The Mortal

As Ao Huli glanced back, his blood ran cold at the horrifying sight. The ghost had transformed into something nightmarish - a mass of writhing black sludge that oozed and flowed down the alley in his pursuit. Multiple hands protruded from the inky mass, using their fingers to drag the creature forward at an unnaturally fast pace, leaving trails of black stains in its wake.

His panic mounting, Ao Huli sprinted faster but was stopped when he came upon a towering wall of garbage and debris blocking the alley. 

His eyes darted frantically until they landed on a small opening near the bottom - barely large enough for a person to squeeze through. Without hesitation, he dropped to his hands and knees and began to crawl.

Halfway through, something snagged his clothes. He thrashed desperately, trying to free himself from whatever had caught him. The sound of squelching sludge grew closer, and then he felt it - an ice-cold hand wrapping around his ankle, its grip like iron.

In that moment of pure terror, something deep within Ao Huli finally broke free. There was a burst of red smoke, and suddenly his perspective shifted dramatically. Where once he had been struggling to fit through the gap, he now found himself in a much smaller form - that of a white cat with distinctive red rings around its eyes.

He didn't even register the momentous breakthrough - that he had finally achieved the transformation that had eluded him his entire life. His mind was focused solely on escape. With his new feline agility, he easily slipped through the opening, leaving the ghost's grasping hand clutching nothing but empty air.

Behind him, he heard an inhuman howl of rage as he darted away on four swift paws, his small form allowing him to navigate the cluttered alley with ease. The terror of the chase had accomplished what years of training could not - unlocking his ability to shift forms at last.

The black sludge oozed through the garbage pile with disturbing ease, reforming on the other side into something equally terrifying - a featureless black dog, its form so dark it seemed to absorb the surrounding light. It stalked after Ao Huli, its movements predatory and deliberate.

Ao Huli's feline instincts took over as he darted down an intersecting alley behind an apartment building, only to find himself facing solid brick walls on all sides. His white fur stood on end as he arched his back, a defensive hiss escaping his throat as the shadow-dog approached. The creature grew larger with each step, its body lowering into a hunting crouch.

Backing up, Ao Huli felt his tail hit the wall behind him. He was trapped. The dog's form seemed to ripple with anticipation as it gathered itself to strike. Just as it lunged, fangs bared and trailing wisps of red energy, something extraordinary happened.

The beast slammed into an invisible barrier, the impact sending visible ripples of energy cascading upward like waves on a pond. The dog recoiled with a yelp of surprise and pain.

Looking up, Ao Huli saw him - a young man standing protectively in front of his small feline form. In his hand, he held what appeared to be a talisman, its surface glowing with mystical energy. With a start, Ao Huli recognized him.

The young man stood firm, his stance confident as he held the burning talisman between his middle and index fingers. The paper crackled with mystical energy before dissolving into ash that scattered on the night wind. Without hesitation, he reached into his jacket pocket and produced a thick stack of similar papers, each one humming with latent power.

"Back off!" he shouted at the shadow-dog, his voice carrying a surprising authority. "I've got plenty more where that came from!"

The featureless black dog snarled, its form rippling with fury at being thwarted. But faced with the threat of more spiritual weapons, it gradually began to retreat. Its shadowy body seemed to dissolve at the edges, bleeding into the surrounding darkness until it disappeared entirely, leaving only a lingering sense of malevolence in its wake.

The young man turned to face Ao Huli, who remained pressed against the wall in his cat form. Ao Huli blinked up at his savior, taking in the details he had only glimpsed through the soul's memories.

The young man's entire demeanor shifted once the threat had passed. His confident stance melted away, replaced by an almost sheepish posture as he rubbed the back of his neck with a goofy, self-conscious grin. He held up the stack of papers with his other hand, waggling them slightly.

"Heh... would you believe these are actually just convenience store receipts?" he admitted with an embarrassed laugh. "I've been meaning to clean out my pockets. But hey, the bluff worked, right?"

Ao Huli's eyes narrowed as he stared up at his supposed rescuer, trying to reconcile this awkward teenager with the person who had just faced down a malevolent ghost without flinching. The young man looked utterly ordinary - slightly nerdy even, with none of the gravitas one might expect from someone capable of wielding genuine spiritual talismans. Yet he had managed to save them both with nothing but quick thinking and a handful of old receipts.

He couldn't believe for a minute that this unassuming youth, who had just outwitted a powerful ghost with nothing but paper trash and bravado, was the one he had been searching for.

"I'm Liao Zhen," the young man said, then immediately followed with an awkward explanation. "That's Liao as in 'distant' and Zhen as in 'precious.' Written with these characters-" He made a gesture in the air as if writing, then seemed to catch himself, his cheeks coloring slightly at the habitual explanation of his name.

Looking down at Ao Huli, he tilted his head curiously. "You're a cat spirit, right? Those red rings around your eyes are pretty distinctive - definitely not something you'd see on a normal stray. I guess that would explain why the Jian was after you,"

Ao Huli's ears perked forward in surprise, his feline features managing to convey his confusion. This young man had not only identified him as a spirit but had also recognized their pursuer's specific type during that brief, chaotic encounter.

Noticing Ao Huli's puzzled expression - remarkably clear even on a cat's face - Liao Zhen's eyes lit up with an almost scholarly enthusiasm.

"Oh, sorry, I suppose you don't know." He apologized, tapping his chin, "a Jian is what happens when a ghost dies. There's this famous line from Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio that says 'A person becomes a ghost after death, a ghost becomes a jian after death.'"

He shifted his weight, clearly warming to the subject. "That's why even other ghosts are terrified of them. Think about it - what could be scary enough to frighten a ghost? Something that represents death to the already dead. Pretty creepy, right?"

Ao Huli sat very still, his tail curled neatly around his paws as he absorbed this information. His celestial education had covered many supernatural entities, but he had to admit his knowledge of ghost realm hierarchies was limited. The fact that this unassuming human not only knew about such creatures but could quote classical texts about them was both impressive and puzzling.

"The one that was chasing you seemed particularly aggressive," Liao Zhen mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Usually they don't come out into the open like that. Must have been something really important to make it risk exposure..."

Realizing himself, Liao Zhen seemed to snap out of his reverie. He smiled, crouching down closer to Ao Huli's feline form."You know, you're actually really cute for a cat spirit!" he exclaimed, reaching out with unrestrained delight. "Your fur is like moonlight."

Before Ao Huli could retreat, Liao Zhen's fingers were scratching behind his ears, treating him with the casual affection one might show any stray cat. The indignity of it all - a prince of heaven being cooed over and petted like some common alley cat - was too much to bear. Unable to endure this undignified treatment a moment longer, Ao Huli jerked backward. 

In his panic and indignation, his tentative grasp on his newly-discovered transformation slipped, but instead of returning to his human disguise, he found himself reverting to his true celestial appearance. There was a sudden burst of red smoke that filled the space between them.

His back slammed against the brick wall as he fell clumsily on his backside, one hand raised defensively between himself and the overly-familiar human.

For a split second, time seemed to slow. Liao Zhen's hand remained outstretched, frozen in the act of petting where the cat had been just moments before. Through the dissipating red smoke, his eyes caught the first glimpse of something impossible - flowing robes, gleaming horns, an otherworldly presence that made the air itself seem to vibrate with divine energy.

The smoke cleared fully to reveal Ao Huli in his true celestial form, his back pressed against the brick wall, robes tangled around his legs as he sat ungracefully on the ground. 

Liao Zhen blinked, his brain seeming to short-circuit as he took in the sight. After a second of complete silence, Liao Zhen lurched backwards. 

"Haah!?" Liao Zhen's exclamation of surprise stretched out comically as he violently straightened up from his crouch, his eyes wide. Where moments ago had been a simple white cat with red-ringed eyes, there now sat an unmistakably divine being.

Liao Zhen took a small step back, his eyes darting over Ao Huli's form as if trying to catalog every divine detail. His earlier scholarly confidence gave way to flustered energy as he waved his hands in front of himself.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he exclaimed, his voice rising with a mix of panic and excitement. "You're not just a cat spirit - you're... you're..." He gestured wildly at Ao Huli's horns, his divine robes, the lotus symbol on his forehead. "I actually have no idea what you are."

Ao Huli quickly gathered his robes around himself, his cheeks burning with embarrassment at his undignified display. The carefully maintained composure that had been drilled into him since childhood seemed to have utterly abandoned him in this moment.

"I am..." Ao Huli hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "A spirit of some significance."

But this vague answer only seemed to fuel Liao Zhen's enthusiasm. "Those horns! And that symbol on your forehead! I've never seen anything like it in any of the texts I've studied. And your robes - the craftsmanship is incredible! Is that actual silk?"

"Please," he said, holding up a hand as if to physically halt Liao Zhen's mounting excitement, "lower your voice. We cannot draw attention to ourselves."

"Right, sorry!" Liao Zhen caught himself, but although he tried to disguise it, he was practically vibrating with enthusiasm. "It's just... this is amazing! I've never seen anything like you before." He bounced slightly on his feet, unable to contain his excitement. "Hey, you should come back to my place! Though, uh... we'll have to be quiet about it. My parents don't really... well, they can't know you're there."

"Don't worry!" Liao Zhen assured him quickly. "They go to bed pretty early, usually." 

Despite Ao Huli's natural reserve, he found himself agreeing. "I... suppose I have little choice," he conceded, aware that he needed to stay close to the owner of the soul he carried.

"Great!" Liao Zhen beamed but his eyes tracked down, looking again at Ao Huli's elaborate robes and distinctive features. "Though, um, you might want to change back into a cat for the journey. You're kind of... noticeable like that."

Ao Huli felt his face heat up even more. The disguise that had allowed him to blend in with the mortals had been Ling's magic, not his own. Now, without the ghost's assistance, he had no way to mask his divine appearance.

"I... that is..." he stammered, "I cannot. The transformation you saw earlier was done by... someone else. On my behalf."

"Oh!" Liao Zhen's eyes widened with interest rather than judgment, "That's okay! We'll just have to be extra careful then. Here-"

He shrugged off his jacket and held it out to Ao Huli. "Put this on over your robes. And maybe if you sort of... hunch down a bit? We can probably make it work!"

Ao Huli stared at the offered garment with a mix of dismay and resignation. The thought of wearing mortal clothing over his celestial robes felt almost sacrilegious, but he could see no alternative. With as much dignity as he could muster, he accepted the jacket and awkwardly pulled it on, trying not to wrinkle his nose at the strange synthetic fabric.

"Follow me," Liao Zhen whispered, already heading toward the mouth of the alley. "And try to look normal!"

Ao Huli wasn't entirely sure what "normal" meant in this context, but he did his best to mimic Liao Zhen's casual slouch as they made their way through the darkened streets, painfully aware of how inadequate their attempt at disguise really was.

They had almost made it to Liao Zhen's apartment when a door creaked open behind them. Ao Huli tensed as an elderly woman shuffled into the hallway, squinting at them through thick glasses that magnified her eyes to almost comical proportions.

"Xiao Zhen? Is that you making all that noise at this hour?" she called out, adjusting her shawl.

"Ah, Mrs. Liu!" Liao Zhen's voice startled. "Sorry if we disturbed you! We were just-"

She peered at them, pushing her glasses up her nose and leaning forward. "Oh? Who's this with you?" Her eyes narrowed as she studied Ao Huli. "Young lady, it's quite late to be visiting a boy's home!"

Ao Huli felt his face burn scarlet, his red-tipped ears flattening against his head in mortification. He opened his mouth to correct this egregious misunderstanding, but Liao Zhen's hands suddenly landed on his shoulders, squeezing in warning.

"Just go with it," Liao Zhen whispered urgently from behind him. Then, louder, "Ah, yes, well, we were just-"

"Sneaking a girl in at this hour!" Mrs. Liu's voice rose with righteous indignation. "What would your parents say? And you!" She jabbed a finger in Ao Huli's direction. "A proper young lady shouldn't be out this late!"

Ao Huli, a prince of the celestial realm, stood frozen in horror as the elderly mortal continued her tirade about declining moral values and proper courtship etiquette. His usual perfect composure completely deserted him as he struggled to process being mistaken for not only a mortal, but a female one at that.

"We're very sorry, Mrs. Liu!" Liao Zhen cut in, already steering Ao Huli backward toward his apartment door. "It won't happen again! Good night!"

"Don't think I won't tell your mother about this!" Mrs. Liu called after them as Liao Zhen fumbled with his keys. "Young people these days, no sense of propriety at all..."

As soon as they were inside with the door safely closed behind them, Liao Zhen let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that. Mrs. Liu's eyesight isn't very good, and with your long hair and, uh, refined features..."

Ao Huli fixed him with a glare that could have frozen hellfire.

Liao Zhen's room was small and cluttered, with textbooks and papers scattered across every available surface. As Ao Huli stepped inside, his eyes immediately went to a shelf tucked into the corner. It was empty now, but he recognized it instantly from the soul's memories - the place where the makeshift altar had stood, where Liao Zhen had desperately tried to hide evidence of his worship.

He walked over to it, his fingers trailing along the worn wood. The lingering scent of incense was barely detectable, but to his divine senses, it carried echoes of earnest prayers and hidden devotion.

"Oh," Liao Zhen said softly, coming to stand beside him. His earlier excitement had dimmed, replaced by something more subdued. "That's... well, I used to have some things there, but..." He trailed off, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck in that now-familiar nervous gesture.

"They're making it harder, aren't they?" Ao Huli asked quietly, remembering the fear he'd witnessed in the soul's memories - the panicked scramble to hide the altar, the desperate waving away of incense smoke. "To worship the old ways?"

Liao Zhen's eyes widened slightly. "How did you...?" 

Without hesitation, Ao Huli reached under the shelf and pulled away a cloth, revealing several carefully hidden idols. Liao Zhen let out a startled gasp.

"Wait-" he stammered, clearly thrown off balance. "How did you know those were there?"

Ao Huli picked up one of the small statues, turning it carefully in his hands. The craftsmanship was crude by celestial standards, but there was something touching about its simplicity, about the obvious care with which it had been handled despite its rough-hewn nature.

"Oh, that's..." Liao Zhen's surprise gave way to enthusiasm as he focused on the idol. "That's Guan Yin. The Goddess of Mercy." His voice took on that scholarly tone again as he explained, "She's supposed to hear all the prayers of the faithful and help those in need. Of course, that's just the simplified version - there are actually many fascinating stories about her origins and-"

He caught himself, seeming to remember he was explaining this to an actual supernatural being. "But, um, you probably already know all that."

Ao Huli continued examining each statue until he came across one that gave him pause. The figure was portrayed as an elderly man with a round, jolly face and a prominent belly, looking more like a kindly grandfather than a fearsome deity.

"That one's Yan Wang," Liao Zhen explained eagerly. "The Judge of the Underworld. They say he decides the fate of every soul after death."

A startled laugh escaped Ao Huli before he could stop himself. The image of the stern, sharp-featured god he knew - who had just hours ago been berating him in the soul sanctuary - compared to this rotund, grandfatherly interpretation was too much to contain. He quickly pressed his lips together, mortified by his loss of composure, but the damage was done.

"What?" Liao Zhen asked, looking between Ao Huli and the statue with renewed curiosity. "Is something wrong with it?"

"No," Ao Huli said quickly, struggling to keep his face neutral. "It's just... an interesting interpretation." He carefully set the statue down, afraid that looking at it any longer might provoke another undignified outburst.

Ao Huli moved through the room, discovering hidden religious items tucked away in the most unlikely places - talismans stuffed between textbooks, incense sticks concealed in pencil holders. His exploration led him to a collection of posters rolled up and stashed behind Liao Zhen's desk.

As he unfurled them one by one, he found various artistic interpretations of celestial deities. Then he came across one that made him pause - a poster depicting Ne Zha.

Ao Huli studied the poster, which depicted Ne Zha in his child form, looking mischievous and fierce despite his small stature. The portrayal was surprisingly accurate, down to the space buns and the red armillary sash.

"That's Ne Zha!" Liao Zhen said excitedly. "The Third Lotus Prince. The mythology about him is pretty intense - he used his red armillary sash to disturb the East Sea, causing chaos above the Dragon Palace. And when they sent Ao Bing to investigate..." His voice took on that scholarly tone again. "Ne Zha actually killed him! Ripped out his spine and everything. Pretty gruesome stuff."

Ao Huli felt his face go pale at this gruesome account of his grandparents' first meeting. The poster crinkled slightly in his tightening grip as he listened to Liao Zhen cheerfully describe his grandfather supposedly dismembering his other grandfather.

What made it worse was knowing the truth - how they had actually fallen in love, how their bond had transformed the celestial realm. How grandfather Ne Zha still looked at grandfather Ao Bing with such adoration after all these years, and how grandfather Ao Bing's stern demeanor always softened when his husband was near. The contrast between the violent tale Liao Zhen was recounting and the reality he knew was jarring.

"Of course, that's just what the old texts say," Liao Zhen added thoughtfully. "Who knows what really happened? Though you've got to admit, it's a pretty memorable story!"

"Interesting," Ao Huli replied neutrally, carefully rolling the poster back up and setting it aside. His perfect composure never wavered, giving no hint of his thoughts about this violent interpretation of his grandparents' history.

"Right?" Liao Zhen continued enthusiastically, clearly thrilled to have someone to share his knowledge with. "There are actually several versions of how exactly it happened, depending on which text you're reading..."

But Ao Huli was already moving on to examine other items in the room, effectively redirecting Liao Zhen's attention before he could launch into more detailed accounts of supposed divine violence.

Ao Huli's careful exploration of the room came to an abrupt halt when he found another image - this one showing his father Ao Liu posed dramatically against a backdrop of storm clouds. The artist had chosen to portray him in a decidedly provocative manner, his divine robes artfully draped to reveal far more skin than Ao Liu would ever actually display, his expression sultry as lightning danced around him.

Liao Zhen coughed awkwardly into his fist when he saw what Ao Huli had found. "That's, uh, that's the God of Lightning," he explained, his cheeks coloring slightly. "They say he's the most beautiful among the male gods. Not that I- I mean, it's just what people say..."

Ao Huli turned to give Liao Zhen a long, measured look, one eyebrow raised. The mortal shifted uncomfortably under his stare, his blush deepening.

"I got it at a temple fair," Liao Zhen added hastily, as if that somehow made having a pin-up style portrait of a divine being more acceptable. "It's... it's meant to be respectful! Really!"

Without a word, Ao Huli carefully set the image face-down on the desk, deciding that some things were better left unexamined.