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After discovering Yin Yu was a regressor, Hua Cheng was contemplating how a meeting between He Xuan and Yin Yu would play out. He hadn't told them about the other's regression, and he wasn't about to, but he believed it would be good for the two if they had someone else they could turn to if he was unavailable for whatever reason. Hua Cheng knew He Xuan liked, or at least tolerated, Yin Yu, otherwise the water ghost would not have introduced the fallen god to him. Yin Yu treated He Xuan with respect, but it was distant, treating him as a guest of his Chengzhu, nothing more, nothing less.
Hua Cheng decided that both of them needed more friends anyways, with He Xuan constantly on his island or sneaking around in the heavens, and Yin Yu constantly working, despite the now mandatory breaks Hua Cheng had given him. Besides, it would be difficult for him if both regressed at the same time, he could of course make a clone of himself, but that wouldn't feel fair to whoever was stuck with the clone. Even regressed, both had high levels of perception, and would be able to tell something was wrong immediately. Plus, he enjoyed the time with his little ones, caring for them was one of his favorite pastimes.
In the end, introducing the littles to one another was easier than he expected. He also did not expect their meeting to be an accident. Hua Cheng had obviously prepared for such a situation, but he had been fully expecting to at least be there when they first met while both were regressed.
—
It had been a busy few weeks. Night Touring Green Lantern had taken to terrorizing multiple villages across the south, slowly moving towards the west. In doing so, many mortals had taken to praying for the safety of many things, their homes, crops and livestock, their families, but mainly for their own personal safety. Once the green ghost had passed through their area, the mortals would also pray for blessings to rebuild whatever damages had been caused by the ghost's raids.
They did not just pray to the Gods, Hua Cheng had gotten a large increase of prayers himself. He sent Yin Yu to many of the small towns that could not pray, or pay, enough to catch the Heavens' attention. Yin Yu was strong enough to easily ward off many of the lower ranking ghosts under Qi Rong’s command, but as the raids moved west, Hua Cheng took over himself. He did not want a repeat of the last time Yin Yu was sent on a mission in the west, especially because he knew more Gods were roaming about in the mortal realm than strictly necessary.
Qi Rong seemed to be in a good mood, which was bad news for anyone else around him. Hua Cheng suspected it was due to his involvement in the recent Gilded Banquet of Yong’an incident. From Yin Yu’s investigation, Qi Rong had manipulated a noble into slaughtering the crown prince’s family on the night of his seventeenth birthday, then pinned the blame on the crown prince's own Guoshi. The Guoshi seemed to have found out of this plot and got his revenge if the noble’s sudan death was anything to go by, but he had gotten killed by the crown prince before being able to prove his innocence.
The crown prince had also recently ascended as another martial god, like the world needed more of those, and He Xuan had complained to him in the communication array on how annoyingly righteous the new god was.
Speaking of the water ghost, as soon as Hua Cheng had finished the one sided beat-down on Qi Rong, he could feel He Xuan entering Paradise Manor. Hua Cheng had a feeling He Xuan would be regressed, it had been a few months since He Xuan visited, strictly for business or otherwise. Over the last few days, Qi Rong’s remaining subordinates were dispersed, many stupid enough to have their ashes on their person, unlike their leader, so there were a lot less Gods wandering around the mortal realm, hopefully meaning a break was due.
Hua Cheng took a moment to make sure he was presentable, cleaning any leftover residue from the ‘fight’ with a wave of his hand, before rolling his dice and stepping into the entrance hall of the manor. He sent out a message to the kitchen staff to prepare a suitable sized banquet, before sending out a brief energy pulse to warn the rest of the staff that this wing of the manor was to not be entered at this time. The kitchen staff and the servers would leave as well, as soon as their duties were done. He decided to walk to the dining hall He Xuan was sure to be waiting in, not wanting to possibly startle his didi if he appeared suddenly.
This wing of the manor was Hua Cheng’s personal wing, at least as far as outsiders were aware. While it was true Hua Cheng’s own room and office was in this wing, Yin Yu’s office and room were also there, as well as He Xuan’s guest room and favorite dining hall. Hua Cheng found himself feeling more comfortable that all of their rooms were close by, even if he could get anywhere in the manor in an instant, the other two couldn’t unless they were traveling with him.
Hua Cheng made sure his footsteps were loud enough to be heard as he approached the doors, and the jingling of his jewelry said all it needed to about who was approaching. When the doors opened, He Xuan was sitting in his usual spot on the left of the table, and was quite obviously regressed. He had dropped the disguise of the Earth Master, and also of the fierce Black Water, his robes were made of a softer cloth than his usual wear, and his face held none of that carefully crafted impassiveness shown when he wasn’t regressed. He was sitting with a full spread of dishes in front of him, but was not touching any of them, despite how hungry he must be.
He Xuan didn’t even look up when Hua Cheng entered the room, but he had a small smile on his face that Hua Cheng wasn't expecting. Hua Cheng followed his gaze to the right side of the table, where Yin Yu was sitting. Yin Yu had his mask on, but his body language said that he was content. Yin Yu was also petting his toy cat, Xiao Mao, humming quietly, a sure sign he was regressed.
Yin Yu had taken comfort in Xiao Mao, carrying the toy everywhere in the manor, even when not regressed. Although Xiao Mao was usually tucked away in his sleeves, he only openly carried the cat when he was regressed. He also wouldn’t allow anyone else besides Hua Cheng to see him carry the toy cat, even if he was regressed, so being here, in front of He Xuan, was a big show of trust.
He Xuan seemed to finally notice him as he fully stepped into the room. His head snapped up and He Xuan looked at him with wide eyes, the movement also caught Yin Yu’s attention, and he started babbling happily from his chair.
“Da-ge!” He Xuan jumped from his chair and ran over to Hua Cheng, wrapping his arms around Hua Cheng’s waist in a quick hug, “took you long enough”
Hua Cheng let out a small hum before raising his hand to pat He Xuan’s head and returning the hug. “My apologies, cleaning up took longer than expected.”
“It’s fine, you’re here now” He Xuan replied before wiggling out of the hug and pulling him insistently by the hand to the head of the table. He seemed a lot more energetic than most days when he was regressed.
On his way, Hua Cheng made sure to pat Yin Yu’s head as well, wanting to make sure he didn’t feel left out.
Yin Yu leaned back into the touch, “Da-ge” he murmured.
Hua Cheng was stunned for a moment, Yin Yu had been insistent on calling him “Chengzhu”, even when regressed. Yin Yu wouldn’t even call him “Gege” or “Hua-ge”. Even though the majority of the time Yin Yu didn’t use full words when regressed, he made a point of calling him “Chengzhu” the few times he needed to call for Hua Cheng. What changed? Did He Xuan calling him “Da-ge” make Yin Yu realize he could call Hua Cheng that too? Or was he simply mimicking He Xuan?
“Hello to you too, Xiao Yue” Hua Cheng smiled softly at the youngest.
Yin Yu preened at the name and made a small hum before looking down to continue to pet Xiao Mao.
“A-Xuan,” Hua Cheng called softly once they both had gotten back their seats, He Xuan instantly perking up at the sound of his name “How did…?” he glanced over at Yin Yu, not quite knowing how to finish the question.
As soon as he asked, He Xuan started explaining how the two ran into each other earlier that day.
—
He Xuan was tired, a normal feeling these past few weeks. Qi Rong was making headaches for all of the heavens, and the Ghost realm as he heard from Hua Cheng. Many of He Xuan’s clones were Ling Wen’s Middle Court Officials, although they acted separately, He Xuan still had to expend more power on them due to the increased workload.
It didn’t help that many of the Gods were incompetent fools, who kept going to Ling Wen’s palace for assignments and messed up the organization due to carelessness. He Xuan held more respect for the woman each day.
The Gods sent to the mortal realm to help also caused even more property damage than if they just let Qi Rong do as he pleased. And who did mortals pray to to help repair their homes? The Earth Master. And who was currently doing the Earth Master’s job? He Xuan.
At least the two martial gods of the south seemed to be able to hold their own decently without destroying a whole forest in the process, unlike some gods. He’s looking at you, Qi Ying.
He was also frustrated that many of the Gods only focused on the big towns, it made sense, given that there were more people to save in the towns, but they would completely ignore the smaller villages unless they coughed up an exorbitant amount of money. Although, he had heard reports of a mysterious figure in purple with a white mask and a scythe protecting the smaller villages, so he wasn’t too worried about their safety.
But at long last, a sighting of Crimson Rain and Qi Rong “fighting” was reported to the heavens, with Crimson Rain winning easily. He Xuan knew it was more like a cat playing with its food before eating it though. He Xuan was relieved that he could finally take a day off now the raids have come to an end.
It had been months since he last saw his da-ge, and he had definitely been on the edge of regression for the past few days, but he was forced to push it off due to his work. He missed his da-ge, and he was hungry too, and Hua Cheng always made sure to feed him whenever he went to the manor.
Doing one last check to make sure the Earth Master palace wouldn’t collapse if he left it alone for a day, he set off to Paradise Manor to see his da-ge.
When he arrived at the dining hall, Hua Cheng was nowhere to be found, but He Xuan didn’t worry, he knew Hua Cheng was alerted to his presence as soon as he entered the manor, and would arrive as soon as he could.
He Xuan took time making his way to his usual chair, before servants filled the table with mountains of food, disappearing as quickly as they came. His da-ge definitely knew he was there then.
He Xuan had a short debate with himself on whether or not he should start eating, but decided against it. He wanted to wait until his da-ge was there, he didn’t want to get distracted by his food when his da-ge arrived.
Suddenly, the door opened, but it wasn’t his da-ge, his da-ge would have announced his presence with his footsteps, but He Xuan didn’t hear anything before the door was opened. He looked up to where the staff door was, standing completely still was Hua Cheng’s Waning Moon Officer. He Xuan couldn’t see his face, but the officer curled in on himself slightly once he realized who was in the room with him.
He Xuan frowned, he generally liked Yin Yu, he wouldn’t have recommended him to work for Hua Cheng if not, but he had been pretending to be big these past few days, he didn’t want to pretend in his da-ge’s house too.
Seeing He Xuan’s frown, Yin Yu quickly bowed, “Apologies, Lord Black Water, this one did not realize you had made a visit”
Yin Yu’s voice was much quieter than expected, and his voice was higher pitched than his usual steady tone. As Yin Yu stood up from the bow, He Xuan could see the officer was clutching something to his chest, looking closer he could see it was a black toy cat with a small patch of white fur around one of its eyes.
Wait a minute…
Could it be?
“Are you regressed?” He Xuan asked bluntly, he would usually be more subtle when probing for information, as was his job, but he had been working nearly non-stop for weeks. He assumed Yin Yu had been working just as much, if not more, based on the reports.
Yin Yu froze at the question, pulling the stuffed cat closer to himself, before giving a small nod.
“What are you doing, wandering about then?” If He Xuan knew his da-ge, he wouldn’t allow a kid to wander around the manor unsupervised, and he couldn’t see or sense any of his butterflies in the area that might be monitoring the little.
Yin Yu did not bother with the formal language as He Xuan already knew he was regressed “ ‘was lookin’ for Chengzhu, felt him come back”
He Xuan had felt it too, a small energy pulse was sent out right before the servants had entered with the food.
But something else caught his attention, “Why do you call him that?”
There was only one Chengzhu that Yin Yu could be referring to, and it was unlikely that Hua Cheng forced the little to call him so formally when regressed.
Yin Yu just tilted his head to the side, as if to ask a question. He kind of looked like a puppy, He Xuan thought.
“You don’t have to call him Chengzhu, you know. You should call him ‘da-ge’ instead, he likes it when I call him that” He Xuan clarified.
“... oh”
Yin Yu was conflicted, he didn’t want to disrespect his Chengzhu by calling him something so familiar, but if Chengzhu liked being called like that, then shouldn't Yin Yu comply with his wishes? But Lord Black Water only said that Chengzhu liked it when Black Water called him that, what if he didn’t want Yin Yu to do the same?
As Yin Yu was thinking, He Xuan took a moment to analyze him. He knew Yin Yu was a hard worker, and that Hua Cheng was protective of him. He still remembered how many of Qi Ying’s temples disappeared overnight without a trace of ever being there in the first place. Yin Yu also seemed especially loyal to Hua Cheng, doing his best to please the ghost at every opportunity. He Xuan suspected that Yin Yu felt guilty of possibly taking advantage of Hua Cheng, not that Hua Cheng would ever allow someone to take advantage of him if he wasn’t willing. He Xuan could sympathize with Yin Yu about that, he felt the same until Hua Cheng created “debt” for him.
Yin Yu also seemed scared of Hua Cheng, as any sane being should be, but more accurately, he seemed scared of what Hua Cheng might do if he wasn’t useful to him. Yin Yu didn’t seem to realize that Hua Cheng genuinely cared about him, not that Hua Cheng would admit it either, and once Hua Cheng cared for something, he would never let it go.
“You don’t have to call him da-ge either, but he would probably like it if you’re a little more familiar with him, at least while regressed.” He Xuan's voice seemed to snap Yin Yu out of his spiral of thoughts.
“I.. I don’t know” Yin Yu’s voice was wobbly, like trying to prevent himself from crying.
He Xuan’s stomach dropped, he didn’t mean to make him cry. Da-ge didn’t like when he was upset, so he would obviously not like it if Yin Yu was upset either. And since da-ge was Yin Yu’s caregiver, he cared about him a great deal, and He Xuan had just made him cry. He Xuan felt like crying himself, but held back so he could comfort Yin Yu.
Looking at him now, He Xuan could see the signs that Yin Yu was also mentally younger than himself, and He Xuan had probably caused him to drop younger because he upset him.
He Xuan stood up from the table and made his way over to Yin Yu, who was still trying to hold back tears. Yin Yu was tired as well, it took so much energy to protect all of those villages like Chengzhu wanted, and he had regressed unexpectedly without Chengzhu around, and now he was worried about doing the wrong thing for Chengzhu. He clutched Xiao Mao tighter to himself.
He Xuan made sure to approach slowly, not wanting to startle Yin Yu, and cautiously wrapped his arms around the younger. Yin Yu let out a small whine as the little horns on his mask dug into He Xuan’s shoulder.
“Don’ know what to do,” Yin Yu confessed shakily, tears finally rolling down his face. Even if He Xuan couldn’t see them because of the mask, he could feel how Yin Yu was shaking more now.
He Xuan searched for a way to make Yin Yu stop crying, he didn’t like it when Yin Yu cried. Suddenly, a thought occurred to He Xuan. If Yin Yu was being cared for by da-ge, like He Xuan was, then Yin Yu was his da-ge’s little brother, and since He Xuan was also da-ge’s brother, that ment Yin Yu was his brother too! And Yin Yu was obviously younger than him, then that meant He Xuan was his older brother.
He Xuan just made his little brother cry.
He didn’t like that Yin Yu was crying, now more than before.
“Could I tell you something you could do?” He Xuan asked, his da-ge made him suggestions all the time, so he should do the same for Yin Yu.
Yin Yu nodded, Lord Black Water had known Chengzhu for longer, so obviously he would know what Chengzhu would want more than Yin Yu did.
“Well, you could try calling him da-ge once, and if neither of you like it, you don’t ever have to speak of it again!” He Xuan tried to comfort, he hadn't really thought of a proper solution to give Yin Yu, he was just saying the first thing that came to mind. “And, you should call me er-ge because I’m older than you, and da-ge takes care of us both”
That surprised Yin Yu enough to snap his head up. Call Chengzhu da-ge? Just do it? Just like that? Lord Black Water did have a good point of never speaking of it if it goes wrong. But calling Lord Black Water er-ge? He barely knows him! But the thought made him feel fuzzier, not as much as the thought of Chengzhu allowing Yin Yu to call him da-ge, but still.
“‘Care of you too?” Yin Yu questioned, but thinking about it made more sense than he originally thought. For all Chengzhu knows, he had to get the knowledge from somewhere, and Yin Yu had never come across a book even mentioning regression in the library.
He Xuan hummed in affirmation, “”Yeah, da-ge has been my caregiver for years, and now he takes care of you too, so that means we’re brothers”
Yin Yu didn’t quite understand where that leap of logic went but maybe he was just too small to understand. If er-ge thought they were brothers because Chengzhu took care of them both, who was Yin Yu to refute him?
He Xuan could feel Yin Yu relaxing against him, “Good, now we should go sit down for when da-ge gets here”
He Xuan let go of Yin Yu as he pulled away, “m’kay er-ge”
Yin Yu saw how He Xuan immediately brightened, if Chengzhu reacted like that, then Yin Yu was definitely going to call him da-ge.
He Xuan took him by the hand gently, moving slowly so Yin Yu wouldn’t stumble, and led him to the seat directly across from where he was sitting before Yin Yu came in.
“Sit here,” He Xuan said “da-ge usually sits there,” he pointed to the chair at the head of the table “so we can both sit next to him” He Xuan nodded along with his flawless reasoning. It was definitely not because he wanted to be able to look at Yin Yu to make sure he wouldn’t get upset again.
Yin Yu hummed as he sat down, putting the toy cat in his lap to pet. As He Xuan sat down across from him, he continued humming contently as he waited for their da-ge.
—
“...and then you came in, and you know the rest.” He Xuan finished explaining through a mouthful of food. He had begun eating halfway through.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full” Hua Cheng scolded lightly.
“Sorry da-ge”
—
Hua Cheng was glad that Yin Yu and He Xuan got along when they were regressed, it seemed that was a subconscious worry of his, that they wouldn’t like each other when they were both little.
It seems his worry was for nothing, He Xuan was perfectly content eating away, and even comforted Yin Yu when he was upset. To be perfectly honest, Hua Cheng did not expect He Xuan to immediately claim Yin Yu as his brother, especially with He Xuan’s opinions of the Gods and anything related to them.
He was also worried that Yin Yu would be too afraid of the water ghost to properly relax. But with how Yin Yu was perfectly content with babbling away while He Xuan ate, he didn’t think that would be a problem any time soon.
Now if this translated to when they were both big, then Hua Cheng will have succeeded in his personal mission to get two of his closest people to be friends.
—
After a few more minutes, Hua Cheng noticed that He Xuan had stopped eating, despite there being a significant amount of food still on the table. Certainly more than most mortals could eat in a single sitting.
“A-Xuan, is the food not to your liking? I can have some of the staff bring you something else if you want” Hua Cheng asked, He Xuan would eat up everything infront of him unless he was physically restrained, or something was making the ghost lose his appetite, it was a difficult thing to do, but easier if he was regressed. Whatever it was, Hua Cheng would do his best to give his didi what he needed.
“Saving it for A-Yu” He Xuan said as he put his chopsticks down, “He hasn’t eaten anything yet” Hua Cheng felt as though his false heart was going to burst with how concerned He Xuan sounded when he said this
“Xiao Yue,” Hua Cheng called, Yin Yu only raising his head once he heard Hua Cheng calling for him, not even realizing they were talking about him, “Do you want something to eat? Whatever it is, it can be brought here if it isn’t already”
Yin Yu shook his head.
Hua Cheng frowned, “Has Xiao Yue eaten anything since he got back from his mission?” Hua Cheng could only feel Yin Yu returning to the manor a few hours ago, and he never takes more time on missions than necessary, so he wouldn’t have eaten when he was out.
Yin Yu shook his head again, but not after hesitating for a moment.
“Would Xiao Yue like to eat some of the food his Er-ge saved for him?” Hua Cheng tried. It was sometimes difficult to get Yin Yu to take care of himself without Hua Cheng’s input, but he had learned that phrasing it like someone would be pleased if he did so worked very well.
He Xaun also seemed very pleased at being referred to as Yin Yu’s er-ge.
Hua Cheng allowed Yin Yu some time to consider, sometimes it took the little a few moments to process what was being asked and how he wanted to respond. Hua Cheng was content waiting for him, it didn’t trouble him in the slightest, having to wait a few extra seconds for an answer.
Eventually, Yin Yu nodded, allowing Hua Cheng to grab a clean plate to fill.
“Da-ge” He Xuan caught his attention, “He should try this, it’s good” he said as he placed a few steam buns on the plate.
“A good choice, but you should ask if Xiao Yue wants to eat it first before putting it on his plate” Hua Cheng told him, “Also, Yin Yu is very small, and can’t eat as much as you, so keep that in mind when you recommend things” he added once he realized ‘a few’ steam buns for He Xuan ended up being an entire meal for most.
He Xuan nodded after taking the new information into consideration
After that, they spent a few minutes with He Xuan pointing out the food he found especially good this time, only the best for his new little brother, and Yin Yu nodding or shaking his head with each pointed out item, all while Hua Cheng took the time to either tear up or cut the food into smaller bites for Yin Yu to eat.
Soon Yin Yu had a plate of a variety of small pieces of food sitting in front of him.
“Does Xiao Yue need help taking his mask off?” Hua Cheng made sure to ask
At Yin Yu’s nod, Hua Cheng carefully took off the Waning Moon mask, making sure to not pull any hair, and set it at the edge of the table where Yin Yu could still see. Hua Cheng had learned the hard way that Yin Yu felt more secure with the option of putting his mask on, even if he didn’t take it very often.
Hua Cheng smiled as Yin Yu’s face was revealed, no matter what some of the rumors said, he thought that his Xiao Yue had a very good face, very cute when asking for cuddles in his opinion. Was he biased? Yes. Did he care? No.
“There’s my Xiao Yue,” Hua Cheng made sure to ruffle Yin Yu’s hair a bit as he moved back to his own seat, causing him to let out some of the sweetest giggles.
Hua Cheng turned to He Xuan “A-Xuan can continue eating what he wants, we can always get more if either of you want”
As He Xuan picked up his chopsticks once again, Hua Cheng thought that he was glad his two little brothers met how they did, it ended up better than he could have ever imagined.