The Legend of the Underwater Palace and the Sea Dragon Prince

16. Drowning in sorrow, like an arrow at the end of its flight

He heard a hesitant knock on the door, then after a moment, somebody opened it, walked in and pushed a chair to sit next to him. Hua Cheng couldn't move: his body was all achy and numb and he had a splitting headache, but he still thought vaguely that only Yin Yu would dare to come and bother him at his cabin this early in the morning.

"I'm thirsty", he said, feeling around his own dry mouth with his tongue.

A cup was pushed against his lips, and he frowned when felt it was only water, but he was so parched he drank it all the same. Either than that, Yin Yu just stayed sitting there in silence.

"What do you want? It's still early, we sail at dawn", he said impatiently.

"It's past si time. Sir", he replied calmly – but Hua Cheng knew why he was there: this would be the only time he'd be sober, so Yin Yu must have something important to report.

Yin Yu's been the one in charge of everything since the day the pirates took over the underwater palace: Hua Cheng, leaving XianLe immediately after that confrontation at the audience hall, hasn't been of sound mind ever since. He locked himself in his cabin, drinking himself numb to fall in a dreamless slumber every night. Yin Yu never said a thing, just let him be, and carried on with things.

But now, well maybe now he changed his mind, and came seeking his fair share of things, maybe even usurp him, Hua Cheng, better known as the pirate Crimson Rain, who makes the whole of the southern seas tremble in fear. Why not? There are people beyond people and Heavens beyond the Heavens: someone's bound to take your place if you mess up.

But Yin Yu just stayed there for a whole incense time, then said, "Sir. We have to return to XianLe".

"No", Hua Cheng replied, not finding the will to say anything else. That was enough, he thought.

That day, Hua Cheng was like hit by lightning, when he realised he was in love with the crown prince and wouldn't go ahead with the plan, just as He Xuan said. As much as he hated He Xuan to the core and was ready to kill him there and then, he couldn't really blame him: he, Hua Cheng, agreed and carried out the whole plan. He himself was to blame.

He left XianLe, throwing himself at dangerous – some would call suicidal – raids, one after another, as if truly seeking death. Then there was the heavy drinking: he knew deep down it was just a escape from reality and wouldn't fix anything, but he craved that sensation of hovering between life and death every morning, because he deserved it.

"Sir. The ships are full of loot to the brim, we don't have even food anymore. We've been eating only fish and rice for days. We need some rest, the men are tired", he concluded with a sigh.

What he left unsaid didn't escape Hua Cheng, and he gave him a dark look, saying, "You know what happens to whoever dares to start a mutiny".

Yin Yu knew that according to the codes of the Calamity Pirate Confederation, one could get executed for many things, including for starting a mutiny. He remained meaningfully silent: he'd never ever join a mutiny against Hua Cheng, let alone start one, but he couldn't blame the rest of the crew for it. Things must be really bad then.

Hua Cheng gave out a deep sigh, and with some difficulty sat up on his sweaty bed, then rubbed at his face, brushing off his greasy hair. He started to get off the bed, and Yin Yu promptly helped him.

"Heaven's net is wide, and none can escape its mesh", he said, "I deserve a thousand deaths for what I did to Gege. If those demons are waiting for me to take revenge, so be it".

He continued, "I'll listen to you, let's go back to XianLe. I had enough! Yin Yu, get a bath ready for me, I'm really as stinky as a corpse. I must look like one too – "

After that, Hua Cheng didn't touch alcohol anymore, and bathed every day, trying to stay on the deck as much as possible, counting on the fresh sea winds and sun to somewhat heal his body – what he needed to heal his soul, he didn't think he deserved to see ever again.

He commanded a swift sailing, and in about four days they entered XianLe's magical lock, and docked at Capital City. No crowds collected at the harbour, but the city looked its usual busy self: only the demons seemed to not take notice of them, going about their business without as much as a glance.

The underwater palace was silent and felt abandoned, and vestiges of He Xuan and his men were seen here and there: bottles and broken clay pipes at its entrance, boots discarded at the audience hall. The great hall was eerily empty too, with dirty bowls and chopsticks on the tables – not the palace ones. An old, ripped jacket at the base of the royal table's platform. 

Hua Cheng should be furious with such disrespect, but all he could feel was a deep sadness. He remembered that first dinner he had with Gege, when they talked about his parents, and how he couldn't help but think the crown prince has been lonely for centuries. How would he feel now?

Back at the bedchambers they shared after the marriage, as soon as its magical doors opened for him, many memories flushed into his mind like a tidal wave, he felt a tightness on his chest, a hardness to breathe as if he was truly getting drowned on them – thinking of that first night on these chambers, and on many others after that.

"Gege, I miss you so much", he said aloud to no one, his words wafting around the chamber.

He sighed, and, removing his boots, stepped on the red carpet by the bed, closing his eye, imagining the prince's white as jade feet threading softly on it, the way he stopped and looked at himself on the mirror. The prince wearing wedding robes, complaining of their heaviness, and Hua Cheng, hugging him from behind, saying he looked beyond beautiful.

The way he had helped the prince to undress, deftly unfastening layers after layers of robes, unhurriedly and smoothly, barely touching him at all... Hua Cheng then undressed and climbed onto the bed, thinking again how he wronged the crown prince, and how he must hate him.

He was like an arrow at the end of its flight, and, before realising it, he felt a lump on his throat and started to sob uncontrollably, breathing hard and irregularly, his whole body aching with spasms. But the bedsheet's coolness and faint scent made him think of the crown prince's body, and was somewhat soothing, and he felt pleasantly numb.

He started to think how he could ever make up for Gege. Maybe taking the palace back and restore justice for XianLe, then sailing off, disappearing forever – after all, the crown prince would be far better off without him.

Thank you for reading! We need some angst here to spice up the story, let me know what you think in the comment session! ✨✨✨

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