Chapter Text
“Have you found it?”
The doors to the library of Paradise Manor opened with a loud bang, an impatient ghost king entering the library in a rush.
“Well, hello to you too,” Hua Cheng said, smirking from where he was sitting on a chair with his husband seated against the armrest. “What happened with—”
A gentle poke of an elbow to his side made Hua Cheng close his mouth in an instant. His gaze found his husband’s, who was shaking his head slightly, mouthing, not the time.
Swallowing down what he wanted to say for the sake of Xie Lian, he diverted his attention back to the other ghost king, who was eyeing them with disgust.
“You said you’ve found a way, what is it?”
With a heavy exhale, Hua Cheng reached for the book displayed in front of him on the table.
“You’re lucky gege seems to like you,” Hua Cheng muttered as he flipped through the book to get to the page that would hold all the answers He Xuan was desperately trying to get.
Once found, he carelessly tossed the now open book onto the table.
“This may be the answer you searched for.”
He Xuan eyed the book, still not moving to grab it.
This book could hold the answer to what he searched for the past four months.
A way to bring Shi Qingxuan back from death.
But this was not the first nor second time they had thought they had finally found something. The possibility that this was again a false trail was bigger than the possibility that they’d found something useful. And matter of fact, He Xuan didn’t know how much more disappointment he could take—
He was not disappointed because he wanted to have the other back. It would just be annoying to have invested so much time in something that was for nothing at the end.
He was not—
“He Xuan,” a warm hand on his forearm brought the ghost king back. He Xuan lifted his head to meet the warm gaze of his highness.
“Even if this may not be the solution you were searching for, it doesn’t mean you—we have to give up. We still have another six months left to find a way to bring Shi Qingxuan back before his soul has passed over into the soul realm.”
A scoff was heard from where Hua Cheng was until now leisurely sitting at one of the chairs around the library table. “You don’t need to tell him that, gege,” Hua Cheng stood up, going around the table to pull Xie Lian away from He Xuan. “He knows that. He’s just acting like an idiot at the thought of having finally found a way to bring his ill-fated whatever-ship back.”
“San Lang,” Xie Lian scolded him fondly, pushing him gently away before turning his attention back to the supreme. “Take as much time as you need.”
“Yeah, but how about you take that time preferably at your own place?”
Before Xie Lian could jab another blow to his ribs, Hua Cheng had caught it mid-motion and pulled the stunned god to his chest.
“Don’t be like that, gege,” he brushed a finger over Xie Lian’s cheek. “Think about the things we could do without him here,” Hua Cheng whispered into Xie Lian’s ear, mouth lingering longer than necessary on the shell of it.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian mumbled, flustered and unable to look at him nor He Xuan.
Watching this exchange made something sickening take place on He Xuan’s face. Without a word, he moved to grab the open book on the table.
“You two are sickening to watch,” He Xuan said, clearly annoyed as he tucked the book into his sleeves and turned back to leave.
Hua Cheng snorted. “What? Jealous the one you want this with is not here?”
Irritation flashed through He Xuan’s eyes.
“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” the supreme said, fingers twitching at his side.
With one last glance at the now somewhat sorry-looking Xie Lian for what his husband said, He Xuan turned to leave.
“He Xuan.”
Xie Lian’s soft voice made him stop for a second.
“You’ll contact us with your decision, right?”
He didn’t answer but lingered a moment longer than necessary before exiting the library and leaving Paradise Manor.
༄〰༄
A soft sigh left the crown prince’s lips before turning to his husband. “San Lang,” Xie Lian reached out to intertwine their hands. “I thought you two were starting to be friends?”
“Kinda,” the ghost king answered, not wanting to bother about He Xuan any longer now that he had his time alone with his beloved husband again.
“Then, did you have to say those things?”
Hua Cheng’s face softened at the pureness of his husband. He cupped the face of his god with both of his hands, pulling it gently up. “Gege, you know how much I love you, right?”
“What? Yeah, of course I know,” Xie Lian mumbled, confused at the sudden change of topic, face slightly pink.
But at the same time it wasn’t that surprising. His husband would always find a way to bring into a conversation how much he loved him. Most people would get used to this after being married for years. But hearing those things from his husband’s lips never failed to leave him a flustered mess, and he knew the supreme knew what an effect he had on him, seeing the amusement in those eyes that had completely wrapped him around his fingers.
A soft laugh escaped the supreme’s lips at how flustered his god could get over the same thing over and over. Hua Cheng pressed a soft kiss onto his nose before pulling them both to a chair, seating his husband on his lap so they were facing each other. “
You’re adorable, gege,” he brushed his fingers over the slightly hot skin of his husband’s face.
“S-San Lang, stop saying those things,” Xie Lian said, burying his flustered face into his husband’s chest.
Another laugh rumbled through the supreme’s chest, sending butterflies through Xie Lian’s stomach.
“Fine, I’ll stop if gege asks me to,” Hua Cheng said, deciding to let his husband’s face cool down.
Xie Lian hummed, pleased, before pulling back so he could see his husband’s face. “So why did you say those things to He Xuan? Especially the implication of what he may feel for Shi Qingxuan. You know he doesn’t even realize why he’s trying so hard to bring the Windmaster back.”
Hua Cheng thought a while for his answer, eyes wandering over his precious husband. Since he met his god, he found himself taking more time to gather his thoughts, to find an answer that deserved to be heard by his husband.
“He Xuan is not someone who’s gonna realize he’s capable of feeling something more than the urge for revenge or resentment for someone. Even if he feels something for the Windmaster, and even if a tiny bit of him realizes that, he would do everything to not acknowledge that feeling.”
Xie Lian hummed in acknowledgment, trying to figure out what Hua Cheng’s actions from earlier had in common with what he just said. His husband was not someone who would say things without having a deeper goal.
“You want to bring him to a point where he has no other choice but to admit his feelings?”
“Yeah, but I want him to realize his feelings. He’s only going to confuse the Windmaster once he’s back. That’s if he’s gonna continue to act like he hates him after desperately trying to find a way to bring him back.”
Xie Lian hummed, letting his head rest on the supreme’s chest.
The past four months had not been easy, especially for He Xuan. Since He Xuan came to Paradise Manor with a dead Shi Qingxuan, he had not wasted a minute and had restlessly searched for a way to bring back a banished god, since they won’t be able to reincarnate on their own. It was not just He Xuan who spent countless nights in front of books. He too had tried to the best of his abilities to find a way.
After all, Shi Qingxuan was his friend. A friend who deserved to get their happy end.
And Xie Lian hoped what his husband had found in that book today would bring them one step closer to that happy end.
༄〰༄
The ghost king’s gaze was piercing through the book in front of him on the table. It had been two days since he left Paradise Manor with the acquired book that apparently held the solution to bring Shi Qingxuan back.
He still hadn’t opened it.
For the first time in his life, He Xuan was hesitating.
He had spent more than eight centuries on his revenge against the Water Master without even once hesitating about his next steps. But now he was hesitating to open a simple book? The Windmaster’s face flashed in front of his eyes and he came to realize something terrible. Him hesitating was nothing rare. He had hesitated to kill Shi Wudu after hearing Shi Qingxuan’s pleas to let him go.
He had hesitated to make Shi Qingxuan change his fate with those barely human creatures back at Black Water Manor and lastly he had hesitated—no, outright refused to kill Shi Qingxuan even after he had refused to kill his own brother back then.
Whenever he had hesitated. Shi Qingxuan was always there.
It had taken him only one look at the Windmaster for him to throw his plans overboard. Plans he had become a ghost king for. He sacrificed so much to be able to carry out his plan just for a mere god to undo everything.
The worst thing? Shi Qingxuan had no idea what he was doing.
No matter how hard He Xuan thought about this matter he couldn’t seem to understand what this meant.
Why was he trying to bring back the one who had taken his chance for a better life? Shi Qingxuan being dead should ease his heart but instead irritation outweighed that ease.
Irritation he had no idea where it came from.
He Xuan clenched his fist at his side.
He was a ghost king. He shouldn’t be doing this.
It was still not too late. As long as he didn’t open the book, he could forget everything and burn the book to ashes alongside those unexplainable feelings deep inside him.
If Xie Lian wanted to bring him back that badly he could do it himself. It’s not like Crimson Rain wouldn’t go to immeasurable lengths to achieve something his husband wanted.
The supreme’s hand shot out, gripping the book with a force that made it bend in his hands.
He would destroy this book and if it was the last thing he was gonna do.
The supreme turned around from the table in his room, making his way out of Black Water Manor. He Xuan didn’t know why he was heading to that place but if he was going to destroy the one thing holding the answers to bring the Windmaster back, he could at least be there to witness it from wherever the hell he was.
༄〰༄
After an Incense Stick of Time, He Xuan arrived through his teleportation array at a place he was now alarmingly familiar with.
The Terrace of Cascading Wine.
With a flick of his fingers the supreme surpassed the illusion he put on the building to conceal its location from anyone unworthy to enter it. For namely, it was not only a mere run-down building. It was the place where the Windmaster had ascended and the place where he lost his spiritual powers, turning into a mortal.
Now it was a place where He Xuan had brought his body after he had decided to die, moments after saying such unbelievably stupid things out of the blue.
The memorial was nothing big. There was a casket in the middle of the entry hall, a plain wooden one. Behind it, a small altar, having only the Windmaster’s fan displayed on top of it. Nothing showed it was a burial place for a former Elemental Master.
But it was the best he would get from a ghost king whose actions didn’t match his words.
He Xuan stood for a moment motionless at the entry, reluctant to fully enter. But this time he was not there hoping a solution would take form in his head. This time he was there to destroy the solution he hoped for.
Thus, he stepped over the threshold, entering the entry hall, making his way to the coffin. For a moment his hand hovered over it before placing it on the cold surface of the coffin, a faint frown appearing on his face.
“You should’ve given your heart to someone else,” He Xuan mumbled as he reached into his sleeve, taking out the book and placing it on the coffin.
He Xuan was hesitating again.
He should’ve already destroyed the book in his Manor. There was no logical reason he had to come here first.
And even now after he had arrived here, he was still hesitating.
The veins on the supreme’s hands bulged as he summoned a small ball of spiritual power. Today was the last time he had stepped into a teleportation array with this place as his destination in his head. Today would also mark the last time he had hesitated. His hand reached out but before the book could catch fire, a voice in his head made him stop.
He Xuan.
The supreme sighed heavily as he let the ball of spiritual energy go extinct and pressed two fingers to his temple. Ignoring the other would only bring him more headache than answering him.
Didn’t I tell you not to bother me unless it’s urgent?
He Xuan could already feel the other smirking.
Maybe it’s urgent?
No, it’s not. So why are you wasting your time instead of spending it with your beloved husband?
Gege has some business to attend to in the heavens.
Of course he has. Otherwise you wouldn’t even come to the idea of contacting me if it weren’t to disperse your boredom.
The supreme inhaled sharply.
You know that hurt. Gege thinks we’re friends. Aren’t we?
He Xuan exhaled tiredly.
Not that kind of friends.
Hua Cheng snorted.
There was a moment of silence where He Xuan thought the other had finally come to realize he had something better to do than bother him. But it seemed like luck was not on his side today.
You’re aware you’ll only know if you open the book, right?
He Xuan clenched his fist, the urge to destroy the book rising.
And how do you know I haven’t opened it already?
Trust me, I’ll know.
He Xuan’s eyebrows furrowed.
What’s written in the book?
What? Was it not enough that I found the book? Can’t you read on your own?
There was a pause before Hua Cheng turned serious.
Stop spending time at his whatever-you-want-to-call-it and move your ass to bring him back.
He Xuan felt his jaw clench.
For some reason Crimson Rain seemed to be getting better and better at reading him.
I’m not there.
Hua Cheng let out another mocking snort.
Liar. Do you think I don’t know that you’re spending most of your time there instead of your own home?
He Xuan’s fingers dug into his palm.
What do you want to say with that?
Nothing you don’t already know but are too cowardly to admit.
If He Xuan was still alive, he was sure he would’ve felt the blood boiling in his ears.
You should stop acting like you know everything.
Then you should stop acting like nothing matters.
Without another word, He Xuan cut their connection off.
His gaze drifted to the book on the coffin. Nothing needed to change. Just because Crimson Rain had to act like he knew everything—like he knew him—didn’t mean he had to act after the other supreme.
He would destroy the book and while he was already at it, he could burn this whole place down.
He didn’t do it.
Neither had He Xuan destroyed the book nor burned down the Windmaster’s memorial.
༄〰༄
A week had passed since He Xuan left the Terrace of Cascading Wine without going through with his intention of burning the book. A week had passed where He Xuan refused to acknowledge the presence of opening the book at the back of his mind. There were days where he would sit on his bed, the book in front of him. But at the end of the day the book would land back in one of his dusty cabinets without being opened.
It had been a week since Hua Cheng and Xie Lian had reached out to contact the supreme. Not because they had given up on bringing the Windmaster back, but because they needed the resolution to come from He Xuan himself. Because the way that was portrayed in the book to bring back the soul of a once immortal had a great sacrifice in tow.
A sacrifice that could only be made by a ghost king. A ghost king whose will and desire to bring back that specific person was stronger than their will to live.
Once He Xuan had opened the book there was no going back. He could not ignore there was a way if he chose not to go through with it at all. There would always be guilt in the back of his head for not bringing the Windmaster back even though there had been a way.
No. Not guilt. There was no reason for him to feel guilty. He just didn’t like to start something and not finish it.
Pretending something’s not gonna work is easier if you don’t know anything to begin with.
He Xuan knew that and therefore he was desperately trying to ignore the book, unable for whatever reason to get rid of it.
On the eighth day, the supreme had enough of acting like this. He hadn’t broken free from the Kiln just to not be able to open a simple book.
It was a book, nothing more.
The book trembled under the supreme’s unstable grip as He Xuan pulled it out of one of his cabinets. Every muscle in his body was tensed up as he sat down on the chair in his bedroom, the book placed down on his table.
His finger curled around the book-trembling - before he opened the book.
He didn’t have to search long.
The moment he opened the book, he had found the page. It was like fate was telling him he couldn’t run away any longer.
Soul Anchoring Bond
To resurrect a once immortal being, banished into mortalhood, it requires a sacrifice bound to be made. One has to sacrifice the one thing that anchors their soul into this world. A sacrifice strong enough to bring back the dead.
A resurrection of a soul can only be made by a ghost king, as a soul is his domain. For a ghost king to bring back a soul, it furthermore requires the utmost desire to bring back the dead person.
There cannot be a shred of uncertainty in his will, as it may result in casualties for the soul as well as for the one conducting the resurrection. Those casualties can under no circumstances be reversed.
In addition, the Soul Anchoring Rite requires the most precious belonging the soul possesses. If all three conditions are met—a sacrifice of a ghost king, an unbreakable will, and the soul’s most treasured thing with their mortal shell—the Soul Anchoring Bond can be conducted without fail.
Execution:
Phase 1: For the resurrection to be made, the ghost king’s sacrifice has to be merged with the soul’s treasure.
Phase 2: The merged object now has to be placed on top of the soul’s mortal shell. The soul is now connected with the ghost king’s essence of life.
Phase 3: The ghost king has to invade the realm bordering the living and the dead, to be the guiding light leading the wandering soul from its way to the realm of death back to the living side. The ghost king cannot show any signs of hesitation in this step, as it may confuse the soul, which may result in the soul splitting itself into two pieces, one wandering back to the realm of death and one to the living side as an uncompleted being, neither living nor dead.
Fuck. He can’t pretend there was no way now, can he?
༄〰༄