The small village was terribly vast for being as small as it was. The main center of Bei Zangli was packed with about 30 homes, or shops, or other locations. The outer edges of the city were separated by farmland. There was no small amount of potential food and supplies here. It felt almost wasteful since some of the farms more up north were overgrown and abandoned.

Wan Yu’s small body had grown a bit tired. He panted after running around for another whole hour. He couldn’t have just missed them, right? “Shijie!” He called quietly to the right, closer to the redwoods. “Shixiong!” He turned back towards the farmland and the village and called again. It was subtle but his brows furrowed in anger and frustration. He felt a terrible weight of worry.

Wan Yu decided to head back to town now. It was getting dark. Judging by the light disappearing away from the sky, the disciples probably had about five more hours until they were to head to the meetup location. But two of Shizun’s disciples are gone! Wan Yu bit his bottom lip. He wasn’t imagining disappointing his Shizun on his very first mission. Wan Yu had caught himself staring at the ground, and wallowing in his misery. His fist squeezed tightly. He lifted his head back up and started to break out into a run. He couldn’t find his Shijie and Shixiong with his head down after all.

Wan Yu lifted his head and his golden eyes shot open in surprise. His face didn’t much show it, but he certainly would say he was shocked! He saw people? Young and old individuals alike filled the streets. There are so many people now, but I was only gone for about two hours? Where did they all come from? Wan Yu’s head was full of questions.

All of the citizens wore white robes with various types of white headdress. They were wearing mourning dress. Upon Wan Yu entering back into the city, children were running around with toys in hand. They actively avoided his touch. Some even gave him an, “I’m sorry!” before rushing by.

Wan Yu’s eyes had grown almost twice the size. The dull streets were lit. Almost like the large city he could see in the distance. It was so reminiscent of his home, but they lacked masks and fancy clothes.

The Faceless City didn’t look like it was drowning out and swallowing up Bei Zangli anymore. There were red lanterns hung on every corner of every house and building. The Lanterns were made of near translucent red paper, and Wan Yu knew these needed a delicate hand to craft. If they were not tied down, he would have guessed that they would have floated to the stars. Each one bore intricate carvings, and some written names.

Wan Yu had read about these in the cultivator manuals given by his gege. They were Ghost Lanterns. They were only set up right before, during, and after a passing festival. A guide, or someone chosen from the city, would walk near the grave site and lead them back to town. Since the town would be decorated in preparation of the festivals, the spirits could wander as they pleased.

The Ghost Lanterns were hung up on red ribbons that weren’t here prior. It completed the look of the festivities. The red silk ribbons formed a canopy over the walkways of the streets.

Wan Yu’s eyes were almost attached to the sky. With so much red in his vision, how could he possibly look away? He had never seen this before. Not looking where he was going caused a small figure to crash right into his form. Luckily, they were about the same size, and Wan Yu held his body stable.

There was a child now knocked onto the dirt path, looking shocked. He wore the same whites as everyone else in this town. “I am so sorry! I definitely wasn’t looking.” The boy looked flustered and giggled happily. He stood up and rummaged through the bag at his side before procuring something in hand. “Here, take this as an apology.” It was a small doughy desert. It had a flower design printed on top of it, and it had a hint of maple leaves for scent.

Oh… this is a mooncake. They had them in The Faceless City also, so Wan Yu knew of them well. He took a bite. His teeth sunk into the tender pastry outer coating, taking about half of it into his mouth. It’s sweet, but salty! He always found such frivolities too expensive, but the flavors were pleasing. It was a warm treat that almost lulled him into a sense of comfort. Even being someone who felt little care for many things, he still liked sweets.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Wan Yu licked his lips and turned his head around. He had wanted to thank the boy, but he had already run into the crowd. The uneaten half of the mooncake called to him and he swallowed. With a shake of his head, he decided he should wrap it up, to share it with Lin An later. She was just crying over wanting sweets, earlier.

With the sweetness in his mouth, he ran through the crowds, ready to continue looking for his Shijie and Shixiong.

When the smell of cooked food came into his nose, the streets were more packed. There was simply no easy way to prepare all of this so quickly. However, despite understanding this, Wan Yu was in awe. Everything smells so delightful, like things he had always wanted to try before.

He swallowed. Stifling his want he continued deeper into the areas of packed food stalls.

The buildings remained unchanged, but the decorations lit the streets. So much conversation overwhelmed the ears, and it mixed into indecipherable speech. However one man spoke loud enough to hear as Wan Yu walked by a small building.

“How have you been, mama?” The words came from a previously abandoned food stall. There were curtains of red covering the entrance to the little building, so Wan Yu lifted the fabric to peer inside. The man sounded young as he laughed and questioned an elderly woman beside him. “You still feeling tired?”

She chuckled weakly. Wan Yu could only see her profile from the view of mostly her back, her eyes were dark and sunken in like she had gone many days without sleep. The wrinkles on her face cut deeper than someone her appeared age. She chuckled and said, “Still tired, we all are. But we wouldn’t give it up for a little bit of rest.” From the sound of it, it was a normal back and forth from a mother and son who hadn’t got to see each other in a while.

Coming to the conclusion that their words held no secrets or hidden meanings, Wan Yu’s eyes trailed over the rest of the food stall. The man behind the counter was terribly old, and Wan Yu recognized him as the man who soaked Lin An in rice water earlier today. This made him furrow his brows and grip the red fabric curtains tighter. He threw noodles in a large pan and talked happily with the patrons.

No matter how many times Wan Yu looked away, his eyes kept wandering to the mother-son pair. Something just felt wrong about them. He stepped inside and let the curtain fall behind his back. A closer look might help him decide what felt strange about the two.

He stepped closer and pulled himself to a bar stool in between the mother, and an unknown customer in white.

The chef wore a smile on his face that immediately vanished when he met eyes with Wan Yu. “What do you want, kid? Did you lose the loud one?”

Wan Yu was quite angry to hear this blatant rudeness towards his Shijie, but he kept his mouth shut and was drawn into a line.

The red robes chef crossed his arms and sighed, before he returned to sliding around the uncooked chucks of dough. The unknown man was laughing and looking at Wan Yu when he sat beside him. He said, “Not gonna take the little one’s order?”

“I don’t feed those without money or manners.”

“You feed everyone else who comes in for free, Tan Zhi.” The chef scoffed at the playful words of the other man.

The chef gave Wan Yu an uncaring glance. He waved a spoon in hand, slinging little drops of hot water with the motion. “Well? Got money? If not, I already know you don’t have manners.”

A few drops noticeably splashed in the direction of the unknown customer, and he hissed when some landed on his skin. “Watch it, watch it!” he chastised. With a wave of his hands and several blowing breaths, his near transparent hand swung to ease the stink of boiling water. Wan Yu’s eyes lit up, and he backed further into his seat in a hurry.

The jostle caused everyone nearby to look at the small boy in surprise.

“Your hand…” Wan Yu whimpered, and gave no time for more explanation. He was sliding out of his seat and backing back towards the curtain. The older mother stood and looked a bit concerned for Wan Yu’s sudden fright. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say any words her ghost-like feet came into view.

She was nearly invisible from the knees down.

Wan Yu’s heart began to thump and his body instinctively turned to run, his shoulder clipping the edge of the food stall in his rush to leave.

Threading in between people, a glaring image was now making itself clear. Some of the figures were near see-through up to their ankles, some to their knees, and others barely had solid looking forms at all. He panted trying to ignore the people looking at him with questioning stares.

Wan Yu’s mind yelled, Bei Zangli is full of ghosts?! Shizun said no passing festivals were planned in Bei Zangli, so why is there clearly a ghost festival going on? Wan Yu’s face was scrunched up in concern, and he decided to duck into one of the tight alleyways. Had he been bigger, his shoulders could press against either side of the alleyway, so he felt safe away from the larger spirits. His chest heaved as he took a moment to calm himself.