76 Hugs that Last too Long
Ming Cheng forced himself to stay steady and calm as Qi Tao continued to cling on tight as if he were some panda climbing up its favourite stalk of bamboo and deciding that it was happy to remain stuck there indefinitely.
The ghost, still calling out numbers for Ming Cheng to count his breaths to hovered around him, somewhere near his back, before she abruptly realised that it wouldn't do her any good to hang around suspiciously where he couldn't see her.
She moved around quickly enough and Ming Cheng focussed his vision on her, ensuring that he knew exactly what her voice sounded like so he wouldn't mistake it for anything else and convince the people around him that he was having another episode when he clearly wasn't.
He was fine.
Nothing was wrong.
The trio of friends, hugging him and refusing to let go kept on with grips on his robes.
Qi Qing, at this point, was just taking the piss, while Wang Yuan was just following her instructions because that seemed to be his modus operandi whenever she was around.
The small, sneaky child only seemed to use his own sense of independence when she, and his brother, weren't around to see it, even though Wang Yuan's older brother not knowing about his tiny charge's particular behavioural sensibilities was an impossibility, considering Lan Chang's attitude to the boy and the history that she seemed to have with both of them.
If Lan Chang knew about it, then Wang Yuan's brother knew about it.
Whether or not Qi Qing knew was a different matter entirely, and she honestly seemed to be taking advantage of Wang Yuan's seemingly impeccable obedience without much of a second thought.
Ming Cheng turned away from her and back towards the ghost, standing slightly ahead of him and just over Qi Tao's hunched shoulder.
She stood far away from all the other people who were milling about the room, the servants and cooks too busy to deal with the drama and incidents of the children.
She confirmed then to Ming Cheng that she didn't want to be noticed by the others, even if she could phase through them if she wanted.
Standing out of the way was another precaution that was being taken.
Could Ming Cheng actually trust her though?
Sure she had helped him come over the trap of memories that he had just escaped from, all of it coming exclusively from her help, something that he would thank her for later when they were alone, but at the same time, she was the one who had put him in this situation, even if it was unknowingly.
She was keeping just as many secrets from Ming Cheng as he was from her.
Was it right for him to call over a priest or learn the arts of exorcism, after she had helped him?
Was it moral for Ming Cheng to scorn the hand that had fed him?
It obviously wasn't, but she was part of the undead and of those that needed to be cleansed to pass on?
