Chapter Text
Listen here and listen well little ones. Tonight’s story is about the dangers of the Ghost-Night Lake. Legend has it that deep below the surface lies the ghost city run by the terrifying Crimson Rain Sought Flower, the ghost-siren. Any that fall into his waters are dragged to the bottom of the lake and drowned, their souls forever bound within the confines of his ghost city. Heed this warning children, stay away from those accursed waters.
‘Surprise surprise,’ Yin Yu detachedly thought to himself, ‘getting banished from heaven kind of fucking sucks.’
Those were the last thoughts drifting through his mind before everything went dark and he felt his now very mortal body plunge into icy cold water. His weak, heavy, limbs not listening as his mortal body was pulled deeper.
That was how Hua Cheng came across the once-god. Thrashing and flailing as he struggled against the weight of the ghost king’s domain pulling him under.
He wouldn’t have been the first soul these waters have claimed. Not by a long shot. But something about the fallen god gave Hua Cheng pause. Pause enough to grant the dying man mercy within his domain in the form of gills that could allow him to breathe under the inky waves.
Turning Yin Yu into a siren had also come with the added benefit of gaining a servant indebted to him. Though, after 200 years of diligent servitude, and Hua Cheng explicitly stating that Yin Yu had no obligation to continue serving him, the turned-siren stayed by the ghost-siren’s side. Working for the ghost king of the city of sirens was surprisingly fulfilling work and Yin Yu didn’t have anywhere else to go to live out his banishment. The shackle tattoos on his wrist were a constant reminder to any who glanced upon him of what he had once been.
And while people weren’t explicitly hostile towards fallen gods, the attention the tattoos garnered, coupled with the pitying looks that followed after their passing shadows simply rankled Yin Yu in a way that made his breath catch in his throat.
And thus, Yin Yu remained by Hua Cheng’s side. A sometimes servant, sometimes confidant when the ghost king needed something more than an empty room to listen to his plans and theories.
Yin Yu had known Hua Cheng was looking for someone. A beloved from many centuries back. Over the years of working by his side, he had gleaned the identity of the man he searched for. Another banished god, like himself, named Xie Lian. Only this man was exceptional if even a fraction of what history books and Hua Cheng’s anecdotes told him were to be taken as the truth.
Xie Lian was goodness taken physical form, followed by an omen of misfortune unweaving his sewing of good deeds. Yin Yu didn’t understand how someone could remain sane after such treatment for so long. But he also hadn’t met the man. How was he to know whether he hadn’t been driven off the cliff of insanity already?
When Yin Yu brought this up with Hua Cheng his response had been a simple, “Aren’t we all a little insane?”
Yin Yu thought it was a cop-out answer. Perhaps Hua Cheng didn’t want to entertain the idea that the man he was chasing after and whom he held in such high esteem was not the man he remembered him as.
Regardless, Hua Cheng was devoted — to an alarming degree if Yin Yu was honest with himself. It went past the cute, romantic into the crazy, obsessed.
Maybe there was merit to what Hua Cheng had said about being insane.
“There’s a speck of him in you, y’know. I can tell.”
‘This guy’s full of shit’, Yin Yu had thought to himself, pausing his report to consider whether Hua Cheng was expecting Yin Yu to laugh or not in response.
Only after meeting Xie Lian did Yin Yu learn what a compliment Hua Cheng had given him all that time ago.
How could he — simple, boring, plain Yin Yu ever be comparable to all the good that was Xie Lian — The Crown Prince Who Pleased The Gods?
It was laughable.
Yin Yu often visited the nearby town for various supplies and intel on the going-ons above water. He had conquered the challenge of swapping out his tail for legs after watching how Hua Cheng was able to change forms seamlessly in the blink of an eye, the perks of boundless spiritual energy.
On this particular trip above water, Yin Yu noticed whispers about a traveller moving into the abandoned hut on the edge of the town that presided not too far from Hua Cheng’s Ghost-Night Lake.
While not groundbreaking news, it was something Yin Yu took notice of since said abandoned hut was close to the shore that he used to traverse to and from town. The last thing Yin Yu needed was someone spotting him wading into the supposedly cursed waters and disappearing under the seafoam only to return to town a few weeks later.
So, on Yin Yu’s return trip, he took a detour up the path towards the little hut secluded from the rest of town. Applying a light shroud to hide his presence, Yin Yu snuck up to the window (windowsill, if Yin Yu was being painfully honest, the lack of glass left much to be desired in terms of windows).
The broom brandished like a spear towards Yin Yu’s face successfully cut his thoughts about the window short. Following the hands holding the broom up to Yin Yu’s assailant’s face resulted in the fallen god meeting the gaze of the man he, truthfully, had seen way too many paintings of over the years under Hua Cheng’s leadership to not recognise immediately.
“Your Highness?”
Xie Lian lowered the broom head down from its aggressive stance, all hostility bleeding from his demeanour in seconds, “Yes? I’m sorry, have we met before?”
What was the protocol here? Was Yin Yu meant to tell Xie Lian that Hua Cheng was looking for him? Should he play dumb? He had already given away that he knew who he was, it was too late to pretend he was completely uninvolved now. God-fucking-damnit.
“Ah, no, Your Highness, my apologies. My name is Yin Yu, we haven’t met before but I know who you are.”
Suppressing a deep sigh, Yin Yu rolled up his sleeve to reveal his shackling tattoo with only slight hesitation. If Xie Lian was as Hua Cheng described then this should work to explain his position without invoking the pity and judgement he was sick of.
“I learnt a bit about you while in heaven but researched more when I was banished to see if your story could help me deal with my own predicament.”
Xie Lian’s eyes widened at the sight of the shackle and Yin Yu noticed the subtle adjusting of his posture as if the sight of the branding was physically impacting him. Yin Yu felt a distant twang of remorse remembering how gazing at the tattoo just after he had received it made his stomach churn and twist with nausea. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how having multiple shackles would have affected him.
“How– how long have you had this?”
How long has it been since you were banished?
Xie Lian’s voice was soft — like he didn’t want to startle Yin Yu. Unnecessary, but appreciated — and absent of pity. Yin Yu had long come to terms with his situation, a bed of his own making.
Yin Yu covered the mark once more, “It’s almost been 200 years Your Highness, it is not a fresh wound anymore.”
The look that crossed the white-clad fallen god’s face could only be described as wry and then it was gone.
“Sometimes time isn’t enough,” he murmured softly, almost to himself. “Can I offer you some tea, Yin Yu?”
An indescribable taste lingered on Yin Yu’s tongue as he slunk back under the waves at the edge of Hua Cheng’s lake, legs melding into his dark indigo tail.
Yin Yu’s siren form was amusing to him, Hua Cheng had told him that the form was random chance, but somehow all of Yin Yu’s tastes had been catered to. The dark purple aesthetic of the swirling markings on his arms and face helped Yin Yu remain undetected within underwater shadows and his mid-length ear fins were simple but elegant, framing his face when gazed upon but giving him something to hide his profile with when he was by Hua Cheng’s side in public.
According to the research Yin Yu had conducted early on in his siren days, biologically, sirens were meant to be visually enticing to lure humans to the water's edge through song and hypnotism to devour them. But as a turned siren and a ghost, Yin Yu and Hua Cheng were not limited to human flesh for their diet. Regardless, the biological aspects of their species still applied.
Yin Yu was now able to weave songs from the air and compel weaker beings’ minds – not that he used the ability very often, not purposefully anyway. He occasionally found himself humming while he worked in the back buildings of Paradise Manor, only remembering his capabilities when the other servants working within the manor would begin to crowd outside his door, drawn by the sweetness of his voice.
It was times like those when Yin Yu was extra thankful for the cover provided by his ear fins to hide his flushed cheeks while he dispersed the small crowd.
Yin Yu’s siren form was downright plain compared to Hua Cheng’s. Hua Cheng offset his already loud crimson colour scheme with silver accents spiralling along his tail and arms that caught the light that filtered through the water from above. His ear fins fanned out in intricate coral-like designs like a low halo and to top it all off the siren ghost king was also adorned with white pearls and shells to complement the swirlings of silver.
Hua Cheng’s form was created with the intention to be seen, to be heard and listened to and respected. Hua Cheng stood in the spotlight forged by his blood-red form and didn’t shy away from the stares of the crowd. Yin Yu couldn’t imagine having so many people watching him at all times, his every move — every decision, scrutinised by the masses of mer looking up to him for direction and aid.
Just one of the many ways in which Hua Cheng had earned his respect and loyalty.
Hua Cheng didn’t cower from a difficult decision, and in response, his subjects believed in him unwaveringly.
That’s why it was always quite interesting to Yin Yu when Hua Cheng did pause and falter – questioning his every move when it came to finding Xie Lian.
It wasn’t a long swim from the surface to the entrance of Ghost City, but Yin Yu connected to Hua Cheng’s communication array on the way down regardless – delaying this news any longer felt unfair.
‘Hua Chengzhu, I’ve located the Crown Prince Xie Lian, he–’
Hua Cheng grabbed Yin Yu’s wrist from behind, suddenly filling the spot that had been empty mere seconds earlier, words hissed with an underlying desperation that validated Yin Yu’s decision to tell him now and not a moment later.
“Where?”
Hua Cheng would visit the nearby town periodically. He had a few human disguises so as to not incite questions from using a familiar face when he did decide to travel up. But meeting with Xie Lian after hundreds of years called for the use of a new, never before used skin, something that would hide his perceived imperfections and ugliness.
Hua Cheng was a brilliant man, with incredible leadership prowess and a strategic mind. Yin Yu didn’t understand how such an intelligent, powerful person could think so little of themself, but he digressed. Even if Yin Yu thought he was being illogical, Hua Cheng wanted to use a particular form to reunite with Xie Lian and so he would.
The form was, in Yin Yu’s opinion, not that different from his true human form that he had seen on a few occasions. Perhaps a bit more youthful and without the missing eye. It made Yin Yu wonder what actual features Hua Cheng thought were ‘oh-so-ugly’ about his regular form, or if it actually had nothing to do with his looks at all and was more about protecting his identity than hiding his physical appearance.
There was a lot Yin Yu had come to learn about Hua Cheng and Xie Lian’s shared past, but at the same time, Yin Yu spent most of his time observing others and he could tell there was more to their history than what Hua Cheng was willing to tell him. Yin Yu wasn’t one to pry, he knew better than any that some stories hurt just as much retelling them as they did the day they occurred. And it was highly likely that Hua Cheng’s absolute adoration and infatuation with the prince were born from a truly traumatic event.
Waiting one more day was torture upon Hua Cheng’s soul, Yin Yu could see it in the way the ghost king held his shoulders as he continued to act like everything was normal around his followers.
But the moon hanging in the sky would not be conducive to ensuring Hua Cheng did not scare away Xie Lian before he even opened his mouth. So they waited.
By the crest of the sun of the next morning, Hua Cheng was already waiting in town donned in his selected youthful form.
Yin Yu was stationed near Xie Lian’s hut, armed with a stronger presence hiding spell this time — personally cast by Hua Cheng himself. His job was to keep an eye out to notify Hua Cheng if Xie Lian decided to go out that day and to take note of what direction he headed in.
If Yin Yu wasn’t so acquainted with Hua Cheng’s character, perhaps he would have been more creeped out by his decidedly stalkerish behaviour.
But while Yin Yu had no personal experience to draw from in the romance department, he could spot the love Hua Cheng exuded for Xie Lian without issue. He had seen the paintings, the sculptures, the effort, the prayers, and the pain that Hua Cheng kept hidden behind his confidence. Yin Yu knew Hua Cheng.
So when the ghost king arrived back at the hut later that day, now with the moniker of San Lang, on the back of a hay-filled ox cart beside the man he searched for for centuries, Yin Yu couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across his face as he watched from his vantage point.
The next few days passed quickly for Yin Yu as he took temporary control over Ghost City in Hua Cheng’s absence – ensuring everything continued to run smoothly. His duties were interrupted every now and again by requests from Hua Cheng while he was staying with Xie Lian, such as a call for building supplies and tools. On the third day, Yin Yu got curious and swam up to the mainland to check in on the duo. The hut no longer had holes on its roof and a working door had been installed. Yin Yu personally hoped the 'windows' were next on the agenda.
Hua Cheng’s voice could be heard from inside, “What is Gege cooking? It smells good.”
A soft tittering of a laugh reached Yin Yu’s ears, “I still don’t know how San Lang can eat my food without suffering consequences. Regardless, I came up with this dish a few decades back...”
Their bantering faded into background noise as Yin Yu caught a glance of the two of them through the window. Warm-cheeked and tenderly soft, the both of them.
Yin Yu slunk back to Ghost City, willing to step out from the shadows and take charge for a hundred more years if that allowed Hua Cheng the chance to continue smiling as he did by Xie Lian’s side a little longer.
A little longer became two and a half weeks, with Hua Cheng informing Yin Yu about his promise that the next time he met Xie Lian he would be in his true form. Yin Yu wasn’t surprised the prince had figured out that something was off about Hua Cheng, the ghost king’s stories about Xie Lian’s greatness were panning out to be rather truthful the more he heard about him.
Hua Cheng returned to his post as ruler of Ghost City with little fanfare but even the most distant city dweller could tell something had changed about their siren leader. Riding a wave of elation, he was more magnanimous than usual, allowing his unruly subjects more leeway than he would have normally.
Honestly, running into Xie Lian in town was an accident and a coincidence. As a god turned mortal turned siren, Yin Yu still had to eat to sustain his body and he could only stomach so much seafood from around Ghost City before he had to find other options.
Bumping into Xie Lian while scarfing down a pork bun was not how he would have preferred their second meeting going, but alas, here Yin Yu was — Xie Lian in front of him with a noticeable new accessory hanging around his neck.
Hua Cheng moved fast.
Like Hua Cheng’s bout of magnanimity, Xie Lian had a similar uptick in his disposition. Not that he wasn’t cheery before, but now, there was an extra air about him exuding positivity.
It made Yin Yu secretly glad to see the both of them so happy.
“Hello Yin Yu!”
“Good afternoon Dianxia, ” Yin Yu said to the smiling man with a small bow.
The prince tutted good-naturedly and lightly scolded him for the formalities.
“No San Lang with you today?”
“Ah, no, he’s busy curren—” Yin Yu blinked. His relationship with Hua Cheng was not something he had made Xie Lian aware of as far as he could remember.
He at least had the presence of mind to look sheepish in the wake of Yin Yu’s confusion, “San Lang informed me of your position to him. Apologies if you would have preferred me not knowing your connection.”
“No, that's fine. I just wouldn’t have expected Hu— ahem— San Lang to have mentioned me at all.”
My position to him. Xie Lian had worked out that San Lang was Hua Cheng the ghost king all on his own. Meaning Yin Yu’s position to him would be his role as Hua Cheng’s assistant slash servant slash trusted advisor. Yin Yu wasn’t sure which Hua Cheng had introduced him as and didn’t want to outright ask. Too vulnerable, too damning.
As far as he was aware, Hua Cheng had not referred to Yin Yu as his servant since he told the fallen-god he was free to leave his side at any time.
But that was in front of people who didn’t matter. How would Hua Cheng describe him when speaking to his most beloved person?
As if sensing Yin Yu’s inner monologue, Xie Lian continued with a smile, “He respects you greatly. He only ever spoke good things about you.”
Good things. Hua Cheng had seen so many of Yin Yu’s lowest moments.
Like when he had cried for a week straight in his room after realising how much he had lost post being cast out from heaven.
Or when he got his tail tangled in a clutch of particularly tough seaweed for three hours and had needed Hua Cheng to personally cut him free.
Or when Yin Yu had sung for the first time as a siren and all the mers in the admin building had tried to kiss and grab at Yin Yu. Hua Cheng had unwoven his bewitching with a deep chuckle and a promise to teach him how to properly control his new powers.
Or when, or when… the list went on. Yin Yu wasn’t sure what ‘good things’ Hua Cheng had readily available to divulge when it came to Yin Yu.
A good work ethic maybe.
Breaking out of his inner ramblings Yin Yu addressed Xie Lian once more, “What brings Dianxia out to the markets this afternoon?”
“Hm, just browsing for some scrap to refurbish. You’d never guess how many items people are willing to throw out before even attempting to repair them!”
Jeers detailing the scrap-collecting trash god from many years ago tumbled around in Yin Yu’s mind and he silently wondered if he would be in a better or worse place now if he had been a more well-known god during his time above. It wasn’t a pleasant line of thinking.
“I’ll leave you to that then.”
Xie Lian hummed and leaned down to inspect his bag of scraps, “I should probably be getting these back to my shrine if I’m to make any more use of the daylight today. Would you like to accompany me, Yin Yu, I think I still have some tea leaves to make a pot for us.”
Yin Yu suppressed his innate reaction to shudder and blurted out without thinking, “Only if you let me make it this time.”
Xie Lian’s answering laughter rang in his ears as they made their way back to his hut together.
“Is this your true form?”
Yin Yu was staring into the last dregs of his cup of tea when Xie Lian posed the question.
“Sorry if that’s rude to ask. I was just curious.”
“No, that's okay your highness. To answer the question, yes, this is my true form. I don’t use disguises nearly as much as your San Lang does. I used to wear a mask all the time but I still had this form underneath.”
Another low moment in Yin Yu’s life that Hua Cheng had witnessed.
“I realised that people didn’t really take notice of me anyways so the mask was a little redundant. I do have other forms but I would consider this my true form — the way I looked before becoming a god.”
Xie Lian had yet to mention anything related to sirens. Yin Yu strongly suspected that Hua Cheng had left that aspect of his character out of his self-introduction even after being caught out as the ghost-king. It wasn’t a widely known fact, more of a local myth that Xie Lian could have easily missed since he hadn’t been living here long.
Everyone knew of Crimson Rain Sought Flower but his siren status was almost separate from his supreme ghost title. It was not something he hid but also not something he showcased.
His true ghost form manifesting as a siren exposed his reason for continuing to persist even after death if one had the foresight to study the meaning behind different ghost types. His drive to find Xie Lian fueled by his affection was almost the textbook definition of why the dead might return as a siren ghost.
Yin Yu’s siren status was simply a product of necessity during his time of need. Only a natural-born siren had the power to turn others so Yin Yu was eternally grateful that Hua Cheng had found him the night he had been drowning in Ghost City’s waters.
“San Lang insinuated that his true form was horrifying.”
The is that true? hung in the air between them as Xie Lian didn’t add anything else to his statement.
“It’s not. He’s… scared I think. Of being known, being fully seen, by those that he cares about in fear that they will push him away. I’m glad he found you, Your Highness.”
A wistful sigh reaches Yin Yu’s ears, “Me too, Yin Yu.”
Continuing to run into Xie Lian every time he went into town for the next two weeks was not on Yin Yu’s agenda.
Hua Cheng had gotten unfortunately busy with Ghost City business that required him to stay at his post in person. Thus, delaying his true form unveiling to his beloved banished god.
In the meantime, he had Yin Yu recount every interaction he had with Xie Lian to make up for his lack of free time to visit.
When Yin Yu had returned from his second meeting with Xie Lian it had been like Hua Cheng could sense his beloved’s presence hovering around Yin Yu. The ghost king had appeared from behind a pillar in Paradise Manor, smug and looking like the cat that got the cream, “And where have you been?”
Afraid he had somehow overstepped his bounds, Yin Yu recounted his entire trip from start to finish — from legs transformation to wishing Xie Lian good evening.
Rather than dissuade Yin Yu from meeting with Xie Lian, Hua Cheng all but encouraged him to seek the other out, to continue to get to know him.
Little did he know that it would be Xie Lian who seemingly kept seeking Yin Yu out. Yin Yu couldn’t step foot in town anymore without hearing a greeting in the distance from one white-clad ex-martial god breaking him out of his social seclusion.
When Xie Lian came across Yin Yu they would spend the day browsing shops, fixing scrap items or simply talking as the sun dipped below the horizon. Yin Yu was enjoying himself but he couldn’t help feeling like he was somehow doing something behind Hua Cheng’s back even if he had given his blessing on the matter.
More often than not now, Yin Yu would finish up his duties in Ghost City and head into town to see if Xie Lian was around looking for him.
Yin Yu was surprised he made it two weeks into this arrangement before going a little crazy. On the wake of the third week, Yin Yu cracked and asked Xie Lian why he was spending so much time with him.
“Am I just a way for you to kill time while you wait for Hua Chengzhu to have enough time to see you again? I’m not that interesting, you can’t possibly be that genuinely excited to see me whenever you call out to me at the markets. I’m boring and plain, better left off to the side than in the middle — centre stage.”
“You’re not boring and plain!” Xie Lian had his hands on his hips staring down Yin Yu who was busy studying the dirt on the floor unable to maintain his earnest eye contact, “Yin Yu, I come see you because I enjoy our time together. I enjoyed our time together the first time we met at my window, even before I met San Lang. But since then San Lang has told me how much you have done for him and what a good person you are, even after you were cleared of your servitude — things that I was already able to glean for myself when we got to know each other at that first meeting. He also told me that I would have a hard time convincing you of these facts and to take it slow if I wanted you to hear these words and take them to heart.”
Yin Yu lifted his chin and met the prince’s gaze, unable to articulate a response immediately, eventually settling on, “I’m sorry, Your Highness, and thank you.”
“Hm, I think we’re past these formalities now. Please just call me Xie Lian, and you don’t need to apologise. San Lang says he should finally have some free time tomorrow to visit, I wish for you to come with him. I think we can all do for some time together.”
“…San Lang said? How…?”
“We exchanged private communication array passwords when he stayed at the shrine. He’s been letting me know when you go into town so I don’t get disappointed when you’re busy.”
Yin Yu couldn’t believe his ears.
“You were in contact with him the entire time and didn’t think to let me know?!” Yin Yu was causing such a commotion that bubbles were surrounding him as he flailed his arms in wild gestures.
“Oops. Must have slipped my mind.”
Yeah fucking right. Hua Cheng didn’t tell him on purpose and he wasn’t even remorseful about it. Yin Yu wanted to slap him. He wasn’t even completely sure why he was mad but he knew slapping him would make him feel better.
He didn’t of course. That was still his boss. Yin Yu wasn’t that far gone yet.
It didn’t take long for Yin Yu to cool down. When he really thought about it, this was a positive. The guilt he had been feeling while spending time with Xie Lian when Hua Cheng couldn’t, vanished. Xie Lian had also, therefore, been spending time with Yin Yu despite having access to Hua Cheng at all times.
These were good things. He just didn’t like being played for a fool.
But no disdain he felt for the two of them could last for very long, Hua Cheng had earned too much of Yin Yu’s respect over his tenure as Ghost City’s leader.
He never let himself dig too much deeper into his feelings than that, afraid of what would happen if what he found went further than just loyalty and respect.
Meeting Xie Lian had shaken things up for Yin Yu as well. He had hoped that in finding Xie Lian, his feelings for Hua Cheng would slowly dissipate and go away — not multiply into two and continue to grow.
Perhaps reading about and studying Xie Lian for two hundred years made him grow attached. A little curious. Sue him. The guy was amazing. Once you got past all the lies and blatant misinformation spread wide across the history books, it was clear what kind of person Xie Lian was. A once in a million kind of guy.
What was Yin Yu meant to do? It was hard not to find yourself also coming to love a kind of guy like Xie Lian.
Yin Yu laughed bitterly to himself. How was he going to survive a day spent with the both of them at the same time?