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Xie Lian hummed a happy melody as he began chopping fresh spring onions to put into his soup. The village chief had dropped by and brought a basket of vegetables again, having seen San Lang tilling the rice paddy fields that morning.
A knock came at his door and he placed down his knife. “San Lang?” When the person kept knocking insistently, he concluded it wasn’t his ghost supreme.
Xie Lian came to greet the mysterious stranger who kept hammering at his door, expecting an assertive door-to-door merchant when a blur of white and mint green filled his vision.
Warm arms wrapped around his neck and the bright face of his long-lost friend smiled up at him. “L-Lord Wind Master!!” Xie Lian’s arms came up to return the man’s embrace.
“Your Highness!!” Shi Qingxuan’s voice was full of unbridled mirth. Tears of joy beaded at the corner of his eyes.
A barrage of questions was about to fall from his lips but it was stopped short by the sight of a brooding man in dark robes, barely a few feet away.
This was the first time Xie Lian had seen the former Earth Master in his true form face-to-face. He stood now as He Xuan, otherwise known as Black Water Sinking Ships. His facial features belied no emotions as he watched the touching reunion, hands folded in front of him and hidden in his long sleeves.
“Lord Wind Master, get back!” Xie Lian maneuvered his friend behind him and into the protection of Puqi Shrine.
He Xuan only raised a curious eyebrow in response.
“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Shi Qingxuan ducked under the highness’s outstretched arm and ran in front of He Xuan. He shielded the towering ghost supreme with his smaller, slighter body. With the radiant god in front of the gloomy ghost demon, Xie Lian likened the visage to an eclipse—when the brilliant sun covered the shadowy moon in its light.
“I’m okay! We’re okay!” He gestured emphatically between himself and He Xuan, his arms waving so wildly that both Xie Lian and the ghost demon wondered if Shi Qingxuan was about to take flight.
The ever cautious Xie Lian was still suspicious, but if He Xuan had truly followed Shi Qingxuan here to finish him off, Ruoye would already have bound him by now. As his eyes narrowed upon the demon, he could not miss the way Black Water’s harsh gaze softened as he looked at the Wind Master so ardently defending him (as if one of the four ghost calamities needed protection). The golden gleam of his eyes melted into soft amber and that was… a new development. Especially considering the scene Xie Lian had last witnessed at the Black Water Manor.
“Did Crimson Rain not tell you we were visiting today?” Shi Qingxuan asked to clear the air. Xie Lian noticed a verdant fan in his hand, and wondered if He Xuan had gifted that to him as a replacement for the one he broke. He eyed his robes now, too, and the clothes must have been bought anew given there were no tattered edges or traces of blood.
Now it was Xie Lian’s eyebrows that furrowed in confusion. “No…?” But he remembered something San Lang had offhandedly said at breakfast. “But he did mention that he had a surprise for me today.”
Black Water rolled his eyes, not at all surprised by Hua Cheng’s flagrant equivocality. “Typical.”
Xie Lian had recently asked Crimson Rain about his old friend since more than a year had passed after the ‘incident’, but Hua Cheng had claimed they were still not in touch. But perhaps, it spurred Crimson Rain to reach out to Black Water. Not that he cared for the Wind Master’s wellbeing, but he would literally do anything to put a smile on Xie Lian’s face.
Speaking of the devil, Hua Cheng walked up the hillside path and lazily smiled at the scene before him, not at all surprised by his fellow ghost supreme’s visit. He morphed from his human form into his ghost king one since He Xuan was not in disguise. “Hello, Dianxia. It seems your surprise has arrived earlier than expected.”
“Why don’t I… prepare some tea?” Xie Lian said to try and dispel the immense pressure that had fallen above Puqi Shrine. It wasn’t as if there was any active animosity and a fight was going to break out. But two heavenly beings and two great calamities were all collected in one spot and even the air sparked due to their synergy.
“Oohh! I’ll help!!” Shi Qingxuan clapped his hands, a merry levity returning to his demeanor as he followed his friend inside the shrine. “He-Xiong and I brought some lavender tea leaves! We bought it from a coastal village by the Southern Sea as a welcoming present!”
Xie Lian tried not to react to the overly warm term of endearment that was once directed towards ‘Ming-Xiong’. Things really had changed since he had last seen them. Also, the thought of Black Water and “welcoming” tied together in the same sentence was even more difficult to process.
—————
Half an incense time passed and now the heavenly beings were serving their demon counterparts with the soothing, lavender tea.
There was a small wooden table on the side of the shrine, crafted by Hua Cheng himself for his Dianxia. They often sat here and had lunch as they discussed the changing of the seasons.
Since Hua Cheng had built it specifically for Xie Lian, the table could only seat two. So now it was Crimson Rain and Black Water who sat by the side of the dilapidated shrine. The Scrap God almost thought it to be comical, seeing the small piece of meek wood bend underneath two of the most powerful beings from Hell as their vibrant robes spilled over it.
Shi Qingxuan came out to place two small cups in front of the supremes, while Xie Lian dutifully poured the herbal tea.
The Wind Master grabbed two baskets for himself and Xie Lian. “His Highness and I are going to pick some mandarins!” The harvest was bountiful this time of year since autumn had finally come. The fruit would be sweet and bursting, its marmalade skin ready to be peeled with a press of a fingernail.
“I’ll leave it to you two to catch up!” Shi Quinxuan winked and Xie Lian sweat dropped at the inane suggestion. He pulled the Scrap God along before Xie Lian could say a word.
The space between He Xuan’s eyebrows pinched, not even sparing Hua Cheng a glance. ‘Catch up on what exactly?’
The two ghost demons watched their gods head out into the line of trees. Suddenly, Shi Qingxuan turned around and waved excitedly and shouted, “Don’t worry, Xuan-gege! I won’t be out of your sight for long!” His enthusiasm was that of a person leaving their loved one for a trip spanning several days, possibly weeks, not one that would probably take less than an hour.
The pallor of Black Water’s cheeks reddened with the slightest tint and he said nothing in response. Hua Cheng only snorted, amused to see embarrassment on his fellow ghost supreme’s face but spared He Xuan any disdainful remark.
And so, the silence stretched between them and the two were fine with time passing along like that. Despite having worked together for hundreds of years, they were nowhere near the disgusting state of “friends”. They weren’t even anywhere near “colleagues” or “acquaintances” because even those terms had a slightly positive connotation. What relationship can one have really—between a debtor and a debtee? The only reason Hua Cheng had spared any semblance of kindness between them was because of Xie Lian’s fondness for Shi Qingxuan.
He Xuan closed his eyes for a long time and entered a pseudo state of meditation. He was content on letting the dead air around them fester and devour the passing of time. Perhaps an hour had passed before Hua Cheng suddenly spoke, shattering their mutually beneficial silence.
“Ah, so it seems you finally fucked the former Wind Master?”
He Xuan’s eyes shot open, threatening to bulge out of his skull. “What?!”
Such a crass statement was completely uncalled for… but not untrue. “How did you—wha—why are you—?”
Hua Cheng cut off his bumbling questions. “It took you long enough. You know, I had a bet with Yin Yu that you would take him right after you killed that brother of his.”
He Xuan refused to give Crimson Rain even more of an upper hand and declined to answer with any affirmatives. Instead he asked, “how long have you known…?”
To feelings he was oblivious to himself? To the strange and inexplicable way he was drawn to the Wind Master? He let the rest of the question hang in the air.
Hua Cheng sipped a cup of his tea, long since gone cold—much like the two ghost supremes. “I’ve been forced to listen to you yap about him in your reports for the past few hundred years. It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.”
He Xuan pursed his lips, hating how obvious his past self was to everyone but himself, so he chose to redirect the subject. “Why are you bringing up such a crude topic out of the blue?”
Crimson Rain raised his eyebrow as if to wonder why his fellow supreme would ask a question with such an obvious answer. He tilted his chin forward.
“You know they’re comparing our dick sizes as we speak, right?”
If He Xuan had a breath, it would have seized him. His head whipped around to see Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian back from their stroll, baskets filled to the brim with ripe mandarins.
They were still far enough away that the demons could not hear their conversations, even with their heightened senses. Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian were holding up their palms as if about to clap. But they were widening it. The Wind Master stopped after reaching a certain gap, while his friend continued for a beat longer.
“N—no, they’re… comparing the lengths of above average-sized daggers.” He Xuan sputtered, doubtful of his own declaration.
Hua Cheng hummed as he rested his cheek on his closed fist, unconvinced. “Oh, Black Water,” he tutted, “is this really the type of espionage I’ve been paying you for? Perhaps we should re-negotiate your rate?”
Such a comment usually would have pissed him off so much that he would send a torrential rain powerful enough to flood a village, but he could only stare back at the godly duo with rapt attention.
Shi Qingxuan had grabbed Xie Lian’s hands and rotated them vertically to move them to his stomach, still keeping the same length. The Wind Master opened his mouth wide to ‘wow’ at whatever fact he just discovered while the Scrap God was deeply blushing.
“His Highness of Xianle would never discuss such crude matters,” He Xuan insisted, but even he sounded uncertain. His eyes couldn’t help but dip down to where Hua Cheng had crossed his legs. If the ‘dagger’ that Xie Lian was talking about was on Crimson Rain’s person, then it was perhaps one to two centimeters longer than He Xuan’s… own ‘preferred’ blade.
Crimson Rain arched an eyebrow, challenging Black Water to see if he wanted any sort of confirmation. He Xuan absolutely did not.
“Of course, my demure Highness would never bring up such matters, but wouldn’t the Wind Master?” Hua Cheng said with a knowing smirk. They both turned back to watch the pair once more. Xie Lian had one arm crossed in front of his torso while the other hand curled in front of his chin in contemplation, listening to Shi Qingxuan’s avid explanation of something ineffable.
Shi Qingxuan held up a hand with two fingers in a ‘V’, spreading the digits achingly slow with a proud and wide smirk. As his fingers grew wider, Xie Lian’s eyebrows raised higher and higher.
“Oh, so it does seem you do have me beat in one area.” Hua Cheng sounded nonplussed, not at all bothered by the discovery. Regardless of the size of the weapon, it all depended on how the wielder used it anyhow.
He Xuan shot up out of his chair, his tolerance for any more conversation with Crimson Rain completely depleted. They needed to vacate the premises immediately before Shi Qingxuan started curling his finger to compare the curve of their—
“Shi Qingxuan!!” His bellowing voice cut across the forest and caught the attention of the two gods.
“We are leaving!”
Shi Qingxuan pouted in disappointment as they made their way back to the supremes.
When they bridged the distance, Shi Qingxuan voiced his complaint, not bothering to hide his whining. “But we just got here, Xuan-gege.” He was laying it on thick, the term of endearment oozing with coyness.
“We are leaving now.” He Xuan’s tone left no room for argument. Any other time, the batting of their long eyelashes and the pout of their plump lips would have had the ghost supreme caving immediately, but Crimson Rain was standing right there and He Xuan needed to keep up some semblance of dignity.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Xie Lian began, “I was just about to start dinner.”
Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan both blanched at the offer and shared a look, which was like a telepathy even quicker and clearer than words spoken through the communication array. It was something built upon years and years of time spent together.
“O-oh, umm—I just remembered. He-Xiong and I had plans to eat out at Ghost City.” He Xuan hurriedly went to Puqi shrine’s door to draw the teleportation array.
Hua Cheng didn’t care to stop them or mind the obvious attempt to flee at the offer of his Dianxia’s cooking, since that meant he had another night of Xie Lian all to himself.
As He Xuan prepared their exit, Shi Qingxuan twirled a fan around himself. A gust swirled through the trees, and the god before them was now a woman.
Xie Lian’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Black Water must have been sharing his spirit energy with the former Wind Master for him to be able to do such things. He must have done so to extend Shi Qingxuan’s life as well, so that he can continue living long past a mortal. After the story Shi Qingxuan told him, he can truly see now how their relationship had transformed.
Still, he was confused by the sudden change of gender. “Wait, Lor—Lady Wind Master, why did you change into a woman?”
Shi Qingxuan snapped her fan closed and hid her curled lips behind it. “Ohoho, more often than not, ghosts or human males try to hit on me while I’m in my female form and then I get to watch He Xuan beat them up behind an alley.”
Xie Lian had no idea how to react to that. “O-oh…,” he coughed, “you two have a very unique way of spending time with one another,” he responded as diplomatically as he could.
Shi Qingxuan laughed as she began to peel a mandarin. She inquired about Xie Lian and Hua Cheng’s evening plans while her love finished drawing the array.
He Xuan came back to the group soon after. “It’s time to go,” he said without much aplomb. Before he could move, Shi Qingxuan placed a slice of the small, fresh fruit in his mouth. Her fingertip pressed upon his sharp canine before dragging it down his bottom lip. Only he can see her sultry, defiant expression as the sweet tanginess bursted in his mouth.
Xie Lian surmised that these two had probably only been alone together for the past year, not used to having witnesses for their… charged displays of affection.
Black Water grabbed her thin wrist, not looking at anyone but her. “We can… visit again.”
She had to tiptoe to wrap her slender arms around his neck since their height difference had grown more vast now that they were opposite genders. “Oh, He-Xiong! Thank you!!” She had gotten her request fulfilled without even having to voice it.
He Xuan made the mistake of making eye contact with Crimson Rain before he turned around to leave.
’You are so whipped.’ His one eye had clearly glinted.
‘Shut the fuck up. ’ He Xuan glared back in kind.
Xie Lian watched the Wind Master dotingly grab onto Black Water’s arm, even more surprised that he let her without a single complaint. Lady Wind Master turned to wave a heartfelt goodbye and then they were gone with the wind.
After they departed, Xie Lian marveled, “wow, those two were made for one another.”
His San Lang hummed.
Xie Lian reached out to grab Hua Cheng’s hand, interlocking their fingers. He smiled lovingly up at his own ghost supreme. “And so are we.”
The End.