Chapter Text
When he woke up that morning, the last thing Xie Lian expected was to end up watching as Hua Cheng fought and defeated thirty three gods in both combat and argumentation...
The events that would lead to the Ghost King earning his title as Scourge of the Heavens went something like this-
The banished god and new supreme arrived together in the Ghost Realm, taking a few days to look around. To describe what they found as utter chaos would be an understatement.
In many ways, it was almost like the mountain- the strong preyed on the weak, ghosts stubbornly held onto their territories while waging silent or direct wars to acquire more and various different groups had already formed- this time, over centuries.
The only difference- these ghosts were not contained there without an escape, so it was nowhere near as vicious as the mountain. Nevertheless, one should exercise caution lest they be caught and enslaved, or drained of their spiritual energy.
Well… Unless that one happened to be the only Calamity around.
None of them dared to challenge Hua Cheng- it was enough for him to release the suppression on the full extent of his aura for them to instantly reconsider. Most cowered in fear, either freezing on the spot or quickly retreating while uttering pleas for their lives and apologies. Some tried to sweet-talk him into alliances and such, promising him all kinds of things, from riches to access to information and even human lives.
The ones frozen in fear, he tended to walk by, scoffing derisively as he passed them.
The ones who scurried away after displaying such foolish bravery, he watched with boredom in his eye.
The ones who tried to earn his alliance, he turned down, saying he had no need for a bunch of blundering weaklings.
The ones who thought they could win his favour by offering him more “human pets” like the one he “already owned” were dispersed before they could even finish their disgusting words. The aforementioned “pet” didn’t really take offence to being called as such, finding it amusingly sad instead that this would be the kind of conclusion ghosts reached when they saw one of their own travelling with a live person.
If Xie Lian was also warmed by how protective Hua Cheng got over him, that was really no one’s business but his own.
Xie Lian, who hadn’t left his side for a single moment since Hua Cheng had broken out of the volcano, simply watched, resolved to let the Calamity do his own thing. He was rather intrigued as well by how different this realm, where the sun never truly shone, could be from the human world or the Heavenly Realm in a lot of aspects, yet how similar it proved to be in others.
He had always known that there was more to them coming to this place, so when a week had passed with them wandering around very much in the same way they did before the mountain, Xie Lian decided to speak up.
“San Lang has chosen this place as more than just another destination to visit, hasn’t he?” They had just found a high cliff overlooking a great part of the area they’d arrived in. As they gazed down at the sprawling fields and thick woods, Xie Lian broached the topic.
“As always, you see right through me gege.” From the corner of his eye, Xie Lian could see the corner of Hua Cheng’s mouth curl up into a pleased smile.
“But you’re holding back.”
If Xie Lian’s assumptions were correct, Hua Cheng didn’t want to subject him to even more mindless slaughter considering their last decade together, but he also understood that Hua Cheng wanted to establish his power among the other ghosts.
“I merely haven’t decided how to proceed yet.” He answered pensively.
Xie Lian might not be one to interfere in ghost business, but he could at least help his friend with that. He fully turned towards Hua Cheng.
“May I suggest something?”
Hua Cheng always gave Xie Lian his full undivided attention, yet he somehow seemed to perk up even more than usual at those words, watching the god expectantly.
“Please do gege.”
“We passed by a smaller lake at the edge of the forest just two days ago. The area seemed peaceful and unoccupied- perhaps we could set up camp there?”
Hua Cheng considered it for a moment, mouth curling up into a smile as an idea seemed to strike him.
“How would gege feel about a home instead?”
Xie Lian was surprised at first, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of having a place of their own where they could always return after wandering around. He also didn’t really care much which realm it was in as long as Hua Cheng would be there. Still, he couldn’t help but think of their combined worldly belongings that currently fit into a medium sized travel bag which Hua Cheng had stuffed into a qiankun pouch he’d enchanted.
“But won’t that take time and resources to build?”
Hua Cheng’s smile turned into a broad, slightly smug, grin.
“Gege shouldn’t worry about that. I will take care of everything.”
In the end, the house turned out to be a mansion, and the method of building- Hua Cheng’s overwhelming spiritual power. With a mere snap of his fingers, all of the trees in a rectangular, not small area near the lake were uprooted, turned into wooden planks and beams of all shapes and sizes and then assembled into what would later become known as the first iteration of Paradise Manor- a large, two-story, Xianle style building with a sizeable courtyard going all the way to the lake and a tall fence to keep it safe and private.
Xie Lian couldn’t help but watch the entire process in slack-jawed awe, before Hua Cheng walked up to the gate, pushing it open and turned to Xie Lian to gesture for him to enter. Xie Lian was at a loss for a moment. He had known that a Calamity’s strength was no laughing matter, yet to see power like that used to build something instead of destroying things made his chest ache in a sweet sort of way.
“That was…” Amazing… An impressive display of control over one’s powers…A demonstration of why I knew it had to be you… He wanted to say-
“Sloppy for a first attempt.” Hua Cheng spoke instead, the right amount of self-reproach in his voice, but a mischievous glint in his eye.
Xie Lian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger.
“San Lang, you are not very subtle in your search for compliments.”
Said ghost gasped in faux-surprise.
“I wouldn’t dare gege! Once we enter, you’ll see that it’s barely furnished and not decorated at all. It’s basically just a pretty shell.”
Xie Lian was not impressed, merely raising an eyebrow as if to say “I’m sure you could’ve added that as well.”
Hua Cheng let the pretences drop and stepped towards him, reaching out his upturned palm.
“There’s no point in me choosing those things on my own either way, it’s gege’s home too after all.” He said warmly, making the god’s face soften.
Xie Lian took the hand offered to him and allowed himself to be led on a house tour.
Barring a few incidents, the next month passed with relative ease for the pair as they came and went between the ghost and human realms to acquire new things for their home, or to simply see new places.
When Xie Lian suggested they pick up odd jobs around villages once more, Hua Cheng, disguised as a youth for convenience’s sake, looked at him and solemnly said.
“If gege wishes to do that, then we shall, but you will never again have to be concerned about coin with me around. I promise.”
And as always, when Hua Cheng promised something, he made it happen. Somehow, all kinds of rare treasure or just straight up coffers of silver and gold would start appearing around the mansion. Xie Lian was somewhat conflicted at first, certain that it had something to do with all of the gang territories that had begun getting cleared overnight, but ultimately he let Hua Cheng do as he considered. After all, power also required wealth to sustain it.
The first notable incident happened during the third night in their new home. It was also the third night of Xie Lian being unable to fall asleep, no matter how hard he tried. And he really did!
Hua Cheng had made a fuss both previous mornings when the god had shown up to breakfast visibly tired.
“What’s the matter gege? Is your room not comfortable enough? Should I get you a bigger bed or a softer bed roll? Do you need more pillows?”
If only it were that simple… Xie Lian had gotten quite used to sleeping and falling asleep in rough conditions over the past eleven years. No- the issue was far more embarrassing than that, so he’d just brushed the ghost off with the excuse of still adapting to their new living space. But Xie Lian knew that if he showed up a third morning with sluggish movements and bags under his eyes, Hua Cheng would only worry further.
Which was how Xie Lian ended up stood in front of the room that Hua Cheng used as his office, early into the hours past midnight. He knew that Hua Cheng had chosen not to sleep, busy with other matters.
When he knocked and let himself in, he found the other bent over a map he was in the process of drawing. A quick glance at it revealed the current territorial division in the Ghost Realm, a few unreadable markings chaotically jotted down all over. Just next to that, something that looked like a list was carelessly abandoned. Xie Lian tried to read it, thinking he'd almost made out a couple of names, but ultimately gave up. He almost wished he could discuss starting their calligraphy lessons once more over the actual reason he was there. Nevertheless, he was forthcoming when Hua Cheng asked.
“What brings gege here at this hour?”
“San Lang, do you think we could share a room?”
Hua Cheng was taken aback by such a direct question, going entirely still and silent. Xie Lian rushed to explain himself.
“It’s just that, we have slept next to each other for all this time so it feels odd to suddenly be on my own again.”
When Hua Cheng still said nothing, Xie Lian started to fluster.
“O-of course it might be inconvenient for San Lang, in which case you don't have to-”
“Let's do that, gege.” He quickly rose from his seat, coming over to stand at Xie Lian's side.
“What about your work?”
“Just some details I felt like scribbling, nothing urgent.”
Xie Lian was truly tired because he didn’t say much after that, letting Hua Cheng lead him back to his room. As they settled next to each other on the large bed, he could hear him start to hum a familiar song. It wasn’t the first time he’d done that before sleep and Xie Lian could recognise the well established rhythms of Xianle songs in it. But there was also something unique to the track which sounded completely foreign.
“I never asked… That tune, where is it from?” He mumbled, already halfway asleep.
“Merely an old thing from my childhood.” Came the soft answer, as a hand gently brushed his hair out of his face.
That night Xie Lian dreamed of the royal gardens filled with white flowers once more, though this time, there was a tall man in red robes to sit with him in the tree shade.
The second, third, fourth and fifth incidents were nowhere near as pleasantly domestic, though they still all had to do with Xie Lian.
It was very rare that he left Hua Cheng’s side or vice versa, but sometimes Xie Lian would go to the forest around their little estate to see if he could find medicinal herbs or other wild plants- some Xie Lian even wished to plant in their garden- while Hua Cheng was busy doing something else.
Other ghosts seemed to have learned of this too, and, having still not given up on trying to get Hua Cheng to ally himself with them or finding an advantage over him, decided to set their sights on his human companion.
Some approached him trying to garner information.
“Oi, human! What does your master want to do here?”
And Xie Lian, because he found it much too amusing the way that these ghosts perceived his relationship to Hua Cheng would do one of two things.
“Master? What master? I’m here trying to find food for me and my sister. I left her at the hut because she was too weak to come with.”
He would act completely brainwashed, giving the ghosts an empty far-away look and spouting nonsense…
Or-
“Master? Does he really look like my master?” He asked genuinely surprised.
“What? Are we supposed to believe it’s the other way around? A ghost as powerful as he is? As if.” They scoffed, but Xie Lian wasn’t perturbed.
“No no! I’m not implying that, I’m simply asking if that’s what folks around here think we are.” He continued, as if they were having a pleasant conversation over tea.
“What else could you be?! Do you think ghosts hang around humans because they like them?!”
“We’re… family maybe?”
“Maybe? What do you mean maybe?! Either you’re related or not.”
“Well, you see, we’ve known each other for a long time. You could say I watched him grow up.”
“But are you related?”
“Do we look like that?”
He would talk in circles, until the ghosts got so frustrated that they left, grumbling and groaning about how terrible humans were.
“Weren’t you humans once yourselves?” He was tempted to say to them.
Other ghosts tried to sway him to their side, promising all kinds of riches and such if he managed to convince Hua Cheng to ally himself with them as well.
“Is that all you’re offering?” He’d ask, regardless of what he was being presented with. And when they’d double down, Xie Lian too would take it a step further.
“Can you build me a mansion like he did? Can you take me to the human realm whenever and wherever I want to go? What can you do for me that he can’t?”
And then, when one ancient wrath thought itself crafty enough to kidnap Xie Lian right from under Hua Cheng’s nose, the Ghost Realm quickly came to learn two things:
One- the cultivator in white at the Calamity’s side was no weakling- he didn’t even need spiritual energy to handle centuries-old wraths.
Two- the quickest way to meet one’s demise was to try and harm said cultivator, as, even without the human defending himself, Hua Cheng would mercilessly stomp out anyone who even dared look at him the wrong way.
Ghosts would begin to call this new supreme Crimson Rain Sought Flower after one of them witnessed him shield a flower from the bloody rain he’d caused when wiping out that entire wrath’s lair in one night. They also started treating Xie Lian with much more respect, or simply chose to steer clear of him altogether.
The day that would forever remain as a stain on Heaven’s record started out normal enough for Xie Lian. He woke up, somewhat surprised to see Hua Cheng was nowhere in sight. More often than not, Hua Cheng would be there to greet him good morning before they went to have breakfast together.
That morning though, all that Xie Lian found while looking for him through the mansion was a single silver butterfly which had accompanied him ever since he woke up. When it became clear Hua Cheng was nowhere in the manor, Xie Lian looked at it for a moment, then reached out a hand.
The moment the little critter landed on his finger, he felt a spell envelop him- he was no longer seeing through his eyes, but rather through someone else’s. That didn’t concern him, neither did the reduced field of depth coming from having just one eye.
No, what made Xie Lian’s entire being start to burn with dread was the fact that Hua Cheng was somehow in heaven of all places, walking down the grand avenue.
All around him, confused gods watched from the sides, none brave enough to stand in his way. It did make sense- they looked like middle court officials for the most part. But if all of them were there then that could only mean their superiors were in the grand hall for a meeting!
Xie Lian had no clue what Hua Cheng wanted to do, yet he could already tell it would be something reckless.
His assumption was proven right just two minutes later when the Calamity burst through the doors of the grand hall, shocking everyone to silence. Though he hadn’t been among them for so long, Xie Lian could recognise most of the upper court gathered there.
No one said a word, all eyes trained on Hua Cheng, until…
“Are you the new supreme born of Mount Tonglu?” A deep, calm voice asked.
Xie Lian had never feared Jun Wu until he saw him through Hua Cheng's eye.
He remembered all too well the kind of power that had faced and vanquished White-no-Face, the same overwhelming strength that he'd lasted no more than a few minutes against. If the Heavenly Emperor decided Hua Cheng was a threat, there was no telling what would happen, especially in his domain where his authority was absolute…
“I am.”
In an instant the hall burst out into whispered conversation.
“A Supreme? Isn’t he like White-no-Face then?”
“Why is he even here?”
“Aren’t Supremes really powerful? Didn’t the last one wipe out an entire kingdom?”
“Is he here to kill us then?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, remember who took out the last Supreme! Nothing will happen with the Emperor here.”
Neither Supreme nor Emperor paid them any attention.
“What should I call you?”
“Hua Cheng.”
“What an obviously fake name.”
“Who does he think he is to lie to our Emperor?!”
“And why have you come to the heavens Hua Cheng?”
“I want to challenge some of your fellow gods .” Though Hua Cheng had more or less spat the last word, Jun Wu remained unperturbed. In fact, he almost seemed curious about the whole idea.
Xie Lian was stunned. He couldn’t figure out for the life of him why Hua Cheng would do such a thing. Sure, he’d made it very clear he didn’t like the heavens but to burst into there and openly challenge officials?
What could warrant such an extreme course of action?
“Of course, if they’re too afraid, they can always refuse and I’ll simply return to the Ghost Realm.” Xie Lian could picture with perfect clarity the kind of mocking smile Hua Cheng must be wearing.
Once again, the court seemed to perk up. Jun Wu considered Hua Cheng for another moment until he raised a hand, silencing everyone.
“Very well. So long as no bystanders are harmed by this, go ahead and issue your challenge.”
The gods were about to start their outraged whispering again when Hua Cheng turned towards them, effectively stopping them.
“The ones that I challenge will be the ones my butterflies seek out.”
He raised his palm, letting butterflies manifest from it, and each little critter made its way into the crowd, settling themselves on the shoulders of thirty five heavenly officials. Some watched them cautiously, waiting to see what the wraiths would do, others tried to swat them away, only to have the critters skillfully dodge them. Eventually, those gods had to accept that they’d been chosen, lest they embarrass themselves further by flailing their arms around wildly in an attempt to dissuade the insects.
Xie Lian might’ve almost found it funny if not for the underlying situation. He took a good look at all of the ones being challenged, trying to piece together the reason why Hua Cheng was doing this.
And then he saw Feng Xin and Mu Qing among that group. Ten years of godhood had made his old friends look so different from how Xie Lian remembered them, though if he was being fair, the last time they’d seen each other, their circumstances were rather dire.
Mu Qing was eyeing the butterfly on his shoulder with a sour expression, arms crossed, while Feng Xin was cautiously watching Hua Cheng. Xie Lian could almost see how the latter’s hands were itching to reach for his bow.
“As for the terms of my challenge-” Hua Cheng finally spoke once things settled again “I will duel the martial gods and debate the civil ones. If I lose, I will offer you my ashes to do with them as you please, but if I win I expect each and every one of you to descend and renounce your godhood.”
This time, the outburst from the court was loud and clear, everyone shouting in outrage.
Jun Wu did not intervene.
Xie Lian heard none of it, as his ears suddenly seemed to buzz with static.
A ghost’s ashes were their only weakness. If Hua Cheng lost then that could only end up with him getting dispersed- no heavenly official would be foolish enough to let someone like him exist. He represented everything they feared.
What are you even thinking San Lang?!
He wanted to yell. He wanted to break into heaven, grab the ghost by the scruff of his robes and drag him back into their home. He wanted to lock him inside and refuse to let Hua Cheng out until the other learned a thing or two about the concept of self-preservation.
Xie Lian completely ignored the voice in his head saying “You’re one to talk.”
“Hah! You must think yourself so high and mighty just because you became a Supreme. Who are you to come and make demands of us?”
That voice jostled something in Xie Lian’s mind, one of the many old unpleasant memories he’d rather forget, but it wasn’t until the god who had spoken stepped forward that it clicked for him.
“Accept my challenge and find out.” Hua Cheng replied casually, as if he was entirely in his own element and not in the midst of beings who fought ghosts like him for the sake of their believers.
The god’s face went beet red.
“Fine! I accept!” And then, realising what he’d just done, quickly turned to the court. “Come forth my fellow gods, let us teach this arrogant fiend a lesson.”
So they did, and soon enough Xie Lian could recognise each of the thirty-three officials who had mocked him and kicked him from the mountain he’d tried to cultivate at all those years ago. Despite the sickening dread turning his stomach up-side down, he could feel his heart ache sweetly as his eyes stung.
There had been a ghost fire back then, one who’d tried to defend Xie Lian with everything it had. Now he stood before those gods once more as a Calamity.
“Oh, silly San Lang…I’d rather you had just stayed with me today to work in the garden.”
The group had started talking and bantering among themselves, their confidence bolstered by their numbers. Mentions of showing the incoming demise of a foolish ghost to their believers kept going around. In the face of all that, Hua Cheng merely watched, his face showing no reaction. Instead he turned his head towards the final two who had yet to answer.
Both Mu Qing and Feng Xin had complicated looks on their faces. Xie Lian thought he could understand. Out of everyone there, only the two of them had witnessed the full destructive capabilities of a Calamity. Even if there was no way to determine how Hua Cheng compared to White-no-Face, underestimating the ghost in red was ultimately very poor judgement.
“I refuse to take part in this foolishness.” Eventually it was Mu Qing who spoke, spinning on his heel and walking out of the hall, not a single glance back.
Feng Xin held Hua Cheng’s gaze for a second longer before he too turned around and left, his answer clear.
The Supreme didn’t comment on their refusal, facing the group of emboldened officials who had accepted once more instead.
And so it started. At first, the martial gods came at Hua Cheng one by one, wasting no time in trying to deliver their most powerful blows.
Hua Cheng let E’ming deal with most of that, watching with a bored attitude as those so-called awe-inspiring combatants struggled to even give his scimitar a decent challenge.
Things got slightly more interesting once he taunted them all into attacking together but not by much. Xie Lian could tell that Hua Cheng was merely toying with them, lulling them into a false sense of victory, only to viciously crush them soon after.
Once every martial god had had their weapons shattered, their armour broken and their bodies mercilessly beaten, Hua Cheng moved on to the civil officials.
In a detached sort of way, Xie Lian was very proud of the mastery Hua Cheng demonstrated over every single topic the banished god had taught him. His arguments were sharp, witty and most importantly, impenetrable.
Barely a few hours after bursting into Heaven, the new Calamity was already leaving. His parting words for the gods who lay defeated in the grand hall-
“I will hold you to your vow.” A simple statement, spoken in an even tone, yet every single of those thirty three heard it for the threat that it was.
After that, the spell broke and Xie Lian found himself back in their entrance hall. He knew that he no longer had to worry- Hua Cheng was probably in the process of descending from the Heavens, entirely unharmed.
Xie Lian didn’t know how to feel, or how he would face the ghost. There was too much going on in his mind, to the point where it all blended into numbness.
So he chose to go to the garden and start planting the saplings they’d acquired a few days ago. It wasn’t even two minutes after he’d started digging the first hole that he heard the pleasant sound of silver chains chiming in the wind. This time it did not cheer him up the way it usually would.
“Gege.” Hua Cheng called out from behind him, sounding the slightest bit tense.
Was he expecting a lecture? Xie Lian supposed it was only logical. If Hua Cheng had been there ten minutes ago, he might’ve even gotten it, but as Xie Lian was at that moment he could only force himself to remain calm. He feared the words that might come out of him if he gave into his feelings.
“San Lang, you’re just in time. You can continue digging holes for the saplings while I go make us lunch.”
He rose, and even when he turned, he still refused to look at Hua Cheng. He knew it would upset the other but he just needed some time to calm down.
A few minutes on his own would do, nothing more…
“Gege, I’ve upset you.” A hand grabbed his wrist as he tried to quickly make his escape to the kitchen.
Xie Lian’s already shoddy facade crumbled like an old temple. He barely stopped himself from reaching forward to grab Hua Cheng by his robes and shake him, as he finally met his eye.
“Why San Lang, why did you do it? So what if they mocked and shamed me? That’s nothing to me. So many others have done it to the point where it doesn’t matter anymore! But you, going as far as to bet your ashes on this?… That’s just… It’s just…” Too much to bear. The words got stuck behind the knot in his throat as the world blurred. But Xie Lian refused to let himself cry, he stubbornly blinked the tears away before they could fall.
Hua Cheng patiently listened to him, looking rather sad and conflicted.
“Your Highness, do you know what the worst thing I’ve had to endure was?” He eventually asked.
Xie Lian was taken aback to say the least, unable to come up with an answer at that moment. Not that he would need to.
“It was not taking on that curse, nor was it my short shitty life.” Hua Cheng took a deep breath and reluctantly let go of Xie Lian’s wrist.
“It was having to watch as others trampled and ridiculed my beloved all the while being too weak to do anything about it. But I am not weak anymore.”
And just like in that moment before Hua Cheng had dug out his right eye, there was so much emotion in his remaining one- so much hopeless anger in those words. Their implication was obvious, yet Xie Lian was too stunned to even begin to process them. He looked at Hua Cheng entirely lost.
“I understand if Your Highness won't wish anything to do with me after this, but I simply could not let go of what they did. Trash like that belongs in the dirt.”
The god thought that maybe he’d heard wrong, because if he hadn’t then that would make him…
Oh.
Looking back on it, it was laughably obvious, so much so, that a detached part of Xie Lian which was still capable of thought, wanted to laugh at his past self for all the moments he was beginning to realise he'd been jealous of his own person.
Hua Cheng had spent every waking moment with him, bandaged or healed his smallest of scrapes, and made sure that even in the middle of ghostly pandemonium Xie Lian was safe and not suffering.
He'd always put the god first, somehow anticipating his every need before Xie Lian could even think of them. Many times he'd wondered if devotion towards a god was enough to fuel such caring treatment, when one already had a person they treasured so much.
But Hua Cheng was someone with a very strong single-minded focus. Xie Lian had just never dared to even hope that it could be him the other yearned for- not after what he’d put Wuming through. He'd always told himself it was enough for him to be Hua Cheng's god and later on, friend.
Yet deep down, in a corner of his previously shattered heart so well hidden that it had taken him ten years to find, Xie Lian had always wanted Hua Cheng for himself. The realisation settled in his bones, at his very core, with the most natural sense of belonging.
Now that his heart was whole once again, thanks to the one standing in front of him with his head bowed down as if awaiting punishment, Xie Lian could finally admit it- there was, and never would be another one for him but Hua Cheng.
So he took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice as much as possible. These were important words he wanted to say after all- they must be spoken as clearly as possible.
“I think I understand. My heart would never be able to survive watching you get trampled on either.”
Hua Cheng’s head snapped up, eye blown wide.
“Gege?” He croaked, voice full of disbelief.
Xie Lian closed the small distance separating them, wrapping his arms around Hua Cheng’s torso and leaning his forehead on the stunned ghost’s sternum.
“So I won’t be too upset with you for doing this, as long as you promise to never risk your ashes again on such a thing. Anything but that.”
It took a good five seconds, during which Hua Cheng just stood there as still as a statue, but once he finally found his bearings again Hua Cheng pounced on Xie Lian.
One moment, Xie Lian was embracing a stiff body, the next he was left breathless by a pair of lips desperately covering his. Hua Cheng had an arm tightly wrapped around Xie Lian’s waist, slightly pulling the god up to stand on the tips of his toes as the ghost bent down. His other hand was gently cradling Xie Lian’s face.
Xie Lian hadn’t expected the sudden onslaught but gave into it with surprisingly natural ease. He moved his arms to circle Hua Cheng’s neck, pulling himself up even further and enthusiastically meeting every move of the ghost’s mouth. Eventually, he realised that, though kissing Hua Cheng felt indescribably good, this position was rather awkward, so with a mind entirely cut off from any sense of shame, Xie Lian decided to hop up and wrap his legs around the other’s waist.
Hua Cheng instantly reacted by groaning into the kiss, tightening his hold on Xie Lian to a bruising degree. His tongue prodded at the seam of Xie Lian’s lips and the god just opened them. Xie Lian didn’t know much about kissing, but he did know that he didn’t want them to stop.
Unfortunately for Xie Lian, his body still required air to function so he eventually grew lightheaded. Still, he did not draw back, it was Hua Cheng who ended their kiss, sensing his god’s reactions were becoming sluggish.
Dazed, they just stared each other in the eye for a long time, Xie Lian trying to catch his breath. Then, as Xie Lian’s mind was finally starting to clear somewhat, he found himself smiling at the one in his arms, unaware of how love-sick he looked.
“My San Lang.” He said, just to taste the words on his tongue- they were rather sweet.
Said San Lang’s eye went wide for a moment before he let out an uncharacteristic whine and hid his face in the crook of Xie Lian’s neck.
“Gege, you can’t just say that.” He complained, sounding very much like a child.
Xie Lian chuckled, moving a hand to play with the hair at the base of Hua Cheng’s head.
“Why not?” He asked playfully.
Was it not true after all? Did they not belong to each other now?
“Because I might just die on the spot.”
“San Lang!” That was not something Xie Lian wanted to hear, especially after the stunt his ghost had just pulled earlier. He made that known by tightening the hand in Hua Cheng’s hair into a fist and pulling his head back.
When he saw Hua Cheng snickering, barely holding his laughter back, he huffed.
“You’re so sly, aren’t you?”
Xie Lian was heavily debating getting down from his current position and away from the now openly laughing ghost, but he reasoned that he could be upset with Hua Cheng from up close just as well.
“Ah, forgive me gege, I’m just too happy.” He eventually smiled at him, making Xie Lian’s brain turn to paste all over again.
“But speaking of my ashes, I was never going to let that trash touch them. They’ve been with my beloved for so long after all. I couldn’t bear to take them from him.”
Xie Lian’s eyes widened.
“When did you…?”
“Just before we entered Mount Tong-”
Xie Lian was kissing him again before Hua Cheng could finish, the crystal ring that had never left Xie Lian’s neck even for a moment caught between the two.
The god and ghost duo didn’t do much for the rest of that day.
Well… Not around the house anyways.
Omake-
It would be a century later, once Hua Cheng had put an end to any power struggle in the Ghost Gealm(he stomped anyone who got in his way without any sort of mercy, claiming the metaphorical throne for himself) and once a city had come to grow around their home(though Hua Cheng grumbled constantly about the loud fools who kept trying to get on his gege’s good side, he still allowed them to build their houses and shacks) that Xie Lian found himself being led through the streets of said city, Hua Cheng’s hands covering his eyes as his husband gently guided him to their destination.
“So what is it you wanted to show me, San Lang?” He asked once they’d stopped walking.
“Ah, just a place for the riff raff to spend their time in. I thought I’d put an end to their unorganised mess on the streets.” Hua Cheng answered, finally taking his hands off Xie Lian’s eyes.
When Xie Lian looked at the building in front of him, he found himself faced with a grand, sumptuous structure. Grand and imposing in style, everything about the building, from the columns, to the roofs and walls and everything else were painted a bright magnificent red. Its floors were also covered in thick exquisite carpet. It could easily be compared with the palaces in Heaven.
Then, upon closer look, Xie Lian noticed a set of couplets on the pillars at the entrance. The one on the left read “Money Over Life”, the one on the right “Gains Over Shame”, while on the top horizontal beam it simply said “HA HA HA HA” all written in Hua Cheng's hellish script.
Xie Lian looked at them stunned for a moment or two before he burst out into full bellied laughter.
It was just so… So fitting for the master of the city! Everything from the ostentatious gambler’s den to the downright vile words scribbled on the entrance spoke of Hua Cheng’s image and personality.
He didn’t know how long he’d laughed for, but Xie Lian was left breathless. He turned to his husband, who had patiently, albeit with slight confusion, waited for the god’s laughter to die down.
Reaching up to hold his face, Xie Lian pulled Hua Cheng down for a quick kiss.
“It’s perfect San Lang.”