Capturing My Demon King Costar

MY COSTAR IS A BARGAINING CHIP

As soon as Yao Shen steps through the door, the sounds and scents of Youdu assault him.

The city looks the same as he remembers, a big, bustling, underground metropolis -- and the only one.

He can tell that some part of him is drawn to the city, some primal corner of his soul must recognize it as home somehow. Even though Yao Shen's mind has no memories of the narrow streets, and towering wooden constructions, it's as if his muscles do, and they strain to follow familiar paths.

The ghoul keeps a close eye on him, Yao Shen can't explore at his leisure -- for now.

He's led to the same building, overlooking the decadent inner courtyard. There are four kings again this time, and they're surprised to see him.

The woman with the qipao takes a long drag of her pipe and looks Yao Shen up and down. "Good to see you're not in pajamas or underwear this time."

Yao Shen ignores her remark. "I have your answer."

Her narrow eyebrows climb up her forehead. "Well, aren't you industrious and hard working."

"Indeed," says the man with the bare chest and loose hair, pillowing his chin on top of his crossed arms. "It seems our Shi Wang was in a hurry to see us again."

Yao Shen grins. "I was actually."

He ignores the looks of confusion that cross all their faces. The one they call Si Wang in particular, the fourth king he met the last time, is giving him a very complicated look.

"I know that Xin Hulei tried to kill me the second time he came to the Fragrant Peony." He schools his features into a nonchalant look, and leans against the pillar behind him, inspecting his nails.

The man with the bodyguard robes and the tight topknot glares at him. "Do you know if he succeeded?"

Yao Shen sighs, as if they're all extremely dull and wasting his time. "No, and neither does he."

He bounces off the pillar and skips towards the group of them with his hands clasped behind his back. "I don't see why it matters though. It's clear that he's still holding a grudge, I want to get rid of him as soon as possible."

The good thing about being an actor, is that Yao Shen knows how to build a character. The one he's playing right now is reckless, childish, and petulant -- all things the ghost kings will see as easy to take advantage of.

Si Wang however keeps giving him that baffled look, although he remains silent.

The man with the loose hair, on the other hand, smiles almost beatifically at him. "Good thing we gave you the tools to do just that."

"Sure, but like you said before, Xin Hulei is not an idiot, he has some memories, and he keeps insisting I remind him of someone..."

The woman in red is the first to catch on to the undercurrent to Yao Shen's words. "What are you trying to say?"

"That it won't be easy to get any closer to him."

The man in topknot scoffs, as if he's about to call Yao Shen's bluff. "Don't think we don't know what goes on in the mortal world, according to the internet the two of you are plenty close, isn't that right, Jiu Wang?"

The man with the long hair and the peach blossom eyes nods and materializes a giant golden  mirror in the air next to him, on it, several candid pictures of him and Xin Hulei start scrolling by, like a social media newsfeed.

"You seem very close to me," Jiu Wang says with an insouciant shrug that makes his already barely on robe slip further down his shoulder.

Yao Shen is shocked to see those photos, but on the other hand, it shouldn't surprise him. As ghost kings it is their role to mete out punishment or rewards for the sins of the deceased, they should have access to all aspects of their mortal life. In the 21st century, that includes the internet.