The rain festival was almost as extravagant as the new year's celebration, if not even more so. An 18-meter-long green and blue dragon, sprinkled with golden scales here and there, was propped on wooden poles, each a meter apart from each other. The entire structure was maneuvered by eighteen men, mimicking the movements of a dragon. The dragon dance ran along the packed main street, with children dressed in various hues of blue running beneath the dragon to gather luck and health. Hundreds of lanterns of white, blue, and green hung wherever the eyes could see. Each house was decorated with different shades of blue and green fabric. From the above, it looked like the dragon was swimming through a bright, clear sea.
Horns and drums blared and thumped. A large altar was being set up in front of the Li household right in the middle of Lunan, at the end of the main street, where the dragon was slowly making its way to. It's was still early, and the rain ritual was due in the afternoon.
"Uncle MingYu, are you sure about this?" FenFen asked for the hundredth time as the two strolled alongside the main street, hugging the far side of the road to evade the dragon performers and the little children that ran amok. MingYu side-eyed FenFen with a little knowing smile.
"AhFen, are you asking if I'm sure of the plan, or if I'm sure of leaving FuFu with childe Jiang?"
A faint blush spread over her cheeks as she scowled. "He isn't good for FuFu!"
"How so?"
"I-" FenFen faltered as she tried to come up with anything to put Jiang Feng down as unfit for FuFu. Her eyes brightened as a thought struck her and she snapped, "He is weak, a mortal, spoiled rich kid!"
"Sounds like a match made in Heaven to me." MingYu mused and FenFen glowered at him with disapproval.
"How can you say that? FuFu needs someone strong and powerful to protect her."
"But AhFen, you didn't like Chen RuRong either and he has all of those qualities." MingYu pointed out as he hunched his back not to hit his head in one of the lower hanging lanterns. The Gui's sect leader seemed a stable man with a level head on his shoulders, but FenFen crinkled her nose in disgust.
"All of them are too pretty to look at."
FenFen wasn't wrong in that, MingYu thought to himself. Instead, he said, "Does looks matter?"
FenFen's nostrils flared. "That's what I've been trying to say! FuFu is too vain, she even turned down Xu Guanting! He has always been so nice to us. But she says she doesn't see him in a romantic way. He is not pretty enough for her, that's the truth. He is a righteous, loyal man who could take care of her!"
MingYu shot a surprised glance at FenFen who blushed deeply after her rant. Xu Guanting was supposed to be handsome beyond anyone's imagination. How could FuFu turn down a man like that? MingYu grew curious about the prospect. FenFen turned her eyes ahead and evaded his questioning look. "AhFen, you really think Xu Guanting would be perfect for FuFu?"
FenFen seemed to be deep in thought, gnawing at her lower lip. After a short moment, she said, "Y-yes, he would make a wonderful husband."
MingYu didn't ask any further but he made a mental note to mention this to ZhiYi. Seems like Xu Guanting would make a good son-in-law for the demon. The two halted before the main entrance of the Li household. Servants were flocking the area, each running around with frantic manners. As they spotted the shiny bald head and the worn-out brown monk robes, they ran over and took hold of MingYu.
"Just on time, priest!"
"We will have everything prepared by the afternoon. In the meantime, take shade from the sun in the main hall."
MingYu looked around as he was shoved inside the house. FenFen had disappeared out of sight. All according to plan, MingYu hummed with excitement as he disappeared within the house.
***
ZhiYi was standing by, staring at the main entrance of the Li household from under the drooping fig tree branches. Every corner of the house was guarded with city official's guards. The official had gone all out for his old friend. Looking around impatiently, ZhiYi tapped his feet on the ground and kicked a few stone pebbles around. Then he saw MingYu step out of the main entrance, exchanged a few words with servants with a smile then leisurely walked over to ZhiYi. He had left his staff in the inn to keep a low profile. A rattling staff would have drawn everyone's attention.
"How did it go? Are they suspicious?" ZhiYi asked.
"According to plan." MingYu smirked with satisfaction. "It took a while to find Jiang MeiLin's room. But everyone was so busy they totally ignored me. I went through at least a hundred doors before I saw the peony bushes. They thought I'm taking a stroll around the city before the rituals begin."
"And FenFen?"
"Already set and ready. I gave her everything I found from Jiang MeiLin's room."
ZhiYi let out a sigh, he really hoped this plan worked out.
MingYu was smiling to himself, when he said, "Are you sure FuFu will keep childe Jiang out of the way?"
"He is a good looking kid. FuFu won't let him out of her sight." ZhiYi assured. FuFu was tasked to accompany and keep Jiang Feng far away from the Li household. It was better if he didn't witness anything they might find today. Or even worse, do something rash in the heat of the moment and from all the pent up resentment towards Li PingShi.
"Don't worry, it will work out perfectly!" MingYu said and slapped ZhiYi over the shoulder, then flinched. The man was built like a brick wall! His fingers were tingling and blood rushed to the fingertips. ZhiYi took hold of his hand and inspected it with care as if MingYu had broken his fingers.
MingYu pulled out of ZhiYi grip and laughed, "It's just a little soar, it's not like I broke them!"
They stood quietly out of sight under a shade of a fig tree as the altar table was finally set up. Yellow talisman-papers littered the table, a large pot for incense stood in the middle, while a wooden sword, a bell, ink, and a brush were neatly arranged next to each other.
They watched as the main entrance was ceremoniously swung open and madam Li came out of the house with the others. She looked even more haggard than before. The emerald green robes exaggerated her greyish skin and sunken eyes. Her cheekbones were now pronounced and pointy, lips dry, and thinned out. Next to her, a tall man, with harsh features, and dark brows walked with authority in each step. He held his hands behind his back and stood straight, his chin subtly tilted upwards. His demeanor exuded dominance and a bit of cruelty. This was master Li who was loved and respected by Lunan. MingYu had a shiver run down his spine and he took a step closer to ZhiYi's side. He grew an instant dislike towards the man.
"If this is master Li, then I start to believe his capability to do those disgusting things." MingYu said coldly. ZhiYi gave a stiff nod.
Both their eyes were fixated on the man, not because of his demeanor, but because of the amount of negative energy that was radiating from him. But the man was clearly human. The energy was not emitted by Li PingShi, MingYu realised, it was attached to him. But he seemed unaffected by the energy. Madam Li, on the other hand, seemed like she was more of a walking corpse than a living human.
As the Li household took a seat behind the altar table on a little pedestal, a priest came forward. The dragon dance had now reached the end of the street and the dragon was maneuvered around in circles before the altar. The priest took hold of the wooden sword, but before he could proceed to perform his flashy ritual, a shrill scream erupted behind the altar, stopping all the commotion at once. Madam Li was now on all fours, groveling away from the pedestal and towards the main entrance, wailing and sobbing silently. Master Li had jumped up and looked surprised but grim. Servants ran across the yard, yelling and some of them took hold of madam Li and pulled her inside the house. The priest threw his sword and fled like a demon hound was chasing after him.
The people watching were all surprised and buzzing with curiosity, thinking, maybe this was a new entertainment from the Li household. They did say the festival would be bigger than ever. As the crowd broke into a commotion, a figure stepped into everyone's line of sight, sending them scurrying in different directions. The guards were all frozen in place from pure shock.
A young woman, dressed in Jiang MeiLin's clothing was drenched in blood, her hair was disheveled and covering parts of her face. Her skin was on a brink of peeling off, pits and pieces were hanging to rotting flesh. She was limping and groaning – a walking corpse.
MingYu smirked. FenFen was doing a great job! Even he wanted to run away screaming. How she got herself to look so haunting was beyond him. Women had a special skill in the rouge and powder department.
Master Li was the sole man standing on the pedestal, frozen in place as he looked at the approaching figure. MingYu and ZhiYi both waited expectedly. If MingYu's plan worked, any minute now, master Li should try and flee to the place he held MeiLin's body to make sure she was not actually up and walking towards him currently.
The two hadn't expected what happened next. MingYu screamed something unintelligible, while ZhiYi was cursing loudly. The two hurried to reach the altar. Before them, from out of nowhere, Jiang Feng had run out with a knife in his hands and was now going for Li PingShi. Seeing the childe, master Li instantly gained back his ability to move and swiftly evaded the knife plunging towards his face. He took hold of Jiang Feng's arm, twisted it painfully, and threw the childe off the pedestal, sending him flying next to the altar table. FenFen had stopped on her tracks, shocked from the sudden appearance of the childe. Seeing her effects washing off, FenFen fled the premises.
Master Li screamed orders to the guards and they instantly went to hold down childe Jiang. After throwing a murderous glance at the childe, master Li hurried inside the house. ZhiYi and MingYu rushed after him, but the main doors were pulled close after master Li.
"What now?" MingYu said angrily. Where in the world was FuFu? His plan had almost worked perfectly!
"There is no other way, we've come this far, we must get in!" ZhiYi took hold of MingYu and dragged him behind the corner. Grabbing MingYu by his waists, ZhiYi jumped over the wall and into the front yard. They could hear Jiang Feng struggling with the guards on the other side of the doors, but they didn't have time for it. MingYu had barely gained his footing from the jump as he was pulled through the yard, into the main hall and out of the side door. MingYu had no idea where they were running, so he just let ZhiYi lead the way, holding onto his hand with a firm grasp.
ZhiYi followed the negative energy still lingering in the air from master Li's presence and ended up in front of a room that turned out to be a study. The two kicked the door in and closed it behind them. MingYu looked around in surprise. While the other rooms were all extravagantly decorated, master Li's study was plain, consisting of only the bare necessities. No mythical beast carvings grazed the walls, no priceless statues or vases on any of the surfaces. There wasn't a touch of personality in the entire place.
There was no one in the room, but the negative presence was overwhelming, almost suffocating. ZhiYi let go of MingYu's hand and started searching around the room. MingYu came over to master Li's table. The man appeared to be a neat freak. Each and every item was straight and lined up against the tableside. Each book was arranged in alphabetical order. Not even a single dust particle was visible to the eye. MingYu was now doubly creeped out by the man.
ZhiYi strolled around the room like a bloodhound and eventually stopped next to MingYu, staring at the bookcase with curiosity. Before MingYu could ask what he was staring at, they could hear steps approaching from behind the wall the bookcase was leaning against. MingYu was awestruck and rooted in place. ZhiYi pulled him behind the pillars on the other side of the room just in time. They watched from behind the pillar as the entire bookcase and the wall moved, revealing a secret passage behind it. Master Li walked out and pushed it close before he walked out of the study with an ominous air around him. A rattling of chains and a sound of something heavy sliding into place echoed through the door. Master Li had bolted the door shut from the outside.
"Great, now we are stuck in here." MingYu grumbled as the two came out of hiding and stopped before the bookcase. "How does it work?"
"Like a door." ZhiYi said bluntly.
MingYu shot him a vexed glance as they both grabbed the side of the bookcase at the same time and together gave it a pull. Slowly, the bookcase yielded and the wall opened up with an ominous creak.