Soul Lock

The Secret Talk of Two Ghost Kings

Seeing Dong Qing in front of him didn't make Wen Lan happy. Nope, not at all. Gently, he laid Ju Xin on the ground and stood up. Placing his right hand on his chest, he bowed slightly to greet the Ghost King of Dong, hoping she wasn't looking for trouble. As the east was her area, Wen Lan's power wasn't at its best, so the injuries would be impossible to avoid.

"First, let me handle this little human," she said while returning the greeting and turned to the shocked young man, "what you said was true, you can't find your Yu Yu," she said and the young man shed a tear, "but, I can help you to take your revenge as well as grant you freedom to look around for her reincarnation."

The young man's face lit with hope, "really, Your Majesty?"

Dong Qing flipped her ankle-length crimson hair and nodded slowly. Wen Lan knew it better that she wouldn't grant such a wish for free. As he expected, she continued.

"But there is no free lunch in this world, you know that right?"

The young man knelt before her, "I am ready to do whatever you want me to do," he said determinedly, satisfying Dong Qing.

"Good, it is not something hard, don't worry. I just want you to be my left arm, when you are wandering around, collect some useful information about anything and everything, and relay to me, simple, isn't it?"

The young man nodded again wholeheartedly. Honestly, he did expect something much more evil than it, so did Wen Lan.

"Oh, one more thing," she said, taking out a blood red dagger from her red sleeve, "you need to kill yourself with this dagger so that I can claim your soul."

The determined man received the dagger and without a delay, he stabbed himself on the heart. His mortal body fell to the ground with a thud and a red ghost light appeared.

"Very well, now go down to my palace and wait for me," she commanded and the red ghost light disappeared in the dark.

"I am sorry for making you wait, the Ghost King of Xin," Dong Qing smiled at him, "first let me thank you for rescuing those ghosts, they told me what happened and wanted to thank you personally."

Wen Lan shook his hand, "Your Majesty is too kind, but it was nothing, really," he said politely.

Dong Qing looked at him intently as if she was trying to see if he was sincere. "What brought you here though? You are far from your kingdom and as if it isn't surprising enough, you are with a fallen deity."

Wen Lan let out a sigh, "let's say we are on a journey," he kept it short as he really didn't want to explain everything from the beginning to a mad king, well queen... whatever.

"It is more like you two are on a date," she uttered with an all-knowing smile, but Wen Lan kept his silence with a blank expression, so she continued, "he doesn't know who you are, right?"

Okay, now he had to answer, "no, and I want to keep it like this for a while," he said honestly.

"I guessed so, that's why I made him faint," she replied with a hint of pride in her tone.

"En, I have to thank Your Majesty for her kindness."

Suddenly she patted his shoulder, "let's drop the honorifics, I want to be friends with you," she dropped the bomb.

"What?" Wen Lan exclaimed. It was truly unexpected.

Dong Qing chuckled, "you heard me, you are the only Ghost King whom I find interesting. The other two are like pigs, eating and fighting all the time."

"Well, thank you... I guess," Wen Lan mumbled and she linked her arm with his.

"It is beneficial to be allies, trust me!" she exclaimed excitedly and the only thing he could do was to nod.

"Great! Now tell me where are you going with a broken deity?"

Wen Lan didn't like the expression she used for Ju Xin, but it was better not to argue with her. Leaning on a tree, he said "to Taishan."

Her crimson eyes widened with the shock, "are you two trying to change your destiny?"

Was it possible? If so, it would be awesome. "Can it be done?" he asked with equally widened eyes.

"I don't know, that's why I asked," she said, making Wen Lan disappointed.

"No, we just want to access some memories," he said dejectedly.

Dong Qing grabbed her left elbow and rested her chin on her fist, contemplating for a while. Then she said "I won't ask you any further as you look highly reluctant to tell me, but I want you to know that I am here whenever you need help."

It was extremely unexpected but sweet nonetheless.

"Oh," Wen Lan exclaimed, touched, "thank you, and the same is valid for you."

She gave him a tight hug which he returned. Even when they were both dead, they felt some warmth. After they broke the hug, she said "now, get your deity, lover boy, this sister will take you to the next town."

She snapped her long pale fingers and a wooden carriage with two ghost horses appeared. Wen Lan placed Ju Xin on the bench and leaned his head onto his shoulder before hooking his arm around Ju Xin's waist while Dong Qing sat opposite of them. She gave the signal and the horses started running with full force.

After a while later, Dong Qing suddenly asked "you really love him, right?" Her voice mingled with the sound of the wheels and reached his ears.

"I..." Wen Lan started but couldn't continue as he himself wasn't sure about his relationship with Ju Xin. Close-enemies? Lover/enemy?

"You are not sure, but I can see it in your eyes," she sighed, "love is good, don't let it go from your grip," she advised with apparent melancholy in her voice.

"So, you miss your husband?" Wen Lan asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Every day," she confessed while her fingers clenched into fists, "that bastard Nan Han! I should have killed him a long time ago!"

Although it was a sad topic, Wen Lan couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Who would believe that two Ghost Kings were talking about love in the dark night?

"Don't laugh," she warned him in a teasing manner, "now we are friends, so I can ask you to help me to kill that bastard Nan Han."

Wen Lan rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. After that, they talked about random stuff until they reached the town.

Standing in front of the carriage, Dong Qing gave Wen Lan a scarlet lily beetle in exchange for a blue leaf. Now, it was official that they were friends.

"Use the beetle whenever you need help or want to meet for corpse hunting," she said with a grin.

Wen Lan nodded, "wish to see you soon Qing Qing, thank you for the ride," he said and she beamed at the pet name.

"Wish you luck, Xiao Lan," she waved her hand until the carriage disappeared from his sight.

When she left, Wen Lan walked to the closest inn with the unconscious Ju Xin in his arms. Interestingly, it became kind of their habit; like a newlywed groom, Wen Lan was carrying Ju Xin around as if he was his bride.

The thought was about to make him smile, only if he didn't remember that they almost arrived at Taishan. Soon, everything would be revealed and Wen Lan hoped for the first time that there was a chance for them to stay together.