To Create the Illusion of Life

It was a beautiful, sunny day with a lovely cool breeze. Winter had ended and with spring came warmth without being overbearing. It was perfect traveling weather, which was a blessing that Xie Lian was honestly unused to. He had become accustomed to walking through sudden rain storms or under blistering heat or biting cold. The weather always seemed to take a turn for the worse on the days when he traveled between towns.

From beneath his bamboo hat, he peeked over at the man who strolled alongside him. He found Hua Cheng already watching him with a light smile on his face. He had resumed his youthful mortal form, which was a very friendly and handsome face, yet Xie Lian found himself yearning to see the form of the tall Ghost King who had fought alongside him. But he couldn’t think of a way to ask him to change into that form that wasn’t embarrassing, so instead he asked “San Lang, are you sure it’s ok for you to travel with me?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Hua Cheng just raised a brow in confusion like it was a silly question.

“Well, you are a Ghost King. I’m sure you are very busy. You have an entire city to run after all.” Xie Lian imagined that a dense city of ghosts was a very difficult group to keep in check. From what he had heard of Ghost City, it was no small village, but quite the sprawling metropolis. It truly had to be a full time job to keep so much resentment and demonic qi managed.

Yet Hua Cheng waved off the concern. “They’ll be fine for a while. My butterflies and my Waning Moon Officer are keeping an eye on things.”

He didn’t look bothered one bit to be away from his City. In fact, he looked more than thrilled to be here. The content smile he wore, and the casual way he walked, sticking close to Xie Lian’s side exuded relaxation. Maybe he was treating this like a vacation.

Xie Lian couldn’t help but cringe a bit at that thought. He had accepted Hua Cheng’s offer to travel with him, but truthfully, now that they had started the journey he was beginning to stress. Hua Cheng was a Ghost King! He was surely used to sleeping in a grand palace with servants at his beck and call. Xie Lian had no cart and no ox, just his own two feet and a long stretch of road. There would likely be no inns or places to sleep until the next major village and he had no clue how far away that was. Truthfully, he had no idea if he was even heading towards a village at all. He’d just started walking as usual. Now, the thought of making Hua Cheng sleep on the dirty ground made him shudder. Ahh he hadn’t thought this through!

“Gege, you’re overthinking again aren’t you?” Hua Cheng tilted at the hips so he was level with Xie Lian in height and smiled coyly at him.

Xie Lian frowned, turning his face away. Hua Cheng only twisted around so he was standing almost completely in front of him, forcing him to stop walking as he stared at him with that faux innocent glint in his eyes. Xie Lian sighed, fully realizing that he was going to have to speak on his insecurities a little. “San Lang. I greatly appreciate your company, so please don’t misunderstand. It’s simply that…I…well I’ve always traveled alone. I don’t pay much mind to sleeping under a tree or in a cave, but now that you’re here I’m realizing how demeaning it might come off to ask a Ghost King to do such a thing.”

Hua Cheng stared at him for a second, and Xie Lian avoided eye contact due to shame. He was basically admitting that he was a homeless vagabond! He’d never been embarrassed about it before. He’d always thought he’d had a very tough skin by now, yet somehow admitting it to Hua Cheng felt too shameful.

Suddenly, Hua Cheng burst out laughing. Not in a demeaning way at all, it was a purely joyful sound and Xie Lian forced himself to look at him. Once his laughter had subsided, he resumed walking and Xie Lian quickly fell back in pace beside him. Hua Cheng grinned at him. “Gege worries too much. It won’t be my first time sleeping on the floor. I am much more used to sleeping on the floor than on a bed.”

Xie Lian startled at that statement a bit. What an odd thing to say. But then again, ghosts don’t actually have to sleep. Maybe Hua Cheng doesn’t? But even if that was the case, the statement was still odd. Hua Cheng had said before that when he was alive he had not been a noble, so did that mean he grew up on the poorer side?

The more they talked, the more questions he had for him. He wanted to know more, but had to hold himself back from asking anything too personal. It would be incredibly rude to dig too deeply into the life of a ghost. Their mortal life was their biggest secret after all.

“Gege.” Hua Cheng chastised, pulling him out of his reverie again.

Xie Lian shook the thoughts away and instead focused on a different topic which was heavy on his mind. “Since we are traveling together, I’d like to be truthful with you.”

Hua Cheng straightened, his smile turning more serious. He gave a slight nod for Xie Lian to continue. Xie Lian met his eyes firmly. “I was a God once.”

The battle with the ghost before had obviously revealed as much. He didn’t know how much Hua Cheng might know of the disgraceful title he had been called, the Laughingstock of the Three Realms. Hua Cheng was an old ghost, and very intelligent. His knowledge of the gods was extensive. It was likely he knew of him, and after some of the questions Xie Lian had asked earlier, it was even more likely he had connected the dots. So if they were to maintain a friendship, Xie Lian felt it was important to be up front.

“I’m not now, obviously.” He continued. “There was…a series of events which led to my banishment…ah…twice.” He gave a stilted, nervous laugh at that and then cleared his throat. “I know that you aren’t fond of the gods, so if this changes your mind about traveling with me, then I understand.”

“It doesn’t.” Hua Cheng’s answer had no hesitation. “I knew, Gege. Since the beginning.”

“Ah…” Somehow that felt even more embarrassing. But at the same time, it was relieving. That meant that his kindness and words had been truly genuine all this time. That reassurance brought a touch of a smile to his lips. “Okay then.”

And that was that. The knot in his gut unwound as the apprehension that he hadn’t fully realized he was holding in began to dissipate. The conversation could have been heavy and bleak, and yet Hua Cheng accepted him just like that. It was…comforting.

He felt a little lighter now after the honesty was out and he picked up his pace a bit. “Will you tell me about Ghost City?”

“That rabble?” Hua Cheng shot him a look of mild disdain. “They’re a bunch of uninvited nuisances who built homes around my manor.”

The way he spoke of Ghost City may have been laced with contempt, but Xie Lian quickly saw through the facade. The way he described the sprawling streets and haphazard architecture betrayed his endearment towards this group of ghosts who had come to call him their Lord.

From what he could tell, Hua Cheng had never intended to establish Ghost City. Rather, the lesser ghosts seemed to flock to his power and strength for protection and the city was born as a result. Ghost City resided under his domain, and so those who dwelled within its barrier would benefit the safety of his protection. Though one could argue that they also run the risk of his wrath as well. If he decided one day that they were an eyesore he could easily eradicate them all.

But he didn’t. He let them live there and start businesses and run a market and have festivals. He allowed new spirits to come and reside there to gain strength and understanding of the afterlife. His people were taken care of, and Hua Cheng never stated it exclusively, but Xie Lian understood from the worshippers in the previous town that those within his city revered him highly.

Of course, he had clearly established lines which were not to be crossed and there were absolutely no exceptions in those rules without punishment. The denizens of the city understood that, and so it seemed even when he was away from the city, they behaved for the most part.

They talked for hours. Xie Lian was completely enthralled in Hua Cheng’s tales of his city and of the reasons behind why some ghosts came to reside there. Many of those stories involved beasts and spirits which Hua Cheng had eradicated and thus earned him a following. Xie Lian too was able to share some of his own stories of monsters which he had encountered during his travels, though his stories had many more mishaps than Hua Cheng’s. They still typically ended in his victory.

Before they knew it, night had fallen. Hua Cheng released a few butterflies, which lit up the area in a silvery, ethereal light which Xie Lian found quite beautiful. They traveled for a little while longer before Hua Cheng was actually the first to stop. “Gege, let’s stop here for the night.”

“Here” was nowhere at all. On both sides of the road they were on were flatlands filled with wildflowers. Any animals who may have been grazing in the open fields were asleep now and it left the place expansively empty.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind if we keep going.” Xie Lian frowned a little. It was a nice clear night, so they likely weren’t at risk of rain, but he still felt a little unsure about Hua Cheng having to sleep in the grass with no shelter at all.

“We have to eat dinner.” Hua Cheng stated, as if they had dinner plans here in the middle of the road.

Xie Lian raised a brow. He hadn’t had the money to buy anything when he left the last town, and they hadn’t killed any animals on the journey or collected any wild fruits or vegetables. “What are we going to eat?”

Hua Cheng just smiled without answering. He stepped a few paces away, and when Xie Lian went to follow, he held out a hand to stop him. Xie Lian obediently retreated back to the road, watching with curiosity. Then Hua Cheng nonchalantly waved one hand in a wide arc in front of him.

When he did, out of nothing, a massive array opened up and from it an entire structure manifested a few feet off of the ground. It looked like an entire room, with a large floor of plush carpet, and a huge jade chaise surrounded by red gauzy curtains. It had three walls to the sides and back, but no roof, leaving it open to the stars above. In front of the dais was a long, elaborately carved wooden table filled to the brim with freshly cooked plates of food and bowls of fruit.

This extravagant structure hovered in the air for a moment as more and more pieces of it manifested until it seemed Hua Cheng was satisfied and allowed the structure to drift gently to the ground. He turned to Xie Lian with an ear to ear grin. “Dinner, Your Highness.”

It was the first time he had used his old title, but he was too flabbergasted to make sense of it.

Xie Lian gawked at him, absolutely bug eyed. He glanced a few times between Hua Cheng and the set up in front of him, finding no words to describe the shock. What could he say? Truly his fretting earlier was for naught! This Ghost King had already thought of it all!

Hua Cheng held his hand out to him, and all Xie Lian could do was take it. He gently guided him over to the structure, taking one step up to walk across the carpet and over to the chaise. Xie Lian sat down, still taking everything in.

Hua Cheng took a teapot and filled two cups with steaming tea and handed one to him. Somehow the hot tea in his hands seemed to pull him out of his stupor. “How did you prepare all of this…?”

“I didn’t. I asked Yin Yu to have it prepared. I just brought it here.” Hua Cheng handed him a plate already filled to capacity with food.

“Yin Yu?”

“My Waning Moon Officer.” He clarified and took a bite of a slice of bread with what appeared to be some cured meat on top of it.

Everything looked and smelled incredible and Xie Lian’s stomach loudly grumbled at the sight of it all. He flushed slightly at that but Hua Cheng just laughed.

“Please tell Yin Yu I said ‘Thank you’.” Then Xie Lian took a bite of what appeared to be perfectly braised duck. It was incredibly juicy and wonderfully delicious.

They ate together until Xie Lian was positively stuffed and unable to contain a single bite more. There was still so much food left over but he couldn’t possibly look at it anymore or else he feared he would burst at the seams. With a simple wave of Hua Cheng’s hand, it all vanished. Xie Lian laid back on the chaise, uncomfortably full. The sparkling stars above him mingled with the glow of the butterflies. “Thank you. That was delicious and the most food I’ve had in a very long time. You really need to stop spoiling me so much.”

“Why?” Hua Cheng laid down beside him and stared up at the stars too. “Perhaps I want this stray cat to hang around.”

Xie Lian rolled his eyes at Hua Cheng bringing up his earlier comparison. “Is this room part of your home?”

“It’s part of the manor, yes.” Hua Cheng folded his arms behind his head to use as a pillow. “The manor isn’t a home though. It’s just my residence.”

“Is there a difference?” Xie Lian turned his face to look at him questioningly.

Hua Cheng caught his eye even though his face was still pointed towards the sky. “A home has a family waiting for you. A residence is just a place to live.”

“Hm.” Xie Lian mulled that over in his mind for a moment. If that was true then he hadn’t had a home in centuries…though truthfully he hadn’t had a residence in quite some time either.

Hua Cheng was a romantic. Which was both surprising and not. His moniker detailed a rather romantic story so it was sort of nice to see that the name seemed more than fitting.

“I’m sure San Lang will have a home soon enough. Once you summon the courage to approach your beloved person.” He balled his fist and gently tapped his knuckles against Hua Cheng’s left forearm where he knew the tattoo laid beneath his robes.

Hua Cheng didn’t respond to that. Instead he turned his head to face Xie Lian. “What about you? Do you have a home somewhere awaiting your return?”

“Ahaha…my luck doesn’t allow it.” Xie Lian waved a hand, veiling the heaviness of the topic with laughter. “Every place I’ve ever stayed has either collapsed, burnt down or been taken over. Misfortune is a shadow of mine, but I've grown used to it. It’s okay. I like being on the move anyway. I get to meet all sorts of interesting people like you.”

Hua Cheng watched him, his typical smile gone into a more serious line. “What if you didn’t have to worry about all that? If somehow it could be promised that there was a place for you that would never be taken away? Would you want to settle down somewhere?”

A place that could never be taken away? The thought alone hadn’t crossed his mind in centuries, not since the fall of Xianle. It was an impossible thought so long as the shackle around his ankle still marred his skin. “Well…even if that place did exist…wouldn’t it only be a residence according to your standards?”

“No…” Hua Cheng’s voice was soft now, hardly more than a whisper as he stared up at the stars with longing. “It would be a home.”

That was contradictory, but Xie Lian let it be. The discussion made something sad form in his throat and he didn’t want to think much about it anymore. Now that he was lying down with a full stomach, his eyelids began to grow heavy. “San Lang, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

There it was again, that title that he hadn’t been called in so long. After his first banishment, the title had been spat at him with condescending disgust so many times he had begun to despise it. But from Hua Cheng, it sounded…reverent. Despite the fact that it had been a long, long time since he had been a prince. It sounded…nice, when it came from him, so he decided not to correct him. “The form you wore during our battle against the plant ghost…was that your true form?”

Hua Cheng seemed to stiffen slightly at his side. For a while it seemed he wasn’t exactly sure how to word his answer until he finally settled on responding with a question. “What would Gege think about it if it was?”

Xie Lian turned to face him again, finding those obsidian eyes searching him with apprehension. A few strands of hair hung over the right side of his face, so Xie Lian gently brushed it away so that he could see his face fully. Hua Cheng’s eyes widened slightly when his thumb brushed across his cheek.

“This form is…nice.” Xie Lian smiled softly. Hua Cheng was undeniably handsome in whatever form he took. Xie Lian wasn’t going to complain about any of them. But his hand hovered just slightly over that right eye of his before he pulled it back to himself. “But I still wouldn’t mind seeing your true form more often.”

For some reason, Hua Cheng actually frowned at that. “Even if that form is unsightly?”

Xie Lian laughed in a subdued, sleepy sort of way. “San Lang will never be unsightly to me.”

Hua Cheng’s brows furrowed a little. The frustrated expression gave away that he didn’t quite believe him. “What if I’m actually a monstrous beast?”

“That’s ok.” Xie Lian just maintained his gentle smile. This chaise was so comfortable, and he was so tired after the events of the last few days. Hua Cheng was warm beside him. It all made his eyes drift closed even as he spoke. “We’re friends. So it doesn’t matter how you look. I’ll still like you.”