Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 30

Mostly to act as a drinking buddy when his husband or his friends looked like they wanted some company, and more often than not when he was incredibly stressed. Moreover, Xie Lian enjoyed the taste of liquor and wine, and wasn't some sort of fuddy-duddy like many people still wanted to believe.

Even Shi QingXuan, bless the poor soul, almost fell from his chair when Xie Lian accepted his invite for a night out drinking without a second thought.

He just preferred avoiding to compromise his cultivation path more than he was already doing, and gave himself some limits.

«What was this called, again? I forgot», Xie Lian said, after the first sip. It tasted heavenly, irony included. Not even the wine he tasted in the Heavenly Court during that infamous game was comparable. Not that the god could ever say that to an official, of course, unless he wanted the business that produced it whisked away to the clouds.

Hua Cheng let the liquor linger on his tongue to truly appreciate the flavor before answering: «Gege, you must really be tired if you forgot the name of your favorite», he teased. His beloved pouted, looking at him with big, golden eyes, stealing a sweet laugh from the ghost.

So cute...!

He couldn't resist and placed a kiss on the crown of his head: «I believe it's called Tianzi Xiao», the Ghost King finally answered, leaning back on the divan.

What a breathtaking place, that town had been. A bit cold, maybe, but Xie Lian had walked around with awe lighting up his face, and he looked stunning with that white fur coat over his shoulders. They didn't stay for too long, a week and they were gone from that town, but every second of their stay had been worth it. If only for the happiness that brightened His Highness' mood for the remainder of the trip.

«We could go back there, one of these days», Hua Cheng suggested, reaching over to grab the jar and pour himself and Xie Lian another cup. Some time before, the god's cheeks would have already flushed pink, the alcohol affecting him far more quickly than one could think, but he had long since grown used to it. Now it took more time for him to get tipsy, a fact in which Hua Cheng delighted; it was fun, drinking together and getting drunk together, those rare nights it happened.

The ghost curved his lips in a smirk: «We could rent a room, get drunk on Tianzi Xiao, and make love from sunset to sunrise», he said, a low and rumbling whisper.

«And traumatize the other guests», Xie Lian laughed, shaking his head. The idea had its appeal, but thinking about those innocent ears that would be sleeping in the same inn... no, it was too embarrassing and way too mean. «Talking of traumatizing, what about Qi Rong?».

Because of the mess with Lan Chang committing arson and subsequently taking the fetus spirit, the answer he wanted to receive about his cousin never saw the light. They weren't supposed to be gone for that long, and surely they weren't supposed to relocate themselves to Ghost City while him and GuZi stayed at PuQi Shrine on their own.

Xie Lian was worried, though he was also hoping that staying away from Hua Cheng could only help in calming Qi Rong down, for the child's sake.

«No need to worry, gege», the Ghost King lazily replied, sipping on his liquor. «He's been acting surprisingly well for being him».

His butterflies didn't gather any dangerous behavior, which was bewildering. Qi Rong, that trash, wasn't normally someone to act so responsible. Hus Cheng kicked his ass so many times he lost count over the years, and wanted to slam him on the floor in a choke-hold more often than not when listening to his mouth spouting insults and nonsense, but that time he actually controlled himself.