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rose-tinted-vision · 5 months

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Fic: Tales from Tianji Manor

Relationship: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua

Tags: POV He Xiaohui, Post-canon Fix-it, Li Lianhua lives

(read it on ao3!/next)

He Xiaohui watches the three sleeping men from the doorway, observes the way each of her son's arms are wound tight around the other two men's waists, as if he was afraid that they would be taken from him.

She takes a good look at their faces, the once-feared Demon lord of the Jianghu, and the once-revered prodigy Li Xiangyi lying peacefully on either side of her son, the severe lines on their faces smoothed out by sleep.

Her son had showed up out of the blue one day, moving house and all, with a haggard looking Di Feisheng and an unconscious Li Xiangyi in it. He had proceeded to hole himself up in his room with the former leader of the Jingyuan Alliance and Li Xiangyi, blabbing about saving Li Lianhua before the man escaped, pleading for her to place her most vicious traps outside his room and not let any of them out for the next week.

Bewildered but recognizing the firm expression on her son's face, she had complied, resolving to demand answers from him once the week was up.

And here she was, at the end of the promised seven days, undoing all her mechanisms at the break of dawn to see three innocuous sleeping faces.

He Xiaohui did not know what to make of it.

Her son must have the devil's luck, to have snagged the two most powerful men in the jianghu.

She does not know how she feels about her Fang Xiaobao, the same snot-nosed kid who she once had to make wheeled chairs for, now all grown up and actually dating men nearly a decade older than him.

Li Xiangyi, she at least knew somewhat. She still hasn't forgiven him for those words that pushed her son to the jianghu, made him put himself through all that pain, but she also knew the man named Li Lianhua. What she said that day was genuine. She knew her fool of a son, she knew that he would only get himself scammed, robbed, and killed if it weren't for Li Lianhua.

She remembers how her son had stood resolute in front of Shi Shui and Yun Biqiu, throwing away his lifelong dream just to protect Li Lianhua, how the man in turn, had recognized her Xiaobao for the treasure that he was.

Her Fang Xiaobao had always been one for wearing his heart on his sleeve, giving it away easily.

(It was why she had sent his xiaoyi after him, had advocated for his marriage to the princess to be held as soon as possible, to tie him down before he managed to escape to the jianghu, where he would undoubtedly get hurt a thousand times over.

She should have known that he would inherit his biological mother’s stubbornness).

Di Feisheng, however. She did not know what to make of him. When her Xiaobao came home in a frenzy, Lotus tower in tow, the man had let him discuss matters with her, never once trying to intervene as he played silent sentinel by the side.

She had only met him once, during the fight against Shan Gudao where he helped take down his own Alliance, and noticed the familiar way her Xiaobao addressed him. The easy way Li Xiangyi stood beside him, as if they had not fought to the death ten years ago. The way Di Feisheng had asked Li Xiangyi so tenderly if he wasn't going to chase after her son.

It spoke of something between them, their dynamics between the three of them built during their travels through the jianghu. When had they picked up Di Feisheng, anyway?

All she knew of him was rumours accumulated over the years, painting him a fearsome figure who rose to the top at the mere age of 21 before perishing alongside Li Xiangyi.

And now here they both were, in her Tianji Manor.

Curled up on either side of her son, the gentle rays of dawn made them all look younger than they were, and nothing at all like the three men who undid all of Shan Gudao’s carefully laid plans in one fell swoop.

(The pile of blankets that Di Feisheng and her Xiaobao had wrapped Li Lianhua in were strewn to the side, she notes. She concludes that they managed to cure Li Lianhua, and the relief she feels at that nearly bowls her over).

He Xiaohui scoops up the blankets, turning to take one last look at the three sleeping men before leaving, only to meet Di Feisheng’s quiet stare.

She quirks a hesitant smile at him, which he returns with a nod.

It's a start, she supposed.

#i love the He family sm #best fam fr #celebratory fic!!#my assignments are nearly over 🥳#difanghua #mysterious lotus casebook #mysterious lotus casebook fic #rose writes

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randomingoftherandomness · 8 months

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Fic: Love is when you try to place it out your mind

A/N: For @lovesickfolly and based on their deliciously wonderful plot bunnies :) The title is based on Mona Lisa by Dominic Fike

Fair warning, as of writing this fic, I'm on episode 10 of the show but I'd been Tumblr-watching it while it was airing so I have a gauge of what's what. If there are some discrepancies with the details or whatnot, *handwaves* consider this a Canon Divergence?

As a whole, I hope I did the prompt I chose some proper justice. This fic is not betaed. Enjoy!

It happens a little like this:

Fang Duobing holds on a little tighter just to keep Li Lianhua from running away. Li Lianhua uses some sleight of hand to keep him at a distance. Fang Duobing falls for it but only for a moment, before he catches the corner of his sleeve, holding on just long enough to say, "I love you, I have loved you for the longest time. I can't live when you aren't near, yet I can't breathe when you are away from my side."

"You frustrate me, you drive me insane, but there's no one better for me. In this life, I want no one else. I've never had to beg anyone for anything but, please..."

"Fang Duobing, I think you've drunk too much tonight."

A gentle push at his wrist that he doesn't fight is strong enough to have him stumbling back. Hurt lances through his heart at the way Li Lianhua's dark gaze lifts and meets his own unwaveringly. Like two bottomless pools in a moonless night, there is little he can do but to listen to his heart break when Li Lianhua says, "I'll forget everything you just said. Bury this deep and never think about me like this again."

It ends a lot like this:

Li Lianhua leaves him behind without a second thought.

It has been a year since he last saw him.

It feels very much like this:

An ache in his heart follows him closer than a shadow, far more familiar than his own skin, settling deeper in his marrow than his own blood. He cannot eat, he cannot sleep. The best wine is tasteless, the finest dishes are ash on his tongue.

For the first month, he knows his mother spends sun up to sundown cursing the jianghu. It takes his youngest Aunt coming to his room to hold him by the hand as she'd used to do when he was little and ill from a bout of sickness, tearfully pleading with him to please, just eat something, just one bite, one sip of water, just do something instead of staying in his room like he'd lost all his will to live.

(if he only climbs out of bed because his mother and aunt threaten to bring this case up to the whole of the jianghu, if he only takes his first bite of food because they bring Fox Spirit to his side to comfort him, that's something for him and him only to know)

By the time the seasons change, his mother only kisses his cheeks in goodbye and tells him to take care of himself on the road when he leaves to roam the jianghu and carry out his duties to the Baichuan Court.

And through all that, the ache settles in like an old friend. His aunt says that heartbreak will take time to get over. Fang Duobing doesn't know if he wants to wait to find out.

He's probably cursed at this point, but there's nothing much to be done about that.

The first time he hears that Li Lianhua is back is half a year since he spilt his heart out and it is through gossip he overhears in a tavern in the middle of escorting a criminal. There's a twinge of instinct like a cut-off nerve ending that still feels sensation even when it shouldn't, to get up, ask those men where they heard such a piece of news and chase that man down by hook or by crook.

Instead, Fang Duobing takes a deep, calming breath, swallows down his mouthful of food, and takes another breath.

In the months after, it's as if he is seeing ghosts.

A glimpse of a lotus leaf hairpin on someone, the scent of herbs and fire on another, the sight of red ribbons floating in the wind. The touch of warmth on his wrist as he walks in a crowd. Despite all these, Fang Duobing trudges on. Smiling when he has to, laughing because he wants nothing but to put the frown off his mother's brow, joking when all he wants to do is scream that the withered and dying heart in him is so hollowed out that nothing matters.

Not helped is how the rumour of Li Lianhua's return was anything but an exaggeration.

Everyone seems to have seen him. Everyone but him.

The masters of Baichuan Court had a meal with him a week ago. Su Xiaoyong managed to corner him for tea a day ago and Qiao Wanmian is having him over for lunch in a week. Sometimes, if he comes back at the right time, he spies Fox Spirit's food bowl filled with his favourite snack that only Li Lianhua knows how to make.

He swallows down the bile and keeps trudging on. Pulls himself up by the boots and solves case after case, making an empty glory for himself. Runs himself ragged so that at night he can just fall into bed and sleep. It is a small bliss when he doesn't have to think about how Li Lianhua hates him so much that he won't even seek him out to show him just a glimpse of the hem of his robe.

What goes around comes around. Or so the saying goes, and no good deed goes unpunished. Fang Duobing would call it a relief when he slips up enough that a rogue swordsman can get an upper hand long enough to stab him through and through with a blade, pinning him up just enough that he can get away.

As the darkness takes him, Fang Duobing wonders if he can sleep this time without dreaming of Li Lianhua.

"You fool."

The ceiling he wakes up to is not his own. The bed he wakes up in is familiar in a way that makes his heart stutter and skips a beat in pain. He must have groaned because deft hands are quick to be at his shoulder to settle him down. Fang Duobing gasps. Gropes through the breathlessness at a thin wrist, looking up to meet eyes that watch him with undisguised worry.

"You con artist..."

Li Lianhua sighs, the corner of his lips twitching. "I probably deserve that."

"You absolute mother--"

"Hey, no need to bring my mother into this!" Li Lianhua laughs, trying to pull away, only for Fang Duobing to hold on to his sleeve.

"I..." He tries, licking his dry lips. Blinking rapidly, he looks around him. "Where am I? What happened?"

"You got stabbed. The fogeys at Baichuan Court brought you to me, telling me to help." Fang Duobing can taste the familiar acridness of rejection creep up the back of his throat. Letting go of the sleeve in his hand, he huffs a soft chuckle.

"So that's the case." Fang Duobing swallows thickly. "You're only helping Baichuan Court."

A silence grows and sits between them. Eventually, he hears Li Lianhua drag a stool closer to the bed. "Fang Xiaobao, look at me."

He closes his eyes, turning his face away with great difficulty. "My apologies Physician Li. I am sure this is a great inconvenience to you that I am here. Let me rest awhile and I'm sure I'll be well enough to leave by then. I do not want to bother you too much."

"You-- Fang Duobing, you fool, look at me!"

He pulls the covers over his shoulders. "That's not necessary--"

"Fang Duobing, look at me, please..."

The thread of pleading is thick in the syllables, and by the gods above, Fang Duobing has never mended his walls to protect him against Li Lianhua. So, he opens his eyes, slowly turning back to look.

And sees the red-rimmed eyes. Then sees the long grey hair that is a shade away from white. He sees the lines on Li Lianhua's face that have deepened in the year that they've not seen each other.

"Li Lianhua..." Fang Duobing starts, heart pounding like a war drum when he reaches out to run his fingers through his hair and finds that instead of pulling away, Li Lianhua is leaning in.

Pressing his cheek into the palm of Fang Duobing's calloused hand, he lets out a shaky breath, as if he is releasing all his worries in that one exhale. "I don't deserve you, Fang Duobing. I never have."

"You came into my life and you made yourself home like you've always been there. You didn't care for how much hurt I inflicted, you didn't care that I pushed you away. You stayed when all others left." Li Lianhua lifts his hands to keep Fang Duobing's hand to the side of his face. The curtain fall of his hair wraps itself around their hands, tangling black to grey on the bedspread. "Every time I tried to hide, you always knew where to find me. Every time I ran, you followed. You've bewitched me, body and soul."

Li Lianhua sighs, turning his face into Fang Doubing's touch. Giving into an impulse, he reaches out, ignoring the twinge of pain. Carding his fingers through Li Lianhua's hair.

Softly, he whispers, "Please don't say things you don't mean."

The hurt that colours the browns of Li Lianhua is tinged with regret. But with a blink, it is replaced with a steely determination that has Fang Duobing reeling when he barely has a moment to process how Li Lianhua swoops in and slides their lips together.

"Li Lianhua--"

He shakes his head, lips still pressed to the corner of Fang Duobing's. "I'm a normal man now. I have nothing to give you. Everything that you have loved about Li Xiangyi, everything that you idolised about the man I was, I am not that anymore. That's why I couldn't reciprocate your feelings that first time. I didn't even know if I was coming back. That's why I ran."

"And what's this?" Fang Duobing asks, the words tripping over themselves as they burn their way into the air between them. "Did you do all this because of, what? Guilt?"

Li Lianhua looks absolutely gutted at that. He shakes his head, eyes begging him to believe him. "No! Never! I... I came the moment I received word that you were injured." Ducking his head, he presses his lips to the jut of their joined hands. "I knew I couldn't stay away from you. I know now that I shouldn't have."

Fang Duobing lets himself process this. Sniffling a little and not fighting Li Lianhua when he smiles wetly as he wipes away the tears that make tracks down his cheeks.

"You hurt me."

"I did." Li Lianhua leans in again. This time, Fang Duobing moves back so that there is space on the bed for him to climb into.

"You really hurt me."

"I know, but if you're willing," Li Lianhua says, the light of the sun catching in the pale strands of his hair as he pledges. "I swear on everything good and true, on everything I have left, on the love you have given me, I, Li Lianhua will be good to you, will spend the rest of my life making it up to you for every moment you were hurt by me."

Fang Duobing feels himself smile genuinely for the first time in a very long time. Lifting his hand to cup at Li Lianhua's face, he rubs his thumb over the dark circle under his eye. "Liar. You can't promise me the rest of your life if we aren't married."

This sparks a gleam of mischief in Li Lianhua's eyes that curls something warm in his gut. Something alive that he wants to chase and pin down with joy.

"You did promise to take my name if I could bring a dead man back to life." Li Lianhua murmurs, plush lips curved upwards. "Haven't we been married since then?"

And really, who is Fang Duobing to deny that? Especially since he has the rest of their lives to figure it out.

The hurt isn't gone. Not by a long shot. But as Li Lianhua willingly takes strands of their hair, braiding them together with a smile before carefully kissing his shoulder and laying back down beside him -- the weight of him so very real, so warm to the touch, and here because he wants to be -- he can feel the space where his heart is start to come back alive.

And that, if nowhere else, is a good place to start again.

#mysterious lotus casebook #蓮花樓 #fang duobing #li lianhua #li xiangyi #duohua #fanghua #what's their pairing name anyways #fang duobing x li lianhua #gab writes stuff #lovesickfolly #mysterious lotus casebook fic

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asterdust · 2 months

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posted a new lhl fic 🥹 hope u enjoy it :)

#mysterious lotus casebook #mysterious lotus casebook fic #lian hua lou #huli jing #li lianhua #i wrote this like last year lolololol #but i just tried to polish it up today #I MISS MY FAMILY SO MUCH #no fdb but hes right here *points at chest*

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thesinglelogbridge · 5 months

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This show has a choke hold on me so here's a modern au about Di Feisheng only trusting Li Lianhua when he'd poisoned (drunk).

#mysterious lotus casebook #what's the ship name for these two?#feingyi #?#feihua #??#Xiangsheng #???#Liansheng #????#someone please tell me #fanfiction #fan fiction #mysterious lotus casebook fic #c drama

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evolutionsbedingt · 7 months

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New Fic!

Ascend the Lotus Tower (2.1k words) Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV) Rating: T Warnings: None Relationships: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua Additional Tags: Post-Canon Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Blind Li Lianhua, Terminal Illness, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Angst with a Happy Ending Summary: Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng find Li Lianhua on the beach, but this is only the first step to saving the man.

#*mine #my adventures in writing #mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng x fang duobing x li lianhua #mysterious lotus casebook fic

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mycatwantstoeatpins · 9 months

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That scene in Mysterious Lotus Casebook where Di Feisheng chokes Li Lianhua got to me (scene starts around minute 14).

#di feisheng #mysterious lotus casebook #my fic #mysterious lotus casebook fic #di feisheng fic

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bbcphile · 2 months

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Is anyone else sad because Fang Duobing has a "Waiting For Li Lianhua On the Beach" outfit?

(On the left is the outfit in episode 40 after reading Li Lianhua's letter. On the right is the outfit in the special episode when he and Di Feisheng show up on the donghai beach to look for him 3 months later.)

While we're on the subject of costumes, @the-surreptitious-albatross and I just realized how different this outfit of Fang Duobing's is from his earlier outfits.

Here are some examples of a normal FDB outfit:

He prefers pastels, and his belts and wrist guards are often the same color as the pastel or a slightly darker version (and here, they have gold decorations).

Zooming in shows that he prefers his embroidery designs to be swirly and his hair accessories to be braided and color-matched or elaborate and silver (but still on the delicate side).

But check out this outfit: the embroidery is more angular and less swirly, as is the hair piece, and it and the belt and wrist guards are black with silver instead of matching the pastel of his outfit or being a slightly darker shade of it.

You know whose style he's echoing with all these changes? Who else tends to favor black wrist guards and belts with more angular designs?

Di Feisheng.

The images below make it a bit clearer: DFS's belt has gold decorations compared FDB's silver, and the shape is different, but you can see the similarities in the wrist guard design in particular.

It's not obvious how much their costumes are tying them together in this scene because we don't ever see them in the same frame; the camera constantly keeps them apart, as does the blocking of the scene, since DFS is on the rocks and FDB is on the beach.

That changes in the special episode when they both arrive on the beach at the same time, and DFS is wear his sect leader robes.

Here they are, in the same frame at last, and side by side, and you can see even more clearly with this DFS outfit how much the style of FDB's belt, wrist guards, and hair accessory is echoing his. The wrist guard pattern looks almost the same in these pictures! And the cut of the outer sleeveless robe is also very similar, which visually pairs them even more.

All this to say, FDB's clothing style shifts, the gentle swirls sharpened into points by his worry and grief for Li Lianhua, and it breaks my heart.

But the fact that he's visually echoing Di Feisheng now, that they're slowly becoming a matched set, is starting to put the pieces back together again.

#mysterious lotus casebook #mlc meta #Fang Duobing #Di Feisheng #Li Lianhua #costume meta #lhl #I really meant to write more of my fic today #and instead this happened #thanks the-surreptitious-albatross!#Difang #difanghua

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lei-llustrations · 6 months

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“李相夷已经死了。。。李莲花也快死了” - Episode 38 of Mysterious Lotus Casebook (莲花楼）

When even rebirth isn’t enough sometimes

please read Three Autumns by @rageprufrock

#This also proves I have style range okay haha #Zoom in on LLH for extra sadness #mysterious lotus casebook #莲花楼 #Something something lotus symbolism #Growing from the depths #But he still FUCKING DIES UGH #li xiangyi #li lianhua #mlc #llh #mlc spoilers #cdrama #my art #di feisheng #mlc fanart #fic rec

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difeisheng · 13 days

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Fang Duobing wakes up with the dawn on the five thousandth morning since his life fractured, then restarted, and there is silver in Di Feisheng's hair.

"Go back to sleep," he feels Di Feisheng rumble, where Fang Duobing's chest is pressed to his back. His hand doesn't pause, continuing to feel through the long river of Di Feisheng's hair. He can't help it, that it's still striking even after these years since the first hint of grey appeared. Early light glows through the window, glinting off the streak woven in through the dark strands. Vein of precious metal set in stone.

Di Feisheng has survived four decades of defiant existence in this world, and now he wears something proud to show for it.

"You're getting old," Fang Duobing says, and smiles into the back of Di Feisheng's neck. "What happened to rising with the sun to train every morning?"

"You and your sleeping in happened, you spoiled brat." The words are softened by the fact that Di Feisheng doesn't counter the hand Fang Duobing moves from his hair to his waist, only letting out a deep sigh. "And now you won't even let me do that."

"It's called having variation. Keeps you sharp."

"Keeps me tired."

"You'll start getting slow next if you settle into your ways like this, lao-lang."

"If you insist on calling me old, then you should have some respect for your elders," Di Feisheng declares, and now Fang Duobing can hear the glare in his voice. "Be quiet."

Fang Duobing has cheerfully never listened to this particular request, and isn't about to start now. "I show my respect for you nearly every day. Maybe you'd even call it appreciation." He lets his hand on Di Feisheng's waist drift lower, under the blanket thrown over both of them. "I could demonstrate again though, if you'd like?"

This time Di Feisheng catches him, gently dragging his hand away before Fang Duobing can reach for his trousers. "Later," he says, and the words are low enough to be a growl. "Go. Back. To. Sleep."

"Fine." Fang Duobing replaces his hand, arm reaching over Di Feisheng's torso instead. Di Feisheng's own hand stays curled overtop his, stilling as Fang Duobing settles down again behind him, sword calluses rough against his knuckles. "But I'll hold you to it."

It's impulse that causes Fang Duobing to brush at Di Feisheng's hair one last time, sweeping the silver aside to touch his lips to his neck.

Di Feisheng is, seemingly, by the fall of his breath and the curve of his body into Fang Duobing's, already asleep once more.

#yes i do mean the nickname as in 老狼 #also hi. the prompt i gave myself for this was just 'write difang happy'#and get myself out of my usual angst/bittersweet territory #so here we are #mysterious lotus casebook #difang #di feisheng #fang duobing #ashton writes fic #fic

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rose-tinted-vision · 5 months

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Fic: Tales from Tianji Manor

(prev/ao3 link/next)

Relationships: implied Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua

chapter summary: Our local murderous gremlin gets exposed to motherly affection. He does not know how to deal with it.

��Where's Di Feisheng?” He Xiaohui asks at breakfast. The spot by Li Lianhua’s left was left conspicuously empty, which neither her son nor Li Lianhua seemed particularly concerned about.

Xiaobao shrugs, shovelling another mouthful of congee into his mouth.

Deeming her son useless in this topic, she turns to Li Lianhua, who gives a small cough, cheeks puffing in what she now recognizes is discomfort before answering, “Lao-Di does that sometimes. He comes and goes as he pleases, please don't worry, Sect leader He.”

Well. That was something to unpack.

She heard from Xiaobao that Di Feisheng came from the Di Family in the southeast region, that secretly conducted Death sorcerer training, creating trained assassins out of children. That explained his high martial skills, as well as his disregard towards social etiquette.

Though he was trying, she could see that. There are certain times where Di Feisheng paused, thinking through his words before suggesting murder to all their problems.

That was not the most pressing issue now, however.

“I told you to address me as ‘mom’,” she admonishes lightly, pushing a bowl of dough fritters towards Li Lianhua, who is careful not to agree but acknowledges her with a nod anyway.

It wasn't an outright refusal, she notes with a degree of satisfaction. She would work at slowly chipping away at his defences for now.

“And as for Di Feisheng, he'd better be back by evening, no one misses dinner here,” she fixes her Xiaobao with a glare.

“He usually disappears for a month though,” Xiaobao looks up in alarm, knowing full well she would make do on her threats, “even Hulijing is unable to track him down!”

“Nonsense, we have He Xiaofeng. Or have you forgotten how your xiaoyi managed to follow you all the way to Jin Mantang’s residence?”

“That was because this traitor set off a smoke flare!” Xiaobao gestures to Li Lianhua. (Who was currently stuffing his cheeks with pieces of dough fritters, the very picture of innocence and nothing like the 'traitor' he had just been accused of being).

“Also, are you calling my xiaoyi a tracking dog?” her Xiaobao huffs in mock indignation.

“You're the one calling her that, not me,” He Xiaohui says dismissively. Though her youngest sister does have a strange affinity for tracking people down, smoke flare or not, strangely enough.

—

(“Try calling for him,” Li Lianhua nudges Fang Xiaobao, who wrinkles his nose at the suggestion.

Li Lianhua shrugs, “it's worked before, no?”

In the end, Fang Duobing had volunteered himself to look for Di Feisheng, citing that the other would likely flee at seeing his xiaoyi. Not out of fear, but from guilt, that his taking her hostage had gotten her stabbed multiple times. He may have a morally gray compass, but he did have his own set of strict moral codes that he stuck to.

Fang Xiaobao pointedly ignores Li Lianhua's ribbing, holding out one of A-Fei’s sashes to Hulijing, who gives it a curious sniff before setting off northwards of the forest.

It wasn't until the sun started to set, painting the sky in various shades of pink, orange and yellow, with Fang Xiaobao muttering curses under his breath that Hulijing returned triumphant.

They eventually find him meditating by the waterfalls nestled in the forest, a lone figure clad in red stark against the cool grey of the cliffs. Hulijing bounds up to him, her barks rivalling the sounds of the crashing waters.

Standing there against the waterfalls that far eclipsed him in height as he pets Hulijing, Di Feisheng looked nothing like the monster in the stories teashop storytellers liked to spin.

Di Feisheng clearly had not expected his zhijis to come seeking him out, nor had he expected that He Xiaohui would be concerned about his absence. He did not know what to make of her demand that he be back for dinner, having managed to get by all his life alone. Never had anyone besides Li Lianhua fed him a meal without ulterior motives).

—

He Xiaohui is considering the merits of tearing up the offensive letter placed in front of her when attendant Xie rushes in, hastily announcing the return of her wayward son-in-law (to-be, but that was a moot point) and her sons.

“I'm famished!” Fang Xiaobao announces, waltzing into the dining hall with his zhijis trailing in behind him.

“Is there an issue?” Di Feisheng addresses her, taking the seat across Li Lianhua. It was hardly a conversation starter, but it was also not a straight ‘what do you want from me’ that his posture was radiating. She would give him points for that.

Unlike Fang Xiaobao, who had tore into his food with vigor upon sitting down, Di Feisheng had paid the veritable array of food no mind, posture tense and coiled for action, still wary after a week of residence in her Tianji Manor.

She had meant to put on her most stern expression, ready to grill them for being late, she really did. But Di Feisheng had looked so bewildered, so lost, his earlier collected demeanour gone when she replied that all she truly wanted was all her family members to be present during dinnertime.

“You…have fixed meal times?” Di Feisheng followed-up, sounding genuinely confused. The question has Li Lianhua subtly perking up in curiosity as well- and He Xiaohui’s heart aches.

That it was such a simple thing as having a meal together- that Di Feisheng likely never experienced -has her feeling choked up.

Truly, fate had not done right by these two men.

From the wet sheen in Fang Xiaobao's eyes, and the fond, almost tender expression he was sporting, she figures that he felt the same way too.

Not trusting herself to speak without breaking down into tears, He Xiaohui nods in response to Di Feisheng's expectant expression.

“Alright then,” Di Feisheng nods, deeming the answer satisfactory, “I shall try not to miss dinner.”

#afaik family dinners in Chinese households are A Given and quite important #i think this is the first fic where i wrote something more dfs centric #!! i do love A-Fei #just struggle with writing him a lil #mysterious lotus casebook fic #mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #difanghua #rose writes

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randomingoftherandomness · 8 months

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Fic: But I need your lips on mine

Tags: Fang Duobing x Li Lianhua, Fluffy, Established Relationship

Stepping out of the perfumed heat of the room feels a little like being reborn. Or at least, that's the first thought that comes through the fog in Fang Duobing's mind as he tries to shake off the ringing of the gu zheng string in his ears and the lingering taste of wine in the back of his mouth.

He takes a deep lungful of air into his lungs, barely missing the way Li Lianhua steps up right next to him and holds him up by the elbow.

Through the haze, he catches the soft tilt of his mouth. Amusement at his expense yet again. Li Lianhua is drawling on about how he should have noticed how the music was a secret technique passed down through some dead cult called The Flower Whispers of a Thousand Moons or some rot like that. The jianghu is rife with stuff like these.

And Fang Duobing really can't care.

His lack of verbosity does not go unnoticed because Li Lianhua pauses to run his gaze over Fang Duobing's face. There's a flicker of worry in his gaze but Fang Duobing blinks and it's gone.

"Sit."

Fang Duobing obeys. Parking himself down on a step, Fang Duobing shakes his head again, blinking rapidly only for Li Lianhua to cup him by the cheeks, squishing his face.

There's a worried furrow between Li Lianhua's brows and Fang Duobing oscillates between wanting to reach out and smooth it flat, and--

"Are you worried about me?"

The words trip off his tongue before he can push it back into his gut.

"Can you kiss me, please? Your kisses always make me feel much better about things. And your lips are so, so soft... Like, so soft... And I love feeling them on mine when you wake me up in the morning and-- and when you kiss me when I do something well..."

Ah, shit.

Fang Duobing swallows thickly, throat clicking. "I'm so obsessed with you, you don't even know..."

Someone in the heavens above must still be listening to his prayers because Li Lianhua doesn't laugh. He doesn't say anything, really, just crouches down and takes Fang Duobing's hands in his. Wordlessly, he kisses the backs of his fingers, tenderly, reverently, and Fang Duobing shivers under the tickle of his breath over his skin.

Li Lianhua chuckles, rubbing his wrists as he leans in. Fang Duobing closes his eyes tilting his head, lips parting as they press against Li Lianhua's. Once, briefly. Then again, a slow spit slick slide. And once more, a shy darting of tongue against tongue, tasting the wine in his mouth, lips tingling as he reaches out to pull Li Lianhua in by the waist.

"I'm never letting you live this down. Ever." Li Lianhua murmurs, absolute smugness and happiness oozing through the soft giggle that they exchange in the scant space that separates their lips. "My Xiaobao is so obsessed with me. I'm flattered."

"Can you blame me?" Fang Duobing hums, pulling back far enough to lift a thumb to trace the arc of Li Lianhua's cheekbone. "You're the best person I know."

Li Lianhua's eyes open. Pure surprise colours the warmth of his eyes. Fang Duobing merely smiles, leaning in for another kiss. "Let's go home, hm?"

"Yes, let's."

#mysterious lotus casebook #mysterious lotus casebook fic #fang duobing #li lianhua #li xiangyi #fang duobing x li lianhua #gab writes stuff #蓮花樓 #listen. i had a plot bunny. i followed it.#was it a fluffy bunny? evidently.

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eirenical · 6 months

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It's nearly two months after the Bicha poison has been purged from his system before Li Lianhua picks up a sword again. He'll never be what he once was, will never be able to go toe to toe with Di-mengzhu and fight him to a standstill as he did in his youth. But he misses it: the grace, the movement, the sheer joy of the dance of blades. So he picks up Shaoshi, and he walks off into the forest, hyperaware of Di Feisheng following behind, eyes trained on him as though Li Lianhua were the only thing existing in his universe.

But hasn't it always been so?

Reaching a clearing, Li Lianhua slowly begins putting his body through the motions of the dance, weaving in and out through the bamboo, chasing an imaginary enemy as he moves through the steps. Di Feisheng has come to a stop a safe distance away, leaning against a tree with his arms folding his sword close to his chest, but he steps no closer. He seems almost afraid to interfere, to interrupt the dance before it's truly begun. Perhaps even afraid of pushing Li Lianhua back into the protective shell of Lianhualou to never pick up a sword again. But he can't stay away. Can't move from that spot.

Many people had called Li XIangyi beautiful and meant it. But only Di Feisheng had admired the dance as much as the dancer. Di Feisheng's eyes remain on him throughout the entire dance, barely moving a muscle even to breathe until Li LIanhua sheathes Shaoshi at his side. Li Lianhua returns to Lianhualou when he's finished, tired from the exertion but happy.

That night, Di Feisheng barely waits until Fang Duobing's footsteps have taken him up the first step to the second floor before pinning Li Lianhua against the wall and kissing him breathless. He doesn't explain, and Li Lianhua doesn't ask.

He doesn't need to.

The next time Li Xiangyi picks up his sword, Di Feisheng is there, too. And the next time, and the next. He never interferes, never unsheathes his own sword to offer to spar, because that isn't the point. The point is to give Li Xiangyi the space to rediscover what he loved about martial arts before the politics of the jianghu ruined it, before poison and betrayal stole both his strength and his joy in the sword. The point is the way a soft smile that alights on his face every time this dance comes to a close.

Di Feisheng doesn't want to bring the harsh clash of swords into that ease.

…until the day when he steps outside to follow Li Xiangyi to his practice to find that Li Xiangyi has tied a red ribbon to the hilt of his sword.

He watches, entranced, as Li Xiangyi dances a dance for him that he'd only danced for one other in his life. He is so absorbed, in fact, that he doesn't notice the red ribbon flicking ever closer and closer towards him until it's wrapped around his wrist, until Li Xiangyi has pulled him across the clearing and into the dance, a sparkle in his eye that has been long absent and deeply missed.

From there, it's easy. He's been watching Li Xiangyi so long, so often, that he's learned the steps of this dance without trying to. He knows where Li Xiangyi's imaginary opponent would stand to counter the moves he's making. It should be a surprise—it really isn't—when he figures out that the moves of the imaginary man in whose footsteps he's walking so closely and naturally resemble the steps of his own swordplay, as though Li Xiangyi has been dancing with him all along.

And from that point on, whenever Li Xiangyi picks up his sword and heads into the woods, Di Feisheng goes too. And there are very few moments when their swords clash against each other, but when they do, it's just another part of the dance, adding music to the steps, percussion to follow as they move together.

It isn't the fight Di Feisheng thought he wanted when they found each other again...

...somehow, it's even better.

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #li lianhua #li xiangyi #di feisheng x li lianhua #feihua #eirenical.fic #look #fan man huaisang #i finally cleaned it up and posted it #;D #just a little thing that's been noodling around in my head for a few weeks #thought i'd clean it up and post it finally #^_^#mlcb fic #enjoy?

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cheetahing · 13 days

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i keep asking people for their dihua first kiss headcanons (feel free to tell me yours!) so i figured it was about time i wrote mine out. reminder that requests are open, so please don't be shy about sending some in.

so, a'fei kisses him. it doesn't quite feel familiar but it doesn't feel wrong, and after a moment li lianhua parts his lips and reciprocates. it's a sweet, slow thing, exploratory and with a tiny hint of teeth. a'fei tries to chase it when li lianhua pulls away, but a firm hand on his chest stops him.

"ah," li lianhua sighs, regretful and faintly aggrieved, "no, no, that won't do at all."

"you liked it," a'fei says. "why not?"

"oh," li lianhua says, schooling himself into a somewhat proper posture and not the dreamy slump of the recently kissed, "you'll understand when you're older."

a'fei squints at him.

"there are a lot of reasons," li lianhua amends, aiming to sound prim and not quite succeeding. "you'll remember them someday."

"i don't think i'll care," a'fei says, and li lianhua smiles at that.

"well, that's for the you of then to decide, not the you of now."

"if you say so," a'fei says, doubtful, but doesn't try to stop li lianhua when he makes his escape toward the tower door.

"well," li lianhua says with the sly look he gets when he's sure he's got a winning hand, "it wouldn't be the first time di-mengzhu kissed me."

di feisheng's scowl is thunderous. "i wasn't myself," he says, "it doesn't count." it doesn't! a'fei had done a lot of things di feisheng wouldn't, and even if this, perhaps, was not one of them, it doesn't count.

"don't deny it, you'll wound my maiden heart," li lianhua says with an exaggerated swoon.

"did you like it that much," di feisheng says, frown deepening. li lianhua had quite liked it, hadn't he. di feisheng feels vaguely wronged, as if something has been taken from him.

"why, lao di," li lianhua says, sounding positively delighted, "are you jealous? of yourself?"

"preposterous." di feisheng crosses his arms. he is a man who simply takes what he wants; he does not get jealous! especially not of some other version of himself taking initiative that he hasn't.

"you are, aren't you," li lianhua says, nearly glowing in the moonlight. it's a terribly good look on him.

"they'll find us if you get any louder," di feisheng says, deflection as threatening as he can make it sound. li lianhua makes a show of covering his mouth as he laughs.

"come now, lao di," he says, crossing over to di feisheng's side of the table. "it's a fairly easy problem to solve, isn't it?"

di feisheng glares at him. li lianhua doesn't seem to notice, easing himself down onto the bench and twining his arms around di feisheng's neck. "isn't it?" li lianhua repeats, smiling up into his face.

it's awfully unfair of him, some beleaguered corner of di feisheng's mind notes, but they're kissing before he can finish the thought. his hands come up to anchor themselves on li lianhua's too-thin waist, squeezing possessively. it's less gentle this time, more teeth and more tongue, the edge of frustration making him impatient. li lianhua nips back gamely, and it isn't long before they settle into a rhythm of give and take, retreating and pursuing.

di feisheng drags li lianhua's lower lip out between his teeth as he pulls away, surveying li lianhua's blown pupils and flushed face with an air of proprietary triumph. he brings one hand up to cup li lianhua's face and trace his spit-shiny lips with his thumb.

"that," he says, "is our first kiss."

#mysterious lotus casebook #di feisheng #li lianhua #dihua #feihua #fic meme #once again tho no one asked for this LOL #it's fine i write to please myself #i just love the idea of dfs being jealous of himself lmao

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