That first night of Huo Huli’s heat, it began to rain. The second day came and it continued to rain, then the third. By then, Huo Huli’s heat had passed and both he and Zhou Lieren were exhausted. Given what Huo Cheng’s vision foretold, they had at least one rest day before the Ghost March. They couldn’t enjoy it together since each of them had separate duties to help prepare, but the next evening came quickly.

 

Zhou Lieren had his robes already on and was waiting outside the tailor’s shop for Huo Huli. He had to admit, Huo Huli did pick a fine set of fabrics for him. The rich black paired well with the gold embroidered waves on the hems of his sleeves and robes. Stitched in was a matching gold border about two finger widths wide along the collar and sleeves, making him appear more regal than he actually was. On his feet were a pair of black curved toe boots which were more comfortable than they first appeared. All in all, even Zhou Lieren had to admit he looked good.

 

He heard the door open and turned, hoping it was Huo Huli. It was in fact him, looking more like a heavenly beauty than before.

 

A beautiful light jade robe with bamboo designs along the body extended down to the floor and were not as full and baggy as Huo Huli’s usual attire was. It accentuated his shape, showing off his slim frame. His shirt underneath was a rich darker jade that did not cover his neck at all. The white border around the collar accentuated the smooth, swanlike neck that was exposed. Huo Huli’s luscious brown hair was straight and not as long as it once was and half of it was pulled into a bun that led up to two black fox ears tipped with white.

 

Before he could greet him, Zhou Lieren had to catch his breath. Huo Huli’s face looked the same, but there were light red demon marks at his temples that stretched out to the corners of his eyes which were now grey in color. A perfect shade of pink, his lips were like plum blossom petals bursting through the snow that was his pale skin. They shifted into a thin lipped grimace and Huo Huli’s eyes narrowed.

 

“What’s wrong?” His actualized celestial fox asked, sounding annoyed. “Do I look that bad?”

 

Zhou Lieren sucked in some air and shook his head. “N-no. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

 

One of the ears twitched and a fluffy fox tail that matched his ears flicked over his shoulder. He stared at Huo Huli and his eyes honed back on the unblemished jade skin on his neck, and the marks he’d left on them were no longer visible. Zhou Lieren leaned forward and dropped his voice down to a whisper.

 

“Did you heal yourself, or is your talisman just that thorough?” His blood hummed, feeling hot in his veins. Zhou Lieren half hoped it was the former so he could take his time putting more marks on it later. A blush appeared on Huo Huli’s cheeks and he looked away.

 

“Thank you for the compliment,” he coughed into a fist, clearing his throat, “and...it’s just the illusion…No one else is seeing my real skin.”

 

Huo Cheng came out and Zhou Lieren took a step back from Huo Huli, creating a polite distance. Though Huo Cheng knew, he knew that Huo Huli assumed his relatives didn’t know what they were up to. Though he hated lying like this, he wanted to keep Huo Huli at ease.

 

Huo Cheng wore a set of silver and blue robes and looked to be a white tiger devil beast of sorts. His good natured smile made his look a little less intimidating.

 

“Are you ready for your disguise?” Huo Cheng asked, handing a long rectangular piece of black paper to Huo Huli. The illusioned grey eyes widened and the blush spread as he took the talisman. If it went any further, Zhou Lieren would swear it’d go up to Huo Huli’s fox ears.

 

“Yes,” Zhou Lieren nodded. “Is there anything you need me to do?” 

 

“No…” Huo Huli hesitated then stepped in front of him. “Just stay still.”

 

Huo Huli’s throat flexed as he swallowed and his slim, entirely bare hand touched Zhou Lieren’s chest. He froze at the contact, wondering where this was going. Huo Huli lifted a little bit of the collar of his robe and slid his hand with the talisman inside. His fingertips barely grazed the skin underneath as he tucked the talisman inside the robes and tapped it twice. A warm feeling fluttered across his skin and quickly disappeared. Huo Huli stepped back and his hand flexed into a fist as he moved away.

 

Zhou Lieren patted himself down and looked between the two Huos. “What is my disguise?”

 

“A dog demon,” huffed Huo Huli. He crossed his arms and muttered something about it suiting him.

 

Zhou Lieren touched the top of his head and felt two pointed ears. They twitched in his hold so he quickly let go of them. He didn’t want to reach behind, but he assumed there was a tail. Huo Cheng shot Zhou Lieren a smirk before looking to the horizon with the rapidly setting sun.

 

Huo Cheng waved them along, “We should make our way over to the mine now.”

 

They all nodded to one another and started their journey, using Quick Step qigong to cross the distance. 

 

During their preparation, Huo Cheng found that the most likely path that the Ghost March took cut through the dead forest near the mine. This was very lucky, because any lingering spirits of those eaten by the jiangshi could be lured out and join the march in order to cross over. The village was well away from the mine but was sealed and guarded as a precaution. The Ghost March was likely to track a number of demons, and if they couldn’t get their fun there, they may roam in the nearby area. 

 

The three of them arrived just as the sun made its last wink in the sky and darkness settled in. A thick gray fog rolled in, making the already dead and ominous forest more oppressive. Huo Huli looked around and tilted his ear towards something.

 

“Follow me,” he whispered and walked straight ahead. He and Huo Cheng did as Huo Huli commanded and they followed at a leisurely pace. After crossing a few sets of trees, a pale light glimmered ahead of them. Then several others appeared, blinking along the first one like a string of lanterns.

 

When they got closer, Zhou Lieren saw that the lights were exactly that. White phantom lanterns with a dim glow decorated themselves along the trees, hovering without anything holding them up. A large black thing that looked like a rolled up rug barrelled towards them through a space between the trees. It whizzed past, unrolling a black road that marbled and shined like black jade, then continued onward until it faded from their line of sight.

 

Soon other structures materialized - little shops and stalls that sold things one would normally see on a market festival like foods served on sticks, masks, and fireworks. They were manned by various demons, some looking more human than others. A few groups of wraiths and demons filtered in, stepping through narrow tears that appeared in the open space.

 

The ghosts themselves were still nowhere in sight, but they must be close enough for this portion of the road to have appeared. Instead, a small crowd just at the edges of the wide black road milled about. It appeared that demons and other supernatural beings were not that different from humans in how they enjoyed their time.

 

They gathered towards the edge of the road and Huo Cheng leaned towards them, “Should we split up?”

 

Huo Huli nodded and went left, and Huo Cheng went right. Zhou Lieren chose to follow Huo Huli. The little fox demon impersonator tensed and looked over his shoulder before turning around to face Zhou Lieren.

 

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

 

What am I doing? He’d gotten so used to following Huo Huli around that it felt natural to him by now. He stepped closer and whispered, “I would feel better sticking close to you.”

 

Huo Huli hesitated for a moment, but the resolve in his eyes wavered. After a sigh, he stood beside Zhou Lieren and placed a hand on his arm like a couple would walk. “Come on then. And this is only because I’m short and someone might try to interrupt me. Having you by my side is a good deterrent, but we need to blend in.”

 

His jaw hurt from how wide his smile was. Zhou Lieren stayed close as he walked along the path side by side with Huo Huli. Most of the shops were busy with customers, and their walk was mostly undisturbed until a group of three tiny demons rushed past them. On a second look Zhou Lieren realized they were children. Each had a toy in hand, happily jumping around a taller looking horned demon standing at a food stall that appeared to be someone they knew.

 

“Oh, it’s a pinwheel!” Huo Huli smiled, pointing to one of the toys in the demon childrens’ hands. The paper windmill toy was bright and multicolored with a long stick for them to hold. “I loved those as a child.”

 

An idea struck Zhou Lieren just then and he looked around from where the children came from. He spotted a tall display rack with pinwheels and hand drum toys decorating it. He pointed towards it, “The ghosts are still not here...would you like to get one?”

 

Huo Huli paused and tucked a bit of hair behind his ear, then finally he nodded. “Okay.”

 

They strolled over to the open racks, and not only did they sell the toys, but umbrellas and a few puppets as well. Seated on top of a tall stool was a wizened, grey haired cat demon with the tip of its left cat ear missing. He looked to be the seller by the way he carefully watched everyone who was near the racks.

 

As part of their disguise, Zhou Lieren had a small pouch with spirit stones that the Heavenly Lake sect had with them. It was a common currency with demons, but Huo Huli also carried regular human money too. Some demons collected human money just so they could pass as human in the mortal realm, and he’d seen both sets exchanged at the various storefronts.

 

“Pick one,” he encouraged Huo Huli.

 

“Mmm…” Huo Huli hummed and looked at the display before he tilted his head over to Zhou Lieren. “How about you pick it for me?”

 

That little sense of deja vu made him chuckle lightly. He decided to go along with it and looked over the stacks of paper pinwheels. Zhou Lieren’s fingers drifted towards the bright red one that was on the smaller side and he plucked it from the bunch.

 

“How much for this?” He asked the cat demon, holding up the pinwheel.

 

The grizzly old cat demon, situated high on top of the stool, had to lean forward to see what was in Zhou Lieren’s hand. He squinted at the object then sat back up on his stool. The cat pointed to a box with a hole at the top placed next to the stool.

 

“Four,” he said curtly. Zhou Lieren pulled out four opaque white spirit stones and tossed them each in turn into the hole. It reminded him a little of skipping rocks with Huo Huli.

 

When he was done, he turned to Huo Huli and offered him the pinwheel. His warm gaze looked at the toy affectionately as he took it, then Huo Huli shot him a look.

 

“Stop wagging your tail so much,” he muttered, but his smile was still there. Zhou Lieren chuckled and led them away further down the phantom road.

 

Speaking of tails… “Why do you only have two?” He asked quietly, glancing at Huo Huli’s back.

 

“What, you want me to go around with all nine tails?” Huo Huli grunted and the two fluffy tails rubbed together and bristled. He whispered back, “One can make me look weak, two is decent and isn’t suspicious for a low level fox demon to be here.”

 

Zhou Lieren could agree with this logic, but still. “I think you’d look magnificent with all of them.”

 

Huo Huli narrowed his eyes but the threat there was washed away by his soft smile. The illusionary grey eyes drifted down to look at the pinwheel in his hand and idly twirled the stick. 

 

“My brother and I would get this and stick them all over my mother’s courtyard,” he spoke fondly of his memory. “Looking back, I think we gave a lot of headaches to our parents and our tutors.”

 

Huo Huli’s chuckle made him smile. He glanced back at the road, checking to see if the ghosts were coming, but there wasn’t any sign of them. Huo Huli touched Zhou Lieren’s shoulder, bringing him back to their conversation. The heavenly beauty opened his mouth to speak, then shut it and chewed on their lip. Huo Huli gently pressed a finger from his free hand into Zhou Lieren’s palm and drew a quick symbol there and closed Zhou Lieren’s fist, covering it with his.

 

“This isn’t the best time to say this, but I want you to know I did not use you as a furnace.” Zhou Lieren heard Huo Huli’s voice speak to him in his mind - it must have been a small communication array to speak telepathically. “I investigated to make sure I didn’t do it accidentally, but I didn’t and I want to make sure you knew that I’d never do that.”

 

Using a person as a furnace involved taking spiritual energy from another to further their own cultivation. Though he didn’t feel depleted at all, Zhou Lieren was confused so he furrowed his brow, “I thought it was natural for a dual cultivator to do that?”

 

“No, not without consent. Using a person as a furnace is dangerous and mostly falls under demonic cultivation. What happened between us was more like…” Huo Huli looked off to the side and the tops of his ears turned bright pink. “I have an overabundance of yang energy, and it was blocking a lot of my meridians. I was feeling off for quite some time, and I just...relaxed enough that night and they opened.”

 

“If you asked it of me, I would gladly do it, Huli.”

 

Huo Huli met his gaze again, his eyes full of flames. “Don’t say such a thing. I would never do something like that to you or your body, nor would I ever ask for it. No one has the right to abuse you like that.”

 

He was a bit speechless, which for a man who had very little conversation meant something. He felt it easy to talk to Huo Huli, so he was more inclined to do so, but it was still strange to be this surprised. Huo Huli looked fierce, even defensive, for his sake. Zhou Lieren lifted a hand and stroked Huo Huli’s soft cheek with the back of his knuckles. They stared at one another in silence for a long moment. Huo Huli’s eyes dimmed down to something warm and gentle that touched Zhou Lieren’s heart. 

 

All of his life was spent in the shadows, so much so that even his own cultivation reflected the night and his nature to remain hidden. In such a short amount of time outside, Zhou Lieren knew that he would never be able to go back to unattachment again because of this man. If he had to be in any shadow, it would only be the one cast from Huo Huli’s beautiful, heavenly light.

 

The fake grey eyes caught something off to the side and Huo Huli’s eyes strayed over there for a second before looking back at Zhou Lieren. 

 

“There’s a fox demon over there that is staring at me. Quick, kiss me so it thinks I’m yours.”

 

“You’re...mine?” Those were the words that stuck out the most to Zhou Lieren. His heart gave a loud ba-dump at the thought.

 

Before Zhou Lieren could lose the tight control he had to not grope him right then and there, Huo Huli took the initiative and kissed him first. Their lips fused together in a soft kiss that soothed Zhou Lieren’s pounding heart and calmed him. As the kiss lingered, he thought to himself. How can this beautiful omega drive me to the edge and back so effortlessly? 

 

When they parted, someone chuckled nearby, followed with a gruff sneer.

“I never thought there’d be the day I saw you here.”