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Xie Lian wasn’t sure what was so fun about passing around a cup of wine and viewing embarrassing plays about the gods around you. It seemed like a rather elaborate excuse for the gods of the Heavenly Court to make fun of each other without any consequences.
While the rest of the gods seated around him seemed to be dressed in their finest robes and accessories, Xie Lian remained in his plain clothing. It wasn’t like a Scrap Collecting God such as himself had much money to spend on finery these days. No one expected him to show up wearing anything fancy so he really didn’t think about it too much, even though he sort of stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowd.
Pei Ming was passed the cup of wine first and drank it in one gulp, smirking at those around him when the curtain rose to reveal a play about one of his romantic conquests. Most gods groaned and covered their eyes, while some spat blood and stared unseeingly at the play being acted out in front of them.
Xie Lian just politely looked away.
Then, Shi Wudu was chosen next with a crack of thunder and as soon as the curtain raised, both he and his brother shot to their feet, screaming: “LOWER THE CURTAINS!”
“HURRY UP LOWER IT!” Shi Qingxuan wailed as the curtain had risen to show a romantic love story between two love interests, the Lady Wind Master and Lord Rain Master.
Merits were thrown around in excess, and the curtains were instantly lowered before anything unseemly could happen.
Another round commenced, with a crack of thunder breaking through the night sky when the cup of wine was in Ling Wen’s hands. This play was simple, if a bit boring, so Xie Lian’s eyes latched onto the sky where lanterns were still being released.
Quietly, every so often, a Heavenly Official from the Lower Courts would call out a number, attached with the name of a High Ranking God. Xie Lian’s name had not been called, and he never expected it to. Xie Lian had no followers, after all!
It was still fun to watch.
Xie Lian was thrown out of his thoughts completely when a cup was pressed into his hands by an anxious Earth Master Ming Yi.
Unprepared to have something thrust into his arms so quickly, Xie Lian froze and thunder clapped overhead. He let out a nervous laugh and stared apprehensively into the cup. Then he looked up at the Gods who were staring at him eagerly. They wanted to humiliate him even more by seeing what kind of play would be put on in his honor.
He chuckled weakly and said, “I don’t… I don’t drink,”
“And why not?!” A god asked, looking miffed.
“His cultivation—” Feng Xin tried to cut in helpfully, but was interrupted by the Earth Master.
“One drink shouldn’t affect Dianxia’s cultivation,” he stated simply, and Xie Lian sighed. The Earth Master was correct in that, at least. He brought the cup to his lips and tried to not make a face at its sharp taste that burned the back of his throat.
He set the empty cup on the table in front of him and waited curiously for the curtains to rise. With no believers, it was hard for Xie Lian to imagine the curtains lifting at all, but after a tense breath, they did.
“Presenting: The Crown Prince’s Most Devoted Believer,”
Xie Lian ignored the looks he was given and the raised eyebrows all around him. Everyone knew that he didn’t have a single believer to his name, nor any temples. He, personally, was excited to see what the play would be about, as he watched it begin.
For some odd reason, it started with the God-Pleasing Festival Parade. Crowds of people rejoiced and cried his name out as he wore the God-Pleasing mask, adorned in his finest robes.
“There was once an ancient Kingdom called Xianle in the Central Plains,” A deep sultry voice said, as streamers and flower petals whipped through the air. “Its crown prince was called Xie Lian. The prince cherished his people and was well-cultivated. His beauty is widely known by his people. His figure was etched in his subject’s memory…”
The play depicted him jumping from the platform—where he was performing the fight between himself and a mighty ghost—and into the air.
“...when he saved a falling child on Shenwu Street.”
True to the narrator's words, a child did indeed fall from a great height in the middle of the parade, but instead of falling to his death, he was caught by Xie Lian, whose mask had fallen off to reveal his bright smile.
The crowd’s screams only got louder in volume as the child grasped tightly onto Xie Lian’s hand as they descended.
“The child’s name was Hong’er,” the voice said, as the scene switched from the God-Pleasing Parade to Hong’er standing alone in complete darkness, small and thin, with one eye covered due to some kind of injury. “He was abused and ridiculed every day of his life with no reprieve. So, on the day of the God-Pleasing Festival, he had planned to kill himself to exact revenge on the Kingdom which cared not for his struggle to live. And yet, with one look at the crowned prince, he stood in complete awe unable to go along with his plans. But fate would always intervene, for he was shoved right off the tower and into the air,”
Shi Qingxuan gasped, fanning himself wildly. “Do you remember him?” the man asked in a hushed and hurried whisper. “I know it's been a long time, but I’m just curious,”
Xie Lian nodded, his smile brittle. Shi Qingxuan noticed this and quieted down respectfully.
“Being saved by the crown prince, Hong’er was given his very first taste of kindness. When the Crown Prince ascended to the Heavens, he prayed and prayed,”
“Taizi Dianxia,” The small boy said as he kneeled at one of Xie Lian’s temples, clasping a flower in his small hands. “This lowly one prays that you are well.”
“Taizi Dianxia, this lowly one prays that your stay in the Heavenly Realm is pleasant.”
“Taizi Dianxia,” this time the boy is in tears, face black and blue and swollen with bruises. Xie Lian remembered this. He himself had been the one to chase off the boys who’d been attacking him for food. The boy grit his teeth. “I’m suffering! Every day, I wish I’d die. Every day I want to kill myself! I’m living in agony!”
Xie Lian himself appeared next to his statue, smiling sadly.
“For what should I live for in this world? What does it mean to live? What is the meaning of my life?”
Xie Lian outside of the play put his face in his hands and muttered to himself, “Oh dear,”
Shi Qingxuan raised his eyebrows playfully, and Xie Lian shook his head with a groan.
“If you don’t know how to live on anymore, then live for me,” The Xie Lian in the play said, and Hong’er looked up in utter shock. “I have no answer for the questions you asked. However, if you don’t know the meaning of your life, then make me that meaning, and use me as a reason to live,”
Xie Lian groaned louder in despair, and he heard Shi Qingxuan coo, “How sweet of you!”
Some gods held in their bursts of laughter, but most of them laughed outright. Xie Lian’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. After a few moments, he regained his composure once everyone settled down, and began to watch the play again. His cheeks were still a bit warm when Shi Qingxuan whispered, “That was cute of you to say to him,”
“Thanks…?”
“The crowned prince would never quite know the effect he had on Hong’er. Years later, when the war between Xianle and Yong’an broke out, Hong’er would join the war to fight. To live his life fighting at his god's side.”
An older Hong’er in Xianle armor appeared on stage, wielding a sword as he cut through the Yong’an army. He was brutally efficient, but after he finished fighting, Xie Lian walked onto the stage again.
“You’re very good at fighting,” he mused with a kind smile. “But a scimitar would suit you better with your style of fighting,”
“Hong’er continuously fought in the war,”
Indeed, on stage, Hong’er fought and fought, with a scimitar in hand now. As the fights progressed his movements became sluggish and tired. At his feet lay the corpses of his comrades and Yong’an soldiers.
In front of him were more Yong’an soldiers. Many more soldiers. And he was alone. Xie Lian and the other gods gasped in sympathy—and heartbreak if you were him—as Hong’er was stabbed right through the heart.
Yet, when Hong’er fell to the ground, he used the last of his remaining life to reach into his pockets and procure a white flower.
“Taizi Dianxia,” he whispered, tears gathering in his eyes as he prayed for the last time, “To die for you in battle is my greatest honor,”
“Though Hong’er’s mortal life had ended, his soul still lingered, and he was tethered to the world in the form of a ghost fire,”
“Awwww,” came the responses of many of the Heavenly Officials. “He truly is a devoted believer!”
Xie Lian’s eyes widened in surprise as he ignored them and continued to watch. Right before his eyes, he saw what he could only assume was Hong’er’s ghost fire form stuck in a lantern.
He remembered this too! Xie Lian appeared on stage again, quickly haggled for the ghost fire lanterns in the cultivators' hold, before just rudely snatching them away.
He watched himself release each one until they presumably got to Hong’er’s ghost fire.
“Dianxia…” the ghost fire said, and the actor playing Xie Lian flinched.
“Were you calling me just now? You… recognize me?”
“Of course I do!” The ghost fire said, glowing brighter, but Xie Lian just blushed and looked down at his own unkempt appearance.
“Wow, that’s one strong ghost fire to be able to speak like that!” Pei Ming exclaimed.
“Yeah! I don’t think I’ve ever dispersed a ghost fire that could speak before!” Another god spoke up.
“Why do you remain here?” Xie Lian asked as the ghost fire came to rest on the palm of his hand. “Didn't I send you all off? Have I missed something?”
“No. You've done nothing wrong! I’m just the one who wanted to stay, is all,”
“Do you have some sort of attachment or unfulfilled wish?”
The ghost fire bobbed up and down in the form of an answer.
“What is it? If it’s not too difficult I could perhaps help you,”
“I have a beloved who is still in this world,” the ghost fire admitted shyly.
“Ah. Is it your wife?”
“No. We never married,”
“I see, what is your wish, then?”
“I want to protect them,”
Xie Lian said, “But you no longer belong to this world,”
“What of it?” The ghost fire replied. The gods at the table were fully entranced in the play by now, on the edge of their seats to see what would happen to Xie Lian’s most devoted believer.
“You’ll never rest in peace if you force yourself to stay here!” Xie Lian exclaimed in alarm, but the ghost fire just laughed.
“Then I pray never to rest in peace,”
“If your beloved knew you couldn’t rest in peace because of them, they might feel guilty about it.”
“Then I won't tell them why I’m staying,” Hong’er said. “I won’t let them know I’m protecting them either!”
The two of them lapsed into silence, and then Xie Lian said in a quiet voice, “You were a young soldier who died in the war. Because of the war you were forcibly separated from your beloved. I’m sorry I failed,”
Hong’er repeated the same catchphrase from earlier: “To die in battle for you is my greatest honor, Dianxia,”
Xie Lian looked heartbroken at that—both the one in the play and the one sitting at the banquet.
“Don't say that,” Xie Lian’s voice trembled. “Forget me,”
“I could never forget you, Taizi Dianxia! I am forever your most devoted believer!”
“I’ve already lost all my believers. Believing in me won’t do you any good. Everyone I know has left me for good,”
Hong’er blazed even brighter. As if to ward off the loneliness Xie Lian surely felt inside his heart. “I won’t.”
“You will.” Xie Lian said.
The ghost was insistent, “Believe me, your highness.”
“I don’t believe you.” Xie Lian then turned away.
The play went dark. And for a moment everyone thought it must be over and started to speak over one another to gossip about what they heard.
“Dianxia, a ghost fire was in love with you?! How tragic!”
“Hey wait a second! I was extremely invested in this romance! How come it stopped there?!” Shi Qingxuan yelled, tears pouring from his eyes.
“Tell us what happened to him!” A demure lady demanded, “Where is Hong’er now?”
Xie Lian opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, unsure if he should laugh or cry. Surely they were wrong? Surely Hong’er’s beloved wasn’t… him?
But as he stole glances at all the gods rising from their seats to demand answers, he realized that they must be right at least to some degree.
“Though the crown prince walked away, Hong’er followed devotedly.”
Heads whipped to look back to the curtain, astonished! The play wasn't over!
On stage, a worn-out Xie Lian was depicted walking up a mountain, before being utterly humiliated and shoved into the mud by 33 nameless gods.
Mu Qing watched them do this with a guarded expression.
The gods watching gasped in outrage and swiveled to look at Mu Qing who had sunk into his seat and covered his face with his hands.
Realizing they’d get nothing out of him, they all remarked, “How rude!” And kept watching.
Hong’er’s ghost fire diligently kept following Xie Lian up the mountain.
“Hong’er was prepared to follow his god until the day his was forced to disperse, but unexpectedly, they came across Him,”
The deep voice paused, filled with utter contempt.
Xie Lian felt his blood turn to ice and he hoped and hoped that it wouldn’t show that.
“Bai Wuxiang,” the voice spat, like poison. The play then showed the ghost that haunted Xie Lian’s nightmares. The laughing-crying mask adorned the man’s face as it held Hong’er in his grasp. “In a desperate attempt to save the crown prince from the Calamity’s clutches, Hong’er released raging flames!”
Xie Lian thanked whoever wrote this play that they kept it vague. Hong’er screamed in agony and flickered wildly as flames poured out of him, blinding those present.
When the flames subsided, in place of the ghost fire was Hong’er’s silhouette. Hong’er dropped down to the prone form of the crown prince, laying still in his own pool of blood.
“This was the birth of a vicious ghost. Shortly after his encounter with the White Clothed Calamity, the crown prince decided to take revenge on the people who destroyed his Kingdom,”
The play showed Bai Wuxiang walking up to Xie Lian. Suddenly, the Calamity forced his half-smiling, half-crying mask onto Xie Lian’s face and vanished.
All around him, resentful spirits wailed and screamed for vengeance. “Yong’an will never know peace!” Xie Lian vowed.
The Xie Lian viewing the play had gone deathly still and pale. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this, but he didn’t have enough merits to lower the curtains!
No one really seemed to be judging his actions though. They looked positively invested and trembling with excitement!
The ghosts answered his call, and as he was walking away, the visage of Hong’er appeared again. Clad in all black, with a similar smiling mask covering his face, he spoke. “Taizi Dianxia…”
“Who’re you calling?”
“You,”
Pei Ming cheered, “He’s back! How exciting!”
“I am no longer royalty,” Xie Lian said coldly, and the gods at the table flinched at his harsh tone.
“C’mon Dianxia, don’t be so mean to him!”
“I would never forget your form,” the black-clad youth said, still kneeling on the ground.
After a bit more back and forth, Xie Lian sighed and said, “What is your name?”
“This lowly one has no name, but Dianxia shall call him whatever he desires,”
“Then Wu Ming suits you. Follow me,”
“I swear to die following his highness,” the ghost replied reverently.
Many gods burst into tears at that, including Shi Qingxuan. Xie Lian patted him—her? When did she change her form and robes?!—on the back.
“You’re already dead,” Xie Lian muttered.
“Despite declaring revenge, Xie Lian was hesitant. Instead of unleashing the Human Face Disease, he decided to wait three days, with a sword plunged into his chest in the middle of the city. To see if the people of Yong’an were deserving of mercy,”
Indeed, on the ground lay himself, with a sword sticking from his chest. Civilians passed him with weary expressions, whispering to one another: “I heard he’s a God of Misfortune!”
“Don’t pull out the sword, you'll curse us all!”
“Even just being close to him might kill us!”
“Little did the people of Yong’an know, if they failed to save the crown prince they would all suffer a fate worse than death. But if they did help him, Xie Lian would let the curse rebound onto himself and spare them,”
The scene before them showed two days quickly passing, until the third afternoon when it began to rain. Over the three days, the White Clothed Calamity came to agitate him and they argued. Then on the last day, he pulled the sword out of Xie Lian’s chest and walked away, after saying, “I told you. No one would save you,”
Xie Lian, however, didn’t move. A poor old man tripped and fell, spilling his rice. The gods watched with mixed reactions as the man cursed at an increasingly numb and emotionless Xie Lian. The Scrap Collecting God had no reaction to the vulgar words spit at him. He only spared a moment to comment about dying, before the man wearing a bamboo hat stormed off.
The rain continued to pour in earnest, and the old man returned looking a little guilty as he set his bamboo hat on Xie Lian’s head to block the rain.
He even apologized a bit and helped Xie Lian stand, saying over and over, “Get up, get up! C’mon young man, stand up! It’s just a bit of cussing and rain, don’t be too angry over it,”
The man left, and taking his place was none other than Bai Wuxiang!
The two tussled, with Xie Lian cussing out the White Clothed Calamity with no remorse! The gods were truly awed and inspired by this! Invigorated, even.
Pei Ming shot from his seat and shouted, “KICK HIS ASS!”
“KICK HIM AGAIN!” Shi Wudu chimed in.
“WHAT AN ASSHOLE!”
“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”
“FUCKING KICK HIM IN THE BALLS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!” Feng Xin yelled, and Xie Lian’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in surprise.
But then Bai Wuxiang gained the upper hand and kicked Xie Lian down. “Damn!”
“Nooo how’s that fair?!”
“C’mon, it was just getting good!”
“Get up, Dianxia!” Mu Qing shouted, but the crown prince in the play just watched in horror as Bai Wuxiang forced that black sword into his hands and raised it to the heavens. The White Clothed Calamity had activated the curse!
Screams erupted all around, and the townspeople looked toward the sky where a black cloud was forming.
Gods watched with mouths agape as Xie Lian attempted, somewhat successfully, to make the resentful spirits of Xianle cast their hate on him instead of Yong’an.
“Dianxia what’re you doing?!” Feng Xin screamed as he spilled his drink on the table. Many gods let out screeches of surprise when the drink spilled on their robes.
“Wu Ming couldn’t stand by and watch Dianxia destroy himself for undeserving bastards, so he stole the blackened sword, and sacrificed himself,”
Xie Lian covered his face with trembling hands, unwilling to watch Wu Ming’s death unfold for a second time. All he heard was Wu Ming’s wail of agony, before he burst into heart-wrenching sobs, not too unlike the Xie Lian on stage.
A pair of gentle arms wrapped around him, and Shi Qingxuan said in a wet and shaking tone of voice, “Oh Dianxia, how heartbreaking!”
“Bai Wuxiang convinced the crown prince that he had killed his very last believer,”
On stage showed a distraught Xie Lian ripping off his mask and falling to his knees in agony, as Bai Wuxiang loomed over him.
“But at that moment Jun Wu descended to heaven and killed the White Clothed Calamity for all he had done to the crown prince,”
Jun Wu appeared on the stage, looking tired and bloody with Bai Wuxiang still at his feet. “Welcome back to our ranks, Xinale,”
Xie Lian didn't bother to wipe away his tears as he looked up at the Heavenly Emperor.
“No,” he choked out, “No! I can’t… Please, my lord, grant me one wish,”
Jun Wu kneeled down next to Xie Lian and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“What is it?”
“Seal my spiritual powers and my luck and fortune,” Xie Lian begged, “I am not worthy of Godhood. Banish me to the Mortal Realm,”
“WAIT!” Mu Qing gasped so loud that the other gods, who had frozen in utter shock, seemed to gather themselves. “YOU ASKED FOR YOUR SECOND BANISHMENT?!”
“IT WAS TRUE LOVE!” Shi Qingxuan yelled right back, waving her fan wildly. Tears were once again streaming down her face, and the faces of many other gods as they nodded in agreement. “HE WANTED TO ATONE FOR WHAT HE DID TO HONG’ER!”
Pei Ming downed an entire cup of wine. “I truly did not expect such an epic love story for you, Dianxia,”
Xie Lian had finally composed himself enough to uncover his face. Pei Ming looked empathetic toward him and gave him a weak smile.
“It must’ve been hard,” Pei Ming whispered, with a knowing look in his eyes. Xie Lian looked down at his plate, knowing that the play would be over and they could finally move on from Xie Lian’s terrible mistakes.
Once again, to the astonishment of everyone present, Wu Ming walked back onto the stage, no longer wearing a mask.
“Although his soul had been mostly consumed by resentful spirits, Wu Ming clung to the mortal world, for his love for Taizi Dianxia was unlike any other,”
“HOLY FUCKING SHIT?!” Shi Qingxuan and Pei Ming said at once, faces brightened with hope and intrigue.
Wu Ming was shown traveling a vast distance. Xie Lian’s head snapped up, face flooded with hope. It swelled in his chest and made his hands shake. Could Wu Ming still be out there…? Could his love, his last believer, be searching for him?
“His devotion was in fact so strong that he managed to travel all the way to Mount Tonglu just as it opened and the slaughter began.”
It showed Wu Ming stumbling across a group of humans trapped in the slaughter. Wu Ming thus decided to protect them with all his might. Wu Ming was shown partaking in many a fight, growing weaker and weaker until he and the humans were cornered.
“Wu Ming knew Taizi Dianxia would never allow innocents to be hurt, so instead of killing a human to gain strength to fight, he tore out his own eye,”
“Wait a fucking second…” a god breathed. “It couldn’t possibly be Him right?!”
Other gods had gone pale, but Shi Qingxuan and Pei Ming looked even more elated at this development.
“After forging the scimitar E-Ming—“
“WHAT THE FUCK!!”
“—Wu Ming should've lost himself to madness, but instead gained his complete consciousness back. After taking the humans to a safe place, Wu Ming faced a Heavenly Trial and ascended.”
It showed Wu Ming in heaven, scowling and spitting on the shoes of the god gathered.
“But Wu Ming hated heaven for what it had done to his beloved, so he jumped down from the Heavens and refused Godhood entirely. He entered the Kiln, instead. For two years, he was trapped until he managed to break out as one of the strongest Calamities known to man,”
Wu Ming, now Hua Cheng, stepped out of a cave, looking much more familiar to the gods now.
Blood rain poured down the sky, but Hua Cheng was unaffected due to the red umbrella he carried. His pace was leisurely as he strolled down the mountain, but he stopped abruptly when he noticed a white flower—not unlike the flower Xie Lian was depicted holding in all of his statues—caught in the rain.
With a kind smile, he shielded the flower from the rain.
“Born of love rather than resentment, he thus named himself Crimson Rain Sought Flower to honor his endless search for the Flower Crowned Prince, Xie Lian,”
“Oh my GOD!”
“CRIMSON RAIN IS HONG’ER!!”
“HE’S SURVIVED!”
“HUA CHENG IS IN LOVE WITH XIE LIAN?!”
“THIS IS SO ROMANTIC I MIGHT VOMIT!”
“OH FUCK, DO YOU THINK HUA CHENG MIGHT COME AFTER US FOR THIS PLAY??”
“AHH, WE’RE ALL FUCKED!”
Xie Lian wanted to shoot to his feet this instant and beg Shi Qingxuan to take him to Ghost City immediately, but the play was still going!
Hua Cheng searched everywhere for him, and after not finding a single trace, his face turned crestfallen.
“Hua Cheng never gave up his search, but he soon realized that there would be no use finding Xie Lian if they did not have a home to come back to. So with his own two hands, he built what is now called Ghost City.”
“He began to pray again in earnest, despite there being no one to listen,”
“Dianxia, today I finished building Paradise Manor,”
“Dianxia, today ghosts began to make a home for themselves here. I hope you don’t mind their wicked ways,”
“My beloved god, I thought I saw you this morning, but I was just dreaming,”
“Dianxia I’m still searching. I promise I will never stop looking for you. I have looked for 800 years and I would look 800 more,”
“Taizi Dianxia today flowers began to bloom in my garden and I thought about you,”
“My beloved, today a few ghosts complained that—"
“Dianxia today a god came into ghost city to—"
“My dearest god today I started building your temple—"
“Dianxia I—"
“I’m still looking, I swear. Where are you, beloved?”
“The construction on Qiandeng Temple was completed today—"
“Dianxia I fought those 33 gods who humiliated you I hope you’re not too angry with me—"
“Dianxia Paradise Manor is waiting for you.”
“Dianxia Ghost City is yours, didn’t you know?“
“Dianxia I heard you ascended today. Heaven is lucky to have you,”
“Dianxia I heard you're going to investigate the Ghost Bride-Groom. I will protect you from afar, should my god need assistance.”
Xie Lian didn't even notice the tears streaming down his face. No one else did either because they were once again so drawn into the story that they stopped yelling to watch. Even Jun Wu, whose eyes were wide and his smile delighted, watched with interest.
Hua Cheng rose from his kneeling position and procured some dice from thin air. When he dropped them onto the ground a portal appeared and he stepped out into a wooded area. Xie Lian recognized this, for the umpteenth time.
Hua Cheng stopped before a palanquin, its red curtains sheer enough to reveal a person sitting inside. Xie Lian couldn’t fight the smile on his face when Hua Cheng reached out a hand to help Xie Lian come to stand.
They walked together until Hua Cheng burst into a million tiny butterflies.
“Crimson Rain watched over the crown prince, even going as far as to poorly disguise himself so he could journey with his highness,”
It showed them on the straw cart, sharing food, laughter, and smiles.
“Call me San Lang,”
It showed them entering Puqi Shrine. Hua Cheng repaired the holes in the ceiling and walls and built a door. Xie Lian watched all of this in awe, admiring the door with a silly smile.
“Gege, take me to Banyue Pass with you,”
“Gege, don’t move I need to get the venom out of your hand,”
It showed the perfect parallel between Xie Lian catching young Hong Hong-er, and Hua Cheng catching Xie Lian as he fell into the sinner's pit.
“San Lang you can’t just go jumping off cliffs into dark holes!”
“But this lowly one promised Gege he’d be alright,”
“Well… alright. Can you put me down?”
“No, the ground is too dirty for you to set foot on,”
“S-San Lang!”
The ghost king was grinning boyishly as he held Xie Lian tighter in his arms. They looked quite intimate with the way Xie Lian’s head was tilted up to meet Hua Cheng’s gaze in the darkness. “Won’t gege ask his question?”
“Hm?”
“Surely gege wants to ask me… if I’m human?”
“San Lang, I do not mind what you are. I like you for you . You could be a god, a ghost, or a Calamity—“ he said this in a knowing, teasing tone, “—and I would still want you around,”
Hua Cheng’s resulting expression was borne of shock, as he looked at Xie Lian as if he hung the moon and stars.
“Gege…”
Xie Lian smiled.
The situation in the sinner's pit was quickly dealt with, with all parties returning to Heaven and Puqi Shrine respectively.
That night, as they were about to turn in, Xie Lian said, “Would you still prefer me to call you San Lang? Or must I call you Hua Cheng now?”
Hua Cheng, in the form of a teenager, slowly turned around before grinning. “This lowly one hopes that Dianxia would keep calling him San Lang,”
“Alright then,” Xie Lian replied with an easy and kind air. “Will you ever show me your true form?”
“Some day,”
When they both finally fell asleep—or more accurately when Xie Lian fell asleep—Hua Cheng suddenly got up.
“What’s he doing?” Pei Ming asked and then quieted when Hua Cheng pulled paint supplies from nowhere and set to work.
In the quiet hours of the night, Hua Cheng’s painting came to life, depicting the God-Pleasing Prince wielding a sword and holding a flower in his free hand.
When he finished pinning it to the wall, Hua Cheng cast his gaze over to the sleeping god nearby and placed a ring on the table.
Without a word, Hua Cheng rolled his iconic dice. Without looking back he said, “Until we meet again, Taizi Dianxia,”
Then as the curtain came to a close, “I am forever your most devoted believer,”
For a long moment, Xie Lian felt frozen in his seat. The curtains had finally fallen, but Xie Lian kept staring with his mouth agape.
Just then a lower court Heavenly Official exclaimed, “3,000 lanterns from Qiandeng Temple for His Highness Xie Lian!”
Two pairs of arms pulled him to his feet and he blinked harshly. Pei Ming and Shi Qingxuan both stared at him.
“You must go to him!” Shi Qingxuan exclaimed.
“You love him, don’t you? Don’t leave Hua Cheng waiting!” Pei Ming blurted. “We can take you! Let’s go already!”
The pair of them pulled Xie Lian along and Jun Wu smiled into his drink with a warm expression. “I’m happy for you Xianle,”
It was a blur after that. He didn’t exactly know when they had arrived at Ghost City, but he was startled out of his thoughts when Pei Ming yelled, “Has anyone seen Hua-chengzhu?!”
Complete silence followed his question, and Xie Lian realized they were standing in the Gambler’s Den. Pei Ming wouldn’t have known to look toward the curtains on the higher level of the building seeing as he wasn’t present during their previous excursion here.
Xie Lian’s gaze immediately cut to the dark figure behind said curtain. Hua Cheng hummed but didn’t move.
“To what do I owe the… pleasure of a Heavenly Official visiting my city?” Hua Cheng asked, but he didn’t sound pleased at all.
Pei Ming grinned in anticipation. “During our Mid-Autumn Festival, we pass around a glass of wine. Whoever gets passed the glass of wine at the end of a round must drink it and all the Heavenly Officials get to watch a play about that person,”
“And?” Came Hua Cheng’s lazy drawl. “What does this have to do with me?”
“It has everything to do with you!” Shi Qingxuan exclaimed in delight. “Because tonight his Highness Xie Lian drank the wine and the Mortal Realm showed us a play about his most devoted believer. That person is you,”
They were met with complete silence. Xie Lian licked his dry lips and started up the stairs. His footsteps were heavy and loud in the silence. His heart fluttered nervously in his chest, but not from doubt or worry. It was hope, so warm that his hands and cheeks felt hot.
Hua Cheng, his San Lang, his Wu Ming, had his prayers put on full display in front of the Heavenly Court. His love was forcibly shown to Mortals and Gods alike, and it was only fair that Xie Lian blurted his feelings out loud in the Gambler’s Den for everyone to hear.
And oh god, did he have a lot of feelings. Overwhelming relief, was one. It left him shaky and fragile to know that Wu Ming, his last believer, sat right behind the curtain he stood in front of. Then it was love as bright as the sun and just as endless as its warmth.
There was no one else in this world that Xie Lian loved as fiercely. He itched to feel Hua Cheng’s cold palm held in his own. His heart begged to be closer, to tell him everything.
“San Lang,” he said into the stretching silence. His voice was brittle and unsteady but he pushed on. He had to say this before he lost his courage. “San Lang, for 800 years I thought I had killed my only believer. I thought I killed you . You were there the entire time and I—”
He gathered himself and ignored the burning of his eyes. “I treated you so horribly and yet you saved me. You keep saving me, San Lang. Every time I’m in trouble, you’re just one step behind, waiting to catch me…”
He squeezed his eyes shut and ignored Pei Ming’s call of “ho ho,”
“I don’t know what I could’ve possibly done to earn your love, but I love you too,” he clenched his fists to hide their shaking. “Hong’er, Wu Ming, San Lang, or Hua Cheng… it doesn’t matter what name you have. I love every part of you,”
He didn’t blink his eyes open until cold fingertips caressed his face. Right in front of him, wearing a smile he’s never seen on his face before, was Hua Cheng.
“Gege loves me?” He asked, in a low whisper, almost reverent.
“Yes,” Xie Lian didn’t hesitate to say, swallowing the lump of nerves in his throat. “I’ve loved you longer than I realized,”
Hua Cheng’s playful smile was back as he brushed a cold finger along Xie Lian’s lower lip. His free hand wrapped around his waist and pulled them flush against each other.
“Gege, want to get married?”
“More than anything, San Lang,”
Pei Ming and Shi Qingxuan high-fived each other with grins on their faces.
He Xuan should’ve known Hua Cheng would figure it out sooner rather than later. It had been a month since the Mid-Autumn Festival, and yet it was still the only thing Heavenly Officials could talk about. Especially since Hua Cheng and his Crown Prince got engaged the moment after.
Soon, their wedding was coming up, and most of Heaven had actually been invited. Which… was strange, but He Xuan had a sinking suspicion that was all Xie Lian’s doing. Anyway. He knew he only had so much time before Hua Cheng tracked down whoever commissioned the play “The Crown Prince’s Most Devoted Believer,”
And that person? Yeah. It was him.
In his defense, he was kind of sick of Hua Cheng pining after Xie Lian for 800 years. And to be fair, the Heavenly Emperor seemed pretty on board with it when He Xuan—disguised as the Earth Master Ming Yi—approached him about it.
So it wasn’t just He Xuan who invested time into commissioning the play and making it as accurate and romantic as possible. It wasn’t his fault Hua Cheng was so fucking romantic either.
“He Xuan,” Black Water froze. “You commissioned that play, didn’t you,”
He turned to look at Hua Cheng’s conflicted expression. He looked simultaneously grateful and positively murderous. He Xuan knew he was fucked.