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Kunlun didn't know why the young ghost king had been following him ever since they met by the peach blossom forest. He didn't stop him from following either. After being alone on top of a mountain for so long, it was comforting to finally have the company of another person, even if said person was always a few feet away and refused to meet his eyes anytime he turned around. That young boy all clothed in black, who reached just a little above his shoulders, sure was a funny little thing...
Regardless of who and what he was, now that he had someone else around, it felt like a waste not to talk.
"Little ghost...", he said without turning around, "You don't say much, do you?"
Hearing no response, he finally turned to face the young teen. He noticed his wide opened eyes and how he had both hands clutching tightly to the sides of his robe. He walked towards him a few steps and Wei followed his moves, stepping backwards instead to keep the distance between them.
"What's this? I'm not going to hurt you.", Kunlun said in a gentle voice.
"..."
Kunlun sighed in defeat and sat down. He crossed his legs, holding his chin with one hand and studying the teen in front of him. Wei, not knowing what to do, quickly sat down as well. His awkward reaction made the young god chuckle.
"Someone with a face like yours shouldn't be wearing these rags." Kunlun made an up and down motion with his finger and spoke as if it was a very serious matter. The ghost king looked down at his own worn out clothes, starting to feel a little embarrassed.
"They're all I have."
"Ah! Finally, he speaks!" Kunlun made an exaggerated expression and clapped his hands once. "Don't worry, there's a village nearby. If we go through there, they will get me whatever I ask."
"Really?"
"Of course! People love making offerings to the gods." The way he spoke made it seem as if being a god wasn't a big deal at all.
"Do you like it? R-receiving offerings?", Wei stuttered, his voice was quiet and polite and everytime Kunlun tried to meet his eyes, he'd look away like a shy maiden.
"What a weird thing to ask...", Kunlun leaned back slightly, resting both hands on the grass and looking at the clouded sky. Part of his impossibly long hair was spread all over the dirty ground, but no spec of dirt seemed to cling to his godly being. Everything about him looked clean and beautiful. "I live at the top of a very cold mountain, not many would go there... It's very rare for me to get visitors, so offerings aren't that common in my temple..."
Before he even finished speaking, Wei suddenly stood up and looked around. There was a river nearby and he walked towards it in quick steps. Kunlun followed him with his eyes, curious about what he was going to do.
From a distance, he saw the young ghost king roll up his pants and sleeves and step inside the water. He stood still for a while and suddenly jumped, grabbing at something and making the water splash all over him.
Kunlun chuckled when the young boy stood back up completely soaked. He held something in his hands... A big silver fish! He put the wriggling thing in his mouth, sinking his teeth in the tender flesh, but not biting it, just holding it in place. He got into position once more and soon, another fish was being nearly crushed between his sharp claws. With one fish on each hand, he ran back to where lord Kunlun was, dropping them both in front of him and kneeling.
"For you.'' Wei said trying to wipe the water off his face, but because his clothes got drenched, it didn’t make much difference.
Kunlun looked at the two desperate fish jumping on the ground and made a very conscious effort not to frown. He really didn't want to make that boy upset after he went through all that trouble... He looked up at Wei and found him staring with huge beautiful pitch black eyes, filled with expectation. His mind wandered to his cat, Daqing and all the times he left dead animals around the temple. His heart instantly softened.
He smiled truthfully and lifted one hand to touch Wei's head. The boy shivered and closed his eyes. His head pressing softly against Kunlun's palm, trying to feel as much as him as possible.
"Thank you... These are a bit too raw for my taste, though."
"Hm?", the ghost king tilted his head slightly.
" Would you mind helping me collect some wood?"
Some time later, Wei was having his first taste of delicious roasted fish in the company of the most beautiful man he had ever seen. As he looked at Kunlun eating the fish he'd caught, sitting by the fire they lit together, his chest filled with an emotion so strong, it almost brought tears to his eyes. If only everyday could be like this…
"You remind me of my cat.", Kunlun broke the silence once again.
"Cat?"
"You've never seen one?"
The ghost king shook his head.
"Well, they're fluffy and about this big... They have claws and little pointy teeth that can really hurt if you piss them off... Or maybe that's just my Daqing, he can get a little moody sometimes. To be honest, I've never met any other cats besides him."
Wei was confused as to what exactly about him - a dangerous demon from hell - reminded Kunlun of a small fluffy animal, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he asked: "Where is he now?"
"He left."
"Why would he leave...?", the 'you' never left his lips.
Kunlun took another bite before answering.
"I sent him away. He is growing and he can't be stuck with me his whole life. Everyone should get to know the world a little, right? Isn't that why you left too? To see the world?"
The ghost king was silent for a while, staring at the flames. Kunlun thought he wasn’t going to answer, but after a few moments, he shook his head and said in a melancholic voice, "I was... Looking for someone."
"Oh?", that picked the god's curiosity and he leaned forward to see Wei's face better. "Who? A friend? An enemy?"
He was never interested in how the ghost tribe lived their lives and how their personal relationships worked, but there was something fascinating about Wei... Even though they had only spent less than a day together, he felt strangely drawn to him.
Wei shook his head again. "Nothing like that. Just someone I encountered by chance. I wanted to talk to him..."
"Well, I hope you can meet again."
Kunlun watched as Wei's eyes moved towards him to find his gaze. The light of the fire reflected on his skin, brought a lively color to his naturally pale face.
For some unknown reason, Kunlun felt himself blush a little. He threw his already eaten fish to the side and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the embarrassing warmth on his cheeks.
He thought to himself, ghost kings really were too dangerous... Just a few more years and that teenager would become an irresistible beauty, for sure!
As night fell, they finally arrived at the village Kunlun had mentioned and the god and his companion were welcomed warmly by the people. It was a good thing they didn't know the good looking boy beside lord Kunlun was a demon, otherwise things would have gone a lot differently.
After eating more delicious food he had never tasted before and soaking in hot water for hours, little Wei was offered new clothes and a room at one of the houses of the small mountain village.
Kunlun had his own chambers, right next door.
The young ghost king didn't sleep all night. Instead, he tossed and turned on the bamboo mattress, excitedly remembering all the things that had happened that day. He tried to make sense of all the new emotions that had awakened within him, so strong like giant waves crashing against his chest and making it hurt.
He wanted nothing more than to stay by Kunlun's side every moment of every day, but at the same time he felt unworthy of being in his presence.
He wanted Kunlun to look at him and only him and at the same time, he felt ugly and filthy and too ashamed to be seen by him.
Deep inside his head, a voice started growling, telling him to go to Kunlun's chambers, hold him down and devour him whole, because that was surely the only way they could be together forever.
He sat up, digging his claws on his arms until blood was pouring out. He bit his tongue and the metallic taste of blood made him shiver. Pain was the only thing that could stop those horrible twisted thoughts.
Once he calmed down, he walked out of the room and stopped by Kunlun's doorway. He sat down, holding both knees and, like a guardian statue, watched the god sleep for the rest of the night.
When Kunlun woke up, the sun had just came up. From the window he could still see the purple hue of the first hours of a new day. He sat up, stretching his back and yawning and when he turned, Wei, the little kitten he had picked up along the way, was standing silently by the doorway, all cleaned up in his new robes.
"You shouldn't stare at people while they sleep" His eyes were still puffy and barely opened, making him look a little grumpy.
Wei didn't say anything and dropped his head shyly, as if he were a dog being scolded.
Kunlun felt a pang of guilt. He really was too weak for cute animals and Wei was too much like one! Trying to make things sound more casual, he added with an awkward laugh, "...unless they're your spouse."
Kunlun couldn't help feeling bad for that boy... Being so unique amongst his tribe, the little attention he was getting from Kunlun was probably the only affection he had received his whole life... He stood up and walked towards him, patting him on his smooth hair again - he was starting to like doing that a little too much…
"Little Wei...", he said and the ghost king looked up slightly, visibily enjoying the hand caressing his head, his face and ears now had a lovely shade of pink. "I was thinking... There's a lot of places you don't know yet, right? Wanna stay with me a while longer?"
To his surprise, the teenager's mood changed completely and for a brief second he could swear he saw sparkles on his eyes! His mouth opened in an adorable smile that showed all his teeth and made his eyes close. The sight instantly lifted Kunlun's spirits and he couldn't help smiling back.
Ah, he thought, this little ghost really is the most dangerous of them all!