LINKDING

Summary: Xie Lian lounged across from him, the dice cup on the tea table askew to reveal two sixes beneath. His Highness had - helped along with subtle doses of luck as the dice were passed to him - won decisively. Still, though he had drunk much less, the effect on him was more pronounced. // Xie Lian can have a little to drink and do a bit of gambling, as long as he maintains a tranquil heart. That should be very easy. ➤ tgcf hualian post-canon fic ➤ god this is cute, they're so CUTE!!! ➤ hua cheng and xie lian happy and comfortable together, having fun teasing and playing a drinking game ➤ the vibes are sooooo good I'm so charmed! ➤ 2k words in length

Summary: "After all, this gracious daozhang has been spoiling me so much lately, and it’s high time I returned the favor.” Xie Lian trailed to a stop behind Hua Cheng, looking a little lost as Hua Cheng leaped briskly up the steps. Once there, he stopped to flash an impish grin in Xie Lian’s direction. “If dianxia has no objections– allow /me/ to make dinner tonight.” 🍲 In which 'home' isn't a place, but the people in it. (Or, "Good Soup: the fic") ➤ a sweet hualian fic from before they get together ➤ about hua cheng and xie lian cooking together at puqi shrine, and about what makes the feeling of home ➤ lots of great food details! ➤ 8k words in length

Summary: Ling Wen wakes up in Hua Cheng's bed. ➤ omg I am LIVING, someone wrote me so many words of ling wen fic wherein post-canon ling wen bodyswaps with xie lian ➤ the ling wen pov in this fic is sooooo good, her pragmatic approach to dealing with whatever happens in her life, her disinterest in attending to her emotions, her independence and unwillingness to rely on anyone who isn't her ➤ and seeing xie lian and hua cheng through ling wen's eyes is so good too!! ➤ there are so many fun character relationship dynamics, connected with a really fun premise, and I loved it all ➤ 8k words in length

Summary: Pleasuring Wu Ming won’t break Xie Lian’s cultivation. But it will go against what has always been expected of him, and he feels a perverse sort of glee at the thought of doing something so uncharacteristic of his old self. A boot on that flower, grinding it further into the mud. He tilts his head at Wu Ming. “So?” he asks. “Did you lie? Will you run, now that you know what I want from you?” / Xie Lian pressures Wu Ming into giving him spiritual energy via a blowjob, with the goal of pushing him away before he leaves on his own. Wu Ming doesn’t want Xie Lian like this. ➤ ooh a compellingly painful fic about xie lian testing the limits of wu ming's devotion, leading to a sexual encounter that neither of them feel great about ➤ it's so very them for that period in their history: xie lian trying to push wu ming away because he thinks wu ming is better off elsewhere but doing it by being horrible to him, and wu ming feeling an awful mix of self-loathing and heady excitement for getting to be touched this way by dianxia ➤ 1k words in length

summary: <blockquote>Hua Cheng only wants to have Xie Lian's full and complete attention.</blockquote> ➤ hualian fanvid of the TGCF donghua set to Vienna Teng's "Never Look Away" ➤ ahhhhh it's just very feelings!!!! ➤ audio is song-only ➤ youtube video includes lyric captions ➤ 3:16 in length

Summary: <blockquote>A facet of reality where Quan Yizhen has something Hua Cheng wants, for a change.</blockquote> ➤ tgcf canon divergence au where quan yizhen finds the coffin containing the guoshi fangxin ➤ a fun look at a different way for xie lian and hua cheng to meet again, and for quan yizhen and yin yu to meet again! ➤ 9k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>He almost feels like he should write a book; “How to Break into Heaven, a Guide for Ghosts”. Step one: Ask your fellow ghost king for undercover advice, seeing as he did it for decades. Step one-point-five: Ghosts aren’t supposed to be in the Heavenly Court, so no one thinks to look for them anyway. Step two: Ironically, pray. End of book. / Xie Lian tests a theory, Hua Cheng goes on a date, and Heaven suffers.</blockquote> ➤ xie lian gets an idea for a fun adventure and hua cheng loves to indulge his husband's mischievous side (I LOVE THIS) ➤ the idea: if hua cheng went to heaven wearing clothes that aren't red, would anyone recognize him? ➤ a charming and cute fic! ➤ 3k words in length ➤ thanks to by-xieliansbignaturalsby-blorbo.social for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>The most shocking thing about Ghost City was how modern it was. Billboards! Traffic lights! KFC! Xie Lian could never get over the demons taking pictures of street food. The first time she saw it happen, she pulled on Hua Cheng’s sleeve and whispered, “San Lang… why is that man photographing his dumplings?” Hua Cheng glanced at Xie Lian. “People post photos online. On Weibo, usually.” Xie Lian had the vague sense that Weibo was sort of like a public communication array. She wasn’t sure why anyone would share photos of their food there, but she didn’t know anyone who would be interested besides Hua Cheng. “Ah, I see.” “I’ll show you, jiejie.” Hua Cheng fished her phone out of her pocket. Her suit was so low-cut that Xie Lian could barely look at her; the fake fur trim ran down to the navel, exposing the soft curves of Hua Cheng’s breasts and the garish necklace suspended between them. “Here, look through this.”</blockquote> ➤ rule 63 modern au hualian ➤ it is so SOFT and suffused with care that I am all emotions!!!! ➤ also. the outfits. I die. ➤ 3k words in length

➤ fan animation to music

Summary: <blockquote>Hua Cheng wakes up in a long-robbed tomb older than Xianle, cursed shackles on his neck and ankle and hope hammering in his stolen heart. Xie Lian awakens in a bed. This is somehow more disconcerting. / In which a body-swapping curse brings two people together.</blockquote> ➤ canon divergence story where ghost king hua cheng manages to catch up with his god in a different way ➤ that way: xie lian accidentally triggered a curse and now he's swapped bodies with a mysterious ghost....? ➤ (INCREDIBLE premise) ➤ I love xl and hc's very different reactions to finding themselves in each other's bodies ➤ I think my favourite part though might be poor yin yu doing his best to handle the situation, between hc's firm instructions on how to treat xl, and xl's equally firm opinions on what to do ➤ a very fun read overall! ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>"Really, Xie Lian, you don't even jerk it??" Shi Qingxuan insists. "I mean it's none of my business and you can tell me to fuck off, but holy shit, lady." Xie Lian laughs, feeling her cheeks color, and shrugs again. "I don't know, something about the mechanics of it just never made sense to me," she admits. "And anyway that's time I should be spending studying." / It comes out that Xie Lian's never had an orgasm. She goes to Hua Cheng for help. • theyre lesbians</blockquote> ➤ modern au where hualian are lesbians ➤ xie lian has never had an orgasm, and hua cheng offers to help by loaning her a toy ➤ obviously the help ends up going further than that ➤ it's just so cute and sweet how much xl and hc love each other and take care of each other and are clearly SUPER into each other! ➤ and how good they are about each other's weird hangups about sex! ➤ 19k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>All of Heaven has been brought to its knees by the hot new gatcha game, Celestial Confluence/Cultivation Cross. The gods are at each other's throats, and are at the brink of civil war, in pursuit of the rarest of .pngs. Chaos reigns. And it is most emphatically Hua Cheng's fault.</blockquote> ➤ a silly funny fic about hua cheng causing chaos in heaven by creating a trendy new gacha game ➤ xie lian, bewildered, ends up on shi qingxuan and ming yi's livestream about the game ➤ hua cheng is absolutely willing to get distracted from the game by gege ➤ there's some excellent comic timing in here! ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>As he rounds the corner to the front of Puji Shrine, he's taken aback to see Nan Feng standing outside the shrine's open door with his sword drawn. "Nan Feng?" he calls, and Nan Feng jumps. "Oh!" he says, recognizing Xie Lian. "There you are! Your highness, you shouldn't enter — there's a demon inside!" Xie Lian frowns at him. "I'm aware," he says. "He stayed the night." / Xie Lian and Hua Cheng talk things out a little.</blockquote> ➤ a cute quiet small domestic scene in puqi shrine in the middle parts of book canon ➤ see hua cheng as a cat! hear hua cheng's theory about breathing being sexy! enjoy hua cheng and xie lian being completely smitten with each other! also lady windmaster is a real pal as always ➤ it's super adorable ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>The villagers worry about Xie Lian. One of them decides to pay him a visit.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>No matter how she tries to word it, the question is going to sound terribly awkward. Even if San Niang is the most trustworthy person Xie Lian knows, she might decide to simply hang up and go back to sleep. “I wondered… I mean, since then I have been wondering if maybe what Shi Qingxuan was suggesting might not be entirely out of the realm of possibility,” she rushes through this as quickly as possible, squeezing her eyes closed as she speaks. “I don’t really know how to judge what I’m, um, supposed to feel.” “About… women?” San Niang says, posing the question tentatively. “Yes,” Xie Lian says, breathing it out. “Oh,” San Niang says, just as softly. “Okay. Um.”</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>The coral bead bites into the pads of Hua Cheng’s fingers as he freezes, pressing down too hard in surprise. It takes a moment for his voice to work. When it does, it comes out distant, as if spoken by someone else entirely. “Your Highness remembers someone so insignificant?” he asks.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>After getting lost in Ghost City, Xie Lian bargains away years of servitude to the Gambler’s Den to help a man in need. He dons the robes of a worker and hides his face and life behind an enchanted mask, protecting himself from the city's denizens. Xie Lian finds an unexpected home in Ghost City before he ever sees the lord of it, the infamous Hua Cheng. When he finally does, something about himself seems to catch the attention of the Ghost King, slowly striking up an unusual friendship. Xie Lian must figure out how to navigate his burgeoning feelings, how to keep his identity to himself, and how to get over a ghost so clearly in love with someone else.</blockquote> ➤ I enjoyed the fic a lot but the ending wasn't very tight

Summary: <blockquote>Over the course of his life, Xie Lian learned that there were some fates worse than death, that death could be a mercy—far too benevolent for those of Yong'an. They stripped him of his entire life: his friends, his family, his crown, his kingdom, his godhood. Xie Lian lost everything and he was being forced to live with it, so no, he would not be so kind as to gift his enemies with that which he craved most. They deserved one of those fates far worse than death, and he knew exactly how to give it to them. / Or: Darkness hangs heavy over Xie Lian. Wu Ming looks after him.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Wearing a face that is not his own, dressed in a red tunic and simple boots, Hua Cheng comes face to face with the love of his life - and forever after - for the first time in two hundred years. Or, the one where Xie Lian is also a ghost.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Hua Cheng huffs out a laugh. “You do have terrible luck,” he agrees. “And mine is quite good. But you don’t know that you wouldn’t win it back. Play with me?” “San Lang,” chides Xie Lian, voice crinkling gently as it’s swept along to the midpoint between amusement and fondness. “Are you going to let me win again?” “Depends,” says Hua Cheng, “on what you’re betting, Gege.” / A search, a gambling table, and the events thereof.</blockquote> ➤ a great look at the two of them in a mid-canon stage in their relationship, and the careful dance the two of them are engaged in, getting closer and closer to each other, has a delicious frisson here

<blockquote>“Your Highness,” Feng Xin says carefully, “what do you…how much do you remember?” “Clearly, he remembers enough,” Mu Qing snaps. He waves an emphatic hand. “He’s happy to see us, isn’t he?” “Ah, it’s really alright, I remember most things,” Xie Lian says, placating. “I just don’t…” His eyes skitter nervously towards Hua Cheng and then away again; the tension in Hua Cheng’s shoulders, in his entire body, stretches closer to snapping. It feels like every muscle is straining under the weight of this, like every cell in his body is rebelling against this…this horror. Still, he manages to say what Xie Lian apparently cannot: “He just doesn’t remember me.”</blockquote> ➤ yessss

<blockquote>Sometimes, Xie Lian wishes Hua Cheng would call him by his name, would shorten the distance between them. Sometimes, he wishes not to be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Xian Le nor the Flower Crown Martial God, but Hua Cheng will never let them stand on equal footing. Hua Cheng believes Xie Lian to be his god, so far above him he’s nigh untouchable, but Xie Lian knows the truth. Hua Cheng is the one whose power and strength shines through in each calculated movement, who has conquered every obstacle in his path, who is feared and revered across all three realms for his tenacity. Hua Cheng was born of blood and pain and sorrow, yet there is childish glee in the grins he shoots Xie Lian, and the way he takes Xie Lian’s hands contains genuine excitement at the prospect of existence. Xie Lian is tired, and he is old, and he is weak. Every evening Hua Cheng is away, he digs a hole, and he keeps it a secret, because he knows Hua Cheng would recognise it for what it is. </blockquote>

<blockquote>“Do you want me?” Hua Cheng asked, one shoulder bare. Eyes wide, Xie Lian nodded. Hua Cheng let his spiritual power swell behind the words. “I promise you. You can have every part.” / Hua Cheng returns to Taicang Peak.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Allow this worshipper some mercy," Hua Cheng rasps, his fingers digging into Xie Lian’s flesh. Xie Lian squirms, worry furrowing his brow. "San Lang?" he asks, doing his best to squash the desire Hua Cheng’s kisses always awaken in him. "What’s wrong?" "Nothing," Hua Cheng answers immediately, but he doesn’t let go, and the tense set of his body doesn’t relax. "Gege is just too beautiful like this. Your poor San Lang has no practice cultivating abstinence." / Hua Cheng gets a boner. They take things slow.</blockquote> ➤ sweet

<blockquote>If there had just been one person, back then. A single being who had shown him kindness. Would he have become this? In the present, Xie Lian stares at the rift in front of him. Maybe it isn’t too late. He’ll search every world. If this world exists - this cursed world where there was no San Lang to keep him whole - then there must be a world with a San Lang, but no Xie Lian. There must. A Xie Lian from a world without Hua Cheng finds out that he could have ended up happy.</blockquote> ➤ akin to the fics about bing-ge finding his own shen yuan in our world

<blockquote>Some parts of the past, you don't tell people about, even if it's relevant to later behavior. Not until it gets thrown in everyone's faces. A Xie Lian in a very bad headspace who wears no shackles and a Wu Ming with a fancier saber have no idea what is happening. A very different sort of Amnesia Extra</blockquote>

<blockquote>Almost 3k words of Hua Cheng being a disaster in love. :D / Around the campfire, Xie Lian tells stories that are meant to be scary, but Hua Cheng just stares at his face, lovestruck. His heart is pounding, but not from fear. He can’t believe Xie Lian is here. Warm, and safe, and holding him. "Oh, San Lang, was that one too much?" Xie Lian whispers to him, sounding concerned. He presses a hand to Hua Cheng’s chest, and Hua Cheng leans into it, delirious from how much he’s being allowed. "Your heartbeat’s like a little rabbit." "M-hm, I’m so scared," Hua Cheng agrees, not bothering to try to be convincing. "Won’t gege protect me?" Xie Lian smiles at him fondly. "Of course," he whispers back. He hugs Hua Cheng a little tighter. "I won’t let anything get you."</blockquote>

<blockquote>Xie Lian’s second banishment comes to an abrupt end when Jun Wu summons him for an important mission. The goal: To kill the Ghost King, Crimson Rain Sought Flower. How fortunate it is that Xie Lian finds a young man willing to show him the way to Ghost City.</blockquote> ➤ alternate first (ish) meeting, "crack treated seriously"

<blockquote>viral sculptor hua cheng who never shows his face only his hands & makes these gorgeous statues, beautifully detailed in everything except the face, which he either stops filming before he sculpts or carefully leaves out of frame</blockquote>