#ship: Di Feisheng x Li Xiangyi

[la-muerta]

Title: again and again we look up to the moon // 细算浮生千万绪

Fandoms: 莲花楼 Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV)

Warnings: Rated E.

Relationships: 笛飞声 Di Feisheng / 李相夷 Li Xiangyi

Summary:  One different decision, and the bicha poison in Li Xiangyi's body flares up just before he is supposed to meet Di Feisheng on the ship in the East Ocean.

Everything unravels.

[Written for @sweetspicybingo's Hurt/Comfort Bingo 2024]

--

Chapter Four: 一拜天地 The full moon was tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, he would be going through the formal wedding rites with Di Feisheng in full view of all the members of the Jinyuan Alliance.

[Read on Ao3; currently 15,742 words]

This chapter covers the squares: thought spiral, apology (bingo card under cut)

[eirenical]

omg my muse really does thrive on stress and mental anguish on my part, doesn't she?

Anyway, I know it's not Wednesday and it's after midnight where I am, but enjoy 500 words of what was supposed to be the A-Mian/Xiangyi pegging fic but is now going to... still be that, but is also going to be (possibly canon divergent) A-Mian/Xiangyi/Di Feisheng fic? XD (I'm not even mad about it. A-MIan has a mind of her own. ^_^)

*

Li Xiangyi was not adept at stealth.  He'd lost the knack for it when he'd lost the need for it—both so long ago that he could hardly even remember.  But still, he had no desire to be discovered returned to Sigumen this late in the night, so stealth, it seemed, was required once more.

He'd made it over the wall with a judicious use of neili and an excellent command of qinggong, cursed his far too visible white robes as he hid behind whatever was available to avoid the moonlight that could reflect too easily off them, and finally made it to the guesthouse, slipping inside just before the watch made their next patrol of the courtyard.  Leaning back against the door, he breathed a sigh of relief.

That relief was short-lived.

Before he'd even drawn the next breath, a light flared to life in the darkness of the room, and he drew Shaoshi on instinct.  Moments later, a soft husky laugh rolled out into the room, though, and he relaxed.  "A-Mian."

She rose from the low table and crossed the room to stand in front of him.  "Xiangyi."

"What are you doing here?  Shouldn't you be asleep?"

A-Mian didn't respond immediately, instead gently taking Shaoshi from his hand, then its sheath, and returning the blade to its proper place before handing it back to him.  Then she leaned in close, pressing her nose into the soft spot at the crook of his neck and inhaling deeply.  Heat rose to his cheeks as he jerked away, rattling the door behind him.  "A-Mian?  What… what are you doing?"

She tilted her head, a strange smile on her face as she asked in response, "Is that his smell on you?  It's… softer, than I expected."

His cheeks burned.  "Whose smell?  A-Mian, what's all this about?"

She turned away, hands folded into her sleeves until she returned to the table to pour herself a cup of tea, every movement precise.  Controlled.  Calculated.  Li Xiangyi swallowed hard, forced himself to stillness as he awaited her answer.  Finally she said, "I've known for months, now, Xiangyi.  You aren't subtle.  Neither is he.  Then during the last clash with Jinyuameng, you got separated from us and I followed."  She put the cup down with barely a clink.  "Your middle robe was missing when you returned.  I don't know if anyone else noticed, but I know where it ended up."  She turned back to face him.  "Di-mengzhu was wearing it when next I saw him."

Li Xiangyi swallowed hard, took a step forward, hand outstretched and pleaded, "A-Mian, it's not what you think, I—"

"I don't care."

"You… A-Mian…?"

She reached out, took his hand, and pulled him closer, repeating slowly, "I don't care."  She leaned in the rest of the way, then, bringing his hand to her lips and gently kissing the back.  When she looked up once more, her eyes rivaled the lantern's blaze.  "No.  That isn't quite right.  To say that I don’t care.  Rather, I should say… I enjoyed it."

[solariene]

►Li Lianhua & Di Feisheng | Sacrifice

My contribution to this fandom!

[mademoiselle-red]

Huadao 花刀

a ship manifesto for Li Lianhua x Shan Gudao 李莲花 x ��孤刀

This is the man Li Xiangyi loved for over twenty years. This is the warmth he clung to in his most vulnerable moments, when he was abandoned by the rest of the world, both as a child and after the Donghai Battle. It is the memory of his beloved shixiong and his desire to bury his body in their shared grave with their shifu that sustains Li Lianhua’s will to live for over ten years. After having lost everything that tethered him to this world, Li Xiangyi’s ghost clung to his need to hold his shixiong’s body one last time and clawed his way back to life as Li Lianhua.

For most of the series, Shan Gudao is the one that got away, the one person Lianhua cannot let go. And at the end of the series, this is the man who breaks his heart and gives Lianhua one last reason to fight: he needs to sever this one remaining tie to life with his own hands. This is his final enemy, not Xiao Zijin, not Di Feisheng. Sixteen year old Li Xiangyi picked up his sword to follow his shixiong into the martial world. And thirty year old Li Lianhua puts down his sword once he has slain his shixiong with his own hands.

I suspect one major reason this ship hasn’t taken off is because the actor who plays Shan Gudao just doesn’t have the face of the love interest in this kind of angsty story. So let’s recast him.

Indulge me for a moment, and imagine, that this is the young Shan Gudao that Li Xiangyi pursued into the martial arts world, and this is the smile that haunts Li Lianhua’s dreams.

In his memories, shixiong was always warm and kind towards him. He could always rely on shixiong to love him, while he broke his shixiong’s heart in their final conversation before his shixiong was “killed”, when he told his shixiong he didn’t need him anymore.

And this is the face of his shixiong, lying cold and lifeless in his arms, as Xiangyi cries for him to open his eyes one more time. This is the man he failed to protect.

The man “Di Feisheng” took away from him. The man he “kills” Di Feisheng for.

And this the Shan Gudao he meets again, 10 years later, when he sees his shixiong’s true face in all its unhinged jealousy, ambition, and cruelty.

Did Shan Gudao ever love Li Xiangyi?

At some point, yes. But jealousy and ambition got in the way. But does it matter? Whether it’s love or hate, all his thoughts eventually return to Li Xiangyi, the ghost that has haunted him for the past ten years, the shadow that followed him for over twenty years. If he doesn’t kill him with his own hands, he’ll never be able to move on.

This is Shan Gudao, tenderly touching Li Lianhua’s face and gloating as he is held captive by Jiao Liqiao

And this is Shan Gudao at the end of the series, as Lianhua watches him bleed out in front of him.

(And let’s be real, if Shan Gudao looked like this, he’d be dying in Lianhua’s arms in the show 👀)

Li Xiangyi has serious shixiong-fucker potential. All he is missing is a beautiful unhinged shixiong ❤️

[la-muerta]

Title: again and again we look up to the moon // 细算浮生千万绪

Fandoms: 莲花楼 Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV)

Warnings: Rated E.

Relationships: 笛飞声 Di Feisheng / 李相夷 Li Xiangyi

Summary:  One different decision, and the bicha poison in Li Xiangyi's body flares up just before he is supposed to meet Di Feisheng on the ship in the East Ocean.

Everything unravels.

[Written for @sweetspicybingo's Hurt/Comfort Bingo 2024]

--

Chapter Five: 各怀鬼胎 "Di-mengzhu, what are you doing?" Li Xiangyi asked in amusement when Di Feisheng grabbed his wrist and led him towards their rooms. "They are capable of drinking themselves stupid on their own, my presence is unnecessary," Di Feisheng replied brusquely, letting go of Li Xiangyi's wrist once they were alone. "So eager to get me to the wedding chambers? People will talk," Li Xiangyi said, mischief in his tone. But he managed to keep up with Di Feisheng's stride and to Di Feisheng's surprise, slipped his hand into the crook of Di Feisheng's arm. "Try to keep up the act, Di-mengzhu."

[Read on Ao3; currently 20,720 words]

This chapter covers the squares: sleep deprivation (bingo card under cut)

[la-muerta]

Title: again and again we look up to the moon // 细算浮生千万绪

Fandoms: 莲花楼 Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV)

Warnings: Rated E.

Relationships: 笛飞声 Di Feisheng / 李相夷 Li Xiangyi

Summary:  One different decision, and the bicha poison in Li Xiangyi's body flares up just before he is supposed to meet Di Feisheng on the ship in the East Ocean.

Everything unravels.

[Written for @sweetspicybingo's Hurt/Comfort Bingo 2024]

--

Chapter Two: 处处莲花开 When was the last time he had spoken properly to A-Mian, even when they practically lived under the same roof? He'd have to make it up to her, but with his current situation, that would have to wait. And as if thinking about her had worked some kind of magic, Li Xiangyi suddenly noticed a letter addressed to him in A-Mian's handwriting, a letter he vaguely recalled seeing on his desk a few weeks ago but had apparently gotten lost amongst all the other letters he received every day. "Where are we going, anyway?" Li Xiangyi asked, fishing out the letter from the stack. "To speak to the person who was tasked with conducting a thorough examination of Shan Gudao's body," Di Feisheng replied.

[Read on Ao3; currently 7,408 words]

This chapter covers the square: "do you want to talk about it?" (bingo card under cut)

[la-muerta]

Title: again and again we look up to the moon // 细算浮生千万绪

Fandoms: 莲花楼 Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV)

Warnings: Rated E.

Relationships: 笛飞声 Di Feisheng / 李相夷 Li Xiangyi

Summary:  One different decision, and the bicha poison in Li Xiangyi's body flares up just before he is supposed to meet Di Feisheng on the ship in the East Ocean.

Everything unravels.

[Written for @sweetspicybingo's Hurt/Comfort Bingo 2024]

--

Chapter Three: 英雄难过美人关 "Zunshang?" That was Wuyan's voice. Someone was leaning heavily on his back. Di Feisheng had been forced to sleep in close quarters with other people in his youth before he became the leader of the Jinyuan Alliance, out of practicality or necessity. But it was his habit to always sleep with his back to the wall, never to another person, and never so deeply that Wuyan had to wake him. "Zunshang?" Wuyan said a little louder, but didn't dare to touch him.

[Read on Ao3; currently 10,679 words]

This chapter covers the squares: "I said no!" (bingo card under cut)

[la-muerta]

Writing Patterns

rules: share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

Thank you for the tag @yeliuxi! <3

1. one hand on the trigger (the other hand in mine) // 暗线, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated E

Li Xiangyi turned the collar of his leather jacket up and quickened his pace, trying not to look around too obviously as he checked if he was being followed.

2. again and again we look up to the moon // 细算浮生千万绪, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated E

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the ship tipped forward with a gut-heaving lurch as the huge wave it was riding crested and fell.

3. Lightwood After Dark, Magnus Bane x Alec Lightwood (Shadowhunters), Rated T

The party at The Institute is in full swing now, with everything going according to plan — the food and drinks that had been catered presented exactly as he instructed, no tech issues with any of the screens and photobooths, the music list more or less bearable thanks to Simon, and every part of the theme perfectly executed.

4. no sweeter taste // 特别甜, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated G

"We don't need a recipe, of course your Lao Ba knows what goes in a cake," Li Lianhua says distractedly while digging in the depths of the kitchen cabinets for a bowl big enough to mix the batter in.

5. the moon in the water // 镜中花，水中月, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated E

The man that Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing find on the beach is Li Xiangyi, but isn't.

6. can't read my poker face*, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated E

Alone in his dark apartment, Li Lianhua is hunched over his laptop, the video that is playing on his screen reflected in the lenses of his glasses.

*this is a collaborative work but I happened to be the one who wrote the first line

7. being a teenager sucks, platonic junior quartet + Lan Sizhui x Jin Ling (MDZS), Rated T

"Why are we even here?" Jin Ling complained as he frowned at the rundown building looming in front of them.

8. now I've got you in my sights // 你眼里的一首情歌, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated E

The light this morning is perfect, the first proper sun they've had after days of gloom and rain, coming in soft and warm when it filters through the gauzy curtains.

9. this is the nonsense of love // 只想跟你说些温暖的废话, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated E

Friday afternoons just after lunch, Li Xiangyi decides, were not meant for sitting in Di Feisheng's office trying to make his brain concentrate on Fang Duobing's weekly department reports.

10. it ends or it doesn't // 奈何吟, Di Feisheng x Li Lianhua (MLC), Rated E

Li Lianhua can feel the bird's frantic heartbeat under his fingertips when he picks it up, life caged in fragile bone and soft feathers.

--

Looks like my first lines usually have some sensory description. I remember that the last time I did this tag game, most of them started with dialogue, so it's interesting that I seem to have changed that habit.

No-pressure tagging: @peridot-tears @howdaretrashships @exitvelocities @junemermaid @omgpurplefattie and anyone else who feels like playing!