------- Ma Cung Di Se Duyen Bl -

Phong saw the ghost of a young soldier he’d once failed to save in a past life. The soldier pointed at Linh. “He was that soldier. You left him to die on a battlefield.” Phong wept, but knelt before Linh’s mirror reflection and said, “Then let me pay this life instead.” The mirror cracked.

“You’re not afraid?” Linh asked, tilting his head. ------- Ma Cung di Se Duyen Bl

“Then you write a better one, ghost king.” Phong saw the ghost of a young soldier

“You really are the one.” He stepped closer, lifting Phong’s chin. “My curse: I must find a soul who willingly binds theirs to mine, not out of fear, but out of… se duyên . True affinity. I’ve eaten ninety-nine greedy cultivators. I’ve scared away ninety-nine brides. But you? You care about brushes.” You left him to die on a battlefield

“I am terrified,” Phong admitted, clutching his poetry book. “But your calligraphy set is very high quality. May I borrow it after I die?”

Linh stared. Then, for the first time in a thousand years, he laughed.