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Xie Lian entered the latest town on his journey the same way he'd entered every town for the past several centuries now: with a bag full of scraps in his arms and Fang Xin slung across his back. As he generally did, he'd covered the sword with a large scrap of plain cloth he'd come across some time ago. It didn't exactly hide the fact that Fang Xin was, indeed, a sword, but it made it less obvious to the untrained eye. It wasn't like Xie Lian wasn't capable of fighting with his sword covered, and even if he hadn't been able to, he was more than able to fight bare handed. And he had Ruoye, of course!
Keeping the sword covered most of the time just made him slightly less threatening, which kept some people from wanting to pick a fight with him. Of course, there were also those who saw a man without a sword and saw an easy target, but his threadbare robes kept him from being seen as much of a useful target to all but the most sadistic. And obviously having a sword wouldn't necessarily deter that sort, so overall it was just easier this way. With his luck, he'd get into enough trouble anyway. No need to call more down on himself when it wouldn't help anyone.
Xie Lian operated under no illusions about his lifestyle and how it appeared to outsiders. Sometimes when he came into a town, people went out of their way to avoid him. Other times, they did their business with him as quickly as possible. Still others pitied him. Xie Lian didn't really mind. The pride he'd once had would have been offended by this treatment, but he didn't take it personally any longer, and the pity was actually useful sometimes. If his luck decided not to work against him for once, sometimes he actually got free food or shelter from people who pitied him, and he was always very grateful for this.
But for the most part, people were people. Sometimes selfish, often thoughtful, and generally just trying to live their lives, same as Xie Lian was. Many saw his white cultivator robes and treated him with the kind of respect that they'd give to any wandering follower of the dao.
So he really wasn't alarmed when a man he didn't recognize approached him one day while he was polishing Fang Xin. The sword didn't see much use, and Xie Lian didn't have the high quality materials he once used to maintain his swords, but he made a point to do maintenance on it fairly regularly, even if that maintanence was only wiping it down with a bit of clean cloth. With as often as Xie Lian was exposed to the elements, after all, there was a risk of the sword suffering as well. And maybe doing said maintenance outside where people could see him defeated the purpose of keeping it covered, but it was a nice day, and Xie Lian was enjoying the warmth of the sunlight.
The man who approached him was older, dressed in well-maintained clothes that had obviously been expensive when they'd been bought several years back. Someone who had fallen into tight times, perhaps, but that was still able to keep up appearances to some extent. The man was a local, Xie Lian thought. Someone perhaps of some standing in the community. If Xie Lian had approached his household looking for scraps, he'd likely have spoken to the man's servants rather than to a member of his family.
"Can I help you with something?" Xie Lian asked. Maybe he'd be lucky enough to make a sale. He'd gotten a few good items in this town that he'd be able to fix up and sell along in the future, but he hadn't been able to sell most of what he already had.
"Oh, no," the man said. "I just wanted to talk for a moment, if daozhang permits."
Xie Lian nodded. "Of course! What did you want to talk about?" He wasn't one to dismiss company when it was offered, after all, and the man hadn't said or done anything threatening yet.
"Did daozhang pick up his sword through scrap collecting as well?" the man asked.
"Ah, no actually! It was given to me before I entered into this line of work."
"Is daozhang's sword for sale along with his other wares?" the man asked, and Xie Lian frowned.
"I hadn't considered it," he said. That wasn't precisely true. Xie Lian had, over the centuries, considered selling Fang Xin from time to time, especially when those times were particularly lean and hunger was inescapable. He'd never gone through with it, for more reasons than one. To start with, Fang Xin was not an especially valuable sword, all things considered. It was old, yes, and in workable condition despite the challenges of Xie Lian's itinerant life, but it was not particularly ornate. Neither did it have a famous name or an association with a notable figure or event. Or, well, it did, but its connection to Bai Wuxiang, Xie Lian himself, and the events of Lang-er Bay was only known to Xie Lian. So that couldn't add to the value it held for anyone but Xie Lian himself. No one still in existence, at least.
Xie Lian had carried Fang Xin around for nearly three hundred years in memory of the young ghost soldier who had wielded it in his final moments. It was useful to have a sword, but if it wasn't for Wu Ming, Xie Lian would have preferred any sword but one that had been given to him by Bai Wuxiang, one that had such awful memories attached to it. But it was also true that carrying Fang Xin wasn't the only way Xie Lian had to remember Wu Ming's sacrifice; the cursed shackles etched into his skin and the bad luck that accompanied them served as penance for the fate Xie Lian had brought upon his last believer. If he ever was to lose the sword—and it was quite honestly surprising that his luck hadn't taken it from him before now—he would still have the shackles.
Losing Fang Xin, however, was still different than purposefully selling it. If he sold his sword, he couldn't count on his luck holding out long enough for him to be able to actually spend the money. Then he would have no money and no sword, which sounded to him like a worse version of the situation he was already in.
No; the only conditions under which he could support selling Fang Xin was if he came across someone who needed it more than he did. In that case, selling the sword would have value in and of itself, and Xie Lian would simply manage without it. He was good at managing without, by this point. And he was used to missing and remembering people whether or not he had something to remember them by, which he mostly didn't.
"Are you asking because you wanted to buy it?" Xie Lian asked.
The man shook his head quickly. "Me? No, daozhang. I am not a swordsman myself. However, I have recently been contacted by a wealthy collector who has expressed an interest in several old swords that happen to be in my possession, and I thought daozhang might be able to share in my good fortune! A discerning buyer for a sword such as that is, I assume, harder to find than one for daozhang's other wares."
"I see," Xie Lian said. Although he wasn't sure that he did see, actually. "My answer is still the same: I have no plans to sell my sword."
"Daozhang doesn't have to make a decision just now," the man assured him. "The sword collector will be returning in three days. If daozhang wishes, he can meet the collector then and see what he'd be willing to offer for the sword, and daozhang can make his decision then."
"Alright," Xie Lian agreed, still feeling somewhat ill at ease with the idea. This man was being very insistent, if polite about it, and it wasn't immediately obvious why that was. There was also the fact that he knew very little of this so-called sword collector besides his wealth. Of course, wealth was not always an indication of character or of how a person would treat their social inferiors—Xie Lian himself had always striven to help the common people—but over the centuries he'd come across quite a few rich people who felt their wealth gave them the right to take whatever they wanted. If Xie Lian didn't want to sell Fang Xin, would the collector try to take it from him anyway?
"If your collector is such an appreciator of swords, perhaps he would agree to a spar or a friendly conversation even if I'm not interested in selling to him?"
"Ah, an excellent idea, daozhang! An excellent idea. Where is daozhang staying now?" The man asked.
"I'm just passing through, and I don't have the coin to spare for an inn. There's an empty building on the outskirts of town that I've been able to set up in temporarily. It works just fine for my purposes."
The man nodded. "If daozhang has little to spare, surely he would be willing to join me and my family for dinner this evening."
Xie Lian hesitated. He was afraid that if he spent any length of time around this man's family, they'd fall victim to his bad luck. But on the other hand, the idea of a warm meal and a nice evening with company sounded very appealing. Besides, it looked like it would rain later, and the air had a chill in it even without it raining. And it would be bad manners to refuse, surely. "I would be glad to," he agreed.
"Good, good," the man said.
"If I may ask, sir, why is it that you are so interested in a humble scrap collector such as myself meeting your esteemed guest?"
The man sighed. "Ah, I see daozhang is a discerning individual. Since this concerns you as well, I will not keep quiet. The collector that has expressed interest in my swords is rather eccentric. He made it clear that money is no object. Either he will buy my swords at a price we both agree on, or he will pass them by and I will have to find another buyer. Daozhang, I do not think there will be another buyer so willing to pay me well for these swords, and my family can use the money. I have a son who is marrying soon and another whose wife is expecting a child this year. It simply occurred to me that if the collector was put in a good mood, he would be more inclined to pass that good will on to me. I am not a swordsman, daozhang, and neither are my sons; I cannot offer him conversation on that topic, and I am afraid that my attempts at hospitality will not meet his standards. But it has been my impression that, despite his wealth, this collector does not look down upon the lower classes. Meeting daozhang should not offend him, and if he potentially has another sword to look at, it wouldn't do any harm to the sale of my own."
That made enough sense to Xie Lian. He was considered an eccentric himself, although his days of being a rich eccentric were long gone. But even in Xianle he'd stood out for his single minded dedication to the sword above all else but his cultivation. If it was Xie Lian who was expecting to see two swords and was instead presented with three and a potential partner for sparring or conversation, Xie Lian thought that his mood would indeed be improved, especially if it was made clear that there was no expectation that he should buy the extra sword that he had been surprised with.
Actually, Xie Lian was a bit excited by the idea. He hadn't had much opportunity over the past centuries to indulge in his love of the sword, much less in the company of someone whose love sounded like it may rival his own! So with his initial confusion handled, Xie Lian was happy to follow the man home for dinner and to make plans to return in two days time to be introduced to the eccentric sword collector. For the first time in a long time, Xie Lian had something to look forward to. And to his great surprise, his luck failed to act up in the intervening days enough to prevent the meeting. How lucky, Xie Lian thought, with only a twinge of guilt.
The man—who Xie Lian had learned was surnamed Li—was just as open and friendly with Xie Lian when he showed up at his door on the day of the sword collector's arrival as he'd been during dinner, and XIe Lian couldn't help but get his hopes up about how the rest of his day would go. Wouldn't it be something to get to speak to someone on the same page as him for once? Or as close as you could get when you were a former martial god now trying to avoid the attention of the heavens, among other things.
But as they stepped inside, his host was approached by one of his servants. Making his excuses, Li-xiansheng left Xie Lian in the care of his servant while he ran off to handle whatever household emergency had sprung up. The servant led Xie Lian to the garden where they'd socialized when he'd visited previously before rushing off to assist his master. Xie Lian was content enough to be left alone for the time being. It was a lovely garden, and as much as he'd always liked flowers, he'd grown a greater appreciation for the beauty of nature during his years of exile.
And near the other gate there was a patch of white flowers that made his heart ache to see. They were just like the flowers Wu Ming had tried to offer to him, flowers that had once been abundant in Xianle. Xie Lian wasn't far from his former kingdom now, he knew, and these flowers were a bittersweet reminder of that fact. And despite the pain they reminded him of, he couldn't help but seek them out.
But as he arrived at the gate, a stranger walked through from the other side. He was certainly not part of the household; Xie Lian had been introduced to the whole family, and this man was most definitely not a servant. Not even the servants in the extravagant Royal Palace of Xianle had looked so fine.
This new man was on the upper side of middle aged, the first hints of gray streaking through his dark hair. His face was remarkably youthful despite this, with only the suggestion of wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. His clothes were high quality and a bright, striking red. He held himself with the confidence of a man who was used to being taken seriously and who could back up that confidence if it became necessary.
There was something magnetic about the stranger. Xie Lian's eyes lingered as they passed over him, catching on the smallest details. The subtle but intricate embroidery on his collar, the delicate silver bracelets on his wrists, the callouses on his hands. The curve of his well fitted boot on his calf... Xie Lian blinked several times to dispel the image. If he wasn't careful he was going to have to start reciting scriptures, which was completely unexpected. Xie Lian hadn't struggled with feelings of lust in his entire life, and here he was getting hot under the collar because a handsome, rich man with a sword collection also happened to have shapely legs. Ahem.
(At least Xie Lian assumed that the man was the sword collector he'd been asked to meet with. It would certainly beggar belief for there to be two rich strangers in one household in a single day, wouldn't it? And he had something of the look of a swordsman about him. Or, hmm. Maybe not a sword.)
The only thing that kept the meeting from becoming completely unsalvageable was the fact that the other person involved also seemed to be thoroughly distracted.
"Oh!" Xie Lian exclaimed, pulling himself together long enough to bother with the required pleasantries. "You must be the sword collector! Although you seem to be a scimitar man yourself."
"Daozhang is very observant," the man praised. "I do indeed favor a saber for myself, although I have many swords in my personal collection and know how to use them well enough."
Xie Lian beamed at him. "My name is Lian Fang," he said, using his most recent alias. It wouldn't do, after all, to risk being caught in a lie if the sword collector compared notes with any of the locals. Most of them simply knew him as 'daozhang,' but he had given a name to a few of them, at least.
"Hua Cheng," the man said with a sharp smile, eyes boring into Xie Lian. "Is daozhang a part of the household?" Hua Cheng asked.
"Oh, no. No," Xie Lian said, still somewhat flustered. "I am just a wandering scrap collector. The head of the household was kind enough to invite me to visit so that he could introduce me to you. I have an old sword of my own, you see. I am not looking to sell it at this time, but I know as a sword enthusiast myself that just seeing a sword can be as rewarding as owning it. I hope that Lord Hua doesn't think that we've overstepped with this."
"Not at all," Hua Cheng said breathlessly. "I will have to thank our host for the thoughtfulness of the gesture. It is always a pleasure to get to meet a swordsman like yourself. Especially one with such a friendly personality. You'll forgive me, I'm sure, if I say that some swordsmen of skill are impossible to talk to over the sound of their own ego."
Yes, Xie Lian had met some of those, although very few of them had been able to live up to their attitude. Or maybe Xie Lian was just biased because he happened to be one of the best swordsmen of all time, as evidenced by his ascension as a martial god. And even among martial gods he'd been a particularly good fighter. "What category would Hua Cheng place himself in, then?" Xie Lian asked, curious.
Hua Cheng laughed. "Oh, definitely the second. I don't suffer fools easily. But for those who are worth my time I am happy to be as friendly as anyone."
"That's not unreasonable," Xie Lian said. "People will always be different with those they want to be around versus those they do not. Even if they are perfectly polite with outsiders, they will be more at ease with their loved ones."
"See?" Hua Cheng said, giving Xie Lian an example of his smug expression. "I was right. Daozhang is friendly, and kind as well. More kind than someone like me deserves, I'm sorry to say."
Xie Lian scolded Hua Cheng lightheartedly, insisting that Hua Cheng was certainly worthy of friendliness and kindness, and anyone who said otherwise should be ashamed of themselves. Hua Cheng seemed to hang on Xie Lian's every word, and it was rather intoxicating after so long with only his own company and that of Ruoye, who was not a particularly active conversationalist.
Their host returned from his household emergency before long, delighted to see that the two of them were getting along well together. After all, that had been the entire point of him inviting Xie Lian to his house, so Xie Lian was also glad that it had worked out for the man. He'd had a lovely time at dinner the other night, so even if it didn't involve him meeting someone as interesting as Hua Cheng, he'd want to do the seller a favor.
With all three of them together, Li-xiansheng took them to see the two swords, one of which Xie Lian actually recognized as belonging to a notable swordsman of his father's generation. He said as much, although he implied it was before his time so as not to let on how old he actually was. The other was new to him, but Hua Cheng was happy to fill in the gaps of what the seller had been told about the swords he had inherited. Apparently the swords had formerly been in the care of an uncle their host had not been close to, so he hadn't had much of an opportunity to learn about what he had before the man had died. Hua Cheng, on the other hand, was a fountain of knowledge, and Xie Lian thoroughly enjoyed peppering him with questions.
Hua Cheng listened patiently to Xie Lian's excited rambling, offering thoughts of his own. He seemed to be genuinely taking Xie Lian's opinions into account, which made Xie Lian glad that he honestly had nothing bad to say about the swords. The first was weighted slightly differently than he generally preferred, but he could see how it would work with the style he knew the original owner had wielded.
Li-xiansheng was happy to let the two of them try out the swords once both of them assured him that the weapons were not particularly fragile with age, since they had both been well cared for by the prior owner. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng both took one of the swords then and went out to the courtyard, testing each other's strength and drawing most of the household as an audience.
It was absolutely thrilling. Xie Lian felt more alive than he'd felt in years, and from Hua Cheng's grin, he was also thoroughly enjoying their spar. All around them, their spectators cheered whenever their blades crashed, not taking sides so much as enjoying the spectacle. Neither of them won the spar, but they weren't particularly trying to win, just to feel out their partner. The ending was naturally agreed upon, and Xie Lian knew his feelings had to be plastered all over his face: he needed to do that again sometime. Maybe the next time they fought, if Xie Lian got the opportunity for a rematch, Hua Cheng would wield his scimitar and the two of them could let loose in a less restrained spar than the one they had just fought.
Afterwards, Hua Cheng agreed to take both of the swords and left with the seller to handle payment. He offered for Xie Lian to accompany them, but Xie Lian felt he could trust Hua Cheng to know what the swords were worth and not take advantage of the man he was buying them from. Besides, it would have felt strange to insert himself into a business transaction between two other parties.
Before he left the courtyard, however, Hua Cheng elicited a promise that Xie Lian would stick around until they were finished so that he could continue their conversation from earlier. It was embarrassing how quickly Xie Lian agreed to that request. He didn't want to let Hua Cheng go so quickly. Xie Lian belatedly also realized that he still hadn't shown the man Fang Xin, which was more than a good enough excuse to linger.
When Hua Cheng returned, Xie Lian felt his heart skip a beat.
"Where is daozhang headed to next?" Hua Cheng asked.
Xie Lian laughed. "Nowhere in particular. I go wherever the road takes me."
"If daozhang would be interested, I have a number of other notable blades back at my residence. I would welcome the opinion of an expert such as yourself, if you'd be willing to come visit me and take a look at them." For such an impressive man, he seemed to be almost nervous as he spoke.
Xie Lian perked up at the offer. He didn't normally make specific plans, because they'd just fall through when his luck got involved. But he'd enjoyed speaking with this sword collector, and if he could be selfish for a bit... he really wanted to accept. "How far away is my lord's home?"
Hua Cheng blinked as though he hadn't truly expected Xie Lian to agree despite making the offer. But he quickly rallied, smiling at Xie Lian with just a hint of a too sharp tooth. "That depends on how one travels," he said. "In some ways, it is quite far. But we could be there today if daozhang said the word."
Xie Lian's eyebrows raised. "My lord must travel much faster than this lowly cultivator, then!" he said with a laugh. "Although I don't normally pay much attention to how quickly I get somewhere but rather the journey along the way. And I am only as fast as my own feet, mostly."
"This one would be delighted to join daozhang on one of his trips in the future if I could be so lucky. For this trip, however, I'm afraid that it's a little more complicated than simply walking into the place where I live." He leaned forwards into Xie Lian's space. "What would daozhang say if I told him that my residence was in Ghost City?"
To tell the truth, Xie Lian was not completely surprised to find out that his new acquaintance was a ghost. He was certainly a powerful one—no low level ghost had such incredible skin and hair—but there were things about the way he interacted with people, the level of knowledge he possessed, that indicated he was something other than the young man he'd been presenting himself as. There was also the fact that Xie Lian was fairly certain the man had stopped breathing for slightly longer than mortally possible when he'd first been introduced to Xie Lian. It was almost as though Hua Cheng had recognized him, and that was nearly impossible unless Hua Cheng was either as old as Xie Lian was or was just as obsessive with knowledge of fallen ex-gods as he was with swords.
"I would say that I've heard of Ghost City before but haven't had the chance to visit yet. To explore such an interesting new place and get to spend time with yourself would be too good of an opportunity to pass up. And you should know I have an eye for opportunities; it comes with the territory of being a scrap collector. Not that I think your offer is any way the equivalent of scraps!" He waved his hands frantically. "I am honored to be invited."
"It would be my honor to host daozhang," Hua Cheng demurred, and Xie Lian didn't really know what to say to that. Normally when someone made that kind of comment, it was evident that they were only saying it out of politeness. Or sometimes people said it sarcastically. Xie Lian supposed it was also the kind of thing that one might say ingratiatingly, but it had been a long time since anyone had a reason to try to ingratiate themselves with him. But the way his new acquaintance—future friend?—the way he said it, it wasn't just rote politeness. Either he was teasing Xie Lian, or he really meant it, and Xie Lian wasn't particularly equipped to handle either of those options. "And if gege wishes to visit Ghost City, then this Chengzhu will make sure he sees everything that there is to see in my city."
"It's settled then," Xie Lian said. "When would my lord like to leave?"
"My business here is done," Hua Cheng said. "I can leave as soon as daozhang finds convenient."
Xie Lian laughed. "I can be ready whenever. I wouldn't want my lord to change his plans on my behalf when I have none set of my own. I don't want to be an inconvenience."
"Daozhang could never be an inconvenience," Hua Cheng insisted. Then he hesitated. "Daozhang doesn't mind that this one is a ghost?"
"Not at all!" Xie Lian said. "My lord has been good company so far, and that is more important to me than whether or not my lord's heart still beats."
"That is a unique perspective for a cultivator to have," Hua Cheng noted.
"Well I'm not really much of a cultivator anymore," Xie Lian said scratching the nape of his neck. "So I think there are quite a few stances I would take that other cultivators might not. Besides, is it not out of the ordinary as well for a ghost to invite a cultivator to visit?"
Xie Lian was growing more and more convinced that Hua Cheng either knew who he was or somehow was able to tell that he was much older than he looked even if he wasn't aware of the details. He wasn't sure how old Hua Cheng was. It'd been a few hundred years now since Xianle fell, and it wasn't impossible for someone to have come across an old image of himself, but very few statues even in his heyday had been a good likeness and the surviving ones were likely worse. Was it more likely that Hua Cheng was old enough to have seen Xie Lian in person before? Or maybe there was something about Xie Lian's status as a banished god that a ghost of his level could sense? Xie Lian nervously reached up to touch his throat, but his bandages were still in place covering his cursed shackle.
Hua Cheng kindly didn't comment on the motion, although Xie Lian knew he hardly could have missed it with the way his eyes never strayed far from Xie Lian. "Would gege like to leave now, or would he like to wait? Is there anything gege needs to retrieve or anyone he needs to say farewell to?"
"I have everything with me," XIe Lian admitted. "I don't like to leave my things alone where I don't know what's happening to them. I lose enough things with my poor luck, there's no use tempting fate even more, you know?"
Hua Cheng smiled and politely agreed, but Xie Lian wasn't sure he could actually relate. After all, the clothes he was wearing were worth more than everything XIe Lian owned these days, not that that was very difficult. So really, if Xie Lian lost his stash it wasn't much. The issue was that it was all he had, and replacing things was such a hassle. He'd had to do it often enough to know.
"The only people I've really talked to here are our host and his family, so once I say my goodbyes to them, I'm all yours," Xie Lian finished.
Hua Cheng almost looked like he choked on his own tongue, but he recovered quickly and nodded. "If daozhang is ready to go, then, let's find our host."
In the end, the two of them said their goodbyes, XIe Lian more effusively than Hua Cheng, and they set off on their way. They left on foot, but they didn't continue that way. At the first convenient doorway, Hua Cheng rolled a pair of red dice he pulled out of a pocket and led Xie Lian through the door, which now opened to somewhere else entirely. Xie Lian had experience with a teleportation array, but this was something else altogether, and he was stunned by the sights that now surrounded him.
Hua Cheng's residence was incredible, opulence dripping from every corner of the room. Xie Lian had never seen anything quite like it, even from his days as a Crown Prince or in the heavens. That wasn't to say that those other places weren't opulent, but there was a kind of shameless decadence to the whole room here that was quite remarkable.
When Xie Lian turned back around to say as much, Hua Cheng had changed forms.
"I just wanted to slip into something a little more... comfortable," Hua Cheng said. 'Comfortable' apparently meant a young man perhaps slightly younger than Xie Lian's own perpetual seventeen, clean-faced and with pleasantly symmetrical features. His clothes changed with his appearance as well. His new outfit was of similar good quality to that of his previous skin, but it was simpler, a plain red layer over white under robes and black pants.
"Is this a form my lord wears regularly then, if it is comfortable for you?" Xie Lian asked, genuinely curious. The way the ghost spoke of the skin made Xie Lian inclined to believe it wasn't his natural form, which implied an element of deliberate choice to wear it. Xie Lian was also struck with the realization that he'd like to see his new friend's original form at some point in the future, but he didn't feel like they were close enough yet to ask that of him.
"That depends," Hua Cheng said. "One of two things are possible: either I chose this form because I find it comfortable to lounge around in at Paradise Manor or I designed it specifically because I thought gege would like it."
Xie Lian felt blood rush to his cheeks and knew that he was blushing terribly. He wanted to deny the second option—why would Hua Cheng think he'd particularly like this form, much less consider that in the first place?—but he decided to play along instead.
"Hua Cheng is so bold to call this one gege, I might think he chose this form just so that I might let him get away with it," Xie Lian teased. "After all, a ghost of Hua Cheng's level is surely not young; why would Hua Cheng think that I was older than him otherwise?"
There. That card was on the table. Now Xie Lian could see whether or not Hua Cheng would admit to recognizing him, as Xie Lian was increasingly sure he had.
"Gege sees right through me," Hua Cheng said with a laugh. "Does gege mind me calling him that? Daozhang seems formal, and while I'd be happy to call Dianxia by his title, I got the impression that gege would generally prefer to be treated as the scrap collector he appears to be rather than as a god."
Xie Lian took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Appears to be... I would argue that I am exactly what I appear to be, these days. Give or take my immortal nature. I am not a god any longer, or a prince, and I feel no need to claim those titles. Hua Cheng assumed correctly. If you want to call me gege, I don't mind."
"Then if I could ask for a favor, would gege call this one San Lang? I was the third son, back when I was alive."
It was a cheeky request, one that fit the young man he was pretending to be rather than the powerful ghost Xie Lian knew he actually was or the older man he'd appeared as previously. However, it was not a request that would do anyone harm, so Xie Lian didn't really mind indulging Hua Cheng in this.
"Alright, San Lang," he said, voice tinged with his amusement. The smile he got in return lit up the room, and Xie Lian thought to himself that this was shaping up to be the most interesting thing that had happened to him since his second banishment.
"It's late, and gege must be tired from the journey. Please let me show you to your room, and then in a little while dinner will be served in the dining room, if gege is hungry."
Xie Lian wasn't particularly tired, and the journey hadn't been long or hard with the use of San Lang's dice. But it had been an eventful day nonetheless, and Xie Lian wouldn't say no to the creature comforts of a warm place to sleep and food on the table to share together. "That sounds wonderful! Ah, pardon my ignorance, but does San Lang eat human food? I know some ghosts consume things humans wouldn't consider edible, but I am less certain about whether or not human food is also something ghosts eat."
"I do not particularly need to eat," San Lang explained. "I do however indulge on occasion, and I would not leave gege to eat alone if he would prefer to have company."
"Company is always welcome," Xie Lian said. "But I know that San Lang must be very busy as the head of a city like this, and I would not wish to monopolize San Lang's time."
"There are many responsibilities that come with ruling a city, and I would not have gege think that I neglect them, but with a city as wild as this one, there are perhaps fewer things for me to take care of directly than one might think. I look in on things when I feel like it, and otherwise I generally let the city run itself until something happens that requires my intervention. I have plenty of free time, and there is nothing that would please me more than to spend that time with gege if he truly doesn't mind my presence."
Xie Lian smiled. "If we are not careful, we will keep talking in circles. Why don't we agree to set aside the polite prevarications. I enjoy your company, and you enjoy mine. That is all there needs to be to it."
"I agree entirely," Hua Cheng said eagerly. "This way, gege." He gestured behind him.
The room was far more luxurious than Xie Lian needed or particularly wanted, but he wasn't willing to complain to his host about it. After all, what harm was a little excess when the necessities were taken care of? He had a roof over his head that didn't even leak, and he'd be sleeping in the softest bed he thought he'd ever felt. Moreover, it seemed important to San Lang that Xie Lian should have this room, so how could he object?
The spread—and it was a spread—in the dining room was just as excessive.
"Ah, I'm glad San Lang said he is willing to help me eat this, because otherwise I wouldn't know where to start! Please tell me this is not one of multiple courses."
Hua Cheng smiled. "No worries, gege. This is the full meal. I didn't want our dinner to be interrupted, so I had all of the food brought out at once rather than in courses. Pray gege doesn't mind the informality."
"San Lang, informality for me is eating a meat bun by myself in an alleyway. This is incredible!"
Hua Cheng looked angry at Xie Lian's words, and he made a mental note to track Hua Cheng's reactions to Xie Lian mentioning his experiences on the road. Xie Lian was used to them, after all, but the way Hua Cheng had said he would be happy to call Xie Lian Taizi Dianxia made him wonder whether the ghost had once been a citizen of Xianle. Maybe even one of Xie Lian's long gone believers. He seemed very certain that he was younger than XIe Lian, which made for a tight timeline, but Xie Lian had had a few years of godhood before everything had fallen apart. It was possible for someone younger than him to have been a former believer who had lingered as a ghost. The only thing strange about that theory was that he wanted anything to do with Xie Lian at all. Hadn't he failed all of his believers? His last, precious, ghostly believer most of all.
The next day, Hua Cheng showed Xie Lian the armory. It was breathtaking, full of ancient and notable swords with room to collect many more. Xie Lian was absolutely entranced, flitting between all of the displays and enthusing about the properties and histories of the various swords. Like he'd done earlier, Hua Cheng didn't interrupt him, merely offering extra information or his own experiences with the swords. Some of the stories of how he'd found them were quite interesting!
Xie Lian itched to try them all, and when Hua Cheng asked which he'd prefer, he said as much. Then he offered them all to Xie Lian, which he had to refuse. He couldn't in good conscience accept such a gift. He wasn't a prince anymore, after all. But he agreed to stay with Hua Cheng and spar with him regularly, which meant that he didn't have to choose which one he'd like to try out. He could just say all of them.
"How did you start collecting swords?" he asked later.
"My beloved enjoys swords," Hua Cheng explained. "I built this huge manor and filled it with finery, but it was still just a bunch of empty rooms with nothing important to fill them. He wasn't here, so when I had the opportunity I started seeking out and collecting rare swords in his honor. I do like swords myself, though. And some of these have come to me as collateral for bets in the Gambler's Den that I run. I have very good luck, you see. I don't lose unless I want to."
"I think that's sweet," Xie Lian said. "I'm sure your beloved must appreciate it."
Hua Cheng smiled at him, and Xie Lian felt a twinge of guilt at how much he enjoyed being the recipient of that smile. They had just been discussing the ghost's beloved, after all.
"Ah!" he said, eager to change the subject. "You've been so kind as to let me examine all of your swords, but I haven't fully kept up my end of the bargain. Back at the Li Estate, I had promised to show you my sword as well!" With Hua Cheng's assurances that he wouldn't mind waiting a few moments, Xie Lian ran back to his room to retrieve Fang Xin. And if Hua Cheng's reaction when Xie Lian uncovered the black sword was slightly off, well— Xie Lian had made the conversation awkward first.
Xie Lian kept his word about sparring with Hua Cheng regularly. Days turned into weeks turned into months, and still he stayed in the guest room of Paradise Manor. Hua Cheng showed him around his city, which Xie Lian thought was fascinating, and a couple of times Xie Lian convinced Hua Cheng to do a demonstration together, the two of them sparring in front of various ghosts.
The first time, their entire audience cheered for Hua Cheng, much to his dismay, but Xie Lian thought their loyalty to their chengzhu was admirable. And besides, after they really got to fighting and Xie Lian was clearly holding his own to the surprise of everyone watching, cheers started rising up for the city's new 'Granduncle.'
Xie Lian found he liked being Ghost City's Granduncle. It was a title of respect without being too distant, and it implied respect for an elder in a way that Xie Lian had never gotten to experience in over three hundred years of life. In the mortal realm, everyone simply assumed he was the young man he appeared to be, and he never stuck around in one place long enough for anyone to learn otherwise. But in Ghost City, he was Granduncle, Hua Chengzhu's house guest. The ghosts went out of their way to make him feel welcome whether San Lang was with him or not. Which might have been why he was caught off guard when he ran into two belligerent strangers when he'd decided to explore Ghost City on his own one day.
"Who are you to tell us what to do?" one of them demanded.
"Ah, no one important," Xie Lian said, hoping to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. "I am simply Hua Cheng's sparring partner."
Around them, Xie Lian could hear grumbles from Ghost City's residents, some complaining about the strangers not respecting their Granduncle and others objecting to the way Xie Lian had downplayed his own importance.
"Bullshit!" the other stranger yelled. "For you to be able to hold your own against Hua Cheng, even in a spar, you'd have to be on the level of a martial god!"
"Oh?" Xie Lian said, curious how they'd come to that conclusion, accurate though it might be.
"...Taizi Dianxia?" the first one asked. "Taizi Dianxia Xie Lian?"
"Wait— what?" his companion stuttered, squinting as he got a good look at Xie Lian's face before his eyes went wide. "Dianxia??"
Xie Lian blinked, finally realizing why the two in front of him seemed so familiar. "Feng Xin? Mu Qing?"
In front of his eyes, the two shed their disguises to reveal faces that had once been as familiar to Xie Lian as his own. They looked well, he noted. He hadn't seen them in centuries, and he'd never seen them as gods in their own right. Divinity suited them. They didn't look happy, though.
"What the hell are you doing here? Please tell me you were joking about being Hua Cheng's sparring partner! He's nothing but trouble."
Xie Lian frowned. "I think there's much more to him than trouble. He's been very good to me, you know. He's a talented artist and great company."
Mu Qing scoffed. "Do you hear yourself? Don't you know what he's done?"
"He killed thirty-three gods!" Feng Xin snapped. "You don't even have your cultivation right now, what's keeping you from becoming number thirty-four?"
"He beat thirty-three gods in a duel they agreed to," Xie Lian said. "San Lang can be vicious, I won't deny that, but in my experience he rarely acts without purpose or provocation." In front of him, he watched Feng Xin mouth the name 'San Lang' in disbelief. "Do you know how I first met him? I was introduced to him by a mortal who intended to sell him a couple of swords. That mortal's impression of him was that he was fair and that his generosity might be bestowed upon him if Hua Cheng was especially pleased. The mortal wasn't particularly nervous around him besides what he'd feel for any mortal of higher rank, because Hua Cheng hadn't felt it was necessary to make them fear him. And nothing I've seen from San Lang since has really challenged that first impression of him. Yes, he can be ruthless, but rarely unprovoked."
"He has you wrapped around his finger," Mu Qing sneered. "And you're happy about it."
"Well," Xie Lian said, not really able to disagree, "I'm not entirely certain it isn't also the other way around, to be honest. Maybe you aren't the best people to ask, considering how we parted ways and what you think of San Lang, but don't you think offering up your finest guest room and the full run of your estate to a scrap collector you invited to come see your sword collection is a bit over generous? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, I'm just not sure what else I can offer to do to pay San Lang back for all of this. I already spar with him, and sometimes I cook for both of us, but I'm not sure those really count since I enjoy them so much myself."
Feng Xin frowned. "Is he making you repay him for his hospitality?"
"He's never told me I had to!" Xie Lian assured them. "He's never even implied it, actually. I just feel like he does so much for me, and I don't do enough for him in return. We already agreed to accept that both of us enjoys the other's company so we didn't have to be polite about it, but with the way he treats me some times, you would think this was my house and not his." He laughed, and then cut off immediately as his own words sunk in. He'd meant them as a joke, but they had rung true in a way that he hadn't expected.
"If you two would excuse me, I must be going now," he said, suddenly feeling as though he needed to be with San Lang right this second. He didn't wait for their replies, shouting over his shoulder as he went. "Please don't tell the gods where I am! I'll be here for the foreseeable future unless something changes, so you should come visit sometime if you'd like! And please don't make too much trouble while you're here!"
He could hear the two of them shouting after him, but they didn't try to chase him. Maybe they didn't want to draw even more attention to themselves, or maybe they just didn't want to risk running into San Lang. Either way, Xie Lian appreciated it. As difficult as it would likely be, he'd enjoy seeing them again if they decided to take up his offer to visit. But for now he had other things on his mind, and if he didn't say them now, he wasn't sure when he'd get the nerve up again. He needed to talk to San Lang.
He stumbled through the doors of the Gambler's Den, pausing to catch his breath for a moment and to apologize to the server he'd almost run into. He hadn't wanted to disturb San Lang during his time here, but he knew San Lang wouldn't actually mind. He'd given Xie Lian a standing invitation to visit the Gambler's Den whether or not San Lang was there, but especially when he was there. Xie Lian had just wanted to give his friend and host the opportunity to remind the denizens of the Gambler's Den of his presence without him having to worry about Xie Lian's comfort or opinion, which he seemed to place a very high weight on.
Squaring his shoulders, Xie Lian walked into the main room of the Gambler's Den, smiling at those who greeted him but not pausing in his approach of the dais where Hua Cheng sat. He could see San Lang behind the curtain, see the moment when his friend noticed he'd come to visit. Hua Cheng had been lounging, leaning to his side as he lazily surveyed the chaos below. But now that he saw Xie Lian coming, he sat up straight in his chair. It was cute, Xie Lian thought. The ghost king was almost perking up like a dog when his beloved master comes home, if that wouldn't be an inappropriate comparison. Xie Lian made his way up the stairs quickly and ducked behind the curtain. No one stopped him. No one would have dared to try, and he felt a little giddy with the reminder of that privilege.
"I thought gege was exploring the city," Hua Cheng said. "I am always happy to see gege, but is something wrong? Or did gege just miss me as I have missed him?" Hua Cheng's tone was flirtatious, but there was real fear dancing in his one visible eye.
Xie Lian blushed. He had missed San Lang after having gotten used to spending so much time with him, but Xie Lian was an old hat at self denial. San Lang had encouraged him to do what he wanted, in general, but he thought he would have lasted one afternoon apart, even if they did miss each other. He knew he had their reunion in the evening to look forward to, after all. Hua Cheng had promised to be back home to eat dinner together.
("Gege is spoiling me," he'd said. "Before gege was here, I hardly ever indulged in mortal cuisine. I certainly didn't get to enjoy the pleasures of multiple meals a day in the presence of such good company."
Xie Lian had laughed, absolutely delighted with his companion. "If San Lang is spoiled, this one is spoiled too.")
"Nothing's wrong, exactly," Xie Lian said. "I ran into a couple of gods in disguise earlier, in the city."
Hua Cheng had already been focused on Xie Lian, he always was when they were in the same room, but at that news his attention sharpened. "Gods in Ghost City? What did they want?"
"I'm not sure what they wanted, actually," Xie Lian admitted. "I forgot to ask them. I did tell them to not make a mess and to not tell anyone I was here, so hopefully they listen to me about that."
"Most gods wouldn't," Hua Cheng said.
"These gods might," Xie Lian said. "They dropped their disguises after I recognized them. It was Feng Xin and Mu Qing. They definitely didn't expect to run into me any more than I expected to run into them."
"If they tried anything—"
"They didn't," Xie Lian assured him. "At least not in my presence. They were concerned that I was so close to you, but that was because they know what you're capable of and were worried you would hurt me. They obviously haven't seen us together, because I'm certainly not worried you'd ever choose to hurt me. Anyway. We were talking and then I realized some things and wanted to come speak to you right away, so I'm afraid I pretty much left them to their own devices in the middle of your city." He paused at the stricken look Hua Cheng was sending him and mentally rehashed the last few things he had said. "Oh! It's nothing bad, not really. Feng Xin and Mu Qing weren't even really talking, it's just that sometimes when you say something out loud you realize things that you can't quite work through in your head?"
"Gege is always welcome to come talk to me. About anything." Thankfully the hurt look had left his face. Xie Lian didn't really blame him for that doubt. With the way Feng Xin and Mu Qing spoke about Hua Cheng, it was obvious that their relationship was not good. If Xie Lian had been influenced by their points of view about his San Lang, it would be easy to assume that he'd be influenced away from the Ghost King. Good thing that Xie Lian had no intentions of listening to any of that!
"When I first came here, to Paradise Manor, San Lang had joked that I should take possession of the armory, since I appreciated it so much. And then later you joked about the whole manor being mine. And San Lang. San Lang, you weren't joking, were you?"
"I was joking if me being serious would distress gege," Hua Cheng prevaricated.
"But why?" Xie Lian asked. "I don't understand why you would want to give me so many things after such a short acquaintance. I just don't understand how you could offer so much to me, of all people."
"Gege deserves everything," Hua Cheng insisted stubbornly. "And besides, he already has so much more than my sword collection or my house."
"And what is it that I have, San Lang?" Xie Lian said. A silence fell between them, somehow heavy despite the roar of the Gambler's Den behind them. It lingered as Hua Cheng gathered himself to confess.
"Me, gege," he said simply. "You have me. My life, my heart, my devotion, my worship. Once I would have compared myself to a building and a bunch of swords and found the scale tipped in favor of the latter, but gege. Gege has shown me that he values me and my company more than any material thing, and your poor ghost is doing his best to accept that."
Xie Lian couldn't breathe. He had come to suspect some of that, over the months that he'd been living in Ghost City, but to hear it put so plainly.... "I'm your god," he realized. He had wondered, when San Lang had recognized him, but he hadn't asked before, and he'd pushed that suspicion to the back of his mind.
"Yes, gege. The only god worth worshiping. The others are trash, your old friends included."
"I'm your beloved, too," he continued. "The one you said inspired you to collect swords?" He'd been jealous of himself, he realized, which was rather embarrassing, but he'd take the embarrassment any day if it meant he also had San Lang's love.
"Yes, gege. I thought you would appreciate them if I ever found you again and if you deigned to come stay with me in Ghost City. I wanted to be prepared for whenever or however that may happen. I didn't expect that it would work out quite as well as it did. I granted that man who brought us together good luck in his business, did I tell you that?"
Xie Lian laughed. "You didn't tell me, but I'm not surprised. Hua Chengzhu takes good care of his own and of those who do him favors."
"Gege thinks so well of me."
"I do," Xie Lian agreed. "...I have your life?" he asked, somewhat nervous to hear the answer.
Hua Cheng hummed thoughtfully. "Dianxia may not remember, but he once gave advice to a child who felt life was not worth living. That child wanted to burn the world and himself with it. Taizi Dianxia told him to live for him instead."
Oh. Oh, Xie Lian remembered that child. He'd wondered what had become of him, and later on he'd felt foolish for offering such advice, but he hadn't really given any thought to that person for at least a century. And here he was, sitting in front of him. Xie Lian reached forward and held Hua Cheng's face in both of his hands. He was overcome with an incredible fondness for this man.
"Look at you," Xie Lian breathed. "I'm so glad I've gotten a chance to know you."
Hua Cheng was so still that Xie Lian didn't think he was even breathing. But then he leaned into Xie Lian's touch like a cat basking in the warmth of a ray of sunlight.
"You made my life worth living," Hua Cheng said. "I have no regrets about that. And now that I am dead, I still exist because my love for gege ties me to this plane. All ghosts have to have a reason for living, you know. For most of the stronger ghosts, that reason is revenge. Revenge drives ghosts to seek far more power than most motivations. Those who aren't tied tightly enough will fade eventually or never progress beyond the weakest levels of ghost power. But for me, love is the most powerful force there is. I don't need gege to love me back. I would never demand that of you. But I've been looking for you constantly since we parted, and to have finally found you is the best thing that has happened to me since my death. These days that we've spent together have meant everything to me, gege."
Xie Lian was overcome with emotions. When he'd left Paradise Manor earlier that day to explore Ghost City, he hadn't expected to have such important revelations confessed to him. When he'd come to the Gambler's Den he'd had some idea of what he was asking for, but he still couldn't have guessed the sheer extent of Hua Cheng's commitment to him. To be San Lang's beloved and god, that was more than XIe Lian felt he deserved. But he wanted it with a desperation he hadn't realized he was capable of. He had tried not to accept that what he was feeling for Hua Cheng was love because he had no right to feel that way, but now he knew that he had every right and that Hua Cheng would be happy for his love to be requited. But there was something about the confession that stuck out to him.
"San Lang said he'd been looking since we parted? Do you mean since that day in the temple, when I was still a god, or did we meet again after that?"
San Lang almost looked nervous, and Xie Lian was quietly fascinated that he could draw these emotions out of the Supreme Ghost King that gods and mortals alike feared. "Gege isn't wrong," he said, struggling to figure out what he wanted to say. "We met more than once, both when I was alive and when I was dead. But what I was referring to was after Lang-er Bay. The last thing I remembered was taking up the black sword, and then when I came back to myself gege was gone, and I didn't know where to begin to look for him."
"Wu Ming," Xie Lian said, almost numb from the shock. "That's why you recognized me when you met me again that day in the garden. I had thought you seemed too certain to have recognized me from a statue, but you really had met me before. Oh, San Lang."
The next thing Xie Lian knew, Hua Cheng had jumped up from his chair and was wiping tears from Xie Lian's face. He hadn't even realized he was crying. Now that he was aware, he decided he didn't care. He wrapped his arms securely around Hua Cheng and held him tight, pressing his face into the ghost's chest and covering him in snot and tears. After a moment, he felt San Lang's arms come around his back to hold him in return. Ah, but his ghost was too good to him.
"I can't believe it's you," he mumbled into red robes. The answering chuckle reverberated through Hua Cheng's body, and Xie Lian shivered at the sensation. Then another thought occurred to him.
"Wait. You knew what sword Fang Xin was when I showed it to you that day!" he accused, not really angry. "Why didn't you say something?"
"I wasn't sure if it would be welcome?" Hua Cheng offered, aware of how weak that excuse sounded now. "Gege didn't explain the situation fully, and I wasn't certain whether knowing I was Wu Ming would bring you relief or torment you further. And, gege, I couldn't bear to torment you further. Especially not when I had just gotten you back."
"It's alright, San Lang," Xie Lian said. "I would have liked to have known, not least because then I wouldn't have made you interact with the sword that killed you for a second time. I wouldn't inflict that reminder on you."
"I don't mind, gege," Hua Cheng corrected. "To die for Dianxia is my greatest honor. To be reminded of that doesn't pain me except in that it reminds me I wasn't able to do more and that my absence left gege alone to wander for centuries without company or the assurance of food or shelter. I know what that's like, gege, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, especially not you."
"San Lang is so quick to change the subject from his own pain to mine," Xie Lian scolded gently. "Then consider this: if you don't care for your own pain, remember that your gege wants you to live and be well. It hurts him to see you in pain."
Hua Cheng rested his chin on top of Xie Lian's head. "Gege is not playing fair."
"Gege is playing for keeps," Xie Lian said. "I want to make sure that I don't lose my San Lang again."
"I can promise gege that I would never leave him again unless it was to save gege's life and there were no other options. I don't want to cause gege pain, but if gege is gone, my reason to live would go with him."
Xie Lian wasn't quite satisfied with this concession, but he knew it was the best he was going to get, and it would be somewhat hypocritical of him to object. After all, he'd probably do the same exact thing if the situation was reversed. The only thing holding him back would be the likelihood that Hua Cheng would not long survive Xie Lian's death.
"We'll have to both promise to be careful, then," Xie Lian decided. "And I hope that being San Lang's beloved means I can still spar with him?"
"I would love nothing more, gege."
"Nothing more?" Xie Lian asked, and then it occurred to him that, for all that Hua Cheng had confessed, Xie Lian hadn't fully reciprocated his confession aloud. "What about this?"
And Xie Lian gathered up all his courage, reaching up to press his own lips against his San Lang's.