"Good morning 姐!" Bi Zhen bowed and he waved. Be seemed to be in a good mood. He had slept exponentially well due to the wine. Yue Yang didn't look as good.
"早(morning)~" She glanced at Yue Yang who looked like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.
"You look tired." She laughed at Yue Yang. Yue Yang had freaked out when Bi Zhen had latched onto him in the middle of the night. Bi Zhen was sleeping so peaceful, Yue Yang didn't want to wake him up. He shoved Bi Zhen away and carried on sleeping, for a mere 5 minutes till the next time Bi Zhen moved towards the warmth.
"Ah! Ying Ran… I have a question. Could bowlwe talk later?" Ying Ran hummed at Yue Yang's groggy remark. Her eyes narrowed but she smiled.
"Have some breakfast first though." She waltzed back into the kitchen and he sighed.
"Gege, you're going to ask her about the pounch right?" Bi Zhen whispered.
"Yes…" Yue Yang smiled as a bowl of rice appeared in front of him.
"多谢!" Bi Zhen bowed again. He lifted his chopsticks and picked up some of the rice and ate it neatly. Ying Ran watched them eat. You could tell Bi Zhen was of a completely different class. He looked elegant even when he choked on pickled radish. He didn't really talk with his mouth stuffed and full. When he picked his rice up, not a single grain fell back into the rice bowl. Huh! Bi Zhen was almost perfect hmm? Ying Ran thought. No wonder Yue Yang liked him so much. However… Ying Ran bet the poor boy probably would have a long list of admirers. The question is… would Yue Yang come out on top. She hoped so, at least for her cousin.
"姐... (older sister)" Yue Yang gestured to Ying Ran to follow him. She deftly got up and followed him. Bi Zhen continued to sit on the mat. He looked around, admiring the décor of the room.
He hummed staring at the clean ceiling and the hand painted murals on the wall. He reached his hand out to the nearest mural, sighing at how beautiful the art was. Ying Ran's skills were fantastic. Perhaps he would ask her for advice for his own art.
Wait… was that...
---
"Ying Ran, do you recognise this?" Yue Yang placed a bag gently on the table. The empty soul catching pouch.
"Are you an idiot? I gave it to you?!" Ying Ran rolled her eyes.
"Did you give these to anyone else?"
Ying Ran thought for a while.
"I'm… I haven't given any away except to family…" Ying Ran frowned.
"What's the deal?" She watched Yue Yang look increasingly troubled.
"Well… I captured a ghost in it… but the ghost vanished from the bag without me knowing. It's a possibility the original bag got stolen.
"Well…" Ying Ran sighed. She thought to who she has given the bags too. She had made them herself.
"Perhaps it really did escape…" Yue Yang sighed. How though?!
*Knock*
"Gege!"
Yue Yang opened the door.
Yu Jing dragged Yue Yang down the hall, beckoning Ying Ran to follow them. Slowly, they headed back to the dining area.
"Isn't this… tapestry a little different from the others?" Bi Zhen hummed. Yue Yang chuckled. What had he come up with this time?
"Well… no? It's the same material, same… ink. It doesn't seem too out of place." Yue Yang could already tell what was wrong but… he wanted it to come from Bi Zhen's mouth.
"This ovelord doesn't match the other 7. There were 8 divine overlords from heaven. Ri Yang, who governed the sun. Yu Jiao, who governed rain. Huo Yi, who governed fire. Then Di Rao, Feng Piao, Jin Wen, Ye Yin and Bi Yao. Earth, Wind, metals, moon and jadeite respectively. Ye Yin is missing from here. Instead… we have his brother, Meng An." Bi Zhen stated confidently.
"That's Meng An?!" Ying Ran looked shocked.
"Yes. His Divinity Ye Yin is known for having three silver markings on his cheek as well as long light, silvery blue hair." Yue Yang smiled.
"Besides, this tapestry includes in mark of Zha Xiao, Meng An's sworn enemy who was casted down to be a demon after the whole debacle." Bi Zhen grinned. Phoenixes often simply prayed to Ri Yang and wouldn't care much about Ri Yang's lover, Ye Yin.
"I'm very confused." Ying Ran muttered. She had bought the tapestries from someone without much thought. What the hell was going on?
"Zha Xiao is looking for us." Bi Zhen grinned. Ying Ran's face shifted dramatically. Huh?! Bi Zhen had a sly smile on his face.
Yue Yang sighed. He was still confused but he could guess what Bi Zhen was thinking.
"He brought us here to see the tapestries!" Bi Zhen smirked. He felt around the piece of cloth trying to find something. He frowned when nothing came out. His mouth curved into a smile for barely a second before he dropped his face back down to one of disappointment.
"Ok… maybe not Zha Xiao but… someone related to him is causing all this." Yue Yang frowned. He tried to follow Bi Zhen's train of thought.
"Gege, I think so too." Bi Zhen looked grim. The two thought for a while. Did that even make any sense? Bi Zhen watched Yue Yang's expression carefully.
"Gege, when you held the bag you did this action right?" Bi Zhen moved his hand up and down.
"The ghost wasn't a strong ghost so the bag was light." The ghost couldn't have disappeared before. The bag clearly had a ghost inside.
"Hmmm… AAHHH I DON'T KNOW!" Bi Zhen whined. He placed his hands over his eyes, seeming frustrated. However, he peeked through his finger furtively, watching the two cousins faces.
"It's fine. We should go back to Shan Lu and see what is there." Yue Yang muttered. He patted Bi Zhen on the head. Bi Zhen let out a huge sigh but... he smiled again.
---
"Bye bye 姐姐!" Both Bi Zhen and Yue Yang bowed before they left. Ying Ran looked slightly uneasy but she bowed to them too. Hmm.
---
"We should be about a few minutes away from Shan Lu." Yue Yang hummed. They had to get back to the cultivation school soon though.
"Yes… I'm still so confused." Bi Zhen groaned.
"Hmm… however, there's a low chance that the ghost escaped from the bag. Adding on… if what you say about the tapestries is true… then, the ghost would have to be someone who knows Ying Ran. Someone who framed it so we could find it. Or at least me… then… it would mean. The person…" the person would have to know both him, Ying Ran and go to their cultivation school.
"Must go to our school? Do you think that person also set me up to go with you on the trip? Gege? What do you think?" Bi Zhen muttered. Yue Yang looked away nervously. He had half right. And no, this wasn't all Yue Yang's doing.
"I don't think the person set you up to come with me. They just knew I was going." Yue Yang frowned. This person would have to be quite close to him too to know the bag was from Ying Ran. There were a thousand different possibilities of who it could be. Bi Zhen's theory would have made everything a lot easier. However… there was barely a 50% chance it was correct.
The tapestries could have just been a funny coincidence.
"But… what made you think the tapestries were special?" Yue Yang frowned. He regretted leaving Ying Ran's place. Suddenly, Yue Yang was dragged into a section of the forest. HMM?!
Bi Zhen dragged him deeper and deeper into the forest till they were certainly hidden amongst the trees. What was happening?
Then, his mind began to clear and his vision was less blurry. He blinked a few times. They weren't on the be way to Shan Lu! He frowned. Bi Zhen placed a finger over his lips and signalled for him to be silent.
"I'm very sorry Gege… I'll… explain later." Bi Zhen pulled something out of his sleeve and dropped it in Yue Yang's hand. Bi Zhen looked sightly apologetic. Yue Yang's eyes narrowed and he blinked yet again. This was… his spirit catching pouch?!