[9]
"Wei...yuan... wei...yuan... wei-" Yan Guang's spirit was kneeling before Xiao Weiyuan's body as his blood soaked the ground.
A puddle of blood formed as it left Xiao Weiyuan's head. It reached Yan Guang and from it, a black twisting mist crawled into his body, blackening him.
His spirit was torn.
The black mist hungrily took its chance, devouring him and sinking him deeper into the darkness.
"He won't die." a cold voice whispered in his ear.
Yan Guang woodenly turned his head.
Behind him were two men with ghostly pale skin. One downed in white robes while the other wore black.
"A little later and he would have converted into an evil spirit." the white robbed man sighed in relief.
With the flick of the black-robed man's fan, the hungry contaminated mist was pulled away, instantly disappearing into ash.
Yan Guang regained clarity and approached, grabbing the white robes. "s-save him... please..." Broken, his shoulders slumped to the ground and his head met the ground in begging.
"Bi'An." the black-robed man warned his colleague.
"Aye~ Wujiu~ don't be so cold to the kid ba. Let him cry for a bit." he lowered himself to the ground and soothingly patted Yan Guang's head.
"Xiao Weiyuan won't die. His time has not come yet however we're here to pick you up."
The tale of Heibai Wuchang, the two deities in charge of escorting the spirits to the underworld. Xie Bi'An and Fan Wujiu.
Many knew the tale but of course, no one had seen them before.
"Don't waste time. Hurry and collect him." the list of names in the scroll of death was never-ending and in each second, new names were being written.
"Yan Guang, Xiao Weiyuan will survive this fall, see?" on cue, people arrived at the scene.
Looking up, he saw the same old man looking down with his finger pointing at their direction. Ropes were quickly thrown down the cliff and rescuers climbed down.
"Now follow us~." Bi'An encouraged him.
"Hurry." Wujiu impatiently read through the location of the next spirit on the list.
As if hypnotized, Yan Guang followed them instantly but when he heard the siren speed away, he snapped out of his trance.
"What if he tries to do it again?"
"Then we'll pick him up." Bi'An answered with a troubled smile.
"Dead." unlike him, Wujiu bluntly gave him a straight answer.
"No... I can't leave!" Yan Guang defiantly glared at them. Quickly, he turned his back and sprinted away in an attempt to catch up with the ambulance.
But with a wave of his fan, Fan Wujiu swept him off of his feet while Xie Bi'An bounded him with what looked like strips of cloth or a string of paper talismans.
Yan Guang's tenacity was not to be underestimated. Desperate, he madly tried tearingthrough his bindings with the only thought of escaping.
This amused Bi'An so he sat down. "Do you want to save him?"
"Bi'An!" Fan Wujiu sternly warned. Bi'An's bad habit of interfering with mortals was acting up again.
"You have accumulated a great amount of good karma. With it, you can exchange it for a favor as long as it's negotiable."
"I'll exchange right away!" after becoming a wandering spirit, Yan Guang gained the understanding that powerful beings could exist. Maybe the existing myths and legends had always been truths that were neglected as they defied common sense.
Witnessing the power of the two and their ability to converse with him, if they could save Xiao Weiyuan then he was willing to bet anything for it.
"Oh! how upfront. I can see why you've gathered so much in so few years~" Bi'An closely observed Yan Guang's appearance. As a Guide, sending away uncountable spirits he finds it unnecessary to remember their faces.
Fan Wujiu gritted his teeth in anger. Xie Bi'An's sickness was sprouting out again so he wanted to punish the spirit for causing this. But unless great offense was made, he himself cannot act upon it and can only watch this play out.
Yan Guang ignored the tension and prepared his heart, not out of fear but to gather the resolve to never regret.
He thought hard and clear but his thoughts circled to the same conclusion.
Yan Guang was prepared to let go.
"Can you make it so that we had never met..."
"En? Now that's an unusual request. You meant that you wish for him to forget about you?"
A big lump was growing in his throat. He patted and only after getting used to the discomfort did he let out a hard "Yes."
Yan Guang convinced himself that it was enough for him to remember for the both of them.
"Mmn~ we don't have the power to erase the fact that you've existed in the mortal world but I can use the good karma I've received from you and temporarily worsen his karma, enough to cause him to forget. If he could remember you again, well. That depends on his own good karma."
"He won't die?"
Xie Bi'An confidently shook his head. "If he doesn't attempt to take his own life, then he'll live long."
Fan Wujiu frustratedly watched as he could not interfere. He was concerned that Xie Bi'An would suffer from punishment for acting nosy again. The human was a rarity. An average human could only gather a fifth of his karma in their lifetime.
They have been gathering good karma to repay their debt and the amount that this human has could really fill a pocketful.
However Xie Bi'An's safety was more important even if they were desperate.
The white-robed deity could feel his partner's restlessness so he turned his attention to him and smiled.
/It will be alright./ His eyes relayed this message.
Yan Guang stood up from the ground and let out a deep breath. Although a ghost, his eyes looked swollen and with difficulty, he smiled at them.
"I'm willing."
"Good!" Xie Bi'An held his hand and-
WOOSH! - the scenery changed.
They were now inside a room that resembled a traditional restaurant. It had an open kitchen where customers can dine on it. From inside the kitchen was an old lady brewing soup who smiled at him.
"It'll be done soon..." she said with a gentle tone.
Behind him were four tables with empty seats. The room was decorated with potted plants letting a scent of freshness linger in the air without a scent of oil.
Xie Bi'An and Fan Wujiu took the counter seat and left the middle seat open for him.
"Grandma Meng~ give us our regular orders please."
"Alright." happy to receive customers, her hands picked up the pace and became more eager.
"Young man." Grandma Meng called Yan Guang's attention. "Yours first."
The soup had an unusual shade of pink. It was clear and very easy to eyes resembling more of fine wine.
"....." he felt quite solemn. He knew of the black of white officials and for them to call the old lady Grandma Meng, there was no need to guess her identity.
The goddess of forgetfulness. Meng Po.
"Don't be nervous. We can chat while you drink."
"....." The old lady was very gentle and he didn't want to be rude to her. He politely said his thanks before sitting down.
"How old are you child?"
"27."
"How young... do you have someone you like?"
"I do." at the thought of Xiao Weiyuan, Yan Guang smiled. Subconsciously, he reached for the bowl of soup for a sip.
Grandma Meng laughed tenderly at his face full of love. "That person must be very lovely for you to have such a pleasant smile on your face. Do you want to see him again?"
At the thought of seeing Xiao Weiyuan again, Yan Guang took another sip. "I haven't loved him enough... of course, I want to see him."
"Young man, you're very romantic." she giggled in delight.
Xie Bi'An and Yan Guang received their share of the soup however theirs resembled nothing of what Yan Guang was drinking. Their soup was thick and yellow like a common egg soup.
They chatted pleasantly within the duration that Yan Guang emptied his bowl.
"Young man." Grandma Meng softly called him.
"Do you still want to see Xiao Weiyuan?"
Yan Guang lowered his bowl and returned it to Grandma Meng.
"Who's Xiao Weiyuan?" he doesn't recognize the name at all...
Grandma Meng smiled and rummaged under the kitchen counter. She grabbed one of her hand-embroidered flower trinket and gave it to him.
"To wish you a pleasant journey. You made this old lady very happy." after giving him the trinket, she slowly waved her hand goodbye.
"We're done here." Fan Wujiu grabbed Yan Guang by the arm to make sure that he wouldn't stray.
"You. Be obedient and stay here." he glared at Xie Bi'An.
His partner had a naughty grinned and slowly drank his soup as if hearing nothing. With him acting like this, Fan Wujiu sighed in relief to know that he was listening to him this time. He took Yan Guang away and headed for the bridge.
"You know how much your husband worries for you. Can you be easier with him Little An?" her tone was concerned yet her expression was full of sweetness like an old lady who pleasantly watched her favorite noon-time romance drama.
"Rather than that, Grandma Meng, you didn't give the right soup again." a pink-colored soup? that was the strangest thing he had seen in a long while.
"Did I not? I'm probably getting too old ba~" she lamented with seriousness.
"Grandma Meng, you're not very good at acting."
"Oh my~" she exclaimed, amused.
Old Lady Meng gather the bowls and started washing them. "But how can I help it ah~"
"When you see something that beautiful, you just want to appreciate it, don't you think?"
Xie Bi'An stepped into the kitchen to help her wash the dishes. Grandma Meng stopped her hands and dried them with the hand towel.
"Like yours and Fan Wujiu... their love is just as beautiful."
Xie Bi'An smiled and out of curiosity, he asked- "that pink soup... what does it do?"
Grandma Meng hummed with a smile as she looked at the small flower that sat on the window closest to her. "It's the same soup ba...just that it smells nice."