Chapter Text
“San Lang, don’t spy on them,” Xie Lian murmured, though he kept his tone mild. He could understand Hua Cheng’s current concern.
“Not spying, gege,” Hua Cheng responded lightly. “Monitoring. This is my most valuable subordinate’s well-being we’re talking about here.” Though his eye was closed in order for him to see from the wraith butterfly’s perspective, he kept his face turned in Xie Lian’s direction.
Xie Lian laughed softly. “I think Yin Yu can handle Qi Ying.”
Hua Cheng’s failure to comment conveyed his opinion on that matter clearly enough. He silently wrapped his arm tighter around Xie Lian’s waist as they sat together on the jade divan.
They had received word from an ecstatic, nearly frantic Quan Yizhen that evening: Yin Yu’s ghost flame had regained a physical form. While not exactly pleased to be back, he was relatively calm, and willing to speak with his shidi. Hua Cheng had immediately connected with one of the butterflies that had been stationed in the Palace of Qi Ying ever since its reestablishment. (He had entrusted Quan Yizhen with a great deal, but his trust only extended so far.) Quan Yizhen had tolerated their presence, but he would still throw them the occasional dirty look. Though at the moment, his focus was entirely on Yin Yu and he didn’t seem to realize or care that they had an audience.
“Are you sure you don’t want to watch?” Hua Cheng asked, raising his eyebrows and ducking his head to touch their brows together.
Xie Lian smiled. “I’m sure.” He snuggled in close, resting his head against Hua Cheng’s shoulder and tangling their ankles together. “But I’d be happy to keep you company while you monitor things.”
“Thank you, gege.”
Though quiet and still for the most part, with an intent crease to his brow, Hua Cheng would still make the occasional intrigued sound to try to tempt Xie Lian, who would laugh and shake his head.
“I’ll find out when they’re ready to tell me.”
“And San Lang respects Your Highness’ wishes,” Hua Cheng answered, deeply sincere, “but I’ll need to know sooner than that.”
* * *
There had been a lot of shouting at first. People heard it, or claimed they heard it, in both the Heavenly Capital and Ghost City. They certainly heard it in Paradise Manor. Yin Yu had learned the hard way not to keep his feelings to himself, and now Quan Yizhen was bearing the brunt of his shixiong’s frustrations. Often gladly – he had always wanted to hear Yin Yu’s side of things – but even the indomitable Qi Ying could only take so much. When he shouted back, the walls would tremble with it, plaintive and unhappy.
Eventually they came to the end of their quarrel, having said everything they needed to say, and a bruised air seemed to linger between them, sensitive to touch but already on its way to healing. Now and then they would be seen together, quietly patrolling the ghost market or sparring in the courtyard of the Palace of Qi Ying.
Xie Lian encountered them one day in the Heavenly Capital as he was leaving the Palace of Ling Wen. The sudden outburst of voices raised in anger caught his attention and made his heart sink. They had been making such progress.
A small crowd had already gathered near the disturbance, but Xie Lian quickly realized that the situation wasn’t what he had expected.
“Say that again!” Quan Yizhen was roaring at a pair of officials from the Middle Court. “Who are you calling trash?! You’re trash!” The only thing that seemed to be holding him back was Yin Yu, standing at arm’s length, lightly gripping his wrist.
Yin Yu’s gaze wasn’t on anyone in particular as he allowed Quan Yizhen to vent. He stood very still, a banked anger in his eyes and a tired resignation in the slope of his shoulders.
Quan Yizhen continued to rage. “You think you can say that just because he’s with the Ghost Realm now? He’s a better heavenly official than you’ll ever be!”
Then Yin Yu’s glance flicked back to Quan Yizhen with the shyest hint of gratitude and affection.
One of the officials, powerful enough to be arrogant but not experienced enough to be humble, gathered up his affronted dignity and shouted back, “He has no right to be here!”
“Why not?! Crimson Rain comes here all the time!”
Face red with anger and humiliation, the official countered with a mocking laugh. “He’s no Crimson—” His mouth snapped shut when he saw Xie Lian step forward.
Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu both turned in Xie Lian’s direction, and the onlookers all realized they had more important places to be.
He greeted the Middle Court officials graciously; they bowed like marionettes, abrupt and awkward, mumbling, “Your Royal Highness…”
“Did you have something you needed to discuss on behalf of the Heavenly Capital with this valuable ally from Ghost City? I’m sure I could arrange for a more formal location for everyone to have such an important conversation.”
“This lowly official thanks His Royal Highness for his consideration, but he really mustn’t trouble himself on our account. We were merely greeting His Highness Qi Ying and the Waning Moon Officer—”
“That’s not true, Your Highness!” Quan Yizhen shouted. “They—” He was pulled forcefully to Yin Yu’s side. “Shixiong…?” he mumbled, perplexed.
Taking their chance, both officials bowed again to Xie Lian, offering a meaningless string of compliments and excuses before fleeing as formally as possible.
When they were gone, Yin Yu gave Xie Lian a much more sincere bow, while Quan Yizhen stood beside him, still looking disgruntled. “You handled that expertly, Your Highness,” he said softly.
“I rather liked the way Qi Ying was handling it,” Xie Lian replied with a smile. “But it probably wouldn’t have ended well. What brings you here today?”
“Yizhen needed some help with an administrative issue and I offered to give him a hand,” Yin Yu explained, throwing Quan Yizhen a small, proud smile.
That smile made Quan Yizhen positively beam. Xie Lian saw the way it made Yin Yu briefly flinch, like someone suddenly stepping from a dark place into sunlight. “Shixiong has always been really good with this kind of thing,” he said, his eyes never leaving Yin Yu’s face. “And his handwriting’s so beautiful.”
Yin Yu wore an uncomfortable expression, pleased but guilty about being pleased.
“Well then, I won’t keep you.” Xie Lian was not the type to torture anyone. But he did softly add, “Yin Yu, please know that you’re always welcome here.”
Looking mortified, Yin Yu bowed almost instinctively. “Thank you, Your Highness,” he murmured.
As the two walked away, Quan Yizhen said, “His Highness is right, Shixiong. Just ignore what those jerks said. I didn’t see either of them standing up to the Heavenly Emperor.”
Putting a hesitant hand on Quan Yizhen’s back, Yin Yu leaned in to say something that Xie Lian couldn’t hear; it made Quan Yizhen throw his head back and laugh.
* * *
The sudden influx of celebratory activity from Qi Ying’s worshippers only gave Ling Wen brief pause. Those mortals in particular always seemed to have something worth rejoicing over, and their behavior didn’t always rely on common sense, after all. But the large number of new wishes for their god’s happiness (as opposed to their own) did stand out. Ling Wen took a moment to consider this, but then she had to get back to work.
* * *
The long, (mostly) relaxing bath they had just taken together could easily have explained why Hua Cheng had been so quiet while Xie Lian combed his hair, but then he murmured into his hand, “…Still don’t know what Yin Yu sees in him.”
Xie Lian paused to consider this. Then his jaw dropped. “San Lang!” he cried, horrified. “Are you still— ‘monitoring’ them?!”
“Only on occasion,” Hua Cheng replied, voice calm, practical, and entirely unapologetic. This was apparently one of those occasions.
“But they’re doing fine,” Xie Lian argued after a moment’s speechlessness. “You’re not really concerned that they might still hurt each other, are you?”
Hua Cheng merely shrugged.
“… Do they know?”
“I haven’t heard any complaints.”
That’s not the same thing…
While Xie Lian sat in scandalized shock over this revelation, Hua Cheng let out a little noise of surprise. Xie Lian looked to him cautiously without a word, pretty certain that Hua Cheng was playing with him again.
“Looks like I owe Black Water some money,” he said lightly, unprompted.
Xie Lian blinked. “What does that mean…?” he asked without thinking.
Hua Cheng threw him a sly smile. “Gege approves of my spying now?”
“No, certainly not,” he quickly answered, nearly biting his tongue. “They’ll tell me when they’re ready,” he added firmly.
“It’s all right,” Hua Cheng said with an evil chuckle, “San Lang doesn’t mind telling gege if he’s truly curious. Just now, they—”
“Oh no, you don’t!” Xie Lian cried, tackling Hua Cheng to the mattress. He wondered briefly, as Hua Cheng laughed and put his arms around him, if this had been his plan all along.
* * *
The last thing Xie Lian wanted to do was pry. But he couldn’t help caring about Yin Yu, and they did essentially live under the same roof. The odds of running into one another were always high.
He was heading to the kitchen early one morning to make breakfast when he saw Yin Yu down the corridor, slowly closing one of Paradise Manor’s side doors. Not wanting to startle him, Xie Lian halted some distance away. But Yin Yu continued to stand in front of the door, eyes shut, very still, his hands and his brow pressed against the carved and painted wood.
Concern propelled Xie Lian forward. He was almost certain that Quan Yizhen had just left through that door.
Then Yin Yu looked up and offered Xie Lian a smile, small but so uncharacteristically candid that it could only mean one thing.
Self-conscious again as Xie Lian stared at him in undisguised delight, he let out a trembling laugh. “Are you here to congratulate me, Your Highness?”
* * *
Novel gossip was possibly the most valuable commodity one could possess in a city of ghosts, who had seen so much of life but were still so hungry for it. Novel gossip concerning the Waning Moon Officer, feared and beloved second only to the city lord and his prince, was valued beyond measure.
‘Did you hear about Qi Ying trying to take Waning Moon’s hand, right there at the city gate in front of so many people?’
‘Hear about it? I saw it! Of course Waning Moon pulled his hand away. Such outrageous behavior. You should have seen how badly he was blushing over it. It was hard to tell because of the mask, but his ears and throat were so red.’
‘Well that may have been the way things were between them before, but I heard that not so long ago they were on patrol and Qi Ying threw an arm around Waning Moon’s shoulders, neat as you please.’
‘What! And Waning Moon didn’t push him away?’
‘Far from it! His arm slipped right around Qi Ying’s waist, like it was something he’d done a hundred times before.’
‘I heard that it wasn’t Qi Ying’s waist where his hand was resting…’
Ghosts of a certain persuasion kept each other entertained for nights on end with the more gratuitous (and interesting) stories that were also circulating, though few gave them any real credence. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, the best sources for this priceless information, were frustratingly taciturn on the matter as a whole.
‘I’m not one to criticize Chengzhu or Granduncle, but they really ought to give us all the details and set the record straight.’
Eventually some brave souls worked up the nerve to question the two subjects directly. Yin Yu disappeared without comment into the dark, milling crowds. Quan Yizhen’s gaze followed him, eyes bright. “I’m going to marry him someday,” he declared with confidence.
* * *
Xie Lian had already closed Paradise Manor’s main doors behind him. If he opened them again now, he would only draw attention to himself. Throwing the dice that were always stowed safely in his sleeve wasn’t a much better option. His only choice, really, was to stay still and try to ignore the conversation echoing from the other side of the entry hall.
“Just one more, Shixiong?” Quan Yizhen’s voice had been soft, but the empty space had projected it right to the door.
The most good-humored sigh Xie Lian had ever heard had followed. “I’m not sure that you actually know what that phrase means.”
“No, I do, I understand,” Quan Yizhen insisted, leaning closer to Yin Yu, who was pulling away. “I won’t ask again, I promise.” He had reached out a hand to Yin Yu’s face, caressing his jaw and running a thumb along his lower lip.
Yin Yu looked like he was about to fall to pieces and Xie Lian had decided to go for his dice. As he was frantically searching his sleeve, he saw from the corner of his eye that Yin Yu’s attention had turned in his direction. He glanced up guiltily, ready to try and laugh this off, only to see that Yin Yu was giving him a desperate look, begging for help out of this situation.
Realizing that perhaps he had arrived at exactly the right time, Xie Lian cleared his throat and approached the pair with a pleasant, friendly smile. “Qi Ying, Yin Yu, good evening!”
Yin Yu looked as though he had just been pulled from a fire; Quan Yizhen, looking thwarted, granted Xie Lian an ungracious frown.
“I’m glad I found you, Yin Yu,” Xie Lian continued. “I need your help right away.”
He saw the relief brighten Yin Yu’s features. “Certainly, Your Highness. I’m at your service.”
“I’ll help too,” Quan Yizhen said, making a point of standing very close to Yin Yu.
Before Xie Lian had the chance to make some excuse or other, Yin Yu’s expression took on a grim determination and he pulled Quan Yizhen gently aside. He spoke briefly and very quietly, with his back to Xie Lian; Quan Yizhen listened intently, his eyes locked on Yin Yu. Eventually he nodded and said, “Okay, Shixiong.” Then he smiled playfully. “But can I kiss you goodnight?” When Yin Yu’s shoulders went rigid in response, Quan Yizhen murmured again, “Okay, Shixiong. Good night.” He squeezed Yin Yu’s arm once, then headed for the door. “Good night, Your Highness,” he remembered to say before he closed the doors behind him.
Xie Lian turned to Yin Yu. “I’m sorry for walking in on the two of you like that.”
“No, Your Highness, please don’t apologize. We—” Yin Yu swallowed. “We shouldn’t have been behaving like that. Not out in the open.” He pressed his lips into a thin, unhappy line. Xie Lian tried not to notice how kiss-swollen they were. “Thank you for intervening. Though I’m terribly sorry for being so impudent as to ask that of you.”
Xie Lian shook his head. “Not at all, it was no trouble.” He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to voice his concern. “Is everything all right with the two of you? Have you made your boundaries clear to Qi Ying?”
Yin Yu’s formal, neutral expression immediately gave way to a warm but mildly exasperated look that made Xie Lian feel every one of his eight hundred years.
“He knows,” Yin Yu assured him. “He does like to test my limits, but he wouldn’t have forced me.” His fond smile grew harder at the edges. “And I wouldn’t have let him.” Then, half-mocking and half to himself he added, “If I let him, he’d be forever kissing me.” He grew quiet and his expression slowly turned to a kind of horrified longing.
Sympathizing, all Xie Lian could do was rest an understanding hand on Yin Yu’s shoulder.
* * *
Things went most smoothly for them when they tried to ignore the new state of affairs, maintaining the old status quo. They had both silently agreed that nearly two hundred years of habit and collaboration were worth holding on to. But a lot of things had changed and those changes kept interfering.
The conversation they’d had back then had been bad enough. Yin Yu had returned to Ghost City from the Heavenly Capital, had returned to Paradise Manor back in the Waning Moon Officer’s uniform (wretched mask and all), in order to greet Chengzhu and to thank him for his help. An apology had almost fallen from Hua Cheng’s lips before any other words were spoken. He had briefly wrestled with the reality of Yin Yu’s fate during those desperate events that led to his own dissipation. But he hadn’t had time then for idiot subordinates who couldn’t listen to reason, who took stupid risks and tried to be heroes for worthless, brainless gods who didn’t know a good thing when they had it.
“You know you’re free to go,” he said, though he hadn’t wanted to. “You’ve served your time.”
Yin Yu’s wounded expression was hard to read, but not impossible. “I thought I might continue to serve,” he said, in that horribly soft way, “if Chengzhu will have me.”
“I thought you might want to pursue your cultivation again,” he said, though he hadn’t wanted to.
Yin Yu’s expression went disturbingly blank.
“You could, you know,” Hua Cheng continued, to fill the silence, the words a knife into both their still hearts. “It’s what’s kept you here, isn’t it?”
Yin Yu had not forgotten how to deflect. “I think a lot of things have kept me here,” he said after a long pause. But he didn’t say what they were.
And now they were doing it again, breaking the unspoken rule, talking about things that disrupted business as usual. One of those disruptions was currently engaged in a match with His Highness, which had to explain why Hua Cheng was bringing it up.
“Is it because he saved you?” He tried to sound nonchalant. He sounded like a fool.
Yin Yu kept his eyes on the fight. “I don’t know that Chengzhu can ask me that,” he replied. “Especially in that tone.” His voice was soft and carefully neutral. “Yizhen, keep your guard up!” he shouted suddenly, sounding exactly like an elder martial brother and nothing like a concerned lover. “I know he’s impressive, but try to focus!” Quan Yizhen shouted an affirmative, while Xie Lian looked like he was about to hurt himself trying not to laugh.
Hua Cheng offered Yin Yu a breezy, conceding smile. “Just wanted to be sure that you weren’t doing this out of a sense of obligation,” he murmured.
The fond, long-suffering look Yin Yu threw him made Hua Cheng feel both impressive and very small. “Chengzhu,” he said. And that was all he said for a moment. “As I’m sure you know, death is… quite liberating. It forced me to let go of a lot of things. Dreams, regrets, responsibilities.” He was quiet for another moment, watching Quan Yizhen gain a brief advantage over Xie Lian, only to be overpowered again. “I’m freer now than I’ve ever been,” he continued. “Every choice I make now is entirely mine.”
And he didn’t say it, but the look on his face and the light in his eyes made it clear: I’ve chosen all of this. I’ve chosen all of you.
Before the conversation could go any further in that direction, Hua Cheng crossed his arms and pinned Yin Yu with a glance. “Will you do me a final honor before I hand you over to him?”
Yin Yu gave Hua Cheng an odd look; his thoughts seemed to be moving quickly and precariously. Suddenly he blushed hard. “Y-You mean…?” he stammered.
“I mean fight me,” Hua Cheng said, drawing E’Ming dramatically. “Because His Highness just beat your Qi Ying into the ground, and the two of you will be fighting for third place.” Then he grinned. “But I’m open to whatever you thought I was talking about.”
Face grim, Yin Yu drew his own sword and threw himself into their match with almost too much enthusiasm. It looked like embarrassment was still a good motivator for him. Hua Cheng made sure to keep that in mind.
* * *
Xie Lian still wasn’t sure what this Ghost City festival was celebrating. The residents’ explanations had not been terribly clear and Hua Cheng didn’t care, but it was obvious that they were both expected to make an appearance that evening, so they were making their way through the crowded rows of booths and banners, taking in the atmosphere together.
“Your Highness, Chengzhu.”
A young man in dark clothes greeted them with a smart bow as they were passing. Xie Lian offered him a polite nod in response and was prepared to move on, but Hua Cheng had stopped so he gave the ghost a longer look.
“…Yin Yu?” he inquired, voice small and uncomfortable with sudden doubt.
Yin Yu’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Your Highness?”
Xie Lian let out a tiny sigh of relief. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hua Cheng give him a subtle, strange look. “You’re not in uniform,” he said, recovering quickly. That had to explain it. “Are you just here to have fun?”
Yin Yu nodded. “It seemed interesting enough.”
He was looking at Yin Yu very closely now. Something seemed different. Was it his shoulders? Was he standing straighter? “Do you know what this festival is for?” he asked.
Letting out a light laugh, Yin Yu shook his head. “No idea, Your Highness.”
There was a new confidence to him, wasn’t there? He was looking Xie Lian in the eye when he spoke. “It’s good to see you again,” Xie Lian said. “It’s been a while.”
Yin Yu nodded again. “It has. Our duties have kept us both rather busy—”
A figure suddenly burst from the crowd, crashing into Yin Yu from behind and throwing their arms around him. “Found you, Shixiong!” Quan Yizhen cried, tightening his embrace and nuzzling Yin Yu’s throat.
The smile came with such ease, unconscious and brighter for it. Yin Yu leaned into Quan Yizhen, swept his face with the tips of his fingers, let out a puff of a laugh. “Apologies for this one, Your Highness, Chengzhu.” His eyes were shining. “He forgets himself sometimes.”
Still draped over Yin Yu’s shoulders, Quan Yizhen gave a little wave. “Hi, Your Highness,” he said. “Hi, Crimson Rain.” A stunned silence greeted him, so he turned his attention back to Yin Yu. “Shixiong, I got that thing you wanted.” He detached himself from Yin Yu and handed him a brocade pouch.
“…Thank you, Yizhen,” Yin Yu replied faintly, looking both startled and deeply touched. “I hope the line wasn’t too long…?”
Quan Yizhen shrugged. Clearly the line could have been miles longer and it wouldn’t have mattered. “I saw something interesting on the way here, can I show you?”
They continued to speak as though no one else were around, seeing only one another.
“…Gege, you’re staring.” Hua Cheng’s voice was gentle yet teasing in their private array.
Xie Lian smiled. “San Lang would be too if he hadn’t been ‘monitoring’ them all this time.”
Hua Cheng nodded. “Gege is right, as always. I’ve seen enough.”
“Then we should leave them be. Let’s see if we can figure out what this festival is about on our own.”
“I’m at Your Highness’ command.”
As they walked away hand-in-hand, Yin Yu threw them a quick glance over Quan Yizhen’s shoulder, warm and grateful, before his attention was drawn back to the god in front of him. His clear gaze shifted into something so full, so glad, so secure; he looked like someone who had just come home.