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[ so here is feng xin, scrolling through the watch's contents, trying to familiarize himself with its functions and features... when he just so happens to come across a username that is very, very familiar. last he spoke to xie lian, dianxia hadn't known of the ghost king's presence. could this be him?? is it possible there's another san lang here, completely unrelated? such a thing clearly requires a delicate hand; it wouldn't do to startle an innocent or, if this truly is hua cheng himself, agitate the ghost king.
however, a delicate hand, feng xin does not have. and so, ]
Crimson Rain Sought Flower!
however, a delicate hand, feng xin does not have. and so, ]
Crimson Rain Sought Flower!
Edited (his government name) 2024-01-04 16:38 (UTC)
[ although hua cheng had spent some time familiarizing himself with the watch in theory, he's never actually received messages, so the beep and then the sound of feng xin's voice all but shouting his title is a little bit startling.
it's also a little bit amusing, though, and hua cheng is happy to use feng xin as his guinea pig to figure out how responding to these things works. ]
Oh? Don't tell me this is the esteemed General Nan Yang, reaching out to me of his own accord?
it's also a little bit amusing, though, and hua cheng is happy to use feng xin as his guinea pig to figure out how responding to these things works. ]
Oh? Don't tell me this is the esteemed General Nan Yang, reaching out to me of his own accord?
[ oh how feng xin hates this already. he's never enjoyed duplicity, and though he knows better than to take anything the ghost king says at face value, it's still a conscious effort on his part to take in those words and know they mean something else entirely.
he will handle it like he does most things — just kind of steamroll towards the point. ]
Dianxia is here. Did you know?
he will handle it like he does most things — just kind of steamroll towards the point. ]
Dianxia is here. Did you know?
I know.
[ he knows because xie lian is, at present, asleep in the bed next to him, and because since he found xie lian in the game rooms downstairs hua cheng has barely left his side.
after a brief moment of internal conflict, hua cheng extracts himself from the tangle of limbs and climbs out of bed so he can move to the other part of xie lian's suite, where his voice is less likely to wake him up. ]
He's here with me. And he's asleep, so keep your voice down.
[ he's like fairly sure it doesn't work like that but needling feng xin is so much fun...... ]
[ he knows because xie lian is, at present, asleep in the bed next to him, and because since he found xie lian in the game rooms downstairs hua cheng has barely left his side.
after a brief moment of internal conflict, hua cheng extracts himself from the tangle of limbs and climbs out of bed so he can move to the other part of xie lian's suite, where his voice is less likely to wake him up. ]
He's here with me. And he's asleep, so keep your voice down.
[ he's like fairly sure it doesn't work like that but needling feng xin is so much fun...... ]
[ WELL, feng xin sure is glad he didn't give into his second impulse upon finding hua cheng's alias, which was to call xia lian himself first. that would have been very awkward indeed. not that this is any less so, but thank god feng xin has yet to discover the video function, or it would be even more embarrassing having to deal with his blushing face and hua cheng's pleased smile. because, while he may be dense eight out of ten times, feng xin can still put two and two together. frankly, the idea of dianxia being intimate with the ghost king still catches him off-guard every now and then, even after having a year to come to terms with it.
still, the man makes xie lian happy...... somehow......... ]
Good. [ a pause, and then considerably quieter, ] Good. When he found me here, the last he'd seen you was roughly a year ago.
[ it's not feng xin's business to air out how poorly xie lian had cared for himself during that time. then again, that's just xie lian in general. ]
Don't leave him again. Especially not here.
still, the man makes xie lian happy...... somehow......... ]
Good. [ a pause, and then considerably quieter, ] Good. When he found me here, the last he'd seen you was roughly a year ago.
[ it's not feng xin's business to air out how poorly xie lian had cared for himself during that time. then again, that's just xie lian in general. ]
Don't leave him again. Especially not here.
[ so much faith in him, feng xin..........
it's hard to overstate how deeply hua cheng hates the idea of ever leaving xie lian again. the very notion makes something curl unpleasantly in his gut, and he turns on instinct to look at xie lian across the room, as if taking his eyes off of him might cause him to disappear. ]
That was the last I'd seen him, too. [ he had drawn the shattered pieces of his soul back into physical form and made it to the shrine on mt. taicang, only to be plucked from the mountaintop and shoved into this place. ] —I promised I'll never leave him again. I intend to keep that promise.
[ hua cheng has no qualms about lying to feng xin, but he would never hurt xie lian. ]
it's hard to overstate how deeply hua cheng hates the idea of ever leaving xie lian again. the very notion makes something curl unpleasantly in his gut, and he turns on instinct to look at xie lian across the room, as if taking his eyes off of him might cause him to disappear. ]
That was the last I'd seen him, too. [ he had drawn the shattered pieces of his soul back into physical form and made it to the shrine on mt. taicang, only to be plucked from the mountaintop and shoved into this place. ] —I promised I'll never leave him again. I intend to keep that promise.
[ hua cheng has no qualms about lying to feng xin, but he would never hurt xie lian. ]
[ feng xin, miracle of miracles, somehow manages not to blurt out isn't that what you told him the last time. but hey! what does he know... he was just there.... watching as xie lian sobbed into his empty hands as dozens of dramatic ass butterflies fluttered away...........
anyway. ]
I'm glad to hear it.
[ there's a pause. he definitely doesn't want to be having this conversation, but he also feels like not having it would be stupid of him. ]
Are you... [ ah. ] Have you both... [ hm. ]
Will you both be okay? Here.
[ knowing what's being "asked" of them all. feng xin has only ever been in love once before, and even though that love has long since run its course, he can't imagine being forced to do what they're meant to do here, while having promised his heart to jian lan. ]
anyway. ]
I'm glad to hear it.
[ there's a pause. he definitely doesn't want to be having this conversation, but he also feels like not having it would be stupid of him. ]
Are you... [ ah. ] Have you both... [ hm. ]
Will you both be okay? Here.
[ knowing what's being "asked" of them all. feng xin has only ever been in love once before, and even though that love has long since run its course, he can't imagine being forced to do what they're meant to do here, while having promised his heart to jian lan. ]
Edited 2024-01-04 19:00 (UTC)
[ it is what he told him last time... immediately before dissolving into hundreds of dramatic ass butterflies... but look! he came back, didn't he?
for a second, hua cheng doesn't actually understand what it is feng xin is asking. are you? have you? he surely can't be asking about xie lian's sex life, hua cheng can't imagine anything feng xin would want to know less about— ]
Ah. The game?
[ there it is. hua cheng can't pretend the idea thrills him—actually, the idea of anyone else putting their hands on xie lian makes him want to cut those hands right off—but he also can't abide the idea of xie lian stuck here forever. ]
We've... made an agreement, for the sake of getting out of this place. [ does feng xin want the details? too bad he's getting the details. ] We'll play, but he's asked that I be there for him and I've asked him to be there for me. So we'll rarely play alone, if ever.
for a second, hua cheng doesn't actually understand what it is feng xin is asking. are you? have you? he surely can't be asking about xie lian's sex life, hua cheng can't imagine anything feng xin would want to know less about— ]
Ah. The game?
[ there it is. hua cheng can't pretend the idea thrills him—actually, the idea of anyone else putting their hands on xie lian makes him want to cut those hands right off—but he also can't abide the idea of xie lian stuck here forever. ]
We've... made an agreement, for the sake of getting out of this place. [ does feng xin want the details? too bad he's getting the details. ] We'll play, but he's asked that I be there for him and I've asked him to be there for me. So we'll rarely play alone, if ever.
[ a soft exhalation of breath — all the tension feng xin had been holding for the past few days, slowly just dissipating like the weight on his shoulders. not all of it, of course, but most. ]
That's — [ way more than he wanted to know but he supposes he did ask ] — good. Dianxia is strong. This resort and its game won't break him. I'm counting on you to be strong for him, too.
That's — [ way more than he wanted to know but he supposes he did ask ] — good. Dianxia is strong. This resort and its game won't break him. I'm counting on you to be strong for him, too.
[ it probably speaks to how tense feng xin had been that he can't even summon an indignant noise for now knowing far too much about dianxia's sex life. and it makes sense—for all that hua cheng and feng xin have historically gotten along like oil and water, hua cheng knows that if nothing else, feng xin cares deeply for xie lian.
it's for that reason that, without any of the usual mockery or even amusement in his voice, hua cheng says, ]
I would never let him come to harm. On that you have my word.
[ a pause, and then he adds, ] I'm counting on you, too. He is strong, but he'll need friends here.
it's for that reason that, without any of the usual mockery or even amusement in his voice, hua cheng says, ]
I would never let him come to harm. On that you have my word.
[ a pause, and then he adds, ] I'm counting on you, too. He is strong, but he'll need friends here.
[ perfect, good. that was really all feng xin had reached out for, and now that that's accomplished he can move on with his life and go back to pretending the ghost king does not exist within his social circle, however adjacently that may be.
goddammit. ]
...Will you, too, Crimson Rain? [ need friends here, that is. ]
goddammit. ]
...Will you, too, Crimson Rain? [ need friends here, that is. ]
[ ...the question takes hua cheng enough by surprise that he doesn't immediately have a teasing comeback for it. feng xin, asking whether hua cheng needs friends? surely he doesn't intend to count himself among their number. ]
I guess we all do. [ need friends. what a weird thing to admit to.
oh, and speaking of friends(?): ] Black Water is here. I'm not sure if dianxia told you. He wears the Earth Master's form and may not yet know that his plot has been revealed.
[ hopefully someone else has already caught feng xin up on the timeline situation, because if not, that's probably going to be a deeply confusing thing to hear. ]
I guess we all do. [ need friends. what a weird thing to admit to.
oh, and speaking of friends(?): ] Black Water is here. I'm not sure if dianxia told you. He wears the Earth Master's form and may not yet know that his plot has been revealed.
[ hopefully someone else has already caught feng xin up on the timeline situation, because if not, that's probably going to be a deeply confusing thing to hear. ]
[ it's as weird to hear confirmed as it is to have asked in the first place, but they've already come this far. feng xin tries not to make a habit of regretting his choices. ]
He did tell me. I'd met him once, after. I... [ hm. ] Dianxia seemed to think it'd be wiser to play along, for now.
He did tell me. I'd met him once, after. I... [ hm. ] Dianxia seemed to think it'd be wiser to play along, for now.
[ hua cheng makes a small, amused noise. ]
Did he say that? Dianxia told me he scolded Black Water, and revealed that he knew the truth of his disguise.
[ and he'd foolishly done so alone, at that. hua cheng doesn't think that he xuan will be a danger to anyone (...mostly because he doesn't know shi qingxuan is here), but that doesn't mean he wants xie lian alone in a room with him. ]
It still may be worth playing along for now, though.
Did he say that? Dianxia told me he scolded Black Water, and revealed that he knew the truth of his disguise.
[ and he'd foolishly done so alone, at that. hua cheng doesn't think that he xuan will be a danger to anyone (...mostly because he doesn't know shi qingxuan is here), but that doesn't mean he wants xie lian alone in a room with him. ]
It still may be worth playing along for now, though.
He what?!
[ haha, yeah, so about keeping it down...
anyway, feng xin is furious??? after all that talk about exercising caution?! but of course xie lian himself wouldn't think to be careful with himself. goddammit! ]
I don't intend on making any problems with you ghosts, so long as you don't endanger anyone else. [ he grunts through a sigh, pinching at the bridge of his nose. to be fair... it seems the gods are the one starting things this time around. ... well. one god in particular. ] I won't go out of my way to expose Black Water. But he should learn very quickly there's no point to it.
[ haha, yeah, so about keeping it down...
anyway, feng xin is furious??? after all that talk about exercising caution?! but of course xie lian himself wouldn't think to be careful with himself. goddammit! ]
I don't intend on making any problems with you ghosts, so long as you don't endanger anyone else. [ he grunts through a sigh, pinching at the bridge of his nose. to be fair... it seems the gods are the one starting things this time around. ... well. one god in particular. ] I won't go out of my way to expose Black Water. But he should learn very quickly there's no point to it.
[ about that..... hua cheng looks up, but xie lian just rolls over and seems to continue sleeping. whew. ]
I asked him not to be alone with Black Water again, but you know as well as I do that dianxia is strong-willed. [ and independent, and uncautious with his own safety... ] It's better not to court trouble, even if I would never let anything happen to him.
[ although feng xin might not agree with this assessment, hua cheng promises he's the most stable of the calamities... even he knows when not to stir shit. and in the matter of keeping xie lian from throwing his own safety to the wind, who better to have on his(?) side than feng xin? ]
I asked him not to be alone with Black Water again, but you know as well as I do that dianxia is strong-willed. [ and independent, and uncautious with his own safety... ] It's better not to court trouble, even if I would never let anything happen to him.
[ although feng xin might not agree with this assessment, hua cheng promises he's the most stable of the calamities... even he knows when not to stir shit. and in the matter of keeping xie lian from throwing his own safety to the wind, who better to have on his(?) side than feng xin? ]
[ gj tiring him out, hua cheng...................
anyway, feng xin doesn't know if he'd agree with any of that, but especially that last bit, because so far his current track record of stopping xie lian from being his silly, self-sacrificing self has been... goose egg. but certainly not for a lack of trying. ]
Alright. I leave the matter up to you.
[ AKA IT'S YOUR MESS TO MANAGE, HC :) ]
anyway, feng xin doesn't know if he'd agree with any of that, but especially that last bit, because so far his current track record of stopping xie lian from being his silly, self-sacrificing self has been... goose egg. but certainly not for a lack of trying. ]
Alright. I leave the matter up to you.
[ AKA IT'S YOUR MESS TO MANAGE, HC :) ]
Nothing that will threaten your life. But I will lay it out basically on what happened.
If you successfully remove the skin with your mark and heal the wound, the mark will simply reappear. Afterward, somehow, the individual in question will have an affect. I can't say that the affect will be consistent across every person in this resort, but...
[Well, at this point, might as well be forthcoming.]
In my case, I was struck with the severe urge to have sex. Something more than just oh I'm in the mood or my food and drink were drugged -- it was more aggressive than that. It went on for several hours.
If you successfully remove the skin with your mark and heal the wound, the mark will simply reappear. Afterward, somehow, the individual in question will have an affect. I can't say that the affect will be consistent across every person in this resort, but...
[Well, at this point, might as well be forthcoming.]
In my case, I was struck with the severe urge to have sex. Something more than just oh I'm in the mood or my food and drink were drugged -- it was more aggressive than that. It went on for several hours.
Hm.
[ that's certainly less than ideal. hua cheng hadn't honestly considered trying to remove it mechanically—he had sort of figured if his power couldn't do it, nothing could—but it seems safer to assume that the consequences would be the same whether the removal were surgical or magical. ]
Somehow an unsurprising outcome given what we know of this place, but also certainly a hard-earned lesson. [ that's the closest he gets to sympathy. ] Was this removal the reason behind your request for medical supplies?
[ that's certainly less than ideal. hua cheng hadn't honestly considered trying to remove it mechanically—he had sort of figured if his power couldn't do it, nothing could—but it seems safer to assume that the consequences would be the same whether the removal were surgical or magical. ]
Somehow an unsurprising outcome given what we know of this place, but also certainly a hard-earned lesson. [ that's the closest he gets to sympathy. ] Was this removal the reason behind your request for medical supplies?
Mm. ...I can't exactly disagree.
[But upon learning what his looked like, Daan quickly became desperate. It agonized him. It still does, but he knows now he can't do anything about it.
Typical, having no control over his life.]
That was part of it. I genuinely would prefer to have my own medical supplies in case I or someone else need them, as I don't trust the people here. But that was one of my goals as well.
[But upon learning what his looked like, Daan quickly became desperate. It agonized him. It still does, but he knows now he can't do anything about it.
Typical, having no control over his life.]
That was part of it. I genuinely would prefer to have my own medical supplies in case I or someone else need them, as I don't trust the people here. But that was one of my goals as well.
I wouldn't trust a ghost infirmary with human bodies, either.
[ and that's coming from the lord of ghost city. he's seen what ghosts get up to. yeesh. ]
Then I hope your supplies serve you well, if you need them for reasons other than attepting surgery on yourself.
[ and that's coming from the lord of ghost city. he's seen what ghosts get up to. yeesh. ]
Then I hope your supplies serve you well, if you need them for reasons other than attepting surgery on yourself.
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