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Hiding from his entourage of guards usually meant taking on a new face to slip into the crowd, and the man Huaisang had passed earlier not only had a nice voice but the most forgettable face he had ever seen, perfect for slipping into places undetected, perfect for hiding from the Nie soldiers’ keen eyes. Even if they chased him into the woods, they wouldn’t recognize him with this stranger’s face.
The risk with wearing other faces, of course, was that there were often cases of mistaken identity.
“Shixiong!” the joyous shout from behind startled him as a large man with the fluffiest hair Huaisang had ever seen wrapped his arms around him in a crushing hug, squeezing the air from his lungs as he was pulled back against a solid chest, the stranger’s face nuzzling his neck and making sounds of pure happiness.
“What the-“ Huaisang was grateful they were in the middle of the woods, so no one saw such shameless behavior from a grown man, but said man seemed totally immune to his squirming, only holding him tighter.
“Shixiong!” the man buried his face into his shoulder, voice muffled but filled with emotion as he held him close, “Shixiong, shixiong, I finally found you...”
“Um...” Huaisang panicked, wondering what sort of baggage this face came with, “Y-You did... shidi. Good job. Um... let shixiong go now.”
“Never.” the stranger replied heatedly, pulling him still closer, “Never, never again. I’ve finally found you, how could I ever...” He nuzzled Huaisang’s stolen hair with a euphoric sound, burying his face into it and taking a deep breath. Then he froze, going rigid. Huaisang blinked, sweating slightly at the whole situation as he swallowed.
“Sh-Shidi?” he tried nervously, and then yelped as he was whipped around, those large hands gripping his arms tightly as he was brought face to face with the stranger, his admittedly handsome face now twisted with fury as he bared his teeth at him.
“You’re not my shixiong.” he growled, something dangerous in his eyes that made Huaisang want to run as far away as he could. He squeaked, trying to make himself as small and non threatening as possible.
“Oh gods how did you know?” he asked with alarm, his voice shaking, and the open display of fear on this stolen face only seemed to agitate the man more, his expression twisting into something between fury and pain.
“You smell wrong.” he snarled, his fingers digging painfully into Huaisang’s arms, “You don’t smell like him at all! Shixiong smells like parchment and soil and the autumn rain, and you don’t smell nearly as wonderful. Also you didn’t run as soon as you saw me, so you’re not my shixiong, he always runs.”
“I-“ Oh gods what had he gotten himself into?
“Who are you?” the stranger shook him, murder in his eyes, “Why do you wear his face? Where is my shixiong? What have you done with him!?”
“I didn’t-“
“Tell me what you did with him now!”
“I didn’t touch him!” Huaisang exclaimed, letting the disguise drop from sheer terror, “I just saw his face and how forgettable it was and I thought it was perfect for hiding!”
“How dare you call him forgettable!” the man yelled at him, and Huaisang began to suspect that this guy was not particularly bright, “Shixiong is the most beautiful person in the world!”
“My man, I think you have issues.” Huaisang said carefully, “But yes, I’m not your shixiong, and no, I didn’t hurt him. I don’t like hurting people. I just needed to pass through this town unnoticed, is all, and he passed by and his face was perfect for that task.”
“Where did you see him?” the man demanded, shaking him yet again, and Huaisang was beginning to grow dizzy from all the shaking, gods this man was strong, “Where was he? Did you see where he went?”
“Well, that depends.” he said against his better judgement, swallowing back his fear, “Why does he run when he sees you?”
“I don’t know!” he exclaimed, and Huaisang saw a note of genuine distress in his face, “There was a misunderstanding, I think, and he told me to die and I almost did and then he ran away and I can’t find him and no one will help me and... and I don’t want to stay there if he’s not there. It’s stupid, it’s all so stupid, that horrible place was his dream, not mine! And everyone seems to have just forgotten about him, and the ones that do remember all say such horrible things about him, but none of them are true! And then they try to say that I can’t just beat up anyone who says bad things about him, but that’s not true either! I’ll beat up anyone who slanders my shixiong!”
“O-Okay, I think-“ but the man wasn’t done, his shixiong apparently his berserk button.
“Anything could have happened to him! He’s so small and thin, I can enclose both his wrists in one hand! And he’s so pretty, that miserable Jian Yu could do anything to him if I’m not there! He always helps people regardless of if they’re thankful or not, and he has such a good soul, he’s the best person in the world. Shixiong has always done nothing but love and protect me my whole life, and now he’s gone, and I can’t find him, and that’s not fair!” The man was... passionate, to put it nicely. Huaisang couldn’t begin to fathom what the flying fuck had gone down between him and his shixiong, nor was he certain he wanted to touch this situation with a ten foot pole. But... But fuck, he was weak to a pair of puppy eyes, and the morose look in this man’s eyes was like a puppy pining after his absentee master, whining at the door and scratching pathetically at the window, staring longingly at the distance awaiting his return with drooping ears and teary eyes.
“He was heading east.” he sighed, and the stranger perked up, “Towards Lanling. I didn’t speak to him, but he was holding a scroll that looked like it belonged to the Lanling library, so he might have been heading there.”
“Lanling.” he echoed, eyes shining with hope, “You’re positive?”
“Yes.” he said, “But be careful, Lanling is a viper’s nest of-“ he was cut off as the man picked Huaisang up and spun him around with a laugh, all melancholy gone as he beamed like Huaisang had handed him the world on a plate.
“Thank you!” he exclaimed joyously, “Thank you so much! A thousand blessings upon you! What’s your name?”
“N-Nie Huaisang.” he managed, and the man met his eyes with a serious expression, seeming completely unbothered by Huaisang’s weight.
“Nie Huaisang.” he said seriously, “My shixiong is my everything. If I find him in Lanling, I will owe you my life.”
“N-No need.” he stammered as the man finally put him down, “Just try not to...” but the man was already booking it towards Lanling, leaving Huaisang alone once again. He blinked after him, the man vanishing over the horizon just a touch too fast to be natural, and he once again wondered what the hell he’d meddled in.
“...What the fuck was all that?” he mumbled to himself as he turned and continued on his journey, trying to put the odd encounter out of his mind.
—-
“Huaisang.” Mingjue said when he got home a few days later, sounding even more long-suffering than usual, “What the hell did you do?”
“What do you mean?” he asked innocently, and Mingjue gave him a look that spoke of utter resignation.
“Why is the Martial God of The West dumping piles of gold bars at our gate and claiming that he owes you a life debt for helping him find his shixiong?” he said bluntly, and Huaisang couldn’t stifle a giggle.
“Ah.” he laughed, relaxing slightly, “Well, I met some weirdo in the woods the other day and he... Wait, the martial what!?”