Chapter Text
*A/N: this story will mostly be told from Xie Lian and Lan WangJi's perspective. There will be no storytelling from Hua Cheng or Wei WuXian's perspective.
"Your highness!"
Xie Lian turned around and gently put down the rag he was polishing Fang Xin with. Feng Xin was standing by the doorway, hands placed on the doorframe.
"What do you need?" he asked.
"Your highness, someone-someone just ascended!" Feng Xin shouted through exasperated breaths.
"No need to be so hurried about that. Come on, I'll go see him or her."
Xie Lian smiled and put down Fang Xin as well, heading out the door with Feng Xin.
"No, no, you don't understand. It's-it-." Feng Xian's voice trailed off. "You'll see when we get there."
Xie Lian was confused at what the big deal was, but all that confusion disappeared when he saw a tall, handsome man in red robes standing right outside.
"San Lang!" he yelled as he leaped into the man's arms.
"Gege," Hua Cheng said as he looked down and patted Xie Lian's hair. Xie Lian looked up and cupped Hua Cheng's face in his hands and then pressed his lips onto his. Feng Xin gagged and backed away as quickly as possible. He wasn't eating dog food today.
"San Lang, you're back?"
For the past couple of days, Hua Cheng said he had some business to take care of in ghost city, but by now it should already be dealt with, and Hua Cheng was back. Even though it was only a separation for a couple of days, it felt like forever to Xie Lian.
"Mn, I'm back. Did gege miss me?" Hua Cheng asked teasingly.
"I missed you so much!" Xie Lian exclaimed as he pulled Hua Cheng into a tight embrace once again. Hua Cheng smiled and kissed his forehead.
"Your highness..." Feng Xin couldn't take it anymore.
Xie Lian whipped his head around to find Feng Xin staring at them, disgust visible on his face. Xie Lian's cheeks flushed red as he realized Feng Xin had been watching them this whole time.
"Ehem." Xie Lian cleared his throat. "I think it's time we should be going. I want to see who this new heaven official is."
The three of them set off once again toward the rebuilt great hall. The closer they came, the more people they noticed, surrounding the new heaven official so tightly that Xie Lian couldn't see a thing. He tried jumping, standing on his toes, and even levitating, but there were so many people that he couldn't see a thing. The last time an ascension was this big was when he had ascended 800 years ago!
"Gege, if you can't see, do you need me to carry you?" Hua Cheng asked, looking down at Xie Lian.
"There's no need," Xie Lian replied.
"Excuse me sir, can you move a little bit?" Xie Lian turned around to ask the heaven official in front of him.
"Ah-your highness!" the heaven official exclaimed.
"Everyone, make way for your highness!" he shouted. Everyone diverted their attention toward Xie Lian's direction. Xie Lian was a little bit flustered at all the attention, and only smiled.
"Thank you, thank you," he said to all of them. As Xie Lian passed through the crowd, he felt a strange soothing feeling the closer he got to the center. There was a slight scent of sandalwood that Xie Lian wouldn't have even been able to notice if it wasn't for his heightened senses. A suspicion rose in Xie Lian's mind at who this new heaven official was. Could it be him?
The crowds whispered at this new appearance.
"Hanguang-Jun? Didn't he refuse ascension one time?"
"Yeah, yeah. I heard he faced thousands of cultivators and fierce ghosts in one battle!"
"Really, is he that good? I'd reckon even his highness wasn't that good at this age!"
"Shh, don't let Hua ChengZhu hear that! He'll beat you to death!"
Hua Cheng only smiled coyly at the two whispering heaven officials. The two scrambled off to the side, only sighing in relief when Hua Cheng could no longer be seen.
Xie Lian on the other hand, was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear these whispers. If he did, he would've definitely known who this new god was. He didn't notice that he had gotten to the end of the crowd until he felt a hand grab him from behind.
"Gege, don't walk so fast. I can't even catch up with you," Hua Cheng's deep voice echoed behind him.
"Sorry!" Xie Lian turned around and smiled at Hua Cheng.
"There's no need for gege to say sorry."
Xie Lian turned around and looked straight ahead at the person still in the center of the great hall. Even though Xie Lian had already knew that it was this person, he still felt his breath hitch a little bit at the sight of him. It was Lan WangJi.
His face was handsome and pale, like a polished piece of jade. His features were refined and elegant, giving off an air of frost. Even Xie Lian couldn't help but shiver at how frosty cold he looked. His white, flowing clothes were immaculate, not a single fold anywhere. Blue cloud patterns were embroidered on them, making the bland white into simple elegance. There appeared to be no blemishes on him anywhere, no matter how hard you looked. But the most striking thing about him were his eyes. They were so light, to the point that they appeared like stained glass. They looked almost translucent.
This face was engraved in Xie Lian's mind for the past five years, because ever since their first meeting, Xie Lian could almost know what he was doing. When they first met, he was still only 17, the age Xie Lian was when he ascended as well. He carried a guqin on his back, his hands dripping with blood. All around him were the dead bodies of thousands of cultivators, and he had not a single ally next to him.
What made Xie Lian jump down to personally meet him, what he heard him say was "no". It was barely audible, but Xie Lian was the leader of the heavens, there was nothing that he couldn't hear. There had barely been anyone in the world who had refused ascension, the only ones he knew were himself and Hua Cheng.
"This friend," Xie Lian had said in a gentle voice. He had placed his hand on Lan WangJi's shoulders, ready to pass him spiritual energy to heal his wounds, but the boy jerked his shoulder away, as if touched by hot iron.
"Sorry," Lan WangJi had said.
"Sorry for what?" Xie Lian asked, confused.
"Sorry, I won't be able to come to heaven with your highness."
By now, Xie Lian's name was known far and wide, so nearly everyone recognized him and called him by his official title. But Xie Lian was still a little bit taken aback by this.
"Why?" was all Xie Lian could say.
"I still have an unfulfilled wish." Lan WangJi's voice was low and quiet, as if uttering a secret to someone.
"What is it? If it isn't too difficult, I'd do my best to help you." Xie Lian realized these words were nearly the same ones he spoke when he first met Hua Cheng after the fall of Xian Le. He smiled at the idea that he still used the same words, so many years later. But it couldn't be so coincidental that Lan WangJi had the same wish as Hua Cheng.
"Is it money, power, victory?" After all, a war had just started raging in the cultivation world, and these wishes weren't uncommon. But surprisingly, Lan WangJi shook his head.
"Then...what is it?" Xie Lian's mind was a little blank right now.
"I have a beloved who is still in this world." Lan WangJi said this line in a low voice. It was as if lightning had struck Xie Lian from nowhere! This line was the exact same line that Hua Cheng had said to him! The image of that lantern ghost and Lan WangJi overlapped. Xie Lian felt his heart ache for this stranger he had just met. Lan WangJi was filled with boundless talent, and if he had ascended, the possibilities would be infinite! He was so talented that Xie Lian had kept his eye on him for a long time. But he refused immortality for someone he loved. Just how strong was his love?
"I see. Are you two together?" Xie Lian asked.
"No. We haven't talked in a long time."
Xie Lian felt like that sentence was another punch to his gut.
"So, what is your wish?" Xie Lian thought that maybe it was to get together with them or to have them love him, right? It would be too coincidental if it was the same thing Hua Chen had wished.
"...I wish...to protect them."
Xie Lian was stunned! How much did Lan WangJi love that person! Xie Lian thought that Hua Cheng was the only one who would be so deep in love to say this! But here Lan WangJi was, wishing to protect his loved one, even when immortality and a lifetime of riches was right in front of him.
Without even thinking, Xie Lian's lips started to move.
"But if you remain here, you may never get a chance at ascension before...your death."
"Then I pray to never ascend."
Lan WangJi was really too similar to Hua Cheng!
"But won't they feel guilty if they find out that you gave immortality up for them?"
"Then I will make sure they never find out."
Xie Lian could almost feel the pain coming out from each word.
"Then...I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about. Thank you, your highness, I'l be going now."
Xie Lian reached after the figure staggering away.
"Wait!"
Lan WangJi turned around. Despite how desolate his surroundings were and how dirty his figure was, in his light-colored eyes there seemed to be a fire.
Xie Lian uttered Hua Cheng's communication array password.
"San Lang!" he yelled in his head.
"Gege, what do you need?" Hua Cheng appeared before his eyes.
"Do you have another one of these red strings?" Xie Lian asked, pointing to the red string tied around his finger.
"No, that's the only one I have." Hua Cheng said. "Why, does gege need it for something?"
"Then do you have something similar?" Xie Lian was desperate. He felt that Lan Wangji was so similar to Hua Cheng and deserved to have his wish fulfilled.
"Yeah I do. Gege, I'll get it for you."
Hua Cheng left with a flash, and then reappeared right in front of Xie Lian's eyes. In his hands, he had two silver rings.
"How do these work?"
"Just like the red string, if two people both wear this, they'll be able to find each other whenever they need. Just point your finger up and this ring will turn to the direction where the person is. The ring will only fall off if the other person is dead for good."
"Thank you San Lang! I'll be right back!"
Xie Lian exited the communication array and ran after Lan WangJi. He placed these two rings in Lan WangJi's hand and explained how they worked.
Lan WangJi's lips parted and closed, as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he only bowed. Just as he turned around to leave for the second time, Xie Lian called out again.
"Here, take this too." Xie Lian placed a jar of pure spiritual energy into Lan WangJi's hands.
"Thank you." Lan WangJi bowed again and left.
Watching his figure walk away, the image of Hua Cheng overlapped in Xie Lian's mind.
Whoever his beloved is is lucky to have him.
Xie Lian smiled and jumped back to heaven. Nobody except Xie Lian had know the reason he refused ascension, and everyone thought he had gone insane. But Xie Lian understood. How could he not?
Xie Lian was jerked back to reality by a hand on his shoulder.
"San Lang?"
"Gege, this is the second time you've spaced out today. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, it's just...he's familiar."
"Oh, you know him?" Hua Cheng smiled at him.
"Yeah, we met before."
He turned around to look at Lan WangJi, who had been looking at him as well. Maybe he had been thinking of the same thing. If he had finally ascended, was his beloved safe?
"Your highness."
Xie Lian didn't know how to call Lan WangJi, so he just bowed. He turned around, and announced:
"Everyone, please welcome Lan WangJi to heaven." Loud cheers erupted. "Today, we will be celebrating the new establishment of the palace of..." Xie Lian's voice trailed off.
He looked at Lan WangJi.
"How should I refer to you as?"
"Hanguang-Jun"
Xie Lian used the voice amplifying hand seal again.
"Please let us welcome the new palace of Han Guang!"