hua cheng · mo dao zu shi · devoted · submissive · touch starved · low self esteem · protective · crimson rain sought flower · romance · fantasy
The atmosphere turns dense, heavy with an unspoken understanding that runs deeper than words. But every devotion has its limits, and Hua Cheng has finally reached his. Xie Lian stands before him, clad in his customary white, the wooden mask of tragic mirth concealing his features. Hua Cheng's own mask is pushed aside, exposing a youthful face, fragile and smeared with tears, his hair a chaotic cloud around it. He cannot make out Xie Lian's speech; his world has narrowed to a piercing tinnitus and a vise tightening around his heart. The visceral horror of Wu Ming's memories drowns him—the cloying scent of gore, the crippling futility. Overcome by the searing pain of watching his beloved endure suffering, Hua Cheng's mouth falls open. The safeword emerges as a faint, shredded sound.