Soul Lock

Everyday Life with the Fallen Deity

The next day, Wen Lan insisted on accompanying Ju Xin to the village so that he could see how he was living. After breakfast, he watched him putting small white bottles carefully into his battered wicker basket. When he was done, he tied his long hair loosely on his back and wore his dark green old robe on his white inner robe while Wen Lan was putting on his blue robe which Ju Xin washed and mended under the shocked gaze of his biggest enemy.

"Isn't dark green an unlucky color in the West?" Wen Lan asked when they were on the road to the village.

Ju Xin arched his eyebrows with suspicion, "do you believe these superstitions?"

It was the same attitude Ju Xin showed when his soldiers were blaming Wen Lan for being a ghost. Remembering it, Wen Lan was taken aback, so he changed the topic. "How long have you been living here?" he asked with a conversational tone.

"Hmm, it must have been ten years," Ju Xin answered casually.

"How about before that? Where were you living?"

Ju Xin's steps came to a halt, his face darkened. Wen Lan saw his hands were slightly trembling.

"What's wrong?" his attention was perked.

"I don't remember..." Ju Xin rubbed the corner of his eye and that move caused his sleeve to unfold, revealing the blue leaves-pattern curse mark. Wen Lan's eyes shifted from Ju Xin's face to his exposed arm, and seeing it, Ju Xin hastily covered his arm back and started to walk with full force.

"Slow down a bit, you will break the bottles," Wen Lan called out to him and Ju Xin slowed down immediately, making Wen Lan chuckle.

The duo walked along the alley in silence for a while, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. As Ju Xin was alone for the last ten years, or maybe even more but he didn't remember, he liked the presence of a companion. The same feeling was also valid for Wen Lan as for the first time in a century, he was alone with Ju Xin in friendly terms. They were enemies, yes of course, but it could wait.

"What were you doing before coming here?" Ju Xin asked out of the blue when he was bored.

"I was a wanderer for a while, then I became a soldier and a farmer later," Wen Lan answered honestly, just skipping the part that those were his past lives, and now he was the Ghost King of Xin.

"Wow, you are quite young yet very experienced," Ju Xin was genuinely impressed.

All thanks to you... chasing you in three lives taught me those.

As it wasn't time to say it, Wen Lan just shrugged humbly. Before long, the duo arrived at the village and Ju Xin led Wen Lan to a spot in the market. There, he left Wen Lan alone for an incense stick of time before coming back with a small portable table and two small stools.

The duo leaned the stools against the market wall and put the table in front of the stools. Ju Xin took out his small bottles from the wicker basket and placed them onto the small table. Then, the duo was ready for the day's sales.

Who could guess that the mighty deity would be a mere merchant in the market?

"Today, you have a friend ha, Yi Xin?" A chubby merchant stood in front of Ju Xin with a smile, but seeing Wen Lan's eyes, his smile faded while his eyes widened.

If it was his first life, Wen Lan would be shaking in fear, but he already learnt to ignore people as long as they were innocuous. But if they insisted on bothering him, then he wasn't holding himself back. Therefore, Wen Lan's reaction was solely dependent on the merchant's attitude.

However, before the merchant could say anything, Ju Xin leaned forward askew, hiding Wen Lan behind himself. Then, he grasped a bottle which was in front of Wen Lan and gave it to the merchant.