Ash and Honey [BL]

Fu Ran and his companions returned to the now lively ghost town of Bei Zangli. The scenery here was different, and now there were lights rivaling the larger city on the mountaintop. Despite there being so few buildings, the amount of people made the city feel packed. You couldn't squeeze by a group of people without bumping shoulders with a man or a woman.

Every citizen looked increasingly more tired than the last, but they had come together in life and death to celebrate.

This was a Passing Rite Festival.

Lanterns hung on the edges of household buildings, and streamers decorating the sky were sure signs of festivities. The last time he visited, he would have still been considered a child himself, maybe no older than Meng Xiao.

In remembrance of his departed Shizun, he had visited with Yi Yang.

"Shizun? Is something wrong?" Lin An asked.

Reluctantly, Fu Ran pulled his eyes away from the view of cheering and drink cups being slammed together. Smiling at his disciple, he said, "I just have a lot on my mind. Please do not worry about it." Pushing his feet to move, he followed after his disciples and Tian Han.

It was a good thing that he was pulled from his thoughts, but he couldn't help picturing it—his teacher's face. Though the image seemed so crystal clear, it had come to his attention that a lot of the details had faded with time. He was aware that his Shizun always looked tired and never distressed, but he couldn't remember if he pictured all the wrinkles on his face correctly.

When sharing moments of culture, it was good to do as the locals do. So Fu Ran took a deep breath and placed his palms together.

"I would like to have tea with you again," he whispered.

Preparing questions for the dead was wishful thinking for the average person, as they would never be given a proper response. But it was something that he'd done many times since his Shizun's passing.

Ideally, he would have liked to enjoy the night a little more, but alas, there were pressing matters at the moment. Passing Rite Festivals weren't held in the spring, only in the summer. And they were only held once a year for good reason.

"Shizun, are these people really ghosts?" Lin An asked, inspecting each and every store they walked past.

"Do they not look it? These are our 'walking corpses,' however, they have been incorrectly mislabeled. They are just wandering spirits," Fu Ran replied bluntly.

Her expression dimmed a little, and she asked, "We saw them and overheard conversations as we ran through here. They seem like normal happy people. Do we have to fight them?"

The joyous sounds of sizzling food stalls, children's laughter, the elderly gossiping, and the happy back and forth chatter were inherently human. Of course, it was something no one wanted to get rid of.

Fu Ran slowly shook his head. "It's not that we must needlessly fight them or kill them. These people are restless souls, so it would be more appropriate to say we will find a way to put them to rest.

"Right now, they exist in a physical form. 'Living' for too long in this state will rot their minds. Once that happens, they turn to husks with no ability to rationalize thoughts. Or, to speak like your study books do, they become closer to Fall Corpses."

"It's going to be like the entrance exam if they turn?" Lin An's face was pale and ghastly, as if she'd heard a tremendous fright.

The people Fu Ran passed paid no mind to his explanation, even though it was quite relevant to them. They simply looked at him with weary smiles, unbothered and unaware of the dangers that came with their physical state.

Quietly, he explained, "Fall Corpses are cultivators who've succumbed to demonic energy. There is a difference, but noticeably only in power. We refer to the average spirit who becomes corrupted simply as 'evil spirits.' Don't forget that, because the difference is very clear. A Fall Corpse is much more deadly."

***

Just as planned, Tian Han asked questions about a face matching Fu Ran's. He got a few promising answers, but they mostly boiled down to: I have seen him around, thus, they were wholly unhelpful.

The lack of leads weighed heavily, causing them to slow their pace with each dismissive answer, and after circling the entire town of Bei Zangli, they had made it back to the gates.

This is far too infuriating. Fu Ran thought. He couldn't wrap his head around how an entire clone had been available to avoid detection with no efforts.

Should it become necessary, he could call Shesui Lang, and request some aid from An Xian Yun Peak, but he didn't want to do that. Everyone was just so busy. Finding time amidst the constant missions, back and forth travels, and disciple rearing, seemed like an impossible task. Doing so would only further the idea that he was a bother to have as a Peak Master. Fu Ran sighed.

Tearing him away from his depressive thoughts, a loud male voice filled the streets. "Wang Liwen!"

A young man was running down the bumpy hill that traveled from Jinan, his speed only halted when he had to stabilize his footing near the gates. With arms wide, he roughly came in contact with a ghost woman, taking her into a hug to spin her around. The way the white fabric robes wrinkled and tossed under his action made the two look no different from a normal couple. Their hands were already wandering each other's form as soon as they had hugged, and they shared a chaste kiss.

Nervously, Fu Ran murmured, "Oh." On seeing such shamelessly displays of actions, his cheeks heated up and turned red. He tried to pull his gaze away. Since his little group of cultivators were the only ones around the gates, he didn't want to spend more time lingering on the young couple than needed.

But for some reason the man took his eyes off of his lover to share an intense glance with the Peak Master instead. Discomfort grew as the man's gaze watched his every move for several moments.

Why are you looking at me?! You were just locking lips with a woman! Don't change it to locking eyes with a man! Fu Ran screamed internally. Embarrassed flush made his head feel dizzy with disbelief.

Finally, the man opened his mouth and said, "Ah, cultivator! Didn't I meet you once already? How did you beat me down the mountain?" The man let out a roaring laugh, and his wife gently batted at him before saying small words in an attempt to quell his loud behavior.

"What was that?" Fu Ran asked, more shocked than upset now.

The woman was hung off the larger man's arm with ease, and she cooed. "My beloved, your light is too dazzling, everyone else is completely stunned!"

Completely stunned, my ass. With arms crossed, Fu Ran complained, "Hey. You met me once before? Up the mountain?"

The cruel tone caught the man off guard and he finally turned back to look. "I thought you were just carrying your son back home, but perhaps you just put the little one back to bed and came back for the festivities?" He barely gave his answer before he was already consumed by his affections yet again, leaving trails of small kisses along her face.

Clearly he couldn't be bothered to give a man a few moments of time.

Fu Ran grimaced. The rest of his companions remained idle, aside from Tian Han: the Tyrant Emperor was too busy enjoying Fu Ran's misery. Perhaps the scene was funny, because his lips were tugged into a sly grin. However, Fu Ran was not laughing. 

The teacher cleared his throat, and stated, "Jinan it is then. We're going to the Faceless City." Fu Ran felt he had to escape from the young couple before any other public displays of affection entered the eyes of his disciples.

With palms against their back, Fu Ran gave each disciple a small shove. "Lets go, let's go! Best not to watch something so indecent!"

"Shizun, it's just a kiss." Meng Xiao groaned.

Among the bickering of children, Tian Han caught up to walk by Fu Ran's side. In a soft whisper, he asked, "Do you have masks?"

"I do. Enough for the two of us, and the children, too."