San Lang carries him down the burning hallway, sheltering Xie Lian's body against his own and with every step they take Xie Lian wonders at the situation he's found himself in.
He thought that San Lang would hate him.
He thought that their friendship was over, broken like everything else Xie Lian touches.
He thought...
He thought a lot of things and now it seems as though they couldn't be further from the truth. But what the truth is, what is actually going on, he's not sure if that either. Again his mind flashes to the sight that met him when he first returned to the armory, Hua Cheng's hand around E'ming's blade, the blood dripping through his fingers and down his wrist to stain the sleeve of his elegant robes. He doesn't understand. He just knows that he hates, hates the memory of Hua Cheng's blood, hates the idea that he could do that to himself. He wants to say something, ask about it, talk to his friend, try to help however he can, but he can't seem to find the words.
Hua Cheng pushes open the door of the room and Xie Lian is surprised to see that there back in the guest bedroom Hua Cheng gave him when he arrived at Paradise Manor .... Was that really only a few hours ago? He's even more surprised to realize that, while the smell of smoke from the burning hallway outside still taints the air a little, otherwise the room is completely untouched by the fire.
"San Lang? Can't the fire get in here?"
"No need to worry, Gege, this room is surrounded by the most powerful wards I can create. With one exception it is the safest place in my domain."
"That exception is San Lang's own room?" Xie Lian guesses. He fully expects to be correct but to his surprise Hua Cheng shakes his head.
"No, nothing like that." Hua Cheng lowers him gently to sit on the bed.
Xie Lian blinks up at him curiously, wondering why Hua Cheng would choose to go to such lengths to ward a random guest bedroom but not his own room and what sort of place the safest place in his domain could be. Xie Lian is about to ask when Hua Cheng's expression darkens again, his eyes fixing on Xie Lian's right arm. He glances down and notices for the first time that beneath the garbage stains and the coating of ash now covering his robes, the entire length of that sleeve is stained red with his blood.
"Ah..." Xie Lian begins awkwardly, trying to figure out what to say to ease the moment, but before he can find the words Hua Cheng abruptly drops to one knee, bowing his head.
Xie Lian's eyes widen in shock.
"San Lang what..."
"I'm sorry." Hua Cheng's voice is low and pained. "I never meant to hurt you."
Xie Lian hates hearing him sound like that, and he hates seeing him kneel like that, and he hates...
"San Lang, please get up!" Xie Lian reaches forward desperately and grabs the ghost by his shoulders, trying to pull him to his feet. He hates seeing him like that! It hurts and it isn't right and it reminds him of... "Please. You said before that I shouldn't kneel before you. I feel the same way! Besides you haven't done anything, not really. I was the one who chose to interfere in your fight so please..."
Hua Cheng allows himself to be pulled to his feet, his head still lowered just enough that the hair hanging over his eye makes his expression hard to read.
"Forgive me." His voice is quiet and more controlled now, no longer filled with raw pain. That should be an improvement but somehow it doesn't quite feel like one, as though Hua Cheng's pain isn't gone, just hidden away. "This one didn't mean to make your highness uncomfortable."
"It's nothing, it's nothing. You didn't make me uncomfortable." Xie Lian says it quickly, waving his hands a little wildly in denial and reassurance. "Only, it really wasn't your fault so you shouldn't worry about it so much."
Hua Cheng just nods, and even though his eye is still hidden Xie Lian can tell that he's staring at that bloody sleave again.
After a moment he asks, "Your Highness, would you allow me to treat your wound?"
Xie Lian glances down at it again. His first impulse is to refuse. He has hundreds of years of practice treating his own wounds after all, and it's really not such a big deal as Hua Cheng is making it ... Even if it does hurt. But the ghost king really does seem so upset about having done it, even if it was just an accident. Maybe doing this will help him more than it will help Xie Lian.
"Alright."
Xie Lian nods and Hua Cheng bends over him, gently beginning to slide Xie Lian's outer robe off of his shoulder. The god stills beneath the touch, his breath catching slightly. He Isn't quite sure why. This isn't a big deal. San Lang is just treating his injury, that's all. Yet for some reason the feeling of the Ghost King's hands undressing him has his heart pounding in his chest.
Once he's lowered the outer robe Hua Cheng hesitates for only a moment before slipping Xie Lian's inner robe off his shoulder and down his arm as well. Xie Lian's breath catches again but this time it's in pain at feeling of the fabric being pulled free of the still leaking wound. Hua Cheng's face darkens again when he sees it but this time he says nothing, only raises one hand. Butterflies flutter from the silver vambrace on his arm and Xie Lian's eyes widen as they come to rest on his skin, covering his arm wing tip to wing tip until no part of his injury is visible.
"San Lang, your butterflies can heal?"
Hua Cheng nods. "They can. If they bother your highness than try not to mind them too much, they will be done soon."
"Bother?" Xie Lian blinks up at him in surprise. "No, not at all. They are so cute and talented. I like them a lot."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Only if they can heal then..." Xie Lian hesitates then presses on. "Could they not heal your wound as well?"
Hua Cheng's face snaps up at that and Xie Lian finally gets a good look at his expression. His eye is wide and his lips are slightly parted and he looks both surprised and somehow strangely guilty, as though he's a child who's been caught doing something he shouldn't. Quickly he closes his injured palm into a fist as though reflexively trying to hide the wound but it's impossible and a moment later he seems to realize that. Even if Xie Lian hadn't seen him with the sword in his hand, the hand shaped blood stain on Xie Lian's robes is undeniable evidence.
Hua Cheng looks away again. "It is nothing for your highness to trouble yourself over."
Xie Lian frowns. He still doesn't really understand what's happening but he doesn't like it. He reaches out to catch the wrist of that injured hand in his own and feels the ghost king flinch slightly at his touch. When they first met Hua Cheng flinched from his touch as well and so back then Xie Lian wondered if there was something about himself that the other man disliked. They have grown much closer since then so perhaps Hua Cheng is simply not the sort of man who likes being touched, but that doesn't feel right either, not with the way the ghost embraced him in the armory or insisted on carrying him to this room. Then it had almost seemed as though Hua Cheng craved touch. Xie Lian isn't sure what to make of it but he withdraws his hand anyway, not wanting to make his friend uncomfortable.
Still, he isn't going to drop the topic of the wound so easily, not when Hua Cheng seems to be planning to remain injured and in pain without doing anything to heal himself.
"That isn't right though." He frowns up at Hua Cheng.
"What isn't right?"
"San Lang gets to worry so much about my injuries but I'm not allowed to worry about his?"
Those words seem to catch Hua Cheng completely off guard because he turns back to stare at Xie Lian for a long moment before a soft chuckle leaves his lips.
"Your Highness makes an excellent point. I'm not sure I can argue." Some of the tension seems to leave Hua Cheng's voice as he says it in his shoulders relax a bit.
Xie Lian lets out a soft breath of relief. He still isn't sure why Hua Cheng cut himself to begin with but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
"Then don't argue." He pats the spot on the bed next to him and obediently Hua Cheng settles onto it. He rests his hand in his lap, palm up, and a few more butterflies flutter from his silver vambraces to settle on his palm, closing the wound.
Xie Lian watches with interest. "Your butterflies really are quite amazing." He glances down at the ones padding over his own arm, feeling a slight tickle as they move against his skin. "What other things can they do?" He asks partly because he is genuinely curious and partly because he wants Hua Cheng to relax a bit.
It seems to be working because Hua Cheng's shoulders unlock a little more as they shrug. "All sorts of things. They can gather information, show me things happening in other places, record events so that I can listen to them later, even fight for me."
Xie Lian claps his hands, noticing in astonishment as he does so that moving his right arm no longer hurts. "That's amazing. For them to do so much, San Lang is quite amazing too."
The moment after the words leave his mouth pink rises to Xie Lian's cheeks as he realizes that his words might sound too forward or perhaps a little condescending, but he means them honestly and fortunately it seems like Hua Cheng is taking them that way because he smiles a bit. It's not a large smile but it's the first one Xie Lian seen from him since returning to the armory and the sight warms him.
"It's nothing, merely a few tricks. Your Highness is the truly talented one. No one has ever stopped E'ming so completely before." Hua Cheng's eye darkens a bit when he mentions the armory fight but his tone is still light enough that Xie Lian feels like talking about it may be safe now.
"it was nothing, just a technique I came up with a long time ago."
"Oh really?" Now Hua Cheng looks intrigued. "Gege came up with it? Does it have a name."
A small sad smile curves Xie Lian's lips. "Sort of. I call it Wu Ming."