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“I will do anything for you. Please let me follow you by your side.”
At this, Xie Lian’s heart jumped in his chest. It wasn’t the unpleasant feeling of fear, but rather of surprise and something… Something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Did this ghost leave the flower then? Was he being genuine when he said there could be people out that still believed in him? Did Wu Ming still believe in Xie Lian?
Could it be that, after everything that’s happened, someone will stay?
No. That’s not it.
He had just threatened to disperse the ghost. Surely, he’s just saying this to appease him, trying to find the right words to calm him down.
Huh, funny isn’t it? He wanted someone to stay by his side despite everything, to believe in him even if he’d fallen so low to commit crimes and crave revenge, and yet… he can only achieve that by instilling fear on someone else.
It’s not genuine. It’s nothing but an order to him, a threat.
“You don’t need to say that,” Xie Lian said quietly, “I won’t do anything to you. So don’t speak nonsense.”
He turned to leave the temple, passing next to the small white flower he’d crumpled just a few minutes ago, avoiding stepping on it again.
“ Perhaps there are still those who believe in you .”
Who would? How could anyone believe in him? He’s nothing but a failure, like that monster said.
Who would want to stay?
“Your Highness?”
“What?” He spat out, not quite as harsh as he intended.
“Are you… Crying?”
This made Xie Lian stop in his tracks.
“How dare - ?” And then, with a shaky breath, he noticed it.
Oh… He was crying…
The tears ran down his face one after the other. He hastily turned away from the ghost and lifted his mask just enough to wipe them away from his face, but he couldn’t stop.
“Your Highness,” Wu Ming said quietly from behind him, a hand lifted as if wanting to touch him, but not daring to do so.
Did he really make this ghost fear him that much?
The thought of it suddenly overwhelmed Xie Lian to the point he couldn’t stand up anymore. His knees buckled under him, while his hands stayed on his face, right under the mask.
Of course he had, that’s all he’d been doing this far. He’d been treating him like nothing more than just a tool, a means to an end. He had just said as much to him, of course he would be afraid.
And yet… He still said his title with such reverence, such respect. He refused to call him anything else.
“ Perhaps there are still those who believe in you .”
“ Please let me follow you by your side.”
“...Why?”
“Why what, Your Highness?” Wu Ming asked carefully.
“Why would you say that? Why would you ask me to let you stay with me?”
After a pause where the ghost didn’t reply, he spoke up again, “Why would you say that after I just threatened you?”
For a long time, only the sound of Xie Lian’s sniffing could be heard in the temple, only broken by Wu Ming’s quiet reply.
“Because I want to stay with you.”
A sob escaped him again before he turned to the ghost and held him by his collar, shaking him as he asked, “But why?! Why do you want to stay? You’re a powerful ghost and I have no spiritual energy! You could easily take me down and leave! Go to your beloved! Why would you want to stay?!”
It didn’t make any sense!
“Why would you say that, when you have nothing good to gain from me?” Xie Lian said weekly, his hold on Wu Ming’s collar loosening, “I can’t even let you have your revenge… I can’t even do that…”
Xie Lian stayed there, holding onto the ghost for a long time to the point he began to notice the awkward position he was in, but before he could step away, Wu Ming brought his hands up, one resting on top of Xie Lian’s, and the other barely touching his face, in a soft, almost-there caress, before it pulled away.
It made Xie Lian’s heart stop for a moment, turning slightly to find his mask had fallen when he hastily turned earlier.
“You ask me why I want to stay with you?” Wu Ming spoke up at last, making Xie Lian hold his breath while his eyes remained glued to the mask on the ground.
“Because, while in my eyes you’re still my prince, my one and only god, I know maybe better than anyone else, that you’re still a human too.” Wu Ming explained quietly, “You may not die… But you can still bleed.”
This made Xie Lian finally look up to see the ghost, still wearing that smiling mask, but Xie Lian was sure what was hidden behind it was a pained look.
“Your Highness,” Wu Ming continued with Xie Lian’s entire focus now on him, “Ever since I was young, I looked up to you, I worked hard to become strong for you. And as the war went on, I could see how tired you grew, how much pain you had to bear on your own, how the stress was eating you up.”
“You can still get hurt. I know that… Just as much as you do, maybe even more,” Wu Ming took an unnecessary deep, shaky breath before he continued, “So I want to stay so I can protect you, because right now, not only do I want to protect you from that monster, but I also want to protect you from yourself.”
“What?” Xie Lian whispered, now fully letting go of the ghost’s collar, but Wu Ming’s hands still held onto his.
What is it that this ghost can see in him?
“My parents are dead. They… Are gone because they couldn’t bear being a burden to me or anyone else.” Xie Lian murmured to himself, but he could feel how Wu Ming clutched his hands in comfort, “Feng Xin left, because he didn’t want to see the failure I’ve become, robbing others and being on the verge of madness each passing day. Mu Qing, Qi Rong, everyone… They stopped believing in me a long time ago. So why don’t you?”
Why couldn’t he hate him like everyone else? Why wouldn’t he leave?
“I will never forget you! ” He remembered a distant voice calling out to him a few years ago. A young man speaking with such fervor it made him actually believe his naïve promise.
Before Xie Lian could delve on that thought, Wu Ming let go of his hands and stepped out of the temple. It made Xie Lian’s heart drop for a moment, before he realized… This is it. At least the separation wasn’t as painful as when everyone else left…
But just as quickly as he left, Wu Ming came back.
It took a moment for Xie Lian to believe he was actually back, and when he did, the first thing he noticed was the small white flower being held out for him.
“What?” He whispered. He’d been doing that a lot during this conversation, but it was impossible to understand what was going on with this strange man.
“Because I made a promise to you, to never forget you.”
Xie Lian gasped in surprise, but before he could say anything, Wu Ming spoke up first, “You may not have your kingdom, or be in Heaven, or have any powers. You may have gotten drunk in a graveyard, robbed and created a plan to destroy Yong’An, and while I will always do what you ask me to without a second doubt, I can also see the man I remember from back then.”
Wu Ming, very carefully, lifted the flower to Xie Lian’s head, and when the prince didn’t scold him or stepped away, he tucked the flower over his ear, gently caressing the ear before carefully bringing Xie Lian forward to give him a light, yet heart-felt hug.
He hadn’t been hugged like this in a long time… The last time, it was Bai Wuxiang who did it.
It felt genuine, but Xie Lian knew, from the discomfort and uneasiness he felt, that it was all fake. It was Bai Wuxiang’s way of manipulating him, to get Xie Lian to trust him.
But this… This is real.
“You don’t want to do this.” Wu Ming said right next to his ear, “This 3-day wait… You’re stalling, aren’t you?”
For a moment, Xie Lian narrowed his eyes in annoyance, feeling once more like he was being reproached for not going through with his plan, as if he was a coward, but as quickly as the thought came to him, it was gone, knowing that wasn’t what Wu Ming meant.
“After everything, I still see the kind man that saved a poor, cursed boy from death, or paid with the little money he had left a bunch of ghost fire lamps and set them free, now refusing to destroy the kingdom that took everything from him. How could I not believe in you?”
Xie Lian held his breath for a long time before letting out a shaky exhale once more, his eyes filling with tears again. Noticing Xie Lian never really returned the hug, Wu Ming slowly backed away and took the crumpled flower from the ground and carefully tried to fix it, though in vain.
“I will only leave if you ask me to, but for as long as you let me, I will stay by your side,” Wu Ming then turned to meet Xie Lian’s dazed gaze and said, “I will help you with your plan if you wish to pursue it, to destroy everything and leave nothing behind, and it would be my honor to be of use to you through it all, even if it costs me my life. But… If you wish to stop this, then I will help you fix it.”
It took a long time for Xie Lian to gather his thoughts before he quietly asked, “How?” When Wu Ming turned his head slightly to the side in confusion, he asked again, “How could we stop this? The souls… They’re already riled up. And… Bai Wuxiang. He’s after me. He’ll come after us if I don’t do this.”
“We can find a way, Your Highness,” Wu Ming took his hands again, the broken flower cupped between them, “We can leave this place, go away and find a way to fix this. I promise we can think of something.”
“And you…?” Xie Lian wanted to ask again, still in disbelief.
Wu Ming huffed a quiet laugh before saying, “I will be with you through it all.”
Xie Lian released with a heavy sigh the breath he’d been holding before leaning forward, catching Wu Ming in a tight embrace.
“I love the flowers… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
“It’s ok, Your Highness. It’s ok…”
-.-.-.-
Five months later, Xie Lian was still a bit anxious.
A few days ago, Xie Lian and Wu Ming found a nice abandoned cottage in the middle of a flowery meadow 3 days ago, and for the first time since they arrived, they could finally take a break from cleaning and fixing it. Now, Xie Lian was resting on the green grass watching the few clouds on the clear blue sky, breathing in the soft scent from the flowers. He tried to relax, take in the beautiful scenery and not worry about anything else, but it was difficult not to…
Just as Bai Wuxiang had said, the souls became restless after two more days of waiting without being released, and just as Xie Lian had feared, the Calamity had been chasing after them as they fled far away from Yong’An.
What he didn’t account for, was that that had been their plan all along.
After luring Bai Wuxiang away, and after a long time spent coercing the souls into changing their source of hatred, they managed to hit the Calamity with them, his pained screams bringing deep satisfaction to Xie Lian and Wu Ming.
It also gave them enough time to escape. They weren’t completely sure if Bai Wuxiang was killed from that, but they knew for sure that it’d take him a long time to come back from that attack, if he ever did.
The uncertainty was enough to make Xie Lian wonder constantly about the Calamity’s state. He tried thinking about other things, like what he and Wu Ming would eat and about the strange fevers his friend had been having lately.
He hoped these fevers weren’t dangerous.
“Your Highness!” Wu Ming called out as he all but ran to him, with his hands behind his back.
Xie Lian took a deep breath and smiled as he exhaled, slowly sitting up to look at the ghost kneeling next to him.
“Hong’Er… I already told you not to call me that.” He said not as a reproach, but a gentle chiding.
“I can’t help it…” Wu Ming tilted his head to the side playfully.
The sight was so endearing that Xie Lian couldn’t help but reach out and pet his head, laughing quietly when Wu Ming seemed to freeze at the touch before leaning into it.
Slowly, Xie Lian took the chance to remove the mask, placing it carefully on the grass as he took him in.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen the ghost without it, but it always managed to take his breath away.
“I haven’t been a prince for a few years now, and I want us to be equals, so you really don’t have to call me that anymore,” He insisted again, caressing the pale, handsome face that looked at him shyly.
“I’m afraid I can’t fully agree,” His mismatched eyes shone as he carefully took what he’d been hiding behind his back, up to Xie Lian’s head, placing it carefully on him, “Because no matter what happens, you will always be my prince, my one and only god.”
Xie Lian reached up to feel a bunch of flowers on his head, a crown of them, to be precise. From what he could see, there were multiple sizes and colors, all carefully selected to be perfect. A few small butterflies fluttered close, dancing around his head before getting comfortable on the crown.
He looked back to see Wu Ming smiling at the butterflies, then back at him, with so much… admiration - or maybe even love - shining through his eyes.
Love… Could it really be?
Could his ghost, his friend, be…?
“Your Highness?” Wu Ming asked with concern, noticing Xie Lian’s wide eyed gaze.
Xie Lian smiled, picking up a flower from the ones around them and tucking it over Wu Ming’s ear, then caressing his face once more as he leaned closer, feeling breathless. Wu Ming took in an unnecessary breath as he did.
“My beautiful flower,” Xie Lian’s smile widened when he noticed Wu Ming’s eyes looking down at his lips, “My most loyal believer.”
“My god…” Wu Ming said as he unconsciously got closer too, “My beloved.” He whispered too quietly for anyone to hear, but of course, Xie Lian would always listen to his last believer’s prayers, closing the distance between them.
A ghost refusing to move on to stay in this world with him - or rather, for him - for love .
It seemed almost too good to be true. What did he ever do to deserve such a blessing?
“Will you teach me how to make a crown of flowers?” Xie Lian asked shyly after they parted, the soft sound of their lips separating making the prince blush deeply.
The sight seemed to take the ghost’s (fake) breath away, looking at him with so much awe he steeled himself before leaning forward again, kissing Xie Lian more firmly this time, with Xie Lian making a noise of surprise before kissing back just as enthusiastically.
“Of course,” Wu Ming said breathlessly, smiling unlike Xie Lian had ever seen.
And just like that, they spent the entire day making flower crowns, brading the smaller ones that couldn’t be in the crowns into each other’s hair, and looking for shapes on the clouds, all while kissing whenever their eyes met, and never letting go of each others’ hands.
They still had a few things to worry about, and the future was uncertain, but for now, they were in their own little world, happy to know they would never have to be alone ever again.
.°˖❀ FIN ❀˖°.