Chapter Text
Holding tightly onto Xie Lian as he dashed through the forest, Hua Cheng listened quietly as His Highness communicated to other heavenly officials about the situation. He was informing Feng Xin when Xie Lian suddenly asked, “Everyone? Is everyone still there?”
Hua Cheng figured that the communication array was severed so he spoke up. “It’s no use. The array of the Upper Court was set up by Ling Wen. She must have broken it. It’ll take time to rebuild a new one.”
“Whatever shall we do?” Xie Lian asked, obviously worrying that he could no longer connect to the others.
But Hua Cheng wasn’t concerned. “Don’t worry. Didn’t ge ge report the key issue? Not everyone in the Upper Court is an idiot. Jun Wu is there too so it’ll be fine once the message passes along.”
Xie Lian only nodded in response, focusing on putting as much distance as possible between them and their pursuers. However, the further they went, the harder it would be for them to catch the Brocade Immortal.
“If ge ge still wants to investigate the Brocade Immortal, we best hurry.”
Though to Hua Cheng’s surprise, Xie Lian shook his head. “That was before. Qi Ying’s already chasing after Ling Wen. What’s more important now is…” He slowed his mad dashing to a stop before pulling Hua Cheng away from where he was holding firmly onto his shoulders. “San Lang,” he spoke, setting him down onto the ground without looking away. “Your form… seems to have changed again.”
Blinking at Xie Lian for a moment, Hua Cheng dismissed him with a light wave. “It isn’t an issue. Changing form is only a temporary plan.” He huffed lightly as he reached up to remove the bandages around his head. “I’ll return to my old self after the whole thing is over.”
After shaking loose some of the hair that was tied down under the bandages, Hua Cheng looked back at Xie Lian who was staring at him intently, eyes twinkling. Rarely did they stand at the same height since Hua Cheng was usually the taller one of the two, but at that moment, with His Highness crouched down in front of him while he was standing as tall as he could, their line of sight was at the same level.
Xie Lian didn’t show any signs of speaking or moving and it made Hua Cheng frown a little. “Your Highness, you-”
Suddenly, Xie Lian reached out his hand and pinched one side of his cheek.
“Ge ge?!” Hua Cheng squawked in surprise before Xie Lian released him, only to push his cheeks together with both hands and forcing his lips to pout.
A joyous laugh left Xie Lian. “Sorry, San Lang. But you’re just too cute at the moment, I can’t help myself.”
Seeing His Highness laugh warmed his heart but he couldn’t find it in himself to share that happiness. There was no way he could be happy about his appearance or his situation. Silently, he stood there, relaxed features being stretched as His Highness entertained himself. But by his side, Hua Cheng’s small hands balled silently into fists.
“Then, Sang Lang,” Xie Lian began, rubbing gentle circles into his pale cheeks. “Are you going to keep changing? Are you going to turn into a five or six year old toddler? Or even better, a little baby?” He asked with a bright smile on his face, sounding very hopeful.
But Hua Cheng could only lower his head. “I’m afraid I will have to disappoint ge ge.”
Carefully, Xie Lian retracted his hands but the smile never left his face. “Nonsense. San Lang has never disappointed me. I’m really happy to have this chance to protect you.”
As much as that should have made Hua Cheng happy, he wasn’t. “I’m not happy.” He confessed, pursing his lips together in frustration.
“How come?”
“I hate looking like this!” He didn’t mean to shout. He didn’t mean to let his frustration out. But how could he possibly be happy looking like this. “I don’t want you to see me in such a helpless form. And I absolutely didn’t want you to have to protect me!”
Suddenly, he was pulled into a tight embrace.
The scent of His Highness suddenly invading his senses caused an intense wave of memories to flood back. He didn’t want to be reminded of those days. His body now was no different from what it was back then. Small, weak, pathetic. It reminded him of how helpless he was, unable to protect the one he cherished most.
“Then according to you, I might as well just die since you saw me in a mess so many times.”
That comment made Hua Cheng stiffen in Xie Lian’s hold.
“Besides, it’s not like you’re completely useless right now. You’re just temporarily storing your powers, that’s all.”
Hua Cheng knew His Highness was just trying to comfort him and he didn’t want to be rude and disregard his words. Burying his face into the other’s shoulder, Hua Cheng mumbled a reply. “It’s not the same.” His small hands balled into fists against Xie Lian’s robes. “Your Highness, I have to be the strongest. I have to make myself stronger than anyone else. Only then can I…” He trailed off, unable to say anymore.
Only then can I protect you, the person I cherish most.
He had to be strong. What other reason was there for him to work so hard. It was so the same thing wouldn’t happen again. But there he was, having His Highness protect him, when it should be the other way around! How could he not be frustrated. How could he not hate how he looked.
I’m sorry, Your Highness. I don’t mean to disappoint you.
But it didn’t seem like those words left his mouth.
“You’ve always been the strongest,” Xie Lian soothed, voice soft and reassuring. “But, you don’t need to be strong every waking moment of everyday. Just…”
The arms around Hua Cheng shifted a bit and he couldn’t help but snuggle closer to the other’s warmth.
“Think of this as giving me some face. And let me protect you this once, okay? Please?”
He didn’t want that. He really didn’t want His Highness to be the one to protect him. But he didn’t have the energy to argue. The mad rush of emotions from the past few hours had really drained him. He didn’t even realise when his eyes fell shut. Although he wanted to apologise to His Highness for leaning all his weight on him, he figured that if he did so, he would probably have to pull away and he didn’t want that just yet. He clung onto the other for a little while longer, calming his mind and his heart so that his emotions wouldn’t leak out again.
“Your Highness,” Hua Cheng spoke up after a while, pulling away from the embrace. “Wait for me.”
Xie Lian smiled back softly. “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”
It was a promise and Hua Cheng couldn’t help but sigh quietly in relief.
“Give me a little time and I’ll be back very soon.”
Lightly, Xie Lian placed a gentle hand over his head, smoothing over his black hair. “There’s no rush. Go at your own pace.”
Hand in hand as they strolled through the streets, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng chatted about the situation at hand.
“What about your Ghost City? Won’t anyone go stir up trouble there?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng shook his head. “I’ve locked up the Ghost City when I left, and I leaked false information about my whereabouts.”
But that comment made Xie Lian furrow his eyebrows. “You leaked false information but Ling Wen leaked real information. I still don’t understand how she was able to see through your Lang Ying disguise.”
Again, Hua Cheng shook his head. That wasn’t really a big deal. “What I don’t understand is something else.”
“Like what?” Xie Lian asked, looking down with a tilt of his head.
With a light swallow, Hua Cheng hoped that he would be able to lead the conversation in the direction that he wanted. “That foul cultivator Heaven’s Eye... I’ve played him a couple of times and his skills aren’t bad.”
Xie Lian nodded in agreement. “It’s true. He’s got the talent and he puts effort into it too.”
“Yeah,” Hua Cheng replied absently, preparing himself to ask the next question as casually as he could muster. “So, why would he say that ge ge’s lips are covered in the essence of evil?”
Taking the chance, Hua Cheng looked up to see that Xie Lian had looked away. The hand holding his clenched slightly before it loosened and that action alone was enough to cause Hua Cheng to lift an eyebrow. It seemed Xie Lian was looking at everything else apart from him.
“Ge ge,” Hua Cheng started in a serious tone, wanting an answer to this question that had been floating around at the back of his mind since he heard what Heaven’s Eye said. “Don’t blow me off with words you’d use to placate idiots. Tell me just what I did to you that night.”
Because no matter how much he thought about it, no matter what kind of bizarre scenario he imagined that could have happened that night, Hua Cheng would always come back to the same conclusion. If it were true, he wouldn’t know what to do. He would be so angry at himself for doing something inappropriate to His Highness again. He would punish himself severely for being so weak that he’d lose self-control. But really, what he was most afraid of was how he would face His Highness again. Would he even have the courage to do so? Would he even have the right? He desperately wanted to believe that he didn’t do it but without Xie Lian telling him exactly what happened, he would have no choice but to assume.
Xie Lian still didn’t answer his question when suddenly his eyes lit up.
“Wait, San Lang, look over there.” He pointed in front of them and Hua Cheng figured that His Highness didn’t want to provide an answer.
His shoulders slumped as he feared the worst.