Work Text:
1.
Someone was kissing Xie Lian.
He had been swimming underwater, looking for that fetus spirit, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around him.
And then, suddenly, something cold and soft was against his lips.
Most people wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on Xie Lian, but this person was as swift as the devil, and unusually strong.
Xie Lian thrashed his limbs in a panic, desperately trying to push his assailant away, but didn’t succeed. Instead he choked on water, gurgling out strings of bubbles from his mouth, like crystal water beads.
The mysterious man tightened his grip on his waist, pressed his body closer. Xie Lian’s struggling hands ended up pinned against his own chest, unable to move.
He was helpless.
Xie Lian stopped struggling. He might as well just let this happen; after all, it wasn’t actually harming him.
Then he looked at the person’s face and realized who it was.
Hua Cheng.
No wonder his lips were cold.
With his arm still firmly around Xie Lian’s waist, Hua Cheng took him and swam towards the surface.
The water was freezing and the air was cold too but Xie Lian’s body was burning up. He tried to turn his head and look around but Hua Cheng kept his head firmly in place, not allowing his lips to separate from Xie Lian’s for even a second.
Xie Lian really wanted to cry. He didn’t know what to do.
If it was anyone else, Xie Lian would have stabbed them with his sword. But this was Hua Cheng, so he couldn’t do that.
Hua Cheng swam with him in his arms some more until he reached the shore. Only then did he release Xie Lian, allowing their lips to part.
They stared at each other.
Xie Lian’s lips were aching and numb from the kiss. He was dripping wet from head to toe, and he stared off into space in a disoriented daze before remembering how to speak.
He blurted “I....I...I’m a little hungry. No...I’m, a little sleepy...” he mumbled. His brain was all jumbled. Xie Lian bent down to his knees, fumbling his hands over the ground.
The shock from being ambushed with a kiss was truly making Xie Lian lose his mind.
“What are you doing?” asked Hua cheng.
“I’m looking for a thing....where’s my bamboo hat?” He crawled around on his hands and knees. “I, I can’t find it....I’m leaving now, I’m going home to eat...I need to go collect some scraps now....”
He got to his feet and tried to run away.
Suddenly his foot twisted, and he fell back on the ground. There was a trail of blood seeping from his foot where the needle had gotten stuck.
Hua Cheng seized his ankle. “What’s wrong?”
Xie Lian tried to pull his leg back. “Nothing, it’s fine!”
Hua Cheng reached forward and was about to take off Xie Lian’s boot. Xie Lian crawled forward. “NO, THERE’S NO NEED!”
He tried to escape Hua Cheng’s grasp, but Hua Cheng held on to him, not letting go of his ankle.
A crowd of ghosts on the shore noticed the commotion.
“MY LORD! ARE YOU TRYING TO RAPE SOMEONE? DO YOU NEED HELP? WE’LL HELP YOU HOLD THEM DOWN!”
Xie Lian thought, Hua Cheng didn’t need help with such a thing. He was perfectly capable of forcing himself on Xie Lian, as he had just shown.
“Scram!” Hua Cheng ordered, and the crowd of ghosts promptly dispersed.
He knelt down and swept Xie Lian into his arms.
“...San Lang, I’m sorry. I sort of lost it just now, how embarrassing.”
“Nothing of the sort. I was the one who crossed the line. San Lang is in the wrong and apologizes.”
“You were only trying to help; it wasn’t really a big deal anyway.” Xie Lian smiled at him.
2.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were squished together in the coffin.
It was narrow, so there was no way the two of them could avoid being squished together. Hua Cheng reached out and rested his hand on Xie Lian’s back, pressing him to his chest. His other hand came up behind him and grabbed his head.
Outside, the coffin floated errantly over the sea. Pouring rain was beating on the cover. The waves pushed and pulled on the coffin.
“San Lang...how about we change around?”
“Change what?”
“You on top and me on the bottom.”
“Isn’t top and bottom the same?”
“Your body right now is only seventeen or eighteen, right? I’m a martial god, after all, very heavy...” Suddenly he could feel Hua Cheng transforming. It was a small change, but since they were so close together, Xie Lian could definitely feel it. “San Lang, don’t...don’t just suddenly turn big!”
Hua Cheng laughed, and the laugh that sounded was a deeper voice, the voice of his true form.
Suddenly the coffin they were riding in was forcibly flipped over.
Hua Cheng’s arms tightened around Xie Lian’s waist, and he clutched his head tighter in his hand. “Hold on tight to me!”
Being this close to Hua Cheng was making Xie Lian’s mind go into a tizzy. He could smell his scent, like maple and smoke. His lips were brushing against Xie Lian’s hair, and Xie Lian could feel the slight trembling of his adam’s apple when he spoke.
In the chaos, the two of them flipped and flopped in all sorts of different positions, banging into each other many times.
When the waves calmed down a bit, he found that Hua Cheng was pressing down on him heavily. Xie Lian felt Hua Cheng’s body, solid muscle from head to toe.
And then he felt it—
A specific part of Hua Cheng’s body was pressing against Xie Lian, the erection unmistakable. Hua Cheng must be becoming stimulated by the rocking motion of the coffin.
Hua Cheng shifted a little. But rather than pulling away from Xie Lian, he pressed himself against him further, his hard bulge against Xie Lian’s stomach. Keeping Xie Lian caged in his arms, his hips began to move.
He was rubbing that intimate part of himself against Xie Lian.
Xie Lian’s breath hitched.
At first, he tried to convince himself it was just the waves of the sea, but the water was relatively still at the moment. The coffin-boat was simply floating on the water, yet it was shaking along with the rhythm of Hua Cheng's hips.
Xie Lian had never felt so awkward in his life. Still, he figured Hua Cheng needed it, so he would let him rut against him like a dog in heat. What else could he do, trapped here in this coffin? He couldn't push Hua Cheng away.
Suddenly he was aware of a similar change happening to his own body. Xie Lian felt his face turning hot. He hoped Hua Cheng didn't notice.
The pace of Hua Cheng’s hips grew faster and faster, his breaths coming harder as he used Xie Lian to pleasure himself.
Then his hips bucked for a final time, a low moan escaping Hua Cheng’s mouth.
Xie Lian blushed hard. Had Hua Cheng just...?
He listened to Hua Cheng’s ragged breaths as he recovered, and decided that the answer was yes. Xie Lian felt a shiver of awe. He had gotten to witness Hua Cheng have such a special moment, which would normally only be seen by one's chosen person.
Xie Lian wondered if Hua Cheng was imagining his beloved in Xie Lian’s place this whole time. For some reason, thinking about that person made an ugly feeling rise in Xie Lian’s chest.
He didn’t have to think about it much longer, because they had arrived at the Black Water Island. They smacked their palms against the coffin and it cracked into pieces. The two of them broke free, and alighted upon the shore.
They looked at each other.
“Sorry, gege, it was an accident...” Hua Cheng said seriously. "This San Lang gives his sincere apology."
There was no doubt as to what he was apologizing for.
“Don’t worry about it,” Xie Lian said, waving his hand dismissively.
Hua Cheng grinned.
3.
Xie Lian was Hua Cheng's beloved.
The fact made him glow inside, knowing that he was that “noble, gracious, special someone” whom Hua Cheng had talked about with such fondness. He held hands with Hua Cheng as the two of them walked through the cave, on their way to fight that evil monster.
“Do you need some spiritual energy?” Hua Cheng bent down and met Xie Lian’s lips with his own, passing energy through them gently.
Xie Lian leans into the kiss, his hands clutching at Hua Cheng’s robes with a desperation that came from months of yearning and lust.
“Gege, I know a way I can provide a whole lot of spiritual energy at once.”
Xie Lian cocked his head. “Oh? How?”
Hua Cheng clasped his hand, his fingers cool to the touch. “Come with me.”
He pulled Xie Lian over to a crack in the cave wall, then into a space behind it. There’s an alcove here big enough for two people.
Hua Cheng sat down on the ground, indicating for Xie Lian to sit between his legs. Then he shifted his robes, revealing himself.
Xie Lian's eyes widened. “Oh.” He stared at Hua Cheng's massive member. “What do I do?”
“Just suck it gege.” He placed a hand on Xie Lian’s head.
“I don't kn—mmph!”
Hua Cheng shoved his manhood into Xie lian's mouth. With no other choice, Xie Lian started to suck.
“Yes, just like that,” purred Hua Cheng, forcing Xie Lian to bob up and down. “You're a natural, gege.”
Hua Cheng spurred him on with praise and encouragement. He guided him through the whole process of servicing a man for the first time in his life. Xie Lian learned how to relax his throat and take as deep as physically possible. It was rather similar to sword swallowing, and having been a street performer many times in his life, Xie Lian was quite good at it.
Before long, Hua Cheng was releasing his spiritual energy down Xie Lian's throat, Hua Cheng kept a hand on his head, making him drink it down. After Xie Lian’s had obediently swallowed it all, Hua Cheng let him lift his head.
“Sorry, gege,” Hua cheng said, smoothing Xie Lian’s messy hair. “This San Lang got a little carried away.”
“It’s alright, I needed the spiritual energy.” Xie Lian's voice comes out hoarse, his throat raw from being used.
Xie Lian knows “spiritual energy transfer” can be performed in many different ways, and it wasn’t necessary to take Hua Cheng in his mouth. That was just a thinly veiled excuse for Hua Cheng to get him on his knees. But Xie Lian didn’t mind. Pleasuring the man he loved was just a small way to try and repay Hua Cheng for everything he'd done.
“Do you want more, gege?” asks Hua Cheng, smirking.
“Maybe later,” Xie Lian said, wiping his mouth. “Let’s go.”
4.
Xie Lian was pinned down on the altar in Puqi Shrine, Hua Cheng kissed him fiercely, with no sign of stopping. Tonight was the first time they’d seen each other in over a year, after Hua Cheng dispersed following the battle with Jun Wu. Naturally, they had spent all day entangled, kissing and exploring each other’s bodies.
Now Hua Cheng was stripping him, trailing kisses down his neck and stomach as he did so. Meanwhile, his hand crept up Xie Lian’s thigh and dipped between his cheeks.
His finger circled his opening, sending shivers down Xie Lian’s spine.
Xie Lian’s heart started to race. He glanced down at the bulge in Hua Cheng’s pants and knew that today was the day he was going to take it in there.
“Don't be scared, gege,” Hua Cheng said reassuringly. “I'll do just the tip.”
“Ah...okay.”
Hua Cheng manipulated him into position, making him bend over the altar with his rear facing Hua Cheng. He slicked up Xie Lian’s hole with oil until it’s nice and wet. Hua Cheng was incredibly gentle, whispering “You’re doing so good, gege” in his ear while he prepared him. His tone was honey to Xie Lian’s ears, sweet and comforting.
He didn’t even flinch at the pain when Hua Cheng entered him.
“Oh...you’re so tight.” Hua Cheng said in an awed tone as Xie Lian’s body enveloped him. He pushed it in further until he was sunk to the root.
Xie Lian squirmed uncomfortably. “Wait, San Lang...”
Hadn’t he said “just the tip”?
Hua Cheng wasn’t listening. He shifted his hips a little, enjoying the feeling of being encased inside of Xie Lian. Then he started to move, pulling out and then shoving in again.
Xie Lian bit his lip to keep from crying out. He felt like he was being skewered with every thrust.
But of course Xie Lian wouldn’t make Hua Cheng stop. He’d waited eight hundred years and died for him three times. The discomfort was bearable, hardly anything compared to other things his body has been subjected to in his life.
It only took Hua Cheng a minute before he was coming inside his god, filling him with warmth.
“Oh,” Xie Lian said, his eyes widening. He liked that feeling.
“My apologies,” Hua Cheng said after he pulled out. “San Lang couldn’t help it, gege felt so good...”
Xie Lian stayed in his position, bent over the altar. “Can you...do it again?”
Hua Cheng’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, you liked it that much?”
“En.” Xie Lian nodded. He enjoyed when Hua Cheng released inside of him, even though he felt like he was being invaded to his core.
“As you wish.”
They went for a second round.
Hua Cheng was more careful this time around, to make up for his hastiness in the first round. His thrusts were slow and rhythmic, and he whispered words of praise in Xie Lian’s ear. Xie Lian found himself getting used to the feeling of being so full.
Then Hua Cheng hit up against a spot inside of him that made Xie Lian gasp.
That night, Xie Lian came more times than he could count. Between Hua Cheng’s mouth and hands stroking him, and his dick massaging him inside, he was in constant pleasure.
A god on the altar, being worshipped in the way he had been missing his entire life.
5.
Something was rubbing between Xie Lian’s thighs.
That’s the first thing Xie Lian knew in the morning when he wakes up in Paradise Manor, enclosed in his husband’s embrace. Blearily, Xie Lian glances down and realizes Hua Cheng was thrusting his manhood between Xie Lian's thighs, one hand on his hip, keeping Xie Lian's legs pressed together to make it nice and tight for him.
Xie Lian wonders how long Hua Cheng has been doing this. Did he just start a few minutes ago, pleasuring himself with Xie Lian's thighs to relieve his morning wood? Or has he been in the middle of the night, too? Was this something Hua Cheng did often?
Xie Lian didn’t understand why, but something about it just bothered him.
“Good morning, gege,” Hua Cheng whispers, nuzzling against him.
Then Hua Cheng immediately pushes him onto his stomach, rolling on top of him. Xie Lian’s heart begins to beat rapidly, and his body tenses in fear. He doesn't know what Hua Cheng was going to do to him.
Hua Cheng spreads Xie Lian’s cheeks, then releases his load into Xie Lian's entrance, groaning into his ear as he comes.
That familiar warmth fills Xie Lian’s insides. But rather than feeling pleased like he usually is, Xie Lian felt dirty, used. He wished he could turn himself inside out and peel off his skin where Hua Cheng's semen touched him.
Hua Cheng laid on top of him, panting heavily, his chest against Xie Lian’s back, body weight nearly suffocating the smaller man.
Xie Lian shoved Hua Cheng off. He scrambled to wipe the cum that dribbles down his thighs. “San Lang...what...?”
“My apologies,” Hua Cheng bowed his head, looking ashamed. “San Lang didn’t know gege would be upset by this.”
“I’m not upset!” Xie Lian said quickly. How could he be upset with his perfect husband who treasured him so much? “I’m just a little surprised, is all.”
“I’m sorry. I thought, because San Lang lets gege ride him when he’s asleep, the other way around would be fine...”
That made perfect sense. It was somewhat hypocritical for Xie Lian to refuse Hua Cheng access to his unconscious body, when his husband let him do it. Weren't they married, and belonged to each other?
Still, the idea of it made Xie Lian’s stomach turn.
Hua Cheng takes Xie Lian’s hand and plants a gentle kiss on the back of it. “Gege must tell me what I can do to make it up to him.”
“Its no big deal.” Xie Lian glances down at himself. The inside of his thighs has gone red from chafing; Hua Cheng had neglected to use any oil before having his way with him. “I just...I...I prefer it if you wake me up next time.”
Hua cheng nods. “Okay, San Lang understands. I won’t do it again, I promise.”
Xie Lian isn't sure if he believes him.
But he figures it's not worth dwelling on.
"Stay here, gege, I'll bring you breakfast." Hua Cheng presses a sweet kiss to his forehead and all of Xie Lian's troubled feelings are forgotten.
+1.
"Ah...San Lang gege." Xie Lian moaned into his mouth.
He sat in Hua Cheng’s lap, being kissed passionately as the older man disrobed him. The seventeen-year-old had a strange day, waking up in an unknown place with his body lacking in spiritual powers. Luckily, he had happened across this friendly, handsome man in red who took him graciously into his home. He gave him a good meal and new clothes and even offered to help restore his spiritual powers.
Xie Lian hadn’t realized that “restoring spiritual powers” would involve being intimate with him, but honestly he didn’t mind. Hua Cheng was an attractive man and was clearly skilled in kissing and touching, because Xie Lian was experiencing a change in one part of his body that usually stayed limp.
He could tell the same thing was happening to Hua Cheng, by the large bulge under his robes.
Xie Lian’s eyes widened when Hua Cheng exposed himself.
“San Lang gege, it’s so big...it won't fit.”
“It will,” Hua Cheng said, stroking his thighs comfortingly as he kissed his neck.
Xie Lian was skeptical, but he didn't resist.
Hua Cheng slowly guided Xie Lian open, using plenty of oil and patience to lower Xie Lian onto his member. “See?”
Xie Lian sat there, frozen. With that thick thing inside him, he felt like he was being split in half.
“Now move.” Hua Cheng ordered.
“I...I can’t.” Xie Lian said, flushing with embarrassment.
Hua Cheng gripped Xie Lian’s thighs. “You can.” He lifted him up, then pushed him down again, sending excruciating pain through Xie lian's body.
“AHH!” Xie Lian cried out, on the verge of tears. “SAN LANG GEGE, NO...”
Hua Cheng grinned. “You asked for this.”
“NO...I CHANGED MY MIND...STOP, STOP...”
His protests went ignored.
“Ew, ew, ew...” Xie Lian stared in horror at the cum dripping down his thighs.That evil man had finished inside him multiple times before he was satiated and let Xie Lian crawl out of his lap.
Xie Lian slumped down onto the chaise, exhausted both physically and emotionally. After catching his breath, he glanced over to look at Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng was sitting back on the chaise, arms behind his head, smirking triumphantly like he’d just made an amazing conquest.
“San Lang gege...I thought you were my friend,” Xie Lian's voice cracked, tears falling down his cheeks.
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Of course I am.”
“You...you raped me.” Xie Lian frowned, balling his hands into fists.
“Raped you?” Hua Cheng scoffed. “You liked it. You came for me so beautifully.”
Xie Lian blushed, but maintained his indignant expression. “So what? You still forced me...”
Hua Cheng rested his chin on his hand, looking amused. “It was just a game, Your Highness.” He reached behind the chaise and pulled out a daruma doll. Hua Cheng gave it a smack. The doll's mouth opened and out came a few sparkling lights. “Touch these and you'll regain your memories.”
Xie Lian frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Out of curiosity, he reached out and caught a ball of light.
In an instant, eight hundred years of memories come rushing back to him. He was a scrap-collecting god, and this ghost king was his husband and most devoted believer. This was the manor where Xie Lian spent most of his free time, and this was a chaise where he and Hua Cheng had spent many hours entangled together.
After the incident where Xie Lian accidentally lost his memories in a fight with a memory-eating monster, they had kept the monster to play with. Xie Lian thought it would be fun to replay the incident again but with Hua Cheng seducing that innocent teenager. What Xie Lian hadn't expected was for the youth to change his mind. And what he really hadn't expected was for Hua Cheng to keep going after the youth protested.
“Gege...?” asked Hua Cheng. He was smirking, looking quite pleased with himself.
Xie Lian wiped the tears from his face. “San Lang...how could you?”
Hua Cheng froze, hearing the heartbroken tone of Xie Lian's voice. “I’m sorry, gege...it was a game, right? I was only playing.”
Xie Lian shook his head. “That wasn’t part of the game."
He rose from the chaise, threw on his robes, and ran out the door. Xie Lian ran into the courtyard, his heart pounding on his chest and the blood rushing through his ears. He takes large gulps of the fresh air, trying to calm himself and gather his thoughts.
His young, melodramatic teenage self had accused Hua Cheng of being a rapist. Xie Lian would never describe his husband with such a word. But that young Xie Lian hadn't hesitated. That spoiled seventeen year old child had not yet learned to ignore his own distress, so he recognized Hua Cheng's violation for what it was.
So what? You still forced me.
So what if they were married? So what if they loved each other? So what if Xie Lian sometimes enjoyed it? Hua Cheng was still in the wrong.
If Xie Lian was being truthful, it didn't surprise him that much that Hua Cheng would behave this way. Hadn't he always been a little greedy? Before, Hua Cheng had always restrained himself to small pushes of Xie Lian’s boundaries. Today he had violated Xie Lian outright because he really wanted to take a teenager's virginity.
Now that Hua Cheng had done this, Xie Lian was forced to admit what Hua Cheng really was: a predator.
Hua Cheng appeared in front of him.
“My deepest apologies.” Hua Cheng immediately falls to his knees. “San Lang is very sorry for his behavior. Can’t Your Highness find it in his gracious heart to forgive this humble believer?”
Xie Lian just stared at him, unmoved.
He loved his husband; he really did. But he knew in his bones that this man would never change. He would keep taking and taking as much as he could get away with.
Hua Cheng was groveling at his feet now. “Your Highness can punish me. I won’t fight.”
Xie Lian shook his head. “I don’t want to punish you.”
Hua Cheng looked up, a flash of hope in his eye.
“...I want you gone,” Xie Lian continued. His hand reached for the ring at his neck, Hua Cheng’s ashes which had been gifted to him long ago. He held it between his fingers, he had the power to destroy it right here and now.
Hua Cheng’s face fell. “Haven’t I made Your Highness happy?”
“Yes. San Lang has made me very happy, ” Xie Lian gave a deep sigh. “But I can’t let a person like you live. What if you do that to someone else?”
If Hua Cheng could commit such an act against his beloved, what must he be doing to people who he didn’t treasure? Was Yin Yu being abused as part of his job? Was He Xuan paying his debt in unsavory ways? Were Gambler’s Den customers forced to bet their bodies?
It was Xie Lian’s obligation as a righteous person, to get rid of him.
“There’s no one else,” Hua Cheng said immediately, his eye filling with tears. “Only Your Highness.”
That didn’t make Xie Lian feel any better. If Hua Cheng’s depravity was focused on him alone, he would never escape it. Even if they broke up, Hua Cheng would be stalking him from afar, spying on him with his butterflies so he could pleasure himself while watching.
Hua Cheng was crying now, his face wet with tears. “Your Highness, please...all I want is to be your most devoted believer. Let me live, let me continue to serve you.”
Xie Lian smiled sadly. “Don't you remember, San Lang? There’s no banquet in the world that doesn’t end.”
With that, he curled his hand into a fist around Hua Cheng’s diamond ring. Xie Lian concentrated his power, all the might of a martial god, into his fingers. He crushed it in his hand, feeling it shatter to pieces in his hand.
“No...no...don’t...” Hua Cheng cried, but it’s too late. His body is already fading, going transparent.
Xie Lian ignored Hua Cheng’s pleas just as Hua Cheng had ignored his earlier that night.
The last image of Hua Cheng that Xie Lian sees is the look of torment on his face, his guilt and sorrow.
Xie Lian blinked, and he was gone.
He disappeared like a mirage in the desert— there one moment, gone the next.
“Goodbye, San Lang,” whispered Xie Lian.
He opened his hand, and released the sandy remains of the diamond in the air. The wind blows the sand particles in the air, scattering them away to never be reformed again.
“Have you heard? His Highness Xie Lian has replaced Crimson Rain Sought Flower!”
“That’s preposterous, a god can’t rule Ghost City...”
“Xie Lian has always been preposterous, don’t you think?”
Xie Lian overheard the middle officials gossiping about him as he walked past. He shook his head to himself. It was an exaggeration to say he “ruled” Ghost City; he had only been making sure things were still running smoothly after Hua Cheng’s death. Xie Lian inherited Paradise Manor, as well as the loyalty of Hua Cheng’s subordinates. The ghosts were pleased to be supervised by their grand-uncle, though they mourned the unfortunate passing of Hua Cheng.
Xie Lian spent most of his time in his shrine nowadays, though he still liked to visit Ghost City sometimes. But today, he had duties in heaven so he had come here.
He headed through the door to his palace, and was surprised to see two people standing there.
“Feng Xin, Mu Qing...what are you doing here?”
“We wanted to welcome you back,” Feng Xin said.
Xie Lian spotted an assortment of food dishes laid out on the nearest table. “Oh...thank you both.”
He sat down in front of the table.
The three of them started to have lunch together. Neither of them brought up Hua Cheng, instead talking about every other topic under the sun.
Xie Lian bit into a dumpling. He frowned. “This dumpling...tastes like...”
It tasted like Xianle, tasted like something he’d had hundreds of years ago.
Mu Qing’s ears went red.
“Did you cook this, Mu Qing?”
“Maybe,” he mumbled.
Xie Lian smiled. "You always were a good cook."
“Do you want to duel together after this, Your Highness?” Feng Xin asked all of a sudden. “Just like old times...”
“En. I’d like that.”
The loss of his husband had been devastating, had left a hole inside of him that nothing could fix. Despite everything, Xie Lian still loved him. It hurt to think about him. He was often sad, not just about Hua Cheng’s passing but the realization that he was never the person Xie Lian thought he was.
But with every passing day, the sadness became less and less.
Sitting there with his two friends, feeling the warmth of their affection surrounding him, Xie Lian knew that one day it wouldn’t hurt at all.