#once upon a time hua cheng was the only thing on my mind but then there was MU QING

[muqingfx]

hes so👉👈

[vitos-ordination-song]

Overall assessment of tgcf now that I’ve finished the extra chapters

It was good. One of the better things I’ve gotten into in a while

Did not need to be as long as it is

It’s an extremely weird mix of mythological and self-indulgent fanfic writing style

Xie Lian is the best character. I was really impressed by the risks MTXT took with him—he’s is introduced as an archetypal kind and graceful god but this is shattered and rebuilt over and over in the narrative

Hualian has a great premise but got repetitive. It was really enjoyable at first but after the 500th interaction between them is the same as the others, it wears off. I also felt the writing was at times more geared towards wish fulfillment than what was best for the story

Like with shoujo I’ve read recently, I have an annoyance with stories which can’t just write a mature, adult relationship, but instead stays in this world of tee-heeing about sex and such. Hualian feels like it is at core a mature partnership but then the author keeps dragging it back into tropes to keep fans titillated. Not my thing anymore

More should have been done with Hua Cheng’s character and there’s some really obvious pathways that could have been taken to develop him. At first I was okay with him being a one-track-mind type character but again... it got repetitive and the story lost its teeth as a result. I don’t think that the core of his character—his devotion to Xie Lian—should be changed. But for instance, there was a second when I thought he was going to have to consider the way he blindly took orders as Wuming, but no. NOW, I actually don’t have a problem with him just being an amoral character whose only priority is Xie Lian. But even without disrupting that, you could do a lot of things. What gets in the way of doing any of them is that he always has to come out on top; he’s always right, always saves the day, always sacrifices himself, etc. Now that was fine at first—especially given the way the relationship started—but this story is longer than the Bible! Especially with how much was done with other characters, I was a little disappointed

Even though tgcf did lose my interest sometimes, it always dragged me back. I was impressed by much of the storytelling. There were so many good set ups and pay offs, so many good twists, so many times when my jaw just dropped. I respect just how much work went into making this an intricate, interconnected narrative. The structure of having books 1, 3, and 5 set in the present day while we get 2 and 4 in between means that you keep getting layer upon layer added to the characters and the complexity of the world and it’s just delicious

The tone was all over the place but I never had a feeling of dissonance which is impressive

Xie Lian and Jun Wu are an excellent example of hero/villain foiling. I found the White-Faced Calamity to be a genuinely horrifying threat, plus I’ve always had a thing for whump and villains trying to corrupt heroes. Even though it coulda felt like embarrassing fanfic torture porn, nine times out of ten it didn’t. I really enjoyed going on the psychological journey Xie Lian had to endure, and once the full story behind Jun Wu was revealed, I was immediately drawn in to the parallels between them. I find Jun Wu to be one of the most interesting characters. I think the core of the story is represented in their dynamic—we have a vengeful ghost destroying someone else’s happiness because of what they lost. And in a Taoist twist, the evil ghost is also the great and benevolent ruler. The duality and good-evil themes were one of my favorite parts of the story. I’m always a sucker for a character who struggles to remain themselves and watching Xie Lian develop was... breath-taking in that regard

So many of the side characters were vibrant and memorable. In fact I think all of them? And I love that there’s so much DRAMA!! Gods, ghosts, and humans, getting into all kinds of hatreds and betrayals and loves. It felt a little neat, but I did love reading those final chapters and seeing a resolution to all the relationships that had been introduced. MXTX has an amazing eye for detail and never lets a character go to waste, no matter how small

The Lord Rain Master HAS to be one of my favorites. What I love is that she is peripheral and not involved in all the “important” doings of the plot, and in fact she could basically be cut with no difference to the plot. But her peaceful and serene life is almost a rebuke to the other gods who get into all kinds of petty drama—which often gets people killed. Idk she’s always portrayed in this way that makes you feel like, no matter how down to earth she is, she is a god very much worthy of honor

I really enjoyed the Shi Qingxuan, Shi Wudu, and Black Water revenge plot—it was one of the most suspenseful passages. Shi Qingxuan’s development was great and made them another foil to Xie Lian

The Feng Xin/Xie Lian/Mu Qing relationship makes my heart hurt

Even though I complained about ways Hualian could have been better, it’s still the heart of the story and I’ve been crying like a little bitch about them for the past day so I shouldn’t talk too much

[queensconquest]

@safaerax​​ said:  There was a wave of shock when he had felt that familiar presence, a feeling he hadn't felt in years it was enough to nearly knock him over. He had been with Xie Lian at the time, the butterfly he had left to watch over his domain had reported movement, contact, someone. Hua Cheng had no reason to suspect it couldn't be him.

Hua Cheng felt so many different emotions upon his arrival to the Ghost King's domain. It had changed over the years, not too much, but enough for it to leave a sting in Hua Cheng's chest. How long had it really been since he'd come here? After he hadn't heard from He Xuan in so long he'd gone to find him. At first he had thought perhaps he needed time, and Hua Cheng had always respected as much. But days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. What was time really to a ghost king. But then years began passing and Hua Cheng could not help but feel a kind of loss.

He had no idea what could have happened, if he had upset He Xuan somehow. Or if something happened to him that Hua Cheng couldn't help him with. Why hadn't he said anything to him? Confusion had settled in him, but not acceptance. He hadn't left it alone, leaving that little butterfly to stay and watch over his domain. Hua Cheng checking every day for something, anything. Until today.

Now he was standing in front of his place, that little butterfly sitting on Hua Cheng's finger as Hua Cheng stared in quietly at the ghost king who seemed shocked to see him there. He had many questions, he was angry, sad, relieved and overjoyed to see him. There were always rumors, assumptions that the two had been close, or were friends. No one but one truly knew the depth of their relationship. Hua Cheng had begun to enjoy more than just his company, he had grown to care for him and for those Hua Cheng cared for, there was nothing he wouldn't do for them. So why?

Hua Cheng takes a step closer to him, his eye reflecting hurt and confusion. He didn't want to be angry, he had years to let that go, instead he simply wanted to know one thing. ' Why did you leave?' // this has been on my mind ndkfkldsf

      Maybe  he  shouldn’t  have  left  his  domain.  A  venture  meant  solely  to  grab  some  food  from  places  nearest  to  his  domain   to  dull  the  razor  teeth  of  hunger  but  somehow  that  -  well  now  Hua  Cheng  was  standing  here  in  his  domain.  His  pets  had  grown  larger  ,  more  aggressive  in  his  absence  ,  some   details  of  his  domain  here  and  there  changed  ,  altered  with  time.  

   He  Xuan’s  gaze  fell  to  the  butterfly  that  slowly  flapped  its  wings  on  Hua  Cheng’s  finger  like  a  pleased  pet.  So  there  had  been  a  butterfly  as  he’d  expected.  That  fact  felt  like  a  butcher  knife  stabbed  through  his  chest.  It  had  waited  there  all  that  time  ?  Waiting  for  some  sign  ?

   This  time  HE’D  been  the  one  who’d  made  Hua  Cheng  wait.  As  if  Hua  Cheng  hadn’t  waited  for  others  enough  as  it  was.  He’d  gained  one  only  to  lose  another  shortly  after.

   And  this  time  it  was  all  his  fault.  He’d  done  it.

   His  chest  aches  and  it  only  worsens  when  he  stares  at  Hua  Cheng  and  sees  the  confused  hurt  in  his  eye.  The  fact  the  butterfly  here  was  enough  ,  that  he  came  in  person  was  just  more  painful  proof  ,  and  that  look  ?  Guilty  swirled  in  He  Xuan’s  chest  like  a  whirlpool  opening  up  to  drag  him  down  into  its  depths.  He  never  wanted  to  hurt  Hua  Cheng.  He  didn’t  want  to  be  the  cause  of  his  pain  and  yet  here  he  had.  Years  worth  of  it.  

   No  answer  would  be  good  enough  ,  but  it  hurt.  His  chest  hurt  ,  it  hurt  like  the  injuries  he’d  eventually  died  to  in  the  streets.  But  he  owed  an  answer  to  Hua  Cheng  even  a  he  felt  tremors  begin  to  resonate  through  his  body.   There’s  none  of  the  cold  and  sharp  Ghost  King  he  normally  acts  as.

   “  I’m  sorry.  “  His  voice  cracks  ,  a  pained  expression  in  his  gold  eyes.  “  I...I  didn’t  know  where  I  belonged.  I  don’t.  “  He  admits  ,  shame  forcing  his  eyes  downwards  once  again.  “  I  thought  I’d  disappear  after  my  revenge.  But  I  didn’t.  And  I  know  it  isn’t  just  because  it  didn’t  go  how  I  wanted.  “  His  existence  hadn’t  even  wavered  in  strength  after  he’d  ripped  Shi  Wudu’s  head  from  his  body.  Hadn’t  wavered  after  he’d  abandoned  Shi  Qingxuan.  It’d  stayed  as  strong  as  ever.

   “  I  thought...maybe  it  was  delayed...  “  His  voice  wavers  ,   and  clawed  fingers  dig  into  his  own  arms  so  hard  he  can  feel  blood  drip  onto  the  dark  sand.  “  Or  I  convinced  myself  of  that.  But  I  didn’t  know  where  I  fit  into  anything  anymore.  My  revenge  was  over  but  then  what  ?  And  you  -  I’m  happy  for  you.  You  had  your  god  you’ve  been  waiting  for.  “  It  hurts.  “  I  didn’t  want  to  be  a  bother  or  more  of  a  burden.  “  His  voice  shatters  like  a mirror  thrown  against  tile  ,  breaking  both  mirror  and  tile  into  broken  shards.

   He  still  does  not  look  at  Hua  Cheng.  “  I  thought  it’d  be  easier  for  you.  My  debt  ,  “  even  if  it  had  only  been  an  excuse  for  a  very  long  time.  “  giving  me  power  during  my  low  spells  ,  I  know.  I  know  you  said  you  liked  to  help.  But  you  were  so  happy  ,  the  last  thing  you  needed  was  me  and  my  problems  dragging  you  down.  “  He  doesn’t  notice  the  tears  sliding  down  his  cheeks  ,  or  he  doesn’t  acknowledge  them  if  he  does.  The  fall  ,  mixed  with  blood  and  sand.  “  So  I  thought  I’d  do  you  a  favor.  I’d  disappear  while  everyone  was  busy.  And  if  I  ceased  to  exist  ,  that  it’d  be  easier  like  that  instead  of  a  goodbye.  I  already  did  the  calculations  and  had  the  decree  written  if  I  did  disappear.  It’s  on  my  desk  if  you  never  looked.  Everything  I  have  in  my  domain  would  go  to  you  ,  it’d  fulfill my  debt.  And  that’s  not  including  everything  priceless  in  The  Deep.  “  The  fact  He  Xuan  had  even  thought  about  that  showed  how  much  he’d  considered  this  all.  “  And  I  thought  maybe  you  wouldn’t  notice  if  I  vanished  or  it  wouldn’t...be  that big  of  a  deal  to  you  now...  “

  His  clawed  grip  on  himself  only  tightens  ,  digging  deeper  but  the  pain  didn’t  seem  to  be  registering  as  he  made  himself  smaller  ,  hunching  his  shoulders  and  bowing  his  head.  “  I  didn’t  want  to  burden  you  or  ruin  things.  But  I  didn’t  disappear...and  you’ve  been  here  all  this  time..  “  He  shakes  visibly  ,  looking  like  he  might  very  well  shatter  apart  just  like  his  voice  has  been  .  “  I’m  sorry.   I’m  sorry.  I’m  sorry.  “

[hualianff]

Untethered (Bonus I) 《III》

In the Shadow of Ghosts — The Newton Brothers

Three years ago….

Tap. Tap.

Xie Lian thinks he imagines it at first. After all, it had been a long day of handling commoners’ affairs, entertaining visiting royalty, and carrying out other menial tasks that are required of him as a prince. Not that he minds too much. Xie Lian thoroughly enjoys helping whoever he can and making the kingdom a better place for his people.

But it is exhausting work, and takes both a mental and physical toll on Xie Lian. This is why more often than not, on busy days like this, he requests the servants to have a bath drawn right before he retires to his room for the night. The steaming hot water mixed with Xie Lian’s favorite-scented bath salts loosen his muscles wonderfully, as well as clear his senses.

In the dimly lit washroom, Xie Lian lets himself unwind. It’s a gradual process, one that his body initially rejects after being so wound up for hours on end. Xie Lian lathers a dollop of lavender oil along his waist-length hair, holding it above the water to let the oil properly soak in before rinsing it under the spout.

Simply put, Xie Lian chalks the strange noise up to his restless mind making him hear things that are not there. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened.

Besides, who in their right mind would dare break into a prince’s bedroom chambers, where royal guards surround the premise?

Tap.

At the dusk of twilight?

Tap!

Xie Lian is sure no one is crazy about him enough to scale the palace walls to the third level-

Tap.

-except for someone coming to assassinate him!?

Tap tap tap tap tap-

Okay, now that he didn’t imagine. That incessant tapping is very real.

“Goodness me-” Xie Lian mutters, dunking his head under the water in a lame attempt to hastily clean his hair. He then stumbles out of the tub to grab a gown, flinging it around his body to cover himself up.

Luckily, there are no windows in the washroom. The doors also remain shut, providing the prince with the utmost privacy during his bath times, but also serving as a protective barrier at this moment. However, the distinct tapping continues, clearly coming from the other side of the doors.

Against his better judgment, Xie Lian flattens himself against the wall next to the entrance and knocks back.

The tapping stops.

A muffled “Your Highness” follows in response.

Xie Lian’s stomach violently drops at the familiar drawl. It couldn’t be...

“Prince Xianle,” his tempter calls again.

Xie Lian quietly gasps.

The prince cautiously opens the doors leading into his bedroom. He spots a silhouetted figure standing outside on his balcony, and if the build and height were not a familiar sight, Xie Lian would certainly be freaking out more. By subconsciously wrapping the robe tighter around himself–Xie Lian realizes just how flimsy and inappropriate the garment is for others to set eyes on–and approaches the glass doors

He also realizes he does not care.

Xie Lian pulls aside the sheer, golden velvet curtains.

A lanky, strong-built man in dashing red attire greets him through the glass. Xie Lian’s eyes bulge impossibly wide, mouth parting in surprise.

Crimson Rain grins like the devil he is. He doesn’t say anything more, letting the devious look in his eye do the speaking. When the pirate captain lifts a palm to lay flat against the glass door’s surface, Xie Lian feels a growing urge to intertwine it with his own.

Xie Lian places his own palm on the opposite side of the glass. He knows how terrible of an idea it is to enable intruders onto palace grounds, to let Hua Cheng in and the detrimental repercussions awaiting if they were found out.

City of Stars – Yan Chaojie

Th-th-th-th-thump. Hua Cheng drums his fingers upon the glass, raising an expectant eyebrow. Xie Lian stubbornly shakes his head, making a cutting motion at his neck. The pirate seems to take this as a challenge. He can probably see how close Xie Lian is to giving in, just needs one last push to lure the prince in opening the doors to his chambers.

Hua Cheng frames both hands against the glass, blowing hot air in between, effectively fogging up the surface. He draws a massive heart in the condensation. Xie Lian fails to bite back his smile, yet another one of his actions Hua Cheng notices with a smug look.

The pirate proceeds to drag his finger through practiced strokes, writing backward so Xie Lian can read normally on his side. From where he observes, the concentration apparent on Hua Cheng’s face greatly amuses Xie Lian. The characters are still barely legible. Fortunately, Xie Lian has the experience in deciphering Crimson Rain’s infamous scrawl with the intermittent letters he receives.

谢怜 x 三郎

Xie Lian’s face twists in confusion. He immediately unlocks the glass doors, yanking them to the side.

“Who is San Lang?” Xie Lian demands with a pout, forgetting all about his current state of appearance. Hua Cheng smiles into his fist, then graciously enters Xie Lian’s bedroom.

“Another name I go by,” the pirate answers nonchalantly, sliding the door closed behind him. He towers over Xie Lian, dressed in his trademark black heeled-boots with silver chains, whereas Xie Lian’s feet are bare. Plus, Hua Cheng has only continued to grow since the first time they crossed past nearly two years ago. “Should the weather permit fog in the next few days and anyone happens to see, they will not be able to connect San Lang to me.”

“Hua Cheng, your fingerprints are all over the glass,” Xie Lian reminds in exasperation. Hua Cheng frowns when he is addressed, as if he had eaten something not to his liking. He seamlessly replaces it with a mischievous smirk.

“My fingerprints are not documented in the first place,” he says.

“Oh, I see.”

Pirates abide not by any kingdom’s rule but by the laws of the ocean.

Hua Cheng briefly turns to look back at the fading image of their names, his expression calculated but determined once he meets Xie Lian’s gaze again.

“I believe it would also be safest if you referred to me-” Hua Cheng points to the door. “-as such.”

“As what?”

“...”

“How should I call you?”

Hua Cheng narrows his brooding eye.

“Why ask when you already know the answer?”

“Just spit it out, Crimson Rain.” Xie Lian smiles cheekily.

“Your Highness, do not test me.”

Despite his threatening words, Hua Cheng’s posture is stiff, and can even be described as awkward. His arms have obediently remained by his side the entire time, keeping a respectful distance away from Xie Lian. The prince laughs out loud at how constipated Hua Cheng looks.

Without further adieu, Xie Lian throws himself at the taller man. He glomps onto Hua Cheng like a child grabbing onto a stuffed animal, straining his arms to grasp around the pirate’s broad shoulders.

“If San Lang ever wants a hug, he needs only to ask,” Xie Lian admonishes light-heartedly, squishing his cheek against Hua Cheng’s sternum. Hua Cheng chuckles happily, body finally relaxing into the embrace. He winds his arms around Xie Lian’s middle.

“Gege’s benevolence knows no bounds,” Hua Cheng murmurs tenderly. Xie Lian squeezes tighter around him, having no intentions of letting go soon. He missed his pirate dearly, after all. Three months apart had felt like three years. “This San Lang is gladly indebted to His Highness.”

Hua Cheng gently caresses Xie Lian’s head but pauses when he realizes how slippery the prince’s hair is. The pirate rolls the end of a strand between his fingers, droplets of water escaping the tips.

“Gege, did you recently wash?” he asks. Xie Lian shyly nods, containing his blush when Hua Cheng slightly pulls back to take in his satin gown.

“I was bathing when you arrived,” Xie Lian says. With some space between them, Xie Lan realizes with horror that his damp hair created a huge wet spot on the front of Hua Cheng’s robes.

Before he can apologize, Hua Cheng quickly ushers Xie Lian to sit on the cushioned stool in front of his vanity, muttering “please forgive this San Lang for his untimely intrusion” and “allow me to tend to gege’s hair as atonement for such despicable behavior.”

Xie Lian doesn’t know what to say. Hua Cheng’s submissive words render him speechless. It’s a stark contrast to the way Hua Cheng treated him in the beginning, when they were just rivals holding each other at swordpoint. Only in the last year have they been secretly meeting without the pretense of dueling, and even then, Xie Lian only sees Hua Cheng every few months, whenever the pirate happens to sail near Xianle Kingdom. It would be unfathomable for his past self to consider Crimson Rain anything less than a cunning, vicious pirate.

Now, Hua Cheng stands in the Prince of Xianle’s private chambers, offering to brush his hair.

Xie Lian stares wordlessly at Hua Cheng’s reflection. Hua Cheng’s earnest expression does not fade. How absurd it is that a captain of his own pirate ship would reduce himself to the duty of a simple palace servant. Though the thought often crosses his mind, Xie Lian hasn’t turned Hua Cheng in yet. It feels somewhat treasonous to excuse a pirate trespassing and sneaking around on Xianle territory.

Then again, Hua Cheng hasn’t stirred up trouble in public for one whole year. He merely comes back for Xie Lian. This notion alone makes Xie Lian giddy inside.

Xie Lian reaches for a lavishly jeweled comb, then presents it to Hua Cheng. The pirate accepts the comb with a grateful hum, then takes hold of Xie Lian’s wrist to press his lips to the top of his hand.

Xie Lian’s heart sings.

“Would gege be partial to sharing what a day in Prince Xianle’s life looks like?” Hua Cheng asks as he releases Xie Lian’s hand. He begins running the comb through the prince’s long, weighted locks, effortlessly detangling the lower ends. The sensations are heavenly.

“Only if San Lang tells me what a day in Crimson Rain’s life looks like after,” Xie Lian answers with a sluggish tongue. Through the mirror, he sees Hua Cheng smile in satisfaction. Xie Lian slowly closes his eyes as the continuous brushing motions to his hair send pleasant tingles down his spine.

“Whatever His Highness wishes.”

《Bonus II》

[spockandawe]

Hi....If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite MXTX characters (top 5 from each novel)? And why? I'm sorry if you've answered this question before.

It’s absolutely no problem at all!! I don’t think I’ve been asked this before, but hey, I also have zero object permanence, so it keeps things fresh and new. And it’s interesting to see how my answers change over time! Lemme see, I think I’m going to go in reverse order, because I feel like then I’ll be doing the worst agonizing up front.

TGCF

Fifth favorite: YIN. YU. I know that he’s a minor character and him even making it onto the list is pretty solid performance, but I do feel guilty that he isn’t higher than this. He came out of nowhere in my first reading and punched me in the stomach with emotions. I find his sections so hard to read, and I was DEVASTATED when he died and BEYOND stoked to find out he was still alive in the extras. His story hurts so much! I am weak against characters who have relatively modest goals and still see them snatched away (see also: my next entry) and have to struggle on. I wish wish wish I had a way to see more of how he made his peace with things after being thrown out of heaven, and the nature of the (distant) relationship with Hua Cheng and what happens with Quan Yizhen now that he died in his arms, and still came back anyways, my god!

.

Fourth favorite:  He Xuannnnnn. I have a hard time articulating particulars, but. I love him a lot. I love a character with a grudge, with a deep, painful grudge, where the grudge is hurting him almost as much as it’s hurting the people around him, and setting the grudge aside would also hurt, and then what has any of this been for-- I've used this metaphor for other characters, but I don’t care if I’m overusing it, because I love it. He feels like a character caught in a thorn bush, where simply being there... hurts, but trying to escape or move in any ways is going to hurt worse, and there’s no path forward that doesn’t involve pain. And like... I don’t love the way he hurt Shi Qingxuan (who didn’t quite make this list adfasgdafsd I’M SORRY) but I wouldn’t have liked to see him swallow back down all that pain and set aside everything that happened to his family and fiancee either! I’m always, always soft for characters who have no good path forward and who grit their teeth and set out anyways.

.

Third favorite: MU QING!!!!!!!!!! I have done... extensive screaming about him. And I love him veryvery much. I can already tell that this list is going to have a lot of mean boys on it, and like... no regrets. Especially since this is one of my FAVORITE flavors, an unapologetic mean boy who is rarely (but sometimes!) soft for the people around him, and who regularly tries to do decently by people, but who consistently gets shat upon and misunderstood and accused of acting in bad faith. I screamed when he and Xie Lian finally got to talk their friendship out in the book. I also screamed when I realized how immediately after Xie Lian’s return he started looking out for him again, and how sincerely, despite his horrible attitude about it. I still want to write more fic for him so badly. I love him so much.

.

Second favorite: Xie Lian! What a good boy! The best boy! He’s so sweet and gentle, but also the best fightboy this world has ever seen, and also so gently snarky with the people he loves! I just... really love me some traumatized characters who have trouble recognizing that they can be Loved, and I’m not going to write this whole essay right now, but I think in some ways, he’s the most... passive about his romance, out of all the leads? Shen Qingqiu is aggressively oblivious, but Xie Lian kind of gently shrugs off the idea that he might be Hua Cheng’s special someone, until he finally gets hit with the cluestick. I generally shy away from the idea of a character “earning” love, but he’s maybe the mxtx character who moves me most with ‘you deserve to be loved’

.

Most favorite: Hua Cheng. HUA CHENG. Oh my god, gotta love this boy. Gotta love this devotion. I love a mean boy who is soft for one person, and he EMBODIES it. I mean, I love Shen Jiu, but he barely manages to do the soft thing at all, while Hua Cheng is over here like ‘if I could only be the stone beneath your feet--’ It’s hard to talk about him separately from Xie Lian, because they’re a unit in my head more than just about any other characters on this list are. I don’t want to get this list to get out of control, so I’m not going to scream for too long, but... I could just watch him go forever. I want to write him forever, and that’s a huge aspect of what draws me to some characters.

MDZS

Oh god, I think I lied, I think this book is going to be hardest. Making these choices is AGONIZING.

Fifth favorite: .....Lan Wangji. Oh god, I feel bad about how low he is. But this story is just packed SO full of wonderful characters, and I’m already consumed with guilt over all the characters who aren’t going to make it. I don’t love them less! But my love for characters in this particular story is very evenly distributed. And I think that Wang Yibo’s acting is possibly scoring points with me that the book might not have earned all by itself. Microexpressions and subtle body language add SO MUCH to a character with such flat affect, and I would be drawn to such a closed-off character anyways, but it really helps. And I love, like... the combined subtlety and intensity of his relationships. It’s not that subtle once you know what to look for, and the brother/sworn brother network makes for varying degrees of how much other characters understand of the things he chooses not to explicitly express, and it gives a really interesting character to the way he interacts with the people around him. Also, love me a man with intense separation anxiety.

.

Fourth favorite: Jiang Yanli? I think it has to be Jiang Yanli, but these rankings are hard. So. I just talked about how much I enjoy the flat affect and closed off nature of Lan Wangji? Well, guess what, I also love it when m’girl is just very GENUINELY AND OPENLY an absolute sweetheart of a person, and I love the contrast between her genuinely kind nature and the uncomfortable pressure that her family’s dynamics put on her to start parenting at a very young age. It’s not necessarily a happy situation, but she adores her brothers so much and they adore her so much! And it’s... a very understated element of the story, but after her parents died, her baby brothers went off to war, and one wreaked havoc as a straightforward commander and one of them disappeared for months and returned as a creepy-ass zombie puppeteer. And she STILL dotes on them like before, despite knowing what they’re capable of. Like, yes, Wei Wuxian just raised an army of corpses and forced a man to eat himself, but I shall still boop him on the nose and feed him Soup. How can I not adore energy like that?

.

Third favorite: Wei Wuxian, I think. I do adore him a lot. He gives me some of the same vibes that make me ache most with Xie Lian, where he is trying his best, and is struggling to hold on in the face of lots of suffering, and I find it really interesting that when the suffering peaked, Xie Lian was forced go on because he couldn’t die, while Wei Wuxian... expired. That line about ‘he thought that no matter how large the world was, there was still no place for him’ always sticks with me, and hurts me deeply. Xie Lian had most of his personal attachments stripped away, and was left to wander on his own, while Wei Wuxian still had a number of strong connections left, but abruptly exited life. And that informs their respective trauma so interestingly! The way Wei Wuxian bounces between high energy chaos and drained exhaustion is really fascinating to me, and was the thread that held me attached to the book through a very confusing beginning. And I’m still very drawn to how intensely he loves, whether it’s Xiao Zhan’s fantastic acting, or it’s him busting out with how much he wants Lan Wangji in the middle of the Guanyin Temple scene. He’s a fantastic character, honestly, I don’t think such a convoluted book would have held together very well without a protagonist this strong.

.

Second favorite: Xue Yang :X Look, he’s a good boy and I love him. Who among us hasn’t done a few mass murders that we are completely unrepentant about, but that we would really like to keep hidden from our current boyfriend, actually? Anyways, as always, love me an angry boy who makes terrible decisions for understandable reasons. And I do love a character who is consumed by agonized ragrets (see my next entry), but I DO also love me a character who has no regrets at all and doesn’t even have much interest in trying to justify himself to anyone else around him. Just look at that confidence! Look at him go!!

.

Most favorite: Jiang... Cheng....... I knew he and Xue Yang were going to be at the top, but those were the only parts of this list that were easy. I mean. Love a self-sabotaging angryboy who is also super super sad and keeps hurting himself in his own confusion. And while I love the romantic thread in all of the mxtx books, the agonized family thread in mdzs is one of my favorite parts, and something that I don’t really see echoed in any of the other stories. I need ten million jc+wwx reconciliations, at LEAST. He’s so sad! And so angry! And I want to see him becoming less of that thing, and for Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian to demonstrate very firmly how much they love him, because they do. I am invested in his happiness in a way that goes far and beyond any of the other non-main characters, haha

SVSSS

Fifth favorite: Tianlang-jun. I think? Oh god, but moshang. THIS IS REALLY HARD, I HATE THIS ;-; But especially since writing my fic, Tianlang-jun has really won me over. And like, he already hurt me good in the novel, just thinking about how he was an innocent young guy, just! Trying to have a girlfriend! And instead got trapped in sensory deprivation, body-rotting-hell for twenty years, when he didn’t do anything wrong!!! He suffered, so much! And I live for his intensely strained relationship with Luo Binghe, because it’s! Perfectly understandable and painful, from both of their perspectives! And he wants to hate humans so badly, but in the end, when he’s told that Su Xiyan never betrayed him, he starts helplessly asking the people around him, ‘really? is it really true?’ and then in the end he loses the only family member he has left who cares about him, and it’s just! Everything is terrible! I have a su xiyan au brewing in my head because I can’t stand it! Someone just give this man a loving partner!!!

.

Fourth favorite: Shen Qingqiu. But... moshang??? Goddammit. Anyways, this dumbass. I find him so endearing, in his dumbassery. I sometimes get a bit frustrated with Wei Wuxian for being oblivious, and Shen Qingqiu is just asking for me to react the same way, but I... don’t, for the most part? Because he thinks he has good information, and he’s slow to react to a changing playing field, and I still haven’t read another transmigration novel that strikes the same balance of hypercompetence and intense incompetence :ppp It’s a funny book, and he’s a funny character! And I really vibe with him, in most parts of the story, which covers a pretty darn wide emotional spectrum. Plus, the running internal commentary is choice.

.

Third favorite: Liu Qingge. Look, I’m a woman of simple needs, and sometimes I just need a high-quality fightboy who clearly cares deeply and is absolute garbage at expressing his emotions. I can’t articulate it much better than that. I absolutely howl at the succubus extra, when Shen Qingqiu is talking to Madam Meiyin about his future partner, and Liu Qingge is like ‘oh my god, sHE IS CLEARLY DESCRIBING ME’ and Shen Qingqiu is like ‘haha, liu-shidi, i thought you thought this was stuupidddddddd’. They’re both so dumb. I love them so much. But stupidity plus war god fighting energy has a narrow lead over stupidity and internal commentary track.

.

Second favorite: SHEN JIU. GOD. I’m still arguing with myself over whether he should go first, but Luo Binghe hurts me consistently through the whole entire story, so I think he wins. Shen Jiu just stabs me in the heart at strategic moments. This is it. My ideal mean boy who is soft for one (1) person, and who BOTH does unconscionable things for terrible reasons (someone just. give him a pile of girls to teach, it will be much more pleasant for everyone involved), and who ALSO gets blamed for things he didn’t do even when he tries to act in good faith. It is the best of all painful worlds. And even at the end, when he has a powerful person who wants desperately to protect him, he still tries his hardest to shove that person away, to keep him safe. I’ve got like four aus where he gets to live. I’m so invested in this character, I love him so much.

.

Most favorite: Luo Binghe. He was.... made for me............ Like, the overwhelming amounts of childhood angst were baked in by Shang Qinghua, but the in-story pain and suffering is PRECISELY my jam. I love a character with separation anxiety! I love a character with massive anxieties over being unwanted! Over nobody ever, EVER just choosing him! I love a character struggling with the idea that the person he loves most in the world thinks that he’s intrinsically Disgusting! I love the kind of stubborn determination that leads him to preserve a corpse for five years, desperately hoping for a way to revive it, constantly cooking fresh food, in case, in case he someday wakes up. The way Hua Cheng loves is overpowering, but he’s had time to like... learn to be mellow when he needs to be. Luo Binghe doesn’t have a chill bone in his body, and if he’s acting chill, it’s probably because he’s done some mental math and decided that being more clingy right now will probably get him pushed away harder. I love the combination of manipulative tendencies and a very, very genuine fear of rejection and being unwanted. There is nothing I don’t love about Luo Binghe, including his worst decisions. I love him so so much.

[nyerus]

Hi, nyerus.....If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite MXTX characters (top 5 from each novel)? And why? I'm sorry if you've answered this question before.

Thank you so much for asking! I would love to! (Apologies for the delay, and also for how long this is lol....)

TGCF

1.) Xie Lian: I could write forever about why I love him, but XL is just a really great character who subverted my expectations. He's gentle and compassionate, but also funny and snarky on the inside. His character arc is the classic hero's journey but told out of order. So we meet him when he's already wise and world-weary, then get to see what he was like before, and how he finishes his journey later on. He's extremely inspiring, to show that our choices and our actions are what make us, and ultimately no one can take those from us.

2.) Hua Cheng: This is no surprise! I also just adore HC for being a very intense character! He's completely devoted to XL and that zealotry is very unique in a character. He's 100%, not 50, not 75. While he has a lot of relateable aspects, this part of him is utterly fantastical, on the level only myth and fable can achieve--which tracks. After all, he isnt a Ghost King for nothing. In the story, he is the embodiment of the purest devotion, no strings attached.

3.) He Xuan: I actually like him for the same reasons as HC! He too is a walking fable, only instead of devotion, he represents vengence. (They're actually like foils of each other, which is quite neat.) I really adore his arc, and how murky his whole character is. It tells a cautionary tale of how sometimes, our worst enemy--the one who makes us most miserable--is often ourselves. SWD wronged him greviously, but HX's obsession with vengence ultimately prevented him from getting the peace and recompense he wanted in the end. Absolutely stellar storytelling.

4.) Mei Nianqing: While I often question his motives and methods, he is still a really good character. Caught between wanting to be a mentor and protector to XL, but still loving (platonically or romantically, that's up to you) JW. He's the only father figure in XL's life that actually took him seriously, even if he did have to come around to it. But ultimately, he was proud of who XL became even before he ascended. He was just terrified of XL drawing the attention of the one man he shouldn't--and did. However his belief in superstition and fear of Hong Hong-er also makes sense, even if it's sad. MNQ is also just a quirky and fun dude lol.

5.) Mu Qing: I really like how complicated and murky MQ's is in terms of his inner turmoil. I'm somewhat similar to him in the way he thinks, and it's real work not to make things worse for myself by expecting the worse. His background makes him naturally suspicious of... basically everyone, all the time, and it's honestly understandable. Ultimately, he does understand that you can't make assumptions about people's intentions by projecting your own insecurities onto them--which I think is something everyone can relate to. I really like his subtle journey of self-realization and self-forgiveness, and he ends up far better for it.

MDZS

1.) Lan Wangji: I love the fact that LWJ was just so ready to Night Hunt himself to death upon the loss of his beloved. As you can tell, I really like complicated characters who have extreme traits, haha! That being said, I just also really like his stoicism and reliability.

2.) Wei Wuxian: Naturally, it's hard not to love WWX! He decided "yeah maybe the ends do justify the means" and went for it. To us, he is the hero. To the regular people of the world? Whose ancestors were dug up and disturbed to be used by the Yiling Laozu? His blackened reputation is not without cause! (Like... JGY literally has done more positive and helpful things for regular people than Wangxian, but those metas already exist lol.) Once again, his gray morality is what makes him so damn good, and can be debated at length!

3.) Jiang Cheng: JC gets a bad rep, but oh boy he doesn't make things easy for himself at all. However if I was in his position, I probably would be much worse off. He lost EVERYTHING, and still trudged on because there were people who depended on him. His hatred of the Wens also makes sense in the context that... that's often how humans react to and process extreme trauma. We find something to blame and *waves at literally every major conflict since the dawn of time.* (His rumored torture of innocent people due to that is reprehensible, of course, but given that MDZS is a book about how rumors can make or break someone's life... we should take that line with a grain of skepticism, much like all other hearsay.) He's not typically the type of character I like, but I found him really interesting to read.

4.) Jiang Yanli: I really love JYL, who decided to be the emotional backbone of her family from the time she was a child. It was an undue and extremely heavy burden to bear, but she did all of it without complaint. That's strength. I think many elder siblings can relate to her having to step up and be the third parent, when the actual adults fail at it.

5.) Wen Qing: I really like her arc in the novel, where she makes some of the hardest decisions anyone will ever have to make, over and over and over again. I don't typically love very "rough" characters, but she has ever right to be that way (and it makes sense for her character, and isn't just a tacked-on character trait like hair color or eye color in a CC), and honestly I want to marry her very seriously.

SVSSS

1.) Luo Binghe: Probably the most misunderstood main character of all of MXTX's works. LBH is neither truly a crybaby nor is he a ruthless maniac. He's right in the middle, in the valley of misanthropy. And yet, he knows just how to use his charisma to get his way. Cunning and devious, intelligent and ruthless. Meanwhile, he craves love and intimacy--something he could only ever dream of.

2.) Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan): Extremely refreshing to see an transmigrator know how to handle transmigration almost flawlessly. (Me reading/watching other works with this trope and wanting to tear my hair out at the protags = me sympathizing on a personal level with SQQ.) This also proves to be SQQ's fatal flaw!! His knowledge of the novel is both a boon and a obstacle to him, and prevents him from understanding the other characters as people until he lets go of his pre-conceived notions. And of course, his snarky as heck inner dialogue is amazing.

3.) Liu Qingge: I don't actually even know why I love LQG as much as I do. He's just neat.

4.) Tianlang-Jun: Honestly same goes for TLJ. He's just great though, and I have a blast reading about him. He wanted to see the good in humanity, and ultimately comes around after writing them off.

5.) Yue Qingyuan: He's a fascinating character. Harmless on the outside, but a quagmire on the inside. His love for Shen Jiu was quite... problematic, in that he saught forgiveness from SJ, without actually ever taking the time to understand him or to make amends. Patronizing and judgemental, yet willing to let SJ get away with literally anything because of his own unresolved turmoil, etc etc. Fascinating.

[heavensturtle]

Day 5: Love/Worship

A short fic for Day 5 of Hua Cheng’s Birthday Week!

- - - 

SPOILER WARNING: Once again, it’s best if you read the book first.

- - - He doesn’t give himself time to rethink his decision before he materializes onto the cart. If he waits, he knows, he’ll never go.

Neither the cart driver nor Xie Lian seem to notice anything amiss, so Hua Cheng sits quietly, listening to gege read to himself. Gege is impossibly cute in his straw farmer’s hat and white robes, and the way he’s sitting cross-legged, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he reads, makes Hua Cheng want to bundle him up into his arms and never let go.

He feels a strange pain in his chest and realizes it’s his heart, beating furiously. It’s been so long since he’s put on a mortal skin he’s almost forgotten how it feels. It hurts, but not in the way he remembers.

He’s waiting for just the right entrance. He’s waited eight hundred years for this moment, it needs to be perfect. But then he hears Xie Lian say defensively, ‘All gods are equal’, and he can’t help himself.  

“Is that right?”

It slips out before he can think, and he realizes if he’s not careful he’ll end up blurting out everything.

Don’t read that trash, gege, is what he wants to say next. They don’t know a thing about you.

But he can’t, because Xie Lian doesn’t even know who he is.

Xie Lian makes a surprised sound, so Hua Cheng fumbles out some nonsense about the ridiculousness of the idea that all gods are equal instead of saying what he means to say, which is there are no gods above gege, because what stranger says that about a person they’ve theoretically only just met?

Hua Cheng is a fearsome Supreme. He’s taken down thirty-three gods, half of them in battles of rhetoric. But talking to this scrap-collecting immortal leaves him tongue-tied and desperate to impress.

He doesn’t mind. He’s always been at gege’s mercy.

When they get onto the topic of himself, though, Hua Cheng isn’t sure how to feel. Gege seems terribly interested, but is it just morbid fascination?

Hua Cheng finds excuses to shift closer, staring into His Highness’ eyes as though he will be able read the truth out of their depths.

Does gege recognize him? Is he frightened? Disgusted? At one point Xie Lian looks away, seemingly overwhelmed, and Hua Cheng imagines he can see a faint blush on his cheeks.

Hs mortal heart lurches. Then gege turns back around and says he believes Hua Cheng’s true form must be similar to the one Hua Cheng is wearing now, and Hua Cheng has to bring up the fact of his missing eye to make sure gege knows his true self is far more hideous than gege imagines.

Xie Lian doesn’t look disgusted, though, only curious.

And when he asks about the ashes, it takes everything Hua Cheng has to keep from blurting out ‘If I gave you my ashes, I wouldn’t care if you destroyed them.’

He’s being nearly as subtle as a forest fire, but gege either doesn’t notice or doesn’t mind. He wants -

Oh god, he wants gege to know him, but he remembers how gege looked at him in the corpse forest when he reached for his veil, and hesitates.

He’s so distracted he nearly flies out of the cart when it lurches, and then gege is reaching for his hand and Hua Cheng is so shocked that he shakes it off automatically. Gege hasn’t touched him - no one has touched him - in so many centuries, it makes his skin prickle.

Gege doesn’t try to hide the confusion on his face.

Sorry, gege, he wants to say, I’ll make it up to you. Somehow.

But he has no idea how he’ll do that.  

How do you tell someone you’ve admired your whole existence - someone who’s noble, priceless, a god - that you’re in love with them?

You don’t, he realizes, and his chest burns with the knowledge.

You can only stand by them, keep them from coming to harm, make them feel like the precious treasure they are, and never ask for anything in return. Gege’s gaze upon him is enough. It will be enough, he tells himself, if I can only stay by his side.

[no-other-words]

Just a Bit Closer

Synopsis: Xie Lian suggests taking a relaxing dip in the pond. Hua Cheng slightly freaks out. Rated T | 3400w | canon-divergent, fluff, domestic, slight angst [ Read on AO3 ]

Never again will he be so bold. His Highness follows a path of virtue. His Highness is to be untouched. His Highness—

“San Lang?”

Hua Cheng snaps his head up. Xie Lian’s attention is fully on him, his face half-curious half-amused. He hasn’t been aware that his hands were rolled into fists until now.

“It’s only a bath.”

His Highness is requesting him to bathe with him.

Hua Cheng gulps. He may be a ghost king, but he is not equipped to face this challenge.

---

Hua Cheng has endured much throughout his life.

As a child, love was an alien concept and no friend of his when endless beatings and hate had accompanied him. He’s worn battle scars that no young man’s body should ever had to receive. Wars had been waged against godly figures from the depths of Mount Tonglu to the skies of the Heavenly Court. His soul has died again and again for the anguish that had ceaselessly pierced his one person—yet it is also his soul that lives again and again and refuses to fade.

Hua Cheng is a Devastation, a ghost king, one of the Four Calamities, if not the strongest. His very name demands unwavering respect and brings even the strongest of martial gods to their trembling knees. He’s been through a lot but not one of his past challenges can come close to this.

In just a thin layer of white robe, Xie Lian stands in the middle of the pond. He’s pouring another bucket load of water over his head, completely unaware of the silver allure cast upon him by the soft of the moonlight. His under-robe does nothing to hide the rosy peaks of his hardened nipples, peeking from underneath.

It goads Hua Cheng for a little contact, a little taste.

Long locks of wet hair stick to his skin, drawing out the slender curves down his neck and bony ridges of his collarbones. A few stray strands wound up over Xie Lian’s lips and it reminds Hua Cheng of their kiss in the lake. Their first and most likely the only kiss. The one he bravely stole in the heat of the moment when all he’d meant to do is give Xie Lian a little help.

Necessary on Xie Lian’s part, completely out of line on Hua Cheng’s. He’d let his worst part get to him at the expense of His Highness’ comfort. It’s obvious from Xie Lian’s reaction—a boundary had been crossed that left the martial god catatonic to the point where he had to lie to get away from the situation. The only redeeming hope had been from within Qiandeng Temple, where Xie Lian had thankfully taken to its charm.

His eyebrows pinch and he looks away.

Never again will he be so bold. His Highness follows a path of virtue. His Highness is to be untouched. His Highness—

“San Lang?”

Hua Cheng snaps his head up. Xie Lian’s attention is fully on him, his face half-curious half-amused. He hasn’t been aware that his hands were rolled into fists until now.

“It’s only a bath.”

His Highness is requesting him to bathe with him.

Xie Lian moves to the bank. The closer he gets, the lower the water level around his body becomes and reveals a shapely waist perfect for grabbing onto. Once again, that good-for-nothing under-robe does the opposite of what it’s meant to do and only serves to feed Hua Cheng’s tainted, invasive mind. The translucent material, wet to the core, plasters nicely against Xie Lian’s skin, emitting a pale pink hue.

Hua Cheng gulps.

He may be a ghost king, but he is not equipped to face this challenge.

It had started with a simple question.

“Do ghost kings not take baths?”

Hua Cheng paused mid-sweep and looked back at Xie Lian curiously. They’d been fixing up Puqi Shrine and cleaning the grounds, after leaving it unattended for several days when they went off to catch a runaway fetus spirit. Things were winding down for the day, with Lang Ying washing dishes after a not-so-successful meal and Guzi put to sleep.

“N-not that I mean anything by it! I was just thinking, how we ran around all over the land recently and we just spent a whole day cleaning the shrine, and I haven’t seen you gone washing since.” Xie Lian stopped to reflect. “I suppose there aren’t suitable places around here to properly do so.”

Hua Cheng pulled a small smile and continued to sweep away the last of leaves into a corner. “Gege needn’t worry to justify his questions. Any curious thoughts arise, this San Lang will gladly answer. I don’t know about the other ones and I don’t care to, but this one does well to remember to be clean. It would be an offence not to.”

He faltered and quickly added, “Does gege think this San Lang is filthy? I will—”

“Ah no! Like you said, it was just a curious thought” Xie Lian says. His eyes then sparkled, caught bright under the gleam of moonlight. “How about we take a dip in the pond nearby? It’s a nice little spot I found not so long ago, with a waterfall. The night is still early. I’m sure it’ll help expel the last of the adrenaline from our recent voyage.”

Which is how Crimson Rain Sought Flower has found himself in this current predicament.

Much to Hua Cheng’s dismay, it doesn’t really expel much. If anything, it invites more adrenaline and that is not what he needs right now. To be so close, in the intimate space of such private practices—Hua Cheng calls upon the 800 years of learned patience and discipline.

Xie Lian is still waiting for him. “Something the matter? I promise, this time there are no demon babies in the water.”

“…I’m dirty.”

“That’s the point, San Lang.”

That unassuming smile graces his face, as ethereal under the night sky as the time when Hua Cheng pulled him out of the lake in rescue.

How can he say no to his god?

He feels an excited trembling at his side and Hua Cheng looks down to see E’Ming wiggling to get out. A soft chuckle runs through the air.

“See? Even E’Ming wants a wash.”

Hua Cheng slaps his weapon in annoyance. “Ignore it, gege. This thing just wants to play.”

As if Hua Cheng had said a magic word, the silk band around Xie Lian’s wrist slithers itself free and gently glides towards him. Without warning, Ruoye grabs him by the waist and tugs him into the pond. Hua Cheng surfaces just in time to hear Xie Lian laugh. It’s music in the making and he hopes to hear more of it for the rest of his time.

“Looks like Ruoye wants to play too,” Xie Lian teases.

E’Ming responds by unsheathing itself and splashing water towards the white ribbon. The two sentient weapons go at it nearby, chasing frantically at each other in an almost comic-like scene. It comes to a quick pause when E’Ming casts a rather large wave of water right in Xie Lian’s direction and Hua Cheng blocks the attack with his arm.

The demon lord shoots his weapon a cold killing look. Xie Lian meanwhile tugs on an assailing Ruoye and reminds all three of them, “gentle”.

Reprimanded, E’Ming and Ruoye calm down and go off to find other ways to play. Xie Lian then turns his attention back to Hua Cheng. “San Lang, will you hand me your robe? It’s gotten dirtied from all the chores today. I’ll wash it together with mine.”

If Hua Cheng still had a beating heart, it’d be skipping out from his chest. But he doesn’t and it’s a momentary reminder of the many boundaries he mustn’t cross over. He stands unmoving, a good distance from Xie Lian.

“Is Your Highness suggesting that he wishes to see this San Lang strip? That is quite a bold request.”

“Your outer robes, San Lang! No teasing, please.”

“This one wouldn’t dare.”

Nevertheless, Hua Cheng takes pride in observing the red flush on Xie Lian’s cheeks. Rosy and heated, it’s a gorgeous contrast to his pale white skin. He often wonders what other things can make Xie Lian blush like that. A simple touch on his neck, a nip at his ear, perhaps a kiss on his—

He stops. Stop stop stop. His Highness would not appreciate these inappropriate thoughts.

His Highness, who is currently scrubbing his clothes, as if it’s not a baseless and undeserving task for a martial god to do. He does it so earnestly, as he does with everything else. Xie Lian’s eyebrows scrunch with concentration, the tip of his tongue peeking out from habit. Hua Cheng quietly watches, peeking under his arms as he lathers soap into his hair. This is a treasured moment not to be missed.

“It’s not the grand bathhouse I’m sure San Lang has in his manor, but I find this spot to be very relaxing,” Xie Lian says in a soft tone. “Hidden astray from the main road, not a lot of villagers know of its location. Nature is untouched here and it helps me ground myself.”

“My bathhouse is nothing compared to this. If gege wishes, I can build a fence around the area. Prevent outsiders from trespassing.”

“San Lang,” Xie Lian chortles, “if people pass by, they pass by. If they don’t, they don’t. This place isn’t mine. None of it is, even Puqi Shrine. I’m merely borrowing the land from which the earth has gifted me.”

Hua Cheng sneaks a loving smile. He’s always admired this side of him.

After one final dunk in the water, Xie Lian wrings both their now-cleaned robes dry and drapes them over a low-hanging branch. He gives the red robe a long look, contemplation washing over.

“San Lang, if I may brazenly ask…”

Hua Cheng halts his scrubbing to give the man his full attention.

“Earlier when you said…it would be an offence…to whom would it be an offence?”

It takes several words out before Xie Lian flutters his gaze up to Hua Cheng, already bashful from making such an inquiry. But once Hua Cheng catches his eyes, he does all he can to hold them. He wills them not to look away, yearning to convey all the feelings locked inside. The fires, the bliss, the ten thousand words he’s thought up to say in the past eight hundred years. All the little tingles of emotions bottled up and will continue to be so for he has a beloved and that beloved cannot know.

Hua Cheng tilts his head slightly forward and softens his gaze. “Someone very important.”

A short moment of silence pass before Xie Lian hums in understanding. He grabs hold of the wooden bucket, floating forgotten nearby, and returns to his own washing.

“San Lang is a very earnest person.”

Only for his one god.

“Gege is not going to question further?”

“Whatever San Lang is willing to tell me, I will listen with gratitude. I trust you have your reasons.”

Hua Cheng purses his lips, not knowing what to do with this level of trust. So he dunks his head underwater and scrubs harshly at his hair. He’s determined to get all the dirt out. All that filth that sticks to him like a parasite, refusing to leave this place that Xie Lian considers his haven.

Get out. Get out get out get out. His Highness, in all his lack of self-preservation, has invited a Devastation for a private bath and all he wants to do is touch and feel and be close, so so close with him. Patience is his forte – it’s something he’s nurtured in the past centuries but there are moments of weakness. Moments like this when he cannot contain himself and wish he can kiss gege again.

Be a thief and steal another piece of bliss.

Hua Cheng lifts his head out, a thick curtain of black hair fall around his face. He’s done now, all necessary washing complete. He should get out of the pond and wait by the sidelines.

A warm hand places on his shoulder. Hua Cheng startles at Xie Lian’s sudden closeness.

“San Lang, that is not how you wash your hair,” Xie Lian chides, a slight pout to his displeased face. “You must treat it gently else you can get knots like that. Here, let me.”

Xie Lian pulls him towards the small waterfall in the corner, leading a winding path so they stay on a shallow path. Hua Cheng lets himself be turned around and a second later, feels gentle combing down his hair. He lowers himself to a kneeling position so Xie Lian doesn’t have to tip toe.

Somewhere in the depths of his chest, a ghost heart beats.

Here, under the lull of the waterfall and vigil of the moon, a god washes his follower’s hair. The consistent rhythm of Xie Lian’s fingers massaging soap on top of his scalp and combing through his hair length brings a soothing pleasure. It is here that Hua Cheng braves to think that once again, Xie Lian is okay with his touch.

“My mother used to brush my hair while I bathed.”

Somehow, Hua Cheng can imagine an overindulged young prince melting under his Empress Mother’s loving attention, just as he’s so lucky to be experiencing the same.

“Am I currently as well-behaved as gege was back then?”

Xie Lian answers with a light chuckle, “very. In fact, I was more of a troublemaker. I’d often want to go swimming and try to wiggle out of her grasps. Mother was always too lenient.”

“With good reason, I’m sure. Gege was a beloved son—” Hua Cheng stops, not wanting to bring up unsavoury memories, and quickly corrects himself. “And must have been very adorable in his mother’s eyes.”

His hair is tugged playfully. “Cheeky San Lang.”

Fingers run along his hairline, gently pulling back to catch every strand. When the same hand moves down to his ears and brushes against the outer skin, Hua Cheng shivers in delight. It feels like something forbidden, one he gladly welcomes. No one has ever come this close in contact and Hua Cheng resolves from here on out that only Xie Lian will have the privilege.

Washing turns to a pleasant session of grooming. Hua Cheng’s sure his hair is more than clean but he stays quiet in favour of Xie Lian’s touch. His eyes drift to a lazy close, the peace creeping up on him so sneakily that he almost misses Xie Lian’s murmurs.

“I don’t…I rarely reminisce on old memories, especially ones involving my parents. They were from so long ago.”

An image of the Xianle Empress flashes in Hua Cheng’s mind. She’d been looking worryingly over him, from that time when he’d been rescued from Xie Lian’s bastard cousin.

“Then San Lang is very happy that gege is sharing a piece of his memory with him.”

He’s rewarded with a final stroke of his hair before he’s pulled towards the waterfall.

“Come, rinse. Stand under here, the water is not that heavy.”

Hua Cheng dutifully complies, happy under Xie Lian’s full attention and care. When the waterfall hits him, he tips his head slightly back and feels the suds slide down his hair. He hums in pleasure.

“Gege is right, this is very relaxing.”

Hearing no response, Hua Cheng opens his eyes. Xie Lian is wearing a dazed look, his eyes round and staring at him almost in a trancelike state. Lips slightly parted, as if in shock after discovering something unexpected.

“Your Highness?”

That seems to shake Xie Lian out of his stupor. He swiftly looks away, a nervous smile slapped on to hide the quiver in his voice.

“Ah—sorry. You’re done. Clean now…I’ll leave you. Give you priva—ah!”

Xie Lian slips on a rock in an attempt to quickly turn away. Instincts take over and Hua Cheng moves to catch him by the waist, his arm holding firm.

“S-San Lang…”

Only when Hua Cheng registers that Xie Lian is safe and away from immediate harm that he notices their close proximity. Senses become hyperaware towards the man in his embrace—the heat emitting from Xie Lian’s stuttered breathes, the pounding of his very alive heart, the skin…

Oh the warm hot skin that sends tingles through every cell currently in contact with Hua Cheng. Only a mere thin material stands between them and it’s oddly erotic to feel the cold wetness. Hua Cheng flexes his arm and watches in satisfaction the way Xie Lian jumps. His muscles feel both hard and soft under his hold and Hua Cheng would like nothing but to memorize the ridges and curves.

“San Lang, I’m—I’m cold.”

This time, he’s barely whispering.

Hua Cheng takes mercy and slowly unwraps his arm around Xie Lian and steadies the man. “Gege, be careful.”

He receives no response but he doesn’t need to. That bright red blush on his face is enough to lift the heavy weight off his chest and unchain the shackles that has settled over ever since the time when Xie Lian scrambled away their kiss. Perhaps this is different.

Hua Cheng finishes rinsing himself under the waterfall, glancing over at Xie Lian from time to time making sure he’s alright. The god seems to be back to a normal state, no longer moving in jerky ways. They’re alright. It’s going to be okay.

He can stay by His Highness’ side for just a bit longer.

When time comes for them to wrap up, Hua Cheng grabs both of their outer robes from the branch. It’s still rather damp but better than having no covering on. Which…would be quite a problem because Xie Lian’s slowly getting out of the water, not even at all mindful of the obscene display he’s putting on.

Hua Cheng blames that under-robe once again. It molds perfectly to Xie Lian’s wet skin and paints a pretty pink picture of his naked body underneath. Hua Cheng accidentally catches sight of a rather perfectly-round bottom before looking away. Thick clouds roll over the moon, dampening any source of light. At least there is some protection to Xie Lian’s virtue by the night’s shadows.

But imagination doesn’t discriminate, not to a ghost king’s mind and definitely not to a cursed weapon with a cursed eye.

E’Ming jumps at the sight of Xie Lian, joyous to see its master’s beloved come up to the shore and even more so to see him…in that state. It does a shuddering whirl before launching itself at the man.

Hua Cheng makes a displeased sound and is about to snap his fingers when Ruoye whips around E’Ming and covers its red eye. The two weapons wrestle a short while before the scimitar gives and compliantly calms.

Hua Cheng huffs. Damn thing will have a beating later as punishment for even thinking of peeking.

Their walk back to Puqi Shrine is short but sweet. Now without the bright moon, there isn’t much light for Xie Lian to see. Luckily, Hua Cheng’s silver butterflies illuminate their path and the two take to an extra slow pace.

“They’re so lovely,” Xie Lian comments with a soft smile, a warm husk to his tone. He lifts a finger that a bold butterfly has landed on and watches its wings open and close. “I’ve seen them in action, but they’re so gentle and beautiful and—and…enchanting!”

Hua Cheng gives a teasing voice. “Gege, stop. San Lang can only take so many compliments in a day.”

“The butterflies, San Lang.”

“Oh? I guess I am none of these words that gege commends on.”

Xie Lian pauses and turns his attention on him. “That’s not what I mean! I said—well…San Lang is also gentle. And lovely.”

The smile on the ghost king’s face is ever-growing.

“Anyways! That was quite refreshing, right? I can already feel my muscles relax.”

He, too, can feel Xie Lian’s muscles. Hua Cheng’s fingers wiggle on impulse and he quickly brings his hands behind his back.

“Gege’s suggestions are always the best. I am at my cleanest state.”

Xie Lian laughs and the butterflies flutter to the musical cadence. One floats near Hua Cheng and he reaches to gently play with it. His hand grazes Hua Cheng’s shoulder and the latter promptly looks at Xie Lian, searching for any signs of discomfort.

None. Xie Lian is unaffected.

The butterflies grow more daring by the second and surround the god in an illuminating circle. He in turn gives every butterfly a chance of contact with his hands and hums in delight.

Hua Cheng relishes in the sight before him.

Perhaps it’s okay to be this close. Perhaps even in a way Hua Cheng hasn’t dared to think of before. And someday…maybe someday he can show His Highness just how close he desires to be.

---

a/n: somewhere between these paragraphs, dianxia drops the soap. cue shower-sex scene.

[sheadre]

Aurora Borealis (Jiang Cheng x Reader) Part One

Summary: Zhu Ran'En (Reader) has always been forced to fight for her life through schemes and lies, betrayal and cruelty. However, Jiang Wanyin who grew up in Yunmeng and lived a complicated life full of obstacles, did not have to play these games. Therefore, when he has to face the cruelty of noblemen and the royal family, he has to ask the Imperial Princess for help. Will they manage to dodge all the life threatening dangers the snake Zhu HuaJin and the Second Prince is throwing at them?

Word count: 2720

Warnings: violence (later in the story), mature, fluff

A/N: Hello everyone! So, this story is in the MDZS fandom like a few of my previous works. I will usually post the chapters way later here than I post them on my quotev account or my ao3 account so please check them out here:

https://www.quotev.com/491346452

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vaeri/works

Lotus Pier was quiet now that things settled after Jin Guangyao got out of the picture. Wei Wuxian visited Yunmeng a few times but left just as quickly on Hanguang-Jun’s arm. Jiang Cheng found it ridiculous how Wei Wuxian acted like a whining wife but that is Wei Wuxian. Yanli once said that there is a thing called Aurora Borealis. A natural electrical phenomenon caused by the interaction of charged particles from the sun with atoms in the upper atmosphere. He had no idea how his shijie got her hands on the book she learnt it from but she said that the same thing could happen between two people. He always thought that something of the sort was rare to be witnessed let alone find it for yourself.

However, seeing Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, he realized what his shijie was talking about. Witnessing it – his shijie said – was rare and special. Jiang Cheng only felt envy. The elders were pestering him to find a suitable wife and marry quickly to ensure the heirs of their sect. Honestly, he had no want in marrying someone he never even met before. No one could really match him and moreover, who would want to marry him knowing about his… not so kind and righteous past. Things changed ever since Wei Wuxian came back and now, he regretted some of the things he’s done out of anger and want for revenge.

He cursed his thoughts for wandering so far during a nighthunt. The woods around them cast them in their dark shadows and the leaves hid the starry night sky from their eyes. Their was a cold humidity in the air as they walked, crunching the fallen dried leaves under his boots as he walked. He needed to focus, Jin Ling was with him after all, who would show the kid how to do things right if he didn’t? Not that Jin Ling was not pleading with him to accompany him. Even if Jin Ling was a sect leader, he needed to learn a lot of things and who else would aid him if not his uncle. Jiang Cheng never told the kid that he was proud of him but he thought he didn’t need to. The kid was self-assured without him praising him.

There was a roar suddenly coming from ahead stopping him and Jin Ling in their tracks. His body froze in place and listened carefully for any other sound. He knew they in disadvantage in the darkness and lighting up fire would possibly endanger his nephew.

“Uncle, it’s ahead of us!” the kid said with a hushed tone, warning in his eyes and readied himself for attack. However, before they could move, the song of an erhu interrupted the quiet of the night. It seemed like the time has stopped around them. Even the wind seemed to stop. Everything fell into a dead silence. The sound was beautiful yet terrifying. It had an alluring tone meanwhile anyone would shudder by the notes. Jiang Wanyin carefully walked forward in search of the cultivator who played. The foliage was crunching under his feet as he walked carefully, one step after the other. His heart was beating loudly in his ears as he approached the opening in the line of trees ahead. The resentful energy was so thick he could cut it with his sword. As he led his nephew out of the forest onto a clearing, his eyes widened.

In the middle of the field a woman was playing the erhu, her long hair flowing in the wind, her robes indicating her connection to nobility. Jiang Wanyin never saw her before and by the patterns, she was a member of the royal family. The monster he was chasing with his nephew slowly fell apart by itself. It was a monster that fabricated itself from different corpses. He was on the road trying to catch it around the town where people reported seeing it. The commoners of course were frightened to death by only the sight of it even from a far. The woman stood up and with the motion of her hand the erhu flew back into its holder which she strapped onto herself. She stopped in her tracks and turned to them, her eyes flashing with crimson red before it returned to a natural (e/c) eye color. Her lips pulled into a smile one that people wouldn’t be able to tell if it was kind or sinister.

“Jiang sect leader, Jin sect leader” she bowed to them in respect with a small smile playing on her lips. Her voice was melodic and Jiang Cheng couldn’t compare another woman to her beauty. He had no idea how she knew their names and if she was a member of the royal family, she was definitely not acting according to it. If she was a princess, she should’ve not addressed them first but wait for them to pay their respect. He narrowed his eyes as he raised a hand in front of Jin Ling to push him back behind himself. Jiang Wanyin couldn’t let his guard down now, this woman could be dangerous.

“Who are you?!” Jin Ling spoke up with his eyebrows furrowed yet his cheeks blushed. The woman chuckled and walked up to them. Her movements were graceful like a goddess’. Her (e/c) eyes never left the two of them and her smile held something strange. It was not threatening nor was it scary but it was definitely off-putting. Jiang Cheng felt her eyes roaming his form and he felt a blush forming on his cheeks. He couldn’t decide if it was from how inappropriately this woman was checking him out or from the notion of being checked out.

“I am Zhu Ran’En” she replied with a melodic voice. It was like a dangerously alluring spell drawing men so they would run into their demise. “Nice to meet you.”

“Zhu Ran’En?” Jin Ling gaped in surprise making her chuckle again.

“You might’ve heard about me” Ran’En shook her head a little like she was disappointed. Of course they knew the name especially after the official announcement of the Imperial Princess’ execution for her crimes. But if she was executed, how could she be standing in front of them? Jiang Wanyin narrowed his eyes at her while waited for her to continue. “Made up, evil-minded, biased rumors I bet…” A small pause as she sighed sadly before she bowed again and continued: “If you excuse me, I have to get to Xutong. It was nice meeting you, please excuse me.”

Ran’En straightened up and smiled at Jiang Wanyin gently before turning around and leaving them in the middle of the clearing. Jiang Cheng felt like he met her somewhere before. It didn’t make sense as he never stepped foot anywhere near the capital let alone the Imperial Palace. However, the feeling was strong even while he was making his way out of the forest with his nephew.

Later ~

The weather was nice but in the early hours of the day, fog fell down on the town. It was not too cold outside but people could barely see to walk around for long. That is why the inn she was sitting in was packed completely. Men were talking with boisterous laughter, others were telling each other stories, drinking to their hearts’ contents. Witnessing such simple life made her feel curious. She always wished she could live somewhere peaceful instead of being a princess and now she was here, sitting in an inn, drinking tea in the sea of commoners. It was truly fascinating.

She was aware that her existence was no longer a secret now that Jiang Wanyin found her. Zhu Ran’En tried to keep her existence and whereabouts a secret. Her ways of cultivation were frowned upon after all, yet she had no other choice but to use resentful energy. She never had a golden core no matter how hard she tried. Trying to learn cultivation from just books was difficult especially with the eunuchs and maids scolding her younger self how she was not acting like a proper lady of court. She had no need for it because as an imperial princess, she never had to defend herself. A few months ago, the lowest ranked imperial princess, Zhu Hua Jin and the second prince, Zhu Li Qin worked hard to make the emperor believe them. That is why Zhu Ran’En, the elder daughter of Zhu Zhi Qi – who was the third prince – lost the favor of the emperor and was sent into exile.

She sat in the inn sipping on her tea when two known faces walked in. She felt the shift of the resentful energy no matter how low it was in the room. Her eyes snapped to the new comers just to see the Yiling Patriarch staring back at her. Her lips pulled into a smirk as an invitation for the pair. Hanguang-Jun and Wei Wuxian – known as Mo Xuanyu in his current life – looked around in search for a seat but most tables were full. She had to admit that both of them were good looking. Zhu Ran’En smiled at the black clothed young man and stretched out her arm motioning towards the untaken seats by her table.

“Ah, come and sit, gentlemen” she smiled gently. She quickly waved a waiter over to clean the table for the two cultivators. “I was about to finish here. Feel free to sit.”

Zhu Ran’En stood up and bowed to them while she heard Hanguang-Jun murmur a quiet ‘thank you’ before she straightened up and left them alone. It was better to not linger around for too long. She had no idea if Wei Wuxian could tell that she was a fellow demonic cultivator but she didn’t need him to notice. At least for now. Leaving the inn was easy even though she felt the lingering feeling of someone watching her. A smirk was playing on her lips as she turned down an alley and disappeared from sight.

She spent many days and nights roaming the cities in her exile, collecting information and plotting in the dark. She needed to get back to the imperial palace to protect her younger sister, Zhu WuXi. Ran’En wondered how she was doing these days. WuXi was always bouncing around the palace halls, admiring the beauty of nature and perfected her dance moves. Ran’En was always envious of her younger sister’s delicateness, how lady-like her sister was compared to her. Many people said her younger sister took after their mother and it was true in every possible way. She was just as naïve and good hearted, assuming the best in everyone without a doubt. This made her an easy target for Ran’En’s opponents.

Suddenly, a dog came running towards her while barking loudly, making Ran’En’s smirk pull wider on her beautiful face. Her eyes darkened as she looked at the dog which stopped a few feet away from her in fear. It whined in fear at the sight of her expression she was wearing. Soon, the young Jin sect leader came after the dog with eyebrows drawn together.

“You!” he cried out angrily. The youngster didn’t recognize her right away because she was wearing a simple attire from cheap material. It was easy to hide yourself if you just changed clothes and make-up – she thought. “You scared Fairy!”

Ran’En laughed out loud and lifted her sheathed sword to stop Zidian wrapping around her body, so instead it curled around her sheathed sword. She could hear Jiang Wanyin coming from behind since she rounded the corner.

“Sect leaders” she chuckled. “Pleasure to meet you again in such a short time.”

“Who are you?” Jiang Wanyin yelled angrily. She lifted an eyebrow curiously turning to the man. “Zhu Ran’En, the imperial princess died two months ago.”

“Died?!” she cackled as she was now facing Jiang Wanyin. Her lips pulled into a sneer. “They still lie even when they beat me… I am still here…”

“You’re using resentful energy for cultivation” Jiang Cheng replied but now he took a step back from the woman.

Zhu Ran’En pulled out a seal and showed it to him. The small stone badge was carefully carved, the characters ‘princess’ emerged from the flat surface of the stone. She watched his eyes widen before she hid her last reminder of her title back into her sleeve. To her surprise Zidian loosened and let go of her sword.

“Sect leader Jiang, I advise you to stay out of my business… these are royal matters” she said coldly before she jumped up onto the roof of the building and disappeared from their sight.

She was supposed to be locked up in Qi mansion waiting for the emperor to call her back one day. However, she had no time to wait for so long if she wanted to save her little sister from the evil clutches of her uncle and her cousin.

Jiang Cheng’s PoV.

A few months back, Jiang Wanyin noticed Imperial guards appearing in the town and other towns nearby. They were asking people about a woman, the drawing they were showing to the citizens was drawn with attention. The sect leader now knew who the woman was. The imperial princess was a traitor after she got caught in the crime of money laundering. Everyone was informed that she was executed publicly in the capital, however, if she was executed, why were imperial guards asking around about her?

People were spreading rumors about her but if someone would really think over everything, with the princess’ righteous past, it would be easy to smell something was fishy about this whole thing. And Jiang Wanyin’s nose was similar to a hound. After meeting the imperial princess in real life, he could tell that there was more than what meets the eye and he was keen on finding out the truth. That is how he found himself in front of Qi mansion in Yangsu.

The building was looking like a prison or a robust castle with the dark brown and black colors and stone walls. Thick stone pillars held the roof while there were no windows visible from the front entrance. The wall stretching around the mansion could be around six cun* wide and thirty chi* high.

*[1 cun (寸)= 5 cm; 1 chi 尺 = 0,5 meters]

The doors were closed but there were no guards in front of the mansion and when Jiang Cheng pushed on the wings of the door they easily opened up giving him a view of the insides of the mansion. He could hear some folks talk about how no one entered the mansion since the princess’ arrival to spend her exile in there. He walked inside but when he was far enough inside, the doors closed behind him and as much as he tried, he couldn’t open them again.

“Jiang sect leader… It is a pleasure to meet you in my humble abode” came the familiar melodic voice of the princess. Jiang Wanyin turned around in a blur, his eyes spitting lightning as Zedian unfurled from his hand ready to strike. The princess stood nonchalantly in front of him, in the usual embroidered rich hanfu all the royal family members wore, her figure petite yet something dark was encircling her form as the smile stretched on her beautiful face. Jiang Cheng had to admit that the woman was beautiful, very intimidating yet beautiful. She tilted her head to the side and turned sideways, lifting her arm inviting him further inside. “Would you like to have tea? Lili just arrived back from the market with a new batch of herbs and teas.”

“What are you doing?” Jiang Cheng hissed angrily at the woman who’s features looked like they were frozen into stone. She turned back to him fully, her lips ever so slowly returned into a neutral line before she spoke up.

“If you’re here, you already know exactly what awaits you once you dig yourself into my case” Zhu Ran’En said coldly. “Imperial guards already noticed you entering my mansion, you got involved in imperial affairs. Now come, let’s have some tea.”

The sect leader narrowed his eyes at her but followed her inside silently.

To be continued…

[zhuhongs]

Upon rereading tgcf, one of the biggest complaints I have is how lackluster all the extra chapters were. literally none of them were good and all contained rlly gross and harmful sentiments (like the amnesia one which.. yea.. or all the things implying xl should get pregnant for hc thus equating gay relationships with hetero ones and playing into the wife thing and just GOD I HATE MXTX) 

There were a lot of little plot points i wish that had been further elaborated on more in the extras as opposed to hualian being ... like that. I had enough. Like mdzs had actaully good extras (minus the incense burners) that were nice side stories that elaborated more on the characters. Like the hook one with the juniors was so cute and i loved seeing them grow more. Or the lotus pod extras omg.. im such a lotus pod extra stan. those were so cute and gave us a lot of good insight into just how lovestruck lwj was during the times when he didn’t see wwx. mxtx should've stuck to those sorta extras in tgcf but NOOO. SO I have a list of so many other more interesting things those chapters couldve been spent on like:

A resolution on He Xuan’s revenge and his character arc. Bc its implied He Xuan is still hanging out and watching over sqx and that taking revenge didn’t fully satisfy him bc ok.. yea shi wudu is dead but he xuans family will never come back. Now what does he have to live for?? i wish we couldve seen a look into his life during the entire ordeal. like a chapter from his perspective while he was posing as Ming Yi  and maybe a look at a conversation btw he xuan and the real ming yi or a chapter after SQX was banished to see what he’s doing now. Also what did he xuan owe hua cheng money for anyways?? Like ik not every little thing has to be explained but I Want to Know. PLEASE more goth boyfriend content now I just wanna see him :,((

a better resolution of yin yu and quan yizhens storyline. im still mad abt how that plot point was split btw books 3 and 5  when it was rlly out of place and  there were other more pressing plot matters and it just rlly deserved more time. Also i thought yin yu died!?!?!? but apparently one of the extras says he’s alive and man... i;m not reading any more of the extras to see that, give me a full yin yu and quan yizhen chapter.. fuck.

a day in the life of the guoshi fangxin or general hua PLEASE especially like one where hua cheng was SO CLOSE to meeting xie lian but had no clue that xie lian was there at the time but the two did smth that inadvertantly helped the other and they still were connected even though they hadnt met omg pls that’d be so nice. like imagine Hua cheng catching a glimpse of the guoshi in public in yong’an while he’s trying to follow some lead that points to xie lian or maybe following a lead to capture qi rong bc he said he knew qi rong was a part of the yong’an stuff and originally thought the guoshi was one of qi rongs pawns. like can you IMAGINE him getting so close. but at the last second he did smth small that impacted xie lian. like they bumped into eachother on the street or smth. god i’d go crazy

OR vice versa.. like a day in the life of the young ghost king hua cheng. Like again, one of my biggest issues was that hua cheng just knew everything and its never really explained how he got all of that info. like yes he’s been alive very long and has eyes and ppl working for him everywhere but like... how did he build that network?? I’d love to see a chapter of young ghost king hua cheng travelling around trying to learn as much as he can abt the world and how it can help bring him to xie lian. and the two maybe are in the same kingdom for a bit and they don’t meet exactly but hua cheng stops some fight or something and helps xie lian indirectly or maybe xie lian is performing on the street in some costume and hua cheng doesn’t recognize him and smiles and gives him a coin or smth. idk i’m just dying for any sorta extra chapter or fic like that. i’m honestly so tempted to write my own but i cant write

also!! we’ve seen how xie lian picks up people down on their luck near him and show them kindness (like banyue, lang ying, xiao ying, he tried to with san lang but we know how that ended lmao) so i’d love to see another little vignette of him doing that on his travels and how every person he meets teaches him smth about life and being a good person and idk, i just think it’d be rlly sweet. i love this facet of his character and feel like we didn’t see enough of it towards the end.

ALSO hua cheng only seems to respect one heavenly official besides xie lian and thats yushi huang.. i assume thats mostly bc she was the only one to help xie lian and let him use the rain master hat to bring water to yong’an. I was thinking maybe when he was a new supreme he had run into trouble and maybe was picked up by the rain master and helped him heal and in return he promised to help protect her village from harm in the future. Like i know a heavenly official wouldn’t cooperate with a ghost like that but yushi huang is different and doesn’t really care about the heavens so i think she would protect him if he could do something to benefit her village. ik this is kinda far fetched but when he first became a supreme I’m sure a bunch of ppl probably tried to mess with him and didn’t rlly believe him to be undefeatable bc he hadn’t proved himself yet also i doubt all his power came overnight. he had to learn how to use it once he escaped the kiln. and some group probably thought they could weaken him somehow. I’m thinking maybe a rlly well formed group of ghosts actually caught him off guard once and he had to retreat and was picked up by the rain master and stayed with her and learned from her a bit. i think it’d be a cool concept also i just rlly want more yushi huang content and i’m on their friendship agenda bc he rlly did seem to actually respect her when she first appeared and i think it’d be cool if the two had some history together.

Also idrc if this was addressed I couldve missed it But!! Did xie lian ever tell Hua cheng that the reason he got the curse shackles and was banished again in the first place wasnt bc jun wu wanted to punish him, but because he requested it. And specifically requested it bc he felt guilty abt letting wu ming take the human face disease and disperse for his sake. So he took the shackles and descended to atone for that?? Bc I dont recall hua cheng learning that bc his soul was already dispersed at that point so it didnt follow him and xie lian didnt say anything so uhhh... someone should tell hua cheng that. Like I dont think xie lian rlly said how much hua cheng meant to him and didnt show him he was loved in grand ways. Like xie lian did always care for bc in other ways but I think if hua cheng learned abt this on screen it wouldve been such a great moment and I'm rlly surprised mxtx didnt address this iirc!?!? Like imagine jun wu telling Hua cheng this in the kiln bc xie lian wouldnt say it himself. Imagine how cool that would be.

Also a small thing adding into the whole young ghost king Hua cheng stuff. Its implied and p much stated that hua cheng isnt his real name. That he likely doesnt have a real name bc his parents died? (It's not clear. I'm still mad at mxtx for not making his childhood clearer). So I'd like to see when and why hua cheng chose that name for himself. The new tgcf ending song kinda hints at its meaning with the lyrics "for you I'd fill a city of flowers" as xie lian is the flower wielding martial god so it's probably inspired by that. Also xie lian saved hua cheng from leaping off the city walls but I'd love to hear him say it bc the implication of his name didnt dawn on me for quite a bit and I dont know if everyone made the connection. Again I sure as hell didnt. So itd be cool to see a chapter that takes place in his past after just ascending as a supreme

Overall I rlly think tgcf had a lot more potential to be even better and a lot of that comes down to fleshing out the side characters and letting hualian have more of a storyline independent of one another. like i know the appeal and message of tgcf is that through love, people can overcome anything, but fuck man. i just wanna see what these two (mostly hua cheng) where like in the absence of each others presence. Part of what I really liked abt mdzs is that we got to see that longing develop btw wangxian when the two weren’t together and how they thought about each other and did things in thei others spirit bc they knew the other wouldve done the same thing. but whatever, mxtx was too consumed by her own unhealthy idea of what devotion and true love looks like but still. i rlly think the extras couldve helped the story be better rather than be fujoshi fuel that i try to bleach from my mind -_-

[touchmycoat]

If you're still taking prompts from the smut list: 5, 7, 12 or 22 for He Xuan / LQG. Sexual or not, considering the leverage!au, those quotes could be job related.@.@

((Smut dialogue prompts))

5. “Take your clothes off. Right now.” 7. “Hands behind your back.” 12. “I’m going to fucking ruin you.” 22. “Look how good you take it.”

Word Count: 3267 Leverage!AU

(i)

"Take your clothes off. Right now."

Liu Qingge was halfway out of his shirt before he really registered the order, and then He Xuan was next to him yanking the shirt off the rest of the way before Liu Qingge could pull it back down.

"Pants."

"Back off," Liu Qingge tried to snap, but was quickly losing ground as He Xuan backed him up among the racks of clothes and stage design props. And when he smacked He Xuan's hands away from his belt, He Xuan smacked his hand right back with his own belt buckle.

"You heard her," He Xuan said, low and dangerous in something that sounded a lot like the fuck around and find out voice he reserved for marks. "Models and designers only."

"So you be the model."

He Xuan tugged Liu Qingge's belt off with a neat yank. Then he took a step back and folded his arms.

"Fine. Then talk fashion."

Liu Qingge had to resist the urge to fold his arms in mirror, because in his current state, it would look just a little too much like he was covering himself up out of shyness.

"Shen Qingqiu?" he snapped into his earpiece.

"Sorry," Shen Qingqiu coughed. "All I know are brand names."

"Come on, Liu Qingge," Luo Binghe chimed in, all schadenfreude, "you were hired for your body."

"And not to rush but Lan Xichen is being held hostage..."

"Fine." Glaring vicious murder, Liu Qingge thrust out a hand at He Xuan. "What do I wear?"

With a smug not-smile, He Xuan turned on his heel and tossed the long end of Liu Qingge's belt over his shoulder. When the leather smacked against his back, Liu Qingge's gaze flickered.

"You're not wearing anything," He Xuan snorted. "Just shut up, follow me, and flex."

(ii)

"State police! Nobody move!"

He Xuan, slipping his fake detective badge away, of course made for Liu Qingge first, who stood in the middle of a pile of broken noses and unconscious bodies, as was his wont. A frenetic, giddy smile split the mark's bloody mouth (which had already been split once by Liu Qingge, before the private security forces moved in) as four policemen stepped into the room.

He Xuan grabbed Liu Qingge by the back of the neck like an errant puppy and shoved him face-first against the wall.

"Hands behind your back."

Behind him, the mark was babbling some thank god, where have you been bullshit, but He Xuan was too busy not-smirking at Liu Qingge's hissed curses when the cuffs went on too tight. Then there was a hand on his elbow. For the sake of the con, He Xuan didn't tear the man's arm off.

(Didn't unleash Liu Qingge on him; what the mark got a taste of before was really just a friendly nip.)

"Cheng Luan, was it?" He Xuan growled into Liu Qingge's ear. "I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time."

"Hey, excuse me—"

Then he was hauling Liu Qingge around to bury a fist in Liu Qingge's gut. It was real—it had to be at this proximity—but He Xuan had already given Liu Qingge's stomach a little tap to signal where he was going to hit. His knuckles found flexed muscles, but Liu Qingge doubled over anyways.

"Whoa, whoa hey—"

With a palm over Liu Qingge's jaw, He Xuan pulled him up and squeezed. Liu Qingge's pupils were completely blown when he glared at He Xuan.

"Wait just a moment, look, are you, are you one of them?"

He Xuan gave Liu Qingge's face another little shake, and Liu Qingge actually growled. Adorable.

"I'm talking to you!"

"What?" He Xuan finally snapped back, tossing a look of annoyance down at the CEO-of-the-week beside him.

"I'm asking," the mark said, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "if you're one of the dirty cops I pay off! Holy Christ, you really are all just a bunch of meatheads, huh? Don't know anything but violence, but it's fine, you're doing me a favor here. Make sure he goes away for good for me, alright? Whatever you did to that last Chen guy, I want you to double for him. I'll pay you double too, just make sure he really, really suffers."

Rabid blood-thirst slipping away in an instant, He Xuan moved his grip down into Liu Qingge's shirt collar and pulled Liu Qingge up straight. There was a loud plastic snap, as Liu Qingge broke the fake link in the cuff behind his torso.

"Hear that? He wants you to really suffer," He Xuan said as he plucked the detective badge out of his pocket and tossed it across the room. As they walked past the dumbstruck mark, Liu Qingge got right up into his face.

"He's lucky I didn't break his jaw."

"I don't—You're not real cops?!"

He Xuan didn't know how the mark hadn't pieced it together yet—he'd already answered that question with the detective's badge. One of the four men who'd entered with him—real police officers—had caught it, and pocketed it with the solemnity that spoke volumes about whom that badge belonged to. A fallen cop, perhaps, one set up and ambushed by his own, who were in turn on the payroll of a local arms-dealing CEO.

"You actually punched me," Liu Qingge complained on their way out. He Xuan eyed the halved handcuffs still hanging from his wrists, and the skin rubbed red beneath the teeth.

"You're the one who told me I wasn't putting my hip into it."

(iii)

The cuffs this time were real. At Xie Lian's light-voiced, inflection-less call, He Xuan hauled Liu Qingge out into the swimming pool.

"Is this the man who's been giving you trouble?"

The trafficker smiled, toothy and depraved, as he drank in the sight of Liu Qingge's bare feet and torn clothing. Liu Qingge jerked forward in He Xuan's grip and spat at his feet.

"Sang Jingxing, I'm going to fucking ruin you!" he promised.

"Master Fangxin," Sang Jingxing applauded, "you truly exceed your reputation. This man's managed to avoid me for days."

Weeks, actually, but He Xuan didn't bother calling him out on it. He let Xie Lian's mild little smile take care of that.

"You've proven your skills..." Sang Jingxing continued, glossing over the look. "Alright, you've got a deal."

Xie Lian touched Sang Jingxing's outstretched hand with the very tip of two fingers in lieu of a handshake. His hands were even gloved.

"Thank you for your time, Master Sang. We'll be on our way now."

"Ah, just a moment." Of them three, only Liu Qingge's feet slipped on the tiles, and that was because they were meant to, with He Xuan hoisting him half-up in the air like this. "Master Fangxin, if you'd be so kind—I like to do all my inquiries and reconnaissance in-house."

Meaning, he wanted to keep Liu Qingge. With any other underground criminal boss, the threat would be torture by electricity, blunt force trauma, and dismemberment. Sang Jingxing had all of the above plus one favored trick up his sleeve—one that made the slip of Xie Lian's eyes over to him go icy cold.

"Ah yes," Xie Lian said, smiling just barely, "I've heard of Master Sang's proclivities. Several stories involve this precise setting, I believe—a VIP hotel swimming pool. With as many men."

Sang Jingxing chuckled, and so did the eight bodyguards poised around his surroundings.

"Drains and plenty of water, you understand," Sang Jingxing leered. "Gentlemen like yourself always frown upon a touch of more libidinous fun. Such a shame, for a figure like yourself."

"I'm going to tear out his eyeballs," Hua Cheng said calmly through the comms, and He Xuan thought he saw a touch of genuine humor light the corner of Xie Lian's mouth.

"It's true I don't personally participate in such methods, but you've got the wrong idea," Xie Lian spoke, shrugging. He waved a hand in gesture to He Xuan. "It's simply that I've already promised my trusty lieutenant here the same reward."

"No, you're certain? Then he simply must demonstrate." Simpering, Sang Jingxing clapped once and loudly, the sharp sound echoing through the tiled room. Liu Qingge was stiffening in He Xuan's hold. "Such a fine specimen—I actually said to my men how lucky we were that a man like that was coming after me. Surely you won't deny me a taste?"

Xie Lian had really perfected the look of heedless nobility, completely ignorant to the suffering of people beneath his station.

"If Ming Yi doesn't mind, I certainly don't."

He Xuan was instantly in motion, marching Liu Qingge forward and slamming him over the nearest table. He had to swipe aside fruits and cakes and coffees to do it. With Liu Qingge bent over, he tore one sleeve of Liu Qingge's shirt clean off, before moving down to Liu Qingge's pants.

They hadn't planned out of any of this, but Liu Qingge knew damn well there was only one thing he was meant to do in this position—he struggled like his honor depended on it (and it certainly did), bucking and kicking and twisting even after He Xuan slammed his forehead twice into the table.

"Feisty," He Xuan heard Sang Jingxing comment gleefully. "Just say the word if you want any help."

"My lieutenant's not a fan of touching what other people have soiled," Xie Lian commented idly, to Sang Jingxing's chuckles.

When a toss of Liu Qingge's head almost broke He Xuan's nose, He Xuan's hand found a roll of plastic wrap sitting by the fruits. This was the good stuff too, translucent and thick, breakable only by blades.

Forcing Liu Qingge down with a well-jabbed elbow, He Xuan flung the box off the roll of wrap and yanked a clear film over Liu Qingge's face. Fast as anything, he pushed the roll through the crook of his elbow and wrapped another bunched-up loop over Liu Qingge's neck.

Then he started pulling. Liu Qingge's back arched, plastic divoting instantly into his mouth, into his nostrils on an inhale. When he exhaled, He Xuan adjusted his left hand, pulling the cling film even tighter to not let any air in or out. Soon enough, the noises of Liu Qingge's ragged choking were echoing through the room.

"Wha—He Xuan?" came Shen Qingqiu's voice over the comms, alarmed. "Liu Qingge? What's going on? Xie Lian?"

"Alright, alright! That's enough!" Sang Jingxing said, laughing brightly and clapping his hands. "Don't whet my appetite if you're not going to feed it. You can take him, but on the off-chance there are any pieces left, why don't you have your man bring it back around? I'm less persnickety about those sorts of things than your man."

"I'll see what I can do," Xie Lian replied. "Ming Yi."

But He Xuan still hadn't let up. He could feel each of Liu Qingge's unfinished breaths lose rhythm in their panic, Liu Qingge's body going slack under his weight. Still, he kept his hands taught, leaning forward and pinning Liu Qingge's hips to the table with his—

"He has to sell it, A-Yuan-ge, Sang Jingxing's only testing—"

"Ming Yi."

He Xuan halted. Released his hands.

Liu Qingge spat the plastic wrap off his face and promptly vomited bile onto the table.

"I said, we're leaving." Xie Lian's voice this time was icy, and Sang Jingxing almost clasped Xie Lian's shoulder with a sympathetic hand until he thought better of it.

"Everybody gets carried away sometimes. Boys will be boys."

And he had the nerve to wink at He Xuan. If He Xuan were any less good at keeping his own feelings under wraps, he'd have hauled across the room and beaten Sang Jingxing to a pulp by now.

"I have no use for attack dogs that don't follow my order," was all Xie Lian had to say on that. He inclined his head, and that was all the order He Xuan needed to pull Liu Qingge up again and march him back out the room.

(Ignoring what felt like a very little but very real flinch when his hand closed over Liu Qingge's shoulder.)

A bit later, they parted ways with Xie Lian, who would make his exit through the hotel lobby. He Xuan and Liu Qingge took a circuitous route to the back of the hotel garage, where Liu Qingge shrugged off He Xuan's gesture to help, instead marching over ten meters of rough gravel ground on bare feet to get to his shoes and their car.

"Oooh," Luo Binghe murmured in his I'm-cracking-a-safe-so-have-little-brain-to-mouth-filter voice. "Trouble in paradise?"

"That's why you should always ask for consent before choking people," Shen Qingqiu mumbled mutinously. "Liu-xuedi, can you even speak right now?"

Liu Qingge snarled, but didn't answer, which definitely meant that he knew his voice would be compromised. A rough red line was carved across the left side of his neck where He Xuan had applied most pressure, and He Xuan couldn't help but stare at it when they got into the car.

It wasn't until Liu Qingge smacked a hand against his steering wheel that He Xuan looked up, and saw Liu Qingge mouth clearly and angrily, drive!

Pressing on the cabin lights above their heads, He Xuan articulated his motions as he moved in to pluck the earpiece from Liu Qingge's ear. Then he did the same for himself, gathering the two comm pieces into one fist. Liu Qingge looked at him with a distrustful frown the whole time.

"I'm sorry," He Xuan said, simply and honestly. He didn't bother giving any reasons or excuses or promises, only his regret, pure and true.

Liu Qingge watched him back for one long moment, before rolling his eyes.

You had to take off the comms to apologize? he mouthed, clearly angling his face and exaggerating his lip movements for He Xuan to see. Something tight between He Xuan's lungs loosened and slipped away, and He Xuan turned back to face the steering wheel, the tight line of his own lips relaxing.

"Sorry," he said, dropping the comms into the cup-holder between them. "I don't read lips."

(iv)

"Xuedi, you know my money's on Binghe," Shen Qingqiu had shrugged.

"And I'd bet on you, Liu Qingge, but I'm afraid with my luck, you wouldn't want me to," Xie Lian had laughed apologetically.

"He Xuan," Liu Qingge now demanded to know, rounding on He Xuan and crossing his arms. He Xuan just adjusted his glasses and kept typing on his computer. "Who's your money on?"

They were after a black widow predator, so of course Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge had made the bachelor auction into a competition.

By the door, Luo Binghe was rolling his eyes.

"Oh sure, go crying to daddy when you're losing a bet—"

He Xuan personally thought Luo Binghe, of all people, had no business mocking other people's relationships with the term "daddy." But that wasn't why he interrupted.

"Keep talking, Luo Binghe, and I'm changing my mind."

Luo Binghe brightened, standing up straight.

"Wait, you mean?"

"A hundred on you."

Whooping with a brilliant and admittedly handsome grin, Luo Binghe lifted his chin at Liu Qingge in a gesture of triumph.

"Told you I'm going to get a higher bid. But chin up, maybe you'll defy all, and I do mean all expectations and take home the pot. Cheers, He Xuan."

With that, he left, closing He Xuan's apartment door behind him, leaving only He Xuan and a very, very betrayed-lookng Liu Qingge standing inside.

He Xuan finally shut his laptop screen and looked up, meeting Liu Qingge's glare with an unapologetic look of his own.

"Yes?"

With a huff of disbelief, Liu Qingge turned and stormed away. Mid-storm, he paused, pivoted, and stormed right back.

"You're always—!" He jabbed a finger into He Xuan's chest, and He Xuan let him. He Xuan even circled over to the other side of the counter to let him. "Mocking me."

With a sound of agreement, He Xuan took a step closer. And as always, Liu Qingge read exactly what he wanted in a gesture, and didn't back away, despite clearly wanting to stomp off somewhere and lick his wounded pride in peace.

He Xuan nudged up his chin with a single knuckle, and allowed himself something just a tiny bit smaller than a smile, but no less true.

"And look how good you take it."

(iv)

It started after they stole an election, and then a country, and then took down Wen Ruohan.

"Take your clothes off. Right now."

It caught aflame between bright, almost disbelieving stares that they'd pulled off such a thing, and that Lang Qianqiu was now legally the president-elect.

"Hands behind your back."

It surged into all-consuming fire with Liu Qingge, all pliant limbs and steel-certain center as always, making his way into He Xuan's hotel room.

"I'm going to fucking ruin you."

"I fucking dare you."

It found them encased in sunlight, warm and oven-hot on this tiny European island. Luckily, the AC was on full blast, cooling the room enough that Liu Qingge and He Xuan could comfortably heat it back up again.

Indeed, Liu Qingge was sweating, and He Xuan was wiping his own forehead and body clean with a wet washcloth by the open-planning bathroom sink. At a leisurely pace, He Xuan twisted open a complimentary glass bottle of sparkling water and quenched his own thirst.

He made sure to gulp loudly enough that Liu Qingge, panting and grunting on the bed, could hear what he was doing. And sure enough, Liu Qingge growled in response.

A look of pleasure broke out over He Xuan's face, and he strolled back to bed, dangling another bottle between his fingers. He didn't open it though, opting instead to watch the little show he'd left going on the bed.

They'd co-opted one of the hotel curtain rails and some white satin curtain ties. The rail was currently tied between Liu Qingge's ankles as a make-do spreader bar. When he was fucking Liu Qingge, He Xuan had hauled that spreader bar far over Liu Qingge's head, hooking the center over a point on the headboard. Beneath Liu Qingge's thus-lifted ass, his hands were tied, wrist-to-wrist by yet another white curtain tie.

After he'd finished and before he'd gone for a towel and a drink, He Xuan had said, if you want me to fuck you again, don't let any of my cum leak out.

So now Liu Qingge was left to compress and contort himself every time he felt He Xuan's spend leaking out of him. When he saw He Xuan so blatantly watching, Liu Qingge went red—but that didn't stop him from gritting his teeth and chasing after a leaking trail with his straining fingers.

He Xuan hummed, pleased, as Liu Qingge fingered the cum back into himself, which inevitably just smeared white liquid even more messily over his exposed hole and the flesh of his ass.

"Look how good you take it," He Xuan murmured, getting back onto the bed.

Due to his position, Liu Qingge sounded a bit winded as he spoke, all of his abdominal muscles engaged to keep his hips and legs up like so.

"Don't you ever get tired of giving orders?"

It was a lighthearted complain, as meaningless as Liu Qingge, such a meaningful man, could make anything sound. It might have struck a nerve in He Xuan on any other day, but on this day, it liquefied in his belly and turned to warmth, pleasant like hot tea.

Because he understood that against all odds, this was Liu Qingge understanding him. Liu Qingge's exasperation, rather than humiliation or frustration at being put in such a position and given such a task, was proof that he knew what it was that made He Xuan tick. He got it, He Xuan's thing with orders.

That was why he was so damn good at taking them.

So He Xuan cracked open the second bottle of water and placed it between Liu Qingge's palms. Lifted an eyebrow when Liu Qingge realized He Xuan had no intention to help him get that bottle to his mouth (or vice versa—as such, it might actually be easier for him to get his mouth to the bottle).

"To you?" He Xuan murmured as he sat back against the pillows to watch the show. "Never."

[docmanda]

14 for some xie lian angst? Pretty please? Bonus points for him being trans

@zlodziej-wlasnej-tozsamosci there we go, I wrote a thing :-) it´s long and tumblr´s layout sucks so have a cut and I will post the link for the fic on AO3 too

Plain Brown Rice

Xie Lian should have known that a hydrangea bush would not be enough to conceal him from Hua Cheng for too long, his husband having developed a sixth sense for finding him by now if he even let him out of his sight at all. It was a testament of his bad luck making a reappearence that he had gotten separated from both of his husbands at the same time but this wedding was a big one after all, hundreds of fox spirits milling around the royal gardens of their Queen in a flurry of silks and fluffy tails, celebrating her Highness´beloved granddaughter´s wedding. And of course Hua Cheng would know immediately that he had been crying too, his happy smile at finding him after they had been seperated by the crowd instantly turning into a frown of worry. "Xie Lian..." Hua Cheng´s cold fingers are soft against his face, wiping away the moisture underneath his eye with the utmost care before kissing his cheek, "my love what happened? Why are you crying?" "Ah it´s nothing...", Hua Cheng´s gaze instantly turns hard and hurt, something that made Xie Lian cry never ´nothing´in his book after all and Xie Lian ducks his head slightly, feeling silly all over. "It really is nothing San Lang...I just, came here to be out of the crowd for a moment and overheard some people talking about us and I..." Xie Lian sighs heavily, closing his eyes as he tries to recount what happened for Hua Cheng. They had gotten seperated in the crowd and he had come here to the edge of the gardens in the hope of catching sight of one of his husbands from the outskirts of the wedding party, standing half hidden behind a luscious hydrangea bush, enjoying the scent of the blooming flowers when someone had started speaking on the other side of it. They clearly hadn´t seen him and Xie Lian was about to come out of his accidential hiding place when he heard his name being mentioned and froze. "That so called Dianxia, what´s his name? Xie something? Xie Lian? How boring...you really have to wonder how someone that useless and plain can manage to catch not one, but two supreme Ghost Kings at once. I mean that Kingdom of his has been gone for centuries now right, leaving nothing but rubble. If he wasn´t the one that chanced upon my sweet little niece and freed her from that trap years ago someone like him would never have been invited to her royal wedding like this, having such terrible ancestry. And they call him the scrap collecting God, whatever that is supposed to be...no proper title to his name, no estate, no power to speak of and on top of that he is as plain as rice, boring and bland." There is a giggle, high pitched and cruel. "No, like day old brown rice, boring and bland and ordinary, just good enough for peasants to eat. And surely nothing even close to good enough for the likes of Black Water and Crimson Rain. I mean that Chengzhu always had weird tastes, have you ever been to that town of his? Shameless I tell you. But you would expect more refinement out of someone like Lord Blackwater, he is a scholar after all with a proper education..and I sure as hell wouldn´t mind -him- waiting in my chambers at night I can tell you that." There´s more voices then hers, giggling slightly and suggesting even more unflattering monikers for Xie Lian, making the first one laugh again. The group had moved a little during their tirade and Xie Lian catches a glimpse of a magnificently made up, beautiful five tailed fox woman, covered in layers and layers of exquisite, translucent silks of all colors, sparkling with pearls and jewels and gold from the tip of her perfectly made up hair to her dainty little silk-clad feet and he suddenly wished he had allowed his husbands to make him up like this too, as much as he hated the confinement all that finery would have brought with it. They had put him into robes just as magnificent as this at first, clearly loving to dress him up in jewels and all kind of trinkets...but when it had been time to actually get ready for the wedding what had been waiting for Xie Lian had been two smiling husbands and a set of expertly made, but thankfully plain white robes instead of the finery. There were small, slightly off-white flowers woven into the hem and his sleeves, the same flower a small boy had gifted him so long ago and He Xuan had put his hair up in a simple bun, the crown they gave him plain silver with three small inlays in mother of pearl: The same small flower in the center, flanked by a fish jumping out of a wave and an intricately carved butterfly. His husband´s robes did match his too, He Xuan´s being his customary black with golden waves flowing along the hem and sleeves and Hua Cheng´s bright red, him forgoing his usual silver jewelry for woven, delicate silver butterflies. ´You looked so uncomfortable in all that fancy stuff we thought you might like this better´ and ´You are so beatiful already A-Lian, all this stuff would just make it harder to get it off later..ouch, what was that for Crimson Rain, you know I´m right stop pinching me..´ And Xie Lian had loved every single part of the outfit they gave him, simple but meaningful to the three of them...but some part of him still wishes he would have gone with the more elaborate robes they had prepared for him. At least he wouldn´t feel just as plain as he apparently was, small and unassuming and the part in him that could never stop to wonder -how- he had actually gotten so lucky to have not one, but two people fall in love with him as thoroughly as his husbands had. It was an old wound, but a deep one that feeling of being unworthy of kindness and affection that still plagued him from time to time and  that neither Hua Cheng nor He Xuan had yet managed to erase completely, no matter how much they showed their love for him. Xie Lian´s voice is small, knowing how -silly- the whole notion is, Hua Cheng and He Xuan -love- him, they show him with everything they do and say, a small crystal clear ring and a single, perfect black pearl around his neck the physical evidence of their adoration...and yet, he simply can´t get rid of that feeling of inadequancy. "They said I was plain...like day old brown rice, ordinary and boring. That I´m not good enough for you." "Who said that?" Crimson Rain Sought Flower´s voice is as sharp as his sabre´s blade, promising quick retribution and a painful death to anybody who dares belittle his one God...and even worse, make him cry. His eye scans the crowd as if he can find the perpetrator by pure will alone, killing intent bubbling up around him, making He Xuan look up in sudden alarm, rudely pushing aside a lady who had been trying to talk to him and immediately walking over, his own aura growing dark around him in answering worry. Xie Lian hastily wipes his eyes, grabbing for his San Lang´s sleeve. "Ah, please San Lang it doesn´t matter, it´s not of importance, I´m just being sensitive today, it´s probably just the wine haha.." Crimson Rain Sought Flower and Black Water Sinking Ships just raise their eyebrows at him, in unison, and it would be funny if both of them weren´t close to murdering a wedding party just because Xie Lian overheard an unhappy thing and couldn´t keep his mouth shut, He Xuan not even knowing what was going on, the sight of Xie Lian in distress enough incentive to follow Crimson Rain´s lead for him. Xie Lian can see the first heads start to turn and look at them. He had been hidden well enough behind his hydrangea bush that nobody saw him cry, but the surging power of the Devastations at his side is hard to cover up in a room full of magic beings...and it doesn´t need a proficient magic user for their displeasure and aggression being obvious. "Please my loves...I know you only want to protect me but it is their -wedding- , don´t ruin it because a single person in a hundred said an unkind thing.." It takes another second of suspense before Hua Cheng sighs and pulls him close with one arm, pressing a kiss into the soft hair on Xie Lian´s temple before resting his chin on Xie Lian´s head, not caring that anybody can see their display of affection. Neither does He Xuan when he leans in close for a kiss of his own, cold fingers slipping between Xie Lian´s warm ones. "Alright gege, but just because it is you asking...but we will be having a very serious talk about that whole "I am not good enough for you"-thing later." He Xuan twitches and his scandalized ´Who said that?´ exactly mirroring what Hua Cheng had exclaimed earlier would be funny too if it didn´t bring another spike of killing intent with it. This time it is Hua Cheng though who grabs for his sleeve keeping the other Devastation from doing something rash, like summoning his dragons in the middle of a wedding for example. "Calm down Black Water sheesh...Gege overheard someone talk shit about him and had another one of his ´I don´t deserve you´-moments hiding behind a bush." The sarcastic uncertone in his voice ruffles He Xuan´s feathers just enough for his focus to shift from ´100 easy ways to kill effectively and leave the Gods to sort out the innocent´ onto Hua Cheng...and only a long suffering, pleading look from amber colored eyes keeps him from tearing right back into the other Devastation. He is pretty sure that Xie Lian´s ´please don´t ruin the wedding´ includes fighting between him and Crimson Rain too. "..please, behave?" Xie Lian´s voice is tired with an undertone of love, like an overworked mother trying to keep her kids in check and both Devastations smile a little sheepishly, bending down at the same time to kiss him on the cheek, one side for each Devastation, finally getting a small giggle at their ridiculousness out of Xie Lian. When one of their hosts finally walks over, a young girl, barely into her second tail, clearly sent as a deliberately non-threatening envoy, carefully eyeing the Devastations at Xie Lian´s side his usual smile is back in his place. "Taizi Dianxia is anything the matter? The noble  Lords seem...distressed? Is there anything not to your liking?" Even at a wedding party full of fox spirits the two Supremes are still the most powerful beings in the room, aside maybe from the bride´s nine tailed, royal grandmother, so it stands to reason that everybody wants to keep them happy...including Xie Lian, who smiles apologetically at the young girl and bows slightly to her. "Ah I apologize. Your fantastic wine is a little too rich for me I fear and I was feeling a little unwell just now, making them worry. Please, don´t pay us any mind, it´s nothing a little fresh air won´t cure and my husband´s favorite hobby is fussing about me so I will be perfectly fine." The fox girl giggles a little at that, clearly relieved that nothing serious had happened and it was just a case of the Prince´s husbands getting worried over nothing. They exchange a few more polite words before she scampers away again, off to report to whoever sent her that nothing terrible was amiss after all. "Look at you Gege, lying without getting red in the face, I am proud of you." Xie Lian swipes at Hua Cheng for that, a soft blush covering his face at the gentle teasing as he grabs for his husband´s hand, dragging him along with He Xuan following them like a very black, protective shadow. "You are terrible, San Lang. And i am hungry, I did have a lot of wine which was probably a bad idea. Lets go find something to eat before all the good things are gone yes?" As usual, Hua Cheng is in favor of anything that makes Xie Lian happy having no objections to that...and He Xuan is always in favor of anything having to do with food anyway. Which is exactly what Xie Lian was planning on, trying to distract them from the anger he can still feel simmering in them. Hua Cheng does finally tell He Xuan what had actually happened, the other Devastation clearly as unhappy about it all as Hua Cheng but a soft pleading look from Xie Lian is enough for the moment for him to let go of it. And that´s where they´re staying for most of the night, close to the lavish spread of food arranged on a series of small tables, chatting to a never ending stream of relatives to the royal bride that Xie Lian saved, all wanting to have a look and a chat, at Xie Lian as well as his famous husbands. Mostly the conversations are pleasant, ranging from simply polite to heated discussions of some form of obscure poetry between the bride´s granduncle on her father´s side and He Xuan, who nearly stabs the poor old fox in the face with a half eaten bit of pastry forgotten in his hand when he tries to emphasize a point. It is testament to how passionate they are about that topic when He Xuan doens´t even so much glance at a laughing Hua Cheng and it needs the help of two more aunts to drag the granduncle away again before things can completely deteriorate. They finally managed to catch a moment of the bride´s time, silently chatting with her and her newly wedded husband when Xie Lian suddenly grows tense against Hua Cheng´s arm. And it doens´t take a genius to guess that the reason for this must be the new group of three who just joined their little conversation circle, a lavishly dressed and decorated five tailed lady -probably an older female relative of some kind to their bride- shadowed by what are probably her younger sisters. Hua Cheng´s brows draw together in a frown, his arm tightening around Xie Lian´s waist...until a sharp small tug at the back of his tunic brings him back to his senses. Xie Lian is slightly pale around his nose, softly shaking his head ´no´and thus confirming what Hua Cheng had suspected from the start: that these were the ones who had made Xie Lian uncomfortable enough to hide himself and cry. He Xuan seems to have noticed nothing wrong, still casually eating while pretending to be disinterested in whatever kind of topic the three of them were currently discussing with a slightly uncomfortably smiling bride...but Hua Cheng can see his golden eyes grow sharp as daggers, never letting the fox woman out of his sight. "..I just think this particular cut is so much more suited to bring out a lady´s advantages properly don´t you think? You are such a pretty thing you really should not be wearing such old fashioned rags...but don´t take my word for it then, let´s ask someone else.." She turns to He Xuan with a flourish, eyeing him in a way that makes it very clear that, while he was in fact very well dressed, she would vastly prefer him to be wearing nothing at all. "My Lord Black Water. You clearly are someone who has impeccable taste in fashion...what do you think about this new style of robe I am wearing?" Black Water finally looks up from his bowl, having been directly adressed after all, while the fox woman does a little twirl for him, very unsubtly showing off the way the fabric is draped around her full soft bossom, emphasizing her tiny waist and delicate throat to the fullest. Xie Lian can feel something in his throat constrict painfully at the display-plain, like day old brown rice indeed- gently pulling on Hua Cheng´s hand to please get him out of there when... "Vulgar." And then He Xuan turns back to his bowl, clearly done with the conversation and the flabbergasted woman in front of him paying her no mind at all anymore. Xie Lian is so surprised he has to quickly hide a smile behind a fake cough, while Hua Cheng can´t be bothered to conceal his laughter, not in the very least concerned about the cruelty of it. After all that bitch in front of them deserved that and a lot of things more, she should be happy that He Xuan was still on his best behaviour and didn´t tear into her more then he already had. She gapes at them for a few more minutes before turning around on her heel in a huff, her two sisters following her hastily as she takes her leave. Only when she has left does He Xuan look up from his bowl again, a sharp, satisfied grin showing his white teeth. "Unfortunately for her..," he scoops something up from his bowl with his chopsticks, slipping it into Xie Lian´s mouth and following up with a soft kiss as his husband starts chewing reflexively, "...plain brown rice is our favorite." Hua Cheng laughs at that, placing a kiss into his husbands soft hair before doing the same to He Xuan...and Xie Lian is sure there has never been a single bite of rice sweeter then the one currently in his mouth.

[pengiesama]

Dianxia Dotes Upon the Demon King (Fic, TGCF, HC/XL)

Title: Dianxia Dotes Upon the Demon King Series: Heavenly Official’s Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu) Pairing: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary:

After Hua Cheng's return, Xie Lian is determined to aid in his recovery, and maybe spoil him a bit in the process.

Hua Cheng is more than eager to accept, but could do without his obnoxious sword's interference.

Link: AO3

Read on Tumblr!

It had taken eight hundred years and one more for this sea to be filled. Filled with a collection of twigs and pebbles, cracked rice bowls and dented pots, of bobbing lanterns to light the path leading to the only destination Xie Lian cared to know: the tight embrace of Hua Cheng’s arms.

He had so much to tell his San Lang, so much to catch him up on, so many things he’d stored away in his heart to loose upon this day whenever it came. But he also had so much to hear from San Lang, and so many kisses to give. It was far too much for a little old god like himself to bear, and he felt his heart ache from the wondrous strain of carrying it.

“Gege,” Hua Cheng murmured. “You’re trembling.”

He was indeed, from everything altogether, but the chill night air was a factor to be sure. Xie Lian stilled Hua Cheng’s hand as it moved to slide his red cloak off his shoulders as an offering. He laced those fingers with his own, and guided them both upright.

His little mountain hut was humble, to be sure, but it was certainly more comfortable than rolling around in the grass all night. The bed-mat was – the bed-mat was comfortable enough, and – and just maybe big enough for two, if they pressed close…

Xie Lian felt his ears glowing red, and tilted his chin up to steal a glance at Hua Cheng. (Did he have to steal them, still? Would San Lang now allow him to take his fill?)

Hua Cheng’s handsome face was no longer smiling that sweet smile. He was instead glaring at the stewpot. Or maybe the individual stirring it.

“So that’s where you went,” Hua Cheng said darkly.

E-ming continued to stir the stew in the pot with his blade, the bells attached to his tasseled pommel jingling with each circuit made. He pretended to ignore Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian smiled at Hua Cheng brightly, and Hua Cheng’s sour look faltered.

“E-ming was all alone when you went away, and I couldn’t just let him fend for himself…” Xie Lian explained. “He’s kept me company. And is so handy around the house, just like San Lang!”

E-ming’s eye slit open, and he fixed Hua Cheng with a smug look. Hua Cheng’s sourness came back full force.

“Gege must have suffered so this past year,” Hua Cheng said. “But he needn’t trouble himself any longer. San Lang will handle all the chores from now on.”

E-ming gave a dangerous-sounding rattle, like a snake about to strike. He and Hua Cheng locked eye(s), ready to defend their claim to wait upon Xie Lian hand and foot by any means necessary –

“Absolutely not!” Xie Lian scolded. “San Lang won’t be straining himself any time soon, not after re-incorporating! In fact, he’s already done too much, too much!”

In one determined, fluid motion, Xie Lian hoisted Hua Cheng off his feet and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

“Gathering all those lanterns, climbing up this mountain,” Xie Lian continued fretfully. “You need your rest, and I won’t have you exhausting yourself for my sake when I’m perfectly capable of chopping wood and sweeping the floor on my own.”

Xie Lian crossed the room and easily tossed Hua Cheng onto the bed-mat – which he’d recently gathered some extra straw for, bless his intuition. Hua Cheng laid there where he landed, limp and sprawled out, staring up at Xie Lian with a mixture of shock and raw desperation. He looked almost like he was about to dissipate again. His poor San Lang! He was even more exhausted than Xie Lian had initially thought.

“Gege,” Hua Cheng croaked out weakly.

Xie Lian smiled at him gently. His hair was mussed, his robes also, from a day of work in the fields and from rolling around in the grass. He was tired, but his own exhaustion paled in comparison to the burning desire to care for his San Lang, to nurse him back to health, to spoil him as he’d longed to for this year and more.

His San Lang had had a hard life, a hard unlife. Xie Lian hardly considered himself worthy, but oh, he was so very full of love, and was so ready to give it to Hua Cheng.

“I’ll bring San Lang some stew in just a little bit,” Xie Lian murmured. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Hua Cheng’s lovely pale forehead. “He can rest until then.”

E-ming rattled insistently, and Xie Lian glanced over in concern.

“Oh, E-ming, you’ve worked so hard today,” Xie Lian fretted. “It’s time for you to rest, too.”

He bustled over to grasp E-ming’s hilt and hoist him out of the stewpot. Black, viscous tar oozed off E-ming’s blade. E-ming’s eye blinked and batted rapidly, and his whole self trembled and rattled like a needy puppy pleading for his master’s pats. Xie Lian cooed and fussed and obliged, stroking E-ming’s hilt as he carried him out to the bathing tub.

“We’ll be right back, San Lang!” Xie Lian called over his shoulder. “We just need to wash up!”

He’d hardly drawn enough water into the bathing tub for E-ming alone when he heard a commotion from inside. Hua Cheng stood at the door, heaving for breath. He glowered at E-ming, who lounged in the tub, and returned the glare measure for measure.

“San Lang!” Xie Lian exclaimed. “I thought I told you to stay in bed!”

“In any other circumstance, I could not refuse such an order from His Highness,” Hua Cheng said. “But San Lang wants a bath too.”

Xie Lian gasped, and hurried over to hoist Hua Cheng over his shoulder once more.

“Ah! San Lang, you’re right, it was so rude of me to not offer! Here, you and E-ming can have the bathwater first, I’ll manage later…”

He lowered Hua Cheng to his feet next to the bath, and, driven by hospitality and single-minded determination, yanked off Hua Cheng’s clothes without another word. Hua Cheng’s corporeal form briefly flickered in and out of sight, and he stumbled on his feet enough to topple into the bath.

“Now, I have this oil that works splendidly to polish E-ming,” Xie Lian went on, dragging out a small basket of supplies. “Perhaps it’d work on San Lang’s hair, as well? Wouldn’t that make sense, don’t you think? San Lang?”

Hua Cheng made a gurgling noise that Xie Lian took as a yes, and got to work wetting and washing the vast expanse of Hua Cheng’s raven-black locks. This task engrossed him – even if it had not, he would not have been able to hear the private discussion that Hua Cheng and E-ming were having in their shared array…

MASTER IS INTRUDING ON GEGE BATHTIME, E-ming accused. MASTER IS TOO BIG, AND MAKES GEGE NOT FIT IN THE TUB WITH E-MING. MAKES GEGE HAVE TO WAIT.

This perhaps hit home, and Hua Cheng felt a pang of guilt. He would build a splendid indoor bathing area in Qiandeng Temple for Xie Lian’s private use. An outdoor one, too, complete with hot springs, and non-alcoholic drink service at a floating bar in the middle.

“Your Highness,” Hua Cheng said with effort, unable to speak clearly with Xie Lian’s hands tugging at his hair. “Please. While the water’s warm. Come in.”

“I wouldn’t want to squish you and E-ming,” Xie Lian said. “Don’t worry, I’ll manage.”

MASTER ALSO HOGS SPECIAL STUFF GEGE USES TO POLISH E-MING, E-ming continued in his accusations.

Has my long absence caused you to forget your place?, Hua Cheng replied. His Highness doesn’t need to rely on your questionable assistance any longer.

E-MING IS OF MOST ASSISTANCE, E-ming stated. E-MING CHOPS, AND STIRS, AND DOES NOT USE UP ALL THE SPECIAL STUFF. GEGE CAN POLISH E-MING TEN TIMES BEFORE HE IS DONE TENDING TO MASTER’S TASSEL EVEN ONCE.

Useless and an idiot, Hua Cheng said. His Highness is truly too kind to have taken you in.

BIG AND STUPID WITH TOO MUCH TASSEL, E-ming shot back.

Useless and an idiot and not even sharp enough to cut a rotten orange.

BIG AND STUPID TOO MUCH TASSEL AND DOESN’T EVEN WRITE GOOD!

In this arms race of progressively more childish insults, there could be no winner. There was only one thing that could stop it: the angelic tones of Xie Lian’s laughter.

“Ah! Ruoye, you’re tickling me! Did you want to have a bath, too?” Xie Lian was peeking up his own sleeve as Ruoye swirled around his forearms and biceps. “Come now, don’t be shy. You know San Lang.”

Ruoye shyly slithered out and into the tub, peeping once at Hua Cheng before dunking itself under the surface of the water and disappearing into the depths. Xie Lian began to hum as he worked, fingers deep in Hua Cheng’s locks, combing the oil in with careful passes.

It was bliss.

It was more than Hua Cheng could’ve ever dreamed of.

It was almost enough to stop him from continuing to argue with his useless idiot not-sharp sword for the remainder of the bath.

(Almost.)

 --

 After a delicious dinner – made all the more delicious by Xie Lian’s insistence on spoon-feeding Hua Cheng, and made into a transcendent dining experience by Hua Cheng’s successful gamble at pleading for Xie Lian’s lap as a pillow for his weary head – Xie Lian still failed to join Hua Cheng on the bed-mat. Drunk on power and love both, Hua Cheng was fully ready to pout and whine and plead for his gege to warm his poor frail San Lang, but was briefly distracted by a kiss to his forehead, his cheek, and then a hesitant, shy press of lips against his own.

“I’ll come to bed in a little while,” Xie Lian promised. “It’s time for E-ming’s lessons.”

Hua Cheng’s eyebrow arched so high that his forehead crinkled. Xie Lian giggled and kissed it again. If Hua Cheng’s heart still beat, it would have burst a thousand times over. Still, regarding the topic at hand…

“Gege is too kind to try and teach him anything,” Hua Cheng said. “Truly, anyone would have forgiven you for giving it up as a lost cause.”

Xie Lian blinked, then shook his head. “Oh, no, he’s a wonderful student. His calligraphy has come so far! Here, let us show you…”

Xie Lian grabbed a length of paper, and hung it from the wall – a blank scroll, ready to be written upon. E-ming floated over, hovering, waiting for his teacher’s instructions. Xie Lian tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“Today…how about a few passages from the Shan Hai Jing? E-ming’s choice of chapter.”

E-ming rattled eagerly, then flung himself to the ground to roll around on the wetted inkstone Xie Lian had provided for him. Once thoroughly covered, he launched himself end-over-end at the hanging scroll, and splatted against it with an audible sound. He pried himself off, shook off the remaining ink, and blinked once, twice at his handiwork before squinting and wiggling a delighted rattling dance.

 Three thousand ninety li farther southeast,

then northeast,

stands Departing-Doves Mountain. On its heights are many mulberry trees.

There is a bird dwelling here whose form resembles a crow

with a patterned head, white beak, and red feet.

It is called Jingwei and makes a sound like its name. 

 Not only was it legible, it was impeccable work. Even Hua Cheng couldn’t argue that. Xie Lian clapped at E-ming’s little dance, and gave him a kiss to his hilt as he floated close and seemed to plead for it.

“Of course, of course, good students get a hug and a kiss,” Xie Lian assured him, and wiped off a smudge of ink from E-ming’s blade with his thumb. “Now, four more repetitions and it’s time for bed…”

He’d been born a lowly peasant, illiterate and uneducated. He’d had to twist Black Water’s arm (literally) to force him to teach him the basics of reading and writing, back in the day, and it still didn’t come naturally to him.

Hua Cheng was never destined to be a good student. No, he was destined to be a bother and a pest.

And every part of him was alight with the determination to be just that.

“Gege…” Hua Cheng said in plaintive tones. “Can’t San Lang join class, too?”

E-ming’s eye narrowed at him.

MASTER DOES NOT EVEN KNOW THE CLASSROOM READING LIST.

Don’t I? Oh, I think I do.

MASTER IS A LIAR AND A CAD.

Yes, of course, the Shan Hai Jing; my favorite part is when the wicked Demon King wins the hand of the beautiful prince in marriage, and they ride off into the sunset on a giant flying fish…

E-ming rattled furiously. NOTHING NO PART NOT ANYTHING NOTHING AT ALL IN SHAN HAI JING ABOUT MASTER AND GEGE AND A FISH!!

Xie Lian was too delighted at the idea of teaching Hua Cheng to notice the renewed battle of wills, and was already at Hua Cheng’s bedside with paper and ink and brushes.

“I’d love to have San Lang as a student! Of course, we’ll have to get you up to speed with E-ming, but San Lang is so clever, and such a quick study…I know he’ll be just as good a student.”

Hua Cheng leaned in, smiling wide. Xie Lian looked up to see his face just an inch way, and flushed a deep red.

“Good students get a hug and a kiss,” Hua Cheng cited his teacher’s words from earlier. “What do bad students get, I wonder?”

Xie Lian studied Hua Cheng’s face for a moment or two, considering.

“Ruoye,” he said quietly. “Go tuck E-ming into bed in the other room.”

  (Hua Cheng did not ride off into the sunset on a giant flying fish, but, well. It sure was something.)

[mcheang]

Feng Jiu’s revenge against Lian Song

This was meant to be a short fic but somehow escalated to this...

Feng Jiu can understand him not helping her when she was a handkerchief, if even Zhe Yan left her behind, but did he have to eat her fish too and taunt her about Cheng Yu’s health? It just left her hungry and worried. Not a good combination.

So what if, instead of Lian Song bringing just Ali to see his Cousin, he also brought Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu immediately greets Jiu Ge as an old Friend. Feng Jiu numbly returns the greeting.

Upon seeing them, and after pinching Dong Hua’s leg twice, Lian Song mentioned that he brought these 2 pining friends to distract them from their worry over Feng Jiu.

Feng Jiu just shot the prince a mischievous smile. Turning to Cheng Yu, she inquired after her health.

Cheng Yu: I’m fine now that I can finally rest.

Feng Jiu: oh, I am so glad. I’ve been so worried ever since some rascal told me you were bedridden with a terrible headache and had fallen into a coma. I would have come to visit you, but that same rascal stole my supper and I was too weak to come find you.

There is only one person who Cheng Yu calls a rascal.

As Feng Jiu continued to enjoy her meal, Cheng Yu slowly turned to glare at the sweating Lian Song. What did he do to deserve this? Wasn’t the fox queen being kind of petty?

Cheng Yu cracked her knuckles menacingly. “That rascal indeed deserves to be punished. How dare he curse me to fall ill and steal a hungry girl’s food?”

Lian Song gave a weak laugh. “Come now, aren’t you both being too hard on this fellow. Maybe he was joking and didn’t mean any harm by it.”

Feng Jiu gave him a look. After all the torment she went through, she cannot get back at Dijun, but she can get back at his accomplice. “Ah, but this fellow knew how much I had already suffered. He knew that a weirdo was bullying me.” Dong Hua looked at Feng Jiu. She stared back unabashedly. After all he put her through, she had no qualms repeating the insult.

This whole time, Jiheng had been trying to serve Dong Hua soup but he ignored her in favour of the show in front of him.

Lian Song quickly took advantage of the situation and tried to appease Feng Jiu.

“Princess Jiheng, you don’t have to worry about Feng Jiu’s cooking. I’ve had her food before and it was the best meal I’ve ever had. Right, Dong Hua?”

Dong Hua turned to look at his buddy. “That is true. Now that she and I are neighbours, I can try her cooking. Considering the last time Xiao Bai cooked for me, you even ate my share.”

Lian Song’s brain: Oh come on. Now you are holding a grudge too?

Noticing Xiao Yan’s desolate expression, Feng Jiu leans over to whisper to him. Deciding to cheer him up, Feng Jiu decides to head to the kitchen to order more food for their new guests and ones that will suit Xiao Yan’s tastes.

Ali, Cheng Yu and Xiao Yan want to follow her but she gives them her bag of cakes instead. Then gives Xiao Yan’s share to Meng Shao and Jie Lu instead.

Feng Jiu tells Xiao Yan not to worry as she will order his favourite dish. If they can’t make it, then she will make it.

Dong Hua spills his soup.

Seeing Jiheng care for Dong Hua, Feng Jiu doesn’t have to worry about him and so goes over to the kitchen.

While the four of the guests enjoy the delicious cakes, Xiao Yan watches miserably as Jiheng tries to offer Dong Hua more soup. Lian Song is just miserable today.

Meng Shao and Jie Lu praise Feng Jiu’s cakes. Ali and Cheng Yu puff up like proud parents. Ali even mentions Feng Jiu was best at making sorrowless cakes.

Lian Song: What? She made those sorrowless cakes?

Cheng Yu gave Lian Song a too sweet smile. “Yes. And she also told me what happened the last time you tried it.” Her expression turned cold. Dream on, it said.

Lian Song: things are making more sense now.

Dong Hua already suspected Xiao Bai was the culinary maid from Tai Chen Palace. He wasn’t that surprised.

Meng Shao expresses a wish to try those cakes.

Dong Hua is getting annoyed because he didn’t get to try a cake. The soup is not appealing to him, even if it is favourite.

Feng Jiu returns, promising new dishes that are to Xiao Yan, Cheng Yu and Ali’s tastes.

When the dishes arrive, Dong Hua notes which one is for Xiao Yan. He accidentally causes the soup vessel to hit that dish, spilling all over poor Xiao Yan.

Feng Jiu fusses over him, making Dong Hua’s mood blacken. Lian Song doesn’t dare taunt Dong Hua now.

Jiheng leaves, disappointed her soup was wasted.

Seeing no way for Dong Hua and Xiao Yan to have a civil dinner together, Feng Jiu offers to treat him to a dessert place, Cheng Yu and Ali should come to. Dong Hua and Lian Song don’t have to strain themselves, Feng Jiu has heard how they enjoy spending their time alone, without the bustle of noisy youths. Meng Shao and Jiu Ge are welcome to join them though.

The prince and princess wisely and politely decline.

Lian Song and Dong Hua unhappily stare after the group of 4 romping happily to the dessert shop.

Lian Song: I did something nice today and this is the thanks I get?

Meanwhile, Feng Jiu is hugging her BFF and Cousin fiercely, crying about how hard Dijun has made her life.

Xiao Yan reminds her that she is only in this competition because of Dong Hua.

Cheng Yu refutes Xiao Yan’s nonsense. Of course Feng Jiu should not forgive Dong Hua so easily. He owes her too much. This favour can be counted towards that debt.

Cheng Yu coddled the abused fox queen, promising to teach Lian Song a lesson for being mean to her.

When they get back, Cheng Yu keeps her word and chases after Lian Song to give him a beating. When they return, Lian Song is sporting a large bruise and offers Feng Jiu his sincerest apologies for depriving a starving maiden of her food.

Once they leave, Feng Jiu turns to Dong Hua and huffs before stomping off without a good night.

Dong Hua’s eyebrows rise. Cheng Yu is a bad influence on Xiao Bai.

Anyway, training takes place as usual, with the kiss and ointment scenes.

When the tournament arrives, Ali and Cheng Yu are also present. Cheng Yu is infuriated that the fruit was stolen and goes to confront Dong Hua, dragging Feng Jiu along. When they learn from Xiao Yan/Jiheng that he returned to Taichen Palace, Cheng Yu tells Feng Jiu not to worry. She will get her that fruit; by hook or by crook.

In short, she gets Lian Song to bring her back to Taichen Palace where she confronts Dong Hua. Cheng Yu explains the real reason Feng Jiu wanted the fruit. If he wants to make peace with Jiheng, use some other treasure. But that fruit belongs to Feng Jiu.

Realizing his mistake, Dong Hua agrees to return the fruit to Xiao Bai and brings Cheng Yu with him back to the valley.

Lian Song decides to stay behind and question Si Ming.

They find Ali consoling his Cousin and doing his best to stop her from doing anything rash. Mostly by tying their hands together. Xiao Yan is also there comforting his good Friend, irritating Dong Hua. How annoying that his fruit theft backfired on him badly.

Dong Hua apologizes to Feng Jiu. He can’t explain the reason he stole the fruit in front of the others. It wasn’t the right time. Feng Jiu politely accepts his apology but thanks Cheng Yu wholeheartedly.

Cheng Yu already scolded Dong Hua but Xiao Yan still wants to give ice face a piece of his mind.

To change the subject and avoid offending Dijun, Cheng Yu suggests they might as well eat the peaches while they wait.

Dong Hua stays behind, trying to figure out how to get Xiao Bai to stop hating him.

Lian Song stops by and tells Dong Hua the whole story.

Dong Hua looks like he has a headache. He had just realized he liked Xiao Bai romantically, only to learn that he had seriously wronged her in stealing her fruit. He thought Xiao Bai had a bad impression of him for the whole handkerchief issue and thereafter, but they had been improving until the fruit issue. Now Lian Song is telling him Feng Jiu was his beloved fox who had been horribly neglected, not to mention how much she had done for him already.

Feng Jiu had done so much for him, but he had wronged her so much. He now realizes how much he likes her, and how much reason she has to hate and reject him.

What can he do?

Feng Jiu will want to return home now that she has the fruit...

He has the amnesia potion but Cheng Yu will help remind Feng Jiu what went down.

Lian Song’s advice: tell Feng Jiu the truth and apologize.

In any case, clear up that misunderstanding about Jiheng. Lian Song will take Ali and Cheng Yu home so Dong Hua can get closer to Feng Jiu without interference.

For more advice, remember the advice he gave Ye Hua?

1. use natural good looks to charm her....won’t work in this case

2. Be the hero and save her again....yeah, he owes her too much now so there won’t be any debt anyway

3. Injure self so she will nurse you...he will have to be truly injured since illusions don’t work on immortals

Feng Jiu could have returned with Cheng Yu but decides to wait because she wants to bid Meng Shao and Jie Lu a proper goodbye.

After their friends leave, Dong Hua visits Xiao Bai. He struggles to explain the situation again. He didn’t want her to have the Saha fruit because he was jealous of Yan Chiwu getting pastries from her. Feng Jiu is confused.

“I thought you were jealous because of Jiheng.”

Dong Hua confesses that he likes Xiao Bai, not Jiheng. But Feng Jiu can’t believe that so easily. She has suffered so much already because of Dong Hua.

Dong Hua asks what he can do to convince her of his feelings.

The thing is...Xiao Bai is not sure what to do if his feelings are sincere.

Dong Hua admits he knows what Xiao Bai has done for him.

Feng Jiu: Are you confessing your feelings because you feel guilty? Don’t worry. It’s all in the past. I have long decided to move on.

Dong Hua: I really do like you. It is not because of guilt. I liked you before Lian Song told me all you have done for me.

Feng Jiu just stares at him, speechless.

Dong Hua: Xiao Bai, what do I have to do to prove my love for you?

Feng Jiu looks torn about wanting to leave but Dong Hua is holding onto her hand.

After a moment of thought, Feng Jiu offers, “Carve out your heart for me. My aunt told me that is the sincerest form of expressing your love....but you don’t have to do it. I just can’t think of any other act right now.”

This could work for Dong Hua....

The next day, Feng Jiu is horrified to see Dong Hua heavily injured because he had actually cut his heart in half.

Feeling guilty, Feng Jiu agrees to nurse him back to health. During which time, she sings him lullabies and makes him toffee.

To prevent loss of face, Dong Hua’s injury must be kept secret. Which means Jiheng isnt allowed to see him.

Actually Dong Hua is exaggerating his pain...but hey, the dude’s shameless.

Anyway, Dong Hua gives Feng Jiu the ring. She has no choice but to accept the gift.

It will protect her from Miao Luo.

Ok, so Feng Jiu reluctantly believes Dijun likes her....but that doesn’t mean she wants to be with him!!!!

Dijun just asks to let him court her. Feng Jiu unwillingly agrees.

But there isn’t much opportunity to court her in the valley. Not to mention Feng Jiu misses Qingqiu where Dong Hua can’t exactly stay with her constantly since they are not engaged. Granted, he can be shameless but he doesn’t want to offend her family.

Upon leaving, Feng Jiu bids farewell to her new friends and clears the misunderstanding with Meng Shao. (Im following the drama so I have no idea why Jiheng was absent)

Feng Jiu returns to Qingqiu and at least clears off the blind dates once she makes it clear she accepted Dong Hua’s courtship.

Dong Hua decides to take her to the Mortal Realm first for a festival. There are many worlds, one of them probably has a party right then.

Soon it becomes known that Dong Hua is pursuing the Qingqiu queen and that all other suitors should avoid following his lead lest they face his petty vengeance.

Some wonder if the mighty Dong Hua was under a love spell. Ridiculous.

Others wondered if he was just obsessed with red foxes.... first he had a pet, now a lover....

Zhi He heard the news and rushed back, demanding to see her brother. Dong Hua wasn’t back yet, but Chonglin kicked her out because she wasn’t invited.

Despite taking her out on romantic dates and making her happy, Dong Hua still hasn’t received Feng Jiu’s acceptance.

Lian Song inquires via Cheng Yu who had already asked Feng Jiu.

It turns out Feng Jiu wants a man who will be beside her in danger and comfort her when she’s sad. Dong Hua hasn’t done any of those things much.

(To be fair, she was fighting Miao Luo to save Dong Hua.)

Lian Song warns Dong Hua not to stage a threat to Feng Jiu as Cheng Yu will see right through it and blab.

Then the opportunity comes during the Bing Cang ceremony.

Nie Chuyin appears and wins a fight against Feng Jiu. Because Dong Hua is not married to her, he cannot fight against the demon in the ceremony.

Nie Chuyin was instructed by Miao Luo to retrieve that ring! She wants Feng Jiu’s protection removed.

Once Feng Jiu passed it over however, Dong Hua promptly stole it back. When asked why he stole it, Dong Hua said the ring was an expression of love. He does not want the demon boasting about possessing Dong Hua’s token of affection.

Nie Chuyin leaves in humiliation.

Anyway, Feng Jiu already fulfilled Nie Chuyin’s wish and proceeded with the ceremony.

Dong Hua comforts Feng Jiu over her loss, reminding her that it was an unfair fight.

Feng Jiu remembers how Dong Hua helped her through her grandfather’s test and actually asks him to dinner.

It is the first time she has made a move. Dong Hua happily accepts.

Feng Jiu is finally ready to accept Dong Hua romantically and is given back her ring.

They go out on a few more dates before Dong Hua asks her to be his queen. She accepts.

Dong Hua literally gets them registered before the actual wedding.

Zhi He returns and is again kicked out.

Jiheng tries to interfere and be a maid at the palace but Dong Hua just cuts her off from his life by getting her Brother to accept her back. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan and other guards are ordered to guard her in Fanyin Valley and make sure she stays there. (In the book, she was dying but in the drama she was still alive but her poison had worsened.)

They have a happy wedding. Cheng Yu takes all the credit despite Lian Song’s protests.

Miao Luo is irritated because without the blood tear and red qi...she can’t escape. And she can’t give Nie Chuyin more power without either.

Nie Chuyin tries to sabotage the other demon lords but he is held in contempt for his interruption of the Bingcang ceremony.

[beneaththebrim]

Only 14 chapters left...

So, on the one hand I’m sad that TGCF is gonna be finished translated soon (and also apprehensive bc I wanted to finish up my meta fodder folder around when it’s done being translated, but it’s stuck in the middle of Book 4 because angst is hard to reread), but on the other hand I’m, like, chomping at the bit to start posting my postcanon SQX reincarnation fic ‘I Would Never Let You Drown’ 😅 I’m 12 chapters and 27k words in now and never before have I had this kind of restraint.

But anyways, I don’t actually have any restraint, so here’s a teaser:

Meanwhile, at the bottom of a trench.

He Xuan sat in the crushing dark and meditated. He had been doing this for years now, only surfacing every now and then to instruct his clones and subordinates, and maybe pay Crimson Rain a visit. However, his revenge had been wreaked, and ever since, his earthly appearances grew fewer and farther between.

And then, a few days ago, something snapped, or perhaps something loosened. His last attachment to the mortal realm; his last scrap of resentment. And what was a demon, let alone a supreme demon king, without that heady fuel?

He Xuan stared out at the blackness. Nothing left to hold him together. He could just let it go, let himself fade into oblivion. He watched the small things that flitted about the undersea vents, darted so easily between the extreme heat and cold. These creatures, he thought, must hold all the secrets of the universe--the primordial birth amidst hissing static, and the end of all things.

Before retiring to his trench all those years ago, before Xie Lian had defeated Jun Wu, before Mount Tonglu had opened for the last time, He Xuan had made a trade with Hua Cheng. One Earth Master shovel for a special set of three coins: these coins, when thrown to generate the lines of a hexagram, would tell no lies. He Xuan had given them a toss before submerging last:

Hexagram 20. CONTEMPLATION:

The wind blows over the earth:

The image of Contemplation.

Thus the kings of old visited the regions of the world,

Contemplated the people,

And gave them instruction.

Something squeezed in He Xuan’s unbeating heart as he pictured the two trigrams: Xun over Kun, the gentle Wind over the receptive Earth. When He Xuan had pretended to be Ming Yi all those centuries, he couldn’t say that Qing Xuan hadn’t eroded something in him, hadn’t penetrated like roots into his core. Xun also represented wood, and He Xuan’s throat burned, for even when cut down, Qing Xuan’s voice echoed in his mind like the creak and rustle of branches in the wind.

The fifth line came up as a nine: yang turning into yin.

Nine in the fifth place means:

Contemplation of my life.

The superior man is without blame.

Well, that one was a no-brainer. What else would He Xuan be doing down here in his trench but contemplating his life? He had to balk at the last line, though.

Maybe once He Xuan had been a superior man. Maybe once he had been without blame.

Not now.

Not for a long while.

He continued to watch the creatures, and felt himself dissolve. Oblivion awaited, nirvana even. It was hypnotic, their movements. Images of the world flashed before him, invited him into the all, into the nothing. Days passed. It was easy, letting himself go.

So.

Easy.

Faster and faster, swallowing him up, until-

-The crying of a child.

The swirl of images came to a halt.

It was so, LOUD. It was intolerable, and it filled his senses like an amplified, chaotic singing bowl, rendering emptiness impossible.

Gone was the trance, and all he could see was the bloody, puckered face of a newborn tasting air for the first time. Another image flashed before him, superimposed upon the birth.

HIS face.

He Xuan’s molecules were nearly dispersed, but suddenly they cohered once again.

He shot up the water column in a great explosion of gas, his entire form a bubbling conglomerate of yearning.

Take me to him.

For the first time in his afterlife, He Xuan understood that there were binding forces stronger than revenge.

[nyerus]

Hey I originally followed you for YOI stuff and since that seems to be on haitus, I have seen you and a lot of people rebloing stuff about a different anime or manga (i think) with different mlm relationships? I think they're two diff shows and I've heard about mdzs before. But lately youve been reblogging stuff from a manga tagged tgcf and it looks pretty cool--so i was wondering how I could get into it and what its about? Does it have actual gay charas?

Hello! I’m sorry for the late response! This morphed from a simple answer into a beginner guide of sorts, so I hope you don’t mind! I know there’s like 500000 guides out there, but I figured I’d give it a shot too! ❤

So the stuff you’ve been seeing everywhere is indeed MDZS or related to it–including on my own blog! (I promise when YOI comes back from war, I’ll be all over that again ;o;!!!)

So these works are all by the same author, Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù (MXTX) and they are separate danmei (i.e. Chinese BL) novels, though they share a lot of similarities between them:

MDZS (Mó Dào Zǔ Shī) – Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

TGCF (Tiān Guān Cì Fú) – Heaven Official’s Blessing

SVSSS – Scum Villian’s Self-Saving System

All of them are complete and fan translated, and I’ll answer your last question first: yes, they have actual gay characters! In the novels, the main couples end up canonically married! \o/ In some of the adaptations, their romantic relationships are also maintained (e.g. the manhuas (Chinese graphic novel)), though censorship is present.

Links will be added below this post! Grab some popcorn, this is long!

･:*:･ﾟ’★🐇MDZS🐇★･ﾟ’･:*:･

MDZS《魔道祖师》is definitely the most popular work by MXTX, as it has the most adaptations. You’ve almost certainly been seeing gifs and photosets from its donghua (Chinese animation) or live action the most. However, it has a manhua and audio drama (in both Chinese and Japanese) as well!

Synopsis: Reviled as the infamous Yiling Laozu, Wei Wuxian harnessed the forbidden dark power of demonic cultivation. Once the cultivation world decided he was too dangerous to leave alone, he was hunted down, and a terrible battle ensued that cost Wei Wuxian his life—and the lives of many others. 13 years later, he is resurrected under mysterious circumstances into the body of the pariah Mo Xuanyu. Now with this second chance at life (and while hiding his real identity), Wei Wuxian has to uncover the truth about a powerful malevolent spirit. It may just be the key to revealing a series of heinous secrets hidden from the cultivation world for years. And while the world may still hate him for crimes he didn’t commit, there’s one person who’s on his side—the illustrious Hanguang-jun, Lan Wangji—and is willing to stand by him against all odds. The two have a long and complex history, and Wei Wuxian is unsure of Lan Wangji’s motivations for helping him. But it couldn’t be more simple: respect and love.

Scene from the donghua.

Still from the live action, called “Chén Qíng Lìng”/“CQL”/”The Untamed.”

Panel from the manhua.

Art from the Chinese audio drama.

The great thing about MDZS is that you can really pick your poison in terms of what adaptation you want to get started with. If you are absolutely brand-new to the danmei scene, then starting with the donghua or manhua may be your best bet (both are ongoing). The novel of course is the most beloved, being the source, but all the adaptations have their own charms! They’re all worth checking out, and will keep you busy for quite a while.

･:*:･ﾟ’★🌸TGCF🌸★･ﾟ’･:*:･

Now, for TGCF《天官赐福》—that’s where my photosets are coming from: the ongoing manhua that started in October. There’s a donghua planned for late this year, and a live action in talks (info about that is largely unknown, but is slated for production sometime after the donghua release). TGCF actually has the same deal structure as MDZS apparently, so we’ll be getting an audio drama as well if that’s true.

Synopsis: Talented and virtuous, Crown Prince Xie Lian first ascended to the heavens when he was only 17. Once the darling of the earth and heavens for his boundless skill and purity of heart, he ended up falling from grace—not once, but twice! Subsequently, he became the laughing stock of the three realms. Spending almost 800 years roaming the earth and collecting scraps, he becomes known as the pitiful “rubbish god” and “god of misfortune.” No one could have expected Xie Lian to ascend for a third time, but fate seems to have something in store for this disgraced yet compassionate immortal. Thankfully, he is not alone, as the widely-feared ghost king, Hua Cheng, seems to have a special interest in helping him. The two of them embark on a series of adventures that unravel the secrets of their world, and of themselves.

Panel from the manhua.

Scene from the Donghua PV.

The novel for TGCF is a great place to start, especially considering how the manhua is still in it’s early stages (just starting it’s 2nd arc as of writing this post). The novel is long, incredibly well-written, and well-translated. The manhua is absolutely stunning, and follows the novel very closely thus far.

･:*:･ﾟ’★🎋SVSSS🎋★･ﾟ’･:*:･

The underrated sibling of the three, SVSSS《人渣反派自救系統 》has only the novel to interact with for right now. A donghua is planned for this year. There was a manhua, but it was cancelled due to some problems with the publisher afaik. Word on the street is that they’re searching for a new team for it, so we’ll continue to pray!!!

Synopsis: Shen Yuan is an avid reader of the web novel Proud Immortal Demon Way. The novel revolves around the protagonist Luo Binghe, a kind child who is tormented endlessly by his Shizun (teacher/mentor) Shen Qingqiu, until he turns into a powerful demon lord and exacts his violent revenge. While initially a fan of the story, Shen Yuan hates the unsatisfactory ending. Upon dying suddenly, he finds himself transmigrated into the novel, at the behest of The System—a sci-fi interface which gives him missions and directives. Unfortunately, he ends up in the place of the cruel Shen Qingqiu out of all people! This new Shen Qingqiu now has to use his knowledge of the novel to navigate around the plot, within the restrictions that The System has implemented. He has to find a way to ensure a better ending, if he wants to keep this second chance at life. His plan for doing this is to be as kind and encouraging as possible to the innocent Luo Binghe, who quickly takes a shine to this new Shen Qingqiu. Even after forced to the dark side, and despite the tension between them after this, Luo Binghe won’t let anyone else touch his beloved Shizun.

Cover of the Thai release of the novel.

SVSSS only really has the novel to interact with as of right now. There’s currently an excellent re-translation in progress by tumblr user Faelicy! If you want to get started now, however, you can read what she’s done so far and then swap over to the old translation afterward.

･:*:･ﾟ’★NOTES★･ﾟ’･:*:･

• ALL three novels are intended for an R-18+ audience ONLY. Other adaptations are safe for minors over 16 years of age.

• Please be aware that the novels may contain potentially triggering content. Feel free to ask me for content warnings if you need them.

• All three of these are totally different from one another and only share common themes typical of the wuxia/xianxia genres.

• The original Chinese raws of MDZS and SVSSS are no longer available for purchase on JJWXC (publishing site). You can find print versions on Taobao. TGCF, however, is still available!

• If you’d like more info on anything, please reach out to me! I’m happy to help.

• LINKS WILL BE ADDED BELOW THIS POST.