Lanyun felt fear creep into his heart as he stared into the ice blue eyes of the seething celestial. He struggled to form a coherent sentence.

“I was…I mean…I’m just treating the fungal infection,” Lanyun finally managed to say. “For the lotuses.”

“Lies,” Lianbing hissed. “My lotuses are perfectly healthy. The gardener has taken special care of this garden for centuries. Nothing has occurred before. Why would something only happen when I catch you here?”

Lanyun could only silently point at the spotted leaves floating atop the pond.

“What have you done!?” Lianbing shrieked. Her eyes widened in shock, staring at her damaged lotuses. 

“They were already like that when I found them yesterday, so I asked Granny Tao for something to help—” Lanyun winced in pain as the pressure on his wrist tightened. He shivered violently, feeling an intense chill consume his body.

“How dare you continue to lie to me,” Lianbing snapped. “You filthy human. All your kind ever does is cheat and destroy everything that I protect. I’ll have you banished from the realm and strung up outside the city’s gates for your transgressions.”

“Lianbing,” a familiar voice said firmly behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You cannot purposefully harm him without going through the proper channels. Quell your anger for now. Even you will not be forgiven by His Imperial Majesty for breaking the rules.”

Lanyun felt warmth slowly return to his body as Lianbing released his wrist, tossing him aside. Shakily standing back up on his feet, he came face to face with a glowering Renwu holding onto an angry Lianbing. 

“Go back to your room if you don’t wish to be frozen to death tonight, human,” Renwu said warningly. “We will open an investigation into this matter immediately. If you run before it’s concluded, I shall kill you instead.” 

Lanyun wasn’t exactly certain on how he made it back to his room. He could vaguely remember running for his life and accidentally knocking over a servant. But when his senses finally returned, he found himself with his knees tucked to his chest and his back against the wall, curled up on the bed. Facing the door, he saw light trickle through the cracks and realized that it was already morning. Lanyun slowly moved and felt his numb limbs prickle with pain as the blood returned. Realizing that he must’ve stayed in that posture the entire night, Lanyun wasn’t sure if he had even rested. He had been so preoccupied with the thought of a golden eyed celestial slitting his throat open in the middle of the night.

Hearing the lively sounds of the servants in the courtyard starting their day, Lanyun finally found the courage to approach the door. Tentatively unlocking and pushing the door open, he cautiously looked around outside. Everything appeared to be the same as the day before, and he exhaled a sigh of relief after not seeing any sign of the two celestials from the night before. However, he soon frowned when he noticed that the usual tray of food was missing from the ground. 

Lanyun realized that Lianbing must’ve planned on starving him as some sort of punishment while his alleged crimes were still pending investigation. Ignoring the protests of his empty stomach, Lanyun could only forgo breakfast and begin his community service earlier. 

“Tiandi’s tribulations, you look like you fought a gudiao and lost,” Granny Tao remarked, observing Lanyun as he approached her. She hurriedly got up from pruning the basil plants and ushered him into her cabin, sitting him down at the table. “Your appearance was your only positive asset, and now you’ve gone and ruined it.”

“I had encountered a bit of an issue last night when treating the lotus pond’s fungal infection,” Lanyun admitted. “I don’t think I slept at all last night.” He took a sip of the chamomile tea that Granny Tao served and let the warm, herbal beverage ease his nerves.

“You were discovered?” Granny Tao guessed. 

“Lianbing found me just as I was pouring the fungicide into the pond.” Lanyun ate a prune jam cookie from the bowl on the table. “You’ll be my witness that I was only trying to help the lotuses, right?”

“Oh no, I think I actually gave you the wrong fungicide yesterday,” Granny Tao gasped.

“What!?” Lanyun exclaimed. 

“I’m just joking,” Granny Tao laughed giddily. “Of course I’ll vouch for you if they ask. Although, I’m surprised all your limbs are still intact despite being discovered by the Ice Princess.”

“Lianbing almost did kill me.” Lanyun looked down at his right wrist, where an ugly black and purple bruise surrounded it completely. He adjusted his red, woven bracelet over the mark in an attempt to make it less conspicuous. “But Renwu was also there and stopped her. He convinced her that she couldn’t do anything until there was a proper investigation.” Not wanting to worry about it more, Lanyun decided to leave out the part that Renwu had also threatened to kill him as well. 

“He was?” Granny Tao looked intrigued like she had heard the newest scandal. “I knew they were close before his corruption, but I’m surprised they still stay in contact.”

“Why?” Lanyun frowned in confusion.

“Well we don’t know what causes the corruption,” Granny Tao said. “What if it’s something you can catch? Such as by being in close proximity to a corrupted one?” She placed a hand over her mouth and muttered a few words of blessing. “I shouldn’t be discussing this any further. It’s too evil.” She glanced at Lanyun, changing the subject. “On a more positive note, I found some information on the ghost flower for you.” 

“What did you discover?” Lanyun eagerly asked. His face instantly brightened at the good news. 

“Yesterday, I spoke with one of the celestials who oversees the medicinal gardens,” Granny Tao said. “She said that none of the gardens in the Jade City have grown one before. However, she did have a book on rare herbs, and I found a page on it. I copied it down for you.” She placed a sheet of paper covered in neat words and a small drawing. “Are you familiar with your characters?”

“Yes, I know how to read,” Lanyun assured her. He quickly looked over the information. 

It was primarily folklore concerning the presumed origin of the ghost flower. Long ago, a soldier had saved a young phoenix from a hunter’s trap. The phoenix was grateful towards the human and decided to accompany him. Unfortunately, their time did not last long as a devastating war between two human empires soon decimated the soldier’s homeland. Over a hundred thousand lives were taken in one battle, including that of the soldier. As the dark energy from the deaths poisoned the land for many years, the phoenix flew overhead, mourning the vengeant spirits that had appeared in her dear friend’s resting spot. Her fiery tears landed on the cursed land, sprouting bright, glowing flowers that cleansed the area of any malicious spirits and darkness. The purifying, near-translucent plant was thus named “ghost flower”.

“So it’ll only appear in areas where many have passed, and has an appearance similar to a spider lily,” Lanyun said thoughtfully. Neatly folding the paper, he tucked it into his pocket for safekeeping. “Thank you for finding this for me, Granny Tao.”

“I’m glad I could be of some help,” Granny Tao said pleasantly. “Do you have any new plans now that you possess this information?”

Lanyun nodded. “I think I have something in mind. I’ll probably head out immediately tomorrow.” He looked at Granny Tao sheepishly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to continue my community service until I find this.” 

Granny Tao gave Lanyun a reassuring smile. “I understand that you want nothing more than the safe return of your sister right now. I wish you safe travels and hope that you may find it very quickly and without much difficulty. I’ve strangely grown so accustomed to your company now, I’m not sure how long I can go before I start talking to myself again.”

Lanyun laughed. “I’ll definitely find it quickly. Trust me.” 

“Well they say having confidence already ensures a ninety percent chance of success,” Granny Tao remarked.

“Who said that?” Lanyun asked, not recalling such a saying.

Granny Tao shrugged. “I have no idea. I completely made that up just now.” She picked up a basket of green stalk-like saplings and an iron spade. “Come now. We’ll start by planting leeks today.” 

When Lanyun returned to his room in the evening, there was still no tray of food waiting for him. Comforting himself with the idea that he would leave the next day and find food somewhere else, he took out the paper with the ghost flower information and placed it on the table. Although he already had a vague destination in mind, Lanyun continued to reread the paper, searching for a clue that he might’ve missed.

A knock at his open door snapped him out of his thoughts. Turning towards the sound, Lanyun saw Riri standing just outside the doorway. Her hands were empty and she kept them clasped together in front of her. 

“Good evening, Lanyun,” Riri said with a polite smile. “I was just informed that you had returned. The Princess requires your audience immediately.”