My Little Ghost

Volume 1.2.5 — The Transmigration

Not long after Bai Bing Wen wore the ring, the Imperial Consort in disguise is back with two uniquely uniformed men, a few handmaidens, and servants trailing after her. She gives Bai Bing Wen a helpless look and Bai Bing Wen can only stifle his laughter. She looks uncomfortable being followed like this.

“Forgive me for the delay, Your Highness. The shadow Empress has ordered these eunuchs and servants to follow us around. She probably finds it difficult to believe that His Highness, the Emperor, himself ordered me to observe you alone. Your Highness, can you attest to this and please explain it to the eunuchs?”

Hearing the word ‘eunuch’, Bai Bing Wen almost cringes and almost looks down at the area of their crotches to measure the veracity of his knowledge. Fortunately, he catches himself in time and governs the expressions on his face well. “Why are you all disobeying the words of the Emperor?”

The rest of the people behind the Imperial Consort are visibly surprised to hear the Crown Prince’s firm voice. According to the memories of the Crown Prince, he’s always been quiet whenever he’s around the Central Empire palaces. This isn’t because he’s a reserved person. The Crown Prince is such a pushover, he can’t even talk back to the servants. Or at least, this is what he has been showing the people in the palace. The only time he talks is when he’s out, disguised as a commoner, and wilting his body away at some liquor house while playing around with men. He may have handled his intercourses well, especially when he had two or more men with him, but that’s not something to be proud of.

The first eunuch gives him a customary bow before speaking, “Your Highness, it is the order of the Empress that we keep watch of the Fourth Consort. We dare not disobey Her High—”

“So you dare disobey my father, instead?” Bai Bing Wen cuts him off. “What insolence. If the shadow Empress thinks her orders are higher than the Emperor’s, then she might as well confront my father. If he says I should listen to her, then I will. Until then, I am not going to stand by and let you disrespect the Emperor.” He looks at the crowd of followers who are now bowing their heads and not daring to look back at him. “You are all dismissed.” Then he turns to face the consort in disguise. “Forgive me, Your Highness. Please, walk with me, as I want to discuss a few personal matters that cannot be disclosed to anyone else.”

Bai Bing Wen walks away first for dramatic effect and almost looks back over his shoulder when he doesn’t hear any footsteps. But a few steps later, he feels another presence right next to him and smiles to himself when he sees the consort in disguise from the corner of his eye without anyone trailing behind her.

“Was I a little too different from the Crown Prince back there?”

“You are the Crown Prince, Your Highness. What are you talking about?”

Bai Bing Wen takes a glance at the lady next to him who gestures at him with her eyes towards a post behind them, indicating that someone is secretly following.

Immediately understanding the message, he subtly looks around to search for a pathway with lesser hiding areas.

“Do you think my father would mind it if we went outside the palace?”

The consort in disguise, probably thinking it would be easier to dodge these people when they’re outside, finally catches on. “I don’t think so, Your Highness. Where would you like to visit? Would you like me to arrange a carriage for you?”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s just…” As they walk along the wide, endless-looking path towards the gates of the first palace, Bai Bing Wen realizes that it’s going to take them at least a couple of days if they walk. “Okay. Carriage it is.”

The consort in disguise gestures a hand and a shadow guardian jumps from one of the roofs, almost scaring the living daylights out of Bai Bing Wen. The shadow guardian bows politely before them.

“Get us two carriages. The Crown Prince would like to have a tour outside before the afternoon tea,” the consort in disguise tells the masked man in black robes.

“These layers are going to get me roasted,” Bai Bing Wen complains, touching the thick robes on his body. His sideburns are sweating and it doesn’t help that he has to maintain this thick, long hair. Otherwise, he would’ve cut it back to how it was when he was still in the modern world—either in a military cut, or an undercut with a comma style.

“Why did you wear this color, Your Highness?”

Bai Bing Wen lets out an exasperated sigh. “I hate wearing light colors. They get dirtied easily.”

“But you’ve always worn light-colored clothes, Your Highness.”

Staring impassively, Bai Bing Wen subtly loosens his belt a little, facing the consort in disguise.

“Your Highness! What are you doing?”

Bai Bing Wen shrugs. “I’m trying to relieve myself of this heat.”

The consort in disguise frantically looks around before her eyes glow a bright blue color. “Show me the palm of your hands,” she says in a low voice.

Bai Bing Wen does as he’s told, showing his palms up. 

She pauses for a bit, red tinting her cheeks when she sees the ring on one of Bai Bing Wen’s fingers. Then she concentrates a small fluff of her blue essence on top of Bai Bing Wen’s hands. Bai Bing Wen feels it similar to the essence swirling inside the amulet he’s wearing and the essence surrounding the hairpin attached to his belt.

“What are you doing?” he quietly asks.

Somehow, seeing the concentrated look on the consort’s face reminds him of Ji Feng Huang’s attempt at looking fierce. “I am trying to mark you with my essence so that my weapon can recognize you.”

“Why would you need your weapon to recognize me?”

“Be quiet. We wouldn’t want the other shadow guardians to know what we’re talking about. You said it yourself, women are not allowed to handle weapons in our time.”

Bae Bing Wen raises one of his hands. “Hold on one second.” Then he takes out a makeshift talisman from inside his thick robes and tears it in half. “Now, you can talk. They can no longer hear or see us. As long as no one disturbs the charm, it’s going to work like a protective wall.”

The consort in disguise looks around and sees a beautiful layer of golden film surrounding them. “What is this?”

“It’s a muffling and blinding charm. No one outside the protective layer can hear a word we’re saying or see what we’re doing, regardless of their cultivation level. All they see and hear would resemble an illusion according to the last they’ve seen of us.”

As if entrusting his life completely to Bai Bing Wen, the consort in disguise reveals her true form once again. But this time, the robes and the style of hair stay similar to those of the Imperial Consort’s. For the second time today, Bai Bing Wen is in awe at the look of innocence in Ji Feng Huang’s beautiful face. From his droopy blue eyes, his button nose, and pointy ears.

“It’s so beautiful,” Ji Feng Huang remarks, still looking at Bai Bing Wen’s makeshift trick.

“Yes,” he answers simply, still staring at the smaller man in front of him. Then he clears his throat and looks around him, too. “My mother said it’s the color of my core.”

“Then your core is beautiful, too.”

Smiling his dimpled smile, Bai Bing Wen offers both of his hands again. “What were we trying to do with these?”

Ji Feng Huang places his hands steadily above Bai Bing Wen’s palms. “I am trying to make my sword recognize you as its master since it knows I’m missing.” He looks around again, admiring the newfound trick. “This sorcery is so useful.”

Bai Bing Wen chuckles. “But this can only last up to thirty minutes.”

“What does that mean?”

Thinking about it, Bai Bing Wen remembers that one time when his great-grandfather has taught him units for time in the ancient era. “Which one is longer? The time it takes to burn an incense or the time it takes to finish a cup of tea?”

Ji Feng Huang giggles. “Finishing a cup of tea is twice as long as the time to burn a stick of incense.”

“Okay, get this. Where I’m from, thirty minutes is equal to thrice as long as finishing a cup of tea.”

Nodding, Ji Feng Huang summons a familiar jade sword. “So it is also as long as the time used to burn six incenses?”

This time, the sword isn’t glowing after Ji Feng Huang unsheathes it. Bai Bing Wen guesses that the weapon is at rest since Ji Feng Huang has not infused his spiritual energy to it yet. So he nods, taking the sword that the smaller is offering him. “You learn fast. Maybe I’ll teach you some more when no one else is watching.”

As soon as a youthful smile appears on Ji Feng Huang’s face, Bai Bing Wen suddenly feels a bit of frost biting the palm of his hand, running up to his arm. It starts from where he’s holding the sword until it slowly and steadily consumes his whole body in comfortable coldness.

“What is this?”

“It’s my spiritual weapon,” Ji Feng Huang answers, fixing the few stray strands of hair behind his adorable pointy ear. “Its name is ‘Frostbite’. My elders named it for me, under the inspiration of my constellation. When I was born, the lone constellation outside my bloodline was formed and they called it Snowflake because it resembled the pattern of a snowflake. It only shows its completed form during the blue moon. This sword was a lonely weapon because no one else can infuse spiritual energy into it until I was born. They said that the moment I first touched the sword, my gray eyes and silver hair both turned blue and I started forming a protective layer of frost around my dantian. Every time I use it, I feel a comfortable sensation of coldness from the palm of my hand towards the entirety of my body. Whenever I kill an enemy with this, they turn to ice and c***k into tiny pieces.”

Bai Bing Wen stares at the precious sword, surprised. He checks the handle and sees a pattern of a snowflake with small diamonds forming like a constellation. “Just like my ‘Starflame’.”

“Your constellation?”

Looking back at Ji Feng Huang’s confused reaction, Bai Bing Wen shakes his head. “The name of my sword is Starflame. Whenever I go for a night hunt and I had to fight fierce ghosts, it burns like a bright star, but its fire is golden. Then the ghosts would catch fire and turn into ashes.”

“It has the same name as your constellation.”

Bai Bing Wen smiles a little. “It was said that the Starflame was once a powerful sword when my ancestor was still alive. He killed a lot of fierce ghosts and won battles with it. But when he died, the sword became filled with untamed force—it burnt anyone who tried to touch it. So they locked it and buried it in our ancestral grave. Until one day, I had to go to this elemental test in my school and my mother brought me and my brothers to pay respects to our ancestors. For some reason, they lost me and I found my way into that underground ancestral hall where the sword was buried and locked with several complicated arrays and formations. I was missing for days; it was a time in my childhood I can never remember having. I also couldn’t remember how I found the sword. But when I did, I wouldn’t let it go and anyone who tried to take it away from me would get scalded and it would leave burn marks. My dad has eleven of them, my mother has one.”

 “Does that mean your father tried harder to take it away from you?”

“No. My mother made him do it after she got burnt, even if he cried blood. It was total chaos, according to them.”

Ji Feng Huang stares into his eyes that are probably glowing in golden color as he recalls his childhood stories. He’s heard more of these embarrassing moments from his uncle, and his dad would usually wail and beg him to stop talking. Good times.

“They sound wonderful,” Ji Feng Huang remarks, smiling up at him. “Your family, I mean. It must be lovely to have a harmonious home.”

Bai Bing Wen smiles back and nods. “They have their moments but they are, to me, the most loving family one could ask for. It’s too bad I may not be able to see them again soon.” He swings the Frostbite around in practiced motions, seeing a few sparkles of blue light following its every move.

Ji Feng Huang giggles again. “I think my sword likes you.”

“The owner likes me so the sword should, too,” Bai Bing Wen dismissively says, still swinging the sword in the air.

Ji Feng Huang blinks up confusedly. “What does that mean?”

“It means, our protective layer is about to wear off, Your Highness.” He tickles the smaller man’s left ear and smiles his charming dimpled smile at him. He’s been wanting to do that all this time. “Please, conceal your beauty for it may blind those who dare stare at it.”

At this, Ji Feng Huang’s face turns into all shades of red before he transforms his face back to that of the Imperial Consort. “You’re courting death,” she says as soon as her transformation is complete. She turns on her back and breaks the golden film to walk further while waiting for the carriages to arrive.

Bai Bing Wen places the sword back to its sheath, smirking to himself. It’s so easy to make the smaller guy blush, it’s almost entertaining to watch.

When the carriages arrive, Bai Bing Wen is no longer surprised that they have to ride in different cars. He figures that Ji Feng Huang probably knows what he’s doing so he just needs to stay put for now and wait until they can talk without worrying about the palace people. He sits back, at ease, admiring the view outside the tall gates and thick walls of the palace.

Trees that can no longer be seen in the modern world are everywhere. Tamed demon beasts can be spotted in the air, on land, and most probably in bodies of water, too, living peacefully amongst the people. In the modern world, most of the demon beasts attack coreless humans so the cultivators keep them away as much as they can for the safety of the powerless. Some cultivation masters who can tame them would care for them like family members.

The dense spiritual energy in this world is also what keeps it warmer than usual. Bai Bing Wen can just close his eyes right where he is and cultivate there and then, but he remembers the promise he made with Ji Feng Huang. He has to act a little dumb in front of the others. It might be even more helpful if he keeps his cultivation to himself.

Just like what the original Crown Prince has been doing all this time.