"Ke? Kte ano?"

Xuě Lù tried to breathe despite the stifling feeling of a full grown person sitting on his chest.

"I don't know what you're saying."

The subordinate frooze him with a look. Don't speak unless absolutely necessary.

"What are you? You're not a vampire yet Morgon was unable to sense your presence, otherwise he would have never let you follow him this far."

Xuě Lù didn't know what to say to that. He didn't know what was going on.

"I don't know. I woke up in the auction house and recognized the name on the notebook, that was why I followed him."

The subordinate leaned back, taking some of their weight off Xuě Lù's chest.

"You knew Lǔ Bān?"

"I'm Xuě Lù, my name is also on it, but I can't remember anything about it anymore."

"You're a ghost from the region he lived in."

They say it like it's a fact and not a guess, but Xuě Lù can't really say it's an unfounded one.

"You might be useful in the future when you've regained your memories."

They softly mutter in themselves, but Xuě Lù can still hear them.

"Alright, call me Láng Wēnyì. We have a problem to fix."

-

"So you're a ghost without a corporal form, yet I can touch and see you whereas others can't."

"Yes."

"You have no memory from your life and death apart from the name Lǔ Bān, so you deduced you knew him."

"Yes."

"The notebook carries your name, yet you don't remember contributing to its content."

"Yes."

Láng Wényì was leading Xuě Lù somewhere so they could assess the situation and make a plan. Xuě Lù had been subjected to an interrogation of his remaining memories, and now it was his turn to ask questions.

"How come I can understand you, because you did speak a different language first?"

Láng Wényì grabbed his hand and they walked deeper into the city.

"I assumed you were a newly turned vampire, so I used their language. They use a translation device inside the auction house so everyone can understand each other. It doesn't immediately stop working when you leave, so you could still understand Morgon when he talked to me and I answered in the same language."

With every twist and turn Xuě Lù lost his sense of direction more and more. He was completely dependent on Láng Wényì to find the way back, even though the houses wouldn't stop him.

"Did you know Lǔ Bān?"

"Yes."

The answer came fast, but Láng Wényì didn't elaborate further.

"So do you know where I lived?"

"No, but I know the way to Lǔ Bān's workspace. I imagine you lived close by."

The alley they had turned to ended in a blank wall. Instead of turning around and taking a different route Láng Wényì pushed one of the stones inside the wall. It opened a hidden doorway Xuě Lù was ushered through.

"You woke up far away from home. Without magic it will take us months to get there. I can get there in a few days, but I won't be able to bring you along."

A flame appeared in their hand which illuminated the tunnel.

"We can't ask for help from the usual sources, because of the notebook. So we're going to try and appease a dragon."

They entered a room, Xuě Lù unconsciously ducked to prevent his head from colliding with the ceiling.

"A dragon?"

Láng Wényì dropped the notebook on the table and sat on one of the chairs.

"It's a ridiculous idea, but if we want to travel fast the White Dragon is our best shot."

Xuě Lù took the other chair and watched Láng Wényì open the notebook to read its contents.

"Why is it a bad idea?"

"Dragons don't like me."

Láng Wényì almost looked guilty at the confession.

"Don't ask further, it's irrelevant, hopefully they like you and want to help us. Or at least you, I still have some unfinished business here."

Xuě Lù gracefully accepted that answer and stood up to read the notebook content over Láng Wényì's shoulder. The first few pages were filled with various sketches. They varied greatly in form and size.

After the last sketch, page after page was filled with frantic scribbles. Some words
Xuě Lù could read, but most were in a language he couldn't understand.

The notebook was ripped from his line of vision by Láng Wényì before he could continue reading.

The frantic turning of pages stopped him from asking the questions that were burning on his tongue. They wouldn't be answered or welcomed.

"This is bad. This is really, really bad."

"You can read it?"

"We have no time to lose."

Xuě Lù was completely ignored as Láng Wényì collected the meager possessions that were laying around.

"We are leaving now. It'll take us a week to get to the White Dragon, that will leave us with barely a month to find a solution."

Láng Wényì dragged Xuě Lù to another passage that led them deeper into the earth.

If he had still possessed his mortal body, he would have stumbled and fallen, being dragged around like this. Now it still happened but the fall no longer hurt, as there was always someone to catch him.

-

Long, long hours later they emerged from the earth into the light of the sun.

"Now the question is how corporal your form still is. Can you hold on to this bag?"

Láng Wényì pushed the bag at Xuě Lù which promptly fell through his hands.

"That's a clear no. I can hold and touch you, is it the same the other way around?"

Xuě Lù held out his hand to try and touch Láng Wényì. This time he succeeded and managed to hold their shoulder.

"If we have time we should do more research about this, but for now it should suffice."

Láng Wényì put the back on the ground and a shiver went through their body.

In the blink of an eye it's over and in front of Xuě Lù stood a wolf. A very, very big wolf.

The wolf picked up the bag and then mentioned Xuě Lù to climb on its back.

He utterly failed with his first attempt.

The wolf was just so large, their withers were at the same height as Xuě Lù's arms when he stretched them above his head.

Fortunately the wolf took pity on him and knelt down on the floor.

It's still an endeavor to climb on its back, but at least now it's possible.

The wolf took off the moment Xuě Lù had settled on its back and they were on their way.

-

December 12, 2022

[grammar check]