In a Moment

The ghosts in the hall had been already speechless long before, and only watched in silence. Nevermind that it was the lord's first time betting against someone, when the bet came to be a half-eaten bun, they thought it was a joke. But to think, in all seriousness, the lord had actually pursued the person to ask for this bun. Speechless. There was really nothing to say. There were some ghosts who even had a more absurd thought—either there was some sort of enormous secret hidden within this bun, or this person was actually the lord's older brother!

Yet Hua Cheng grinned as he received the bun, gave it a look and waved it around in his hand. "I've claimed this prize."

To see that he actually took it, Xie Lian didn't know what to say. It was only after a good minute that he responded.

"It's...cold. And, maybe, a little hard." Hua Cheng replied, "That's okay. I don't mind." Since he answered like this, Xie Lian had nothing more to say to continue the conversation. He already said all he could, so he turned around and headed towards the exit.

As soon as he took one step, his surroundings changed completely. Gone was the hussle and bussle of the gamblers den, and his companions. There was no one to be seen anywhere. Only pin drop silence and pitch black darkness all around. As Xie Lian was about to light up a very small palm torch with his limited spiritual power, he heard a familiar deep voice next to his ears "Gege."

Xie Lian turned to the direction of the sound. In the dark, suddenly came one silver butterfly, illuminating a little bit around itself with its faint light. Then came another and another from nowhere, until there were a hundred thousand silver butterflies, lighting up the place in a faint glow like moonlight. They were flying around the figure of Hua Cheng, fluttering their wings soundlessly. Xie Lian saw Hua Cheng standing in front of him with a small crooked smile.

"San Lang! Where are we? Where's everyone else?" Xie Lian asked, not a little alarmed at the sudden change of environment.

Hua Cheng took a step closer. "We are in my personal dominion. Everyone else is where they were"

"Why are we here? Won't the others look for us?"

"They are in an illusion. They won't notice we're gone"

Xie Lian looked at a butterfly that landed on his shoulder. "Why are we here San Lang?"

Hua Cheng reached out his hand, and with the gentlest touch, turned Xie Lian's face towards his own. "Gege, you know I let you win."

"En, I know." Xie Lian said, raising his head to look into Hua Cheng's eye.

"Won't you give thanks to this one?"

"Many thanks indeed. With my luck I would never make it." Xie Lian said sincerely.

"Won't your highness give any special token of gratitude to this humble one?"

Xie Lian smiled, a bead of sweat dropped from his forehead in embarrassment. "San Lang, you are the king of ghosts and the lord of this city. What can I give you? I've already given you the only thing I had on my person. You know I have nothing else."

"Your kindness and faith in me will be enough."

"You have them." Xie Lian said without a moments delay.

He saw a sudden flash of light in Hua Cheng's eye, like a small change that disappeared before completion. Hua Cheng's gaze became softer. His eyelids drooped as he looked down at Xie Lian's face. He leaned down and brought his face closer to Xie Lian's lips.

Xie Lian instinctively raised a hand to block him, without fully grasping what was about to happen. He put it on his lips and said "San Lang, what are you--"

Before he could finish, he felt the gentlest kiss on his finger tip. Hua Cheng's eye was closed. In the light of the butterflies, Hua Cheng's jade-like face was an ethereal sight. However, Xie Lian had no time to admire such a Beauty. He was utterly confused. In his 800 years of life he had never fallen into a situation quite like this. He had stopped thinking he would experience anything new after all this time but here he was.

Hua Cheng pressed his lips to his finger tips, and in an instant Xie Lian pulled his hands back. He opened his mouth to say something, but before any words were out, Hua Cheng's lips were on top of his.

For many moments Xie Lian stayed frozen in place, completely taken aback by the action and the feeling. In the 800 years he spent collecting scrap, he stayed pure and true in every way due to his cultivation method. He had never even thought of having any experience like this, let alone in such a circumstance. In his amazement he didn't even think to close his mouth to deny access to Hua Cheng's probing tongue. Xie Lian never knew what it feels like to be kissed. But this was not bad at all, that's what he thought for a fragment of a second. Hua Cheng was very gentle, very calm. His lips caressed Xie Lian's unhurriedly, with the utmost care. Even in this dazed state he could feel the devotion and ardour in Hua withomovements. It was so comforting that not even Ruoye stirred for a second. Xie Lian too, never once thought of using Ruoye on Hua Cheng. Whether it was thoughtlessness or unwillingness, he couldn't tell.

In the next instance, the absurdity of the situation dawned on him. What was he doing! Why was he letting this happen! It is certainly a mad situation. He had to stop this insanity!

Xie Lian was a heavenly official. He had strength enough to break boulders on his chest even with his spiritual power depleted. But at this moment, he felt his body weaker than a newborn calf. He only moved a little bit, and put both of his hands on Hua Cheng's chest. He gave him a small push with his feeble strength. Not only did Hua Cheng not move away, he grabbed both of Zie Lians hands in his cool jade hand, pressed them closer to his chest and pulled Xie Lian closer to his body with the other. This gesture woke Xie Lian up somewhat. He panicked, and before he organised his thoughts, he bit down hard on Hua Cheng's lower lip.

Hua Cheng immediately broke the kiss, surely not from pain. No, the king of ghosts wouldn't be affected at all by such a trifle. He stopped to look at Xie Lian for only one moment. In that time Xie Lian saw many emotions flashing by in that one eye filled with stars, but he couldn't decipher anything. The next time he blinked, he was standing in front of the entrance, not even one step away from the place when he went into the enchantment. 

Yes, it must have been. Surely some trick must be at play, or it was a mistake of his own mind. The ghost city was full of evil energies and entities. Though they couldn't probably harm Xie Lian even in his weak state, it wouldn't be too difficult to show him impure visions or a dreams in a moment of distraction. Such an odd encounter to happen in reality was nothing short of an impossibility. Xie Lian's heart was pounding so hard, he wasted no time in such deliberations. 

The nether crowd of the Gambler's Den all parted for him as he departed. When he first went forward, they parted for him thinking he was a brave warrior. Now, they parted for him with fear and suspicion.

After walking for a few steps, he could hear the ghosts behind him ask, "My Lord! My Lord, where are you going now?"

Hua Cheng lazily replied, "I'm feeling good today. I'm heading to the Paradise Manor." Hearing his response, the hall erupted in cheers as if it was New Year's. Xie Lian couldn't help but take another glance back, and saw that Hua Cheng had also turned around. With that half-eaten bun still in his hand, he gave it a light toss and casually took a bite out of it, looking in Xie Lian's direction. Xie Lian paused in his tracks when he saw that scene play out. Suddenly, for some reason, he felt that he shouldn't stay there any longer. He picked up his pace, grabbed Lang Qianqiu, and ran out. Everything was as normal as it could be, removing the absurd incident from his mouth for the time being. Only, was Hua Cheng's lip looking a little puffy when he last looked at him?