- Chapter Start –
"… yuanzhu? Yun-yuanzhu?"
Yun BiQiu awakes with a start, lifting his head to see who it is and then wincing as his neck muscles twinge sharply in protest.
"Ow."
A female servant is staring down at him with round eyes.
"Ah. You're…" He blinks up at her, searching his memory for a name. "A-Li?"
He's rewarded with a happy smile and several nods in quick succession.
"Yes, that's me. Yun-yuanzhu, surely you haven't been sleeping in the library all night?" A-Li wrings her hands in distress at his nod. "Aiya, what will He-tangzhu say?"
Sitting up, Yun BiQiu stifles a groan when his body protests after lying on a hard surface.
"I was too tired to go home. Luckily, I found this side door unlocked." He nods at the now open door.
"The library assistant leaves it unlocked for us to come in and clean." A-Li gives him a reproving look, the mark of a servant treated perhaps a little too well. "Yun-yuanzhu, why didn't you ask someone for a guestroom? Please wait here. I'll get you a hot towel to refresh yourself."
"Thank you." Yun BiQiu gets to his feet.
"I'll be back as fast as I can. Don't go anywhere!"
Yun BiQiu looks out the door after her and flinches when a ray of sunlight slips past leafy branches and stabs him in the eye. It's bright enough to be mid-morning.
Did he really sleep so long?
Then again, it's not surprising since Li LianHua is healed at last. Trust him to leave it to the last possible minute. His time would've run out sooner if not for Di FeiSheng and Fang DuoBing continuously feeding him their Qi over the past few days.
Li LianHua can finally lay down his misplaced sense of guilt, put the past behind him and enjoy life again.
And so can Yun BiQiu, with Guan HeMeng. This time, he isn't being seduced by someone with a pretty face, an evil heart and a strange incense that had made him confused and malleable. He's being courted by someone just as good looking, but with a good heart and straightforward intentions.
Yun BiQiu shakes his head in unconscious denial. He still can't believe that anyone would want him other than for his knowledge and skills, let alone someone young and talented and handsome. Then he remembers that A-Li should be back soon and makes an attempt to look more presentable - tucking the shorter strands of white hair behind his ears and smoothing down his robes.
It's the best he can do without water, comb and a mirror, he thinks ruefully. When a shadow falls across the open doorway, he looks up to see someone standing there with tray in hand.
"Guan-shenyi!"
"BiQiu, what happened to calling me by name?" There's a reproving frown on Guan HeMeng's face as he goes to set the tray down on the nearest table. "A-Li told me you spent the night here and on the floor."
"I didn't feel like making the journey back home."
"You were that tired?" Guan HeMeng takes both his hands in his own warmer ones. Up close, he smells nice, like sun dried herbs. Yun BiQiu feels two sly fingertips probing his inner wrist and can't help smiling.
"I'm fine, HeMeng."
"Better. But you need to eat and rest more."
"I just don't look my best right now." Yun BiQiu is all too conscious of his rather dishevelled appearance. He darts a surreptitious glance at the nearby tray.
"Of course. Allow me." Guan HeMeng releases his hands and steps over to the table. He dunks a clean washcloth in the steaming water and wrings it out without flinching.
"Thank you." Yun BiQiu takes the offered cloth and presses it to his face, breathing in the fragrance of laundry soap.
"A-Li wasn't happy that you didn't request for a guestroom," Guan HeMeng remarks.
"Everyone was already so tired." Yun BiQiu wipes his face and neck, feeling more refreshed.
"And you're not one to trouble others." Guan HeMeng holds out his hand for the washcloth and wrings it out in the hot water again. Instead of handing it back, he proceeds to wipe Yun BiQiu's hands and arms himself, pushing the sleeves up to his elbows.
"I - HeMeng, what're youdoing?"Yun BiQiu darts an alarmed look at the still open door. He makes a grab for the washcloth and fails.
"It's the least I can do for my fiancé." Guan HeMeng isn't smiling, but his eyes are.
Yun BiQiu feels his heart flutter in his chest. For Heaven's sake, he's a man of thirty and not a boy with his first crush!
"I half thought I dreamed the whole thing last night," he admits. "Are you sure?"
Guan HeMeng tosses the cloth on the tray and holds his hands again, paying no mind to the slight dampness of their fingers.
"That I want to court you? Yes," he says firmly. "That I want to marry you? Yes. That I want to be with you for the rest of our lives?Yes."
Yun BiQiu gapes at him, heart racing, face red, and completely speechless at such bold words. Smiling, Guan HeMeng leans in to kiss his cheek.
"BiQiu, how can I make you believe me?" He asks.
With his mind still unhelpfully blank, Yun BiQiu wets his lips with the tip of his tongue and sees Guan HeMeng's eyes flicking there at once.
"I… I haven't eaten anything yet," he blurts out.
"In that case, He-tangzhu has prepared an excellent breakfast. Does this mean I can give you a proper kiss afterwards?"
Seeing the impish twinkle in those usually serious eyes, Yun BiQiu finds himself nodding.
If the Fates have seen fit to give him a second chance at love, who is he to refuse?
- o –
In the small tent behind Lotus Tower, Di FeiSheng loses all concept of time, lulled by his blissed out state and the sweet weight resting on him. As his body cools and his heartrate slows down, he starts to doze off until a shiver ripples through Li LianHua. He opens his eyes at once, alert once more.
"We should get out. The water's cold."
There's no response.
"Li LianHua? Are you asleep?" Di FeiSheng shakes him a bit.
"Not… yet." A huge yawn spaces out the two words. Li LianHua turns onto his side, eyes still closed.
Not one to waste an opportunity, Di FeiSheng hooks two fingers under his chin and tips it up. One lazy kiss turns into two and then three. Li LianHua responds, sleepily at first and then more eagerly, even shifting around to face him fully. He slides his hands up to Di FeiSheng's shoulders and then his fingertips brush over a couple of scars.
They both freeze in place.
With an inward wince, Di FeiSheng breaks the kiss and turns aside, causing Li LianHua's lips to brush his cheek instead. Their combined breathing sounds overly loud in the steamy air. Di FeiSheng's has grown shallow, but Li LianHua's is slow and controlled.
"It's nothing," Di FeiSheng says at last.
"I met him, you know," Li LianHua says in a low voice. "I told you before, that XiaoBao and I went to Di Fortress. He's still alive, but you'd already destroyed his meridians."
Di FeiSheng turns back and feels his heart squeeze at the sight of Li LianHua's reddened eyes.
"I should've realised. I would've killed him with my bare handsafterwhipping him raw." Li LianHua's voice is filled with fury. "A-Fei, you were achild. There must've been others. I should've realised –whydidn't I?"
In the face of all that pain and self-recrimination, all Di FeiSheng can do is kiss him again - partly to shut him up, partly because he doesn't know what to say, but mostly because he wants a happy Li LianHua, not one filled with guilt.
He's suffered enough. They both have.
"Thank you, but I've dealt with him," he says.
"That's not enough! I should-"
Di FeiSheng kisses him again, feeling warm inside until Li LianHua pulls back.
"I want to see your back." His eyes are still wet, but his tone is firm.
"… later."
"No. Now."
They stare at each other.
With an annoyed huff - that's mostly fake and he knows that Li LianHua knows it - Di FeiSheng turns his upper body around, or as much as the confines of the tub will allow. The sharp inhalation makes him freeze, but it's followed by gentle fingertips on one of his longer whip scars, tracing it from one end to the other.
Di FeiSheng gulps and dips his head, feeling those fingers trace yet another long scar. A shiver ripples through him.
"They don't hurt anymore," he says. "They're just ugly."
There. He'd said it.
"Lao Di, I have scars too. You gave me one."
The matter of fact voice helps. Di FeiSheng draws a cautious breath and turns back. Li LianHua's gaze is still filled with anger and sorrow, but no hint of revulsion or disgust.
"I did. As did you," Di FeiSheng says, as steadily as he can.
"Yeah," Li LianHua gives a wry smile. "I still want to take a good look at your back later though."
Then he frowns.
"Wait, what about the-"
"Please, what I got at the palacehardlyqualifies," Di FeiSheng scoffs. "That head guard was holding back. Come on, let's rinse off. The water is cold and so is our food."
- o –
After a lazy, late breakfast of noodles, steamed dumplings and a pot of tea, during which Li LianHua yawned half a dozen times, Di FeiSheng chivvies him off to bed.
"Napping right after a meal? I'm going to get fat," Li LianHua grumbles just for the sake of saying something.
Di FeiSheng rolls his eyes and doesn't reply. He stores the used dishes back in the basket and places it on the steps outside before closing and locking the door. Then he strips down to his innermost layer and gets into bed.
"Join me." Shifting closer to the wall, he holds out his hand.
Smiling, Li LianHua does the same and joins him, resting his head on Di FeiSheng's shoulder. Feeling those strong fingers combing through his damp hair makes his toes curl in secret delight. He's almost asleep when Di FeiSheng clears his throat.
"Li XiangYi. Li LianHua. Li-menzhu. Li-shenyi. You go by many names and titles."
"Too many," Li LianHua mumbles in agreement. The heartbeat under his palm is faster than usual, how strange.
"Will you add one more?"
"Like what?"
"Husband to Di FeiSheng."
Li LianHua goes very still before raising his head.
"A-Fei, are you proposing?"
Di FeiSheng nods, head still on the pillow and heart pounding away under Li LianHua's palm.
"Where are my gifts?" LianHua asks, fighting down a smile. "I want at least three."
Di FeiSheng lets out a huff of amusement… or maybe relief.
"I've already given them to you."
"When?"
"You have a short memory. The first is the snow salt."
"I used that to kill the child karmic bug."
Di FeiSheng's eyes gleam in amusement.
"The second is the Mountain Snow Eagle tonic."
"That tastedfouland I don't think it helped me at all."
"The third is the Styx Flower." Di FeiSheng looks very serious.
Oh.
The flower that he had searched for foryearsto boost his own cultivation. The one that he had given to Li LianHua and then later, put aside his pride to beg from the Emperor.
Touched and maybe even a little tearful again, Li LianHua leans forward to press their lips together.
"Very well. If you don't mind being husband to Li LianHua, then I will be husband to Di FeiSheng."
- Chapter End -
menzhu = sect leader
shenyi = doctor
tangzhu = hall master
yuanzhu = court director