Work Text:
There were ghosts that lived in Paradise Manor which Xie Lian supposed was something of a given. Sitting in the heart of Ghost City, the residence of one of the Ghost Kings should naturally be brimming with the dead. Xie Lian didn’t mean a ghost in the literal sense though. No… the pair he caught glimpses of he thought of as ghosts because of how they appeared and disappeared, how they affected everything while only being seen in flickers, if that.
The Waning Moon Officer and the Waxing Moon Officer. Xie Lian had learned about them early on. He couldn’t say he was completely at ease with their method of dress. Both wore dark robes, the Waning Moon clad entirely in black although he had caught instances where there were patterns of soot gray or dark brown on the Waxing Moon. More unsettling was the masks. The Waning Moon had a crescent eyed smiling mask that reminded Xie Lian far too much of another ghost who had quietly followed where the Waxing Moon wore a perpetual frown on their mask. It was the worst when they were together though Xie Lian just smiled, pushing down the memories of a mask that bore both expressions.
Not that he ever felt any malice from either. The Waning Moon was more often around, proving to be quiet, efficient, and secretive. Of course, having caught a glimpse of the cursed shackle on the man’s wrist, Xie Lian had determined he would not pry. Not that he would anyway. The Waxing Moon was more likely to appear only if no one else was available, and was a bit harder to pin down the feel of. Young, that much was clear, and ambitious. More than once Xie Lian had heard the Waxing Moon refer to Hua Cheng as ‘shifu’, and their habit of disappearing at the slightest chance could be halted at any point by Xie Lian giving advice. It was that habit that Xie Lian planned to… make use of. Squishing down the guilty feeling that whispered ‘exploit’, he took one of the swords that they had been polishing only moments before. Now was the perfect time. The Waning Moon had come with a report that required Hua Cheng’s immediate and personal attention. That meant that Hua Cheng himself was busy and that the Waning Moon Officer was taking up the rest of the responsibilities.
Hua Cheng had a truly impressive armory, and the moment Xie Lian had shown interest he was given full access. Hua Cheng had reassured him again and again that any of the weapons on the walls Xie Lian could take if he so desired. He was fairly sure that the ghost king would even lend him his own personal cursed saber, E-Ming, if Xie Lian asked though Hua Cheng insisted on being the only one to polish the saber. Thus, he felt it was probably fine to step out into the training courtyard with the silver toned sword.
Lifting the blade, he felt himself center, and then started to move. The forms came easily, body and sword moving as one though he kept to the basics. He needed to keep an eye on the shadows. There.
The Waxing Moon Officer wasn’t near as good as the Waning Moon Officer as standing openly and not being noticed. He didn’t… quite… melt into the background though his presence was little more than a sigh on the wind. If one watched, they could see the occasional shadow shift, the way the white mask caught the occasional hint of light from the alcove Xie Lian didn’t even know a person could fit into comfortably.
Xie Lian let himself relax into the feel of the sword, now that he knew where his goal was. The ghost wouldn’t leave, so long as he thought he was still unobserved and so long as he didn’t feel the need to give way to someone else. In a way, it felt nice to have those eyes on him. Hua Cheng did the same, but that came with a whole mix of feelings, especially since he did it openly. From the Waxing Moon Officer, Xie Lian knew that he was there simply to watch Xie Lian and the sword move with a much more understandable longing and desire.
The sword swept up, an extension of himself as his body flowed through the final motion, and held. It left him facing away from the little alcove, though his voice was clear when he spoke. “Will you practice with me?”
“This one would not dare think himself capable of sparing His Highness.” Xie Lian dropped out of the stance, turning to smile at the Waxing Moon Officer who had stepped out of the shadows without hesitation.
Xie Lian smiled, gesturing to the practice swords. “I didn’t mean spar. Perhaps… stances?”
For a long moment the Waxing Moon Officer watched him, Xie Lian watching back. Then, the ambition won, and the officer gave a slight bow. “This one asks for His Highness’s forgiveness that he will likely need to correct.”
Xie Lian nodded, gesturing to the other to join him. “You can call me Xie Lian, you know. I’m not… I’m not the prince of anything anymore.” That was a dark path for his thoughts to go down. Much easier to focus on the now, on enjoying working with someone who clearly wanted to know the blade, and perhaps learn a bit more about why a Ghost King had gone so far out of his way to dig up a twice banished god. Why that same ghost king had allowed Xie Lian to move freely through his halls, even the high ranking servants seeking to take any order, real or perceived, that Xie Lian gave.
The Waxing Moon Officer hummed, before shaking his head. “This one would not dare.” Well, maybe not every order. Just as all the others, the Waxing Moon Officer was apparently going to stand firm in this too.
“Please, I insist.”
He could hear the smile though he couldn’t see it. “Forgive this one. Though His Highness may insist, this one is a servant who has no desire to be chastised by others.”
Xie Lian huffed. “Fine, then can you at least tell me your name? Surely it can’t be only Waxing Moon Officer.”
For a long moment the man stood, Xie Lian debating on if he was going to be turned down again. Then with a faintly humored sound, the man spoke. “My name is Qian Lin.”
Xie Lian nodded, “Qian Lin. Thank you.” It didn’t ring any particular bells but he hadn’t expected it to.
Qian Lin had some foundation, though it seemed like it still didn’t come as second nature to him. It also seemed that his balance was further off than Xie Lian had expected. After another movement set he paused the ghost, considering. Then his head tilted. “Qian Lin… is this your real form?”
The practice sword clattered to the ground, the ghost leaking out apologies as he retrieved it. After a bit of reassuring, the ghost stood clenching the sword tightly enough Xie Lian was debating on just ending the entire thing and trying again later when Qian Lin spoke.
“This one hates their original form.”
Xie Lian blinked, staring at the mask. “What?”
“I… I hate my original form. It’s small, and weak, and… and certain parts are wrong, and I hate how people look at it or react to it.” Xie Lian lifted his hands slightly, though Qian Lin stepped back with a slight shake of his head. “His Highness asked if this is my real form… it’s not. It’s not my original form, it’s not my real form… yet.”
He seemed to waver, before suddenly one hand was fluttering. “Ah, forgiveness. I meant to explain to His Highness so he could understand the situation so he doesn’t suggest… reverting. It wasn’t meant to upset His Highness.”
“Oh…” Xie Lian lifted his hand, before dropping it as he considered the form in front of him. Well, shape shifting was certainly a power well within a fully formed ghost’s ability, and one commonly found among gods as well. Hua Cheng himself was rumored to be an exceedingly talented shape shifter. Xie Lian had seen him shift although he wasn’t entirely sure if his San Lang had been making fun of him at the time despairing over the amount of difference between his youthful two eyed self and the bejeweled ruler of the ghost city. “That’s fine. It would be good to practice in all your forms so you aren’t thrown off should something happen, but if you don’t want anyone to see I understand.” It had taken a week to convince Hua Cheng to show him as well.
“Thank you.” It did make it a bit harder to judge what would best suit the youth as they set to the forms again like nothing had happened. It made it an almost fun challenge to consider what would be best suited to any form.
“Hua Cheng is teaching you, yes?” It occurred to Xie Lian far later that he hadn’t meant to step on any toes. Qian Lin hadn’t seemed to question it in the slightest, though Xie Lian didn’t know how much of that was just being a polite servant and how much was the ambition he kept seeing flicker to life only to be hidden away again.
“Mn.” Qian Lin hummed, flowing through one of the forms. Xie Lian could see it somewhat. Hua Cheng had the same base footwork, the same base footwork that had been taught to soldiers in the Xianle army. The saber had also been the most comfortable of the bladed weapons Xie Lian had been able to get into Qian Lin’s hands though surprisingly the most wickedly efficient had been a simple staff. That had been a style Xie Lian knew of although he hadn’t seen any hint of it in Hua Cheng. “I sought out Hua Chengzhu, knowing of his skill as a shifter and with any blade.”
Xie Lian nodded. He could understand that wish, though he thought it would be interesting to know how this man had convinced the Crimson Rain Sought Flower to actually teach him. Qian Lin drew in, his form shaking slightly though he didn’t acknowledge it as he bowed to Xie Lian. “Thank you.”
Xie Lian waved his hand. “Just a few pointers. It’s really nothing.” He may have gotten distracted by the sword work, falling back into the routine of a teacher he had been keeping up until… well, he didn’t actually mind teaching and the youth was enthusiastic. Xie Lian may not have learned much, but he had learned a bit and perhaps now the Waxing Moon Officer wouldn’t be so prone to disappearing.
“Should His Highness have any others, this servant is always willing to learn.”
His laugh was a touch nervous, but he nodded. “Truly, you’re giving me too much credit. I just happen to like the blade. Oh, perhaps at some point I can show you how to swallow a sword too? It’s quite a popular trick really.”
He had learned that the quiet huff meant one of a few tones of laughter, although Qian Lin bowed again. “It sounds like a useful skill to learn indeed.”
“Gege!” Xie Lian spun, grinning at Hua Cheng even as he brought his hand up to his hair. “Waxing Moon Officer, are you sullying gege’s thoughts?
“Not at all, Hua Chengzhu.”
“Hi, San Lang. This is uh…”
Hua Cheng smiled. “It’s fine, gege. I’m sure the Waxing Moon Officer was overjoyed to receive such instruction, and gege seemed to be enjoying himself.”
The officer in question bowed low. “It was an honor to receive instruction from the strongest martial god.”
“Oh, no no no. I’m not anywhere-” His hands fluttered between the two, really not sure how to deal with the raised eyebrows but otherwise unsurprised expression on Hua Cheng’s face or that Qian Lin was now turning and collecting the weapons to presumably put them away.
“Gege, please relax.” The ghost king was coming down the stairs, watching the Waxing Moon Officer’s back as they walked away. “Qian Lin occasionally makes surprising remarks like that. You don’t have to worry about them.”