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It had been a long time since Xie Lian was a novice at anything. He had taught himself how to do any number of tasks in 800 years, but he usually had some example to follow, someone’s footsteps to walk in. In this, he was directionless. There was no template for him to consult, despite what he’d had the misfortune of hearing from others over the centuries. Everything else he’d ever learned in life had been out of necessity.
But maybe this, too, was needed.
There were friends he could ask, but he didn’t think he could stand Feng Xin’s horror or Pei Ming’s leering curiosity. For all too long, the only person he’d gone to for help was Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng who had a long and ruthless memory, and had no doubt been a student in this far more than Xie Lian, even if only in theory.
Xie Lian wished, not for the first time, that he’d been able to see the mural in the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods. At least then he’d have some idea where to start. Not that he was completely naive. He knew too well what it was like when Hua Cheng got his way, the way it — felt when Hua Cheng laid hands on him.
Their first night together, after Hua Cheng had been returned to him, Xie Lian had spent hours shaking apart under Hua Cheng’s mouth and hands and… other things. He had sobbed and begged and made sounds that caused him to blush even now, all while Hua Cheng had made good use of their twin preternatural staminas.
It had been perfect. Perfect in a way that Xie Lian never could have imagined, and a way he found himself thinking of often, since. They had finished sometime in the darkest hours of the night, panting for breath and pressed so close together that the empty, yawning thing awoken in Xie Lian over the last year had finally settled. He was content, he was whole, and then, in the dim light of morning, the heavens had called.
It would be fine, Xie Lian had thought. He would get this wrapped up, and then they’d be reunited again. It was only a day or so, and after a year — after centuries — that was fine. It was doable, if not ideal. So he’d left Hua Cheng in the tiny cottage with a goodbye kiss (or several), and gone to see what all the ruckus was about.
And it would have been fine, if Hua Cheng hadn’t gotten called away to deal with his own set of troubles right as Xie Lian’s were winding down. Xie Lian felt as though they were two ships in the night, the cottage still clean and warm from Hua Cheng’s touch.
For weeks they played a strange game of tag, only catching a few hours together at a time. Hua Cheng insinuated more than once that someone or something was working to keep them apart, though he cheerfully also informed Xie Lian he wouldn’t let it happen.
“I’ll wait for you as long as I need to, gege,” he’d said, his arms wrapped tight around Xie Lian, chin on his shoulder as they said goodbye yet again. “But I won’t suffer any heavenly official’s ill intentions.”
Xie Lian had sighed. “I don’t think they’re doing it on purpose, San Lang. The heavens are still...” In disarray, Xie Lian thought. Wrecked. A complete mess. “...unsettled.”
“And only gege can fix them,” Hua Cheng said, with so much conviction that Xie Lian laughed nervously, his cheeks going hot.
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Xie Lian demurred, and he tipped his head obligingly when Hua Cheng kissed his ear, and then his cheek. “But I do have to help.”
“Gege is too nice,” Hua Cheng said, his tone teasing as he nuzzled into Xie Lian’s shoulder. “And I wouldn’t have him any other way. Go, or else I’ll have trouble letting you.”
Xie Lian hummed. “San Lang would let me,” he said with conviction, “no matter what.”
Hua Cheng sighed and released him. “Too astute, as always. Go on, save those idiots from themselves.”
Xie Lian bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised.
And so, more time passed, and they didn’t revisit the night — that night, the one Xie Lian couldn’t remember without his whole body running hot. Even when they spent days together, and their mouths sought one another out, easy and frequent, Hua Cheng’s hands never wandered too far. He clutched at Xie Lian’s shoulders, his waist, even his hips, fingers tightening so much that Xie Lian had gasped, guiltily hoping for bruises.
But Hua Cheng always stopped. He’d retreat, kissing Xie Lian slower and slower until they both calmed, or calmed somewhat. Xie Lian found himself watching Hua Cheng’s mouth afterward, fascinated with how red and swollen it was. That mouth was on his, so recently, and it could be again. Xie Lian could —
“Is everything okay?” Hua Cheng asked, his brows furrowed.
Xie Lian smiled and waved his hand in the air, as if he could brush aside Hua Cheng’s concerns. “Fine, it’s fine. What were you saying?”
He couldn’t possibly, actually come out and ask for anything, that would be humiliating. Plus, he had no idea how to even raise… that. He didn’t have the right words. Surely Hua Cheng would take it upon himself to start up again in that direction, and hopefully soon. Xie Lian could wait. He was good at waiting, good at being patient.
It seemed ridiculous, after all, that he suddenly craved something he’d gone his entire, long life without.
Hua Cheng was in San Lang’s form tonight, eyes bright as he teased with his words, and with fleeting touches and kisses to any of Xie Lian’s exposed skin, pressing his lips to Xie Lian’s face, his throat, his wrists. During dinner, he sucked a spot of sauce off one of Xie Lian’s fingers, and then took the time to carefully clean the rest of his fingertips with his mouth, too.
Hua Cheng looked at him often. He probably looked at Xie Lian more than he didn’t. But sometimes the weight of his gaze was different. Hotter and more intent, almost searing. It was in those moments that Xie Lian wondered what shape Hua Cheng’s desire took.
Xie Lian was trembling by the time Hua Cheng finished, his breath caught tight in his chest. “San Lang,” he said, his voice faint and trailing off.
“Hmm?”
Xie Lian’s cheeks burned. “Nothing! Sorry, I— nothing. Sorry.”
Hua Cheng smiled. “Finish your food, gege.”
Xie Lian nodded and did as he was told, eager to have his mouth occupied with something besides words.
When they retired for the night, Hua Cheng still didn’t make a move. He kissed Xie Lian sweetly on the forehead, and then rolled him easily onto his side, so that Hua Cheng could push up behind him, wrapping himself firmly around Xie Lian.
Xie Lian couldn’t find it in himself to be disappointed, not with Hua Cheng holding him so tightly, their feet tangled together. But, wait — now Xie Lian’s feet were pressed against Hua Cheng’s shins.
“San Lang, did you just—”
“Shh, gege,” Hua Cheng said, his voice deeper than it had been all evening. “There’s just more of me to hold onto you now.”
Xie Lian smiled and held onto the arm wrapped around him. Hua Cheng’s warmth at his back made him think of another way this could happen. He thought of Hua Cheng bearing him down to this same straw mat, holding his body still while Hua Cheng saw to their mutual pleasure.
“What is it?” Hua Cheng asked, his voice a rumble through Xie Lian’s body.
Xie Lian steadied his breathing before he said, “It’s nothing, San Lang, I’m only glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” Hua Cheng kissed the top of his head, and his fingers drummed on Xie Lian’s stomach, hot through his thin inner robe. “Is that really it, gege?”
Xie Lian slid his fingers into Hua Cheng’s so they were interlocked over his belly. “Yeah, that’s it.”
Hua Cheng got pulled away again the next day, and Xie Lian had no doubt of the seriousness of the matter since Yin Yu prostrated himself on the ground before both of them and directed his message mostly into the dirt path.
Xie Lian decided to go with, as at least then they wouldn’t be separated for what felt like the hundredth time in the past month. Hua Cheng happily accepted his offer for help, and his arm was wrapped around Xie Lian’s waist, dice in hand, when Feng Xin burst into Xie Lian’s communication array.
“Your Highness, are you free?” Feng Xin’s voice sounded manic, not his normal surplus of aggressive energy, but frantic all the same.
Xie Lian touched his temple. “What do you need help with?”
“Uh, it’s a little complicated to explain. If His Highness could just—”
Xie Lian sighed and looked up to Hua Cheng as he responded, “Okay, okay, I got it, Feng Xin. Where are you?”
Hua Cheng kissed his forehead and smiled wryly. “I’ll see you later, gege.”
Feng Xin’s complicated situation turned out to be a monster causing trouble in the southeast. It was some kind of deer-looking horned beast, and its short fur had a greenish tinge. It was kind of cute, Xie Lian thought, reaching out a hand with his palm up.
“Don’t get too close, Your Highness!” Feng Xin yelled, tugging at Xie Lian’s elbow.
“Yeah, do you want to gored today?!” Mu Qing chimed in.
Mu Qing had followed them to the forest, claiming his own followers had also prayed about the monster. When Feng Xin had scoffed, Mu Qing had admitted irritably, “We have a lot of the same followers, it’s not that strange.”
“Oh!” Xie Lian had said. “Like me and San Lang.”
Both Mu Qing and Feng Xin had shut up immediately, looking away from Xie Lian with their cheeks burning red. Thus, Xie Lian was able to steer the focus back to the monster hunt.
“It’s not going to gore me,” Xie Lian said, shaking off Feng Xin’s hand. “Hopefully.”
They subdued the creature and convinced it, through a combination of Xie Lian’s soft words and the other two’s weapon-pointing, to go back to its home in the west. Xie Lian had only heard of this kind of monster, but the legends said it could travel thousands of li with little effort.
“It’s lost,” Xie Lian said, his hand firmly on Feng Xin’s bow, pointing the arrow down and away. “Let it go home.”
“As long as I don’t have to deal with General Qi Ying,” Feng Xin grumbled.
“Eh, it has to go through my territory first. If it goes far enough, the area is barely inhabited,” Mu Qing said.
“See? Everything is solved, and you worked well together,” Xie Lian said, beaming at the two. As expected, they both made haste to leave rather than arguing with him.
When Xie Lian returned to his cottage, he learned that Hua Cheng’s task was taking much longer than his own.
“I’m sorry, gege,” Hua Cheng said when Xie Lian asked how it was going over the spiritual communication array. “Do you want to come to Ghost City? I can come get you later tonight.”
Xie Lian thought about it. He could sleep in Hua Cheng’s exceedingly comfortable divan in Paradise Manor, or even in the lavishly well-appointed bedroom they sometimes shared in Qiandeng Temple. Most likely Hua Cheng would join him during the night, and they could at least have a few hours in each other’s arms.
But Xie Lian didn’t want to be so nearby that Hua Cheng felt he needed to rush everything to play host. “No, no, it’s fine. No worries, San Lang. I’ll see you soon?”
“Yes,” Hua Cheng responded fervently. “As soon as possible, I promise.”
“Good luck,” Xie Lian said when they signed off, and then felt silly for doing so. Of all the things he could wish Hua Cheng that he definitely didn’t need help with.
But Hua Cheng said only, “Thank you, gege,” with a warm laugh tucked underneath the words.
Everything around Xie Lian was hot, his skin burning up even though Hua Cheng’s touch was cool and soothing. He felt battered, worn out and used in the best way, sore in other ways he hadn’t known were possible. Hua Cheng panted into his ear, and he sucked at the lobe as he carefully pulled out of Xie Lian’s body.
Xie Lian gasped, horrified to hear his voice edging more into a whine at the thought of being no longer connected in that way. Hua Cheng kissed his nose, and then his throat, and then he just… kept going. He kissed Xie Lian’s trembling belly, the sharp cut of his hip bone, and even his spent cock, making Xie Lian jump.
Then he smiled up the length of Xie Lian’s body and flipped him over like it was nothing.
“San Lang, what are you— Ah!” Xie Lian cried out as Hua Cheng spread him apart, his fingers teasing where Xie Lian was swollen and felt bruised, Hua Cheng’s spend leaking out of him. How many times had he already come? How many times had Hua Cheng released inside him?
“Shh,” Hua Cheng said, the words followed up by a kiss just there, where Xie Lian felt unbearably greedy for more. Xie Lian choked and shoved his face in the pillow. “Let me clean you up, gege.”
Hua Cheng’s long fingers gripped his ass tighter, somehow exposing Xie Lian to him even more, and then he was doing far more than kissing, his tongue pressing against Xie Lian as though to —
Xie Lian woke with a gasp, sweat gathering on his brow and at the small of his back, his cock tenting his pants so obviously that he looked around the cabin furtively, as if anyone was there to witness his embarrassment.
He tried to will it away. He tried to calm his pounding heart, to slow his breathing, but he was unsuccessful on all fronts. The memory of his night with Hua Cheng haunted him, opening him up like some kind of hungry thing that couldn’t be put to rest. Before he realized it, his fingers were nudging aside his thin inner robes so he could take himself in hand.
He gasped, shocked at how good it felt. It wasn’t Hua Cheng’s touch, but he had half thought that maybe he would prove this wouldn’t feel as good as he imagined, and he could go back to ignoring it. That was not the case, and he let instinct guide him as he stroked himself, precome slipping out liberally. Soon, his hips were bucking up, as though he were fucking his own hand.
It was good, it was so good, but his release still felt too far. It was just out of reach, and he didn’t know how to tip himself over the crest.
In what he’d later believe to be a fit of insanity, he called for Hua Cheng over their private communication array. It was late, he shouldn’t have. Hua Cheng could be asleep, or at least resting. Xie Lian had a feeling that Hua Cheng only slept when they were together.
But Hua Cheng responded almost immediately. “Gege, is everything okay?”
“Sorry, sorry, San Lang. Were you awake?”
“I’m always awake for you,” Hua Cheng said, which made Xie Lian blush even more. His voice was low and deep, and it made Xie Lian aware of his current predicament.
Xie Lian’s hand tightened on his cock without his say-so, and he gasped. He tore his hand away, gripping his thigh tightly instead, but he knew Hua Cheng had heard.
“What are you up to so late at night?” Hua Cheng asked, and though the words were smooth, he sounded strained.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian said, pitiful. He couldn’t say it. How could he possibly say it? “I… I had a dream.”
Hua Cheng hummed. “A dream? What about, gege?”
“The— the night that you. The night you came back to me,” Xie Lian said, hushed and shameful.
“Oh,” Hua Cheng said, and he sounded dazed. He was quiet for a moment before he said, even softer, “Is gege touching himself?”
Xie Lian whimpered. He wanted to cover his face and hide. He made himself tell the truth. “Yes. I wanted to hear your voice.”
“What’s wrong, gege?” Hua Cheng really was too smart for his own good.
“I can’t— I couldn’t… do it… all the way.”
“Ah, gege can’t come?” Hua Cheng asked, and then he chuckled. “I know that’s not true.”
“San Lang!” Xie Lian moaned pitifully.
“What do you want? Can I help you, gege? Or do you want to just talk?”
Xie Lian lay there, thinking, trying to decide. Hua Cheng could talk him down, could calm and comfort him enough to sleep. But Xie Lian was still so hard, so wanting. This new, foreign feeling that wouldn’t go away, that kept growing. Hua Cheng waited patiently for his response.
Finally, Xie Lian whispered, “Help. I want San Lang’s help.”
Hua Cheng sucked in a sharp breath, and Xie Lian wished that he was here, next to him on the simple bed. That he could feel Hua Cheng’s breath on his skin.
“Are you touching your cock, gege?” Hua Cheng asked, and the word sounded so much filthier aloud than it did in Xie Lian’s head.
Xie Lian released his death grip on his thigh and wrapped his fingers around his weeping cock again. It made him moan, even with no motion, and Hua Cheng echoed the sound back to him.
“Oh, oh, San Lang. I think it’s working.”
Hua Cheng laughed. “Good, gege. I wish I was there to see you.”
Xie Lian could invite him. Hua Cheng would come, he would make time for him, just as he was now. He could roll his dice and walk through Xie Lian’s door, ready to do anything Xie Lian asked.
How could Xie Lian ask for that, though? If he couldn’t ask for what he wanted, for Hua Cheng to, to do that again, how could he be so selfish? Maybe, though. Maybe he could ask for some things.
“I wish you were, too,” Xie Lian said softly, and held the invitation in his chest, tight and warm. He fortified himself. “I want to touch you again,” he said, “if San Lang would have me.”
“Gege,” Hua Cheng said in a rush, like the word was punched out of him. “It would be an honor to have your touch. Always.”
Xie Lian stroked his cock, and his whole body moved with it. He did it again, and again. He didn’t know what sound he was making, but he could hear the way Hua Cheng was reacting, shocked little moans as if —
“San Lang, are you touching yourself?” Xie Lian pictured it, Hua Cheng sitting on his divan in Paradise Manor, his legs spread wide, hand moving inside his pants.
“Yes, yes, is that okay—?”
“Yeah,” Xie Lian said. He felt incoherent with wanting, crazed and feverish, remembering the taste of Hua Cheng’s skin. “I want to hear you. I want to see you. Can we do it again, San Lang?”
“Please, gege. Anytime, always. I would have you every day if you permitted me,” Hua Cheng gasped. “You want to, again?”
“Very much,” Xie Lian said, biting back a whine. He was delirious, hot all over like he was back in the dream. “I wanted— I thought, the other day, when you came for dinner. I thought we might then.”
“Gege,” Hua Cheng said, his voice so deep it tugged at every fiber of Xie Lian. “Don’t think I didn’t want to.”
Xie Lian moaned, and he didn’t bother to cover it up. He let Hua Cheng hear it, loud and clear, and was rewarded with Hua Cheng cursing.
Xie Lian stroked himself faster, holding on tighter. He almost wished he could touch his — touch himself where Hua Cheng had entered him, too. He wished he could touch his hole and see if it would be as responsive for his own fingers.
Maybe next time, Xie Lian thought, and he was thrilled and terrified at the idea that there would be another time he did this while he was alone.
“Are you close?” Hua Cheng asked, and Xie Lian’s stomach swooped with how close Hua Cheng sounded himself. “Will you come for me?”
“Yeah, yeah, I— please, San Lang. Please.”
“That’s it,” Hua Cheng said, his words coming quicker, almost frantic. “Let go, gege. If I can’t see you, I want to hear you.”
Xie Lian nodded, then said, “Yes, yes,” aloud when he realized Hua Cheng couldn’t see him. He was on that precipice again, but this time it took but a feather to push him off the other side, free-falling while Hua Cheng moaned in his head.
When Xie Lian came back to himself, it was in fits and starts, floating back into his head where Hua Cheng was telling him, “So beautiful, gege is so fucking beautiful. Can’t wait to see you, to touch you.”
“San Lang, did you release?” Xie Lian asked. He felt hazy, warm all over and heavy.
“Yeah, thanks to gege,” Hua Cheng said, and Xie Lian was both happy he helped and sad he missed it.
“Good,” he said, and he hoped Hua Cheng could hear the smile in his voice.
“I’ll be finished up tomorrow, I could come get gege and bring him back here?” Hua Cheng said, his tone light and careful. “I have a very nice bed.”
“I know you do,” Xie Lian said, his eyes already closing.
Hua Cheng laughed. “Would you like that?”
“Please, San Lang. That sounds nice,” Xie Lian said, or thought he said. He should get up and wipe his hand on a cloth, not just his robes. He really should. He didn’t want to move. He was the one who would have to wash them anyway.
“Go to sleep, gege,” Hua Cheng said.
“Love you,” Xie Lian murmured. He curled up on his side and, wishing for an arm around him, fell back into dreams.
Hua Cheng came for him early in the evening, outlined against the setting sun, the red of his tunic glowing as the light faded. He smiled at Xie Lian and extended his arms and Xie Lian found himself in an embrace before he realized he’d run to Hua Cheng, abandoning his wood chopping.
“You should let me do that,” Hua Cheng said to the top of his head.
“Mhmm, you are much better at it,” Xie Lian agreed.
Hua Cheng drew back to look at him. “Was there not enough left from the last time? My apologies, gege.”
Xie Lian looked down, feeling the pink in his cheeks. “No, no it’s not that. I only needed something to do with my hands.”
Hua Cheng was smirking when Xie Lian risked a look up at him. “Gege, were you impatient for something?”
Xie Lian blushed harder, his hands tightening in Hua Cheng’s tunic. “Don’t tease, San Lang.”
Hua Cheng laughed, ducking his head to speak into Xie Lian’s ear. “It’s only a tease if I don’t follow through. Come home with me, gege. Let me have my way with you.”
Xie Lian shivered and nodded, heart pounding as Hua Cheng threw his dice. The main hall of Paradise Manor was as ornate and glamorous as usual, stretching out before them, echoing and empty. They crossed the expanse in what felt like a heartbeat, Hua Cheng sitting on the massive black divan and tugging an eager Xie Lian into his lap.
Hua Cheng’s mouth opened easily under Xie Lian’s, and Xie Lian found himself lost in the act of kissing much faster than normal. He could feel Hua Cheng’s hard length beneath him already, and it thrilled him. He did that, he made that happen. Hua Cheng was just as impatient and needy as he was, and it made it easier for Xie Lian to shed his own inhibitions.
He opened his mouth to ask Hua Cheng to take him to the bedroom, when there was a cry from outside. Xie Lian looked over his shoulder, but Hua Cheng pulled him back in.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, voice rough.
Xie Lian tried to, he really did. He tried to focus on the taste of Hua Cheng’s mouth, on the way his clever hands had slipped into the top of his robes, lazily groping at Xie Lian’s body, hinting that Ruoye should get lost. But the cries and shouts only got louder, growing to a din. His instincts pushed him to check it out, and he pulled away, kissing Hua Cheng’s forehead in apology.
“I know,” Hua Cheng said, rolling his eye. “Let’s find out what they’re squawking about.”
Xie Lian thought privately it better be something life-threatening, or afterlife-threatening, as he didn’t know what Hua Cheng would do to the citizens of his city for interrupting otherwise. They found the commotion easily, partially following the voices of the alarmed ghosts and partially due to the black smoke roiling into the air.
“Chengzhu!” Yin Yu exclaimed upon seeing them. Xie Lian couldn’t see his eyes behind his mask, but he imagined they were wide. “Your Highness! No one should have bothered you, I left instructions that you were not to be disturbed!”
“Don’t worry,” Xie Lian rushed to say, before Hua Cheng could reprimand Yin Yu. “What’s going on?”
Yin Yu grimaced. “One of the shops was reselling talismans taken off a cultivator’s body,” he said, waving toward a roaring fire that the ghosts were rushing to put out. “They accidentally activated one.”
Xie Lian frowned. “Even a very strong talisman shouldn’t cause this much damage so quickly. Unless…”
“Unless what, gege?” Hua Cheng prompted, though he must have come to the same conclusion.
“Unless the fire affected something else in turn. Don’t you think it’s possible, San Lang?”
“A fire demon, maybe,” Hua Cheng said grimly.
Xie Lian shrugged. “Probably only a small one, judging from the size of the fire.”
“Hey!” Yin Yu yelled to the gathered crowd. “We’re looking for a fire demon! Find it before it burns down your shops and homes, too!”
The crowd dispersed fast, so fast Xie Lian was sure some dissipated right there on the spot. There were overlapping cries of, “WE’VE GOT IT,” and, “DON’T WORRY, WE’LL GET ‘EM!”
Xie Lian stepped closer to the fire, Hua Cheng right behind him. He waved his arm in a long arc, spiritual power helping to carry the water the ghosts had brought over spread further, dampening more flames. With Hua Cheng’s help he managed to shift enough water and dirt onto the flames to bring the fire down to a smolder.
Even free from the cursed shackles, it was demanding work. When Hua Cheng slipped an arm around his waist, Xie Lian gratefully leaned into his side. Hua Cheng played with the end of Xie Lian’s hair ribbon, tugging on it gently, just enough that Xie Lian could feel the pressure on his scalp.
He sighed. “San Lang, it really does feel like someone is keeping us apart. Maybe it’s my bad luck.”
“No, no, gege,” Hua Cheng said, kissing the side of his head. “After we take care of this demon, I’m taking you back to Paradise Manor, and we’re not leaving the bed for at least a day.”
Xie Lian blushed. “A day?”
Hua Cheng smiled at him. “Maybe two.”
Xie Lian opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked down, fighting the smile that spread across his face. “I trust San Lang’s good judgement,” he said, looking at the street beneath his feet.
Before Hua Cheng could respond, they heard shouting. “MY LORD, MY LORD, WE GOT IT.”
Yin Yu led the charge, a wriggling sack in his hands. At Xie Lian’s urging, he opened it, and it was only Xie Lian’s quick reflexes that kept the thing from sailing into the air.
“Gege, no!” Hua Cheng shouted, most likely expecting it to be burning hot.
The small ball of fire in Xie Lian’s hands was cool, though, almost like a ghost fire. It was yellow and orange in turns, cycling through all the colors of fire, even sparking blue in some instances.
“Hello,” Xie Lian said softly. The ball of fire glowed blue all over and pulsed, before changing to yellow. It doesn’t feel evil, though the potential for destruction was surely there. “San Lang, this isn’t a demon.”
Hua Cheng reached out a careful hand and patted the top of it. “No, it’s not.”
“What is it, Your Highness?” Yin Yu asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It’s a nature spirit,” Xie Lian said. They were very rare, even Xie Lian has only come across a handful from all the elements over the years. “It’s not actually dangerous, or not purposely. Most likely it was hiding out somewhere, forgotten, and woke up because of the talisman. If we introduce it to a contained fire, and let it burn out, it’ll return to the earth.”
“You heard him,” Hua Cheng said. “Gege, let’s go.”
“Oh? Shouldn’t we—?”
“Yin Yu is more than capable,” Hua Cheng said with a huff. Xie Lian held back a laugh.
“Yes, my lord. Your Highness,” Yin Yu hurried to say, bowing his head and taking the spirit back from Xie Lian to stuff it into the bag again.
Hua Cheng slipped his hand into Xie Lian’s. “Let’s go home.”
As soon as they stepped onto the grounds of Paradise Manor, and before he lost his nerve, Xie Lian said, “Bedroom, San Lang.”
He heard Hua Cheng suck in a sharp breath, and as soon as they stepped through a doorway, they were in Hua Cheng’s opulent bedroom.
“How do you do that?” Xie Lian asked. He had been meaning to for some time, fascinated with it.
“The rooms know to move for me. They’ll move for gege, too.”
Xie Lian felt his face go hot. “Oh, it’s no trouble.”
“I know it’s not,” Hua Cheng said with a smile. “That’s why I made it that way.”
“San Lang,” Xie Lian said, and he braced his hands on Hua Cheng’s chest as he went up on his toes. Hua Cheng met him halfway, catching Xie Lian’s mouth in a kiss that turned hot and hungry almost right away.
Xie Lian made himself lean back, falling onto his heels. He swallowed and balled his hands into fists. “San Lang, would you undress me?”
“Whatever gege desires,” Hua Cheng breathed, his hands already moving to Xie Lian’s belt. He kissed every part of Xie Lian that he uncovered, from his chest to his shoulder, to his flat stomach, slowly pulling his robes away from his body, attempting to get the outer and inner ones off in one go.
“Ruoye, come on,” Xie Lian said, because though it was fluttering curiously around Hua Cheng’s hands, the silk wasn’t slipping off his body.
“I’ll take good care of him,” Hua Cheng said, and Xie Lian threw his hands over his face in embarrassment. It did the trick, though, and Ruoye slipped off Xie Lian’s body as easy as breathing, slithering across the floor to join E’Ming where Hua Cheng had left it in the corner.
“Gege said he had been wanting this,” Hua Cheng said, hanging up Xie Lian’s robes as though they were made of much more expensive material. He shed his own tunic and inner robe, leaving him in thin pants, much like Xie Lian. He tilted his head as he walked back to Xie Lian. “What have you been wanting? You can’t keep saying ‘nothing,’ gege.”
Xie Lian’s breath caught, and he fought to keep his eyes on Hua Cheng’s face as he got closer. “I— I feel empty.” Hua Cheng’s face fell, and Xie Lian was horrified with himself. “No! No, San Lang, not like that! Not emotionally!”
He rushed over, taking Hua Cheng’s hands in his own. “San Lang, my heart is so full. It’s… my body.”
Hua Cheng’s lips quirked. “Gege’s body is empty?”
It sounded incredibly stupid when Hua Cheng said it like that. It sounded lascivious, wanton. It was the kind of thing that Xie Lian would never say. But it wasn’t wrong.
Xie Lian looked at the plush rug beneath their feet, feeling the comfort of it with his bare toes. Then he looked back up at Hua Cheng through his lashes, something he’d never done purposely but had seen employed by courtesans and clever youths alike. “Can San Lang help me?”
“Gege, fuck,” Hua Cheng said, though the words were lost in Xie Lian’s mouth. Hua Cheng wrapped his hands around Xie Lian’s hips and squeezed, lifting him up while still he kissed him.
Xie Lian laughed and jumped, wrapping his legs around him. Hua Cheng carried him the short distance to the bed, and he followed him down when he dropped Xie Lian there. Their bodies were pressed tight together, and Xie Lian felt wild with feeling so much of Hua Cheng’s bare skin against his own. He bit his lip and pushed at Hua Cheng’s pants, aching to feel more of him.
Hua Cheng groaned, pushing down his own pants. He rested his hands against Xie Lian’s waistband. “Gege?”
“Yeah, please,” Xie Lian said, arching his back to help.
Finally there was nothing between them, and Xie Lian pulled Hua Cheng against him. He spread his legs, wrapping them around Hua Cheng again. They kissed and kissed more, and Hua Cheng broke away just when Xie Lian felt his chest would burst from lack of air. He ducked his head and kissed Xie Lian’s neck, sucking a mark into the skin hard enough to hurt. Xie Lian moaned, pushing into it.
“I’ve got you,” Hua Cheng said, moving down to his chest and licking at Xie Lian’s nipple while rubbing his thumb over the other. He laughed when Xie Lian’s whole body jumped, but it wasn’t unkind. He sounded delighted. “Does gege like that?”
“I don’t— I think so, but San Lang, please. Please, can we… continue?”
“Gege, are you trying to rush me?” Hua Cheng asked knowingly.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian said, and he squirmed with how miserable he sounded. He had never wanted anything like this. He’d never felt lustful in his long, long life. But now. He closed his eyes against the words he was about to say. “San Lang said he would help.”
Hua Cheng made a small noise, his hands going tight on Xie Lian’s ribs. “I did, didn’t I? I will, gege. I will. But, please, let this humble worshipper touch you first?”
It was near impossible for Xie Lian to say no to him under normal circumstances, much less when they were like this: bare and tangled together. Hua Cheng’s hands were still wrapped around his ribs, his long fingers hemming in Xie Lian’s narrow waist, and Xie Lian could feel the pressure of his touch when he breathed.
“Okay,” he said softly.
Hua Cheng stroked his hands over Xie Lian’s body, from his shoulders to the soles of his feet, in long, even motions that soothed the tension and nervousness out of Xie Lian. He hummed with pleasure when Hua Cheng dug his thumb into the arch of Xie Lian’s foot, letting out an embarrassing sound when Hua Cheng pushed harder.
Hua Cheng switched to the other foot, before moving up to Xie Lian’s ankles. He kissed his knee as he massaged away the tension in Xie Lian’s calves, moving so slowly back up his body that Xie Lian floated in the gentleness of this touch.
He didn’t know when his eyes fell shut, but he jumped when Hua Cheng was suddenly over him again, brushing Xie Lian’s hair away from his face to kiss his nose. “Gege is tired,” Hua Cheng said.
Not again, Xie Lian thought desperately. “I’m a god, it doesn’t matter,” he protested, but even to his own ears he sounded close to sleep. He blinked, and it took a long moment to open his eyes again.
Hua Cheng laughed. “Let’s sleep. I can take you tomorrow, gege. We have forever.”
Xie Lian smiled. “We do. If… um. If San Lang wanted, he could… anyway?” When Hua Cheng tilted his head in confusion, Xie Lian shut his eyes before speaking. “San Lang could, ah, take me now.”
“Even if you fall asleep,” Hua Cheng said slowly, like he was solving a riddle.
Xie Lian opened one eye to gauge Hua Cheng’s expression. “Yes?”
Hua Cheng kissed him, keeping it shallow but no less full of passion. “That,” he said when he pulled back, “is something we should explore. For both of us. But not now, gege. I want to make you fall apart.”
Xie Lian whimpered, and his hands tightened briefly on Hua Cheng’s shoulders. “I want that, too, San Lang. Tomorrow,” he said, a vow.
“Tomorrow.” Hua Cheng smiled, kissed him once more, and then put out the lights in the room.
It was still dark when Xie Lian woke, and he was sure he’d only slept a few hours. He felt refreshed, though. Renewed. He found himself arching into the line of Hua Cheng’s body behind him, needy suddenly in a way that made morning feel too far away.
“San Lang,” he said, his voice a croak, but he was already rolling over and pushing Hua Cheng onto his back and swinging a leg over him.
“Gege?” Hua Cheng asked, brow furrowed. His hands went to Xie Lian’s hips automatically, steadying him where he straddled Hua Cheng’s naked body.
“Now,” Xie Lian said. “Can we…” He ground his hips down against Hua Cheng’s, and he felt the answering firmness beneath him. He felt as unhinged as he had when he touched himself in the cabin, but the heat was worse with Hua Cheng physically here. “Please, I don’t want to wait any longer.”
Hua Cheng pulled Xie Lian down into a hungry kiss. His hands shifted to Xie Lian’s ass, gripping it firmly in his hands. Xie Lian’s hips stuttered, and he moaned.
“Come here, come here,” said Hua Cheng. He pushed Xie Lian away so he could scoot back against the wall at the head of the bed, and then dragged him up to sit astride his lap.
Xie Lian blinked, and now there were silver butterflies in the chamber with them, making Hua Cheng’s pale skin glow in the low light. Hua Cheng had a vial in his hand, and Xie Lian’s cheeks heated when he remembered the last time he’d seen it. Hua Cheng’s hands dipped to his ass again, and Xie Lian leaned in for a kiss as a finger stroked at his entrance.
He nodded without breaking the kiss, and then gasped into Hua Cheng’s open mouth as the finger slid inside. Hua Cheng gripped the back of Xie Lian’s head with his free hand, keeping him close as he opened him up, deft and certain. By the time Hua Cheng was moving three fingers in and out of him, Xie Lian had to break the kiss.
“San Lang, San Lang,” he whined, pressing his head to Hua Cheng’s shoulder. “Please, please.”
“Is gege sure?”
Xie Lian scrambled his wits enough to cup Hua Cheng’s face between his palms. Instead of answering, he kissed him again. Sweetly at first, and then deeper when Hua Cheng’s fingers crooked inside him. Hua Cheng swallowed the sound he made, clutching Xie Lian to him greedily even as he slipped his fingers out.
Hua Cheng eased Xie Lian over and onto his back, quick but so gentle it made Xie Lian bite his lip. He was looking at Xie Lian with wide eyes, like he couldn’t believe his own luck. Gazing at him with that mix of awe and adoration that Xie Lian couldn’t quite get used to it, though he never stopped aching to see it.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian said, drawing him down into a kiss. He reached down between Hua Cheng’s legs, moaning as he wrapped a hand around his thick cock. He shifted his hips, trying to get Hua Cheng inside him.
“I’ve got you,” Hua Cheng said, his own fingers overlapping with Xie Lian’s. Xie Lian moved his hand away so Hua Cheng could spread more oil on his cock. He spread his legs wider, drawing up his knees.
Hua Cheng gathered him up in his arms, lifting him to get the right angle. The pressure at Xie Lian’s hole increased, and Hua Cheng tipped his forehead against Xie Lian’s in the long breath they shared before he pushed forward. Xie Lian cried out, throwing his head back. Hua Cheng followed him down, lips pressed to Xie Lian’s throat.
He opened his mouth and scraped his teeth there, too, and Xie Lian shuddered beneath him. “How does it feel, gege?”
“San Lang, I feel— It’s good. Don’t stop, please.” Xie Lian clutched at Hua Cheng’s upper arms, wrapping his legs around his back.
Hua Cheng took him at his word and began to move, drawing all the way out before pushing back inside. Xie Lian arched and moaned, and it spurred Hua Cheng on, until he was moving fast enough, hard enough, that Xie Lian knew he wouldn’t last long.
“This is what you wanted?” Hua Cheng asked. “This is what I’ve been wanting, too, gege. You feel amazing, so tight for me, so good.”
Xie Lian sobbed with pleasure, holding on so hard to Hua Cheng that the other man grunted. He was coming before he realized it had snuck up on him, bowling him over like a tidal wave and carrying him out to sea. Hua Cheng kept moving inside him, and Xie Lian sparked all over with oversensitivity.
“Gege, do you want me to stop?”
“No,” Xie Lian breathed, and he craned his neck to kiss him again, though he was too uncoordinated to do anything other than breathe while Hua Cheng sucked on his tongue. “Keep going. I want you to— inside me, again.”
Hua Cheng laughed, a choked, incredulous sound. “I don’t think it’ll be as much as the first time.”
Xie Lian blushed, somehow shy even now. If he wasn’t so busy holding onto Hua Cheng, he would have hidden his face in his hands. He turned to the side, as though he could bury himself in the pillow instead.
Hua Cheng kissed his cheek, then his ear, both of which Xie Lian imagined were bright red with heat. “Gege, kiss me.”
Xie Lian did, screwing up his eyes as Hua Cheng’s thrusts got faster and rougher while he chased his own release. “Feels so good, San Lang,” Xie Lian mumbled into his mouth. He barely knew what he was saying, lost in the sweeping force of Hua Cheng’s desire, of his own. “You’re so good to me.”
“Gege,” Hua Cheng groaned, and he kissed Xie Lian savagely hard as he came, spilling deep inside.
They held each other like that for a long time, so close that Xie Lian felt melded together. His heart thumped against Hua Cheng’s chest, pressed tight against his own, as if it were beating for them both. Sweat cooled on Xie Lian’s skin, and he shivered.
Hua Cheng kissed his cheek and carefully pulled out, despite Xie Lian’s whine of protest. “I’ll be right back,” Hua Cheng said with a smile.
He moved only far enough to grab his discarded underclothes and wipe them clean. When Xie Lian cuddled up close, uncaring for the mess, Hua Cheng was quick to slip an arm around his shoulders and tug him in.
“What do you think?” Hua Cheng asked. The silver butterflies were winking out around them one by one.
“Hmm?” Xie Lian lifted his head from Hua Cheng’s chest to look at him.
Hua Cheng was smirking. “Do you think we’re good at that?”
Xie Lian buried his face in Hua Cheng’s chest. “San Lang…”
“What’s that, gege? I can’t hear you.”
Xie Lian scowled at him, but the effect was probably ruined by the embarrassed smile he was fighting. “San Lang is very good at it,” Xie Lian said, watching his own hand spread wide on Hua Cheng’s solid chest, red string bright. He snuck a glance up at Hua Cheng, and Hua Cheng looked incomparably smug. Xie Lian moaned and put his head down again. “San Lang, you’re too much.”
Hua Cheng threaded his fingers through Xie Lian’s, so their hands were joined on his chest. He drew his free hand through Xie Lian’s tangled hair, “Gege could never be too much. I could never get enough.”
Xie Lian smiled and squeezed his hand. One butterfly was refusing to fade, and Xie Lian watched it glow and flutter in the dark until the motion of Hua Cheng’s hand in his hair lulled him to sleep.