Chapter Text
The night was still, the air heavy with an eerie calm that seemed to press down on the small, isolated village nestled at the foot of Mount Yujun. Xie Lian sat in the dimly lit sedan, his form draped in the crimson robes of a bride, the delicate veil falling over his face like a shroud. The soft scent of incense lingered in the air, mingling with the faint aroma of flowers woven into the crown atop his head. His face was lightly touched with makeup, just enough to complete the disguise—rosy cheeks, a hint of red on his lips, and eyes lined with kohl, giving him an ethereal, almost otherworldly beauty.
His heart was steady, but his thoughts were alert. He had been tasked with finding the cursed groom spirit that had been haunting these lands, abducting brides on their wedding night. Disguised as a bride himself, Xie Lian was to be the bait, luring out the malevolent spirit. He knew the dangers that lay ahead, but he had faced far worse in his long life.
As the sedan moved slowly up the winding path towards the mountain, the villagers who had accompanied him began to falter, their nerves frayed by the creeping sense of dread. Nan Feng and Fu Yao, his two junior martial gods disguised as attendants, flanked the sedan, their presence a comforting reminder that he was not entirely alone in this perilous endeavor.
But then, as if on cue, the night erupted into chaos. From the shadows, a hundred binu emerged, their grotesque forms snarling and snapping as they attacked the group. The villagers screamed and fled, leaving the sedan behind in their panic. Nan Feng and Fu Yao quickly engaged the creatures, their swords flashing in the darkness, but the binu were many, and their numbers seemed endless.
Xie Lian remained calm, his hands folded neatly in his lap as he listened to the sounds of battle outside the sedan. He knew his companions could handle the binu, but a part of him wondered if this was a sign, a prelude to the appearance of the cursed groom. He was ready to act if necessary, but something told him to wait, to stay seated within the confines of the sedan.
And then, as if summoned by his thoughts, the door of the sedan creaked open.
Xie Lian’s gaze lifted, and he saw a figure standing there, shrouded in red. The man was tall and imposing, his features partially obscured by the darkness and the veil that still hung over the god’s face. But there was no mistaking the elegance of his bearing, the quiet power that radiated from him.
For a moment, Xie Lian’s breath caught in his throat. Could this be the groom he had been searching for? The spirit that had eluded capture for so long? Yet, something about the man’s presence felt different—less malevolent and more… familiar.
Without a word, the man extended his hand, palm up, a silent invitation.
Xie Lian hesitated only for a heartbeat before placing his own hand in the stranger’s. The man’s grip was firm but gentle, and as he helped the god out of the sedan, the night seemed to grow quieter, as if the world was holding its breath.
They walked together in silence, Xie Lian’s red bridal robes trailing behind him like a river of blood. The man led him further up the mountain, towards a clearing where the moonlight shone down in silvery rays, casting long shadows across the ground.
Xie Lian kept his senses sharp, his mind analyzing every detail. The cursed groom was known to lure his victims with a semblance of kindness before revealing his true nature. But as they reached the center of the clearing, the man paused, and he noticed something that made him stop in his tracks.
A powerful spiritual array had been laid out on the ground, its symbols glowing faintly with an ominous light. It was designed to trap any spirit that stepped within its bounds, a measure of protection that Xie Lian had been unaware of until now.
But the man beside him, with nothing more than a single step, shattered the array as if it were made of glass. The symbols fizzled out, their power extinguished in an instant.
Xie Lian couldn’t suppress the small smirk that tugged at his lips. He’d recognize this aura anywhere in the world. He looked up at the man, still holding his hand, and a strange warmth spread through his chest.
There was no mistaking it. His little ghost general had found him again.
“Wu Ming…” Xie Lian thought, the name like a bittersweet note in his mind. It had been eight hundred years since that time, eight hundred years since he had last seen the most devoted of his believers. Eight hundred years of regret, of yearning to apologize for how he had treated the one who had followed him through hell and back.
Emotions threatened to overwhelm him, but Xie Lian swallowed them down. Now was not the time to lose control. He feared that if he let the tears come, he wouldn’t be able to stop.
So, he said nothing. He didn’t dare to speak, didn’t dare to break the fragile peace that had settled between them.
The man turned to him, his face still shadowed, but there was a moment, a flicker of something in those eyes that made Xie Lian’s heart skip a beat. The opening he needed presented itself, and without thinking, he moved.
In a flash, he attacked, his hand reaching out to grasp at the man’s veil, to finally see the face that had haunted his memories for centuries.
But just as quickly, the man dissolved into a thousand silver butterflies, the delicate wings catching the moonlight as they scattered into the night. Xie Lian’s hand caught nothing but air, yet he had seen it, if only for a brief moment—the spark in those eyes that he would recognize anywhere.
He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and smiled, a soft, wistful smile that carried all the longing of the years that had passed.
“Thank you,” Xie Lian whispered to the night, his voice barely audible. “Thank you for escorting this lowly god.”
The silver butterflies circled around him once before they drifted away, vanishing into the dark forest. Xie Lian stood alone in the clearing, the remnants of the shattered array at his feet, but his heart felt lighter than it had in years.
He turned and began the walk back down the mountain, his smile still in place, his thoughts filled with the hope that they would meet again soon. After all, they had been separated for too long, and Xie Lian wasn’t ready to let his most faithful ghost slip away once more.