Chapter Six: Strolling With The Devil
The sunset bled into the sky, and the streets emptied like water slipping through cracks.
Yunli walked in silence, her school bag slung over one shoulder, her steps careful from the lingering pain in her ribs. But beside her, like a shadow that refused to be shaken off, strolled Li Wuxian—the Ghost King's youngest brother, and the very definition of trouble wrapped in a silk coat.
"Seriously," he said, licking his lollipop stick before tossing it into a bin without looking, "this is the grand life you chose? A stiff uniform, tiny shoes, awkward teachers, and a bunch of hormonal mortals pretending they matter?"
Yunli rolled her eyes. "What, jealous I get to tive a normal life, while you float around torturing souls?"
"Look at my little niece thinking living a mortal life is fun," Wuxian said mockingly while wagging a finger.
"It's fun really," Yunli stated excitedly.
He glanced sideways, sharp. "What's so fun about it?"
She grinned.
"I broke someone's jaw today." He eyes shined brightly. She was proud.
He stopped.
"…I'm sorry, what?"
"I said,""Yunli turned toward him, her eyes glowing just slightly in the dying light, "I broke Da-jin's nose, she kept bleeding, it was extremely fun." She chuckled.
Wuxian blinked. Then burst out laughing. The sound was rich, echoing off empty alley ways like bells in a haunted cathedral.
"You?" he gasped. "With that tiny mortal body?"
"Used my ghost qi, Just a flick," she said smugly. "Enough to leave a message."
He let out a low whistle. "That's my niece. Already making mortals piss themselves in week one. Makes an uncle proud."
She chuckled lightly.
Wuxian's smile faded a little. You deserve a reward.
They kept walking, shoes crunching softly against gravel.
He glanced at her again. "It feels weird, doesn't it? The heart racing. The blood boiling. Hunger. Pain. Mortals are… loud inside."
She paused. "No, I dont feel any of like that, do you?"
Wuxian's eyes softened for a flicker of a second. "Really? Well that's strange. He seemed confused. Normally ghosts could hear the heartbeats of mortals, they could even hear the sound of their blood rushing through their veins, but Yun li said she hears nothing.
"Is that a bad sign?"
He smiled. "Don't think too much of it, maybe its because you possed a mortal body."
She stopped walking.
He turned to face her, hands in his coat pockets, expression unreadable.
"Well is it bad?" she said flatly.
"No," he replied. "It's a normal thing, not bad at all." He knew something was wrong, but he didn't want her to worry unnecessarily.
The wind passed between them like an exhale from the grave.
As they neared her street, he suddenly paused. His head tilted.
"…Someone's watching."
Yunli froze. "What?"
He didn't move. Just smiled wider. "A spirit. Low-level."
Her blood ran cold.
Yunli's breath caught. She turned quickly, trying to feel it—there, in the air, the slightest ripple.
"Want me to eat it?" Wuxian offered casually.
"No," Yunli whispered, eyes narrowing. "You don't need to go that far."
Wuxian stared at her.
Then, for the first time, he nodded with something that almost resembled respect.
"Still my scared little princess." He mocked her.
The wind stirred. The night deepened.
And from somewhere far, far away—something ancient took notice.
---
Yunli's eyes locked onto the shifting blur near the alley's edge. The scent was unmistakable—blood, damp soil, and something ancient trying to mask itself in a schoolboy's skin.
The spirit emerged, hesitant. It was a boy—tallish, wiry, maybe sixteen. Black hair fell in untamed strands over dark green eyes that gleamed too brightly for a mortal. His school uniform was disheveled, tie undone, shirt untucked, as though he had sprinted through shadows just to find her.
He took one step closer.
Then another.
And his eyes locked on Yunli's throat.
She didn't flinch. But her qi surged instinctively, coiling like a snake beneath her skin.
"Careful," she said softly. "You're not the first thing that's tried to bite me today."
The boy growled low in his throat, crouching, body taut.
Then something shifted.
Something huge.
A single footstep echoed behind her, soft as death.
Uncle Wuxian moved forward.
That was all it took.
The boy froze, mid-snarl. His body twitched once, then crumpled, as though gravity had tripled. He hit the ground with a dull thud, kneeling, head bowed so low it touched the gravel.
His shoulders trembled.
Yunli blinked. "Wait. You know him?"
Wuxian didn't answer. He just watched the boy with a tilt of his head, the kind of look reserved for insects under glass.
"Well well," he murmured. "A low-tier scout spirit… wearing a schoolboy skin."
He stepped closer. The boy whimpered.
"Hmm. Familiar scent… Ah. You go to her school, don't you?" Wuxian leaned down, voice velvet and venom. "A student by day, a hungry little mutt by night. I could peel you apart and no one would even notice, you dare try to attackmy princess."
The boy's body shook violently.
Wuxian's hand lifted lazily, fingers glowing faint green.
Yunli stepped back slightly. She had seen that glow before—when he fed.
"Wait—Uncle—" she began.
But then—
"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
A voice sliced through the air like thunder.
Yunli turned, startled.
Her mother—Ji Ha—stormed toward them, eyes wide with fury, heels clicking like gunshots on pavement. She took in the scene with one sharp sweep—her daughter bruised and scraped, a strange man looming over a kneeling boy, and the heavy, crackling silence that hung between them.
"You," Ji Ha pointed at Wuxian. "Step away from the children."
Yun Li shivered lightly out of shock. She wasn't expecting her mom to close this early from work.
Wuxian blinked.
Then broke into a wide, delighted grin.
"Oh my. You must be the human mother."
Ji Ha didn't flinch. She marched straight between him and the boy, placing herself like a shield, arms out.
"You touch either of them again, I'll call the police."
Yunli almost laughed. Police? Against him?
But Wuxian simply raised his hands in mock surrender. "Calm down, madam. I was just—how do mortals say it?—playing."
The boy still hadn't moved. Ji Ha turned to him, frowning.
"You," she said gently. "Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?"
The boy's mouth opened. Nothing came out. He didn't look up. His forehead stayed pressed to the ground as if it was the only thing keeping him alive.
Yunli, watching, felt something unfamiliar twist in her chest.
"…He goes to my school," she said quietly. "I've seen him once. I think… I think he was following me."
Ji Ha turned to her, brows furrowed. "We're going home. Now."
She took Yunli's arm with a gentleness that surprised her.
Wuxian watched them with amused interest, then glanced once more at the boy.
"Don't bother hunting her again," he said, low and clear. "You won't get another warning."
The boy nodded—barely—still shaking.
As Ji Ha dragged her daughter away, Yunli looked over her shoulder.
The boy hadn't moved.
But his green eyes flicked up for just a moment—and in them burned something terrifying:
Hunger.
And recognition.
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