Hearing the scream, Zi Yin rushed out and saw Nian Yue—she was hyperventilating.

  No matter how hard Nian Yue tried, she couldn't seem to draw enough breath. She felt as if she was going to choke herself to death. But that wasn't the concern. “This is my fault! They worshipped me! I did this to them! This is my fault!!” Nian Yue cried.

  Zi Yin approached Nian Yue and tried taking a hold of Nian Yue’s arms. Once she grasped Nian Yue’s wrists she gave them a gentle squeeze and tried to talk Nian Yue through this sudden tremor. “Alright. Listen to me,” she said gently, keeping her voice low so the goddess won't be overwhelmed.

  But Nian Yue only shook her head and tried breaking free from Zi Yin. “You don't understand! I did it again! I do it again and again! Every time! They will all die because of me!”

  “Nian Yue! This is an illusion! Illusion! Can't you see??” Zi Yin said finally, her voice rising despite herself.

  Only then did Nian Yue come to a stop. Her frantic trembling easing up as she looked at Zi Yin. Her breath came out little and shallow. “This is not Lichuan village..?” she asked with hope.

  Zi Yin paused, before announcing, “...It is.”

  Single hair on Nian Yue’s head stood up as she let out a horrified squeal.

  “I'm sorry.. I'm crazy sometimes..” Nian Yue murmured. Her face was buried between her knees. Nian Yue sat squeezed into a little corner she found in the room, while Zi Yin sat in front of her watching Nian Yue mourn her crazy self a moment ago.

  Zi Yin had to take Nian Yue to a different house. There were two good reasons for that. One Nian Yue didn't seem to take well the sight of two dead bodies in such condition. Anyone in their right mind wouldn't want to stay with some lifeless meat anyway. Two, the stench was so horrible, Zi Yin was annoyed.

  As for Nian Yue, the reason the storm subsided was because Zi Yin mentioned it, even if Nian Yue didn't seem to understand what exactly was happening with them, hearing that the people of this village in real place were all safe, Nian Yue could finally calm down.

  Zi Yin was bored as she played with a nearby broken jar, rolling it back and forth as the glass made small clicking noises. “Never knew even gods struggle with things like these.”

  Nian Yue fell silent. Her fingers squeezed her arms. “...The flesh is still real,” Nian Yue murmured as if that could excuse her.

  Zi Yin did not reply and the surroundings fell into that ringing silence once again. Moments passed and no one spoke. They sat there in silence. It was almost as if their mere presence could comfort each other, before Nian Yue broke that same silence and started the conversation, “If you knew about this, why didn't you tell me–” Nian Yue came to a sudden pause as a finger was placed on her lips.

  “Shhh..” Zi Yin was suddenly alert as she stretched up and stood on her knees, trying to peek through the window that was just above their heads.

  Watching Zi Yin, Nian Yue became aware of her surroundings too. She immediately schooled herself as she waited for Zi Yin’s instructions.

  Zi Yin stretched her arm towards Nian Yue in time no longer than expected. The palm was hovering in front of Nian Yue like an invitation. Nian Yue accepted it immediately. Zi Yin then pulled the goddess effortlessly to her height as they both took an eyeful of the view outside.

  It took a moment for Nian Yue to understand exactly what she was looking at but when she understood, her heart skipped a beat. Just outside the house in an open area, under the boundless night sky were children standing in a circle, disfigured and malnourished. They were anything but human. Their bodies were looking as if they had been burnt severely. Their bones could pop out anytime if they weren't hanging with the support of mere threads of burned flesh.

  That was not the end of the nightmare. The children were humming something, as if humming in union the song of misery and hopes. Their faces wore signs of tragedy and melancholy, like lost childhood. Around the circle of the children were adults, so many of them, in the same condition as their children but severe. They remained silent as they arranged planks and wood, coming and going in rhythm like a pack of ants.

  Soon a fire was lit, a huge fire inside the circle of the humming children. Once the fire reached a certain height, the adults made a loud noise, horrible and agonizing as they kneeled down in front of the fire, as if worshipping it. With each stretch, up and down the poor flesh on their bodies would tear, yet they wouldn't stop. The children remained still, humming the unending prayer while the adults worshipped, even cried.

  It was a horrendous sight, watching the worship ritual of the unknown. Nian Yue could barely understand the aim of any of this before another horrible sight caught her attention. Two men dragged a lifeless body towards the lit fire. An empty body, skin, bones and muscles but no blood, dressed in royal clothes. The circle of the children finally broke as they returned to their mothers and the next moment the body brought by the two men was thrown into the crackling fire.

  The group cheered all of sudden, some laughed hysterically, while some cried tears of joy as if they had achieved something impossible. The group soon joined in the dancing of the dead. They danced in a circle around the fire as the body burned, unaffected by the gruesome sound of the body releasing air as the bits burned.

  Soon the dancing came to a sudden pause as each head turned towards the fire. The silence intensified the crackling of the woods on fire and the way the body sounded while it burned.

  “RAGHHH!!”

  Suddenly the men lunged towards the fire, women followed close behind while the kids cried. Desperate hands grasped the still burning body, pulling it out of the fire as they pounced on it. The body was torn apart bits by bits as merciless hands grabbed whatever came in their grasp and secured it for themselves. Some got hands, some got legs, some aimed for the stomach while the other looked for the heart. Cries and urgency ruined the perfect union they had moments ago.

  Between the aggressive dig and pull of the body, one eyeball rolled somewhere while the adults struggled over the single body. A child was quick to notice it as he lurked towards it. Seeing him go, the other children screamed as if warning the other and ran behind him. Before the child could have the organ for himself, other kids started tormenting his sensitive flesh, screaming and cursing at each other. One organ and more than eight children. In the end the quickest one got hold of the eyeball as he immediately crunched down on it, chewing before swallowing it. The children who couldn't have it, cried.

  The sight was chaotic, but more than that it was nauseating. The people who got their part of the burned flesh ate it with tears in their eyes, desperate and in hurry. While the people who did not, cried for mercy, sobbed, blabbing something incoherent under their breath.

  In the end, people who got something and people who didn't become all equal once again. Each their heads rose towards the sky. They remained there like that for a period of time, unmoving. Their eyes were closed. The silence was loud until it wasn't. A woman let out a sudden loud scream as if she had realized something. She desperately examined her arms and her existence before she fell to her knees and started bawling her eyes. Followed by her came the cries of each member one by one as if they had all realized the same thing and now the cheers became the mourning.

  So long the cries lasted before they finally died down. Kids hiccupped in their mother’s embrace while the men felt tired and hopeless, as they sat slumped on the ground. Their mouths wore the signs of what they had inflicted upon themselves—slumped and bloodied jaw due to shoving everything into their unworking mouths.

  There was nothing left to see, or she no longer wanted to see. Nian Yue turned around and sat back down against the wall. Her fingers threaded through her hair as she cupped the sides of her head. No matter how hard she tried, this event will stay with her for a couple of decades.

  “Come on,” suddenly Zi Yin called out and that inviting palm came into Nian Yue’s view once again. “They are coming. We need to go,” she whispered.

  Nian Yue’s blood ran cold. No matter what she did, she did not want to be seen by these people at all! She immediately grasped Zi Yin’s hand and got up as they sneaked their way to the back of the house to escape.

  From a sufficiently sized window at the back the two women jumped down, exiting the house and successfully sneaking out of the area by hiding behind trees and bushes and in particular the other houses. Zi Yin held Nian Yue’s robe’s trailing fabric to stay close behind her, helping her slip through better.

  “Head towards the forest,” Zi Yin murmured right above Nian Yue’s ear, making sure the other heard her at once because another chance could mean danger.

  Nian Yue nodded without any question but before she could leap from behind one tree to another, Zi Yin suddenly held her back. One hand came around and wrapped tightly around Nian Yue’s waist while the other one covered her mouth. The blockage successfully swallowed the sudden muffled sound Nian Yue made. The goddess blinked and in truth was pissed as she tried glaring up at Zi Yin as if asking, what was this for? Correct, the invasive hands belonged to Zi Yin.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Zi Yin understood that look. However Instead of being intimidated she was rather amused, even if it was just for split seconds. She then glanced from behind the tree and gestured with her head to Nian Yue to do the same.

  Nian Yue immediately forgot about wanting to remove the hand from her mouth, as she cautiously peeped from her position and what came in her view was the same made up altar dedicated to Nian Yue, still there unmoved and unaffected. Two men came around, the same from the group earlier, but now they looked more ghost-like. Ghost aura swept from their hollow eyes in the form of black smoke. However Nian Yue was never sure about the things she saw. Sometimes it was only her who saw things and the people around her had no idea.

  Were they.. not alive? Nian Yue thought, because it was obvious she couldn't speak out loud with such a tight hand clamped over her mouth.

  “Those are corpse ghosts. Over three centuries old,” Zi Yin murmured. It was as if she was reading Nian Yue’s mind all along.

  Nian Yue was surprised but it made sense, in no way could a person be alive with that much torment to their bodies.

  Now that Nian Yue had a name for these entities it made sense the way these people behaved—strange, disturbing and unstable. Something similar was happening at the moment—the two ghost men approached the altar, both holding a huge bowl filled with what seemed like rotten, thick red substance.. blood? Nian Yue’s eyes widened when she realized they were going to pour the blood onto her idol. Suddenly Nian Yue was pulled flush against Zi Yin, the hand over her mouth and waist pressed further, grasping tightly. Like this Nian Yue could barely breathe let alone move. “Don't make a sound,” Zi Yin whispered.

  Blood oozed from Nian Yue’s head. Her eyes squeezed shut as red slowly painted her face, down to her robes until she was covered in thick blood. The blood wasn't hers, she wasn't hurt. It was as if the one to whom the blood was being offered wasn't the jade idol but Nian Yue herself

  The unpleasant smell and the feeling of slimy blood sticking to her skin made Nian Yue nauseous. When she opened her weary eyes, they instantly turned red from the still dripping blood. In her heart there was a dreaded feeling that she was going to be the part of something unfortunate soon.

  “This is.. the illusion,” Zi Yin spoke suddenly. Her voice was gravely low and with her strong tone of voice it sounded haunting that it sent shivers down Nian Yue’s spine. “In the image of the same village that wronged them in their own houses, they created this place. This is not a paradise, this is their cage and they are trying to escape it with any means possible,” Zi Yin said.

  “And you,” Zi Yin’s head lowered. Her lips were mere half an inch apart from Nian Yue’s ear, “are here to fix it. Take this as a sign.” Zi Yin’s grasp loosened as she retracted her hands to herself, letting Nian Yue breath free.

  As soon as Nian Yue was freed, her first instinct was to wipe her face. Her movements were weary. Zi Yin’s words had caught her thoughts and mind in a way that was disturbing. “Were the people from earlier also trying to make their desperate attempt to.. escape?”

  Zi Yin nodded, “Indeed.” She gestured to Nian Yue to resume her walking, as there was no threat anymore. The two corpse ghosts had disappeared.

  “.....” Nian Yue did take the hint as she aimed towards the forest, but her steps grew faster and faster with each step. And then she dashed towards the perfect hiding of the dense trees and the night mist of the wild forest. It seemed like Nian Yue purposely wanted to leave Zi Yin behind. However Zi Yin, as she always did, kept up with Nian Yue’s walking pace and stayed close behind her.

  “Stop following me!” Nian Yue snapped suddenly. Her eyebrows frowned, expressions hard—she was angry.

  Zi Yin blinked. She was naive, or acted as if she was. “Why are you moody all of a sudden?”

  “You ask me that!?” Nian Yue threw her arms in the air. “Try looking around or perhaps into yourself and see why I'm moody!”

  Zi Yin had to point a finger at herself to understand. “Me? What in the hell did I do? I have been protecting you since you came here. You should be happy. Smile for me and say thank you.”

  Nian Yue was pissed. “Yeah!? You really call that protecting?? Well tell me why are you always dumping me with such important information only when the water is up my throat! Do you take pleasure in seeing others in misery?? You one wrecked-wreck-witch-!"

  “Well cunt, I'm neither your advisor nor your messenger. You should be glad I'm putting up with your attitude and haven't left you to be another victim of this wrecked world, get it?” Zi Yin was merciless and straight forward.

  Nian Yue’s jaw dropped. She could no longer form an argument against Zi Yin, not after hearing such degrading words being directed towards her. She could not believe, not in her hundred years of life, had a ghost ever abused her. Such use of words towards a peaceful goddess like herself—the absolute nerve.

  Zi Yin wasn't interested in watching Nian Yue stare at her with such wild expressions plastered on her face. She rolled her eyes and dragged the goddess with herself to keep going.

  “Wait..” Nian Yue spoke again. Her voice came out heavy and uncomfortable, as if speaking was the last thing she wanted to do at the moment. “Stop by somewhere safe. I can't keep going with this mess all over me.”

  Zi Yin turned to look at Nian Yue and raised an eyebrow but complied anyway as she led Nian Yue towards a safe hiding place.

  They hid behind a sufficiently huge bush secured by towering trees. Nian Yue channeled her spiritual mana towards herself and her appearance came anew, clean and neat—especially her eyes, it was already a hustle to look around with those eyes. She then counted her leftover manas, it was a habit of hers. Turns out she had more than enough still left in her account. She let out a sigh of relief and thanked the heavens. No matter what happened, at least her account never ran empty, even if the total sometimes was three at best.

  Nian Yue then turned to Zi Yin. The latter was staring at her mindlessly. That face sometimes scared her to death. “...There's still something on my face?” she asked cautiously, unsure.

  Zi Yin only shook her head and Nian Yue could let out another sigh of relief before her gaze caught the sight of Zi Yin’s own purple robe dress. The color was vibrant and dark, seeing any kind of stain was almost impossible but Nian Yue couldn't unsee it after she realized there were strains of blood on Zi Yin’s neck and her clothes, down to her bare pale arms. “You have stains. Do you want me to clean them for you?”

  “No. No need…”

  Zi Yin trailed off, her voice was almost a whisper at the last word. Her eyes were suddenly sharp, her body tensed, as if ready to fight. Nian Yue hated how she understood what was wrong whenever Zi Yin acted like this. They couldn't catch a break, could they? She reached for her back and summoned her sword, the hilt formed right in her grasp and then she waited, or they waited.

  “.....”

  Clank!

  Two swords clashed against each other. It was assumed a brawl was on its way but then both parties halted in their place.

  Nian Yue blinked, “Biao ge–”

  “Nian Yue??” Han Junyao was equally confused but more than that he was relieved. “Heavens! Where have you been??”

  Nian Yue tucked her sword back on her back. Her lips curled into a nervous smile. “I was just here..? I’m sorry Ge, I didn't tell–”

  Han Junyao was displeased by Nian Yue’s answer. “No! You were not! I have been looking for you for more than three days. I have scanned every part of this forest, if not every nook and canny.”

  “Three days..?” That was strange, the morning never came and as long as Nian Yue knew it could not be more than a couple of hours that she had been in this forest, then how..?

  “...!” Suddenly Nian Yue’s eyes widened, “Ge, put that sword down! She is no threat!”

  Han Junyao was glaring at Zi Yin, holding out his sword as if looking for a moment to strike. While Zi Yin seemed unaffected, or maybe a little annoyed.

  “Nian Yue, don't be afraid, nothing will happen. Ge is here. You can continue what you were doing,” Han Junyao suggested proudly.

  “What I was doing..?” Nian Yue shook her head, stressed, “Ge you got it all wrong! That's not her blood! Neither did I inflict it upon her, She’s.. she’s just–”

  “You should not get between the business of another celestial. Mind your own business, you weirdly curled potato,” Zi Yin finished for Nian Yue. The taunt was clearly directed towards Han Junyao, why else would the martial god be offended?

  Nian Yue’s skin jumped. Another headache was surely coming her way. “G-Ge, She's just–!” She was again cut off by her own brother. Why won't they let her finish?

  “What an insolent woman!” Han Junyao snarled.

  “Right! One disrespectful and mannerless but naive lady. Let it go Ge, she does not know what she's doing.” Nian Yue tried to short it out. A crooked smile was all she could offer as she stood in front of Zi Yin in an attempt to conceal Zi Yin’s disrespecting facial expressions. Little did she know with her height she was hiding everything but Zi Yin’s face.

  Han Junyao let out a harsh sigh, “Who is she? What is she doing with you?”

  “You want to fight me?–” Zi Yin blurted without thinking.

  This time Nian Yue could tell Zi Yin to zip her lips and by god's grace the ghost listened. She then immediately returned to answer her brother. “She is merely a lost ghost. I promised to help her.”

  “Oh?” Han Junayo nodded, eyeing the lady in purple as she eyed him back. “...I can understand why it took you three days.” He watched the lady in purple throw wild looks at him, was she disgusted.. of him!?

  “Ahaha.. Ge, lets.. talk there. Please,” Nian Yue wanted the two to not look at each other for a while.

  “Mn? Sure?” Han Junyao said. He walked in a distance with Nian Yue, blinking in confusion. “Is there something wrong?”

  “No, No. Nothing's wrong,” Nian Yue tried as she pursed her lips before asking, “How did you get here?”

  Han Junyao nodded in understanding, “Lord an xu reported that you might be in some kind of trouble and so I had to come here and make sure you were alright.”

  Ah, yes, the incident with lord An Xu. “No..” Nian Yue let out a heavy sigh. Her fingers massaged her mildly aching forehead, “I mean.. What took you three days to find me?”

  “Well that's an important question..” Junyao began, “Something is significantly wrong around the area of Lichuan village. There was toxic energy and that was concerning. Before I found you something weird happened that I couldn't figure out properly.”

  ____ ____ ____

  To be continued:-

  —----------—