บท 46: The Nine-tailed Fox watches an intimate scene

They follow the two servants as they lead them through the sparse kitchen, and into a pantry.

Wu Yun worries they're being led to a trap, but when Big Eyes, opens the pantry door he sees a stairway leading down.

"Min Guifen has a pattern," Wu Yun says, going down the stairs and remembering the secret passageway under the Qi estate's library.

This palace is far less complex. The stairs lead to a large stone chamber, with rough iron bar cells on each side.

Only one cell is occupied.

Lu Meng is sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall and clutching his middle.

Wu Yun runs towards him, and kneels of the floor, trying to see what condition he's in through the bars.

"Are you badly injured?"

Lu Meng lets out a dry chuckle. "You could say that. The bastard decided to try out all his weapons on me when he found out I was alive."

"How did you end up here?" Lan Tian asks.

"Madam Jiang, A-Tan's mother, she led me here." he says, coughing. "I don't know where she is now, but she can disappear and reappear at will. She wasn't making much sense, and didn't look like she recognized me, but she said her son was in danger, and led me here."

"Did you see Jiang Tanmei's souls?" Wu Yun asks, worried by the dark red stain on Lu Meng's robes. They should get him out of here as soon as possible.

Lu Meng shakes his head. "I have no idea if he's here, but Madam Jiang seemed to think so."

"Let's get you out of there, and we can keep looking." Xue Zhuan says, using his brass key on the cell door's much smaller lock.

The key opens the door without any issue, and Lan Tian walks inside to help Lu Meng to his feet. He can barely stand, and Lan Tian has to support most of his weight to help him walk.

Small Mouth is distressed when she sees them carrying Lu Meng out of the cell. "You said you would see the guest and then leave."

Wu Yun smirks. "Change of plans. The inside of this cell is really dirty, you better clean it before your Master finds out."

Both servants hover inside the cell, looking around at the sparse interior for signs of filth.

"There's nothing here," Big Eyes says.

Before they can get out of the cell Wu Yun closes the door in their blank faces. "Now there's the two of you."

Xue Zhuan turns the key in the lock, this time closing the door.

Small Mouth and Big Eyes hover towards the bars, ramming their empty faces against them with little success.

Wu Yun leans over the bars and smiles at the two distressed paper servants. "Your Master is going to see guests now."

---

On the upper level, Lu Meng tells them he met Min Guifen on the upper floors, and that Min Fengyi disappeared before he could see her.

They go up the stairs, being cautious not to alert Min Guifen. This will all work out much better if they are the ones surprising him.

Wu Yun is looking around a corner, to see if it's clear for them to cross, when he hears a sound coming from one of the closed rooms.

He signals the other three and tests the door handle, but it won't budge.

Xue Zhuan steps in and opens the door with the heavy brass key.

The inside of the room is dark, heavy drapes block out any light coming in from the windows.

In the corner, a hunched figure is drawing patterns on the wooden floor as if on water.

Lu Meng wobbles toward him, still being support by Lan Tian. When he draws close enough to recognize Jiang Tanmei's faint silhouette he drops to his knees in front of him.

"A-Tan, it's me." He reaches one hand forward to touch Jiang Tanmei's shoulder but it goes through him as if he isn't even there.

Xue Zhuan approaches him and kneels down next to Lu Meng. "Since his hun souls have split he doesn't have a corporeal form, he doesn't even know we're here."

He waves his hand in front of Jiang Tanmei's eyes to demonstrate his lack of reaction.

Lu Meng watches the small smile playing at Jiang Tanmei's translucent lips as he runs his fingers through water that isn't there. His long hair spills around his shoulders like a waterfall, and his delicate features, usually pinched in a scowl, are serene, making him look even younger.

The corners of his lips crinkle in happiness and he says, suddenly. "Look, Meng-er, they're biting my fingers."

Jiang Tanmei's voice sounds distant, as if it's coming from another room. Lu Meng lets out a choked up noise and tries to touch him again. His hand falls through him again.

"Why is he speaking now?" Wu Yun asks, worried by the pained look in Lu Meng's face.

"He's reliving a memory, that's not unusual for ghosts who underwent traumatic deaths, it's even more common when the soul is split." Xue Zhuan gets up from the floor and walks around Jiang Tanmei, trying to make sense of what he's doing.

"He's feeding fishes," Lu Meng says, his voice hollow. "We bought carps during Qixi¹ festival, in Yangli. We were fifteen, he was still gravely ill from the poison, so it was the first time in months Master Jiang allowed him to leave the house. "

"Why is this memory special?" Lan Tian asks. He doesn't think he's ever seen Jiang Tanmei look this unguarded, he knows that if he were alive he would never have wanted anyone except Lu Meng to see him this vulnerable.

Jiang Tanmei lets out a sudden, boyish giggle, and turns to the side. He faces Lu Meng as if he can see him, "It feels like tiny kisses on my fingertips."

"I kissed him for the first time that day," Lu Meng says his eyes are filled with tears, but he won't allow them to spill.

He places his hand beneath Jiang Tanmei's hand, and follows its movement as if he is touching him. He lowers his head to leave tiny ghost kisses on each fingertip.

Jiang Tanmei looks at his hand in shock, a faint redness colouring his tender cheeks. He's looking at Lu Meng, but his unseeing eyes are recalling the young boy who kissed his fingertips like they were something precious.

He closes his eyes and tilts his head back, Lu Meng cradles his neck, and leans down over him, his lips almost making contact, but never touching Jiang Tanmei's.

Lu Meng's breath comes out in pants, the wound at his side is still oozing blood, but in that moment nothing pains him more than not being able to kiss the curve of Jiang Tanmei's smile.

Wu Yun can't bear to look at the intimacy of the moment, and averts his eyes. His gaze falls on Lan Tian, and that's even worse. His amber eyes are filled with sympathy for Lu Meng, and a deep sorrow Wu Yun doesn't recognize.

He turns to Xue Zhuan instead, who looks merely curious. "How can we trap this soul in the mirror?" He asks, pulling his robes to the side to reveal one of the mirrors Lian Feng gave them.

"You'll have to break the loop," he nods towards Jiang Tanmei, who pulls away from the remembered kiss with a gasp, before going back to playing with the water that isn't there.

Lu Meng remains frozen in place, his hand still raised to cradle the back of Jiang Tanmei's neck. He lowers his hand slowly and clenches it in a fist. "How do we do that?" he asks Xue Zhuan.

"I have no idea, it's different for everyone. You have to make him look into the mirror, really look," Xue Zhuan says looking at Lu Meng sadly.

Lu Meng takes in a deep sobering breath and says, "That day at the festival, I bought you those carps because you said they were pretty and their scales reminded me of your eyes."

Jiang Tanmei gives no sign of having understood Lu Meng's words, and continues running his fingers over the floor.

The look of mournful determination in Lu Meng's eyes makes something inside Wu Yun's chest seize. Suddenly, he wants nothing more than to hold Lan Tian's hand. He would only need to move his fingers sideways a half a cun to bridge the short distance between them.

He keeps his hand to himself.

"You'd been so sick for so long, I thought you would die, I guess that's what made me brave enough to kiss you, because I couldn't bear the thought of losing you," Lu Meng says, whispering the words like a secret.

Jiang Tanmei turns to him, and Wu Yun thinks Lu Meng might have managed to get through him.

The corners of Jiang Tanmei's crinkle and he says, "Look, Meng-er, they're biting my fingers."

Lu Meng lets an anguished moan and punches the floor. "Why did you have to step in front of that arrow, A-Tan? I would have died for you a thousand times over."

Jiang Tanmei moves his hand forward, as he had before, reliving Lu Meng's touch.

"I never dreamed you would ever love me back. After all, what business has a humble servant dreaming of his Master's lips?"

"Not a servant," Jiang Tanmei says suddenly. He raises his eyes and his gaze seems present for the first time.

"A-Tan?" Lu Meng tries to touch his cheek, but as before his hand goes through his skin.

Jiang Tanmei holds his gaze. "Meng-er has never been just a servant to me. Ever since we were children, you've been my whole world."

"Now, you have to do it now," Xue Zhuan says, tugging on Lu Meng's sleeve.

Lu Meng takes the mirror from inside his robes and holds it in front of Jiang Tanmei's face.

Wu Yun feels fingers wrapping around his. His eyes follow Lan Tian's billowy sleeve all the way up to the sharp angles of his smooth face.

"For luck," Lan Tian says, tightening his fingers.

Wu Yun squeezes back. "For luck."

There must be a word to describe the way Lan Tian always seems to know what Wu Yun is thinking. What he needs.

"A-Tan, look into the mirror, please, look into the mirror, I promise everything will be fine." Lu Meng's grip on the mirror's handle is to tight his knuckles turn bloodless.

Slowly, as if being pulled by a string Jiang Tanmei turns towards the mirror.

Once he sees his own reflection he takes in a shuddering breath, and his image starts dissolving, as the mirror pulls him in like a whirlwind spinning dust.

Tears fall from Lu Meng's eyes as Jiang Tanmei disappears in front of them. Once he's gone he clutches the mirror to his chest, and says, "I hope that wasn't the last time I heard him call my name."

---