Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 47

A week later, the married couple fell into a routine.

Waking up early in the morning, thanks to Yin Yu now being able to supervise way more efficiently – the absence of his cursed shackle worked wonders – Xie Lian and Hua Cheng took back the habit of laying lazily in bed for a while, playing with each other's hair, exchanging sweet kisses, or simply talking softly in the hazy red filling up the room. After Xie Lian's third ascension they had fallen out of it, even if they had nothing really important to do for the day. It was such a shame that the god insisted on picking up their morning private time back from where they had left it.

The time of an incense stick later, they would either take a bath first – if they didn't soak in comfortably hot water in the evening – or go straight to GuZi's room to wake up the kid and keep him company for the day.

Hua Cheng wasn't always able to stay, his supervision still heavily needed in his Gambler's Den, but Xie Lian soon grew attached to that brave child. He took him on a trip around Paradise Manor, careful to introduce him to the various ghosts working in the mansion, and watched with mirth in his eyes how GuZi fell more and more in love with the peculiarities of the ghost realm.

He still didn't belong in that dead world, being such a young kid, but at least he was having fun. Even Hua Cheng started growing rather fond of him – more than before – so when Xie Lian offered to stay in the Gambler's Den in his husband's place, the ghost happily accepted to be GuZi's playmate.

Their routine ended with all four of them – Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, GuZi, and Yin Yu – having dinner together in the main dining hall of the residence. After eating, GuZi often just went back into his room or kept to Yin Yu's side, pestering him with many questions every day. One time, Yin Yu even suggested bringing him back to PuQi Shrine, maybe to stay with Shi QingXuan and He Xuan for a couple of days, and Xie Lian accepted. It was nice for the kid to breathe in some fresh air in the mortal realm, and it wouldn't do him harm to meet the other Ghost King.

Surprisingly, GuZi had a wonderful time even with someone as terrifying as He Xuan, and that handful of days gave Xie Lian a precious occasion to think some things over.

Things that came back to him one evening, almost a full month after Qi Rong entered the Kiln.

Xie Lian was laying on the divan, Hua Cheng resting over him like a ghostly blanket, when he sighed. Visibly confused, if not a tad concerned, his husband raised his head to look at him, so the prince simply smiled: «I was thinking we could go back to Mount Tong'lu», he told him, gently stroking his sharp cheek with one hand, thumb caressing over the bone shaping his face. «I'm quite curious about those murals. The story of that Crown Prince is... endearing».

Plus, there was something drawing him back to that place, and to that story. The knowledge of his Guoshi being aware of the existence of WuYong didn't help soothe Xie Lian's thirst for answers. In fact, it only worsened it, making his throat parched and his tongue dry, lips begging to drink from that particular piece of the past.

It could be a mistake, he could discover the knowledge he sought would hurt him, or scare him, but... it was better than ignorance.

The Crown Prince lived in ignorance for far too long, before starting to mingle again with the business of the bigger world of ghosts and gods. The bliss of unawareness had long lost its charm, understanding and comprehension being far more alluring than the void of unknown facts.

No one would dare get close to Mount Tong'lu, while a Ghost King was about to be born. Ghosts and monsters knew the risks of standing too close to an unstable furnace like the Kiln was, even those who were just born in the undead life. They would surely be unbothered, in their search for information. Xie Lian made sure to point that out, to Hua Cheng.