born within the Han dynasty of ancient china, an xia was, once upon a time, a little bit of a hooligan. of course, he'll never admit to that in the modern day, the adventures he'd get up to that he's since grown so much from. it was quite the ordinary day for the young man when he met his beloved god for the first time. undergoing a heavenly trial, neither of them knew that the beautiful man jianhong couldn't help but pause and speak to was really a god. a friendship blossomed in the unlikeliest place. jianhong even grew fond of the scoldings of his shamelessness when he insisted on showering that friend in compliments, saying he must be prettier than any divine being, how he must be a creation of the gods rather than any mortal. 

over time, jianhong really did grow strange feelings for his friend. his ears felt red whenever those pheonix eyes lingered on him. his heart would pound in his chest. it took time for him to realise what they could mean. by the time he had the guts to confess his emotions, the trial was already nearing its end. they were together one day, as they were most days, speaking and walking as they often did, when the first tragedy of jianhong's life struck. 

haolan was becoming unwell. a great deal of jianhong's money at the time was thrown into various herbs and medicines. it had come so quickly, there was no way for him to possibly prepare. he couldn't have someone leave him so soon, not when he hadn't even had the chance to confess yet. none of the cures worked. it only worsened with every day. jianhong couldn't help but curse the gods, swear at them for trying to bring the one he loved to another realm so quickly. late in the night, when the fever still hadn't broke after weeks of trying new remedies, jianhong tucked himself close to the cold man. he rarely held haolan - with a cold outer shell, it was difficult to know where the line of friendship ended. but that night, his arms slipped around the tiny waist, drawing the man close to his chest.

even if he could no longer help, jianhong could spend the night praying the fever would break, that the illness would retreat. his fingers brushing through the dark hair of the one he wanted so badly, his choked prayers falling upon deaf ears, jianhong was determined not to let the one he cared for die alone. he didn't sleep a wink that night, and he'd swear he didn't even close his eyes to blink.

part of him fell and passed away at the same time he felt the last breath against his collarbone, hoping, desperately, uselessly, pathetically, that he'd feel another. even when he knew the fight was over, the human didn't dare stir. he'd lost the icy light to his life, how could he know how to deal with that feeling? 

the man decided to move away. he felt the town of his birth was riddled with too many memories. bidding farewell to his teary mother, his angry father, stern older sister and puzzled younger brother, jianhong set off to find a place of his own. somewhere far away, safe and free to do as he pleased. he'd decided from then on that he'd live alone, not take a husband or wife, not have children. this was hard for his family to understand, but it wasn't like he was an only child. their legacy would not die out, and that meant jianhong was safe to find his own path in life. 

buying property was no easy deal. the down he settled in was a poor one, plagued by curses and misfortune. not to worry though, as he already had had his fair share of curses. as he fell asleep on the floor on first night in his new home at the edge of the town, out of the way of the locals, he was attacked by visions in his sleep. a dragon spoke to him - a /dragon/. when he woke he thought he'd surely lost his mind. had grief driven him to become a mad prophet? no, he was far too young to be all wise and grissly. he dismissed it as an unfamilar place conjuring up illusions. the dreams persisted. the creature claimed to be the one he'd lost. however - his haolan was no immortal being, just a human, like jianhong himself was.

he didn't believe it. the stubborn man refused to believe it until he'd met he creature in the waking world. until he'd set eyes on the one he thought was dead again. 

the silly young man, was obviously proven wrong. his haolan, was apparently a god. jianhong had wanted to confess his feelings and shameless thoughts to a divine being. he didn't think he could get more insane, and yet - when his eyes fell upon the dragon his breath hitched, his eyes widened. he rushed forward, embracing the man as though they were lovers. right then and there, the human blurted everything, his love for haolan, his desire to stay by his side. he spent a good ten minutes begging to be allowed to the heavenly realm if it meant being in the dragon's embrace agai. it took that long for him to be consoled and have the nature of the heavenly realm explained to him. one day was a year in the mortal realm. haolan could spend hours of a celestial day with him, but months in mortal time. 

it would be like they were lovers, or a married couple, without really being married. his life had reached a peak of joy. he'd return home each day to see his lover, spend days and days with him in his arms, or curled beneath a tree, the fair dragon's head in his lap while they talked about both meaningless and meaningful things. all was well, until haolan would leave for months. jianhong knew it was for the best - haolan could not disappear for days at a time, or the gods would have confirmation of their relationship, and complications would arise. yet, he couldn't help but feel hopeless whenever he returned home to find his haolan missing.

it was one of these times that jianhong made his final mistake. haolan was due to be home - the seasons were changing and it was time for his dragon to return to him. he paced the length of their bed anxiously, looking toward the window every few minutes. haolan entered as he pleased and saw fit, and jianhong was always delighted to hear his window open when the time came for the dragon to return. however, there was none of that. instead, the knock came from the door. haolan did not often come through the door. too impatient to weigh the risks, jianhong leapt on the frame to swing it open. the face he was met with was not of his beloved, but rather of another heavenly being.

appearing exhausted and panting, the man gasped to jianhong that haolan had been hurt. he needed to come quickly - disagreements between the gods were severe, and there could still be risks to the heavenly dragon's safety. the mention that his love might be hurt was enough for jianhong to take the man's hand with no hesiation. he couldn't lose haolan a second time. he couldn't be too late, to be met with only the body of the one he loved. 

the moment his wrist was held, he felt his vision dim. everything was slow, cloudy, and only them, as he was knocked to unconsiousness, did he realise the trap. unfortunately, death was too good for the human. on an island off the coast of spain, a small willow tree took root. when jianhong awoke, he was curled up under it. every time he got up to leave, he'd feel a sharp pull in his chest, each time bringing him to feeling lightheaded and weak within a few steps. his soul was one with his tree's, and no longer was the human merely that, a human. destined to live the rest of his life alone, gradually jianhong found he could explore more distance away from his tree. he didn't dare go far - he had to preserve his strength, lie in wait, so that one day, he might finally be reunited with his love from long ago.