Realmwalk

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/41838345.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandoms: 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 天官赐福 |
Heaven Official's Blessing (Cartoon)
Relationship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu)
Characters: Hua Cheng (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Feng Xin
(Tian Guan Ci Fu), Mu Qing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Qi Rong (Tian Guan Ci
Fu), Yin Yu (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Pei Ming (Tian Guan Ci Fu), He Xuan
(Tian Guan Ci Fu), Shi Qingxuan, Original Non-Human Character(s)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Developing Relationship, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut,
Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Case Fic, POV Alternating,
Touch-Starved Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Hua Cheng Has Self-Esteem
Issues (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Ghost City (Tian Guan Ci Fu), He Xuan &
Hua Cheng Friendship (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Communication, BAMF Xie
Lian, Angst, Backstory, Xie Lian the Crown Pillow-Prince, E'Ming and
Ruoye-Comedy Duo, Qi Rong is in a Box and He's Mad About It, Sassy
Gege, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian Invented Love, Hualian Have Elite
Banter, Hua Cheng Loses His Tiny Mind When Xie Lian is Bossy
Language: English
Collections: Crown Prince and the Ghost King
Stats: Published: 2022-09-30 Completed: 2022-12-29 Words: 112,653
Chapters: 15/15
 Realmwalk
by PaidSubscription

Summary

“I’m not sad,” lied Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian raised his eyebrows and gave a small smile.

“Ah, San Lang. I thought you would have learned by now. I may be a fool, but it’s not
easy to fool me.”

Upon Hua Cheng's return, he wanted only Xie Lian, and peace. But something is threatening
every ghost in his Realm, and dealing with the Council of Savages is still infinitely easier to
handle than talking. Because Xie Lian is maddeningly patient. And curious.

About exactly what Hua Cheng has been doing for the last 800 years.

OR:
A casefic/deepening relationship/emotional healing romp with all the TGCF faves, AND:

It's about time Xie Lian saves Hua Cheng. 💞🦋

 Silly Beast
Chapter Notes

This fic is set immediately post-novel canon, taking place during the months before the
Puqi Shrine re-opening.

Please note my 5K fic "Unshackled" is a first chapter for this fic covering the reunion
night, but you can read this fic without it.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

***

Of all the things Hua Cheng pictured himself doing on his first morning back with his
beloved, doubling over laughing at him while steam practically erupted from Xie Lian’s ears
was not on the list.

“Gege-”

“It wasn’t meant to be that funny! Don’t laugh, San Lang!”

“I would never laugh at His Highness,” he gasped, crinkling his eye at Xie Lian in the
sunshine. It was a cold morning, but bright and fresh, and Xie Lian was fretting in that way
he found irresistible.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you? I don’t want to be seen as disrespectful.”

Hua Cheng felt the muscles of his new body spasm in delight.

“The only person who could be offended definitely wouldn’t be. I’m sure the Rain Master
would find it very amusing,” reassured Hua Cheng.

“Really?” Xie Lian asked hopefully.

“Hasn’t she come to visit? Did you tell her?”

Horror bloomed on Xie Lian’s face. “She only visited once. And I hadn’t saved enough for
the ox at the time, but I could never tell her now! I really did mean to come up with another
name, it just kind of…stuck.”

Hua Cheng blinked at him, straightening up. Saving his money to buy an ox.

Something the Rain Master would have probably provided with a click of a finger. Money
Xie Lian in no way needed, given the million-odd merits he had from gold bars stuffed into
Puqi shrine. What a gorgeous, flawless, stubborn fool.

“I see,” he said. “Well. Your secret is safe with me.”

Xie Lian sniffed, watching the ox, who was happily buried in his morning meal of mixed
grains. “Alright then,” he said, stalking over to begin brushing the ox’s hide.

The silly beast grunted and made appreciative noises. Clearly he enjoyed a nice brushing,
which- judging from the shine of his hide- he got every day.

Hua Cheng stifled another laugh, leaning back against the fence, listening to the ox’s happy
puffs and bellows when Xie Lian scratched him in a particularly good spot.

“Aww. There’s a good Grain Master,” he murmured.

Truly an exceptional name.

***

Hua Cheng had mostly behaved himself since his return the previous evening, assisting Xie
Lian with the morning chores and barely teasing him at all. Xie Lian graciously avoided the
topic of where Hua Cheng had been, or rather, what he’d been.

He would prefer never to speak of the past year with anyone; least of all his beloved. But it
had not been entirely… pleasant.

It didn’t matter now. He was back right where he should be: standing between his beloved
and any who could ever wish to hurt him.

Still. He was ashamed.

He had felt the time passing, but he was unable to do anything about it. He was not a patient
man. He never had been. But feeling his spiritual power return so slowly, every atom of his
body regenerating so infinitesimally, was more than frustrating. It was agony.

He had taken far too long. Xie Lian had to wait an entire year for him. Long enough that he
had painful dreams the first night where he thought he was alone again. He’d not slept a wink
after that happened. How could he? He’d let him down.

Another year of idiotic, condescending Heavenly Officials making snide comments, insulting
him, making fun of him, backstabbing him. He knew their ways.

They’d be cautious of Xie Lian now, after what he did. Who he defeated. But they didn’t
respect him. They’d be making up reasons why it was Jun Wu’s slip-ups, not Xie Lian’s
power, that finished it.

In reality, he knew regenerating after he’d been obliterated as Wú Míng had taken him…well,
he couldn’t say exactly. Many more years. Centuries, perhaps? But that was then. This was
now.
He was one of the only two remaining Supreme Ghost Kings not currently suppressed under
a mountain. And while he knew a fight with Black Water would at least be interesting, both
of them knew who’d win.

Jun Wu, either as himself or as White No Face, was closer to Hua Cheng in power, but still
not a match. Hua Cheng could have done a better job at making him regret his existence
when they fought on Mount Tonglu, but truthfully, he was saving his energy.

He never intended to defeat Jun Wu. His priority was the shackles. His beloved would never
be safe as long as he was imprisoned by them.

And of course, once they were gone… Jun Wu never stood a chance. After all, that’s why he
put them on Xie Lian in the first place.

He wasn’t arrogant. It was a basic fact that there was only one being in the world who could
take him on at full strength and win, and that was his beloved.

What could the second most powerful being in the world do, then, but serve and protect him?
Those useless idiots who called themselves ‘Martial Gods’ could hardly do so.

Lang Qianqiu was far more pompous than he was capable. Pei Ming was too busy chasing
women (as long as they weren’t smarter than him, which was to say they had barely mastered
object permanence).

And the others…Quan Yizhen could lose a debate to an eggplant with a mouth drawn on, and
Hua Cheng would rather cede control of Ghost City to Cuo Cuo than ever rely on Mu Qing
and Feng Xin.

All in all, the Martial Gods were a five-person rebuttal of the idea that only exceptional
humans ascend, because all of them were so laughably mediocre it was a wonder they didn’t
accidentally sit on their swords. Though Quan Yizhen had definitely done that at least once.

And in any case. He still had a score to settle with Mu Qing and Feng Xin.

He had at least made it clear to the ghosts of the City that they should keep an eye on Xie
Lian, and look in on him, should he be away for some time.

Not that they needed encouraging. But ultimately, he could rely on no one else but himself.
Which is what made it so much worse that he’d failed his beloved. Yet again.

“...San Lang? Are you alright?” came the question, as Xie Lian paused in his brushing.

Hua Cheng pulled himself together. “Of course, gege. I’m with you.”

There it was. That shy smile, that embarrassed blink, that scratch of the head, just to have
something to do with his hands. It only added a stalk of hay to his hair.

Xie Lian was the most beautiful human who had ever, and would ever, live. “You were off
away somewhere,” he said, eyes flickering back up to him curiously.
Hua Cheng forced himself to stay nonchalant. “Apologies, gege. I am fully present with
you.”

Xie Lian cocked his head, stalk of hay waving in the breeze. “If you need to go-”

“No. And if I do go, you’ll come with me.”

Xie Lian chuh’d in disbelief. “Oh, will I now!”

“I insist.”

“And what if I have my own things to do?”

“Then this wretched knave will wait, lonely and forsaken.”

Xie Lian closed his eyes in exasperation. Oh, Heavens and Hells. He loved it when he did
that. To others, he was always so unfailingly polite and kind. Visible annoyance was an
immeasurable privilege to see on his face.

“Gege, there is nowhere I need to be more than-”

Xie Lian moved very suddenly. Hua Cheng watched him stumble towards him, barely
understanding what was happening until-

Chu. Warm lips pressed against his for a fraction of a second, and then it was over. Xie Lian
lowered himself back down from his tiptoes and fixed his gaze on Hua Cheng’s neck, cheeks
reddening.

Hua Cheng opened his mouth, and closed it again.

“I-”

“Mghhh,” said Xie Lian, covering his face.

“Your Highness?” he asked in wonder.

“Don’t call me that,” he whimpered through his fingers.

Hua Cheng felt another spasm in his chest, but he really shouldn’t laugh at his beloved like
this-

“Gege,” he choked. “You wanted to kiss me?”

“Frnghhh,” replied Xie Lian.

It was a good thing that Hua Cheng did not actually need to breathe.

Stifling his chuckles, he raised his hands to pull Xie Lian’s away from his face. He didn’t
budge. He really was exceptionally strong when he wanted to be. Or rather, when he let
himself be.
Xie Lian’s ears were very pink.

“Gege?” he laughed. “I liked it very much. Why don’t you take your hands off your face and
do it again?”

An embarrassed little exhale.

“I… I’m no good at it,” came the muffled voice.

Hua Cheng raised his eye to the heavens. Was he being tested? Because it felt like it. He
narrowed his eye at the sky. The heavens could fuck off.

“Well, I don’t think so, gege. But if you would like to put in your practice hours, I am, as
ever, at your service.”

Xie Lian mumbled something that sounded like “blarg,” which he took to mean that he was
open to the idea.

Hua Cheng tugged at his hands again. Xie Lian let him this time.

Hua Cheng surveyed his face. Sheepish and chagrined and that shade of pink that tortured
him.

He was greedy, before. Any opportunity to taste Xie Lian’s lips, under any circumstances,
he’d seized upon it again and again, convinced at any moment that Xie Lian would figure out
his secret and banish his unworthy, depraved self forever anyway.

But now, things were different. Xie Lian knew. He’d seen the Cave of 10,000 Gods and,
impossibly, still not turned away.

Hua Cheng still wanted Xie Lian, in any way he could get, but…he couldn’t think about this
from a selfish perspective anymore. No desperate fulfilment in the face of certain obliteration
needed.

He was back, so now, his desires were unimportant. He had to do what was best for Xie
Lian’s safety. Which meant not taking his trust for granted. And, however difficult, that
meant taking things at Xie Lian’s pace, not his own.

Perhaps, in another 800 years time, Xie Lian would finally let him squeeze his-

“San Lang?”

“Mmm? Are you wanting to try again? I’ll stay very still this time, now that I’m prepared.”

Xie Lian grimaced up at him. Perfection.

His little pink tongue darted out, moistening his bottom lip. Hua Cheng held his gaze. Very
slowly, Xie Lian seemed to square his shoulders, gather his courage, and start raising himself
up on his tiptoes-
“Your Highness?” came the shout.

Hua Cheng felt instant irritation rise in his chest. He knew that voice. He would very much
like to punch the owner of that voice.

Hua Cheng reluctantly dropped his hands as Xie Lian looked beyond his shoulder in horror,
eyes widening and instantly becoming more…formal. People pleasing.

Hua Cheng admired his commitment to always being a far kinder person than almost anyone
deserved, but he liked the real Xie Lian. Who was difficult. And pig-headed. And refused to
bend to anyone’s will but his own.

“Mu Qing! Feng Xin!” sputtered Xie Lian, leaping away from Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng kept his back turned stubbornly, rolling his eye. It sounded from the crunching
along the dirt road as if they were hurrying up the hill. Which meant they would have seen
him by abooout-

“Your Highness, what are you…. ah,” said Feng Xin.

-now. Yeah. They’d seen him.

“San Lang,” whispered Xie Lian, eyes flicking between his face and the two idiots over his
shoulder.

Hua Cheng sighed and turned, leaning on the fence post with his forearms. There they were.
Still existing. How unfortunate.

They looked the same. Haughty, uppity, and far too in love with being heavenly officials for
two people who didn’t deserve to be in the slightest.

“Fu Yao, Nan Feng! To what do we owe the unwelcome interruption?”

Their eyes narrowed identically, arms folded identically. Honestly, if there was a way to just
consolidate these two into one person, it would save time-

“So it’s true then,” muttered…one of them. Who cares.

Hua Cheng waited, stony faced. He really couldn’t pick which one of them he hated most.
The uppity broomsweep who’d abandoned his beloved first, or the holier-than-thou one who
abandoned Xie Lian when he needed him most for a wife and kid who wanted nothing to do
with him anyway.

Which was, objectively, the only funny part.

“Ah, yes, San Lang is back,” said Xie Lian briskly. Hua Cheng caught a shadow of a stifled
smile on him as he said the words. "He’s…uh, well, we’re feeding the ox,” he finished,
gesturing at Grain Master, who was now ears-deep in his trough.

Hua Cheng’s lips twitched.

Mu Qing and Feng Xin glanced at one another.

“You turned off the communication array,” said Mu Qing, accusingly.

Hua Cheng flicked Xie Lian a look of interest. He knew he’d turned it off last night, but he
assumed he’d have turned it back on by now, being the dutiful God he was.

“Ahaha, yes well… I suppose I forgot, we’ve been busy…”

“With feeding an ox?” asked Feng Xin dubiously.

Hua Cheng liked to stare at them, one at a time, for just a little too long. They always noticed.
And just as they’d start to get huffy and look like they were about to say something, he’d
switch. It was endlessly entertaining.

“Ah yes, well, I wanted a little time, um, to ourselv- why, is there something happening?”

Another shared glance. Slightly guilty this time. Ooh. Good.

“Well, no, we just… thought we should check on you…” Mu Qing said, trailing off, eyes
flicking back to Hua Cheng every few seconds.

“Weren’t you wanting to check on me? I’m the one who disintegrated. I’m better than ever
now, thanks for asking,” said Hua Cheng lightly, drumming his fingers on the fence post.

A muscle in Mu Qing’s jaw leapt as Feng Xin coughed.

Xie Lian, as ever, broke the tension with a gracious smile. “Well, we are both well. As you
can see.”

“You should turn the array back on. So you’re reachable,” said Feng Xin, eyes also flicking
to Hua Cheng.

“Ah, Feng Xin. I’m not in it all the time anyway, it gets very overwhelming to have it on all
the time! I’m only a scrap God after all; I don’t have too many prayers to deal with, just a
nice, comfortable amount,” said Xie Lian humbly.

“If you were so worried about Xie Lian, why didn’t you come last night?” asked Hua Cheng,
raising an eyebrow.

Mu Qing sputtered for a moment as Feng Xin’s eyes widened. Excellent.

“We… we didn’t want to see…” said Mu Qing, trailing off and looking at the ground.

“See what, Feng Xin?” asked Hua Cheng innocently.

Mu Qing’s fists clenched. “You!-”

He also liked to mix them up. It conveyed just how deeply he did not care about their
existence.
“I told you they’d be fine!” came the airy voice of Pei Ming strolling up the hill, looking
somehow casual despite his full body gilded armour, as if it had just occurred to him to pop
out for a bit of sunshine and fresh air.

Hua Cheng closed his eye and sighed.

“Ah, General Pei! I…well, I didn’t mean to cause any panic,” said Xie Lian, looking caught
off guard and swivelling his head between them all. “I probably should have given a bit more
detail in the array,” he muttered to himself.

Pei Ming strode happily over and nodded at Hua Cheng, hands on his hips and squinting in
the morning sun.

“You’re back then.”

“Astute as ever,” drawled Hua Cheng.

Pei Ming ignored him, craning his neck around the yard with interest, nodding in greeting to
one of the chickens as it pecked near his feet.

“I told them not to come you know, figured they’d be getting an eyeful if they did, but they
didn’t listen. But you’re up and around! And dressed!” he said, nodding approvingly at Xie
Lian and Hua Cheng’s adequate level of clothing.

“I- we- it’s not-” gasped Xie Lian.

“Can’t let the ox go hungry now, can we?” said Hua Cheng.

Pei Ming blinked at him. “Must admit, I’ve been around but I’ve never heard that one
before,” he said, a baffled but appreciative look on his face.

Xie Lian looked between them. “General Pei, what do you mean?”

Pei Ming opened his mouth, but stopped as Hua Cheng pointed lazily behind him.

“Oh! You meant there’s an actual ox!” Pei Ming said in surprise. He chortled to himself.
“Sorry, thought you were for sure talking about your reunion night. But I stick to women as
you know, so I suppose there probably are a few expressions I wouldn’t have heard…” he
said, eyes glazing over thoughtfully as he stroked his chin.

Hua Cheng shook his head in disbelief. These three people were prayed to. Daily. For help.

“Anyway,” said Pei Ming lightly, turning his gaze to Feng Xin and Mu Qing. "Best we get
on, isn’t it? We're busy, important meetings and such,” he said, jerking his thumb at the sky.

“What important meetings are those?” asked Hua Cheng innocently. He had also been ‘busy.’
‘Feeding the ox.’ Hadn’t checked in with Black Water, or Yin Yu, or any of his other sources
for spies in the Heavens.
He really didn’t care what was happening right now, but these three interloping into their
otherwise peaceful morning was an unfortunate reminder of the fact that the world still
turned, and was largely still being turned by idiots.

“Ah…well, you know,” said Pei Ming awkwardly, looking askance at Mu Qing and Feng
Xin. Hua Cheng smirked. He could perhaps imagine what the sudden meetings in the heavens
were about.

“Anything I can help with?” he said, with his most winningly helpful smile. He couldn’t wait
to start stretching his legs with the terms the Heavens agreed to on Mount Tonglu. He was
going to ring that bell constantly.

“I think you’ve done quite enough,” muttered Feng Xin.

“Quite right, Mu Qing. I did do quite enough. To help you quite literally save the Heavens,”
said Hua Cheng sweetly. “And I must say, it’s so nice to see you and Feng Xin getting along
so harmoniously together. Obviously you two must have really made up in the year I’ve been
gone!”

Both of them jerked as if burned, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

Hua Cheng was aiming at getting them to physically fight within the next five minutes.
Shouldn’t take many more nudges.

“Now now,” said Pei Ming vaguely, eyes fondly back on the chicken. “Genuinely, best we be
off. No need for us to see what else these two are going to get up to throughout the day.”

“Oh, Rain Master, what an enjoyable surprise!” exclaimed Hua Cheng, looking over Pei
Ming’s shoulder. Predictably, Pei Ming flinched and jerked around, to the sight of no one.

Good. The likes of this clown parade should never presume to embarrass His Highness. Pei
Ming turned back to glare, though Xie Lian, who was still bright pink, snorted a little and
then pretended it was a cough.

“You sure you don’t want to check in?” asked Mu Qing, jaw set as he eyed Xie Lian.
“There’s a lot going on, you know. You might want to pay more attention.”

Hua Cheng stiffened. How dare he-

“I am comfortable with how I’ve chosen to do my work, Mu Qing,” said Xie Lian lightly, but
in that firm tone he used. Hua Cheng’s fingers flexed. Good. They should be told.

Honestly, what he would give to just quickly strangle these two patronising, condescending,
concerned-out-of-sheer-guilt phonies. Pei Ming would probably let him for at least a minute
or two before stepping in.

But no. He had not even been back a full day. He needed to be on his best behaviour.

Feng Xin wore his usual sour scowl. “I really would recommend coming up for a day or two
to catch up…soon. As soon as you can.”
“Are the Heavens really so helpless without the Crown Prince to sort everything out, every
time?” asked Hua Cheng mildly. “I would have thought in the vacuum of Jun Wu that
perhaps the three of you could step up and dazzle everyone with your capabilities.”

“You -” twitched Feng Xin.

“Alright, alright,” said Xie Lian, waving his hands placatingly. “If you all really think it is an
issue, then I can go up for a little while.”

Hua Cheng’s brows twitched, before smoothing his face. Feng Xin was watching him,
looking slightly smug.

“Gege, if you don’t want to go, you don’t need to go,” said Hua Cheng quietly.

Xie Lian made a face. “I…I’ll just go for a few hours. Check in on the fuss and calm
everyone. After all, who can better vouch for you not being up to any mischief than me?”

Hua Cheng sniffed and folded his arms. He would much prefer to be making mischief.

“Alright then, shall we?” said Pei Ming briskly, straightening up after leaning down to try to
pat the chicken, unsuccessfully.

“Yes,” said Feng Xin and Mu Qing in unison, before frowning at each other in unison. Ooh.
Maybe the fighting could even start within two minutes, if he could just get in one more
nudge-

“Alright, let's go,” said Xie Lian. He looked up at Hua Cheng, lips parted in question.

“Oh, don’t you worry yourself gege. I’ll keep myself busy.”

Xie Lian nodded, relieved. “I…yes. I figured you would. I’ll be back soon. For dinner?”

“Of course. But you should be the artist over the stove, of course. I could never compare.”

Xie Lian gave his embarrassed little smile, scratching his head and looking at him in that way
he did when he seemed to forget that looking at anyone else was an option. Hua Cheng felt a
fizzing in his stomach.

Pei Ming coughed. “We won’t be joining. Just to be clear.”

“Why would you think you were invited?” said Hua Cheng smoothly, still holding Xie Lian’s
gaze.

“Hmm. Well that works out then,” said Pei Ming, beginning to rise into the air on his sword.
“Until we meet again, then, Crimson Rain Sought Flower.”

“Do feel free to take your time on that,” said Hua Cheng as the rest began to ascend. He
winked at Xie Lian as he rose and ignored the rest. They disappeared quickly enough, leaving
swirling dust and some ruffled chickens. Grain Master gave a slightly mournful moo.
Hua Cheng glanced at him. “Me too,” he agreed.

***

Hua Cheng did keep himself busy. He could hardly mope around, after all. He was a Supreme
Ghost King. With a terrifying, carefully cultivated reputation. He was being talked about in
hushed whispers in the halls of the Heavens at that very moment.

It would be extremely sad for him to just sit and stare sulkily at the chickens and kick stones
waiting for Xie Lian to come back.

For longer than the two hours that he did that, at least.

So he did his own check ins.

“You’re back,” nodded Yin Yu, striding in after a silver butterfly summoned him to Qiandeng
Temple.

“You’re alive,” replied Hua Cheng idly, flipping through his sheafs of paper on the desk,
covered in handwriting practice. Yin Yu hadn’t moved them. Good. He very much enjoyed
handwriting practice.

“Shall I arrange for a party?” asked Yin Yu. “A celebration at the Gambling Den, or perhaps a
street festival for the city?”

“Both,” said Hua Cheng decisively. “In a few days. Though I’ll likely just send a clone. I
have more important places to be,” he said, mind on a dusty sleeping mat.

“Should be sufficient.”

“Anything interesting here while I was gone?”

“No one would dare to be interesting while you were gone,” said Yin Yu, face impassive.

Hua Cheng nodded curtly. “Good.” He looked around the temple, the red walls and bright,
ornate gilding. "I expect I’ll be bringing His Highness to Paradise Manor soon enough. Make
the arrangements. His comfort is the priority.”

“Of course.”

“Now. Catch me up,” he said, turning to sit on the throne.

“As you say.”

“Black Water?”

“Lying low. Subdued. Even for him. Seems a little forlorn after the fruit borne of his plans
was not quite as delicious as he’d hoped.”

“Mmm. Predictable. And where is that remaining fruit?”

“Shi Qingxuan is still...well.”

“Head of the Tramp Union?”

“Indeed,” replied Yin Yu. “They can’t be unpopular even with no shoes on.”

“Mmm,” said Hua Cheng, staring into the distance.

He’d underestimated Shi Qingxuan, airheaded as they were. They were not capable of
cunning, but…influence was its own form of cunning, and Shi Qingxuan was still the best at
it, even in banishment. If anyone could ever ascend twice again, it would be them.

Only twice though. His beloved was the only one capable of three times. He would be
keeping a close eye on Shi Qingxuan. Xie Lian quite liked that vacuous idiot, and Hua Cheng
tolerated Black Water, so for now, both should stay alive.

Which meant…well, as entertaining as watching Black Water’s forehead vein popping would
be, he might need to have a chat with him about his plans for a Shi Qingxuan second
ascension eventuality. Other than Plan A of attempting to drown the Heavenly Capital in an
ocean trench in one of his typical hissy fits.

“What is Black Water’s tab up to, by the way?”

“If we’re considering the favours you did him on his revenge tour, adding interest, minus
when we drowned the statue in his waters, his debt is roughly the value of what Water
Master’s coffers were.”

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows. “Total?”

“Oh, no. Per month.”

“Yes, that makes more sense. And the vacancy left?”

“No one has been appointed Water Master yet.”

“And when you say no one…”

“Black Water has indeed been…cannibalising those prayers, predictably.”

“Naturally.”

Hua Cheng doubted there was a single devotee of Water Master left after the slight
reputational issue of Black Water twisting off his head.

Hua Cheng did not admire many qualities in many people, but he had to hand it to He Xuan.
His revenge really was quite the long game. Patience. A virtue he could recognise the value
of, though not practice himself.

“Well then,” he exhaled. “With all those offerings, seems Black Water may actually have the
means to start his repayment plan again. I’ll send him a greeting. He’ll probably be in the
Den by sundown spending it all once he hears there are games to be played.”

Yin Yu shifted. “He…owns the seas, now.”

“He always did. He picked Shi Wudu’s territory just so he could grow powerful enough to
take it from him. He was just waiting.”

“Yes but…now it is known. And no one will take the position in Heaven. Even Earth Master
is still vacant. They’re too scared of him. He killed two Heavenly Officials.”

“And we are all very pleased for him for achieving his deathlong dreams.”

“Do you think he will become greedy?”

“And by greedy, you mean overly ambitious in a way that should worry me? No.”

“Why not?”

“Motivation.”

“Your bargain together...now that the terms are fulfilled, it is over, no? You think he does not
wish to expand?”

“I think he has no idea what he wants, now. And for that reason, he’ll never have a chance of
beating me. I do know what I want,” he said simply, mind still on that sleeping mat.

Yin Yu nodded soberly. “Yes.” He took a breath. “But you know, as I do, that Heaven will not
tolerate being this afraid of not one, but two Ghost Kings. Not for long.”

Hua Cheng said nothing. Yin Yu was right.

He nodded. “Now. The one I’m actually interested in,” he asked.

“Ah, Yes. Her.” Yin Yu took a breath. “She is still being punished with endless scrolls. Still
knows everything.”

“Still underestimated?”

“Indeed. It’s known of course, that she was the one who unravelled it all. But most don’t
seem to have quite put together just what that means.”

“Ling Wen is the Shadow Emperor.”

“She always was. That is how she prefers it. Pei Ming knows, of course. Rain Master, the
other Martial Gods, they understand how powerful she is but…still.”

“I imagine the two remaining tumours are significantly less close than they were as a three.
Can we trust that she has at least exhausted her scandal material, for now?”

“Hmm. She’s damaged the main players, but she’s also made them impervious to blackmail
now that everyone knows everything. If that was all she had, she’ll lie low for a while. If
not…”

Hua Cheng nodded. Whoever dreamed up that her punishment should continue to involve
unlimited access to information was clearly an intellect not fit to call a coin toss.

“This won’t last long. Someone will make a move soon. Our sources?”

“Numbers significantly dented, obviously, now there is no Black Water everywhere.”

“Mmm,” grunted Hua Cheng. Black Water had indeed been helpfully prolific with his
‘nondescript heavenly official’ clones.

"But…” Yin Yu hesitated.

“But?” prompted Hua Cheng.

“Your reputation, after Mount Tonglu. It’s resulted in plenty of new recruits, I’m sure you
understand.”

“Ah. I see. So we have a new roster of the most quick to betray in the heavens, do we?”

“Of course. And those who don’t like the way the wind is blowing.”

“The wind is blowing in every direction at once right now. And no heavenly official who
wants to trade me information can be trusted.”

“No. But some could be useful.”

Hua Cheng sniffed. “Trash.”

“Speaking of which…”

“Oh, please don’t tell me…”

“Qi Rong is still…coagulating. Supervised by Lang Qianqiu. Gu Zi is growing well.

Learning etiquette, cultivation, and swords. Lang Qianqiu treats him well. He is fond of the
child.”

Hua Cheng pinched between his brows. The idiotic things that ‘honourable’ people do. Qi
Rong really was the luckiest globule of vomit in the universe.

“The other Savages?”

“Very low numbers after Mount Tong’lu, as you can imagine.”

“How many left?”

“I’m not confident of numbers, but no more than eight making themselves obvious, including
Qi Rong.”

“Hmm. The eight strongest, elsewise they wouldn’t have survived.”

“Indeed. The Night Reapers are all alive, of course. Red Abacus is up to her usual tricks, and
Wild Wail is particularly busy given it’s hunting season, though nothing much else of note.
Ke Mo is still imprisoned by the Heavens, and of Banyue I’ve not heard a thing.”

He nodded, and eyed Yin Yu.

“And you?”

Yin Yu raised an eyebrow. “Me, Chengzhu?”

“The dust is settled. Which means time is ripe for someone to kick it again. What is it that
you want, now?”

Yin Yu lowered his eyes. “Not the Heavens,” he said, only slightly bitterly.

“You are better than them,” said Hua Cheng, flicking his hand dismissively. “But I’m asking.
Do you know yet? When you’ll betray me, and why?”

Hua Cheng knew Yin Yu rather enjoyed running a spy network comprised of former
colleagues. Especially ones who had looked down on him.

Schadenfreude was still a powerful motivator for him, even in the aftermath of what appeared
to be a embarrassing and public emotional breakthrough with Quan Yizhen, and the minor
issue of being dead for a bit.

Yin Yu breathed out slowly. “I have not yet selected a day nor a reason yet, Chengzhu.”

“Mmm. Still deciding then. Be sure to not overplay your hand when you do.”

Yin Yu bowed his head. “For now, I am strangely more content in your employ than I was in
possession of my own temples.”

“Good. And keep in mind you wouldn’t like Black Water as a boss. Hopelessly maudlin, he
will steal your food, and everything always smells of fish.”

“I have been warned.”

“Yes,” he said, eye now focused on the butterfly showing Xie Lian landing outside the
cottage as the sun began to set. Xie Lian raised his fingers up to the butterfly, smiling. “Hi,”
he whispered. “Aren’t you beautiful! I am very glad you’re alright.” The butterfly’s
perspective was looking up at him, having clearly landed on his finger. Hua Cheng’s lips
curled up.

“Places to be?” said Yin Yu.

“It would seem.”

“Then I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Enjoy the parties. Perhaps we’ll look in on them. And you should get yourself a drink or
two. Loosen up for once, Yin Yu.”

Yin Yu sighed quietly. “Not really a strength of mine.”

“No. But a little hedonism has been earned, wouldn’t you say? You can bring Quan Yizhen.”

Yin Yu's expression changed instantly. "Why would I do that?" he said, expression careful.

"You didn't come back in one piece all on your own, right? He kept you safe?"

Yin Yu was very stiff. "We...I am still...having my issues, with him."

"Mmm," said Hua Cheng, dropping it. “Well, I’ll see you when something’s wrong, or when
something’s right."

Yin Yu bowed, and took his leave.

Hua Cheng never needed a distance shortening array, anymore. He could use the dice, of
course, but they didn’t quite speak to him as much. Every ghost always knew, sensed in their
soul, exactly where their ashes were.

He’d spent so long looking for his beloved. So long. It was a relief, once Xie Lian put the
ring on, to know he wouldn’t ever lose him again.

As he stood, a wave of…something hit him, and he faltered. Staggered, almost. The feeling
was overwhelming, pinching his senses into a narrow, suffocating tunnel.

He didn’t need to breathe, but this felt like running out of oxygen. Like it was all slowly
being sucked from the room, tiny bit by tiny bit, until he was left gasping-

It ended as quickly as it began. He straightened, checking his meridians. Fine, all fine.
E’Ming vibrated in concern. “Quiet,” he muttered, and E’Ming hummed in a manner that was
slightly petulant.

His eye darted around the room, checking he was alone, relieved Yin Yu was not there to see
that happen.

He tapped his body’s acupressure points, opening up to energy flows, hopefully allowing
more spiritual energy to pool in him.

He ignored the feeling that he’d felt this before. The absolute last thing he was interested in
on his first day back was anything to do with…no. That part of his life was done now.
Thinking about Grey Guard tended to have an uncanny summoning effect, and they were not
who he wanted to deal with right now.

He clenched his fists. He shouldn’t be surprised.

He hadn’t been feeling at full strength since he got back. His body consolidated over a week
ago, but at that time he had to regain enough spiritual energy for walking, talking, travelling
and the like. As soon as he did, he came home to his beloved. But he could have perhaps used
a few more days.

He had been foolish. His power would return soon enough, naturally, but in the meantime, it
was best that he not mention it to Xie Lian. So far, His Highness was pleased to have him
back. He did not want to place any caveats on that.

He’d felt fine in the cottage. It was probably just this new body. There were always teething
problems with maintaining a new form. He swallowed the panicked thought that perhaps, this
time, this body would not recover the ability to hold as much qi as before. That was
unthinkable. He focused instead on what he needed to do.

Calming his thoughts, he gathered his energy, and stepped towards the familiar energy of the
ring, like a rope tugging at its anchor.

***

Hua Cheng still knocked at the door of the cottage, out of politeness. However, when Xie
Lian wrenched it open with a hopeful expression on his face, the door gave an ear-splitting
crunch and squeak as it wrenched right off one of the hinges and dangled as Xie Lian ‘Oh!’d
and ‘Ah’d” and ‘Oh dear’d.

Hua Cheng smiled wryly. “Looks like you need a new door, gege.”

“I-well, yes, this one isn’t very good, doors aren’t really my strong suit…”

Hua Cheng pulled the door off in its entirety with one hand, tossing it aside carelessly. “It
will make good firewood. Nothing is a waste.”

“That’s what I always say!” enthused Xie Lian, eyes scrunching into crescents.

He got to work immediately, crouched over the door as Xie Lian hovered in the background.

“Good meeting?” Hua Cheng asked.

“Oh, yes, that…well, they had some…concerns, but I tried my best to talk them down.”

“Do you think I should pop up? Reassure them?” he teased.

Xie Lian crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “Do you think you can behave?”

Hua Cheng’s lips twitched. “Well, that depends on how annoying they are.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“Mmm.”

He pulled off some of the better boards from the door. He could plane them off to have
smoother edges, and reuse them.
“And you?” asked Xie Lian.

“Me?”

“Well, you weren’t here when I got back…” he said, voice odd.

Hua Cheng looked up.

Xie Lian was carefully inspecting the dirt.

Ghosts and Ghouls, he was such an idiot. One day back and he’d already hurt his beloved.

Hua Cheng opened their communication array, and spoke to him through it. “Gege. I should
not have left without telling you where I went. I will not do that again. I won’t leave you.”

Xie Lian’s eyes flashed up to his, startled. “I… well, that’s alright,” came his voice through
the array.

Xie Lian’s eyes went down again. His face was careful. Hua Cheng hated it. His heart sank.
What was he thinking, only leaving a butterfly?

He stood and went to him, taking his hands. “I was trying not to be…greedy.”

Xie Lian frowned, eyes still down. “Greedy?” He blinked. “You’re not being greedy. I always
want to know you’re alright. I was just worried. I didn’t know how long you’d be gone,” he
said faintly, still in the array.

Hua Cheng sighed.

He didn’t know why he cared so much more now. He was happy to be clingy and annoying
before. Back when he assumed he’d be kicked away eventually, so he may as well try to see
Xie Lian as much as possible.

It had been easy to justify, convincing himself it was just for Xie Lian’s protection. Now, the
shackles were gone. His purpose felt less clear cut.

Hua Cheng pasted on a nonchalant smile, while cursing himself internally.

“It’s not a big deal. I saw the butterfly after all! So I didn’t worry much,” said Xie Lian, all
false brightness.

Hua Cheng’s fingers twitched. False brightness was for other people.

“Gege, scold me.”

Xie Lian’s eyes shot up to his in surprise.

“Eh?” he said, out loud this time.

“Scold me,” said Hua Cheng out loud, matching Xie Lian. “I hurt you. I deserve a scolding.
You should scold me.”
Xie Lian opened his mouth and closed it. “I- I don’t want to scold you. You explained and it’s
alright. Anyway, can you maybe…show me how to do the door? I’d like to learn how to do
them now."

Hua Cheng noted the change in subject. Which Xie Lian only had to do because Hua Cheng
had made him uncomfortable. After he made him relive what he’d put him through by
disappearing without a trace.

Because he was sulky and bored and too irritable to fully think through what he was doing, so
he just materialised in Ghost City and winged it from there.

He showed him how to build the door. And fit it in the doorway. He didn’t bring anything
else up. Xie Lian wanted to move on, so they’d move on. He pushed everything else away,
and down.

Eventually, the sun was setting as they finished off the fitting. Xie Lian swung the door back
and forth ecstatically. He walked inside, and closed the door, and then walked outside, and
closed the door, and repeated this cycle several more times.

“Perfect!” he exclaimed from outside, voice muffled. Hua Cheng smiled indulgently.

“What do you want for dinner?” he asked, reentering the cottage.

“Oh, whatever you concoct, gege.”

“Excellent.”

***

The “Every New Door Is a New Beginning” pancakes were quite involved, even for Xie
Lian’s cooking.

It took them an hour. He wasn’t sure they were intended to be pancakes, but that is how they
turned out, and given they ended up in the shape of wonky doors, Xie Lian was ecstatic.

They ate companionably in the low light of the cottage. Ruoye and E’Ming had to be told off
for being too boisterous, but other than that, it was a trouble free evening. Hua Cheng let Xie
Lian take the lead on chatting. He seemed to have so many things he wanted to say.

“It’s been so long since anyone listened to me talk,” he’d said once.

Hua Cheng was used to being alone in his devotion. But what he never got used to was how
little sense it made.

How could anyone be so foolish as to not see what he saw in Xie Lian?

How could anyone not worship someone who was so clearly the most powerful being in all
the realms, but more than that, the kindest, sweetest, and most good?
Who could ever not want to sit, chin in hand, and just listen to his voice? To all of his
thoughts and musings. All of them were always good. Every single one.

Eventually, the evening wound down, and they settled facing each other on the sleeping mat.

“I forgot what it was like to smile this much for this long!” Xie Lian remarked happily,
massaging his cheeks.

Hua Cheng smiled right back. “Is there anything in particular pleasing Your Highness?”

Xie Lian pursed his lips. “It has been a good day,” he said.

“What about it, specifically, would you say?” he said, openly fishing.

Xie Lian fixed him with a look. “San Lang,” he warned, voice still indulgent.

Hua Cheng laughed through his nose. Xie Lian looked tired, and happy. Relaxed. Hua Cheng
tried not to preen too much.

“I agree, gege. A good day. Started well, a slight dip in the middle, but finished strong.”

“Mmm,” said Xie Lian, eyelids drooping.

Hua Cheng tucked Xie Lian’s blanket over his shoulders more tightly.

Xie Lian’s eyes fluttered back open. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“Quite alright.”

Xie Lian blinked at him. “I wish we had just the one cover,” he mumbled idly, eyelids
drooping again.

“Done, gege,” said Hua Cheng. “I’ll sew them together tomorrow.”

“Mmm,” he said again, eyes fully closed. “San Lang?”

“Gege.”

“Let’s have another good day tomorrow?”

“I know I will. I’m here with you.”

Xie Lian smiled faintly, and was asleep.

Hua Cheng watched his face and the rise and fall of his chest for a while longer, before
dropping off himself.

He jerked awake in the night. His usual. The Temple, the sword piercing his beloved over and
over and over, one hundred people betraying him, Jun Wu taunting him. His screams, him
begging for help. Being completely unable to do anything. Except to watch.
Sometimes he was just a little ghost fire again, sometimes he was his Supreme rank self, only
paralysed. It didn’t matter. It never mattered. He never needed to be too creative. The
memory of it was infinitely worse than anything else the Dreamscape could ever conjure.

He was pleased, for once, that he didn’t breathe. Less noise.

Xie Lian hadn’t woken, so he clenched his fists and counted Xie Lian’s breaths for as long as
it took him to remind himself that he was here with his beloved, and Xie Lian was alright. It
took a while.

But that was for the best. It wouldn’t do for Xie Lian to know about it, or to have his sleep
disturbed. He looked peaceful. He deserved to sleep peacefully.

***

They did have another good day. And the next day. And the day after that.

Xie Lian woke up every morning and poked him in the face. At Hua Cheng’s own insistence.
It was important they began the day right, and reassuring Xie Lian that he was in fact real and
here was the best way.

They fed Grain Master every morning, and the chickens, which Hua Cheng named Nan Feng
and Fu Yao (“San LANG, you shouldn’t!”). Hua Cheng sewed the blankets together, and they
curled closer and closer together each night.

Xie Lian showed him around the mountain more. It looked nothing like its previous days. It
was just a peaceful, newly forested haven now. There was a stream, which deepened into
pools here and there.

Hua Cheng suggested they bathe together, flicking Xie Lian lightly with water in a moment
of mischief, and Xie Lian splashed a good deal more at him for saying so, to his delight.

Hua Cheng said Xie Lian had bathed in front of him before and not been bothered, and then
Xie Lian splashed him again for saying that, because that was when Hua Cheng was
pretending to be Lang Ying, and it was very different now, obviously.

Hua Cheng asked why, and dodged the answering splash.

Xie Lian indignantly pointed out Hua Cheng had never bathed in front of him, so he nodded
very seriously and conceded that this was a very good point, and dove into the freezing water
fully clothed as Xie Lian watched openmouthed.

He winked, feet touching the bottom. “You were getting me wet anyway, gege.”

Xie Lian’s eyes were wide. Until they turned determined, and he jumped in as well. Hua
Cheng chuckled deep in his throat watching Xie Lian thrash towards him and shiver into his
arms and wail at what a bad idea that was.

He watched him working up his nerve, and making up his mind, the pink blush dusting across
his face and ears. It was a beautiful sight, watching Xie Lian decide to kiss him.
He did. Not just a peck this time. Still halting and unsure and over quickly, but wondrous.
Hua Cheng restrained himself still, considering, but they clung to each other in the pool and
Hua Cheng gripped his waist and held him close. It was ascension, every time, to kiss him,
but to be kissed by him was something else entirely.

Xie Lian looked down suspiciously, panting as they broke apart.

“San Lang?”

“Gege?”

“Your…”

“Mmm?” he asked, fully aware of what he was looking embarrassed about.

“Are you heating your skin?”

Ah. Apparently he had instead noticed the other thing.

“Only because I’m ever so cold, gege. That’s why I need you close. Thank you very much for
keeping this unworthy one warm.”

Xie Lian huffed and stifled his smile. “You’re a furnace.”

“I could turn this into a hot spring, if gege would prefer that.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he grumbled.

“Does gege prefer me warm? Or cold? Pick a temperature,” he teased.

Xie Lian fixed his gaze, suddenly direct. “I prefer San Lang however he is,” he said simply.

Hua Cheng closed his mouth. He would never get used to the way Xie Lian could wallop him
with words sometimes.

***

They bathed in the stream each day, and Xie Lian kissed him somewhere new each day-
under a tree, at the table, on their mat at night. They were still just split second pecks where
he would pull back quickly and look embarrassed, but Hua Cheng didn't mind.

Xie Lian would get a strange look in his eyes when he did, like he was about to ask Hua
Cheng for something, but thought better of it each time.

Hua Cheng let him keep his thoughts to himself. Xie Lian would ask when he was ready, and
only then. No more pushy, whiny Hua Cheng. He was resolute about this. Mostly.

Xie Lian was also still sufficiently shy that he kept his undershirt and trousers on in the
stream, but Hua Cheng was less so, and stripped off his shirt, noting with satisfaction that Xie
Lian’s mouth went slack and eyes went glassy when he did.
On the fifth, perfect day, they ambled back to the cottage dripping wet. Hua Cheng could
steam the clothes with a wave of a hand, but he was enjoying the clinging whites of Xie
Lian’s robes just a little too much.

“San Lang,” he scolded.

“Hmm?”

“I just asked you what you wanted for dinner. Twice.”

“Buns,” he muttered, eyes on Xie Lian’s…

“Steamed buns? I have some, but we had that for lunch, are you sure? There’s nothing you’re
craving?” said Xie Lian, distracted as they reached the cottage and he stroked the new door
happily in greeting, and walking inside.

Hua Cheng paused in the doorway for a moment.

Xie Lian noticed. “San Lang?”

“Well,” he said delicately. “There are some feasts and celebrations, taking place. In Ghost
City.”

Xie Lian’s eyes widened.

“Why didn’t you say anything!”

Hua Cheng stayed quiet as Xie Lian fretted with his hands in the air. “We should be there, the
sun has already set, we’re going to be late!”

“We cannot be late to something thrown in my honour. It will start whenever we arrive. But
we do not have to go.”

“Why wouldn’t we go!? Your people want to see you!”

“I would always rather jump in a freezing stream with you than see my people.”

Xie Lian scoffed. “We can easily do both.”

Hua Cheng inclined his head. “Only as you wish. Let us take in the night air in the city, then.”

“Yes, let’s,” Xie Lian replied, beaming up at him. Hua Cheng returned the smile, winking at
him and watching him blush.

Xie Lian turned back to him. “Shall we?”

“Of course. After you, gege; I wouldn’t want to deprive you of using the door,” he said,
gesturing. Xie Lian always looked a little crestfallen when he didn’t get to be the one to turn
the new handle.

Xie Lian chuckled. “Alright then.”

 He cheerfully opened the door and walked through it, already talking about the lanterns in the
streets and the merriment and how it would be so much fun to see the ghost citizens again
without accidentally setting anything on fire this time, he really was very sorry about that,
won’t happen again.

A feeling of warmth. He looked down in surprise. Xie Lian had taken his hand.

Xie Lian looked up at him, smile shy. He squeezed Hua Cheng’s hand, and they strolled
down the mountain together as the stars slowly came out to shine, deciding without words to
take a longer way there and let their clothes dry.

***

Chapter End Notes

“There is no charm equal to tenderness of kudos.”

-Emma, Jane Austen

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Grey Guard
Chapter Summary

Xie Lian decides a pop up restaurant is a good idea, a strange demon approaches with
business unknown, and He Xuan returns to Ghost City.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Entering the gates to Ghost City, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng strolled down the gaudy and
brightly lit main street.

They had not yet let go of one another, though Hua Cheng had made some changes on their
walk. He donned a different skin tonight, the youthful one Xie Lian had met him in. The one
who told him to call him San Lang on a creaky cart filled with hay.

Xie Lian was fond of this one. Xie Lian knew that Hua Cheng preferred not to show his true
self in front of too many people. Though, ever since he met that true self in the Gambler’s
Den, Hua Cheng seemed to have no problem with showing it in front of others as long as Xie
Lian was by his side. It made his heart flutter to think of it.

Coming back to the Ghost Realm was wonderful.

He hadn’t visited since Hua Cheng left, preferring to keep to his cottage and wait. But some
of the residents had popped in on him for tea now and then, bringing general chaos and noise
and excessive exclaiming about how exotic it was to eat rice.

Xie Lian wasn’t fooled- he knew Hua Cheng had probably told them to visit- but he still
appreciated it nonetheless. It was always a pleasant reminder of the richness of the world, and
how he, a humble 800 year old Scrap God, still had so many new and exciting things to learn
and experience.

In many ways, the Mortal Realm could be a tad…unimaginative.

There was a reason Xie Lian struggled with his memory. So many of his days were consumed
with what everyone’s days were consumed with as a living human: survival. The drive to
keep living, despite the guarantee no one would forever, even Gods. It could become
monotonous. To some degree, it felt like a waste of potential.

The Ghost Realm, however, was a prime example of what one could do when staying alive
was no longer the goal of existence.
It was wild, and creative, and funny, and indulgent; completely unrestrained by moderation.
There was no such thing as too much or too little of anything: danger, food, beauty, dark
magic, ugliness, violence, greed, lust, anger all existed purely for their own sake.

Those things were not needed, so instead, they were revelled in. After all, one could only
become a ghost if one decided there was something more important than surviving.

Xie Lian didn’t think it was hell. It was magical. How could it not be, with Hua Cheng at the
helm?

He was a little embarrassed at how he’d reacted when Hua Cheng got back. He knew he
shouldn’t worry and be so clingy. It’s just that he missed him. And he hadn’t realised he’d
missed Ghost City too.

It didn’t take long for citizens to spot them.

“IT’S TRUE! MY LORD! YER LORDSHIP! IT’S THE LORD, LOOK, IT’S THE LORD-”

“PIG GODS AND PIG GUTS!!! IT’S CHENGZHU, CHENGZHU REALLY IS BACK-”

“HE’S BACK, HE’S BACK, GO GET THE GAMBLING MONEY!”

“GRAND UNCLE IS HERE! IT’S CHENGZHU’S FRIEND! THE ONE WITH THE
BROKEN PENI-”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SPENT THE GAMBLING MONEY-”

A crowd formed, all elbows and shoves and a few hooves and feathers. Xie Lian spotted a
three eyed pelican-woman and the boar-headed Butcher Zhu, both of whom had visited him.
He bowed in greeting. They practically prostrated on the cobblestones in reverence.

“GRAND-UNCLE, YOU’RE HERE WITH CHENGZHU, YOU’VE REUNITED-”

“GRAND UNCLE KNOWS US, SEE, HE SAW US, WE’VE BEEN TO HIS PALACE,
WE’RE CLOSE PERSONAL FRIENDS-”

“Yes, yes,” laughed Xie Lian. “Your Lord Chengzhu and I are back, and it’s good to see you
all!” He looked around happily.

Hua Cheng surveyed them indifferently, arms folded. “I believe I called for a festival, did I
not?” he said, voice arch.

A chorus of “OF COURSE!” and “NOTHING LESS THAN A WEEK OF CELEBRATION,

YER LORDSHIP!” filled the air as yet more heads and eyes and beaks poked out of various
market stalls.

Hua Cheng looked around, as the crowd stilled.

“My instructions were clear. This festival is not just for me, it is for the Crown Prince of
Xianle as well. He will be given anything he wishes. He is my guest, and will be treated as
such. Is that understood?”

Xie Lian gulped. The crowd nodded and exclaimed eagerly, shouting and trilling and
clucking.

“Good.” Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow, and the crowd fell silent. “Then celebrate.”

The crowd erupted.

Hua Cheng took him by the hand again, and they moved with the wave of enthusiastic ghosts
wanting to ply him with food and drink and well wishes and all manner of things that even
his iron stomach could not possibly handle.

He lost himself in a giddy whirlwind of greetings and “SIR, ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T
WANT THIS POTION TO FIX THAT PROBLEM FOR YOU, SO YOU AND CHENGZHU
CAN REALLY CONSUMMATE-” and “HE DOESN’T WANT THAT STICKY MESS,
YOU BONEHEAD-” and “BULL SEMEN IS MEANT TO BE STICKY, YOU POINTLESS
IDIOT, MORTALS EAT IT, I’VE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYESTALKS-”

After his eighth “Hahaha, well thank you, that does look lovely but I couldn’t possibly-” Hua
Cheng finally intervened.

“Scram,” he ordered, and they obeyed.

Suddenly free of the surrounding melee, Xie Lian looked up at Hua Cheng as he confidently
steered them towards their usual ‘Delicacies of the Mortal Realm’ shop.

They took a seat at their table by the window.

Xie Lian did a double take as he realised the crowd had not in fact scrammed, but simply
moved to congregate just far enough across the street that it could theoretically seem to be a
casual gathering, if it weren’t for the fact there were a hundred of them crammed into an area
half the size of his cottage.

It was odd to see a hundred beings all determinedly pretending that they weren’t looking at
them. A few of them had poured themselves drinks and taken out binoculars.

Hua Cheng followed his eyes and opened his mouth to clearly tell them to get lost again, but
Xie Lian shook his head. “Let them,” he said quietly. “It’s nice, and they don’t mean any
harm.” Hua Cheng’s eyes flickered back to his, and his lips quirked. “Very well. Though
they’ll be there all night if you let them.”

“Aren’t there other things happening?”

“We are the things happening, as far as they are concerned.”

“I meant… there’ll be the Gambler’s Den, and street food and revelry, right?”

Hua Cheng parked his chin in his hands, gazing at him. “Mmm. If that is what you want,
gege.”
Xie Lian found, oddly, that he missed Hua Cheng’s eyepatch. It felt strange to look into two
eyes again. Hua Cheng had all the expressions and mischief he could ever need in one eye.
Xie Lian shook his head fondly, though he watched Hua Cheng under his lashes as he ordered
them some food.

Hua Cheng was being a little strange. He seemed completely himself, the first night. But he
kept… Xie Lian wasn’t sure what it was. His gaze went far away sometimes. And his face
went careful sometimes. Xie Lian thought maybe something was wrong in Ghost City, but he
had been doing it in the morning too, before he left. So it probably wasn’t that.

But as they sat together companionably, he realised with a slow creep that if something was
wrong…

Hua Cheng wouldn’t tell him.

If anything…he would lie.

He didn’t really mind the little lies, like back when when he pretended to be Lang Ying, or
when he didn’t really let on that they’d met, or when he pretended he didn’t know where they
were to try to steer him away from the Cave of 10,000 Gods…Hua Cheng had reasons for
that.

Hua Cheng wanted to protect him, and help him, and Xie Lian probably would have reacted
badly if he received all of that information at once. He wouldn’t change any part of their
story, including the parts that weren’t always honest. But now…

Now was different. He realised that it bothered him, the idea of Hua Cheng lying to him.

He wanted to know what was wrong. He wanted to know what Hua Cheng actually wanted,
and thought. He didn’t want to be placated, pleased, catered to. He wanted Hua Cheng to just
be his proud, arrogant, rude, jealous, sulky, whiny, slightly unstable, beautiful and perfect
self, not…

Not this careful, smoothly guarded person. That was for other people.

Xie Lian stifled a sigh. This was so very strange. How was it possible for him to love
someone so thoroughly, completely, and yet feel as if there were parts of him he didn’t even
know how to ask about?

In reality, they’d really only known each other for a cumulative total of a few weeks. He
didn’t feel any doubt about his feelings, but it did knock his confidence somewhat. He had a
lot to learn about Hua Cheng, and no idea how to start. Who had he been, all these years?

Xie Lian scolded himself. Hua Cheng would tell him whatever he wanted, whenever he
wanted, in his own time. It was not for him to demand anything after everything Hua Cheng
had done for him. Hua Cheng deserved to be loved unconditionally. Which Xie Lian did.

He just hadn’t figured out a way to…tell him that. Or make him believe him when he did.
Hua Cheng was always far too hard on himself.
“Is Gege alright?” said Hua Cheng, chin still in his hands.

Xie Lian straightened up. “Of course!” he lied. “It’s just…this mortal food is a little…plain.”

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows, looking down at the spicy porridge. It was bright red and the
steam alone made Xie Lian’s eyes water.

“Plain?”

“GRAND UNCLE, DID YOU SAY THE FOOD IS NOT TO YOUR LIKING?” yelled one
of the residents across the street, who had been using an ear-trumpet.

“Ah…well, I enjoy quite a strong taste!” called Xie Lian.

“GRAND-UNCLE’S PALATE MUST BE SUBLIME! THIS UNWORTHY HOST COULD

NOT POSSIBLY HOPE TO MATCH IT!” said the chef, who had served them their congee
and then sprinted outside in terror to join the crowd.

“His Highness is an exceptional cook,” called Hua Cheng. “You could never hope to be so
lucky as to taste his concoctions. Each is unique. One of a kind.”

The crowd burst into excited murmurs as Xie Lian scratched his head in embarrassment.

‘WON’T GRAND-UNCLE SHOW US HOW TO MAKE DIVINE FOOD WORTHY OF

HIS EXCEPTIONAL MOUTH-HOLE? YOU CAN USE MY STALL!”

“NO, HE CAN USE MINE- I HAVE THE BEST EEL GUTS ANYWAY-”

“NO, MINE! NO ONE ELSE IN THE GHOST REALM CARRIES FINER TESTICLES-”

Xie Lian paused. Now that was an interesting idea. Well. Not the testicles part.

“Gege?”

“Mmm,” he said, eyes on the crowd.

“What are you thinking?”

“Well, it would actually be quite fun, don’t you think? I’ve always thought it would be
enjoyable to work in a restaurant! But no one ever let me, with my luck.”

Hua Cheng appeared to bite the inside of his cheek. “A restaurant.”

“En. And you said it was my festival too.”

Hua Cheng’s brows twitched. “I did,” he said slowly.

“Why not have a little bit of fun then?” said Xie Lian brightly. “Just for the night. A one off.
To say thanks to your citizens for their patience.”
Hua Cheng’s mouth twisted slightly. “I do not thank my citizens. They are lucky I allow their
wretched souls in this city at all.”

“You don’t fool me, San Lang. You like them. And I like them! So…let’s do something for
them.”

“Both of us?”

“How could I cook without my assistant?”

Hua Cheng sighed longsufferingly. For effect. With breath he didn’t need.

“Alright then.”

Xie Lian’s eyes scrunched into crescents. “Wonderful. Shall we commandeer this shop? It
probably has all the ingredients I’m…most used to.”

“Mmm. Though gege should feel free to let me know if he needs me to source any species of
testicles.”

Xie Lian cleared his throat. “That won’t be necessary.”

Hua Cheng nodded, and turned to the window. “Scram, and come back in an hour. The
Crown Prince will be using this shop to provide a feast!”

The crowd positively exploded. He felt a hum of excitement.

This could actually be fun!

***

It was not.

After an incense time, Xie Lian had bitten off more than he could chew. True, he’d borrowed
the giant pot the chicken-ghost typically stewed himself in, so quantity was not an issue.
However, the stew was looking…well. It had oscillated between the consistency of concrete
and brick dust.

“More water!” he called frantically, as Hua Cheng ambled infuriatingly casually back with a
newly filled tub.

“It will be alright gege. Think of this as the paste from which we’ll make the stew.”

“It wasn’t meant to be a paste,” panted Xie Lian as he tried to stir the pot with a wooden
spoon the size of an oar. Hua Cheng emptied the tub into the pot and moved delicately out of
the way to avoid the resulting sparks, circling back behind a sweating Xie Lian.

Hands came around his waist. He stilled.

“It smells good,” said Hua Cheng from behind him, only choking a little.
“Really?” said Xie Lian hopefully, leaning his head to tuck in under Hua Cheng’s chin as his
heart sped up.

“En. It will be delicious. And they will love whatever you serve, because you are the one
serving it.”

Xie Lian made a noise in his throat and avoided the urge to hide his face in Hua Cheng’s
shoulder. “But I want them to like the food, not just lie to my face!”

Hua Cheng widened his eyes. “What do you mean. Gege? His Highness could not serve a bad
meal if he tried,” he said innocently.

He huffed. “San Lang, you are lying to me. You don’t think there’s anything I’m bad at?
Even cooking?”

Hua Cheng’s eyes widened even more. “Your highness, you are the best cook. In the
worlmmpph-”

Xie Lian had covered his mouth with his hand. Hua Cheng’s eyes flicked down in surprised
amusement at his hand on his mouth. Xie Lian gulped and tried not to think about how soft
Hua Cheng’s lips felt. “No lying. I know what my food is like.”

He had his reasons. The shackle on his neck had always made food quite difficult to taste.
And even if that weren’t true, he liked to remember his mother this way. She was always
horrific at cooking, but wanted nothing more than people to enjoy it. He liked his food. He
just wanted others to like it too, like her.

He took his hand off his mouth. Hua Cheng gave him a dangerously sweet smile and raised
his hands in mock-surrender. His gaze was warm, and fixed. Xie Lian swallowed,
remembering kissing him in the water and how icy cold and hot he’d been all at once.

“Let’s just get through this,” he sighed, dropping his gaze and dodging the thermonuclear
geysers erupting in the pot.

***

There was a moderately violent line starting to form, snaking around the corner (literally;
there was an actual snake hissing at everyone on the corner). Xie Lian could hear the general
clamour and mayhem from outside the steamy kitchen, and swallowed. Time to get this over
with.

He stood wiping his brow, eyeing the vat. “I think this is as good as it’s going to get,” he said
mournfully. It was several colours at once, somehow, with darker green spots amongst the
bright sludgy brown and yellow.

Hua Cheng’s fingers brushed his waist, looming behind him again.

“It will be good,” he said firmly. “Shall I take it out?”

“I suppose. It’ll be memorable, if nothing else.”

“They’re privileged just to touch something you worked on.”

Xie Lian shook his head. “Let’s not say that until we know they survived the night,” he said
grimly.

Hua Cheng raised his hand and beckoned toward the vat, which rose and followed him
outside. Xie Lian stacked a wobbling, waving tower of bowls so high he stopped and thought
‘Xie Lian, you can’t do this,’ until he remembered there was at least an even chance he
wouldn’t drop them.

He proceeded outside, smiling quietly to himself at his change in fortune. He only dropped
five.

The horde was hungry, figuratively and literally. A cheer built as they set up, and Xie Lian
straightened, wiping his hands on his apron.

“GRAND UNCLE, MAY I BE THE FIRST TO HAVE THE HONO-”

“NO WAY YOU GREASER, DON’T GIVE IT TO HIM, HE STEALS THINGS-”

“CHENGZHU’S WIFE SHOULD DEFINITELY CHOOSE US-”

“WIFE? USE YOUR EYES, HE’S A MALE HUMAN-”

“CHENGZHU’S EUNUCH SHOULD DEFINITELY CHOOSE US-”

“Hahaha, there there!” laughed Xie Lian awkwardly. “There’s plenty for everyone, please
stay orderly!”

“Perhaps I can offer myself for the first try,” came a strange, lilting voice.

Xie Lian felt, more than saw, Hua Cheng twitch slightly to his left. He kept his face
impassive, noticing that the crowd had quieted and parted slightly around the figure.

They approached quietly, light footed and lithe. They were a tall figure, looking almost like a
human, long haired and long limbed, except for the fact their limbs were scaled; silvery and
winking in the light of the lanterns.

Their face was angular and cold, eyes dark. What set them fully apart was their hair. Ink
black and cascading down their back, it would look like the beautiful hair of any human,
were it not for the fact that it…floated. Moved slowly, in a ripple. Out of sync with the rest of
them, like it was underwater. Xie Lian knew the world well enough.

This was a demon. A powerful one.

“Welcome back to Ghost City, your respective Highnesses,” they said, bowing.

Hua Cheng’s arms were folded in their usual casual pose, but Xie Lian noted his fingers
tightened around his forearms. “Yes. Ghost City. Not the Demon Capital. Here for the fun
and games, are you, Grey Guard?”
Xie Lian looked over the demon with interest. Demons typically didn’t like…well, anyone,
including their own kind. They kept to themselves, except when there was war to be raged.
Fun and games weren’t really their style.

“Of course,” they said neutrally.

“Well then. By all means, enjoy yourself," said Hua Cheng sweetly.

The demon turned to Xie Lian.

"May I introduce myself, Your Highness? I am called Zhong Jianren.”

Xie Lian nodded politely, noting the strange name, and bowed. “Xie Lian.”

“What is this dish called?”

“Overdue Queue Stew,” replied Xie Lian. “And I’m sorry, but as the festival is in his honour,
the first taste can only belong to Lord Chengzhu,” he said, apologetic but firm.

Hua Cheng smiled, smug and not breaking eye contact with the demon. Zhong Jianren
inclined their head, raising an interested eyebrow as Xie Lian served Hua Cheng a bowl. He
breathed in the steam and downed it. “Delicious, gege,” said Hua Cheng quietly, only for
him. Xie Lian stifled a smile, and a shiver.

Xie Lian scooped another serving into a bowl, and handed it to the demon.

Zhong Jianren tipped the bowl and gulped it in one. The crowd was silent, watching.

The demon stared at the empty bowl for a moment.

“You are sure this is a concoction of the Mortal Realm?”

Xie Lian gulped. “Uh…well, as much as it can be,” he said guiltily. The demon hadn’t
fainted yet. That was something.

Their eyes glinted. “I believe this is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.”

“...” said Xie Lian.

The line cheered, honked, and hissed.

Hua Cheng smiled humourlessly. Xie Lian knew his smiles well enough by this point to
know this demon had actually managed to get under his skin.

“Of course it is,” he said lightly, eyes scanning the advancing line as if bored, as Xie Lian
began to spoon out more portions into bowls.

“What was the meat in the stew, Your Highness?” continued the demon, hair swaying slightly
in a breeze that wasn’t there.

Xie Lian blinked. “Uh, there is no meat in this stew.”

“No meat?” muttered a few malcontents.

“Well, I didn’t want to eat anyone’s relatives,” said Xie Lian, purposely avoiding eye contact
with Butcher Zhu.

Silence.

Coughs.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Your Highness,” said the demon, eyes flashing in amusement.

“Ahaha, well, thank you- say, which part did you think was meat-”

“No fighting in front of His Highness!” said Hua Cheng irritably, as the snake paused guiltily
in its attempt to squeeze a sorry looking soldier ghost to death.

“Apologies,” they both muttered, uncurling and nodding in agreement at each other that they
would resume later.

Hua Cheng turned smoothly back to the demon.

“Can I trust that you’ll return to your home Realm tonight?” he said sardonically.

“Naturally.” Zhong Jianren bowed in a manner which seemed a tad mocking, though the
execution and form was technically flawless. They turned, hair floating behind them, and
were swallowed by the street revelry.

Hua Cheng watched them go, smile fading just for a moment.

***

After doling out stew to who knows how many ghosts and receiving a litany of compliments,
generally along the lines of “I never tasted mortal food like THIS” and “Grand-Uncle, I wish
I could be alive again just so I could die once more from one bite of this!” (apparently that
one was not an insult), Xie Lian and Hua Cheng made their way to the Gambler’s Den.

Xie Lian was feeling very pleased. He knew the difference between false and genuine praise.
And for some reason, ghosts seemed to genuinely enjoy his food.

He tried not to read into that too much after they strolled past a ghost enjoying what looked
like a tanghulu stick made from human toes.

Xie Lian watched Hua Cheng curiously as they went, holding hands in a manner so casual
and easy it made his ears turn pink. He’d barely even noticed taking his hand until after he’d
done it. It just felt right.

“San Lang…” he began.

“Hn?” said Hua Cheng, eyes looking around the streets as they went, taking in the wild
partying.
Most of the City’s Ghosts had spilled into the street and were playing dice, throwing knives,
bartering, drinking, juggling heads, and fighting cheerfully as they passed, pausing in their
activities always to offer a “WELCOME BACK, LORD CHENGZHU!” and “WE TOLD
YOU HE’D COME BACK FOR YOU, GRAND UNCLE!!” and “OF COURSE HE DID!
HAVE YOU SMELLED HIM? HE DOESN’T SMELL IMPOTENT AT ALL… WELL
HARDLY!”

“San Lang, that demon…” he continued, waiting for Hua Cheng to fill in the blanks.

Hua Cheng stiffened, and sighed. “Mmm. Interesting they introduced themself to you as
Zhong Jianren. They’re usually known as Grey Guard. Realm Walking Grey Guard, in full.
Sometimes called Zhong Bianyan. They’re a…border guard, of sorts. Between the Realms.”

“Between the Ghost and Demon Realms?”

“Between all of the Realms. Mortal, Ghost, Spirit, Demon, Dreamscape, Heaven…other
stranger places that could be called Realms; nowhere is off limits.”

Xie Lian hummed thoughtfully. Often, mortals and gods referred solely to ‘the Three
Realms.’ Heaven, Mortal, and Ghost. He’d usually done so, out of habit. The Three Realms
really just referred to the Realms that humans ruled; the paths that humans could take.
Demons had their own Realm.

Hua Cheng and He Xuan were even frequently referred to as Demon Kings, though
technically Demons were separate beings.

They were easy to mix up for three reasons: demons hung around the Ghost Realm a lot;
humans liked to call anything particularly evil a demon (in the Ghost Realm, this was a point
of pride), and no human, god or ghost had ever seen the Demon Realm. It was therefore quite
easy to pretend it did not exist.

“So…Grey Guard could walk into Heaven’s Upper Court right now?”

“Yes. Heavenly Officials know of them. But Heavenly Officials never much fancied taking
on the issue of borders themselves; it's always chaos even as it is and this way, demons are to
blame. And the gods like the problems. Means more desperate prayers.”

“But…we walk between the Realms. I am right now! And there are nonhuman spirits here in
Ghost City, and ghosts and demons and spirits and gods in the Mortal Realm…”

“And I’m betting Grey Guard knows of each and every one of those border crossings, every
time. Including ours. Guardianship of the Realm barriers is an ancient practice. Grey Guard
comes from a long line,” said Hua Cheng.

“Interesting. I didn’t know demons had such a role. I figured you managed the barriers here,”
continued Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng kept his smile light. “I didn’t create them. They are many, many thousands of
years old. And demons…have all kinds of roles. Don’t think of Grey Guard the way we
would think of a border guard. They aren’t here to protect or serve anyone. They move
between worlds and like to stir up trouble in each.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Hua Cheng’s hand tightened in Xie Lian’s for a moment. “Do not worry, gege. It’s nothing,
really.”

Xie Lian was frustrated as ever with his own ignorance of these matters. He strained his
memory for what he did know.

“But wasn’t separating the Realms a demonic idea, forever ago?”

Hua Cheng was quiet. “That is what is written,” he said finally.

Xie Lian frowned. “But…San Lang, I want to understand. They seemed…well, you seemed
like you…” he trailed off as Hua Cheng turned to look at him. They’d reached the back, more
private entrance of the Gambler’s Den, and stood awash in the noise and shouts and
enjoyment and red silk hangings under lantern light.

“You seemed like they bothered you,” he finished.

Hua Cheng’s face flickered. “They could never bother me with you here, gege.”

Xie Lian sighed. “San Lang…you’re…I want you to tell me if something is wrong.”

Hua Cheng blinked. “Gege?”

Xie Lian squared his shoulders, and stood up to his full, intimidating height of Hua Cheng’s
chin.

“I can tell something is bothering you. I don’t want you to lie and say everything is fine.”

Hua Cheng’s brows twitched. “Gege, I’ve only been back for a week. There are a few things I
need to settle, but it will settle with time. Trust me.”

Xie Lian mouthed up at him. “I do! Of course I do, I just meant… I don’t like the thought of
you not telling me something because you think it would bother me.”

Hua Cheng paused, and smiled. “We can discuss it later.”

Xie Lian nodded in triumph. “Good.”

Hua Cheng’s smile deepened. “That was a particularly nice scolding.”

Xie Lian gaped. “I didn’t! It wasn’t!”

Hua Cheng chuckled. “I told you gege. I don’t mind when you scold me. I quite enjoy it, in
fact.”
Xie Lian grumbled in his throat, resisting the urge to put his hands on his hips like an
affronted old man.

A cool hand on his overheated face. Another at his waist. Xie Lian barely had time to
understand what was happening before Hua Cheng leaned closer, and then…it happened.

Xie Lian leapt back, stumbling into a barrel.

Hua Cheng’s eyes widened, hands grasping at empty air.

“Gege…I-”

“No, San Lang, it wasn’t-” Xie Lian sputtered.

He straightened, now formal. “I apologise. I should have-”

“No, San Lang, it wasn’t- I was just-”

Hua Cheng’s jaw tightened. “I should not have done that. I was greedy again.”

“San Lang, it’s not that -”

“What can this unworthy believer do-”

“STOP IT!” blurted Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng mouthed soundlessly, looking down.

“I hate it…” Xie Lian began, stopping suddenly.

Hua Cheng had flinched. Flinched.

Oh Gods. Xie Lian felt his heart twist and stomach drop. He had well and truly botched this.
A noise came from the back of his throat.

“San Lang, please, I just…for a moment,” he struggled to explain.

A muscle was leaping in Hua Cheng's jaw, and he wasn't looking at him.

He gulped, and tried again. “When you, um, look like you do right now… it didn’t feel like
you. You’re not in your true form and it just felt like it wasn’t right for me to...you know…”

Hua Cheng frowned slightly. He said nothing. He was very still.

Xie Lian sighed, feeling terrible. Why did he do that? The one time Hua Cheng had tried to
kiss him since he’d been back, and he sprang back like he was made of hot iron, so
humiliating, and he’d hurt him…

He took a deep breath, beet red and shaky voiced. “I’m sorry I shouted. It’s just, it hurts me
when you call yourself unworthy. I don’t need you to be my worshipper all the time. I just
want San Lang.”
Hua Cheng’s lips parted, expression unreadable, eyes still on the ground.

“Let me see if I understand gege. You…only want to kiss my true form?”

Xie Lian swallowed. He had not known that himself, but…yes, that was true. He’d had to
kiss this form once, when he thought San Lang nearly drowned, but now that he had a
choice…

He nodded earnestly.

Xie Lian gestured at him. “I…I love this form, I do, it’s just…well, you’re a little young for
me like this, especially since we already have a bit of an age gap,” he said, feeling awkward.

Hua Cheng’s eyebrows raised.

“Gege, we are both over 800 years old.”

Xie Lian huffed. “No, I’m older! Seven years! That’s a lot! I was…well, I was a young man,
when I ascended, but…but when you’re like this…you’re, you’re a teenager. It’s a little bit…
indecent.”

Hua Cheng’s lips pursed. His eyes were now slowly starting to dance with mirth. Hua Cheng
didn’t make any noise, but he may as well have been snorting.

Xie Lian gave up. The hands went on the hips.

“San Lang, are you laughing at me?”

Hua Cheng gave up. “Yes, gege, because you are extremely funny.”

Xie Lian exhaled irritably.

“I didn’t know I felt that way either!” he said, aggrieved.

Hua Cheng’s lips twitched. “Well, now that we know, I…will adjust accordingly. Happily.”

Xie Lian rolled his eyes. “You’re going to ignore the second thing I said then?”

Hua Cheng paused, quiet.

Xie Lian shifted from foot to foot. “I really do just want San Lang. You don’t need to…” he
fumbled for the words. “Earn it.”

Hua Cheng said nothing, not meeting his gaze. “That’s…very nice of you to say, gege.”

“I didn’t mean it to be nice, it’s what I want,” said Xie Lian brusquely, deciding that if he was
going to act like an 800-year-old, he may as well lean into it.

Hua Cheng opened his mouth, and closed it again. “Well, Your Highness, whatever I can do
for you, I will do-”
A bang came as the back doors flew open and the noise from the Den pierced the air.

“And STAY OUT!” came the yell, along with the thump of a body hitting the ground and the
resulting groan.

Xie Lian grimaced. “Well, perhaps we could go around the main entrance,” he said, looking
around.

“Black Water?” asked Hua Cheng, voice strange.

Xie Lian’s head whipped around.

Sprawled on the ground was a pathetic looking figure.

The figure ‘oofed’ as it climbed slowly to its feet, dusting off its filthy rags as it went.

Xie Lian’s mouth fell open. He was certainly not easily recognisable. He was one of the Four
Great Calamities, and he’d just been tossed out by a bouncer like a sack of rice.

He Xuan did not look good. He was normally pale and stern of brow and demeanour, but he
seemed…drunk. Xie Lian didn’t realise how stiff and formal his posture normally was until
he saw him like this. Swaying and vague-eyed, scratching aimlessly at his head and robes.

“Ah, Your Highness!” he slurred, attempting a bow in Xie Lian’s direction and falling over
immediately. Xie Lian instinctively moved to help him up, but Hua Cheng gently stopped
him. As he did, Xie Lian wondered why exactly he was about to help him up. He’d last seen
him popping Shi Wudu’s head off like a pea out of a pod.

True, he’d lain low and let them battle in his waters during the chaos after Mount Tong’lu,
and Xie Lian would be surprised if his Bone Dragons had fought without his express
permission, but he hadn’t shown his face.

He Xuan righted himself on his feet again.

“Hua Cheng,” he belched, with a chin nod. “Good party,” he said, jerking his thumb behind
him.

Hua Cheng’s eyes glittered. Xie Lian noticed he wasn’t smiling. Apparently he had no need
for pretence around He Xuan.

“Figured you’d be here, but you must have made quite a scene to get kicked out this early.”

“Not my fault no one here can drink properly,” he hiccuped.

Xie Lian looked him over with interest. He had given He Xuan plenty of thought, over the
past year. Shi Qingxuan visited a few times, still their delightfully unhinged self, but Xie Lian
had never brought Black Water up. Strangely, he felt a kinship with He Xuan, though they’d
never really had any one on one interaction.
He knew exactly what it was like to lose himself completely to rage and revenge. To realise
too late that the self he’d have to live with afterward was not one he wanted to live with at
all.

But it wasn’t like death was really an option for either of them. Their only difference was that
Black Water didn’t have someone looking out for him, willing to shield him from the worst
so he could find his best again. He didn’t have a San Lang.

Xie Lian spent a good hundred or so years thinking of Wu Ming’s sacrifice every day. Trying
to live in a way that would make his death not just a waste of his faith in him. Until it became
habit, and he became the Xie Lian he was now. Someone who no longer had much use for
rage or vengeance.

But those first years? They were hard. Almost impossible. It looked like He Xuan was right
in them, judging from his current glassy eyed stare.

“You don’t look like yourself,” said Xie Lian hesitantly.

Hua Cheng sniffed. “Someone who eats and drinks my establishments out of everything
they’ve got? Sounds like Black Water to me.”

“I got kicked out because they wouldn’t let me bet one of my Bone Dragons. Seemed to think
I wasn’t telling the truth,” he burped.

“You have half the money of Heaven itself, you owe me most of it, and you’re betting a Bone
Dragon?” said Hua Cheng impatiently.

“Well, a Dragon is a more liquid asset-”

“Cough up, or leave.”

Xie Lian glanced at Hua Cheng. His gaze was steely and unforgiving.

“Ah, San Lang, perhaps we should be a little more gentle with him,” he murmured.

Hua Cheng looked at him in surprise. “Gege, this man spent quite a long time actively
plotting how best to rip apart the life of one of your friends.”

Didn’t manage to do that, thought Xie Lian privately. Shi Qingxuan had an odd sort of
resilience.

Still. It was sweet to watch Hua Cheng be all tough and gruff just because he thought Xie
Lian might have tender feelings about it. Which he did, but he could also see the shades of
grey. And this wasn’t really about him.

He smiled sadly. “I know he did. But I once spent some time actively plotting how to kill
every person in an entire Kingdom.”

Hua Cheng’s brows contracted.

“You are not him,” he said shortly.

“How?”

“You are better.”

“Only to you. And only thanks to you,” said Xie Lian, desperately fond. Hua Cheng’s gaze
bore into his for a moment, and Xie Lian felt hot around the collar.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” said He Xuan, who had given up on standing and sat slumped on the
ground with his legs wide apart. “I loved someone once. Nice, isn’t it,” he said bitterly.

Xie Lian’s heart clenched. Just the idea of something happening to Hua Cheng like what
happened to He Xuan’s fiancee… he’d have done what He Xuan did. Even now, even with all
the change in him, he’d still probably do it. No one was immune to the reckoning of that kind
of pain.

“He Xuan,” he said, edging towards him slightly. “Is there anything we can do? To help you.”

He Xuan lay down flat on the ground. “Just leave me alone,” he muttered to the stone.

Xie Lian sighed. He could recognise a man who was not ready to be helped.

“Alright. If that’s what you want.”

He looked back at Hua Cheng. He wasn’t quite sure he wanted to step over He Xuan’s
miserable prone form just to get inside anymore.

“San Lang, maybe we can go somewhere quiet, instead?”

Hua Cheng’s face softened. “Of course, gege.”

They turned to leave.

“You felt it too, right Hua Cheng?” called He Xuan.

Xie Lian looked back as Hua Cheng’s shoulders tightened. “I don’t know what you mean,” he
said coldly, not turning.

He Xuan snorted. “The shutting. I feel it. I welcome it. I hope this is all over soon,” he said,
curling into a ball away from them.

Hua Cheng’s eyes widened, just for a moment. Then his face was a mask. And he smiled. Xie
Lian stared. Hua Cheng didn’t smile, with He Xuan. “Sounds like a you problem,” he said,
nonchalantly, before offering Xie Lian his elbow.

Xie Lian watched his face carefully as he took it.

It seemed there were more than a few things that Hua Cheng was keeping to himself.

***
Chapter End Notes

"I always count my kudos far more than I ever count my money."
-Dolly Parton
Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!
 You Would Never
Chapter Summary

A brief fluffy reprieve before things start to get crazy.

Fluffy because Hua Cheng likes cats.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

As Hua Cheng strolled to Paradise Manor with Xie Lian, his mind was wild. Black Water felt
it too. Black Water seemed to think it was a big deal.

Which meant the darkest whispers in his mind were right. The feeling was bigger than his
body. Bigger than his spiritual power. Something was coming. And he was blind to it. He had
no idea who was doing this. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d not known who was
coming for him.

He could feel Xie Lian watching him. He smiled automatically. “After you, Your Highness,”
he said as they entered the gates. Xie Lian cocked his head ever so slightly, and said nothing,
a calm smile on his face.

Hua Cheng resisted a sigh. He was in trouble. Trust Black Water. Apparently now that he’d
blown up all of the secrets in the Heavens, he had no appetite for keeping his mouth shut
anymore.

The manor had been taken care of well in his absence. Everything still gleamed, the marble
and gold and red hangings looked as though they’d all been burnished and dusted only
yesterday. He trusted that Yin Yu had delegated, but he was still apprehensive as he led Xie
Lian along the wide gleaming hallways, to the room at the very end.

“Here we are,” he said, pushing open the wide double doors.

Inside was a four poster bed, shining silver posts to the ceiling, draped in embroidered
crimson silk hangings. But other than the grand dominance of the bed in the centre, the room
was simple.

Smaller than one would expect for master quarters; one could cross the room in six strides.
He knew Xie Lian didn’t enjoy ostentation anymore.
There was a small, low wood table and cushions, for taking tea or meals. Sliding screen doors
to the side, leading out to a small stone garden area arranged around a babbling fountain.

The fountain was sculpted as a twisted archway of white flowers. They were delicately cut
from marble, so detailed they even seemed to have raindrops on their petals.

He should know, he’d made them. They were a bitch to sculpt. Luckily, he cultivated the
flowers in this very garden, so he always had fresh ones to use as subjects.

Xie Lian looked around agape, hovering in the doorway. “San Lang,” he whispered. “This is
so beautiful! You didn’t have to do all this for me!?” he said, looking equal parts pleased and
worried about being too pleased.

“I didn’t,” he said simply, moving to make some tea.

Xie Lian frowned. “These aren’t my quarters?”

“They’re mine,” replied Hua Cheng idly, gathering some tea leaves to steep.

“Oh,” he heard, with a slight gulp. “This is your room.” Xie Lian walked in unsurely, and
twitched in surprise when he turned back to see that Hua Cheng had changed into his true
form. A few extra inches. Broader shoulders. Sharper features, and the eyepatch.

Hua Cheng smiled to himself. “I can arrange you some rooms if you’d prefer to sleep
separately.”

Xie Lian swayed a little. “I- well- you- I don’t-”

“I figured in any case, you can try out my bed and see if it’s to your liking. With or without
me in it.”

Xie Lian’s eyes widened as his ears reddened, muttering something to himself that sounded
like “indecent.”

“Gege, we’ve slept next to each other many times.”

“It’s a little different when it's on a mat,” he said faintly.

“How?” said Hua Cheng innocently.

Xie Lian mouthed at the air. “I don’t know,” he said eventually, scratching his head. He was
distracted, eyes on the fountain.

“How is it that it’s so peaceful out here?” he said in wonder, moving outside and breathing in
the night air. Jasmine, lily, woodsmoke. Only the sound of the breeze, and wind chimes.

“I don’t like to hear the rabble at night. There’s some heavy silencing spells at work here.
And a few others,” said Hua Cheng, joining him and tilting his head up. The stars were
bright.
Xie Lian was still looking around curiously.

“Is it to your liking, gege?” asked Hua Cheng, amused.

“It’s…surprising,” he said, earnest. “I thought you’d have more…opulent taste. This is…
refined. Restrained even.”

“Not gaudy like everything else I own, you mean,” he chuckled.

“That’s not what I meant!’

“I know, gege,” he teased. “I wanted something calmer. Simpler. A place to rest, and think. If
you want any changes made, you tell me, and I’ll make them.”

Xie Lian shook his head vigorously. “No, I love it,” he breathed. “Sometimes I feel…well,
what’s the opposite of claustrophobic? Big fancy halls and palatial rooms, sometimes they
just remind me…”

Hua Cheng nodded. He’d guessed. It’s why he didn’t go overboard, here. For once.

Xie Lian breathed through his nose, continuing. “Well, grand doesn’t suit me much anymore.
This is perfect. Lovely.”

Hua Cheng smiled.

“And this fountain,” he remarked brightly, hands behind his back as he strolled closer to
inspect it. “You know I like this flower.”

“I do.”

“Your work?”

“It is.”

“You really are an incredible artist, San Lang,” he murmured, running his fingers along the
stone petals delicately.

Hua Cheng bowed his head. “I have inspiration in spades,” he replied quietly, eye on Xie
Lian’s shining hair in the moonlight. It flowed down his back and drew the eye with the
contrast against his pure white robes. It made his fingers itch to capture the shadow and light.

But his next work would be all about his neck. The arch and the nape, the pale smooth skin,
the curve and flare. Unmarked, and free. He was obsessed. The part of Xie Lian he’d once
found the most difficult to look at was now the part he couldn’t look away from.

Xie Lian moved around the garden, exclaiming at the flowers. “You grow them?”

“Mmm.” He was pleased to see they were still thriving despite his absence. Yin Yu, strangely
enough, was an avid gardener who had many very dull opinions about soil.
He was about to tell Xie Lian that, when they were interrupted by a tiny meow.

Xie Lian whipped around. A black ghost cat, hidden well by the shadows, stalked over to
Hua Cheng indignantly and began threading herself through his legs. E’Ming started to
shudder in delight as Hua Cheng exclaimed “Sooty!”

Xie Lian stared at him in astonishment.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat, admonished E’Ming, schooled his expression, and picked her
up.

“Sooty?” repeated Xie Lian slowly.

Hua Cheng kept his eye down. He was just…very pleased that Sooty was well. “She’s one of
many ghost cats around here.”

Xie Lian cocked his head suspiciously. “Mmm. ‘Around here’ being…your quarters?”

Hua Cheng said nothing. He did indeed allow quite a...permissive territory range for the cats.

Hua Cheng kept his gaze on Sooty as he stroked her, feeling put on the spot. He cleared his
throat again.

“I…like cats.”

The statement seemed to echo awkwardly in the night.

Xie Lian bit back a grin. “I see,” he said slowly. “And you name them.”

Hua Cheng ignored that. Now was not the time to tell Xie Lian about BaoBao, NaoNao, or
Fishcake.

Xie Lian came closer to pat Sooty, as she purred loudly and tried to bat at the red pearl in Hua
Cheng’s braid. Xie Lian looked up at him, still with a grin. “Now that I think of it, it makes
sense that you’re an animal person.”

Hua Cheng ignored that as well.

“I often wondered why there are so many animal spirits here. Clearly you’ve a soft spot.”

Hua Cheng bristled.

“Ahaha, San Lang, I’m only teasing. It’s very sweet. I like learning these things about you.”

Hua Cheng was quiet for a moment as they listened to the now deafening purring and
scratched Sooty’s ears. He decided, in the moment, that he did perhaps need to explain
himself.

“I do allow more animal spirits here than my predecessors. When I visited the Ghost Realm
as a Savage, they didn’t linger here much. There was a certain 'hierarchy' of spirits.”
Xie Lian raised his eyebrows in surprise. “So…you changed that?”

Hua Cheng looked down, now feeling a tad abashed. He didn’t know why he suddenly
wanted Xie Lian to understand this about him. He really didn’t like people very much, except
Xie Lian.

Animals, however…

He stroked her belly once, twice, and permitted the inevitable clawing and biting upon the
third time.

“Animals never have malicious intentions when they’re alive. But in death…they tend to
come to our Realm if they were killed cruelly by humans.”

Xie Lian looked down soberly. “Sooty was killed cruelly?” he said quietly.

“Yes. But she doesn’t seem to want revenge. Most animal spirits don’t even linger out of
anger; they linger because they’re confused. They don’t understand why humans would ever
want to hurt them. So I let them stay. We share the same realm in life, why should they be
locked out in death? Their reasons are as valid as any, let them seek fulfilment.”

Sooty was rubbing her head ecstatically in the crook of his arm. Hua Cheng smiled. “In
death, she only wants affection and comfort. Perhaps when she gets enough, she’ll rest.”

Xie Lian swallowed, and they resumed their patting. Hua Cheng scratched her ears
particularly studiously. He wasn’t blatant about it, but the City ghosts knew enough to leave
the cats alone, even though the feline food-stealing gangs got slightly out of hand sometimes.
He did not respond well to the ghosts who hurt the cats.

He knew exactly what it felt like to be small and powerless.

The fountain bubbled quietly in the background. Xie Lian straightened and gave him an
assessing look, as if deciding something. He nodded.

“So,” he said cheerfully. “The Realm borders are having problems. What shall we do?”

Hua Cheng stilled his entire body, though he was sure his jaw had dropped.

“Gege…” he began.

“I’m powerful too, you know. I can feel strange things happening.”

“But-”

“I’m kidding. Haven’t felt a thing. But your face is the confirmation, hahaha!”

Hua Cheng shut his mouth. Xie Lian bounced on his heels slightly and stretched his arms
behind his back in what he now realised was an expression of smugness. A version of Xie
Lian he hadn’t seen before. Though he definitely didn’t hate it, it didn’t change the matter at
hand-
“San Lang, the tea is boiling over,” Xie Lian said, pointing.

Hua Cheng whipped his head around. He was right. He put Sooty down and strode to remedy
it, taking the moments with his back turned to compose his face.

He turned back to find Xie Lian already sitting sweetly at the table, a thoroughly innocent
smile on his face as Sooty circled on his lap several times and settled to sit. “San Lang is so
good,” he proffered as Hua Cheng begrudgingly poured the ruined, oversteeped tea.

“Gege,” he said, frustrated.

“What? You were planning on hiding this from me and trying to deal with it yourself? Too
bad. That didn’t quite work out,” he said brightly as he sipped. “Delicious.”

“Gege, the tea is ruined,” said Hua Cheng, voice clipped.

“You think I’m not used to ruined tea? I’ve quite the taste for it actually,” he said, taking the
lid off and peering into the teapot mildly as if he wasn’t going to be the death of him.

Hua Cheng sat reluctantly.

“What do you know?”

Xie Lian beamed at him. Clearly he’d been waiting for him to ask. He found himself
almost…annoyed. His beloved was being annoying. He was also enjoying being annoying.
He knew his beloved could win any contest for passive aggression, but this was new.

“Well, you’ve been acting strange, San Lang," he said, smacking his lips in appreciation as he
sipped.

“Black Water said something was ‘shutting,’ but he was only talking to you, so it must be
only to do with ghosts. Your barriers. None of the other ghosts seemed to notice, otherwise
they’d have started shouting about it the second you got here. So it’s Savage or even just
Supreme level only. And then there was Grey Guard. They bothered you.”

Hua Cheng drummed his fingers on the table, waiting.

“Conclusion: something is happening with the borders. And it affects the Ghost Kings more
than anyone else, because you’re the only ones with enough power to sense them.”

Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Very good,” he said sardonically.

Xie Lian beamed.

“Oh, it’s nothing San Lang. But what have I missed? Surely fluctuating borders are a
common problem?”

“This isn’t fluctuating. It’s shutting. Like a Door between the Realms disappeared.”

“Doors?”
“We call them Doors. They’re more like rips.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Black
Water and I felt something happening. Like…” he searched for an example. “A shudder. The
way walls shudder, when a door slams shut.”

Xie Lian hummed in concern. “That sounds unpleasant, San Lang. But surely that could be
dealt with quickly enough, or you… could reopen a new Door, maybe?”

“Black Water and I barely have enough power between us to mess with Doors. It’s not our
remit. And the borders are…intelligent. They are knowing, in their own way. Like
Zhongyuan Festival; when the borders weaken every year and let the ghosts through; that’s so
set in the ways of the borders that I don’t think anyone could prevent or change it if they
tried, even me.”

Xie Lian nodded, face entirely calm.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat lightly.

“Gege.”

“Hmm?”

“You seem…unperturbed.”

“Oh, of course I’m not pleased, San Lang. I’m just happy that for once I get to help you! It
can be a little tiresome always being the person things happen to,” he said, sighing as he
sipped his tea goodnaturedly.

Hua Cheng was still feeling a little thrown. He was, of course, aware of his beloved’s
strength, and well aware that the only thing more underestimated than his strength was his
intellect. He had nonetheless made the mistake of thinking that perhaps, in this case, he could
skirt around this problem for at least a few more days.

Instead, he’d been caught like a naughty toddler sneaking sweets before dinner. And Xie Lian
seemed utterly unbothered by that fact.

And then there was the other thing.

Hua Cheng grit his teeth, and opened his mouth to tell him.

And then he just…didn’t.

Xie Lian was looking at him so calmly and happily, scratching under Sooty’s chin. How
could he ruin that? How could he change that face to one of horror, or fear?

So he made the decision. He would deal with it. He would not ruin Xie Lian’s peace.

Xie Lian finished his tea, savouring it with a hum. “Well. We’ll manage this. I’ll help you.
We can’t have the Realms in chaos, now can we? You don’t need to be all wound tight like
this. Do not fret.”
Hua Cheng swallowed his irritation. “I don’t fret,” he said curtly. “And I am not wound
tight.”

“Oh, of course, my mistake,” said Xie Lian, nodding indulgently. “Now, will you be sulking
for the rest of the night, or shall we do a little calligraphy practice together before we turn
in?”

Hua Cheng stared. Sulkily.

He changed the subject.

“You are not concerned with what we should do?”

“Obviously we should investigate. But it’s late. Black Water was in no fit state, and Grey
Guard doesn’t seem like someone we should even bother chasing, if they don’t want to help.
And you’re tired. So let’s practice a little, then rest. We can try tomorrow.”

Hua Cheng clenched his jaw. His beloved was, of course, right on all counts.

***

Hua Cheng hadn’t his usual capacity for mischief, so he sat almost meekly as he let Xie Lian
boss him around and savage his writing style. They had to put Sooty outside after too much
attempted interference with the calligraphy brush, but Xie Lian was in his element.

Hua Cheng kept trying to seize the comfortable ground again, but Xie Lian was becoming
extremely good at evading his tactics.

He could almost have sworn Xie Lian was making fun of him, but every time he’d open his
mouth to point it out indignantly, Xie Lian would say something like “there you go, San Lang
is so good!” or “Well done! I can see you’re working ever so hard.”

They prepared for bed. Xie Lian never brought up the issue of sleeping arrangements,
exactly, but he never asked Hua Cheng to leave either. Xie Lian tortured him further by
finally feeling comfortable enough to strip down to his inner robe.

Hua Cheng followed suit and stripped to his undershirt and trousers. Xie Lian groaned
theatrically as he crawled onto the bed and under the covers. Hua Cheng joined him,
arranging himself carefully to give him sufficient space in the low red light cast around the
bed with the hangings down.

“Paradise indeed,” Xie Lian puffed happily, sinking into the silk sheets and soft mattress with
a blissful expression.

Hua Cheng smirked. “Mmm. Body in abyss, heart in…”

Xie Lian stilled, eyes widening in horror. “San Lang,” he said, voice small. “Please don’t tell
me that’s why you called it Paradise Manor.”

“You are my heart, so naturally, you should be in-”

“SAN LAAAAANG!” he wailed, throwing the sheets over his head.

Hua Cheng laughed victoriously. Finally, a win.

He curled on his side and delved under the sheets, billowing them over their heads. Xie Lian
was hiding underneath, curled into a warm ball with his face hidden.

The light was dim and the heat of Xie Lian’s body was close. Under here, Hua Cheng could
be forgiven for forgetting all about the outside world. Which is exactly how he liked it. He’d
be perfectly happy with living here, under a sheet with his beloved. He propped his cheek on
his hand and waited.

Xie Lian peeked out at him.

“Shall we rename it gege? You name it. Anything you like.”

Xie Lian grumbled noncommittally, eyes narrowing at him.

Hua Cheng coughed delicately. “Perhaps…Crown Prince Palace? Devotion Dwelling?

Gege’s Grotto?”

“This is the abyss,” muttered Xie Lian, eyes hollow.

Hua Cheng snorted unattractively.

“I’m sorry gege. I’ll behave myself now.”

“No, you won’t,” sighed Xie Lian.

“Gege, you won’t find anyone more well behaved than me in the world.”

“That snake from the stew line was better behaved than you.”

Hua Cheng placed a hand on his chest, wounded as he was.

“I’m aggrieved that you think so. I will change my ways, starting now.”

Xie Lian fully removed his arms from his face.

“Don’t. I like your ways,” he muttered begrudgingly.

Hua Cheng smiled.

Before he became a Savage rank and could maintain a complex body again, feeling emotion
as a ghost was very…different. Hard to describe. Emotions were still always recognisable,
but not physical.

They felt like little tugs, at his soul. He often wondered if the wild ways of lower ghosts were
partly because of this: sensation seeking, since they no longer had the ability to feel emotions
physically.
He preferred a body, despite all its inconveniences. He liked to feel his heart speed up, even if
he didn’t need a heartbeat.

He liked to feel the sensation of sweat cooling him when he worked in the fields or built a
door. He liked to have the ability to flush (even though it wasn’t really his style), or struggle
to breathe from laughing, or feel an ache in his stomach that changed depending on whether it
was hunger or yearning.

In his true dead form he didn’t have them of course, but when he didn’t need to conserve
power, he would open up his body and send spiritual energy through his veins so that he
could feel sensations.

He liked having reactions he couldn’t control; having his body betray him. And of course,
there was also the main reason ghosts thirsted for real bodies so much: arousal.

This time, he felt his skin warm slightly at “Don’t. I like your ways.”

“Mmm. Are you heating again?” murmured Xie Lian, leaning closer.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat. “Of course,” he said. “Come here. I’ll warm you.”

Xie Lian bit his lips, thinking. “Alright,” he said softly, shuffling and nestling right by him,
on his side. Hua Cheng, naturally, wanted to grab him, but he recalled the horrible feeling of
Xie Lian springing back from him outside the Gambler’s Den.

Xie Lian watched him, face close in the warm air under the sheet, eyes dark. Hua Cheng felt
the sensation of his throat constricting slightly, one he didn’t enjoy per se, but he nonetheless
appreciated for what it meant. His beloved was the whole world. There was only them.

Xie Lian had a strange glint in his eye.

“San Lang,” he said, clearing his throat. “I really didn’t…mean anything, by- erm- what
happened, back there. It really was just about your younger form. Well…I mean, mainly…”
he said faintly, trailing off.

Hua Cheng lowered his gaze.

“Your Highness must never accept anything that you do not want.”

“But that’s what I’m trying to say! I do want, I’m just very…you’re much better at this, and I
don’t really know what to do, but I just…” He took a breath. “I’m sorry. I keep reacting like
this, losing my head. I thought I was past it.”

“Past it?” repeated Hua Cheng slowly. He needed no reminder of all the times Xie Lian had
kissed him and then sprinted away from him.

“Yes,” he said softly, picking at the sheet… “I mean, you know I’ve no experience in these
matters, but that’s not really, um, the reason, I think.”

Hua Cheng frowned. “Your cultivation method?”

Xie Lian’s eyes were somewhere strange. Somewhere far away.

“Hmm? Oh, no, not that. I didn’t care much about that, after a while. I continued it out of
habit, and because it’s not like someone with my luck could ever safely drink or…or do - that
- sort of thing.”

Hua Cheng’s frown deepened. Was he saying…

“Gege, are you saying you…you wanted people, but you could not…?” He swallowed the
bitter tang of jealousy. He hadn’t been there for him. Who was he to begrudge his beloved?
Even if it was a stab to the heart to think of him wanting someone.

Xie Lian’s eyes flickered. The lantern light above their sheet cavern made for a low, shadowy
haven underneath.

“I never knew what want was until you, San Lang,” he said finally.

Hua Cheng felt a jolt. But Xie Lian’s expression was still odd. He followed his instinct.

“But?” he asked.

Xie Lian looked at him furtively. “But I think, if you had found me earlier, it may not have
made a difference, still.”

Hua Cheng tried to understand. “So…”

“Ah, ah, no, it’s not you! I just… there was a while- a few centuries actually- where I
struggled a lot when people would touch me…”

Hua Cheng felt ice going through his veins.

“Oh, San Lang, why are you chilling me?” said Xie Lian, looking down.

Hua Cheng twitched. He had not intended his body to react quite so disobediently.
“Apologies, gege,” he said, getting his temperature under control. He flexed his fingers,
which were itching to find Jun Wu’s neck.

“What can I do?” he said.

“Eh? Do?”

“I don’t ever want to cause you pain. What was it? That you couldn’t…before. How did you
not like to be touched, before?”

“Ah, San Lang. You would never,” said Xie Lian softly.

“What was it?” he said stubbornly.

Xie Lian moved closer and buried his face at the base of his neck, lips tickling at his skin.
“Being held down,” he said. “I couldn’t… whenever I’d get pinned, I’d sometimes…
overreact.”

Overreact. Which was Xie Lian for ‘it was horrific for me when I felt so much as a hand on
my shoulder.’

Hua Cheng breathed through the physical horror that was making itself known in his body.
The acid twist in his stomach, the cold tingle in his spine, the hot bite of fury. He
concentrated on keeping Xie Lian warm.

He hated this. Hated it. Hearing about and being reminded of all the centuries of pain his
beloved went through. Back when he’d had no idea where he was, except to know in his soul
that he was out there, somewhere, with cursed shackles and a White No Face threat who
could come back at any time and hold him down again.

Back when every time he or his sources would find a trace of him, the shackles would ensure
that he’d always miss him.

More than once, he’d missed him by mere hours.

More than once, he’d had to stand in a town square and listen to people roaring with laughter
as they talked about him.

More than once, he’d fallen to his knees, and bitten back screams of anguish and rage and
failure.

More than once, he had to stand and look at gravestones someone had left for him, like in
Banyue, and know his beloved had gone through unimaginable pain and humiliation, again. It
had taken him weeks to find someone who spoke the Banyue tongue to read it to him.

He’d clutched at that translation and memorised every single painful word, reading it over
and over, because at least it was something of his beloved. And it was fuel for him.

He knew. He knew many more people than just the thirty three Gods he’d already dealt with
deserved to pay for how they’d hurt his beloved.

He knew Xie Lian had been trampled. Nailed into a coffin. Poisoned and cut and drowned
and starved and frozen and burned. He just had never considered the horrifying possibility
that maybe, just maybe, someone else had held him down again. Hurt him, viciously, and
with intention.

He spoke in a cold, furious voice. “Gege. Who else held you down-” he stopped. Xie Lian
had gone very still.

Oh.

He’d only meant…

Tell me who else ever hurt you like that. Tell me who else ever hurt you at all. I’ll hunt them
all down.
Instead, he’d admitted that he’d already seen him being held down.

In the Temple.

When it happened.

“Gege,” he began, voice hoarse.

Xie Lian tucked his head even more and breathed into his chest. Hua Cheng wished he could
see his face.

“I already knew, San Lang. I remember you. Your little ghost fire.”

Hua Cheng exhaled unevenly. “I…know that, gege. We’d just never…”

“Talked about it. I know.”

Hua Cheng swallowed uneasily.

Xie Lian breathed out slowly, warm against his skin. “No one else held me down, San Lang.
It just took a long time not to react that way whenever anyone even got that close. And by the
time it got easier, I was used to being alone.”

Hua Cheng put a little more power into warming his skin. He swallowed all of his rage and
tried to focus on how incredible it was, after what Xie Lian just said, that he was here.
Willingly close and touching him, being touched by him.

Xie Lian sighed, breath tickling his collarbone.

“I’m just so sorry that you had to see that, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng froze. He felt his heart forget to beat. He was stunned.

“Gege….you were the one it happened to,” he said, numb.

Xie Lian pulled his head back to look at him, shaking his head slightly. “If the roles were
reversed…me watching it happen to you? How could I stand that? That would be so much
worse. I’m so sorry.”

Hua Cheng closed his eye. It wouldn’t be the same thing at all, if it were him.

Warmth. Xie Lian taking his hand. Warmth and the lightest press on his lips. His eye flew
open just in time to see Xie Lian pulling back from him, eyes fluttering and lips parted.

“Gege,” he whispered.

“Don’t be sad,” he whispered back, a tentative hand tracing his cheek. “It’s over. And now
I’m here, and so are you, and everything is lovely. Look,” he gestured around him, at their
sheet-cave.

Hua Cheng realised he had been clenching his fists for a while.
“I’m not sad,” he lied.

Xie Lian raised his eyebrows and gave a small smile. “Ah, San Lang. I thought you would
have learned by now. I may be a fool, but it’s not easy to fool me.”

Hua Cheng’s fingers twitched.

Xie Lian pulled the sheet back from their faces. Enclosed by the red hangings, it still felt like
the bed was its very own Realm. Shadowy and warm and perfect, a place where his beloved
wanted to touch him and smile at him and sleep in comfort. If he didn’t know better, he’d
think this was a dream.

He reached out to trace his cheekbones, and his temples, and his nose with his finger. Xie
Lian tilted his face to press into his hand.

He was still apprehensive. Things were still not clear about what Xie Lian wanted.

What if he hurt him? What if he was too much? This was…uncomfortable. He was nervous.
Crimson Rain Sought Flower was never nervous.

Xie Lian was still looking at him in that way. Relaxed, and almost amused.

“Ah, San Lang,” he whispered. “Suddenly I’m porcelain? I’m not, you know. I told you. I’m
alright now. And I’m always alright with you.”

Hua Cheng felt his chest seize, thinking of all the times he’d been so drunk at the thought of
Xie Lian’s touch that he’d ploughed ahead without even thinking. Why was he such a
wretch?

“Gege. Please, you must tell me if I ever cause you pain.” He couldn’t bear the thought.

Xie Lian smiled softly. “You have never hurt me, San Lang. You would never hurt me.”

Hua Cheng swallowed. His throat had decided to thicken.

“I hurt you. When I dissipated. I caused you pain.” Hua Cheng was shocked at himself. The
words came out of his mouth unbidden. He had not meant to bring it up.

Xie Lian shook his head. “It was the best pain I’ve ever been in, missing you.”

How inconvenient. Something was clawing at his chest, too. The urge to correct, to insist that
Xie Lian was wrong, because he let him down. Then, Xie Lian shifted and butted his shoulder
like a cat, smiling so softly and sweetly at him that he lost his train of thought entirely.

Hua Cheng took an uneven breath. “Gege. Whenever you say something like that to me, you
should always be in my arms first.”

“Oh. But I don’t know ahead of time, these things just sort of come out of my mouth.”
Hua Cheng stifled a snort, and gathered Xie Lian to him. He moved his hand to brush Xie
Lian’s hair from his face. Xie Lian kept his head arched back at an awkward angle to look at
him, looking fond and at ease.

He really did not understand how His Highness could look at him like that.

If he kissed his lips tonight, here in a soft bed with his beloved, how could he stop? Surely
Xie Lian couldn’t possibly take him like that. He’d never hurt him, of course, but he might
lose control of his temperature, or be like an animal in heat.

He’d go for hours. He could never ask Xie Lian to stay with him like that. It had been bad
enough when Mount Tong’lu opened. Which Xie Lian still insisted was just ‘fighting,’ to his
eternal suspicion.

Hua Cheng moved his head, so their foreheads were almost touching. Xie Lian peeked up at
him bashfully. Hua Cheng placed his hand on his waist and stroked, and Xie Lian’s eyes
closed happily.

Hua Cheng sighed. “Gege. I think you are right. Things are different in a bed.”

Xie Lian snorted and hid his face in his neck again. Such a wonder it was, to have him here
with him like this.

“You should be careful,” Hua Cheng continued. “I could get too used to this.”

“Used to what? As you said, we’ve slept next to each other many times,” mumbled Xie Lian,
voice muffled.

Hua Cheng’s chest heaved in delight. Sassy gege. He pulled him closer. He hesitated for a
moment, remembering that even though Xie Lian was lying on his side, that this could still
feel like being held down.

Xie Lian raised his head, an exasperated look on his face. He seemed to steel himself, and
held Hua Cheng’s gaze as he reached down and pulled Hua Cheng’s arms tighter around him.

Hua Cheng shut his mouth.

“Let’s try sleeping like this, hmm?” said Xie Lian, as if it was a request Hua Cheng could
possibly say no to. “It’s nice, this close.”

Hua Cheng said nothing. He was aware his face was not capable of being smooth or
nonchalant right now, so Xie Lian knew how he felt.

Xie Lian burrowed half his face into the pillow opposite him, eye glinting strangely.

“Gege? Are you alright?”

“We’re going to sleep, yes?”

“Of course.”
 “Hmm.”

Hua Cheng paused. “Do you need anything?”

Xie Lian blinked, eyes heavy. “Do you always sleep like this normally? With your eyepatch
on?”

Hua Cheng stilled. The past week, he’d not risked sleeping without it. He’d considered
waiting until Xie Lian fell asleep before taking it off, but what if he woke up?

“I…take it off, sometimes,” he said carefully. Meaning always. When alone.

Xie Lian scanned his face for a few moments. “I’d like to see you without it. When you’re
ready,” he said quietly.

He realised what that strange glint in Xie Lian’s eye was. Determination.

Hua Cheng opened his mouth, ready to acquiesce to any request from his beloved, but found
his voice stuck. His automatic desire to grant Xie Lian’s wish was at war. The part of him that
wanted to make it seem like no big deal was putting up a good fight, but so was the part that
simply whispered “ugly.”

His voice had been stuck a few times tonight. It was uncomfortable. But saying these things
was unthinkable. Including the real problem with the Doors. He could deal with it. He would
deal with it. He had to.

Xie Lian watched him, and nodded as if a decision had been made, even though Hua Cheng
had said absolutely nothing. “You sleep well, my San Lang,” he murmured, eyes already
closing as he snuggled closer, tucking his face back against the v of his tunic.

Hua Cheng held him in the night, counting his breaths and thinking uneasy, strange thoughts,
as he dropped off into uneasy, strange dreams.

All of them were about Grey Guard.

***

Chapter End Notes

"Lachimolakudos."
-Jimin, BTS

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Night Touring Green Box
Chapter Summary

Batten down the hatches, because Qi Rong has arrived.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Xie Lian opened his eyes slowly, then all at once as the instant comprehension hit him that it
was late. Quite late, judging by the light in the room.

His face was still buried against Hua Cheng’s chest, curled towards him on his side. He
wasn’t sure why he’d suggested sleeping with his face hidden against him like this.

Perhaps it was a position that reminded him of being encircled in his arms when they were
standing. He liked being tucked underneath his chin, and being on his side let him feel more
enveloped by Hua Cheng’s large form and long arms.

It brought him back to all of the times he had simply not been able to feel any fear, even in
abject danger, because Hua Cheng was holding him. He hadn’t known that he spent 800 years
never feeling safe until he realised that’s what he felt, in Hua Cheng’s arms. Safe.

He raised his head. Hua Cheng was already staring back at him, stroking his back lazily.
“Good morning, gege,” he rumbled, voice deep and husky.

“Oh! Um. Hello,” said Xie Lian, remembering last night and blushing immediately. “How
long have you been awake?”

“Don’t worry. Being awake like this was just as good as sleeping.”

Xie Lian’s brain caught up with him and he sat up quickly, frantically finger combing his hair
as the sheets twisted around him.

“Aiyoh! We have so much to do today! Is Black Water still here? Should we ask for Grey
Guard?”

Hua Cheng didn’t move a muscle, observing him mildly still on his side. “Black Water is
here. I had my attendants ‘insist’ on putting him up in a guest room. And Grey Guard is back
in the Demon Realm, and they can’t be tracked. It’s the nature of border guards. So we can do
nothing but wait until they appear again.”
“Oh,” said Xie Lian. So there…wasn’t really a reason to rush, then.

He blinked down at Hua Cheng, feeling silly. Hua Cheng smiled, and beckoned to him with a
crook of his finger. Xie Lian surveyed him. Well, he supposed he could perhaps, for a little
longer…

He settled back down, the way they were before, only with him up on the pillow and facing
Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng draped his hand back on his waist, the other curling under the sweep
of his hair.

A rattling noise and a light thump on the bed made him twist around in surprise, but Hua
Cheng shoved the overly enthusiastic E’Ming off the bed before Xie Lian could stop him.
“Ah, San Lang! Let the poor thing, it’s alright-”

“E’Ming knows the rules. No scimitars on the furniture.”

Xie Lian stifled a laugh, spotting E’Ming hovering hopefully over Hua Cheng’s shoulder. He
reached out as E’Ming eagerly flew closer, happy to get a morning scratch.

Hua Cheng turned his head ever so slightly and E’Ming dropped to the ground, now still as a
stone on the ground by the bed, clearly trying to pretend he had never moved.

Xie Lian dropped his hand and buried his nose in Hua Cheng’s shirt. It seemed extremely
luxurious to be able to do this. Just because. No stolen moments. No urgency, no interruption.
Cuddling. They were cuddling. He liked it. A lot. He didn’t think he’d ever cuddle someone.
Or that anyone would ever cuddle him.

Even before his ascension, as a Crown Prince, it was very taboo to touch royalty
unnecessarily. Similarly, the reverse was true: a touch from a royal was of great import, not to
be given flippantly.

He was raised to understand that touching people would be a tale told around a fire for
generations to come: ‘the time the Crown Prince touched Great-Grandfather’s hand.’

Furthermore, royalty should not need to be touched by their lessers. They were separate,
apart, and casual touch for enjoyment or comfort dented their ethereal air; their literal
untouchability.

That all became even more exaggerated as a God. It was one of his regrets, that he’d never
felt like he could hug his father, or his mother. Maybe if he had, they wouldn’t have…

Even if he hadn’t spent 800 years alone, he would probably still have been awkward and
halting with touch, being unused to doing it…well, without reason. Just because he wanted
to. Even wanting to felt foreign, at first.

He’d long, long ago suppressed all of the parts of him that wanted physical comfort from
others. He didn’t think he had that part of him.

So it was strange when it started welling up in him after meeting Hua Cheng. The feeling of
being drawn in like a magnet when talking with him, and realising that being physically near
to him still wasn’t enough.

In fact, when they weren’t touching, he actually missed him.

They’d held hands all the way to Ghost City. They’d snuggled close to each other for a week,
first under two covers, then under one. Now, they’d slept cuddling, all night. He’d been the
one to suggest it, even, just because he liked the feeling of Hua Cheng being close and large
and everywhere around him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever slept better.

It felt inevitable, even though he’d never been touched in his sleep by anything other than a
wild animal trying to eat his face. Xie Lian realised what that meant: this was the longest
another person had ever touched him since he was an infant. Possibly ever.

He smiled to himself, tilting his head to watch Hua Cheng in the morning light.

“What pleases you, gege?” said Hua Cheng, fingers rhythmically caressing his hair in a way
Xie Lian found extremely soothing.

“Oh, I just slept well. Did you?”

His eye flickered. “I did.”

“Hmm.” A lie. Another well intentioned one, of course, they always were- but a lie
nonetheless. He was always pale, but this type of pale looked drawn on him. Only slightly,
the tiniest of differences. It worried him a little. But it was difficult to feel too worried, lying
with him like this. His love was the whole world. There was only them.

He shifted closer. He remembered last night. He was glad that they had finally talked about it.
The Temple. He’d wondered if it would hurt Hua Cheng too much to do it, but Hua Cheng
seemed to only be worried about him.

How silly. Hua Cheng was clearly the one dealt the crueler hand. He’d said it himself, hadn’t
he? “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.”

It would have been. Hua Cheng had 800 years of that. Xie Lian only waited one year for him,
knowing he was alright that whole time. If he’d had to wait 800, knowing Hua Cheng was in
pain, and couldn’t help? That really would be torture. That would be far worse suffering than
anything he’d ever endured.

And yet, Hua Cheng didn’t seem to want to acknowledge his own suffering. He kept
worrying about Xie Lian and hesitating about hurting him, as if he was the only one of them
who needed to be taken care of and protected. Xie Lian wanted him to feel safe too.

But how could he do that, being as bad at…all of this…as he was? How could he take care of
his San Lang?

Hua Cheng had spent every moment since they’d met protecting him, and slowly making him
realise that he was loved. That he had always been loved. It was without a shadow of doubt
the reason he’d had the strength to defeat Jun Wu.
Now, he decided very firmly that he needed to do the same for Hua Cheng. He needed him to
understand the way he felt about him was equal. Because he could see he still didn’t believe
it. If he had, he would have mauled him and kissed him for hours already, and left him
bruised and dazed like he did when Mount Tonglu opened.

If he understood how much he loved him, he wouldn’t hesitate to take off his eyepatch, or
feel like he had to lie to him to not make him worry.

So. He needed to make a plan.

He loved plans now. They were so exciting to him.

Before, it was laughable for him to try to make plans. Plans used to just be a list of things that
would end up going wrong, in order. But once the shackles were gone, he was able to plan his
days.

He was even able to write down lists of things he needed to buy, and by the time he got to the
market, none of them would end up being out of stock or rotten or on fire or aggressively
guarded by a territorial goose.

He’d started to love writing down step by steps. Little notes and ideas for the future. It was a
nice way to remind himself that tomorrow was always a new day, and that tomorrow would
be good too.

“What’s going on in that mind, gege?”

Xie Lian smiled and looked up at him. First step of the day: breakfast.

“Oh, just wondering what Ghost Kings eat for breakfast.”

Hua Cheng tilted his head down, so that their foreheads were touching. “We typically prefer
the blood of virgins.”

Xie Lian grimaced at him. “I’d prefer not to bleed today.”

Hua Cheng’s eyebrows practically disappeared into his hair as he shut his eye and bit down
on his lip.

“San Lang. You can laugh.”

“I would never laugh at Your Highness,” he said, voice strangled.

Point one of his plan: let Hua Cheng laugh at him.

“I don’t mind it when you laugh at me, San Lang. It’s different when you do it,” grumped Xie
Lian.

Hua Cheng cracked his eye open, looking at him quietly. “Oh?” he asked, lips curving up into
a dangerous smile. Xie Lian swallowed.
Xie Lian knew better than almost anyone what people sounded like when they were laughing
at him to ridicule, or to be cruel, or to dismiss. When Hua Cheng laughed at him, it was like
he treasured whatever he was doing, even if it was extremely stupid.

Hua Cheng was so close. He seemed to have decided not to breathe this morning. Either that,
or he was holding his breath. It was a shame. He liked the idea of their breath mingling
together.

Point two of his plan: Undo the damage he’d done last night, when he’d leapt back from him
to avoid his kiss. He could tell Hua Cheng still took it more personally than understanding it
was only about the skin he’d chosen, and nothing more. He needed to touch him more. Kiss
him more. Be braver.

He gathered his courage, and tilted his face up, pecking him on the lips softly.

Hua Cheng’s lips parted in surprise, but Xie Lian ploughed on, closing his eyes and pressing
his lips to his again, firmer this time, not pulling away. Warm lips against cool, a contrast that
always made him shiver closer. His hand twitched up gingerly and cupped Hua Cheng’s jaw,
under his ear.

He parted his mouth slightly, humming at the feeling of Hua Cheng’s sharp intake of breath.
It was the first time he’d ever been the one to deepen a kiss. He shivered again at the feeling,
the strangeness of being able to take things so slowly.

Not quite the sensory overwhelm of all the other times he’d been kissed by Hua Cheng to
within an inch of his life, gripped hard. And the night of Mount Tonglu opening, manhandled
and thrown around like a rag doll.

He’d never dared to think too hard on why he liked that so much, given even remembering it
set his face on fire, but he liked this too. He’d never been able to savour it before; to actually
have the time to think about how nice Hua Cheng’s lips were. To notice how he would have
expected a ghost to taste of nothing, but instead he tasted like rain.

He made a small noise as Hua Cheng’s fingers threaded into his hair, twisting slightly. Hua
Cheng was heating up. Feeling the warmth transfer and equalise between their mouths was
quite intoxicating.

Xie Lian felt fizzing in his stomach and a stirring in his groin. He froze for a tiny moment.
He still hadn’t worked out what he was supposed to do with the new knowledge that he was,
in fact, interested in ‘that sort of thing,’ according to his body.

“Gege?” Hua Cheng breathed, lips tickling his as he kneaded his fingers against the back of
his head. Xie Lian couldn’t think past the cool jade of his skin against his own burning
cheeks.

“Mmm?” he gasped.

“You’re alright? You went stiff for a moment there.”

Indeed.

“Ah, hahaha, nothing to worry about at all, I’m fine San Lang!” he laughed awkwardly. Their
bodies were very nearly flush and he twitched his lower half away in embarrassment. He had
felt San Lang’s…well. San Lang. A few times. He knew that it happened to him, to them
both, and he understood the natural evolution of how things were supposed to go.

But how could he possibly ever dare to…to…

“I’ll get you some breakfast, gege. But I encourage you to take such liberties any time you
wish.”

“Oh! Um, yes, alright then…” said Xie Lian feebly, mind on additional liberties.

He was a little…frustrated. In his body. He didn’t really want to stop, but Hua Cheng seemed
to have decided that he would not be manhandling Xie Lian again at any point in the future.

Xie Lian’s heart twisted when he remembered how worried Hua Cheng looked at the thought
of touching him wrong, but he felt a little hollow when he thought about the fact that he
might never grab him and torment him again. His mouth had been so hot that night. Insistent
and ruthless.

Well then. Point three of his plan. Figure out…how to do, erm, that. Or how to make it clear
than Hua Cheng should feel free. To do that.

That might be the hardest point of all, he thought, thinking that he would rather crawl in a
hole and die than tell Hua Cheng that he wanted him to bruise him the way he did on a night
he didn’t remember.

Perhaps, if he made it clear that there was no such thing as too greedy, to him, it could make
up for his lack of skill. That way, they’d meet each other halfway.

He gave a minute sigh. Baby steps. They had time, after all.

“Alright,” he said briskly. “The sooner we get out of bed, the sooner we can get back in it,”
he said, mouth running away from him entirely as he slowly realised what he had just said in
sync with the raising of Hua Cheng’s brows.

“I meant…I mean…”

Hua Cheng’s chest vibrated with laughter up against his. Hua Cheng kissed him, lightly and
softly, but he kissed him. It was the first time he’d initiated since he’d been back. It was
natural and almost helpless, like he just couldn’t think of anything else to do in light of Xie
Lian being so ridiculous. Which was a start.

Xie Lian bit his lips, smiling sheepishly. He pecked Hua Cheng on the lips once more, and
poked his cheek in their traditional morning greeting. “Let’s get up.”

***
Their first stop was He Xuan. Hua Cheng tried to go and see him by himself, but Xie Lian
insisted that he wanted to help. Hua Cheng twisted his mouth in a grimace. “Fine, gege. Just
know he’s not going to help us. We should just find out if he knows anything, which he
won’t, and go. Let me do the talking.”

Xie Lian nodded happily. That made sense.

They proceeded through three sets of doors to the guest quarters. Xie Lian couldn’t for the
life of him draw a map of Paradise Manor. It seemed that there was no consistent layout. One
would only intend to go somewhere, throw the dice, and then arrive, even if the route
changed every time.

He Xuan was…extremely asleep. Or unconscious. Sprawled in a heap on a fine bed in a

grandiose room, but still covered in rags and reeking of alcohol. It was an unpleasant
contrast.

Hua Cheng sighed, eyeing him with distaste. “He sleeps like he eats, gege. All at once. Like
hibernation. He won’t be easy to wake, but since he didn’t go to sleep that long ago, it should
be possible.”

Xie Lian moved and prodded him unsuccessfully with a finger, peering close to his wan,
pallid face.

Hua Cheng was quite a bit less gentle, rolling his eye and speaking with an attendant outside
the door, who quickly procured a bucket of seawater. Hua Cheng promptly emptied it onto
his head, sending a spark of spiritual power along with it to zap him.

He Xuan rose all at once to standing, sputtering and enraged, yelling incoherently.

“What?” said Hua Cheng mildly. “You’re more powerful when wet, aren’t you?”

“FUCK OFF!”

“You can sleep in your own lair. This is mine. Here, I require you to be awake.”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

“You know. And Black Water, you’d better not have anything to do with this.”

He Xuan glared, and then the fight seemed to go out of him. He looked down and wrung his
rags out as best he could, muttering mutinously.

Hua Cheng stood with his arms folded, expression closed and frosty.

He Xuan raised his head. “You really think it was me? What would I gain?” he asked.

"I think you know,” countered Hua Cheng.

He Xuan rubbed his eyes wearily. “True. Remind me to thank whoever is doing it.”
“I encourage you to take this seriously,” said Hua Cheng in a dangerous voice.

He Xuan snorted derisively. “I encourage you to leave me alone.”

“Once again, you picked the wrong territory to make any requests. We can do this my way, or
my way.”

He Xuan dropped his hands with a pained moan, massaging his eyelids.

“Shouldn’t you start with Grey Guard instead of annoying me?”

“This is a shared problem. So we should strive for a shared solution,” said Hua Cheng
completely insincerely.

“Meaning Grey Guard is gone. And seems like you’ve got all the help you need,” he
muttered, eyes flicking to Xie Lian. “Why should I bother?”

“Because I’m asking very, very nicely,” said Hua Cheng, rudely. “Just tell me what you
know, then we’ll leave you be.”

“Nothing whatsoever.”

“Thought so. Gege, let’s go,” said Hua Cheng, turning to leave. He seemed to be in a rush.

Xie Lian had been watching slightly open mouthed, with great interest. He knew, of course,
that He Xuan was the only ghost close to being Hua Cheng’s equal. And that they had a long
history.

But he had not realised that they had this kind of relationship.

He knew Hua Cheng. Tone of voice and demeanour and…well, things he was saying aside,
he was actually being respectful. This was Hua Cheng going easy on Black Water. He’d not
even mentioned the borders.

Xie Lian steeled himself. He was happy to help impress a stronger sense of urgency.

“Black Water,” he began hesitantly. “These border problems will affect your power too,
won’t it? Help us, so that you can help yourself.”

He saw Hua Cheng go still to his right. He Xuan stared at him. And then he laughed. Low,
and slow at first, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then helplessly, manically,
clutching at his stomach.

“Affect my power!” he wheezed. “Oh, my my my, Hua Cheng. Lovers are supposed to be
honest with one another. You’re not doing well on that front, are you?”

Xie Lian whipped his head around to look at Hua Cheng as his shoulders stiffened. “Who are
you to talk about honesty,” he spat. A shadow of pain crossed He Xuan’s face, just for a
moment.
“San Lang?” said Xie Lian hesitantly.

Hua Cheng’s eye was fixed furiously on He Xuan. “Gege, he’s a waste of our time. Let’s go.”

“What was wrong about what I said?” asked Xie Lian to He Xuan. “Do the borders not affect
you?"

He Xuan scoffed bitterly. “Oh yes, they affect us. Soon, there’ll be no more us. We can feel it.
It’s starting.”

Xie Lian felt a cold trickle down his spine.

“What?” he whispered.

“Gege, don’t listen to him. Let’s go,” said Hua Cheng, already at the door.

Xie Lian turned to him, heart thumping. “No,” he said firmly. “Tell me the truth.”

Hua Cheng’s hands flexed, and curled into fists. His back was to him. “It doesn’t matter. I
will handle this.”

He Xuan shook his head as he chuckled darkly to himself. “You won’t. This is beyond both
of us. The beginning of the end. Thank Hell.”

Xie Lian felt a slow, cloying panic rising in his throat.

“San Lang. Please,” he whispered. “You’re scaring me.”

Hua Cheng twitched, and turned. He did not meet his gaze. “Gege, come. I can explain.”

Xie Lian swallowed his hurt. He glanced at He Xuan, who shrugged as if he genuinely
couldn’t care less, and sat back down on the bed heavily.

He followed Hua Cheng outside.

He blinked at Hua Cheng as they walked along in silence. Hua Cheng made to take his hand
automatically, but swerved at the last second as he seemed to think better of it, a muscle
leaping in his jaw. They seemed to be walking back to their room, through door after door
that opened for them.

“Are we going back to your quarters?” he asked, noting his voice was snippier than he
intended.

Hua Cheng slowed.

“Where do you want to go, gege?”

“Wherever it is that you stop lying to me,” said Xie Lian, surprising himself.

Hua Cheng had a strange look on his face.

Guilt, he realised. He looked guilty. Cowed. E’Ming’s eye was a crescent, but a reversed one.
A sad one. He sagged pathetically in his scabbard as Hua Cheng fixed him with a glare.

Xie Lian felt strange himself. He recognised the emotion. Not one he usually indulged in, but
in this case...

He was angry.

He’d had a suspicion that Hua Cheng wasn’t telling him everything about this, but he never
liked to pry. Everyone had a right to their business. That had been his mantra for centuries.
Hua Cheng had a whole territory of ghosts to deal with, and he’d been back only a week. It
was plenty to handle.

He probed his feelings as they walked. He was surprised to realise he felt differently now.
Hua Cheng wasn’t just anyone to him. Someone whose private business he should stay out
of. “That’s your business” is what he said only when he’d never been close enough to
anyone. That was what he’d said to Hua Cheng when he was still trying to pretend they were
just friends. They weren’t.

If his instincts were right, Hua Cheng was in danger. Danger he hadn’t thought was relevant
enough to mention, but was enough to send the other Ghost King into a nihilistic breakdown.

The distance between them, while only half a mǐ, felt like a canyon in the absence of their
joined hands. Xie Lian made an effort to stop stomping quite so huffily as they reached the
door and walked inside.

They faced each other as he opened and closed his mouth several times. He had not the
foggiest idea of what to say. It had been a very long time since he had felt like he had the
right to demand anything from anyone. Least of all honesty.

“Your Highness-” began Hua Cheng heavily, and he stopped, face changing as he suddenly
bent double and clutched at E’Ming’s hilt.

“San Lang?” Xie Lian stared at him stupidly.

Hua Cheng’s face looked pained, his hands were gripping E’Ming so hard that the scimitar
looked like he was terrified, crescent eye wide.

“San LANG!” he cried, reaching and scrabbling his hands at his shoulders in panic. “What is
wrong, tell me-”

Hua Cheng shuddered. He was trembling.

Then all at once, it stopped. Hua Cheng straightened. Xie Lian was sure it was not his
imagination that he looked even paler than usual.

“San Lang, what was that?”

Hua Cheng swallowed. “Another Door.”

Xie Lian mouthed. Another? How could that be?

E’Ming opened his eye and began to vibrate.

“What is it?”

“I…just an alarm. Something I should go and deal with.”

Xie Lian bit back a groan of frustration. Now? Really? He folded his arms, mouth a tight line.
“I’ll go with you.”

“No need, you can relax here-”

“Do I look relaxed?” he asked.

Hua Cheng bowed his head.

“I’ll go with you,” Xie Lian repeated stubbornly.

“Well…Your Highness, it may be unpleasant.”

“Fine.”

“No…I meant because of who this alarm is for.”

Xie Lian narrowed his eyes. “Who is it for?”

***

Lang Qianqiu was outside the manor gate, looking frazzled and beside himself as he tried to
calm a hysterically crying Gu Zi. “Your Highness!’ he cried, patting Gu Zi’s head frantically
as the child turned a darker shade of purple with each passing second.

“Please! Help! My! Dad! Scrap-Gege!” heaved Gu Zi.

“Gu Zi! Your Highness Tai Hua,” bowed Xie Lian quickly, hurrying towards them.

“He outgrew the lamp,” sighed Lang Qianqiu, kneeling to take the lid off a large wooden
box.

Xie Lian was mystified. “What lamp? San Lang said he detected- WHAT IN THE-”

He sprung back, colliding with Hua Cheng’s brick wall of a body as Gu Zi wailed.

“I told you. He is still coagulating,” said Hua Cheng, mouth twisting in distaste.

“WHAT’D YOU CALL ME, FUCKER? I TOLD YOU NOT TO BRING ME HERE, YOU
HALF WITTED YONG-AN TRASH-”

Lang Qianqiu shut the box hurriedly, not that it muffled any of the “MOTHERFUCKERS”
emanating from it. He kept apologising and trying to hush Gu Zi as the boy started sobbing
afresh.

“Your Highness,” he said. “I’m very sorry to impose, but he keeps…well, bits of him keep…
disappearing.”

Xie Lian mouthed soundlessly in horror, trying to unsee the sight of a squelchy and vaguely
green mush that somehow also had Qi Rong’s face, what looked like several fingers and toes,
other vague blobs of skin, an ear, and…perhaps an armpit? It was like a sort of jelly mould.
Some parts had sprouted hair. Or perhaps they were just floating eyebrows.

“Disappearing,” he managed faintly.

Lang Qianqiu nodded desperately. “He had a hand and half a foot disappear. Now he’s only
this.”

“We thank you for bringing us these glad tidings,” said Hua Cheng, turning to leave.

“Wait! I…I dislike him and his… manner as much as anyone but…” Lang Qianqiu gestured
helplessly at Gu Zi, who was now lying in the gutter hugging the box extremely pathetically.
Some matronly ghosts across the street were starting to congregate, cooing and clucking their
tongues in sympathy.

Xie Lian raised his eyes to the heavens. He shouldn’t be due another Heavenly Calamity,
surely. Why else would anyone force him to interact with his repulsive cousin, but to torture
him? He had been perfectly happy to pretend he was dead.

“San Lang,” he said mournfully. “We should…you know,” he said, waving his hand half-
heartedly at the box.

Hua Cheng paused, turning back. “Gege, I’m not strictly in the business of improving his
existence.”

Xie Lian nodded, given that was a fair statement. He thought carefully of how best to
approach this and convince Hua Cheng from a moral standpoint.

“I’ll let you poke him?” he said hopefully.

Hua Cheng cocked his head. “In the eye?”

“Sure!”

“Alright then,” said Hua Cheng smoothly, moving back.

A moral standpoint was a waste of time when it came to Qi Rong.

Hua Cheng gestured to the ghosts. “Attend to the child,” he said with a flick of his wrist, and
they amassed instantly around Gu Zi, picking him up and stroking him and singing to him.

He knelt and lifted the box, which started rattling violently as a string of curses made their
way from the lid. Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow, and dropped the box from a height.
“OWWWWWW! HUA CHENG YOU FUCKER-” howled the box.

“Oops! You were quite difficult to hold. You really should stay still if you want to go inside,”
said Hua Cheng indifferently.

The lid almost exploded clean off from the foul words that erupted from it; various threats of
bodily harm, family insults, and untrue statements about the size of certain body parts. Well.
Presumably untrue, thought Xie Lian, cheeks reddening. From what he’d…felt.

“Very well,” said Hua Cheng, eye glittering dangerously.

He kicked the box, skidding it along the ground. Xie Lian turned back to an openmouthed
Lang Qianqiu and gestured him inside as Hua Cheng continued to enthusiastically kick Qi
Rong all the way back to the doors.

“You’re not…going to stop him?” he said in disbelief.

“Why would I do that?” said Xie Lian cheerily. “Come on, let’s go in and discuss this.”

***

Inside, Hua Cheng led them to the same grand reception room he’d once seen the very first
time he came to Paradise Manor, back when it was filled with dancing women and a bored
Hua Cheng making a gold foil palace. Lang Qianqiu was fretful and fidgety, flinching at
every kick of the box, as they settled at a long table filled with fresh fruits.

“How long has he been re-assembling this way?” asked Hua Cheng, nudging the box up to
tilt against a table leg, leading to loud squelching and further muffled cursing as Qi Rong
pooled at one end.

“Wh-what way? Is this not the normal…er, way? For ghosts?” asked Lang Qianqiu.

Hua Cheng stared irritably. “No. This mess that he is… that’s not our way. We wait. Until we
have enough power to make a body. Not this. This is just what he does.”

“Oh,” said Lang Qianqiu. “I wasn’t aware. I am not sure, except that he’s been this, er, goo
since a few weeks after being, er, roasted by the fire. He seemed to want to focus on getting a
mouth first.”

Of course he did. Xie Lian sighed at an admittedly unnecessary volume.

“What’s the problem with him losing a few bits?” he said impatiently, massaging between his
eyebrows. This had interrupted what was a quite urgent conversation.

“Well,” said Lang Qianqiu delicately. “It’s…he’s been saying that Hua Cheng is doing it.”

Xie Lian whipped his head around. Hua Cheng’s eye widened momentarily. “I’m not, gege.”

Xie Lian hesitated. He believed him, but…Hua Cheng had been lying to him. What if he was
lying about this?
Hua Cheng’s brows knit. “Gege, I promise,” he said quietly, gaze on the floor.

Xie Lian’s lips parted, unsure what to say. He nodded.

“Nothing for it, then,” he said gloomily, staring at the box. He knelt, righting it level on the
floor and making to open it, before Hua Cheng stopped him. “Let me,” he said. “Don’t touch
his filth.”

He paused with his hands on the lid, before nodding to E’Ming, who leapt enthusiastically
out of his scabbard. “You know what to do,” he said quietly. E’Ming vibrated in agreement.

He opened the lid, and E’Ming flew in to hover menacingly a hair’s width from Qi Rong’s
mouth, stopping the latest verbal onslaught in its tracks.

“We won’t be talking with you unless you can use your nice words,” said Hua Cheng in his
chilliest voice. “You speak only when spoken to, or you’ll lose more parts.”

Qi Rong’s eyes blinked furiously and narrowed. “Mmmph,” he complained, lips shut.

“I’m doing nothing to you. You are not worth the dirt on my boots. Why would you think that
I’ve spared you a single thought?” asked Hua Cheng.

E’Ming raised his blade infinitesimally, just enough for Qi Rong to move his lips.

“Who else would be DOING this?” spat Qi Rong. The goo bubbled as he spoke, as if angrily
agreeing with him.

Xie Lian rolled his eyes to the heavens. “So you have absolutely no evidence whatsoever, and
you just made a guess?”

“IT’S NOT A GUESS! WHO ELSE BUT THIS SHAMELESS FUCKER WOULD GO FOR
A GHOST WHEN HE’S REFORMING, THIS WORTHLESS SON OF A-”

Xie Lian gave Hua Cheng a long, tired look, and a decisive nod. “Poke him.”

Hua Cheng’s face lit up.

“WAIT, NO- IT MUST BE HIM! OR YOU, TREACHEROUS COUSIN! WHO ELSE

COULD POSSIBLY DO THIS TO THIS ANCESTOR! PLOTTING AND SCHEMING
HOW TO TAKE ME DOWN, THE BOTH OF YOU, I’M SURE OF IT!”

“I assure you, your name hasn’t come up once between us. We don’t talk about you,” Xie
Lian said flatly.

Qi Rong’s eyes widened in a moment of almost…hurt, flickering between them. It was

disorienting given his eyes were not yet working together and moved in separate directions.
“Well…you! You are…you are so shameless, Cousin, whoring yourself out trash like this-”

Hua Cheng’s fingers twitched, but he didn’t even have a split second to react before E’Ming
reared up, reversed, and poked Qi Rong savagely in his left eye with his hilt.
“OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW YOU FUCKER! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT
YOU-”

Lang Qianqiu, who had somehow found the time to wince at each and every curse word,
intervened. “Your Highness, he mentioned something about rips. That he could feel the- er,
body parts going through a ‘rip,’ and disappearing. He says he can’t get them back- uh, your
Highness?”

Xie Lian tried to school his face, realising it was probably not appropriate to smile quite so
widely at the thought of Qi Rong having to continue his existence with one hand and half a
foot permanently gone.

“Yes, Yes General,” he said vaguely, mind on a pleasant image of Qi Rong hopping around
angrily. He shook his head slightly. “San Lang?” he asked.

Hua Cheng was still staring with disgust at Qi Rong, who was whimpering with E’Ming back
radiating evil over his mouth. “Yes, gege?”

“Does that sound…like what’s happening to you?”

“It could be, gege,” he said carefully.

Xie Lian nodded. Well then, he thought, heart sinking. Something really was coming for Hua
Cheng. For all ghosts. He turned back to Lang Qianqiu.

“Thank you for bringing him here, General. You did the right thing,” he said. “We’ll keep
him here.”

“We will?” said Hua Cheng drily.

“Yes. Each time he loses something new, it’ll be a nice reliable indicator,” he said cheerfully.
“Eyebrow gone? Something else happened. Big toe gone? Another one.”

The box shook with fury as Qi Rong vented his inability to speak.

“Anything else that would be at all useful for us to know, cousin? You are not part of the day
I planned to have,” he said shortly. Hua Cheng glanced at him, expression oddly sheepish.

E’Ming tilted up reluctantly to let him talk. “Yes, I need to tell you something!” said Qi
Rong, voice urgent.

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian shared a look as they leaned slightly closer.

Qi Rong took a deep breath. “WHY DON’T YOU GARGLE MY BALLSACK YOU PIECE
OF-”

“Go for it, E’Ming.” The scimitar wiggled with joy, and began ecstatically poking each and
every half-formed body part as Qi Rong screeched and yowled. Xie Lian smiled warmly.
E’Ming was having so much fun. It was so pure.
“NO! STOP, I’LL TELL YOU!” E’Ming paused at a wave from Xie Lian.

“RIGHT AFTER YOU EAT MY ASS CHEEK, IT’S DOWN THERE ON THE LEFT-”

Oh. That wasn’t an armpit.

E’Ming resumed.

Xie Lian saw Ruoye edging out from his sleeve, inching closer to E’Ming as the poking
continued, looking alert and yet…longing.

“Oh, go on,” said Xie Lian indulgently. “Have some fun.”

Ruoye wiggled with joy and flew straight as an arrow to the box, and began twisting so she
could perform her favourite towel-snap style move. Xie Lian winced in anticipation. Hua
Cheng nodded at Ruoye encouragingly and continued to supervise.

Lang Qianqiu was looking on with his mouth still hanging open.

“General, my attendants will return the boy to you.”

Lang Qianqiu coughed lightly. “He…won’t leave. Without his…‘Dad.’

Xie Lian closed his eyes painfully. He had hoped that enough time around a slightly less
unhinged male role model would enamour Gu Zi of…well, anyone but Qi Rong. No such
luck.

“Fine. He can stay here. With the box,” he grumbled. Hua Cheng gestured to E’Ming, and he
flew down for one final, brutal double eye-poke, before rising up to shove the lid down
roughly. Hua Cheng raised his fingers to his temples and spoke briefly and quietly to
someone. He turned back to Lang Qianqiu, who hadn’t moved.

“Will you be needing lodgings?” he asked mockingly.

Lang Qianqiu bristled. “I hardly think it would be appropriate for a Heavenly Official to stay
here,” he said haughtily.

“...” said Xie Lian.

“That’s fine. You can come visit any time,” said Hua Cheng sweetly.

Lang Qianqiu eyed the box. “I…will let you know,” he said, as if he was struggling with how
to be polite. He got up to leave, bowing hurriedly. “Farewell,” he managed over his shoulder
as he practically ran out the door, leaving a ringing silence.

Yin Yu entered so quietly and surreptitiously that Xie Lian didn’t even notice him until his
hands were on the box.

“Ah! Yin Yu!” gasped Xie Lian. “Hello!”

 “Your Highness,” he intoned, inclining his head.

Hua Cheng spoke. “The child will want to be with the box, which contains only trash. Ensure
the child is comfortable at least. Ensure the box is not.”

Yin Yu nodded and swept out without another word, leaving a ringing silence in his wake
now that the box was gone.

Xie Lian rubbed his hands on his thighs awkwardly. “Well. Shall we?”

Hua Cheng nodded, face dropping again into that slightly…nervous expression. How strange,
to see nervousness on his proud features.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he said, helping him to his feet.

Xie Lian swallowed. How was he going to do this? Be angry? To his face?

He exhaled through his nose. He’d have to.

How dare his San Lang think he should deal with something like this alone.

***

Chapter End Notes

“So what if they’re the devil, Rick? At least the devil has kudos. At least they’re active
in the fandom.”
— Summer, Rick and Morty

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Confession Swap
Chapter Summary

Hua Cheng does not want to talk about:

- what's happening to the Realm Doors
- and the cave of 10,000 Gods.

Xie Lian's preferred topics are:

- what's happening to the Realm Doors
- and the cave of 10,000 Gods.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Hua Cheng didn’t know what to say, as they walked back to their room.

He kept his head down. He didn’t want to see the expression on Xie Lian’s face, though he
could feel his eyes burning into his skin as they moved in silence. He especially didn’t want
to see the set of his jaw harden as he decided to leave.

This was it. He had known, deep down, that this couldn’t last. Perhaps Xie Lian would
always be kind to him, in the way he was to everyone else who had let him down, but there
would be no more- ‘them.’ How could there be?

It had been a very low moment indeed, seeing the doubt in Xie Lian’s eyes when he’d said he
wasn’t hurting Qi Rong. Xie Lian hadn’t believed him. And why should he?

He had done nothing since he’d come back but mess up and lie to him and hurt him. The very
things he’d vowed never to do.

Truly, it was for the best. He could accept that. Xie Lian was better off. A God and his
worshipper were never meant to be together. It was better that he returned to his rightful
place, and observed only from below. Xie Lian would be happier that way.

Xie Lian hadn’t stopped watching him. He couldn’t meet his gaze. They reached the room,
and the door closed behind him in a ringing silence. He stepped forward, looking out at the
fountain as Xie Lian breathed behind him. He clasped his hands behind his back and waited.

“Gege?”

“Mm?”
“It’s alright. You can do what you need to do.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Very well then. If you say so.”

He closed his eye. It was for the best. For Xie Lian.

His eye flew open. Warmth. Arms encircling his waist from behind. A disorienting, powerful
wave of deja vu as Xie Lian hugged him.

“Gege,” he choked. “What are you doing?”

“Reminding you,” came the muffled voice.

Hua Cheng hadn’t noticed that his heart was racing. Throat one big lump. Hands trembling.

“Reminding me…of what?”

“You really think there’s something that you could tell me that could make me leave?”

Hua Cheng opened his mouth, and found himself unable to speak.

“San Lang, it’s the not telling that’s worse. Stop it. It’s driving me crazy that you keep not
telling me things just to protect me.”

Hua Cheng brought his hands up to cover Xie Lian’s where they were clasped around his
middle.

“You’re not angry with me?”

“Of course I’m angry with you.”

Hua Cheng’s stomach dropped out. Panic clawed its way up his chest and into his throat-

“But so what?” said Xie Lian. Hua Cheng actually felt Xie Lian’s shoulders shrug against his
tunic. “You lied because it’s something big, right? What’s happening? Something you thought
you could deal with yourself?”

Hua Cheng mouthed at the air, totally unable to regain his footing in this conversation. He
still wasn’t brave enough to turn around.

“Yes. It…is big. Dangerous,” he warned.

“You’re silly,” mumbled Xie Lian into his back, sounding fond.

Hua Cheng shook his head slightly in disbelief. Was this a dream? “Gege,” he said.

“Turn around.”
He swallowed, and obeyed. Xie Lian said he was angry. But he had a wry smile on his face as
he looked up at him, like nothing was wrong. How could he look at him like that?

Xie Lian buried his face in his chest, nuzzling. Hua Cheng felt a bubble of hysterical laughter
in his chest. “Your Highness,” he whispered, hands coming up to stroke his hair. “You really
will be the death of me.”

Xie Lian grumbled for a few moments, before peeking up. Hua Cheng found himself
mesmerised as he watched him. His soft, dark eyes, looking at him as if…as if he really…

“Sit, and talk,” ordered Xie Lian.

Bossy gege. Is what he would have said, if he’d not still been walloped out of the ability to
speak.

He sat. Meekly. Xie Lian made the tea. He noticed Xie Lian seemed to intentionally
oversteep it, to the point of bitterness. Apparently he liked it that way. What a strange thing,
to file away the little thing to remember only moments after he assumed Xie Lian would be
leaving him. He accepted his cup quietly, unsure where to begin.

Xie Lian was eyeing him knowingly. Impossible to fool.

He tried not to sigh.

“So. The borders are affecting your spiritual power? The Doors shutting…is it draining you?”
Xie Lian guessed. It was a good guess.

Hua Cheng shifted, and prepared to tell him, caught out as he was.

“It’s not quite that, gege. It’s worse than that. Bigger. The status of our Doors, our Realm
borders are…particularly important to ghosts.”

“Why?”

Hua Cheng flexed his fingers unconsciously. He did not want to have this conversation.

“Well…We need Doors. More than any other being. Particularly to the Mortal Realm.”

Xie Lian frowned. “Why?”

Hua Cheng thought about how to explain. “Would any dead human ever become a ghost if
they couldn’t visit the Mortal Realm?”

Xie Lian opened his mouth, and shut it again. “Ah. I…see your point.”

Hua Cheng drummed his fingers against the table, face thoughtful.

“Realms are an interesting area of scholarship. It’s understudied, because we think of borders
and Realms as things that have always and will always exist. But I’ve read everything written
about Realms. They weren’t always separate, and the Ghost Realm never has been. One of
the more interesting schools of thought is that the Ghost Realm isn’t even really a Realm. It’s
a halfway place, a crossroads.”

Hua Cheng sipped the tea, and continued. “I would tend to agree. Ghosts are beings of both
Realms, gege. We can’t exist solely in one or the other, which makes us unique. We need
fluid borders. Doors shutting is bad news. We become ghosts because we have unfinished
business with the Mortal Realm. If the Ghost Realm is cut off…”

“I see. No new ghosts could cross over, and the existing ghosts…they’ll be trapped?”

“Yes, but it’s more complicated than that. If the Doors all shut… well, it depends what side
you get trapped on. If it’s here in the Ghost Realm, most of the ghost fires and the lower
ghosts will be snuffed out quickly, within days."

"They need to draw on the Mortal Realm for strength; their reason for going on, whatever it
may be. If they can’t, they pass. If they’re cast out into the Mortal Realm… well. It’s a realm
for living humans. It’s hard to hold on there, if you’re low rank. Ghosts don’t belong there,
and we’re hunted there.”

Xie Lian listened, nodding seriously. “Any being would struggle if they couldn’t go home.”

Hua Cheng cleared his throat awkwardly. “The concept of home is a little different for us,
gege.”

“Why?”

“Being born is not a choice. Even ascension is not a choice. Becoming a ghost is. We make a
choice, and we have to continue making that choice to remain in existence.”

Xie Lian raised an eyebrow. “You…remember making a choice? When you died?” His voice
was quiet. Serious, now.

Hua Cheng chose his words carefully.

“There are no reliable accounts of anyone who remembers the state between death and
ghosthood, gege. That doesn’t change the fact that we are all ghosts for a reason. Plenty of
gods can’t say the same. We are the only known Beings who choose to be what we are. The
Ghost Realm is not our home. Nowhere is. Our reason for becoming a Ghost- that’s the
closest thing we have to a home.”

Xie Lian breathed slowly, watching him with a soft smile. “Do you know, that’s quite a
beautiful thing, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng resisted an eye roll. “Gege, I only mean…shutting the Doors. It’s not
straightforward for us to pick a Realm. That’s why we’re ghosts- because we couldn’t let
things be straightforward and just die. We are neither alive nor dead. So we need to be part of
both the living and dead Realms to exist.”

“That makes sense. But…” Xie Lian chewed at his lip. “Your ‘reason’…is not tied to the
Mortal Realm. Um, anymore. No?”
Hua Cheng eyed him knowingly. His reason was sitting in front of him, trying not to blush.
“That is true. But Ghost Kings draw on the strength of other ghosts; of our Realm. And the
more of us who go…I can’t explain it. Except to say that it drains us. To feel other ghosts go
to rest without any fulfilment. Giving up.”

Xie Lian swallowed, looking worried. “You can feel it?”

“Not yet,” he said, the obvious second half left unspoken. He would, soon. “I only know
what I feel now, which is like…a suffocation. Like hands crushing air from me, each time it
happens. It’s happened twice. I have no idea where, which Doors. But I know they were
ours.”

Xie Lian was stroking his chin. “Qi Rong lost two body parts. One per Door?”

“It would seem.” Bright moments could still be found in the darkest of times.

“Why did you say that He Xuan better not have something to do with it? Why would you
think he would do this?”

Hua Cheng paused awkwardly.

“Well…Because of his reasons.”

Xie Lian’s eyes flickered. “For becoming a ghost?”

Hua Cheng inclined his head. “Technically speaking…he has now fulfilled his wishes.” Such
as they were.

Xie Lian’s brows knit. “But he’s still here.”

Hua Cheng made a noise in his throat. “Yes. But I don’t know that he wants to be. You saw
him.”

Xie Lian looked stricken. “Oh. Goodness. So you think the borders closing…”

“Would offer him oblivion. Yes.” Hua Cheng lowered his gaze. “In our Realm, when a
Supreme ends, we call it the Sunrise. His time might be ending.”

“But…” whispered Xie Lian. “If he’d truly fulfilled his wishes, he would be gone, right?”

“Yes and no. Fulfilment for the revenge ghosts never really happens, because even successful
revenge is never enough to make up for what made them want revenge in the first place.
They usually have to choose between letting go of the resentment, or giving up on fulfilling
it."

"I think he’s tempted to choose the latter. But I never truly suspected him of doing this. Black
Water has a strong respect for other revenge ghosts. There’s a lot of them. If this was him
doing this, he’d take every ghost out with him. It’s not really his style.”

Xie Lian was quiet.

“San Lang…What happens when a Ghost King…when their Sunrise comes?”

Hua Cheng was quiet. “They do not survive.”

Xie Lian looked down. “They disappear?”

Hua Cheng reached across the table to touch his hand. “It’s more like…shattering into light.
Like shards, or rays.”

Xie Lian’s pale throat bobbed. “If this keeps happening with the Doors, how long before it…
really threatens you?”

The words were again unspoken. How long do we have, before your Sunrise?

“They would have to shut all the Doors, gege. But there aren’t many. Only six that are open
permanently. The rest are timebound; particular days only.”

“And you don’t know where the others are?”

“No one does. We cross, but we don’t know where or how. We just…cross. The Doors are
said to move.”

Xie Lian’s eyes turned determined. “But you know who knows.”

“Yes.”

They both did. Grey Guard.

Xie Lian nodded once, mouth firm. “We’ll find them. Stop whatever- whoever- it is.”

Hua Cheng stayed silent.

“Whoever it is, I can’t see how they could be powerful enough to do this without using huge
reserves of energy that they’d need to recover from.”

Hua Cheng sighed. “Yes.”

Xie Lian looked down, obviously trying not to look quite so perturbed.

“Alright,” he said, falsely. “We…we’ll have weeks, months then. To sort this out. Don’t
worry, San Lang. They clearly don’t have enough power to shut them all at once, or they’d
have already done so.”

Hua Cheng didn’t know what to say.

They still hadn’t…Xie Lian hadn’t…he kept waiting. For the other thing.

“So,” said Xie Lian, rubbing his hands on his legs. “What do you fancy for lunch? Maybe we
could go get something from the market, or those fruits from the table looked quite nice-”
Hua Cheng opened his mouth, and closed it again, watching Xie Lian as he stood and
stretched. Like nothing was wrong.

He got to his feet.

“Gege,” he began.

“Mmm?” Xie Lian said, distracted, fingers in his coin purse, seemingly counting his money
to make sure he had enough for lunch. As if he should ever pay.

“You are angry with me.”

Xie Lian glanced at him, confused. “I was, yes,” he said lightly, continuing to count, which
was taking a while since he only had very small change.

“And…now you are not angry?”

Xie Lian shrugged. “I understand why you kept it from me. Like I said, don’t bother trying
that again, it’s really just a waste of both of our time.”

Hua Cheng grit his teeth. “That’s it?”

Xie Lian paused, and looked at him strangely. “What else should there be?” he asked.

Hua Cheng felt exasperated. “Shouldn’t you… yell at me? Curse me? Tell me I’m terrible?”

Xie Lian peered up at him, and moved toward him. He wrapped his arms around his waist,
and titled his head back to look at him. He cleared his throat.

“You are…very bad,” he said, nodding his head sternly.

Hua Cheng blinked. “Gege…”

“Very bad indeed.” He narrowed his eyes.

“Gege…”

“How dare you,” he said in a monotone, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Gege -”

“I curse your name,” he said, giving up and shaking from laughter.

“Forget it,” said Hua Cheng flatly.

“Ah, San Lang, did I make you sulky?” Xie Lian snorted, beaming up at him.

“I am not- ” tried Hua Cheng.

“What’s that bottom lip then?” said Xie Lian, prodding it. Hua Cheng almost sputtered, but
caught himself in time and merely glared. His bottom lip did seem to be sticking out slightly,
of its own accord.

Xie Lian straightened his face. “Why do you want to be punished? Why do you want me to
be angrier with you?”

Hua Cheng couldn’t meet his eyes. “Because I lied to you. I hurt you.”

Xie Lian shook his head, still smiling. “That doesn’t mean I want to hurt you.”

Hua Cheng swallowed. The playing field needed to be even. It never would be, with someone
like Xie Lian, but he needed to pay his penance for being so much less than what His
Highness deserved.

“Gege, it’s not even the first time. You asked me not to, and I did it anyway,” said Hua
Cheng, hanging his head. It was important he impressed upon Xie Lian just how wrong he
had been.

“Are you going to be honest with me now?” said Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng said nothing. He would try. But how could he promise that he’d never lie to His
Highness again?

In many ways, theirs was a relationship built on lies. All because it had never been the right
time to tell the singular truth: you are my beloved.

Xie Lian watched him in his silence, head cocked. “Hmm. I think I can see where we’re
going wrong,” said Xie Lian, resting his chin against his chest. Hua Cheng tightened his
arms. Xie Lian was warm, and perfect.

“Where?”

Xie Lian breathed slowly into his chest. “I think I’m asking more from you than I’ve asked of
myself. We haven’t really been honest with each other. Plenty of times. And that’s built up.”

Xie Lian seemed to have been reading his thoughts. “It’s an easy fix,” he said, bracingly.

“It is?”

“Well…we tell each other about times we’ve lied to each other.”

Hua Cheng’s eyebrows shot up. Xie Lian had lied to him? When?

“Yes, including me,” said Xie Lian softly, reading his thoughts again.

“Alright,” said Hua Cheng slowly, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Mmm,” said Xie Lian, squeezing his waist slightly with his arms as he gazed up at him.
“Perhaps we should eat in, then.”

***
“I already knew that. I’m not an idiot,” snorted Xie Lian through a mouth full of pork bun,
reaching for another one as if they were chatting about whether it was sunny outside. In fact,
Hua Cheng, hiding the sweat on his palms, had finally admitted the truth about the ring Xie
Lian wore. That it meant he would always know where he was.

“I mean, it’s your ashes. How could you not know where your ashes are?” Xie Lian said,
chomping happily.

Hua Cheng’s head was still bowed. “So…you are not angry that I kept that from you?”

“Kept it from me,” scoffed Xie Lian, genuinely amused. “I’d like to see you try. How’s your
record going on keeping things from me, San Lang?” he teased.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat somewhat passive aggressively. Apparently Annoying Gege
was back today, and thriving.

“Well. For what it is worth- which is apparently nothing - I am sorry. After I found you, I
couldn’t stand the thought of losing you again. I thought perhaps it would be a temporary
thing, that you would have it with you for a short while, but then…things escalated, and-”

“And everything else happened.” Xie Lian shook his head fondly. “San Lang, I knew it was
special straight away. I suspected it was your ashes soon after. And then the rest was just
basic logic. I don’t mind it at all. It’s good for you to be able to find me. I get myself in plenty
of pickles,” he said, affably reaching for the pickles.

Hua Cheng folded his arms irritably. He would not acknowledge that.

“I’m just saying, Your Highness, if you ever wish to have privacy, I- I would understand.”

“Privacy? Meaning me taking it off? I hardly think that would be the only way for you to
track me down, San Lang. We both know you’re not exactly the easygoing type when it
comes to my whereabouts,” he chortled.

Hua Cheng still couldn’t believe how lighthearted Xie Lian was about this. “Your Highness,
if you don’t- if you ever didn’t want me to, I would understand.” He tried not to let his
bottom lip jut out.

Xie Lian swallowed, eyes still dancing. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, voice full of
amusement.

Hua Cheng pushed another dish towards him. Xie Lian should have his fill, no matter how
annoying he was.

“My turn,” said Hua Cheng, voice dangerous. Xie Lian paused slightly as he reached for the
melon.

“Mmm! This is good,” he said, tucking in and ignoring him.

“Gege.”
“Can we have more of this, sometime?” he asked, munching hopefully.

“You may eat anything that could possibly be eaten, at any time. Back to the question. You
said it was my turn.”

Xie Lian sighed, resigned expression somewhat undercut by the juice on his chin. “Yes. I
know. Go on and ask.”

Hua Cheng paused. “You know what I’m going to ask?”

Xie Lian gave him a guilty look. “I have my suspicions.”

Hua Cheng narrowed his eye and passed him a napkin. “I knew it.”

Xie Lian’s shoulders fell as he poked at a piece of cucumber forlornly. “Yes,” he said heavily.
“It’s time I came clean.”

Xie Lian looked him square in the face and straightened, taking a deep breath.

“San Lang. I always knew you weren’t just ‘sharing spiritual power’ with me.”

Hua Cheng’s mouth fell open. “Gege.”

“I think you should know that it wasn’t a particularly convincing lie, San Lang.”

“Gege.”

“Truth be told, I don’t actually think we fooled anyone-”

“Gege,” managed Hua Cheng, through his internal combustion.

Xie Lian fell about laughing, clutching at his stomach. Hua Cheng stifled a smile,
maintaining a stern look as he drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. “Are you quite
finished?” he said, petulant.

He would never get over how gleeful Xie Lian got when making fun of him. Back when he’d
figured out he was pretending to be Lang Ying, he’d actually been crying with laughter on
the ground.

Yet another example of Hua Cheng’s wafer-thin cover story being literally laughable. When
exactly was he going to learn his lesson? He’d always known Xie Lian was smarter than
him.

“Ahahaha, San Lang, your face-”

That is not what I wanted to ask and you know it.”

“What else could it possibly be?” asked Xie Lian, face a picture of innocence as he wiped his
eyes.

“The night Mount Tong’lu opened,” said Hua Cheng, voice clipped.
Xie Lian rubbed his nose. At least he now had the common decency to look slightly
sheepish.

“Ah. Is it really a question if you already know the answer, San Lang?”

“Gege.”

“Alright, alright,” he said, twisting his hands. He cleared his throat. “What would you like to
know?”

Hua Cheng stared. “What happened ?” he urged.

“I- well- you- we didn’t only fight, I suppose. Or…we actually didn’t fight at all.”

Hua Cheng felt dread sinking in his stomach again. Gods, what had he done-

“It’s alright! It really was. You were a little- well- handsy, but it wasn’t anything I can’t
handle- San Lang?!”

Hua Cheng buried his head in his hands. He tugged at his hair. Which he should be tearing
out, now, after finally hearing what he’d always suspected to be true. He’d assaulted his
beloved.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, feeling bile and shame rise up in his throat.

“San Lang, why are you saying that! It was the opening, it wasn’t your fault, you weren’t
you-”

“What did I do? Tell me everything. Did we…” he trailed off.

Xie Lian’s eyes widened. “Wh- no, no! I let you, I knew what I was doing! You just grabbed
me a bit-”

Groped him.

“-and we, er, kissed a fair amount-”

Forced him to kiss me.

“And things were a little, well, spirited shall we say-”

Violent.

“But you asked me not to leave you. So how could I? I stayed and helped you as best I could,
and I…well, I um-”

The only course of action now was to pluck out his other eye as punishment.

“-enjoyed it.”

He could be across the country by nightfall, and he’d never bother His Highness ever again-
Wait.

He removed one hand from his face.

“Your Highness, could you repeat that last part?”

Xie Lian whimpered, grimacing. “Must I?”

He removed the other hand, forcing himself to meet Xie Lian’s eyes. His beloved’s ears were
bright red, hands fidgety, shoulders practically attached to his ears.

“I am worried I misheard. I really must insist,” said Hua Cheng slowly.

Xie Lian hid behind his knees.

“I enjoyed it,” came the whisper. Again.

Hua Cheng was frozen in place.

Xie Lian peeked over. “San Lang?”

Hua Cheng heard only a whooshing between his ears. Because he could no longer hear
properly. Therefore he was not capable of comprehending human speech.

“San Lang?” said Xie Lian again, sounding more worried this time.

Well. That part he heard fine. It was only the other thing he’d clearly misheard. Twice.

“San Lang, please don’t feel bad. I’m quite strong, you know. I don’t mean to be showy but if
I wanted you not to touch me, you wouldn’t have. So…you know. It’s alright. I really did
want to help you.”

Hua Cheng felt some sense of consciousness return to him. “Help me?” he said faintly.

Xie Lian shifted awkwardly. “You were so hot all over, and you were hurting, and you…you
didn’t want me to leave you. So I didn’t want to leave you either.”

Hua Cheng blinked stupidly at him. “One more time,” he said. “That last part.”

Xie Lian’s eyes widened. “Really? I- San Lang, you heard me perfectly fine-”

“I didn’t. I couldn’t possibly. Because I thought I heard you say that when I was rabid,
crazed, and out of my mind, groping and mauling you, that you enjoyed it.”

Xie Lian bit his lip and chewed. “I did,” he whispered, blush creeping up his neck.

Hua Cheng stared at him as if he had the answer to all life’s questions. Which, for him, he
did.

Xie Lian scratched his head. “Anyway,” he said. “It’s my turn again.”
“Gege, we haven’t finished.”

Xie Lian folded his arms firmly. “One question per turn,” he insisted.

Ah, but that wasn’t fair, because Hua Cheng now had one thousand more questions, and all
of them were about this and what, specifically, did he enjoy-

“So,” ordered Xie Lian, clearly in his bossy mood again. “The statues.”

Hua Cheng blanched.

Oh hells.

***

Hua Cheng kept his body still. He would not squirm. Especially not under the knowing gaze
of a Xie Lian who was having an absolutely marvellous time.

“What, specifically, about the statues?” he said through clenched teeth. He would be strictly
enforcing the one question rule.

Xie Lian stroked his chin. “I suppose I want to know why that’s what you spent your time on,
there.”

Hua Cheng exhaled.

“Alright,” he said carefully, unsure where to begin.

Xie Lian seemed to sense this, prompting him with a “So…the Kiln shut, with you inside…”

“Yes and no. I was there ten years in the Mountain, not the Kiln. You only get 49 days to
break out of the Kiln, so only the halfwitted attempted the Kiln straight awa-” he broke off,
realising what he said.

Xie Lian chuckled, chin in his hands. “I’ve been called worse, San Lang. But hey! This
halfwit broke out, so it’s fine!”

“Mmm,” said Hua Cheng, still displeased about the time he had to spend, crazed, waiting for
him outside it. Though it was only an hour. It had taken him eighteen days, and he was the
quickest. To be fair, he had been quite particular about getting his final statue right.

He continued. “I retreated, mostly, when there weren’t battles. In fact, for the first few years,
there was nothing much going on at all. Everyone else had expended a lot of energy making
it into the heart of the Mountain in the first place."

"Most of us had killed hundreds, some thousands. There were still hundreds of Malices and
Savages circling the Kiln, trying to get in. I set up shop close enough to get rid of anyone, but
far enough that the ones not worth my time wouldn’t find me.”
He paused. “Most would amass energy through violence. Every kill was more power for
them. Those ghosts taking a more measured approach would try other methods. Cultivating,
centering themselves, meditation.”

Xie Lian raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen you do anything the usual way.”

Hua Cheng bowed his head. “You are right. I have never particularly used either method.”

Xie Lian cocked his head curiously. “Then how…” he stopped, clearly trying not to ask
another question. Hua Cheng’s lips quirked. “It’s alright, gege. The answer to that question is
essentially the larger answer you’re looking for anyway.”

He sighed. “I already told you. Our reasons for becoming a ghost are important. They are
what set us to rest, if our reasons are fulfilled. And if the opposite happens, and our reasons
only become stronger- well… that’s the making of a Ghost moving up in rank.”

He tried not to think of the Temple.

Xie Lian nodded slowly, chewing at his cheek. “I thought that was true of every other rank,
but Supremes are only born from the Kiln.”

“Yes. But surviving the Kiln meant I had to amass my power before entering.”

“And how did you do th-” Xie Lian stopped. Hua Cheng opened his mouth to tell him it was
alright to ask again, before noticing that his expression was different.

“Gege?”

“Ah,” he murmured. “The statues… that’s how you cultivated?”

Hua Cheng took a moment. “Not directly, no. They were more like the spiritual tools that
channelled my power.”

“Hua Cheng, you’re telling me… a ghost’s ‘reason’ can be a method of cultivation?”

“Not exactly,” he said, clearing his throat. It was time for the unpleasant part.

“It’s the obsession. You know this already, gege. The most obsessed ghosts usually advance
the quickest. That kind of drive is…strength, for us.”

Xie Lian nodded slowly. “And your obsession…was me?”

The words were spoken softly, but to Hua Cheng they seemed to reverberate off the marble
walls. Like a reprimand.

Hua Cheng spoke quietly, trying to put his faith in Xie Lian that he would understand. “It had
to be.”

Xie Lian’s brows contracted. “Oh…oh I see. For you to survive.”

Hua Cheng inclined his head.

“To mortals, obsession is a weakness. To ghosts, it’s the core of our being. We all have
something we can’t let go of. It requires its own kind of strength, to keep it. Obsession was
all I had. So it was the foundation of my cultivation, there.”

Xie Lian was quiet, watching him.

The silence echoed. Hua Cheng was tense as he surveyed Xie Lian’s inscrutable face. The
moments stretched, until he sighed, long and loud.

“Ah, San Lang. I’m sorry. That must have been so lonely for you.”

Hua Cheng inhaled sharply in disbelief.

Xie Lian continued. “I always thought I was lonely. But it was a different thing before you
found me. I didn’t know I was missing you," he smiled sadly.

Xie Lian cleared his throat and straightened up formally.

“I didn’t mind about the statues at all before. Now that I know they’re the reason you were
able to come back to me? Well. I’m so happy you made them. I’m happy I could help you
even though I wasn’t there. I just wish things had been easier for you.”

Hua Cheng swallowed, twitching his gaze away. Xie Lian never failed to surprise him with
his each and every reaction.

“I…it doesn’t matter how things were for me, gege. It was my choice. I don’t regret anything,
except being able to get to you sooner.”

“Of course it matters! And you couldn’t have, San Lang. It was just one of those things. It
wasn’t your fault,” said Xie Lian, eyes flickering.

Hua Cheng very much wanted to move on.

“My turn now,” Hua Cheng insisted, thinking carefully about what he wanted to ask.

More detail on Mount Tong’lu was very tempting, of course, but that would be a more
rewarding question to embarrass gege with in bed later. He settled on the polar opposite of a
pleasing question.

“Mu Qing and Feng Xin. Do you really forgive them?” he said, fixing Xie Lian with his most
tell me stare.

Xie Lian smiled softly, meeting his gaze. “Wholeheartedly, and completely.”

“Really,” said Hua Cheng, mouth twisted in distaste.

Xie Lian laughed. “No one is asking you to do the same, San Lang.”
“That’s good,” he retorted. He was kicking himself. He should have formulated the question
better…

“I’ll throw the bonus of ‘why’ in there, since you were so generous in your explanation,” said
Xie Lian, inclining his head magnanimously.

He tapped his chin, thinking. “You once told me you loved all of me. All my bad parts. Even
my foolish and stubborn parts. So surely, even you can see that I wasn’t always a good friend.
I really was…entitled. Coddled."

"Some part of me just thought, well, I’m the Crown Prince. So that was that. It’s not just that
I thought they wouldn’t abandon me, it’s that I thought they shouldn’t. I thought I was more
important than Mu Qing’s sick mother. More important than anything that could possibly be
going on with Feng Xin. And that made me a person worth abandoning.”

Hua Cheng bristled. “Incorrect, Your Highness.”

Xie Lian’s eyes crinkled. “I know you don’t feel that way. But that’s how I feel. I understand
it. We were all pushed into our worst possible corners. It’s hard to fit three people in a
corner.”

Hua Cheng shook his head. Xie Lian was trying to make a joke.

“They didn’t help you, after your second banishment. Eight hundred years, and they didn’t
help you.”

“They did help me, San Lang,” said Xie Lian quietly.

Hua Cheng frowned. “How?”

Xie Lian gave a sad smile. “They would have had every right to ridicule me, badmouth me.
They didn't."

Hua Cheng opened his mouth, and closed it again.

Xie Lian lowered his eyes.

Hua Cheng breathed. It was not enough.

“They get no respect from me, for doing the absolute least they could do. You will not change
my mind, gege. They are cowards,” said Hua Cheng stubbornly.

“What more help could they give? You weren’t the only one who couldn’t find me all that
time, San Lang. And I imagine they probably thought I’d try to kill them on sight after my
parents died. Maybe if they’d caught me right after, I would have. They probably didn't know
exactly what happened, but it's not like l made a quiet affair of the whole...um, Plague God
Ascension and re-banishment thing. I'm sure they must have figured it out, eventually, what
happened to make me do that. But I don’t blame them at all.”

Hua Cheng sniffed.

Xie Lian persisted. “They risked everything to help both of us against Jun Wu, San Lang. I
think we should ask them to help us with this, too.”

Hua Cheng’s eye widened in horror. “Gege, please stop making jokes.”

“I’m not! I think they’ll help us. Well, er. Me. If I ask.”

Hua Cheng folded his arms. He would rather treat Qi Rong to a candlelit dinner.

“Ah, San Lang. You can’t stop me, you know. You said you’d always trust my decisions.”

Hua Cheng’s nostrils flared. Trust is different from like.

“My turn again,” said Xie Lian. Hua Cheng glared at him irritably. He braced himself for
whatever it would be this time.

Xie Lian cupped his chin in his hands. “Why haven’t you asked me if I love you?”

***

“It’s more like…since you came back, you haven’t been…very whiny.”

Hua Cheng stared at him. This conversation had not at all gone the way he’d thought. The
question was so discombobulating that he’d stayed silent and frozen for so long that Xie Lian
eventually took pity on him.

“Oh, San Lang, please don’t misunderstand! I- I don’t mind the whining at all- it’s just that,
you’ve been a bit less…at ease. You whine when you’re at ease. And I was puzzled, until I
realised that things are different than before, and maybe you were being a bit more formal
because...we’re, well, together now,” he said, scratching his head awkwardly.

He observed him for a moment, presumably waiting for a reply, but Hua Cheng’s mouth was
glued shut.

Xie Lian blew out a breath. “Ah. San Lang. You’ve told me how you feel, but I’m silly and I
still haven’t done enough of the same. Forgive me. I suppose I thought you knew and also
I’m embarrassed and not good with my words like you-’

Hua Cheng was shaking his head in total wonder. “Gege, you are beautiful with your words-’

“Then let me say them!” said Xie Lian, in his old man tone. Hua Cheng shut up and bowed
his head.

Xie Lian took a deep breath and arranged his declaration face. “San Lang. I love you. So very
very much.”

Hua Cheng kept his head down as his heart squeezed, and some other unidentifiable, strange
feeling of protest arose in him.
He knew that Xie Lian loved him, he supposed. He also knew it wasn’t the same as how he
felt, but he didn’t need it to be. Now that they were- together - he was happy to be the one
who loved, more than the one who was loved.

That was a dynamic that he understood, was familiar with, comfortable with. The God and
his Worshipper. Unevenness was built in.

Xie Lian twisted his mouth suspiciously. “Ah,” he said softly.

Hua Cheng raised his head. “What?”

“I thought so. You don’t think I love you as much as you love me.”

Hua Cheng mouthed. When did Xie Lian get like this? A mindreader? It made him so
uncomfortable to be seen so easily. Since when was his face easy to read? He’d put so much
effort into making it the opposite.

“I do not require you to,” he said finally.

Xie Lian did a sort of full-body eye roll, which would have been entertaining under different
circumstances.

“So you really do think that!” he exclaimed.

Hua Cheng lowered his gaze. It had been 800 years. For Xie Lian…barely any time at all.

Xie Lian ploughed on. “San Lang, that’s not true.”

Hua Cheng was still, apparently, mute. What was wrong with him? Professions of love,
actions of love, love in general…that was his job. It was not for him to receive. He didn’t
know what to do, or say.

“I…well. That’s very nice to hear, Your Highness.”

“You really don’t believe me!” he said, throwing up his hands in frustration.

“Of course I do,” he placated. Xie Lian was not one to lie.

“What will make you believe me?” asked Xie Lian, ignoring him.

Hua Cheng flexed his fists. “Your Highness, I don’t require this from you. You do not need to
tell me this, or convince me of this. It’s fine.”

“Hmm. Apparently I won’t convince you with words then,” said Xie Lian, still ignoring
everything he said.

Hua Cheng sighed. “I’m serious, Your Highness.”

“See?” said Xie Lian, pointing.

“Pardon?”
“If you believed me, you’d be calling me gege, not Your Highness, and you’d be whining for
me to tell you one hundred more times! Instead you’re telling me it’s ‘not required’ ?”

Hua Cheng felt a surge of…something. Defensiveness.

Xie Lian waved vaguely, still watching him with that thoughtfully earnest look. “Ah. Ghost
City wasn’t built in a day. It’s alright. I already made a plan, so I’ll just proceed with that if
you’re going to be unhelpful.”

Hua Cheng frowned. “A plan, Your High-”

Xie Lian cocked his head triumphantly.

“-Gege?” he finished smoothly.

“Indeed! It has steps and everything. I love plans.”

Hua Cheng closed his eye painfully. “May I know the steps, please?”

“Of course not, where’s the fun in that?” said Xie Lian cheerfully.

“I see,” said Hua Cheng flatly.

They had talked for so long that the sun had set, and all their dishes lay cold.

“Anyway,” said Xie Lian airily. “I’m a little worried about Grain Master and Fu Y- I mean,
the chickens. I know we left enough food but Grain Master hasn’t had his brushing.”

Hua Cheng was grateful for the change in subject.

“We can go back. Do you want to sleep there tonight?”

Xie Lian twisted to look at the bed. “Oh, but it’s so comfortable. But then I also like both our
places…”

Hua Cheng smiled. Our.

“I will arrange a compromise, gege.”

He turned back. “You will?”

“Of course. Move the bed there, or the animals here?”

Xie Lian chewed his lip. “Hmm. Another night here with more of that melon would be quite
nice…”

“Done. The animals will be brought here today.”

“Ah. That’s very nice. Thank you.”

“No matter.”
Xie Lian rose and stretched languidly. “I’d like an early night, would you?”

Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow. “You want to go to sleep now?”

Xie Lian shuffled his feet. “Well…maybe not sleep, but it would be nice if we could- er- be
together.”

Hua Cheng cocked his head. “We’re together right now, gege.”

Xie Lian blew out a breath, looking at the floor. “I meant touching.”

Hua Cheng bit back a grin. “Ah. You want to cuddle.”

Xie Lian looked like he wanted to cover his face, but resisted. “I- yes,” he said instead. He
took a deep breath. “No one has ever held me before. I like it a lot.”

Hua Cheng swallowed, further teasing dying in his throat. “Alright, gege.”

As if he could ever refuse.

***

For some reason, in their bed, they spoke more quietly to each other. Gentle, low voices in
the gentle, low light.

Hua Cheng had slept in this bed many times. It never felt right until his beloved was in his
arms.

Xie Lian seemed to like nestling and tucking his face against his chest, almost hiding. Hua
Cheng was happy to hide him. In fact, he would prefer to hide him away forever, protected
and safe from all danger.

But that wasn’t his beloved’s nature. He’d always go looking for fires to quell soon enough,
but it turned out that this time, Hua Cheng was the fire.

Hua Cheng did not like analysing his feelings. Today’s conversations had been wildly
uncomfortable. He simply wanted to be everything his beloved needed, and forget about all
of this.

What right did he have to have any misgivings, or problems at all, when his wildest dreams
had come true? He was insistent with himself.

The last 800 years were not worth dwelling on now that his beloved was here with him. Even
a few seconds of holding him was enough to wipe all those years away. Yes. That was
definitely how he should feel. He’d decided.

They hadn’t spoken in a while. Xie Lian was simply breathing contentedly, a warm ball
against him under the covers, caressing his fingers. He racked his brains for something to
whine about, or tease him about, to show him that he was fine and nothing had changed at all,
but he couldn’t.
He was preoccupied, and worried, and expending all of his energy on pretending otherwise.
He really needed to figure out how to be calmer.

Xie Lian tilted his face up to look at him. He looked relaxed, and happy. Hua Cheng scolded
himself silently. As long as Xie Lian was alright, he was alright.

“San Lang?” he said, eyes dark.

“Mmm?”

“I think I would like it if we don’t lie to each other anymore.”

Hua Cheng paused. “Alright,” he said, heart sinking that Xie Lian even had to ask him that.

Xie Lian smiled. “Can you tell me a story?”

Hua Cheng shifted. “What kind of story?”

“One about you. I want to know more about you.”

Hua Cheng was baffled. “Wh-” he stopped himself. Xie Lian eyed him like he knew exactly
which question word he had almost used. He adjusted. “What would you like to know?”

Xie Lian shrugged. “Whatever you would like to tell me.”

Hua Cheng surveyed his face as if it were a puzzle. “I…” he began, unable to complete the
sentence. “Gege, there isn’t much of note.”

“Much of note?” said Xie Lian incredulously. “You mean between growing up in my
Kingdom, dying in my army, dying again as a Savage to save me, rising to be the Supremiest
of Ghost Kings who runs the entire Ghost Realm, ascending and then jumping back down,
and then meeting me on a farmer’s cart?”

Hua Cheng gave him a look. “Yes, like I said. Nothing much of note.”

Xie Lian groaned. “San Laaang-”

“It sounds like you already know plenty anyway.”

“I learned all that from other people!”

“Mmm. People I hate,” he muttered under his breath.

“Exactly! I want to hear your version!”

“You were there for all of the good parts.”

Xie Lian’s breath hitched.

“Oh,” he said in a small voice.

 “Gege-” said Hua Cheng, waving it off. He hadn’t meant to sound so…

“You’re holding back from me,” said Xie Lian sadly.

Hua Cheng was silent. He really was. Why was this so fucking difficult?

Xie Lian was watching him, eyes roving over every inch of his expression.

“Do you know why you’re holding back?” he said softly.

Hua Cheng opened his mouth to dismiss him, reassure him. He was fine. He had decided.

“No,” he said softly, instead. Xie Lian had asked him not to lie.

Xie Lian nodded. “Alright.” He squeezed his hand, and removed it to trace the skin above his
tunic with his fingers softly. Xie Lian nodded, as if making up his mind, and continued.
“Well. I’ll be here with you, until you do. However long that might take.”

Hua Cheng stared at his flawless face. That same, strange and foreign protesting part of him
rose back up. Why? The idea of Xie Lian looking at him and even thinking the word
‘however long’ should be nothing but pleasing.

Xie Lian chuckled, breaking his reverie. “Ah. I’m sorry San Lang. I’ve been very hard on
you today. I’ve wrung you out like a sponge.”

Hua Cheng forced himself to smile nonchalantly. He was having a very strange day indeed.

“It’s alright, gege.”

“Not really. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“You may do to me whatever you wish.”

“No, I may not,” said Xie Lian firmly. “That’s how one treats a servant, not how I should
love you.”

And he tucked his head back down and snuggled closer, like that was that.

Hua Cheng barely slept that night.

***

Chapter End Notes

“I drink from the keg of glory, Donna. Bring me the finest kudos and bagels in all the
land.”
-Josh Lyman, The West Wing
Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!
 Study Hall
Chapter Summary

Horny in a library, I don't know what to tell you

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Xie Lian was becoming spoiled. He was so very unused to having such a wonderful series of
days in a row. True, Qi Rong was here; that was obviously terrible.

Also, Hua Cheng and every other ghost in existence could be wiped out if they didn’t figure
out who was behind this and stop them. Unideal.

But Xie Lian was used to ridiculous quests and unworkable odds. What he wasn’t used to
was the simple, instant pleasure of waking up in Hua Cheng’s arms, for yet another morning.
Scratching E’Ming’s hilt until the poor scimitar vibrated so much he fell off the bed, and
sitting up to stretch luxuriously as Hua Cheng watched him with his hands behind his head,
eye roving.

“So. Today,” he said, businesslike as they ate breakfast, with delicious fruits and sweet cakes.

“Mmm,” said Hua Cheng, scratching behind Sooty’s ears as she purred in his lap. She had
been meowing loudly outside the screen doors and Hua Cheng moved extra casually to let
her in, as if Xie Lian couldn’t tell he was besotted with that cat.

“I’m going to go and find Grain Master and give him his brushing, and feed Nan F- I mean,
the chickens. Then we should probably come up with a suspect list for who is trying to
destroy your Realm.”

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows, gaze still on the cat. “That sounds like quite a full morning.”

“Indeed!” said Xie Lian happily, placing his fingers on his temple and silently entering a
array. Hua Cheng narrowed his eye at him suspiciously. His instincts were correct. “And I’ve
just asked Mu Qing and Feng Xin to come.”

“And what did they say?” said Hua Cheng drily.

“Oh, nothing, I exited before they could reply. Curiosity will get the better of them.”
Hua Cheng bit his cheek and refused to smile. “Fine, gege. I’ll go and see if Black Water is
capable of human speech.”

“Alright! Shall we meet…well…where should we meet?”

“Just roll the dice I gave you. It will take you where you need to go. You sure you don’t need
help with the animals?”

“Oh, no, I’m well used to feeding them,” said Xie Lian, waving his hands.

“I meant Mu Qing and Feng Xin,” muttered Hua Cheng, which Xie Lian pretended not to
hear.

Xie Lian rose to his feet, dusting the crumbs off his robes. He looked at Hua Cheng
expectantly, who was still sitting with Sooty.

“Oh, I’ll get going in a few minutes, gege,” he said with a generous smile.

Xie Lian cocked his head and folded his arms. “You don’t want to move the cat, do you?”

Hua Cheng’s face froze.

Xie Lian shook his head, chuckling as he left. It was the sweetest thing in the world when
Hua Cheng tried to pretend he wasn’t sweet.

***

Coming back to the grand hall area after the feeding and brushing, Xie Lian heard a loud
burp which made the walls shudder.

Well. Apparently He Xuan was awake.

Xie Lian steeled himself. Seeing his silly chickens cluck and Grain Master bellow happily
when he saw him, he could be forgiven for forgetting the seriousness of his day’s tasks.

In general, Xie Lian was having to remind himself of this a lot. Mainly because he kept
finding himself smiling to himself for no reason, which was a surefire way to look deranged.

He pushed through the doors.

He Xuan remained, as expected, a tad disgusting. He definitely had not washed. Xie Lian
tried not to judge, having stunk to the heavens many a day in his time. But this was a little
rude.

He Xuan ignored him entirely. Hua Cheng gave him a satisfied smile and a murmured “gege,
please make yourself comfortable while I deal with this ridiculous man,” as he gestured to a
seat, and turned back to He Xuan, continuing their conversation.

“Your idea is stupid,” he said firmly.

“I’m not saying bring in all of them. Just the reasonable ones," sighed He Xuan.

“There are no reasonable Savages, that is the entire point of Savages,” dismissed Hua Cheng.

“Then what did that make us when we were Savages?”

“Overqualified.”

“I’m not saying I enjoy their company. But Qi Rong is a Savage, and something is happening
to him. You’re the one who actually talks to them on your little council, why not ask them
what they know?”

Xie Lian was watching slightly open mouthed again. Hua Cheng talked to the Savage rank
ghosts?

“It is not a council, I just demand that they come and pay tribute to me every so often.”

He Xuan rolled his eyes. “Uh huh. Sure. And also tell you everything they know about
everything that’s going on, and then you let them have parties afterwards.”

“You of all people are telling me it’s a bad thing to gather intelligence, and to use alcohol and
gambling as bait? Do you remember why you ended up telling me things, Black Water?”

“You might want to check your memory. I’m just saying most of the Savages are probably
here already for your festival, so you may as well call them in. And I’m annoyed that you’re
still pretending you don’t enjoy those meetings.”

“About as much as I’m enjoying this one,” said Hua Cheng smoothly. He turned back to Xie
Lian. “Gege. Unfortunately, I have made our day worse.”

“Ah. I see. When will he arrive?”

“Here he is.”

Yin Yu wandered in with the box containing Qi Rong, looking unusually irritable as he
placed it on the table. “He has requested someone feed him,” he said flatly. Xie Lian could
imagine that the ‘request’ was significantly less politely worded.

“How would we even do that?” asked Xie Lian, before immediately realising he didn’t want
to know.

“However he needs!” said Hua Cheng sweetly. “Guests of Paradise Manor never go hungry.
E’Ming?” he finished, gesturing towards the box.

E’Ming flew out of his scabbard and stabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, then flipped open
the box with his hilt and shoved it in Qi Rong’s mouth before a single syllable could come
out. The choking sounds were no less unpleasant than his usual swearing, but it couldn’t be
helped.
A hesitant knock came at the door. Mu Qing and Feng Xin were standing, expressions
horrified, eyes fixed on the box.

“Oh! You’re here! Come in,” said Xie Lian.

“What…is that?” said Mu Qing, skirting a wide circle around the box. The choking sounds
had now turned to loud, wet chomping.

“Who,” said Xie Lian.

“Eh?”

“Not what, who.”

Feng Xin frowned, leaning over.

“Oh, maybe don’t-” warned Xie Lian, before Feng Xin retracted with a shout, a piece of
apple spat into his eye.

“Ah, sorry, yes…that was predictable wasn’t it,” Xie Lian muttered as Hua Cheng sniggered.
“Qi Rong’s in there.”

“What!? Why? ” demanded Mu Qing, horrified.

Xie Lian was too exhausted at the prospect of explaining his cousin’s actions that he just
shrugged.

“He does not have enough power to not be goo,” said Hua Cheng idly. “But he has, most
wonderfully, lost some body parts lately. He is something of a…test subject for what is
happening. Two Realm doors have disappeared, between the Mortal and Ghost Realms.”

Mu Qing, arms permanently folded, raised an eyebrow. “This is what you wanted help with?”
he asked Xie Lian.

“Yes! Sit down, sit down. I can highly recommend the fruit,” he offered brightly.

They sat, begrudgingly and warily.

“What has this to do with us?” grunted Feng Xin.

“Nothing whatsoever, and you are very welcome to leave,” replied Hua Cheng.

“San Lang,” scolded Xie Lian indulgently. “Well, Feng Xin, there are plenty of beings who
would cause a lot of trouble in the Mortal Realm if they got trapped there, or cease to exist
entirely if they had no Ghost Realm to go to. We have to help San Lang, and thank you for
coming.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing were stiff. Neither of them, nor Hua Cheng, were making any eye
contact, but all three looked like they were sucking on lemons.
“And how do you propose we do that? Help?” said Mu Qing, jaw clenched.

“Well…we need to understand what is happening first, so that Savage Council sounds like a
good start,” remarked Xie Lian, turning to Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng bristled. “It’s not a council -”

“Gathering, then?” placated Xie Lian.

“How many Savages are there?” asked Feng Xin.

Xie Lian was curious himself. He’d quite like to see Banyue again.

Yin Yu spoke up. “Low numbers after Mount Tonglu. Eight at the moment, though Ke Mo is
still locked up in the Heavenly Capital. So I suppose we could say six and a half given Qi
Rong is not quite himself yet.”

Hua Cheng snorted.

“Hey!” said the box indignantly, quietly enough that Xie Lian almost didn’t realise it was Qi
Rong for a moment. The table went silent in anticipation, E’Ming hovering over a spot that
was probably an eyeball, but Xie Lian privately hoped was something more sensitive.

“Can you um…not tell them about me?” said Qi Rong in a strangely small voice.

Hua Cheng’s eyebrows practically disappeared. “Oh,” he said softly, looking quietly
triumphant. “Are you ashamed of your goo, Qi Rong?”

“NO, you FU- OW, DON’T POKE YOU STUPID KNIFE- I mean…No. I just don’t have
anything specific to contribute,” he finished imperiously.

Xie Lian stared at the box. He didn’t know Qi Rong knew long words like that.

“Is it even a good idea to have all the Savages in one place? Won’t they just try to kill each
other, or you?” said Mu Qing, mouth twisted in disgust as he eyed the box.

“I forbid inter-Savage fights in my home. Once we’re done, they’re more than welcome to
murder each other. And as for trying to kill me, good one Mu Qing.”

Mu Qing sucked his teeth.

Xie Lian examined his hands, blushing. ‘In his home.’ Hua Cheng had always called Paradise
Manor a residence up until now.

He shook himself.

“Alright! That’s a plan then. When?” said Xie Lian briskly.

Yin Yu exhaled. “Some of them may take a few days, with fewer doors.”
“Fine,” grunted Mu Qing and Feng Xin, before glaring at each other. “But you don’t actually
think any Savages are doing this?”

“They probably wouldn’t be strong enough. But we need to check if they’re being affected.
The lower ghosts aren’t noticing anything.”

“Then who is doing this?” muttered Feng Xin. “It wouldn’t be the Heavens.”

“Why not?” said Hua Cheng waspishly.

“Why on earth would gods want to shut the doors to the Ghost Realm?”

“Well, quite a few of you owe me money, though I agree most Heavenly Officials are far too
weak to be suspects. For example, I’d never suspect either of you.”

“YOU-”

“Alright, alright, why don’t we talk about who would perhaps want to do this?” interjected
Xie Lian.

Feng Xin scowled. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not to me!” said Xie Lian cheerfully.

Feng Xin’s eyes flickered over He Xuan, who had spent the discussion picking his teeth with
what looked like a fish bone and utterly ignoring everyone.

“Do share,” said Hua Cheng, chin in his hands.

“Well, one of you made quite an enemy last year, didn’t you?” he said uncomfortably.

Hua Cheng looked between him and He Xuan. “Only one of us? And only one enemy in a
whole year? Black Water, if that’s true, then I’m embarrassed.”

“You know who I mean.”

Xie Lian shifted uncomfortably. “But they have been banished. And last I checked, they are
perfectly happy where they are.”

“Happy not being in Heaven, perhaps. But Shi Qingxuan still has better reason than most,
and there are still a few loyalists to their brother around who would quite like revenge.”

Xie Lian raised his eyebrows dubiously. None of those people had bothered to show up to Shi
Wudu’s funeral.

Hua Cheng was biting his cheek. “Are you not forgetting Ling Wen? A god who was friends
with Shi Wudu, is still in Heaven and pays far more attention to detail?”

Feng Xin shrugged. “You asked for suspects. I’m just helping you, as you’ve so humbly
requested.”
Hua Cheng’s fists clenched.

“Well…it might not even be a human or God…the Demon Realm has a hand in this, don’t
they San Lang?” said Xie Lian very quickly, before the fighting could start.

“Am I late?” came a low, teasing voice.

Grey Guard floated in and took a seat next to He Xuan, as if it was the most unremarkable
thing in the world to pop in for a chat. Their hair didn’t stop moving when they sat.

Getting a better look this time, Xie Lian noticed that their fingers and nails were quite long.
They were just…otherworldly in appearance. Which was fitting, he supposed, given they
were not from this world.

“Grey Guard,” said Mu Qing slowly, staring. Feng Xin had also twitched in recognition.

“Greetings, Generals,” said Grey Guard, inclining their head.

“You know each other?” said Xie Lian with interest.

“Well, I like to pop into Heaven every now and then. Various duties. Like seeing your way
paved, your Highness. And after that business with the Heavenly Capital moving all over the
place last year and being on fire, the borders have needed many adjustments.”

“My ‘way’ paved?” said Xie Lian, baffled.

“Yes. Your way into Heaven. How did you think ascension occurs? The borders of Heaven
must change to recognise a new God. Or, in your case, an old one again.”

Xie Lian gaped. “You do that?”

“No. The borders do. I just like to watch. The concept of Godhood is very interesting and
amusing to demons.”

“But…how do you know that a God is about to ascend?! The first time I was aslee- I mean,
the Gods themselves don’t even know!”

Grey Guard merely smiled. “The borders get itchy.”

Hua Cheng shook his head. “Nice of you to drop back in. Especially given you must have
been feeling itchy for a while now.”

Grey Guard’s smile did not budge. “Yes. I have had some concerns. But you did seem ever so
happy, the other night. Who was I to ruin such a lovely evening? I told the demons all about
your delightful stew, Your Highness.”

Xie Lian beamed proudly. He knew he was being manipulated, but in this case, he didn’t
care.

“Is it a demon doing this, or not?” demanded Hua Cheng.

Grey Guard’s hair seemed to ruffle. “We have no reason to make the world less interesting.
And you know very well that ghosts are usually our best allies.”

“Really?” asked Xie Lian, fascinated, feeling ignorant as usual.

Hua Cheng spoke in a clipped, impatient tone.

“Grey Guard means that demons like ghosts because we're both usually violent. Whenever
demons wreak havoc and war in the Mortal Realm, they take pet ghosts along for fun.”

“Hmm. Not every ghost is so easily persuaded, as you remember, Hua Cheng.”

A shadow crossed Hua Cheng’s face. Xie Lian felt uneasy, again, watching Grey Guard.

They really did…unnerve Hua Cheng. It was strange to see. He couldn't put his finger on it,
but it was like Grey Guard almost had power over him. What on earth was the history here?
He felt a strange queasiness in his stomach.

“Your wars bore me,” said Hua Cheng shortly.

“You are reductive as ever. I can see why. Violence among humans is so…unfulfilling.
Demon war is wonderful. Purposeful.”

“I don’t care. Is it one of you doing this?” Hua Cheng repeated stubbornly.

Grey Guard shifted. “I can tell it is happening unexpectedly. The borders have told me
nothing. But then again, they like secrets. It’s what they do. Make places into secrets.”

Hua Cheng closed his eye irritably. Xie Lian decided to try.

“The ‘who’ can wait. We’re just trying to understand how to stop the doors shutting.”

“Mmm. I know.”

Xie Lian waited. Grey Guard provided no follow up.

“Well…can you help us?”

“To go to the doors you mean? Yes, how else would you find them, without me?”

Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief. “You will help?”

“Indeed. No one may tamper with Realm borders and remain in existence,” they vowed
gravely.

Xie Lian smiled. Grey Guard was helpful. And a being with excellent taste in cooking.

“Also, given powerful ghosts are clearly the target, I will need to use them as bait.”

Oh.
“Fine,” grunted Hua Cheng, glancing at Black Water, who barely reacted. “And when can we
expect to go on this journey?”

“I have to investigate the doors that are gone, first, do I not?”

“You haven’t already done that?” fumed Hua Cheng.

“The doors are not some cheap coordinate on a map; some simple hole to walk through. They
are complex. You do not understand them.”

“I’m not asking to. I’m asking them to work. You demons insisted upon guarding the borders,
so do your job.”

“Your impatience means nothing to me. I work to my own urgency.”

The rest of the room was uncomfortably silent, watching a Ghost King argue with a demon.

Grey Guard stood. “I will return,” they said, moving to the door.

“When?” snapped Hua Cheng.

They paused, shaking their head. “When I must. You have so little understanding of time.”

They left.

Hua Cheng’s fists were tight balls on the table. “They’re always like that,” he grunted
eventually.

***

Days passed.

Xie Lian found it difficult to feel a sense of appropriate panic or fitting doom.

He liked to pass his mornings much the same as he had in the cottage. He and Hua Cheng
would visit the chickens and Grain Master and they would feed them together, and they
would eat and sip their tea, and everything was wonderful.

They would pass the morning with theories and musings, but more often than not, they’d get
distracted and end up talking about everything and nothing.

In the afternoons, Xie Lian would attend to his godly duties, such as they were. Answering
prayers, popping into communication arrays, whichever. He couldn’t shake the feeling,
however, that he was doing the very bare minimum of godhood, and that he was…fine with
it. Hua Cheng was more important.

At night, they would practice calligraphy. Xie Lian was trying a different angle: Hua Cheng
was an incredible painter, so surely transferring that skill over to calligraphy shouldn’t be that
difficult?
He insisted that Hua Cheng show him how he painted, so that he could understand how to
teach him better. Xie Lian even insisted on having his own supplies so that he could follow
along. Hua Cheng, naturally, did an incredible portrait of him in under ten minutes.

Xie Lian’s attempt didn’t go very well. He was not a particularly talented artist; his best
attempts at drawing human shapes were usually just lopsided stick figures. His intention to
copy Hua Cheng’s movements, from the way he held his brush to the way he would stroke it
across the page so smoothly…well.

“It’s perfect, gege. It’s a lovely poppy flower, I like it.”

Xie Lian swallowed. “It’s you.”

Hua Cheng’s eye widened only briefly. “Oh. So the red part is…I mean, yes, of course,
absolutely.”

Xie Lian hid his face in his hands.

“Gege, it’s excellent.”

“San Lang.”

“Genuinely.”

“San Lang.”

“I’m honoured that you think I’m so handsome.”

“San LANG!”

Hua Cheng gave up and fell about laughing. Xie Lian pretended to be grumpy, but in reality,
he really couldn’t remember if he’d ever heard anything more lovely than Hua Cheng’s
laugh.

Was everything perfect? No.

Hua Cheng was still hesitant, careful with his smiles, and reluctant to talk about his past. The
afternoon where he hesitantly asked about Grey Guard was a tad embarrassing.

“So, erm, how did you meet them, exactly?” tried Xie Lian, trying to sound nonchalant.

Hua Cheng glanced at him as they strolled through the streets of Ghost City, dodging
(hopefully) sleeping bodies. The afternoon seemed to be the quietest time in the city that
otherwise came alive at night (and raged on into the morning).

“When I was still a Savage,” he said shortly.

“Oh,” nodded Xie Lian. “So before the Kiln but…after you…were Wu Ming?”

Hua Cheng’s face went careful again. “Yes,” he said. “After that.”
Xie Lian kept trying. “Why did you meet them?”

Hua Cheng sighed quietly. “I was interested in the Realm borders. I wanted to understand
them, straight from the source. Better than books.”

“Oh. San Lang is interested in everything, it seems,” said Xie Lian, attempting to pry.

Hua Cheng nodded noncommittally. “I suppose.”

“Yes,” said Xie Lian vaguely, trying to figure out just how exactly he could ask the question
he really wanted to ask.

Hua Cheng was watching him. “Gege. What is it you really want to know?”

Xie Lian gulped. “Ah…I suppose you just…seem like you’ve known each other a very long
time.”

Hua Cheng frowned. “Yes. Five hundred years, give or take.”

“Wow,” gasped Xie Lian. “That’s…yes.” That was interesting. That meant Grey Guard must
have been one of the very first beings he sought out upon gaining a body again.

Hua Cheng took his hand and squeezed. “Gege, what is bothering you?”

“Nothing!” insisted Xie Lian. Nothing, except that an ancient demon knew possibly more
about the man he loved that he did.

Hua Cheng cocked an eyebrow.

“I just…” attempted Xie Lian. He gave up and blew out a breath.“Well…Grey Guard has
been able to know you for a long time. And you um, seem to have a certain…style with each
other.”

“Style?”

“Mmm. Something particular to you both. The way old friends do.”

“Grey Guard is not, and has never been, my friend.”

“Alright,” said Xie Lian, huffing and feeling suddenly irritable. “Forget it,” he said, stomping
away.

“Gege,” said Hua Cheng, sounding amused. “Come here.” Hua Cheng grabbed him by the
waist and forced him to turn around. Xie Lian stared petulantly ahead at his collarbone.

“Gege,” he rumbled. “Are you jealous?”

“NO!” he insisted, louder than he intended.

Hua Cheng squeezed his waist. His chest was starting to shake with suppressed laughter.
“San Lang - I’m not- I didn’t-”

“Gege. I assure you. I interacted with Grey Guard strictly in a…professional sense. I do not
enjoy their company in the slightest. You are the only one who I enjoy.”

Xie Lian grumbled.

Maybe he was a little jealous. At the thought of someone else being able to know his San
Lang like that.

Hua Cheng was doing the kneading thing with his fingers again. It was very distracting.

Xie Lian opened his mouth. It was point three on his plan, after all. Tell Hua Cheng what he
wanted. That Hua Cheng could do what he wanted with…er, all of that…stuff. But how on
earth could he say the words ‘touch me more’ without immediately bursting into flames?

“San Lang-”

“CHENGZHU! ARE YOU HAVING A NICE ROMANTIC MOMENT?”

Ah. Some of the city ghosts were waking up. Xie Lian sighed, turning around to see a rapidly
congregating horde.

“LET US HELP, CHENGZHU, WE CAN SET THE MOOD WITH SOME THROAT-
SINGING-”

“YES! WE CAN SURROUND YOU BOTH AND CHANT AS YOU MATE!”

“DON’T BE RIDICULOUS! CHENGZHU NEEDS NO HELP WITH ROMANCE, HE’S A

NEC-ROMANCER! HAHAHAAHAHAHAH-”

Silence.

“KILL HIM-”

Hua Cheng sighed. “We’d better go before more of them wake up.”

“I- oh- yes. Very well,” gulped Xie Lian.

***

Xie Lian, more than most, understood time.

Time was a brutal teacher that repeated exactly one lesson, over and over: you will get past
most things within a few years. But the things you don’t? Time will never fix them. So
something else needed to change.

He remembered a little Hong-Hong-er who wasn’t hesitant, or careful. He was a boy who felt
incredibly deeply and acted like it. He showed his rage, his abject despair, the anguish that he
had been utterly betrayed by fate, family, and circumstance.
Hua Cheng had been building up layers ever since, so that he wouldn’t ever be known like
that again. He was clearly embarrassed about the times he had sobbed in his arms as a child,
or when he snapped in his little shrine and told Xie Lian he no longer wanted to live.

Xie Lian didn’t want him to break again, exactly. He’d just lived long enough to know that
ancient hurts never really left anyone.

So Xie Lian kissed him and poked his cheek each morning, and moved closer, instead of
listening to the part of himself that told him he should always pull back in embarrassment.

He made Hua Cheng stop shoving E’Ming off the bed, so that he could nestle in with them
and Ruoye happily.

He’d say things like “Ah E’Ming, aren’t you lovely and sweet!”, hoping Hua Cheng would
understand what he meant, though his eye rolls indicated it might take a while. And he didn’t
tease him any more about Sooty.

As for the upcoming Gathering of the Savages, he wanted to know everything he could. So
he further deposed Hua Cheng to be his instructor, a role he seemed to like very much.

Xie Lian thought he had seen everything, with Hua Cheng’s armoury. But it was absolutely
nothing on his library. Hua Cheng pushed through a grand, golden set of double doors and
Xie Lian’s jaw dropped.

He was very sure that the rest of Paradise Manor didn’t have ceilings this high. How did that
work, exactly?

The ceilings were vertigo-inducing, and drew the eye with shelves that ran from floor to roof.
The library was easily the size of his Palace in the heavens. The shelves were neat, and
organised, but nonetheless bursting with scrolls and bound books.

“What are all these, San Lang?” he whispered in wonder.

“A bit of everything, gege,” said Hua Cheng, hands on his hips.

“This is amazing,” he breathed. He felt oddly emotional.

“Ah,” said Hua Cheng, smiling. “Does gege enjoy libraries?”

“I do!” said Xie Lian fervently. “I loved stories when I was a child. And I always wanted to
keep learning, and keep reading. But every time I’d walk into a library or try to read
something it would usually end up on fire, in a puddle, eaten by a goat, you know. So I
mostly just learned what I had to, hahaha…I suppose it shows sometimes, in how ignorant I
am.”

Hua Cheng’s smile had faded, replaced by something hard. “You can read every single scroll
in here. I will make sure that you never run out. You tell me the topic, anything, and I’ll get
everything ever written for you.”

Xie Lian breathed a fond laugh. Sweetheart San Lang. “Alright.”

They went about their task. Hua Cheng seemed quite comfortable and familiar with the
scrolls. Xie Lian watched him with interest.

Again, here was another side of Hua Cheng he was entirely unfamiliar with. He’d known that
Hua Cheng was incredibly well versed in literature- sufficiently so to humiliate the Gods of
it. But he had not pictured him looking so at ease in a library.

Hua Cheng fetched a number of scrolls and gestured Xie Lian to sit at a wide low table so he
could begin his lesson.

“So, there are eight Savages left?” prompted Xie Lian.

“There may well be more who haven’t revealed themselves. Banyue and Ke Mo kept to
themselves for two centuries. But eight currently, who are known. At least ten died in Mount
Tong’lu this time. Let’s just say I’m not surprised which ones didn’t.”

“They’re formidable?”

“Depends whether you’re their target. But I’m glad we didn’t run into them.”

“Which one is the worst?”

“The most hated? Qi Rong.”

“Next to Qi Rong?”

“Still Qi Rong.”

“San Lang,” he said, nudging his arm.

He sighed. “Well, they’re all mission ghosts. That should already tell you something about
Savages.”

“Mission ghosts?” said Xie Lian slowly.

“Mission ghosts aren’t here for one thing, or one person. They’re here for something bigger.
All the oldest and strongest ghosts you’ll ever meet are mission ghosts.”

He pulled three scrolls out from his pile, and began unfurling the first. It looked old;
yellowed and delicate.

“The most powerful are the Night Reapers…but they’re also the least dangerous if you’re not
the one they’re after. They’re a trio. Sometimes a duo. Either way, they rarely hunt alone. The
oldest is just called The Madam. She’s older than I am, by a lot. The youngest is The Maid.
The most vicious, Slicer. He’s about my age.”

The scroll showed an ink drawing of three human figures facing outward in a triangle with
their backs to each other, linked with overlapping arms. Two women, one man in the middle.
Both women were beautiful, made up with elaborate hair and clothed in dark silks. One held
a garroting string suspended between her sharp nails behind her back, the other held only a
fan in one hand. The man’s face was not illustrated, which was strange- it was simply blank.
He stood with a knife held flat between his hands, like he was praying.

“I see. And what are their ‘missions’?”

“Well. They’re interesting. They don’t attend the Kilnslaughters, ever. It’s torture, not to go
when the Kiln opens. Black Water hibernated through the last one too. But they’ve resisted
many more times than him now; the Madam has survived dozens of openings. They tie each
other up and hunker down as far away from it as they can get.”

Hua Cheng tapped his finger on the woman on the left, with the fan.

“The Madam was a brothel owner in life. She comes to Ghost City the most, to check in on a
lot of the sex work ghosts. She’s like their leader. But mostly she hunts for mortals who…
hurt workers. In life, or in death.”

“She entered the trade by choice, and was always proud of her work, and her workers.” He
gestured at the woman with the garroting string. “The Maid…she was not in sex work by
choice. She thought she was going to be a maid in the house of a rich official, but she was
sold. Now she hunts the sellers.”

He pointed to the man. “And Slicer…he hunts people who hurt children. You can see the
overlap. When the Night Reapers find people who tick all of their boxes…well. They really
take their time, when that happens,” he smirked.

Xie Lian breathed slowly. “Slicer…”

“Mmm. He prefers lingchi. Slicing them, slowly, to death. He’s patient. At the end he takes
their ears, their lips, their eyes, their nose, and…well. Everything important. No one knows
his background.”

“I see,” said Xie Lian, eyeing the faceless man. “And his face…”

“The only ones who see it are those who are about to die.”

Xie Lian suppressed a shudder.

Hua Cheng unfurled another scroll. “Then there’s Wild Wail.” This time, an illustration
showed a creature that seemed to be mid-way through changing from a deer into a bear.

“They’re an animal ghost, a shapeshifter. Butcher Zhu takes a lot of inspiration from them,
and chops up anyone with a bad word to say, though they aren’t every animal ghost’s cup of
tea. I have no idea what kind of animal they were when they died, or when they died. They’re
beyond ancient."

"I suppose you could say Wild Wail has always been to hunting what Butcher Zhu is to meat.
They’re usually found chasing humans through forests with a bow and arrow. They’re a little
bit…mad.”
Xie Lian nodded with interest. He’d like to see what qualified as mad among a group of
Savages.

“And then finally, we have Red Abacus,” he said, producing the final scroll with a flourish. A
woman with an abacus and a set of scales was pictured. Xie Lian noted they were both
drenched in blood.

“Ah! I’ve heard of her,” he said.

“I’m not surprised,” said Hua Cheng drily. “What have you heard?”

“She goes for government officials. A few tried to hire me over the years, to protect them
from her, but she never gave any warning of who she would choose. They were usually just
paranoid, though one man I was on my way to help was killed by her before I could get
there.”

“I’m sorry that happened, gege, though I can assure you, she does not pick the innocent. She
was a low rank state treasurer in life. It’s believed she was killed quite brutally by an angry
mob who thought she’d been stealing from the state coffers during a famine. She hadn’t. I
think you can guess what her thing is.”

“Corruption?”

“Mmm. She’s one of the younger Savages, around 500 years old. Most ghosts left her alone,
to start with, because no one thought that what she wanted was very interesting. People who
steal money? That’s a long and tedious list."

"Then they realised just how many people she was killing. She wiped out most of her own
government; it's made her extremely powerful. I once had her pegged as a revenge ghost, but
her home kingdom is long gone, and she’s still here.”

“She sounds interesting.”

“She’s interesting precisely because she’s boring. You’ll forget she’s in the room. That’s her
power.”

Xie Lian nodded thoughtfully, surveying the scrolls. This was not what he had expected.

“Something wrong, gege?”

“It’s just…not a whole lot of them sound like I thought they would. The type to just torture
and kill for fun.”

“Oh, is that what all of us Savages and former Savages do, gege?”

“That’s not what I meant!” he gasped.

“I know,” he chuckled. He shrugged. “Like I said. Mission ghosts live the longest. It’s not a
coincidence that every time the Kiln opens, the ghosts that die first are always the pleasure
ghosts.”
“Pleasure ghosts?” mumbled Xie Lian, feeling his ears warm.

“Mmm. They’re what they sound like, gege. They’re ghosts because they can’t get enough of
whatever their pleasure is. Most are harmless, just want to drink more or gamble more or...do
other things,” he said, giving him a devilish wink as Xie Lian quickly looked down to
determinedly study the table.

“Most of your typical torture-and-kill-for-fun ghosts are just pleasure ghosts who like
violence. But they don’t last. They make too many enemies, unlike the Reapers. You won’t
find a single ghost in my City who won’t leave them to their business. And that’s not just
because of how powerful they are. It's an unspoken rule: their work is important, and no one
gets in their way. Least of all me.”

Xie Lian frowned thoughtfully. The Ghost Realm was so full of chaos that he had never
stopped to consider that there were any rules or commonalities underpinning it all. But if
there were categories of ghosts by power, then of course there were categories by reason.

“Mission ghost, revenge ghost, and pleasure ghost,” he murmured to himself. “But…San
Lang, you’re not really any of those.”

“Oh?” said Hua Cheng, raising an eyebrow as he reclined indecently.

“Well…you said mission ghosts always want something bigger than one person.”

“Yes.”

Xie Lian exhaled awkwardly. Was he really going to make this difficult? He was that one
person.

Hua Cheng breathed a laugh. “Ah, gege. What if my one person is the bigger thing?”

Xie Lian’s mouth hung open. “But…I really am just one person. I’m not anything bigger than
that.”

Hua Cheng eyed him for a long moment, and smiled. “On that, we disagree, Your Highness.”

Xie Lian looked down and coughed, feeling hot at the back of his neck.

“And how many…would these scrolls say you have killed?”

Hua Cheng’s eye flickered as he smiled slowly. “Quite a good many.”

Xie Lian swallowed.

“But you never picked innocents either, San Lang.”

“What makes you so sure?” he said, voice smooth.

“You plucked your eye out for innocents.”

Hua Cheng’s mouth twisted, and he looked away.

“I did tend to stay within the types of people who…came across my desk, as it were.”

“I know you killed a fair few tyrants.”

Hua Cheng’s gaze flickered back to him, sharp.

“They were a favourite type of mine, I will admit.”

Xie Lian let out a breath, cheeks now hot too. It felt scary, to ask about these things. But he
wanted to know.

“Why?”

Hua Cheng had taken out his dice, and was rotating them between his fingers.

“To be a Ghost King, I needed to maintain a reputation. I was happy to oblige, but the
circumstances needed to be right. I liked to kill the powerful who preyed on the weak. Plenty
of leaders can fail even when they try their best. But the ones who let their people starve
while they feast? Who send children to war while they hide? No. I was happy to be their
end.”

Xie Lian was focusing on keeping his breath even. He’d sent boys to war too. Including Hua
Cheng.

Hua Cheng smiled humourlessly. “Sometimes, I’d even find someone who the Night Reapers
wanted for themselves. Someone who’d used their power that way. The type who warred
against cities for no reason other than the joy of killing and keeping conquered children and
women for themselves."

"I almost always worked alone, but for those ones, I made an exception. I’d let the Reapers
finish, while I took out the stooges who looked the other way.”

Hua Cheng was watching him, gaze careful yet unyielding. His voice was quiet, but steady.

“If you want a singular reason for it all, gege, know this: I only killed people who hurt the
common people.”

Xie Lian was finding himself mute. He knew he should admonish Hua Cheng, to say it was
wrong to kill like that but…Xie Lian had killed plenty of people too. Some in defence, some
in war, some in revenge. He had no right to speak on this. If anything, Hua Cheng was more
moral than he was.

He changed the subject. “Ke Mo…he was a revenge ghost, surely. But Banyue…what is she,
now that her mission is over? She kept the soldier ghosts at bay, she protected people from
them. But except Ke Mo, they’re all…” he trailed off. Turned into mangled corpses by Hua
Cheng.

Hua Cheng nodded thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. Something I’d like to assess myself.”
“And Qi Rong…he must be a pleasure ghost.”

Hua Cheng’s finger’s stilled as he rolled up the scrolls.

“He certainly seems to enjoy eating human flesh.”

“Yes,” said Xie Lian vaguely, shifting uncomfortably.

Ever since he found Qi Rong again, he had not thought of him overly much. Certainly barely
at all when he was run ragged with chaotic quests, and then not much more when he suddenly
had a year to wait, and plenty of time to think.

The space in his mind devoted to Qi Rong was a locked door with the key already in it: ready
to be turned, but he was unwilling. He just didn’t like thinking about his cousin. Everything
about it made him uncomfortable. Including the fact that the second the words left his mouth
that Qi Rong was a pleasure ghost, he knew he was wrong.

Qi Rong was older than Hua Cheng. Which meant he too had now survived at least three or
four Kilnslaughters. And he was the only Savage who had reached Four Calamity level. Qi
Rong’s habits and…tastes aside, it was clear there was more going on than the simple
pleasure of violence. So what was he?

Xie Lian had never really wanted to know how he died.

He sighed.

“When do you think they will come?”

“Soon. Yin Yu is keeping an eye on their arrivals.”

“I see,” said Xie Lian, stretching and looking around. “May I explore a little?”

“Of course,” said Hua Cheng, inclining his head. “This library is for you, any time you wish.
”

As best as he could tell, there were more scrolls and books in here than in any of the biggest
and grandest city libraries in the world.

“Oh, but San Lang, there must be things in here that even the Heavenly Capital have never
seen!” he breathed, standing and wandering as he craned his neck to look up at all of the
shelves.

“Not lately at least, I stole some from there,” said Hua Cheng haughtily, rising to stroll over
to him. “What do you want to read?”

Xie Lian cocked his head. “Which section is your favourite?”

Hua Cheng frowned. “Mine?”

“Mmm.”
Hua Cheng shifted on his feet. “I asked you first.”

“Are you going to refuse me?” said Xie Lian, teasing.

Hua Cheng’s eye darted to a particular shelf. He’d looked at it a few times already. It was all
the information Xie Lian needed.

“Alright then,” he said briskly, moving to the shelf. “It’s this one.”

Pulling out a random book, he opened it. It seemed to be about an obscure artist who liked to
work with tree saps. Confused, he pulled out another. This was an even more boring tome on
the history of ink. The next, historical context behind a mural from the 2nd century.

“These are all…about art, San Lang?”

Hua Cheng still looked very stiff. “Yes, gege. Just interesting things about art.”

Xie Lian smiled. “And this section is your favourite?”

Hua Cheng smiled, presumably realising that Xie Lian was not about to let this go.

“Yes,” he said shortly.

“Mmm. I see. What do you like about it?”

“I just like art,” he replied, folding his arms.

“What about it?” prodded Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng shrugged. Xie Lian sighed, moving slightly to the right to reach for another scroll
further along, on the next shelf.

“Perhaps not there, gege,” remarked Hua Cheng quietly.

“Why not- oh, whoops!” said Xie Lian, dropping the scroll in question. It rolled open, and
Xie Lian forgot how to breathe.

It was a full size drawing of two men doing…well, one of them was kneeling, and the other
was- oh dear-

Xie Lian had never blushed from head to toe more instantly in his life. He was a human
eggplant.

“AH…oh, San Lang- I didn’t- I wasn’t-!”

Hua Cheng was shaking his head in exasperation, biting back a grin. “Art and erotic art are
next to each other, gege.”

“Oh, well, yes, that’s a logical system,” panted Xie Lian, scrabbling on his hands and knees
to roll up the scroll frantically. He heard footsteps. Hua Cheng moved to stand right in front
of him, and as Xie Lian looked up, he was now painfully aware that the position they were in
was actually perfectly illustrated by the scroll-

“Let me help,” smirked Hua Cheng, kneeling. Xie Lian’s fingers were unhelpful sausages
that kept slipping on the edges.

“Well, yes, thank you,” mumbled Xie Lian, watching Hua Cheng take over and stand to
neatly slot the scroll back into place. He didn’t even need to check that it was in the right
place, even though it was, which meant…

Xie Lian sprang up. “Wait a minute…was this your favourite section?”

Hua Cheng composed his face and cleared his throat. “I enjoy all art, gege.”

“San Lang,” muttered Xie Lian, scandalised and looking over his shoulder to check for Pei
Ming out of habit.

“What bothers you, gege?”

“Nothing!!!” he insisted, unconvincingly.

“If gege wishes there to be no filth in the library, I will have it removed.”

“No! That’s- well- not necessary!”

“But it makes gege uncomfortable.”

“Well, all knowledge is…knowledge,” trailed off Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng cocked his head. “Knowledge?”

Xie Lian nodded, sighing and deciding that since he could possibly get any more
embarrassed, he may as well just say it.

“Like I said. I’m aware of these things, I’m just very…unused to the, erm, possibility.”

“The possibility?” said Hua Cheng slowly.

Xie Lian nodded, ears so hot they could steam buns.

Cool fingers slid under his chin, forcing his gaze up to Hua Cheng’s.

“Are these ‘possibilities’ things you want to know more about, or less about?” he murmured,
eye dark and intense as he watched him.

Xie Lian swallowed. “More.”

Hua Cheng’s eyebrows jerked up in surprise, as he seemed to struggle with what to say next
for a moment.

“Ah,” he said.
Xie Lian broke his gaze. His skin was very warm and tingling, and he and Hua Cheng were
alone, in a beautiful quiet room. But he was still so embarrassed even by the thought of
kissing him after seeing that scroll…and in addition, he was now extremely curious.

“San Lang,” he began, trying to be casual. “Have you…erm, much experience in these
matters?”

“What matters would those be?” he said, voice honeyed.

Xie Lian coughed and waved at the shelf.

Hua Cheng cocked his head. “In collecting erotic art? As much experience as I do collecting
any other kind of knowledge.”

“No I meant more…the um, practical applications,” said Xie Lian, gaze fixed on Hua
Cheng’s ear.

Hua Cheng leaned closer, and spoke in his ear. Xie Lian trembled at the vibration of his voice
and clutched at his tunic to hold himself up.

“My knowledge is, as yet, purely theoretical, Your Highness.”

“Really?” gasped Xie Lian. “But you…you never wanted…?”

Hua Cheng pulled back, and stroked just above Xie Lian’s hips with his long fingers.

“I have always wanted. Your Highness.”

Xie Lian made a noise he was not proud of. “Oh,” he managed, as Hua Cheng’s fingers
continued to drag at the fabric, bunching it. Xie Lian found himself gulping air. Hua Cheng’s
face was so close.

He suddenly felt guilt. His…issues with touch, his inexperience, his lack of courage…and
here was Hua Cheng, wanting something, and never saying so, because he would never
demand anything of Xie Lian. But here again was their problem.

Hua Cheng didn’t know how to let go emotionally. And Xie Lian didn’t know how to let go
physically.

He made up his mind. “San Lang?”

“Mmm?” rumbled Hua Cheng.

“I think we should…help each other.”

“Help each other?” he repeated, looking curious.

“En.”

“With what?”
Xie Lian scrunched his eyes and took a deep breath. “San Lang, I like it when you…lead me.
I told you. I liked it, when Mount Tonglu opened.”

There. Now he could explode into meat chunks.

Hua Cheng’s lips parted. “Gege, are you saying…you want me to…”

Xie Lian coughed lightly. “Lead me, yes.”

Hua Cheng stared in disbelief, a devious smile playing on his lips. “You don’t consider that…
indecent?”

Xie Lian chuffed a laugh. “Do you care about decency?”

“Not in the slightest,” he scoffed, before his face became more serious and he looked at him
for a long moment. “Gege. If you do not enjoy it when it is you…initiating, then I will not- I
cannot - force you.”

“No! You aren’t forcing me at all! You’re not, San Lang. I just…” he struggled to explain.

He took a shaky breath. “When you want me like that, it…helps me. I stop worrying that I’m
doing everything wrong and I just…relax. I like it when you want me that much. I…I like it
when you overwhelm me.”

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows.

“Oh,” he said quietly, gaze dark.

Xie Lian felt a fizzing in his stomach.

“Well,” he said eventually. “If you want me to ‘help’ you, I am, as ever, at your service.”

Xie Lian steeled himself. He would not be distracted from his wider plan. “But only if you let
me help you.”

“Help me?”

“En. You lead me, about these um, things. And I’ll lead you with the talking. I’ll ask you
things I want to know. You can tell me stories, perhaps? One every night, when we’re in
bed.”

Hua Cheng was quiet again. “And you think this will help me?” he said, sounding
unconvinced.

Xie Lian hesitated. “I think…if we help each other to know each other better, we’ll both find
things easier.”

Hua Cheng’s jaw clenched. He looked away. “I did not know you were finding things hard.”

Xie Lian’s heart twisted. “No, San Lang. Look at me, please.”
Hua Cheng frowned as he reluctantly met his eyes.

“Look at my face. Do I look like I’m not happy? I’ve never been this happy, San Lang. I just
know you aren’t there yet, and I want to help.”

Hua Cheng looked pained. “I am not…you…shouldn’t have to…worry about me. I am fine,”
he said, clutching at Xie Lian, head bowed.

“You will be. Just let me know you better. And help me know myself better, like I said. It
should be equal.”

“Equal,” said Hua Cheng faintly.

“Of course. You are my love. I am yours. We are equals.”

Hua Cheng seemed to be straining from all the words he was clearly holding in. Xie Lian
eyed him. He could imagine what they’d be. Rebuttals.

Xie Lian reached up to pull Hua Cheng’s head down, and nuzzled at his nose. “I won’t push
you too hard, my love. I promise.”

Hua Cheng exhaled. “Nor I, you.”

“I know that,” said Xie Lian, with total trust.

Hua Cheng shook his head a little, and closed his eye.

“Very well,” he murmured. His eye drifted. To Xie Lian’s neck again. Xie Lian noticed and
blinked, stifling an embarrassed smile. “San Lang,” he mumbled, blushing slightly.

“Mmm?”

“I- well- you’re staring.”

“Do I make gege uncomfortable?”

“Well, not exactly-”

Hua Cheng looked at him dead in the eyes. “You asked me to lead you, did you not? You
asked me to ‘want you that much,’ did you not?”

Xie Lian mouthed stupidly. “Well…yes, but what does that have to do with-”

“I have only ever kissed your face. I think I should expand my territorial claims.”

Xie Lian’s eyes bugged out. “Wh- territory - you-”

Hua Cheng shifted his fingers to his face as he breathed a laugh. He flexed his fingers against
his cheek, tracing down to his ear, his jawbone, the sensitive skin underneath. Then, his neck.
Xie Lian went silent. Hua Cheng was gentle, fingers whispering lightly across his skin,
stroking the nape of his neck and down. To his shoulders and across the delicate jutting
collarbones to the notch between them.

Xie Lian was very still, and Hua Cheng kept his eye fixed on his face. Xie Lian felt his eyes
starting to flutter closed.

“Gege, is this alright?”

Xie Lian’s eyes snapped back open.

“I…yes,” he whispered.

Hua Cheng regarded him gravely, fingers still stroking. “May I kiss it?”

“My- my neck?” gasped Xie Lian.

“Yes. It’s very beautiful.”

Xie Lian felt the whisper of Hua Cheng’s fingers at his jaw as he gulped. “If you like,” he
said faintly.

“I do like,” he nodded. “Now that you are free? Transcendent.”

No. Xie Lian simply could not hold his gaze. It was too much. Deliciously too much.

Hua Cheng shook his head fondly, and bent his head to press a chaste kiss in the notch. Xie
Lian’s chest twitched slightly, but as Hua Cheng paused and raised his head in concern, he
said “No! No, I’m fine, you may continue,” before stopping short and making an
embarrassed noise in his throat at his choice of words.

Hua Cheng chuckled, saying nothing. He moved closer, and pressed Xie Lian up against the
shelf. Gently. But still enough that Xie Lian’s mouth fell open and he didn’t know if he’d be
able to close it again.

He loved feeling the weight of Hua Cheng. He never thought he’d like being pinned, but here
he was, wishing Hua Cheng was pressing him into the shelf even harder.

Hua Cheng stroked up the side of Xie Lian’s neck, feeling the soft skin at the sides and nape.
The little downy hairs. The parts of his neck usually hidden under his hair. And round the
front. Which had always been hidden by his bandage, the ugly, black characters and evil aura
of the shackle.

Now, it was gone. He never thought that anyone would be able to do this. Hua Cheng ducked
and pressed his lips to the notch again, and moved his lips infinitesimally, a tiny amount at a
time, feather light, a dusting up and across his neck.

He took his time to reach Xie Lian’s jaw, and around underneath his ear. Xie Lian found that
unconsciously, he’d moved his arms so they were spread eagled, hands relaxed.
“Gege?” he murmured, as he started to mouth across the underside of his jaw to the other
side, apparently concerned that he hadn’t heard from Xie Lian in some time, apart from his
tiny hitched little breaths.

Xie Lian, who was arching up, raised his eyebrows.

“Hmm?” he breathed.

“Is this still alright?”

“Yes,” said Xie Lian extremely quickly, frustrated. His eyes were shut. Very firmly.

Xie Lian upturned his chin again just slightly in expectation, and Hua Cheng huffed a laugh
through his nose. He was a little more daring on his way down the other side. Pressed his lips
for longer. Firmer. Let his tongue dart out, to taste.

As he moved towards the base, he sucked a little at the skin, especially where it was delicate,
which made Xie Lian twitch.

Hua Cheng caressed the notch once more, and kissed lightly along each collarbone, taking his
time again. Xie Lian’s chest was rising and falling heavily, his head and shoulders moving
fitfully.

A knock came. Xie Lian’s head jerked around.

“Chengzhu. It’s time,” came Yin Yu’s voice outside the door. Xie Lian was extremely
grateful for his discretion at not coming into the library.

He felt Hua Cheng’s breath exhale against his skin, and he straightened and moved away. Xie
Lian missed the pressure immediately.

“We must go,” he said, hands back at his waist.

“I- well…yes.” Xie Lian replied weakly.

“I thank you for permitting me such a pleasure,” intoned Hua Cheng, bowing his head
reverently.

Xie Lian twisted his mouth wryly and made a grumpy noise at that one. “I’m…that was-” he
cleared his throat. “Surprising.”

Hua Cheng’s brows contracted. “Surprising, gege?”

Xie Lian’s eyes flickered up to his. Hua Cheng looked half amused, half unsure. “I- it’s just-
you were different, before. You’re usually a little less…restrained.”

Hua Cheng’s eye glinted. “I need to get in my own way, gege. Or I’ll get too greedy all at
once. I’ll drink you up, like a desert oasis.”
 Xie Lian's eyes widened as he somehow managed to start a coughing fit out of nowhere.
“Well. No need to be so dramatic about it,” he said, choking.

Hua Cheng’s chest twitched in a laugh as he patted Xie Lian’s back. They were quiet for a
moment, as Xie Lian tried to pretend that his breathing was back under control. Just as he
opened his mouth and summoned his courage to say that he liked greedy San Lang-

“Are you sure you want to come, gege?” said Hua Cheng. “You might not like the Savages.
They aren’t for everyone.”

Xie Lian sighed. The moment was over.

He nodded assuredly. “I want to come. I’m with you for all of this, my love.”

Hua Cheng gave the tiniest smile. Almost shy. “Very well. Let’s go meet them.”

***

Chapter End Notes

Ava: “You were all like, ‘I’m Janine, I like responsibility and structure and kudos’...”
Janine: “...that’s the three pillars!”
-Abbott Elementary

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 The Gathering of the Savages
Chapter Summary

Time to meet some Savages. And they all hate Qi Rong.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Hua Cheng’s mind was ablaze as he walked hand in hand with Xie Lian to the long meeting
room off the main hall. He could still taste Xie Lian’s skin. And was thoroughly annoyed at
the interruption, even if it was expected.

To kiss his neck, now that it was free? Sublime. Better than ascension, and he would know,
because his ascension had been an irritating inconvenience. Xie Lian had let out small little
noises, which Hua Cheng tucked away in the corner of his brain labelled “perfection.”

He was still apprehensive. Hua Cheng knew what he wanted. But how could he look a God-
his God- in the face, with all of his unworthy self, and say it?

For all his salaciousness, he preferred to dance between lines. Innuendo and deflective
humour were far easier than stating the actual truth. Which was that he had woken up in an
absolutely torturous state every single morning since he’d been back, and every time he felt
Xie Lian stir all warm and sweet against him, he felt animalistic.

Perhaps he should focus. But Xie Lian was making that extremely hard.

Speaking of hard, he needed to calm down.

He attempted to breathe and let the air circulate around his body and think deeply unsensual
thoughts, like the fact that he was about to be in a room with a bunch of Savages with a
collective body count in the tens of thousands. And also Mu Qing and Feng Xin were
coming, which was never not a low point.

But…

“I like it when you want me that much. When you overwhelm me.”

How on earth was he supposed to think about anything else?

Lead him. Xie Lian wanted to be led.

They paused outside the grand, golden door. Xie Lian looked up at him softly, and smiled,
squeezing his hand.

It was a tiny gesture, and a tiny moment. But Hua Cheng was suddenly, and completely,
overcome.

He grabbed him. Grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up and pushed him against the wall
and kissed him. Hua Cheng surged against him as Xie Lian squeaked, the feel of him not
enough, never enough. He clasped his face, needing Xie Lian’s mouth even firmer against
his, needing more closeness.

He was ravenous. It was only for a few seconds, a thrill of Xie Lian’s taste and body and
scent. But he needed it. And he wanted it. Hells, he wanted to bite him. Suck on every single
bit of his skin.

Xie Lian's mouth was slack as Hua Cheng broke the kiss and released his hands to let him
slide gently back down the wall. Xie Lian kept his hands clasped around his neck, gawping
up at him mutely.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat. He should perhaps explain himself.

“It’s just…something I had to do. Before we go in.”

Xie Lian did the nodding thing where he bobbed his head so vigorously it was almost
concerning.

“Yes! Yes,” he said faintly, mouth still hanging open.

“Was it alrigh-”

“Yes,” said Xie Lian, cutting him off, before blinking and blushing as his fingers flexed
against Hua Cheng’s neck.

Hua Cheng’s lips quirked. “Good,” he murmured. His chest felt strange. Warm and buzzing,
but not with any fear behind it. Or worry. Which made no sense. Fear and worry were always
there; they’d made a home in him.

“Well,” he said, fingers entirely disobedient and refusing to detach. “We should go in.”

Xie Lian nodded quite a lot again.

“Alright,” repeated Hua Cheng, not moving an inch. “Let’s go.”

“Mmm,” said Xie Lian, eyes liquid and cheeks still pink.

One more. He could have one more, surely; Xie Lian seemed to like it. Maybe the neck, this
time.

He bent his head-

“Oh, hello you two! Ohoho, and aren’t you just as expected!” chortled Pei Ming’s stupid,
stupid voice.

Xie Lian flew back against the wall, hitting his elbow.

“Wh- Pei Ming- are you-” gasped Xie Lian, mouth in the universal ‘o’ of an elbow smash.
Hua Cheng seized it and applied pressure immediately to try and make it hurt less as Xie
Lian winced up at him in gratitude.

Pei Ming reached them and looked around with interest.

“Mu Qing and Feng Xin told me. Hope you don’t mind, sounds like an interesting gathering,
and obviously in the interest of the Heavens to talk about what’s happening. Though that
Wild Wail should be stopped, they’ve hunted quite a few of my people in the North. To say
nothing of Red Abacus. He is wildly dangerous.”

“She,” corrected Hua Cheng serenely, turning to face Pei Ming with his arms folded to shield
Xie Lian as he hurriedly straightened his clothes behind him.

“Eh?” said Pei Ming absent-mindedly.

“Red Abacus is a woman.”

“What- really?! A woman? Oh,” said Pei Ming, thinking. “Well…alright then. Wouldn’t have
picked murders like that to be…” he trailed off uncomfortably.

“Women’s work? Yes. Good luck catching her, she’s really very good,” he said, watching Pei
Ming wince in the way he always did at the thought of a competent woman.

Pei Ming ignored him, craning his neck to look over Hua Cheng’s shoulder. “Your hair is still
all over the place,” he said to Xie Lian helpfully.

Xie Lian frantically finger-combed, catching Hua Cheng’s eye as he glanced back. “You look
perfect gege,” he reassured, to a stifled smile.

“So are they already in there?” came the reluctant voice of Mu Qing as he rounded the corner.

“You are also not invited,” Hua Cheng shot back.

Feng Xin rounded the corner too, scowling. “What do you mean? You need our help, don’t
you?”

“Aw, so you two really just come as a pair now? How sweet,” drawled Hua Cheng.

“We didn’t come together -” hissed Mu Qing.

“We came separately -” snapped Feng Xin.

They stopped and glared at each other.

“Oh! Well you may as well travel together from now on. Save me learning which of you is
which,” said Hua Cheng, looking at his nails.

Two sets of fists clenched.

Then Lang Qianqiu wandered in, looking lost, and it was at that point that Hua Cheng threw
up his hands.

“Seriously?”

“I have been informed that this issue may continue to impact Qi Rong’s ability to reform,” he
said imperiously.

“Yes! That’s the only silver lining!” said Hua Cheng through gritted teeth.

“I…made a vow to Gu Zi,” he replied, looking awkward.

“Anyone else?” Hua Cheng demanded of the corner.

Yin Yu joined so surreptitiously with the box that Pei Ming jumped and muttered “where did
you come from?”

The box was, for once, silent.

“Looking forward to seeing your friends again, Qi Rong?” said Hua Cheng waspishly.

The box trembled only very slightly.

Hua Cheng chuckled darkly. He didn’t necessarily like all the other Savages, as such, but it
was always somewhat fun to be in a room with so many other beings who hated Qi Rong
almost as much as he did.

He looked back at the four so-called Martial Gods. He sighed. At least Quan Yizhen wasn’t
involved, there was no way he could deal with that today. “I am serious. You are not
attending. You may wait outside.”

Three sets of fists twitched, while Lang Qianqiu eyed the box distractedly.

“Why not, San Lang?” said Xie Lian curiously.

Hua Cheng almost wavered, just for him, but-

“This is a ghost-only meeting. No Gods permitted.”

Mu Qing puffed up indignantly, jabbing his hand. “The Crown Prince is a God!”

“According to the Kiln, he is a Supreme,” he retorted, as Xie Lian grimaced awkwardly. “I

know the Savages are keen to meet him. You wait here, or leave, I don’t really care either
way.”
Xie Lian cleared his throat. “I would love for you all to stay until we’re done,” he said
calmingly, as Mu Qing caressed the hilt of his sword menacingly. “I would like your opinions
afterwards! I’m sorry, this is my fault, I didn’t realise the Savages wouldn’t want heavenly
officials in the meeting.”

“I have provided entertainment to while away the time,” said Hua Cheng, gesturing as the
doors opened to the grand hall, where soft sensual music and dancing women beckoned with
plates of food and wine.

Feng Xin stiffened. “We are busy,” he spat, undercut by Pei Ming’s simultaneous “uh, yes,
take as much time as you need.”

Feng Xin whipped his head around and glared, to a “What?” and a shrug from Pei Ming, who
was already looking at the women appreciatively and waggling his fingers in greeting.

“Enjoy yourself,” said Hua Cheng sweetly.

If nothing else, today would be interesting.

He turned and pushed open the doors, slowing to make sure Xie Lian walked in step with him
at his side as they strode in, even as he looked up at him in confusion. “Equals, Your
Highness,” he said, teasing.

Xie Lian turned his chin up determinedly. “See? You’re getting it,” he murmured, not teasing.
He took his hand and looked ahead.

Hua Cheng swallowed and looked down.

Yin Yu followed, with a very quiet box.

The Savages were all seated around a long stone table. The room was dark, lit by hovering
red candles in the centre.

The first to raise their head and speak was Banyue, who blurted “General!” before she bowed
her head again hurriedly, eyes darting around as if she’d spoken out of turn. Xie Lian smiled
and greeted her happily. Her shoulders were tense, not for no reason given she was in a room
full of much older and more powerful ghosts.

Hua Cheng’s fingers caressed Xie Lian's for a split-second as he gestured him to his seat,
next to his. They sat as the Savages regarded them silently.

Red Abacus, as always, was someone his eye almost skimmed over at first. Seated next to
Banyue, she made no eye contact.

She was fine boned, plain faced, and wore unadorned grey robes, unassuming and unreactive
in her expressions. The only hint that she was one of the deadliest beings in existence was a
rolled scroll at her side, a ledger filled with figures, many of which were circled in red.

The Night Reapers were their usual spectacle, and a study in contrasts. Three beings who
seemed to have absolutely nothing in common, but if you looked, they moved in the same
way.

The Madam bowed her head warmly, her eyes on Hua Cheng, as he inclined his head in
return, stiffening briefly as a fluffy black head popped up and he realised Sooty was sitting in
her lap. How did she get in-

He sighed. Sooty went where she wanted, and The Madam liked her. Best to let it be. If he
had to be trapped in a room with any Savage, he too would pick her. She was ancient,
ruthless, seething intelligence from every pore and yet…caring. He knew Xie Lian would like
her. And he would never forget what she did for him.

Slicer sat hooded and motionless. His face was simply a dark void. Hua Cheng had never
even seen a hint of his face- not a shadow, not a glimpse of skin, nothing. He did not speak.
But somehow he communicated, through his fellow Reapers.

The Maid was sour in expression and demeanour. Her manner was a contrast somehow to her
extravagantly light and gauzy robes, intricately twisted hair and perfect makeup; red lips and
wide eyebrows. He didn’t mind her, in fact, he quite enjoyed her utter lack of patience for
fools.

The first time he’d met her, he had decided to make a spectacle of himself at a Kill Festival
sponsored by a Savage named Gamesman, who loved to watch ghosts fight each other.

He’d never expected any Savages to sink so low as to participate (he himself would only be
killing Gamesman and leaving), but instead, she put her name on the docket.

Gamesman brought out a bunch of terrified new ghosts who had been rounded up and sold
for a kill-or-be-killed round. The announcer excitedly yelled that the audience was in for a
treat, because the ghosts were about to fight a Savage. She walked in, broke their chains,
ripped out Gamesman’s throat, set him on fire, and left.

Hua Cheng was the only one who clapped. After all, it had saved him the trouble of a messy
de-throating himself.

Finally, Wild Wail.

That absolutely unhinged lunatic.

He disliked Wild Wail the least.

Wild Wail had taken their elk form today. Though they always adjusted their body to be
bipedal in rooms like this, so they could sit in human seats. Their legs were hooved, their
antlers wide and ostentatious. Their hands however- one second they would be human, the
next? Hooves again, depending on the need.

Hua Cheng noted Wild Wail was wearing what looked like a new human-leather belt around
their middle, with a truly unnecessary number of knives tucked into it, as well as a few
feathers and some shiny rocks. Wild Wail had a few magpie tendencies. And was sometimes
an actual magpie.
Wild Wail always spoke in various animal languages, but somehow, everyone understood
them as if they were speaking human. It was a quirk of their magic Hua Cheng had always
found fascinating. Their voice sounded all at once like whistling wind through trees, a
babbling river, stampeding hooves, and yet…they were also words.

“I smell a Human-God,” said Wild Wail. They always spoke first.

Xie Lian exhaled. “Uh, yes! Hello. That would be me. My surname is Xie, given name Lian.
Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said.

“You are not just a God,” accused Wild Wail, to interested looks from the attendees.

“Um, well... maybe the Kiln and I have had a bit of a misunderstanding over my, um…
classification, but I am a heavenly official. It’s confusing. Never mind,” he coughed, trailing
off.

“No. You are a God, and a Supreme, but you also smell like you have been prey. No one ever
caught you though! Good for you. Your meat will be tough and inedible. Disgusting! I like
you.”

Xie Lian’s face froze for a long moment, then settled on “Ah, thank you very much,” as a
reply.

The Madam winked and hid her face behind her fan, which Hua Cheng ignored, even though
he always found it amusing she used the same thing for modesty as she used for chopping off
limbs and heads.

“Well then. Here we are,” he said, eyeing them all as Yin Yu placed the box on the table.

“Where is Fish Man?” demanded Wild Wail.

“He Xuan is…” Late. Depressed. Smelly. “Indisposed,” he finished.

Likely drunk. Apparently he’d have to chair this thing on his own then, not that Black Water
was ever much help. Luckily, no one ever actually expected Black Water to turn up, so it
wasn’t unusual. He Xuan was always a deeply solitary ghost. The only time he’d ever seen
him with consistent company, it was…

Well. Someone who would never bug him to be by their side again, which was his own fault.

“As I was saying,” he continued, reclining comfortably in his seat as Xie Lian sat stiffly
upright in his. “It has been some time since most of us have seen each other. We have had a
Kilnslaughter since then. We have lost numbers. But we have a newcomer,” he said, inclining
his head at Banyue. “The rules remain the same. There is no attacking one another today.
That is it.”

“Who are you then, dear?” asked The Madam gently, eyes on Banyue, who gave a start at
being addressed directly.

“Oh, n-nobody!” she insisted, turning red.

“Oh, excellent,” said The Maid appraisingly, eyes flickering over Banyue with interest.

“Is the Sad Runt finally dead?” cut in Wild Wail.

“Qi Rong? Funny you should ask. Sadly, he is alive. He’s in the box,” he said jerking his
thumb to where it rested on the table.

Silence.

The box was very still.

The Madam spoke. “He did the goo thing again?” she sighed, shaking her head in
exasperation.

“Indeed.”

“And…now he’s in that box? As goo?” said The Maid, pointing.

“Yes.”

The silence stretched for some time as no one moved a muscle.

Until the Madam and Maid burst out laughing, followed quickly by Wild Wail. Even Red
Abacus was stifling snorts, her shoulders shaking.

“STOP LAUGHING! I’LL KILL YOU ALL YOU FILTHY FUCKERS, DON’T THINK I
WON’T-” screamed Qi Rong from the box.

“Ah, such a humiliating fate that would be, killed by two toes and an eyebrow,” said The
Madam.

Wild Wail was now slapping the table with their hooves. Red Abacus had covered her face
and was honking into her hands.

The Madam sighed, as if about to scold an amusingly naughty child. “Oh, dear repulsive boy.
You must know why none of us have killed you, though we could easily do so. We simply
don’t want to sully our hands.”

Hua Cheng’s mouth twisted. Not strictly the reason, though he appreciated the insult.

“I AM A CALAMITY, I HAVE REACHED HEIGHTS NONE OF YOU COULD DREAM

OF-” said the box, raging forward on the table and banging into the fruit bowl.

“Only because you are too stupid to operate in the shadows like you are supposed to,” The
Madam replied smoothly, which Hua Cheng did not take personally. He’d tried the shadows.
They didn’t work.

Banyue was watching in shock. Sooty also watched the box, eyes alight and tail flickering.
“Wait wait- didn’t he try to send out a newsletter to tell us how many people he killed?! And
he puffed up those numbers by a hundredfold,” said The Maid, wiping her eyes.

“Oh, that’s right, I forgot about that-” gasped The Madam, slapping The Maid's arm.

“THAT WASN’T A NEWSLETTER, IT WAS A PROCLAMATION! AND I DID NOT

EXAGGERATE, IF ANYTHING, I HAVE KILLED SO MANY I’VE LOST COUNT-”

“Hey Slicer, he’s lost c-c-count,” The Maid, smacking Slicer in the shoulder as she lost the
ability to speak and collapsed face first on the table. Slicer sat straight backed and silent, but
Hua Cheng could swear he saw his shoulders twitch.

“I HAVE! MY NUMBERS ARE HUGE! HUGE, I TELL YOU-”

“Well, we all know what men are like with exaggerating,” said the Madam, raising an
eyebrow.

The Maid cackled. “I’m sure we could check, it’s probably in the box, look for something
that’s the same size as the pinky finger-”

“YOU-! YOU SHALL NOT DARE! THIS ANCESTOR IS THE GREAT NIGHT TOURING
GREEN LANTERN-”

“No, dear. You’re in a box,” said The Madam, causing Wild Wail to howl so hard they nearly
fell off their chair.

Qi Rong continued a stream of curses, but they could barely be heard over the cacaphonous
laughter of the Savages as Sooty pounced, and batted at the box with her paw. Hua Cheng
glanced sideways furtively at Xie Lian, to check on him. He was purple and looked seconds
from a burst blood vessel from the effort of not laughing. Excellent.

Hua Cheng ticked off the time he had allowed in his mental agenda for roasting Qi Rong.
Honestly, he should have called the meeting just for that.

“Now, now,” he said indulgently, as The Madam and The Maid started to complain that their
abdomens hurt. Sooty was now directly on top of the box, washing herself serenely.

“I do want to discuss a few important matters. Though keep in mind I am always happy to
pause discussions for more insults, should you feel the need.”

Xie Lian threw him a look, which Hua Cheng ignored. The box rattled pathetically, but it had
long since trailed off into a sullen silence.

“I called you here because something is happening to our Doors.”

Eyes narrowed around the room as the air sharpened.

“Qi Rong is currently…suffering some effects.”

“Good,” muttered several attendees.

Hua Cheng’s lips twitched. “It is believed that two Doors have shut. Each time it happens, he
has lost a body part.”

Sniggers and titters. The box sulked.

“I want all of you to tell me what you know, and what you have felt,” he said, eyeing each
ghost in the room.

The Madam, now serious, spoke first. “I presume that means you both have felt it, you and
Black Water? And Realmwalking Grey Guard…they know of this?”

“They are investigating.”

“But they are not here.”

“They are due. You know them. Never misses an opportunity to be inconvenient.”

“Mmm. I would be curious…how is it that anyone could have found the Doors? Not just one,
but two?”

“We do not know.”

“Yes, but nevertheless. This is an interesting attack, if it hits the most powerful the hardest.”

Hua Cheng said nothing.

“Well then,” said The Maid, squaring her shoulders. “This will come for all of us, no? The
more Doors shut…”

“Yes. The more all of us will…struggle.”

“We need those Doors,” said The Maid, eyes narrowed. “I will not be barred from the Mortal
Realm. We have work to do.”

“Work? Pah. Humans and their work. We all know what will happen to us if the Doors shut,”
said Wild Wail.

Banyue cleared her throat, and spoke in her small voice. “Um, I don’t.”

The Madam looked upon her kindly. “We’ll all cease to be, my dear. We need Doors.
Otherwise we’re just in a dark room with no way out. We’ll suffocate.”

Banyue looked back, eyes wide. “Oh,” she said quietly.

“Not a one of you has felt anything?” said Hua Cheng, disappointed.

Banyue looked scared. “What…would it be, that we would feel?” she asked tremulously.

Hua Cheng sighed. “You’d know it, if it happened. It’s…unpleasant. A constriction of your
being.”
The Madam sighed. “I have felt it.”

Hua Cheng’s gaze snapped to her, his windpipe constricting. The Maid was looking at her,
concerned, while even Slicer had turned his head. Clearly, she had not informed them.

It made sense. She was ancient, and powerful. He’d no doubt she could have been a Supreme
had she been stupid enough to take on the Kiln.

Banyue took a deep breath. “Me too,” she said, eyes down.

Now that one was surprising. The room was now tense.

Banyue was certainly not as powerful as the much older Savages. But perhaps…the sheer
number of times she died, over and over for two hundred years…that took power, to stick
around through that.

“I see,” he said, glancing again at Xie Lian, who was watching quietly, chewing his lip.

“Well. We have our own suspects, but if any of you know of who might be doing this, do
inform me at once. Your grudges are now legitimate intelligence.”

“What is it you propose we do now?” said The Maid.

“I might have some ideas,” came Grey Guard’s voice, as they glided in the way they always
did, and took a seat, ignoring the surprise rippling across the room.

Hua Cheng clenched his jaw. He was so very sick of Grey Guard and their dramatic
entrances.

“What have you found?” he sighed.

“No signatures of note, no secrets the borders are willing to divulge. But the two Doors are
gone, as suspected. The borders were quite reluctant to entertain the notion of reopening
them.”

Hua Cheng closed his eye painfully. “How unfortunate,” he muttered.

“Mmm!” agreed Grey Guard distractedly, cocking their head at Banyue and surveying her.

“And these ideas you mention?” said Hua Cheng, voice clipped.

“Yes. I want one of you per Door. Those who felt the shutting.”

Hua Cheng stared as the silence stretched. “One of us per Door?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to see what happens to you when a Door is shut.”

“Shouldn’t you be trying to stop the Doors being shut?” fumed Hua Cheng.

“As I said. I do not know how,” said Grey Guard, without a hint of regret.

“Isn’t that dangerous, to put the ghosts most affected near a Door that might close?” said Xie
Lian, peeking at Hua Cheng in concern. “Why not use those who don’t feel it?

Grey Guard frowned. “Because they don’t feel it,” they said, enunciating slowly like Xie
Lian was stupid.

Hua Cheng opened his mouth to tell Grey Guard to choke and die, but Xie Lian beat him to
it. “I understand, but if you do not know who is shutting the Doors or how or why, how will
putting the most powerful in danger help you?”

Hua Cheng stared at him. Xie Lian was looking quite…stubborn. Determined. Even…
protective.

“Only something or someone truly powerful can do this. I believe the borders will tell me
more, if power is met with power.”

“But you cannot be in four places at once,” said The Madam.

“No. But I can move between places faster than anyone. So I will move. I can take you with
me,” they said, eyeing Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng kept his face neutral as he thought. Black Water was an untrustworthy disaster
right now. Qi Rong going unsupervised? Laughable. Banyue was too young and new to go on
her own. And then there was the fact that they still needed more time, to gather information…

Four Doors. Four ghosts each? No.

He was left with no choice.

He exhaled. “When?”

“I am ready when you are,” said Grey Guard, steepling their long fingers together.

Hua Cheng sighed, and steeled himself to say the most unpleasant sentence possible.

“There are some heavenly officials outside who will help us.”

***

“Banyue, The Madam, Black Water, Qi Rong, and myself all feel it. Each of you who feel the
shutting will be paired with a heavenly official. They will not harm you, and they will assist
you in case you become indisposed or compromised. Each of them will immediately inform
me, and Grey Guard, if something happens to you.”

“Who goes with who?” asked Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng surveyed him impishly. “Well, I was hoping I could have you as my partner,
gege.”

Xie Lian scoffed and bit back his smile. “I meant the others,” he mumbled, fidgeting with his
hair.

Hua Cheng chewed at his cheek. As for the pairings, once again, he didn’t really have much
of a choice. Feng Xin was weird with women. Pei Ming and Banyue… that would be an
entertaining nightmare, but a nightmare nonetheless. Literally any heavenly official but Lang
Qianqiu would give up on Qi Rong immediately. So that meant…

“Lang Qianqiu, you must take Qi Rong. Feng Xin, you go with Black Water. Mu Qing, take
Banyue. And Pei Ming, you will go with The Madam.”

No one looked happy. Pei Ming, who had had two ghost dancers in his lap during
introductions and definitely had not paid attention, looked confused.

“And you?” grunted Mu Qing.

“We will move around. With Grey Guard. To investigate,” said Xie Lian, looking up at Hua
Cheng firmly. Hua Cheng nodded.

“Which of you boys was mine?” said The Madam, eyes flickering with interest between the
heavenly officials as she scratched Sooty's ears.

Pei Ming cleared his throat. “That would be me. You can call me Pei Ming, Madam.”

“Oooooh. You. I’ve heard of you,” she said, giving him a very lascivious up and down.

Pei Ming seemed to internally struggle for a moment, before deciding to default to flirting.
“Only the good things are true,” he said, winking.

The Madam barked a laugh. “Oh, you poor dear. None of that will work on the likes of me.
You’ve truly no idea what you’ve agreed to.”

Pei Ming’s smile froze.

Alright, maybe Hua Cheng was happy with one of the pairings.

Red Abacus watched Pei Ming silently, not that Pei Ming had spared her a single glance in
his typical manner with women he did not want to disrobe. Hua Cheng let her stare. Pei
Ming’s corruption scandals made him a classic target for her. She’d never gone for a
heavenly official before, but there was always a first time for everything.

Oh, it was so nice when his work life overlapped with his fulfilling hobby of taking the
Heavens down a peg. Perhaps, if he survived all this, he’d slip her Pei Ming’s communication
array password and just…see what happened.

Grey Guard was reclining on a divan and taking a truly unnecessary amount of time to peel
singular grapes. “I would like to celebrate here, for the night. We can go in the morning.”
“Celebrate?” said Hua Cheng shortly.

“Of course,” they said, looking at him strangely. “The borders and I must pay our tribute to
the new Supreme Ghost King, the Crown Prince of Xianle.”

Xie Lian froze with his arm outstretched to a piece of melon, twitching it back to try to look
more formal.

“Another God-Supreme,” said The Madam teasingly. “White No Face must be truly annoyed
that he has nothing left that makes him unique.”

Hua Cheng did not like this topic of conversation. Xie Lian was nothing like Jun Wu.

Xie Lian looked awkward. “I don’t need a celebration,” he insisted.

“It is not about titles, my dear,” said The Madam. “But it is tradition, nonetheless. You are
recognised by the Kiln, so you are recognised by us.”

Xie Lian’s hands shot up, waving frantically. “No, please, I don’t need any recognition.”

“Calm down, child,” chuckled Wild Wail. “We do not bow, or prostrate, or make offerings.
We simply acknowledge the ancient laws of our Realm, as should you.”

The room fell very quiet, with every pair of eyes now on the reddening Xie Lian.

Wild Wail stood, and spoke. “I am the oldest, and I now recognise the newest,” they said,
eyes flickering in the way that suddenly belied their age. Hua Cheng had never been able to
find a single old record of Savages that didn’t mention Wild Wail. They were older than
scrolls.

Xie Lian clamped his mouth shut as his hands twitched and he swayed, as if unsure how to
stand. Hua Cheng placed a steadying hand at his lower back.

Wild Wail’s voice boomed. It sounded like forest fires and smoke and the full moon.

“The Ghost Realm has judged you, and found you worthy. May your strength not weaken
you. May your weakness strengthen you. May you find in death what you did not find in life.
The way of the ghost,” they finished.

“The way of the ghost,” they all murmured.

Xie Lian was purple and inspecting his feet. The Martial Gods looked deeply uncomfortable,
and the box was sullen. Good.

Hua Cheng found himself oddly irritated that Black Water wasn’t here. He’d done this for
him, back then. It had just been the two of them.

“Now we drink, until we are happy or sad!” boomed Wild Wail.

***
The after-party was enjoyable. Lang Qianqiu had asked to see Gu Zi, who was now sitting on
the floor in the corner and attempting to bite him every time he tried to take the box from his
small hands.

“Now see here, Gu Zi, it is impolite to- OW- YOU-”

Pei Ming, Mu Qing and Feng Xin kept their stances ready and their eyes uneasy. None of the
other Savages interacted with them, until…

“Come to me, additional Human-Gods. WHO?” demanded Wild Wail.

Pei Ming cleared his throat. “I am General Ming Guang, and my fellow Generals Xuan Zhen
and Nan Yang,” he said, gesturing to Mu Qing and Feng Xin.

“Generals of what?”

Pei Ming frowned slightly. “We are…martial gods?”

“Ah, so you were a hunter in life.”

Pei Ming’s frown deepened as Feng Xin and Mu Qing glanced at each other. “Martial Gods
are fighting men. We fight wars and protect soldiers, the strong men of the world.”

“Wars? That is what I said. Hunting tournaments. Whether human-hunting is one-on-one or

in your packs, you make sport of death, like me! Isn’t it fun? I like you. You smell disgusting.
HAHAHAHA. Sit next to me, hunter-children. I wish to memorise your scent, for…later.”

Pei Ming exchanged uneasy glances with Mu Qing. Hua Cheng stifled a snort.

“You heard them,” he said sweetly, gesturing to the empty seats by Wild Wail. No one ever
sat next to Wild Wail. They were…unpredictable. Also, they had started taking the knives out
of their belt and hanging them from their antlers in a way that seemed not so much menacing
as it was decorative for the party.

Feng Xin glared at him as they filed past. Hua Cheng waggled his fingers in a wave. Xie Lian
elbowed him half-heartedly, though he seemed to find Wild Wail amusing, which pleased
Hua Cheng.

He and Xie Lian ended up sitting together on a divan that was a little too small for two, but
no matter. Hua Cheng wanted to go. He knew they had things to do, that tomorrow he and
Xie Lian would have to set off to figure this out. And Grey Guard would most likely appear
at literally any time for the next foreseeable future.

Meaning tonight may be the last night that he had with his beloved with any semblance of
privacy for…a while.

It was also the first night he was going to have to start telling Xie Lian the ‘stories’ he wanted
to hear.

Which was really just one long story.

Of everything.

“San Lang?” asked Xie Lian, his warm side pressing against him.

“Mmm?” said Hua Cheng, fingers technically next to his thighs but…it wasn’t his fault that
Xie Lian kept bumping them.

“Why isn’t Black Water here?”

“Asleep, or drunk.”

“Hmm,” he replied, mouth a concerned line.

“It was rude of him not to be here. I will tell him,” said Hua Cheng darkly.

“Oh, I don't care about that. I just…aren’t you worried about him?”

Hua Cheng paused. “He will either figure it out, or he won’t. I can’t do it for him.”

“No but…he’s your friend. The only other Supreme.”

“He is not my friend. And you are a Supreme. You’re right here.”

Xie Lian rolled his eyes.

“What? You are, Your Highness.”

“Mhmm. And you were a God. Does that make much of a difference to you?”

“I enjoyed beating your record for shortest time as a God.”

“Did you really?!” he gasped.

“Two minutes was all I needed to see that it wasn’t worth my time up there.”

Xie Lian shook his head, a glint in his eye. “I still can’t believe you did that. You hadn’t even
broken out of the Kiln then. You could have died, going back.”

“Death was better,” he said, shifting. It was not a lie. Just not…all of the truth. That would
come later.

“You spent a few more than two minutes ‘up there’ when you went back as a Supreme,” said
Xie Lian slyly.

Hua Cheng shrugged. “I forgot to say thirty-three hellos. That was a fun day, I will admit.”

And a fun day after. The citizens of Ghost City had never been more elated than when Hua
Cheng told them that he wanted to burn down hundreds of temples. Now that after-party had
been truly insane. Even Red Abacus ended up passed out in the street.
Xie Lian shook his head fondly, and bit at his lip. Hua Cheng stared at it. He would prefer to
be doing the biting.

“Would you like to um, go?” Xie Lian said quietly.

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows. “Thought you’d never ask.”

“Yes,” he said faintly, eyes dark and fixed on his. Hua Cheng swallowed, suddenly slightly…
nervous.

He snuck a look at the room.

“They’ll be fine, my love,” said Xie Lian reassuringly.

“I don’t give a shit whether they’re fine,” said Hua Cheng quickly.

Xie Lian smiled slowly at him. “Sure you do. I like them, you know. And I like that you talk
to them. You’re a very good leader, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng exhaled warily. He did not like acknowledging any responsibility over this pack
of absolute goons, however reasonable some of them were. Nonetheless. He felt a little warm
in his chest that Xie Lian liked them; the same way he did whenever Xie Lian’s eyes lit up
when he talked with the ghost citizens, or when he walked happily in the streets of Ghost
City. It hadn’t always been easy, turning this place into what it was now.

“Let’s go, gege,” he said quietly, changing the subject, and taking his hand.

The Madam’s eyes followed them as they stood to leave. She jerked her head towards Xie
Lian, and gave a singular approving nod, before placing a hand on her heart. Hua Cheng kept
his head down. He would not be forced to blush by The Madam.

“Wait- you’re going?” shouted Lang Qianqiu after them, now on his hands and knees and
sweating, trying to bribe Gu Zi with a cake.

“Yes,” said Hua Cheng, not turning round.

“But…how are we to-”

Grey Guard stood. “I will find you all tomorrow, when I see fit. Stay here, go to the heavens,
it’s of no import to me. I always know where you are.”

Hua Cheng sighed. What a creepy asshole.

He raised his voice. “You heard them. And if you cause trouble for me, remember how much
I dislike interruptions.”

They left. Xie Lian turned to him. His ears were pink.

“Can we spend tonight in the cottage, San Lang?”

 Hua Cheng swallowed, starting to feel a buzzing in his stomach.

“Yes, gege. I would like that very much.”

***

Chapter End Notes

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Story Time
Chapter Summary

Horny on a table, then...revelations

CW for a brief description of panic attack

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Xie Lian was feeling very…

Restless. Eager. Strange.

He hadn’t ever felt like this before. It was unfamiliar. He couldn’t put his finger on what it
was. As he drew the array to get to the cottage, he kept messing it up and flubbing his fingers
because he was too impatient to get there. Where he could be with Hua Cheng. Alone.

Seeing Hua Cheng command the room of Savages, and the obvious respect of the deadliest
beings in the world, was…something. Something that made him feel fidgety. It didn’t help
that Hua Cheng was watching him, gaze soft yet intense.

“Do you need help, gege?” he asked, amused.

“No,” he said childishly.

Hua Cheng hid a smile and looked away.

Xie Lian finished the array, and reached out to Hua Cheng, who moved smoothly to take his
hand.

“Okay,” he mumbled. “Ready.”

“Mmm. Let’s go,” replied Hua Cheng with a squeeze.

They stepped into the array, and emerged outside the cottage. Xie Lian was now finding it
difficult to look at Hua Cheng, who seemed to have no such problem. He’d not stopped
looking at him since they’d left the Gathering.

Xie Lian glanced up at him shyly and pulled him to the door. Hua Cheng chuckled.

“Just like our first night, gege,” he said, voice warm and deep and teasing.
“Mhmm,” said Xie Lian, shivering slightly and tripping, just like their first night. Hua Cheng
caught him, of course.

He turned to him in his grasp just past the threshold, swallowing heavily.

“San Lang, do you-”

Hua Cheng picked him up. Grabbed him and picked him up and manhandled Xie Lian's legs
around his waist. Roughly.

“I- wha- I- oh-” yelped Xie Lian helplessly as Hua Cheng began to walk forward holding
him, gaze heated. “San Lang, you-”

Hua Cheng kissed him ferociously. Xie Lian’s surprised squeak died in his throat as he
scrambled closer, throwing his arms around his neck and feeling his face burn as he
instinctively shucked his hips as close as he could.

Hua Cheng’s mouth was reckless and his fingers were digging into him around his thighs
where they were gripping him and he really did hope Hua Cheng wasn’t going to drop him
because he certainly couldn’t hold himself up at this point-

Smash. Impact. Hua Cheng shoved him on the table and the teapot fell off, circling on the
floor. Xie Lian briefly flailed but Hua Cheng yanked him forward and trapped him with his
arms around his back. Xie Lian’s face was burning because his legs were splayed and Hua
Cheng was between them and it was all very-

“Overwhelming enough, gege?” whispered Hua Cheng, pulling back and starting to nip at his
neck as his hands roved.

“Gnnngph,” said Xie Lian, gasping nonsensically.

“Indeed,” murmured Hua Cheng, lips pressing and sucking and mauling. He ripped a hand
from his back and started to knead his thighs again. Xie Lian’s robes were getting tangled and
he was absolutely on fire and this, finally, was like the night Mount Tonglu opened again,
only so much better because this was San Lang, awake and aware and whispering hotly in his
ear “is it too much gege? If it’s not, tell me, and I’ll do it more.”

Oh. The restlessness was desire. He hadn’t known.

He’d felt it so many times in Hua Cheng’s arms, but to feel it before they had even touched?
How odd. His eyes were scrunched closed, it was simply too embarassing to open them and
catch sight of the look on Hua Cheng’s face, because Hua Cheng kept pulling back to look at
him and press at his forehead and make noises like he was pleased, very pleased to see
whatever presumably stupid expression he was making.

Xie Lian went somewhat blank. In a good way. In a…no thoughts, only feeling way. It was
exceptional. He had never in eight hundred years been able to just feel something good. He’d
always had to do endless mental gymnastics to convince himself things were good, just to get
through the day, but this was simple. Hua Cheng’s hands were now stroking at his hips and
making him jerk up into him and-

Oh. Oh no.

Hua Cheng went very still. His hands stopped moving. He kept his face close, and spoke
quietly in a tone that was so dripping with honey and amusement that it made Xie Lian want
to jump off a cliff.

“Ah, gege. It’s wonderful to see that you’ve been cured of your terrible affliction.”

Alright. Time to die.

Xie Lian tried to pull away, so he could at least start a pot of boiling water and then hurl
himself into it to plop and bubble away for a while, slowly reducing down to shame-soup, but
Hua Cheng was shaking with laughter and breathing in his ear and saying “Where are you
going, gege? Isn’t it good? It seems to me that you agree-”

“Don’t,” he begged, covering his face. He didn’t know what he had been thinking. Every
other time this had happened he’d made such an automatic effort to hide it, but this time he
was in such a compromised state that he’d simply not been thinking-

“I will stop. If you want me to,” said Hua Cheng, voice quiet now. Xie Lian’s face was turned
away; Hua Cheng was speaking into his neck and making him tremble from the hum of it,
but…

He gulped. “I…don’t. Want you to stop.”

Hua Cheng stroked at his hips, letting his fingers drag. “If it makes you feel better, you must
understand it is not just you,” he purred, kissing him and pressing forward. The hardness, the
outline, made Xie Lian go blank again and see stars and make a very indecent noise.

Hua Cheng pulled back to look at him, pressing their heads together. Xie Lian’s breath
hitched and his heart skipped. “Do you understand what you do to me, gege?” Hua Cheng
murmured.

“Yes, it’s poking into my hip,” said Xie Lian without thinking.

Hua Cheng’s eye shut and his chest heaved. “Mmm. What is, gege?”

“Don’t,” warned Xie Lian.

“I am as unpracticed in this as you are, so you really must be clear-”

“San Lang.”

“Perhaps you could draw a diagram-”

“SAN LANG!!!”
Hua Cheng kissed him helplessly, chuckling and vibrating with laughter into his mouth as he
clutched at him. Xie Lian just loved it. Loved being completely encircled, trapped by him,
feeling him press his- erm, well- that against him, loved that he didn’t even have time to be
embarrassed because Hua Cheng was rocking their hips together, grinding, rolling, not one
gap of space, and it was so foreign, so jaw-droppingly good.

In Qiandeng temple Hua Cheng had never been this intentional. Xie Lian thought he wanted
that desperation, the raging fire again. But now Hua Cheng was holding them together in a
way that wasn’t a raging fire; but a smouldering one. Hua Cheng knew exactly what he was
doing this time. He was fully and completely aware. It was so much better.

It was still too much, of course. It turned out he liked that. Especially when Xie Lian actually
moaned at a neck bite and Hua Cheng whispered “I know, gege. I know, tell me again,” in his
ear and that made him moan more.

Perhaps it was best that Xie Lian just go and hide in a cave for a week to ready himself for
looking Hua Cheng in the eye again. But every time he half-formed a thought like that, Hua
Cheng kissed and touched and ground it out of him.

Clothes. So in the way, all of a sudden. But Hua Cheng wasn’t making any move to remove
anything, which was strange. And frustrating. He seemed perfectly happy to just keep ruining
Xie Lian’s life while he was fully clothed. On a kitchen table. Xie Lian was vaguely aware
that he was sitting on a spoon. He really didn’t care.

Hua Cheng did seem to quite like his neck. He spent an indecent amount of time on it,
frankly, but Xie Lian was not going to redirect him. The pull of his lips and the grazing
against the delicate flesh was very, very good. He wished he had more eloquence about it all,
but that was the only word that made it into his full consciousness. Good.

They continued to scrabble and pull at each other for what felt like hours. Xie Lian felt
tormented by the feeling, the insatiability of it, and finally understood what that meant. This
was not enough for him. It wouldn’t be, anymore.

He wanted what came next.

He wanted Hua Cheng to take his face in his hands and kiss his cheeks and his nose and undo
his robes, and then undo his own because there’s no way Xie Lian would be able to do it with
his shaky fingers. The rest was a vague, blurry imagining, but he wanted to feel Hua Cheng’s
skin on his, everywhere, cooling him down with his temperature and heating him up from the
feel of him all at once. He needed it.

Hua Cheng, however, seemed to be winding down. His kisses were slower, and softer, and he
wasn’t licking or nipping at his lips anymore. Xie Lian’s lips were swollen and tender and
bitten to within an inch of his life, but still.

Hua Cheng rested their foreheads together, breathing deeply.

“Was that alright, gege?”

Was.

“Yes,” said Xie Lian hesitantly. “You’re…you aren’t, um, continuing?”

Hua Cheng’s brows raised even further. “What does ‘continue’ mean, for gege?” he purred.

Xie Lian whimpered. “Don’t make me say it.”

Hua Cheng nuzzled at his nose. “Gege needs rest.”

Xie Lian mouthed soundlessly in surprise. Rest? The absolute last thing he wanted was rest.

Hua Cheng kissed him. There was finality in it.

It wasn’t just his imagination. Hua Cheng was being strange. For whatever reason, he didn’t
want to keep going. Xie Lian tried not to feel hurt.

He nodded slowly. “Alright,” he said, eyes down. Hua Cheng squeezed his waist, stroked his
thighs, and let go, stepping back. His throat bobbed. “I will…go and fetch us some water,
gege. For tea.”

Xie Lian bobbed his head in false enthusiasm. “Yes, yes of course,” he said faintly. Hua
Cheng's jaw was tight as he seemed to hesitate, before he turned abruptly and strode out the
door, letting it fall shut behind him.

Xie Lian blew out a breath, and took the time to calm himself. It didn’t work.

***

Later on, something happened.

He was snuggled in Hua Cheng’s arms on the mat. It was really a lot more comfortable to
sleep draped on him anyway. And he was becoming used to it. He didn’t like the thought of
waking up not touching him. They talked together about what was coming. But Xie Lian still
found himself restless.

And grumpy at the thought that this was the last night without privacy.

“I just don’t want to have to kiss you when we’re in danger and there’s people everywhere.”

Hua Cheng paused.

“That’s never really stopped us before, gege.”

Xie Lian smacked him in the arm halfheartedly.

“What has got you so concerned about it, gege?” he teased.

“I want time with you,” said Xie Lian, refusing to blush.

Hua Cheng stroked his arms. “And I want time with you, gege,” he said, eye downcast. “I am
sorry that this is happening. I wish…we could just have time together.”

Xie Lian nodded. “Me too, but it is happening,” he sighed.

Xie Lian didn’t feel it coming at all. But suddenly, out of nowhere, it hit. They were on the
mat, and Hua Cheng was getting up to go and fetch a cup of water for him, and suddenly, he
was clutching at Hua Cheng’s arm and gulping for air and his heart was racing and he was
seized by a total and singular terror.

“No, not yet, not yet,” he gasped, as Hua Cheng turned back to him, eye wide and
concerned.

“Gege, gege, it’s alright, what’s happening?!” he said urgently.

“Not yet, not yet,” he pleaded, heart beating so fast he was sure it was going to explode.
“Please, just…don’t go yet,” he said miserably, knowing he was being ridiculous, but not
knowing how to stop.

Hua Cheng pulled him to him and held him very, very tightly. He kept up a steady stream of
“It’s alright, I won’t go anywhere, I’m here with you, I’m not leaving. I promise. Didn’t I
come back to you? Of course I did. I will never leave you.”

Xie Lian squeezed his eyes shut. He just couldn’t get close enough. “Tighter,” he gasped, and
Hua Cheng's arms were so immovable they were almost painful. It went on for a while. Xie
Lian had never had this happen to him before. He’d never seen much point in being afraid
outside of the moments when it was required.

Eventually, he calmed. Hua Cheng kept murmuring to him and holding him. Xie Lian fell
into a dead, drained sleep like that for a little while, and woke in the darkness.

Hua Cheng was still awake, he could tell. He moved to tuck his head underneath Hua
Cheng’s chin.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered shamefaced. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Hua Cheng shook his head, frowning at him in the dark. “Don’t say that, gege. Don’t. What
do you need? Tell me.”

“I don’t know,” whispered Xie Lian. “I just…I’m not used to this.”

Hua Cheng’s lips parted. “If you want me to go-”

“No, San Lang. I mean I’m not used to…to things being so good, all the time. I’m getting
used to things being good. That’s so scary.”

Hua Cheng said nothing. Xie Lian hid his face in his neck.

“I…I think I thought about what tomorrow means and what is happening and all of a sudden
it just…I realised, I can’t just smile and say ‘oh well,’ if things go wrong, this time. I thought
it was so simple to be happy, and…it is. But it turns out it’s not so simple to be unafraid.”

He exhaled shakily. “I think if the Reverend of Empty Words came for me now, I wouldn’t be
able to shake them off anymore. I never had enough to lose before. But you’re so much for
me to lose, San Lang.”

“You will not lose me.”

“You cannot promise me that,” said Xie Lian, voice cracked.

“I can, and I will.”

“You can’t. And I don’t think I could go back to that, living that way, if I lost you. I think I
would…lose it, truly, this time. I’d break, if someone hurt you. That’s scary, I could hurt
people…I wouldn’t know what to do, if that happens. The only person who could stop me is
you.”

Xie Lian hadn’t said it before, but he knew Hua Cheng understood. This was not arrogance. It
was the truth. He was, in many ways, more powerful than anyone should be allowed to be.

Hua Cheng breathed uneasily. “Your Highness. You won’t break. You will always be good.”

Xie Lian tilted his face up to look at him. Hua Cheng sighed, and shut his eye.

“I am afraid too,” he said, looking like it took great effort to say.

“You are?” breathed Xie Lian.

He nodded. “I…stopped before. I didn’t want to tell you why.”

Xie Lian swallowed. “Did I do something um…wrong?”

“Wrong?” he frowned. “No, gege, how could you think that? It’s not you.”

“Then what is it?”

Hua Cheng let out a long breath. “If we…If you and I…if I get to see you that way, love you
that way…I’m afraid. That I’ll be too happy.”

Xie Lian gaped at him.

“Why?” he whispered.

Hua Cheng wasn’t looking at him. “If I am too happy, too fulfilled…”

Oh.

Xie Lian swallowed thickly. “So you need…”

Hua Cheng’s brows twitched together. “No ghost can ever be truly happy, gege. That’s what
resting in peace is.”
Xie Lian shook his head. “I don’t believe that,” he said stubbornly. “I know you can be
happy.”

Hua Cheng exhaled slowly. “And how is that, gege?”

“You can be happy, and still know you’re not ready to rest. I won’t let you. You are
forbidden.”

Hua Cheng raised his brows, looking tired. “I’ve never seen it happen, gege. All ghosts are
unhappy.”

Xie Lian exhaled through his nose. It was time. He could not put the cart before the horse.
Hua Cheng still viewed himself as below him, someone not ready or capable of being content
or equal to him. That would not change unless Hua Cheng got…whatever it was… off his
chest.

“I know what story I want to hear tonight.”

“Oh?”

“Mhmm. Grey Guard.”

Hua Cheng sighed softly. “It’s important to you, isn’t it?”

“It is, once I realised why you sought them out.”

Hua Cheng’s eye snapped to his. “Oh? And why did I do that?”

“Mmm. They said it in the Gathering, didn’t they? They always know where people are.”

Hua Cheng stared at him, face tight.

Xie Lian smiled at him sadly. “You asked them to find me, didn’t you?”

Hua Cheng looked away, jaw clenched. “In a way.”

“But they didn’t.”

Hua Cheng sighed through his nose. “It was complicated.”

“How so?”

Hua Cheng looked at him uneasily. “You really want to know it all? Are you sure?”

“Of course. It is my San Lang’s life.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it life,” he muttered.

Xie Lian prodded him. “San Lang. I’d like it. If you told me.”

Hua Cheng shifted. “I have to, anyway.”

Xie Lian frowned. “Why?”

“You told me we should no longer lie to each other.”

“What have you lied about?” he said, mystified.

“It wasn’t strictly a lie, gege. An omission, perhaps. It’s a theory I’ve had for a very long
time. I’ve never been able to prove it; I didn’t know how to tell you. And we have another
suspect we need to visit.”

“Prove what? About who?!”

Hua Cheng sighed.

“It’s a very long story. I can’t tell only one part without…all of it. Grey Guard is not the
beginning. It starts the second time I died.”

“Of course,” said Xie Lian simply. “I knew it must.”

“You did?”

Xie Lian's smile was fragile. “When you were Wu Ming… I know you obeyed me, when I
ordered you away back then. But…I was in that ditch for three days, before the man gave me
my hat. Before you finally came.”

Hua Cheng was avoiding his eyes.

“San Lang. Something happened to you, didn’t it?”

Hua Cheng clutched at him. “I would never have left you like that. I’m sorry.”

“I know, and you cannot be sorry for something that wasn’t your fault,” whispered Xie Lian.
He felt a painful throb. “White No Face. He hurt you, didn’t he?”

Hua Cheng kept his face still. “The pain was knowing you were in pain, Your Highness.”

“San Lang. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Hua Cheng pulled him closer.

“I think I want you to know it all.”

Xie Lian smiled, even as he was trembling a little. He knew what a huge thing that was, for
Hua Cheng to say. He reached for his hand, and kissed his palm.

“Thank you, my love. Take your time.”

***

800 years ago

Wu Ming watched with horror as his beloved stabbed himself with his sword.

Just moments earlier, he had pleaded with His Highness to let him unleash the souls of the
Xianle battlefield dead himself. He wanted his vengeance on Yong’an, for all they had done
to his beloved.

Instead, His Highness did the unthinkable.

“Your Highness! What are you doing, what have you done,” he cried, stumbling forward. His
arms were out, he needed to pull that sword out, what had he done-

“Go,” whispered His Highness, a drop of blood starting to pool at the corner of his mouth.

“Your Highness, I will not leave you-”

“I ordered you to go.”

Wu Ming fell to his knees. “Your Highness must know I cannot obey this order. Please. Do
not do this, whatever it is that you are planning.”

“I understand what I am doing, and I am doing it anyway. I must give them a chance.
Someone will save me. Even just one person. That is all I need, to prove that I should not do
this. I only need one person.”

“Your Highness-”

He was one person. Why could His Highness not let him be that person?

He bowed his head, as he knew the answer.

He was not enough.

Xie Lian spat blood on the floor, and looked at him, a final goodbye in his unwavering gaze.

“Go. Do not come back. It is my wish. It is my order,” he said, swaying on his feet as he
paled from pain.

Wu Ming stayed on his knees. In the end, His Highness was the one who left.

He trusted His Highness. He believed in His Highness. But he would not sit and watch him
be in pain.

He knew the world. He had lived for eighteen years, and the only person who ever truly
helped him was His Highness. Who would suffer, and cry out for days. He knew it to his
bones. No one would help him.

He would have to break his promise. He would have to disobey his orders.

He rose to his feet. He didn’t need to look hard. All he’d need to do was follow the trail of
blood.
Which was exactly what he was doing, when White No Face caught him.

***

He woke in pain, again.

His arms were still shackled above his head. White No Face watched him, still as stone, as he
had done throughout. How long had it been?

White No Face had not left, not even for a moment. He needed him to leave, so he could
escape. The fog cleared to awareness all at once. His Highness, he was hurt, he needed help-

“I can’t get over what a funny little ghost you are,” remarked White No Face, as if
commenting on the weather.

Wu Ming spat blood at him, which he dodged nimbly. The only thing funny was this idiot
thinking that more beatings would make him say a word.

White No Face crept closer, fingers outstretched to caress at his cheek almost lovingly. Wu
Ming snapped his teeth. The fingers were retracted with a shout of laughter, a clutch of a
stomach in amusement.

“A most loyal dog indeed.”

Wu Ming said nothing.

White No Face clasped his arms behind his back, and paced in front of him.

“If you’re wanting an update, it has been nearly three days. He is in so much pain. No one
has helped him. I think you and I are very alike, in that we know that no one will. ”

Wu Ming’s heart twisted painfully.

“I remember you, you know,” continued White No-Face, his voice a soft taunt. “I remember
your little fire in the Temple. If his destiny is to die soon, then your destiny is surely worse!
To watch him die. Over and over. And to not be able to do a single thing about it. A Savage, a
ghost fire… it matters not. You can’t save him.”

Wu Ming felt white hot, blinding fury. Coursing, rolling, uncontrollable rage.

But not at White No Face.

At himself.

How could he, even for a moment, have been so wretched? So wretched that White No Face
thought they were alike? Shame coursed through him. He had learned little in his time alive.
But what he had learned is that that his beloved was good, and true, and right.

Someone would help him. Not because he believed it, but because his beloved did.
White No Face leaned closer. A rattling breath came from behind his mask, as if he was
breathing in Wu Ming’s suffering.

Good. Choke on it.

White No Face sniffed, and jeered. “I do wonder. Why do you believe in him so much? I
personally can’t think of anything more pathetic. Yet here you are. Committed to being
pathetic.”

Wu Ming stared at him through the slivers of sight he had remaining in his bruised face.

And he began to laugh.

It was the first time he’d caught White No Face off guard. And it felt good. White No Face
twitched as he laughed, long and loud.

“You’re right. We are alike. We both find each other very funny,” he said, voice hoarse from
disuse.

“What could possibly be so funny about me?” he hissed.

“That you still don’t realise how pathetic you are. You really want to know why I believe in
him? Because I know he will defeat you,” he spat back.

It was White No Face’s turn to laugh.

“No. You believe in him because you love him, you utter fool. And he’ll never love you.”

Wu Ming said nothing. He didn’t need the love returned. He had enough to give for both of
them.

White No Face was never done. “Your beloved, he wishes he was dead. He is nothing. In a
ditch. Alone. All alone. And you think he is not already defeated? Truly, I must understand
the source of the delusion you both seem to share. This insanity knows no bounds.”

Wu Ming smiled humourlessly. He had said all he needed to say. Because in that moment, he
realised what he was now.

He was not a pleasure ghost. Not a revenge ghost. Not even just a mission ghost anymore. He
had more than one mission. His beloved was his first, his most important, always. But now,
White No Face was his second. He would never rest in peace while his beloved was still in
the world. But he would never rest in peace while White No Face remained either. What
could possibly stop a ghost with two missions?

Nothing. No one.

He would not perish if his beloved did, out there. Not straight away, at least. He would
become the first ever Supreme who wasn’t Kilnborn. He would simply explode into
Supremehood. Then he would wrap his arms around White No Face tightly, and pull him
down into death, real death, with him.
A surge of power ran through him. He felt his body change, like it had in the Temple. He felt
new. Stronger. But he kept it quiet. White No Face was arrogant. He would never believe a
Savage could defeat him. Just like he would never believe a broken man in a ditch could
defeat him.

White No Face chuckled.

“Oh, you think you can hide power from me, you silly boy?”

Wu Ming went cold.

White No Face chuckled. “I am older than any ghost. I am older than any God. And you will
never become a Supreme. Not without me.”

Wu Ming gaped at him. He strained at the chains. Just a little more strength. Just a little more.
Just a little stronger, then it would be enough.

White No Face reached out, and touched his chest. And in an instant, he felt all of his power
sealed. He had nothing.

The fingers reached out again, to touch his cheek, and were gone. A laugh lingered in the air.

***

In the end, White No Face always underestimated how much pain others could take. That
was his flaw. He was afraid of pain.

What would his beloved do? He knew that was the only way. To do what he would do.

Dislocating his arms was not easy. But one shackle finally slipped off. And he was free.

He ran to the centre of town. Every step was knives and glass and nails. It was too late. White
No Face was there, laughing, like always.

And his beloved was there.

Trying to help everyone.

Like always.

White No Face had sealed Wu Ming’s power. And yet, somehow, he still had some. He could
feel it in him. Not much, but enough. He knew how. White No Face had only sealed what
power he thought he was capable of having. And when he saw his beloved, he felt just a little
more. The part White No Face couldn’t touch.

He turned to his beloved’s shout, and smiled under his mask. Somehow, he felt that Xie Lian
knew.

He took the curse for his beloved.

What else could he do? There was simply no choice. To let him take that pain again went
against his very existence. He existed to take the pain for him. He had decided that long ago.

It was agony. It was singular, complete, excruciating, soul shattering agony. His own scream
seemed to rip him apart, as he felt his body disintegrate. He did not regret it. He had died
well. Better than last time.

But…he was not done. He couldn’t be, could he?

He felt himself fading. He felt himself becoming nothing. But the very last thing he heard
was the words of White No Face, talking about him. Still taunting, always taunting his
beloved.

“His soul has dispersed,” he said.

“How has it dispersed?!” came his beloved’s reply. His voice was different. Where before all
of this, he had been flat and deadened, he was now full of rage and pain.

White No Face laughed.

“He was cursed on your behalf. The souls of the dead you summoned have devoured him.”

Wu Ming was now nothing. But he held on, even though he was nothing, and he watched his
beloved do what he knew he would do. Win, and lose, all at once. The words spoken settled
in him as he faded into oblivion. He didn’t know how he was hearing them anymore, except
that he had to hear them.

He was dispersed. He held that knowledge, and he knew it should be true. But he did not
accept it, because he could not. He would not. Not while White No Face still lived. Not while
his beloved was still cursed. He was not done living, and he was not done dying. He would
do it as many times as it took.

***

Three things were said that day by White No Face and his beloved, on Wu Ming’s final day
conscious for nearly two centuries.

Those three things would define his next 800 years.

He would repeat them to himself. Every night, and every day, long before he realised he was
present, long before he had a body again, long before he could see or smell or hear or touch
again. Every time he faltered, he would remember them.

One: the taunt.

Two: the reply.

And most crucially, three: the mistake.

One.
 “If it wasn’t for your arrogance in defying the heavens, I never would have appeared in this
world. I was born by the will of heaven. ”

Two.

“If you represent heaven’s will, then heaven’s will should be destroyed!”

And the last. What White No Face let slip in the dungeon. Let slip, because he never believed
a Savage could possibly realise the significance.

Three.

“I am older than any god. I am older than any ghost. You’ll never become a Supreme without
me.”

Something was rotten in the world.

Something was bigger than all of this.

And he would not rest in peace.

***

Chapter End Notes

“He’s my best friend, he’s my pal, he’s my homeboy, my rotten soldier, my sweet
cheese, my good time kudo."
-Laszlo, What We Do in the Shadows

Just a quick note to state that the 'taunt and reply' quotes about heaven's will are canon,
from the end of book 4 (book 4 in the original novel layout, not the seven seas books):

They're kinda important. Basically inspired this whole fic.

 The Madam
Chapter Summary

Checking in on our God/Ghost crack teams, then... how Hua Cheng met the Madam

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

“San Lang. I’m so sorry,” breathed Xie Lian. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“I am not sorry, gege,” he said. It was true. “It was everything I needed to hear.”

E’Ming had inched closer to Hua Cheng throughout his tale. It was a funny thing. As if he
was protective of his Master. How silly. He wasn’t in danger, he was only talking.

“White No Face...was that how you figured out the connection to Mount Tonglu?”

“No. Not at first. That was all I had to go on, for a long time.”

"Of course. He didn't make it easy. But...when you said we needed to visit another suspect…
you mean him?”

“Of course.”

“But…Jun Wu is suppressed. Under the mountain.”

“Yes.”

“But?”

He sighed. “There is more, gege. A lot more.”

Xie Lian gave a small smile, and kissed him softly. He’d not moved from his arms, and
looked to have no intention of doing so. In fact, Xie Lian looked up at him the exact same
way he had before Hua Cheng started telling him everything.

Which was…wonderful. And quieted something in him, just slightly. E’Ming was purring,
though stilled when Hua Cheng threw him a ‘get it together’ look.

“Gege…” he murmured. “It’s late. You need rest. We have much to do in the coming days.”
“Mmm,” agreed Xie Lian sleepily, wiggling closer into his usual sleep nook against his chest.
“Tell me more tomorrow night, San Lang. I always like to hear you talk.”

***

In the morning, Hua Cheng was having difficulty detaching his fingers, grazing them at Xie
Lian’s waist and hips and arms with every pass across the room to fetch bowls and cups and
such.

Xie Lian didn’t seem to mind. It was Hua Cheng's attempt at reassurance after the whole
thing last night, when he stopped instead of continuing. It had taken all of his strength to stop.
He’d had to double over outside and gasp to collect himself while he was ‘fetching water for
tea.’

He had not expected this. It seemed an odd reversal for Xie Lian to want more than he did.
Well. Not more, exactly, of course Hua Cheng wanted it all. But not at the risk of
disintegrating. That would spoil the mood slightly.

Washing the dishes later on, Hua Cheng stood behind Xie Lian, pressed against him and
holding his hands in the soapy water. Xie Lian seemed to like it when he was extremely
trapped and surrounded, so Hua Cheng trapped and surrounded him.

Hua Cheng was the one doing all the actual washing; essentially using Xie Lian’s hands as
tools, which was just as well since they kept slipping otherwise from Xie Lian’s
distractedness.

Hua Cheng dropped his head to place a kiss at the join of his neck and shoulder.

“Grey Guard will come soon,” he said reluctantly, swaying slightly with him.

“Mmm,” hummed Xie Lian. The last moments of peace. He wasn’t thinking about it so
much, oddly. He was just hoarding the moments.

They stayed like that until the water was cold, and Xie Lian’s fingers pruny.

“My apologies, Your Highness,” murmured Hua Cheng, raising his hand to kiss each of the
finger pads.

“Mmm,” agreed Xie Lian vaguely, eyes closed.

“Ready?” said Grey Guard from behind them.

They started apart, Xie Lian clutching at his heart.

“Don’t you knock?” demanded Hua Cheng.

“Why would I knock? I was already inside,” said Grey Guard lightly, standing by the table.
Their hair seemed sprightly today, moving around the fruit bowl as if it was curious about it.
“Do not do that again,” snapped Hua Cheng, glaring and reaching for Xie Lian’s hand to
reassure him.

“Let us go,” said Grey Guard, already looking around.

“Where?” enquired Xie Lian curiously.

“I have already deposited our test subjects at the Doors.”

“And I have butterflies stationed with each, gege.”

“Oh! Alright. But we should probably check on them, bring them a few supplies, since they
can’t move?”

“That is fine,” said Hua Cheng, arms folded and eye on Grey Guard.

“I will deliver you to them. But keep in mind I am not your servant, Hua Cheng. That has
never been a possibility, as you know,” said Grey Guard, cocking their head.

Hua Cheng narrowed his eyes. Xie Lian looked between them in confusion.

“Uh…alright, then, let’s go.”

“I assume you have not Realmwalked with a demon guard before, Your Highness?” asked
Grey Guard.

“I…well, no,” said Xie Lian, eyes flicking to Hua Cheng for reassurance.

“It can take a little adjustment. Here,” said Grey Guard, holding out what looked like boiled
sweets.

Xie Lian took them awkwardly. “Are these spiritual power candies? I uh, shouldn’t need
them,” he said modestly.

Grey Guard shook their head. “No. These are just so your ears don’t pop.”

“...”

Hua Cheng rolled his eyes. “We don’t want you stepping away too quickly and ending up 300
miles away. Just stick close to me, gege.”

“Oh, yes,” nodded Xie Lian. “I was going to do that anyway.”

Hua Cheng stifled a smile. “Who first?”

“Your horrid cousin may need a few reminders of the stakes, Your Highness,” said Grey
Guard.

Xie Lian sighed. “Very well.”

***
Xie Lian had used portal arrays many times. He had also jumped between the Heavenly
Capital and the Mortal Realm, and strolled between the Mortal and Ghost Realms, many
times. He narrated this somewhat nervously, almost as a question.

Unfortunately, the answer was… “I’m sorry gege. Realmwalking feels quite different.”

Going instantly between places with Grey Guard was wildly unpleasant. Grey Guard would
simply raise their hands, and the world would start to shift. Hua Cheng’s ears really did pop,
and it felt like he left half his stomach back in the cottage.

Hua Cheng gripped Xie Lian firmly as they stumbled forward, noting that the ground under
his feet was now unstable, and the light blinding-

“WHY IS IT SO FUCKING HOT HERE-”

Ah. Yes. His butterfly had indicated Qi Rong’s Door was in the desert.

Lang Qianqiu and Gu Zi were already looking red and bored sitting on the cracked, sandy
ground. Some wooden practice swords lay by Lang Qianqiu’s side, forgotten- clearly an
attempt to make this a training experience.

“Careful, gege,” said Hua Cheng in concern, as Xie Lian swallowed his obvious queasiness
and straightened, blinking and shielding his face against the bright sun.

“Can’t we get them some shelter or something?” said Xie Lian, concerned. “Gu Zi shouldn’t
burn.”

“Not much point. This Door is very tricky. It moves a lot,” shrugged Grey Guard, scales
winking in the sun. "I will know, when it moves, and escort these three to its new location
each time. Should only be a few hours.”

Hua Cheng looked around, grumpily squinting at the sun.

“San Lang…I guess I thought a ‘Door’ would make itself obvious. At least…something? A
ripple?” Xie Lian asked quietly.

“I can sense it, gege. It’s over there,” he said, waving to the left. The Door felt like a quiet
whisper to come closer. It wasn’t malicious. More like the itch of a thought half remembered,
a forgotten task.

“This is fine,” he grunted. “Let’s go to the next Door.”

“Oh…wait, is there…is there no news of how long this will take?” asked Lang Qianqiu
hopefully.

Xie Lian clearly felt rather sorry for him. “Uh…no, sorry Your Highness. We are only just
beginning here.”

“I see,” he sighed. “Well, Gu Zi, that’s alright. We shall have plenty of extra time for you to
study your calligraphy and mathematics.”
Gu Zi looked at him for a long moment, and blew a very wet raspberry.

The box cackled. “Good one, son!”

Gu Zi’s face brightened immediately. “Thanks, Daddy!”

Xie Lian pinched between his eyebrows.

“I’ll bring you some toys to play with next time, Gu Zi, how is that?”

Gu Zi nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you, Scrap-Fucker!”

“...”

The box laughed so hard it briefly levitated. “THAT’S IT MY SON, THAT’S RIGHT, JUST
HOW DADDY TAUGHT YOOOoooooooooo-”

Hua Cheng punted the box so far into the air he didn’t even hear the thunk when it landed,
hundreds of mi away. Ah, what a shame. He could have kicked far further if he’d really lined
up the shot. Too impatient, as usual.

“DADDY!” yelled Gu Zi, scrambling up and starting to sprint in the direction of the crater.

Grey Guard sighed reproachfully. “I’ll have to go and fetch him back, now.”

“He’s close enough,” argued Hua Cheng.

“Not for this.”

“Fine,” said Hua Cheng, rolling his eye.

Xie Lian shook his head as Grey Guard disappeared with a pop to get him.

“San Lang, we should probably, you know, commit minimal violence on Qi Rong. In front of
Gu Zi at least,” he said heavily.

“That was minimal violence, gege.”

“Mmm,” said Xie Lian fondly, gazing up at him. Hua Cheng very much wanted to quickly
kiss him, but Lang Qianqiu was still staring at them expectantly. Xie Lian instead cleared his
throat, and gave a wan smile. They all looked at each other in awkward silence.

“Well. Nice to have a bit of variety in a day, isn’t it?” said Xie Lian hopefully.

“Yes, Your Highness,” sighed Lang Qianqiu miserably.

Once Qi Rong was back, hacking and retching sand from the lid every few seconds, Xie Lian
gave him a lecture about taking this seriously and staying near to the Door at all times or he
would come back and let Hua Cheng kick him again.
Grey Guard beckoned at them with a long finger. “The next one,” they said. Hua Cheng took
Xie Lian’s hand again and moved towards Grey Guard determinedly, and it happened again.
The jolt, the world-shift, the nauseating readjustment.

Hua Cheng could hear wind through trees.

He opened his eye, and saw Feng Xin and Mu Qing both glaring irritably at him, clearly
taking a break from doing the same to each other. They stood near a wood cabin.

Hua Cheng frowned. They looked…dishevelled. Unshaven, and with rips in their clothes,
like they had both fought and been here longer than one night. They were clearly having a
bad time. Good.

“Why are you both here? Didn’t you say one per Door, Grey Guard?” Xie Lian asked,
confused.

“Ah. Yes, there are two Doors here. These Doors are sweet on each other, so they like to stay
close,” said Grey Guard, looking around with mild interest and sniffing the air.

“Where the fuck have you been?” demanded Feng Xin.

“...Eh? We only saw each other yesterday!” said Xie Lian, putting an arm across a snarling
Hua Cheng to stop him from throwing knives. “We’re checking in, like we agreed! It’s only
been one night and you two already look like this?”

“What?! We’ve been here a week!” said Feng Xin indignantly.

“...What?” said Xie Lian.

“Oh, yes, that’s right. By the way, time is a little bit funny like that, when Doors are too
close,” said Hua Cheng casually.

Mu Qing’s eyes bugged out. “You mean we’re being forced to stay here for…for SEVEN
TIMES LONGER than anyone?”

“FUCK! WOULDN’T THAT BE SOMETHING YOU COULD HAVE MENTIONED

EARLIER?!” thundered Feng Xin.

“Wait a minute, where are Banyue and Black Water?” mused Xie Lian.

“I…” Feng Xin’s head whipped round. “Wait…”

Mu Qing rolled his eyes. “They’re over there in the hut.”

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian strode over. He Xuan was fast asleep, snoring. Banyue was wedged
into the corner with her hands over her ears.

“General!” she breathed, hands lowering. “You came!”

“Oh, sorry Banyue, it seems there’s been a bit of a mix up with the timing of this one…”
“They’ve been arguing for days,” she whispered, eyes hollow. “I…don’t understand what
they even have to keep saying after that long…”

“Ah,” coughed Xie Lian. “Yes, I…well, I’ll try to have a word with them,” he said, rubbing
his forehead.

He Xuan awoke with a snort. “Whazzappenin?” he mumbled, rolling over.

“Oh! I didn’t know you could wake!” said Banyue tremulously.

“Have you been asleep for a week?” asked Xie Lian curiously.

“How should I know,” mumbled He Xuan, rolling over and going back to sleep. Hua Cheng
shook his head. Terrible company, as usual. And definitely hungover.

Xie Lian sighed. “Grey Guard,” he called over his shoulder, turning and making a choked
noise of surprise when he realised Grey Guard was only inches behind him. Hua Cheng’s
hand darted out and stopped a hair’s breadth from Grey Guard’s throat.

“Come that close again, and I’ll snap your neck,” he said lightly.

“Testy,” they said vaguely. “Your Highness? No, to your question.”

“Eh?”

“You want to ask if there’s a way to avoid them being in this timeplace. No. But I have had a
wee chat with the Doors, and asked them to not be quite so amorous. Time will still move a
little slower for now."

“I…well…alright then,” said Xie Lian weakly. “How did you know that was my question?”

“Like I said. These Doors make time a little strange.”

Hua Cheng pulled at Xie Lian’s elbow irritably. The only being that could make him pull Xie
Lian toward Mu Qing and Feng Xin was Grey Guard.

“Is everything going alright?” said Xie Lian hesitantly, as they reached the two of them.

Mu Qing rolled his eyes. “No,” he grunted. Hua Cheng was amused to note he had pine
needles in his hair.

“We brought food!” tried Xie Lian, offering a sack containing buns, vegetables and some
melon.

Mu Qing’s face went still in the way it did when he was attempting to remain nonchalant.

“Go on,” said Xie Lian encouragingly. “You two must be starving. Maybe that’s why you’ve
been fighting so much!”
Mu Qing paused, hand half outstretched to the bag. “No,” he said petulantly. “It’s because he
keeps encroaching on my Door’s territory!’

Feng Xin writhed in frustration. “We’re in the SAME. FUCKING. PLACE.”

“Clearly not, according to the Doors!”

Banyue, who had come to the door hopefully at the sound of things quieting for a moment,
sighed and slunk back inside.

“Oh, honestly you two! Can’t you just not worry about such a silly thing?” huffed Xie Lian.

“Yes, agreed your Highness, Mu Qing’s argument is a silly thing,” said Feng Xin pompously.

Mu Qing’s eyes bugged out.

“What- no, that’s not-” tried Xie Lian weakly.

“Silly thing is it! I drew the line between our Doors, the least you could do is respect it!”
raged Mu Qing.

Hua Cheng glanced at the ground. There was indeed a sad line in the dirt.

“I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR LINE!” roared Feng Xin, touching his toe over it
and back multiple times aggressively.

“YOU-” Mu Qing launched himself at his throat, and they became a whirl in the dirt.

“I- oh dear-” huffed Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng took his hand. “I don’t think we can do much more here,” he said, attempting to
school his face to not look so thoroughly pleased.

“Mmm,” said Xie Lian, eyeing him. “Let’s just…leave them be.”

“You wish to go?” said Grey Guard loudly.

“I- well,” said Xie Lian in a hush. “Maybe, we just make a dash for it and leave them to it-”

“Ah. No farewells, an intentionally awkward human exit. I understand,” nodded Grey Guard
sagely. “Very well, let us proceed.”

“Wait, wh- you’re leaving-?” gasped Mu Qing, before yowling at the foot in his eye, but it
was too late-

The world shifted, tilted sky to earth, and root to tree once again.

Hua Cheng could hear waves.

They were by the sea. It was overcast with a warm wind, and the ocean mouthed at the shore
gently. The little beach was stony, dotted with rock pools.
“Well, good afternoon sweet peas,” said the voice.

The Madam was watching the sea, sitting in an open silk tent on a small sand dune. It was
quite luxurious actually, filled with comfortable cushions. She was reclining with Sooty in
her lap and a goblet of wine in her hand. Hua Cheng shook his head fondly. Sooty did quite
enjoy The Madam.

“Mrrow?” Sooty questioned, tail up high as she stalked towards them.

“Yes,” Hua Cheng concurred, picking her up for an ear scratch.

“Good day, Madam. Um…just confirming, we saw each other yesterday, yes?” said Xie Lian
tentatively.

The Madam cackled. “Oh, who got the Doors that mess with time? Please tell me it was the
Green Goat.”

“Sadly, no,” drawled Hua Cheng, amused, as Sooty batted at his braid in greeting. “Mrrrow?”
she asked. “I’m sorry, but I can’t always be at the Manor,” murmured Hua Cheng in apology.

“What was that San Lang?” said Xie Lian, amused.

“Nothing,” he said quickly.

A splash behind them indicated that Grey Guard had walked directly into the ocean and now
looked to be crouching in an attempt to catch a fish. Hua Cheng sucked his teeth. He would
not be acknowledging that.

“Yes. It was yesterday that we saw each other, Your Highness,” continued the Madam, eyes
twinkling. “And your martial boy is sulking over there somewhere,” she said, pointing
vaguely over the dune.

“Pei Ming? Why is he sulking?”

“Silly child. His attempts at seducing me went…quite poorly indeed.”

Pei Ming slunk over the dune, a very dark red outline of a hand still imprinted on his face.
“Thought I heard you,” he mumbled.

Hua Cheng perked up. Oh, excellent. Time for a little fun.

“I thought we told you to stick with your assigned ghost at all times,” he said slowly,
narrowing his eyes.

The Madam winked at Pei Ming and waggled her eyebrows. He ignored it.

“I…I’m close enough, for whatever happens. I have my own tent. Keeping it strictly
professional, after all.”
“I’m afraid that’s just not good enough, General. You must stay no more than a few mi away,
for urgent assistance if necessary."

Sooty hissed at Pei Ming, who had a very sour look on his face indeed.

“Fine,” he grunted. “I’ll…bring my tent over.” He trudged away.

“HEY!” yelled something from the water, with a splash. They whirled around, Hua Cheng
gripping at Sooty with one hand as the other flew to E’Ming in his scabbard-

He was treated to the absolutely magnificent sight of Grey Guard being slapped in the face
with a sleek tail fin. Apparently every insufferable fool here was getting slapped. Good.

“UNHAND ME-” yelled…

Hua Cheng squinted. Was that-

Wild Wail’s sleek brown skin rippled out of the water as they swam closer to shore, before
waddling out in sea lion form.

“Oh! Hello!” said Xie Lian, looking unsure as to how to greet Wild Wail.

“Greetings, Ghost Kings!” they said, as Grey Guard waded out of the sea behind them,
looking annoyed.

“Do announce your visit, next time, Wild Wail” they said smoothly. “I had to assume you
were here for nefarious purposes, hiding in the water like that.”

“I’m here for the booze!” boomed Wild Wail. “And to watch The Madam smack that silly
fertility god upside the head again. HILARIOUS.”

“Um…Pei Ming is a martial god, not a fertility god,” coughed Xie Lian.

“Why do I always smell so many of his children in every human settlement then?”

“...”

Hua Cheng stroked Sooty happily. He was fine with how all of this was going.

“Now now,” called the Madam, not having moved an inch. “Wild Wail is just keeping me
company.”

“So no trouble, nothing felt?” said Xie Lian. “Here’s some food,” he said brightly, depositing
the bag. “Not that you need it,” he said sheepishly as The Madam got to her feet and began
cutting up some delicious fruits she’d obviously brought herself.

“Oh, we’ve plenty dear. Here, you have some fruit. Realmwalking can really take it out of
you. Best to keep your sugars up.”
She walked out and handed him a bowl of cut fruit. Xie Lian waved his hands. “Oh, no
madam, I mean- The Madam, madam, that’s quite…you keep it for yourself, mada- I mean,
The Madam!”

She chuckled. “Nonsense! You’re wasting away, skinny little thing. Even worse than your
Ashgiver here.”

“I- Ashgiver?”

Her eyes flicked between Hua Cheng and the ring around Xie Lian’s neck. “Mmm. Eat the
fruit.”

Xie Lian blinked, and began to obediently munch.

Hua Cheng caught her eye in warning. She winked.

She turned and walked back to her tent. “No problems so far,” she announced. “Not a hint of
anyone near us. And you know I’m quite hard to sneak up on, don’t you Hua Cheng! Quite a
lovely place to be, actually. I certainly lucked out compared to the others, if two of them have
the time Doors.”

“Mmm,” said Hua Cheng. “Lucky.”

As if he would have let Grey Guard take her anywhere other than the best location. That was,
at least, the one thing on which they could agree.

“So you’re both well?” she asked, matter of fact, picking up her goblet again and helping
herself to a few grapes.

“Yes,” said Hua Cheng curtly, eyes on Wild Wail, who was now sprawled on the shore
sunning their enormous hairy tummy. Grey Guard had wandered into the sea again.

“Bit of an unfortunate interruption for you two lovebirds,” she said, shaking her head
ruefully. “But that’s how it goes, I suppose. Don’t worry, sweet peas. We’ll figure this out and
you can shut out the world with each other in no time.”

Xie Lian was turning quite pink. “Ah…well, we thank you.”

“No, thank you! My sweet boy has never had such a spring in his step! It’s lovely to see.”

Hua Cheng was feeling a little warm himself. “Well. Best we be going then, since you’re
suitably entertained,” he said pointedly.

“I am!”

“We’ll check in on you another time. Arrays don’t seem to work well so close to Doors,
they’re fuzzy. But my butterflies work alright.”

“Of course,” she said simply.

Hua Cheng reached out to graze at Xie Lian’s fingers. “Let’s go, gege.”

Grey Guard appeared behind them, munching on a dripping wet fish. “Back to your cottage?”

“But…isn't it-” asked Xie Lian, looking up at the sun. “Oh!” he gasped, realising it was about
to set.

“The visit to your ex-servants’ Doors took several hours, gege.”

“Oh! I see… well. That’s the day gone then,” he said, ruffled.

“Very well. Let’s go.”

Xie Lian was quite green by the time they got back to the cottage. Grey Guard dropped them
outside it this time.

“What do you wish to do tomorrow?” Grey Guard asked, glancing around at the chickens and
ox, which the Ghost City attendants had delivered back there this morning.

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian exchanged a glance. “Time to start asking questions, I suppose,”
said Xie Lian, gulping air as Hua Cheng rubbed his back.

“Mmm,” agreed Hua Cheng.

“Alright. Do you wish to Realmwalk, or portal array?”

Hua Cheng sighed. “We will need to Realmwalk for at least one of them.”

“San Lang?” asked Xie Lian.

“Unless you know where Shi Qingxuan is, Your Highness.”

He deflated. “No. No one has heard from them in a while.”

Hua Cheng folded his arms. “Then we will require your assistance,” he said shortly.

“Which I will graciously provide,” lilted Grey Guard. “Tell me, is your chicken for sale? It
looks juicy.”

Xie Lian’s eyes widened. “No! Nan Feng is for eggs! She’s a good chicken, not for eating!”

Grey Guard sighed. “I see.” They raised their hands in farewell, and disappeared.

Hua Cheng smiled. The two of them alone again.

Xie Lian swallowed as he straightened, looking up at him. “Well…I suppose I should see to
the animals. I need a bit of air.”

Hua Cheng held his gaze, just to be a flirt. “Good idea gege. I’ll help you. And then what’s
for dinner?”
“Oh, am I cooking then?” said Xie Lian, hands on his hips.

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows. “Only if you allow me the pleasure of sampling your golden
culinary touch, gege.”

“You must be a better cook than I am, San Lang.”

“Nonsense.”

“You really prefer it if I cook?”

“Of course. No one else has ever cooked for me,” he said, before stopping short. Oh. That
had…slipped out. He hadn’t really meant to tell him that.

Xie Lian was open mouthed, seemingly deciding what to say. “Well then,” he said softly. “In
that case, I’ll always cook for you, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng ducked his head, no longer able to flirt. “Hmm. I’ll go and feed the chickens,
gege.”

“Mmm. Brushing time for Grain Master.”

***

Later on, Xie Lian was eyeing him in that knowing way. They’d eaten and washed dishes and
touched a lot. Any excuse.

They were settling to their mat, in their usual way. Hua Cheng still marvelled that they had a
usual way. That he got to hear the many snorts and snuffles Xie Lian made throughout the
night against his chest.

Xie Lian faced him, still with that slightly smug look on his face.

“So. You haven’t kissed me tonight.”

Hua Cheng opened his mouth, but said nothing.

“Are you that afraid of me?” said Xie Lian, teasing.

Hua Cheng gave him a longsuffering look.

“You know it’s not that, gege.”

“So even kissing is too much?” Xie Lian honestly looked like he was having a lot of fun.

Hua Cheng’s eye twitched. “No,” he said irritably.

“Oh?”

This couldn’t stand.

He snaked an arm under Xie Lian and flipped him on his back. He lowered the length of his
body down to pin him, very slowly. “No,” he repeated, attacking his neck.

“...” said Xie Lian.

It was torture, to pull himself off him eventually. Xie Lian had parted his legs around him,
and his night robe was thin. Thin enough for Hua Cheng to feel through the fabric that the
skin of his inner thighs was probably even softer than his neck.

How he wished he was kissing that skin too, biting it. Xie Lian was hard again. Hua Cheng
had nearly lost his mind last night, when he realised. It was also the moment he realised he
would need to stop, because if he ever saw him unclothed and wanting him like that…

Xie Lian lay panting for a while. Hua Cheng blinked slowly at him, unwilling to tear his gaze
away. If he couldn’t keep going, then at least he could keep looking. As always, Xie Lian
reddened under the weight of his gaze.

“No, don’t you blush at me like that, gege,” he whispered, darting back in for another kiss.

Xie Lian shook his head as if in a daze. “I’m not trying to.”

“Exactly.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were doing this just to tease.”

Hua Cheng’s chest heaved in delight. What a very…Hua Cheng thing for Xie Lian to say.

“I thought gege would enjoy being teased.”

Xie Lian made several grumpy noises. “Mmm,” he eventually concurred, before steeling
himself.

He curled towards him on his side. “Perhaps we shouldn’t be so distractible anyway.”

“Hn. We have important work to do.”

“Indeed. And you have a story to finish.”

Hua Cheng sighed, accepting the change in subject. “It’s still a very long story.”

“Is any of it something I have to know before tomorrow? I can stay up as long as it takes.”

“It can wait, gege. We have time. And like I said, everything is still just a theory. And no, you
will not stay up all night. Realmwalking is very hard on the body,” he said, eyes flickering
down said body. It looked quite well, to be fair.

“I don’t mind at all. And I know which part I want to hear tonight anyway.”

“Oh?”

“The Madam.”
Hua Cheng bowed his head in a smile, tracing circles on Xie Lian’s outstretched wrist.
“Funny you should say.”

“Why?”

“Well…she was kind of the next part of it all anyway.”

“You’ve known her a long time?”

“Yes,” he said, taking a deep breath. “The longest.”

Ruoye crept out of Xie Lian’s sleeve and circled a few times on the mat, as if getting settled
to listen. He breathed a laugh.

“She was my first ally.”

***

Six Hundred and Thirty Nine Years Ago

When Wu Ming first regained a body, it was only thirty one years before Mount Tonglu
would open again. It was already rumbling. Something in the power of the place wrenched
him out of his slumber, like it was reminding him he couldn’t oversleep. A primal pull.

When he eventually stood, shaky on his newly discovered legs, he decided.

He now had a deadline. So he would do what he needed to do.

Find his beloved, or become a Supreme. Whichever came first.

He still called himself Wu Ming, in his heart. But he began to go by many other names, to
others. Wu Ming no longer wore the smiling mask. He couldn’t alert his enemy to his
presence.

So he wore bandages, or a ragged eyepatch. He’d learned often as a child that people look
away from things they find ugly. He was happy to use that.

For the first ten years, he wandered the world, looking for any hint of his beloved, and
killing. He needed the power. Only evil people, of course. But he never took any credit.

If anything, he would spread rumours that others had made the kill. He needed to throw
White No Face off his trail, in case he came back. If White No Face appeared in the next
Kilnslaughter, he would not be strong enough to take him. So he hid in the shadows.

Killing didn’t seem to make him as powerful as it was supposed to, like it did for other
ghosts. He would get surges of power from the kills, sometimes, but they never lasted long.
He knew why. Killing had never been his reason to be here.

He was not strong. He barely even qualified as a Savage anymore; he hovered more at the
level of Malice. Maintaining a body was hard. Sometimes he would revert to a ghost fire, to
save power. But he had work to do. And he had been asleep for far too long.

He was relentless, yet aimless. He never even came close to a whisper of Xie Lian. He
travelled through hundreds of cities and towns, sitting in inn after inn trying to hear
traveller’s tales of a man who fit his description. He chased down a thousand leads that all led
him to nothing.

He felt the tendrils of doubt spread through him, dark veins of hopelessness crawling down
towards his heart.

He had taken on the curse of ten thousand souls, after all. Perhaps this was the nature of his
curse: to never find him.

The day the doubt changed was when he met The Madam.

He’d heard of her, of course. Who hadn’t? But she was not what he expected. She was out on
a solo kill that day; back then, The Maid had not yet been born, and Slicer was still reluctant
to work with others. Wu Ming sensed her power from several li away; and unlike the many
other small ghosts (and humans) fleeing in the opposite direction, he decided to walk towards
her.

He never figured out why. He kept to himself, those years. He wasn’t looking for anyone, or
anything, but his beloved. He looked every day and trained every night to amass his power
and strength. Look, train, kill. Those were his only goals.

He hid in the dark and leaned against the alleyway as she made short work of a man who’d
killed someone she called ‘one of hers.’ She was expedient, and ruthless. A true mission
ghost. One could always tell- their power always surged the more they progressed in their
calling.

She hung the man up in an alley, after, and wrote on him in blood: “Just a Piece of Meat.”

Wu Ming appreciated her style. The local sex workers in Xianle had been the only people
halfway kind to him when he was a child. He’d lived on the street outside a brothel for a few
years, after his mother died. Sometimes he would run messages for them in exchange for
food.

He wondered what to say. She knew he was watching, and he knew she knew. She
straightened up, and dusted off her hands in the manner of a hard day’s work. She was
immaculate; not a drop on her.

She spoke first.

“Do you want the kill, or me, dear?”

Wu Ming paused. “Neither.” He was not one of those repulsive scavenger ghosts who liked to
lick at recent kills.

She turned to him. Her face was shrewd, assessing.

She was certainly many hundreds of years old already, maybe even a few thousand. The
Heavenly Capital had a god of brothels, but The Madam? She was who the workers really
prayed to. Her power was deep, and absolute. Being in its presence made him bow his head
instinctively.

“What is your purpose in the world, my dear?”

His mouth fell open.

The question staggered him. He had never been asked something so direct. And he had not
realised he had been waiting, desperately, for someone to ask.

“I have a beloved still in the world. I need to find him.”

She cocked her head. “No.”

Wu Ming frowned. “I assure you, it is the truth.”

She shook her head. “Not all of it.”

He was quiet. “There are other things I need to do. Questions I have about the world. But I
don’t know where to begin.”

In his heart, he had wanted to answer them with his beloved, together. But the longer he went
without a trace, the more he realised: he was going to do this alone. And he had no idea
where, or how, to start.

She nodded, eyes flickering over him with interest.

“What is the biggest question, for you?”

Wu Ming should have left. He trusted no one. He had only just met this woman. For all he
knew, she was a spy for him.

Instead, he said:

“Who is White No-Face?”

She inhaled sharply.

A long quiet settled in, between them. She watched him. He let himself be watched.

Eventually, she nodded.

“Finally, someone is asking the right questions.”

***

It was The Madam who turned him in the right direction, and pointed. She was the one who
gave him hope that his questions had answers. But it was not easy. She was not forthcoming,
saying nothing of White No-Face, except: “He was older than me. I know it.”
Her age had given her a kind of exasperating, maddening patience. Wu Ming wanted to stride
forth, run ahead, but she didn’t let him.

“You aren’t strong enough, dear. You keep thinking finding your man is the only way, but you
can’t find him without strength.”

“I am strong,” he retorted. He trained constantly, every day.

“I do not mean your physical strength. You are good at killing. So are thousands of ghosts.
Has your strength got you your answers?”

Wu Ming stared petulantly at the table. She had unfurled a scroll in front of him, a scholar’s
account of the tale of White No Face. It was short. Very little was known, except his sudden
appearance and apparent mission to torture the entire Kingdom of Xianle.

“How is this silly scroll going to help me? I met him. I was there. I don’t need this,” he said
dismissively.

“Your beloved. Is he a learned man?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Yes. Very intelligent, and learned.”

“Well. Then learn, like him. You cannot get answers by being a brute.”

Wu Ming twisted his mouth. He had in fact got most of his answers that way, and it was
effective.

She looked at him amused, like she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Let me tell you a secret of my trade. The things people tell you, when you’re hurting them?
Worthless. Lies or half truths, always. But the things people tell you when they want to please
you? When they want to impress you? When you’re a beautiful thing they want to look at?
Oh, the things they’ll let slip on a pillow…now those secrets are gold.”

He bristled. “I will not be doing that.”

She cackled. “Saving yourself? How sweet. Well. If seduction can’t be your game, then
you’re going to have to be impressive in other ways,” she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
“Like being learned.”

“I don’t see the value.”

“Oh, sweet one. You’re trying to distract me. You cannot read, can you?”

Wu Ming stiffened.

“I…can read some.” Not much. Education was hardly a prospect for him in his life.

She cocked her head. “Most ghosts around here can’t read. It’s nothing to be ashamed of,
dearie.”
“I just…sometimes the characters, I-” he took a reluctant breath. “I read them wrong. I mix
them up.”

She nodded calmly. “Happens to plenty of people. I struggled with that myself, when I
learned. As a ghost, mind. Never given the chance in life either. But I can assure you- you
will get your answers faster if you can read. With what you’re up against, you need to know
everything you can, about every one you can. You can’t wander the world forever. You need
information. And you need to know what it says when you get it.”

Wu Ming bowed his head. “But I will not find him that way.”

“What makes you so sure?”

He swallowed. Every time he realised it, it was a knife in his heart. He would never stop
looking. But to find a cursed God as his own wretched self, born under the Star of Solitude?
He really wondered. Would he fade away one day, thousands of years from now, from the
failure alone?

“I am cursed. To never get what I want. I think it is my destiny to never find him. But I have
to look, always. I can’t give up.”

She watched him for a moment. “Then don’t you see? Someone else will have to find him.”

He jerked, his neck cracking as he whipped around to stare at her.

“What?” he said slowly.

“Don’t find him yourself. Find the person who can.”

Wu Ming mouthed soundlessly. But…

“I trust no one.”

She sighed sadly. “You’re going to have to, my dear.”

Wu Ming sat with that for a moment. He could feel a fizzing, a tingling down his spine as he
realised that she was right. It would be the only way. But he had never asked anyone for help
before.

He cleared his throat.

“I…will do anything you want me to. If you help me.”

The Madam smiled. “Why would you think I want something from you?”

Wu Ming could not shake his suspicion. “Why are you helping me?”

She shook her head. “Maybe what I want is what you can give me, by letting me teach you.”

Wu Ming frowned. “Why?” he said stubbornly.

She laughed. “Because when you’re my age, seeing a ghost who wants something like you is
a breath of fresh air. I want you to get what you want. And I think if you do, bigger and more
interesting things will happen, that will affect us all.”

Wu Ming opened his mouth to ask what on earth she meant, but she cut him off with a steely
look in her eye.

“Right. We start with the basics. Never mind calligraphy, you’re hopeless. We start with
character recognition and figuring out how to deal with the mix-ups. You will read to me out
loud every scroll I have in my collection. You will ascend as a God of Literature when we’re
done.”

Wu Ming rolled his eyes. He’d seen some of the Gods of ‘Literature.’ He would not be
spending another minute in their presence unless it was to beat them all to death with a book.

He exhaled through his nose, feeling a surge of determination.

“Begin.”

***

Wu Ming was a diligent student. The many humiliating hours of stumbling over his words as
he read to the Madam were very motivating for him to improve. Once he got past the
interminable stage of being just… bad at something, he realised he liked to read. He liked to
feel that he understood the world more. It felt like he had more control.

Another five years passed without a trace of White No Face. Without a trace of Xie Lian.
And without a trace of even one half decent ghost he could trust.

It was maddening.

Until one day, he was studying in The Madam’s library. She had quite a collection. And he
found it.

The Realms were separated long ago, and the borders are now guarded by Demons. The
borders are their own intelligence, a powerful spirit. They exist to self-sustain. There are
many examples of Realm Doors. Among the more famous are the timebound Doors, such as
the one on Zhongyuan Festival. More mysterious is the timebound Door around Mount
Tonglu, which opens at inconsistent intervals to allow the birth of a new Supreme.

He stared at it. And then went to find the second oldest ghost he knew, after White No Face.

“How old is Mount Tonglu?” he demanded, as she meditated.

She cracked an eye open. “Do not interrupt me, child.”

He fumed, and went to pace outside until she was done.

She floated to the door serenely.

“If you mean the Kiln, it’s older than I am, but not by much.”

He was ready to jump out of his skin. “Then what was there before?”

She nodded. “Yes. I know. Him.”

She glided over to make some tea for them. He kept pacing, speaking aloud.

“White No Face is older than Mount Tonglu. So what is Mount Tonglu, if it hasn’t always
been? How did it become the way ghosts achieve Supremehood? Were there no Supremes,
before?”

She shrugged. “I do not know. I’ve only attended one opening, myself,” she said, pouring the
tea.

Wu Ming stopped, and turned on his feet. “You’ve been? I thought you hibernated!”

“I do, now. Once was enough. I don’t enjoy killing for killing’s sake. And you’ve seen the
monsters that have come out. That Reverend of Silly Words or whatever it is called- a
repulsive little thing.”

“And the Ghost of Yi Nian bridge, in the last opening,” he said slowly.

“You know that one? Strange Supreme. It wasn’t particularly interesting.”

Wu Ming said nothing. He did not want to tell anyone, including the Madam, who his
beloved really was. The Ghost of Yi Nian Bridge was the reason Xie Lian ascended.

The Madam continued. “No one paid that one much mind, here. It was a powerful enough
ghost, but not so much that anyone was surprised it was defeated.”

Wu Ming thought carefully. He now had eight years left until the next opening.

“Why can no one get to it, except when it opens? Why is Mount Tonglu its own Realm?”

“I do not know.”

“I have read all of your scrolls now. Every single one. None of them mention how the Kiln
was made, or why it was made, or how it became the centre of who rules our entire Realm!”

“Why do you think this matters so much?”

“Because he said he was older than any ghost. Which means he is older than Mount Tonglu.
If he became a Supreme before it… how did that happen?”

“Hmm. I see your point,” she said thoughtfully. “But he isn't older than any ghost,” she said
offhandedly.

“What?!” demanded Wu Ming.

“He probably meant any human ghost, because he’s arrogant. But no one is older than Wild
Wail.”

“The…the shapeshifter?”

“Mmm.”

“They’re not even a Supreme!” he said hotly.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Why are you so focused on Supremes? I told you. There are
Savages that are plenty powerful, just not as stupid as you need to be to go to the Kiln.”

“I have to go to the Kiln. I have to be a Supreme.”

“Why?”

“Because he said I couldn’t.”

She scoffed incredulously. “You cannot possibly be that proud.”

“It is not about pride! ” he grit out, frustrated. “He was certain. He was certain when he said I
could not become a Supreme without him. So think about what that means.”

She frowned. “You’re not saying…

“Every single Supreme was created by him.”

She raised her brows, and steepled her long-nailed fingers together.

“It’s a theory,” she said eventually.

“No. It is what he said.”

She sighed. “You’re placing a lot on the trustworthiness of what he said.”

“He didn’t mean to tell me that much. I know it.”

“So why would you go, if you know he will never let you win?”

“Because it’s the only way I can win. The only way I win is if I can do something he didn’t
mean to happen. I am going. I have to investigate, find out what that place really is. Who he
really is.”

Her eyes flickered. “You are saying that White No Face has ruled the Ghost Realm for
thousands of years, without anyone knowing?”

“Finally, you get my point-” he said hotly, before stopping short.

She narrowed her eyes infinitesimally.

He cleared his throat. “I am sorry.”

She took a while to speak.

“You will never speak to me like that again, sweet one.”

He nodded. “I- I know.”

She drummed her nails on the table. “You need to meet Wild Wail.”

***

Wild Wail took a while to find. The Madam had business elsewhere, but knew enough to
point him to the forest where they were last seen. He wandered within it for weeks. It was
boring, and cold, and a waste of time. That is, until he found them on the full moon, by virtue
of an arrow being buried in his shoulder.

“HAHAHAHA! Excellent. I always like the ones who dodge in time. That was meant for
your throat, young one,” said the voice.

Wu Ming gasped in pain as he wrenched the arrow out and dropped it in the slow, blooming
red in white. He had been warned about their voice. It was dry leaves and a snow flurry.

“I’ve come to talk to you, Wild Wail.”

“Silly human. I will be making stock from you. ESSENTIAL FOR GRAVY.”

“The Madam sent me.”

Silence.

“Well why didn’t you SAY SO!” boomed the voice. They stepped out from the tree. A
Mongolian wolf padded heavily over to him. They shifted instantly to an owl, and flew away
through the trees.

“FOLLOW ME, GRAVY BOY!”

Wu Ming tried not to stare, as they reached Wild Wail’s cave. It was certainly an animal’s
den, but it was also an elaborate craft workshop. Weapons, carvings, tools from human
bones… a bubbling pot of stew that smelled very good but he would definitely not be
partaking in.

“What does The Madam’s boy want?” asked the owl, perched on a stalagmite.

He steeled himself. “I want to ask you about history.”

“History?” they barked, now a wolf again, pacing the den before circling to curl up on the
stone floor.

“How old are you?” Wu Ming ventured.

Wild Wail seemed to give a big wolfy grin. “Older,” they panted.
“Older than Mount Tonglu?” he said quietly.

Wild Wail cocked their head. “Of course I am.”

Wu Ming felt a thrill of adrenaline hit him. This was what he had searched for. Proof.

“What was our world like, before?” he said quickly.

“Our world?” said Wild Wail strangely. “How funny, that you should say our.”

Wu Ming bowed his head. “Whatever it is that you have to say about before, I want to know.”

“Why?”

He had tried to come up with an answer to this question for months. All he really had was:

“Because I think something is wrong with everything.”

Wild Wail chuffed a breath through their nose. “Yes, I see why The Madam likes you.”

They began to lick themselves unabashedly. Through mouthfuls of fur, they spoke. “You ask
of before the Mountain? It has been a very long time. Hundreds upon hundreds of human
years. Before, there were even more humans around; all of the lands and forests had humans
claiming it was theirs."

Wu Ming frowned. How could there have been that many humans that long ago?

"But I remember a big eruption in that place. The sky was dark and glowing for weeks.
Animals fled. I felt many of them scream, and burn.”

“When?” he breathed.

“Before.”

“And before…who ruled Ghosts, and spirits? How did one become a Supreme?”

“You are asking the wrong questions.”

Wu Ming felt a trickle down his spine. “Were there Supremes at all?”

Wild Wail panted. “Humans. You are manipulators of balance. That is what you do in this
world. Spirits like me, I exist only because I correct the scale you have placed weights on.”

Wu Ming frowned, trying to understand. He changed tack.

“If there was a person,” he began quietly. “Who had been cursed, forever, to be the most
unlucky man in the world…how could that be reversed?”

Wild Wail barked a laugh.

“Reversed? No, silly boy. You haven’t listened to me. I told you. Balance.”
Wu Ming thought about that one for a long time.

“You are saying that where there is bad luck, there must be good?”

“SILLY HUMANS AND THEIR LUCK. One day you find nice berries, another there are no
berries. That is the way. But you are not satisfied with this! So you change it. Weights on the
scale. But nature curves towards a rebalance, in the end.”

Wu Ming felt the trickle of understanding turn to a deluge. He shook his head in a daze. “You
mean…if there is an unluckiest man in the world, there must be...someone who has
manipulated that fortune?”

“OF COURSE. WERE YOU DROPPED ON YOUR HEAD? SO SIMPLE. That kind of
fortune cannot exist in nature.”

Wu Ming breathed in the damp, earthy scent of the cave. He sat motionless as the waves of
understanding hit him. As he finally, truly understood what had happened to his beloved.

Xie Lian was not cursed to fall from grace because he touched him, the unlucky child born
under the Star of Solitude.

White No Face did it. White No Face put weights on the scale.

Wu Ming touched his face, confused. It was wet from tears. He had not known how much it
meant to him, to realise it had not been him who cursed his beloved to such pain.

And White No Face was still doing it. He was alive somewhere. Every moment of misfortune
that Xie Lian had, White No Face was watching.

Wu Ming knew what he needed to do, now. White No Face did not beat his beloved with
strength, or intellect, or knowledge, or noble grace.

He was a cheat.

Fine, he thought, feeling acid rage build in his stomach.

Two could play at that game.

If White No Face was going to cheat, so would Wu Ming. He'd become the greatest cheat
ever known. He'd manipulate fortunes, load the deck, trick the dice. He'd become the luckiest
man in the world.

His beloved's balance. His fortune's counterweight.

“Old One,” he said, rising to his feet and bowing. “Thank you. You will hear of me, soon. I
will be a Ghost King after the next opening. I hope you will not fight me, though I will bring
imbalance to the world.”

“Or perhaps you will correct it. So many thousands of years of luck, that one has amassed
now. It will not be easy, to tip that scale.”
 “A single grain of rice is all I need.”

Wild Wail decided to bay and howl at the rising moon for a while.

Wu Ming bowed once more, and made his way to leave.

“You are on the right path, boy. But perhaps you should consider…what will your cost be?”

***

Chapter End Notes

"Kud-os? Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew."

-Samwise Gamgee

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Kilnbirth
Chapter Summary

We're getting to the end of flashback chapters now, only one more after this! Plenty
more twists and turns to come.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Another quiet, fresh morning came to Mount Taicang. Xie Lian was astonished to realise as
he woke that it had only been one month since Hua Cheng returned. It was getting colder. He
could hear the crunch of frost under Grain Master’s hooves as he moved around outside.
Inside, however, he was warm.

He remained fascinated with the properties of Hua Cheng’s skin. Cool, yes, but it absorbed
warmth. Wherever Xie Lian had been nestled against him, Hua Cheng held that heat. It was
perfect. He was never too hot, and never too cold. Xie Lian’s exact own body heat, reflected
back.

It also made getting up very undesirable. He could feel that Hua Cheng was awake, but he
preferred to keep his eyes closed, and his head buried. He liked to rub his nose in the v of
exposed skin above Hua Cheng’s nightshirt.

Hua Cheng’s touch was slow and lazy. He usually attached his fingers to his waist each
morning, and dragged them along the fabric of his inner robe as he stroked, bunching it.

“Gege,” he rumbled.

“Mmm.”

“We must get going. We have much to do today. Suspects to interrogate.”

“Mmm. You mean rule out,” yawned Xie Lian into his collarbone. He doubted Shi Qingxuan
or Ling Wen were doing this. He just knew somehow. This felt more complicated than a
grudge.

He shifted a little closer to Hua Cheng and looked up at him as he raised his arms in a stretch,
arching his back into him in a curve that brought their lower bodies flush together. Xie Lian
tamped down on his blush upon realising Hua Cheng was hard, again, as he seemed to always
be in the mornings now.
Xie Lian did not find it easy or comfortable to be the one of them trying to take things…erm,
further. But he would be lying if he said it was not a tiny bit fun.

Hua Cheng stared at him with a knowing look in his eye.

“Gege, are you enjoying yourself?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” said Xie Lian innocently. He was becoming used to playing with the
boundaries of what they both wanted. That confidence wouldn’t last a single second if things
went further of course, but this was slow and delicious.

Hua Cheng clenched his jaw and looked up at the ceiling, muttering something along the
lines of “death of me.”

Xie Lian hid his final smug smile against his shirt, and sat up.

“I suppose Grey Guard will be here at any moment?”

“Whatever moment is the most annoying moment, that will be it.”

“Mmm. Well then. I’ll make you some breakfast, San Lang,” he said rising to his feet and
taking the blanket with him, cocooned around his shoulders. The floorboards were frigid and
bitter under his bare feet.

“We can have some leftovers, gege, you don’t have to go to the trouble-”

“I like to make food for you,” he replied simply. As if he would ever not cook for his San
Lang, now that he knew he’d been the only one to do so. He felt his ears warm as he began to
boil some water to steam some buns. Or fruit perhaps! He should cut his San Lang some
fruit.

Arms snaked around his waist and a heavy head fell on his shoulder. A cool nose burrowing
into the blanket behind his ear made him wriggle slightly at the ticklish feeling. “San Lang,”
he hummed indulgently, just to say his name.

“Mmm?” said Hua Cheng, hands briefly detaching to tighten the blanket around him more
securely. “Are you warm enough, gege?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” smiled Xie Lian. His eyes were fixed on the pot, though he didn’t
remotely notice the tell tale bubbles and fizz of an imminent boil-over.

“Are you sure?” whispered Hua Cheng in his ear, voice honeyed. Xie Lian felt a warmth
emanating from him, radiating through the blanket, and hummed.

“Heating again, San Lang?”

“His Highness should never be chilly.”

Xie Lian opened his mouth to protest that he was absolutely fine, and it was thoroughly
unnecessary, and scold Hua Cheng for being distracting. Instead he just closed his eyes and
leaned into him, letting his head fall backward against Hua Cheng’s shoulder.

Ruoye ribboned lazily out of Xie Lian’s sleeve, floating down to prod E’Ming at Hua
Cheng’s hip, before she flew up shyly to circle around Hua Cheng’s neck in greeting,
nudging at his ear with one end. Xie Lian’s heart bloomed as he felt the standard rattle of a
very happy E’Ming. Ruoye had never done that before.

Naturally, Grey Guard knocked a few seconds later.

“It is time,” they called. “Hurry along.”

Hua Cheng let out a long, irritated sigh.

“Told you,” he said flatly.

“Come in,” called Xie Lian. “I’m not ready yet.” He still hadn’t cut his San Lang his fruit.

“Gege?” said Hua Cheng.

“It’s fine! Grey Guard can wait a few moments. I don’t want you to be hungry today,” he said
firmly.

Hua Cheng let him go, and watched with amusement as Xie Lian stomped around, making
sure Hua Cheng’s snacks were ready for the journey. Hua Cheng thoroughly ignored Grey
Guard as he shrugged on his full robes. They stood outside the doorway, peering in
indifferently.

“Alright,” Xie Lian said a minute later, slinging a tied bag around his shoulder. “We’re
ready.”

“You should be ready when I come. I do not enjoy waiting,” said Grey Guard, arms folded
and hair fluffed in irritation.

“Would you like a piece of melon?” said Xie Lian hopefully.

Grey Guard mouthed as their hair perked up. “I…alright then,” they said, accepting the bribe.

“Alright. Take us to Shi Qingxuan, please,” said Xie Lian politely.

Grey Guard’s normally placid face looked almost amused. “Has your Hua Cheng told you
how unusual it is for me to acquiesce to such a request?”

Xie Lian kept his gaze fixed on Grey Guard as Hua Cheng clicked his tongue. He refused to
react to the way Grey Guard jibed at Hua Cheng.

“Nope!” he said happily. “Let’s go.”

***
Shi Qingxuan visited him once in the cottage around four months ago, but Xie Lian had lost
track of them since then. They were on the move a lot.

They arrived with a lurch on the outskirts of a dusty city. Hua Cheng donned plain black
robes today, not that they could dull the air of power and sheer handsomeness wafting from
him.

Xie Lian looked around, straightening and trying to get his bearings over the waves of
nausea. He had an iron stomach. It took quite a lot to make him feel sick. He’d hate to think
how awful Realmwalking must be for anyone else. In fact, if someone wasn’t an immortal,
would their body even be able to take it?

“They’re here?” he questioned.

Grey Guard nodded, gaze sharp. “My accuracy may be low, but we are in the right area.”

Hua Cheng narrowed his eye. “Why is your accuracy low?”

“Because this human’s heartname fluctuates. It is changing. That makes them harder to find.”

“Heartname?” asked Xie Lian hesitantly.

“Yes,” stated Grey Guard, walking off without elaborating. Hua Cheng rolled his eye as they
set off behind them.

“Heartname is the name one calls oneself in one’s heart, gege. That’s how Grey Guard finds
people. For most, heartnames are just the name they were given. For others who come to
despise their name, or feel it cannot fit their true self, it is different.”

“Hmm,” he said, troubled. So Shi Qingxuan so despised their past they no longer even held
their own name dear? Poor soul.

The city appeared to be decently sized, a few thousand residents perhaps. They headed for the
centre, where flapping banners and streamers indicated market stalls were being set up for the
day. The sun had only just risen, bathing the square in orange.

Grey Guard paused. “They are near,” they said, sniffing the air.

Xie Lian stood on his toes to look around, under and above each stall. Hua Cheng stuck by
his side.

“Can I help you find something sir and - uh-?” trailed off the vegetable seller, eyes fixed on
Hua Cheng. Xie Lian frowned. Surely of the three of them, Grey Guard was the stranger
one…

“They cannot perceive me, Highness,” said Grey Guard serenely. “Easier for situations such
as these.”

“Oh,” said Xie Lian with surprise, before shaking himself and turning back to the seller.
“We’re after a person- not from here. Probably barefoot, a bit…eccentric, some would say,
but very friendly! Um...they have a bit of a lame leg and arm, they have gone by Ol’ Feng
before?”

“Ah, Ol’ Feng?” said the seller happily. “Yes, they help out my cousin sometimes with fish
selling. They should be- oh, there they are!”

Xie Lian whipped around. Shi Qingxuan was stopped at the other entrance to the market,
holding a box of fish.

Their expression was shocked. Xie Lian sighed internally. How he missed the days where he
could just talk to them in an array. It certainly made things less…confronting.

“Hi,” breathed Xie Lian awkwardly. Hua Cheng’s eye flickered over Shi Qingxuan with
interest.

“You’re back!” they exclaimed at Hua Cheng.

“Nothing could keep me away,” he replied idly.

Shi Qingxuan grinned. “Come on. Buy me a hot meal then.”

Shi Qingxuan eyed Grey Guard as they walked. “Am I supposed to not be able to see you?
No one else is looking at you.”

“I am happy for you to look upon me, as we have met before,” said Grey Guard mildly.

They all settled in a comfortable, empty tavern. This early, even the cook was still yawning
and slow, so they ordered simple congee.

“So…” said Xie Lian, wondering how to formulate the question: “Any chance your grudge
against He Xuan is so deep that you’d rather kill every ghost than ever face him again?”

“How have you been?” he asked instead.

Shi Qingxuan cocked their head. “Living simply. Seeing the world. Making friends wherever
I go. I’ve no complaints.” They raised their chin proudly. Almost defiantly.

“You are travelling?”

“I stay a month or so in each place, then move on.”

“Why is that?”

“I like to meet new people!’ they shrugged. “Though the way the poor are forced to live is so
pitiful sometimes! I never knew, when I was a god. Or I suppose I just didn’t want to pay
attention, like with most things,” they said, trailing off and staring at the table for a moment.

“Like…did you know that most of the poor don’t even bother praying to the popular gods?
They don’t have enough to offer, so the prayers never get answered!”
Xie Lian sighed infinitesimally. “So it has been for a very long time,” he said with regret. He
recalled being perturbed about the very same thing himself, when he too was cast down and
began to linger among the poor.

Shi Qingxuan seemed to be in the throes of similarly righteous indignation at such injustice.
Xie Lian, however, had quickly learned that nothing annoyed the poor more than a former
rich person being shocked.

Shi Qingxuan shook their head slightly. “So…what can I help you with?”

“Well…we’re having a few issues. With Realm Doors. And we wondered if you…knew of
anything,” he finished tactfully.

“Haven’t the foggiest,” they replied as the owner deposited their bowls of congee. “Why?”

Xie Lian paused. “Well...the Doors are the ones between the Ghost and Mortal Realms. And
it’s affecting the most powerful ghosts the most.”

Such as their betrayer and brother-murderer, He Xuan.

Shi Qingxuan simply blinked. “Okay. Strange. Shouldn’t you know how to stop that?” they
said baldly to Grey Guard.

Grey Guard flexed their fingers irritably around their tea cup. “I am doing all that I can.”

Shi Qingxuan nodded. “Okay,” they repeated, nodding. “Well, I’ve heard nothing. But I have
a lot of friends in many places now. I can put feelers out.”

“We would appreciate that. And I’m not surprised you have so many friends, Shi Qingxuan.”

Shi Qingxuan went still. “I don’t go by that name anymore. Please don’t call me that,” they
said softly.

Xie Lian mouthed. “That’s…fine. I understand. What do you prefer now?”

“Anything but that. But Ol’ Feng is fine.”

Xie Lian nodded gently. “That is fine. Ol’ Feng it is. I didn’t mean to remind you of it all.”

They made a face, then shrugged. “It’s alright. I’m learning a lot. There’s so much more to
experience about human life than I ever knew, all sheltered away in the heavens!”

They beamed as Xie Lian marvelled. Nothing ever kept them down for long.

“I know all the best sellers if you want some market food! Oh, and Hua Cheng, why do you
keep rubbing my leg? Do you want something?”

Hua Cheng straightened, eye briefly chastened. “Uh…never mind. Wrong leg.”
“Well Xie Lian is right here! Why don’t you just ask him what you want, no need to be so sly
about it- Xie Lian, you really should scold this Ghost King every so often, his behaviour
really is too familiar sometimes-”

***

“So…what do you think?” asked Hua Cheng, eye flicking to Xie Lian as they left the city
gates.

Xie Lian shook his head. “Ol' Feng isn’t deceptive, or manipulative. It’s just not their style. I
just don’t think they're the grudge type.”

“Mmm. Agreed.”

Grey Guard wandered along behind them along the dusty cobblestones. Xie Lian was briefly
discomfited to note they did not leave footprints.

Xie Lian sighed. “San Lang…”

Hua Cheng’s lips quirked. “The Heavenly Capital. I know, gege, I’ll go with you.”

Grey Guard interjected serenely. “You do not need my services to reach the Capital?”

“Um...no,” admitted Xie Lian. “I can get us there just fine.”

Grey Guard gave a sharp nod. “The strangest of the Human Paths.”

Xie Lian shared a confused glance with Hua Cheng, who returned a bitchy eyeroll.

“Human Paths?”

“Your paths. Living, Death, Ghost, and Godhood. Demons do not have these paths.”

“You don’t?” said Xie Lian, interested.

“We do not become gods. We do not subscribe to it- to divide demons up in such a way, into
followers and gods…I do not know which is more pathetic. To blindly worship, or to live for
the adulation of beings you consider beneath you. Strength is what matters to us. And
demons do not become ghosts. We welcome the finality of death.”

“I would too, if I were you,” muttered Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian chewed at his cheek. “It’s one way of looking at it,” he said tightly.

Grey Guard cocked their head. “But you do not agree?”

“No. I do not consider people who pray to me to be beneath me. On the contrary, I am their
servant.”

Grey Guard’s eyes glittered. “Surely you do not actually believe that.”
“I do. I am stronger than them. That does not mean better. I have met many people I admire
who had no possessions, no strength, nothing. I do not want adulation. I want to grant
prayers, whenever I can, to make life a little more bearable for those who will never have the
choices you think they have. Humans do not have it so easy as you think. Choices are usually
just an illusion crafted by the powerful.”

“You are the powerful. Are you not an example of what humans desperately want?
Immortality, power, godhood?”

Xie Lian chewed his cheek, thinking. “Actually, I think godhood is what humans think they
want. It’s ghosthood that shows what they really want,” he said decisively.

Grey Guard raised their brows as Hua Cheng watched Xie Lian silently, a small smile playing
on his lips.

“That is an interesting perspective,” they conceded eventually. “I will leave you now. I must
inspect the Doors. And Hua Cheng, please stop attempting to hide butterflies on my person.”

“Please stop randomly showing up when a simple message would suffice then,” retorted Hua
Cheng.

“As ever, you do not give me orders, so stop wasting your breath,” said Grey Guard,
disappearing unceremoniously.

Hua Cheng sucked his teeth in displeasure. “Well. Finally. Let’s go.”

“Mmm.” Bringing Crimson Rain Sought Flower up to the Heavens would not win him any
points, but to leave his side was unthinkable. “You hold on to me, this time then,” he said
affectionately.

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to fall. Hold me tight gege, I’m frightened,” said Hua Cheng, eye
dancing.

Xie Lian grumbled as he slung his arms around his waist, and pulled him up into the sky.

They appeared in the grand causeway. The new Heavenly ‘Capital’ was still under
construction. The most popular gods' palaces were prioritised first, naturally. He could see
Pei Ming's palace glinting golden and massive, prominently placed near where the old great
temple used to be.

Xie Lian looked around. “Well. I suppose we’ll find her in the records r-”

CLANG. Xie Lian’s hands jerked up to cover his ears.

“THAT DAMN BELL AGAIN-” yelled someone down the long, main street leading to the
new Great Martial Hall.

“MAKE IT STOP! I’LL DO ANYTHING-” cried another hysterically.

Hua Cheng chuckled evilly, tugging Xie Lian’s hands down. “Sorry gege. Just wanted to
announce myself. I’ll keep it quiet while you’re here, I don’t want to hurt your ears.”

Xie Lian looked up at him, exasperated. “How often have you been ringing that thing?”

“Whenever I fancy a bit of fun.”

“So constantly, then.”

Hua Cheng winked. “You do know me, gege.”

Xie Lian puffed a breath he would absolutely not acknowledge was a laugh, and moved
along, tugging Hua Cheng’s hand along with him. Hua Cheng was obviously in a cheeky
mood today.

A few Middle Court officials were congregating in the street, looking around in shock as they
looked upon Xie Lian and Hua Cheng approaching. Xie Lian swallowed, hand twitching.
Hua Cheng squeezed his hand, and let go, surprisingly. Xie Lian glanced at him with
gratitude.

“Gege is a professional,” he whispered, waggling his eyebrows. Xie Lian cleared his throat
and rubbed the back of his neck where he could feel it flushing.

The rest of the officials were openmouthed. “Wh- Your Highness, to what do we owe the- we
haven’t seen you around these parts in…and um, and you, well-” said one, trailing off at eye
contact with the Ghost King.

“And you, well,” was quite a polite way to say “He is a Ghost King, he isn’t meant to be here
at all and we’ve most likely spent days on wards to specifically keep him out.”

But these were Middle Court officials, and they didn’t fancy their temples being burned
down.

Xie Lian cleared his throat awkwardly. It had been a while. Thirteen months, to be precise.

“Yes, hello. It’s good to see you all!” he lied, not having the faintest idea who any of them
were. “Ah, where can we find the new records library?”

A braver one of them pointed, eyes fixed on Hua Cheng.

“Thank you!” said Xie Lian graciously.

Hua Cheng waggled his fingers in a goodbye, pouting slightly as he and Xie Lian fell in step.

“Something wrong, San Lang?”

“On second thought, I don’t like not holding your hand gege, what if I get lost?”

Xie Lian exhaled. “I thought you were trying to let me be professional? And it’s already a
bit…much, to bring you here.”
“Oh. But I thought you like it when I’m too much, gege,” he said, eye fixed on his face.

Xie Lian gasped and choked slightly, face warming. He absolutely couldn’t think about any
of that right now.

He reached the records hall and poked his head inside. Ling Wen was there in her dark robes,
guarded by two soldiers who looked impossibly bored, as she worked through towering and
teetering piles of scrolls.

“Your Highness!” she called, straightening up and wincing at the crick in her neck.

“Hi! Ling Wen. Um, long time,” he said, chewing at his lip.

Ling Wen stared at him for a moment, gaze flicking between him and Hua Cheng.

“Mmm,” she concurred. “You need something?” she said, gesturing to the scrolls.

“Ah, a catch up and a discussion would be nice. Perhaps you can take a break? We can have
some tea?” he said hopefully, noting the dark circles still under her eyes.

The guards shifted and looked at each other.

“I can supervise,” said Xie Lian firmly. “You won’t be required.”

“Yes, sir,” they saluted, taking their leave and closing the doors behind them. Xie Lian was
surprised. He normally had to work quite a bit harder to be listened to.

“Ling Wen. When will your sentence be up?” asked Xie Lian curiously.

“Ninety nine more years or so,” she said moodily, rising and cracking her neck.

“I see.”

She stared at him. “Are we going to your palace, Your Highness?”

Xie Lian blinked. “Ah.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know where it is, do you?”

“Truthfully, no?” he said, scratching his head.

“It was one of the first rebuilt,” she said carefully.

“Oh. Well. They needn’t have troubled themselves,” said Xie Lian with a grimace.

They stayed in the library. Tea was served at a low table.

“So,” she began. “I’ve seen the check-ins from the martial gods. I presume you’re here to
interrogate me.”

“Ah, well-”
“Just so,” smiled Hua Cheng sweetly. “Neither of us have time for nonsense, and you surely
know what it happening, so let’s get straight to threats. If it is you, stop now, and your head
will be spared.”

She smiled back just as sweetly. “Surely if you are dead, your head-removing skills become
moot?”

“Why would you think I was referring to myself? There are two of us here, and I am the
lesser power.”

Ling Wen’s eyes darted to Xie Lian, who choked on his tea and coughed.

“I see,” she said. “Well, as you must have observed, I am both occupied and under guard
here.”

“What a waste of your talents. You would do much better in my employ.”

“Then I’d be no less your puppet than if I were one of your dancing girls. You misunderstand
me,” she said, eyes hardening.

“I don’t think I do.”

“Oh?”

“You don’t want to work for anyone at all. You want something that’s yours, entirely.”

Ling Wen kept her face neutral, but her eyes changed. She said nothing.

Xie Lian had mostly observed this exchange open-mouthed, and as ever, remained impressed
by Hua Cheng’s knack for…well, everything. Seeing through people especially.

He had given Ling Wen thought too; she was an interesting and powerful god, whose bad
side was a very bad side indeed. But he had never gone as far as to consider that she wanted
to lead.

She spoke eventually, fingers steepled.

“Whether or not you are correct, you nonetheless must realise that you cannot offer me that.”

“Maybe not. But at least you’d be better than anyone who came before.”

Her forehead furrowed in disbelief. “You would be in the minority, believing that. It is a
foregone conclusion that a martial god will run the capital. The only question now is which
one,” she said, eyes fixing on Xie Lian again.

Xie Lian shifted in discomfort. He couldn’t think of anything worse.

She exhaled slowly.

“You didn’t come here for this. Ask your question.”

Xie Lian smiled blandly, deciding after the baldfaced manner of the last few minutes’
discussions, there was no reason to beat around the bush.

“Are you shutting the Doors?”

“No,” she said amused, looking almost gratified at his directness.

“Do you know who is?”

“I’ve never heard of Doors shutting happening before. Only opening.”

Xie Lian lurched forward. “Opening? Wait…the six doors weren’t there from the start?”

“No. Strange timing to their appearances as well, from the ones I recorded.”

“Why!?”

Hua Cheng sighed. “I think I know, gege.”

Ling Wen smiled, satisfied.

Xie Lian’s eyes bugged out. He opened his mouth quickly to ask why he hadn’t said
anything, before shutting it.

No. He trusted Hua Cheng. He was telling him everything. And he wouldn’t let her distract
him.

Xie Lian nodded. “Alright. Well…I look forward to that part of the story, San Lang. Ling
Wen, I’m afraid I must insist that if you hear of anything, you tell me.”

She rose, and gestured to the scrolls. “I really do know nothing. And as much of a delight as
it has been, I regretfully must return to my work.”

“You do that,” said Hua Cheng sweetly. “Have fun now.”

She narrowed her eyes, and swept away.

***

Outside, Hua Cheng turned to him. “It was the next part of the story anyway, gege.”

Xie Lian exhaled in relief. “I believe you,” he said simply. Hua Cheng’s face relaxed,
shoulders loosened. He smiled.

“That’s good. And now we’re done for the day so soon, right? I can tell you all about it right
now, if you like. It’s been an eternity since I’ve held you.”

“It has been two hours.”

“Like I said. Eternity.”

Xie Lian grumbled as he stalked ahead to hide his enjoyment. Hua Cheng was starting to get
quite…spoiled. He liked it.

“Home?” called Xie Lian over his shoulder, realising as he said it how natural it was to use a
word he hadn’t used in eight hundred years.

Hua Cheng smiled. “Yes, gege. Home.”

***

He didn’t really think anything of it. It was barely noon, but when Hua Cheng told him his
stories, they were supposed to be in bed. So he made his way to the mat. There was a surprise
as he pulled back the blanket, though.

“Oh, Hello!”

Sooty was underneath, curled into a ball, purring as she looked up.

Hua Cheng eyed her. “She’s checking in on us.”

“What a good cat,” murmured Xie Lian, patting her as she stretched. “Oh! And what a nice
big stretch,” he praised.

Hua Cheng frowned at her. “You better not think you’re sleeping with us?”

She purred louder.

“Oh, why not San Lang? She’s doing such a good job guarding the Madam, and now us. I
should give her a treat. Maybe some smoked fish or eel.”

“Eel is her favourite,” remarked Hua Cheng unthinkingly, before blinking.

Xie Lian chuckled. “Calamity, scourge of the heavens, kitty lover.”

Hua Cheng ignored him. “Fine. But don’t let her sleep on the mat every day, or she’ll never
leave us.”

Xie Lian shrugged with a smile as he clambered in, unbothered. Between a Ghost King,
E’Ming, Ruoye and Sooty, his bed was crowded now, and he didn’t mind at all. He’d had
hundreds of years worth of a much lonelier mat.

“So,” he began. “The Doors.”

Hua Cheng ducked his head sheepishly. “Mmm. Again, gege…it was the next part of the
story anyway.”

Xie Lian settled, curling with Sooty between their two chests. She closed her eyes lazily.

“Go on then. The sooner you tell me everything, the sooner…” he trailed off.
He certainly couldn’t say the actual words. But he was sure it was working. Hua Cheng was
already looser, and freer with him. It was helping him, to tell his story. And- even though
much of it was painful for Xie Lian to hear- to know him this way was wonderful. Intimate.

Hua Cheng watched him knowingly. “Sooner what, gege?” he said, voice low.

Xie Lian huffed. “You know what. Off you go,” he scolded.

Hua Cheng chuckled. His arms snaked around his back, pulling him closer. Sooty cracked an
eye, briefly murring at the disruption, but given it smooshed her closer against Xie Lian’s
warmth, she didn’t protest much.

“Well. Where were we? Ah. Yes. My Kilnslaughter.”

***

Six Hundred and Fifteen Years Ago

He’d first discovered Grey Guard in a book, of course.

Then the Madam told him what she knew. He’d realised the potential immediately, and he
had a plan. Looking for them didn’t seem to work, so he waited until a night of a timebound
Door opening: Zhongyuan festival.

The night was pouring with rain when he spotted them. They were alone, strolling along the
street with their hands behind their back, face upturned into the storm as if enjoying it. Two
Malices ran past, mid-stabbing frenzy. Grey Guard paid them no mind.

They stopped not far from Wu Ming, and looked around expectantly, as if waiting for
someone. Wu Ming watched from the shadows a while, not wanting to be seen. Eventually,
Grey Guard spoke.

“Well come on out, then, you. You want something from me, ask.”

Wu Ming squared himself.

He emerged.

“Grey Guard,” he nodded, eyes sharp.

Grey Guard gave the hint of a smile. “I don’t normally come at anyone’s beck and call. But
your desire to see me has been quite intense, these past few weeks. Most insistent. Your name
is…oh! The borders know you by two heartnames. How unusual.”

Wu Ming swallowed his surprise. From what he knew of Grey Guard, surprising them was
not possible.

Grey Guard cocked their head. “What is it that you want, two-name?”

“I want you to find someone for me.”

Grey Guard gave a simpering laugh. Wu Ming hated it.

“No. I will not. And why would you think I would help you do that?”

“Because you can,” he replied. “If you will not show him to me in the Mortal Realm or the
Heavenly Realm…take me into the Dreamscape.”

“You are looking for a loved one? Do you think you are the first person to realise I know
where all reside? I will not help you. And finding someone through their dreams is a
dangerous folly.”

Wu Ming took a breath. “I am not looking for the one I seek through his dreams.”

He had done his research. Grey Guard had been asked before. They had never helped anyone
that way.

“Then whose?”

“I want to see the Borders’ dreams.”

Grey Guard’s face changed. They were silent for a while.

Good. If nothing else, Wu Ming had made an impression.

“You think the Borders have dreams?” they said quietly.

“Why would they not? They are their own powerful spirit.”

“You are asking for something even I have not witnessed. For something no one has,” said
Grey Guard. Wu Ming was sure he was not imagining their tone. It was uneasy, but…
interested.

“Then perhaps it is overdue,” he said mildly.

“You are weak. And tiny. You would never survive such an ordeal.”

Wu Ming bowed his head. “I want to make a wager.”

Grey Guard narrowed their eyes. “What odds could you propose that would be of interest to
me?”

“In the next Kiln opening, I will become a Supreme. When I do, you let me visit the Borders’
Dreamscape. In return, I will ask it the question you must surely want to know: who created
them, and why.”

Grey Guard threw back their head and laughed. “According to your own lore, there are no
human Supremes.”

Wu Ming’s eyes narrowed. That wasn't true. White No Face was human. “If it's so
impossible, take the bet.”
They cocked their head. “You’ll die.”

He gave a thin smile. “We will see.”

Grey Guard gave a slow smile. “No. I do not accept your terms. Not yet. You will have to
come up with something better. If you ever do, I will appear.”

They disappeared. Wu Ming stood in the rain a while longer. Seven more years.

He could wait, of course, for the next opening. No ghost so young had ever made it past even
the outer rim of the mountain. The Madam begged him to wait.

But he knew that would gain him nothing. He knew what answers he needed. And he had
never been a patient man.

The borders could dream of anything terrible, anything great. Most likely, they wouldn’t
dream of anything that he, a human, could understand. But maybe, just maybe, they would
dream of their creator.

Mount Tonglu was behind a border. Heaven was behind a border. The Mortal Realm was
behind a border. Dreams. Demons. Ghosts. All of it, segmented off. On purpose. By
someone’s will.

He had been circling it for a long time: the idea that White No Face controlled Mount Tonglu.
But it never made sense, until he realised there was no way to make sense of this one thing
unless it was about everything. White No Face could not control one border unless he
controlled them all.

“I would not be here, had you not defied the will of the heavens. I was born by the will of
heaven.”

A ghost, born by the will of heaven? A ghost older than all of the Realms?

No.

White No Face was more than just a ghost. And he would find out what, at any cost.

***

Six Hundred and Eight Years Ago

When Tonglu finally opened, Wu Ming had never experienced such savagery within himself.
He took the Madam’s advice, and barricaded himself inside her storeroom. He woke to see
his own fingernail marks in the stone.

The Madam did not bid him farewell. She had already told him that she would find it too
hard. She said only: “Be safe, my boy.” Wu Ming knew that she expected him to never come
back.

He made his way to the mountain. It was time.

The first few months were a haze, as he fought through the outskirts. He killed when he
needed to, hid when he needed to. He grew a little more powerful, but mostly lost it all again
from the effort.

He made his way across the territory, often underground. There was an interconnecting set of
catacombs and tunnels. He spent many nights alone, eyes fixed on the strange murals daubed
on the walls, in the flickering light of the fires he’d light just so he could study them a little
longer.

They seemed to show the fall of a kingdom. Of a god figure and his four masters, building a
bridge for his people. Wu Ming didn’t understand the tongue they were written in, but he
understood the pictures well enough. Mount Tonglu was not always a place of Kilnslaughters.
Once, it was a home.

Eventually, he came across them. The group of humans trapped in the mountain. He was so
weak by then. Merely a drifting ghost, barely capable of maintaining any form. But his
beloved would help these people, so he knew he must as well.

They were easy prey. A quick kill to brag about, for any ghost. Which was clearly the
objective of the horde of Malices who caught up to them, laughing at the silly flickering
ghost warning them to stay back.

Wu Ming had absolutely no idea why he did it.

He couldn’t possibly fathom the insanity that overcame him, once he realised that he had no
way to help them, nothing whatsoever to protect them with. Except one mad little thought
crossed his mind: that his horrible fortune could surely take all of those ghosts out with him.
Let his curse explode through them all.

So he dug out the part of him he’d always thought of as the origin of it all: his red eye, and
put every last bit of his fury into it. He woke up to a glowing scimitar at his side and a human
whispering ‘thank you’ as they fled from the carnage of a hundred mangled ghost bodies
cratered around him.

Grey Guard appeared as Wu Ming panted in pain, staring with his remaining eye at the blood
on his scimitar, which now looked back up at him with a ruby eye, trembling slightly.

“Where have you been?” he snapped. He’d been trying to summon Grey Guard to his side
since day one. They’d ignored his every call.

“Your proposal just got a little more interesting,” they said.

“My terms are the same. I become a Supreme, you take me to the Borders’ Dreamscape.
That’s all I want.”

“Ah, but you are about to ascend, two-name boy.”

Wu Ming stared. “What?” he whispered.

“Mmm. Any moment now. The Borders found your sacrifice worthy.”
Wu Ming swallowed. “I don’t want to ascend. I need to be a Supreme.”

An expression of interest flickered across Grey Guard’s face. “Why would you think that is
better?”

“It is my choice. Take the deal. If I become a Supreme, you take me there.”

“You have only proposed your half of the wager. If you do not become a Supreme?”

Wu Ming sighed. His life was not enough.

“You name the terms.”

“Eternal servitude.”

Wu Ming nodded once, wincing at the effort it took.

“You cannot stop ascension. And if you banish yourself, you will come back down here as
you are. Weak,” they said, lip curling. “Look at you. You won’t survive.”

“Yes I will.”

Grey Guard stared at him. “Very well. I will take your wager, now that I am certain you
cannot survive long enough to fulfil it. You fascinate me, two name boy.”

“I have your word on that?”

“If you become a Supreme, I will take you into the Borders’ Dreams. If not…I hope you
understand what you have done,” they called, through the ringing of his ears as he lost
consciousness. “Death is no barrier, to me.”

***

He woke in blinding bliss, a moment of singular pleasure so intense it was almost agony.
There was shimmering light everywhere.

“Welcome,” said a man’s deep voice, as he came to awareness in the golden throne room of
the Heavenly Capital. Wu Ming eyed him as his senses adjusted.

Jun Wu. The Heavenly Emperor. The one who banished his beloved, twice. And a crowd of
assembled gods. He recognised many of them. All of the most famous had gathered for him,
it seemed.

“Why did you interrupt me?” demanded Wu Ming.

A hush fell among the gathered gods, wide eyes and open mouths. No one spoke to Jun Wu
like that.

“I do not choose who ascends,” said Jun Wu delicately, with a tight smile. “I can see you
were certainly…busy, down there. But there is no need to chase Supremehood anymore. You
are a god now. You will be an Elemental god; the Fire Master. Tell me, young man…what is
your name?”

Wu Ming realised with a dull hum that his pain was gone. He could feel immense power
thrumming through his veins. E’Ming was rattling with it. He had never had power like this.
He could go anywhere. Do anything.

But as far as Wu Ming was concerned, this man was his enemy.

He was the Heavenly Emperor. He must know exactly who White No Face is. He would not
serve and bow and scrape in this man’s court. He would not accept a Heaven that saw fit to
reject and curse the kindest, most wonderful person who had ever lived.

The power was a lie. A silly temptation, a whispered promise that he could achieve his
dreams. But he couldn’t. This man could not be trusted. Nor could a single god here.

He took a deep breath. He should be careful to formulate his reply, in order to convey with
perfect clarity exactly how he felt about his offer.

“Nope.”

He jumped back down.

***

Wu Ming was near death. Real death. He could feel it.

He had spent the last days (weeks, maybe?) hiding. He could not let Jun Wu know where he
was, to pursue him for the insult of his descension. Better that he think he was dead until the
Kiln shut around him, and then? Well, he’d just have to wait and see what came out, like
everyone else.

The problem was, he was about to die.

The power he’d felt in the heavens was ripped from his veins the moment he jumped back
down, leaving him bleeding, injured and alone. The fever that took him a day later was
brutal. He’d crawled into a cave, and shivered uncontrollably. He had no idea for how long.

His scimitar was shivering at his side too. In a brief moment of lucidity he’d named it
E’Ming, in honour of his own disastrous fate. Far from an evil, commanding thing, so far it
seemed quite weak and pathetic. He could hear water somewhere inside, it pooled and drip-
dropped off the walls. The stone was smooth and cool, at least.

His remaining eye was closed. His right eye, or rather, the gaping wound where it used to be,
was now only a dull throb.

He thought of his beloved. He hoped he was somewhere safe tonight. Food in his belly, a
warm blanket to curl up underneath perhaps.
He cracked his eye open, and looked around the pitch black cave. E’Ming rattled at his side
and, unexpectedly, began to glow from his ruby eye, bathing the surroundings in light.

Wu Ming spoke to it, voice hoarse. “What are you trying to do? Get me up?”

E’Ming nudged at him hopefully. Wu Ming sighed. “I get it. You’re brand new. It would be
quite pathetic for your master to die.”

E’Ming gave a panicked shake. Wu Ming was too exhausted to scold it, but it would certainly
need some discipline one day. No one would ever respect a scimitar that acted like a sad
puppy.

Wu Ming glanced around the cave. He must be delirious. The light on one particular outcrop
of rock almost looked like…

No. He was just so tired and… and he wished that he could just see his face. Just once. It had
been so long. But no. It was just a rock.

He was embarrassed at his lack of courage. He’d already died twice, after all. Perhaps it was
fate.

But at least his second death was better. When he took the curse, he got to look upon his
beloved’s face as he was blown apart. To be alone again, like the first time… feeling himself
slipping away crushed under the weight of three other soldiers’ bodies... His throat was
closing up at the thought of it. Drifting away, unthought of, unwanted, alone.

He dragged himself up to a kneel, and crawled over. E’Ming trailed behind him anxiously. It
took a while. Maybe an hour to make it the length of ten strides. He lost consciousness twice.

He reached the outcrop. The shadows and the shape of it did look vaguely human. His halved
sight was still adjusting to the lack of depth perception, and in the blur, if he let his eye go
even more unfocused, he could pretend…

E’Ming rattled at him the second his eye shut again.

“Stop it,” he mumbled, cracking it open. “I…just need to sleep…”

A slice, a brief line of hot pain.

“Agh!” he said sharply, sucking in a breath. E’Ming had cut his hand.

“You-” he snapped irritably, before realising he was at least…fully awake now, this time.
E’Ming trembled. “Stupid thing, don’t ever cut me again!” he rasped, grabbing him by the
hilt and throwing him.

With his weakness, E’Ming didn’t go far. Barely glanced off the outcrop, actually. But a
small chip came off, and bounced lightly on the ground. Wu Ming stared at it for a while.

Well…he supposed he could…

He’d made a sculpture of him once before, after all. In the old little shrine he used to sleep in,
as a young teen. Back when his beloved was still a god, and yet still found the time to look in
on him, and save his miserable little life.

He remembered the little piece of fruit a phantom hand had thrown at him, urging him to eat,
to survive.

“Let me be your reason to live,” he’d whispered.

Wu Ming smiled helplessly to himself. If he was to die alone again, then he’d at least make
sure to die in a shrine to his beloved. And a shrine needed a likeness of its god.

E’Ming was more than happy to help him carve the stone. Wu Ming was shaky and feeble, so
it took what felt like days. At the end, it was rough and badly proportioned, but at least he’d
got his face mostly right.

If he died now, at least he'd be home.

He slumped to the floor. Yet as he looked upon the finished product, he realised that the drag
of unconsciousness was no longer bleeding in and out of his vision. He, if anything, felt the
tingle of a tiny amount of spiritual power, in his meridians.

He stared down at his wrists. How could that be? He’d killed no one, done nothing…

He looked upon his beloved’s face for a long time.

He knew he had to get up. The Kiln had not shut yet. Battles were still raging amongst many
ghosts. He had heard some go past, here and there. But it was getting quieter.

Those of them who had made their way to the Mountain were all exhausted and wounded,
like him. They needed time to recuperate before trying the Kiln. Those that forged ahead
were dropping like flies.

But maybe…if this one statue had given him just a little bit of power to go on…

He really was a mission ghost, wasn’t he?

Killing wouldn’t get him to the Kiln. He would only get there by being a most devoted
believer.

***

Ten years later, the rage of the battles had quieted again. The Kiln had spat out ten thousand
candidates, not even deigning to shut on them before deciding they were unworthy.

Wu Ming stood in the cavern one final time and looked upon his marvels, his source of
power. Hundreds of them. Many of the statues contained their own power now, fed into the
stone by him, and they seemed alight as they bid him farewell.
Wu Ming was ready. E’Ming was radiating power at his side, ready to murder anything and
everything that got in the way. When the Kiln shut around them, they’d create one final
shrine for another boost of power, and break out.

He fought his way through the masses to the mouth of it, and stood as he cleaned blood off
E’Ming’s blade outside the Kiln. He should be at his best, before quite literally meeting his
maker.

He jumped in, seething power from every pore of his body. He dared the Kiln to shut him out.
Why would it? No one would ever have more will than him. It was time. He was it.

He looked up at the cavernous mouth of the Kiln, the circle of sky above.

The Kiln groaned and began to rumble itself closed. Wu Ming smiled. Perfect. He was about
to be trapped.

***

Eighteen days later, his masterpiece was finished. He looked upon the giant face of his
beloved, and finally let out a satisfied sigh at a job well done. He was surprised at how simple
it all felt, now. He was powerful. That was that. He felt it. He knew what he wanted, and no
one had ever been able to stop him.

The singlemindedness felt freeing, once he let it truly consume him.

He looked up at the rocky roof of the Kiln. Not a problem at all. Easy.

But that wasn’t the deal.

“Grey Guard,” he called.

They came.

Their eyes were two coals in the darkness. Their scales glittered as if greeting the stone
around them.

“You have not broken out yet.”

“So what? We both know I can. Here I am. A Supreme. And you have terms to fulfil.”

Grey Guard tilted their head, observing.

“Once again… you could break out right now, and be powerful beyond measure. You are
choosing something that will most likely break you apart before you can. This is not meant
for you.”

“I decide what is meant for me.”

Grey Guard shook their head. “I have never met someone like you.”
“Oh? And what am I like?”

“I feel your power,” they said. Wu Ming was delighted to realise they seemed uneasy. “And
yet… I feel that you do not hold one drop of that power for yourself. You are indifferent to it.
Why?”

Wu Ming smiled darkly. “Take me there. Now.”

***

The lurch and stomach-drop of being taken into the Dreamscape was brutal. Wu Ming knew
immediately that it would have killed him, if he’d done it earlier. It still could, if he lingered.

Wu Ming looked around, every movement painful. This place was not meant for him. They
were in…Mount Tonglu. The other three mountains were gone. But he recognised the outline
of the Kiln. It was green and verdant, and lovely. Birds sang.

There were farms and rice paddies everywhere. But no people. The wind whistled through
the landscape eerily, highlighting the silence. And the light was wrong. Too red. Like a fire
was burning, somewhere over the horizon.

Wu Ming swallowed. “You are staying?” he grit out.

“I have never been here. I…have never dared.” Grey Guard’s hair was trembling. They were
not meant for this place either.

The wind picked up, rustling the grass at their feet.

A voice spoke. It was not really a voice. It was…a meeting of time and place, made into
sound. It was terrifying and peaceful. It was ascension and hell and death and life.

“You have dreamed of me often.”

Grey Guard tensed, and fell to their knees. “Forgive me. I lost a wager, and I had to bring
him.”

“Untrue, untrue. You wanted to. I have seen your dreams as well as the three name boy, these
past years.”

Wu Ming’s voice seemed so frail, so small and human. But he had to use it. It took every
ounce of strength he had. His head felt like it was imploding.

“Why do you call me three name boy?”

The voice echoed. “I know of time as well as place. You will hold three heartnames soon.
Most unusual.”

Wu Ming gripped E’Ming and steeled himself through the pain. “Border spirit…who was
your maker?”
The voice laughed. “You wish to destroy my maker. Why would I tell you?"

Wu Ming grit his teeth. “Can the maker be destroyed? They are human?”

“They have chosen many paths.”

Wu Ming breathed. “I knew it,” he said softly. “White No Face is your master. White No
Face created you.”

“You will be a Ghost King soon. You will have a part in this creation too.”

Wu Ming’s brows contracted. “I do not understand.” He could feel himself becoming weaker.

“Border spirit… can you show me my beloved?”

“Him? He belongs among you.”

Wu Ming stopped breathing. “Where is he?”

“He is here.”

“Here-” he whipped around. There was no one here but a still kneeling Grey Guard. They
looked pale and fragile, clutching at their head in agony.

“Oh…he is not here yet, three name. But he will have a hand in this too.”

“Please, tell me what you mean?”

“My maker did not believe anyone else would be like him. But he did not realise that others
would choose the same. Your beloved is one of them.”

“Choose what?”

“Many paths.”

“Paths to what?!”

“You will wish to destroy me one day, three name. But my maker is not so wholly evil as you
think. I am complex. I serve the needs of the many, not just him. You are arrogant to think you
can do better.”

Wu Ming did not understand, His chest was starting to constrict, as if he was losing air.

“Why did he create you?”

“The world demanded balance from him. I keep that balance.”

The voice was fading now. “You must go now. You will die otherwise.”

“Wait! Please! Will I ever find him?” he begged, voice barely making a sound as his vision
blacked out.
“Of course. How else will you learn your third name?”

***

Wu Ming woke outside the Kiln, peppered by hot pumice stone raining down on him as the
mouth blew ash into the air.

He had broken out. He was a Supreme.

It didn’t matter.

The Border Spirit had told him he would find his beloved. Nothing could compare to that.
How could the Kiln not have shattered above him, now that he knew that? It was nothing to
him now.

Grey Guard stirred. Wu Ming twisted in surprise as he realised they lay beside him.

“I don’t understand…” they whispered.

“What?” muttered Wu Ming, sitting up.

“There…there is another Door, now. I feel it.”

“What Door?”

“There were only three. Now there are four. Between the Ghost and Mortal Realms.”

Wu Ming swallowed, dodging sparks of lava as they spat out of the Kilnmouth.

“Why did the Border Spirit open a fourth?”

“I don’t know.”

Wu Ming stood. He felt as powerful as he had in the Heavens. Even more so, because he was
not bestowed the power. He had created it himself.

“I’m getting out of here. I have things to do.”

Grey Guard stood as well.

“Pity. Eternal servitude would have suited you.”

“I serve only one, and it will never be you.”

Grey Guard’s eyes glittered. “We will meet again.”

“I hope not.”

Wu Ming walked away, and didn’t look back.

Unfortunately, Grey Guard was right.

 And when they came to him the next time, it would be in the exact same place, for the exact
same reason. Standing on the edge of the Kilnmouth with a new Supreme.

Only next time, it would be He Xuan. It seemed that new Doors opened when Ghost Kings
were born.

***

Chapter End Notes

"A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Kudos."
-The Social Network

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Scholar He
Chapter Notes

The final part of the backstory: Scholar He.

...or is it 🤔
See the end of the chapter for more notes

***

The sun set as Hua Cheng finished his tale.

This time, he could see that Xie Lian was not soothed by it. He was troubled. He didn’t blame
him. So was he.

He stroked at Xie Lian’s waist as Sooty grumpily readjusted her comfy position between
them. E’Ming appeared to have passed out asleep, Ruoye wrapped around him tightly.

“What do you think, gege?”

Xie Lian shook his head.

“I don’t know. This is…worse than I thought, San Lang.”

“Which part?”

Xie Lian sighed thoughtfully, eyes unfocused.

“If Jun Wu created the borders between all of the Realms, he essentially… ruled everything.
Not just Heaven. The Ghost Realm too.”

Hua Cheng nodded. “Mmm. I knew White No Face ruled the Ghost Realm. I knew he hand-
picked the Supremes, but I would never have guessed what your Guoshi said, that they were
Jun Wu’s actual clones. And I never found enough evidence to prove he was Jun Wu.”

Xie Lian was clearly thinking hard. “But this means…we may have made a grave error,
suppressing him under the mountain. Suppressing him must be the reason the Doors are
shutting. What’s happening to the Ghost Realm could just be the beginning.”

Xie Lian shifted, and tilted his head towards him in the low light. Hua Cheng took his hands
and kissed them in reassurance.

“I’ve been avoiding going to see him, San Lang,” he continued heavily. “I was so hoping that
something else would make things clearer, that someone else would be doing this. But…”
“I know,” finished Hua Cheng, squeezing his hands. “I felt the same way. I never had time to
care about the Doors before. But now that this is happening and no one has stepped forward
to claim responsibility…their origin might actually matter a great deal.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. The mathematics of how many doors…”

“Things were a little crazy when your Kilbirth happened, gege. I…other priorities, you
understand. But yes, a sixth door appeared after you broke out. I think it’s…um, actually one
of the ones that Mu Qing and Feng Xin are guarding.”

Xie Lian stared at him in horror. “Wait. The doors that are… ‘amorous’ with each other?!”

“Mmm,” smirked Hua Cheng. “Your one has not wanted to be separated from mine since it
turned up, apparently.”

Xie Lian blushed. “You’re telling me that my Door is so clingy to yours that it is altering
time?”

Hua Cheng snickered. “Seems so.”

Xie Lian had his little thinking frown. Hua Cheng wanted to kiss it. But Xie Lian was being
very serious.

“Three before you, San Lang,” he repeated slowly. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Why not?”

“White No Face, you, Black Water, me. That’s four, not six.”

Hua Cheng shrugged. “I got the impression that Jun Wu has some control over the borders,
but not a lot. I don’t think he meant for them to open.”

“Many paths,” muttered Xie Lian, not listening in the slightest.

“What’s that, gege?”

“Many paths- that’s it.”

“What’s it?”

“No Doors opened for any of the other Supremes.”

“Well…no, because they were all just clones of White No Face. His malicious energy.”

“But not us four,” he said, eyes flickering rapidly. “We’re human.”

“What are you thinking?”

“The many paths! You said the Border said we would have a ‘hand in creation,’ that Jun Wu
didn’t expect that any others would follow ‘many paths.’ That’s it! We all followed many
paths!”
Hua Cheng mouthed. “Human, Ghost-”

“And God!” said Xie Lian triumphantly. “The Three Paths! You ascended!”

“But…no, Black Water never did.”

“But he was a God! The Border Spirit would never have let him remain in heaven as Ming Yi
if he didn’t have the potential to ascend, he was always meant to! That’s what Shi Wudu took
from him, his godhood, It belonged to him! San Lang, the four of us are the only Three Path
humans!”

“I don’t-”

“You said they aren’t really Doors! More like ‘rips,’ right?! So what happens when a human
takes three paths, belongs in three realms?”

“The borders rip,” he said slowly.

“They must have done. Jun Wu essentially made the Three Realms- the three paths humans
could take, so he could control them all. But you yourself said the Ghost Realm is too tricky.
It’s a halfway place that needs rips, otherwise ghosts can’t pass between. So…three. One for
his human life, one for him as God, and I’ll bet anything a third door ripped open when he
became White No Face. He probably couldn’t even control it. Then when we all did the
same...”

“That makes sense,” said Hua Cheng slowly. But something still niggled at him. “But…”

“The demons.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“I don’t understand it either. Why would they want to guard the borders?”

“He offered them their own Realm. So they’d stay out of his.”

Xie Lian shook his head. “No. We’re missing something. Something only he knows.”

Hua Cheng sighed bitterly. “Mmm. Him…and perhaps someone else.”

Xie Lian’s eyes glittered. “I suppose I understand why you don’t like Grey Guard now. If this
is all true, they’re essentially…”

“Jun Wu's lackey? Exactly. But for the record, I wouldn’t like them anyway, because they’re
insufferable.”

Xie Lian’s mouth twisted. “And they only speak in riddles. We won’t get answers from them.
So we have to try Jun Wu.”

Hua Cheng caressed his cheek. “I’ll never let him hurt you again, Your Highness.”
Xie Lian looked at him strangely. This time, it was he who took Hua Cheng’s hands and
kissed them. “No, San Lang,” he said fiercely. “I won’t let him hurt you, this time.”

Hua Cheng’s lips parted. “Me? What are you- gege-”

Xie Lian met his eyes firmly. Determined. His grumpy old man look.

“San Lang. He tortured you too.”

“It was a long time ago-”

“I don’t just mean when he took you, though he will pay for that. I mean since. I think he
knew exactly who you were once he saw you in Mount Tonglu, San Lang. He always said the
Borders ‘chose’ who ascended, not him. But if he made the Borders…”

Hua Cheng said nothing. He had wondered the same thing himself.

“He picked you. He could see you were capable of becoming a Supreme, so you ascended
instead. He was trying to cut you off at the knees, put you under his control.”

Hua Cheng met his eyes reluctantly. He didn’t want to say it.

Xie Lian huffed a humourless laugh, stroking Sooty. “Oh, San Lang, it’s not that big a deal. I
really don’t mind,” he said primly.

Hua Cheng frowned. “Gege-”

Xie Lian shrugged. “So what? So Jun Wu made me ascend? Of course he did. Sent the Ghost
of Yi Nian Bridge to me, orchestrated everything. And hand picked everyone else too. I’m
hardly unique.”

The silence rang as Hua Cheng watched him openmouthed. Eventually, he regained speech.

“Gege, you deserved to ascend.”

“What is ‘deserve’ in these Realms?” he said dismissively. “You told me what he said.
Heaven’s will.”

“What do you-”

“He said it! ‘I was born by the will of heaven.’ Arrogant chump. He was saying he IS the will
of heaven,” he said grimly.

“Of course there never was such a thing. How else could I have selected random people to
bring up with me, like Mu Qing and Feng Xin? Like Shi Wudu and Shi Qingxuan, Pei Ming
and Little Pei? It was always corrupt. We just didn’t want to look carefully at the process,
because we benefited.”

Hua Cheng swallowed. He didn’t like hearing it, even if he’d always suspected it.
If it was corrupt, then Xie Lian’s ascension was tainted. So was everyone’s, but…Xie Lian
wasn’t everyone. He was the one who should be pure, and truly deserving of it.

Hua Cheng exhaled. He had, once again, still managed to underestimate his beloved.

He wondered if it would hurt him, offend him, to realise the ‘the will of heaven’ was just the
will of Jun Wu. But Xie Lian seemed like he couldn’t care less. And he was only worried
about protecting him.

Xie Lian eyed him, expression softening.

“Ah San Lang. Don’t worry. It doesn’t make your ascension less incredible. You are
deserving of your achievements. You actually became a Supreme; you did the thing he didn’t
want you to do, unlike me.”

Hua Cheng’s eyebrows practically disappeared in disbelief. “I…gege, that’s not…”

“I want to hear the rest. Tell me all of it. I need to understand it all, and then…him. We’ll
have to go and see him. Tomorrow. Maybe my Guoshi can reason with him.”

Hua Cheng sighed. “I’ll tell you, I will. But are you sure? I can go alone. I don’t want to see
him taunt you.”

“Taunt us, San Lang. I think he was always taunting both of us, more than we ever knew.”

Hua Cheng took a deep breath.

“Wait! I’ll get you your snacks first!” Xie Lian scrambled up, Sooty cracking an irritated eye
open as he did.

“Gege-”

“It’s a lot of talking! I should make sure you keep your sugars up,” he said lightly. Hua
Cheng shook his head in wonder as Xie Lian retrieved the snacks he made for him that
morning and pushed them at him hopefully.

Hua Cheng swallowed the comment that he technically did not need to eat, and began to
munch obediently.

“Thank you, gege.”

Xie Lian smiled. “Where were we?”

“Well…the rest is really about He Xuan.”

***

Six Hundred and Five Years Ago

Wu Ming strolled the city, powerful and new.

He was a Supreme. He had things to do, and places to be. And he knew in what exact order
he was going to take over this Realm.

Ghost City was not really a city, back then. The Madam’s home was a safe haven. But other
than that the Ghost Realm was, if anything, a more dangerous place than the Mortal Realm
for most ghosts.

No Supreme really ruled, as such, but plenty used the City for slaughter and parties. The
Supremes had tended to pick each other off after thousands of years, but there were still
three. The Reverend of Empty Words was the oldest, and the strongest.

The other two were Wager and Neighbourly Wishes, who won back-to-back Kilnslaughters
and loved to play with their hunts together. They weren’t human, of course; just concentrated
malicious energy. Wu Ming knew it was significant that no Supremes were human until
White No Face.

Wager liked to give people stakes. Irresistible stakes. Every single ghost knew about Wager,
and swore they would never fall for its offers. But Wager had a way of ensnaring people;
getting them to bet their lives on an impossible dream. The house always won.

Neighbourly Wishes made their name haunting pockets of small town spite and jealousy.
Whenever someone wished aloud that their house was as nice as their friend’s down the
street, wished that their wife was as beautiful as their neighbour’s, their business as
prosperous as their rival’s...

Neighbourly Wishes didn’t do any of its own killing. It liked to step into the cracks between
people, and play.

Sometimes it would pick the person who was the object of people’s jealousy, and lavish them
with even more riches, beauty, fortune, and possessions. More often, it would take everything
away from that person, and grant it to the person who longed for it instead.

When someone inevitably cracked and things turned to murder, the jealous rage fed it. It had
been particularly formidable in its Kilnslaughter, when every single ghost was wishing for the
powers of another.

Wu Ming had studied them both extensively before the Kiln, and reached the conclusion that
the only way to deal with them was to hide. He didn’t have enough power.

Now? Their time was ending.

But first things first: he needed to make a few changes.

He knocked at the door, which opened on its own. He walked in, chin raised.

“Well, well, well. I suppose I should have had a little more faith, sweetpea.”

He bowed his head. “Madam.”

She appeared, hands on her hips. “And so what. You’re the big boy about town now? Are you
going to throw your weight around, show me you’re the boss?”

“Would you let me?”

“I know you, boy. You’ll want to establish yourself now. Make a name. No need to hide in
shadows anymore. So you’ll need all sorts of trappings. New name, new place, new you.”

Wu Ming smirked. Indeed. He couldn’t go by the same name White No Face had once heard
anymore, even if he’d not spoken it aloud since he was blown apart.

“Any ideas for a name?”

“You’ve never been one to take direction. What do you think?”

Wu Ming stroked his chin. “I’ll be running this city.”

“Of course.”

“Hua Cheng.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

He shrugged. “What can I say? I like flowers.”

“And I presume you will have a monstrously gaudy palace.”

“You get me.”

“Flower Pavilion?”

“No…” he thought.

Body in abyss, heart in…

“Paradise Manor.”

“Never one for restraint. I look forward to seeing it.”

“You shall. I just wanted to give you advance warning that I’m popping up to the Heavenly
Capital for a bit. And when I’m back, I’m killing the other Supremes.”

“I see,” she said, eyes flashing in amusement. “Any reason to do it in that particular order?”

“The first errand is…personal revenge, so it takes priority over the professional.”

“Isn’t all of this personal?”

“Means to an end. Ending thirty five gods’ heavenly careers, however, will be my pleasure.”
“I look forward to the after party. I’ll make sure to gather everyone for you. But first…you
are due a ceremony.”

“Eh?” He stilled. He had never heard of a ceremony.

“It’s our way, among our kind. Older welcomes younger, when they become as powerful as
you. It’s really just some nice words.”

He swallowed. “And what would they be?”

She smiled as she unrepetentantly bustled around to light some candles and incense. She
swept her sleeves out wide and bowed her head.

“I am older, and I welcome younger. Let your strength not weaken you. Let your weakness
strengthen you. The way of the ghost.”

He inspected his feet, unsure what to say.

“I…thank you. For everything,” he blurted, clearing his throat.

“You are so very, very welcome, my sweet one.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait! You aren’t going like that are you?”

Wu Ming looked down at his black robes. “What?”

“Honestly,” she huffed. “Far too plain.”

“Plain? It’s practical.”

“You’re changing everything else for the new you, haven't you ever thought of changing
your…style?”

He stared at her irritably. “My style,” he said flatly. “Is fine.”

She chuckled. “Your style was to be a shadow. But you’re not really like that, are you? So
why not be a little…showier?”

He sighed. He’d now spent several lifetimes in the gutter and muck, watching the showy
people not give a moment’s thought to people like him.

She sighed. “Sweet one. White No Face? He will only come out for someone big. So be big.”

He clenched his fists. He hated it when she was right.

“I can always assist you, you know,” she said, eyes twinkling. “A woman’s eye for these
things.”

He gave her a deathly sweet smile. “What would you suggest, then?”
“You can be anything. You can wear any skin. What do you want?”

He still hated the idea of being what people wanted him to be. Of people’s attention being
something to seek out. Making them look at him. His eye had defined his entire childhood.
The only person who never cared what he looked like was his beloved.

But then again…

The way of the ghost.

“Let your weakness strengthen you.”

Showy? Fine. He knew how.

He looked at her with a smile.

“Red.”

***

It didn’t take long. A day to defeat them, and then a night to burn the temples. It was a most
effective way to announce himself to the Heavens and the Ghost Realm alike. When the
smoke cleared, he was already a legend, and had a legion of ghost minions willing to do his
bidding; after all, burning down heavenly temples was very fun.

Hua Cheng observed it all, mostly. Cutting loose was not for him, not just yet. He ended up
retiring to the Madam’s house, intending to take his usual spot on the library’s divan where
he’d snatched an hour’s sleep on many a long night of reading. He’d start building his manor
in the morning.

“Festivities getting too much for you?”

No matter how quietly he crept in, she always knew he was there.

“I’ll be quiet,” he muttered. It had been a long day.

She leaned against the doorframe.

“Stay as long as you need to.”

Hua Cheng nodded.

She cocked her head. “No one has ever done what you did today, you know.”

“I never claimed it was a good idea.”

“Why the melancholy then? Thirty five gods not enough?”

Hua Cheng stiffened. “Thirty three. Two refused to face me.”

He had no intention of elaborating. But she was right. After taking his revenge, after
becoming a Supreme, after taking over Ghost City…here he still remained. Alone, without a
hint of his beloved. He would find him, he would. It was foretold. But it had been yet another
day. How many more?

She smiled softly. “You know, I have a gift for you, sweet one. To celebrate your Kilnbirth.”

“You should address me as your King, you know,” he said primly, knowing that she would
find that funny.

“No, I don’t think I will, dear,” she said, eyes dancing.

“I do not require gifts.”

“Nonetheless. I think you and your ridiculous Manor will be good guardians of it.”

“Of what?”

“My collection,” she said, with a wave of her hand.

Hua Cheng opened his mouth, and closed it again.

“You…want to give me your books?”

“I think you have earned them. And you need them more than I do. So find him. Build a big
library, and figure it out.”

Hua Cheng bowed his head, throat thick.

“Yes, Madam,” he said, with the greatest respect.

***

Three Hundred and Eighteen Years Ago

He wasn’t sure what to expect, when he summoned Scholar He to Paradise Manor.

He came, of course. No one refused him at that point. His first few decades as a Ghost King,
he’d encountered pockets of resistance, mostly an old guard who didn’t like that they weren’t
in his seat. They were easy to dispose of.

Wager and Neighbourly Wishes were not so easy.

It was certainly no coincidence that White No Face’s Supremes all seemed to manipulate
fortune. It was his tell, a common theme. White No Face had clearly found a way to infiltrate
the heavens and curse his beloved’s life to permanent bad luck, so Hua Cheng’s next move
was to figure out how to balance the scale.

It turned out that becoming the world’s best cheat involved, well…a lot of cheating.
Hua Cheng took Wager first, then Neighbourly Wishes three years later. He stashed them in
his dungeons. He studied them. It took nearly a hundred years until he figured out a way to
kill them that would absorb all of the fortune they’d stolen from their victims. If bad luck
could be manufactured, then so could good. And he’d take it all. The ultimate cheat.

The rumours among the lower ghosts was that his luck was what made Lord Chengzhu so
very powerful. He let that rumour run. And built a Gambler’s Den to feed the rumour.

Centuries had passed. He took another name, Crimson Rain Sought Flower. Mount Tonglu
opened once more, and fell dormant again. The new Supreme was not human, it was another
one of his creatures. A Dice Rolling ghost. It challenged its victims to a simple game, but
never rolled anything other than a double six.

He killed it immediately, of course, and took its dice. Largely in a rage at what it symbolised.
Nearly five hundred years without him.

But he had an inkling that today was going to be a different day. Because he might have
found what The Madam told him to find, all those years ago.

The one who could find his beloved.

Since his Kilnbirth, he had become obsessive about documenting ghosts, powerful humans,
heavenly officials, anyone of note. He knew his Realm backwards.

Heaven, however, remained far more opaque than he’d like. And White No Face was up
there. He had suspects, but he’d never be able to prove anything until he showed himself
again.

He needed someone who wanted to spy on Heaven. The Madam wasn’t exactly good at
avoiding attention. Red Abacus he’d thought about for a while, but she was not interested in
impressing him or doing his bidding. He needed someone who wanted to risk it all.

Scholar He hadn’t made much of a name for himself, just yet. He was only a few decades
dead. He hadn’t killed many; in fact, he seemed to keep to himself and mope. But he came to
Hua Cheng’s notice because of Red Abacus.

She’d come back from a kill spree one day and bumped into the Madam, who then told Hua
Cheng what she’d said.

Apparently, she had been given detailed ledgers and notes painstakingly accounting one city’s
embezzlement, stealing and corruption.

She did her own enquiries, and remarked upon the incredible accuracy of the Scholar ghost,
who was essentially looking for a job, and to be taken under the wing of a more powerful
Savage. He was ambitious.

So Hua Cheng looked into him. And oh, my my, he had never seen such an unlucky human
life.

Exactly what he wanted to find. Red Abacus couldn’t have him.

Scholar He stared sullenly at the marble floor as Hua Cheng greeted him. He was rail thin
and had a pinched, serious face. Everything about him was nondescript, which was ideal.

He was eyeing the food table, as ghosts so often did. Hua Cheng had found that to be a
strangely simple commonality among ghosts.

There really was nothing like the festering resentment of being hungry in life, while knowing
others feasted. That kind of anger tended to fester. There was a reason that the hungry
became ghosts far more often than the well-fed.

“Please, help yourself,” he said mildly, rising and gesturing Scholar He to sit with him at the
table, and waving everyone else away to leave them alone. The doors shut, leaving them in
silence.

Scholar He eyed him warily.

“I mean it. Eat,” he said, waving at the food. “Surely you know that if I wanted you dead,
you’d already be dead. And poison isn’t really my style.”

Scholar He frowned, and nodded. He reached for a steamed bun, and Hua Cheng sat back to
watch what turned out to be quite a remarkable display of eating from someone who had
clearly starved in his lifetime. Hua Cheng said nothing as Scholar He ate and ate and ate,
letting him have his fill, which took quite a while.

Eventually, the eating slowed. Scholar He’s eyes kept darting to him in confusion. Eventually,
he swallowed, and spoke.

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

Hua Cheng gave a humourless smile.

“You are not afraid of me, are you?” he asked. He’d been a Ghost King for long enough to
easily pick out those who weren’t afraid. The very short list was Wild Wail, Red Abacus, the
Madam, and her new silent friend Slicer. Now, Scholar He.

Scholar He shrugged, and folded his arms, sitting back.

“I asked you a question,” he said softly, narrowing his eye.

Scholar He watched him, eyes deadened. “What could you possibly do to me?”

Hua Cheng flexed his fingers. Ah. Perfect.

“I looked into your life. It certainly seems like you have no reason to be afraid of anything,
anymore. Though you obviously are.”

Scholar He’s eyes snapped to his face. “You do not scare me.”

“Oh, I know that. But you wouldn’t be a Savage if you were simply dead inside, would you?
And a Savage so quickly, too! If you were without reason, you should have faded by now. So
you are afraid. Do you know of what?”

Scholar He’s mouth twisted. “Why don’t you tell me, since you think you know so much?”

“You’re a man who likes answers, aren’t you? And that’s what you’re afraid of. Never
finding the answers to your question.”

Scholar He’s eyes narrowed.“Which is?”

“Who actually deserves your revenge,” said Hua Cheng simply.

Scholar He said nothing. Hua Cheng continued.

“You know, don’t you? Deep down. That no one could have had the kind of life you had,
unless someone was doing that to you, on purpose. But you don’t know who did it.”

Scholar He twitched, and stared at him for a long time.

“Most would say I was just unlucky.”

Hua Cheng laughed darkly. “And do you believe them?”

Scholar He swallowed, looking down. “No,” he said quietly.

He looked at Hua Cheng, eyes now…glinting. Intelligent.

“I’ll ask you again. And I want the truth this time. What do you want from me?”

Hua Cheng drummed his fingers on the table, and cocked his head.

“I want you to become a Supreme Ghost King.”

Scholar He raised his eyebrows. “And why on earth would you want that?” he said flatly.

“Because I think something rotten is afoot in the world of luck, and you and I are two people
who appreciate this. I knew a man with luck like yours, once. And I will find the person who
did to him what your betrayer did to you. I only have suspicions. But I know that if we help
each other, we’ll find both of them.”

“I would be your competition,” he said, baffled.

Hua Cheng scoffed. “Please,” he said shortly.

Scholar He waited for him to elaborate. He did not.

Scholar He exhaled. “So you want revenge, too?”

Hua Cheng gave a tight smile, and sipped his wine. “It isn’t quite that simple. But for your
purposes, let’s say it’s revenge.”

Scholar He stared ahead for a while, clearly thinking.

“What would you plan to do?” he asked.

“Mount Tonglu will reopen in approximately fifty years time. We need you to be more
powerful by then, of course.”

Scholar He bowed his head. “Any suggestions?” he asked sardonically.

“You’re not much of a fighter,” said Hua Cheng dismissively. “But I imagine you have a
score to settle with my last remaining competition.”

Scholar He’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You know?”

“That the Reverend of Empty Words cursed your life? Again, Scholar He, I’ve studied you. It
was obvious. Tricky thing, I’ve been trying to get at it for so long. It’s been hiding, but I think
for you it might make an exception.”

Scholar He’s face kept doing something. Lighting up, then tamping back down again. Hua
Cheng recognised it. It was exactly what he did himself, when he first met the Madam. It was
the look of someone who wanted something desperately, but had never trusted a single soul
to help him.

“You do not trust me,” stated Hua Cheng.

Scholar He paused, and shook his head. “Of course I don’t,” he said slowly.

Hua Cheng leaned forward.

“Good.”

Scholar He frowned.

Hua Cheng gave a thin smile. “I don’t want your trust. I don’t trust you either. I don’t need to.
I want what I want, and you want what you want. Neither of us are in this for the other. We
are not friends. That will never change, I can promise you that.”

Scholar He nodded, looking relieved at the prospect that he was not required to be anyone’s
friend. He took a breath.

“How does one defeat the Reverend?”

Hua Cheng smiled as he leaned back, satisfied.

“You become him.”

***

“I don’t understand this,” said Scholar He to him in his communication array.

Hua Cheng exhaled irritably, and replied. “Oh, I’m sorry, did you expect to enjoy every part
of your revenge? You really should prepare yourself for more complicated emotions, Scholar
He.”

Hua Cheng adjusted his earplugs. He was losing patience as he waited for Scholar He to get
himself together. His dungeon was not a particularly pleasant place, he’d admit, but this
hemming and hawing was ridiculous.

It was very annoying to deal with a ghost who was useless with weapons. Turning this one
into a Supreme was going to be…difficult, at best.

Scholar He sighed. “I don’t understand. The Reverend is infinitely more powerful than this
one. What will we learn from this?”

“This Venerable of Empty Words has already been weakened, hence how it is in my
dungeon.”

The Reverend had birthed at least a hundred Venerables in its lifetime. Scholar He was
unlucky enough to meet the original. But this one? It was already weakened, for a reason that
made Hua Cheng’s heart nearly explode when he found out why.

“Weakened? How?”

“It came across someone who was immune to it.”

“Immune?!”

“Someone with an unbreakable spirit.”

“People always think they’re unbreakable. Until they lose just a little more,” he said darkly.

Hua Cheng shook his head. His beloved was not so easily defeated as Scholar He, as this
very Venerable had realised.

Its charms hadn’t worked on Hua Cheng either. The simple realisation that the Venerable had
been in the presence of his beloved, recently, and been unable to break him? That was a well
of hope in him that no empty words could touch.

Hua Cheng persisted. “I am telling you. Venerables exist because White No Face takes all the
fortune for himself. They are the consequence of that imbalance. I don’t know who sicced the
Reverend on you, but the Venerables are a trail to follow. Find the Reverend, find your
betrayer. This one is just training.”

Scholar He nodded stiffly.

Hua Cheng rolled his eye. “You are stalling. This thing won’t defeat you.”

Scholar He closed his eyes. “Its Master already did.”

“Then you have no chance. None. Not of your revenge, not of getting to the Kiln, nothing,
unless you can defeat this pathetic little Venerable. So don’t be so pathetic.”

Scholar He threw him a look.

“You said it yourself. I’m not much of a fighter.”

“Then use what you are good at.”

Scholar He cleared his throat awkwardly. “What would that be?”

“I don’t know, shouldn’t you know that?” hissed Hua Cheng impatiently. Honestly. Unless
Scholar He figured out a way to fight that was better than just fact checking documents very
accurately or being good at accounting, he would die well before the Kiln.

Fine. He’d just have to motivate him, then.

“I suppose because everyone you love is dead, it doesn’t really matter anymore. I’ve picked
the wrong person. You should leave, Scholar He.”

Scholar He turned to him slowly. “What did you say?”

“I said, no one actually gives a shit about your dead family. No one. Not the person who did
this to you, certainly not me. And you’re afraid of an already captured Venerable. So you are
nothing but a waste of my time.”

The stone walls shook slightly. Hua Cheng looked around with interest, before turning his
head back to Scholar He.

He had darkened. In every sense. The air around him was pulsing now.

Ah. Finally.

“Do you know how I became a Savage?” he asked, voice dangerously quiet in the array.

Hua Cheng cocked an eyebrow. No, actually. That had been a hole in his research.

Scholar He advanced slowly. “I hadn’t killed them all, in my town,” he said, voice barely
above a whisper.

“I thought I had, but just as I felt myself finally dying, I saw him. He got up, and limped
away. Bleeding, but not dead. The local lord. So I knew I had to hold on. I was a ghost fire,
and I haunted him. Then I saw another man. Someone I’d never seen before, but will never
forget. He came to the lord to confirm I was dead. And gave him a sack of gold for his
troubles.”

“Once I was strong enough, I took the lord. Kept him, for years, like he kept my sister, my
fiance. Only giving him enough food to survive on, to bring him back from the brink of
death, every time, just like his goons did to me. And do you know what happened? He still
died. And his last words were just like yours.”
“He said: “You want to know the truth? I don’t even remember their names. I don’t care. And
you can’t make me care.”

Scholar He stopped, blinking in the dim light.

“He laughed at me,” he whispered.

“That’s how it happened. I suddenly exploded. I knew then and there, that he wasn’t enough.
I wasn’t done. Because I will find the man who really did this to me. I will make him care.
And I will be the one to laugh.”

Hua Cheng smiled. At last. Some fire.

“Good. You go and do that, Scholar He.”

Scholar He set his jaw. “My name is He Xuan.”

The walls shook again. Scholar He took out his earplugs. Hua Cheng took out one of his too,
out of morbid curiosity.

“YOU WILL DIE A MOST GRUESOME DEATH-” began the Venerable.

He Xuan steeled himself, and opened the dungeon door.

Hua Cheng still had doubts, aligning himself with a revenge ghost. But He Xuan’s pain ran so
deep that it was useful to him. It was big enough to get them both where they wanted to go.
He hoped.

His pain, and his appetite, as it turned out.

Scholar He didn’t need weapons. He swallowed the Venerable whole.

***

When the mountain re-opened, Hua Cheng had a mission that was just as serious as his own
Kilnslaughter.

He Xuan was nervous, naturally. But Hua Cheng was confident. This wasn’t like last time.
Now, he was Crimson Rain Sought Flower. No one was stronger than he was in this Realm,
and more importantly, everyone thought he was just there for fun this time, a rumour he
happily spread.

It helped him, to cultivate a reputation of flash-in-the-pan recklessness. He knew that

wherever White No Face was, he had only let him kill his Supremes because he thought
someone would kill him soon in turn. He was very happy to let people think he was just a
short-lived Ghost King.

It was important to conceal the fact that he was there to protect someone this time. Luckily,
He Xuan was so quiet that even the visits he’d paid to Paradise Manor had barely been
noticed. Exactly as Hua Cheng wanted. He too would come out of nowhere.
Hua Cheng flanked him. Surprisingly, he didn’t need to do very much.

He Xuan was exceptional at hiding, and a surprisingly brilliant actor. He would frequently
take on the guise of other more powerful ghosts he’d already killed to buy time. Plus, no one
considered him a threat anyway. Until the Kiln closed around him, and didn’t spit him out
again.

Hua Cheng spent the rest of that time examining the murals again. He’d sourced ancient texts
of similar languages and most of all: listened to the corpse rats. Enough to translate, this time.
This place was once called the Kingdom of Wuyong. And it didn’t take a genius to figure out
who the god figure was: White No Face, in his original form, long ago.

He went through every record of every god. None of the current heavenly officials were born
before Wuyong was destroyed. Which meant that whoever White No Face was in heaven, he
was the oldest god there.

Currently, the oldest known surviving god was Jun Wu. Whether he’d scrubbed the records or
lied about his own age, he knew something. Hua Cheng didn’t buy that he’d ‘defeated’ White
No Face. Something was fishy about the whole thing, and Hua Cheng was right not to trust
him.

Hua Cheng swung his hands slightly when He Xuan was in the Kiln. Honestly, it was a little
boring.

But he did it. He broke out. Then Grey Guard appeared, and told them a fifth door had
opened between the Ghost and Mortal Realms. At the time, Hua Cheng didn’t care in the
slightest. It just didn’t seem important.

Hua Cheng was by his side as he escorted He Xuan back to Paradise Manor. He did the
ceremony, just the two of them. He Xuan didn’t want anyone else there.

“May your strengths not weaken you. May your weakness strengthen you,” he finished as He
Xuan stood uncomfortably.

“So,” said Hua Cheng, smirking. “Two human Supremes. Look at us.”

He Xuan gave a sharp nod. “I think I’d prefer that my enemies do not know of my
background.”

“Naturally. Best you avoid being seen, then. I’ll draw the attention so you can do the
skulking.”

“I’m good at staying hidden.” He Xuan’s eyes were shifty. He cleared his throat. “I will say
this only once,” he hesitated. “Thank you.”

Hua Cheng tried not to snort.

“So,” he said, changing the subject. “How will we do this?”

“Heaven? Well…I’ll need someone to impersonate.”

“Mmm. That won’t be easy. Kidnapping someone already up there is too risky. We’ll need to
wait for someone new to ascend.”

“And how will we get that information?”

“Don’t worry. I find butterflies often have whispers on their wings.”

***

Nineteen Months Ago

Hua Cheng was in the library when the sun rose, as usual.

He was trying again with the (former) Earth Master’s shovel. He Xuan was annoyed he kept
borrowing it, but needs must.

Several years now, he’d been trying to charm it to be able to find people. If it could dig
through anything, maybe he could manipulate it to dig to any one.

It did work, to be fair. It found Yin Yu the other day, to his shock, and found The Madam a
week later, to her annoyance. But it didn’t work on his beloved. He was used to his bad luck
cancelling out the good, but he had to keep trying.

Maybe this would be how he found him. Who knew? Today could be the day.

“That thing won’t work, you know,” came He Xuan’s voice. “And I need that back.”

Hua Cheng rolled his eye. He Xuan’s visits were sparing. His stint as ‘Ming Yi’ occupied
most of his time, not that he was particularly social before they kidnapped the real Ming Yi.

“You don’t take care of this thing anyway. There’s rust on it,” rebutted Hua Cheng.

“You don’t need it.”

“I need what I say I need.”

“No… Hua Cheng. You don’t need it.”

Hua Cheng looked up.

He Xuan never smiled. But on his face today, he almost looked…

Something. Envious? Bittersweet?

“What do you mean?” he said slowly, heart starting to thump.

He Xuan shrugged.

“Do you know the tale of the Scrap God? I learned it this morning.”

“What? There is no God of Scraps,” he said irritably.

“There is now. Ascended a few hours ago. Made quite a scene. Seems that if one ascends for
the third time, one has enough power to crack half the Capital open.”

Hua Cheng's heart stopped entirely.

“Third time?” he whispered.

“Yeah. It’s him.”

He tried to leap to his feet, only to find his legs suddenly too weak. He stumbled.

“He’s…he’s…”

“Relax. The Heavens are arranging his first mission as we speak. He’ll be at Yu Jun mountain
tonight. Apparently there’s a Savage there causing trouble.”

Hua Cheng couldn’t speak. He looked at his feet. He couldn’t even move. He had to get there
now, wait for him, but he was frozen.

He Xuan almost smiled again. “I’ll leave you to it. Remember…my end of the bargain still
holds. Whoever White No Face is, he won’t let your man have a peaceful time. The wheels
are in motion, and I have things to do.”

“Fine,” whispered Hua Cheng faintly. He was surprised he was able to speak.

He Xuan paused as he left. “Apparently he…will be dressing up as a bride.”

Hua Cheng blinked.

Well. That made his own choice of outfit a little simpler.

***

The next day, on a creaky hay-filled cart, he marvelled upon his beloved in the autumn light.

He couldn’t believe it.

He’d found him.

And now…he could simply sit by him. Speak to him. They were having a conversation.

It was actually difficult to look at his face. He had been waiting so long, it was like looking
upon the sun itself. But he tried to keep himself casual as his heart squeezed and throbbed.

Leg up on his knee, hands behind his head. He was a heady mix of nerves and complete
peace. He found him. He’d keep him safe now. He’d not lose him, ever again.

Even just seeing him safe and well was enough. He didn’t need anything else, he would never
ask for anything else. Just this.
 His beloved looked at him, and tilted his gracious, perfect, lifesaving, incredible head. He
was everything.

“My friend. What’s your name?”

His lips parted, as he remembered with a jolt what the Border Spirit had told him.

“Wait! Please! Will I ever find him?”

“Of course. How else will you learn your third name?”

He understood now. ‘Hua Cheng’ could never be his heartname. It had to be something only
his beloved called him.

Hong-er. Wu Ming. And now…

“I am the…third, in my family. This one is called San Lang.”

***

Chapter End Notes

"You remind me of the babe."

"What babe?"
"The babe with the power."
"What power?"
"The power of kudo, who-do, you do!"
-The Labyrinth

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

Note on canon: a reminder that Xie Lian's Guoshi does confirm that the Kiln and Mount
Tonglu’s openings were always just a way for Jun Wu to let out his malicious energy,
and essentially balance the resentment created by the deaths of the people of Wuyong.
That will be important moving forward.
 Catacomb
Chapter Summary

Heavy horny followed by heavy angst

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Xie Lian was nestled against Hua Cheng, thrumming and bright and warm.

Hua Cheng’s tale had been so stunning and beautiful that even he, of the soft heart, had
officially booted Sooty to the other side of the mat. He needed nothing in between him and
Hua Cheng as he crushed his arms around him, because he was the bravest, most incredible,
most beautiful human being who had ever lived and died…

“Brrow,” she called indignantly, from over by the door.

Hua Cheng breathed a laugh. He looked away, seeming to shake the vulnerability from his
face for a moment, before looking down at him fondly. “She wants to go outside, gege.”

Xie Lian sighed. “Fine,” he grumbled. He got to his feet and stomped over to open the door,
and Sooty disappeared through the crack with a triumphant chirp.

He turned back with his hands on his hips.

The sun had long since set.

“Dinner, now,” he ordered.

“Are you sure, gege? It’s late, you don’t need-”

“I will be feeding you now. Sit at the table.”

He wasn’t sure why he was being so bossy. Perhaps because he knew that if Hua Cheng
asked anything, anything at all from him forever, he would give it.

So he needed to at least pretend have some tiny semblance of backbone, or he would become
the most pliant pushover in the history of the world.

His backbone instantly folded when Xie Lian made to pull out his chair and Hua Cheng
instead pulled him onto his lap, insisting that they eat like that.
Xie Lian was almost about to protest, he really was.

But then he looked at Hua Cheng’s face. His wonderful face, of a man who had looked for
him for 800 years and protected him and died for him and became a ghost king for him and
learned to read for him and turned down Heaven for him and never, ever gave up on him…

He nodded once, ears pink, and began eating without another word.

He felt a rumble of Hua Cheng’s chuckle behind him, and Xie Lian let him laugh. There was
nothing he wouldn’t let Hua Cheng ask; he loved him so much.

Later on the mat, Hua Cheng propped himself above him and kissed him to oblivion.

Xie Lian’s heart was beating so wildly he was sure Hua Cheng could hear it, but every time
Hua Cheng pulled back, Xie Lian twined his arms around his neck and kept him locked in
place. Hua Cheng laughed his surprise against his lips, but Xie Lian was overcome tonight.

“I love you so much,” he whispered shakily, and Hua Cheng looked at him in wonder for a
tiny moment, before Xie Lian decided he couldn’t stand any look on his face other than
complete acceptance, so he pulled him down fully against him and kissed him deeply.

Xie Lian had a moment of embarrassment as he parted his legs, but he persevered. He liked
the weight of Hua Cheng between them. He liked feeling Hua Cheng hard up against his hip.
It made desire pool in him, liquid and gold.

Hua Cheng settled his mouth happily against his neck, sucking so long he was surely making
marks. Xie Lian tried not to writhe, but it was involuntary, and Hua Cheng breathed in
agreement at every twitch and said things like “mmm, yes, so that spot right there? That’s
good gege, again then.”

“What has gotten into you tonight, gege?” murmured Hua Cheng a few minutes later, hands
gripped around his waist and body heavy on him, like Xie Lian liked. He seemed relaxed,
and happy. Xie Lian loved it. The only downside was…

Xie Lian stared determinedly at the ceiling. He couldn’t look at the grin on Hua Cheng’s face
that appeared whenever Hua Cheng…felt him. Hard again. It was such a smug expression.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat delicately.

“May I ask an…impertinent question, gege?”

Xie Lian narrowed his eyes and looked at him. “Alright.”

“I am aware of what you’ve told me regarding your…experience. You know we’re on equal
footing there. But I must confess curiosity about your own exploration.”

“Exploration?” gulped Xie Lian.

“Mmm. Have you…enjoyed things, on your own before?”

“On my own?” gasped Xie Lian. “No! No! I wouldn’t…I haven’t-”

Hua Cheng was clearly biting back a laugh. “Gege. You are not on trial. And it is not a bad
thing, at all.”

Xie Lian was breathing heavily, and extremely red. “I…I know that,” he said, rubbing his
forehead.

“Do you?” drawled Hua Cheng, voice low, fingers kneading at his sides in the way he did
when he was being rude on purpose.

“Wait, so you have…”

Hua Cheng winked at him. “Of course. Often.”

“Oh,” hupped Xie Lian with a stuttered noise. He winced and tried to explain, eyes down.

“San Lang, I spent all that time just trying to have a halfway good day every day. I was- my
body didn’t- I was trying to survive and I don’t think I could-”

He stopped. He couldn’t finish the sentence, but he hoped Hua Cheng understood. Arousal
was a luxury, one he never had the time or safety to explore. He never had room for pleasure
when his best day was just one without pain.

Hua Cheng nodded seriously, jaw clenched. “That will change, gege. You deserve pleasure.
As much as you want.”

Xie Lian raised his eyebrows. “Really? I thought you don’t want to…” he trailed off.

Hua Cheng’s eye was dark and insistent. “Don’t you ever say I don’t want to again, gege,” he
said, voice dangerous.

Xie Lian swallowed. But he was learning. That sometimes Hua Cheng liked to be provoked.

“Or what?” he said bravely, with barely a tremor in his voice.

Hua Cheng narrowed his eye very slightly.

“I know what you are doing.”

“Oh you do?” said Xie Lian.

“You’re trying to rile me.”

Xie Lian grinned bashfully. He couldn’t help it. “I…just thought that you might feel
differently, now. You’ve told me everything. I know it was difficult, but was it as bad as you
thought?”

Hua Cheng sighed through his nose. “No,” he admitted grudgingly.

Xie Lian hummed. “Well. Isn’t that interesting,” he said, smug.

Hua Cheng’s jaw tightened. “What is interesting, gege?”

“That I was right, and you were wrong,” he replied simply.

Hua Cheng made a low noise in his throat, staring into his eyes irritably.

Xie Lian continued happily.

“As I suspected, talking helped us both. And I think that if we are- erm- together, things
won’t go wrong for you. I actually think you’ll redouble your roots to existence, because you
will have so much more to teach me, and I am most unfortunately a slow learner-”

Hua Cheng positively growled as his fingers dug into Xie Lian and he pulled him roughly to
him, crushing his lips to his in a messy, open kiss with quite a bit of biting.

“I want you so much,” said Hua Cheng hoarsely as he pulled back, lips wet.

Xie Lian smiled, panting. “I know. That’s how I know you aren’t going anywhere.”

Hua Cheng tilted his head. “Oh?”

“Mmm.”

“You seem sure.”

“I am.”

“Do enlighten me.”

Xie Lian shrugged. “You had a whole shelf of…erm, erotic art, San Lang. Do you think
you’ll be so happy after only one time? I know you. You’re not so easily satisfied. Otherwise
you wouldn’t have collected a whole shelf.”

Hua Cheng’s mouth fell open in delight. “Gege,” he said, voice scandalised. “Are you
saying…you’re willing to bank on the fact that I won’t be able to get enough of you?”

Xie Lian blushed, but held firm. “Like I said, San Lang. I think I’ve been right enough times
that you should listen to me.”

“Are you really willing to bet on that?” drawled Hua Cheng playfully.

“No. I would never bet my San Ling’s life,” said Xie Lian, dead serious. “But I know I am
right about this. You won’t leave me, because you don’t want to. It can be that simple.”

Hua Cheng’s smile faded just a little. Xie Lian tightened his grip around his neck.

“I know you’re scared, San Lang,” he whispered. “We can…just go a little at a time, hmm?
I’m scared myself. A little at a time is probably all I can handle, I don’t really know what to
do, so you’ll have to lead me like we talked about, yes?”
Hua Cheng pressed his forehead to his, shutting his eye. “I…this is exactly why I didn’t
want- you don’t deserve this, you deserve no hesitation, no worry, no barriers-”

“No,” he interrupted. “I deserve who I love, and that is you. Everything else is just small little
details.”

Hua Cheng had started circling his hips with his long fingers. It was shivery and delicious.
He was darting in and around his neck and jaw, pressing warm little kisses at every spot.

He pulled back to watch him.

“I think I know what we should start with.”

Xie Lian’s heart was thumping slowly.

“Oh?”

“Mmm. As I said. We should not start off on such uneven footing. Exploration-wise.”

Xie Lian tried not to let his eyes bug out. He chewed his lip. “You, may have to be more
clear, San La-”

“I want to see you. All of you. And I want to help you have pleasure. But if I…” he
swallowed.

Xie Lian’s lips parted. Oh.

He understood.

Hua Cheng still did not trust himself to let go, to let himself have his own pleasure yet, or to
have it together. But if he focused just on Xie Lian’s…

“Alright,” he said quickly.

Hua Cheng’s brows twitched. “You…you are alright with that?”

“Yes,” he said swiftly.

Hua Cheng paused. “I thought you would not-”

Xie Lian gave a wry smile. He thought he would not, too. It was hard to explain. What Hua
Cheng was proposing was absolutely mortifying. And yet...the idea of Hua Cheng watching
him didn't feel base or indecent. It felt intimate. This was scary for Xie Lian, but he could
feel that Hua Cheng seeing him let go might help him let go too.

Xie Lian summoned every last drop of his courage, and took a deep breath. “What do I
know? Nothing. You’re the expert. So show me.”

Hua Cheng’s face flickered. “Alright then. I will.” He looked at him for a long moment.
He cupped Xie Lian’s face between his long hands, and Xie Lian shivered. He leaned down
slowly, and gently, and kissed him like that for a long time. Xie Lian was squirming after
only a minute, but Hua Cheng simply pulled back, gave him a raised eyebrow, and continued.

Hua Cheng was not being ruthless or rough or grabby. He was tender. Xie Lian found it
torturous. It was too much. Hua Cheng’s mouth had warmed to his temperature, and he was
so slow as he kissed him over and over, pulling back to dust light kisses on his nose and
cheeks and pecks against his bottom lip, his top lip, the corners of his mouth.

Hua Cheng moved his mouth to the sensitive hollow underneath his ear, and took his time
with his neck again. Xie Lian was thrashing.

Hua Cheng clearly found it amusing, but simply murmured in his ear things like “oh,
impatient, are we gege?” and “I can’t have you nervous, can I?”

Xie Lian shut his eyes at that one. He hated that Hua Cheng had a point. He was so singularly
focused on his frustration and desire that his shyness was slowly evaporating.

But when Hua Cheng’s hands hesitated at the ties of his robes, Xie Lian remembered that this
was not just another night where they would roll away from each other, panting until they
calmed down and slept.

Hua Cheng met his eyes, fingers stroking up and down his ribs. “Would you prefer-”

“No,” breathed Xie Lian. “You do it. I can’t- you do it.”

He meant it. He didn’t want to take his clothes off. He wanted Hua Cheng to do it for him.

Hua Cheng nodded, gaze smouldering. He threaded their hands together and pulled him up to
sitting, peeling him out of his sleeves gently, keeping his eye on his face all the while.

Xie Lian shouldn’t be so self conscious. Hua Cheng had seen him unclothed before. But not
this close, not because Hua Cheng was the one taking the clothes off, not because he asked
for it. He’d never had his hands on the bare skin of his chest, his sides, his abdomen.

Hua Cheng’s touch was light, wondrous. He held him up by the waist, gaze roving
unabashedly. He still had that look in his eye, though. The barrier he was keeping up,
concentrating on not getting carried away.

Xie Lian was down to his thin trousers. Hua Cheng was still dressed. Xie Lian shivered
slightly in the cold air. Hua Cheng seemed to find that disagreeable, narrowing his eye and
pulling him close.

“San Lang,” Xie Lian murmured, hanging off his neck. He opened his mouth, almost ready to
beg. He wanted to feel his skin so badly. But he could see an iron edge to Hua Cheng’s eye,
an inflexibility. He knew. He couldn’t push him too hard. This was all Hua Cheng could
handle.

That was alright; they had time. Not everything at once.

Xie Lian floated back down to the mat, not as a conscious decision so much as an instinct, to
lie down and look up at his love. That felt right. “San Lang,” he said again. “What now?”

Hua Cheng’s lips quirked. Xie Lian hadn’t meant to be funny, but then again, some of this
was at least a little bit funny. Two 800 year old virgins who were deeply in love and had
never even been naked with each other.

A helpless laugh bubbled out of him.

Xie Lian decided to not be embarrassed. He was too happy.

Hua Cheng shook his head in exasperation. “Gege…what do you want?”

Xie Lian exhaled. He wanted Hua Cheng’s hands on him, he wanted Hua Cheng’s lips on
him, his mouth, his fingers, his skin, his everything. But he could have that another night,
when Hua Cheng was ready. He would be, he had faith.

Tonight, Hua Cheng wanted to make sure that Xie Lian knew what pleasure actually was.
And Xie Lian found himself curious too.

Perhaps it really was prudent and appropriate for him to know, before he made a complete
fool of himself from the feel of Hua Cheng bare on him. A dull throb was pulsing in his
abdomen. He was excited.

“I…think I want you to…” he paused. Lead him, of course. But even more than that. “Tell
me what to do. I want you to tell me what to do.”

It was not a request he made in the absence of knowing what to do. He was a prude, sure, but
he was an adult who knew enough. He was well aware of the required movements and the
expected outcome.

But he wanted Hua Cheng to talk him through it. If he couldn’t have Hua Cheng's skin on
him, he wanted his voice, his gaze, his expressions. He didn’t want to have to think. He just
wanted to look at him and hear him.

Hua Cheng’s lips were parted, his breath jagged. He nodded once. “Alright.” His eye
wandered down his body.

“But first…” his fingers pinched at the waistband of his trousers, at his hipbone. Xie Lian felt
his cock twitch. Which was something he’d have sprinted away for a month ago. Now, he
saw Hua Cheng’s eye darken even more and he felt…appreciated.

He liked seeing Hua Cheng watch him, seeing his gaze linger. His throat was dry. He realised
Hua Cheng was about to see him bare. He thought he would feel bashful, but at this point, he
was just…eager.

“Yes, San Lang. It’s alright. You may continue.”

Hua Cheng’s lips quirked in acknowledgement of his little joke. He made quite a meal of
taking the trousers off, keeping his gaze fixed on him as he pulled at the waist ties
agonisingly slowly and hooked his fingers under. He was still gentle. Xie Lian bit back a
smile.

When he was finally bare, Hua Cheng stared with his lips parted.

A lot.

For quite a while.

Xie Lian couldn’t quite look down. Some embarrassment did actually start to creep in at that
point. Xie Lian felt his neck heat up, and he averted his eyes, trying not to move too much.

“Gege,” came the low voice.

Xie Lian squeezed his eyes shut. “Mmm?” he said faintly.

“Look at me."

Xie Lian huffed, and obeyed.

Hua Cheng had that look. That truly sincere look, that not teasing you at all look, that he
hardly ever wore. It left Xie Lian winded.

"You are the most perfect thing that has ever existed, Your Highness.”

Xie Lian blew out a shaky breath, eyes jerking away. “Well alright then,” he muttered.

He snuck another look at Hua Cheng's face. He was surprised to see he almost had a blush
darkening his features. Had he ever seen him blush? Surely not. He didn’t think he could, let
alone would.

“San Lang,” he began in wonder. “Are you embarrassed?”

It was, if nothing else, a nice distraction from his own blush. Hua Cheng gave him the eye,
and took a beat to answer.

“I never thought this would ever actually…” he swallowed. “You are so beautiful.”

Xie Lian shook his head. He knew what he looked like, and tonight’s beauty was only him
because Hua Cheng had kept his clothes on.

Hua Cheng’s throat bobbed, and he appeared to shake himself slightly, as if reminding
himself to focus.

He blinked, and moved his body upward, so that their foreheads were touching, and Hua
Cheng was propped half over him again.

“Gege…I will tell you what to do now. But if anything is not what you want, don’t do it,
alright? You just shake your head no. This is only about what you want, what you like, hmm?
It’s important that you enjoy everything, don't do it just for me.”
Xie Lian looked at him very seriously, and nodded. “I know. I want this,” His San Lang
would never push, unless he wanted him to.

Hua Cheng took a steadying breath. “Alright,” he said, voice uneven. “Take yourself in
hand.”

Xie Lian bit his lip, and obeyed.

He had been familiar with his body for 800 years. But it did feel slightly foreign to touch
himself like this. He had been so disinterested until Hua Cheng. This sort of state was simply
a non-issue. He found himself curious as well as aroused. He swelled slightly, hearing Hua
Cheng instruct him.

Hua Cheng was hoarse, husky. “Do you feel where you are wet, already, at the tip?”

Xie Lian squeezed his eyes shut again, the sound of him saying those words was too much.
But yes, he felt it.

“Use that. Spread it along yourself. It will feel better.”

Xie Lian obliged, heat rising on his face. He reminded himself to not be embarrassed. Hua
Cheng didn’t think he had anything to be embarrassed about, so he shouldn’t.

Hua Cheng’s gaze was unrelenting. Xie Lian stole a look at him. His face was so greedy.

“Now move your hand. Don’t overthink it. Just however it feels good to you, gege.”

Xie Lian nodded helplessly. “Can you kiss me?”

Hua Cheng breathed a disbelieving laugh. “Yes, gege. I can kiss you.”

Hua Cheng placed both of his hands either side of his face, and leaned close. He kissed him
softly, slowly, and Xie Lian finally felt distracted and overwhelmed enough to move his hand.
He was very hard, and he moved his fingers slowly, rubbing until he found a rhythm he liked.
He tightened his palm, and found that moving with a sheath-like grip was even better.

Every time he had a moment of hesitation, of shame, of briefly half-remembering that he had
always been taught not to do this, Hua Cheng stole his focus instead.

Just like Xie Lian wanted.

Xie Lian really couldn’t tell whether it was finding the flow he liked that slowly built him up,
or if it was just hearing Hua Cheng’s voice like this.

Watching his hungry face and feeling his mouth barely leave his, except to murmur “is this
what you like, gege? Moan if it is,” and “yes, like that, keep going and let it feel good. Look
at your face, you like it. You’re so beautiful, gege. I want you to enjoy it.”

Xie Lian was surprised at the effect it was all having on the rest of his body. He figured he
would forget about anything other than his cock, but his chest was heaving, his skin felt
sensitive, his toes were curling.

Perhaps the most surprising thing was his legs. How were they trembling so much? He was
lying down. Yet they were shaking uncontrollably, the tension and straining of his muscles
unbearable.

Hua Cheng was still kissing him deliciously and pulling back to watch him every few
seconds.

Xie Lian thought that would make him feel lewd and exposed, but Hua Cheng barely took his
eye off his face. His hands twitched on his jaw whenever Xie Lian let out a soft noise, a tiny
acknowledgement of the fact that he was coming undone.

He had never felt the building, cresting wave of this before. He had always headed his desire
off before it even got started. It felt incredible, to finally chase pleasure instead of avoiding,
resisting, ignoring it. He felt pulled by it, pulled by a tidal ripcurrent towards the release he'd
always thought was sinful. In reality, it felt natural, and inevitable.

He still wasn’t prepared for the crash. Hua Cheng held his face as Xie Lian shuddered into
his mouth. “Ah, San Lang, I’m- I don’t-”

“Come, gege. Let yourself come. Let me watch you come.”

The heat and the pleasure ripped through every part of him. It was all encompassing. Xie
Lian arched off the mat into Hua Cheng’s mouth. He was left panting, breathless and
completely overwhelmed.

Hua Cheng huffed a small laugh, holding him as he floated back down to earth.

“Was that what you expected, gege?”

Xie Lian was overcome. He tugged Hua Cheng to lie across him, he wanted the weight. He
couldn’t speak for a few minutes, so Hua Cheng just held him quietly and kissed him and
nuzzled him until he was a person again.

Eventually, he spoke. “I’m glad you were with me for that, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng shook his head in disbelief. Xie Lian liked the smile he had at the moment. It
looked helpless, like Hua Cheng couldn’t get rid of it if he tried.

Hua Cheng let out breath. “Thank you for letting me be with you.”

Xie Lian had now returned to himself slightly, enough to remember his usual standard
awkwardness.

“Um, San Lang… you…be careful of your clothes.”

Hua Cheng’s chest expanded against his ribcage in a silent laugh. “Why is that, gege?”

Xie Lian shut his eyes. “I didn’t mean to make a mess.”

“I meant you to. And it’s not a mess, it’s beautiful. You could never make a mess.”

Xie Lian opened them, bit away his smile. Hua Cheng was so firm with his pronouncements.
Like there was only one possible way to view Xie Lian, and that was through Hua Cheng’s
golden-filtered tint. It was such a heady drug, to watch Hua Cheng look at him that way.

Xie Lian stretched, and pressed his nose against his. He felt so warm and light and like he
wanted Hua Cheng to just lie on top of him forever.

“You look sleepy, gege.”

Xie Lian stifled a yawn. “But…”

He looked down, chewing his lip. Hua Cheng was still very much in an unresolved state.

Hua Cheng shook his head fondly, bending to speak in a low, teasing tone. “Believe me when
I tell you gege…that was absolutely, completely, beyond enough for me.”

Xie Lian blinked sleepily. He had no capacity to tease him back. He simply clutched at him,
and said: “Alright, my San Lang. I…I think this is the best night I’ve ever had in my whole
life. This, and when you came back to me.”

Hua Cheng’s teasing expression disappeared, replaced with something unguarded, and awed.
He spoke haltingly. “I…me too, gege.”

Xie Lian smiled, pressing their foreheads together, and keeping him like that for a little
moment.

Hua Cheng inhaled deeply, looking around. “I don’t want you getting cold. Let’s get you
clean and dressed.”

Xie Lian was boneless and pliant, letting Hua Cheng wipe him gently and put his arms back
in his sleeves and tie the inner robe at his waist, brow furrowed with focus. When he was
done, Hua Cheng pulled him back down to the mat and gathered him close.

Xie Lian completely liquified in his arms. He was so completely content. Hua Cheng kissed
his hair and murmured for him to go to sleep, and Xie Lian agreed, because Hua Cheng’s
suggestions were always good and right.

***

The morning was somewhat difficult for both of them.

And now that Xie Lian actually had options on the table when he woke up hard, it was very
tough indeed to think of anything else.

Xie Lian, naturally, had a few moments of internalised shame catch up to him, a shyness in
his eyes and a few moments of hiding against Hua Cheng’s chest as he remembered the
previous night. Hua Cheng wouldn’t allow that, and had to kiss the blush off his face.
They were both aroused. But Xie Lian could see the hint of worry behind Hua Cheng’s eye,
the tension in his shoulders. They had something to do today, and neither of them would be
present with each other until it was over.

Plus, Xie Lian needed to make himself clear. So when Hua Cheng’s honeyed voice asked if
he wanted him to talk him through how to touch himself again, Xie Lian looked at him very
squarely, summoned his gumption, and said “No. Next time, it will be your hands.”

And Hua Cheng’s eye had widened with that tiny moment of the very particular fear that Xie
Lian recognised in him, the fear of finally having something he wanted, and Xie Lian knew
he wasn’t ready.

So Xie Lian kissed him and cut him some fruit instead and fed it to him perched on his lap.
They hadn’t spent a second not touching. It felt needed, like they had to hoard it before Jun
Wu tainted it.

Travelling to Mt Tonglu wasn’t what it once was. The Realm border wasn’t timebound
anymore. It was just open, all the time. Anyone could visit; ghost, god, demon or mortal. Xie
Lian had never stopped to consider why that was. It had been that way since the events of his
Kilnbirth.

Now, differences in how borders were behaving seemed ominous, and worthy of
understanding.

Hua Cheng drew the portal array this time. They stepped into it, handfasted, and arrived
outside outside Guoshi’s cottage, in the forest near the slopes of the mountain. It was a grey,
gloomy day.

Xie Lian knocked.

“I’m busy!” came the irritated voice.

Xie Lian rolled his eyes. “Does ‘busy’ mean you're losing, Guoshi?”

A long pause, a creak of a chair. “What are you doing here?!”

“We’ve come to visit.”

“Oh, very good. Wait…you said we? ”

“Yes, um…Hua Cheng is here-”

“Oh for goodness’ sake. Is he still following you around?”

Xie Lian coughed. “Um-”

“He’s genuinely a stalker!” he called indignantly, coming closer.

“He’s genuinely just here to ask questions,” interjected Hua Cheng smoothly.
Guoshi descended into vague muttering. He wrenched open the door, playing cards in hand.

“Come in then.”

Xie Lian looked around. As he expected, three empty shells sat around his table.

Hua Cheng eyed the table, which was strewn with cards.

“Keeping entertained?” he said.

Guoshi threw him an unimpressed look.

“I really don’t understand your taste, Xie Lian,” he huffed, shaking out his sleeves.

“Good,” muttered Hua Cheng.

“We need to see Jun Wu,” said Xie Lian, not wishing to beat around the bush.

Guoshi paused. “Oh?”

“Yes. Where is he?”

“What do you need to talk to him for? I thought you of all people wouldn’t want to ever see
him again.”

“I definitely don’t,” sighed Xie Lian. “But needs must. There are problems occurring with the
Realm Doors. And since he created the Realms…”

Guoshi suddenly looked tired.

“Oh dear,” he said, heaving a sigh. “I wondered if this would happen.”

“What?” demanded Hua Cheng, looking irritable.

Guoshi looked guilty. “Well…it’s not so easy to take someone who built everything around
his power for centuries, and just chuck him under a mountain. I wondered if it would create
some imbalances. But what about the demons? Aren’t they able to fix the problems?”

“Not so far.”

“Ah,” he nodded, looking troubled. “Well then. I’ll come with you. Make sure he doesn’t get
that attitude of his.”

Hua Cheng rolled his eye. “His attitude is not the problem.”

“It’s one of them,” replied Guoshi tartly. “Come on,” he said, gesturing at a small wooden
door Xie Lian mistook for a cupboard.

The door creaked open, revealing a set of stone steps descending below the ground. Guoshi
lit a bamboo torch, and gestured them down into the dark. Xie Lian gave Hua Cheng a brief
rueful look, and reached for his hand again. They began their descent.
It took a while. Xie Lian had known of the many catacombs and tunnels underneath the
mountain, but this was certainly going as far below the mountain as it was possible to go.

Eventually, they reached the bottom step and looked around the low stone ceilings of an
antechamber.

Xie Lian could feel the suppressing power of the place. It made him uneasy. It was like a
thick, suffocating blanket. He could hear voices, dim and muffled.

“Over here then,” said his Guoshi brightly ahead of them, popping his head around a wall of
stone to a long stone corridor sloping downward.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng moved forward, still hearing vague conversation occurring below
them. Xie Lian guessed who the voices belonged to. There weren’t many other potential
candidates.

“The three mountain spirits are here?”

“Mmm? Oh, yes of course. My friends wished to remain within the place, to ensure he stays
where he should be. It is our duty, since we all failed him so.”

Xie Lian glanced at the walls. They reached the bottom, a door thick with talismans that
Guoshi moved aside with a flick of his fingers. “He’s in here.”

Inside, it was cool and quiet. Whatever conversation the three spirits had been having with
themselves or Jun Wu, they had fallen silent now. It was an open cavern, smaller than the
cave of ten thousand gods, but similar in its low hanging rock and dripping water.

The suppression was intense. Xie Lian was sure he’d barely have enough spiritual power to
light a candle down here.

The voice that spoke was cold, and amused. It echoed off the cave walls.

“Xianle. You’ve come.”

Xie Lian felt cold fear prickling at the back of his neck. And loathing. He really did loathe
this man. He wished he could forget all about his existence.

Hua Cheng squeezed his hand, and spoke. He seemed to realise Xie Lian wasn’t quite able to
yet.

“You are not fit to speak to him. So speak to me.”

Jun Wu chuckled darkly. Movement and shadow danced along the cavern ceilings from the
light of the torch, until he finally emerged.

Xie Lian stared at him, mounting horror making his mouth go dry and his stomach twist.

He looked horrific.
Dark circles so prominent they looked etched. Unkempt hair, unshaven, ragged clothes
hanging loosely. But that wasn’t what Xie Lian was staring at.

His entire face was mangled. Deep, ragged scars crisscrossed his cheeks, his forehead, his
jaw. His brutal, thousands of years-old attempts to rid him of the voices. The three vassals of
his Kingdom, once embedded in his face, and now embedded in the very walls of his eternal
prison.

Xie Lian had never realised. It had never registered that without spiritual power, he would not
be looking upon the handsome, elegant Heavenly Emperor. He would be looking upon what
he was before he chose that mask. This was his true form.

Hua Cheng’s mouth twisted. Xie Lian realised he was clutching his hand so tightly it must be
hurting him, and loosened his grip.

“Well. It’s very nice to finally meet the real you, Jun Wu,” said Hua Cheng sardonically.

Jun Wu’s eyes were hollow, but not dead. There was still a quiet triumph in there, a sneering
victoriousness that Xie Lian didn’t like one bit.

“Would that you could have offered the same, and come to me as a scared little boy, Crimson
Rain Sought Flower.”

Hua Cheng's fingers twitched.

“Treat them with respect, now,” warned Guoshi. “They’ve come to ask questions. I will be
very annoyed if you lie. So listen, and answer.”

"Quite so, quite so!" rumbled the walls, making Xie Lian jump slightly.

“Of course,” said Jun Wu, spreading his hands. “I live to serve humanity in all its forms, after
all.”

Xie Lian felt a chill down his spine. He steeled himself. He had at least learned one thing of
both Jun Wu and White No Face: he loved to talk about himself.

“You know what is happening,” he stated, voice ringing. It was not a question.

“Of course. How could I not? You should all have known that putting me here would throw
everything out of balance. It is quite amusing that you couldn’t handle it without me,
though.”

Hua Cheng narrowed his eye. “Tell us how to stop this.”

“Or what? You’ll kick me out of heaven, strip me of my power, suppress me under a
mountain?” he laughed. “You see the problem, don’t you? You have nothing to threaten me
with, because I have nothing left to lose.”

“Yes you do!” said Guoshi sharply. “I still believe you want to make amends for yourself.
You will lose my respect, my esteem if you do not help them. Do not ruin any more lives.”
"Quite so! No more lives!" echoed the walls.

“Your faith in me is really so strong? How sweet,” he mocked.

“Why is this happening? Why are you going for the Ghost Realm? You don’t even care about
them!” Xie Lian snapped.

“On the contrary, Xianle. I care a great deal about all of it. Everything in the Three Realms is
balanced, you see. And I respect the choice that ghosts make to remain. That’s why I let them
remain.”

Xie Lian felt a roiling nausea.

“Let them? The borders do not only answer to you. This can’t be all about you. ”

Jun Wu’s mouth twisted. “No. The Border spirit has its own will. Malleable will, but will just
the same.”

“And we know who they chose.”

Jun Wu’s eyebrows raised. “Do you now?”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “There were three Doors before Hua Cheng. One for your mortal form,
one for the facade you called Jun Wu, and one for White No Face. Your three forms. But
when Hua Cheng, Blackwater and I all attained three forms too, it must have mistaken us for
more versions of you, and opened more Doors.”

“You certainly did mess with the integrity of it all, but I let it be. It seemed to actually make
the borders more stable. Which is why it’s so much funnier that it’s failing now.”

Xie Lian stared at him. “You think this is funny? If the Ghost Realm fails…”

“Oh yes, it’s the halfway place of all beginnings and endings. If it falls, the other Realms will
all have their borders fall in turn. Demons will ran rampant, mortals will loot heaven, and all
the ghosts will be dead long before that happens. It truly will be chaos,” he said, clearly
relishing the prospect.

Xie Lian grit his teeth. “Why is it failing! Who is doing this?”

Jun Wu threw his head back and laughed. “Who? Oh Xianle. You really still think things are
so simple? That there’s a big bad man like me behind it all? You should ask yourselves!”

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng shared a look.

“I don’t understand,” said Xie Lian bitterly. “Do enlighten us.”

“I am suppressed,” he said, hands wide. “Of course that would cause fluctuations. But as you
said, I am not the only power in the Ghost Realm. So if the Doors have grown so weak that
they are closing, then you must ask yourselves what has changed about you and your fellow
Ghost Kings.”
“Stop speaking in riddles,” growled Hua Cheng.

“I am not! You know of what I speak! The Kiln accepted your will, did it not? Designated
you worthy of Supreme power, did it not? You are very welcome for that, by the way.”

“Shut up. So what?” he shot back.

Jun Wu shook his head slowly, eyes meeting Xie Lian’s again.

“Oh, Xianle. He must have told you, surely? Obsession means quite a bit to ghosts. I built it
into the design of this place. True obsession, true will is the only thing the Kiln accepts. If the
doors are failing…well. I can’t be the only one who is dealing with a crisis of purpose. Why
else would all of this have started only when he came back?” said Jun Wu, jerking his chin at
Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian went cold, hand jerking in Hua Cheng’s. He raised his eyes to look at him. Hua
Cheng was white, too white.

“This cannot be…because of me,” he whispered.

“You 'rule' the Ghost Realm, don’t you? And I expect your little friend Black Water isn’t
really himself these days either, is he? It’s all a little too much for the Borders to handle,” he
crowed.

“They bestowed Supreme power to you for a reason. They like consistency. Your power is
tied to all of the Doors, and all of them to you. But oh dear. Your reasons for being a ghost?
You must have lost your nerve. It's like voiding a contract with the borders.”

“Stop it,” spat Xie Lian, biting rage burning his stomach. He had promised his San Lang that
he wouldn’t let Jun Wu torture him, and here he was letting him do just that.

“They’re your creation, aren’t they? Your system? They fail, you fail. So if you want to live,
tell us how to fix it.”

Jun Wu’s scars almost seemed like they were dancing in the flickering light of the torch fire.
It made him seem quite mad.

“I’m sure you must realise there is one very quick way to stabilise everything.”

Waves of nausea hit Xie Lian. They couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“No.”

Xie Lian looked at Hua Cheng. It was him who spoke, voice full of rage and hatred.

“We will never let you out. You will die alone, here.”

Jun Wu shrugged, and turned.

“Suit yourself,” he said, walking away. “But I’ll see you two again very soon. Of that I am
certain. Oh…and Xianle? You don't know as much as you think. I’m not so arrogant that I
needed three doors for myself. One was enough, made long ago. The other two…”

The walls began shouting. "SHAME! DO NOT TURN AWAY! DO YOUR DUTY, DO NOT
BE SO CRUEL! YOU ARE THE GREATEST SHAME OF WUYONG!"

Jun Wu simply laughed, and said nothing more.

***

Xie Lian stumbled as they reached the final step and emerged, wincing at the sunlight. He
was panting and hollow eyed. He couldn’t get away from this place fast enough. And he felt
wrong, everything felt wrong.

“Xie Lian…” said Guoshi, hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. “I don’t…I’m sorry. I
failed you. I thought it was-” he stopped.

Xie Lian knew what he was going to say.

He thought it was over. It wasn't. It would never be over.

Jun Wu simply had too much power over everything. They could not defeat him and still
keep the system he built. No one man could govern the Three Realms for thousands of years
and go down from one fight. He’d known it in his bones, in his nightmares. Now, it was the
simple truth, out in the open.

He tugged at Hua Cheng’s hand. One look at him was all it took to wrench him out of his self
pity. Hua Cheng was grey and pallid, and completely unable to meet his eyes.

“San Lang,” he murmured. “Let’s go back, okay? We can figure this out. We can.”

Hua Cheng nodded mutely, gaze on the ground. Xie Lian still felt sick. He couldn’t believe
he’d let Jun Wu do this to his love.

“Guoshi-”

“I’ll draw the array for you,” he said, already crouching to the ground. “Save your power.”

Xie Lian smiled bleakly. “We’ll need it, right?”

Guoshi met his eyes uneasily, and said nothing.

He straightened when he finished. Xie Lian had nothing left in him, but to squeeze Hua
Cheng’s hand.

“I’ll…try to talk to him again. Try to get something from him," said Guoshi.

Xie Lian shook his head. “He won’t say a word.” He knew it to be true. Jun Wu had the upper
hand now. He was not reckless enough to lose it.
Guoshi looked wretched too.

“I’m sorry, Xianle. If this needs my life, I’ll give it. I owe it.”

Xie Lian breathed shakily. “I will figure this out. I will.”

He pulled Hua Cheng into the array.

Back at the cottage, he took Hua Cheng inside without a word. He folded himself onto him,
murmuring that it would be alright, that they wouldn’t let it happen.

Hua Cheng was still silent. He looked terrible. Xie Lian swallowed his fear, and forced it to
solidify into determination.

He pulled back, and cupped his face, forcing him to look at him. “San Lang. I swear on the
thing I hold most dear, which is your very life, that I will not let him win.”

“He already did,” he said flatly. “He’s still torturing you. And I don’t know how to protect
you. I didn’t figure this out. I still don’t know what he’s done. 800 years, and I still don’t
know how to beat him.”

Xie Lian shook his head firmly. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” he whispered to the floor.

“He’s just a man, San Lang. Don’t give him more than that.”

He recognised the look on Hua Cheng’s face. Total hopelessness, tinged with fear. It was how
he felt, back when he thought White No Face invincible and all knowing.

“San Lang. Don’t you worry about protecting me, okay? You’ve done enough. I will take
care of you. I will be the one to save you, this time.”

Hua Cheng frowned, breathing shallowly.

Xie Lian caressed his face. “Will you let me?”

Hua Cheng opened his mouth. No words came out. Xie Lian knew why. He’d just asked his
love the most difficult thing in the world, for him.

"Gege-" he began.

He didn't finish. Instead, Hua Cheng doubled over, wheezing.

Xie Lian seized his face in between his hands. “San Lang!” he cried. “San Lang, what is
happening!”

Hua Cheng groaned, voice hoarse and faint. Xie Lian felt a sharp stab of panic. He had never
heard Hua Cheng make a single noise of pain before. “San Lang, talk to me!” he begged.
 Ruoye flew out of Xie Lian’s sleeve, circling Hua Cheng’s neck frantically and vibrating with
fear.

Then it happened. Hua Cheng’s hand, just for a moment, went transparent. The midday light
passed through it entirely, refracting into a prism of colour.

“San LANG!” screamed Xie Lian, clutching at him desperately. The moment ended, and Hua
Cheng collapsed on the floor, gulping soundlessly for air he shouldn’t need. Xie Lian went
down with him, hands roving everywhere to check he was still there, still with him, he
couldn’t let him go-

Grey Guard came silently, furious and cold.

“What happened?!” begged Xie Lian.

“You already know. I was right there, when it happened. No one did it. They just...crumbled.”

“I know,” said Xie Lian, throat clawing with dread. “I know. Which Door?"

“Not one, Your Highness. Two.”

***

Chapter End Notes

"Your body is saying it wants to kudos."

-Usagi, Alice in Borderland

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Green Ghostfire
Chapter Summary

Hua Cheng misses the point and is angry at the point

But he has one more story to tell

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

“I don’t understand, it just happened.”

Mu Qing looked terrible. His eyes were hollow and exhausted, skin grey. Feng Xin looked no
better. They were all huddled in the cottage. Banyue was shaking with Sooty in her lap, Black
Water sat at the table with his head in his hands.

“Weeks we were there, weeks, and then all of a sudden, Grey Guard just pops into being and
says “they’re disappearing” and Banyue tears out of the hut yelling and it was all over in a
second.”

Hua Cheng really didn’t care about the details, at this point. He sat at the table, eyes down.
He didn’t want this place to be an inn, he didn’t want Mu Qing and Feng Xin eyeing their
sleeping mat in the corner uncomfortably, he didn’t want to deal with Black Water’s glassy,
indifferent stare.

He wanted to undo what it was like to hear Xie Lian scream his name in fear and scrabble at
him frantically.

He wanted to rip Jun Wu’s spine out through his throat.

And yet, that wouldn’t help. It would most likely accelerate his own death. On rather, his
sunrise. He’d already seen part of it begin, his hand breaking into light. Worse, Xie Lian had
seen it.

Eight hundred years, and the brief moment of victory he thought he had was nothing more
than a farce. The eye in the storm.

And Jun Wu had known that all along. He had probably laughed alone to himself for months,
knowing that Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were living so happily, as if he was no longer a threat.
As if the deck of cards he built wasn’t stacked against them all the way through.
Xie Lian stood behind him, his hand steadying and warm on his back as he stroked
rhythmically. Hua Cheng really didn’t know if he could handle it, his touch. He had let him
down so utterly.

“Qi Rong and the Madam…”

“Their two Doors remain, but they are flickering.”

Feng Xin grabbed his sword. His sword. As if it mattered, as if a sword could help.

“Well let’s go and help them. We can’t let Qi Rong be responsible for this, we have to be
there to find who it is-”

“It’s me,” said Hua Cheng quietly.

Feng Xin turned to him with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

The room was silent.

“It isn’t anyone doing this on purpose. It’s the system, the Ghost Realm failing, because all of
its biggest powers are failing.”

Grey Guard narrowed their eyes. “The border spirit has deemed you unworthy?”

Hua Cheng shrugged. “Something like that.”

“It isn’t like that at all,” said Xie Lian sharply. “It’s…it’s complicated. Jun Wu made too
many clones. He let so few ghosts have any real power for so long, until San Lang. It’s made
the Doors here too weak. With Jun Wu under the mountain…”

Black Water snorted. “You’re being too kind, Your Highness. Hua Cheng and I could handle
this without his power, once.”

Mu Qing’s brows contracted. “What do you mean once?”

Black Water shrugged. “Once, when we were different. Now, we don’t have the strength we
used to. I’ve felt it from the start.”

Xie Lian’s voice had an edge to it today. A repressed anger, a frustration. “You are not the
only one this affects, He Xuan.”

“Clearly,” he said, voice deadened and completely uncaring.

Hua Cheng felt Xie Lian squaring himself. “We’ll go. We go to the Doors, and we figure it
out. I know we can figure it out. Grey Guard, please take us there.”

Grey Guard nodded. “We must attend Qi Rong first. He is not taking this well. Though there
is no need to Realmwalk to get to him now.”

Xie Lian cocked his head, ruffled. “What do you mean?”

 ***

Qi Rong’s Door wasn’t in the desert anymore. According to Grey Guard, it had moved eight
times since Xie Lian and Hua Cheng last saw him. Now, however, it had stopped moving.

“Conserving energy,” remarked Grey Guard.

The Door had decided that the location of its last stand would be on Mount Taicang. Hua
Cheng felt a chill of foreboding, feeling it over by the maple forest, only a short walk away
from their cottage. It seemed ominous that it picked the place of his birth, of Xie Lian’s birth.

Of Qi Rong’s birth, too, he supposed.

Qi Rong, naturally, was screaming bloody murder. Sadly, he had not lost his mouth this time.
But he lost both arms. He was still in the box, so it hardly mattered, but that logic didn’t seem
to occur to him.

“YOU USELESS FUCKERS MU QING AND FENG XIN! USELESS! YOU HAD ONE
JOB, AND YOU FUCKED US ALL! I KNEW YOU TWO DOGS COULDN’T BE
TRUSTED! YOU REALLY ARE NOT EVEN FIT TO BE SERVANTS!”

Mu Qing unsheathed his sword at the same time Feng Xin moved forward to kick the box
furiously, stopped only by Lang Qianqiu. “No, please General, don’t!”

“You’re seriously defending him!?” snapped Feng Xin.

“No! I’m trying to help you-”

“OW!” yelled Feng Xin, looking down in confusion. Gu Zi, below his eye level, had bitten
him directly on the leg. He was now hanging off his leg by the teeth as Feng Xin tried to
shake him off.

“See? Gu Zi is a little too protective,” panted Lang Qianqiu, trying to grab him. “Gu Zi STOP
THAT, we talked about this! Biting is bad manners!”

Gu Zi gave a feral growl, and chomped his teeth even deeper.

Feng Xin yelped. “Get OFF!” He prised Gu Zi’s jaw apart and shoved him away.

Mu Qing simply stood, sword forgotten at his side. “Why are babies always biting you?” he
remarked irritably.

“Shut up,” Feng Xin retorted.

Banyue's eyes were wide. "I guess I didn't have it so bad," she whispered to herself, gaze on
the box.

Gu Zi was very emotional. He flung himself on the box. “Everyone leave my Daddy alone,”
he sobbed.
Xie Lian’s face looked sorry for him, as usual. “Oh…it’s alright, Gu Zi. We’ll leave him
alone.”

“I DON’T NEED YOUR PITY, COME AT ME YOU COWARD FUCKS!” frothed Qi Rong.

Hua Cheng’s fists twitched.

“We have bigger problems today than you, Qi Rong.”

“Stop making him lose his body! You leave my Daddy alone!” wailed Gu Zi, hugging the
box tight.

“We are not-” he began, frustrated, before stopping. Well. He supposed they, in a way, were
doing this to him. Black Water eyed him knowingly.

Gu Zi hiccuped as he clutched the box, and kept staring daggers at all the adults clustered
around him. Hua Cheng vaguely realised that he was actually quite a brave little boy.

He sighed. “Everyone else stay here with him. The Madam can be trusted on her own, he
can’t.”

Mu Qing and Feng Xin nodded.

“And Black Water,” he continued. “You’re coming with us.”

Black Water eyed him, face impartial.

“Your Highness,” began Mu Qing, hesitantly as they turned away. “Are you…alright?”

Hua Cheng froze, and turned to Xie Lian, who looked surprised and caught, before he
schooled his face. “I’m fine, Mu Qing.”

Hua Cheng looked down. Everyone could see that Xie Lian was not fine. He was pale, and
worried. Hua Cheng felt warmth as Xie Lian took his hand, and pulled him away from the
crowd.

Grey Guard and Black Water followed them down the hill.

“We are Realmwalking,” called Grey Guard. “Why are you walking away? There is no
need.”

“Just...give me a minute,” said Xie Lian, striding ahead and pulling Hua Cheng insistently.
He stopped after a few more steps, and turned to Grey Guard.

“Is this safe? Realmwalking for San Lang, right now?” he said, voice quiet.

Hua Cheng looked at him as his heart fell. Ah. He had walked out of earshot of everyone,
because he didn’t want to let on to everyone that Hua Cheng was this weak.
Grey Guard raised an eyebrow. “It is difficult on the body, but I…I can put as much power
into it as I can, to shield him from the effects.”

Hua Cheng grit his teeth. This truly was the end, if even Grey Guard felt sorry for him.

“Just take us there.”

Grey Guard looked like they wanted to say something, but decided against it. They raised
their hands high, and closed their eyes.

Cawing birds, the sound of waves. Hua Cheng blinked, and they were by the seaside again.
The exact same beach. It seemed this Door had no intention of moving.

The Madam, to his surprise, looked fine. More than fine. The Maid, Slicer and Wild Wail
were all with her, Wild Wail in albatross form. They appeared to be playing dice, judging by
the dice cup in Wild Wail's beak. Pei Ming sat off to the side with his arms folded, looking
tired and irritable.

“Ah! Three Ghost Kings! It really must have been bad this time,” called The Madam.

Hua Cheng found himself oddly angry.

“Having a nice time, are you?”

The Madam glanced at him, eyebrows raised. “Keeping ourselves entertained is not a crime.
We were waiting for you.”

“What happened to you when the Doors disappeared?” he demanded.

Pei Ming spoke, seemingly wanting to show that he had been doing his duty. “We were here.
She was in some pain, but that was all. I looked, but Wild Wail said they knew straight away
it was the other Doors.”

Wild Wail cawed. “Our one pulsed, though. Still is. Growing weaker.”

Hua Cheng grit his teeth. They were right; he could feel it. It was flickering near the tent,
setting an edge of panic to his mind.

“We know,” sighed Xie Lian. “Well, we’re glad you’re alright at least.”

Pei Ming grunted. “I need to go back to Heaven. I need to…”

Hua Cheng glared at him. “Need to what?”

Pei Ming and Xie Lian shared an uncomfortable look. Hua Cheng knew exactly what he
meant. He needed to inform Heaven that they were on the edge. That they would most likely
fail. To prepare them for the oncoming chaos.

“Go, Pei Ming. We can stay here for a little while,” said Xie Lian quietly.
“Off you go then! Bring me back something pretty,” said The Madam lasciviously.

Pei Ming actually rolled his eyes sullenly. He raised into the Heavens with curt nod.

Wild Wail flapped his wings slightly, and made to follow him, but-

“Don’t, Wild Wail,” said The Madam, amused. “You already did it once.”

“It was HILARIOUS,” said Wild Wail, feathers ruffling.

“I don’t have the energy to hear him yelling as he’s washing it out of his eyes again.”

“He ran into the sea! SO FUNNY.”

“Well, it was all over his face.”

“I am wild. I do not find bowel motions unnatural like you primitive humans.”

“So you claimed, but he obviously won’t believe it was an accident if you do it a second
time. So settle down,” she said indulgently, lips quirked as she shook her dice again.

Slicer’s shoulders twitched.

“How nice to see you’re in such high spirits,” grit out Hua Cheng through his teeth.

She glanced at him again. “Ah. You’re in a mood.”

His eye twitched. “You may have noticed we are in some significant danger.”

“All the more reason not to snap at friends,” she said pointedly.

Xie Lian cleared his throat. “We…have some information. We visited Jun Wu, and…”

The Madam’s face was entirely impassive as she heard the story. She said nothing.

The Maid was not so quiet.

“What do you mean, it's the Ghost Kings?! Well STOP IT then!” she said, shaking her finger
at Hua Cheng and Black Water, who was barely listening and looking at the sea morosely.

“It isn’t that simple, sister,” said The Madam, eyes thoughtful.

“Why not! You’re so powerful, Crimson Rain Sought Flower and Black Water Sinking
Ships,” she said sarcastically, “Use the power!”

“This is not about power,” dismissed The Madam. She got to her feet, shaking the sand off
her exquisite robes. She looked like she was attending a royal event, not gambling on the
beach.

“Very well then. Sweet pea and Black Water, we shall talk alone.”
Hua Cheng frowned. “Why?”

“Because I said so.”

He looked furtively at Xie Lian, who nodded encouragingly. “It’s alright San Lang. I’ll stay
with them.”

“Are you any good at dice?” demanded Wild Wail.

Xie Lian gave a small smile, and a soft glance at Hua Cheng. “Depends who I’m with.”

He sat, and reached for the cup.

Hua Cheng met The Madam’s eyes. She jerked her head towards the other end of the beach,
and he and Black Water followed.

***

“That's ridiculous,” seethed Hua Cheng. They sat on the dune above some rock pools,
watching the crabs come out and dance.

“I didn’t say it would work, I said it's our only chance. You should listen to this old lady, I
know a thing or two.”

“Stop-” seethed Hua Cheng. “Stop being like this!”

“What?!”

“You’re acting so casual! You’ll die too, if anything else happens!”

Her gaze was sharp, assessing. “You look terrible. Both of you. What happened to you?”

“Nothing!” he insisted.

All it took was a crooked eyebrow.

He let out all of his breath. “My sunrise started. My hand disappeared,” he whispered.

That got a reaction, or at least a tilt of a head, from Black Water. “Me too,” he grunted.
“Though my hands disappeared last time already. This time it was nearly all of me. Banyue
saw.”

Now that Hua Cheng looked closer, He Xuan looked even worse than he did. Of course,
much of his pinched face and pallid colouring was standard for him, but he really did look
sick. Both of them did. Dark eye circles, so pale they were practically transparent. Hua Cheng
even found that he was moving slower than usual, especially close to the Doors.

The Madam shook her head. “Oh dear. What a mess,” she sighed. “Sweet one. Did he see?
Xie Lian?”

He looked at her in surprise, and nodded jerkily.

“Mmm. That would account for your little mood then.”

“It is not a little-”

“I know exactly how serious this is. You are the one wasting time not listening to me. Why?”

Hua Cheng swallowed.

“Because I don’t understand what you are saying.”

“If the Doors are going, you both need to be honest about why your ghostwill has changed.
It’s obvious why yours has, Black Water,” she said, as Black Water shifted uncomfortably.
“But yours, sweet pea? You’re going to have to try harder than throwing a little pissfit.”

Hua Cheng swallowed his indignant rage. “I, as ever, have only one dream.”

“That’s obviously not true, is it?”

Hua Cheng raised his eye to the sky. “What do you want from me?” he bit out, frustrated.

“The truth. What happened right before the Doors disappeared?”

“We visited Jun Wu, like I said.”

“No. You said you were in the cottage. What happened right before.”

He stared at her, mouth hanging open.

“We…we were just talking-”

“About what?”

Hua Cheng clenched at the sand. “About…Jun Wu. About what to do.”

“And what did you decide.”

“Nothing. We didn’t get that far.”

“Stop being so evasive. What was said right before?”

Hua Cheng met her eyes reluctantly. “His Highness said he would save me, this time.”

She nodded. “Ah. And I assume you heard that as 'You can't save me, Hua Cheng.'"

"No!" he retorted childishly, in a manner that was unconvincing even to the crabs. Hua Cheng
rubbed his neck, glancing awkwardly at Black Water, who was slouched and still watching
the sea. “You can’t possibly think that’s relevant.”

“Of course it is. What happened the other times? What was said, what did you think?”
Hua Cheng went still, memories flooding. The first time he…he had been thinking about how
he wasn’t strong enough. And the second time…

He’d been convinced Xie Lian was about to leave him.

“But…”

He couldn’t say the words. He was, quite frankly, humiliated. His emotional weakness was
the reason for all this?

“That can’t be-”

“For goodness sake, sweet pea. Your ghostwill is the reason you became a Supreme. Why
wouldn’t it be the reason you could lose your power too, if it changes or wavers? You’re the
only one holding things together now. Xie Lian is too new to the Ghost Realm to hold out
alone. He’s not truly a ghost. And Black Water is clearly done trying.”

Black Water cocked his head, but said nothing. Hua Cheng felt a surge of anger at him, too,
but…

“I am not wavering.”

“Yes you are. And you’re not telling me everything. What are you holding back about? I
know that look.”

Hua Cheng kicked at the sand immaturely. “None of your business.”

“Ah, something salacious then. Problems in the bedroom?”

“You-!”

“I’m quite the expert you know. I’m frankly a little offended you didn’t ask me for tips.”

“I don’t need your help-”

“Then why does your man look so in love, and you look like this?”

Hua Cheng stopped talking. He couldn’t let himself think of it.

Every time his mind wandered to the feel of Xie Lian gasping underneath him, the look on
his face and the blush on his chest, his whole flawless bare body, his mind shut down. He
couldn’t think of it, or he’d be too distracted and lost, and then he’d slip and drag his beloved
down with him.

He still couldn’t believe it had happened. Moreover, that Xie Lian seemed happy, and
unembarrassed about it. Well... by his standards.

How could he have let it happen, when Jun Wu was waiting to tell him exactly how he’d
failed? He’d had a job to do, and he hadn’t done it. He had not earned the right to lie bare
with Xie Lian and touch him the way he wanted, when every moment he lost focus was a
moment wasted.

“It’s not important.”

The Madam rolled her eyes. “I would disagree.”

“We have more important things to worry about.”

“Over a month between Doors shutting, between today and last time. I think it’s extremely
important to think about what you were doing in that time that kept the Realm stable.”

Hua Cheng’s brows contracted. “I-”

He looked at the sea, feeling the rush of the waves looming loud in his ears.

He had just…been with Xie Lian. Building a calm little life. Talking to him, telling him
everything.

The Madam watched him, expression unfooled.

“Whatever you were doing, it was working.”

He breathed out through his nose. “You said it's too late.”

“Yes and no. Things are very delicate, it’s true. But if you know what helped you, you could
perhaps stave it off a little longer, to give us time.”

Hua Cheng felt his stomach sink. “It’s not just me. There were two Doors…two powers in the
Ghost Realm we don’t even know about.”

She watched him quietly.

“Don’t focus on that. It's not like they're tied to the individual, they're tied to all of us. You
two are the dice trapped on their edges, now. Any tiny movement will dictate which way they
fall. I’m sorry that you don’t like why things are bad, sweet pea, but they are, and that’s that.
Black Water, is there anything- any one - that could make you waver on your decision?”

“My decision?”

“You want to die. You’re done here,” she said, with a flick of her hand.

The words seemed too momentous to be said so casually.

Black Water shrugged. Shrugged.

Hua Cheng snapped.

He threw himself on him, grasping at his robes and shoving him down into the sand.

“We’re all dying because you can’t keep it together to help us?”
Black Water did nothing, indifferently letting Hua Cheng shake him as The Madam clucked
her tongue, muttering “men.”

“I can’t change how I feel,” he said in a monotone, not even looking at Hua Cheng.

“Not even for-” Hua Cheng stopped, and bitterly swallowed the rest of the sentence. No, not
even for him, and certainly not for everything they’d shared. They weren’t friends. He’d
promised him that they never would be.

Hua Cheng felt the instant spark of recognition in him.

“Fine,” he hissed, shoving him down. “You won’t do it to help, then I’ll make you stay out of
spite.”

Black Water frowned, getting back up slowly. “What?”

Hua Cheng was already on his feet, stalking back over to Grey Guard, who seemed to be
attempting to catch crabs to eat whole.

“San Lang?” called Xie Lian, getting to his feet and brushing sand off him. Hua Cheng pulled
Grey Guard aside by the arm.

“Bring someone here. To Black Water. Don’t let them leave.”

The Madam was hurrying back. “Sweet pea, what-”

“I need you to supervise them, Madam. Make sure they stay here together, even if they try to
kill each other. Especially if they try to kill each other.”

“Who?” she said curtly.

Hua Cheng turned back to Grey Guard. “I don’t know what their heartname is now. But you
do.”

Grey Guard’s eyes glittered. “Most days, its Ol’ Feng.”

“Do it.”

***

Xie Lian stood by his side, an hour later, clucking his tongue in disapproval.

“I really don’t feel good about this, San Lang.”

“They haven’t killed each other yet.”

“They haven’t even spoken yet, look!”

Hua Cheng squinted. Ol' Feng was still hugging their knees on the shore, refusing to look
over at Black Water. Black Water was doing the same. The Madam was watching them
dubiously.
“I don’t know what to tell you, gege, except that if there’s one person who will make him feel
confused about his reasons for being here, it's them.”

Xie Lian sighed. “It’s very unpleasant. This isn’t fair of us, to ask them to do this.”

“They came willingly.”

“They didn’t know what we were truly asking of them. ‘Help us stabilise the Doors,' was not
quite the full story.”

“Not our fault Grey Guard is intentionally vague.”

Xie Lian chewed his cheek. “Should I…go over there? I can talk to them, help settle things-”

“Things being ‘settled’ for Black Water is what helped us get into this mess. He needs to be
unsettled. Leave them be.”

Xie Lian grimaced, exhaling through his nose. “Alright.”

He turned his face up to him. “What next? The other two Doors?”

Hua Cheng nodded. The Madam was wrong. It did matter who they were created for. He had
to know.

Xie Lian didn’t look away. “San Lang,” he said quietly. “You don’t look good. Why don’t
you sit down, with me?”

“I’m fine,” he snapped, immediately regretting it. He sighed. “Gege-”

“It’s alright, San Lang. I don’t mind that you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry at you.”

Xie Lian shrugged. “I know. Sit with me.”

Hua Cheng sat. Xie Lian curled towards his side, head on his shoulder. “It’s late.”

Hua Cheng said nothing. The sun was setting.

He couldn’t believe that only this morning, he had woken warm with Xie Lian in his arms.
Xie Lian had looked up at him as if he really couldn’t think of anywhere else he could ever
want to be. And only this morning, Xie Lian had looked at him dead in the eye and said “No.
Next time it will be your hands.” Which had winded him out of all ability to speak.

Fingers in his hair, slight tugs. “Gege-?”

“Your hair is messy. Let me fix it for you,” said Xie Lian, a little frown of concentration
between his brows as he finger combed.

Hua Cheng felt an almost painful bloom of tenderness in his chest. “I quite like it a little
lopsided, gege,” he said eventually.
“Good thing I don’t know how to do it straight then,” said Xie Lian briskly, finishing up with
a final tug. He rubbed Hua Cheng’s back. “It’s alright, San Lang.”

“It’s not, gege.”

Xie Lian let his head fall back on his shoulder. “We’re still okay, for now.” He reached for
Hua Cheng’s hand, and clasped it.

Hua Cheng felt the gentleness of his small gestures smoothing him out, settling him despite
everything. Perhaps that was a good thing he should lean into. Perhaps the calm his beloved
brought him was important right now. He squeezed his hand.

“Gege. I love you.”

He hadn’t said the words in a while. Even though he said them all day, every day, with his
every move and every choice.

Xie Lian turned his face up to him and smiled. “I know. I love you. Beyond any power in any
Realm.”

Hua Cheng held him for a little while, heads touching.

“Gege…if things get worse, I-”

“No.”

He frowned. “Gege.”

“No thank you. I will not be hearing your contingency plans which probably involve you
doing something silly.”

He sighed. “It’s important.”

“Not as important as this,” whispered Xie Lian, squeezing his hand firmly. “This is all there
is. You and me, now.”

Hua Cheng accepted it. Xie Lian wasn’t ready to hear it yet, what Hua Cheng would have to
do. He would tell him, when the time was right.

Xie Lian inhaled deeply, heavy head nuzzling into its favourite spot. “I believe we have time.
No one has been too hurt yet.”

He paused.

“Well…except for Qi Rong. But that doesn’t matter,” he said offhandedly.

Hua Cheng breathed a laugh. “Indeed. Really more of a bonus than anything else…” he
trailed off.
Xie Lian continued happily. “Exactly. He’s like a bellwether. If he’s still swearing every
second word, things aren’t as bad as they seem.”

Hua Cheng had frozen. Waves of understanding crashed over him as he tried, silently, to
retain his composure.

“San Lang?” said Xie Lian oddly. “Are you alright? You just got a little bit colder.”

It really was obvious, wasn’t it? Jun Wu wasn’t subtle. There were Four Calamities. Jun Wu
was the one who designated the four of them, gave them their legendary status. And the
Madam was right. Power didn't matter.

“It has to be a weaker ghost,” he muttered. “Two of them. I killed everyone else, there is no
one else. Only Savages left. Of course.”

“San Lang?”

Hua Cheng laughed darkly. “Jun Wu really is the least subtle person in the world, gege. It’s
precisely why he got away with everything so long. He put everything out in the open, so that
it looked too obvious for him to be responsible.”

“San Lang?”

“Qi Rong had a Door. He's part of this.”

“What?” he scoffed. “No way. Not possible.”

“Jun Wu was the one who named the Four Calamities, gege. He named Qi Rong for a
reason.”

Xie Lian sputtered. “He’s not a Supreme!”

“I’m starting to think that doesn’t matter. Jun Wu picked two ghosts, before me. Two powers
in the Ghost Realm other than himself, presumably because things were too unstable once he
became White No Face. Who would be the one ghost in the whole Realm to whom Jun Wu
would want to give power, just to make life worse for you?”

Xie Lian mouthed in horror.

“You really think…”

“Trust me. He’s one of them. He probably doesn’t even know. How could he? He'd never
have shut up about it.”

“Who is the other?!”

Hua Cheng squared himself. He wouldn’t lie, but it wasn’t time. “I…don’t want to say yet,
gege. I could be wrong.”
Xie Lian scanned his face, and gave a slow nod. “Alright. I trust you. But Qi Rong, he
hasn’t..” he stopped, eyes vague. “Oh. His body parts!”

“He’s been more affected than any of us. We just didn’t think it mattered,” said Hua Cheng
grimly.

“But…Jun Wu said things are failing because everyone has changed! He’s the last ghost in
this whole Realm who could possibly have changed his mind about why he’s here!” insisted
Xie Lian. “He just wants to cause chaos, ruin everything like he always does!”

Hua Cheng sighed for a very, very long time, because he was about to say something he’d
rather eat his own hand than utter aloud.

“I think his ghostwill has changed, gege. Recently. And I think I know how to...unsettle him,
like Black Water.”

Xie Lian’s eyes widened. “How?”

"It won't be pleasant."

"Tell me."

Hua Cheng shook his head. "We...would have to take Gu Zi away from him."

"That wouldn't be very nice," said The Madam directly behind them, making Xie Lian jump.

Hua Cheng glared at her, rubbing Xie Lian's back. "Don't sneak. And what do you care about
him?"

The Madam looked at him strangely. “Because we have to, now, if you're right. Why do you
think Qi Rong is still here?”

Xie Lian closed his eyes painfully. Hua Cheng knew that look. He didn’t like talking about
Qi Rong. He didn’t want to.

"I wouldn't have expected you to defend him, Madam," said Hua Cheng.

She smiled sadly, taking a seat beside them. “You know, the more I have seen of life and of
death, the more I have realised that the humans I have spent my existence killing are often the
same people I would have protected, if I had found them earlier as children."

Hua Cheng's brows twitched. "What does that-'

"I don’t regret it. They were hurting others and had to be stopped. But it gives me pause.
There’s no doubt Qi Rong was born a little…off. But I know what an utterly unloved soul
looks like. I’ve seen enough of them.”

She looked pointedly at Xie Lian, who couldn't look back.

"What are you really saying?" Xie Lian whispered. "What is...Qi Rong's reason? For being
here?"

Hua Cheng pulled him closer.

“I didn’t tell you one last story, gege. I didn’t think you wanted to hear it. It’s not really my
story anyway.”

Xie Lian narrowed his eyes at him. “And what would that be?” he said, pissy.

“How he died.”

Xie Lian closed his eyes, looking pained.

“Tell me.”

***

Eight Hundred Years and One Day ago

Hong-er woke in the Temple.

With a body. He was a Savage. He had exploded into rage and hellfire and death, and he
would take everyone who ever hurt his beloved with him.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Too much.

He stood. He was still in the Temple. It was a burnt husk, filled with the ashes of the hundred
people who had stabbed his beloved. He looked at them indifferently. He felt nothing for
them.

The altar, however, he couldn’t look at. It was still bloodstained. He had to keep it in his
peripheral vision, or he would explode again.

His beloved was not here. He must have…recovered enough, to get up. Hong-er wondered
how long it took. A long time, most likely. He must have been in so much pain.

A piece of burnished metal lay among the wreckage. He scooped it up in his hands, and
brought it to his face. He was whole, and looked just like he had when he had died. One black
eye, one red. He was that young man, still, but he wasn’t.

He had died for his beloved. But now, he had watched everyone demand his beloved die for
them. Demand not just his death, but his agony. And it still wasn’t enough.

He was so tired of this face. A face who had failed, over and over, to do the one thing he
wanted. Hong-er was useless. A person of less help to his beloved than no one at all.

He would have to become no one, then.

He made his mask. It was not even a conscious decision. He just watched as his face in the
reflection became hidden. He was now no one. Wu Ming. And he would help his beloved this
time, no matter what.

He journeyed to the town where his beloved was last seen. He found the little house. He
found him gone already. And it can’t have been much more than mere hours ago, because he
found the King and Queen lying on the ground, their necks darkened with the marks of their
death.

His heart nearly cleaved in two, realising his beloved had been the one to lower them down,
alone. That he had to see them come to this end, alone. The air in the house was thick with
power, eerie.

He could feel that things had changed. He knew the tang of revenge. It felt exactly like the air
in the Temple when he’d woken up. His beloved had chosen the same path. He knew, because
Xie Lian would never have left his parents like this unless he was beyond rage.

And Wu Ming would help him get vengeance, at any cost.

He turned at the sound of footsteps, crouching by the window. He peered out, keeping
hidden.

Mu Qing. That useless-

“Your Highnesses?”

Mu Qing stood outside the door, stiff and uncomfortable. He looked…bad. Grey, and pale.
Guilty, obviously. Because he was an abandoning, good for nothing-

“What are you doing here?” came the angry voice. Feng Xin strode forward from the forest.
He was gaunt. Thin, but in the way of someone who had always been well fed and suddenly
knew what hunger was.

Mu Qing bristled, but did not turn. “You know why I’m here.”

“It is my duty. I will tell them. I came as soon as I heard.”

“You really think they want to hear this from you?”

“They don’t want to hear this at all,” he hissed. “And don’t you tell them all of it. Don’t tell
them what they did to him. It will break them.”

“I will tell them what they ask to hear.”

“A little late for you to be so deferential, isn’t it? Where were you? What did you do to stop
it?” he mocked.

Mu Qing’s voice was odd. Like the fight had been taken out of him completely. He didn’t
sound indignant, or insulted. He didn’t sound like him at all.
“Nothing. I did nothing.” He looked bleakly at the door. “We don’t deserve their hospitality,”
he uttered.

He raised his voice. “Your Highnesses. I am…so sorry, to bring you this news but…Qi Rong
is dead.”

Wu Ming looked at the King and Queen’s faces, unmoving and unmoved.

He felt no sadness at the news. Qi Rong had been brutal to him. But he was his beloved’s
cousin.

“He…he was leading an assault against Yong’an, and he… he was killed.”

Silence. Silence, except for the creaking of the rafters which had held too much weight. Their
weight.

“Your Highnesses?” called Feng Xin. “I’m so sorry. I…we’re here to help.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing looked at each other in the mounting quiet. “Maybe they’re not
home?” muttered Mu Qing.

“Where the fuck else would they even be?” said Feng Xin, looking around. He was on edge,
that glint in the eye and sharpness to him that Wu Ming had usually only seen on people who
had lived on the street for too long. “Do you feel that? Something is wrong.”

Wu Ming considered it, quite seriously. It would be very easy to kill them both.

They deserved it. They deserved to walk inside, and see what they had done, and kneel below
the King and Queen as the life drained from their eyes, just as it had from theirs.

But he would wait for His Highness to give the order. He deserved to watch these two die, if
he wanted it.

Wu Ming looked around for the back window. It was time for him to go.

He stood and bowed deeply to his King and Queen, and said a prayer for their peace. If he
survived all this, he would pay his respects in full. But then again, he had no intention of
surviving this.

He jumped out the back window, and walked away.

He still heard the screams, and the cries, as they opened the door. Well, Feng Xin’s. He was
always the loud one.

“YOUR HIGHNESSES- NO- NO! NO!”

Mu Qing said nothing. But Wu Ming was sure he heard the heavy thud of knees hitting the
ground.

***
He sensed his beloved from the road, battlefield in the distance. Old bodies, flags, curling
smoke as far as the eye could see. And some new bodies. All cut to pieces quickly. Qi Rong’s
ridiculous attempt had never stood a chance.

Over by the gates of the capital, where all the battles had concentrated, he could sense power.
It must be him. But as he surged forward, he heard the last voice in the world he ever
expected to stop for.

He heard the laughing first. He knew exactly what the cruelest laughter sounded like, and this
was it. The group of soldiers winding their way back to Yong’an city were roaring with it,
clustered in a circle by the roadside.

They were paying Wu Ming no mind, derelict in their duties. They were clearly occupied.

“Do it again,” called one of them.

Wu Ming heard a tiny squeal, an agonised cry. More laughter.

“Lang Ying won’t be pleased to know he up and died before he could get his hands on him,
you know. You shouldn’t have gone so overboard.”

“It’s not our fault he couldn’t take it! Besides, Lang Ying will enjoy this! He can put him in a
jar and show him off! He’s like a little war loot, isn't he, ‘Your Highness’!”

More laughs. Wu Ming moved silently. He knew how to not be seen.

They were clustered around a little ghost fire, torturing it. It was still quite mouthy, though.

“You SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU DOG FUCKER, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK
TO ME!”

Derisive cackles. More squeals as they stabbed at it with their knives.

“You realise you aren’t really royalty anymore, right? You’re not anything. You’re dead.”

“No I am NOT!”

“Yes you are. Why do you think you’re so tiny and helpless?”

“You screamed for hours before you died,” taunted a guard.

“Of course he did! Why would we have given him a quick death? This animal is responsible
for so many Yong’an deaths! I wish we’d tortured him for even longer! And hey- I guess now
we can!”

“Don’t you remember your death, Your Highness?” came the mocking voice.

“I’M NOT DEAD!”

“Yes you are. I was there,” said a guard with a twisted face. “You were crying for your
mother, at first. And then you only said one thing, over and over and over, for the whole final
day and night. Don’t you remember?”

The guard took a deep face, and spoke in a high pitched wail. “MY COUSIN WILL SAVE
ME! MY COUSIN WILL SAVE ME! HE’S COMING, I KNOW IT! HE’LL SAVE ME!
COUSIN, WHERE ARE YOU? COUSIN, HELP ME!”

The circle burst into jeers.

The guard crouched with his knife, poking at the ghost fire as it squeaked in pain. “Your
cousin didn’t save you, you pathetic little worm. I doubt he’s even sorry you’re dead. I bet
he’s glad. I bet there isn’t one single person in your whole worthless life who will mourn you.
”

Wu Ming had made up his mind.

He couldn’t allow this.

The guards were dead within a minute, throats cut.

The ghost fire was a tiny trembling wisp, nearly blowing apart with every gust of the breeze.
Wu Ming recognised what it meant. He wouldn’t last the night.

Wu Ming’s fists balled. Behind his mask, his teeth were grinding. He could make Qi Rong
pay, for what he did. He could be the one to kill him. Why not? He deserved it.

But then…

“Am I really dead?” came the tiny voice.

Wu Ming sighed. He wasn’t Hong-er anymore. This was not his mission.

“Yes,” he said shortly.

The ghost fire seemed to slump over. “I…I don’t remember.”

“Most don’t, at first.”

The ghost fire flickered weakly. “Why didn’t he help me? Why didn’t he…why didn’t he
come?”

Wu Ming said nothing. He was not about to tell this little scum that the King and Queen were
dead, and that his cousin had bigger problems than his pointless little life.

“That’s all I wanted. I only wanted…” said the ghost fire. “I just wanted to win a battle for
him.”

Wu Ming couldn’t stand this anymore. He had to find his beloved. He could feel power
amassing from the battlefield’s resentful dead already, in the distance. He was so close.
 He turned away.

The voice was faint now, barely more than the lightest breath of wind.

“Did no one really love me? No one?”

Wu Ming turned his head. “Go to rest, or don’t rest. It’s up to you.”

He left.

***

Chapter End Notes

"Kudo smash!"
-The Hulk

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 The Sunrise
Chapter Summary

The finale, double length and alternating POV. It’s been a ride, lovely readers. See you
in the epilogue, which has also been uploaded. It's COMPLETE NOW. *cries* *hides*

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Hearing the tale of Qi Rong's death had been terrible. Even worse was Xie Lian realising how
stupid, how wilfully blind he’d been for so long.

Of course Qi Rong was more complicated than a pleasure ghost, or even a revenge ghost. He
had stayed because he wanted just one person to love him. And now someone did, but it
wasn’t Xie Lian. It was Gu Zi.

Even worse, that was the problem. The Doors no longer recognised the version of Qi Rong
who had become someone capable of even his warped, strange sense of love, just like they
didn’t recognise a Black Water with no drive, a Jun Wu with no power, or a Hua Cheng
who...

They’d danced around it. He was certain he knew what Hua Cheng thought the reason was,
and Xie Lian couldn't say it aloud. It was too painful.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng sat on the beach together, watching the moon rise. Their options
were horrible. Take Qi Rong’s son from him, preferably in the most cruel way possible so
that he could revert to his worst self, or let Jun Wu out.

Neither of them had moved. Xie Lian’s hand remained in Hua Cheng’s, and their breathing
synced with the lapping of the waves. Well. Xie Lian’s, at least. Hua Cheng seemed to have
stopped breathing. Conserving his spiritual power, most likely. Which must be hard for him.
He knew Hua Cheng was a very physical being, who liked sensation. And a very expressive
being, too. No more pissy sighs or longsuffering exhales.

The Madam, looking bored, wandered over from her spot observing Black Water and Ol’
Feng. They were still silent and unmoving. “Have you made a decision?”

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng shared a look. “I think you know how I feel about this, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng nodded slowly. “Yes. But he doesn’t deserve your kindness, gege.”
Xie Lian shrugged sadly. “I will not take his child from him. If we do that, Jun Wu wins.”

The Madam and Hua Cheng suddenly gasped in pain and bent double, simultaneously. “San
Lang!” said Xie Lian urgently, scrambling up to clutch at his face.

Hua Cheng’s lips were almost blue, but he shuddered and opened his eye. “Just a flicker,
gege,” he said weakly, fingers digging into the sand.

Xie Lian looked around wildly, but he couldn't see the Door. Or even feel it. He wished he
could rage at it and tell it to stop hurting his San Lang.

Grey Guard’s eyes were sharp as they strode to it, watchful and wary. They stood with their
arms folded, shaking their head. “It wasn’t this one. The other has mere hours. It’s weaker
than here. This one won’t hold for long, after it goes.”

“Hours?” gasped Xie Lian.

“Mmm.” They turned to him. “Whatever your plan is, you need to do it now. I will go to
check on the others.” They disappeared.

Xie Lian felt panic cloying in his throat, tears pricking at his eyes. He wasn’t a crying kind of
person, but here it was. He and Hua Cheng looked at each other, and Xie Lian realised that he
knew that look in his eye. He knew Hua Cheng so totally that he foresaw what he was
thinking, and what he planned to do.

“I need to go and talk to Black Water, gege. He’s our only hope, now.”

Lie. A big one. Which could only mean one thing.

Xie Lian was torn. On the one hand, he didn’t want Hua Cheng to know he was rumbled. On
the other, it was simply unthinkable to let Hua Cheng do this.

Xie Lian smiled, as honestly as he could. “You go and do that, my San Lang.”

Hua Cheng nodded, avoiding his gaze, and stood. He walked to sit between Ol' Feng and
Black Water, in the distance. Xie Lian watched him beadily all the way.

The Madam settled down at his side on the sand, calm as the night air.

“You’re going to have to stop him. He’s still not understanding it all, Your Highness,” she
remarked, as simply as if she was talking about the weather.

First things first. He had no time left, for games.

“Madam,” he began. “You’re the last Door.”

The Madam didn’t react at all, except for a small smile. “I did tell him I went to the Kiln
once.”

Xie Lian eyed her.

“I thought you were not a Supreme.”

“Just because Jun Wu ended up letting one of his clones take the credit doesn’t mean I didn’t
break out.”

He raised his eyebrows. It wasn’t really a surprise. Of course she was more powerful than she
let on.

Xie Lian drew himself up, and breathed in the ocean salt. “Do I need to kill you, Madam?
Ending you would be too hard for my San Lang, but I will kill you if I have to.”

“Kill me? What would that help?”

He swallowed. She was right. It would only make things even less stable.

“What deal did you make? With White No Face?”

She smiled, and looked out over the setting sun.. “No need for suspicion. I’ve never been on
anyone’s side but that of the people I help, sweet pea.”

“Then why did you do this?”

She met his eyes gravely. “I didn’t have a choice. You weren’t in the Ghost Realm when
White No Face came into the world; it was havoc. I didn’t know why, then. Now I know it
was because there were no ghosts in this Realm stronger than his clones, and it was too
unbalanced.”

“There was only one Door back then. We’d only ever needed one. But suddenly, it flickered
more than half the time. Him splitting himself like that, it was too much. I didn’t understand
why or how it was him, I just knew it was. Grey Guard and I tried to stop it, and I ascended
instead. But I’ve always preferred the shadows. I remained a ghost, and he came to me the
night before the Kiln opened that year. Promised me power, for silence.”

“The brothel god…”

“My clone. Not very good at her job, but she doesn’t need to do much. Most of my workers
pray to me anyway. Not sure if Jun Wu knew; I never did realise he was White No Face. He
probably knew. It suited him for me to be busy with my own affairs. Been quite funny
dealing with Pei Ming though, him not realising he’s flirted with me a thousand times
before.”

Xie Lian nodded. “Why didn’t you tell San Lang? You were in the Heavens all along?”

“I helped him where I could. Who do you think slipped them the information about the Earth
Master's ascension? Grey Guard gave me the heads up. Never liked the real Ming Yi. He was
cruel to one of my workers.”

“And you haven’t told him that you’re ready to die.”

She observed him, unperturbed. He didn’t know The Madam well, but if she had changed her
will, it was not because her mission had changed. She’d had the opportunity for as much
power as she’d wanted for a very long time, and turned it down. She had changed because
she was ready to go.

“I knew he would try to change my mind. He knows about me, I can see it. That’s why he
hasn’t asked me. He isn’t ready. I’m not sure I want him to ask me, either. I’ve never liked to
see him sad.”

“Please hold on. We need you.”

“No one has needed me for a long time, sweet one. The other ghosts have been keeping this
place going for plenty long enough without me. I’ve felt this way for a long time. My time is
coming to an end, as all things must.”

She looked away. “It's done. I don’t advise that you waste your time on me. My die has
already been cast.”

Xie Lian’s heart sank. “If that is true, then all of us have changed too much. Which means
there is no hope.”

She shook her head. “I believe in you. You’re just like him; you’ll figure it out. I like you two
together. You’re so good for him, Your Highness. It’s lovely to see.”

She drew her shoulders back, face up to the stars. “I don’t think all of us will see the sunrise.
We’re at the end, now.”

A chill went down Xie Lian’s spine. She was right.

“Brrrow?”

Sooty wandered over, and settled in her lap. She chuckled, and scratched her ears. “Keeping
me company?” she murmured.

Xie Lian watched them in silence, looking over at Hua Cheng sitting between Black Water
and Ol’ Feng. It wouldn’t be enough, and they both knew it. Xie Lian dug his fingers into the
cool sand.

He wouldn’t be allowing him to do it. He’d beat him there.

***

Hua Cheng did not enjoy interfering in other people’s emotional problems. He had enough of
his own right now, and confronting them was bad enough. But they were out of time.

He'd known his beloved would not want to do the bad thing, the cruel thing, to Qi Rong. As
repulsive and awful as Qi Rong was, separating him from his child was not what Xie Lian
would ever choose.
So here he was, attempting instead to…he wasn’t sure what, exactly. Mess with Black
Water’s determination to die in such a way that it could perhaps buy them a few hours?

Ol’ Feng stared straight ahead, mouth a grim line. They seemed to be refusing to
acknowledge their situation out of annoyance.

Hua Cheng swiveled his head between them, and began.

“So. Revenge. Not the best foundation for friendship, is it?”

Ol’ Feng and Black Water turned their heads to him identically, both with expressions of
bewildered disgust. Hua Cheng stifled a slightly insane urge to laugh.

“Look. Black Water, you killed their brother, and Ol’ Feng, your brother killed…basically
everyone he loved. Shi Wudu took his godhood from him, He Xuan took your godhood from
you. I’m not saying you’re even but…you’re even. But Ol’ Feng, if you do have anything to
say, or any violence to enact, now is the time.”

He Xuan rolled his eyes sullenly, but there was a hint of vulnerability there. Hua Cheng knew
him. The only thing he actually cared about hearing anymore was what Ol’ Feng had to say.

Ol' Feng’s mouth twisted. “So…the Doors are failing because you’re all done with your
missions?”

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows. He had not yet completed his. Nonetheless…

“Something like that, yes.”

“Your brother deserved it,” said He Xuan suddenly. “He was wrong. I did the world a favour,
removing him from it. I will not pretend to be sorry. I am not.”

Ol’ Feng looked at him in surprise. “What makes you think I want your apology?”

He Xuan’s brows knit, but he didn’t look at them.

Hua Cheng decided to keep poking at the wasp nest that was this conversation.

“You don’t want your own revenge, Ol’ Feng?”

“For what? Destroying a life I never deserved? No. I suppose I…pity you, He Xuan.”

Hua Cheng felt the air contract slightly and the salt in the air sharpen, the way it did when He
Xuan was angry. He supposed he could intervene, but an angry He Xuan was better than a
despondent one.

“You pity me?”

Ol’ Feng shrugged.

Hua Cheng decided this was the moment. This was his shot to take. He clicked his fingers,
lightly at his side. Grey Guard appeared, wet from the ocean.

“Take them back now,” he ordered, jerking his chin at Ol’ Feng.

“What?!” demanded He Xuan, as Ol' Feng’s mouth fell open.

“You heard them!” he replied airily. “They don’t want revenge! Everything is peachy.”

“I know what you’re doing,” grit out He Xuan through his teeth.

“Doing what? Off you go,” nodded Hua Cheng to Grey Guard, who raised an eyebrow, and
disappeared themself and a confused Ol’ Feng with a “Wait, what?” and a pop.

He Xuan glared at Hua Cheng.

“It won’t work.”

“What won’t work?” said Hua Cheng innocently.

“You think giving me unfinished business with them is going to make me change my mind?”

“Of course not! I sent them back because it’s obviously a lost cause, right? I can see nothing
will change your mind. So be a good Ghost King and hurry along then. I’d rather not draw
out your death if your heart is set on having it.”

“Knew I could count on you to be sentimental,” muttered He Xuan, hugging his knees.

“That’s me, a bleeding heart.”

He Xuan shook his head. “There’s nothing left for me. I’ve done what I set out to do.”

“And are you pleased with the result?”

He Xuan opened his mouth, and paused delicately. “That wasn’t the bargain I made. My
family deserved to be avenged. I didn’t ask for that so that I could feel nice about it. It’s over.
Jun Wu will win now.”

“Doesn’t that piss you off?”

“Not particularly.”

“Why not? He appointed Shi Wudu. He knew all along what Shi Wudu was doing to you. He
let him grow to be the second most powerful god in the heavens. He created the Reverend of
Empty Words, He Xuan! He’s as much responsible for your family’s fate as Shi Wudu was.”

He Xuan shrugged morosely. “Why do you think I’m done? It never ends. There’s always
someone more powerful who doesn’t care what they did to people. I can’t make them all
care.”

“You can. You can help me, with Jun Wu.”

“Do you really think he’s the end of it?”

Hua Cheng blinked. “Why wouldn’t he be?”

He Xuan stared at him. “Everyone has someone they answer to, Hua Cheng.”

Hua Cheng narrowed his eye. “If you know something-”

“I know nothing more than what is obvious. Jun Wu is powerful, but not this powerful. Not…
maintain the Three Realms singlehandedly for thousands of years powerful.”

“There is no one else.”

“Of course there is. You just sent Shi Qingxuan away with them.”

“Grey Guard is nothing but a stooge.”

“Whose stooge?” said He Xuan, eyes direct.

Hua Cheng closed his eye irritably. Here it was. He had known as soon as he walked away
from his beloved that he might not come back. But there had always been something he never
understood:

Why did the demons guard the Realms? And why did Jun Wu let them?

He Xuan bowed his head. “I know you think I’m a coward. That I’m not trying. Trust me, I
wouldn’t still be here if I weren’t trying. I’m holding on as best I can. I’m here for y-” he
broke off, looking at the sand, eyes darting away.

Hua Cheng swallowed thickly. “We promised each other we’d never be friends.”

He Xuan nodded. “Of course we’re not,” he said seriously.

Hua Cheng looked away. “But thank you.”

He Xuan made an uncomfortable noise in his throat, hugging his knees closer. “Like I said.
Sentimental.”

Hua Cheng raised his face to the sky and allowed himself one breath of the salt air.

They didn’t look at each other for a while, until He Xuan spoke.

“I don’t want to be the one to tell him you’ve gone.”

Hua Cheng bit his cheek, hard enough that it was painful. “Then don’t.”

“You sure you know what you’re doing?”

The breeze stirred at Hua Cheng’s hair, at the lopsided ponytail that Xie Lian had done for
him.
“I don’t. But I know it can’t be him that goes. I’d die anyway, if he goes.”

He Xuan sighed. “Do you need time?”

Hua Cheng looked at him for a long moment. “As much as you can give me.”

He Xuan met his eyes. “Then go. I’ll lie for you, when he asks. Once more, for old times’
sake.”

Hua Cheng almost smiled. “Yes. You were always the best at that.”

Grey Guard popped back into being at his side. They seemed to know already that Hua
Cheng needed them.

“Time to go.”

***

Hua Cheng arrived outside the wooden door. He doubled over, retching blood.

“My apologies,” said Grey Guard, looking as though they actually meant it. “Your body…”

Hua Cheng’s stomach heaved. Yes, he thought bitterly. He was well aware of how weak he
was.

“I need to go back,” said Grey Guard uneasily. “They are both so close to the end, the
Doors.”

“What will you do? What can you do?” said Hua Cheng flatly.

“I am a Guard. If I am to watch the Realms fall, I will fall with them.”

“You sure you don’t want to die a little earlier than that?”

Grey Guard frowned. “What do you-”

E’Ming appeared at their neck, pressing on their artery.

Hua Cheng straightened.

Grey Guard’s hair rippled. “You are not really sick.”

“Oh, I am. Sick of you. Tell me what Jun Wu gave the demons, or you die.”

Grey Guard actually laughed. “You are so funny.”

E’Ming sensed Hua Cheng’s anger, and needed no order. The scimitar pressed enough that a
thin line of blood began to trickle down.

“Go on. You were saying how funny I am. Do enlighten me as to why.”
“All I know is what I have told you. It is not my fault if you never listened.”

“Try again. No riddles. What did you tell me that I didn’t hear?”

“Your offer. Your price.”

Hua Cheng paused. “Eternal servitude?”

“Didn’t you wonder why I accepted such an offer with you so close to death?”

Hua Cheng went cold.

“I hope you understand what you have done,” they called, through the ringing of his ears as
he lost consciousness. “Death is no barrier, to me.”

Death is no barrier to me.

E’Ming jabbed at Grey Guard's back, forcing them forward.

“Inside,” said Hua Cheng coldly.

***

Xie Lian’s Guoshi opened the cottage door. Hua Cheng should have known something was
wrong straight away. He didn’t look surprised at all.

“I don’t think you should come in.”

“That is not your call,” grit out Hua Cheng, as E’Ming shoved Grey Guard through the
doorframe. “We’re going to Jun Wu.”

“He is upset with you,” warned Guoshi, still standing in his way.

“Oh dear. However will I survive, knowing Jun Wu is upset?” spat Hua Cheng.

Guoshi frowned. “Jun Wu?”

Hua Cheng felt the tingle of suspicion, but he had no time.

“Move aside.”

Guoshi sighed, and moved away defeatedly, hands in the air.

Hua Cheng staggered inside, clutching at the doorframe. He wondered idly if he’d be able to
walk at all, by the end. He resolved that he would. He would not die on his knees.

He ripped open the door to the stone stairway, and shoved Grey Guard through. Then, with a
thrill of horror, he realised he had miscounted the number of figures at Guoshi’s card table.
There were not three figures. There were four.

He turned slowly.
His arms were folded. He was sitting primly, with his grumpiest old man expression. He
drummed his fingers on his arm passive-aggressively. Even Ruoye was poking out of his
sleeve, silently judgemental.

“I really am quite annoyed with you, San Lang.”

***

“Gege-”

“Let’s go.” The chair screeched as Xie Lian pushed it away from him, mouth twisted in
irritation.

“Gege, I didn’t-”

“Do not tell me what you did or did not intend to do, or try to justify it, San Lang. I know
exactly why you are here, and you and I will be having some strong words after this.”

Hua Cheng was limp and grey. “I never meant-”

“For me to know you left? Honestly, San Lang, when are you going to stop thinking you can
fool me?! I know you.”

That, in and of itself, was exactly why Hua Cheng was confused. If Xie Lian truly knew why
he was here, then why had he come? Hua Cheng had resolved himself to the unforgivable
choice. He had chosen to be unforgivable, instead of risking Xie Lian’s life.

Xie Lian blew out an exasperated breath. “We don’t have time. Come on.”

He tugged at Hua Cheng’s hand, and stalked down the stone steps. Hua Cheng meekly
followed, head bowed. Guoshi threw up his hands and followed, muttering angrily. Hua
Cheng had nothing to say. How could he? He was a wretch.

The walk down was silent, intermittently interrupted only by loud, pointed huffs from Xie
Lian. Grey Guard moved quite smoothly, though their hair ruffled the deeper they descended.

“I cannot Realmwalk here,” they said, as they reached the bottom. “This has dampened even
my considerable power.”

Hua Cheng didn’t roll his eye. He no longer had the energy. He stumbled slightly. Coming to
a place of such suppression was dangerous for him in this state.

Xie Lian paused, eyes softening. He squeezed his hand. Hua Cheng was absolutely baffled.
He couldn’t look at him. How was it possible Xie Lian could still be squeezing his hand?

“San Lang, I won’t let this take too long,” he murmured. “Let’s just get this done.”

“Don’t let him out,” coughed Hua Cheng, clutching his chest. “Nothing is worth that.”
Xie Lian smiled sadly. “Ah, San Lang. Of course you’re worth that. There is nothing I
wouldn’t do for you.”

***

Xie Lian felt a shiver of revulsion down his spine when he saw the look on Jun Wu’s face.

He swallowed, and pushed it down. Jun Wu didn’t matter. He would not let his pride get in
the way. He would do what he had to. Nothing was worth the blue tinge to Hua Cheng’s lips,
the clenched fists attempting to hide the pain he was clearly in. Ruoye had come out to wrap
herself protectively around E’Ming’s hilt, as he sagged in his scabbard, eye nearly closed.

He kept it short.

“What did you give to the demons?”

A smile played on Jun Wu’s lips. Xie Lian knew they had come to the heart of it all, when he
saw that smile.

Jun Wu closed his eyes, and breathed in, as if savouring their anguish.

“Everything has a cost. Which is why you are here to let me out, I assume. Welcome back,
Crimson Rain Sought Flower. You look terrible.”

“Do not speak to him. You don’t deserve to.”

“Touchy.”

“You made the Realms. They didn’t always exist. So why did you make one for the
demons?” he retorted, squeezing Hua Cheng’s hand in reassurance again. “Their own Realm,
the ability to walk in all of ours, why did you hand them that power?”

Jun Wu cocked his head. “They were ever so troublesome, once. Waged war on us constantly.
I got them to leave us mostly in peace. Are you not thankful?”

Xie Lian wanted to vomit at his singsong voice.

Guoshi was staring at him in horror. “You made a bargain with the demons? Not just to
guard? What did you do?” he demanded.

“ You cannot solve this problem better than I did. Of that I’m sure. This is it, Xianle. Your
final test.”

“You and your tests,” said Guoshi harshly. “Stop it. This is not a game.”

“Shameful! Shameful!” cried the walls.

Jun Wu laughed so loud he clapped his hands over his mouth as his eyes bugged out in joy.
He looked quite insane.
“How did you make the Realms?” whispered Xie Lian, mind working furiously. “One man…
You’re just a man. You’re not enough. Once, you paid a price for them, and that price is still
being paid.”

Jun Wu nodded. “Very good, Xianle.”

“Death is no barrier to me,” whispered Hua Cheng, eye distant. Grey Guard bowed their
head, and Jun Wu laughed even harder.

Xie Lian looked up at him. “What?”

“It’s what they said,” he said, jerking his head toward Grey Guard. “When I promised them
my servitude if I lost the wager. They didn’t care if I died. I thought they were just arrogant.
Now I realise…they meant it literally. Death is no barrier, to demons. Somehow…they
control death.”

Xie Lian threw Grey Guard a sharp look. “I should warn you, Grey Guard. I’m in no mood,
and when I’m in no mood, people die. Tell us.”

They bowed their head. “All I know is that the borders itch from imbalance… when there is
not enough death in each Realm. And when that is the case…my kind go to war, and I must
escort humans, ghosts and gods to Death.”

Xie Lian turned his head slowly to Jun Wu.

Jun Wu shrugged. “Now you see.”

Xie Lian felt the blood drain from his face, as he realised what that meant. “You…sacrifice
people.”

“Oh, no no no Xianle. The demons demand nothing that is not natural, in each of the Three
Realms. The living die. The ghosts fade. And the gods fall. As long as the right balance exists
in each, they accept that.”

“The right balance?” said Xie Lian coldly. “And you are the one to decide that?”

“The spirit decides! It was borne of my will, but it has its own. The demons would never
have let us have Three Realms if we could amass too much strength. There is a limit to how
many humans there can be, how many ghosts, how many gods. So when we got too
numerous…”

“You open the Kiln, you…make a Kingdom fall, anything to stop people from realising
you’re the reason? You’ve…you’ve killed millions.” Xie Lian felt numb.

“I have not. Everyone dies, fades, falls. I simply helped them along, now and then.”

Xie Lian realised with a cold shiver. “This is all because of Wuyong, isn’t it? A million
resentful souls who didn’t go to rest, because of you. So you had to balance them with a
million ghosts every Kilnslaughter. Then…”
“Enough mortals had to die for there to be enough ghosts to slaughter,” said Guoshi in horror.
“Enough people to die horrible deaths that kept them from resting in peace.”

Jun Wu chuckled. “No one ever paid much attention to the Ghost Realm. They thought of it
as the least important of the three. In reality, it was the foundation of the system. The Kiln
was the great balancer. Without it…”

Xie Lian realised he was shaking. His only anchor was Hua Cheng’s hand, but Hua Cheng
looked like he was barely holding himself up.

Jun Wu cocked his head. “What would you have had me do without this, Xianle? To save the
Three Realms from the demons, from unchecked ghosts, from the souls of Wuyong? Trust
me, you do not want to go back to a system with no borders. The Three Realms were a
perfectly balanced design. My solution was the kindest. People want to be controlled. They
just don’t want to be told they’re being controlled.”

“Tell me something,” said Xie Lian, lips numb. “The poor, the common people who live hard
lives. Who struggle to eat. Who endure violence and war. You let that happen, didn’t you? So
that enough would die wretchedly, and become ghosts.”

Jun Wu laughed incredulously. “Always looking for the big bad man, aren’t you Xianle? Is
that the answer you want? I'm sorry to tell you that I actually did very little, over the years!
The corruption, the violence, the war- I had to engineer almost none of it. Humans did it just
fine on their own! But the fact that you really think it could ever be different- well, that’s
what always made you so very fascinating.”

“Stop it,” grit out Hua Cheng. “Every Kilnslaughter- every ghost who never got to rest in
peace- you did it just to keep all of this going?”

“The ghosts came to the Kiln to die because they wanted the promise of being a Supreme!
They wanted to mean something, like they never had in life. I gave them that gift. A death
with meaning.”

Xie Lian was starting to snap. “You poisonous snake. You’ve lived too long! Die. JUST
DIE.”

Jun Wu’s face twitched. “I confess frustration, that you don’t see the beauty of this. That in
my system, the worse humans behaved, the more stable the Realms were. Horror in the
Mortal Realm just meant more prayers to the gods, more ghosts for the Kiln. It was a perfect
design. Suffering meant something.”

Xie Lian had long since dropped his eyes to the damp stone ground. He could not listen to
this and continue to look at that man as well.

Every ghost’s soul was not at rest. All the ghosts who had come to Mount Tonglu and died,
been forced to go from the pull of it, had only been fodder for a cruel god who refused to fall,
and made sure millions died to uphold him.
“If you want to create something better, be my guest. But the demons quite like being our
little death monitors! They’ve probably been annoyed ever since the Kiln healed over. It’s
very fulfilling for them to keep the numbers down, and it keeps the peace. They will not
accept a lesser offer.”

Xie Lian felt a tear roll down his face. He tasted salt. He raised his eyes to Jun Wu, someone
who he would hate with every fibre of his being for all of his days.

Jun Wu was relishing it.

“So here’s the heart of it, Xianle: make a choice. I’ll let you choose. Take me out, and I can
stabilise everything again, as the Emperor. But you’re going to have to be grateful, and accept
the price of our peace. Kill me instead? The Realms will fall. The ghosts will all die first, and
the more powerful they are the more quickly they’ll go,” he taunted. “And then the demons
will come. There will be so much death you’ll have to create an entire new system of Realms
to balance all the resentment. You cannot do better.”

“You have broken me, Jun Wu,” said Guoshi, eyes deadened. “Nothing can redeem you.”

Then, Xie Lian finally realised it with a crashing, shivering wave of understanding. Guoshi
was right. Jun Wu would never change.

He swayed. This was it.

“Guoshi,” he said quietly. “Escort him to the surface. Grey Guard, take him to the beach.
Take everyone to the beach. That’s where it ends.”

***

The Madam seemed entirely unsurprised to receive their landing party. Slicer, Wild Wail and
The Maid, however, stood as if ready for battle when they saw Jun Wu. Pei Ming had
returned to the beach too. His mouth fell open as he sprang to his feet.

Hua Cheng nearly fell to the ground. He was spurting blood from his ears and nose now. Xie
Lian caught him and slung his arm across his shoulder to hold him up. “I’ve got you, San
Lang,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. We won’t travel again.”

Grey Guard disappeared for half a second, and reappeared with the other Door’s group.

“Jun Wu?!” hissed Mu Qing, stumbling on the sand.

“Why did you let him out?!” demanded Feng Xin.

“There was no other choice,” said Xie Lian shortly.

Hua Cheng eyed him, skin deathly pale. “There was a choice, gege.”

“No, there wasn’t, ” he replied furiously.

Qi Rong did not have such a sense of occasion, on the beach in his box next to a nauseous
looking Banyue.

“STOP MOVING ME YOU FUCKERS! YOU’RE TRYING TO KILL ME!”

“We’re trying to save you,” insisted Lang Qianqiu earnestly, as Gu Zi wailed from the
Realmwalking effects on his ears and flopped protectively over the box.

“Wait, where’s Black W-” said Xie Lian, turning. Black Water was sitting alone at the edge of
the beach, staring at the dark ocean.

The Madam padded over on the sand. “Quite a crowd we have tonight, for the end of the
world.”

Jun Wu chuckled, as Grey Guard watched him warily. “A very nice spot.”

“Shut up,” shot Xie Lian.

“Shouldn’t he be in chains?!” said Pei Ming.

“There is nowhere he can go where I cannot find him,” said Grey Guard.

“You let him out to stabilise the Doors?” said Mu Qing slowly, eyes fixed on a smirking Jun
Wu.

“He’s not stabilising them,” said Xie Lian bitterly. “He’s sealed his power. He won’t help us
until we’re desperate.”

Jun Wu was at least reliable like that. He wanted Xie Lian to make the choice: reinstate him,
or let him die, along with everyone else.

Pei Ming puffed up. “Is that true? You- you have no honour, Jun Wu.”

Jun Wu cocked his head. “You only believe the worst of me. Perhaps I am suppressing
myself as a gift! You are welcome. I won’t take over until you ask me to. Maybe even beg.”

“Don’t listen to a word he says, Your Highness,” warned Feng Xin.

“My friends. I know. Trust me when I tell you, there really was no other way,” he said
quietly.

Mu Qing twitched slightly at the word ‘friends’, but he nodded decisively. “Yes, Your
Highness.”

Jun Wu’s smile deepened. “Still his men at arms, after all this time?”

“What else should we be? Bowing and scraping in your court? Asshole,” retorted Mu Qing,
face twisted with distaste.
“Why should you bow and scrape at all? Surely you want something of your own? I can give
you that, you know.”

“Shut UP,” shot Feng Xin.

Mu Qing was still watching Xie Lian with concern. “What are you going to do?”

Xie Lian looked up at Hua Cheng. “I’m spending some time with my love. I have some
things I need to say to him.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing shared a look, and for once, said nothing.

Hua Cheng looked back at Xie Lian, broken. Xie Lian tugged at his hand. “Come with me,
my San Lang.”

They didn’t go far. Hua Cheng couldn’t. They sat on the sand together. Xie Lian knew as
soon as they did that Hua Cheng would not be able to stand again without his help. That was
alright. He’d help him. He’d always help him.

Xie Lian dabbed at Hua Cheng’s bloody face with his sleeves, ignoring Hua Cheng’s half-
hearted protests that he would get dirty. Even Ruoye fluttered anxiously and wiped at his face
without hesitation until the blood was gone.

“Your Highness,” whispered Hua Cheng. “I’m sorry.”

Xie Lian swallowed the last tinge of anger that he had. He knew why Hua Cheng had done
what he did, and it was out of love. Perhaps if he was in the same position, he’d have done
the same. In fact, he knew he would.

“I think I know the answer to this question,” began Xie Lian heavily. “But where were you
going to take Jun Wu?”

“The border’s Dreamscape.”

Xie Lian nodded bleakly. As he thought. “You’d both be torn apart in there, in your state.”

Hua Cheng said nothing. Xie Lian clasped his hand tightly.

“Which was exactly your intention, wasn’t it San Lang?”

Hua Cheng’s head was hanging. “I haven’t been honest with myself, Your Highness.
Ghostwill is simple. Who I have become isn’t who I was when I chose to become a ghost.
That’s what matters, in the end. My core choice.”

Xie Lian closed his eyes. “And when you became a ghost, your only desire was to protect me
by dying for me again. Like you did the first time. And the second. And the third.”

Hua Cheng’s voice was so faint. A whisper. “I am consistent, I suppose,” he managed.

Xie Lian nodded miserably. Here, at the edge of the world, his beloved still did not
understand.

“What were you going to ask me to do, San Lang?” He had to know.

Hua Cheng looked at him strangely. “You still must, Your Highness. It’s the only way. I’ll
take him there, and perhaps his death and mine will be enough to destroy everything. A
Ghost King’s sunrise is powerful. You can make something better of the world, I know you
will. I have to free you, my love.”

Xie Lian found himself unable to speak. All of the scolding in him was gone. Hua Cheng
kept going, like Xie Lian wasn’t already shattered into pieces.

“Let my ashes dissolve. Sunrises are final. Just let it happen, please. I need you to. This is
my purpose. It was always my purpose, all along. I must honour it now, Your Highness.”

“Stop calling me that!” whispered Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng hesitated. “I must fulfil my purpose, properly this time. It’s what I am here for. I
understand that now.”

Xie Lian felt his heart break. “I thought you were here to be my San Lang. To be my love.”

Hua Cheng couldn’t look at him. “I can’t do that for you if you aren’t free. If he gets to hurt
you, still.”

Xie Lian was past all dignity. He wrung at Hua Cheng’s hand, pleading. “You can’t go, San
Lang. I’m still here. You can’t go, if I’m still here. We had eight hundred years apart, my
love. Please just give me one thousand more, one hundred more, one more? Even just one?
Just one, San Lang. I can’t let you go without even one. Please.”

Hua Cheng couldn’t reply. He knew that look in Hua Cheng’s eye. He had made up his mind.
There was only one way to bring him back, and it wasn’t by convincing him that Xie Lian’s
crazy plan was right. Xie Lian took the deepest breath he could, and made up his mind too.

“San Lang, I need you to do something for me, before you go.”

The sea was at high tide now. The water was determined to keep reaching, keep straining as
far forward as it could go.

“Anything,” said Hua Cheng.

“Marry me.”

Hua Cheng was still. A tiny frown appeared, like he was trying to understand if he’d heard
right.

“Your Highn-”

“I prefer gege. And I asked you to marry me.”

Hua Cheng’s hand twitched in his, an involuntary tell. “I don’t- what do you-”

“You are asking me to lose you forever. I cannot do that if I never get to have even one
moment of being married to the man I love. Marry me.”

Hua Cheng mouthed wordlessly. “I- I don’t-” he stopped. “I can’t marry you like this.”

“How else?”

“But…not here, not now-”

“Aren’t you planning to die for me soon? There is no other time, no other place, no other us.”

“You- you deserve- you should have more than this-”

“There is no ‘more’ than YOU, San Lang!” he said, angrily dashing away the tears on his
face. “You’re my San Lang. I am yours. So marry me. Now, please.”

Hua Cheng looked away. “Will it make you happy?” he asked bleakly.

“Only for a moment, until you go. But this isn’t about happiness. I need this. I need to make
my bows for you.”

Hua Cheng nodded. His eye was wide. He looked shocked, and shaky.

“You…we should have something else-” he looked around helplessly.

“My friends are here; so are yours. It’s a lovely beach by the ocean. I did your hair. It’s not so
bad, in the end. But even if we were in the worst place in the world, my love, I’d still marry
you.”

Hua Cheng looked at him dazed, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“San Lang. You still haven’t given me your answer.”

Hua Cheng blinked at him.

“Of- of course I’ll marry you. M-My beloved.”

Xie Lian sat up to kneeling. “Good. We’re already on our knees, nice and simple. Let’s do it.”

He tugged Hua Cheng up, who was still staring at him as if he was going mad.

He cleared his throat. This was not about pride. He had none, not for his San Lang.

“Um…Madam?” he called. “Can you quickly marry us, please?”

The Madam was the only one whose jaw did not drop.

“Of course, sweet ones. I'd be honoured,” she smiled, eyes twinkling.
“That’s good!” said Xie Lian, giving a thumbs up, which seemed to physically pain Hua
Cheng.

“Wha-” sputtered Feng Xin.

“What in the-” muttered Mu Qing.

“Wait, I thought they were already married?” said Pei Ming, looking baffled.

“Nope! Bit of an oversight, so we’re doing it now,” shouted Xie Lian, waving them over.
“Grey Guard-”

They nodded. “I will keep him back from you,” they said, hair tensed and puffed towards Jun
Wu. Jun Wu scoffed in disbelief, and turned away.

They all gathered nearby, though not too close. Even Black Water got up, and hovered in the
back, face unreadable. Everyone was looking at Xie Lian as if he was mad. He wasn’t. He
was clear headed, and absolutely sure.

“We do things a little differently, in the Ghost Realm,” said the Madam, eyes on Xie Lian.

“Good,” he agreed firmly. “That is how we should marry.”

She smiled. “Very well. I would ask you to take each others’ hands, but I see you’ve not let
go for some time already anyway.”

Ruoye poked out, and bound their hands together, trying to be helpful. The Madam chuckled.

Xie Lian shared a glance with Hua Cheng, who was still quiet.

She squared herself, and spread her hands wide.

“In death, there is still life. We hold here, for reasons unique to each ghost. Our in-between
time is borrowed. But though we are not living, we gather here today to witness two of us
who wish to borrow all the time they can for one another. Is this the truth you vow?”

Xie Lian could feel Hua Cheng’s hand trembling. Xie Lian was not nervous at all.

“Yes. He is already my life.”

She turned her gaze to Hua Cheng, who looked one more time at Xie Lian, and nodded
quietly. “Yes.”

“Bow to Life, bow to Death, and bow to each other In Between.”

Xie Lian smiled. It was not the three bows he was used to, but in some ways, it was the same.

He bowed low, reverent and careful. He felt Hua Cheng do the same. Twice, and then facing
each other. Hua Cheng nearly fell shuffling his knees on the uneven sand, but Xie Lian
caught him by the shoulder. Hua Cheng opened his mouth automatically, and Xie Lian knew
he was about to apologise.

“Don’t, San Lang. I’ve got you.”

Hua Cheng met his eyes, and they were awed. He bowed low, for a long time. Xie Lian
matched him.

They rose, Xie Lian helping Hua Cheng stand gently. Hua Cheng’s jaw was clenched; he
didn’t like having to lean on him. Xie Lian smiled just for him, and touched his cheek. “It’s
alright, my husband.”

“Should we clap?” whispered Feng Xin.

“Shut up,” hissed Mu Qing.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?” yelled Qi Rong from several mǐ back where they'd
forgotten him.

“Dump some sand in the box to shut him up!” complained Pei Ming.

“Good idea!” enthused Wild Wail, gathering sand in their pelican beak.

Xie Lian barely heard any of it. He was only looking at his San Lang. He stood on his tiptoes
and kissed him, and Hua Cheng kissed him back softly, holding him as if he was a priceless
relic.

Xie Lian pulled back. Hua Cheng gasped, and bent double, wrenching Xie Lian forward from
their joint hands. Qi Rong howled and Banyue yelped. Black Water fell to his knees, silent
but clearly in a great deal of pain.

“GREY G-”

“Another flicker,” they called, pacing. Jun Wu was bent double too. “Still the other Door, but
it will go soon.”

“How long?!”

Grey Guard looked at them all soberly. “Minutes.”

Xie Lian felt the prick of tears, the terror, looking down at Hua Cheng as the gods exclaimed
and the ghosts all went still, staring around at each other numbly.

“Gege,” whispered Hua Cheng raggedly, pulling at his hands. “Let me do this. I can still fix
this.”

Xie Lian shook his head stubbornly. “JUN WU!”

Mu Qing and Feng Xin ran to seize each arm and drag him forward.
“Have you made your decision, Xianle?” he said unctuously. He looked even worse than Hua
Cheng. He must be in pain. “Let the Doors fall, or let me save you?”

“Neither,” spat Hua Cheng. “I will be dragging you down to hell, you-”

“Let the Doors fall,” said Xie Lian firmly.

Silence ensued as the words echoed into the night. The breeze blew.

“What?” said Jun Wu slowly.

“Let them fall.”

The shock wore off, and everyone began yelling at once.

“We will die!”

“What do you mean-”

“Your Highness, please think this through-”

“We can force him to sustain the Doors! We could-”

Xie Lian sighed. “You cannot force him. And even if you did so, you would be giving him
the power to rule the Three Realms. Forever.”

“Gege-” came the only voice he wanted to hear.

“Trust me, San Lang. I’ve got you. I won’t let him do this to you. And I will not let you die
for me again.”

“It is my duty-”

“And my duty is to save my husband.”

“What are you-” Hua Cheng frowned. “What do you know?”

Xie Lian shook his head. “I don’t know anything. I just believe. I want you here. Stay.”

Hua Cheng was starting to look concerned. “Gege, are you alright?”

“I will not let you go. I refuse. It will never happen. So your plan is pointless. Do my plan
instead.”

“Which is?!”

“Stay.”

“Gege-”

“Your Highness, we will die,” urged The Maid.

“No, you won’t.”

“What!?”

“It’s just a theory. But I don’t think you will.”

“Just a theory-”

“Gege-”

“Your HIGHNESS.”

Jun Wu, for once, actually looked thrown off. “Are you really going to gamble your beloved
husband’s life?”

“No. I’m gambling yours.” He looked around at his friends. “Please trust me. I wouldn’t ever
put my San Lang’s life at risk if I didn’t think I was right. I would never hurt him. Stick with
me. Let the Doors flicker out.”

“FUCK THAT-” seethed the box.

“Oh, what are YOU going to do about it? USELESS!” roared The Maid, kicking the box. Xie
Lian noticed she had taken Slicer’s hand in the moments that everyone went quiet.

The Madam spoke, and everyone listened. “I trust His Highness. Let them fall.”

“Sister-” pleaded The Maid.

Wild Wail nodded their beak. “This silly boy is crazy. I like it. I will do what he suggests.
What must we do?”

Xie Lian steeled himself. “Just…think about what you were like when you died, and then
think about what you’re like now.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME YOU INSANE FUCKER-”

“Qi Rong!” shouted Xie Lian. “Even you. You’re the reason I thought of this, cousin.”

Qi Rong made a strange sound. “What?”

“Do it. Just try.”

Jun Wu’s face had turned sour. “What exactly are you playing at, Xianle? These ghosts are
minutes from their sunrises. And you think there’s some trick I haven’t thought of?”

“No trick. I just think you counted on ghosts to be as incapable as you.”

Jun Wu’s eyes glittered. “I have been called many things. Incapable is not one of them.”

“And yet, you are.”

“Every ghost here is only who I have allowed them to be. They have killed hundreds,
thousands of people. All to get to the top, for power. For the Kiln.”

“They did it for a million reasons other than power. They are more complicated than you.”

“And you think your beloved Hua Cheng is proof of that?” he sneered.

“No,” he replied quietly. “My San Lang has always been good. It’s my cousin who’s the
proof.”

The box was, for once, completely silent and unmoving on the sand.

“Your cousin?” laughed Jun Wu incredulously. “Your cousin is the most worthless excuse for
a human being who has ever walked the Realms.”

Xie Lian grimaced. “He is awful, it’s true. He has a terrible personality, no manners, never
knows when to do or say the right thing, no understanding of basic decency, he’s arrogant and
prideful and has bad hygiene-”

“Gege-”

“Oh, yes- but my point is, he is someone’s father. He protected an orphan child over himself.
Which is already more good than you have ever done. How does that feel, Jun Wu? For you
to be morally inferior to Qi Rong, who again- really is just awful- ”

“Gege-”

“Sorry, I mean, yes! You get my point. You’re the only one here who hasn’t changed a bit,
Jun Wu. And I have a feeling that’s far more of a problem than you think it is.”

Jun Wu sneered. “Oh? Well I look forward to all these ghosts dying around you as you fail.”

“Oh, but you’ll die too, Jun Wu. If you’re right.”

He bared his teeth. “And if you’re right?”

Xie Lian shook his head, and said nothing, eyes glinting.

Grey Guard’s hair stood on end. “The Taicang Door. It’s going.”

“I know,” grunted Hua Cheng, falling to his knees again at the exact moment Jun Wu did the
same. Banyue, Black Water, The Madam all cried out in pain and clutched at their hearts. The
Maid and Slicer looked panicked. Everyone else looked helpless.

“This is it. Your Highness…are you sure?” called Grey Guard.

“YES!” yelled Xie Lian, falling to the sand to hold Hua Cheng’s face. “San Lang, just do
what I said! Think about who you were when you died, and who you are now!”
“Gege-” he mouthed, unable to make sound. Both of his hands were going. Xie Lian could
see right through them to the rough sand and broken shells he was clutching at.

“Believe in me. Do it!” he begged.

Hua Cheng nodded faintly and closed his eyes.

Jun Wu was sweating, face contorted in agony.

Grey Guard’s hair went very still as they turned. “It’s gone. And now this Door…it’s ending.
The last one.”

Even Xie Lian could feel it now. Over behind him, there was a warping of the air, a pull.

Everything was horrible. Banyue was screaming, and Hua Cheng couldn’t scream at all. He
looked down at his husband. The light was beginning to shine from his hands. He couldn’t
stand to see it, but he would not look at anything but his San Lang, because his San Lang
needed him.

Yet out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. Jun Wu staggered to his feet, and made the hand
movements. He was unsealing his spiritual power.

Mu Qing and Feng Xin twitched their hands to their swords, but Xie Lian caught their eyes
just for a tiny moment, and shook his head. They looked at each other, and let their hands fall
at their sides. Grey Guard’s brows contracted, watching, but they did nothing too.

“It seems I will have to do this alone, as I do everything!” seethed Jun Wu, circling his
fingers together. His scars were already disappearing. He was becoming the Heavenly
Emperor, power surging and bursting from him.

Xie Lian wouldn’t look away from his husband, but he smiled sadly. “Yes. I’m sorry that you
were always alone, Jun Wu.”

“What-”

Hua Cheng opened his eye as the light reached his neck, and mouthed “I love you.” Xie Lian
shook his head. “Tell me later, San Lang. I know you will. Trust me.”

All at once, it stopped. Xie Lian heard the sound of ghosts collapsing and groaning near him.

Sound returned to Hua Cheng’s throat with a ragged gasp, a gulp for air. Xie Lian leant down
and pressed their foreheads together in relief. “Hi,” he whispered. “You’re alright. You’re
okay. I said, didn’t I? I promised you, my love.”

Hua Cheng was shaking uncontrollably. Xie Lian held him tightly, whispering nothing much.
Just enough words for him to hear that he was fine.

“Your Highness,” came the rough voice. Feng Xin. It was the universal sound of something
being wrong. Xie Lian didn’t even need to look, because he knew what was wrong. He
looked anyway.
Jun Wu’s face was indescribable. “I- don’t understand,” he whispered to himself.

It felt fitting, in the moment, to see that the sun was rising across the sea.

Xie Lian felt no victory, seeing Jun Wu’s sunrise too. The Emperor stared down at his hands
in horror, as they turned to beams and rays.

***

Hua Cheng had been prepared to die. His stubborn, reckless husband refused to let him do his
duty, so he had no choice. He was broken at the thought of hurting him so badly. But Xie
Lian whispered to him to believe, so he decided to. Xie Lian understood something he
didn’t.

He really did try. He thought about who he was when he’d died, a scared teenager so full of
rage and hurt. He barely recognised him. He barely recognised Wu Ming. He barely even
recognised who he was when he faded into butterflies, such a short time ago. He no longer
viewed dying for his beloved as the best thing he could ever do. Not when it hurt him so
much. He hated hurting him.

He wasn’t sure if this was what his beloved wanted him to think about, but that was what his
mind was running through when it all stopped. He wondered for a brief moment if he had
passed into an afterlife. He expected he would simply be nothing, but he felt a calm in his
heart at the thought that he could wait for his beloved again.

But instead, as he sat up on the very same beach, he saw the resigned expression on Xie
Lian's face as they watched Jun Wu fracture into light.

“Guoshi,” he heard him say quietly, hands on his temple. “I was right. It’s happening. Do you
want to be with him?”

Hua Cheng flexed his fingers, and found that he still had strength and power. He silently
entered the array just in time to hear Guoshi’s broken voice.

“I don’t think I can watch it, Xie Lian. I cannot. I will stay here with my friends, and we will
mourn our failures.”

Xie Lian nodded sadly. “He is alone.”

“Perhaps that is what he wants.”

Xie Lian looked back at Hua Cheng, and exited the array. He spoke aloud. “Talk to me, San
Lang.”

“I’m fine, gege,” said Hua Cheng, and it was true. “But I don’t understand-”

The light had reached Jun Wu’s chest now. He was fractured fractals, every wavelength of
colour. It would have been beautiful, were it not death itself.
Jun Wu simply looked at himself disappearing. He was quiet. Everyone was quiet, not
making a move or a sound.

Except Xie Lian, who stood and walked to him.

Jun Wu raised his eyes. “How did you do it?” he said in wonder.

Xie Lian exhaled. “I didn’t. You did.”

“I did?”

Xie Lian nodded.

Jun Wu looked at his hands, no longer hands at all. “I think this is what I really wanted, you
know.”

Xie Lian shook his head. “I know. If only you hadn’t been so afraid of it, all this time.”

Jun Wu smiled, and closed his eyes. “Yes.”

The light took him. The final flash was blinding; the sun itself.

***

It took many long minutes of silence before anyone asked Xie Lian to explain himself.

Everyone simply sat and watched the water for a while. It wasn’t Hua Cheng who asked. Hua
Cheng now found himself in no rush at all.

He could feel the Doors were gone. And yet…the Ghost Realm was still here. He was still
here. Something else had happened. A third path.

It was Mu Qing who broke. “Alright, fine. Lecture us about what we all missed, then.”

Xie Lian chuckled. “He said it. The borders have their own will. He shaped it all, once. But
then he made a mistake: he became White No Face. He made things so unstable that he had
to share power with other ghosts, and tie the Realm to your will. He thought you would only
use power in the way he expected. You didn’t. You save people, you feel regret-” his eyes
lingered on Black Water. “You try to make things better. You try to make yourselves better.”

“That’s the reason the borders have been failing. He tied your Doors to singular, obsessive
wills, but then all of you changed. You all have different reasons to be here now than you
once did, but he was still exactly the same! His system didn’t work anymore.”

‘“Gege?” questioned Hua Cheng, frustrated.

Xie Lian smiled. “The Doors weren’t rejecting your ghostwills like we thought, San Lang!
They were accepting them, and rejecting his. His ghostwill was the outlier, not yours. So… I
knew that if he unsealed his power and threw everything into it, it wouldn’t work like he
thought. It would backfire.”
“But…there’s no Doors. How is it possible that he is gone, and we are still here?!”

He shrugged. “Because you want to be.”

“What?”

“He’s gone, so they’re gone too. You want to be here, so you are. The Doors were his system,
his old way of controlling everything. The border spirit has accepted something different
now.”

The Madam sat right in the centre of the sand dune in her silk tent, looking like the Queen of
the beach. “You really did figure it out. Both of you.” She looked most pleased. She turned
her face to the dawn, pink rays shining across her hair.

Grey Guard spoke, voice clipped. “It is not so simple. Everything has weakened from this- I
can feel the borders around the Heavenly Realm are full of holes now, the Demon Realm too.
My fellow demons…I can feel them already. They will start crossing soon, and I can’t stop
them. Jun Wu was right. They will not accept anything less than their own Realm, and the
right to wage war, to kill.”

“Ah…yes. I have an idea for that-”

Hua Cheng felt a tingle, a chill. Something was odd.

Wild Wail was a wolf now. They normally always made sure to adopt forms which fit their
environment, but now there was a wolf on a beach. And they were sitting very close to The
Madam. Right by her side, as if keeping her warm. Sooty was in her lap too.

“No,” whispered Hua Cheng, eye unfocused. Xie Lian blinked in confusion, and followed his
gaze.

The Madam’s arm was pure light. She was watching the sun peek over the horizon, serene.
Hua Cheng's stomach dropped.

“Sister- no-” scrambled The Maid, as she and Slicer leapt over to her, falling to their knees.
The Madam turned, and touched their cheeks.

“Ah, my loves. I’m sorry. I meant to go alone, but I haven’t quite the strength to walk away
now.”

“Oh no, San Lang,” breathed Xie Lian. Hua Cheng felt his hand in his, but he was frozen and
limp.

“You cannot go. Fight it! Fight this! Not here, not like this!” pleaded The Maid, wringing her
hands.

“What nonsense,” she smiled. “I couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to go to rest. Look,”
she said, waving around her.

The Maid swallowed her sobs. “You can’t leave me here.”

“You have so much passion, my sister. You are like me, long ago. You can carve your own
path. You do good work. Keep going.”

Slicer was still, but his hand twitched towards her face. It was the only time Hua Cheng had
ever seen him do such a thing. The Madam took his hand, and held it against her cheek. “And
you, brother. What an honour, to know you both.”

Hua Cheng was completely frozen. She fixed him in her gaze anyway.

“Come here, my sweet pea.”

Hua Cheng shook his head. He couldn’t move. If he moved, then she would-

“I want to see you. Please.”

It was the ‘please’ that shattered him.

She had never, in all of her days, ever said please. Why would she? She was The Madam. She
was a Ghost Queen. The oldest human ghost. Everyone bent to her will. Of course they did.
She was darkness, made light.

He moved, as if in a dream. He looked down at her. It had never occurred to him that she was
this small. He had always thought of her as being above something so trivial as size.

Her other arm was breaking into light now too, though it still held form. He knew, because
she patted his cheek, and he felt it.

“Thank you for letting me see you get married, sweet one. I’m so happy.”

Hua Cheng felt his face crumple.

“What is that sad face for?”

“You’re my friend,” heaved Hua Cheng. He’d never said those words either.

“And you’re my son. I’m so proud of you. I’m so happy to go to rest now, knowing you’ll be
alright.”

Hua Cheng reached for her. Maybe he could anchor her, to make her stay. She just patted the
sand next to her instead.

“Would you like to sit with me, awhile? Keep an old woman company. These furry old
fleabags can’t be the only ones to see me away. A lady likes a handsome gentleman to watch
the sunrise with. ”

He glanced back, wrecked. Xie Lian’s face was glistening. He nodded. “Go on, San Lang.”

The Madam called over her shoulder. "Black Water. Is this really what you want? I don't
recommend this, unless you're truly at peace."
He Xuan's face was unreadable. He said nothing, but he bowed.

Xie Lian shepherded everyone away, leaving them alone. The Maid and Slicer couldn’t look
back. Pei Ming blew his nose noisily as he went.

“Wild Wail,” she murmured. Wild Wail made a keening noise as she scratched their neck,
their furry head low. “Quite an honour, for you to see me off in your true form. Don’t miss
me too much, my dearest friend.”

Wild Wail whimpered as the light crept up to her face. Hua Cheng was beyond being able to
make any sound.

“Now now. No grief. I have seen everything, everywhere, everyone. It’s enough now. Just
stay with me. Then everything will be fine, hmm? Look ahead, now. It’s going to be a
beautiful day.”

Hua Cheng obeyed. He couldn’t look at her anymore. She ghosted her fingers along the back
of his hand gently as he squeezed his eye shut, and she was gone. Wild Wail began to howl.

***

Hua Cheng didn’t remember how he got back to the cottage. How Xie Lian cleaned him and
combed his hair and caressed his face, telling him it was alright, and that he was so sorry he
lost his friend.

His only real memory of the day was realising he was crying. From both eyes. Both of his
tear ducts were fully intact, but he had never realised this. He had not had cause to cry for so
long. It had always been a waste of valuable time.

Thoughtlessly, he ripped off his eyepatch, rubbing at his empty eye socket. Until he realised
Xie Lian had gasped.

He stared down at the eyepatch in his hand. It was such a small thing. Why had he always
thought it mattered so much?

Xie Lian cupped his face. Hua Cheng was dimly aware that he was in Xie Lian's arms, on
their mat. He looked happy, and sad all at once.

“You’re so beautiful, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng looked away, wiping his face. He was wrung out. He must look terrible.

Xie Lian huffed. “You’re so beautiful, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng frowned, confused.

Xie Lian shifted, and pulled his face towards him, insistent. “You’re so beautiful, San Lang,”
he repeated slowly and meaningfully.

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because I’m waiting for you to not roll your eyes when I do. Um,” he gulped. “I mean,
eye.”

Hua Cheng gaped at him in disbelief. He hadn’t even realised he had been doing that.

Xie Lian traced his blind eyelid, his empty eyelid, and gave it the gentlest kiss.

“You’re so beautiful, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng swallowed, and kept his eye still. Xie Lian beamed. “There. That wasn’t so hard.”

He was starting to come back to himself. “Gege, what is happen-”

“I’ve taken care of it. Don’t you worry.”

Hua Cheng felt frustrated. “I can’t just do nothing-”

“Why not?”

“I have responsibilities, things to do-”

“Not right now. You’ve done so much, San Lang. 800 years, and you never did nothing even
for a second. I told you. I’ve got this.”

“But the borders.”

“Like I said. I had an idea, and it’s in motion.”

“Which is?”

“Ling Wen.”

“What about her?”

“She’ll figure it out. You were right. Something should be hers to run. Why not this?”

“Because she’s Ling Wen! She’s…we cannot hand her all the power.”

“Why not? She’ll grab it some other way anyway. At least this way I can keep an eye on her.
She knows what happened to the last guy.”

“Gege-”

“She’ll do a fine job. If she doesn’t, we’ll deal with it.”

“How is she going to solve it!?”

“San Lang. I really, really don’t care. And you don’t have to either. You’ve done so much.
Can’t we just have a nice honeymoon now?”

Hua Cheng felt the air leave his body.

“Gege,” he said weakly.

Xie Lian rubbed his chest fondly. “Let me make you some food. A little wedding feast.”

Hua Cheng couldn’t speak. Some part of him wondered if Xie Lian had only done that to
snap him out of- whatever he was thinking. The whole…dying to save him thing. He'd not
yet accepted that they were truly married.

Xie Lian got up, and eyed him knowingly. “Not thinking of taking it back, are we?”

Hua Cheng would not listen to this. “No, gege,” he breathed. “I could never.”

“Mmm. Good,” he replied, eyes twinkling.

An hour later, Xie Lian served him the “Three Bows, Three Meats” stew. Hua Cheng
munched meekly.

“Gege. You married me…to, to- to show me that I should stay? That I could be happy?”

Xie Lian scratched his head, looking awkward.

“Um, no. I genuinely just wanted to marry you. And I figured doing it when you were at your
worst would make you understand how much I love you.”

Hua Cheng stared. “But…you made me- made us all- think about our pasts, how much we’d
changed-”

“Oh, yes. I hadn’t the faintest idea if that would work. Honestly, that was kind of just to shut
everyone up and make Jun Wu panic enough to unseal himself.”

Hua Cheng let the three equally unidentifiable meats fall off his spoon and plop back into the
stew.

“Gege,” he said in a low voice. “You really just did all of that on belief?”

Xie Lian shrugged. “I knew you wanted to stay with me more than you wanted to die. I am
your most devoted believer, husband.”

Hua Cheng wondered when he was going to get his cockiness back. Never, if Xie Lian kept
saying things like that.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever understand your mind, gege.”

“Keep trying,” he said cheerfully, chin in hand. “We have time.”

Hua Cheng looked out the window. The afternoon light was dimming. The sun would set
soon. He couldn’t believe that its rising had seen the end of a Ghost King and a Ghost Queen.
One by avarice, one by choice.
Xie Lian read him perfectly. “She was happy, San Lang. She was so happy to go. And she
stood and married us. How wonderful. She loved you.”

Hua Cheng nodded silently, and in the absence of a single thing to say, he returned to his
stew.

Xie Lian led him back to the mat after dinner, and they sat with their backs against the wall.
He stroked his hair and kissed his cheek and left him be, until enough time had passed that
Hua Cheng realised something.

“Gege?”

“Hmm?”

“How can we start a honeymoon if we haven’t had a wedding night?”

Xie Lian sputtered. Oh, finally. A reaction.

“I- well…I wasn’t sure you would want to, after-”

Hua Cheng smiled quietly. “The Madam, of all people, would be horrified to think her death
prevented a consummation. She would come back just to make fun of me.”

He felt like himself again. Xie Lian was right. She’d been happy to go. She didn't want him
to be sad.

Xie Lian went purple. “Well. Then…but, it’s only the early evening-”

“Oh, I see. I will only begin when you think the appropriate hour has arrived.”

Xie Lian buried his face in his shoulder, mumbling. “Now who’s teasing.”

“I haven’t even begun to tease you, gege,” he replied, dropping a kiss on the tip of his very
pink ear.

Xie Lian looked up at him, and Hua Cheng’s breath caught. “We’re really married,” said Xie
Lian, echoing Hua Cheng’s thoughts exactly.

“Mmm,” he agreed.

Xie Lian’s face was caught in the golden sunset light. Hua Cheng had to kiss him. Xie Lian
whispered into his mouth, “I still need you to lead me, San Lang,” and Hua Cheng was lost.

Hua Cheng took his time.

Not just because Xie Lian needed it, but because they both did.

It took a few moments of tensing up, of hesitation to remind himself that him being this
happy was not a problem. He would not dissolve and go to rest, because he didn’t want to.
His beloved really was always right.
He undressed him, and Xie Lian laid down bare again. Hua Cheng was staring again. He had
meant what he had said the other night- this was totally, completely, beyond enough. But-

“San Lang. Will you touch me, please?”

He couldn’t hide that his hands were shaking. He didn’t try to. He was done trying to hide
from his beloved, who always found out every single thing anyway. It was almost too much
for him, to do something he never believed he deserved. But his beloved had asked him to,
and he wasn’t that person anymore.

So he kissed his neck, and let the familiar skin soothe his nerves. He made Xie Lian writhe,
and let his stuttered gasps wash over him like a balm. He whispered instruction (which was
really just that Xie Lian should lie under him and be beautiful), and he finally, actually
touched his beloved.

He kissed his chest, and gripped at his bare waist. He stroked the insides of his thighs, which
were exactly as soft as he’d dreamed. He licked at his narrow hips and held him down when
he jerked.

And he looked. Hungrily, at all of him, not just his face. His perfect chest and brown nipples
that he swept down to suck, his trail of hair leading down to his swollen, leaking cock up
against his perfect pale belly, and his forearm that he threw over his face to hide underneath
and had to be tugged gently down. “No, none of that. Watch me looking at you, gege.”

He still checked on him. Once, touch had not been easy for Xie Lian, and he needed to
remain watchful for anything that he didn’t want. But Xie Lian didn’t let him hesitate.

“No, San Lang,” hupped Xie Lian. “I-I need this as much as you.”

Hua Cheng met his molten gaze, and knew it was true. So he removed his own clothes, and
bit back a grin at Xie Lian’s wide eyes and blush, and lowered himself down. The feel of his
skin was warm silk, and he needed to take a long moment as he stole kisses between each
ragged breath.

Xie Lian moved only slightly to part his legs wider, and Hua Cheng buried his moan against
Xie Lian’s throat, nibbling a little in retaliation.

“Careful, gege. If you want me to ‘overwhelm you’, you can’t overwhelm me.”

Xie Lian cupped his face and pulled it up to press against his. “Why not?” he asked earnestly.

Hua Cheng had no answer, so he kissed him instead.

He made to move down, to finally take his beloved’s cock in hand and mouth where it
absolutely belonged, when Xie Lian stopped him. “No, San Lang. I need you to- to-”

Hua Cheng nuzzled at his belly, feeling Xie Lian twitch beneath him. “Speak now, gege,
while I’m still able to understand speech.”
“You’ve seen me…come. I want to see you. I want us to- together. But you still have to-” he
trailed off.

Hua Cheng breathed against him. He understood what he meant. Xie Lian still needed him to
lead, and wanted him to take pleasure. But-

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Xie Lian reached down to tug at his ear fondly. “You would never.”

It was the moment of no return, when Hua Cheng procured the oil and slid his finger inside
Xie Lian’s warmth. It was perfect and puckered and pink. He nearly imploded, right then,
feeling him contract and seeing him toss and turn and blush and bite his lip and grind against
his hand.

Hua Cheng found that he couldn’t be mute for this. He had to talk, just so he could see the
impact of each word, the reaction.

“Gege, you must nod each time you want more, right? You give me a nod each time you’re
ready for another,” he said, nipping at the delicate skin by his hip.

Xie Lian, unlike in normal life, was quite untalkative. He could only moan and gasp and
thrash at Hua Cheng’s every “ah, gege. Look at you, so perfect” until the flush on his chest
would finally deepen just a little bit more, and he would nod shyly. Hua Cheng couldn’t be
happier about taking his time. This was paradise.

He could see that Xie Lian’s cock was twitching and dark by the time he reached three
fingers. He itched to touch, to lick up his full length, but Xie Lian was clear. He wanted them
to come together.

He knew what he was preparing for, and yet when the moment came and Xie Lian touched
his face to nod, his mouth still went dry.

He settled back on his knees, looking down at him. It hit him again with hurricane force that
this was his husband. They were married. And Xie Lian had asked.

Xie Lian’s hair was spilling over his chest. His chest was heaving air and his hands were
gripping at the blanket.

Hua Cheng leaned over him to brush his face with his lips. “Are you sure? Gege, there are a
million ways I can touch-”

“I’m sure. Husband. Touch me a million other ways on other nights.”

Hua Cheng closed his eye and breathed through his physical reaction to that.

He opened it, and watched his face. Whenever Xie Lian had looked at him like this, he had
always felt he had to look away, or think of something else. Now, he just drunk it all in. Xie
Lian loved him. It would never not make his chest constrict, his airways tighten, his mouth
dry up. He liked it that way anyway.
He settled on him, between his perfect thighs, and entered him slowly. Xie Lian’s legs were
already shaking, so Hua Cheng pulled them tight around his waist and nipped at his ear to try
to focus on anything other than the feel of him, tight and warm and flawless around his cock,
the feeling of Xie Lian’s cock trapped against his stomach.

He was briefly embarrassed to realise he wouldn’t last long. Not on the first night, their
wedding night, not like this, looking down at his husband as he began to move and Xie Lian’s
throat bobbed as his moans turned guttural. He tried to concentrate, to focus only on Xie
Lian’s pleasure and making him squirm and shake for as long as he could. It was not hardship
to focus on Xie Lian. Paradise.

But then Xie Lian had a brief moment of lucidity, panting up at him as he asked “are you
overwhelmed, San Lang?”

Hua Cheng’s eye widened, and he very nearly lost it, hips stuttering as he thrust.

“Gege,” he whispered into his mouth, biting at his lip. “Do not say that to me right now. I
can’t- you’re too-”

“Please touch me San Lang. I can’t take it anymore.”

“Gege, if you come, I’ll come.”

“Yes. Please. That’s what I want.”

The words were too much already. But then Xie Lian tilted his hips up and tightened his arms
and his legs around him as if to hold him in place, and he was gone, totally and completely
overcome.

He barely had time to reach down and grasp at Xie Lian. He felt the swelling in his hand and
the warm wetness as Xie Lian came, but his noises and his chest arching up under him and
his fingers scrabbling at his shoulders told him as well.

He was white hot, he was beyond pleasure; it wrenched a deep moan from him as his
abdomen clenched and he came in spurts inside him. Xie Lian grasped his face and made him
look at him the whole time, murmuring "my San Lang, yes, that's it, I can feel you."

He tried to hold himself up, to not crush his beloved, but Xie Lian tugged him down
wordlessly. He wanted the weight.

They were sprawled and tangled, hair trapped between them and everywhere, as Hua Cheng
felt Xie Lian’s hoarse breathing and rapid heartbeat slow. Xie Lian’s face was tucked in the
hollow behind his ear. His arms stayed. They lay for a while, and they were the only two
people in the world, in the dark together.

“San Lang,” came the murmur, eventually.

“Mmm,” said Hua Cheng. He hadn’t wanted to puncture the silence. He was too amazed. His
beloved wanted to be his husband, and he was.
“Thank you.”

He raised his head, brow furrowed. “For what?”

“Every moment of those 800 years.”

Hua Cheng scanned his face. He was pink cheeked and glowing. He looked so happy. Hua
Cheng smiled softly at the thought that he made him look like that. His beloved looked…in
love. Just like him.

He kissed the join of his neck and shoulder. “I think the past is finally done now, gege.”

Xie Lian hummed. “I suppose you’re right, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng slipped out of him as Xie Lian pouted. He nuzzled his nose.

“Are you alright, gege? Not too much?”

“Exactly too much,” he mumbled, eyes closed.

Hua Cheng smiled. “Thank you, too,” he murmured in his ear.

“For what?”

“Not gloating that you were right.”

“Oh, that you didn't explode into dust upon the moment of climax? Yes. I was also pleased to
see that didn’t happen.”

Hua Cheng sighed through his nose. Xie Lian was back to full verbal capacity.

“Yes. Nonetheless, thank you anyway.”

“Your gratitude is rejected.”

Hua Cheng propped himself up on his elbow. “Eh?”

“The only reason I didn’t gloat was because I was occupied, San Lang. I fully intend to gloat
forever.”

“Oh?”

“Why shouldn’t I? It's so fun. Your face,” he chuckled.

Hua Cheng grimaced, and began tracing circles on Xie Lian’s lower abdomen, where he was
still sticky. His husband was naked. Naked and covered in him. Hua Cheng felt the surge of
determination. He was not even close to done. He was thrumming with new purpose, which
was to make his husband shake under him as often as he could take.

“I see. Then I have only one choice, to avoid this gloating.”

 Xie Lian cracked one eye open suspiciously.

“Which is?”

“To keep you occupied. Forever.”

***

Chapter End Notes

“Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or kudos.”

- Heaven Official’s Blessing

Fic is retweetable here if you fancy doing so!

 Epilogue
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

***

Xie Lian was quite surprised, actually, at how much of his honeymoon so far had been
devoted to arguments.

Specifically, about how they’d come to be on their honeymoon in the first place.

Hua Cheng wanted to do the wedding over, ‘properly’ this time. Xie Lian stubbornly
refused.

“It was perfect the first time!” he insisted, mouth full of steamed bun.

Hua Cheng’s mouth tightened as he watched him eat. “That was not a real wedding, gege.”

“Who says?”

“There were no robes, no banquet, no proper anything-”

“You were in red! And I had plenty of your blood on me, so I was in red too, in a way-”

“It is not enough for you.”

Xie Lian leaned close, slowly and deliberately. “Pah.”

Hua Cheng sighed, and rolled his eye to the ceiling.

“Eat your stew,” ordered Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng obeyed. Xie Lian felt no shame about being bossy in the light, because Hua
Cheng was bossy in the dark. Balance. Equals.

Hua Cheng tried again later on, as they were outside feeding the animals.

“I just feel…gege, it should have been my duty. To ask for the honour of your hand. Not the
other way round.”

Xie Lian squawked indignantly. “You actually think I’d let you propose again? The first time
you pretended it was a joke!”

His nostrils flared. Apparently he was still not over that.

Hua Cheng shifted his feet guiltily. “I…did not mean it to go that poorly, gege. I got a little
ahead of myself that day. But nonetheless, it still should have been me that-”

“Why?” demanded Xie Lian, curt and huffy.

Hua Cheng looked confused. “What?”

“Why should it have only been you proposing, and not me? Why shouldn’t I be the one to ask
you to marry me? Explain it to me. Go on.” Xie Lian crossed his arms and stared him down
beadily.

He wanted to watch every single micro-expression on Hua Cheng’s face as he realised that
there was no way to justify himself. Other than to admit that he felt, still, like he was the one
who should have asked because he thought he loved Xie Lian more than he was loved.

And Xie Lian wanted to watch the final, defeated closing of Hua Cheng’s mouth as he
realised that he didn’t dare say any of that aloud, because he would get a smack, an indignant
finger in the chest, and an hour-long lecture.

All of the emotions played out on Hua Cheng’s face, just as predicted. Xie Lian drank them
in. It was a symphony of frustration and guilt resolving into sheepishness and silence.

Delicious.

Xie Lian gave a singular, triumphant nod. “I thought so,” he declared imperiously, turning on
his heel and flouncing away to feed the chickens. Hua Cheng was finally getting it. It might
take many more years and many more scoldings to really cement it, but he was willing to
provide that time and investment.

Hua Cheng leaned over the fence post, and watched him for a while, chin in hand.

“You know," he began thoughtfully, lips quirked. “I knew you were like this, but…”

“And what am I like?”

“Annoying. Incorrigible. The winner of every argument.”

Xie Lian fixed him with an unrepentant stare. “Too bad, and too late. We’re married. Get
used to it.”

Hua Cheng stifled a laugh as Xie Lian resolutely turned his back to begin Grain Master’s
brushing.

He still heard the soft, gentle words behind him, a little while later.

“Alright, gege. I will.”

Xie Lian hid his smile.

***
They finally reached a compromise. No redo of the wedding, no redo of the proposal. But
Xie Lian accepted Hua Cheng's idea for a wedding banquet.

"Well...where could we do it? Paradise Manor? It's too small here."

Hua Cheng was pinching lightly at his waist. It was very distracting.

"No, gege. Somewhere a little more personal than that, for me to offer my worship."

Xie Lian rolled his eyes. "And where would that be?"

"Puqi Shrine, of course."

"It's collapsed!"

"I'll rebuild it for you. You must have a shrine. And it's the place I spent my first day with
you again."

Xie Lian kissed his cheek and hid. He thought about it. He supposed it was important to let
his husband have a win, every now and then.

"Alright. Oh! We should invite everyone for the feast. Including Ol' Feng and all his friends, I
still owe them that meal I promised for them being in the human array!"

"That will be fine. I will put word out to the ghosts."

"A Shrine Establishment feast! Fantastic, I'll have you write the establishment plaque San
Lang."

"It is a wedding feast."

"Well...we can't tell people that, if they weren't invited to the wedding."

"Hmm. So you want everyone to come, but to not tell them we're celebrating our marriage?"

"I don't want to make anyone feel left out."

Hua Cheng's fingers were wandering again. Xie Lian gasped.

"I don't mind the idea of it just being us that know, gege," he said, voice low as he kissed
down his neck. "But I want one thing." His hand moved, and held Xie Lian hostage.

"What's that?" moaned Xie Lian.

"I want to announce our marriage to the Heavens. Loudly. All day long."

Xie Lian nodded helplessly. "You really like that bell, don't you?"

"Say it, gege. Say I can ring the bell for the whole day."

"Fine!" he begged.
 ***

Sometime in the heady days that followed, Ling Wen paid a visit.

Xie Lian was somewhat interested to hear what her solution for the demons was.

Xie Lian really was only somewhat interested, because he and Hua Cheng had been washing
dishes when she arrived, and Hua Cheng was tugging his robes up just as she knocked.

They served her tea as she politely ignored the fact that they had moved Hua Cheng’s giant
Paradise Manor bed to the cottage (“Compromise, gege.”). It rather dominated the room.

“Your Highness, with Jun Wu gone and the Kiln out of commission, there are still ghosts who
wish to obtain Supremehood. And Heavenly officials want power too, of course. Demons,
with the way they are…I felt the best way to placate them was to give them the right to
design and execute all Heavenly- and Ghostly- Calamities.”

Xie Lian was impressed. “Of course...that's brilliant. They respect strength. And intellect, and
a challenge. This gives them the right to wage war against those who can actually meet the
challenge,” nodded Xie Lian thoughtfully. “Elegant.”

“They’ve agreed to keep to themselves as we work it out, and only stick to Calamities for
existing gods and ghosts for the first few years, not new ones. It will be battle for the martial
gods, logic for the civil gods, they will never do the same Calamity twice. Waging war on the
strongest gods and ghosts has them quite excited.”

Xie Lian sipped his tea, satisfied. No more 'balancing the Realms.' At least for now, a few
more of the common people would be saved. One day... perhaps they could tackle the
question of whether they needed Heaven at all. But not on his honeymoon.

Ling Wen continued. “I think I know who may be the first one to be summoned for their
Calamity.”

“Oh?”

“Seems your friends Slicer and The Maid have taken Banyue under their wing. She seems to
quite like having a mission.”

Xie Lian smiled. He knew already, she had sent a letter. “She was a street child once.
Endured many hardships. She will fit in well with them. And she would be a strong Ghost
Queen.”

Her letter had actually said that she wanted to become the protector for lost children like he
once was for her, but he wouldn’t be saying that to Ling Wen.

“We haven’t patched the holes in the Heavenly Capital, Your Highness.”

“Yes, yes. I can always come up and…”

“No need. Pei Ming mentioned something about giving you at least several weeks, or I’d be
‘copping an eyeful’? And Mu Qing and Feng Xin just walked away very quickly when I
asked if they wanted to come? What did that mean?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he said hastily, as Hua Cheng smirked and copped a handful under the
table. Xie Lian stifled a squeak.

She hesitated. “There’s something else.”

“Oh?”

“Grey Guard says things feel different, in the Heavenly Realm. With the borders.”

“Do they now?” said Hua Cheng, bored and clearly wanting her to leave.

“Mmm. They say the will of it feels ‘itchy.’”

“Ah,” said Xie Lian sagely. He’d wondered if that would happen.

“Any ideas as to why?”

“Well…Jun Wu spread power out a lot more evenly in heaven, but that didn’t mean heaven’s
will wasn’t still mostly his to control. He’s gone, so heaven’s will is adrift, but it still has its
own spirit. It’ll likely make some strange choices soon, now that it is under its own
direction.”

“It already did.”

“Oh?”

“Mmm. It ascended Shi Qingxuan and Black Water at the very same time.”

“They prefer Ol' Feng- but eh?!” He and Hua Cheng shared a glance. Now that was at least
mildly interesting.

“They jumped back down.”

“Both of them?”

“Well…it seemed the borders wished them to share the role it had them in mind for.”

“Which was!?”

“Something new. Like a God of…absolution, I suppose. Of journeys that change.”

Xie Lian cleared his throat mildly. “And the fact that they did not wish to do that would be a
direct rebuttal of heaven’s will, would it not?”

Ling Wen smiled humourlessly. “Something tells me heaven’s will as we knew it has been
destroyed, and the next few centuries will be very interesting.”
Hua Cheng drummed his fingers. “Hmm. ‘Heaven’s will’ won’t be up for grabs, you know.
Best not to mess with that spirit. It’s tricky.”

Ling Wen nodded tightly. “I will take that from someone who knows, and bid you farewell.
Do enjoy your holiday, Your Highness.”

“Thank you!” enthused Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng saw her to the door. “Do let us know, when you’re thinking of betraying us.”

Ling Wen almost laughed. “For now, my work just became a little too interesting for me to
have the time.” She paused. “I…am pleased that you allowed me the opportunity, Your
Highness.”

“Good,” Hua Cheng said, with a deeply insincere smile. “Bye then.” He shut the door a little
too quickly.

Hua Cheng strode over and went straight back to tugging his robes up. “San Lang,” scolded
Xie Lian, even as he raised his arms to make it easier.

“Mmmm?” he said, lifting him up and fastening his mouth at his collarbone. “I told you just
to stay naked. Saves time.”

“I meant- you were a little rude you know-”

“You told me not to care about these things anymore. I agree. My husband is always right.”

Xie Lian hummed, pleased.

***

A thought occurred to Xie Lian one day, as they lay on the grass by the pond. They’d washed
each other, then got distracted, then had to wash each other again. It was winter, but Hua
Cheng had heated up the grass for them to lie on as they dried off, watching E'Ming and
Ruoye playing in the water. It was very pleasant.

“Gege, you haven’t spoken in twenty minutes.”

“I forgot all the words.”

“Oh. Was it really so good for gege?”

“You can’t tease me right now.”

Hua Cheng’s chest heaved.

Xie Lian watched some pond scum float by, and realised something. “San Lang,” he said
slowly.

“Mmm?”
Xie Lian knew without having to ask that he was already right, but he asked anyway.

“You’re the reason none of the Savages ever killed Qi Rong, aren’t you?”

Hua Cheng looked at him, eye squinting against the sunlight. He didn't wear his patch
anymore, when they were alone.

“Yes.”

“The Savages…you asked them to leave him alone?”

“I felt it wasn’t my right, to see him killed. And I felt…partially responsible for him.”

“Why?!”

Hua Cheng looked ahead, unbothered and relaxed.

“After I became a Supreme, I heard of a ghost who was causing trouble wherever he went. I
went to investigate, as I did with any ghosts of notable power in those days. I couldn’t believe
it was him. He was exactly the same. Only a Malice back then, but he was Qi Rong. Had a
whole bunch of repulsive little scavenger ghosts following him around. He didn’t even do
any of his own killing, he just stole other ghosts’ kills to be disgusting.”

Hua Cheng sighed. “I’m afraid I somewhat overdid it that night.”

Xie Lian stared at him. “That was the night you became Crimson Rain Sought Flower.”

“There was a lot of blood, yes.”

“But not his.” Xie Lian suddenly realised. “San Lang?”

“Mmm.”

“How did he become a Savage?”

Hua Cheng hesitated. “I had tracked your movements, or at least what I could glean of them
after the fact. Something about your time in Yong’an, the Gilded Banquet… I just knew it
wasn’t you that killed them all. Once I saw him, I realised it was him. I thought he was a
revenge ghost, back then. That he just wanted vengeance against Yong’an. I made him tell me
everything.”

“He bragged about what he’d done. He had no idea what he’d actually done, what they did to
you when they thought you were responsible. So I said...many things, in my anger. That he
did nothing but make everyone’s lives worse. That he was nothing but a cannibal of all good
things. That everyone he’d ever met would have been better off if he was never born.”

Xie Lian bit his lip, and said nothing. He could hardly chastise Hua Cheng for being harsh to
Qi Rong, when he was very much guilty of the same.
“I may have pushed him too far,” he acknowledged. “I destroyed his nest, but I couldn’t kill
him. Not your last remaining family. And I suppose I created him in a way, because he just
went quiet, and said that maybe he would become a cannibal then, if that’s what everyone
thought he was.”

“That’s when it happened?”

“No. It happened because he…” he cleared his throat. “Um. I made him cry.”

Xie Lian raised his eyebrows.

“You made him cry,” he repeated.

“Yeah. He um…pretended he wasn’t crying but…it seemed to trigger some sort of emotional
explosion in him. I left him to it, but a few months later, he popped up again, more powerful
this time. A Savage.”

Xie Lian made a disbelieving noise. “He became a Savage because you made him cry? And
then he started to eat people just out of spite?”

Hua Cheng's eye shifted guiltily.

“San Lang,” he warned.

Hua Cheng grimaced. “Gege…I want to stress that what I'm about to say: at the time...it was
funny.”

“San Lang.”

“Well…like I said. He was more of a scavenger back in those days. Shock value. You know
how he is. And once he graduated to wanting to eat people, I had to take action.”

Xie Lian’s mouth fell open. “The Savages would never have let him live if he was
actually…”

“I couldn’t let him eat people, gege. I knew you wouldn’t like that. But I had to keep him
alive, so I had to keep tabs on his movements, and find a way to keep him busy and out of my
hair. It really isn’t my fault that he never looked close at the empty shells we sent his way.
Most of them didn't even have the right number of organs, but he still chomped his way
through them just the same.”

Xie Lian spoke slowly and incredulously, enunciating every syllable.

“San Lang. You’re telling me that for hundreds of years, you and the other Savages were
sending him fake people to eat.”

Hua Cheng poked at the grass sheepishly. “Like I said gege…at the time, it was funny.
Everyone did it at least once, even Red Abacus. Wild Wail absolutely loved it, and The
Madam was quite prolific. I’m actually surprised that Qi Rong didn’t catch on, she started to
get completely ridiculous with some of the costumes she put them in.”
Xie Lian sat stock still for a moment. But the sheer emotion, adrenaline, danger and horror of
the last weeks finally caught up with him.

He burst out laughing. “S-S-S-San Laaaang-”

Hua Cheng cleared his throat. “Um…gege, are you alright-”

“Has he even eaten a single human?!” he choked.

“No. Not for lack of trying.”

“Did you intervene every time he tried?”

“Yes, hence why he always found me so annoying.”

“AHAAHAHAHHHAAAAAA-” he guffawed helplessly, collapsing backward on the grass

and rolling with his hands on his stomach.

“Gege-” said Hua Cheng, looking down at him with his lips twitching. Xie Lian was well
aware that he was shrieking with laughter while naked by a pond, but it really was just too
hilarious.

Qi Rong had never actually eaten a single living human. He had just eaten the meatsacks that
The Madam and Hua Cheng had presumably snickered over as they dressed them up and sent
them along. The mental image was making his stomach hurt.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat lightly. “Once, The Madam actually sent him an undercooked
batch of human shells that didn’t even have fingers or toes. She just put them all in mittens
and big boots. I was annoyed, thinking there was no way he wouldn’t notice, but she was
right. He didn’t.”

Xie Lian pounded his fist on the grass at that one. Hua Cheng looked down at him, and
decided to throw him into the pond again, and they splashed each other for a while until Xie
Lian heaved himself out and onto the bank. He wiped his streaming eyes, slowing into
hiccups.

“Oh, San Lang.”

“Mmm,” agreed Hua Cheng, flopping next to him, big and wet and also naked.

Xie Lian quieted. “Lang Qianqiu said his missing toe has already grown back. The one from
the first Door.”

“So it’s not permanent? Pity.”

“Mmm. I think he’ll outlive us all, you know.”

Hua Cheng shuddered. “Never say that again, gege.”

Xie Lian chuckled, even as he knew the second the words left his mouth that he was wrong.
Perhaps one day he’d have a conversation with his cousin that didn’t end with a flykick. If
even Qi Rong was capable of change, then perhaps he was capable of peace too.

***

“San Lang?” mumbled Xie Lian sleepily.

“Mmm.”

“How many days have we been naked?”

The days had rolled together. It was daytime, he knew that much. Sunrise or sunset, most
likely. The dim sunlight was streaming through the windows. It was hitting Hua Cheng’s hair
and making it shine. Xie Lian pecked at his cheek, content.

Hua Cheng stroked at his waist lazily, tugging at the ends of his hair every so often when he
was feeling playful.

“Is gege concerned about time?”

“I’ve lost track. Has it been a week? Ten days?”

Hua Cheng smiled quietly, eye closed. “I can only say for sure that it hasn’t yet been 800
years.”

Xie Lian huffed a laugh into his neck. “Oh. Never mind then. We can hold off getting dressed
until then.”

Hua Cheng’s fingers crept up his spine to his neck. “Mmm. Careful, I might hold you to
that.”

“Should we go to sleep?”

“Are you tired?”

“A little. Hey, San Lang, do you know, I never even asked you how you like to sleep!”

“Naked, wrapped around you, and feeling proof of where I’ve been,” he said, fingers dipping
between his legs.

Xie Lian went pink. “Oh. Well. At least I don’t have to change anything, then.”

Xie Lian slept for a while, and decided (after Hua Cheng kissed him awake the way he liked
and held him on top of him the way he liked) to make something of the day. Or night.
Whatever. He sat up and stretched luxuriously, blankets pooling around his waist as he
wriggled his fingers in the air and cricked his neck. Hua Cheng put his hands behind his head
and let his gaze wander unabashedly.

“Would you like some food, San Lang?”

“You’re my food, gege,” he drawled.

Xie Lian decided to ignore that, especially given the morning’s activities and Hua Cheng’s
use of his mouth made that comment embarrassingly literal.

“Well. The day is young, San Lang. I think. Either way, I can’t let you laze in bed for another
day, you’re getting spoiled.”

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows cheekily. “And what would you have me do to earn my
keep?”

“I don’t know. Just…entertain yourself.”

Hua Cheng cocked his head knowingly. “Ah. Is gege sore?”

Xie Lian sputtered. “What-”

“Is that the reason you want a break? Have I been too much for you?”

Xie Lian refused to answer and folded his arms, because everything he could possibly say
would only make his husband’s smug smile even wider.

Hua Cheng chuckled, and took pity on him. “Very well. I have an idea, something I’ve
wanted to do for some time. But I’m afraid it would require your input.”

“San Lang-” he warned.

“I will keep my hands off you!” he insisted, hands in the air in a solemn promise. “For now. I
must allow you the recovery time you need, after all.”

Xie Lian rolled his eyes and grumbled incoherently.

“What is it?”

“Just…stay just like that.”

“Eh?” said Xie Lian, feeling that he was about to be teased. Again.

“I mean it! Stay just like that,” said Hua Cheng, eye soft. He rose and pulled aside the
blankets, and stood to walk.

Xie Lian had spent many of the first days together averting his eyes whenever Hua Cheng
walked around the cottage naked. Naturally, Hua Cheng teased him about it (Why are you so
afraid to look at what is yours, gege?”). Now, he stole a few furtive glances of Hua Cheng’s
lean, strong legs and perfect backside, though admittedly it was currently marred by several
deep fingernail marks.

Hua Cheng seemed to be rooting around in a bag.

“San Lang-”
“I want to get it while the light is still perfect,” he muttered absent-mindedly, glancing back
at him.

“Get what!?”

“Your neck. The light is hitting it just right.”

Xie Lian looked down, before remembering he could not see his own neck. Though he did
seem to be in a sunbeam from the window.

“Oh,” he said, voice small. “Should I…um-”

“Don’t change a thing. You’re perfect the way you are.”

Xie Lian had sat for portraits before, when he was a child. But not for over 800 years, and not
naked with only a thin blanket covering his lower half. He was silently grateful that his neck
was the part of his body subject to Hua Cheng’s artistic inspiration, and not something more
private.

Hua Cheng sat at the table, and set to work with his brush and some black ink.

“I can add colours later, gege. You need to be in colour,” he murmured, beginning his
sketched outline.

Xie Lian harrumphed quietly, trying not to fidget. He instead focused his attention on
watching Hua Cheng’s face. His eye flickered up to him, narrowing slightly in concentration,
his teeth worried at his lip whenever he seemed to be analysing a particular spot, his brow
furrowing. Hua Cheng always joked about his own impatience, but Xie Lian thought he was
very patient like this. Just like he was whenever he was looking at his body up close, too.

After a minute though, Hua Cheng’s face changed. His long, sweeping outline strokes
slowed, and he began staring at the paper instead of Xie Lian. He had a little frown, and his
eye darted back up to Xie Lian guiltily. Eventually, he stopped entirely.

Xie Lian snuck a look at the paper. Hua Cheng was still only on the barest outline of his
body. Xie Lian tilted his head, watching Hua Cheng. That look on his face…he looked
strange. Overwhelmed, somehow. Xie Lian was shocked to see that his eye looked moist.

“San Lang?” he called softly.

Hua Cheng’s throat bobbed. “Sorry gege,” he said quietly. “I…”

“Am I doing something wrong?”

His face twitched in concern. “No, gege. No, of course not. I just realised I’ve never…” he
stopped, and looked away.

Xie Lian’s lips parted as he understood. Ah.

“The real thing is harder to work from?” he teased.

Hua Cheng looked up at him, and Xie Lian suddenly felt the wind knocked out of him from
the softness on his face.

“The real thing is…” he took a breath. “I don’t think I can do the real thing justice, gege.”

Xie Lian smiled shyly, looking down. He knew what Hua Cheng meant.

Hua Cheng had made a thousand likenesses, statues, portraits, for 800 years. But Hua Cheng
had never made a single piece of art quite like this. In this setting. With a Xie Lian sitting
happily right in front of him, trying not to blush and wondering when he could scratch the
itch on his arm.

He knew his San Lang, and this was too much for him. He always went quiet when it was too
much for him.

But he also knew how to make his San Lang feel better, and that was to scold him. So he
gave Hua Cheng a moment to collect himself, and spoke.

“I think you can do it, San Lang. But if I’m ‘too much’ for you, then hurry along and do
some calligraphy practice instead. Don’t waste ink.”

Hua Cheng looked up at him from under his lashes for a long moment, before smiling slowly
and accepting the admonishment. “Of course not, gege. But I’ve already wasted such good
paper. I should use a different canvas.”

Xie Lian frowned, sensing that he was losing control of the conversation.

“Canvas, what do you- glargh-” he gulped, as Hua Cheng rose from his chair, grabbed the ink
pot and brush, and loped towards him. Very naked.

Xie Lian tried to keep eye contact. It was difficult, given the size of what was at his eye level.
Hua Cheng knelt at his side, gracefully sliding into the bed hovering the inkbrush
menacingly.

“I have been wanting to practice a few particular characters. To make sure I can write them
perfectly, and to your liking.”

Xie Lian narrowed his eyes in suspicion, even as he twined his arms around Hua Cheng’s
neck instinctively. Hua Cheng was looking him up and down in that lingering way that made
him very nervous.

“San Lang,” he sighed. “Are you going to write on me?”

“Clearly,” murmured Hua Cheng, stealing a kiss and grinning mischievously.

Xie Lian’s eyes bugged out. “You-! Well…it better not be my name you’re thinking of
writing! I can’t have my name written all over me, if someone sees it they’ll think I’ve gone
mad. Or that I actually just forgot my own name.”

“I’m glad to hear your main objection is the content of the writing. And it’s not your name.”
 Xie Lian blinked. “Well…then what is it?”

***

Heavenly Official Record, Upper Court Meeting 431 of the New Heavenly Era. Page Four.
Noted by Ling Wen.

Proposed actions and tabled items were agreed upon by the Demon congregation. Meeting
concluded acceptably, though with a minor issue.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Xie Lian, returned from his honeymoon, briefly fell asleep
and drooled on his arm. His arm was, for reasons His Highness was unwilling to disclose,
covered in ink characters (though ink visible beyond his sleeve indicate the characters may
be painted body-wide).

Unfortunately, while the Crown Prince was attempting to sign the contract between the
Demon and Heavenly Realms, the wet ink on his wrist was accidentally stamped onto the
signature page, emblazoning it with the words ‘San Lang’s Husband.’

General of the North Pei Ming’s motion to accept this signature as ‘good enough’ was
denied. New contracts will be prepared and signed in due course.

***

Chapter End Notes

It’s been so much fun, lovely readers!

I hope you enjoyed. I love playing with canon. And your emotions.

Comments and kudos make me dance like a happy lil worm! Fic is retweetable here if
you fancy doing so!

Further works: I have an upcoming dark fairytale/shapeshifter Hualian fic that I can’t
wait to start publishing very soon! See you then.
Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!