#and xie lian falls for him each time

[whatmattersisyou]

Most difficult question ever: who's practicing swordsmanship in front of them?

[symphonyofsilence]

At all times, I'm thinking about how Mu Qing who for almost 800 years thought that Xie Lian despised him, who was always prone to misunderstanding and when not a single heavenly official would believe that Xie Lian's third ascension's incidents were unintentional & not even Ling Wen believed that Xie Lian really didn't recognize Mu Qing, he must have been certain that Xie Lian threw the clock on him and pretended not to know him in the communication array on purpose, mere hours later the moment that XL asked for aid volunteered to help him! In disguise! Because he just wanted to help! He expected nothing in return! No gratitude, no forgiveness, no making amends, and even though he wanted to be His Highness' F word for 800 years (HIS NAME LITERALLY MEANS TO YEARN FOR AFFECTION!), no friendship. In fact, he must have been sure that his help was unwanted & made an extra effort to make it anonymous since the last time he tried to help XL he got chased out by a broom (& still he left the rice with them). But none of it mattered because he didn't want Xie Lian to go on a mission alone & without his spiritual powers. he wanted to make sure that XL was safe. he just genuinely wanted to help! As he always does!

[mini-godzilla]

How I think each MXTX protagonist would adapt to technology:

SQQ: we all know exactly how this man utilizes the internet. It got him killed and he is not the type to learn from his mistakes

Wei Wuxian: this man would go on a Wikipedia deep dive that surpasses the Mariana Trench in depth. Three weeks in he’s learning how to code his own ghost detecting app.

Xie Lian: It is easier to teach your grandmother how to order a pizza online than explain google to this man. He just looks so kindly confused the whole time. Secretly, he understands it perfectly and is just playing a funny joke on you. He enjoys watching sword videos and sending outdated memes to Hua Cheng.

As for the love interests:

LBH: He loves the recipes, and the ability to keep track of someone else’s phone at all times. However he will fry that laptop in an instant if he thinks his Shizun loves it more than spending time with him.

Lan Wangji: He uses it for three things in order of importance: cute rabbit pictures, guqin music he hasn’t heard, and porn

Hua Cheng: he would quickly become obsessed with taking the perfect selfie. Xie Lian finds the trash folder on his phone and falls in love with all the reject pictures. To his husband’s horror he makes a collage of them and sets them as his phone background.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

TGCF couples at the beach

Because i want to go to the beach so bad rn

HuaLian:

Hua Cheng isnt too fond of the sun or the water but gege said he'd like to go so they're going.

Everything is fancy and luxurious, only the best for gege.

A large beach bed with a canopy, drinks and snacks served at all times, the whole nine yards.

He wears those fancy sunscreen lotions with foreign names cause he may be dead but he also burns easily and turns into a big baby about it.

Xie Lian insists they dont need to do all that and can just chill in the sand with a towel, which Hua Cheng finds preposterous.

They have a big ass umbrella over the canopy bed too cause the sun is a deadly laser.

So much affection - cuddling, kissing, being all sweet and lovey, feeding each other watermelon and gathering seashells

Theyre sickeningly sweet

Hua Cheng is able to keep his hands to himself for about 5 seconds max

If there are any noisy kids or families around, Hua Cheng sends Yin Yu to scare them off

(They take Yin Yu with for this express purpise but hey free all inclusive vacation, a win is a win)

Xie Lian never burns ever and refuses to wear sunscreen. Hua Cheng pouts about it because 1) dont want gege to get a sunburn and 2) cant teasingly rub lotion over him smh

Hua Cheng builds one of those fancy sand statues of Xie Lian and he thinks its the most romantic thing ever

It is

So many kisses in the water and swimming together all lovey

Hua Cheng is never seen not drinking a margarita

"You do not need to keep your swim trunks that low, San Lang." "Gege, tan lines are terrible."

BeefLeaf

SQX cant get He Xuan out of the water once they arrive to the beach. Nope. That is his habitat now. He belongs to the fishes.

SQX rents out beach chairs by the bar because how can one tan without a drink in hand?

Skimpy swimsuits because SQX also abides by the tan lines are the devil mentality

Manages to get He Xuan out of the water with the promise of ice cream

Talking shit about everyone around while eating ice cream and drinking martinis

So many seashells. He Xuan gives them to SQX as an offering aw

"XuanXuan you cant drown people that say indecent things about me!" "Who says" "the law??"

He Xuan brings SQX little fish he catches if they look colorful or pretty

"XuanXuan, put some tanning oil on my back!" And He Xuan spends like 10 mins trying to find the correct bottle because SQX brought like 50 and the tanning oil SQX wants looks like literally every other bottle there

So many selfies

He Xuan digs tunnels in the sand whenever he isnt in the water. SQX has to talk him into not using the Earth Master shovel

Theyre checking out hot people together

He Xuan puts on sunglasses to pretend he isnt staring at SQX

"XuanXuan you cant throw jellyfish at children!!"

SQX flirts their way into free drinks and He Xuan broods about it but also he is deeply in debt so he can't turn down free shit lmao

FengQing

Arguing, so much arguing, but hey thats their love language

"Thats a shit spot for a towel" "okay find a better one then" "here!" "Thats like a foot away whats the difference??"

Feng Xin refuses to put on sunscreen cause he thinks its not manly

"You cant beat the fucking sun, Feng Xin!"

Mu Qing refuses to get his hair wet. Feng Xin makes it a point to dunk him in the water at least once

Feng Xin falls asleep in the sun like an old man and Mu Qing draws dicks on him with sunscreen lmfao

They argue about who goes to get drinks and snacks and just end up going together

Feng Xin insists to exclusively drink beer until he tries one of Mu Qing's deadly cocktail combinations and hes hooked. He insists they add a little umbrella to his drink now so he and Mu Qing match

Sand castles competition turned chasing into the waves turned underwater kisses

Mu Qing judges everyone and Feng Xin cant help adding in to the commentary because its surprisingly entertaining

Beach sports! Theyre so competitive too so its extra fun and they make bets over everything

[niki-phoria]

I'D GIVE YOU ALL THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE

pairing: xie lian x gn!reader (no pronouns used) genre: fluff/comfort word count: 472

notes: tgcf has taken over my mind so enjoy some (possibly ooc ??) xie lian nightmare comfort lol, set at puqi shrine before xie lian meets hua cheng, title from the 1975 - i couldn't be more in love

your body jolts upright as you’re forcibly ripped out of your dream. you can feel your heart pounding wildly in your chest. shivers run down your spine as you blink a few times, desperately willing your eyes to adjust to the darkness quicker. 

in your disorientation, you quickly scan the room for any danger. the fabric xie lian had hung up as a makeshift door flaps quietly in the wind. a few stray offerings sit on the edge of a nearby table. a stream of moonlight shines in through a small hole in the roof, illuminating the small shrine just enough for you to make out xie lian’s worried figure staring at you. 

“y/n?” his voice is quiet, as if you’re a small animal that will bolt at the first sight of danger. xie lian pauses for a second as if to search for the right words before finally settling on, “are you alright?”

“yeah,” you breathe. you run a shaky hand through your hair, taking a shallow breath. “i’m fine.”

xie lian doesn’t believe you. he’s smart enough to recognize the signs of anxiety. he’s known you for long enough to know exactly which nightmares plague your dreams. even the exhaustion of traveling for hours on foot isn’t enough to starve off the horrors that live inside of your mind. 

xie lian turns, reaching over to grab his boots. “why don’t i go get you some water? it’s been a while since you had anything to drink.” 

“wait,” your hand catches xie lian’s wrist before you can stop yourself. disguised by the darkness of the night, a flush rises to both of your cheeks. your grip around his hand loosens, but you don’t pull away completely. “stay?” your voice is barely a whisper; it’s all but swallowed by the quiet of the night. “please.”

xie lian’s gaze lingers on your hand for a second before he looks up into your eyes once again. your touch ignites goosebumps along his skin. since the fall of xianle, he had long since forgotten what it felt like to be touched with care. 

despite his reservations, xie lian curtly nods. “alright,” he murmurs, settling down on the straw mat beside you once again. 

the ground is uncomfortable, but it’s nothing you’re not used to. xie lian lays facing you; even with your eyes closed you can feel him studying each of your features. you can feel the mat move slightly as he shuffles closer. he props his head against his arm like a makeshift pillow.

you tense momentarily when xie lian reaches over, gingerly resting his hand on top of your own. despite the cold night, his skin is warm. his fingers gently trace along the grooves of your knuckles. “try to get some sleep,” he whispers. “i’ll be here when you wake up.”

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[xielianlover2]

I want to talk about unconditional forgiveness and how crucial it is for Xie Lian to have someone who offers it to him with no strings attached.

Throughout Xie Lian's life, he experiences numerous falls from grace, each one more devastating than the last. He goes from being a beloved crown prince and a renowned god to a figure of scorn and bad luck. The weight of his past and the suffering he has endured often make him question his own worthiness and ability to protect others.

Which is why, for Xie Lian, Hua Cheng's forgiveness is a lifeline. Knowing that there is someone who believes in him, no matter what, allows Xie Lian to forgive himself and move forward. In a world where divine beings are often portrayed as infallible, we see by the end, that pretty much every god has their own flaws and that even those with immense power are not immune to making grievous errors in judgment.

I think Hua Cheng’s forgiveness also symbolizes a deeper, transformative love. It’s a love that goes beyond mere acceptance; it’s a commitment, a promise, a vow to stand by Xie Lian no matter what, and that's what makes his love so rare and beautiful. It's such a stark contrast to the judgment Xie Lian has faced from his people and other gods. While his own friends basically turned their backs on him, Hua Cheng remained his most loyal and devoted believer. His cheerleader, for a lack of better words. Hua Cheng embodies the truest form of compassion– understanding and embracing someone wholly.

Hua Cheng's love and acceptance allow Xie Lian to feel seen and understood in a way that no one else has ever provided. This kind of forgiveness is not about overlooking mistakes or pretending they didn't happen; rather, it's about recognizing the entirety of a person's journey and choosing to embrace them regardless.

Hua Cheng's acceptance allows Xie Lian to be vulnerable about his deepest fears and struggles. It also gives him the ability to ask for something he needs for himself:

"All right... don't say any more. I get it... but... but don't be like this, all right? San Lang? I... I've borrowed so much spiritual power from you that I haven't repaid. And I'm not done telling you all the things that I wanted to say; there's still so much. It's been so long since anyone listened to me talk. Won't you stay? Don't.. don't do this. I won't be able to take it. Twice, it's happened twice already-I really don't want there to be a third time!"

In this moment, Xie Lian’s plea reveals how extremely isolating his life has been. He has been perpetually misunderstood, and I believe that even before his first ascension, he has always felt profoundly alone. Throughout his life, Xie Lian has been surrounded by people who either see him through the lens of his past or view him as a mere symbol; a divine god, so therefore flawless and someone beyond approach. It strips away his humanity and the complexities of his true self, unable to be seen as a person with real feelings and imperfections. Even his Feng Xin and Mu Qing put him up in a pedestal, and no matter what happened, no matter how understandable it was, everyone still left him in the end.

Then, to have someone say they understand his everything, from his wisdom to his foolishness, and then also wholeheartedly support him and unconditionally love him? That they never, ever left him, that they've always been there, constant and unchanging in their love, in their devotion? That must have felt life-changing to him. Something groundbreaking and pivotal.

He is essentially begging for the one person who understands him completely—and who accepts him unconditionally despite everything—not to leave him. When Xie Lian begs Hua Cheng to stay, it is not just a request for physical presence but a desperate need for emotional reassurance and acceptance. For Hua Cheng is Xie Lian's safe haven where he can express his deepest fears and unspoken desires, a place of solace and affirmation that he has long been missing from everyone else.

[mikaela-the-slut-expert]

Can you do more angst scenarios where male reader feels like they’re a third wheel and left out? I’m a sucker for angst despite how much it hurts 😭😭

Don't Leave

Hua Cheng x M!reader x Xie Lian

Sorry it took so long, forgive me 🧍

Will make more sense if you've read the book.

Hope you likeee

Ignore grammar mistakes

____________________________________

"Xie Lian, do you like San Lang?"

You had asked out of nowhere. Xie Lian glances at you for a moment and smiles. "I do"

"Very Much?" You press.

"I suppose" He smiles nervously

It was a random question. You and Xie Lian were in Puqi shrine, the morning after San Lang had left. After San Lang left Xie Lian a ring.

It made you feel strange. You love Xie Lian very much and you like San Lang too. However the ring suddenly made you feel lesser.

Recently you guys have had a third helper and San Lang has kind of taken your job. He protected both of you and was very helpful. Yet, you feel a certain itch because of it.

Because Xie Lian likes San Lang.

You feel selfish. You wouldn't have minded so much if Xie Lian had shown interest in both of you but he seems very caught up in San Lang right now. It feels like San Lang is threatening your spot.

It's always been your job to be by Xie Lian's side. You always have been. Always. You grew up together, you stayed with him after the fall of Xian Le, even afterwards when Xie Lian had done morally wrong things you stayed, even when he wanted you to leave with Feng Xin you stayed.

Xie Lian has always been your person. You've always been his person. Lately you've just been feeling left out. San Lang and Xie Lian had been perfectly fine at Banyue Pass by themselves. You had ignored your feelings of jealousy during that time, but after seeing the ring you can't help but feel it ten times worse.

You chalk it up as overthinking and shove the feelings of jealousy down your throat. You have no right to feel these things. Xie Lian shouldn't have to deal with them either. What right do you have to cling on him when he isn't yours? You guys aren't dating and Xie Lian has never expressed love for you.

You ignore it

♡

The feeling you hate so much comes back again. Xie Lian, you, the wind master, and Lan Qinqao all went to ghost city. There was supposed to be a purpose but you never cared. You only went because Xie Lian went. Obviously he would've been fine because guess who's been watching the whole time?

San Lang

San Lang has been here the whole time, he always is it seems. You had to stand there while San Lang and Xie Lian held hands and played dice. You watched as they smiled at each other and touched hands.

It shouldn't idk you so much but it does. The feeling crawls out of your stomach and claws at your throat until you feel yourself physically choking it down. You're being over dramatic. It's just a dice game.

You ignore the glances they send to each other. You don't see the glances they send to you.

♡

The feeling burns on your tongue and churns in your gut when the strange Waning Moon officer -whatever the hell he is- tells Xie Lian that he's invited to Paradise Manor.

Actually you hadn't minded it all. You had walked side by side with Xie Lian ready to see San Lang. You haven't got the chance to talk to him. You were excited, even.

Until the strange officer makes it clear only Xie Lian can come.

So you were just supposed to stay behind? Stand to the side? It upsets you more when Xie Lian only apologizes and says he'll be back to find you. He left you standing there.

You thought you and San Lang were on good terms so why would he not invite you as well?

You chalk it up as a misunderstanding and roam around ghost city. The wind master eventually finds you and the two of you sneak into Paradise Manor dressed as dancers.

Seeing San Lang and Xie Lian on the bed/ couch together helped nothing. It makes you feel worse. They left you out for what? To spend time alone? Being in Paradise Manor felt like hanging around in a place you obviously didn't belong in.

It's a misunderstanding. It's a misunderstanding. It's a misunderstanding. It's a misunderstanding.

You repeat it in your head like a mantra.

♡

Once the incident at Paradise Manor is over you and Xie Lian are finally side by side again. You and San Lang still haven't had the chance to talk. You're hurting but you're positive that you're overreacting. Honestly Xie Lian would never do that to you. You were going to talk about it with him but he was dragged away into court.

Then Xie Lian, basically gets out under house arrest into the Xian Le palace Jun Wu had made him. When you get there Mu Qing and Feng Xin are already there. If you close your eyes you could imagine it being like old times where all four of you are back at the palace running around.

It doesn't last long. A big group of butterflies fly at you all. They don't dare touch Xie Lian. Mu Qing doesn't give you the chance to find out how the butterflies would react to you because he pulls you behind his make shift shield. It seems they doubt your relationship with San Lang too.

When you see San Lang come out of the black pit behind the doors to grab Xie Lian you take your chance though. You aren't just going to stand there. You leave Mu Qing's side and run towards Xie Lian but the doors close on you. The doors close on you. San Lang and Xie Lian left you? Not possible.

You're standing there staring at the doors. You just couldn't believe that they left you to stand there like a fool. It doesn't feel like a misunderstanding, it doesn't feel like overreacting.

Even Mu Qing, who is usually snarky ass, feels bad. He grabs your shoulder gently trying to break you out of your stupor.

"Y/n you should sit this one out. Me and Feng Xin will find them"

"No I-" you blink up at him, lost. "I have to go find A-Lian. He was taken. . ." You point at the door.

Mu Qing's face scrunches. "Xie Lian wasn't taken, he ran off. It was his choice. It was also his choice to leave you y/n. Just let us deal with it."

Mu Qing's words cause him and Feng Xin to bicker but he isn't really lying.

"That isn't what happened, say it as it is! He was obviously taken. Right y/n?" Feng Xin looks at you for support but you can only stare at him like a fish out of water.

"He. . . Ran off"

While you're focused on the door you fail to remember the butterflies hadn't touched you. You fail to notice the die in your robe.

♡

You took Mu Qing's advice and decided to sit this one out. You had never actually been separated by Xie Lian's side before so you don't exactly know what to do while he's running around with San Lang.

You go back inside of XianLe palace and sit where Xie Lian had been sitting before. You have nothing to do besides stare at the table. When you move to sit down something falls out of your pocket though. The closer you look you see it's a die.

Huh, you hadn't noticed that in your robes before. Lucky you it landed on a six. You wish you had that much luck with Xie Lian and San Lang. You pick up the die and hold it in your hands. Your plan was to just play around with it some more but you're suddenly pulled back into a pit of darkness and someone is holding you.

When you look back at your attacker, you see the familiar face of San Lang- well Hua Cheng but he's always been San Lang to you and Xie Lian. "S-san Lang?!"

Your surroundings get clearer and you see Xie Lian too. Honestly you're so happy you could cry, but you don't. You don't know what to say at all because you don't know what's going on. You just allow yourself to be pulled along by San Lang.

Xie Lian and San Lang take a moment to explain what's going on. To explain everything actually. For a minute San Lang looks like he's going to break down and e-ming is making sad squealing sounds.

Turns out everything was a big misunderstanding. San Lang and Xie Lian hadn't meant to leave you out of anything. San Lang had just wanted to do everything for the two of you, he wasn't thinking that his actions seemed like he was taking your job. He had most definitely invited the both of you, and he was very irritated with his officer. San Lang hadn't meant to leave you when he took Xie Lian. That's why he gave you the die. Since Xie Lian rolled the die he was able to get him. He could only come back to grab you once you rolled the day.

It was just a lot of miscommunication, really. You don't realize your crying until Xie Lian is wiping your eyes with his sleeves. You were crying out of relief. You had genuinely thought Xie Lian and San Lang were leaving you out but they were never doing such a thing.

San Lang and Xie Lian are very close to you after that and apprehensive to leave your side at all.

[hishoukoku]

Ok, I am never gonna be over this moment.

I wanna know exactly what Hua Cheng is thinking with this look on his face!!

I want first class premium access to all the thoughts racing in his brain rn because... man....

Hua Cheng has never expected Xie Lian to return his affection and love or to defend him or to fight for him, yet Xie Lian starts feeling it and showing it more and more, as he inevitably falls deeply for Hua Cheng. Now that Xie Lian is in his life again and it's no longer one-sided, it's too much for him. You can tell he hasn't planned for this.

In the novel, he says at some point later down the line that he wants to become stronger to win over his beloved, but he didn't actually realize that 1. it would be so soon and 2. Xie Lian would also feel the need to defend him.

Hua Cheng would give the whole world to Xie Lian without even expecting a "thanks", so when Xie Lian starts actually reciprocating his actions more and more, it leaves him speechless and heart-eyed every time.

They both love each other so much, but don't realize how worthy they are of each other's love and care.

I am in love HuaLian's love!

[apenapaperandadoofus]

(Okok I know I’m in my tgcf post frenzy but it’s bc I’m re reading all of the books for smth important im sorry for posting so much lmao)

BUT LOOK AT THE PARALLELS (idk if I’m hallucinating from both caffeine and 24+ hours of being awake but like…)

When XL and MQ are doing the whole demon vs god thing, XL only whispers his name and MQ immediately understands he needs to retreat, and theyre both in sync, he follows XLs lead and pretends to be dead, which shows the two not only trust each other but work well together and are on the same page.

And most importantly. MQ backs down.

MQ retreats, ceases the fighting on purpose for XL to defeat him.

Plus in the short film, XL ends pointing his sword at him and then he falls.

But then look…when they’re in the spiritual lands place:

THIS TIME WHEN XL SAYS HIS NAME AGAIN INSTEAD OF RETIRING MQ SLASHES XLs WEAPON. HE DOESNT BACK DOWN OR RETREAT, HE DOESNT FOLLOW XLs LEAD AND INSTEAD MAKES XL BE THE ONE THAT RESIGNS AND WALKS AWAY FROM THE FIGHT AND THEN XIE LIAN FALLS DOWN.

AM I CRAZY?! LIKE DOES IT MAKE SENSE WHAT IM TRYING TO SAY?!

While theyre not fighting, this time XL is the one on the receiving end of MQ’s sword, like their roles are reversed, was this always too obvious and am I just the one figuring it out now or am I crazy and looking too much into it and it’s the caffeine talking

[good-vs-evo]

saw some ppl on tiktok getting SO PRESSED about polycules and relationships other than hualian and that was kind of funny so i needed to make and explain my relationship chart

i’d love to explain to them (as a polyam person myself >:3) that love is not a limited commodity and hua cheng falling for yin yu doesn’t mean he suddenly doesn’t care about xie lian at all but i fear that would be lost on them HAHA

also if you… don’t wanna see that kinda stuff… just don’t look at it… don’t hate on people who do… life would be easier for everyone… but moving on

i debated splitting yin yu x he xuan x hua cheng from the moon quartet then decided against it because it was getting waaaay too chaotic

rip to quan yizhen, either he has no manhua art or i couldn’t find it (i haven’t read the manhua yet ffjhshd)

uhhh i got a lot of inspo abt huayin from @devotedbutterfly’s tiktoks and stuff (sorry for going thru like all of ur stuff and generally being a demon on ur tiktok and tumblr ahsjdj) and xuanyin/blackmoon stuff from @ghooostbaby so. yes their stuff is very cool :]

anyways-

first chart is different explanations for everyone’s relationship with one another

the second is me trying to simplify them into categories

BUT i’ll explain this a lotttt better in text

quanyin

uh. this one feels self explanatory

hualian

if i have to explain this one it’s over

fengqing

same as the first two LMAO

xianle trio

yes, i had to break the trio and quartet into different categories

mulian: mu qing always admired xie lian for his self-assuredness, strength, and also beauty. he was a bit jealous of him for a long time, but they were able to talk about it and they both forgave each other for everything that happened in the past. he's had a crush on him since the beginning, but was bad at showing it. xie lian thought mu qing was pretty and a very interesting person; when he got older, he regretted not spending more time getting to know him, so he makes up for it later on in life! he loves when mu qing is softer and shy and more vulnerable than he is usually, and loves how mu qing is a good listener and is pretty emotionally intelligent.

fengqing: well. you get the idea

fenglian: feng xin was always loyal, the first person to have fallen in love with xie lian, and dianxia’s first kiss. he would’ve never left xie lian if xie lian hadn’t told him to. he respected xie lian a lot. xie lian loved how much feng xin cared, and felt immensely guilty about being unable to give him anything more. when they reunite, he showers feng xin with gifts and words of affirmation (he got better at expressing his emotions) and they spend a lot of time together

xianle quartet

all the other ones stay the same, so i’ll just explain the two new ones

huaqing: they were once stuck together and had to talk just out of boredom. they bickered a little but the more they talked the more they realized that there was more to the other. mu qing feels genuinely bad about what he did to hua cheng. he has a hard time apologizing but he tried his best to express his remorse, and hua cheng was pretty shocked (previously thought mu qing was a bit of an asshole) and, since mu qing was being sincere, decided to accept his apology. they hit some rough patches now and then, but xie lian and feng xin help them through it. they realized they’re pretty similar, and team up to stir up trouble with people they don’t like sometimes!

huaxin: feng xin was jealous of hua cheng because he was the one who won xie lian’s heart after 800 years and was really happy when he found out that xie lian liked him too. he admires that hua cheng was strong enough to help xie lian so many times. he also likes that hua cheng is a little cocky sometimes (read: very often), and finds hua cheng very good looking. hua cheng was jealous of feng xin for being the first person to be that close to xie lian, but appreciates how loyal he was throughout everything that happened and finds him pretty cool. he likes the way feng xin curses a lot when he’s pissed (finds it endearing)

huayin

ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVES!!!

yin yu fell first, because hua cheng was so fascinatingly determined and also like the prettiest person he’s ever met. he was intimidating, but could be quite kind, as he was to yin yu when they broke past the employee/employer relationship and became closer

hua cheng began to notice the way yin yu came off as so meek and unnoticeable, but had a kind of poised anger and strength beneath all of that. he trusted yin yu with a lot of more important tasks, paid him well, and considered him as more of a right hand man or partner in crime than a henchman, then eventually as just a partner

e’ming also likes yin yu, and trusts him to take care of it

hua cheng finds it endearing when yin yu gets protective of him (both of them know hua cheng is perfectly capable, but hua cheng finds it sweet regardless)

yin yu cheered hua cheng on a lot with xie lian and patiently listened to everything hua cheng had to say about him

huayinlian/hualianyu

ANOTHER PERSONAL FAVE

ppl keep being like “oh but hua cheng would never cheat on xie lian” HOW IS THAT CHEATING! GOOD LORD! HUA CHENG STILL LOVES XIE LIAN, BUT HAS ALSO DEVELOPED FEELINGS FOR THE PERSON HE SPENT THE MOST AMOUNT OF TIME WITH

i digress

yin yu fell for xie lian because he heard about him all the time. how could you spend so much time hearing about how wonderful, kind, gracious, and amazing someone is without catching feelings a little? additionally, hua cheng allowed yin yu to visit xie lian’s temple and leave offerings, trusting him to be genuine in his actions. yin yu saw some of the paintings and sculptures of xie lian and found him beautiful. he knows a lot about xie lian's life, and truly wants him to find peace and happiness

xie lian loves how devoted yin yu was to hua cheng and how much he helped him. he knows those years were hard for hua cheng, and he’s glad that he had a companion (contrary to what people say about “cheating”, xie lian is incredibly happy that hua cheng managed to find love while he was waiting). i know yin yu is canonically “plain”, but xie lian loves him and thinks he’s very handsome :) he gives him a lot of compliments and words of affirmation

blackmoon (yinxuan)

taking a moment to appreciate that very awesome ship name

yin yu thought he xuan was terrifying and intense, only to discover that. he’s just a guy (/pos). but he does have a lot going on! he has urges and a complex history and emotions he doesn’t show to a lot of people and plans within plans and is generally such an interesting person with so many layers to him. beneath a lot of those layers is a guy who’s kind and smart and would’ve stayed kind and smart if his life wasn’t utterly ruined

he xuan initially thought yin yu was just kind of pathetic, but learned more about him and started to like him more. he finds his passion really attractive, loves how genuinely sweet, kind, and gentle he is as well as how harsh, cruel, and unrelenting he can be. he treats he xuan well and makes him feel human and real and knows when to leave him alone and knows when he wants attention and cooks for him and-

they feel seen around each other, having experienced similar things (such as having their destiny “stolen” in different ways though) and have experienced suffering in such a firsthand way. they’re ready to just chill together now :)

moon quartet (hua cheng, xie lian, he xuan, and yin yu)

xie lian finds he xuan cool, doesn’t have too many thoughts about him. he xuan thinks xie lian is cute and also mildly terrifying (i’m definitely editing this later on, i just don’t have a lot of thoughts about them yet)

hua cheng and he xuan have been close for a long time, helping each other out with ghost king business. hua cheng let he xuan relax and chill at ghost city when he needed to, and he xuan kept a close eye on the heavenly capital, so they met often and bonded. they’re both motivated by something and are incredibly passionate about that thing, so they mutually admire the other’s drive and courage

i have the least for them so far, but i just think they’d be sweet together :] they’d all help each other heal and be able to talk to each other. they’d love each other a lot and take care of one another when they need it and be there when someone needs someone :3 idk they’re so traumatized and deserve to recover from that i’ll form more thoughts i swear

ANYWAYS. that’s it for now i’m def gonna write stuff for all of these ships :0 they’re all very special to me 💖 i might add them to my 30 day fluff challenge :3 cuz they all deserve some nice fluff! (ill also keep updating + editing! feel free to ask me to explain relationships more, id love to <3)

[heartinhyacinth]

I’ve been thinking about the new animation that was just released and trying to figure out what each illustration is and whether or not they’re specific scenes that correlate to the next thing that’s going to be released. I know it’s supposed to be for one of the short films and not season three, but it kind of seems like book three when we get back to the present time (after the flashbacks end)?

Hua Cheng releasing lanterns for Xie Lian?

The underwater kiss scene?

Xie Lian wearing red robes because he had to borrow from Hua Cheng when they were soaked from the lake?

Them behind locked doors and the whole thing about the doors of paradise manor not opening because it won’t let thieves leave?

Them eating in ghost city when Xie Lian was “hungry/thirsty/tired”?

Not sure about these two—

This one looks like baby Hua Cheng in Xie Lian’s temple. In book three, he showed him the temple he built for him in ghost city, Thousand Lights Temple, but not sure why it shows him as hong-er if that’s what it is (except maybe as a callback because Xie Lian vaguely remembered him when he saw the white flower Hua Cheng put on the alter). 

And this kind of looks like the cave of ten thousand gods, but I’m not sure. I don’t remember if there were any scenes that could fit this in book three. 

I’m probably either reaching or misunderstanding something, but these are the things that come to mind when I look at these artworks—the fact that they seem to be from the same book and even the same arc brings a lot of questions. 

What about the fall of Xianle—that should be the next short film, yes? Is the second half of book three going to be part of the short film collection (and not season three of the donghua, like some have speculated)? Is this not for the part they’re going to release next, but rather later on? What are your interpretations of the art?

Here’s the tweet if you haven’t seen it

[lettiegrief]

Things I love about HuaLian,

a short analysis and nothing deep, just me sighing with love for them 💞

I like how it was only after Hua Cheng's arrival that Xie Lian realized that being used to loneliness is different from being okay, that he really missed having someone by his side, hearing him talk, that he missed talking late into the night and the little things that make being happy so simple.

And I like how Hua Cheng is always protecting and caring, taking the lead only when necessary, but always leaving Xie Lian in the lead.

He doesn't try to control Xie Lian, he just stands by his side, adding his strength to his rather than replacing it, and only trying to persuade Xie Lian not to do something when it involves danger to him.

I like how they don't make one or the other stand out or diminish, they are not substitutes for each other, but a complement.

I like that even their disagreements aren't enough to cause major stresses between them cuz they trust each other enough, whether it's because there's always an unspoken reason or cuz they like each other too much for whatever reason there is or lack thereof not matter.

And I like how this calm makes total sense with their personality, even when they both have scenes of jealousy, it's not something that intense, after all, any stress they have is not between them, it just arises outside the relationship because of third parties or when a of them is in danger. Which leads me to say that I absolutely love it when they go crazy when the other is in danger.

Hua Cheng is described as someone rational, who is always on his own mind, so when he invades the Heavens after Xie Lian who had been arrested shortly after being injured by E-Ming, the gods fall into despair because this simply It's not like Hua Cheng, no one was prepared for it.

Another thing I love is the progression of Xie Lian's feelings.

When he meets Hua Cheng in the ghost bride arch, he already feels impacted by Hua Cheng's strength, kindness and clear beauty even though he hasn't seen his face, and later when they meet in the carriage, even though he is wearing a different skin, Xie Lian still sees "Hua Cheng" in "San Lang", barely able to look at him because he is so handsome. There comes a time when Xie Lian is clearly in love, wanting to marry Hua Cheng and feeling unhappy when Hua Cheng talks about his "wife", but no one knows when Xie Lian fell in love, nor should he know.

Hua Cheng probably doesn't even know when he fell in love too, he only realized when he found himself sighing for the prince on the swing and saying things like "he's my future wife".

[makedonsgriva]

anyway I had a thought today where crown prince xie lian is younger than everyone else.

He is probably 6-7 when he gets mu qing and feng xin (who are 16-17) and they coddle him a lot. Basically XL is their baby brother and baby prince wants to be as strong as his older brothers because they are both so cool!!!

baby lian meets hong-er on the streets one day and please gege can’t we keep him??? I don’t have friends!! You two don’t count cause you’re not my age. Please just please!!!!

So that’s how the trio becomes a quartet and feng xin and mu qing are not only the body guards of the prince but also baby sitters of two very unruly kids who are never up to any good

(They are not getting paid enough to deal with them) (it’s a damn good thing they love the fuck outta those kids)

anyways XL starts his training and ofc Honger tags along. they grow up training together, challenging each other, competing but falling in love at the same time and yeah celibacy is easy for XL except every time he sees HC his thoughts go haywire

When XL ascends, he has three generals by his side.

When he falls, he has two because honger died in the war

And XL truly thinks he is to blame. He went from being the darling of the heavens to someone who has now lost everything. he can’t bear the loss of his beloved

(And he never even got to confess)

Ofc HC keeps him company as a ghost fire because he’d never let his beloved be alone. (XL does not know who the ghost fire is because knowing the love of his life is not at peace would hurt him immeasurably) FX and MQ try their best to stick with him but circumstances deteriorate and they are forced out of his life once again

although this time, MQ does stand up for XL in front of the 33 gods (and gets subsequently banished from heavens). In the end, he still has to leave XL. FX gets forced out of his life after the entire sword ordeal and XL’s subsequent mental breakdown.

Unknown to XL tho they are still both watching over him from a distance because ain’t no way they are leaving their baby bro like this

When XL enters his calamity era, they both lose their minds and are trying their best to subtly stop XL from doing the worst things but THAT STUPID FUCKING GHOST ALWAYS FOLLOWING HIM AROUND WILL NOT STOP ENABLING EVERY BAD DECISION XL TAKES

fx and mq are losing their minds. when xl lies in the streets for three days, they try their best to disguise themselves and go help him but that NAMELESS GHOST!!! He does not let them!! “Your highness would be heartbroken when he realizes you two have seen him in such a state and he’d never forgive himself and you two suck at disguising yourselves anyways~”

wu ming does end up getting dispersed but not before XL realizes his true identity and absolutely loses his mind with grief because how did he manage to lose his loved one not once but TWICE and both the times it was HIS FAULT

He gets banished from heavens again because ofc

knowing xl won’t be able to cope fx and mq finally reveal themselves. xl can feel all ashamed of himself for his actions it’s fine they are not leaving him alone again and they will help him heal and move on

Except one night when the two aren’t paying attention, XL ends up running away. He can’t bear being around them, knowing they know what he did and how he caused honger’s death twice.

(fx and mq never blamed him at all. They were just heartbroken and guilt stricken for not being able to do enough for their darling brother)

Cue 800 years of searching.

This time when XL ascends, he is greeted by two powerful generals who have been reduced to a tearful mess because THEY FINALLY HAVE XL BACK WITH THEM!!! THEIR BABY BRO IS SAFE

they accompany him to mount Yu Jun as themselves and HC comes to XL’s aid

he does not reveal his identity but XL just knows this man is special

FX and MQ then tell him about Crimson Rain Sought Flower, the elusive ghost king who challenged 33 gods and crushed them all

(But he was super nice to both of them and it kinda freaked them out)

When XL meets San Lang. He knows. He just knows it’s Honger and feels like he can finally breathe again because in those 800 years he never once stopped loving him but he waits for him to reveal his identity to him because what is stopping him from telling him and fx and mq?

HC, meanwhile, is sort of embarrassed to meet them, not sure if they would be able to accept this new form of his. He missed them all dearly but he is just not able to move past his self doubts.

It is not until the cave of 10k gods that it revealed who HC really is and instead of FX and MQ freaking out, there is a tearful reunion

Um yeah. A thought was thunked. Bon Appetit

[ajmasch]

@here4hualian kissmas day 12: blowing a kiss/air kisses

Shi Qingxuan didn’t mean to get Xie Lian drunk! Well, okay, he kind of did, but like, tipsy not barely keeping himself upright as they stumbled up the path towards his cottage!

“Why did you have to live at the top of a mountain again?” he complained mostly to himself as he half-supported half-carried Xie Lian up the steps.

Xie Lian giggled to himself. “It’s like when I carried San Lang!” He immediately tripped over a loose stone in the path and nearly brought them both down.

“Careful, your highness!” Shi Qingxuan warned.

“I’m okay!” Xie Lian answered. “I don’t fall all the time anymore, people catch me!”

“That’s nice, your highness,” Shi Qingxuan grunted, supporting almost his entire weight.

“Like San Lang! He catches me all the time.”

“Does he now?” This was hardly the first Hua Cheng related tangent Xie Lian had started throughout the night. In fact, nearly everything seemed to remind him of his husband in some way and he was more than eager to gush. Shi Qingxuan encouraged it because, one, he was a good friend, and two, what kind of gossip would he be if he didn’t want to hear all about Crimson Rain Sought Flower’s soft side?

“He does! He’s so strong, big strong arms. And tall! So handsome…”

“You really love him, huh.”

“I do!” Xie Lian threw his arms up, nearly toppling over as he did. “I love him so much! He’s so good, so perfect, I just wanna give him a big kiss! Like this!” He sloppily kissed his hand and then blew it into the air.

Shi Qingxuan chuckled. “What was that?”

“San Lang isn’t here so I had to send the kiss to him,” Xie Lian informed him very seriously.

“I see.” Shi Qingxuan nodded. “Do you think he got it?”

“I don’t know,” a voice spoke from ahead of them on the path. “I think Gege may have to try again.”

“San Lang!” Xie Lian lit up and raced towards his husband… or tried to, but he immediately tripped again. Hua Cheng leapt forward to catch him, just like Xie Lian said. Shi Qingxuan stood back and watched as they fell into their own world together. It was as if no one existed except for the two of them when they were around each other, and as awkward as that could be, it was also really sweet.

“Alright,” he interrupted after a few moments, “one crown prince, safely delivered home.”

Hua Cheng looked up at him. “He’s drunk.”

“Well how was I supposed to know he was such a lightweight?!”

Hua Cheng shook his head and easily scooped Xie Lian into his arms.

“You do have strong arms,” Shi Qingxuan muttered.

“What was that?”

“Uh, haha, I was just saying that it seems like you’ve got him taken care of, so I’ll just go on and leave you two–”

Shi Qingxuan turned to leave, but Hua Cheng sighed. “Stay the night with us. It’s late, and Gege will worry if he knows I let you wander off like that.”

Shi Qingxuan’s eyes widened and he hurried to catch up with Hua Cheng who had already started walking back towards the cottage. “Crimson Rain, you do care!”

“Whatever.”

“He talked about you all night, you know.”

“...Did he really?”

[platinumrosetail]

Can I request? Can you do the Hulian x m!reader like, m!reader act like Bill cipher from gravity Falls like he always cause some chaos 'for fun' and making deal to random person? And of course Hulian is there to stop them as always they do also can they react if they descover what m!reader do on the gravity Falls in pass?

I hope you can do my request, I I really love your one shot story! Very very much (❁´◡`❁) That's all Thank you! ✨

Sure! Love the crossover, always looking forward to crossover requests when I get them! 😁 they also added smut, so i'll try as I kinda want to start doing it but this will be my first time trying to do smut so i'm sorry if it's bad 😅.

Warning: noob author, male reader, and others.

Characters: hua cheng and xie lian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

you are the spouse and husband to xie lian and hua cheng, having been with them since xie lian was still crown prince of xie le.

You were a chaotic being that has been alive for a long time and so you know all sorts of things especially cause of your powers. You weren’t originally from this universe/time as after you were defeated from being tricked by sixer’s twin brother.

(You didn’t mention if the reader was apart of their world or not and since you mentioned gravity falls I assumed that means the reader stays a dream demon and so I came up with the idea of having the two fandoms be kinda separate as you can see so hope that’s alright!.)

You like to make deals with people who were gullible to fall for them especially to entertain you while you search for xie lian after losing him at some point, you also used those deals to try and find him but ended up with nothing as xie lian’s luck helped in not letting you find him surprisingly.

Finally you had found him after 800 years of searching and gaining information, you also noticed what seems to be a familiar person and after reading his mind you found out he was the little kid you always saw around xie lian back in the day.

After a few adventures you three married and began a poly-relationship, that still didn’t stop you from making deals with unsuspecting humans, gods, and ghosts though you did have to dial it back as xie lian wants to make sure you don’t get in trouble and such. You told them about the gravity falls and weirdmagadon that happened which had xie lian scold you especially after learning that you gave a child a screaming head as a joke.

When you three decide to go further in the relationship you’re usually the one being a brat that needs to be tamed. You’d think you’d be tamed more by hua cheng but no it was xie lian who was the one that tame you anytime you three decided to have a little fun.

Though you three sometime team up with one another on different occasions and tease and love the one that was being the bottom that time, though you all give each other equal amounts of attention whether that be teasing or love it doesn’t matter as you all get the same treatment.

(A/n: yea the smut part was kinda small, sorry about that 😅 I just didn’t know what to put for it since it’s my first time doing this, also I won’t fully be doing smut like I would if it was a normal request I’ll only be doing things I’m comfortable with as there’s some things I think I might be uncomfortable or just flat out didn’t know about it until now so don’t go sending smut requests as I’m still testing it out on if I want to do it or not, also I’ll be busy for this week what with going somewhere for the first time and so I probably won’t be able to get to do requests a whole lot until I return this coming weekend on the 11th so you can still send requests just expect them to be not worked on for a bit! Anyway I believe that’s it so I hope yall have a wonderful day/evening/night!

[axxa-the-allikatt]

My first FengQing fic! Collab with @screeching-painter-witch. Loved working with you! Glad I had someone to help me through with my first fic about them TwT I’ve been wanting to write them forever but I was too nervous 🥲. Can’t wait for us to start working on part two <3

Here ya go guys.

***

HEAVEN JUST GOT SWEETER FOR YOU

Summary:

“Ling Wen. Hey Ling Wennn. I won the bet. Pay up.” Pei Ming's voice came in. “Which bet?” Ling Wen replied.

“You know, the one where I said the generals of the south would sleep with each other within a decade?”

There was a pause. “General Ming Guang, this is the general communication array.”

“…Shit.”

OR

As they deal with the stress of an unexplained plague in the South, Mu Qing and Feng Xin’s bickering takes a turn for the worse as Feng Xin unintentionally brings up Mu Qing’s mother.

Mu Qing storms off and ends up in his mother’s tomb, and unwittingly gives himself up to a monster in the disguise of his beloved mother.

As Mu Qing is on the verge of dying at the hands of the monster, he subconsciously sends a prayer to Feng Xin in his last moments.

Feelings ensue. Feng Xin probably ascends for a second time.

Pei Ming is going to lose his job.

***

Text

“Don’t get into too much trouble!” Xie Lian called out from the door to the two generals walking away. Mu Qing rolled his eyes as Feng Xin waved at the man, before their expressions turned sour as Hua Cheng draped himself over Xie Lian’s shoulder, giving them a smirk.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing were on their way back to the Heavenly Capital after going to Xie Lian's Puqi Shrine for tea.

After everything with Jun Wu had happened, and Pei Ming had taken over as interim Heavenly Emperor while the Heavens were being rebuilt, Feng Xin, Mu Qing and Xie Lian had been working on rebuilding their friendship.

Their new dynamic, where they were all more or less on equal footing socially, meant they'd had to form new ways to redefine their friendship from the ground up, and tea at Puqi Shrine had become both a way for them to reconnect and catch up, and a way for Feng Xin and Mu Qing, who still lived in the heavens, to escape the stresses of rebuilding the Heavenly Capital for a bit.

It had become a near weekly occurrence, during which the three had become closer and more comfortable spending time with each other (even in spite of Hua Cheng's catty remarks that Xie Lian had to visibly stifle a laugh at. Apparently Xie Lian and Mu Qing were more similar than Feng Xin had previously thought).

Today, though, things were a little more fraught than usual.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing had been notified of a plague that was beginning to ravage the South.

It was a strange condition. No one new how it was transmitted or what caused it, only that those who caught it would fall victim to terrible nightmares, crying out to people they cared about or loved ones they'd lost, until the strain of the dream drained them and they grew calm, stopped moving entirely and never woke up again.

This time, they had visited Xie Lian for advice. In his 800 years of banishment, Xie Lian had apparently run into every terrifying creature and circumstance possible, and no god had spent as much time in the mortal realm as he had.

Mu Qing had suspected it might be a ghost draining mortals' qi, and they had silently agreed that if Xie Lian did not know anything, Hua Cheng certainly would. Not that they would ask him outright. If Hua Cheng knew something, he would certainly not pass up a chance to impress "gege" (Feng Xin still grew a little red at the way Hua Cheng said that word to Xie Lian).

Apparently, Xie Lian had run into such monsters before, and even been assaulted by some of them. The casual way he'd described the encounters, plural, made Feng Xin shiver.

Hua Cheng had also run into such creatures. He confirmed Mu Qing's suspicions that the condition described by the mortals was most likely caused by a creature, although it was more demon than ghost. One of them had attempted to feed on the strong Yin energy of Ghost City, and after the disappearances of numerous ghosts, Hua Cheng had become aware of it and dealt with the problem.

He'd said no more but only stated that it "should be easy to kill for a martial god."

Feng Xin and Mu Qing had exchanged a glance at his slight mocking tone.

As the two began walking away, Feng Xin could tell Mu Qing was on edge. He hated being seen as incompetent, and Hua Cheng's remark had managed to make him feel just that.

“Fucker” Feng Xin muttered under his breath, referring to Hua Cheng. Mu Qing rolled his eyes again before adding “Can he not speak in riddles for once? Lives are on the line here!” “What was it that he said again? Something about memories haunting and losses. What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?!” Feng Xin hissed.

“Why don’t you try to actually use that brain of yours? Oh wait, you might lose your remaining common sense.” Mu Qing taunted.

“Shut up! It’s not as if you know the answer!”. Mu Qing huffed in annoyance but kept quiet.

“I thought so! Stop acting like you’re so smart. You aren’t all that.” Feng Xin muttered under his breath. “What was that!?” Mu Qing demanded.

Feng Xin was about to repeat what he said, before he had, what he thought, a brilliant idea to rail Mu Qing up. “I said maybe, commoners should train better so that they can protect themselves from the plague!”

Mu Qing grit his teeth. “Yeah?! Well, maybe if the not so commoners of Xianle had trained better, we wouldn’t have lost the war!”

“What the fuck?! Where did that come from?! Fuck off!”

“Do us a favour and kill yourself!” Mu Qing hissed back as they both ascended to the heavenly capital

“Well, maybe you should kill yourself. Go join your mother and she might teach you some actual manners this time!”

Mu Qing, who was in the middle of a retort, froze. His angry expression carefully settled into a blank stare as he stood shocked for a few moments. Feng Xin stilled at this reaction, his heart dropping into his stomach as Mu Qing swallowed hard before slowly backing away. Before he could call out to him, he had disappeared into an array, closing it before Feng Xin had a chance to run after him.

“Fuck.” Feng Xin muttered.

***

The array fell closed behind Mu Qing.

Feng Xin ran in the direction Mu Qing had disappeared in, ready to open and array himself until he realised he had no idea where Mu Qing had gone and no way of finding out.

With how badly he'd fucked up, Mu Qing would probably want to be alone right now anyway.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

Why did he say that? Why did he ever think it was a good idea to bring up Mu Qing's mother when he had failed to be there for Mu Qing when she'd died?

It had been going so well with Mu Qing.

After the Mt. Tonglu incident, Feng Xin had realised how wrong he was about what kind of person Mu Qing was and he had been more than happy (reluctant but not against it) to help when Xie Lian had reached out to him to help get Mu Qing to be more comfortable with them.

It had taken him all his strength not to mention Mu Qing’s little f-f-friends speech at Mt. Tonglu but really, almost all the times they used to fight in the past few centuries, he’d never thought that Mu Qing would really take it to heart.

Tripping over his own feet, Feng Xin had a vague thought about going down to the mortal realm to find Mu Qing, but realised that what he’d said was fucked up and Mu Qing would probably need space. The communication array. Right! Trying to call out to him in the array, he was met with silence. Fuck.

What the fuck was he going to do now? Leaving Mu Qing alone for a bit seemed like a good idea, but for how long? Should he wait at his palace? Should he ask someone for help? Who would he ask?

He did not want to worry Xie Lian about this. Besides, who knew if Mu Qing would be angry at him for sharing that fight and his reaction with Xie Lian?

No, he needed to seek advice from an impartial party. Someone with better social skills than himself, who had seen his and Mu Qing's fights over the centuries. That left…

The only person in the heavenly capital who had any idea about situations like these. Pei Ming (who was the interim heavenly emperor now). As much as Feng Xin didn’t want to go to him for help, he knew he’d messed up horribly this time and needed some clarification on what to do.

"Nan Yang! What brings you to my palace?"

Feng Xin had not realised how quickly he'd already reached Pei Ming's palace before the idea had fully formed in his mind.

"General." Feng Xin nodded at him. "I need advice on a certain… issue."

Curiosity piqued, Pei Ming gestured at Feng Xin to sit next to him. "And what is this 'certain problem?' Another fight with Xuan Zhen? I'm sure you can cover the damages," he said, playfully. Feng Xin winced. He clearly didn't expect that to be the actual reason.

"Yes," he said.

Pei Ming raised an eyebrow.

"Well, there are no damages, but..." Feng Xin trailed off lamely. He wasn't sure how to describe what had just happened.

After a moment’s pause, Feng Xin began murmuring to himself what sounded like a string of curses, and Pei Ming couldn’t make heads nor tails of it.

“General Nan Yang, if you’re here to curse my ancestors out of the dead, I’d be highly offended, you know.”

Feng Xin took a deep breath. “I need help. It’s…urgent.”

"Yes. You’ve said that. I'm afraid you will need to be a bit clearer, general."

Feng Xin shot him a look that probably would have made Mu Qing proud in other circumstances.

Pei Ming waited surprisingly patiently as he tried to find the words.

"We had a fight."

"That part is to be expected," Pei Ming replied. "But that's par for the course for you guys. What happened that you came here?"

Feng Xin tried to find a way to phrase it.

"..."

"It wasn't a normal fight." Great. Perfectly said. Mu Qing would have had a field day with that one.

Pei Ming, for his part, looked confused but curious. Feng Xin had a feeling he was fishing for gossip. Although, as Heavenly Emperor, he would have to keep it under wraps, at least until the whole issue was resolved.

“What's this issue that is so concerning that the general has come to ask for my help?”

"Well…There is a plague in the South, and we were looking for ways to combat it."

Pei Ming's face turned serious. "And have you made any headway?"

"We have some information, but not enough to have a clear picture of what to do. We were discussing our next course of action and we couldn't come to an agreement. The conversation got more hostile and..."

"And?"

Feng Xin sighed. “Mu- General Xuan Zhen and I started arguing again. And I sort of unintentionally brought up something that made him stalk off who knows where.”

“Oh. And what’s this that you brought up?”

Feng Xin grit his teeth, knowing full well that Pei Ming was asking for future purposes. “I.. said something about his mother.”

Pei Ming faked a gasp. “Oh that is a low blow, general!”

“I know, you bastard! That’s why I’m here for help. It’s the first time he’s ignored me in the array. He always replies,even if we’ve fought! Fuck, what if something’s happened to him?! What if he-“

Pei Ming put up a hand to stop Feng Xin from going off in a tangent. “I’m sure he’s fine, general. I don’t think he’d appreciate you thinking of him as weak. He’s probably in a fight with some demon that blocks the communication array. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.

The two of you know each other well, and you practically share a domain. A bond like that should make you as good as brothers! Back when I had just ascended-"

Feng Xin suddenly felt awkward. He rubbed at his neck, tuning out the next thing Pei Ming was about to say.

He'd really fucked up.

***

Mu Qing had no idea where his feet were leading him. He really hadn’t expected Feng Xin’s words to sting so much.

He had been so relieved when Feng Xin and His Highness had invited him to Puqi shrine, a few weeks after the Jun Wu incident. He had been sceptical at first, thinking this was a joke to remind him of what had happened at Mt. Tonglu. But neither of them had brought up the incident, and they had spent almost an entire day conversing about the Xianle days.

It had been a surprise for all of them, when both Feng Xin and Xie Lian had cautiously asked Mu Qing if he would mind cooking, and Mu Qing, for once, did not feel like they were treating him as a mere servant, and had began preparing without any argument. Over the months they had spent several days in each other’s company.

Once Hua Cheng had returned, Xie Lian had more often than not excused himself from these hangouts early, and Mu Qing found himself spending the rest of the day in the company of only Feng Xin.

He had gotten too comfortable with Feng Xin’s snarky remarks because he had believed, for once, that they held no poison behind them. Stupid stupid stupid.

Now he had to face the painful numbness that he was so used to, back when everyone pulled at his threads about his status and… and his mom. Mother. It was then that he realised where he was going. His mother’s tomb. The place that buried all the painful memories and safe guarded all the happy ones.

Even before he'd ascended, Mu Qing had wanted to find a good spot to build a final resting place for his mother. A place deserving of the honour of holding her. He didn't know when exactly the idea had first come into his mind. Muddled thoughts about what to do next and honouring her legacy were all his mind could manage after she'd died, and no one else knew how much of his determination to ascend after that was for her. She would not be remembered otherwise. No matter how wise, patient, beautiful, elegant she had been, no one would spare her name a glance.

She deserved better. She deserved the honours of a queen. Mu Qing had not been able to give her that in life, but he'd be damned if anything kept him from at least doing so in death.

He'd built her a tomb himself, filled with engravings and gold and jewels, deep in a forest in the Southwest. He'd disguised it so that, to the eyes of mortals and less powerful gods, it looked like a small decrepit hut.

He visited it whenever he needed comfort. Sitting with his mother in silence gave him a sense of peace he couldn't manage as easily in his palace in the Heavens.

But now, as he neared the clearing, the place felt more stifling than relaxing, more dangerous than safe. Stepping into the area, his breath caught in his throat. There, sitting on the stone steps of the little hut, his mother was beckoning him.

The first thing he felt was guilt.

How could he have forgotten the gold specks in the pitch black colour of her eyes? Her dimples when she smiled?

Mu Qing wasn't an idiot. The second he saw her he'd immediately put together Hua Cheng's stupid riddles. Of course the thing before him was not his mother. Of course it was whatever had been causing the deaths across the South, plaguing villagers with memories of those they'd lost until the strain was too much, feeding its victims' qi as their pain rendered them unable to move.

Of course it had found this spot, brimming with Mu Qing's spiritual energy after centuries, and decided to lure him here.

Mu Qing realised all this.

But maybe, just maybe…. “Hello mother” he called out, walking towards the hut. “Perhaps, Feng Xin was right. It’s about time I joined you” He leaned into the outstretched arms of his mother. Relaxing into the touch he missed so terribly, “Take me home mother.”

As his ‘mother’ wrapped her arms around him, he felt the soothing touch calm the torrent of spiritual energy flowing through him.

Seconds passed into minutes. Slowly, he felt his consciousness slip from his grasp, a lovely numbness spreading across his body.

Melting into the embrace, Mu Qing tried to grasp his thoughts, which tauntingly slipped from his fingers every time he held onto one for too long.

Pleasant memories flashed through his head; of the Xianle days, where he would pick berries for his mother, or would secretly slip a smile at a stupid joke that Xie Lian would make; of the times when Xie Lian had ascended and he would help him with his infinite amount of prayers; of the days back in the mortal realm, performing in the streets for whatever they could earn; of the day where Mu Qing finally ascended, years and years of training finally paying off; of the all the little things that helped him stay strong for hundreds of years; of Feng Xin whom he couldn’t tolerate, yes, but also the one person in all the world who had been with him through all these ups and downs. Feng Xin.

Feng Xin. Shit.

With a startle, Mu Qing opened his eyes, trying to jump away from this demon that had the audacity to lure him in using his beloved mother’s form.

He realised with a shocked grunt he couldn’t feel his limbs, nor could he sense any spiritual energy flowing through his body. With a wretched gasp, he felt bile rise up his throat, and blood oozing out of his nose, onto the cold wooden floor which he was now lying on.

He cried out in agony as the demon, which had returned to its real form, an ugly eight legged, one eyed monster, sunk its claws into this skull, piercing it with a painful crack. He was losing consciousness again.

He thought again of his mother. Of the woman who had dedicated her life's efforts to raising him, to making sure he could survive and follow what he wanted to do. She had believed he was strong enough to ascend, and he had. He was not going to throw that away. But what could he do now?

How stupid was he?! Falling into the arms of a demon that he could’ve ended within moments? Now he was stuck in the clutches of a monster, falling into the same fate as those innocent mortals.

At first the dreams were still nice. Sweet, calm moments of his mother teaching him how to cook, how to make the best of each plant and animal so they would have as much to eat as possible. Mu Qing and his mother, washing laundry together. Her steady hands and soft voice, patiently teaching him how to sew, each stitch demonstrated again and again, her kindness at his messy imitations until he improved.

Slowly, though, the dreams kept becoming darker, more distressing.

His mother's illness. Her shaking hands, no longer able to earn them food by mending clothes. Her voice, getting quieter and quieter. Her flushed face distorted in the agony of fever and pain. Mu Qing, sitting by her bedside, unable to do anything but watch. Hating to leave her alone, but he had to, to work, sweeping, washing, changing the prince's sheets, mending clothes--

The fall of Xianle, and then the fall of his mother, weak, delirious with pain, nearly unrecognisable by the end of it. He'd just wanted to join her, stay with her forever in the Ghost Realm, or the next life.

He could hear her voice, twisted into unusual cruelty, saying that he'd abandoned her, hadn't done enough, hadn't worked hard enough to get her the medicine on time, hadn't recognised what was wrong early enough, that he'd run off to cultivate with the Crown Prince without a care for her.

It was this cruel voice that roused a small part of Mu Qing. His mother would never say that. She never would have blamed her son for anything they went through. Even ravaged by fever and pain, she had been the one to encourage Mu Qing to find new friends, to take any opportunity he wanted, to make her proud by becoming proud of himself. As weak as she had been, she had celebrated with him when Xie Lian had argued for him to become a disciple at Mount Taicang.

Who was this creature to distort her memory like this? And how could Mu Qing possible let that stand?

Unfortunately, these thoughts had come too late.

Struggling but failing miserably, millions of thoughts flit through his head, trying to make the last impression on him before he cracked under the pain. But there was one thought, only one, that made its impact. Feng Xin.

Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin.

Stupid Feng Xin. He wanted to think Feng Xin was an asshole for landing him in this situation. But really, Mu Qing knew he had only himself to blame. It was just a stupid remark.

Why did things have to end so badly between them? Mu Qing used to think that Feng Xin would be his death, but in death the only thoughts passing through him were of Feng Xin. How miserable.

But although Mu Qing tried to convince himself that he was annoyed at this, he still held onto the thought of Feng Xin, like it was his life line.

Feng Xin. General Nan Yang.

He passed out.

***

“And you should’ve seen her face! It was as if she had never knew gods existed! Then there was that woman who-“

It had been 10 minutes since Pei Ming began droning on about his female conquests of the decade (where had he found the time?!) and it had been 10 minutes since Feng Xin zoned out.

Honestly, for once, he wished that he could focus on Pei Ming’s gossip, because, right now, he wanted to think about anything but what Mu Qing might be doing.

His heart was racing marathons and he really wished Mu Qing would just come back to him and impale him with that saber of his (fuck, that sounded wrong…well-) instead of ignoring him. It was making him feel things he didn’t know were possible.

On one hand, in the current situation, Feng Xin felt so fucking bad for saying the things he did, and (although he would never admit it) he would fall to his knees if that was what it took for Mu Qing to talk to him again.

On the other hand, for the past few weeks, that feeling in his heart that brimmed every time he was with Mu Qing for the past 800 years was hitting him harder than ever.

He had the desperate urge to just dash to the nearest Xuan Zhen temple and pray to Mu Qing until he came back, even if it was to make fun of Feng Xin about it for the next few centuries.

Mu Qing. Mu Qing. Mu Qing. Mu Qing. Mu Qing. Mu Qing. Mu Qing.

Feng Xin was so lost in his thoughts he’d managed to completely tune Pei Ming out when he received it.

He felt a prayer tugging at the back of his mind. This one had a particular urgency to it, despite the fact that no words came to him.

He thought it must be from someone powerful, maybe a rich lord who had offerings to spare, until he caught the faint signature of Mu Qing's spiritual energy.

It built up and up, became a surge until Feng Xin wasn't sure how he could have missed it for even a second.

He unconsciously gasped, startling Pei Ming mid-speech. Mu Qing. He was-

Dashing from his seat, Feng Xin rushed past a surprised junior official. Ignoring the call from Pei Ming, he hurriedly began drawing an array for somewhere in the south.

That’s where he’d got the prayer. From Mu Qing.

Pei Ming seemed to notice his anxiousness. He looked at Feng Xin for a moment, then at the array he was drawing.

"Shut up," Feng Xin heard himself say.

Pei Ming looked startled at his words. "General, what happened? Did Xuan Zhen respond in the array? Is he in danger?"

Feng Xin still felt the intrusion in his mind, growing louder and louder.

The prayer held no words, but the feeling in it was clear.

Fear, tinged with exhaustion and the determination of someone who refused to let it get the best of him.

Fuck. Something must have gone terribly wrong for Mu Qing to call out to him like that. All the images that he had been trying to ignore, of Mu Qing hurt or worse, flashed through his mind again.

Mu Qing seemed to try to hold it back, but the wordless call for help was interspersed by spikes of sorrow, pain and the cruel words of a woman's voice Feng Xin did not recognise.

Ignoring the call from Pei Ming, he worked on the array using his own cup of tea to paint the sigils on the wall, latching on to the prayer with all his mind's strength, words beginning to make it through.

Mu Qing's voice was low, laboured, like it was hard to speak, but his words were desperate, fraught with emotion. Feng Xin didn't know what he'd expected to hear from Mu Qing right now. He would never ask for help, so the situation had to be dire. Probably cursing Feng Xin out? Telling him it was his fault Mu Qing had gotten into this? Was he-

Feng Xin.

Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin. Feng Xin.

General Nan Yang.

Feng Xin froze for a second before his worry increased tenfold.

His own name, repeated again and again. It sounded strange that way, in Mu Qing's voice but said without an ounce of mocking or derision. Feng Xin knew Mu Qing cared about him, perhaps not in the same way as Feng Xin cared for him, but he never expected Mu Qing to say his name with such desperation, almost like he was holding on to it to keep from succumbing to whatever was being done to him.

Habitually, Feng Xin drew his bow.

Without pausing for the array to completely open, he dashed through it, almost tripping over some rocks on the other side. He froze for a second, then ran.

His mind was not always as quick as Mu Qing's, but Feng Xin was sure whatever had managed to subdue Mu Qing like this must have been the demon killing mortals in the South.

The array had led him to a small clearing in one of the forests of the Southwest. There was a hut, its entrance darkened like that of a tomb. Its design reminded him of the small houses behind the palace in Xianle.

In front of it lay Mu Qing, still and bleeding. His limbs twitched. Attached to his head were the legs of a giant, spiderlike creature, its one eye trained intently on Mu Qing's unmoving body as its limbs dug into his skull with sickening strength.

“MU QING!”

At a speed that surprised even himself, Feng Xin knocked an arrow and let it fly, aiming at the thickest part of its head which was mere inches above Mu Qing's.

The arrow was infused with enough spiritual energy to break buildings.

With a cry of agony, the creature burst into a mess of filthy blood and flesh.

Ignoring the disgusting mess, Feng Xin got on his knees beside Mu Qing, almost breaking down when he saw the serious injuries on his head.

He could wallow later. Right now he had to get someone to help him.

Mu Qing was barely breathing, his eyes closed. His limbs still twitched as blood flowed from his nose and mouth. On the left side of his head, his temple had succumbed to the pressure, partly caved in in an unnatural shape.

But he wasn't dead. Feng Xin breathed a sigh as he moved to gently pick Mu Qing up. This must be painful, but it wasn't nearly enough damage to kill a martial god of his calibre.

Feng Xin was already in shock, but what he felt as his hand grazed Mu Qing's side made his blood run cold.

There was next to no spiritual energy left in him. Mu Qing's meridians were frayed to a level Feng Xin had never seen.

How did that thing get close enough for long enough to do this kind of damage?

As gently as he could without jostling Mu Qing, Feng Xin sped across the clearing and ran into the array.

This was his fault. He would fix this, and he was not letting Mu Qing out of his sight until he did.

Feng Xin was seeing red everywhere. He didn’t know how much longer he had before he himself started to feel dizzy.

Thankfully, several hands came to help him, the medical officials assuring him that they would try their best. Best? Oh, he must have been screaming for help.

As he yelled orders and ran to the Nan Yang palace infirmary as fast as he could, he couldn't keep his eyes away from Mu Qing.

He's still breathing, that's good, Feng Xin thought, even as Mu Qing's breathing got more faint and shallow by the second. Feng Xin was not going to think about that. Even if he stopped breathing, it was still fixable.

Keep breathing Mu Qing, come on. That's it. Please keep breathing.

The entire Heavenly Capital had heard what had happened by the time Feng Xin had laid Mu Qing in a cot and the healers began to administer treatment.

After what felt like hours but in reality must have been just a few minutes, he felt his body and mind calm down.

Alright. They would save him. Mu Qing would be fine. He had to be.

***

Mu Qing remained unconscious for the next four days.

Feng Xin desperately hoped Mu Qing would wake up soon because he was having waking nightmares about him lying in his own pool of blood almost every minute.

The rest of the gods and officials also desperately wanted General Xuan Zhen to wake up soon. Not only because he was a crucial part of their system, but also because Feng Xin was terrorising everyone in the capital with his constant anxiety, temper and that perpetual frown on his face.

It had been two days since Feng Xin had brought Mu Qing half dead into his palace. It had taken almost an hour until the medics were able to assure Feng Xin and everyone else that Mu Qing would make it out well, and that he had gone through a spiritual energy deviation, which had caused more damage than the actual monster.

Feng Xin spent the first two days in a chair by his cot, standing guard. He was still in his armour. The specks of Mu Qing's blood on it had turned a dull brown. Next to him, Mu Qing's breathing remained steady.

Mu Qing could wake up any minute, and he'd surely panic without a familiar face there to explain what had happened. And Heavenly Officials did not need sleep like humans did, anyway.

Countless officials came to offer their respects, although many of them were clearly just here for the gossip.

Anyone who asked what had happened for General Xuan Zhen to be struck down like this, with a too-curious glint in their eyes was promptly told to go fuck themselves.

Pei Ming visited, and Feng Xin just barely remembered to inform him that the plague in the South had been dealt with.

Xie Lian came by too. After Feng Xin told him what had happened, he insisted on keeping him company, making some not so subtle references to how he'd felt when Crimson Rain had dispersed in Mount Tonglu. He said Crimson Rain sent his well wishes, that he hadn't joined Xie Lian because he doubted Mu Qing seeing him when he woke up would aid in his healing.

Xie Lian ended up staying for longer than a day, but as Mu Qing's meridians steadily patched themselves back up, they'd agreed he'd leave them alone and return later. Two people seeing Mu Qing in such a weak state would probably be too much for him.

*

After Xie Lian left, and the healers assured Feng Xin again and again that Mu Qing was on his way to speedy recovery, Feng Xin got antsy. The healers seemed to notice this and sent him out to find some herbs and other ingredients that could balance qi and help speed along Mu Qing’s recovery. Feng Xin hesitated, but in the end his desire to see Mu Qing wake up and recover as soon as possible outweighed the instinct to be at Mu Qing’s side. He left the healers with instruction that he be the first one alerted when Mu Qing woke up.

Feng Xin had spent the next two days either rushing around the capital and the mortal realm, looking for whatever the medics asked him to get, or spent it glaring holes in his palace wall and anyone who came into his line of vision.

*

Feng Xin heard noises of his middle officials worriedly lingering from outside the curtain that sectioned off the cot from the rest of the infirmary. Feng Xin knew he meant well, so he stopped himself from yelling at them to leave and instead sent out a sharp spike of killing intent, careful to keep it away from Mu Qing.

He scowled at the curtain until the officials outside scurried away. The last thing Mu Qing would need when he woke up was curious, worried stranger staring at him.

He was focused so intently on getting them to leave that he didn't notice the slight shuffle of fabric coming from the cot.

"You look like shit."

It was barely a croak. The voice was laboured and raspy from lack of use.

Feng Xin whirled around.

"Mu Qing."

The man in question, although dazed, began to look guarded at the intensity in Feng Xin's voice.

"Yes, good job, you have eyes," Mu Qing rolled his own eyes.

There was a beat of silence as Feng Xin held himself back from lunging at Mu Qing to embrace him.

But in spite of the fondness and relief to see Mu Qing awake, there was also anger.

"What the fuck?"

Mu Qing bristled. "I should be asking you that."

Feng Xin was not deterred.

"Why the fuck did you do that? Why did you let that thing jump you?"

Mu Qing looked tired, but the anger still flashed in his eyes.

"That's none of your fucking business. You have no right to be pissed off after what you said! Why are you even here? I didn't fucking ask for your help anyway!"

"You did!" Feng Xin burst out.

Mu Qing crossed his arms, clearly trying to hide how difficult the movement was for him to manage. He still looked angry, but that didn't bother Feng Xin. Mu Qing had every right to be angry at him for what he'd said, for as long as he wanted.

What hit Feng Xin like an arrow to the gut was the fear in Mu Qing's eyes. He was hiding it with a shroud of anger, but Feng Xin knew him well enough to know that it was nothing more than a mask. And for even a bit of fear to show itself alongside the anger, Mu Qing had to he really disconcerted.

"I... what?"

Sighing, Feng Xin softened his voice like he was talking to a cornered animal.

"You called for help. Do you not remember?"

Mu Qing took a shuddering breath. Then he let the anger flash in his eyes again. He scowled at Feng Xin.

"That's not fucking funny."

"I know it's not. I'm not joking."

Mu Qing paled. He held his crossed arms in front of him like a shield, like he was afraid Feng Xin would give a devastating revelation.

"What... What did I say?"

"..." Feng Xin suddenly found himself at a loss to explain. Mu Qing had just thought of him, had only said his name. Why did that sound so strange when Feng Xin thought about saying it out loud.

Mu Qing only grew paler at Feng Xin's silence. Feng Xin hated the apprehension he saw on his face. His eyes were so wide, he looked so scared, like he was preparing himself for a lethal blow.

"Feng Xin, what did I say?"

Feng Xin forced it out, but found his voice grew smaller as he said "Nothing. You only thought of me. Only my name."

The relief on Mu Qing's face faded the second he saw Feng Xin's conflicted expression.

Whatever Mu Qing had been about to say was interrupted as Feng Xin spoke at the same time.

"You-"

"I'm sorry."

Mu Qing seemed even more surprised at that. When he didn't talk, Feng Xin continued.

"I'm sorry. I was stupid. I shouldn't have said that about... your mother."

At the mention of his mother, Mu Qing suddenly looked tired. To Feng Xin's surprise, though, he didn't antagonise him further.

"I did tell you to kill yourself right before."

Feng Xin was stunned. What was happening? "Yes, but--" he sputtered a little. "You should not have to apologise right now, for anything. It's my fault you ended up like this--" Mu Qing winced at the reminder-- "and even if you hadn't--"

Mu Qing interrupted him. "It was my decision. We would have run into it eventually. The demon was the one causing the plague, he was trying to lure me back to my mother's-- to that spot in the forest."

"Mu Qing." Feng Xin felt even guiltier at the admission Mu Qing had just let slip. He couldn't bring himself to speak loudly, his voice low. "That was your mother's tomb?"

Mu Qing pressed his lips together into a thin line. Feng Xin had the very bad feeling he was going to cry.

"That doesn't-- Where is it? The monster, where did it go? Did it get away?"

"It's dead," Feng Xin assured him. "I killed it after you called."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Mu Qing seemed relieved at that. He looked frustrated, Feng Xin knew it was with himself. "And the tomb? Is it..."

"It's intact. The space felt drained of spiritual energy, but there were no damages."

A beat of silence.

"Mu Qing--"

"Feng Xin--"

"You go first," Feng Xin ceded.

"No. You go."

Feng Xin chuckled. If Mu Qing was back to being this stubborn, surely he was on his way to being perfectly fine in no time.

Then he remembered what he'd wanted to say, and his laugh (that Mu Qing rolled his eyes at) faded in place of trepidation. But Mu Qing had almost died. And the memory of seeing Mu Qing unconscious and bleeding, his breaths shallow, still stuck to Feng Xin. So.

"Maybe this isn't the right time."

Mu Qing scowled at him. "I'm fine. Just say it."

Feng Xin sighed. "this definitely isn't the right time, but--" he steeled himself a final time.

"I love you."

It came out more blunt than Feng Xin intended. His tone almost sounded angry. Shit, he really didn't know how to do this.

Mu Qing looked like he'd frozen to the spot. His eyes widened in shock, then realisation. Then they went cold.

"You don't need to do that."

Well. Feng Xin had thought about what Mu Qing's reaction would be, more often and more intently than he'd like to admit. But he hadn't thought Mu Qing would say that.

"I don't--"

"What, do you think I'm fragile now because you saw me weak?" His face twisted into a bitter smile. It was clear he tried to go for arrogant, but he mostly looked hurt. Vulnerable. Feng Xin hated it.

"That's not what--"

"I don't know what you think you saw or what you think I said, but I don't need to be coddled, Feng Xin. You should know that by now."

What the fuck?

Okay, Feng Xin knew Mu Qing was a champion of mental gymnastics. He was prepared for this. Even if Mu Qing did not love him, he deserved to know the truth.

"I'm not coddling you! Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Then what are you doing?" Mu Qing looked up at him, his eyes full of steel like he was facing down an enemy. Even directed at Feng Xin, even in this weak state, it was beautiful. Awe-inspiring. Feng Xin hated to admit it, but in that moment, like in many before, he understood Hua Cheng's worship of his beloved as a god.

In the face of that sight and that thought, Feng Xin said it.

"I've loved you for centuries." This time his voice came out perfectly gentle. He wanted to soothe Mu Qing, convince him. It didn't matter that he didn't feel the same, if he could convince Mu Qing that he was honest, that Mu Qing was safe with him, that he could crush Feng Xin's heart with his heel if he wanted to.

Mu Qing looked even more shocked now. His eyes had widened again, and in them, as the fear faded, Feng Xin saw something else. Something so painfully beautiful Feng Xin's heart constricted in his chest.

The slightest bit of tenuous hope.

Feng Xin wanted to keep that feeling in Mu Qing's eyes. He wanted to nurture it until it bloomed into full-blown joy.

"You--"

Feng Xin smiled. It made the fluttering something in Mu Qing's face grow.

Yes, he thought about saying, but he did not want Mu Qing to find a way to misread Feng Xin's expression of his sentiments.

So Feng Xin said it again. He looked Mu Qing in the eyes, and let every bit of sheer love he had held back over 800 years show in his expression and his voice as he said, slowly this time, "I love you."

Mu Qing kept looking at him, then shook his head as if he were trying to shake himself out of a dream.

"You're not fucking with me."

Feng Xin felt endlessly fond. "I'm not."

"Wait," Mu Qing said. He'd begun to relax, but he suddenly tensed up once more. "When you say you--" He seemed to be having trouble getting out the word.

Feng Xin was pretty sure he knew the right thing to say this time. If he didn't fear Mu Qing would read his mind the second he thought it and punch him, he would think Mu Qing was an idiot.

"I’m in love with you." He enunciated each word clearly, as if he were teaching the words to Mu Qing.

Mu Qing rolled his eyes. Then he seemed to realise what Feng Xin had said. His cheeks and ears blushed a pretty pink. Feng Xin wanted to bite it.

Mu Qing just stared at him for a while. When Feng Xin began to awkwardly fidget, wondering if he was even going to get an answer, Mu Qing spoke.

"Since you're not messing with me. I am also. Hm," he cleared his throat with a breath. "I also. Um." Mu Qing stuttered.

Oh wow…Okay Feng Xin, get it together.

Feng Xin knew how Mu Qing got when feelings were brought up like this. He needed to be steady, someone Mu Qing could rely on to get more comfortable with his emotions.

Feng Xin took Mu Qing's hand.

"You don't have to say it."

He was still smiling. Mu Qing rolled his eyes again, although a smile began forming on his own face too.

Mu Qing's blush deepened. "Shut up. I'm getting to it." Then, after a beat, "I want to."

Feng Xin thought the Heavens must be misnamed, because surely only the sight of Mu Qing's face right now could be deserving of that word.

After a number of aborted attempts (Feng Xin did not keep count because Mu Qing would kill him if he did. The number was six), Mu Qing had finally gathered himself enough to say it.

"I love you too." He'd said it stiffly, like a general delivering a speech, and Feng Xin stifled a laugh at the tone. "Well fuck you too,"Mu Qing muttered, thought there was no bite in it. He was smiling.

They looked at each other so fondly. Feng Xin had never thought Mu Qing would look at him that way. (He'd dreamed it, wished for it, but he'd never thought it would actually happen.)

The moment broke when Mu Qing yawned, his eyes drooping a little. He was clearly not back to his full strength, and the fear and stress of their conversation had faded enough for the exhaustion and his injuries make themselves known again.

Feng Xin squeezed his hand. "You can rest if you want to."

Judging by the "Hm" Mu Qing gave instead of resisting, Feng Xin could tell he was well on his way to falling asleep.

Mu Qing fell back into the covers.

Turning towards his seat, Feng Xin decided to let Mu Qing rest, when he felt a gentle tug on his hand. Turning back, he saw Mu Qing’s hand wrapped around his wrist, the injured man peaking at him through one squinting eye. Fuck. He looked so cute.

“Do you want something, Mu Qing?” He asked softly. He received no verbal answer, but another tug at his hand made his heart speed up.

Feng Xin had gotten very good at reading Mu Qing over the years. He knew what Mu Qing wanted, but he still wanted to be sure he'd understood correctly.

Tenderly, tentatively, he asked "Do you want me to sleep next to you?"

Another gentle tug.

Leaning onto the hand, he slowly crawled into the bed, lying beside Mu Qing. “Ok?” He whispered. He received no reply again, but Mu Qing made no attempts to move away when he inched closer to him, wrapping his arms around that deceitfully slim waist, pulling him against his chest.

Mu Qing immediately curled into his side like a cat, like he had once or twice in his sleep when they'd been in the same tent on missions together.

He began carding his fingers through his hair. They felt just as soft and silky as he’d dreamed they would be. Minutes passed, and as Feng Xin felt himself slipping into a cozy sleep, he felt a soft ‘I love you’ whispered against his neck.

In reply, he pulled him closer, holding him a bit tighter, as he pressed his lips into his hair.

“I love you too.”

***

Mu Qing had fallen asleep almost immediately once he’d curled up against Feng Xin and, although he’d never admit it, it was the comfiest sleep he’d had in a long while.

Which led to his situation now. It had been, what he could safely assume, a few hours since they’d fallen asleep, and Mu Qing honestly would have slept for another few hours, if it weren’t for that little nightmare he had that jostled him from his sleep.

Yes, he could’ve easily gone back to sleep, if it weren’t for one tiny problem. When he had fallen asleep, Feng Xin was still awake for quite a while.

Which is why he had forgotten all about the fact that Feng Xin snored.

It wasn’t loud by any means. It was a tiny rumble. But when a tiny rumble was constantly humming by his ear, it really took all his strength to not to push that stupid face away from him.

Mu Qing sighed. It had been almost three minutes since he’d woken up. He didn’t even want to open his eyes, in hopes that by some chance that he’d accidentally slip back into sleep. He supposed it was time he woke up.

He slowly opened his eyes, and huffed when he was met with the sight of Feng Xin’s broad chest. He wanted to bite them.

Carefully turning his head, he froze for a second before yelping and pushing Feng Xin away, consequently leading to him falling off the bed.

“What the fuck?!” Came a shout from on the floor.

But Mu Qing was too busy glaring holes at Pei Ming standing by the doorway, with Xie Lian right behind him.

Beside Mu Qing, Feng Xin shot up from the floor glaring at Mu Qing, before his eyes fell on the two martial gods. His expression turned sour as he huffed at Pei Ming then apologetic as he looked at Xie Lian.

Before either Mu Qing or Feng Xin could say anything, Pei Ming let out a loud cackle, then proceeded to huff that he’d always known that the two generals of the south would end up together. Behind him Xie Lian merely smiled at them happily, giving them a thumbs up before excusing himself.

“Fuck off” Feng Xin hissed. Pei Ming, who hadn’t shown any signs of leaving, cackled again before disappearing from the doorway.

The two generals let out a sigh. Looking at each other, each awkwardly waited for the other to speak.

Feng Xin cursed under his breath. Mu Qing was on the verge of rolling his eyes when he froze.

Feng Xin. Feng Xin was kissing him. Oh.

Letting out a surprised squeak, he felt Feng Xin chuckled against his lips. It was a moment before he regained his bearings.

Oh? Two could play that game. Mu Qing grabbed at Feng Xin’s collar, pulling him back onto the bed. As Feng Xin gasped, Mu Qing bit his lower lip, snickering at the yelp from Feng Xin.

Pulling back, the two gods stared at each other…

Mu Qing rolled his eyes.

“You ruined the fucking mood!” Feng Xin groaned. Mu Qing snickered, which turned into an embarrassed chuckle as Feng Xin threw that stupid dopey smile at him.

“Are you feeling okay? Do you want to go back to sleep?” Feng Xin questioned, flopping back on the bed. Mu Qing bit the poisoned reply on his tongue. No. That wouldn’t work. Not now.

“I’m alright. I was having a great sleep until your stupid snores ruined it,” he huffed out instead.

“…..” Feng Xin was only grinning at him like an idiot. Mu Qing face flushed as he realised what he’d just admitted. “You-“ “I’m glad you’re comfortable with me,” Feng Xin interrupted.

Mu Qing was about to retort, but caught himself. Feng Xin was being genuine. He wasn’t saying it as a joke.

“…Mn,” Mu Qing replied. He really wanted to hide under the bed right now. Instead, he fell back onto the bed, rolling onto his side facing away from Feng Xin. A few moments passed before he heard the sheets ruffle behind him.

His instincts almost made him kick Feng Xin away, but he ignored them, letting out a quiet sigh as muscular arms creeped up around his waist, a head resting against his back.

“…”

“…”

“I’ll try not to snore.”

Mu Qing kicked his foot, earning him a chuckle.

Just as he was about to fall asleep again, a voice in the general communication array caught their attention.

“Ling Wen. Hey Ling Wennn. I won the bet. Pay up.” Pei mings voice came in. “Which bet?” Ling Wen replied.

“You know, the one where I said the generals of the south would sleep with each other within a decade?”

There was a pause. “General Ming Guang, this is the general communication array.”

“…Shit.”

There was a pregnant pause, before screams of disbelief and ‘I knew it’ blasted through the array.

Without a word, Feng Xin and Mu Qing got out of the bed, grabbing their weapons before heading out to the emperor’s palace.

Sleep? Fuck that. They had some hunting to do.

***

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