Archive of Our Own

It all happens rather uneventfully one morning on the outskirts of Huangji Temple.

Mount Taicang is a splendid sight in autumn, ripe maple leaves and tall wooded trees kissing the edges of the clouds. It’s almost as magnificent as one of Hua Cheng’s scroll paintings.

But this morning, the scenery is stained by the sight of a sniveling, malicious ghost― one that had somehow managed to sneak past their notice and land a thin scratch just above Xie Lian’s collar bone.

Hua Cheng is not pleased.

Xie Lian blinks at the creature currently attempting to wriggle its way out of Hua Cheng’s iron grasp, spewing an endless string of curses.

Hua Cheng clicks his tongue in furious annoyance.

“So…” Hua Cheng’s voice is purposefully light, airy in that way that Xie Lian knows means he’s absolutely incensed. “How exactly did this shitty thing get here?”

They had been out collecting wood for renovations for the temple’s pavilion when, in a miraculous moment of misfortune that he had long forgotten himself capable of, Xie Lian had stumbled on what he’d assumed was an errant tree root and nearly went tumbling straight into the maws of this malicious ghost, were it not for Hua Cheng quickly pulling him upright by the waist.

“How did it get here?” Xie Lian’s head tilts, finger against his chin.

“Strange…” Hua Cheng murmurs quietly, fingers tightening around the spirit. It shrieks in fear.

It was strange indeed.

With Xie Lian’s influence, and his now abundant amounts of spiritual energy, the entire mountain region had essentially been cleansed and purified of all resentment. And, considering Hua Cheng’s regular presence, no sensible ghost would dare step within ten li of his domain, and certainly not unannounced. Mount Taicang, in all respects, had once more become a piece of blessed land ripe for cultivation. So how did such a measly ghost spirit manage to sneak its way to Huangji Temple, evading both his and Hua Cheng’s detection?

From all angles, the notion was entirely improbable.

Xie Lian’s brows twist, troubled.

The creature’s still wailing.

“ALL SHAME BROUGHT TO LIGHT! WICKED IS THE FACE THAT WEARS THE FALSE SMILE―”

Brow twitching, Hua Cheng immediately blasts the creature in his palms into nothing but a lingering wisp of wind. It had shrieked in a truly horrifying manner, its haunting gaze strangely transfixed on Xie Lian’s own as it dispersed in oblivion.

Feeling a balmy shiver run down his spine, Xie Lian frowns, even more troubled.

“Gege, don’t worry about it,” Hua Cheng dusts his palm against his robes, face twisted as though he had touched something truly unseemly. “Let me see where it hurt you.”

Hua Cheng’s grim concern manages to pull Xie Lian from his thoughts. He reaches an unthinking hand to his throat, where a small cut had barely managed to graze his skin. It’s so shallow it doesn’t even bleed.

But of course, Hua Cheng’s gaze slowly turns thunderous as he scans the wound.

“I don’t even feel it, San Lang,” Xie Lian chuckles lightly when he feels the gentle tickling of Hua Cheng’s butterflies as they’re summoned to mend the nick in his skin.

“It shouldn’t have managed to touch you at all,” Hua Cheng says thinly, running a thumb over the now healed cut and sending a shiver down Xie Lian’s throat.

Xie Lian hums, letting a butterfly rest on his forefinger. “San Lang. Do you think…?”

“An unwanted guest must have dumped it here for us to dispose of,” Hua Cheng confirms, voice low and grave. “I really don’t like taking out other people’s trash.”

But then, his face suddenly smooths over into an eerily bright smile. He pats Xie Lian once on the shoulder. “No need to fret, gege, I will have someone get to the bottom of this.”

Xie Lian lets out a soft exhale, smiling. He knew what Hua Cheng’s idea of “getting to the bottom of it” often entailed.

“Well, alright. If San Lang says so, then I trust that he will. But don’t overdo it, okay?”

Hua Cheng’s still smiling, but he deflates a little at that. “As gege wishes.”

***

For the rest of the morning, Xie Lian can’t help but feel that something is not quite right, though he can’t seem to put his finger on it.

If Hua Cheng had noticed any oddness in his behavior, he said nothing of it― though, the Ghost King seemed rather preoccupied with his own thoughts, his surly mood seeming to have soured even further as the morning progressed. His face is utterly placid and composed, but Xie Lian can tell he’s moody by the way he hacks away at the trunk of a maple tree with heavy blows that carry a frankly murderous level of intent.

The poor tree trunk groans as it splits with a loud crack.

Xie Lian ghosts a hand to his throat, lightly grazing the smooth skin there.

Well, he certainly feels fine. His spiritual energy reserves remain untouched. His physical form, as healthy as ever. And his mind, unfettered and free of worldly disturbances.

There was only one slight… nuisance.

He couldn’t seem to stop speaking today.

It seemed as if every time a stray thought crossed his mind, it immediately left his lips before Xie Lian even realized he had opened his mouth.

He mostly managed to stop the strange urge by shutting his mouth just in time, but the restless desire to speak would still remain.

Xie Lian purses his lips in confusion.

Had he eaten something strange in the past few days? Or was he merely in a talkative mood?

The latter was highly probable, if not for the fact that what often nearly left his mouth were the most senseless, inane things that Xie Lian himself would never actually say out loud.

He wants to comment on the weather. He wants to ask about San Lang’s favorite weather, favorite season, favorite month. He wants to ramble about the mundane events of the past few days, then ask San Lang about his opinion. He wants to talk endlessly about how much it means to him that he and Sang Lang are renovating this temple together, with their own hands.

And the more these restless thoughts swirl around in his mind, begging to leave his lips, Xie Lian comes to the slow realization that he is an awfully sentimental person.

Truly, he hadn’t known that he thought so much about San Lang, even when he’s right in front of him, and all within the span of a few minutes!

Xie Lian glances up around the clearing in the backyard of their temple, his throat feeling mildly uncomfortable. Almost itchy. This time, when the words start to bubble their way past his throat, he doesn’t manage to close his mouth in time.

“It really is such a beautiful morning,” Xie Lian starts, glancing at the heaping pile of wood they had already assembled. “And we’ve made good progress. At this rate, I suspect we’ll be done in less than a week.”

Hua Cheng glances over at him with a smile. “If gege wants it done in a week, I’ll have it done in two days.”

Xie Lian frowns. He picks up a log with ease and begins sanding it down with coarse paper. “I know you’re capable, but you shouldn’t push yourself like that San Lang. And besides, I really like doing these domestic tasks with you. I wouldn’t want it to end so quickly.”

The axe in Hua Cheng’s hands flies from his grip with the force of his swing, splitting six trees in the process.

But he doesn’t even notice the concerningly large bout of deforestation he’d just caused. He’s staring straight at Xie Lian.

“...”

“...”

Scratch that, Xie Lian’s not awfully sentimental, he’s a downright sap! He certainly hadn’t meant to say that thought out loud. He hadn’t even realized it’d crossed his mind before he’d already said it.

“Ah... haha, San Lang. Don’t throw things so carelessly.”

“San Lang apologizes,” Hua Cheng’s still blinking slowly at him in surprise, his expression looking woefully unapologetic. With a flick of his wrist, the axe comes flying back into his hands. “Did… Did gege truly mean it?”

Xie Lian’s face feels strangely warm as he hurriedly looks away. “Well… I just meant… It's nice, isn’t it? Working on things together.”

“... It is,” Hua Cheng is beaming foolishly now. “If gege likes it so much, then how about we spend a whole year building temples together? Or two? We could fill every inch of this mountain with nothing but temples, if gege wishes.”

“Stop being ridiculous. That would be highly impractical. Not to mention a waste of precious land,” Xie Lian laughs, though he can’t help but feel happy all the way down to his toes. Even now, Hua Cheng’s earnest professions of devotion still manage to make his heart race.

“A temple built in Your Highness’ name would never be a waste of space,” Hua Cheng says solemnly, but he’s grinning from ear to ear.

All of Xie Lian’s thoughts momentarily leave him at that and he stares intensely at the log of wood in his hands. Hua Cheng laughs loudly at his embarrassed silence.

“What? You should know, I’m being very sincere.”

I know you are, Xie Lian thinks, heart softening.

“Yes. San Lang is always sincere.” The words leave his mouth tenderly.

Hua Cheng watches him for a moment, propping the axe against an uncut trunk and leaning a forearm against it. He tilts his head lazily, as if catching the sight of Xie Lian within his vision is still one of the biggest wonders of the world. Perhaps it is, to him.

Then, the sun warms Hua Cheng’s pale features and he gives Xie Lian that brash little grin, the one that Xie Lian is still thoroughly in love with.

Xie Lian’s pulse stutters.

Hua Cheng is achingly attractive.

It’s not the first time Xie Lian’s had that thought, and likely not the last, but every so often Hua Cheng’s beauty hits him as a breathtaking reminder, much like the moon, which never loses its splendor no matter how many times you look.

But he’s so attractive in that moment that suddenly, it’s all Xie Lian wants to talk about. For hours. He wants to run his hands all over that smile on Hua Cheng’s face until he memorizes every line, every dimple, then, lower―

Oh no.

His throat scratches, a strangled sound leaving him as he physically wrestles with the impulse to speak.

Ah, San Lang looks so good. I want him to take off his robes. I want to see how he looks when I―

“... touch…” Xie Lian’s voice comes out strained.

“Gege?”

Xie Lian tears his gaze away from him, eyes wide.

“Ah! Ha ha ha, nothing, San Lang. I’m just touched, is all.”

His voice is far too loud.

“A-anyway, nothing beats the wood on Mount Taicang, does it?” Xie Lian rambles, vigorously sanding down the log in his hands as he scrambles for another conversation topic. He sands the wood so violently that a fresh cloud of dust blooms in his face and he sneezes, waving a sleeve to clear it away. “Ah, but I do hate sanding. What a tedious task! My lungs will be full of nothing but sawdust by evening. It can’t be helped though…”

Xie Lian coughs in surprise. He hadn’t meant to say such a thing. If anything, it sounded a bit like he was complaining and although Xie Lian was many things, he was never someone who complained.

Hua Cheng immediately freezes at that comment. Then, he’s at Xie Lian’s side in a flash, a smattering of butterflies appearing to quickly clear away the offending cloud of sawdust.

“Then don’t lift another finger,” he says in a rush. “Let me handle that. Forgive me… I wasn’t aware that gege hated doing this task so much. Let’s switch.”

“No!” Xie Lian grabs his hand in bewilderment. “I mean… I didn’t mean that I hated it that much. I was just… making idle chatter! San Lang, you shouldn’t take my words so seriously.”

“How could I not? Gege’s words are very important to me.”

“No, no, no,” Xie Lian waves a casual hand, trying not to stare at him. “I can say a lot of senseless things, San Lang. Besides, my head is full of clouds today, so don’t take it to heart.”

Hua Cheng doesn’t look appeased in the slightest. If anything, he only looks more upset with himself as he seems to recall the earlier incident.

“... You were injured, gege,” he murmurs. “I should have taken that into consideration. Go and rest. I will have the renovations finished before you even wake.”

Heart squeezing at the slight pout on his face, Xie Lian’s chest floods with affection.

“I am not a delicate flower, San Lang,” Xie Lian rests a reassuring hand against Hua Cheng’s cheek and it eases some of the sullenness in his expression. “You should know that by now.”

“But―”

“Also, I enjoy sitting here and watching you split wood. San Lang makes for a rather attractive sight.”

The unwarranted thought falls from his mouth before Xie Lian even realizes what he’s saying. But when he does, he blinks rapidly. Hua Cheng goes still.

But before Hua Cheng can say anything in reply, Xie Lian’s mouth has already started running far, far ahead of him.

“I… Ha ha, I only mean, there is no need to worry so much,” Xie Lian says, before his mouth twists a bit painfully and he blurts, “Well, that wasn’t the whole truth. I really do like how San Lang looks. I can never tire of looking at you.”

Hua Cheng’s brow arches in surprise, his mouth parting. “... Gege, you―”

“It is a little unfair how you never seem to break a sweat. Do ghosts sweat? Ah, I wish you would, so that you could have an excuse to remove some of your robes and―”

Xie Lian slaps his mouth shut with a palm so forcefully it makes a loud, comical sound.

Hua Cheng is still staring at him. The base of the Ghost King’s throat has started to glow, a subtle flush crawling up his neck, and Xie Lian finds himself wondering if the skin there will be warm or cool to the touch― a thought that he says aloud but is thankfully muffled and indecipherable beneath his palm.

Hua Cheng looks at him for a very long time, deep in thought.

Then, his gaze narrows as he suddenly grabs Xie Lian’s wrist, gently tugging his hand away from his mouth. His other palm is cool as he lays it gently against Xie Lian’s forehead.

“Are you feeling ill?” Hua Cheng asks urgently.

“Not at all.”

“Would gege tell me if he was feeling ill?”

“Probably not,” Xie Lian says truthfully. He cringes.

Hua Cheng blinks at him, unsurprised. He still has one of Xie Lian’s wrists in an iron grip.

“Gege, let me ask you something. In Ghost City that one time… what did you tell Jian Lan when she propositioned you on the street?”

The answer comes immediately. “That I can’t get erect.”

Xie Lian starts sweating. His hand twitches in Hua Cheng’s grasp and he feels distinctly as if he can’t escape whatever might come out of his mouth next. And sure enough, his mouth continues, horrifyingly against his will.

“It’s not true, by the way. I’m very healthy. In all regards. Sizably endowed too, one might say.”

Oh, by the heavens.

Hua Cheng’s grip against his wrist tightens imperceptibly.

Xie Lian’s face pales as he winces, praying that a giant ditch would somehow magically open up beneath his feet and bury his body six feet under. If Hua Cheng’s hand wasn’t still wrapped around his wrist, he might’ve knelt and started frantically digging at the dirt right then.

“Um…”

“... Gege is much too shy to willingly say such a thing to me,” Hua Cheng’s eye whirls in thought, his voice sounding odd. He gratefully decides to spare Xie Lian from the embarrassment and doesn’t comment on his supposedly sizable endowment.

Instead, he says, “Something is terribly wrong.”

Xie Lian had already arrived at a similar conclusion. His posture slumps in mortified exasperation.

“Yes,” he mumbles at the ground. “San Lang, it seems I might have been cursed.”

How ironic, that a cursed seal had formed in the very same place where his shackle used to rest.

Any sense of levity leaves Hua Cheng’s face entirely at that. His expression goes frighteningly dark.

“... I should have kept that ghost around and shown it a fate worse than death.”

Xie Lian places his hands on Hua Cheng’s shoulders with a light huff. “Don’t make that face, San Lang. I suspect it is only a truth telling curse, therefore, the solution should be quite simple.”

The Venerable of Noble Truths, a rather flowery name for the “Demon of Dirty Secrets,” was a malicious spirit that, in all senses, wrought havoc quite similarly to the Venerable of Empty Words― only that it thrived on shame and humiliation. It delighted in getting people to spill their deepest darkest secrets and reveal their truest nature.

But a truth-telling ghost was quite a simple affair. Though, considering this one was sneaky enough to influence someone like Xie Lian, it no doubt must have been quite formidable. In the moment before its dispersal, it must have sent out the remainder of its power to place a curse on Xie Lian. But seeing as Hua Cheng had already vanquished the ghost, the effect would likely only be temporary.

“It will run its course.” Much like a fever, of sorts. And considering Xie Lian’s abilities, he doubts it will last any longer than a day at most.

Hua Cheng still looks rather miserable. He tilts forward to burrow his face against Xie Lian’s robes, an action that causes heat to rush delightfully through his skin.

“How could I have let gege get cursed under my watch? And by such a useless petty ghost! What a worthless devotee I am...”

He opens his mouth to continue, but Xie Lian interrupts him sharply.

“San Lang. If you continue with that line of thought, I’ll get angry.”

Hua Cheng stiffens in his arms, shutting his mouth. He could never bear the thought of Xie Lian being upset with him.

“... Gege…” He slumps pitifully into Xie Lian’s lap.

Xie Lian smiles in amusement. He brushes a comforting hand through Hua Cheng’s hair.

“It’s no use to dwell on what’s already been done. Besides, it won’t last long. And out of all the possible curses it could have been, a truth-telling affliction is hardly the worst curse to bear once you’ve recognized it. The only thing is… this might be awfully embarrassing for me.”

“Gege could never be embarrassing.”

“Ah, well… Let’s hope so,” Xie Lian laughs. “I mean, how bad could it be?”

***

It was awful.

Xie Lian had gone back inside the temple to rest for the remainder of the morning, mainly due to Hua Cheng’s relentless insistence. He had initially refused, arguing that aside from his rambling mouth, he otherwise felt perfectly fine, but now, Xie Lian found himself immensely relieved that Hua Cheng wasn’t around to witness the mortifying insanity of his behavior.

The curse clearly seems to be growing worse as time passes.

By the afternoon, Xie Lian feels restless with an insatiable desire to speak. But speaking on its own didn’t seem to ease any of the pressure of the affliction― his words begged to have an audience and his voice demanded to be listened to.

All of which leaves Xie Lian in his current state: pacing around their chambers and mumbling to himself under his breath like a deranged madman. He had already drunk six glasses of water, yet none of it had done much to ease the horrible prickliness in his throat.

What a powerful malicious curse indeed! Especially if it could so strongly influence someone like Xie Lian, who possesses what many would consider a frankly herculean amount of willpower and self-control.

Xie Lian runs his hands through his hair, loosening his top knot with a sigh.

He would not describe himself as a taciturn person. Xie Lian shared his thoughts, particularly around Hua Cheng, rather openly and freely. And although they were still warming up to the boundaries of their newly romantic relationship, Xie Lian was convinced that there’s little that Hua Cheng doesn’t know about him.

But he is learning, rather quickly, that there are many, many things that he refrains from saying aloud. His spoken thoughts are mannerly, courteous, always carefully considered and mindfully selected― a habit that’s persisted from being raised in royalty.

“I can’t believe this is happening to me. I really wonder if San Lang has finished…” Xie Lian’s lips are starting to feel numb. “I feel so awful making him work on the renovations alone. All because of this useless curse. I’m sure he feels quite guilty right now… And I hate making San Lang feel that way! Ah, I miss San Lang. When will he come and check on me? I can’t rest at all unless he’s by my side.”

Xie Lian falls into a heap by the tea table, his robes splaying out beneath him.

He mumbles San Lang’s name three times into the table because he literally can’t help it. His ears are flushed crimson.

The thing about hearing every single one of your thoughts out loud is realizing how utterly absurd they are! Xie Lian sounds so hopelessly, so embarrassingly, so ridiculously―

“Maybe I should recite the Dao de Jing five more times,” Xie Lian groans into his sleeve.

So he straightens, crossing his legs into a meditative pose before closing his eyes. But he only manages to get a quarter of the way through his first recitation before his stomach loudly grumbles, which obviously derails his thoughts entirely.

“I’m hungry,” Xie Lian’s brows furrow before he shakes his head strictly. “No matter. I’ve been hungry before. There is no need to comment on that, none at all! Now, where was I―”

“Gege, how are you feeling?”

Xie Lian opens his eyes to see familiar red robes and he practically melts in relief. Hua Cheng has returned, balancing a tray of fine delicacies and tea snacks in one hand.

“San Lang! Oh, thank goodness,” he slumps against the table, feeling strangely drained of energy. “I couldn’t bear another moment without you.”

Hua Cheng uncharacteristically seems to stumble on thin air. He sets the tray down on the tea table very, very carefully.

“Ah… Gege? Please have mercy on this one’s heart. You’ll make me die again.”

“Don’t say that,” Xie Lian chides, before covering his face with his sleeves in dismay. “It’s gotten worse.”

“Indeed,” Hua Cheng agrees.

“Mmm,” Xie Lian hums miserably, shoving a meat bun into his mouth and chewing slowly. “It seems that just talking to myself isn’t any good… The curse requires a listener.”

With that, Hua Cheng sprawls his legs on the ground across from him, leaning a chin on his palm against the table.

“Then this one would be honored to fulfill such a task.”

“Okay… Yeah, okay. Good.”

A beat of silence falls between them.

“...”

“...”

Hua Cheng raises a brow.

A million thoughts rush to the forefront of Xie Lian’s mind― each one feeling more pressing and urgent than the last. But despite the fact that he now had an audience, Xie Lian found the logical side of his mind warring against the curse’s desire to speak recklessly. Frankly, he was a little afraid― of what, he wasn’t quite sure.

Xie Lian grinds down his teeth.

“A-Actually, how about you do the talking so that you can distract me while I eat, San Lang! Q-quick, say something. If there’s silence, I’ll just keep speaking nonsense.”

Hua Cheng tilts his head curiously on his palm.

“But I thought gege needed a listener?”

“Yes, well, I do, but the only things that I want to say right now are completely meaningless and there’s no point in making San Lang have to suffer through that, so why don’t you―”

“It wouldn’t be meaningless to me,” Hua Cheng fills a glass with water, sliding it towards him. “Besides, I like hearing gege talk.”

Xie Lian swallows his meat bun without chewing. He raps a fist against his chest, snatching the glass of water.

“And I certainly wouldn’t mind hearing gege say that he ‘can’t bear another moment’ without me.” Hua Cheng, surprisingly, looks a little bashful at that. His voice turns quiet. “I wouldn’t mind hearing that at all.”

“San Lang,” Xie Lian whines after chugging another glass of water. “Please don’t tease me right now.”

Hua Cheng’s brow furrows, looking him over. “.... Is the curse truly that distressing for you?”

“I…” Xie Lian fidgets with his sleeves. Then, he nervously grabs a clementine and picks at the skin, sighing. “It’s not as if I have anything to hide from you, San Lang. But I suppose I just have things I would rather not say out loud. I mean, don’t we all?”

Hua Cheng thinks this over before pressing his fingers to his temple.

“Then how about gege try speaking to me in here?” Hua Cheng says into Xie Lian’s private communication array, his voice right by his ear.

Xie Lian closes his mouth and speaks into the array.

“Alright… that sounds like a good idea,” Xie Lian lets out a small sigh, clutching a hand over his sore throat.

“I am full of good ideas gege.”

“Yes, indeed. My San Lang always comes up with the best solutions. He is so dependable and capable. Always so attentive to all my needs. Wish that I could just―”

Xie Lian promptly kicks Hua Cheng out of his communication array and uses his spiritual energy to seal it shut.

They blink at each other. Hua Cheng looks a bit like he’s just been slapped across the face.

It didn’t work at all!

“S-so it’s not just affecting gege’s voice then,” Hua Cheng hums thoughtfully, tapping a finger against the table, but the action comes across as oddly nervous and jittery. He clears his throat. “Say, does… does gege truly praise me so much in his head?”

“Yes. Yes, I do,” Xie Lian answers truthfully.

“Then… what does gege think about me―”

Xie Lian flies over the table with a garbled scream and uses both hands to cover Hua Cheng’s mouth in panic.

“D-don’t ask me what you’re about to ask me,” Xie Lian blurts, face warm. “And don’t try to take advantage of me while I’m cursed!”

Hua Cheng blinks at him, startled. Then, he slowly nods. Xie Lian warily draws his hands back to his side.

“I would never try to take advantage of you, gege,” Hua Cheng says earnestly. He shifts his legs, staring down at the floor. His mouth quirks into a half-smile. “... But I have to admit, this all feels a little exciting for me.”

“Exciting? I’m cursed and you find this exciting?” Xie Lian frowns slightly.

“You must understand… Gege is always so polite and proper. So, yes. I must apologize for the part of me that is finding it delightfully fun to hear your unrestrained, honest thoughts.”

Xie Lian pouts, mumbling sarcastically. “Oh and I’m sure if San Lang were afflicted by this curse, hardly anyone would notice.”

Hua Cheng bursts into laughter. “Gege! How cheeky! And what is that supposed to imply?”

“Everything that San Lang says is honest and unfiltered.”

Hua Cheng’s eye twinkles with mirth. “Honest, yes. Unfiltered? Not quite.”

Xie Lian pauses before frowning in thought. “... Really? So you do restrain your thoughts? Does that mean you are holding back around me? What haven’t you told me?” The thought fills Xie Lian with a completely irrational and childish pang of jealousy.

So, naturally, his cursed mouth says this out loud.

“I want to know all about San Lang’s thoughts,” he declares. “You said you understand my everything and it’s only fair that I understand yours as well. I am your special someone.”

Hua Cheng lets out a strained sound.

Xie Lian turns his face away, afraid to see Hua Cheng’s reaction. “Ah, sorry San Lang… that is unreasonable, of course. I don’t know why I said that. It was just a passing thought.”

But Hua Cheng only makes his way to his side and when he touches a hand against Xie Lian’s cheek to silently ask for his attention, Xie Lian opens his eyes to see that the Ghost King’s expression has grown immensely fond.

“Oh gege, it’s not that I hide things from you. I have never been dishonest with you. I will tell you anything you wish if you just ask.”

“Anything?” Xie Lian leans his face into his palm.

“Anything,” Hua Cheng replies. “All of my thoughts are for gege’s ears only.”

“... I apologize, San Lang,” Xie Lian huffs a small laugh, feeling ridiculous. “That was a silly thing of me to demand.”

“Not so. Everything of mine belongs to you.”

A delicious shiver runs up Xie Lian’s spine at that, and―

Oh.

Now that thought has certainly opened up several dangerous pathways.

Pathways that Xie Lian has previously forbidden himself from even considering, because if he examines them closely he’ll find that he does have many things he wishes to ask Hua Cheng. Embarrassing things. Inappropriate things. Things he’s definitely not ready to say out loud yet.

Like, for example, why haven’t they consummated their marriage yet? In what ways does Hua Cheng belong to Xie Lian? Does Hua Cheng even want him just as badly?

Despite the certainty and trust that’s been firmly established in their relationship, they had still never discussed such things. Aside from Hua Cheng’s occasional harmless teasing or the stray innuendo that arose from trips to Ghost City, neither of them had ever pushed further since Hua Cheng’s return.

And therein lies the crux of Xie Lian’s fear. Because someone like Xie Lian, the ex-God of Misfortune, of scraps and junk and unwanted things, could never presume to be wanted, and Hua Cheng has proven to be far too kind to ever refuse him anything.

Xie Lian hasn’t even been paying attention to what Hua Cheng had been saying after that. His throat aches all the way down to his chest and all he hears is a loud, rushing sound.

Say it. Say it, the curse whispers hungrily.

“Shit,” Xie Lian’s face pales. “You can’t just say that San Lang.”

Hua Cheng raises an utterly delighted brow. “Your Highness! Did you really just swear―”

“Shit, shit, shit!” Xie Lian swears frantically. Shit seems to be the only one that he can remember at the moment.

He panics.

“Ruoye, bind!”

At once, the spiritual weapon slips free from beneath his arm and winds itself nice and snug around the bottom half of Xie Lian’s own face, covering everything beneath his nose. He had, essentially, taped his own mouth shut.

Hua Cheng’s expression changes to bewilderment. “Gege?”

But Xie Lian only shakes his head vigorously, making muffled sounds beneath Ruoye’s firm binding. A line of sweat forms along his temple. It’s starting to feel a bit difficult to breathe, but Xie Lian refuses to let Ruoye budge an inch.

The curse is beginning to writhe and twist unbearably, as if there is a small hot stone burning a hole in the center of his throat, and Xie Lian knows that if he released Ruoye now, all of his most mortifying thoughts will spill out like water from a dam.

Ruoye binds itself tighter at Xie Lian’s request.

Hua Cheng grows concerned. “Your Highness? Let go, you’re going to hurt yourself.” He reaches out to grasp Ruoye’s tail end, but Xie Lian leans back, stubbornly turning his face away.

“Mmmph!”

“Your Highness…” Hua Cheng pleads. “... Please forgive me for what I’m about to do.”

At that, Hua Cheng immediately dives towards him, aiming to grab his wrists to pin him gently against the floor. However, Xie Lian’s brute strength, even while cursed, is truly something to be feared, because even Hua Cheng can’t quite manage to pin him down long enough to immobilize him.

Which is how they end up tumbling around the room comically, banging into furniture and knocking down ancient scrolls and expensive antiques. Hua Cheng grunts, rolling on top of Xie Lian once more, this time leaning down to press his forehead against his to hold him still.

“Your highness, please, don’t―”

Xie Lian inhales sharply, his eyes widening. He realizes that with Hua Cheng on top of him like this, his hair loose and robes delightfully rumpled, staring down at him so intently… the position is oddly―

While he’s distracted, Ruoye, the devious little spiritual weapon, slips loose entirely at a single caress from one of Hua Cheng’s fingers. And as soon as he feels the binds begin to loosen, Xie Lian gasps out a panicked breath.

“I-I have things I can’t tell you, San Lang, please!”

Hua Cheng freezes at that, but he thankfully doesn’t look hurt by it at all. In fact, his expression is a bit complicated.

But Xie Lian desperately doesn’t want to leave any room for misunderstanding so he blurts, “Not secrets! I’m not trying to hide anything from you San Lang, I promise! There are just some things that… well, even my face isn’t quite thick enough to say out loud yet and it would be… it would be really awkward for… for the both of us― so!”

“I understand that,” Hua Cheng’s voice is soothing. “Gege is entitled to his own thoughts. I wouldn’t ever dare try to pry. But I simply can’t allow you to harm yourself over something like this, especially when this curse was my fault in the first place.” A curtain of hair slips over his right eye and Hua Cheng looks down guiltily.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Xie Lian mumbles breathlessly.

“If gege says so. In any case,” Hua Cheng slips a hand behind Xie Lian’s head, caressing for any bumps. “What shall we do about this predicament then… Would gege like me to leave? Would that make it easier?”

“No,” Xie Lian says immediately. “I don’t want San Lang to leave. That is the last thing I’d ever want, really.”

Hua Cheng looks privately pleased with that answer, though he doesn’t say anything.

“Then…”

Xie Lian can’t seem to think straight. Everything feels far too warm. Perhaps all the tumbling had made him dizzy because he feels a bit like the room is spinning.

The roaring heat in Xie Lian’s ears crests into a sharp wave.

Xie Lian tears his hands from Hua Cheng’s grasp. He rolls over, this time pinning Hua Cheng beneath him. “I can’t take it anymore. San Lang! Don’t listen to me, please!”

“I… alright,” Hua Cheng says firmly before very obediently plugging his ears. He always complies so easily. Xie Lian immediately reaches over to cover Hua Cheng’s hands with his own to make sure he truly can’t hear.

He can’t look at his face. So instead he looks down at Hua Cheng’s robes, the words leaving him in a rush.

“Oh, San Lang, I really don’t know what to do with myself. This is a nightmare! An absolute nightmare! And all from such an innocuous little curse. It hadn’t occurred to me that there might be so many things I wished to tell you. Shameful, shameful things. I had thought we were past all that by now and that there would be nothing I fear telling you, but it turns out, there still are such things.”

“... Your Highness?” Hua Cheng still has his ears covered, lips downturned. He can’t hear a word that Xie Lian is saying and is staring at him in obvious worry. Xie Lian knows he must look absolutely insane right now.

“Look at you. Plugging your ears so sweetly for me just because I asked. And you’re so worried about me right now. Would you do anything I asked of you? Anything at all? That’s another thing that I love about you, San Lang. But it also scares me so much sometimes.”

Xie Lian’s face is burning. Does he really feel that way? His breath is frantic. It’s terrifying, the knowledge that his affections run far deeper than he can ever truly say in words. His vision blurs.

“Oh, San Lang… I… I just…”

All of a sudden, Hua Cheng sits up, wrenches his hands from his ears and wraps Xie Lian up in his arms. His voice is unbearably soft.

“Gege. You’re shaking.”

“I… I told you not to listen!”

“I can’t help it when gege’s making such an expression in front of me.” He tugs Xie Lian closer, his voice a little helpless. “Why do you look scared? Is there truly something you’re so afraid to tell me? What is it, gege? What can I do? You should know by now that there is nothing you can say or do that will change my opinion of you.”

“I… I know that, I just…” Xie Lian feels like he’s drowning. His throat itches, the curse reaching its fever pitch. “I… I…”

He doesn’t know why he feels like crying. Perhaps it is because there is so much he wants to say.

Hua Cheng sweeps his palms all over Xie Lian’s face. “Your Highness, does it hurt anywhere? Are you in pain?”

It does hurt. Xie Lian takes a deep, staggering inhale and it feels like breathing in glass.

Oh, I really can’t hold it in anymore.

Somewhere, a tiny spirit dies, dispersing into a million little truths. And the dam breaks.

“Oh, San Lang… I love you,” Xie Lian exhales.

And the thing is, Hua Cheng knows this already.

This is not his most shameful, deepest, darkest secret. In fact, Hua Cheng already knows those parts of him too. This is hardly something Xie Lian’s ashamed of at all― in fact, loving San Lang is Xie Lian’s proudest truth.

But something about the way Xie Lian says it now, his eyes rimmed with emotion as if it has never been more true, is enough to make even the Ghost King tremble slightly. As if this “I love you” exists wholly in the present, unlike their other ones, which were vows, promises, or confessions.

“I love how you still tend to call me ‘Your Highness’ when you’re worried, as if the old habit can’t help but slip out when you’re rattled. At the end of the day, I am still ‘Your Highness’ aren’t I? I am your Xie Lian, your gege, your noble and special someone― San Lang can call me by any title as long as it’s one of his.”

“I want to be San Lang’s in every way. Before San Lang, I have never once wanted anything like that, but I want it now, so badly sometimes, that it feels like my body might burst from it.”

“I want to touch you,” Xie Lian’s voice is hoarse. “Everywhere.” His hand falls to rest against Hua Cheng’s disheveled robes. Hua Cheng goes devastatingly still, an unreadable expression crossing his face.

“I want you in ways that are so… so… indecent! Did you know that? Did you know that I’ve thought about that for a very long time? Even before… well, any of it. Even as far back as when we were stuck together in that coffin in Black Water’s sea, oh San Lang, it was such a long time ago but I still remember clear as day how I was so hard that I could barely think straight. How embarrassing! And the things that I have thought about you since then…. I didn’t even know that those were things that one could even think about! Are you following? At first, I was so ashamed. I mean, how could I think of something so base and… and obscene about someone I hold so dear? You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve recited the Dao De Jing in my head in your presence.”

Xie Lian only takes half a second to pause for breath. The heavy feeling in his throat was slowly dislodging, a painful pressure alleviating word by word.

“I was even starting to think that something was terribly wrong with me and then I grew afraid because… San Lang, I know you must think I'm so chaste and prude, I mean, heavens, I can hardly even swear right on a bad day― and so I thought, well what if that’s what San Lang expects of me? Then I must be some horrible, greedy, insatiable deviant to be thinking these things, but surely that’s not true― but if it’s not, then what’s the reason we haven’t consummated our marriage yet? If there’s a reason, please tell me honestly. I don’t want San Lang to do anything only because I want to.”

“It’s just that… Being married to San Lang is the single best thing that has ever happened to me.” Xie Lian balls his hands into fists, his eyes filling with all the love he feels.

“I never imagined that I could have something like this and oh, I want to do all the things that married people do, every single bit of it, for the rest of our days, and even longer.”

Hua Cheng still hasn’t said a word.

“H-Have I said too much? I’m sorry! I can’t help it. I… I’m cursed,” he finishes dumbly.

Xie Lian almost can’t bear to look at him. But he manages. And when he does, he sees that Hua Cheng looks completely staggered.

Most miraculously, there is an undeniable flush crawling up from his exposed collarbone.

Xie Lian reaches a hand to drag along the blush in wonder. Apparently, the curse still wasn’t finished, far from it, but Xie Lian’s hopelessly given up any attempt to shut up.

“I didn’t even know San Lang could blush. It looks so pretty. This color. The way you’re all warm and trembling right now. Everything about San Lang is so pretty it drives me wild. Sorry. Oh, but it feels so much better to say this all out loud. Can… Can I keep going?”

Xie Lian’s hand curls slightly around the nape of Hua Cheng’s neck, his thumb resting right over his Adam’s apple. Hua Cheng’s breath hitches weakly and Xie Lian is already memorizing the sound.

“Oh. I liked that. Did that mean you liked that? San Lang? Is it okay if I keep going?”

Hua Cheng is looking at him like he’s swallowed a fish, unable to muster a single word.

“San Lang?” Xie Lian echoes. He had said so much without even thinking, and it had felt so good, the sweet relief of the curse abating between his ribs, but now that he registers Hua Cheng’s silence, it floods him with uncertainty. The slow anxiety of all he had just admitted sinks low into his belly.

“Oh no. Oh gods. W-Was that too much?”

Hua Cheng’s eye falls shut with a ragged exhale. Gratefully, he gives Xie Lian no time to feel any regret at all because then, he’s kissing him.

And it’s different from all of their other kisses, so different, because it’s the kind of kiss that makes Xie Lian’s heart feel like a hot beating sun.

Hua Cheng has pulled him closer and closer against his chest until he’s straddling him, his hand fisting against Xie Lian’s hair, pulling tight in a way that makes Xie Lian’s eyes flutter. Hua Cheng kissed him like he held the heavens between his lips. And his mouth! Oh, Xie Lian could ramble on and on about how much he loves Hua Cheng’s mouth, so yielding and desperate, how he always waits for Xie Lian to open his mouth into a kiss first before carefully allowing himself inside― he would tell Hua Cheng all about this if only he weren’t so occupied.

Xie Lian drags his hands all along Hua Cheng’s neck, his chest, his shoulders, eager to hold him everywhere.

I could just kiss you like this for years, he thinks, but realizes he must’ve mumbled it brokenly against Hua Cheng’s jaw because the Ghost King’s head falls back onto the ground with a soft thump.

Xie Lian takes the opportunity to cover his exposed neck with feverish kisses, mumbling more incoherent strings of affection, before noticing Hua Cheng has weakly pulled an elbow over his eyes. A smattering of his butterflies had gone loose at some point, flitting about the room restlessly like silver stars.

“Oh! San Lang. Sorry… Too much?”

“Gege,” Hua Cheng groans, covering his face with two hands. He looks adorably boyish like this. “Not too much. Never too much.”

He peeks out from between his hands, his one eye smoldering with something Xie Lian’s never seen before.

“More.”

Xie Lian feels like he’s about to lose it.

“M-more? How much more? And more what?”

“More,” Hua Cheng breathes, slumping back onto the floor. “Everything. And would gege mind saying that all over again? From the beginning? I just want to make sure I’m not dying and I heard everything correctly.”

Xie Lian laughs, marveling at how all his fears have suddenly evaporated so easily. Hua Cheng had a remarkable way of doing that to him. “I will not. San Lang definitely heard me.”

“I did. This one is a very good listener.”

“Mmm, not always.” Xie Lian sits up, feeling hopeful. “But… Then, does this mean that…”

Hua Cheng leans up and kisses him with his whole heart. “I would be honored to do what married people do, with you.”

Xie Lian wants to say something sweet, something lovely, something that expresses how badly he wants Hua Cheng’s hands all over his bare skin, how excited and nervous he is to be able to do this with him, but what ends up leaving his mouth is this:

“Then is San Lang going to fuck me on the floor?”

“Gege!”

***

Xie Lian learns quickly that he loves seeing San Lang all laid out beneath him, undressed and defenseless as he reacts to every single one of Xie Lian’s slightest of touches.

And react, he does. Hua Cheng’s eye patch has come loose, his face twisted against the pillow as he groans behind his lips, kiss-swollen and bitten. Xie Lian has never heard a ghost breathe so loudly. Hua Cheng never closes his eye for one moment either, as if he’s afraid to miss something, intent on seeing every second Xie Lian’s thumb curves over the head of his cock. And, he never touches Xie Lian as he explores him, his hands instead flying to clutch at the headboard so tightly that Xie Lian sees it splintering.

Even his cock reacts delightfully in Xie Lian’s hands, twitching and weeping with precome when Xie Lian only so much as traces it with one index finger.

Xie Lian didn’t know he could love so much about one person.

“Your highness! I’m already―”

He swipes his palm flat over the fluid until Hua Cheng’s whole cock is wet. Xie Lian swallows. He wants to put his tongue all over it. Run it between his lips and drag it along the roof of his mouth until Hua Cheng’s heat is all he can taste, smell. Naturally, he says this thought out loud, blaming the curse.

Hua Cheng immediately comes. It’s the first time his eye closes, squeezing shut with a muffled cry into the pillows. The headboard cracks.

My San Lang is so beautiful.

“Mm?” Hua Cheng mumbles blearily, his body relaxed with sated exhaustion. Xie Lian stares in awe, mesmerized.

“San Lang… you came all over yourself.”

Hua Cheng snaps out of his blissful daze, eyes going wide.

It had all happened so quickly that Xie Lian had flinched when he felt the sudden liquid heat splatter across his chest. It’s warm. Heat had coursed low in his belly at the sight and he got the distinct impression that he’d discovered something dangerously addictive. He wanted to see Hua Cheng’s expression and hear his voice as he came over and over and over again― he already mourned the fact that he hadn’t gotten to savor the moment any longer.

“No I didn’t,” Hua Cheng murmurs in denial, but it still sounds breathless.

Xie Lian takes a handful of his sticky spend, touching it in wonder, his face flushed. “No use denying it, San Lang. Look, you’ve made such a mess.”

Hua Cheng sits up, grabbing Xie Lian’s wrist as his face drains of color. “Ah, forgive me. Don’t touch that, gege, I’ll clean it up.”

“It’s okay,” Xie Lian stops him, shifting his legs quietly against the sheets to hide his own arousal. He was still somewhat dressed in his inner robes, though they had pooled down to elbows, revealing fresh blemishes that were blooming all over his chest thanks to Hua Cheng’s dutiful attention. Not an inch of his neck was spared. “Does it usually happen this quickly?”

“Please, I didn’t mean to…” The Ghost King’s voice uncharacteristically cracks. He looks the most embarrassed Xie Lian’s ever seen him. “I promise, this one’s stamina will be sufficient to please your highness.”

A genuine laugh slips past Xie Lian’s throat. “Oh, I wasn’t worried about your stamina, San Lang. I was only curious because I’ve never done such… things before,” He looks down between them, innocently spreading Hua Cheng’s spend against his own lower stomach. It’s already cooling against his skin. Suddenly, he wants to be covered in it. The thought is intoxicating.

Xie Lian looks up at him beneath his lashes, his gaze heavy with want. “I just don’t want it to end yet.”

Hua Cheng makes a strangled noise before flipping Xie Lian beneath him and pressing him against the bed in a desperate, eager kiss. His stomach presses flat against Xie Lian’s achingly hard cock and Xie Lian keens at the sensation.

“It won’t end,” Hua Cheng pants heavily in between kisses. “Until your highness is thoroughly satisfied.”

“Mmm!” Xie Lian whines when Hua Cheng grinds against his clothed erection and the unexpected rush of sensation there is so overwhelming he blinks back stars.

“Now, would gege like my help with this? He’s been far too kind to me.”

“Yes!” Xie Lian gasps. “Please, it’s starting to hurt a little.”

“Gege should never have to beg for anything.”

At that, Hua Cheng immediately slips open the rest of Xie Lian’s robes. His face immediately flushes and his gaze goes wide when Xie Lian’s fully unwrapped beneath him.

It’s blatantly obvious that Xie Lian is painfully hard. In fact, he’s certain that he’s never been more aroused in his entire life. Still, it’s his first time being fully bare in front of someone in this situation so Xie Lian can’t help but fidget at the look on Hua Cheng’s face.

His hips squirm, nervous and impatient. “San Lang?”

Hua Cheng makes a punched out sound, muttering something under his breath as his palms flatten on Xie Lian’s hips to hold them still. He looks up.

“Gege didn’t lie. He is sizably endowed.”

“San Lang!”

His face lowers to press against Xie Lian’s stomach reverently. Xie Lian’s cock jumps, catching against Hua Cheng’s throat. He’s so sensitive that he’s already close from a mere brush of friction. He could even come like this, rutting against Hua Cheng’s jaw until he spills all over his pretty face.

A moan escapes his throat at the image and he has to close his eyes. It’s too much.

Hua Cheng sucks a mark on his lower belly, sighing sweetly. “Gege is perfect. Every single inch. Truly, there is nothing he could ever do to make me want him any less.”

Hua Cheng swallows and Xie Lian can feel his Adam’s apple slide against the head of his cock.

“San Lang―” Xie Lian shudders.

Hua Cheng kisses him lower and lower until Xie Lian’s cock brushes against his cheek, pulsing from the heat of his open mouth. His expression has gone entirely soft and hazy.

“Gege, could I please―”

Xie Lian moves to touch the head of his cock to Hua Cheng’s lips before he can finish and it readily slides into his mouth with ease, as if Hua Cheng had been waiting centuries just to do this.

It’s immediately way too much. Hua Cheng takes all of him down his throat without any preamble and Xie Lian flinches with a loud unbidden moan, his feet rising from the bed, and all he can think is tight and wet and hot.

For someone who’s only ever touched himself with his own hand, he had never imagined that a mouth could feel like this. It’s foreign, it’s addicting― it feels like heaven.

“Ah!” Xie Lian nearly screams. “F-feels so―”

Hua Cheng wraps a forearm around Xie Lian’s thighs when he feels them shaking, moaning around his cock like he’s the one getting deepthroated. The low vibrations from his voice has Xie Lian reaching out to twist his hands against the sheets. Then, one of Hua Cheng’s fingers slides down, pressing gently against his hole. It’s tentative, loving.

Xie Lian’s mind whitens. He comes in seconds.

Distantly, he registers the poor silk sheets ripping in his clenched fists.

It takes him a while to come back into his body, but when he does, he sees Hua Cheng is staring up at him in absolute bliss, his head leaning lazily against Xie Lian’s splayed knee. When he catches Xie Lian’s gaze, his mouth quirks in a small smile, as if he wants to tease, but he doesn’t dare. After all, Xie Lian had come even faster than Hua Cheng.

“Gege is also delicious.” Hua Cheng’s voice is hoarse. He runs an absentminded tongue over the corner of his lip.

“Oh,” Xie Lian’s face goes warm in realization. Hua Cheng must have swallowed… everything. He feels so pleasantly soft and comfortable against the bed post-orgasm, his mind loose and uninhibited. He still feels the remnant strings of the curse lingering in his body, but it’s far less urgent than before, now just gently tugging him towards honesty. Xie Lian yields to it willingly. It’s relieving, not having to think so much.

“San Lang is so good to me,” he murmurs, reaching down to caress his cheek. “It’s like his mouth was made just for me. So perfect. I loved it. I love doing this.” He sits up on both elbows suddenly, a curtain of hair falling over his shoulder. “Oh! And when San Lang moved his hand lower… I liked that a lot.”

Xie Lian bites his lip. “Will you touch me there? Again?”

Hua Cheng looks wrecked. “N-now?” He croaks.

“Oh. Y-yeah, I thought that…” Xie Lian pouts a little, looking away. “Or is it over already?”

Something ignites like a lantern flame in Hua Cheng’s eye. He straightens like a soldier. “No. Of course not. Who said it’s over?”

“Then― oh!” Xie Lian falls flat on his back at the fingers that suddenly caress his backside. He’s still too sensitive, but Hua Cheng is deliberately avoiding his cock, instead massaging that space beneath his balls. His ring finger circles the rim of a place that Xie Lian has never once touched on his own, but wants desperately now with a hunger that startles him.

“Do you want me to…” Hua Cheng trails off nervously.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Xie Lian’s lashes flutter as he stares down at him in a wordless plea. “San Lang said I shouldn’t have to beg, right?”

The speed at which Hua Cheng immediately scrambles off the bed to get a vial of oil and return to position is almost inhuman. He moves as if he can’t bear the thought of making Xie Lian wait, as if pleasing him is instinct.

When Hua Cheng first slips in a generously slicked finger, Xie Lian doesn’t brace or tense. Instead, it all feels surprisingly natural, perhaps because it is Hua Cheng’s finger, Hua Cheng’s hand, Hua Cheng himself who is touching him that he finds he doesn’t feel nervous at all. Hua Cheng is the one person in all of the Three Realms who is allowed access into the deepest parts of him and it’s like his own body knows this too, opening readily before him like a flower.

So Xie Lian doesn’t fear discomfort at all, not at the hands of someone who has only ever held him with such tenderness.

He tries to tell him this by wiggling his hips, rocking down into his hands. He lets his legs splay out fully, catching an ankle behind Hua Cheng’s lower back.

“Mmm,” Xie Lian grinds into him. His dick twitches against his thigh.

More. Rougher. Just give it to me, Xie Lian thinks.

“F-fuck,” Hua Cheng’s breath catches. “Yeah, okay.”

And Xie Lian must’ve voiced his thoughts aloud because then, Hua Cheng is stuffing him full with two fingers and doing something artful with his hands that has Xie Lian writhing against the sheets again. He touches something that sparks a wave of pleasure, lancing all the way from his stomach up to his throat. It even causes Xie Lian to accidentally release a small ripple of spiritual energy and it blows through the room like a tremor, scattering some of Hua Cheng’s butterflies.

“Beautiful,” Hua Cheng gasps, his other hand grabbing at Xie Lian’s waist like he needs something to ground himself.

“Ah! Do that― ahh, yes, yes!”

A few pumps and Xie Lian’s already practically fucking himself down on Hua Cheng’s fingers, his half-hard cock slapping against his stomach as he chases the feeling like a high.

The sheets and the headboard are already a lost cause, so instead he snatches Hua Cheng’s hand on his waist, squeezing it weakly.

“Good?”

“Mmm, I like it so much,” Xie Lian keens, feeling pleasantly full. “It’s so much better than I imagined. S-San Lang’s too skilled. I’m so lucky.”

Xie Lian notes how Hua Cheng turns delightfully pink at the praise, shaking his head lightly in denial.

“No. This one is the lucky one,” he whispers so quietly that Xie Lian nearly misses it. And he wants to argue, but then Hua Cheng’s adding another finger with a wet squelch and Xie Lian feels like he could come again untouched. He clutches Hua Cheng’s hand with a high-pitched whine, heels digging into his back.

And Hua Cheng must be able to tell he’s feeling it, because he asks roughly, “Does gege want to come like this?”

Xie Lian feels hot all over just hearing him say the word “come”. It feels like the dirtiest thing Hua Cheng’s ever said to him. Despite the Ghost King’s infamous reputation for his crude language, Hua Cheng never speaks that way to Xie Lian. So he wonders what else he could make Hua Cheng say, what filthy and vulgar words he can coax from him under the right circumstances.

He lifts his head, panting, “I want San Lang to put it inside.”

Hua Cheng halts his movements completely.

Xie Lian continues, blushing, “I want San Lang’s hard cock filling me up until I have no room to think about anything else.”

Hua Cheng suddenly falls forward, hair curtaining over his face as he slumps against Xie Lian’s knee in defeat.

“... Now where did gege learn to say such things? This one would like to know,” he mutters weakly. The silver butterflies around the room are fluttering frantically.

“Does… does San Lang want that?”

Hua Cheng lets out an incredulous, almost hysterical bark of laughter. “How could I not want that?” The butterflies are still dancing fiercely, emitting quick pulses of light like fireflies. He mutters in disbelief, “Gege, you’re really…”

Xie Lian sits up, determined. He pulls Hua Cheng up towards him and gently repositions them until he’s above him, straddling his hips. Hua Cheng’s dick jumps, hitting the curve of Xie Lian’s ass.

“Ah, but how’s this? Can we try it like this?” This way, Xie Lian has a full view of Hua Cheng splayed out beneath him. It’s perfect.

Hua Cheng blinks up at him in surprise. He has nowhere to hide his face. “A-as gege wishes.”

Xie Lian smiles, lifting a little onto his knees. He’s a bit unsure of the mechanics of it― should he pitch forward? Or slide in straight down? Sensing his uncertainty, Hua Cheng guides them, lining himself up until the head of his cock kisses him there.

“Like this?”

“Like this. But be careful or―”

Xie Lian is not careful.

He takes him fully in one quick motion until his hips are flush against Hua Cheng’s lap.

Hua Cheng cries out, his throat catching on a sob.

“Oh…” Xie Lian moans, long and slow. It’s divine. Xie Lian can feel him in every beat of his heart. There are no words to describe the utter joy of being filled like this, how his insides stretch and pulse around Hua Cheng’s cock. A rare curse falls from his mouth. “F-fuck, San Lang. Oh, fuck.”

“Hahh, Your― Your highness, this is―”

Xie Lian can see every tremor in Hua Cheng’s expression, every shiver racking its way through his body. He’s gone docile with pleasure, his jaw slack as he pants heavily. He looks so malleable like this that it fills Xie Lian with a fierce sense of possession.

He runs his hands up Hua Cheng’s chest, breathless. “Ah, yes, this is perfect. Just like this. I love you like this.”

Perhaps it’s the feeling of his beloved wrapped up tightly inside of him that fills him with a dizzying sense of satisfaction― it’s all Xie Lian’s ever wanted. To be entrusted with something precious, to hold and cherish someone else so closely inside his heart that there’s no room for air.

And that’s exactly how Xie Lian fucks into him, tightly and possessively, as if he’s intent on keeping him safe. His movements are deep, rolling his hips as he hungrily studies the changes in Hua Cheng’s expression like it’s the finest sunset he’s ever seen.

Hua Cheng tugs him down into an uncoordinated kiss. His voice is as small as a butterfly. “Your highness, when you look at me like that I…”

“Like what?” Xie Lian’s breathing heavily now. When his cock rubs against Hua Cheng’s stomach, he moans loudly into his mouth.

Hua Cheng chases the sound. “Ah― Like… like you’re ravenous.”

“Can’t I be?” Xie Lian’s hips snap sharply and he sits up to prop both hands on Hua Cheng’s shoulders. “Can’t I want you so badly it drives me crazy?”

Hua Cheng can’t even respond, his hands flying to Xie Lian’s thighs as he bites back a pathetic groan.

“I’ve thought about you like this so many times. Has San Lang thought about me like this?”

“Hahh―” Hua Cheng nods enthusiastically.

“How many times?” Xie Lian’s words are now starting to feel less like honest confessions and more like insatiable demands.

“Far too many.”

“Ten thousand?” Xie Lian smiles. To them, ten thousand had become a bit of a sacred number. Ten thousand statues, ten thousand prayers, ten thousand lifetimes of quiet devotion, representing their immortal eternity.

“E-easily… more… than that,” Hua Cheng gazes up at him helplessly, unable to do anything but take it as Xie Lian rides him at his own desired pace.

“Oh…” Xie Lian speeds up his movements, growing restless. “Then it seems I have some catching up to do.”

“Your highness?!” Hua Cheng moans, his hands flying to uselessly grasp at the broken headboard as each time Xie Lian slams down sends his body further upward.

“I… ah… I’ll have to make it up to you.” Xie Lian’s rambling, his hips moving in a sweet rhythm. “My beautiful San Lang has thought about this for so long and I had no idea. I’ll have to fuck you three times a day. No… I don’t know if even that will be enough. Will that be enough?”

Hua Cheng cries out when Xie Lian tightens around him. Half of his face is crushed against the pillow, his hair splayed messily around his sweat glistened brow. His mouth is moving, but Xie Lian can’t make any sense of what he’s saying. It almost sounds like prayers.

“Ah… but does this count? Am I fucking you? Are there rules to this?” Xie Lian’s hips stutter when Hua Cheng’s cock hits that delightfully sensitive place inside of him. His nails dig marks into Hua Cheng’s collarbone.

“N-no rules,” Hua Cheng gasps, his hands now reaching to grab Xie Lian’s hips so tightly that he knows it’ll bruise tomorrow. “Y-your highness is fucking me so good. And t-three times a day is far too generous. This one is undeserving.”

He says it so sweetly that Xie Lian pauses to admire his beloved, gently wrapping his fingers around Hua Cheng’s jaw and nape. Not grasping, just holding. Xie Lian is also quickly learning that he likes to place his hand right there, just around the soft of Hua Cheng’s neck. It’s remarkable, how he immediately goes pliant beneath him like a kitten caught by the scruff.

Hua Cheng moans as he tips his face up to meet him, as if silently begging for Xie Lian’s fingers to steal the wind from his lungs.

So Xie Lian does. Not tight, but he gives a firm little squeeze of his palm and Hua Cheng makes a desperate choked out sound that Xie Lian imprints forever into his memory.

He tries to mindlessly thrust upwards but Xie Lian slams him back against the bed with the strength of his thighs. He loosens his grip on his neck, rubbing a soothing, apologetic thumb around Hua Cheng’s open mouth.

“San Lang? Is that really enough?”

“Huh?” Hua Cheng takes a few seconds to reorient himself.

“This. Three times a day.”

“W-whatever his highness deems necessary,” Hua Cheng practically slurs. His gaze has started to go hazy.

“Oh,” Xie Lian moans when he sees Hua Cheng unconsciously take Xie Lian’s thumb into his mouth and suckle. Suddenly Xie Lian feels lightheaded. “T-that’s a dangerous thing to say, San Lang. What if your highness is greedy? What if he wants you more than three times a day? I mean, look at you.”

Xie Lian gently removes his thumb from his mouth so that he can speak. Hua Cheng’s lips are shiny with spit. He’s in a truly pitiable state, falling apart in Xie Lian’s hands.

He still answers devotedly, despite how his words string together like drunken nonsense. “I already s-said― hahh― everything belongs to you.” He nuzzles his cheek into Xie Lian’s palm, babbling. “Oh, please, God―Five times. Ten times. Every s-second. I’ll be Your Highness’ own personal toy that he can use for pleasure as often as he’d like.”

“S-San Lang!” Xie Lian can’t take it anymore, not after such sweet devotion. Those words deserved a reward, so Xie Lian braces himself on his knees and starts fucking him in earnest. His cock, hard and untouched, dribbles down onto his stomach.They’re both close.

The curse was wringing its last drops out of Xie Lian, feverish and desperate.

“San Lang is my biggest blessing,” Xie Lian whispers brokenly. It feels like the most truthful thing he’s ever said, despite that being the case for everything he’s said today. “My favorite blessing. My most precious blessing.”

Hua Cheng wails, shaking his head senselessly. “No― No, God, please, it is you who―”

“My most cherished blessing,” Xie Lian continues, all the emotions within him cresting like the pleasure that’s sprawling its way up his body. “M-my most beautiful little flower.”

Hua Cheng’s crimson all the way up to his cheekbones. It’s like he’s just a boy again, small and strengthless at the hands of someone greater. “Ah! Mercy, please! Your Highness, oh fuck― I can’t― “

And Xie Lian knows his beloved is a ghost, but he wants to reach inside of him and feel every inch of that warm red, the blood that’s only beating because Xie Lian wills it.

“And he’s my husband… my husband,” Xie Lian croons and Hua Cheng loses it completely. “Hahh, San Lang, won’t you be sweet and call me your husband? Say it.”

Hua Cheng scrambles for him, to kiss him, to hold him, anything.

“Hus…” His throat catches. He has to try a few times before it comes out in shreds. “Husband!”

Xie Lian feels he could ascend a fourth time. The floorboards are rattling violently with the force of his spiritual power and he’s sure that outside, the forested fields of their temple are quivering for miles.

He’s almost there. “T-touch me,” Xie Lian sobs.

And it takes Hua Cheng two hurried hands to fully wrap around him, but it hardly matters because at the first press of his palms, Xie Lian is coming with a startled, full-bodied scream, his legs clenching tightly around Hua Cheng’s waist. Hua Cheng, of course, finishes immediately upon seeing Xie Lian’s release, as if the sight of his God in pure ecstasy is all it takes, wanting to hurriedly follow him into that sweet bliss.

They’re both breathing heavily when Xie Lian slumps onto him with a whimper, but in his head, everything finally feels perfectly quiet. He curls into the cozy nook of Hua Cheng’s neck, uncaring of the mess between their bodies.

He’s never felt like this before. There’s not a single thought crossing his mind as he lays there, skin-damp and satiated. He can tell Hua Cheng needs more than a minute to return to himself, so he just holds him dearly. The butterflies that had been ever present in the room like little stars have idly begun to disperse. One of them lands atop the back of Xie Lian’s hand, which rests above Hua Cheng’s heart. The poor thing can hardly even flap its wings, exhausted.

At some point, Xie Lian teases a bit of spiritual energy into Hua Cheng, at the place where they’re still connected. Come back to me. Hua Cheng moans softly, still sensitive.

He rouses a bit, turning to press a tender kiss to the top of Xie Lian’s head.

“... I’m here,” Hua Cheng croaks, pushing Xie Lian’s hair back from his forehead and stroking a hand up and down his spine. His hand lands along Xie Lian’s neck and he pauses in thought. “Gege, are you feeling better?”

“Mhm,” Xie Lian hums, feeling sleepy and warm and so, so happy. “Shit,” he smiles. “Holy shit.”

Hua Cheng gives a startled, tired chuckle. “Was that gege or the curse talking?”

“Me.” All of the cursed ache now gone from his chest has left room for laughter, which bubbles up, stupid and silly. “San Lang, I think our room may need some renovating.”

Hua Cheng casts a lazy eye about their chambers. The bedframe beyond repair. The sheets in tattered strips. Their furniture displaced and shelves toppled over. The more he takes stock, the more his eye widens in mute surprise. Xie Lian can’t stop laughing.

“So it seems,” Hua Cheng only kisses the smile from his mouth fondly. “This one must build a room that can withstand the might of his husband’s heavenly power.”

Xie Lian melts entirely at the word husband, pressing kisses everywhere he can reach. His heart is light as a feather and honesty feels as easy as breathing.

He really does love his husband the most.

“Perhaps this curse wasn’t so bad after all.”