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The last thing He Xuan remembered was her life crumbling to ashes.
The He family home blazed with blue flame, crackling with the heat of the fire. The walls began to give way before her eyes; the ceiling crumbled into fine dust, raining down upon her. Black smoke thickened, squeezing her lungs and refusing her breath. And He Xuan, bound hand and foot, could do nothing.
She could not save her family. She could not save herself.
The cries of her kin echoed in her ears even after death.
He Xuan did not understand what she had done to deserve such a fate. All her life she had followed the rules: she honoured her father and mother, and for their sake she passed the state examination — though she had to pretend to be a man for many years. She served faithfully at the palace, earned her position through hard work and honesty, and gave her parents and younger sister a comfortable life.
But what came of it?
One absurd rumour — shameless slander against her! — spread through the capital, and soon people called her zhu, a cursed sorceress, accusing her of attempting the Emperor's life. Soon enough, an imperial decree condemned her and her entire family to death.
Everything that happened felt like a wretched dream — a nightmare from which He Xuan could not wake. And although her slanderers spoke convincingly, accusing her of witchcraft, she had never practised anything of the sort. She had been wronged, and her execution had been utterly inhuman. For this reason, even after death, He Xuan's spirit could not rest. She could not simply leave and let the guilty go unpunished.
Someone had to pay for the death of her family.
***
Anger gave He Xuan strength, while the thirst for vengeance drove her to act without delay.
First, her restless spirit visited the houses of her executioners. Like a shadow, she slipped into their dreams and sent nightmares, trying to extract the name of the one who had falsely accused her of witchcraft. But they could not give her the answer she wanted — they were merely weapons in the Emperor's hands, carrying out his every order without question.
Their helplessness stirred no pity in He Xuan. The fear in their eyes only deepened her contempt.
"Have mercy — if not on me, then at least on my family! They are innocent!" each of her executioners begged. He Xuan only smirked in response. They had shown no care for the He family, nor for the many other innocents whose souls they had destroyed with a single stroke of the pen and the imperial seal.
So He Xuan paid no heed to others' pleas.
She left her executioners alone with their darkest, most hidden nightmares, tormenting them until fear drove them mad. The fear of others fed her spiritual strength, but it could not sate her boundless thirst for vengeance.
Wherever He Xuan's ghostly trail lingered, a fire soon broke out. Those touched by her spectral hand died in agony.
But for He Xuan, that was not enough.
Step by step, she took the lives of others, yet she never learned the coveted name. She could not move on without knowing who had pointed a finger at her, accusing her of something she had never done.
And then He Xuan met her — and everything became considerably more complicated.
***
Meetings with Shi Qingxuan felt like a breath of fresh air. She was like the first ray of sunlight after an endless nightmarish night, and He Xuan did not immediately realise just how much Qingxuan would change her.
They met by chance on one of the capital's streets, while He Xuan wandered aimlessly, waiting for nightfall. Usually, no living person could see her. She was a ghost, trapped somewhere between life and death, little more than a soul without a body. All those she visited could only hear her voice. But Shi Qingxuan proved to be an exception.
"Excuse me, young lady — I think you dropped something!" Those were the first words He Xuan heard from her.
He Xuan did not even realise at once that the unfamiliar girl was addressing her. No one had called her "young lady" for a long time. But the girl was looking directly at her, and even when He Xuan tried to step around her, she blocked her path.
"Where are you off to, young lady?" she asked in surprise, and catching He Xuan's gaze on her, she held out a small object clutched in her hand. "Here — you dropped this."
She handed He Xuan a slender black hairpin — exactly like the one she used to wear when she was still alive. The fact that someone had simply found it and was now handing it to her — a ghost! — felt like madness. Then again, He Xuan herself had long since gone mad. And she was also curious: where had this naive young lady found it, and, more importantly, why could she see her?
And so, with her own hands, He Xuan led herself into a trap that the girl — Shi Qingxuan — called "friendship."
Becoming friends with Shi Qingxuan proved easy, and staying by her side was peaceful. Gradually, He Xuan even began to forget that she was dead. Her anger faded, and for a while, so did her desire for revenge.
When she realised she was spending every spare moment with Shi Qingxuan, He Xuan grew suspicious. She — a spirit of vengeance — was not supposed to squander herself on foolish chatter with a mortal girl, on shared walks through the market, on silly escapades like sneaking onto the rooftop in the dead of night to drink wine and gaze at the moon. A spirit of vengeance had no business at human festivals, much less watching over someone at night, chasing away nightmares instead of causing them. Unthinkable!
It seemed as though Shi Qingxuan had cast some kind of spell on her, but no matter how much He Xuan searched her home, she could find nothing suspicious. Only some herbs in the kitchen, and calligraphy paper in her room.
"Confess," He Xuan narrowed her eyes, staring directly at Shi Qingxuan as the latter fussed with a paper kite, trying to mend the old toy, "are you a witch?"
The question had been ripening in her soul for a long time, yet the very idea seemed foolish. Shi Qingxuan did not look like a witch — no, not this young lady, this innocent maiden. Her smile warmed the part of He Xuan that death had left frozen. Her clear, melodious voice stirred something in her that no other voice could reach. And there was something alive in her gaze that made He Xuan feel alive herself, though she had been dead for so long.
She was the dawn for He Xuan's soul. It was terribly easy to forget herself by her side. And the fact that Shi Qingxuan expected nothing from her but so-called friendship was far too good to be true.
She had bewitched her — it could be nothing else.
But Shi Qingxuan only waved her off in reply.
"He-jie, what sort of witch would I make?" she laughed. "My parents were esteemed merchants, and my brother even managed to achieve a high position at the imperial court as an official."
"And yet?" He Xuan did not relent.
"And yet," Shi Qingxuan mimicked her, "I can't even manage a needle well enough to patch up this kite! My embroidery is dreadful, my cooking no better, and the magic of musical instruments won't yield to me either. Dage always grumbles that I've turned out to be a terrible bride, that all I can do is wield a sword and paint pretty pictures. 'These are not womanly pursuits,'" she grumbled, imitating her older brother, who often scolded her in a fatherly way. "But is it my fault that no one taught me what I was meant to as a child? I spent nearly all my childhood far from home, without a hundred nursemaids and grannies, and my grandfather only taught me how to handle a sword, brew herbs, and draw amulets. So there!"
He Xuan was surprised: "Why?"
"To ward off evil spirits."
"And why does a young lady need protection from evil spirits?"
Shi Qingxuan shrugged. "Grandfather used to say, 'if you must, you must.' And disobeying him was far worse for one's health," she admitted, but said not another word about her childhood. And no matter how much He Xuan pressed her, Shi Qingxuan would always shrug, as if to say, 'I know nothing, I don't remember, there's nothing to tell,' and change the subject.
But even in life, He Xuan had been distinguished by considerable tenacity, and it was only this that allowed her to persist after death. And if Shi Qingxuan could not give her answers to all her questions, then perhaps someone else who knew her well could.
Shi Qingxuan was everything to Shi Wudu, her older brother. He spoiled her, but guarded her like the apple of his eye, protecting her not only from people but from evil spirits as well. Here and there throughout the estate, one could stumble upon some ancient artifact; yellow amulets that repelled spirits were hung everywhere around the grounds — yet they were utterly useless.
"Who is he trying to protect her from with all this?" He Xuan chuckled as yet another amulet crumbled to dust in her hands. If anyone needed protecting, it was Shi Qingxuan — from his foolishness. For no matter how hard Shi Wudu tried, he could not even perceive the ghost that lingered constantly at Shi Qingxuan's side.
And He Xuan intended to use his blindness to her advantage.
But neither the following night nor day could she manage to get close to Shi Wudu to peer into his dreams and memories. The moment he crossed the threshold of his own chambers, he vanished from He Xuan's sight. As if the earth had swallowed him whole.
He Xuan raged, trying again and again in vain to reach Shi Wudu. And Shi Qingxuan simply could not understand why her friend's mood had turned so dark.
"It's always been this way," He Xuan retorted. Which was — or ought to have been — not far from the truth.
Shi Qingxuan responded to such a sharp statement with an amusing pout, but it never lasted long, and soon enough she would again be trying to lift her friend's spirits. Walks and food had lost their usual effect; even the opera left He Xuan uncharacteristically indifferent, and Shi Qingxuan grew genuinely alarmed.
"Would you like... some fruit? Or perhaps some wine?" she asked anxiously. "Maybe I could read you that new poem by the scholar Lu?"
But He Xuan only shook her head in reply.
"Or maybe... we could run away somewhere far, far away? Where the sea splashes and the stars are within arm's reach," Shi Qingxuan offered with enthusiasm, painting a beautiful picture of their shared future: "We could wander together somewhere out there — far away — where the wind and the sea roar, and the only care in the world is the road beneath our feet."
But He Xuan refused even this. She had not dared to do such a thing in life, and after death she could not stray far from the capital at all — she had tried once, when one of the officials had fled the city, fearing retribution in his sleep for his own misdeeds, all because of the rumours of others' deaths.
"Well, would you at least agree to watch me dance?" Shi Qingxuan offered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "For you."
He Xuan froze at her question; her oppressive thoughts receded into the background. She looked at Shi Qingxuan and arched an eyebrow questioningly.
"You? Dance?" she asked, but however hard she tried to inject coldness and sarcasm into her voice, she could not hide her curiosity.
Her imagination was already painting in blurry strokes an image of Shi Qingxuan twirling with fans in her hands, stepping from foot to foot, barely touching the ground, floating in the air like a deity. The picture was incredibly beautiful, but it did not resemble the truth at all.
"What? You don't believe I can do it?" Shi Qingxuan proudly lifted her nose and narrowed her eyes, trying to give herself an air of importance and self-confidence.
Trying.
"No," He Xuan answered, more to tease than in earnest: she always liked doing this and watching Shi Qingxuan's reaction.
"You... You!.." Shi Qingxuan bristled. She sucked in air greedily, but could not find the right words; an angry spark glinted in her eyes, and she was beginning to resemble a ruffled sparrow.
"Amusing," escaped He Xuan aloud.
"Insensitive!" Shi Qingxuan shouted at the very same moment.
"A-Xuan, why are you shouting?" A male voice rang out, cutting across their squabble.
He Xuan turned, her frown piercing the approaching Shi Wudu. He'd turned up when he was least wanted, she hissed to herself and immediately vanished into the shadow of the gazebo.
"Dage!" Shi Qingxuan responded joyfully, the feigned anger instantly melting from her face the moment she saw Shi Wudu. "Don't you have business at the palace today?"
"I needed to fetch some documents," he explained, frowning as he scanned the corner of the garden where Shi Qingxuan sat — alone, as far as he could see. "Tell me, is everything all right with you? No one troubling you?"
"Of course not. Everything is fine!" Shi Qingxuan replied, catching her brother by the hands; He Xuan let out a displeased huff at the gesture. "You'll be back by evening, won't you? It's been so long since we dined together. You spend all your time at the palace, you never see the light of day with all that work!"
Shi Qingxuan scolded him just as affectionately as she had scolded He Xuan not long before.
Shi Wudu placed his hand over hers and shook his head.
"Not tonight," he replied, and his attentive, searching gaze did not escape He Xuan — but unlike his younger sister, he still could not see ghosts. "Are you lonely here by yourself? Perhaps I could find you some friends, I might be able to—"
"No need!" Shi Qingxuan cut him off, shaking her head. "I know you don't need a wife or concubines. You shouldn't have to go against yourself just so I won't be bored alone." Shi Qingxuan paused, biting her lip, and then admitted, "And I do have a friend. We've been having a wonderful time together."
"Is that so? And who is she?" Shi Wudu asked with interest. "Surely not one of the maids? Xiao Li, or perhaps Lady Fan?" He pressed, but catching his sister's reaction, he frowned. "You met someone in the city?"
Shi Qingxuan grew flustered. Shi Wudu had forbidden her from leaving the house and wandering the capital, but keeping her locked within four walls was as hard as caging a bird — give it the slightest opening and it will immediately flutter to freedom. Had she her way, Shi Qingxuan would have left the capital long ago, setting out on her travels, wearing her feet raw on winding roads. Only warm feelings for her brother made her dutifully return home. And He Xuan could not support her desire to leave her family home, however much she might have wished to herself.
"Qingxuan?" Shi Wudu's tone pressed.
"Dage, please don't be angry! Nothing bad has happened, really. We met, and that's all. He-jie often comes to visit us, and even now..."
"Now?"
Shi Wudu looked around, but just as he had not seen the "guest" before, he could not see her now. He Xuan was amused by this. She could walk right up to him and flick him on the nose — and he would never notice. But she did not want to do something like that in front of Shi Qingxuan.
"Oh, she must have left," Shi Qingxuan said, also failing to spot He Xuan where she had been sitting a moment ago.
"Are you sure?" Shi Wudu asked.
He gently moved his sister aside, walked through the garden, and inspected everything within sight. Finding nothing — not even any protective amulets — he went cold with horror. Fear flashed across his usually arrogant face. He Xuan knew that emotion well; it fed her almost as much as the peaceful days she spent with Shi Qingxuan.
"Dage, what are you searching for? He-jie isn't so small she'd be hiding in that corner," Shi Qingxuan giggled, but her playful mood vanished the instant she drew near Shi Wudu. "Dage?"
"You haven't touched the amulets, as I asked?" he clarified warily.
"Of course not," Shi Qingxuan answered sincerely, then asked with concern, "Has something happened?"
Shi Wudu grasped her by the shoulders and asked seriously, "No one else has been here? That demon couldn't have latched onto you again?"
His voice wavered with worry, and He Xuan instinctively seized upon the words he'd let slip: That demon? Again? She listened to their exchange with rapt interest. Shi Wudu reeked of fear, but his question sent a tremor through Shi Qingxuan as well.
"N-no. Of course not! Brother, nothing like that... He's been... long ago already..."
"I will strengthen the guard," Shi Wudu announced and turned to leave.
"There's no need! I can take care of myself!" Shi Qingxuan shouted after him; from what she said, she was thoroughly weary of her older brother treating her as a small child, incapable of looking after herself.
"Don't even think it!" Shi Wudu warned her. "If anyone sees you, they will think the wrong thing about you and accuse you of..." He did not finish; he swallowed the last word.
Accuse her again? Of what? He Xuan stared after the retreating Shi Wudu, pondering whether to follow, but Shi Qingxuan let out a quiet sob beside her, and He Xuan decided to stay.
"What was he talking about?" He Xuan asked directly, stepping close to her.
Shi Qingxuan flinched. "Oh! He-jie? I'm sorry, I didn't notice when you came back..."
"I was here the whole time," He Xuan replied honestly.
"But... But how?" Shi Qingxuan stared at her in confusion.
He Xuan shrugged. "Perhaps your brother was right, and a demon really has latched onto you?"
Shi Qingxuan shuddered — He Xuan could feel the fear churning deep within her soul, but it swiftly ebbed the moment Shi Qingxuan lifted her gaze to her.
"He-jie, don't joke like that!" she laughed, taking He Xuan's hands. "What kind of demon could you possibly be? You are so kind and gentle... so very human. It's always so easy being with you, and you never try to frighten me or eat me. At least, not in earnest," she reasoned with a smile.
"And how many demons have you encountered?" He Xuan scoffed.
"Well... not that many..." Shi Qingxuan hesitated, drawing out her answer. "Only one?"
He Xuan pierced her with a frosty glare.
"I'm not lying, He-jie — truly, only one!" Shi Qingxuan exclaimed. "That's why Dage doesn't want to let me out of the house; he says it's safer that way. But I haven't run into that demon for a very long time!"
"And what did that demon want from you?" He Xuan asked with genuine curiosity.
"Well... he..." Shi Qingxuan bit her lip thoughtfully, then drew He Xuan closer and whispered in her ear, "I don't know for certain, but that demon was always spouting all sorts of nonsense, and so loudly that everyone around could hear his voice. Because of it, many people in my hometown decided that I... They called me a cursed child. A witch. Zhu." She breathed out the last word almost inaudibly, and He Xuan's heart dropped unpleasantly.
"And your brother fears this will happen again — is that why he tries so fiercely to shield you from demons?"
Shi Qingxuan nodded. "And not only that. A couple of months ago, I ran into a man from my hometown while I was out in the city... The moment he saw me, he recognized me and... and it all happened all over again. Dage was beside himself with rage because the rumour had spread."
"And how did your brother get rid of the rumours?" He Xuan asked coldly.
Shi Qingxuan looked at her in surprise. "I don't know. Everything just... somehow settled on its own. Who would believe a village fool? Nothing all that terrible really happened."
He Xuan pressed her lips together. Naive child. If a rumour of witchcraft spread in the capital, it would not escape the Emperor's notice. He would inevitably order an execution without investigation or trial. She, of all people, knew this.
"I have to go," she said, freeing herself from Shi Qingxuan's hands.
"Where are you going?" Shi Qingxuan asked, bewildered. "Tell me — why has this story upset you so much?"
"I need to confirm something," He Xuan explained, and vanished. She no longer cared whether Shi Qingxuan guessed what she really was. Though Shi Qingxuan liked to play the fool, she was no stupid girl — she must have realised by now that for the past month she had been conversing not with a living person, but with a ghost.
***
Finding Shi Wudu in the imperial palace proved to be no small task.
As promised, he had reinforced the guards at the Shi estate and ordered Shi Qingxuan to be confined to her chambers until his return.
He Xuan had overheard Shi Wudu ordering several trusted servants to find shamans for him — only in secret, so that no one would know. And as quickly as possible. Then he had departed for the palace.
Only by nightfall did He Xuan manage to track him down. The suspicion that had taken root in her mind gave her no peace, would not permit her to stop and return to Shi Qingxuan. She had to know whether Shi Wudu was responsible for what had happened to the He family. And if he was not, then He Xuan would, with a clear conscience, tell Shi Qingxuan everything and perhaps even try to fulfil her dream of distant roads beneath their feet and clear skies overhead.
A silent shadow, He Xuan swept along the palace walls.
How long it had been since she was last here! Her life here as a mortal official already felt unreal, like a dream that was slowly fading from memory. Yet enough fragments of memory remained to keep her from losing her way among the sprawling pavilions, and close to nightfall, she found herself face to face with Shi Wudu in one of them.
Shi Wudu never noticed the darkness creeping towards him. Not one of the amulets concealed in his study could shield him from the bewitchment that emanated from He Xuan.
She became herself once more — the darkness that slips into others' dreams and seeks the truth within them. And now, more than ever before, she needed the truth that Shi Wudu held inside him.
His dream resembled a restless sea of sand: an oncoming storm threatened to break into a gale. Shi Wudu stood on the shore, clad in nothing but his inner robe, his arms spread wide. He was shielding someone small — a trembling, weeping child cowering in fear. Yet Shi Wudu himself radiated not a trace of fear. He stood firm, utterly convinced that he could withstand anything. The storm, the wrath of gods and demons — none of it mattered. He would bear it all if he had to.
For the first time, He Xuan encountered such unwavering resolve in the face of his own nightmares. It seemed nothing and no one could frighten him.
Shi Wudu was not as simple as he had first appeared. Yet she remembered how, just recently, he had reeked of fear born of worry for his little treasure — the younger sister whom he was shielding even in his dreams.
"A-Xuan," He Xuan called softly, lurking within the storm; she was in no hurry to reveal herself to Shi Wudu — she only wished to see his reaction.
The girl behind Shi Wudu flinched; gentle though the voice was, it frightened her no less than the raging tempest.
"Don't be afraid, A-Xuan," Shi Wudu shouted firmly over the storm. "No one will harm you — I won't allow it! Trust your brother. Whatever happens, I'll take the blame for you. I'll do whatever it takes!"
"And what have you already done?" He Xuan pressed; she emerged from the dark sea like a shadow, burning him with a frigid gaze. Her spirit sought answers, but Shi Wudu had buried all his memories so deeply that all she could do was ask.
"Who are you?" he shouted back, straining to see through the misty haze. "Get out of here! Begone!"
He Xuan drew nearer. No one had ever managed to drive her away — and Shi Wudu, who was so blind to the ghostly realm, would certainly not be the one to succeed.
The storm followed He Xuan. Caustic fog wrapped around Shi Wudu, and one by one, his memories surfaced. Here he was, still a boy, eavesdropping at the door on the adults' conversation: the birth of a girl in the Shi family was a curse; she possessed a gift that drew demons to her; she must be gotten rid of as soon as possible, before calamity struck. And here he was, a little older, playing with a boy of about three whom he affectionately called "Xuan-er." In the next memory, the grown-up "boy" Xuan-er was crossing swords with Shi Wudu. The smile and laughter of that "boy" struck He Xuan as strangely familiar. Then a hoarse voice rang out, shouting vile things at them.
"Witch! Zhu!" the demon's rasping voice cried. "You'll never know happiness! Your family will meet its end, and you will burn in fire! Ha-ha-ha, witch!"
The fear that had settled over the Shi family swelled many times over. The "boy" had been Shi Qingxuan; there was no longer any point in her pretending to be someone else. The Shi family had failed, after all, to suppress the spreading rumours that she was a witch.
Shi Wudu's life unfolded before He Xuan's eyes. As a boy, he searched for anyone who might help his younger sister. Later, grown and hardened, he entered the imperial palace — but he never stopped looking for a way to protect Shi Qingxuan. He had even managed to find some potion — poisonous to demons, according to the shaman — and had hidden it away in his study.
The final memory was fresh, vivid, and painfully familiar to He Xuan.
First, Shi Wudu knelt before the Emperor, insisting there had been a mistake — that his Shi Qingxuan was not the one the Emperor sought. Then the memory shifted to the blazing He family home, and He Xuan's doubts were no more.
The Emperor was paranoid about sorcerers. He feared that someone close to the court might use magic to kill him, so he ordered the arrest of anyone even remotely connected to witchcraft. A flood of denunciations poured in, and the accusation against Shi Qingxuan — made by someone who had recognised her — was no exception.
To draw the dangerous rumours away from his sister, Shi Wudu accused someone else of sorcery — a person whose name also contained "Xuan." Then he made sure his deception could never be exposed. He made sure there would be no one left to tell the truth.
Rage engulfed He Xuan. She lunged at Shi Wudu, her fingers locking around his throat.
"Bastard!" she snarled, cutting off his breath.
Shi Wudu rasped under her grip, unable to produce a single word. He Xuan wanted to tear his head from his shoulders, to rip him to shreds, to grind him to dust and scatter him on the wind. And even that felt like too little.
"Stop, He-jie!" Shi Qingxuan's cry cut through, and the illusion He Xuan had woven instantly dispersed.
Shi Qingxuan — the dawn-girl — dispelled the nightmare simply by being there. Her presence brought the ghost's vengeance to a halt., and now stood between He Xuan and Shi Wudu.
"I beg you, He-jie — spare my brother!" she implored.
Shi Qingxuan's eyes brimmed with fear, but to He Xuan, this fear tasted like a poisonous venom, not a healing nectar.
"How can you?" He Xuan hissed; her shadow pinned Shi Wudu to the floor, holding him down and gagging him, preventing him from cutting into their exchange. "You knew everything?!"
"I don't understand what you're talking about," Shi Qingxuan answered honestly. "But if we all just calm down, we can discuss everything and resolve this peacefully—"
"Resolve it? Hah!" He Xuan was shaking with fury; she could barely restrain herself from lunging at Shi Qingxuan as well, but somewhere deep in her soul, she knew she could not. "It's far too great an honour for the one guilty of another's death. Of my death."
"He-jie, what are you talking about?" Shi Qingxuan asked, uncomprehending, her gaze darting from her to Shi Wudu. "Are you unwell? You're right here, standing before me — I'm speaking to you... You're not dead, you are..."
"I am NOT!" He Xuan barked. "I am dead. Just like my entire family. You can thank your dear brother for that. He did it all for your sake, after all."
"What?" Shi Qingxuan stumbled backwards, her legs buckling beneath her at his words. Her gaze, incredulous, sought Shi Wudu. "Dage, is this true? Tell me it isn't true — tell me! He-jie, let him go — please, let him go. Let him tell me!"
He Xuan loosened her shadow just enough to allow Shi Wudu to speak.
"Brother, tell me this is all a lie..."
"What are you rambling about? Who are you speaking to? Is there someone else here? Get away from there — right now!" Shi Wudu shouted, struggling against the fetters invisible to his eyes, but the shadow was immeasurably stronger.
He Xuan smirked. "Satisfied?"
Shi Qingxuan bowed her head and collapsed to her knees.
"He-jie... Lady He Xuan... He Xuan..." she stumbled over the words, no longer knowing how to address the friend who had turned out to be a ghost. Qingxuan's lips trembled, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Shi Wudu's eyes rounded with terror, and he rasped at his sister, "How do you know that name? Who...?" He faltered. "She... Your new friend, He-ze... No. It's impossible. She can't be connected to the He family!"
Shi Qingxuan lifted her tear-streaked gaze to him. "Dage? What did you do?"
"Nothing! Don't listen to what demons whisper to you. It's all slander!"
He Xuan let out a bitter laugh. "You, of all people, should know what it means to slander others!" Her voice, uncharacteristically harsh and loud, seemed finally to reach Shi Wudu's ears, making him freeze in disbelief.
"A-Xuan," he muttered, beckoning his sister closer. "A-Xuan, behind you — a loose floorboard. Get the draught beneath it. Pour some... Give this nectar to Lady He. Then we can talk."
"You meant 'poison'?" He Xuan's lips curled in a contemptuous smile; she had seen perfectly well in his memories how Shi Wudu had hidden this so-called nectar — a poison meant for demons. As if such a petty trick could hurt her.
Shi Qingxuan's fingers found the small bottle; she rolled it in her palm, staring with an empty gaze at the faded paper around its neck.
"Dage, tell me what you did."
"Nothing," Shi Wudu continued to deny. "The He family was burned because they were suspected of witchcraft. There was enough evidence against them. There is no fault of mine if someone, behind the Emperor's back, is trying to settle scores with him!"
"How is it your mouth hasn't sealed itself shut from such vile lies?" He Xuan spat angrily. "Witches — zhu — are indeed burned in the capital, only without trial or investigation. And what a fortunate coincidence that they overlooked..." He Xuan stared directly at Shi Qingxuan; her throat constricted at what she was about to say, but Shi Qingxuan had to know the full truth, and He Xuan forced the words out: "...you."
Shi Qingxuan flinched. Her fingers clenched around the little bottle, her gaze drifting aimlessly.
He Xuan could — should — have taken her due in full, vented all her fury upon Shi Wudu and Shi Qingxuan, who had fallen into her hands. But her rage shattered time and again against Shi Qingxuan the moment she so much as looked at her. And so He Xuan waited — waited for her answer, for the choice she would make. And if that choice favoured Shi Wudu... who knew whether the ghost could continue to restrain herself.
"Dage, you know," Shi Qingxuan said quietly, "I've known for a long time that it would end like this."
"Don't you dare!" Shi Wudu bellowed, straining with fresh desperation to break free, but He Xuan's shadow would not release him.
Shi Qingxuan shook her head and lifted her eyes to He Xuan; flame reflected in them — an unnatural blue — the very same colour in which He Xuan herself had once burned.
"He-jie, may I repay you for my brother's sins?" Shi Qingxuan asked. "I understand this will not bring your family back to life. Nor you. But I beg you... allow me to take all the blame upon myself!"
"And in return?"
"And in return I ask that you spare him." Shi Qingxuan's resolute gaze never wavered from hers, and He Xuan hesitated.
Her vengeance had to be carried out to its end; she had to take the lives of all those responsible for the deaths of the He family — the families of the guilty included. Including Shi Qingxuan. Only then could He Xuan's soul finally find rest.
But did she even want that rest?
"Drink," He Xuan commanded.
"No!" Shi Wudu screamed, and the shadow gagged him.
"Drink," He Xuan repeated. "And if you manage to stay with me — I will not touch him."
Shi Qingxuan nodded in understanding and, obeying, uncorked the nectar — the poison — the bittersweet fragrance immediately filling her senses.
"But..." He Xuan covered the neck of the bottle with her hand. "If you choose to stay by his side, expect no mercy from me."
"I won't," Shi Qingxuan replied, and she raised the bottle to her lips, drinking the viscous nectar.
Shi Wudu's muffled scream drowned within the shadows. The corner where Shi Qingxuan sat erupted in blue flame, but she made no sound. She only closed her eyes, her expression peaceful. The empty bottle slipped from her hand.
And then both the shadows and the blue fire vanished, leaving Shi Wudu with the limp, lifeless body of his younger sister.
***
It is said that on a long journey, when the star Xuan burns its brightest in the heavens, one might come upon a pair of wandering girls whose travels never come to an end.
One lady, who resembles the dawn, drives away with her sword the evil spirits and demons that threaten to fall upon travellers. The other — a pitch-black darkness — walks at her side, and, out of fondness for her companion, wards off the travellers' nightmares.
Meeting them is said to bring good fortune.If the spirits you meet — the Xuan pair — are appeased with offerings of wine, food, and stories, then the road ahead will pass in serenity. But under no circumstances should you dare to offend them, or you may pay with your life.