tw; slight bug horror imagery
“It’s been a while since we’ve been here!” Shan Yu sang as she hopped up the stairs.
“I came here just last year,” Gui Linghuo said. He glanced at the two of them. “Shigong and his partner’s graves.”
Shan Yu grinned sheepishly and Qin Siyi showed a guilty look. While the martial siblings spoke, Yankui looked up the long set of steps that led to the humble bamboo cabin.
Fuyun Manor was quite similar to Shuangye Peak. On the way up, the entire mountain was filled with red maple trees. It was only now, when they were approaching the actual cabin, that Yankui began to notice the bamboo. Red maple leaves created a carpet, leading up the set of steps. In the glow of the setting sun, it was warm and inviting. Yankui’s eyes drifted over to a poorly crafted bench, some flowers that had clearly been carefully tended, a few carefully carved wooden figures, and traces of life that its successors dared not to touch.
Yankui silently followed the three martial siblings until they made it to a pair of tombstones behind the bamboo cabin. The tombstones sat side by side, surrounded by red maple leaves. Instead of the usual gloom a gravesite might carry, Yankui was surprised to find that the scene was quite harmonious. A set of tombstones under a large, red maple tree, surrounded by nature and the sound of birds—the final resting place of these two people felt like they had returned home after a long journey.
“Yankui, do you know the story of those two?” Shan Yu whispered, as if the deceased could still hear them.
Yankui glanced over at the tombstones. One was marked with Kui Wanming’s name while the other was a person he didn’t recognize. He shook his head and turned back to the three martial siblings.
“Is there some significance?”
“Oh, their love story rattled the world in their generation,” Shan Yu excitedly spoke. Her eyes shined. “When I was a kid, my grandfather used to tell me about Shigong and his partner before I even entered Shuangye Peak. A part of me wanted to have a heroic, heart wrenching love story like them.”
“That’s what we call a child’s delusion,” Qin Siyi said with a small scoff. She glanced at the two tombstones sadly. “Shigong’s love story was epic, but it didn’t have a good ending. Whenever I think about it, I find myself hoping they meet each other again in the afterlife.”
“What happened?” Yankui asked curiously.
“The details vary from who tells the story,” Shan Yu shrugged. “I suppose only Shigong would know the real story. Even Shizun’s retellings are different each time.”
“Shigong’s partner was a spirit,” Gui Linghuo said. He lowered his eyes as he carefully cleaned up their tombstones. “In their time, spirits were still heavily looked down upon. Many cultivators took them in as pets…well, some events took place. Shigong ended up unable to protect his beloved.”
“My grandfather said that Shigong was going to have his cultivation obliterated by his shizun and then kicked out of Yunjing Pavilion,” Shan Yu said. She let out a long sigh. “The silly spirit sacrificed themselves, saying that they were the one that brought on all this trouble. Afterwards…”
“Afterwards, Shigong made this cabin. Apparently, he had promised his beloved that they would run away together and live a life removed from the secular world,” Qin Siyi said. “He remained in seclusion here until his shizun passed away.”
Yankui suddenly thought about the drunk talks from those vulgar cultivators from before. He glanced at the three siblings tentatively. “Does this have to do with Shuangye Peak’s Peak Lords all experiencing a tragic love?”
Shan Yu laughed. “You’ve even heard about this?”
“Unfortunately,” Yankui said.
“Yeah, well, that’s an old story,” Shan Yu shrugged. “But according to the history books, there does seem to be such a thing. People say it’s a curse, but I think it’s just because they’re all so romantic—isn’t it natural for these overly romantic people to also raise overly romantic disciples?”
Yankui nodded in agreement. He thought about it for a moment and shifted closer. “So, then, does that mean your Shizun also…?”
“I think there was something like that,” Shan Yu said. She shrugged. “Ask those two. I was too young to hear anything about it.”
Yankui turned to Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi, who were cleaning the tombs.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“There is something like that, but no one knows too much about the details,” Gui Linghuo said. He straightened his waist and looked at Yankui. “But it’s the reason that Shizun went into pseudo-seclusion for so many centuries.”
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“Ktfgf tjnf yffc! Dea jqqjgfcais, atfs jii vlfv sbecu,” Vtjc Te rjlv.
Tjcxel ibbxfv ja Xel Olcuteb rxfqalmjiis.
Xel Olcuteb mtemxifv. Lf kjixfv bnfg jcv meqqfv Tjcxel’r ojmf yfobgf ulnlcu tlw j xlrr. “Pa’r cba j gfji megrf. Pa’r pera ecobgaecjafis mblcmlvfcaji.”
Yankui hummed. He happily held onto Gui Linghuo’s wrists and gave him a second kiss.
Shan Yu watched the for a moment and groaned. She crouched down to help Qin Siyi sweep the tomb with slight distaste on her face. Seeing this, Qin Siyi chuckled.
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you try to find a partner of your own?”
Shan Yu looked at Qin Siyi. “I’ve tried. I’m still trying.”
Qin Siyi looked at her in surprise. Her movements paused for a moment as she let out a loud exclamation. “You like someone? Who is it?”
Shan Yu smiled wryly. “I won’t tell you.”
The tomb was soon swept and cleaned. A platter of fruits and pastries were put in front of the graves. The three disciples took turns putting incense into the holder and all stepped back once the procedures were done.
A subtle mood washed over the three martial siblings.
In the past, whenever they visited their Shigong’s grave, it would be their Shizun who filled him in on what had happened over the year. Even when his voice was banal and the events contained little details, it still carried sincerity and a warmth that was rarely seen in those days. It could be clearly felt how much Gui Yin cared about his own shizun.
But now the person wasn’t here and it had been more than a decade since his last visit. His disciples stood over their Shigong’s grave solemnly as they searched for words. A part of them felt like this man was owed an explanation, but the deceased no longer cared about the living and he obviously wouldn’t be able to hear their words.
Gui Linghuo’s head remained lowered for a long time. “We’ll find him.”
Shan Yu and Qin Siyi looked up at the forlorn back in front of them. For the first time, they seemed to be hit with a simple realization anyone would experience at least once in their lives—they were all grown up. The back that had always walked in front of them was broader and the boy was much taller now.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to any of them, but a part of their heart still ached. They couldn’t tell if it was mourning for lost time or grief that their childhood had been spent in such a way.
“When are you two leaving?” Gui Linghuo asked softly. “Today?”
“Never,” Shan Yu muttered.
Gui Linghuo chuckled. He finally turned to face Shan Yu and Qin Siyi. He reached into his wide sleeves and pulled out the folding fan. With two hands, he presented it to the two young women.
“Take care of it,” Gui Linghuo said. “And take care of yourselves.”
Shan Yu felt her nose sting. She turned away, her head tilting towards the sky as she forced herself to take a steady, deep breath. Qin Siyi reached out and carefully took the fan. Her lips pursed and she looked at Gui Linghuo with many things to say.
“Jiu-shigu was right,” Gui Linghuo softly said. He lifted his head and looked at the clouded skies above. “We just have to keep walking. One day, the skies will be clear again. Shizun will come back. I know.”
Shan Yu sniffled and gave a short, nasally hum. “He’ll come back. When he does, I’ll tell him you’ve been bullying me.”
The serious atmosphere was broken by this one eccentric accusation. Gui Linghuo laughed. He pinched Shan Yu’s cheek until she squeaked in protest.
“Bullying? When have I bullied you?”
“Just now! Right now! Shijie, do you see this? This is bullying!”
Qin Siyi wiped away the tears that had yet to fall and giggled. She let out a big sigh and stepped between the two. “Alright, alright. Stop fighting. How embarrassing is it for the two of you to get into such a childish fight.”
Shan Yu harrumphed. She linked her arm with Qin Siyi and grinned. “I’m still a baby.”
Qin Siyi rolled her eyes and rubbed the red mark Gui Linghuo left by pinching her cheek. “I’ve never seen such a big baby before.”
Gui Linghuo settled back down. He watched Qin Siyi and Shan Yu for a moment. Longing mixed with reluctance mixed in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say next, but a cool hand slipped into his. He glanced over and his eyes met Yankui’s. Yankui smiled sweetly and mouthed a series of words.
Gui Linghuo’s eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher it.
“Alright,” Qin Siyi sighed. She frowned sadly and looked at Gui Linghuo. “We should set off soon.”
By the time they had finished sweeping the grave, it was already nearing the afternoon. If they wanted to arrive at their next destination before the sunset, they would have to leave now.
Gui Linghuo turned away from Yankui. He nodded. He briefly pulled his hand from Yankui’s and gave the two young women tight hugs.
“Take care.”
“You take care,” Shan Yu mumbled. She pulled away and looked at Yankui. “Take care of him!”
Yankui scoffed and crossed his arms. “I don’t need you to remind me.”
Shan Yu stuck her tongue out childishly and Yankui made an ugly face in return. He made a shooing motion with his hands.
“Can you two leave faster so I can finally get some alone time with him?” Yankui asked.
Qin Siyi laughed. She pulled Shan Yu, who was getting ready to fight Yankui, and turned to Gui Linghuo one last time. “We’ll see you in the fall?”
“Mn. Come back to eat moon cakes,” Gui Linghuo said.
With that, the two young women left Fuyun Manor.
The sudden silence made Gui Linghuo listlessly. He sat at the top step and still watched the sky, long after Qin Siyi and Shan Yu had left. He lowered his gaze and let out a sigh that was three parts sadness and seven parts relief. Once they left, it was like his vitality had been sucked out of him. The strong front he had been holding on slowly crumbled. His chest ached in either grief or his illness—he couldn’t quite tell anymore.
He remained that way until a shadow fell over him and the young man sat down beside him.
“You’re not alone,” Yankui mumbled. “So, don’t act like everyone abandoned you again.”
Gui Linghuo remembered the way Yankui’s lips moved and slowly smiled. He scrunched up slightly and leaned his head against Yankui’s shoulder.
“You have a nice family,” Yankui said as he softly stroked the back of Gui Linghuo’s head. The comforting motion was alien to him, but he tried his best to relax his hand and mimic the action Gui Linghuo had done a million times before. “I can tell that everyone cares about you a lot. They’re not going to leave you. You’re so important to them.”
So, you have to keep going.
The unspoken words rang the loudest. Gui Linghuo squeezed his eyes shut and hummed softly. He indulged in Yankui’s touch. It was so rare for the other to touch him first. He must look like a mess right now. When the words Gui Linghuo wanted to hear didn’t continue, he slowly looked up.
“W-what?” Yankui asked with a small frown.
“What about you?” Gui Linghuo asked.
“…Huh?”
“You’re not going to leave me, right?” Gui Linghuo asked.
Yankui’s lashes trembled. He hummed quietly—a little too quietly—and placed a lingering kiss on Gui Linghuo’s forehead.
“I’ll be here until your shizun returns,” Yankui said. “I promise.”
Gui Linghuo’s brows furrowed. His grip around Yankui tightened as he sat up. “You’ll be here afterwards too, right?”
Yankui watched as the edges of Gui Linghuo’s eyes reddened. A soft glaze covered his beautiful eyes and anxious tears threatened to fall. He cupped Gui Linghuo’s cheek and grinned.
“That’ll depend on how you behave.”
Gui Linghuo’s eyes narrowed. He lowered his head as his heart clenched uncomfortably. He pulled Yankui into a tight hug. He was afraid of what would happen if he let go. Would Yankui disappear in front of him too?
Yankui shifted in his embrace. “Did you take your medicine today?”
“I forgot.”
“Take it,” Yankui said, his voice much softer than usual. He gently touched Gui Linghuo’s head again. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here for a long time.”
Everyone’s perception of time was different.
A dog waiting for their owner to come home might think that a day was a long time. For a fly, twenty-eight days was already its whole life. For a well-adjusted person, two years was a long time but if that was the “forever” that was promised, then it was far too short. But for Yankui, two years was already borrowed time.
As he watched Gui Linghuo obediently take his medicine, he was suddenly keenly aware of the toxins and venom that circulated his body. They were dormant, but Yankui felt as if he could feel each one. The sensation of bugs ripping at his intestines and of ants crawling over his heart magnified in their silence. Yankui’s hand closed tightly in on itself. Even if he had been raised to become immune to poison, the pain he felt was not something ordinary people could stand. He wondered how much longer he had. He wondered how much longer it was until that man’s patience ran out.
The sun began to set after a short nap.
Yankui didn’t sleep. He had watched as Gui Linghuo moved around in his arms. He tried his best to carve this image into his memory. There were a lot of things that he wanted to remember nowadays. It was completely different from when he was in Yinfeng Valley, where he tried to suppress his memories every single day. It was a shame though. Now that he found things he wanted to remember, it felt like the little details would always pass him by.
He wanted to remember everyone’s expressions as they laughed and cheered. He wanted to remember the taste of every new dish he tried. He wanted to remember the feeling of warmth these strangers had given him in this short span of time.
He knew that it would just be more painful when he got back, but he was reluctant to throw these memories away.
Until he had to depart from the world of humans again, he just wanted to pretend for a little longer. He wanted to pretend that he could also be human.
hugs for all the youths ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ 😭😭😭😭
wait- i went to delete the chapter notification and was staring at the chapter name like “…where was a masquerading ghost?” and i was replaying the chapter when i recalled “He wanted to pretend that he could also be human” HELLO????? ;-; reverieeeeeee 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Yankuiiiiiiiii ;-;
hehe >:3
Hoping for good things… 🥹