"And what would you like, young man?" The old lady asked. The four of them had decided that they needed tea. And by the four, Hsien Lian meant Chen Guo did. But their human forms hadn't recovered fully, as their aura's hadn't either. So Chen Guo and Fang Hai had to improvise. Which meant things that covered their faces.
The two looked like idiots.
Fang Hai had on a straw hat with a veil on the top to hide his face. Chen Guo had on a robe with a hoodie. In all, both of them look fit for totally different times in Chinese history. He looks hilarious. "Um, herbal tea, please." The old man nodded, walking away. XingYing sighed, leaning back only his hands. He turns to Hsien Lian. "Do we have to be near them? It's embarrassing." He muttered, hiding his face in Hsien Lian's arm.
Lian himself laughed quietly, getting a glare from Fang Hai. " You know, you are disrespecting gods. I can drown you in a minute-" Chen Guo hit Fang Hai harshly. "But you won't because that would be involved in human affairs." Chen Guo muttered. Fang Hai huffed, crossing his arms. "I thought you liked learning about gods and ghosts. You should be bowing."
XingYing smiled, leaning slightly on the table, which would be considered rude. "I only like certain gods. I barely tolerate you." XingYing muttered, harshly. Chen Guo smirked, crossing his arms. "You only like certain gods, now? Well you're not going to Heaven with that thought process." "Lucky for me, I don't want to. I've already been, filled with stuck ups like you."
"Including the prince?"
Hsien Lian lowered his head, hiding his face with his hands. "I'm not in this." Hsien Lian voiced slowly through the three's intense glares. "He's the only one I like." XingYing answered, a bloody smirk painted onto his face. Fang Hai sighed, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "I hope you burn one day." Chen Guo muttered, looking away. XIngYing laughed maliciously. "I already did that too, it's fun." XingYing muttered, smiling.
The old man walked back to Hsien Lian's table, placing two teacups and a kettle down. "Would you like anything else-" "NO!" Chen Guo, XingYing, and Fang Hai yelled at the same time. Hsien Lian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "No, thank you. I'm sorry about them their a little angry right now." Hsien Lian bowed slightly to the man in apology.
He chuckled softly, his thin eyes turning to crescents as he smiled. "It is fine. I know how it can be." He bows back before walking away. "XingYing, so you burned? What happened, some elders got tired of you talking?" Chen Guo asked as Hsien Lian began pouring XingYing's tea. XIngYing scoffs. "No, of course not. They're too scared of me." Fag Hai starts laughing maliviously, his voice low. "Scared of you? Who could ever be scared of you."
Hsien Lian pours the steaming tea into XingYing's cup. He slides it over to XingYing, before grabbing his own. Both cups were simple white teacups with elegant navy blue detailing. THe teapot matches such designs. Geometric shapes danced around the glass, winds drawn in smooth swirls.
XingYing grabs his glass, only for Fang Hai to take it out of his hand, slamming it back on the table. THough, it seemed his anger was directed towards Hsien Lian. "What are you doing?" He asked harshly. Hsien Lian sighed, placing the kettle down. He only poured the tea up to half of his small cup. "Pouring tea. You said you didn't want one"-
"SO YOU GOT HIM ONE??"
Hsien Lian seemed to be the only one not getting it. Chen Guo was laughing quietly, and XingYing still had that smirk on his lips. "What, are you mad him pour me tea now? Do you want Hsien Lian to pour you a glass as well?" XingYing teased, before taking a sip from the porcelain cup. Fang Hai stared at him for a moment, huffing. "You little-" Fang Hai muttered, his eyes turning bright blue.
Chen Guo grabbed Fang Hai before he could reach over the table to his XingYing. "I'm going to take him for a walk." Chen Guo said quickly, grabbing his hand before walking out of the tea room. XingYing smiled slightly. "He's still mad at me." He whispered quietly. Hsien Lian sighed, grabbing the tea pot once again. "Mad at you? What did you do?"
XingYing glanced over at Hsien Lian before shaking his head. "Nothing. Do you have any ideas where that demon could be?" Hsien Lian took a sip from his tea, thinking. The demon had to be somewhere in the Human Realm. There was no way they couldn't be. For a demon, once you reach the Human Realm, you can't return.
"Well, how powerful does a demon have to be to allow a ghost into a temple?" Hsien Lian asked, turning his head to XingYing. The boy thought for a moment, strands of his hair falling over his shoulder. "Well, very powerful. It takes years for a demon to get out of the Ghost Realm. And demons can really only learn such skills while they're in the Human Realm. It will take centuries." XingYing explained, shaking his head.
"What if the demon is killing the humans?" Hsien Lian questioned. XingYing stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head. "How? The demon would have to be in many places at once. All these killings at Tao Wu's temples, it isn't a schedule, it's chaotic. It wouldn't know." "But as ghosts kill humans, they get more powerful until they can become a demon. So if Jin Lei had really been killing for decades, he would have been a demon by now."
XingYing hums at Hsien Lian's proposal. "So the ghosts would be there to hide everything. The gods will find out if there was a demon there, so if the gods and humans didn't notice for that long, then the ghosts are simply there to be the blame." Hsien Lian smiles.
"If there was a ghost, people wouldn't be as scared."
"And a god wouldn't notice."