An Evening in Qiandeng Temple

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/31794256.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Relationship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu)
Characters: Hua Cheng (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Yin Yu
(Tian Guan Ci Fu)
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2021-06-07 Completed: 2022-01-13 Words: 16,187 Chapters:
2/2
 An Evening in Qiandeng Temple
by Rhysand_vs_Fenrys

Summary

An extension to the end of Chapter 243. Hua Cheng returns to Xie Lian, the two are married,
and Xie Lian leaves his ascetic form of cultivation behind.

AKA: 'tis a smut fic.

Notes

** While I did do a lot of research into marriage customs and clothing, I'm sure there are still
some mistakes. I apologize in advance!

See the end of the work for more notes

 Chapter 1

Like millions of fish swimming through the gorges into the sea, countless Blessings Lanterns
slowly rose from the mountain peak.

They were brilliant, glowing and shimmering in the black night. The most beautiful dream,
exceedingly magnificent, had brightened his path.

Xie Lian had seen this sight before, and now that he was seeing it again, both his breathing
and his heart were going to stop. The mountain path turned, and the cart wheels spun. Xie
Lian saw that little dilapidated cottage he had built.

There was someone there!

Before that slanted little cottage stood a red-clad man, his figure long and slender, a silver
scimitar hung at his waist. His back was facing Xie Lian while he lifted and sent off the last
Everlasting Blessings Lantern to the sky errantly.

Xie Lian was frozen in his seat, wondering if he was still in a dream or if this was a
hallucination. Along with the turning of the wheels, he came closer and closer. That man
turned around, so he could also see him clearer and clearer.

With three thousand Blessings Lanterns rising along with the night behind him, that man
turned back and gazed at him. Robes redder than maple, skin as white as now; between
brows of a face so handsome it couldn’t be stared at was still that wildness and feral aura, a
proudness that could not be cut down.

Though he was wearing a black eyepatch, the eye that was as bright as stars was gazing
unblinkingly at Xie Lian.

Xie Lian scrambled down.

There were no words. Both started walking towards the other.

A step, another step, each step faster than the next; then finally they started running.

He ran forward whilst tears fell behind and stayed in the same spot. Xie Lian voiced in his
heart, he believed-

-he believed this man would die for him again and again, and would be reborn for him over
and over. Even if he fell into the depths of hell, he would break through the abyss for this
‘belief’.

Last time they spent eight hundred years running towards each other.

This time it only took an instant to fall into each other’s embrace.

- TGCF; Chapter 243

-----

-----

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng crashed into one another. Without conscious decision Xie Lian’s
hands pulled Hua Cheng’s face down to draw him into a kiss. Hua Cheng obeyed, his own
arms snaking around Xie Lian to hold him in a fierce and strong embrace.

Being held in Hua Cheng’s arms- it was something so simple once upon a time, and yet Xie
Lian’s heart had ached for it for over a year now. His eyes burned and his lips began to
tremble. The sound that escaped his mouth was not a joyous one, but a sob.

In a moment Hua Cheng had drawn his face back, though his arms still held Xie Lian tight.

“Ge-Ge, San Lang is sorry he took so long to return,” he whispered, “please don’t cry.”

One hand remained holding Xie Lian while the other came to gently wipe away the tears that
spilled over. He pressed his palm against Xie Lian’s cheek and the other person leaned into
his touch, his breathing still ragged.

“I’m crying because I am happy,” Xie Lian said. “San Lang, please never go away again.”

“I promise I will always be by your side,” Hua Cheng said immediately.

Fresh tears dripped from Xie Lian’s eyes. After a moment’s thought, Hua Cheng dipped his
chin and brushed his lips against Xie Lian’s skin. Delicately, he kissed away the moisture,
then gently touched his lips to the other’s eyelids.

When Xie Lian closed his eyes and tipped his face up, Hua Cheng once again claimed his
lips. This kiss was not the desperate crash from moments before. It was soft and filled with
every bit of warmth and love he held in his soul.

Some instinct had Xie Lian parting his lips to grant Hua Cheng more access. He wanted to
taste and touch and smell San Lang. To bathe in that fiery scent he’d missed for so long.
Every aching and empty moment of the past year could be cleansed from his heart by such a
kiss, if only he could have more.

Xie Lian sucked at Hua Cheng’s lips and felt the other smile against his mouth. He deepened
the kiss. A tongue slipped into Xie Lian’s mouth to stroke him a moment before retreating.
The feeling of it was so nice and unexpected that Xie Lian’s toes curled in his shoes.

A memory stirred at the back of Xie Lian’s mind. The night in Qiandeng Temple when the
gates of Mount Tonglu first opened. The way Hua Cheng had turned in an instant from man
to beast. The hard press of bodies and tongues as Xie Lian drew the overflowing power from
Hua Cheng… and realized when the other laid him upon the altar and let his hands wander
that Xie Lian felt a desire for Hua Cheng wholly alien to him.

They often used the excuse of sharing spiritual power to hold one another in such a tender
embrace, but only a few times before Hua Cheng faded away did Xie Lian truly acknowledge
he kissed him out of his own desires. In the year since he last held Hua Cheng, Xie Lian
thought back to that night in Qiandeng Temple on many lonely and cold days.

“Your Highness?” Hua Cheng pulled back a moment as they both struggled for breath. His
eyes were burning in a way that sent a pulse through Xie Lian’s body.

“Huh?” Xie Lian’s eyes opened slowly. Hua Cheng was gazing at him, his lips swollen red as
Xie Lian’s must also be, and a single eyebrow crooked. Xie Lian felt that he’d been caught
doing something, but he had no idea what.

Until Hua Cheng’s eye flickered down. Xie Lian looked and saw where his hands-

He squeaked in embarrassment and quickly withdrew the hands that had gone from holding
on to Hua Cheng’s face to holding his hips tight. “N-no, I didn’t mean- it’s not-” he felt
himself flushing scarlet and tried to step away, but Hua Cheng yielded him not an inch.

“If Ge-Ge would like to touch something, he is welcome to,” Hua Cheng leaned in to whisper
the words into Xie Lian’s ear.

Shivers wracked his body, and he felt another pulse shoot through him. Heat was building
beneath his skin and he felt something stirring.

“Touch what? What would I touch,” Xie Lian’s cheeks burned. He looked away quickly and
licked his suddenly dry lips.

Hua Cheng only grinned, “If Ge-Ge would like San Lang to touch something, that is
welcome too.”

Xie Lian’s face grew redder in the glow of the rising lanterns. He trembled slightly before
forcing himself to speak, “Actually it isn’t- such things- my cultivation in the past demanded
purity… but in the past y-year I- it isn’t that I haven’t- haven’t considered- but such things-
not that I don’t- but-”

Hua Cheng chuckled, “Forgive me Your Highness, but I don’t think I can understand these
words.”

Xie Lian pushed against Hua Cheng’s chest and this time was released from his embrace. He
stood there looking side to side, flapping his sleeves with nervous energy as he tried to work
up the courage to speak.

As he had so many times, Hua Cheng saved Xie Lian from himself once more, “If San Lang
can guess Ge-Ge’s meaning, can I claim a prize?”

As if he could understand anything Xie Lian had been trying to say. Still, the other man
nodded and quickly buried his face in his hands.

“Ge-Ge’s cultivation requires purity, so he does not drink alcohol unless he must, curse
unless under extreme distress, or engage in any… improper thoughts?”
The reddening of Xie Lian’s ears was answer enough, but the god still nodded his head a few
times. He wouldn’t even crack his fingers enough to peer at Hua Cheng.

“Well then Ge-Ge is in luck, because all San Lang has are improper thoughts.” He grinned.
“So Ge-Ge does not mind being improper, but he is too shy for such a thing? Or too shy to
say something about this?”

Another hidden nod.

Hua Cheng began to pace and made a show of considering his words, even going so far as to
stroke an invisible beard. “Then Ge-Ge is not comfortable saying that he wishes to do impure
things to San Lang, and wishes for San Lang to do such things to him as well?”

Xie Lian crumpled, folding his knees until his rear nearly touched the ground and his face
was buried and hidden.

“Did San Lang earn his prize?”

Still folded into a ball, Xie Lian nodded his head. Truth be told, Hua Cheng only guessed
half. But when he thought of saying the rest, Xie Lian really wanted to hide under a rock
forever.

“But as your most dutiful follower, how could I even think of harming your cultivation? To
do such a thing- it would be defiling my Crown Prince and god. Such a thing is impossible
for me.”

The heat that had been building in Xie Lian’s face abruptly vanished. Ice replaced it, a very
different kind of embarrassment and humiliation. Were he not still hiding, Hua Cheng would
have seen the mad blush replaced with skin of purest white. The ball that was Xie Lian
tightened.

San Lang had only just returned to him, how could he have screwed this up so badly? Xie
Lian truly was the god of misfortune!

“I think I have an idea,” Hua Cheng continued, undisturbed. He crouched by his god and
forced his hand through the robes to tip Xie Lian’s face up towards his. His strength was
crushing, and Xie Lian could not resist as his chin was tipped upwards. Xie Lian was cold
and clammy, but Hua Cheng only smiled in that dark and dangerous way. “A way to harm
your cultivation and defile a god without committing a sin.”

Dice appeared in his hand and he tossed them towards the door to Xie Lian’s cabin. Power
crackled in the air. Xie Lian was half dragged forward by Hua Cheng, still too embarrassed to
do anything more than shuffle along. When the door opened it was on the inside of Qiandeng
Temple.

But… Xie Lian barely recognized it.

The temple was typically wide open and empty. Over the visits he had made, Hua Cheng
added a few chairs and even a low reclining couch, but the only real and permanent furniture
was a large altar. There was no establishment plaque and no divine statue, so Xie Lian had
begun to see it more as a large living space.

Frankly Hua Cheng treated it as home more than his own Paradise Manor.

Now that previously empty temple was draped entirely in swaths of red silk delicately
embroidered with golden thread. There was not a surface that was not covered with it- as
though prepared for the most elaborate of weddings.

“When I found you on Mount Yu Jun, Ge-Ge really did look lovely in his wedding gown. But
I think those suit you better.” Hua Cheng nudged Xie Lian and pointed to a screened off
portion of the temple where a truly breathtaking set of red-gold robes hung.

Even as Crown Prince of Xian Le, were Xie Lian ever married he would not have been able
to afford such clothing. His heart stuttered at the exquisite detailing on the clothes and the
sheer cost such fabric would have fetched. Just the hem would have been enough to feed a
family for ten years!

“S-San Lang, what is your intention?” Xie Lian trembled as he took it all in. As if the
meaning wasn’t obvious enough.

“Doing improper things to Your Highness is a sin. But as your husband-” he leaned in to
whisper that word in Xie Lian’s ear, “-it would only be fulfilling my duties... with pleasure.”

Hua Cheng had certainly guessed then what Xie Lian was too nervous to ask about. He
played his game and had his fun, but at the end of it all he’d been planning a wedding from
the start. Xie Lian’s heart belonged to San Lang since long before, but if he was going to
abandon his 800 year path of cultivation and surrender the last shred of purity he had- well, it
may sound silly but the thought of a wedding reassured him. Something he never wanted
before. Yet the more he thought about what Hua Cheng was to him the more right such a
thing seemed.

Xie Lian jumped as noise exploded in the streets outside. Firecrackers were being set off
throughout the Ghost Market, making it sound like the world itself were splitting apart. “I
didn’t think Ge-Ge would like to make such a spectacle, but everyone wishes to celebrate.”

“T-that’s fine,” Xie Lian stammered. “You are correct.”

Once Xie Lian had an appetite for pageantry and spectacle, but over the years he came to see
it as superfluous and fussy. Others enjoyed themselves, that was what truly mattered. To be at
the center of such a thing- the Xie Lian of now had no such desires. In fact, he may die of
embarrassment.

“I should say though, there will be plenty of witnesses today,” Hua Cheng grinned that
wolfish grin. “I have taken my believer’s dreams. They will be our witnesses.”

“How long have you been back?” Xie Lian blurted out. To have such things already prepared
and planned-”
“Only a few hours, I promise,” Hua Cheng said. “And every second it was torture to not go
immediately to you.”

Xie Lian gaped at everything around them. The elegant silk, the robes, the riotous
celebrations throughout the Ghost Market- not to mention those three thousand lanterns Hua
Cheng set off from the cottage on Mount Tonglu. It seemed impossible that he could only
have found his way back to this form three hours before. Even more impossible though
would be that Hua Cheng could lie to his face.

“Ge-Ge should ask how long I’ve been planning this wedding,” Hua Cheng offered. Xie Lian
looked back at him with an eyebrow raised, “Though I’m afraid Ge-Ge might be startled by
the answer.”

So that was it then. Hua Cheng had prepared for this day for what must be a very long time,
and so when he returned it was only a matter of telling Yin Yu to set things up in Qiandeng
Temple and send word throughout the Ghost Market. Xie Lian had heard that Yin Yu was
saved during the fight with Bai Wuxiang, but Xie Lian hadn’t seen him the few times he’d
come to the Ghost City looking for word of Hua Cheng.

“Then… will Ge-Ge allow this unworthy man to become... his husband?”

For the first time in memory Xie Lian saw actual doubt in Hua Cheng’s eyes. Though he had
correctly guessed what Xie Lian also wanted, now that it was only a matter of donning the
robes and performing the bows… so suddenly that ancient dream of Hua Cheng’s frightened
him. Frightened him because he didn’t know if Xie Lian would agree.

Any words he might say felt too awkward, especially when he remembered that Hua Cheng’s
believers were seeing this moment in their dreams. Or were likely frozen watching that altar,
unaware of what happened behind them.

So Xie Lian only stepped away from Hua Cheng towards the rich robes of gold and red and
untied his outer robe. He felt Hua Cheng follow him, and Xie Lian tensed, hoping to feel his
touch.

Instead, Hua Cheng gently pulled a piece of silk to cover the dressing room and walked away.
Xie Lian’s heart beat in time with the sound of his gentle bootfalls.

Xie Lian changed slowly. He hadn’t worn such precious robes in centuries, and the last time
he did Mu Qing was there to dress him- often accompanied by several maids to act as his
assistants. Hidden behind the robes was a table filled with golden combs and ties for Xie
Lian’s hair. He managed to get the undermost layers of his robes on but then was frozen
staring at everything, unsure of what order to dress in.

“Your Highness, I have come to offer my assistance.” Yin Yu’s voice came from beyond the
curtain.

Xie Lian said a prayer of thanks before holding open the silk to invite Yin Yu inside.
They exchanged mild pleasantries as Yin Yu helped Xie Lian into the final layers of his robes
and showed him where the various golden chains and adornments were to be hung. He
quickly faded from Xie Lian’s mind as the god grew quieter and quieter. A man like Yin Yu
was used to such a thing though. He really was too easily overlooked- though he seemed to
have come to terms with that and even embraced it.

When Xie Lian was dressed and his hair set (an impossible chore for Xie Lian to complete on
his own with the bulk of the robes), Yin Yu bowed and stepped out. The only piece of white
that remained on Xie Lian was Ruoye, wrapped around his forearm as always.

It felt strange to step out of the dressing area and into the red-and-gold-draped temple. Even
stranger to see Hua Cheng waiting for him in his own exquisite robes. The braid remained- as
did the red pearl at the bottom of it- but the rest of his clothing was no less elaborate than Xie
Lian’s. Even his eye patch had been replaced with a red one embroidered in golden flames.

His vambraces appeared largely the same, though they were also golden now rather than
silver.

“On Mount Yu Jun, Ge-Ge was the only one dressed up. It looked fun, so I thought I would
give it a try.” He flashed a wild, crooked grin.

Xie Lian’s smile instantly brightened at the memory. How San Lang had arrived to escort him
through Xuan Ji’s arrays. The way he’d grinned and lifted Xie Lian’s veil- only to explode in
a burst of silver butterflies as Ruoye lashed out.

Nearly two years ago… but somehow it felt like an eternity. Still, it was nothing compared to
how long Hua Cheng had waited.

“When will your worshippers start watching?” Xie Lian asked.

“When I tell them to.”

Xie Lian bit his lip a moment, then stood on his tip-toes to kiss Hua Cheng’s cheek. Hua
Cheng’s face lit with a surprised smile. “Don’t keep them waiting,” Xie Lian said.

Nervous at his own brazenness, he started walking towards the altar before he remembered
Hua Cheng was behind him. Xie Lian turned to look back but with a flash of crimson and
gold, his love came to his side.

Xie Lian blushed as he felt a hum in the air. The walls shimmered somewhat and the two
ceased to be only in Qiandeng Temple, but existed both inside it and in a dream state where
they were surrounded by worshippers or priests Hua Cheng drew in. Many of the temples that
once served those thirty-three gods Hua Cheng destroyed had turned to worship him. What’s
more- according to the Head Priest of Xian Le, Hua Cheng actually ascended himself to the
heavens. He threw himself back into Mount Tonglu and completed his forging into Supreme,
but Xie Lian had made inquiries of Ling Wen and no formal withdrawal from the heavens
was ever made.
Which meant that Hua Cheng was both God and Demon. It was only natural then that he
have temples scattered throughout the world. Xie Lian always intended to wait for him on
Mount Tonglu, but he still wondered about those temples. He thought he would like to visit
one some day.

They reached the altar, adorned with a single gleaming white flower. The kind young San
Lang would leave at his little shrine to the Crown Prince- and later the very same kind he
protected from the blood-rain, earning him his infamous title. The shimmering red hanging
throughout the temple could be taken for another such rain. But now with Xie Lian beside
him, Hua Cheng barely spared the flower a glance.

As the pair bowed low before the empty altar Xie Lian heard Hua Cheng’s low chuckle. He
suppressed his own grin, immediately understanding what made him laugh. To bow to the
heavens and all creation as the Star of Solitude- the embodiment of all that the heavens and
creation had rejected and cursed Hua Cheng with at his birth.

For Xie Lian it felt strange too. Once upon a time in his heart he would have been bowing to
Jun Wu. Knowing Jun Wu was truly Bai Wuxiang, and had ruined so many lives simply for
sport…

The first and most important bow… it was all too ridiculous when Xie Lian thought about it!

He would choose instead to consider it as bowing to whatever force brought Hua Cheng to
him over and over again throughout their long lives- and Hua Cheng’s death. Seeing it that
way meant that Xie Lian could embrace the bow with his whole heart.

They rose and Xie Lian started- the altar had changed! Now on either side of the flower were
two elaborate memorial tablets. Carved from dark wood edged in gold leaf, gleaming letters
proclaimed them the memorial tablets of the final King and Queen of Xian Le.

His parents were probably already reborn- perhaps parents to a new son or no longer family
at all. Xie Lian had thought this many times, but seeing their memorial tablets gave him more
comfort than he could ever say. Hua Cheng waited while Xie Lian stared at them. He reached
over and squeezed the god’s hand in comfort.

No tablets for Hua Cheng’s parents. No surprise- he’d never had any after all. None who
would have claimed him and none he bothered to remember.

But Xie Lian… even with the difficulties that existed between his father and himself, he still
cared. His mother had taken such good care of him for so long, even during his banishment.
Their love for him was marked by Ruoye, who unwound from Xie Lian’s wrist to lay gently
between the tablets, forming a cradle of silk around the lone flower.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng bowed again, this time with sincerity and reverence.

The last bow would be the easiest. No laughter at fate’s cruelty and no echoes of past grief.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng turned towards one another and smiles bloomed on their faces. One
last bow, and they would be bound by more than the red threads tied to their fingers.
Xia Lian’s warm smile met Hua Cheng’s dark grin. They took a step back from one another
and bowed deeply. Another wave of firecrackers went off throughout the Ghost Market. As
they stood Hua Cheng quickly closed the gap and tipped Xie Lian’s face up to seize his lips
in a kiss.

It was at this point that Xie Lian remembered there were many, many people viewing this in
their dreams.

“Sa- H-Hua Cheng,” Xie Lian murmured, switching the name as he spoke only out of
consideration for the worshippers listening in. He quickly turned back towards the altar and
hopefully away from the worshippers he could not see, covering his face in embarrassment.

“From now on any temple that does not also have an image of the Crown Prince of Xian Le
by my side cannot call themselves a temple of the Crimson Rain Sought Flower,” Hua Cheng
was addressing his worshippers directly with cool, clipped words. “And any temple that
portrays him as female will be burned to the ground with the one who commissioned the
statue or painting and the craftsman who made it locked inside.”

Xie Lian turned sharply but managed to bite his tongue before he said anything. He wouldn’t
speak out against Hua Cheng in front of his worshippers. Hua Cheng was only a few years
his junior after all, but in terms of power and position he was senior. It was not appropriate
for Xie Lian- who had not had significant numbers of worshippers in 800 years- to tell Hua
Cheng how to address his people. For almost as long as Xie Lian wandered the world in
disgrace, Hua Cheng ruled as Demon King and god.

“Now all of you get out,” Hua Cheng waved a hand. “Feast to celebrate this wedding, we do
not require an audience for the next part.”

It was really too much this time! Xie Lian’s face and ears were as red as his robes as he
stammered, “Hua Cheng!”

“They’re gone,” Hua Cheng said. The shimmering in the air faded away as he spoke, until it
truly was just Xie Lian and Hua Cheng in the temple. “Ge-Ge was embarrassed, how can I
make it up to you?”

Once again Xie Lian was left flapping his arms, unsure of what to say. He stared up at Hua
Cheng with pleading eyes.

“San Lang is sorry he made Your Highness feel uncomfortable.” Hua Cheng stepped back
and before Xie Lian could stop him he had raised his arms and gone to his knees. He bowed
until his forehead touched the ground.

“No need for that! No need- aren’t we married now? Married couples should not bow like
this to each other!” Xie Lian hastily grabbed his arms and pulled him to his feet.

Hua Cheng smiled, “Why not? It feels good to bow to Ge-Ge. I think I’ll do it again.” In a
flash he was across the room, too far for Xie Lian to catch as he again raised his arms and
went to his knees, bowing just as deeply.
“Stop!” Xie Lian hurried over and once again pulled him up. A twinkle of mischief and Hua
Cheng exploded into a shower of silver butterflies that raced around the room before he
formed again- and bowed again.

Xie Lian became breathless and dizzy always running to him in the temple. It was hard to
stay embarrassed as they played their game, and soon Xie Lian was laughing. Hua Cheng
always waited, bowing deeply, until Xie Lian lifted him before disappearing again.

Just as Xie Lian formulated a plan to end the game, Hua Cheng struck. Xie Lian bent down to
force him to his feet again, but as Hua Cheng finished his bow and made to stand he wrapped
his arms around Xie Lian’s legs and lifted him over his shoulder.

There was a squeak of surprise and protest as Xie Lian was hoisted like a sack of rice and set
down upon the altar. Xie Lian braced for impact against the memorial tablets, but they were
gone already.

Later he would learn that Hua Cheng built him an ancestral shrine in Paradise Manor, where
he could visit his parents’ memorial and leave offerings to their souls.

Now, though, only the flower remained on the altar, and Hua Cheng delicately picked it up
and set it in the side of Xie Lian’s hair, then smirked as he lowered his face and kissed Xie
Lian.

It was an embarrassing position to be kissed in. Xie Lian was laying mostly on the temple
altar, but at an angle that meant his legs draped on either side of one corner. Hua Cheng
hovered above him, and the placement of his knees meant that his pelvis pressed against Xie
Lian’s.

Each had many layers of robes on, so it wasn’t like he could feel anything in particular- but
the position was dangerously intimate. Back when Hua Cheng lost control and Xie Lian
drank in his overflowing power they had been pressed together in such a way- not that Hua
Cheng remembered after his mind cleared.

He would remember this, Xie Lian knew. He was committing it to memory in a way that
would last for all time.

With a flash Ruoye rose from the altar and shot across the room. There was the sound of
metal clicking against stone in a far corner, muffled somewhat. Hua Cheng chuckled against
Xie Lian’s lips as he continued to lick and suck at the skin. Ruoye had wrapped itself around
the eye on E-Ming’s pommel and dragged the two of them back to the area where Xie Lian
dressed.

Even the spiritual tools were embarrassed to see their masters in such a position!

Hua Cheng’s tongue traced Xie Lian’s lips and he parted for his… husband. They were
husbands now. Married- even if Hua Cheng overdid the bows to Xie Lian. What was
embarrassing? What was ‘dangerously intimate’? Not only were they married, wasn’t this
kind of thing part of the ceremony too? Consummating the marriage was important.
So, Xie Lian reasoned, not only should kissing Hua Cheng so intimately not be embarrassing,
it was actually expected of him at this point! He would be failing in his duty if he was not in
such a position!

The reasoning was flawed and old-fashioned, but there was nothing genuine in it. Xie Lian
needed to find a way to push himself forward and give himself permission. His cultivation
style demanded purity and abstinence, never in his life had he even touched himself in an
impure way and now he was laying across an altar with another man’s hips pressed against
him and that same man devouring his lips and tongue in increasingly fierceful ways.

Xie Lian wanted Hua Cheng badly, his whole body pulsed with need, but he had to find a
way to overcome 800 years of behavior in an instant. So he used the consummation as an
excuse. A pure way to be impure.

Hua Cheng’s lips tightened against Xie Lian’s own as he smiled. He felt Xie Lian’s body
relax beneath his, and Xie Lian’s hands slowly came to hold Hua Cheng’s hips just as he had
outside the little cabin.

As Xie Lian parted his mouth further for a deeper kiss, Hua Cheng abruptly moved away. His
mouth went instead to the neck. The brush of his hot tongue against the skin made Xie Lian’s
blood ignite and he let out a soft gasp, then an undignified groan.

“S-San Lang,” Xie Lian’s hips lifted of their own accord to increase the pressure of Hua
Cheng’s pelvis against his. Between his legs was an aching hunger he’d only felt once before-
when he was poisoned by the blossoms of the Tender Fragrance.

Considering the man now with him was there back then as well, Xie Lian felt… odd. Hua
Cheng was now well an adult, and after more than 800 years Xie Lian would be alright if
Hua Cheng wanted to be considered the same age as him, but the memory from back then
washed over him all the same.

Back then he made himself bleed to dispel the strange energy while the soldier stood guard.

Now, 800 years later, it was precisely the fault of that soldier that Xie Lian’s body was
burning once more!

“ San Lang ,” Xie Lian’s voice came out breathless and nasal. It was more of a lover’s gasp
than an attempt at speech. “San Lang, we should go… now,” he felt his hips rock shamelessly
against Hua Cheng’s pelvis in time with the tongue that was teasing the sensitive curve of his
neck.

“Why would we go?” Hua Cheng was cruel, and dipped his own hips into Xie Lian’s.

The pressure sent a wave of fire through Xie Lian’s blood and he couldn’t help but moan
when those lips touched his skin again.

Through his gasping, Xie Lian’s fists tightened around the fabric of Hua Cheng’s robes, using
it subconsciously to pull him against Xie Lian’s own body even as he said, “Not- no
appropriate for- a temple.”
A chuckle, and the mouth moved from his neck to gently nip and suck at his earlobe. Hua
Cheng whispered, “What isn’t appropriate? This is your temple, and San Lang is your truest
believer. Of course a god should be worshipped in his own temple as thoroughly-” he drove
his hips against Xie Lian’s, “ -and completely- ” another push, “-as possible.”

Xie Lian’s burning mind decided Hua Cheng’s words were very logical and therefore must be
accurate. He stopped protesting and brazenly lifted his tingling legs to wrap around Hua
Cheng’s hips. When Hua Cheng next pressed against him and licked along the curve of his
ear, he ground himself against Xie Lian and did not let up. Instead, he increased the pressure
and pushed Xie Lian further onto the altar, until he was laying across it fully, Hua Cheng on
top of him.

If anyone dared enter now they would see what might appear as a very blasphemous god
statue. Not that Xie Lian believed Hua Cheng would let any intruders live long enough to
realize what they were looking at.

Hua Cheng reached back and pressed on Xie Lian’s legs, forcing them off of him and back
down to the altar. At first Xie Lian expected him to pull back and say something, but instead
those long white fingers grasped the front of his robes and opened them across the altar.

Xie Lian’s arms were pulled away next and pinned on either side of his head. Hua Cheng
held him in place as his mouth returned to Xie Lian’s and their tongues met once more. This
time it was Hua Cheng who groaned into Xie Lian, the sound igniting another wave of
burning need.

One hand was released, and Hua Cheng held the end of the sleeve delicately as Xie Lian
pulled his hand out of the sleeve of the outer robe. Only when he’d lifted it back in place to
take hold of Hua Cheng once more was the other hand released and the outermost layer
abandoned.

Frankly speaking, Hua Cheng had seen Xie Lian in fewer clothes than this. The wedding
robes were expansive and had many layers. But he still leaned away from his god and stared
down at him with heavy eyes. Desire made them glassy, the gaze slightly unfocused as Hua
Cheng and Xie Lian both panted. The outer robe was laying neatly open across the altar, but
to remove the layers beneath, a series of scarlet and golden belts had to be pulled away.

To reach down and touch them now would put his hands close to a dangerous place.

But… the belts had to go. They both wanted them gone with the same intense desire.

Hua Cheng had given himself permission to kiss and bite, yet his hands trembled slightly as
he stared down at Xie Lian now. Xie Lian was steady as he slid his arms down and began
undoing the ties and clasps Yin Yu helped with earlier. Hua Cheng rose on his knees slightly,
giving Xie Lian room to arch his back when he needed to reach a piece at the rear. The angle
drove him against Hua Cheng. There were still just as many layers of clothes between them,
but Xie Lian might have raised himself further than was necessary. Might have lingered a few
seconds after he undid the stubborn tie.
But now the robes were of a different cut. The outermost draped over him, the layers beneath
crossed one another and meant that it was too hard for Hua Cheng to remain on top of Xie
Lian and peel them open to neatly hang over the sides of the altar.

So the Ghost King slid off him and forced himself to stand to the side.

He began a slow circle of the altar. Xie Lian remained laying in place, and Hua Cheng kept a
finger on his skin at all times. Stroking his cheek, placing his arms back on either side of his
head, running a finger along the side of his boot. His burning gaze always fixated on Xie
Lian.

After the loop was complete, he undid the ties on the first layer of robes. As he circled, he
opened one side, pausing long enough to tug it lightly and ease the wrinkles. Then he would
circle to the next. At the head of the altar he once again stopped and pinched the outermost
layer of the sleeves. Xie Lian obediently pulled his arms free and placed them back exactly
where they belonged.

The next loop he removed Xie Lian’s second layer of robes- had he ever seen Xie Lian in so
little? Xie Lian’s mind couldn’t recall if Hua Cheng ever saw him when he washed clothes, or
how much he’d removed when they worked together in the fields around Puqi Shrine.

All he could think about was how light his body felt without Hua Cheng’s on top of it. Too
light. Too cold. His breathing was heavy and as the layers slipped away it became more and
more obvious what were gentle waves in the fabric and what Hua Cheng had stirred to life
inside him.

The second layer was gone. All that remained was the innermost layer. A wrapped top and
long, flowing pants that outlined the… situation below in shimmering red silk.

Hua Cheng had been off of Xie Lian’s body for too long. Under the Demon King’s gaze, his
passion had stepped aside enough for nerves to take their place.

As a young prince Xie Lian had been nude in front of others on very rare occasions. Later it
became increasingly rare- even when Mu Qing would help him dress for ceremonies he often
put the underclothes on first in private so he could at least feel he wasn’t completely reliant.
The robes he wore as a disciple were also very straightforward- though Xie Lian’s were
certainly luxurious. Still, he could manage them himself.

Later on as a fallen god, nudity came up far more often. Laboring under the hot sun for hours
at a time, the other men would sometimes go to a stream to wash themselves or cool their
skin. In some places people bathed outside and would be climbing in or out of the tubs as Xie
Lian passed. It still wasn’t common to see a nude person, but such things came about on
occasion.

No matter the state of him though, Xie Lian never once joined in. He sought to hide his
shackles, and besides that his temperament did not allow for casual nudity.

So as Hua Cheng’s gaze burned Xie Lian’s skin, anxiety was freezing his bones. He’d never
been looked at for the sake of looking. Had never felt the weight of a gaze on his body with
so little covering it.

One inner robe. Hua Cheng was still in his full wedding robes, and Xie Lian wore less than
those prostitutes hanging out of the brothel windows to cajole the men wandering below.

His hands began to tremble. Xie Lian clenched them into fists and looked away from Hua
Cheng.

Hua Cheng marked the movement, but said nothing. He slowly moved to one side of the
altar. Xie Lian shivered as he reached out and untied the stays on the top half of his innermost
robe. He was trembling as Hua Cheng circled the altar and pulled the far side.

Silk brushed against Xie Lian’s skin and he closed his eyes tight. It took genuine effort to
stop himself from rolling away from Hua Cheng or grabbing as many of the layers beneath
him as he could and wrapping himself up to escape. He had no idea where Yin Yu took his
white robes, but surely it wouldn’t be the first time someone fled a temple while dressed for a
wedding.

What kept Xie Lian on the altar was the thought of how awful he would feel if he did make
his escape. How would he explain it to Hua Cheng after? Hua Cheng waited for him for eight
hundred years, held to this world in death by his love for Xie Lian and his all-consuming
belief in his failure of a Crown Prince.

Xie Lian had waited for him only one year, and it was the most wretchedly alone he had ever
felt. Every night he would lie awake, sure that Hua Cheng was about to come through the
door. Every morning before he opened his eyes he prayed that there would be a red clad man
beside him. Every meal he prepared he made enough for two. Every spring butterfly
threatened to stop his heart. Every time a drop of rain touched him he was sure a red umbrella
would appear.

“Ge-Ge,” Hua Cheng said gently beside him. Xie Lian turned his face away quickly, but Hua
Cheng’s finger traced the tear that had escaped the corner of his eye. He must have climbed
on the altar, because the next thing Xie Lian felt were his warm lips kissing away the tears
trapped in his eyelashes. “Ge-Ge, why are you crying?”

Xie Lian’s voice came out in more of a whimper than he hoped, “I just… I just really missed
you.” He opened his eyes and drank in the wild beauty of Hua Cheng’s face. A fist closed
around his heart and more tears dripped down the sides of his face. “This last year… I really
missed you every single moment.”

“I missed you too,” Hua Cheng said.

Hands slid beneath Xie Lian’s head and Hua Cheng’s body pressed down on him. There was
nothing sensual in the touch, just a man holding his husband as if to protect him from the
world. Xie Lian buried his face in the crook of Hua Cheng’s neck.

“How did you survive eight hundred years?” Xie Lian had wondered it every day.
There was a pause before Hua Cheng said, “It was hard. It never stopped hurting… but
whenever you smile… I would wait a thousand years just to see that once.”

Tears still dripping from the corners of his eyes, Xie Lian managed a smile for Hua Cheng.
He reached up to trace the lines of Hua Cheng’s face with the tips of his fingers. His
cheekbones, the angle of his jaw, his nose, his lips- Xie Lian’s chuckle as Hua Cheng snapped
and lightly caught a finger with his teeth was half-laugh, half-whimper.

But when Xie Lian laughed, so did Hua Cheng.

“I’ve never… been like this before,” Xie Lian forced himself to say such cringe-inducing
words. It seemed to ease some of the tightness in his chest.

“Me neither,” Hua Cheng whispered as if conspiring. “But I’ve had a long time to think about
it… and read about it… and dream about it.” The last part was said softly against Xie Lian’s
ear and punctuated by a slight roll of the hips. “I hope Ge-Ge will not be disappointed. I
promise it will be fun.”

Xie Lian was still embarrassed enough by his own words. His face turned bright red at Hua
Cheng’s frank speech. Xie Lian’s heart didn’t want to be sad. Not on his wedding night. Not
after Hua Cheng finally returned to him. He wanted to be happy and to kiss and… and
whatever came next with two men.

He’d always looked away as fast as possible if two animals were mating as he walked past.
Xie Lian never had proper education on the subject of intimacy and avoided even lustful
thoughts. He knew the basics but that was for a male and female couple. And most of that he
was too scandalized to think on anyways!

Before his ascension, Xie Lian thought about sex precisely once. When his father heard about
his vow of abstinence and demanded to know how this Crown Prince expected to produce
any heirs to continue his bloodline.

The solution Xie Lian had come up with was that when he married he would allow whatever
women he was obligated to be with sedate him and do… whatever it was they did. His father
had ranted and shouted until his voice was lost but he seemed at least somewhat resigned.
However disgraceful the king found his planned method, there would be a child.

And then Xie Lian ascended, and it didn’t matter anymore.

So for eight hundred years Xie Lian’s education… stagnated.

Now that he was faced with his wedding night at long last he wasn’t sure what to do or how.
The only thing he knew was that Hua Cheng probably wouldn’t agree to drugging him.
Besides, one of the things Xie Lian knew all too well about sex was that it made people go
crazy for one another.

Xie Lian already loved Hua Cheng so much. The thought of that somehow elevating to near-
insanity intrigued him. Hua Cheng held Xie Lian’s entire heart, was there even room for him
to occupy any more? Or would intimacy in this way help ease some of the burning ache in his
chest whenever Xie Lian thought of Hua Cheng? Like letting water slip through a spillway to
prevent the rest from overflowing, perhaps sex could ease the obsession in his bones
somewhat.

Besides, nothing scared him if Hua Cheng was there. So this- being so intimate with another
person after avoiding it for so long- how could Xie Lian be afraid?

He wasn’t afraid of the act itself- Hua Cheng would never harm him. He wasn’t afraid of
judgement- Hua Cheng had seen Xie Lian’s worst moments and still loved him
wholeheartedly. He wasn’t afraid of being deemed unworthy in any way by Hua Cheng
either.

So if he wasn’t afraid… what was he afraid of?

Xie Lian’s head became dizzy trying to understand it all. In the end he decided not to
understand. As he had so many times before, he simply chose to trust in Hua Cheng. Trust
his… his husband. The word was so strange in his mind, marriage was such an alien
concept… But it brought a smile to his lips at long last.

“Husband,” he tried saying it out loud.

Hua Cheng smiled in response and dipped his face to kiss Xie Lian’s lips, “Husband.”

Xie Lian was nervous and unsure of everything, but he knew how it made him feel to kiss
Hua Cheng. So he wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng’s shoulders and pulled him down.
Hua Cheng resisted just a little- rather than smother Xie Lian as requested he kept the kiss
light and gentle.

When Xie Lian parted his lips in invitation, Hua Cheng ignored the invitation. Xie Lian
wanted to lose himself in that hot dizziness that swept his mind and worries both away. Hua
Cheng had dreamed of this for a long time- as he’d said- and he wasn’t going to go quick and
fast. Not when he knew the slower path would be the most fun for his Crown Prince.

Hua Cheng sucked at Xie Lian’s lips, lightly tugging at them with his teeth. He grinned when
Xie Lian’s breathing became more labored. The dizziness was building in his mind, easing
his fears as well as any jar of alcohol.

Then the hand on Xie Lian’s cheek vanished. The front of Xie Lian’s shirt shifted, exposing
half his chest. When the hand settled on his ribs, Xie Lian sucked in a hard breath.

He stiffened as a bolt of raw electricity shot through him. That touch- it wasn’t like Xie
Lian’s skin had never been touched. But not in intimacy, not by someone he cared so much
for, and certainly not as his lips were kissed until they were bright red.

A ragged breath escaped from Hua Cheng as he felt the muscles beneath his fingers flutter.
His hands were slightly cold, but there was enough force in that touch that Xie Lian wasn’t
ticklish. In fact, he gasped and one arm left Hua Cheng’s neck to cover the hand against his
side. Hua Cheng hesitated somewhat, but chuckled against Xie Lian’s lips as his hand was
not pushed away, but held down firmly in place.
Then, at last, Hua Cheng kissed Xie Lian as deeply as he desired.

A broad lick of his tongue up the column of Xie Lian’s throat made the god arch his back and
gasp for breath. As he did, his oxygen was stolen away by Hua Cheng’s mouth that locked
over his. Hua Cheng pressed against Xie Lian hard as the dizzying wave crashed over them
both.

Xie Lian’s legs lifted and- without conscious decision to do so- wrapped around Hua Cheng’s
hips. One ankle crossed the other as Xie Lian locked himself in place. As air became too
precious a commodity, Hua Cheng released his mouth and latched onto Xie Lian’s neck,
licking and sucking with such animalistic ferocity that Xie Lian couldn’t stop the whimpering
groan that escaped his mouth.

He was on fire beneath Hua Cheng. All Xie Lian could think about was the hand on his side,
the epicenter of the wondrous agony that was burning through his flesh. He held Hua Cheng’s
hand in place, but he wanted to feel that electricity across his entire body.

Hua Cheng didn’t silence himself. He moaned against Xie Lian’s neck, the sound adding to
the god’s frenzy even more. There were too many layers of silk between the pair. Hua
Cheng’s robes were as heavy and rich as the ones Xie Lian had worn. It wasn’t fair, not when
only a hand and lips touched Xie Lian directly.

Xie Lian forced himself to release Hua Cheng and grab onto the neck of his robes. He began
to tug at them roughly. It was sloppy, especially considering the care Hua Cheng made to
gently remove Xie Lian’s, but he was desperate.

Hua Cheng’s grip on his side tightened almost painfully, enough so that Xie Lian’s mind
came back to his body. He was gasping as he realized just how tightly his legs were wrapped
around Hua Cheng. How his back was arched against his husband’s chest. How… insistent a
certain thing below had become.

But this time Xie Lian didn’t want to stop. He tugged again at Hua Cheng’s robes. A red
flush covered his cheeks, chest, and arms, but he didn’t care. Even if Xie Lian were to blush
it wouldn’t change anything.

Xie Lian managed to push the outer robe over one of Hua Cheng’s shoulders, staring up at
him as if in challenge. Hua Cheng withdrew and slid off the altar. Xie Lian’s eyes burned as
he slid his arms free from the top. Until only the wrap around his hips- a thin layer of silk-
covered his body.

He couldn’t stop the arm that crossed his chest to hide his nipples. Hua Cheng marked that
too, as always.

“I want to-”

“We have our own customs here,” Hua Cheng grinned. His skin began to glow and the robes-
those expensive and exquisite silk robes began to burn. The silk smoked and shriveled as red
flames spread from the shoulders down, slowly consuming everything. Gold charms and
chains from different parts of the robes melted and dripped down to the floor.
Xie Lian almost forgot that Hua Cheng’s original form was a flame spirit. As his shoulders
were slowly exposed there was no hint of the fire upon them. No soot or ash, no burned skin.
Hua Cheng was the living flame that burned through his clothing.

His chest was exposed first. Xie Lian licked his lips as broad muscles gleamed in the
firelight. His fingers itched to touch them- to feel the hardness of his abdomen. Xie Lian
swallowed hard imagining how it would feel to press against such a chest.

The fire continued to burn. Hua Cheng’s shoulders pushed back and he stood just a little bit
straighter for Xie Lian’s inspection as the fire drifted lower…. Lower.

Xie Lian still had shoes, foot covers, and his pants on. Hua Cheng-

He burned away every last scrap.

Xie Lian gasped a bit as a certain part of Hua Cheng was exposed. Genuine effort went into
not looking away or hiding his face. Hua Cheng felt no shame in Xie Lian’s gaze. His smile
grew predatory as he noted where his Crown Prince was staring at the hardening length
between his legs.

“Does Ge-Ge approve?” Hua Cheng said after a long pause. Smug and confident.

“S-San Lang, don’t say stuff like that…” Xie Lian brushed a few strands of hair behind his
ear quickly.

Hua Cheng returned to the altar. He pulled Xie Lian’s shoes off, then his foot covers. He
crawled onto the table, his toned muscles shifting. Xie Lian’s eyes were locked on the
member that hung down. He jumped as it touched the side of his thigh through his pants.

Xie Lian was still propped up on his elbows. Hua Cheng stopped nose-to-nose with him and
stared at his Prince’s eyes while he undid the ties on either side of Xie Lian’s hips that held
the pants on and tugged the fabric lightly.

Another gasp from Xie Lian as cool air brushed against his own member. Hua Cheng wasn’t
as neat with this final layer as he’d been with the others. He opened the fabric and pushed it
out of the way, exposing Xie Lian wholly.

-----------------

-----------------
 Chapter 2
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

---------------

---------------

Before he could dip his chin and stare at Xie Lian’s naked body, Xie Lian pulled Hua
Cheng’s face down. He flattened his back on the altar. A titanic shudder ripped through him
as he felt Hua Cheng’s member press against his thigh more forcefully. As Hua Cheng’s hot
skin pinned Xie Lian’s own to his stomach.

Instinctively, Xie Lian wrapped his legs around Hua Cheng’s hips again. This time it was
flesh-to-flesh, which only made the odd sensation stronger. Hua Cheng’s mouth closed over
his own and their tongues began to stroke and probe against one another’s.

Every shift was felt keenly by Xie Lian. The slightest of movements from either man pressed
against their hardening lengths. A stirring ache from below sent a particular tremor through
Xie Lian when Hua Cheng’s hips pressed harder against him and drew a breathless groan and
sent a tickle through his body.

Hua Cheng’s mouth left Xie Lian’s to suck at his neck. Xie Lian returned the gesture, and felt
the thing against his leg twitch. He pressed his chest against Hua Cheng’s while he returned
every nibble or kiss to his neck with one to his lover. Xie Lian’s long white fingers clutched
at the shifting muscle of his back.

Hua Cheng chuckled as Xie Lian’s hard nipples brushed against his own, earning a moan
from both. At that he slid back off Xie Lian once again. It wasn’t the first time Hua Cheng
climbed off of Xie Lian that evening, but the prince didn’t want him to leave. The ache
between his legs was like a stirring fire. His scalp tingled and his toes were curled as a
tension buzzed through him. One that felt… nice. He wanted more- more of Hua Cheng’s
warm body pressed against his, more kissing, more… something. His skin crawled with want
of the other man.

Mercifully, Hua Cheng didn’t go far. He knelt with his own legs spread, and Xie Lian’s
draped around him. The position lifted Xie Lian’s rear off the altar slightly, but he was
shivering with desire. The Demon King moved forward slowly, taking his member in his
hand and pinning it against his own stomach.

Xie Lian gasped as something warm and soft pressed against his most sensitive region. Hua
Cheng rocked his hips ever so slightly, kneading Xie Lian’s balls with his own. A gentle,
tantalizing pressure that made the buzzing beneath Xie Lian’s skin even worse. He felt his
hips lift of their own accord, grinding against Hua Cheng.
Once more, the Demon King chuckled. He reached down then and Xie Lian’s entire body
tensed in anticipation. There was a ravenous darkness burning in Hua Cheng’s eyes. Eyes that
were fixated on Xie Lian’s member.

Warm, slender fingers wrapped around Xie Lian as the heat from before returned. Hua Cheng
held both of their cocks together in his grip. When he closed his hand and began to stroke-

A shuddering groan escaped Xie Lian’s lips, startling even himself. He clapped a hand over
his mouth, but couldn’t stop the next moan when Hua Cheng reached around Xie Lian’s
slender leg and began to lightly touch and knead their balls together once more. His skin
instantly flushed, and the toes that were curled in ticklish arousal moments before were now
straining at the sheer fire that crackled throughout his body.

Hua Cheng first watched Xie Lian’s cock, but forced himself to look up at the sound of the
moaning. Up into Xie Lian’s lust-glazed eyes. The way the god had covered his mouth with a
clenched fist, the shy flush of his cheeks. He was delicate. Innocent. And Hua Cheng was
corrupting him on his own altar.

The Ghost King moved the hand that was stroking their balls and pressed harder against Xie
Lian. He reached up and rested a hand on his husband’s chest- then gently scraped the hard
pad of his thumb across one of Xie Lian’s nipples.

Xie Lian’s hips jerked up against his. Hua Cheng squeezed their cocks just a little bit harder,
his breath hitching. Xie Lian’s eyes went wide at the bolt of pleasure that had arced from his
nipple down to his loins.

But there was something missing. In a way, someone missing.

Xie Lian loved the feeling of Hua Cheng’s hips pressed against his. He thought he could
easily go insane from the near painful need beneath his skin- but not like this. Xie Lian
forced himself to sit up, which lowered his hips suddenly and caused Hua Cheng to release
his length. He wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng’s neck and seized his lips.

Hua Cheng’s hot mouth against his- his burning chest pressed against Xie Lian’s- that was
what the prince needed most in this world. Hua Cheng’s arms wrapped around Xie Lian’s,
supporting him as he adjusted their bodies so that now he sat upon the altar, with Xie Lian on
his lap.

Their cocks pressed against one another again. Hua Cheng reached between them to continue
stroking his husband, but he found another hand there instead. Xie Lian grasped their lengths
almost frantically. Squeezed a bit too hard, moved a bit too forcefully. He’d never touched his
cock for pleasure in his entire life, he had to learn how to control the violent desire beneath
his skin.

With the taste of Hua Cheng’s tongue upon his own, banking the fire was impossible. Xie
Lian didn’t stifle his moans like a shy maiden. He groaned into Hua Cheng’s mouth. Rocked
against his chest. One of Hua Cheng’s hands supported Xie Lian’s back, the other pinched
and tugged at his nipple.
There wasn’t enough air between them as they both panted. Xie Lian was dizzy, and he was
forced to release Hua Cheng’s lips after only a few minutes. His cheek pressed against Hua
Cheng’s. The two men breathed hard against one another’s ears, Xie Lian taunting and
teasing Hua Cheng with the sound of those breathless, high moans.

And then the moment Hua Cheng knew would come. The one he’d been waiting for for eight
hundred years- dreaming of whenever he let sinful thoughts dance across his mind. Xie
Lian’s breaths became shallow and forced, he lost control once more of the hand stroking
their members. More force and speed, his body growing tenser and tenser by the second.

A pleading whimper, a soft cry, then a strangled groan.

Xie Lian’s cock pulsed as it erupted, sending something white and hot splashing against
where their chests were pressed together. Xie Lian softly cried out with every rope of thick
release until he sagged limp against Hua Cheng’s chest. His cock was twitching as it
gradually softened, sending bolts of electricity beneath Xie Lian’s skin.

Xie Lian’s mind was blank in a way he’d never experienced before. His entire body felt hot
and tense- yet still limp and relaxed. His mind drifted in a fog, and he felt a soft smile on his
lips. He was laid gently down upon the altar.

And then a warm tongue and hungry lips pressed against his abdomen.

At first Xie Lian lay there dazed and overwhelmed by the pleasant hum beneath his skin, but
then he realized that Hua Cheng was licking at something on his chest. The god’s eyes flew
open and he looked down just in time to see Hua Cheng devour a length of cloudy white
liquid staining his skin.

“Wait!” Xie Lian said in a panic. He immediately grabbed Hua Cheng’s head and pushed it
away from his skin. Hua Cheng relented and smiled up at him, hints of that creamy white at
the corner of his mouth.

Xie Lian’s heart crashed through his chest to the floor. When he was wholly lost in his own
pleasure he felt himself tightening up and clenched as hard as he could so he could enjoy just
a moment more. But then there was heat shooting through his length and-

He was mortified. More so than he’d ever been in front of Hua Cheng. What he’d released
was obviously not the fluids he was familiar with but it was still- it was- and Hua Cheng had
taken it in his mouth and-

Xie Lian’s eyes widened in fear at the sight of several smudges and drops on Hua Cheng’s
bare chest.

Hua Cheng winked and dipped his chin again, tongue snaking out.

“S-San Lang, wait!” Xie Lian found his voice again. He scrambled to shove Hua Cheng’s
face away from his skin again, but Hua Cheng resisted his grip until his tongue had taken its
fill.
And then he had the audacity to leave much of it on his lips, playing with it idly as he sucked
it in and out of his mouth over and over again.

“Spit it out!” Xie Lian commanded, his voice feeble and weak. “I’m sorry, I should have-
should have…” should have what? It wasn’t anything Xie Lian was familiar with. It wasn’t a
matter of hygiene certainly. “Anyways, I’m sorry, you should… burn it away or wash or-”

A low, dangerous chuckle from Hua Cheng as he raised himself on two arms to hover over
Xie Lian’s face, “That was the normal result a man wishes to achieve during this,” Hua
Cheng whispered. “Besides, I prefer Your Highness’ taste over the most expensive wine in
the world.”

It didn’t seem right to Xie Lian. That- that came from- how could it be right or have a taste
one would like? Xie Lian was about to push Hua Cheng back as he lowered his mouth again
to Xie Lian’s abdomen, but he stopped himself.

He’d decided to follow Hua Cheng on this night. To trust him. But Hua Cheng hadn’t
released the way Xie Lian had so did it mean he’d done something wrong after all- or had
Xie Lian gone too fast and left Hua Cheng wanting?

Once again he peeked down between them at that thing that was lightly brushing against his
thigh. The thing that was still hard and red and dripping a faint trail of white that looked
exactly like the thing Hua Cheng now licked from his skin.

He’d taken his pleasure and left Hua Cheng behind. Now he really was going to die of
embarrassment. Not to mention panicking over what was apparently a very normal thing.

Xie Lian cultivated so long and worked so hard to keep his purity. Yes, early on in his
training before he gained control over his mind there were mornings he’d woken with a
certain dampness (and a stiffness in his member), but that was centuries ago, and he’d never
sought more information on the matter.

He really was too sheltered and too naive! Why hadn’t he thought to read books on this while
waiting for Hua Cheng? Hua Cheng had already said he’d studied this and had many nights
of fantasies to draw from.

“Don’t worry,” Hua Cheng reached up to flick Xie Lian’s nose and draw him from his dark
thoughts, “the first one is always the easiest. I promise you won’t do that again until I’ve had
my fill.”

The words sent goosebumps racing across Xie Lian’s body. He suddenly felt too cold and too
hot all at the same time. There would be more? Hope curled in his chest, rapidly washing
away the misery that had been there a moment ago. Not just another night but…
imminently?

“ Husband ,” Hua Cheng came up once again to whisper in his ear. He lowered himself onto
Xie Lian’s chest and reached down to grip his lover’s thighs, pulling them up until he held
Xie Lian’s crotch hard against his own. Hua Cheng began to rotate his hips, grinding their
bodies together again. “I won’t let you sleep until you beg me.”
Lips against Xie Lian’s neck sealed his words. The prince’s arms snaked around Hua Cheng’s
shoulders. The neck was his weakness, it would seem. The moment Hua Cheng began to bite
and suck his body pulsed in rising need and a warm dizziness settled over his mind once
again. Worries were swept aside.

This time Xie Lian would be victorious. If this was all well and natural and right, then what
had just happened… He wanted more. Infinitely more. Hua Cheng would never hear him beg
for something as mundane as sleep. If there was nothing to be ashamed of… it would be Hua
Cheng who had to say when enough was enough!

“What’s next then?” Xie Lian murmured.

Hua Cheng’s hips rotated once more, “What would you like?”

“What would you like?”

“I want to hear Your Highness’ suggestion first.”

Xie Lian wasn’t going to lose this battle. The feeling of Hua Cheng’s member against his-
and what they’d done so far- gave him the courage to be as brazen as his husband. What
words from Xie Lian’s mouth would startle him enough that Xie Lian might save face?

He moaned as a particularly vicious bolt of pleasure rippled through his body. Hua Cheng
had tugged at one of his nipples, and the feeling rippled from his groin to his toes. Xie Lian’s
hips rose, grinding himself against Hua Cheng.

“What are the choices?” Xie Lian finally asked.

Hua Cheng lowered his lips to caress the curve of Xie Lian’s ear, “One of us takes the other
inside his body.”

“Eh?” Xie Lian couldn’t press his head back into the stone slab, so he pushed at Hua Cheng’s
chest to raise his new husband enough to look him in the eye, “Inside? How is that possible?”

“It’s possible,” Hua Cheng grinned viciously. “But it will be uncomfortable at first, so how
about you enter me?”

Xie Lian’s cheeks burned and he quickly shook his head. It sounded like something that
would require initiative. The thought of taking on such a role pushed away any of the
confidence he’d found thus far and returned the Crown Prince to the shyness he had
originally.

“It won’t be difficult for you,” Hua Cheng promised.

“You enter me,” Xie Lian said quickly, blushing furiously at his words.

“It’s our wedding night. I want to make you feel good. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

“You. Enter. Me.” he said. Xie Lian’s jaw ached slightly, he was clenching his teeth so hard.
“You said it’s uncomfortable, you’ve tried the other way?”
Hua Cheng nodded, “There are objects to practice with.”

“Then you know what it feels like. You’ll know how to do well. I don’t want to make a
mistake and-” and cause Hua Cheng any pain, whatever this method entailed. No, if someone
would be uncomfortable he would rather it be he himself.

Xie Lian had no idea how to make it feel good for Hua Cheng, but Hua Cheng would have
ideas how to make it feel good for Xie Lian. It was safer to do it this way.

“Alright,” Hua Cheng said after a long moment. “Whatever my Crown Prince wishes, I will
give it to him.”

“Then… what do I do?” Xie Lian asked.

Hua Cheng reached for his arms and pinned them tight as he flipped Xie Lian over so that he
was laying on top of his husband. Xie Lian’s hips ground into his in the transition and he
moaned.

Immediately, Hua Cheng’s lips were upon his own. The demon king was crushing him,
devouring him. The kisses were hungry and fierce, and Xie Lian happily surrendered. Hua
Cheng’s hands slid along his thighs. He stroked and pinched the most sensitive regions of Xie
Lian, taunting and teasing.

A small jar with no stopper appeared on the side of the altar. Hua Cheng dipped his middle
finger in it while he nibbled on Xie Lian’s bottom lip. The Crown Prince was hungry for his
body again and ground against him in short thrusts.

That dipped finger slid around to Xie Lian’s rear, where Hua Cheng’s other hand was
squeezing and kneading the hard curve of muscle. And then-

He moved fast as lightning. Before Xie Lian’s mind even registered the finger pressing
against his puckered hole he’d grabbed Hua Cheng’s wrist and pulled his hand away, “You
shouldn’t- it’s dirty...”

Of course he didn’t mean ‘dirty’ as in ‘unclean’- Xie Lian was a proper human after all. He
knew how to clean after relieving himself. But that place served one purpose, and it wasn’t a
place someone’s hand should be.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

Hua Cheng smiled and twisted his wrist, easily breaking Xie Lian’s grip, “Then trust me.”

Goosebumps covered Xie Lian’s arms as Hua Cheng pulled him back down. He was tight-
lipped, no matter how many times Hua Cheng licked at the seam, XIe Lian did not part. He
was tense. His focus on the finger now gently circling his hole and rubbing the oil into his
skin.
“You’ll like it,” Hua Cheng gave up kissing him and whispered into Xie Lian’s ear. “The
feeling of being stretched-” he pressed lightly against the hole. The position- the way Xie
Lian was pinned to his chest and straddling his hips- made it easy to feel the center give
slightly. “The feeling of having me moving inside you-” he pressed again, rocking his hips up
into Xie Lian and making the other gasp. “You’ll start dreaming about it-” another press,
another rock of his hips. “Craving it.”

Hua Cheng was imagining it now, as he had for so many centuries. His deep, groaning voice
made Xie Lian ache. His reason was slipping away again, even as another sensation grew
below. One of tingling heat and warmth coming from where Hua Cheng had massaged the oil
in.

Soon the gentle presses of his finger made Xie Lian’s hips press back just a little. He wasn’t
even sure what he was doing, but it felt so good. The skin had become sensitive and pliant.
The next time Hua Cheng pushed against him and he rocked back the tip of his finger slide
inside Xie Lian.

Hua Cheng’s breath hitched and his whole body froze. He gasped in Xie Lian’s ear. The
sound was high and pleading, a prayer of thanks. He withdrew and dipped his finger once
again in the jar, then returned it.

When he slid in, he pushed further than the tip. Xie Lian clenched his teeth at the strangeness
of the feeling. But he didn’t find himself suddenly back in his proper mind. By now the
burning against his skin from the oil was making him ache.

A heat and sensitivity that soon began to grow inside him where Hua Cheng’s finger trailed
the oils. Hua Cheng bit down on Xie Lian’s neck and slid his finger out, only to press in
slowly again. The sensation made Xie Lian’s toes curl. He hunched his back and buried his
face in Hua Cheng’s shoulder.

The rhythm was torturous. Flat and even, slow. Heat built inside Xie Lian and soon he was
gasping in time with the movement of the finger. He winced as something pressed against
him- another finger working its way in alongside the first. But the oil made him dizzy at the
feeling.

Hua Cheng stopped stroking Xie Lian’s thigh with his free hand. He poured oil onto Xie Lian
directly and then that free hand grabbed his rear. Slid around.

The middle finger of one hand joined the two from the other. Xie Lian’s eyes rolled into his
head and he gasped at the sensation. This finger did not go as deep as the others. Rather, it
stayed at the puckered ridge, stretching and scraping along the muscle. Relaxing it, even as
his other fingers kept up their slow pace inside him.

Just as Xie Lian was beginning to moan in turn with his movements- as he was starting to
push back against the fingers- they vanished.

“I need to be inside you,” Hua Cheng’s whisper was almost pleading. He flipped them back
over, pressing Xie Lian’s back into the altar. There was something dark and wicked in his
eyes when he looked down and saw the flush across Xie Lian’s chest. The angry red of his
cock. The shy hunger in his eyes.

Xie Lian was more beautiful than anyone Hua Cheng had ever seen. And here he was- naked
and in disarray, his hole red and swollen- all because of his most faithful worshipper.

“The oils are derived from budding flowers before they cultivate sentience,” Hua Cheng
picked up the vial. “Diluted and bottled for our enjoyment.” A delicate finger tugged lightly
at the foreskin of Xie Lian’s cock, exposing it slightly so that Hua Cheng could pour oil
directly on to the head. A moment later he did the same to his own member- covering the
shaft too while he was at it.

“It makes your body burn,” Hua Cheng set the vial down and reached up to wipe the
remainder on Xie Lian’s nipples, lips, and even the curve of his ear. “It will make this part
feel good.”

Xie Lian’s gaze was unfocused as the heat built around his cock. He didn’t even notice Hua
Cheng line up his member and press it against the hole his fingers had occupied. The burning
was flooding across his skin. He needed to stroke himself- his mind said there was an ocean
trapped beneath his foreskin, though it could only have been a thin sheen. The crawling ache
in his loins was almost unbearable.

When Xie Lian gave in and reached for his member, Hua Cheng grabbed both of his hands
and pressed forward, forcing the tip of his member into his husband.

The feeling was indescribable.

A sliver of Xie Lian’s mind registered the overwhelming feeling of strangeness as Hua Cheng
entered him. The sharp edge where his body was stretched to the limit, tight as the drawn
string of a bow. Painful, at least for the moment.

But that was only a whisper at the back of his consciousness. The rest of him was burning
and aching, The stretching of his body to admit Hua Cheng’s member was the most exquisite
kind of ache. Fire raced across Xie Lian’s skin as the two beings within his body warred- the
one who wanted to stop for a moment and the one who wanted to see how quickly he could
forge Hua Cheng’s body to his.

Both were under the throws of the aphrodisiac oils. Hua Cheng’s gaze was red-hazed and
clouded with lust. He had spent so long dreaming of this moment that it was nearly
impossible to stop himself from pushing in harder.

His mouth covered Xie Lian’s and he devoured his lover’s lips and tongue. Xie Lian’s hands
were still pinned by his, so he controlled Xie Lian with his own powerful ministrations. He
abandoned Xie Lian’s mouth after a time and bit lightly along his jaw, dipping his hips ever
so slightly to force another half inch into the man.

Xie Lian gasped and cried out. He tried to lift his hips, but Hua Cheng moved too, preventing
any further joining. The quiet one at the back of Xie Lian’s mind thanked him for it.
Neither had any way of knowing how long it lasted. Hua Cheng rocking into Xie Lian’s body
in agonizingly small advances. Xie Lian gasping for breath and moaning as Hua Cheng tasted
his jaw, his neck, his throat.

His body was always on fire, to the point where tears began to drip from his eyes. He wanted
Hua Cheng so badly he couldn’t stand it. The ache inside him from the oils made him moan
and whimper louder and louder. He needed release, needed it so badly that he was willing to
do anything to have it.

Bit by bit, the cock slid deeper into him. Soon going further than Hua Cheng’s fingers had
reached with the oils. Bit by bit the agony inside Xie Lian grew as those oils were pushed
further into his body. As more of him was devoured by the cravings.

Something pressed against Xie Lian’s hips and he tried to blink through the tears to inspect
the situation between them.

His legs were hanging uselessly to the sides, Hua Cheng was perched on top of him, but with
great effort removed his lips from the hollow of Xie Lian’s throat to look down as well.

To see where his pelvis was pressed firmly against his husband’s. Hua Cheng was fully
seated.

He released Xie Lian’s hands, and each reached down to lightly press on Xie Lian’s
abdomen. They were transfixed. Xie Lian remembered the length of Hua Cheng when they
stroked one another before. He put his hand where he thought the tip of Hua Cheng might be.

Hua Cheng was inside him. So far inside him.

Up to now his advances had all been in the same direction- inwards. Hua Cheng pulled out
slowly, lifting Xie Lian’s hips so they could both see the head of his cock emerge.

When he thrust back in, slowly and surely… Xie Lian’s head emptied and he collapsed back
on the altar. Hua Cheng groaned and couldn’t stop himself from doing it again.

Again.

Again.

The heat from the aphrodisiac didn’t diminish, the aching and itching and burning didn’t fade
one bit. As Hua Cheng moved inside Xie Lian they magnified. He’d resisted the temptation
of the Land of the Tender so long ago, now he wished he’d been devoured by it.

Xie Lian couldn’t stop the sounds that escaped his mouth at the persistence of Hua Cheng.
Every thrust into him felt like lightning exploding beneath his skin, his whole body went
taught and his hips rose to take him deeper. Xie Lian reached down to stroke his own
member, it felt like it was going to erupt any second-

But Hua Cheng beat him there.

The broad hand that spread those damned oils on his skin began to pump faster and faster,
first matching every thrust, then doubling the speed. Xie Lian scrambled for something to
hold on to as his world narrowed. He could only feel the hand stroking his cock, or the
member crashing through his body. The two raging fires that were feeding each other and
would surely devour the god between them.

Hua Cheng’s other hand found the red rises of his chest. He took one, pinching it between his
fingers and lightly rolling it. Oils had been spread there too, and the sensations shot straight
from Xie Lian’s chest down to his cock.

He was going insane beneath the torrent of sensations. His legs tried to kick for purchase on
the stone altar, but slipped on the silks of his wedding robes. All he could hear were Hua
Cheng’s distant gasps, as frantic and uncontrolled as his own.

Suddenly, Hua Cheng collapsed onto his chest. He still had his hand wrapped around Xie
Lian’s cock, still stroked it as quickly as he could manage, still pumped his hips and strained
to push in harder, deeper.

“Beg me,” Hua Cheng groaned into his ear. His lips were right up against the skin, his hot
breath made Xie Lian’s skin tingle.

Xie Lian wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng, clawed at his back as he tried to rock his hips
up to meet the assault below. He gasped in time with each stroke of Hua Cheng’s hand- a
quick, pitiful whimper.

“Beg me,” Hua Cheng repeated. “Tell me how much you want it.”

“Please,” Xie Lian didn’t have the mind to do anything but obey. “Please don’t stop. Please. I
want it. I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it-” mindlessly he gasped the words
with every thrust of the cock inside him.

Hua Cheng released Xie Lian momentarily to grab hold of his legs and lift them to drape over
the crook of his arms. It opened Xie Lian further, made him squeeze down harder on Hua
Cheng’s cock. The hand resumed its rapid stroking of Xie Lian’s member.

He was staring down at Xie Lian with such naked lust that it shattered any control Xie Lian
still had in him. His back arched and he heard a strangled cry rip from his throat as violent
electricity arced beneath his skin and his member erupted. Ropes of white shot from the tip
and Hua Cheng growled as Xie Lian’s insides began to ripple and clench hard around his
member.

There was another shout and a vicious, hot pressure flooded into Xie Lian’s abdomen.

Hua Cheng gasped and his hand squeezed Xie Lian’s member harder, nearly cutting off the
release of the other entirely. Xie Lian was trapped on the terrible edge of overwhelming
pleasure and violent pain.

Before Hua Cheng had even finished releasing inside him, Xie Lian found the strength to
lock his ankles together behind Hua Cheng’s back and was already trying to grind against
him. He needed more. Needed it harder and faster and just more . The agony inside him
added oil to the fires already burning. Xie Lian couldn’t stop himself. He ignored the near
pain of being touched so soon after climax, ignored the weakness in his muscles, even
ignored his own inexperience.

He wanted more.

He needed more.

And for Hua Cheng- to be moving inside the god he had worshipped his entire existence, the
man he’d searched for for more than 800 years- there was no way he could stop himself.
Long ago he became addicted to seeing his Crown Prince smile.

Now it was Xie Lian’s gasps of pleasure that he would obsess over.

But thinking about the past and how long he’d waited for this moment stirred another
memory in Hua Cheng’s lust-fogged mind. The one that drove him to lay Xie Lian across that
altar, rather than take him in the marital bed waiting at Paradise Manor.

His movements slowed. When his still-hard cock slid into Xie Lian it was no longer in frantic
thrusts, but in deliberate sweeps. Cum was dripping down the back of his hand from Xie
Lian’s release. He stopped stroking the member and instead rested it on Xie Lian’s chest. Not
to torment or tease his nipples, but instead to feel his heart thundering in his breast.

Xie Lian needed Hua Cheng with a near feral desperation. The change in his countenance
though… A shadow flickered in Hua Cheng’s eye. His face was hot and flush, but Xie Lian
knew he wasn’t seeing the god beneath him. Not entirely.

And then he understood why they were here. This place specifically. Why Hua Cheng put so
much care into opening his robes across the altar, letting the rich red silks drape over the
sides as he unwrapped his husband.

‘ What better place to worship a god?’ His words weren’t a lie, but they’d veiled something
Xie Lian should have realized sooner.

Another temple to the Crown Prince of Xian Le.

Another altar, with a very different kind of red running down the sides.

Another Xie Lian… Still gasping and groaning, thrashing and crying out… but not in
pleasure.

Another Hua Cheng above him. Held captive, able to do nothing but scream and burn until he
exploded and forged himself into a new creature altogether.

Xie Lian grabbed Hua Cheng’s arms and pulled himself up. Hua Cheng shifted quickly so
that Xie Lian sat in his lap. The position was somewhat awkward, perhaps an inch of Hua
Cheng’s length was lost in the shuffle, but the closeness let them share breath.
The god leaned in, and the demon king closed his eye. Lips brushed against it gently. Xie
Lian willed with all his heart that the kiss could wipe out the image etched so deeply into Hua
Cheng’s heart.

He rolled his hips and pressed his cheek against Hua Cheng’s so the other could listen to his
delicate moan. “Hua Cheng Ge-Ge,” he said, just to see what it felt like. Hua Cheng stiffened.
“When Ge released inside me it felt so good. Can I have more?”

“Who is ‘Ge-Ge’?” Hua Cheng’s voice was low and dangerous. His hands- bracing Xie
Lian’s rear to help him move- tightened their grip to near-bruising.

“I want to call you Ge-Ge,” Xie Lian heard his voice whisper. He pressed his chest against
Hua Cheng’s just enough that their nipples rubbed against one another, tickling and sending
bolts of pleasure to their cocks. “I want to know how deep Ge-Ge can reach.”

Hua Cheng cursed.

His intention for that night was to worship Xie Lian’s body as thoroughly as possible. He’d
even prepared himself to take Xie Lian’s length- before his Crown Prince asked to be the one
to receive. That was the first surprise of the evening. But now to hear such filthy words from
Xie Lian- the nasal whine as he gasped out ‘Ge-Ge’-

“Let Ge-Ge show you,” Hua Cheng’s voice was deep and rough. He moved Xie Lian off him.
It was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Even the forging in the Kiln had not been difficult by
comparison.

Xie Lian had meant to ride Hua Cheng until the memories faded away, but he let himself be
laid back on the altar, then curiously tipped onto his side. Hua Cheng lifted Xie Lian’s leg,
draped it across his chest to rest upon a shoulder.

Hua Cheng touched the tip of one pale finger to the base of Xie Lian’s cock as he lined up
with the hole and pushed back in. While he moved, that finger slide along the side of his
husband’s length, across his abdomen, and up.

Xie Lian couldn’t breathe at the raging torrent inside him protesting the gruesomely slow
pace. But that finger moved slowly to mirror the tip of the cock inside him, to show Xie Lian
a rough estimate of just how deep his husband could go.

“Please Ge-Ge, please go faster,” Xie Lian was trembling. Sweat dripped down his brow.
“Please- please please please please please…. Please Ge-Ge”

“So polite,” Hua Cheng whispered as he finished seating himself. Truthfully he was shaking
too with need from the oils. “As my good Di-di wishes.”

Xie Lian’s entire body contracted when- without warning- Hua Cheng pulled out and
slammed back in hard enough to shift the red silk beneath Xie Lian. The god let out a lewd
cry and scrambled for something to hold on to. Something to control the fire beneath him- or
release a thousand times if such a thing were possible.
He continued to cry out with every thrust as Hua Cheng did indeed set a rapid pace. He was
so deep, and the angle of their scissored hips meant his thrusts struck something deep inside
Xie Lian that made the god thrash.

When Xie Lian’s hand went to his own cock, he found Hua Cheng holding him already in a
vice grip.

Tight and firm, allowing Xie Lian no purchase to ease his suffering.

“Please Ge-Ge,” he gasped. “Please please please please please-”

“Please what?” Hua Cheng was only a fraction more coherent than Xie Lian right now.
Words were hard, moaning and grunting and snarling- that would be easier. “Tell Ge-Ge.”

“Don’t-” Xie Lian’s eyes rolled up into his head as Hua Cheng slammed against him harder,
faster even. Their hips were a violent blur of motion that was making Xie Lian’s entire body
go from a tremor to a frantic shaking. The hand of Hua Cheng’s still on his leg would leave a
perfect bruise.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t… not…” Xie Lian’s mind couldn’t pull the words together. He screamed and tensed,
but wrapped his hand around Hua Cheng’s and forced the grip to go tighter, more painful.

Hua Cheng understood. Of course he understood, how could he not?

Xie Lian was burning to death in his glorious agony. He wanted to be left to the fire. To let
his moans and cries and screams from before become a tantalizing song. For Hua Cheng to
never see a bloody altar again, but this night. To see his husband writhing on his cock,
trapped at the edge of release until Hua Cheng himself allowed it. Even if it drove him
insane.

Hua Cheng forced his hand off of Xie Lian’s leg and lunged forward with his next thrust. He
wrapped his feet around the one of Xie Lian’s that was upon the altar and used it as purchase,
pulling Xie Lian down onto him while he moved his free hand to the god’s forearm.

He set a brutal rhythm of thrusting into Xie Lian with everything he had, yanking the arm
down to pull Xie Lian’s entire body harder onto him. At the same time, he held Xie Lian’s
cock in a vice grip. Torturing him without release.

Hua Cheng had no such person to do this for him. He erupted into Xie Lian again as the god
choked down air and screamed with the need to release. Xie Lian barely felt the pressure of
Hua Cheng spilling inside him around the agony. He was tied to a rock as the surf slammed
over him again and again. His mind and body were overwhelmed, but refused to go numb
against the devastating pleasure.

How did anyone force themselves away from their partner? How could anyone stand to exist
any other way than this- fused at the hips, the frantic pounding and gasping and moaning?
How could anyone get anything productive done?
After he released in this position, Hua Cheng adjusted them yet again. A darkness glittered
inside him and he lay down upon the altar now with Xie Lian on top and facing away from
him. Hua Cheng still held his cock prisoner- just as Xie Lian’s hole held him.

The new position wasn’t as deep as the last, but it stretched Xie Lian wider, and forced Hua
Cheng’s member to grind against that notch that was driving him mad.

And then Hua Cheng slid his own legs over Xie Lians. With a sweep he kicked Xie Lian’s
legs off to the side, tightening his hole.

Xie Lian’s back was against Hua Cheng’s chest. His legs were pinned open by the demon
king’s. His body was limp and his hole dripped the last release of his husband.

A wet thwack echoed through the room as Hua Cheng pushed hard and fast into Xie Lian
again. The god’s voice was growing hoarse from the cries. His fingers twitched and his body
was almost completely limp.

The oils were burning through their bodies- and would for quite a while yet. Hua Cheng
couldn’t go soft, not while that was in their flesh. Even if he didn’t release, he wouldn’t stop.

But Xie Lian’s body was a miracle, and capable of so much more pleasure than he’d thought
even so far.

As Hua Cheng rocked into him, he slid a finger from his free hand down to where they were
connected. It took some angling, but Xie Lian arched and drew a long, shuddering gasp as
Hua Cheng forced two fingers into him at once, stretching him ever further.

The hand choking off Xie Lian’s release adjusted to, until Hua Cheng was able to circle the
hole at the tip with a fingernail. Xie Lian found the strength to thrash and the voice to cry out
as a nail scraped somewhere extremely delicate and tender. Not enough to cause injury- but
enough to make Xie Lian even more hyper aware of his cock. Of the agony he was enduring
by not being allowed to release.

Hua Cheng hesitated, slowed slightly. Xie Lian’s hands came up to his own nipples and he
yanked hard in response, shouting out and tightening around Hua Cheng’s cock and fingers.

Permission to continue.

He didn’t intend to go further- not tonight at least. Hua Cheng just used the softest scrape of
his nail to push Xie Lian back from the edge, all the while taunting him with the fingers in his
ass and the cock sliding through him. To push him down again and again and again as the
pressure built inside him and his mind began to shatter even more wholly.

“Ge-ge Ge-ge Ge-ge,” Xie Lian moaned at first, and then the chant became a cry. He couldn’t
find any other words, so he pled with that one. Into it he poured all of his desperation and
need.

Hua Cheng pushed his finger tip against the hole, sealing it as he opened his palm and
released his hand.
Xie Lian screamed and thrashed suddenly against him, kicking his legs frantically against
Hua Cheng’s own and knocking Hua Cheng onto the altar with the arch of his back.

When Hua Cheng felt the wet heat against his finger tip he moved it, and the god erupted in a
violent spasm that shot white high across his chest. His body grew tighter and tighter as he
released, until Hua Cheng knew he wasn’t breathing anymore.

Then Xie Lian snarled.

The thing that suddenly spun around on Hua Cheng wasn’t entirely god or man. It was
something without any reason. Something primordial and primal all at once. Xie Lian twisted
his body until he was facing his husband.

Not caring for the release upon his chest, he crashed against Hua Cheng. His hips ground
against his husband frantically, without technique or purpose beyond initiating friction. He
needed this more than any words could express.

Hua Cheng was pinned down and ridden by Xie Lian hard and fast. Hua Cheng intended to
keep his rational mind for this night- to thoroughly ruin Xie Lian’s body with pleasure from
beginning to end- but this undoing was a gift in itself.

Xie Lian’s cries were feral and he quickly released- or tried to. His body heaved and strained,
but only a few drops escaped. At least for now.

This time when Xie Lian collapsed on his chest, he was still for a time. Unconscious- or at
least too far gone to hear or speak.

Hua Cheng controlled the pace, bracing Xie Lian on top of him as he moved faster or slower
as need be. It was a different kind of torture- one Xie Lian had shown surprising expertise in.
But Hua Cheng didn’t want to torture himself any longer. He just wanted Xie Lian awake
enough to feel another wave of viscous warmth flood inside him.

When Xie Lian’s eyes fluttered open, Hua Cheng kissed him hard and fast. In just a few
short, quick thrusts he too erupted.

“More,” Xie Lian whimpered, as if he both dreaded and craved what was coming. “It’s still
too hot. I need, I need-”

“It’s alright, your highness,” Hua Cheng whispered against his ear and brushed some of the
hair aside. “I’ll give you as much as you need.”

They consecrated the altar many times that night. The great crimson bed in Paradise Manor
many times more the next morning. A god and a demon king- they discovered the limits
these immortal bodies had and then pushed them further.

When they were hungry, Hua Cheng fucked Xie Lian in the dining room.

When the sweat on their skin became unpleasant, Xie Lian rode Hua Cheng in the bathing
pools.
 When they did collapse, utterly spent, the first one to stirr woke the other with cock or hole.

It took 800 years for them to find one another. Another year apart without knowledge if they
would ever meet again only doubled the longing and agony.

The God and his Demon King had plenty of lost time to make up for, and they wouldn’t deny
each other the comfort of their bodies for one more second.

Chapter End Notes

The End!
Sorry it took me 6 months to get you Part 2, life has been suffocatingly rough (to put it
mildly).
End Notes

Regarding Hua Cheng's clothing: My research into traditional ghost marriages mentioned in
many cases the wedding clothes of the deceased partner are burned after the ceremony. So
Hua Cheng (and the Ghost Realm) are observing those traditions.

Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!