Yao In Tow

The night seemed to have no end. The yaoguai no longer hid their presence, and they took the shapes of delectable young men who swarmed around them, although there were some more feminine beauties as well. It seemed that they had learned that beauty was the way into the good graces of many weaker men. The Diyu Lord, however, was not just a man, and certainly not a weak-willed or easily tempted one.

"I heard his toppled empires," a deeper voice said, airy and alluring. The illusionary man who spoke looked at Liu Liangzhe, crossing past him, but his pretty face didn't stay that way. It morphed, turning angular and sharp with hair sprouting into a long twisting tendril from his chin. Horns sprouted from his head, long and thick like a water buffalo.

"I heard he killed a thousand men a night once every week," another said. This one was beyond handsome, with the most charming eyes of luscious brown before they turned bright red, and it was clear to see that his hair ignited at the flowing tips of his fringed bangs.

"He loves our maliciousness," another said. "He wants us. He wants us to kill for him."

"He wants us to kill for him?" another asked, their masculine voice giddy, but a farce. All of their pretty human disguises were fake, and he already had taken one yaoguai to help him, he didn't need any more than Mu Wen. However…

"I have a mountain," he said into the darkness, and the yao quieted down around him. "Yes, and this mountain can host all of you. I can give you a place to live, to call your home, and you can venture as you wish, but you must help us get there. My charge and I want nothing more than to return home. It can be your home, too."

"We are but lowly creatures," the fiery yaoguai said, his wispy hands fading in and out of reality as he gripped the front of Liu Liangzhe's robes. "What do we mean to your army? You can make corpses that serve the same purposes."

"You're better than a corpse, my dear, you can think. You're cunning, I can see it in your eyes. I need fiends like that. I need fiends like you," he said. He reached out to pull on some of the translucent hair that burned at the curled edges. He skimmed his fingers through the strands, which were all very soft, and the flames at the end were an icy-hot that numbed his fingertips. The yaoguai beneath him didn't seem to mind, and the flames grew brighter. "If you're truly so enamoured with me, then we can get to know one another -- once you let me return to my home. Certainly that could please even the most stubborn beast."

"Lead the way," the yaoguai at the mercy of his solid flesh said. There were many who echoed the sentiments, and those who did not… Well, they were taken care of by those who wished to join the Diyu Lord. Honestly, his reputation, one he had not been entirely proud of, was coming in handy more than not. Being unconscious for a thousand years had left him with the legend fit to be an immortal, and with the way his body reacted, perhaps they weren't too far from the truth.

They walked together until dawn, and then suddenly the people behind him were weaker, their bodies became translucent without the dark energy the night provided them. Still, they dutifully followed behind them as Xiaolin slept on Mu Wen until dawn, and at that point, the boy was on his feet, gripping Liu Liangzhe's hand fiercely like he was afraid to let go.

"They won't hurt you," he whispered to his child. "I won't let them, and even if I wasn't here, I doubt Mu Wen would be happy with such conduct." When Xiaolin turned to look at Mu Wen, the woman bowed her head and smiled at him, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth that she couldn't disguise. Her black hair from the night before was now bright orange with varying strands of black.

There were only thirteen people, or rather yaoguai in human form, following them, excluding the presence of Mu Wen. Still, they lingered around them, as they stopped so Liu Liangzhe could go find some food to make for Xiaolin. While Liu Liangzhe experienced hunger in the past, he hadn't experienced it quite like he remembered the first time he was alive. In fact, he rarely felt the pangs of hunger at all, so when he did, it was important to obey his body. As it was, his main focus was to reverse the starvation that occurred in Xiaolin's youth.

Because they were still in the forest, and now had about a dozen yao to command, getting food was a timely endevour where food was brought to them and Liu Lianzgeh cooked it. He handed the roasted rabbit skewer to Xiaolin.

"I'm sorry it's so bland," he said with a scowl. He couldn't wait to only feed Xiaolin delicious foods, but until then, they would make do as travellers and the poverty-stricken did. Liu Liangzhe had grown up with bland food, food without spices, food that was foraged or hunted the same day they ate it, because his parents had been wanderers like himself. Only he didn't stay a wandering cultivator, he had made a name for himself, and he had a home waiting for him, a base of operations where he once ran his own empire with subjects of all sorts. Xiaolin would know them, too, and he would learn how to control them.

Xiaolin made a noise, something like he was placating Liu Liangzhe, as he ripped meat off the stick he cooked it on.

They continued like that for many days, and eventually they saw the back of his mountain. As they approached, Liu Liangzhe had to physically hold himself back from running for his mountain and forcing it open into the tunnels he had made. He stopped at the back of his mountain, and as he touched his hands to the stone, he felt his arrays keeping out those who had not been invited. He felt the energy that had amassed over time from the massive amount of ghosts, monsters, and shambling remains inside.

"This is it," he said, "This is our home."

"Liu-shifu, how do we get in?" Mu Wen asked, very voice timid, like she was afraid he'd lash out at her for her question. He made the hand seals, long since perfected and smacked his hands into the mountainside. A large mouth opened in the cavern, and this side also said read DEATH HALL above the entryway.

"Everyone, please stay behind me. If I remember, I kept most of my soldiers in this portion of the mountain where they would be safe, they may try to attack you if they don't see me first," he clarified for anyone who may be overly eager to explore. He walked into the mountain first and started down the trails. It had been such a long time since he was there, yet he remembered where things went. It felt like he was only there a few weeks ago, the time he was unconscious was not a time he could have considered himself truly living.