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Chapter Text

What started as any regular day for Hua Cheng, ended up being a day that would change his whole life, his every belief, his whole future, for eternity. When whatever could be described as a morning at Ghost City arrived, he’d followed yet another lead about His Highness and once again come out empty handed and frustrated. Because of that he’d ended up handling personally couple of trash ghosts causing trouble in his domain. It’d helped him let out some of the steam and he’d returned to his sort of neutral state of pissed off.

When the night came and the ghosts, demons and humans multiplied at the Gambler’s Den, he decided he was in the mood to mess up with some poor sods. The Den was flooding with people, mostly because he was there, and business was booming. He’d already made a bet five times and won every single one. So, when he decided he’d take on one more weeping trash to hear whatever demands they had, he’d not anticipated it to be so much more than he’d bargained for.

He lifted his finger lazily, sitting behind the red curtain of his canopy and the croupier invited the next person in line to step forth. Hua Cheng didn’t pay much attention to how the person looked: he only vaguely noticed that it was a he, quite short and wore dark colors. He lifted a glass of wine to his lips before repeating the same old litany of pleasantries, already losing interest to even appear imposing.

“And what do you want?” he started, twirling the red drink, watching it slosh around the sides. “Riches, a wife, endless amount of glory?”

When the silence followed, stretching longer than usual, he raised his brow, sneaking a glance at the person making the bet. Now he noticed that the man in front of him wasn’t simply short but looked quite young, too. The red hue in front of him made it difficult to make out finer details of the face or appearance but it was clear that the one in front of him was just a boy.

Now that got Hua Cheng’s attention. It wasn’t unheard of that they sometimes got desperate children there to beg for their fathers’ to not force them to marry or ask for a place to live but it was rare enough that even the rowdy ghosts around them had quieted down enough to follow what was to come. What made this child so desperate as to make a bet with a demon lord himself?

When the boy seemed to only fidget under his gaze, not saying a word, Hua Cheng leaned forward and said, “Well? Do you want something or are you just lost from your Mama, boy?”

A few snickered, Hua Cheng kept his face blank. The boy stiffened and then, funnily enough, huffed like an angry cat. Hua Cheng just tilted his head, drinking.

“If,” the boy started and then seemed to lose his words again, spluttering for a while until coughing. He straightened his back as if to appear more grown up and braver, and said, voice shaking, “If I can have your attention, I’d like to ask for your help.” Then he paused and added hastily while bowing, “My lord.”

Bold. Hua Cheng chuckled. “Help? Do you know where you are, kid?”

Some ghosts were booing, some laughing.

“Yeah! Don’t you know where you are?!”

“Asking for help? You don’t ask for help from Chengzu. You make bets!”

“Get out of here if you’re not serious, brat! Let adults do the talking!”

The boy turned red, looking around him brows twitching. As amusing as his anguish was, Hua Cheng raised his hand and the hall fell silent immediately. He let the silence last for a beat.

“They’re right,” he started. The boy flinched. “You don’t make demands here or, as you did, ask for help. You make bets and then, if you win, I help.”

The boy exhaled. “Bets,” he whispered to himself, the sound still bouncing in the silent room. “Right, bets. A-Die, what else did you not tell me...”

So, the boy was here on behalf of his father? They often were and it was never pretty. Especially if the father of this kid had left out such an important detail. He almost felt pity but Hua Cheng did not do charity unless he decided it was a necessity. So far the boy seemed well fed, if not a little messy. He did seem agitated but that meant nothing yet.

“Perhaps your father wanted to teach you a lesson sending you here unprepared,” Hua Cheng said.

“No, never!” The boy’s voice was suddenly loud and some ghosts muttered angrily at his audacity in front of their lord. Hua Cheng just hummed, feeling his interested pick up just a tiny bit.

“And how are you so sure? Fathers are like that.” Hua Cheng knew that very well. “They deceive, want to teach you lessons in guise of wanting you to learn but actually it is just so you would lose face for his entertainment. What makes your father different, hm?”

The boy turned redder than Hua Chen’s curtains. “Because... Because A-Die is good,” he stated matter-of-factly, like there was no doubt of that. Such blind trust, such naivety. Hua Cheng was a little envious. “Because A-Die said that, that... that you would help, if there was any need for it. And A-Die never lies.”

Now that got Hua Cheng’s attention and he felt the mocking laugh rise out of him. It hit the boy’s face, making him even redder if possible. “Now who is this A-Die of yours to make such claims?” The boy tried to answer but Hua Cheng continued before he had the chance. “Kid, your father is a big fat liar and talking bullshit. Now, go home if you’re not making a bet. You’re wasting everyone’s time.”

Some ghosts echoed his words, telling the boy to go home. Some even threw some vulgarities. The boy looked troubled, wildly looking around clearly not used to such an environment. But Hua Cheng had lost his interest already. He made a note to order one of the guards to accompany the kid to the city gates to see he actually got out of here before getting cut into human meat pieces. He leaned back, taking a sip again, expecting the boy to be gone when he turned back again, but then the shaky voice, full of restrained emotions, said,

“My A-die is not a liar.” The fists clenched into tight balls, the beet red face turned down to the floor. “But maybe you are, and you lied to him.”

Hua Cheng was about to scoff but then the child said the words that made him lose his shit for the rest of his life.

“Maybe you are the liar, father.”

The thunder of emotions and sounds exploded inside the Den. For way too long Hua Cheng couldn’t do nothing but stare. Father? Father? He repeated the word inside his head over and over and over until it started to make no sense – not that it did anyway – and then remembered that this was ridiculous, that he had no son, he had only one true love, who was His Highness, who was a man and no biological man could be pregnant and he’d never cheat on His Highness, even if it wouldn’t be cheating since technically they weren’t even together and if he was honest with himself, they never would because Hua Cheng was Hua Cheng and His Highness was His Highness and that child was full of shit and lying and and...

And he was spiraling. Shaking his head his eyes focused to the scene in front of him: several ghosts had started in their anger to push and pull the boy, who was also yelling and shaking and clearly terrified. For a while Hua Cheng thought about doing nothing about it, let the boy be ripped to pieces for disrespecting him and his faith to his beloved but then he remembered that His Highness wouldn’t let that happen and that the child was quite young, maybe 11 or 12, and perhaps this wasn’t all his fault but that A-Die of his who was clearly manipulating him... A-Die. As in, father. Another father. Two fathers. Fuck.

With his dead lungs trying to do something about this situation and the growing rage, he yelled, “SILENCE!” and the whole Den fell into the quiet stillness. The pushing and pulling stopped but no one let the boy go either. A single murderous look was enough to make the offending ghosts run for their lives and Hua Cheng was able to focus all his murderous intent on one single, pale subject.

The boy.

“What did you just call me?” Hua Cheng kept his voice controlled but cold, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair. The boy seemed to sense that he was anything but calm considering how much his legs seemed to struggle staying upright.

And yet, the boy answered, braving the odds. “Father. I called you father.”

His armrest cracked and the boy jumped. Gritting his teeth, Hua Cheng said, “And why did you do that? Thought it was funny? Hm?”

“N-No, sir.” Trying to be polite after that? Hua Cheng scoffed. “I just told the truth.”

“And the truth is that I am your father?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Even when you have another father, too?”

Boy seemed to get bolder. “Yes, sir.”

“Do you think me an idiot?”

Quick head shakes. “No, sir! Never!

“So you are saying that your other father is not your biological father but I am?”

“No, sir! You are both my biological fathers.”

This was getting ridiculous. Many ghosts and humans around seemed to think so, too, but didn’t dare to make a sound fearing their Chengzu’s reaction. “So your other father has female genitalia, then?”

The boy looked away, a mortified look on his face. His voice was a little higher when he answered, “No! He... he is a... he has a... you know!”

“Do I now?”

The boy made a whining sound, hiding his face behind his hands. “Please don’t make me say it,” he muffled to his hands. Hua Cheng couldn’t help his lips twitching a little upwards, his anger simmering down a little. He took a deep breath despite not needing it and got up. He had to see the boy himself.

He parted the curtain, ignoring the gasps of awe and excitement that followed him showing his face to the lowly gamblers. He walked down the stairs, not letting the still hiding boy out of his sight. His hair was black and up on a high ponytail, his skin pale. He wore simple robes of dark colors that only highlighted the lightness of his skin. They seemed to be patched multiple times, even dirtied with something that looked and smelled like blood. A little concerning but not Hua Cheng’s concern. Once he learned the actual truth, he’d make the kid’s father take care of the child better and stop pulling stunts like this that would endanger his young son. What a drag.

He stepped in front of the child, looking down. The boy barely reached his chest. He tensed as he felt the presence right in front of him and moved his hands away, giving Hua Cheng a clear view of his face.

The redness had started to simmer down, giving way to the original color. But what looked back at Hua Cheng wasn’t just a regular face of a peasant boy but something that made him, for just a second, believe what the boy told him. What looked back at him was one beautiful, familiar light brown eye full of the shine of youth, and one eye that had tormented him throughout his childhood, haunting him in his nightmares: the blood red eye of a demon. Hua Cheng took a step back instinctively, his face giving away his feelings. The boy looked startled and took a step back too, looking at the floor ashamed. Hua Cheng cursed his own hasty reaction and calmed himself down. Guilt tried to gnaw at his stomach as he looked at the burning shame on the child’s cheeks but he pushed it down. Life wasn’t fair to those who looked different.

He took another look at the boy’s face, trying his best to not acknowledge the hurt. There was something familiar, yet completely new, at that face. The shape of the nose, the bow of the lips and the strength of the chin reminded him of someone but it was mixed with the different shape of eyes and cheekbones that didn’t quite fit the look he was trying to search from his memories. He had to ask, he knew it. He also knew it would count as giving in to the boy’s ridiculous fantasies or whatever this was, but he had to make sure. He took another look at the color of the eyes and he had to. He had to know.

“Boy.” The kid jumped again, looking up right at him. The expression had smoothed back into something more terrified than ashamed. Good. “Who is this father of yours you talk about?”

Whispers erupted around him. He made a smooth, cold look through the room, making sure they knew what he thought of them and the whole situation. The boy’s face lit up for a while until it grumbled back to worry. So many expressions in such a short span of time. Hua Cheng raised his brows.

“It’s Xie Lian, the flower crowned martial god, of course.” The child paused. “My Lord.”

Xie Lian. Xie Lian. OF COURSE?!

And Hua Cheng was back to cold fury because this was worse than he thought and whoever was behind this wasn’t playing a simple prank. They were targeting Hua Cheng, personally. They knew about his god, they knew about his devotion and they knew he couldn’t ignore this. What they didn’t know was that he wouldn’t fall into such a ridiculous plan, such a desperate ploy of making a child, a clone, a husk, whatever this thing was, to look a little bit like them both and call it a day.

And gods, did he look like both of them now that he knew where to put those facial features that had confused him so. The nose, lips and chin, all His Highness. The eyes and cheeks, hair and skin color, all Hua Cheng. The fucking audacity.

Hua Cheng laughed a little hysterically. The room turned still, shivers running up everyone’s spines. “Xie Lian, you say?” For a moment the kid looked like he wanted to take it back but then, once again, took that fucking annoying heroic posture that was cute on His Highness – oh, and was it so much like His Highness now that he knew what to look for – but just straight-out blasphemy on anyone else. Especially imposters who didn’t know how male anatomy worked.

Hua Cheng wanted to smoke out the truth, wanted to make the boy or whoever it was who came up with this idea to suffer, humiliate them publicly until they ran away snotty. He gritted his teeth and made a decision to have a little bit fun and start with the boy.

“You want me to believe you, is that right?” He chuckled. “Well, let us play for a moment, then. Let’s say that I do believe you.”

The boy opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word before Hua Cheng continued, “Let’s say that Xie Lian, His Highness the Crown Prince of Xianle, really is your father and you just don’t somehow happen to know his connection to me to black mail me,” the kid furrowed his brow, “and he really sent you ask for help. Let us make a bet on it.”

The boy’s face flushed, his jaw becoming taunt and stiff. Were his eyes even glistening? He definitely sniffled quietly when he finally answered, ”Okay, let’s make a bet.” The crowd cheered, finally getting the action they’d been waiting for. The conversation had been the evening’s most entertaining drama, but it was nothing if there wasn’t preferably a deathly bet involved.

Hua Cheng smirked. “Excellent.” He gestured towards the long table, and they took their seats. The croupier stepped next to Hua Cheng, now both of them staring down the young pre-teen, sitting stiff as a stick. When he felt like he’d pressured the boy enough, he nodded to the croupier. She began.

“State the wish you want Chengzu to fulfill if you win.”

The boy looked around nervously. He cleared his throat. “I- I want Hua Chengzu’s help to rescue my father, Xie Lian.” Rescue? Hua Cheng would have to look into this, probably interrogate the kid once he won just to make sure they – whoever they were – hadn't actually done something to his god. He didn’t like this at all be it fake or real.

The croupier nodded. “What do you give, if you lose.”

“I-I’m not sure,” the boy’s voice was barely a mumble.

“You come to a gambling estate and haven’t prepared anything?” Hua Cheng mocked. The spectators laughed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think,” the boy starts then fades away, staring down.

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath, whispering, “I didn’t think I would need to. A-Die said you would help.”

Hua Cheng didn’t like at all how the previous fight in the boy died down, how his own heart almost took a beat because somehow the kid with his teary eyes and His Highness’ features made him feel guilty. He felt his blood boil again, trying to push away the imposing, trashy guilt with it. This was a trap, nothing more. He was a fool to feel anything but anger.

And yet... what if it wasn’t a trap.

Hua Cheng hated himself, hated everything and hated especially the one who was responsible to this situation as he couldn’t draw his eyes away from the wide teary eyes of a child that was so much like him and his god. The tears looked real, the worry, the disappointment...

Hua Cheng would not be fooled. He steeled his mind and bit out, “Then start coming up with something worthwhile.”

The boy hesitated. “I don’t have any money.”

“I don’t care about money.”

“Oh.” The boy shuffled in his seat. It looked like he was in pain. “Then what about me?”

Hua Cheng raised his brow. “And what would I do with you?” Hua Cheng definitely didn’t feel any kind of bang of remorse when the look of utter hurt flashed through the boy’s face. He suddenly remembered his own father and his similar words and hated himself a little. What if... To soften the blow he continued, “Let us just say that you will answer my every question and then work for me for a decade. Deal?”

A moment of hesitation. “Deal.”

The croupier continued, “Then let us begin. The highest throw wins. Chengzu goes first.”

Confident, Hua Cheng picked up the cup, rolling the dice inside it with lazy motions. The boy’s eyes followed it, lips thin in concentration. Hua Cheng huffed a laugh and threw the dice. A six and a five. The crowed burst into loud cheers and celebratory words. With a smug smirk Hua Cheng passed the cup to the kid.

“Good luck,” he said. The boy looked pensive. Something similar to amusement flashed in his eyes as he replied,

“I already have luck but thanks.”

Cocky. If the situation wasn’t what it was, Hua Cheng would have almost believed the kid was his offspring. What good research they had done on him. He watched as the dice rattled in the cup, the boy’s forehead sweaty like he was summoning all the gods and deities to bring him luck and then he threw. The dice bounced around the table, one rolling dangerously close to the edge, and when they finally stopped, Hua Cheng felt his mouth go slag.

A five and a six.

“It’s a draw.”

He looked up at the boy who stared at the die in what looked like confused disappointment. He heard him mutter, “Ah, I guess we’re equal,” and then nod. Hua Cheng’s thought process stopped for a second and then, just as quickly, restarted. This was nothing. Sometimes his luck didn’t play as he wanted. It was, after all, luck. It listened to no one while one might have had more of it than the other. He rarely ended his bets with a draw but it wasn’t unheard of.

“No winners. Do you want to try again?” The Den was full of scandalized whispers. Some were shocked, some were mocking, some just thought it was an interesting turn of events but wouldn’t last long. Hua Cheng paid them no mind, simply concentrating on his opponent who was now nodding to the croupier and picked up the cup on the call. He made sure to follow for any signs of cheating, magical amulets, anything that could help to win.

Once again the dice rattled inside the cup, once again they rolled on the table and once again they landed on a five and a six. He could work with that. Hua Cheng called all his luck, concentrating it on the next throw. He was expecting two sixes, that’s what his luck usually did, but when they stopped on a five and a six, once again, he felt his heart lurch. He looked at the boy, who looked immensely relieved of their second draw.

Second time was a good coincidence, the third almost impossibility. Yet, when they threw for the third time, the result was the same. The fourth time, same. And, finally, after the fifth, Hua Cheng raised his hand before the croupier had a chance to announce the rematch once again. The crowd shut off their yells of outrage, the croupier bowed and stepped back and the boy looked up at him warily like a hurt animal expecting the predator to finally strike after playing with its food. Hua Cheng was done playing but he wouldn’t strike.

It was easy to make a clone to look like a mix of two people, it was difficult but not impossible to make the said clone act like a normal human. It was, though, impossible to give someone such a good luck that was equal to Hua Cheng’s. Unless it was genetic. There were no signs of spiritual aura, no signs of cheating, nothing. And if there was, his luck was such that it would have turned the tables to his benefit in the end. So, it could either mean a spell so powerful that it’d need more investigation than this or...

The world around Hua Cheng lurched and spun around. He locked eyes with the boy, trying not to see His Highness in those expressions, and wanted to disperse. There was still a part in him that was skeptical and that part of him ordered Yin Yu to perform a paternity test as fast as possible. Deep down he feared he was being a stubborn fool.

But the thought that he’d just humiliated and bullied his god’s son, been like his own father to his own child, was too much to bear. That he’d broken the trust of his beloved and the boy whose name he hadn’t even asked, and he was not deserving of their forgiveness.

He was worthless.

He deserved his ashes crushed.

But not before he’d talked to the boy because he needed to know for sure. He needed to know because he hadn’t met His Highness since... he had to find his god who was who knew in what kind of peril and Hua Cheng had just selfishly put off the help His Highness required immediately. Whether or not the boy was their son, it was undeniable that His Highness was somehow part of this mess.

After that, after the conversation, after the rescue, if everything was as he feared, he’d let His Highness and their son decide the way they wanted to make Hua Cheng suffer and repent. For now, he’d take it one step at the time and not panic. He looked up at the mitch-matched, tense eyes. First would come the interrogation.

If only the boy would trust him enough after everything.

Chapter Text

When Xie Ming had been just a small child, barely able to write his own name, he’d asked his A-Die for stories about his other father. That was when he’d learned the absent father’s name was Hua Cheng and that he himself was named after his father’s alias, Wu Ming. He’d felt proud to carry a part like that of his other father that he’d never met. But the stories his A-Die told about him never blamed Hua Cheng about not being present. He said that the reason Xie Ming’s father wasn’t with them wasn’t because he didn’t want Xie Ming but because he didn’t know he even existed. He’d been so happy after hearing that, having a fear that his father rejected him because there was something from with him. Certainly, if he knew about his own son, he would rush to Xie Ming and Xie Lian’s side and never leave again. He didn’t question it for years.

When he’d been couple of years older, Xie Ming had started to see the other side of the situation: it was fine and all if Hua Cheng didn’t know about his own son but why had he left Xie Lian and never come back to him if he was such a great and responsible guy? He’d heard things around the town from aunties and other kids, stories about fathers who just left their families and never came back. The responsibility was too much to them, they were good for nothing and no respectable man who had a partner they truly loved would leave them. So why was Xie Ming’s father still absent?

One day he’d asked about that and that was the last time he ever did. His A-Die was still smiling but Xie Ming knew when it wasn’t real. It was the same smile he gave the people who whispered loudly about Xie Ming being a poor kid having to grow up without a mother, with only a young father with him. It was the same smile he had when, once again, he was refused work and he still thanked those people politely for their time knowing they’d starve. Xie Ming hated that smile and he hated himself that he’d brought it on his father’s face.

Xie Lian had simply told him that he didn’t know but he was sure that if Hua Cheng could, he’d be there with them. So something must have happened. Sure, he had just one night disappeared without saying a goodbye. Sure, he had given no promises to come back. But Xie Lian had known him for a long time, surely that meant something. Hua Cheng was a good man and would always be there for them if they ever needed help. He was just busy right now, that’s all. He was after all a very important and powerful ghost with responsibilities.

And Xie Ming couldn’t help but wonder what could be more important than his own partner and son.

Xie Ming trusted his A-Die's word. He never lied to him. But at that moment, as he was following the tall, red figure of his father through a maze of crimson hallways, he couldn’t help but wonder if his A-Die was a little bit too gullible. His trust and kindness were something Xie Ming had always loved about him, yet, as the bitter disappointment swirled in his gut, he knew he’d have to become something much more cautious and critical for both of them.

“We’re here.” The sound snapped Xie Ming out of his objective to burn a hole through Hua Cheng’s head with his glare. He hadn’t paid much attention to his surroundings so if the man wanted to sacrifice him to some wicked demonic ritual or whatever it was ghost kings did on their free time, Xie Ming had no chance of remembering his way out. Great. So much for becoming the more observant one for A-Die.

All he could say about the door that Hua Cheng stood next to, looking oddly out of place in his own manor, was that it looked exactly like any other door they’d passed. Perhaps that was a good sign. Xie Ming believed that if he was brought to some torture chamber it would at least look anything but a regular mahogany door with flower carvings. It reminded him of his A-Die and the stories he’d told about a young ghost soldier bringing him white flowers on the worst period of time in his life, and Xie Ming hated how sweet it all was.

It confused him so he decided it was all a coincidence or the man in front of him was actually crueler than even he thought.

Xie Ming wanted to say something mean, say something to tell the man he wasn’t going to act like his son, blood ties be damned. He did not like him and he’d let it show. He heard Xie Lian’s voice scolding him, saying that pettiness wasn’t what a virtuous man had but perhaps Xie Ming was more like Hua Cheng in that front. Now that was an annoying thought. At least it made him listen to A-Die and keep his mouth shut, letting his unimpressed stare tell Hua Cheng that what he chose to do next was all up to him.

The so-called-father's face was unreadable as he stared back at Xie Ming. After what felt like forever, just when Xie Ming was afraid his eyes would dry up and the floor would eat him whole, Hua Cheng broke the staring contest and opened the door. He stepped in, leaving the door open as an invitation. Xie Ming hesitated for three long seconds but after not hearing anything worrying, like clinking chains or muffled screams of pain, he decided to follow. If he had a choice, he’d already have left long ago. Maybe when Hua Cheng made everyone laugh at Xie Ming for the first time in the Gambler’s Den. But he was lost in Ghost City, he had A-Die to save, and there was no time to lose. He knew his A-Die was strong but he also knew he was the unluckiest person on earth.

That made him move faster and close the door after himself. What met him was something less dark and gloomy than he expected. The hallway they’d walked had been dim, only lit with eerily glowing silver butterflies. Hua Cheng’s spiritual weapons as A-Die had told him a long time ago. The dungeon he’d imagined inside his head had been full of blood and grime and splayed intestines. The room he was in now was anything but those two things.

It was still red, like everything the man possessed apparently. But the crimson was evened out by the large wall of windows that opened to the most beautiful garden Xie Ming had ever seen. The purple light of the Ghost City sky made the room glow like it was a portal to a dream, and the silver butterflies and golden fireflies dancing above the sea of snow-white flowers painted a picture of a ghostly fairy field.

A low, amused chuckle pulled Xie Ming out of his wonder. He snapped his mouth shut, face heating up as he met a pair of deep black, glinting eyes. A lopsided smirk played on Hua Cheng’s pale face as he sat on a plush chair next to a tea table. Long painted fingers indicated towards the other similar chair for Xie Ming to take. With a small bow – small because he wasn’t going to show the man the respect he probably expected but still not forgetting to be polite – he sat down.

The silence that followed was the worst. Xie Ming tried to come up with something to say, anything, to break the awkward silence. He had meant to say something about the bet or about A-Die but what ended up coming out was, “You look younger than I expected”. And it was true: the man looked perhaps the same age his A-Die did, just a teen, but Xie Ming knew that didn’t necessarily mean this was Hua Cheng’s real face. It was just that Xie Ming had painted a certain picture inside his head through the stories he heard and that picture had been of a much older man. Maybe someone closer the age 30 like the fathers of other kids he knew from the village. It was perhaps strange that he was surprised knowing his father’s immortal state.

Hua Cheng simply raised his brow, leaning back. “Disappointed?”

“No.” The looks weren’t what Xie Ming was disappointed of. “This one just expected someone older.”

“Hmm.” If Hua Cheng was amused or offended, Xie Ming couldn’t tell. If he was honest, he thought he saw careful curiosity there for a second but it didn’t fit with what Xie Ming had learned of the man these past minutes.

Hua Cheng shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “I have many forms. This is just one of them.”

“Ah.”

The silence fell over them like a thick blanket again. Xie Ming squirmed in his seat, taking in the books and plants that surrounded the walls. Then there was a knock and Hua Cheng basically jumped out of his seat, looking like he was saved from a great turmoil. Xie Ming made a face but curiously glanced at the door as it opened and a man in a white demon mask and a black uniform stepped in.

“Chengzu, I’ve brought tea and the tools you requested.” The man bowed, a tray with two beautifully painted cups and a steaming hot teapot balanced on his hands. Whatever or wherever those tools were, Xie Ming couldn’t see. He checked the man for hints, swallowing a nervous lump down his throat. It made him almost shake that he couldn’t read the situation at all. He’d come to Ghost City after weeks of searching for it all alone, fearing for his A-Die's safety, he’d expected to meet a sweet, helpful man, not a bullying demon, and now he was inside a room with what was probably two ghosts and whatever tools they were going to most likely use on him.

And yet, he kept sitting, not moving, because he had no other choice and time was running out. Time was running out. His eyes widened. What was he doing, being so scared and disappointed and hopeful and sad with his own, unnecessary feelings about his new father. That didn’t matter. What mattered was the person who’d been gone for weeks and who knew what had happened to him.

Mustering all the politeness he could despite his personal feelings, because those didn’t matter, he blurted out, “Please, Chengzu!” The two quieted down, turning to look at him. Xie Ming took a deep breath. “You must help. If not because of me, because you don’t believe me or don’t want anything to do with me or whatever. But because A-Die... Xie Lian is kidnapped. Has been for weeks now. So whatever demonic rituals you want me to go through, I don’t care. If that’s the payment you require for saving A-Die, then this son is ready to pay. Whatever it takes, this lowly one doesn’t matter.” Before Hua Cheng could get a word out, Xie Ming scrambled to kneel on the floor, bowing. “Please, save my father, Hua Chengzu, my lord, father. Chengzu doesn’t have to accept this one as his son, I’m not here for that. This one only begs him to remember those good moments with A-Die and for old times’ sake save him before his misfortune makes him go through something worse than death.”

There was a sharp breath and a stuttered “wh-what”. Xie Ming wasn’t sure which man did what. He was still pressing his forehead against the crimson carpet, trying to will his hands to stop shaking so much. He had to be strong, he had to be ready to whatever Hua Cheng wanted. Despite everything, he could still hear his own labored breaths, desperate to keep him alive even when he mentally wanted to bury himself and die. Perhaps his body knew best: there was no time for that. He had to live to help A-Die.

He didn’t hear when his father moved. Only when a light hand touched his shoulder, he realized how close the ghost king had gotten to him. Xie Ming didn’t do it on purpose, he was just surprised and he jerked himself back automatically. Hua Cheng’s eyes wavered only a second but Xie Ming had seen it. They stared at each other for a long moment when, finally, Hua Cheng sighed and said, “Please sit down. I... I just want to ask couple of questions.”

His voice wasn’t so angry anymore, not as hostile as it had been this whole time. It was quiet, hesitant. And that was what made Xie Ming get up and sit down again, losing all the energy that adrenalin and anger had given him. He was tired. He’d been traveling for so long with almost no sleep and his body was grumbling down. He let himself sink into the cloud like chair because he’d succeeded. Hua Cheng was listening to him and he’d managed to do what he’d come here for. “Thank you,” he muttered. He thought that Hua Cheng would just ignore it but then he heard a quiet “mn”. It made him feel complicated and he decided to bury it somewhere where he wouldn’t have to think about it too much. What did Hua Cheng’s compliance mean? Who cared. He would think about it later. Probably.

The servant with a mask finally set down the tray, serving the tea into two cups. It smelled better than anything Xie Ming had ever smelled: flowery, sweet and expensive. Hua Cheng was rich, that was for sure, and he wasn’t afraid to show it. A small bubble of anger tried to surface again, remembering how there were days they went without food, how they’d patched their clothes hundreds of times, how they had to live in abandoned, moldy shacks... He decided to bury that deep inside to deal with another day. If it even mattered.

“What’s your name?” Hua Cheng asked, taking a long sip of his tea. He leaned back in his chair, but his position was missing the previous hostility. Xie Ming relaxed back too, taking a sip. It was heavenly. He was almost sad he could never share this taste with A-Die. He grinded his teeth together, swallowing the uninvited sniffle.

His voice was raspier than he wanted when he said, “Xie Ming.” Hua Cheng looked pensive for a minute before continuing,

“Xie Ming, I find your story quite unbelievable.” Xie Ming was about to retort again, say something that his A-Die would definitely frown above, but Hua Cheng was faster, “But the way you have acted and talked about your... father has been genuine. I also haven’t found any signs of you cheating during the bet.”

Xie Ming huffed, wrinkling his nose. Hua Cheng chuckled.

“Your luck is as good as mine, which is quite rare. And your features...” Hua Cheng’s voice faded out. He looked lost. “You have my eyes.”

This... was new information. Xie Ming straightened his back and unconsciously touched under his right eye. The red one that many people didn’t like, even feared. The one that Hua Cheng had looked repulsed by just that same night. It was his father’s eye. “I do?”

Hua Cheng nodded, pointing his right, completely regular looking black eye. “Yes, this one used to be red.” Xie Ming looked at him with suspicion. “Ah... let me show you.”

And he changed his form right in front of Xie Ming. His face became older, sharper. His hair that had previously been up in a high ponytail, similar to Xie Ming’s own style, fell down his shoulders and back and the black eye swirled and got hidden behind a black eyepatch. “I tore it out long time ago.”

Xie Ming’s eyes widened. “Tore it out? By yourself? Why?” He grimaced even thinking about the pain. He wasn’t the fan of his eye even if A-Die always told him it was beautiful, because it made socializing with others that much harder. It brought bad luck back to A-Die, too. But he would never tear it out. No way he was that desperate. He wondered what kind of life had Hua Cheng lived to end up doing something so drastic.

Still, Hua Cheng chuckled, actually amused. “Oh, who knows. Perhaps I’m just mad.”

Perhaps he was. Xie Ming kept that to himself and shook his head. They’d gotten too far from the original point anyway. “What’s your point with all this?”

Hua Cheng became serious right away like remembering there was a time limit. Good. Hua Cheng said, “Despite all the evidence I find it hard to believe you are my and His Highnesses son.”

“But why? Don’t you remember the time you spent together? A-Die told me you two were in...”

“No,” Hua Cheng cut in before Xie Ming could finish his sentence.

“No?”

“No,” he repeated, brows furrowing, eyes cast down. “I don’t remember. The last time I was by His Highness’ side was hundreds of years ago. You are definitely a mortal so you can’t be that old.”

Xie Ming’s mind went blank. Was he joking? Because it wasn’t funny. Then, when Xie Ming was still thinking where to even start, Hua Cheng beckoned the servant to come out from whatever shadow he’d disappeared to. Xie Ming hadn’t even remembered he had never left the room and blushed, remembering everything he’d said so far. The man in a mask handed Hua Cheng a small box: the tools Xie Ming had already forgotten. He felt panic rising again when he saw the long needle resting inside the box. No, he wasn’t afraid of needles. What he was afraid of were the multiple ways one could use them evilly.

Then Hua Cheng took the needle out with a talisman Xie Ming couldn’t recognize and penetrated his own finger, letting couple of drops of blood fall to the middle of the talisman. Xie Ming relaxed a little until Hua Cheng got out another needle, this time giving it to Xie Ming. He stared at it like it could eat him alive any minute. Hua Chen’s lips quirked up but he waited patiently.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to confirm our blood relations. I hope you understand.”

Xie Ming didn’t. He really didn’t. In fact, he felt something that he’d felt way too many times during that night: hurt. It hurt more than he thought, having his own father confirm his suspicions of not wanting anything to do with his own family, lying to his own son, forgetting his A-Die. But it was the only way to get the man to hurry up and listen, so he yanked the needle out of the traitorous hand, pricked his fingertip and squeezed out couple of drops on the talisman. He placed the needle down, not bothering to look at what he already knew. His A-Die never lied and Hua Cheng had better to learn that too.

When he heard a whispered, “Oh, my God” he finally turned to look. He couldn’t read the talisman but it had turned deep shade of purple so that must have meant positive results. Hua Cheng was as still as a dead, staring at Xie Ming like he’d seen him for the first time. Even the masked servant looked shocked, it was clear even through the mask by the way he turned between Hua Cheng, Xie Ming and the talisman. “What have I done?”

Xie Ming gritted his teeth. “Well, what do you think?! I’m sorry I’m not what my lord expected but you were the one who did it, you were the one who left and you were the one who never came back leaving my A-Die alone with a child. So please leave the regret of siring me to some other time and save A-Die.” He took a deep breath. “Please.”

That jolted Hua Cheng out his stupor. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. Xie Ming turned his head away. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Xie Ming knew he was acting like a brat but enough was enough. He couldn’t stop his eyes misting over and squeezed them shut, trying to stop any tears escaping. He wouldn’t show weakness in front of this man. Never.

“I’m so, so sorry,” Hua Cheng was still mumbling.

“Don’t apologize to me.” Even though Xie Ming wanted it deep inside. “Apologize to A-Die. He’s the one who’s hurting the most.”

“Oh.” Hua Cheng wasn’t pulling himself together. “Oh, no. No, no, no.”

It irritated Xie Ming. He was done. He was tired. And he missed A-Die. He was scared, so scared for him, and this man was turning out to be useless. So, when he spat out, “Stop whining and pull yourself together. A-Die is still in danger and needs help. Or do you care so little that you’re ready to let anything happen to him”, he knew he’d regret it later when Hua Cheng looked horrified, scared, so so ashamed. Xie Ming felt the bitter taste in his mouth disappear and he sighed.

Hua Cheng was the first one to break the silence, straightening and letting his face morph into an unreadable mask. “You’re right,” he said, his voice no longer a whisper but that of a Ghost King. Xie Ming shivered. Finally. “Show me what happened.”

Xie Ming started to tell the story from the beginning, telling how he and Xie Lian had been travelling on foot, when Hua Cheng stopped him. “No. Show me.”

“H-How?” Xie Ming tensed when Hua Cheng got up and stepped in front of him. A pale hand extended in front of him, expecting Xie Ming to take it. He blinked at the hand, looking up at the man.

“Think about the memory and give me a permission in your mind to see it. Think about it like sharing a story.” Xie Ming still wasn’t sure he quite got what the man meant but nodded anyway. Hua Cheng hummed, content. “Now, take my hand. Closing your eyes might help you concentrate.”

At first Xie Ming felt a little stupid sitting there, holding his long-lost Father’s hand like a little child, but then he felt something electric on his skin. It started from his palm that was still touching Hua Cheng, it ran like an untamed water through his arm, spreading like roots all over his body. He’d felt it couple of times before when A-Die had healed him: spiritual energy. Then he felt it touch his brain, tickling it, like giving his thoughts a life of their own. He felt giddy, breathless. He’d cultivated a little but was only a beginner and had just and just developed a little bit of his own golden core. But Hua Cheng’s energy made him feel invincible, strong, warm and safe. So safe. At that moment he didn’t even try to push it away, overwhelmed by the feeling and the strange familiarity of it.

“Good,” he heard a distant deep voice say. “Now, think about the memory and I’ll do the rest. You just concentrate on it, okay?”

Xie Ming wasn’t sure if he answered with words or with a nod. It didn’t probably matter because a moment later, when he was thinking about how he and A-Die had been travelling down the twisting forest road, he felt a tug and the world dip and he was there, once again. Next to his A-Die like all those weeks ago; happy, melancholic and utterly unaware of what was to come.

Chapter Text

It was a stormy, rainy night, almost pitch black had it not been for a distant blue hue in the horizon from the setting sun. It made such a contrast to the dark clouds that Xie Ming couldn’t help but gawk. He’d seen numerous signs of nature’s beauty throughout his short life yet still he found himself being impressed by the breathtaking blue and black between the tall forest of trees. It was okay, though. His A-die was the same.

A quick look to his right told him that his father, already hundreds of years old, was just as impressed as Xie Ming was. Perhaps it wasn’t about the age and what you had already witnessed so far but living in the moment and appreciating what the world offered you. They were wanderers, father and son. They had little possessions of their own, they didn’t have a permanent home like many other families did but they had the world and whatever it gave them – like the beautiful storm – and they would take all the joy out of it.

It was getting quite difficult to travel, though. The wind was picking up and the rain started to beat down harder and harder. The twisty forest road was starting to get muddier, making it difficult to walk. Their destination, the little town they’d call their home for the next couple of years, was still far enough they wouldn’t be reaching it tonight by foot. The road wasn’t popular by travellers or perhaps it was the weather but they were yet to meet anyone with a cart to ask for a lift. Xie Ming shivered, his clothes soaking through and sticking to his skin like an especially gross alga. The beauty was getting less and less intriguing, his mind already seeing different kind of beauty in dry clothes and hot soup.

Xie Ming had been traveling his whole life with his father and he knew that stopping now meant them trying to sleep under a tree which wasn’t much better than walking. The wind was making the rain drops fall sideways, making the travellers almost blind. A surprisingly strong gust of wind suddenly caught Xie Ming’s robes and he felt himself being pushed backwards. He would have staggered couple of steps backwards had not a strong arm wrapped itself around his shoulders, grounding him. It made Xie Ming instantly warmer and safer. Instinctively he leaned into the hug, groaning pitifully.

“A-die,” he whined, looking up to the warm, smile-crinkled eyes. “Are we there yet?”

Xie Lian snorted, hugging Xie Ming tighter. It was nice. “You know exactly how far we still are, baobei.” Xie Ming shivered, wiping his wet face. Xie Lian’s smile disappeared as he noticed his son’s discomfort. His hand came to touch Xie Ming’s face too and the boy let his eyes fall shut, taking the comfort his father was giving him. “You’re ice cold. Maybe we should take shelter.”

Xie Lian looked around and Xie Ming knew exactly what he saw: trees, trees and even more trees. If they were lucky, they’d find a forest hut but they often weren’t. Xie Ming’s luck might have been exceptional, him finding them more often than not something to eat or a decent place to sleep. But that was when he was scouting on his own. His father’s luck often brought his own down so much that they’d find absolutely nothing to make their lives easier. At best it’d be something normal, like an abandoned cottage full of holes that was still liveable or a bowl of rice that was half eaten and without any flavour. Without Xie Ming, though... he didn’t even want to think where his A-die would be. He’d seen enough disasters coming down on him and he was happy he was able to make the man’s life easier with his own. His other father must have been luckiest man alive for Xie Ming not inherit Xie Lian’s bad luck.

So, it was a surprise for both of them when suddenly it seemed like Xie Ming’s luck took over and gave them the one good thing they could get in this horrible weather. Or perhaps, as they’d learn later, it was Xie Lian’s luck that countered it and brought something bad with the gift horse. A wooden carrier was approaching them from behind, two horses in front of it. It seemed like the simple carrier part was transferring something as there were only two men sitting at front but the horses seemed to be pulling a great weight behind them in the difficult mud. Perhaps they were transferring weapons. They carried swords and armour, three more following the carrier with their own horses like guarding their transportation.

“Ah.” Xie Lian’s face lit up as he saw the approaching men. He stepped in the middle of the road, waving wildly. “How lucky. Let’s ask them for a ride, hm?”

Xie Ming looked at the carriage, shivering as the cold wind pried through his threadbare robes and wet skin. He grounded his teeth together so they wouldn’t chatter. The men looked scary and strong but he was with A-die, the strongest god ever. There was nothing to worry about. He nodded and watched as the men stopped in front of them, Xie Lian approaching the carriage. His hair whipped around, white robes billowing like clouds. He looked like a god while Xie Ming looked like every part a pitiful mortal he was. Xie Ming wasn’t the only one noticing this, either. All five men were following his father with keen eye, sharing looks with each other like having a silent conversation. Xie Lian didn’t show it on his face but Xie Ming knew he’d noticed the same. His smile was warier.

“Hello, there,” Xie Lian greeted as they got closer. Xie Ming took Xie Lian’s hand and felt more grounded as his father enveloped it firmly. Everything was fine. They had to get out of the rain. “May I ask where you are headed?”

The one on the reins gave Xie Ming a once over next as the one next to him answered, “To the south.”

“Ah, that’s just the way we were going. Could we ask you to give us a lift a little way over there?” Xie Lian chuckled awkwardly. “As you can see, we got caught into a storm.”

“Indeed,” the man laughed back. He jumped down from the seat, walking towards the two of them. “What are two young people doing so far from the nearest town? Are you lost?”

“Oh, no no,” Xie Lian rushed to say, waving his free hand. His other one, the one that was still holding Xie Ming’s, squeezed tighter. “We were visiting family and are now going home.”

“Hmm?” The man gave their faces another look like taking in something. Then he smiled. “Well, we can’t leave two kids out here alone in this beastly weather. Right boys?” The men around them either said nothing or grunted at most, still staring at the two of them. Were the men suspicious of them or something? Their faces must have given something out because the man talking to them hurried to say, “Don’t mind those poor bastards. They don’t know manners even if their mama hit them with it. We have quite an expensive cargo so it’s only natural they’re careful of strangers.”

“We understand,” said Xie Lian. He didn’t correct the man about being two young kids. They did look more like brothers than a father and a son. They were used to it and often played to the assumption, too. It was easier than explain that Xie Lian was older than he looked. He didn’t look a day over 17, the age he’d ascended the first time, so for many he looked like a young man, still a teenager.

Xie Ming, who’d been quiet so far, felt antsy under the stares. He knew his father was careful, they’d be okay. Yet still, his stomach making an uncomfortable lurch, he tugged Xie Lian’s hand a little. When the man turned to him, face calm, he whispered, “It’s okay, right? I don’t like how they’re looking at us.”

But before Xie Lian could answer, the man on a horse barked out, “No whispering! What are you two talking about?” They both jumped, Xie Lian only giving a small smile as a reassurance to Xie Ming. Even if they weren’t trustworthy, he’d protect them.

“Sorry, my little brother was a little worried we’d be a bother.” He gave a nervous chuckle, scratching his cheek.

“Nonsense, we are happy to help you,” the first man smiled and gave the other man a warning look. “You can travel with the cargo so you can dry yourself and be comfier.”

“Ah, if you are in a hurry, we don’t want to impose on you.”

“You are not. Please come this way.”

Xie Lian nudged Xie Ming but not before he gave him a reassuring look. The boy was worried but they didn’t have a choice, right? He knew his A-die would be alert, ready to attack if the men tried anything. In the end, they could just be regular transporters and guards, wary of the strangers that were threatening their precious cargo. He gave a little glare of his own to the men, anyway, hoping to make sure they wouldn’t stand any funny business.

The man led them to the back where two barred doors were. There were no windows to the carrier, only solid wooden walls. The rain made it difficult to see as the man opened the double doors and ushered the two of them forward. Only when they were about to jump inside, did they notice something was really wrong. Xie Ming’s heart skipped a beat as his gaze met multiple pairs of eyes: brown, black, light, scared, sad, desperate, tired... The carriage was full of people: children and teens. Each of them bound by their hands and feet, mouths gagged, clothes dirty, hair unwashed, skins bloody and scratched.

Xie Lian let out a sharp breath and then someone was right behind Xie Ming, a strong chest blocking his way back out. Xie Ming panicked, turning around and then the man flew. Xie Lian had kicked him in the side, protecting Xie Ming. For a second the air stood still, the storm waited and the children in the carriage widened their eyes. And then the rest of the men jumped, swords out, trying to catch Xie Lian who was like a storm himself, flying around avoiding strikes and delivering hits.

Xie Ming was still awed when he saw his father fight. It was a sight to behold. Xie Lian fought like those ancient heroes in songs, fearless and powerful, a deadly blade himself. The men stood no chance as he continued to beat them down. They would have been okay, they would have won and saved the prisoners, had Xie Ming been careful. Oh, it was always Xie Ming when his father got into trouble in a fight.

He’d been watching his father, yelling encouraging words and useless warnings, when he felt himself being pulled back. A muscular arm took a choke hold around his arms so he couldn’t fight, a cold sharpness of blade dug to the skin of his throat. He took a shaky breath, cursing his carelessness. How many times had his dad told him to stay vigilant. And yet he’d been lulled by the false feeling of safety before they were actually safe. And now he was causing his father grief.

“If you want your didi to live, you will surrender.” The man said, his voice vibrating against Xie Ming’s back. Xie Lian’s head whipped back and his eyes widened with fear when he saw what Xie Ming had gotten himself into. The man stopped right away, rising his hands and falling to his knees as the men still standing forced him down.

“Alright, alright,” he said hurriedly, his eyes never leaving Xie Ming’s. Xie Ming tried to breathe through the pressure of the blade, feeling something hot slide down his throat: blood.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice catching. He lowered his eyes, unable to watch as the men gave couple of sharp kicks to his father’s midsection. “I’m so sorry, I messed up.”

“No, no, baob-” Xie Lian couldn’t finish the sentence when something was forced down his throat. He tried to spit it out, almost chocking on whatever it was.

“Swallow,” the man holding Xie Ming growled. He gave Xie Ming a little tug as a reminder.

“No!”

But Xie Lian, after a hard look at his son, gave in and swallowed. Then he was bound and thrown into the carriage with the other prisoners. They moved out as much as they could, scared of the men or wildly struggling Xie Lian. He was staring at Xie Ming still in the man’s arms but his eyes were losing their shine, whatever he was fed taking over. Xie Ming trembled, apologized again and pleaded the men. They didn’t even notice. Instead, they bound him too, gagging him so he almost chocked to his own tears and was thrown after his father just as harshly. The doors banged close, the latch sliding down. The darkness enveloped them. Only a cold wind, coming through the cracks in the walls, touched their ice-cold skins.

They were trapped. And then the carriage jolted, moving forward, the men yelling at the horses. Xie Ming lost his balance and hit his head against the wall, letting out a muffled cry. Another cry answered it: his A-die. He was there, somewhere in front of him in the darkness and Xie Ming wanted to cry. The tears felt hot against his cheeks, sniffling filling the silence inside. Only shaky breaths answered and a scrambling on the floor. Then something pumped against Xie Ming’s knee: Xie Lian’s head. His father hummed, a calming sound he sometimes did when Xie Ming used to be scared as a little child. His tears slowed down, breath turning more regular. At least his A-die was there, weak but there. Humming softly and resting his head against Xie Ming’s knee, not able to get up.

They had no choice but wait. No choice but hope they’d come out of this unscathed like they had many other disasters.

~~~~

It must have been hours when the carriage finally jolted and came to a stop. The rain and wind had given up a little, still the cold blow made everyone shiver. Xie Ming’s clothes were drying but felt even colder glued to his skin. A sneeze threatened to escape his lips again. Xie Lian, on the other hand, hadn’t moved or said a word for a while. His head was still resting against Xie Ming’s knee but the humming wasn’t there anymore to bring comfort. The only sounds now were the silent sighs and sniffles around them, a shocking reminder that they weren’t there alone. That there were other children than him and they were even more alone. He, at least, had his A-die.

He just had to believe in A-die, believe in his own luck. They’d get out before the worst came to pass. He didn’t even want to think what would happen if the thugs somehow found out about Xie Ming and Xie Lian’s real relations. What would that mean to his father?

The wet steps passed the spot just outside the carriage. Xie Ming tensed, everyone fell silent. Then there was the sound of the bolt being lifted and then bright light and heat hit Xie Ming’s face. He looked away, closing his eyes.

“Get out.” The weight of Xie Lian’s head disappeared from his knee, and when he opened his eyes, braving the blinding light of a torch, he saw his father being thrown outside, the knees not carrying him and him falling down to his face in the mud. Xie Ming jerked forward, ready to follow, but couldn’t go far when rough, calloused hands got him from the back of his neck and pulled him out into the rain. The air smelled like wet moss, the ground made him almost slip. He fell to his knees next to his father, not caring about the mud and water seeping through his pants.

Xie Lian was unmoving, dead to the world, unconscious. Whatever they’d given him was strong. Xie Ming looked around and saw only tall, standing men dragging other children out. They were still on the road, forest surrounding them everywhere. The men were fast, quiet, telling them to not make a sound or they’d lose their lives. Xie Ming tried to nudge his father awake to no avail. The situation was starting to look dire.

Only a kick to his side made him look away. “Get up.” The order was cold and impatient. Only then Xie Ming noticed the other captives standing in a line like they were prepared to be moved somewhere. “Get. Up.” The voice was biting and the kick as sharp as the first. Xie Ming grunted, holding his side. He gave the last look at his A-die, praying he’d wake up and whisk them away. It was just a dream. It was not real. Instead he got up to shaky legs and with a push was moved at the end of the line.

He hoped that if he didn’t make a sound about his father, they’d give up on him and leave him there on the road to rot. It wasn’t the best solution and definitely uncomfortable, but his father wouldn’t die and once the drugs stopped working, he could escape. But when he snuck a peek behind him, he saw the same man lifting his A-die up to his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. A firm touch on his legs surprised him and with a jump he looked down. Another man loosened the robes around his feet so he could be able to walk faster but still with smaller steps. He saw the same process happen to the others too.

The man at the front looked over them and said, “Listen. You will walk in a line, no one tries to run. Believe me, if you run, we can catch you. We’re faster.” The kid before Xie Ming shivered and looked down. He himself felt doing the same. “No one makes a sound. If you hear other people, you go down and hide in the bushes. Is that clear?”

No one made a move to agree.

“Is that clear?” The man asked harder. Everyone nodded, too scared to try otherwise. “Good. Follow me.”

They followed the man, walking down the thin path hidden behind two large trees. It was definitely unofficial and something meant to be hidden from people passing through. That wasn’t good for them. Xie Ming tried to look around to spot something that would help him out but only saw a large rock, rising over him right next to the path and an old tree trunk, probably felled by a bolt of lightning if the charred marks were anything to go by.

Xie Ming stumped his toes to a tree root passing the path, almost falling to the ground. But when he caught himself easily with his right leg, he noticed something strange: his ropes were coming loose. He looked at the men beside him and they were focusing their gazes elsewhere, not at all worried one of the kids would try to run. He couldn’t risk looking behind him to the man carrying his A-die, so he tried to look down as unnoticeably as possible. His feet were almost free. His good luck had struck again. When the man had loosened the ropes, they had come more undone than they were supposed to. His breath hitched, he tried to swallow through his gag. Butterflies invaded his abdomen.

He could escape. His heart stopped and he felt faint. But he had to leave his A-die. He couldn’t leave him. But his A-die had said that if they were ever in such a situation and he had a chance, Xie Ming had to take it. He didn’t want to leave his father in this state, though.

Xie Ming bit his lip. On the other hand, he could get help. He himself was too weak to fight the men, he’d just be caught right away and cause even worse things to happen to them. He had to run. He stumbled a little to the loose ropes. He had to do it now before anyone noticed. But who would he run to?

“Your father, Hua Cheng, will always help us if we ask. He will.” His father’s words came to him, drilled into him since he could remember. What did he know about Hua Cheng? He knew his name and he knew he wasn’t a mortal. He was a ghost. He was Wu Ming, his namesake, who’d been the only one to stand next to Xie Lian during his toughest period of life. He was apparently super strong and important.

It was little to go by but also Xie Ming’s only option. He had to do it. Now.

With a small shake, he tried to kick off the remaining ropes. They loosened but didn’t come off. He almost stumbled again but kept his balance, just and just. Where would he even run? They’d catch him right away. He needed distraction.

With a final shake, the ropes finally fell and he had to do something. The one behind would definitely notice. So he did the first risky thing that came to his mind and silently apologized to the boy in front of him. And then he pretended to fall, pushing the boy forward and causing him to push the girl in front of him forward until they were a human sized domino, falling down quickly.

The man behind him made an angry yelp, forgetting is own staying quiet rule. He felt a hand yank him back but he let his feet give out again. The man made another angry noise and gave up on him to lift up the next child. Xie Ming caught his feet under him once the man moved his gaze from him and bolted. An angry “hey” didn’t make him look back, nothing would. He ran like a wind, dodging trees and letting adrenaline make him fly over tree roots and large rocks. Momentarily he felt a hand brush the back of his neck and his heart skipped a beat. But then a loud yelp and a thump told him he’d done it. He’d run away, he’d escaped and the man behind had fallen down just when he’d almost caught him. He let out an exhilarated laugh, feeling the rain and wind force his eyes close. He fought back against it, he had fled and he would come back with his missing father and save the one person who was important to both of them.

Chapter Text

Hua Cheng had seen His Highness in his dreams millions of times since they last parted ways. In his mind, his gege was still a broken crown prince; sad, humiliated and betrayed. He was angry and untrusting. He kept anyone he met at arm’s length, prepared for them all leaving anyway.

Hua Cheng, as Wu Ming, had stayed. And then, when his god had gotten better, he had dispersed and left him alone anyway. It was a sacrifice he didn’t regret. What he did regret was not finding his god again right away, leaving him alone to fend the cruel world.

And apparently with a child. A twelve-year-old child he didn’t remember siring yet there he was, sitting in front of him in flesh, the best paternity test there is telling him the undeniable truth of their blood relation. Over twelve years ago, he’d met his god, made him pregnant and then left him again. How? And why can’t he remember any of it.

It wasn’t impossible for men to bear children. Impossible for regular mortals but gods? They were a different tale. If the right conditions were met, a god could form a makeshift womp and carry a healthy child. Hua Cheng knew all this because, despite never even daring to entertain the idea, he’d wanted to be prepared in case his god wanted to have a child. With him or... another man if his chosen partner wasn’t a woman. But he would have been there, anyway, to take care of His Highness had he decided to be the one to carry a child.

Surprise, surprise, he had failed. Once again. He had made His Highness suffer it all alone and he’d even been the one responsible. He had no right to even look at him, no right to ever even entertain the idea of having a family together. Hua Cheng deserved all the hate and ire Xie Lian had for him. He’d be his punching back, the one to pay everything for him and... their child. He’d be his to take advantage of, his to curse at, use and detest. It was what he deserved, leaving his god back then as Wu Ming and leaving him when he was carrying their child.

But his god wasn’t as he remembered him. He wasn’t hateful, bitter or angry. Hua Cheng took a shaky breath as he let the memory of Xie Lian’s warm gaze replay in his mind. His eyes glowing in the evening blue, smile tender and loving, words soft and full of adoration. With a jumping heart Hua Cheng realized that Xie Lian was happy. And Hua Cheng was happy too that he’d found peace after everything the world had forced on him. Even if Hua Cheng had left him and failed him over and over again, he’d at least managed to give his god something good: a child to love and keep him company.

And the child, Xie Ming, was good. Great. And so, so unbelievable that Hua Cheng found himself staring at the boy, once again, eyes full of wonder and fear. Xie Ming’s eyes were hard and untrusting. Hua Cheng deserved it, yet he couldn’t stop looking. Taking in the familiar nose and unfamiliar expressions. His red eye, so completely Hua Cheng’s. His pout, definitely like His Highness’.

The boy thought himself a coward, running away from the kidnappers, but Hua Cheng knew. He’d seen and felt it. Xie Ming had done the only thing he’d thought right: he’d ran to get Hua Cheng’s help. And he was right to do that. If he’d stayed, he’d have lost right away and no one would be wiser where Xie Lian was. He was just a boy, after all.

Hua Cheng was definitely worried about His Highness’ wellbeing and safety. He was drugged and fury stormed through the Ghost King’s blood. He forced himself to calm down, to think rationally. Xie Lian was drugged and alone, without his spiritual energy, but he was also a martial arts genius, wise and capable. No matter how furious and worried Hua Cheng was, he couldn’t deny the truth that Xie Lian knew how to take care of himself. If not for himself (which still made Hua Cheng sad and determined to change) then definitely for his... their son. The love in those golden-brown eyes was undeniable. Breathtaking. He wondered if he was worthy to ever see in real life the gaze being cast towards their son. If he was ever worthy to help them and provide for them, to let them have the luxurious and easy life they both deserved.

There was only one way to find out and that required his assistance. Fast. He wanted to introduce himself to the boy all over again, start over, but there was no time like Xie Ming had said. It was like two forces were pulling him separate ways: find out how Xie Ming’s existence was even possible and rescuing His Highness. The rescue came first.

“Thank you for showing that.” Hua Cheng rose, Xie Ming following his lead. They looked each other in the eye for a long second until Hua Cheng forced his gaze away, gesturing for Yin Yu who’d disappeared into the corner once again. The man stepped up, bowing. With a small, amused smile Hua Cheng noticed how Xie Ming jumped as Yin Yu emerged from the shadows, completely having forgotten, once again, that there was a third person present. “Yin Yu, I’m heading out. You’re in charge of the city meanwhile. Contact me only when necessary. You have a permission to ask for directions or guidance. I won’t come back before I’ve found His Highness but you can contact Blackwater for help if the situation is difficult. Just tell him I’ll shorten his debt, he’ll come.”

“Yes, Chengzu.” There was no hesitation in Yin Yu’s voice, him being used to taking over Hua Cheng during his multiple leaves to search for the banished god.

“What about me?” Xie Ming asked. The boy looked nervous, unsure of himself.

Hua Cheng took out a pair of red dice. Xie Ming’s gaze followed them curiously, already having seen once how they worked as they exited the Den. “You’re coming with me, of course.” The boy looked surprised, like prepared to be told to stay put here where he was safe. Part of Hua Cheng wanted to do just that but he also didn’t want to let the boy out of his sight. He also knew he’d be a huge help with tracking Xie Lian, being the one who’d actually been present and seen the faces of the captors and the captives. “I still need your help. And you will be the safest with me.”

A complicated look passed Xie Ming’s face. “Huh.”

Whatever that meant.

Hua Cheng threw the dice in the air and caught them with one hand. Then he moved to the door, opening it into the middle of a forest. The door led out of a small shack a brief walk away from the spot Hua Cheng figured was the spot from the memory. He somewhat knew the area which is why he was also aware of the abandoned shack. Once upon a time his search for His Highness had brought him around the area and he’d scouted the forest and the nearby village quite carefully. Dry needles crunched under his boots, the smell of damp moss caressed his nose. The sky was quickly darkening, taking away their daylight sooner than he wanted. They still had some time to look around before finding a place to rest and eat.

Hua Cheng stopped and turned around to the boy who now curiously exited the manor. His eyes wandered around the trees and rocks, probably looking for familiar markers. Hua Cheng had a sudden thought. “When did you last eat?”

The boy jumped, his face turning red as he averted his eyes. Quite stubborn, he was. He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal as he said, “I don’t know. Sometime this morning. I found a dumpling around one of the market stalls.”

Idiot, Hua Cheng thought, resisting the urge to hit himself. He was an idiot. He hadn’t even thought about preparing something to eat to the child despite knowing he’d been traveling alone for a while now. Perhaps without money. Considering what little he’d eaten, he probably had no money at all.

But they were here now and Hua Cheng really wanted to find the spot before turning in. With a sigh he waved his hand in the air and a soft dumpling appeared to it. Offering it to the boy, he apologized, “I’m afraid this is all I have with me right now.” The boy blinked at the dumpling, not taking it. Hua Cheng waited patiently like Xie Ming was a scared stray cat. “Once we’ve looked around I’m going to find us a place to eat and sleep. Hope you’re going to be okay that long.”

“Uh.” Xie Ming was still staring at the ball in Hua Cheng’s hand and not making a move to take it. He seemed hesitant, like expecting it to be poisoned. Hua Cheng said nothing, waiting. The kid was wary, clearly not trusting him. It hurt but he understood. He had no right to push.

With couple of more blinks and a final, long glance at Hua Cheng’s face – which was neutral, perhaps a little bit hopeful – Xie Ming finally snatched the dumpling with a muttered thank you. He didn’t meet Hua Cheng’s eyes as he took the first bite, cheeks turning red and eyes shining, clearly enjoying his food. Hua Cheng felt his lips pulling up, heavy weight dropping off his dead heart. First steps were the most important and he felt like he’d succeeded.

“Good, then.” Hua Cheng nodded and turned to go as he saw the boy lowering his gaze, stubbornly deciding this was as much bonding he was ready to do. That was fine with Hua Cheng, he’d gotten something, more than he’d even hoped for when he’d first realized all his mistakes with his son. He started to follow the tight, almost overgrown path to the spot he believed was the road from the memory.

For a while he thought Xie Ming wouldn’t follow, would just run off wherever he wanted without Hua Cheng, but the there was a quiet rustle of dry leaves and Hua Cheng could relax his tense muscles. He didn’t take visible notice of the boy in case his will to follow was easily broken and tried to push the want to make sure he was there aside.

It didn’t take long to reach the twisting road. The sun was still peeking through the branches, casting dancing warm spots on dirt. Xie Ming, who’d been quiet since their departure, followed one of the sunspots with the tip of his boot before looking up, still avoiding Hua Cheng’s eyes. He muttered, almost petulantly, “I think this is the place.”

Hua Cheng hummed. “But not the exact spot?” A shake of a head. Good. They had communication. “Mind showing the right way?”

Xie Ming shrugged and started to walk towards the setting sun. Only the crunch of gravel accompanied them until the boy said almost inaudibly. “I’m not hundred percent sure I know the place but I’ll try.”

“That’s okay. I saw your memories, too. We’ll figure it out.”

Xie Ming glanced at him, eyes narrowing but didn’t say anything. They continued their way in a heavy silence. Tomorrow, Hua Cheng decided. Tomorrow they’d continue their search and he’d get a word or two more out of the boy. For now, this was enough. He knew how fragile trust was once being himself a child without adults to trust. He hadn’t done anything to earn it so he wouldn’t act like he was entitled to anything more than suspicion.

He wasn’t a father, he’d never acted like one, he hadn’t seen Xie Ming grow up, he hadn’t been the pillar to lean on like he’d once wowed he’d be if he was ever to have children. He never did anything right. Pathetic.

There was no time for self-pity and cowardice like Xie Ming had quite heatedly told him. Instead he focused on the surroundings, trying to spot what he remembered from the memory. All the tracks of possible wagons were already gone, long washed away by rain and other people passing by. Their only hope was recognizing the surroundings enough to find the tiny path the kidnappers had led the prisoners to. Xie Ming’s steps were sure, confident, and Hua Cheng trusted him. The boy had as strong, if not even stronger, motivation to find Xie Lian.

Xie Lian. Hua Cheng’s thoughts drifted towards the man once more, shrubbery turning into a smiling, beautiful face in his eyes. Xie Lian. Xie Lian. Somehow he had met his God years ago and yet he had no recollection of it. His eyes zeroed on Xie Ming’s bouncing ponytail. The kid looked around twelve or thirteen but could have easily been couple of years older or younger. What had happened around ten years ago? Years tended to blend together, becoming one big mass of events and loneliness. In ten to fifteen years he’d been searching, he’d killed and conquered, he’d...

Cold shivers ran down his spine, shooting right to his legs making them numb. His breath hitched so quietly that Xie Ming didn’t even notice. Fuck. Hua Cheng didn’t want to even think about it. He felt nauseous.

“Xie Ming.” His voice was steady. Good. The boy looked over his shoulder, face blank. “How old are you?”

Xie Ming raised his eyebrows. “Oh, so now you are interested?”

Hua Cheng pushed down the spike of furstration. “Of course I am interested. I want to know more about you.”

Xie Ming sniffed. “A little late for that,” he muttered but didn’t wait for reaction as he continued, “I’m twelve and a half.”

Fuck.

He’d completely forgotten because nothing had come out of it, no new Ghost Kings, nothing else but regular episode of Mount Tonglu’s opening causing his powers go haywire. The gods had taken care of that. But apparently he was wrong and something had come out of it. And he was looking at that twelve-year-old something who was regarding him with quiet contemplation.

Mount Tonglu. That he couldn’t remember a thing about it made him shiver in disgust. He hadn’t... he hadn’t... forced himself on his God in his desperate one-sided love, right? If he had... if he had...

He took a deep breath and forced his fists to unclench. Xie Lian had told Xie Ming that they could always trust Hua Cheng, that he’d help them. Hua Cheng decided to believe until they found Xie Lian that that meant whatever had happened had been consensual (despite his God’s vows) and that there had been more bonding during that time. Enough time for Hua Cheng to tell Xie Lian about being Wu Ming.

“Did... did His Highness say anything about our time together before... before you were born?”

The narrowed eyes suddenly rounded out to the size of plates. A squeak escaped the boy and his face flushed as he stuttered, “Y-You can’t ask that!” He stuttered a little more. Hua Cheng couldn’t help his chuckle, his breath flowing easier. “Don’t laugh! Don’t ask! Ew! What’s wrong with you!?”

Hua Cheng laughed louder, enjoying Xie Ming’s horror. “I didn’t ask about our sex life, kid. Relax.” Xie Ming spluttered. Honestly, Hua Cheng felt doing the same at the mere thought of his pure god under him, doing... “I was asking about how long we were together or how we met. Has your A-Die told you anything?”

Xie Ming exhaled loudly, muttering something about shameless old men. Hua Cheng bit his lip, holding his laughter. “He told something but I’m not sure I want to tell.”

Ah, so we are playing that kind of game. Fair enough. “How about you ask me a question for every question I ask you?”

Xie Ming was quiet, eyes searching. His red eye was sharp, reminding Hua Cheng of time he didn’t want to think, but he forced himself to look. He had his own issues, it didn’t mean he had to transfer them to his son.

Finally, Xie Ming sniffed, turning back to the road his robes dancing in the orange hue. “Fine.”

Hua Cheng smiled. “Thank you.” Xie Ming shrugged.

“Ask then.”

“How did your A-Die and I meet?”

Xie Ming seemed to calculate his words. “You we apparently sick. I don’t know, feverish. A-Die brought you home and took care of you.”

So he’d been under the influence of Mount Tonglu, then. Weak and feverish. It was just like His Highness to take care even of a dangerous Ghost King if he needed help. He smiled softly, his love filling him over and over again. God, he wanted to see him again.

“It’s my turn now.” The words took him back to the present and he nodded. “Why did you leave?”

Hua Cheng winced. So, they were not beating around the bush then. He answered honestly, “I don’t remember.”

Xie Ming frowned. “That’s a bad answer.”

“But it’s true. I don’t remember meeting His Highness, I don’t remember being with him, I don’t remember being intimate with him,” he almost smirked at the renewed horror in the boy’s face, “and I don’t remember leaving. But I promise you that if I was in the right mind, I’d never ever leave you two.”

Xie Ming scoffed. “Right.”

“I know you don’t believe me but I love your A-die, I always have.” He took the boy’s shoulder, keeping him still as he tried to struggle away. He looked him deep into the eyes. “I regret what I did even if I don’t remember it but I will never leave again. Never.”

Xie Ming stopped, eyes wide, something like fear, hope, betrayal flickering all over his face. Hua Cheng met his gaze, trying to transfer all his feelings to the boy. He only let go when Xia Ming, defeated, moved away and continued walking. They continued their way forward quietly, Hua Cheng trying to remember. He saw flashes of himself lying on the ground, flashes of white robes and an angelic face looking down on him. He’d thought it was a dream but perhaps it hadn’t been. After that he only got couple of flashes of cold hands on his forehead, shushing him as he woke between nightmares. He remembered talking and talking and talking, the white figure caressing his hair, kissing him, hugging him when he slept.

It had to be Xie Lian and yet he couldn’t be sure. He wished he could.

Chapter Text

13 years ago

“Oh, hello! Are you okay down there?”

The world swum, the clouds above twisted into distorted shapes and the blurry face above the man became more and more angelic as his gaze became sharper. There was something in the smile of the person above him that made him feel warm, made him feel safe. He tried to lift his hand to touch those soft lookinf lips but his hand must have been glued to the ground. The person felt so distant and deep inside he knew he had to hurry to catch up with them. He knew it was important but he couldn’t remember why.

“Can you stand?” It took the man long to understand what the person wanted. Stand. With his feet. Yes, he had feet, just like he had hands that were glued. He frowned, trying to communicate this to the person. He couldn’t remember right words for it.

Luckily the person seemed to understand. His smile faltered and the man felt the loss in his heart instantly. He wished he could have helped the person to keep it but he was useless. So useless. But when the cold hand rested on his forehead, he realized first that he was burning up and then that this person had saved him again, like he’d saved him so many times before. The person’s hand felt like what heaven must have felt, he knew he was right. There was only one person who felt like heaven and it was this one. He was so lucky, so happy. He sighed and let his eyes drift shut.

“Hey, try to stay with me. Please keep your eyes open.”

The man hummed in answer. There was nothing to worry, he wanted to say to the voice that became panicky. He was okay now. He couldn’t die, after all. Hmm, interesting. He couldn’t die. But why?

The ground shook and his heavy lids pried open. He felt the hand on his shoulder and realized the world wasn’t shaking but him. The person wasn’t smiling anymore. His brows were furrowing, lips pursing. Such cute lips. He forced his lips to lift up, hoping to reassure the person like the other lips had reassured him with a smile.

“Is... okay...” Words felt like ash in his mouth. His throat burned with every syllable. A coughing fit forced him to drop the smile, bury his head to the wet ground. He sighed again, thanking his god he was somewhere cool.

There were more touches on his face, his arms, his legs. He didn’t mind, he knew he could trust the touch. “Please hang on. This one will take you somewhere safe.” And then the ground disappeared under him and he was floating towards the Heavens. He didn’t want to float over there. It was full of self-centred, useless bastards. But his head rested against a strong chest and he didn’t mind if it was with this person. This man. Yes, a man. He recognized that now.

But who was he?

The question didn’t really matter as he felt himself fly with the man whom he trusted with his life even when he couldn’t die. Nothing mattered but this man.

************

Now

A soft creak cut Hua Cheng’s dream off and he snapped his eyes open. For a moment he couldn’t comprehend how his younger self was staring at him, a cursed red eye gleaming in the dim morning light. For a moment he was horrified, disgusted, hating himself, and then he remembered everything and hated himself even more for thinking those things of his own son. He schooled his face quickly, hoping Xie Ming hadn’t noticed anything, and it must have been fast enough since the boy’s frozen surprise hadn’t changed at all.

Hua Cheng blinked, amusement tucking his lips. “Morning,” he murmured softly. Xie Ming gasped, face turning red as he quickly turned his face away. A stuttered morning was uttered back. Hua Cheng snorted. The frown on the boy’s face deepened, the red hue spreading to his neck.

To give Xie Ming some space and time to calm down, Hua Cheng decided to get up and act like he didn’t notice. “Couldn’t sleep?” he asked. The sun wasn’t high up yet, the light inside dim but enough to help see through the morning routine.

Xie Ming shrugged, scratching his neck awkwardly. “I’m used to waking up early. With A-die.”

Hua Cheng hummed. That did sound like His Highness. His Highness he’d seen in a dream that wasn’t a dream after all. He could remember the time they’d met, apparently over twelve years ago, but it felt like a dream. Like he’d been delirious enough to see mirages of his one and only god taking care of him when he was weak and needed his god more than ever. When he’d been praying to see him right then and there. But apparently that hadn’t been his brain making things up and showing him what he’d been so desperate to see but actually giving him His Highness for real. He’d been there, in the flesh, and if Hua Cheng still found it hard to believe. He’d met him and then let him go and lost him, again. It was unfathomable, it was his greatest mistake, it was unbelievable he’d ever let him go. But it was quite easy to realize it was the truth when he took one look of his son.

Xie Ming. His son. Who had come to wake him up early in the morning and wanted him awake. Warmth spread through Hua Cheng’s dead veins. He couldn’t stop his hand from reaching out and ruffling the boy’s messy ponytail. Xie Ming froze under his touch and realizing that he hadn’t yet earned the right, Hua Cheng withdrew his hand quickly, opening and closing his fist like he didn’t know what to do with his traitorous hand. He wanted to slap it, scold it, but the only one who needed slapping was him. The one who was traitorous was his mind that went ahead and got overly excited and happy when he didn’t deserve it.

But other than freezing and then touching the spot Hua Chen’s hand had been occupying with a contemplating look on his face, Xie Ming didn’t seem angry. Rather, he looked even slightly pleased. And confused. And angry. But pleased. Hua Cheng couldn’t let his hopes up so he went ahead and started dressing for the day.

A small mutter made him stop in the middle of tying his sash. Hua Cheng looked up, humming in question. Xie Ming repeated, louder, “Did you mean it?”

When no clarification followed, Hua Cheng finished tying his robes. “I’m a sincere man, Xie Ming,” he said, now tying E-Ming to his hip. “I mean what I say. But I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to.”

Xie Ming looked sceptical at his words but didn’t argue. “I meant about not knowing about me and A-Die. Or not remembering him and then not knowing I,” he cleared his throat, “existed.”

“Oh.” E-Ming started to quiver on his hip, the eye weeping silently. Hua Cheng smacked it, making Xie Ming’s eyes bulge in surprise. “Don’t mind that thing, kid.” Xie Ming looked like he very much wanted to mind it but didn’t have time when Hua Cheng was already kneeling in front of him, looking him deep in the eyes. He gasped, not knowing how to react to the sudden gesture. Hua Cheng didn’t let himself smile over how adorable it was and how much it reminded him of His Highness. He kept his face serious, kept his voice even, when he said, “I would never lie to you, Xie Ming.”

Xie Ming’s eyes averted his, a wet sheen threatening to well his eyes. Gently, Hua Cheng took his chin between his fingers and turned his face back towards him. Xie Ming met his gaze, lost, young, helpless under the weight of the words. Like he’d been given something he was expecting to never have. It hurt Hua Cheng’s heart, made him want to beat himself up for taking away all the trust and hope because of how out of it he’d been back then. He couldn’t change the past but he could change the present. He swore to do better. No, do the best. His beloved and his son deserved nothing less.

“I am so sorry that I wasn’t there for you or your father. I will never forgive myself for not being in my right mind. There’s no excuse to what I have done. But I promise I will give my everything to make it right, to make your life easier, to save your father. I can give you a home, if you are willing to take it. I can make your life easy, without worries about money, house, anything. I...” he lost his voice for a second. “I would love nothing more than for you two to move into my manor, to make a home with you two. But I understand it must be too much for the both of you because of what I did. I don’t deserve you... I... I... I just want you to be happy and ask you to only let me help you to reach that and I will stay out of your sight if that is what you want... I...”

“Stop, stop!” Xie Ming yelled, shaking Hua Cheng’s shoulder a little. The man flinched under the touch like it burned but Xie Ming didn’t notice. His hand was warm, so light on Hua Cheng’s shoulder and he didn’t deserve it but oh, how he craved for it. Hua Cheng closed his eyes and took an unnecessary breath.

“I understand,” he said. “I only ask that you let me still help to get His Highness back...”

“What are you talking about,” Xie Ming almost shrieked. His cheeks were burning bright like a sun. “Stop that. There’s no need to be so dramatic! It’s okay.”

Hua Cheng raised his brow. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Xie Ming nodded, shuffling on his feet, finally taking his hand away. Hua Cheng’s traitorous body tried to follow the warmth.

“You mean I can still help you find him?”

“Sure.” He took a deep breath. “And other stuff.”

Hua Cheng waited, still as a rock.

“You know, with the life and everything.”

“Oh.”

“And you don’t have to stay away. That just complicates things, doesn’t it,” Xie Ming muttered. “I mean, if you’re going to help us – I mean, A-die deserves it after everything – but isn’t it easier if you’re still around to see it all.” He took a pause and finished, “You know. But that doesn’t mean everything’s just forgiven and forgotten! Okay?”

Hua Cheng was sure his dead heart would burst out of his chest. He smiled tentatively, bowed his head feeling faint, and breathed out, “Of course. Thank you.”

Xie Ming spluttered, burning up. He hid his face into his hands. “No.”

Hua Cheng smiled. “No?”

“S-Stop it,” the boy’s muffled cry overlapped Hua Cheng’s soft, gentle chuckle. His beloved’s son was so adorable. So much fun to tease. “You know what I mean. You’re mean.”

Hua Cheng burst into a thunderous laughter, not being able to stop himself even when Xie Ming squeaked in protest. Tears burnt his eyes and he wasn’t sure if it was because of mirth or relief. Perhaps both. His heart was slightly lighter yet he knew things weren’t fully resolved yet. Not until they found His Highness and he was able to start his repentance for real.

“Shall we eat some breakfast?” Xie Ming nodded, relieved, that the man’s amusement had finally calmed down. Hua Cheng couldn’t stop himself from ruffling his hair one last time before heading to the downstairs of the inn.

***

Yesterday, they had learned the following: The well-hidden path was quite easy to find when the two of them had seen it through Xie Ming’s memories, there were signs of Xie Ming’s escape around the beginning of the path and that the path led to only one possible place where Xie Lian and the children had to be taken to – a small hunting hut. Once they’d reached the end of the path, the hut had been quiet and empty. Only signs of someone having been there had been the disturbed dust on the floor from multiple people laying on it, spending the night before moving on, and a white ribbon, the one Xie Ming knew right away belonged to his father. It had been left behind, on purpose or by accident, it didn’t matter, it was a sign they were on the right track.

It had taken Hua Cheng a while to pinpoint where the trail continued from there. The hut was in the middle of the woods and there were no clear paths other than the one that had led to the hut. The hut itself was barren and once it was clear there was nothing else to be found, Hua Cheng had continued through the wildness, pointing Xie Ming signs which to keep his eye out for. Xie Ming had hunted before. Having no money made it so that the food had to be gotten by other means than buying, so he caught on to the signs of trail fast. It was easy and a relief to have a lead. He just did not want to feel so warm and happy when the ghost king had looked at him proudly.

The trail ended at the edge of the woods where another dirt road spread to two directions. Xie Ming had been frustrated, knowing they’d lost their trail and not knowing whether the group had continued via road (nor which way they’d headed) or if they’d entered once again the woods at the different spot. The feeling of uselessness and shame had made Xie Ming collapse on a mossy rock. He felt weak, watching his so-called-father do all the work and not losing hope like he had. He wanted to hide his face in shame when he felt the man’s eyes on him, probably thinking how he’d made the right decision not raising such a weak son.

But the man hadn’t said a word, just looked around the edge of the woods, letting Xie Ming rest. It was like the situation had finally gotten to his legs, making them feel like wet noodles. For weeks he’d walked and walked, searched and searched, and now that he was closer to finding his father than ever, his body and mind wanted to give up. When his stomach had given a loud warning of its own had the man returned, telling that the group probably hadn’t entered the woods but continued along the road.

“It’s been a long night,” Hua Cheng had said, sitting down next to Xie Ming. The boy had averted his eyes, drawing circles with the tip of his boot. “There’s a town not far from here. It’s our best bet to figure out if His Highness has gone that way or not. And we can get some food and rest.”

Xie Ming had tried to resist, “I can still continue.” But when he’d tried to raise to his feet, they’d given out, making him stumble right back to the rock, his bottom aching. Tears of frustration had welled in his eyes. “I can still do it, please.”

The ghost king had been quiet for a breath. Then, like he was reminding himself, had said, “His Highness has been with them for weeks now. One night of rest won’t change anything.”

“But-”

“No buts,” his voice had left no space for arguments. Xie Ming had snapped his mouth close. “We’re the same. Pushing ourselves until we collapse. But while I can endure it, you can’t. You’re my responsibility now and we will rest. I would never forgive myself if I returned you to His Highness in a bad shape.”

Xie Ming had wanted to argue but the man had thrown his dice and teleported them right to the edge of the already sleeping town, he had seen no other choice but follow. And secretly (and shamefully) he had been so, so glad someone had taken the decision out of his hands and let him have this moment.

And at that morning, right after they had finished eating breakfast in the midst of busy inn occupants, Xie Ming realized how tired he’d been the day before. After eating better than perhaps ever in his life and sleeping like a dead (like his father), he felt like the situation wasn’t as hopeless as he had thought. They had a lead, they knew what to do next and it was more than probable that his father and the others had been taken to the big town where people like those men could do whatever they wanted with a bunch of kids. Like sell them. Xie Ming was young but he’d seen things, he’d heard horrible things despite his A-die trying his best to shelter him from them. He perhaps didn’t know all the details but he knew enough that he knew he didn’t want anyone to have such a fate.

It felt surreal that he had gotten this far on his own, now following his distant father’s lead as he walked on looking more like a teenager than an adult. He’d taken this form in the morning, sporting a ponytail, two eyes and a youthful smile. It struck Xie Ming how much like him his father looked in this younger form. The complicated feelings churned in his stomach and he decided not to follow them for now. Perhaps after they found A-die. Perhaps if Hua Cheng finally did as he promised and became a good father who took care of them. Xie Ming didn’t care about himself, no. He just cared that Hua Cheng gave his father what he deserved: a partner who was present. Xie Ming would make sure they’d marry, that Hua Cheng would give A-die a house that wouldn’t collapse, would cook to him, bring money to him and dote on him after hundreds of years of hardship and twelve years of being a single father with a broken heart.

He steeled himself and straightened his spine, following down the busy market road after red robes, feeling finally sure of himself. He would make sure his A-die would receive everything and Hua Cheng would be the one to give it all to him.

Chapter Text

6 years ago

“A-die, will you tell me about baba?”

Xie Lian turned away from the stove where he was preparing their dinner. Xie Ming was chopping the vegetables, the pieces not coming out as he hoped. They were uneven but his father never minded, just thanked him for his help with a sweet smile and a hand on his head. Xie Ming felt warm as his father now accepted his efforts, smiling widely back. He jumped up, following Xie Lian back to the simmering pot. The smell was strong, almost burnt, and while Xie Ming wasn’t a fan of his father’s cooking, it was food and it was made with love. And Xie Ming had helped, he felt proud as Xia Lian added the vegetables he’d chopped into the pot.

Xie Lian hummed at his question, tasting the soup and adding spices without care. “Again? Didn’t I just tell you about him yesterday?” he said his eyes smiling. Xie Ming wrapped his arms around his waist, looking high up to him.

“Again,” he said loving the warmth that enveloped him when the strong arm wrapped around his shoulders.

His father chuckled. “Demanding little thing, aren’t you. A little bit like your baba.” It wasn’t said with malice, just in amusement and love. Xie Lian poked the boy on the nose, making him giggle.

“Why is baba demanding?” Xie Ming was hungry for this new information.

“Hmm.” The man turned back to mixing the soup. “It’s just the way he wanted to have answers to his questions, no matter how many times it was.”

“Did baba ask a lot of questions?”

“He sure did,” Xie Lian laughed, eyes glassy. “He didn’t use to before, when we first met. But when we met again, after hundreds of years, he wanted to know everything about my travels over the years. And sometimes once wasn’t enough!”

“So just like A-Ming!”

“Indeed.” Xie Lian started to serve the soup into ceramic bowls. The soup smelled like burnt wood and peppers, the colour bordering dark brown and purple. Xie Ming accepted his portion with thanks and they settled around the table. It wobbled a little under his weight when he leaned on it, but Xie Lian balanced it with his own weight. Xie Ming’s mouth pursed a little after the first spoonful but soon got used to the taste, eating his food hungrily. Xie Lian even had to remind him of the table manners once.

When the bowl was almost empty, Xie Ming licking his spoon clean continued, “What was baba’s favourite story?”

“Oh.” Xie Lian ate calmly for a moment before answering, “I think it was the one where I became a guoshi and taught this young prince. Or the one where I had built one of my first houses at the edge of a flower field and my house was ambushed by a herd of bunnies.”

Xie Ming giggled. “That’s my favourite, too!”

“Mn, it is.” Xie Ming loved that he shared this little thing with his baba. It made him feel like he belonged. He did have his A-die and he was happy, but there had always been a part that missed this stranger who his A-die talked about so lovingly. He was half of that man, too, after all.

“A-die.”

Xie Lian hummed.

“Why wasn’t baba demanding when he was younger?”

Xie Lian was silent. “I think it was because he didn’t feel he had a right to speak his mind.”

“Oh. Why?”

“You remember when I told you I used to be a royal?”

“Mn, A-die was a crown prince!”

Xie Lian chuckled, picking up their bowls and filling them up again. Xie Ming had long known his father had a way to know when Xie Ming was still hungry. He dug in happily. “Indeed, I was. But your baba wasn’t royalty.”

“Yes, baba used to live in Xianle, too, but wasn’t rich.”

Xie Lian nodded, pausing his eating. Xie Ming did so, too, feeling this was important to be serious about. “San Lang... San Lang was a really small child when I first met him. It was clear he was from a poor family and his life wasn’t... happy.”

Xie Ming knew this already but he still felt sad for his baba. He and A-die didn’t have much money, now, but they had each other and that was what made them happy. His baba, though, hadn’t had anyone like Xie Ming did.

“Then, later, when I called him Wu Ming, he was already a ghost and a soldier, and in his eyes I was still a god and a prince and I was in a bad place then. I didn’t really give him a chance to speak up.” Xie Lian took a stuttering breath. “So, I’m really, really happy he finally felt like he had a right to ask questions, demand things, talk about his feelings.”

Xie Ming felt finally like smiling. “Like when baba told A-die he loves you.” Xie Lian’s face turned red and Xie Ming bubbled with happiness.

“Yes,” the man said and slapped his cheeks, like willing the blush disappear. “And that’s how he left me the best gift ever.”

The little boy perked up. “What was it?”

“You!” Xie Lian’s hands were too fast for a little child to see, and when they snatched Xie Ming up into a tickling bear-hug, the boy couldn’t stop his shrieking laughter. Everything was good, happy. If only baba was there with them, it would be perfect.

***

Now

The morning sun was warming the red of the robes of Xie Ming’s father, making him blend with the bright colours of the fabric overhangs of the market stalls. People seemed to avoid Hua Cheng, parting from his way and Xie Ming, who was staying right behind the tall man, went untouched by the people in the busy street. Merchants yelled about sales, food stands emitted delicious fumes into the air making people stop by to just take a deep breath and the sand blew up to the noses, making several people sneeze. Xie Ming was used to these things, just like any other person, but strangely enough, he felt like he’s walking through a tunnel where the others were outside of it and he inside, untouchable.

Or perhaps not so strangely, he thought as he glared at the broad back of his father. He couldn’t help but be a little impressed by the sweet gesture.

He didn’t know what to make of it. That the man he’d started to detest and not trust turned out to be even more and more like the gentle, strong man his A-die used to tell stories about. He was caring, polite and proper, like a soldier escorting his prince, and despite having a mischievous streak, he never did it in malice (if he didn’t count that first meeting at the Den but Xie Ming really wanted to forget it). He wasn’t that way to others, no. Xie Ming had seen more often than not Hua Cheng glaring at somebody coming too close to them or saying something stupid, or just coldly ignoring and dismissing them as unworthy of his attention. Just like he’d done to him when he hadn’t known who he really was. The boy wasn’t sure if he liked that characteristic of his father, having learnt from his A-die to always treat others with respect no matter who they were.

But hadn’t he also realized his A-die was often too forgiving, too trusting, and Xie Ming was going to be the one to weed the bad ones out?

He was getting sidetracked. And impatient. All they’d been doing so far was walk and walk and walk. They hadn’t even stopped to look for evidence yet. How were they supposed to find anything if they didn’t even ask anyone.

“Where are we going?”

Hua Cheng turned his head to look at him, hand shielding his eyes from the sun. If he wasn’t walking behind the taller man, he would have been doing the same, never the fan of bright daylight. “First lesson, kid. Where do you think you’ll learn the most about black market in a town full of people?”

Why was he asking him? Xie Ming frowned but when the man continued to watch him with a raised brow, he sighed and tried to ponder the question seriously. If he was someone who was doing something as shady as escorting kidnapped children, he wouldn’t want to get caught. So he’d probably avoid being seen by the regular people who wouldn’t be so accepting of their illegal business or might even be family members and recognize some of the kids.

“Maybe somewhere out of people’s eyes?” he said, shrugging. “Like alleys?”

“Good.” Xie Ming cringed at the pride in his so-called-father's voice. “How did you figure?”

“You obviously don’t want lawful people to know about your business so people on busy streets wouldn’t probably know anything.” He rolled his eyes just to be a brat but Hua Cheng just smirked, amused. “So maybe someone on backstreets might have seen something?”

“Mn. And what type of people are those usually?”

“Homeless,” Xie Ming muttered, kicking a pebble. He didn’t say out loud how sometimes it would have been he and his father who might have seen something on those streets. “Criminals. Dangerous people.”

Hua Cheng eyed him a second longer but didn’t comment even though he looked like he had something to say. “And where might these people be other than the alleys?”

Huffing, Xie Ming crossed his armes. “Why are you asking me? Aren’t you supposed to know everything?”

The man just snorted and grinned back at his sass. “It’s a learning experience, kid. I just want you to be prepared.”

And he did get it. He had known it despite the sass. His A-die did it often enough with him, preparing him to the time when he might be alone. That’s the only reason he’d survived the long journey, tracking down his other father. But for some reason when Hua Cheng did it, it annoyed him a lot. Like, what did he care after not being present all these years, not trying to educate him like a father. A bang of guilt hit his heart. Sure, he had seemed sincere when he’d told Xie Ming he didn’t remember anything and would fix everything. Xie Ming had even told him to let it go and just do the right thing now. And yet he felt like Hua Cheng still didn’t have the right even though all he was doing now was trying to fix everything.

The sourness on his face must have been more obvious than he’d thought because Hua Cheng’s smirk fell and a serious expression took over. “I’m sorry. I had no right.” He turned away and Xie Ming’s chest made another painful bang. Still, he didn’t try to correct the man. Instead, Hua Cheng continued, “You were correct about the alleyways. We will check there first but it will also be good to talk to people in shadier establishments like shelters, brothels and inns. And not the regular kind of inns but those in the poorer parts of the town.”

Xie Ming made a non-committal sound and for a while they just continued their walk in silence. Little by little the mass of people started to thin out and the buildings turned more residential. They looked to be well maintained even if a little to the shabbier side so they still had some walking to do. Xie Ming’s mouth couldn’t keep close any longer, “Why don’t you remember?”

Hua Cheng looked over his shoulder but quickly turned back to the streets. His steps were steady, short enough for Xie Ming to keep up the pace. “I mean, us. Me and A-die.”

A heavy sigh. More soft steps against the sand. “I know it will sound like an excuse but,” Hua Cheng started, “I was really sick.”

The boy frowned. “But you’re a ghost. How can a ghost be sick?”

Hua Cheng chuckled, bitter. “You do know a lot about me, huh.” It wasn’t a question, just an observation. Xie Ming didn’t feel like it needed to be answered. “Do you know about Mount Tonglu?”

Xie Ming thought for a moment. He remembered hearing something from A-die. Something that was important about his father. “It has something to do with ghosts.”

“Yes. When Mount Tonglu opens, a new Ghost King is created.” The man paused. “Thirteen years ago, Mount Tonglu opened again. No new Ghost King was born then but it affected the ghosts all the same. The stronger the ghost, the sicker they get.”

“And because you’re a supreme, you were really sick?”

“That’s right.”

“So sick you forgot about your family?”

If he felt some satisfaction from the way Hua Cheng flinched, he didn’t say it.

It took some struggle for the ghost to admit it. “Yes. And I am so sorry, Xie Ming.” He still sounded sincere. Of course. Suddenly the satisfaction felt too petty, too childish. Xie Ming blushed, feeling like he had to say something,

“Yeah, no. Say that to A-die, not me. I guess... it was such a strong illness that it made you forget.”

“I will apologize to your father. But I will also keep apologizing to you, Xie Ming.”

Xie Ming’s face flushed. He didn’t answer, feeling too exposed, too fragile to admit how he felt about that. He didn’t really know how he felt himself. He hoped Hua Cheng wouldn’t notice the way his teeth grinded together, eyes narrowed in an attempt to keep the burning from becoming tears. He turned his head down from having to see the sincere, regretful face of the ghost. He hoped Hua Cheng wouldn’t continue this conversation and just move on. He wasn’t ready. Forgiving was much harder than his A-die made it look.

...........

Forgive me, gege, for I’ve brought your son to a bad place.

The moment they’d reached one of the shelters pointed by a random street urchin, Hua Cheng knew he’d made a mistake taking a twelve-year-old child to such a place. The first thing they saw was a shag so shabby that some of the homeless were leaning out of the holes in the walls and half of the roof had disappeared during a past storm. The second thing was two people fighting, a man and a woman. The man was dragging the woman by her wrist and the woman was yelling at him, face flushed with anger and clothes half off her. The picture wasn’t child friendly, the power between the two too unbalanced and the woman flashing her bare skin in the process.

Hua Cheng covered Xie Ming’s eyes, making the boy huff like he was annoyed with the treatment, and yet the way his shoulders relaxed and how he leaned more towards Hua Cheng told the man he had done the right thing. No matter what the young boy had seen before, it was still too much for him. Hua Cheng frowned. But why had he seen something like this before? That did not sit right with him. He pressed his hand a little tighter against Xie Ming’s eyes, feeling the burning need to pull him even closer against himself to hide him and keep him safe from the world. No child should have seen anything like this. Sure, he had seen quite many things at Xie Ming’s age but that for some reason only made him more worried, angrier. Angry at himself. Because he hadn’t been there and now it was too late to keep this boy hidden away from the bad world.

“Maybe you should wait at the inn,” Hua Cheng said. Xie Ming withdrew himself from his side and instantly it felt like the cold was burning his skin like fire as the warmth disappeared. He fought back the instinct to pull the boy back, tell him to stop being stubborn, but what if Xie Ming really got angry at him for crossing the line. For daring to act like a father when he’d only known about him less than a day. What if he decided he didn’t want Hua Cheng’s help, after all, and went after Xie Lian alone and then he’d have to save them both instead of having at least one of them where he could keep an eye on him.

He took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he knew was coming. “No,” Xie Ming said. He grabbed Hua Cheng’s hand and pushed it away from his face. The yelling was thankfully getting more distant, the fighting couple leaving the shelter, but the fact remained that there were at least five people who were half naked loitering outside and two who were passed out cold at the front door. Xie Ming’s eyes stayed stubbornly away from the sight and Hua Cheng just wished he’d dare to cover them again without risking a backlash.

“We’re saving A-die together,” Xie Ming insisted, crossing his arms. Hua Cheng kept his face even. “And this is part of saving him. Come on, we’re wasting time.” He turned to walk towards the shag but then froze, looking unsure. Gone was the faked confidence, back was the fire hot flush as he stared eyes wide. Hua Cheng turned to look too, seeing red himself.

A man had emerged. And he was doing unspeakable things with one of the half-dressed women, a hand under her skirts.

That’s it.

Hua Cheng had had enough.

If he couldn’t make his son go away, he’d make them behave.

And behave they would. With one long stride, Hua Cheng had the man pinned against the wall by his head, the man’s cheek flat against the rough wood. He let his right eye turn to its original red, feeling disgusted to even have to touch such a worm. It was this kind of people who were the worst. This kind of drunk bastards who liked to make children watch things they weren’t supposed to see and then laugh at it. This kind of useless worms who touched women without their consent, who thought they were big shits, who were actually nothing but pathetic little worms under his boots. Annoying, useless, utterly disgusting.

“Listen, if you don’t answer my questions, I’m going to crush you until there’s not even a stain of your brain left to clean up.” Hua Cheng’s voice was low, deep, his eyes burning and smirk widening as the man flinched away from his gaze, turning as small as a slug. “Am I clear?”

The man whimpered, gurgling something resembling a yes. The woman ran away screaming, other occupants quietly stood by letting the scene unfold. “Good. Now, tell me, have you heard of anyone passing by with a bunch of children to traffic?”

“H-huh?” the man stuttered, spit flying around. Hua Cheng pushed his head harder making the man scream.

“Answer the question.”

His face was pale, blood disappearing and pooling into his mouth. “I-I-I... d-d-don...”

“Wrong answer.” Hua Cheng banged him hard against the wall once but not strong enough to make him lose consciousness. “Try again.”

“P-p-p-please! I really d-d-d-don'ttt kn...”

Hua Cheng sighed. “Listen, I’m really getting tired of your--”

“He doesn’t know.” Hua Cheng turned to the woman who had come closer to them. She was the one of the skimpily dressed people who’d been loitering around. Hua Cheng raised his brow at her.

“And you do?”

She nodded. “Yes. For the right price.”

He snorted. “Quite brave, or foolish, of you to make demands from a man you’re watching currently beating up someone for answers.”

The woman shrugged, hugging herself. “What can I say? I have nothing to lose either way.”

Hua Cheng knew that. He’d been there. She seemed fine, too, not being the one forcing his son to witness two people touching each other.

Hua Cheng paused, his body going colder. His son. He turned towards Xie Ming and gulped. Xie Ming was looking at him with his eyes wide, mouth wide open. He was shaking. Shit. He was shaking. Hua Cheng let go of the man fast, making him fall into a whimpering heap on the floor. Here he was raging about others forcing his son to see uncouth things while he himself did the same. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the fear anymore. His son feared him, thought him a monster probably. He turned away, he’d deal with it later. For now, he needed information. And that woman was ready to tell him.

“What do you want?”

“Follow me and I tell you.”

Hua Cheng had no choice. He kept his expression cold as he took Xie Ming’s shoulder to make him follow but ended up letting go like it burned when Xie Ming flinched. He stretched his fingers, feeling empty and scared. So, so scared.

Chapter Text

The food in Xie Ming’s mouth tasted like spice and nothing else. The meat was too chewy, noodles too wet. But perhaps it didn’t matter, anyway. Even if the food had been the best meal Xie Ming had ever had, it would have probably tasted like ash in his mouth. He picked a piece of meat with his chopsticks anyway, being not one to waste food. Food was precious, food wasn’t something taken for granted. He forced himself to swallow the piece, sniffing when hot chili burned his throat.

The table was quiet even though the atmosphere around them was rambunctious. The other patrons, clearly having been drunk since last night, were singing together songs that made Xie Ming’s ears burn and ordering a beer after another. Their table, though while sticky from hard partying, was only filled with a clinking of bowls and slurping of noodles. Even Hua Cheng had gone silent, avoiding Xie Ming’s gaze. Secretly the boy was glad, still not quite sure what make of the scene he’d witnessed earlier. His feelings were mixed and mind in turmoil.

He’d heard that Hua Cheng was strong. He’d even heard that he wasn’t entirely good. Not from his A-die, no. He’d only ever said good things about the other man. But from people in general when Xie Ming had tried looking for him. The scene at the Gambler’s Den entered his mind every now and then, reminding him of his own personal experiences with his father who had yet learned about Xie Ming’s blood relation. It seemed like he knew how to be nice to his own son but he had no good bone in him for strangers.

And that’s what made him feel so confused. On the one hand, he had to admit it filled his heart with warmth knowing that he was someone special. On the other hand, he was shuddering in shock. Hua Cheng had had no hesitation attacking that man from the streets. He’d been violent, possessing so much strength both in presence and physically. It had been that exact moment when Xie Ming had realized what people really had meant by Hua Cheng being a Ghost King. He indeed held power and he knew it. He wasn’t a good person and Xie Ming’s A-die was the best.

Xie Ming didn’t know which parent he resembled more and that made him even more scared.

He was scared of his other father. He was scared of what he could do. But he was also oddly reassured that Hua Cheng would never hurt him or his A-die. The way he talked about A-die, the way he barely dared to touch Xie Ming, the way he kept smiling at him, clumsily trying to be gentle.

Xie Ming bit into another piece of meat, forced his teeth through it and swallowed. He hoped Hua Cheng would hurry up and ask the woman what he knew. He hoped the woman, whose only wish in exchange for information was a meal, would hurry up with her noodles and stop stalling. He hoped Hua Cheng would stop being considerate of Xie Ming’s feelings and just get on with it. Perhaps involuntarily a low sigh escaped Xie Ming as he slumped deeper into his chair. Hua Cheng jolted, looking at him while blinking in confusion and then, suddenly, snorted.

Great, at least he was now amused. Xie Ming rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. His mind felt suddenly lighter.

The change in Xie Ming’s attitude seemed to do the trick for Hua Cheng as he started to make demands to the woman, not letting her eat slowly anymore.

“I think that is enough food in you,” he said. “Think you can manage one conversation without fainting now?”

The woman, who was clearly a braver soul that Xie Ming was, lifted her brow and ate one more chopstick full of noodles while staring Hua Cheng dead in the eyes. Hua Cheng, who didn’t generally seem to care for those with attitude, simply stared the woman down, daring her to do it again. The woman’s lips ticked up and seemingly coming to a conclusion, placed her chopsticks down, wiping her face with a napkin.

“You’re looking for a group of children and teens, right?”

Xie Ming straightened himself, alert. Hua Cheng’s cold expression didn’t even twitch but Xie Ming noticed him lean in a little. It was a subtle movement that many would probably not even notice. It was just that his own eyes had rarely left the man, observing his every move carefully so he’d already started to notice these small things. It seemed the man was still just as eager to find Xie Lian as Xie Ming was. Good.

Hua Cheng took the lead in the conversation, letting Xie Ming just listen. He was glad, the boy not being sure if he could have gotten the information they needed. People often ignored him due to his age, not caring that he noticed them either lying or just dismissing him as someone not important enough. When he’d been looking for the Ghost City, there had been plenty who’d just laughed to his face or patted his head, telling him go home before he hurt himself. Thankfully there had been some people who either hadn’t cared that he was a child and given him information or had been greedy enough to take even the last piece of money from him in exchange. Now, he was glad that that responsibility was off his back and could observe how much difference it made when a generally scary and rich adult made the demands.

The change in attitude was ridiculous. The realization made Xie Ming sniff. He couldn’t wait to be a grown up. Twelve was such a stupid and useless age, anyway. Not really a child anymore but not quite a teen, either.

“Have you seen them?” Hua Cheng asked. Xie Ming kept his eyes on the woman, now, just like his A-die had taught him. Body language told one a lot even if the words didn’t.

“No.” The woman shrugged, relaxed. Xie Ming’s brow ticked.

“And why did you say you knew something, then?”

“Impatient, aren’t you?” the woman laughed. “Did they get your kid or something?”

Hua Cheng’s eyes were cold. “Do I look old enough to have a child?” Hua Cheng looked like a teenager, just barely sixteen.

“Have seen kids on people younger than you. But I guess it’s different with a young master like you.” She side-eyed Xie Ming, clearly seeing the resemblance between the two of them. “A brother or sister, then?”

“How is that information relevant to you?” Hua Cheng countered.

The Woman smiled, eating some meat. “Just checking what this information is worth to you?”

Hua Cheng leaned forward, a smile so dangerous on his lips Xie Ming had to look away, shivering. Even the woman seemed to stop her chewing. “I think it’s enough payment that I let you live, don’t you think?”

The woman’s relaxed posture tensed. It was clear she’d underestimated Hua Cheng and was now sensing the danger lurking beneath the innocent looking face. She set the chopsticks down again, clearly warier than before, but when she answered she didn’t let her fear take over. “Fair enough.”

After observing the woman for a while, Hua Cheng leaned back again. The smile disappeared and it felt like both the woman and Xie Ming breathed out a relieved breath. “Good. Start talking.”

The woman nodded and said, “I haven’t seen them but I know the group you’re talking about.” She sipped her tea, fingers shaking only slightly. Xie Ming decided to follow her lead and drank the tea. It was bitter and made him gag. “They gather kids and teens regularly to sell them.”

“Who do they sell them to?”

“Whoever pays well. Rich assholes who want a playmate. Influential people who need young people to brainwash from young age. Perverts with sick urges.”

Xie Ming felt the blood disappear from his head, making him feel faint. A-die. A-die was there with those people, being sold like an animal. He remembered the other children, too. How scared they had been, the silent cries and sobbing in the dark. Had someone like that bought them? Had someone like that bought A-die? What if his bad luck had made it impossible for him to escape? He knew what could happen to people in these situations but somehow he felt like he actually had no idea. That what he knew was nothing compared to what could actually happen. Suddenly he was glad his A-die had been keeping him safe but also regretted how young and naive he was because now he had no way to help the right way.

He missed A-die, suddenly. So much. His heart ached to see his face again but it also froze over the thought of what could have happened. A pile rose up to his throat. Xie Ming tried to swallow it back, keeping a hand in front of his mouth, listening the conversation continue next to him with only half a mind.

“Who are they? Where do they keep the captives?”

The woman sighed. At least she sounded a little disgusted, too. “They call themselves The Black Ghosts. They are mostly located here but some of them roam around, looking for people young and pretty enough to sell. I haven’t really met them myself but I’ve heard my customers talk about doing business with them now and then.” There were actually people sick enough to do that. “One of them once said they’re going to meet them at the gambling establishment near the Lan River crossing. That’s all I know.”

The woman seemingly relaxed now that she had told them everything she knew. Perhaps she was even relieved that information this disturbing was finally off her chest and in the hands of someone who could do something about it. She drank the rest of her tea, getting up. “If that was all, gongzi, I’ll take my leave.”

Hua Cheng nodded, reaching inside his robes. He flicked couple of coins on the table in front of the woman. She eyed them, clearly not trusting the sudden payment when her lunch had already been paid for. When nothing else was said, she quickly pocketed the money and with a nod exited the building.

****

It was their only lead for now. They both knew it wasn’t the base of the enemy they were looking for but it was a place where they had been doing business before. They knew the group’s name which was already huge progress. So, with this information they knew who to ask after if they were careful and played their cards right.

Finding the place hadn’t been hard. The sun was almost set, making the almost empty street look eerie with wide shadows. The building lining the narrow alley were old, paint chipped off long ago. But while the streets didn’t have many people roaming about, the building were clearly occupied. The chatter was loud, reaching even outside, yells and laughter mixing together into a mess of sounds. Xie Ming wanted to cover his ears but Hua Cheng next to him looked like he was right at home. Which he probably was now that he thought about it. He had seen the man’s city and Gambler’s Den. They were just as bad, perhaps even worse what with the dead replacing the living.

In the end, Xie Ming grounded his teeth, not letting his weakness show. He didn’t really care what Hua Cheng thought about him but at the same time he didn’t want the man to see him as a little child. Despite the loud voices making his ears hurt and heart beat faster, he followed Hua Cheng into the building right next to the river crossing located just behind the building. The place would have been beautiful with the flowing water and green tree branches hanging above it had it not been to the shabby, shady gambling house. Perhaps once upon a time even this street had been full of regular people and regular shops but after the city had started to grow, the street had been abandoned and regulated by those not welcome around beautiful, new buildings.

That’s how it was in many places.

The inside of the building was even louder but surprisingly the interior was quite clean. The walls had been painted dark red, the tables were polished shiny, dark wood. Xie Ming was concentrating taking in the people around the said tables, making bets, swearing, celebrating, that he jumped when he felt Hua Cheng leaned towards him. The man didn’t meet his eyes so Xie Ming didn’t either, staying quiet as the man said right to his ear, “We better start gathering information.”

Xie Ming nodded. “How? Do we just ask them?” He eyed the big, muscular men around the table and dangerous looking women with knives on their person with distrust.

He almost exhaled when Hua Cheng shook his head. “Not quite, it’s better if we try to look like regular customers first.” When Xie Ming raised his brow, making an exaggerated move to point out that he was quite young to be a customer in such a place, Hua Cheng corrected, “I will be like a regular customer and you will be my little brother who I’m teaching how to gamble.”

“A-die wouldn’t approve of this plan,” Xie Ming muttered, remembering his A-die's abstinence vows that he also guided Xie Ming to follow. Hua Cheng looked guilty, turning awkward. Xie Ming sighed, taking pity on the man. “But I don’t really follow the same teachings so I don’t mind learning a little.”

Hua Cheng smiled a little his hand reaching to ruffle Xie Ming’s hair but changing his mind just before touching. Xie Ming’s head felt oddly cold and not even dragging his own fingers through his hair seemed to take the feeling away. He shook the feeling off and followed Hua Cheng towards one of the tables farther away from the front door. The people there looked the same in Xie Ming’s eyes but he trusted his father saw something in them that he didn’t.

Hua Cheng sat down to one of the empty chairs, Xie Ming standing right behind him, trying to ignore the stares thrown their way. Two young people – one older teen, one younger – alone in such a place seemed to target curious attention. Perhaps that’s exactly what Hua Cheng wanted considering who they were trying to find.

“What are we playing?” Hua Cheng asked the table, eyes shining with mischief and amusement. The sentiment wasn’t returned by any of the people around the table. The dealer started to rattle the dice, looking the two of them up and down haughtily.

“How about a simple game of luck? We don’t want to confuse you kids, after all.” The occupants laughed at the jab. Xie Ming grit his teeth, feeling oddly insulted. His father was basically the god of luck. They were ignorant, laughing at him. But Hua Cheng just smiled, his eyes even more amused. His teeth flashed dangerously as he answered,

“That works for me perfectly. What do you think, didi?”

Xie Ming nodded, still too busy glaring at the dealer. The dealer called for bets and some gamblers started to chatter with each other quietly. Hua Cheng followed the people talking like a hawk, stopping at some of them like weighing how much worth they’d be. When they heard someone mention something about a white clad cultivator, Hua Cheng finally joined the conversation, and Xie Ming couldn’t help but tense in anticipation.

“Oh, could that be our gege? What do you think, didi?” Hua Cheng turned to the people who’d mentioned the cultivator, their glares already on them like they didn’t appreciate them interrupting their conversation. Still, Hua Cheng continued with a look of worry, “He is indeed a young cultivator, looks a little like our didi and was last seen around here. He left on a pilgrimage couple of weeks ago and we have some news to tell him but haven’t been lucky to locate him yet.” The table turned colder. Xie Ming held his breath. Bingo.

“We’d appreciate it if you have seen him.”

The silence stretched until finally one of those who’d spoken answered, “Sorry. Don’t think it was the same person.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very. He was older.”

Hua Cheng’s eyes turned into halfmoons. “So is our gege. He’s older than he looks.”

No one said a word after that.

The air lightened only once the dealer started to pass the dice around the table and people tried to get the most favorable outcome with three dice. The glares turned back to the table, the muttering turning to excited sounds of gambling. Hua Cheng crossed his leg over the other, smiling as even better combinations appeared around the table, the dealer keeping tabs on those in lead. When it was Hua Cheng’s turn, he took the cup and rattled it around with confidence. The smirking faces around the table followed the dice as they fell to the table and finally, when they stopped at three sixes, the smiles dropped like a dog’s tail. The smugness Xie Ming felt inside definitely went against everything his A-die had taught him but he couldn’t find it in him to feel guilty.

This was totally worth it.

As Hua Cheng and couple of others stayed around the table for the next round, Xie Ming noticed couple of men leave the table, still looking at them. They were whispering to each other, glancing around and back at them. Xie Ming felt the hair in the back of his neck rise. He wondered how to alert his father of this but he didn’t need to. Hua Cheng was already observing the duo under his bangs. Xie Ming let his shoulders relax. Everything was under control.

The game continued and when Hua Cheng, once again, threw three sixes, one of the gamblers smashed his fist to the table, demanding a rematch. “He’s definitely rigging the game! There’s no way he’d get three sixes twice in a row.”

“Oh, feeling threatened?” Hua Cheng Smirked, rattling the dice in a cup again and throwing them. Once again, it was three sixes.

The gambler's face was red with fury. “Cheater!”

“But I’m not,” Hua Cheng said, eyes wide and innocent. “See, I’ll let my didi do the throwing from now on. Is that good enough?”

Xie Ming’s eyes widened. What? He was not ready to play. Sure, he had same good luck as his father but what if it suddenly stopped working, what if he lost the game? He cast panicky eyes on Hua Cheng who just kept smiling at him. Well then. When Hua Cheng was about to give him the cup, the same patron continued his tirade,

“I don’t trust that cup anymore. Or the dice.” He pointed at the dealer. “You! Get us a new cup and dice.”

The dealer looked offended by the commanding man’s attitude but fetched a new pair anyway and handed them straight to Xie Ming. With shaky hand and a couple of pairs of glaring eyes, he shook the cup, throwing the dice. He prayed for good numbers, tried to remember what he did when he channeled his good luck. When the dice hit the table, three sixes stared back at them. He sighed, a smile slipping to his lips. He looked at his father, and for a moment they looked at each other, both smiling in triumph. Xie Ming’s heart soared and then suddenly he felt awkward.

Hua Cheng’s own smile fell too, a look so hurt and tiny entering his eyes. Xie Ming hadn’t really wanted that but at the same time he couldn’t push away the images of Hua Cheng looking murderous, Hua Cheng laughing down at him mockingly, Hua Cheng beating and threatening a man who’d done nothing to him, Hua Cheng abandoning them...

Was he allowed to smile with Hua Cheng when his A-die was gone, alone somewhere, still hurt by this same man.

Suddenly Xie Ming felt so tired. He stepped away from the table, ignoring the outraged yells of that one gambler. He stood to the side of the room, leaning against the wall. Only when familiar boots appeared in front of him, did he look up. Hua Cheng’s face was devoid of emotion, observing him warily and waiting for Xie Ming to speak first.

The silence felt heavy, pressuring Xie Ming. In the end, the only thing he came up to say was, again, something he didn’t want to deal with yet, “I miss A-die.”

Hua Cheng finally lowered his gaze, sighing heavily. “Yeah, me too.”

It was a simple observation, simple way to speak one’s emotions. But somehow that ticked Xie Ming worse than anything Hua Cheng had yet said about Xie Lian. And before he could bite his tongue, he spat out, “Could have fooled me.”

“Wha-what do you mean?” Hua Cheng’s voice shook.

“You didn’t really seem to miss him for the past twelve years, did you?”

Hua Cheng closed his eyes, sighing like a man who hadn’t slept for hundreds of years. “Xie Ming, I already told you that I don’t remember meeting him. If I did, I would have never left you two.”

Xie Ming scoffed. “Well, it’s not like A-die wanted to be with you, either.” He knew he was being so, so petty. He wanted petty. Hua Cheng deserved petty.

Hua Cheng looked like Xie Ming had physically hit him. “What do you mean? Did... did he say that?”

Taking a deep breath, trying to calm down, Xie Ming said, “No.” If only he could lie but he couldn’t.

Hua Cheng was silent for a moment like trying to decode something. His brows furrowed, eyes becoming hazy. “Did... Did His Highness know who I was? My identity as Hua Cheng, as a ghost king, I mean.” Hua Cheng asked. Xie Ming nodded, playing with his belt. Hua Cheng was silent again before continuing, “Why didn’t he come to look for me, then?” Xie Ming looked at him sharply, gritting his teeth. “I’m not trying to put the blame on him, never. It definitely wasn’t his duty to come look for me. I just wonder how we parted ways that he didn’t want to come look for me. Did I hurt him? Is that why he didn’t want to be with me, in the end?”

Xie Ming shrugged, not feeling like meeting his eyes. He didn’t quite feel like explaining either. Not that he knew much but anyway. A petty side of him whispered to him to let his father suffer and figure it out himself. But when the silence stretched, he dared to take a peek and felt his resolve melt. He could at least push him to the right direction a little. The rest he could figure out himself, it was only right.

“A-die didn’t want to talk about it much,” he began, sniffing. He hated remembering asking this exact question from his A-die, hated remembering his sad smile. “But once he told me he had come look for you.”

Hua Cheng leaned forward, eager to hear more. “He did?”

“Yeah, when he was still pregnant with me. It had apparently taken him longer than it did me to find you. Once he did, he actually told me where to look for you if I ever needed you. That’s how I found you, by the way.”

“Then,” Hua Cheng hesitated. “Then, if he did find me, why didn’t he come talk to me?”

Xie Ming gritted his teeth, “Because you apparently had more important things to take care of than your family.” And all peaceful thoughts he might have had just a moment ago were gone with a storm of memories of his A-die smiling sadly, not answering when asked why Hua Cheng hadn’t stayed with them. A-die staying up alone in the middle of the night, mending their clothes while wiping his eyes discreetly. A-die's gently trembling hand in his when village women loudly bemoaned the absence of Xie Ming’s mother. A-die's unstopping flood of apologies that one and only time he’d accidentally drank alcohol and lost control of the dam keeping his emotions in check.

Hua Cheng’s shocked face did nothing to calm down his suddenly bounding heart, the ringing in his ear, the heat that forced him get up and storm outside of the room. He pushed some of the patrons out of his way, forcing his way outside. He couldn’t breathe, he needed to get out of the room full of smoke and smell of alcohol and sweat, loud shouts of mirth and anger. Deep inside he knew he shouldn’t leave his father, shouldn’t go outside alone in such a shady area, especially when he’d left Hua Cheng in a state of shock unable to follow him. Especially after seeing two of the men taking their bait and making their move sooner than later. But once he had entered the state of anger, he couldn’t see clearly. All rationality left his mind. He had always been like this and A-die had warned him about it. But when it happened, he had to get out get out get out.

His missed A-die, he wanted him there, to hug him tight and tell him he was there for him, tell him there was nothing to worry about, tell him he was loved even if his father didn’t want him. That he would be there for him always. But he wasn’t there. Instead, he was kidnapped and he was here with a man that didn’t want him or his A-die.

When he reached outside, the streets were scattered with random people here and there, doing their own things and not noticing a child at the verge of panic attack. Xie Ming looked around, wanting to find somewhere to hide so no one would find him. Especially Hua Cheng. He couldn’t choose the way, the decision suddenly weighing him down like lead, and he ended up slumping down right there in front of the gambling establishment. He gasped for air, finally feeling like air was entering his lungs once again. When the first tear escaped his eye, he suddenly couldn’t stop. A high whine escaped his throat involuntarily, and if he tried to quiet himself by pressing his mouth to his knees, he couldn’t breathe anymore so he had to choose to either choke or face the embarrassing truth he was crying like a baby.

Why was he being so weak? He had to be stronger. He was going to worry his A-die. He had nothing to cry about when A-die was the one in trouble. So why why why?

“Aww, what do we have here?” A hick up escaped Xie Ming’s mouth. He froze, listened carefully steps coming closer, didn’t raise his head. He had to be quiet, don’t let a stranger know he had noticed him. “Don’t cry, little one. You make me want to cry, too. That’s not very nice.”

Xie Ming’s throat burned and he swallowed quietly. In his mind he tried to will the strange man leave him alone. He didn’t even sniff when snot ran down his nose, reaching his mouth and tasting vile.

The man chuckled. “Are you pretending you can’t hear me? Cute.”

If he just got up and ran back in to get Hua Cheng, could he be fast enough?

“Where’s your mama, little one? Are you all alone?” The man was now close enough to touch. Xie Ming’s hair stood up, warning bells yelling at him to get up and run. But could he make it? He couldn’t stop a small gasp escaping his lips when he felt a heavy hand touching the top of his head. It was too heavy, too stifling, too much...

“I know a good place for kids like you if you come with m--”

The man’s words were cut short, gurgling and thud replacing them. The suffocating touch disappeared letting Xie Ming lift his head suddenly free. His eyes widened and heart skipped a beat when he saw a blur of red beating the man down, pressing the man’s head to the ground until he didn’t even spasm anymore. Xie Ming’s mouth hung open as Hua Cheng, back in his real form, straightened removing his foot from the man’s head. He flicked his boot, a small spray of blood coming off it. Small silver bells tingled with the movement. Xie Ming held his breath, shivering, as his father, the Ghost King, turned his cold face towards him. All the things he had just said to this man flashed through the boy’s mind, the ways he’d wanted to hurt this dangerous man. He had to be furious with Xie Ming, for blaming him and trying to make him feel guilty when he’d wanted nothing to do with his family in the first place. Xie Ming had done it now, he’d poked the wild bear, he had...

But the moment Hua Cheng’s single eye landed on the small boy huddling on the ground, the coldness disappeared and only fear was left. Fear for or of Xie Ming, the boy wasn’t sure. It baffled him. How could such a man look at him, a small, weak, unimportant child, with such fear. Like Xie Ming would suddenly disappear or say something hurtful again, say Hua Cheng had been the one to mess everything up. Like Xie Ming was the one with all the power to do with Hua Cheng whatever he wanted. Like he had been this close loosing Xie Ming and it hurt and scared him so much he didn’t know what to do.

All fear, hate and anger melted off of Xie Ming, leaving him shivering on the ground. It was suddenly cold, the fresh air not feeling good at all. He suddenly wanted warmth. And when his tears started to trickle down again, Hua Cheng rushed to him taking his face between his hands, looking him all over.

“What is wrong? Did that bastard hurt you?”

Xie Ming couldn’t get a word out of his mouth, tears suddenly stealing them from him. Only cries that were getting louder and louder were left. For the first time perhaps since meeting his father for the first time, Xie Ming looked his father right in the eye. His own sight was blurred but it was enough to see that Hua Cheng wasn’t pushing him away, wasn’t coldly judging him. His father was there, Xie Ming wasn’t alone, he wouldn’t be left alone. He was there.

His body moved on its own as it threw itself into Hua Cheng’s chest, arms finding their way around the man’s back. Hua Cheng was harder than his A-die, he was colder, his jewelry bit into Xie Ming’s cheeks and he was hesitant to return the touch. But when wary arms hugged him finally back, it was one of the best hugs Xie Ming had ever had.

That night, in front of a shady establishment, Xie Ming was hugged by his other father for the first time ever and he felt just as safe as he did in his A-die's arms.

Chapter Text

13 years ago

The first thing he sensed was a warm, flickering light dancing behind his eyelids. Then cold shivers rattled his body, making his breath stutter. If he could only open his eyes, he’d bet he was outside, lying in the snow, dying again and again and again. Something about that didn’t feel right, though. He was quite sure he didn’t have to be worried about dying if he was actually buried in the snow but he wasn’t sure why. Something about his bodily state, perhaps. He didn’t want to think about it more, his brain hurt enough. Like thousands of little imps were hitting his head with hammers.

The second thing that didn’t feel quite right about him dying in the snow was that he couldn’t feel the prickling cold that he would have felt on his skin if the ice and frost tried to bite through his skin. No, his skin was actually touching something rough but warm. He willed his fingers to move but managed only a twitch. The spasm jolted right to his head and he bit his lip hard, moaning as the pain made the warm light move out of the way of prickling gray and white. He gasped for breath, desperate for something to stop his cramping body, the cold, the pain...

A cool hand settled on his forehead, and he went still as a dead. He held his breath, noticing how much easier it was to exist when he didn’t need to try to move his lungs. The jolts eased down, and while the cold shivers stayed, the hand made his aching head stop screaming and quiet down a little. A whispering voice filled the silent world around them,

“Are you awake?”

Was he awake? Perhaps he was. Perhaps he wasn’t and even the sweet, gentle voice was also a dream. But why did his dream hurt so much? Was it a nightmare? Was it a divine punishment for something he had done? He frowned at that. A divine punishment? No god could punish him, he was after all... after all... Who was he again?

Ah, yes. He was no one. He had no name, no family, no purpose other than one.

That sweet, sweet voice.

He tried to pry his eyes open but it was hard. When the hand started to move away, giving up on him, probably thinking he was nothing but a dead corpse (which he guessed he was), he opened his mouth, panicking. He wanted the hand back again, wanted that voice whisper to his ears and take the pain away. He tried to say something, anything, but then his traitorous muscles spasmed again and everything that came out was a coughing attack that made his throat raw. Not only was he now in even more pain, the hand disappeared faster and he was all alone, once again. A man with no name, no family and now with no purpose.

When he was about to drift back into the nothingness, the hand finally came back, lifting his head up and pressing something cool to his lips. “Drink,” the voice muttered. It was beautiful. He’d do anything that voice commanded him to do. It was good he did because the moment the water hit his throat, he felt the pain ease and suddenly he could open his eyes easier.

First he saw a dark wooden ceiling. So he was inside, not outside in the snow. Why was he so cold, then? Next he saw the divine being that had appeared out of nowhere and was now here, in his nightmares, turning them into beautiful dreams. He smiled a little as his eyes met the golden-brown ones, as his gaze caressed the long chestnut hair, peach blossom skin, funeral white robes. He was beautiful, as always. His purpose, his god.

“You--” he took a wheezing breath, trying again. His god frowned, concerned. That wasn’t right. “Your... High... ness...”

His Highness, his god, froze. His gorgeous eyes became wider and what he wouldn’t have given to have the right to kiss those lids, make them relax. He had no right, though. He wasn’t anyone, he was nothing.

“You,” the sweet voice started, “You know who I am?”

He forced his hand to raise, hoping its shakiness wasn’t as clear to his god as it was to him. Even in his dream, he didn’t want him to worry. His god was right there. He let his unworthy fingers caress that sharp chin, way too thin because of what the world had done to him. His god froze under the touch and he stopped. Maybe even in his dream he wasn’t worthy of even a small taste.

“You’re... His Highness. My... god.”

His god’s hand hovered over his, hesitant to touch. But it was clear to him what his god wanted and he removed his hand, letting it fall to the mattress. He was laying on the bed. His god’s bed. He truly was going through a divine punishment. This one he would accept without hesitation.

His god leaned back a little, going too far. “Who are you?” his god asked and he smiled. His silly prince. He knew who he was. And even if he had forgotten, he was there to remind.

“I am Wu Ming,” he said. And then the world became blurrier, his eyes falling shut once again. As he was drifting back into the painless nothingness, he let his god’s whispered, “Oh, Wu Ming”, lull him into it, the voice with him as his eternal guide.

****

The next few times he woke up he was still Wu Ming, being taken care of by his broken god. The dream was beautiful – he could even feel His Highnesses’ touch like a calming balm on his skin. A glass of water would be occasionally lifted to his lips and during those moments he could feel safe in his beloved’s arms, his head cradled in his lap, his hair gently brushed out of way as he drank.

But by the next time, when he could properly open his eyes, he remembered something else about himself. What he used to be before becoming a corpse. Hong Hong-er, a dirty street rat, not much better than a corpse he was now. So when he saw his god again, ready to take him into his embrace, he knew that at least inside this dream he could do right. He knew it was somewhere on him. Where had he put it? His hand brushed along his hair, finding what he was looking for. He lifted the red pearl together with his small braid, offering it to his god. “This one is sorry for stealing it.”

His god looked surprised as he examined the read pearl, carefully twirling it between his fingers. “This is mine?” his god asked. He tilted his head, a pale curve of neck drawing Hong-er’s eyes to it.

“Yes. This one stole it. When you saved me.”

His god blinked multiple times, still looking as confused as before. “I did? I’m sorry, Wu Ming. Can you remind me what this is and what time are you talking about?”

Hong-er nodded, adding his own fingers next to his god’s to touch the pearl. Their fingers brushed against each other. His Highness gasped, fingers growing still as Hong-er caressed them along with the pearl. He was so soft, Hong-er’s heart soared. “When this one fell. When this one was just a child.” Hong-er sighed, eyes in a faraway dream. “You were beautiful that day. I couldn’t die after all.”

“What... what are you talking about? Wu Ming? When did you... fall...” Hong-er’s eyes closed and with a final caress he let his fingers fall to his chest, letting even deeper state of sleep take him away from such a beautiful dream. What a shame. He wished he could stay.

****

When Hong-er, Wu Ming, woke up one last time, feeling like he’d finally slept enough, he found himself still inside another dream. It was strange how it kept going, strange how he always came back without waking up to the real world. His Highness was also still there, looking much clearer and more real than before.

Wu Ming, Hong-er... no, he wasn’t those anymore, not for a long time – Hua Cheng quietly observed his god sitting on a chair, nodding off. Even in exhaustion he was gorgeous, dark hair pulled up in a haste to keep it out of the way and hands wrinkling a wet rag, water droplets steadily dripping to the floor. Hua Cheng wanted to paint him, just like this, in all the reality of the world and restlessness of sleep. He was a work of art no matter what state his god was in. He wished he would never forget his god’s beauty.

He didn’t know how long he’d been watching, just painting his god’s image in his mind, when the man on the chair stirred and almost fell to the floor. Hua Cheng’s hand tried to reach out to catch him but his god was nimble and caught himself with a whirl before hitting the floor. Hua Cheng inhaled, bound by his graze.

“Oh, you’re awake! Sorry, sorry. Looks like I fell asleep after all,” he laughed awkwardly, rubbing his cheek with the wet rag. He then grimaced a little, wondering how the rag had come to touch his face. Hua Cheng chuckled quietly, drawing his god’s eyes to him. He was smiling shyly, a slight blush on his pale cheeks. Breathtaking. Hua Cheng had extended his fingers, thanking his god for being able to have such dreams. When His Highness reached back, touching carefully first and then grabbing Hua Cheng’s hand firmly, Hua Cheng let himself go and whispered, “I love you.”

“Huh?!”

“Your Highness, I love you.”

His god was speechless, mouth hanging open and face reddening with speed. He stuttered and Hua Cheng smiled, love filling his whole being. He was happy. If it only could be real.

“I, I, I... ah hahahaha! Well, would you look at that, a rag!” His god whipped the rag around, making water droplets splash around. Some of them hit Hua Cheng’s face but he didn’t mind. He smiled at him gently. A high-pitched whine arose from somewhere and it took him a while to realize it was the prince who made the sound. The he tossed the rag right into Hua Cheng’s face.

“Aah, so sorry!” The rag was lifted off his face revealing an endearing sight. For a while they just looked at each other in the eye, Hua Cheng loving the sight and his god looking momentarily stunned. Then the god snapped out of it, quickly backing away towards the door.

“Oh dear, would you look at the time. It's time for dinner!” His Highness smacked his forehead, leaving behind a red mark. Hua Cheng looked at him worried, trying to get up from the bed.

“No, no, no, please stay down, you need to rest!” With a wild wave he ran out of the door, leaving it open. Hua Cheng, half up and half down, pouted at being left alone. But before he could force himself to stand up running steps came closer and soon His Highness rushed back in, hair wildly slipping out of the bun.

“Oh, yes, I forgot to ask if you’re fine with dumplings, Wu Ming. Or Hong-er.” His Highness scratched his cheek, smiling awkwardly. “Ahh, which one would you like me to call you?”

Hua Cheng, still not sure what had happened, automatically answered, “Neither. My name is now Hua Cheng.”

His god looked honestly surprised and intrigued by this. “Oh? I see. You have found yourself a name you like?” When Hua Cheng nodded, His Highness smiled. “Hua Cheng, then. It suits you. Really.” And with a final, tender smile, His Highness once again exited the house, now at much slower pace, with a hum on his lips.

If only this all were real. It was the most beautiful dream Hua Cheng had ever had. Perhaps it would be fine to keep dreaming about it just a little longer. Just a little.

****

Now

Hua Cheng was usually a pretty good at prioritizing his emotions. Some people (like Black Water but what did that fish brain know, anyway) said he had a short temper especially when it came to his beloved. Hua Cheng would say he reacted only in the way His Highness deserved since nobody else did it for him. He knew he was under control and knew he could push back unnecessary personal emotions when the situation called it.

But now, for some reason, he couldn’t control them at all. And the worst part was that they were very personal. So, they were unnecessary. He knew where his focus was supposed to be. He knew the only emotions he needed right now were anger and rage for His Highness’ sake. And where his brain was?

In his own personal hurt, confusion and grief caused by his own actions. Were they necessary now while he was trying to interrogate a man who knew where his beloved was and had tried to kidnap his son again? No, they were only making him distracted. Did he need them in order to calm down his still shaky son whom he’d disappointed yet again? Absolutely not, those emotions were inherently personal and revolved only around his own hurt.

So, he needed to focus again and quick. He knew he was good at it. So what the hell was wrong with him this time? Was he really still that small, beaten-up child from Xianle slums? Was he not hundreds of years old Ghost King who’d wreaked havoc around all realms? Was he not a servant of his god whose first and foremost priority now was to find him and keep his son save?

He needed to focus on the precent. And yet, every time he tried, he remembered Xie Ming’s words: “Because you apparently had more important things to take care of than your family”. An image of a pregnant Xie Lian appeared in his mind, walking day and night, looking for Hua Cheng’s good-for-nothing ass only to hear that Hua Cheng had more important things to take care of than his own family. And why couldn’t Hua Cheng remember such a thing? Had His Highness really been at Ghost City? Had he really met him or someone else who’d let him assume such things? Hua Cheng was horrified. He wanted to stab E-Ming through his heart. He wanted to jump off a cliff. He wanted to find His Highness and let him use him as his personal door mat and then discard him as nothing more than the filthiest trash.

And when he was able to push these thoughts into a box of things he’d deal with later, he remembered Xie Ming running out all alone, the fear that had struck Hua Cheng when he’d finally snapped out of his useless personal feelings and had seen that creep touching and talking to his son. It had been too close a call and he just wanted to kill that bastard right there and then. Perhaps make him suffer first so he couldn’t think even after his death that he’d be free from Hua Cheng if he ever thought about coming back as a ghost. Oh, if he did, Hua Cheng would show him his place indeed.

But he couldn’t. These feelings were once again personal. So, he proceeded to push them into another box of things he’d execute once he’d first beaten out all the information out of the said man and rescued His Highness. He knew the order of things and what he needed to do, so why was he being so useless, then?

Massaging his temples, Hua Cheng made a list inside his head: First, check on Xie Ming and see if he needed anything. Second, take Xie Ming back to the inn, finds a place to interrogate the bastard and beat the shit out of him until he had all the knowledge he needed.

When he proceeded to execute step number one, he should have known it wouldn’t be so easy. After making sure Xie Ming wasn’t injured and didn’t need any food or drink, he said, “I’m going to take you back to the inn.”

Xie Ming raised his head for the first time. His eyes were still all puffy from crying but otherwise he seemed livelier which was a relief. What wasn’t a relief was the way the boy’s eyes rounded like he was offended. “I’m not going back,” he declared and Hua Cheng stifled a deep sigh. No personal emotions, he reminded himself. Keep it not personal.

“You don’t want to see it when I interrogate that man,” he explained. He really didn’t. The shocked face of Xie Ming was still fresh in his mind. Hua Cheng already had too many personal emotions churning about his head. He didn’t need the boy fear him even more.

But Xie Ming stood his ground, looking exactly like Xie Lian that Hua Cheng’s breath was stolen away. The way his eyebrows furrowed and lips pouted and the feeling of authority were exactly like his beloved’s that Hua Cheng felt like crying. God, he missed him, too.

Xie Ming huffed, hunching his shoulders. “We promised we’d look for A-die together.”

“And we will,” Hua Cheng answered. “But interrogating someone isn’t a pretty sight.”

“I can take it--”

“Can you?”

Xie Ming’s mouth opened and finally closed, probably remembering the same scene from earlier as Hua Cheng. His cheeks flushed and puffed, he crossed his arms. “I don’t need to be in the same room,” he finally said. “I can just wait outside.”

Hua Cheng hesitated for a minute, hand hovering halfway up, until he thought, screw it, and placed his hand on Xie Ming’s shoulder. The boy jumped slightly but relaxed right after. It was a good sign, and at least for a second Hua Cheng’s heart felt a little bit lighter.

“If that’s the case you could just as well wait in our room. You’ll be much safer there.”

“But--” Xie Ming swallowed and looked down, embarrassed. Hua Cheng tilted his head, trying to read what that meant.

“But?”

Xie Ming wiped his still runny nose to his sleeve (Hua Cheng made a mental note to get him a handkerchief later), carefully thinking something. Finally, he muttered, “I just don’t want to be alone.”

Hua Cheng’s hand tightened a little, making Xie Ming look up to him shyly. For a moment, Hua Cheng’s mind was completely devoid of any negative thoughts. He smiled a little, giving his son’s shoulder one more squeeze and realized he was just as soft towards his son’s wishes as he was his beloved’s. He didn’t mind that at all.

“Fine,” he sighed. He smiled at Xie Ming’s clear relief. “But you have to wait outside, okay?”

Xie Ming nodded multiple times, looking much livelier than just a moment ago. Hua Cheng swore he’d keep his son always close, never letting him out of his sight if he could help it. He gave the boy a little push to his back, leading him towards the still unconscious man. He picked the man up like a sack of rise, threw his dice and teleported them to a location where they’d started their search.

****

The forest was dark, the night having fallen already. It wasn’t impossibly late but late enough for Xie Ming to feel his feet drag behind and eyes sting with sleep. The air was cool, making him shiver a little. Perhaps he should have waited at the inn and just slept. He looked around the eerie woods, the trees hiding both terrible and beautiful things in their shadows. But he really, really didn’t want to be alone right now. Which one was a better choice, he didn’t know. The overall atmosphere as well as the cold and the dark indicated towards the inn but every time he glanced at Hua Cheng walking next to him like a sturdy statue he knew he’d made a right decision tagging along. Xie Ming smiled in secret, jogging to catch up.

They stopped at the hut they’d checked out just a day before. At this point Xie Ming kind of understood how Hua Cheng’s dice worked and knew the man could have teleported them right to the hut but instead had started them off at the beginning of the forest path. Whatever the reason was, Xie Ming was grateful. It gave him an excuse to spend a little longer with his father and calm himself down. Sure, he was still embarrassed as hell that he’d cried and clung to his father like a small child but he was also tired and perhaps Hua Cheng’s closeness had felt really good. He didn’t have any energy left anymore to fight back, anyway. And perhaps, Xie Ming thought as he looked at the man, Hua Cheng had needed some time to recenter himself too.

“You okay?” Hua Cheng asked as he tossed the man down without care. Xie Ming looked at the still unconscious man before meeting the one-eyed gaze. He nodded, suddenly feeling shy. That seemed to be enough to the man as he started to push Xie Ming towards the front where there was a small stool and made Xie Ming sit on it. “Wait here until I’m done.”

Just as Xie Ming was about to nod once again, he shivered and sniffed. Hua Cheng, obviously, noticed this (like anything would go without his notice). Xie Ming was ready to once again argue against the man because he’d made his decision. He would not go back to the inn alone. But instead of doing that, his father started to undo his belt and took his outer robe off, draping it on Xie Ming’s shoulders. It was soft and surprisingly warm despite being quite thin silk. And it smelled just like his father. It felt like he was back in the hug. He leaned a little against the wall, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks.

Then something hard was pushed into his hands. He glanced down, seeing a sword. And not just any sword but Hua Cheng’s own sword, the infamous E-Ming. Xie Ming tightened his grip on the hilt as the sword started to tremble and then the eye opened, rolling around wildly before finally coming to stop at Xie Ming’s face. They looked at each other, a single red eye and a pair of mitch matched ones. If Xie Ming had to describe the look on the sword, it would be awed. He bet his own expression was similar. What a strange sword.

Hua Cheng smacked the eye right in the middle and the sword went still, a single tear escaping the corner. Xie Ming, shocked at the action, looked at his father. “Don’t mind that think, A-Ming,” he said, still frowning at the sword. Xie Ming blinked at the sudden nickname. “Just keep it close to you. You,” Hua Cheng said, pointing a threatening finger at E-Ming. “Keep him safe no matter what. And behave.”

With that he reached into the pouch on his hip and pulled out a still steaming bun, handing it to flabbergasted Xie Ming. Then he picked the man up again and entered the hut. “I won’t be long. Just stay right there and don’t come in no matter what you hear. Okay?”

Still looking at the bun, Xie Ming nodded. “Okay.” With that he was alone with a bun, a warm robe and a sword that was watching him like it was smiling tenderly. He blinked and sniffed again and decided to start with the simplest thing which was eating. The rest he would think after his stomach was full and warm.

Chapter Text

Hua Cheng took a moment to breathe. He took a handkerchief from the folds of his black inner robe and wiped his knuckles off of the filth. The handkerchief he threw to the corner of the dusty room, no longer wanting to keep such a thing tainted with filthy blood. He glanced towards the immobile body on the floor: the man was still alive but only barely. He did deserve death after what Hua Cheng had learned he’d done with the children he’d been part of kidnapping. He shuddered, fear momentarily taking a hold of him as he remembered the man being this close to taking Xie Ming, too. He felt searing anger at the thought of his beloved being in the hands of similar men.

He gave a good kick to the ribs, the filth making a pained noise even in his unconscious state. He couldn’t kill him yet, though. Death was too good for a scum like him. Instead, fingers shaking, he pressed them to his temple entering the array.

‘Yin Yu. Answer.’

It only took a second before Yin Yu’s even voice rang in his head.

‘What is it, Chengzu?’

‘I need you to come collect some filth. Make sure to give him the best hospitability Ghost City has to offer.’

Yin Yu, bless him, didn’t need clarification what Hua Cheng meant with that. Hua Cheng liked that about him: he was quick to catch on to his employer’s personal feelings and knew what had to be done. With a final word of his location and an order to first talk to Hua Cheng once he arrived, the Ghost King closed the connection, opening another one. The sight made him instantly unwind, making his shoulders sag.

Through the spiritual butterfly Hua Cheng saw his son slumped against the wall, eyes closed and breathing steady. He seemed to be asleep but little movements here and there told him that the rest was only surface level. Xie Ming was hugging E-Ming against his chest, the red eye open and alert as it kept watch of the boy’s rest. Good. The sword was being useful for once. One of the butterflies was making a nest in Xie Ming’s ponytail, looking like a beautiful hair ornament. Absentmindedly he thought about making a matching set of butterfly ornaments to both Xie Ming and Xie Lian.

The rest of the tension disappeared from his muscles.

A dark, quiet figure appeared to the edge of his vision. The figure was close to Xie Ming but Hua Cheng wasn’t worried, he knew who had arrived. He opened his own eye, stepping outside to greet Yin Yu. The man was standing straight, hands behind his back. He was still wearing his mask but Hua Cheng knew his eyes had wandered to the sleeping boy in front of the building. As Hua Cheng approached, the man gave him a bow, greeting him quietly.

“Chengzu.”

Hua Cheng sneaked a look at Xie Ming who had stirred a little but seemed to still be in a slumber. The robe Hua Cheng had given him was slipping off a little, so Hua Cheng, as careful as a cat, straightened it up. He shared a look with E-Ming, the eye narrowing itself at him. Hua Cheng glared back. Stupid blade.

“Yin Yu. I have two missions for you.” Yin Yu stood by, quietly waiting for his orders. “First, take the scum in the hut to be take care of until I return. Then second, go to these locations and free the captives there. Make sure they get home. And kill the captors. Don’t show mercy.”

He handed a slip of parchment he’d gotten from the filth as he’d beaten the information out of him. The first priority he’d had was to get the location of the group that had captured his beloved but there had been a second objective: to get the location of the other children and teens. Hua Cheng was a bastard but he wasn’t that much of a bastard to leave children in the hands of cruelty no child should ever experience.

“Try to find out where the rest of the captives are if they’ve already been moved.” He knew that it would be impossible to find everyone. The group had been working for a long time already and the information of some of the victims would be destroyed by now, but as long as Yin Yu could find even a fraction of those kids, it would be someone’s blessing.

Yin Yu read through the list, giving a quick nod. “May I take reinforcements with me?”

Hua Cheng waved his hand lazily, already moving on to the next priority in his head. “Sure, take whatever you need. Just remember to keep enough people at the city.”

“Yes, sir.”

With a final bow, Yin Yu was moving to walk past Hua Cheng to gather the prisoner when he suddenly stopped, movements unsure. Hua Cheng raised his brow at him, turning to look where the other man was looking. His eyes landed on Xie Ming who was now wide awake, staring at the two of them with wide, curious eyes. With amusement Hua Cheng watched Yin Yu uncharacteristically hesitate before giving just as low a bow as he’d give Hua Cheng, greeting the boy with, “Young master.”

Hua Cheng snorted when Xie Ming’s eyes widened to impossible size, cheeks turning bright red. He stammered, “No, no, no, I’m not--”

Yin Yu only stated, “Young master is young master,” and walked towards the door. “Have a good night.”

Xie Ming whipped his head from the disappearing Yin Yu towards openly laughing Hua Cheng. The boy looked like his father had betrayed him, tightening his hug of E-Ming. The silver butterfly in his hair took a flight as he jumped up, hair bouncing around. His eyes momentarily looked up to the bright silver light, a gasp leaving him as he for the first time noticed the spiritual weapon hanging around him. But with a determined shake of a head he left the butterfly alone (even though Hua Cheng could tell he’d love to play with it – he made sure to introduce them to Xie Ming later when they had more time) and ran up to Hua Cheng.

“Did you mean that?” he asked almost breathless. There was a determined look in his eyes like he was about to dig some secret out. Hua Cheng wasn’t sure what since he had decided to not keep any secrets from his son.

“Did I mean what?” he asked. He had an idea but at the same time he wanted to be sure.

“Are you going to help those other kids?”

“Yes,” Hua Cheng answered. The look in the boy’s eyes became harder.

“Why?”

Hua Cheng raised his brow. “Why I’m helping?”

“Yes!”

The man sighed. He guessed it was a fair question. He hadn’t exactly given a good picture of himself as a good Samaritan. Xie Ming didn’t know him yet and the only person to blame of that was Hua Cheng himself. So, he answered patiently, “I’m not a good person. I know you think that way about me,” he insisted as Xie Ming tried to deny it. The boy averted his eyes for a second. “But I’m not a complete monster. The kids have done nothing. I know men like that and I hate their type. I used to be a street kid myself, always having to be careful of assholes like that. I used to be weak, an easy prey,” he said bitterly. “But I’m stronger now and I can punish the men who think they have a right. Scum is scum, no matter if I personally know their victims or not. The scum deserves to be purged.”

When he stopped his tirade with a final, disgusted spat, Xie Ming was looking up to him, eyes shining and something clearly changing in the way he was looking at Hua Cheng. The ghost was captivated by that look, suddenly feeling shy. He tried to play it off by ruffling the boy’s hair and smirking.

“Did that answer your question?”

Xie Ming nodded, giving a small smile of his own. Hua Cheng felt his own smile widening into something more sincere.

“Good,” Hua Cheng continued. “Did you have fun with E-Ming?”

Xie Ming jumped, looking down to the sword he was still hugging tightly. E-Ming looked like he was in heaven, the bastard. “Oh, yes, thank you,” Xie Ming hastily said, finally relenting his grip of the sword and offering it back to Hua Cheng. The man took it, giving the sword final glare (and gaining one back) before tying it back to his hip. Realizing he was still wearing Hua Cheng’s outer robe, he tried to offer it back but Hua Cheng declined.

“You keep it. It’s a cold night and you need it more than I do.”

With a blush and a nod, Xie Ming wrapped the robe tighter around himself. It was too large to his lithe, short frame, the hem dragging on the floor and sleeves forcing him to wrap them up every five minutes. It was adorable. Hua Cheng couldn’t stop himself from giving one more hair ruffle. Xie Ming squeaked, flapping the offending hand off.

“Come. We need to get you to bed. It’s late.”

Xie Ming made a sound of protest, clearly wanting to hear more of what Hua Cheng had learned.

“We can talk more tomorrow. You’re almost dead on your feet and I’m supposed to be the dead one.”

His joke gained only an exasperated eye roll.

****

The next day was only couple of hours away by the time their heads hit their pillows. Xie Ming couldn’t really sleep – he was too nervous, too restless now that they were closer to finding A-Die. But Hua Cheng had insisted that they rest, and with a pout, Xie Ming admitted that he was tired. Not that the rest had done any good to him. His eyes were glued together as Hua Cheng woke him up after what felt only like minutes of sleep, and his head was aching. He even leaned in a little as Hua Cheng swept his palm over his forehead, pushing the messy bangs to the side.

His father’s frown was telling. Clearly he knew Xie Ming had slept almost not at all. But instead of insisting that they rest some more like Xie Ming had feared, he only brought some breakfast upstairs to their room. Xie Ming noticed the same restlessness in the man as he recognized in himself. It was the need to move already, need to follow their latest lead and find Xie Lian. It calmed Xie Ming’s roiling stomach a little, knowing that he wasn’t alone with his haste.

Once they left the inn, moving towards the edge of the town, Hua Cheng finally started answering his questions. “I found out where they had taken your A-die and the rest. I also found out that your A-die had caused quit a ruckus all alone, causing a handful of kids escaping.” Hua Cheng smirked a little. Xie Ming felt proud of his father and let out a sigh of relief at finally hearing something about his A-die for the first time in weeks. It was a good thing, it made it even more possible that he was alive and close by.

“When did A-die do that? Did that man know?”

Hua Cheng nodded. “It was only a week ago, which means they had kept them captive for some time, probably looking for potential buyers or trying to trick anyone who tried to follow them. If there were any. The kids were mostly orphaned but there’s always possibility someone had a family somewhere looking for them.”

Xie Ming grimaced, feeling disgusted. Hua Cheng nodded, looking just the same.

“Do you think A-die is still there?”

At that, Hua Cheng's face turned emotionless. He gave a small shake of head. “I don’t think so. After what he did, I think those men wanted to get rid of him as fast as possible.” The fear came back, rolling his stomach around. “But it must have taken at least couple of days to find someone willing to take such a wild card and then move him away. So, I think we’re closer to him than before. And we will learn more once we reach the place.”

Xie Ming nodded, trying to calm his breathing. “That man you interrogated yesterday didn’t know if A-die is still there?”

“No,” Hua Cheng sighed. He shielded his eyes from the small dripple of rain. The air smelled fresh after yesterday’s dry heat. “That scum claimed he knew nothing more.”

“But you suspect otherwise?”

“You can never be too careful.”

Xie Ming hesitated, not sure if he wanted to dive too deep into his father’s dangerous world. But this was for his A-die and he needed to know. And, perhaps, this was a little for himself too. His father was a stranger. A dangerous ghost. But he’d been there for Xie Ming so far. He’d found his A-die just like Xie Ming had hoped. There was a part of him that was still wary, still scared, but there was a part in him that was growing every moment he spent with his father, the part that wanted to learn more.

So, he swallowed and asked with a shaking voice, “Did you kill him?”

Hua Cheng turned to look at him like looking for something. Xie Ming didn’t know what he found in the end, but something made him answer the boy. “No, I didn’t. He’d deserve it, though.”

Xie Ming guessed he did. He was a bad man. Death was still such a foreign concept to him. He’d seen it happen, he’d heard about it, but killing those who deserved it was still something strange and too large for him to handle. So, he just accepted what his father said, thinking that the man would know better than him. They fell into a quiet walk, their destination nearing with every step and the anticipation of what was to be found building up.

The place was an old, abandoned temple up the nearby hill. It was hidden behind trees and over-growth and easy to ignore. What would one find in such an old, run-down temple other than wild animals and rot? But if one looked close enough, they could see some of the foliage pushed aside and broken by something large. It could have been caused by an animal but considering what the two of them knew, there was no doubt it was caused by humans.

The temple itself was average size, its paint long since faded due weather’s tantrums. The letters of the sign had gone through the same fate long ago so there was no way to tell whose temple it had once been. Even inside the statue had fallen and been shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Xie Ming tried to look at the particular piece resembling a face but the possible expression seemed so strange there was a small chance no one could have known the god’s name by the looks only even when the statue was whole. He shook his head, looking around and feeling disappointed when all he saw was a mess. No humans, no gods or even animals anywhere. Just more plants and broken pieces.

Xie Ming looked at his father, panicking inside. They were late, they were all gone. But Hua Cheng didn’t look particularly worried. Instead, he was scanning the room with a sharp look in his dark eye like he was looking for something. Xie Ming tried to look, too, calming down a notch. Even if there were no humans there, perhaps they could find some clues. His father had operated the same way so far, never over-looking any possible hint and finally leading them here. But he really couldn’t see anything, even when Hua Cheng made a humming sound and started to walk towards something. Xie Ming followed him quietly, letting the man do his work.

When Hua Cheng stopped in front of a back-wall, Xie Ming looked at the man in confusion. His father simply smiled at him and nodded his head to the side. “Do you see anything strange here?” Xie Ming side-eyed the man but obeyed anyway. Both of his fathers really wanted to make him do all the work just to teach them. He knew why but sometimes, especially when he was tired and impatient, he just hoped his fathers would get on with it and tell him all the answers.

In the end there was no need for that. All Xie Ming had to do was look down, then rub his eyes a little and look again to confirm that he was seeing something. A well-hidden hatch with a talisman on it to make it harder to notice unless you knew what you were looking for. He had seen his A-die make such a talisman before to hide them when they were resting in a particularly unstable area but it was something mostly cultivators used and knew how to use. He definitely didn’t like the idea of some cultivator making or selling such talismans to criminals to aid them in their crimes.

“Ah, so you figured it out,” Hua Cheng said and kicked the talisman off. “Don’t be too worried about it. The talisman isn’t that well made so I guess either they tried to do one themselves or they bought it from someone not so talented for a cheap price. It’s disturbing, though, I agree.”

Xie Ming didn’t know what to say so he just watched the man lift up the hatch. A cloud of dust puffed into the air as it hit the floor. They were met with a sight of steep stairs going underground, only a small patch of light illuminating the last step. Xie Ming eyed the darkness nervously, suddenly feeling how close they were. It was serious business now. They could actually find something important down there. He was just thinking if he should be the one to go first but was luckily stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to his father who said, “Just follow me. Hold onto my arm so you won’t fall.” The man offered Xie Ming his arm and after a second of hesitation Xie Ming took it. He squeezed the muscle, feeling at least a little bit steadier than a moment ago. He gave a small nod, indicating that he was ready to go.

There was nothing to worry about. His father was there to protect him and A-die. He knew it now.

Xie Ming’s heartbeat slowed down and he took the first step down with more confidence than he ever could have believed.

The stairs let out quiet squeaking noise as they descended, the light coming closer and closer. They didn’t speak a word, Xie Ming even made sure he breathed extra quietly. But the first sounds they heard were when they stepped off the stairs next to the flaming torch. They were in a small cellar space that was lined with grey stone walls. At the farthest wall stood a wooden door and from behind a couple of voices reached their ears. The talking was only mutters, making it impossible to hear what was said. Hua Cheng, though, looked like he was listening closely and hearing every word. Maybe ghosts had better hearing. Xie Ming held on tighter as they approached the door.

“A-Ming.” Xie Ming blinked. That nickname again. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it but decided to not say anything about it, allowing it for now. They had more important things to do anyway and there was no time for his childishness. “I know you should wait outside while I deal with those bastards inside.” Xie Ming was about to open his mouth to retort when Hua Cheng raised his hand to silence him. Xie Ming obeyed but glared at the man a little. “But I’m not going to leave you here alone. Not again after yesterday.”

Xie Ming remembered yesterday, remembered the hand on his head and the fake-sweet voice. He shuddered and was happy he didn’t have to insist. He reached out to the arm with his other hand too, almost completely hanging on it. Hua Cheng gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, “It’s okay. If something gets too much, just close your eyes and try not to listen, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Good boy.” Hua Cheng’s canines flashed when Xie Ming shot him a dirty look. After all this was over, he’d kick the man in the shin and not feel guilty about it. Not at all.

“Let’s just go in,” he muttered but did not let go with either of his hands. His heartbeat had been picking up, once again, and he wasn’t feeling the best with the lack of sleep and what not. So it wasn’t really his fault he wanted some support. He sniffed, letting the man lead him in as he kicked the door open.

He kicked the door open.

What happened to opening it quietly or knocking!? Xie Ming gaped at the man who confidently strode in, dragging Xie Ming with him. The men inside froze at the sudden intrusion, too shocked to even react. Then Hua Cheng drawled, “I’ve come to take back what’s mine,” and the men drew their swords with fury in their eyes. Hua Cheng tapped Xie Ming’s hands, giving him a gentle nudge as he led him to stand against the farthest wall, telling him to stay right there, and drew his sabre. Xie Ming’s hands shook a little as he pressed himself against the wall, keeping an eye out on the men. He was pretty sure one of them had been with the group that had captured them. A sudden surge of relief filled him. They were on the right track.

As Hua Cheng dashed towards the men, fighting with an ease in his steps, Xie Ming looked around. The room had almost no furniture, only one large table stood in the middle of the room and couple of chairs around it. But what filled the room was something that made Xie Ming’s breath hitch: cages. At least a dozen of cages. Some were empty, only a pile of hay covering the floor, but some still had occupants. And those occupants weren’t animals.

Xie Ming knew he would have been one of the children inside one of those cages had he not ran. His eyes frantically looked over every single frightened, tired face but none of them belonged to his A-die. Frustration piled up inside him, wanting to come out of his throat as a shout, but he bit his lip and wiped the corner of his eye. There was no time for that.

He gave a quick glance towards his father, turning away just as quickly as one of the swords scraped his father’s side. He was fine, he was okay. He was a Ghost King; there was no mortal who could hurt him. And sure enough, soon it was the kidnapper’s blood that almost reached the tips of Xie Ming’s boots. With determination he straightened himself and sneaked towards the cages. He made sure to never let the kidnappers out of his eyes but it seemed his father kept them busy enough that they had no time to be worried about an unimportant, weak child with him.

When he reached the first cage, he met a pair of dull, brown eyes. The girl inside was smaller than him and not present. Xie Ming looked at her worriedly when there was no reaction to his presence as he tested the lock but knew there was nothing he could do for her for now. He had to figure out how to open the locks and get the children out of here.

Generally speaking, his A-die had told him to never steal nor break locks because there were rarely any legal reasons to do so. But that hadn’t stopped the man from showing him how to pick a lock open in case he ever needed to escape from somewhere locked. Xie Ming thanked his A-die for the foresight. He just needed two hair pins or other sharp object. Unfortunately, he didn’t wear such ornament, preferring to keep his hair simply tied, but some of the kids could still have something.

When he looked around, he saw that not everyone was like the girl. Some were looking at him with a sliver of hope, some were staring at his still fighting father with suspicion. Xie Ming himself glanced at the man too, knowing that he was ordered to stay put. But the captives were right there and who knew if something went wrong and the kids would still be captives in the end. Feeling only slightly guilty he turned to one of the kids.

“Hey,” he whispered. Some of those who hadn’t been paying attention to him looked up to him, too. “Does any of you have anything small and sharp. Like hairpins. I need two.”

The kids looked at each other warily, clearly not sure what to think about the strange child outside a cage, asking for sharp objects. One of the kids, an older boy than he was, said, “I have one in my hair. What are you going to do with it?”

Before Xie Ming had a chance to answer, one other kid, younger than he was, asked, “Are you going to pick the lock?” The girl leaned forward a little, bright eyes shining from the dirty face. “I know how to lockpick but the bars are too small to put hands through.”

“Oh, you have something to help with that, then?” Xie Ming asked. The girl nodded.

“Just one, though.”

When the girl handed him her hairpin through the bars, the older boy seemed to relent too. He handed his hairpin to Xie Ming, a little longer than the other one, and Xie Ming looked over the children. Some were in their later teens and looked strong while some were small and frail and young. He made a decision.

“Is anyone good at fighting?” Most of them shook their heads while one just shrugged, saying that she can throw a good punch. She looked quite big and strong so Xie Ming approved of her. He started to first pick her lock, giving her orders to keep the others save once he freed them. Just as he heard the lock click, the girl in the gage looked up, eyes scared and about to yell, when strong arms caught Xie Ming into a suffocating hold. A hand pressed over his mouth, covering his nostrils and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. Panick rose in his chest as he gasped desperately for air and struggled, but the hold was firm and the voice that growled into his ear harsh, “Stay put, you brat. I remember who you are. I knew you’d bring trouble to us. I knew it!”

Xie Ming tried to push the hand off of him but the man didn’t even sweat. What made his panic worse was that he knew the man. He was the one he’d recognized to be one of their captors those weeks ago. Sudden dread filled Xie Ming’s gut. This man was seriously angry at him and he knew he was ready to kill him out of spite. Dark spots started to dance in his vision as the oxygen couldn’t reach his lungs. He was losing his hope, tears pooling into his eyes, when one of the man’s fingers accidently slipped more into his mouth and Xie Ming’s instincts kicked in. He bit the finger, hard. The man yelped, removing the hand and Xie Ming could finally draw in a hungry gasp of air. Without thought he yelled the first thing that came to mind,

“Baba!”

And then the arms disappeared, Xie Ming falling to the floor, slumped down into a gasping heap. Something behind him splattered and a heavy thump hit the floor. “Don’t turn around, Xie Ming,” his father said, voice steady. Somehow it felt more ominous, sending shivers down Xie Ming’s spine. “That man can’t hurt you anymore.”

Xie Ming believed him. Small hands took a hold of him at the same time as metal clanked against metal and Hua Cheng continued his fight. A quick look told him that the girl he’d just let out of the gage was looking around shakily while helping him up. She handed him the needles. For a while Xie Ming just stared at them, his hand shaking.

When he finally could thank the girl and sit up, he saw that the men in the room had multiplied, running in from other rooms just as fast as Hua Cheng knocked them down or killed them. Xie Ming gasped for a while, closed his swimming eyes, and when he opened them he shared a determined look with the girl. He continued his work while the girl kept an eye out that nothing like the earlier incident could happen again.

When he got the next lock open, the room fell silent. Only one man seemed to be standing, asking for mercy. Xie Ming knew he wouldn’t last for long. Perhaps until Hua Cheng learned what he needed about A-die. He kept on his work, knowing there was probably a key to the gages now, but not eager to go find it from the pile of corpses and unconscious bodies. With one ear he listened to his father interrogate, goosebumps running up his arms. Thank god Hua Cheng was his father.

“I won’t spare you,” Hua Cheng said, voice steady. The man whimpered. “But I’ll make your death painless if you answer my questions.”

“I-I won’t answer then! You’ll kill me anyway!”

Xie Ming could hear the dangerous smile in his father’s voice, “Yes. But are you sure you want to find out how you’d die, then?”

The man seemed to hesitate, the gasps getting more frequent. Finally he seemed to break when Hua Cheng asked his first question, “Where did the young man dressed in white cultivator’s robes go? Who did buy him?”

When the man didn’t instantly answer, Hua Cheng smacked him. Xie Ming grimaced and continued his work. “Come on, you know the answer.”

“Yes, yes, I do! Wait, just wait! He was causing trouble so we needed to get rid of him and fast. So...”

“So?”

“So, we sold him off to the regular we knew wasn’t picky about his meat.”

Hua Cheng was quiet for a while. “His meat?” Xie Ming stopped to listen, shivering at the odd choice of words.

“Yeah, he’s this weirdo who... who does sin and eats... eats the children. I know, he’s one of the sick ones. But he pays well if he likes what he sees. And he really liked this one. It actually looked like they knew each other.”

Xie Ming couldn’t resist anymore. He turned around to look at his father and was surprised to see sharp, inhuman teeth flash in the flickering light. His pupil had shrunk into a narrow slit. The man in his hold was whimpering again, afraid. Xie Ming couldn’t blame him. He felt himself shrink just looking at the face of a Ghost King.

“Tell me,” Hua Cheng started, voice almost a whisper. No child, no adult made a sound as he spoke. “Was this man wearing green? Did he look like the one in white robes?”

The man didn’t speak for a second, either because of fear or because he was thinking. “Y-Yes,” he finally answered. “Yes, he was wearing green. And I guess they looked alike. I wasn’t really looking. And the green guy was wearing a lot of make-up.”

“Ah,” Hua Cheng said. “I know the man. Thank you.”

“Ah, y-yes. You-You're welcome,” the man answered, smiling hesitantly. “You’ll let me go now, right? I did a good job, right?”

Hua Cheng didn’t look at the man he was still holding and instead turned to Xie Ming, his face turning kinder. Xie Ming didn’t avert his eyes, not really afraid, just unsure. “A-Ming,” Hua Cheng said, “look away and cover your ears. Okay?”

Xie Ming hesitated but as Hua Cheng kept waiting for his answer patiently, he deemed it saver to just obey. He knew he wouldn’t like to see what was to happen, anyway. So he nodded to his father, turned towards the gages hoping the other kids were doing the same and covered his ears. He hummed a little so he wouldn’t hear even accidentally anything. He was so concentrated on covering the sounds out that he jumped when a hand touched his shoulder. His father was standing above him, looking concerned.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry I wasn’t there faster.” Hua Cheng looked like he could beat himself up for his lateness. Xie Ming knew he hadn’t done it on purpose and he himself had decided to move despite his father’s words, so he just smiled, saying,

“It’s okay. You helped me in the end.”

The man gave him an awkward side hug, and for a second Xie Ming let himself sink into it. Hua Cheng’s breath hitched and the hold became a little surer. A cheek rested on top of Xie Ming’s head and finally the boy could breathe properly.

When the moment felt like it had lasted long enough and Xie Ming was starting to feel awkward, he retreated, clearing his throat. “So, where is A-die?”

Hua Cheng tensed again, the memory clearly making him angry. “Ah.” He hummed a little, deep in thought. Then he sighed and asked a question, “Did you know your A-die has a cousin?”

Xie Ming’s eyes widened. He had never heard. And that’s when Hua Cheng told him a story of a spoiled brat called Qi Rong while they helped the rest of the children out.

Chapter Text

Xie Ming started to think that his family was anything but normal; his A-die was a centuries old, banished god, his Baba just as old, feared Ghost King and apparently his A-die's cousin was a hated, cannibalistic wrath level ghost. He himself was still just a mortal – perhaps not just a regular mortal if some of his quirks were to be taken in consideration – so it sometimes made him dizzy to even think about his own relations. This complicated blood ran through his veins and, honestly, he’d rather not think about the latest addition to it.

Next to him Hua Cheng – his Baba as he had just recently called him in desperation, god, he’d only just started to realize what he’d said – rolled his dice in his palm, having just transported them in front of a cave. After giving the smiling-mask man called Yin Yu a call to come and fetch the children, he’d taken Xie Ming with him to this place. It was apparently an entrance to his A-die's crazy cousin’s hideout. To think that his A-die had ended up in such a place. To be honest, he was perhaps even more worried now that he knew he was bought by someone potentially as strong as him and not some mortal man who could be much weaker and easier for his A-die to beat up.

Hua Cheng, his baba, looked furious, too. He tried to hide it every time he turned to look at Xie Ming, but he could see the tension and fire behind his eye. He’d once again taken his older form, now towering above Xie Ming much taller. He kind of liked this look on his Baba, it made Xie Ming feel somehow safer. Was this also the form A-die knew when they were together? Xie Ming wondered. He imagined his two fathers living together in a small cottage, moving around each other in a familiar dance, being domestic, in love and happy. Before Hua Cheng had left, that is. A momentary bitter taste filled Xie Ming’s mouth. But, as he looked back at the man, the taste faded a little. There must have been a good reason. Xie Ming would give his Baba a chance, just one more time.

“Alright, there are some ground rules,” Hua Cheng’s voice snapped Xie Ming out of his thoughts. The man pushed the dice inside his robes, turning to look at the boy. Xie Ming decided to listen, playing with the hem of his right sleeve nervously. He gave a glance towards the mouth of the large, dark cave. Whatever they’d find in there. He remembered everything his Baba had told him about his A-die's cousin’s cannibalistic tendencies after his death and grimaced. Why was his family so weird?

“Listen well, A-Ming,” Hua Cheng called out to him, seeing that he was distracted. Xie Ming couldn’t help it, though. The idea of his A-die so close by made him antsy. He shook himself mentally and gave the man a nod. Hua Cheng deemed that satisfactory as he started to lay out his rules or whatever. “First, stay by my side and if I tell you to stay somewhere, you stay there so I know where you are.” He gave Xie Ming a stern gaze. Xie Ming wrinkled his nose but had to admit that perhaps he had started to wander around on his own beneath the abandoned temple and gotten himself in trouble where his Baba hadn’t been able to keep an eye on him. So he nodded, not even trying to complain. He wanted to get moving, anyway.

“Good. Second, I’m going to cast an illusion on us that makes us look like Qi Rong’s underlings. Try to act like you’re a dumb ghost.” Hua Cheng smirked. “I know, it’s going to be hard with our intellect but we have to try for your A-die.”

Xie Ming snorted, rolling his eyes. “Okay.”

“Great. Third, and this is the last point, even if you see your A-die over there, ready to be rescued, don’t go to him without me.”

“What?” Xie Ming almost shouted. “Why? Isn’t the whole point to rescue A-die?”

“Yes,” Hua Cheng admitted. “But remember what rule number one was?”

Xie Ming thought back and muttered, crossing his arms, “Stay close to you or where you tell me to stay?”

“Yes. If you go alone to your A-die, you might get caught in the middle or it might even be a trap. Then...” Hua Cheng took a deep breath while taking a hold of Xie Ming’s shoulders. “Then something might happen to you and I might not be able to help you. I’d never forgive myself.”

Xie Ming bit his lip, not liking the idea of just staying put uselessly but he also knew that he wasn’t strong. Not yet, at least. But Hua Cheng was and he guessed the man had some idea what he was doing. He wouldn’t anything happen to his A-die. Nor to Xie Ming. So, with a petulant, “I don’t like it but I’ll do as you say,” he agreed and let himself be moved closer to the entrance.

“Excellent,” Hua Cheng said, and the next time Xie Ming turned towards him, he saw a blue skinned ghost somewhat resembling his Baba. He blinked and rose his own hand towards his face, noticing himself being just as blue. The other thing he noticed about his Baba was a green ghostly flame above his head. Hua Cheng caught his stare and made a face.

“I know, pretty tacky to make your followers wear their ghost flames above their heads, right?” Xie Ming nodded, finding it somewhat absurd. “He’s just that kind of guy. Hey, I have an idea.” Hua Cheng leaned closer to Xie Ming like they’d be plotting something. Xie Ming side-eyed the man a little but decided to go along for now. Hua Cheng smirked at him like he knew exactly what Xie Ming was thinking. A flush took over his face. Hopefully it wouldn’t overpower the blue, making him look more like a lobster than a ghost.

“We both have some beef with Qi Rong and he’s generally talking a pretty disgusting brat,” Hua Cheng started, thankfully choosing to ignore Xie Ming’s embarrassing moment. Xie Ming hummed in agreement. “So, he deserves everything that’s coming to him. Let’s make his life a little bit harder before destroying him, okay?”

Xie Ming gulped, knowing by now how his father was when he had that smile that was more canine than genuine happiness. “What are you planning?” he asked warily. Hua Cheng just smiled wider, shrugging.

“Don’t know yet. But I know I’ll know when I see it.” He hummed, straightening to his full height. Xie Ming felt quite small next to him. He really was tall. “And I know you’re definitely my son, mischief and all,” Xie Ming sniffed, scratching his cheek awkwardly, “so I know you might want to do something, too.”

Well, talk about pressure. It was ridiculous to feel like wanting to impress your father with something like this but something in him wanted it. Wanted to be acknowledged, wanted to be loved by his Baba that he’d only now met for the first time. It was ridiculous, the whole making someone’s life miserable before destroying it, but he also felt giddy at the thought. This guy had stolen his A-die from him, he had stolen many children and adults and done bad things. Xie Ming was too young and soft to really take revenge for anyone but doing something like this, making his life a little bit harder, did sound like something he could do. It’d bring him at least a little bit of peace of mind. It’d make him feel not as useless as before, too. So, with determination, he nodded and gave his Baba a tentative smile.

“Sure, I’ll try my best.”

Hua Cheng smiled, eyes shining. “I know you will. But don’t overdo it.”

Xie Ming wondered if it’d be okay to give the man a quick hug, just to get some extra courage before stepping into a monster’s den. But the moment went past too fast and his Baba was already stepping into the cave, looking back at him to see if he followed.

Maybe next time, then. He gave himself a short speech of encouragement and jogged after the man.

****

The cave was just as ugly and disturbing as Hua Cheng remembered. The ghosts passing them just as pathetically spineless and their jokes just as tasteless. He kept a close eye on Xie Ming who tried his hardest not to look around in either fear or curiosity and smiled inwardly. Cute. Even looking like Qi Rong’s follower, he was just too adorable to handle.

Hua Cheng’s dead heart still gave a leapt whenever he remembered how late he could have been to save his son. He’d punish himself for being so careless once His Highness was safe and sound in Paradise Manor and their son fed, clothed and warm in bed. For now, though, he kept his mind strictly on the mission.

The first thing to hit them was the smell: the rotting stench of rotting meat and old blood. Hua Cheng managed to keep his expression neutral due to experience only so he couldn’t blame Xie Ming for gagging. He rubbed the boy’s back a little until some of the colour returned to his cheeks. The boy nodded in thanks but pinched his nose in order to not smell anymore of the shit. It wasn’t exactly discreet but no matter, Hua Cheng would just kill anyone who even looked at his son the wrong way. Easy solution.

The next thing they noticed about Qi Rong’s location was the obnoxious yells and hollers. Hua Cheng’s ears instantly hurt, he was so done with this asshole. The laughter bounced off the walls, causing several other ghosts laugh along. Xie Ming looked at him with wide eyes and Hua Cheng simply rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s Qi Rong. Let’s deal with him quick so we don’t have to listen to his useless voice longer than this.”

Xie Ming looked still a little worried but ended up simply agreeing. Hua Cheng felt warm, feeling like his son was coming around. Perhaps he would one day give him another chance to provide for them and be part of their family. He couldn’t let his hopes up too much, though. He didn’t have the right to dream, only wait for his family to make decision about his fate.

The final information they needed of Qi Rong’s location was the wide opening to the large hall and the sight of the said ghost lounging on a throne made of bones. It was distasteful – the throne, the man and his followers. Qi Rong was talking something about the latest fool of a human he’d met and eaten, and his followers answered his bragging with exited admiration. Hua Cheng decided not to listen too closely and instead stepped right into the den and looked around. He heard Xie Ming let out a small gasp, but soft steps told him the boy tried to stay close to him just like he’d promised. Hua Cheng gave himself a moment to just look around, trusting his son would follow him.

The hall was filled with little ghost fires trapped into lanterns. They cast an eerie green and blue light on the stone walls and floors, making it hard to see anything but rough shapes. In the middle of the room stood a giant cauldron and considering the water inside was boiling, there was no doubt what the ghost was planning to do next. There were no humans around yet, only ghosts and spirits kneeling and giving offerings to their lord. The absence of humans was both good and bad: good, because it meant no one had been thrown into the boiling cauldron yet today and bad, because now he had to locate the humans and that way hopefully find his beloved too.

While the room was full of ghosts, Hua Cheng knew they would be no trouble for him. Not many things were. Even the human scum earlier beneath the temple hadn’t been a problem hadn’t it been for the constantly entering new bastards distracting him from keeping an eye on Xie Ming. This time it wouldn’t happen, though. This time he knew the cowardly ghosts of Green Lantern would immediately retreat once they saw their lord losing to Crimson Rain. So perhaps the best option was to get Qi Rong bring the prisoners here instead of wandering around the complicated cave system and risking walking in circles and missing His Highness before he reached Qi Rong.

Forming the plan inside his head, he sent couple of silver butterflies down the openings in the cave, raising is an unamused brow when no one in the room even glanced at him as he did so. What poor excuses of ghosts. He nodded Xie Ming to follow him as he neared the adoring group of Green Lantern fans.

“Lord Qi Rong! Please, tell us again how you ate that spoiled brat who threatened to exorcise you!” one of the fans squealed, fanning its face. Qi Rong cackled, throwing his feet up on top of the back of one of the ghosts kneeling in front of his throne.

“Oh, that fucking shit eating snotface. Fucker thought he was such big shit, studying in a cultivation sect or whatever. Look what good that did to him! Hahahaha! Now the only thing he’s exorcising is my gastric acids!” Qi Rong burst into a laughter, spit flying all over the poor spirits in the front row.

Xie Ming moved a little closer to Hua Cheng, his warmth pressing against his side gently. He nudged the boy a little to get his attention and once he had it, he winked. Xie Ming looked at him like a baby hawk wanting to learn from his father. Hua Cheng smiled, ready to teach.

“Oh, my lord. You’re so amazing,” Hua Cheng called out, face blank despite the content of the words. Xie Ming looked at him curiously, eyes wide with amusement. “Tell me more about your oh-so-great conquests. How aren't you a supreme by now?”

Qi Rong straightened up, narrowing his eyes while trying to locate who was speaking such complimenting words with such a bland tone. Especially, when that person dared to hint Qi Rong wasn’t already a supreme. Such delusions only dwelled between Qi Rong and his followers. “Who is it? Who’s saying that? Who says I’m not a Ghost King, huh?! What do you want, you fucker?!”

A smirk slipped to Hua Cheng’s lips. He tried to force it down but couldn’t stop himself when he faced Xie Ming, trying to also hold his laughter. A wide smile took him over. And when it was Xie Ming instead of himself who continued his insults so seamlessly, he had to forcibly stop himself from taking the boy into a bear hug.

“Oh, lord Qi Rong! When you’re so great, why haven’t you eaten that cultivator in your prison already?” Xie Ming bit his lip. Hua Cheng shook with laughter as Qi Rong jumped up from the chair, now trying to figure out if he was being mocked or not.

“Show yourself, you fuckers. How do you even know about my prisoner, huh?! Who told you?!” Xie Ming burst into giggles. “I heard you, you little shit! Come here and I’ll show you!”

“They’re here, My Lord!” one of the little ghosts yelled. Multiple cold hands gripped them, starting to pull them towards the front. Xie Ming’s eyes widened in sudden panic but Hua Cheng looked calm, sending him a nod he hoped would calm the boy down. And it did, a little. Xie Ming took a deep breath and didn’t protest as the ghosts forced them in front of Qi Rong. For a moment he wondered if he’d have to start attacking right away if the ghost recognized him.

But he should have known that idiot didn’t have any braincells left in that small, dead skull of his. Qi Rong stared at him a moment longer than Xie Ming, clearly wondering if he’d seen Hua Cheng somewhere, but ended up giving him subtle side-eyes. The idiot thought he was nothing but a stupid, little follower of his. An unruly one, though. Hua Cheng smirked, staring right into Qi Rong’s ticked off eyes.

“You little shits, I know what you’re planning and I’m going to humiliate you fuckers so bad and then eat you,” Qi Rong said. Hua Cheng kept smiling, Xie Ming made a quiet pfft sound. “I’m serious! Why are you laughing?! I’ll eat you right now!”

“But my lord,” Hua Cheng deadpanned. “We just wanted to know if you were going to eat that cultivator, too. Or are you scared he will actually exorcise your gastric acids?”

Qi Rong glared at them both until a knowing look took over the glare and he smiled slowly. “Ahh, I see. I understand now. I can see through you fucks.” He laughed. “You can’t fool me, Qi Rong!”

“Oh, we would never,” Xie Ming said between giggles. Qi Rong turned red.

“SHUT UP!” Qi Rong took a deep breath before continuing with a wicked grin, “I know who you two are.”

Hua Cheng and Xie Ming held their breaths. They glanced at each other, Hua Cheng noticing that not even Xie Ming was now taking Qi Rong seriously. Hua Cheng was proud.

Qi Rong continued, oblivious to their shared look, “You are friends of that cultivator fuck! I know it! But don’t worry.” He leaned closer. Hua Cheng raised his brow calmly. “I’ll give you what you want. I’ll eat you two... in front of him! HA!”

Hua Cheng’s expression didn’t change. He simply waited. “Why are you looking at me like that?!” Qi Rong demanded. Hua Cheng’s ears started to ring. Why did he have to be so loud?

“Like what?” he asked, rubbing his ear. Qi Rong looked at him once more with suspicion but after not getting anything more out of him, he decided to take the next step.

“BRING THE PRISONERS IN!”

Bingo.

One of Hua Cheng’s butterflies notified him of movement at the end of one of the tunnels. He lets his other eye see the scene while keeping an observing eye on still angrily glaring Qi Rong. But it became harder to stay in the present when he saw familiar white robes flutter with the movement of one of the prisoners. With held breath he ordered the butterfly to fly closer to the person, almost hovering next to his face. And then the honey brown eyes that makes his soul ache looked up to the butterfly, full of wonder and awe, and Hua Cheng couldn’t breathe. A smile fluttered to those beautiful, soft lips, an unvoiced question to the butterfly about where it had come from. When an elegant finger raised up to meet the silver wings, it sat down to it on its own, and Hua Cheng shivered violently.

His Highness was as beautiful as ever. He’d found him, again. He was right there, coming to him. Hua Cheng wanted nothing more than run to him now that he knew where his god was, but the voice of a young boy pulled him back to the present and he remembered why he couldn’t. Why he had to wait just a little longer. He had waited patiently so far, he could wait this long, too.

While Hua Cheng had been spacing out, Xie Ming had started to answer Qi Rong’s mocking words with sarcasm and attitude of a preteen. His heart calmed down, happiness of family filling his heart. He’d wait here for his beloved, with his son. And god, what a beautiful child they had created together. It was unbelievable, unreal, utterly impossible. And yet, here he was. Soon, their family would be whole and he’d never, ever let them suffer again. He’d rather crush his ashes before that happened.

Hua Cheng knew before he heard when the prisoners entered the room. He’d been watching Xie Ming grow bolder and braver with his answers when suddenly his eyes widened, then filled with tears and his entire body made a jolted move to run towards something. But before Hua Cheng had a chance to even warn the kid, he froze and glanced towards the man. He remembered his warnings. Hua Cheng smiled at him, trying to show how proud and grateful he was.

Xie Ming flushed but settled back down, clenching his hands into fists like physical strain would help him control himself. Hua Cheng got it, he felt the same. He was much older and knew his duties and yet he graved just as much to say fuck it and run to the one he wished to embrace more than anything at that moment. Instead, he let his hand fall on top of Xie Ming’s shaking fist, waiting for it to relax Then he raised his head to the mouth of the path to watch, for the first time in hundreds of years (which was only actually a decade, if he thought about it), how Xie Lian stood there in the middle of mortals looking just as godly as ever. Hua Cheng’s mouth dried up as he followed the other man’s features with his eyes. God, he wanted, he wanted.

“FINALLY!” bellowed Qi Rong. Hua Cheng was cruelly snapped out of his daydream. He furrowed his brows, sending daggers with his eyes towards the nuisance. Xie Ming let out a sharp hitch of a breath, covering his ears. “What took you so fucking long, huh?!”

Qi Rong stomped towards the group of prisoners, his minions scuttering out of the way in fear. Xie Lian had looked neutral so far, eyes calm and calculating, but now that he saw his cousin, his expression turned as cold as a winter breeze. Hua Cheng shivered, he felt the gaze inside of him even when he wasn’t one it was directed to. So beautiful. He bit his lip, calming himself down. There was a time and place for everything.

“Well, well, dear cousin,” Qi Rong spat, getting too close to His Highness. Xie Lian didn’t even spare a glance at him. It seemed to tick Qi Rong off, making his mocking grin fall. Taking a grip of Xie Lian’s robes, he started to shake him and yelling, “You think you’re still such hot shit after all these years, don’t you?! Ignoring me! Which one of us is more powerful now, huh?! Which one of us can eat the other?! Me, me, me, and one more time, me!”

Xie Lian finally spared a glance towards Qi Rong but there was nothing but disgust there. “Qi Rong, look at yourself,” he stated calmly. Nothing else. Just an observation full of contempt. Qi Rong turned red, slapping Xie Lian. The god didn’t make a move to stop the hit but he didn’t look like he felt anything either. That was when Hua Cheng noticed the celestial-binding ropes shining around him. He was literally unable to defend himself.

Xie Ming gasped next to him, again, and Hua Cheng had gotten enough. He rose up to his feet, still looking like a blue ghost, and kicked aside an underling trying to stop him. Qi Rong, hearing the commotion, turned to him looking offended.

“What the fuck are you doing, then?! Get back where you belong! You, hold him back!!”

Couple of ghosts ran up to him, trying to stop him. They’d have no chance but Hua Cheng decided to let them stop him. He decided to scout out the situation. He heard a scramble right behind him, knowing that Xie Ming had seen this as his que to finally have a permission to act. He raised his hand to stop him before the underling could have a chance to lay even a pinkie on him. He’d chop off their heads for trying.

Xie Lian had also noticed something happening in front of them, looked up and met Hua Cheng’s eyes. Hua Cheng froze, not daring to move, not daring to blink in case the contact accidently stopped. They stared at each other, Xie Lian assessing him and which side he was in, and Hua Cheng simply drinking in his beloved. His beloved. He gave his god a small smirk, winking, feeling a little bit bold. Xie Lian blinked, clearly surprised by the move, but there was something contemplating in his eyes now. He was looking at Hua Cheng up and down like trying to solve a puzzle hidden deep inside him. Did he recognize him? Did he see through his get-up?

A small, shaking hand took suddenly a hold of his sleeve. Hua Cheng covered the hand with his own and the shaking stopped a little. He finally broke the eye contact with a heavy heart wanting to make sure his son was okay. Xie Ming was also staring at Xie Lian, his eyes full of tears, lips trembling. He wanted to hug the boy but hesitated, didn’t feel like he had a right when his actually parental father was right there watching. But Xie Lian, oh, he was in shock.

Hua Cheng wanted to hug both of them when he saw it. Xie Lian looking at their son and clearly recognizing him even when he was in a disguise. His eyes were full of fear and horror but also relief. Xie Ming was safe, Hua Cheng understood that feeling. Had learned to understand it. If there weren’t the ropes holding him prisoner, his god would have probably already first destroyed the whole place and then scooped up Xie Ming, running far, far away. But he couldn’t do that. It was up to Hua Cheng, then.

“I knew you fuckers knew each other.” Qi Rong’s voice cut through their moment. It seemed that the ghost had silently observed them as well, figuring out that indeed, they did know each other. The three of them snapped their heads towards the cackling ghost. “And I think I know you!” He pointed at Hua Cheng. The Ghost King pointed at himself, tilting his head.

“Me? Oh, I’m just a poor, little believer,” Hua Cheng grinned, eyes wicked.

Qi Rong took a step back before catching himself. He took a step forwards, crossing his arms, trying to act nonchalant. “No, you’re not, don’t lie to me,” he said. “If you were my believer, you wouldn’t fuck with me like this!”

Hua Cheng snorted. “Who said I was your believer?”

Qi Rong’s eyes narrowed, really trying to recognize him now.

“Let me help you remember.” And then Hua Cheng removed their disguises, hitting the bastard straight in the face. Qi Rong screamed and flew against the wall, leaving a dust of stone rain around. Hua Cheng acted fast, snatching both Xie Ming and Xie Lian behind him to cover them from sharp pebbles.

“YOU DOG-FUCKER HUA CHENG! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!” Qi Rong screamed, raising from beneath the debris. There was a wild look in his eyes as he took in Hua Cheng shielding the other two. “Fuck off from my cave! Why are you here?! Are you jealous?! You fucking failure of a ghost! Hey, don’t ignore me!”

Hua Cheng had turned his back to Qi Rong. He wasn’t a problem anymore, nor were his followers who had scrambled away from the first sight of Crimson Rain Sought Flower. They knew they couldn’t beat him and they knew, even if they never said it out loud, that their boss couldn’t beat him either. There was no other way than run away. The mortals brought to be a dinner were scrambling away from Hua Cheng too, clearly noticing that they weren’t in the presence of a normal man. Hua Cheng ignored them all, paying only attention to his family that he finally held in his arms, safe and sound. His family was so beautiful he couldn’t breathe. Quickly he unsheathed E-Ming and cut off the ropes binding his god. The shimmer stopped and the ropes fell to the floor.

First to raise his head was his beloved, his Xie Lian. First and foremost, like a true parent, he let his hands roam around Xie Ming, checking his face, his body, his head. No injuries, no signs of mistreatment, he was alive. The tension disappearing from his shoulders was clear, his eyes losing their worried wrinkles. Then Xie Ming opened his eyes, tears finally streaming down his cheeks. He tried to speak, struggling. But there was no need for words. Xie Lian smiled at him, said, “I know,” and just embraced him. The boy let himself sink into the embrace, shoulders shaking, only his quiet hiccups filling the silence between them. Somewhere, an annoying bug tried to make itself known, but Hua Cheng would crush it soon enough. For now, he wanted to see.

Still holding the shaking boy, Xie Lian’s eyes were suddenly on Hua Cheng. They were wary, unsure, but he must have seen something in Hua Cheng that made the wariness fall away. Only a relieved, grateful smile lingered. Hua Cheng felt the pull, only knew how much he had missed and wanted, and finally his god was here. Right here. He didn’t know what to do, what to say. He wasn’t worthy and yet he wanted.

Then, his god, his beloved, his entire world, spoke to him, “Hello again.” And the time moved forward. He pulled both of them into his own arms, embracing them with all the longing he’d built up in the lonely, desperate years. Xie Ming, having spent the previous days with him, let himself melt into the hug right away, still silently crying, but Xie Lian was tense at first. Hua Cheng was tense, too. Waiting. When his god finally relaxed against him, their son still in his own arms, Hua Cheng let out a shaky breath.

“Hello, Your Highness,” he sighed, relief making his voice tremble.

Finally, he’d gotten his world back again. Hua Cheng glanced at Xie Ming who was raising his head to look up to both of them curious to see how they would act now that they were together. A tender smile fell to his lips. He’d gotten back his world – and so much more.

Chapter Text

Everything seemed to move like it had been placed under a slowing spell. The way Qi Rong flew across the room in an arch looked almost like a dream and the very angry red ghost chasing him until he was nothing but a gurgling pile of blood and manic laughter turning the dream into a nightmare. Then the red ghost, Hua Cheng, Wu Ming, Hong-er, rose from his grouch above the beaten-up Qi Rong, turned around and started to approach. Xie Lian, breath caught in his throat, couldn’t look away.

The man was covered in crimson blood that complimented his robes, his hair flew around him like a thunderstorm coming, the bells in his boots jingling like little fairies predicting the imminent death. Hua Cheng was beautiful. And Xie Lian was thrown back into his memories so hard he forgot where he was.

Had it really been thirteen years since Xie Lian had laid eyes on his love the last time?

He still remembered, had always remembered, the day he’d found Hua Cheng again after centuries. Sometimes he wished and hoped and prayed he could have forgotten but in the end he couldn’t bear the thought of never having his most precious moments as his companion throughout the years that had beaten him up. They had been hard, raising their son alone and feeling immense guilt of how his bad luck prevented Xie Ming from having the life he deserved.

Sometimes he wondered if he’d done the right thing turning back at the gates of Ghost City and not demanded Hua Cheng to take the baby in his care. But then again, Xie Lian would have been so, so alone. He was selfish, he knew it. And yet, he couldn’t stop being happy about his son. How selfish, indeed.

But the life had turned out as it had and there was no crying about it. That’s just how it was. He had fallen in love with the other man, perhaps too fast and too hard, like that love had only been waiting to be discovered all the centuries apart and was finally ready. Xie Lian wasn’t sure if he himself had been ready, but it had never been his choice in the end. When he’d taken care of Hua Cheng, he’d fallen more and more in love with the way the man spoke. He had teased Xie Lian, laughed at the world and touched him like each touch was a little prayer itself. How could he have not fallen in love with Hua Cheng? How could he have coldly ignored him when he knew who he was and what he’d done to him?

His most loyal follower who had seen him at his worst. His smallest admirer who had followed him into a battle. His powerful ghost king who had worshipped his body and soul.

No, he could never forget, never regret the way he loved Hua Cheng. Xie Lian couldn’t even regret their last interaction: while it had brought him more misery and heartbreak in his life, it had also given him the best gift he’d ever received. His Xie Ming.

Xie Lian shivered when he remembered the day he had made the decision to break his cultivation. Hua Cheng had been in pain, feverish. He’d been needy, alone, scared and so, so aroused. Xie Lian had hesitated, not wanting to take advantage of a sick man. But Hua Cheng had whispered to him sweet nothings, pleaded him, told him it was okay and to trust him. He’d take care of everything. Xie Lian had trusted. Sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, the trust he’d given stung. But then he realized he didn’t regret it. Hua Cheng had taken good care of him and it had been okay. Hua Cheng had just realized that he couldn’t stay and considering the man’s past, Xie Lian understood. He couldn’t take away Hua Cheng’s hard-earned happiness from him.

So, when in present Hua Cheng stopped in front of him, looking down at him with a wide, sad eye, Xie Lian felt a bang of another heart break. Ah, even now, he couldn’t have it. He pushed back his burning tears, steadied his shaking hands. It was okay, he understood. But... he looked next to him to his son – his sweet and wonderful and brave son who’d come for his A-die – and knew it was time for him to stop being selfish. He’d been hoarding his happiness for too long.

If it felt like he was ripping out his own heart when he spoke, he didn’t show it, “I see you found you Baba, A-Ming.” He forced out a smile, he felt happy for them both. “Did you two get along?”

Hua Cheng made a strangled noise, probably confused why Xie Lian outright ignored him. It was wrong of him, yes. And he really wanted to speak with Hua Cheng. But Xie Lian knew that if he did, he wouldn’t say what he had to. He might have been demanding, then. It would have been impossible to let go once he indulged himself again. Yes, he still didn’t regret falling in love with Hua Cheng but that was exactly the reason he had to stop now or he’d become a liability. He knew it and yet... no, he had to do it.

Xie Ming blinked fast, looking just as thrown as Hua Cheng sounded. “Uh, yeah, I guess,” he said, glancing towards Hua Cheng. Whatever passed between them, Xie Lian decided he didn’t need to know. It was easier to not look. “But never mind that! A-die, are you okay? Are you hurt? They didn’t hurt you, right?”

Xie Lian’s smile became a little bit more honest. He gazed gently at his son who was trying to touch him all over to check him for injuries. He ran his hand through his messed-up hair, making the boy stop and just look at him, lips wobbling. Gods, he really loved his son. He let himself to pull him into a tight hug, not letting go for now. It felt warm and familiar, and he wanted to keep his son safe. He had been worried when he’d woken up captive and not seen Xie Ming anywhere. When he’d heard that he’d run away and not been caught, a little bit of hope had entered his heart. His son was still far too young to be alone but he had gotten away. He had taught him numerous skills just in case and now was the real trial to see if he remembered them.

Xie Ming had. He’d even remembered what Xie Lian had told him about Hua Cheng’s location and found him. He was so proud, so relieved and so scared. He didn’t want to let go. But he forced himself, pulling himself away and taking Xie Ming’s face between his hands. The familiar mismatched eyes gazed back at him looking quite moist but not crying anymore. He gave the boy a small kiss on the forehead, letting himself linger.

His son deserved everything and he’d give it to him, no matter what.

“I’m okay, baobei,” he said. He wished to stay a little longer but felt the awkward presence of Hua Cheng next to him. Xie Lian took a deep breath, closed his eyes and knew it was time. He turned to Hua Cheng, stopping himself from faltering just and just as he met a gaze so similar to his son.

Stay strong. Strong. Strong.

Oh dear, Hua Cheng really was quite handsome, wasn’t he? Xie Lian opened his mouth, knowing what he was supposed to say, but all he could see was the dark, heated gaze. The deep pool drew in him, made him drown back into the night when he’d confessed his love. His body still remembered the way those long fingers had caressed his muscles, how they held him tight while Hua Cheng took what was his. Xie Lian had given it to him. He’d give it again.

No.

Xie Lian shook himself and steeled his resolve. This wasn’t the first time he had to do something difficult. It was definitely in his Top five most difficult things, though. But, like always, he’d do it this time, too.

“Hua Cheng--”

“San Lang.”

Xie Lian’s brain froze, and he forgot what he was going to say. “Huh?”

“His Highness can call this one San Lang,” Hua Cheng said, clearing his throat. He was picking his sleeve, a habit Xie Lian had seen so many times in Xie Ming. His heart ached. “That is, Hua Cheng feels quite formal.” A disarming grin defeated some of Xie Lian’s resolve.

“If... If that’s what Hua Ch-- um, San Lang prefers,” Xie Lian said, stumbling in his words like he was a young maiden in front of her crush. Xie Ming was following their confusing conversation with wide, bewildered eyes. It was clear the boy had some feelings about seeing both of his parents interacting with each other for the first time in his life. Xie Lian remembered himself, building the wall back a little.

“San Lang, we need to talk--”

“Yes, His Highness is correct,” San Lang said and then, without warning, dropped down to his knees and kowtowed. Xie Lian scrambled to hold on to the last pieces of his resolve while trying to stutter something, anything. San Langcontinued, “Let this one peg for his god’s forgiveness. This one did His Highness dirty. He left him alone with a child and forgot everything. He lived a carefree, rich life, leaving His Highness and their child alone to live in poverty. This one will never forgive himself. But if His Highness will allow this one to finally take responsibility, he would want nothing more than provide for them and take care of them so they can live a life they deserve. All that is mine, is yours.”

When the silence fell over them, the only sounds present Qi Rong’s gasps of breath, Xie Lian realized all he had known so far didn’t match what San Lang was saying. His mind tried to add the two together but nothing seemed to be matching. He turned to look at Xie Ming, hoping to see the same confusion in him, but the boy was looking resolute, nodding along with San Lang like this was to be expected.

Xie Lian rubbed his neck, wondering what to do now. His plan was thrown out the window, his resolve somewhere on the ground along with San Lang still kowtowing and his heart beating the rhythm of hope. Whatever he had thought was the truth was on hold, and he wasn’t sure what to say. That was okay, though, because for now there was one thing he had to fix.

Xie Lian lowered himself to the ground on his knees and then tried to push San Lang up. The man didn’t budge, though, forehead still against the dirty ground. “Please, rise. There’s no need for this,” Xie Lian tried to say.

San Lang shook his head. “No, Your Highness. This one isn’t deserving yet.”

Xie Lian sighed. Xie Ming looked at him, shrugging. “You leave me no choice, then,” Xie Lian said. San Lang grunted a little in question but didn’t get up. So, Xie Lian did the next sensible thing he could. He laid down on the ground, head next to San Lang’s. He met the dark eye which widened when San Lang realized that he now had Xie Lian next to him on the ground. The ghost gasped, scandalized, “Your Highness!”

“Hello.” Xie Lian couldn’t help but smile at San Lang’s reaction. Somewhere above them Xie Ming made a disgusted sound. The boy muttered something about them being shameless and stalked off somewhere. Xie Lian let him, knowing nothing here could hurt him anymore. He concentrated on another over dramatic man he knew, trying to make him stop being ridiculous.

“Your Highness, please get up! This is beneath you.” San Lang’s voice was panicky.

Xie Lian smiled at him calmingly. “It’s okay. San Lang insisted on staying down so this one simply decided to accompany him.” The look in San Lang’s single eye was pained. Xie Lian decided to give him some mercy. “If San Lang gets up, so will I.”

Leaving no other choice, San Lang finally got up from the ground. He stood up, offering his hand to Xie Lian. Hesitating only for a moment, Xie Lian took the offering, his hand wrapping around a calloused hand. A jolt went through his body as he got up, standing so close to San Lang he was able to feel his breath on his skin. Suddenly nervous, he took a step back, letting the hand go after a squeeze. A small regret entered his mind, his hand empty and cold. Instead of dwelling in the longing, Xie Lian squeezed his own hands together taking a deep breath.

Right. The conversation.

“San Lang, may I ask you something?” After getting a nod from San Lang, Xie Lian continued, “What did you mean by forgetting everything?”

San Lang took a long breath, looking anywhere but at Xie Lian. His face was full of pure regret as he answered, “I know it is no excuse but I have no memories of meeting His Highness thirteen years ago. I do remember some things, now,” he rushed to say, “but before Xie Ming found me, I had no idea we had even met so recently. Not to mention that I have a... son.”

Xie Lian gripped his hands tighter. There would be bruises later but it was the only thing grounding him. “Why?”

“Mount Tonglu.”

Xie Lian furrowed his brow, tilting his head. “What does it have to do with this?”

“It affects powerful ghosts when it opens to create a new Ghost King,” San Lang explained. “It causes them to lose their minds, become weak...”

“...your fever,” Xie Lian gasped. San Lang nodded. “And when we did...” Xie Lian blushed. It seemed that San Lang understood what he meant as even he became suddenly shy.

San Lang cleared his throat. “This one is sorry about forcing himself on His Highness when Mount Tonglu hit him especially hard.”

“No, no!” Xie Lian waved his hands frantically. “Absolutely not! San Lang did not force anything. If anything, this one took advantage of San Lang’s sickness.”

“His Highness could never take advantage of this one,” San Lang’s voice was resolute, his gaze suddenly sharp. “My body is yours to do whatever you want to do with it.” Xie Lian swallowed but he nodded, letting the issue go for now. If they were to ever talk again, he’d bring this way of thinking up again. But when the actual meaning of the words finally registered to him, he flushed.

“San Lang!”

Somewhere in the distance he heard Xie Ming groan and start singing. If he wasn’t so flustered himself, he would have laughed at the boy’s misery.

San Lang wasn’t bothered at all. “It’s the truth. You are my everything and I am yours, body and soul. I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me, I understand if you want to have my ashes and crush them until the man who left you is no more. But let me make one shameless, selfish request.” San Lang’s gaze was heavy. “Let me take care of you two. Come live to my manor. I can move away and you will never have to see me again but let me provide for you and take care of you. I want nothing more.”

“San Lang...”

“And,” San Lang continued, voice wavering now. “And if I could ask you one more selfish question? You don’t have to answer but I wish you would.”

Xie Lian nodded, “Anything. What is it?”

“Is it true that you came to look for me?”

Xie Lian remembered. After the night together, he had been the first one to wake up, San Lang still sleeping peacefully next to him. He had stepped out only to wash himself in the stream and when he’d come back, San Lang hadn’t been there anymore. He had thought the man had momentarily stepped out and would come back soon, but as the day turned to night and night to new morning, San Lang still hadn’t come back. Worry had gnawed Xie Lian’s stomach and after another day of no sight of the man, he’d decided to go look for him.

First he had asked around the nearby village but no one had seen the man in red. Even the woods around his little cabin were undisturbed, the man not having chosen to walk through them. That left him only one choice: San Lang had gone back to his city that he’d told to Xie Lian so much about. The city he’d said he’d built all alone. The city that was his pride.

Xie Lian now knew where the man would be. The only downside was that he had only a vague idea where it was located. Not only that, but he had no spiritual power for fast traveling like San Lang. Xie Lian would have to walk and ask for rides to reach his destination. It’d take at least a month or two, depending on the weather and his luck. Knowing his luck, it would take closer to three.

But he had to know what had happened. He couldn’t believe that San Lang would just leave without saying a word unless something had happened. So, Xie Lian had prepared for the journey, leaving the only home that had stood up for months. To think that he’d now leave it while it was still standing. He had gazed at the house with nostalgia, remembering all the moments together with San Lang. The place would always be special to him even if he never returned. With that he had turned around, heading towards Ghost City.

The first month of travelling had been almost pleasant: people had given him rides and the roads had been clear. But that had changed when the second month had started and his health took a down-fall. Only after having met a travelling doctor he had understood why he’d vomited and felt faint quite often. He was pregnant. The doctor had been shocked but, in the end, quite helpful when he’d noticed Xie Lian’s own shock.

Now, he had had one more reason to reach his San Lang. They would have a child together. But now he had to take even better care of himself, to take a baby in consideration. He had to slow down to rest more often and eat when he was hungry. Normally, he would have ignored these, walking until he collapsed. Now his feet got swollen easily and fatigue made him stop at random times. The optimistic three month became six.

When he finally found the city, his stomach had started to show even through his loose robes. He had wondered if San Lang would be surprised when he saw Xie Lian, stomach round with their child. At the gates, he had still been hopeful of family.

That had crashed, though, when he had entered the city and realized there would be no space for the two of them in the life San Lang had finally been able to build for himself after centuries of hardship.

Finally, after being silent for a moment, Xie Lian answered to San Lang, “Yes, I reached your city.” He knew more questions would follow. He really hoped to get answers of his own.

San Lang looked broken hearted, “Then, did you think that I didn’t want you two?”

“Ah,” Xie Lian chuckled, suddenly awkward. His insecurities and doubts entered his mind again. It all seemed still quite confusing. Complicated. “After entering the city and looking for you, I saw you at what the ghosts seemed to call the Gamblers’ Den. You were there, at the dais.”

San Lang was silent as he listened intently. Suddenly, everything Xie Lian had to say felt too heavy and too real. Perhaps, he had gotten his hopes up a little bit too soon. He had heard what San Lang had said but he couldn’t help that there was still the lingering fear in his chest, ready to hear that he had understood everything wrong.

Xie Lian forced himself to continue, “There was a woman talking to you, asking for you to take her and her unborn child in because they were yours.”

San Lang choked. “Your Highness, I would never--”

“I know,” Xie Lian assured and continued, “You did say the child wasn’t yours and that you had never even seen the woman. But you did say that there would never be space for a wife and child in your life since you were a deadly Ghost King, not a life-bringer. I then realized that you had built everything you had with hard work. You had your reputation. You had your title. I understood finally why you left when you did.” Xie Lian smiled, sadness heavy in it. “You realized that anything more serious would have put a stop to the empire you built. I couldn’t blame you for that. You really deserved everything you had gained. My Wu Ming.” Xie Lian took a deep breath, making his voice stronger. “You did so good.”

When San Lang seemed speechless, almost ashamed, Xie Lian knew he had to make it better. He didn’t blame the man, he never could. He understood and there was no one more deserving of what they wanted than San Lang.

“It’s okay, San Lang. Don’t think about it too hard.” Xie Lian noticed he found his resolve better than before. Perhaps remembering the past did help him to build it stronger. “I know that you said you’d take responsibility but really, you don’t have to.”

“No, Your High--”

“No, listen, San Lang. I know you’re an honorable man. I know you will always do what is right. That’s why I left without saying anything. And because I was selfish.” He shrugged slightly. “I wanted to raise our child so I didn’t even try to ask you to take him in once he would be born. But now I know that you are working hard and the two of us would be too much. Perhaps we can come to an agreement that you take Xie Ming in and I will continue my journey somewhere else--”

“WHAT?!”

“No! Your Highness!”

“A-die, no! I won’t go with him without you!”

“You would never be a burden! Neither of you! I meant what I said!”

“A-die, Baba really wants us to live with him! He said so himself!”

“Please, I beg of you, Your Highness! I can go if you can’t stand the sight of me after what you heard me say. Please, take my manor!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Xie Lian yelled over the cacophony of shocked shouts. Both San Lang and Xie Ming quieted down but were now crowding Xie Lian, the younger one hanging on his arm and the older hovering without daring to touch but clearly wanting. Xie Lian closed his eyes, wondering why neither of them wanted to work with him without fight. “One at a time, please.”

The two, father and son, looked at each other. They seemed to silently communicate something, and Xie Lian couldn’t help but look in wonder. Something warm enveloped him as he realized how close the two must have become while they were looking for him. Finally Xie Ming nodded, letting San Lang take the first turn.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding.”

Xie Ming snorted. “Yeah, seems.”

“I am so sorry you had to hear what I said back then. I am ashamed of my words and that something like this even happened.”

“A-die has some serious bad luck to arrive just in time to hear all that,” Xie Ming muttered. San Lang finally looked away from Xie Lian to give the boy a look. Xie Ming rolled his eyes petulantly but settled down. Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

San Lang returned his attention to Xie Lian. “I meant what I just said. And I definitely did not say it because I’m a man of honor. Honestly, I am anything than that.”

Xie Ming looked like he had something to say again but managed to stay silent.

“I want to take care of both of you. I want to give you everything you would ever need and more. I want you two to be safe, warm and fed wherever you decide you want to settle down. Let me give it to you.”

This time Xie Ming couldn’t stay silent. Xie Lian wondered if he should scold the boy for speaking out of turn but couldn’t when he heard him say, “Just say to A-die that you’d like to be a part of our family, too. Gods.”

San Lang gave a defeated chuckle. “A-Ming, your attitude’s really showing. What’s gotten to you, huh?”

Xie Ming shrugged. “I don’t know. Guess I just want these ridiculous misunderstandings to stop and just go home already.”

Xie Lian blinked, feeling guilty. He had misunderstood something, huh? Had he taken a good life away from his A-Ming because of not finding out more before making assumptions.

“Your Highness,” San Lang’s gentle voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to the man, captivated by the gentle smile on his lips. “A-Ming’s right, even if he did say it when I wasn’t ready yet.” Xie Ming looked a little guilty but didn’t meet either man’s gazes. “If you allow it, I would love to be a family with you two. If you give me another chance to make it right.”

“But what about what you said to that woman?”

“Ah, that.” San Lang dragged a hand over his face, looking tired. “That was me being an idiot and not remembering meeting you again. I said I had no space for a wife because I didn’t want a wife. I want a husband.”

Xie Lian wasn’t sure if he could assume things. Luckily, San Lang took that choice away from him.

“I want you as my husband.”

Xie Lian felt heat rise to his cheeks. A slow, satisfied smile rose to San Lang’s face.

“And I said there was no space for a child because I never even dared to dream to have a child with you. That you would ever want to have one with me.”

Xie Lian gasped. “I would. I did. I still do.”

San Lang laughed nervously, yet much lighter than before. Like some of the weight had finally lifted from his shoulders. Even Xie Ming looked more relaxed, smiling discreetly by himself.

“Giving me another child so soon, gege? I’ve barely gotten used to having one and he’s in a difficult age.”

While Xie Ming spluttered, offended, Xie Lian fought the urge to run away and scream. He was a father of one, for god’s sake! He’s had sex to achieve that. But gods, San Lang teasing him was something he wasn’t sure his heart could take. Not daily, at least. Perhaps every now and then. If it happened daily from now on, he wasn’t sure he’d come out of it the same.

But at the same time the thought of having this daily made his heart flutter like tiny, light butterflies. He couldn’t stop the smile growing on his face as he watched his two favorite people joke around together. If he could have this every day, he’d have no regrets. Could he have it? Really?

San Lang’s eyes were shining with hope and mischief as he met Xie Lian’s gaze. It still felt surreal to have the man right in front of him. He was beautiful, he was funny, he was strong. He could be Xie Lian’s forever.

“I like it when you call me gege,” Xie Lian said. When San Lang looked a little surprised, he wondered if it was okay. “I’m not a royalty anymore, really, so gege feels much better.”

When San Lang’s smile widened, Xie Lian couldn’t take his eyes off of the sight. He let himself to have this. He let himself to take the man’s sleeve between his fingers and open his palm when San Lang slipped his hand into his and squeezed. The weight was heavy and warm and so right. He could have this from now on. Every day.

Xie Ming jumped up and down on his heels as he watched them hold hands. “Can we go home now? Together?”

San Lang looked at Xie Lian, hope in his eyes. And Xie Lian knew he wanted too. They still had so much to talk about, so many misunderstandings and lost memories to share but they’d have time. From now on they’d have it whenever they wished.

“Yes, baobei. Let’s go together.”

Xie Ming smiled, his eyes crescents. He looked at San Lang and the man seemed to know what their son needed as he raised his other hand and Xie Ming rushed in, wrapping his arms around his middle.

“Thank you,” Xie Ming whispered against the red robes. Xie Lian wiped an escaping tear from the corner of his eye, as he watched San Lang hug their son back like he’d never had a better hug.

“Of course.”

As Xie Lian decided that he’d gotten enough of observing and wrapped his own free arm around them both, his other hand still firmly holding on San Lang’s, he was ready to go home. Ready to start their eternity together, just the three of them. As a family.