To Be Together

Exposition

Mo Ran, Xue Meng and Chu Wanning stand at the start of the back trail, all bundle in their warm outfits. Both Mo Ran and Xue Meng still clueless to what happen. Waiting patiently.

They are currently waiting for the master, Qing Su and some family of the victims. Not all as some are rather stubborn. Some would rather not know at all.

"It wasn't a ghost." Wanning tells them finally. Mo Ran and Xue Meng look at each other.

"Those two guys did it?" Mon Ran asks. Wanning nods. Mo Ran pales along with Xue Meng.

"What did they do? And where are the bodies?" Xue Meng asks.

"Princess!" The three turn to see a rather large group of people. Some servants from the Qing household tagging along. The maids run forward to Wanning. Who gives them a courtesy nod. Qing Su walking along with her father at an even pace.

The master Qing has a face full of hair. Though it's starting to whiten. He's got crows feet. He's obviously lived a very happy life but his eyes are wise. All that doesn't take away from his handsomeness.

Once they get close enough he gives them a nod. "Can we get answers now?" he wonders.

"Yes, but some might be better for you to see yourself." Wanning states. The others give looks to each other. Curious but confused.

"Lead the way back Mengmeng." Mo Ran says. Xue Meng nods leading them.

"Where are you leading us?" Someone asks.

"It's best to show you what happen." Wanning tells them once again. Making some frown, angry and annoyed that he won't say anything. Keeping them in the dark.

They are engulfed in silence as they walk. Wanning can tell that some families are getting annoyed. They just want answers. Wanning would tell them but he doesn't fully believe it happen himself. He just woke up and he still needs time to process everything that happen. If he was in the middle of everything and is still in the need of processing it how will they?

They get more annoyed when Xue Meng leads them off the path. Having to use more energy to get through the high snow, still not knowing where they are going. Wanning turns to the master.  He seems as clueless as the rest.

"How far does your family history go?" Wanning asks.

"Dynasties. We are far away from most and we are mostly self sustaining so politics don't affect us much." He answers.

"Do you know how the settlement starts?" Wanning wonders, not sure he read any books about the beginning. He focus more on anything more recent. Over a hundred years recent.

"Not at the top of my head. I'm sure I've been told it as a story when I was a child but it is not coming to me currently."

"Then has there ever been accounts of someone getting banned? Maybe even a story of a ghost on a hill? Or local legends?" Wanning asks because he never heard so much as a peep from the city goers. Besides the typical family feuds, bloodline issues, tricks, and the age old story of inheritance drama nothing really stands out.

"Of course. Families leave, we have banned some families or certain people but it's the worse punishment we can give. We do not talk about them after it happens." He explains. Not exactly what Wanning was hoping.

"We're almost there!" Xue Meng shouts. Hearing the news many pick up their pace.

"The culprits are human." Wanning announces. Many pause, looking at Wanning. Qing Su gasps, hand coming up to cover her open mouth.

"I-it wasn't a ghost?" She asks.

"It was those men Xue Meng brought. We were able to subdue them. Sadly we are too late and many women have been a victim of theirs." Wanning says regretfully. Mo Ran takes a look at the way his eyes narrow, not in anger but sorrow.

"A house!" A man shouts shocked. Whispers start, questioning what a random house is doing out here. Wondering where it came from. Who built it? How long has it been here?

Wanning steps in front of the house getting a good look at it. It look unsuspecting. "Master Qing and a few men should follow me." Wanning says walking in the house. The stench hitting their noses immediately. They cover their nose as Wanning, Mo Ran and Xue Meng deal with it. They smell this more often than one should admit in their line of work. Wanning leads them down to the basement. Wanning lights the candle grabbing it and showing them the other side of the room. Mo Ran and Xue Meng stare stunned and wide eyed. Not able to believe two humans did this. They are use to vengeful ghosts, demons, angry spirits.

This is...

A couple men run out. They can hear them retching. No one can fault them for that. The horrible stench is coming from this place.

They turn to Qing Su screaming in horror at the sight. Wanning carries her back outside as she could only stand frozen in shock. The maids rush to her side to calm her down.

Mo Ran and the others come back up, the civilians looking as if they saw hell. Their families rushing to ask what happen. Master Qing looking calm but green. He's never seen anything like it.

He turns to Wanning, "how did this happen? Do you know what happen down there?" he asks. Face a bit angry, upset this had happened in the first place.

"Yes. The men would kidnapping a women to their liking. Hide her in the basement. Chop her up and... eat her." Wanning furrows his eyebrows not knowing if there is a nicer way to say that.

"Eat?" Xue Meng and a few others repeat.

"I'm not sure what else they did but that's all I know. Most of the women died from blood loss. Some died of a heart attack." Wanning explains.

"Those two weren't from your town." Mo Ran hops in. Distracting himself from the thought of those assholes wanting to hurt his Wanning, much less wanting to eat him. Sink their teeth into his smooth plush body. Mo Ran wants to bash their teeth in. "They must have gotten here recently, around the time the first woman disappeared."

"They knew what they were doing before they got here." Wanning adds.

"So what must be done?" Master Qing wonders. Expression murderous.

"There are two options. Turn this into a burial sight to appease the victims or burn this place down."

"What option is the best?" Qing Su asks.

"Burning it down." Wanning, Xue Meng and Mo Ran answers at the same time.

That night all the families of these victims gather to burn the house down. Of course master Qing made sure to gather and record as much evidence as he could before.

The three from Shisheng peak watch from afar. Though Wanning made a few prayers to the ghost he met, thankful for them telling him what he needed to know. And for trying to protect him. He hopes they can pass on peacefully, knowing what happened to them was told. 

With the perpetrators in jail their job is done. And completed.

A successful mission.