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Half hidden behind a hat, Xie Lian was trying to get into Paradise Manor discretely, unnoticed by the ghosts who were crowding Ghost City. It wasn't that they annoyed him, but the moment they'd spot him, they'd all start yelling, insisting that they had to accompany him along the road, and he didn't want the attention.
Having just finished a really long and tiring mission in which a crazy ghost lady repeatedly tried to bit him, convinced that she was some kind of vampire who could come back to life if she drank a god's blood, Xie Lian only wanted to go home and have a good night's sleep. Maybe eat something on his way too, as he realized he was starving.
At first, he went back to his Puji Shrine, but finding it empty, he guessed that Hua Cheng probably hadn't finished whatever was keeping him busy that day, preventing him from escorting Xie Lian to deal with that vampire lady (Hua Cheng had left before Xie Lian got the infos about the problematic ghost, of course, or else he would have come with him). Finding himself unable to just wait alone at Puji Shrine, Xie Lian decided to make his way to Ghost City, checking the red string on his third finger from time to time to verify he was still heading the right way.
"Hey, isn't that grand-uncle?" A ghost whispered to another, both busy cutting meat of a creature Xie Lian definitely didn't want to know the identity of. Automatically, he lowered his hat to hide more of his face, stepping to the side to walk farer away from them.
"Shut up, lord Chengzhu will kill you if he hears you call him like that!" The other ghost answered, hitting the first one with his knife, cutting in his flesh.
"Eh! Be careful, that skin was expensive!" The first ghost yelled, taking the knife from the other one's hand, ready to strike back. The other ghost seemed ready to run away when a third one couldn't help but join in the conversation.
"Don't be stupid, he's already dead! And it's not like his old lordship can hear him!"
"The Lord can hear and knows everything! And if it's really is his royal highness, then obviously, he's not here alone!" The other ghost still argued, eyes locked on the knife that stopped too close to his shoulder for his liking.
Feeling a little helpless, Xie Lian sighed and took advantage of the argument between the ghosts to try and disappear before they could eventually decide to go check for themselves. He was just about to get out of their sight when a sudden and strong pain shot through his right foot.
Cursing, Xie Lian raised his foot to ease the pain and take a look. Bewildered, he discovered a hook stuck there, having crossed through his boot to his foot, a bit red from what he hoped was his own blood.
Luckily, what made him stop walking was more the surprise than the pain, which wasn't that deep to begin with, so he managed to take a few steps, hopping on his left foot, to prevent the three ghosts from seeing him. Now more than before, he couldn't let them scream around that he was there and hurt. They'd insist on carrying him to Paradise Manor, probably alerting the whole city. If Hua Cheng heard of this, it would be way too embarrassing.
After a few meters of jumping, Xie Lian found a barrel which looked rather solid (he hoped, because it smelled terrible and he didn't want to think about what he'd fell in if it didn't hold), and sat on it heavily. Xie Lian took off his boot and checked his foot. The bleeding had already stopped and without the red color and a two centimeters long tear on his white sock, it would be like nothing happened at all.
Xie Lian sighed. What were the odds of walking right onto that tiny hook? One could say that in Ghost City, you never knew what was around and what could happen, but Xie Lian was tempted to simply blame his bad luck.
Just as he was starting to extract the hook, a dark, big but low shape rushed from behind him, coming for his foot. Surprised, Xie Lian turned with a start, but by the time he tried to look at it, it was already gone. As that thing didn't have any killing intent and as there were ghosts everywhere around him, he had no way to know something was coming for him until it was too late.
Feeling a sudden chill on his right foot, Xie Lian looked down and stared at it for a few seconds, dumbfounded. He "ah"-ed, unable to understand right away why his foot was bare. Did that thing just steal his sock?!
Standing up, Xie Lian looked in the direction in which the creature disappeared. He could still see its shape, but barely. Taking an in-the-moment decision, Xie Lian rushed after it.
The problem was that Ghost City being itself, it was quite the mess, and it wasn't long before Xie Lian bumped into people, not caring to stop when they started yelling at him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..!" Xie Lian screamed without slowing down, trying his best to avoid as much people as possible, but it was just too crowded. Noticing his thief not too far away, he ordered: "Ruoye, catch!"
The white silk band immediately unwrapped itself from Xie Lian's arm, flying quickly in front of him.. Then wrapped itself around a kid who was kneeling, washing rotten apples. The kid started crying loudly before Xie Lian got the chance to do anything, and a lady came running to the kid's help. She grabbed a sword that was hanging from a guy's belt, raising it in Ruoye's direction.
"No! Wait!" Xie Lian screamed, almost arriving to their side. It wasn't like she actually could cut Ruoye, but rather than Xie Lian was scared for the kid. "Ruoye, come back!"
Ruoye obeyed right away, knocking the sword out of the lady's hand on its way. She looked at Xie Lian, outraged. The kid didn't dare to move.
"Sorry, keep going, I'm just passing by!" He said as an explanation, barely slowing down, already taking off after his mysterious thief again.
"Eh, it's lord Chengzhu's friend, right?" The guy whose sword was unsheathed asked, putting it back in its place.
"It's his husband, idiot. I wonder why he's running around attacking good innocent people like that." She answered, and Xie Lian almost stopped to give a real explanation this time, not wanting weird rumors to start spreading. He knew too well how that kind of thing could go.
But it seemed it was already to late, as some people started running after him!
"Grand-uncle! What are you doing???" Someone yelled at him, trying to catch up.
"Nothing! It's nothing! I'm sorry! I just-"
"Aah don't throw your boot at me!"
This almost got Xie Lian to stop, surprised, not understanding what the ghost meant until he looked down and saw he still had his right boot in his hand. Resisting the sudden need to just drop everything and roll up into a ball somewhere, Xie Lian ignored the ghost.
He finally managed to see his thief again, and threw Ruoye into action. Maybe this time his luck would be better. The white silk band actually made it to its prey, but Xie Lian only got half a second of satisfaction before he was brutally pulled forward.
The astonishment was enough to make Xie Lian lose balance, falling to the ground!
Before things could get painful, Xie Lian used the thousand pound weight spell to prevent the creature from dragging him around. He successfully stopped, relieved.
But that was without counting on the abrupt interruption of the creature's crazy run, stopped in its tracks, the momentum bringing it back to where Xie Lian had fallen on the ground because of Ruoye still linking the two of them together.
In a last attempt to avoid collision, Xie Lian raised his free hand to send spiritual energy and slow what looked like a huge beast. He managed to stop it right before impact, and it looked as shocked as Xie Lian, still holding tight to the sock in its mouth. Bemused, Xie Lian finally saw that it was.. A dog?!
Unfortunately, the truce only lasted for a moment, as the dog spirit threw itself at Xie Lian this time, so suddenly - but without killing intent - that Xie Lian, again, didn't have the time to react!
The crowd around started yelling, as most of them recognized Xie Lian by now or had heard from the others who he was.
"Grand-uncle!"
"What should we do?!"
"Stop it!"
"If grand-uncle can't stop it, how can I?!"
But Xie Lian wasn't paying them any mind, starting to giggle uncontrollably, unable to muster the strength to push the dog away. He vaguely felt his sock being dropped on his face as the dog playfully let itself fall on Xie Lian's chest, sniffling and licking his neck madly. The sock was thrown away from his face by his violent jerking, but he couldn't care less.
"Do you need help? Should we try to push it away?!"
Yes please! Xie Lian mentally screamed, but his laughing prevent him from uttering more than a few meaningless whining sounds. Tears rolled down his face, and he tried to hit the dog with his boot but only managed a few weak blows that did nothing more than spur the animal on even more.
"We need to help him! Y'all are idiots, someone do something!"
"You do something!"
"Why me? Did someone contact the Lord?"
"No-aaah!" Xie Lian tried to tell them to especially not bring Hua Cheng into this mess, but the dog took that opportunity to try and lick Xie Lian's mouth. He immediately closed it again, letting go of his boot to protect his face as best he could while trying to calm down and stop his uncontrollable giggling.
"That's enough! Y'all move!" Xie Lian heard the yelling, then felt a huge amount of icy water falling on the dog and, by default, himself.
The good thing was: both Xie Lian and the dog stopped moving, shocked by the sudden cold.
The bad thing was: the dog now smelled even worst than it did before and didn't like to be wet so it shook itself. Xie Lian decided to ignore that last fact, as he couldn't get any wetter anyway.
Ruoye wrapped itself back around Xie Lian's arm as if done with the situation, and Xie Lian wished he could do the same. Or, at least, hide behind his hat trapped under his back. But just as he was considering that possibility, everyone suddenly went silent and the only thing audible were bells, faint at first, but getting louder and louder.
Xie Lian raised his arm to let it rest on his eyes, hiding. The dog licked his cheek as if trying to comfort him. It didn't help.
The ghosts started whispering again, halfway between panicked and excited.
"Your old lordship! We.. Ugh.." A ghost tried bravely, but didn't seem to find something acceptable to say.
"Scram! All of you!" Hua Cheng didn't need to raise him voice for them to obey, but he still did, clearly pissed.
Xie Lian heard hurried footsteps as the bells got closer and closer, until all noise stopped. For some reason, the spirit dog was still on his chest. It should have fled the scene even quicker than the others, so if it didn't, it must have meant that Hua Cheng was making it stay.
But never did he press Xie Lian to acknowledge his presence, patiently waiting for him to stop hiding behind his arm instead. What a sight he must be, lying on the dirty wet ground, soaked and probably equally as dirty, his hair a mess.. And that stupid sock and boot next to him, leaving his bare foot exposed and without a doubt not in the best state..
Xie Lian groaned and gathered the courage to move his arm and look at Hua Cheng.
At the sight of his husband's smirk, Xie Lian couldn't help but chuckle lightly at his own situation. How he managed to make someone so graceful fall in love with the mess he was was the greatest mystery out there but also his biggest blessing.
His laughter seemed to trigger something in the dog though, as it tried to come for Xie Lian's face again, but the smile on Hua Cheng's face immediately disappeared and with just one glare, the dog was petrified once more. Hua Cheng grabbed E'Ming, ready to strike and end the poor thing's life. Or afterlife, to be precise.
"Don't!" Xie Lian asked, raising his arm as if to stop E'Ming or shield the dog. At the sight of his arm, E'Ming's eye looked panicked, shaking, and Hua Cheng violently threw the scimitar to the ground, away from Xie Lian.
"Move." Hua Cheng told the dog, which finally left Xie Lian's chest to sit on the other side of Xie Lian from Hua Cheng, shaking, puppy eyes out, and Xie Lian was pretty sure it was getting smaller.
Hua Cheng kneeled down next to Xie Lian, offering his hand to help him up with a gentle smile. Smiling back, a bit amused, Xie Lian sat up and let go of Hua Cheng's hand to pick up his sock. He wrung it and clumsily put it back. Hua Cheng took his boot and extracted the hook, before putting the footwear back on Xie Lian's foot delicately. Then, he held out his hand again and helped Xie Lian to his feet.
"Let's go before Gege gets sick. I'll send someone to take care of this. It won't bother you again." Hua Cheng promised, never letting go of Xie Lian's hand even if it was wet and dirty.
Xie Lian looked down on the dog and felt his heart ache at the sight of the sad puppy it had become. Seeing that it had his attention, the dog cried and suddenly jumped into Xie Lian's arms. Surprised once more, Xie Lian let go of Hua Cheng's hand to catch it by reflex. Then, the spirit dog rubbed its head against Xie Lian's chest, and even if they were both cold, he felt warm inside.
"San Lang.." Xie Lian started, slowly moving his eyes from the dog to Hua Cheng, who was glaring at it. Xie Lian noticed E'Ming had gone back to his hand when the dog had jumped, but he wasn't worried. Hua Cheng would never try anything against the dog while it was glued to Xie Lian.
"Gege, no. We don't know where it's from or what it could do. It could be dangerous." Hua Cheng refused, putting E'Ming back on his belt before crossing his arms. But that was okay, Xie Lian knew it wouldn't be that simple.
"But it's so cute! And it's not like you can't know everything there is to know about it, if you want to. San Lang is so powerful." Xie Lian flattered his husband with a playful smile.
And of course, Hua Cheng couldn't not smile back. "It's not cute. Look what it did to you." Hua Cheng reminded him, still not giving in, but Xie Lian knew he could change his mind.
"Aw, don't you like how I look? Plus, it just wanted to play, it's only a puppy after all." He said, cradling the dog gently in his arms.
"Gege is perfect, as usual." Hua Cheng is forced to admit, and Xie Lian could see amusement on his face now. "But it's not a puppy, it's tricking you. It was a big beast just five minutes ago."
"San Lang must have seen wrong, I only saw a tiny puppy." Xie Lian lied without shame. Then, when he saw Hua Cheng was about to object again, he changed strategy and moved closer to him, rubbing his face against Hua Cheng's chest.
Hua Cheng uncrossed his arms almost right away, chuckling lightly. His arms found their natural place around Xie Lian's waist.
"Look, I'm just the same as it is." He added, making Hua Cheng laugh again.
"It stinks." Hua Cheng argued for the sake of arguing still.
"Well, to be fair, we're the same again." Xie Lian joked. He could feel Hua Cheng shake his head, then leaning down to kiss the top of his head.
"Come, you need a bath. This thing will be locked away until I know more about it. If it's safe, I guess we can keep it if it's really what Gege wants."
Xie Lian smiled, nodding happily. "Thank you, San Lang."
* * *
When he exited his bath, Xie Lian found clean clothes, as expected. He smiled and got dressed as fast as possible. With everything, he still didn't have the time to ask Hua Cheng about what kept him busy today, if everything was okay now, and he wanted to tell him about the crazy ghost who thought she was a vampire. Besides, he was starving.
Unsure of Hua Cheng's location, Xie Lian let the red string on his finger guide him to his lover, until he saw E'Ming guarding a door. He walked quickly to meet the scimitar, about to open the door when E'Ming moved in front of it instead of stepping away to let him in.
Frowning, Xie Lian looked at it again. "What is it, E'Ming?"
He wasn't worried, seeing that the scimitar looked more excited than nervous. Unable to understand precisely what it meant, Xie Lian decided to open the door slowly. E'Ming didn't argue with that.
Silently, Xie Lian took a look inside, curious. There wasn't a place in Paradise Manor or even Ghost City in which he wasn't authorized to go, so he knew he wasn't doing anything wrong. Still, he didn't expect to see a couch, or its back, as it was mostly facing the other side of the room and a giant window that took almost the whole wall, showing a beautiful garden. Xie Lian never saw such a place here before and was amazed.
He noticed Hua Cheng, or rather one of his legs, lying on the ground, his foot lazily moving from right to left, making a faint bells noise. He was sitting on the floor, his back against the couch, probably looking through the window.
Feeling the urge to sit next to him, Xie Lian walked into the room without a sound, wanting to look at Hua Cheng without him noticing. He liked to see his resting face transform into a smile when he saw Xie Lian. It never ceased to make him happy.
But to his surprise, Hua Cheng wasn't looking outside. He was looking down at something on his lap. Intrigued, Xie Lian took another step to discover the spirit dog deeply asleep there, Hua Cheng's hands gently petting it. So that's what he calls locking it? Xie Lian couldn't help but smile.
Hua Cheng turned his head to look at him, smiling back the moment his eyes fell on him. Xie Lian rushed to his side, unable to stay away even one more second. He sat on the floor, right next to Hua Cheng, his head resting on Hua Cheng's shoulder. He petted the spirit dog's head gently.
"You washed it? Thanks. Is this always how you take care of your prisoners?" Xie Lian teased.
"It safe, I already checked. It can stay." Hua Cheng informed him with a smile. Of course he hadn't wasted time to verify the identity of Xie Lian's new friend. If he could please Xie Lian, he'd do it as quickly as possible. And if it really was dangerous, he wanted to know as fast as possible to take care of it right away.
"Thank you, San Lang is always so effective. Now we have to name it." Xie Lian announced, thinking.
"I'll let Gege decide, you're good with names." Hua Cheng flattered him, as he always did every time he came up with a new name for a new dish.
The spirit dog opened his eyes, looking tiredly at Xie Lian, realizing he was there too. It stretched, then stood up to go to Xie Lian. Hua Cheng immediately raised his hands as if scared they'd burn it, and Xie Lian felt bad for waking the puppy up.
It didn't go on Xie Lian's lap, though, choosing to settle down again right in the middle, half on Xie Lian's lap, half still on Hua Cheng's lap. A few seconds later, it was asleep once more. Xie Lian chuckled and went back to petting it, silently encouraging Hua Cheng to do the same.
"So. Did you take care of your emergency?"
"Yeah, it wasn't anything big or important, it's all good now." Hua Cheng reassured him, and knowing him, Xie Lian was very well aware that it could either mean it really was nothing or he faced something truly dangerous. But it was over now, so he didn't press.
"San Lang? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, anything."
"Are vampires real?" Xie Lian asked, not daring to look at Hua Cheng, but he still felt him turn slightly towards him, not expecting that kind of question.
"No, they're not. Did Gege meet someone suspicious?"
Xie Lian smiled. "Well, you see, I had that mission today.."