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Summer is definitely here, thought Xie Lian as he straightened up and wiped the sweat from his brow. This garden bed was now properly tilled and ready for seeds.
He rubbed his dirty hands on his pants without thinking about it and then wilted when he realized he was really going to have to do laundry tomorrow. He needed to get his hands on a new wash basin first. Maybe he would finally let Hua Cheng buy him something.
The sun was beating down on them now, and it was probably about time to move all their work inside. Hua Cheng looked positively miserable, which was a sure sign. The shrine still needed quite a lot of work on the inside, so it was just as well.
“Gege, I have something that will help. Wait here,” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian glanced over and did a double take for about the millionth time as the ghost rushed back into the farmhouse. He still wasn’t used to this new form yet.
It was just as striking as his usual look, but it was also so different. He was so much… shorter. Less imposing. It made more sense for a simple ‘shrine attendant,’ but Xie Lian had to admit he preferred the tall and wild appearance of his true form.
He just looked so pedestrian now. Crimson Rain Sought Flower should always be dripping with danger and silver finery, as far as Xie Lian was concerned.
He couldn’t help feeling a little guilty. A king shouldn’t be toiling away with him here at this sad little hovel. He knew Hua Cheng was happy to, but it still felt like he’d swindled him into helping fix this place up.
Hua Cheng appeared once more with his hands mysteriously tucked behind his back. He practically skipped his way over and stood there beaming at Xie Lian like a mischievous boy who was very obviously up to something.
Xie Lian cocked an eyebrow at him and waited.
“I got you something the other day,” he said.
“My birthday was weeks ago, San Lang,” Xie Lian said with an amused smile.
“Can I not present my god with daily offerings?” Hua Cheng asked.
Xie Lian thought of the truly massive amount of things Hua Cheng had tried to buy and bring to this shrine over the past week and chuckled.
“You know, as my most devoted believer, there is almost nothing I wouldn’t do for you. So many offerings are hardly necessary.”
“That doesn’t mean they aren’t deserved,” Hua Cheng said affectionately.
An odd little twinge of worry plucked at Xie Lian’s heart, but he did his best to ignore it. These feelings had been hard to evade ever since he’d realized he wouldn’t just be leaving Hua Cheng’s manor and going off on his own again—once he’d realized all that pampering from the last half a year was going to continue in perpetuity.
Whenever things in his life were going too good, there was always a backlash waiting.
“Oh, enough of this. What did my San Lang get for me?” Xie Lian said, waving his hand.
Hua Cheng finally revealed what he was holding—a wide-brimmed, straw farmer’s hat, complete with a sun veil.
Whatever Xie Lian had been expecting, it wasn’t this. The rims of his eyes instantly grew hot.
He had no idea what had ever even happened to the original. It was probably burned with anything else of his by Lang Qianqiu after he was thrown in the coffin. The sight of this little piece of his old wardrobe was jarringly nostalgic.
“San Lang… how…”
He walked over and gently took it into his hands, running the smooth brim through his fingers.
Though most of these hats were more or less the same, this hat was remarkably similar to the very first one he’d been given oh so long ago. The way the edges were braided, and even the particular woven pattern near the very top, was the spitting image of the original thing. Probably more so than the various newer ones he’d had to buy over the centuries as the old ones fell apart.
“You’ve wanted one of these, haven’t you?” Hua Cheng asked in a soft voice.
Xie Lian blinked a few times and peered up into his eyes, the color of strong tea in the sun. He was smug, but just under the surface, Xie Lian could see something else. The same heaviness Xie Lian felt.
It was hard to think back on that rainy day for too long. He hadn’t even realized Wu Ming was paying that much attention, but of course he was. Hua Cheng had even carved him a divine statue wearing that hat, so clearly, he understood its significance.
“How did you know I would want another one? I mean, back then… you only saw how I got it, right? How did you ever guess this was so important to me?”
Hua Cheng hummed and tilted his head in thought.
“You don’t know you’re a folk myth, do you?”
“A folk myth?” Xie Lian repeated skeptically.
“Mmm. I spent six hundred years trying to find you, and there were many times I almost caught up. Though I might have missed you, I spoke to a lot of people who didn’t. You left a lot of stories behind, gege.”
“A-ah. I suppose I did back before I came to be the state preceptor. They called me the Scrap Immortal, right?”
Hua Cheng huffed at that name and crossed his arms, like he thought it was wholly inappropriate.
“Not all of them knew you by that name—in fact, most of the people I ever questioned did not. Most thought you were just a cultivator, and some saw you as a normal everyday street performer or scrap collector.”
Hua Cheng stepped forward and took the hat back out of Xie Lian’s hands.
“However, every single story and anecdote I found about you had one thing in common, and it was common across centuries and across kingdoms: white robes and a wide straw sun hat.”
As he said those last words, he placed the hat over Xie Lian’s head.
He felt instant relief from the blaring sun above. It was like one last little piece of him, long lost for this past century, had been pressed back into place, and he smiled.
“I see,” Xie Lian said, blown away once again by the fact Hua Cheng had actually been looking for him all this time. “I guess I wasn’t aware that I’d left that much of an impression in my wanderings.”
Hua Cheng gripped his chin briefly as his lip curled.
“Don’t sell yourself short, gege. You left marks of your kindness all over the place. You became a little bit of an archetype, actually. Did you know there were a bunch of plays with a character modeled after you?”
“W-what do you mean?” Xie Lian asked, a blush quickly creeping up his neck.
“A wandering beggar with the strength and skill of a god. A man who only wishes to help, but whose bad luck or karma always complicates things. In some stories, you’re kind but tragically cursed, and in others, you’re chased by your past mistakes or misdeeds. In some, you are a god in disguise, sent there to test the mortals in some way. Either way, you can always identify this character by his iconic conical farmer’s hat.”
Xie Lian laughed and rubbed at his forehead, a little bit happy and a little bit embarrassed.
Hua Cheng was, of course, also leaving out all the stories about him that ended with disaster—where he was unable to undo the damage his misfortune had wrought. Stories where he was chased away by angry mobs or banned from setting foot in certain towns ever again. A few times, as with Lang Qianqiu, he’d only had the option of letting an offended party ‘kill him’ and then sneaking away later.
There was absolutely no doubt that Hua Cheng had heard those stories as well. Xie Lian appreciated him not bringing them up, however. Remembering those instances always made him want to go hide in a cave somewhere.
Xie Lian stepped forward and reached up to capture the ghost king in a hug. Hua Cheng pulled him close, though he had to dip his head low to avoid the brim of Xie Lian’s hat.
“Thank you, San Lang, really,” he murmured. “This means a lot.”
Hua Cheng hugged him tight enough to lift him partially off the ground. Xie Lian wheezed out a laugh as most of the air was squeezed out of him. Once Hua Cheng finally put him back down, Xie Lian gave his cheek a little pinch.
“Now, when is San Lang’s birthday so I can start thinking about how to pay him back?”
The ghost tensed up under his hands.
“Oh… well, actually, it was over a month ago. You have plenty of time to come up with something for next year.”
Xie Lian’s face fell.
“What? Your birthday passed, and you didn’t tell me?!” he asked, deeply aggrieved by this news.
“At the time, I didn’t think it mattered very much. Besides, gege gave me something without realizing it. It was a very good birthday.”
“What day was that? What did I give you? San Lang, this is truly unfair!” he whined, gripping the lapel of Hua Cheng’s red robes with both hands.
Hua Cheng looked truly apologetic, and he also looked surprised by Xie Lian’s reaction.
“It was the day I took you to that botanical garden. You put a red camellia in my hair.”
“That…” Xie Lian dropped his forehead onto Hua Cheng’s chest, which pushed his new hat onto the back of his neck. “That does not count as a birthday gift!”
Hua Cheng gave his back a sympathetic pat.
“At the time, you didn’t really have many options or opportunities for gift gathering anyhow. Anything you’d want to get me would have been paid for with my money. I really just didn’t want you to have to fuss over it.”
“Still, we could have eaten longevity noodles together…” Xie Lian pouted, still a little hurt.
“Mm, gege is right. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Next year we’ll celebrate it properly.”
Xie Lian exhaled, but he nodded as he lifted his head back up.
Hua Cheng relaxed, and as he stared down at him, a new expression slowly bloomed on his face—a transformation from deep remorse to pure, impish delight.
“You want to make up for it now?”
Xie Lian narrowed his eyes at the trickster. This was a dangerous question if he’d ever heard one, but he very much did.
“What would you like, San Lang?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng took a step back and tucked his hands behind his back again.
“If you recall, some time ago, you said we could have a sparring match,” he said primly. “We said we’d do it ‘tomorrow morning,’ but when that day came, you dragged me here to start working on this shrine and forgot.”
Xie Lian blinked, and then he remembered. It was the very evening they’d found this abandoned farmhouse!
“Ah! I did forget!” Xie Lian replied as he smacked his own forehead.
He’d been so absorbed in his own renovation plans he’d disregarded Hua Cheng’s request completely. That night, they’d even gone to the armory so Xie Lian could pick out a sword! How shameful!
“We can spar right now, if you want?”
Hua Cheng smiled and held out his hand without another word. Xie Lian cautiously took it, and the ghost king led him further out of the backyard and into the wide open grass field beyond it.
Xie Lian hung his hat on a broken fence post as they passed by.
As they squared off, Xie Lian called forth his new sword, Qingjin, which he hadn’t had the chance to use just yet. It was almost as balanced and perfect as the one he’d primarily used as the crown prince.
Normally, a duel with real swords would be a truly dangerous endeavor, but the two of them were both exceptionally skilled warriors. Unless disaster struck, they’d be able to fight to their heart’s content without actually drawing blood.
The idea of facing off against the likes of Hua Cheng made Xie Lian’s blood sing with nervous excitement.
“Don’t hold back, San Lang. Don’t just let me win,” Xie Lian teased. He was still technically in a period of recovery, after all, something Hua Cheng was never shy to bring up.
“I said it before, and I’ll say it again. You’re stronger than me, Your Highness.”
Xie Lian just shook his head, like Hua Cheng had told him a joke.
“I won’t use any spiritual power, and I’ll come at you with everything I have. You’ll see then,” Hua Cheng said as he called forth E-ming.
As he pointed it at Xie Lian, the blade began to rattle violently. It was almost jerking out of Hua Cheng’s grasp in its desperation, and Hua Cheng scowled fiercly.
“Don’t you be like this,” Hua Cheng said, giving the hilt a smack. “We aren’t going to cut him.”
And yet, the blade continued to rattle and jerk in such a dramatic way that it was analogous to a wailing child. A real temper tantrum. It didn’t want to have to aim at Xie Lian, and it was going to make sparring utterly impossible.
Xie Lian did his best to rein in his smile.
Hua Cheng growled with annoyance but eventually gave up and shoved it back into his silver sheath. He then brought forth a new sword. This one was a fine saber indeed, though not nearly as impressive as his spiritual weapon.
“Useless trash,” he muttered.
Xie Lian sympathized with E-ming, but now that it was tucked away, he had no qualms about surging forward and striking first.
The two of them clashed, the sound of metal on metal ringing out over the field. As in the fight with those weird binu, Xie Lian was taking every opportunity to show off and flourish with his sword. This time, his focus was solely on Hua Cheng, so he could see that the ghost king was doing just the same.
It was almost more fitting to call this sparring match a dancing contest, as they each tried to use more and more impressive maneuvers on one another.
Xie Lian was no longer the weak and pathetic husk he was a few months prior, but part of his mind hadn’t yet set aside his ‘bedridden’ hangups. There was still a desperate urge to reshape the way Hua Cheng saw his body and capabilities.
Hua Cheng, on the other hand, was obviously flaunting his skills to show he was no longer that same young wrath. He’d earned his new title, and there was a reason the heavens feared him. As promised, he didn’t use any spiritual power, and it was hard to say if either of them had an edge over the other or not.
With each swift jab or swing of Qingjin, Hua Cheng’s curved blade greeted it with equal precision. Every one of Hua Cheng’s jingling sidesteps was mirrored by Xie Lian’s white boots.
There was very little progress to be made, but the two of them were having a blast trying. There was wild joy to be found in unleashing every ounce of their skill on someone who could match them hit for hit. As trust grew between them, they gradually grew more aggressive with their strikes, with less need to be cautious.
As much fun as Xie Lian was having, the time came when, inevitably, his body began to ache. He really was almost back to his normal strength, but his stamina was still a work in progress. He didn’t want this match to end with him jumping back and calling for a truce, however. That was far too boring and even a little humiliating.
Instead, Xie Lian darted in surprisingly close, allowing the ghost king to easily counter him with the crossing of their blades. Xie Lian’s foot shot forward, hooking around Hua Cheng’s ankle, pushing them both off-kilter. As Hua Cheng’s arm swung out to counter his lost balance, Xie Lian caught him off guard with a kiss. With a simultaneous flick of his blade, he sent the opposing saber flying and pulled Hua Cheng’s feet out from under him.
Unable to keep his own balance in this charade, he landed on top of the disarmed ghost king. He pulled his mouth off just in time to keep their teeth from shattering against one another. He quickly righted himself and looked down into Hua Cheng’s bright, bewildered face.
“Gege wins…” Hua Cheng said faintly, his dark eyes sparkling as he beheld the proud face of his god.
Xie Lian was panting and sweating after pushing his limits in the relentless summer sun, but he couldn’t stop himself from leaning down for another taste. He was willing to admit he played dirty there at the end, but all tactics are fair in battle. As the winner of the match, shouldn’t he get a prize?
Their lips had hardly met for a second when strong arms suddenly snaked around his waist, and he was pulled over onto his side. Hua Cheng left no space between them as he hungrily deepened the kiss. Xie Lian smiled into it and did his best to match his enthusiasm, even as worn out and breathless as he already was.
Hua Cheng’s mouth was sweet and his embrace cool, but Xie Lian still didn’t last long. He was too overheated, and he needed air.
He forced himself to pull away, pressing one last apologetic kiss to the ghost king’s lips. Hua Cheng gazed back for a moment and reached up to smooth some of Xie Lian’s sweaty bangs out of his face.
“I think gege will need a bath after all this,” he teased softly.
“Mn. And San Lang’s ponytail has come loose,” Xie Lian replied with a grin, his heart impossibly light.
“You gave this poor believer one hell of a fight,” Hua Cheng said defensively. “And you even used foul play to win!”
“You’re right. I did. Let me tighten that for you.”
The two of them sat up in the tall grass, and Xie Lian scooted behind the ghost so he could pull the ponytail taut again. Once Hua Cheng turned back around, Xie Lian let out a strangled laugh.
That tail was now horribly crooked. It gave Hua Cheng the impression of a silly, carefree youth. He stared back, slightly bemused by Xie Lian’s reaction.
Xie Lian was about to explain when his attention was caught by three figures in the distance. Sitting along the back fence near his hat and watching the two of them were three village children.
“A-ah. We have… an audience,” Xie Lian said with dawning horror.
How much could they see? The grass is really long, right? Oh, but what else would we have been doing rolling around together like this!
Also, if they’d been watching the fight, they would have seen Xie Lian’s little kissing feint…
Hua Cheng raised an innocent brow. “We really must have been distracted.”
Xie Lian got the very distinct impression Hua Cheng had not missed them. In fact, he’d probably been perfectly happy to let them watch.
The two of them got back to their feet, dusting themselves off and straightening their robes. Then they made their way back toward the yard and the three waiting kids.
It was two boys and a girl; two of them were pretty young, maybe 12 or 13, and the third, a boy, looked a touch older, perhaps 15.
“Ah… hello, how can we help you?” Xie Lian asked, still burning with chagrin but hoping he just appeared exhilarated from the fight.
“We heard sword noises,” said the younger boy. His eyes were glimmering with respect from behind a thick mop of dirty hair.
“We were coming here to play with the farm cats, but then we saw you fighting,” added the girl.
“At first, we thought you two were trying to kill one another,” said the older boy with his arms crossed.
He was dressed in farmer’s clothes, and his skin was tan from the sun. He wasn’t sitting on the wooden fence like the other two. He was leaning against it and watching Xie Lian and Hua Cheng with a shrewd look in his eye.
“Well, the sparring match is over, but feel free to play with the cats. I was wondering why feral cats were so friendly,” Xie Lian said, picking up his hat and pressing it to his head.
He was really, really hoping to skirt by this conversation without bringing up the other things, but as usual he wasn’t so lucky.
“So, are you two together?” asked the little girl.
Judging from her clothes, her family was well-to-do. Her hair was pulled back into two buns on each side of her head, and she had a deceptively angelic face. She looked the direct opposite of that muddy little boy.
“The town was already flush with rumors, but I guess this proves it,” uttered the older boy.
Xie Lian pinched the bridge of his nose. This getting out now would mean winning the bet he made with Hua Cheng, but at what cost? It was almost too easy. Hua Cheng might even twist things and say Xie Lian kissed him because he knew those kids were watching!
“Ah… is there any chance we can convince you not to spread that around?” Xie Lian asked. He glanced up at Hua Cheng, who was utterly unconcerned by any of this.
“Is gege embarrassed?” Hua Cheng asked seriously but for the nefarious twinkle in his dark eyes.
“I don’t want villagers to come here thinking our god can help them with romance,” Xie Lian insisted.
Hua Cheng snorted. “Oh, I don’t know. I think there’s very little he couldn’t do if he tried.”
“Th-that’s not what he’s for!” Xie Lian stammered.
He pulled his eyes away from the sly ghost king and back to the children. “Is there anything we can do to pay for your silence?” he asked.
Want me to just scare them into shutting up? Hua Cheng asked into his private telepathic array.
San Lang, they’re just kids, Xie Lian chided back.
“Show us how to fight with a sword,” said the oldest boy.
“Oh yeah! I wanna be able to fight like that!” piped up the younger.
“Me too, me too!” cried the girl while clapping her hands with excitement.
Xie Lian considered their request, and his heart stirred with excitement at the prospect.
“I suppose we could do that. At least to start, I could provide you with the foundation for further learning. If you’re serious about it, you’d probably want to find a sect to join.
“We don’t wanna leave our village. We wanna be able to protect it,” said the older boy.
“Yeah. There are always freaky things that come out of the woods. Most men can swing an ax, but no one here can fight like you,” said the younger boy, jumping from his spot on the fence, ready to start right here and now.
“Uh huh! And also my mom and dad are always fussing over me, but if I could fight, they wouldn’t try so hard to keep me cooped up all the time!” said the girl.
“Girls don’t fight,” replied the little boy, giving her a sour look.
“Of course they do,” Xie Lian cut in. “Maybe not around here, but there are whole cultivation sects that only accept women. She can certainly learn too.”
“Yeah, see!” said the girl, sticking out her tongue.
“Whatever. Even if you know all the moves, you still won’t be as strong as a boy,” he grumbled back.
The girl stared back at him with such venom that Xie Lian feared for this boy’s future. When they reached the point of sparring together, that girl was going to be fueled by spite and resentment, and he highly doubted the boy would stand a chance against that kind of passion.
These three were going to be some work. Still, giving some self defense lessons might help ingratiate him into the community. So long as no one knew the real reason why this was happening…
“Very well. I’ll plan some lessons. You’ll only have wooden swords while under my tutelage, mind you. Come back in a week, and I’ll have a class prepared.”
“Can we invite more kids?” asked the grimy little boy.
“Hmm, let’s keep the class small. No more than seven of you. And remember, your lips are sealed about the two of us, or the lessons end,” he warned.
“You got a deal, daozhang,” said the older boy, pushing off the fence post.
“See you next week!” sang the little girl.
“Yeah, if you can even sneak off again,” scoffed the boy. “You know how this town is about little girls after that last ghost.”
The three kids wandered off back towards town, chattering happily about how they were going to be able to fight monsters or troublemakers.
Xie Lian sighed. “Well, that happened faster than expected…” he said as he turned back to Hua Cheng.
“Hmm, I’m surprised the town already has rumors about us. How fun,” Hua Cheng mused, clearly delighted as he rested his chin in his hand.
“San Lang probably started them,” said Xie Lian, glaring at him askance.
Hua Cheng gave him an incredulous look.
“You wound me! If anything, they noticed that gege can’t keep his eyes off his fellow disciple!”
Xie Lian instantly flushed red, and though he opened his mouth for a damning rebuttal, not a single thought was able to crawl out from his frazzled mind.
He had been staring at Hua Cheng a lot.
Like, all the time, since coming here. Like, anytime his attention wasn’t absolutely required for something else.
It was just this new form of his! Xie Lian wasn’t used to it! That’s all!
Who wouldn’t be staring!? Who could even resist? Maybe he shouldn’t have chosen to look like that!
Instead of trying to save face, Xie Lian peeled off towards the farmhouse shrine, not daring to even glance back.
“Gege, wait! I wasn’t trying to tease you, really!” Hua Cheng whined as he followed.
The two of them retreated into the cool shade of Naogui Shrine.