A lonely silver moon beamed in the dark canvas-like sky. Under the pale moonlight lay the tranquil bamboo forest. Every now and then the gentle wind rustled the leaves and the stalks collided with one another, creating a harmonious melody. This was the musical forest of nature, the sky-high bamboo trees were the musicians, who also acted as guards, preventing the moonlight from touching the gloomy forest floor. Yang made his way in the dark with caution. He heard a soft rhythmic tapping sound, he looked around but there was no one. When he looked up, he caught a glance of a person cruising over the bamboo trees. Unconsciously, he started following him, this stranger who defied gravity with his light effortless steps and glided in the air like a bird.

The wind howled and the moon hid behind a group of large gloomy clouds. First, there were few fierce strikes of lightning, followed by some loud thunders. Soon, the heavy rain poured down with all its might. Unable to hold out against the battering raindrops, the stranger stopped at a small abandoned house nearby. Yang halted his steps and vanished into the darkness of the night.

This mysterious person who had a familiar aura had piqued his curiosity beyond his own reasoning. He studied him from a distance but with the heavy rain and the absence of light, he couldn't see much, apart from the stranger's long veil bamboo hat.

As the stranger entered the house, he spoke in a gentle voice, "You are going to get sick if you stand in this rain for too long. This house is big enough to shelter the two of us. Why don't you come in?"

This caught Yang by surprise, to have his presence discovered even though he had been suppressing his spiritual energy all along. "Who was this person and how did he know I was tailing him? Is he a companion of the Ghost bride or is he hunting her down too? Why did he show up here and what are his intentions?" A series of questions raced through his mind. The only person who had all the answers to his questions was the man who had just invited him so he accepted the invitation and proceeded forward.

It was pitch black dark inside the tiny wooden house. The sudden flashes of lightning were the only occasional source of light. A few pieces of firewood and broken pots were lying recklessly on the dusty floor, other than that the house was completely empty.

"Please don't move.", the stranger said in a worried tone.

He took off his hat and then gathered some pieces of wood and ignited a fire. As the fire grew stronger, it shed light on the stranger's face. He looked up at Yang who was standing like a towering statue.

"You can move now.", the stranger said with a lovely smile.

Yang's eyes widened in surprise, it was him, the stranger he saw on the walking street. His heart palpitations rose at an abnormal speed. He clasped his chest fearing his heart might jump out.

"I'm Yue and you are?", the stranger asked.

His big almond eyes twinkled and a lovely smile still played on his full lips. His nose slightly turned up and his porcelain skin glistened with water droplets. His long hair was loosely tied with an amethyst hairpin and few strands of his hair fell over his angelic face. His svelte physique wrapped in a damp lavender robe with fine embroidery. He was a beautiful sight to behold.

Yang turned his back on the stranger who called himself Yue, leaving him feeling a little surprised and somewhat befuddled.

The stranger stood up and said apologetically, "Sorry. I guess you don't like talking to strangers but I am not a bad guy. I was actually following the Ghost bride and then it rained and I lost track of her so I decided to take shelter here until the rain stops. I sensed your presence and didn't find it threatening so I invited you in."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Yang turned around and suddenly extended his hand. Yue's face brightened when he saw what Yang was holding, he grabbed it and exclaimed in joy.

"My lucky amulet. I thought I would never find it again. Thank you. Thank you so much. How? Where did you find it?"

"You dropped it on the street during the first night of the festival. By the time, I had picked it up, you were gone."

"Thank you so much.. Uhh.."

"Yang."

"Yang as in the Sun?"

"Yes."

"I am Yue as in the Moon."

When Yang saw Yue's innocent smile, he clasped his chest again and thought to himself. "What is this feeling? Why is my heart beating so fast? This is dangerous."

"Are you from this region or are you here to attend the festival of love? How old are you? We look like we are of the same age, can I call you Yang? You can call me Yue. Are you also chasing the Ghost bride?."

"Yes. If you don't mind me asking, why are you chasing the Ghost bride?"

"My brother and I had agreed to meet in the town of fairies on the first day of the festival but my brother never showed up."

"So you suspect Ghost Bride might be after your brother's disappearance."

"Ahh, no-no. Unlike me, my brother is very strong and has never lost a fight. If he was here, he would have probably solved this case by now. When I arrived here, I heard about the Ghost bride from the locals. They were all terrified and since I was free, I thought I'd look into it."

After hearing Yue praise his brother so much, Yang felt a little annoyed and irritated for no reason but he decided to let Yue continue talking.

"I heard that the Ghost bride only kills rich young philanderers but her victim tonight had white hair. Could it be she is into older men now?"

"He's not an old man, he's of our age."

"Oh, do you know him?"

"He's my idiot friend."

"Oh. Your friend. Huh! Sorry. I see so that is the reason why you were following the Ghost bride."

Yang nodded after a long thought. He was too embarrassed to tell Yue that he got distracted by him and completely forgot about his kidnapped friend Jin and his kidnapper, the Ghost bride.

"Don't worry. I will help you save your friend.", Yue said with a serious expression.

By now, Yang was sure of three things about Yue. One, he was very talkative and curious. Two, he was very expressive and easy to read. Three, he was a little too honest and innocent so at times seemed a bit dumb. Yue had all the qualities that Yang didn't. Making them polar opposites. Yet the more Yue talked, the more interested Yang became.

The two sat around the fire. Yue added the last few leftover pieces of wood to the fire. He wanted to continue their

conversation but when he saw that Yang had already taken a meditative pose and closed his eyes, he kept quiet. He stared at Yang with awe and curiosity for a long time. This was the first time he had met someone whose beauty resembled that of gods in ancient paintings. He was not only aesthetically pleasing to look at but pleasant to be around too, even though he didn't talk much.

"Why don't you get some rest or do you plan to stare at me all night?"

Flustered by Yang's straightforward words. Yue pretended to manage the fire.

"What do you plan to do after this? Will you look for your brother?"

"I am not sure yet. I want to but then I don't want to be a burden to him. I bragged to our family that I was going to travel and see the world on my own. So it would be a little embarrassing if I had to rely on him and this trip would be meaningless if I don't face the challenges myself."

There was a moment of silence. The rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared up. The moon was out once again and the crickets were back to singing while soaking up that beautiful moonlight.

Yang took a deep breath and asked, "Have you ever seen the sea?"

"No, I haven't."

"I am heading north after this. You can join me if you want to see one."

"Really? Yes please, I'd love to go with you..ah no. I mean..travel. Thank you. Please take care of me."

Even with his eyes closed, Yang could already imagine the expression on Yue's face. Amused at his own imagination, he smiled to himself.

The abrupt sound of running footsteps alerted both men. Yang put out the fire with a swift hand movement. They peeked through the creak of the shabby door and waited for the person to come in sight.

A silhouette of a young boy appeared from the dark. He was panting hard in exhaustion, gripping the deep cut on his neck that was bleeding profusely. His eyes reflected pain and terror as he looked at the person following him, the Ghost bride. Before he could take another step, he collapsed to the ground face down. She grabbed his hair and pulled his head off his shoulder. She raised the bloody decapitated head close to her face and laughed like a maniac while repeatedly kicking the lifeless body of the poor dead boy. The gruesome scene of death traumatized Yue, he crouched and clung behind Yang's back and shuddered in disbelief. Yang gently patted his head to calm him down.