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"San Lang... What would you do if I was no longer here?"
It had been like every other night at Puqi Shrine, the air tranquil and calm, disturbed only by the flickering of the candlelight nestled upon the alter perched just across from the doorway.
On the other side of the cosy room laid a pair that one would never expect to see together — one of the deadliest ghost kings with his hair sprawled across the lap of a god whose smile resembled that of the purest flower in the midst of blooming.
Xie Lian's slender fingers continued their journey through Hua Cheng's silky locks that cascaded in an inky river, pooling softly against the floor, leaving the latter humming in contentment with each passing stroke.
That was, until Xie Lian had asked that question.
"Then I'd follow you to the ends of the world." There wasn't a hint of hesitation in Hua Cheng's answer as he kept his eye closed, the corners of his mouth still faintly curved upwards even as the soft caresses on his head were lulling him to sleep.
Xie Lian, too, kept a lingering smile on his face. Of course, that had been an answer he expected; an answer that made it all the more difficult to swallow past the growing lump in his throat to just whisper to Hua Cheng the very words that would tear the both of them apart.
"What's with the sudden question, gege? Something on your mind?" Hua Cheng's hand reached for Xie Lian's own and squeezed.
That was how he felt the faint tremor that had been rocking through his body.
In an instant, that depthless eye snapped open and he was already upright, gaze sharp and roaming over Xie Lian's entire figure. Yet Xie Lian remained where he sat, that small smile still perched upon his lips, even if it now held a tinge of regret and sorrow.
He hoped that tiny hint had been enough. Enough for Hua Cheng to put the pieces together as he continued to scour his face for answers. Enough so that he wouldn't have to breathe out the damning words himself. Just this once, Xie Lian allowed himself to be a coward.
And so he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of his beloved ghost king for one of the last few times known to him, and waited.
"... Gege?" It was hard not to wince at the crack in Hua Cheng's voice. "Are you— Is it really that you're—"
Is it really that you're leaving me? Is it really that you're already preparing to say your final goodbyes to this lifetime? Is it really that your time in this world has come to an end?
None of those words were able to be uttered. In its place, Hua Cheng's eye shone with tears unshed as he stared at his flower-crowned god, a silent plea for him to open his eyes and answer the question that had been left unsaid.
Surely... Surely...
It was only when the candlelight flickered wildly once more that Xie Lian's eyes fluttered open, the look of resignation and acceptance within them crushing whatever shred of hope Hua Cheng had left in his heart.
"My time is running out, San Lang," Xie Lian whispered, lifting up an arm for him to examine. Indeed, his skin was gradually growing in transparency. How long had this been happening? How had Hua Cheng not noticed it before?
As if reading his thoughts, Xie Lian continued softly. "I didn't notice at first either. It started out as little prayers disappearing here and there, and before long, silence. But with how busy the communication array had been with all the newly ascending gods, I didn't have time to notice it straight away either until... well. This." Xie Lian gestured towards himself. Hua Cheng said nothing.
"It's been hundreds of years since the last devastating human war. We're entering a time of peace, San Lang, and as a martial god, there won't be a place for me in such a time. I've outlived my purpose and— and it seems that the heavens have decided that it's time for me to finally go."
The shadows across Hua Cheng's face had made it impossible for anyone to make out what he was thinking. Yet, the slight tremors that ran through his body was more than enough to tell Xie Lian what he needed to know. Almost hesitantly, he let his hands intertwine with Hua Cheng's own, a thumb caressing along the surface of his skin. It was cold and clammy.
Sensing the warmth from Xie Lian's palm, Hua Cheng felt as if his heart could almost ache, a heavy, suffocating sensation within his chest even as he squeezed his hand tighter.
Silence soon blanketed the air around them, not one that was uncomfortable, but one that the both of them struggled through all the same.
"Gege," Hua Cheng glanced up at him, a look of desperate determination firm on his face. "What I said still holds true. I'm coming with you."
That was the last thing Xie Lian had wanted. He shook his head, demeanour gentle yet firm. "No. I want you to stay, San Lang."
"But gege—"
Xie Lian silenced him with a finger. "It's the one thing that I want you to promise to me. Please... San Lang, I want you to keep living. For me."
The last of Hua Cheng's composure shattered as his shoulders shook, face crumbling into one of absolute devastation, one of so much pain that Xie Lian's heart cried out with him.
"But gege, if you're gone... what would be the point of me still being here? You're the only one I want to live for, and without you, nothing would have meaning anymore...
"Can't you let me follow you forever? Can't you let me stay by your side forever? Can't you let me just be with you forever?"
Hua Cheng didn't understand nor did he want to understand. He didn't understand the cruelty that laid within fate, a cruelty that would mercilessly rip even the tightest of bonds apart when the time came. He didn't understand how, despite the rapid countdown to Xie Lian's death, his gege still somehow remained calm and composed, a sweet smile upon his face.
Xie Lian brought their hands closer to his chest, resting them above his still-beating heart. Hua Cheng almost shuddered at the touch.
"San Lang, I promise you this. That no matter where we are in this world, no matter whichever lifetime we're in, we'll find each other again. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far we have to go, our paths are destined to align. We're connected by the red string of fate, after all."
The string of fate. The string that they had chosen to tie themselves together with.
Hua Cheng glanced at their intertwined hands, where their fingers laid slightly tangled between the crimson red strand, and let out a small sob as he leaned into Xie Lian's embrace.
"Gege, I've always trusted you, but... just this once, just this once, gege, I don't know if I can bring myself to believe in something like this..."
Xie Lian brought their foreheads together, eyes filled with nothing but understanding and love. "San Lang, when have I ever lied to you?"
Hua Cheng didn't answer, instead he buried his head into the crook of Xie Lian's neck, breathing in his scent. Xie Lian was right. Not once had he ever lied to him, and not once had Hua Cheng ever had a reason to doubt him.
And that should still remain the case. For Hua Cheng, it should always be the case. Except... that feeling of Xie Lian's presence often going corporeal kept him frantic, kept him scouring within his mind for a way to keep Xie Lian here with him.
But there was none.
And so Hua Cheng stopped fighting against it all and slumped further into Xie Lian's embrace, searing this sensation into his memory forever. For his gege, he would do as he wished. For his gege, he would live. For his gege, he would wait. He had over eight hundred years worth of practice, after all. He could afford to wait another eight hundred if it meant he could see Xie Lian again.
But still...
"Come back soon, gege... It really... is too lonely without you..."
Those were the last words Hua Cheng had uttered to the setting sun that day as he had clutched the ring that held his ashes in his hands, watching as Xie Lian had given him one last smile before his body glowed before shattering, a million snow-white flower petals taking his place before swirling, as if in a dance, away with the wind.
~~~
"And just before the child hits the ground, there the crown prince was! It was as if he were an arrow, practically flying above hundreds of people at lightning speed with his arms outstretched just so the child could land safely into his arms. Some believe that as the child was caught, he was enraptured by the beauty of the prince as his mask slipped off, and that this... was how the child had fallen deeply in love with this crown prince for over eight hundred years."
Xie Lian finished draining the last few sips of his drink as he continued listening on to this impossibly sappy tale. To think that there was such a couple over eight hundred years ago, coincidentally matching with how long that child had to wait for his prince? It was too good to be true.
Yet it was such a tale that had struck something deep from within him, leaving him wanting to know more, to feel more, to see more. It was such a tale that if it were just pure fantasy, he'd have no interest in such over-the-top storytelling, yet if it really were a true tale then... how fascinating.
And it was with these thoughts that Xie Lian had made his way to the front of the crowd before asking: "Dear storyteller, would you mind telling me where exactly can I find that famous wall in your story where that child had fallen from?"
~~~
It had been over one thousand six hundred years since the last time Hua Cheng had stepped foot into the lands that had once belonged to the kingdom of Xian Le. It had been over one thousand six hundred years since he had first laid eyes on the flower-crowned prince as he had gently cradled him into his arms, a shield against all the filth and corruption in this world. It had been over one thousand six hundred years since he had last saw this wall, one that had been demolished years ago now stood proud in the glow of the rising sun once more.
Lifting a slender hand, Hua Cheng sent a butterfly rippling in silver fluttering towards the top of that wall, watching as it slowly disappeared out of sight. It was only then that he began descending to where the royal procession had once taken place.
Despite how many years had gone by, Hua Cheng recalled the events of the procession as if it were yesterday. The glory of the stage beneath the sun's golden rays, the square teeming with people as they cheered for the crown prince as he duelled fearlessly, and the grace in which his highness had performed, elegant and flawless, even as he dove to save a child of no significance.
Hua Cheng had now reached where the crown prince had once fought against the demon in front of thousands, the wall now but a mere slab of sanhetu against the horizon. Glancing at it now, he could imagine what a sight it was to beheld — the crown prince leaping into the air, robes swirling behind him as he practically flew to where the child was falling.
Such a scene indeed felt like it had been just yesterday, yet the more Hua Cheng reminisced, the more he felt that scene become unreachable. It had been over one thousand six hundred years after all, and perhaps what was in the past should stay in the past.
San Lang...
Hua Cheng shuddered against that whisper, that echo in his mind that resembled so much like the voice of his beloved. It had been almost two decades since it had first emerged, shaking him thoroughly from his sleep to chase after the sweet sighs of that voice, chasing and chasing until his body failed to keep going, and it was only then that he had realized it was all in his head.
For eight hundred years, he had yearned to hear that voice again, yet now that it accompanied him with every whisper in the wind, he wished he hadn't heard it at all.
San Lang... San Lang...
Hua Cheng only shook his head. "Gege, I love you, but... it really is too painful to hear your voice but never being able to find you again..."
No more... no more, gege, please....
San Lang... San Lang...
"Gege," Hua Cheng choked back a sob, burying his face into his palm. "Please... I've waited for so long... Where are you..."
It hurts to live on without you...
As if the wind could hear his pleas, it sighed and changed its course.
And suddenly, he was encompassed within the sweet, light scent of flowers. As petals scattered and drifted past him, Hua Cheng lowered his palm and beheld the sight, only to have a single, snow-white flower land into his awaiting hand. It seemed to wave at him.
San Lang... I'm here...
...Gege?
In a flash, Hua Cheng's head was snapped up, his eye roaming across the entire city, looking, searching, seeking, with a hope that he hadn't dared to completely feel.
Could it be...? Could it really be...?
As if in answer, near the horizon, a figure toppled over the wall.
It was as if everything was in slow motion and Hua Cheng was back to the Xian Le of a thousand six hundred years ago, except this time— this time, the roles were reversed.
As that figure continued to plummet down towards the earth, Hua Cheng was already airborne, darting for that silhouette in a streak of crimson, like rose petals swirling in the wind.
For Xie Lian, it were as if a blood-red flower had suddenly bloomed beneath him, gentle and soft as he met the stranger's eye and was rendered speechless by his beauty.
For Hua Cheng, it were as if a rock had fallen from the sky, seemingly ordinary and of no interest, that is, until he moved closer and realized that it gleamed like a diamond beneath the morning sun.
It had been over eight hundred years since the last time he had seen Xie Lian's face. And to see it now, to see the person he had thought would only ever appear in his dreams again now lying in his arms with such an open expression, one of such wonder and awe yet also unfamiliarity — Hua Cheng almost stumbled.
Together, they landed on the grounds beneath the wall, both pairs of eyes wide as they stared at each other, as if both were searching for something within the other, something like a connection.
If Hua Cheng had been pleased or disappointed with what he found, he let none of it show. "Watch your steps when you're high above next time. Not everyone's lucky enough to have someone below to catch them."
At his smooth, low voice, Xie Lian averted his gaze. "Thanks to this brother for going through the trouble to save me."
Hua Cheng said nothing as he gently placed the youth down, only letting go when he was certain that the youth was stable. "How did you fall?"
Xie Lian blushed, hastily hiding his cheeks behind his palms as he stuttered. "It's a bit embarrassing to say, actually... At first I had come here to see the wall that was rebuilt to commemorate the last crown prince of Xian Le, but before I knew it, I was racing up to the top, chasing a silver butterfly that had fluttered past me."
"You fell because you were running after a butterfly?" Hua Cheng's brows rose ever-so-slightly, even as he held his breath and quietly called that silver butterfly back to him.
"It's silly, isn't it? It's something I'd only expect children to do... Who knew that I'd fall for it too..." Xie Lian laughed lightly before offering a sheepish smile, one that quickly turned into a gasp of delight as his eyes met with a familiar pair of silvery wings. "Oh, there it is! That's the butterfly I was looking for!"
As the butterfly drifted closer, Hua Cheng merely extended a hand towards it, allowing for it to perch delicately atop his finger, his gaze still fixated on the youth before him. "You felt such a need to chase this butterfly that you hadn't realized you were no longer on solid ground before it was too late?"
"Well, when you put it like that..." Xie Lian scratched his head. "I just felt that there was this connection between me and the butterfly as if it were a familiar sight for me had I once seen it in a different life..."
Ghosts didn't need to breathe, but in that instant, Hua Cheng felt as if his chest was too tight, almost suffocating him. It hurt even more as Xie Lian's eyes went to meet with his own once more. Like a god's presence touching upon the soul of a sinner.
Xie Lian's brows furrowed and he tilted his head. "Actually, you seem to look familiar too, like someone I'm meant to find... Have we... ever met before?"
Fighting down the lump in his throat, Hua Cheng forced himself to look away. "I don't think we have."
No, not with who we are now.
"Oh." Xie Lian's face scrunched up further before he let out a grin, a hand outstretched. "Well then, if it's alright with you, I'd like for us to get to know each other. My family name is Xie, my first name Lian."
Hua Cheng stared at the delicate hand offered to him, one so achingly familiar despite the eight hundred years he had gone without seeing it.
Letting out a low chuckle, he grasped that hand with his own, except instead of a handshake, he turned it over and bowed before placing a kiss atop it.
Eyes sparkling in delight, he answered with his own secretive smile. "Nice to meet you, Xie Lian, you can call me San Lang."
For eight hundred years I had waited for you, and for another eight hundred years, I had waited for you again once more. My promise to live without you is now fulfilled, and so once more, I will live out this life devoted only to you again, my one and only god.
Neither of them had realized it yet, but the red string of fate that had once connected them had returned to their intertwined fingers once more.
In all their lifetimes, may they always find each other again.
— End —