"Hey Ma Qianle, spot for me," Xie Hongmu called.

"Hmm?  Ah, sure,"  Ma Qianle responded, moving to take up a position behind his former college roommate.  The two were tackling bouldering problems at a local climbing gym.  Wan November sunlight filtered through the tall windows along one wall, and the usual weekend crowd of climbers was scattered throughout the large room in twos and threes.  Ma Qianle had been staring absently at one of the angular walls studded with hand and foot holds.

"What's with you lately, bro?  You've been distracted for weeks and this is the first time in a month I've been able to get you into the gym with me.  You get a new girlfriend or something?"  Xie Hongmu asked as he began his ascent.

Ma Qianle grimaced as he tracked Xie Hongmu's motions.  "I wish.  I got dragged into a volunteer thing."  This was technically true, he supposed.  It's not like he was getting paid to keep Dongqiu City safe from the dead.  At least, not with anything that would put food in his stomach.

Xie Hongmu scoffed.  "You?  Volunteering?  Who are you and what did you do with Ma Qianle?"

Ma Qianle rolled his eyes and lifted an arm to Xie Hongmu's back to steady him as his hand slipped on a hold.  Once he was stable again, Ma Qianle spoke.  "Very funny.  I didn't exactly have a choice about it."  He had been famous among their classmates for his staunch refusal to participate in anything that he wouldn't profit from in one way or another.  'If you're not paying, I'm not doing it' had almost been a catchphrase of his.

"How did they manage that?  Must have been some threat."  Xie Hongmu grinned lecherously.  "Or did they offer a reward instead?"  He gestured lewdly, causing his grip to slip, and he grunted as he dropped back to the thick pads that covered the floor, Ma Qianle catching his back and shoulder to keep him upright.

"Fuck off," Ma Qianle replied, shoving his friend casually out of his grip.  Xie Hongmu laughed as Ma Qianle reapplied chalk to his hands and surveyed the wall, planning his route.  "Don't ask, I don't really want to talk about it."

Xie Hongmu shrugged.  "Suit yourself," he said, and changed the subject.

The conversation continued as the two took turns climbing and spotting for each other.  They talked about normal day to day things, like Xie Hongmu attempting to tutor Xie Hongya through his upcoming exams and the impossible demands that clients were trying to make of Ma Qianle's team at work.  For Ma Qianle, it was refreshingly mundane compared to all the supernatural happenings he had been immersed in lately.

Ma Qianle was hanging spiderlike from the underside of an overhang when his pleasing illusion of normalcy was shattered.  A sudden rush of heat washed across his body.  Startled, he lost his grip and dropped flat on his back to the mats before Xie Hongmu had a chance to catch him.

"Are you ok?  What happened?"  Xie Hongmu asked, leaning over Ma Qianle, a concerned look on his face.

Ma Qianle took a moment to catch the breath the fall had knocked out of him, then levered himself off the ground.  "I'm fine.  Hand cramp," he lied glibly, kneading a hand to add believability.  "Hey, gimme a minute, I need to use the bathroom."

Xie Hongmu waved him off and took a seat as Ma Qianle headed into the men's room.  As soon as he had the stall door shut behind him, he summoned his tablet.  Sure enough, the seal had the telltale ember glow around the edges that indicated he had a new message.  He poked it resentfully, and the familiar disembodied voice sounded in his head.

'An incident has occurred which requires the attention of the mortal agent.  Impermanent Wei will meet you at your place of residence with more information.'

Ma Qianle cocked an eyebrow at hearing the name in his head.  He'd worked with a number of other Impermanents over the past few weeks as he participated in a variety of other training activities, but he had not seen or heard from Wei Wei Yaling since the incident with the shuigui.  Questions asked of one of the Impermanents indicated that this was deliberate, and that she had been assigned to some sort of punishment detail for her role — or lack of role — in the fight.  If they were assigning her to work with him, whatever had happened must be serious.

Ma Qianle washed the chalk off his hands and said his goodbyes to Xie Hongmu, saying something had come up and he had to go, but not before the other extracted a promise to be better about staying in touch.  He made his way home quickly, and by the time Ma Qianle had gotten into the clothes one of his trainers had helped him to add protective enchantments to, Wei Yaling had arrived.

"What have you got for me?" Ma Qianle asked her, getting directly to the point.

Wei Yaling pouted exaggeratedly, leaning back in her seat on the couch. "What, no hello?  No 'How are you big sister Wei Yaling, I missed you?'  I'm hurt."

Ma Qianle rolled his eyes.  "Yes yes, I missed you big sister, training simply hasn't been the same when I'm not getting thrown in over my head with no time to prepare."  

Wei Yaling laughed.  "You'll never learn if you don't try.  You did a great job with that shuigui."

Qianle made a noncommittal noise in response to this.  He'd hardly call getting his arm and neck gouged and nearly being possessed good, but maybe these things were subjective. 

Not willing to comment further on the incident at the moment, he made an attempt to pull things back to the matter at hand.  "Right, back on topic.  What's this incident about?"

Wei Yaling lost her playful demeanor, crossing her arms and frowning.  "We don't know a lot, unfortunately.  Someone summoned something."

"That's helpful."  Ma Qianle could see that this wasn't going to be the quickest process, so he took a seat opposite Wei Yaling.

"Don't give me that look," Wei Yaling said, rolling her eyes.  "It's not like we didn't try, but there was some sort of interference keeping us from getting more information without coming to the mortal realm and investigating in person."

This made Ma Qianle pause for thought.  He'd learned over the past few weeks that the observational capabilities of Diyu were nothing to be sneezed at.  "So, what's that mean?"

"Either they've got some sort of artefact that's preventing us from seeing what's going on, or they're a powerful enough spellcaster that they are able to cloud our vision on their own.  Either way, it doesn't look great."  Wei Yaling's frown deepened.  "I won't lie to you, Ma Qianle, this one could be tough.  They let me out of my cage because we don't know what we're up against here."

Ma Qianle gave an answering frown at this.  "So we're going in blind, then."  It wasn't a question.

Wei Yaling nodded.  "We're going in blind," she confirmed.  "It's not all bad though.  There's a full squad on standby as backup if we need it."

"Let's get this over with then, so I can get back to enjoying my weekend.  Anyway, if we have to go up against a powerful ghost summoner and whatever the hell it is they summoned, I'd rather do it during daylight."  Ma Qianle got up from his chair and headed to the door.  Wei Yaling followed after him, the picture of professionalism.

Once they got outside, Wei Yaling cast a spell that allowed them to move quickly and without being noticed, and soon they arrived at the site of the ghost summoning.  She had brought Ma Qianle to a glittering new midrise building.  It was all shining glass and steel, the picture of modern luxury.  They moved unseen though the luxuriously appointed lobby and over to the elevator, which they took to the top floor.  They walked to the end of the hallway, finally stopping before a door.

Even without Wei Yaling's guidance, Ma Qianle would have known on his own that something had happened here.  There was a heavy yin aura radiating through the door.  He paused, licking his lips nervously.  The most difficult thing he'd faced so far had been the shuigui, and that had not emanated anywhere near this level of oppressive chill.

Wei Yaling's face turned dark, an anger that Ma Qianle had never seen before emerging on it.  "What?" he asked.

"Someone died here,"  Wei Yaling responded, her tone utterly devoid of her usual levity.

A shiver went down Ma Qianle's spine.  A ghost that had killed was far, far more dangerous than one who  hadn't.  He would have to be constantly on his guard, without making a single mistake.  Although he had managed to defeat the shuigui unaided, he was still a raw beginner when it came to dealing with the supernatural.  He knew that in this situation, a single misstep could very well cost him more than just his life.

Wei Yaling cast a glance at him.  After giving him a moment to steel his nerves, she put her hand on the doorknob.  "Ready?" she asked.

Ma Qianle took a deep, steadying breath.  He prepared a defensive talisman in one hand, then nodded.  "Ready."  At his confirmation, Wei Yaling turned the doorknob and they walked into the condo, ready to face the unknown.