Back at the mountain path, Yue Yang's eyes widened. Where was the carriage?! It had disappeared from his shoulders.
Yue Yang was nervous. Where did Bi Zhen go? He had never been more thankful that Bi Zhen wasn't a weakling. He'd probably teach the ghost a few lessons. Yue Yang's face had a small smile before he dashed into the forest. He tried to communicate with Bi Zhen through his private communication array yet… he did not know his password…
The sky seemed to be getting darker. Yue Yang heard screaming from the distance. His eyes widened and he picked up his pace. Bi Zhen? Wait… that scream was way too high pitched to have been Bi Zhen.
"LET ME GO YOU HAG!" Yue Yang entered the clearing and he watched as Bi Zhen continuously shoved a person's head into the ground.
"How could you dishonour those women then decapitate them and then finally carve out their hearts?! You're a woman yourself! That's disgusting! Even I can treat a woman with better respect!" Bi Zhen shoved the head of the ghost back into the ground. His voice was alit with fury.
Yue Yang bit his lip, not daring to peer inside the shrine.
Bi Zhen noticed him and he laughed.
"Gege! This is the culprit! She's disgusting! Did you hear what she did?!" Bi Zhen looked mortified.
"Yes… would you mind filling me in on how you have found this out. Are you ok?"
Bi Zhen's lips had parted slightly, ready to give his report yet… at the last question, he closed his mouth. He opened again slightly, wanting to reply before he finally opened it a third time and replied in a soft tone.
"Yes Gege. Thank you."
Yue Yang gave him a stiff nod before he absentmindedly stroked a hand through Bi Zhen's hair. It was slightly bloody.
"She had carved out a certain corpse's heart and… she was about to stew it! The dead miss was lying on the floor and there was a large hole in her chest." Yue Yang cringed when he saw the piles of corpses in red lying all over the shrine's floor. It was truly a sight to behold… one which I have no interest of seeing.
"I… had… to…" The woman screeched and Bi Zhen shoved her head back in the ground.
"You had to?" Bi Zhen raised an eyebrow and continued to slam her head to the ground.
"His royal Highness isn't one who feels that women deserve to be dealt with gently I see~" The offhand comment made Bi Zhen slightly.
"Justice must be served. It doesn't matter if they're male or female. Do you agree with me Gege?" Bi Zhen gave the woman's head another hard shove into the ground.
He stepped on her head and stood up. There was a "crack" sound. He faced Yue Yang and smiled. Yet, Yue Yang somehow didn't return the smile. He was deep in thought.
He glanced at Bi Zhen and brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. Bi Zhen blinked, slightly shocked at the sudden gesture.
"Could you raise this lady's head up for a bit please." Yue Yang curved his finger so the lock of hair was tucked nicely behind Bi Zhen's ear.
Bi Zhen grudgingly nodded and he lifted the woman up by her hair.
"Now… what do you mean you had to do it?" Yue Yang cocked an eyebrow up. Bi Zhen gasped silently. He hadn't thought of that.
The woman shook her dirty head furiously and she spat out a bit of congested blood onto the floor. She glanced at Bi Zhen, disgusted.
"YOU DISGUSTING FILTH! NO WONDER YOU'RE A CULTIVATOR! OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN'T BE MARRIED OFF! WHO WOULD WANT TO MARRY A SWINE LIKE YOU?" Yue Yang's chuckle was louder than he had meant it to be.
"Huh? Marry off? I'M A MALE!" Bi Zhen slammed her head back in the ground.
"Gege, this is useless. What should we do now?" He ignored the muffled screams escaping from the floor.
"Hmm… try not to slam her head back down… ok?" Bi Zhen rolled his eyes and nodded slowly.
He lifted the head back up and Yue Yang's frown deepened. This lady… was a heinous ghost! Her human form had begun to fade and Yue Yang could see the lady's real, bony, skeletal form.
"You had to eat hearts?" Yue Yang asked. He squatted down and stared straight at the lady. She spat in his face, refusing to answer his question. Yue Yang blinked, disgusted at the spittle on his face. He kept his smile on.
"I will get this boy to stop slamming your head into the ground if you answer."
The lady tch-ed and she spat at the ground. Yue Yang kept calm. He glared at Bi Zhen, telling him to remain calm. This Bi Zhen was so different from the carefree, happy boy he had conversed with at the waterfall.
"Bi Zhen. Don't." Bi Zhen frowned and he sighed.
"Yes Gege."
"Answer the question." Yue Yang turned back to the lady and glared at her. Only one of his eyes could be seen while his remaining eye was hidden underneath his bangs. In the dark forest, his eye lit up a bright golden. Bi Zhen hummed. The gold was lighter than what he had seen previously.
"Well, I have no choice do I?" Yue Yang let his eyes opened wide and the lady immediately began screaming. Bi Zhen's mouth shaped into an 'o'.
"Gege?"
"GAVGAFNSFAGAAAAA CURSE YOU!" Yue Yang frowned and he continued to let his eyes glow.
"Tell us what you know." The lady spat on Bi Zhen's nearby shoe and a vein popped out from Yue Yang's forehead. Enough with the spitting! Heavens!
The screaming got louder.
"Gege?" Bi Zhen asked again. What was Yue Yang doing?
"I WILL ANSWER HKDHKHKDGKDGDK MAKE IT STOP!" The lady sobbed into the mud and Yue Yang's eyes dimmed.
The lady panted and she frowned.
"His majesty asked me to. I will serve him forever!" Bi Zhen hummed. His majesty? Was it a ghost king? He was still wearing the bride's clothes and he had begun to feel extremely uncomfortable. His patience began to thin.
"HE LET ME HAVE ALL THE BRIDES OF SHAN LU ROAD! I CAN TAKE ALL THAT I WISH FOR!" Bi Zhen cringed. Disgusting.
"Why brides?" Yue Yang asked calmly. He didn't understand.
"They have the best and freshest meat!" Yue Yang bit his lip. That wasn't true. If she was after humans for their taste, she would have gone after children.
Something was off. Was she looking for something else in her prey?
"Why their hearts?" Pause.
"Why?" Bi Zhen asked. He loosened the sash around his waist slightly. He had a pretty small waist for a boy but… the fabric still seemed to suffocate him. Did cultivators have to do these kinds of strange things?
More silence.
"Gege?"
This time, Yue Yang replied him.
"Let us return first. We can bind ghosts in a soul capture bag." Yue Yang removed the small silk pouch from his sleeve and Bi Zhen hummed in interest.
Yue Yang moved his lips slightly as the ghost got sucked into the white pouch. It's entrance gleamed and Bi Zhen watched the lady ghost get pulled into the bag. She seemed to let out another scream as she seemed to be stretched in the air, contorted in weird shapes. The pouch soon closed. It fell back into Yue Yang's hands and he moved his arm up and down slightly. The pouch seemed… light. It wasn't a strong ghost. Odd.
"I shall get the others to come."
Yue Yang entered the communication array and called for assistance. Bi Zhen sat at the side, he looked at the pouch in interest. He had a question.
"Gege… who is 'his majesty'? Her words seem odd. Why would she say that would serve him forever. Yet… if this so-called 'his majesty' has rewarded her with so many tender, human lives… Wouldn't it be strange that she was a servant?" Yue Yang's eyes widened. It hadn't occurred to him.
"For all we could have known… everything she said might have been nonsense." Bi Zhen sighed again and he pushed his hair back.
"There is truth to that statement."
The two hovered near each other in silence.
"Gege, do you have spare clothes?" Bi Zhen's robes were now all disheveled and he looked as if he had gotten into a fight with 10 wild dogs. The cloth had been torn in some areas and the robes were incredibly loosely worn now. As Bi Zhen slouched to the side, half of his collarbone and a rather large part of his chest could be seen.
Yue Yang removed his outer cloak and tossed it to Bi Zhen.
"Unfortunately no. You look a mess. Wear this over." Bi Zhen smiled softly and he chuckled.
"Thank you Gege." Bi Zhen slipped the robe on. He immediately flushed when he realised how it was too big for him. His arms could barely slip past the ends of the sleeves! How disgustingly shameful!
Bi Zhen hastily removed the cloak in shame.
"No need Gege…" Bi Zhen stuttered.
"I insist. You cannot go around wearing torn women's clothing!" Yue Yang smoothed the cloak back onto his shoulders and his face flushed up. Ah! If only he was a lady! If Yue Yang did this, it would make any girl blush.
"I'm sure you have a nice wife or girlfriend back home." Bi Zhen mumbled. It wasn't totally impossible for Yue Yang to be already married.
"I have no interest in girls."
"Oh."
Yue Yang's eyes widened. That… was not true. OH SHIT!
Bi Zhen had just realised what Yue Yang had meant. He was a cutsleeve? He certainly didn't seem like one. He was refined, ridiculously handsome, could most likely cause many, many girls to swoon yet… he was only interested in males? How funny… Bi Zhen was about to laugh till he remembered Yue Yang had seen him half naked.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Bi Zhen screamed and he quickly hugged the robe around him tightly. Yue Yang blinked. Then, it dawned on him. His face turned dark red and he began to wave his hands furiously, trying to explain himself.
"Wait wait… I just meant I CURRENTLY have no interest in any girl. I'm not a cutsleeve…" Well, Yue Yang had half his sleeve left.
"Oh… I see…" An awkward atmosphere fluttered around the two.
There was a shuffling sound.
Yue Yang turned around sharply.
He picked up the bag containing the ghost spirit and was going to depart to the others when he realised something. He stopped in his tracks.
"The ghost in the bag… has vanished!"
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Cutsleeve: euphemism for gay