Diaphanous | Hua Cheng X Reader X Xie Lian

Chapter 29: Outburst

The dirt path had stirred, creating a cloud of dust as people nearby would cough or wave their hands to get rid of such clouds.

"Gege!" Hua Cheng calls out. Among the crowd of people, he had searched for where Xie Lian would potentially be. He had paused in place to allow for his mind to clear slightly and look for his lover.

Once he had spotted the familiar white robes, he made his way over in an instant. "Gege"

At his words, Xie Lian turned to him, his eyebrows furrowed. Before him, Hua Cheng stood still composed and blank faced. While his face refused to portray any odd emotion, he knew Hua Cheng was worried. "What is it, San Lang? What happened?"

"(Y/N), she disappeared," He replies. He was straight to the point.

The stuff Xie Lian held dropped to the floor in an instant as his eyes widened. He turned on his heel quickly, walking the way Hua Cheng had come from ignoring the shouts of the vendor who was still trying to sell the items.

"I figured you would know better than me where she might have disappeared to, plus in this case, two minds are better than one," He states, following behind Xie Lian.

"I...." Xie Lian hesitates. At that moment, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I don't...even when I had found her again, it's only because she wished to be found."

"All I know is she would disappear back into the forest when she was younger, whenever a situation arose she didn't like," Hua Cheng sighs. He crossed his arms over his chest as he had begun to think.

"She does so even now..." Xie Lian replies, his own mind racing to find information that would help.

"Perhaps we can start by looking at the nearby forest she may have run into," Hua Cheng says. Xie Lian nods his head.

"Let's start there,

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It seemed as though, no matter what happened to (Y/N), she always ended up back in the same space. The same small home in the forest, alone.

She rested her back against a mound of dirt that held flower crowns littered across it. Her head was buried in her knees as she stared blankly at the fabric of her clothes. Feeling a sudden weight on her head, she blinks slightly.

Looking up hesitantly, she sees Lang Ying before her, crouching in front of her. Once they had made eye contact, he tilted his head to the side slightly.

"I'll be fine" (Y/N) utters, reaching up to grab what was placed on her head. She held it in her hands as she stared at the stems weaved together to make a crown. Gently, she places it on the dirt mound with the many others, avoiding the stone that sat in the middle.

Lang Ying moves to sit beside her. Waving his hand slightly as a signal. Cautiously, something had approached them. From the tree line, two surprising visitors appeared, the tigers she once helped. The cub pranced over happily, nuzzling into her side while the tigress joined soon after.

"Did you find them?" She asks, petting the cub on the head. At her question, Lang Ying shakes his head and with a whisper replies "Found...me..."

She hums, pulling the tiger cub to sit on her lap as she continues to pet its head. Her eyes wander the stray area before landing on a part of the grave they sat by.

"Do you think I'm bad luck?" She asks. This had caught Lang Ying off guard as it wasn't something he ever expected to hear from her. Immediately he shook his head to disagree with her question.

"I think I am." She whispers holding the cub close to her as she laid down against the dirt, Lang Ying following after.

"Goddess of Nature?" She scoffs closing her eyes which had started to burn "Maybe I should just be a Goddess of Misfortune, or maybe just Death"