Days and nights were quick to pass, in Ghost City, merging together in a flurry of red and black. So quick, in fact, that when Xie Lian received a call from the Wind Master asking if he and Hua Cheng wanted to spend some time together in Nether Water Manor, the god didn't even realize it almost two weeks had gone by.
It was exactly like the life he lived before the third ascension, with no one contacting him from the mortal or heavenly realm save from Shi QingXuan.
He would have thought it depressing, just some time before. That no one was willing to talk to him, that his fellow officials preferred to cast him aside like the laughingstock he was in their eyes... it would have hurt him.
Now, he thought the exact opposite.
Xie Lian didn't want the company of those who talked behind his back. He didn't want someone to talk to him just because they were scared, of because they thought they owed him some sort of respect thanks to what transpired in those past months. The Crown Prince didn't think it possible to grow so much in such a small amount of time, but it was either that or continuing to dwell on his own sadness.
He realized that being sad over getting ignored wasn't right, because those who were ignoring him or talking over him knew no respect. They didn't know who he was, yet they talked and laughed and mocked. They didn't know his story, yet they thought their knowledge was infinite.
Having Hua Cheng come into the picture brought him a respect born by fear, and it was exactly what Xie Lian needed to understand that wasting his emotions on terrible people wasn't worth it.
The day he dragged Lan Chang up in the heavens and asked for everyone's presence without even trying to be kind and polite was proof of how much his opinion changed, and it was fine.
Ruining his already wrecked mental health over something so bland wasn't worth it. Xie Lian now knew who respected him, and who was willing to listen. Ling Wen, Quan YiZhen, even Pei Ming. Maybe they didn't contact him, but the god had had eight hundred years to discern between people. He knew he could call them friends.
And that, for the time being, was enough.
«We're going, San Lang?», he asked his husband. The god's hands were buried in a waterfall of inky locks, doing their best to braid some of them. In front of them, he could see the beautiful face of the ghost in the mirror, a reflection that did absolutely nothing to convey how truly stunning the real man was.
The chiseled angles sculpting his face, as if a skilled artist had carved it from a block of flawless stone, the glimmering black eye with a pupil rimmed in glowing red and framed by long lashes, the tiny fang that stubbornly peeked out from his lips. But, honestly, Xie Lian loved his Hua Cheng no matter his appearance. Throughout the years he had seen him with countless skins, one more beautiful than the other, changing back and forth in his inability to decide which one was better. Now he favored the young-looking one he wore when visiting PuQi, but the god remembered all of them with tremendous accuracy.
The one dressed in black and red, hair so fluffy Xie Lian could literally play with them for hours on end. The one clad in sleek, beautiful black, hair up in a ponytail and a fringe that tickled his forehead. The one with a braid filled with silver butterflies and dressed like a prince showered in pale red and black. The one with unruly hair and deep black eyes, wearing gray and white and covered in jewels.
They all had similarities, Hua Cheng never strayed too far from the original form he favored, but they were still so unique that Xie Lian could fill an entire book with beautiful paintings of them.
As far as he knew, Hua Cheng used to wear different skins in his city as well, and the first time he showed Ghost City his true form was when Xie Lian set foot in it. Now, his domain could only have eyes for that form, as the ghost refused to change into a fake skin while being there.
Xie Lian, of course, had his favorites. He just couldn't help it, and had been tremendously embarrassed when admitting it. So much that his face had become the same color of Hua Cheng's robes, and didn't go back to normal even after a shower of kisses was gifted to him.
There was one skin in particular that struck Xie Lian, upon seeing it, so similar to the young boy Hua Cheng was during the time he had enlisted in the army of XianLe. When he finally got to see how his husband really used to look like, when he asked him, the god had found himself surprised at how close that skin was to reality.
It pained him that Hua Cheng got rid of what he thought ugly in that skin, like the bright red eye and the simple robes, but at the same time... Xie Lian realized that the ghost never truly let go of his past. Never truly rejected himself to the point of genuine hate.
Maybe he didn't realize it, in his self-loathing, but Xie Lian had been happy to see that.
If the choice had been between staying in Ghost City and going to Nether Water Manor by himself, Hua Cheng would have probably closed the communication array before the one contacting him could finish a sentence.
But, because he was with Xie Lian, and because Xie Lian was always happy to see his friends, he nodded: «Mh, of course we're going, gege». He wasn't eager to spend however many hours in the gloomy mansion that He Xuan had the audacity of calling his residence, but at least he could look forward to the bright smile on his beloved's face.
Humming a happy tune, Xie Lian kept braiding Hua Cheng's hair until he was satisfied with the outcome, and left a kiss on the crown of his head for good measure. The ghost, who was positively melting under all that sweet attention, let out a content sigh; his beloved had gotten really good at fixing his hair throughout the years, even if he still messed up sometimes.
No matter, Hua Cheng would end up with his hair un in the most crooked and uneven ponytail ever, and he would still be delighted about it.
He just loved when Xie Lian did something because he wanted to, be that brushing his hair with utmost care or kiss the Ghost King until he couldn't think anymore.
Judging by the reflection in the mirror, His Highness did an excellent job that time. Seeing him place a delicate white flower behind his head, were the biggest braid started, Hua Cheng curled his lips in a fond smile: «Waiting for you was worth it, A-Lian», he said, a murmur in their quiet room.
Xie Lian's hands stilled for a moment, hovering over the ornament, and then placed themselves on Hua Cheng's shoulders. He leaned forward, just enough for his lips to reach his husband's cheek, and kissed him there: «It's a good thing you don't need to wait anymore».
Happy, the god nuzzled his nose in the crook of Hua Cheng's neck, careful not to disrupt his braids. The familiar scent of the ghost was mingled with the flowers and blood of Xie Lian's, still lingering, stuck to him because the Crown Prince hugged him close that night. It was a testament of their happiness, proof of how possible it was even for the most broken ones to put their lives back together again.
Xie Lian was grateful for Hua Cheng's effort, for his patience, his loyalty. He stitched his heart back together, gave its beating a meaning that had been lost to the relentless passage of time.
They stayed like that for a while, basking in each other's presence, until Xie Lian got impatient and decided it was time to finish dressing up.
To make both his heart and his husband happy, the god threw on a set of robes that he rarely wore, made for him thanks to the effort of the ghosts of Ghost City. It was a gift he received for their first fifty years of marriage, one the ghosts insisted on giving him because they were all happy that their lord was finally able to smile so much.
They were always telling him how gloomy and moody he was all the time. He kept to himself, talked to the other ghosts from his residence or from behind the curtain in the Gambler's Den, never showed his true form to his own city.
When Xie Lian finally came back into his life, all the ghosts saw him smile a genuine smile for the first time, they saw him change into his true form, had the privilege of watching him talk without hearing snarky remarks and biting statements. All of Ghost City could finally say to be close to Ghost King that founded it, and everyone had always been grateful to the god for giving them that.
Smiling, the Crown Prince was interrupted in his dressing up by Hua Cheng's delicate hands. He took the robes from his hand and methodically put them onto his husband for him. The layer of shimmering gold looked beautiful under the rich red and black of the outermost one, that was folded on the front in two big flaps and let the embroidered silver inner robe peek out.
The workmanship of those robes was on the same level of those usually worn by Hua Cheng, they were clearly meant to complete what was once a lonely picture.
«They really know how much you care about them», Xie Lian commented with a smile, closing his eyes at the feeling of his husband's hands caressing his arms before slipping pair of engraved vambraces on them. «Ghost City loves you».
Despite himself, Hua Cheng felt pride warming up his chest.
He left a kiss on Xie Lian's forehead, all done with robes and accessories, and sighed happily: «Ghost City loves gege as well».
As a response, Xie Lian took his hand to kiss the red string tied around his finger. A promise, and hope. Hua Cheng was glad he could follow his beloved wherever he went.
«Did he... did He Xuan clean up the beach?».
When they appeared, far from the residence itself because He Xuan understandably didn't want them to show up in his lair however they wanted, the cleanliness of the place jumped immediately to the eye. Normally, the beach was anything but clean, debris and wood from boats and vessels washed ashore all the time, remains of dead fish brought on the sand by the waves littered many corners. The waters of He Xuan's sea were filled to the brim with death and disaster, though most of the humans were mercifully set free if they washed up on shore alive.
Xie Lian knew the ghost had a knack for devouring other ghosts that got too close, thus keeping the perimeter of his island devoid of their mess, but it had always been limited to that only. Even the first time he set foot on Black Water Island, when things were much different and the god had no idea of what tragedy was about to happen, that beach and the surroundings were dotted with scraps and remains.
Hua Cheng took in the scene and scoffed, arms crossed on his chest: «About time, this place was disgusting», he commented, scrunching up his nose. «I bet he ordered the other ghosts that live on the island. It would be nothing short than a miracle if he did this himself».
Not that He Xuan was one to slack off but... for him to leave his manor when he was on the island it was something sensational. And it usually only happened if some daring ghost or demon tried to wreck havoc, or if he needed to feed his bone fish.
Well, no matter.
At least his beloved could finally walk around without having to maneuver between piles of trash, and that was what counted.
Speaking of, Hua Cheng couldn't stop staring at him. His beautiful robes hugged his body so perfectly he didn't want to share that view with anybody, only wanted to keep it for himself and savor it until his eye couldn't stay open anymore. And even then he would see him in his dreams, the one he loved so deeply he didn't mind waiting so many centuries for.
To think he used to be so sad, back when they finally met again, so plagued by guilt and loneliness and always dressed in rough robes, and now... now he was happy, smiling, wrapped in beautiful fabrics that reflected the colors of their relationship.
Hua Cheng reached for his hand and took it, relishing in the feeling of warmth under his dead fingers, his still heart jumping into his chest when Xie Lian squeezed them.
«Do you think he decided to clean this mess by himself?».
Knowing where that was going, Xie Lian shook his head and turned it to look at his sideways: «You're trying to find something to tease him about, aren't you?».
The guilty look that flashed on his husband's face gave it away, and the god laughed heartily. That ghost for his might be unreadable for anyone else – even Xie Lian himself thought him unpredictable at first – but he could smell his mischief from a li over.
Especially if it came to He Xuan. The poor Ghost King was constantly targeted by Hua Cheng's shenanigans, when he got bored enough. However, his revenge could be just as fun, and Xie Lian managed to witness it while visiting him some years before.
Fed up with Hua Cheng making fun of his habits, He Xuan started bothering him through his communication array, knowing full well he couldn't be blocked from it because he was a source of information in the heavens. Hua Cheng would literally wake up in the middle of the night, growling in annoyance, because He Xuan suddenly contacted him just to say random bullshit like "do you think fish have feelings?" or "did you know you can die by drinking too much water?".
One night, Xie Lian remembered it because he woke up and started dying of laughter, Hua Cheng sat up and yelled "Black Water shut the fuck up!" so loud that Ghost City fell into silence for a good five minutes.
After that, Hua Cheng tried to double his debt in retaliation, but had to give up on that because Xie Lian didn't let him.
It took the god himself showing up at Nether Water Manor and ask him to stop – albeit laughing while doing so – to finally end that petty revenge.
It had been the most ridiculous situation Xie Lian ever witnessed, and that was saying something given he had Qi Rong in his family.
«I bet Shi QingXuan made him do it», Hua Cheng still said, chin up and smug. «That fish out of water would do anything for him».
«Remind me, who's the one that waited almost six hundred years for a god?».
At that, Hua Cheng stumbled on his own feet: «Gege!».
Despite the beach being a lot better than it used to be, the forest covering the majority of the island was still a nightmare to navigate through. Both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng now knew what paths to take and which way was the fastest, but the ghosts constantly wailing and shuffling all around still gave the place an eerie feeling that made one's skin crawl with uneasiness.
Admittedly, Xie Lian knew why those ghosts were like that, so different from the ones that lived in Ghost City.
Although it might have been He Xuan's fault as well, especially at the beginning when he let his domain grow in resentment, those were souls of people lost at sea, dead in the grip of cold waves and black waters. They were what was left of the ships that sunk with no survivors telling the tale, yearning for homes that couldn't welcome them anymore, for families that never saw them come back.
There was no mending for their hearts, no healing for their spirits, constantly longing for what they couldn't reach.
The lair of Black Water Sinking Ships had always been a cold, lonely place after all.
Xie Lian took a sigh of relief when they finally reached the heart of the forest, a lake that opened up in a large empty area right in the middle of it.
The surface of the calm was calm without ripples, appearing like a giant mirror, reflecting the shimmering stars of an evening that started falling. Seemingly nothing was around them, but the lakeshore reflected on the lake's surface was different.
In the reflection, upon the other shore stood a charcoal-black building, chillingly gloomy and still looking more like a prison that a residence despite the renovation Shi QingXuan bullied He Xuan in doing. It had a beauty of its own, perfect for the tragic darkness surrounding the ghost's very being. Where Paradise Manor was lively and warm, filled with people coming and going and glittering with treasure, Nether Water Manor was cold, calm and silent, just like the one who built it.
After exchanging a glance, the two jumped into the water at the same time. Moments later, they broke through the surface and the landscape upon the shore had transformed in what the reflection showed before.
It was a neat trick that Xie Lian quite loved, though the first time he had been too distressed to care about such an intricate detail.
The shoreside was overly quiet, adding to the hauntingness of the place, but there was nothing creepy or eerie anymore for Xie Lian. He knew what to expect, and he knew no danger awaited him there. Unless one could count He Xuan's insatiable hunger as a danger for the eyes of those who looked at him stuff his face with food.
The ghost had also given the two a spiritual token that avoided the water of the lake from drenching them, so both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were completely dry and proper when they reached the door.
Door that was promptly opened for them by an over-excited Shi QingXuan.
«Xie Lian! Come on, come on, you need to see this!», the Wind Master almost squealed, grabbing the martial god by the hand to pull him inside.
He pointedly ignored the affronted stare on Hua Cheng's face – for real, the ghost should stop being so jealous every time someone touched his husband – and dragged Xie Lian through the main hall with a laugh bubbling from his chest every three steps or so.
Not even the skeleton of the real Earth Master, once again composed and sitting upright at the long table in the room, could distract him from his mission.
Even if Shi QingXuan kept dragging him relentlessly, Xie Lian still hurriedly sent his respects to the departed Earth Master as they walked past the skeleton. At first he thought He Xuan would simply get rid of the remains, once his identity was revealed, but instead he kept them and he kept them perfectly preserved, bones protected from further decay and dressed up in black robes.
Upon thinking about it, such a decision was obvious. He Xuan, while trying to get revenge for the life he was stolen of, ended up doing what happened to him to Ming Yi; he probably wanted to honor the one who saw himself robbed of his fate, as the ghost knew how painful it was.
Xie Lian's solemn ruminations came to a sudden halt when, finally, Shi QingXuan let go of his hand and pushed a door open.
Confused, the martial god looked at his friend, who was now beaming, and then inside the room.
Where He Xuan was sitting on his throne made of fish bones and stone with a cat on his lap.
...
Wait.
What!?
Thinking his eyes betrayed him, Xie Lian had to do a double take. But again, when he looked at the fearsome appearance of He Xuan, he still saw that fluffy black cat all curled up on his lap, loudly purring its approval.
What in the name of the Heavenly Emperor...
«It washed up on the beach one day», Shi QingXuan finally explained, forcefully restraining his laugh at the dumbfounded expression on the Crown Prince's face. «We don't know how, He Xuan thinks it fell from a ship and a bone fish brought it here».
What a shock for the Wind Master, to come to Nether Water Manor because he was feeling bored up in the heavens and find the ghost running all over the mansion because the cat kept scurrying away. The poor thing was deathly afraid when Shi QingXuan turned up at the door, hissing and meowing in disapproval, and He Xuan was only worsening the whole situation with his behavior.
It took three hours to convince the cat there was no danger, and it took Shi QingXuan glaring He Xuan away from the creature to finally have it approach and get accustomed to a pair of strangers. When Shi QingXuan managed to get the cat close to the ghost without it throwing a fit, almost the entire day had passed and he had to go back to the Heavenly Capital.
So he just left the cat with He Xuan, told him to take care of it, and came back the day after to find said cat trying to affectionately climb the ghost's black robes.
Admittedly, seeing Black Water falling prey to the cuteness of that critter was amusing.
«I didn't want to bring it to the heavens», the Wind Master sighed, walking up to He Xuan so he could scratch the cat behind it ears. «So He-xiong is keeping it».
«Well, who would have thought, Black Water is a sentimental bastard after all».
Gaining a glare for that, Hua Cheng stepped inside the room and claimed Xie Lian back to himself, wrapping one arm around his waist to drag him close.
With the insane obsession He Xuan had for fish, he couldn't believe him capable to take care of a non-aquatic creature, much less a cat. Hua Cheng literally had to feed his collection of fish for years, while he posed as the Earth Master before killing Shi Wudu, and never saw another single living animal on the island.
«What are you even feeding it?», he raised an eyebrow, skeptical. «Your fish?».
The only reason why He Xuan didn't insult him right then and there was the fact that Hua Cheng could arbitrary double his debt if he did so.
So, what he did instead was pick up the cat in his arms, walk up to the other ghost, and unceremoniously dump the creature in his. Because, while the black robes He Xuan wore didn't let any cat hair show, his crimson red was going to be completely messed up in no time.
Satisfied, he turned his back and straight up left the room, moving towards the dining hall Shi QingXuan had wanted him to restore: «Are you coming?».
Xie Lian, despite the bias he had for his husband, couldn't help but laugh.
Two hours into the evening, Shi QingXuan was starting to get tipsy. He brought some liquor from the heavens, smuggling it away so no one could ask him any questions about where he was going, and apparently he managed to snatch the really good one because even He Xuan poured himself a cup.
And he rarely drank anything that wasn't tea or plain water, preferring to eat rather than get drunk.
«Well, are we doing something or what?», he said, swinging his cup around after petulantly drinking a few swigs. «Is there anything we can do for entertainment?».
«How about we roll some dice?», Xie Lian suggested, hands cradling his own that was, instead, filled with tea.
Shi QingXuan pulled a face: «Dice again? Your Highness, I'm beginning to think you're addicted», he joked, and laughed when the god jumped to defend himself as he blushed.
Oh, he was addicted, alright. But to his husband, not the game.
Whatever, the Wind Master laughed and nodded his approval: «Dice it is! But there's four of us, won't things get a little confusing?».
Xie Lian shook his head: «It won't. Here».
He opened his palm and revealed to crafty little dice, carved in jade: «The four of us can form two teams. San Lang and I will be one team, you can be the other, and we'll compete», he explained. «Each team gets one turn, each person rolls once, and then we add up the rolls of that turn. If the roll is big that team wins, and they can ask any question that the losing team must answer. Or they can have them do something instead».
It was a risky game, because Hua Cheng had a dangerous glint in his eye, but Xie Lian wanted to have fun and couldn't manage to have a simple game night since his third ascension.
Before taking a decision, Shi QingXuan gave it some thought. When it came to luck, Hua Cheng had too much of an advantage, so he was worried that it would be simply impossible to have him lose. However, Xie Lian was still quite the unlucky person. Not as much as he was when Shi QingXuan first encountered him, he remembered how tragic his bad luck was back then, but... he almost felt guilty thinking it, yet it made sense for him to be in the same team with his husband.
And since it made sense, he smacked his hand on the table and cheered: «Good! Let's have at it!». then, he elbowed He Xuan: «He-xiong, did you hear the rules? Don't drag me down!».
He Xuan gave him a look, sighed, and woefully accepted to play.
Thus, the four swore to a simple oath of following the rules and started playing. The first round, Shi QingXuan rolled out a five, He Xuan rolled out a four; Hua Cheng rolled out a six and Xie Lian, bless him, rolled out a one.
«Xie Lian, your luck is so bad», Shi QingXuan couldn't help but laugh, overjoyed that the first round saw him and He Xuan winning. It was such a rare occasion, to win against Hua Cheng first try, that he forgot how inappropriate laughing like that could seem.
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead: «Can you not say it with such glee?», he said, gently. He didn't mind, but Hua Cheng was going to smash his head into the floor if he did such a thing again.
«Sorry, sorry, I apologize!», the Wind Master hurriedly put his hands together in front of him. «Well then, we won. This one will ask the two of you to do something», he said.
But what could he make them do?
Oh, that's right!
«Your Highness, Crimson Rain Sought Flower! I order you to immediately strip each other's clothing!».
...
???
«Lord Wind Master??!»
He Xuan turned around, looking utterly disgusted and covering his face, as if he didn't want to see such a repulsive sight. But Shi QingXuan just cheered again and laughed even harder: «Come on, come on! Don't be a sore loser. As esteemed heavenly official and an esteemed Ghost King, you won't bail, right?».
That little shit...!
Winning once, and immediately taking advantage of it, Hua Cheng was going to make him pay for that. In the meantime, because Xie Lian wanted everyone of them to follow the rules, he flipped open his arms and sighed in annoyance: «How much do we strip?».
If that god told them anything that was even remotely inappropriate...
Hua Cheng wasn't going to offer his beloved to anyone for the eye to see. It was already enough for him to share with the useless trash walking around.
Luckily for him, Shi QingXuan was only plying around and would not make them look bad, so he laughed and told them one single layer was fine. However, he actually wanted to continue, and the ghost was more than ready to kick him in the jaw for adding that.
Before he could do anything violent, Xie Lian shuffled over to untie Hua Cheng's waistband and helped him out of his red outer robe, revealing the pitch black inner tunic underneath. Careful with his hands, the ghost also helped him out of his outer robe; he was slow and gentle, and just to spite Shi QingXuan he didn't touch any part of Xie Lian's body.
Which would have been fine, because the two were married and Hua Cheng had absolutely no shame it being touchy with his beloved, but he wanted the Wind Master to have only half the victory he thought he was having.
Both their outer robes properly folded and placed on the table, they sat back down and another round began.
Shi QingXuan rolled out a three, He Xuan a six; Hua Cheng rolled out a six once again, and Xie Lian... still rolled a one.
The Wind Master slammed his fist on the table repeatedly, laughing out loud, and Xie Lian looked up to his husband with an exasperated expression on his face. Sometimes he really hated how his bad luck still refused to disperse completely.
Of course, Shi QingXuan immediately tried to have them do something – which surely was to strip another layer – so the god hurriedly cut in: «Stop! Last round we did request. This should be questions».
He wasn't risking his clothes so early in the evening.
«Ask questions?».
Shi QingXuan laughed heartily and shrugged: «That's fine. Crimson Rain Sought Flower, to you... what's the worst suffering in the world?».
Immediately, Hua Cheng's smile faded away and a brief silence settled in the dining hall. Afraid he unintentionally ruined the mood, the god raised his hands and waved them: «Don't misunderstand, I'm just curious», he added, trying to avoid disaster. «Is there anything left in this world that can make you suffer? You made it as a Ghost King like yourself...».
He knew he was never going to have another occasion such as that again.
Reading Hua Cheng was difficult, if not impossible. In all the years that passed since the day he met him thanks to His Highness, the god never really understand what the deal with him was.
«What do you think?», Hua Cheng asked back.
Shi QingXuan pondered. There was no way he was afraid of losing Xie Lian, right? Maybe he had been, but now not only they were married, but Xie Lian had his godhood restored and his spiritual powers could have the Emperor himself envy them.
Something a bit simpler, maybe...
«Mount Tong'lu?».
There were indeed many who'd come up with that answer when they pondered that question. However, Hua Cheng only smiled faintly and shook his head: «That's nothing to fear».
«That's not it? Then what...».
Hua Cheng's lips curled, but that curve soon disappeared: «I'll tell you what it is», he said, softly. «To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed, yet be unable to do anything. That's the worst suffering in the world».
Hearing that, Xie Lian's breathing stopped, and his body froze.
Trampled and ridiculed... Xie Lian never forgot that Hua Cheng was there with him, while that was happening. That he was unable to help him despite his desperate attempts in doing so.
The first time with the Land of the Tender, he could only stand back and keep guard, while Xie Lian experienced one of the worst traumas of his life. His cultivation in peril, confusion and pain flooding his mind and body, everything on fire from the tips of his fingers to the roots of his hair.
It would be nothing compared to what happened not too long after, but at the time he was distressed, didn't know what to do, how to fight it. And Hua Cheng was there, too young, too scared, hearing him cry out in pain and moan in indecent frustration, and he couldn't do anything.
The second time while he was drunk, and Hua Cheng had become nothing but a faint spirit. Nothing much, at first sight, but Xie Lian was fighting with his own cultivation, twisting the path he himself choose, because he was suffering more than he ever thought possible. That spirit could only talk, melancholic an gentle, while Xie Lian drank his cheap wine and cried his misfortunes.
How frustrating it had to be, for Hua Cheng, being so close and yet feel so useless.
And then things became worse.
The third time was in that cave. Hua Cheng didn't have anything, couldn't do anything, only be a nuisance for thirty-three heavenly officials ganging up on a fallen god with deteriorating spiritual powers. He tried, desperately, he fought with all he had, but what could a fire spirit do against the sneers and the laughs of the gods?
What could he do other than watch as Xie Lian was betrayed by Mu Qing, insulted and beaten? What could he do other than listen to the story of Xie Lian trying to steal, all those pitiful gods looking down on him because they didn't understand how hard it was to have no other choice?
And then the fourth time happened.
Bai WuXiang happened.
He didn't want to remember that. He never wanted to remember that. He just couldn't forget it.
Hua Cheng tried to fight against the White Clothed Calamity himself for him. Nothing but a fire trapped in his net, watching and crying as Xie Lian was tied down on the altar, as those people raised Fang Xin to stab him again and again.
The god knew that day was his biggest regret. Hua Cheng considered that day his biggest failure.
Xie Lian took a shaky breath and grabbed Hua Cheng's hand resting on the table, squeezing it in affection. For a while, not a single soul spoke, the silence was so thick that it fell over them like a curtain, the sound of the island much louder than they ever seemed.
Shi QingXuan couldn't find anything to say. He should have seen that coming, it's not like he hadn't had years to get to know Hua Cheng , but... something so profound caught him by surprise.
After a while, it was He Xuan breaking that silence, telling them they should continue, so the Wind Master scratched his head and waved his hand: «I'm done. He-xiong, you ask something».
Thus, He Xuan looked up slightly, staring at Xie Lian: «Your Highness».
He snapped out of it, so the ghost asked: «What's the biggest regret of your life?».
The moment he asked a question of such weight, Xie Lian was stunned for a moment. He Xuan was someone usually quiet and unspeaking, dramatic only in the rarest times. For him to choose something like that... it was unusual.
But what was Xie Lian's biggest regret?
Was it his disregard of advice and warning, and his selfish descent to the lesser realm? Was it his hubris in thinking himself powerful enough to create rain for Yong'An? Was it his wishful thinking that he could save XianLe? Or was it his reluctance in killing certain people?
No, he knew it was none of that.
It was something different, something that plagued him for year after year, something that still had him short of breath and unfocused.
The white mask, the funeral robes, the fire, the smiling face looking up to him and kneeling in devotion. The souls he unleashed, the sorrow he couldn't fight away, the fall he almost accepted.
The disappearance of someone that didn't need to suffer with him.
It was a moment before Xie Lian answered: «My second ascension».
The other three in the room all looked at him, unspeaking, but Hua Cheng pulled him just a bit closer. The Wind Master and He Xuan had no idea what he was talking about, he could see the perplexity on their faces, but he knew.
Xie Lian's second ascension happened because of Bai WuXiang. Because of the pain he inflicted to him, to both of them.
It happened because Xie Lian made a wrong choice, because Hua Cheng sacrificed himself, because that fucking ghost died by the hand of someone that was so deep in sorrow and grief that rage overcame everything.
It wasn't the first time for Hua Cheng to hear that, but it hurt no less.
«Let's continue», he said quietly, gently stroking the back of Xie Lian's hand until he snapped out of it. «We're supposed to have fun».
The third round, both Shi QingXuan and He Xuan rolled a two; Hua Cheng rolled his usual six, and Xie Lian – again – the one. But that time, despite his awful luck, it was something to be happy about. By heaven official's blessing, they'd finally won!
It was Shi QingXuan's turn to be punished, but the fun of it was almost taken away because of how eager and thrilled he seemed. As if he was afraid of nothing.
And because of that, Xie Lian turned his attention to the ghost: «He Xuan, why exactly are you still posing as the Earth Master?».
He Xuan choked on his liquor, which was an impressive feat for a ghost that didn't need to breathe. Was that retaliation for his question?!
Panicked, he looked at Shi QingXuan, who was staring at him wide-eyed and full of expectation, and then at Xie Lian, waiting for him to answer with a smug grin on his face, and barely repressed the urge to groan in defeat.
He wasn't going to get out of that easily, was he?
Well, why exactly was he still posing as Ming Yi?
He didn't have a clear answer himself. Surely both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng imagined it was for Shi QingXuan, and they weren't subtle with their chuckling about it, but He Xuan wasn't sure of the reason. It was Shi QingXuan, that much was true, but as far as the real motive behind him wanting to stay... his feelings were confused at best.
At first he thought he hated him, hated how he got to become a god and be happy in the heavens, while he had to suffer and eventually break through the Kiln as a Ghost King. He went as far as forcing him to watch as he mutilated and decapitated his brother, listening to his pleas and cries with an iron heart. The things was, He Xuan didn't hate him.
It didn't take long for him to realize it.
Shi QingXuan didn't know. His brother played with fate, stole and doomed, but he had no idea of that. He only knew that Shi Wudu was keeping him safe, and that he ascended on a fortuitous day.
Not only that, Shi QingXuan was the real Wind Master. The fan responded to him without a single hiccup, the wind bent to his wishes, listened to his voice, his spiritual energy was refreshing like a breeze on a hot day.
He Xuan never dared try to use that fan. There was no need for him to.
So, why did he stay?
He didn't know. Friendship, obligations, love... there was no clear reason in He Xuan's mind, not yet. It had been long years, long enough for generation after generation of mortals to die off, but he couldn't label it. The ghost didn't know if he wanted to.
Naming things meant making them real.
"I'm sorry"
"And what good is your apology?"
«I don't know», he admitted, quietly. «But Shi QingXuan is a part of it».
He Xuan heard a gasp to his side, but didn't turn to look at the Wind Master. It was only fair that he answered truthfully, after Xie Lian and Hua Cheng did the same.
He was vengeful, not ungrateful.
Hua Cheng didn't dare make a snarky comment. Mostly because Xie Lian wouldn't have wanted him to, in a situation like that, but also because he understood the inner turmoil going on in He Xuan. It was the same kind of confusion he himself had gone through, albeit as a kid.
Maybe He Xuan knew what affection was, before dying, but becoming a ghost because someone robbed one of ascension could change even the most iron-willed of people.
Love, affection, hope, friendship... everything would just become useless, a burden. Death was both kind and unkind, merciless and merciful, sometimes it took and sometimes it gave. Hua Cheng spent enough time with He Xuan to understand that death, in his case, took and never gave back.
Just that one time, the Ghost King would not make fun of him.
So, instead, he decided to make fun of the Wind Master: «Say, Shi QingXuan», he grabbed his attention, taking away the gloomy feeling that was rapidly falling on the room once more. «What do you have in your pants when you turn into a woman?».
There was a stunned silence for a second.
Then, Xie Lian smacked his husband on the shoulder so hard he actually flung him to the other side of the room.
«I'm sorry».
Laying in bed, head propped on one arm, Hua Cheng laughed at the umpteenth apology spoken by his husband, who was currently curled up like a shrimp and facing away from him, beet-red in the face. They were supposed to stay at Nether Water Manor for the night, Shi QingXuan had insisted for that, but his beloved became so flustered and agitated after that accident that there had been no way to convince him not to run away.
He even promised He Xuan he would go back and fix all the stuff he broke, because Hua Cheng smashed quite a number of chairs in his way to the wall.
«Gege, it's fine», the ghost chuckled, playing with strands of ebony hair. «I know you didn't mean to».
And, honestly, being hit by His Highness was nothing short than an honor, for Hua Cheng. Unhealthy? Maybe. Definitely.
But only because he knew such a thing would only happen by accident. Xie Lian never willingly raised a single finger against him, much less a hand.
In response, Xie Lian simply whined another apology.
«A-Lian, come here», the ghost insisted, gently tapping his shoulder. «Come on, my beloved, come here». Who cared if coaxing him out of that guilt would take hours, Hua Cheng was ready to wait. Fortunately, though, Xie Lian turned his head and gave him a pouty look before giving in and snuggling close to his husband.
He still refused to look at him, though, preferring to hide his face on Hua Cheng's chest instead.
Oh, well. It was a start.
Xie Lian didn't want to look at him, so he kept trying to burrow his head in Hua Cheng's night clothes even more when he stroked his hair, carding cold fingers between disheveled tresses. Gentle, as always, the ghost untied the white ribbon that still held up a bun and massaged Xie Lian's scalp, as if it was the most natural thing for him to do.
But then again, Hua Cheng waited centuries just to be able to do that, so maybe it was.
«I'm sorry I hit you», he apologized once more, voice but a whisper lost in a layer of sheer red fabric.
Sometimes, he still forgot how powerful he was under the façade. Xie Lian spent too many years deprived of his true spiritual power, and he hated when he realized that, at times, his control slipped away. It did nothing to Hua Cheng, his husband was too strong to actually end up wounded or severely injured, but what if Xie Lian lost that control around a common person?
One second was nothing for him, but could be a life lost for someone without divine or dead blood.
It was exactly that thought that was really plaguing him, more than the fact he sent Hua Cheng flying through the room. He felt guilty for that as well, extremely so, but an indescribable fear took hold of him and refused to let go.
It made his heartbeat furious and fast, like a scared animal trapped in a corner, and made a jumbled mess of all his emotions.
Feeling his heart pick up the pace, hearing it in the blanket of silence that covered the room after he spoke, Hua Cheng slid both arms around the body of His Highness and tangled their legs together, in a soft and comforting hug. He let the god hide his face in the crook of his neck and rested his chin on top of his head, doing nothing more than use a spark of spiritual energy to cover them both with silky red sheets.
In the corner, RuoYe and E-Ming stopped playing with each other, grasping the quiet order to stay put and don't cause chaos; the spiritual tools, although they looked like they wanted to come over and try to comfort Xie Lian in their own way, slowly hovered to the dresser and placed themselves there.
RuoYe did seem distressed, while coiling around itself for the night, but Hua Cheng didn't want anything to disrupt the frail state of his beloved's conscious.
It was a painful memory, the one that saw Xie Lian tell him about the true origins of RuoYe.
Hua Cheng knew, back then, that the silk band was a spirit all in its own, but he never fully understood how it came to be. RuoYe was the silk Bai WuXiang – that bastard – used to tie Xie Lian up in that cursed temple, the scent of heavenly blood so embedded in the fabric it never went away with time, but that didn't explain how it came alive.
When the truth came up, Hua Cheng wanted to cry all over again for what his beloved had to go through.
<><><><><><>
Xie Lian was laying in bed, still trying to recover from the disastrous damage he suffered after being stabbed and trampled in BanYue. His body had healed, Hua Cheng made sure he couldn't even feel a single sliver of physical pain anymore, but his mind was still in dire need of help. The ghost didn't know what had been worse for him, out of all that happened in his last battle for BanYue, but was willing to stay at his side nonetheless.
He couldn't do anything while his beloved fought under the flames of war, because he wanted to respect his wishes despite the dreadful feeling of uselessness creeping up on him every day, but he would do everything in his power now to keep him safe and sound.
In the background, giving the room some sound as to not let it drown in silence, RuoYe and E-Ming were half-fighting half-playing, the silk band trying to smack the scimitar on its eye every time it got too close.
The ghost paid them no heed and focused on his beloved, playing idly with his hair. They weren't clean, in fact they needed to be washed, but Xie Lian was too exhausted to do anything that required him getting out of bed. Hua Cheng could have carried him to the bathtub and gently done his hair for him, as he had done many times since they got together only a handful of decades prior, but he could see his prince didn't really want to touched yet.
It was easy, taking care of him while he was unconscious, but it was also distressing; Xie Lian refused to wake up for almost two full weeks, after falling asleep in Hua Cheng's arm when he found him, lost in his own mind and too traumatized to even think about facing the world.
When he finally woke up, he flinched at every attempt Hua Cheng made at touching him, until he got the memo and limited his touches to his hair. Even now, the ghost was patiently waiting for Xie Lian to make the first move, as to not cause him more stress than he needed. It was difficult, because he wanted nothing more than to hold him close and wish all his suffering away, but it couldn't be helped.
So, Hua Cheng played with his hair, uncaring of how unclean they were, and he relished in the fact that such a small gesture could calm his beloved's restless mind.
«San Lang», the man suddenly called out, a weak sound but enough to catch his attention. «Have I ever told you how RuoYe was born?».
How RuoYe was born?
Hua Cheng turned his head to look at the spiritual tool, seeing it deflate a bit right after those words had been spoken, and gave a negative shake.
He knew that it was an independent spirit, a bit like E-Ming, but he never asked Xie Lian about it. Something told him the reason behind the existence of that silk band wasn't for him to ask lightly, especially because he was perfectly aware of what that tool had started out as.
However, even if curiosity took a hold of him, as soon as Hua Cheng heard his god take a deep breath and saw him close his eyes, he spoke up: «You don't have to tell me, A-Lian», he said, twirling a brown loc around his finger. «This lowly one can wait as long as you want».
Eyes still closed, Xie Lian smiled weakly: «I know».
There was nothing Hua Cheng wasn't willing to do for him, except allowing him to get hurt on his watch. Xie Lian had truly lucked out more than he imagined it possible.
The love he received from the ghost, even when he didn't know about it, was so much and so beautiful he sometimes wanted to cry while thinking about it. To be so cherished... Xie Lian never thought someone would be willing to go so far from him, to wait so long, to love so much. He didn't believed it possible. And yet, Hua Cheng was there, after waiting century after century without giving up. Ready to offer his hand, his arms, his heart.
His most devoted believer...
He deserved to know.
«After the temple, things went downhill very quickly», he started talking, struggling to find words he could use without causing himself another massive breakdown. «I was paranoid, confused, angry... all at the same time. I didn't know what to do, didn't realize how hopeless and bitter I became».
He went as far as attacking a random citizen commenting petty insults in the street, talking with a vocabulary he never dared use before. It was like Bai WuXiang robbed him of his patience and kindness, all at once.
«I started yelling, crying, punching the walls», Xie Lian continued, swallowing dry. «I was so frustrated and lost there was nothing I could do to stop my mind from deteriorating further and further».
It only took a couple of days.
«Gege...».
Xie Lian opened his eyes and hesitantly reached out for Hua Cheng's hand, fingers trembling a bit when he felt the touch of his cold skin on his. He squeezed it as he found some more courage, before speaking again: «I woke up one morning and everything was silent. There was no sounds, no one came to rouse me. there was... nothing».
It didn't take him too long to understand why.
The man paused, overwhelmed by the flood of heartrending memories assaulting him. It was the morning right after Feng Xin had left, right after he dumped a bunch of stolen stuff on the table and argued with his parents.
After a while, silence that Hua Cheng didn't fill, he continued on with a shakier voice: «When I stepped into my parent's room, there were many things I was expecting. Many outcomes, many reasons for that silence». So many thoughts passed through his mind, but he was so confused and upset he didn't realize they were there.
He only tried to play a normal life, opening the door while asking his mother a question. When he opened that door, everything crashed down on him.
A bitter smile curled Xie Lian's lips, the prince unable to stop tears pooling into his eyes: «They were dead. They used that silk band Bai WuXiang used on me to hang themselves».
Xie Lian could never fix what he had broken between them. That night, both he and his parent went to sleep angry, bitter, disappointed. There was no making up, now, no fixing what was lost. In all the years he spent walking the world alone, Xie Lian apologized to his parents again and again, never finding it in himself to believe they felt nothing but chagrin and disenchantment.
They died because he failed, again and again, because he was just a setback for them, because he ruined the already unstable and frail balance they managed to find for themselves.
His selfishness, his belief of being an omnipotent being capable of mending every tear in the endless tapestry of life, his very being caused that to happen. If Xie Lian hadn't tried to intervene, hadn't descended, maybe his kingdom wouldn't have fallen.
Maybe Bai WuXiang wouldn't have unleashed the Human Face Disease, maybe the people of Yong'An would have retreated without needing a bloodbath.
Or maybe he was just deluding himself for the sake of putting the blame on his shoulders.
There was no telling the difference, at that point.
«I tried to kill myself, after I found them», he admitted, a deep shadow of grief and resentment darkening his otherwise soft features. «I had lost everything. Mu Qing, Feng Xin, my parents, my kingdom... I even lost you».
That small, gentle fire spirit that tried his best to save him. At that time, Xie Lian thought it had dissipated, that Bai WuXiang took even such a small thing from him to make space for despair and hopelessness. There was nothing worth living, back then.
Not someone to help, not someone to live for.
The hold of Hua Cheng's hand on his own tightened, his fingers holding onto Xie Lian's as if it was a matter of life and death, and the man gave a laugh so bitter and forlorn he actually felt the ghost flinch: «I tied that silk band around my neck, I waited, but... I just couldn't die. I had blood in my eyes, I had no air in my lungs, but I couldn't die». The curse of immortality, as he thought it.
A god that had nothing, except for his life.
His eyes shifted, enough to soften into a fond expression when they landed on his spiritual tool: «That's how RuoYe was born».
Feeling a lump in his throat, chest constricted even if he had no need to breathe, Hua Cheng tentatively hugged him close and let their limbs tangle together when the god allowed him. There was softness under them, a fluffy mattress and silky sheets, but to the ghost it seemed they were floating on nothing, hovering just above a bottomless pit ready to swallow them whole.
As understanding dawned on him, Hua Cheng pulled Xie Lian to his chest and kissed the crown of his head, head swarmed with overwhelming thoughts.
For years, since the day he got reunited with his beloved, RuoYe had been a confusing tool to be around. A bizarre sort of uneasiness would always catch Hua Cheng by surprise, when the silk band tried to coil around his limbs to show affection. Now he knew why.
Now he knew that the consciousness of RuoYe was born from the blood, the sorrow, and the misery of Xie Lian and his family.
«I never hated it», Xie Lian answered a silent question. «There is so much blood on RuoYe, but... how could I hate it?».
Something so loyal and beautiful to be born from death didn't deserve to be hated. Since the day it came to life, RuoYe never left, never betrayed. It was just a spiritual tool, a silk band that loved to slither around and tangle itself more often than not, but it never abandoned him.
Disaster after disaster, in the streets or in crumbling building, under a blazing sun or relentless rain, RuoYe stayed.
Always.
Xie Lian couldn't say that for anyone else in his life.
«In a way, having RuoYe close made me feel better. I ever understood why, not until... not until you gave yourself up for me», he added, new tears finding their way to his eyes to choke whatever words he tried to say. «It took Wuming dying for me to understand what RuoYe was, to understand that not all that is born from darkness is bad. To understand the hope it tried to give me, by being so playful».
Such a dark path should have ended in absolute catastrophe, but when he saw Wuming sacrifice himself for the sake of the one he loved, for the sake of the one that didn't even know it at the time, something in Xie Lian's mind clicked back in place.
Between the agony of losing yet another innocent soul and the uselessness he felt when he couldn't even stop his own mistake from taking harmless lives, he saw a faint ray of light inching towards him.
When his fight with Bai WuXiang exploded, it was RuoYe that wrapped around his legs and made him stumble. It was RuoYe that kept flying above and around the ghost to distract him. It was RuoYe that finally yanked the mask away from his face so Xie Lian could stab him in the heart and shatter his ashes at once.
Thinking back, Xie Lian wished he didn't destroy that mask so quickly. By doing that he couldn't look at his face, at the utter disbelief that surely crossed it when Bai WuXiang realized he had been defeated by the one he swore to break.
But RuoYe had done such a good job, bringing him back sliver after sliver of hope, that he didn't think much of it then.
Right at that moment, RuoYe decided to stop being a bystander and flew over to the bed, curling up beside Xie Lian's head to poke at his cheek with one end of its silky body. As if it sensed its master being sorrowful and wanted to comfort him.
The man stopped hiding his face on Hua Cheng's chest and smiled, less anguished: «At least now you know why it likes to be around my neck more than my wrist», he said. «After all, it was born there».
«A-Lian...».
«I'm happy to have you, San Lang», he interrupted his ghost, before he could say anything. Gentle, he shifted a bit so he could cradle his cheek in his palm, and laughed softly: «My devoted believer».
Hua Cheng closed his eyes and leaned in the touch: «Always, Your Highness», he swore. «And forever».
<><><><><><>
Dawn caught them by surprise.
And by surprise, Hua Cheng meant He Xuan nagging him in his communication array at the first hours of the day, telling him something was amiss.
"I have a bad feeling about this. You know what's happening, don't you?".
If Hua Cheng wasn't worried he might be thinking right, he would have probably insulted He Xuan on the stop for waking him up so abruptly. But – and he couldn't deny it – as soon as he slid into consciousness, all around him the ghost could really feel something was wrong.
And it was a familiar sensation, one he already had to struggle through before.
He didn't exactly want it to be reality, because if what was happening mirrored his thoughts it meant problems, but there was no being mistaken. Not for him, at least.
With a groan, he sat up and rubbed his forehead: "Don't go to the Heavenly Court", he warned the other ghost. "And unless you want something bad to happen to Shi QingXuan, keep him away from you as well".
That lingering sparkle of spiritual energy drifting through the air was nothing compared to what was going to come. Now it was nothing, but a mere tickling sensation under skin and bones, but it would soon become a tidal wave of uncontrolled instinct, a spiral that trapped and dramatized what emotions were left of the ghosts at the time of their death.
It was nothing for lesser spirits, just pain cursing through their veins as spiritual power too large for them to handle enveloped all the dead beings, but Hua Cheng distinctively remembered what it had been like, for him.
All his emotions suddenly becoming too much for him to handle; restlessness, anger, anguish, lust, everything congealed in one single spot, ready to burst out. He had to lock himself in his own residence, kick everyone out just so he could ride his terrifying mixture of pain, tears, and arousal without killing or hurting someone else in the process.
"What do you mean? Hua Cheng, what the hell is happening?".
The ghost turned to look at his beloved, still deeply asleep and unaware of the disaster waiting to happen, and sighed: "Mount Tong'lu is reopening".
"And what does that—"
"If you're anything like me, and you are since we both broke through the Kiln, it's going to affect us. Mount Tong'lu will take the deep rooted instinct you had when you turned into a ghost and multiply it tenfold". Hua Cheng figured it was not the time to have him face the consequences of that place opening once more without knowing about it.
To discern between jokes and seriousness was something he learned pretty early on, both in life and death.
He Xuan was a ghost born from vengeance and pure, unadulterated anger. If someone was to approach him during the first waves of Mount Tong'lu reopening, death was sure to come. If not a fate much worse than that.
Not telling He Xuan meant risking to put in danger more than just him. And while Hua Cheng didn't particularly care, or so he told himself, he didn't want that goddamn mountain to be the cause of his downfall.
"Tell Shi QingXuan about it, do whatever you want, but don't leave your island until you know the first wave is done. And believe me, you'll know", he concluded. After that first wave, as Hua Cheng remembered when he experienced it the first time, no spiritual energy would remain. Unless one had a constant supply of spiritual energy to draw from, recovering from the loss would take entire days.
"You're not going to hurt Xie Lian, are you?".
"I was born from different intentions. And why do you care anyway, go stay with your fish and don't leave".
That said, he cut the call short and closed off his communication array. He already had enough to worry about, there was no need to drag He Xuan into the picture as well. He was a grown ass ghost, not someone fresh out of the grave.
Though... he wasn't going to hurt Xie Lian, right?
A rampage wasn't going to happen, much less violence against his beloved, but could he really trust himself not to hurt him?
Thoughtful, Hua Cheng started absentmindedly playing with the god's hair, propped up on one elbow. He needed to talk to him as soon as he woke up, to discuss what to do in case he wouldn't be able to retain his control. Pushing him away was impossible, Xie Lian was not going to take that as a solution. The only viable option to have him stay safe and away was a fortuitous call from the heavens, but that also wasn't going to happen. The reopening of Mount Tong'lu would only be recognized by the heavens long after it affected the ghosts in its wake, so unless another major catastrophe happened that needed Xie Lian to climb up it wasn't a solution.
That one time Mount Tong'lu reopened in the past was a memory seared in Hua Cheng's mind. It had been something short lived, a few hours at best before finding himself lacking spiritual powers and trapped in a much smaller form, but he remembered what he did with tremendous accuracy.
Even he, back then, thanked the heavens for his decision to lock himself away from everyone. And for Hua Cheng to thank the heavens...
At the end of the day, beneath all the anger and the pain, Hua Cheng became a Ghost King out of love. The reason why he wanted to gain so much power, climb the stairs so he could be above everyone else, wasn't just his own selfish desires to be strong, to take a well-earned revenge against a world that rejected him.
First and foremost, Hua Cheng died and fought for Xie Lian. He wanted to have enough power to protect him, enough authority to defend him, enough energy to walk by his side with his head held high.
Hua Cheng was feared, cursed, detested at times, but his efforts towards his descent to hell never suffocated the gentle and loving soul beneath all the layers of scorching fire and burning coal. They never smothered the flames of his undying love, a love he refused to forget, a love he fought for throughout all his life and death.
His resentment towards the world was in his scimitar, in the curse that plagued those who were slashed by its blade, but his love was brighter. His love resided in the thousands of butterflies shimmering with beautiful silver, glowing in the dark to bring light in a ghost's hands. Deadly, but nevertheless delicate, a testament of his loyalty to the softest part of his blackened soul.
When Mount Tong'lu reopened, back when He Xuan wanted to get to the Kiln, all those emotions flooded Hua Cheng like a raging river, drowning him in too many feelings at once. Too much information from both inside and outside, his brain unable to process what was happening to him, his senses in complete overload and unable to calm down.
At first he wanted to curl up in a ball and cover his eyes and ears, but then... then it started.
The staggering, overwhelming lust born from the burning desire he had for Xie Lian, something he had always been adamant in keeping in check. It was like he returned to his original ghostly form, like that flickering fire spirit was one again beneath his skin. The heat became unbearable, so much he started stripping himself in a crazed frenzy, flesh blazing with a fire becoming stronger and stronger with every passing second.
He remembered looking in the mirror, panic bleeding through his lustfulness, and seeing his naked body flushed pink all over, watched himself take quick and labored breaths he shouldn't have needed. He just wanted to go back to his lair, that day, lay between the most obscene statues and paintings his mind and hands conjured up in ten years and pleasure himself that way.
It had been terrifying, becoming a slave of his own body, no less than the day he had to fend off the Land of the Tender.
In fact, that day Hua Cheng understood why Xie Lian had been devoured by such a mind-numbing panic, back then. He was unable to control himself, trapped in a prison of flesh and blood that was his own making, heat coiling lower and lower every passing second and hands wandering all over his body in an attempt to ease the voracious carnality that took him in its claws.
He wasn't adverse to the pleasures of the flesh, wasn't bound by a cultivation path of abstinence and purity, but much like Xie Lian he didn't want to lose himself in the throes of passion like that. Not by himself, not by force, not without his beloved.
Hell, the only real experience he had with all that was books and researches!
But he failed to resist.
He knew it was going to happen again.
What he didn't know was what could happen with Xie Lian being with him, now. If Hua Cheng ended up hurting him, he would never forgive himself. Never.
«Mh...? San Lang, is something wrong?».
Words still slurred, Xie Lian slowly blinked his eyes open to see his husband looking at him with a somber expression, fingers playing with the same strand of hair on repeat. He didn't mean to wake up so early, but was glad to have been pulled out of his dreams after taking a good look at the ghost.
Even if he wasn't properly awake yet, the god could see the creases in his forehead, the doubtful light behind his lonely eye.
Snapping out of his reverie, but still not quite serene, Hua Cheng sighed and bent forward to leave a fluttering kiss on Xie Lian's lips, just a brief touch before pulling away: «Let's take a bath and have breakfast first, alright? I don't want you to worry».
It wouldn't be until that evening, or at most the morning after, that the reopening of Mount Tong'lu would start affecting him. He had time to break it to him. Just not as much as he wanted.
Xie Lian nodded, complying.
He trusted his husband, and if his decision was to carry out their morning like normal, he wouldn't question it.
A warm bath and some food later, Xie Lian was laying right on top of Hua Cheng in the Paradise Hall, occupying the divan that had become a regular spot for them to rest like that. Sometimes, to liven the open room up, the ghost would ask for his servants to dance or perform for them; it was a fun pastime, especially when Hua Cheng asked them to perform some of his plays from the mortal realm. As disrespectful as they seemed towards heavenly officials, they were so good – and at times incredibly funny – that Xie Lian always loved those small shows just for them.
That day, though, the hall was silent and no one was in it save for Crown Prince and Ghost King. Not even Yin Yu was in sight, sent to carry out a task in the city.
«San Lang», he called him while looking up, chin laying on his husband's chest and pillowed by both his hands. «What's the problem?».
He didn't want to bring it up then, but while bathing he noticed Hua Cheng would touch him less than usual. Only enough to lather him with perfumed soap, and mostly limited himself to his hair. Was he afraid Xie Lian might end up hitting him again...?
Gods, had Xie Lian messed up that much?
Luckily, Hua Cheng caught the anxiety creeping up on his beloved before it could root itself in, and gave a gentle pat to the top of his head: «Mount Tong'lu is reopening soon», he cut straight to the issue. «It might be a problem».
«Mount Tong'lu is reopening?!».
Caught by surprise, Xie Lian took a second to absorb the information he had just been given. Thanks to his husband, he learned enough about ghosts and the like to know that Mount Tong'lu reopening meant the imminent birth of a new Ghost King, if no one intervened to stop it from happening.
The most rational, heavenly official-y part of his mind told him he needed to give voice to the heavens, inform Jun Wu of it, but the part that cared about his husband and his well-being screamed at him not to cause chaos when it wasn't needed.
He was probably going to get called anyway, once the Emperor realized the threat.
So, instead of being the responsible god he should have been, Xie Lian frowned: «Is it going to affect you? I don't know how it works», he asked.
There were many things he was still unaware of, after all, when it came to that place. Judging by how unwilling Hua Cheng had always been to talk about it, Xie Lian never prodded for more information.
He vaguely understood how bizarre the whole process could be. Hua Cheng did tell him to have spent ten years in that place, and then jumped straight into the Kiln when it finally opened to challenge whoever wanted to try and break out as a Ghost King, but that was it.
Whatever influence Mount Tong'lu had on ghosts and spirits was nothing Xie Lian ever learned about.
So, the god listened intently as his husband explained to him what could happen, and what was surely going to happen. His face didn't change much as he drank in more and more information every passing second, at least until Hua Cheng got to the part that worried him the most.
The specific influence Mount Tong'lu had on him, exposed in detail thanks to the previous experience he had to endure.
There, Xie Lian hummed in understanding and strained his neck so he could leave a gentle kiss on the ghost's cheek, close to his lips: «You're not going to be alone, this time around», he reassured him, lips curling in a comforting smile. «And if you're afraid of hurting me, don't be. It's preposterous to even think you would be able to bring me harm».
Words that maybe for anyone else might have seemed belittling or insulting, but for Hua Cheng they were the soothing balm he needed to calm his nerves.
And they were so true...
Never, not even by accident, Hua Cheng ever brought him harm. Those scratches and bites caused by pleasure of the flesh were the blatant exception Xie Lian was willing to make, because why would he ever consider those as being harmful to him?
If anything, Xie Lian was the one that accidentally slapped or punched him away more than once, and he would always feel guilty like a criminal for that, even if Hua Cheng had felt nothing more than a sting when it happened.
He trusted his husband more than he trusted himself.
«Let's go to Qiandeng Temple», Xie Lian suggested, suddenly finding his person strangled in a bone-breaking hug born from too much affection. «If you're really going to be affected by Mount Tong'lu to that extent, it's the best place for us to be».
After all, no one was allowed to step inside the courtyard, much less the building itself. It was the best course of action for everyone, the two of them completely alone without needing to send away an entire mansion worth of servants and workers.
Hua Cheng, predictably, wholeheartedly accepted the suggestion, and the two moved to their temple as soon as the ghost found it in himself to let go of his beloved.
Night had just begun to fall when a deep sense of foreboding suddenly grew in Xie Lian's mind. Together with Hua Cheng, he had been practicing calligraphy to see if any progress was finally being made, but things ended up being more short lived than he thought.
Just as a stick of incense stopped burning, reduced to nothing but ashes, the brush that had been in Hua Cheng's hand up until then fell from his fingers, landing on snow-white paper and slashing a long and erratic trail of ink. The ghost's expression was grim, his body unsteady. He held himself up with a hand clutching the edge of the altar, while the other covered his right eye, as if it was throbbing, in an overwhelming amount of pain.
Xie Lian, scared, instantly sprung forward: «San Lang!».
The corner of Hua Cheng's mouth twitched, but he forced all of his words back in his throat. The eye embedded on E-Ming's hilt snapped open, fiery red eyeball spinning wildly. Veins popped along the surface of the hand that the ghost had on top of the altar, threatening to either crack the stone or flip the table at any second.
Xie Lian, worry shining behind his eyes, reached out his hand but Hua Cheng growled: «Stay back!». He didn't want to sound so aggressive; when he saw the god freeze, the ghost gritted out through his teeth: «Your Highness, please, get away from me. I might...».
«How can you tell me to leave when you're like this?!», Xie Lian cut him off, immune to the threatening aura hugging Hua Cheng like coils of wind. «I promised to stay with you, I trust you!».
In that instant, wave after wave of ghostly howls and cries sounded from outside Qiandeng Temple. It was truly hell in the ghost realm, wailings and screams filling up the streets and the air, so loud even the calmness of that beautiful temple couldn't face a crisis that big.
A voice more familiar than the rest rose up, a ghost yelling like a madman while a child cried as if his heart was going to break. Xie Lian, between the heart-splitting worry for his husband almost doubling over in pain and the fear he felt for a child that suddenly found himself right in the middle of Ghost City, couldn't bear it any longer.
He stormed out of Qiandeng Temple in anger and shouted the name of his cousin at the top of his lungs.
The moment Qi Rong saw Xie Lian blocking the path in front of him, he spun around and ran back the way he came from. Along the way, he scooped up GuZi from the ground and dragged him away in a frenzy, the poor thing sobbing with both hands covering his ears. However, just when Xie Lian was about to give chase and maybe try to have GuZi go somewhere less terrifying, a loud crash sounded behind him.
As if suddenly struck by fury, Hua Cheng had swept the ink brush and paper pad off the altar and to the ground.
«San Lang...».
Fearing the worst, the god couldn't afford to deal with his cousin. He went back in the temple, heart thumping against his ribs, and found himself embraced tightly by his husband.
«I lied», the Ghost King whispered, a tremble in his voice. «Don't leave me».
Memories of centuries spent walking from failure to failure flooded his mind, the absence of his beloved from those years burning more than the molted rock of the Kiln. Neverending days spent looking for someone he couldn't find, yearning for love, wishing for time to stop so he could turn the world upside down in his efforts to find the one he desperately fell for.
His extremely good luck did nothing for him.
His Highness was unreachable, impossible to find, lost in the creases of space and time as Hua Cheng traveled and built and fought for him, always for him.
Hua Cheng clutched Xie Lian ever tighter in his arms: «Don't leave me», he repeatedly muttered
The annoying ruckus going on outside drove Hua Cheng to the edge, making him even more infuriated. Their safe haven was invaded with screams and noises, ghosts running left and the right in the streets so loudly it didn't matter how far they actually were. The ghost raised his hand as if about to blast everything in that city to pieces, from the smallest cobble to the biggest demon, and instinctively Xie Lian hugged him back to keep that hand down: «Okay, okay. I won't leave, you know I won't leave», he soothed.
With a flick of his hand, spiritual energy freely flowing from his core to his fingers, the grand doors of Qiandeng Temple shut by themselves, locking out at least half the noises.
Right after, to Xie Lian's faint surprise, Hua Cheng decided he was unsatisfied with only a shallow embrace and shoved the god roughly on top of the jaded table.
Ink, paper, brushes, all fell and scattered across the floor. Caught up in the struggle, Xie Lian's hand accidentally glided past the ink pad stationed on the table, leaving crimson red marks along the paper underneath him. Upon "Ache of Separation", upon the line "No cloud is beautiful but what which crowns the peak", the last two characters were now stained with vivid blood-like markings.
Seeing that color, the red-rimmed pupil of his husband shrank significantly, panic settling into his bones in a way that Xie Lian felt on his skin, in the form of his hands pushing down the god's shoulders as if they were a lifeline.
«San... mh!».
Before Xie Lian could finish, his husband leaned down to kiss him, mouth devouring his with a hunger he had never felt so raw and unhinged before. Although Hua Cheng wasn't alive and shouldn't emit any warmth, in this very moment his body was burning hot, as if he was struck by a high fever. It was the reality of his beginning, of the past crashing down as Mount Tong'lu spread its influence amid ghosts and other undead creatures, the fire spirit trapped beneath the skin of a perfect, flawless form.
With their lips tightly pressed against each other's, Xie Lian was forced to accept the incoming waves of heat, hands sinking into the folds of red fabric worn by the ghost.
Xie Lian thanked his own strong spiritual energy for being in his body for him, for keeping his sanity together. Hua Cheng's was so powerful that he felt his throat, chest, and stomach were filled to the brim with warmth, to the point it became uncomfortable
On instinct, Xie Lian tightened his jaw and raised his palm to slap, the sheer amount of power being poured into him so much it was starting to cloud his mind and judgment, but of course he couldn't bring himself to hit Hua Cheng. Of course he didn't want to, would never want to.
If it was that terrifying for him, just laying there, how bad was it for Hua Cheng? How painful it was for his body to contain all that energy, now that it burned so much it was impossible to think, to breathe, to exist?
The hand Xie Lian raised only tapped his shoulder, the force neither light nor heavy, before his fingers clawed once again at the maple red robes.
He promised him he would be there. He wanted to be there.
Xie Lian had to shove him away for a second, lungs aching for air that was constantly stolen from him, but before the light in Hua Cheng's eye could become pained he cupped his face once more and covered the other's lips with his own. He needed to ease that turbulent energy, so he gently guided the flow of heat into his own body. Hua Cheng looped his arm around Xie Lian's waist, making the god shiver ever so slightly.
In the next second, the two were tumbling on top of the altar.