Hey everyone! Can you believe March is already here? Time's already flying. Anyways, enough of my chitchat. Here's another chapter for you!
-Chapter Nine-
Feeling his senses starting to return to him, Xie Lian could feel himself laying on something soft and comfy while being covered with something warm. An earthy scent permeated his nose that vaguely reminded him of that night when Hua Cheng had carried him to that cave. It was then he also noticed a warmth coming from beside him.
Opening his eyes, brown orbs looked to the sleeping face of San Lang close to his own. Warmth flooded his cheeks as he realised he was laying in San Lang's bed with him. Part of him wanted to pull back quickly out of embarrassment, but the other part of him didn't want to disturb the other teen. He looked so relaxed.
Gently reaching his hand out, the younger teen brushed back some of the dark hair that had fallen into San Lang's face while he slept. He tucked it behind his ear, letting his hand linger there for a moment. The blush still warmed his cheeks as he watched the other boy continuing to sleep; his even breaths going in and out.
Pulling his hand back to him after a moment, he gave a small furrow of his brow at the other boy. Slowly, he moved his hand back up and placed it in front of his right eye.
'Nah. That's impossible,' Xie Lian thought to himself as he looked at the sleeping boy. His features had reminded him of Xiao Hua a little now that he got a better look at him with his hair down. After all, his friend back then had had shorter hair that he wore down all the time in a different style. But his eyes were the wrong colour. Xiao Hua's had been dark while San Lang's was a beautiful golden hazel. It almost reminded him of honey sometimes.
Bringing his hand back to himself, he continued to watch the sleeping boy for several moments. He looked so peaceful. There was also this feeling that he wanted to cuddle closer to him. That earthy scent of his put him at ease. Again, it sort of reminded him of that night with Hua Cheng.
'Hua Cheng's a Ghost King and San Lang is a teen like me,' he thought to himself as he mentally shook his head. Though flickers of memories crossed his thoughts. San Lang defended him against those thugs the other day and how seriously upset he'd looked at them. Or how vulnerable he'd been afterwards when they'd started heading back home.
"I just don't want to lose you again."
Then there was yesterday while trying on the outfits. San Lang had knelt down in front of him while he'd been wearing the robes that mimicked the crowned prince of Xianle.
"I'd go as the protector of Taizi Dianxia."
And of course the darker haired boy telling him how much he was like a prince.
"You're one of the most princely people I know."
That picture of the crowned prince had also been so close to what he'd looked like wearing those robes. He wished he could have seen the face of the prince without that mask on.
'San Lang….' He looked at the sleeping boy again. San Lang had treated him with nothing but respect since he came here. Protected him. Taught him how to cook a few dishes. Told him so much about ghosts and Hua Cheng too. But he'd also been vulnerable and emotionally hurt by the loss of his friend in the past.
It also reminded him of Xiao Hua. The older boy had stood up against a few bullies that tried to hurt Xie Lian while they'd been playing at the park once. He'd punched one kid in the nose and nearly broke it after the kid had shoved Xie Lian to the ground and he'd scraped his hand and knee on the pavement. San Lang's reaction to those thugs had been so similar.
Thinking back on that time, he remembered also that the scrapes he'd obtained from that time had been gone the next day. His mother had put a bandage on his wounds and he clearly remembered having them going to bed. But the next morning, he'd woken up and they had stopped stinging. When he'd removed the bandages, there had been nothing there, as if it never had happened. It had been similar to how that spirit butterfly had healed his wound with not a single scar left to show for it.
Giving a furrow of his brow, it confused him because he'd never run into Hua Cheng back then and there would have been no reason for his spirit butterflies to have just randomly come to heal him either.
"I lost someone that was a precious friend to me a while ago."
"Don't worry, Gege. I'll protect you from any bullies."
Blinking at the memories of what Xiao Hua had spoken to him before, he realised that even though he'd been a couple of years older, the darker haired boy had also called him gege. Or that he'd lost someone precious to him too. Since he'd been young, Xie Lian hadn't really understood the depth of his friend's words, but when he thought back on it now, he'd seen a similar look of sadness in Xiao Hua's eye a few times.
Moving his hand up to his right eye again, Xie Lian studied his friend's features. He really did look like an older Xiao Hua. But the only thing that definitely didn't match up was his eye colour. How could they have changed if it was possible? It didn't look like he wore contacts at all either. That would have been the only possible solution he could think of to how both of his eyes were different. That and Xiao Hua said he was blind in his right eye, which was why he always wore the bandage patch over his eye.
Pulling his hand back to himself again, he furrowed his brow once more trying to decipher things. Was Sang Lang really his friend Xiao Hua from back then? Certain things matched up and other things didn't. Since he'd been older, he'd have already graduated high school by now. At least he should have.
Suddenly, Sang Lang took a deep breath in and sighed in his sleep. His eyes fluttered slightly before opening slowly, somewhat unfocused from sleep. But for the briefest of moments, his left eye was a dark colour and his right a reddish tint. Xie Lian gave a blink just before San Lang did; his eyes now his usual golden hazel like fresh honey.
"Good morning, Gege." A small smile tugged his lips upwards. Xie Lian felt his cheeks flush with warmth as San Lang pulled back a little before slowly sitting up and yawned. "Sleep well?"
Trying to pull his thoughts together at what he thought he'd just seen and the fact that they'd shared a bed together, Xie Lian could only feel his cheeks flush with more warmth. He sat up as the other boy looked at him.
"H-how did I end up here?" he finally asked, still blushing.
"You don't remember?" The lighter haired teen shook his head. "I practically had to carry you upstairs when you fell asleep on the couch." A smirk graced his lips. "I had you sit down on my bed and was going to go get some blankets and a pillow to lay on the floor with, but you told me no. So I suggested we just share a bed and you said sure."
Blinking in surprise as his cheeks felt even warmer, Xie Lian just vaguely recalled what he thought had been San Lang's voice asking a question last night. But he'd been so tired he hadn't actually heard what the other boy had said. That must have been when he'd asked about sharing a bed. His embarrassment caused him to quickly lay his head back down and pull the other pillow over his head.
San Lang gave a chuckle at how red his friend's face had been before reaching for the pillow. He gave it a small tug but the other boy held it down.
"Gege, if you do that, you'll suffocate yourself," he chuckled. The other boy finally let up on his grip and San Lang pulled it away. Xie Lian now had his hands covering his very reddened face, which made the darker haired teen laugh. "It's not a bad thing, sharing a bed, you know. There's other things than that."
"Like what?" Xie Lian asked, voice somewhat muffled from behind his hands. He felt warm hands gently pull his hands away from his face, only to have honey coloured eyes look down at him with his face really close. Dark hair fell down around them like a black curtain of silk.
San Lang gave a chuckle at the embarrassed look his friend was giving. If there was any way his face could become even more red than it was, it did. He let go of the lighter haired boy's hands as he sat back up before scooting over and got out of bed.
"Come on and let's go get breakfast, Gege," the darker haired teen smiled, trying to let his friend calm down. "Or am I going to have to carry you downstairs?"
"N-no. I'm coming," Xie Lian replied as he quickly got out of bed.
Following the darker haired teen downstairs, Xie Lian excused himself for a moment to use the bathroom while the other boy headed to the kitchen first. Brown eyes looked into the mirror as he was washing his hands before looking in the direction of the kitchen. Had he really seen his friend's eyes for that briefest of moments change colour? Now that he thought about it, his right eye had been red in colour. The same red that Hua Cheng's eye had been that night. But according to San Lang, he'd also gouged that eye out to make his scimitar.
'Magic maybe?' he thought to himself about how he could make his eye appear like it was still there. If that was the case, then could it be possible that Hua Cheng used magic to make himself look different than what he had been in the cave that night? To be able to transform himself into a child like his friend Xiao Hua? Both of their left eyes had been dark and their right blind. Though he'd never seen Xiao Hua's right eye, something told him it was that same red colour that Hua Cheng had. And San Lang looked a lot like an older Xiao Hua but a younger version of Hua Cheng now that he really thought about it. The only difference was San Lang's eyes were a different colour altogether. But magic could have made them able to change.
Then there was the fact that San Lang also loved red and dressed in it just like Hua Cheng did. Xiao Hua also loved red. San Lang had transferred to his class just after meeting Hua Cheng. And the silver butterfly that had healed him after scraping his hand. There had been no way that Hua Cheng would have known unless San Lang was him in disguise.
"How did he know I was injured?"
"I'm sure he knows a lot of things. I mean, as Ghost King, he's pretty powerful."
Blinking at the memory of that moment, Xie Lian realised that with those words, San Lang was basically telling him he was Hua Cheng without actually saying it. And all the information he knew about Hua Cheng, including Gui Shi in the Ghost Realm and how it looked. Especially about the temple he'd mentioned with the thousands of lanterns dedicated to someone that Hua Cheng had lost. Someone he blamed himself for losing because he couldn't protect him.
"He was killed. Some thieves broke into the place we stayed and fatally wounded him. And there was nothing I could do to help him."
"I don't think I've ever been so grief stricken and pissed off at the same time. I truly wanted to make each of the thieves suffer a slow, painful death."
"They're gone now. Rotting in Hell like they should."
Recalling the words he'd told him, it sounded like San Lang had gotten his revenge against those thieves. However, it still didn't change the fact that his friend had died since he couldn't bring him back. But it still left him to wonder, who his friend had been?
"I just don't want to lose you again."
"I'd go as the protector of Taizi Dianxia."
"You're one of the most princely people I know."
Could it be possible? Was Hua Xie really himself in a previous life? It could be the only explanation as to why the darker haired boy had said those words like he did. Why it was he stayed close to him, protected him, and treated him like a prince. He'd been Taiz Dianxia of Xianle in a previous life as well?
Suddenly a knock came to the door. "Gege? Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah." Xie Lian dried his hands and opened the door. "Sorry I took a little long. I was washing my face."
"Alright. Go ahead to the kitchen and I'll be there in a moment," the darker haired boy smiled as he stepped into the bathroom after Xie Lian came out.
Going down to the kitchen, Xie Lian blinked at his friend already having gotten a few things prepared for breakfast to make. If San Lang really was Hua Cheng and he was really a reincarnation of Hua Xie, did that mean that San Lang had feelings for him? After all, the darker haired teen had said he'd never gotten the chance to tell his friend his feelings before he'd been killed.
Feeling his cheeks flush with warmth, Xie Lian never expected to have a Ghost King of all people dote on him like this. If it really was the truth that was. So much stuff added up that how could it not be? But how to go about trying to verify it without actually coming out and blatantly asking if San Lang really was Hua Cheng and Xiao Hua?
"Something wrong, Gege?"
Turning quickly at the sound of his friend's voice, brown eyes looked to him standing there behind him. There was a puzzled look on the darker haired teen's face. His hair had also been pulled back into a ponytail again, but not like he usually wore it.
"N-no. I was just uh...wondering what we were making for breakfast?"
"Oh yeah. I figured we could make something simple and delicious," San Lang replied with a smile as he walked towards the stove.
Trying to push the thoughts that were buzzing around his head aside, Xie Lian followed him over to help make breakfast. When they were finished, they sat down at the table to eat.
"I'm sorry I burnt the eggs a little," Xie Lian apologised.
"That's alright," San Lang chuckled as he took a bite of them.
"I'm just a lost cause when it comes to cooking."
"You've been doing well so far."
"You really think so?" Brown eyes looked up to golden hazel ones. San Lang gave a nod. "What about your friend, Hua Xie? Did he cook really well?"
San Lang gave a blink and paused in his chewing for a second before swallowing then took a drink of his juice. "No, actually he was also pretty bad at it." He gave a chuckle as he set his juice down and smiled.
Xie Lian gave a blink at this information. So if he was Hua Xie's reincarnation, he was just as bad of a cook back then as he was now. It seemed kind of ironic but the smile the darker haired boy had was one of respect.
"So he was just as bad of a cook like me?" Xie Lian asked in a curious manner.
"Yeah. He burned a lot of things or mixed ingredients together that just didn't go well with each other many of the times he cooked," San Lang said as he poked at his food while still smiling. "But I didn't mind. He put his love into it, which made it better."
"Like with that soup you showed me how to make last night?"
"Yeah. It was one of the few things he made that was fairly decent," San Lang chuckled. "So I learned to make it myself." He gave a pause as a small smile, albeit somewhat sad, tugged his lips upwards while looking towards his plate. "I always make it the day that he passed and during the Ghost Festival."
Blinking at the saddened look on his friend's face, Xie Lian could tell it seemed hard for San Lang to talk about what had happened. After all, regardless if it had been him in a past life, the pain of losing someone was more than enough for anyone. Even for a Ghost King like Hua Cheng, San Lang, Xiao Hua, or whatever else he wanted to go by.
Standing, Xie Lian went to the other side of the table as those honey coloured eyes turned to look up at him with a confused blink. The lighter haired boy reached out and pulled him into a hug. San Lang felt his cheeks flush with warmth as his face was pressed gently against Xie Lian's lower chest while the younger teen held him in his embrace. A small clatter of his chopsticks hitting his plate resonated in the quiet air before the darker haired boy brought his arms up to wrap around Xie Lian's waist.
Standing there for a couple of moments, San Lang finally pulled away, cheeks flushed a soft pink. His eyes were dry but even Xie Lian could tell he wanted to cry.
"I'll make sure to honour your friend tonight the best I can," the brown eyed teen spoke softly as he looked at the other boy, still flushed slightly. "I promise that."
San Lang gave a blink up at the younger teen before giving a small smile. "Thank you, Gege."
"Now eat your breakfast so it doesn't get cold." Xie Lian gave a small smile as he stepped back from his friend then returned to his seat. The darker haired boy gave a small smile and chuckle before picking up his chopsticks again.
Well that's the chapter. Looks like Xie Lian's figuring it out. *grins* Question is, will he say anything to San Lang about it? You'll just have to wait and see!
Anyways, thanks again for reading! I'll have another chapter up soon!