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For all that he managed to get into trouble, Xie Lian could at least say his social life was quite peaceful. By his standards, anyway. Not many people visited him, although certainly more than before. Most of them were ghosts. Aside from Mu Qing and Feng Xin, very few heavenly officials ever wanted to seek his company, maybe because he spent quite a lot of time in Ghost City and wore the title of Hua Cheng’s spouse. Who knows.
Quan Yizhen is one of these people.
In the years after the battle of the Heavenly Capital, they seemed to have grown a sort of friendship. Quan Yizhen randomly asked him to brawl, and Xie Lian often indulged him. Apparently, that was all that was necessary for others to consider him Quan Yizhen’s friend, and he didn’t argue.
In their friendly fight sessions, Quan Yizhen was, as usual, relentless and persistent, and it was usually Xie Lian who ended the fight, thinking the other god had already been beat up enough for a day. He might be strong-willed and talented, but Xie Lian did have an awful amount of experience in fist fighting.
That only seemed to make Quan Yizhen more interested, asking him how he had done certain moves, about different fighting techniques, and so on. He listened intently to everything Xie Lian said, and promptly put it to use. Xie Lian thought it was nice to be taken so seriously. Even when he was a prince, few were the people who were actually willing to pay attention to him when he talked about martial arts.
In the festivals and banquets in the New Heavenly Capital, the two often ended up seated together. If they happened to both be attending, that is. Quan Yizhen had noticed that Xie Lian had a way of directing unwanted attention away from him, keeping up peaceful conversation with others and deflecting gossip when he was asked about it. Quan Yizhen wanted nothing to do with sharing others’ secrets or talking behind their backs, and Xie Lian seemed to be a safe haven from all of that, so he stuck to him like glue.
Xie Lian didn’t mind. Quan Yizhen only stood there peacefully drinking, eating and enjoying the festivities. Up until he decided to get into a fight with someone, that is. Either way, it was usually just an activity for recreation and not something Xie Lian had to break apart, so all was fine. He could just ignore it and move on.
The one thing he couldn’t ignore, though, was Quan Yizhen’s obsession with giving him gold. Even after giving so much gold to aid in rebuilding the Heavenly Capital, the man took no time at all to replenish his gold reserves and resumed sending it Xie Lian’s way in any opportunity. He put it in Puqi shrine’s donation box, in the few temples Xie Lian had scattered throughout the land, and even in Qiandeng temple, the rare times he ended up in Ghost City.
Xie Lian rarely managed to catch him in the act, and returning the gold made no difference, so he had no choice but to accept it and use it for charity. With time and a lot of patience, he managed to persuade Quan Yizhen to keep the spontaneous gold offerings to a minimum, and so his glittering and valuable problem diminished considerably.
Unbeknownst to Xie Lian, that wouldn’t deter Quan Yizhen from showing his appreciation for him in the slightest. The man was nothing if not determined and he took his friendships very seriously.
So, Quan Yizhen did the only thing he could think of and set about trying to find a gift Xie Lian would accept.
----
The New Heavenly Capital was as serene as it ever was, the beautiful sights being the scenario of the lives of the many gods hustling about on missions and chores, or lazily walking around and talking.
Today's most interesting topic of discussion was what on earth was going on with the former Crown Prince of Xian Le again. One would have thought that after achieving the feat of ascending three times, turning the entirety of the heavens upside down and getting married to a supreme level ghost, things would have quieted down for him and there would be much less to gossip about. It turns out, to the delight of the gossip-loving deities, that when it came to the Crown Prince, there was always something to talk about. From getting amnesia, to unwittingly coming with contact with his own cursed blood and exposing the extent of his infatuation with the ghost king, to whatever the hell had caused Xuan Zhen to level a whole area of his palace in a fit of madness, ridiculous situations seemed to chase Xie Lian like a cat playfully chased birds and mice. Thankfully for him, most of them were pretty tame.
As was this specific example. Heavenly officials walking or resting in groups whispered to each other about what could have driven His Highness Qi Ying to go around persistently asking people about what kinds of things Xie Lian liked. And then whether or not they could be made out of gold.
It wasn’t unusual for friends to gift each other on birthdays, but it was unusual for Quan Yizhen to be in this situation, considering the only one he had ever done that with was his former shixiong. And everyone knows how that ended.
Still, past the initial shock, people tried to give him the requested advice... and came up with nothing.
What could you give to a man who was married to possibly the richest person known, who could supply any need he could ever have? Moreover, a man who had spent 800 years collecting thrash for a living and who preferred to walk around with mortals and ghosts and sleep in simple wooden cottages rather than a palace?
The truth is, no one knew of His Highness’ personal interests beyond the silly poems he liked that no one cared about or knew where to get or the home remedies he used to talk about, that were now probably wholly unnecessary to his wellbeing. Probably.
In the end, most people responded to Quan Yizhen’s questioning with either ‘I don’t know’ or a suggestion of a general item that anyone might be satisfied with. He nodded and accepted all suggestions, asked if he could make something like that out of gold, which left his conversation partner with a complicated expression, and moved on to ask the next person.
In such a way, he eventually noticed two figures standing by the palace of Nan Yang, discussing something in an irritated tone.
“... been trespassing on my temples, again, and playing pranks on my devotees like goddamn children-”
“What do you want me to do? I'm not their babysitter, I’m a martial god. D’you want me to just go there and beat them up??”
“I want you to control you devotees like a proper god! You're more than 800 years old already, do you not know how to do that yet, Nan Yang?”
“Oh, like your followers are any better!”
Indeed, it was General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen, having an argument as usual. Quan Yizhen was completely uninterested in their conversation and tuned out whatever they were saying as he approached.
When the duo noticed him getting nearer, they stopped what they were doing and turned around in confusion.
“What?” Feng Xin asked.
“Your Highness Qi Ying, is there a problem?” Mu Qing inquired, trying to mask a scowl.
Quan Yizhen just cut straight to the point, as he was known to do, “What things does Xie Lian like?”
The two generals looked at each other, then back at him in bewilderment. Where was this question coming from?
“Why do you ask?” Mu Qing asked, narrowing his eyes.
“For a birthday present,” Quan Yizhen answered promptly.
There was a brief silence, then the two relaxed a bit, seeming to find nothing wrong with that statement.
“...oh,” Feng Xin started, “Let’s see... nowadays...”
“Don’t think too much about it. Whatever he could want, Hua Cheng will get him,” Mu Qing interrupted.
“Well, what did you give him last year?” Feng Xin shot back.
“A set of winter robes,” Mu Qing said. “You?”
“A poetry book,” Feng Xin said.
Mu Qing gave a little mocking laugh, “I can’t believe you actually went looking for poetry to give him.”
“What? He likes it. Shut up.”
The thing is, Feng Xin and Mu Qing had already understood that when they gave Xie Lian a present, whatever it was, because it came from them, he would make use of it. Hua Cheng had noticed this as well and even stopped stating the inferiority of their gifts, deciding to amuse Xie Lian instead. So the end of it was that these two could give him anything they thought was nice for him knowing he would like it, regardless of whether he already had something similar at home.
Their advice, in general, wasn’t very different from the others’. Quan Yizhen was about to leave when Feng Xin suddenly called him back, an excited look growing on his face.
“Wait. I think I know something.”
----
It was Xie Lian’s birthday, and frankly, it was going amazingly well. He sometimes still found it hard to believe that after 800 years of not even remembering his own birthday, he was now able to celebrate it like this every year.
He remembered a time when people cursed his name and wished him to die. He remembered a time when he cursed his own existence and wanted to die, to disappear from this world, to never have been born at all. He remembered a time when no one cared whether he lived or not and he was too busy trying to survive to think about his birthday.
But those were only memories.
Now, there were people who remembered that Xie Lian, a being older than the kingdom of Yong’An had managed to survive, was born one day, and they wanted to celebrate it.
They wanted to send him gifts and congratulate him and party with him. For his birthday. It seemed like some sort of dream.
The day started with Hua Cheng bringing him breakfast in bed, like the romantic that he was, and then spending a good part of the morning lazily kissing him and whispering words of love and devotion in his ears. On more than one occasion, Xie Lian tried to hide his blushing face behind his fingers, only to have Hua Cheng gently pry his hands off and kiss his palms.
Ah... this man was really too much for his heart.
He had long ago told Hua Cheng that he didn’t need any impressive gifts for his birthday, since the man seemed to be more than willing to shower him with presents any day of the year anyway, and that all he wanted was an enjoyable day.
Still, every year there was always something, a little thing Hua Cheng made sure to gift him on this day.
“Gege, close your eyes,” Hua Cheng whispered, a glint of anticipation in his eye.
“Alright.” Xie Lian did as told, chuckling quietly to himself. He felt Hua Cheng’s hands enveloping his and depositing a small object in them.
“You can open them now, gege.”
He opened his eyes and saw in his cupped hands a delicate jade sculpture of a flower, white, much like the ones Hua Cheng gave him when he was but a child, and so detailed and lifelike one might mistake it for the real thing. He didn’t need to ask to know who the sculptor was.
“San Lang… it’s beautiful…” He said a bit breathlessly, examining the flower, lightly touching its petals with his fingers.
“Much like you, gege,” Hua Cheng didn’t miss the chance to make such a retort.
“San Lang!” Xie Lian protested with no real meaning and lightly swatted at his chest, laughing.
He set the sculpture on a small table a little way from the bed and walked back, giving Hua Cheng a full, tight hug.
“San Lang…” He spoke, voice a little muffled from where his face was buried in Hua Cheng’s chest, “I love you.”
Hua Cheng kissed the top of his head, arms wrapped snuggly around him.
“I love you, too, gege.”
Afterwards they rolled Hua Cheng’s magic dice and made their way to mount Taicang. They sat under the shade of the trees, and Xie Lian allowed himself to just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, the chirping of birds, the rustling of the branches on the trees that he had planted himself. It was summer, and the cool mountain breeze felt gentle and satisfying on his skin.
Mu Qing and Feng Xin showed up shortly after, and they talked, made fun of each other, laughed, and had a picnic on the grass. Mu Qing complained about having to eat on the ground when there was an actual table inside the cottage, and Feng Xin and Hua Cheng argued with him to just shut up and enjoy the moment. Then they looked at each other weirdly for having agreed on something and just went back to eating. Xie Lian watched the whole exchange with an unmistakable air of amusement in his features.
As a gift, Feng Xin gave him a bunch of exotic flower seeds from a distant land, where he had aided another heavenly official on a mission, for Xie Lian to plant in his garden.
Mu Qing gave him a pair of boots with delicate decorations on the edges, that Xie Lian was pretty sure were sown on by Mu Qing himself. He chose not to comment on their origin, praising their beauty instead, lest his friend grow embarrassed.
They lounged around and ate watermelon in the afternoon, sharing stories of difficult missions and mundane things in equal measure. Hua Cheng bragged about defeating enemies many times stronger than anything the two generals mentioned. The two complained a few times about Xie Lian and Hua Cheng being too lovey-dovey around them. Feng Xin, Hua Cheng and Mu Qing bickered in their usual way, and Xie Lian felt like everything was at peace and he was just happy.
They could have actual serious fights sometimes, but right now all he could see was his two great friends and his husband being silly around one another. And he loved them so much.
When it started to get late, Xie Lian said goodbye to Feng Xin and Mu Qing and went back to Ghost City with Hua Cheng.
There were people filling the streets, ghosts and not-ghosts who happened to find themselves there that day, partying away as if it was New Year’s. The citizens of Ghost City loved an excuse to celebrate, and Xie Lian’s birthday was no exception. Hua Cheng had asked him if he minded, intending to dispel the festivities immediately if he did, but Xie Lian said it was alright and that they should have fun if they wished.
He walked around for a bit, thanking the congratulations and well wishes he received, and politely but firmly declining any inappropriate gifts. He was sure they’d find their way to his house anyway.
After greeting enough people, he decided he’d had enough excitement and that it was a good time to return to Paradise Manor.
On the way there, still far enough away from Paradise Manor, Yin Yu was waiting.
He politely greeted, “Your Highness, Chengzhu, there is a… guest bringing a birthday gift waiting at the Manor.” His voice sounded a little strange.
“Hmn? They didn’t leave?” Xie Lian asked.
“No, Your Highness, they, ah… want to give it to you in person.”
Xie Lian frowned. On his previous birthdays it was common for people to send gifts to Paradise Manor, since it was the private residence he spent the most time in and others assumed it was his ‘main’ home. However, aside from Feng Xin and Mu Qing, who he had already seen today, everyone else would simply drop off the gift and leave if he wasn’t present at the time. He couldn’t think of anyone who would wait to gift him in person.
“Hmm… alright. Thank you, Yin Yu. I’ll see them, then.” He responded. Yin Yu bowed and then scurried away like a child trying to avoid his strict parents after sneaking out of the house past curfew.
Xie Lian couldn’t help but stare at his retreating back. What was up with him today? From the corner of his vision, he could see Hua Cheng narrowing his eye.
“Let’s go, gege.”
“Ah… yeah.”
The two resumed their walk home.
“Gege, if it’s someone you don’t want to see, just kick them out,” Hua Cheng said beside him.
“Ah… I’m not sure that will be necessary, San Lang.”
He did wonder, though, about this guest.
After only a few minutes they reached Paradise Manor, and, to Xie Lian’s surprise, in the living space, sitting down and turning his head around in curiosity was Quan Yizhen.
Xie Lian stared in bewilderment for a while before prompting, “Qi Ying?”
Quan Yizhen immediately honed his eyes on him and jumped to his feet.
“Your Highness!”
“Yes, that’s… me.”
Quan Yizhen nodded, his eyes fixed to Xie Lian determinedly. “Happy birthday. I have a present for you.”
“Thank you, I-” Xie Lian’s sentence was cut short when a box was placed in his grasp. It was long and thin, and he had to hold it with both of his hands to keep it steady.
“T-this…” He muttered, still a bit lost. The god was still staring at him expectantly, and Xie Lian guessed he’d have to open the gift now.
And so he did. Laying the box on a higher piece of furniture, he carefully removed the lid and set it aside. When he properly looked into the box, his heart momentarily stopped in his chest.
Sitting inside, poised and dignified, was a sword.
Its scabbard was bathed in gold, elegantly decorated with imagery of flowers and tiny butterflies in silver. Flowering branches danced at the base and tip of its hilt, giving it an air of both regality and simplicity.
‘Beautiful’ was not strong enough a word to describe it, but he couldn’t think of a better one right now.
Xie Lian had three big loves in his life. One of them was Hua Cheng, another was the common people, and the other… was swords.
Ever since a young age, he had been enamored with martial arts as a whole, but swords always had a special way to pull him in. Perhaps it was the dignified feel of the blade, the thrill of wielding one, the perfect feel of it in his hand… whatever the case, he had a certain affinity towards them.
Mesmerized, he reached his hands down to pick up the sword and drew it from its scabbard with an excited little gasp.
The blade, as well, was adorned with elegant lines. ‘Sharp’, ‘graceful’, ‘deadly’, were other descriptions too inferior to be suited to this weapon he was now holding.
Hua Cheng, who was leaning on the wall at the side, lifted an eyebrow and muttered “not bad,” which was his way of saying he was genuinely impressed for once.
“This… where did you get this?” Xie Lian asked, still examining the sword on all sides, turning it around, reflecting the light of the lanterns off of it.
“I ordered it to be forged. Xuan Zhen and Nan Yang helped design it,” Quan Yizhen replied.
“They did?” They hadn’t said anything…
“Mn.”
“Does it have a name?” Xie Lian asked.
“You choose it.” Quan Yizhen was still looking at him expectantly, obviously waiting to hear what he would say about the gift.
Xie Lian didn’t know what to say. Here he was, holding an exquisite sword of the highest quality, that was for him? This… this was too much; he couldn’t accept this.
He almost asked if Quan Yizhen was sure that he wanted Xie Lian to have this sword. But the flowers, the butterflies… it was evident the sword had been designed with him in mind, it wouldn’t fit anyone else.
Xie Lian had sworn he would never kill humans with a blade again a long time ago. Despite being a martial god, he usually walked unarmed and hadn’t owned a sword for centuries. That didn’t pose much of a problem, not with Ruoye and his years of experience defending himself without any weapons to help him. Still, he was a martial god, and as such he sometimes had to face enemies that required him to carry a weapon with him.
In these circumstances, he’d borrow a blade from Paradise Manor’s armory, that Hua Cheng insisted belonged to Xie Lian, use it in his mission, then lovingly place it back when all had been done. From Hua Cheng’s stories, he knew most of the weapons in that armory. All of them had a name. All of them were extremely well made. Many were priceless antiques with decades or even centuries of history behind them.
This right here was a recently forged sword, never before used in battle, and yet unnamed. It had been designed and created specifically for him, as a gift, by order of three martial gods who were his friends.
Even if he wanted to, how could he resist?
“It’s really incredible,” Xie Lian said, emotion seeping through his voice.
Upon hearing these words, Quan Yizhen, who was still staring, opened a wide smile.
“Qi Ying…” Xie Lian turned towards him, his own heartfelt smile spreading across his face. “Thank you.”
“Mn!” Quan Yizhen said, then turned and ran off with that grin still on his features, probably to go brawl with some ghost.
----
Later that night, Yin Yu surreptitiously crept back into Paradise Manor, leaving the rowdy ghosts to deal with Quan Yizhen on their own. When Xie Lian saw him, they simply greeted each other, pretended nothing unusual had happened and went their own ways.
Xie Lian sat on the mattress, getting ready for bed, when Hua Cheng embraced him from behind and rested his head on Xie Lian’s shoulder.
“Gege, what did you think of your birthday?” He asked in a low voice.
“I loved it. It was amazing, San Lang,” Xie Lian answered him, his joy apparent in his tone.
“Hmnn, Your Highness liked Qi Ying’s gift very much, didn’t you?” He said more than asked, in somewhat of a sulky disposition.
“San Lang, are you… jealous? Of Qi Ying?” Xie Lian turned his head and was faced with Hua Cheng’s cute pouty face. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng whined. Xie Lian wiggled out of his grasp and faced him, cupping Hua Cheng’s face in his hands.
“San Lang is still my favorite,” He said, and then placed a kiss to Hua Cheng’s nose, watching him close his dark eye.
When he opened it again, his expression had already changed drastically. “Gege.” He pulled Xie Lian by the waist and whispered into his ear with his deep voice, “I have another gift for you today.”
“O-oh?” Xie Lian felt his cheeks burning. He knew exactly what sort of gift that was.
“Mn. Can I show it to you, beloved?” Hua Cheng’s hands were slowly moving along his sides. His mouth moved down to place a long, wet kiss on Xie Lian’s neck. Xie Lian swallowed.
“…en.” He answered, and then he was pushed down and kissed with a ferocity that made him dizzy.
The rest of the night passed in a series of touching, kissing, biting, sucking, and everything else Hua Cheng was an expert in.
Xie Lian held onto the sheets for dear life as he was thoroughly loved well past the extent of his birthday.
Then he finally fell asleep, blissed out and hoarse and tucked snugly into Hua Cheng’s arms.
----
After that day, Xie Lian though he couldn’t exactly not give Quan Yizhen a birthday gift, and so he did, and Quan Yizhen returned the next year to Paradise Manor to gift him again, and in that way a new tradition was born between them.
Of course, Quan Yizhen couldn’t give him another sword, so he switched to different, simpler gifts on the subsequent years, following some of the advice he was given. Almost everything he gave was completely or partially made out of gold, as he claimed he had too much and wanted to gift it away. Xie Lian began to find it comical and kept the ridiculously gold items in the Manor. They fit right in, anyway.
Whenever Xie Lian left for a dangerous mission, he could be seen bearing a sword in a beautiful golden scabbard, its design worthy of the Flower Crowned Martial God. Those who witnessed the blade in action could vouch for its might in battle, cleanly slicing any opponent in its way, just as they could vouch for the skill of its bearer.
In time, the blade, too, became famous, along with its master.