40 The Ghost of Hsu Residence

The sun seemed duller than before as if a cluster of clouds had swept over it. Yet, not even a single wisp of vapour was present in the sky.

The gate doors suddenly slammed shut by themselves, making MingYu yelp from surprise and huddling closer to ZhiYi's back.

It was definitely not the wind! MingYu's mind screamed. He was breathing down ZhiYi's neck, but the demon didn't seem to mind.

ZhiYi was too busy locating the source of the sob. It was shallow, bouncing from the walls, growing louder until it was almost deafening. When ZhiYi tried to take a step forward, MingYu's hold tightened and pulled at the back of his robes, keeping him in place. ZhiYi halted and curved his neck back to stare at him.

"What is it, MingYu?"

"Where do you think you're going?" MingYu grumbled as he shot a nervous glance around the main hall, keeping his gaze firmly away from childe Hsu's remains. A greenish hue was still present on his face, giving him a sickly glow.

"To find the source of the sob," ZhiYi said and quenched the smile that was trying to surface, as he watched several emotions crash over MingYu. The sight was charming to witness, MingYu's new body had a very expressive face to behold. But the troubling situation at hand prevented the demon from enjoying it fully. ZhiYi waited with patience as MingYu settled for a frown. When his lips finally parted to voice his objection, ZhiYi hurried to cut in.

"You don't want to know what happened to Wei LiXue?"

MingYu's frown deepened into a blushing scowl. "You waited to interrupt me, didn't you?"

"Yes," ZhiYi failed to contain a little smug grin that spread over his lips. MingYu gave him a gentle swat on his arm, as the blush deepened and spread over his ears.

"Damn brat," MingYu mumbled.

ZhiYi stood still and made no intentions to move. He only stared at MingYu's blush, relishing it with a teasing smile.

Feeling flustered under the intense gaze, MingYu snapped, "Well? What are you waiting for? Lead the way!"

ZhiYi chuckled as he took MingYu's hand to his own, and guided him towards the back of the main hall. "Yes, your highness."

MingYu nearly melted at the words. Burning heat rushed through his veins, crumbling up his mind. ZhiYi had never called MingYu as his highness in their past. Was this how he addressed Wu TianLan? MingYu bit down on his lip. It was three innocent words, but he wanted ZhiYi to whisper those words in his ear, only for him to hear. The prospect sent delightful prickles over his skin.

This wasn't the place nor the time to think about anything so absurd! MingYu berated himself as he yanked his mind away from the muddy parts of his brain. He turned his focus back to the many hallways and paths ZhiYi pulled him through. The gate doors that flung close by themselves were still haunting him, and he said,

"Should we go check on AhXin?"

"Don't worry. Brother LongHai won't let anything happen to him." ZhiYi said as they took a sharp turn left and trotted down a path lining the inner yard. It led to what appeared to be sleeping quarters meant for the servants.

"He is a donkey," MingYu said drily.

"He was an imperial general," ZhiYi pointed out.

"Was. Does he look like he can wield a sword with his hooves?"

"It will be fine. They are safely out of sight." ZhiYi said and gave his hand an affirming squeeze. The gesture eased MingYu's mind as he moved closer, but never pulled out of ZhiYi's hold.

They never held hands in their past. There was never a reason or an excuse for it before. Every little scrap of intimacy thrown his way, MingYu would gladly take it, no matter how morbid the situation they were in was at the moment. He would embed every curve and groove on ZhiYi's hand into his memory.

Suddenly, ZhiYi halted in his tracks, pulling MingYu out of his scattering thoughts as he pumped into the demon. He was about to ask why they stopped when he saw a shadow glide by their path and through the door that led into one of the many sleeping quarters. The words lodged in his throat as ZhiYi pulled him towards the room.

ZhiYi pushed the door open with his free hand and the two peeked inside cautiously. The tiny area comprised a bed, a chest for belongings, and a small table for two. There were no signs of any shadows inside the room. Negative energy lingered in the air, but it wasn't any stronger than what they had already encountered within the area.

"There's nothing here," The moment MingYu uttered the words, an icy breeze brushed over him, turning his spine rigid. His hold on ZhiYi's hand tightened as he turned around so quickly he nearly twisted his ankle.

The shadow from before was now drifting behind them, making its way down the path before disappearing behind the corner. The sobs followed close behind, echoing in the otherwise ghastly silence.

This time, it was MingYu who dashed after the figure, pulling a surprised ZhiYi in his tow.

MingYu wasn't particularly brave, he just hated not knowing what was going on. Even more than that, he hated fearing things he didn't understand. So the most logical thing for him to do at that moment was to rush after the looming danger. He wasn't always particularly bright under pressure, either.

"MingYu!" ZhiYi called but MingYu's frantic movements never ceased as he kept his eyes on the see-through figure that seemed to move ever so faster if MingYu tried to pick up his pace. As if he would let the thing get out of his sight!

They halted as they emerged in a small yard, hidden within the depths of the building. The yard was twenty steps wide, and as twice as long. It was otherwise bare, with sand and rock as the base. On the far corner of the yard, next to the stone wall, there was a well.

A barely visible figure could be seen standing next to the well, crying. As MingYu and ZhiYi cautiously moved closer, the figure turned around, holding a bloodied cloth bundle in her hands. The woman looked young, in her early twenties, with a long lush lock of hair. Big bright eyes were bloodshot and swollen, flower bud-like lips were biting back tears. She looked at MingYu without blinking, something resembling amazement in her eyes.

MingYu took a cautious step backwards. He didn't know this ghost, but she seemed to know him. Before either of the men could react, the ghost disappeared into thin air, then in a blink of an eye, reappeared right in front of them. She reached out her hand and latched onto MingYu's arm. ZhiYi caught MingYu just in time, as the monk howled in surprise, his eyes rolled back in his skull and MingYu went lifeless from the ghost's touch. ZhiYi cursed silently as he held MingYu's limp body against his chest. He wanted to evaporate the ghost from the three realms all together at the moment, but if he did that, MingYu's soul would be lost forever.

Biting his teeth, ZhiYi had no other choice but to let the ghost have its way for now. Regret marred his thoughts. He shouldn't have opened that third eye. Then, the ghost wouldn't have been able to form a soul-link with MingYu, leaving him at her mercy.

ZhiYi just hoped MingYu could cope wherever he was now.

---

The moment the ghost's fingers touched his arm, MingYu felt like he was plunged into the icy water. Every single cell of his body tensed and froze over. He couldn't breathe, and as he felt like life had abandoned him, he was slammed over a rough surface, gasping for breath.

The sun was blinding as MingYu scrambled on all fours and blinked for his dear life. The people around seemed oblivious to the man lying on the ground. As he forced himself to stand up and look over his surroundings, he realised he was standing in the middle of Tiang'an. Panic was an understatement. Frantically looking around, he called for ZhiYi, but nobody answered or even spared a glance his way.

Seeing a young man buying some radishes at a nearby shop, MingYu dashed over and tried to pull the man by his shoulder, but his hand went through nothing. MingYu's scream was rather unmanly, but it didn't matter, nobody could hear him.