Chapter Text

Enjoy my loves!!!

This story is structured a bit like an actual story arc in the novels, so the plot described in the summary won't kick in until a little later :) If that's all you're here for, skim to the bottom and jump to chapter 2! (though you'll miss some details and some good ole' fashioned Hualian fluff.)

Though Jun Wu had long since been imprisoned beneath Mount Tonglu, the matter was rarely spoken of openly anymore.

The Heavenly Court, after undergoing such a large upheaval, had become busier than ever. There were gods who had lost temples, temples that had lost gods, junior officials who did not know whose orders to follow, and senior officials with no one to order around.

Ling Wen, who had only recently finished the momentous task of re-establishing the heavenly court, was now tackling the momentous task of organizing said court. Whenever matters became tangled past the point of saving face, someone would eventually say, “Why not ask His Highness?” 

His Highness in this context was, of course, the Crown Prince of Xianle.

Since proving both his competence as a martial god and his kinship with the most venerable ghost currently occupying the three realms, many officials had come to quietly accept Xie Lian as not only capable, but dependable. As such, when matters of Jun Wu’s empty throne were brought into discussion, all thought:

Who else could possibly fill the seat but Xie Lian? 

Who else would dare?!

No new Heavenly Emperor had been named, and Xie Lian himself had no intention of assuming the position, yet still, he found himself unwittingly tending its bureaucratic tasks. 

On that particular day, Xie Lian had been called to the Heavenly Capital for a small matter. 

The so-called small matter was this: in an eastern province, there was once a River-Subduing General worshipped by fishermen. During the Heavenly Capital’s great collapse, his heavenly register had been cracked in half, and because no one repaired it in time, the mortal incense sent to him began flowing into the account of a nearby Civil God surnamed Zhao. 

That Civil God Zhao, who had never once subdued a fish, suddenly received three thousand prayers to eradicate a school of lake-yao plaguing the village’s waters.

Exasperated, he’d run straight to the Palace of Ling Wen.

With the Water Master position still left unoccupied, a lot of similar cases had started cropping up in recent days. They floated about the Heavenly Capital like little paper boats. One day, a flood crisis in the Palace of Literature, another day, a missing ship in the Palace of Martial Valor. 

The Heavenly capital’s current lack of earth-shattering catastrophes and scandals meant the minor cases were now becoming the major cases- and so a simple yao-slaying job was handed off to the benevolent Crown Prince of Xianle. 

Xie Lian hardly minded that these cases were the most pressing nowadays. Peace was dull, and he had grown rather fond of dullness across a lifetime of tribulations.

Still, the job had proved troublesome. The yao had huddled themselves up at the bottom of the grand lake, and Xie Lian was hardly equipped for underwater ghostslaying.

“Aiyah…” he sighed slightly, wringing out sleeves and hair. Even with his newfound reserves of spiritual energy, clearing out the entire lake had taken up most of the day. “The waters are so troublesome these days.”

Perhaps He Xuan was out causing trouble again. 

By the time Xie Lian finally finished work, the mortal sun had already tilted toward evening. He walked the familiar mountain path toward Puqi Shrine, hands tucked into his sleeves, feeling pleasantly tired. The season was ripe, the weather comfortable, and the people kind as they greeted him on the way home. 

“Daozhang, Daozhang! My family has fresh roasted Water Chestnuts— take some!”

“Many thanks,” Xie Lian bowed as he accepted them graciously.

“Daozhang, Daozhang! My second aunt’s family has just steamed a basket of buns. Take two as well!”

“Ah? Many thanks, many thanks. One is enough—”

“Daozhang! The radishes from our field came out especially round this year!”

“Then… many thanks again.”

By the time Xie Lian reached Puqi Shrine, his little scrap sack had filled up completely with snacks and vegetables. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the day he’d had, Xie Lian pushed open the door. 

“San Lang? I’ve returned,” he called, though there was no immediate reply.

Strange. 

The two of them had spent vast parts of the morning tangled up in bed together, and Hua Cheng had wished him an easy day as Xie Lian departed for Heaven. 

They’d been staying at Puqi Shrine as of late, lounging away the hours that could be lounged, riveting in sweet, marital bliss. The recent water troubles had kept Xie Lian a bit more occupied than usual, and Hua Cheng had thus been both diligent and eager in welcoming him home each day. But now he was nowhere to be seen.

“San Lang?” Xie Lian called again. He stood still for a moment.

The absence itself wasn’t abnormal.

Hua Cheng, just as Xie Lian, had many duties to tend to. Ghost City was vast; Paradise Manor had its affairs; the Gambler’s Den had endless fools; and Crimson Rain Sought Flower, despite often appearing as though he had no greater ambition than peeling fruit for Xie Lian, was still the master of an entire Ghost Realm. 

Still, it was rare for Hua Cheng to leave without saying anything. 

If something unexpected cropped up, he tended to either inform Xie Lian via his communication array, or leave behind a wraith butterfly to ease any worries. But there was neither voice-message nor butterfly now. Something must be keeping him extraordinarily busy.

“Hmmm…” Feeling somewhat peeved by this, Xie Lian decided it best to investigate this matter further, and so set off on the familiar path towards the Ghost Realm.

In earlier days, when heavenly officials heard the words “Ghost City,” their faces had turned quite frightening. 

Ghost City! That den of gamblers, swindlers, knife-wielders, wine-drinkers, corpse-sellers, face-stealers, debt-collectors, eye-collectors— the most ghastly creatures in all of the undead realm!

 Xie Lian himself only recalled having heard terrible stories of its cunningness before paying a visit. The many thin-skinned officials of the Heavenly Capital would sooner keel over dead before admitting to associating with such a vulgar place.

Xie Lian had been there many times now and felt this reputation was slightly unfair. 

While certainly no marble-floored Upper Court, Ghost City’s people were honest and its master most benevolent. If one walked through the city with no destination, one could see enough marvels to fill a cultivation manual and enough nonsense to burn it afterward. The food wasn’t half bad either, if you knew which stalls to avoid. 

The moment Xie Lian stepped through the city gates, every ghost within sight jolted upright like startled chickens. Every head turned—both those attached to a neck and those not attached. 

“Grand Uncle!”

“Grand Uncle has come!”

“Move, move, don’t block Grand uncle’s way!”

“Who stepped on my foot? I don’t have many left!”

Several ghosts rushed forward with bright, eager faces, as though they had been expecting Xie Lian’s arrival. Although he had long since grown used to Ghost City’s… passion, the sight before him was still enough to make him pause. 

A plump ghost wearing a shopkeeper’s cap rushed forward. Due to his urgency, his left leg moved faster than the rest of him, arriving one step before his body. He hastily retrieved it, reattached it, and bowed until his cap tumbled off. 

“Grand Uncle, what brings you here today? Our humble Ghost City is honored! Deeply honored!”

Xie Lian smiled. “I’m looking for San Lang. Is he at Paradise Manor?”

Immediately, all the ghosts froze up like they’d been blasted by a petrifying spell. They looked immediately up, down, left, right, anywhere but at him. Xie Lian was puzzled by this. Had something truly gone afoul, causing Hua Cheng’s sudden departure?

“Chengzu is…. erm…”

“Chengzu’s— you see—there was a thing…”

“Chengzu told us to—”

“SHUT UP!” 

Whichever poor ghost had almost tattled wound up on the bottom of a pile of angry fists. The pile commenced into a passionate brawl. 

“Don’t go spoiling Chengzu’s plans!”

“You’re spoiling them by talking about them!”

“You’re talking too!”

“Then let’s all beat each other up!!”

Xie Lian stared at the spectacle, dumbfounded. “Stop, stop, no fighting, please!” He urged. ”Whatever is the matter with you all?”

From Hua Cheng’s unexplained disappearance to this uncanny behavior from Ghost City’s residents—something was clearly amiss. At Xie Lian’s command, the rowdy crowd of ghosts livened down, muttering apologies left and right.

The round ghost shopkeeper wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow with his sleeve, watching the pile of animal limbs slowly untangle itself.

“Grand Uncle, Chengzu’s whereabouts are beyond the likes of us. Perhaps he is at the Gambler’s Den? Perhaps he is at the armory? Perhaps he is out slaughtering— cough, out strolling?”

Another ghost leapt in. “Chengzu is busy!”

A third added, “Extremely busy!”

Xie Lian frowned, sensing he was being kept in the dark, then asked, “Then may I wait for him at Paradise Manor?”

“NO!”

Xie Lian lowered his gaze and thought, I may not look for him. I may not wait for him. I may not enter his home. Do they expect me to stand here and pretend I have no care for his well-being at all? 

The shopkeeper ghost wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead again. “What this lowly one means is…. Grand Uncle has come from so far! Why hurry to Paradise Manor? Chengzu must be occupied with dull matters. Why not allow this lowly one to offer Grand Uncle a bowl of soup first?”

Before Xie Lian could answer, another ghost carrying a steaming bowl of soup rushed forward, falling to his knees before him. He presented the bowl.

“Grand Uncle, please taste our newest dish! We call it ‘Soup of Ten Thousand Affections!’”

Xie Lian peered in curiously. The soup had a reddish color and a floral, meaty smell. 

“What are the ingredients?”

The owner said, “Affections.”

Xie Lian said, “And?”

The ghost hesitated, unsure, then said, “Ten thousand.”

Xie Lian smiled. “Many thanks. I’ve already eaten.”

“Then tea! Tea is good! We have a new tea house!”

“Ghost City has a tea house?”

“It opened today!”

“Who opened it?”

The ghosts all pointed in different directions. Xie Lian looked at them for a moment. Without a doubt, all the eager little ghosts had been foiled into a conspicuous scheme.

 Xie Lian bent forward, hands on his hips and face as stern as he could make it. “Everyone, are you hiding something from me?”

The ghosts shook their heads in perfect unison. 

“Absolutely not!”

“Grand Uncle is too wise!”

“Who dares hide anything from Grand Uncle?!”

“Whoever dares should be chopped into minced meat and fed to the boars!”

Since their denials were so neat and tidy, Xie Lian felt they must have practiced them in advance. The sincerity of Ghost City’s deception was truly moving. Unfortunately, the deception itself was rather poor. His original suspicions had been confirmed— Hua Cheng was up to something, and for whatever reason, had urged the entirety of his realm to keep quiet about it.

Xie Lian turned towards the direction of Paradise Manor. It appeared he’d have to go inquire about the matter personally.

The row of ghosts standing before him squealed and squawked in a panic, then shuffled sideways in perfect unison, forming a wall of mismatched limbs, sleeves, hats, and floating heads.

Xie Lian: “…”

He took one step to the left, and the wall of ghosts drifted left.

He took one step to the right, and the wall of ghosts drifted right.

Xie Lian blinked. “Everyone, may I pass?”

The ghosts all looked at one another.

The round ghost shopkeeper clasped his hands. “Grand Uncle, please don't misunderstand! We wouldn’t dare block Grand Uncle’s path. It’s only that the road ahead is… being repaired!”

Xie Lian looked past them. The road ahead was perfectly smooth and clean. Several ghost children were sitting on it, playing jacks with finger bones. Seeing Xie Lian peer, they hurriedly threw themselves flat onto the ground.

“Aiyoh! So broken!”

“This road has died!”

“Grand Uncle cannot step on a dead road!”

Xie Lian said, “Isn’t this Ghost City? Aren’t most things here dead?”

The ghost children were stumped. After being stumped, they looked left and right, then rolled over and began wailing.

“Grand uncle is too clever! We can’t deceive him!”

A ghost with an elephant trunk scolded them. “Little fool! If you know you cannot deceive him, then why are you still deceiving him?!” 

“Then what should we do?!” 

The elephant-trunk ghost paused. Clearly, he had not thought that far. 

The shopkeeper ghost took a deep breath, turned back toward Xie Lian, and clasped his hands. “Grand Uncle, please wait here while we think of something.” 

Ridiculously, the flock of ghosts truly did huddle together and begin whispering furiously. Xie Lian was stunned. He watched several heads bump together and a few arms get passed around to the wrong owners.

After a moment, he coughed lightly into his fist.

Every hoof, claw and beak-ed creature snapped straight.

Xie Lian said gently, “Everyone. I appreciate your effort. But if San Lang is hiding something from me, then I should go ask him myself. If it’s a good thing, there’s no need to hide it. If it’s a bad thing, there’s even less need to hide it.”

The ghosts exchanged looks, knowing their plan had been thoroughly busted. The round shopkeeper clasped his hands, looking as if he were about to cry blood. “Grand Uncle, please have mercy. Chengzu ordered us to keep you away from Paradise Manor for at least one shichen. It hasn’t even been half!”

Xie Lian remarked. “So there is something at Paradise Manor.” 

The shopkeeper slapped both hands over his mouth.

“Argh! This one will suffer ten thousand deaths at the hands of Chengzu!”

“Aren’t you already dead!?”

Having wasted enough of the time the ghosts were desperate for him to waste, Xie Lian lifted a hand. In a flash, white silk shot from his sleeve. Ruoye, who had been quiet all evening, seemed to have waited for this exact moment. It looped around a roof beam, tugged lightly, and lifted Xie Lian into the air.

The ghosts below gasped.

“Grand Uncle flew away!”

“Catch him!”

“Who dares catch Grand Uncle?!”

Amid their shrieking, Xie Lian crossed half the street from above, leaping nimbly from tile to tile. Ghost City’s rooftops were uneven and colorful; some were tiled with bones, some with copper coins. Red lanterns swayed below him like a river of fire. 

Ghosts below pointed upward and shouted, but no one truly dared stop him. After all, the fleeing suspect was their Grand Uncle, the beloved of their Chengzhu.

Having made a dashing, quick escape, Xie Lian managed to outpace his bumbling pursuers. With Ruoye’s help, he landed safely before the gates of Paradise Manor before long. 

“Good job,” Xie Lian praised, petting it. Ruoye rubbed against his wrist before slipping back into his sleeve. 

The manor doors were closed, and didn’t open even after approaching. 

Is your home not my home anymore, San Lang?

Xie Lian thought the thought briefly and let it pass; he was hardly so shallow as to harken 800 years of devotion ended over a locked door. Tentatively, he stepped forward, hearing voices conversing on the other side. The subject was difficult to pin over the sound of clattering, fumbling, tripping, scootching and stumbling.

What in Heaven’s holy name was happening inside Paradise Manor?

Just as Xie Lian reached for the doors to investigate, a pair of arms slipped around his waist from behind.

“Gege came to see me?”

That familiar lazy voice curled warmly against his ear. Xie Lian’s heart betrayed him immediately and skipped.

Hua Cheng stood beneath a lantern, dressed in red, silver vambraces gleaming faintly at his wrists. His black hair was loose over one shoulder, and the eyepatch across his right eye sat as neatly as ever. He looked entirely innocent.

Because he looked so innocent and had appeared so conveniently, Xie Lian became even more suspicious.

“San Lang,” he greeted. 

Hua Cheng’s hands tightened around his waist. He rested his chin upon Xie Lian’s shoulder. “Gege’s heart was crying out for his beloved?”

Xie Lian was already long used to this person’s shamelessness, and yet his ears still warmed. He filled his mind with maidenly thoughts and turned to address Hua Cheng sincerely.

“I returned to Puqi Shrine and called for San Lang after slaying lake-yao the entire day, but you didn’t answer. I thought something had happened.” 

Hearing this, Hua Cheng pulled away and looked him in the eyes. “Lake yao?” he said, smile gone now. “Was gege hurt?”

Xie Lian shook his head “No.”

Hua Cheng lifted one hand, brushing lightly over Xie Lian’s sleeve, then his shoulder, then pausing near a faint damp mark at his cuff. Xie Lian’s threshold for ‘fine’ was notably a lot higher than most immortals, and so Hua Cheng had taken it upon himself to always check him over for injuries when he’d returned from a job. 

Finding nothing auspicious, Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian.  “This San Lang was merely busy. Did I worry gege?.” 

“Mn,” Xie Lian nodded. “The ghosts in Ghost City were all acting strange, trying to keep me occupied. Is there something in Paradise Manor I’m not supposed to see?”

“No.” 

Hua Cheng had been all too quick to answer; all too brazen. 

Inside Paradise Manor came a loud crash. Then a voice shouted, “Move it left! No, Chengzu said left! Your other left!”

“Cover it! Cover it!”

Xie Lian looked past Hua Cheng.

Hua Cheng, without blinking, shifted one step and blocked his view perfectly. “Ghost City is lively.” 

Hua Cheng was speaking truths, but he was obviously hiding something. 

Xie Lian turned his head away. His voice was still mild, but it had the faintest trace of grievance. “If it is something inconvenient, I won’t ask.” 

Catching wind of the slight tone of hurt in Xie Lian’s tone, Hua Cheng looked immediately as though he had been pierced by a hundred swords. 

Xie Lian continued, “I only thought… after everything, if something troubled San Lang, perhaps I could know a little. If it’s dangerous, I could help. If it’s troublesome, I could share it. If it’s nothing, then I’d rather not be treated like a guest who must be entertained at the gate.” 

After speaking, even Xie Lian felt he’d sounded a touch pitiful. He immediately wanted to smooth it over and laugh.

Before he could, Hua Cheng turned Xie Lian around fully and held both his hands. The jovial, avoidant mood from just a moment ago had choked in a ditch and died.

“Your Highness,” Hua Cheng said earnestly, “It isn’t that I don’t wish for gege to know. There is nothing in this world I would not give gege, and nothing of mine that gege cannot see.” 

Xie Lian’s fingers curled slightly. “Then why can’t I see?”

Hua Cheng glanced to the side, guilt-stricken. “It was meant to be a surprise. The gift isn’t ready yet. I wanted it to be worthy of gege before presenting it.” 

Xie Lian blinked.

“A surprise?”

Hua Cheng nodded. “En.”

“What surprise?”

“If I tell gege now, then this one will have failed twice. Once for hiding it poorly, and once for ruining it thoroughly.”

It was always like this. Whether Hua Cheng was teasing, smiling, speaking lightly, or kneeling before him with blood on his hands, his devotion never bent. Sometimes it was so direct that Xie Lian, even after all this time, still didn’t quite know where to place his heart. 

Eventually, Xie Lian relented and sighed. Having been reassured that Hua Cheng wasn’t shouldering anything burdensome by himself, his own worries melted away easily. “San Lang didn’t do anything wrong. It’s alright.”

“Then since gege came all this way and San Lang has made him worry needlessly,” Hua Cheng insisted, “then let this San Lang cheer him up, lest he repent for a hundred days and nights.”

Xie Lian, not thinking the matter quite grave enough to repent for a hundred days and nights, allowed himself to be led. “Weren’t you busy?”

“Nothing is more important than gege.”

The slight sulkiness still lingering in Xie Lian’s chest became difficult to maintain under such circumstances. Especially when Hua Cheng looked at him like that—as though seeing him after a few hours apart was enough to make the entire world worthwhile again.

Honestly.

Hopeless.

“Come,” Hua Cheng said, enveloping Xie Lian’s hand naturally. “There’s a lantern festival tonight.”

“What’s the occasion?” Xie Lian inquired curiously. 

Hua Cheng smiled. “Does Ghost City need an occasion other than gege being here to enjoy it?”

And just like that, Xie Lian was swept away. The two went back down into Ghost City hand in hand, red string spooled between their fingers.

The festival decorations had been set up with remarkable speed. Xie Lian suspected Hua Cheng had a hand in this. 

For such a spur-of-the-moment arrangement, it was much more extravagant than Xie Lian had expected. Ghost City was already a place of red lights and strange colors, but tonight, countless lanterns had been hung from roof to roof. Some were shaped like butterflies, some like carps, some like lotus flowers, and some like little ghostfires. 

A long river of lanternlight stretched through the market, flowing toward the lake overlooking Paradise Manor. Once the citizens discovered that their Grand Uncle was not angry and their Chengzhu not yet killing anyone for their failings, the street revived with twice the vigor. 

“Fresh melon seeds! Grand Uncle, have a handful!”

“Newly fried fish-yao cakes! Supplied generously by Grand Uncle!”

“Fortune slips! Fortunes read by one who died from ignoring his own!”

“Lanterns! Lanterns for lovers! Lanterns for enemies! Lanterns for enemies you wish would become lovers!”

Xie Lian’s eyes moved from stall to stall, his expression brightening more with each step. “It’s very lively.”

Hua Cheng smiled and said, “If gege likes the festival, we will hold them often.”

Xie Lian shook his head and laughed, “You shouldn’t indulge everyone just because of me.”

“I am indulging only gege. Those trash are merely benefiting by coincidence.”

A flock of chicken-legged ghosts by a skewered meat stall had apparently been listening with their heads tilted and their small wings tucked. The moment they heard this, they burst into delighted squawks. 

“Grand Uncle benefits us trash! SQUAWK!"

“Yeah, yeah! SQUAWK! Ghost city’s only fun when Grand Uncle is here!”

“Grand Uncle is the god of all trash! Even trash like us! Squawk, squawk, squawk!” 

“Beat it!” Hua Cheng grunted at the curious peepers. The chicks cheeped and chirped fearfully, flapping their little wings and scurrying off as fast as their chicken feet would carry them. 

“San Lang, you truly needn’t admonish them,” Xie Lian said, though his heart was much too warm to argue. He was at his happiest by Hua Cheng’s side.  

Hua Cheng’s gaze was still cold as it followed the fleeing ghosts. “They were too noisy.” 

“They were only happy.”

“Their happiness shouldn’t encroach on His Highness'."

Xie Lian was helpless. 

They wandered through the market for quite a while. Since Xie Lian had no urgent errand and Hua Cheng had no intention of allowing anyone else to claim his attention, the two strolled slowly, hand in hand, stopping whenever Xie Lian’s gaze lingered for longer than a second. 

Eventually, they arrived at a lantern stall near the lake. An elderly ghost woman sat weaving thin strips of luminous paper. She was handmaking lanterns to let out on the lake—and while the selection wasn’t all too impressive, the few available lanterns were all uniquely made. 

Xie Lian’s gaze settled on one lantern in particular.

It was a white lotus.

The elderly ghost woman looked up and smiled. “Grand Uncle has good eyes. That one was made today.”

“The craftsmanship is lovely. How much?”

“For Grand Uncle, how can this lowly one request payment?”

Xie Lian immediately said, “That won’t do,” and began searching through his sleeve.

Hua Cheng said, “Put it on my account.”

“Chengzu, this lowly one wouldn’t dare!”

Xie Lian turned and wrapped himself around one of Hua Cheng’s arms. He pouted his lips together in the most exaggerated of fashions, glancing up with the eyes of a pleading puppy. “San Lang, I’ll pay. Please let me pay.”

Hua Cheng, swayed by Xie Lian’s obvious strategy of acting affectionate and adorable, looked briefly like he was blushing. Since ghosts had no blood, their cheeks couldn’t actually flush, so Xie Lian had no way of being sure. 

If anyone were to walk by and see, their jaws would surely drop so far they carved a tunnel to the center of the earth. 

The Supreme Crimson Rain Sought Flower had been subdued by nothing but a look!?

Truly, what terrifying prowess the Scrap Immortal had! 

Hua Cheng remained frozen in place for several seconds before he cleared his throat and turning to the vendor once more:

“Put it on Gege’s account with me.”

Xie Lian looked at him. “Do I have an account with you?”

Hua Cheng smiled. “Everything I have is Gege’s account.”

Xie Lian pouted anew. “You buy too many things for me.”

“Gege owns all of Ghost City. This is only taking one lantern from his own treasury.”

“When did I own Ghost City?”

“When Chengzhu became yours.”

Xie Lian’s ears warmed again. “San Lang.”

In the end, Xie Lian found two copper coins and used them to pay for the lotus lantern without Hua Cheng’s financial aid. The old ghost woman accepted them graciously with both hands and said: “Many thanks, Grand Uncle. May your lantern float far.”  

After making their purchase, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng returned to the lakeside. The lake waters before them reflected all the colors of the lanterns floating on it; gold, red, blue, and ghost-fire green mending together in the waters. 

When they reached the shore, Hua Cheng stepped down first and extended a hand back.

Xie Lian placed his hand in his, and stepped down gracefully.

Together, they knelt by the lake, lit, and then lowered the lotus lantern onto the water. Xie Lian had no great wish to send with it. His greatest wish, once upon a time, had been to save the common people, but he had fallen terribly short in that regard. 

He had wished for an entire year that Hua Cheng be returned safely to his side; that they never again have to be separated. That wish, ultimately, had been fulfilled, so Xie Lian had no more heart-carved desires to give that little lantern. 

Both god and ghost settled into grass, watching the colors mend in the lake as their lotus floated away. It was hard to tell whether the lights belonged to the lake or to the sky; whether the lanterns were floating on water or air. 

Hua Cheng reached out and drew Xie Lian closer. Xie Lian let himself lean against him.

“Gege worked hard today.”

“En. There have been lots of troubles with the water lately. I spent the entire afternoon cleaning a lake full of yao.”

“Heaven’s overworking His Highness again. Such jobs are beneath him.”

Xie Lian, hardly finding such a job to be an arduous one, shook his head. Slaying a couple of yao hardly compared to selling yourself on the streets for a bite of rice.

 At present, Xie Lian had a roof over his head that would no longer collapse, no sick parents to tend to, no need for the prestige that lavish accessories brought, and so wasn’t as stressed about money as he once had been. Hence, the work he completed now was of the willing sort.

 “It wasn’t so hard. I’m used to it.”

“That is why this one feels distressed.”

Xie Lian paused at this, glancing to the Ghost King by his side. Rarely did Hua Cheng admit to feeling distressed. His face was one of utmost sincerity. His voice, too.

“Gege says he is used to it. Used to hardship, to trouble, to being called upon when things are difficult.” Hua Cheng straightened, the hem of his robes starting to come undone from the day’s long wear. “This one knows gege is strong. There is no one in Heaven, the mortal realm, or the ghost realm more worthy of admiration. But sometimes, I still wish gege did not have to be so used to such things.” 

A commotion sounded from behind them, a gaggle of rowdy ghosts yelling loudly about some dice bet or another. Hua Cheng did not turn his head. Xie Lian suspected that Ghost City could burn down behind them and Hua Cheng would still be looking only at him. 

Xie Lian smiled, reached out a hand to cup Hua Cheng’s cheeks, and replied: “Then I won’t say it like that anymore. Today was tiring. I was cold, soaked, and the yao were terribly slippery. I came home wanting to see San Lang, and when San Lang wasn’t there, I was disappointed.”

The words were simple. Because they were simple, they were harder to say. 

“Then I came here, and everyone was acting guilty. I thought perhaps San Lang had some important matter he couldn’t tell me. I know everyone has things they wish to prepare alone, but…” 

Xie Lian lowered his eyes and said, “I suppose I’ve become a little greedy.” 

Hua Cheng’s hand came up to cover the one warming up his own cold cheek.

Xie Lian continued, “Before, if I returned somewhere and no one was there, I wouldn’t have thought much of it. There was no one to expect, so there was no disappointment. But now, I expect San Lang to be there. I expect a reply when I call. I expect there to be someone waiting for me. That’s why I was a bit upset earlier today.” He laughed softly. “Isn’t that greedy?” 

“No,” Hua Cheng said, without a breath’s hesitation. Xie Lian stilled at this. 

The lanterns moved slowly across the water, one after another, carrying wishes no one had dared speak aloud. A couple were too indecent for the eyes.

Hua Cheng turned to face him, grasping both of Xie Lian’s hands in both of his. 

“Gege may expect anything from me, “ he declared, ”A reply, a greeting, a home, a lifetime. If one lifetime is not enough, then another. If one realm is not enough, then all three. If gege wants someone waiting, I will wait. If gege wants someone following, I will follow. If gege wants someone beside him, then even if my ashes scatter and my name is erased, I will still find a way back.”

Xie Lian’s throat tightened. The words were unequivocally spoken from the heart of one “most devoted follower.” 

During his first ascension, Xie Lian had stood high above the mortal world, crowned in glory, receiving incense from ten thousand households and prayers from an entire kingdom. Countless people had knelt before his temples, called upon his name, and offered him worship beneath golden statues.

And yet, what were thousands of bowed heads compared to the heartfelt devotion of one singular Hua Cheng?  

Xie Lian lowered his eyes, his heart aching softly. 

“San Lang, don’t speak of scattering ashes so easily.” 

“My ashes are with gege, so what’s there to be worried about?”

Xie Lian shook his head, but his smile would not go away. He leaned slightly against Hua Cheng’s shoulder. “I don’t need all three realms.”

“No?” Hua Cheng tilted his head, “Then what does gege want? No matter the request, San Lang will provide.”

“I only want this,” Xie Lian revealed. “The happiness of this moment is all the treasure I could ever want. Having San Lang by my side.”

Hua Cheng spoke once more:

“In the heavens, in the mortal realm, in Ghost City, in Paradise Manor, in Puqi Shrine,” Hua Cheng said. “Wherever gege stands, that place is where I belong. If all paths are bound, I will cut them open. If no paths remain, I will make one. If gege turns around, San Lang will be there.”

Having laid their hearts bare and said all that needed to be said, they settled into a comfortable silence. Xie Lian curled up further against his beloved, heart beating pleasantly against the cavity where Hua Cheng’s didn’t.

The white lotus lantern had drifted far by now. 

It moved among the others, small and pale, yet somehow Xie Lian could still pick it out. It floated steadily, neither sinking nor straying, carrying its little flame across the dark water. 

They retired late to their shared chambers at the Thousand Lights Temple, and Xie Lian fell asleep with Hua Cheng’s arm around his waist. 

He awoke rudely by his name being called. 

“Your Highness? Your Highness?” 

Feeling a curious sense of deja vu at the situation, Xie Lian opened his eyes. The one to call his name was not Hua Cheng, who still lay unrobed and soundly asleep.

Through his spiritual communication array, Ling Wen’s voice sounded: “Your Highness?”

Xie Lian considered briefly letting the call go unanswered. The hour was late, and he dreaded having to part with Hua Cheng. But if Ling Wen were disturbing him at such a time, it probably wasn’t over a light matter. Sighing softly, Xie Lian brought two fingers to his temple and replied softly in his mind, “I’m here. Is something wrong?”

“There is a matter that may need your attention. It concerns Quan Yizhen.”

This made Xie Lian sit up. The blanket slid from his shoulders, as did Hua Cheng’s arm. The sleeping Ghost King did not stir, though his arm remained where it had been, resting in the space Xie Lian had just left.

Xie Lian asked, “Has something happened to Qi Ying?”

“I’m afraid so,” Ling Wen explained, ”It appears he has gone missing.”

Teehee!! So it begins!! Next chapter will be out as soon as I can get it!