Mixed Robes [FengQing]

Feng Xin

*spoilers*

Feng Xin sighed.

He fucked up. What's there to even say that he even had relationship experience? It had been over 800 years. He didn't even know that he had a son in the first place. Looking at Mu Qing with a look of slight hurt, he began.

This took place after Xie Lian's first banishment.

By now, Mu Qing had already left Xie Lian and Feng Xin. Hearing this, Mu Qing glanced away in regret. His breathing hitched, and he didn't dare to comment. Feng Xin continued.

Xie Lian and Feng Xin had run out of money to sustain themselves and Xie Lian's parents, so after a while of debating, they concluded busking/putting up a public show. Feng Xin decided to show off his archery skills, but accidentally hit a brothel and destroyed something of theirs. Some women came out to confront him and Xie Lian, and among them was Jian Lan.

Jian Lan and Feng Xin met shortly after Feng Xin busked, and they apparently fell into a relationship. Feng Xin would occasionally rent Jian Lan for some nights, yet not using those nights sexually. Instead, he used them to chat away through the night. Feng Xin gifted Jian Lan a golden belt that Xie Lian had given him out of fear that he would leave him, and all was well. 

During a two-month period that Xie Lian had left to who-knows-where, Jian Lan broke up with Feng Xin. Unbeknownst to him, Jian Lan was pregnant. Feng Xin had not spent a single sexual night with her, yet it turned out this way. Feng Xin never knew he had a son until a few months ago in the present.

Finishing with a harsh breath, Feng Xin clasped Mu Qing's hands within his own.

"I promise that you'll be my only one for centuries. Come wind or water, I will stay with you and only you. I fucked up back then, and only if I had known that I had a son would I have taken proper care of Jian Lan. Please, don't be angry with me," Feng Xin pleaded with Mu Qing.

"...I'm not angry. What do you take me for, a jealous mistress who is jealous of her husband's ex? I'm not like that, and you know it. I understand, if not, at least feel what you went through. I understand that it's hard to accept that both someone you used to love and a descendant are ghosts. Their resentment is strong, perhaps that's why they're still lurking about in Ghost City. It's not your fault, and nobody blames you. I just... hoped you would have at least told me sooner, and I would have still understood," Mu Qing said, looking Feng Xin in the eye. "I'm lucky that my path of cultivation doesn't require a pure body and soul. I'm happy to have met you at all," Mu Qing finished, tears of an unknown emotion gathering in his eyes. Feng Xin nodded and pulled Mu Qing into a gentle, yet strong embrace.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you... fuck it... I need you to stay in my life," Feng Xin said, gripping the back of Mu Qing's robes.

"I won't leave, no matter how harsh our arguments are. Damn, wrench my head off like Shi Wudu and I'll still be with you," Mu Qing swore. Hearing this, Feng Xin closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He buried his face into Mu Qing's shoulder and sat in silence. 

Seeing a stronger, slightly buffer man look so pitiful and small at this time seemed odd. Yet it was a moment for both Mu Qing and Feng Xin only, their silence was heard. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

After sitting for a while, Mu Qing straightened up.

"I'll go cook something. Rest a little," Mu Qing said, rising. Feng Xin stared at him, perplexed.

"I think the one who should be resting is you..." Feng Xin said, slightly narrowing his eyes. Mu Qing waved off his words and went straight to the kitchen. The house was small, it only took him a few steps to get to the stove. Sending a little blast of spiritual power to fire up the little furnace beneath the stove, Mu Qing crouched and watched as the fire rose little by little. Once he was satisfied with the fire, he began to pour water into a built-in wok above. Letting the water boil on its own, he walked outside, wrenched some vegetables from the ground and some small bushes, and came back in within a quarter incense time. He washed the vegetables, chopped them as desired, and tossed them into the gently boiling water. He seasoned them just as he wanted to, and covered the pot. He turned around to see Feng Xin staring at him, like always. 

Mu Qing pulled on some outer robes and he tied his long sleeves to his wrist so that they wouldn't get in the way. 

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Feng Xin said, reaching into his robes to pull out a small vial. "Ling Wen visited earlier and told me to feed you one of these so you would get better," Feng Xin said. Mu Qing nodded. Feng Xin stood up and walked to the table to pour Mu Qing a cup of tea. "Drink this with the medicine," he said, pushing the teacup towards Mu Qing. Mu Qing obliged, sitting down. Feng Xin popped the small vial open and poured out a small circular pill. Mu Qing took it with his other hand and without a word drank it down with the tea. Letting out an enough sound, he placed the teacup back on the table, he stared back at Feng Xin. The two silently stared at each other in silence. And just at the perfect time, the door burst open. It was Pei Xiu and Banyue. Remember them...?

One couple stared at the other. Banyue seemed to have grown. The last time that Feng Xin and Mu Qing had seen Banyue and Pei Xiu, they were disguised as the "junior officials" Fu Yao and Nan Feng. Banyue seemed to look like a little girl of twelve or thirteen years, but now she looked like a young woman of around seventeen years. Not to mention that she was taller, it was a huge difference. Banyue still had the same purplish hair, grey eyes, and slightly tan skin. She was dressed in deep purple robes, looking like a normal town girl. She might have learned to change form recently.

Pei Xiu looked the same as ever, still living out his years of exile. He had normal attire not too different from Banyue's, and he seemed to be glowing from the gentle spiritual power that Banyue might have let him borrow. He was not much more than a mortal now that he was in temporary exile, but there were some exceptions to him. He could still borrow spiritual power, which was a good thing. 

"How the hell did you guys get here?" Feng Xin asked, a little impressed that people like them would find such a small house near the mountain of the Heavenly Court. In a rather vacant forest, too.

"Ah... My Lords Nan- General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen. We came here upon chance, as we were visiting the Puqi shrine. It was relatively close, so we decided to go exploring a bit..." Pei Xiu said, scratching his nose. Banyue nodded.

"We thought this was recently abandoned, we didn't realize that... uh... You generals were staying here... I apologize," Banyue said, looking a little guilty. She looked older than before, but her personality was the same as before. Mu Qing nodded.

"It's fine," he said. Feng Xin was a little surprised at the change in Mu Qing's personality. Mu Qing was usually blunt and aloof, but he seemed more... easygoing.

"Do you want some tea?" Feng Xin asked. It was a little long way from Puqi shrine, and the forest was thick, so he might as well offer them some tea before they ventured any further. 

"Ah... alright," Pei Xiu replied, stepping towards the table with Banyue on his tail. Feng Xin pulled out two more teacups from who-knows-where and poured the tea. Banyue and Pei Xiu accepted the cups with gratitude and lightly sipped from them. 

"What made you two venture into this forest?" Feng Xin asked.

"The forest seemed... alluring and curious. It had some trees not exactly found in the mortal realm, so we found it cool to check out," Banyue explained. Mu Qing found it a little fishy, but it wasn't Banyue and Pei Xiu. Since when had they grown trees that weren't found in the mortal realm? Sure, they grew rare azalea trees and exotic blossom trees, but there shouldn't be any trees that aren't in the mortal realm. They had grown the forest themselves, and they didn't add any Heavenly Immortal* trees at all.
*not real trees from the book

"There shouldn't be any other-worldly trees in the forest. Did you perhaps sense some qi coming from them?" Feng Xin asked.

"We did, but we thought it was intentional," Pei Xiu replied. He immediately felt like something was wrong.

"Could you explain the trees to us?" Mu Qing asked, brows furrowing.

"They looked... well curious and alluring. If I were to give it a living description... feminine and lustful," Pei Xiu replied. They all knew too well what kind of trees those were.

The trees were plants of the Land of the Tender flower Yao.