Chapter 15

Hsien Lian turned to his other side, his eyes still closed. XingYing was poking him, for some god forsaken reason. Hsien Lian groaned, aimlessly hitting the air. "Leave me alone." He muttered. He deserved two more minutes.

"No." Fu Hai answered. Hsien Lian instantly opened his eyes, sitting up. His eyes met Fu Hai's, and it seemed the man was pretty irritated with him. Hsien Lian scanned the area. They were still out of the temple, though it was morning. Buo was behind Fu Hai, and XingYing was once again nowhere to be found. Hsien Lian sighed, shaking his head.

The god stood up, brushing off his white cheongsam. "XingYing!" Hsien Lian called, looking around. Buo stared at him, confused. "XingYing? Whose that?" Hsien Lian didn't answer him. The young man walked from behind the temple, holding something in his hand. He smiled slightly at Fu Hai and Buo before turning to Hsien Lian. "Yes?"

Hsien Lian sighed, clutching his chest. "Don't scare me like that. Where did you wander off to?" Hsien Lian sounded like a mother worried about her child, but he didn't know where XingYing was, which did worry him slightly. XingYing smiled, jogging over to him. "I found a flower. Look." XingYing held his hand out to Hsien Lian, letting him see.

The flower was big and bright. Filled with vibrant yellows hues, with pinks and purples as well. The flower opened up at the top, showing the yellow puds inside. It was a lotus flower. His favorite. XingYing grabbed Hsien Lian's hand, holding it open so he could place the delicate flower in his palm.

"Who are you?" Fu Hai demanded, making XingYing look up. He didn't seem frightened by Fu Hai pointing his dao at the other, nor did he seem frightened by his glares. He smiled sweetly at Fu Hai. "I am Hsien Lian's friend. I met him yesterday. We walked up here and slept together. However I was thirsty and left for some water." XingYing explained calmly.

"You two slept together?! Your Highness?!" Fu Hai yelled. Hsien Lian pushed Fu Hai's dao down, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "You can stop. What are you two even doing here? Did Jing Mei send you?" Buo glanced at XingYing before sighing, shaking his head. "No, well kind of. She told us to look after you. But we decided to come down here ourselves."

"We see you found the temple." Fu Hai observes, staring up at the large building. Hsien Lian nods, holding the flower close to him. "Yeah. I don't believe the ghost is in there though. We didn't hear any odd sounds." Hsien Lian. Buo walks over to XingYing, circling him. Fu Hai pulled Hsien Lian close to him, whispering in his ear. "That's Ning Huo, you know that right?" He asked, staring at XingYing, who was beginning to walk towards the temple. Hsien Lian sighed. "It can't be, he's only human. If he was a ghost, he would be able to go anywhere near a temple. Yet here we are." Hsien Lian pointed out.

'

Yet Fu Hai shook his head. "Ning Huo is powerful, you need to be careful. Don't let him get close to you. He reminds me of Ning Huo too much. Sarcastic and thinks a lot about himself. He's using your weaknesses to his advantage." Fu Hai warned, before following Buo, who was walking alongside XingYing. Hsien Lian sighed, staring at the man he met yesterday. There was no way he could be Ning Huo, too much wouldn't make sense.

Hsien Lian ran up the steps, walking beside XingYing. "You two didn't even think to go in? Why?" Buo asked as Hsien Lian reached for the door. He shrugged lightly. "Stargazing is fun." He smiled. XingYing stared at him for a moment, before nodding along to the god's answer. Hsien Lian opened the door to the temple, freezing at the sight, allowing the flower to drop from his hand.

Dozens of bodies hung from the ceiling, all with different people. Adults, kids, men and women. The smell of decomposing bodies was like a brick wall. The darkness of the temple was prominent, the only light coming from outside. "Oh my god." Hsien Lian whispered, stepping in slowly. He heard a wet, dripping sound from somewhere near him. All of his senses were alert, ready for the first threat.

But the temple was empty.

"She's not here." Buo muttered to himself, sliding his dao out. He raised his hand, a red and purple flame sprouting from his hand. He held it out like a torch. "Hsien Lian. Bio." Fu Hai voiced. Hsien Lian nodded softly. "Please work." He whispered, shutting his eyes for a moment. His hands glowed a soft blue hue, the god raising his hands. With a sharp movement outwards, a wall of sapphire mist spread out to reach the walls of the temple, highlighting any ghost that was in the area.

Yet nothing was highlighted.

"We missed her." Hsien Lian muttered, sighing. Fu Hai turned around to face Lian. "Da Hong's not here. If she's not here then we have to-" "There's a ghost in the temple." XingYing hastily said, rushing over to them. His smirk wasn't there, instead replaced with a serious face. "It's not a girl though. It's a man, they're," He tapped his foot onto the ground. "Under here." He whispered.

Buo crossed his arms, looking at XingYing hesitantly. "How do you know?" Buo asked, making XingYing sigh. "Hsien Lian's blast only detected ghosts in this room. But if she was here, she wouldn't be able to leave. Ghosts can't go into temples unless someone assigned them there." "He's right." Fu Hai nodded. Hsien Lian took a small step back.

"So, not only is the ghost still here. But someone told them to be here and kill all these people?"

"Exactly."