Chapter Text
Hua Cheng rarely had interests outside of his patron. Be it ogres, trolls, or even Asmodeus themself, Hua Cheng really did not care unless it directly affected his patron. Which is why, when said patron was looking at him with puppy eyes and hiding a pathetic looking air genasi behind him, Hua Cheng put down his teacup with a little more force than necessary.
“Dianxia please, do I have to?”
From the other side of the table, Xie Lian intensified his puppy dog eyes even more. “But San Lang, Shi Qingxuan is my friend. Our friend,” he persuaded, knowing exactly what he was doing to Hua Cheng.
A long silence.
An intense stare down.
Finally, Hua Cheng sighed. “Fine,” he said, defeated. If his patron and lover wanted to help his friend, who was he to stop him. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do anyway. Maybe he would actually have fun, he thought. Probably have fun. Maybe. Coping was hard for Hua Cheng.
“Um,” the genasi- Shi Qingxuan, he had to learn their name now- peeped out from behind curtains of the tea shop. “Lian-ge, are you sure? I don’t think he likes me very much…”
Yeah, no shit. “It’s fine, Qingxuan.” Xie Lian smiled. “He doesn’t bite.”
“So,” Hua Cheng turned to the new entry, “What do you need our help with?” He hoped his voice conveyed his irritation.
Shi Qingxuan caught it. “Ahaha…” They sat down on the bench beside Xie Lian, their hands nervously tapping on the table. “It’s just a simple task really, we just need to find a person- you really don’t need to know him, he was just a member of my party—” they stumbled through a thousand more vague sentences before finally calming down— “…he’s just, really important to me, and he’s been kidnapped. So, I need your help to form a party to search the Dungeon to get him back.” Shi Qingxuan said as their eyes sparkled with determination. It reminded Hua Cheng of the way Xie Lian’s eyes did when they started travelling together; their minds set on a goal, of getting something back. Hua Cheng could acknowledge that.
If anything, he is more curious about what could’ve possibly kidnapped this guy that his party member had to run to a warlock with questionable morals with an even questionable choice of a patron. Perhaps this quest would really be worth his time, he thought, going back to sipping on his teacup.
It was no secret that Hua Cheng was one of the strongest warlocks out there. His desire for power was only amplified by the will to protect Xie Lian. None could stand before him in a fight, because of not just his strength but also of the fallen demigod standing over him.
Hua Cheng wondered when all that intimation had flown out the window.
“Hua-ge, does this flower suit me?” Shi Qingxuan asked, eyes shining at him.
“How should I know?” he replied nonchalantly.
“Well, because you have Hua in your name—”
One thing he noticed about Shi Qingxuan was that they were very easy-going. Almost too much. He glanced at them laughing with Xie Lian in the middle of the market, drawing stares towards all of them. It was to believe it was the same person who looked so desperate while asking for their help. It put him off.
“I thought we were here to search for your party member, not flower garlands,” he said, and immediately watched Shi Qingxuan go stiff. Interesting.
“We are,” they said in a tone uncharacteristically devoid of all mirth; but it disappeared in the blink of eye, as if Hua Cheng had imagined it. “But someone is going to join us!”
Hua Cheng balked. “Wait, I didn’t agree to help anyone else.”
Even Xie Lian looked surprised. “You didn’t tell us… Who—”
“That should be me,” a cold yet smooth voice called out from behind them. Hua Cheng whipped his head around in surprise to see a tall man with bluish skin and long hair walk towards him. Upon closer look, he did not look like an elf nor a human. The whole case started to itch his brain even more; where had he seen this man before…? He shared a look with Xie Lian, who also seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
“He-xiong!” Shi Qingxuan brightened and ran over to the newcomer. Where had he seen this man before…?
“Ah, you must the back-up Qingxuan mentioned,” the newcomer said, holding Qingxuan’s face away as they tried to hug him. “I am He Xuan.” His eyes met Hua Cheng’s and a flicker of recognition passed through them, before averting them. Suspicious.
“Ah, hello,” Xie Lian greeted, smiling. “I’m Xie Lian. And this is Hua Cheng.”
Somehow, He Xuan’s voice turned even colder. “I know,” he said. Xie Lian’s smile turned brittle and his eyes narrowed.
“I see.”
It was a surprise that anyone outside of a few people knew about Xie Lian’s past. Not even Hua Cheng was privy to the entire knowledge of his lover’s past. Xie Lian was an aasimar, a prince, who had fallen from heavenly grace. No one knew why. The only thing Hua Cheng knew was that it was because of a curse, which had wiped almost all of Xie Lian’s past memories.
Shi Qingxuan, sensing the unusual tension in the air after the mention of Xie Lian, hastily changed the topic. “So anyway,” they began, looping their arm with He Xuan’s. “He-xiong here will help us with our meals!”
“Our meals?” Hua Cheng asked.
“Yes, yes,” they nodded enthusiastically. “He-xiong here is a very good cook.”
“Is that all I’m here for?” If Hua Cheng did not know any better, he would’ve said that He Xuan sounded grumpy. “If so, then I’m leaving.”
“No, of course not He-xiong! You are an integral part of the party—”
Ignoring the two bantering, Hua Cheng turned to his lover and put an arm around him. “Gege, are you okay?” Xie Lian was standing still, staring off into space as if he did not hear what Hua Cheng had said. “Gege?” he called again, louder.
That seemed to snap him back. “Oh- uh- San Lang,” he said, laughing sheepishly. “What were you saying?”
Hua Cheng turned his lover and patron around and caressed his face. “Gege, are you okay?” he asked again. Xie Lian smiled again, but this time it was full of love.
“I am, now that you’re here,” he said as he put his arms around his neck. “I was afraid you were going to refuse.”
“If Gege wants me to help his friend, who am I to refuse?”
“San Lang!” Xie Lian jokingly reprimanded. Then his face turned serious. “There is something wrong with this whole case,” he said, voice turning sombre. “There are way too many question marks for us to really know what is going on.”
“How do you mean?” Hua Cheng asked, partially to confirm his own suspicions.
“Qingxuan—” Xie Lian glanced at the air genasi dragging the newcomer to a nearby pottery stall— “has an older brother, Shi Wudu. He is the one who was kidnapped. Apparently, when they were in the dungeons hunting, Shi Wudu got taken by a monster.”
“What monster?”
“They did not say.”
Both of them knew what this could mean. A key to Dianxia’s fall from grace. “Is this why you accepted their request?”
“Partly.”
Shi Wudu....Shi Wudu....... "Wait isn't he-"
At that moment, Shi Qingxuan called out to them from near the pottery stalls. “Hey, lovebirds! Come on now, it’s getting late!”
Xie Lian quickly pecked Hua Cheng’s lips, and he felt warmth return to his cold body. “Let’s discuss this later, hmm? Someplace we don’t have eyes and ears on us.” A quick shadow rushes through the bushes. So, there were ears on them? And so stealthy that even Hua Cheng couldn’t detect it?
There was something seriously wrong with this situation, and the two people standing near the potter looking through different vessels were the centre of it.
Almost two days had passed since they entered the Dungeon from which Shi Wudu was taken. The first four floors were legitimate labyrinths of stone and mud; it was impossible to make it out without a guide. He Xuan, however, seemed to know this place by heart. Every step of his was intentional, as if he had been here many times before. Yet, it had taken them two whole days to get to the end of the second floor. And in these two days, their food had completely run out.
“He-xiong,” Shi Qingxuan whined, draping themself over He Xuan. “I’m hungry~”
He Xuan sighed. Xie Lian felt a bit of pity for him. “Get off me, and then we can think about food.”
Now, He Xuan might have said that, but Xie Lian had no idea where their food was going to come from. On the first day itself half of their food had been devoured by He Xuan himself, without any care of how they were going to eat for the rest of their campaign.
“We wouldn’t have to think about it,” San Lang started, and Xie Lian felt like laughing. “If someone had not gobbled down all of our supplies.” There is a malicious tone in San Lang’s voice, not subtle at all, which, and Xie Lian would never admit it out loud, turned him on. Just a little bit.
To his credit, He Xuan did not seem to back down either. “I am the cook, of course I know how much food a ragtag party like us needs. So shut your mouth and let me do my job.” Xie Lian pointedly does not mention how He Xuan had abhorred the word ‘cook’ just two days ago.
Before their argument could escalate into an all-out brawl, the walls of the dungeon started thundering. A loud groan resounded off of the vibrating brick walls, a sound that sent chills down Xie Lian’s spine.
A Goristro
“Gege.” A hand wrapped around his waist in a safe and secure hold. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Lian-ge, what is that?” Shi Qingxuan’s voice trembled as the groaning got louder, moving closer.
“That’s—”
“Food,” He Xuan interrupted, walking on steady feet towards the sound. Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan watched as he crossed them, dumbfounded.
San Lang was not having it. “What do you mean food?”
No reply.
“Oi, answer me.”
Again, without answering, He Xuan manifested a sword, swirling with weirdly coloured water. Sewage water? “If you want food,” He Xuan said, brandishing the Sewage Sword, “you have to work for it.” And with that, he charged into the darkness.
…
“HAH?”
Fighting a Goristro had not been on Xie Lian’s checklist for this campaign. For all he knew, they all had gone extinct. Xie Lian would know; he was the one who killed them all.
The war of the Heaven with the monsters had left behind a lot of unnecessary bloodshed on Xie Lian’s hands. He had infiltrated and killed so many monsters; monsters who were tricked and experimented upon, led on by him. He paraded around as Asmodeus, giving ‘their blessing’ to the monsters who’d follow him. These monsters had become almost immortal, and were unkillable unless they were harmed with swords charged with very powerful mana. The race of Goristro was one of them; their bodies were fortified with immense immunity against so many magical abilities that it drained one’s mana too much to fight against them in a war. It had been a pain to wipe them out, especially since they were huge as fuck. But he digressed.
“Don’t damage their abdomens!” he heard He Xuan yell from somewhere. And there was this nonsense. He had had his doubts when Qingxuan had told them this fellow was going to be their chef for the campaign. But now, Xie Lian was severely questioning Shi Qingxuan’s choices in cooks and partners.
How was he supposed to kill this ugly thing without at least stabbing its torso?
However, he was also hungry, so that incentive cancelled out his anger. For now, this thing was his best shot of getting a meal. “San Lang, cover me!”
Hua Cheng slid in front of him and started viciously slashing the Goristro’s legs with his scimitar. With the help of San Lang’s distraction, he leapt into the air. “Qingxuan!”
“On it--!”
Xie Lian felt Shi Qingxuan’s mana seep through his bones, his muscles and his senses as the air lifted him up. With the help of his companion’s support, he towered over the Goristro, his longsword a beautiful arc in the air. It was a glorious sight, the top of the Goristro. And even more satisfactory was how his sword entered cleanly through its head, slicing its skull in half.
But Xie Lian didn’t even have time to enjoy that rush of excitement before his energy was suddenly cut off. Eyes wide, he lost his grip on the hilt of the sword and started freefalling.
“Lian-ge!”
How…? Xie Lian thought. As he fell, he caught a quick glance of He Xuan, standing still with his hand outstretched, his pale face and blue eyes the picture of composure. He was not able to get more than glance in when San Lang’s red robes obstructed his vision, strong arms catching him and bringing him to safety.
Frantic hands checked his pulse points. “Gege, what happened? How did you—”
Truth be told, Xie Lian had no idea either. He had only felt that kind of powerlessness when he first woke up without his memories, unable to wield the mana within him. A flash of blue eyes and pale skin made him rethink his fall. He had to know. “San Lang, where is He- He Xuan?”
San lang seemed taken aback by this question. “The fish?” he asked incredulously. “He’s over there cutting up the damn Goristro’s torso.” He gently put Xie Lian on the ground and helped him sit up. “What’s wrong? Did the slime have something to do with this?”
Xie Lian breathed heavily, still recovering from the adrenaline rush. “I don’t know,” he said. Those eyes, that pose, it reminded him of something. Something important that he couldn’t exactly put his finger on. But for now, he had to know where He Xuan was.
Staggering to his feet with the help of his lover, Xie Lian made his way over to the two people kneeling on the ground beside the dead Goristro. Shi Qingxuan was the first to notice him.
“Lian-ge, are you okay? That was a big fall! Are you hurt anywhere?” they said, looking over him checking for wounds. “I was so scared! I thought one of my spells misfired!”
“I’m okay, Qingxuan,” Xie Lian reassured them, letting out a genuine smile despite everything. He may have had his doubts about Qingxuan and their motive, but they were a genuinely good person at heart. Xie Lian had not seen many such people in his long life. “What are you two doing?”
“Oh!” Shi Qingxuan brightened. “He-xiong is harvesting the Goristro’s organs,” they said cheerfully, as if it was a normal occurrence that a man would slice open Goristro’s flesh.
It was most certainly not normal.
“He’s what?” San Lang asked, raising his eyebrow. The sharp sound of hacking an axe against the Goristro’s flesh echoes against the stone walls.
“This ugly thing—” hack “has only one good thing—” hack “about it, which is—” hack “it’s intestines.” He Xuan wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Now you,” he said pointing towards Xie Lian. “Go cut some of those vines from that wall over there.” He vaguely gestures to the wall opposite them. “And only cut the dark green ones, the light green ones are poisonous.”
“What—”
“Do you want to eat?”
Xie Lian could not argue with that logic. He took San Lang’s hand and strutted towards the vines, San Lang following just as haughtily. “Hey, I said only you!” he heard He Xuan yell in protest. They both ignored him.
“He-xiong, you can be a little more respectful…”
The food was… fine. It did not taste like anything special, like regular noodles you get at a local stall. Well, it wasn’t anything special until He Xuan revealed that the noodles were made from the intestines. Then Xie Lian choked.
Day 7.
Dungeon Floor 4.
Weather: Indiscernible.
Shi Qingxuan wrote in their small journal before going to sleep. They had a habit of noting everything down, good or bad. They don’t remember exactly who told them that, it just stuck with them since their childhood. As former royalty, Shi Qingxuan never had any real friends. All their friends had been children of their parent’s acquaintances or servant girls who used to help them dress up in makeup and jewellery without their father knowing, but who still held a fear of the power Shi Qingxuan held as an heir. They had figured out at a young age that they could only rely on their small notebook, a present from their brother Shi Wudu, as something that they could truly trust.
Shi Qingxuan loved their brother. Even though he made faces when they walked into a boutique or stopped for a few minutes to long at the jewellery stalls, he didn’t really say anything hurtful. Even though it was visible. Even though it hurt them that they still believed he would change. Sometimes Shi Qingxuan would wish his brother would be heavily injured or kidnapped and then they could swoop in with a cool entrance and a one-liner and vanquish all those who dared hurt him. It was a not a nice thing to wish about, but what could wishful thinking achieve in the real world? But now, they felt scared.
Wishful thinking is but a step to realisation.
“Oi, are you done scribbling? That chicken scratch is driving me crazy.”
Shi Qingxuan snapped out of their memories. Unknowingly, they had filled two whole pages of their notebook while being lost in their memories. They let out a small laugh. “Yes, He-xiong. I won’t keep you from your beauty sleep.”
“Who needs beauty sleep? Just go to sleep already, we have a long day tomorrow; I would not have you slacking on me and complaining the entire time,” He Xuan grumbled, pulling his covers closer to his chin. Sometimes his partner could be so cute.
“Aw, is He-xiong worried about little old me?”
“No, I’m more worried about our schedule.”
“Sure.”
He Xuan they could trust. He always asked after him, in his own way of course. He never brought up their family or brother, never asked about their exile, and always accompanied them to their mini shopping sprees. He-xiong was their best friend. A best friend, who was someone other than their run-down diary.
They looked at the dozing form before them. It was just the four of them in the cave they sought shelter in for the night. Hua Cheng and Lian-ge were off in the other corner, probably cuddling each other to death. Shi Qingxuan had never experienced sleeping in a person’s arms before; they’d never had anyone close to them like that. Not Shi Wudu, nor their parents. Lian-ge was off the list too. To Shi Qingxuan, intimacy is the highest form of affection. Being vulnerable in your lover’s arms, letting them peel back every layer you built up to escape criticism and humiliation and still love you through all that? If that is not love, what is?
The slight snoring from He Xuan makes them chuckle. Of course he was way too fast to fall asleep. They shifted closer to him. Shi Qingxuan did not know much about He Xuan either. All they knew that he was a magic user whose specialty was water, and that his species had almost gone extinct many, many years ago. Shi Qingxuan had heard about it; they had lived a long time after all. It had something to do with the war between the Heaven and the monsters; Shi Qingxuan had left the Shi family by then to know all the details. But right now, all they could see was He Xuan grunting in his sleep, curled up under his blanket like teenager who tried to be cool but was actually a loser.
Shi Qingxuan laughed at their own thoughts. How stupid of them, they thought as they extended their hands towards He Xuan.
How stupid of them to feel such intense emotions towards such a cold and biting person! But Shi Qingxuan couldn’t blame themself; under that cold and biting exterior, He Xuan was warm.
Shi Qingxuan drifted off to sleep.
“Rise and shine, Lian-ge! Hua-ge!” Shi Qingxuan exclaimed, stretching their body to get rid of the remaining sleep.
“Shut up,” Hua Cheng mumbled as he snuggled closer to Xie Lian, who did not even wake up at his call. “And don’t call me… that…” Hua Cheng trailed off.
Shi Qingxuan sighed. “They are worse than me, huh, He-xiong,” they said. He Xuan mumbled something affirmative before going back to heating yesterday’s dinner. Some local greens with ogres’ tongues. It hadn’t tasted as bad as it sounded. The tongues were quite a unique texture the first time they ate it as well.
“Shi Qingxuan,” He Xuan called. “Help.”
“He-xiong, how many times have I told you to call me ‘Qingxuan’?” They complained, yet still went over to him. “What’cha need?”
“Fire.” He Xuan points to the almost extinguished kindling.
“Hey, you can do it yourself too you know? I need to save my energy for more important things!”
“Like?”
“Like- like—” Shi Qingxuan sputtered. “It- it doesn’t matter! What if some big scary monster comes and wounds all of you? Then we only have my spells to rely on!”
“Hm.”
Shi Qingxuan grumpily plops down next to He Xuan and extends their palm, reigniting the kindling with a small puff of air. “You’re awfully talkative today.”
He Xuan hummed noncommittally. “I’m always talkative.”
Shi Qingxuan mentally resisted the urge to smile. They knew exactly what game He-xiong was playing, and they weren’t about to let him win. They had an amazing comeback planned, but Xie Lian interrupted their contest by arriving just then. A regrettable loss.
“What’s that smell?” Xie Lian asked, grogginess still clouding his voice. Then he caught sight of the pot. “Oh! It’s tongue day!”
…maybe the tongues were a little too good.
“It’s still weird if you ask me, eating tongues,” Hua Cheng enters the fray. Unfortunately, he is outnumbered three against one.
“It is certainly very delicious; you’re just a hater, Hua-ge,” Shi Qingxuan teased, taking a tongue out of the pot and putting it in their mouth. “Ah- hot-!”
He Xuan slapped their back as they spit out the tongue. “It’s hot, be careful. And don’t waste food.”
Critical Failure! Reputation points decreased!
“Tongues are still tasty though, San Lang,” Xie Lian counters. Then his smile turns mischievous. “Well, not as tasty as yours—”
“Okay okay enough!” Shi Qingxuan raised their hands in defeat. “Too much information!”
They sat around the pot eating leftover tongues as the morning sunlight streamed in through the cave, illuminating everyone’s faces. Shi Qingxuan laughed at He Xuan’s monotonous attempts at a joke, Xie Lian played middleman as Hua Cheng started to rile He Xuan up, Xie Lian shared a part of his tongue since Shi Qingxuan spit one out earlier.
Despite everything, Shi Qingxuan was here with their friends, and they were happy.
He Xuan dragged his feet behind the rest of the group as little water droplets swirled around his feet as if to comfort him. But He Xuan was fine. He did not need comfort nor pity, and definitely not from some useless magic water.
The water droplets splashed back on the ground.
The scene in front of him reminds He Xuan too much of home; a cheerful and happy memory that he swore never to indulge himself in again. That past was long gone. Now all that remained of that happy demeanour of his childhood was rage.
Somewhere ahead of him, Shi Qingxuan laughed loud and ugly, the sound grating on his nerves. The way their hair floated weightlessly in the wind, how their eyes gleamed in the sunlight, their smile that reached their eyes… it all angered him. Made him hate them. He Xuan’s rage never really left him after the incident. It always followed him, screaming at him whenever Shi Qingxuan turned their teal eyes even once in his directions. It screamed at him, burned him, made him feel like his life would always be beneath theirs.
What a joke.
“Hey hey, He-xiong!” Shi Qingxuan called out to him. “What are you doing brooding back there?” They rushed over and gripped his hand tightly. Without even giving He Xuan a chance to protest, they pulled him forward. Sun blinded his eyes for a moment; but when he regained his sight, he saw something unimaginably beautiful.
Yes, Shi Qingxuan was light. But He Xuan would forever be a corpse six feet under.