Work Text:
If anyone had ever told Quan Yizhen that he would feel at home in Ghost City, he would have probably reacted with disbelief. Him? Feeling at home in that infamous place? Wasn’t that a horrible place, full of chaos, noise, and other horrors?
But it turned out to be the truth: he felt completely at home there. Somehow, such a place had transformed into one of his favorites in the world.
There were so many reasons for it.
But the main one was truly simple: he had never felt out of place there. And with the passage of time, he started feeling welcomed whenever he was there.
The denizens of Ghost City adored Quan Yizhen. There was no other way to describe the way they acted. It didn’t start that way, of course, but as the news spread about him —he was a friend of their Granduncle! AND! he used to be their Waning Moon Officer’s shidi!— their attitude started to change.
The citizens had realized very soon that he wasn’t like the other Heavenly Officials that visited the City for some sketchy deals or to make use of the services at the brothels in the red lanterns district. Quan Yizhen didn’t act like he was above them, didn’t lecture them nor attacked them on sight just because he could. He was fascinated by them, and even if he sometimes asked questions that could be considered offensive, he was simply genuinely curious and truly wanted to know the answers! He wasn’t judging them, and wasn’t trying to bother them, either.
Since Quan Yizhen was visiting the City quite often, and even helped them with their troubles in the absence of the Waning Moon Officer, he was a frequent sight and a welcome presence. Maybe he was not as patient as their beloved Officer, but he still tried to help. It was like having a middle ground between the Waning Moon Officer’s patient but firm authority and disposition to solve their issues, and their Hua Chengzhu’s tough love and proclivity to tell them to scram.
As soon as they spotted Quan Yizhen’s wild mop of curls, the denizens felt their hearts fill with fondness. He was their fluffy child, okay?! They loved to have him there! He was very fun! And strong enough to deal with any problems, just like their Officer used to do. Well, not exactly, since they didn’t use the same weapons, but he always got rid of anyone that misbehaved and risked their “peace”.
“Your Floofiness!” the ghosts called for him, “come here, come here! We have a new dish for you to try!”
“Last time I did that, I ended up cursed. So no thanks,” Quan Yizhen dismissed them. Though he couldn’t deny he was curious, but he had his suspicions about that food. Better to not risk it.
“Our curly didi is here!” the brothel workers announced, whenever he was on patrol there.
They flocked towards him, but he paid no attention to their advances.
“Shouldn’t you be working?” he asked, brows knit in confusion.
“But you’re so much more fun!”
“Didi is cuter than any of our patrons.”
“You might not be working, but I’m on patrol,” he replied, moving away from them.
No matter what they tried, it never had any effect on him. He only had eyes for one person, after all, and they were all rooting for them to work things through.
For that, their Officer would have to come back first, though.
The vendors at the Ghost Market had offered any and all artifacts and medicines that could help Quan Yizhen on that endeavor. (“If Your Floofiness needs any qi enhancers, he just needs to say the word!”) He was always welcome in any of the tea houses, (Please, Your Floofiness, come listen to some stories here while you drink!”) and the high–end public baths invited him all the time, hoping he would visit and have a relaxing evening (“We can help with your hair, Your Floofiness, it would be an honor, no, what am I saying? It would be the highest honor!”) The restaurants that served food safe for human consumption did their best to learn his preferences and welcomed him free of charge (“Does Your Floofiness want more rice? More wine? Anything?”)
No one pestered him about his manners. No one said weird things about his hair or his skin. No one nagged him about breaking rules, or saying inappropriate things. He was blunt, but they appreciated that.
And above all, they loved Yin Yu as much as he did too, and they were all hoping for his return.
It made it easier for him to wait. It helped him feel less lonely, and filled his heart with gratitude. He finally had somewhere he could go without constantly feeling like he was the odd one out. He finally had a place where he could talk about his shixiong without being made fun of or pitied. He finally found people (and... creatures?) who were not constantly telling him to act differently, to be someone else, or making him feel like it was wrong to be himself.
So of course he wanted to help them too! And by doing that, he got to learn a lot about Yin Yu too. About what he had been doing, during all that time they spent separated. About the sort of person he had become, which was, basically, the same he had always been: someone kind, worthy of respect, efficient and understanding, but also firm when it was required of him to be. Someone who was trusted and well loved, while keeping a low profile and a distance from the ones around him.
He got to learn about Hua Cheng too, something inevitable if you ever stepped inside Ghost City. Lots of the things he got to hear about were strange, exaggerated or outright false, but he could still arrive to some conclusions thanks to them, and he asked Xie-xiong about it all too.
His main conclusion was that he could understand why his shixiong had accepted working for Hua Cheng, even if he was a Calamity and an enemy of the Heavens (not that he cared about that last part at all, anyway). Quan Yizhen honestly believed it had been the best decision, and was grateful to Crimson Rain for helping his shixiong and protecting him all those years, even if that also meant he couldn’t find Yin Yu before.
And of course, he was thankful for all the help he had provided, without really asking for anything in return. Quan Yizhen had said he would do or give anything he wanted in exchange, but Hua Cheng wanted nothing he had. ”Just do your job in this as instructed and don’t bother me,” he said. But Xie Lian had given Quan Yizhen a surreptitious thumbs up, and later on had said that it wasn’t anything personal.
Quan Yizhen was allowed to be there, was welcomed there, was even loved there. And after all he had seen and heard, he was completely sure that there was no better place for them to be. That it would all be okay in the end. That as long as his shixiong returned, the rest would eventually be solved.
They would be surrounded by love, so there was nothing to fear.
All he needed was some patience.
It would all be alright.
There was no way it would not.