed, delivered in an even cadence.
“Where—?”
“About twenty li south of the outpost.”
They had followed his body twenty li down the river. He closed his eyes as he took it in. After a moment, he nodded and opened his eyes. He tried to sit up.
“Don’t—” Pei Xiu started, but Xie Lian was already crumpling to the ground, unable to stay upright. “You’ve broken your shoulder and several ribs. Both of your legs as well.” Pei Xiu explained. “There’s probably more, but–”
Xie Lian grimaced. He breathed in, as deep as he could manage. “You shouldn’t stay, both of you.” He urged after he caught his breath. “It’s too dangerous.”
Pei Xiu frowned at him. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything—
“General Hua?” Banyue mumbled. She sat up, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She wiped a hand over her face and then got a look at Xie Lian properly. “You’re awake!” Her whole body twitched towards him, like she had wanted to dive into his arms before abruptly remembering the circumstances. “How do you feel?” She asked urgently.
“I’m fine, I’m alright,” Xie Lian replied before betraying himself immediately by breaking out into a body-wracking cough.
“Pei-ge, the water,” Banyue ordered, carefully raising Xie Lian to a half-sitting position. When Pei Xiu returned with a flask, she held it to his mouth and helped him drink.
“It’s okay,” Xie Lian tried again, afterwards. “But both of you have to leave. If anyone comes here—”
“We’re not leaving you, General Hua,” Banyue interrupted, voice thick. “We thought you were dead. I’m not going to lose you again.”
“I’m not going to die, Banyue, it’s okay.” He started to reach over to pat her head, before thinking better of the movement. “But really, you have to get away. You’re sitting ducks here, and with my luck—”
“What do you mean, you’re not going to die?” Pei Xiu interrupted, his eyes glinting in the dim light.
They took the news more calmly than Xie Lian had expected.
“You really believe me? Just at my word?” He couldn’t help but ask.
“It makes more sense than the alternative. I don’t think a mortal could have been washed down the river in your condition without immediately drowning.” Banyue replied, scratching her chin.
“It also explains how you can eat what you cook,” Pei Xiu muttered from the other side of the room. He was using a rusty shard of metal to cut at a handful of weeds. With a closer look, Xie Lian realized they were stalks of Shanyue fern. He hadn’t realized they knew how to forage for medicine. Had he taught them that?
“You’re not upset that I lied to you?”
“When did you lie to us?” Banyue countered.
Xie Lian shrugged. He hadn’t lied to them directly, he supposed. Still, as a lie of omission, it felt like a pretty big thing to have concealed for nearly six years. He had been practically raising Banyue as his own child. Shouldn’t she feel deceived that he’d never told her he was a god?
“I’m just relieved you’re still here.” Banyue continued quietly. “I don’t know what I would have done if you’d really died, General Hua.”
Xie Lian swallowed. If things had gone as he’d expected, in her eyes, he might as well have died. As injured as he was, he doubted he would have been able to go back for her. If they hadn’t come after his body, who knows what would have happened to them?
A cough rose up in his throat. He tried to suppress it, but even several days post-battle, he was still extremely weak. Banyue rubbed his arm, already readying the water flask with her other hand.
“So your spiritual energy is locked. Do the cursed shackles do anything else?” Pei Xiu spoke up, still mincing the herbs into a paste.
“Yes.” Xie Lian said after drinking. He gestured towards his ankle. “The second shackle is there to disperse my luck.” He raised a hand to his throat “The first keeps me from aging,” he suppressed another cough, “or dying.”
Pei Xiu frowned while Banyue leaned in closer. Ruoye loosened itself from around his neck, accommodating her curiosity.
She sucked in a breath at what she saw. Even Pei Xiu winced from where he was crouched.
“It doesn’t hurt?” Banyue asked quietly, reaching out ever so gently to touch the edge of the dark burn.
“No,” Xie Lian shook his head. “I forget it’s there most of the time.”
Pei Xiu finished his cutting, looking pensive. Scraping the green poultice into a small chipped bowl, he turned to fetch a kettle.
The village must have been abandoned quickly, Xie Lian thought. Whoever had lived here before had left much behind in the ruins.
He frowned when he saw the small fire they were using to heat water for his medicine. A feeble trail of white smoke curled up towards the hole in the roof. It was only a little fire, probably not even hot enough to boil water, but that didn’t mean it was safe.
The river snaked its way along the border between the two kingdoms. He didn’t know whose territory they were in now, but it probably didn’t even matter. The banks of the river were the most fiercely contested land in the entire region. If Banyue kingdom soldiers found them here, it wouldn’t be good. With his luck….
Xie Lian moved to sit up again, successfully this time.
“General Hua—” Banyue cried.
Clenching his teeth through the pain, Xie Lian shook his head at her. He clutched his stomach with his undamaged arm. It hurt, but he’d hurt worse before.
“I’m serious about it not being safe here. You should probably leave before nightfall.”
“But with your injuries, we can’t move you.” There was a stubborn set to her shoulders.
Xie Lian sighed. It wouldn’t be easy, she was right, but if he couldn’t convince them to leave him behind…. He made eye contact with Pei Xiu. The boy nodded.
“I’ll carry him, Banyue. We can make a stretcher out of what’s here. Or at least something to drag him behind us.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Xie Lian cut in, “It won’t kill me, remember? The most important thing right now is staying hidden.”
Pei Xiu had finished mixing the medicine. He stood up and brought it over to where Xie Lian was now leaning against the wall. “Where will we go?” He asked.
“Away.” Xie Lian didn’t know where they would go. Where was he supposed to take two mortal children? He couldn’t feed himself most of the time, how was he supposed to feed two more? Unlucky as he was, allowing them to stay with him felt less like charity and more like damnation.
Banyue pursed her lips, but Pei Xiu just nodded again. After helping Xie Lian choke down the bitter tonic, he started poking around the hovel, preparing what they would need to leave.
Banyue still looked worried. She pressed a hand to Xie Lian’s forehead, frowning at what she felt.
“I’ll be okay. I promise.” He whispered to her.
She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. After a long sigh, she replied, “Okay, General Hua. If you’re sure.” She got up to help Pei Xiu pack.
~ Seven years later ~
Hua Cheng walked through the crowded marketplace, eyes scanning the crowd, searching. Always searching.
It was a late spring day, warm but not hot. A faint breeze ruffled his hair as he wove in between shoppers. It looked like the whole town was at the market today — bartering, chatting, eating. It was almost as rowdy as Ghost City. Loud enough he didn’t have to hear himself think.
He was moving at such a fast pace, he almost missed it. A glimmer of white in the corner of his eye.
He stopped in his tracks, heart in his throat.
There, browsing a selection of fabrics, stood an elegant figure in white. His hair was half pulled back in a top knot. A wide brimmed straw hat hung at his back. He had a short, slender frame, but he moved like a warrior — graceful, economical motions, with perfect control in all of his limbs. Hua Cheng couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly, but there was something so familiar in that posture, in the tilt of his head.
Helplessly, he took a step forward. His vision narrowed, the background of the market fading away. It couldn’t be….
Then, from somewhere off to the side came a shout. The figure turned his head.
It wasn’t.
A rushing, white noise filled his ears as he watched the woman cultivator grin up at a tall man approaching her. He was carrying something in his arms — a bag of produce, it looked like. Swallowing heavily, Hua Cheng watched as he said something to the woman and she tossed her head back, laughing.
Now that he could see her face, she didn’t look very much like his god at all. The hairstyle was right, but the color was half a shade too dark. And while the slope of her shoulders looked similar from the back, he could see now that she had a slighter frame.
This wasn’t the first time his eye had deceived him in a crowd, but it was never any less devastating. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to turn away.
Taizi Dianxia wasn’t here. He had to keep looking.
“General Hua!” Banyue shouted over the rowdy crowd, waving cheerfully.
Xie Lian spotted her and began to wade over to where she and Pei Xiu stood, still chuckling. When he drew up beside her, to an onlooker, it was almost like seeing double.
“What is it?”
“We have to go see the buskers here,” she grinned, reaching for his hand. “Pei-ge says you could blow them out of the water.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Xie Lian smiled back, letting himself be pulled along. It had been a while since he’d been in a market this crowded. This kingdom was in the midst of a golden age.
“Just wait until you see, General Hua.” Pei Xiu said, normally such a serious boy, but now clearly struggling not to laugh. “They were trying to do Breaking Boulders Across the Chest, but they’re absolutely rubbish at it.”
Banyue sighed when they crested the ridge and caught their first glimpse of sand dunes. The desert stretched out into the distance ahead — a sun-baked wasteland.
It had been almost eight years since they’d left Yong’an kingdom. She couldn’t quite believe they were back.
“Where is the outpost?” She asked Xie Lian. She’d thought they’d at least be close by now. The shape of the rugged mountains in the distance was as familiar to her as the shape of her hands.
Tilting his straw hat against the glare of the sun, white robes blown back by the gusty wind, he surveyed the valley. “It’s probably long since moved. We’d be better off going deeper into Yong’an and finding a city, I think. Then at least, we can find out where the armies are.”
At his side, Pei Xiu nodded. Of all of them, he had changed the most dramatically in the years since they’d left. Dressed in muted tans and browns, he looked like one of the traders that used to wander the desert, back before the war had emptied out all the villages. He was only a few years older than Banyue, barely a teenager when they’d fished General Hua out of the river. Now, he was a man.
“If we follow the ridgeline, we’ll be heading towards the capital,” he said, one hand on his hip, the other shielding his eyes. “I think that’s the best place to start.”
Xie Lian nodded and they set off.
Hiking up her pack, Banyue followed close behind. She pulled up her white hood further over her face, hiding from the sun. With her mixed heritage, she tanned easier than Pei Xiu and Xie Lian did. It had always bothered her. They got enough strange looks as it was, traveling together, the three of them.
When she and Pei Xiu were younger, everyone had assumed that Xie Lian was their father based on the age difference alone. Now, though, as she was edging towards seventeen and Pei Xiu was solidly twenty, with Xie Lian not aging at all, nobody knew what to make of them. None of their features were similar enough to be mistaken for relatives. The stares of strangers in the market made her bristle.
Four hours later, the sun had just dipped below the horizon and the three of them had stopped to make their camp. Xie Lian was kneeling by the firepit, striking at a flint, while Pei Xiu busied himself setting up a tarp for shelter. Banyue started unpacking their rations for the night.
There wasn’t much, she knew, compared to what other people lived off of. Then again, they’d never had much to eat, not even when Xie Lian had still been in the army.
In the first year after they’d left the desert, food had been particularly scarce. It was a long journey from the edges of Banyue kingdom to the next nearest prospering country and both she and Pei Xiu had struggled to make it.
There had been some food to forage in the wilderness, but not much. Xie Lian had needed to teach Banyue and Pei Xiu how to find it first. He knew what to look for, what was edible and what was dangerous, but with his bad luck, all he could ever find himself were bitter grasses and hard-shelled nuts. It had been up to the two of them to collect enough to subsist on.
Things had gotten easier after they’d made it back to civilization. It’d become easier again after her and Pei Xiu’s cultivation had reached the point where they could practice inedia.
As they sat around the fire, eating, Xie Lian turned to Pei Xiu and asked, “Do you know what you’ll do once we make it to the capital?”
Pei Xiu nodded.
Xie Lian smiled weakly and stared into the fire.
“Don’t be surprised if they act callous about the war. Even at a time like this, there will be many in the palace who will have been sheltered from these things. They may look down on you,” he looked over at Pei Xiu as he said it. “Don’t take it to heart. No matter what they say to your face, the army will be too desperate for talent to reject you.”
Pei Xiu nodded again, and Xie Lian sighed, looking back into the flames.
“You and Banyue will stay safe, while I’m gone?” Pei Xiu asked, an undercurrent of nervousness in his voice.
“Of course.” Xie Lian promised.
“You won’t let him get into too much trouble?” Pei Xiu turned to Banyue.
“Of course not,” Banyue agreed, smiling. She couldn’t quite make it reach her eyes.
He nodded again, still frowning.
“I’m sorry, to be bringing you both back here. I know….”
“It’s okay, A-Xiu,” Xie Lian interrupted. “We understand. This is what your heart says you must do.”
Banyue nodded and Pei Xiu let the matter drop.
At the city gates, they parted ways. Xie Lian looked on sadly as Pei Xiu’s form retreated into the bustling crowd.
He knew why they were really here, what Pei Xiu couldn’t bring himself to say out loud.
Even after years of wandering the nations, of seeing new ways of life and new opportunities in far away, peaceful lands. Even after years of learning cultivation from Xie Lian, after growing into the sort of young man who was more than capable of taking care of himself and his family — Pei Xiu had still not set down his original dream.
They had come back to the frontier of the continent’s largest war to give him the chance to ascend.
Xie Lian didn’t know if Banyue was aware of this. After over a decade of bloody conflict, both the Banyue and Yong’an kingdoms were approaching the point of total collapse. News of the senseless violence and waste has spread across the kingdoms. When Pei Xiu had voiced the desire to go back north to try and help things, Banyue had jumped to agree.
They had learned much in their years of wandering the world. They were no longer the same scared children who had pulled him out of the river. They’d lived long enough, grown skilled enough that they had promising futures now.
Years ago, back when he was still a member of the Yong’an army, a local washer woman had told Xie Lian that one of Pei Xiu’s distant ancestors was a martial god. He didn’t remember any gods named Pei, but then again, it had been a long time since he’d paid any attention to the heavenly realm. Even during those chaotic years before his first banishment, he’d never had much time to learn the other officials’ names.
It made sense for a child like Pei Xiu to have nurtured the dream of ascending like his ancestor had. As orphans near the Yong’an border, back then all he and Banyue had to their names were far flung dreams.
What’s more, Pei Xiu had natural talent. Even before Xie Lian had started teaching them how to cultivate, he’d shown uncanny skill. Where he had learned how to harness any amount of spiritual energy at all, Xie Lian couldn’t fathom.
In total, while only a rare handful of people had the aptitude to be able to rise to godhood at all, he was confident that Pei Xiu was one of them. Xie Lian only worried that when that time did come — if it came — that he would be disappointed by what he found up there.
“Where are we going then, General Hua?”
Xie Lian turned to face Banyue, standing at his side. He scratched his chin.
“It’s been a while since I was here last, but if I remember correctly, there’s a good sized bridge near the eastern market. Underneath it, there was a grassy river bank. If things haven’t changed too much, it will be a good place to stay for the night. What do you think?”
“After you,” Banyue said, smiling up at him.
Xie Lian looked back over his shoulder. Pei Xiu had long since disappeared into the crowd. Squaring his shoulders, he arranged his face into a determined smile and led Banyue down the road in the opposite direction.
~ One year later ~
Xie Lian walked quickly down the street, looking behind himself every so often. He couldn’t imagine being followed here, couldn’t imagine being followed at all in this city where nobody knew his name even after a year of living here. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t take any chances. Yong’an was a harsh country made bitter by years of war.
Ducking around a corner, he found himself on the busy thoroughfare that ran right through Yong’an City’s south market. He climbed up the front steps of the largest teahouse in the capital. At this time of day, he knew it was open for business, but its doors were shut tight to keep out the dust and riff raff.
He paused at the threshold, dusting off the front of his robes. Then he swung the door open and stepped inside.
The table he was headed to was towards the back, tucked in a little alcove under the stairs. It had a poor view of the stage, but he hadn’t come here to see the musician — a tired-looking old woman strumming a ruan. It wasn’t until he was almost upon the table that he could see the other chair was occupied.
“A-Zhao.” He smiled, sitting down.
“Hello, Hua-daozhang,” Pei Xiu smiled.
“Xiaoyue says hello. She was rather upset she couldn’t come.”
Yong’an City wasn’t like the other cities they’d lived in. What wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in one of the middle kingdoms could spell out a death sentence here. Changing Banyue’s name was the least of it.
Pei Xiu looked stricken. “Tell her I’m sorry. It’s only that it’s become very dangerous, recently. If we could safely meet, I—”
Xie Lian stopped him with a raised hand. “She knows, A-Zhao. Don’t worry about us. You have enough on your plate, I think.”
Pei Xiu nodded grimly, looking down at his clasped hands.
“Why did you want to meet?”
He looked back up at Xie Lian, lips pursed. Pitching his voice lower, he explained— “They’re setting things in motion sooner than we expected. Next month, the main force will march out of the city gates, headed straight for the border. They’re planning a siege of Banyue Fortress City. It’s a last resort. The generals are demanding success, at any cost.”
It was bad news, no matter how you looked at it.
“What are you planning to do?” Xie Lian asked, folding his hands together.
“I’ve already tried convincing General Tao that it's a bad idea, but of course he won’t listen to me. Reports are Banyue Kingdom is preparing to march on the capital. Yong’an wants to strike first and decisively. There’s a… there’s a little I can do with my battalion. I can’t divert the entire force, not with 2000 men, but if I can figure out how to neutralize the fighting quickly, I think I can minimize the casualties.”
“Hm.” Xie Lian, the once second-ranked martial god in all the heavens, nodded. “Tell me what you are thinking of.”
By the time they left the teahouse, the afternoon sun had sunken low in the sky, but they had a plan.
Banyue hated the plan.
“I don’t know General Hua, I just don’t have a good feeling about this.” She paced back and forth across their small room. “Isn’t this too dangerous? How is Pei-ge going to do all of that in the middle of a chaotic battlefield?”
“Pei Xiu is focused and talented.” He reminded her. “I wouldn’t discount him so quickly. But more than that, this is what he’s been working towards for a long time. We shouldn’t be the ones to stand in his way.”
Banyue let out a long sigh. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists before slumping down onto her sleeping mat. “I know. I know you’re right. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. It feels so much like when you….” Even eight years later, she still couldn’t talk about it.
Xie Lian looked at her sympathetically. “It might feel that way, but you know it's not the same.” He turned his head to look out their little window, from which they could just barely glimpse the soft lantern light of the street. “Pei Xiu is pretty lucky, after all.”
Pei Xiu’s hands were sweaty as he marched at the head of his column into enemy territory. Beside him, leading their own troops, were the commanders of the other battalions. Everyone had been called out today, save for the bare minimum number of soldiers needed to maintain the royal guard.
Marching in time with the collective force of an entire kingdom was like nothing he’d experienced before. The ground shook beneath their feet. Up at the front, he felt like the first stone kicked loose in a landslide.
He took in a deep, unsteady breath. He let it out.
After hours of discussion with General Hua, after months of preparation and years of cultivation training, it had all come down to this. Today, he would either become a god or die trying.
The plan was as follows:
First, Pei Xiu would immobilize the key players of the battle. These were the generals who refused to listen to him and the bull-headed commanders who would otherwise stand in his way. The enemies standing on his own side needed to be neutralized first before he could address the opposing force.
Though the battlefield was large, this part was easier than it sounded. He hadn’t spent his time in the barracks idly. In every battalion, he had positioned men who were loyal to his objective. He had given them the tools to get the job done and taught them the signal upon which to strike.
Perhaps in a fresher army, a less desperate one, he wouldn’t have been able to achieve this result within a year. Perhaps there wouldn’t have been so many soldiers who just wanted to go home and were willing to do anything to get there. It wasn’t worth speculating about. It was precisely because the Yong’an army was this desperate that he was here in the first place.
After knocking the generals out, he would take charge of the force. This was the riskiest part of the plan, the most optimistic part, but Pei Xiu hadn’t risen through the ranks so fast for nothing. Over the past year, he’d become notorious for his ruthless skill and efficiency.
Over and over again, his bigoted commanders had sent him into skirmishes undersupplied, undermanned, expecting him to die. Let the orphan boy do the rotten work. There’s no need to spill noble blood here, not when we have someone disposable.
Over and over again, he sliced through the Banyue ranks. He’d bested men three times his size with decades more experience, captured their generals, and negotiated surrenders the Yong’an king had only ever dreamed of. Those that wouldn’t surrender, he’d cut down.
The result: every man on this field knew his name. They’d tried to kill him quickly and quietly and he’d capitalized on their short-sighted orders to make himself notorious. In a moment of panic and confusion, with the enemy preparing to bear down on them, it shouldn’t be so hard to leverage that recognition into trust.
From here, the real finesse of the plan began. Once again, he would need to cut through the enemy line, but this time that line was a great fortress wall. They would need to complete the siege, force their way into the palace, and take the Banyue king hostage. Pei Xiu had heard the king was a wise man. Today, he would see if that was true — supposing he made it that far. If he was, perhaps they could barter for peace. If not… what was one more death on his conscience — one more death to save the lives of hundreds of thousands?
On its own, this step in the plan was a monumental task. The walls of Banyue Kingdom hadn’t ever been breached, not once in the entire war. Yong’an soldiers hadn’t even glimpsed the inner palace. Pei Xiu’s job was complicated even further by an additional caveat General Hua had imposed.
“Whatever you do to get in, you must limit the destruction and loss of life as much as you can.”
“Of course I don’t want innocent people to die, but this is a siege—”
Xie Lian had cut him off. “This isn’t about non-violence. It isn’t about philosophy or cultivation. The truth of the matter is, if you destroy the Banyue kingdom, Yong’an won’t be able to survive either. These nations are dependent on each other. Even over the course of the war, critical goods have been smuggled back and forth across the border. Otherwise, Banyue wouldn’t have enough grain to feed their troops and Yong’an wouldn’t have enough ore to forge their weapons. This war will end either in both kingdom’s destruction or survival. You must force them to choose survival. Do you understand?”
As the full weight of these words had settled on him, General Hua had sat back and laughed. “It wouldn’t be a heavenly trial if it was easy, would it?”
Pei Xiu hadn’t realized he knew, but of course he did. This was General Hua, after all.
Taking a deep breath, he’d hung his head and said, “Shifu, tell me what I should do.”
Xie Lian had smiled at him sympathetically. Then he’d started talking.
The moment the drums started up, Pei Xiu’s men sprang into action. Almost in unison, half of the military leaders on the field dropped to the ground. They’d each been dosed with an incapacitative poison — enough to knock them out for hours without being fatal.
Their soldiers didn’t know that, of course. Shouts and gasps rang out through the force like ripples through a pond.
Pei Xiu was ready for it. Immediately, he sprang forward, running towards the head of the central column.
“In order!” He shouted, voice boosted with spiritual energy to resound all the way to the back. In spite of their fear, upon hearing the familiar command, the soldiers automatically obeyed. The eyes of ten thousand men focused themselves on him.
Here goes nothing, Pei Xiu thought a little manically. His stomach was swooping like he was standing at the top of a cliff, contemplating jumping off.
He started talking.
Xie Lian watched Pei Xiu mount his siege of Banyue fortress from where he was hidden in the ramparts.
“Strike!” Pei Xiu shouted for the third time, desperation leaking into his voice. The great battle ram swung forward. His reserves of spiritual energy really are deep, Xie Lian thought, not for the first time. How many hours this battle had gone on, and still his voice resonated loud and clear over the noise.
The sun had set and they had yet to break through the fortress gates. Scores of men laid dead on both sides, and still the door gave no sign of opening.
All around him, the battlefield was in chaos. Everywhere, soldiers clashed with the enemy, the sounds of their shouting weaving through the clang of metal on metal and the thudding of the ram. If the Yong’an troops didn’t break through soon, they were going to be massacred.
Xie Lian looked down over the edge of the wall with a worried frown. He’d snuck into the fortress city last night, ahead of the attack. While the walls of Banyue’s capital certainly seemed to be impenetrable for an army, they weren’t so impenetrable for one man. Wearing beggars’ clothes and covering his face to hide his foreign features, he blended right into this city, hit so hard by the war.
“Strike!” Pei Xiu yelled again, urgently.
The plan wasn’t working. Pei Xiu had managed to take control of the Yong'an forces, but they weren’t able to break through the fortress doors. Xie Lian had feared this would be the case.
To interfere in a heavenly trial was extremely risky, there were so many ways it could go wrong. Lend too much help and Pei Xiu wouldn’t be able to earn the requisite number of merits. But then again, if he didn’t help, Pei Xiu might very well die.
Xie Lian thought of Banyue, waiting anxiously in their cramped room for the two of them to come home. He made up his mind.
Swift as a bird, he darted out from his hidden vantage point. He’d scouted it all out yesterday. Though massive in scale, the gates of the fortress weren’t any more complicated than those of any other city. Although they were currently being bolstered from the inside by a troop of soldiers, if Xie Lian could unfasten the heavy bolts holding the structure closed, the ram would break right through, no matter who was on the other side.
Before the fighting had started, Xie Lian had stolen a guard's uniform. Wearing the heavy Banyue armor, nobody questioned him as he ran up to help support the gate against the ram. In the chaos of the night, nobody noticed Ruoye slipping out from his sleeve.
It took fifteen excruciating minutes for an opportunity to appear. Over and over again, the ram pounded against the gate, and over and over again, the Banyue troops held strong, supporting the wood against the blows. Then, there was the sound of an explosion in the distance. For a split second, the Banyue soldiers were all distracted. Ruoye shot forward, wrapped itself around the heavy bolt and tugged.
It was a sudden thing when the metal holding the giant wood bolt came undone, falling to the ground with a crash. It knocked the front line of men down with it. The Banyue soldiers looked at each other in horror. Then came the next blow of the ram.
The gates swung open and, shouting triumphantly, Yong’an soldiers rushed inside. At the front was Pei Xiu.
Xie Lian had already thrown himself around a corner and up a flight of stairs. Ducking back into an alcove, he made sure not to be seen. He’d already done as much as he could. He hoped it was enough. He prayed it wasn’t too much.
Now that they were through the gates, the fighting started in earnest. Whipped into a frenzied panic, wave upon wave of Banyue troops fell upon Pei Xiu’s contingent. Nonetheless, bolstered by their unprecedented accomplishment, the Yong’an soldiers drove forwards, cutting a straight line towards the palace.
Xie Lian craned his head to watch as Pei Xiu took down foe after foe. He looked untouchable. The enemy hardly had time to glance at him before he was striking the final blow. They made it all the way to the first plaza like this, the rest of the Yong’an army streaming in behind them.
When Pei Xiu crossed the threshold into the Banyue marketplace, Xie Lian gasped. It was an ambush, he realized. The Yong’an formation had opened up as they’d gained ground and now Pei Xiu’s back was unprotected.
With a yell, a huge soldier, his elaborate armor marking him a general, swung his sword down. There was no way Pei Xiu could turn around in time to stop him.
“No!” A frantic voice pierced the air.
Out of the shadows burst Banyue, her hands already glowing. She flung herself between Pei Xiu and the enemy general, rushing to form a barrier shield.
She was too late.
Before Pei Xiu had time to turn around, the general’s sword came down, cutting deeply across her body. The bottom of Xie Lian’s stomach dropped out as her tiny frame crumpled.
With an immortal’s hearing, even across the great distance, he could hear Pei Xiu’s quiet, confused gasp, “Banyue?”
Eyes wide, rapidly processing, Pei Xiu lifted his eyes to the enemy general. He raised his sword. The howl that came out of his mouth was inhuman.
Faster than mortal eyes could see, Pei Xiu ran the general through. In the next blink, he was crouched on the ground at Banyue’s side, gathering her up into his arms, cradling her limp body. He shook her a little, trying to get her to wake up. She didn’t stir. Xie Lian could see the growing puddle on the ground beneath them, blood weeping out of her wound.
“No… no, no, no, NO!” Spiritual energy was building up around Pei Xiu’s body. The wind picked up. He started to glow.
With incongruous gentleness, he set her body down.
All around him, the fighting had stilled. Soldiers on both sides looked on, holding their breath. Slowly, Pei Xiu turned towards the enemy. He raised his sword. For a long moment nothing happened. Then, in the distance, lightning struck.
Pei Xiu fell upon the Banyue kingdom soldiers like a typhoon making landfall. Within seconds, a dozen men laid dead on the ground. Eyes burning with incandescent rage, he turned to his own side. Confused, the Yong’an troops looked at each other nervously. They slowly started to back away. In the blink of an eye, Pei Xiu disappeared. He reappeared twenty paces away, a body crumpled on the ground in front of him, his sword wet with blood.
His movements were different now. Before, he’d been unstoppable. Now, he was a nightmare made flesh.
Xie Lian staggered forward, his feet moving against his will. Veins pumping with adrenaline, overcome by his flight or fight response, both impulses equally strong, he collapsed to his knees. He knew what was happening.
The commotion that had settled just a moment before returned in full force. Now, however, it was pure panic on both sides. A calamity. People streamed out of the city, stumbling forwards, climbing over fallen bodies. They were, all of them, too late.
Thunder rumbled overhead. A storm was rolling in. Xie Lian closed his eyes when a bell began to toll.
~ Three months later ~
“Here, here,” a woman pressed incense sticks into Xie Lian’s hands. “Get in that line over there and wait your turn to make an offering. Lord Pei will surely grant your request.”
Somewhat woodenly, Xie Lian nodded and went to do as she said. Not even a full season after his ascension and already Pei Xiu’s temples were springing up en masse across both kingdoms.
Lord Pei, Martial God of the Northwest. His strength was of a caliber that hadn’t been seen for hundreds of years. As violent and powerful as a wildfire, he’d cleansed both kingdoms, they said. No one else could have brought peace.
His rage on the battlefield had already become a legend. As the unexpected desert storm bore down on the soldiers, so did Pei Xiu. It had been a massacre. On both sides, every last man, woman, and child had feared for their life. It was only when the torrential rain had ceased and they’d finally been able to count the bodies that they realized — only the bloodthirsty, those who had wanted the war to continue, had been killed.
Apparently, even a hundred li away, the Yong’an palace hadn’t been spared. Somehow, across all that distance, Pei Xiu had summoned a flood of scorpion snakes. The palace guards had tried to stop them, but there had been too many. They were quickly overwhelmed. When the tired Yong’an soldiers had returned home, they found that their king, the crown prince, and much of the Yong’an nobility had been struck down too.
With the war hawks dead on both sides, the two kingdoms quickly made their peace. Then they started building temples to the new god.
The line to the altar was so long, it stretched down the street. When Xie Lian finally made his way to the front, however, he still didn’t know what to say. Clutching the incense sticks in his hands, he shifted his weight between his feet fretfully, until the person behind him in line shoved him forwards.
“Come on, we don’t have all day,” the man griped.
Swallowing hard, Xie Lian hurriedly lit the incense and stuck it in the sand. He clapped his hands together and bowed his head.
Take care of yourself, he prayed. And, Don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault.
Stumbling out of the temple, he ducked into an adjacent alleyway. Alone again, alone after so many years had passed, he found himself overwhelmed by the crowd. Hurrying around a corner, out of sight of the main street, he stopped to catch his breath. A sudden flash of light made him look up.
“A-Xiu,” Xie Lian breathed, eyes wide. He straightened up, taking in his new godly stature.
Pei Xiu was luminescent. His skin glowed with health. His shoulders were straight and broad, and he stood taller than he had before. He had been remade in the very image of a proud young martial god.
When Xie Lian looked up and met his eyes, however, they were shining with unshed tears.
“Baba,” he choked out, expression crumpling.
Xie Lian held out his arms and folded him into an embrace.
One hundred li away, in the bustling Banyue fortress, a newborn ghost gritted her teeth and took her first steps in her new form.
Notes:
It's been a hot minute since I posted anything even though I've been writing like crazy, so it feels great to get this out. Fingers crossed that this is the start of a wave of me actually getting some of these WIPs out the door!
It took me completely by surprise how much I like writing Pei Xiu. He’s such an earnest character and a wonderful foil to all of the clown shit going on in Xie Lian’s life.
Chapter 2
Notes:
Thanks for all of the lovely comments <3 I think we're looking at about 4 chapters in total for this one, but no promises just yet!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Have you, ah. Seen a ghost in these parts recently?” Xie Lian asked, scratching the back of his head.
“Who wants to know?” The elderly woman frowned from her doorway. She had cracked it open part way, he could only see a sliver of her face. Her visible eye was narrowed in suspicion.
“No one, no one!” Xie Lian waved his hands in front of himself, wearing a cheerful smile. “Just a passing cultivator—”
She slammed the door shut in his face.
This was the third time today. What did I say wrong? he wondered, scratching his chin as he walked back towards the main street. It kind of sounded like she had seen a ghost. Normally, in situations like this, people were thrilled to hear a cultivator was on the case.
He had been in Banyue Fortress City for two days now, investigating sightings of a new, allegedly powerful ghost. Really, this was Pei Xiu’s job. As the regional martial god, it was his duty to find and eradicate resentful spirits that were wreaking havoc in the northwest. In fact, he had been about to come and deal with the handful of prayers he’d received himself when they’d caught wind of the ghost’s name.
The White Lady.
Pei Xiu asked Xie Lian to come investigate this matter in his stead.
There was no good reason to suspect the White Lady was who they hoped it was. In all likelihood, that person had passed on already and entered the cycle of reincarnation. It was purely selfish to hope otherwise, Xie Lian reminded himself. Nonetheless….
If Pei Xiu came to investigate this matter, the eyes of heaven would be on him. The palace of Ling Wen would have to record the case for posterity, and any abnormalities — choosing not to kill the ghost, for example — would be flagged for review. They had to act cautiously, just in case.
Luckily, nobody knew about the connection between the new hotshot martial god Pei Xiu and twice-disgraced laughingstock Xianle Taizi Dianxia. As far as they could tell, nobody in heaven even knew where Xie Lian was. Even without spiritual energy, Xie Lian had been a cultivator for centuries; he was more than capable of handling a vengeful ghost on his own. And if the ghost turned out to be Banyue… well. They’d cross that bridge if they came to it.
Anyway, none of that mattered unless Xie Lian could find this ghost first.
“Have you met my descendant?”
“The martial god of the northwest? Not yet,” The civil god smiled widely, excited. “It would be my pleasure.”
Pei Xiu swayed forward when Pei Ming slapped him on the back. He always ended up zoning out during pointless conversations like these. Blinking back into awareness, he tried to school his face into a neutral expression.
“... Greetings.” He said to the enthusiastic official.
“How wonderful to meet you, Lord Pei. Your ascension was most spectacular. Might I say, I was particularly impressed with—” Pei Xiu immediately tuned the exuberant civil god back out.
They were at an “exclusive gathering” of top ranked officials, an annual affair held at Shi Wudu’s palace. In the heavenly realm, exclusive apparently meant several hundred people were invited. They had all been packed into an opulent banquet hall. Dinner was yet to be served and, for the moment, everyone was on their feet, mingling. Overhead, a massive dome of glass panels, held together by gilded struts, shimmered. Pei Xiu glanced up, looking through the glass. A hundred thousand stars sparkled unnaturally bright in the night sky.
“Accurate discernment between good and evil is, of course, the marker of a righteous god, wouldn’t you agree, Lord Pei?” The heavenly official prattled on. When it became clear that Pei Xiu wasn’t going to say anything, Pei Ming laughed, covering up the awkward silence, and made some sort of reply.
Pei Xiu looked down at the pommel of his sword, strapped to his side. Standard issue from the Yong’an barracks, it hadn’t had spiritual cognition until he’d ascended. At the moment, it was vibrating a low, unsettling hum. It was just as unhappy to be here as he was. Almost a full year had passed and Pei Xiu had yet to give it a name.
The civil god was saying something about the literary merit of the songs being sung about his heavenly trial but Pei Xiu couldn’t bring himself to pay attention.
Everyone he’d met here was always going on about how powerful he was, how impressive his ascension had been. Pei Xiu didn’t get it. Sure, it had been hundreds of years since a new cardinal martial god had been appointed, but compared to the other cardinal gods — Pei Ming in the North, Quan Yizhen in the West, Feng Xin and Mu Qing in the South — Pei Xiu’s own power and fame seemed trifling.
The Yong’an and Banyue kingdoms were still in the process of rebuilding after the war. They could only spend so much on new temples. Pei Ming had assured him that the extent of his true power would become apparent in the coming years, that even now, based on martial ability alone, he ranked among the best in the heavenly realm. The belief of his worshipers had already propelled him to the upper echelons — shouldn’t he be satisfied with that?
Pei Xiu wasn’t and even he didn’t quite understand why.
Life in the heavenly realm… it wasn’t what he’d thought it would be. He had assumed that most heavenly officials would act kind of like Xie Lian, with his unruffleable calm, self-deprecating humor, and consistent kindness. Instead, they by and large reminded him of con men. So many of them talked with this aggressive sort of congeniality, a barely masked desperation to stay relevant. Maybe this was just what power does to people, Pei Xiu wondered. But, no, it couldn’t be that simple. He couldn’t imagine Xie Lian acting like that, not even hundreds of years ago when he’d first ascended.
The emphasis placed on the mercurial, ever shifting rankings was exhausting. What did it matter that some no-name middle court official had climbed a few positions this week? By next week, he would almost surely be back down where he’d started. Hadn’t these gods been alive for hundreds of years? How were they not tired of playing these silly games?
In heaven, he’d learnt, real power didn’t depend much at all on your ability. Rather, it was your luck that mattered — that, and your reputation. That the heavenly court was rife with nepotism hadn’t come as a surprise. That he was benefiting from said nepotism had.
As a mortal, his status as a no-name orphan had shaped the entire course of his life. To suddenly be the inheriting heir of an influential (if notorious) family lineage was mind-boggling. Whenever he walked into a room, everyone turned to greet him. Strangers knew who he was before he introduced himself, and it wasn’t just because he’d changed the course of history in the mortal realm. He’d spent the better part of the last year trying to fend off the advances of overly enterprising officials looking to curry favor with Pei Ming.
“ —did you actually know the little girl who sacrificed herself for you during the siege, or was that detail of the legend invented?” The civil god asked.
A high-pitched buzzing resonated in his ears, quickly becoming deafening. The glass dome above their heads shattered.
There was a beat of shocked silence, then a clamor as the martial gods in attendance moved to form a barrier to protect the other attendees from the falling glass. When it was all over, silence descended again.
The horrible civil god was staring at Pei Xiu with his mouth hanging open. So was everyone else, he slowly realized. He glanced down. His fists, still tightly clenched, were glowing gold. So the roof was his fault, then.
“That was a bit rude, if you ask me,” Pei Ming said coldly to the civil god, his voice pitched to carry across the hall. Slowly, the sound of a hundred whispered conversations started back up. Flushing deep red, the nuisance civil god scurried away. Pei Ming turned to look at Pei Xiu. To his credit, the only expression on his face was concern.
Pei Xiu’s eyes skittered away, and he ducked his head, his chest still heaving. The gaze of curious gods pressed in on him, an overwhelming weight. Pretty soon, the braver ones were going to start to approach. In the next moment, Pei Ming’s expression transformed into a blinding grin.
“Bear with it a little longer,” he said through his teeth, lips hardly moving at all. Then he clapped Pei Xiu on the shoulder and inclined his head slightly. “Wait another fifteen minutes until their attention is diverted. Then you can leave.”
Pei Xiu was grateful for his great- however many times removed-grandfather, he really was. He was sure he’d be much worse off without him. He probably would have liked him more if he was just a little less good at playing the game, though.
“Oh, is that Shi Wudu over there? I’ll go say hello.” Pei Ming announced loudly. Drawn in by his glowing charisma, the eyes of the room followed him as he left.
“Don’t go burning any bridges, now.” He reminded Pei Xiu in their private communication array. “You may be young and powerful, but it doesn’t pay to piss people off. Now if only Wudu would take that advice….”
Yes, Pei Xiu was grateful for his ancestor. He was still counting down the hours until he could hop back down to the mortal realm.
Pei Xiu was walking down the Yong’an capital’s crowded main avenue when Xie Lian ducked out of an alleyway, pulled up alongside him and matched his stride.
“A-Xiu,” he smiled, eyes curved into crescents. There was something about Xie Lian’s smile that never failed to put Pei Xiu at ease.
“There you are,” He smiled back, more reserved but no less happy. He’d been wandering the streets for hours, looking for him.
Recently, Xie Lian had become rather hard to find. For most of Pei Xiu’s childhood, back when the three of them were wandering the central plains together, he had only ever needed to turn around and there Xie Lian would be. Now, he found himself having trouble picking him out of a crowd. His own dad. Ever since they noticed the problem, Pei Xiu had found it frustrating to no end.
With Pei Xiu constantly hopping back and forth between the mortal and heavenly realms, he could no longer keep track of Xie Lian’s whereabouts. Since Xie Lian was banished, they couldn’t exactly use heaven’s communication array to keep in touch. It meant he didn’t know when Xie Lian got into trouble, and Xie Lian didn’t know when he needed to meet up. They had tried setting up pre-arranged meeting times, but with Xie Lian’s bad luck, those always fell through.
Life had become so much more complicated since his ascension.
“Have you been looking long?” Xie Lian’s mouth twisted down, apologetic. “I was back over there, I discovered this new dump site. You wouldn’t believe some of the things people are throwing away! Take a look at this—”
Pei Xiu ducked his head, smiling, frustration forgotten, as Xie Lian showed off a shiny trinket of indeterminable use he’d just picked up.
“Did you come down because you found another lead?” Xie Lian asked, steering their conversation back on track.
“That’s right.” Pei Xiu nodded, pulling a thin scroll out of his sleeve and handing it over. It was a selection of prayers he’d received over the past few days.
“A string of disappearances? Interesting. We all heard about the leader of the censorate going missing, but I hadn’t realized there were more of them.” As he scanned over the names of the victims, Pei Xiu pulled him out of the way of a cart pusher who wasn’t looking where he was going. Xie Lian had become so used to his kids manhandling him out of harm's way that he didn’t even look up. “Have you figured out what the victims have in common?”
“I’ve done a little investigating so far. I haven’t found any eyewitnesses yet, but according to the dreams of nearby bystanders, there was a heavy localized fog preceding each of the kidnappings.”
Xie Lian glanced up at that. “You think it’s the White Lady?”
Pei Xiu nodded. He led Xie Lian around a corner, maneuvering him towards their favorite dumpling stall.
It had been three years since he’d become a god. Two and a half since they’d first heard the rumors about the White Lady. Somehow, they still hadn’t found her — hadn’t even caught sight of her. The prayers of Pei Xiu’s followers hadn’t stopped coming in. That being said, there had been a change.
“So, what about the rest of the prayers?” Xie Lian asked. In response, Pei Xiu pulled out a much larger scroll. Xie Lian unrolled it, started reading, and immediately raised his eyebrows. “These kidnappings were acts of vengeance then.” He frowned, then added, “Those men are probably already dead.”
“I think she was trying to prevent further harm.”
This was how Pei Xiu knew the White Lady was responsible for those missing men, all of whom, according to the numerous prayers of gratitude he’d received, had apparently been involved in an extensive human trafficking ring. Unlike other vengeful ghosts, the White Lady never went after innocents. They’d seen dozens of cases by now. It was clear that her power was only growing.
If Pei Xiu had started cleaning up the rot at the core of the two kingdoms by ending the war, then it could be argued that the White Lady was finishing the job. Still, by now she’d taken several dozen lives. Ostensibly righteous or not, letting a vengeful ghost continue on like this unchecked was a recipe for disaster. No matter who that ghost might be.
Xie Lian looked on with a fond smile as Pei Xiu bought him dinner. He came back with far more food than two people could reasonably eat.
“You’re looking too thin,” Pei Xiu insisted when Xie Lian raised an eyebrow.
They ate as they walked, strolling down the broad avenues of the now-flourishing Yong’an capital. It was late afternoon and the city was buzzing. The market was crowded with chatting merchants and young families. The relaxed, cheerful atmosphere was catching.
“Are you sure you want to stick around?” Xie Lian asked as the sun dipped lower. “She’s been so active recently, what if we run into her?”
“It’s fine. Heaven hasn’t been watching me so close lately, not since I stopped attending all of those useless social events. Nobody knows I’m here.”
Really, inspiration had struck after he’d met Quan Yizhen. Pei Xiu wouldn’t go so far as to say he was trying to emulate the martial god of the west, but certainly he’d learned a thing or two about how to keep interactions with the other heavenly officials to a minimum. After he’d started challenging everyone who came up to him to a spar, the other heavenly officials started leaving him alone. Becoming a mild social pariah had the added benefit of making it harder for Ling Wen to keep tabs on him.
Being a heavenly official was still a pain in the ass, but with a couple of years under his belt, Pei Xiu was learning how to cope.
“If you’re sure, then.” Xie Lian said, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. They were in the densest part of the city now; Pei Xiu’s nose wrinkled at the smell of urine wafting out of a dark, narrow alley. His upper lip twitched when the scent soured further, taking on a sharper note. He stopped in his tracks.
It took Xie Lian a few steps to notice. He turned around to look at him questioningly.
“Resentful energy. Do you smell it too?”
Xie Lian frowned, taking several exaggerated sniffs. Then his expression turned serious. “Through there.” He gestured towards the alley. The two of them set off.
The air was distinctly colder in the tight, shaded space between tall buildings. The hair on Pei Xiu’s arms stood on end. The end of the alley didn’t open up to another street, but rather branched off into a labyrinth of shadowy pathways.
“This place—?” Pei Xiu thought aloud.
“It was an old housing complex they built over years ago.” Xie Lian explained. “Now it’s… well, you’ll see.”
Neither of them needed to wonder which way to turn. Following the steadily intensifying smell of resentment, they made their way deeper and deeper into the hidden neighborhood complex. It wasn’t completely empty. They passed a handful of hunched figures, their features covered by headscarves or cloaks. Xie Lian didn’t pay them half a glance so Pei Xiu didn’t either. Eventually, the pungent smell of sulfur spiked up and peaked. They found themselves standing outside the front door of an old, rundown manor. Faded red paint peeled off of the weathered wood of the door and the plastered stone walls were pockmarked and crumbling. They paused, locking eyes, both of them unsure if they should go in.
Then, behind the door, came a muffled shout. Above the wall, they saw a flash of white light.
After you, Xie Lian gestured wordlessly.
Taking a deep breath, Pei Xiu kicked down the door. He sucked in a sharp breath, eyes flying wide, when he saw what was on the other side. Next to him, Xie Lian gasped.
Standing in the courtyard facing them, mouth half open like they’d startled her, was Banyue.
She was dressed in the same cultivator’s robes she’d worn when she was alive, but the white fabric was marred by a large, dark red stain down the front. The moment she caught sight of them, she froze in place, a hand rushing up to cover her mouth. Through her fingers, they could see that the bottom half of her face was covered in blood.
With her other hand, she was holding a long, elegant sword up to the neck of a cowering man wearing expensive clothes. A few steps behind her lay the crumbled body of another well-dressed man, his throat ripped out.
“Ah,” Xie Lian said, awkwardly. He made a subtle gesture with his hand, and at once, Ruoye flew out and immobilized Banyue’s target.
Aside from the gore, Banyue looked no different than she had on the day she’d died — the same large round eyes, the same delicate arching nose.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Pei-Xiu collapsed to his knees.
“Pei-ge, Pei-ge, Pei-ge,” Her soft, wonderful voice was chanting. A pair of small, cautious hands cupped his face. He felt fingers on his cheeks, brushing away tears. She seemed to have forgotten that her hands were bloody and were leaving red smears in their wake. “Pei-ge it’s alright, stop crying. It’s alright, it’s really me.” Pei Xiu was having trouble comprehending what was happening.
Banyue threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around his shaking shoulders, but that only made him start crying harder.
“General Hua!” Banyue called over his shoulder, half in askance, half in relief. Pei Xiu felt Xie Lian’s steady warm presence come closer until he was kneeling down. He wrapped Banyue in a hug from the other side. She was so tiny, pressed between them, that his arms wrapped all the way around her and then halfway across Pei Xiu’s back.
Pei Xiu didn’t care that she was a ghost now. He didn’t care about the thick aura of resentment clinging to her, or that she had clearly just killed someone with her bare hands. They could figure all of that out later.
For the first time in a long, long time — maybe ever — Pei Xiu felt like everything was going to be okay.
~ Two hundred years later ~
The ground shook violently beneath him, bells clamoring in the distance. Xie Lian shielded his eyes against the brilliant, white-hot light. Where was he? He waited for the shaking to subside before he tried to look around.
Oh, Xie Lian thought after opening his eyes. Oh no.
A group of heavenly officials had crowded around the crater he’d made. Some were gaping at the unusual scale of the destruction, but others were clearly slack-jawed for another reason: they recognized him. He took a deep breath in, turning his head. Slowly, like a swelling wave, he could hear the whispers starting up. Towards the back, they were already turning into jeers.
Sighing, he rolled his shoulders a few times and began to climb up and out of the rubble. Heaven looked a bit different than he remembered. Rows and rows of unfamiliar, ornately decorated palaces sprawled out as far as the eye could see. His eyes landed on a row of gauche, solid gold roofs. Okay, maybe it's not that different, he thought.
His next thought— where is A-Xiu?
“Taizi Dianxia?” A tall, scholarly woman asked him.
I’ll find him later, he decided, then turned to follow Ling Wen back to her palace.
Banyue found him barely a minute after he’d picked himself off of the ground. Looking around, he realized the clearing they were standing in was one of his own making. The splintered husks of felled trees spread out in a ring around him. In the background, the cicadas, stunned silent by his impact, started up their calls again.
Not his most graceful descent from the heavenly realm, by any measure.
“Are you alright, General Hua?” She asked with wide eyes.
“I’m fine.” Xie Lian replied, dusting off his robes. The sleeve that had gotten caught in the cloud was soaking wet.
Wordlessly, Banyue pulled a drying talisman out of her belt and stuck it to the fabric. The left side of Xie Lian’s body was quickly enveloped in a fog. He flapped his arm until the mist dissipated and the talisman, all used up, unstuck from his robe and fluttered to the ground.
Xie Lian surveyed their surroundings. It looked like they were a few hundred li away from his intended destination. There was nothing for it, he supposed with a sigh. He oriented himself by the position of the afternoon sun and started to walk.
“You don’t have to look after me. This mission isn’t so bad. I should be finished within the week.”
Smiling pleasantly, like he hadn’t said anything at all, Banyue followed him out of the forest. When they reached a rotting log, she supported his elbow, helping him over it.
“Really!” Xie Lian insisted. “I’m not so helpless that you need to supervise me.”
Banyue hummed and continued to dog his steps.
So much for having filial children. He thought to himself, trying not to roll his eyes.
When they got to the trade road, the one that would take them most of the way to the village where the brides were going missing, she came up alongside him and matched his stride. They walked in silence.
“Do you know if A-Xiu is going to join us?” He asked some five li later, his voice resigned.
“He didn’t say. I think heaven is still in an uproar about your ascension, and who knows what’s going on with General Pei Sr.”
“Hmm.”
As it turned out, Pei Xiu was planning on joining them. They had just crossed the border of the village when they found him leaning against a wall of a tea house, dressed in tan desert traveler robes — his usual mortal disguise.
“What took you so long?” He asked, frowning in concern. “I was expecting the two of you days ago.”
“He tripped on the way down,” Banyue replied, shaking her head fondly. “Landed halfway across the country.” She seemed to have chosen her outfit to match Xie Lian’s as closely as possible. She’d even done her hair up in his usual style for the occasion. Standing right next to each other, they looked like martial siblings from the same sect.
Pei Xiu’s brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Xie Lian interrupted him. “Have you had a chance to ask around about the ghost groom?”
Pei Xiu gestured them into the tea house and flagged down the owner. Once they were all situated at a table next to the window, he started talking. “Yes, a little. The last bride to have been taken was the village chief’s daughter. Ever since, the whole town’s been in an uproar. You’ve gotten here just in time, Ba. Tensions have been growing higher. I’m afraid that pretty soon, they’re going to do something drastic.”
Xie Lian nodded thoughtfully. “You’ve worked hard,” he told Pei Xiu.
“Not at all.” He paused, looking out the window for a moment.
It was late afternoon — golden hour — and framed against the light of the setting sun, Pei Xiu looked particularly heroic. Next to him, with her neatly arranged white robes, a horsetail whisk propped against her shoulder, Banyue was as luminescent as the moon. Every so often, Xie Lian found it hard to believe that these were the children he’d barely managed to keep alive in the desert all of those years ago.
“I’m afraid I have worse news,” Pei Xiu continued. “I can’t stay for long. Qi Rong has been spotted in the area.”
“Qi Rong? Are they sure it’s him?” Banyue asked, brows furrowed.
“No one’s laid eyes on him, if that’s what you’re asking, but the incident has all of the hallmarks.”
“How do they know that he’s not the ghost groom?” Banyue scratched her chin. “Stealing brides… I feel like it's not so far outside of his modus operandi.''
“I don’t think so. He’s too greedy. If it had been him this whole time, don’t you think this village would have faced other problems?” Pei Xiu pointed out.
“That’s true…” she frowned.
“Anyways, I’ve been called in to investigate it. Will you be okay looking after General Hua on your own?”
“Of course,” Banyue nodded, crossing her arms.
They both ignored Xie Lian’s half-hearted cry of, “For the last time, I don’t need to be looked after!”
Pei Xiu smiled fondly at her. Then he stood up, nodding to both of them, before disappearing out the door.
Banyue and Xie Lian drank tea for a few moments in silence. It really was a beautiful afternoon, the air cool and fresh. Xie Lian couldn’t help but bask in it a little, this return to normalcy after the hectic last couple of days. Then, all of a sudden, Banyue stiffened at his side.
“Banyue?”
“Something’s happened in Banyue Fortress City.” At Xie Lian’s questioning glance, she added, “I don’t know what. Someone’s tripped one of my wards. I think… I think there’s somebody asking for my help.” She glanced back at Xie Lian, mouth wobbly, eyes conflicted.
Xie Lian smiled down at her, “You should go.”
“I promised Pei-ge—”
“This is more important.” Xie Lian insisted. “A-Xiu will understand.”
Sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she thought it over for a moment. Then she nodded.
“I’ll be right back, General Hua. I’m so sorry. Please be careful.”
Xie Lian actually rolled his eyes this time. “Like I keep telling you, I’ll be fine. I’m a martial god, you know. Three times over now!”
That pulled a smile out of Banyue. “Yes, yes, of course,” she said placatingly, standing up. She reached out and touched his shoulder, as if to reassure herself. He felt a flush of spiritual energy entering his meridians. Xie Lian opened his mouth to protest, but in a blink, she was gone.
These kids, he thought, shaking his head.
Xie Lian finished the pot of tea. When the shopkeeper came back around to offer him a refill, he tried asking about the ghost groom, but the man scurried away, evidently unwilling to talk. He propped his head against his hands and gazed out the window.
A shift in the air made him look up. There, in front of him, a silver butterfly floated across the room. It flew within touching distance, but when Xie Lian stretched out his hand, it flapped away, making for the open window. Xie Lian stood to follow it. As soon as it hit open air, the bright light of the setting sun rendered its translucent wings invisible.
“Taizi Dianxia. Taizi Dianxia?”
The voice was coming from the communication array. Touching his temple, Xie Lian, responded, “Ling Wen?”
“Good news, your highness. There are deputy gods from the middle court coming to your aid. They should be there anytime now.”
“Deputy gods?” Xie Lian tried to ask, but the moment he turned around, he saw what she’d meant. Taking in the angry glares of the … volunteering… heavenly officials, he swallowed.
The kids won’t like this, Xie Lian thought to himself as he stepped up into the bridal sedan, but then again, he didn’t really have a better option. If the villagers were so determined to lure the ghost groom out with a fake bride, he couldn’t exactly let them go alone. At least Feng Xin and Mu Qing would be there as backup.
Or not, he thought twenty minutes later as he sent them off to lure the zombies away. It had been a bit much to hope for, he supposed — of course his luck wasn’t good enough to spare him from fighting this dangerous ghost alone. Still, he smiled under the red veil, at least Ruoye was with him. They would see this job through to the end. And then the forest suddenly went silent.
What’s this? Xie Lian thought, taken by surprise. Had the ghost groom arrived? Based on the information from Ling Wen and the stories the villagers had told, he hadn’t expected him to radiate so much… so much power. Even the nocturnal insects had stopped their chirping.
He registered the sound of footsteps coming nearer. Accompanying them was a faint, delicate chiming. The eerie singing had stopped.
A feeling of anticipation started to build in the pit of his stomach. It was a tingling sensation — the particular, fluttering lightness he might feel right before throwing himself into a fight. Ruoye loosened itself around his wrists, getting ready to pounce.
When a pale, elegant hand slipped through the sedan curtain, he could only blink down at it in surprise. Once again lacking any better options, he took the offered hand and stumbled outside.
Okay, the kids really won’t like this, Xie Lian thought as the mysterious ghost led him down the path like they really were in a bridal procession. And then, aren’t I a little too old for this?
An immortal was never actually too old to marry, Xie Lian supposed. Just look at Pei Ming. That being said, marriage was never something he’d imagined for himself, even before he ascended. He’d made it this far without a spouse just fine. By now, a spouse would be completely unnecessary for most of the things people got out of marriage, anyway. Xie Lian already had two kids, and considering who those kids were, his hands were quite full, thank you very much. There was really no need to add another person into the mix.
The only reason to marry at all would be… well, it would be if he fell in love.
The corner of Xie Lian’s mouth twitched up under the veil. Now wasn’t that a funny thought.
Xie Lian tripped over his own feet, distracted by the golden light pouring down from the clouds. Nan Feng caught him by the shoulder and helped him up as Ruoye tightened its grip around Xuan Ji.
“Don’t worry, it's reinforcements.”
Xie Lian’s eyes widened when Pei Xiu walked out of the temple doors. He looked furious.
“That's General Pei,” Nan Feng explained helpfully.
“Is that right?” Xie Lian said absently, frowning as he tried to figure out what he’d done to upset his son.
“Thank you, Taizi-dianxia,” Pei Xiu announced, coming to a stop several paces away, “Ling Wen informed us that you single-handedly solved this matter for Ming Guang palace.”
Ah.
“I’m grateful to you and Ling Wen for your help,” Xie Lian replied, squinting up at him. Pei Xiu was standing there stiff as a board, his posture military-straight. This was not a good sign.
What? Xie Lian tried to ask covertly through facial expressions. What should I have done differently?
Xuan Ji picked that moment to chime up, “Pei-darling, is that you? You’ve finally come?” She inched forwards, then gasped, “What! Who are you? Where is Pei Ming?”
“General Pei has important affairs to attend to.” Pei Xiu explained coolly.
“That’s General Pei’s descendant, also General Pei. He’s the martial god of the northwest.” Nan Feng added.
“Did Taizi-dianxia suffer any injuries while apprehending the criminal?” Pei Xiu asked Nan Feng glacially.
Xie Lian winced, then pulled out his most blinding street-performer smile. “No, ah. No injuries to report, I was perfectly safe the whole time!” He raised his hands, gesturing to his unscathed body in demonstration.
Pei Xiu did not look impressed. “In that case, Xuan Ji, I’ll ask you to come with me.” He turned in place, gesturing for a couple of middle court officials to grab her. They all watched as he led her away, back to the distance shortening array he had arrived through.
It wasn’t until later, while clearing away the bodies hung up in trees, that Xie Lian figured it out.
“And you! When will you take that wedding dress off?” Fu Yao snapped at Xie Lian.
“Wait, was I wearing this while talking to A-Xi— I mean General Pei?” Xie Lian asked despairingly.
Oh god. So that’s why he was so angry. He knows I used myself as bait.
“He wouldn’t care at all, even if you looked ten times weirder.” Nan Feng replied, unimpressed.
“Is that right?” Xie Lian asked mildly, trying to keep the mortification off of his face.
After the Xuan Ji incident was over, Xie Lian found himself alone again as he made his way back to Puqi village. Sitting on the back of the oxcart after a successful day of scrap collecting, his mind turned to Banyue and the urgent situation she’d left to attend to. He was a little surprised that neither she nor Pei Xiu had popped back over to check on him. He hoped that everything was okay.
Sighing a little, he unfurled the scroll in front of him and started to read.
“Wait, I’m mentioned in this too? … Xianle Taizi has ascended three times. A martial god, plague god, and scrap-collecting god. Alright, then. All three are gods. A martial god and a scrap-collecting god aren’t so different. All gods are equal and so are all living beings."
“Is that right?” A voice came from behind him. Xie Lian whirled around.
A handsome young man sat lounging in the hay, side-eyeing Xie Lian and the scroll he was reading.
“People like to talk about equality. If it’s achieved, will there still be gods?” He asked.
They locked eyes. For a moment, Xie Lian couldn’t breathe. He looked away.
“What you just said also makes sense.” After a pause, “Water Master Shi Wudu is in charge of water and wealth. How could a Water Master also be in charge of wealth?”
“Since tradesmen often ship goods by water, they would pray for safety at the temple of the Water Master. Gradually, the Water Master was also in charge of wealth.”
“This Water Master must be powerful.” Xie Lian commented.
“Hm? He’s a water tyrant.” The young man replied.
“Water tyrant?”
“He would capsize ships that didn’t make him any offerings. Hence the name.”
“So that’s how it is…. You know a lot for someone your age.”
“I have too much time to kill.” The young man replied modestly.
“You know a lot about gods.” Xie Lian started slowly. “Then what about ghosts?”
“Which ghost?”
“Crimson Rain Sought Flower, Hua Cheng.”
The youth’s eyes sparkled. He leaned forward and started weaving an alluring tale.
Notes:
My partner came down with food poisoning last night and I've been playing nurse, so this chapter hasn't gotten as thorough of a proof read as I was hoping for, but that's life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Hopefully I didn't miss any big typos. More Hua Cheng in the next chapter! See you then :)
Chapter 3
Notes:
Happy daylight savings to those of us that observe 😔 In good news, it’s time to get into the Banyue arc: canon divergence edition!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After working together to escape from the zhongyuan ghosts and spending the night in Puqi shrine, the next day, San Lang insisted on helping with repairs. So far, he’d been nothing but polite and enjoyable company, but still, given his… everything… Xie Lian went through the motions of checking his hair and putting up wards on the shrine.
All of the tests came back negative. That meant either San Lang really was a runaway young master like he had claimed, or he ranked among the most powerful ghosts in the world. It was a bit of a concerning thought, considering that Banyue was about as powerful as a ghost could be without achieving the status of ghost king, but her hair still gave her away at close inspection. At this point, Xie Lian didn’t know what was more likely — that he had met a random teenager who knew the story of the crown prince who pleased the gods well enough to paint him, or that he had a ghost king cheerfully repairing his front door.
In the early afternoon, while they were sweeping the shrine’s front porch, one of the women from Puqi village stopped by with a donation of rice.
“Good morning, Daozhang.” Xie Lian gratefully accepted the rice. “My Yu-er is getting married! I’ve come by to invite you to the wedding. If you could bless the bride and groom, I’m sure they will lead a very happy life.” She paused, and then said with a sly smile, “On top of that, weddings are a great place to meet new people. I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t bring a furen with you when you moved here. Perhaps we could find you a good match.” She winked at him.
Xie Lian’s eyes flew wide. Before he could say anything, however, she turned and left, leaving him stuttering in her wake. San Lang was laughing silently at his side.
“It sounds like everything’s been settled, then,” he said with a lopsided grin. “If the aunties have set their sights on matchmaking Gege, then you’re bound to be married off within the year. You’re not already married, are you?”
“Oh dear,” Xie Lian replied, still a little red. Then, “No, I’ve never been married.”
“What is Gege looking for in a spouse?” San Lang was clearly in a teasing mood. It was no use being flustered. Xie Lian’s only option was to play along.
“Oh, not terribly much. I’m not the type to have exacting requirements.”
“You’ve thought about it?” San Lang’s voice was surprised and delighted in equal measure.
“No, not at all.” Xie Lian laughed a little. “I’m just saying whatever comes to mind.”
“Go on, then.” San Lang encouraged, a fox-like grin slowly unfurling on his handsome face.
“They’d have to be kind.” He started thoughtfully. “And they couldn’t be too particular themselves, I lead a pretty simple life and I can’t imagine that changing very much, even after I get married…. Oh! And they’d have to get along with my kids.”
San Lang abruptly started coughing. “Gege has kids?” He choked out.
“I do.” Xie Lian confirmed, pounding him on the back. “They’re adopted, of course. Like I said, I’ve never been married before.”
“I— I didn’t realize.” San Lang replied faintly.
“What about San Lang?” Xie Lian asked, moving the conversation along.
“Me?”
“What is San Lang looking for in a spouse?”
San Lang swallowed and said, “I have a special someone.”
“Oh really?” Xie Lian perked up in interest. “What are they like?”
While San Lang waxed poetic about the girl he was in love with, Xie Lian thought, not for the first time, about how fortunate he was to have his family.
His mind drifted to the excitement in store for whichever young woman was lucky enough to have a suitor as clever and handsome as San Lang. What a bright future she must have ahead of her.
Back when he was still mortal, he’d never wanted something like that for himself. In his eyes, it had never made very much sense. Now, so many centuries later, he better understood the appeal. To get to come home to someone who was waiting for you, to have a partner — an equal you could always rely on. To experience the sort of quiet care Xie Lian had seen between a thousand different couples over the years. To no longer need to be alone.
Xie Lian shook his head, banishing that train of thought. It was foolish to think about something like that for too long, anyway. That ship had sailed for him a long, long time ago. He didn’t need to get married to experience most of those things, anyway — he had Banyue and Pei Xiu, after all. Between the two of them, they looked after him better than probably a thousand suitors could. It was more than enough for Xie Lian, more than he had ever dared to ask for.
“Gege?” San Lang questioned. He must have just asked him something, Xie Lian realized.
“Sorry, San Lang, I got a bit distracted there. What did you just say?”
San Lang had been looking at him with concern, but as soon as he said that, his expression transformed into an easy smile. “It was nothing important. I was just asking if Gege wanted my help fixing the roof.”
Several hours later, Xie Lian was on his hands and knees, scrubbing the floorboards while San Lang was out in the yard, attempting to get the broken fence posts into some semblance of order.
“Gege!” San Lang called from outside. Xie Lian tilted his head to the side, frowning. His voice sounded a bit strained. “One of your kids is here.”
The fact that he had called to Xie Lian rather than simply coming inside was a bad sign. Dropping the scrubbing brush, he rushed out the door.
San Lang and Banyue were standing in the middle of the yard, facing each other.
“Baba,” Banyue looked over, smiling sweetly at him. This was in contrast to the way she was holding her sword level with San Lang’s throat. “Who is this?”
Xie Lian was nearly overcome by the desire to hide his face in his hands. Swallowing down his embarrassment, he held his hands out, placating. “San Lang is my guest. Please stop threatening him.”
San Lang’s face was carefully neutral, his eyes flicking between the two of them. It was the most serious expression Xie Lian had seen on him so far.
“I can see the family resemblance.” He said thoughtfully. The tone of his voice was calm and even, no different than it would have been if they were having this conversation over the dinner table. “She looks just like you.”
Banyue immediately flushed, then scowled.
“I’ve always thought so, too.” Xie Lian agreed, smiling kindly over at him as he walked to Banyue’s side. When she stubbornly made no move to lower the sword, he reached out and disarmed her in a practiced motion, twirling it away from her and tucking it behind his back. “Why don’t we all go inside and get to know each other?”
Banyue let out a huff and stomped into his shrine. Now that there wasn’t a sword pointed in his direction, San Lang shot Xie Lian a beaming grin. “After you, Gege.”
Xie Lian mirrored his expression and walked the handful of steps back inside.
In the shrine, Banyue was already at the stove, preparing a pot of tea. She must have brought the leaves with her or summoned them with a quick spell, because Xie Lian certainly hadn’t had any before she’d arrived.
“That is a Savage level ghost at least.” She said quietly in the archaic Banyue dialect.
“It’s not polite to talk about others in a language they can’t understand,” Xie Lian replied pleasantly.
She shook her head, frustrated, and turned back to the tea just as San Lang walked in.
“Is there a reason you stopped by?” Xie Lian asked her. “I thought you had, um,” he coughed, trying to think of a way to phrase it that wouldn’t immediately reveal that she was a ghost. “I thought you had… business in Banyue Kingdom?” He asked weakly. Banyue Kingdom was more than a thousand li away from Puqi village.
Oh, who am I kidding? He thought, mentally giving up. It wasn’t like San Lang was actually a wandering young master.
“I do.” Banyue replied, “But the situation is a little more complicated than expected. I came back to see if you could come and help.” She paused for a moment, glancing over at San Lang meaningfully. “And also to make sure that you weren’t getting into trouble.”
“I’ve got the time.” Xie Lian assured her, ignoring the second half of her statement. “When do you want to go?”
No sooner had he said that than his communication array activated. “Dianxia,” came Ling Wen’s cool voice.
“Ah, one second,” he told Banyue, putting his fingers to his temple and stepping outside.
“How are you doing in the mortal realm?” The foremost of heaven’s civil gods asked when he entered the communication array.
The atmosphere was chaotic, there seemed to be some sort of event going on. Heavenly officials chattered all around him while golden leaves rained down from the sky. “What’s happening?” He asked.
“The Wind Master is back. He’s giving out merits,” Ling Wen explained. “Do you want to participate?”
“Ah, no, no, I’m not that sort of person.” Xie Lian replied quickly. “Is there a reason you called?”
“Of course. I’ve recently gotten news of an issue that has arisen in Banyue Kingdom. Are you familiar with it?”
“Banyue— yes.” Xie Lian frowned. “But isn’t that area part of General Pei Xiu’s domain?”
Ling Wen nodded. “You’re correct, your highness. Normally the martial god of the northwest would be the one called in to deal with this matter, however, General Ming Guang has requested his descendant’s help in wrapping up the Xuan Ji case, so he is currently unavailable.”
“I see.” Xie Lian replied. He kept his expression even, but internally he frowned. He wondered why heaven was so hell bent on having him step on the toes of the Pei family in particular. Could it be a coincidence? He asked, “What’s the situation?”
“Citizens of the kingdom have been reporting strange, unsettling happenings. It started a week ago — mortals praying about ghosts playing tricks on them and demons visiting their dreams. It was all rather run of the mill issues, so we sent some middle court officials to investigate, but they couldn’t find any tangible evidence of ghost activity. Not until two days ago, when a large mass of resentful energy descended over the city.”
“Oh?”
“In the time since, mortals have started disappearing and a variety of problems have sprung up. There still haven’t been any direct ghost sightings, but the cloud of resentful energy is wreaking havoc on the city.”
“I see.” Xie Lian said again. “Alright, I’ll head over to investigate.”
“Given the danger of the situation and your lack of spiritual energy, I’ll send some assistants to help you.”
“That’s really not—“ Xie Lian started, but Ling Wen had already left the array.
Sighing, Xie Lian removed his hand from his temple and ducked back through the door. Banyue and San Lang were sitting down across from each other at the table, eyes locked in a staring contest. They seemed to be evenly matched.
“What was it?” Banyue asked, looking up when he came in.
“Ling Wen just asked me to investigate a case in Banyue Kingdom.” Xie Lian told her, frowning.
“What? How did she find out? What about Xiu— I mean General Pei?”
“I know. I don’t like it either, but we’ll meet up with him there and work it out together.” He paused, frowning, then added, “And also they’re sending me some middle court officials as assistants.”
Banyue made a face like she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to cry.
Xie Lian turned to San Lang. “I’ll be going out of town for a while.”
“To Banyue Kingdom? Why don’t you bring me along with you?”
“I think that’s a bad idea,” Banyue interjected.
“It’s far away and the place is windy and sandy.” Xie Lian told him. “Why do you want to come?”
“I’ve heard the Banyue palace library is full of rare texts that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.”
“How will you read them? Do you speak the language?” Banyue demanded.
“Enough to get by, I think.” San Lang replied fluently in the Banyue Kingdom dialect.
She glared at him, frustrated.
Before they could continue arguing, there was a firm knock on the shrine’s front door. Xie Lian went to answer it. Nan Feng and Fu Yao glared at him from the front porch.
“You’re going to Banyue Kingdom?” Nan Feng frowned.
“You guys are my assistants? I see… ‘I volunteer.’ Right?” Xie Lian sighed.
“Yes.” They said at the same time. “When do we depart?” Fu Yao added.
They were both dressed for an expedition. Xie Lian looked down at the swords on their belts and light armor strapped to their chests with a raised eyebrow. Where, exactly, do they think they’re going? He wondered, bemused. It wouldn’t have been a bad idea if they were investigating a case in some kingdom in the central plains, but they were going to stick out like sore thumbs in the northern desert.
“Right now.” Xie Lian smiled.
“What’s the rush?” Fu Yao asked.
“I’ll draw a teleportation array.” Nan Feng interjected.
“First thing’s first, if there’s anything you can’t handle, just run.” Xie Lian told them.
“Gege.” San Lang called from behind. “Who are they?”
“Who are you?” Fu Yao demanded, pushing past Xie Lian and marching into the shrine. Upon seeing Banyue, he startled and repeated his question, “Who are you?”
Xie Lian hurried in to defuse the situation. “Don’t worry, San Lang, these are my friends.”
“Don’t talk to him.” Fu Yao insisted.
“Why? Do you know him?” Xie Lian asked, confused.
“Not really.”
“Then why are you so agitated?”
Behind him, Banyue caught San Lang’s eye and an unspoken understanding passed between them.
“Baba, are they your servants?” She asked in an innocent voice, standing up from the table and taking a step forward.
“No, ah, to be more specific, they’re more like my assistants.” Xie Lian explained.
“Baba?!” Nan Feng shouted, aghast.
“Really?” San Lang asked, smiling mischievously. “In that case, can you do me a favor?” He grabbed the broom leaning against the wall next to him and tossed it to Fu Yao.
Xie Lian watched helplessly as the two heavenly officials descended into hysterics. When he turned around to shoot San Lang and Banyue a scolding look, they both put on sweet, innocent expressions. For a moment, Banyue’s eyes drifted over to San Lang and the corners of her mouth twitched down. In the blink of an eye she had looked away again, angelic smile firmly back in place.
Xie Lian tilted his head, not sure if he should laugh or start scolding them. A crackling sound behind him sent him whirling back around.
“Stop! Please calm down.” He rushed to say.
Glowing spiritual energy was burning in Fu Yao’s hands. His eyes had turned dark.
“How impressive, bravo.” Banyue clapped sarcastically at the sight.
“Why did she call you baba?” Nan Feng demanded, grabbing his shoulder. “What’s his name? Why are they with you?”
“His name is San Lang, I met him on the road. Since he has nowhere to go, I let him stay with me. As for her, she’s here because she’s my daughter.”
Nan Feng reeled back. For a moment, Xie Lian was worried he was going to fall over. “Your daughter?! Since when have you had a child?”
“For many years now.” Xie Lian replied, holding his hands out in front of him placatingly.
“What about your cultivation vows?” Fu Yao cut in sharply.
“I’m adopted.” Banyue deadpanned.
The heavenly officials seemed to deflate in relief.
“But what about him? How could you let him in? What if he has an ulterior motive?” Fu Yao asked, suddenly remembering San Lang.
“Calm down, calm down.” Xie Lian tried.
“How can I calm down?!” Both of them shouted.
“I have nothing to be taken advantage of!” He quickly insisted. “Even this shrine needs donations for repairs.” Banyue opened her mouth to speak, but he hurriedly cut her off, “All right, all right, that’s enough. Let’s just head to Banyue Kingdom. If you fight here, then I’ll have to rebuild this shrine.”
With a huff, they seemed to accept this.
“Move,” Nan Feng barked at Fu Yao. “I need to draw the formation.”
“How about drawing it on the door?” Xie Lian suggested. Turning to San Lang, he apologized, “It was simply a misunderstanding, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Since you said so, I don’t see how I could mind.” San Lang smiled. There was a mischievous glimmer in his eye. “Maybe I look familiar to them.”
“You do.” Fu Yao agreed. “That’s why I’ve mistaken you for someone I knew.”
“What a coincidence,” San Lang replied, fox-like smile back in place. “You both look familiar to me, too.”
“I don’t see what’s so great about these assistants.” Banyue complained, tucking herself into Xie Lian’s side.
Xie Lian patted her head reflexively. “Just bear with it a little longer.”
“So you live in this slum?” Fu Yao asked, surveying the shrine.
Banyue bristled at his tone. “Ba—!”
“I’ve always lived in places like this.” He replied smoothly.
“Where is the bed?”
“There.” Xie Lian gestured.
Fu Yao and Banyue’s eyes widened at the same time in realization. “You slept with him?!” She gasped, horrified.
“Is there anything wrong with that?” He didn’t really get why she was making such a fuss over this of all things. She and Pei Xiu had shared his bed roll thousands of times over the past two hundred years and he never heard her complaining about it.
Nan Feng interrupted them all from where he was working on the array, “I’m done.”
Fu Yao immediately started criticizing his work. In short order, the two of them were picking on each other, gearing up for another fight.
“Alright, alright. Let’s go.” Xie Lian herded them all through the portal before it could come to blows. Fu Yao and Nan Feng slipped through first. Just as he was pushing Banyue ahead of him, Xie Lian happened to catch San Lang’s eyes. With the heavenly officials gone, he had dropped his trickster grin. His expression now was nothing but sympathetic. They shared a moment of commiseration.
Just in that one glance, he seemed to understand exactly what Xie Lian was thinking. It startled him a little. Even with Banyue and Pei Xiu, who doted on him attentively, he wasn’t used to seeing his feelings reflected back so perfectly in someone else’s eyes. Xie Lian wondered, not for the first time, just how old San Lang really was.
They came out of a door near the edge of Banyue Fortress’ central market. It was early evening, but the stars were already glowing brightly in the northwestern sky.
“Why are they here?” Nan Feng complained when he saw Banyue and San Lang walking alongside Xie Lian.
“Taoist magic is so amazing, I had to see for myself.” San Lang replied insincerely. Banyue merely crossed her arms, looking at Xie Lian’s ‘assistants’ with an impassive glare.
They had only walked halfway down the street when a voice called out. “Dianxia!”
Xie Lian spun around, face lighting up when he saw Pei Xiu sitting at a table, dressed in his tan merchant’s robes. “A-Zhao!” He called, waving. The whole group walked over to meet him.
“General Pei Jr?” Fu Yao glanced over at Xie Lian, surprised by the familiar greeting. “You two know each other?”
“We, er, recently met. You were there.” Xie Lian explained unconvincingly. Except it seemed to convince the heavenly officials, who merely nodded to themselves.
“And you are?” Pei Xiu asked the heavenly officials.
Nan Feng and Fu Yao introduced themselves.
“Forgive me, I recognize you from the Xuan Ji incident, but I never got your names. The middle court is quite big.”
Fu Yao grunted, but strangely, neither of them made a fuss. They all sat down around the table.
Pei Xiu’s eyes had snapped to San Lang, looking him up and down. To Xie Lian’s surprise, after a moment of evaluation, Pei Xiu smiled.
San Lang was the first to introduce himself. “My name is San Lang,” he said with a slight bow.
“Pei Xiu,” Pei Xiu returned, “but perhaps you all should call me Zhao while we are in the city.”
Banyue had taken a seat at Pei Xiu’s side, while Xie Lian sat down on the other side of the table. San Lang swiftly claimed the space next to him, leaving Nan Feng and Fu Yao sitting across from each other on Xie Lian’s other side.
“General Pei, what are you doing here?” Nan Feng questioned.
Pei Xiu arched an eyebrow. “What am I doing investigating a mysterious supernatural disturbance affecting the most populous city in my domain?” His diplomatic poker face never wavered, but his tone was incredulous.
“Er, right.” Nan Feng replied awkwardly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Ling Wen sent me to help you investigate this case.” Xie Lian met Pei Xiu’s eyes meaningfully.
Pei Xiu raised his eyebrows, surprised. He glanced at Banyue’s small frown, then back to Xie Lian. “Is that right?” He said mildly, clearly just as surprised by heaven’s meddling as Xie Lian had been. For the benefit of the others, he added, “Of course, I welcome your insight.”
The market stall they were sitting at sold noodles and a waiter stopped by to take their order. “Consider it my treat,” Pei Xiu told the table with a polite smile.
Nan Feng and Fu Yao didn’t speak the Banyue dialect, so Pei Xiu ordered for them. Banyue chatted with the waiter about the stall’s best dishes for a moment before choosing one, while Xie Lian asked for their simplest bowl of pulled noodles. San Lang smiled and ordered the same.
“How much has Ling Wen told you?” Pei Xiu asked Xie Lian, which of course really meant, how much does Ling Wen know?
“Very little.” He responded. “Something about a large amount of resentful energy? She said that they haven’t been able to verify what they’ve heard.”
Pei Xiu nodded. “It’s understandable, I’ve just started my own investigation and it’s an unusual situation. I’ll cut to the point. It appears that a portal to the ghost realm has opened up in the city.”
“It’s more than just a portal,” Banyue cut in. “It’s a whole network of them, spread across the entire fortress. So far, no ghosts have come through, but the portals themselves are dangerous — several mortals have stumbled into them, and nobody has seen them come out again.”
Xie Lian frowned, “Do you know what caused this?”
Pei Xiu shook his head. “We’ll need to enter one of them to figure that out, and I’ve just gotten here.”
“It’s dangerous to enter the ghost realm alone. We would be glad to accompany you.” Xie Lian proposed.
“Of course.” Pei Xiu agreed easily. Naturally, all of this would have gone unsaid had it not been for the presence of Xie Lian’s ‘assistants’. This was the reason Banyue had come to get him, after all. “The portals only open up at night. Let’s finish our meal and then go.”
Pei Xiu was ostensibly the one who knew where the portals to the ghost realm were, but it was Banyue who led them through the crowded market streets out in the direction of the east fortress wall. Nan Feng and Fu Yao followed closely behind, with Xie Lian and San Lang taking up the rear.
“Pei Xiu is your other child, am I right, Gege?” San Lang asked, speaking under his breath as they wound through the crowded evening bazaar.
“How did you know?” Xie Lian asked, a little surprised that he’d deduced it so quickly.
“It was the way he looked at you.” San Lang explained. “That, coupled with how comfortable he and Banyue are with each other.”
“Clever,” Xie Lian praised, smiling. San Lang preened.
Banyue glided along ahead of the group, her movements as graceful as a flower caught in the breeze. With her white cultivator’s robes fluttering out around her, it only added to the impression. Though the effect was startling, the eyes of the crowd slid right over her as she passed by. It was undoubtedly the result of a spell — a necessary one. Without some sort of disguise, the White Lady would be instantly recognizable to anyone in this city.
It was lucky that Nan Feng and Fu Yao were clearly unfamiliar with the famous ghosts of the north, Xie Lian thought to himself wryly. Whatever disguise magic she was using to hide herself from the mortals, the members of their party were all exempt from it.
In the two centuries since her death, Banyue had become a powerful and notorious ghost. In life, her cultivation had been very strong, and since then, her capability had grown ten-fold. Sometimes, Xie Lian wondered if she would have ascended to godhood, too, had she lived. He shook his head a little, dispelling the thought. Either way, at this point, it wasn’t worth thinking about.
Just like godhood had changed Pei Xiu’s bearing, the Banyue in front of him today wasn’t quite the same girl he had raised. In death she had become… more of herself, somehow. More beautiful, more powerful. More deadly.
She was just as compassionate as she had been in life, but now with the power to tear down cities at her fingertips, she couldn’t stop herself from acting when she was faced with injustice. Her reputation across the two kingdoms was quite different from Pei Xiu’s as a result.
The wealthy nobility feared the White Lady, dreaded the thought of encountering her and hired cultivators to ward their manors… for all the good that did. As many had learned over the years, very little could keep Banyue out when she was intent on getting in.
The lower classes, on the other hand, worshiped the White Lady. Just like Pei Xiu’s temples had sprung up on the wide boulevards of both kingdoms, Banyue had developed a following in the dark, hidden corners of the kingdoms’ underbelly. All over both capitals, in the backs of alleyways and the corners of dark taverns, her small, discreet shrines could be found. It was well known among the poor and destitute that if you were in dire need, offer a prayer to the White Lady and, should she judge you to be in the right, the next night a bloody justice would be served.
More times than they could count, Pei Xiu had been asked to find the White Lady and deal with her. Even the Yong’an king had gotten involved at one point, some fifty years ago. Enraged by the assault of a palace maid, Banyue had killed their lecherous and despotic crown prince, setting off a crisis of succession. The furious king has led the nation in three days of intensive prayer, asking Pei Xiu to capture and hold the White Lady accountable for her actions.
Such a spectacle had naturally captured the attention of the heavens, resulting in a huge headache for the three of them. Xie Lian still didn’t know all the details of how Pei Xiu had managed to sweep that one under the rug.
At any rate, considering his children’s role in shaping the two kingdoms, Xie Lian had spent more than a little time in the northwest over the past two centuries. Even as Banyue led their group through a series of convoluted, winding shortcuts, he had no problem keeping his bearings.
Banyue Fortress City had changed greatly since the time of the war. Ever since the day of Pei Xiu’s ascension, there had been a steady peace, stabilized by his unifying (and occasionally threatening) presence. For generations, the rulers on both sides had been too nervous of incurring a repeat of the events of that day to even think of starting another war. As a result, locked in a perpetual peace, both kingdoms had flourished.
Banyue Fortress City was a dense urban metropolis. Even outside of the city center, tall stone buildings rose up on either side of them and the streets remained narrow and maze-like. Most of the buildings were square and boxy, stacked on top of each other and overlapping in a complicated three-dimensional grid of terraces and mezzanines.
The crowd thinned out a bit as they got further away from the night market, but the streets were far from empty. They passed by errand boys toting their carts and young families out for an evening walk. Washerwomen looked down at them from rooftops as they unpinned their clothing from drying racks. A group as large and mismatched as they were caught a few second glances, but Banyue Fortress City was a trading hub, and its citizens were used to encountering strange-looking travelers.
After about twenty minutes of walking, Xie Lian became aware of an unnatural chill in the air. It was clear they were getting closer to one of the ghost realm portals. About twenty steps after he’d had that thought, the ambient temperature plummeted precipitously. He shivered in surprise, and then started shivering earnestly as his body registered the temperature change.
“It’s here.” Nan Feng muttered, more to himself than anything. His breath puffed out in a billowing white cloud in front of him.
“Oh, do you think?” Fu Yao replied sarcastically.
The two of them came to a stop and started taking a closer look at their surroundings. Aside from the thin layer of ice forming in the divots on the street and the cracks in the plastered walls, it looked more or less like all the other dense residential lanes they’d walked down.
Xie Lian brushed past them, ignoring what they were saying, in order to keep up with Banyue and Pei Xiu. They had continued on down the street without pausing and were just turning into the mouth of an alley. He jogged to catch up, San Lang hot on his heels.
He rounded the corner head first and had to stop short, nearly tripping over his own feet. Just a handful of steps further and the ground fell away, cut open into a deep pit. Stepping closer, Xie Lian leaned forward to peer over the edge.
The diameter of the pit was only a couple of feet across, but it was plenty deep. Sheer walls dropped down precipitously, though the bottom was obscured by a thick mist, making it impossible to tell how deep the chasm really was, or if it even had a floor at all. If the frigid cold emanating from the mouth of the pit hadn’t been enough to give away its otherworldly nature, then the unnatural blue glow of the mist would have done it.
Xie Lian turned to Banyue and Pei Xiu, standing off to the side, and raised his eyebrows. “This just showed up?”
Banyue shrugged and Pei Xiu nodded uncertainty.
Xie Lian’s eyes trailed over to San Lang, who was looking down at the pit with a sharp, critical expression. The moment he felt Xie Lian’s gaze on him, he immediately affected a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head.
“Gege, this doesn’t look like a normal entrance to the ghost realm.” He said, walking over to Xie Lian’s side.
Xie Lian hummed thoughtfully.
“An expert on the ghost realm, are you?” Banyue asked critically, raising an eyebrow.
Pei Xiu’s mouth thinned in a way that suggested he was trying not to laugh.
“Not at all,” San Lang shot her an innocent smile, tucking his arms behind his back. He really did look like a young master when he did that, Xie Lian thought, the corner of his mouth inching up. “I’m just guessing based off of some books I’ve randomly read.”
Banyue rolled her eyes and looked back down into the mist.
Xie Lian nudged a pebble over the edge with his foot. They all cocked their heads, listening for how deep the pit was. A long moment passed in silence and there was still no sound. Not a particularly promising sign.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out what’s down there.” He supposed out loud. “San Lang, you should probably stay back—” he started, looking over to where the youth was standing, but as soon as he turned his head, he discovered that San Lang had taken several steps forwards and was now standing right at the edge of the pit, fearlessly peering down.
“S-San Lang!”
San Lang glanced back, meeting his eyes. “It’s fine.”
“Wait, San Lang, don’t move!” He ordered.
“Don’t worry.” San Lang reassured him, even as he shifted his weight to the balls of his feet.
“No!” Xie Lian half-shouted, taking a step towards him.
“Excuse me for a moment.” San Lang replied calmly, before taking a single step and jumping over the edge, down into the pit.
Ruoye shot out from Xie Lian’s extended hand, diving after him, but it wasn’t fast enough. Heart in his throat, Xie Lian watched as San Lang disappeared beneath the mist.
The moment Ruoye had returned, wrapping itself back around his arm, Xie Lian made to jump in after him, but Pei Xiu’s hand jutted out and caught him by the back of his robes.
“Hold on a moment.” He scolded.
“You were really going to immediately jump in after him?” Banyue asked, mouth agape. Conflicting emotions warred on her face, her eyes wavering between laughter and outrage.
“Ah…” Xie Lian rubbed his arm sheepishly.
“We’ll at least go down together.” Pei Xiu insisted. He held out his arm and Ruoye obediently wrapped around it. Banyue copied him, and in short order, the three of them were tied together.
Pei Xiu met both of their eyes in turn. He gave a nod. Xie Lian took in a deep, shaky breath, adrenaline still rushing through his veins. Without another word, they jumped in at the same time.
After falling for a couple of seconds, a wave of vertigo rushed over Xie Lian. It felt as though the world had flipped upside down.
“Whoa,” Banyue gasped. Xie Lian turned at the sound and strangely found Banyue on the opposite side of him than she had been just a moment before. He jerked his head the other way, looking for Pei Xiu. He was there, exactly as he’d been when they’d jumped, only he was now tied to his right side, not his left. Somehow, the two of them had switched places midair.
Xie Lian opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Ruoye tightened around both his wrists. In the span of a blink, his kids were both at his side, firmly grabbing his forearms and slowing their descent as the ground came up to meet them. They touched down lightly with Xie Lian between them, as smoothly as if they’d practiced the move a dozen times before.
Xie Lian took one look around and frowned in confusion. They were standing at the edge of a pit in an alleyway in Banyue Fortress City, exactly where they’d been moments before.
“How…?” Pei Xiu muttered, looking around in confusion.
Banyue took a step forward, but her arm was caught by Ruoye. Gently, she stroked a hand over the silk, and it obediently unwrapped itself, returning to Xie Lian’s wrist.
“We’re back where we started?” She asked, perplexed.
That did seem to be the case. Looking around, the scene was exactly as it had been before, minus the presence of San Lang, Nan Feng, and Fu Yao.
Or actually, Xie Lian didn’t know whether Nan Feng and Fu Yao had been in the alleyway with them or not. He’d been so distracted by San Lang jumping into the pit, he hadn’t looked back to see if they’d followed him off the street. Either way, there was no time to worry about that just now.
Xie Lian walked out of the alleyway. The street was the same as well — exactly the same, right down to…. His eyes snapped to a narrow wooden staircase leading up to someone’s front door. Hadn’t that staircase been on the other side of the street?
“Everything’s in reverse.” He said out loud, turning in a slow circle, taking in their surroundings.
“It’s like we’re in a mirror.” Pei Xiu agreed, walking up to his side.
“I… I don’t think we’re in the ghost realm.” Banyue said. “Or if we are, this is an isolated region. I’ve only been a few times, but it felt nothing like this.”
“Why don’t we take a look around?” Xie Lian suggested. “I don’t see San Lang anywhere. I hope he hasn’t gotten into any trouble….”
“Why are you so worried about him, anyway? He’s so suspicious, why did you let him follow us here? Where did you even meet him?” Banyue interrogated.
Xie Lian didn’t have a good answer for her. It was a fair question — there was no real reason for Xie Lian to be worried about this random youth he’d met a couple of days ago. Despite outward appearances, it had become quite obvious that San Lang could take care of himself. It didn’t make any sense at all that Xie Lian’s gut reaction on seeing him jump into the pit was to panic. After eight hundred years of mishaps, he normally kept a more level head than this.
Somehow, in the blink of an eye, he’d grown attached. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was about San Lang, but something in his gut was insisting: this person is important.
It didn’t help that San Lang was being so considerate towards him. Xie Lian wasn’t used to it — maybe that’s what it was. The only people who treated him so carefully, who paid such close attention to his emotions, were Pei Xiu and Banyue. If they had been the ones to jump into the pit, Xie Lian wouldn’t have hesitated to go after them either.
That has to be it, Xie Lian thought conclusively. San Lang’s behavior was so close to the way his family treated him that Xie Lian’s instincts had gotten confused.
“San Lang is not suspicious.” He insisted, selectively responding to Banyue’s barrage of questions.
“General Hua, I’ve never met anyone more suspicious in my life.” She sighed, exasperated.
Pei Xiu bit his lip. “She kind of has a point.”
“San Lang has been perfectly nice so far.” Xie Lian chided. “Suspicious or not, it’s still not good to be down here alone. He came here with me, so it’s my responsibility to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”
They walked to the end of the street and turned towards the central market. The streets were empty and everything was eerily silent.
“Wherever we are, I don’t like it.” Banyue frowned. She and Pei Xiu had started to turn down the street that would lead them out to the central market when Xie Lian stopped them.
“Wait.”
He was standing several steps behind them, facing the opposite direction. They turned around, getting a look at what he was looking at. Pei Xiu’s brow furrowed and Banyue tilted her head to the side, like that would make it more comprehensible. They were staring at a side street they definitely hadn’t been down, and yet it looked extremely familiar.
“That’s not supposed to be there.” Banyue said slowly. “That street doesn’t exist.”
She was only half right. In the real city, there was no such street at this intersection, the row of houses simply continued on in a straight line. The street in front of them, however, was very real. It was a perfect replica of the street they had just turned off of.
“Are we going in circles?” Pei Xiu wondered out loud.
“There’s a way to check.” Xie Lian replied. Bending over, he picked up a fist-sized stone lying in the road and walked over to the nearest building. Unceremoniously, he scratched a large X into the wall. “Don’t turn just yet. Let’s keep walking straight for another block or two and see if we arrive back here or not.”
The kids nodded and they set off.
Banyue Fortress City was dense and compact, it only took a minute to reach the next intersection. Somewhat nervously, they craned their heads to the left as they approached, checking to see if the street really was the same as the one they had come down. It was. On their other side, the road leading to the city center stretched out in front of them. The intersection was identical in every way to the one a block back.
When Xie Lian turned to look for the X, however, it wasn’t there.
“This is so strange.” Banyue said, scratching her chin. “Maybe if we go another block?”
They went another block and it was the same. There was no X.
“What if we go back?” Xie Lian suggested. They turned around.
Two blocks later, they arrived at the same intersection they had originally been at, complete with the carved X. They all sighed a little in relief when they saw it. Bizarre as it was, at least the layout of the city wasn’t actively changing around them.
“We can’t know for sure, but it looks like it’s a pattern that repeats indefinitely along this street… but we were able to go somewhere new when we tried to move inwards, towards the city center. It’s like a fractal.” Pei Xiu thought aloud.
“We should keep heading towards the city center then.” Banyue suggested. “But General Hua, why don’t you grab that stone. We should mark the path we take. I don’t want to find out what happens if we take a wrong turn going back.”
They turned down the road towards the central market and pressed on. The city remained eerily quiet along the way, the only sound, their soft footsteps on the stone path. A large half-moon had now risen high in the center of the clear night sky. It cast everything in a bright, silver light.
Just as Xie Lian was finishing carving the fourth X, he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He froze in place.
“Was that—” Banyue said under her breath, softer than a whisper but loud enough for both heavenly officials to pick up.
“Keep your eyes open.” Xie Lian told her, just as quietly.
Several minutes later, they saw another glimpse of movement. This time, they caught a little more — a shadowy figure ducked around a corner as quick as a blink. Xie Lian felt the telltale prickle of eyes on the back of his neck.
“Who do you think they are?” Banyue whispered.
“Ghosts.” Pei Xiu replied under his breath. Of the three of them, he’d always been the best at picking out of the scent of resentful energy. He was standing at ease, his shoulders relaxed as though nothing was bothering him, but his eyes were sharp, scanning their surroundings. He took in a slow, deep breath.
They were only a couple of blocks away from the market now. Pei Xiu nodded slightly and they continued forwards. Half a block later, they heard it.
Xie Lian’s wide eyes met Banyue’s. He glanced over at Pei Xiu, who looked just as alarmed. The three of them picked up the pace.
Clang!
It was the unmistakable sound of a sword fight. Another loud clatter and they broke into a run. They weaved through the empty streets, following the sound. A minute later, they rounded the last corner, spilling out into a market plaza. The source of the noise was immediately apparent.
In front of them, San Lang ducked and weaved, graceful as a dancer, as he fought off a horde of zombies. In his right hand was a vicious-looking scimitar.
The horde was large, and though their flesh was ragged, well into the decay process, the zombies were uncannily quick. San Lang didn’t have time to so much as glance their way, though Xie Lian thought he saw his eyes widen when he caught sight of the three of them in his peripheral vision.
Xie Lian only needed a moment to take in the scene before he was charging into the thick of the fight, Ruoye darting forward, fast as a whip. Banyue and Pei Xiu were right behind him.
“Ba!” Pei Xiu called. When Xie Lian turned to look at him, he had two swords in his hands. “Here.” Pei Xiu tossed one to him. Xie Lian caught it and in the same twisting movement, cut through two zombies coming up behind him.
The sword wasn’t anything special — a decent, but pretty run-of-the-mill blade Xie Lian had come across a couple of years ago. Still, he was happy to have a weapon in his hand in an onslaught like this. He sharpened his focus and tore into the fray.
In addition to being fast, the zombies were armored, clad in dented bronze breastplates and thick leather armor. It was far from full coverage, and it was trivial for an experienced swordsman to cut through the gaps in between the pieces. Given the overwhelming number of them, however, it was just one more thing to work around.
Cutting a determined line, Xie Lian worked his way through the horde until he was fighting back to back with San Lang. To his surprise — well, no, on second thought, not surprising at all — San Lang was more than proficient with his blade. He moved around Xie Lian effortlessly, shifting into a style that complimented Xie Lian’s so well, it was hard to believe that they hadn’t practiced it, that this was actually the first time they’d even seen each other holding a weapon. Xie Lian took the unspoken cue and let his own technique open up, opting for more reckless and brutal moves now that San Lang had his back so well covered.
Even in the middle of a battle, San Lang looked completely unruffled. Xie Lian was starting to wonder what it would take to make him lose his cool.
“Gege decided to come down too, then?” He asked.
“How could I do anything else?” Xie Lian replied.
Pei Xiu and Banyue, meanwhile, were fighting just as fiercely, but from the outside of the circle. Both of them had their spiritual weapons out, and were cutting through the zombies with stunning efficiency.
Between the four of them, they quickly brought the battle to a standstill. The remaining zombies looked about as smart as every other zombie Xie Lian had encountered (which was to say, not very), but perhaps these were more intelligent than the typical grade, because when it was clear they weren’t going to be able to win, they stopped trying to press forward. Scattered corpses lay all over the stone-paved ground.
“Someone must be controlling them.” Pei Xiu asserted, clearly following the same line of thinking as Xie Lian. He was slowly pacing in a large arc around the outside of the horde. A thin ring of zombies stood between them now, maybe two dozen left in total.
“It’s a defensive array controlling them, actually.” San Lang corrected. “They’re protecting something.” He gestured with his scimitar upwards, towards the central column of a large fountain in the middle of the plaza.
“What’s there?” Xie Lian asked.
San Lang shrugged. “I don’t know. It has a strange energy signature, though. The zombies attacked before I could find out.”
For a moment, they all contemplated their options. They were at an impasse. Between the four of them, it wouldn’t be hard to slaughter the last of the zombies, but what then?
“We can’t even leave you alone for fifteen minutes.” An exasperated voice called out.
Everyone’s head whipped to the side just in time to see Fu Yao and Nan Feng walk into the plaza. They came out from a different direction than Xie Lian and the kids had, and they were accompanied by two people Xie Lian had never seen before — two women, both obviously cultivators, one wearing white, the other wearing black.
Before Xie Lian could say anything, the woman in white raised a hand and a gust of wind rose up. Pei Xiu and Banyue took several steps back as the ring of zombies were knocked off their feet, then lifted into the air by the current of wind. She had precise control over the element, however, and with a flex of her hand, she had them swept into a neat pile, off to the side. A glowing circle of energy surrounded the zombies, trapping them in a tight prison. Just as suddenly as it had risen up, the wind died down.
“Greetings, your highness.” The woman waved cheerfully as she walked over. The group convened around Xie Lian and San Lang.
“Hello, Daozhang,” Xie Lian replied with a polite smile. He stashed his sword in a qiankun pouch in his sleeve. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw San Lang sheath his scimitar in a holster at his belt.
“What an adventuring party you have gathered,” the cultivator in white remarked, looking around at the group. “If I had known it was going to be this exciting, I would have hurried over sooner!”
“This is the Wind Master, Shi Qingxuan,” Nan Feng explained. “And next to her is Ming Yi, the Earth Master.”
Xie Lian shared a wide eyed glance with Pei Xiu and Banyue. Even more heavenly officials had arrived?
“Forgive us for intruding, General Pei,” Shi Qingxuan apologized, “But the unusual mass of resentful energy has destabilized a number of buildings in the city, and the engineers have been praying for Ming-xiong’s help nonstop for several days now.”
“There’s no imposition,” Pei Xiu assured her.
“What is this place, anyway? We ran into Nan Feng and Fu Yao in the mortal realm, but when we looked for you, we realized you all had already jumped down here.”
“We, ah, we don’t know.” Xie Lian explained. “Earlier, I thought the pit might have been an entrance to the ghost realm, but as far as we know, there’s not a place like this in the ghost realm—”
“Actually, there is such a place.” San Lang interrupted him.
“Oh?”
They all turned to look at him.
“The Lonely Canyon.”
Banyue’s eyes widened in recognition. “Are you certain?”
San Lang shrugged. “It fits the description, doesn’t it?”
She frowned, looking troubled.
“What is the Lonely Canyon?” Xie Lian asked.
“It’s a remote place, even by the standards of the ghost realm,” San Lang explained. “Not much is known about it, save for that it’s located in a deep fissure in the earth, and that it has a unique and powerful aura of resentful energy. As far as anyone knows, nobody that’s entered the canyon has ever come out again.” He said all of this very calmly as a matter of fact, not even a hint of anxiety in voice despite the grave meaning of his words.
“I see,” Xie Lian nodded. That description did seem to align with what they had seen so far.
“But how is this place a mirror image of Banyue Fortress City, then?” Pei Xiu asked.
“Perhaps the canyon takes on the form of wherever it opens a portal.” San Lang suggested. “Such a thing has been known to happen.”
It was true. Xie Lian thought, nodding. There were several well-known transient dimensions that could change their form based on where they were located.
“That makes sense.” Banyue agreed, a hand pressed to her chin, “But that doesn’t explain why it appeared in Banyue Kingdom, and why now.” She glanced over at Xie Lian, a nervous slant to her mouth.
Looking around, it was clear that no one had an answer to that.
“We can only continue the investigation.” Pei Xiu concluded. “Why don’t we start with what the zombies were protecting.”
The group made their way over to the large fountain at the center of the plaza. Banyue leapt up and landed lightly on top of the fountain’s central column. She crouched down and started fiddling with something that wasn’t visible from the ground.
Xie Lian walked up to the edge of the basin of still water, absently looking around.
Pei Xiu was standing a few paces to his right, monitoring what Banyue was doing, ready to lend a hand if needed. The other heavenly officials were standing a short distance away. Shi Qingxuan’s fan was unfolded and covering the bottom half of her face. She was leaning towards Ming Yi, whispering something in her ear. Nan Feng and Fu Yao, too, were talking together, locked in some sort of whispered argument, gesturing colorfully with their hands.
“Gege.” San Lang said from his side. There was a strange note in his voice.
“What is it?” Xie Lian asked, jerking his head back to look at him.
“Your reflection.”
Xie Lian looked down into the pool. Then he crouched, leaning over the water, his brow furrowing.
The half-moon overhead provided more than enough ambient light to see by. Still, even as the mirror image of the column and the tops of the surrounding buildings could be clearly seen on the surface of the water, when Xie Lian looked down at himself, there was no reflection looking back up.
He frowned, leaning closer. What sort of strange magic was this?
Then, in the next moment, there was a flurry of movement. Before he could jerk back, a flash of white cut across his field of view and a shadowy hand reached up out of the water, grabbed the front of his robes, and pulled him in.
Notes:
Thanks again for all of your lovely comments and support <3
Chapter 4
Notes:
Hahaha well, I'm back! I didn't expect that to take so long, life has been busy! But like, in a good way, so it's good.
Thanks for all of your lovely comments. It can be hard to come back when you take a break from a story, it's really easy to lose your enthusiasm, but hearing all of your enthusiasm for this AU made a world of difference. Comments really work! Anyways, one more chapter left I think before we're done here. Thanks for sticking with me, I hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Gege, Gege!”
Xie Lian could feel someone tugging at the back of his robes. He faintly registered the sound of muffled voices and distant shouting. Only the top half of him was underwater, but nonetheless, it felt like he had gone somewhere very, very far away.
In the mortal realm, this market plaza fountain wasn’t very deep. In the summertime, Banyue Kingdom children could often be seen splashing around inside. If Xie Lian were to climb over the lip of the basin himself, the water would only come up to his knees. By all appearances, the mirror-world version of the fountain was the same. Now that he had been pulled in, however, he found that the basin was actually the mouth of a great expanse of water.
Looking around, there was no sign of the creature that had dragged him in. There was no sign of anything at all, other than himself. The body of water was bottomless and there were no discernible walls or boundaries. His hair fanned out around him in an inky cloud, the robes of his sleeves puffing out as he floated in the murky blue void.
“Get him out! What are you doing? Pull!”
“We’re trying, but it’s not working!”
The muffled voices were growing more urgent, but Xie Lian didn’t feel alarmed. He didn’t feel much of anything at all. Just moments ago, he’d been overcome by a wave of panic, but strangely, all of that was gone now. His heart beat slowly in his chest. There was a steadily growing burning in his lungs, but that didn’t seem important. He felt no urge to get out of the water.
In its own way, it was beautiful down here. Empty and bleak, the space had achieved a kind of perfection. The depth of color was mesmerizing and as he stared into the distance, his mind started to drift. Totally void of other people, this place was restful — restful in a way Xie Lian hadn’t felt in a very long time.
San Lang had called this place lonely. Yes, the name fit.
Xie Lian knew what it was to be lonely. He was intimately familiar with the aching longing, the small, repetitive disappointments that played out over and over again. He had forgotten that there was another side to loneliness.
He was completely alone here, but that also meant nobody was watching him. No one was depending on him. Nobody was around to try and get the better of him, to ask him for help, to wring everything they could out of him and still find more to ask for. To be alone was safe, in a way. This quiet, endless basin — there was nobody inside who would try to take advantage of him. There was nobody inside he could accidentally hurt. It was the sort of place he wouldn’t mind stopping to rest in for a while.
What harm could there be in staying just a little longer?
Fwoosh.
A low frequency, resonating pulse swept through water. It sounded like the bass tone of an explosion, startling Xie Lian out of his thoughts. He instinctively inhaled a little, and suddenly the ache in his lungs was a sharp fire.
In the next moment, a pair of hands wrapped themselves around the back of his collar and he was ripped out of the water.
Xie Lian fell backwards to the ground, his landing cushioned by something solid but giving. Tears streamed from his eyes as he started coughing up water.
The group was making a big commotion, all of them shouting and talking over each other. Somebody thumped him firmly on the back, once, twice, three times as he continued to spit up what felt like half the fountain. Then firm hands were frantically patting him down, searching for injuries.
“Gege, are you okay?” San Lang asked, voice frantic as he carefully extricated himself from where he was pinned under Xie Lian. He came around and crouched in front of him. His hands came around, too, roving across his chest as they continued their thorough inspection.
From where he was half-collapsed on the ground, more than a little dazed, Xie Lian found himself gazing up at his face.
San Lang looked… wrecked. There was no other way to put it. The suave confidence, the cool calm, all of it had been scraped away and in its place raw desperation and fear had taken over.
They had only met a few days ago, wasn’t this reaction a little too strong?
San Lang’s hands were wet and his sleeves were soaked. If there had been any doubt about who had pulled him out of the fountain, that put it all to rest.
Hovering behind him, Xie Lian noticed Pei Xiu looking similarly devastated. Somewhere further back, Banyue was asking in a panicked voice, “Is he alright? Is there any injury?”
One of San Lang’s hands pressed down on a spot on Xie Lian’s arm and he let out a hiss. San Lang’s face, already pale, completely drained of color. He rushed to roll up Xie Lian’s drenched sleeve. On the meat of his forearm, right below his elbow and just above the edge of Ruoye’s wrapping, a black curse mark was burned into Xie Lian’s skin.
The mark was a sickly-looking oil smear, roughly circular, as if a dark, viscous liquid had been splattered across his forearm, leaving a stain. Xie Lian knew immediately that no amount of scrubbing would get it off.
San Lang swore.
“What is it, what happened?” Banyue rushed forward, landing on her knees at Xie Lian’s side. She gasped when she saw the curse mark, her hands balling into fists.
“Dianxia, what happened down there?’ Pei Xiu asked, his voice steely and even. At least he could always be trusted to keep his head in a crisis, Xie Lian thought with relief. He had even remembered to call him by his formal title in front of their audience.
“Nothing.” He replied. His voice was scratchy and rough. He swallowed and coughed up a little more water. One of San Lang’s hands slid around his shoulders and came to rest at the center of his back, providing support. “The water is deeper than it looks, but underneath the surface, all I could see was an empty void. I didn’t see who pulled me in. I don’t think anybody else was down there.”
“You couldn’t see what was holding you down?”
“I was being held down?” Xie Lian asked, surprised. It hadn’t felt like that. He hadn’t felt any sort of force or pressure on him while he was underwater.
“We couldn’t pull you up, no matter how hard we tried. Not until he blasted the water with a pulse of spiritual energy.” Pei Xiu explained, gesturing at San Lang.
Not until he…. Xie Lian’s eyes slid over to San Lang, whose gaze was suddenly fixed on the ground.
“There was a spell keeping me under, then.” Xie Lian concluded. “I… I think it was affecting my mind.”
Preoccupied, first with recovering from being half-drowned and then with the discovery of the curse mark, it was only now that Xie Lian processed what had just happened. Underwater he’d wanted to— he’d seriously been thinking of— what?
Xie Lian had run into a lot of nasty spells over the years, but very rarely did he come across magic capable of warping his thoughts to such an extent — not since his first banishment, when he was being stalked by White No Face.
Now that he was out of the water, the idea that he had wanted to stay there sent a bone-deep chill through him. He’d been able to hear the panicked voices of his kids and he’d seriously felt relaxed?
Whoever cast that spell must be extremely powerful, he realized. They were possibly the strongest cultivator he’d ever encountered. A shiver ran down his spine and San Lang’s hand, wrapped lightly around his wrist, tightened in response.
Nobody that’s entered the canyon has ever come out again, San Land had said earlier. With traps like that, Xie Lian was starting to see why.
“Affecting your mind?” San Lang pressed.
“I didn’t want to come back up.” Xie Lian replied thickly.
There was a long moment of silence as the weight of that statement settled over the group. Pei Xiu managed to keep his face carefully neutral, but the distress in his eyes betrayed it all. Banyue’s expression was stricken.
“Did you see what cursed you before you went under?” San Lang continued the line of questioning. It was very professional, like he’d done this a thousand times before, Xie Lian noted. He was obviously deeply affected by what had just happened, but like Pei Xiu, he was doing an admirable job of keeping himself composed. He had shifted his hands such that one was hovering over the curse mark, glowing silver as he performed some sort of diagnostic spell, and the other was pressed to Xie Lian’s pulse point.
Banyue was watching all of this critically from the sidelines, her eyes sharp and laser-focused. She must have approved of whatever San Lang was doing, though, because she didn’t try to stop him or take over.
“I didn’t see it clearly,” Xie Lian replied slowly. “There was a flash of white and then I was underwater. Did you see anything?” San Lang had been standing right next to him when it happened, after all.
Not looking up from his hands, San Lang nodded. “It looked like….” He paused for a moment, frown deepening, “It looked like it was your reflection that pulled you in.”
The group stilled at that eerie revelation.
That— that’s right, it had looked like his reflection, Xie Lian realized, thinking back to the glimpse he’d had of a shadowy hand. It had all happened so fast, but San Lang wasn’t wrong. Wearing white, with long fingers and a slender wrist, the hand that reached up to grab his robes had looked extremely similar to his own.
Pei Xiu turned then and stepped towards the fountain. He raised his hands and, with a quick series of seals, cast an interrogative spell. There was a burst of silver light as a massive, intricate array became visible. Even at a glance, what was spelled out there made Xie Lian suck in a breath. San Lang, who had kept his focus fixed on Xie Lian’s curse mark up to this point, jerked his head around to see.
Centered over the fountain, the silver array revealed a complex and sinister spell. It was of a scale that the array’s precise effect would require careful study to fully tease out, but having experienced it for himself, Xie Lian thought he could hazard a guess as to its main purpose. His eyes traced the outer edge of the circle before sliding inwards. The sigils were so densely packed, it was a little dizzying.
What exactly had San Lang done to get him out? This wasn’t some simple binding array. Just how much spiritual energy had he needed to expend?
“I’ve never seen anything like this.” Banyue murmured as she took it in.
“That’s just the fountain.” Ming Yi spoke up. Standing next to the Wind Master, she was frowning as she scanned the plaza. Her voice was unexpectedly deep and smooth. Xie Lian’s brow furrowed as he took in the significance of her words.
Nan Feng turned then to face the nearest building — the entrance to what, in the mortal realm, was a popular restaurant. He cast the interrogative spell on its broad front doors. If the doors weren’t spelled, then nothing would appear, Nan Feng’s test would simply have no effect. They all held their breath. A second later, another array appeared in a silver flash. Nan Feng twitched.
The spell on the restaurant wasn’t quite as complex as the one on the fountain, but it too was obviously a trap. This set off a flurry of spell-checking.
Xie Lian looked on passively as the other heavenly officials shot off interrogative spells at every stone, beam, and board in the plaza. Nobody seemed to need his input, and so he tucked his legs under himself and sat quite comfortably out of the way.
Banyue and San Lang, meanwhile, had both walked up to the first array, the one on the fountain. They were examining it closely.
“Do you see anything about his curse mark?” Banyue asked, tracing a set of lines with her finger.
San Lang shook his head. “Not at all.” They were wearing identical frowns.
In unison, they whirled around to face Xie Lian, who was sitting only a handful of steps away. In the blink of an eye, San Lang was once again crouched down at his side. With a deft flick of his hand, he had his diagnostic spell back up.
“Do you know what curse it is?” Banyue asked, kneeling by Xie Lian’s other side.
“I don’t.” San Lang looked deeply unhappy at the admission. “I’ve never seen it before.”
“Let me look then,” Banyue insisted, and San Lang drew his hands away. He stood up and stepped to the side.
Banyue took his place, her hands coming up in the same arrangement. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she felt out the contours of the curse. After a few minutes she sat back on her heels, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this either.”
“Let me try.” Nan Feng stepped forward, having wandered back towards their group.
When he couldn’t place it, Shi Qingxuan piped up, “Let Ming-xiong have a go. She knows all sorts of obscure things.” Xie Lian once again held out his hand. After a quick inspection, Ming Yi shook her head, coming up with nothing.
“Well, whatever it is, I feel fine.” Xie Lian insisted, standing up and straightening out his robes. Banyue made a noise of protest while Pei Xiu twitched, like he was stopping himself from reaching out and helping him up. For a moment, San Lang looked like he was about to close the handful of steps between them and manhandle Xie Lian back down, but in a blink it passed and he was back to his carefully neutral affect.
Xie Lian wasn’t lying — he really did feel fine. The curse mark had hurt when San Lang pressed down on it, but for the moment, he couldn’t feel it at all. As far as he could tell, he wasn’t experiencing any side effects… yet. “None of you felt anything strange in my meridians, did you?”
“There’s a slight abnormality,” San Lang explained, Banyue nodding in agreement, “But it was minor. We’ll want to monitor it to see if it gets worse.”
“So in other words, for now, I really am fine. None of you know what it is, and there’s nothing we can do about it. We might as well ignore it for now and continue with the investigation.”
None of them seemed particularly happy to hear that, but nobody in the group could muster up a counter argument. Pei Xiu was the first to nod.
“Right before you went under, we found what the zombie horde was protecting,” he said, gesturing in Banyue’s direction. She dug in her sleeve and pulled out a fist-sized black stone. Holding the rock out for the group to see, she surprised everyone by abruptly letting go.
Xie Lian’s arm twitched reflexively, and he wasn’t the only one. The stone started to drop the moment she opened her fist, but before it could hit the ground, it changed course. Xie Lian tilted his head to the side, frowning in confusion as the smooth rock rose slowly into the air. Once it was about chest-height, it leveled off.
For a long moment, no one said anything. They just stared at it as it floated. The stone bobbed in place slightly, as if buffeted by invisible waves.
Curious, Xie Lian drew closer. It was difficult to make out all the details of such a dark-hued object by moonlight, but the shape was clear enough — a thick disk, rounded at the edges. There was a small hole in the center. It looked more or less like a giant obsidian coin.
“It’s obviously magical, but what does it do?” Shi Qingxuan wondered aloud. Once again, nobody had an answer.
Gently, Xie Lian reached out to touch its polished surface. The stone was cold, like glass or jade. The moment his finger made contact, however, there was a spark. He jerked his hand back, stung by a static shock.
“Gege—” San Lang exhaled in a punched-out breath, materializing at his side.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Xie Lian assured him.
Having seen Banyue safely handle the stone, he’d thought nothing of touching it, but the arm he’d reached out with was the one bearing the curse mark. Was the spark caused by the two spells interacting?
In the next moment, the stone started to move.
Brow furrowing, Xie Lian turned around to glance back at Banyue and Pei Xiu. They looked just as surprised as he was.
Without missing a beat, Nan Feng cast the interrogative spell on the stone. Nothing happened. They all stared at it in confusion. Nan Feng’s mouth was hanging open. Fu Yao glared at the stone with his arms crossed. Shi Qingxuan scratched her chin, while Banyue rubbed at her temples. All the while, the apparently non-enchanted stone continued to drift away.
It wasn’t moving fast. Maintaining the same altitude, it floated away at what amounted to a slow walking pace. It was headed directly towards Nan Feng. His frown grew more pronounced as it drew closer. Before it could make contact, he stepped to the side, out of its way. It bobbed right by him.
“...I think we should follow it.” Xie Lian suggested after a beat. The others agreed and as a group, they started walking.
The stone led them in a procession out of the plaza and deeper into the market, following one of the main avenues. The emptiness of the streets had been uncomfortable in the residential neighborhood, but the deeper they delved into the city’s center, the more unsettling it became. It was hard to imagine that the market district had ever been this unpopulated, even at the time of Banyue Kingdom’s founding.
Perhaps the weirdest part was how pristine all of the buildings were. The copy of the city that the mirror world had made was uncannily precise. As far as Xie Lian could tell, not a hair was out of place — their surroundings had been replicated perfectly down to the pyramids of ripe pomegranates, dates, and pears stacked in front of the empty market stalls. It would have been one thing to be shown a version of the city in ruins or in the aftermath of a disaster. As it was now, it was like all of the city’s inhabitants had simply disappeared.
Banyue and Pei Xiu evidently shared his unease. They had more or less stuck themselves to Xie Lian’s right side, Banyue half a step in front, Pei Xiu half a step behind him. Both kids had tucked away their spiritual weapons after the zombies had been dealt with, but Banyue kept clenching and unclenching her right fist, the same motion she would use to summon her sword, and Pei Xiu’s hand wasn’t straying far from his qiankun pouch.
San Lang was on his left. While his posture was measurably more relaxed than everyone else’s, Xie Lian hadn’t missed how his eyes were watchfully scanning their surroundings.
Nan Feng and Fu Yao had taken up the vanguard of the party, following the stone artifact closely, though not closely enough to risk coming into contact with it. Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi had taken up the rear. The walking order was coincidental, but perhaps the most logical arrangement they could have chosen, considering Shi Qingxuan’s wandering attention.
“The Lonely Canyon really is an interesting place, don’t you think, Ming-xiong?” She asked, looking up at the complex mosaics decorating the sides of the illustrious public buildings they were passing. Moonlight rendered them monochrome, but their complex geometric forms were no less beautiful for it.
“You aren’t upset about potentially being trapped here forever?” Ming Yi asked blandly, looking straight ahead.
“Of course we won’t be trapped here forever.” Shi Qingxuan replied cheerfully. “With such a large group of heavenly officials, what sort of place could possibly contain us?”
“Based on history, this one.” Ming Yi countered impassively.
What a pair they make, Xie Lian thought to himself with a smile.
They’d been following the stone for about ten minutes when Pei Xiu spoke up, “I think it's leading us to the palace.”
Xie Lian’s head shot up. Looking around, he realized he was probably right. The floating artifact had taken them around a couple of turns and now they were on the grand boulevard that led directly to Banyue Kingdom’s seat of power. This was the same boulevard Pei Xiu had led a charging force of Yong’an troops down over two centuries ago. If they continued on along the same route, in a few minutes they’d arrive at the plaza where Banyue had died.
Pei Xiu had only just spoken when a shadow passed over the moon. There was a fluttering noise, the sound of fabric flapping in the wind, and then half a dozen shadowy figures darted out from the darkness.
In a split second, all of them had drawn their swords. San Lang and the kids slid seamlessly into a defensive formation around Xie Lian, but the attackers didn’t pay them any attention. Instead, they targeted Nan Feng and Fu Yao at the front of the group.
One of them swiped forward with a knife that Fu Yao effortlessly deflected. Two of them charged directly at Nan Feng and were swiftly sent careening into each other with a deft sidestep.
From somewhere unseen, a shepherd's whistle blew. Moments later, zombies started lurching out of the darkness. There were scores of them, so many that Xie Lian didn’t know how they possibly could have gone unnoticed until now.
Gritting her teeth, Banyue launched herself forward, targeting a wave of corpses heading right for them. Slipping around his well-meaning defense squad, Xie Lian followed suit. Pei Xiu and San Lang were naturally only half a step behind him.
There was a sense of rightness and a certain measure of comfort in getting to use his sword in this dangerous and unfamiliar place. That being said, the fight could hardly be called satisfying. Though they were fast and overwhelming in number, the zombies’ range of motion was pretty limited. The battle felt more like weeding a garden than anything. He found himself running through a repetitive sequence of slashes and thrusts. It quickly became monotonous.
Somewhere off to the side, he could hear Shi Qingxuan’s triumphant cries as she and Ming Yi hacked away at their own row of zombies.
Nan Feng and Fu Yao, meanwhile, were stuck fighting off both a mass of corpses and the shadowy figures. Luckily, none of them seemed to be particularly skilled fighters, nowhere near a level that could match two martial gods. It soon became apparent that fighting had never been their goal.
“No!” Banyue hissed when one of the figures swooped down in between the gaps in the melee and snatched the obsidian artifact. Fast as an arrow, they bolted away, making a beeline for the safety of the dark maze of alleyways. Banyue furiously threw herself after them in pursuit.
Pei Xiu couldn’t let her go alone. He glanced at San Lang and asked, “You have—?”
“I have him. Don’t worry.” San Lang replied, swiftly bringing his saber up to block a zombie striking at Xie Lian’s back. With a brutal jerk, he efficiently decapitated it.
Pei Xiu nodded once, looking relieved, and disappeared after her.
The artifact must have had some sort of effect on the zombies, because as soon as it was taken, the ferocity drained out of the fight. The horde seemed to be distracted, no longer charging towards them, several of them even stumbling aimlessly away. Picking the rest of them off was too easy.
With their mission accomplished, the remaining cloaked figures tried to make their escape. This proved to be futile.
Drawing a long knife out of his boot, San Lang hurled it across the street. It hit its target effortlessly, piercing straight through the shoulder of one of the escaping figures and embedding itself into the stone wall behind, pinning them in place.
By now, most of the zombies lay disassembled, limbs scattered on the ground. Xie Lian cut down the last one in his radius, turning immediately towards San Lang, who was facing away. His eyes were locked on his victim. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the other heavenly officials had similarly finished up. Shi Qingxuan had once again proven her capability by sweeping the handful of escaping cloaked figures up into another barrier array. All their eyes had now turned to San Lang.
Oblivious or, more likely, indifferent to the attention, San Lang walked forward slowly — menacingly. Spiritual energy was building up around him to the extent that it was starting to spark, flickers of white light crackling off of his body. Wait, no, they weren’t sparks, Xie Lian realized in the next moment. They were silver butterflies.
Nan Feng made a strange choking noise.
As San Lang drew closer to the hooded figure, silver butterflies poured off of him like dripping beads of mercury. Once detached, they began to grow, quickly scaling up until they were about the size of Xie Lian’s palm. Their wings were thin and translucent. Pale moonlight light caught on their razor-sharp edges. Fluttering lazily in the cool night air, one of them flapped towards Xie Lian and landed delicately on the edge of his outstretched hand. It was rather cute.
The cloaked figure was visibly trembling now, their free hand scrambling at the hilt embedded in their shoulder, trying to wrench the knife out of the wall. It was hopeless. Killing intent radiated off of San Lang in palpable waves. There was no way this ghost was getting away.
Now that they weren’t running, it was easy to see that the hooded figures were ghosts, and not particularly powerful ones at that. They were pretty pitiful, to be honest, Xie Lian thought as he took in the ragged hems of their robe. From what he could see of their skin, they didn’t have much spiritual energy with which to preserve themselves. That being said, they clearly had some wits about them. They’d figured out how to summon the zombies, after all.
“M-m-my lord…” the ghost stuttered out in a high-pitched, reedy voice.
San Lang stopped walking and raised his scimitar to the ghost’s neck. “You know who I am, then?” He asked in a lazy drawl. Xie Lian’s eyebrows flew up. In the couple of days they’d spent together, he’d never heard San Lang sound like that.
“Y-yes, my lord.” The ghost replied miserably.
“So you understand what’s going to happen to you if you don’t start talking. What is that artifact, and why do you want it?”
The ghost began fumbling out an explanation.
The way he’d been pinned to the wall had hiked the hood of his cloak back somewhat, leaving the gray skin of his jaw visible. As he talked, the dry flesh around his mouth pulled and twisted oddly. It was grotesque, but strangely mesmerizing. Xie Lian found himself tuning out whatever nonsense he was saying. San Lang clearly had a good handle on the interrogation.
He drifted forwards, angling to get a better look at the ghost’s face. It was because he was paying such close attention that he noticed when the ghost’s tongue flicked out and whetted his lips.
“San Lang—” he called, darting forwards, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Quick as a blink, the ghost pursed his lips together and whistled out a loud, complex trill. San Lang jerked the arm holding his scimitar, slashing his throat, but it was too late. The bottom of Xie Lian’s stomach dropped out as a wave of pressure rippled out from where the ghost had been standing.
San Lang had already started to turn towards Xie Lian. Their eyes had just met when there was a sudden, blinding flash of light and a loud crack like thunder. Diving forward, Xie Lian reached out and just barely managed to hook his fingers in the fabric of San Lang’s sleeve before the air around him twisted and the world fell away.
The cloaked figure that had snatched the stone artifact was fast, but Banyue was faster. Though the thief had the advantage of a head start, it took her less than a minute to catch up. This was the difference between an ordinary ghost and a Savage.
They were now running in the opposite direction that the artifact had been leading them, directly away from the palace. As they ran, the ghost kept turning off onto smaller and smaller streets. She had managed to narrow the distance between them to almost nothing when the ghost took a sharp turn into the tight gap between two tall buildings. Throwing herself after them, Banyue followed. Only, when she rounded the corner, she found they had disappeared.
She slowed to a walk. The alley, if it could even be called that, was narrower than the span of her shoulders and so she shuffled forward with her torso twisted to the side. Her ears perked up and she inhaled deeply, searching for the faintest whiff of resentful energy. Her eyes scanned up and down the tall stone walls and trailed along the perimeter of the rooftops, several stories overhead. There was absolutely no sign of the ghost she was chasing.
About eighty paces down, the narrow alley ended, opening up into a somewhat larger corridor that ran parallel to one of the main market streets. There was still no sign of the thief. Banyue considered her options carefully for a moment, before making a decisive left. She didn’t know how they’d gotten away, but going right would eventually lead back towards the main avenue they’d come from.
She continued walking, all of her senses on alert. Silently, she drew her sword from her sleeve. Then, behind her, there was a shift in the air.
She whirled around, her sword flashing out in an arc. The blade came to a stop a hair’s breadth away from Pei Xiu’s neck.
“Pei-ge,” she breathed. “You startled me.”
The corner of his mouth quirked. She sheathed her sword.
Pei Xiu was standing up straight with a hand resting on the hilt of his own sword, which he’d hung at his waist. She jerked her head to the side, a wordless ‘come on,’ and turned back in the direction she’d been walking. He stepped forward to match her stride. For several minutes, they walked together in silence, both of them scanning their surroundings intently.
“Banyue.” Pei Xiu murmured, his low voice loud in the unnatural silence.
“What?” She asked, glancing back. He’d stopped walking and so she did too, half-turning to face him.
“You’ve lost them.”
“What?”
“There’s no sign of the thief. They’re gone.”
“What are you saying?” She frowned. “We’ve only been looking for a few minutes, they can’t have gone that far.”
“We have to go back now. You just left General Hua back there. What were you thinking?”
It was dark and Pei Xiu’s features were shadowed, but with the nightvision of a ghost, she could see his expression clearly. He looked mad.
“B-but you were with him. I didn’t expect you to follow me. I thought you would stay behind to protect him.”
“Someone had to come after you.” He frowned at her, glaring like he thought she was an idiot.
“I didn’t think—”
“That’s right. You didn’t.” Pei Xiu interjected. “Come on, we have to go back.”
Banyue took a step away from him, her pulse racing. “But we have to find the artifact. There were so many zombies guarding it, and now these ghosts have snatched it. I think it might be the key to getting out of here.”
Pei Xiu advanced towards her angrily. “Do you seriously think getting out of here matters at all if General Hua is dead?”
Pei Xiu flew after Banyue, but she was going so fast that he lost sight of her almost immediately. Still, with his sense of smell as finely honed as it was, he was able to track her for a few streets, following the faint trail of resentful energy she and the ghost thief were leaving behind. Focused on his nose as he was, he couldn’t match their pace. After a few turns, he lost the trail.
He cocked his head to the side, ears perking up, listening for any sound of them. There was nothing. In fact, the silence was stunning in its totality. There were no bird calls, no insects chirping, not even a nighttime breeze to rustle the canvas overhangs of the market stalls. There was only the sound of his ragged breathing and his heart beating loud and fast in his chest.
He decided to keep walking down the side street he was on, away from the avenue they’d come from. He comforted himself with the fact that if Banyue managed to catch up to the ghost and a fight did break out, he’d probably be able to hear the clang of her sword. That was how they had found Xie Lian’s strange friend when he was fighting off the zombie horde, anyway. Pei Xiu kept his ears peeled for even the slightest disturbance.
About halfway down the street, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of shadow near the mouth of a narrow lane. Hand flying to the hilt of his sword, he dashed towards it. No one was there when he rounded the corner, and so he carried on, sprinting all the way to the back, where the path forked off in two directions. Glancing both ways, he still didn’t see anything, so he made a split second decision and dove to the right, heading further away from the main avenue.
After a couple dozen paces, Pei Xiu slowed to a walk. No matter how hard he strained his senses, he couldn’t see, hear, or smell anyone. It appeared he really was alone.
For lack of a better option, he kept wandering down the street, searching. Minutes passed and he started growing more and more uneasy. Was this narrow market lane really so long in the mortal realm? Here in the Lonely Canyon, it felt endless. He couldn't even be sure that Banyue had gone this direction in the first place. He was considering turning around and heading back to regroup with the others, when he glanced down an offshoot and was stopped short.
There, in the middle of the alley, stood Banyue. Her back was turned and the gap between buildings was narrow enough that she blocked most of the passage, and so it was only when she jerked her arm that he saw she was brandishing her sword.
He darted forward, rushing to help. Only, two steps towards her and he was nearly bowled over by the thick, corrosive stench of resentful energy. Bile welled up in his throat. Blinking back tears, he stopped in his tracks.
Banyue glanced over her shoulder at him. The first thing he noticed were her eyes. Her gaze was sharper than normal, her pupils wider. Staring at him, expression blank, she rolled her lower lip between her teeth. It came away bloody.
“Banyue—” he started.
She turned all the way around then, pulling her sword out of whatever it was lodged in. There was a quiet squelch, and then a soft thud. Pei Xiu’s stomach dropped out when he got a proper look at her. The front of her robes were soaked through with blood. In her left hand, held loosely, was the obsidian artifact.
She tilted her head to the side. “What do you want?”
Pei Xiu took a step back. She took a step forward. Immediately, he started cataloging possible escape routes. There wasn’t much maneuverability in such an enclosed space.
“What are you doing?” He asked, his voice measured and calm.
“I got the map back, see?” She held the artifact up, waving it around to make her point. “We need it, don’t we?”
Map? He thought, confused. “Why did you kill that ghost?”
She glanced over her shoulder, looking down. “Well, she deserved it.”
“We’ve only been here for a couple of hours, you don’t know that.” He pointed out.
She raised her eyebrows. “It was obvious.”
Pei Xiu took another step back, out of the alley and into the street. He kept going, carefully backing away as Banyue stalked closer. Something was very, very wrong.
The smell of resentful energy was overwhelming. Pei Xiu’s nose was very sensitive, even for a cultivator, and he spent a lot of time with Banyue. It was a little unpleasant, but he was used to catching a whiff of resentment every now and then. This was on a whole other level. The last time Banyue had smelled like this had been when they first found her, a couple of years after her death.
He thought she’d figured out how to get her anger under control. He thought she’s stabilized herself.
Breathing through his nose was vile, but he knew it wouldn't be any better if he tried through his mouth. It was thick in the air, volatile and complex, enough to make him feel woozy. His thoughts whirled as he tried to figure out what exactly had gone wrong here, what exactly he would need to do to fix this. He waited until his lungs were burning before he took another stuttering breath.
Banyue’s mouth twitched. It made him pause.
He frowned and took another, more purposeful inhale. When he stopped walking backwards, Banyue mirrored him. They stood across from each other, shoulders tense. Her eyes had been locked on his face this whole time. They narrowed when she saw the new thoughtfulness in his expression.
Pei Xiu’s eyes flickered down to the ground for a moment.
The night was dark, the tall stone buildings around them blocking out the moonlight almost entirely. Almost entirely. Underneath Banyue’s feet, there were two shadows.
Pei Xiu looked up again, meeting the illusion’s gaze with a sharp, knowing look.
Banyue’s heart hadn’t beat in hundreds of years, but if it had, in that moment it would have stopped in her chest. “General Hua’s not dead,” she whispered wretchedly.
“You don’t know that.” Pei Xiu’s voice was colder than ice. “You can’t know that if you’re not there yourself.”
“The others will protect him!” She shouted, blinking back hot tears. The sound echoed off of the stone walls around them, uncomfortably loud in the utterly silent night.
“Are you talking about those bumbling idiots calling themselves heavenly officials? Do you seriously think they can protect anyone? Or are you talking about the Devastation-rank ghost that’s stalking him?”
“No, no, I mean—” Her vision was blurry now. She rubbed at her eyes, but she was still having a hard time looking at Pei Xiu. His figure wobbled, like a reflection in water warped by ripples. She blinked and for a moment it seemed like there were two of him. When she blinked again, the double was gone.
Pei Xiu took a step towards her. She tried to step back, but she stumbled over the hem of her robe, tripping backwards and falling to the ground. In the process, she crossed an invisible line. A pale blue barrier materialized around her.
At once, the illusion dropped. In Pei Xiu’s place stood a ghost wearing a dark gray, tattered robe. He took one look at Banyue’s face and broke out into a wide grin.
“What on earth did the illusion say? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” Not even waiting for a response, he laughed heartily at his own joke. “Well, whatever you heard, I’m sure it’ll come true very soon. All of your worst fears come true in this place.”
The ghost’s figure was grotesquely thin. His face was long and drawn, with cheeks sunken in like he was starving. His dry skin was almost as gray as his robes.
“What do you want?” Banyue demanded, wiping her face and getting to her feet. Her legs were shaking with adrenaline. Falling into the trap had been like taking a bolt of lightning to the spine.
“From you?” The ghost cackled. “Nothing at all, anymore! That barrier will keep you well out of my way, you won’t be getting out of that circle anytime soon. Not unless you fancy your body catching fire and your skin melting off.”
Banyue stared at him. “But I’m a ghost.”
Her skin was a spiritual energy construct. It would take some seriously powerful magic to alter it in a way that she didn’t tacitly allow.
“You’re a…!” The ghost spluttered, leaning towards her and squinting through the blue barrier as he examined her form closely. After a couple of seconds, he rocked back on his heels, eyes wide and impressed. “So you are! I’ve never seen a skin this good before! I would have sworn you were alive. Not that it matters. The barrier will destroy your physical essence just as well as it would’ve destroyed your mortal body.”
Banyue cocked an eyebrow. “My physical essence?”
“Ashes, bones — your last remains. Whatever form they’re in, wherever you’ve got ‘em stashed on ya, if they so much as touch that barrier, you’re done for.”
Banyue’s brow furrowed. She looked around again.
She and the ghost were alone, hidden deep in the market. The obsidian artifact she’d run after was nowhere to be seen, and now she had stumbled into the trap he’d built.
“The artifact you stole — what is it?” She asked. “Why do you want it so bad?”
The ghost laughed again. “You must be new here. Well, there’s no harm in telling you, everyone figures it out after a while. You might have realized that this realm changes form. In fact, I reckon it looks very much like wherever you fell in from.”
He raised an eyebrow at her and she nodded slowly.
“Well the copy is good, but it's not exact. It’s just good enough to fool you. That’s the whole point. In reality, this place is a maze, and that stone that you all had, that’ll take you to the way out.”
“So, you stole it so you can find your way out?”
“Me? Ha, no!” The ghost had a flat, cawing laugh, like a crow.
“You don’t want to leave?” Banyue asked skeptically.
“Of course it’s not that easy. The artifact will take you to the exit, but you can’t just go through. To leave, you’ll need to go in with something that no one here has.”
“Oh?”
“Someone you’re dedicated to.”
The Lonely Canyon — it was called that for good reason, Banyue realized in that moment. All of the spells they’d discovered, Xie Lian’s experience in the fountain. The illusion of Pei Xiu acting scornful towards her, saying that all of her worst fears had come true. All of it was working to pull them away from each other. The whole point of this hidden realm was to sever the bonds they had. It wanted them to lose their dedication to each other.
The Lonely Canyon was like a giant fly trap, she thought. It had lured them in, and now it was doing everything in its power to keep them here forever.
Banyue looked at the ghost thief for a long moment. “Then why did you steal it from us if you’re not even planning on using it?”
“Oh, well that’s simple. You know, it’s not every day that new people fall down here. New souls are kind of rare, really. When we get them, we can’t exactly let them escape.” He shrugged, almost apologetically. “I drew you away, separated from the rest of your group. Now I’ll wait until it’s been long enough that they’ve given up on finding you. Then, when you’ve lost all hope, I’ll eat you up.”
Perhaps this was the greatest weapon of the Canyon, she pondered. Its design was so insidious that after a while, even the inhabitants were conscripted to help carry out its twisted mission.
Banyue opened her mouth again, but before she could say anything, there was a loud boom and an explosive flash of light from down the street. A cloud of smoke wafted out of the entrance to the nearest alleyway.
Out from the alley, a tall figure darted backwards, landing in a crouch. They quickly raised their sword, bringing it up just in time to parry a blow from a second person that followed them out. The two exchanged a couple more blows, before the taller of them was jumping backwards again, out of the cloud of smoke.
It was Pei Xiu. He landed in the middle of the street, back turned to Banyue. The obsidian artifact was tucked under his arm.
The ghost that dived after him had long, viscous-looking claws. She slashed at his chest. Pei Xiu was put on the defensive, but he didn’t have any trouble batting her hands away. They traded several more blows, enough that Banyue started to wonder what he was waiting for. Then, the female ghost made a pass at snatching the artifact back.
Deftly, Pei Xiu used her over-extended momentum to knock her off balance. She landed hard on the ground. With another flick of his sword, he cut off her head. With that accomplished, he slowly turned around.
Banyue watched anxiously from behind the semi-transparent barrier. When his eyes immediately searched out and locked on hers, she relaxed, the tension instantly draining out of her shoulders. The illusion was over. She could tell at a glance that he was the real thing.
Pei Xiu’s eyes flicked over to Banyue’s adversary. The ghost who had been taunting her took half a step back. His eyes shook with fear.
Seizing the moment, Banyue took a measured step forward and walked right through the energy barrier.
Before the ghost could blink, she had flickered right in front of him and, with a precise blow to the knees, knocked him to the ground. It was the work of half a second to draw a length of spirit-binding cable out from her sleeve and tie him up.
By the time she was done, Pei Xiu was standing at her side.
“You think hiding your ashes is enough? You think you’re so clever? I’ll find them! I’ll destroy you!” The ghost shrieked, writhing violently in his bonds.
Banyue crouched down near his head. “Hiding my ashes? There’s no need. In fact, I’ll tell you exactly where they are.” She looked over to Pei Xiu. Though he was spitting with fury, the ghost followed suit.
Pei Xiu glanced down at her. He looked unimpressed. Still, he obediently reached under the collar of his inner robe and pulled out a silver chain. At the end of the chain was a small purple stone, iridescent even in the darkness.
Banyue looked down at the tied-up ghost with disdain. “You see? It doesn’t matter if you know where my ashes are. The likes of you couldn’t get at them in a million years. Now, tell us how to get to the exit.”
Notes:
Oh no, you can only leave the lonely canyon if you're with someone you're dedicated to? Whatever are our cast of characters to do??
Chapter Text
Xie Lian clutched tightly at San Lang’s robe, holding on even as the world spun around them. When the sensation finally stopped, he tentatively opened his eyes.
San Lang was directly in front of him, facing away. He was standing in the same pose he’d held when the ghost started whistling. As soon as he felt the weight of Xie Lian’s gaze, he turned around, a hand coming up to grasp his elbow. His face was full of concern.
Xie Lian clutched back and, in unison, they looked each other over for injuries.
“Gege, are you alri—”
“I’m fine.” Xie Lian cut in. “Are you?”
“I’m fine.” San Lang’s eyes flicked back up to his face. He smiled.
Xie Lian let go and took a step back. Head swiveling, he turned in a slow circle, taking in their surroundings.
They were clearly still in the Lonely Canyon, but by the look of things, the ghost’s whistled spell had teleported the two of them halfway across the city. The other heavenly officials were nowhere to be seen.
Xie Lian knew Banyue Fortress City inside out. He knew how to get back to where they had just been — or better yet, how to get to the palace, where the obsidian artifact had seemed to be leading them. Still, that was all assuming the Lonely Canyon truly was a mirror world and the maze of streets in between had been copied over accurately. It was also assuming they didn’t run into any more sinister tricks. He glanced back over at San Lang.
San Lang was looking around too, his expression serious but calm.
Xie Lian took a deep breath in and said, “Well, Hua Cheng, what do you think we ought to do?”
San Lang’s eyes snapped back to him. He was a good actor, but Xie Lian was pretty sure he saw his shoulders tense up for a moment before being willed back into careful neutrality. Upon spotting Xie Lian’s friendly smile, however, he seemed to genuinely relax. His eyes were soft when he replied, “I still prefer the name San Lang.”
“Crimson Rain Sought Flower?” Xie Lian tried.
“Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince,” San Lang shot back, a touch of humor in his grin.
Xie Lian grinned back. “You’ve never called me that before.”
“What do you think?”
“It sounds different when you say it.”
“How so?”
Xie Lian paused, turning thoughtful. When other heavenly officials addressed him by his title, it always came off as either cold and business-like, or somewhat sarcastic, laced with subtle mockery. How many crown princes had ascended to the ranks of the gods, after all — the heavens were filled with them. In their eyes, Xie Lian could hardly be any less deserving of such a noble distinction.
When his kids said it, it was different, of course. He and Pei Xiu were still hiding their true relationship from the rest of the heavenly realm, and so when he used Xie Lian’s full title, it was always for the benefit of their audience. His tone was genuinely respectful, but underneath it, there was a certain sense of irony, an acknowledgement of how they both knew that under any other circumstance Pei Xiu would never use such a stiff name to address his adoptive father.
Banyue only ever called him Dianxia when somebody had wronged him and she was angling for his permission to get revenge.
When Hua Cheng said ‘your highness,’ it conveyed an entirely different feeling. It was hard to put it into words. Perhaps it was the complete sincerity in his tone. Just with that one utterance, Xie Lian got the sense that Hua Cheng really did think of him as a prince.
It was almost laughable. After such a thorough dethronement, after 800 years of banishment, the idea that anyone would look at him and still see something royal was completely absurd. Still, Hua Cheng looked like he would kowtow at his feet if Xie Lian gave even the slightest indication of wanting such a thing.
“That night at Mount Yujun, you were the groom who took me away, weren’t you?”
Hua Cheng smirked, his eyes laughing, and Xie Lian’s heart flip-flopped in his chest.
“I mean the groom in disguise!” He hurried to correct himself. “You were the groom in disguise!”
“I didn’t disguise myself at all.” Hua Cheng insisted, and Xie Lian realized he was right. He had never once claimed to be the ghost groom — in fact, he hadn’t spoken at all. He simply offered a hand, and Xie Lian had obediently taken it.
“Then why were you there?”
Hua Cheng rubbed his chin, looking off to the side. “This question only has two possible answers.” He replied. “One, that I went there specifically for your highness. Two, that I just happened to be passing by and was free. Which do you think is more believable?” He glanced back at Xie Lian slyly.
Xie Lian shook his head, at a loss. “That I can’t say, but you certainly seem to have a lot of free time.”
Hua Cheng smiled wide. “Regarding Gege’s original question, now that we’ve been separated from the group and the artifact, I think we had better start looking for the center of the maze.”
“The maze?”
“Isn’t that what we’ve found ourselves in?”
Xie Lian took in their surroundings with new eyes. “I see what you mean. Then, do you think the floating stone was guiding us to the exit?”
“Precisely. I had suspected as much before, and then that scum who sent us here more or less confirmed it.”
“Did he?” Xie Lian scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I was a bit distracted. But now we’ve lost the stone. Even if Banyue and Pei Xiu get it back, we’ve been separated from the rest of the group.”
“Very true, Gege, you’re absolutely right. But I think I might know how to get us out of here anyway, and I’d bet that heading for the exit will be the best way to meet up with the others.”
Xie Lian hadn’t known Hua Cheng for very long, but over the past few days he’d made good progress in learning how to read his face. The glint in his eyes now, for example, was almost certainly smugness.
He smiled back at him, “Oh?”
“If you remember, the stone artifact itself wasn’t spelled.”
“That’s right.” Xie Lian agreed. Nan Feng’s interrogative spell had returned nothing when aimed at the floating artifact.
“Since that’s the case, it can’t have been the stone that was guiding us through the maze, but rather something in the maze itself that was leading the stone.”
Xie Lian raised an eyebrow. “That makes sense, but do you know what it was?”
“I have a guess.” In the dark, Hua Cheng’s white teeth looked sharp, like a fox’s. “Hold out your arm.”
With an inkling of where this was going, Xie Lian did as he said. Hua Cheng rolled the sleeve back, revealing the curse mark. He covered the mark with a hand and, with a flash of silver, cast a spell.
When he pulled his hand back, instead of the complicated outline of an array, there was a swirling cloud of energy hovering above Xie Lian’s arm. It was opaque, gray, and foggy, like mist over a pool of water. The two of them watched as a dark spot appeared in the cloud. At first, the spot swirled around in circles like a leaf caught in a current, but after a moment it slowed. Then it started to change direction.
Like the needle in a compass, the spot wobbled back and forth before decisively positioning itself on the right side of the cloud. Xie Lian turned to look. It was pointing in exactly the opposite direction of where he had thought they should go. He looked back to Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng glanced up to meet his eyes. “This should lead us to the exit. Shall we?”
Scanning the surrounding area one last time, Xie Lian nodded. He turned in the direction the spell was pointing. The movement sent the gray cloud of energy swirling, but the black spot stayed put. It really was like a compass.
He looked back to Hua Cheng one last time, catching his gaze. They were standing rather close together — Hua Cheng still hadn’t stepped back after casting the spell. Something about it made Xie Lian’s chest feel light and fluttery. The air between them was electric.
Taking a deep, grounding breath in, he took a step forward and started down the road.
As soon as Banyue had dealt with the ghost, Pei Xiu wrapped her in a hug. She sighed, melting into his embrace. They stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other. Eventually, Banyue pulled back.
“We should get back to the others. The sooner we leave this place, the better.”
Pei Xiu nodded. After one last sweep of their surroundings, checking to make sure they weren’t leaving anything behind, they started to head back towards the central avenue where the group had originally been ambushed.
The resolute silence of the back alleyways felt a little less oppressive now that they were together. Still, with the obsidian artifact tucked under Pei Xiu’s arm, they were both tense, on high alert for any sign of other ghosts. They didn’t know if the group of thieves that had attacked them had any more tricks up their sleeves.
After about five minutes, Banyue tried to cut some of the tension. She glanced back at Pei Xiu and, raising a skeptical eyebrow, asked, “You really left General Hua back there with that guy?”
Pei Xiu shot her an amused look. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure that ghost king would set himself on fire before letting anything happen to him.”
“I knew it!” She cried, before asking, “Do you know which ghost king he is?”
“Not for sure, but he certainly dresses, acts, and talks like Crimson Rain Sought Flower.”
Banyue touched a hand to her forehead. “Oh, how does General Hua even get himself into these situations?”
Pei Xiu smiled to himself. He wasn’t worried for his adoptive father, but she had a point.
“What do you think he wants?” Banyue wondered out loud.
“Who knows? Something tells me that this isn’t the first time they’ve met each other.”
“But when could they have…. Growing up, I don’t remember anyone like him hanging around.”
“I don’t either.”
They both frowned, considering what that could mean.
“Well,” Banyue sighed. “We’d better get back to the group as soon as possible, especially now that we know how to get out of here.”
Pei Xiu nodded and they hurried back to the main avenue. Only, by the time they arrived, the main avenue was completely deserted.
They poked around a bit, looking down a couple of the nearby side streets to no avail. The only sign that they had been there at all was a long, tattered cloak pinned to the wall of one of the buildings with a knife. The cloak looked like it had belonged to one of the ghosts that had attacked them, but it was empty. Underneath it, at the base of the wall, was a pile of ash.
Banyue shook the clay pot she had been carrying under her arm. “Hey! What’s going on?”
“How should I know?” The ghost imprisoned inside replied sullenly.
“You were part of the group that attacked us! What were you guys planning?”
“Well, it wasn’t so much that we had planned anything. We were just doing what we always do when new people arrive. And I wouldn’t call us a group, per se. Really, we were more of a loose association….”
“They wouldn’t have just left without us.” Pei Xiu murmured.
“Hah.” The ghost in the pot said doubtfully.
“Anyway,” Banyue ignored him. “They don’t even know where to go without the artifact.”
“Something must have drawn them away.”
Banyue’s head swiveled as she took stock of their surroundings once more. “I don’t think we’ll be able to find them even if we look.”
Pei Xiu nodded, turning to face her. “The best thing we can do now is head to the exit. That’s what they would do in our situation. We have to believe that they’ll meet us there.”
“Alright,” Banyue agreed, “but we need to reactivate the artifact first. It’s useless the way it is now.”
They both directed their attention to the clay pot.
“... What do you want now?” The old ghost complained.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng had been walking for some time when Xie Lian started to feel a slight itching sensation on his arm.
Whatever part of the Lonely Canyon the cloaked ghost had sent them to must have been very remote, because for the last fifteen minutes, their surroundings had been more or less the same. He was sure that in the real world, the neighborhood they were walking through wasn’t this large.
Against such a monotonous backdrop, it was difficult to examine the condition of his curse mark without alarming Hua Cheng. Xie Lian decided to start up a conversation.
“You’re quite different from the rumors.” He commented as they turned down yet another identical street in the seemingly endless maze.
“Is that so? Then how did your highness realize who I am?” Hua Cheng asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Mmm… I used several methods to test you, but in every way you were flawless. Even Banyue would have been given away by those tests, so you have to be a Supreme. Besides that, you were wearing red. You were omniscient, omnipotent, and fearless. Who else could you be but the infamous Crimson Rain Sought Flower?”
Hua Cheng laughed into his sleeve. “Can I take that as a compliment?”
“What else could it be?” Xie Lian smiled.
While Hua Cheng had been looking away, fast as a blink, he had pulled up his sleeve a little further, revealing the skin above the curse mark. It was just as he feared — the veins running up his arm towards his chest had turned black, a sure sign of the curse progressing. Before Hua Cheng could glance back his way, he dropped the sleeve back to the position it had been in before.
“But I’ve been wondering,” Xie Lian continued, “down here in the Lonely Canyon, you’ve expended so much spiritual energy and used so many different powers. Is it normal for the alter ego of a Supreme to be so powerful?”
“I’m not a clone, this is my original form.”
“Eh? Original?”
Xie Lian stopped in his tracks and Hua Cheng followed suit. He leaned forward to get a closer look.
It seemed to be perpetually nighttime in the Lonely Canyon — they’d been here for hours now and the color of the sky overhead hadn’t changed one bit. In the dark, it wasn’t easy to make out the fine details of Hua Cheng’s appearance. Xie Lian reached out and grabbed the sides of his face, pulling him forward until they were almost nose to nose. Taking on a look of great focus, he carefully scanned him up and down.
Hua Cheng’s skin was perfectly constructed, down to the little imperfections — a slight unevenness in the shape of his eyes, a couple of wispy baby hairs sticking out of his ponytail. The construction was so thoughtful and precise, it was hard to believe that this was a skin he had created, that it was even possible for someone to reproduce a human form so faithfully.
Xie Lian looked over Hua Cheng’s face until their eyes met. He was caught there, momentarily lost in the intensity of his gaze. Hua Cheng’s eyes were so dark they were almost black. Looking into them was like staring into the ocean at night.
Then Xie Lian noticed the bemused expression his friend was wearing. He immediately became aware of how close they were and the rather intimate way he was holding Hua Cheng’s face.
Quickly drawing his hands back, he laughed a little awkwardly and stammered. “Not bad.”
Hua Cheng burst out laughing. “What’s not bad? This mask of mine?”
Flushing, Xie Lian grinned and replied, “Yes, it’s really well made, but…”
“But what?”
“Could I have a peek at your original face?”
Hua Cheng’s smirk stiffened a little.
Xie Lian’s stomach plummeted. He’d clearly said the wrong thing. “Ah, I was just asking carelessly, don’t take it to heart.” He rushed to say. “Here, the compass says we need to turn this way.”
He started walking again, hurrying around the corner. After a beat, Hua Cheng followed him. For several minutes they navigated the Lonely Canyon in silence.
“What if…” Hua Cheng started. “What if my original appearance is ugly? Do you still want to see it?”
“What?”
“What if I’m disfigured, ugly, monstrous, and horrible-looking? What will you do?”
Xie Lian fell silent for a moment, carefully considering how to answer. It seemed strange to him that a ghost king as powerful as Hua Cheng would be so concerned with his looks. Here in the Lonely Canyon, they’d already seen so many ghosts living out wretched existences — the mindless hordes of zombies, the dried out, gray-skinned ghouls trapped in an endless cycle of violence. No matter how ugly Hua Cheng’s true face was, could he really be more monstrous than that?
“Well, the reason I wanted to see it in the first place is because we’re like this….”
“Hm? Like what?”
“Well, we’re sort of friends now, right? So, if we’re friends, we should be honest with each other. The reason I want to see your true face doesn’t have anything to do with what you look like, so of course I won’t do anything. Rest assured, as long as it’s your original appearance, I’ll definitely—”
Hua Cheng turned his head away then. His shoulders were shaking.
“What’s wrong?” Xie Lian cried, alarmed. Only when he leaned in closer, he realized Hua Cheng was laughing, not crying.
“What are you laughing for? Did I say something wrong?” He pouted, crossing his arms.
“Not at all.” Hua Cheng beamed, waving a hand. “What you said makes a lot of sense.”
“You’re so insincere.” Xie Lian frowned. “Forget it, let’s focus on finding the exit.”
“I promise, in the entire world, you won’t find another person more sincere than me.” Hua Cheng laughed.
Xie Lian didn’t want to talk anymore so he sped up. Following the compass around a corner, he looked up and was stopped short by what he saw.
Instead of another quiet residential street, in front of them lay a wasteland.
“You don’t know how to activate the map?” The old ghost trapped in Banyue’s clay pot asked. He sounded perplexed. “But it was moving towards the exit — you obviously had it activated before.”
“That only happened after General Hua touched it.”
“Oh ho!” The ghost crowed with delight. “Someone in your group got cursed?”
“That’s why it started moving? Because of the curse mark on General Hua’s arm?”
The old ghost paused for a moment before rushing to say, “Yes, yes, exactly, you have to be cursed to get the map to work! It’s unfortunate, tragic really, but one of the two of you will have to sacrifice yourself or you’ll never find your way out of here—”
Banyue rattled the pot harshly. “No lies. I can make things a lot more unpleasant for you than they are if you don’t cooperate. How else can you activate the map?”
“Alright, alright!” The old ghost squealed, “You don’t have to get a newly cursed person, have anybody who's been cursed touch the stone and it will activate.”
Banyue and Pei Xiu both stilled, looking at each other uneasily.
Carefully, Pei Xiu asked, “Where can we find someone who’s been cursed?”
“What do you mean? They’re everywhere.” When neither of them said anything, he clarified, “You know, the zombies. How did you think they got like that?”
The boundary between the mirror city and the wasteland was abrupt. One one side, the paved road and neat stone buildings were perfectly maintained, an identical copy of Banyue Fortress City. Just past an invisible line, however, the buildings started to crumble and the road broke up. A stone’s throw away from where they were standing, the only evidence of the city were chunks of stone poking up out of the brown-gray dirt.
Looking out towards the horizon, patches of a smokey, poisonous-looking fog swirled in low-to-the-ground clouds. The dusty plain was mostly flat, interspersed with clutches of jagged rock. In some places, spindly wood jutted out of the dry earth — the withered trunks of long-dead trees and bushes. The land in front of them was utterly barren. The sky above was starless and black.
Xie Lian looked down at the compass on his arm. It was pointing straight ahead.
“This isn’t the way out, is it?” He asked uncertainly.
Hua Cheng shook his head. “I don’t think so. It seemed like the stone artifact was taking us towards the center of the hidden realm. This looks like the border.”
“If it’s the border, then why is the compass telling us to continue on ahead?”
“It must be the most direct route. In a hidden realm like this, space doesn’t always work the way you’d expect.”
Xie Lian nodded. He and the kids had already seen evidence of that. “Alright. Let’s keep going, then.”
They started forward into the wasteland. Surprisingly quickly, they lost sight of the edge of the city.
“Don’t worry, Gege.” Hua Cheng said when he caught Xie Lian looking back. “I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”
Turning to face his companion, Xie Lian offered him a small smile and nodded. He didn’t have a good reason to trust Hua Cheng, but he did.
A companionable silence settled back over them. After a while, Xie Lian asked, “Is this what the rest of the ghost realm is like?”
“Some parts of it, but not all. If Gege is curious, he should visit me in Ghost City sometime.”
“Ghost City? Is that where you live?”
Hua Cheng nodded. “It is when I’m in the ghost realm, but I spend most of time travelling.”
“Oh, me too.”
“Gege seems to know Banyue Kingdom quite well. Did you raise your kids there?”
“Sort of. We were living by the border of the kingdoms when I adopted them. Or rather, it’s more like they adopted me. We spent most of their mortal lives travelling in the central plains. We only came back to the northwest right before Pei Xiu ascended and Banyue became a ghost.”
“I’ve heard the story of General Pei Xiu’s ascension, but I didn’t know Gege had anything to do with it.”
“Most people don’t. My reputation in heaven isn’t so good, and when Pei Xiu first became a god, I didn’t want that to affect him. I didn’t have much to do with his ascension, anyway. He’s always been very independent.”
“I’ve also heard about the White Lady. I wouldn’t have expected Gege had any connection to her, either.”
Xie Lian shrugged. “I didn’t do much there, either. Both of them, what they’ve become, it wasn’t something I planned on when I took them in.”
“What were you planning when you took them in?” Hua Cheng looked at him curiously.
Xie Lian’s gaze fell to the ground. “I wasn’t planning anything. When I had to leave the Yong’an, I was going to leave them behind. They found me before I could go. Back then, I thought being around me for too long was like a curse, but they proved me wrong.”
Xie Lian glanced up at Hua Cheng’s face then. He was looking off towards the horizon, but his expression was soft, almost wistful.
“I’m glad that you had them, then. That you weren’t alone for all of those years.” Hua Cheng said after a while, still looking off into the distance.
“Me too.” Xie Lian agreed quietly.
He wondered just how long Hua Cheng had been alone.
They walked for what felt like hours. On occasion, Xie Lian would spot something shimmering out near the horizon, but in each instance, it turned out to be a mirage. The compass Hua Cheng had made on his arm kept pointing in the same direction — straight ahead — and so they kept going.
“A hidden realm like this, how is it made? Does it form naturally?” Xie Lian asked.
“Sometimes.” Hua Cheng replied. “But I don’t think this place did.”
Xie Lian agreed. He had never seen curses like this form naturally in the wilderness. “There has to be a way to destroy it then, and release the souls trapped here.”
Hua Cheng glanced at him. “Yes, there should be, but we should find out who created the realm first.”
Eventually, when Xie Lian had long since lost track of the time, Hua Cheng came to an abrupt stop. Xie Lian nearly walked right into him, catching himself right before he collided into his back. He looked up, disoriented.
Rising up in front of them was the grand palace of the King of Banyue. They had finally made it back to the mirrored city. Picking up the pace, the two of them navigated their way to the imposing front gate and up the towering steps that led towards the throne room.
Xie Lian had never been into the Banyue king’s palace in real life. He had never had a reason to go. Now, with it deserted of the guards, soldiers, and ministers that were everpresent in the real palace, he took the chance to look around.
It was an elegant building, very different from the palaces in the central plains. Like the rest of the fortress city, it was built mainly out of stone. Xie Lian walked slowly down the entrance hallway, entranced by the intricate patterns carved into the walls.
He wondered suddenly what Pei Xiu’s palace in the heavenly realm looked like. Normally, the golden palaces built for the gods took on the style of the region they had ascended from. Pei Xiu’s palace would have been built hundreds of years ago now, back when he first ascended, but Xie Lian had never thought to ask what it was like!
He became so lost in this train of thought that he didn’t realize they’d made it to the throne room until he heard a loud gasp. His head shot up.
“General Hua! You made it!” Banyue was sprinting as soon as she laid eyes on him
Xie Lian, for his part, stopped in his tracks, widened his stance, and opened his arms just in time for his daughter to meteor into him. Pei Xiu followed behind at a more measured pace. Xie Lian reached out to grab his shoulder.
“I was so worried when we got back and you weren’t there anymore!” Banyue complained with her face buried in his robes. “What happened, where did you go?”
“One of the ghosts teleported us halfway across the city.” Xie Lian explained apologetically.
Pei Xiu glanced at Hua Cheng, who was standing several paces back from their reunion. He was looking at Xie Lian’s back, his eyes soft and wistful. When he realized he was being watched, however, his expression quickly went blank.
Behind them, at the center of the throne room was a large doorway framing a glowing blue barrier — presumably the exit to the Lonely Canyon. The compass spell on Xie Lian’s arm was pointing directly at it. On either side of the doorway, spanning most of the width of the hall, was a large stone wall. Cut into it were even more carvings in the shape of a foreign script Xie Lian had never seen before.
“Oh, the others have arrived, too.” Pei Xiu spoke up. Xie Lian turned to see.
Indeed, the rest of the heavenly officials had rounded a corner and were now walking down the hall towards them.
“We must be in the right place!” Shi Qingxuan’s cheerful voice rang out clearly down the hall.
“How did you guys find your way here?” Pei Xiu asked when they got close.
“Oh, it wasn’t so hard,” Shi Qingxuan replied. She gestured at Nan Feng and explained, “He caught one of the ghosts that attacked us and beat him up until he agreed to show us the way.”
Said ghost had just been roughly thrown to the side by Nan Feng and was now scampering back in the direction they’d come from.
“That reminds me.” Banyue grimaced as she pulled out the clay pot.
Setting it on the ground a little ways away from the group, she knocked it over with the toe of her boot. The lid to the pot clattered away and the old ghost trapped inside fell out, cowering and squealing.
“Don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me!” He cried in a shrill, grating voice.
“I’m not going to hurt you!” Banyue sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You helped us arrive at the exit, so we’re not going to do anything to you. Just get out of here.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice. Collecting himself quickly, the old ghost scrambled to his feet and in the blink of an eye was sprinting away, back towards the market.
“So now that we’re all here, does anyone know how we actually leave?” Fu Yao asked the room.
“This door looks as if it will lead us out, but we can’t understand the carvings, so we don’t really know if—” Banyue started to explain.
“I can read it.” Hua Cheng interrupted, a lazy smile on his face.
“You can?” Banyue looked surprised.
“I came across this script several years ago. Back then, I had some free time, so I spent a while studying it. Eventually, I was able to make some sense out of the words.”
“Well, what does it say?” Xie Lian asked, walking over to get a better look, even though he didn’t understand himself. The rest of the group followed suit.
“Really, we’re just going to listen to whatever bullshit he makes up?” Fu Yao complained in the background.
Pei Xiu shook his head a little and Banyue rolled her eyes.
“Answering Gege’s question,” Hua Cheng said, ignoring the other heavenly officials, “It’s a description of what lies beyond the door. It says that this way leads to the mortal realm, but that people who are lonely can’t use it.” He had stepped forward and was running his finger along the carvings as he spoke. He pointed to one of the lines and explained, “Here it says that you can’t leave the Lonely Canyon alone, but that if you have a devoted one, they will guide you out. So long as you aren’t alone, all maladies will be cured and no paths will be bound.”
“All maladies will be cured?” Banyue cut in. “Does that mean the cure to General Hua’s curse is through there?”
That would be nice, Xie Lian thought. The itching sensation was growing stronger, having spread to cover most of his upper arm, all the way up to his shoulder.
Hua Cheng scanned over a few more lines. “There’s more over here. On the other side of the barrier is a maze within this maze. At the center of it, there is a fountain whose water will remove the curse.”
“Do we have to walk through in pairs?”
Hua Cheng shook his head. “No, it says that you have to find your devoted one inside. It’s a test.”
“Well, if that’s all, then it’ll be no problem for Ming-xiong and I!” Shi Qingxuan smiled. “We’re the most devoted friends you could ask for.”
Ming Yi’s mouth twisted with something like distaste. Or maybe it was just embarrassment, because as uncomfortable as she looked, she didn’t try to correct her.
Nan Feng wore a doubtful expression. He took a deep breath like he was about to speak up, but before he had the chance, Shi Qingxuan was already at the threshold of the barrier.
“There’s no point in waiting around. I’ll see you on the other side!” She chirped, and then she was gone.
Ming Yi let out a deep sigh. Without saying a word, she trudged over to the doorway. Right before stepping through, she turned around and glanced at the rest of the group. Oddly, Hua Cheng was the one she made eye contact with. Something in his face made her close her eyes in defeat, shaking her head.
Then she turned around and ducked through the barrier, following Shi Qingxuan out.
Nan Feng and Fu Yao glanced at each other uneasily. The moment their eyes locked, however, they both startled and immediately looked away.
“Well I suppose I ought to go next.” Xie Lian spoke up. “Between the people here, I’m sure I’ll be able to make it out. Nan Feng, Fu Yao, will the two of you be okay?”
There was a long and awkward pause.
“Yeah.” Nan Feng muttered reluctantly after a while. His arms were crossed and his head was turned as far away from Fu Yao as he could turn it without shifting his stance.
“Fine.” Fu Yao agreed tersely, his posture mirroring Nan Feng’s. Their faces were both puckered, like they’d taken a bite out of something extremely sour.
Xie Lian turned to Hua Cheng.
“San Lang, I know you only came along for fun and don’t know anyone well, but don’t worry. No matter what, I’ll make sure you get out of that maze. That should count as devotion enough.”
“Thank you, Gege. I’m sure it will be fine.”
Hua Cheng’s posture and expression betrayed not so much as a hint of anxiety. He seemed completely self-assured.
With that Xie Lian nodded and turned to his kids.
“Go ahead, we’ll be right after you.” Pei Xiu said, while Banyue nodded emphatically at his side.
Xie Lian smiled at them and then turned to go. They were all tense as they watched him disappear through the barrier.
Hua Cheng was the first to make a move to follow. He hadn’t taken more than a step towards the door when Nan Feng and Fu Yao moved to block it.
Hua Cheng bared his teeth at them in a savage grin. “Finally found an ounce of loyalty, have you?”
“We won’t let you through if you’re planning on hurting Taizi Dianxia.” Nan Feng announced. His expression was stony and determined, but even he couldn’t totally hide his apprehension at facing down the ghost king who had slaughtered so many gods with ease. Fu Yao hardly looked better. Still, they barred the way.
Hua Cheng’s expression warped into something sharper. “I am the last person who would ever hurt his highness. Unlike some heavenly officials I could name.”
Fu Yao snarled, “You know nothing—”
He was interrupted by Banyue. “Oh, you fools, let him through!” She exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Either he’s as loyal to Taizi Dianxia as he says he is, in which case General Hua obviously won’t let him get up to trouble, or he’s lying and he’ll be trapped in the Lonely Canyon forever.”
“What if he knows a secret way out?” Fu Yao asked, too suspicious to let the matter go.
“Then he would have already used it and escaped!”
When they still didn’t budge, Pei Xiu cut in, exasperated, “Do you honestly think the two of you can beat him in a head-on fight?”
It was this that finally made them waver.
Slowly, clearly pained, Nan Feng stepped aside.
“You—!” Fu Yao cried, looking betrayed.
“He’s right.” Nan Feng sighed. “They both are.”
Fu Yao looked like he wanted to argue, but after taking another glance at Hua Cheng, the fight drained out of him. The moment his posture relaxed, Hua Cheng was striding forward. Before anyone could say anything else, he had shouldered past the two of them and crossed through the barrier.
Banyue and Pei Xiu exchanged a look. Then, they were walking towards the door, too. They paused for a moment at the threshold.
“See you in a moment.” Banyue said cheerfully, looking up at Pei Xiu.
Smiling down at her fondly, he reached out and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. Then he turned and stepped over the threshold, Banyue right on his heels.
Nan Feng and Fu Yao were the last people in the empty palace. They glanced at each other again, eyes skittering away again as soon as they made contact.
“I don’t like this one bit.” Fu Yao fumed.
“We don’t have a choice.” Nan Feng retorted scornfully.
“After you.”
“Fine.”
“Fine!”
Fist clenched, they crossed through the barrier, on to the other side.
The maze within the maze was very different from the rest of the Lonely Canyon. It didn’t look anything like Banyue Fortress City, for one.
Xie Lian’s steps echoed as he walked down a smooth stone-paved path. Lining the path on either side of him was a seemingly endless row of large silver-blue mirrors, stretching up as far as the eye could see. Light seemed to be emanating out from the mirrors, casting everything in a cool, gray-blue tone. With every step he took, an endless line of reflections followed. It was dizzying to watch.
Unlike the rest of the Canyon, the maze within a maze didn’t seem to be actively antagonistic. Right away, the portal had brought him within sight of a fountain — presumably the one he needed to drink from to dispel the curse. It was only about forty paces away.
Xie Lian hurried forward, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead, trying not to look too closely at the mirrors.
In the space around the fountain, the path opened up onto a plaza. It was just like the plaza where he had gotten cursed in the first place, except around the borders of the square, all of the shops, stalls, and roads leading away to the rest of the market had been replaced with walls of mirrors. Overhead, he could no longer see stars in the sky, just a black void.
He held his breath as he approached the fountain, looking carefully for any unusual movements in the water. There were none, the surface was dark and placid. When he finally got close enough to lean over the basin, he was relieved to see his reflection staring back up at him. Taking a steadying breath, he leaned down and took a sip. As soon as he’d gotten a mouthful, he took several cautious steps back.
The water was cold and crisp. It tasted as fresh as stream water from the mountains.
He rolled up his sleeve expectantly. Within seconds of swallowing, the dark veins running up his arm and the inky black splotch started to fade away. Hua Cheng’s spell dissipated with it. There was a slight tingling sensation under his skin, almost like he had dipped his arm into the cold fountain. In short order, it was as if he had never been cursed at all.
With that handled, Xie Lian wasn’t entirely sure what to do. According to the inscription around the door, he wouldn’t be able to leave this maze on his own. Should he go looking for his kids? For Hua Cheng? Would they come find him? He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Before he could make up his mind, he felt the prickle of eyes on the back of his neck. He whirled around, an action copied by a half dozen or so Xie Lians reflected in the mirrors. On the far side of the plaza, he picked out another one of his reflections. The way it was moving wasn’t quite right.
Xie Lian started walking towards it, trying to get a better look. The mirror in question looked darker than the others. Its reflected image was foggy, almost — hard to make out.
As he got closer, his reflection drew into focus, a blur of white and black slowly coalescing into splotches of color that roughly resembled the shape of his robes, hair, and hands. Still, something about it was off. About ten paces away, the image clarified enough for him to realize what was wrong. His reflection had its back turned to him.
Xie Lian stopped dead in his tracks.
Slowly, the reflection started to turn around. In the moment before he saw its face, Xie Lian’s stomach plummeted. He knew who it was.
“Hello, Xie Lian.” Bai Wuxiang said congenially.
Xie Lian’s entire body felt suddenly numb. He swallowed, his throat uncomfortably dry.
“Nothing to say after such a long parting?” The white-clothed calamity tilted his head to the side. The half-smiling, half-crying mask looked particularly mocking in the dim, otherworldly light.
Xie Lian truly didn’t have anything to say. What good would it do?
His mind started whirling, rapidly calculating his odds of success if he had to fight against the calamity here. Trapped in a strange hidden dimension, mostly unarmed and with his spiritual energy bound, his chances weren’t very good. Around his wrists, Ruoye shifted uneasily.
“I have to say, I’m unimpressed. So many years on your own and you still can’t grasp the true meaning of the Lonely Canyon? I never expected you to be so stubborn.”
There was a small flicker of light in the periphery of Xie Lian’s vision. Carefully, he shifted his weight into an action-ready stance. If Bai Wuxiang chose to attack him now, he would have to respond quickly.
“Since you haven’t grasped it on your own, I’ll explain it to you very clearly: You’re alone here. You’ll always be alone.”
The sentiment of that statement struck Xie Lian as familiar.
“So it was you who pulled me under the fountain.” He realized all at once. “Are you the one who created this hidden realm as well?”
Bai Wuxiang said nothing, but that in itself was answer enough. How long had this ghost tormented him? Xie Lian could recognize one of his machinations when he saw it.
“You think that I won’t be able to get out of this maze?”
“Oh, your highness, when will you learn?” Bai Wuxiang’s voice was lilting and mournful, a mockery of gentle concern. “Camaraderie is one thing, but devotion? If your companions knew every sordid detail of your past, do you really think they would still stand by your side?”
Xie Lian started to laugh.
From out of nowhere, a sword hurtled towards Bai Wuxiang. It hit its target with force, shattering the glass and embedding itself deep within the wall behind. At once, the image of the white-clothed calamity was dispelled.
Xie Lian’s eyes had gone wide the moment he glimpsed the streak of silver. He recognized that blade. He whirled around expectantly. Sure enough, Hua Cheng was walking down the path leading into the plaza. He was glowering fiercely.
“Dianxia, are you hurt?” He asked, already scanning him over for any sign of injury as he marched up to him. “I’m sorry it took me so long to find you.”
Xie Lian smiled up at him fondly. Had it even been three full minutes since he’d entered the maze?
“San Lang, you found me.”
Hua Cheng’s expression transformed into a small, pleased smile. “It must be that the two of us share a good fate.”
Xie Lian laughed, helplessly charmed. In the next moment he remembered the seriousness of their situation. “San Lang, just now, it was White No Face in the mirror that you destroyed. I don’t know how he’s come back, but he’s the one who’s behind the Lonely Canyon. I think he’s responsible for moving the entrance to Banyue Fortress City, too. We have to tell the others.”
Hua Cheng nodded along. “Of course, Gege. We can alert everyone when we’re out of here.”
He reached out and grabbed Xie Lian’s hand and started pulling him away from the fountain, back the way he’d come.
“You know the way out of the inner maze?”
“Not at all.” Hua Cheng shook his head. “But according to those carvings, the two of us should be able to find the exit together.”
They had only just rounded a corner when they nearly collided with two more figures hurrying the other way.
“General Hua!”
“Ba!” Pei Xiu exclaimed.
Banyue did a double take, her eyes comically wide when she saw that Hua Cheng was there too.
“I’m glad I found you two.” Xie Lian pulled his hand out of Hua Cheng’s to reach up and put a hand on Banyue’s head and Pei Xiu’s shoulder. “Now that we’re all together, we can get out of here.”
“The curse is gone?”
Xie Lian held up his unblemished arm as proof.
“Alright, let’s go. But which direction?” Banyue asked.
“I don’t think it matters. The carvings around the barrier said that we would lead each other out. ” Pei Xiu pointed out.
They chose a new direction at random.
The inner maze looked more or less the same everywhere — an endless array of winding paths outlined by disorienting mirrors. There was little to help them gain their bearings, and so they didn’t even try, selecting a new direction at random each time they came to a crossroads. After about ten minutes of wandering in this way, they came upon the sound of a loud argument.
“Obviously this thing’s broken, because I’ve never cared about you in the slightest!”
“Well, I never cared about you either!”
Following the noise, they rounded the corner and stumbled upon Nan Feng and Fu Yao locked in a shouting match.
“Taizi Dianxia?” Nan Feng exclaimed with surprise when he saw them.
“Obviously, it’s them.” Fu Yao scowled. His eyes darted between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, a strange expression on his face.
With most of the group reunited, Xie Lian explained what had happened by the fountain. The others paled.
“Are you absolutely sure of what you saw?” Fu Yao questioned, his mouth set in a serious frown.
Xie Lian nodded.
“At least we’re all together now. That means we can finally get out of here.” Nan Feng said, looking troubled.
“The sooner the better.” Fu Yao huffed.
Banyue’s eyebrows flew up and Pei Xiu glanced between them with a contemplative expression. Xie Lian smiled and wondered if the two martial gods even realized that they were giving their identities away.
When the six of them turned the next corner, a stone doorway was waiting for them. They slowed to a stop.
“This must be it.” Pei Xiu remarked.
“Alright,” Xie Lian looked at his companions.
You’re alone, Bai Wuxiang had told him, you’ll always be alone. In this moment now, surrounded by his family, by people who were so dedicated to him that they could find the exit of this maze together, he had never felt less alone in his life.
“Let’s go together then.”
The first thing Xie Lian saw when he crossed through the barrier was daylight. They stumbled out of the portal onto a quiet residential street and were greeted by the early morning sun.
“Excuse me,” someone said from behind him. Xie Lian whirled around to find a middle aged washerwoman balancing a basket of laundry on her hip. “You shouldn’t block the street, people have places to be.”
“Sorry,” Xie Lian hurried to get out of her way, inadvertently stumbling into Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng caught him by the shoulders and steadied him. Xie Lian shot him a quick smile by way of thanks, and Hua Cheng smiled back. Xie Lian stepped over to stand next to him on the side of the road.
Taking in their surroundings, he glanced up and saw people opening their shutters. A black bird flew by overhead. He could hear the quiet bustle of people starting their day.
“Oh good, everyone made it.” Shi Qingxuan’s cheerful voice called. She and Ming Yi were walking towards them from a ways down the street.
“See, they’re fine. Can we go now?” Ming Yi cut in impatiently.
“What’s the rush?” Shi Qingxuan complained, raising an eyebrow. “I just want to take my time! Well then, your highness, General Pei, I think we can all agree, that was a troubling experience. It’s a good thing that the entrances to the Lonely Canyon all seem to have closed up.”
“They have?” Xie Lian asked, turning to look back down the alleyway they’d come from. Just as she’d said, there was nothing there. He closed his eyes, searching for any trace of resentful energy. There was nothing. The Lonely Canyon must have moved on.
“Ming-jie here has somewhere to be, so we’re going to head back first and report what we saw. I’m sure Ling Wen will have questions for the rest of you, too. See you back in the Upper Court!”
“See you,” Xie Lian raised a hand in farewell.
Without ado, Shi Qingxuan raised her fan and swept herself and Ming Yi back to the heavenly realm.
Turning towards Hua Cheng, Xie Lian asked a question that he couldn’t get out of his mind. “There’s still something I don’t understand. If all we needed to leave was devotion, how has no one else has escaped the Lonely Canyon? How have none of those ghosts who have been stuck together for so long developed such a bond?”
Hua Cheng looked at him and asked, “Is such a relationship truly so easy to come by?”
“I suppose not…” Xie Lian replied with a thoughtful frown, though really he was thinking, didn’t our relationship form this easily?!
“More than that, though, I think it can be explained by the nature of the Canyon itself. At every turn, the environment tried to split up our group, push us away from each other, or make us think we should go off on our own. There are many dangers that can easily kill a normal human. Those who can survive are clever and resourceful people that have learned how to make it through hardship. People who have experienced hardships are usually slow to trust others. Taken altogether, this can explain why up until now no one has been able to leave.”
Xie Lian mulled this over, nodding thoughtfully.
“Now what?” Banyue asked, walking up to the two of them. She was followed closely by Pei Xiu.
Nan Feng walked over too. “You’ve done your part. What comes next is going back to report what happened to the emperor. You should stay out of it.”
“Is it because of Bai Wuxiang?”
Nan Feng nodded. “The Lonely Canyon appearing under a prominent mortal city is highly unusual, but attributing it to a Devastation that the heavenly emperor famously destroyed won’t be taken well. Your highness just ascended again after so long. Your reputation isn’t good enough for people to believe something this shocking if it comes from you.”
“I see,” Xie Lian replied. “Well, whether or not they believe me, he’s still returned.”
Nan Feng nodded. “I’ll tell my general about it, and he can alert the emperor. Once heaven has decided what to do, Jun Wu may ask you to help.”
Xie Lian nodded, holding up his hands in a polite salute. “Alright, I’ll trouble your general then. But say, where did Fu Yao go?”
“It seems he’s already left.” Hua Cheng commented.
“What? Already?” Nan Feng asked, his brow furrowing. “I had better get back too, then. Until next time, Taizi Dianxia.” He bowed his head, shot Hua Cheng an uneasy glance, and hurried away.
No sooner had he said that, than Pei Xiu’s hand flew to his temple. His gaze turned distant, and his mouth bent into a small, serious frown. A couple of seconds later, he lowered his hand and turned to Xie Lian.
“General Ming Guang has summoned me back to heaven. Apparently I’m needed at once, but—”
“Go on, then.” Xie Lian insisted. He turned to Banyue, only to see her frowning too.
“Trouble in Yong’an?” She muttered to herself, clearly confused. “But we’ve only just settled things here….” She looked up at Xie Lian, stricken.
“It sounds like you’d better go, too.”
Wearing an anxious look on her face, she vanished, leaving Xie Lian and Hua Cheng alone in the clearing.
“Well, I guess it's just the two of us left.” Xie Lian said, turning to face Hua Cheng. “I was planning on going back to Puqi Shrine.”
“Do you want company?” Hua Cheng asked, tilting his head. He was wearing a carefree smile, but Xie Lian thought he could see a trace of uncertainty just under the surface.
“I’d be happy to have company.” He replied warmly. In truth, he was pleasantly surprised. He had half-expected that Hua Cheng would have to hurry away too. “I was thinking of making dinner. What would you like?”
“Oh, whatever Gege feels like. If you’re the one making it, I’m sure I’ll like it.
Notes:
So, there’s that, the main story I wanted to tell is all done!! Thanks for sticking around this long 😘, I know I made the subscribers wait for a minute there. Now, I do have some ideas for a couple of little extras that would take place later in the book, but tbh they’re not quite enough to fill out what I would consider to be a full extra chapter. If you guys have any ideas for a scene you’d like to see in this universe, feel free to suggest it in a comment. No promises, but if it sparks something, maybe I’ll write it up :) In the meantime, I’m going to mark this work as complete. Thanks y’all!
If you want to say hi on tumblr, I'm goodbye-blue :)
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