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Prologue
The ‘Langya Pavilion’ was not what one may have imagined it to be. The name evoked mystery and gave no clue as to what kind of shop it was, or what type of products or services the shop would offer.
The master of the shop rose from the leather couch and lifted the teapot. He gently poured a cup of tea for his old friend.
‘It has been many decades since I last saw you, I had hoped that you would not return here.’
He stared at the magnificent creature in front of him. The creature currently took the form of a human man, with long black hair and pale skin. His lips thinned into a small smile.
‘I am here because he needs me,’ the creature said.
'But he does not remember you,’ the shop master reminded him.
'It does not matter. As long as I can hear his call, as long as he needs me, I will return time after time.’
'Human lifespans are fickle things.’ The shop master poured his guest a cup of tea before pouring one for himself.
The creature only nodded before reaching for the teacup with his long, delicate fingers.
'There will be a price, of course,’ the shop master continued. 'There are always repercussions when a Qi Lin’s powers are invoked.’
'I am aware.’ The creature lowered his teacup. 'I will pay the price, as always. I will bear the burden of whatever repercussions stem from my actions. He is not to be informed, of course.’
'How many life times has it been now?’
The creature smiled.
'Not nearly enough.’
I.
When his mother suggested that he should buy a pet, Xiao Jingyan wanted to disagree. With his father’s failing health and the vast family business empire in disarray due to the lack of succession planning, he had no time for a pet. But out of respect and affection for his mother, he entered the pet shop anyway. He hadn’t specifically been looking for a pet shop that day, it was like he had just stumbled upon it at the right moment.
'Welcome,’ a man wearing traditional Chinese robes greeted him.
Xiao Jingyan blushed. There was something about the man’s fine features and presence that seemed out of this world.
'I am looking for a pet,’ he said simply.
The man smiled at him.
'I have just what you are looking for.’
Xiao Jingyan sat on a leather couch while the owner left to retrieve the pets for sale. He recognised the quality of the leather underneath his hands, as well as objects of decoration around the shop. It was strange, that a pet shop situated off the main road would be so artfully decorated, would offer such personalised services. There were no glass cages, no animals cramped together in tight spaces. In fact, there were only a few pigeons perched without restrain on the top of a coat stand and a bluish grey cat curled on a nearby armchair, watching the pigeons.
In light of the store’s extravagant decor, he suspected that what was sold here was in a different league than the pet shops he had visited in the past. Xiao Jingyan had expected to be shown a well bred puppy, a rare cat species or perhaps even a few exotic birds. He did not expect however, to be offered a human for purchase.
‘Is this a joke?’ Jingyan demanded.
The shop owner smiled.
‘Oh no, this is one of the rarest creatures in the world. He is a Qi Lin.’
Jingyan looked at the man in front of him. The man lowered his head in a perfect bow, his long dark hair was tied loosely behind his back.
Xiao Jingyan could feel anger well up inside of him.
‘You are trying to sell me a human being,’ he hissed through clenched teeth.
‘You are mistaken, Sir. He is a Qi Lin.’
There was loud clatter as Jingyan’s fist landed on the coffee table in front of him. He stood up and strode towards the owner until they were almost face to face.
‘What is this? Some kind of human trafficking ring?’ He accused. ‘I will have no part in this.’
He fully intended to walk out of the shop and report the owner to the authorities, but a hand on his wrist stopped him.
The so-called Qi Lin was pale, but his eyes were so dark and his cheeks well defined. Xiao Jingyan stared at the delicate hand wrapped around his wrist and then into those dark eyes.
‘Please,’ the man said. ‘Take me with you.’
There was something about the man, something painfully familiar about him that made Jingyan’s heart ache unexpectedly. He knew this face, he knew these hands, but he did not remember from where.
‘What is your name?’ He asked.
The man’s lips thinned into a small smile.
‘Mei Changsu.’
II.
He took Mei Changsu home. The thought of leaving him there, in a shop that was trying to sell him off like some kind of animal, some kind of pet, made Jingyan sick to his stomach. He did report the shop to the authorities, but the police claimed that they couldn’t find anything suspicious about the shop and that all the paperwork checked out.
The next step to helping the investigation would be to hand over Mei Changsu as a witness, but Jingyan found that he couldn’t. He didn’t know where Mei Changsu was from, what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into to be mixed up with what may be human tracking, but he was safe now, and Jingyan intended it to stay that way.
‘You can go anywhere you like,’ he said to Mei Changsu one night when they sat down for dinner.
It turned out Mei Changsu’s cooking skills were as poor as his own, but together they managed to make something edible.
‘You bought me so I belong to you now.’
Jingyan put down his chopsticks. He felt a headache coming on. It seemed like they had already had this conversation a million times since he had brought Mei Changsu to his apartment.
‘I told you, you don’t belong to me. You can go anywhere you want to.’
‘I can’t until I grant your desires.’
Xiao Jingyan chocked on thin air. Beside him, he caught a small smile on Mei Changsu’s lips and fumed. The man knew the implications of what he had said! He was playing with him.
‘I … don’t have any desires,’ he said crossly.
‘Then I’ll stay until you do.’
III.
The thing was, although his new houseguest tended to take the whole Qi Lin myth a little too seriously, things did start to change for Jingyan. His father, who had always barely acknowledged him, was suddenly back in contact with his mother.
He had always understood that the romance between his parents had been short-lived. The divorce had been swift and his father’s remarriage even swifter. His father had been married and divorced three times before meeting his mother, his mother had simply smiled and said that there was nothing she could do to stop a man like that from leaving if he wanted to. In return, he and his mother were well provided for, even if they were not as favoured as his other half-siblings.
‘I forgot how quiet it is here,’ his father said over the dinner table.
Jingyan had to bite his teeth to refrain from reminding his father that they had brought this house with the money he had left them after the divorce. His father had never had dinner with them in the house.
‘You are welcome to come by any time, of course,’ his mother said gently, ‘whenever you need some quiet time.’
‘In which case I will find myself here quite a lot!’ his father laughed.
As a consequence of his father’s renewed affections for his mother, he also seemed to suddenly take an interest in Jingyan. Instead of working in a regional office, he was promoted to a position at the head office and tasked with overseeing their annual internal review report. Jingyan, who unlike his half brothers, had never worked in the corporate empire, knew almost no one.
‘The report will touch on all of the departments, won’t it? It is a good way for you to meet many people in a short period of time,’ Mei Changsu said once Jingyan returned from his mother’s house to his own apartment.
‘I am…’ he hesitated briefly before continuing, ‘not good at small talk or at getting along with people I do not like.’
Mei Changsu laughed.
‘Then you will just have to find people who you do like.’
IV.
Ever since Mei Changsu started living with him, Jingyan was constantly plagued with elusive dreams. In his dreams he was a boy, then a man. He was laughing and then crying. Beside him, there was always a shadow of a figure. Someone familiar who he couldn’t recall. A face he wanted to touch, but could not reach, even with the tips of his fingers.
He woke with a cry dying in his throat. His face was wet, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold sweat or the tears.
A hand touched his arm. Mei Changsu’s worried face swam into view.
‘Jingyan, don’t be afraid,’ he said.
Jingyan’s heart skipped a beat. He remembered, he could almost remember, someone saying the exact words to him in his dreams. Except he was the one sitting beside the bed and he was watching someone on a bed, leaning closer to hear the words clearly -
‘I will light some incense for you, this will help you sleep without disturbances.’
Mei Changsu’s hand loosed its hold on Jingyan’s arm, but before he could slip away completely, Jingyan grabbed his hand.
‘Have we…’ he swallowed, ‘have we met before?’
Mei Changsu’s eyes were dark, but there was light in them that seemed almost inhuman.
‘No, of course not.’
After that night, Mei Changsu continued to light incenses for him at night. The smell was calming and his sleep was no longer interrupted by confusing dreams, but somehow, he felt he was missing something. Now that he no longer had the dreams, he could not shake the feeling that his dreams were trying to tell him something, something he needed to know but could not yet work out.
V.
‘If you really are a Qi Lin, then show me something magical,’ Jingyan challenged the other one weekend.
They had touched on the subject quite often but the conversation had always ended with Mei Changsu claiming that he was a supernatural creature and ignoring everything else Jingyan said to the contrary. The man could be quite passive aggressive when he wanted to be.
‘You are not ready for that yet,’ Mei Changsu said. Then he rubbed at Jingyan’s stiff shoulders.
Jingyan almost groaned in appreciation.
‘You work too hard,’ Mei Changsu observed.
‘Must be your mystic Qi Lin power then, my work load has really doubled recently. Now that the annual report is over, I am working with the legal department to see how much money we can recover from our debtors. I never knew the corporate group had so many debtors.’
‘Have you found anything interesting?’
Mei Changsu found a particularly tight spot in between his shoulder blades and Jingyan rolled his head back until it hit Mei Changsu’s chest.
‘Yes, there are some abnormalities. I wouldn't be surprised if someone was making money at the company’s expense.’
He suspected that his step brothers were involved. Some of the large debts had already been written off on the company’s books, but this didn’t stop Jingyan from going after it. He had already found a pattern. Someone was using shelf companies to order goods from them without payment - to perhaps then on sell the goods to make a profit. It must have been an inside job, and that person must have had enough power and influence to override the company policy of not providing large amounts of credit to companies without a decent trading history.
‘Show me something magical,’ Jingyan said again. ‘I’m sure I can handle anything you throw at me.’
Mei Changsu’s hands paused from where they were rubbing against his back.
‘I suppose it is time,’ Mei Changsu said softly, ‘if only to help you protect yourself.’
Before Jingyan could ask what he meant by that, cold fingertips were pressed gently against his temples. Suddenly his vision blanked and he felt himself falling and falling until -
- he was no longer in his apartment. He was in a house, a large and luxuriously decorated house. There was a heavy wooden desk and a large dark leather chair. The walls were lined with bookshelves willed with thick novels and reference books. It was vaguely familiar to Jingyan, like a place from a memory, somewhere he had not been back to for many years.
‘We must not underestimate him,’ a voice said.
The door to the study was open and the sound of footsteps grew louder.
‘You should hear the way father talks about him! Father hasn’t talked about me that way in years!’
‘Exactly. He has also been looking into the abnormal debt write offs. He must be removed.’
His brother Xiao Jing Xuan and the CFO of one of their main subsidiary companies, Xie Yu, entered the room. They walked until they reached the armchairs in front of the desk. Jingyan stood not one meter away from them, but they did not appear to be able to see him.
Jing Xuan slowly took a seat.
‘But he’s my brother!’ he hissed.
‘Do you think he will hesitate to expose us, to expose you, once he finds out that we have been taking goods from the company on credit, not repaying the money and then on-selling to make a profit? He will ruin everything we have worked for!’
There was a long pause. Xiao Jing Xuan clenched and unclenched his fists.
‘Do what you need to do. After all, he wouldn’t be the first brother I have lost to this battle to the inheritance battle.’
Jingyan woke gasping for air.
Strong arms held him tightly until he could breathe steadily again. He was lying against Mei Changsu’s chest, on the couch in his apartment where they were mere minutes ago, or was it hours? He could no longer tell.
‘What … what was that?’
‘Magic,’ Mei Changsu said simply.
VI.
Things became a little strange after that.
Jingyan couldn’t help but be a little on edge around Mei Changsu now that he knew he really was a supernatural being.
What Mei Changsu had shown him however, made him think of his eldest brother Xiao Jingyu, the legitimate heir, who had committed suicide when he was a teenager. There was always something about his death that never sat well with Jingyan. The brother he knew was proud and excelled in everything. He was not a person who would have taken his own life.
Now he had a lead, he knew he had to follow it and to find out what had happened to Jingyu. However, his discrete enquiries did not give him information he did not already know. He knew that in order to find out the truth, he needed help.
‘Not only can I help you discover the truth behind your bother’s death, I can also protect your life,’ Mei Changsu said when he made his request.
‘What’s the price?’ Jingyan asked.
‘The price?’
‘This is like making a pact with the devil, right?’
Mei Changsu laughed. It was a quiet laugh, but he did seem genuinely amused.
‘Do I look like the devil to you?’
Xiao Jingyan wanted to say that with his fair skin and dark eyes and perfect bone structure, he may very well have been the devil. Mei Changsu just smiled at him like he knew exactly what Jingyan was thinking.
Not long afterwards, in a string of coincidences, Xie Yu fell from power. The fact that he had once tried to murder his son - or his step son, as the truth later came out - was brought to light. His wife stood by him, but Xie Yu was found to be also responsible for the death of the hit man he had hired to kill Xiao Jingrui when he was just a baby.
Jiangyan stared at the picture of Xie Yu on the front page of the morning paper and then at Mei Changsu who was picking at his breakfast over the table. He really was the devil, Jingyan thought.
‘You should visit him in prison,’ Mei Changsu spoke up, as if hearing his thoughts.
‘He would want his family looked after. For that, he will tell you what he knows about Jingyu’s death.’
VII.
‘Despite everything,’ Jingyan said as he entered Mei Changsu’s room, ‘Jing Xuan’s companies are doing well.
‘He has good returns on his investments.’
Mei Changsu was sitting in bed reading a novel, but he placed the novel on the bedside table as Jingyan approached.
‘Perhaps if you look deeper, you will find that some of the investments are abnormal.’
‘Where should I be looking?’
‘Investments in the pharmaceutical industry.’
It did not take long for Jingyan and his new group of trusted colleagues to find the pharmaceutical company that Xiao Jing Xuan was involved with. Shen Zhui, one such trusted colleague, took it upon himself to investigate the company.
‘The investment relates to a project for a new type of drug that will help people with food allergies overcome these allergies, permanently. It may not be the cure for cancer, but it is expected to hit the market like a storm.
On the surface, there is nothing wrong with the project. We dug as deep as we could and found only one abnormality. Weeks after phase two of the voluntary clinical trials, one employee was let go. Cai Quan and I tracked her down and she eventually agreed to talk with us, provided we stop the trials.
She found something strange with the volunteer records. To cut the long story short, she suspected the company of switching out a volunteer who developed life threatening side effects. The next phase of the trial will involve thousands of people.’
‘This is much larger than our family’s succession issues. We must stop them from progressing with any more clinical trials,’ he said to Shen Zui, who nodded in agreement.
Xiao Jingyan relayed Shen Zhui’s findings to Mei Changsu that night. Mei Changsu was wearing a heavy furred collared coat and sitting in front of the fire place. Even though it was winter, Jingyan thought he was being a little extravagant.
Mei Changsu coughed a little before speaking. He appeared to grow weaker day by day. Jingyan’s hand reached to touch him and rubbed his back in slow, strong movements. Mei Changsu smiled at him before continuing:
‘You cannot prevent the trials, you are not a person of influence within the industry and there is no evidence besides the words of an ex-employee.’
While his words did anger Jingyan, he knew that Mei Changsu was right. Mei Changsu always saw further, could plan further, than him.
‘I was actually surprised that Shen Zhui and Cai Quan were able to find out as much as they did.’
Mei Changsu smiled.
‘You have made good friends, Jingyan. Both of them are more than what they seem and have more resources than they let on. The fact that they are willing to use their resources for you shows their respect for you.’
Jingyan looked away from him, his cheeks warm.
‘What do we do then…’
‘There is one person who is well connected in that industry. In fact, I believe he has connections in the government health department too.’
Jingyan frowned. He trusted his brother Xiao Jing Huan even less than Xiao Jing Xuan.
VIII.
Jingyan was right to distrust Xiao Jing Huan, of course. The next they heard of the clinical trials, they were well into their third phase. They were conducted with more secrecy than the last trials, suggesting that Jing Huan, instead of stopping the trials, encouraged them and even provided extra measures to keep the continuation of the trials low profile.
A disaster was inevitable, but they did not have enough time nor power to stop it. When the news broke, more than fifty people were in hospital in critical condition. His father was furious that their corporate empire was named as a supporter of the development of a drug that could potentially kill people. Claiming that he had lost all faith that Xiao Jing Xuan could manage such an important subsidiary company, he proposed to remove him from his position as CEO and replace him with Jingyan at the next board meeting.
Jingyan stormed into the living room and grabbed Mei Changsu by the collar. Mei Changsu was sitting in an arm chair in front of the fire place, a blanket across his thighs.
‘Did you do this?’ Jingyan hissed. He threw the morning paper onto Mei Changu’s lap. The front page was half filled with an image of families crying.
Mei Changsu choked a little, and Jingyan loosened his grip slightly.
‘I did not.’
‘But you are a Qi Lin!’
‘And what?’ Mei Changsu cried, now also getting angry. ‘I can create coincidences, show you your enemies, tell you about possible outcomes, draw more luck and prosperity your way in a day than most people have in 10 years, but I cannot control people. People will do as they please regardless of my existence!’
‘Tell me this,’ Jingyan said, his voice low and dangerous. ‘Did you know this would happen?’
Mei Changsu didn’t break the stare.
‘Yes.’
Jingyan growled in frustration.
‘Then why didn’t you tell me!’
‘Because the alternative to this,’ Mei Changsu said, ‘is something unacceptable.’
IX
By some miracle, no one died. Although according to the papers, some of the volunteers would have to live with the side effects for the rest of their lives.
Jingyan thought about Mei Changsu’s words over and over again. His impression was that the Qi Lin were good omens that brought prosperity. Although there were various different versions of the myths, these creatures were not often portrayed as evil. Mei Changsu was right, the tragedy came about at the hands of first Xiao Jing Xuan and then Xiao Jing Huan. Jing Huang had thought that he would get rid of his only competitor through the ordeal. He did not expect their father to replace Jing Xuan with Jingyan.
Mei Changsu’s powers must have been still at work, because things were going smoothly for Jingyan. He adjusted to the new position like a fish in water and had subordinates who listened to him and did their jobs. His father was already talking about giving him another company in the corporate empire to look after.
Over the weeks, the weather turned warmer, but Mei Changsu still dressed in coats and even furs. After their confrontation, Mei Changsu took to avoiding him, which should have been difficult given that they lived together, but Mei Changsu simply stood up and left the room whenever Jingyan entered one.
‘I…’ he said as Mei Changsu closed the book he was reading.
‘I…’ he said as Mei Changsu stood up.
He was still trying to work out how to express himself when Mei Changsu brushed past him. Frustrated with himself, and with Mei Changsu for ignoring him, Jingyan reached out a hand and grabbed Mei Changsu’s arm
Underneath the heavy layers of clothing, he could still feel Mei Changsu’s thin forearm.
‘You need to eat more,’ he blurted out.
Mei Changsu raised an eyebrow at him.
‘Human food is not what sustains me. I only eat because I enjoy it.’
‘Oh,’ Jingyan said.
Mei Changsu jerked his arm, but Jingyan didn’t let go.
‘I know that Jing Huan and Jing Xuan are to blame for what happened instead of you. I jumped to conclusions and spoke out of line. I apologise.’
‘It is alright to wrongly accuse others as long as you apologise in the end.’
‘No, that’s not what I meant.’
‘You weren’t completely wrong however. I am at least partly to blame because I saw it coming and did nothing to stop it. You do not need to apologise.’
‘I have been thinking about that. You said that the alternative was something unacceptable.’
He paused and pulled Mei Changsu until they were eye to eye.
‘Does that mean I should thank you for saving my life?’
Mei Changsu looked away.
‘I am thankful, but next time I need you to tell me anyway. It is my choice whether or not my life is worth the consequences.’
This time, Mei Changsu jerked his arm hard enough to slip out of Jingyan’s grasp.
‘I cannot agree to that.’
There was something fierce in Mei Changsu’s eyes that caught Jingyan by surprise. All of a sudden he realised why Mei Changsu had made the choices he had. It seemed unbelievable, but if there was even the tiniest bit of hope that it would be true, Jingyan would take it.
‘Changsu,’ he said softly. It was the first time he had called Mei Changsu’s name without his last name. It was intimate, he knew. He hoped it Mei Changsu would also know.
‘Jingyan,’ Mei Changsu said, a smile small reached his lips.
X
It was the first time Jingyan had ever been so completely content.
In contrast to the day he took Mei Changsu home, when he had no position of note and no friends to rely on, he was now quickly and steadily rising through the corporate ladder. More importantly, he had people he trusted and who genuinely supported him as his father’s heir.
The higher Jingyan climbed, the more frustrated Xiao Jing Huan became. And the more frustrated he became, the more mistakes he made. Their father was rapidly losing faith in him.
But with Mei Changsu in his arms, he was content in a whole different way.
He woke, limbs tangled together with Mei Changsu’s. The Qi Lin made him smile wider than he ever thought he would be able to. Mei Changsu’s hold on him tightened when he tried to distract himself.
‘How can I be the successful heir you are using your powers to create when you won’t let me go to work?’
Mei Changsu cracked open an eye.
‘I don’t need to create a successful heir. You were always destined to be one. I am making your path smooth.’
‘I’d say you’re making my path more enjoyable,’ Jingyan jested. Mei Changsu pushed at him, but he was laughing.
Then all of a sudden, he was coughing. His coughing fits had become more violent day by day, but every time he mentioned it, Mei Changsu would laugh at him and remind him that he was a mythical creature. He would blame the dirty and polluted climate of the human world, but the more Jingyan watched him suffer physically, the more he suspected Mei Changsu was keeping something important from him.
This time, the coughing fit was uncontrollable. Mei Changsu doubled over in bed, his entire body shaking. Unsure of what to do, Jingyan wrapped his arms around him and tried to keep him still. What seemed like hours later, Mei Changsu’s coughing calmed enough for Jingyan to rock him gently from side to side.
‘You should go to work,’ Mei Changsu said, ‘It is important that you are at work for the next few days. I can see it.’
‘I would rather stay with you.’
Mei Changsu extracted himself from Jingyan’s arms.
‘You are forgetting that I am a Qi Lin,’ he said, ‘If you do not go you will be wasting all of my efforts.’
Jingyan reluctantly stepped away from the bed and changed into his suit. He took one last look at Mei Changsu tucking himself in for a nap before leaving the bedroom.
‘You are right,’ he said as he stepped out into the hallway. ‘I do forget that you are a Qi Lin, because to me you are so much more than that.’
On the bed, Mei Changsu did not answer.
XI
Xiao Jing Huan called for a special meeting. The plan was for enough shareholders to vote to replace enough directors to eventually remove their father, the CEO, out of the ultimate holding company of their corporate group.
His father was taken by surprise, but Jingyan was not. Under Mei Changsu’ guidance, he had begun an acquaintance with Mu Nihuang. The Mu family were long time supporters of his father, but due to some of his father’s recent more paranoid decisions, the relationship had become strained.
Xiao Jing Huan had just assumed that the Mu family would not vote in his father’s favour, and he was only partially correct in that respect. Mu Nihuang, as one of the major shareholders, made it clear that her vote was not so much for Jingyan’s father as it was for him. In the end the whole debacle did serve to make a few things clear: Jingyan’s support for his father, and the extent of Jingyan’s own influence.
So caught up in the events in the office, it was days before Jingyan returned to the apartment. He knew something was wrong as soon as he opened the room to find the apartment cold and in darkness. Mei Changsu was afraid of the cold and would always have the fireplace lit. There was silence as he walked into the living room and down the hall.
He opened the bedroom door and found a lump under the blankets. Jingyan let out the breath he was holding; Mei Changsu was simply sleeping. He climbed onto the bed and pulled at Mei Changsu’s exposed shoulder. But instead of waking up and protesting, Mei Changsu’s body simply turned over under Jingyan’s hands. His eyes remained closed and his hands as cold as ice.
Panicked, Jingyan almost called an ambulance before he realised no human doctor could help Mei Changsu.
There was only one place he could think of that could help. He needed to take Mei Changsu back to the pet shop. Desperate and truly afraid, he lifted Mei Changsu in his arms and carried him until he reached his car and placed him into the passenger seat. Mei Changsu neither opened his eyes nor moved an inch by himself.
The pet shop front was exactly as he remembered, the last time he was there nearly 2 years ago. Only it was now the middle of the night and the shop was clearly closed. Jingyan carried Mei Changsu on his back until they were standing right in front of the door.
The he knocked. Loudly and insistently. Until his hands burned in pain and his eyes stung.
He yelled too, loudly and desperately, for someone to open the door.
Eventually the large wooden door cracked open slightly before opening fully. The shop owner, dressed in a night robe, took one look at Jingyan, at the body of Mei Changsu on his back and ushered them inside.
‘I knew this would happen,’ he muttered as he turned on the lights in the store and helped Jingyan lay Mei Changsu on the couch. He was still not moving.
‘We must get him warm, and fast.’
‘How?’
Ignoring him, the owner snapped his fingers and the fireplace in front of the couch lit up with strong flames.
‘Mr -‘
‘Call me Lin Chen,’ the shop owner said.
‘Will he …?’
‘Will he die, you mean?’ Li Chen said. His voice was light but Jingyan could see the concern in his eyes as he looked at Mei Changsu lying there unmoving.
‘He won’t die, no. But he will be barely living in the human sense, for much longer.’
‘What does that mean?’ Jingyan cried.
Lin Chen stared at him for a long time before sighing.
‘He told you nothing, as usual.’
XI
‘The first time you met, you spent half a lifetime together. But he was much stronger then,’ Lin Chen said. ‘He pretended to be human and fell in love with you. But in the end he could not stop his Qi Lin form from taking over. He could not stop himself from interfering with your life.’
‘Why half a lifetime then?’
‘Do you know the myth of the Qi Lin?’
Xiao Jingyan narrowed his brows. ‘They bring great fortune and power.’
‘Yes, but fortune and power does not come without a price. A human who uses the Qi Lin’s powers must face consequences. On a small scale, a man who choses power over everything may lose his loved ones. On a larger scale, a king who chooses power may rule a kingdom, but loose the respect and love of those he rules. Nothing comes from nothing and nothing is without consequences and repercussions. It shows the emptiness of human desires and ambition.’
‘What does that -‘
‘You were a prince,’ Lin Chen continued. ‘A prince unloved and overlooked by the emperor, but you possessed the dignity and a love of the people to become a good emperor. Mei Changsu offered you his assistance, you took it to avoid the empire landing in the hands of your selfish brothers. One by one, your enemies failed and fell on their own swords. There was to be a price for his assistance, repercussions of your ambition, but the consequences were not borne by you.’
‘We only had half a life time together because he bore all of the consequences that were to befall on me.’ The truth dawned on him slowly.
‘He is a supernatural creature, so he did not die. But he became too weak to stay in the human realm.’
‘Then how did he find me again?’
‘This is not the first time he has found you. Every life you have, every reincarnation, he finds you. Despite what I tell him, he cannot let you go. Every time he comes to the human realm, every time he grants your ambitions, he accepts the backlash of his own powers and becomes weaker. This time he has only had two years with you. Next time, it will be less, until one day he will simply cease to exist.’
They were both silent for a while before Jingyan spoke up.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
‘I’m afraid it’s not your choice.’
XII
When Mei Changsu opened his eyes again, he was back in their apartment.
Jingyan was staring at him from a chair next to the bed and holding his hand. There was so much he wanted to say to Mei Changsu. He wanted to shout at him, to talk some sense into him, to tell him that he wasn’t worth Mei Changsu sacrificing so much for. Most of all, he wanted time with Mei Changsu. But time was a luxury they didn’t have. He wanted to make the most of what limited time they had together, in this lifetime.
‘Next time you find me,’ he said, squeezing Mei Changsu’s hand, ‘You mustn’t use your Qi Lin powers and weaken yourself. We will have ordinary lives and we will have a full lifetime together.’
‘But then you won’t reach your full potential.’
‘The me in my next lifetime will take what fate gives him. And it won’t matter because he will have you.’
Mei Changsu squeezed his hand back.
‘Promise me.’
Mei Changsu smiled.
‘I promise.’
It sounded like a sweet lie, as sweet as Mei Changsu’s lips. And as Jingyan pulled him close and brought their lips together, he wondered how many times Mei Changsu had made the same lie to him, how many lifetimes Mei Changsu had made the same promise to him.