The word makes its way past Yao Shen\'s lips as if pulled by a thread, "Yes."

Xin Hulei nods, and the tight tension around his shoulders uncoils, as if now that he has an answer some of the uncertainty has finally drained off.

Yao Shen experiences the exact opposite; every muscle and sinew on his body going taut like a pulled string.

"Is it related to me?" Xin Hulei asks, his gaze unwavering.

"Yes," Yao Shen says, but this time of his own volition.

He lets out a sigh of relief that turns into a huff when Xin Hulei pulls him against his chest. "Did someone harm you?"

Every second Yao Shen doesn\'t answer, he feels Xin Hulei\'s heartbeat speed up under his cheek.

His face might not show anything, but his heart betrays him.

Yao Shen tightens his fingers in the fabric of Xin Hulei\'s shirt.

"No one did anything," he says, his tone low. "They want me to do something to you, though."

His heart almost jumps up to his throat, and he wants to take back everything, instead, he pushes through the panic and pulls Xin Hulei by the neck towards him, so that he\'s looking into Yao Shen\'s eyes, as he says:

"I\'m going to stop them. I\'m trying to find a way."

Every second Xin Hulei doesn\'t answer seems to last an eternity. Yao Shen only realizes he was holding on to a breath when he finally nods.

"Don\'t put yourself in danger." Gently, Xin Hulei cups Yao Shen\'s face and runs the pad of his thumb across his cheek, gaze infinitely tender.

Yao Shen can\'t help it and lifts himself on his tiptoes to drop a kiss on his lips. "I won\'t."

"I\'m sorry for making you answer," Xin Hulei shakes his head, genuinely regretful, which only makes Yao Shen feel worse for only telling him a fraction of the truth. "I was worried something happened to you."

He\'s so relieved that the perceived threat is against him, and not Yao Shen, that it makes Yao Shen\'s throat go tight.

Yao Shen\'s eyes sting, he blinks rapidly to keep the tears at bay. "Don\'t worry, I\'m smarter than them." He doesn\'t think he is, not really, but it feels like the right thing to say.

Xin Hulei hums. "I know you are, but you should still let me help you. They\'re my enemies after all."

\'Maybe so am I.\'

With that sobering thought, Yao Shen pulls away from Xin Hulei, putting almost the entire length of his sofa between the two of them.

He turns around, unable to face Xin Hulei. "I will, maybe just not today. I\'m tired."

Xin Hulei doesn\'t press the issue. Yao Shen feels him come up behind him and drop a kiss on top of his head. The woosh of flames licks around him, taking Xin Hulei with it, and leaving Yao Shen alone in his dark living room.

It\'s a long time before his legs obey him and follow his mind to his bedroom and into his cold bed.

---

Yao Shen wakes up the next morning after a night of unfulfilling, restless sleep. So riddled with anxiety nightmares, that not even three Sleep Ugrades make him feel properly rested.

[Host?]

"Cut the crap," Yao Shen says out loud, kicking the covers off him and jumping out of bed. "Just say your piece. Do you have my money?"

[I do.]

The ensuing silence is conspicuous in its gravity.

[Has Host found a way to obtain Xin Hulei\'s spirit stone?]

Before he can form a single thought about that matter, Yao Shen fires a question back at Si Wang. "There\'s some seal on him that prevents him from going to Youdu, what do you know about that? I\'m thinking that\'s going to get in the way of my plan."

[Yes, well, he might not look very threatening to you now, but he is a very powerful demon king, who did considerable damage to Youdu the last time he was there. Since it wasn\'t possible to kill him, the next best thing was to expel him indefinitely, so that he wouldn\'t be able to come back seeking revenge.]

Yao Shen imagined a similar scenario.

"If he\'s been away from Youdu for so long, why is he a threat now? Why do both you, and the other Ghost Kings want him?"

Si Wang stammers inside Yao Shen\'s mind, as if he didn\'t expect to be under such intense scrutiny.

[Well, I can only speak for my own goals, as I said, having control over Xin Hulei will ensure a way to negotiate with the demons currently laying siege to Youdu.]

A small triumphant smile takes root in Yao Shen\'s lips. This time Si Wang has revealed more than he realizes. \'Some demons at Youdu\'s gates,\' isn\'t the same thing as \'demons laying siege to Youdu\'.

He doesn\'t want to dwell on the thought to avoid drawing Si Wang\'s attention, so he rapidly switches to another topic. "There should have been 10 ghost kings right? Counting me, everyone I met makes five. Where are the other five?"

[Around Youdu, I\'m sure you\'ll have opportunity to meet them later.]

With such a furtive and cagey tone, Yao Shen very much doubts it.

He doubles back to Xin Hulei\'s issue, as if just remembering it. "Anyway, if you want me to take control of Xin Hulei\'s spirit stone to drag him into the Underworld to handle your refugee problem, the seal will probably need to come off."

[I don\'t know much about the seal but I can make inquires.]

"Probably for the best that you do it, instead of me. Less suspicious."

Si Wang doesn\'t say anything, and Yao Shen figures he\'s gotten as much out of him as he safely can, for now.

He stretches his arms above his head with a loud groan, as if getting ready for the day ahead in a fine mood. "Now that I\'ll have money, I can finally enjoy everything Youdu has to offer."

---

Yao Shen goes straight to the Fragrant Peony as soon as he reaches Youdu.

This time he\'s dressing somewhat less conspicuously, in a baseball cap, turtleneck and a winding scarf that covers half his face.

There\'s no weather in Youdu, the temperature will always be agreeable no matter what one wears. Yao Shen notices that there are more ghosts wearing winter clothes than summer clothing -- especially when it comes to the older ghosts.

It makes perfect sense, considering winter is a much harsher season to survive for the poor and destitute. Surrounded by death as he is in Youdu, what startles Yao Shen the most are the tiny reminders of how easily it can come upon a person.

Many ghosts show the signs of their deaths written plain as day on their bodies.

For instance, Qing Yu, Fragrant Peony\'s highest earner, wears his in the form of a thin pink line across his neck.

He\'s pouring tea for both him and Yao Shen, when he feels Yao Shen\'s gaze on it.

The fingers of one pale hand lift towards it, touching the skin almost reflexively. "Does young master like it?" His beautiful smile is sharp as a blade, a fine weapon he has spent a lifetime and an afterlife honing. "My most loyal patron\'s last gift."

Yao Shen clears his throat, shifting uncomfortably on the brocade upholstery of his seat. Everything about Qing Yu is unsettling, from his poisonous beauty to the nonchalant way he talks about his own death.

Uncaring of Yao Shen\'s discomfort, or actively reveling in it, Yao Shen can\'t tell which, Qing Yu elaborates, "He always said I had a beautiful neck. I guess in the end he couldn\'t help wanting to leave his mark on it."

Yao Shen drinks his tea just to avoid having to answer to all of that. He guesses people were just built different back in the day, which doesn\'t surprise him, because feudalism was wild.

More soberingly, he\'s forced to remember Du Liyan and Hua Mei and their terrible deaths. Maybe things haven\'t changed enough.

"You must know all kinds of interesting stories about the people who visit here," Yao Shen says, in a clumsy segue.

Qing Yu\'s fox eyes sharpen. "Is that what young master is here for, a story?" He taps the lid over the rim of the cup, and in the motion the sleeve of his red robe slides down into the crook of his arm, revealing a pale expanse of forearm.

Yao Shen has paid almost a third of all the money Si Wang gave him for a single hour of Qing Yu\'s time -- he assumes most people who do the same are eager to get their money\'s worth.

"I have plenty of money, as much as you have time," Yao Shen says, shrugging a shoulder and leaning back into the carved back of his chair.

Qing Yu smiles, and mimics Yao Shen\'s posture. "When I was alive I always felt like I was constantly running out of time. Until one day, I did." His eyes shimmer with hidden amusement. "Now, I have nothing but time."

He takes a sip of his tea, meeting Yao Shen\'s eyes above the bone-white rim. "What kind of story does young master want to hear?"

"Something exciting, with lots of passion, maybe betrayal too."

"I have just the thing," Qing Yu says, lips curling around a smirk.