Archive of Our Own

Xie Lian had been the temple’s caretaker for several years now, so when the front door fell down–again!--he just propped it up, without hesitation, and went down into the village to do his scrap collecting.

The temple was dedicated to a forgotten deity. The calligraphy on the title plaque was illegible, and no one could remember what it was supposed to say. Once it must have been an impressive building, but now it was old and in disrepair. Many of the beams were rotting, the paint was faded, and the whole structure creaked ominously during storms.

Inside was a stone figure, old and worn indistinct by time, the features unrecognizable. It was not even clear if it depicted a god or a goddess, but it still could be seen that in one hand the statue carried a flower and in the other held a sword. And if sometimes a villager came into the temple to make an offering and found Xie Lian looking at the statue with a wistful expression, it was understandable. It made a melancholy figure.

Some people said the deity brought luck in love, and others said they brought riches, and still others said that they must be a martial god. But whatever the true domain of the god was, people brought their offerings: not very rich ones, and not all the time, but in a steady trickle.

As for Xie Lian, he hadn’t meant to become the caretaker at his own temple! When he came to this village with nothing but the rags on his back several years ago, and asked around for work, the villagers had asked him to fix up the temple. The normal caretaker was very old and hadn’t been keeping up with repairs, and then that winter, he had fallen very ill, and couldn’t do anything at all. 

No one was more surprised than Xie Lian that it was an old temple to himself. He hadn’t known that a single temple had survived from his original ascension. But this little mountain town was so out of the way. They’d never even heard that their god was no good anymore.

Xie Lian intended his stay here to be temporary, a place to sleep and work for a little while before he moved on. But the old caretaker didn’t survive the winter, and then Xie Lian moved into the little room to the side of the temple where the previous caretaker had lived, and never left.

People donated food and supplies, sometimes, but not enough that Xie Lian could give up scrap collecting entirely. Especially not with his luck. In the first year, the roof blew off, and an enraged ox broke down one of the walls and knocked over the offering table. Thankfully the statue was unscathed. Xie Lian didn’t know how to sculpt, and even if he had, making a sculpture of himself would have been too strange.

Normally, that was the point at which people started making disapproving noises about his luck, and he found some excuse to move on. But these villagers were either unusually tolerant or abnormally unobservant. The worst they’d ever done was make sympathetic comments about how old and rundown the temple was.

Today was reasonably successful in terms of scrap collecting. He got some old clothes that were good enough to sell, and some food that was only lightly spoiled. Still good enough for Xie Lian to eat! Unfortunately, as he walked back, there was a sudden downpour, and he became drenched. It didn’t drag down his spirits though. After centuries of wandering, he was used to this sort of minor hardship. Getting cold and damp didn’t harm him, and it had been a long time since it’d bothered him either.

It was late afternoon when he returned to the temple and awkwardly moved aside the door. He knew instantly that something was different: there were muddy pawprints across the floor. They led from the door to under the offering table.

Xie Lian put down his burden inside the door before propping up the slab of wood as best he could. He’d intended to spend the rest of the daylight fixing the door, but it wasn’t urgent. If he fixed it now, then surely it would just fall again next week!

Instead he got down on his hands and knees and called, “Come here! Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

The creature was not convinced. 

He bowed his head lower to the ground to see if he could see it. Was that perhaps the tip of a dark tail?

Seeing the need for stronger measures, he dug into his sleeve for the stale meatbun he had scrounged earlier. He broke it in half to expose the filling, which was cold and not especially appealing. But the animal was probably hungry. He fished out a morsel and held it out in front of him while making gentle cooing noises. 

A mudcaked cat emerged from under the table. The animal was soggy and clearly had been caught in the rain, and possibly the mucky splash of a passing cart.

The cat looked at Xie Lian and froze.

Xie Lian put down the morsel of food and sat back on his knees, giving the creature more room.

It seemed to lose its hesitancy, darting forward and snapping up the bit of meat. Xie Lian thought it would dart back under the table, but instead it padded up to him, looking strangely confident for a small, dirty, sopping-wet ball of fur, and then it head-butted his arm in a friendly manner.

“Oh hello!” Xie Lian said, and gave it a scritch under the chin. “Do you want more?”

He scooped the rest of the meat out of the bun—there wasn’t very much—and offered it on a flat palm. 

But the cat didn’t eat. Instead it sat back, looking at Xie Lian, before gently pushing Xie Lian’s hand back towards himself, almost like it was saying that Xie Lian should have it instead. 

Xie Lian laughed and said, “it’s ok kitty, I still have the bread,” and then with his other hand he grabbed the mangled remains of the bun and took a demonstrative bite.

The cat seemed reassured, almost as if it understood him. It daintily lifted the food, piece by piece, from Xie Lian’s hand with its tongue and teeth.

Xie Lian wasn’t very familiar with animals, but this seemed like a very smart and well mannered cat. Once it was done eating, it politely licked Xie Lian's hand clean, and then thanked him with another head butt and a pleased mrrow.

Xie Lian had finished his own bit of bun by then.

“Don’t worry, I’ll cook dinner later,” he said to the cat, “now let’s get you cleaned up.”

First he wiped it off with a rag, but the poor thing was so covered in mud that it truly had to be bathed. He sighed, expecting to get scratched up for his trouble, but actually the cat was very docile. It stood obediently, though shivering, while Xie Lian sluiced it with water from the bucket and worked the mud out of its fur. At first, he’d thought that the cat was so grime-caked, it couldn’t open one of its eyes, but once he cleaned off its face he realized that its right eye was missing entirely. There was nothing but scarring around an empty socket.

It did resist when he tried to examine the eye further, so he let it be. “You’ve had a hard life, haven’t you?” he commented as he returned to cleaning the rest of the cat's long black fur.

It looked so small and pathetic, once he was done, even after he dried its fur as best as he could. It was still shivering and he could feel its ribs under its skin. 

“Poor thing, let’s get you warmed up,” he said, and he tucked it under the fold of his outer robe.

It instantly started purring.

It was a little damp, but he didn’t have the heart to put it down, and instead started to awkwardly–and with one hand–make dinner for both of them.

He had some meat, though it was old and tough. He thought it would be alright in a stew with some vegetables.

He puttered around for a while, chopping and adding things. It took a while and the end result was…not promising.

He hadn’t added enough water at the beginning, so the bottom had burnt a bit and become dry. Even though he added a lot of water later, there was still a bit of a burnt smell and the consistency was unusual.

The cat poked its nose out of his robes and gave a sniff. Xie Lian looked from the cat to the stew. It hardly was a good deed to save the animal if he immediately killed it with his cooking!

But it seemed hungry, and he didn’t have anything else to offer, so eventually he just spooned out a bowl and set it on the ground. He made up another for himself that he put on the table. He sat down and saw the cat looking at him, not yet eating.

“Oh, does the food smell bad?” Xie Lian asked.

The cat shook its head.

Xie Lian stared at the cat, and the cat stared back. Had Xie Lian imagined it?

“Would you like to eat at the table instead?”

The cat chirped and leapt up. The missing eye didn’t seem to impact its distance-perception at all; it landed gracefully on the table.

Xie Lian moved its bowl from the ground to the table. This level of communication with a cat couldn’t be normal, could it? Maybe it was a low level spiritual beast. That would make some sort of sense.

Xie Lian started to eat and so did the cat. It seemed to have no objection to Xie Lian’s cooking, eating quickly but neatly. After licking the bowl clean, it carefully wiped its face with its paws, and then licked them clean in turn.

By the time Xie Lian had cleaned up the dishes from dinner, it was dark and time for bed. He rolled out his mat and said to the cat, “You can share with me if you’d like,” and the cat trotted over, circling a few times before curling up under Xie Lian’s chin.

When he woke, it was to a tickle of long black fur on his nose and chin. He sneezed, and the cat gave a grumpy little merp before settling back down again.

Gently, Xie Lian dislodged it so he could get up and start his day. First step: fix the door. Next: go into the village to sell some of the scraps he’d cleaned and repaired, before trying to collect more.

As he started working on the door, the cat bounded off into the grass. Xie Lian sighed, assuming that would be the last he’d see of the animal.

He was surprised when, twenty minutes later, the cat was back. It padded up to Xie Lian and dropped a dead mouse at his feet.

“Thank you,” said Xie Lian, “But hadn’t you better eat that? You must be hungry.”

The cat picked up the mouse again in its mouth, and trotted off around the corner of the house. 

A while later, Xie Lian was done with the door, and followed the cat’s previous path. What awaited him was a curious sight. The cat had dug a hole in the ground and was in the process of neatly depositing the remains of various animals–bones and fur, and what looked like the skin of a snake. Clearly this cat was a master hunter!

“I’m going into town now, kitty,” said Xie Lian. Since the cat seemed to understand him, it was only polite to share his intentions.

In response, the cat rapidly kicked the dirt over the hole it had dug, burying the remains.

“Ah, thanks for cleaning up after yourself!” said Xie Lian, and then he went into the side room of the temple to gather his scraps to sell.

He left the door open a crack as he left, so the cat could take shelter if it wished, but instead the cat set off to town beside Xie Lian. He lay his blanket out in the main square, and the cat sat docilely on one corner, preventing it from coming up in the breeze. However, it sprung up and hissed when an inattentive person tripped on the edge of the blanket, scattering some of Xie Lian’s wares.

It looked like the cat intended to claw the offending party, but Xie Lian called it back frantically, worried the cat would be crushed in the bustling market. The cat came and settled down again, though it continued to glare at the offender through his half-hearted apologies. Xie Lian waved him away and rearranged the blanket. 

“See?” he said to the cat, “No harm done.”

It was a slow morning, but he sold some old books, and traded some old clothes he’d cleaned for some vegetables that were only a bit wilted. 

Then, just as he was gathering up his goods again, an old lady who was a frequent visitor at the temple shuffled up to him. “It’s good to see you got a cat. You spend too much alone. It’s not good.”

“Ah, yes,” Xie Lian said, feeling a little bit uncomfortable.

She peered at the cat, “It’s a bit ugly, but I suppose it can still hunt for itself.”

“It’s not ugly–” Xie Lian protested.

She wasn’t listening though. “Here,” she said, digging in her bundle and eventually producing an item. “It’s a collar. So people know the cat’s yours.”

It was a simple strip of red silk, and from the center dangled a little bell.

***

“Come here,” Xie Lian called, that night, back at the temple, after dinner, which the cat seemed to enjoy. The cat came.

Xie Lian held out the collar to show it. The cat gave it a sniff, and then hopped back when Xie Lian tried to wind it around its neck.

“Won’t you let me put this on you? The red will look nice with your fur.”

But the cat didn't come any closer. In fact it made a whining sound that seemed distressed.

“But if you don’t wear this, how will people know that you belong to someone?” He stopped. “Not that you belong to me. Of course you’re your own cat, haha.”

But the cat was already coming forward, and this time it allowed Xie Lian to fasten the collar about its neck.

The bell chimed softly as it moved, and the cat gave Xie Lian a sulky look.

Xie Lian sighed, “If you hate it that much I can take it off,” but the cat just slunk under the offering table, tail between its legs. Maybe it didn’t really understand what Xie Lian was saying after all.

The cat spent the rest of the evening lurking under the table until Xie Lian went to bed, at which point it curled up with him like it had the night before.

If Xie Lian had thought the bell would alert him to the cat’s presence, he would have been wrong. By the next day, it seemed to have learned to walk softly enough that the bell stayed silent.

They settled into a comfortable rhythm.

The cat hunted in the morning and then accompanied Xie Lian wherever he was going scrap collecting that day. Usually it stuck close to Xie Lian’s side, but sometimes it would dart away, down a lane or side street, faster than Xie Lian could follow. At first he worried that the cat would get lost or be hurt, but it always returned shortly after, usually bearing something Xie Lian could use or sell.

“You aren’t stealing these are you?” Xie Lian asked, a little dubious, when the cat had brought back a thin gold chain. 

It gave him an unimpressed look and headbutted him. He sighed and added it to his bundle.

It was really nice to have a companion again. Even if the cat couldn’t talk back, it did really feel like it listened to him. And it was nice to have someone to cook for every evening, someone who seemed to appreciate and enjoy his food, even if that someone was a cat. 

Of course, everything changed the day Xie Lian woke not to a tickle of cat fur on his face, but to find himself cuddling with a very naked young man.

He instantly scrambled away, heart pounding, thoughts muddled and confused.

The other man was blinking awake. The look he gave Xie Lian was sleepy and contented, until he saw the other man’s expression and looked down at himself. Turning red he rolled himself in the mat to cover his body. “I can explain,” he said.

“No need,” said Xie Lian, taking in the red collar tied so tight around the other man’s neck it must be choking him, and the fact that the man had only a single eye.

“It feels like I need to explain,” he said. The bell jingled softly when he talked.

“Let me help you,” said Xie Lian, and reached towards him. The other man froze, and then relaxed, and let Xie Lian work to untie the tight knot of the collar. As he worked his fingers into the knot, Xie Lian said, “It seems to me like you were cursed to become a cat, and now the curse has worn off.”

“Ah,” said the man, “Gege is very perceptive.” His cheeks were still red and flushed.

“What’s your name?” asked Xie Lian, a little amused. He knew that he was hundreds of years old, but since he ascended at 17, he still looked quite young. The man in front of him actually looked several years older than Xie Lian did.

“My family calls me San Lang,” he said.

Xie Lian laughed and said, “Alright San Lang. I’m called Xie Lian.”

“I know,” said San Lang.

Finally, the knot came undone. He slipped the collar off and made to toss it aside, but San Lang grabbed for it instead.

“Don’t throw it away. You gave it to me, gege,” he said, in a spoiled tone.

Xie Lian thought this was a little silly. It was hardly a gift, more of an accessory for a pet! But he didn’t argue and instead said, “Let’s find you some clothes.”

He had a set of sparerobes that weren’t too terribly shabby, so he tossed them to San Lang and turned around so he could dress.

“You can look now,” said San Lang. 

Xie Lian didn’t say anything for a minute. The other man was now clothed, but he was also shorter, younger, and had two eyes. Also, he was wearing the cat collar around his neck again–though tied much looser. Wasn’t that too strange, now that he was in human form again?

“San Lang, you look different,” said Xie Lian.

“Ah yes,” said San Lang, “The other form was…too ugly.”

“I don’t think so,” said Xie Lian, and San Lang blushed.

Xie Lian gestured to the collar. “You really shouldn’t wear it like that. People might think you are odd.”

“Why should I care what other people think?” San Lang replied, sulking a little. But he let Xie Lian undo it and wrap it twice around his wrist instead.

“Alright,” said Xie Lian, “Now that you’ve returned to your usual form, do you have some place to be or things to do?”

The other man laughed and said, “Gege, you must know that I’m a ghost. And ghosts don’t have these kinds of obligations. We can simply do as we please. I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

Considering how convincing his human form was, Xie Lian wasn’t sure this was entirely true. When he’d untied the collar from San Lang’s neck, he’d happened to feel his hair, which was made of individual strands just like a living person’s. A low level ghost would have hair like a cloud or a single clump. San Lang must be a powerful ghost indeed. In fact, such verisimilitude to a living human could only be produced by a devastation-level ghost. He must have a vast swathe of territory and a lot of responsibility in the ghost realm. 

But Xie Lian didn’t comment on any of this. Instead he just laughed and said, “Well then you can stay at the temple if you like, since you have been.”

He did think it odd that a high level ghost wanted to hang around with a humble scrap collector, but he didn’t ask more about it, since San Lang didn’t seem to want to say more.

It did make him wonder, “Ah, San Lang, but how did you get turned into a cat?”

The other man’s expression darkened, almost like the question angered him, so Xie Lian said, “Nevermind, you don’t have to tell me.”

But San Lang said, “It’s not that. Gege can ask what he wants. In this case, it was a prank by an acquaintance. But he will be one to suffer more, when he learns how much I’ve added onto his debt.”

Surely it must be a powerful acquaintance, Xie Lian thought. Could even a heavenly official enact that kind of curse on a devastation? But he didn’t comment on it.

For a few days, they lived together in much the same way as they had when San Lang was a cat. The main difference was that San Lang in human form was more help with the repairs around the temple. Xie Lian felt a little bad about his single bedroll, but San Lang never complained, and curled up next to him every night.

One day, though, San Lang was already awake when Xie Lian got up.

He said, “Gege, I have to go deal with something in the ghost realm for a few days. I’ll come back when I can.”

“Is everything alright?” Xie Lian asked, concerned. Before, San Lang had seemed very casual about his responsibilities.

“Yes it’s nothing serious, just some riffraff making trouble in my absence." He paused and then drew something out of his pocket. “If you don’t mind, I’ll give you this trinket so you don’t forget me.”

Xie Lian laughed and said, “Of course I couldn’t forget you San Lang!” But he took the chain San Lang held out to him anyway. Dangling from it was a ring that sparkled like it was made of pure diamond.

“It’s very beautiful,” Xie Lian said. “I’ll keep it safe.”

San Lang said, “Oh, it’s just some trinket. Don’t worry about it and keep it or trash it as you like.”

Privately, Xie Lian was sure that it was something of importance, or at least of great value, so he slipped it on and tucked the ring under his robes, where it couldn’t be seen.

And then San Lang was gone.

A strange melancholy stole over Xie Lian. After these hundreds of years, he should be used to being alone, but after such a short amount of time, he’d grown used to having another person to talk to, to cook for, and to help with the temple. He found himself less energetic in his scrap collecting and his repairs. Some of the villagers even asked if he was sick.

After a while he was able to pull himself together again, and put his sadness aside. San Lang would come back, but there was no use dwelling on it. He went back to his normal routines.

But several months passed, and San Lang didn’t come back.

Maybe the problems he had had to deal with were more difficult than he’d estimated. But Xie Lian had to admit that he was getting a bit worried.

And it wasn’t only that San Lang had been gone longer than expected. It also was the fact that it was getting past time for Xie Lian to move on. Though he’d been roaming the earth for more than 700 years, he still had the face of the 17 year old who’d ascended. His mannerisms and maturity did make him seem a bit older, but he still couldn’t pass as someone older than his mid-twenties. He’d been in this town for nearly 6 years now, and was starting to get comments about how youthful he still was. 

His bad luck often led to him being driven from a place before he’d been there very long. In some cases before, when he’d managed to stick around longer, he’d explained that he was a cultivator and so looked younger than his age. But that often backfired. As a cultivator, local townsfolk would ask him to deal with whatever spiritual or demonic threats came around. If it was just a beast to fight, he could do that well enough with his martial arts and talismens. But sometimes there would be a threat that really did require spiritual powers. Spiritual powers he no longer had access to, due to the shackles. Because of his no-good luck, these sorts of threats came up pretty often when Xie Lian was around. Then he would turn from “the esteemed immortal cultivator” to “that heartless bastard”, or “some no-good fraud”. Or worse, they would think he was a demonic cultivator or some sort of ghost himself. This led to many uncomfortable situations, so Xie Lian avoided them by leaving town whenever questions about his age started arising. 

It was high time he left this particular town. But that left him with a problem. Once he left, how would San Lang find him? With Xie Lian’s luck against it, who knew when they would be able to meet again.

It occurred to him that, perhaps, San Lang hadn’t actually intended to return. What was there for a devastation-level ghost in this little town? Did he really enjoy it that much, collecting scraps and repairing the temple? But Xie Lian couldn’t really convince himself of it. He traced the outline of the ring through his robes. He wasn’t quite sure how, but he knew that it was important. And in the short time he’d known him, San Lang had always done what he said he would. Xie Lian couldn’t believe that San Lang would have said he was coming back if he hadn’t intended to. From the perspective of a ghost, a few months probably wasn’t very long at all. To Xie Lian either, it wasn’t very long. He would have happily kept waiting with only a bit of concern, except for the inconvenient need for him to move on.

But there was one thing Xie Lian could do, he realized. He could go find San Lang himself.

His poor luck meant he had a worse than usual chance of succeeding. But it would be a better chance than just wandering around the countryside, hoping San Lang was able to find him.

He didn’t exactly know where San Lang’s domain was, but he did know somewhere he was likely to turn up eventually: Ghost City.

He had never gone to the ghost realm. It was dangerous for humans, and as an exiled god, he didn’t have much power to defend himself. Without his shackles, he could have encountered almost any ghost without fear, but now even lower level ones could be troublesome, especially in large numbers. But Ghost City was the most famous landmark of the ghost realm, and it was said that every ghost ended up there eventually. So if Xie Lian went to Ghost City, San Lang was likely to turn up.

He didn’t know how to get to Ghost City, exactly, but it couldn’t be too hard. He would just follow some ghosts!

He said goodbye to his neighbors, and packed a small amount of food and extra clothes, and then started off. They were sad to see him go, but he said he was off to see San Lang. He’d introduced the ghost as a cousin, so no one was very concerned, and just told him to hurry back. He didn’t have the heart to tell them he wouldn’t be returning.

There was a talisman he knew that could erase his spiritual aura, which would make him seem dead, and he also found a mask. Once he’d travelled to a likely graveyard, he applied the talisman, put on the mask, and waited. Near midnight, ghosts started to appear, and the air filled with their low murmurs. As a group, they headed out of the graveyard confidently, and Xie Lian followed, creeping behind them, a little ways off so they wouldn’t notice him. Really, this was going much better than he’d expected, given his terrible luck.

Suddenly they turned a corner, and the city appeared. There was a long market street filled with every color, every manner of ghost and creature, and every type of ware.

In order to come into the city with the ghosts he’d followed, Xie Lian had approached more closely at the end, and just now, one of the ghosts turned around and saw Xie Lian. 

“Who are you?” he asked, tone unfriendly. 

“Oh I’m just a ghost travelling to Ghost City to shop…” Xie Lian said.

“Then why are you following us?” The ghost said belligerently.

“I wasn’t following you,” said Xie Lian weakly, “It’s more that we were travelling in the same direction.”

That didn’t seem to placate the ghost. Instead he gave Xie Lian a shove and said, “Mind your own business, don’t be creeping after us.”

“Okay I won’t–I won’t” Xie Lian said, wanting to end this interaction without drawing any more attention, but now his luck was against him. When the other ghost had shoved him, his back had hit the pillar of a market stall. It wasn’t hard enough to do any damage, but it was hard enough to dislodge the talisman Xie Lian had put on his back to disperse his spiritual aura.

“Wait a second,” said the rabbit-headed ghost that ran the stall Xie Lian had bumped into. “He’s not a ghost, he’s a cultivator.”

Many heads turned towards him in an instant, and Xie Lian found himself surrounded.

“I don’t mean any harm,” he tried to say, “I’m just here to shop.”

But the ghosts weren’t listening to him. “What should we do with him?” asked the original ghost that had pushed him.

“I should put him in my stew!” said the rabbit-headed ghost, “Since he damaged my stall.”

“Damage? What damage,” said the original ghost. “I found him following me, so I get to decide what to do with him.”

“Following you?” said one of that ghost’s companions. “Wasn’t he following all of us, probably spying?”

“Who would want to spy on any of you,” said a passerby who had stopped by to join the throng. “He’s probably here to spy on Chengzhu on behalf of the heavenly realm.”

Xie Lian could have cried–how did this all go so wrong so quickly?

“I’m really not here for spying or anything…” he tried, but still no one was listening. He could try to fight his way out–these were all rather low-level ghosts. But there were a lot of them, and if he did that, wouldn’t he be causing trouble in a realm he didn’t know much about? Who knows what problems that might cause.

“We should bring him to Chengzhu,” said another person, “He’ll know what to do with him.”

“But then what will I put in my stew,” said the rabbit-headed ghost, sounding sulky.

“No one cares about your stew,” said the original ghost. “This is a matter of the security of Ghost City. We have to bring the spy to Chengzhu. He’ll take care of him.”

Several bystanders laughed meanly, as if they were expecting the city lord to enact some sort of horrible punishment on Xie Lian. Xie Lian sighed. This was really not going the way he’d wanted it to.

He had a final split second to decide if he would resist as two ghosts drew his hands behind his back to bind him. He tensed, but didn’t fight them. He still thought it would be worse to start a brawl in the middle of Ghost City. If they were taking him to some sort of authority figure, they would probably be able to tell that Xie Lian didn’t have any spiritual power and wasn't a threat. Since San Lang was a powerful ghost, they might even be able to help Xie Lian find him. Though it would help to know San Lang’s name. Maybe a description would help? But San Lang could change his shape, so maybe it wouldn’t. He sighed. No use worrying now. Even if things went badly, Xie Lian couldn’t die, so the worst that could happen still wasn't that bad.

The crowd of ghosts pushed and shoved him roughly down the road, until eventually they reached a rowdy crowd spilling out of a huge red building. It was bedecked with columns and ornamentation, but Xie Lian didn’t have the chance to examine it much before he was being shoved inside. “Make way, make way” said the ghosts behind him, “We have to bring this criminal to Chengzhu,” and grudgingly the crowd of ghosts in front parted, and the whole gaggle was allowed through, with Xie Lian in the center. Once inside, there was a great cacophony. There was horrible wailing, joyous laughter, screaming, cheering. He could see many tables with ghosts and some mortals grouped around them. It was a gambling den.

A masked figure dressed in black approached the mob and barred their way, “What’s this?”

Xie Lian thought they’d try to push past him, but instead there were murmurs from behind him, “That’s the Waning Moon Officer,” and the ghost in front said politely, “We found this cultivator making trouble in the market. We want to take him to Chengzhu so he can deal with him.”

The man laughed a little and said, “Chengzhu doesn’t need to deal with every low-level troublemaker. Don’t you know you can deal with such things yourselves? Cook him or throw him out of the city–why would the Lord care.”

Xie Lian shifted uneasily. Also, his mask had shifted down a bit in the chaos and now was quite uncomfortable. With his hands tied, he couldn’t adjust it properly. He tried to move the mask by nudging it against his shoulder, but it backfired. Instead the mask fell off entirely.

The movement drew the attention of the Waning Moon Officer and he looked Xie Lian right in the eye. His eyes widened and for a second he looked very much taken aback.

With a slight stutter, he said, “Actually, I’ve changed my mind. Since you’ve come this far, you might as well bring the cultivator to Chengzhu.”

There were some mutters from the ghosts, “Damned right,” and “We’ll get to see this troublemaker punished by Chengzhu,” and a few other things Xie Lian didn’t catch.

The Waning Moon Officer stepped forward towards Xie Lian and quickly untied his hands. There were some mutterings of disapproval, but the man simply said, “He’s not going to run away when he’s in Lord Hua Cheng’s own Gambler’s Den.”

“Of course not,” said Xie Lian, “I’m happy to meet Chengzhu.”

The man in black led them to a long table. At the end of the table was a red curtain, behind which the outline of a figure was just barely visible. The man bowed to the curtain and said, “My lord, there is a cultivator here to see you.” 

The ghosts gambling at the table all turned from their games to stare at Xie Lian and the ghosts surrounding him.

The ghost who had led the group puffed up in outrage, “Is that any way to say it ? Didn’t we bring this troublesome cultivator to the Lord for justice?”

This loud group was causing quite a scene and drawing the attention of many of the gambling ghosts. It was starting to make Xie Lian feel rather uncomfortable. 

An attendant walked up to the curtain, listening to what the figure behind the curtain was saying. The attendant announced, “The lord will speak with the cultivator. Come up.”

The other ghosts muttered with some confusion as Xie Lian made his way up to the red curtain. The figure behind it was still hazy and indistinct. Then a hand reached out and drew the curtain aside. Behind it was…San Lang!

He was in his older form, one eye covered by an eyepatch, and dressed in red robes with silver vambraces–very different from the shabby second-hand clothing Xie Lian had given him to wear at the shrine. But still, he would have recognized him anywhere. For a while, he just looked at Xie Lian.

Xie Lian wanted to greet him familiarly, but thought better of it. Wouldn't it look bad for this ghost lord to be friendly with a troublesome cultivator?

So instead, in a polite but distant tone, Xie Lian said, “Ah Lord Chengzhu, I wasn’t trying to cause problems. I only came to this city for some shopping…and to seek out a friend.”

There was muttering behind him of disbelief, but San Lang shot out a hand and the room fell quiet. 

“In that case,” said San Lang, “Let’s make a wager. If you roll higher, I’ll help you find your friend. If I win, you can do something for me.”

Xie Lian rubbed the back of his neck. His luck was so bad there really was no chance that he would win. But then again, as San Lang probably knew, he had already found the friend he was looking for. 

“What does Chengzhu want me to do for him if he wins?” Xie Lian asked.

“Hmm what can you do?”

A little uncertain, Xie Lian said, “Well I can break boulders on my chest…”

There was some snickering from the ghosts.

“What is this, a travelling act or a cultivator,” someone said.

“Maybe he’s good at sword swallowing,” said another.”

Hua Cheng was silent.

“I can also sing, and do calligraphy?” Xie Lian said uncertainly.

Hua Cheng still didn't say anything and Xie Lian began to feel that it was a little much. Was he still a cat, that he liked to play with his food?

Then Hua Cheng said, “Very good. Gege, if you lose, you owe me a calligraphy lesson. I’ll roll first.”

The room behind them was growing louder. Xie Lian heard someone say, “why did he call that cultivator gege?”

Hua Cheng paid the commentary no mind. Instead he pulled out a pair of dice and a cup. He shook the two dice for a couple seconds and then revealed them–a five and a six.

Xie Lian, who rarely saw a roll higher than snake eyes, had already resigned himself to the loss. He took the cup himself, brushing Hua Cheng’s hand in the process. The other man twitched a little at the touch. 

Xie Lian rolled. A two and a three! For Xie Lian, that was really quite good!

Of course, it was still a loss next to a five and a six.

The ghosts cheered. “Of course our lord’s luck is better than some random cultivator,” said a couple.

“I win,” said San Lang.

“Alright,” said Xie Lian. “Tell me when you want me to teach you calligraphy?”

“Why don’t you come with me to Paradise Manor?” San Lang asked.

Xie Lian of course did not know what Paradise Manor was, but he agreed anyway.

The show over, some of the ghosts started trickling out. The Waning Moon officer was shooing out the ghosts that brought Xie Lian out of the hall. They seemed disappointed that no real punishment had been inflicted, but they were clearly unwilling to go against the judgement of their lord.

“Is he really going to teach him calligraphy?” asked one to another as they left.

“Of course not,” said that one, “Everyone knows that means something else.”

Xie Lian didn’t pay it much mind and followed San Lang where he beckoned him behind the curtain.

San Lang fished a different pair of dice out of his sleeve and rolled them. A door opened into an elegant hall, and San Lang gestured for him to walk through.

“I’m sorry, San Lang–or should I call you Hua Cheng,” said Xie Lian as soon as they were alone. “I didn’t mean to cause such a commotion. It’s just that I needed to leave the town where you last saw me, and I didn’t think you’d know where to look for me, so I wanted to find you first.”

“I still prefer San Lang. But it’s good to know it was me you were looking for,” said Hua Cheng with a smile.

“Of course!” said Xie Lian.

In a teasing tone, Hua Cheng said, “So I guess I gave you what you wanted even though you lost the bet.”

“Well, actually it was that group of ghosts that brought me to you…”

Hua Cheng waved his hand in dismissal, “They were working on my behalf. So I think you owe me another forfeit.”

Xie Lian laughed a little “What were you thinking? If there’s something you want, of course I should try to give it to you.”

“Anything I want?” Hua Cheng asked, smiling a little.

“If I can, then yes,” said Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “What if what I really want, gege, is a kiss?”

Xie Lian blushed a little. He felt his whole body grow warm. But he had said whatever Hua Cheng wanted…

He darted forward and brushed his lips quickly against Hua Cheng’s.

Hua Cheng froze for a second, just looking at him. Xie Lian smiled and turned to walk further into the manor. Probably Hua Cheng hadn’t expected Xie Lian to actually do that. But that served him right for asking! Xie Lian himself was feeling a little flustered, and the soft fleeting feeling of Hua Cheng’s lips against his own lingered in his thoughts. His lips tingled continually in a strange way.

After a couple moments, Hua Cheng caught up with him, and said, “Gege, you’re very forward.” He sounded…pleased.

Xie Lian replied, “Oh? Wasn’t that what you asked for?”

“I didn’t say it had to be on the lips.”

Now Xie Lian felt a bit awkward, “Oh I guess I just assumed…”

Hua Cheng laughed. “In that case, gege, you should keep assuming. But first let’s eat. You must be hungry.”

He led him to a hall where a decadent meal was laid out, and they both ate well and talked long into the night. Xie Lian had many questions about Ghost City, and Hua Cheng in turn had many questions about the going-ons of the village after he’d left.

“I didn’t intend to be away so long,” he admitted, “But there have been some ghosts stirring up trouble near my territory. Nothing that I can’t deal with easily, but they are powerful enough, that if I go away they cause trouble for my subordinates. So I intended to route them out before I returned to see you.”

“I figured it was something like that,” Xie Lian said, “So I thought I would go find you, so you didn’t go looking for me in the village after I’d left.”

“Gege is always welcome here,” Hua Cheng said.

That night, Xie Lian slept very comfortably on a delightfully soft bed. He could have sworn that, in the middle of the night, he woke to feel a soft form curled up on his chest. But in the morning, he was alone, except for a single silver butterfly that fluttered out as he rose. 

Xie Lian found Hua Cheng and breakfast at the same time. “I’m a little curious,” Xie Lian asked, “I’ve heard all ghosts have a reason to stay in the world, and the more powerful the motivation, the stronger the ghost. Since you’re a devastation, what’s your motivation?”

Then he paused and realized that might have been a bit too personal, “I mean if you don’t mind me asking…”

“Gege can ask whatever he wants,” San Lang said, “The truth is, I have a beloved who still belongs to this world. As long as that person remains, so will I.”

“Oh,” said Xie Lian, “I’m sure they must be very lucky to inspire that kind of devotion.”

“No,” said Hua Cheng, tone strangely urgent, “It’s me who is lucky.”

Xie Lian smiled, though there was a strange feeling welling up in his chest, “And how long have you been together?”

Hua Cheng blushed and looked away. “The truth is I haven’t quite finished winning them over yet.”

“What’s in your way?” Xie Lian no longer wanted to talk about this, but he found himself completely unable to exit the conversation.

Hua Cheng hesitated for a moment. “I’m afraid to tell them how I feel. Because once I do, they might not want me around anymore.”

Xie Lian tried to reassure him, “If they’re worthy of you, they’ll return your affections.”

Hua Cheng smiled, “Thank you, gege. If you think so, that means a lot.”

They both fell into silence and munched upon their breakfast for a while longer, before Hua Cheng said, “I have to listen to the complaints of some riffraff today. But if gege would like, we can explore the city a bit in the afternoon.”

Xie Lian agreed and they parted ways, but Xie Lian’s thoughts were far away. He’d let himself get complacent. He hadn’t thought beyond finding San Lang, and then once he’d gotten here he had just let Hua Cheng feed and house him. But he couldn’t stay here indefinitely–already he was probably wearing out his welcome. Leaving, for him, wouldn’t take much planning. He didn’t have much beyond the clothes on his back. He would trouble San Lang for some provisions to snack upon and then would head to whatever town he could find for scrap collecting.

And every once in a while, he could head back to Ghost City. San Lang had seemed happy to see him this time. He would surely accept the occasional visit…

He was distracted throughout the morning, and even after Hua Cheng returned and took him into the city. He was distractedly gnawing on a piece of candy Hua Cheng handed him, when the ghost looked at him with concern. “Is there something wrong, gege?”

“Oh, no, San Lang,” Xie Lian said, feeling a bit guilty for some reason, “I just was thinking of what town I should head to next to collect scraps.”

“Oh,” said Hua Cheng, “you’re thinking of leaving already?”

“It’s just that I don’t want to impose…” said Xie Lian.

“You could never impose, gege” he said earnestly, “Didn’t I say you could stay as long as you like. Feel free to treat Paradise Manor as your own house.”

“Well,” said Xie Lian, feeling a bit awkward, “It’s also what you said about your beloved.”

Hua Cheng stiffened, “That upset you? I apologize. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“No–no–of course not. Of course I want San Lang to be happy. But if you’re trying to win over this person, it feels a bit like I’m in the way…”

“I see,” said Hua Cheng, in a tone that Xie Lian didn’t quite know how to interpret.

For the rest of the afternoon, Hua Cheng too was deep in thought. The two of them wandered somewhat aimlessly through the streets of Ghost City, not saying much. Xie Lian still enjoyed the company, but he felt a strange melancholy steal over him, bit by bit. Probably, it was for the best if he headed out the next day. He decided that he wouldn’t ask Hua Cheng for provisions after all. The other had already done enough for him. Best to keep their parting light and without awkwardness if he could manage it.

Eventually Hua Cheng led them back to Paradise Manor, and then to the dining room where they’d eaten each day. Servants brought in the dishes and then cleared out entirely.

They both started eating; still neither said anything. Xie Lian’s heart was heavy. It felt like he was going to leave on a bad note, but he wasn’t sure how to fix it.

Finally dinner finished, and Xie Lian meant to say that he would go off to bed, but Hua Cheng spoke first. “Gege, please don’t leave before you hear me out.”

Xie Lian settled back down, “Of course San Lang. What’s going on?”

“When we met before, I didn’t tell you the whole truth.” Hua Cheng looked uncharacteristically awkward, fiddling with the dishes in front of him. “The truth is, I didn’t just dart inside the shrine to shelter from the rain. I visit every once in a while.” He looked Xie Lian dead in the eye, “It’s the only remaining shrine to Taizi Dianxia in the human realm. I was checking that it was well tended.”

Xie Lian froze. Then he rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah I didn’t know San Lang knew about that.”

These days, he was rarely reminded of the days he was a crown prince rather than a scrap collector, and when he was, it didn’t bring up the most pleasant memories.

But something about the way Hua Cheng had said it made Xie Lian think that this wasn’t just a passing interest in a historical figure. He steadied himself, and then asked, “It makes me wonder if, perhaps, San Lang is someone from my past.”

“En,” said San Lang, “Though I doubt you remember me.”

“You seem hard to forget,” said Xie Lian, though he didn’t push the issue, “but does that mean that you were from Xianle?”

“En,” said San Lang.

Xie Lian felt a great sadness overcome him, but still he smiled and said, “Then it’s good to meet someone from my homeland.”

San Lang looked at him for a while longer, and Xie Lian thought that was all he was going to say, but instead Hua Cheng said, “Actually, this isn’t what I wanted to tell you.”

Surprised, Xie Lian said, “Oh?”

San Lang turned away a bit, a look of frustration crossing his face before he said, “Taizi Dianxia, if you want to leave and never come back again, I’ll help you as best I can. But on my account, I’d have you stay. Because my beloved…is and always has been, you.”

A strange lightness was moving through Xie Lian’s being. He smiled without quite meaning to. “It’s me?”

Hua Cheng gave a sad smile, “A very long time ago you caught me, Dianxia. Do you remember?”

And Xie Lian was brought back to the cheering of the crowd, and a figure coming from the sky like a fallen star.

“That was you!” He said, amazed. “All that time ago…”

Hua Cheng continued, “I’ll leave you alone and never trouble again if that’s how you prefer it. But you should know I’ll always be your most faithful believer.”

For a moment, emotion stayed Xie Lian’s tongue. Finally, he said, “That’s alright, San Lang. I think I’d better stay.”

“Then you aren’t…offended.”

“Of course not,” said Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng got up and now was walking, approaching him.

“And did you mean what you said earlier?”

“What I said…”

“That anyone worthy of me would return my affections.” Hua Cheng’s confidence seemed to have returned. He smirked down at Xie Lian.

Xie Lian was feeling a little embarrassed, but of course he had meant what he’d said. “Yes.”

Hua Cheng leaned over him, his mouth just a few inches away from Xie Lian’s. “And if that someone is you.”

“Yes,” Xie Lian breathed.

Hua Cheng kissed him.