Chapter Text
With the cursed shackles gone, an Idea popped out of Xie Lian’s head to save the other. He wasn’t sure it if it’s really going to work, but he had to try. With the determination in his mind, he kissed Hua Cheng as he desperately tried to transfer all the spiritual power he could muster to Hua cheng in the hope that he’d recover soon. And it worked! – Even if just barely, but it worked – he had Hope!
He kissed Hua Cheng for a long time, Transferring all of the spiritual energy he had left He really didn’t have other ways to save him. He was already getting transparent, how could he watch him disappear fully? Even if the consequences were fatal, he still had to do something, he really didn’t know if he would survive the other way.
As soon as Hua Cheng felt the warm energy flowing into him, he pushed himself back. "Gege..” He started, but it was like the other couldn’t hear him. Without letting Hua Cheng to continue, he silenced him with his own lips. With concerted strength however, the ghost king finally got free of the other’s arms. He pushed Xie Lian off himself, causing him to fall to the ground. “What are you doing?!” Hua Cheng demanded
"I repay you everything" Xie Lian replied
Hua Cheng backed away a few steps before composing himself. He really didn’t want to push Xie Lian so hard, so he apologized with a small smile “I’m sorry gege,” he said as he extended his hand to help the other up “Although I’m happy that gege is kissing me, You don’t have to repay me anything. Please, just calm down first”
“San lang…” Xie Lian started “Even if I don’t have to pay it back, I still want to do it. Meeting you made me realize how easy is to forget all the misfortune around you and feel like you’re the luckiest in the world just because of one person. This is something I couldn’t be more thankful for. This is my time to do something for you”
“You..” finally, Xie Lian accepted the others hand, but instead of getting up, he yanked hua Cheng onto the ground, and prevented him from saying anything else with a kiss. This time however, he clutched his arms around the others neck, making it harder to escape
In the eye of others, it could be seen like a loving couple happily celebrating their fresh victory, but if one was looking from closer , one could see that this wasn't quite the case. Hua Cheng struggled for a several minutes, but he couldn’t push his god back again. To his last resort, he tried to channel the spiritual energy back, but just as he expected, Xie Lian didn’t let him do it
After only a few minutes, Xie Lian finally let go of the taller, and slightly slid down in his arms. All he knew was that this method was working, Hua Cheng was saved. But now, he was out of the energy. It wasn’t that unusual though, he didn’t have much in the past either, but with all the injuries from earlier, he still felt exhausted
He looked at that beautiful black eye right above him, now shimmering with worry. It was actually rare to see the always calm and fearful ghost king in this state of distress. Feeling the trembling of the other, xie lian tried to pull himself up as he said “San lang”
“Your highness..” Hua cheng started
“Its fine, san lang” he said, his voice weak
“How could it be fine?!” The ghost king replied “After seeing you humiliated again and again, I swore to protect you even if it means ending my own afterlife!” He really didn’t understand why this has to happen. He was ready to throw his life away with a smile if that meant the other’s well being, but now, within just minutes he was about to lose his last hope in life! “I deeply apologize to your highness for not being strong enough. I…”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?” He looked up, his lips curling into a weak smile “ You’ve always been the strongest. Even when you were at your worst, you were still strong, because you didn’t give up.” His voice was low and gentle, almost like whispering, but Hua Cheng heard every word. With tears welling up in his eye, he continued to listen. “Its okay if you also need help sometimes” He kissed Hua Cheng as he couldn’t bear longer and tears silently streamed down on his face. They both knew this is the last time, so they didn’t want to end this moment, but in the end , Xie Lian still pushed himself back, his hands still on the others face. “You already saved me in every way possible, so let me save you this time”
Hua Cheng couldn’t say anything but to sob. He wanted to say so much, but no words came out of his mouth. Meanwhile, as if losing all of his strength, the martial god hands slowly started to slide down the taller face. To this, Hua Cheng pulled him closer, afraid that he might fall onto the ground.
Suddenly, Xie Lian continued “You lived for me for so long, so please, live for me a little longer” Then with that, the hand which was caressing Hua Cheng’s cheek gently dropped, and he died, with his last smile still on his face.
“I swear to fulfill your wish, your highness” Hua cheng managed to mutter out between broken sobs. Deep down, he wanted the other to reply but he knew that this won’t happen, his words weren’t heard by anyone. Even though they didn’t have that much memory together as they only reunited only a few months ago, this was all he had. The gentle touches, the comforting voice, that soft smile… He won’t feel them anymore. Deep down, he also wanted to scream out in wail, but he didn’t. At last he could do nothing to save his beloved. He held Xie lian to a last embrace, as he watched the red string on his finger gradually faded away
A minute had passed. Then two. Then three. What was actually a short time being had felt like an eternity, as no one said anything. The only thing that proved that they hadn’t lose their hearing in the battle was the sound of the pouring rain from outside. After a while of this, the two other god on the side noticed that something was amiss so they carefully approached the new couple. They were celebrating just minutes ago; why did they fell so silent out of nowhere?
Of course, they both knew something was wrong, but they truly wished that it wasn’t what they thought of. However when they got closer and got a clearer look, the fear in their stomach only just grew.
Mu qing was the first to broke the silence “What happened here?” He asked slowly, then ,after a brief pause, he continued, already knowing the answer “Is he alright?”
The red figure on the ground left him without an answer, he just stared blankly at the unmoving body in his arms, his face strained with tears. Minutes passed of making no sound, then Feng Xin spoke “Why don’t you answer?” mu Qing shot him a glance, gesturing to stop, but he still continued “Can’t we do something to save him?!”
This time however, the pair didn’t remain without an answer “Don’t you think I wouldn’t save him if I could?” His voice low, hua cheng responded without even looking at them
“What are you saying?” Feng xin asked. They actually didn’t hear what the other said, so he had to ask again
“If there would be anything that could save him, I would have already done it!” Hua Cheng snapped after a few seconds, voice filled with rage. “So, what do you think?!”
Feng xin was about to say something, but before the words could leave his mouth the man next to him shot another glance and said “Feng Xin, let him go” he sighed “Even gods can’t escape death, and there’s nothing we can do about it” Although his mind was filled with way to try to do something, but he knew that none of them would work
Death is still death after all, and time can’t be reversed to go back and do something against it, this is just how life works, and they both knew that. After a few moments of silence, he continued in a slightly lowered voice “ He was injured, and probably used most of his if not all spiritual power, so even if its hard, let him go. Lets get out of the cave first”
Feng xin opened his mouth then shut it. He knew that Mu qing was right. The rims of his eyes were red, but out of anger or out of sadness? Maybe both, no one knew. With this, the cave was filled with silence once again. After a few moments, he silently nodded, then left without any other word
Time remained still, and god knows how much time has passed until the man in crimson, as if remembering something, raised one hand and began the search around the others neck. Moment after, a tiny silver ring shined through his fingers. He stared at it blankly for a minute, then gave it a little squeeze -Not strong enough to destroy it- before he dropped his hand with a sigh. He didn’t know what he was doing. He surely knew that he doesn’t want to exist without his prince but… It just doesn’t feel right.
He sacrificed his life to save him, just because he wanted him to live, and now he would throw it away only a few hours after!? What kind of sick joke was he?! Even in his last moments, his beloved asked nothing but one thing : him to live. This might sound a simple task to others but to him, every single moment without xie lian felt like going through hell.
Hua Cheng swore to follow him and to do everything he could for him, even if it meant to go through the worst pain possible. He was ready to go through hell for him, so he wanted to hold on, at least for a while. But even with this and mind, he still didn’t know what to do next. He felt nothing but emptiness
He gently caressed Xie Lian’s cheek, his last, comforting smile still in his face. Although his wounds had already healed, blood still remained there. As Hua Cheng watched the uncleaned crimson dirty his pale face, he felt deeper and deeper agony
His eye filling up with tears again, he wrapped his free arm around his lost beloved’s waist. Now, holding him with both arms again, he pulled him in a tight embrace and buried his face into the others chest. Xie Lian however, didn’t return this gesture. He didn’t raise his arms to hug the other, nor did he kiss him with a gentle smile like he would usually do. He just laid there, unmoving, without saying a word.
This was the moment when Hua Cheng couldn’t bear any longer: Thick drops of tears fell from his eye as he sobbed, voice muffled into the other’s chest ”Gege…”
In that moment, he was so disgusted of himself. Not only couldn’t he do anything to save Xie Lian from this end, but he wanted to throw his own life away and disrespect his last wish with that. He felt like he really is a joke.
This wasn’t supposed to happen in the first place. He was the one who swore to protect the other at any cost, yet in the end, he died because of him. Hua Cheng was the one left alone, without a reason to stay. He was grateful that Xie Lian worried over him, but the price was worse than death itself. After everything, all he could do was to mutter out “I’m so sorry” between broken sobs
As the hours passed, loud rumbling and crumbling broke the world, huge piles of stones fell from the sky crushing everything that dares to stand in its way. To this Mei Nianqing, who was accompanying his resting prince raised his head as he realized: the cave was collapsing!
Well, it was actually a matter of time until it started to collapse fully, he was surprised that it lasted this long. He instantly stood up, and after seeing that Jun Wu was still not quite in the state to move – at least not without help- he grabbed his arms and pulled him up. After making sure that they were both in an upright position and can walk, he shot a glance to the pair not too far from them
Of course, he also know what was happening there from the moment Xie Lian stopped moving, but he didn’t want to interfere. Its not that he wanted this to happen, not in the least, but much like Mu Qing and Feng Xin from before, he couldn’t do anything about it either. Aside from saying a few comforting words -which probably wouldn’t help either way- he wasn’t able to do anything else. Death was inevitable, and no one had the ability to reverse it.
He turned to leave but only after a few steps, he still looked back to warned them “Hey, Hua Cheng!” He started “It’d be the best if you leave, Soon this place be nothing but a pile of broken stone. Put yourself and his highness body safe first.” Then, he left with Jun wu without looking back.
Actually he would have been much faster without the crushing weight taking over him, but he didn’t want to leave Jun Wu alone. He did it once, and regretted it since then. He won’t repeat his mistake. Jun wu might sinned many times, but he still felt guilty about leaving him and missed him in the last 2000 years. They had a lot to talk over, but he was ready for it, he won’t run away no matter what happens
Hearing Mei Nianqing’s voice, The ghost king snapped out of it. He obliviously knew that this cave wasn’t the best place to stay at, he was just so lost in the blankness of his mind that he’d forget that they have to get out.
He stood up, still holding Xie Lian in his arms so gently as if he’d shatter in any minute, and avoiding every falling stone, he left. But before he could make his escape completely, he wanted to do one thing. In an instant, he stood before the entrance of another cave, thousands of sculptures standing inside. Although there was already a protecting array on the cave of ten thousand gods, he wasn’t sure how much of this area will collapse and how hard the impact would be, so it was the best to strengthen it. He had to protect them to have something that will forever remind of his god.
He bit his finger. He was a ghost, so he naturally didn’t bleed much, but he had no mind for using Xie Lian’s blood for the array. Just a few drops were enough. He wiped off the old one, and made a new, stronger array with one hand. Only after making sure he did everything he could to save the statues from any possible damages did he finally made their escape
by the time the rain had finally ceased, one had found his prince after waiting for years, and one lost his for saving his beloved from their fate
❀
The next morning, everything looked just fine. The pair slept peacefully in their bed just like they’d normally do. Only one thing was strange: even after noon has passed, nobody spoke up. It was as if the went mute within a night or were just a hallucination without any capabilities to speak or make any noise.
By the time Hua Cheng opened his eye, it was already evening. Or was it still morning? He wasn’t sure. It was like he lost the track of time in his deep slumber but no, actually he didn’t sleep even for a minute. It was just that He couldn’t if he was really awake or in a bad dream
He sat up and turned his head to see a man in white next to him. He reached to touch his face, hoping that last day was just a nightmare and everything was fine, but even after caressing cheeks and calling him sweetly several times, xie lian didn’t stir up. It wasn’t just a nightmare, not at all.
Hua Cheng blinked a few times as he tried to recall what happened at night. Ah, yes… After he got out of the cave and reached paradise manor, he tried to make everything just like normal. He didn’t want to think about the reality, so after Xie Lian’s body was safe in their bedchamber, he went to sleep next to him
He didn’t have much success though. He stared at the ceiling, or turned to his side to look at his beloved without getting any rest. Sometimes he’d closed his eye, but that wasn’t any help at all. That was why he couldn’t tell if he was awake or not
He sighed as memories filled his mind.
Suddenly, a strange noise echoed through the chamber. Eming, casually thrown into the corner of the chamber, cried miserably. Whole body shaking, eye round, it bawled like a little child. Hua Cheng shot him a glare, but he didn’t get up to beat it like he would normally do
Right now, he didn’t want to bother with it. He exactly knew that he was also in this pathetic looking state right now -that’s why he’d usually hit it in the first place- but Xie Lian wasn’t here to see it, to see him like this, so he didn’t care about the whining. He wasn’t annoyed or angry. In fact, he didn’t feel anything
Suddenly, a voice rang in his head “Hey, Hua Cheng,” He xuan’s voice came “I want to talk to you about something” No response
After a few seconds tough, Hua Cheng changed his mind and made a very simple, straightforward response ”fuck off” it was actually the first thing he said after Mu Qing and Feng Xin left the day before “I don’t want to talk about anything”
He xuan sighed “Listen, I know that you don’t want to listen to me, but this is a question I can only ask from you” He noticed that something was wrong. Even if he doesn’t want to listen to him, he usually still lets him talk. And the fact that his voice was so off… it actually devoided any expression. He didn’t know what happened, but he knew Hua Cheng well enough to know that something was wrong with Xie Lian
“You hid my ashes centuries ago right?” He xuan Continued “Tell me where are they now” His ashes were actually a part of his endless debt , but he decided that he didn’t want them anymore
Outside of the array, Hua Cheng stared at the red sheets of the bed, making no sound. Hearing this unresponsiveness, He xuan thought that it’s a lost case for now, maybe he asks later. He was about to leave, when he heard the others voice “Hey, He xuan”
“What” He xuan asked
“Your debt is cleared”
“…What?” This was the last thing he expected. Now, He knew that something was seriously wrong. Even if Hua Cheng didn’t push him to pay his debt off- at least not too often- clearing it was still surprising. What has gotten into him out all of the sudden?
“You…” After his confusion subsided, he xuan continued “I don’t know what happened with his highness, but if the situation is really that bad, and there’s nothing to be done about it then…” He sighed “Everyone says that time make you forget, and I know that’s hard to believe, but its true,” It was a lie” it takes time, but It’ll get better. Getting revenge might also help but… don’t do anything out of spite, think through everything” then, he left
He xuan didn’t know why did he say all of this, its not like this would help with anything. Even half of his words were lies; Time won’t make you forget. Maybe the sorrow subside eventually and you feel like you’re finally better, but from time to time, that pain hiding in the bottom of your heart makes its ways again, making sure that you know that the things you want to forget, the grief and unbearable pain will never really leaves.
Maybe their relationship wasn’t flawless and was no more than mere friendship, in the past, when he xuan just only got out of mount tonglu, Hua Cheng was the one who helped him to take his revenge. Of course, he would have done it alone, but it was easier this way. The other ghost kings wouldn’t have helped him either way. Of course, he had paid the price by getting into a serious debt but lets not talk about that
They were just helpful to each other. Hua Cheng gave his knowledge of heaven, and he xuan became a spy, helping him to find Xie Lian. Aside from that, they didn’t really have much of a relationship. Sometimes they had talked when things got really dire or they were really bored. He xuan didn’t really liked to talk about things like this -or in general- nor did he needed it, but It actually wasn’t so bad to talk about them in every few hundred year. Maybe it was because they had something in common: A desire
A desire to reach something, to do something. A desire strong enough to push them into the place where they are. Only a few understood this. Therefore, they got to know each other a little. And sometimes there was Hua Cheng’s endless bragging about Xie Lian, but that’s another thing
So even if he didn’t have much of a saying on whether Hua Cheng’d live or perish, he couldn’t help but say those things
Grief was something he’s experienced with. First time, he dealt with it Quite well as it gave him a reason to stay and get revenge. And now, the second time… Well, it was kind different than grief but that’s not the point. The emptiness was the same. He thought after he get his revenge this feeling will be gone, but it was still there. Stronger than before .He didn’t know what to do about it. That was why he wants to find his ashes, to crush them. Gosh, he just wanted peace, but it seems that there’s no other way to do it
On the other side, while the streets of ghost city bustled with life as usual, their master sat all alone in the depths of paradise manor. Well, he wasn’t alone in the room, but he felt like he really is. Now staring at his lost beloved, Hua Cheng’s mind was filled with nothing but empty thoughts. He understood what He xuan meant, but in the end, he still came to this conclusion : He wants to leave this world
But really, was there any reason left for him to stay? Xie Lian, the main and only reason that kept him alive was gone, so he really doubted that there is. Sure, there was the whole city of ghosts, but it wasn’t like they really needed a city master. They would go on just well anyways. Also there was Yin yu, he could take care of some things. Well, at least if he wouldn’t choose to leave in an instant. As for the heavens… They wouldn’t miss Hua Cheng for sure. So after considering everything, it didn’t really matter if he choose to perish
The only thing that still made him stay was Xie Lian’s last wish. This will be the first and last thing he couldn’t fulfill. Not even for his god. He really thought he got stronger and was ready to do anything for him, but after everything he felt like he’s still that pathetic child from the past.
But before he could crush the silver ring close to him, he wanted to do one thing. He couldn’t just leave his beloved without a proper burial. He pressed his fingers to his temple and entered the array “Yin yu” He called out
“Yes, Chengzu?” Yin yu responded immediately
“Bring the earth master’s shovel to Qiandeng temple, I’ll be there for it later”
Hearing his order Yin Yu got utterly confused, but still replied “Yes, Chengzu” leaving the array and collecting the said item. However, he couldn’t help but ask himself: Why does he need that “weapon” out all of a sudden? He barely mentioned it before. Well, even if he was confused and didn’t know anything of the situation, he still accepted it. An order was an order after all, he couldn’t just choose to not to do it.
About half an hour later, Hua Cheng was already there, waiting at the entrance of the temple. The moment the masked man arrived he took the shovel from him, and after finding the perfect spot, he started digging. Yin Yu watched him, still unaware. Only because of the mask covering his face, the ghost king couldn’t see his puzzled expression. What was he trying to do? Was he going to bury himself after being dead for 800 years? Wasn’t it too late for that?
Although the earth master shovel wasn’t relatively strong, it was still a spiritual weapon, so only after an incense of time Hua Cheng tossed the shovel aside and looked at the freshly dug hole before him. When the time will finally come, this will be the place where he stand, and as the silver fragments shatter on the dirt, he will be reunited with xie lian again, forever
But he wasn’t done just yet. The grave was done, but that wasn’t enough. Xie Lian was the most beautiful, graceful person he had ever seen in all of the three realms, how could he let him rest in such a plain hole. At least some flowers… No he deserved better, a whole memorial so everyone who passes by will know who he was. Well, in truth he deserved someone who could have saved him, but that’s not possible
Yin yu was already gone and after staring blankly at the grave for a few minutes, so was hua cheng. He knew the perfect place to find flowers
Some vendor in ghost city also sold them, but they were quite interesting. Some of them had eyes or mouth so it was easy to see that they were out of ordinary. But while not ordinary, they were just weird. Not exactly Xie Lian’s liking.
The place where he had gone was way more suitable for him. The sweet fragrance of blossoms lingered in the air as Hua Cheng reached his destination. Before him, beautiful patches of flowers were waiting to be seen. Hua Cheng had planted every one of them many years ago, and since then, even in the chilly autumn breeze they were just as graceful as they had been. He wanted to show -and give- this whole garden to Xie Lian one day, but that day will never come
He crouched down in the sea of flowers, carefully choosing and plucking a few. He had actually made sure that none of their petals fallen of in the process, then, he went back to the temple and planted them around the unburied grave
Before heading towards his next destination however, made his way back to the manor. As he slowly entered the bedchamber, his heart was filled with sorrow once again. Well, it only got stronger in the presence of his xie lian if not anything.
The flower which he had kept was now close to his lips its fragrance filling the air. He gave a gentle kiss to it before leaning down and gave a single flower to the man. Even though it was only just one, it was enough. It was the purest out of all of them, just like the person was to hua cheng. After placing the flower onto his chest, he lifted his arm to Xie Lian’s face. He wanted to touch it, but in the end, he still pulled his hand back and said with bleary eyes “Goodbye gege, I’ll be back soon”
Before he left the room he looked back and sighed. After taking a few turns in the labyrinth like manor, he pushed a door open. On the other side, thousands of eyes were staring at him
He could just take one statue, go back and use it for the memorial he had planned, but just taking one felt too disrespectful even if Xie Lian wouldn’t really care. That’s why he came here, to the same old place where he finished the last one so many years ago. He wanted to make a new one.
The cave was actually so filled that it was quite hard to find a spot clear enough for a new statue. Time quickly went by, and after all of his equipment’s were with him, he got to work without a word
He haven’t sculpted in years so was afraid that weren’t as good as before, but after long hours of hard work, the newly made stone sculpture was more majestic than any other
Staring at his own work, his lips curved into a wry smile. Even after carefully making every part, checking every little detail, it still couldn’t catch Xie Lian’s true beauty. But how could be something made of stone as beautiful as a real god? No matter how skilled was Hua Cheng, that was just simply not possible. He let out a sigh and decided to take a stroll among the statues
Each and every one of them carried a different memory, longer and shorter ones. Hua Cheng remembered every one of them, from the start to the end…