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

Chapter 9 And A Name

Xie Lian wakes to cool stone beneath his back and the intoxicating smell of food.

"Wu Ming?"

There's no answer. Xie Lian opens his eyes and pushes himself to a sitting position, gazing around himself in confusion. He's on a stone slab vaguely the size and shape of a bed and when he sits up something falls off of his shoulders. He looks down and finds that he's been covered in both his thin blanket and also Wu Ming's outer robe.

That ghost... Xie Lian can't help the fondness in the thought or the swell of affection in his chest that follows. When was the last time he had someone who cared if he was cold or not?

...The last time he and Wu Ming were together.

The thought is painful enough to break the warm bubble of his thoughts and Xie Lian quickly distracts himself by taking in the rest of his surroundings. He's in a cave a little larger than the one he was nursing Wu Ming in and, judging by the darkness beyond the mouth and the lack of wind, this cave is part of a larger tunnel complex. In the center of the cave is a fire and two skinny rabbits lay freshly cooked beside it. That must have been the smell that woke him. The cave is dry and relatively warm and there's even food, and it's an improvement in every way except the only one that matters.

No Wu Ming.

Panic twists Xie Lian's stomach. What if something's happened to the ghost? What if he's trapped or hurt or left or... A movement from the side of the cave catches his eye and Xie Lian spins toward it, mind flooding first with relief and then with surprise. The movement isn't Wu Ming, in fact it isn't a person at all. It's a scimitar ...Wu Ming's scimitar

As Xie Lian watches the blade lifts itself off of the ledge it was sitting on and wobbles through the air in the direction of the fire where it drops down almost to the ground before rising up again, its movements as ungainly as a toddler's.

Utterly diverted Xie Lian can't help but watch as the beautiful sword bobs up and down and on his arm he feels Rouye stir inquisitively. After the fourth unsteady bob Xie Lian begins seeing a pattern to its movements, the way it drifts up and a bit toward him then back down toward the rabbits.

"Are you, trying to get me to come over?"

The blade shakes in the air in a gesture Xie Lian can only interpret as a nod. Sliding off of the stone slab the god walks over to the blade and stops, looking down at it. Close as he is he can see now that blade is looking back at him, the crimson eye on its hilt, closed the whole time Wu Ming was unconscious, is open now and staring up at Xie Lian with obvious joy. Xie Lian smiles down at it.

"Hello there, aren't you cute." The blade bobs upward a bit and on impulse Xie Lian reaches out and gives it a few pats. From the way the eye closes in pleasure, Xie Lian guesses that it enjoys the attention.

"Did Wu Ming leave you here to look after me?"

The blade blinks at him which Xie Lian guesses is a 'yes.'

That ghost...

"If he doesn't have you to look after him he could be hurt. We should go find him."

The blade bobs down toward the rabbits again.

"You won't let me go till after I eat something?"

Another bob, this time accompanied by the growling of Xie Lian's own stomach.

"Alright."

Xie Lian settles onto the floor and as he does he notices something in the dust beside him. Squinting down at it he realizes that what he's looking at seems to be some sort of writing but the characters are sharp and angled in a way that's unfamiliar to him. Maybe a different language?