From Earth to Heaven, From Heaven to Earth (TGCF HuLian)

Chapter 1: The Poet's Eye

The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,

Doth glance from heaven to Earth, from Earth to heaven;

And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown,

The poet's pen turns them to shape,

and gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name.

-A Midsummer Night's Dream

Wu Ming... the name is an aching hum in Xie Lian's mind, a memory he can't let go, a bleeding wound he can't staunch.

Wu Ming... Not a name at all really, but then that's just one more thing for him to regret.

He should have given the ghost a real name, should have given him kindness and thanks and so many other things...

...But it's far too late for that now.

It's been too late for nearly a decade.

But no matter how much time passes Xie Lian still can't let him go.

No, it's more than that, Xie Lian refuses to let him, just the same way he refused to return to heaven and refused to be unshackled.

He owes Wu Ming everything. The least he can do is make sure he's not forgotten.

It's 9 years after the death of his last believer that Xie Lian finally hits on an idea for how to repay Wu Ming.

'My beloved sustained grave injuries in this war, suffering a fate worse than death. I could only watch with open eyes as they suffered this torment, struggling in agony.'

This 'beloved,' this person, if Wu Ming became a vengeful spirit for their sake then he needs to find them and help them. It won't be enough to repay all that the ghost did and sacrificed for him, but its something at least, better than nothing.

Not for the first time Xie Lian curses himself for not talking more to the ghost, getting to know him. He should have. Wu Ming was his follower and his companion after all. But had he? No all he'd ever done was shout and say cruel things, push the ghost away, treat him as nothing.

The tears come again, as they always come when he thinks about Wu Ming, and Xie Lian lets them fall, a small tribute to the one he has most wronged.

Once the tears pass, Xie Lian tries to think, to come up with a plan. Whoever Wu Ming's beloved is or was there's only three real options for what they may be now. Either they still live or they have died and moved on to their next life or they have died and still remain, lingering in this world just like the ghost who so loved them.

The thought twists Xie Lian's heart. What if Wu Ming's beloved is lingering because they are searching for him? What if they can't let go of this life till they find him? Will they search the world forever, wandering through centuries of pain and loneliness?

Tears sting Xie Lian's eyes again and he shakes his head fiercely to dislodge them. No, he can't allow that. If there's nothing else he can do for Wu Ming now, then at the least he will not allow that.

And so he comes up with a simple plan.

If they are living, he will offer them closure and whatever he can.

If they are dead he will offer them closure and help them pass on to the next life in peace.

If they have already passed on then he will find their reincarnation and grant them from afar, whatever help and wealth a god of scraps and misfortune can.

He never gave himself the chance to get to know Wu Ming well but somehow he thinks the ghost would approve of his plan. The thought makes Xie Lian smile a little, though his heart still aches.