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The problem with the man was that he was annoyingly there.
Shen Wei wasn’t used to anyone observing him so closely – in general mortals were not able to see the ghosts, that was why it was the Hell’s responsibility to deal with the escaped ghosts in the first place. And for years, centuries even, Shen Wei had done just that – appeared on the surface, dealt with the vengeful souls that tried to wreak havoc and returned back to the underworld.
He was the last of his kind – a rather failed experiment of the Ten Kings, a ghost-human hybrid that would make human souls acting as guardians of the dead, redundant. After his brother turned against the Kings, Shen Wei remained a solitary entity that no one was sure what to do with. He was too good to get rid of, too dangerous to trust and truly, he didn’t mind.
With Ye Zun imprisoned in the Chamber of Oblivion, Shen Wei found certain joy in doing his duty – it was better than assisting the Kings in their meetings, pretending he had anything to say. Despite the Kings' apprehensiveness of Shen Wei, no one here believed he had any power in Hell – aside the possibility of rebellion, but there was nothing Shen Wei could rebel for.
His existence wasn’t bad. He was mostly unnoticed by the mortals, feared by the hell workers. It was alright.
But now there was this human, watching Shen Wei clean his dao from the hellish beast’s blood with obvious interest. Against his will, Shen Wei raised his head and finally met the stranger’s gaze.
As it was during their previous meetings, the man didn’t look surprised. He was wearing black robes that reminded Shen Wei a bit of his own, though the stranger’s were of slightly lower quality. Hell probably didn’t care much about the prices of the materials, especially when dressing their failed experiments. Shen Wei's robes probably looked nice because they were not actual clothes, just a bit of hellish power shaped into what the Kings thought was appropriate at the time.
“I still don’t know who you are,” the man said out of the blue, addressing Shen Wei directly for the first time.
“Most people ask me 'what' am I.” Though it left his lips without permission, it was true – even the agents of Hell were not entirely convinced Shen Wei was a person. Maybe that was why he replied to the stranger’s question so readily. Because it was new. Unexpected.
The man sighed heavily.
“You don’t sound too happy about that, so I am guessing you prefer my way of asking. Does that merit me a reply?” Shen Wei wondered about it for a moment. What could happen if he did tell the man?
The human was clearly aware of his existence, and was rather well-adjusted to the sight of the hellish beasts and escaped ghosts, and yet… The urge to tell his name to the man took Shen Wei by surprise. He should not want humans to know him. So even though the reply he wanted to give was different, he ended up saying:
“I’m here on a mission.”
The man’s face lit up in a smile, as if getting a name was more than the man hoped to achieve, and rather expected his question to be ignored altogether.
“Ah, I see. An important, secretive figure you are!” He exclaimed and jumped over the beast’s carcass to stand in front of Shen Wei.” I am Zhao Yunlan.”
The name didn’t ring any bells – there were very few Hell’s agents that Shen Wei did not know, so the man, Zhao Yunlan, must be clearly simply that, a man. A man with unusual powers to see what mortals should not see while in the Land of the Living.
“You have seen these before,” Shen Wei stated, and Zhao Yunlan shrugged nonchalantly.
“Hard not to, when your job is to kill those before they get to the villagers.”
That didn’t make much sense. Why would humans guard their own, if there were thousands of Hell agents employed to do that?
Though Shen Wei’s face was covered by his hood, the man somehow noticed his surprise, because he sighed heavily.
“I don’t know who sent you, but we at the Guardian Order are supposedly chosen by the heavens themselves, or something,” he explained, then flashed a happy grin at Shen Wei. “And you? What are you doing here, hunting down our foes with such ferocity?”
Shen Wei did not answer.
He knew that Hell and the Heavens had always been at odds, especially where it came to jurisdictions and this, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan talking to one another? This could be a beginning of an incident.
“It’s what I was born to do,” he replied finally and disappeared, going straight back to Hell. Though no one ever asked him about what he was up to in the Land of the Living, he still wondered if maybe he should report this meeting to someone. Maybe to the Kings themselves?
What would they even do? Probably call for a meeting, provided that they didn’t know about Zhao Yunlan and his strange Guardian Order already.
This wasn’t Shen Wei’s problem, he decided.
If there were humans allowed to see the beasts then it was nothing Shen Wei could do anything about.
--
The ghost roared loudly and Shen Wei’s dao, so infallible before, broke in a half. This was… new. The enemy tore into the wall of the small, ruined house it’s been holed in, shredding it to pieces with its horns. It landed outside and before Shen Wei could do anything more than turn and brace for impact, the monster circled back and charged into the hut once more, heading straight for him.
As he ducked out of the way, Shen Wei started to wonder if this was a sign of his powers diminishing, of his existence running its course – his weapon had never failed him before, and though he was far from helpless without it, its loss was not something he was prepared for.
He clawed at the ghost with his own hand, his nails long and sharp, tearing into the ghost’s foreleg, but it was not enough – the monster rammed its big, bull-like head into his side and knocked him to the ground. Shen Wei started to wonder if there was a possibility for him to die after all – no one in hell had ever determined if he even could.
And then, a flash of light appeared in his vision – a line of pure fire hit the ghost and it jumped away, shrieking loudly in protest.
As he got up to his feet, Shen Wei finally noticed his saviour.
Zhao Yunlan.
Once again in his black robes, with a fiery whip in his hands and with his long hair escaped from the bun, blowing in the wind.
“I think that’s enough, give back the relict you have stolen,” Zhao Yunlan ordered, his tone steely and sure, unlike the friendly and curious one he had addressed Shen Wei in before.
Then, Shen Wei’s mind caught up with his words.
A relict? That would explain the breaking of a dao, if the vengeful spirit managed to swallow a holy item it would grant it powers the energy of hellish origins would have troubles countering. Maybe that was the reason why Heavens decided to create its own agents in the first place.
A mixture of holy and the profane. A force Hell itself couldn't stop fully. If things like that existed in the world then it made sense to have agents of both sides.
The ghost roared at Zhao Yunlan, and dark shadows appeared underneath its feet, crawling on the ground towards him.
Shen Wei swiped at them with a hand and this time his own power was enough to stop them before they reached his saviour – they froze and retreated towards the angry beast, making it even more furious.
It truly looked like a bull, if bulls were covered with scales and sported something that began to look like a pair of wings.
“I think it’s mutating because of the opposite forces inside it,” Zhao Yunlan said from the rubble he was standing on, bits of wood and stone shifting dangerously underneath his feet.” We should get rid of it before it becomes more than either of us can handle."
Shen Wei nodded and got to his feet, concentrating.
The wave of resentment around the ghost was truly powerful, almost choking, but there, at its core, now that he knew what he was looking for, there was a small ball of a holy light, right next to the monster’s heart.
“I can keep it occupied for a while, can you extract the holy item?” Shen Wei replied, and Zhao Yunlan gave him an acknowledging hum.
Enraged by their words it seemed, the ghost charged once more, a wave of shadows around it spreading around the hut. With the broken dao still in his hand, Shen Wei dodged out of the way and stabbed at the beast’s side, deep enough to get its attention.
The ghost tried to swipe at him with his horn, but Shen Wei anticipated that this time and moved slightly backwards, keeping his grip on the dao tight, wielding it like a dagger. Whatever Zhao Yunlan was doing on the other side of the ghost, Shen Wei hoped would be enough.
There was a swish and a crackle, then the fiery whip coiled itself around the beast’s belly, somehow holding it immobilized. The ghost roared once more, but Shen Wei’s grip on it was too strong for it to get away that easily and tear into his ally.
“Ugh, hate that part,” Zhao Yunlan said from behind the thrashing monster and then Shen Wei heard something that made him think of a flesh being ripped open – the next moment there was a light glow spreading around the ruin, as the human took out whatever the holy item the ghost managed to swallow.
The moment the light was fully out, the beast wailed almost pitifully, but Shen Wei had no pity in his heart for it – he pulled out the dao with a force and stabbed the ghost in the eye, delivering the killing blow.
With the last, thundering shout, the beast was gone, its body turning into ashes.
“I thought you were supposed to deliver escaped ghosts back to hell?” Zhao Yunlan asked, and when Shen Wei turned to look at him, the man seemed unharmed, if a bit perplexed.
“It lost its human qualities entirely.” He wanted to simply reply to him, but it came out slightly defensive. Ridiculous, what did Shen Wei care for some man’s opinion on his work? And yet he felt unease underneath the man’s silent scrutiny. Unsettled, he added:
“I cannot think of any way to save it.” Zhao Yunlan nodded at the words and raised the holy item he was holding in his hand. Now that it stopped shining so brightly with heavenly power, it looked like a bottle, with something small flickering at its bottom.
“Thankfully I can,” Zhao Yunlan said, and when Shen Wei looked closely, he could recognize the insides of the bottle as a wounded ghost. It was very small, its energy barely there.
“I… Was not aware,” Shen Wei amended, looking at the ghost swirling inside. Could it be processed by Hell? There was barely any conscious thought Shen Wei could pick up from it now.
Zhao Yunlan sighed heavily and hid the bottle inside his robes.
“Of course you wouldn’t. It requires a holy item to do and I don’t think they give you many of those in Hell,” he said, and then his handsome face lit up in an unexpected smile.
“Oh my, a bit on the younger side, aren’t you?” Zhao Yunlan observed all of a sudden, and Shen Wei only then realized that the beast had torn his hood away at some point during the fight.
He tried to look away, but Zhao Yunlan took a step forward and was just next to him, watching him closely.
“I think you are a good spirit after all, such a beauty!”
Shen Wei had never heard anyone address him like that.
Had never had anyone look at him like that either, with something like laughter dancing in their eyes.
His heart did something strange then, some kind of a twinge Shen Wei had not experienced before.
He did not correct Zhao Yunlan’s guess.
--
Shen Wei didn’t run into Zhao Yunlan during his every escapade to the surface, which was just as well. The mere thought of the man made him slightly… unbalanced.
Ye Zun had wanted freedom, had wanted life and choice, he wanted to be revered and listened too, while Shen Wei had always been perfectly satisfied with just fulfilling the duty he’s been given. There was something deeply satisfying in getting rid of angry, crazed ghosts, in making them disappear from the land of the living, bringing those who were still conscious to receive fair judgement. Ye Zun had claimed they should be on the side of the souls they were hunting, that they were made of them after all, but each time he saw another mutation born of resentment and hatred, Shen Wei didn’t feel a shred of kinship with it.
And yet, whenever he did meet Zhao Yunlan, he found his own feelings to be conflicted on the matter.
“You don’t hesitate at all,” Zhao Yunlan observed, watching Shen Wei bind the angry ghost with his power.
“They have committed a crime, they should be punished for it,” he replied, making his weapon disappear. Thankfully it got repaired every time he returned to Hell, absorbing the energy from the place and fixing itself. Shen Wei wasn’t sure what he would have done after losing such a weapon – or what the Kings would do to him if they realized he no longer possessed it.
Zhao Yunlan sighed and gave him a fondly exasperated look. It’s taken Shen Wei a few meetings to properly understand this particular expression of his, but now Zhao Yunlan was getting easier to understand.
“Do you hate them?” Some part of Shen Wei wanted to reply ‘yes’. The spirits angered him, breaking the rules and causing harm at their leisure, wreaking havoc because their life was not what they had wished for. But it was not that easy.
Sometimes, when they were still retaining their form solid enough to talk, sometimes they told him – the pain, the fear, the injustice they have suffered. It was almost hard to believe and Shen Wei had no compassion, was created without it, but it was hard sometimes to see them all the same way.
The rich aristocrat angry at the world because he did not inherit his father’s manuscripts, and a mother who had to watch her infant starve to death in winter – could he really see them all as equally deserving of Hell?
“I don’t feel such emotions,” Shen Wei finally said. Zhao Yunlan just gave him a doubtful look and then stretched, exhaling heavily.
“We’ve done an awfully hard job today, but we did it well, don’t you think?” Shen Wei looked at the ghost struggling against his energy behind him. Though it seemed mostly human, there were scales on the otherwise female face. The ghost didn’t look to be as formidable as she had proven to be – she was still glaring at them both, waiting for a chance to run free and attack. Shen Wei would have probably managed to subdue her on his own, but Zhao Yunlan’s help was certainly appreciated.
“I would say so, yes,” he amended, not sure where the human was going with it.
“So, do you trust me now enough to give me your name?”
Shen Wei’s heart stuttered.
No one has ever asked.
He and Ye Zun were granted the names only because parts of them had been human once – the names were forgotten by all but them right the moment they had been given. No one has ever referred to them in any way aside from the Ghostslayer. It didn’t matter to anyone in Hell which of them was which, they had the same face and the same name. It became fatal when it turned out they had not the same mind, as the Kings had previously assumed. For Shen Wei, becoming the only Ghostslayer had only removed any need for a personal name.
And now Zhao Yunlan asked him.
He could give him the title he had been assigned and go away, taking his prisoner with him.
But now, on this sunny day, standing in a small temple laying on the feet of the Kunlun mountains, surrounded by trees and so much life, Shen Wei didn’t want to be the Ghostslayer. Not here, not to Zhao Yunlan.
“Shen Wei,” he replied, and Zhao Yunlan’s answering smile made something in Shen Wei crack, just a bit.
--
“You should try this one too,” Zhao Yunlan said, offering a fruit to Shen Wei without any hesitation, as if this was a normal occurrence.
Frankly, before meeting the man, eating didn’t seem that appealing to him – he knew humans required substance, and that they often had preferences regarding which dish they wanted to consume at a given moment, if they could afford the luxury of choice, but that was about it, really. The concept of food had been something that Shen Wei treated with cold acceptance.
Zhao Yunlan seemed to be on a quest to change that.
They were sitting in a small tavern and if Shen Wei was to be perfectly honest, there were no ghosts in sights, aside from him. No one had asked him about his reason of leaving Hell, but in case they had, Shen Wei had a good excuse – there were snippets of energy escaping from one of the Hell gates, and he was here to track them down. That was what he had said to Zhao Yunlan at least, but the truth was far more concerning.
Shen Wei had wanted to see Zhao Yunlan.
It was a much more perplexing occurrence than some shaman borrowing hellish energy for their spells, it happened all the time, with gruesome consequences more often than not, and Shen Wei had rather small chances of finding the one responsible, so he didn’t even bother. He came here solely for Zhao Yunlan, and that was… that was worrying. Shen Wei shouldn’t want things.
Wanting was what made the ghosts turn into the monsters he had been hunting for centuries and Shen Wei was… He was… Shen Wei wasn’t human.
But it stopped to matter the moment Zhao Yunlan smiled at him and handed him another one of many things he decided Shen Wei should definitely taste.
Taking a bite of the offered pear, retrieving it gently from the other man’s grasp, Shen Wei waited for the question he was sure would come. “Why are you here? Zhao Yunlan would ask, and then would have to accept the lie about the shaman. He would probably offer to help, and Shen Wei would have to figure out what to do next, he was not prepared for that just yet.
But so far, Zhao Yunlan had not asked. Instead, he ordered more things, making the owner smile at him with more and more respect, and asking Shen Wei to try them and give some opinion. It was not what Shen Wei had expected, but it made him feel warm all the same.
“Next time you come to visit, I would love to drink with you!” Zhao Yunlan had told him as they were saying goodbyes, Shen Wei full with things he had never dreamed of eating before, and dazed with different flavours. It took him a moment to realize what his companion had said.
“Visit? I…” the gentle fondness in Zhao Yunlan’s eyes stopped him from saying anything else. This human was surprisingly smart and Shen Wei was once again at loss. Zhao Yunlan saw right through him. Saw him.
“I would love to,” he whispered, and left without any more words, trying to make sense of his own thoughts.
--
Shen Wei should have stopped coming to the surface so often after being caught at it the first time, but it turned out that he was just like the hungry ghosts he swore to hunt – once he got a taste of his desire, he could not let go.
Being with Zhao Yunlan was unlike anything else he had ever experienced, on the surface or in Hell – it felt right, like nothing else ever had before.
Their meetings were frequent now, with Shen Wei appearing not only in pursuit of a rogue ghost, but also in the moments of peace and quiet. Zhao Yunlan didn’t seem to mind at all – he welcomed him with a smile and if he had no other duties, he took Shen Wei on walks around the nearby villages.
The Guardian Order Zhao Yunlan was leading was based here, hidden in the valley in the Kunlun Mountains, and so far it seemed he was the only member.
“I got the title from my father, and he got it from his… You know how it is with us, humans,” Zhao Yunlan told him when asked, and Shen Wei’s heart squeezed painfully at the reminder. They were not the same, despite fighting hand to hand on more than one occasion, they were not the same kind. Zhao Yunlan would one day pass away and Shen Wei would not. At best he would dissolve, overpowered by a vengeful spirit one day, if the Kings did not decide to erase him from the existence earlier.
Zhao Yunlan would reincarnate. Shen Wei would disappear.
Maybe that was why Shen Wei allowed himself those visits in the Land of the Living – he was aware of the consequences of the passage of time now.
“I hope you don’t need to give it away any time soon,” Shen Wei replied, trying not to think about the perspective of Zhao Yunlan having a son, a family of his own he could leave the responsibility to.
Next to him, Zhao Yunlan nodded enthusiastically.
“Absolutely. I still haven’t found a child naïve enough to come and ask me to train them, so I hope the heavens give me some more time.”
Before he could say anything more, they have arrived at their destination – a small cave hiding a shrine inside. The small bits of energy escaping Hell had long ceased to be just an excuse for Shen Wei, now they were an actual problem the Hell wanted solved.
The wisps of hellish smoke brought them both here and the sheer force of evil concentrated around the small altar was enough to give even Shen Wei a pause. The resentment swirling around it didn’t seem attached to anything in particular, there was no shaman, no being hiding here, no angry spirit the energy might have been called by. And yet, it felt somehow familiar.
“That’s new,” Zhao Yunlan said quietly, looking around, searching for anything that would explain a small cloud of black with no catalyst to it. “Did the altar summon it? Did the owner leave the spell and disappeared right after?” he wondered out loud, but Shen Wei had no answer for him. There were no spells on the altar and no sticks of incense. There was no trace of any entity nearby, at least not anything Shen Wei was able to notice.
“It’s almost like it came here on its own,” Shen Wei said slowly, reaching out towards the cloud. It rippled slightly and dodged his fingers. Whatever it was really didn’t want to be touched by him, specifically. When Zhao Yunlan repeated the gesture and extended his fingers towards it, the black energy ebbed closer, jolting back the moment a spark of fire appeared on Zhao Yunlan’s fingers.
“I think it really wants to find a human.” Having said that, Zhao Yunlan muttered a spell under his breath and the cloud was immediately overtaken by flames dancing on his fingertips. Shen Wei watched it all in silence, trying to understand.
If nothing had summoned the energy here, if there was no willing recipient to it then why would it…? It wasn’t a spirit, there was no trace of consciousness in the energy, it was not human at all, and yet it had trickled from Hell with a purpose.
Shen Wei felt a wave of dread.
“I think something might be trying to escape.”
Zhao Yunlan’s head snapped to him in alarm.
“What do you mean? Ghosts escape all the time, if they have enough attachment, don’t they? But this is not a ghost, this is-“
“-something more powerful,” Shen Wei finished, hoping that he was wrong. There hadn’t been a situation like this before, not since the Ghostslayers had been created, but Shen Wei knew enough about the proceedings down in Hell to be aware that it was impossible for vengeful ghosts and rabid beasts to do something like that.
Or maybe there was something the Kings of Hell were still not telling him.
Zhao Yunlan’s voice brought him back to reality.
“I would love to say this is just a fluke and some shaman called the powers of hell and forgot to appear and receive it, but I am not so sure,” he said, coming closer to the altar and inspecting it with a frown on his face.
“I think we should check if this is the only shrine something like this appeared in. Maybe there are more, undetected and growing in strength.”
Shen Wei could only nod in agreement, his decision made.
He would have to see the Kings.
--
“I am afraid this won’t be possible,” the Judiciar said, giving Shen Wei his best regretful look that did nothing to make him seem more genuine. “Your Lordship is not allowed to seek contact with his brother, there are procedures…” the man trailed off, as if expecting Shen Wei to accept that and leave.
Shen Wei had no intention of doing that.
“I need to make sure. Something is happening, there are spontaneous centres of energy escaping through the Hell gate in the Kunlun mountains and I am afraid that Ye Zun is trying to leave his prison.”
The Judiciar laughed artificially.
“Your Lordship! The other Ghostslayer is kept in the Chamber of Oblivion, I am certain he no longer has any recollection of who he is and what he had done, much less any power to escape. The Chamber of Oblivion is unescapable.”
With that final assurance, the Judiciar bowed to Shen Wei and left, leaving him alone at the Lost Souls Bureau office. The underworld agents that usually used to sit around here, waiting for another case were now nowhere to be seen – the presence of the Ghostslayer made them nervous, was what Shen Wei gathered. That was why he used to work alone, only joining other agents of hell when it was absolutely necessary – he was a good support to have, but a very uneasy ally to call on.
This thought didn’t use to feel him with any emotion before. Now he felt… bereft.
Not thinking much about it, Shen Wei directed his steps to the gate. He briefly wondered if he should address the guardians of the gate on his way out, but they have not seen the escaping energy in the first place, and Shen Wei had better things to do than be charged with causing unnecessary panic in Hell.
Maybe it wasn’t Ye Zun. Maybe the shrines he and Zhao Yunlan had visited were just permeated with resentment, calling some excess energy towards it. Maybe there was nothing more to it, just a coincidence.
And yet the unease didn’t subside.
Shen Wei had planned to go investigate the shrine again, he really had, but instead of that he found himself at Zhao Yunlan’s home. It was a nice evening, warm and enjoyable – the wind brought with it the scent of flowers and fresh grass, and Shen Wei could feel his own worries lessen a little.
As if expecting him, Zhao Yunlan appeared on the porch and smiled at him.
“Ah, Shen Wei! Please tell me it’s not an emergency that brings you here, I am trying to prepare a meal for myself!”
As was the usual with them now, Shen Wei took of his hood and Zhao Yunlan’s gaze immediately softened.
“I am taking it as ‘yes, I can help you with the cooking’,” he teased and Shen Wei didn’t even try to fight the smile forming on his face.
Despite claiming that he was teaching Shen Wei how to cook, Zhao Yunlan seemed to have even less of an idea which flavours went together and which did not fit one another in the slightest. As they tried to prepare a meal consisting mostly of the things Zhao Yunlan already possessed and kept in his house, Shen Wei found himself stopping him from putting yet another dreadful ingredient inside the soup boiling on the fire.
“Don’t add it, it will turn the whole meal bitter,” Shen Wei chastised, making Zhao Yunlan laugh heartily.
“For a man who claims he doesn’t need food, you seem to know a lot about it,” Zhao Yunlan observed, not unkindly, and Shen Wei fought off the urge to look away.
Ever since Zhao Yunlan made him try out some things, Shen Wei had been… curious. He couldn’t exactly try new food in Hell, and eating without Zhao Yunlan’s company didn’t seem as appealing, but he was interested in the subject enough to pursue at least theoretical knowledge on his own.
“I’ve been… reading,” he admitted quietly. When he raised his eyes to look at his companion, he was taken aback by the amount of warmth shining in the other’s eyes. No one looked at Shen Wei that way.
And if anything happened to Zhao Yunlan… No one would ever again.
“My greatest wish is for you to live a long life, Zhao Yunlan,” he confessed, his own honesty surprising him.
Zhao Yunlan’s expression turned serious. He left behind the ginger root he’s been mutilating with a knife all this time, and walked closer to Shen Wei, stopping just a breath away.
“I cannot promise you that,” Zhao Yunlan started, and Shen Wei’s heart spiked in fear. “But I can promise you I will try.” It was oddly sincere, as if they were talking about something more than just human life expectancy. As if them staying together for as long as they were able to mattered to him just as much as it mattered to Shen Wei.
"I don't want to say goodbye just yet."
Zhao Yunlan nodded, serious and so sincere that Shen Wei wondered if it was possible for him to have this after all.
Just a couple of years, a few decades - didn't seem all that much when compared to his own lifespan, but every year of Zhao Yunlan's life was precious to him.
"Tell me what brought you here." The change of topic caught Shen Wei unawares, but he dutifully told his companion everything he's learnt so far. He shouldn't disclose too much to a human, Hell was after all, a concept that one should not be entirely prepared for. Even if they were passing it only to get to another life, humans should not know too much about its inner workings.
That, and he really didn't want to tell Zhao Yunlan anything about Ye Zun.
Ye Zun was... Everything Shen Wei could become, if he abandoned his duty, if he let his desires run free, and he didn't want Zhao Yunlan to see this part of him, this possibility of what Shen Wei could turn into.
So he explained as vaguely as he could that he suspected something powerful was trying to escape Hell by sending bits and pieces of its power to find a worthy carrier.
The soup was ready by the time he finished talking and he followed Zhao Yunlan to the table with a bowl on his own, listening to the man's hypotheses eagerly. It really didn't have to be Ye Zun.
Zhao Yunlan had many good, possible explanations as to what was calling hellish powers onto the surface, had some good guesses as to how the energy could be used and stored, had even possible culprits in mind.
Shen Wei truly, whole-heartedly wanted to believe him.
Yet the small sense of foreboding didn't leave him.
--
They've been hunting down new pools of hellish energy for months when it happened.
There was a shrine, not unlike any others they have purified together, small and forgotten, hidden high in the mountains, away from more used paths. The trail of hell's powers was so faint there that Shen Wei wouldn't have noticed it, if it wasn't for Zhao Yunlan's spells that were very insistently pointing to this place ever since they had decided to use the tracking incantation.
Despite the Judiciar's nonchalant attitude towards the problem, both him and Zhao Yunlan agreed that the energy required some monitoring, and now here they were.
It didn't seem dangerous.
There was, as it had happened before, a small cloud of amassed black energy swirled around and it wasn't even that strong, truly. But something about it felt wrong. Before he could voice that particular observation to Zhao Yunlan however, the Guardian was already summoning fire to his hand, but it was all in vain: the ground underneath their feet started to shake.
The cloud suddenly grew in size, and Shen Wei belatedly realized that they have been fooled. The illusion they had stepped into fell apart with another tremor and the shrine visible to them now was much bigger, its entirety almost filled with the angry, swirling dark mass.
How had they missed this?
Shen Wei summoned his dao and moved towards Zhao Yunlan. At the same time the Guardian threw a handful of fire at the cloud, but instead of dispersing, it absorbed the flame, glowing red in the process.
Then, a familiar voice rang out, coming seemingly from every direction:
"Didn't expect that, did you?" Ye Zun asked triumphantly. Shen Wei swiped his weapon at the black waves coming his way, but instead of being repelled, the dark energy surrounded the blade, rendering it immobile, enveloping it like a goo." Come on brother, you should know better than this."
Shen Wei looked to Zhao Yunlan just in time to watch him mouth the word 'brother' silently, and tried to calm himself down.
Now Zhao Yunlan knew.
"He is like me," he started, trying to wrench the blade away from Ye Zun's incorporeal form." He's been imprisoned in Hell for ages."
The dark cloud shimmered angrily.
"And you didn't even try to set me free!" It seethed, still sounding like Ye Zun." I had to ask a human for help!"
"Clearly, the worst humiliation," Zhao Yunlan said, stepping closer to Shen Wei, his spells already covered in his blood, his thumb bleeding slightly. He tossed three at the cloud and a small eruption of light made Shen Wei hope that they were not quite as hopeless as he was feeling. The cloud receded slightly, wounded by the power Zhao Yunlan was wielding, but it did not disappear.
"You humans have their uses, I suppose," Ye Zun said and then, without any warning, a new wave of dark energy attacked them, surrounding them completely.
A pull Shen Wei had never experienced before started to tear at his insides, crushing his bones and stealing his breath. He was growing weaker with each passing moment and yet all he could think about was the fact that Zhao Yunlan was not a spirit.He was a human, a brave, wonderful human who was now being absorbed by Shen Wei's own brother.
They were going to die here.
This was unacceptable.
Focusing all his thought on Zhao Yunlan, on the man's slowly stopping heart, Shen Wei forced his blade away from Ye Zun's power and cut.
The Ghostslayer's blade which even the Ten Kings feared, could cut through everything. And so it did - it parted Ye Zun's energy efficiently enough for Shen Wei to escape, pulling Zhao Yunlan with him.
The Guardian was pale, too pale, but he was still breathing.
Shen Wei dragged him away from the shrine, ignoring his weak protests.
"I need to end this, I need-"
"-You need to live," Shen Wei growled, forcing the man onto the nearest rock."You promised me. You promised me you will try!"
Zhao Yunlan blinked at him, surprised, and Shen Wei hated how ill he looked.
"Stay here. He is my responsibility, so please, just stay here and let me handle him."
There was no answer, and feeling his brother's power solidifying, Shen Wei gave Zhao Yunlan the last, pleading gaze and went back into the shrine, his weapon ready.
It didn't matter if he died on the way, as long as he emerged victorious. There was no other option.
"You've used a shaman, didn't you?" Shen Wei asked. The black cloud that was Ye Zun, rippled.
"Yes, very good. I used him to summon my energy into different, remote places, so that no one would notice. it took some time and a lot of nightmarish visions for him to do what he was told, but finally he did," his brother replied, clearly proud, and Shen Wei couldn't bear it. He charged at the centre of the cloud, swiping his dao with force, but this time Ye Zun was ready - the energy parted in the middle, dodging his blow, small tendrils of using his distraction to latch onto his robes.
"You are not getting out," he said through gritted teeth, cutting away the wisps surrounding him, with the parts of the robe they were attached to.
"You cannot stop me," Ye Zun hissed. "Not after we've managed to put me together."
It took Shen Wei too long to understand the implication, and as he had to block Ye Zun's attack with his dao he realized that he couldn't do anything with this newfound knowledge, he needed...
"I guess you need those, then?" Came a voice from behind the black cloud.
Zhao Yunlan was standing there, holding a whole bunch of talismans that were practically leaking with dark energy. They must have been laying on the altar, blocked first by the illusion, then by Ye Zun's form. Knowing what to look for however, Zhao Yunlan clearly had found them, somehow making his return unnoticed by any of the Ghostslayers.
Ye Zun shrieked terribly, but it was too late - the fire appeared on Zhao Yunlan's hand and the paper was in flames in an instant.
The terrible, hellish cloud condensed into a long spike and threw itself at the Guardian.
Shen Wei jumped forwards, but it was too late.
With the last scream of anger, Ye Zun managed to run Zhao Yunlan through.
The dark energy dissipated around him as Shen Wei made his way towards the man, who collapsed onto his knees, touching his wound in wonder.
Ye Zun didn't miss much - though he did not stab at the heart, the wound was still fatal.
"You can't go," Shen Wei whispered, catching Zhao Yunlan in his arms."You can't."
The human didn't reply - he was busy watching his life trickling away through his fingers, as he tried to cover the wound.
Shen Wei was the Ghostslayer, a being created with the sole purpose of handling ghosts, he could feel death, he was born from it. He wasn't made to heal.
Zhao Yunlan couldn't be saved.
Cradling his dying body, Shen Wei watched him fade away, his movements growing slow and his eyes losing their light.
For the first time in his life, Shen Wei cried.
--
Shen Wei ran into the Hall of Judgment without caring for any etiquette or hierarchy. If any of the Kings tried to fight him, he would take them on and eradicate as many as he could before they either overpowered him or died trying.
He could feel Zhao Yunlan's presence and only fools would think to stand in his way now.
Thankfully, no one did.
When he burst through the door, Zhao Yunlan and the Judiciar turned to look at him at the same time. Zhao Yunlan smiled, while the Judiciar grimaced slightly, before covering his true feelings with a mask of perfect politeness.
"Ah, your Lordship," he greeted, but Shen Wei ignored him, stalking towards Zhao Yunlan in haste.
"Why are you not reincarnated?" he demanded, and instead of looking cowered in any way, the man had the gall to smile at him.
"I am negotiating a deal!"
Shen Wei just stared at him, speechless.
The Judiciar sighed heavily, as if praying for patience.
Zhao Yunlan's grin got wider.
"As it turns out, I have left the Guardian order alone, with no one to take over my duties. Heavens are not very pleased with me. But, at the same time, my death could have been avoided if anyone had listened to your warnings so... There some others who the heavens are not pleased with." Zhao Yunlan shot a meaningful look in the Judiciar's direction.
The man shuddered slightly.
Shen Wei still didn't understand.
"What are you trying to achieve?" There was nothing Hell could offer him, was there?
Zhao Yunlan sent him a fond look, the one that always made Shen Wei feel weak inside.
Seemingly done with being just a spectator, the Judiciar took it upon himself to reply:
"Mister Zhao is trying to tie his fate to your Lordship's."
Shen Wei had nothing to say to that.
Seeing his confusion, Zhao Yunlan scoffed gently.
"We did say goodbye too soon this time. I want us to have a fair chance the next time." He said it so lightly, so easily, as if tying his fate to the Ghostslayer, to a creature manufactured in Hell for the sole purpose of hunting down other ghosts, was a normal thing to do. Was a thing Shen Wei should find obvious.
It was unreasonable, impossible even.
Too caught up in his thoughts, Shen Wei didn't notice Zhao Yunlan coming closer to him, to grab his hand in his. It was no longer as warm as it used to be.
Because Zhao Yunlan was dead.
"Aren't this what we've both been heading towards?" Zhao Yunlan said gently, looking Shen Wei in the eyes." I don't have much, didn't even leave a successor," he started, and all Shen Wei could do was watch him in silent shock." But if you want it, my heart is yours. In this life, and if I can gift it to you, then in the future ones too."
The Judiciar scuffled away, muttering something under his breath, but Shen Wei barely paid him any attention.
What Zhao Yunlan offered, what he wanted to give...
Shen Wei wanted it. He wanted it more than anything ever before.
But there was no guarantee. Even if their fates were tied, even if a soulless creature like Shen Wei managed to have his fate tied to Zhao Yunlan's, it would only mean that after years of waiting, he would get a chance to impact future lives of Zhao Yunlan. The man would not remember him after all. They would meet over and over again and all Shen Wei would look forward to, would hope for, would that he could maybe be a good influence. A good memory, if even that.
Fate was not a promise, it was an opportunity.
"I want it," Shen Wei confessed silently."But I also want more."
Zhao Yunlan gave him a quizzical look, but did not move away, listening intently.
"I want to have a life with you."
To share meals and a bed, to maybe have a house they could both call home. Maybe even in the Kunlun Mountains, if the fates were merciful.
Zhao Yunlan's expression turned unspeakably tender, and his grip on Shen Wei's hands tightened.
"I want that too."
As if summoned by Shen Wei's determination, the Judiciar appeared right next to them, his artificial smile back on his lips.
"Ah, Your Lordship, I am afraid the prize for you being able to reincarnate is... steep."
Shen Wei wasn't looking at him at all.
For the first time since he had been born, Shen Wei felt a glimmer of hope settling in his heart.
As he looked into Zhao Yunlan's eyes, he saw the same determination that was coursing in his veins.
The deal was made.
Decades later
Zhao Yunlan broke the kiss to gasp for air, and the Ghostslayer wondered if maybe he had been wrong to indulge. He should have let go the moment Zhao Yunlan’s existence was no longer threatened but an impulse, dark and untamed made him lean forward, to take more than he had been allowed. It wasn’t anything new with this man, ever since that first day decades ago, in the antiques shop, there was something about Zhao Yunlan that made the Ghostslayer act irrationally.
“Ah, I am not complaining, your Lordship,” the man started, and instead of leaning away, his flushed, happy face was just a breath away from him, blocking everything else around them. The danger was gone and Zhao Yunlan was safe in his arms – there was nothing more the Ghostslayer could wish for and even the Kings of Hell would not tear him away now, not when he had been so close to losing the only person that made the Ghostslayer realize he had a heart.
“But I am afraid there is more than just a kiss that you owe me.” There was a happy, bright smile on Zhao Yunlan’s face, and even though his tone was light and teasing, the Ghostslayer had spent too much time watching him not to notice the underlying note of urgency.
The Ghostslayer tightened his embrace around Zhao Yunlan’s frame, to reassure him, and replied:
“The competition has been interrupted.”
Zhao Yunlan sighed heavily, and only now, hearing the protests coming from around them, did the Ghostslayer realise that Zhao Yunlan’s team had joined them at some point, hovering near. They must have been worried about the spell their leader had used.
The Ghostslayer didn’t get embarrassed often, but this was one of said moments.
“Does that mean I cannot ask you the question we’ve all fought so hard to get answered?” Zhao Yunlan asked, mock-hurt and this was a bit too much for the Ghostslayer to deal with now. There was a part of him that wanted Zhao Yunlan to have all the answers his heart desired, but this was not the moment. Not with so many people around them, not with him still weak from the spell that could have destroyed his entire being.
He looked around and met Chu Shuzhi’s steady gaze.
“I need to talk to the Kings regarding this mess and after that… I think I would like to have a meal at the Guardian Lantern,” he said, allowing a small smile to appear on his own face.
Zhao Yunlan groaned theatrically, but there was an edge of smile to his expression too, so the Ghostslayer was not too alarmed.
They had the time.
They had all the time they needed.