Chapter Text
Hua Cheng would never admit it out loud, but he might have two worthless pieces of trash to thank for the situation in hand.
When hauntings were reported in a small village located right in the middle of Xie Lian’s incompetent ex-retainers’ territories, he had kindly offered his assistance in dealing with the disturbance, saying it would be a great opportunity for the three of them to relive their good old days of hunting together.
Hua Cheng didn’t want his husband to go of course—it was a complete waste of time in his opinion, not to mention how preposterous it was that two martial gods couldn’t handle such a trivial matter themselves and had to pester dianxia—but it was also dianxia’s right to do as he wished and Hua Cheng would never disagree with any decisions he made. So with great reluctance, he kissed Xie Lian goodbye and promised to be good while his beloved was away.
“I promise I’ll be back as soon as possible, San Lang,” Xie Lian had said after their affectionate kiss the morning he headed off, his hands gently cradling Hua Cheng’s face with such warmth and fondness that the latter sometimes still had trouble believing were directed at him.
“En. Be safe, gege. This San Lang will be waiting here for your return.”
That had been two days before…thirty-six hours twenty minutes to be precise (yes, Hua Cheng was definitely counting), and the ghost king was already missing his beloved like missing a limb. Just when he was considering contacting Xie Lian through their communication array to make sure everything was well, he sensed his husband’s presence (along with two useless idiots’) by the entrance of Ghost City. Thrilled and relieved Xie Lian had finally arrived home safe, he put everything aside and hurried to welcome his beloved. A distance shortening array was all it took to appear right in front of the city entrance. Immediately he was rewarded with the lovely sight of dianxia’s back, ever beautiful and urbane in his unadorned white robes.
“Gege, welcome back,” he called out, expecting a tired, nevertheless warm smile reserved only for him as he turned around. But what greeted him was a bright grin that was far too vibrant and adorable for Hua Cheng’s ghostly heart to handle.
“Ah, San Laaaang!” An overly excited dianxia all but dived into Hua Cheng’s arms, wrapping his own tightly around his husband’s back. “San Lang, I’ve missed you so much!”
“Gege…?”
“San Lang, San Lang, San Lang San Lang San Lang!”
Hua Cheng laughed, returning the embrace just as tightly. Adoration bubbled up in his chest at seeing how joyful dianxia was to return to him. “This one too missed you dearly, and is glad Gege seems to be in a good mood. I take it the trip went smoothly?”
“It did, and it was a lot of fun too!”
“Hm, this San Lang is glad to hear that.” He bent down a little to nuzzle his nose into the nape of Xie Lian’s neck, taking a big whiff to take in his husband’s nice scent and letting it envelop his whole body. There, Hua Cheng was whole again. He buried his nose deeper and breathed in again.
“Hah, it--it tickles--Sang Lang!” Xie Lian squirmed and giggled to the touch. The lovely sound was like music to Hua Cheng’s ears, almost enough to drown the low grunts and groans coming from behind his husband. Truthfully, he’d completely forgotten about the existence of those morons, but that was then he noticed something off. Namely, how unusually clingy, giddy and overly adorable dianxia was being today. Hua Cheng wasn’t complaining at all—never to physical touch with his beloved—but he knew how flustered dianxia would get at an open display of affection, rarely initiating such thing in the presence of others.
(Hua Cheng, on the other hand, had no issue professing his love and devotion for Xie Lian to the whole world on a daily basis. He could go on and on about them if dianxia would allow him to.)
Before Hua Cheng could voice his thoughts at dianxia’s novel behaviors, Grumpy, the lesser annoying of the two minions spoke up, “So uh, since we’ve returned your highness safe and sound as promised, we should get going--”
“Safe and sound my ass. What have you two done to gege?”
“Eh…I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Crimson Rain.”
Hua Cheng glared daggers at him. “You assumed I wouldn’t noticed something different with my husband?”
“It wasn’t anything serious,” Petty spoke up beside Grumpy, sounding as condescending as ever. “The demon we dealt with fed on spiritual energy and cast a spell on Xie Lian before we killed it. He managed to shield his body in time but not his mind, hence his mental state has temporarily reversed to a child.”
“Yeah, the effect will probably wear off in a couple of days,” Grumpy added.
“Probably?” Hua Cheng scowled. He couldn’t accept this type of half-ass answer when it came to dianxia’s wellbeing. “How useless could you be?”
“What’d you just say!?” Grumpy and Petty shouted in unison. Hua Cheng ignored the noise and directed his attention back to the man still latching onto his chest. Now that Hua Cheng was aware of the cause, he could tell the nuance in Xie Lian’s poise. While the physical appearance was the same—as godly and gorgeous as ever—there were youthful and innocents sparks in place of the usual wisdom and serenity in his expression.
“Gege, do you remember who I am…?”
“Of course, San Lang! How can I forget my beloved husband?”
Hua Cheng let out a sigh of belief. So Xie Lian’s memory was intact. The mentality was the only problem then. He relaxed further after checking and confirming the residual malignant aura surrounding his husband was minimal, the flow of spiritual energy in his core and running through his veins were stable and bountiful. It seemed the mental reverse effect would indeed wear off in a couple of days, at most.
Still, Hua Cheng couldn’t help but glowered at the others again. Even now, only one of the them had the decency look guilty, even if only slightly.
“Sang Lang, please don’t be mad at Feng Xin and Mu Qing.”
“They were supposed to keep you safe from harm while I wasn’t by your side, gege.”
“It’s not their fault, really. And if you scold them too harshly you’ll hurt their feelings, and then they may not want to be friends with me anymore…”
“It would be their loss then. They aren’t worthy of your friendship anyway.”
“HEY!!” They protested.
“But I really, really like being friends with them,” Xie Lian said in a quiet voice, looking like he was about to tear up. Hua Cheng’s heart panged and chided himself inwardly for causing his beloved distress.
“Dianxia…” Grumpy said, all anger gone. Even Petty seemed to softened a bit at his words.
“This San Lang apologizes, dianxia. He shouldn’t have tried to meddle with dianxia’s relationship, and won’t berate his friends anymore…at least not today.” Then he turned to address the duo, muttering up as much amiability as he could for the sake of Xie Lian. “I will take care of dianxia. You may take your leave now.”
Grumpy nodded. “Don’t worry, dianxia. We’ll never stop being friends with you no matter what.”
“Really?” Xie Lian brightened up instantly. Grumpy gave another reassuring nod while elbowing the idiot standing next to him.
“Yes, we’ll always be f-f-friends,” Petty muttered, ears red and eyes darting back and forth. Hua Cheng smirked. So he was capable of getting embarrassed.
Xie Lian’s smile widened at the proclamation, sprinting forward to throw his body onto both of them. “Friends forever!” Grumpy chuckled and returned the hug, while Petty struggled with every fiber of his body to not pull away, at last tentatively placing a hand on Xie Lian’s arm.
“Dianxia, we’ll come back tomorrow to check up on you, okay?” Grumpy said with a pat on his back before pulling back.
“Alright then. Bye bye, Feng Xin, Mu Qing. See you!” Hua Cheng watched with amusement as Xie Lian waved them off with fervour, much like a kid saying goodbye to his friends after a fun day spent playing together. He came behind his husband and looped an arm around his waist, to which Xie Lian turned around immediately to latch onto Hua Cheng again.
“Ahh San Lang…”
“Yes, gege. What can this one do for you?”
At that, Xie Lian tilted up his chin and closed his eyes, blatantly asking for a kiss on the lips. Hua Cheng couldn’t help but be hopelessly endeared with how adorable this version of dianxia was. And under normal circumstances Hua Cheng would’ve answered his husband’s request with much eagerness and passion, but right now it somehow felt indecorous to do so when Xie Lian’s mind was equivalent to a five-years-old. He debated for a moment, at last settled for a chaste peck on his nose bridge.
Xie Lian pouted. “On my lips! Isn’t San Lang my husband? Husbands should kiss on lips.” Feeling heat rushed up to his face, Hua Cheung cleared his throat.
“Y-Yes, gege. Lips it is, then.” He stammered, before leaning in to press his lips against Xie Lian’s. The warmth and softness were as addicting as ever, and soon he found himself relaxing and asking for more, burying his hands into his beloved’s hair and deepening the kiss. They only broke off when Xie Lian started giggling into his mouth.
“Ahh San Lang is the best. I love him so very much!” He tiptoed so as to press his cheek against Hua Cheng’s, nuzzling like a cat. Heavens, was it his birthday today? What goods did he ever do to deserve such adoration from his god?