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1. E'ming
They were working in companionable silence as they made lunch together: Xie Lian helping to prepare the ingredients, while Hua Cheng took care of the actual cooking. Xie Lian wouldn’t mind doing it himself, but Hua Cheng seemed happy whenever Xie Lian ate and praised the food he personally cooked, so he left him to it. The peaceful atmosphere was only interrupted by the loud metallic noise of a discontent E’ming. The entire time spent in the kitchen was accompanied by the scimitar's attempts to gain his attention.
It hadn’t been Xie Lian’s intention to ignore E’ming. As soon as the noise started, he turned to check on E’ming, but Hua Cheng had swiftly directed his attention back to the kitchen. Now that the scimitar’s insistence grew in volume, Xie Lian’s eyes strayed to that directed, concerned for E’ming.
“San Lang, maybe I should really check on him?” He mused, a half-cut onion propped up in his hand.
“He’s being a brat,” Hua Cheng groused. “You can just ignore him, gege. He’ll just interrupt our lunch.”
“I could go see him for a bit so he’ll calm down. I’m sure you could handle the kitchen on your own, San Lang is so amazing at cooking, I doubt you need me here to take care of it.”
“Hm, it’s true that I could do it by myself. But I’d rather have you here instead.”
Xie Lian flushed a little, thoroughly convinced to stay with those words alone. Xie Lian raised himself to the tip of his toes to gently kiss Hua Cheng’s cheek, then lowered his head with the excuse of cutting vegetables to hide his face. He heard Hua Cheng chuckle beside him.
The rattling noise continued for awhile, until soon it went strangely quiet. Xie Lian didn’t give too much thought to it, simply grateful that E’ming had settled down for long enough for him to focus on his task so they could finally eat. Lunch ready, both him and Hua Cheng balanced plates on their hands to move their meal to the table in the middle of Puji Shrine. However, the porcelain Xie Lian carried almost toppled over when a small black and red bundle collided with his leg. He gasped at the same time Hua Cheng put a stabilizing hand on his hip. Xie Lian smiled gratefully and looked down at the source of the commotion.
One red eye, filled with tears, met his gaze. When the small child noticed he had Xie Lian’s attention, his expression turned even more pitiful. The child was pouting with his cheeks puffed up, and though he looked like he might start crying right there, Xie Lian felt the urge to pet his dark hair.
Maybe sensing his thoughts, Hua Cheng set all the plates on the table, including the ones Xie Lian was holding. However, when he approached again, he looked thunderous, looming over the child with a dark stare. Instinctively, Xie Lian moved to cover the child, who hurriedly hid behind his legs.
“You sure have guts, showing up in this form without permission,” Hua Cheng sneered. “Are you so useless you won’t even listen to my orders anymore?”
Tiny hands clutched Xie Lian’s robes, so he turned a pleading look to Hua Cheng. “San Lang, what are you saying? Don’t be too harsh on a small kid, you’re going to scare him…”
“Gege, that ‘child’ is a sword spirit, he can handle more than this.” Hua Cheng smiled in that way of his that was all teeth. “Right, E’ming?”
“E’ming?” Xie Lian remembered the red eye and clapped his hands together in realization. “Of course!” Bearing a little more understanding of the situation, Xie Lian smiled and lowered himself to a squat so he was at eye level with the little E’ming. This body of his wasn’t too different from Hua Cheng himself: the color of his clothes, hair and skin were all the same. The eye, on the other hand, was a mirror image of Hua Cheng’s, and strikingly red on his small face.
“You’re adorable,” Xie Lian declared. He pinched both round cheeks and found himself melting when, instead of leaning away from the touch like the usual kid would’ve, E’ming beamed and held his hands to Xie Lian’s so he could pat at his knuckles. His mouth was full of too sharp teeth, like one would expect to see in the mouth of a wolf or fox. It made sense that E’ming would keep some of his sharpness even when in this tiny body. Besides, it was hard to find it all too scary, because when he closed his mouth, his upper fangs peeked out, pressed against his bottom lip.
Xie Lain made a high-pitched noise in the back of his throat and drew E’ming into his arms, their cheeks pressed against each other. E’ming rubbed their faces together like an affectionate cat. Xie Lian was afraid he might cry.
“He’s so cute, San Lang.”
“Gege. Don’t call him cute, he’ll be more annoying if you do. Just leave him there and come eat.”
“How can I just leave him?”
“Gege,” this time, it was E’ming who spoke. He didn’t seem too used to talking, and his voice was high and energetic, the kind the most troublemaker of children would have. “Gege wouldn’t pay attention to me, so E’ming came to see him instead.”
“I’m so sorry, I was busy, but I’ll give you attention now. Okay?” Xie Lian patted his head like he had wanted to do before, and E’ming closed his eyes as he did so.
“Okay.”
“Not okay,” Hua Cheng interjected. He had his arms crossed now and his eyes were narrowed. “You, go back to being a scimitar and stop bothering gege.”
“You’re the one bothering gege! Always keeping him busy. E’ming wants to spend time with him now.”
“I am this close to breaking you in half.”
E’ming wasn’t intimidated by the threat with Xie Lian standing so close, so he wrapped his arms around Xie Lian’s neck and looked to the other side. “E’ming will stay.”
Xie Lian hugged him, and his small child body fit cozily against him. Xie Lian scooped him into his arms and stood up to look at Hua Cheng. “San Lang, can’t he stay like this a little bit?” He pleaded. “There’s no harm in it, right?”
As soon as Xie Lian spoke, Hua Cheng relaxed, his arms unfurled. He nodded, but still glared at E’ming. “Only because gege asked. But we have to eat, before the food gets cold.”
“Of course.”
Still carrying E’ming, Xie Lian found his seat, and Hua Cheng sat down across from him. It took some fumbling to make E’ming settle down as well, instead of staying awkwardly wrapped around Xie Lian. The look on Hua Cheng’s face when he saw E’ming sitting on Xie Lian’s lap was similar to that of someone eating spoiled food.
“San Lang, there’s no need to be so sour,” Xie Lian admonished lightly. “It’s only temporary. Besides, E’ming is just a child.”
“Gege, he isn’t an actual child.”
Xie Lian hummed and glanced down. E’ming stopped hitting the table with Xie Lian’s chopsticks when he realized he was being looked at, then he passed the chopsticks to him. He grinned. “E’ming was holding it for gege.”
“I don’t know,” Xie Lian patted E’ming, “he looks like a kid to me. A very small and cute one.”
Hua Cheng scoffed but didn’t press the subject. They started eating with only a few interruptions of E’ming’s high-pitched “gege, gege!”, but as long as Xie Lian kept a hand on his head or shoulder, E’ming was content to watch them silently.
However, he soon noticed E’ming’s curiosity every time either of them chewed on a piece of food, eyes attentive as he observed their movements. Xie Lian tilted his head at him, and E’ming did the same back.
“Do you… want to try eating?” Xie Lian asked.
E’ming’s eye lit up and He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!” He didn’t wait for Xie Lian to say more, instead reaching his whole hand for a bowl of rice. Before he could dip his hand in, the back of it was slapped and E’ming yelped.
“I made the food for gege, not you,” Hua Cheng said darkly.
E’ming turned his watery eye up towards Xie Lian. Xie Lian sighed and rubbed his hand so E’ming wouldn’t start crying. “San Lang, if you do that while E’ming is like this, it really doesn’t look good… And besides, there’s enough for the three of us. We can share.” Xie Lian tried comforting him with a smile.
Hua Cheng frowned. “Keep your dirty paws away from gege’s food.”
Well, that was… Good enough. Before E’ming could decide to dip his hand on anything else, Xie Lian scooped a small bite onto his chopsticks and offered it to E’ming, who happily chewed on it with his mouth open.
“Gross,” Hua Cheng snorted.
“E’ming isn’t gross. You are gross.”
“Oh yeah? I dare you to say it again.”
E’ming slapped a hand on the table. “You’re gross!”
A piece of meat came flying and hit E’ming squarely on the forehead. Immediately, E’ming’s eye filled with tears.
“Gege! He hit me!” He pointed to Hua Cheng as he started sobbing audibly. Xie Lian laid a calming hand on his back and rubbed it up and down and sighed.
“I understand him, but San Lang… Are you a child too?”
Hua Cheng was nonplussed by both E’ming’s crying and Xie Lian’s words. He continued to eat like nothing had happened. “This San Lang apologizes for causing trouble.”
“Your insincere apology is troubling as well.”
Hua Cheng smirked and said nothing. Xie Lian massaged his temples. “At this rate, I’ll have to restrain both of you with Ruoye.”
At the mention of his spiritual device, E’ming went quiet, his eyes sharp. He stared at Xie Lian’s neck where Ruoye rested and showed all his teeth. However, one look from Xie Lian was enough to make him switch back to being sweet and obedient. The resemblance between him and Hua Cheng really was…
“Speaking of, I wonder if Ruoye can do the same,” Xie Lian said. He felt Ruoye wiggle in response.
“I don’t think we need two brats running around.”
Xie Lian laughed. “Well, I think it’d be wonderful if Ruoye did it as well.”
2. Ruoye
Waking up to the sound of shouting was disorienting, but not as much as waking up without Hua Cheng by his side. Xie Lian blinked himself awake and patted the bed in search of Hua Cheng’s body, but only cold sheets greeted his fingers. Blearily, he propped his head up.
“San Lang?” He called, with no response. Outside, the yelling got louder. For a moment, Xie Lian wondered if maybe Mu Qing and Feng Xin came by for a visit, only to end up quarreling as always. Except, Xie Lian was well familiar with the voices of his friend, and the ones he heard now belonged to neither of them.
Xie Lian put on his outer robe and padded outside. He didn’t bother putting on shoes, and he shivered slightly as the cold seeped into his skin. Xie Lian opened the door and leaned slightly against it. “San Lang,” he called again.
This time, he could actually see Hua Cheng, standing with his arms crossed and a scowl darkening his features. In front of him, two children were having an argument, clearly the source of all the ruckus. The first one he recognized, the child E’ming raised on his tip-toes like an animal making itself appear bigger than it actually was.
Just as he was about to study the other child, Hua Cheng noticed him and promptly came over. Though he had been watching over the children all this time, he didn’t seem too worried about leaving them alone to greet Xie Lian instead. A kiss was pressed to his forehead; Xie Lian stepped away from the door to lean on Hua Cheng’s chest.
“San Lan, there are two kids in the courtyard,” Xie Lian murmured, rough with sleep.
“Did they wake you up, gege?”
“Hm, just a little.”
Though they were quiet, the children soon noticed Hua Cheng’s absence, and consequently Xie Lian’s arrival. The both of them froze when they saw him standing by the shrine’s door. Their hostility was quickly dropped, their attention easily switched to Xie Lian. E’ming came running and yelling for him, while the other child, a bit slower but just as eager, walked behind him. Looking at that little kid dressed in white, Xie Lian had a feeling he already knew who he was.
“Gege, good morning!” E’ming greeted.
“Your highness,” the other kid said, and came to hug Xie Lian’s leg. Xie Lian smiled at them both, but went for the child in white instead.
“Ruoye,” Xie Lian said warmly as he hugged the spirit. Sure enough, Ruoye accepted his touch with familiarity. It would be silly of Xie Lian not to realize who that child was; his connection to Ruoye was too deep not to take notice. He giggled a little as he looked up at Hua Cheng. “I guess Ruoye can do it as well.”
“You got what you wanted, gege,” Hua Cheng said mildly. It was clear that he wasn’t too happy--which was understandable, as Hua Cheng had been stuck with the yelling children for awhile--but since Xie Lian seemed satisfied with the situation, he wouldn’t voice his annoyance.
Well, not too much, at least.
“E’ming wants a hug too,” E’ming complained. He was holding the hem of his robes tightly while sporting a tearful look. Xie Lian was starting to wonder how he didn’t tire of bouncing back between crying and laughing so often.
“Come here,” Xie Lian beckoned, and soon he had a child on each elbow. “What were you two fighting about this time?”
“E’ming just wanted to help!”
“He was making too much noise. And I was already helping His Highness.”
Xie Lian laughed. “And what were you trying to help me with while I was sleeping?”
“E’ming will do all the chores.”
“I will too.”
Both Ruoye and E’ming had a determined look on their small faces. It was truly a pity that Xie Lian didn’t have a free hand to pet them both, so he settled for gently squeezing them in his embrace.
“How about just leaving it to San Lang, hm?” Xie Lian mouthed an apology to Hua Cheng, who waved it off. If he let E’ming and Ruoye help when they were in human bodies, there was no telling the kind of disaster their competitive streak would cause. Xie Lian would rather not have the shrine destroyed again.
“No, E’ming wants to help!”
Ruoye nodded his agreement.
“I wanted some company to go on a walk…” Xie Lian exaggerated a sigh. “I guess I’ll have to invite San Lang after all.”
Their eyes widened comically far. They looked at Hua Cheng, then at each other, then back at Xie Lian.
“E’ming will go with gege!”
“Your highness, I’ll go with you.”
So simple. Xie Lian smiled and put them back down. “Give me a moment to get ready, then we can go, alright?”
They nodded obediently, but then E’ming ran inside and Ruoye, not wanting to be left behind in whatever they were making a competition of, followed. Xie Lian watched their retreating backs for a moment before turning to Hua Cheng.
“I’m sorry for pushing all of the work on you.” Though he had already apologized, Xie Lian felt the need to reinforce it. If Hua Cheng gave any signal that he might want or need help after all, Xie Lian would find another excuse to stay in and give him a hand with the chores.
“It’s fine, I can deal with the chores, gege. As long as I don’t have to hear them yelling.” Hua Cheng paused for a moment then smirked. “They remind me of those two friends of yours.”
Though Xie Lian had thought the same, he nudged Hua Cheng and admonished, “San Lang!”
Hua Cheng pecked him on the lips and put a hand on Xie Lian’s back to direct him to their shared room. “You should get ready before they throw a tantrum.”
Xie Lian nodded and stepped away, though not before patting Hua Cheng’s hand. Upon entering, he found Ruoye with his arms crossed as he watched E’ming darkly. As for E’ming, he was holding Xie Lian’s boots like a spoil of war, proudly raised by his little hands.
“Gege, I got your boots for you.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Xie Lian wasn’t about to let E’ming dress him, so he quickly put on his boots and found a hair tie. However, Ruoye raised a hand and asked to take care of his hair for him--or demanded, really, with his hands on his hips and everything.
“I guess that much is fine,” Xie Lian decided and handed him the hair tie.
A few minutes later and the three of them were heading out, Xie Lian sporting a crooked ponytail too low on his head. Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows at the hairstyle, but refrained from commenting.
“Okay, we’ll walk down to the city and back, alright?” The children nodded. “Great! Well, you’re both big and strong, so I’m sure you can walk on your own?” Another nod, this time more enthusiastic. Though he could easily carry the both of them, Xie Lian was sure there was some common wisdom about how letting kids exercise their little body was important. He wasn’t sure if that applied to two spirits, but he wasn’t about to test it out; better safe than sorry.
E’ming walked almost like he was hopping, giving Xie Lian a few heart attacks when it seemed like he might trip on a stray rock. Ruoye, however, looked at Xie Lian, straightened his back, then held his hands behind himself as he walked in a very dignified pace. He was like a little prince himself. It ached a bit to watch him.
Ruoye didn’t quite have his face, not like E’ming had Hua Cheng’s. He held features that looked similar, but Xie Lian knew with perhaps unfounded certainty that his appearance as a child was different from the form Ruoye had taken.
Xie Lian didn’t think too deeply on whose features he had taken after.
“Ruoye,” Xie Lian called. Ruoye looked up. “Now that you have a body, don’t you want to walk around more. You don’t have to stick too close to me.”
“I prefer to stay here,” Ruoye stated.
“Well, but look, doesn’t it look like E’ming is having fun?”
“I like being with Your Highness.” Ruoye raised his hand to hold Xie Lian’s. He smiled sweetly. “It’s warm when I’m with him.”
Xie Lian squeezed his small hand. “Then, that’s alright.”
A moment later, E’ming seemed to realize he was the only one ahead and looked back. He gasped when he noticed their joined hands.
“Gege, hold E’ming too!”
“I can’t hold you if you’re all the way over there.”
E’ming came running back and snatched his other hand, as if Xie Lian would change his mind and deny holding him. Xie Lian laughed under his breath. On his right, Ruoye was pressed so close it was a little difficult to walk. On his left, E’ming’s never-ending energy dragged the other two along with him.
Although Xie Lian was stumbling every single step, there was a smile that refused to disappear from his lips.