Their gloomy procession makes its way through the streets of Youdu without drawing anyone's attention. None of the ghosts spare them even a single look.
Yao Shen leads the way with Fan Wujiu, heading straight for the administrative building where the three traitors, plus Si Wang, usually hang around.
He's fairly certain that they won't find Si Wang there, but it's possible that he warned the others in advance.
He shouldn't have worried.
All seven of them manage to walk up into the the building through it's open awnings without raising any alarm.
Er Wang is the first to notice them. She's lounging on a chaise when the sound of footsteps draws her attention.
Yao Shen watches in satisfactions as her narrow cat eyes widen two sizes in shock..
"This-this...," she struggles to say anything, her long pipe trembling between her slender fingers.
Yi Wang steps forward, walking right up to Er Wang. "Long time no see."
In no time at all, both the beautiful Jiu Wang and the stoic Qi Wang join them as well.
Jiu Wang shoots Fan Wujiu a threatening glare. "What's the meaning of this?"
Well, since they are so entirely clueless about the situation, Yao Shen can just spin it whichever way he wants.
"I'm afraid Si Wang has betrayed you all," he says his tone grave. "He has been manipulating all of you to his own advantage."
The recently rescued ghost kings exchange a look of confusion, until one of them clears his throat loudly and roars, "That bastard!"
After that, all of them catch on and start offering up grumbles of their own.
That leaves the three traitors alone in their confusion.
Er Wang is quick to see an opening, and recovers quickly from her initial blunder. "Si Wang betrayed us, you say?" She looks at the vacant faces of the other returning kings. "Was he behind our brother's and sister's disappearances?"
Yao Shen nods gravely. "We're afraid so. Fan Wujiu's memories have been affected but he has some recollection of being coerced into sealing them."
Fan Wujiu grimaces, it's hard to tell if he's pretending to be aggrieved about his actions, or is uncomfortable about having to lie.
Yao Shen is the actor, so he decides to take control of the situation. "I found out that Si Wang was behind all the disturbances in Youdu while I was exploring the city." He turns to Jiu Wang, who doesn't seem as quick to believe as Er Wang, and raises an eyebrow at him. "I bet he came up with all kinds of excuses for my odd behaviour."
Jiu Wang doesn't say anything, but Qi Wang snorts in distaste. "That's right, he said he had everything under control."
"If he knew you were looking into him, then how come he let you go on?" Jiu Wang asks, crossing his arms in front of his bare chest.
Yao Shen wishes he'd cover up before Xin Hulei gets there.
As it stands, he's happy to buy some more time by talking circles around him and his smug eyebrows. "That's because he thought I was on his side," Yao Shen says, which is not so much a lie as much as a sideways truth. Si Wang 'hoped' Yao Shen was on his side. "He wanted me to use Xin Hulei to get rid of the three of you."
The three of them fall silent, and Yao Shen knows their defences are lowered now. It's a possibility they have entertained before, and none of them are happy with the idea of having been the ones deceived.
More importantly, all three of them are extremely confident that Yao Shen is dumb enough to have stumbled into the truth only to arrive at the wrong conclusions.
It makes him wonder how the Crown Prince must have acted as Shi Wang. Do they even know that he and Si Wang were brothers in the mortal world? Somehow, Yao Shen doubts it.
"It seems we have all be deceived by the same villain," Qi Wang says, his voice stilted.
Yao Shen nods solemnly. "Unfortunately he escaped the trap that I and the two Impermanences set for him. I was planning on bringing him here and make him reveal his terrible schemes in person."
"A pity," Er Wang says.
"Do you have any idea where he might have escaped to?"
A look passes from Er Wang to Qi Wang and Jiu Wang. They have an idea, but they don't want to admit it just yet.
Yao Shen expected a confrontation, but this is much better. And to think his father almost beat him up because being an actor was an useless career.
If he could see Yao Shen now, a lowly actor fooling a room filled with kings.
And this play isn't over yet.
As if on queue, the sound of dozens of feet approaching drift in from the outside.
Everyone falls silent, and moments later Xin Hulei walks in leading a group of demons of all shapes and sizes.
Right on time for the third act.
---
Some of the demons resemble Xin Hulei, mostly human with some obviously demonic features, like horns and unusually coloured eyes or skin. Others resemble trees with four limbs, dogs that walk on two legs, all manner of creatures that look straight out of a child's bedtime stories.
Without exception they all remain quiet in the face of the ghost king's silent shock. It's a good thing that even the ones that knew to expect them aren't able to hide their trepidation at their presence.
"What's the meaning of this?" Er Wang roars, pointing from Xin Hulei to the demons while glaring at Yao Shen.
"I thought it would be prudent to take precautions against Si Wang," Yao Shen says, his eyes wide and guileless. "I took control of the demon king, and now we can use both him and a demon army to defeat Si Wang."
Before anyone can protest any further, Yao Shen exchanges a charged look with Xin Hulei. "Just watch," he beckons Yao Shen with his finger. "Come."
Xin Hulei steps away from the other demons and walks towards Yao Shen, his red eyes fixed intently on him.
His expression is unreadable as ever, but there's something in the straight line of his lips that makes Yao Shen's heart beat faster.
He comes to a stop in front of Yao Shen.
"Kneel."
Still looking into Yao Shen's eyes, Xin Hulei falls to his knees, his back perfectly straight.
Yao Shen extends the back of his hand towards his face. "Kiss my fingers."
Tenderly, Xin Hulei cups Yao Shen's palm and lowers his lips to his knuckles, never breaking eye contact.
Yao Shen struggles to keep his composure in the face of Xin Hulei's heated look. A look that promises he'll be glad to turn the tables as soon they have opportunity.
Yao Shen clears his throat. "As you can see, he's perfectly obedient," he says, looking back the three kings. "We won't have any trouble confronting Si Wang when he resurfaces."
"It would seem so," Jiu Wang says, his voice unsteady. His gaze jumps from Yao Shen to the demons, never settling on anything, like a scared cat considering all his options.
A figure steps from behind a tall demon. "There are still risks however," Xie Bian says, making his presence known for the first time. "Si Wang was so cunning that he managed to keep Fan Wujiu's condition from me. I think he might try to attack us through some other underhanded tactics."
Yao Shen doesn't know what he's getting at at first, but then a look passes over Fan Wujiu's face, and he goes very still. "Bian is right, maybe we should hide from him in order to be able to surprise him." He grins. "I know just the place."
---
For the second time that day, Yao Shen travels the streets of Youdu towards the underground tunnels. This time, their sombre procession attracts the attention of a few curious ghosts.
Hard not to, when dozens of demons walk in a silent, orderly rows, flanking two distinct groups of ghost kings.
It's clear that none of the three traitor king wants to be there, but they don't want to reveal their hand either.
With all the other, newly returned kings siding with Yao Shen so easily, they have no choice but to follow suit. Just like they used the gu insects to get the voice of the majority in their favour, so is Yao Shen doing now -- pressuring them into following along calmly towards their own doom.
They grow more restless when the group makes their way through the dark tunnels.
"Is it really necessary for all of us to stay there?" Jiu Wang asks, eyeing the low ground above their heads distrustfully.
Yi Wang smirks, her full cheeks dimpling. "We spent to years there, what's a few more days to ensure our safety?" Her words are met with agreement from the other kings.
Yao Shen is the first to enter the chamber, Xin Hulei following just behind him.
At Xie Bian's pointed encouragement the three traitors follow suit.
Yao Shen nods towards Fan Wujiu who closes the stone door with a flick of his wrist, plunging the dark chamber into darkness.
"What's the meaning of this?" Er Wang hisses.
In the darkness, Xin Hulei's red eyes are the brightest source of light. Yao Shen finds his hand and links their fingers together. "I think it's best if we make things harder on Si Wang by splitting up in groups."
The next moment, a flurry of flames envelops both him and Xin Hulei, whisking them away to the outside of the closed chamber.