Soul Lock

The Ghost King Is in Heaven

"Did you really think that Lan Ye would show up?"

"A Ghost King in Heaven? Outrageous!"

"Shall we just forget about the whole ordeal?"

Zhu Shen just heard them talking, but not really listening. It was the time for the second trial and Heng O was still missing, as was Lan Ye. She rubbed her hands under the table, silently praying for Heng O's success.

"How much more do we have to wait for?" Feng Bo asked, irritated while fanning himself with his white folding fan.

"The-" Zhu Shen started but couldn't finish as right at that moment, the huge doors of Ling Xiao Bao Dian opened with the magnificent force of TianGou and it walked in with Heng O and Wen Lan sitting on the back of it.

Wen Lan jumped down elegantly before reaching his hand up and helping Heng O down. Then, he patted the huge black head of TianGou, saying "good doggy."

TianGou snarled at him before leaving the room.

"So, this is what Heaven' crisis room looks like," Wen Lan commented randomly, looking everywhere but not at Ju Xin's direction. Although he wanted to see him again so badly, he couldn't bear to see the anger in his eyes.

"Welcome to Heaven, Lan Ye, the Ghost King of Xin," Zhu Shen greeted him politely and showed him a seat in front of the table where all the others were sitting.

Wen Lan nodded as he sat on the seat. After a second of hesitation, Heng O dragged a seat near his and sat beside him. All the deities except Ju Xin hummed in disagreement, but she didn't care.

"I believe you know why we needed your assistance," Zhu Shen said, pointing in the direction of Ju Xin and Lei Gong.

Wen Lan nodded again, trying his best not to look at Ju Xin. On the other hand, Ju Xin was staring at him intently. He had no idea why Wen Lan was there. Still, regardless of the reason, he was happy to see Wen Lan again in his true majestic form. He was mesmerized by the playful waves in his ocean blue eyes.

In order to see who was lying, Zhu Shen didn't tell anything about the first trial, she rather asked "are you accomplices with Ju Xin?"

"No," Wen Lan started, "I really wanted to fight with Ju Xin alone, but that sneaky Lei Gong appeared from nowhere. After a while, he disappeared though."

"YOU ARE LYING!" Lei Gong snapped at him, but Wen Lan just grinned.

"Really, San Bo?" he asked threateningly and Lei Gong got silent.

"San Bo? What San Bo?" the deities asked in confusion.

"San Bo is Lei Gong, it is the name he used to deceive Ju Xin. When I found Ju Xin back, he didn't remember anything about his life as a deity. There was a silver bound around his aura, restricting his Heavenly aura. As he is my enemy, I didn't tell him anything until San Bo, oh wait, Lei Gong showed up. He tried to drag Ju Xin away, so with the help of Heng O, I removed his bound. It made Lei Gong super angry and he tried to attack us before you pulled them up."

"I am sorry, but he doesn't really sound like Ju Xin's enemy," Feng Bo commented, caressing his long beard.

"I TOLD YOU SO!" Lei Gong didn't miss the opportunity.

Ju Xin averted his gaze from Wen Lan. Although he knew it already, hearing him calling himself as enemy made his heart churned. Still, Feng Bo was right, Wen Lan's attitude wasn't hostile against Ju Xin at all, he even came to Heaven to prove his innocence. What was his motive?

Being trapped in his own thoughts, Ju Xin didn't notice the argument got heated until he felt a strong burning pain in his right arm. "Arrggghh!" he yelped with pain, holding his arm.

"Is it enough proof that he is my enemy?" Wen Lan asked coldly as the initiator of the pain. He wouldn't want to cause pain for Ju Xin even for a second, but he had to do it so that he could convince them that they were enemies.

The deities gasped while Hou Ji reached and unfolded Ju Xin's sleeve, exposing the curse mark, "i-is it..."

"En," Wen Lan nodded, "it is a curse mark I had put on him."

It worked. There was no more accusation for them to be partners, but it raised another question.

"If he is your enemy, why are you here, defending him?" Hou Tu, the God of Earth and Soil asked with a frown on his wide plate-like face.

"Indeed, he is the enemy, but I rather deal with him by myself. On the other hand, I can't stand if Lei Gong walks free after all of his scheming and attacking me without a reason. Let's say I am a justice-seeker or a vengeful ghost."

Enemy or not, Ju Xin was his, his only, so he would punish whoever dared to touch a single thread of his hair.

His answer was found logical so the deities remained silent.

"I believe now we have enough proof of what had actually happened," Zhu Shen broke the silence. "Thank you so much for your collaboration," she bowed to Wen Lan and turned to Heng O, "please accompany the Ghost King of Xin on his way back."

Heng O nodded and led Wen Lan out of the room. Before the door was closed behind them, he gathered his courage and looked at Ju Xin and their gaze met. Interestingly, Wen Lan didn't see any anger in his light-brown eyes, only confusion.

It is better than anger, Wen Lan said inwardly as the door closed.

When they left Ling Xiao Bao Dian, Heng O called TianGou back and they went back to the living world.

"You did well," Heng O rubbed his shoulder and gave him a moonstone, "I will let you know the result of the trial via this moonstone."

"Okay," Wen Lan put the stone into his sleeve and gave her a blue leaf, "since we found each other back, let's meet frequently."

Heng O beamed, "yes, Lan Ge, I would love that!" she exclaimed and put the blue leaf on her hair, "then see you soon."

"See you, Xiao Lei," Wen Lan turned around to leave, but Heng O stopped him.

"I know I am being rude but can you tell me how you became a Ghost King? I can't bring myself to think you did something so bad to be reincarnated as a ghost," she said in one breath, curiosity was written all over her silver eyes.

Wen Lan smiled softly, showing he was not offended by the question. "I chose to be a ghost so that I could continue to chase Ju Xin," he said honestly.

"You two have a really interesting relationship, but don't worry, I won't ask further," she said with a teasing smile and jumped on TianGou.

When she was on her way back to Heaven, Zhu Shen came to a decision and found Ju Xin innocent while Lei Gong was guilty of harming a deity, confining his powers, stealing his temples, attacking him and lying in the court. As a punishment, Zhu Shen sealed his powers and locked him in an empty mountain for a hundred years.