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“Your Highness, you really brought something you shouldn’t have up the mountain! That small child is toxic! His sign is borne of the most ominous star, the Star of Solitude, destined to bring misfortune and destruction, the kind that evil loves the most. Whoever touches him will have misfortune befall them, whoever gets close will lose their lives!”
When Hong’er heard the guoshi’s pronouncement of his fate, his first reaction had been overwhelming, blinding rage.
“I’m not! I’M NOT!! I’M NOT!!!!”
He’d raged and cried and wept like a howling animal. But why had these words had such a profound impact on him? Naturally, they were horrible to hear, but the guoshi was a stranger and his respected stature meant nothing to a raggedy child from the streets.
Yet, what he said had touched on a nerve. The matter of fact was, it was far from the first time Hong’er had heard something like this about himself.
“Unnatural freak! Don’t touch that, you’ll taint it with your bad luck!”
“Eugh! Get that smelly brat away from me!”
“It would have been better if you’d died with your bitch mother!”
Hong’er had spent the better part of his life being told things like this. When his mother died, his father blamed him for her death. Even before that, their neighbors had pointed to his red eye as a mark of evil. One of the grannies that lived down the street knew a little bit of fortune telling. She said his time of birth was unlucky, that it meant he was destined to live a cursed life.
Hong’er’s mother had told him not to listen.
“We make our own fate.” She told him over and over again. She made him repeat it too, repeat it so many times that he even started to believe it.
Only, then she died. His father remarried and Hong’er’s life became a new sort of hell. As he grew older, the scorn and bullying only became worse. He tried to cling to her words, the last and only thing he had left of her, but words could only do so much.
He was like a castaway holding onto a feeble piece of driftwood — the rest of the world bore down on him like massive storm waves.
“You’re not. I know you’re not. Don’t cry, now. I know you’re not.”
Only his savior-gege was different.
But now, Hong’er knew that his savior-gege was wrong.
His fate really was a vile and corrosive thing, radiating outwards to tear down the ones closest to him. Hong’er watched over and over again as Xie Lian was cut down, humiliated and scorned until the brilliant, shining prince who had once been called the darling of the heavens was dirty and wretched, lying in a muddy pit. The lowly villagers who walked past wouldn’t even look at him.
Hong’er had foolishly, willfully believed that his mother was right. He had wanted Xie Lian’s words to be true. He had thought he could overcome his fate with sheer determination. It had all come to nothing.
So, what was there left to do?
He watched from the shadows as an old man tossed his bamboo hat down into the pit out of pity. He watched the transformation in Xie Lian unfold, his pessimism and vengeance melting away to once again reveal a righteous and glorious god.
Hong’er knew that he had no place at his god’s side.
In a brief moment of distraction, he swiped the black sword out of the hands of the villagers.
Xie Lian was telling the villagers to stab him, to hurt him so that they would be immune from the human faces disease. He was trying to bear the burden of the calamity he had summoned. Hong’er could no longer stand by his side, but there was still one way that he could help him.
The vengeful spirits started descending, and Xie Lian called them to him. His body wracked as they dove at him, jerking back as if he were taking physical blows. Hong’er could not stand idle a moment longer.
He raised the black sword and took on the burden himself. What followed was pain like he’d never known. He screamed and screamed, but he didn’t let go of the black sword. He was determined.
At the end of it, what was left of him was barely a sliver of a soul.
In this state, his consciousness was almost nothing. He had almost no sense of self left and the outside world was all but imperceptible. Still, he heard it when his god addressed him directly.
“I hope we shall meet again.”
And Hong’er thought, My god, my devotion is unwavering, but I cannot let that come to pass.
Xie Lian, thrice ascended god, was sitting in the tea house at the foot of Mount Yujun when he saw the silver butterfly. Delicate as the finest jewelry, it was unlike any insect he has ever seen in eight hundred years of wandering the mortal realm.
What are you? He wondered, delighted.
He watched as it fluttered out the open window and disappeared into the bright sky. It seemed like a good omen for the mission to come.
… Or perhaps not, he thought as he instructed Nan Feng and Fu Yao to retreat in the face of the hordes of wolves and binu.
Shortly after they left, the night became extremely quiet. Xie Lian straightened his red veil, which had slipped a little in the chaotic battle. It was difficult to see through the square of silk, especially now that it was dark. Sitting quietly in the bridal palanquin, he looked down at his hands.
The silence was so complete that not even insects dared to call out. Without a doubt, a powerful ghost had arrived.
In fact, it was so quiet that Xie Lian could make out the soft wingbeats of a butterfly that flew through the crack in the palanquin’s curtain. Glancing down out the bottom of the veil, he saw a faint light.
With one hand, he pulled off the veil. A silver butterfly, exactly the same as the one that flew past him in the tea house, had perched carefully atop his knee. It was most certainly a spirit of some kind, he decided, based on how it was glowing in the dark. Still, there was nothing malevolent or evil in its aura.
The artificial smile he had fixed on his face softened into something a little more genuine.
After a moment, the butterfly flapped its wings, lifting off of Xie Lian’s knee and fluttering back towards the opening in the curtain. Xie Lian followed it outside.
Veil clutched in one hand, he looked around for any sign of the ghost groom. Bodies of slain binu and wolves lay scattered around the scene, but otherwise, he seemed to be completely alone. Still, he had a faint feeling that he was being watched.
The silver butterfly had flown a little ways down the mountain path that the fake bridal procession had been following. Now, it was hovering in place. It was almost like it was waiting for Xie Lian to catch up.
Taking the bait, he started walking towards it, holding up the hem of his skirt as he navigated around the corpses strewn over the uneven trail. The butterfly waited until he drew near, then started flying away again. Xie Lian followed after it.
After walking for a couple of minutes, he heard a soft crunching noise. He felt the array surrounding the site of the battle suddenly drop.
Xie Lian froze in place and a moment later the butterfly paused as well. His head swiveled back and forth, looking around for what had caused the noise. He didn’t see anything. By all appearances, he really was alone. When he tentatively started walking again, the butterfly continued forward too.
They carried on like that for a little while. Xie Lian remained on high alert for any other sounds or disturbances. There were none, but after about five minutes, he abruptly stopped again.
Propped up against a tree right next to the path was a red lacquer umbrella.
Xie Lian stared at it. What on earth was it for?
All day, the sky had been clear. When the bridal party had left, there hadn’t been a cloud in sight. Could it really be about to rain?
Still, it had to be here for a reason. Someone clearly wanted him to pick it up. There was no way that this nice umbrella just happened to have been left propped against this tree.
Might as well, he thought, bending over to grab its smooth wood handle. And he might as well use it properly, too.
He opened the umbrella up, held it over his head as if it was raining, and then continued on. Several steps down the path, raindrops began to patter on its surface.
Xie Lian was suddenly very grateful for whoever had left the umbrella out for him. The mountain air was frigid, and the occasional gust of wind cut between the trees. He was glad not to be getting wet in these conditions.
Maybe it was leftover from the slaughter earlier, but there was a faint smell of blood. Ahead of him, the silver butterfly didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain at all.
They kept going, and just as suddenly as it had started, the rain stopped. Pausing for a moment, Xie Lian closed the umbrella and set it down against a tree, just the way he’d found it. The night had only grown darker, but he thought the water dripping off of it looked a little strange. He didn’t have time to investigate, however. He still had to find and apprehend the ghost groom.
When he glanced back up, he was startled to find that the silver butterfly had disappeared. Where could it have gone?
He jogged several steps forward, looking for it. Xie Lian’s eyesight was very good, and in the dark forest, its luminescent wings should have made it easy to spot, but there was no sign of it.
He looked back to where he’d come from, only to realize that the red umbrella had also disappeared.
“Is anyone there?” He called out. Silence followed.
He blinked several times, rubbing at his eyes. The butterfly and the umbrella… he couldn’t have imagined them, right?
Well, the only thing he could do now was to continue forward. The whole situation was very strange, from start to finish. Could the butterfly have been sent by the ghost groom? He wondered. Something in his gut told him no.
Only a dozen steps ahead, he stumbled into the clearing that housed the temple of General Ming Guang. There wasn't time to think about this. He had to find out what had happened to those missing brides.
Later, in the communication array, he finally was able to ask, “Speaking of which, I happened to encounter a silver butterfly at Mount Yujun. Has anyone ever seen one before?”
All of the gods’ raucous chatter suddenly fell silent. Xie Lian had been expecting this reaction, and so he simply waited.
It was Ling Wen who spoke. “Your highness, what did you just say?”
“He must have encountered Hua Cheng.” Mu Qing explained coldly.
“Hua Cheng?” Xie Lian asked, perking up. “So it’s a person who is controlling the butterflies?”
“If your highness didn’t see him, then that’s good.” Ling Wen replied. Then, after an awkward moment of silence, “Have you ever heard of the Four Calamities?”
Before he descended back to the mortal realm, Xie Lian stopped in to see Ling Wen about his debt. After explaining that it had been taken care of, she had one final reminder for him.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but you might come across Hua Cheng in the mortal realm, so please remember this. Hua Cheng rose from Mount Tonglu, where thousands of ghosts kill each other. Any ghost king who survived the trial is sly, brutal, and fickle. Maybe he was kind to you earlier, but you should never let your guard down. Just try to avoid him.”
Xie Lian smiled and thanked her for the advice, but privately, he wondered whether it was really that likely that he’d meet him. He had taken great care not to reveal himself on that mountain pass, after all. That was assuming he’d even been there in the first place.
As for the rumors of his viciousness and brutality, Xie Lian would wait to judge that for himself. To be honest, he didn’t really understand the fervor the silver butterflies had caused in the communication array. The two that he’d seen had seemed perfectly gentle and not the least bit blood-thirsty. Really, the butterfly on the mountain pass couldn’t have been more patient or helpful.
If anything, Xie Lian felt a bit excited at the prospect of meeting Hua Cheng in person. Maybe he was being foolish, but he was rather intrigued by the stories surrounding this ghost king, and even more so by the idea of someone who had created something as beautiful and interesting as the silver butterflies. As he settled into his brand new shrine in Puqi village, his mind kept turning back to the question of what he might be like.
When his work for the day was finally done, he settled down on his sleeping mat and blew out the candles.
Unbeknownst to Xie Lian, perched up in the rafters next to a hole in the roof, a silver butterfly kept watch.
By the time he was finished investigating the matter of Banyue Kingdom, Xie Lian’s passing interest in Hua Cheng had turned into full blown curiosity. It seemed like everywhere he went, his name kept popping up.
When he finally returned to heaven and met with Jun Wu, he was delighted to be assigned a mission to Ghost City. It was starting to feel ridiculous, but maybe if he showed up in the ghost king’s territory, he would finally get to meet this person he had heard so much about.
The journey to Ghost City had largely been uneventful, aside from accidentally getting separated from Shi Qingxuan in the bustling market. As for Ghost City itself, uneventful was the absolute last word that should be used to describe it.
Xie Lian wandered the streets with wide eyes, taking in the vendors selling wares he’d never seen before, the restaurant owners hawking bizarre and grotesque foods, and the market-goers in their colorful masks and face paint. Some crazy person was randomly tossing money in the air — reaching out to grab one, Xie Lian saw that it was ghost money, just as he’d suspected. Come to think of it, the whole city smelled of incense and burning joss paper.
Heavenly communication spells didn’t work inside Ghost City, and in the chaotic market, there really wasn’t much hope of finding Shi Qingxuan by happenstance. He found himself moving along with the flow of traffic, bustled down the street until he reached a throng of people idling outside a gigantic red mansion. Looking it over, he realized the building was a gambler’s den.
Insider the Gambler’s Den, he found a crowd even rowdier than the one out on the street.
“Sir, are you here to play?”
Xie Lian smiled politely at the attendant. “I don’t have any money on me. Is it okay if I just look around?”
He was surprised when the ghost laughed and replied, “No money is no issue. The gamblers here don’t really use money.”
Xie Lian’s eyebrows flew up. “Really?”
She smiled at him, “Really. Sir, why don’t you come with me? Tonight is an especially good night to visit our establishment. It isn’t every night that our lord pays us a visit.”
Their lord? Xie Lian thought with growing excitement. Could that mean….
The attendant led him towards the back of the hall. As they ventured deeper inside, the crowd only grew more dense and rowdy. At the very back, there was a long table that everyone was crowding around.
They had only just approached when Xie Lian heard a man call out, “I bet my arm!”
At the far end of the long table was a raised platform, shrouded with sheer red curtains. From behind the curtains, he could just make out the dark shadow of a man, leaning back casually on a large chair.
“No need. Nevermind your arm. Even your shit life is worthless here.”
The voice that came from behind the curtain was deep and commanding. It sent a shiver down Xie Lian’s spine. Even with all of the shouting and clamoring voices in the hall, this voice forced everyone to pay attention.
A commanding presence sitting on a raised dais in what must be one of the premier establishments of Ghost City… could this person be Hua Cheng?
Xie Lian peered up eagerly, trying to make out as much as he could. It wasn’t easy. Between the curtain and the jostling of the crowd, he really couldn’t get a good view. His voice left such a deep impression, however, Xie Lian would be shocked if the man sitting there was anything short of breathtaking.
“Young Master, since you seem to be interested in watching the proceedings, I will leave you here. Please come and find me if you need any more help.”
Xie Lian had almost forgotten about the ghost attendant that had led him over here. He quickly thanked her, and she bowed before slipping away. He was a little surprised by how polite and helpful she’d been. By all accounts, Ghost City was supposed to be a ruthless place where everyone had a dog-eat-dog mentality. He really hadn’t expected to be treated with such kindness.
Looking back to the scene at the long table, he saw that the person who had originally spoken was still trying to place his bet.
“But… how come the other guy was able to bet both his legs?”
In addition to the man sitting behind the red curtain, there were also a number of ghost attendants standing around the raised platform. One of them spoke up, explaining that the prior gambler had been an acclaimed bandit and therefore his legs were worth something.
At the same time, Xie Lian noticed another one of the attendants climb up a discreet set of stairs at the side of the platform. Actually, it was the same attendant that had helped him earlier. He watched as she leaned towards the curtain, cupped a hand around her mouth, and whispered something to the lord.
Whatever she was saying, it made the man behind the curtain’s head shoot up. It looked like he was asking her some clarifying questions. Now that he wasn’t projecting, his words were completely inaudible in the noisy room. The attendant nodded and the man made some sort of gesture. She bowed low, and then hurried back down the stairs.
Then the man behind the curtain stood up. At once, everyone in the grand hall stopped talking.
At the bottom of the platform, the ghost attendant was now whispering something to one of her coworkers. The other attendant cleared his throat.
“The lord is no longer taking bets tonight.”
No sooner than he had said it, the man behind the curtain vanished into thin air.
There was a collective gasp. Then, the volume in the Gambler’s Den exploded, a thousand voices chattering and shouting over each other. The man standing at the end of the long table who had been trying to place his bet looked outraged.
Xie Lian wasn’t quite sure what to make of what had just happened, but he didn’t have much time to think about it. Right behind him came a voice—
“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
It was Shi Qingxuan. He had returned to his male form, and looked a little more harried than he had when they had gotten separated earlier. Standing behind him, his dark blue sleeve gripped tight in the Wind Master’s hand, was Lang Qianqiu.
Xie Lian followed the two of them towards the edge of the hall, where it was a little quieter and they could stand around without being jostled by gamblers.
“It’s good that we were able to meet up here. Has anything interesting happened since we parted?” Shi Qingxuan questioned immediately.
Xie Lian shook his head. “Nothing important. I think that might have been Hua Cheng who was here just now, sitting behind the curtain. Do you know if it was?”
Shi Qingxuan shook his head. “I didn’t have a chance to see, we just got here. It could be. I heard out on the street that he’s in the city — everybody is talking about it. To be honest, it really isn’t good news for us. If their chengzhu is in town, that means security is going to be extra tight.”
At his side, Lang Qianqiu was surveying the crowd of gamblers with an expression of grave disapproval.
“Honestly, it would be best if one of us could sneak into Paradise Manor and take a look around, but right now there’s absolutely no chance of that happening.” Shi Qingxuan continued.
“Paradise Manor? What’s that?”
“It’s Hua Cheng’s residence.” He explained. “It’s where he rules Ghost City from, and the most likely place to find clues about who cast the Ascending Fire Dragon spell. Getting inside would be a long shot even if Hua Cheng was away, but it definitely won’t be possible now.”
“What should we do then?”
Shi Qingxuan looked around the Gambler’s Den uneasily. “To be honest, we should probably split up. It’s more suspicious if the three of us are together, and we can cover more ground if we part. Do you think you’ll be fine on your own, your highness?”
Xie Lian reassured him that he would be.
There didn’t seem to be much point staying in the Gambler’s Den, so they made their way outside.
“Alright. Let’s plan to meet back here again in three days’ time at the latest. Everyone work hard and do your best to come up with a good result.” The Wind Master instructed. “Otherwise, with three heavenly officials assigned to this case, they’re going to say we have an even lower success rate than the palace of Ling Wen! That would be unbearable!”
On this note, they split up, each of them walking off in a different direction.
Back to wandering the market, Xie Lian thought hard about what he could do to find clues about the heavenly official who had set off the Ascending Fire Dragon spell. The only thing he could think of was that it must have been the result of a pretty big fight, and maybe news of the matter might have spread amongst the Ghost City residents.
The part of the market he was in seemed to cater more to tourists than locals. Now that he was paying more attention, he could see a number of cultivators and even regular humans walking around. He suspected the ghosts in these parts would be less likely to share news or engage in idle chit chat. Maybe if he could find a tavern….
He turned down a side street that seemed a little quieter than the main avenue.
It was darker here, and the road was narrow. Tall buildings rising up on both sides. There weren’t as many merchants out on the street. The ones Xie Lian did see seemed surlier than the loud and boisterous hawkers from the main avenue.
Most of them ignored Xie Lian altogether, but when he accidentally caught the eye of a thick-set ghost with the head of a pelican, the ghost barked out at him, “Got a problem?”
“My apologies.” Xie Lian quickly replied, ducking his head and making to hurry down the street.
“Hey, not so fast, buddy.” The pelican-headed man’s hand shot out and grabbed Xie Lian by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. He turned Xie Lian around, looking him over. “Who are you and what’s your business here?”
“I don’t want any trouble.” Xie Lian raised both of his hands in front of him, a pacifying gesture.
“Sure you don’t.” Another surly voice drawled. A tall ghost wearing a painted mask depicting a monkey stepped out of a shadowy doorway. “White robes, human skin. You’re a cultivator, aren’t you?”
At this point, a crowd was starting to form on the previously sparse street. Xie Lian opened his mouth to speak, but before he had the chance, a lanky woman with the body of a snake slithered over, “He looks poor, but if he’s ventured into Ghost City, he probably has something valuable on him.”
“I really don’t….”
Another voice cut in, “After that, we ought to see about his bones. The bones of a cultivator fetch a mighty fine price, you know.”
The ghosts started to push and pull at him, everyone talking over each other and making a great racket. Xie Lian wasn’t quite sure what to do. Should he try to settle this with words? Should he deflect everyone’s attention and run away?
Before he could make up his mind, a shock ran through the crowd. The previously frenzied group suddenly fell quiet and began moving respectfully out of the way. In their midst, a man dressed in black wearing a strange white mask appeared.
“It’s the Waning Moon Officer!”
“Shut up everyone! Stop making a fool of yourself, the Waning Moon Officer is here!”
At once, everyone took a step back from Xie Lian. He looked up.
He had already seen a lot of elaborate masks worn on the streets of Ghost City, but the Waning Moon Officer’s was particularly distinctive. Made of a material as white as bone and depicting a woefully smiling face, it was simple but unsettling.
He addressed Xie Lian directly. “Greetings, cultivator. The lord has invited you to come to Paradise Manor.”
A wave of shock rolled through the crowd.
“Me?” Xie Lian asked, pointing at himself.
The Waning Moon Officer nodded. “Yes. Please come with me, if you don’t mind.”
With that, he turned to go and Xie Lian stumbled after him. Around them, the crowd of ghosts had broken out into furious whispers. Everyone seemed stunned. Xie Lian was too.
“Paradise Manor is the lord’s sanctuary. He never invites guests!” He overheard a chicken-headed ghost say disbelievingly to her companion.
Xie Lian couldn’t believe it himself. What was it that Shi Qingxuan had said? That there was no chance they would be able to sneak into Paradise Manor? Apparently there was no need for sneaking. Did this mean that he would get to meet Hua Cheng?
The Waning Moon Officer led him through a maze of side streets and alleyways until they were back on a wide, open avenue. The whole way, ghosts cleared out of their path the moment they spotted the distinctive white mask. Walking a couple of steps behind him, half-jogging to keep up, Xie Lian didn’t know whether he was supposed to feel like an honored guest or a condemned prisoner.
When Paradise Manor came into sight, it was unmistakable. He had been impressed with the size of the Gambler’s Den, but Paradise Manor was easily three or four times larger. It was palatial, easily rivaling Jun Wu’s residence in the heavenly realm, but instead of exuding a feeling of tranquility and prestige, the architecture had a darkly glamorous aura. The best way to describe it was bewitching. Xie Lian found that he was deeply curious to find out what was inside.
The Waning Moon officer led him through the main doors, into a grand pavilion, covered in gold.
At the center of the hall, a group of dancers were performing. From someplace Xie Lian couldn’t see, ethereal music was being played. It sounded like nothing Xie Lian had ever heard before.
“You can call me Yin Yu.” The Waning Moon Officer informed him.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Xie Lian replied. “My name is Xie Lian.”
“I know.”
So Hua Cheng knew who he was, then, Xie Lian surmised.
Yin Yu led him to a large and comfortable seating area near the back of the pavilion.
“Please, make yourself comfortable. If you need anything, you can tell one of the servants. Alternatively, you can call for me, and I will come and see to it myself. Hua-chengzhu instructed me to inform you that nowhere in the manor is off limits to you.”
Dumbstruck, Xie Lian nodded, and Yin Yu left.
Alone in the grand hall, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. For a while, he listened to the strange and captivating music, watching the dancers twirl and run around. They were tireless, dancing continuously without pause. Xie Lian couldn’t tell if they were humans, ghosts, or some sort of illusion.
He noticed that on the low table in front of him, someone had left a stack of gold foil sheets, the kind used to make gold foil palaces. It was a game Xie Lian had been particularly fond of as a child, and he had nothing better to do, so he reached forward and started playing.
He kept expecting Hua Cheng to come out and meet him, but as the minutes stretched out into hours, it became increasingly apparent that this was not going to happen.
Xie Lian ended up eating dinner alone — an elaborate and luxurious affair, with sumptuous and fragrant dishes stretching down a table that could have sat 50 people. Tonight, it was apparently only going to seat one.
He ended up exploring the library alone after he let it slip to Yin Yu that he was interested in learning more about the ghost realm. As he flipped through books and glanced at the contents of various scrolls, he found himself thinking more about the person who had put the library together than the information in front of him.
When he was escorted to a guest room for the night, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. For a while he sat and looked out the window. His suite had a balcony that offered a fantastic view of the colorful streets of the Ghost City. From this quiet vantage point, Xie Lian found the swirling chaos below extremely charming.
He wondered what Shi Qingxuan and Lang Qianqiu were up to. He hoped they were staying out of trouble.
Now that he was in Paradise Manor, he really ought to be pursuing the investigation, but it felt exceedingly awkward to snoop around in the home of someone who had been nothing but gracious and kind to him. Even if that gracious and kind someone had yet to introduce himself.
At first, he’d thought the ghost king must be exceedingly busy, but now he was starting to think that Hua Cheng might be avoiding him. Unfortunately, at the same time, the more he had seen of Ghost City and the more he had heard about his enigmatic host, the more Xie Lian wanted to meet him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d run into someone so… so interesting.
The next morning, he dressed and was brought back to the dining room, where he was served another elaborate meal. When Xie Lian inquired after Hua Cheng, Yin Yu apologetically explained. “Unfortunately, Hua-chengzhu is still busy handling various affairs. He’s expressed that you are allowed to stay at Paradise Manor for as long as you want, however.”
Xie Lian outwardly smiled and asked Yin Yu to pass along his thanks. Privately, he marveled at how bizarre this ghost king was. He surely must know Xie Lian's identity, considering how he’d invited him to stay in his home without having met him. But if he knew, then why was he being so courteous? Was it some sort of elaborate trap? If it was a trap, why be so careful to avoid seeing him?
Not sure what else to do, he decided to spend his morning exploring the large garden attached to the manor. Like everything else about Paradise Manor, it was gorgeous.
As Xie Lian walked along the thoughtfully designed paths, crossing over charming wooden bridges and wandering through various gazebos and pavilions, the peculiar feeling of being watched returned. He was starting to develop a theory.
Maintaining an air of absent mindedness, he focused on his hearing.
Yes, he wasn’t imagining it — the near-soundless pad of footsteps on stone, maybe two dozen paces behind him. The quiet swish of the hem of someone’s robes brushing against the ground. Once he had picked out these subtle sounds, it was easy to lock onto them and track the movement of the person following behind.
Perhaps he should have minded being spied on, but he got the distinct impression that he wasn’t being watched, so much as watched over. It was almost exactly the feeling he’d gotten on Mount Yujun, when he was following the silver butterfly.
Xie Lian was standing on a path adjacent to a large and particularly picturesque lake. Under the guise of taking a closer look, he stepped off the paved stone and approached its banks. A nearby patch of lotus plants were in bloom, and Xie Lian made a show of crouching down and leaning forward to admire their pink flowers.
When he stood up and turned around, he was careful not to glance in the direction of his stealthy companion. He was deliberately not careful in where he placed his feet.
Stepping awkwardly on a mossy rock, Xie Lian slipped and lost his balance. Arms careening, he fell backwards, towards the water.
There was a quiet woosh — the rapid displacement of air — and in the blink of an eye, a man appeared at his side. Before he hit the water, the stranger’s arms had wrapped around Xie Lian’s shoulders and waist, catching him like a swooning maiden. Disaster averted, they both froze.
Xie Lian blinked up at his savior.
He was tall and slender, with long dark hair tumbling in loose waves down his back. On one side, a thin braid was tied off with a red pearl. He was wearing a dark red outer robe cut out of some thick and pearlescent silk. Underneath, his inner robes were all black. It was a striking look that particularly emphasized the paleness of his skin.
His features were… exceedingly handsome, Xie Lian noticed with great distraction. His jawline was sharp and masculine. His nose was long and elegant, leading down to a full mouth, his lips parted slightly to show white, rather sharp-looking teeth. As for his gaze….
The man was wearing a black leather eyepatch over his right eye, but the left was dark and blown wide. He was staring down at Xie Lian in shock, as if he couldn’t believe what was happening.
Xie Lian capitalized on the moment.
“Is there a reason you’re avoiding me?” He asked, blinking up at him guilelessly.
He watched as Hua Cheng’s stupefied face flushed red in embarrassment. For a long moment, neither of them said anything.
Then, all at once, Hua Cheng seemed to remember himself. Gentle as could be, he stood Xie Lian upright and removed his hands. With careful gestures, he guided him back towards the path, arms half-outstretched, ready to catch him in case he slipped again. Throughout all of this, he didn't say a word.
When they were back on the path, facing each other, Hua Cheng rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. He looked away, unable to meet Xie Lian’s eyes. “I…” he trailed off.
He looked so uncomfortable, Xie Lian felt a little bad about his trick. He bit his lip. Haltingly, he asked, “Maybe you’d like to join me on my walk?”
“Whatever Gege wants,” Hua Cheng agreed, and then flushed an even deeper shade of red.
Eyebrows raised at the particularly familiar term of address, Xie Lian nodded and then turned back the way he’d been walking before his little detour. Hua Cheng matched his stride.
“I apologize—” Hua Cheng started.
“No, no, it’s okay.” Xie Lian cut him off. They lapsed into awkward silence. After a beat, Xie Lian ventured, “Do we perhaps know each other?”
Hua Cheng grimaced. “We do,” he admitted after a while.
Xie Lian nodded. It was the explanation that made the most sense. “Much ashamed, but I’m afraid I don’t remember. Did we… did we part on bad terms?”
At that, Hua Cheng’s eyes flew wide. “No! No, no, not at all!” His shoulders were up to his ears, arms half raised in panic. He looked rather like a startled cat.
“Then, is there another reason why you’ve been avoiding me?”
Hua Cheng looked mortified, glancing away and rubbing again at his neck. Xie Lian almost felt bad about it, but really, certain things ought to be said outright, and this was one of them.
By now, they had wandered into a peach orchard. The path led them between the rows of trees, which were currently in bloom. The view was breathtaking, like something out of a fable.
“The reason doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Hua Cheng explained. “I’m afraid, I was born under an unlucky star. As a result, misfortune is fated to befall the people closest to me. Gege might not remember, but in the past, I’ve caused him quite a bit of trouble.”
“That can’t be right.” Xie Lian frowned. Thinking back to every bad turn he’d taken, as far as he could remember, all of the unluckiness in his life had been the result of his own actions. “One’s birth may be what it is, but in my experience, we make our own fate. Either way, it can hardly apply to our situation now. You see,” he smiled warmly at Hua Cheng and gestured to his cursed shackles, “I don’t think it's possible for me to get any unluckier than I already am.”
As if he’d jinxed himself, in the next step, Xie Lian’s foot caught on a root and he tripped. Just as he had last time, Hua Cheng dove forward to catch him.
They ended up in much the same position, Xie Lian bent backwards and Hua Cheng leaning over him, arms wrapped around his waist and back.
A strong breeze rustled the leaves overhead, sending a cascade of flowers raining down on them. Then, without warning, an early peach snapped off one of the upper branches of the tree they were standing under. It would have fallen directly on Xie Lian’s head if Hua Cheng’s hand hadn’t darted out and snatched it out of the air.
He looked down at Xie Lian sheepishly, looked back at the fruit, and then offered it to him.
Xie Lian accepted the peach. Improbable as it was, it looked perfectly ripe. Tentatively, he took a bite out of it. Hua Cheng watched him steadily, seeming to have forgotten that Xie Lian was still in his arms.
Sweet peach juice burst across his tongue. It was possibly the best peach Xie Lian had ever had in his life.
Looking up at Hua Cheng with raised eyebrows, he asked, “What was it you said about luck?”
He smiled and, with shining eyes, Hua Cheng smiled back.