Xie Yi-jun

2004 years after The Long Night

Sanlín City

“Thank you for coming, Master Hao. As you can see, the situation is rather dire-”

As the priest spoke, Yi-jun wanted to roll his eyes.

Dire? Dire is being stranded in the middle of The Dust Maze with no shelter, or forgetting a loved one’s birthday…

As Master Hao continued speaking with the priest, the young King surveyed the room, taking in the man’s idea of dire.

Altars were tipped over, their contents of candles, oils and garlands all strewn about the floor. Pictures hung crooked on the walls of the church, and it appeared as though this particular ghost had a dislike for flowers, as all of the bouquets had gotten their heads cut off at the stem.

I suppose if weddings were my job it would feel rather disastrous, but really…

And why bring along three children to aid in the ferreting out of a spirit with pollen allergies-

“Look out!”

The call came from one of the disciples, but before Yi-jun could understand that the shout was to him, the candlestick had already struck him in the back.

“Ow!” Wincing and jumping away rather clumsily, all eyes were suddenly on him and the apparently sentient candlestick at his feet.

“Who threw that at him?!”

“No one, it was the ghost!”

The children prattled on like that as Master Hao continued questioning the priest on things like; the date the church was built, and when exactly they started having problems. Xie Yi-jun shook his head, starting to reach for his back.

That will leave a bruise-

“Here, let me.”

Yi-jun was unable to react fast enough before the boy who had woken him the night before stepped closer.

“What are you-”

The boy closed his eyes, reaching out with his energy and pressing it against the pain. Despite being currently unaware of his own energies, Xie Yi-jun was shocked once again by the boy, his aura flowing strikingly fast into his body-

This time we aren’t even touching…

Reian, that was his name, wrapped a cooling blue light around the ache, easing it as if he was unspooling a tightly wound cord. With every breath, Yi-jun felt not only his physical pain departing, but the sharpness that lay tucked just out of sight in his heart vanishing.

That feeling, of being held by someone else’s aura, was so comforting and familiar that for a moment he entertained the idea that this boy was actually his Jincai.

“There, that should be better.”

The King blinked, startled as the boy suddenly retreated, returning to his friends as if nothing had happened.

Songcai would never just leave like that. In fact, if he felt pain from someone it was impossible for him to stop checking if they were okay-

“...as you can see, we’ve had quite a lot of trouble over the past six months. Items going missing or being broken. Objects flying, even injuring people! It gets worse whenever we’ve tried to hold a wedding. Just last month, two young couples were beaten so badly by a couple of broomsticks that they still haven’t opened their eyes!”

Reian and his friends were standing behind Master Hao, appearing to be listening intently. Yi-jun however, saw the way the boy called Xie De was pulling on Reian’s sleeve, trying to keep him from fidgeting.

Songcai would never do that either. He would never fidget. The man stood statue still, always inhumanly elegant, and it was impossible to tell if he’d been born into a family of royal knights, or herbalist healers. The latter being true…

Just then the large doors behind them opened, morning sunlight spilling onto the dusty floor of the church. It was hardly a second between the couple entering and all hell breaking loose-

Yi-jun ducked as another candlestick flew by his head.

The children were all scrambling around as their Master tried to calm them, and the priest screamed; “Leave now while you still can!”

Amid the noise of various objects being propelled into walls and people alike, Xie Yi-jun had a strange moment of derealization. The absurdity of the situation he’d woken up in, and the inexplicability of being in this new world all alone.

A cathartic, somewhat exhausted laugh bubbled up from his throat as the young King caught a tapestry fluttering past him, thwacking into everything.

When he looked up again, he noticed two things.

From across the room, huddled between his friends, Wen Reian was watching him, unblinking.

Also... the marble bust that was hurtling through the air was about to hit the boy.

With no time to call for him to look out and afraid he wouldn’t be able to get over there in time, Xie Yi-jun did the only thing he could think of, pure instinct...

Feeling a burning sensation in his hand, he knew his eyes had turned yellow. Panic. It had been seven hundred years since he’s used his fire, but hopefully with a little luck it would still work-

Raising his hand and extending two fingers, he imagined a primitive shield. With a jolt that nearly knocked him off his feet, Yi-jun blinked, watching as the layer of amber fire materialized behind Reian like a thin, semi-translucent wall.

Just in time too. The statue hit the shield and Yi-jun felt the collision in his chest as the flames rippled and died out. Reian probably only caught a glimpse of the fire behind him before it flickered away...

I must be out of practice, normally I could maintain fifty of those stupid things for hours-

As the doors slammed shut, the church once again fell silent.

Hmm… the spirit clearly has a dislike for engaged couples as well.

Yi-jun caught Reian’s eye briefly, then Master Hao was beckoning the children closer.

“Are any of you hurt?”

All three replied, while the priest let out a dramatic sigh.

“You see? I fear we may never open our doors again…”

Master Hao nodded, “We will do what we can.”

“Do you have records of all the ceremonies held here in the last six months?”

The disciples all turned to him when he spoke, perhaps shocked. Yi-jun ignored it.

The priest nodded quickly, “Of course! All our records are kept in the city library…”

He called for an altar boy and one scurried out of the shadows-

“Here,” the priest said. “A’Di will take you!”

Xie Yi-jun was about to follow the child outside when Master Hao stopped him.

“Yi-jun,” he said softly. “If you would allow Reian and Xie De to accompany you, I will remain with Jin Yu and see about clearing up this mess.”

With no reason to refuse, the King called the two boys over. Their Master gave them a brief lecture about not straying too far and they both nodded intently. It was clear how their relationship with the man was more like that of a father-child relationship.

Yi-jun had no knowledge of where they were from, Jingshén. Perhaps Master Hao was their father, although in Yi-jun’s time it would have been unheard of for a parent to instruct their children in cultivation.

“Finding out who this spirit is will be your first priority. Reian, I can count on you to keep Xie De out of trouble, right?”

The boys both smiled and Yi-jun felt a twinge of jealousy over their love for one another. Something he never was able to share with his own father.

“Yes Master!” Reian bowed.

“Hurry up then,” the King sighed.

Yi-jun turned and started off before he’d finished speaking, unwilling to delay any longer.

They followed the altar boy outside and through the town, Yi-jun’s mind wandering so much he thought he lost Reian and Xie De. Both appeared moments later, the latter smiling mischievously while Wen Reian frowned.

“Keep up you two!”

Xie Yi-jun sighed, shaking his head.

God, if only Jincai could see me now… he would laugh himself sick. Probably tease me about my inability to interact with children-

A memory surfaced suddenly, of a time at the start of the war. When things still seemed full of hope despite everything.

When life was still full of Songcai.