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Within the Xianzhou Alliance, the Lantern Festival is a widely celebrated week-long event that culminates with celebrations between family, friends and loved ones. Handmade lanterns are set free into the vacuum of space every day, illuminating the sea of darkness in the name of the Reignbow Arbiter.
It’s quite a touching sight, the beauty of the lanterns as they ascend, and the sentiment that comes with it. Luocha considers himself lucky to be assigned to the Luofu whenever this season rolls around. Despite the numerous landscapes he’s seen, the sea of floating lights that illuminate the ship remains to be a sight unmatched.
He leans against the balustrade of the Exalting Sanctum, the breeze of the induced night blowing cool against his face. Fireworks paint the sky in a flurry of colours as the first of the lanterns make their ascent, the floating lights cast a warm, yellow-orange glow upon whatever they touch. He takes a deep breath, taking in the sight and sounds.
“Fancy seeing you around this part of the galaxy,” says a familiar voice, a deep rumble like thunder that shakes the heavens. The merchant smiles.
Luocha inclines his head, peeling his eyes from the sky to greet the newcomer. “General Jing Yuan, it’s been a while.”
“You’re here on business again, I presume?” the general moves closer, leaning on the railing beside the blonde. With his cheek resting on a fist, he gazes at the merchant, his golden eyes lighting up at the sight.
“The Guild is relentless these days,” the merchant huffs, rolling his eyes. “I barely have time for myself. At least the Luofu is beautiful this time of year. It provides a… temporary reprieve.”
“I agree,” Jing Yuan looks up at the sky. “The celebration has only begun — the sky will light up like this for the next six days. Will you be staying until the end of the festival?”
Luocha shakes his head. “No, I’m afraid I must take my leave tomorrow. I just received word from the Guild that there is an auction in another one of the Xianzhou ships, and I have to be there.”
“That’s a shame. You will miss a lot of the merriments. Every Alliance ship celebrates the Lantern Festival, but I daresay the Luofu throws the best parties.”
“It’s a sacrifice that a trader must make, I suppose,” the merchant sighs, emerald eyes sparkling as they find their way back to the heavens and the lanterns that adorn it. “I truly wish I could stay longer, but I’m planning on taking a walk around the ship tonight before I go, perhaps grab a bite too. It would be nice to soak everything up before my transport arrives in the morning.”
“Is that so?” the general turns to the merchant, so quickly that the latter worries he might suffer from whiplash. “The night is young, might as well enjoy it.”
“In that case, I’ll see you around, General.”
Luocha curtly nods and pushes off the railing, turning to leave, but before he can walk away, he feels a warm hand wrap around his wrist.
“Now hold on just a moment,” Jing Yuan’s eyes shine bright with mischief. “Let me walk with you; perhaps I could show you a good time.”
“Heh, has this always been part of the job description, General?” the merchant smirks, teasing the older man. “Showing travelling merchants around your ship?”
“Anything to boost the economy,” the general matches his grin, gesturing for his blonde companion to walk alongside him. “There's not much to see here in the Exalting Sanctum. All the fun is at the Central Starskiff Haven, so that's where we'll be going.”
The two stop at a dock and Jing Yuan hails a starskiff. “We’ll be walking a lot once we get there, so rest your feet a bit.”
“Will you be giving me a massage afterwards?”
The general’s grin only widens. “Anything for the esteemed guest of the Luofu.”
When the skiff arrives after a short while, the general ushers Luocha in, then tells the chauffeur the destination. The ride is silent for the most part — Jing Yuan quietly watches the merchant, gauging his reaction, while Luocha has his eyes fixed on the floating lights, the near-childlike wonder evident in the way he leans his head on the window to watch.
“You seem to like the lanterns,” the general smiles gently, his tone soft, not wanting to break the fragile air within the cabin.
“The lanterns remind me of simpler times,” Luocha pulls away from the window to meet the general’s golden gaze. “They’re… comforting. Traversing the galaxy with only the stars to keep you company can be overwhelming. They are but lonely spheres of energy that reside a million light-years apart. Their warmth is superficial — merely physical. A lantern on the other hand, while it looks like a star from afar, is lit with a human’s intention — a wish — and it illuminates not only the tangible, it brings light to a wandering heart as well.”
“Poetic,” Jing Yuan nods in understanding, impressed by the merchant’s articulate soliloquy. “I see what you mean. Living among the stars can turn out to be… taxing on a person. I should know — I’ve done just that for the past three thousand years.”
“Hah, at least you aren’t alone,” Luocha’s hand sits a little too close to the general’s on the backseat of the starskiff, their pinkies almost touching. He could’ve sworn he felt his companion’s finger edge ever so slightly closer to his. “You command the Luofu — you’re bound to have a couple of people with you at all times.”
“I must admit, that is true. Still,” Jing Yuan smiles, but it never quite reaches his eyes. “A part of me yearns for solitude, to fly my own vessel to the farthest reaches of space. I want to see the galaxy, just as it is. I want to view the universe in its simplest form — no worries or calculations… no thoughts of warfare in my head. It’ll only be myself,” — he slides a hand over Luocha’s fingers, shooting him a meaningful look — “and my travel companion.”
Luocha only stares back, his lips slightly parted, head skewed to the right, trying to decipher what emotions cloud the general’s eyes. Longing? Melancholy?
Is it something more dangerous?
The starskiff stops before he can give the idea any more thought. Jing Yuan pays for the ride, and the two quickly express their thanks to the pilot as they step out into the Starskiff Haven. It’s not as densely packed as Luocha expected, but the spirit of festivity can still be felt in every corner.
Lanterns decorate the area while people of various ages light firecrackers and hang red packets on trees. Stalls that sell goods litter the pace, and there’s even an arcade set up. Lively music fills the air — Luocha picks out the rich, soaring sound of the erhu from the symphony of notes.
“So, general,” the merchant slows down to match his companion’s leisurely pace, his eyes lighting up with a rare instance of unbridled joy. “If we're to explore this entire place in one night, what's our battle plan?”
“Divide and conquer is out of the question; I’ll be glued to your side until daybreak,” Jing Yuan smiles. “Ah, I just thought of something. Come on, let's go before the lines grow longer.” The general takes Luocha by the wrist, and starts walking towards the vendors that surround the central plaza.
While flitting from stall to stall, the merchant would find that having the most powerful man on the Luofu walk around with him during public events such as this festival has its pros and cons.
Pros: he’s regarded very well. Considering his status as a foreigner, he never thought he’d get the VIP treatment, but here he is, getting freebies and discounts in every stall they visit. A merchant like him can never turn down the opportunity for a good deal.
Cons: his hands are full. Way too full. He rarely goes on shopping sprees, but even when he does, he can carry everything he bought with relative ease. Even Jing Yuan is struggling to help Luocha carry everything around, to the point that he calls for the three nearest Cloud Knights to bring most of their loot back to his estate.
(Luocha, however, did not part with a certain cat plush that he stuffed in his coat pocket. With silver-white fur, golden eyes, and a lazy smile, the tiny cat doll is a gift from Jing Yuan after winning it from a claw machine. “So you’ll have a little part of me wherever you may be,” the general explains.)
“Is it just me or did everyone in the Luofu grow more generous all of a sudden?” Luocha slides into a bench just outside the festival's epicentre. Jing Yuan hands him a newly-opened bottle of mung bean soda and takes a sip before continuing. “Or is it just you working your Arbiter General charm for free stuff?”
“Perhaps they're just excited to see someone as gorgeous as you,” Jing Yuan flops down next to him, grinning wide as he shamelessly flirts with the merchant. “You’re excellent eye candy, you know?”
“Lucky for you, you can do more things to me than just stare,” Luocha claps back, smirking proudly when Jing Yuan’s mouth falls open at his response. “What is it, General? Cat got your tongue?”
“You—” the general sighs, running a hand through his silvery, moon-lit hair, and smiling helplessly. “Luo-gege, you’ll be the death of me.”
Luocha only smiles, leaning his head against Jing Yuan’s shoulder while they watch a new wave of lanterns take to the skies. The general wraps a gentle arm around the merchant’s waist as they spend a few quiet moments just like that.
“Hey, Luocha.”
“Hmm?”
“Look up at the sky, pick a lantern, then close your eyes and make a wish,” the general tilts his face upwards with a gentle push of his fingers. Luocha’s face is warm, perhaps it’s the air, or a side-effect of the slight pink flush that colours his face. “The lantern’s light will carry whatever you crave, and lead you to it. Let it share in the burdens of your heart.”
Jing Yuan watches the merchant indulge him, golden eyelashes fluttering shut, forehead slightly scrunching adorably. His lips move slightly in a silent whisper.
Eventually, Luocha opens his eyes. “In a faraway system, there is said to be a star who dances with the moon. Be it gravity, attraction — whatever, they continuously spin together across the fabric of space-time.”
“Is this another anecdote you picked up during your travels?” Jing Yuan turns to the merchant, and he finds himself staring, fixated on the glorious view in front of him — Luocha, who basks in the glow of shimmering starlight. Beautiful, like a meteor streaking through the atmosphere, a radiant comet that plants itself deep within the general's heart.
“No. It is an invitation. Would you care to dance with me, General? There’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”
Their ‘dance’ is not one of spins and turns, neither of sophisticated gestures nor dramatic steps. Rather, it's an intrinsic tangle of words and sentences, claims and rebuttals — a debate, if you will. Two individuals who weave phrases around the other in friendly banter, if not heavy discussions. Jing Yuan is more than happy to accept the invite.
“I know we’ve been fooling around for a while now but… what if I told you that I have been reflecting — that I am open to a relationship with every string attached? A relationship with you, to be exact.” The general’s eyebrows shoot upwards, taken aback by Luocha’s words, but he stays silent. He hadn't been expecting this — whatever this relationship of theirs is — to be the topic of today's ‘dance,’ much less have Luocha straight up confessing that he wants to be more than ‘enemies with benefits.’
The merchant presses on, “I am a tradesman — transactions are all I know, but when I am with you, I yearn to drop all pretences, break down every facade, unveil every mask. I’m expected to hate you for the Path you've chosen, yet every cell in my body calls your name.”
What is so special about you that makes me turn away from everything I hold dear, from everything I believe to be gospel? Why do I feel safe around you, when you’re supposed to be my mortal enemy? Why do I feel like I can rely on you — like I can trust you to hold my fragile heart and you wouldn’t dare raise a finger against it? Jing Yuan… what spell did you use to make me fall so madly in love with you?
In the merchant’s dreams he sees it, he yearns for it. The thin red string tied around their ankles, shackling them together with no regard for Paths nor circumstance. It merely connects Jing Yuan to Luocha, Luocha to Jing Yuan. A link — that is all it ever is, yet there is a constant dull ache in his chest whenever the general isn’t near, a pang that flares even more when Jing Yuan is around with a hand on the small of his back, the whisper of his breath beside his ear.
A slight prick of pain that manifests when he’s confronted with the reality that the general isn't his to keep. He hates it.
Ah, how has it come to this? Pining for his affection? Yearning for his devotion? Attachment, endearment, sentiment, is that what this is?
“You mean to say—” Jing Yuan’s eyes are blown wide in astonishment.
Luocha nods, taking a deep breath. He takes both of the general’s hands in his, eyes locked on those twin pools of gold that he's come to love. “What I’m saying is… I’m ready to give this a chance. To give the possibility of us a chance.”
“I have waited so long to hear you say those words,” the general pulls Luocha closer to him, golden eyes fixed on emerald ones.
“In that case, I must apologise for the delay,” the merchant whispers. “The sun rises slowly, it would seem, and this specific star is rather dense.”
“This moon would have waited even longer if it meant I could make you mine,” the general cups Luocha’s face in his hands, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear. “Does that mean you’ll stay a bit longer?”
The merchant leans into his lover’s touch, smiling. “Perhaps I can afford to miss one auction.”
Then, like a scene straight out of a cheesy romance novel, Jing Yuan presses his lips against Luocha’s soft ones as the lanterns fill the sky. “Let me take care of you, gege.”
It seems that their wishes have come true.
♣️ ♣️ ♣️
On the other side of the Central Starskiff Haven…
“Finally! Hey, Yanqing, look at this!” Sushang exclaims, pulling her friend over, and pointing at a familiar head of blonde being smothered by an equally familiar mane of silver-white.
Yanqing’s jaw drops in astonishment. “Well I’ll be. Never thought those two old geezers would get their act together in this lifetime.”
“Yeah… me neither. Who do you think confessed first?”
“My money’s on your Master Luocha. For someone so brave, the general is too much of a coward to say anything. Like, he spends all day in the Seat of Divine Foresight sighing over his little crush, and we all have to deal with him!”
“Hey, that's exactly what Master Luocha does! Always sulking, and then he hears the general’s name, and I can't even tell if he's blushing or crying.”
“Do you think cowardice like theirs comes with age?”
“Aeons, I really hope it doesn't, or we’d end up like them!”