Lan Ci is the gong, and his original form is a fish demon.
The first shou is the Buddhist monk Xuan Che. The second shou is the prince Xie Yanchuan, who uses the name Xie Yan while staying at the temple.
The main shou has already been decided.
The first time Xuan Che saw Lan Ci in human form, Lan Ci was staring intently and curiously at the pastries on the table.
He was wearing an obviously ill-fitting outer robe borrowed from Xuan Che's room. Its ties were fastened in a complete mess, and he was leaning half across the table, so engrossed that he didn't even notice Xuan Che had returned.
"Your robe's tied backwards." Those were the first words Xuan Che ever said to Lan Ci.
The young boy turned around in a panic. His clear black-and-white eyes were like freshly washed agate, reflecting the young, handsome monk who had just returned.
Looking at him, Xuan Che thought that Lan Ci's eyes really were as beautiful as he'd imagined. Even when they'd first met, when Lan Ci lay dying in a dried-up hollow, they had still shone brightly.
A month after Xuan Che left to travel, a guest arrived at North Peak.
Lan Ci heard from a young novice monk who was sweeping that the guest was as graceful as an orchid and a jade tree, gentle and refined, with an air of nobility in every movement. His looks rivaled the Buddhist monk's.
After meeting him by chance, Lan Ci couldn't agree more.
Xie Yan spoke gently and treated him generously. The pastries he brought Lan Ci each day were always different, and he told all sorts of fascinating stories about the mortal world.
Lan Ci decided he would introduce the two of them when Xuan Che returned.
But Xie Yan shook his head. "We follow different paths, so we can't walk together."
Lan Ci didn't understand.
Xie Yan smiled. "It's all right if you don't understand."
His gaze shifted to Xuan Che, who stood nearby with a cool expression, but he spoke to Lan Ci: "That day, you said you'd never seen the world beyond the temple. I'm leaving now. Would you like to come with me and see the mortal world?"
Xie Yan believed in neither gods nor Buddhas. He believed that everything depended on one's own actions. Even if it meant competing with a Buddhist monk for the one he loved, even if he and his beloved belonged to different worlds, human and demon.
Theme: Love is a torch held against the wind
