Chapter Text
There has been nothing in what feels like forever, Xie Lian thinks.
Just dark a three layer air tight coffin and a wooden dowl that keeps Xie Lian from seeing the light of day,
that keeps him from hearing anything but his still somehow beating heart that was pierced by the dowl all those years ago,
although he can barely feel anything anymore,the pain is now just a memory of the past,
is what Xie Lian thinks before his heart beats yet again.
It stings and it hurts every time he remembers that yes in fact he is still alive and breathing even if all the air in his coffin has been consumed a long time ago.
He feels ill over the lack of air and light headed from the constant bleeding escaping his heart every time it beats, he physically cannot stop his heart from beating permanently because that would mean he'd finally die.
But he can't exactly do that due to the cursed shackle around his neck preventing him from using his godhood as well as falling into the sweet embrace of death.
In the complete silence and utter darkness Xie Lian thinks, 'I used to be a god,I used to have temples and believers and a kingdom and family and friends,if this were to happen to me when I was a god way back then everyone would have cared.. and if not, someone would have at least..'
Maybe his mother or Feng Xing,who knows maybe even his father or Mu Qing would consider batting an eye and wondering where he was.
But that wasn't the case, not at all. His friends are living their own lives carefree from Xie Lian's bad luck and his parents have long since died meaning that he's alone.
With nobody to wonder where he is, with nothing to feel other than pain, with no friends with no senses, just nothing but cold darkness and pain, just nothing for him at this point.
He is nothing.
No feeling of happiness no warmth,no light. Nothing.
Maybe it has always been like that and the memories Xie Lian keeps looking back at are just his imagination trying to think of any kind of gruesome or grim situation that will entertain his empty mind, he's willing to believe that at this point, he's willing to believe anything if it means he will get to feel free from the long box that's confining him.
As he stays in the dark, being one with nothingness he drifts off into stumble,or perhaps into nothing.
.
.
.
He awakes once more in the dark and cold coffin,the rotten wood drowned in his blood as his heart beats in his ears shocking his entire body and letting out more blood into the already drenched coffin.
That for Xie Lian was enough to remind him that yes,he is still alive..his heart must have stopped before that's why he was so at peace but now it was all back,all the pain is back.
Xie Lian tries out of instinct to take a breath only to realise there's no air.
Oh.. Oh god..OH GOD THERE'S NO AIR!
Xie Lian can't breath, everything is so tight he can't focus, he's light headed from the lack of air and dizzy from the blood loss so he trashes and squirms around trying desperately to seek air like a bird deep underwater.
This thrashing and moving not only releases more blood into the coffin but it's also the only form of exercise Xie Lian revives anymore even if at this point he's nothing more than skin and bones he still has the ability to move, despite his whole body telling him not to,
his weakened muscles were basically falling apart from the moving and were begging Xie Lian to stop moving but the adrenaline from all the panic he felt at moment was too much to withstand.
And just then his chest feels lighter as if spreading apart in a way and Xie Lian feels something moving under his robes moving up from his chest to his neck
Had the worms and snakes finally found a way without the coffin? would that mean there was also a way for him to get out?
Xie Lian lifts his head to see better despite the lid close over his head and the darkness. His eyes had grown adjusted to the dark, meaning his vision was not horrible.
In the dark he can make out what seems like a silk band had slithered out of his robes and was gently stroking his face
Any panic Xie Lian had faded away at the moment as it dawned on him..Ruoye..Ruoye his spiritual weapon that had been by his side for as long as Xie lian's banishment stood, it was with him in the coffin the whole time, how had he not noticed?
Ruoye had been under his robes, trying to stop as much blood loss as it possibly can, it was dirty, grimy and unkept and Xie Lian could do nothing about it since there was nothing to clean Ruoye with, and it was all Xie Lian's fault, this was all his fault to begin with.
The reason why Ruoye is struggling on keeping Xie Lian's blood within him to no avail was because Xie Lian just had to put himself between in places he had no say in.. not anymore that is.
The people of Xianle, his fallen kingdom, were resentful of the Yong'an royal family for being the cause of the civil war that brought Xianle to shambles, and what say does Xie Lian have in this? He tried his best despite everything being against him only to fail and escalate Xianle's doom.
His parents, the king and queen did nothing when word got out that Yong'an was facing a drought, and they did even less when refugees came looking for shelter only to be shut out and left outside the royal capital of Xianle to rot in the mud.
Even Xie Lian, who was a god at the time, couldn't do anything, the heavenly realm just didn't allow him to intervene with the morals anymore since he was a god, and yet he intervened and made everything worse
Him intervening caused more pain and suffering in the form of a wicked demon and an illness that only brought harm to his kingdom,and to top it all off Xianle lost the war and Xie Lian was banished from godhood for the first time.
And yet, he still hasn't learnt his lesson as the former State Preceptor of Yong'an, Fang Xin, and brought suffering to his disciple, Lang Qianqiu, his disciple's father, himself and Ruoye.. at least a plague didn't break out this time.
Xie Lian dropped his head back down to the bloody and rotten wood below him as he fell deep in thought despite the pain in his chest. He has been thinking a lot about the past today, or tonight, he couldn't be sure, and the more he thinks the more back in time he goes, back when times were much simpler.
As Ruoye kept stroking his cheek slowly and gently Xie Lian can basically hear his mother's calm and gentle humming as she too stroked his son's back after a particularly bad nightmare..
Despite it being an old distant memory Xie Lian is still lulled into slumber from his mother's humming in his ear.. maybe this is all a nightmare of which he'll awake from soon..
.
.
.
After some time,Xie Lian awaken again from his seemingly endless slumber
He's still in the coffin and still with a dowl through his heart.
Ruoye must have went back under his robes in order to stop the constant blood loss again but it was all meaningless at this point.
No matter how much Xie Lian tried, wished and fought, he couldn't get out of the coffin. This was his life now, just endless pain and darkness
How long has he even been here? Years? Decades? Maybe even centuries, but it didn't matter anymore,
he'll never see the light of day or how the world has changed so why even bother with keeping track of time? Why even bother to try and speak? Why even bother to think at this point
It was all meaningless.
It was all nothing.
It's always been nothing.
It's been nothing in what feels like forever.
-THUD-
Just now, a sound was heard, it sounds like..
-THUD-
There it is again! Something is happening outside of the coffin!
-THUD-
Xie Lian was relieved, someone was out there!
Could it be someone came to save him? maybe it was Feng Xing or Mu Qing? heavens sake, it might even be Jun Wu himself!
-THUD-
Or what if it were mortals? What if they got curious of the coffin and wanted to investigate?
What if they expect something in return? What if they were..
-THUD-
Grave robbers!
It dawned on Xie Lian,that if whoever was out there was a mortal, they probably wouldn't be aware that he's immortal and are probably looking to steal from the coffin of a dead man
What if they saw Xie Lian's deformed and sickly appearance and became so spooked they'd run away before even thinking of helping!
Any relief Xie Lian felt was now replaced with dread and worry, what was going to happen?
-THUD- -CREAAAK..-
The first layer of the coffin was removed,and Xie Lian could hear something from above him.
"Tai......b.....ha.......s...one..n..t..ce.."
It was a voice,Xie Lian was sure of it. Although it took him a moment to understand what they were saying partially due to not hearing other voices let alone his own in a long time and partially because there were still two more layers of coffin in between them
As he listened and grew familiar he could make out two voices and they were having a conversation
"Re......Qui!........ody.......issing.....ba...n..ime..!"
One of the voices sounded louder and clearer while the other was low and wary, it was certain the low voice did not desire to be down there while the louder voice seemed all too confident about the situation they were in
-THUD-
-THUD-
-CREAAK-
The lid of the second coffin opened up much faster and easier than the first and now Xie Lian could hear the voices clearly.
"Seriously..Tai Chun..if they catch us we'll be in big trouble..."
"You worry too much! Nobody has been here in ages! Also..if we get caught we can share the loot in the coffin, I mean, why else would a coffin have three layers if there wasn't anything valuable inside?"
Xie Lian didn't know wether to laugh or cry about what he heard, they would surely be disappointed and shocked after seeing their supposed 'loot'..
-THUD-
As the grave robbers above kept talking the one of the two, most likely the louder voice now known as Tai Chun, embedded the item they were using to break open the coffin passed the third layer of rotten wood causing it to also be embedded right into Xie Lian's left thigh.
Xie Lian tried not to yelp in pain from the sudden pain in his thigh before the item is quickly removed again
"Tai Chun don't do that! You can't just go around stabbing your sword into random coffins.."
Ah so it was a sword, that probably explains how easily it went into Xie Lian's thigh
"EW EW! MY SWORD! IT HIT SOMETHING WET EW! S-SU QIU, LOOK AT IT! IS THAT BLOOD?! I THOUGHT THIS COFFIN WAS OLD! OH MY GOD I STABBED SOMEONE!!"
Xie Lian looked towards the hole that was now in the coffin as feeling air come on
"shh shh! Keep your voice down or we'll be caught like this..well whatever is in the coffin now, it can't be dangerous. But still.. maybe this is a sign to leave.." the lower voice,now known as Su Qiu said quietly
"N-No!" Tai Chun cried "it's too late now! There's no going back with empty hands! Or else this would all have been for nothing! Now, let's open up this up! Like you said, whatever is in there cannot be dangerous anymore!"
Xie Lian felt dazed from everything that was happening,the voices, the pain in his thigh and most importantly..
The hole.
Fresh air and a faint was coming in from the hole,smells and sounds Xie Lian has never heard before were in the distance
It was all so overwhelming.
Xie Lian didn't know what to do, should he take a breath? He'd probably start coughing like a dying animal if he did. Should he try talking? His throat hurts too much to even utter a word, it would be best to wait for now, let them open the coffin and then leave, if they don't seal it again Xie Lian would be able to handle the rest.
And so,Xie Lian played dead.
That's when Xie Lian saw from the corner of his eye what seemed to be the hilt of a sword.Tai Chun used the hilt to make the hole bigger and then proceeded to stick his hand in pulling the lid off from the inside
There were nails around the coffin's lid keeping it shut in place but after being worn down with time and with a strong pull they came out of the bottom part of the coffin with a dull: -POP-
Xie Lian could basically feel the gust of air in his face and he had to fight himself internally to not take a breath,and he struggled he heard Tai chi above him now clearer than ever
"GROSS GROSS! WHAT AN AWFUL SMELL!" Tai Chun yelled and complained most likely pinching his nose shut by now
"What exactly happened here..this is such an unsettling sight, just skin and bones..i-is that a dowl? Look at all the blood at the bottom of the coffin, their hair and clothes are.. I-I can't even tell where one starts and the other ends.."Su Qiu said as he observed Xie Lian's current state
Such a description should have made Xie Lian feel insecure or ashamed but too much was happening to focus on that,
That's when he felt a pair of warm hands on his face
Or mask to be more exact
"W-We should just get this mask and go! Seems like the only thing of value, so-!" Just as Tai Chun was about to pull Xie Lian's mask off Ruoye slithered out from where it was next to the dowl as it coiled up on Xie Lian's chest
"-uh, what's that? a ribbon snake-?" Tai Chun said absent-mindedly only for Ruoye to leap off of Xie Lian's chest and around Tai Chun's neck attempting to strangle him.
This action caused Tai Chun to back off of Xie Lian's mask as he pulled at the silk band that was now around his neck, Su Qiu also joined in trying to rip Ruoye away from the robber's neck as he yelled out
"TAI- NO! LET HIM GO! SHOO! SOMEONE! HELP!"
Xie Lian's plan of playing dead had ended faster than expected as he tried to call out to Ruoye only to start violently coughing and squirming around in the bow exposed coffin
The sight to behold in the cave was.. interesting to say the least and it didn't seem like it would die down soon..
until a voice, loud and unfamiliar, called out from the behind the two grave robbers. "What're ya fools doin'? Thought I told ya'll to stay near n' help set up!" The voice scolded while loud and confident footsteps filled the cave
Xie Lian could see from the side of his eye a tall figure in a cloack walking towards Tai Chun and Su Qiu, they grabbed Ruoye from the choking robber's neck yanking Ruoye away into their grasp
The figure fought Rupye for a minute, trying to tie them into knots, and succeeding to do so, then shoving Rupye under their cloak, probably in some hidden pocket, there was a moment of pure stillness in the cave, the figure and the grave robbers we're completely still, the only one moving was Xie Lian who was still thrashing around gasping for air and coughing.
Then the figure started to slowly move towards the coffin, towards Xie Lian.
Xie Lian couldn't react fast enough,the figure was already above him murmuring something he couldn't hear over his own wheezing and coughing
The figure out their middle and index finger on the side of Xie Lian's neck as they chanted something,
Everything was becoming dark again and Xie Lian was quickly loosing focus and at last he shut his eyes falling into deep slumber, even in an unconscious state Xie Lian could feel a sharp pain in his heart as the rotten wood below him vanished and he felt himself be lifted.