Chapter 75: Chapter 73: The Headless God Becomes a Father

Rui Yifu had decided to go look for the town, while Liu Xie accepted looking for the lost dog, merchant's son, and obstinate sow. Liu Xie suspected that the real reason Rui Yifu wanted to split up was because they could both barely stand each other. Was this how divorced people felt about each other? Only tolerating one another's presence for the sake of the children. He was so close to finding Idony but if Li Baobao and Bo were alone he did not trust that they would not die to something like frostbite or angering a slumbering bear. Liu Xie had climbed up a sturdy tree to get a better view of his surroundings, kicking away a few small chunks of frost that remained desperately clinging to the tiny patches of shadow hidden under the branches from the sun.

The area was somewhat familiar. The mountain nearby was a reddish color, like a jutting knife covered in old blood. But from his vantage point in the tree he could see the deep cuts carved into the mountain, pathways that led to lonely looking crumbling single room stone buildings that seemed more like children's toys from the distance. From what he remembered, the exams for government positions in the Northern Kingdom included nine months of secluded preparation and study, preferably on lone mountains like the one in front of him. Hopefuls paid fees for the rent of the room, they paid for their own food, their transport, and they bought their books from specialized bookstores, the only thing the government provided was paper and ink. No wonder Rui Yifu knew this location, Liu Xie thought, he probably studied here.

But why was the area familiar? He scratched his head as his eyes swept over the scenic view of verdant dark green trees and the forked river. A maze curse would hide a town from view to a certain height, but Liu Xie could not fly in this form. He laughed dryly, the ache of the vows on his back suddenly surging as his fingers clutched the branch. What was she gaining, doing this to him? He wondered, what did she get beside his misery. Why did his uncle so blithely agree to it, smiling down as the Lady of Calm Waters started carving up his back and drove nails into his other body to keep it pinned beneath the ash in the White Ash Desert. Did the Jade Prince not care about his family, his future niece-in-law?

Of course not, the wood splintered beneath Liu Xie's squeezing hand. He leapt down from the tree, landing boots-first in a cluster of familiar white flowers that had wrapped themselves around strange rocks beside the river. He reached down to touch one of the silken petals which emerged from beneath the earth, yet with some of their fine root system stretched over a dome like rock with distinctive little squiggles on it.

"Ah."

He dug around the dome a little, pulling it free from the dirt. Much of the skin was still on the face, a single eye gazing emptily into nothing, rot only just starting to set into its hazy iris. "Hello Lu Gongqi," Liu Xie greeted. He looked back down at the skeleton below. Much of it had been overrun by flowers, or partially sunk into the earth in the roots greedy need for water and soil. Only the flesh on the head was left, so Liu Xie could not immediately tell how he died. Even stranger was that he could not feel the wisp of a spirit left, it was completely inert. It might as well have been an actual rock.

Was Idony near this? Did she see these bones? How did Lu Gongqi end up in this state? The flowers seemed harmless but Liu Xie knew better. He began ripping them from the ground, their red sap splattering over his hands as he did so. They were not exactly the hardiest plants, their roots clinging pitifully to the bones before he crush them. As he pulled, curls of smoke appeared, the petals blackening as fire bloomed over their petals. A heady floral scent wafted over him and he sneezed in discomfort.

The flowers burned, along with the bones. He cast a glance over at the water, seeing swirls of fading red in it. Was it from the body? Or the sap?

"My, what a handsome man to find here in the forest!"

Liu Xie turned around, a little surprised to have been snuck up on. He had been so busy with his thoughts and getting rid of the flowers he had neglected an awareness of his surroundings and missed the bundle of negative energy that had just walked right over to him. A woman was standing nearby, completely nude except for the long black hair that covered her slim figure and touched the ground at her feet. Her face was completely obscured by the lustrous black hair, and yet there was a peek of dark red lips, smiling a bit too widely for the head beneath. The nude woman's arms were just a bit too longer, the fingers a little too sharp. He frowned, looking at his red-smeared hands and wondered if the stickiness would impede holding a sword. It was a type of ghost that some scholars had taken to calling a 'Flesh Eater Prostitute', always taking the forms of beautiful nude women with long hair. But since they were hateful ghosts they were rarely able to hide their true nature completely.

"Are you not aroused?" The ghost asked, confused. The ghost's head turned down slightly, its hidden gaze focusing on his hands.

"I prefer rounder girls," Liu Xie answered flatly, "and a pulse."

"What did you do to her?" The ghost demanded.

"Hm?"

The ghost suddenly lunged for him, the large fanged mouth opening in a horrible howl and her fingers became long flesh rending claws. Liu Xie grabbed the ghost by its long hair and yanked her downwards so that her face smashed into his raised knee, bone and teeth crunching backwards. The long claws flailed at him so, using her hair, he swung her body into the nearest tree, not wanting to spend anymore time on the creature than he had to. She dispersed like smoke as she hit it, leaving a slimy residue on his hands that quickly faded before she reformed, congealing blood oozing out from her head.

"What the hell are you!?" The ghost angrily asked, "how did you get here!? Where is she!?"

Liu Xie clapped, impressed. Flesh Eater Prostitutes were not exactly the strong, or intelligent. They were typically angry ghosts focused on exactly one type of victim, and many would usually dissipate after their target was killed by their hands. Some lingered however. But this one could talk in more than just repeated phrases from life and was capable of withstanding damage. She kept mentioning a 'her'... Liu Xie's wooden brain sparked with hope.

"Don't patronize me, damn you!" The ghost yelled, lunging again. This time he grabbed her by her outstretched arms and pushed his foot against her chest, cracking ribs and pinning her down against the ground. "DAMN YOU!"

"Who is 'her'?" Liu Xie asked. He wanted confirmation. His hands squeezed and had become very cold.

"You know who! Whose blood is on your hands!?" The ghost screamed.

"Yours, if you don't answer me," Liu Xie spoke in an even tone. He wanted a name. He needed her name. "Does she have red hair?"

"Yes! You know her-"

He started putting more pressure on the ghost's ribs. Had he been a human in any sense of the word she would be relatively untroubled by his full weight being forced on her chest, but he was not human, and he could see she was beginning to realize that. "What is her name?"

"Zhu Er!"

It was her.

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It had to be.

He released the ghost's arms and took his foot off her chest. She popped back to her feet and quickly took several large steps away from him. "What the hell are you?" She asked again.

"I'm her father," he said. The word had slipped easily out of his mouth but after he said it suddenly he wanted to take it back. Did he really deserve to call himself that? What would Eona think, when she knew all that had befallen her only child? What would Idony think, hearing someone as dismissive and as distant as he calling himself 'her father'?

The ghost's form shifted suddenly, the hair piled itself into a neat little bun and plain clothes swathed the body. Her limbs retained their odd length however as she crossed her arms warily, "you don't look like her."

"Where is she?"

"How can you just ask that?" The ghost asked. "Besides, I was looking for her too! I smelled her around here and what do I find but a weird man with blood on his hands standing around close to where I found her scent!"

Liu Xie was about to inform the ghost that the red stuff on his hands was not blood when an ear-splitting shriek filled the forest, making the ghost jump and wheel around for the source. Liu Xie recognized the awful cry as Ji Ying's voice. He could see, mostly hidden by trees, the shapes of several people... including a small one. His chest filled with air from a deep inhale, and he immediately rushed forward, like a white gust of wind. The ghost made sniffing noises, then immediately followed him.

The group was standing in a small clearing. Li Baobao was sat up against a tree, holding his head wearily. Ji Ying's pretty face was red and twisted as she shouted at Bo, who seemed to be in such a good mood he was grinning stupidly throughout his berating.

Idony was sitting on a rock nearby, watching with wide eyes as she learned all sorts of new colorful vocabulary. She was not as he remembered. Her face had filled up and there was a faint pinkish color to her cheeks, giving her the roundish look of a small child she was rather than the sickly thin orphan he had pulled from death's grip in the snow. Her hair had been brushed and someone had attempted to pin it into two ribbon-wrapped buns but stray strands had already slipped out.

He was wavering in his spot, unsure of what to do. He thought about how much healthier and happier she looked than any time he had cared for her. No, dragged her around would be a better way to think of it. He remembered that moment, dream, where he saw Eona again. What had she said? 'Our daughter'? It had to have been a dream, because if it really was Eona surely she would not be so kind to someone who allowed such harm to come to Idony.

Idony had never had a father. He had no concept of childhood. He was born a writhing mass of roots and unrestrained White Flame, what did he know about children? How could he have thought this would have been so easy?

He was making excuses. He was hesitating because he was afraid of Idony rejecting him.

Then he moved forward again, walking right past the screaming Ji Ying and amused Bo and straight towards Idony. She did not even have a chance to turn her head to look at him before he had gathered her up in his arms and held her so tightly he thought he could pull her into his hollow chest. Her entire little body froze up as though she had suddenly become stone. He stood just as still, trying not to squeeze the life out of her while also trying to hold her firmly enough that she would not slip away from him again. Here she was, his daughter.

"...You found me..." her voice was so small and muffled he nearly missed her words.

"I found you," he said. He was not sure what else to say, sinking down to his knees while he continued to practically cradle her in his arms. His face felt strangely wet, the last time he felt this was when he saw Eona's thread had been cut. "I'm sorry, I wasn't a good father. I'll do better from now on. You don't need to forgive me, but I... please, just trust me when I say I want to do better for you... I want you to be happy." He was not sure where these words were coming from but once he started talking he could not stop. "Idony... Zhu Er... I don't know what has happened to you between then and now but-"

Her small arms wrapped unsteadily around his neck. Her chest started heaving while tears and snot started soaking into his clothing, "okay, okay, okay! I-I'm sorry too! I'm sorry! I was bad, I'm sorry!" She repeated, hiccupping. "I don't hate you! I like you a lot! Please don't hate me!"

He laughed, and it was a weird choking laugh. After all he said, she was somehow worried he might be upset with her. She really was Eona's child. As Idony hiccupped, he decided to do something to help. He gently kissed the top of her head and just as suddenly as she had started crying, she stopped, stunned by the affection.

Not quite willing to let go of his daughter just yet, Liu Xie instead sat down on the rock to look out at the assembled group he had temporarily forgotten. Bo's face was alarmed, Ji Ying's eyes were wide, and the ghost also looked alarmed. Li Baobao seemed to have been ignoring everything, staring straight ahead into nothing.

"B-Boss, your face-!" Bo said, looking over at Ji Ying, "jiejie! Do you have something to wipe the blood off his face!?"

Ji Ying looked like she was going to vomit in rage.

Liu Xie reached up to his face and wiped the liquid off one cheek, the thin red sap staining his hands. "It's not blood Bo, don't worry about it," he said before addressing the ghost and ignoring that Bo still looked concerned, "you, where is Lang Lang's town?"

"Hi Aunt Hua!" Idony said to the ghost. "...I didn't get a lot of flowers," she pointed at a basket set down by the rock, and as Liu Xie looked in his own eyes widened.

Atop medicinal grasses was a dewy large petaled white flower.

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