Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hua Cheng was filled with a deep sense of glee, having gotten himself on the latest figuring of His Highness Xie Lian. It had been a tough auction, but he had won it. The figure was of his Highness wearing black robes with white flower designs and holding his signature half-smiling, half-frowning mask on the top of his face. It covered his eyes and exposed his mouth to show off his gentle smile. His Highness Xie Lian was technically a minor villain in the novel “Red Luck Rising to Heaven” to block the protagonist from achieving his goals. The novel was about a young orphan named Hong-er living in the streets of Xianle until calamity struck the kingdom, causing the young boy to become a soldier. Then in the middle of battle he proves his worth and ascends as a god who completed missions and one day will become next heavenly emperor.

In theory the book should be about how a weak orphan went from zero to hero, however Hua Cheng could never like the orphan Hong-er or the god Hong Yunqi. The protagonist was too spoiled, too arrogant, and too prideful. The protagonist was the person Hua Cheng hated the most, thinking they could get everything to go their way and seeing the world in black and white. Especially when the character looked so much like himself, yet Hong Yunqi acted like an idiot and tried to brute force everything, having his ridiculous luck to shoulder his actions. 

If Hua Cheng hates the book so much, then why does he read it, you ask? That is because the character Xie Lian, the Prince of Xianle, turned to god, fell from godhood, died, and became a Calamity ghost king. He was a character seen as a failure for being unable to prevent the tragedy of his kingdom and for being cast from the heavens. However, to Hua Cheng said statement felt off because it looked to him like Xie Lian was trying, and he was cast away in his efforts to save his people. His theory was only proven correct when a spinoff series came from the point of view of His Highness himself. It was there that Hua Cheng became hooked because His Highness was everything. His Highness wasn’t perfect, but he tried and tried and didn’t give up. Hua Cheng could admit that he may have become a bit obsessed, but in the end, if no one was willing to support or help Xie Lian, then Hua Cheng would be his most devoted believer. He had practically devoted his life to His Highness since reading the books at 13. Now, he was a 23-year-old architect spending half of his savings on a figure from a book. 

Maybe he should be ashamed that he is so engrossed in a fictional character, but Hua Cheng has no one else. Born an orphan, going from foster home to foster home (not all good), he even ended up off the streets for a while before he got his stuff together and went to finish his education. He was born with heterochromia, one eye black and the other red; however, his red eye didn’t develop right, so he was blind in that stupid eye. That same stupid eye is the reason he was abandoned, bullied, and cast out from the world. He should have given up a long time ago but didn’t because of the one line Xie Lian had told Hong-er, who had the same problem as Hua Cheng. Xie Lian said, “A red eye? A monster eye? No, it is simply an eye, nothing more and nothing less. If that is your reason, if you have nothing to live for, then try to live for me”. Those words became Hua Cheng’s goal, his ideal. He hated Hong Yunqi when he spat on those words, saying that they were nothing like they meant nothing. He absolutely despised Hong Yunqi; he never thought about anyone other than himself and only caused more problems for His Highness. Yet His Highness never complained; he took it all and kept going, and Hua Cheng wished he could change His Highness’s fate. 

Hua Cheng sighed, shook his head, and carefully placed the figure beside its family. He took in his collection and the countless posters of Xie Lian on his walls, which he had either bought or made himself. 

“Perfect, now it's time to-” The black-haired male frowned, annoyed when his phone rang. He picked it up and answered, “Yes?” 

“Hua Cheng, great, sorry about this, but I need you to come back to sign a few papers so we can begin on our project.” 

“What? I just got home and now you want me to go back? Can’t this wait till tomorrow” Hua Cheng was annoyed and it only increased when his boss declined.

“I know. I’m sorry, but I can’t order any of the materials until you sign the papers.” He sighed and rubbed his head fine.

“I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Thank you! Sorry again”. Hua Cheng had plans to sketch His Highness in his most recent clothing in the latest chapter, but no. He had to remind himself that he needed work to get money in order to buy his xie lian merch. Hua Cheng sighed before changing his clothes to simple black jeans, a gray shirt, and a red jacket. Walking down the streets at night was not how Hua Cheng wanted his night to go, yet here he was. He was 10 minutes away from his destination when he heard a scream. The male freezes and turns to investigate as quietly as he can. He turns the corner and sees a man holding a gun to a group of teens, telling them to give him all they got. He knew he should go; that robber would take the stuff, leave, and everyone would be safe, but he knew that it wasn’t what Xie Lian wanted. Hua Cheng moved forward, sticking to the shadows, and the moment he was close enough, he struck the robber. He knocked the gun out of the other man’s hand and tried to wrestle him to the floor. 

“Go! Run! Get the cops!” Hua Cheng shouted, and immediately, the kids scattered. In his brief inattention, the man under him throws Hua Cheng off onto the ground and scrabbles to pick up his fallen gun. Hua Cheng freezes when he sees the man pointing the gun at the teens running away. His body moves before his mind can process anything. 

“BANG!!BANG BANG BANG!!” 

Hua Cheng was lying on his back staring up at the moon confused about what happened. He heard the clattering of the gun and the squeaking on shoes running away from him.

“W-what…?” He tried to speak, only to burst into a coughing fit as the pain hit him like a sledgehammer. His chest burned, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. A shaky hand touched his chest, and when it pulled back, it was covered in blood. He laughed or tried to because he had tried to save people he had gotten shot in the process. It felt strange. He knew he had a high pain tolerance, but he had expected it would hurt more to get shot by 3? or four bullets. 

His hand fell to his side, and his head tilted to the side as exhaustion settled, and he knew his end was coming. Hua Cheng was bleeding too much, and no one would get there quickly enough to save him. Strangely, though he felt fear, he was at peace because he had died for a good cause, something his Highness would approve of. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blinking light that turned out to be his phone. It had a large crack on the screen, but otherwise, it seemed to be working. The text on the screen looked familiar, and it took him a few moments before he recognized it was the first page of “Red Luck Rising to Heaven.” Hua Cheng's eyes soften, and he lets out his final words.

“I w-wish…w-we-could have…met x-ie…l-lian…”

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

>>SYSTEM loading…

…loading

…loading

…

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Good things must be said three times!  

The system is here to grant your wish: “I wish we could have met Xie lian”!

“What…the..actual fuck?” Hua Cheng was pretty sure he had died, so maybe he was having a last-second hallucination. 

No, No, No, it is bad to curse dear user!

But do not worry; since it is your first offense, you are forgiven.

Now, let us begin your wish!

“Look, maybe you are or aren’t a figment of my imagination, but can you please slow down and fucking EXPLAIN?” 

I see! Very well. The user has passed away! 

and has activated the “Meet Xie Lian” code 

meaning that users will end up in a world of 

“Red Luck Rising to Heaven”.

Hua Cheng blinked slowly once, then twice. “Do- Do you really expect me to believe that?” 

Hmmgh! Very well!

Look at this, then!

Suddenly, a strange portal opened in front of Hua Cheng’s face, revealing a strange yet familiar scene. It was the streets of what he would expect to be ancient China, with citizens walking around, carriages going up and down the road, and colored lanterns decorating the streets. However, in the streets was a very, very familiar figure walking around with a hood covering their face. In spite of this, the male could see that under the cloak was a young adult who looked identical to Xie Lian. “Is that?” Hua Cheng was speechless.

Hahaha! See, the system wasn’t lying!

Now, do you wish to commence with your wish?

“Wait, you mean I will be able to see, be, and live with his highness?” Hua Cheng was rightfully excited, but then he remembered that this was odd. “How and why will you do that?” 

You see, user! One of the characters in

This world died before they were meant to.

So! You will take their body and their role! 

As for why you were chosen, it was because of your

Compatibility with this character and your strong soul!

Do you accept these terms?

Something was still off, but if there was a chance he could see Xie Lian…

“I have two more questions before I agree to this.”

Go ahead and ask the user!

“Who is the character, and will I be able to meet Xie Lian while using their body?”

Give me a moment while I access the files…

…

…

Yes, the character will interact with His Royal Highness, 

XIe lian. However, I am unable to find what character it is. 

“You know what? That is good enough for me. So reincarnate me or make me possess this person who is oh so important to the world.”

Great! Assimilation begins now!

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

Hua Cheng blinked and suddenly he was lying down on a gravel floor with his body aching all over. He sat up slowly and looked at his smaller hands in wonder. He was definitely a child or either 5 or 6 years old and some kind of street rat going by the rags he now called clothes.

“S-system? Are you there?” The now boy winced at his cheeky child-like voice, wondering who exactly he was possessing. 

Hello user! It appears the assimilation was

A success! Yay! 

“That i-is g-great and all, but w-ho am I?” 

The system will pull up character information

A small game-like screen appeared infront of the boy and he eagerly read the information with dread filing him the longer he read.

“No…t-this must be a mistake. WHY OF A-ALL PEOPLE H-HIM?!?!” 

>>Character: Hong-er (Hong Yunqi)<<

Status: Extreme Malnourishment, Extreme bruising, dislocated thumb

Occupation: Orphan

Race: Human 

Age: 9

Chapter Text

“This is fine, look at the positives.” Hua Cheng- no Hong-er tried to reassure himself, “At least being in this body means I don’t have to deal with an infuriating, self-absorbed protagonist.” 

It was so his luck that he possessed the one character he hated most in the book, but Hong-er could cope; he had to. Even worse, he had even gained the original hong-er’s memories, thankfully, though it was like watching a movie rather than living another life. Hong-er looked around the alley he had ended up in and found a barrel with dirty water. Thankfully, the water was clean enough for him to see his reflection. Surprisingly, His face looked a lot like his original self as a kid. He had dark hair and sharp features, and his nose was slightly crooked at the tip. Bandages wrapped around the right side of his face; curiosity burned at him, and he removed them. The red eye was how he had expected and looked identical to his original eye, except that the pupil looked slit like a cat’s. However, he did not expect that his field of vision would suddenly widen and become more precise. 

“Can I c-can see?” Hong-er looked around in wonder that both his eyes worked. It was incredible, but he knew that he had to cover his eye, or he would be putting a target on his back. His red eye indeed looked like a demon’s with a slit pupil and red color. Plus, this cursed eye was the exact reason both he and the protagonist faced so much anguish. He grabbed the dirty bandages with a grimace and put it back on. With that done, he had to know if he had to do something, considering he had taken the place of this world’s “hero.” 

“System, is there some goal I need to complete?” 

No need to worry user!

This system will tell you when something 

must be done! But at this current moment

Nothing has to be completed.

Therefore, you may do what you want.

Hong-er’s eyes went wide. “So, if I wanted to meet his highness, would I be able to?” 

Yes! The user has complete freedom

To do as they wish until a mission is assigned!

Hong-er felt like cheering but managed to stop himself. However, he couldn’t stop the grin that grew on his face. Something still nagged at him from the back of his mind, but his excitement pushed the feeling down.

“Great, then see you later, system; I have myself a Prince to meet.” 

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

Hong-er had been in this new world for nearly a week before encountering a few problems. The immediate one was food; however, thanks to the original hong-er’s memories of where to get/steal food and Hua Cheng’s past experience living on the streets, he was able to get food without too much difficulty. Next was shelter; even with Hong-er memories, finding a place to sleep was hard. He eventually finds a few buildings empty and under renovation. As long as he left before noon and the builders arrived, he had a place to stay. Then came his last and final issue, meeting with his Highness. In hong-er excitement, he had forgotten one crucial detail. His Highness was, well… his Highness, while he was a dirty orphan commoner. There was no reason the two of them should ever meet; Hong-er was back to step one like he was in his old world. 

This threw him into a depressive episode until he heard rumors about a special event that His Highness would participate in called the Shangyuan Festival. Hong-er knew of an opportunity when he saw it, so he quickly procured gifts for the festival. He couldn’t get much, but in the corner of the alley, he had first woken up in hong-er built a crude shrine dedicated to his Highness. He cringed at the state it was in, but in his current state, he could offer nothing except his dedication, so dedication he gave. Every morning, he would come to the shrine with a small white flower and give his Highness a prayer, hoping for his health and a happy future. He wasn’t sure if His Highness had become a god yet, but citizens did have shrines for His Highness, so he guessed yes. For the 2 weeks leading up to the festival, hong-er kept this routine of his since, after all, gods gained power from their believer’s dedication and devotion. 

Finally, the festival was here, except he couldn’t get a good view of the parade. He knew he needed to find a place soon; otherwise, he would miss his Highness’s dance fight. He took advantage of his smaller body to squeeze past the crowd until he reached the edge of the ledge. He looked down at the parade, impressed, sure, but he had seen better in the modern day. He held onto the railing, looking around for His Highness until the crowd abruptly burst into cheers. Many citizens were pointing at something, and when Hong-er followed their gaze, he met a sight that stole his breath away. 

At the very top of the palace stood a being dressed in beautiful red and white ceremonial robes with designs sewed in golden thread. On their face was a red mask that covered the upper face, leaving lips colored red for everyone to see. Their ears held golden flower earrings with a rather large red pearl in the center of the flower. Long, silky brown hair ran down their back like a waterfall, with white and yellow flowing woven into the brown locks. At the top of the person- on the deity’s head was a crown made from flowers and decorated with pure white pearls and leaves made from gold. 

“It’s his highness!”

“Look at those gorgeous clothes!”

“Truly the flower of Xianle”

“Oh, I wish I could see his face, he must be so handsome.” 

“I bet you His Highness will definitely ascend! I bet my business on it!”

Hong-er heard the whispers all around him. A meteor could have struck him, and he wouldn’t have noticed. All his attention was taken by the god who decided to grace these lowly creatures with his divine presence. The boy felt a moment to be upset at all his past collections because all of them were worthless, considering they didn’t come close to replicating His Highness’s brilliance. 

The system would like to warn

That user will pass out if

They do not breathe in the next

20 seconds.

“Breath? ” It was only then that the boy realized his lungs were burning, he greedily took deep breaths of air now that he was aware he was lacking it. As he took deep breaths, he made sure his eye didn’t leave the figure of his Highness for even a single moment. He wished to remove the dirty bandages and see this scene with both eyes. Then maybe he could recall this event for years to come. However, he couldn’t, so he did his best to watch and carve every last detail into his mind. 

White petals began to fall from the sky like snowflakes. This seemed to be a signal because not even a moment later, his Highness leaped from the palace down to a parade float with graceful movements. The float His Highness stood upon seemed to be made specifically so there would be an open enough area for His Highness to move freely. Hong-er noticed seals being secured all around the float, and then a black chest covered in talismans was wheeled a couple of meters in front of His Highness. The people backed away hurriedly off the float, leaving only His Highness and the chest. The Prince raised his sword, and, with a swift movement, a slash of white energy went flying toward the chest. 

Hong-er watched the energy, which he realized must be spiritual power, touch the chest, causing the talismans to burst into flames. The entirety of Xianle watched with bated breaths as the last of the talismans turned to dust. There was complete and utter silence for a brief moment before it shattered like the chest did. The chest splintered into thousands of pieces and, in its place, stopped a group of humanoid shadows with glowing white eyes. The creatures looked around until they saw His Highness standing there. In unison, the shadow creature screeched, revealing maws filled to the brim with razor-sharp teeth. The shadows lunged, and Prince Xie Lian moved. He weaved away from the creatures promptly gave his own retaliation when an opening appeared. His Highness did not hesitate or waste a signal movement or step. It almost seemed as if the Prince was dancing rather than fighting with how smooth and elegant his movement appeared. 

The young boy was so entranced by the fight that he did not hear the railing under his hands creak ominously. People in the crowd seem to be close to fighting each other to get closer to witness the fight. Honger felt a shove push him forward, and he tightened his grip on the railing and tried to move back. Only to his horror, he felt the railing tilting forward without pause. He scrambles to move before the railing gives in. However, his smaller body, which was once an advantage, turned against him. He was too small, too weak to resist, and with another shove, he fell back against the railing. Hong-er only had a moment to panic before a loud crack resonated through the air, and the ground beneath his feet disappeared. 

Maybe Hong-er should have been afraid, but he had already died once, so he sort of lost his fear of death. Plus, considering the height and his small body, this death of his would be instant and nowhere near as painful as his first one. Instead, all he could feel was annoyance and shame. He felt annoyed because he hadn’t gotten to see Xie Lian nearly as much as he wished, and he felt ashamed because he had ruined High Highness’s performance. He watched the sky in a sort of detached way, wondering, quite morbidly, who would be cleaning up his body once it landed. He closed his eye expecting not to open them ever again.

Out of nowhere gentle arms reached under his legs and back holding him against a firm warm chest. Hong-er arms flailed for a moment and his single black eye flew open. He immediately froze at the scene he saw, it was his Highness. His Prince’s face slowly slid off his face as he looked down at Hong-er with soft amber eyes. His eyes were filled with confident light and his smile could have reassured a country.

“Don’t worry, you will be fine, so hold tight now.” Suddenly, they began falling again, and Hong-er instinctively wrapped his arms around the Prince’s shoulders. In his haste, he reached out and grabbed part of Xie Lian’s hair and even some of his accessories. It must have hurt having his hair pulled so harshly, but the Prince didn’t even flinch; he focused on landing back on the float. The Prince looked down at him.

“I’m sorry. I must complete the ceremony, so you’ll have to stay close, alright?” Hong-er was more than okay with that. The boy nodded and tried to keep his face neutral so he didn’t look crazy. Xie Lian looked grateful and proud.

“Thank you. You are a very brave boy.”

“I’m not brave…” Hong-er thought as he watched Xie Lian release the shadow creature from the white chains the Prince must have placed so he could rescue Hong-er. “ ...I just know you will keep me safe ,” 

Hong-er was cradled against Xie Lion’s left side while his decorated sword was wielded by his right hand. The boy expected that being held while in a fight would be less uncomfortable; however, he was in a state of near bliss, trying to memorize the Prince’s warm body against his own.

“He…smells good.” Honger looked away from the fight and buried his face into his Highness’s shoulder, inhaling deeply. The Prince smelled like a mixture of flowers and honey—a smell he never thought he would smell. After all, Xie Lian had always been a book character so far out of reach, yet here he was, now literally in Hong-er’s grasp. 

Eventually, all the shadow figures were slain, and the crowd applauded, but an uneasy tension was in the air. His Highness began to walk again towards the palace, and as the hong-er passed by, he heard their whispers.

“His highness was amazing but…”

“Will such an interruption bring us bad luck?”

“Why would his highness save that dirty brat?”

“Oh no…I hope this will not anger the gods.”

“maybe the gods will overlook this event?” 

They looked up at His Highness, waiting for his reaction to the gossip. Yet his Highness continued on as if no one had said a thing, but Honger knew the Prince must have heard. After all, if a human could listen to it, then a god definitely should. 

“Your Highness!” A young man was running towards Xie Lian while another followed.

“Ah, Hello Feng Xin.”

“Don’t hello me, what were you thinking?!?” Honger stared at the dark-haired man, and his eyes drifted off to the second male

“ If that is Feng Xin, then the other must be Mu Qing .” The boy’s single eye narrowed in barely concealed rage. These two were His Highness’s retainers and should have been loyal to their prince. Yet these two would betray the Prince and become future retainers of Hong Yunqi (himself now, he supposed). Mu Qing seemed to be the first to notice Hong-er and looked at him in surprise, which quickly shifted to disgust. 

“Your Highness, why are you holding that boy? He is going to ruin your ceremonial robes.” 

“It’s fine; they can be cleaned.” Xie Lian shook his head in disagreement. This time, Feng Xin spoke up. 

“I understand saving the boy, but why do you still have him with you?” 

“I wanted to take him to the healers and check him over” Xie lian tried to explain but his retainers objected.

“Your Highness, the healers are supposed to assist the royal family, not some…boy.” Feng Xin tried to dissuade his Prince, but his words were brushed aside. 

“No, now you either come with me or stay.” Then the Prince was gone, walking away into the palace. Hog-er watched as the duo seemed to groan before running to catch up with his His highness. 

Chapter Text

Hong-er was in His Highness's arms, on cloud nine and fretted over by him. He had dreamed of it when he was younger, but he had outgrown it. Yet, he was now a child again, so giving in to childish dreams should be fine. His state of euphoria lasted 30 minutes before he realized something. Sure, his Prince was protecting him, but he wasn't protecting himself. Hong-er could hear the whispers and murmurs of "How could his highness touch that dirty boy?" from the palace servants and guards. He could even hear a few of the quieter murmurs saying his Highness ruined the ceremony.

"How dare they…?" Hong-er was furious and baffled by his highness's servant's words. It was insubordination, it was treason (at least in Hong-er's eyes).

Xie Lian seemed to ignore them and instead focused more on trying to wrap some bandages on some scrapes that the boy had gotten on his hands to stop himself from falling. 

"Y-your highness, you don't have to do this for me." Hong-er tried to argue, but Xie Lian refused each time.

"Why not? You are from Xianle, one of my citizens. Therefore, mine to protect." There was a bright fire in Xie lion's brown eyes, so bright it made his eyes almost look golden. Hong-er allowed it but stopped Xie Lian from touching the bandages on his cursed eye.

"Stop! Please…” Hong-er cringed, having shouted at the Prince, but he couldn't bear to have His Highness hate him as many others had after seeing his red eye. Xie Lian frowned."

"Your eye is injured, and those dirty bandages can't be good for healing."

"No, it..it isn't injured."

"So why wear it?" His Highness tilted his head, and Hong-er almost cooed at the innocent look.

"I'm not hurt, I just…use it to hide something hideous."

"Oh, a scar? I still won't care. Plus, wouldn't you prefer cleaner dressing?" Hong-er rapidly shook his head 

"No! No, I'm fine, your Highness. This one does not require anything; your care is more than enough." The Prince didn't look convinced, but thankfully, he dropped the subject. 

In the next moment, the room's doors swung open, and a male and female walked in surrounded by guards. 

"Xie Lian! What in the world were you thinking?!?" The male barked, looking furious. The female stepped forward and lay a hand on the angry man in hopes of soothing his rage. 

"Honey, calm, remember?" Hong-er had to blink several times because the older woman looked like a female Xie Lian. The boy had quickly realized that the two were the king and queen, yet it still shocked him how much the Prince looked like his mother. 

"Mother, Father," Xie Lian dipped his head to show respect. "What is the issue?"

"The issue? The issue is that...that THING interrupted the festival, and now we may face the wrath of the gods" The king's voice had lowered, but the rage was vicious enough that Hong-er couldn't help but flinch. Xie Lian noticed, and his eyes furrowed in disbelief.

"Father, a child was about to die, yet you wished for me to ignore it?"

"I wished for you to follow your duties as prince." The queen looked silent and conflicted but did not disagree with her husband. The Prince took a step back as if he had been physically struck

"How…H-how could you-"

"Your Highness, I agree with the king." An aged yet wise voice spoke up, and Xie Lian seemed to pale further as he saw the speaker.

"Goushi? How could you agree with father?!" Xie's earlier shock quickly shifted into righteous anger.

"That boy there is cursed; his birth under a bad star means anyone who comes into contact with him will fall with bad luck. In the end his life will end before 18 so who is to say that day isn’t here?" The older man's words were cold, but his gaze softened at Xie's Lian-stricken expression. "I understand your kind heart, so his death won't be necessary. However, retribution must be given so the heavens will forgive this transgression. What does my king have to say about this?" The hummed thoughtfully

"Very well, I suppose 12 public lashes will do". The queen and Prince recoiled at the punishment.

"Father! This is a child! You can't-" 

"Yes, I can and must die, Lian. I am aware it is a child, which is why I lowered the amount from 20 to 12." 

"The heavens won't care about such an act; they would probably be disgusted by it." 

"Xie lian-" Hong-er felt like a stone was sinking deeper into his stomach the longer the conversation between the king and his son went on. 

"T-this is my fault. I caused—no, I am causing my highness pain." Hong-er never wished for this. He had thought that by replacing the arrogant protagonist, he could stop bad things from happening to Xie Lian, yet…here he was being a burden. 

Hong-er clenched his teeth and shut his eyes as the voices of the royal family grew louder and louder- and LOUDER AND LOUDER. Until the boy finally couldn't take it anymore. In a sudden motion, Hong-er pulled his hand from Xie Lian's grip and ran for it like he had wolves nipping at his ankles. He dodged past guards and other servants in his way until he saw an open window. He climbed up and out the window, ignoring the shouts that he needed to stop behind him. Even when he reached the streets, he kept running far from the palace until he collapsed from exhaustion in front of his shabby excuse of a shrine for Xie Lian. He lay there for what seemed like hours as his body practically burned from being pushed past its limits. 

"I am…so…weak." Hong-er wasn't self-deprecating or negative; he was stating the truth. He was no longer an adult with great influence in the architectural world, able to decide when, where, and how a building was built. Hua Cheng had become Hong-er, a small, malnourished street brat. He held no power, whether it was physical, monetary, or influential. However, in the end, one thing that hadn't changed despite his new body was that he would never be able to be near His Highness. 

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

It had been three weeks since the Shangyuan Festival when the whispers about the ruined festival finally began to die. After not facing any divine retribution for the so-called failure during the festival, citizens began returning to their normal lives. Meanwhile, nothing has changed for Hong-er; he still lives on the street looking for food, shelter, and worthy offerings to give or fix his shrine. The only thing that truly changed for him was that he understood his role and position and did not attempt to go near His Highness again. His Highness's teacher was right; Hong-er was cursed to harm everyone around him. So far from His Highness, he stayed even when he heard His Highness was looking for him; he stayed hidden in the shadows. 

"It was fine. His Highness is now safe from him and will never suffer as long as he controls Hong Yunqi's body." Hong-er reminded himself why he was doing this, yet it seemed like luck had turned its back on him one day. 

His day had begun like any other. He had placed his flower offering on the shrine, eaten the half sausage he had stolen the previous day, and gone on his way to find more food. He had found a handful of mantou buns that were thrown out for being too sweet. 

" So wasteful. If we were back in the modern day, people would go crazy for these ." Hong-er knew that the tastes of people in this era were different from those of modern people. However, the Mantou buns weren't all that sweet; if the boy had to draw a comparison, they would be as sweet as a chocolate bar. "But, then again, most foods are rather bland ," Hong-er mused thoughtfully. He had thought it was due to him eating scraps, but in reality, it might be the preference of people in this old era. Maybe it was the lack of spices or complex recipes, but the foods Hong-er had managed to get his hands on didn't have much of a taste. 

So stuck in his thoughts he didn't notice a fancy carriage approaching him. He was walking on one of the paths on the outskirts of Xianle. This path led to one of His Highnesses' forgotten shrines, which he had been sleeping in for the past few days. This meant there should have been nobody here, which meant Hong-er was caught off guard when he heard the loud sound of wheels coming to a sudden stop and dirt flying in the air. He snapped his head at the sound and paled when he noticed the carriage and, most importantly, the symbol of the royal family painted on the side. Hong-er scrabbles to escape into the woods and away from the carriage. He had no idea who it was, but no matter which royal member it was, Hong-er was screwed. However, he was not fast enough because a strong hand reached out from nowhere and held his left forearm in an iron grip. The boy dropped his buns to the floor (he felt a twinge of regret at the wasted food) and tried to scratch at the arm holding him. However, he might as well have been trying to attack a statue. The man holding him was covered in armor and wearing a green mask. The man's aura held something that reminded Hong-er of His Highness.

"This man is a cultivator." Hong-er couldn't curse his luck more if he tried. 

"Prince, I have captured the brat." The cultivator spoke to the carriage, and Hong-er held his breath as the figure descended. For a chilling moment, Hong-er thought it was Xie Lian, but he quickly dismissed that thought when he felt the man's presence, which was proven correct when chilling green eyes met Hong-er's single visible eye. The copycat crooked a well-manicured finger in his direction, and, without a choice, Hong-er was carried over like he was an animal carcass. He hung in the air before the green-eyed copycat cat, resisting the urge to wrinkle his nose at the sickly sweet perfume.

"As I thought, this is the brat that caused so much trouble for my dear Xie Lian." The copycat's voice was thankfully nothing like Xie Lian's, but Hong-er couldn't relish this fact because of the copycat's next words. "I suppose since you ran away before facing your rightful punishment, I will administer it for my dear cousin." The man sounded gleeful, and Hong-er felt his heart drop to his stomach as he finally recognized the copycat. He was Xie Lian's cousin, Qi Rong. Unlike his cousin, Qi Rong was a cruel, almost tyrannical prince who, after death, would torment Xie Lian for causing the downfall of their kingdom. 

"What to do…what to do- Ah!" Qi Rong's smile did not bode well for the boy. "You there go get one of our empty bags, big as you can find, and also bring a long rope… let's say…hmmm..12 feet?" The Prince ordered one of his people. The servants scramble to fulfill their orders, and in a matter of seconds, the requested materials are at the Prince's feet. 

"Go on and tie this brat's hands and feet together," Qi Rong ordered, but the servants froze.

"B-but y-your highness this i-is only a c-child-"

"Did I stutter?" Qi Rong's voice dropped into a freezing tone.

"NO! No! My apologies." The servants violently shook their heads, with fear in their eyes. 

"Then get to it, or it will be one of you that I'll punish." That seems to be more than enough motivation to make the servants forget their earlier reservations. The cultivator held the smaller boy in place as ropes were tied around his hands and feet. Hong-er might have as well not struggled with how ineffective his efforts were. In the end, the honger lay on the floor like an animal waiting for the slaughter.

"Perfect …now throw him into the sack", Qi Rong ordered, and this time, no one hesitated to follow the instructions. Hong-er tried to stop the servants feeling not exactly fear but nervousness at what the cruel Prince would do to him.

"Is he gonna throw me into a lake to drown? Or hang me in the woods for the animals to eat me?" Hong-er thoughts ran with wild ideas. His palms gripped tightly against the roped-holding hind, and his heartbeat so loudly it resonated through his head like a drum. The boy was unceremoniously picked up and abruptly dropped somewhere new. He couldn't see out of the sack, but he could hear the faint sounds of rustling and footsteps. 

"-all done your highness" Hong-er tried to stay calm, trying to train his ears and hear what Qi Rong wanted with him. 

"Start the carriage." Honger heard the cruel Prince's response and was allowed a brief moment of confusion before he moved. The bag began dragging itself across the ground. He felt every rock, stick, and landscape itself against his body to dispute the sack. It felt like sandpaper was trying to peel his skin off, and the boy couldn't resist letting out a cry of pain when his body was dragged over a particularly large and sharp rock. By the wet feeling and burning he felt from his back, he knew he was injured. 

He could hear the green-eyed Prince's laugh every time Hong-er made a sound he couldn't contain as the wound on his back became worse and worse from all the objects he was dragged over. At one point, the pain began to lessen and just became numb (which he distantly could recall was a bad thing to happen when hurt).  Without the pain to distract him, he could faintly hear the noises of people gasping and whispering and other sounds he could only hear within the city. This meant that the bastard prince was dragging him through the town, not only trying to hurt him but also humiliating him.

Hong-er began to curse the Prince with all his heart, wondering how in the world he could even be related to Xie Lian. 

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!?" Hong-er wondered if he was hallucinating because he could swear, he had just heard his Highness. "Stop the carriage this instant!" The boy could confidently say he wasn't hallucinating when the dragging suddenly stopped to follow the order. 

"Qi Rong! What on earth are you doing?!? Why is there blood- no scratch that- what are you dragging around in that bag?" For a moment, the boy could not help but fleeting moments of vindication at Qi Rong being scolded by His Highness. However, that feeling soon drifted into dread because why on earth was his Highness here?

Barely a second passed before hands were on him, trying to open the bag. The hands succeeded, and the bright sunlight made Hong-er squint. A gasp met the boy's ears, and when he looked up, his sight was met with that of an angel—or rather, a god. His Highness stood above him with a concerned look, and the sun made it appear as if Xie Lian had a holy halo around him. His savior's face twisted into one of anger as he took in Hong-er's state. 

"What- Qi Rong, explain yourself." 

"Cousin, I was just punishing him like he was supposed to."

"Punish? There was to be no punishment, yet even if there was this? This isn't a punishment; this is just plain torture." The venom and disappointment made Qi Rong shrink back like he was struck

"B-but what does it matter! He is just a street urchin, a cursed one at that!" This time, the words struck Hunger deeper than any wound could. Hong-er curled as much as he could, trying to hide himself. Xie Lian noticed and scolded one final time at his cousin before picking Hong-er up and taking off. The boy's mind went into a sort of trance as he finally gave in and allowed himself to bask in his Highness's presence until he was kicked back onto the street.

"-Your Highness, where are you going to take him?" The voice of Feng Xin questions, running beside His Highness with Mu Qing not far behind. 

"As much as I hate to agree with this idiot, where are we going?" Feng Xin glared but didn't rise to the bait.

"To the palace infirmary," Xie Lian responded before jumping on top of the Xianle's roofs and quickening his pace. At Xie Lian's answer, both retainers sighed simultaneously and followed their Prince. Hong-er was starting to believe that his injuries were worse than he thought, or at the very least, he had a concussion. Otherwise, what would explain why he felt so dazed and could not muster up any strength to resist the foreign hands of doctors looking him over? It felt like a weird out-of-body experience, connected yet feeling so far away. Eventually, with the reluctant help of the royal doctors, Hong-er was in near-perfect condition. Apparently, some cultivation healing techniques were used on him, but they had worked so well because the boy had the potential to become a cultivator (Hong-er knew this, after all, no one can just rise to godhood). He had had some pretty bad injuries, including a severe concussion, broken leg, dislocated solder, and his back had been scraped raw. All injuries an adult human, much less a child, should not have survived, yet he somehow did. Hong-er had a feeling it had something to do with the system, and since Xie Lian had finally left, Hong-er was going to get answers. 

"Hey system…I thought I wasn't supposed to die." Hong-er had been dying to ask why the system hadn't done a thing to help.

Correct, the User is not meant to die .

"Okay, then why did I feel like I was dying? Again?"

That is because the User 

was, but thanks to Xie Lian's 

Interference, you will not die

"Ah…okay then, why did you not do anything? Why allow me to get so injured I COULD have died?" 

That is because the system is

not meant to interfere unless 

The user is about to die or keep

The story in check.

"Did that not count enough for you to interfere?"

The system did help the User

By healing him just enough so 

Users would not die . 

"Why not heal me the whole way instead of just a little?" That confirmed his theory on how the boy survived but the wording felt off. Hong-er was starting to get a sinking feeling in his stomach, and the system's next words supported his theory. 

The system has one purpose. To

Keep this world's story in check 

meaning there must be a supreme ghost king 

and a new heavenly emperor. Therefore all

The system must do is keep the User alive.

No more, no less .

Hong-er understood. He may not have liked it, but he understood. The system was not there to help the boy; it was there to control and make sure Hong-er would one day become Hong Yunqi, the future heavenly Emperor. It could care less about him; after all, it needed Hong-er to fulfill its purpose—no more, no less. 

Chapter Text

The boy stared up at the surprisingly elegant ceiling of the infirmary from his bed.  Xie Lian threw his old torn clothing away and gave him brand new ones. The bed was silky smooth and he had even been given brand new bandages for his cursed eye. Xie Lian had been so appalled and apologetic for the incident despite it not being his fault (it was Qi Rong’s). Therefore he had decided to take care of Hong-er to make up for it. Hong-er on the other hand couldn’t believe that this was happening, and could only feel dread at the consequences of his presence. After all he could hear the servants quite whispers and the disappointed looks his highness got for taking in a street rat. 

“Me being here is doing no one any favors ” Hong-er hated to agree with Feng Xi or Mu Qing but the young boy had absolutely no reason to be near his highness especially now as he was completely healed from his injuries. However Xie Lian disagreed stating it has only been a week or that he still hasn’t repaid hong-er. His highness shouldn’t need to repay him especially when hong-er had been stolen from the prince. In his hand was a huge red pearl that probably cost 10 fortunes over. 

It had been an accident but apparently when he had grabbed his highness’s hair during his fall the pearl had been in his grip. It was only when he had run pack to the streets that he had realised what he had done. By then he had grown ashamed yet attached to the pearl as his only connection to his highness. He kept it wrapped in his cleanest cloth in his shoes hidden and safe. He knew he should give it back yet he couldn’t bear to part with it. Plus it seemed like neither his highness or anyone else seemed to have noticed that the pearl was missing or cared. Therefore it shouldn’t matter that Hong-er had kept it right? After all no one would care about such a small thing and it wasn’t like Hong-er was going to sell it or anything. No this pearl was his and he took care of what was his. 

The boy twitched in the bed as turned to stare at the door that had just swung open. Seeing it was his highness, hong-er scrambled to sit up and hide the pearl under his blankets. His prince who had a pouting expression that looked adorable on him.

“Hi, Hong Hong-er, How are you feeling today?” 

“I’m d-doing great, your highness, thank you very much f-for your care.” As much as Hong-er believed he didn’t need all this attention, he wasn’t going to be ungrateful about it. Xie lian sighed

“Well, my goushi has…told me that you no longer want or need to be here, is that true?” Honger may want to stay here but…

“Yes, I don’t need to be here” Xie lian looked disappointed and it sent a pang of shame down the boy’s spine.

“Alright, I understand. Is there anywhere you would like to be dropped off at?” Hong-er paused, unsure how to respond. He couldn’t say the streets or his pathetic homemade shrine so the next best thing would be-

“-Your shrine, the forgotten shrine at the end of the city near the river” It was the place he had been living in for the past few months, taking care of it, and making it the closest thing to his home.

"There? But what about your home? Your parents?" Hong-er winced and shook his head.

"I don't have anyone." In his past life as Hua Cheng, he had two older brothers who had been exceptionally cruel to him because he was younger than them by nearly 10 years until he ended up in the foster system.

In this life, he had an older sister and a drunken father. He could also vaguely recall a kind mother who died from sickness before the boy turned five. Hong-er's mother had tried to protect him from her husband, and when she died, it was his older sister who tried to do the same. However, his older sibling did so more out of duty towards their mother than out of her love for him. That moment when she finally turned 16, she was married off to a merchant's son; she left and never came back to their dilapidated house ever again. With no one to be a buffer, the boy received the brunt of his father's "tough love" until one day, it was so bad he was thrown on the streets to die. In another world, not long after this event, the original Hong-er would decide that he had enough and run away from Xianle and meet a wandering cultivator. This cultivator would awaken Hong-er's incredible potential, and he would one day ascend into becoming Hong Yunqi, the strongest martial god ever.

However in this world the original hong-er died before he could run away leading to hua cheng to become the new hong-er. Therefore there was no one for Hong-er in this life nor the last. His prince must have seen something in his expression because he didn't push the subject further.

"Alright, then…I could leave you at one of my shrines, but not that one. After all, that shrine is abandoned and not a place for you to live. You can go stay at the eastern shrine; after all, they take in plenty of children and care for them". The boy blinked, relieved yet still tense. Yes, the shrine took in children and even orphans, but they would not take in street rats. He knew because he had tried but had been turned away. 

"Your Highness, I think don't think they'll accept me-"

"Nonsense, your age doesn't matter and you'll be well taken care of." Xie Lian shook away his concerns "The priest there is very kind to me and so they will help you" Hong-er did his best to keep his expression neutral but it was difficult. He knew xie lian was naive in his prince years but this was another level. Did his prince not realize that the priest treated him so because of his status?

"...Okay, your Highness. Thank you for this opportunity" Hong-er decided to play along and see where this went. Worse case scenario he could run away back onto the streets until he was old enough for the army. The beaming face of his Highness made all his discomfort worth it.

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

Hong-er arms ached, his knees bruised, yet he was surprisingly content. Much to his shock, the shrine had accepted him (probably due to His Highness), and even if they gave him the chores no one else wished to do, it was nothing to Hong-er. He got three decently sized (yet bland) meals daily, a small, clean room, new clothes, and the chance to see His Highness monthly. Sure, people look down upon him, but it was due to his chore boy status and not his cursed eye or being a street rat. It had been 2 months, and they were the best 2 months of his current life. He was gaining some weight after having daily meals. He could still see his ribs, but give it a few months, which would no longer be the case. 

Hong-er could not be more thankful for his Highness, and to thank him, he began to prepare. He knew the war that would destroy Xianle was coming. Hong-er wasn't naive enough to believe he could prevent the war or the kingdom's collapse, but that wasn't his true goal in the first place. His goal was to protect and keep Xie Lian alive. To do this, he would kill the bastard White-No Face or keep them far, FAR away from his Highness. After all, his Highness's downfall was all that white calamities planned to gain a successor. The good news was that he knew plenty of the white calamity's abilities and some of their plans. The bad news was that he knew nothing of who the ghost calamity was under their mask or their true weakness, their ashes. Hong-er also knew that the white calamity had a connection with the current heavenly emperor, Jun Wu. However, how far that connection went was unknown to Hong-er after all the information he had came from the point of view of Hong Yunqi and Xie Lian in the novels. All he knew for certain was that Jun Wu had known the white-no-face while they were still alive and that he had met up with the ghost a handful of times after the ghost's death. 

"I should have tried to find out more…" Hong-er scrubbed the floor more harshly, trying to push down his growing frustration. He knew the future for sure, but knowing the future is useless when the information was mainly centered around a protagonist who no longer exists. The boy sighed deeply to calm himself and returned to work. He needed to think logically and not allow his emotions to control him, yet it seemed like his mental state constantly shifted from an adult to a child. He knew logically he was an adult, yet this body forced him into giving into more childish impulses more often than he was comfortable with. 

"Did you hear? They say His Highness will ascend any day now?" 

"Really? I knew the prince was a prodigy and would eventually rise to the heavenly realm, but so soon?" Hong-er froze at the voice news. He could hear their footsteps drawing closer, and then the boy rushed back to clean the floors. However, his cleaning was more half-hearted as nearly all his attention was on the interesting dialogue. 

"Yeah! I know, right? But his goushi announced that His Highness Xie Lian had reached the peak of cultivation and would break through soon." 

"Wow! I knew His Highness was a genius, yet I still underestimated his ability." 

Hong-er was barely trying to clean now. Instead, he was trying his best to keep a grin off his face and failing rather miserably. He felt so proud and happy for his Highness getting the proper admiration he deserved. He knew his Highness would rise into the rightful god he was, and if the boy had anything to say about it, that was where he would stay. 

"Hey, kid, why are you standing in the middle of the hall?" Hong-er blinked and looked up, meeting two older males looking down at him in annoyance. He vaguely recognized the two that had been speaking earlier. 

"I'm…cleaning." His response made the man on the left frown.

"Cleaning? Nothing here looks clean. Are you doing such a bad job in His Highness's holy temple?" The friend of the man snicker

"Come on, Jun Jie, you can't expect much from someone of lower standing."

"Lower standing? They let someone into His Highness's temple?" The man, Jun Jie, deepened his frown. His companion just shrugged.

"Yeah, why not clean up the trash?" Jun Jie nodded as his face began to relax. "Plus, his highness brought him personally." 

"...Personally?" The man eyed Hong-er in a new light, squinting before recognition bloomed on his face. Hong-er felt his gut sink in dread at the look.

"... Aren't you…that brat that almost ruined the festival?" The boy froze, and the man smirked at the confirmation. "You are! Aren't you? I almost didn't recognize you since you were no longer dirty, but in the end, all you did was clean up on the outside. Your insides are still just as unclean." 

"Wait—are you sure?" The other man seemed shocked and looked down at Hong-er in a new light.

"Of course, I am Yu Xuan. After all, my parents spoke about how His Highness was forced to deal with THAT cursed child and that His Highness left him here so he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore." Yu Xuan's face shifted into something between fear and unease.

"Hold on? Cursed? Then standing near this kid is gonna curse us?" 

"Are you that stupid? We are cultivators. Such a weak child could not even dream of cursing us." Hong-er tried not to glare at the two so-called "cultivators" speaking down on him as if he wasn't there. He was used to being looked down upon, cursed, and even beaten. However, he hated it when others who were trash like him talked to Hong-er as if he were lesser. It was hypocritical.

"Who do you think you are to look at me like that?" Jun Jie looked furious, and then Hong-er realized he had allowed his disgust to slip out. "Hah! You know what? How about we ensure His Highness won't have to deal with this brat when he comes to visit?" 

Hong-er eyes widen and narrow. The man reached out to grab Hong-er, and unlike before with Qi Rong's attendants, he FOUGHT like never before. He wasn't as weak, and this man may be a cultivator, but he was a terrible excuse of one. Therefore, he managed to nearly claw the man's eye out before Yu Xuan leaped in to help. As Hong-er dragged someone, he struggled and bit whatever skin was offered to him until it looked like the two older males had fought a hoard of rabid cats. 

Hong-er hissed at his back and hit the wall he was thrown against. He looked up to see the two aults glare at him from the doorway with hatred. Though the effect was diminished due to all the bitemarks, scratches, and bruises forming on their skin. 

"You are a crazy dog; stay here! I can't believe His Highness didn't just put down a cursed mutt like yourself! Thank His Highness for his kindness. Otherwise, I would end your miserable existence!" Jun Jie shouted before slamming the door and locking it. The room fell into darkness, and the boy lay there, not moving from where he had landed. Why would he? After all, that cultivator may be trash, but Hong-er was worse trash that kept causing His Highness more and more problems.

"I must truly be cursed." Huog-er had always lived a difficult life, and he had strived to be better. He had gone to college on a scholarship and built his own business from the ground up, yet he had died before reaching 30 and was now tormenting the person he looked up to. This body, this eye, or maybe it was his very soul that was cursed, never to bring anything but torment to those he wished for happiness. That trash cultivator had only said one truth: Hong-er is only alive thanks to His Highness's boundless kindness, and maybe he shouldn't be. 

Hong-er could hear whispers and hushed noises, but he thought nothing after all everyone in the temple was for his Highness monthly visit. A visit which Hong-er would not be allowed to attend stuck in this closet. 

"Though maybe this is for the best, and it's not like His Highness would notice I am gone." Hong-er finally moved into a sitting position before curling into a ball. It was childish, burying his head into his legs like he was a kid. Yet such a position did bring small comfort to the boy, so he stayed like that. The whispers grew louder, yet all hong-er could think about was being forgotten. His Highness wouldn't notice his absence, and the priest certainly wouldn't notice him gone. Then, did that mean that Hong-er would stay in this dark room forever? He would be left here to starve, and no one would know because the two who did know would never speak a word to anyone. 

Hong-er felt his eyes, even the ones hidden under bandages, become wet, and Hong-er gripped his arms tight to stop his pathetic tears. However, it proved futile as the tears fell down his face only to be absorbed by his bandages. The room seemed to darken and-

"Wait- the room is darker." Hong-er looked up, realizing that the light that had come from underneath the door was gone, and it left the room in complete darkness. Not only that, but it had become colder, cold enough that Hong-er could see his breath. His single eye looked around, only to freeze when he noticed something. His eyesight had slowly adapted to the room's darkness, and in that darkness, he could have sworn he saw the silhouette of a person. He looked around once more, and when he looked back this time, his entire body froze, and he held his breath. Now, the silhouette had multiplied, and there were three standing there. The boy scrambled to stand and back away from the dark figures, but it was for naught as the middle shadow eyes opened to reveal two red voids for eyes. 

"hu..r..ts..it…h-hu..rts..w-hy.. ?" Hong-er flinched at the voice. The ghost seemed to have been spoken directly into his mind, which did not sit well with him. "Ma..ke i-it s..to..p make…it..stop! Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!!!" The voice got louder, but not only that, other voices began to join, making a choir of screaming voices directed into the boy's head. The dark figures increased until there were ten of them, and each one shouted and screamed at the hong-er.

"Stop!!- It hurts!!"

"Why, why, why, why"

"How could you!!

"Hurt! HURTS! HURTS!!!"

"No, no, no more…PLEASE!" 

"M-make it go away!!!" 

Hong-er fell backward onto his knees, gripping his head, feeling like someone was hitting it with a hammer.

"Stop…please..too loud..please it's too much!" Hong-er pleaded for the ghost, they could be nothing else, to stop their screaming at him. It was too loud, too much but the ghosts drowned out the boy's pleas. They began to surround the boy continuing to shout at him, some tried to touch hong-er but their forms back through him leaving either a numbing or chilling sensation. 

"Murderer!!!

"Ki..killer!"

"W-why..me?"

"HURTS!"

“Please…anyone…help…m-me…” Hong-er's voice was nothing more than a whisper, something so small and weak that not even if the room had been silent, it would have gone unnoticed. The boy did not expect anyone to help him, as always, so why did he still cry out despite that? 

Hong-er cried out from the bottom of hi s s o u l … Y eT… nO B o dY caMe-

"HEY! Get away from him." The entire world plunged into sudden silence, so quiet, so peaceful, yet the peace was disturbed by loud, horrifying sobbing echoing in the silent room. "Hey…there, it's okay now…just let it all out." With horror, Hong realized those wretched sounds were coming from him. He felt ashamed, but at the same time, he felt so relieved that someone had come at all. His small frame shook in the unknown person's arms, and he had never felt more like a child than he does now. 

"I'm sorry, hong-er. You shouldn't have had to deal with this. I'm sorry." The boy tensed up, confused, because who knew him enough to speak his name so…gently? Curiosity finally won out, and the boy slowly looked up, only for him to gasp. His Highness's warm golden eyes looked down at him with a sad, regretful look.

"Y-your h-h-highness..? Why a-are you h-here?" 

"I sensed a great amount of resentful spiritual energy and came to find- well, you."

"Oh. Sorry," Hong-er looked down, now wishing the ghost had killed him. Xie Lian's shook his head.

"No, it's not your fault. The ghost should have been dispelled long ago, and it is most definitely not your fault you have more spiritual energy than a normal non-cultivator." The boy blinked

"What?"

"Yeah, you have quite a bit of spiritual energy considering your age, so that mixed with…your negative emotions gave the ghost strength to escape. Then, once they did, they went searching for the source of their newfound power, which in this case was…"

"...me" Hong-er finished. He looked at the floor holding back more tears. He was right it was his fault, everything is always his fault because of his curse.

"Cursed? What on earth are you talking about? I don't think you're cursed, maybe some bad luck but that's it" Hong-er cridge releasing he had spoken out loud and looked up to meet Xie lian eyes with his own eyes.

Hong-er paused as something strange hit him. He was looking at His Highness, and he looked perfect as always, but why could Hon-er see His Highness's beauty so clearly? The boy swallowed his panic and brought a shaky hand up to his face. His hand met the bare skin on his face, his face missing any bandages meaning his Highness could see it!!!

"DON'T LOOK!- I'M SORRY-" Hong-er slammed his hands over his stupid red eye, hoping it hadn't been too late, but he already knew it was. 

"Hey Hey! What's wrong?" His Highness seemed baffled, but he wasn't disgusted, so maybe he hadn't seen. 

“Sorry, about my…cursed…eye…” 

"What? Cursed eye? What about curses?" Maybe it was because of his child body or maybe Hong-er had finally reached his breaking point after all he  had been through and had finally gone insane. Otherwise why else would hong-er scream at his Highness?

"Are you being stupid? This stupid eye!" Hong-er removed his hands, showing his red-slitted eye. "This cursed eye I was born with shows I'm cursed! It- It- SHOWS I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" Xie Lian leaned back, blinking in surprise, but Hong-er was on a roll. "I KNOW! I know…I shouldn't be alive…I have no purpose, nothing to live for, and…I shouldn't be…here," Hong-er whispered, suddenly feeling so tired of…everything. His first life had been so pathetic despite him trying to make something of himself, but Hua Cheng had no friends, no family, and no lover. He only had a book to cling to, and looking back, he saw how unstable and pathetic he truly was obsessing over it. Then, when he magically got a second chance, nothing had changed. He still had no friends and no family, but now, despite His Highness and him living in the same world, nothing had changed. Hong-er had no say in his fate, the system had chosen him as a replacement simply because the true "protagonist" had to go and kick the bucket. 

"I…am nothing" This was all Hong-er was and would ever be.

…

…

"I don't believe that is true." A hand landed on hong-er hand warm, firm, and gentle on Hong's head. "I know you aren't cursed, and even if you are, it is not because of your eye." The hand shifted down, and a second hand joined, cupping the boy's face between smooth yet callus-filled palms. The boy was softly guided to look up and meet Xie lain's eyes. "I'm looking at your eye now, and all I see is a beautiful red eye; if anything, it looks like a cute kitten or fox's! So anyone saying anything else is wrong," Xie Lian said with eyes filled with conviction. 

"He's..not lying" Hong-er was staring straight into Xie Lian's eyes so he would see if the prince had lied to protect Hong-er, but the other wasn't. 

"-And if you truly believe you have no purpose, nothing to live for, then..make me your reason! Believe in me and live for me!" Hua Chang and Hong-er both felt something they hadn't felt in so long…hope. Xie Lian flashed a big smile.

"Can you do that? For me?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Hong-er whispered in reverence out loud, but to himself, he made his own promise. " For you, even dying will be the greatest honor in any of my lifes."

Chapter Text

Hong-er knew what he must do now. He had wanted to save Xie Lian because he was something that had helped him keep going when he was Hua Cheng, but now he tried to save him because His Highness was His Highness. The prince was someone who deserved better. He was Hong-er world, his purpose, and he would be damned if he failed his god. Therefore, after the whole "evil spirits were released," he knew he couldn't stay at the temple. The head priest had been furious that Hong-er had "released" them even if it had been accidental. Not only that, but the head priest had consulted the stars and found that Hong-er was born under an unlucky star, meaning he would bring misfortune and bad luck until his death. 

His Highness probably would have tried to help Hong-er more than he had, but that is something the bandaged boy couldn't allow, so a week later, he was gone. Hong-er knew the system wasn't just for decoration, so he, maybe not so subtly, threatened that he would kill himself if the system did not help him survive. It had been sort of hilarious how the usually cheerfully emotionless system panicked. After all, its purpose was to keep the protagonist alive, and it had already failed once. Therefore, the system gave him three new functions. The first was an inventory, the second an observation ability, and the last unlocking his cultivation meridians. 

The first was rather obvious as he could now carry up to 20 items in a sort of dimensional bag. The observation skill allowed him to view people's names and titles above their heads. Not only that, but if they lied, their names would flash red. Lastly, by the system unlocking his meridians, he could not start cultivating an absorbing spiritual energy. All these new abilities made living and getting stronger much easier. He could now safely store food for much longer periods, understand people more easily, and get stronger. 

"Honestly, if all it took was a little threat of slitting my throat to get me this, I would have done much sooner. "Hong-er was honestly a bit disappointed in himself that it took him so long to do something like this. After all, if the system was going to use him, then it's only fair he does the same, right? 

Hong-er had found his new home until he could join the army. His new home was one of His Highness's forgotten shrines. The shrine was smaller, and it was one of the first because this shrine still had His Highness's face behind a mask. Only after his face was revealed during the festival did the newer shrines update their statues to have Xie Lian's bare face. However, that did not matter because the shrine was still His Highness's. He spent a great deal of time cleaning up the shrine, though the statue had been left alone so long it was falling apart. It pained Hong-er that he could do nothing. It was now a ritual to wake up every morning and leave a white flower by the statue's feet. Usually, the flower would have been placed in the statue's hand, but sadly, it had broken off, so Hong-er made due. 

It was another morning as Hong-er placed his usual flower and clasped his hands together for a simple prayer.

" Your Highness, thank you for everything you have done. I wish from the bottom of my heart that you are safe, warm, healthy, and well-fed. Have the best of days, your Highness -" The boy was finishing his prayer when something hit the back of his head. It didn't hurt, but still, it annoyed the boy. He turned around to meet a gaggle of children sneering at him as if he were disgusting. 

"Hey, why are you here at this stupid shrine, idiot?" A boy mocked another, snickered, and spoke up

"Well, maybe it's because this is the only shrine he can go to!" This made the boys laugh. Hong's lips pulled back into a snarl. These children had been a nuisance, mocking Hong-er ever since he moved in because of his status as a "homeless kid living at the broken shrine." The children were kids of lower nobles or small merchants, so usually, they were the ones mocked. However, Hong-er was even lower than them, which made the annoying children gleeful to do the mocking instead of being mocked. Although the children were aggravating, all they did was taunt Hong-er. Never had they actually thrown anything at the boy before.

" Maybe they are getting braver? If so, it might be best to show them their place," Hong-er pondered before scrapping the thought. He may have been stronger since he had begun cultivating, but he was still smaller than normal and definitely not strong enough to take on a group of much larger kids.

"This is a shrine of His Royal Highness, Xie Lian. So have some more respect," One of the kids scoffed.

"His Highness's shrine? This thing? If it was left like this, then maybe his Highness didn't want it all."

"Yeah, after all, his highness has the grand shrine, so why would he want this pitiful thing?" Another boy piped up, and Hong-er took a deep breath, praying to his god for patience.

"That may be so, but this is still a shrine for his highness." 

"Hmmm…really? Are you sure this is Highness? After all, that statue looks nothing like him." Sure, the statue is a bit faded and cracked, but it was still clearly his Royal Highness, Xie Lian. Hong-er opened his mouth to disagree-

"Maybe we should get rid of it! After all, if it really is His Highness, then should we get rid of such an embarrassing thing?" The bandaged boy's mouth fell shut, and his blood ran cold as murmurs of agreement rose.

"Yeah, his highness would hate this shrine!"

"It's only right-"

"I can't believe such a mistake of a shrine would be made-"

He wouldn't believe what he was hearing, yet his ears did not deceive him. These brats were planning to destroy a shrine of his Highness.

"You can't do that! This belongs to his Highness, so leave, or I'll tell your parents what you plan to do!" Hong-er expected that would cause the group to scatter; instead, it seemed to anger them.

"Who do you think you are telling us what to do? You are just a stupid orphanless brat!" A boy stepped forward, face turning red in anger. Another stepped forward, just as upset.

"Yeah, I bet you can't go home 'cause your whore mother must beat you!-" Hong-er didn't let the boy finish before he was punching him across the face. Suddenly, it was pure chaos as half of the group began fighting Hong-er, while the other half went towards the shrine and began pulling pieces of it apart. The meager food offering Hong-er had made fell to the floor, the curtains were ripped down, and the poems on the walls ripped. The bandaged boy panicked and tried to stop the boys, but another reached and pulled Hong-er back by his hair. Punches flew, hitting Hong-er in the face, chest, shoulders, or anywhere open. However, hong-er gave just as good as he got scratching, punching, and kicking anybody within range. His feral behavior seemed to both freakout and intimidate the group as they backed away from the shrine.

"Oh my…he is like a mutt!" One of the boys muttered, staring at Hong-er with a sneer. 

"Guys, let's just go. This is just stupid". Hong-er had disgusted the group enough with his actions that they wanted nothing to do with him. However, the boy cared little about why they left, just that they did. 

Once the group of boys was long gone, Hong-er turned around to see the damage. For a brief moment, he thought he managed to stop too much damage from being dealt. His hopes were quickly dashed when an ominous creaking began, and part of the ceiling abruptly caved in. The boy stared, frozen, his mouth hanging open as he gazed at the new hole. If things couldn't get worse, thunder rang out, and the cloudy skies began to pour down rain. Hong-er was frustrated because it seemed everything was against him, despite the fact that he was meant to be the stupid OP protagonist. 

"Well fuck you too, fate" Hong-er didn't care much for cursing in either of his lives, but right now, he couldn't find a more appropriate statement. With a resigned sigh, he walked into the small building and began attempting to fix the roof. 

When he finished, he looked quite satisfied with his rough patch job. Although some droplets still slipped through, considering his limited materials, it was pretty good. However, what Hong-er couldn't fix was the entrance, meaning wind seeped into the shrine, freezing the boy's body. Shivering, Hong-er tried his best to squeeze as much water as possible from his clothing, but he was too soaked. He silently grumbled to himself, staring up at the worn-down statue of his Highness. It was honestly said that a lot was made of His Highness's beauty, that even in a broken statue, his brilliance would still shine through. The longer he stared, the heavier his eyes became, and the harder he shivered until finally, his eyes fell shut. 

Hong-er didn't usually dream, but tonight, he dreamt of warm brown eyes, soft hands brushing against his face, and a flash of red before the cold seemed to almost seep out of him. When he next woke up, the rainstorm had lessened to a drizzle. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and when he turned, he saw a red umbrella covering his body, protecting him from the rain. 

"How did it go? What-" Hong-er was baffled and had a theory forming, but he needed confirmation. 

"System? Did someone come here while I was asleep?" Hong-er preferred to ignore the system, but he couldn't deny the benefits that came with having an ever-present starker.

Yes, His Royal Highness Xie Lian stumbled across the User after sneaking out of heaven and gave him his Umbrella to protect him from the elements!

Hong-er's theory confirmed his dream wasn't a dream, and once again, his Highness had shown him kindness he would never forget. The boy reached out and carefully grabbed the Umbrella and brought it closer. The Umbrella was a simple, bright red color, yet the way it was crafted showed it was of a quality that Hong-er would never be able to afford himself. He turned to look up at the statue from under his new protection, his tone filled with gratitude. 

"Thank you, Your Highness. Please may you have joy and luck from today until forever."

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

It came slow and steady, but the war with Yong'an had officially broken out a couple of weeks ago, and the drafts began. Men older than 20 were forced into the war, and those who were 16 could choose to join if they wished. Hong-er was 13, but he knew with his tall figure he could pass off for older so long as no one looked too closely. Hong-er tried multiple times to join, yet every time, he was sent away for being unqualified. However, he did not give up; every time he was rejected, he found a new place that welcomed soldiers for the war. Finally, his efforts paid off when he saw one recruiter who took one look at him and shrugged before accepting Hong-er. 

He came the next day and got into a carriage with many other males to head off to the training camp. The atmosphere in the carriage was tense, and throughout the entire ride, not a single word was spoken. Hong-er looked out of the carriage to the road in almost wonder. This would be the first time Hong-er had left Xianle and probably the last. Maybe he should have felt sad, but his loyalty was never towards the city, so he felt nothing as the city walls grew smaller and smaller.

Hong-er and his group arrive as night begins to fall and are guided to a big field with a small platform in front of them. There is a clacking of armor as a big man with a scarred eye walks up the platform and stares down at the group.

"Hello, I will be quick as you must get rest for tomorrow. My name is Bai Chongxi. I am the captain in charge of this sector, and I won't tolerate any disrespect towards me. As disrespect towards me is disrespect towards the royal family, and that is unforgivable." The man's eyes swept the group for any objections before continuing, "I understand many of you are afraid or nervous about this war, but you must remember we are fighting this war for all of Xianle!" The man grinned and spread his arms wide open

"This war we will win; do you want to know why!? It is because our god and his Highness, Xie Lian, have come to aid us in this fight, meaning our success is guaranteed." Bai Chongxi's arms fell to his sides, and the grin did not leave his face. "This means that all of you must give it your all, no better than your all, and if you die, then it will not be in vain. Soldiers, you must remember that to die for Xianle is the greatest honor of your lives!" As soon as the captain finished speaking, the group burst into shouts of determination, and even Hong-er felt motivated.

"Yeah!"

"For Xianle!"

"All Yong'an scum must die!"

"Glory to His Highness!"

Hong-er looked around, impressed by the captain's speech, which motivated the once-frightened recruits. It should have scared Hong-er, seeing how easily it was to manipulate the young men standing all around the teen, yet Hong-er couldn't care less. He was aware nearly all of his so-called "comrades" would die by the end of this war, but so long as his Highness lived, then he was satisfied. 

"I never claimed to be a good person, only a devoted one." Hong-er watched as each recruit was handed their bundle of supplies before being led to their tent. Their tent was small, and the only items inside were thin, roll-up beds with a single pillow for each recruit. Hong-er walked forward to claim the sleeping mat in the corner while ignoring the rest of the recruits' complaints. 

"Is this all we get? Not even a real bed?"

"We have to lay on the floor directly?"

Hong-er almost scoffed but bit his tongue as he went through the supplies given to him. There was a simple black pair of clothing, a small knife, some ration bars, and an empty water canister. It was not much, but then again, this group was the lowest in the army hierarchy ladder. Hong-er lies down, looking up at the tent's brown ceiling. He heard the talking of his fellow recruits die down, and he heard the faint shouting of "light out" before the tent fell into darkness. The teen knew he needed to rest, yet it was so hard when strangers surrounded him. He clenched his fist into his thin blanket before closing his eyes and forcing himself to rest. Surprisingly, he managed to sleep, although not well; any rest was welcomed.

By the time the sun had begun to rise, Hong-er was wide awake due to the sounds of birds chirping. Looking around, he saw that he was the only one awake, which left him in an awkward predicament. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long before a deep bell rang out. Many of his tentmates woke up startled at the sudden noise.

"GET UP SOLDIERS! MEET UP IN THE FIELD IN 5 OR ELSE!" Immediately, multiple groans rang off as men scrambled to get ready with haste while others were more hesitant. Hong-er, however, was up and prepared to go in record time, wearing his new black soldier clothing and carefully hiding away his knife and other items in his inventory. Before he knew it, he was out in the same field from the night before, and that is when his soldier life officially began. That's when he started learning how army life was. 

First, the men were divided into groups and given weapons to try out for an hour before rotating to try a new one. Higher-ranked soldiers assessed the group, watching for which soldiers showed potential with which weapon, and then moved them elsewhere to train with that specific weapon. Hong-er found he was naturally good with bows. However, he was more familiar with using a sword, so that is where he was moved. 

It was there that he quickly excelled above his peers when learning to wield a blade. As a teen in his past life, he had joined a martial arts club and learned the basics of wielding a sword, though that sword had been wooden. That, mixed with his basic cultivation, increasing his speed and strength, made him be seen as a prodigy. Quickly, he rose through the ranks as a skilled newbie with potential that quickly caught the eye of Mu Qing. As much as Hong-er hated the man, he couldn't deny that getting his attention was a part of his plan. The boy needed to get closer to His Highness to protect him, but only those skilled were allowed to be near the frontlines and close to His Highness. The one who made this decision was General Mu Qing. However, his sudden rise in rank made his fellow soldiers angry at him for receiving favoritism while they had to work harder and strive to achieve the same level of success. This meant dealing with petty pranks, such as having bugs end up in his bed or when it was his turn to do chores. Suddenly, everything was dirty and needed cleaning. 

It annoyed Hong-er, but he could deal with it for a couple more weeks until he was transferred out. He may feel exhausted at all the extra work and training, but he always had to remember that he was doing all of this for his Highness. If it were for him, he would endure anything. 

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

Perhaps it shouldn't have surprised Hong-er, but he didn't meet General Mu Qing in person. Instead, it was an assistant who came to pick him and a few other prodigies to be moved closer to the front lines. Being transferred came with a few perks, including slightly better clothing and a bed. However, the food was something that came as even more of a shock because it had flavor in it. Sure, it wasn't particularly tasty, but Hong-er could taste salt, peppers, and what might be rosemary. It burned at Hong-er until he finally cracked.

"Can I ask about the… strange food?" One of the soldiers in charge of cooking sighed deeply and probably asked this question a thousand times.

"I know the food is weird, but there is a reason for it." The boy blinked

"Really?"

"Yeah, the food is meant to be as filling and nutritious as possible, no matter how bad it may taste. A decree by the royal family" Bad was not a word Hong-er would use; instead, he was ready to cry at finally having some decent-tasting meals. More than once, he even managed to get a couple of his teammates to hand him their portions when their weak stomachs couldn't handle either the spicy or over-seasoned meals. 

Weeks passed, and before Hong-er knew it, it had nearly been four months since he began, and it was around the five-month mark when he gained his first kill. It had been a normal day training with the sword and even sparring with a few others to test his skills. Then, when night came, Hong-er was placed on night watch to patrol. Hong-er was sitting on top of the watch tower, carefully attempting to carve his Highness using discarded wood. To say he was failing would be an understatement. It wasn't that he couldn't recall his Highness, quite the opposite in fact, but rather that he had never had to carve using such a small knife against the rough wood. This led to his first few attempts at creating a wood statue of his Highness, which looked more like a monstrosity that brought shame to his Highness's beauty. He quickly destroyed those before anyone could see, and if His Highness saw them? Well, let's just say the system would need another protagonist. 

As he paused to study his wooden statue, he heard the rustling of leaves. He glanced, thinking it might be an animal. But in the darkness, he saw a shape that was much bigger than any animal. Hong-er tensed up even further when he saw a name floating in the darkness, meaning it was a human. The boy grabbed his bow and arrow and sneaked forward until he was almost leaning on the tower to catch a better glimpse and see who the person was. A hiss escaped his lips when he caught sight of a man sneaking through the trees with his title being "Yong'an Assasin." He knew he was supposed to report the assassin to his commander, but by the time he did that, who knew what the other could do? Hong-er knew there was one option, so with only a brief moment of hesitation, he picked up his bow and knocked an arrow. He pointed it at the assassin and aimed it towards the man's legs before releasing it. As the arrow flew through the air, two things occurred. The first was that the assassin suddenly crouched down, and the second was that the arrow that should have struck his legs instead went straight through his throat. Hong-er stared as the assassin's hands reached up to his pierced neck before falling over and going limp. The man was dead in a swift moment before the boy could react.

It should have horrified Hong-er; after all, this was his first kill, yet he felt nothing for the other man. After all, this was a war; they were enemies, and he didn't know him, so why should he care? Maybe it was cruel of him, yet he could care less for a man who could have been a threat to his Highness. So, without another glance at the corpse of Hong-er's first kill, he climbed down the tower and went to report what had occurred. His superior was shocked that Yong'an was bold enough to send someone and was a bit disappointed that Hong-er hadn't gotten the assassin alive to get information. However, the incident also caused his superior to look at him in a new light when Hong-er responded that he didn't feel any different, even after killing another human being. 

"You know Hong-er? I believe you might have more potential as a soldier than anyone thought." Hong-er blink his only visible eye

"Thank you?"

"No, no, hong-er. You are incredibly skilled with fighting and don't have morals to hold you back, and follow orders perfectly. You are the model for a soldier." Hong-er was…unsure how to feel about that, but he decided to take it as a compliment, especially when the next day he was going to be transferred to serve directly under Mu Qing and get to his Highness in person. In a week, he would see his Highness after years, and even if it was just a glimpse, it would be worth it. 

Chapter Text

"So this is the so-called genius I've been hearing about?" Mu Qing looked Hong-er over, and the boy tried not to show any expression on his face while begging his god that the older male wouldn't recognize him. Then he paused and reminded himself that he shouldn't beg Xie Lian for something so minor, and he would do it himself. 

"Yes, lord, He is a bit rough around the edges, but I'm positive with a bit of polishing, he will truly become a beast on the battlefield." One of Mu Qing's generals said, smiling smugly as if he were the one who found Hong-er and trained him. In reality, Hong-er had never met this general and didn't even recall his name.

Mu Qing still looked somewhat uncertain before shrugging.

"Very well, the only way to check something is to see with my own eyes, so kids follow me." Hong-er bowed his head, the absolute minimum required to show respect before following the general. They ended up in a training field, and it was only thanks to Hong-er's reflexes that he caught the wooden sword thrown at him. "Alright, let's have a quick spar, so show me what you got." 

The boy nodded and tightly gripped the sword before rushing forward and swinging. Mu Qing's eyes went wide, but that didn't stop him from blocking the blow. Seeing this, Hong-er backs away and tries to attack from below, swinging his wooden sword upwards. Hong-er knew that Mu Qing was powerful after all, he had ascended to godhood, which meant that Hong-er needed every advantage he could get, so he needed to at least land one blow using the element of surprise. However, the other man recovered quicker than the boy expected, and before he knew it, Mu qing took a step back, spun around, and using his momentum struck Hong-er across the face. The boy stumbled, tasting blood, but ignored it as he went back on the offensive, trying to get a hit in. As much as Hong-er hated to admit, Mu Qing was skilled and was able to use all of Hong-er's attacks against him. Finally, he saw what he thought was an opening, so he went to step forward and- suddenly, he was on his back staring up at the sky with the breath knocked out of him.

"What the hell just happened? " Hong-er was bewildered and wheezed as his lungs tried to breathe. 

"Ah- shit- Sorry, kid. I was a bit rough." Hong-er rolled over onto his knees and looked up at Mu qing. Embarrassment and shame rolled inside Hong-er when he saw how unbothered the man looked; he wasn't even sweating despite Hong-er giving it his all. The boy took a breath, stood up, and gripped his wooden sword so hard he could feel it strain.

"Stop, we're done. I've seen enough, though I have a couple of questions for you." Mu Qing's eyes were unreadable, and Hong-er tensed up before forcing himself to relax.

"First, why did you attack before I said that?"

"Because you don't get such a luxury on the battlefield," Hong-er responded without hesitation. Mu Qing looked taken aback for a moment before he swiftly fell into thoughtfulness.

"You're right, then my second question is, how is it that you have so much killing intent towards me?" Hong-er stopped breathing, and he hesitated before answering

"...Because I know how powerful you are, and if I didn't attack to kill, I wouldn't have landed a blow, and I was correct." The boy hoped his excuse worked because he couldn't exactly say he hated the man for leaving his highness to become a god when it hadn't happened yet. Mu Qing looked at him, and Hong-er could see he didn't entirely believe him.

"I see, yes, you do indeed have potential- what was your name again?" 

"Hong Yunqi," Hong-er replied, deciding to use his supposed future name, pausing before adding "sir." 

"Very well, Hong Yunqi, my advisor will take you to train with the other potential soldiers we have, so don't disappoint." Hong-er felt relieved and bowed his head.

"Thank you, sir, I wouldn't dream of it." 

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

"AGH!- I yield-" Hong-er stared coldly as his sparring partner surrendered so easily. 

"So weak…how am I supposed to grow stronger when none of these men can hold a handle to me?" Hong-er scoffed, turning away, trying to calm his frustration. When he ended up with the rest of the so-called geniuses, he expected more. It hardly took longer than 3 months before his skills surpassed those of any soldier in his squad, yet despite that, he was still not allowed on the battlefield until he had at least a year of training. After the whole assassin incident, some soldiers came up to him to either congratulate him for getting rid of "Yong'an scum" or ask him how it felt to kill someone so they could prepare. However, once it became clear that Hong-er didn't care about killing someone or feeling guilty, his peers became wary of him and left him alone, which was perfectly fine with Hong-er since it was better than getting picked on like before. So after another three months, he focused his attention on other areas like learning strategy, cooking, and cultivating. Regardless of which life Hong-er knew, that knowledge would be his best tool.

Before he knew it, his birthday came and passed, and he turned 15. He didn't do anything special except make himself a makeshift cake using leftover fruits stuffed into a bread bun. He grasped his hands together and closed his eye 

"Thank you for this meal, this day, and for another year of living. Thank you, your highness, and may your life and dreams be the best in this world." Hong-er had never been a devout believer of any religion in his past life, yet for his highness, it was so easy and second nature for these reverent words to slip out of him. Part of him had been initially scared that his highness would hear his prayers before he quickly remembered that his highness had too many prayers to listen to, and even if he said nothing, his acts of worship would give his highness a boost in power equivalent to the worship. So, he continued to pray every single day until maybe one day he would finally have worthy offerings for his highness. 

"Happy birthday to me, I hope to see you again," Hong-er muttered before taking a bite of his fruit bread and sighing contentedly at the sweet flavor, though even he could admit it was a bit acidic due to how close to expiration the fruits were. As soon as he finished, he quickly left the kitchen and went to bed after all his mortal body needed sleep. His wish was granted the next morning when Mu Qing's advisor came over to his tent and told him to go to the training field after breakfast. When he went to the training field, he was met with two other recruits. He could vaguely recall being a genius in bow and spear, respectively. Hong-er quickly went to stand in line next to them. Only a few minutes passed before the advisor came and told them they would be going to the frontlines to help his highness and defend Xianle from the invaders. 

As soon as he heard the news, the boy could practically hear his heartbeat beating in his ear from excitement, though he did make sure to keep his expression neutral. The moment they were dismissed, Hong-er rushed back to pack his meager belongings in his sack. He had debated on putting everything into his inventory before realizing it was suspicious, so the only thing he had in it was food, a knife, and…a huge red pearl that he had never quite gotten the chance to return to Xie lian. He took a brief moment to run his fingers over the pearly smooth surface in reverence before quickly shoving it back into his inventory and continuing packing. He meets up with the rest of his group and a few other soldiers before they begin their journey towards the frontlines of the war, towards where his royal highness is. 

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

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

It took two weeks for Hong-er to reach the campsite at the edge of the frontlines finally. During their travels, they were attacked twice by Yong'an assassins, hoping to stop reinforcement from reaching the leading group. By the end, all of the newer soldiers had gotten their first kills. Hong-er had gained some experience fighting people, which was much different than sparring.

When they arrived, Hong-er's first thought was that " The frontlines camp was huge and busy ". Soldiers were constantly moving around, and there were so many tents and other structures around that Hong-er could already feel a headache building at the back of his skull. 

"Alright, recruits, we shall go and have a quick tour before I release you." The older man waved them to follow him, and the tour was indeed relatively quick. As soon as it was done, they were ordered to do basic tasks. Hong-er was assigned to help in the infirmary until dinner time, where he would then be released to do training. 

Hong-er walked over and into the infirmary tent, and a quick look inside told him he was going to be busy. Nearly every single bed was filled with soldiers and various states of injury. The least injured soldier seemed to have a broken hand; the worst injury was an older man who lay unconscious with an amputated leg. The air was filled with the scent of herbs and blood, and Honger looked around, unsure of what exactly to do. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long before a man in his late 60s walked over, looked him over, and pointed to a nearby empty cot.

"Go sit there, and wait, I'll take care of your eye in a moment-" Hong-er quickly interrupted 

"Sorry- I'm not- I'm here to help. I'm a new helper, I'm not injured, this wound is not recent." The boy quickly explained, and the man blinked before nodding.

"My apologies, I forgot we got new soldiers today." The doctor straightens, seemingly assessing Hong-er before pointing to a nearby table. "There should be a bottle with red herbs and some bandages on it. Grab them and follow me." The boy nodded, grabbed the mentioned items, and followed the doctor. The next couple of hours passed by in a blur as Hong-er assisted the doctor with patient after patient, sometimes helping apply medicines and other times holding down soldiers as they got stitches of arrows removed from their flesh. By the end, the doctor admitted he was pretty impressed by Hong-er's level-headedness even when faced with so much blood or the screams of pain from his fellow soldiers. Apparently, new assistants made it an hour before either vomiting or fainting, but Hong-er made it the entire 5 hours. The doctor warned the boy that he was probably gonna be spending a lot of time in the infirmary helping him. Although the statement was probably meant to sound threatening, it didn't because Hong-er also gained valuable knowledge. He had learned basic medicines for pain, rashes, and stopping bleeding. Information that could help his highness in the future or even himself, since Hong-er was still a human, so anything that could keep him alive a little longer was appreciated. 

The sun had already begun to set by the time Hong-er left the infirmary tent, yet the boy still wanted to, at the very least, check out the training grounds in this new place. Surprisingly, the training area wasn't that different from what he was used to, except that mixed in with the wooden weapons were actual metal ones. That surprised him, however, when he picked up a sword to inspect it, he quickly realized that the edges of the blade were dulled down so as not to cause serious harm. He tested the blade's weight with a few swings. It was a bit heavier than he was used to, but nothing he couldn't deal with. Without further thought, he went over to one of the nearby dummies and began his practice. He was swinging his blade, trying to focus more on speed as he stayed swift on his feet. His training session was meant to be quick, and it was not like Hong-er expected anyone to come training so late; therefore, it was no surprise when Hong-er was startled at the sudden voice.

"Wow! It has been a while since I have seen someone with skills like yours!" On instinct, Hong-er swung the blade behind him, and he had a brief moment to thank his god that the blade was dull, otherwise he would have killed a fellow soldier and been marked a traitor.

"My stupid fellow soldier, who thought it was a good idea to sneak up so close to me," Hong-er mentally growled and waited for the sound of metal hitting either flesh or armour. Despite all the of Hong-er's panic, neither event occurred. Instead, two long, elegant fingers reached out and held the blade between them like they were picking a grape. 

Hong-er felt a sense of dread grow as his eye slowly followed the arms up until he met the cheerful expression of his highness, looking completely unbothered that one of his soldiers tried to kill him. 

"Sorry about that, I got too excited and got too close, that's on me." Xie Lian looked sheepish, yet that expression quickly vanished into one of thoughtfulness. "You have some real potential with a sword, that much is clear; however, have you ever tried using a saber?" Hong-er swallowed his panic down and resisted the urge to prostrate himself for even attempting to injure his highness.

"N-no, it w-was not an -option o-offered" Honger reminded himself to breathe and be calm, but it was so hard. Why is that every meeting ends with something bad happening during it? First it was the festival, then Qi rong, and next the ghost incident, and finally this sword incident. For once hong-er wanted to have a meeting with his highness where he was dignified and he didn't humiliate himself like the lower being he is.

His highness hummed, seeming disappointed "I guess that makes sense, but still looking at your fighting style I'm positive a saber would fit you well…" Xie lian trailed up with his eyes lit up with excitement and that in turn made hong-er own heart race trying to catologed every reaction and moment from the got infront of him. "How about you come back here at the same time, and I'll show you some moves- I'll even bring a practice saber." Xie Lian fluttered his warm brown eyes at Hong-er as if he feared rejection. The boy couldn't imagine anything his highness could ask that he would reject.

"It would be my greatest honor to learn from his highness." 

Hong-er managed to hold his composure just long enough for his highness to leave before he lost it. He crouched down and buried his face into his hands before screaming. He was glad he was alone because he wasn't sure how he looked, but the boy felt like he went through an emotional roller coaster. His hands were trembling with both fear and anticipation for tomorrow. Hong-er felt like all his dreams were coming true and he wasn't sure how to stay calm. If he had less self-control, he would be rolling on the ground like a high schooler after talking to their idol. 

"Though maybe that isn't too far off," Hong-er mused, remembering he was currently a teen, so maybe the hormonal changes were affecting him more than he thought about it. The boy stood up, took a breath, and turned to walk back to his sleeping quarters. If he was going to give his highness his all, then he needed rest (though he doubted he would get much sleep). 

Hong-er woke up as soon as the sun rose and went through his usual morning routine in record time, scarfing down his surprisingly tasty and salty congee, before rushing off to the training ground. Unsurprisingly, there were a couple of trainees, but that was unimportant for the boy. He went off to begin his stretches and warm-up, which only took a couple of minutes. Once he finished, he sat down on one of the benches and waited. A couple of times, some trainees came up to Hong-er to spar, but he swiftly refused. Sure, the looks he got may have made him think he was a bit rude, but he couldn't care less when he knew his highness was going to come soon. Two hours passed when Hong-er saw a flash of white, and his head turned towards the entrance to see his highness walking towards Hong-er with a beaming expression, holding a couple of sheath swords in his arms. The boy stood up and did a short bow of respect before quietly waiting for his highness to speak. 

"Hi, sorry, were you waiting long?" Xie Lian smiled curiously, and Hong-er quickly shook his head. 

"No, your highness," after all, no wait was long if it was for his god. Xie Lian nodded

"Good, I was struggling to decide which saber to bring, so I brought a couple of types to test out." Carefully, the blades were placed on the bench the boy had previously been sitting on. "Okay, so we are going to begin with this one, it is called a Dao saber- here" Xie Lian handed the blade to Hong-er, who studied it. It was as long as a regular sword, a bit curved and lighter, however, due to how thin the metal was. Hong-er's mind immediately shifted from a nervous believer into a calculating student studying the blade and giving a couple of test swings.

"Sooo?" Xie Lian looked expectant, and Hong-er wouldn't disappoint.

"I can definitely see why your highness would recommend this, after all, this blade seems suited for agility and speed." Hong-er knew he would never have enough strength to beat adults with his body, so he had focused more on speed and swift footwork. However, it was incredible that his highness was able to know that when he had never seen the boy fight, just practice. 

"Right?! That's the beauty of the saber, using speed rather than brute strength to swing elegant strikes!" Xie Lian seemed thrilled, and Hong-er could vaguely recall his highness from the book's loved swords and collected them, though he hadn't realized it was to this extent. "Ah- right here is another called the Jian saber, and-" and just like that, Hong-er's fears vanished, and instead he focused all his attention on learning what his highness said, and even a couple of times sparred with him. It made Hong-er feel warm hearing how happy Xie Lian was to teach someone the way of the sword, and Hong-er was happy to learn. Of course, whenever his highness got close enough that the boy could smell the scent of sweet flowers and oils, it made his heart beat faster, but nothing could ruin this for him, not even his stupid feelings.

A couple of days passed like this, Hong-er waking at the crack of dawn and waiting for his highness. Sometimes he arrived in a couple of minutes and others a couple of hours, but no matter what, Hong-er was there waiting. Then by the second week, Xie Lian arrived like usual, though this time he only had one blade in his arms. 

"Hello there, my little student! I have a gift for you and- well, a request of mine that you can refuse." Hong-er wasn't going to deny his highness anything, but he still nodded. "I am going on a scouting mission in two days that will last 3 weeks, and will have a couple of soldiers come with me. I was hoping that you would join if you have no other obligations?" The boy froze, barely resisting the urge to kneel and thank him for such an honor.

"Weeks with his highness? Being in his presence and even helping him? Of course I'll go!" Hong-er was almost insulted at the insinuation that he would refuse. However, out loud, he said.

"It would be an honor, your highness, and no worries, I don't have anything planned, so I would love to join this mission." 

"Great! That brings me to my gift, here". Immediately, the boy noticed that the blade seemed of much higher quality than other blades, and something about it seemed strange. Sliding the blade from its sheath revealed it to be not just any saber, but looked to be brand new by the shine of the metal and quality of the leather sheath. 

"This isn't…a practice blade, is it?" Hong-er meant to ask, yet it came out more like a statement. 

"Sorry, I wanted to get you a better one, but with the war and time, this is the best I could do as a graduation gift for my little student!" Hong-er wasn't an expert on blades, not like his highness, but he was positive the sword was worth at least three small fortunes, and yet his highness called it nothing?

" Perks of being rich, I guess?" Hong-er didn't have much experience with money, living in poverty for nearly the first two decades in his first life and the entirety of his second. Even when he had begun to make decent money as Hua Cheng, he died before truly being able to enjoy it. Though pushing aside the value of the blade, Hong-er felt a sense of gratitude and warmth flood his cheeks and chest. For the first time since meeting his highness again, Hong-er couldn't keep up his calm facade, and his eye blurred with unshed tears. 

"Thank you, your highness, this means…a lot to me". Xie Lian waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it- like I said, it's nothing, just a saber I had lying around. Plus, teaching you has been more fun than I expected…" The god looked wistful for a brief moment before quickly shaking away his thoughts. "Anyways, meet up at the side entrance in two days' time at dinner. If you don't come, then that's fine, and we'll leave without you". Hong-er tightened his grip on his new sword and nodded solemnly.

"Understood" 

"Good, see you later, little soldier."

Chapter Text

The following days couldn't pass fast enough, yet it felt like too little time to prepare. Hong-er had to prove himself competent, yet he craved being near his highness like a cat basking in sunlight. When the time day finally arrived, he spent the day at the infirmary, grabbing herbs and medicines that he thought might be useful and shoving them into his inventory. When the dinner bell rang, Hong-er practically sprinted out, barely registering the shouting of the old doctor, and making it to the smaller side entrances of the camp. Arriving there, he found a group of 6 soldiers waiting. He gripped the gifted sword at his hip when he heard a couple of the soldiers complaining that they were missing dinner, and some wondering why his highness was late. Hong-er was oh so tempted to try on his new blade on the sad excuses of soldiers, yet someone beat him to the punch. 

"Oh? If that's how you think, then maybe you'll love cleaning up the stables for the rest of this war?" Hong-er's eye flickered to the nearly arrived Mu qing, who looked unamused. The effect of the man's presence was immediate, as all the soldiers fell silent enough to hear crickets. "Nothing to say now? Keep in mind that any disrespect given to his highness is the gravest of insults, and doing so, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your time here." Hong-er hated to say or think anything close to a compliment towards Mu qing, but seeing how ruthlessly and swiftly he defended his highness made him thrilled and reluctantly impressed. 

"Oh! Mu qing, you're here already?" At his highness's abrupt arrival, the awkward tension seemed to dissipate. Xie Lian was walking towards the group, holding a large metal pot, and behind him were a couple of soldiers carrying boxes. Mu Qing scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Of course, didn't I say I would see you off?"

"Yes, but I thought you would be too busy with all the new recruits coming in." 

"I have an assistant to deal with that, and if they find someone promising, then I will go in person." The man paused, studying the pot in the Prince's hands curiously. "Did you bring the soldiers dinner? If that was the case, then you could have just let them eat before asking them to meet here. Saves everyone the trouble," Xie Lian shook his head, laughing.

"I know, but I wanted to do something special, so I made some soup." The brown-haired man walked past a now-frozen Mu Qing and placed it down.

"...something you cooked?" Mu Qing choked out, sounding horrified. Much to Hong-er's amusement at the general sudden 180 in his attitude. 

"Yep! Since we are going to be travelling a lot, I wanted my soldiers to eat a hearty and nutritious meal before leaving." Xie Lian didn't seem to notice his friend's sudden distress. "Oh, do you want a bowl before you go?" 

"No!- I mean, Mu qing straightens up, gathering his composure. "Sorry, Xie Lian, but I just remembered that I am rather busy with all the new soldiers, so I'm going to go now, alright? I wish you luck and safe travels." The Mu qing practically ran like a pack of wolves nipping at his heels. His highness blinked before shrugging and turning back to the group of soldiers.

"Alright, everyone, make sure to eat your fill since we will be traveling the entire night." With that said, Xie Lian waved for one of the soldiers carrying a box that was filled with wooden bowls and spoons. 

Excited murmurs filled the air as the group of now 12 soldiers fell into a neat line.

"Food made by his highness is such an honor."

"I can't wait to see what it is!"

"Oh my, how kind his highness is." 

Honestly, Hong-er couldn't blame them because he was beyond delighted to taste his highness's cooking and was disappointed that he was closer to the back of the line. As the line began to move, the murmurs seemed to calm into something tense. When Hong-er's turn came, he was handed a spoon and a bowl filled with the stew. As he walked off to the side, he curiously tilted his head at the soup that was somehow…pink?

"I didn't know such a color was possible, and are these spices? Is this meant to be a curry?" Hong-er sniffed the bowl, able to detect the presence of turmeric, sugar, garlic, and a variety of other herbs. The boy shrugged, knowing he wouldn't waste the food made by his highness, even if it turned out to be bad. He lifted a spoonful of the thick, pink liquid, which contained a chunk, or what might be meat or a potato, though with how dense the liquid was, he couldn't tell. 

"Well, bottoms up!" Hong-er took the spoon into his mouth and chewed, waiting for the taste to hit him, and it did indeed hit him. 

Despite its strange appearance, the soup was rather good. It was spicy, a bit sweet, with a kick of acidic undertones in the background. The chunk ended up being chicken that was a bit salty at first, yet the more he chewed it, the more it complemented the sweet spiciness of the soup. 

"I wish I had rice, this is more like a curry than a soup," Hong-er mourned quietly, and if he had any complaints about the dish, it would be that it was a bit thicker than what Hong-er liked for a soup, but it wasn't inedible instead, it was the best thing he had eaten since coming into this world. However, it seemed like no one else shared his opinion because when he looked up, he saw more than one soldier drop their bowls, faces filled with disgust. Some held their stomachs, faces turning green, and one even turned to vomit. Others who had yet to take a bite froze and stared at their own bowls of soup in horror. 

Hong-er gave a slow blink, taking another bite, confused. He knew the dish was a bit strange, but it wasn't bad enough to cause such extreme reactions. Xie Lian seemed just as confused as he, looking around the nearly incapacitated group with a bewildered look. A realization seemed to dawn on him. He quickly walked over to the pot, picked up a spoon, and took a bite. He chewed thoughtfully before his look of realization slipped back into confusion. 

"Is everyone alright- no, sorry, what on earth is wrong?" A couple of groans met Xie Lian's question, and the god's eyes furrowed. "Is it my soup? But mother said it was fine, and it doesn't taste like I did anything wrong?" He muttered to himself, looking unsure, and Hong-er stood up to rectify the situation quickly.

"Nothing's wrong with your soup, your highness; in fact, it's quite tasty. Maybe they're just overwhelmed at the thought of eating his highness's food and going on a mission with you? A great god, and they might be feeling inadequate." The excuse sounded weak to the teen, but he wasn't sure how else to answer. He knew people of this time had weak stomachs and taste buds, but this was just ridiculous. 

"Really?" Xie Lian questioned, and Hong-er nodded his head, taking a bite to prove the soup was good. "I guess that makes sense? I forgot that gods are seen like that after all, Gods are still just humans, just with more power and responsibilities." Hong-er froze at those words, sounding so similar to something book Xie Lian had said once 

"Aren't gods just humans who ascended up and ghosts, humans who descended down? In the end, we are all humans who took different paths." 

Those words had been said to the original Hong Yunqi because the arrogant god had responded that gods were greater than any other being, so they could do anything. Hong-er felt the familiar hatred boil in his gut towards Hong Yunqi for being dismissive of his highness's wise words. Before he was allowed to dwell too deeply into his emotions, Xie Li'an laughed, not very loud, yet it was filled with amused relief.

"Thank goodness, I really thought I messed something up. Ah- I should have remembered that being a god makes me different." Now it was the teen's turn to be bewildered at the god simply accepting the teen's words. He had known Prince Xie Lian was a bit sheltered thanks to both his family and friends, but-

"There is no way he is that naive, right?" Hong-er's heart shook a bit when he saw the clear emotions of relief swirl in those brown eyes. It made the teen blink back tears when he realized that the real cruel world would hit his highness like a train, and the current weak Hong-er could do nothing to stop it. Part of Hong-er wanted to preserve that innocence forever, while the other wanted to show him that the world would never be as kind to him as he was to it. In the end, however, that choice would not be in the teen's hands. 

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

The trip wasn't as harsh as Xie Lian had made it out to be, but it probably destroyed the boy's sleeping schedule since they traveled by night and slept during the day. Unfortunately, that all changed when, at the end of their scouting trip, a special bird appeared. The bird was beautiful and completely see-through like glass with a hue of violet color. His highness seemed taken aback when he saw it, raising an eyebrow. Curiosity burned in Hong-er to ask, yet he hesitated, not wanting to bother him. However, another soldier did not have such reservations.

"Your highness, what is that?" 

"This is a spiritual construct, one made by my Goushi, but why would he…" It was then that his highness noticed that tied to the bird's leg was a piece of paper. He carefully removed the bird and began to read. His Highness' face went through a series of emotions, from shock and horror, before settling into grim determination. He turned, looking at the group.

"Alright, listen up. I want you all to return to the main camp and inform Mu Qing to prepare four units to go to the lazy river. He'll know what I mean." 

"What about your highness?" 

"I'll be taking a quick detour before I go," Xie Lian responded with a reassuring smile. "There's no need to worry, after all, I am still a god." That did the trick because the rest of the group began to back up and prepare to go. Hong-er hesitated between following his highness or obeying before finally turning to go with the rest of the group. They arrived not even a day later at the camp that seemed to have fallen into chaos, and whispers resonated.

"Kidnaped? Oh no…"

"Who will they send?"

"How dare Yong'an do this-"

"Are they really going to save Qi Rong?" 

"It would be better to leave him."

"That royal is always causing his highness trouble." 

Hong-er's blood ran cold because he recognized this event, but he was too stupid to connect the dots. If Qi Rong had already been kidnapped, and his highness went somewhere without saying, that meant-

"He went to save that piece of trash." Hong-er was horrified, not because of his highness saving his trash cousin, but rather that it was during this event that Xie Lian met the white clothed calamity for the first time. This meeting would be the calamity, stating his intention of wanting Xie Lian as his protege, and when his highness refused, they laughed. They laughed and told him that they and Xie Lian were cut of the same cloth and they would wait until Xie Lian would one day take their hand before vanishing, leaving the Prince feeling unsettled. It was not long after that when things began going wrong for the Prince, leading many readers, including Hua Cheng, to wonder if all of Xie Lian's misfortune was because of that wretched ghost. Though Hong-er would bet his good eye that it was indeed the case. 

The teen turned and ran. Thankfully, no one noticed anything strange about him running, considering every other soldier was doing the same to prepare for an attack. On the other hand, sneaking out was a bit harder since all the entrances were closed off and guarded by soldiers to guard against enemies. Thankfully, it appeared like the guards were having a shift change, so Hong-er snuck, pretending to be one of the guards, and went on through. As soon as he was past the entrance, he was gone, running as if his own life depended on it (though to be fair, he cared less for his own life than he did for his highness). It annoyed the teen more than he expected when he realized he wasn't sure the exact location of his highness, only a general idea. Still, he hoped that he would get close enough so he could simply sense his highness's spiritual energy with his meager cultivation skills. 

He ran, rushing past trees, jumping over rocks and other obstacles, but he never slowed down. Every second that passed was a second that his highness could be in more danger. Hong-er could feel his lungs beginning to burn, yet he didn't dare stop, his eye darting around, looking…looking…looking… and there!-.

"Your highness!" Hong-er wheezed breathless with relief as he clung to the god's warm spiritual energy and scrambled after it. There stood his highness fighting some monsters. The boy almost felt himself relax until he noticed His Highness seemed to be struggling, which immediately sent alarm bells ringing. Without further thought, the teen rushed out from the tree line and began to fight. Xie Lian seemed momentarily startled, but quickly regained his footing, and the two began to fight. The creatures- of whatever they are- were fast and agile; however, with Hong-er posing as a distraction, his highness was able to easily slice them into bits. Before he knew it, the fight was over just as soon as it began, leaving Hong-er standing there panting while his highness barely had a hair out of place. 

"What are you doing here? Why didn't you go back with the group?" Xie Lian questioned, and Hong-er…had no good explanation since, after all, he had technically disobeyed his highness even if he had a good reason. 

“I-”

“Never mind, I don’t have time for this. Go back, soldier,” Xie Lian turned away and began walking towards the mountains. Hong-er swallowed his guilt before following after. “What are you doing? I told you to leave.”

“I c-can’t just abandon your highness. Please allow me to aid you.” The brown haired man frowned before sighing.

“Fine, let’s go.” Hong-er felt relieved and silently followed his highness up the mountain into a cave. Maybe it was just the teen’s imagination, but the cave seemed unnaturally dark and the air strangely sweet. 

“Your highness, I thought we were saving your cousin? Why are we in a cave?” 

“We are. This cave happens to be an old mining site that serves as a shortcut through the mountain.” Hong-er nodded his head.

“That makes sense, it is easier than going around the mountain.” The teen followed behind his highness, preparing to kill whatever other monster came. He knew some creatures had been sent to ambush his highness to slow him down; however, it had never been specified what they were other than an inconvenience towards his highness, and they were weak as hell.

“Though that brings me to my other questions.” Hong-er's eye darted to stare at his highness’s back, a little nervously.

“Your highness, is something wrong with your spiritual power?”  Xie Lian shook his head without turning.

“Not exactly. It appears that someone knew I would pass through here and put up a Sealing array to make it harder for me to fight. However, since I am a god, all it does is disrupt the flow of my energy. I am getting used to it, but I’ll admit if I had been a regular cultivator, then I would have had some trouble, which is probably what Yong’an expected.” Hong-er blinked and tried to use his own spiritual energy. He was unsurprised when he felt nothing. After all, he was the lowest of cultivators, and if this array was enough to scratch even a god of his highness’s caliber, then what chance did Hong-er stand?

“Though this means I am weaker than normal,” Hong-er bit his lip, annoyed. He was skilled, sure, but he also had to understand that his body was weaker than normal due to severe malnutrition. He had been using spiritual energy to strengthen his body to make up for his lack of strength. 

“Be careful, I have no idea what other traps there are, but I am positive there are more,” Xie Lian cautioned as they began to walk through the dark cave. The air became sweeter, less like a flower and more like a dessert. 

“Oh…your highness~” A soft female voice suddenly came from nowhere, and the two males whipped around to see a beautiful blond woman standing there with blue eyes and red flowers decorating her hair. The mystery woman looked almost naked, and her plentiful breasts were held up by something closer to string than clothing. The skirt she was wearing was nearly see-through, like water, with slits on the sides so high up her thighs that it looked like the slightest breeze would reveal everything.   

“Won’t you come and help me? My chest is so sore and heavy…” The woman's eyes turned pleading as she groped her own chest. Soft milky flesh spilling between her fingers. 

“Ah…I see, you're a seduction demon. I’m afraid that your trick won’t work on me.” Xie Lian was tense but otherwise unaffected. Hong-er blinked, now understanding why Xie Lian called this a minor inconvenience. Honestly, even Hong-er was unimpressed because, sure, the woman was beautiful, but she held nothing for his highness. It was like comparing a piece of copper to a shining diamond. 

The female demon paused her chest groping and pouted 

“Really? Hmmm…how about this?” Suddenly, the demon’s image rippled like water, and when it stabilized, it showed a woman with long black hair reaching her knees. She wore a transparent silver gown with silver chains and pearls draped over her body. Despite her change in appearance, the red flowers remained in her hair.

“Aren’t you itching to touch me? Don’t you want to feel good for once?” The woman's voice had also changed, becoming deeper and huskier with age. She slowly ran her hands from her shoulders to her chest, to her stomach, until she finally reached her plump thighs, revealing she wore nothing to cover her womanhood. Hong-er quietly yelped in embarrassment at the nude woman, but surprisingly, he didn’t feel attracted to her.

“Haven’t you done so much for your nation? Wouldn’t it be okay for you to relax for once?” The demon took a couple of steps forward, hypnotically swaying her hips. 

“Stand Back. Take another step, and I won’t hesitate to strike you down.” Obviously, Xie Lian remained unmoved and stared down at the demon with the same steady gaze as earlier. Hong-er looked at his highness in quiet awe. The god had never looked so serious, and it made Hong-er's heart skip a beat. 

The demon paused slowly, blinking her eyes, seeming surprised for a moment before giggling.

“Oh…? You're so cute! I could just eat you up, but there’s no need to be shy,” The woman continued walking towards the two males, and now Hong-er was on the offensive, and the second the demoness was within range, the teen struck. He slashed, intending to decapitate the woman, and was shocked when she didn’t fight back, causing her head to go flying. There was a soft thump as the head landed not that far. Blood bubbled from the headless corpse for a brief moment before it spewed out like a geyser. His highness immediately grabbed Hong-er by the back of his armor and tried to pull him away from the headless body. Despite the Prince's best efforts, he couldn't prevent some of the blood from landing on his arms and some on Hong-er's shoes and stomach. 

Hong-er was instantly filled with self-disgust at dirtying his highness, but at the same time, he also felt lust. 

“What?” Hong-er stumbled back, knees weak, and waves of arousal coursing down his back to his cock. “What?!” The boy was now alarmed because what on earth was happening!?! He knew that teenage hormones could cause bouts of lust, but this seemed ridiculous and unnatural. 

“You…are no ordinary seduction demon, are you?” Xie Lian also seemed to be affected by the same affliction currently affecting the teen. His highness was breathing deeper, and his cheeks were slowly filling with color. “What have you…done?” 

“HahahaHAHAHA” Laughter filled the cave, and suddenly, from the darkness came multiple women in a similar state of undress. All women had the same glowing red flowers and wide grins.

“We are the flowers of the land of Tender,” The women replied in unison, all of them either laughing or giggling as they gazed at the two males with hunger. “Killing us will be difficult as you may discover, so just give up and let us give you the best and last day of your lives!” 

“You!- Why are you here! This is a normal mining cave!” Xie Lian seemed to recognize the name and seemed put off by it. Hong-er knew this woman had now become a threat because of his rash actions, yet…

“Hmmmgh,” The teen groaned and collapsed to his knees as the world began to spin and his body grew warmer. “No, get up…” Hong-er tried to get up, grasping at the cave wall for support, yet it was futile as his legs no longer responded to him. He had never felt so useless in both of his lives, yet his shame did nothing to stop his cock from throbbing in his pants. 

“Hmmm…you seem to misunderstand something! Any place we reside in becomes the land of tender, and it just so happens that some nice cultivators planted some of our seeds here; all that we needed was a little bit of blood and cultivation energy to bloom.” Tears pricked the corners of Hong-er's eyes because this had indeed been his fault. If he hadn’t been here, then his highness would have been able to easily deal with these demonesses, as in the novel. 

“Since this is your fault, you have to…I have to…” Hong-er's sight became fuzzier, and his thoughts began to slip through his fingers like sand. 

The sounds of mental clashing brought Hong-er a vague sense of awareness. His gaze slid over to see his highness fighting against one of the women. The woman’s nails had extended by a couple of inches, resembling claws that gleamed like metal as they clashed against his highness’s blade. 

“Oh, sweet, sweet prince, I see you slowing down. Why fight so hard when the ending is inevitable?” The woman’s smile turned mockingly soft, and indeed, as the demon had stated, his highness was beginning to waver slightly from both the seal and sweet lustful venom. Another demoness took his highness’s distracted state as the opportunity to pounce. However, they only made it one step because a knife struck their shoulder hard enough to cause them to collapse backwards. 

Instantly, all eyes were on Hong-er, who had his hand extended from where he had thrown his knife, which he used to carve Xie lian statues, now being used to save the Prince.

“You…should have collapsed and lost your sense of self by now,” One of the women hissed, glaring between Hong-er and her fallen sister. “Would you happen to be a cultivator then?” A different woman covered her mouth, giggling, “Not a very good one by the looks of it!” 

“Stay away…from his…highness you…t-trash…” The teen managed to utter, yet his breathless tone and trembling body decreased the effectiveness of his threat, as evidenced by the laughter that greeted him. 

“Soldier! I appreciate the help, but stay there! You can barely stand, much less fight!” Xie Lian scolded him. His highness seemed to affect whatever the demon was doing, but not to an extreme degree; it had hit Hong-er.

“Aww…protecting your people, your highness? I wonder how much longer you can do that!” Suddenly, the subtle sweetness that had been in the air abruptly increased, so now Hong-er could practically taste it all the way to his stomach. With it, his body shuddered hard as his arousal rose to a level the teen hadn’t thought possible. He had never felt so sensitive in his life. The slightest brush of fabric felt like needles digging into his skin, and he was burning so hot it felt like his very flesh would melt off. The discomfort only increased when he found his cock was as hard as stone and leaking so much pre-come as a broken faucet, leaving a shameful stain in his pants. He wanted to peel his skin off, he wanted to touch himself, he wanted and wanted….

“Your…highness,” Hong-er muttered, feeling his shame burning away as he stared longingly at his highness’s fighting form. His highness looked so beautiful like a flower, yet his body was that of a fighter, and the muscles he caught glimpses of proved it. Hong-er wished those closed hands were on his body with his god using him as he pleased, or maybe Hong-er could be on his knees pleasuring his highness. He didn’t care about his own pleasure; rather, his god’s pleasure was his pleasure. 

“Hmmm? It appears your little soldier finnaly gave in, I will admit I am pleased that he happens to be a cultivator no matter how weak he may be, because that just makes him all that much more delicious” One of the women took a few steps in his direction and despite Hong-er shameful state the thought of one of those women touching him fill him with such disgust he couldn’t stop himself from growling and snapping his teeth at the demoness like a wild animal. The woman paused, then slowly smirked as an idea seemed to strike her. Her form rippled and changed not to another woman but to a splitting image of his highness. 

If Hong-er had been in his rightful mind, then he would have realized that the woman had changed, or better yet, he would have seen the empty brown eyes of the imposter Xie Lian and known it was not his god. Yet in the state the teen was in, all he saw was that his highness had appeared in a state of undress that Hong-er's greedy eye took in like a starved man. 

“Oh my sweet boy… does it hurt? Do you want me to make it go away?” The half-naked Xie Lian spoke softly with those warm brown eyes that Hong-er adored. The teen might have nodded or replied, but he was so out of it he could barely tell what was going on around him.  “Then let me make it better.” That made sense after all his highness had been the reason he had decided to live this long, so why not make his pain go away? 

“GET….AWAY!” A barrier of light rose from the ground in front of Hong-er, causing the fake Xie Lian to screech and stumble back.

“You!- Damn God! How have you not fallen for my fragrance?!? I understand if you were resistant, but by now even the strongest of gods caved to its sweet aroma!-” The fake Xie Lian paused, noticing his blood dripped from a large fresh wound on his highness’s left arm, a wound none of the demons had caused but rather one the Prince had inflicted upon himself. “Y-you overrode your lust with pain!?” 

As the demon continued to screech obscenities at his highness, Hong-er slowly came back to himself. The barrier Xie Lian had created seemed to form some sort of filter against the demon’s aphrodisiacs. The more aware Hong-er became, the more mortified he felt, yet he couldn’t focus on that right now.

“Your Highness! Please- allow me to serve as a distraction-” 

“No, your order is to go back and warn of this event. Then tell them to bring the strongest sealing arrays they have.”

“Understood, I will...bring backup as soon as possible.” Hong-er no longer dared to disobey after all his insubordination had caused unnecessary problems that his highness could have solved himself. He stood up on shaky legs, stumbling a bit before he managed to balance himself enough to run. As he ran, tears of shame slid down his cheeks at his still half-aroused state, causing his highness so much trouble. If it hadn’t been for him, he would never have had any reason to hurt himself just so he could protect Hong-er in his lustful haze. By the time he made it to camp, his tears had long since run dry, as had his lust. The moment he had relayed Mu Qing his highness's orders, Hong-er left. He probably should have gone to the infirmary to check and see if the Land of Tender’s lust poison left any side effects, yet the teen hadn’t wanted to see anyone and hadn’t wanted to be seen. He had failed his two missions of seeing White-No Face's name and protecting his highness. Maybe it was selfish, but Hong-er just needed a moment to himself to catch his breath.

“Maybe, tomorrow things will be different. Things will be better.” Those were Hong-er's only thoughts as he drifted off into a restless dream hidden away in a corner of the camp that no one would find him in for a good while.