A broken promise. Persistence spanning beyond life and death.
"You broke your promise first, why can't I broke mine?"
"I keep this name to remember the promise I have once made, the promise I have once broken. Once again, it will be the promise I ke...
Fu Yan was talking to the two bigger flames, who Xu Yejing could now see as well.
To her surprise, they were exactly black and white impermanence she had seen in books or stories. Apart from some minor details, their appearances were more or less the same (1).
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The two impermanence seemed to be bowing towards Fu Yan.
"Your excellencies are working too hard," Fu Yan said, avoiding their greeting, "Shouldn't it be Niu Tou and Ma Mien(2) who are tasked to escort souls to the underworld?"
"Sir is jesting." Bai Wuchang, the white impermanence, did not seem to have any difficulty speaking despite his long hanging tongue, "When we heard Sir's whistle, we knew the soul is someone special."
"But I don't seem to see anything special with this woman's soul," Hei Wuchang tilted his head to the left and to the right, causing his tongue to sway along. Despite his otherwise-creepy skinny figure, it caused him to look comical.
"You're so stupid!" Bai Wuchang jabbed Hei Wuchang's ribs with his wooden plaque, "It's not the woman ghost who's special. It's that young lady there!"
Xu Yejing felt the two pairs of dead eyes looking at her direction, causing her to feel unnerved. Just a week ago, she was as far away as could be from these ghosts and figures she could only find in story books.
Fu Yan, "Xie Bian and Fan Wushe. The both of you are very talkative now, aren't you?"
"We don't dare!" The two Wuchangs immediately retracted their gaze and bowed once again.
"Five minutes will do," Fu Yan said.
"We understand."
Fu Yan walked to Xu Yejing, his gaze was somewhat soft, "Scared?"
She mulled over her answer, "Just a bit... surprised." She smiled at him and thought, "With you by my side, I will never be scared."
"Good, I'll leave her to you then," Fu Yan spoke, "After all, you're the one who had seen what she wanted and felt when she was living. In five minutes time, the two hell guards will take her soul away."
"Hell... ," Xu Yejing was worried, "She doesn't deserve to be in hell... ."
"Hell is just a term for the underworld. All karma and whether or not one's soul must undergo punishment is not for us to decide."
Sighing, Xu Yejing nodded and walked towards Man Zui. She lightly pulled him up, "Listen to what He Xiang wants to say."
Man Zui could not hear or see He Xiang, thus Xu Yejing had to relay her words to him.
He Xiang could no longer shed any tears, but her voice was heartbreakingly sorrowful, "Please tell him, my death is not his fault. Our son's death is not his fault either."
Although he was unable to see He Xiang as something else than floating flame, Man Zui could see the demon infant. At the moment, it was giggling affectionately towards the blue flame, its form was too hideous and deformed to resemble a living baby. But he recalled the demon infant's cry during that snowy cold night, "Da.... D-da... ."
