Archive of Our Own

When Xie Lian awakes, it's on the softest surface he thinks he's rested on in a very long time. If his memory serves him correctly, it could even rival the plush bedspread he would sleep on every night back when he was a lauded prince, all those centuries ago. 

So why has he been afforded this luxury today? Has some well-meaning person picked him up off the street? Or has some wealthy ghost or, worse, a wealthy corrupt human, captured him as their concubine? Knowing Xie Lian's luck, it's probably the latter, but he doesn't feel too worried because he can easily get out of situations like that. Maybe, in light of that, he should get a few more winks. 

He turns around with a soft yawn, sleepily blinking. There is so much red in his vision, blurry and vibrant. Is he resting in front of the sun?

Then before he can settle back to sleep, a deep velvety voice from in front of him asks, "Is gege awake?" 

Xie Lian's eyes snap open. How- how on earth did he not notice that someone was beside him? That is a grave failing on his part, since usually he can at least trust his peripheral intuition to save himself from the worst of his bad luck. But it seems a little bit more than just him not noticing this man. It feels like...he is somehow so used to this man being beside him, that his presence is subdued not because of his character, but because Xie Lian finds him safe. 

How can that be? Xie Lian thinks as he stares wide-eyed at the - honestly gorgeous, but very suspicious - man next to him. He is nothing like Xie Lian has ever seen before. He is all sharp edges, a pale almost translucent complexion, a razorblade jaw, jet black hair falling over his right eye where, even between the gaps, Xie Lian cannot see an iris looking through. A prominent Adam's apple curving down into sharp collarbones and - oh goodness - a toned, firm peek at his chest from where the front of his crimson robe has gone loose. 

There is also just as much softness to rival the sharp. The lengths of his hair are braided into a long pretty plait, curling over the bed in the space between them, and his left eye while he looks at Xie Lian is warm, merry, and so full of a lovely emotion that Xie Lian cannot name because he doesn't think he's ever experienced it before. The soft smile on the man's lips matches the same emotion perfectly. 

I've definitely never seen this man, Xie Lian thinks, but this sight would make anyone breathless. 

"Gege?" this iridescent man asks, concerned now, his smile slipping which Xie Lian can't help but think is a shame. 

"Why," Xie Lian rasps, in a slight daze, "is such a handsome ghost in bed with me?" 

And before Xie Lian can process what he just said, that smile returns but wider, pleased and a little mischievous. Xie Lian thinks it suits him so wonderfully. 

"Who else would your husband be in bed with?" this impossible man says, the words curling languidly through the air but striking Xie Lian in the heart with the force of a thousand suns. The man doesn't seem to notice his dilemma, sleepy himself as he lifts a strand of Xie Lian's hair and kisses the end of it. "This ghost wouldn't want to be anywhere else." 

"Oh," is all Xie Lian can say, weakly, pathetically. He doesn't know what to do. Has he accidentally switched souls with whoever this striking man's husband is? Has he stepped into a memory that someone else should be having? 

It's just his hair, but no-one has ever touched him like that before. 

The ghost in front of him arches an eyebrow at his reaction. Truly, Xie Lian can tell he is a ghost, and he had that affirmation from the being himself - but he can also tell he must be powerful enough to shake worlds just by being in his presence. Someone so formidable is lying next to him in nothing but a half-open robe. He's in such a vulnerable state, looking at Xie Lian with a soft hooded gaze that oozes love, trust, safety. 

So, Xie Lian probably shouldn't fight him. It doesn't seem fair to do that if this ghost seems to think he's his husband... 

It's not like he's just making excuses in order to stay in bed with this highly suspicious but oh-so-beautiful specimen. 

"Is gege still sleepy?" that deep smooth voice that tickles Xie Lian's ears asks. "You should get some more rest." 

Right. Yes. Sleep! Perhaps that would solve everything - maybe if he goes back to sleep here, he will wake up in the real world and see that this was all a dream. Seriously, though, has he finally succumbed to loneliness so much that his dreaming brain conjured up the perfect person that he didn't even know was his type? 

If I'm into ghosts...maybe that's apt. With my luck, they would disperse before I even get to kiss them. 

"Mn," Xie Lian hums and turns on his side, closing his eyes obediently and praying he'll go back to his normal life soon, before he gets too enchanted by the beauty next to him. But even that beauty laughing from over his shoulder is enchanting. Xie Lian just stops his breath from hitching sharply as a strong arm winds around him and the man presses up close to the line of his back. 

"Dream of me, gege," he whispers right in Xie Lian's ear before nipping it gently. Xie Lian wants to whimper, and says breathlessly before he can think, "I already am..." 

The ghost makes a pleased noise, and Xie Lian somehow thinks it's cute. "Really? That was fast. Or does gege think I'm a dream?" 

"Aren't you?" Xie Lian asks, voice softer than he means it to be as he blinks his eyes slightly open, tilting to look back at the haze of red beside him. "I've been alone for so long...it makes sense that I would lucidly dream up someone like you." 

The ghost's teasing expression melts. Xie Lian is just voicing his honest - sleep-induced, but honest - feelings about the crimson siren he's dreaming of, but in any other sense, it sounds terribly romantic. Like telling your significant other that they're as beautiful as a dream to you.

That seems to be exactly how the man next to him takes it, because he says a soft, "Oh, gege," and leans down to slot their lips together so sweetly, so seamlessly, that Xie Lian doesn't even think to do anything like push him away. He has never kissed, and yet it feels like he has done this a thousand times. It must only feel like that because they're husbands in this dream - dream him would have kissed this man a thousand times. 

And he doesn't disperse at all. He stays, holding Xie Lian in his arms, gently filling him with a well of spiritual energy that warms him inside out. 

"Everything is okay now," his lovely dream husband whispers against him. "You'll never be alone again." 

They're just pretty lies, things he wants to hear so this dream is helpfully supplying them, but they make Xie Lian feel so relieved that he tears up a little. 

You know what? This is just another side-effect of Xie Lian's bad luck, because now he has to wake up and face a world where he will never be able to know this love and touch again. 

He drifts asleep to tender kisses being pressed into his neck, and prays that this might be the kind of dream that he'll forget. 

Truth be told, Xie Lian had been having a pretty bad day before that wonderful dream. It made him a little more pliant to the love his dream husband was giving him, a little more receptive. 

A normal bad day for a normal person probably wouldn't be a bad day for Xie Lian, because he's developed incorrigibly thick skin over the centuries. Who wouldn't, if they went through the same things he did? But it was not a good day, even by his standards. 

His usually formidable body that can stomach even the worst of food still managed to pass out because he accidentally ate some poisonous berries, and he woke up in a ghost lair. Usually, he would have been able to fight his way out cleanly and go on with his day even in a groggy poisoned state, but the ghosts that dragged him away were stronger than most. They could sense his emotions, delve into his memories, and disguise themselves as the ones he always tried to think about the least.  

Along his scrap-collecting travels, of course Xie Lian passes by many General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen temples. Whenever he does, he doesn't think about their past. He doesn't feel remorse, respite or regret - it's been far too long for that. He simply smiles, goes into the temple for a brief moment to give the best offering he can - usually unfortunately meagre - and prays, I hope you are well. 

It's not painful to think about them as gods. That's exactly what they deserve, exactly where their efforts and cultivation should have led them to, and Xie Lian is so proud. But the only way he has been able to go on for the past 800 years was to not think too much about the two people who he thought would be his best friends forever. 

"Mu Qing," Xie Lian whispered deliriously in that ghost lair. "Feng Xi-" 

The shapeshifter Mu Qing kicked him down before he could finish. "Don't you dare speak. Absolute filth. I can't believe I ever looked up to you." 

In that moment, Xie Lian knew it was an imposter. Mu Qing would never admit to looking up to him, and Xie Lian's not even sure if he ever did. But still, Xie Lian couldn't bring himself to raise a hand against someone who even looked like his once dear subordinate.  

"Gathering scraps as if you're proud of it," the other voice growled, and Xie Lian tried not to flinch. Maybe Mu Qing berating him he could bear, but even when they were together all that time ago, Feng Xin rarely ever said things to hurt Xie Lian. "Thank fuck I left, I never would've got back to heaven if I didn't and you fucking knew that." 

"I did," Xie Lian agreed weakly. "That's why I asked you to leave-" 

"You dare speak back?!" Feng Xin roared, and Xie Lian stayed quiet. He thought it's just an imposter, Feng Xin wouldn't talk to me like this, I know, but he didn't move. As if he thought he deserved this. That's why he had to stay and take it.  "Time to shut you up. Another sword piercing through your heart won't mean much, will it?" 

Xie Lian's breath stuttered. Feng Xin didn't know about that. If Xie Lian had his way then he never will, but this fake Feng Xin could source from any of his memories that it wanted to. It clearly knew what hit the hardest. 

Maybe the ghosts had got sick of parading as these two, because they started shifting again. Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief, because now he could strike. It was just a split-second that the ghosts became unrecognisable, even though Xie Lian could see the white of Jun Wu's armour start to take form on one of them, but before they could paralyse him with sentiment again, he swept his leg forward and flung them across the lair with one clean kick. The two of them howled blood-curdlingly after smacking against the wall and only took a moment to gather their bearings, but Xie Lian was already gone. 

He ran, ran, ran and ran until his lungs were burning but his legs kept blindly carrying him forward. Ruoye tightened around his chest, begging him without words to stop before his heart would explode out of him, but Xie Lian only paused when he heard screams. It was so sudden that Xie Lian tripped over himself, rolling over the ground, but he sat upright as the screams grew louder. Ruoye peeked out and pointed in the direction of the sounds, so all Xie Lian could do was start running again but this time with a destination! 

The sight that greeted him was horrifying. Ghost fire mixed with real fire was ravaging the town near the forest he was just running in, and the folks were screaming because they were trying to run away from the fire or because of the burns that had already been inflicted upon them. For a moment, just a moment, Xie Lian was frozen. For a moment, just a moment, Xie Lian could see the last remnants of Xianle in this town, and every inch of him wanted to turn tail and run. 

But Xie Lian had to help. Not once in his long life had he been able to turn away from people who needed help. It was only that his attitude had changed; he would try to save as many people as he could, but he would not make promises. He would use up all the resources and skill he had left to help, but he would not shoulder the blame if he couldn't save everyone. 

"What happened?!" he yelled as he rushed in, and the person nearest to him sobbed, "A-A Wrath, Daozhang!" 

A Wrath. Powerful enough to wipe out a whole city. This wasn't good. "Why are they targeting your town?" 

"Well, many years ago, the town chief was a horrible man who saw the people of this town as his property. He had backing from other government officials and chiefs so no-one could touch him, and he'd promise the fathers of the town that he'd make sure that he would find their daughters fine husbands...only to take the daughters and sell them to all kinds of shady establishments!" 

How unthinkable.  "And did this Wrath...?"

"This Wrath refused to let her daughter go, no matter the riches or prosperity for their family's business that the town chief promised. The town chief was incensed, because her daughter was the most beautiful of all, therefore the most profitable to him! So in the middle of the night, they broke into their home and stole the daughter away while her parents slept. 

"But her mother awoke soon after. She could tell something was wrong. She burst into her daughter's room, and wailed when she saw it was empty. She ran out onto the streets, calling for her daughter, and everyone else woke up and came out at the noise. She went all the way to the town chief, sobbing and begging for her daughter back, but the town chief simply sneered in her face and said she couldn't prove he had her! Even though it was obviously him!" 

"And not a single person in the town stood up for her," another person said gravely. "Not a single person said a word in fear of their daughter being next, or their businesses getting hit." 

Xie Lian sighed deeply. "So that's why she's targeting the whole town..." 

"But that was so long ago! Most of those people are dead, the town chief certainly is!" the person who first spoke cried, and Xie Lian realised he was but a fifteen to seventeen year old boy, his youthful face pulled in distress in a way no-one his age should experience. He had his arm around a possible relative, an elderly woman who was struggling to walk, but had eyes as blue and clear as the sky on a nice day. "Why must we suffer for our ancestors' deeds?!"  

Why indeed, Xie Lian wondered. You have to carry the burden of your bloodline's past, even when you never chose to be born yourself. 

Before they could continue talking, the woman huffed, "Enough of this chatter! Can't you see the town is falling apart while you two cluck like chickens?!" 

"AH! She's right!" the boy yelped, and he started running off with the woman. "I'll be back in a minute, Daozhang! Don't get hurt!" 

Xie Lian smiled, and called back, "Just stay safe yourself!" 

Then his smile immediately dropped as he turned around to face the burning town and steeled himself. He knew what was to come would be painful, but he had to do it. 

It was a blazing, haunting mess after that. Xie Lian helped evacuate citizens as fast as he could, Ruoye tying up those who couldn't move fast to fling them - as gently as possible - into the forest. He still instructed them to keep running, because who knew when the fire would start burning the forest down too, and then tried his very best to figure out how to squash this inferno down. 

But he had arrived so late. So much damage had already been done, so many houses burned to a crisp, so many citizens with such severe burns that they wouldn't survive long and unfortunately suffer a most painful death.  

Xie Lian started running through the town to find the Wrath so he could squash the evil at its root,  but while he ran, he was struck by plea after plea of people begging him to save their relatives still stuck in their burning houses. Truthfully, no-one but him would be fit for the task, so he'd go on tens of little detours to rush in to houses and come out with people who were sometimes alive, but sometimes sadly not. Either way, the family would be grateful, glad that they at least had the body to have a proper funeral, but their sobs couldn't be hidden. 

He was a little woozy from all the smoke he'd inhaled by the time he found the Wrath, but not so much that it would slow him down. She was simply watching over everything with her eyes blazing as much as the fire she kept sporadically throwing out, not a hint of happiness or satisfaction in her expression. That might be a good thing. Maybe Xie Lian could convince her that this wouldn't make her feel better after all. 

But before he could say anything, the Wrath said calmly, "Are you here to take me away, little god?" 

Xie Lian blinked. "I'm not a god, Miss." 

The Wrath spared him a look then, and curiously, Xie Lian found her eyes a little familiar. Blue. But he wasn't sure if that was ghost fire reflecting in her eyes or her real eye colour. "I see. Some Daoist then. This town needs to be eradicated, and then I need to look for my daughter, so you cannot take me." 

"But the people are inno-" 

"Innocent, my ass!" The Wrath screeches cruelly. "This entire town is built from that wretch's black money! We were a small modest town before that bastard chief came along, but don't you see how prosperous it is now? How fertile the soil, how big the houses?!"

Xie Lian looked around, but all he could really see was fire and burnt land, so he looked back at the Wrath meaningfully. She looked embarrassed for a split-second before she cleared her throat and continued, "That wretch had made so many shady but strong connections that he set out to evolve the town. His black money was put into knocking down houses of the people who already lived here to build far bigger ones that those people couldn't afford. Many of the original townsfolk had to leave, but wealthier people from far and wide came to live here as word spread of a 'new luxurious town'. Mad with power and backing from all kinds of horrendous people more powerful than him, he would kill anyone who spoke up against him and used their corpses to fertilise the soil of this land." 

The Wrath paused to sniffle. "No matter how much I scanned the soil, my daughter's essence wasn't there. So now all that's left is to burn this dastardly forged town to the ground so that it can start anew. And you call these people innocent but they all know how this town was created, they all know whose money they live off! No decent person would dare to live in a town laced with blood such as this one!"  

Maybe so, but Xie Lian knows as well as anyone that often you cannot choose where you live. That young boy from before probably didn't choose to live here. A lot of the women may have been dragged here by their husbands who were greedy to cash in on the town chief's promises. Nothing is ever so black and white. 

But then a somewhat recognisable voice called out, "MOTHER!" 

The Wrath froze, and it seemed like all her fire did too.

A lady hobbled out from the forest on the other side of them, and Xie Lian recognised her as...the elderly woman with that boy from earlier? However the boy wasn't there now, and the lady was all alone. She looked a bit annoyed, too. "Gosh, I kept trying to find you but all these people kept trying to 'save me' and take me to the forest. I know they're well-meaning but I'm not some confused hag!" 

The Wrath was speechless, just watching the woman hobble closer. Eventually she was close enough, and she looked up and spoke, "Mother. Please stop this. It has been so long, and these people did nothing wrong." 

"Bao Yu?" The Wrath began hesitantly, her hands shaking. "You...you are still alive? I never even considered..." 

The woman - Bao Yu - held out her arms, and the mother who looked so much younger than her daughter sobbed as she descended down and gathered Bao Yu up into a warm embrace. "Oh my baby, my sweet baby, you have grown so much, you have lived-" 

"I've lived a good life," Bao Yu assured her mother. "They broke my legs so that I wouldn't run, but a kind man still saved me and let me escape from the men taking me away." 

Xie Lian distantly recalls a memory of beating up a bunch of thugs taking away a girl with blue eyes, but he's also done a lot of things like that in his lifetime. It would be too self-important for him to think he was a part of this.

"As the town chief sent out search parades to find me, I stayed in hiding in another town. I took up a job as a seamstress, and I even fell in love. Then when I heard of the town chief's passing, I asked my husband if we could move back to my hometown so that I could reunite with my parents, and he agreed. But then I heard you..." 

Bao Yu didn't finish her sentence, but it didn't need to be voiced. From how youthful the Wrath looked, Xie Lian could tell she likely died young, in her thirties or forties. Perhaps from a broken heart, perhaps by her own hand. 

"I'm so sorry, my baby," the Wrath breathes, sounding tortured. "I should never have left you...it was only because I thought you left me...!"  

"It's okay, Mother," Bao Yu reassures her. "I'm here and I have lived a long, full life. I would think of how much you protected me and felt so glad that I wasn't taken away earlier, when I possibly wouldn't have been saved. I think of you often, Mother. You've always been in my heart and I love you so." 

The Wrath became wracked with sobs, and she clung to her daughter who soothed her with strokes to her hair and a warm embrace. It wasn't long before the Wrath slowly began to fade along with her ghost fire, dispersing into the night. Her soul was finally put to rest. Bao Yu cradled the air a moment longer, before she straightened up with Xie Lian's help. 

"I'd like to do that soon, too," the woman sighed. "Ninety is far too old." 

Ninety?! "You don't look a day over seventy, Miss." 

The woman smacked his arm. "Hush, you. Now go, the ghost fire is out but there are still so many casualties, I wish I got here earlier. Go do your best, okay?" 

Do your best. Xie Lian liked the sentiment of doing his best, because he always would, even if it didn't fix everything. 

Unfortunately, his good mood dissipated very quickly after that, because the casualties were immense. Doctors from the next town were called, and those who were not in immediate danger were carried to the nearest infirmary. Some people trying to run away had been crushed by parts of buildings collapsing onto them, and Xie Lian ran around doing his best to set them free. Some of the people he evacuated unfortunately passed minutes to hours after the fact due to smoke inhalation, and more and more devastated cries rang through Xie Lian's ears. 

It was a strenous, taxing blur until nightfall. Xie Lian did what he could until he could no more, wishing the people his best. They surrounded him with praise and hugs for his knowledge and swiftness to help, but they fell on deaf ears. All Xie Lian could think was that more people died under his care, but he shouldn't be thinking that, because it wasn't his fault, no-one was even blaming him this time, it wasn't his- 

He knew he had to leave before he'd start going mental. He gave weak smiles and patted backs, then he went solemnly on his way. He only walked a few yards because he thudded to the floor himself. Ah...he had probably inhaled more of the smoke than anyone else... 

The last dizzy thought he had was that he wished someone would tell him everything would be okay. Just one person.

"...say that. I don't have time for this. Just round them up and then..." 

Xie Lian wakes again to a pleasant deep voice flitting in and out of his ears and a big hand stroking his hair. Xie Lian doesn't have any idea what the voice is talking about, but he sounds indifferent, a little annoyed, nothing like how he spoke to Xie Lian before. It makes something inside him ache. 

Wait. Xie Lian realises with a start. I'm not out of the dream yet? 

He stirs, gently so that he doesn't startle the man who for some reason has his head in his lap. The man immediately stops talking, his hand stilling, too. He then says harshly to whoever he's conversing with, "Deal with it. I need to go," before his fingers slide affectionately down Xie Lian's jaw. Xie Lian can't help but hold his breath, and he feels starstruck when the man, just as gorgeous as before, tilts Xie Lian's face up by his chin so he can see him smile down at him. 

"Did gege rest well?" 

Xie Lian can only dumbly nod, gravitating closer like this man is the sun. The man grins and gives Xie Lian a hand sitting up. 

"Gege is always so sweet when sleep addles him," the man coos, easily pressing a kiss to the side of Xie Lian's head. "It makes me want to bundle you up into a blanket and eat you whole like a dumpling."

Xie Lian feels slightly alarmed. "Don't eat me..." 

The man laughs, a loud bright sound that curls around Xie Lian's heart. "Well, I won't eat you like that. You know that I have...more pleasurable methods." 

Xie Lian has no idea what he's talking about. What could be pleasurable about being eaten? But from the man's tone it sounds like a joke, and Xie Lian has more pressing matters to think about. 

Of course there's a chance that he's still dreaming, but it seems just a tiny bit less likely now. He's never had a dream where he fell asleep then awoke back in it. Could it be some kind of oxygen-deprivation hallucination, because of the ordeal with the town on fire? It's a very elaborate hallucination, if that's the case. Everything looks solid, nothing is moving or changing shape, and his husband's touch feels so real. 

Ah! Don't start thinking of him as your actual husband, Xie Lian scolds himself. That won't lead anywhere good. 

There is still that other possibility - that Xie Lian has somehow switched souls with this ghost's real husband. The thought deeply saddens him, because that would mean this beautiful man is real, not just a figment of Xie Lian's imagination. Perfect and sturdy and oh-so-real, but belonging to someone else. 

Luckily, it's easy to test that possibility. He'll conduct some experiments...maybe a little bit later. 

He looks back at the man, who is already gazing at him, doting. "Gege is so pretty when he thinks." 

Xie Lian blinks. He'd expected the man to ask him what he was thinking about, not something as saccharine as that. Half of him wants to cringe, half of him wants to kiss him again. 

But while he's battling these emotions, the other's face turns serious, and he brings two fingers to his temple. Ah, he must have been speaking in a communication array earlier. 

After a long moment of the man's expression becoming exceedingly more fed-up, he sighs deeply. "Fine. I will be there shortly." 

Where? Xie Lian thinks. He's leaving? Even in my dreams and hallucinations, people will leave?

The man shifts and opens his mouth to tell Xie Lian something, but then he pauses. Probably because Xie Lian has clutched the edge of his robe, staring up at him with eyes that probably say a needy, embarrassing Don't go.  

Something that makes Xie Lian feel even shyer than doing all that is the fact that the man looks stunned. His mouth remains gormlessly open, his visible eye so wide, and Xie Lian makes a sudden realisation that this probably isn't something he - as this man's husband - usually does. Another point to the 'soul-switching' possibility.  

But he forgets about that and even lets out a shocked laugh when the man dives on him, lifting him into his arms and tugging him close until he's sitting snugly in the ghost's lap, their chests pressed tightly together. Once again, the touch is so real and palpable that Xie Lian shivers. 

Impatiently, the man opens up the communication array again just to say, "Forget it. My husband wants me to stay. Do not dare disturb me," before he's dropping his hand back to Xie Lian's waist and kissing him so fiercely that Xie Lian nearly falls back. He hardly knows what to do, but his whole body suddenly burns with desire in a way it never has, and it's...it's terrifying! 

He is actually, genuinely terrified in a way he hasn't been in a long time, not in front of strong ghosts or malevolent curses. His ghost husband doesn't seem to notice, relentlessly sucking and biting at Xie Lian's slack lips and bringing his large hands down to firmly palm at Xie Lian's ass. Xie Lian can tell part of him wants this, even craves it, but a bigger part of him is scared of what he's feeling and the way this man is devouring him mouth-first. He's never done anything even remotely close to this before, after all! 

The man is kissing him so hungrily that it doesn't sound like he'll listen to reason, but when Xie Lian finally regains movement and hurriedly taps at his shoulders, he immediately comes to a stop. He tears himself away as if he's broken free from a spell and blinks a few times, the haze in his eye clearing. 

"Ah. S-Sorry, gege, I needed to get my emotions out somehow. Did I do something you didn't like?" 

Xie Lian feels like smiling, shaking his head. "Not at all. It was just a bit much." 

The man furrows his eyebrows. "Really? I often kiss you harder than that. I haven't been forcing you, have I?" 

Xie Lian almost chokes. He can't even begin to imagine a kiss harder than that. "Oh, no, no! I am just of a milder sort today. Please don't mind me."  

The man hums in understanding, running his hands up and down Xie Lian's sides so much gentler than his earlier touch. "I will always mind gege. So what can this humble ghost do for Your Highness of a milder sort today?" 

The words would make him laugh, if not for two of them - 'Your Highness'. Xie Lian is indeed a 'Your Highness', but he also hasn't been called that in a long time, and he isn't the only prince out there. It would make sense for the spouse of this man to be a glorious, beautiful prince worthy of him. 

For now, though? Xie Lian wants to think it's him. He wants all this devoted, undivided attention on him.  

"I just want to be close to you," Xie Lian answers, and the man's eye shimmers. "And kiss...gently?" 

The man smiles, so adoring, and pulls Xie Lian impossibly closer. "Gege can have everything he wants." 

So that's all they do for the next hour or so. It could be longer, because Xie Lian loses track of time as he cups this sweet handsome ghost's face in his hands, trailing his fingers down cold porcelain skin, dipping down for soft kisses every now and then that the ghost happily reciprocates. This time, however, he only follows Xie Lian's pace.  

So that he can try to memorise this face before it's taken away from him, Xie Lian keeps pulling back from the kisses to stare, and map out the contours with his hands. The ghost's visible left eye is a deep obsidian black that still always looks bright when it looks at Xie Lian, glimmering like a starry night sky, but he tends to have it closed like a content cat while Xie Lian caresses him. His right, however, is covered by a black eyepatch, which Xie Lian thinks wasn't there the night before. Maybe that's a point for hallucination? 

Most of it is covered by some of the man's hair, like a side fringe, but Xie Lian brushes it aside and gently traces around the eyepatch. What's the story there? 

"Does gege want me to take it off?" the man asks casually, and Xie Lian's hands freeze. Somehow, Xie Lian feels that would be overly intimate, one of those things you share with a partner only after building layers of trust. Even if this is his dream or hallucination, Xie Lian doesn't feel worthy of seeing something he hasn't earned.

"You don't have to," Xie Lian replies, before thinking a moment and hastily adding, "Unless you wish to!" If he wanted to take it off for his own comfort, then that's a different story! 

The man chuckles at his panic, pecking his nose. "It makes no difference to me at all. There would just be more for gege to kiss if I take it off, so maybe I'm biased." 

Oh dear. What a lovely sentiment, but one that has backed Xie Lian into a corner, because he can't refuse now. The man is watching him merrily, awaiting his response, and Xie Lian is ready to quickly tear it off to get it over with just so that the man doesn't get suspicious of his hesitation - but then he says, "Ah, actually. Maybe it would be best if I keep it on. One of Shi Qingxuan's bastard stray cats scratched me there the other day, remember? You were so horrified when you saw it, I don't want to put you off again..."

Xie Lian didn't understand a word of that. Who is Shi Qingxuan? They have stray cats? And it scratched this man's eye...wait, is that why he has an eyepatch on? So maybe it's not even as deep of a reason as Xie Lian initially thought! 

"Oh, I'm sure I wasn't horrified at the sight of it, I was just horrified that you got hurt," Xie Lian dotes, his mood suddenly uplifted. The ghost pouts at him and it is quite literally the cutest thing Xie Lian has ever seen. 

"That's what you said last time, too...but I don't believe you..." 

Xie Lian giggles, and smothers his dream husband's eyepatch with a flurry of loving kisses. He feels so drunk on affection for this man even though he barely knows him, but as the seconds tick by, it seems more and more like he was made for Xie Lian. Even if Xie Lian panics or trips up, he replies with ease and a cute bout of mischief, relaxing Xie Lian in an instant. The way he holds him is so practised, natural, as if they fit together like puzzle pieces. They're staying mainly still, but the man seems to know Xie Lian's body better than Xie Lian does himself, thumbs circling soft dips in his waist, electricity going up his spine at the slightest touch to the small of his back, teeth grazing perfect spots on Xie Lian's neck that make his knees go weak. 

Please be mine, Xie Lian can't help but silently pray as he steals another kiss from this dream man's lips, plush and always waiting for him. Please don't be someone else's.

"Gege is acting different today," the man suddenly says when Xie Lian is pressing his lips to his hairline, and Xie Lian freezes for what must be the millionth time that day. But the man's tone was soft, careful, not a hint of accusation present anywhere. When Xie Lian pulls back just an inch to look down at him, he sees a hint of concern swimming in the onyx pool of love in his eye. 

"I...am not usually like this?" Xie Lian asks, his heart falling to his stomach. Is it really not a dream? Has he been found out to be an imposter so quick? This man might only think he's 'acting different', but if he's already caught onto that, it shouldn't be long before everything else unravels and he'll be forced back to his normal life... 

He gets distracted from his spiralling thoughts when the man chuckles softly. "Not usually for this long. You like to spoil me in the waking hours but it's rare for you not to get on my back about practising my calligraphy soon after." 

Xie Lian's eyes light up at that. Oh, he loves the thought of teaching his husband calligraphy. He can already imagine it in his mind's eye, trying his hardest to be a serious teacher while the man beside him gazes at him instead of the scripture, only laughing when he gets caught. He calls Xie Lian's handwriting beautiful, and Xie Lian insists, "Yours can become like this, too!". He'll fit his hand over his husband's big one to help him write, sounding out each stroke, and his husband diligently follows along for a while until he gets bored, making Xie Lian yelp and accidentally scrawl across the page when lips tease at the nape of his neck. 

He gets so caught up in the fantasy that he only snaps out of it when he hears the man in front of him call for him. Gosh, that sure was lucid. Almost like a memory rather than his imagination. 

"Well, you've been working hard, so you can have a break," Xie Lian says fondly as he cups the man's cheek, and the man looks pleased, nuzzling into Xie Lian's hand. "What are your favourite characters to write?" 

"What do you think?" the ghost purrs. Xie Lian can't answer so he waits eagerly, and a shudder runs down his spine when the ghost pushes his fingers gently into the small of his back and leans forward to whisper in his ear, "My husband's name. My god's name. Xie Lian. Xianle. Though I like Xie Lian a bit more." 

Xie Lian falls onto his back with a laughing gasp when the ghost presses forward and tips them over, keeps singing his name and variations of his name into his ear until Xie Lian is giggling and tapping at him to stop. Oh, what a happy way to get rid of the possibility that he is in another person's body. This beautiful man is his, all his, and figment of his imagination or not, Xie Lian can now really settle into this all-encompassing devotion. 

"Remember this?" his dream husband says as he sits back on his heels, pulling up his robe sleeve. Xie Lian sees a tattoo on his forearm of...characters he cannot recognise. Not in the slightest. He nods anyway. 

"I might not have improved much overall, but I promise I can write gege's name much better now. I have practised it so many times after you showed me that I could do it in my sleep." 

Xie Lian's heart feels filled to the brim with fondness, enough that it could burst, and only briefly thinks, That's my name?! 

"Really? I'm so proud of you, baby." 

The man beams, opening his mouth to say something, before he pauses. He blinks slowly, then his expression darkens. 

"Gege has never called me that before." 

Oh? Well, to be honest, Xie Lian is limited with what he can call this man when he doesn't even know his name, and he doesn't want to use 'husband' too much when it makes him feel so shy. He assumes he's younger than him from his frequent adorable use of 'gege', and with him acting so lovely about writing his name, the affectionate diminutive just slipped out of Xie Lian's mouth.  

"I was just trying something new," Xie Lian says, happily playing along with the dream scenario now that he knows he isn't an imposter parading as someone else's husband. "You didn't like it?" 

"No, I loved it," the man counters huskily, and Xie Lian's heartbeat stutters when the man slowly runs his hands up the back of Xie Lian's thighs, stopping when they get to the backs of his knees so he can spread Xie Lian's legs wider and fit himself between them. Xie Lian can only watch with bated breath as his husband slides down and seems to lock into place against him, their hips drawn together without a single hint of negative space, Xie Lian's torso almost naturally arching up a little to meet the other's, and the ghost's forearms coming down to brace himself against the bed either side of Xie Lian's head so that he doesn't fall against him. So that the only distance between them is a hair's breadth parting their lips. 

The man takes in a deep breath that he doesn't even need to take as a ghost, before asking shakily, "What do I do with you? You don't want me to ravage you today, but then use a new endearment that sets me on fire? Gege isn't playing fair." 

I didn't know it would affect you like this, Xie Lian wants to argue, but every word he could say is caught in his throat. This sensual closeness, the carnal, lustful expression on his alluring husband's face, it all makes his skin tingle and something deep inside him throb with yearning. But no matter what his body feels, he knows he still isn't really in the mood for what will probably be the most mind-blowing sex dream he's ever had (namely because he's never had one before). 

"My baby is so handsome," Xie Lian murmurs, making his husband raise an eyebrow. "And I didn't mean to, um, flip your switch, so to speak, but I'm afraid yes, not today. I just needed you close, like I asked for earlier. You've done a tremendous job of that so thank you."

The man hums, concern swimming around in his eye again. "Gege never needs to thank me, but I have to ask: is something wrong? Is there a reason you need me close?" 

Xie Lian feels embarrassed now, not having wanted to voice the reason he's acting so needy when his dream husband already seems like he'll give him anything he wants, but here they are. "Oh, not really, I just. I had a bad day yesterday, you see." 

Something in the air shifts, and Xie Lian curiously feels a chill run through him. Is it just him or did the lighting of the room somehow get dimmer? 

He gasps when his ghost husband suddenly sits up straight, jostling Xie Lian in the process. His hands immediately find a tight grip back on Xie Lian's waist, though, so Xie Lian doesn't go anywhere. "A bad day? What happened? Did I do something? Please tell me, Your Highness, I will rectify it immediately." 

Oh no - of course, such a devoted husband like this would have been with his spouse all day yesterday, and would only assume that he was the one who made some sort of error if Xie Lian said it was a bad day. Oh, Xie Lian is stupid, stupid, why did he have to say that and ruin the nice atmosphere? It was impulsive, but he must have just wanted to be pampered so badly, wanted soft touches and tender words of 'it'll be alright' because for so long, it has only been Xie Lian telling himself that. It's only been Xie Lian patting himself on the back so he can get up and face a new day.

And speaking of, the man looks positively murderous, eye narrowed and jaw set tight. The sight makes Xie Lian's heart beat wildly - how bizarre - but he needs to make this right. 

"No!" is the first thing he blurts out, a little desperate as he brings both hands up to cradle the man's face. "My husband is perfect, he didn't do anything, it was just...!"

Not a single bit of the ghost's ire seems to fade at that. "Then was it when I stepped out for a while to solve a scrimmage in the city? Who dared to even look at you wrong while I wasn't there?" 

Xie Lian vehemently shakes his head in fear that this man who seems far too incensed on his behalf (and may even be some kind of city chieftan??) sends out a bloody search party for whoever breathed in Xie Lian's direction yesterday. "Nothing like that! I was just...just...remembering things." 

Right. That's a safe lie to choose, because it isn't a whole lie. Everything about yesterday made him remember things from his past. His run-in with the shapeshifting ghosts obviously did, and then the city on fire that he couldn't save was a viable parallel to the fall of Xianle. Usually Xie Lian can rush into life or death situations without making those parallels, but the burns, the screams, the people looking up to him...having to deal with that right after a run-in with fakes of his two once-friends, his mind couldn't help but connect the dots. 

It seems like Xie Lian chose well, because the man's ferocity settles into something calmer, but sadder, and his eye clears in understanding. "I was wondering if you had a nightmare last night before you woke. You were so subdued, and speaking of being alone. For a moment, I really thought you didn't know who I was." 

Xie Lian doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Oh, did I...?" 

"But gege wouldn't give so many sweet kisses to a ghost he doesn't know, so I'm placated," he says with a big smile. Xie Lian flushes at that and has to clear his throat. 

Look, Xie Lian has many reasons for why he is giving sweet kisses to a ghost he doesn't know - or mainly two, which are that he has never been so attracted to anyone in his life and because he keeps saying the exact things that Xie Lian wants to hear - but this ghost is right. Xie Lian would never act like this normally. He has gone centuries upon centuries without a hint of romantic or sexual inclination, and developed keen senses of danger that should have had him turning tail and running from this situation the instant it began. 

But Xie Lian does not sense any danger, even with all the oddities. He does feel affection for this ghost, so strong that it aches. And with everything pointing to the fact that this is his dream man he's imagined just for himself, just to hold him and whisper sweet nothings and make all the pain go away if just for a short while, then why can't he indulge in it? 

The ghost strokes his fingers down Xie Lian's cheek to get his attention again, heart-breakingly tender. "I can tell it's still affecting you. How I wish every day that you never had to go through all of that." 

Xie Lian's replying smile is a bit wobbly. "Don't waste your wishes on such a thing. The past is the past, and all I can do is hope that I have better things to look forward to." 

The ghost brings Xie Lian's face closer by the chin to gift him a soft chaste kiss. "You're always so right. So what can I do for gege? How can I make it better now?"  

Xie Lian thinks about that. Before he fell into this dream, all he hoped for was just one person to tell him things would be alright. Through his long, long life, he has never let go of the thought that there will always be good in the world, even if the bad seems to drown it out so loudly. Xie Lian finds the strength to go on with these small acts of kindness. He hopes for at least one a day, but is lucky to get one a week. Like a bunny in a forest hesitantly approaching him and snuggling into him by the end of the hour. A sweet child asking to braid his hair. A stall owner offering some day-old buns. Even a simple smile from a passerby. 

But he's been through a bit of a rough patch lately. A severe lack of scraps, eggs and tomatoes thrown at him while street-performing, chased out of establishments, trampled on in his sleep, drugged and nearly kidnapped for his looks so often that he had to wear Ruoye around the lower half of his face for a while. He has not an ounce of luck to his name, and it's what he asked for and he would never take that back, but it sure does make an immortal life less bearable. 

That's why he thinks he's dreamed this up. Even when he doesn't experience kindness, he never stops wishing for it, because there are so many times when it genuinely saved him. After going so long without a solid kind act to hold onto only for everything to culminate in that horrible day, his dreaming receptors must have worked overtime to bring him a being so lovely and purely devoted to him that it makes him want to sob. 

"May I have...some food?" Xie Lian croaks instead of saying any of that. His ghost husband nods immediately, kissing Xie Lian one last time before swiftly getting up. Goodness, Xie Lian sorely misses his touch already. 

"I will get you a whole feast. Wait right here," the man says far too solemnly for such a simple request, and goes on his way before Xie Lian can tell him not to overdo it. Xie Lian sighs, shaking his head, but the smile on his face won't seem to fade. 

He slowly gets up, his body feeling a little sluggish after being stuck to his husband for what must have been a matter of hours, and he realises that he does feel rather hungry. How strange to feel such things in a dream. He looks around and feels awed at the decor of this room that he finally truly notices. A deep red carpet on the floor with a bold floral pattern, gilded furniture that seems too expensive to even touch, and lights hanging from the ceiling that seem to mimic lanterns, bright rose-gold flames encased in glass bowls and strings of red. 

To be honest, the style is a bit over-the-top for Xie Lian's tastes so he's not sure why his brain settled on this, but it does very much suit his conspicuous crimson dream lover. Maybe that's yet another way they complete each other, because Xie Lian has become so minimalist over the years that this would just be a boring white cube if he tried to design it. 

He wonders if his ghost husband designed their 'wedding', too, and almost sighs longingly at the thought. 

He goes over to a beautiful long mirror standing in the corner of the room, edged with graceful flowers carved into gold. He can't help but blush at the sight of himself, in nothing but a rumpled simple night-robe, his hair down and slightly messy, cheeks flushed, lips cherry-red and plumped, marks dotting his neck and collarbones that aren't too harsh since Xie Lian asked for his husband to go easy on him. There is also a necklace holding a silver ring around his neck, and Xie Lian fiddles with it, wondering if it could be his wedding ring. His mind goes back to the man who was just indulging him with love for perhaps-hours and he has to close his eyes, a little overwhelmed. He presses his lips to the ring before letting it fall back under his robes. 

He also can't help but trace his fingers along the faint marks in a daze, thinking about how he never in his life would have expected to see anything around his neck other than Ruoye or his cursed shackle. 

... 

Where is his cursed shackle?

Xie Lian finds that a little strange, even if this is a dream. After catching sight of himself countless times in mirrors or glass or bodies of water over the past centuries while wearing his shackles, they feel like a part of him, and he's never imagined himself without them. He checks his ankle and sure enough, that one's gone, too. Yes, he could tell that he had spiritual energy flowing through him all throughout this dream, but he mostly thought that was from his powerful ghost husband's kisses that kept giving him a warm steady drink of it each time. 

"Is gege admiring himself in the mirror? As he should," a velvety voice sounds before he can think more. Xie Lian's heartbeat picks up speed as arms slide around him from behind, and the mirror blesses him with the image of them together. His ghost husband is so much taller than him, at least by ten centimetres, and while Xie Lian looks at the mirror, he only looks at Xie Lian, his eye-smile steeped in adoration. So, so handsome already and love is just such a good look on him. His hands rest at Xie Lian's stomach, nails painted black - or maybe they're actually black? - and fingers so long that Xie Lian feels dwarfed. Could those hands nearly encircle his waist? 

"I love my brain," Xie Lian whispers, almost inaudibly, and he doesn't notice how his husband's gaze on him turns curious as he keeps admiring how they look together. 

"I love gege's brain, too, but what has it done now? Enlighten me." 

"It thought of this," Xie Lian muses dreamily, resting his hands over the ghost's. "Thought of you."

His husband is silent for a moment, before he asks, "...gege, what is your dear husband's name?" 

"Hm..." Xie Lian tries hard, but no matter what, he can't even begin to think of name that would fit such a staggering man. That suddenly makes him think of another nameless ghost who was by his side long ago, and his breath hitches, clutching his husband's robes to steady himself. 

"Gege?" his husband starts, panicked. "Gege-!" 

"I'm fine, it's nothing," Xie Lian reassures him as he quickly comes back to himself, tipping his head back and reaching up for the man's face. "Just another memory. I'm sorry, baby, I can't seem to think of a name for you but I'll try to soon." 

His husband stays quiet again, an unreadable look on his face as Xie Lian caresses his jaw, but then he leans down for another tender kiss that has Xie Lian rising elatedly to his tiptoes. "Of course. Take your time, gege." 

They eat in bliss, Xie Lian sitting in between the ghost's legs, back pressed to his firm chest. Xie Lian can feed himself, obviously, but of course his dedicated husband likes to feed him too, bringing bite after bite to his lips to the point that Xie Lian has to playfully hit him to stop. The man chuckles and doesn't stop, only slows down a little, giving him one thing every minute rather than every ten seconds.

When Xie Lian bites into a strawberry fed to him and juice dribbles down his husband's long slender fingers, Xie Lian's tongue darts out without a second thought, licking up the red liquid and suckling gently at the tip of a finger. He hears his husband make a low noise from deep in his chest, something of a growl, and Xie Lian tilts his head back to look up at him. He can't make out much before he's being kissed, and unlike all the other times, this one starts slow but quickly gets heated, a nimble tongue slipping into his mouth and twining with his own. Xie Lian shakes a little trying to keep up, neck craning, but he so desperately doesn't want to stop. Then just when he finally gets a hang of it, his husband's wandering hands smooth down his chest, slipping into his robe, and Xie Lian whimpers when thumbs press into his hard nipples and gently roll them. 

No more, Xie Lian thinks helplessly, even as he arches his chest into those deft fingers and pulls his husband down by his hair. I'll go insane...and I don't even know the nuances of sex dreams being allowed with my cultivation...! 

But before Xie Lian even does anything, the ghost pauses his electrifying movements, lips going slack against Xie Lian's as he intakes a shaky, almost pained breath. Then he moves back and removes his hands, making Xie Lian mentally sigh in relief. 

"Sorry, gege. It seems this Sa-" The ghost stops, before coughing. "This humble ghost can't seem to keep his hands to himself. Maybe we can do some calligraphy so I can calm down." 

A wonderful idea! Xie Lian definitely needs some calming down too, and he really wants to see his dream husband's handwriting. He joyously goes over to the desk on the other side of the room that the ghost leads him to,  and they take their seats as the ghost brings up a fresh piece of parchment. He holds the brush out to Xie Lian, but Xie Lian shakes his head, pushing it back. "Write something for me!" 

The ghost seems a little reluctant, but eventually nods as he starts. Xie Lian watches with glee, only for his face to drop further and further as the brush develops strokes across the page. 

"Oh, husband, this..." Xie Lian tries to find the nicest words he can, and still ends up with, "This is not good." 

Xie Lian's mind must be exaggerating this. No-one's handwriting can be this bad. 

"I like when you call me husband," the ghost says languidly, not even reacting to the slander on his writing. "Can gege sign and date this page? I like to do that to remember what I learned on what day, but sometimes I can't even understand the date I have written myself..."

"Silly," Xie Lian laughs, but happily obliges as he takes the brush. He signs his name first, completely unrecognisable if compared to the tattoo on his husband's arm, and then writes the date. He pulls back with a smile when he's done, and looks at the man beside him who has his eye trained on what Xie Lian just wrote, face unreadable again. "Husband?" 

The ghost smoothly snaps out of it and grins at Xie Lian, kissing his forehead. "I really like when you call me that. Unfortunately, I just received another message, and I need to take my leave. How about gege gets some more rest?" 

Oh. Xie Lian feels his heart sink, because this seems to him to mark the end of the dream. But it's okay. This has been the best thing his imagination could have possibly conjured up for him, and hopefully this happy content feeling stays with him when he wakes. 

Xie Lian reaches for the front of his husband's robe, and uses it to lift himself up and kiss the corner of his mouth. "Okay. Be careful." 

He doesn't dare say a real goodbye, in hopes that he can dream of him again. 

The ghost gently coaxes him back into bed and Xie Lian lets him, even though he doesn't feel sleepy in the slightest. Perhaps it will suddenly hit him soon. That sounds dream-like enough. He watches the man's back as he leaves, and then he closes his eyes and waits. And waits. And waits some more. 

Why isn't he falling asleep?! 

He frowns, because he doesn't really feel the need to stay here if his imaginary lover is gone. He tries to will him back with his mind but that doesn't work either. He's so bad at this dream thing. 

Sick of trying to sleep, he slowly slips out of bed and aims to do some exploring. He wonders if his mind will fill in the gaps if he tries to leave this room, or if everything will be a bit wishy-washy. But when he carefully pushes open the door, all he sees is much more very concrete red decor of the same style as the room he was in. Remarkable. 

He seems to be on a balcony, and he can hear voices from below that he couldn't hear at all in his room. He peers down at what seems to be a big hall, and his eyes light up when he sees his ghost husband sitting on a red divan. He seems troubled, though, his face pinched and brow furrowed as he casts a tired hand over his face. He seems to be talking to another man who is clad in plain worn-out clothing, shoddily patched up in a few places. His face is a little sallow but he's still a handsome man, and his eyes are as bright and clear as jade. 

"Why won't you let me see him, Chengzhu?" the latter complains, raising his fists in some kind of fighting stance. "I'll fight you! I'll sorely lose and probably die, but I'll fight you before you keep His Highness from me!"   

Xie Lian's husband sends him a look. "Lower your voice, Shi Qingxuan. His Highness isn't well. I think it happened again." 

The man - Shi Qingxuan, oh, the one with the cats from earlier! - blinks. "What happened again? Too many things happen, Chengzhu, you have to be clearer than that." 

"That monster that once stole his memories," the ghost sighs heavily like he would rather disperse than be here. "I checked, and he thinks today is the date a couple days before his third ascension. He doesn't know who either of us are." 

Xie Lian seizes up. For a moment, his whole world tilts to the side, and he has to grip the balcony harder to steady himself. What are they talking about? What do they mean? 

"Oh no! Did His Highness get attacked yesterday?"

"The funny thing is, he didn't even go outside yesterday, and he was completely normal until nightfall. No monster breached these walls, either, that's for sure." 

The two keep talking nonsensically as Xie Lian stands there reeling. All of this is bizarre but two words also keep ringing in Xie Lian's head - third ascension. His mind is scrambling to piece together what is going on and all he can gather is that this maybe isn't a dream. That he simply has some kind of amnesia, that this life is really his, that beautiful ghost is really...

He shakes his head. Forget about that for a moment. He cultivates every day, yes, but only because it's his passion and a long-learned habit. He doesn't do it in hopes to ascend, because he never expects the heavens to welcome him again. If there is the possibility of a third ascension in the future, then he kind of dreads it.

"The craziest part of all," he hears his husband say, "is that he doesn't know who I am, but he seems to like me a lot." 

A long silence follows. Xie Lian feels his face heating up. 

"Chengzhu, that's not crazy," Shi Qingxuan eventually says, sounding confused. "He's always liked you. You've got on like a house on fire ever since you took his hand on Mount Yujun." 

"I'm not talking about friendship. I'm talking about attraction. Of course I started off treating him like I usually treat my husband because I didn't know anything was wrong, and normally that would overwhelm someone who's never ever been in a relationship before, but he reciprocated tenfold. Actually, my first kiss scared him a bit, but he let me touch him and, he even kissed me a thousand times and was so sweet about it-" 

"Woah, hey, hey!" Shi Qingxuan yells as Xie Lian can't stay standing anymore in his embarrassment, melting to the ground. "Get back on track, will you?!"  

"He said he had a bad day, so I thought that was why he was more docile than usual. His Highness always responds well to kindness. But he wouldn't call me by name. He was a bit more polite than usual, as if he didn't want to offend me, when I've teased gege enough by now that he'll usually berate me often. And then, I got a solid admission, but..."  

In complete and utter disbelief, the ghost continues with a shake in his voice, "Qingxuan, he thinks he created me in his thoughts. He thinks he dreamed me up. Is he saying I'm his dream man?"  

Yes, Xie Lian thinks shamefully while Shi Qingxuan playfully argues, "Eww, no! Gosh, you guys are so gross, I love it. Look, get out of your loverboy bubble for a second, we need to figure out what's going on. So it likely wasn't a monster, and no-one can enter this place without being noticed, so..." 

Xie Lian doesn't stay long enough to hear the rest of that sentence. As quietly as he can, he dashes back into the room and realises that he needs to get out of here. He needs to find clues for where he is, what time period he's in, and whether he truly isn't in a dreamscape. He zeroes in on the window at the other side of the room and rushes to it without a second thought, jamming it open and jumping right through it. It's a bit of a height, but he's well-practised enough to be able to land calmly on his feet. He still has all the spiritual energy his husband gave him, too. 

Or maybe it's mine? Xie Lian thinks, still confused on that front. Since I don't have my cursed shackles?

Either way, he starts moving. He realises belatedly that he's in a very thin robe, but the cold doesn't bother him much. Once he gets out from this big manor's courtyard, he aims to talk to people, look at signs, only to immediately come to a stop when he sees two people walking his way. Or, the manor's way. They stop too when they see him. 

"Your Highness?" Feng Xin is the first to speak, eyes wide and worried. "Are you okay?" 

"What are you doing outside dressed like that?" Mu Qing scolds next, eyes narrowed. "You'll catch your death!" 

"Oh! Um," Xie Lian begins, eyes batting between the two of them as he awkwardly smiles. "Hello, you two. What...are you doing here?" 

"Your husband sent us a message asking us if anything happened while we were all having tea yesterday and he wouldn't elaborate so we got worried and came over," Feng Xin explains, pretty concisely, and Xie Lian blinks maybe a hundred times. 

"We. We had tea yesterday?" 

"Yeah. You, me and Mu Qing. What the hell, did you already forget?" Feng Xin asks, sounding a bit put-out, and Mu Qing scoffs, "His Highness is so popular now, he won't remember a mere tea stop with the likes of us."

"OI, I TOLD YOU TO STOP SAYING SHIT LIKE-" Feng Xin puts down his wielded fist when he sees Mu Qing laughing a little behind his hand. "Oh. You're joking. I'm not used to you doing that yet." 

Mu Qing smacks Feng Xin's shoulder. "Shut the fuck up."  

Meanwhile, Xie Lian is watching the exchange with stars in his eyes. Forget it, this has to be a dream. Why else would his two old friends get along so well, why else would they talk to Xie Lian so casually, and when else would they all go out for tea? 

"Are you okay, though, Your Highness? Why did Hua Cheng contact us?" Feng Xin asks as the two step closer, and Xie Lian replies warily, "I'm okay. But who is Hua Cheng?" 

Feng Xin's and Mu Qing's faces fall in sync, and they turn to look at each other. Then they run forward and grab one of Xie Lian's arms each, with Feng Xin barking, "You are definitely not okay. Are you running away from Hua Cheng again like last time you got your memories stolen? Stop doing that!" 

"Obviously he'd do that if he doesn't know who he is, you idiot!" Mu Qing yells. "That guy's shady as hell!" 

The two of them keep yelling over Xie Lian's head, enough to make it ring like old times, but Xie Lian also notices that they're leading him back to the manor he was just in. He starts struggling a little, trying to say that he doesn't want to go back just yet, and the other two finally shut up to listen to him; but they all stop in their tracks when the doors to the manor burst open with a gust of cold wind. 

Xie Lian looks up, and his heart skips a beat when there stands his ghost husband in all his glory, striking crimson robes billowing in the wind and smirk wicked and chilling to the bone. Strangely, pretty silver butterflies also fly around him, and Xie Lian wonders what that's all about. 

"You dare to steal my husband from right under my nose?" he drawls, and Xie Lian feels faint at being called that in such a tone. Really, every cell of his body is so plainly attracted to this man. 

"We're not, damn it, we're taking him back to you!" Feng Xin shouts back, though Xie Lian can feel him shiver. "He's the one who was trying to run away!" 

The ghost raises an eyebrow, and looks at Xie Lian. "Does gege want to run away?" 

Xie Lian swallows to wet his suddenly dry throat, and asks, "Um. I just want to see some things. Just for a little while. Please?" 

The ghost stares at him for a moment longer, and Xie Lian feels himself begin to sweat. However, the ghost just shrugs. "Gege can do whatever he wants to do. You two, stay with him and give him money if he needs it." 

"What the fuck?" Feng Xin mutters, while Mu Qing rolls his eyes and says, "He's just trying to get in His Highness' good graces like always. Let's go, I guess." 

Feng Xin and Mu Qing don't let go of his arms as they turn back around, but they relax their grip a bit, so now they just look like three grown men walking in the streets with linked arms. Xie Lian kind of loves that. 

He looks over his shoulder back at the manor, and he's pleasantly surprised when he catches his husband's eye before he goes back inside. He blows Xie Lian a big kiss, and Xie Lian giggles, making a show of catching it except that disgusts Feng Xin so much that he smacks 'it' out of Xie Lian's hand.

Let me kill them, gege, suddenly sounds in Xie Lian's head, and Xie Lian replies in delight, You know my private array password? Wait, my private array works?

It does. Have fun with your...friends, his husband says that last word with much difficulty, but I will reach out if I have cause for concern. 

Haha, my husband cares for me so much. 

I really do.

Xie Lian doesn't really need to talk to strangers on the street now, because he has two very non-strangers to talk to instead. While they walk and Xie Lian notices the eccentricities of the town and its folk, he asks his friends if they're in the ghost realm, and they tell him that it's called Ghost City, the most infamous place in the ghost realm and run by Hua Cheng. 

"Who's Hua Cheng again?" 

"Oh, right, your husband," Feng Xin answers, and Xie Lian lights up. Hua Cheng, Hua Cheng, Hua Cheng...what a magnanimous name. "You don't call him that, though." 

"What do I call him?" 

Both Feng Xin and Mu Qing make a face, and say in unison, "Never mind." 

They settle in one of the less-lively establishments, since Ghost City has no scope for quiet places to talk. Feng Xin orders them some tea, takes a look at Xie Lian, and starts taking off his own red outer robe. Mu Qing blanches at the sight of him. "Ugh, what are you doing?"

"Giving it to His Highness, mind your business!" Feng Xin grouses as he reaches out to drape it over Xie Lian's shoulders quite gently. Xie Lian smiles, thanking him, and that's when he decides to buckle down and start his questions. 

Mu Qing answers all his questions with ease, while Feng Xin's head seems to rattle a bit at the speed of them but he does his best, too. Xie Lian finds out that he's not too far in the future from his normal timeline, only eleven years on. He and Hua Cheng married nine years ago, a joyous famous occasion that Mu Qing and Feng Xin both attended. Apparently Shi Qingxuan is planning a party for their ten year anniversary, and Mu Qing smacks the back of Feng Xin's head because: "You're not meant to tell him that!" 

"Nearly ten years," Xie Lian murmurs in awe. That's why Hua Cheng knew his body so well, and could so easily tell there was something different about him but knew it was still him. 

Then he wrinkles his nose. "Why is his handwriting still so bad after ten years?" 

"Please, you complain about that all the time," Feng Xin laughs. "I think he's doing it on purpose. He doesn't want you to stop teaching him because it's basically the one thing that bastard isn't good at." 

That's quite a cute reason. Maybe Xie Lian will give him a pass, then. "So how did Hua Cheng and I meet? He's quite the character."  

Mu Qing and Feng Xin share an uneasy look. Mu Qing eventually pipes up, "Ah...Your Highness, I hope you understand there are some things we can't tell you. We still don't know if you lost your memories or if you've come here from the past, and if it's the latter, I'm worried that everything you find out here will cause some kind of ripple effect once you go back." 

Xie Lian slowly nods. "That makes sense. I understand. Then, I ascend again, right? What's the deal with that?" 

"Quite literally nothing. Like I don't think there was a proper reason for it. You're just incredible," Feng Xin says, and what kind of answer is that? "But sorry, Your Highness, no questions about your ascension either. You probably don't need to wait too long for that anyway." 

Xie Lian grimaces at the thought. "Alright. Then..." He reaches out for one of Feng Xin's and Mu Qing's hands each, and is pleasantly surprised when neither of them flinch. "Can I ask about us? Do we...meet sometimes? Do we talk?" 

"Yeah. We do," Feng Xin answers with a big grin, and Xie Lian's heart feels so much lighter. "It was awkward at first, but that was 'cause we had too much hidden between us, and I'm gonna be honest - it took us years to clear all the air. Years." 

Xie Lian's eyes grow wide. "I've told you guys...everything?"  

Feng Xin nods, but Mu Qing says, "Well, I sure fucking hope so. We can't be having another redo of the time this idiot mentioned that whole robbery thing during your first banishment and you got so worried he was still holding a grudge that you got sick." 

"I was only trying to make light of it! It's been so many years!" Feng Xin argues, but then he sighs and settles a hand over his forehead. "But that was before I found out about what happened to you after, so of course that wouldn't have gone down well. I'm sorry, Your Highness-" 

"Wait," Xie Lian interrupts, voice wobbly. "W-What do you mean? What did you find out?" 

"Well, your lovely husband got mad as fuck at me for making you sick which, I mean, understandable," Feng Xin says with a shrug. Xie Lian can't help but note how he sounds so casual, like this is a tale from too long ago to matter. "But he was like way too mad, and yelled at me about not knowing the whole story, and I was like what the fuck do you know that I don't, crimson boy?!" 

"Which was fucking stupid to say," Mu Qing snorts. "Now we all know that guy knows far more than any of us will. Goddamn stalker." 

Gege, hurry back home soon, Hua Cheng says through his communication array as if on cue. Your baby gets very lonely without you, and I have some things to tell you. Don't waste too much time on those cretins. 

Xie Lian stifles a giggle. Okay! Wait there and be good for me. 

Mm, I'm always good for my gege.

Feng Xin is scolding Mu Qing about something when he gets back to them, something about 'don't say too much about that guy!', but at Xie Lian's gaze, he clears his throat and continues, "Anyway, I went to apologise to you and reassure you I wasn't holding a grudge, but then I asked what Hua Cheng meant by me 'not knowing the whole story', and you threw up on me." 

"I loved you for that," Mu Qing tells Xie Lian so sincerely, and Xie Lian blushes a bit. Was that a joke or do the three of them say 'I love you' to each other now? If they do, then Xie Lian wants to say it a thousand times, over and over until his old friends beg him to stop.  

"You refused to tell me. I got really angry about that, and surprisingly so did your husband. I think I heard you guys arguing while I left which is insane, you guys don't argue. But I think he very slowly talked some sense into you, because a month or so later, you invited us over and told us everything. About the hundred swords, about what happened to your parents, about you nearly releasing another wave of Human Face Disease. I threw up that time. Luckily not on you." 

"I can't believe you vomited at that. So loyal to His Highness, aren't you," Mu Qing says with a roll of his eyes, and Feng Xin yelps, "You turned so pale that you nearly passed out!" 

"Which is way more decent!" 

"Decent my ass, we were both feeling a whole truckload of things, who cares how it manifests?!" 

After a few more yells that had even the vilest of ghosts giving them side-eyes, they both shout at the sound of splintering wood. They whip their faces around to Xie Lian and stare in shock at the sight of him gripping the table so hard that it broke, shoulders shaking, and silent tears streaming down his face.  

"Your Highness," Feng Xin gasps, and a long time ago, both he and Mu Qing would have been frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do. But after years of rebuilding this friendship that they've been talking about, they both easily rush to Xie Lian's side, wrapping their arms around him. 

"Is it really that easy?" Xie Lian whispers through sobs, looking through bleary eyes at two of the most important people to him in the world. "I swore I would never tell you both, I swore you didn't need to know, but...did you really still stay my friends after learning everything?" 

"Xie Lian, we became better friends after learning everything," Mu Qing insists, and hearing his given name spoken by him is like a breath of fresh air. "Your Highness, listen. We've had a shaky past, and because of that, you will still think that it's best for us to be left in the dark about some things. When we meet again in your timeline, it won't be easy, and I apologise in advance for the way we act towards you - me especially. But in the years following, I tried my hardest to show you my sincerity. I slowly started to let go of the insecurity that turned your kindness towards me into a twisted weapon, partly because we were finally equals, but mostly because I could see things clearer now. You're just quite an amazing person. 

"But don't worry," Mu Qing continues, squeezing his hand. "Don't take my word for it now. We will have this conversation and earn this trust over years and years. We will settle into each other's new strides and fight curses together and have tea at each other's places and turn into the true friends that we could never quite be before. You will be so glad that we end up clearing all our grievances after we begin building that up."

"Shit," Feng Xin mutters, turning away and covering his eyes. "No-one look at me. Why the fuck was that so pretty, you're literally a martial god?"

Mu Qing smacks him, but he has a pleased smile on his face. For a moment, Xie Lian can only stare at him, overflowing with pride. He remembers days where Mu Qing would never say how he truly felt, polite but still thinly veiling his words with sarcasm and omissions. He would confound Xie Lian and Feng Xin, who were always the types to say what they thought, but Xie Lian always knew deep down that Mu Qing was just trying to protect his own heart. He was scared to trust, so he wouldn't let anyone trust him in return. 

So the thought that this is what Mu Qing becomes? Someone who can say honest things like that? That they get ten years together to soothe each other's wounds, speak their truths, and just be together on a level playing field? The only other thing that Xie Lian looks forward to just as much as that is being with Hua Cheng.

"Oh," Xie Lian sniffles, heart squeezing so hard that it's hard to breathe but it feels good. "Oh, I love you. I love you both. I've loved you since the day we met and I've never stopped. When we meet again, I hope a part of me knows that we'll end up here one day. It's going to be painful seeing you both ignore me..." 

"I don't ignore you!" Feng Xin insists while Mu Qing stays quiet. Xie Lian peeks at the latter, who looks rather like a kicked puppy, and he can't help but laugh. 

"Yesterday, I...some ghosts shapeshifted into you," Xie Lian murmurs, looking down at the table. "It wasn't for that long, but they were quite mean. I hadn't seen you both in centuries by that point so I couldn't help but wonder if that was how you would treat me. They could get into my memories so the shapeshifter Feng Xin even started talking about the hundred swords debacle, haha..."

Both Mu Qing and Feng Xin stay quiet for a long moment, before Mu Qing breaks the silence to say a confused, "Hey, didn't we talk about this yesterday over tea?"  

"Yeah, we did!" Feng Xin agrees. "You- I mean, not you, but like the you with memories, or you from our timeline, you know what I mean - you were telling us about some time right before your third ascension where you ran into ghosts who looked like us and then, uh, helped a town out? But you had a rough time?" 

"Or you'd been having a rough time and that was the worst of it," Mu Qing adds. "You said you remembered wishing someone would say something kind to you, but when you woke up the next morning, you felt rejuvenated and happy like nothing bad had happened in the first place. Then you saw one of Hua Cheng's fuckass butterflies even though you didn't know what it was at the time, so you wondered whether he somehow did somethi-" 

Mu Qing stops, and all three of them look at each other. Then, without any other communication, they seamlessly get up and start legging it back to Hua Cheng's manor. 

"Oi! Hua Cheng!" Feng Xin yells as they run in through the doors, and there Hua Cheng is, looking bored out of his mind as he lounges on his divan and twirls some dice between his fingers. He casts an uninterested look over his shoulder at the voice, but his eye brightens when it falls on Xie Lian who feels spellbound by the sight of him again.  

"Gege's back. I was so lonely without him." 

He holds out his arm and Xie Lian wants to run to him, but Mu Qing is holding his hand which is kind of adorable.  

"Don't ignore us, you fucker!" Feng Xin growls. "We have a clue for whatever the hell's going on here." 

Hua Cheng hums, looking back at his dice. "I figured it out ages ago, but do go on." 

Feng Xin opens his mouth, then stops, then opens it again without saying anything, gormless. Mu Qing rolls his eyes and huffs under his breath, "Fucking useless," before he snipes at Hua Cheng, "Well? You gonna tell us then?" 

"I don't have to tell you two, only my beloved," Hua Cheng says with a sweet insincere smile. "Bye bye now." 

Xie Lian flinches when Feng Xin and Mu Qing are blown outside with a flick of Hua Cheng's finger, colourful expletives filling the air before the doors are closed on them. Xie Lian looks at Hua Cheng who smiles innocently back, tilting his head, and Xie Lian can only sigh as he goes over and settles into his outstretched arms. "Why do I get the feeling you don't like them?" 

"Because you'd be right," Hua Cheng replies lazily, dropping a kiss into Xie Lian's hair. Xie Lian hums, and decides to tease, "So I guess this really isn't a dream. A lover who's perfect for me wouldn't dislike my two best friends."

Hua Cheng frowns, actually looking hurt. "Gege, don't say that. Aren't I your dream man?" 

Xie Lian lies there quietly for a moment instead of answering, tracing shapes into his husband's chest as Hua Cheng kisses along his hairline. Eventually he asks, "So what is happening right now? A part of me does still think this is a dream, but...logically, that doesn't seem right."  

"Why did you think it was a dream in the first place?" Hua Cheng asks. "Not to be rude, beloved, but your senses are very sharp. I would think you'd know whether you're in the dreamscape or not."

"I've just..." Xie Lian sighs, closing his eyes. "Like I said earlier, I've just had a rough go of it lately. I desperately wanted someone to show me kindness, then I wake up and here you are, and you're unbelievable. You're stunning and sweet and funny and so...red! There's so much red everywhere!"  

Hua Cheng chuckles, nipping gently at Xie Lian's cheek like that's a normal thing people do. "I see. Less red would have made things more real? Duly noted." 

"And you love me," Xie Lian says, reaching out to cup his husband's face. "I didn't think there was anyone left who loved me, or even liked me. So how could I not think you're a dream?"

Hua Cheng smiles, a pretty but morose sort of smile, before he turns his face to kiss Xie Lian's hand. "I'll tell you now. Yes, you are from a different timeline. The you there, as you just said yourself, was having a bad time. Then the you of my timeline was reminiscing about that very same day. You told me about it before you fell asleep, and asked me if I somehow intervened. I couldn't remember doing anything like that so I said no. But I couldn't stop thinking about it." 

Hua Cheng takes his hand, and holds it to his chest. "You have to understand, gege, I am hopelessly devoted to you, and I have seen you go through things that still torment me to this day. But even you gaining a scratch on your arm torments me. Whenever I hear about anything that happened during your life without me, I burn up with rage, and I must have been fizzling quite strongly after you told me about what you'd been through that day and the weeks leading up to it." 

Xie Lian frowns, reaching up to stroke his husband's hair placatingly. He still doesn't know the full weight of who this man is to him, but he feels like he doesn't need to know yet. Not when he's already shown his sheer devotion in every word, touch, kiss he's given Xie Lian.  

"As it happens," Hua Cheng continues after a short pause, "back in your timeline, one of my butterflies had drifted far from their kaleidoscope. It heard you trying not to cry in your sleep, and it landed on your cheek, trying to comfort you. Somehow, my raging spiritual energy thinking about that day infused into that butterfly, and brought you to me. Unfortunately it also killed it, so it couldn't report back to me." 

"Oh no," Xie Lian says sadly, and Hua Cheng seems just as upset. "Then how did you find out about this?" 

"Shi Qingxuan and I went back to the date you signed on that piece of parchment, and we went through my archives-" 

"Sorry, please continue after you answer this, but who is Shi Qingxuan?" Xie Lian has to ask. "Mu Qing and Feng Xin wouldn't tell me. They said it was too complicated." 

"Well, not to agree with the likes of those two, but it is," Hua Cheng digresses. "The least I can say is that he is one of your newer friends that I don't mind so much. He is loud and friendly and likes you very much. He left after we went through my archive because he couldn't bear the thought of you returning and not knowing who he was, so you'll have to make up for that later." 

"Oh, of course I will," Xie Lian insists, both sad and touched that he has such a friend. How many friends does he have in this timeline? The thought of even having three on top of a perfect husband is overwhelmingly lovely, and much better than how he's been spending the last eight centuries.

"Anyway, we went through my collections of butterfly files. I still had the recording from that butterfly, I just never looked at it since the butterfly didn't report it, and that's when I saw my beautiful sleeping wife looking so sad, before suddenly disappearing. I checked your qi while we were in front of the mirror, and it seems that instead of swapping places with you in this timeline, you've both merged bodies with your consciousness as the primary and the other dormant." 

"Your butterflies record things?" Xie Lian asks in wonder, and Hua Cheng blinks like he didn't expect that to be Xie Lian's question. "Wow. Can it record this?" 

Xie Lian waves in front of one of the butterflies floating around, saying brightly, "Hi, hello, Xie Lian was here!". But before he can ask to see the recording, Hua Cheng bursts out into a wonderful bout of raucous laughter, gathering Xie Lian up in his arms and kissing him all over his face. 

"Gosh, my gege, in every lifetime, every timeline, you are exactly who you are," Hua Cheng coos, turning to biting when he's done enough kissing and Xie Lian is very flushed and confused right now. "I will love you in each and every one until my dying breath, and even after that because I end up becoming an annoyingly persistent ghost king who never forgets about you." 

"A ghost king," Xie Lian admires. "Of course that's what you are. And that ghost king is...you're...you're really going to be my husband, one day?"

"Husband?" Xie Lian asks quietly, a sudden bout of drowsiness washing over him, and Hua Cheng nods. "Before you send me back. What do I call you?"

Hua Cheng smiles, and nuzzles Xie Lian's head. "Don't worry, beloved. I will tell you when the time is right, then you will call me that forever. I think I'm going to ask my timeline's gege to start incorporating 'baby' into his speech, though." 

Xie Lian laughs almost deliriously, and pushes up to drink in another sweet kiss before he has to go whoever knows how long without one. Hua Cheng returns it in soft, warm kind, moving in close and enveloping Xie Lian in his love. 

"One thing's for sure," Xie Lian whispers against Hua Cheng's lips, not bearing to part. "You are my dream man. You're everything I never knew I wanted, and I can't wait to come back to you." 

Hua Cheng closes his eyes like the weight of those words were too much for him to bear, pressing his forehead against Xie Lian's. "Nothing else could ever make this humble ghost so happy." 

When Xie Lian wakes, it's where he passed out exhausted on the street. It's a miracle no-one came by and poached him, and curiously, he's never felt so rested in his life. In his mind's eye he keeps seeing red, but it fades the more he comes to his senses, stretching out and looking around. Somehow, he feels so much lighter than he did the day before, and he thinks he woke up with a smile.

Even if he can't remember it, something tells him that he just had a lovely dream.

He looks down then and gasps softly when he sees a tiny little silver butterfly, sadly unmoving and a little scorched.

"You poor thing," Xie Lian sighs, cupping it in his hands and digging a little hole deeper to the side of the street to give it a proper burial. However, when he tries to put it in, it dissipates and floats up into the air in silver speckles of stardust. "Oh, were you a spirit? I hope you didn't suffer too much, little one."

Then he gets up, picks up his things, takes in a deep breath, and moves on to a brand new day.