He slowly opened his eyes as someone's warm hand touched Wu Xuan's body. His last technique completely drained his energy, but it filled up even faster than it drained. The ship was still moving gently on the river. The storms had passed and the new lanterns were floating high in the sky as before. Their lights reflected on the river like fireflies blooming in the water.
But Wu Xuan's eyes were fixed on the young man staring at him. His smooth, long, hair fell on Wu Xuan's face, making him feel tickled. Wu Xuan was lost in that man's long silvery brown eyes. He was wearing a semi-transparent golden cloak, it had fallen, exposing his snow-white shoulders.
"You awake?" Meng Zhi also entered Wu Xuan's line of sight. "Get away from him Lingyu,"
The young man hovering over Wu Xuan's body turned his head slightly and looked at Meng Zhi. Smiling with eyes that were like a crescent moon, he immediately jumped away from Wu Xuan and hugged Meng Zhi's waist.
"Lingyu?" Wu Xuan was still staring blankly at the sky. It was clear to him that Lingyu was still a child just a moment ago.
"He ate your qi." Meng Zhi said, suppressing the urge to smile at Wu Xuan. At it again! Although Meng Zhi said that his energy had been consumed, Wu Xuan felt that it was completely full. "The celestial rabbit huh?" Bing Zhen said as he leaned against the ship's fence. "You guys aren't spirits, are you?"
Wu Xuan and Meng Zhi remained silent without saying anything. Is this the end of them? "Well, that doesn't matter. After all, you guys help us here. That's what Commander Lang said." Meng Zhi's face lit up like a morning flower. Thank you, Mr. Lang! He was saying that quietly.
"Celestial Rabbit?" A passer-by asked out of curiosity. Everyone's attention was focused on the grown-up young man who hugging Meng Zhi's waist. "Huh?!" Bing Zhen sounded disbelieving at the question. "Don't you guys know about that?!"
"It was a demon who descended from heaven. One Celestial rabbit appears once in a thousand years. He can heal any serious injury. There is nothing he cannot do except bring a dead person back to life. I did not expect to see such a person here. " Bing Zhen explained. He said that but didn't look too happy.
"We are close." Commander Lang appeared from nowhere and startled everyone. His voice was soft and cold. Completely drenched in water, he put on a new mask. The ship slowly approached the pier. Beyond that was a completely different world.
Almost the whole city was full of red-light lanterns and the shops were full of people. Some of the shops are familiar sweets from the human world, some are demon world food that no one has ever seen before. Others were selling masks, others were gambling. It looked like an entertainment city that wakes up at night.
Lingyu was even closer to Meng Zhi and Wu Xuan couldn't believe it anymore. He felt that there was no need to go to the Lian Sect anymore. But even though Lingyu grew physically, his mind was still that of a child. Wu Xuan remembered the day he first met the Celestial Rabbit. On that dark night, that spirit appeared in front of Yu Lingyu as a god descending to the earth to destroy the darkness. Also at that moment, Wu Xuan recognized him. But it wasn't as the Celestial Rabbit or as the Wind Lord. It was, something only Wu Xuan knew.
From that day on, he stayed by Yu Lingyu's side every day as his invisible bodyguard. But no one knew it or appreciated him. Even Yu Lingyu was completely unaware of it. It hurt. It hurt to know that Lingyu was actually Zi Feng. His heart was filled only with Yue Ling. Wu Xuan didn't know if he would ever get a chance, even for a single moment.
"I wish I'd never known," he muttered, still sitting on the ship's deck, his eyes downcast.
"Aren't you coming?" Meng Zhi asked, casting a curious glance at Wu Xuan. His crimson eyes brightened even more in the red light. Holding Lingyu's hand like a parent holding a child's hand, he jumped off the ship. After briefly stopping his daydreaming, Wu Xuan stood up.
"Shop 908." Commander Lang said as he was about to leave. "Huh?" Wu Xuan turned away with a raised eyebrow. "Go there if you want your sword to be repaired." He said, looking at the black bag hanging on Wu Xuan's belt. "You are... Yazi?!" Wu Xuan asked. Commander Lang was silent for a moment. "I am Lang Xinyi. Left commander of a ghost city. I warn you not to cause trouble or I will have to take action on you." He said in a cold but gentle tone. He seemed to already know who Wu Xuan was. "And warn your friend, Hu Ze's son too." Saying that he disappeared into black smoke.
"Lang Xinyi?! Hmm!!"
Getting out from the deck, Wu Xuan joined the other two. Taking off his outer robe, Wu Xuan draped it over Yu Lingyu's shoulders. The environment was cold and Lingyu's thin silks were unable to withstand it. Lingyu slowly approached him. It seemed he had grown a bit taller as well. Smiling, Wu Xuan gently held his hand. Meng Zhi looked at it with a sly smile.
"Do you know where the 908th store is?" Wu Xuan asked, looking at the path ahead that was full of spirits. Meng Zhi, who folded his arms across his chest, joined his sight. "908? Why are you looking at the antique store?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, you want to repair the sword? It's not an easy task though." Meng Zhi said looking at Wu Xuan's face. "908 is the hardest place to enter in Ghost Town. First, you have to win a token, then go through the mysterious library and finally participate in the soul dual. Only the top three who win can enter 908."
Wu Xuan said, ".....???"
Although it is commonly referred to as an antique store, that is not what really happened there. There were rumors everywhere that the 908 possessed magic that could restore anything broken to its original state. Entering it was not an easy task at all. First of all, if the person who needed to enter there was an outsider, he needed to win the corresponding token card from the gambling market. The second was to travel through the mystical library with the other applicants and fulfill the librarian's request. Third comes the duel of souls. Aspirants had to channel their spirit beasts into the battlefield. Without a spirit animal, the applicant is ineligible. Finally the doors open for the 908 for who has won the first three positions.
If Wu Xuan only wanted to enter there for the sword, he would never have wasted his time on such an unnecessary thing. But if anything could be returned to its original state, Wu Xuan believed that Yu Lingyu could also return to his original state.
"So, where is that gambling store?" Wu Xuan asked. Meng Zhi offered to show the way. Wu Xuan felt that the road was getting more crowded as he went forward. Some clamored to sell their wares. Others were bargaining. The sound of conflict was also heard from somewhere else. Yu Lingyu hung tightly onto Wu Xuan's right hand, bowing his head as if awkwardly amid such a crowd. On the way, Wu Xuan, dressed in a plain brown robe stolen from somewhere, pushed through the crowd and made way for Lingyu.
"Sir!" A little girl appeared out of nowhere and hung onto Yu Lingyu's robe arm. Lingyu's grip on Wu Xuan's arm suddenly tightened as if he were startled. Slowly raising her head, Lingyu looked at the little girl. Half of her face was burnt. She had sad eyes and carried a pot in her hand. It was full of red threads.
"Would you buy a fortune thread, sir?" She asked, still clinging to Lingyu's robe. Lingyu tilted his head to the side as if to understand what she said. "Fortune...threads?" He pronounced it awkwardly.
"If you gift a fortune thread to your lover, you two will be lucky to be together forever." The little girl added.
A soft smile appeared on Wu Xuan's face. Even though he knew they were just myths, he still bought a pair of them. The little girl thanked them and left. He was looking at the red fortune thread that had been woven by fifty threads together. Lingyu's fingers stretched out curiously. "Fortune...threads." He whispered softly. "Hmm, Fortune thread. Would you like to wear one?" Wu Xuan asked.
Taking Lingyu's right hand, he tied the red string on that pale wrist. Lingyu looked at it with shining eyes. He didn't know what the thread was, or what was going on with it, but he taking a like on it.
Meanwhile, Meng Zhi was practicing his patience and watching the two of them. "I don't mind buying a fortune thread or something, but why do I have to pay for it?" He snorted, glancing sadly at his wallet. "Because I don't have any spirit stones." Wu Xuan said as he heard it.
Yu Lingyu turned around again and looked at the path the girl had run to. "He must be thinking of her face." Meng Zhi said. "I don't know if you recognized it, but that child is not a spirit."