Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Your Highness! Your Highness, please return to the heavens immediately! It's an emergency!" Xie Lian was on high alert when Ling Wen called out for him. She sounded distressed which was pretty uncommon for her since she was always in such an overworked state in which she probably wasn’t even able to feel any emotion other than the desire to sleep. Xie Lian was currently in Paradise Manor waiting for his Husband who was taking care of some business in Ghost City. "I'm coming this instant." 

-

He had no time to find Hua Cheng so he just told him that he had been summoned due to an emergency through their private communication array. "Alright Gege, I'll be waiting for your return." His whine almost sounded like Xie Lian wasn’t going to return for 800 years. With a light chuckle, he answered. "Love you~" And left the array. 

-

It was rare for Xie Lian to get summoned to the celestial realm. Even tho everyone knows very well that he is technically the emperor (since he’s the strongest martial god but never really showed up in Heaven) and respects him to at least some degree almost none of the new gods that have accended in the past 1000 years have ever seen their emperor up close.

So it wasn’t surprising to assume that there had to be some kind of serious issue.

And what a serious issue it was indeed.

The moment he entered heaven he found hell.

He could hear swords clashing, screams ripping through the air, and buildings crashing. Several martial gods were fighting ghosts, ghouls, demons, and other hideous and dangerous monsters of high class.

He didn't even have the time to understand his surroundings when a horde of demons attacked him. "Ruoye! Slaughter!" 

In the blink of an eye, the white silk band had slashed through all ghosts and demons that stood or floated around Xie Lian. It moved like a snake and with Xia Lian using it like a whip more than a thousand spirits were wiped out of existence in mere seconds. 

"Your Majesty!" Many gods including martial gods called out.

It startled him a little that so many unfamiliar faces recognized him immediately. Still, he tried to focus on the intruders in order to keep his composure in front of his subordinates.

Meanwhile, the other gods felt such relief that some even sat down with heavy sighs.

They struggled just a second ago but the moment the heavenly emperor appeared everyone seemed to be more relaxed. 

"Can anyone-... tell me... what's going on?!" He called out a little distressed. There were so many of them, that he wondered why they would enter heaven when they had a clear disadvantage here. 

He had just whipped out another hundred ghosts with a powerful spiritual blast before turning to Ling Wen who was already standing by his side. She looked so much worse than usual and was covered in dust and dirt. She came straight to the point.

“An army of ghosts just suddenly attacked and we don't know why. General Pei Ming, Prince Lang Qianqiu, and other martial gods were able to hold them back but it seems that the enemy doesn't have a clear target. They just attack everyone in sight no matter if that'll be a person or a building." She exhaled in one breath and retreated from the battlefield immediately turning into her male form afterwards. 

'Heavens what a mess'. Xie Lian thought. Even if Ruoye was proving itself useful, it was still not as good as a sword. "Hey!" He called out to a group of junior officials who tried to defend some important documents. When they heard that the number one martial god calling them they immediately joined his side. „Y-yes, Your Majesty?" Ruoye slashed away some ghosts that were coming too close. "Bring me a sword, a good one!"

They bowed and quickly made their way behind a building to not much later return with a long white porcelain shimmering sword in hand. „Even junior officials recognize me? Do the other gods visit my temples and look at my statues or why does everyone seem to know me?“

"This is the best we could find." One of the officials said pulling his Highness out of his thoughts and handing the weapon to Xie Lian in an overly polite manner. "Ah, thank you very much." He gave them a kind smile but he couldn't spare them much more time. Now that he finally had a weapon he was more familiar with, it was like giving a lizard the ability to breathe fire transforming it into a dragon.

His fingers glided onto the hilt of the longsword and held it with great force. With a deep breath, his racing pulse calmed down and he adjusted his position shortly before attacking the crowd.

Pei Ming who was just slashing away a few monsters felt a strong wind coming from behind. He whipped around ready to encounter a great enemy but to his surprise it wasn't any ghost, it was His Highness the crown prince of Xianle. If he didn't already do an extraordinarily good job with the white silk whip then he was over godly good with an actual weapon. His movements were so swift one could barely follow his figure and the enemy was eliminated in seconds. This was one of a few rare occasions in which Pei Ming got a glimpse of His Highness’ true strength. 

He was dumbstruck. "What a sword technique..." He only muttered under his breath while watching. Xie Lian's strength wasn't the only extraordinary thing. The elegance in his attacks was just too hard to describe in words. It was as if you would watch a performer dance a beautiful lotus dance in the middle of a lake of blood. He saw how the crown prince would stand a specific way every time he finished a specific martial figure as if he was posing mid-fight not caring if the monsters would attack him in that split second of vulnerability because he swiftly swung his sword for the next slash.

Not short after almost all nuisances had been eliminated and only a handful of weak spirits remained that were captured. At the end of his little performance, he found himself sweating a little and adjusted a loose strand that had fallen down his face with a light blow. "General, it's good to see that you're well." The other couldn't hold back a sigh and smirked at him. "Your Highness should know that I'm the second strongest martial god after all, even if I can't hope to surprise you as much as you surprise me every time you show off these martial skills of yours.“ Pei Ming complimented with that unmatching charm of his that could only be overshadowed by Xie Lian’s one and only beloved.

The prince chuckled at that. It has been a while since he last saw that womanizer of a man. He spends most of his time with Hua Cheng and his prayers after all. 

"Your Highness?" Xie Lian turned around and was filled with glee to see the two handsome faces of his old friends. "Feng Xin, Mu Qing, are you alright? I came as soon as possible after Ling Wen informed me about the situation." He tried to keep his voice steady since a bunch of gods had gathered around them. Holding his shaky fist underneath his white sleeves he tried to get a better view of everyone and everything around him.

"We are fine don't worry about it." Mu Qing snarled a little while pinching Feng Xin's cheek who gave him a light kick in return. Then he continued. "I tried to find out how all those beasts got here and why they would abandon the old agreement we made not to attack each other's territory.“

"And?" Xie Lian was eager to find out more. The last time somebody seriously messed with the heavens except for Jun Wu was San Lang while eliminating those 33 gods which humiliated him and even he didn't make such a messy and unthoughtful move.

Feng Xin continued with furrowed brows. "Nothing. Neither how they got in nor why they would. It's frustrating and probably only a distraction for something bigger." The other two nodded. What was to be expected was an even stronger force to attack.

'What is this? Who would have the power to control so many ghosts and get them up to heaven? Has Jun Wu escaped? No, his spirit is broken he has no reason to do such a thing. A new calamity? No, San Lang would have informed me of that.’

He drew a heavy breath and looked through the crowd of heavenly officials. "Is anyone injured? If yes then please retreat immediately and seek medical help! All martial gods on guard we don't know what awaits us we need to find out what-" He was just about to give more instructions when a strong force pulled him backward and with a loud THOUGH his back slammed against something hard and solit.

_ _ _

Apropos San Lang. There was a reason for the younger officials to know Xie Lian's face and the culprit of that was no other but Crimson Rain South Flower himself. After heaven was rebuilt completely and his Highness was finally all his Hua Cheng decided to make some preparations in case his beloved ever had to be summoned up to the heavenly realm again.

"What are you doing here Crimson Rain?“ General Nan Yang had asked when he saw Hua Cheng leisurely walking down the golden glowing streets. "None of your business General Big Dick.“ Was his cheeky answer.

The ghost king was always wearing practical clothing with a high ponytail which made him look almost like the junior officials of a craftsman god during his visits. A disturbing sight in Feng Xin's opinion since it was nothing like the glamourous and ostentatious ghost king he was used to.

Even if he didn’t visit often he always stayed for a few hours before descending and going back to either Ghost City, Puqi shrine, or wherever his husband was at the moment.

While he was in heaven however he wasn’t there to wreak havoc or start a fight, no he was there to make art. He sculpted and drew for hours on end inside the palace of Xianle before he placed the statues in front and around the golden building. Every statue was a depiction of His Highness the flower-crowned prince who pleased the gods in all kinds of poses. The meter-tall statues near the entrance stood passively and kindly holding flowers with a smile while looking down at the viewer. The smaller lifesized statues that were neatly placed inside the main hall and on the sides of the corridors all held a sword in hand and were either posing or attacking with their weapon. Every single statue depicted his highness from another angle, from another perspective of context but these only showed the divine beauty of him, not his story.

Hua Cheng used the walls for that. Large beautiful murals were painted on every blank space he could get displaying the story of the fallen god who ascended three times. Of course, he completely left out himself, his only mention was as the small child that fell from the wall to represent Dianxia’s will to save the common people.

But the probably biggest and most emphasized moral which was drawn in the main hall depicted His Highness’ glorious victory over Bai Wuxian. Standing on top of a large statue resembling himself and a sword with which he defeated the fake emperor and freed the heavens.

This feat would have taken anyone else at least a decade or two but Hua Cheng was a skilled and very efficient artist so it only took him three years.

It was a present for his Gege but to his dismay, the heavenly officials started treating his gift like a museum and intruded into the palace of Xianle to watch and learn about the fall of the former kingdom. Many younger female officials also came for… other reasons.

His Highness who pleased the gods was one of the most beautiful people born after all and Crimson Rain was an artist who wouldn't dare to miss a detail of his prince’s features. In the end, the statues looked like the real thing just without color and it unnerved Feng Xin and Mu Qing. They occasionally visited the palace too, since it was never used by its rightful owner and became a public building but they never got to dwell in memories since there was too much talk about "Who made this?“, "His Highness is so handsome“ and "Isn’t that the scrap immortal?“. So in the end they rarely came by.

What was just sad is that Hua Cheng never told Xie Lian about this

Because he wanted his present to be a surprise and just wanted to see the sheer surprise and that cute faint blush on his Gege’s face again. He couldn’t get enough of it. His devotion was absolute and the smallest reaction of his god made his dead heart jump back to life making him feel like he could die any moment again.

Xie Lian this oblivious idiot never visited his palace tho. The only times he went to heaven were many years after the 'museum‘ was built and by then everyone had just expected him to know. That was precisely why General Nan Yang and Xuan Zhen never talked about the matter just like they never openly talked about the cave of 10.000 statues at least not when His Highness was in earshot.

So when he came, he just walked straight to the martial hall never even looking and completely overlooking his palace.

His husband who was just a little about the lack of response of His Highness quickly forgot about his present and only threatened a few civil gods to always make sure that the statues were clean and dainty to look at.

As a result of all this Xie Lian never got to look at his grand surprise in over 900 years.

_ _ _

Fast forward 900 years later:

_ _ _

"Your Highness!!!"

This time when everyone called out it wasn't because of joy. They sounded terrified and shocked and with good reasoning.

Xie Lian had been pulled into a big transparent box that slightly shimmered in a golden mat tone. It looked like he was trapped in a small room that was just big enough to comfortably walk in. But he couldn't care less about such unnecessary detail at that moment.

His instinctive reaction was to change to a fighting stance not leaving any room to attack. But after waiting a moment for something to happen he slightly let loose. Why wasn’t anything happening?

Everyone was confused and started approaching much like Xie Lian himself who held a hand against the thin but solid wall that separated him from the other officials. "Such strong demonic spiritual energy..." he muttered in a low voice yet it vibrated through the air for even the farthest god away to hear.

Startled he took a step back. 

Mu Qing and Feng Xin were the ones who stepped closest and seemed to be saying something but Xie Lian could only see their mouths move. "Mu Qing, Feng Xin, can you hear me? It feels like you can but I can't hear you." His voice once again felt so grand as if all three realms would be able to understand his every word even when he tried to keep it low. When he saw his friends panicking he assured them that he'll try to break free. He hesitantly poked the barrier with the tip of his sword before slashing it across the wall.

Nothing.

He tried again and again but the wall didn't seem to take any damage at all.  At the same time, it didn't seem to reflect his attacks it solemnly existed to keep him inside.

With a frown, he tried entering the communication array. "Can anyone reach me through the array?"

When he saw the relief wash over Mu Qing's and Feng Xin's faces he had hope, but when they brought two fingers to their temples and started to open their mouths it faded again, he couldn’t hear them. Giving up he sat down and tried to think, but again he just had to be interrupted by another crowd of wild ghosts that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and lounged at the gods in their reach. 

He desperately wanted to help but he was bound to this strange room. They would be fine right? There was Pei Ming, Mu Qing, Feng Xin, and plenty of other martial gods. It would surely all be fine.

Wrong.

Even after being freed from his coursed shackles Xie Lian still sometimes felt like his bad luck never really washed off because the moment he prayed everything would be fine it took a 180° turn.

Mu Qing, Feng Xin, Pei Ming, Lang Qianqiu, Yushi Huang as well as Quan Yizhen, and other heavenly officials found themselves in the same situation as Xie Lian.

That wasn't good at all, most of the gods that were trapped were martial gods, and with the majority of the upper court being unable to fight the other less powerful officials were practically dead meat to the enemy.

Xie Lian started panicking and furiously tried to escape his prison again. 'Feng Xin and Mu Qing could hear me through the array just fine even if I couldn't hear them...' He took a deep breath and spoke the embarrassing password to his husband's private communication array. "San lang! San Lang, if you can hear me then please come up to heaven. I can't hear you right now but-“

He didn’t have to wait another second.

———

The moment his husband called him through the communication array Hua Cheng did. not. waste a second storming the gates of the celestial realm. With E-Ming in one hand and his dice in the other, he teleported himself in front of the palace of Xianle immediately joining the battlefield.

He didn’t even need to know if he was killing mediocre gods or ghosts, all he was looking for was Xie Lian.

On the other hand, everything the heavenly officials could see was a swarm of silver butterflies roaming over the field and practically eating all evil spirits ‘alive' and only leaving trembling officials on the ground. The next second red blood was raining down covering the white heavenly curt, like red autumn leaves paving the streets.

That is what one would say from Xie Lian's perspective.

In reality, the bloody rain just looked brutal and was melting everything that was powered by demonic spiritual energy or used to be. That means that all ghosts and their somewhat dispersed corpses were dissolving. One could still see a few smart spirits flee before they could end like their peers but two spirits were neither dissolved nor did they manage to flee.

Hua Cheng caught them and held them in the form of Daruma dolls in his left hand

While nealing in front of the golden transparent cage of his god.

He slapped himself internally. How dare him act out on his emotions just like that!? Has he gone crazy?!?! His Highness must have spoiled him too much because how could he just ignore whatever he had to say next and storm into heaven. he didn't regret his actions but he was once again dangerously close to failing his husband. He almost visibly shook in fear of having done the wrong thing.

"Dianxia, I made all disobedient ghosts flee or disappear forever without asking for your consent.“

He lowered his face making his long slick hair fall over his shoulders hiding his facial features.

"This one is terribly guilty for acting so reckless but-"

He was interrupted by Xie Lian, who had kneeled as well and held a hand against the wall separating them.

"San Lang, why are you on your knees?“

_ _ _

The younger officials watching would like to know that too. First, who is that mysterious man who just so casually saved those gods and was now kneeling in front of the emperor or at least the closest thing to one? Second, why was the strongest martial god asking why one would lower themselves in his presence? Showing the most powerful and one of the oldest individuals of all three realms respect should go without saying.

The older ones including Xie Lian's closest friends and those who were already active before he accended a third time didn’t need explanations. Even tho Hua Cheng and Xie Lian married in private, General Mu Qing and Feng Xin often openly argued and fought about it publicly but the most likely reason for many gods in the upper curt to know about their relationship and the identity of Xie Lian himself (even tho he barely visits heaven at all) must be the murals and statues that have accumulated themselves in and around the palace of Xianle. (Which is now seen as the palace of the technical emperor).

Hua Cheng could work fast without being noticed but sometimes an official would catch a glimpse of a tall slender figure dressed in crimson red walking in and out of the grand building like it was his own.

The description of the century-old ghost king, ruler of ghost city which was only to be prayed to in addition to the famous scrap god was widely known but no one in heaven (except the older gods) would have expected him to visit regularly just to build majestic statues and leave breathtaking drawings which described the story of the now strongest martial god.

_ _ _

Back to Xie Lian and Hua Cheng:

"I’m sorry San Lang, I can’t hear you through this barrier. I’ve tried to break through with physical and spiritual strength but it seems that it was specifically made to lock me inside. I can’t even hear what anyone is saying in the communication array.“

Hua Cheng's previously lowered head slowly looked up to meet the kind gaze of his husband.

They continued to communicate through sign language.

Hua Cheng- Gege, I was worried you might be hurt.

Xie Lian- No don’t worry, I didn’t even get a scratch.

Hua Cheng- Which is the bare minimum. Gege should never-

They continued to chat like that for a little more before they heard a cough.

"-AHEM-!“

A raspy voice was heard from somewhere above them. When Xie Lian looked up he saw a figure hovering around ten meters above the ground standing on a longsword. Dressed in dark shades of grey and a hood that covered the silhouette of the body the figure looked like a floating piece of cloth radiating a gloomy and threatening aura.

"Now that everyone important is present I would like to proceed with my plan. So could you two stop chatting about irrelevant topics!?“

Whoever this was standing above them, they surely didn’t have a nice speech. Their voice sounded like a young teenage boy who was about to lose his tongue due to swallowing lava. It almost sounded annoying especially since they were screaming as if their life depended on it if they were even alive in the first place.

"Dear acquaintance.“ Xie Lian greeted them in a very polite tone. "Would you mind me asking who you are?“ He has always been very nice when talking to a stranger even when they very obviously were the enemy but this time he was just being cautious. The demonic spiritual energy he had felt from his golden cage matched the one radiating from his opponent. It was as strong as a calamity should be or at least came very close. This, without doubt, had to be a very powerful ghost that had been cultivating for at least a few centuries.

But one thing was strange.

Xie Lian knows almost every mighty ghost and their descriptions thanks to his now over 1800 years of living and his husband but never has he seen or heard of anything like this person before him.

His question seemed to have agitated the ghost.

"-How dare you act like you don’t know me!!! Crown prince of Xianle, defeater of the white-clothed calamity, you’ve been the reason I was locked in the kiln of Mount Tonglu for over 300 years!-“

The figure screamed and jumped down to see Xie Lian eye to eye with a sword in hand.

Hua Cheng who was standing between them raised E-Ming and gave them a challenging glare. As if he would ever let anyone get close to his Gege, the mare thought was ridiculous but the other ghost didn’t seem to care for whatever reason Crimson Rain Sought Flower stood before him. With a simple flick of their finger, the calamity's body flew through the air and crashed into another golden cage next to Xie Lian.

'So they’re the ones behind the cages, as expected.‘ Xie Lian thought. Now that he thought about it and looked around he finally noticed that the other captured officials seemed to be talking. Well, a few of them didn’t but Mu Qing and Feng Xin for example were screaming and furiously hammering against the transparent walls trying to reach and beat each other up but one could neither hear their voices nor the sound of fists hitting a wall.

No one knew if the two could actually hear each other or not but they definitely understood what they were saying each.

The crown prince locked eyes with the person standing in front of him and scanned their face.

Grey muddy skin of a ghost who doesn’t care about a human disguise, hollow black eyes widened in rage, and long silky black hair that looked fine at the roots but got tangled at its ends. Xie Lian tried to recall ever seeing such a figure.

He couldn't think of anything.

"I recommend calming down. I don’t remember your face or voice stranger but what interests me more is what brings you here. What are your intentions with me and the other gods?“

Bony fingers revealed themselves from the long dark sleeves of the strange figure and pulled out a strand of hair. A beautiful dark lock knotted together on both sides to not be untangled, it was a drastic contrast to the ghost itself. The pretty simple strand looked like a treasure in the hands of someone so filthy, many of the heavenly officials from the lower courts who weren’t trapped in one of the muting golden cages were even calling them insults now, but it didn’t seem to bother them at all.

"-So you weren’t lying… how about I simplify it for you then-?“

If Xie Lian had to be honest, that sentence didn’t sound like a suggestion more like a command.

"-Around a millennial ago you defeated White-no-face who has played the role of an emperor for centuries. This battle occurred in Mount Tonglu-.“

„Yes… that is correct.“

"-There were only a few witnesses. General Xuan zhen, nan yang, Ming Guan-…“

_ _ _

While Xie Lian listened to the ugly ghost being on guard, Hua Cheng couldn't get his eyes off that hair strand.

'There’s no way… why should someone like that..!?‘

It was undeniably Xie Lian's hair. Crimson Rain would recognize those silky dark locks anywhere and it sickened him to know that such a shabby ghost was holding this peace of divinity so casually. It made him clench his fists in anger at glare at it. He barely even listened to what it was saying but from the small parts his Highness was commenting on he figured that this ghost was a small ghost fire in Mount Tonglu trapped in the kiln while Bai Wuxiang and Xie Lian fought. It brabbled about something of Xie Lian suppressing its demonic energy and sealing the kiln behind him after escaping making it impossible for the small ghost to leave even after the kiln had formed the ghost king completely.

So basically the ghost fire was too insignificant and weak to be noticed by Bai Wuxiang and Xie Lian in mids their battle but it was indifferently forced to burn and suffer inside of the demonic mountain to be forged into a ghost king for over a century.

'So what?‘

Hua Cheng couldn’t help but ask himself. He knew how painful and agonizing the procedure was of course but he just couldn't tolerate any antagonizing of His Highness.

_ _ _

Xie Lian bit his lower lip in frustration. Even tho he tried to defend himself, tried to soothe his opponent it was no use. His counterpart was fully enveloped in hatred and resentment toward him and Bai Wuxiang. He almost let out a wry laugh. How ironic, he would’ve never expected for him and white-no-face to be on one side of an argument together.

"I think I understand partially now…“ He started again with a kind voice that tried to understand the other. "But if you hate me AND Bai Wuxiang why isn’t he locked inside such a cage too?“

He figured that it was best not to press on the reasoning of that ghost but better to just play along for now. Plus he was curious.

"-It wouldn’t benefit me now that his spirit is already broken by you-.“

Already. Is that what the ghost was after? Or did he plan on doing something else for which one needed to be in a stable peace of mind? Xie Lian couldn’t wrap his head around it.

"So what are you planning with the other officials?“

He pointed around him where many gods were trapped in golden cages just like him. If he wanted revenge why trap all those gods and ghosts (Hua Cheng) in heaven in which he doesn’t even have an advantage?

The smile creeping onto the ghost's face was unnerving and the prince was reconsidering if it was such a good idea to play along after all.

"-A good question your highness, truly-.“ The ghost lowered a veil that was hiding a large screen with an invisibility spell and positioned himself on top of it in a seemingly floating seat.

Then its voice rang through the air again.

"-I could have simply trapped you inside one of my cages and tortured you-.“

Hua Cheng's body trembled with rage at that.

"-But I already guessed that the strongest martial god would easily endure some physical pain before eventually escaping and hunting me down. So this wasn’t exactly my best option-.“ The ghost snickered and reached his hand out toward Xie Lian. At first, he was confused but then he saw a white silky strand of light emerge from his cage slowly floating upward into the palm of the ghost. Then he took the hair strand from before and bound it together with the white glowing in squeezed the connection in his hand.

Xie Lian felt as if his chest was clutching together so he reached to hold his hand to it. Then he noticed something amiss. The necklace around his neck, the cold ring that was usually pressed against his skin wasn’t to be found. The moment he noticed his sword was pierced into the closest point of the wall that was separating him and the target of the hit.

"YOU!“

Chapter Text

Xie Lian was putting so much pressure and spiritual energy into the sword in his hand that it shattered only leaving the somewhat intact hilt in his grip.

"-Hahahaha… is His Highness angry?-“ Xie Lian gritted his teeth as his face scrunched together in rage and fear. These were San Lang's ashes. How did they suddenly end up in the other calamity's hands? How could this happen?

The one that hadn’t revealed his name yet held the silver ring between two fingers and eyed it fondly, interest sparking into the hollow eyes. "-I have to say I’ve never held the ashes of another calamity. What an overwhelming feeling-.“

'Fuck!‘

Xie Lian's eyes immediately darted through the crowd of officials. This was bad, no this was a dilemma. How dare this ghost expose his husband's secret like that.

Pei Ming’s brows furrowed as well. The look of sheer shock on the faces of his fellow martial gods and junior officials as all their gazes were fixed on the small silver shimmering object, gave him an uncomfortable knot in the stomach. The ashes are a ghost’s main source of existence and resentful energy, even tho General Ming Guang has long since figured out why the ring was so important to His Highness it never came to mind harming Hua Cheng but having hundreds of gods know about its location and appearance was detrimental.

Hushed whispers could be heard. "A calamities… ashes?“ "Hua Chengzu’s!?“ "No, this can’t be. A ghost king would never be so careless with something like that.“ "Yeah but haven’t you seen that red-clad men kneel in front of His Highness? This must be him.“ "Don’t be ridiculous, it could’ve also been Black Water Sinking Ships.“ "Are you stupid!?“ "Of course, His Highness has the ashes of his husband.“

One good (or bad) thing was that Hua Cheng wasn’t nearly as feared as he used to be by now. Time had passed and since he found the deity he wanted to worship there was barely any reason for him to threaten the heavens or any mortal at that. It wasn’t intentional but there was just no reason or opportunity for him to maintain the fear of his worshippers.

Most people didn’t even remember his silver butterflies since they weren’t roaming the mortal and ghostly realm in constant search of His Highness the Crown Prince anymore. In the end, Hua Cheng decided that they were only for Xie Lian’s eyes alone since he commented on how cute they were. The ghost king was only known as the husband (or wife in some cases later on) of the scrap immortal who’ll grant you your wishes as long as you prey to both of them to Hua Cheng's great delight. Being only known through Xie Lian made the back of his head tickle in a way he couldn't describe and so he sometimes even intentionally acted softer around the people of Ghost City.

The situation at hand wasn’t very good for him and he knew that.

The black-clad ghost now reached his hand toward Hua Cheng’s cage from which another silky glowing string emerged this time in red. Xie Lian's pupils shrank when the red string was knotted together with the ring and clenched together in the fists of that man.

"How dare you hold it like that!“ He spat not caring how loud his voice rang through the air. Some officials held their ears.

It amused the calamity of how enraged his target was. Weak and powerless inside the small domain he had built just for the prince. Chu Hun hit the jackpot with Crimson rain so he squeezed his ashes hard enough to draw a gasp out of his dead lungs.

The sound was sudden and rang through the air just like Xie Lian's voice had seconds ago so most officials looked over to the crown prince who had now turned in another direction.

"Ugh!“ His eyes were glued to his husband who was barely holding himself up with one hand on the wall of his cage and the other clutching his red robes at his chest. One could hear his heavy panting and the pained wail he let out when Chu Hun almost crushed the ring.

"SAN LANG!“ Xie Lian cried out before turning to the other. "STOP, STOP PLEASE HE DIDN’T-!“ His cries were cut off by a swift hand movement of the ugly calamity. Now the only thing that could be heard were the agonizing groans from Hua Cheng as Chu Hun started chewing on his ashes.

Hua Cheng's knees grew weak, it felt like burning needles were piercing through him as if his organs were twisted by two invisible hands, and as if another two were choking him mercilessly. He was well aware that he didn’t need to breathe but in that moment his body would collapse if he didn’t get to take one.

'No, I can’t.‘

He scolded himself. The heavenly scum was watching him, he couldn’t let them see him quiver in fear even if he was on the verge of dispersing (literally) so he gritted his teeth and pulled himself together. Cold sweat had drenched him in mere minutes of torture and he was balancing his stance in a corner of his cage. Eventually, he managed to look up and meet the eyes of the other ghost king. Chu Hun’s eyelid twitched as he saw the savage glint of that single obsidian eye but still grinned down at him with a nail ready to scratch his ashes again.

"-Do you have something to say Crimson Rain?“

"Hah. Except for calling you a little bitch I do-" His voice broke as his sentence was cut off by his own scream.

Delight began to prickle through Chu Hun’s veins filling him with energy he didn’t know he still had after all these centuries of suffering. "What pleasant sounds you can make.“ He chimed with his raspy voice that sounded as if he was in pain himself.

Xie Lian on the other hand felt like losing his mind. It had been a long time since Hua Cheng was in serious danger but back then he had the chance to return. Back then his ashes were safe. Now? Now his husband's whole existence was standing on the edge of a cliff threateningly close to falling into the abyss of nothingness. "PLEASE STOP THIS MADNESS, IF YOU’RE ANGRY AT ME THEN TORTURE ME I’M BEGGING YOU!“ He was calling out to deaf ears and a ghost who was smiling with genuine delight at someone else’ mourning.

_ _ _

Mu Qing was frozen on the spot and instinctively looked over to Feng Xin who met his glance. Over the years the two didn’t even need to talk to understand each other so the archer didn’t have a problem reading the Are you seeing what I’m seeing? In Mu Qing’s eyes. Yeah, but I don’t want to believe it. Then he pointed at Xie Lian. Do you think he’s begging? The other looked over as well and only faced Feng Xin after a moment of thinking. Yes, I think so and I can’t fucking bear it. We need to do something ANYTHING.

_ _ _

A few heavenly officials tried to flee scared of the calamity holding the no.1 martial god hostage but found themselves trapped inside a barrier of sorts. Ling Wen silently kept giving her assistants instructions through private communication arrays while the junior officials held up small notes to report back. She figured that they wouldn't be able to free His Highness through violence but other means. It was just hard to think of anything at all in this situation.

Everyone else seemed to hope that this was just some sick nightmare as she observed how many younger gods shook in fear, some even started crying fearing that if the dark-dressed ghost saw fit he would just start killing and or torturing them.

Ling Wen knew otherwise. There was a reason why the calamity chose to attack His Highness in the heavens even tho he would’ve had easier play in the mortal realm and with this reason, there were also additional restrictions. She took note that there was always only one person trapped in one cage whether that was because a single cage could only hold one person or if it was due to something else. She couldn't tell but she desperately tried to find a way to get them out of this awkward position.

_ _ _

Xie Lian continued to scream not knowing who his eyes should stay on. On the devil who was inflicting severe pain on his beloved or on his beloved who was in so much pain?

"I’M BEGGING YOU, I’M BEGGING YOU I’LL DO ANYTHING JUST LET HIM GO!!!“

Finally, Chu Hun let go of Crimson Rain’s ashes. "-Anything-?“

Xie Lian let out a shaky breath and confirmed with a hoarse voice. "Yes, anything just stop.“ Now the prince started to understand why the cages could suppress or emphasize one’s voice. This was all for show, to humiliate him in front of the rest of the gods. He would’ve laughed at that. As if this would do anything to him, he had long since lost his pride and shame from the heavens. Having himself displayed before the eyes of the three realms wouldn’t have been a problem but having San Lang do this? Having his love humiliated like this making his every wince and every groan as clear as day for even small junior officials to hear? The thought made him sick.

"-Then I’ll give you the opportunity to save him and retrieve what’s dearest to you-.“ He tugged away the ring and pulled out a scroll. It was radiating strong demonic energy but it didn’t quite match the one from the calamity. Noticing Xie Lian's confused looks he explained. "-This is a contract, I need you to sign with your name and your blood-.“

He threw the paper down and to everyone’s shock, it fell right through the barrier to the prince’s feet. Without further comment, Xie Lian kneeled and picked it up to read the conditions of the contract.

Game of no regrets

This written agreement is hereby entered into on the 20th day of February 289 between His Highness the Crown Prince of Xianle Xie Lian and Chu Hun.

This agreement serves the purpose of setting the rules for ‚the game of no regrets.

The acting host will be Chu Hun.

Further participants will be Xie Lian.

The said parties, for the consideration hereinafter mentioned, hereby agree to the following:

1. The host is furthermore permitted to chain and trap participants in a memory realm.
2. If the participant is to try to escape the memory realm, the host will have immediate access to their soul.
3. As long as the participants are trapped inside the memory realm the game has officially started.
4. The mentioned participant has to be bound to a second player.
5. When the game starts, the participant's soul will be bound to an object that is directly connected to the soul of the second participant and will be dispersed after the loss of one round.
6. The host is in charge of deciding when a round counts as lost. These rules need to be set before the game begins.
7. The host is in charge of the game’s content and restriction rules.
8. If the participant is to break any restriction rules the object to their soul will be released and dispersed separately.
9. The object bound to the participant’s soul can only be changed after breaking the restriction rules.
10. The host is in charge of the number of rounds played.
11. One round has a maximum time limit of 24 hours and no minimal limit.
12. While the participant is trapped in a memory realm the host has imidate access to their memory, thoughts, and emotions.
13. Participants will have their spiritual energy limited to 0,99%.

The participant agrees to the terms herein and acknowledges the receipt hereof:

______________

Signature

______________

Printed name

The host agrees to the terms herein and acknowledges the receipt hereof:

______________

Signature

______________

Printed name

Next to the 'Signature’ was also a little space for a thumbprint. Suspectingly for the blood sealing. Xie Lian gulped. 'Chu Hun… Suffering Soul. What a unique name.“ But what concerned him more were the terms of the contract. „I’m guessing Chu Hun is your name?“

The ghost leisurely nodded.

"Then let me ask before I sign this contract from where you’ve retrieved it. This is a very powerful spiritual devise forged through a blood sacrifice from a Ghost who must have emerged from Mount Tonglu. It’s very old as well it would’ve had to be forged many centuries before by birth maybe even millennial.“

"-It’s true that this contract is very old and powerful but where I got it from and how is none of your shitty business-.“ Xie Lian almost winced at how pained the voice sounded when raised. Suffering Soul was a rather fitting name for someone so restless.

"I see…“ A pen appeared in his right hand.

Chu Hun was ecstatic seeing His Highness sign the contract so eagerly. He had expected it to be harder but it seems he had underestimated the bond between scrab god and ghost king. He would use that information to the best of his abilities. It was a feat that cost him a whole century of digging through old myths and folklore. If it wasn't for this ancient contract he would've never been able to grasp the former prince like this. 

"The Contract says that there have to be two players, I suspect that San Lang will take that position?"

"-Precisely-." 

Chapter Text

While the weaker heavenly officials that Chu Hun didn’t have to lock away for his own safety were freaking out, the cause of their distress simply knotted the red and white string of Xie Lian and Hua Cheng's souls together binding them thanks to the contract.

‘Binding these two was easy enough but I need a backup in case they manage to free themselves somehow.‘

He had thought this plan through and would not let anything go wrong. If he were to slip up, his fate and revenge would be doomed so he decided to make four other people besides his main target and his companion sign the contract.

With little care, he tossed down more scrolls toward Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Ling Wen, and Pei Ming.

Hua Cheng who was still kneeling in the corner of his cage didn’t fully catch what was happening in his surroundings but he did catch his scroll when it fell toward his feet. ‘Why would I sign those papers again?‘

His brain was still a little fuzzy until Chu Hun spoke to him directly. He held up the hair strand he had of Xie Lian.

“-Just so you know Crimson Rain. This hair strand serves a similar purpose to your ashes, due to the contract rules, this simple piece of His Highness's body has become the key to his life and so his death-.“

If he felt tired he was now awake as one could ever be. What did ‘key to his life and so death’ mean? Death of His Highness? Did he plan on killing His Highness? Killing His Highness? KILLING HIS HIGHNESS!? This had to be a joke because Hua Cheng saw no way this was true. Even the crowd of panicking officials all came to a halt when they heard his shuddered “What?“

Suddenly the big screen, Chu Hun had been sitting on jumped awake and showed Hua Cheng's expression of shock up close. His hair was more ravenous than usual since he had just bawled on the ground, slight tear strands on the corner of his eyes, and a very unfitting expression on his face. He didn’t look angry or gruesome, not even cocky just… scared. His eyes widened and his lips pressed together in a thin line like a young child would do.

Oh, this was gold in Chu Hun’s opinion. Even if the screen wasn’t part of the contract it was still very essential. He wanted to inflict a lot of pain on Xie Lian after all and how if not through the person he loved most. But even if a wave of joy was surging through him when he noticed the murderous aura radiating from the scrap god he wasn’t allowed to celebrate just yet so he schooled his expression to a confident grin.

“-Yes, this means I can simply kill your precious beloved by cutting this strand in two. If you don’t want that to happen then just sign your name and play along-.“

He almost scoffed when he saw his expression change from scared to angry and determined. A much more suited expression for a calamity in his opinion but what could he say? He emerged from the kiln in the probably most unnatural way possible and still gained the title of a ghost king. A very strange event indeed but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Then finally Hua Cheng picked up his pen and bit his thumb to seal the agreement by blood. When he looked over to the other cages but didn’t see the gods follow suit he smacked himself internally. ‘-I almost forgot-‘

Quickly he pulled the soul strings of the three generals and the civil goddess toward him and pulled out the binding objects he had prepared. For General Xuan Zhen and Nan Yang, he pulled out two ripped pieces of cloth which both had blood stains on them.

Chu hun saw Mu Qing gasp and unmuted him. “Where did you get that from!?“ He was very amused. With a slight smile, he answered. “-You generals are known for fighting each other relentlessly even after having ruled the west side by side longer than most gods have even existed. It was way too easy to snatch away just a few ripped clothes from one of your clones-.“ His voice got a sarcastic tone at the second sentence but compared to the ghost the two martial gods didn’t feel like laughing when he bound their strings together.

A few junior officials from both sides sighed in annoyance and distress just like Ling Wen. The only difference was that she already saw the small bottle Chu Hun was pulling out of his sleeve. She gave Pei Ming a look and even tho he couldn’t hear what she had to say he understood. ‘That scum ghost paid one of my maidens a visit.‘

Then another wave of whispers went through the crowd when Chu Hun pulled out a small piece of paper which also had blood stains on it similar to the clothes of Mu Qing and Feng Xin. The civil goddess looked up to the ghost in suspicion.

The other, who noticed the glare just spat back. “-What? Surprised? Ling Wen Zhen Jun is always so dainty it was impossible to find anything from your body like a single hair or a lost eyelash except a little document you threw away after your overworked nosebleed ruined it-.“

Now she understood. It didn’t happen often but she sometimes worked for months on end without sleep. Her ascension granted her the ability to survive this but it was difficult to manage the spiritual flow within the body when the mind can’t keep up. Thus her body reacted and made her taste the iron of fresh blood during work.

“Ah.“ The sound of realization barely left her lips. She should’ve guessed so earlier. Now her and Pei Mings's souls were bound.

“-I would've had a problem deciding who from the three tumors I should bind together since I didn’t want to exclude anyone but thanks to my college Black Water Sinking Ships I won’t have to worry about that-.“ Ling Wen almost dropped her perfectly cool expression. How dare he mention her old friend. Pei Ming just frowned.

Then after they all signed via thumbprint Chu Hun finally explained the rules of this “game of no regrets“.

The rules he set were simple. One was not allowed to utter a word or sound while playing inside the memory realm or the second participant would die (Chu Hun would crush the sealing object).

Hua Cheng tensed and went through a thousand different ways of just shutting himself up. He could and would slash his throat if it meant to guarantee Xie Lian’s safety. He would not take bets.

The large screen was now zooming on to Xie Lian which made him tense up.

“-Let’s start with you, Your Highness-“

Suddenly the room in which Xie Lian stood was embedded in black mist through which one couldn’t see the prince inside. Hua Cheng jumped on his feet his hands pressed against the goddamn wall that blocked his way. “What are you doing to him!?“ He was muted, as expected but he still got an answer.

“-I’m searching his memory-.“ And no further comment until the screen showed His Highness again. This time he didn’t stand in his cage but in a field. It was indoors but still very large with red wooden walls somewhere in the distance one could see a stack of towels placed ready. He held a sword in hand and when the angle tilted Hua Cheng came into view with his scimitar at the ready as well.

All eyes flew to the real Hua Cheng who just looked at the screen with furrowed eyes. He recognized that place. It was his and His Highness’s personal training ground inside Paradise Manor. They used it for sparing from time to time whenever Xie Lian felt like it or his San Lang gifted him a new sword.

So that’s how this would go huh?

“San Lang will go first.“

Hua Cheng's dead heart sank to his stomach when he heard this. Many officials looked just as horrified as him, of course including the four other participants of this sick game.

Chu Hun laughed like he was alive again. “-PFFHAHAHHA Crimson Rain Sought Flower, you should see your face! Don’t piss your pants yet, that’s just the memory your precious prince will face soon. You could say the memory realm is uploading the scenario before anything is happening-.“ He scoffed leisurely at the end.

Angry screams could be heard from a distance as Hua Cheng’s tense shoulders relaxed.

“THEN SAY THAT BEFOREHAND, BASTARD!!!“ “Is he crazy I think I died for a second there….“ “Same here, YOU HEAR THAT!?“

“As His Highness commands.“ The cheeky voice of the ghost king rang through the air and pulled everyone's attention on the screen once again.

Hua Cheng readied his stance while Xie Lian spread his arms giving him room to attack. Then when he attacked, his target swiftly parried his scimitar making him back away a little for his following slash.

Even martial gods watched in fascination at the speed of those movements. Xie Lian was easy to follow with the naked eye since he barely moved during the whole encounter but his right arm just like Hua Cheng's whole figure was blurred in the motion. The only thing keeping count of the slashes made was…. well, nothing, it was all happening too fast.

Light from the two swords clashing together spluttered around His Highness’s silhouette as the red shadow of Hua Cheng appeared and reappeared from all directions at once.

“They’re so fast.” Some muttered as others argued: “They’re probably still holding back. I mean that’s his husband there’s no way Hua Chengzhu would go all out on him.” “You think Crimson Rain is holding back?” “It’s His Highness if anyone, he has barely taken a step and is still parrying every attack.”

Then the clashing sounds stopped.

Attention on the screen.

“Hm?” Xie Lian eyed his panting opponent as he took slow steps around him.

“Why is he kinda…” “Girl, STOP!” A few female heavenly officials started arguing in the back. “She has a point tho!” The group got mortified, disgusted, and understanding looks. Sure, Hua Cheng wasn’t as feared anymore but the way he got rid of the demon hoard from earlier made some older officials remember why he was so feared to begin with and why he was until this day the strongest of the four calamities. On the other hand, no one could deny his handsome features, and seeing him flexing his muscles and even taking off his outer robes to be more comfortable was… let’s say doing something to the ladies.

Hua Cheng looked determined and shot forward for his following attempt. “Is San Lang really going to try this on me again? You did this maneuver for the 67th time at this point.”

Around 20 clones of the red-clad man appeared all around Xie Lian.

“This humble one just doesn’t know what to do otherwise.” Was the reply. The older one simply sighed with a smile as he finally changed his stance and parried 15 of the clones, then stepped away to avoid the other 5.

“What an impressive feat.” “Yeah right?” The same group of female officials squealed. “Heavens that jawline!”

Hua Cheng felt like puking. The only reason these officials talked so kindly about His Highness was because the prince saved them from the attacking army of ghosts. Even after all these years Xie Lian was still mocked and disrespected behind closed doors where Crimson Rain didn’t have his peaking ears, it wasn’t surprising his title is scrap-collecting god.  But still, hearing those disgraceful gods spitting fake words of flattery when the prince couldn’t even hear them was disgusting. And what was even more disgusting was that Chu Hun that bastard was showing this specific memory-

Xie Lian had just handed on his feet already watching the clones around him dispersing into thin dust in the corner of his eyes, when the Hua Cheng he had dodged away from right in front of him turned out to be the real thing. Xie Lian had expected him to use the millisecond opportunity of his god landing, to quickly escape in the other direction, at least that’s what would be most logical in the position he was right now, but instead, he lunged right toward Xie Lian. More specifically his sword. Out of instinct, the white-clad man pulled his weapon away. He didn’t want to pierce through his husband literally!

Mu Qing tch-ed.

Hua Cheng used the opportunity to wrap his free hand around his beloved lower back and pull him close their faces inches apart. “San Lang-“ A mischievous grin slowly made itself visible on the other's face.

The Hua Cheng from the present was covering his functional eye with his left hand trying to hold his shaking shoulders still. ‘Please, not this one in front of all gods.’

A shattering sound from a dropped scimitar was heard followed by a choked gasp from Xie Lian. The camera angle was kind enough to not show whatever was happening below the waistband of the two men but when the prince hastily grabbed the ghost's arm with a slight blush it was more than obvious what the cunning hand had taken hold of.

Mu Qing had started hammering his head against the other side of his cage wall screaming in the communication array. “PLEASE SOMEONE BREAK THAT SCREEN AND MAKE ME FORGET WHAT I JUST SAW!!!”

The officials who weren’t imprisoned flinched at the loud noise of his voice. They could still hear him but sadly none of their complaints could reach the general in return.

Feng Xin wasn’t much better as he held his ears with shut eyes and loudly started singing in his sound muting cage. “LA LA LA LA LALALALALA I CAN’T. HEAR. AT. ALL!!!

Hua Cheng still didn’t look at the screen but the corners of his mouth were strained against his cheeks as he tried to hold back a snort.

Mu Qing continued raging in his cage forgetting that he was still linked to the public communication array. “I swear to all gods higher ranked than me except His Highness, if I’ll have to watch and hear that bastard flirt with him like that for another ten seconds I’m going to fucking kill myself!”

This declination was said with such sincerity that some of his junior officials looked at him scared he would be true to his words. A reasonable fear. This was mentally taking him back some centuries when two of the statues Hua Chengzhu sculpted of himself and Xie Lian were doing unspeakable things in Mu Qing's backyard.

His scull was already hurting from the force it was being thrown at the wall.

The only other person who was amused was Pei Ming. “A-Hua is pulling the moves on His Highness at any given moment huh?” He was just wondering why Chu Hun was showing this specific memory of all. He was sure that there were more painful memories for Xie Lian to relive than a flirtatious sparing session with his husband.

A flustered blush was now spread over the god’s cheeks and nose as Hua Cheng pressed closer to him very obviously increasing pressure on that one specific spot. “San Lang is teasing me again.” He barely whispered but due to the sound-emphasizing spell, it was still very audible.

“How so? This San Lang is simply doing as his god told him.” His seductive voice rang through the celestial realm a glint rich and soothing edge to it. Xie Lian laughed. “When did I ever tell you to do something like this after giving a new sword for my birthday?” His left hand still holding onto the other’s arm while his right trailed down his cheek.

“Gege said to use everything I have and to be honest, this humble sword isn’t everything I have prepared for His Highness.”

Just before their lips could collide the screen shut down much to Mu Qing’s and Feng Xin’s relief. The crowd looked confused until some of them finally looked up at the ugly calamity. He was folding his hand and pinching his nose bridge with closed eyes seemingly regretting something.

“-No matter how much I want you two to suffer-“ He directed at Hua Cheng. “-I would probably not be able to bear the following events much myself so I’ll spare the other gods while I’m at it-.” He had already seen it. He had already seen everything that happened the following hours and he was mortified. He knew that he would have to see such things since he was combing through Xie Lian’s memory but he didn’t expect there to be so concerningly much of it.

Now the other ghost king was laughing out loud pointing a finger at his counterpart seemingly mocking him as if he had forgotten that the other could crush his ashes any second now.

And even if his voice was left unheard there were still enough laughs and snickers from uninvolved viewers. It was just funny to have such a grand opening of invading the heavens and taking powerful gods hostage but then having to back down because of the private life of a married couple. Xie Lian was a god of love for a reason and apropos gods of love, the other love god who was also stuck in a golden transparent cage was now asking Hua Cheng some questions through sign language.

Pei Ming- Tell me, what was that other present? He looked a little too excited for someone not even directly involved in the matter.

Hua Cheng- A sort of aphrodisiac that only works when injected into flesh directly.

The general gave him a ? before realization dawned upon him.- Wait you didn’t- did you?

The ghost gave him a shit-eating grin and nodded- Yes, it was in the sword.

The officials who understood sign language and took hold of the short conversation out of curiosity went from chuckling to coughing and gasping in mere seconds.

Pei Ming and Hua Cheng were having a shamefully open discussion about what happened in that memory. At some point, the two stopped using proper signs and just held up their hand to show numbers of significance or made hand movements that were very vulgar and explicit but understandable enough.

Over time the two had grown fond of each other and developed a sort of respectable buddy bond due to their remarkable skills in bed. While Pei Ming knew all kinds of ways to please all kinds of women, Hua Cheng knew just as much and used all his knowledge and ability on one person and one person alone. In this sense, one could say that opposites attract each other because they get along splendidly occasionally giving each other advice whether that be in the foreplay, flirting, or later stages of sex.

Back then it was only Pei Ming who welcomed their relationship with open arms but after a few *cough* hundred *cough* years Hua Cheng started to chime in. They could both be mischievous and playful annoying whoever had to stand next to them (more than often Ling Wen or FengQing) but never in front of Xie Lian. The general took note that if he wanted to maintain this friendship with Crimson Rain he better not tease the crown prince too much about their marriage and private life at that matter.

He’d get an explicit record squeezed out of Hua Cheng later anyway.

Finally, Chu Hun managed to get a hang of arranging his thoughts and Xie Lian's billions of memories simultaneously and turned the screen back on.

This time it looked a little different. The setting was the same with Xie Lian and Hua Cheng standing on opposite sides of the training ground with weapons in hand but what was interesting was what was placed next to the monitor.

There was a stats wheel with many, many emotions listed around it, around 30.

Below that was a small cap of sorts zooming in on Hua Cheng’s face even following him when he took a few steps back.

There was also a heart rate counter.

“-The first round begins now-.”

‘I remember this.’

Hua Cheng blinked. He didn’t see His Highness open his mouth yet he still heard his voice.

‘Gods, San Lang is such a tease’ Xie Lian slowly shook his head as he readied his stance and analyzed his opponent who was already approaching.

Then it hit him. ‘So that’s how this is gonna go. Making Gege's thoughts audible? You must have a death wish Chu Hun, you brat.’

Whispers and murmurs erupted again. “He can display his thoughts too?!” “This is horrific, just what kind of contract is that?”

No one besides the participants had read the terms of the agreements so it was natural for them to be shaken. This was literal mind-reading, something not even the best cultivators could manage. The officials that were on the more cunning side or the ones that just knew about history were aware of what great effort it must’ve taken for this contract to even be possible.

Hua Cheng took the initiative without any command this time. ‘I just need to be careful and avoid San Lang’s attempts to drag me to bed.’

E-Ming was coming from the side so he dug down and kicked Hua Cheng to the side making his husband stumble to the side which allowed him to disarm him of the scimitar with a swift blow. “Gasp, Gege we said no spiritual power!” The other pouted while trying to dodge Xie Lian's following attacks.

In his thoughts, he was letting out a squealing noise. ‘Why is my husband just so cute!?’

This was to be expected, many thought even tho it was the slightest bit disturbing.

It didn’t even take another 5 seconds for the prince to maneuver behind Hua Cheng's back, grab his red inner robes, and throw him over his back. His body hitting the ground made a musty thud. He didn’t even get a chance to escape because he was immediately pinned down by two hands whose main body was sitting on his stomach like a rock holding him in place.

The camera was now on Xie Lian’s schooled expression which quickly faltered. A smile with so much inexplicable fondness was now directly turned to the viewer.

Some officials even male ones felt like their hearts skipped a beat.

His Highness the crown prince just had this defined air to him that was neither feminine nor masculine. It was simply elegant in its own way, a way that could take one's breath away. A way that can make one forget to care about taking one.

Then the view switched back to Hua Cheng who was now lying on the ground with both his hands strangled above his head. This time it was he who breathed out a choked: “Gege-“

‘I can’t laugh but he’s just so cute like this.’

Then when everyone even Hua Cheng thought this would take the same turn as the memory the Crimson Rain in the memory realm started whining. “Gegeeeeeeeee….”

Xie Lian was puffing his cheeks while holding back laughter. ‘Is this what it’s gonna break down to? I will have to see my husband be whiny and adorable a thousand times until I give in and laugh. Am I going to lose him just like this?”

The only thing keeping the audience sane was his steady voice of thought. Even if his shoulders shook he was still composed and smiling down his husband. “Gege stop laughing you cheated.”

And all of a sudden Hua Chengzhu didn’t look like a savage calamity. He looked like a young boy, a young boy in love flustered about the teasing of an elder.

Something about this made Ling Wen’s heart flutter and stop organizing and frantically panicking internally. When she witnessed Xie Lian oh so gently holding his beloved cheek and rubbing the pout on the other’s face away she felt like melting in the amount of comfort this brought her.

‘San Lang is so beautiful.’ Hua Cheng obediently turned his head toward the warm hand almost like a cat would. ‘When he’s like this I can see every defining feature of this beautiful face of his.’ His eyelid twitched a little. ‘It’s maddening knowing that this sight that was originally preserved for me alone is now given to all those gods for free.’

One look at the stats wheel and you could see how ‘envy’ was slowly but surely rising. It didn’t quite surpass ‘anxiety’ and was far away from ‘adoration’ and ‘awe’ but it was still going up a fair bit.

(For anyone wondering that is a reference to the 27 scientifically proven emotions. Look it up)

“Why isn’t Gege saying anything, did this husband do something wrong?” The concern in those words made Xie Lian quickly shake his head and shower his beloved face with many light butterfly kisses. ‘I’m sorry San Lang, I want to tell you that you didn’t but I can’t.’ In the end, he simply held a finger to his lips and motioned his love to close his eyes. ‘I doubt Chu Hun will twist this memory in a way that would still lead me and San Lang to do inappropriate things. At least I hope he won’t…’

The uncertainty of that last comment made many laugh again.

Chapter Text

Chu Hun watched how the crowd of officials and Hua Cheng laughed in amusement. This was good. After threatening his fellow ghost king he first needed him and Xie Lian to fall back into relaxation. He was already feeling so fulfilled to simply have all these gods on his leash. Forcing them to participate in his little game not letting them know what would happen next, but it was a struggle. His spiritual energy wasn’t draining but to keep the contract intact for as long as he needed to he needed to drain more spiritual energy from his targets.

What he didn’t tell the gods was that the more they struggled to keep quiet the more spiritual energy would be drained from them. It’s an exchange principle in which the player offers spiritual energy so he won’t have to worry about losing the round. It was a secret safety plan in case the original creator or following host were to be trapped inside the game themselves.

A little disappointing in his eyes since he knew that no one was actually going to die as long as they didn’t slip up on accident now, but they didn’t need to know that.

This was the secret behind the game of no regrets, the original forger was a justice-obsessed man who desperately needed all his followers to be loyal and trustworthy so in order to guarantee there wouldn’t be any insincere soldiers by his side he ripped off two of his fingers and created this contract with the blood sacrifice.

A fascinating story Chu Hun thought, with a very beneficial outcome for him.

“What’s next?” Xie Lian’s voice rang as he stood in his now from black clouds cleared cage. He wasn’t particularly amused or at ease but he sounded less distressed than earlier when he was crying his guts out begging the intruder to let go of his beloved’s ashes. It was better than nothing.

“-Hua Cheng is next-.”

Then he was muted again and Hua Chengzhu’s memory was loading. Xie Lian was getting this bad feeling again as his eyes looked at the screen.

Hua Cheng stood in fancy red clothing, a little more glamorous than usual in front of an equally crimson red-dressed Xie Lian. It was a wedding.

Mu Qing looked perplexed. Why were these kinds of memories shown? Was that supposed to be a comedy show or something? He couldn’t wrap his head around it and looked at Feng Xin who gave him a Isn’t that their latest wedding? look.

He nodded and answered I remember sewing that outfit for His Highness.

“San Lang? Will you be true to your words?” The shorter man asked his groom through an elegantly draped veil covering the upper part of his face.

When the view was brought back to Hua Cheng one could see his lower lip tremble and his eye redden as he nodded and croaked. “Always your Highness…”

“Is- is Crimson Rain crying?” No one of big significance asked even tho the calamity didn’t shed a single tear.

He got on one knee and held his husband's right hand to his temple. His motion was so effortless, it looked natural and it made Xie Lian inhale sharply. Then the ghost king started preaching his vows.

“If I could, I would have you use me as your stepping stone,…”

The sudden change of tone was startling. Now his voice sounded so devoted and clear without losing its rich flavour and charm but it was as if he had become a whole different person.

“…the bridge you take apart after crossing, the corpse bones you need to trample to climb up, the sinner who deserved the butchering of a million knives.”

A big declination many thought.

“But I know you wouldn’t allow it.”

Of course. Again, a thought that crossed many of the viewer's minds.

“So therefore I vow to my beloved. A noble, gracious, special someone who has saved my life, whom I have looked up to since I was young, for whom I wanted to become an even stronger person to protect him with my life which I owe him nevertheless.”

He paused and looked up, now directly into the camera without loosening his gentle hold of the other’s hand.

“The one standing in infinite glory is you, the one fallen from grace is also you.”

Now the angle changed back to where you could see both of the grooms looking at each other longingly even with Xie Lian's eyes and Hua Cheng's right eye covered. They both said the next sentence together.

“What matters is you and not the state of you.”

“What matters is you and not the state of you.”

The ghost pressed a tender kiss on his god’s hand before rising to both his feet and completing the vow alone.

“If your dream is to save the common people, then my only dream is to claim you as mine. So will you take this humble one as your husband once more?”

Xie Lian slowly stepped closer to Hua Cheng while listening until he stood chest-to-chest with the other. Then with a voice filled with gratitude and glee, he spoke. “Yes, only after having met you have I rediscovered that it’s such a simple thing to be happy.”

-

Then the memory cut and restarted. This time with the stats wheel, the cam on the real Hua Cheng, and a heart rate counter. Funny enough it was already at 0.

‘He didn’t let me finish.’ The prince thought mourning after the sweet memory of their latest marriage. ‘He could’ve at least let it play until we kissed.’

‘I remember that headpiece, I made it myself just for Gege.’

“THERE’S NO WAY HE DID THAT!” Someone in the back screamed with many supporting calls. The golden pin in His Highness's put-up hair was an extraordinarily detailed and fine-crafted Buyao with a shimmering crane as the main theme and many small crystal butterflies on the sides. An item that is worth thousands of merits so it was only natural for others to chime in the skepticism. “Maybe he meant, acquired and not made.” “Yeah, Hua Chengzhu is rumored to be more than just loaded so it was probably not difficult to buy that.” “I’ve never seen such a beautiful Buyao, the artist must be a real natural talent!”

The ones who were acquainted with the calamity knew otherwise than to question his artistic skills (or the civil gods that were personally threatened by the artist to take care of the statues in the XianLe palace).

‘His Highness is so kind, always forgiving the slack and frequent mistakes of this servant. Even now having to stand before him, blended by his presence, I could never wish to be anywhere else but here kneeling before him but at the same time I’m still ashamed.’

_ _ _

Meanwhile, Chu Hun was frustrated. He only wanted to play one sweet or funny memory each for them to calm down a little and to give him more time to search through the billions of thoughts all 6 of the participants had simultaneously, but it looked like their lives were all filled with either sweet or trivial events.

Some moments of Xie Lian’s life even made him feel like throwing up. They were all so sweet and since he almost got overwhelmed by the emotional tracker he needed to shut that down so he wouldn’t get distracted or start crying. He needed to dig very, very deep into the section of the brain where forgotten or suppressed memories could be found. ‘But why can’t I find anything? I’m already around four hundred years into their memory and I still can’t find anything reasonably traumatic to let them relive.’

He paused.

That couldn’t be right.

He was surely overlooking something big, a significant detail that made him only see the good side of their lives.

But that also didn’t make sense.

Ling Wen’s memory for example is barely filled with anything joyous. The only thing he can see is dozens and dozens of paperwork stacks that don’t seem to end like an infinite paradox. At this point, he had already given up on finding anything more frustrating than her depressing boring day-to-day life.

‘Working as the top civil goddess and not being respected at that is probably torture enough.’

He slightly lost interest in hurting her, she was hurting herself enough.

Since His Highness seemed to be very fond of her he had expected them to be close friends but Xie Lian didn’t do anything to help her in her position besides attending meetings here and there.

He tch-ed mentally. As expected from the former prince.

So that couldn’t be it either.

The mere thought of imagining that his sworn enemy and his loved ones got to enjoy their existence to its fullest over the past centuries while Chu Hun had to gobble in a pit of darkness and despair trying to find a way to avenge himself and everything he stood for.

His anger rose higher than ever as he made himself clear how they didn’t deserve this happiness. How they needed to be punished and how all the light and warmth of the memories he saw flashing before his inner eye had to be distinguished.

_ _ _

Hua Cheng kneeled before his husband with just as much grace as the original memory did. ‘It hurts my soul being forced to hush my voice in a moment I’ve always sworn to speak up but that won’t stop me.’

He took the hand he had previously held to his temple and turned it around to face the palm. His head was still lowered. “San Lang?”

There were hushed whispers in the background of the memory. Mu Qing's voice could be heard “What is he doing? Didn’t he swear to never break his vow, why isn’t he talking?” Then Feng Xin hushed back. “How should I know!? Maybe he wants to try something different this time.”

“Without discussing it with His Highness? He’d rather divorce him than change his vows so abruptly.”

‘COULD YOU TWO ASSHOLES SHUT THE FUCK UP!? I’M TRYING TO BE SERIOUS HERE!’

Pei Ming snorted. He didn’t attend the most recent wedding because he was busy with urgent prayers but he would pay mansions worth of merits to witness FengQing almost busting the god knows x.th wedding of HuaLian.

He quickly dusted off his frown, he couldn't let his husband down even if it was just a memory.

“I wonder how he’s planning to bid his vows like that?” “Lord I cried when I watched that!” “I didn’t know Crimson Rain was so romantic.” “Isn’t he also known as the ah- love god or er… ghost?” “He’s the only ghost with mortal believers after all.”

More and more speech was arising from the crowd as the screen continued to be silent but Xie Lian’s eyes were glued to the spot where his and Hua Cheng's hands were touching.

Hua Cheng recited his vow mentally while he wrote the characters on Xie Lian's palm. His hand was unsteady and he had trouble making the characters readable.

‘Sigh’

Some gods looked up again disregarding their discussions.

‘Even after 1800 years of practicing… my handwriting still sucks ass.”

That was a rather crude articulation compared to what he was uttering toward His Highness before.

‘I can’t be saved, not from the gods above and not from the demons below. I’ve been a lost case since childhood.’

His tone was bitter as his thoughts trailed off to somewhere else.

‘Oh, my childhood…’ it left his internal lips like a nostalgic but sad thought.

And that was exactly what Chu Hun was looking for.

He finally found the small string that would lead him to the darkest and deepest buried memories of Crimson Rain. No one knew about his young years, not even Xie Lian got a clear record since his husband always assured him that he couldn’t remember anymore.

He grabbed this opportunity with a wide grin and took the shortcut of Hua Cheng's consciousness to directly find memories that were almost two millennia old.

“-Hahaha! Got you, you fool!”

Xie Lian's eyes snapped up at him. ‘What!?’ The realization hit him too late as the screen already switched to the next memory.

“-EVERYONE, PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE THIRD ROUND-!” He called out with his annoying voice making everyone look up, even the stubborn officials who were still fighting over irrelevant matters.

“-I’ve finally managed to find a memory so EXITING it’s going to take all your breaths away! I mean from everyone present, there’re sure a few that have experienced the wrath of crimson Rain Sought Flower themselves, haven’t you-!?” He addressed the heavenly officials who bore a grudge against him and to no one's surprise: there were a lot.

“-The ones that have, haven’t you ever wished for his downfall? Haven’t you ever wished for his pain and despair? Haven’t you ever wished for JUSTICE-!?”

Xie Lian did not like where this was going and started hammering against his cage wall. No one paid him attention.

“-If yes then please let me introduce you TO CRIMSON RAINS SOUGHT FLOWERS CHILDHOOD BEFORE HE BECAME A GHOST KING-!”

The screen flashed on and everyone's attention was on it.

“You fucking bastard! Where do you think you're going!?” The deep and husky voice of an unfamiliar man called out. He stood at a booth seemingly selling vegetables and fruits that looked ripe and juicy, but when he turned his back just slightly a figure ran by and snatched away an apple.

It was a small boy covered in dirt and dust with an unkept bandage around his head and face.

He was fast. Faster than kids his age should be.

This time when people spoke, their voices became mocking. “Is that Crimson Rain Sought Flower?” “No way, that’s just a beggar.” “How could this little dirty thing ever become a calamity?”

Xie Lian's fists clenched as he stared at those who spoke with anger. How dare they say that! He wanted to think of insults but the happenings on screen distracted him.

The boy ran through the crowded street with light feet and vanished in an allay cowering behind a rock to settle down. His breathing was raged and now that the motion wasn’t blurred due to him running, one could see how unkept he truly was. His hair was messy and oily indicating that he probably didn’t wash himself for weeks or maybe months. His lips were crusty and his only visible eye was swollen from another injury he must’ve gotten from who knows what and then his clothes… Oh boy, his clothes looked nothing more than rags.

Torn everywhere, clearly, no one had ever tried to sew them before or they miserably failed making the ripped holes even bigger.

Pei Ming looked in awe. If this was really Hua Cheng then he had probably witnessed no bigger glow up.

He was unfortunately the only one that had such a positive look at the situation. He had noticed that Chu Hun only muted the imprisoned participants from the inside for some reason. He didn’t notice when he started to finally hear the other gods again but it couldn’t have been too long ago.

Because now he could hear the laughter coming from his colleagues.

The young Hua Cheng cowered behind that rock and looked at that apple as if it were the richest treasure he had ever seen and he bit into it as if it was his last meal. He ate messily and when he opened his mouth you could see a few broken teeth and completely missing ones, and to top it all off the only good teeth were yellow and almost rotten.

Some female officials scrunched their noses and held up their sleeves as if they could smell his bad breath. “Ugh, disgusting.” “No wonder he’s so vulgar when he grew up like this.” “This is repulsive!”

Mu Qing snarled. Not at Hua Cheng or because he was disgusted, the opposite was the case. He snarled at the gods who were insulting the man he couldn’t stand himself. Why? Because he grew up under almost the same conditions as him. He himself was born into the lowest class of civilians in XianLe and only got such a high position in the royal palace through hard work, his mother's support, and a shit ton amount of luck.

He never looked as bad as Hua Cheng looked on the screen, but he knew and recognized the hunger in that young eye. The relief of finally eating something after weeks of starvation. When you finally get your hands on something even remotely decent you stop caring about your table manners.

He was halfway through with the apple when a bigger shadow than the rock appeared behind him. He didn’t even look back, he just started running forward deeper into the alley but he didn’t get far because the hand that grasped him was quicker.

“Got you, little thief.” The same husky voice said in a dangerous tone as he lifted the kid with great ease from the ground. Hua Cheng was kicking his feet and screamed. “LET ME GO, LET ME GO NOW!!!”

The man slapped him across the face and screamed back.

“QUIT BEING SO NOICY, THE MARKET IS TOO LOUD ANYWAY NO ONE IS GOING TO HEAR OR SAVE YOU!”

Two more men came from behind.

“And you know what thieves get don’t you?”

He was brutally tossed against the stone wall and slumped to the ground with a choked gasp.

The crowd flinched. Most of them weren’t used to explicit depictions of violence like that.

“-What is it-?” A shiver ran through many backs as the calamity's voice dripped down upon them with malice. “-Didn’t you want to see him in pain? Well, that’s precisely what I’m giving you now-.”

The first man started kicking the child’s stomach with his leather boot until the small Hua Cheng couldn’t hold back his cries anymore. Then he just instructed the other two men “to make sure he’ll never even think about stealing again”.

So they did.

Shuddered noises of disbelief rang through the crowd.

The kid had rolled himself together into a small ball with his arms protecting his head and his legs closely angled against his wounded stomach.

Guy one grabbed him by his hair and pulled him up until his feet left the ground and he could’t hold his limbs up anymore because he screamed in pain as he took hold of the arm.

Then the other one punched him in his rib cage. Crack.

“HONG-ER!”

The boy screamed but the noise of the nearby market almost overshadowed his pitiful cry of agony. Then they punched him again and again and again holding him down and strangling him until it looked like he was about to die.

Is this how Crimson Rain died? A torturous death after stealing an apple, what an amusing thought.

This continued for a while until one of the men decided to hold him on the ground and stretch out his leg.

Some people started stammering and some younger gods that came from wealthy families even started crying “T-they’re not going to-“

The leg was held up and the other men already held his arm up to strike. The boy pleaded. “NO, NO PLEASE DON’T!!! I WON’T EVER STEAL FROM YOU AGAIN I PRO-“ He was interrupted by his own cry. Oh wasn’t this familiar?

“-Do you recognize that scream Your Highness-?” Xie Lian stood frozen in place while his mind was raging and banging against the walls of his head like a mad dog. “-These cries sound much like how he still cries today, don’t you think-?” The tone was way too casual as if the ghost was talking about the weather or some patterns of a robe he frequently acquired. For anyone else this wouldn’t have made sense. When Hua Cheng cried out because his ashes were scratched it sounded like a dying soldier on the battlefield.

Little Hong-er sounded like the child he was. He sounded scared, terrified, and choked with the high-pitched voice of a boy who hadn’t even reached his teen years.

But Xie Lian who had spent countless nights with his husband talking about the past and their shared traumatic experiences could no longer tell them apart. Both the man he was introduced to as Hua Cheng and the child who said that his mother called him Hong-er were both his San Lang. And his San lang has suffered. So much in fact Xie Lian usually doesn’t want to think about it but what should he do now? This is only a memory and it’s already loading for the game, San lang would have to relive that exact memory any minute.

Chu Hun let out a gleeful laugh.

His scream choked out of his rough lungs as the two men continued to kick and punch him. More cracking noise could be heard and the young boy started spitting blood his voice barely audible as a faint groan.

“Do you… think… he’d dead?”

One of the men asked while still kicking his heel into the small back of the limb body on the ground.

The other had already stopped and was wiping sweat from his forehead.

“I think so, let’s just leave the body here, most of his organs are probably mush now anyways so it's no use to try to sell them.”

Yushi Huang held both hands to her face as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. “A child…” she shuddered. “Why would you do that-… to a child…?” She tried to school her expression but only barely managed it. This was cruel.

Mu Qing bit his cheek while Feng Xin held his mouth. They knew about Hua Chengzhu’s background and that he lived under filthy circumstances but whatever this was was unacceptable.

Pei Ming didn’t feel like he could manage optimism anymore.

Hong-er didn’t move, the only thing proving that he was still alive was his slowly rising and falling torso. The camera zoomed in to his face and what a sight it ended up to be. For some magical reason, the bandage on his right side was strong enough to somewhat hold on to his head. His nose was broken and crooked, his cheeks and forehead swollen from punches, his mouth leaking with blood, and his loose teeth, but the probably worst thing of them all was the reflection of his black eye.

The apple he had stolen earlier.

A few small voices whispered. “Oh please no…”

The men had trampled it in the dust.

“IF YOU’RE TO STEP ON IT WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BOY UP LIKE THAT!?” Finally, someone from the back screamed. It was a young junior official from the Xuan Zhen temple.

Another older (civil) god held onto her shoulder and warned her. “Don’t be too noisy, you’ll only catch the attention of the calamity.” She twirled around in an abrupt movement and slapped his hand away. “And you are to talk!? I heard you snickering behind your sleeve when you saw that just now!”

She took a few steps back and others followed suit, opening a small circle around the man giving him disgusted and horrified glances. “I-is that true?”

The civil god immediately tried to defend himself. “Of course not, how could I laugh faced with such brutality!?”

The junior official looked at him with wild eyes declaring. “Didn’t you just recently complain about Crimson Rain sheltering some water ghouls that stole and destroyed important documents?” The other stiffened as his cheeks heated up. “That- That might be true but this is unrelated!” “How could this be unrelated!?” She argued back.

*cough*

All eyes flew back to the screen where Hong-er tried to stand up.

His chokes and coughs got in the way of properly breathing but he pulled himself together and started crawling. At first, his destination wasn’t clear. His broken leg looked like it was hindering him from standing up (as if it was the only broken bone) and he was still spilling blood every time he tried to exhale.

“What is the boy doing!?” “He’s still alive!?” “But he has so many broken bones!”

Then when he managed to somewhat move in a straight line you could finally see where he wanted to go.

“Oh fuck no!” Don’t ask who screamed that, we all know who swears the most in the heavens.

He was crawling toward the muddy puddle that was still left of that mashed apple on the ground. With surprising speed, he reached the wet dirt and grabbed into it with shaking hands.

Xie Lian inhaled through his nose. He wanted to cry.

But he couldn’t, it would only satisfy Chu Hun more and he didn't want to play into his cards like that so he clenched his fists behind folded sleeves and solemned his expression.

The child opened his mouth and started to gulp down the apple remains together with all the dirt and rocks around it. He coughed again, this time it sounded like something was scratching skin from the inside of his throat making him almost vomit. Literally.

The prince shut his eyes.

The screen changed and it was Hua Cheng's consciousness now that was displayed on the screen even if his appearance was still the raged-looking little boy.

‘Huh? Where am I and why am I holding this crusty apple?’

Chapter Text

Worry wasn’t enough to describe Xie Lian’s current state.

His expression was schooled and blank with his fists clenched hidden beneath his sleeves, making sure to prevent the rest of his body from shuddering or shaking. In the past millennia, Xie Lian never had to worry about his husband at least not this much.

He was scared, not of his own death should his beloved fail but rather of the knowledge that he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t fail, he’d rather descend to madness and die ten thousand more deaths than let his god die and it made Xie Lian anxious.

Slowly he raised his hands. They were muddy, dirty, and frail. “…”

The officials watched as the kid let the apple fall, reach out for his right eye, and touch the bandages. Touching its crooked nose, its swollen face.

‘Why?’

Hua Cheng asked himself. ‘Why of all things start with the worst. WHY OF ALL THINGS REACH HERE!?’ He balled his fist, it looked rather childish and cute, not intimidating like he would’ve liked.

Like on instinct, the boy ran forward through the market. His footing was more precise and he took faster routes than the initial memory but the ghost king winced and tumbled a little more.

‘My body aches and my legs are weak. I forgot what it’s like to house a none fully grown body. How come even tho my weight has decreased I feel heavier?’

He stumbled into that same allay as before and hid behind that same rock. ‘My head is spinning… and my stomach feels as empty as if it had committed self-cannibalism…' Only now did the boy examine his body.

Not that it mattered to most of the heavinly officials personally but it was even stranger to see this little beggar knowing it was Hua Chengzhu and seeing him also act and carry himself like they knew him now. This little boy held his head steady and his back straight while sitting with a serious and contemplated look. It was still an ugly sight.

Sadly this wasn’t even the worst part. Chu Hun could feel it. The tension, the excitement, and curiosity stirring in those watching. Since they weren’t able to do anything against it anyway, there was nothing wrong with being interested in what was to come right? The malicious ghost king saw it in their eyes and knew that Xie Lian did too. Xie Lian did and his brows furrowed.

He steadied his breathing carefully touching up his chest. ‘Broken ribs… broken arm… teeth missing and rotten. I forgot what it was like to live.’

Seeing a dead man experience a living body. A rare sight to behold and a heartbreaking situation if one thinks about it.

Pei Ming also couldn’t say he was thrilled about the supposed state Crimson Rain was in right now. He wondered how a child this age would even survive such injuries or even put up with them without crying.

As his stomach was rumbling soundly the boy seemed to be lost in thought and wasn’t long before the familiar hand grabbed him from behind.

The protest was so mild compared to before. Hua Cheng let himself be lifted by the more than thrice as tall man behind him and listened to his bickering and that of his companions. He was breathing manually making sure to shut his mouth. His expression also didn’t change much nor did it show much irritation.

“Huh, this brat is awfully still.” One said suspiciously. “Quiet too, hey thieve. Scared much?”

The seller was holding Hua Cheng by the arm this time, holding him up like a smelly rag, not wanting it too close. The ghost could smell himself, he could feel the dirt on his body and in his mouth. He could be so disgusted and irritated but he couldn’t lie to himself. This didn’t feel new.

‘No matter who I am now, I can’t change my past. I can’t change my heritage. It has been like this, the only difference is that my nose isn’t used to the smell, it's been so long.’

He was filled with shame, his ears reddening painfully under the gaze of the sellers and gods even if he couldn’t see them, he knew their eyes lingered on him.

‘They can see, they can see it all.’

Something inside Xie Lian broke. He could hear the other officials. Oh that’s right, since when could he hear them? He noticed that the mute on both sides seemed to always change at the worst moments. He didn’t want to listen to what others had to say about his husband and he didn’t want to let anyone else hear what his husband was thinking.

How could they, he was only a child, wasn’t responsible for his fate, and couldn’t have done better.

Was Chu Hun doing it on purpose?

“Gosh, how pitiful…” someone spoke. “Pity? This is disgusting.”

He couldn’t block out the noise. It kept going, they kept going.

The gossip.

The snickered as they watched the limp Hua Cheng on screen get manhandled and tossed to the ground while they listened to his self-loathing thoughts.

Sick.

Xie Lian felt sick.

Hua Cheng felt small. The fact he didn’t have to see the eyes on him was a small comfort but it still stung. ‘It doesn’t matter. Letting his Highness see me like this is bad as it is but I won’t just take this humiliation.’

Having heard him think this made the next part so much worse.

The seller told his companions to take care of the kid. Hua Cheng already held his mouth shut with both hands but the kick still knocked the air out of his lungs. He could feel a groan rumble up his lungs. He could feel it edging up his throat like a fast insect. Uncomfortable in his throat and terrifying. ‘Be quiet, be quiet, bear the pain.’

The man kicked and a crack was heard.

‘Bear it, it doesn’t hurt.’

They kept kicking and punching.

‘It doesn’t matter, I felt worse suffering, there has been worse-‘

His trail of thoughts and determination was cut off by his hand being brutally yanked away. “Little piece of shit.” His attacker muttered close to his ear as his head was crushed against the ground.

“…”

The air left his body and he was thankful for it. If it hadn’t he would’ve made a sound. A gasp would’ve escaped his lips and it scared him.

When he was on the ground a large foot was pressed against his frail chest making him feel every already broken rib in it. He didn’t have the consciousness to tell but he was almost certain that one wrong move could make his bone shards slit open his lungs.

For a moment he hoped for it to happen, because he could’ve never imagined it being so hard to just hold in pain. His eyes wide and his mouth gaping but he didn’t make a sound. Didn’t cough or wail yet tears fell. He could feel that this body didn’t have the pain tolerance he acquired over the years. It wasn’t even nearly as strong as his teenage body.

Harsh kicks came from both sides of his ribcage making him pray and beg that the ribcage would just finally break and kill him. Pain wasn’t as present in his ghostly form.

“I wonder if he’ll last.” Mu Qing muttered. The calamity may be strong but he wasn’t as a small child. Well actually…

Now that Mu Qing thought back, he might’ve recalled how this boy survived beatings way worse. Still, it was another thing to survive torture and completely hold back a reflex in your body.

‘Gege’

The voice ringing in Hua Cheng’s mind wasn’t as calm anymore, it sounded out of breath. Then he scolded himself mentally.

‘No, how could I beg for help now? Don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream, don’t scream.’

Eventually, Hua Cheng could move his arms again and he wasn’t sure how he did it but he just choked himself. Digging his nails deep into his throat.

Chu Hun was looking towards the crown prince. Wondering what he was thinking because Xie Lian’s face remained stoic. There was nothing, not a twitch in his demeanor and it put the ghost off.

Was he doing it out of protest, stubbornly trying to hide all of his emotions away? A foolish act he thought, as he simply connected himself to Xie Lians cage and observed his thoughts. Ah, just as he thought.

Xie Lian’s heart was beating fast and his fists had cramped on one another shaking, trying to stay calm. His mind was blank and restless. What should he do? What COULD he do? Nothing. Nothing at all and it was sinking in on him like a coat of needles.

His gaze slowly shifted from the screen to the crowd. It wasn’t like many didn’t cry and worry for Hua Cheng. The problem was that there were still so many enjoying it and the moment the first one laughed the rest emerged. Dozens of faces carried a smirk, smile, satisfied grin, or even audible laugh lingered in the crowd.

The gods pupils widened as he watched them, memorized them, cursed them. Was that what San Lang had felt when he saw those 33 cultivators with Xie Lian on the hill? Is that what true frustration is, seeing your beloved suffer and humiliated without being able to do anything about it? Was that why he started imprinting those faces in his brain to never forget and never forgive?

The man in black who hovered above the screen watched those thoughts with delight, with joy, twirling the dark strand of hair that was the price Hua Cheng was able to win. If Chu Hun planned on ever freeing the gods and ghost if they survive enough rounds? Maybe, who would know?

“-You seem agitated your highness.-“ he croaked catching the attention of all. With a smile, the ghost tilted his head and watched as the many eyes slowly wandered from him to Xie Lian.

“-Is there nothing you would like to say?-“

Silence.

A silence that spread confusion amongst the heavenly officials.

With his thoughts racing and his emotions spiraling into an endless tornado of chaos, his body didn’t move. He felt a weird need to force himself to do something as well. When his husband was crying and begging even if only in thought just to keep his beloved alive then Xie Lian would do too. He would not give Chu Hun a reaction. He could guess that the ghost king read his mind anyway and saw how he was suffering as well but he would not give him the satisfaction of showing this to his “audience”.

‘AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!’

Everyone’s attention was on the screen. Before, they could only listen to Crimson Rain’s steady mantra and the struggle to not gag while he was choking himself. Now they heard the first real cry out since his ashes had been chewed on.

The merchants came to the point of breaking his leg and tossing him to the side. The boy’s knuckles had become as white as a sheet of paper and were already drawing blood and the grip he had on his own throat looked inhuman. And no matter how ugly the scene was and no matter how much he had already gone through, this monster of a ghost still podcasted his whimpering thoughts.

‘It hurts so much… I can’t, I’ll break and if I break Dianxia will die.’ The boy, no child cried. ‘No, don’t think about that. Gege can’t die, he’ll never die, never there is no way. As long as I can endure this we’ll be fine…’

“-Awe, and there he is your husband, laying himself bare and crying like an infant just to save you and this is your reaction?-“

“…”

“-Hah! Just as I thought! Still, the same old prince who rules above all am I right?-“

This time Xie Lian gave a reaction, how would that person know? Know the exact way of wording he uses to hate his past ignorant self. How would and how did he? Oh right, he could read his mind. It felt so bad.

This kind of torture ran deep, so much deeper than anything he could think of. His life, past, and love were laid bare to someone who wanted him dead. Even worse was that he had the same hold on Hua Cheng too.

He roared his resentful words with all his might. “HOW DO YOU FEEL SADISFIED WITH THIS!? WHAT MUST HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU TO DO THIS!?”

He was muted. Making his screams echo dully making his voice sound powerless. He stomped towards the wall and punched it.

“IF YOU ARE SO MAD AT ME THEN TORTURE ME, MAKE ME SUFFER BUT NOT ONE THAT HAS NEVER TOUCHED YOU, NEVER SPOKEN BAD OF YOU, AND NEVER OFFENDED YOU!”

His anger knew no limits and his fist still shook pressed against the transparent wall.

“-You know why.-“

He did because his fist wasn’t only shaking from anger but also sorrow because he could still hear his beloved screams and wails and after time only whimpers. Even if he didn’t look at that screen and all those cries were only mental, he was still mourning.

He knew how much more effect it had on him to hurt him through Hua Cheng than experiencing those things personally.

Then his vision got blank.

-

The screen and the crown prince’s cage darkened while Hua Cheng’s cage cleared and revealed the ghost king clad in red cower in the center of it. He was still clinging with his claws on his throat sitting still. Now that he wasn’t in the illusion of a living body his chest wasn’t even shakily rising and falling. Some wondered if he had become a statue before Chu Hun called out. “-Chengzhu you can talk again. You’ve won the round and claimed the price of Xie Lian’s live for a maximum of 24 hours.-"

Slowly Hua Cheng raised his head looking towards the voice that talked to him. He was no longer in his memory yet his fingers didn’t move. Too scared to move them, too scared that this was a trick to make him murder his god. Besides, the shock from experiencing such pain in the body of a child came too suddenly and so he didn’t move only staring at the darkened cage of the person he loved most.

Besides Xie Lian, there were a few other officials who suffered with him. Feng Xin and Mu Qing. They knew him for too long not to. The crunches of broken bones and the cry of a child they’ve known for just as much as His Highness.

Feng Xin held his trembling arm, when he and the prince were still little he still knew how to cheer someone up but this? This was a lot.

Mu Qing stayed silent but even his thoughts weren’t safe from Chu Hun.

-

When Xie Lian opened his eyes he was in a forest. He was running or was he? Oh, there was someone with him. It was a young man, he had a soldiers uniform, black hair and a sword in his right hand.

Chapter Text

He shouted "Go back I don't need help!", but the young soldier didn't leave his side. "I said go back!" Yet again the soldier didn't budge and surprisingly kept up without much of a struggle. The look in his one-revealed eye was determined and steadfast, eerily similar to the kid Hua Cheng was not too long ago.

Xie Lian tch-ed and quickened his pace until his companion was left far behind.

Mu Qing and Feng Xing equally frowned. The crown prince wasn't just wearing his title but also his former royal robe with which the Xie Lian of today could rarely be caught. In fact he looked rather uncomfortable wearing them in the present day if it wasn't for his husband or for the satisfaction of the inhabitants of ghost city who desperately wanted to witness both their chengzhu's in all their glory.

The atmosphere around the young man grew darker and more ominous by the second as the forest landscape flashed by. He was too fast to even recognize the simple shapes of plants and trees since the view was focused on him.

"QI RONG!"

A few of the elder gods including Pei Ming and Ling Wen stiffened. The name didn't make them particularly uncomfortable or scared, it was just so sudden and surprising.

Why was his Highness shouting for his long-gone cousin who had even betrayed him in the face of Bai Wuxian? The green lantern was still a sore memory for the heavens.

"Qi Rong can you hear me!?" The voice of the young prince was slightly strained and something was leaking through the confidence of his imperial blood... there was a hint of worry.

But why was he worriedly calling out for Qi Rong of all people?

Mu Qing knew. It was slowly but surely dawning on him.

It had been too long for anyone else to remember, who could blame them, it's almost been two millennia since this happened but one of the three Xianle gods in the upper court of heaven had started to remember the events of the Civil War between Xianle and YongAn.

Mu Qing could often recall how Xie Lian frowned at his little cousin’s name in annoyance or how he talked about him like an insufferable child, yet there hasn't been one time when he remembered Xie Lian calling for him in such distress (even tho it wasn't even that much of worry in his tone).

There was one time when FengQing and Xie Lian found a young soldier and suspected him to be a spy. It turned out that he was just one of those feaverly fans of the crown prince often found under young military troops that would do anything to just get a glance at their idol.

Mu Qing thought the boy would ambush his Highness but in truth he was trying to push the prince away from an aimed arrow.

Mu Qing couldn't even say that he was surprised he still remembered all that. After all his memory has always been exalent. He always keeps his schedule in mind, never misses an important meeting in the court, and always knows his priorities.

He had something close to a photorealistic memory. Not quite but his anxiety would make him cling to small bits of his past like a snake to a bigger opponent when it realizes that it will certainly die the moment it lets go.

Especially a moment like that where he so miserably failed to protect or warn his Highness. It was leaving him even more sore when he thought about who this little loyal soldier would grow up to and how insufferable he'd continue to be even as a grown man.

But when he thought back on it he had trouble remembering who the one was that shot the arrow at his Highness...

"Lang Ying..."

Chu Hun's pointed ears quirked just slightly almost seeming itchy as he heard that.

After searching for a while he found Qi Rong hanging from a tree branch covered in dirt and bruises. "Found you", he sighed under his breath with relief and helped his cousin down.

“Ah, so that's how he got that tendency from back then." Ling Wen muttered more to herself than anything, not like it wouldn't function any other way, since her cage was currently muted.

The listening and watching gods in the crowd also started discussing themselves. The elder gods explained to the younger ones how annoying the green ghost "near supreme" used to be and what his role was in the whole battle against white no face.

Ill insults were thrown around with meek mutters and sometimes shouts. The gods could be spiteful and petty and weren't scared to admit such when it came to the Green Lantern.

As he helped the sobbing and mostly screaming Qi Rong out of his ropes, he felt a cold breeze run down his neck and he swiftly swung his sword backward with a powerful heap.

His attacker was a man in muddy clothing and a longsword.

It was revealed that he was Lang Ying, the leader of the YongAn rebellion that would later be known as the king of YongAn that barely ruled longer than Xie Lian took to be banished after his second ascension.

The black-clad calamity observing the screen was silent. Since the beginning of this whole process, he seemed to be going through heavy mood swings. Either he was murderous, frustrated, gleeful with malice, or malicious with his tone, yet now his expression was unreadable. Impossible to guess what was on his mind and it distressed the observant Ling Wen.

She hadn't had the chance to fully confirm if Chu Hun could read all her thoughts or just the ones of a specific participant.

Either way, it was a gamble or completely hopeless.

Then gradually more heavenly officials who watched became confused when the young Xie Lian shouted about the other having to stop fighting.

Then Chu Hun unmuted Mu Qing and Feng Qing, instructing:

"-You two should know about all that is happening. Why don't you help enlighten your dear colleagues? Hm?-"

Thus FenQing became the only two who could somehow defend Xie Lian in whatever was about to be shown.

“You know you're not my equal so stop fighting!" Xie Lian demanded after slashing his opponent’s sword to the side with his own.

"As long as you don’t charge against the city border, and as long as you don’t kill, we’ll provide you with food and water…”

Now it was Mu Qing's time to explain. He wasn’t very thrilled to explain such things; they bore a sore hole in his memory and he in particular didn’t like his time as Xie Lian’s servant, but he was cautious enough not to let the black supreme mix up any information to make the prince look bad. So the general did his best to explain the civil war as briefly and understandably as possible so even the most remedial dipshit would still understand. (Note: I’m sorry, I played too much Class of 09)

Qi Rong spat some nasty remarks at Lang Ying and suggested savage torture methods to keep him at bay to Xie Lian. He was his savage self so his older Cousin didn’t acknowledge him in the slightest and held his gaze fixated on the much bigger threat in front of him.

“If you want rain, rain is gonna fall. If you want food, you’ll get the supplies. If you need gold, I’ll destroy my golden statues and give them to you, just don’t start a war.”

Gasps could be heard amidst the audience of officials. Destroying one’s own temple property was no joke after all, at least not for an ascended god who had to maintain his followership.

For His Highness the crown prince, it was nothing of course and he couldn’t be bothered to care for his own statues even to this day, but not everyone could share his opinion.

But other than 800-900 years ago the heavenly officials didn’t call him scandalous or a disgrace. This time they excused his words and actions similar to how they would during his first ascension.

“Oh His Highness used to be bold”

“It seems he really isn’t a fan of war.”

“Pity, since he was a war hero. I would’ve expected him to enjoy fights.”

“That’s because fighting and warship are very different.’

Discussions broke out while the memory continued to load with Lang Ying refusing to accept his prince’s, for him shallow, signs of kindness.

“I don’t want anything and I don’t need anything. The only thing I want is for the kingdom of Xianle to cease existing. I need it to disappear.”

Xie Lian was relentless and argued that the people of YongAn only ran into certain death if they continued their ambushes and attacks. He asked the man if he didn’t feel remorse and worry for his own people.

While he spoke there was a glimmer of pity and frustration in his eyes. Even if the gods watching couldn’t know what was wrong with Lang Ying, the crown prince in the memory did.

“But why does this Lang Ying need Xianle to fall so desperately?” Someone asked and turned their head towards Mu Qing. Asked General had his head tilted and supported his chin with one hand while the other rested on his hip as he contemplated.

“I still remember him later developing a king’s aura… he was the only one that would survive a slash of His Highness head-on and…”

After having heard his loudly broadcasted mumbling the discussions quieted down a little. Mu Qing just could’t remember why Lang Ying even started all of this, why he was so determined. It had been too long and he already forgot the minor specifics of events.

Then Feng Xin said something.

“A red earing.”

_ _ _

Slowly, very slowly Mu Qing craned his head towards Feng Xin, it almost looked unnatural. Together with his wide eyes that showed not surprise, but rather a horrific expression that would make one immediately leave the heavens and hide in the darkest corner of the ocean hoping to never see this face directed at them again.

“What the fuck did you just say, general Nan Yang?”

Feng Xin rolled his eyes and groaned. “Calm down, I didn’t mean the one you searched for. The other one.”

“The other red pearl earring?”

“Exactly, didn’t his Highness mention once that he gave that earring to Lang Ying?”

Mu Qing snapped his fingers when he put the pieces together. “Right, he said that he had originally intended to help him. Lang Ying was supposed to sell the earring, and thus save his family.”

Then he trailed off again.

“But this doesn’t have anything to do with the war. If anything, it should’ve soothed him into remaining peaceful.”

The general of the southeast also shook his head. “I can’t remember either, but that was their first encounter as far as I remember.”

Then, a cold and flat voice was heard.

“Must you do this, even if the people of YongAn, your companions, must die for it?”

Xie Lian had asked and as everyone shifted their gazes back at the screen a chilling answer was heard.

“Yes.”

The fittingly calm response send something cold down the many listeners’ backs and apparently also the crownprince’s.

Xie Lian didn’t answer and only had a speechless expression giving Lang Ying the opportunity to continue talking.

“I won’t stop, no matter if my obstacles are humans, demons, or gods.

I. Will. Never. Stop.”

Blankly the prince met his gaze and there was almost motionless silence between the two. Even if Qi Rong had screamed in the background that day, Xie Lian must’ve blended him out because there was no sound other than Xie Lian’s eventual sharp inhale.

He raised his sword firmly with both hands as if it suddenly gained so much weight even a martial god struggled to wield it.

But it wasn’t the sword, no, one could see it in his face, in his eyes.

Regret and pity boiled up in them. The audience didn’t even need to hear his thoughts to understand his following actions.

He had already lifted his sword for maybe an inch when a loud menacing cackle came from right behind him.

He swung around with his sword ready-

There was a strange flicker on the screen. The white funeral garb and half crying half laughing mask could only be seen for mere parts of seconds.

Chu Hun leaned over and hastily looked around wondering what was causing the imagery to bug.

The heavenly officials followed suit when they realized that the calamity wasn’t responsible for this lag. The imagery was being twisted and merged somehow until there were only colorful blobs and snippets of audio but nothing coherent.

Confused Chu Hun checked his control over Xie Lian’s cage, but there didn’t seem anything to be wrong.

With an abrupt pull, he felt a similar sensation to a feather stroking over his right cheek. He turned his head in said direction and saw Hua Cheng struggling in his cage. The red calamity cradled his scull with his hands, which no longer had a death grip on his throat.

Since Chu Hun was busy taking care of Xie Lian’s mind, he found it difficult to sort his thoughts with both Xie Lian’s and Hua Cheng’s thoughts flooding his mind.

So instead of trying to organize the information, he simply unmuted Hua Cheng’s cage.

Tho it didn’t seem to be of any help strangely enough. Crimson Rain’s jaw was agape and his Adam’s apple was even slightly bobbing as if he was screaming but there was no sound.

The black-clad ghost was deeply unsettled by this and turned on Hua Cheng’s thoughts so he could hear them separately from his own mind. Maybe that would make it easier to focus on two minds at the same time.

When the audience could eventually hear what was going on in the seemingly screaming ghost’s mind it still wasn’t easier to understand.

He was internally rambling and very quickly and steadily recited:

‘Don’t show the following, just focus on your own memory, they’re not allowed to see, not allowed to hear, don’t, don’t, don’t make his highness relive this, fight against it and make it stop, maybe if I force enough of my own emotion together with the little spiritual energy I can currently access, I can hinder him somehow.

And:

‘There must be a loophole in this contract, there always is in such ancient artifacts since the rules of certain words and meanings have changed their policies over the centuries. Remember, where have I heard of that contract before? Fuck, it’s no use. I hope his highness is ok. Maybe if I try harder his round can be delayed.’

Simultaneously.

It was an incoherent mix of words smashed together almost completely impossible to understand with how fast his mind was going.

If one were to be in Hua Cheng’s position, one might’ve understood. He could only worry and scream internally as he desperately tried to find a solution to save his beloved from anything close to harm.

He had watched the prince get humiliated, and trampled upon, and even after around 300 years of peace from such slander, Hua Cheng still couldn’t put any trust in most of the heavenly officials and mortals.

He had seen how fast they could switch up from loving to hating, and people hated ten times stronger than they loved.

“-What are you doing, you cerebral matterless doofus!?-“ Chu Hun croaked out in his awful voice and glared at his addressor.

With one swift motion, he slapped his ashes. The flickering stopped and Hua Cheng fell on his knees with a dull thud, his throat still devoid of any air which could’ve made him utter any sound.

“-Tch, don’t try that again it doesn’t even do anything, it’s just annoying.-“

Then the screen imagery steadied and showed Xie Lian again. The part where Bei Wuxian showed himself and dragged Lang Ying away had already passed.

Xie Lian’s sword and Qi Rong were gone, leaving only the crown prince and young soldier behind in the forest. Wait, where did the soldier suddenly come from?

The heavenly officials blinked confused and surprised. Hadn’t the prince left him far behind? With how fast the prince had run, many wouldn’t be surprised if he had left a day’s trip worth of distance behind. Yet there he stood, defending his Highness from binu’s.

Xie Lian who initially looked somewhere far into the forest turned around and complimented the soldier. “You’re pretty good with the sword.”

His tone was quite impressed and a small smile graced his face, a refreshing sight considering the circumstances.

The boy stiffened and immediately straightened his back stuttering. “Y-yes sir!”

Xie Lian’s smile became a little crooked as he asked. “I didn’t give you an order, why say ‘yes sir’ now when you didn’t say it when I ordered you to stay behind?”

It was like a small scolding from mentor to scholar but the young boy was clearly taking it harder than it was meant to be.

“Yes sir!” He just said again but after realizing how unreasonable his response was stiffened even more.

With a small chuckle, Xie Lian shook his head. “You’re better suited for a saber tho.”

Those officials who had already caught onto who this soldier was laughed a little and tried to lift their moods with the adorable display of embarrassment between the couple that didn’t even know each other back then.

(Auther note: I will try to make this as much canon as possible but I will heavily lean into the information I’ve gotten about the revised version of the novel. Even if there isn’t any official English translation for a full volume, I have heard that MXTX made Hong-er older during the Land of the Tender scene. She only said something about making the war last longer but not changing the age gap between the main couple, which was my reasoning for keeping the child version of Hua Cheng in this fic. Anyway, this only means that Hong-er is already near 17 or 18 in the following scene.)

Unsure of himself Hong-er asked why the prince would think that.

There was a subtle sparkle in Xie Lian’s eyes that somewhat foreshadowed his excited response.

“You’ve never tried a saber before, have you? I didn’t think so, if you had you wouldn’t be asking me this. Your strikes are strong and wild which I appreciate but the longsword is tricky and requires more deliberate movement with more care for precision, but you honestly don’t need to worry about such things. Precision during combat only means to hit your enemy correctly, precision during acts of open display is only for show and status, you don’t need to learn the exhausting ways of sword dance like me…”

He went on for a short while but stopped himself with a light cough. He almost looked a little embarrassed that he let loose like that in front of a soldier but Hong-er didn’t look bothered in the slightest.

Then there was rustling.

Xie Lian instructed the soldier to follow and only focus on protecting himself and staying behind. Soon enough another binu appeared but was swiftly killed by a blast from the god. When the two stepped closer to investigate, the horrific sight of a severed head was found, still in the jaw of the binu, whose body was already splattered into many thousand pieces.

The two also wrinkled their noses, tho one could only see the prince’s face since the soldier had almost most of his face covered in bandages.

Therefore it wasn’t hard to guess that they were following a smell or rather a stench.

Their steps were cautious and Xie Lian carried more authority than the soldier even without a weapon as to be expected.

Soon they found a clearing, it was a gruesome sight of several corpses stacked atop each other on a pile. In mits of it all sat a weeping woman.

Feng Xin narrowed his eyes. All too clearly did he recall the looks of something very specific of that scene.

Someone who wasn’t him would’ve probably expected him to recall his times on the battlefield as the war unfolded in his homeland, but the corpses and blood were of least interest to him.

Instead, he was focused on a petite flower in the crying woman’s hair.

The woman hasn’t been visible on the screen for many seconds but it struck him like a single stain of light in an oddly dark room, or rather like one red drop of blood on a white carpet.

A strange thing to notice, since the red flower was surrounded by even brighter and shinier stains of blood all around.

Mu Qing observed him in contemplation. He knew of Feng Xin’s fear of women but also knew that that usually only meant women in his proximity. Seeing him freak out over a weak, frail, and immobilized woman who wasn’t only far away physically but also timely struck him as odd.

With narrowed eyes, he observed his old friend and thought…

Xie Lian rushed to the woman and gave her the pack of medicine he had originally bought for himself.

A few officials asked their superior Generals about the corpses and their attires suggesting that both YongAn soldiers and civilians had died there. They didn’t know that white-no-face had summoned the binus that killed them. Heck, many didn’t even see the slight flicker of his mask and just found it odd to see so many YongAn corpses without XianLe soldiers around.

They didn’t get an answer.

Feng Xin was staring too intently at the woman’s headpiece and Mu Qing was too focused on his shift of expression as he saw Xie Lian approach the woman.

Why did he look so irritated?

Mu Qing knew Feng Xin too well to misinterpret his expressions, yet he found himself utterly confused as he read not only fear but also anger and frustration in Feng Xin’s face.

His Highness was soothing the woman who screamed and cried more upon recognizing the prince. She was a YongAn civilian of course. He told her that he was there to help and that there was no need to fear.

Many gods watching, especially the female ones, recognized that Xie Lian’s gentle expression up close with such a soothing undertone and his protective demeanor had quite the allure. On top of that was his confidence. He must be alert and cautious in his given situation, yet he presents himself so eager to help as if that was his highest priority, quite the knight in shining armor.

With that look, it wasn’t surprising to know just how many young women were eager to become his wives or even mere concubines back in the day.

The soldier stepped in and warned His Highness. “Your Highness, please don’t drop your guard. She might be an evil spirit from the mountain.”

The real Hua Cheng didn’t look as composed. He was staring at the screen with a wide eye like it would bulge out of his eyesocket if he was to strain his facial muscles more.

Even E-Ming which has been lying on the ground at the corner of his cage started to vibrate just slightly.

Chapter Text

I'm having trouble to upload the illustration, so I'm trying to make a Reddit post or something like that. I'll share the link in here as soon as I can, thank you for your patience.

https://www.reddit.com/u/XieLiandeXianle/s/eV29WfLsZB