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Chapter Text

Xie Lian had spent decades stuck in this stupid box that he had been trapped in for oh so long. With that stupid spike in his chest like he was some kind of vampire?! He was not some rabid dog or vampire from those old human stories?! He was a person who had loved and cared for that boy for years, who had taught him right from wrong, and he didn’t even hesitate to believe he was a monster. It was somehow easy for him to believe that, not even bothering to ask any questions whatsoever.

Every time Xie Lian had woken up again and again in the box, he spent those same ten minutes doing the same thing. Gasping for air, not being able to get any, so he would hold his breath even through all the panicking his body was naturally producing. He would scratch at the coffin’s lid as much as he could, leaving more and more lines of red blood on it. His nails had been bent back and bloody from the hours spent doing it.

It was always for nothing, however, because every time he would eventually try and gasp for air. Always eventually succumbing to the black spots in his vision. Did you know that all the air had left the coffin in about two hours, no matter how slow he breathed? He had rationed the air so much in the beginning, but it all meant nothing. Because he would spend over two hundred years in this coffin. FOR NOTHING!!

It never really mattered to him at first—he thought he had deserved it. But now? No. He knew he hadn’t deserved this, no matter what he had or hadn’t done. Every hour waking up, scratching at the coffin’s lid like it would somehow help him get out. The black spots would always win. No matter how long he could hold his breath, he could never win.

Was he tired? Of course he was. Who wouldn’t be tired after fighting death twelve times a day? And night? He didn’t know anymore. That was the first thing to go—perception of time. He had held on to it for so long but eventually lost it. He had remembered it was sundown as he was being put in the coffin. Or was it sunrise? It could have been the afternoon, now that he thought about it.

He didn’t know anymore. And it’s not like he had time to think about it—he was only awake for fifteen minutes every now and then. At the start of this, he could only hold his breath a minute. Then it was two, then three, four, five, six. And so on and so on. Eventually he’d probably reach twenty. Not that it was an accomplishment or anything. He honestly couldn’t care less anymore.

The worst part about all of this was he didn’t know if he’d ever get out anymore. At first he was positive that someone would dig up his grave. Not like it was hidden or anything—there was a literal sign saying that he was buried there. He had always bet on the curiosity of a human getting the better of them and unburying him. But nope—not a single person had bothered.

He had lost hope at this point, just like he had lost all feelings besides pain. Would he ever get out? He would ask himself that every decade or so. His answer? It used to be yes, but now? No. He didn’t think so—not anymore at least.

⸻

Somewhere far, far away.
Hua Cheng had been searching for his highness for so long. It had felt so much longer than it had actually been. Of course, through his searching, he had heard the story of the man who got buried oh so long ago. He hadn’t batted an eyelash at the story at first, not thinking much of it.

Then he had heard a rumor that the man had been someone from Xianle. Then he had heard a rumor of what the man looked like. Long golden-brown hair, near golden eyes, not too tall but just the right height—an inch or two taller than regular men.

That’s when he had suspected that it might be his highness, but one rumor had shut down all hope. Someone had told him that the man had been killed before being buried. Which shut down the whole idea—his highness could not die, due to the horrible shackles that graced his neck.

So when Yin Yu had come to him regarding the man who had been buried, saying that some humans had happened upon his grave and were hoping for a reward if they retrieved the body, Hua Cheng was going to say no at first. But then he thought that he might as well shut down the idea fully while he could.

So he told Yin Yu, “Go there and see to it. Call me if anything strange happens.” Yin Yu bowed and accepted his order quickly before setting out. It took him about an hour to get to the location. When he got there, there were about twelve humans huddled around a dug-up grave.

Yin Yu walked his way through the crowd. Everyone parted for him. When he looked down into the grave, he saw a coffin that looked very old. It didn’t look very strange—like any other old coffin. So Yin Yu directed the humans to open it.

When the humans finally opened the coffin, it revealed a pale-looking man with a mask on. He looked very dead, and he had a stake in his chest. Upon further investigation, he noticed that the coffin lid had long bloody streaks on it. Which must mean the rumors weren’t true—he was buried while he was still alive.

What was strange was that the body was extremely well preserved after two hundred years buried. Which was extremely strange. Yin Yu put his fingers to his temples. Sir, the body seems to be strangely well preserved, as well as it seems he was buried alive. There are red streaks all over the top of the coffin. And the man’s fingernails are bent back, which indicates him scratching at the coffin.

“Damn, have you heard the stories? I mean, that man must have really hated this guy to have buried him alive.” One of the humans said, prompting Yin Yu to glance at him while waiting for a response.
“Man, don’t speak ill of the dead,” another human said while shaking his head violently.

“AGHH, HOLY SHIT HE’S STILL ALIVE!!” a human screamed while jumping back away from the coffin. “I swear on my momma that he just fucking moved!” he said while shuffling backward, scratching his head violently.

“Sir, apologies, but apparently the man is still alive. A human just said that they saw him move,” Yin Yu stated into the communication array. Silence followed before Hua Cheng spoke in an unnaturally calm tone.

“What does he look like…” he heard him say. Yin Yu walked closer to the coffin and bent down onto his knees to look into the grave better.
“Golden-brown hair that’s about two feet long, if I had to guess. Can’t see the color of his eyes. Pale and fair skin that’s unmarked. And—” Before Yin Yu could finish, screaming could be heard going through the communication array.
“What’s going on?! Tell me now!!” he could hear through the array. Yin Yu left it open so Hua Cheng could hear what was going on.

All that could be heard through the array were screams and coughing, as well as Yin Yu cursing. “He’s awake, and very panicked—seems that he’s choking on air after not having it for so long,” Yin Yu said as fast as he could as he tried to calm the man in the grave.

Suddenly someone was pulling him away from the grave. Hua Cheng had teleported to them. After Hua Cheng looked into the grave at the panicking man who was gasping and choking as well as reaching up out of the grave, swinging his arms around, Hua Cheng immediately knew it was his highness, even with the mask on his face.

Without even thinking about it, Hua Cheng jumped down into the grave, careful not to step on his highness. “Yin Yu, go back now and prepare my room with the finest silks we have and get medical supplies and a doctor ready for when I get back,” he ordered as fast as he could without looking away.

Hua Cheng grabbed Xie Lian’s arms as gently as possible. “Your highness, it’s okay, I’m here now. Just breathe,” he desperately pleaded with him. When he didn’t seem to be calming down, he turned around. “SCRAM,” Hua Cheng demanded. Immediately, the humans were gone.

Hua Cheng leaned down and slowly lifted Xie Lian’s head using his chin. Xie Lian started to panic more at this. Hua Cheng swiftly apologized before leaning down and capturing his highness’s lips with his. Hua Cheng gently pushed air into Xie Lian’s lungs before pulling apart to let him breathe it out, then quickly captured his lips again.

He then pushed more air into Xie Lian’s lungs. Xie Lian, finally feeling some sort of relief, snatched his arms from Hua Cheng’s grip and quickly wrapped them around Hua Cheng’s neck, keeping him in place to breathe for him. Hua Cheng pulled away for a second. Xie Lian whined and tried to pull him back in.
“Your highness, breathe out through your nose,” he said before leaning back in.

Hua Cheng captured Xie Lian’s lips again, pushing more oxygen into his lungs. He could feel Xie Lian let that air out through his nose. He slowly pushed more into his lungs, this time using the kiss to also transfer spiritual energy as well. Xie Lian’s grip tightened even more, and then he let out a long groan of relief.

Hua Cheng quickly slapped himself on the head. He’s in pain. Quit being disgusting, he told himself as he pushed more air into his lungs. The more spiritual energy he pushed through, the more color returned to Xie Lian’s skin. As he felt Xie Lian’s heart calm down, he regretfully pulled away, hearing Xie Lian whine and try to pull him back.
“I’m sorry, I really am. But I have to pull the stake out.”

Xie Lian, hearing this, started thrashing around.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Hua Cheng snapped his eyes shut and yanked the stake free, throwing it out of the grave in disgust.

Xie Lian screamed as the stake was yanked free from his chest, and while it was painful, the relief of the stake that had been stuck in his chest for two hundred years being pulled out was what made him pass out. Not the pain, not the confusion of who this man was and why he kept talking like he had known him once before.

Just the relief.

Hearing Xie Lian scream in pain before passing out had absolutely crushed his heart. He told himself that he was horrible for hurting his highness, that he didn’t deserve to touch his highness because of it, but for the first time in his life he didn’t listen to those thoughts.

Because he knew he had to. So he slowly picked Xie Lian up in a princess carry and jumped out of the grave. Knowing that he would never be back here again.

Chapter Text

Xie Lian didn’t know what was going on. Last he remembered, he had woken up just to suffocate all over again. It really was getting more and more exhausting every time he woke up. He doesn’t even know if he should classify it as waking up anymore; it’s not like he stayed awake for long.

Now that he was thinking about it, that’s not the last thing he remembered.

He remembered hearing something as he woke up for the billionth time. He wasn’t sure what it was.
Talking?
No. Surely not—that couldn’t be possible.

He had heard something hard hitting the lid of his coffin. At least, he thought he had. Now that he was thinking about it, probably not. It was just his wishful thinking making him think that way.

There was no way after two hundred years he was finally getting out of this hellish coffin. No, there surely was no way.

That’s when he heard creaking and the coffin started to move as if someone was trying to pry it open. Xie Lian had been holding his breath for nine minutes now. He wasn’t going to last much longer, but he knew something was going on. This wasn’t his imagination.

He wanted to scream.
To cry out.
To do anything—to make any sound he could. But he couldn’t. Not anymore. After being in this coffin for so long, he didn’t even know if he had the ability to make any sound anymore.

His ability to speak was the first thing to go. Then it was his ability to see. At least he could still hear—or at least he thought he could.

That’s when his black vision suddenly turned bright. He still couldn’t see anything, even if he did open his eyes.
He didn’t even think he wanted to open his eyes.
He was scared.

He could hear muffled voices. But he didn’t want this dream to end.
Because that’s what this was. Isn’t it?

Suddenly, he realized he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. The familiar feeling of burning lungs became too much. Once again. This time, however, when his body instinctively tried to take a breath again, something actually entered his lungs?! He didn’t know what it was.

It was too much though. Too much all at once. It was overwhelming.

The one thing he had wanted for so long. The one thing he had begged and dreamt about for oh so long. The one thing he thought about for all these years, all these decades.

Why was his body panicking when it was finally getting what it had wanted for so long? Why was he getting saved after so long? Was he even getting saved? Would they see him and assume he was a monster and bury him again?

He was now panicking for a different reason.

Someone new had joined the people above him. At least, he had thought so, but he couldn’t be sure.

His thoughts were mixing together now. All that was going through his mind now was, “Is this it? Will I finally be free? Or maybe this is just a dream concocted by my wishful thinking.” He didn’t know which thought to believe anymore.

He didn’t have time to think about it though, because his heart was racing, skipping beats. After having nothing for so long, then having it all at once, it was all too much. Now he was positive this was real. The air entering his lungs too fast—it was definitely real. This panic was real.

Suddenly, he felt a presence in the coffin with him. He didn’t think he’d ever feel the weight of a person ever again. So feeling it made his panic calm down a little bit. That didn’t last long though. His body continued to fight the air going into his lungs.

“It’s o… I’m h… bre..” he could hear faintly. He could hear this beautiful voice saying a lot of things. But all he could do was panic more. Hearing a voice after two hundred years? That’s what made his body start to fight more.

Suddenly, he felt hands grab his arms to stop them from flailing. He tightened his fists into the fabric of this man’s sleeves. The wonderful feeling of something other than blood, sweat, and dirt—gods, it was a wonderful feeling.

Suddenly, he felt lips on his? That didn’t make sense. Why was he being kissed? Those lips gently pushed air into his lungs, forcing him to breathe slowly. It was relieving—that was the only way he could explain it. While his lungs burned with the need to breathe faster, his body felt relieved to not have to do the work of breathing.

After so long of not being able to, his body didn’t want to do it. So to have someone do it for him—it felt amazing.

Those lips gently pushed more air into his lungs. As the air entered his lungs, he yanked his arms away from the grip of the man’s hands. He tightly wound his arms around the man’s neck. “Tightly” is very over-exaggerated—his body was too weak to actually keep the man there by force. That was proven right when the man easily pulled away from him.

He whined, feeling his body already starting to panic again at the feeling of having access to too much air at once. “Bre.. nose…” he heard the man say as he gently leaned back down to breathe for him again. This time when he felt the lips, not only air came through. Spiritual energy came as well. And oh my gods, if that wasn’t the best feeling ever.

He could already feel the color coming back to his face. He let out some type of sound—he wasn’t sure. He didn’t care anymore; all he cared about was the amazing feeling coming from the contact of their lips. He remembered the command the man had whispered and slowly let the breath out through his nose. He could feel the man smile a little at that, but he tried not to focus on it.

Suddenly, he felt the man pull back once again. This time he said something different. “Sor.. ha.. pull.. stake..” was all he needed to hear to start panicking again. His body started thrashing, his arms flailing, trying everything to get away from the hands that were already on the stake.

White-hot agony was all he felt as his back arched and he screamed at the feeling of the stake being yanked free from his chest. That’s not what made him pass out though. The only thing that made him pass out was the relief of the stake finally being gone after so long.

He had felt like the stake had become a part of him after so long of it being stuck there. Now that it was gone, he knew that wasn’t true. It was not a part of him. It was only holding him down. Literally.

———

After Hua Cheng jumped out of the grave that should have never even existed in the first place, he pulled the dice in his pocket out and quickly threw them onto the already bloody ground. Xie Lian’s wound had started bleeding even more now that the stake wasn’t plugging the hole.

Easily getting two sixes, the scenery changed to his room at Paradise Manor. He could see Yin Yu and some person he didn’t recognize standing next to the bed. He stomped his way over to the bed and gently placed his Highness onto it. “Help him. If you hurt him even a little bit, I will flay your insides,” he said menacingly as he glared at the doctor.

The doctor gulped hard while his eyes looked at the figure on the bed. He walked closer, carefully eyeing Hua Cheng. As he noticed the color of the man, he cursed under his breath. Then he noticed the puncture wound on his chest and his face grew serious.

He gently grabbed the man’s robe and removed it from his arms, still eyeing Hua Cheng. After stripping his top robes off so he was only in his pants, he gently inspected the wound. “Definitely a deep wound, and you can see right here where the skin tried to heal over and fuse with the stake. Don’t worry though, removing the stake was your only option. You can easily tell he’s starved by the bones sticking out. Very obvious signs of dehydration as well. When you try and give him water, soak a cloth in it; otherwise he’ll drink it too quickly and that will only make everything worse.”

Hua Cheng listened closely to everything the doctor said. When the doctor mentioned needing to clean the wound, he grew tense, knowing that this would hurt his Highness. But knowing it needed to be done, he handed the doctor his bag. The doctor soaked a cloth in alcohol and gently started cleaning the wound. Xie Lian flinched away from the hand multiple times but other than that didn’t react.

“Can you help me sit him up so I can clean the back?” the doctor asked, looking at Hua Cheng. He grabbed Xie Lian gently and helped lift him into a sitting position. Hua Cheng held Xie Lian so he didn’t fall forward, and when the man finished cleaning the wound, he grabbed some gauze and gently started wrapping it around the now clean wound.

“Alright, that’s about as much as I can do for right now. Remember to soak a cloth for water. And only soup to eat for the next couple of months,” the doctor said while packing up his stuff before walking out.

“Sir, may I speak freely?” Yin Yu said while looking at the man on the bed.
“What is it?” he responded while brushing Xie Lian’s hair behind his ear.

“Is he the one you’ve been looking for?” Hua Cheng looked up from Xie Lian to Yin Yu and nodded his head in confirmation. Yin Yu gently bowed and then left to give them privacy.

Chapter Text

Xie Lian didn’t know how long it had been. How long he had been asleep. You would think that if he had spent two hundred years in a pitch-black coffin going between dead and alive, he would very much be rested up.

But it seemed to be the exact opposite of that. He was absolutely exhausted. He had woken up once so far, but he hadn’t actually tried opening his eyes, so he didn’t even know if he could.

Now he didn’t have a choice. He sat there with his eyes shut, trying to go back to sleep for who knows how long now. He wasn’t ready to face the facts. He wasn’t ready to find out whether or not he was dreaming.

He slowly but surely tried opening his eyes before immediately shutting them again from the brightness of the room he was in. This proved that he was not dreaming. The coffin was never this bright, ever. Not even in a dream.

Suddenly he heard a voice curse. “Sorry, sorry, I’m such an idiot…” He heard the voice clearly for the first time since he was saved. So his hearing was definitely intact—that was a good sign.

He saw, even with his eyes closed, the room dim down quite a bit. So he opened his eyes again. This time he could keep them open. Though that didn’t mean much, because while he could see, everything was so blurry to the point he could only really make out colors.

When he turned to the voice he had heard, he saw a short silhouette that was covered in red. Which was strange, because he had sworn that the man was significantly taller than him when he was in the coffin.

Then Xie Lian remembered what the man had said about himself and quickly tried to speak, but in doing so he started to cough harshly. The man flinched hard and was gone for a second, then he was back, pressing something wet against his lips.

Xie Lian let the man push the piece of fabric into his mouth gently, and then he gently sucked on the piece of fabric, letting the cold water run down his throat. He hadn’t felt this sensation in so long he had started to tear up. The man, having gotten confused, said, “I’m sorry, you can only drink this way for now…” He spoke regretfully while refilling the fabric with more cold water.

As the man brought the fabric back to his lips, he continued to suck at the cloth, getting as much water as he could out of it. When he pulled the fabric back, Xie Lian tried to talk again. “Don’t say that…” he managed to force out through his scratchy voice. When the man didn’t understand what he was talking about, he gently cleared his throat.

“You’re not an idiot…” he once again forced out through his scratchy voice. Speaking was a lot harder than he remembered. Though now that he thought about it, he hadn’t spoken in a long time—only screams, grunts, and whines of pain.

He could see the man flinch back away from him after he said that, so he reached out to the man, which led him to grab his hand. “I apologize…” the man whispered to him, bowing his head.

“I can’t see…” he forced out harshly. When the man heard this, he tensed up. “I can see colors, but it’s all blurry.” The man relaxed a little at that, and that’s when Xie Lian decided to take in his surroundings. Red. A lot of red, to the point it was soothing. Red was better than pitch black.

“Name?” he said as he turned his head back to the man. The man tensed up once again before answering, “You may call me San Lang…” The man—San Lang—said as he gently placed his hand back onto his chest so he could grab the water cloth again.

When San Lang brought the fabric, he accepted it without hesitation. Having not had water for two hundred years, he would definitely accept it whenever it was offered. After about three more times of San Lang refilling the fabric and bringing it back to his dry and cracked lips, he motioned for him to stop.

San Lang stopped the moment Xie Lian had brought his shaking weak hand up to tell him to stop. Not wanting to upset the man that had saved him, he grabbed San Lang’s hand as a way of showing his gratitude.

“I have the soup, sir,” he heard from across the room, startling him and causing him to flinch hard into the bed. He could feel San Lang tense. For what reason? He didn’t know for sure.

“Alright, Your Highness, I’m gonna sit you up so we can try and get some food into you… is that okay?” San Lang questioned as Xie Lian heard the sound of a clunk that he assumed was San Lang setting the bowl of soup down on the table.

Xie Lian nodded to what he assumed was the figure of San Lang. He was proven right when San Lang stood up and gently grabbed him and pulled him forward. “Forgive me…” San Lang said as he pulled Xie Lian’s face to meet his chest. “Nothing to forgive…” he mumbled back.

It might be strange, but he actually enjoyed being against San Lang’s chest. After being buried for two hundred years, he hadn’t smelled much besides his blood, sweat, tears, and dirt—lots and lots of dirt.

This man, San Lang, smelled in a way that was different. He smelled like a man, obviously—musky in the way a man would. Though not in a bad way, in a good way, if he had to be honest.

He smelled like cedar, like a forest that had just burned down. He smelled like fire, like the lick of a flame too close to your skin. It was perfect in a way of being unusual, unique, unlike anything he’d ever smelled.

Wait… that’s not true. He’d smelled this before, in a boy from oh so long ago. A boy that was too good for him, and yet he was loyal to a fault. He had missed that boy, had thought about that boy multiple times while he was buried. But no, that’s not the same. This man, San Lang, smelled much more powerful. Much, much more powerful.

It was nice. It was perfect. It was everything he had wanted while trapped. Something different, anything but the smell of his own blood and flesh.

Xie Lian leaned forward into San Lang without meaning to, without realizing it. He could feel San Lang putting more pillows behind him to prop him up. And when San Lang gently started leaning him back into the pillows, he let out a pitiful groan at the smell being gone.

“Did I hurt you?” San Lang said in a panic. Xie Lian quickly shook his head. “No… no, you didn’t,” he said under his breath while shuffling a little to make himself more comfortable on the stack of pillows.

Having been lying down for so long, finally being able to sit up was a relief, although his body seemed to think otherwise. It hurt—like hell.

Suddenly he was pulled out of his thoughts as San Lang put a spoon to his mouth. He could smell the broth on the spoon, and oh gods, did it smell amazing. He tentatively leaned forward a little bit and sipped the broth off the spoon slowly.

It tasted even better than it smelled. He wouldn’t be able to guess what it was, though. He hadn’t eaten anything in so long he wouldn’t be able to guess anything by taste. San Lang then brought another spoonful of the broth, and he sipped all of it quickly off the spoon.

After finishing about twelve spoons of soup, he started to feel sick, so he put his hand out, letting San Lang know he was done. He could tell San Lang was a little confused as to why he was already done after having not eaten for so long, but he didn’t question it, so Xie Lian let it be.

Xie Lian suddenly remembered he hadn’t gotten the chance to see the sky when he had been saved, which made him sad. “Could I see the sky?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course, just let me get something set up.” San Lang said before disappearing from his vision. Xie Lian wasn’t one hundred percent sure what he meant by that, but he sat patiently waiting for San Lang to come back.

When San Lang came back into his vision, he came to his side and put his arms underneath his legs and gently picked him up. Getting the chance, Xie Lian pushed his head into San Lang’s chest, gently sighing out a long breath of contentment.

Suddenly he could feel the air change, and then he was being set down onto something just as fluffy as the bed he had been lying on just a few moments ago. It felt just like a bed—he could lie down on it and everything. It also had a multitude of pillows on it as well.

Xie Lian leaned back into the pillows with a sigh. Then he looked up, not surprised when he was only met with blurry vision. “Is it night…?” he asked in confusion at the darkness. “Yes, the sky is always dark here,” San Lang answered while standing next to him.

“Where is here?” he said without thinking. Now that he thought about it, did that sound rude? He wasn’t sure. “Ghost City—or more specifically, Paradise Manor,” San Lang answered. Xie Lian nodded at the answer thoughtfully.

He could hear bustling and talking, which he guessed was the city. “It sounds like a wonderful place…” he said while looking up into the sky again, amazed at the darkness. He may not be able to see it, but he knew it was there, and that’s all that mattered to him.

“Thank you for saving me…” he just now realized he had never thanked him, not even once, and that was one hundred percent not okay. San Lang tensed next to him. For what reason? He still wasn’t sure. “I didn’t save you, my master did… he goes by Crimson Rain Sought Flower to his people.” San Lang corrected.

“Oh? His people?” he asked in confusion as he turned his head to look at San Lang’s figure. “Yes, he is what’s known as the Ghost King here…” Xie Lian grunted in response—that made a lot more sense.

“I need to thank him…” he slurred out as he felt himself falling asleep. He tried to force his eyes open again to no avail. His eyelids were far too heavy. “Sleep, Your Highness, you’re safe now.” That soothing voice was what made him drift off finally—the amazing deepness, yet youth to it.

Chapter Text

Xie Lian had been saved two weeks ago. He had started to grow closer to San Lang. However, he had still yet to meet the man that saved him, known as Crimson Rain Sought Flower, or otherwise known as the Ghost King.

He had asked San Lang about him multiple times and got the same answer: “He’s a very busy man.” Which Xie Lian guessed he could understand. I mean, the man had to run a whole city. But he had just wanted to say thank you. I mean, the man quite literally saved his life.

However, if he had to wait a while that would be fine, he was quite enjoying his time with San Lang. Even Yin Yu had started to warm up to him, which had taken a lot of pushing to get him to do.

It also took persistent pushing to get San Lang to stop calling him “Your Highness,” repeating “I’m no longer a prince,” and “I’m your friend.” After countless attempts, San Lang finally caved and asked what he should call him then.

When Xie Lian mentioned him just calling him by his name, San Lang had tensed and flinched away from him, saying “I could never…” multiple times. So Xie Lian asked San Lang what he would like to call him, and after about five minutes of waiting, San Lang’s head leaned up and looked at him. “Gege?” San Lang said shyly.

Xie Lian chuckled and nodded his head. “Yes, yes, you both can call me that,” he responded as he looked to where Yin Yu was usually standing in the shadows of the blurry room.

He could hear Yin Yu make a sound of surprise, then he saw San Lang’s head crank to Yin Yu. Then Yin Yu made another sound. “I think I’ll stick with Your Highness…” Yin Yu forced out.

Xie Lian whipped his head to San Lang and smacked his knee that was next to the bed. “San Lang, quit that. I may not be able to see you, but I can tell you’re glaring at the poor boy.” San Lang’s head whipped to him the moment he had hit his knee, his head leaning down like a kicked puppy.

“Your Highness, I swear it’s just personal preference… I’m not being pressured.” Yin Yu spoke from across the room, causing San Lang to perk up. “See, gege, it wasn’t me, I would never,” San Lang said with a huff under his breath. Xie Lian let out a long laugh. “I see the game y’all are playing,” he said before letting the subject go.

“Gege, I feel it’s about time we start seeing if you can walk,” San Lang said as he let him drink water from a piece of fabric. He had to admit the piece of fabric was really starting to get annoying, not being able to get as much water as he wanted.

When San Lang mentioned walking, his head perked up instantly. “Really? I think so too,” he let out excitedly. He had been wanting to start moving his legs for a while now. But obviously his body hadn’t been ready after two hundred years of not moving at all.

So this was the best news he’d heard. He could see San Lang nod his head and get up and disappear for a second before he could see him on the other side of him now. San Lang gently helped him lean up before helping him throw his feet over the bed.

Once in position, San Lang helped him slowly start standing up. At the start, he let San Lang carry most of his weight, not wanting to tire himself out right off the bat. When he was fully stood up was when he started letting some of his weight rest on his feet instead of San Lang.

San Lang was very strong. Very strong. He didn’t know why, but every time San Lang managed to easily carry him without breaking a sweat or huffing from being out of breath, it made his heart skip a beat in ways he had never felt his heart react before.

At first, he had thought he was sick or something was wrong with him from being in that coffin for so long, until he realized it only ever happened when San Lang showed off his strength.

He thought the feeling might just be admiration. That would make sense. He admired San Lang’s strength. He really, really admired San Lang’s strength.

So now, when San Lang was so easily supporting his weight, he could feel his heart skip a beat for a second. When he started putting weight on his feet, he could feel his muscles protest heavily, having not been used for so long.

He continued to be supported by San Lang, most of his weight still being carried by him. So the fact he was having so much trouble already with only a couple of pounds was frustrating.

Xie Lian’s brows furrowed together in the frustration he was feeling in that moment. He could feel San Lang’s grip on him tighten in support. “Take your time, you can’t do it all at once,” San Lang huffed out into his ear. Xie Lian huffed, “It’s not fair… I can’t even support my own weight,” he whispered out into the air.

He wasn’t directly saying it to San Lang, more just releasing the words into the air to be swept away like most things in the wind. But San Lang latched onto the words anyway. “It isn’t fair, nothing about what has happened to you is fair, gege… and I’m sorry…” He could hear the last part of San Lang’s sentence go down in tone, as if blaming himself.

“No, it wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry, I’m just frustrated…” Xie Lian said regretfully, not having meant to make San Lang feel bad for something that wasn’t his fault. “It’s okay, gege, I’m here for whatever you need,” he said with a smile in his voice.

Xie Lian decided he wasn’t ready to start taking steps yet, so he stood there for a while, slowly letting some of his weight come off San Lang. After about fifteen minutes of standing, Xie Lian’s legs and ankles started protesting the exercise, and Xie Lian let out a grunt and started putting more of his weight on San Lang.

San Lang, without needing to be told, grabbed the bottom of Xie Lian’s knees, swiftly lifting Xie Lian into his arms. Xie Lian went willingly, stuffing his face into San Lang’s robes like he had been doing quite a few times lately. “Outside?” he mumbled into San Lang’s robes.

He could feel San Lang make a turn unmistakably toward the balcony where the bed outside was. Yeah, he had found out that the comfortable thing outside was another bed.

He had been incredibly surprised when he found out and had told San Lang that it was too much, that he didn’t want to be a burden. San Lang had shut that idea down quickly, saying, “It’s no bother, you deserve a lot more than this.” He quickly shut down Xie Lian when he went to say something more.

After they made it outside, San Lang gently set Xie Lian down onto the overly big bed that had a crazy amount of fluffy, feather-filled pillows. Anytime Xie Lian made a slight grunt of pain, San Lang would disappear and then return with more pillows.

Xie Lian leaned back into the comfortable pillows, letting out a sigh of contentment, looking out over the banister of the balcony to see the multiple lanterns and multiple shopping stalls.

Xie Lian’s eyesight had been getting better over these two weeks. He could still only see blurs, but it was getting better.

Though it frustrated Xie Lian to no end, when the doctor had come back in to check over his wound again, he had explained that his vision being bad was one hundred percent normal from being in the pitch black for so long.

That didn’t stop it from making Xie Lian frustrated. I mean, after so long of being in that coffin, after finally getting out, that time in the coffin was still weighing on him physically and mentally.

The time that he spent in that coffin would always define who he was forever. It would always play in his head. The begging, the prayers to old friends that never answered. The prayers to anyone that would help. None of them answered.

He didn’t like to think about it, but he didn’t have a choice when he remembered why he couldn’t see, why his chest hurt so bad, why his fingernails were gone. It would always weigh down on his mind.

That’s why he enjoyed San Lang’s company so much—it made him forget. The smell of him right next to him made him forget the smell of his own flesh and blood.

That burning fire smell, with a hint of the woods—it was completely different.

The feeling of the bed that San Lang set him down into was a stark difference from the hard bottom of the coffin.

San Lang and everything he did and gave to him was more than just a breath of fresh air. It was a whole new experience. Even before he was stuck in that coffin, he had never felt it.

It was like his whole life he had been drowning, and he only came up when he had met San Lang. It was refreshing.

Not that he’d say any of this out loud—it would be far too embarrassing. Far, far too embarrassing. Though he wasn’t embarrassed to admit that he was grateful for San Lang, just like he was grateful to San Lang’s boss for saving him, even if he was never here.

He was still frustrated that he hadn’t come by so he could thank him. But San Lang swore that he didn’t need to thank him. Even when he kept asking, he’d say, “He already knows.” Like, what does that even mean??

Sometimes San Lang spoke in very confusing riddles, especially when it was about his boss. Xie Lian wasn’t going to complain, especially because of all they had done for him.

Chapter Text

This was the first time that Xie Lian had woken up and San Lang hadn’t been there. He hadn’t realized at first since his vision was so poor, and when he first woke up San Lang would give him a few moments to compose himself.

That had started the second day he was here. San Lang had said something right when he woke up, which caused Xie Lian to panic due to his mind not having enough time to realize he was in fact not in the coffin anymore.

After that San Lang started to wait a few moments after he woke up. He would only start to talk to him when Xie Lian looked in his direction.

This time, however, he had woken up like usual and taken the time to compose himself and remind himself that he was in fact safe. When he looked over to where San Lang usually sat waiting for his signal, he could not see his silhouette. This made him panic a little, but he quickly stopped himself before it could escalate into a panic attack.

He quickly started to look around the room, assuming that he would be somewhere else around the room. When he was still shooting blanks, his panic really started to set in.

Out of panic he instinctively kicked his feet off of the bed and tried to stand up. Yesterday having been his first time trying to walk again, his feet quickly gave out on him. He let out a yelp as he fell to the ground.

“San Lang?” Nobody answered, which caused the earlier panic to set in again. “San Lang?!” he called out, looking in the direction of where he had assumed the door was. When still nobody answered, Xie Lian’s breathing started to become uneven.

Suddenly his eyes picked up on movement in front of him. It was very subtle, so he was honestly surprised his blurry eyes caught it. Upon further looking, between his still uneven breathing, he realized it was a butterfly! A silver or white one that was almost clear in the light.

He set his finger out in hopes that it would land on him, and as he hoped, it did! It was truly a gorgeous butterfly. It shined just the tiniest little bit, which took his focus away from his panic.

Suddenly he heard something like the sound of a door opening. “Your highness?” he heard Yin Yu call out from the door in front of him that he had so desperately been trying to reach not even five minutes ago.

“Yin Yu… I apologize, it seems I may have panicked when I realized that San Lang wasn’t in the room with me. I think I may have grown a little too attached to him… Do you mind helping me up? I can try and walk so you don’t have to carry me,” he said bashfully, scratching his head with his hand.

The butterfly suddenly flew away and landed on the bed banister as if insisting for Yin Yu to help him get back to it. Xie Lian noticed Yin Yu’s eyes tracking the butterfly before bowing to it? Why would he bow to a butterfly?

Yin Yu quickly made his way over to Xie Lian. “Your highness, I apologize. I should have been keeping a better eye… Ma— the mister got pulled away by his boss for something that couldn’t wait…” Xie Lian caught the slip-up but couldn’t figure out what he was going to say at first, so he let it go.

“No, no it’s quite alright. It’s my fault, I need to get better control of my emotions…” he said as he felt the blush rush to his cheeks in embarrassment as Yin Yu grabbed Xie Lian’s arm and threw it over his shoulder.

Yin Yu carefully and gently, so as not to hurt Xie Lian or pull at his still-existing wound, started to slowly lift him to his feet. “May I speak freely?” Yin Yu said as he finally lifted him all the way.

Xie Lian nodded his head. “Of course,” he said as he slowly tried taking his first step to the bed, quickly stopping as the movement pulled at his muscles that didn’t want to do the work.

“I think it’s completely normal that you’re so attached to the mister. He was the first person you interacted with after being… away for so long,” Yin Yu said as he adjusted Xie Lian so he could take most of his weight. Xie Lian looked at Yin Yu before quickly looking away.

“Maybe you’re right… it just feels like maybe I’m more attached to him than he is to me? I mean, he’s only taking care of me because his boss told him to… I feel like I’m being pathetic,” Xie Lian forced out through his embarrassment.

“Your highness, trust me, he is just as attached to you, if not more,” Yin Yu said as Xie Lian tried to take another step, successfully making it a step closer before stopping for a break on his muscles.

“Really? I don’t know, maybe I need to start looking at things through a different perspective. No pun intended…” he said with a huff of a laugh. Yin Yu nodded his head in agreement, and with that, Xie Lian took another step, now only two steps away from the bed.

Suddenly there was a loud bang behind them, and Xie Lian was being picked up into somebody’s arms. “Gege, I apologize for leaving… punish this lowly one however you want,” he could hear San Lang whisper to him as he guided them to the bed.

“Nothing to apologize for, you are allowed to leave whenever you want…” Xie Lian said as he stuffed his face into San Lang’s chest, breathing in his scent. San Lang gently laid him on the bed.

He could see San Lang turn towards Yin Yu, who immediately bowed and then left through the front door, closing it behind him. “No, I didn’t want to leave you. I wanted to be by you all day and night, trust me… my stupid boss had work for me to do…” San Lang said with a weird edge in his voice when talking about his boss.

“It’s truly okay, I understand. I just panicked a little, that’s all,” Xie Lian said while getting comfortable in the mountain of pillows behind him. After getting comfortable, he looked towards San Lang. “May I have something to eat, please? And may I eat it on the balcony?” he said while looking towards San Lang.

San Lang started standing up, getting off the bed. “Of course, of course,” he said while grabbing ahold of Xie Lian underneath the knees. Xie Lian quickly wrapped his arms around his neck as San Lang lifted him into his arms again.

He could feel San Lang walk towards the balcony before being set down on the other pillow-covered bed that he loved so much. Although he thought he would love it a lot more if he didn’t have to stay in them all day. He’s not being lenient about this either—he stays in these beds literally all day and night.

He can’t be picky, though, because he’s quite happy being in these beds forever rather than the coffin forever, which he almost thought was what was going to happen to him if it hadn’t been for the fact he was saved by the mysterious Ghost King that he still hasn’t seen in the two weeks he had been here.

He hopes one day the man will come by just so he can thank him, or even see if he wants anything in return for saving him from a longer life of pain and suffering. If he thinks about it, how long could he have been there if it hadn’t been for that man?

He wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t going to think about it either. Now sitting in this bed, he realized just how lucky he had been. Even with his luck suppressed, he still got saved—even if it had taken two hundred years, which he guesses wasn’t exactly luck.

Suddenly he was pulled from his thoughts as he heard someone join them on the balcony. Looking over with a smile on his face, “Hello, Yin Yu, thank you for the soup,” he said while watching Yin Yu walk steadily to San Lang. After handing the soup to San Lang, Yin Yu bowed at Xie Lian before walking out.

San Lang’s head whipped to Xie Lian quickly, causing Xie Lian to be confused. “Gege, I was the one who asked him to make it… and I was the one who bought all the supplies he needs,” San Lang said while looking down at the soup in his hands with a pout on his face.

Xie Lian let out a loud laugh at the face San Lang was making, causing him to whip his head up before turning it away from Xie Lian in embarrassment. Noticing San Lang being embarrassed, he quickly shook his head as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“San Lang, thank you for the soup, thank you for taking such good care of me, and most of all thank you for staying with me,” Xie Lian said while grabbing the arm of San Lang that was closest to him.

San Lang’s head instantly perked up because of the words and touch of Xie Lian. “No, it’s nothing to thank me for. I was joking, you needn’t thank me or apologize to me ever again,” San Lang proclaimed in earnest as he grabbed Xie Lian’s hand that was holding his arm.

When he saw Xie Lian go to argue with him, he quickly interrupted his line of thinking. “Alright, let’s get some food in you,” he said with a chuckle before bringing the first spoonful of soup up to Xie Lian’s mouth.

Xie Lian instantly sipped the soup, groaning in delight. “I’ve been eating soup for two weeks straight and still it’s always so good,” Xie Lian said as he closed his eyes in amazement. San Lang let out a small chuckle before bringing another spoonful up to his mouth, which he quickly accepted.

After half of the bowl was gone, Xie Lian motioned to San Lang that he was done. He had been eating a lot more since he first got here, which is a good thing, but his appetite is still not that of a normal man.

He’s been trying to eat more and more every single meal, but he just feels way too sick to eat too much. He’s sick of feeling this disgusting, this skinny and boneless. It wasn’t nice, it didn’t feel nice.

He felt sick, disgusting, and dirty all the time. He knows it’s going to take time, but it’s frustrating. His body is working so hard, though—it’s holding the food so well. He already looks twenty times better than when he first got here.

He still hates it, but he knows that his body is trying its best to make him more comfortable. San Lang, the saint he is, doesn’t seem to mind when he doesn’t finish his food. Even though Xie Lian makes a big deal about it, thinking it’s a huge waste.

After Xie Lian made himself so sick one time trying to finish the whole bowl of soup and he told San Lang, “I don’t want to waste it…” San Lang had looked at the soup and then quickly slurped the rest of the bowl up.

So now every time he eats, San Lang will finish off his bowl so he doesn’t feel guilty for not finishing his food. Xie Lian had always been taught since he was little to not leave food on his plate because “there are people who are less fortunate than you who don’t get to have this, Xie Lian,” quoted his mother, who even with their riches was still the most down-to-earth person he had ever known in his life.

Plus, he liked knowing that San Lang was being taken care of. It sort of feels like he’s the one taking care of him as well. I mean, the soup was his and then he gave it to San Lang to finish.

So he’s basically killing two birds with one stone—not making himself sick and making sure San Lang is fed. And that’s a win-win for Xie Lian.

Obviously it’s a win-win for San Lang as well. He gets to take care of Xie Lian, make sure he’s fed. Plus he gets to make Xie Lian feel better by finishing the soup that his body doesn’t even need.

Were all those things about Xie Lian? Yes. He likes taking care of Xie Lian. Sue him.