Per the innkeeper’s recommendation, Lanyun and Renwu decided on a room with two beds at the price of one qing more. She assured them that the inn’s workers could add a folding screen between the two beds to offer more privacy in case of “unwanted attention.”

“And for how many nights will that be for?” the innkeeper asked. 

“Just three nights for now,” Renwu said. 

“That’ll be two tans and nine qings,” the innkeeper calculated.

Renwu reached into the grey pouch tied to the silk belt around his waist before placing something into her outstretched hand. 

“Oh I’m sorry, but we only accept money,” the woman explained with an awkward smile. In the center of her palm, there were three tiny, golden objects that were roughly the size of a quail egg combined.

“Why didn’t you just admit that you were also penniless?” Lanyun whispered questioningly to Renwu.

Ignoring Lanyun, Renwu asked the innkeeper, “Can you direct us to your nearest pawn shop?”

While at the shop, Lanyun discovered that Renwu had attempted to pay for their room using pure gold—the monetary system of the celestials—and it was more than enough to cover a month’s stay at the Shan Hua inn’s holiday price. 

“Fu Yue had accepted gold as a legitimate form of payment,” Renwu grumbled under his breath as one of the inn’s workers showed them to a door at the end of the corridor on the second floor. 

Stepping into their room, Lanyun looked around. The furnishing was sparse with two beds and a bamboo screen folded in the middle, easily extended for additional privacy. Directly across from the door was a window overlooking the side of the neighboring building. Underneath the window was a small table with a ceramic water pitcher and basin on it. The connecting bathhouse on the first floor would serve as the basis for any further hygiene needs. 

“Which bed do you want?” Lanyun asked Renwu as he closed the door to the room behind them. “Since you paid for the room, you get first choice.”

“If I knew you were going to be so generous, I would’ve offered to pay sooner,” Renwu said sarcastically. He walked around, inspecting the room before standing at the foot of the bed closer to the door. “I’ll take this one.”

“You don’t want the one with the window view?” Lanyun asked as a courtesy. 

Renwu laughed. “Do you mean the view into someone else’s room? I think I’ll somehow find a way to survive without that.”

Setting his bag down on the bed closer to the window, Lanyun glanced out. He could see a small sliver of the street as the setting sun cast everything in an orange glow. Shopkeepers began lighting their lanterns, preparing for the evening guests.

“If you’ve finished gawking out the window, then let’s head out,” Rennwu said, waiting by the door. 

“Where are we going?” Lanyun asked, walking over to join him.

“To Guwang City’s Night Market of course,” Renwu said with a mysterious smile.

Since the revival of the city after the establishment of the new trade route, Guwang City’s Night Market had become a popular attraction for both visitors and residents with a variety of vendors setting up stalls along the same street to sell their goods without fail every night. As anticipated with the upcoming holiday, the street was livelier than ever. Though Lanyun knew nothing about the event originally, Renwu graciously imparted his vast knowledge of the market onto Lanyun against his companion’s wishes.

A smoky scent clung to the air, tinged by the aromatics of exotic spices. Looking around in marvel at the assortment of food options lining the street, Lanyun couldn’t help but gulp audibly. 

Pleased by Lanyun’s reaction, Renwu led them over to a stall that sold lamb skewers. He purchased two skewers from the stall’s owner and handed one of them to Lanyun. Thin wisps of white steam drifted off of the sizzling white meat as its surface gleamed with oil. 

“You can’t say you’ve properly been to Guwang City’s Night Market until you’ve eaten a lamb skewer here,” Renwu said. 

Not needing any further invitation, Lanyun dug into his skewer. The meat was incredibly tender and amply seasoned with a faint, spicy kick to the back of the throat. 

“Since the Hong River flows through the Guwang Forest to the southern sea, many of the vendors here use the more flavorful peppers that can only be grown in the kingdoms to the south,” Renwu explained as they ate standing by the stall. “Guwang City is the first delivery point in the Yuanhai Empire, so the cheapest place you’ll be able to taste these flavors is here.” 

“You sure know a lot, young man,” the stall owner remarked from his grill, listening in on their conversation. “Are you involved in the spice and shipping industry?”

“No, I just enjoy learning,” Renwu said amiably. “That’s why my companion and I are currently traveling around to see the world with our own eyes.”

Lanyun couldn’t help but be impressed by how naturally Renwu lied with a pleasant expression.

“So then you two young lords must be here to participate in the Harvest Moon Festival,” the stall owner guessed. 

“Yes, do you have any recommendations for first-time visitors?” Renwu asked. “We were thinking about going on a hike in Guwang Forest.” 

“No, you wouldn’t want to go there,” the stall owner refuted, shaking his head. “That forest is haunted.”

“How so?” Renwu asked in interest.

“Oh don’t listen to that old crank,” the neighboring stall owner piped up, joining in on their conversation. “That forest is not haunted. It just has a sad history.”

Seeing that Lanyun had already finished his lamb skewer and was already eying the candied hawthorns that the neighboring stall was selling, Renwu purchased and passed the fruits over to him. “Can you tell me more about its history?”

“This is long before my parents were even born, but I heard about it from my grandfather,” the candied hawthorn stall owner explained. “There used to be a hospital deep inside the forest.” 

Lanyun leaned towards Renwu to whisper, “Is this the same forest that you said had that one bloody battle?”

“Yes, but the hospital must’ve been built at least a century later,” Renwu whispered back.

“For years, patients would enter, but no one would ever leave,” the candied hawthorn stall owner continued. “Many rumors circulated around the city that the hospital was run by ghosts until it was finally shut down by the late Emperor. But the reason why no one ever left was because it was where all the plague victims had been sent to be quarantined. Since we had no cure, everyone there was fated to pass.”

“And now history is repeating itself because of the ghosts of the sick that haunt that forest,” the lamb skewer stall owner said ominously. 

“Emperor Huangbo has already sent us physicians with the cure after signing a contract with the celestials,” the candied hawthorn stall owner said. “Auntie Zhang Chun told me this morning that her daughter finally woke up after taking the medicine for a week. Although, the scars from the boils may never fade completely.” 

The lamb skewer stall owner sighed in empathy. “That must’ve been devastating to hear. Zhang Chun had such high expectations in finding her daughter a noble suitor. With a scarred face, she’ll be fortunate to find even a poor farmer who’ll accept her.”

“In conclusion, the forest is haunted by plague victims?” Renwu clarified, steering the conversation back on topic as he purchased another serving of lamb skewer and candied hawthorn for Lanyun’s empty hands. 

“It’s not haunted by ghosts,” the candied hawthorn stall owner said adamantly. “Banished criminals, however, are a possibility.”

“You two should visit the auction house instead,” the lamb skewer stall owner said. “They’re having a special Harvest Moon Festival auction the day after tomorrow to celebrate before the holiday. If you want a place to spend money and have fun, the auction house will be perfect for it. Regardless if it’s ghosts or criminals, it’s best to avoid the forest altogether and visit somewhere else.” 

“Thank you, we’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Renwu said, walking away from the two stalls with Lanyun. “After hearing that, finding a ghost flower in the forest seems more promising than ever. We should…” He glanced at the human walking beside him and threw a silk handkerchief at him. “Have some decency.”

Lanyun was engrossed in licking the sugar crystals off of his fingers. Catching the handkerchief, he begrudgingly wiped off the remaining lamb oil and sugar instead. “I can’t help it. It just tasted so good.”

“Stop acting like a beggar, we can afford to purchase more food,” Renwu said in disdain.

“Really?” Lanyun looked at Renwu with eyes gleaming in anticipation.  

“Of course,” Renwu agreed. “Though I do not earn as much as I did before the corruption, I’m still quite wealthy. Just point out what you’d like to eat, and I shall buy it for you.”

Afraid that Renwu would go back on his word, Lanyun immediately led him to the next stall that caught his attention. Thus began their new routine of Renwu buying Lanyun whatever he wanted to eat while gossiping with the stall owners about the Guwang forest, the recent cure for the mysterious illness that had swept through the western region, and other recommendations for visitors. After eight sesame balls, two spicy squid skewers, three jianbing, and one meat pie, Renwu finally lost his patience. 

“Take it,” Renwu said, tossing a few coins to Lanyun. “Your gluttony is costing us time. I will continue on ahead to other stalls. You may go at your own pace while eating, but be sure to keep an ear open for anything related to an unusual flower. With all that has occurred in the forest, it’s highly possible that someone here has already seen the ghost flower. In about an hour, we’ll regroup at the sugar art blowing stall.”

“Understood,” Lanyun said and popped another sesame ball into his mouth. 

As he purchased and ate ten pan-fried pork buns, Lanyun learned from the stall’s owner that few people unnecessarily ventured into the Guwang forest. No one could offer any further insight into what sort of plants grew in the forest. 

“If you’re truly curious, you could try asking the man down there,” the pork bun stall owner said, appearing to take pity on Lanyun as a well-paying customer. “He sells mooncakes near that end of the street. You’ll know it’s him when you see his…spot. He goes into the forest occasionally to pick wild berries and such for his desserts.” 

Lanyun said his thanks and headed towards the direction the stall owner had indicated. He found the mooncake seller seated on a worn-out cushion between two stalls. There was a low table before him with a spread of five different varieties of mooncakes. Compared to his peers with customers crowded around, it was obvious at first glance that his empty business was not as successful. He was also dressed in an old, worn out robe with a ragged scarf wrapped tightly around the lower half of his face. 

“Good evening,” Lanyun greeted the man. “What sort of mooncakes are you selling?”

“Good evening, young lord,” the mooncake seller replied with his voice muffled by his scarf. “I have plain lotus seed paste, red bean, salted duck egg yolk, rose, and a special berry one.”

“What’s the special berry one?” Lanyun asked curiously. He had never heard of such a mooncake before.

“I had picked these berries from the forest,” the mooncake seller said. “They were incredibly plump and juicy.” He looked away, appearing hesitant. “Though, I must warn you that they don’t taste very good. In fact, there’s hardly any flavor at all.”

“Alright, I’ll take a salted duck egg and one of the special berries as well,” Lanyun decided, intrigued by such a flavor. “By the way, while you were in the forest picking the berries, did you happen to see any interesting flowers? Specifically, one that resembled a spider lily?” 

“I do believe I did see something that resembled a spider lily,” the mooncake seller said thoughtfully. He wrapped the two mooncakes in bamboo leaves and handed them to Lanyun, who dropped the appropriate coins into the man’s empty hand. “Although, it may not have been a spider lily since it wasn’t the usual red but more…glowing. It was a bit far from me, though. I didn’t go closer to investigate since I had my hands full with picking the berries, so I’m most likely mistaken. If you’re interested in finding spider lilies, they typically grow near the river.” 

“That’s great to hear. Thank you,” Lanyun said delightedly. Excited by this new promising clue, he hurriedly walked away. It was almost time for him to regroup with Renwu, and he wanted to finish looking at the end of the street before doing so. 

As he walked further down the street, he unwrapped the mooncakes to try. Lanyun sniffed the special berry mooncake first. Nothing appeared amiss, so he took a tentative bite and chewed thoughtfully. Like the man had said, it held very little flavor at all, like he was eating air. It was only after he ate the entire mooncake that the horrible aftertaste violated his taste buds. A mixture of dirt and ash filled his mouth, and Lanyun quickly ate his other mooncake to erase the horrid flavor. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough and Lanyun continued purchasing other foods from nearby vendors until he could finally mask the strange flavor of the mooncake. 

“He should never be allowed to sell anything again,” Lanyun muttered bitterly under his breath after finishing the dried plums he had purchased. Looking around his surroundings, Lanyun realized that he had reached the end of the Night Market street and had stumbled upon the edge of the forest instead.

And at the entrance of the darkness between the towering trees, four floating blue flames danced, beckoning towards Lanyun.