The Crown Prince continues eyeing the veiled man in shock.

"My own death? I...is this a threat?"

The veiled man shakes his head. The dark veil gives only an impression of his features, but doesn\'t allow the Crown Prince, or Yao Shen and Xin Hulei to see his face.

Xin Hulei\'s shoulders are drawn into a tense line. Yao Shen holds his breath.

"Your highness\' intervention has saved thousands of lives on both sides of the border," the man says, surprising everyone. "One decision, saved the life of thousands, and millions to come with the years of ensuing peace as a result of the treaties."

"How can you know that?" The Crown Prince asks, completely dumbfounded by the prescient claims of the veiled man.

"The heavens see all."

The Crown Prince has no answer to him, only more stunned silence.

The veiled man is not done talking. "However, it is this kindness that will also lead to your death. The Marquis of Song stood to profit the most from the war on the border, and constantly requested aid from the Imperial coffers that he used for his own gain. Now that the war is over, a steady source of income has dried up."

Yao Shen can tell by the look on the Crown Prince\'s eyes that everything the man in black is saying makes sense to him. He can also tell that he didn\'t consider any scenario besides his smooth withdrawal from the Imperial family.

"His Highness has abdicated as Crown Prince, but that has only made him an easier target for his enemies." The man tilts his head to the side, indicating the inn\'s door. "The moment his Highness steps out of this door, several men waiting in ambush will attack and kill him. The fact that I\'m sharing this information won\'t change the outcome."

The Crown Prince\'s hands tighten on his dirty travel robes, his eyes growing reddened. "Why are you telling me this?" Almost to himself he murmurs, "I have to reach Frozen Peak sect."

"I\'m giving you a choice. You can go outside, and try to evade the fate you\'ve set into motion for as long as you can, until finally dying at the hands of your enemies and entering the cycle of reincarnation like all mortals."

He pauses.

"Or I can give you immortality."

The Crown Prince\'s head whips up in bewilderment, he tries to meet the man\'s eyes through the veil. "Why would you do that?"

"Your great deeds qualify you for ascension. You can ascend to the heavens as a minor good, and spend the rest of your existence in perfect union with the Universe."

A muscle twitches in the Crown Prince\'s jaw. It\'s clear to Yao Shen that he never considered that an option. Despite his words to his younger brother, his pursuit of Daoism was merely a way for him to find his way back to Xin Hulei -- he hadn\'t considered anything beyond that. Including the end goal all cultivators seek.

"Or, you can descend."

"Descend?"

"The ghost kings of the Underworld are also immortals. In many respects they aren\'t unlike gods, except they perform very specific duties: Applying punishment to the deceased, and guiding their souls into reincarnation afterwards."

"You\'re giving me a choice between heaven and hell?"

Slowly, the man nods. "There are ten ghost kings in Youdu. Currently, the positions for the fourth and tenth king are open."

The Crown Prince frowns. "Aren\'t the ghost kings immortal?"

"Immortal does not mean invincible. Immortality means there won\'t be a natural end to your life, there\'s nothing anyone can do about unnatural ends."

"Then...were those ghost kings killed?"

The veiled man shrugs. "We don\'t get involved with matters of the Underworld."

"We? Does that mean you\'re a god?"

Infuriatingly, the man shrugs again. "What will your choice be?"

The Crown Prince lets out nervous chuckle, running his fingers through the messy strands of hair framing his face. "Are those my only choices?"

The man laughs. "I\'ve given you two more choices than the average person gets. In other circumstances, you would have just walked out of that door after your meal and died."

His words are sobering, and the Crown Prince lowers his eyes in contemplation.

Yao Shen already knows what he chose, but he still waits for an answer in breathless anticipation. Beside him, Xin Hulei is as tense as a strung bow.

"What about demons?" The Crown Prince asks, finally lifting his head.

The veiled man is silent for a moment. "They\'re from the Underworld too, along with ghosts, ghouls, and all manner of beasts." He tsks, and for a moment the veil clings to the shape of his lips. "Demons live in a city called Modu. I don\'t expect it to stand for much longer."

Xin Hulei\'s lips flatten into a thin line, his gaze narrowed at the man in black.

The man raps his knuckles on the wooden tabletop. "In fact, it\'s a very messy situation, just the kind of thing a good person like yourself would want to get involved in."

The Crown Prince thinks over his options a little longer, but it\'s obvious his decision is already made. With a sigh, he nods. "Fine, I\'ll be a ghost king."

The veiled man raps his knuckles against the table again and then stands up to his full height. "Good, would you rather be the fourth or the tenth king?"

"I\'ve always liked the number ten," the Crown Prince says, standing up too.

There\'s something the veiled man is about to say, but just before he can, Yao Shen and Xin Hulei are violently wrenched out of the memory.

Except, this time, they aren\'t transported to another one.

---

Yao Shen first becomes aware of the hard ground under his head, and a warm hand clasped in his.

With a groan he turns to the side and finds Xin Hulei lying beside him, also struggling to open his eyes.

Si Wang is standing above both of them, holding the spinning paper-lantern to his chest, a thin trickle of blood running down his temple.

"Of course, you\'d have no problem about him seeing your memories," Si Wang spits, his youthful features twisted into something ugly and cruel.

Yao Shen gets up to his feet with a groan. "Nothing in the memories I saw looked like I betrayed you. So this grudge of yours is looking really misplaced."

Si Wang sneers. "That just means you haven\'t seen enough."

Xin Hulei reaches for the lantern. "Give Yao Shen\'s memories back."

"Fuck you," Si Wang growls. He jumps back several paces and draws a seal in midair with his free hand.

Xin Hulei figures out his intentions quickly, but he doesn\'t dodge fast enough, and a blast of energy hits him on the side, sending him flying against the wall.

Yao Shen looks behind his shoulder to ensure that he\'s unharmed, and then takes action himself.

"What remains unseen is deemed to be clean," Yao Shen whispers to himself, his gaze viciously fixed on Si Wang.

He watches in gratified smugness as Si Wang\'s eyes widen when he disappears into thin air.

"How dare you? I gave you that power back! Without me you\'d be just another powerless human."

Now invisible, Yao Shen circles behind Si Wang, keeping his distance, looking for the best opportunity to strike.

Si Wang draws several seals in the air, throwing them in every direction in the hope of hitting Yao Shen. Each time he fails his frustration grows.

Xin Hulei remains out of the way, one hand braced on his injured shoulder. Oddly, Yao Shen can feel his eyes on him. As if Xin Hulei is able to see him through the invisibility.

"Show yourself!" Si Wang shouts, still holding the lantern to his chest.

Yao Shen edges closer to him, keeping his breathing shallow. Si Wang turns around and Yao Shen picks up a heavy incense burner from the table.

Si Wang only sees it when Yao Shen is already bringing it down against the side of his head. He loses his footing, but his free hand makes a mad grab for Yao Shen and latches onto the front of his tshirt. The two of them fall on the floor in a graceless pile.

Yao Shen scurries to get off, but Si Wang\'s grip doesn\'t let go. "I\'m your brother," he says, his wild eyes shifting in their sockets, trying to guess where Yao Shen\'s own eyes would have been. "Why is everyone else more important to you?"

A hand closes on the back of Yao Shen\'s shirt and pulls him off from Si Wang unceremoniously. "Let go of Yao Shen\'s memories," Xin Hulei says again, his voice cold as ice.

Si Wang\'s upper lip curls up in disgust. "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?"

A wind whips around the room, and when it vanishes Xin Hulei has taken on his demon appearance, his red eyes burn with fury.

A whip of flames has materialised in his hand, the handle wrapped around his wrist and middle finger like a bracelet.

He raises the whip of fire above Si Wang\'s head. "Don\'t make me ask a third time."