Soul Lock

Heart-to-Heart Talking on the Stairway

Wen Lan had no idea why he did what he did, but the idea of Ju Xin disappearing for good made his body move its own and without even noticing, he guzzled down the poison.

So, he disappeared from three realms... right?

But then, how come he could feel the cold ground beneath him? Hear Ju Xin's voice?

"Are you awake?" Wen Lan heard Ju Xin's voice one more time, but this time it was crystal clear.

With surprise, he opened his eyes and found out he didn't disappear!

"What happened?" he asked, taking a sitting position. Just to be sure, he pinched himself and was relieved to feel it.

"It was just a test," Ju Xin explained everything that happened after Wen Lan fell asleep.

"Oh," Wen Lan uttered, embarrassed as he failed to notice the goddess' ploy, so he tried to change the topic by asking "where are we now?"

They were sitting on a step of a stone stairway which looked as if it was going up to clouds under the fog.

"Shiba Pan," Ju Xin answered, rubbing his nape. When Bixia Yuanjin told him that the kite would take them to the House of Reincarnation, he thought she meant all the way, but apparently, she meant half-way. The kite took them around and dropped them suddenly at the beginning of Shiba Pan.

"Eighteen-level Stairs?!" Wen Lan exclaimed, "which part are we at?"

Shiba Pan consisted of three parts; Slow Eighteens, No slow no hard Eighteens and Hard Eighteens. As there were more than one thousand steps in Shiba Pan, Wen Lan hoped the kite dropped them towards the end.

"Hard Eighteens," Ju Xin said apologetically.

"And where did the kite drop us?"

"At Slow Eighteens."

"So you carried me from the bottom to this point?!" Wen Lan exclaimed with his eyes wide open.

Ju Xin nodded shyly.

"You should have waited for me to wake up," Wen Lan said with a lower octave, "you should be tired, carrying me without your spiritual power."

"N-No, it... was fine," Ju Xin stuttered as he didn't expect to hear such caring words from Wen Lan. "Shall we continue to climb?" he asked as he stood up abruptly, trying to hide his blush.

So, the duo continued to climb up the stone stairs, and this time Wen Lan was on his own feet. They finished one third of the remaining stairs in silence, but Wen Lan's curiosity couldn't be curbed anymore.

"Where did you find that blue leaf?" he asked suddenly and Ju Xin halted his steps.

"Heng O gave it to me to call you," he answered and continued to climb ahead.

"Why didn't you throw it away?" Wen Lan hopped on the steps and reached the same step so that he could see Ju Xin's expression.

"I forgot."

"Really?" Wen Lan pressed with suspicion as he grabbed Ju Xin's arm gently yet firmly, preventing him from moving, "then how come it became your most valuable item?"

Ju Xin pulled his arm, saving it from Wen Lan's grip, "how about you?" he challenged Wen Lan with daring eyes, "how did my exchanged jade end up in your hands and become your most important belonging?"

"I bought it back from the pawn when you went to sleep," Wen Lan confessed, staring back at Ju Xin.

The deity tried to read the emotion in Wen Lan's eyes, but the waves didn't let him do that. Therefore, he had to ask the Ghost King directly.

"Why?" Ju Xin asked, whispering.

The Ghost King rubbed the corner of his eye, "because I wanted to give it back to you. It was a family heirloom, wasn't it?"

Ju Xin was astonished. Wasn't he Wen Lan's enemy? Then why did he care about him this much? There was no need for such an act to deceive Ju Xin. "Then why didn't you return it to me?" he asked, trying to find a logical explanation behind Wen Lan's action.

"I..." Wen Lan couldn't decide what to say.

"You?" Ju Xin didn't let him off the hook.

"I just kept delaying without a reason and then... you went back to Heaven." His voice cracked towards the end, allowing Ju Xin to feel his anger and disappointment.

Looking at Wen Lan's clenched fists, Ju Xin could only guess how much he was holding in. His throat felt dry, but he had one more question to ask. Wetting his lips, he almost whispered "why did you regard it as your most valuable item?"

"Because it reminded me of you," was Wen Lan's honest answer. He felt exhausted and didn't want to produce any lies. Ju Xin wouldn't believe him anyway.

Hearing his honest words, Ju Xin felt like crying. All this ordeal was too much for him. The fact that he caused all those sufferings for Wen Lan broke his heart, but still, he didn't want to be Wen Lan's enemy. He wished Wen Lan to give him a chance to make it up to him. But how could he make it up to four lives of misery? Originally, Ju Xin accepted to come to Taishan because he wanted to do something for Wen Lan to help him forget about the past. He planned to be mission-oriented, but Wen Lan was too kind and caring. He didn't act like an enemy at all and it befuddled Ju Xin.

"Ya, are you okay?" Wen Lan asked as Ju Xin was silent for a while and his hands started to tremble.

Wen Lan's worried voice brought Ju Xin's lost soul back. "You don't want me to be your enemy," he declared suddenly.

"What did you say?" Wen Lan was sure that he misheard Ju Xin.

"You don't want me to be your enemy," Ju Xin repeated word by word, "that's why you are so obsessed with my lost memories."

"Well," Wen Lan squinted his eyes in the face of Ju Xin's bold remark, "it is true that I want to learn about the past. Our second life can be left out as we were both soldiers, but the betrayals I got from our first and third lives keep haunting me. In this sense, you are my one and only enemy even if I don't want that."

"What if there are some reasons for my actions?" Ju Xin asked with apparent hope in his eyes, "can you forgive me then?"

Wen Lan snorted, "it should be hell of a reason to make me forget all those sufferings," he answered coldly, yet the expression in his eyes was equally hopeful.

"It means there is still a chance."

"I am not that optimistic."

"But I am," was the deity's firm answer, "because I still remember my last life."

"Do you want to share it until we reach the top?" Wen Lan asked with expectation.

Ju Xin shook his head, "no, you won't believe me anyway."

Wen Lan wanted to argue that he would never doubt Ju Xin's words, but Ju Xin beat him.

"Let's hurry up so that you can get your answers."