Wuji: A Promise Kept

66‼️

**!!This chapter contains some spoilers from Heaven Official's Blessing. If you haven't read it, I thought I would prepare you ahead of time.!!**

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It's been a little over a week since leaving Cloud Recesses. After the wonderful moment Wuxian had with Wangji the night before, he was doing a bit better. It seems that all it really took was to have some time with Wangji and he will be fine within a little while.

After passing through the Black Forest, they were now heading into areas of large fields. They looked like farm lands. There was a small village several kilometers from the forest. The village looked like it was very lively and the people were friendly. The village soon became a large town and then a bustling city.

"New Xianle?" Sizhui questioned, "I guess that's why I haven't heard of this place before. I have once read about the city of Xianle and Yong'An so I didn't know that Xianle was rebuilt."

"After the defeat of the white clothes calamity otherwise known as White No-Face, the flower crown martial god became a god that many here worship again. Have you heard of the Crown Prince of Xianle?" Iroh asked.

"I have, didn't he ascend three times?" Jingyi asked.

"He did, his first ascension was when he was only seventeen. Shortly after his ascension, Yong'An started to fall into a drought and soon fell apart. The refugees were coming here to Xianle and soon became more of an issue. Fights and brawls would break out, people would point fingers at the Yong'An refugees if something bad happened and they were soon kicked out and locked outside the city gates.

A plague began to erupt and spread starting with those outside the city gates and soon spread to the Xianle people. That plague was called, Human Face Disease. The person who suffers from the disease will have skin deformations develop on their body. They start out as little, dark bumps that are said to actually feel good when nudged. Once fully developed however they look like faces, hence the name of the disease. The faces appear realistic and life-like, thus being horrifying to look at. A person can have many of such faces on their body, and they are even able to make sounds, such as small whining or cries."

"That is quite the disease," Jingyi said, "sounds more like a curse though."

"It technically is," Iroh said.

"Is there a cure?" Sizhui asked.

"There is, for the longest time it was believed that there was no cure for the Human Face Disease, as even the crown prince of Xianle, who was a God, couldn't heal the people. However, White No-Face later reveals that there is a way to prevent or get rid of the disease. One has to kill another person, then the disease would naturally vanish or never appear in the first place. This is why most of the soldiers of the Xianle Kingdom never got infected," Iroh explained.

"But, if word got out that was the cure, a massacre would definitely be inevitable," Lan Biyu said.

"Which is why the crown prince was so reluctant to tell anyone. But he made the ultimate sacrifice, but it was almost by force as well. As he was an immortal being, he cannot die or age. So he was the one who told others to stab him with a sword and it had to be a fatal blow like the heart, lungs, neck...basically anywhere that can kill a person. That was the loophole," Iroh explained.

"If he did that, not only would it still be painful but he'd be a pile of human flesh in the end," Biyu said, "did that really happen?"

"It did," Iroh said, "it then just so happened that a little ball of green ghost fire had been following him for so long and witnessed this. This ghost had an attachment to the crown prince so when he watched his loved one being treated in such a way, he was created into a wrath ghost."

"A wrath is basically a step before becoming supreme," Jingyi said.

"Exactly, it is actually this same ghost king who wishes to speak with Wei Wuxian," Iroh said.

"I never thought I'd hear such a thing," Wuxian said.

"Yet your story is just as painful to hear," Iroh said, "you actually died and your loved one suffered. It is why the ghost king has been wanting to help you. He knows the pain of being away from someone you love."

Wuxian nodded, "So New Xianle was build in honor of the crown prince?"

"Yes," Iroh said.

"So are we seeing gods on this trip too?" Jingyi asked.

"Possibly," Iroh said, "Baoshan is an immortal being so it might be possible for you to meet the crown prince sometime soon. Especially if you meet the ghost king."

"You said I met him before, it was during my thirteen years away," Wuxian said.

"You did," Iroh said, "as expected, you just have a bit of amnesia. As you were resurrected, your memories of him and the ghost world had been forgotten. They will come back to you eventually I'm sure."

Wuxian nodded, "since we are here in the city, why don't we find a nice inn for the night so everyone can get a nice rest and even a bath and proper meals."

"That sounds like a good idea," Iroh said, "if you want, the disciples should take the opportunity to look around the city too."

"Can we?" Jingyi asked.

"Stick together and be sure to come back to the inn by curfew," Wangji said.

"Baba?" Haishi asked.

"Sizhui, can you watch her as she goes with you?" Wuxian asked.

"Sure," Sizhui said and lifted her up, "let's go."

"Lan Zhan, why don't we get the rooms set and then we can look around for a bit as well," Wuxian said.

"Mnn," Wangji agreed.

Once they got the rooms reserved for the disciples, Wangji and Wuxian explored the city. They even found a temple for the Crown Prince of Xianle and followed the instructions on properly paying respects for him.

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There will more than likely be more Heaven Official's Blessing spoilers in future posts so I just wanted to warn you from here on out. After this I will still mark chapters that have spoilers.