Soul Lock

The Deity Meets The Ghost King Again

"Xiao Lan! Where are you?" Dong Qing shouted out from the dark hall while Ju Xin was trying to see around with his squinted eyes.

"Here looks empty," Ju Xin commented with disappointment as there was no furniture or movement around, only the smell of dust and something Ju Xin couldn't identify.

"No, he is here, look!" Dong Qing pointed at a blue ghost fire flying towards them. It made a circle around them before flying back towards where it came from.

"I think it wants us to follow," Ju Xin interpreted and Dong Qing nodded.

After she created a small red fire in her palm for Ju Xin, they climbed the black stairs, following the blue ghost fire in silence. In front of a black door at the end of the long corridor, the fire jumped up and down, and the door half opened with a crack.

"Who is it?" A voice asked from inside and Ju Xin felt his heart stop. It was Wen Lan. He was really there.

"It is me and a little surprise," Dong Qing answered as she pushed the door and dragged the dazed Ju Xin behind her, "ta-da! Look whom I brought!"

Two pairs of eyes met and then everything stopped.

"Ahem!" Dong Qing feigned a cough, "I will wait for you downstairs," she said with an understanding manner and closed the door behind her, taking the blue ghost fire with her as well.

"What are you doing here?" Wen Lan managed to ask after a long silence. He was beyond surprised to see Ju Xin in his palace. Even if he wanted to deny it, he was super happy to see the deity again although he was anxious about the reason.

"I..." Ju Xin rubbed the corner of his eye, trying to find the right words. The whole ordeal was rushed up, so he didn't have time to rehearse what to say to Wen Lan. "I," he tried again, "can't see anything."

For Heaven's sake! What did I say?! Ju Xin gave himself a mental slap, but then he heard Wen Lan's soft chuckle and childishly took pride in himself to make him amused. How much he missed his laughter...

A snap was heard in the dark room and it got illuminated by hundreds of candles with blue light. Finally, Ju Xin was able to see the figure in front of him. Under the soft blue light, Wen Lan looked dreamily handsome and Ju Xin couldn't help but gaze at him blazingly.

"Why are you here?" Wen Lan asked again, snapping Ju Xin out of his long reverie.

"I wanted to say thank you," Ju Xin said with an indistinct smile, "as you can see I was found innocent."

"En," Wen Lan mumbled, staring at his beautiful almond eyes. "Let's sit," he gestured at the small table with four pillows around it.

Ju Xin hesitated for a second before giving in and sitting across Wen Lan. Only then, he noticed his legs were a little shaky.

"Is there anything else?" Wen Lan asked curiously.

Sighing heavily, Ju Xin confessed "I was wondering... why you helped me as apparently we are enemies."

Wen Lan clicked his tongue, making Ju Xin get tense. Maybe he shouldn't have asked it.

"It is what I said in Heaven, nothing more," the Ghost King said as it wasn't possible for him to say that he wouldn't let anyone hurt him other than himself.

"Oh." Was it disappointment what he was feeling?

"Anything else?"

"Do you only hate me?" Ju Xin blurted out suddenly, even shocking himself.

Hearing the question, Wen Lan's eyes twitched, his hands tight around his knees. He had no answer for that question. "Isn't it normal after going through all those betrayals?" he answered the question with another question as his heart didn't let his mouth say yes.

A flash of hurt swept across Ju Xin's face before he mumbled "I see," with a cracked voice, making Wen Lan's heart bleed with guilt.

After that, the silence reigned for a while until Ju Xin collected all his courage and said "I don't want to be indebted to you when you hate me this much. Is there anything I can do for you?"

How much Wen Lan wanted to say he couldn't hate him no matter how much he tried, but the words stuck into his throat, refusing to go out.

"There should be something you want," Ju Xin pressed again softly.

"You can't give me what I want," Wen Lan said in a low voice, a hint of sadness apparent in his tone.

Letting out a sigh, Ju Xin took out a talisman from his sleeve and placed it neatly on the table, "you can tell me when you find something that I can do for you," he said and rose to his feet.

Wen Lan watched him going towards the door with horrified eyes. After he left, Wen Lan would never see him again and the idea made funny things to his heart.

"Wait!" he yelled as he jumped onto his feet.

"Yes?" Ju Xin halted and half-turned around.

"There is something you can help me with."

"What is it?" Ju Xin asked with a slight curiosity in his voice.

For Huang-quan's sake! I shouldn't say it! He would never agree to that!

"Let's complete our journey." Oh my! I said it out loud!

"What?!" Ju Xin's eyes widened with shock. Was he serious? Ju Xin scrutinised him, but couldn't find a sign for a joke.

Wen Lan wetted his lips as his mouth was too dry suddenly. "You heard me, we almost reached Taishan before that bastard showed up," he tried to sound matter-of-factly, but Ju Xin knew him better.

"I don't know why you are so obsessed with my lost memories, it was all in the past, but you even pulled a stunt on me for the sake of it," Ju Xin said, looking straight into Wen Lan's anxious eyes.

Feeling very conscious under his intense gaze, Wen Lan broke eye contact, pretending to brush some invisible dust off from his garment. "So? What is your answer?"

So, in the end, everything was related to their previous lives. Wen Lan didn't care about anything else. Not even a little. Even when Ju Xin accused him of pulling a stunt on him, Wen Lan ignored him, not even bothering to respond. Ju Xin was so stupid to think there was a little bit more between them. Still, if it was what he wanted, Ju Xin would grant it for him as a thanks to those wonderful days they spent together although they were all fake.

"Fine," he said with his broken heart, "I will go to Taishan with you to pay my debt, but after that, we shouldn't meet again."

Wen Lan was taken aback, but managed to shrug, "as you wish."

Luckily, the tension was broken by Dong Qing who entered the room pell-mell. "Xiao Lan, Bei An captured the evil spirit!"

Wen Lan puffed, "I told you that it wouldn't leave the South," he said all-knowingly.

"Whatever," Dong Qing replied as she pushed her long red hair behind her shoulder, "we can finally remove the barrier!"

"En."

"What happened here? I can almost touch the tension in the air," Dong Qing kept shifting her gaze between them.

"Nothing," Wen Lan shook his hand, "as the evil spirit got caught, I can leave Huang-quan for a while, right?"

Dong Qing simpered, "to where? To honeymoon?" she asked mockingly.

"To Taishan," Wen Lan pretended not to hear the second part while Ju Xin sighed.

"Hmm, you guys need a ride?"