Dà jiā hǎo (hello everyone)! Duìbùqǐ (sorry) I haven't updated in a few months. I got busy with work and life in general again. But here's another chapter for you! Enjoy!

-Chapter Eighteen-

Laying in her son's bed, Xiè Lián's mother hugged one of his pillows to her. Her eyes were closed as tears stained her cheeks. The memory of seeing her son disappear through that strange portal with Sān Láng earlier kept replaying in her mind.

Suddenly, the sound of fluttering wings caught her attention. She opened her eyes and sat up, turning towards the window that was open. A silver butterfly fluttered through the air from the window and the moonlight came inside towards the closet area where a shadow was near the corner.

Noticing a shadowed figure as the butterfly fluttered over to the corner, her eyes widened as the glowing butterfly lit up a slight bit of the red jacket on that shadowed figure.

"W-who are you?" She gave a stutter. "W-what do you want?"

Stepping forward into the moonlight with a soft clink of the metal chains on his boots, Xiè Lián's mother looked up to the black eye staring down at her. The other eye was covered with a patch much like that one kid, Xiǎo Huā, had that her son had played with so long ago. He wore red just like that child did as well. And Sān Láng. A chill went down her spine as that dark eye continued to watch her.

"You know who I am," he spoke up with a slightly stern tone.

Realising who she was talking to, she gave a small narrow of her eyes to him. "Where's my son?"

"He's safe."

"That doesn't answer my question. Where's my son?"

"As I told you, he's safe."

"Give him back to me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"For one, he doesn't want to come back." He gave a small pause. "And two, he's dead." It was the truth after all.

Gasping, her eyes widened at those words. Dread washed over her before anger set in. She jumped to her feet, tossing the pillow to the side.

"How could he be safe if he's dead then!?" She stomped over towards him, fists raised to lash out and hit him. He easily caught her wrists in his hands as she struggled to pull them free. "You monster! Demon! Give me my son back! Give him back!"

Spinning her around easily, Huā Chéng pinned her arms to her sides while keeping hold of her wrists. She still continued to struggle.

"Let me go!"

"If you stop struggling and listen to me, I'll take you to him."

"What's the point!? He's dead! You killed him!"

"I didn't kill him. I'd never hurt him." He gave a short pause. "He's still alive, but in a different way."

She instantly froze in place as she sucked in a gasped breath. A furrow creased her brow.

"If you want to see him, then listen to me. Understood?" His tone was still calm yet commanding.

Giving a slight nod, he slowly released her. She pulled away and turned to face him with a bit of space between them. He stepped back before turning and picked up something off the floor and handed it to her. She gave a blink at the large bag in his hands.

"Change into that then meet me outside by the back door."

Watching him turn and walk to the door, he left through it; the sound of metal clinking softly with each step. She turned her attention back to the bag before opening it and pulled out an outfit that looked like it belonged to centuries past. Her brows furrowed a little at it. She was supposed to wear this? It made her wonder why but given his outfit, what she could see with the moonlight, had looked similar from being old fashioned. Same when he had taken on Sān Láng's look and wore that red outfit of his. Even Xiǎo Huā had a similar style of clothing from back then.

Going over to the bed, she pulled the dress out all the way and laid it down. She glanced at the door that he'd shut behind him as he left before getting changed into it. A furrow of her brow at how well it fit made her wonder but she pushed it aside as she pulled the shoes out of the bag. Taking them with her to the door, she slid them on before going out. Sure enough, Huā Chéng stood there waiting under the moonlight.

Turning towards her, he looked at her with that obsidian eye of his before he nodded towards the woods. She gave a slight hesitant look before following after him. His strides were quite long since he was pretty tall compared to her. Taller than even her son.

"Stay at my side," he warned as they came to the edge of the woods. "Don't panic seeing anything else."

Furrowing her brow, she didn't understand what he meant by seeing anything else. But she was going to listen to him. Something told her she better anyways. The air he carried around him with his aura as they went into the darkened trees exuded that he was dangerous.

As she glanced back over her shoulder, the sight of her house disappeared from sight. She gave a small shiver as she turned her gaze back to what was in front of her. Huā Chéng became a shadowed figure through the filtered moonlight above. Several silver butterflies fluttered about, almost like lighting up the way in their soft glow.

Suddenly, a growl resonated from somewhere off to her right. She turned her head to see several pairs of glowing green eyes. A gasp escaped her before a cold hand took her arm. She glanced back up as Huā Chéng turned his head ever so slightly towards the glowing eyes. His dark eye suddenly turned a glowing crimson red. Sounds of whimpers as the glowing eyes blinked and moved back away from them made her blink.

Continuing on through the darkness, she could see more eyes glowing and watching her. But the ghosts in the woods never ventured close to them and kept their distance. When they finally reached the cave, the same glowing portal was there like earlier. Her eyes widened as he headed straight for it and she stopped walking.

"Do you want to see him?" Huā Chéng spoke up as he turned to look back at her when he felt her stop walking.

"I-is that….?"

"The Ghost Realm, yes."

"But only ghosts can go there."

"Only on nights of the full moon can humans go freely there without a problem." He took another step towards it waiting for her to decide.

Taking a tentative step forward, she followed him through it. The sight of Guǐ Shì down below and the crimson tinted sky above made her blink. She furrowed her brow as her gaze went to him beside her.

"Welcome to Guǐ Shì," he said as he extended his left hand out towards it. "Now I'd suggest still sticking close to me."

Blinking, she gave a nod while following close to him as they made their way down to the edge of town. She gave a gasp as she looked to the various citizens milling about, some wearing masks, some not. Some looked human-like and some she could clearly tell were ghosts. She gave another gasp as another very inhuman looking ghost turned around, startling her, and grabbed at Huā Chéng's red jacket. He merely glanced down at her but said nothing as they continued through the crowd.

Finally making it to the other end of town to the path leading to his place, he led her to the doors of the tall, castle-like manor. Her eyes widened as he pushed open the doors and led her inside. Following him through the corridors, he stopped outside of two large doors where a man in a mask stood.

"Welcome back, Your Highness," Yǐn Yù said as he bowed. She blinked and looked at Huā Chéng. Highness? Just who was he?

"Thank you, Yǐn Yù. You may leave." The other man gave a nod and turned to leave.

Putting his hands to the door, Huā Chéng opened them to his room. Xiè Lián's mother blinked as her eyes widened at the enormous room before her gaze went to her son laying on the bed.

"Xiè Lián?" she asked as she took a slow step towards the bed before dashing over towards it. She put her hand out and cupped his cheek, only to find it cold as he lay unmoving. "Xiè Lián?" She put her hand down on his chest only to find a lack of a heartbeat. Her gaze turned towards Huā Chéng as he strode over to her after shutting the doors.

"He's merely sleeping right now," he spoke up at the look she was giving him. "It takes a lot out of someone when they undergo the change to become a ghost."

"G-ghost?" She turned to look back at her son.

"He made the choice himself," Huā Chéng said, stopping on the other side of the bedside table where Xiè Lián's bag sat. "I did not pressure him into anything."

"Just who are you?"

"I already told you, you know who I am."

"But how…?" She gave a furrow of her brow. He merely took a step back as his form shifted to Sān Láng. A smirk tugged his lips upwards as his form then shifted to Xiǎo Huā's. Her eyes widened in surprise at this before returning to look as his Ghost King self again.

"I'm sure you've heard the stories of me," he spoke up again. "Xuè Yǔ Tàn Huā, Huā Chéng."

Widening her eyes, she recalled the ghost stories that she and her friends used to chatter about as kids. As she got older, she thought of them as fantasy and only there to scare them to stay out of the woods. Though somewhere deep down, she supposed she always felt a strange sense about the woods, which was why she always told her son to not go into them. It also made sense now why that man in front of the doors had addressed him as 'your highness'. A Ghost King was still a king.

"Why did you come for my son?" She furrowed her brow again. "What would a Ghost King like you want him for?"

"Because we're bound by fate," he replied, holding up his right hand to reveal the red string still tied around his finger. She gave a blink before looking at Xiè Lián and noticed a matching red string tied around his left ring finger. She had noticed it around his finger for the past month but thought nothing of it.

"I...I don't understand." She looked back at him confused.

"Because I've been waiting over a thousand years for him." She gave a blink. "Do you know what it's like to watch your beloved die while you have no way of saving them?" She furrowed her brow slightly. "Or watching your beloved being reborn over and over but before being able to confess your feelings, they die?"

Lowering her gaze slightly, she turned to look at her son again. The sound of his soft footsteps coming closer turned her gaze towards him as he reached down, opened the bag, and pulled out one of the books Xiè Lián had packed. It was the one he'd given him that held the picture of Tàizǐ Diànxià in it he'd shown him before the Ghost Festival. He opened it to the page that actually had the prince's face while still dressed in his royal robes.

Holding it up for her to see, her eyes widened as she looked at what was basically a picture of her son dressed in princely garb. Her gaze read the words 'Tàizǐ Diànxià of Xiānlè, Xiè Lián' at the bottom of it. She turned her head to her son before looking back at Huā Chéng.

"He saved my life one day and took me in to live with him, his cousin, and his assistants after Xiānlè fell to the Yǒng'ān Kingdom that overthrew them. Despite having lost everything, he still didn't let that defeat his sense of kindness to help me out when I wanted nothing more than to die. And I've never forgotten that kindness, even dying for him." Granted it was to try to protect Xiǎo Jìng, he was trying to follow what was asked of him. "But still, he died when I was merely a Ghost Fire, unable to fight back and save him from also dying. The pain of losing him and not having told him my feelings turned me into a ghost so I could take revenge on those that had killed him.

"A fortune teller happened to come by telling me our fates were still intertwined and he would be reborn again to give me a second chance. During that time I tried to get stronger then befriended him by turning into my younger form. But things happened and I couldn't stay. When I was able to return, he and his parents had passed.

"I waited again for him to be reborn so I could find him and befriend him. Countless times this happened but something always pulled me away for a while only to come back to find him dead or barely hanging onto life from getting sick. Sometimes I wasn't able to find him before he passed. But I felt it every time he was reborn and died.

"It was no different when he was reborn into this life. I felt it and I searched for him until I found him again. It's why I came to him as Xiǎo Huā so I could befriend him again and maybe be able to finally tell him my feelings as he got older."

"What makes you think he'd be the same as he was as this Tàizǐ Diànxià?"

"There was no guarantee. That's why I befriended him and got to know him for who he was in his new life. And each time, his personality has always been about the same as it was back then."

"But you left. He was so upset when you just disappeared. How could you just leave without saying goodbye?"

"It is something I regret but I've already told him everything. I've let him make his decisions every step of the way. And I'd honour everything he said. Even when he decided to come here knowing once he stepped through the gate, he could never go back as a human."

"You're the one that sent that butterfly earlier, weren't you?"

She recalled having seen the butterfly flutter in her peripherals while in the kitchen after she'd sent Xiè Lián to his room. When she had turned, it fluttered to the hallway. She'd followed it to her son's room only to find it empty as it went to the note he'd left. Panic and anger had set in as she'd stormed out of the house only to have that strange butterfly flutter around her as if it wanted her to follow it. It had headed for the woods and something told her to go. So she'd followed it until it had gotten near the cave that her and the neighbours had found him at when he'd gotten lost. It disappeared through some trees but she had a feeling that her son was there at that cave. It had surprised her seeing him there with the red clad boy as his eyes glowed that inhuman crimson. She knew right away her instincts had been right that something had been off since the first day she'd laid eyes on him. She'd had a similar feeling with Xiǎo Huā but pushed it aside because he was just a child. Especially since her son was so happy playing with him and her husband didn't have any qualms about him either.

"I did. I wanted to know his resolve. Had he chosen to turn around and stay, I would have honoured his wishes as well."

"He's only seventeen! He's still a child!"

"Hardly. He's mature enough to know what he wants. Besides, back then as the prince, he lost everything when he was only seventeen." He gave a pause as he averted his gaze. "He was lucky he had loving parents back then at least. Just like now, he has you. That's more than I could have said for myself as a child." He turned his gaze back to her. "He knows you love him but it was your actions that also pushed him away. Instead of talking to him, you reacted in anger and took your frustrations out on him. You demanded too much of him and he tried to do his best, but it was never enough for you. He confided a lot in me as well, telling me everything. Including what happened to his father and how much pain it made him feel that your ex-husband doesn't even acknowledge he exists anymore."

Xiè Lián's mother blinked at the information before turning her head to look at her son. He had so much more going on inside but he usually always seemed happy enough to her. Sure he had his outbursts now and again but he never spoke up about anything that truly bothered him. But she realised with Huā Chéng's words that he was right. Her actions had pushed him away. She was so afraid of getting hurt again and not wanting her own son to feel the same hurt but he had, albeit in a different way.

"Can I...have some alone time with him?" she asked after a moment, her voice quiet.

"I suppose." He turned to leave after setting the book down on the bedside table; the page opened to the picture of Xiè Lián's former life as the prince. Stopping at the door, he glanced back as she looked at him before he left; shutting the door behind him.

Looking back to her son, she put a hand to his cheek as he continued to sleep. She couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut as she placed a hand on his chest, not feeling that steady throbbing of his heart beating inside. He'd become a ghost just like Huā Chéng had said. A ghost just like him. And it was her fault for pushing him this far.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. She gave a small sniffle as she leaned over and placed her head against his chest while moving her hand to hold his hand in hers. Her fingers brushed against the red string on his finger.

'Fate huh?' She knew of the old legends dealing with the red string of fate. But it had always been a fairy tale to her. Things like that didn't really exist, just like ghosts seemed far fetched. But given the situation now, they obviously weren't just stories.

Sitting up after several moments, she looked over towards the book that had been left open. She reached over and picked it up, looking at the picture of her son's past life as the prince. Part of her wanted to deny everything, but she'd seen how Huā Chéng had looked fondly at her son whenever he was around him as Sān Láng. Besides, why would a Ghost King turn into a kid just to befriend her son? Why would he go to school as a teenager to get close to him? The only reason would be because he wanted his second chance.

Scanning over what had been written about the crowned prince back then, she couldn't help but remember Huā Chéng's words after she got to the part talking about the fall of Xiānlè and how the Emperor and Empress had been found murdered by the Yǒng'ān troops. How the prince had disappeared without a trace, suspected of either being killed or fled into hiding. Huā Chéng had said that Xiè Lián had saved his life when he'd wanted nothing more than to die and he'd never forgotten that. Huā Chéng had died for him but was powerless to stop Xiè Lián's death. A thousand years of waiting and watching his beloved be reborn and die, never knowing what his next life and personality might be like.

Setting the book aside, she looked back to her son as he continued to sleep. She wished he'd wake up so she could tell him she was sorry for everything.

Laying her head back down on his chest again as she held his hand, she closed her eyes. It still was unnerving not hearing his breathing or heartbeat or that he was so cold to the touch. But she'd noticed how cold Huā Chéng's hand had been when he'd gripped her arm as they had gone through the forest and town. Ghosts were dead after all. And yet 'alive' to walk amongst the living. Now her son was a ghost. Did that mean he'd never come home again?

Hearing the door open some time later, she sat up and looked over to see Huā Chéng return; each footstep giving that soft metal clinking from the chains on his boots. He stopped near the end of the bedside table as his gaze glanced at the closed book sitting on it.

"It's time for you to leave," he spoke up, looking at her with that dark gaze.

"B-but why?"

"Because dawn is approaching the gate from which you came from." She furrowed her brow. "If you don't wish to die yourself, I'd suggest you listen."

"What?" She gave a blink.

"The magic that allows you to pass through here only is valid during the full moon until dawn. After that time, the portal will close and any human stuck will die a painful death." He looked past her towards Xiè Lián. She noticed and looked back at her son. "And there's no guarantee you'll become a ghost or if you'll just die."

"I…." She clenched her jaw a little as she placed a hand to her son's cheek again. "I feel like I haven't protected him like I should have."

Raising an eyebrow at her, he wanted to scoff at her words. But given he knew that Xiè Lián still did care for his mother deep down and that his mother did care for him, he thought of an idea.

"You want to protect him?" She gave a blink and furrowed her brow. He stepped forward to the edge of the bed where she sat and held up his hand. "Give me the hair ribbon you're wearing."

Blinking, she untied it from her hair and held it out to him. How would a silk hair ribbon protect her son? He looked down at the nearly five centimetre wide, long, white ribbon before bringing his other hand up and had a knife appear with magic like he did to open the entrance to the portal earlier.

"Give me your hand."

"What?" He held his hand out for hers silently. She gave an uncertain look before hesitantly putting her hand in his. A gasp escaped her lips as he brought the knife to her palm and made a small slice into her skin.

Putting the knife on the table, he brought the ribbon up and bunched it into a ball before placing it in her hand where the crimson blood bubbled out. She gave a confused look as he held it there in her hand before he started speaking something in an ancient dialect. The ribbon started to give a soft glow as he pulled his hand away from holding it. It rose into the air a little, stained red with her blood, before the glowing grew brighter.

Suddenly, the crimson seemed to absorb into the ribbon and disappear, turning it back to white again. Huā Chéng reached up and took it in his hand as it lay limply hanging down. He looked to her hand still slightly bleeding as one of his butterflies appeared and fluttered over.

Blinking as the butterfly landed on her hand, Xiè Lián's mother felt a warm sensation as it sat on her palm while it slowly flapped its wings open and closed several times. The stinging sensation from the cut seemed to ebb away before the butterfly fluttered back up into the air again. Her eyes widened as she looked to her palm where the cut and blood had disappeared without so much as a trace of a scar to show for it. Brown eyes turned to look up at the dark one watching her as he let go of her hand.

Gently reaching past her, he placed the ribbon down on Xiè Lián's chest before taking a step back. "It's been imbued with magic so as to protect him in whatever form it decides to take once he wakes." She gave a blink looking at it for a second then back to him. "Come. You need to leave now."

Reluctantly getting up, she leaned over and gave her son a kiss on his forehead before stepping back and looking at Huā Chéng. He turned and headed for the doors. Following him out and through the corridors to outside, they made their way back to the gate.

Stepping through, he took her arm and started heading back through the darkened woods as the barest touches of grey started in the east. She glanced back at the portal before it was out of sight. They made their way back to the edge of the woods, across the field, and to her back door.

"What's going to happen to him?" she finally spoke up as she turned to him. "School isn't finished yet. And what will I say about him just disappearing? How will that make me look as a mother?"

Huā Chéng looked at her before glancing back towards the woods for a moment. He gave a thought to it for several moments as the sky grew lighter and lighter.

"Give me three days," he finally said as he looked back at her. She gave a blink. "This will give him enough time to get adjusted and for me to show him a few tricks to be able to blend in as a human better. Since he's at the lowest ranked level, his magic won't be as great to pull off the skill I have as a Supreme. But nonetheless, I'll show him what I can."

"T-three days? What am I supposed to give an excuse for him missing all that time at school?"

"He came down with a cold and needed to be out for a few days," Huā Chéng replied. "As for the homework, don't worry. I'll help him with it."

Opening her mouth to say something more, she thought better of it and shut her mouth again. She ought to be glad that Huā Chéng would bring him back to her. He didn't have to after all. Once he left, he could leave it at that and never return. It wasn't like she could get to Guǐ Shì on her own.

"I'll hold you to your word," she said finally.

"Then I'll see you in three days." He gave a small pause. "And I'd suggest staying out of the woods at night. You won't be safe from those that roam them. They know not to mess with me."

"You were the one that was with him that night when he was lost." It was more of a statement than a question. She realised that now from her son stating he'd met someone in the woods that had taken him to the cave.

"Of course. There's no way I'd leave him in danger like that."

"Then... wǎn ān, Huā Chéng." He inclined his head before she turned to open the back door. When she turned to look back over her shoulder, the spot he'd been in was empty. There was no sign of him anywhere.

Getting back to his manor, Huā Chéng made his way to his room where Xiè Lián still slept without once moving. The white silk ribbon was still on his chest where he'd left it. As he went to pick it up and move it, it suddenly shot towards him. He quickly swiped it out of the air near the end and it started to wrap up around his arm, squeezing tightly.

"I'd suggest you let me go before I decide to undo the spell that helped create you," he said with a stern tone while squeezing the end of the ribbon in return like he was choking it. "I helped create you so you could protect your master from other threats. So you better release me. Now." His dark eye gave a red gleam.

Sensing his words, the ribbon let up on its grip to his arm. Huā Chéng also let up his grip on the end before it slithered down to Xiè Lián's chest. It went down to his right wrist and slid up into his sleeve, wrapping itself around his arm gently. Huā Chéng gave a small sigh at the newfound weapon. While he hadn't been exactly sure how it would react, at least it would do alright to help protect his beloved.

Gently moving Xiè Lián a little more towards the middle of the bed, Huā Chéng pulled off his own boots before laying down next to him. He cuddled up next to him, draping an arm over his waist, and closed his eyes. He'd lay here until his beloved finally woke up again.

Well, that's the chapter. Looks like Xiè Lián's mother and Huā Chéng have come to a sort of truce. After all, like his mother thought to herself, Huā Chéng didn't have to bring her son back if he chose not to. And Huā Chéng only sought her out because he knows his beloved does care for his mother, despite her being a pain in the butt most times.
Also, I couldn't leave Xiè Lián without his trusty weapon/friend. Given it's created differently but stuck with it being something his mom had and to protect him with.
Anyways, thanks again for your patience while updating and also reading! All reviews, comments, and critiques are wonderful to hear! I'll try to update soon!