Talking with Jun Wu had been weirdly invigorating. Xie Lian showed up at the Great Martial Hall dressed in beautiful, refined white robes but with a sense of dread looming over him, thinking over and over again about what he should tell to the Emperor, what he was going to be asked, how he needed to answer. He didn't think that meeting could end with him feeling refreshed, rather than emotionally exhausted.
Jun Wu didn't pry where he didn't need to. He didn't ask too many questions, only inquired about what he couldn't understand with just Xie Lian exposing the facts.
More considerate than Xie Lian could have ever imagined, given the situation.
After their talk, Jun Wu told him he was going to inform Ling Wen so they could have that part of missing history properly recorded, and then let him go.
Which surprised Xie Lian, because he was expecting to be asked to stay until everything was done. Not that he didn't trust Ling Wen or Jun Wu, but... without him there, she could literally write anything he wanted her to.
Despite the absurdity of his fear, Xie Lian made a mental note to ask He Xuan to take a peek in the new scroll that would soon appear in Ling Wen's library to make sure everything was fine. He had been through way too much slander to lower his guard, especially in a place like the Heavenly Capital. The respect he had for his friends did nothing to reassure him about pieces of his past he had to share with them.
Not many could say to have such a dangerous person backing him up, but Xie Lian was more than grateful for it.
Not seeing anyone searching for him, and with his communication array silent, the god produced a pair of dice from his sleeves and threw them. The throw resulted in those snake eyes still plaguing him, but the result was nonetheless the one he wanted. Straight to Ghost City, right in front of Paradise Manor.
As he climbed up the stairs to the marvelous doors, ghosts shouting greetings at him left and right, in Xie Lian's mind there was only the comfort of finally being back home.
And, as soon as he entered, he found himself with a sudden armful of vibrating silver.
«E-Ming, don't jump like that, you could hurt someone», the god scolded the weapon, letting out an amused laugh. He scratched the scimitar right below the eye, just like he would do with a cat, and laughed even more when RuoYe peeked out from under his sleeve and greeted the weapon by coiling itself around it.
Eager, E-Ming rapidly blinked at him before yanking him forward, Xie Lian running with the weapon dragging him with laughter following throughout all the hallways they crossed. A couple of servants had to jump aside, scared of the scimitar, so the god yelled a couple of "I'm sorry" to the poor souls at some point his feet simply started sliding on the perfectly polished floors of the mansion, but E-Ming stopped just in time to avoid Xie Lian stumbling on the raised threshold of the armory.
Thankfully, because Hua Cheng turned around to see what was causing such a mess, and glared at his weapon.
E-Ming was so focused on being once again babied by Xie Lian that it didn't care in the slightest.
«Gege, you always pay attention to E-Ming more than me», Hua Cheng pouted, still glaring at the scimitar. «This San Lang will die of loneliness».
«No one will die of loneliness here», Xie Lian sighed. His husband, ever the dramatic one, made a show of raising a hand to his forehead and falling on the nearby chair the god often used when he wanted to take care of the weapons. He was so into it that some butterflies appeared all around to sadly flap their wings, as if they themselves were suffering from lack of Xie Lian closeness.
Seeing the ghost look at him with a pleading shimmer in his eye, the god let out an exasperated breath and shook his head, letting go of E-Ming: «Seriously, I spoiled you way too much», he commented, watching in the corner of his eye as the spiritual weapon and RuoYe started chasing each other. «Look at you, the mighty Ghost King being jealous of a scimitar».
There was no bite to the words, though. In fact, Xie Lian accepted Hua Cheng's lap as his seat and threw his arms around the ghost's shoulders, chuckling when a pair of cold lips found their way to his face in order to pepper it with kisses.
It didn't go on for too long, however. Xie Lian pushed his husband away to counteract the shower of kisses, poked him on the cheek to stop the disappointed pout forming on his face, and nodded towards the door: «Let's eat something, I'll tell you what Jun Wu said».
At that Hua Cheng gave in and stood up, but adamantly refused to let him go. In fact, they walked the many hallways leading to the beautiful patio overlooking the lake hand in hand, the ghost sweetly whispering into Xie Lian ears as they made their way.
The patio was frequently used by the two as a place to have dinner, relatively quiet despite being outside, but the main reason was another; the scenery from there was nothing if not breathtaking, will-o'-wisps floating above still water painted red by the haze of the Ghost City, golden lights reflecting on the calm surface from the many lanterns dotting the golden pavilion that was Paradise Manor.
At first it wasn't exactly fit for private conversations, as their voices could travel and reach other ears, but Hua Cheng made sure to make it their own little corner surrounded by a soft silence. They weren't invisible to others' eyes, but not even a single whisper could escape after the Ghost King raised his protection.
Xie Lian enjoyed having their meals there immensely.
«Now that I think about it, where is Yin Yu?», the god asked as they sat down. «I didn't see him».
Before answering, Hua Cheng ordered his servants to bring them dinner and be quick about it. Then, he draped an arm around Xie Lian's shoulders and gave a shrug: «He's busy dealing with unruly gamblers. I wanted to take care of them myself, but gege is more important».
What a statement, coming from the greediest being that ever walked the world.
Xie Lian laughed lightly, pink blushing his cheeks, and made a show of showing his husband away: «San Lang, you tease», he whined, now his turn to be pouty. «You're a brat».
«Mh, but you married this brat».
He did, didn't he?
Someday, Xie Lian will ask his husband to let him see the day of their wedding again. Those butterflies of his were incredibly useful in that, after all, with their abilities to record events and voices at will. And he knew Hua Cheng saved that day for it to be permanent, as much as it could be.
For now, though, the god moved the subject back to Yin Yu, and teased the ghost back: «Look at you, San Lang. Entrusting Yin Yu with dealing with Gambler Den's transgressors. You two really are good friends!», he said, as cheerfully as he could possibly be.
It was enough to make Hua Cheng sputter out some excuse, panicking in his attempt to deny everything he'd just been called out on.
In the end, to make him stop, Xie Lian found himself kissing those beautiful lips that were able to take his breath away, and just in time; seconds after they separated, the servants of Paradise Manor appeared on the patio, plates of steaming food in their arms.
Xie Lian sniffed the air and barely suppressed a pleased sound from escaping his lips. No matter how many times he ate that food, he still marveled at how delicious it was. Even more than the perfect, flavorful dishes served at the palace of XianLe.
At first it was just Hua Cheng cooking for him. He always boasted about luscious banquets and exquisite feasts worthy of a king, but would always bring those expectations down to him cooking enough for Xie Lian to enjoy, with said god standing beside him in the kitchen and marveling at the skills he could never have.
Hua Cheng used to say he didn't want his servants to cook for Xie Lian, hey were unworthy of such a noble task, and it took quite a bit of convincing to have him spill out the obvious truth. He just wanted to be the one cooking for him, but was too self-conscious to openly admit it.
It was the beginning, back then. The ghost still doubted himself when faced with Xie Lian. He never held it against him.
But he did tease him about it for a long time, after the truth came up.
Now, also thanks to Xie Lian loving the servants at Paradise Manor and their respectful – but not frightened – behavior, Hua Cheng was more than fine to have his skilled cooks prepare lunch and dinner for them. Breakfast was still something he preferred to make himself, when Xie Lian wished to have it, but he finally relied on his staff for a lot more things.
Drawing a bath for Xie Lian, a task that was once for Hua Cheng only, was now comfortably passed onto the shoulders of an attendant more often than not. Taking care of their bedroom was now once again something that servants needed to do, while at first Hua Cheng was so jealous of Xie Lian he didn't want anyone but him and his butterflies to see what they left behind, was it simply rumpled sheets or the result of their lovemaking.
It was nice.
Really nice.
«This is so good», Xie Lian commented after a bite, mouth full and words distorted. It was tremendously easy for him to forget about propriety, when alone with his husband, but to be honest the dish he just dug into was the most delicious food he'd ever tasted in eight hundred years. Including the spectacular courses served in the Heavenly Capital.
Although, it was very different recipes. Thanks to Hua Cheng's efforts, which in that case were represented by a rather peculiar vegetable garden that was able to grow stubborn greens , Paradise Manor could pride itself with home-grown vegetables. Admittedly, they were nothing like the edible plants that could be cultivated in the mortal realm, but in terms of taste and appearance were just a good. If not better.
The ghost initially created that space to be a simple garden, tucked away in a place that was just far enough from the chaotic streets of the city to avoid trespassers trampling all over it – Xie Lian later learned it was supposed to be part of a much bigger project, a big garden resembling the ones in the Royal Capital of XianLe – but converted it upon discovering how much joy his beloved found in simple things such as tending some soil.
And it was true, Xie Lian really did enjoy taking care of plants, it was beautiful for him to be able to nurture a living thing without having to fear the consequences of an eventual failure. At the beginning it didn't go too well, the not yet dissipated bad luck causing many plants to wither and die despite all the care, but it got better. So much better, in fact, that the first time Xie Lian managed to harvest something edible he ran along the streets of the city with a bunch vegetables in hand and a huge smile lighting up his face.
It had to be a shock for the ghosts, to see the husband of their lord be so ecstatic over a handful of greens, but it was worth the accidental surprise.
Meat... well, Hua Cheng did try to convince Xie Lian to slaughter some of the weird cattle kept in Ghost City, but the god had never been so sure about that. Not because his stomach couldn't handle it, but because those creatures couldn't be treated as normal animals. Ghosts and demons normally ate their meat raw, or cooked in extravagant ways; in that case, Xie Lian often noticed how utterly unappetizing it was, and how toxic it looked. Despite being able to eat basically anything without suffering major consequences, the Crown Prince decided it was better not to try his – already lacking – luck.
So, their meat all came from the mortal realm, as Yin Yu was quite efficient in gathering resources for the kitchen to keep.
It took a long time for Xie Lian to taste food again.
Due to the long years spent eating anything that looked remotely edible, from actual food to rotting vegetables and crumbling buns, his tongue had become so numb he just didn't taste anything anymore. Even the initial disgust he felt for deteriorated food, for the mushy texture of many spoiled fruits, the horror of truly sickening mold, everything simply dissipated over time.
By the time he was taken in as Guoshi of Yong'An, and treated to amazing meals every single day, Xie Lian already wasn't able to discern the taste of proper food from the garbage he was used to.
Only after receiving the gift of a talented husband and a talented fleet of servants ready to cook anything for him to perfection did Xie Lian start to savor the flavors of so many delicacies. Even a simple mantou was heaven for his devastated taste buds, when he got his sense of taste back.
Fascinated, Hua Cheng put down his chopsticks and propped his chin on one hand to look at his husband. There were so many words to describe him, not even an entire book could hold all of them, but at that exact moment only one resounded in the ghost's mind. As he watched his beloved eat with a smile curling the corner of his lips, eyes gleaming with every bite, the only appropriate description was "bewitching".
The glistening sheen on his lips to the perfectly white teeth peeking out to grab a bite every once in a while, the slender fingers holding a pair of lucid black chopsticks with practiced ease, the jaw that was simultaneously delicate and defined.
Everything about him was endearing, even as he carried out such a simple task as eating.
Eight hundred years, and Hua Cheng was still falling in love day after day.
When a drop of sauce landed on Xie Lian's chin, thanks to his eagerness to try what he had been offered, Hua Cheng grabbed a napkin and reached out for him. He gently wiped away the small mess, and smiled: «Gege seems really happy. This San Lang is glad».
Xie Lian swallowed his bite: «How can I note be? Everything went so well today, and I'm already here with my husband. And on such a nice evening!», he gave a bright smile, eyes squinting with the intensity of it.
Hua Cheng wanted to melt right then and there, blinded by the ray of sunshine that was his beloved. He loved to see him so joyous, so carefree. Those easy days took a long time to came into their lives, walking forward two steps just to take one backwards, but as soon as they got there... oh, the ghost was going to treasure every moments in his heart as best as he could.
«What did Jun Wu tell you?», he eventually asked, after Xie Lian gulped down a last sip of water to finish his dinner. «I thought he would be a bother».
Just like any other official, after all.
Well, YuShi Huang was an exception. Hua Cheng couldn't deny he had a liking for the Rain Master, truly an outstanding heavenly official. She had the incredibly helpful advantage of having helped Xie Lian in the past when no one else wanted to, surely a way to keep her name clean in the Ghost King's eye, but even he had to admit that she was peculiar in a genuinely nice way.
Maybe Xie Lian would want to visit her, sometime in the future. He sincerely hoped so.
«He literally just asked me to clear up some things he didn't understand after I recounted the story», was the answer. Xie Lian tapped his bottom lip with a finger, thoughtful: «I thought he would have been harsher, given the situation, but he let me find my own time and my own words to explain. Whatever is going on in his head to like me so much, I'm kinda glad for it».
What heavy words. Maybe Hua Cheng's attitude had really rubbed off on him.
Knowing his husband wanted to have some examples of that, even if he refused to say it out of fear of making Xie Lian uncomfortable, the god shifted closer so they could properly hug each other and sighed: «He asked me to explain in detail what I found out when interrogating An Le».
Not exactly a comfortable trip down memory lane, but he couldn't blame the Emperor. The explanation given in the Great Martial Hall had been lackluster when it came to that, after all, and Xie Lian understood that such a important details had to be recorded. If only for the sake of those who weren't at fault, back then.
An Le's reasons for the massacre had been difficult to expose, especially without Hua Cheng at his side keeping him grounded. Remembering such a hateful behavior coming from the last heir of XianLe almost made Xie Lian break down all over again, a lump forming in his throat as he spoke, but he struggled on and kept talking for the sake of history.
In a way, An Le reminded Xie Lian of himself. The only difference between them was the fact that An Le actually caused a massacre, while the Crown Prince stopped just in the nick of time before bringing a disaster upon Yong'An.
But they had the same hate, the same bitterness, the same desire of vengeance. Talking to Jun Wu about that without uncovering his own past by accident had been challenging.
«I'm glad to have talked about it, in a way», the god however said, leaning his head on Hua Cheng's shoulder. «It's still a burden, but I feel like it's lighter».
At least now the heavens would not look at him with vulture eyes, waiting for a stumble that would allow them to prey on him. One step towards that kind of peace that was almost impossible to obtain, among heavenly officials fond of gossip and drama.
«What made me truly reconsider my decision to talk to him was Jun Wu asking to elaborate better on the reason why I killed the King», Xie Lian continued after a short silence. At those words, he felt Hua Cheng tighten his hug, and turned around to see a crease on his forehead. The god didn't fault him for disliking the Emperor, just as he never faulted him for his clear animosity towards other officials, but he did raise a hand to cradle his face: «Don't be mad at him, he was right to ask me that. He needed to confirm that I didn't just want to kill someone and finish the job started by An Le».
«You had already told him, though», was the affronted reply. «You told him in front of the entire court. Was that not enough?».
Xie Lian smiled, and shook his head: «Some things need further confirmation, San Lang. I think he needed to be sure. Anyone could manage a lie, in front of many people, but no one could possibly fabricate a fake reality when looking straight into the eyes of the Emperor».
And it was true.
While it was possible to dance around the issue and have compromises, Jun Wu wasn't their Lord for nothing. To lie to his face was a punishment sentence. Not telling was easy, but telling anything different from the truth never went unnoticed to his eyes and ears. Xie Lian himself never dared lie to him.
He wasn't omniscient, with many things still being dark corners for him to explore, but Jun Wu was smarter and more perceptive than anyone gave him credit for.
The answer from the ghost was a scoff: «He wanted to know if he could still trust his judgment of you, that's what I think», he said, bitterness poisoning his tongue. «Jun Wu just wants to believe you're as perfect and spotless as he thinks».
The truth was, Xie Lian wasn't. And he hated when people thought that. Despite his many attempts at helping others, despite his regret for what he did in the past and for what he almost became, Xie Lian never wanted anyone to believe he was perfect. A good person, someone to rely on, someone to be trusted, but never someone as white in the soul as a newborn.
There was a reason why Hua Cheng constantly reminded him he loved him just as he was, he loved his strength just as much as his flaws. It was a balance between black and white, a shade of grey that couldn't be washed clean by words.
No one in that word was just black or white. No one could be.
If Jun Wu believed Xie Lian to be the brightest white he so wanted him to be, he was just waiting to hurt him. To discover he wasn't right, and leave him to search for someone better.
«San Lang, don't think that», the god scolded his husband. «Jun Wu has many reasons I don't know for helping me, but I don't believe that's one of them».
After all, how could it be?
Xie Lian literally fought him, he beat the living hell out of him. He never even explained why, just... asked him not to ascend again, begged to be banished, and subsequently crossed swords with him in the least fake way possible. A fight that was supposed to be just for show had turned into a real one, with blood and wounds painting red the pure white of Jun Wu's armor and robes.
In his disdain, Hua Cheng often forgot that Jun Wu still helped Xie Lian after that. Hurting the Heavenly Emperor was a crime punishable by a banishment so cruel that would make the mortal realm forgot about the existence of the criminal. Xie Lian was still there, very much alive, ascended for the third time, and still supported by the Emperor himself.
He made sure to say it out loud, just because Hua Cheng needed the reminder every once in a while.
Their deal had been to make a show, have the heavens know Xie Lian attacked him, and proceed with his banishment without too much hassle.
However, Xie Lian was filled with anger, struggling to contain his grief, traumatized so deeply he still needed to come to terms with the shattered state of his mind and heart. He had just witnessed his only ally die to protect him, just killed Bai WuXiang and scattered his ashes to the abyss.
When the fight started, he couldn't find it in himself to keep it fake.
The fact that Jun Wu was clad in white didn't help.
Aside from those, all the other questions Jun Wu asked had been a lot easier to answer. It didn't take long to tell his husband about them, and by the time he was done talking the will-o'-wisps on the lake had doubled in number.
«Let's go to sleep», Xie Lian suggested, looking forward to the softness of their mattress and the gentle warmth of Hua Cheng's embrace.
Without a word, the ghost's lips curved up in a fond smile, and they were off to their bedroom.
They were woken in the morning by Yin Yu barging into their room – again – to yell at Hua Cheng about the Gambler's Den being his responsibility when it came to keeping track of treasure income. Apparently, as Xie Lian made out while trying not to laugh at the disbelief on his husband face upon being shouted at by his own attendant, Hua Cheng failed to record an entire week of income in the den's ledger.
Which got even funnier when Xie Lian realized it was the first time since the Gambler's Den was opened that Hua Cheng messed up so bad.
Hence the reason why Yin Yu was angrier than Xie Lian has ever seen him, in all the years he spent with the former god.
Not that it was Hua Cheng himself the one recording all the treasures and money coming into his chests; in fact, he had many ghosts doing the job for him at the den itself and he would only check at the end of the day to see if anything had been stolen or withheld.
But it was still his job to supervise those ghosts, often by leaving a butterfly with them.
Apparently, he had been so caught up around his husband that he forgot to ask Yin Yu to supervise in his place, like he did back when Xie Lian was deep in his sorrow after the BanYue War.
«Care to tell me what the fuck do I do, now? I can't possibly write an inventory if I have nothing to start with».
Yin Yu was so mad he didn't even flinch at the irate stare he got at those words. He crossed his arms, because he really wanted to punch a wall or something just to get rid of his frustration, and waited for his boss to make a decision.
He didn't complain about the workload all that much, Yin Yu was glad he had such a good place in Ghost City that allowed him to live without thinking about all his past failures, but there was only so much he could do on his own when Hua Cheng didn't take care of his business.
Not that he could fault him, because Xie Lian was more important to him than anything else in that god forsaken city, but it wouldn't have hurt to have a simple message delivered.
Literally just a word through their communication array. Nothing else.
Growling in annoyance, but forced to realize his mistake had just bit him in the ass, Hua Cheng threw his legs off the bed and neatly tied his eye-patch before throwing on his outer robe: «Did you not check the goddamn Den while I was away?», he venomously asked. «I pay you to do nothing?».
Yin Yu didn't catch the bait: «You pay me to do the jobs you ask of me. What am I supposed to do if you don't tell me anything?», he retorted, used to Hua Cheng's mood shenanigans. He used to be intimidated by him, at first, but if Hua Cheng truly thought him unable to perform the tasks he needed him to... well, it was safe to say that Yin Yu would have been booted long before. If not straight up disposed of, knowing how much the Ghost King cared about his city, even if he refused to say it out loud.
«He's right, you know?», Xie Lian interfered, stifling a laugh behind his hand.
«Gege!».
The god sat up, closing his inner robe to his chest, and leaned in to steal a quick kiss: «Don't "gege" me, he's right and you know it».
The offended mutter he received in response made him laugh again, but Xie Lian didn't relent: «Go help him fix this mess. If you don't, I'll have you practice calligraphy for the entire evening». At that, an horrified light flashed in Hua Cheng's eye, the threat enough to convince him. Still protesting, he looked at Yin Yu and nodded towards the door, a sour expression on his face. Soon after, they were gone.
Xie Lian genuinely felt concerned for the poor Gambler's Den ghosts that let things get that bad. He had a feeling they would soon find eternal peace in dissipation.
Alas, mishaps happened. Xie Lian was looking forward to spend a day walking around Ghost City with his husband, but he was also perfectly fine with leaving him to sort out the many treasures accumulated in the spa of a week.
If there was something he hated with a passion, after all, was paperwork. He disliked it just as much as Hua Cheng couldn't stand calligraphy lessons, and always tried to find ways to avoid it during his first ascension. All the times he dumped his stuff on Mu Qing's shoulders... Xie Lian wanted to feel guilty for that, but he didn't.
At the thought of Mu Qing, that ended up being followed by Feng Xin, the Crown Prince frowned. He still wasn't sure of what was going on between them, if they finally found a way to stop arguing or if they actually cleared up all their misconceptions.
When Feng Xin told him that Mu Qing was aware of Lan Chang... the god didn't really think about it all that much, simply brushed it off, but now those words came back. For some reason, it felt nice to know they might have fixed their relationship.
When their trio broke up, Mu Qing was unbelievably angry and bitter. Feng Xin left not long after the big fight that happened when Xie Lian yelled at Mu Qing about what he did in the cave.
He didn't know if they still cared for him, or if their intentions were much different and he was deluding himself, but Xie Lian was happy to see he didn't ruin them as well. Ruining himself had been enough, no one else deserved to suffer the same fate because of his mistakes.
There was no reason for him to think about them. At that point, it was clear that Xie Lian walked an entirely different path compared to them. That he knew, Feng Xin and Mu Qing never had malicious intent hidden in them, they'd been never involved with resentful energies and vengeance, something that was actually pretty common amongst officials. Pettiness and arrogance could be forgiven.
And, after all, Xie Lian never faulted them for leaving. The one day he thought about it without his judgment being clouded by insecurity and doubt was the day he understood that they deserved to go on their own ways. To choose their own paths.
But Xie Lian still had some bad moments. Bad days that had him think about them, think about Feng Xin and Mu Qing leaving because he had been a bad friend, a bad example, a bad company. Hua Cheng had to console him through one of those moments just weeks before.
It didn't help that they kept appearing and leaving without telling Xie Lian about it. Upon raising the blessing over PuQi, in fact, Xie Lian recognized the spiritual energy of his former attendants as their clones dissipated, clones he had no idea were there until he made them disappear. Where they checking up on him, or where they spying on him? Did they really listen when Xie Lian told them he was safe with Hua Cheng, of did they not trust him and were scared of the ghost?
Xie Lian hated the lack of knowledge. However, he didn't dare make a move to gain some to his advantage, because Feng Xin and Mu Qing obstinately kept their distance whenever there wasn't a mission to undertake.
It was frustrating, maddening even.
With a dejected sigh, Xie Lian decided to cast aside all his thoughts about them and got out of bed, stretching both arms over his head as he stood up. A yawn made its way to his mouth, but the god felt more rested than he had been in a while. Between Qi Rong invading his shrine, Lan Chang wrecking havoc, and Pei Ming sitting down at his table with an unforeseen conversation... one could say that a proper night's sleep without invasive thoughts disrupting deep dreams wasn't all that possible.
Not only that, Xie Lian kept thinking about Qi Rong living in the village with GuZi, waiting for the coast to be clear in order to make a run for it. Nevermind the comfortable place he had in Hua Cheng's arms as they slept, he couldn't rest.
An unbelievable weariness finally out of his bones, Xie Lian made his way to the adjacent room and rejoiced at the sight of a full, steaming bathtub waiting for him to step inside.
He would have gladly indulged in the hot water with Hua Cheng, maybe kiss him senseless for a while – he would be lying if those perfect lips weren't extremely attractive and absolutely kissable – but who knew how long his husband would be busy that day.
Xie Lian made a mental note to tell Hua Cheng he needed to give Yin Yu a green flag to supervise the Gambler's Den without needing to be ordered about it. Even if the ghost was extremely protective of that debauched place.
In fact, exactly because he was that protective he needed to entrust it to him, just as he gave Yin Yu permission to take care of Qiandeng Temple.
Warm water abandoned way too quickly, Xie Lian dried the humidity of the bath from his hair and gently brushed the strands, gathering some of them up in his usual bun and pinning it in place with a white ribbon and a jade hairpin. In the mood for silky robes, he took a set of his favorite ones from the wardrobe and slowly dressed himself, starting from the white inner robe and pants and making his way to the silver sheen of the beautifully embroidered outer layers.
Rather than the embroidery being butterflies of flowers – or a mixture of the two – those robes were decorated by a rippling sea, by waves and boney fish, and they flowed as weightless as the wind. Fittingly, they were a gift from He Xuan and Shi QingXuan, presented to him for one of his birthdays. Maybe it wasn't the otherworldly, smooth silk of Hua Cheng's butterflies, but the fabric was just as refined, the decorations just as beautiful and delicate.
It had probably been made in the heavens, and Xie Lian genuinely appreciated the thought and loved the gift. His husband had been a bit jealous of him wearing those robes, at first, but it was more of a funny situation than anything else.
Shi QingXuan also gifted him a set of jewelry alongside the robes, so Xie Lian wore them as well. Nothing too extravagant or elegant, really; a small but intricate silver hairpiece, a pair of very simple pearl earrings, and a bunch of rings that had been clearly made by He Xuan judging by the style of them.
All in all, a well-thought out gift that Xie Lian wore more than once.
However, he missed his bamboo hat a bit too much, so he grabbed it from where it hung on the wall and tied it behind his back. It clashed with the outfit, but it had been entirely too long from the last time he brought it around.
Done dressing up, he waved his hand and RuoYe uncoiled itself from the nest it had created on the dressing table, quickly wrapping itself around Xie Lian's neck rather than his wrist.
«Come on», he told the silk band. «Let's see how those two are doing».
Yin Yu almost punched Hua Cheng square in the face. Almost. He only controlled himself at the last second because he didn't need to deal with that kind of problem as well.
They were three hours in, and only managed to record a single day of the Den's income.
«I might resign from this job, this is the day I leave», he muttered as he wrote down yet another column of text, fingers protesting the abuse from how hard he was gripping the brush. He couldn't even have some help with that, Hua Cheng was so hopelessly bad at writing that Yin Yu stopped him the first two characters in and forced him to read out loud all the lists they managed to put together.
To all those who thought working in Ghost City was all adventure and danger, Yin Yu wanted to say it was all bullshit. Sure, he had the privilege of knocking on ghosts' doors asking for overdue payment, maybe threatening one or two in the process, and he had his fair amount of back and forth along the streets, but the real job was there.
Behind a desk, hunched over scrolls that would have Ling Wen pale at the length, writing down inventory after inventory because his boss was a hoarder.
«Resignation denied, keep working», Hua Cheng replied without missing a beat, eye darting from line of text to line of text with dramatic precision.
Xie Lian poked his head in the room a couple hours before, all dressed up and beautiful for the ghost to admire, but Yin Yu positively roared at him to keep his eye on the book. He sounded so aggravated that the god laughed his heart out, while the ghost begrudgingly accepted to comply. If only because getting distracted meant losing even more time he could spend with his beloved instead.
Not because he actually cared about Yin Yu receiving triple the workload because of his mistake.
...
Absolutely not.
«I'm going to eradicate the useless trash that neglected their work from existence», he still complained, pausing for a second to allow Yin Yu to write down a particularly long list of items. Seemingly coming from the jewel case of some middle-class woman, judging from the look of the jewelry. Maybe the woman herself threw it all away on losing bets, or maybe her husband wanted to try his luck. For the sake of said husband, Hua Cheng hoped it had been the woman. Or a thief, for all he cared.
He still amusingly remembered the day a man dumped a box filled with pearl jewelry, only for his wife to barge in the yell his ears deaf. It had been such an unexpected event – the Gambler's Den was in Ghost City, no one in their right mind would ever think to do something like that – that Hua Cheng laughed his ass off for an entire week after.
Granted, it happened before Hua Cheng could really become the terrifying being he was now feared and worshipped as, when the Gambler's Den was still rather empty and waiting for the crowds that would eventually pack it, but it had been entirely too baffling.
Enough to have him hand everything out to the woman after allowing her to have a series of winning bets.
It had been worth it for the betrayed face of the man only.
A scoff made its way to Yin Yu's mouth before he could stop it: «You should eradicate yourself first. You damn hoarder, if you only accepted gold and silver this wouldn't have happened».
When Xie Lian came back as evening fell, he could hear those two bickering from the front doors. Sighing, he exchanged a glance with one of the ghost servants, who apparently had had enough of them because at that hour she should have been in Paradise Hall and not at the door, and shook his head.
However, as soon as he stepped into Yin Yu's office, he was greeted with a scene he didn't expect. All the work that needed to be done was done. There wasn't a single dime leftover, all the items had been apparently sorted and catalogued as if nothing of that mess ever happened.
But what really punched him in the guts was what they were talking about.
Hua Cheng and Yin Yu weren't arguing over work, they were arguing over relationships. Romantic relationships, and how Hua Cheng had so much more experience that Yin Yu shouldn't even be talking about it.
«Yin Yu, what in the name of Jun Wu did you tell San Lang for this to happen?», he slapped a hand on his forehead. There was no way such a conversation started off from nothing. And there was no way Hua Cheng started talking about how nice it was to be married to Xie Lian without being triggered into doing so. At least now, because only a couple decades before someone would talk about the weather and the ghost would be like "this is the perfect light to admire His Highness in" and would not shut up about Xie Lian for at least an hour.
He witnessed both that and the exasperated groan of He Xuan, who couldn't even say anything because his debt would have quintuplicated if he tried.
«Me?».
Indignant, Yin Yu crossed his arms and laid back on his chair: «It was his fault. He brought you up and I replied. And then he got so offended that he started arguing with me».
Xie Lian turned his head towards the ghost: «San Lang?».
He pouted, and that was enough of a confirmation.
«What should I do with you both, uh? Go get cleaned, we're having dinner together», he then added, after rubbing his forehead in resignation. They tried to complain, apparently wanting to continue their quarreling, but Xie Lian raised an eyebrow and they were gone in an instant.
Though, the god smiled. It was a domesticity he truly loved to see in Paradise Manor.