Chapter Text
Pei Ming had the most sour look on his face as he stared Ling Wen down. It was a look of betrayal of the deepest cut—one that could never be healed with time alone. One of his closest friends, he never even saw it coming.
Besides siding with Jun Wu, what could have possibly made him this wounded?
“How Dare You Suggest I Be In Charge?”
“You were going to be voted anyway by virtue of being the second oldest and in the top 10 gods, stop being such a child.”
Ah, yes, Responsibility, the worst punishment.
He grabbed his chest like she had something
awful
and he couldn’t bear the truth of it.
“But why did you have to say it when everyone was there?! I was trying to get his highness Xie Lian to be in charge!”
“Your selective memory is acting up again, you already pulled seniority in order to stop the other gods from getting their hands on me.”
Ling Wen leaned back in her seat, looking tired and unrepentant. Pei Ming made sure to snatch her up from Feng Xin, promising to punish her accordingly. No one had been satisfied with that, considering he was her friend. They had demanded Xie Lian punish her, turning to him since he and Hua Cheng had defeated Jun Wu. Typically, due to the rules of battle between martial gods, the winner would be the new emperor. Since both Xie Lian and Jun Wu were martial gods, it seemed obvious.
The gods were always going to act the same regardless, and expected to take advantage of the situation by sucking up to who they thought was going to be the next Emperor.
Only.
Xie Lian vehemently rejected the position, much to everyone's astonishment and Pei Ming’s horror.
“Yeah, no, actually I’m going to be too busy for a bit while waiting for San Lang to come back. I don’t really want to be in charge anyway, but let me know who ends up being elected so I know who to turn to with questions.”
He gave the group of gods a sunshine smile and a thumbs up before going on his way. Pei Ming fell to his knees because he was about to ask him to take charge, and then see if he could get Ling Wen a lighter sentence.
Those damn accounts weren’t going to do themselves! They had literally been struggling just before they found her. All these civil gods and most of them can’t seem to do a damn thing!
But nooooo, when his highness Xie Lian left, Ling Wen turned to everyone, like every bit the traitor she had been the last couple of days.
“Pei Ming already declared seniority and is in 4th place in lantern rankings due to how popular his worship is. His being in charge next makes the most sense with his Highness Xie Lian declining the position.”
He turned around and saw Ling Wen shrugging at him. In any other circumstance, he would admire her self-preservation instincts if it weren't for the fact that he didn't want to be in charge!
Unfortunately, he ended up doing so temporarily. Not a lot of people are happy with the idea of him being in charge, considering his reputation, and then the list of people close to him was exposed for pretty troubling crimes.
And now here he is sulking because now he had to figure out where to house all these gods with heaven all but totaled. That damn flying rock has been around longer than even Jun Wu has been alive, he didn’t know how the damn thing was made or how to make a new one!
They had been staying in makeshift tents, but this wasn’t feasible even in a short amount of time, so he had to bend some of their rules to relieve the burden of housing until they found a new place to bring everyone.
Right now, he told the gods to stay at their temples and lifted the rule of not meddling with humans so they had a place to go while this was being sorted out. Their priests would be more than happy to accommodate them anyway. It wasn’t like they could argue; what other choice did they have?
A few stayed in the remains of heaven, going where they assumed their palaces were to salvage what they could. Most of the gods stayed exclusively in heaven, so anything they owned was also there. A few of them wept over all their lost merits.
The remains of the sky island were also scattered across the rural areas past the capital, and some of the civil gods banded together to figure out the logistics of what could have landed where.
Pei Ming himself had taken Ling Wen to one of his private residences on earth, the ones he went to when he wanted to fool around without getting in trouble. After an incident 900 years ago, Jun Wu punished him thoroughly for breaking one of heaven's big rules. He decided to be more subtle and careful after that.
So now he was stashing her here, had to put down some ground rules because he had to look for some very important things, and now came the actual hard part.
“Regardless, let's get this over with, you're not allowed to leave here, not without a clone and my permission. You aren’t allowed to look for Bai Jin either if you're allowed to leave. And finally, you're going to be working on my paperwork while I go and look for something.”
“Was this just a ploy so you could go sneak off?”
“Partially, I want you to keep an ear out for anybody trying to take advantage of the current situation. I know you have backdoor access to the array, so people won't know you’re there thus-”
Ling Wen's lips were pursed, looking a bit nervous, and Pei Ming stopped talking, wondering why now she’s suddenly breaking the facade she’s been holding this entire time?
“Well, I actually can’t do that.”
“Don’t be sassy, you're lucky you're not banished so-”
“No, I mean,
I can’t do that,
I can’t fix the array. I already tried and it didn’t work….”
“.....Ling Wen…What do you mean?”
The civil goddess looked at her hands shaking slightly, and it was only just now that he realized that she had been somewhat this whole time. She had been trying to work on the array while they were discussing.
“I think…..Jun Wu made me forget how to fix it….”
Xie Lian pressed a cool cloth to Shi Qingxuan's forehead. The younger man's breathing became harder, and the swelling areas of the skin grew and multiplied. His condition had worsened. Xie Lian was unable to contact Mu Qing at all, but he was afraid to leave Shi Qingxuan by himself, too.
He went to the local doctor, despite the severity of the illness, which had stayed too long, even before Xie Lian reached him.
Shi Qingxuan was going to die.
His friend was going to die, and he had no idea how to fix it.
Xie Lian isn’t a healer. He only knows basic things, nothing as complex as fixing a plague-infected person. His friend, on the other hand….
Nodding to himself, he got up and used the dice to go to one of Mu Qing’s temples, hoping he could contact his friend through them. He needed his expertise, and he was going to have to have Shi Qingxuan by himself for a little bit. It was a good thing that when the villagers rebuilt the temple, they made it bigger with more rooms. He made Shi Qingxuan comfortable in his own room near sunlight.
He wasn’t as upset that the gold bars were still here and decided to use them to buy Shi Qingxuan a straw mat, clothes, medicine, and other such things to keep the man comfortable.
Rolling the dice, he felt the world turn around him, not noticing hazy ,bright eyes opening finally.
Xie Lian felt the humidity the moment he walked onto the road. Mu Qing ruled the southwest. His area is known for its monsoons and jungle-like forests. The roads were built to handle the floods in these areas. He thinks he passed by here around five hundred years or so ago, but his memory isn't the best.
He went to the local village and asked where the nearest Xuan Zhen temple was. It was closer to the river, as the sect of this area had erected it near their training site, so he followed the river down until he came across a pretty impressive temple that was meticulously clean and well-constructed.
He had the feeling Mu Qing made sure his followers knew to keep it that way.
Glancing around, he walked past the temple priests, who were whispering to each other frantically, paying them no mind as he stopped in front of the statue.
He bit his lip a little bit to hide the smile at how accurate it looks, before putting his hands together and praying, sending a message to come to Puqi Village. He felt a small, confused energy wash over him before he had the feeling of agreement.
However, as he left the temple, he felt a chill run up his spine, along with some screaming coming from the training grounds a little ways over. The temple priests ran out quickly, and now that Xie Lian had taken a longer look at them, they were wearing sect uniforms.
Xie Lian ran after them easily, closing the distance between. Ever since Hua Cheng took off his shackles, he could BREATHE in a way he hadn’t in such a long time. He felt like a captured tiger that stretched fully now that it was no longer in a cage.
Power like nothing else coursed through his veins, and it took some time to remember how to draw it back in.
The two sect priests turned to him, confused and wary, until they saw his white robes before nodding at him. All three slid to a stop, and what awaited them was horror.
Blood splattered on the ground of bodies that had been thrown and smashed against the earth. In the middle was an older boy who seemed to protect his younger shidi's from the misshapen monster surrounded by resentful energy.
The way the energy was clinging to it was very familiar….
Xie Lian jumped ahead, telling the two young men to gather all the disciples, both dead and alive, away from the scene.
He can handle this on his own.
With a small tap of his foot, he was flying at the beast's face, adjusting his weight mid-air and spinning until his foot came down hard on his head. A satisfying crack and the wheeze were all he needed to know that the monster was still alive. It fell backwards, twitching, and Xie Lian landed to make sure his body was between it and the disciples.
He didn’t dare take his eyes off it until he was sure the sect students had moved everyone away. Once he got the all-clear, he started to examine the body. The muscles on the creature were bulging, almost like they were overfilled, like sacks of junk that were pointing out in all the wrong directions. Even looking at it in its unconscious state, it seemed to be in an incredible amount of pain.
Its body almost looked distorted, and Xie Lian felt this was not its original shape.
Just as Xie Lian was about to move the creature's large head, a hand shot out and stopped him, he turned around to see that it was one of the disciple boys, the one who had originally been fighting it. When he went to ask why he had stopped him, he saw the burn marks on the boy's hand.
Xie Lian hadn’t noticed it before, but he felt uncomfortable on his foot, and when he looked down, he saw his boot had been burned through to the skin. With the shackles off, his healing was faster, so it was a small burn now, but it was concerning that he didn’t notice being burned at all.
Xie Lian called upon Ruoye instead and formed the magic circle prison until he could find a way to…
Actually, where does he take this thing now with Heaven in pieces???
Sheepishly, he turned to the young man who had stopped him earlier. He looked confused but waited on him.
“Do any of you have a big pickle pot?”
“Thank you for helping us, Dao Zhang! We didn’t have time to contact Xuan Zhen, if you hadn’t been here….”
The two priests were carrying the big pot with that ghost sealed within, shuddering, thinking how worse the damage could have been. Their names were Wang Li and Wang He, they were a pair of twins, one with a very stern face and the other with a gentle disposition.
The body count was actually zero, thank the heavens. The damage to the disciples simply looked worse than it was, so no lives were lost, at the very least. The older boy had taken to looking after his Shidi and other Shixiongs while they waited for the sect elders.
“I’m glad to have been of help, are you two sure you don’t want help? I can carry it.”
Xie Lian was worried they would tip over and spill the ghost out. And had been keeping beside them to make sure they didn’t drop it.
“No! Please allow us to do this, you have already saved us. The least we can do is pull our weight.” Wang He was smiling, gentle and small, even as he and his brother heaved the pot up the stairs into the temple. They both turned away from Xie Lian, trying to pretend they weren’t out of breath or sweating like crazy.
“Let’s call Mu Qing, see if he can help store this beast.”
He went to the statue, not seeing the confused looks at the casual address of their god.
Mu Qing!
Your Highness, what’s wrong? I thought you had already gone back to Puqi. Actually, wait. I wanted to ask why you went to one of my temples to contact me. You have my array password.
Although Mu Qing sounded out of breath, Xie Lian must be imagining it.
Mu Qing, the array is down! I haven’t been able to contact you or anyone else all week.
WHAT? Hasn’t Ling Wen already fixed that!? It's been over a week and a half!
I don’t know, but we should check in on her and Pei Ming soon and see if we can get it up and running. If no one can contact each other, this is going to turn into a big problem.
Besides that, there was an incident near one of your temples. I managed to subdue the beast, but many sect disciples were injured. I think it’s connected to a ghost I fought in Puqi village recently. It had the same resentful energy coating and powering it.
Mu Qing became silent, breathing heavy, and the energy coming through the answered prayer was worrisome. Shouldn’t Mu Qing have already noticed that the array was down? The only reason he wouldn’t is if-
Funny you should say that, I’ve been dealing with similar ghosts and beasts all week! They have been popping up everywhere, and I can hardly keep up! I’ve been so swamped with prayers I haven’t had a break!
What could have caused such a surgence? Is it only affecting ghosts and demons?
Could it be affecting the citizens of Ghost City?
Suddenly, a chill ran down Xie Lian’s spine, a feeling of foreboding.
Mu Qing, I need to go. I’ve left the beast sealed in a pickle pot-
What is with you and pickle pots?
I need to go to Ghost City. I’m worried if this is affecting the ghosts there, too. When you get the chance, can you stop by this temple to check on the injured disciples? Their sect elders are tending to them, but a quick check-over would be nice, too.
I also need you to stop by Puqi Village and check on Shi Qingxuan. He’s very sick, and the doctor in my village can’t help him.
Alright, I will see you soon. Be careful. These monsters aren't strong, but whatever is clinging to them can cause severe damage.
Xie Lian made a slight noise of agreement before cutting off communication. He turned to the twins, who just looked fascinated. During his conversation with Mu Qing his body glowed a faint light, and they were enraptured. They looked away blushing and he made a confused noise which caused Wang Li to cough in his hand.
“What did General Xuan Zhen say?” Wang Li asked as the injured Sect disciples started to pile into the temple.
“He will be coming over to check on things soon. Apparently, this isn’t the only incident like this.”
The twins looked at each other, concerned, and whatever they were going to say was cut off by the young man who was fighting the beast earlier. Looking at him now, he was clearly from farther away than this area with his dark skin and slight curl of his hair.
“Thank you for your help, Dao Zhang. Do you know what we should do with the beast until General Xuan Zhen comes?”
“Keep it locked into a spiritually reinforced room, as for any future incidents, I would suggest your elders and your strongest priests make a protective barrier over the sect and village. It will slow them down even if they destroy it until help arrives.”
The three bowed in thanks, grateful for the swift response and assistance before going to tend to their sect brothers. Just as Xie Lian was about to leave, the young man stopped him with a question.
“Dao Zhang before you go, may I ask for your name? I was rude and forgot to introduce myself.”
Xie Lian smiled, and the more he looked at the young man, the more odd the feeling filled his chest. It wasn’t a foreboding feeling but one of meeting someone in the middle of their journey.
“Xie Lian, and you?”
The boy bowed and smiled gently.
“Lu Hai, let's cross paths again, your highness.”
Xie Lian blinked in surprise, unsure what gave it away, but laughed and hoped they would meet again one day. Just as he reached the last steps of the sect, he rolled the dice and disappeared.
Destination: Ghost City.