Bowerbird

1.

Hua Cheng's first Paradise Manor was embarrassing for him to think back on. Based on a juvenile understanding of the kinds of beautiful and opulent estates that had been out of his reach to even approach when he was alive, working with ghost architects who hadn't yet learned that their new Chengzhu wanted expertise rather than perfect agreement, the buildings lacked harmony and grace and were worryingly unstable in places.

He burned it all down before he was halfway done decorating it. Hopeless. Try again.

2.

For his next attempt, Hua Cheng studied what remained of the ruins of the old Xianle royal palace, interviewed any ghost who had visited it at the height of its strength, researched every priceless extravagance that Taizi Dianxia would have grown up with. When this Paradise Manor was finished, he felt sure that it was a place Dianxia would recognize as comfortable if he ever had reason to honour such a worthless ghost with a visit.

But it still didn't feel right. He wandered through it often, dissatisfied, considering what the problem might be.

Over decades, Hua Cheng amassed many treasures which he scattered throughout the rooms, each more beautiful and powerful than the last. They didn't change the underlying nature of the manor. Eventually, he concluded that imitating Xianle so closely was a mistake. The royal palace where Dianxia had been raised had not been designed specifically for Dianxia; it was merely where he had happened to grow up. Hua Cheng could do better.

He could renovate, but he hated the whole place now. How could he have thought this was the right approach? He couldn't bear to look at it. What an eyesore. What a mistake. There was nothing for it but to burn this place to the ground, too.

Afterwards, he picked through the charred remains for the few treasures that survived. Ceramics had cracked, jade discoloured, silk turned to ash. The silver was salvageable; he tucked a few pieces away to carry with him before he walked away from the rest with disdain. What a pile of worthless junk. Better to start fresh.

3.

No, basing his manor on Xianle was a mistake from start to finish. Paradise Manor needed to truly live up to its name and encompass everything grand and beautiful, rather than being an awkward imitation of a place Dianxia already knew. That would show his power, show what he could provide and what he could do in Dianxia's service.

This Paradise Manor was under construction for many years. Hua Cheng built his gambling hall in the meantime, so he would have somewhere to stay and to work from while his residence was still in progress. That was a quick and easy project. Paradise Manor required constant effort – scrutinising each day's progress to make sure it was done up to standard, and reviewing the next day's work schedule with the project manager to make sure everything would look as impressive in person as it had in the plans. There were so many details to second-guess. Hua Cheng redirected the work so often that the project manager shouted at him at one point that he was quitting, that he'd rather earn the everlasting anger of Crimson Rain Sought Flower than have to deal with one more meeting with him changing his mind about something again.

Hua Cheng, after a few days, generously forgave him the outburst. The project manager was very grateful. They got back to work.

But as the work progressed slowly onward, the scope kept expanding and the end to construction never grew any closer. Hua Cheng grew frustrated. Yes, Paradise Manor was an important project, but it kept pulling him away from other duties that were even more important – like his search for Dianxia himself. Recently, he had chased after a lead and arrived in Dianxia's last known location, only to find that Dianxia had disappeared just the day before and nobody could find where he had gone. If Hua Cheng weren't distracted by other things, perhaps he wouldn't have bungled this opportunity!

He gave up his hovering, and turned the project over entirely to the project manager in despair. The manor would be finished someday, presumably, and in the meantime he could collect worthy items of decor in a back storage room of the gambling hall while he focused on finding Dianxia.

When the (still unfinished) manor burned down one night in an accident, Hua Cheng was dourly unsurprised. His own fault for abandoning the work. If he wanted to build a manor worthy of Dianxia's attention, he couldn't just sit back and let it happen without him. Nobody else understood.

4.

When he felt able to pick up the problem again, Hua Cheng went back to the basics. What did Dianxia deserve? Well – everything.

Back up. Go more granular. What did he know of Dianxia and the physical things Dianxia liked?

He tried to make a list, but it was unpleasantly short. Dianxia loved martial arts and weapons – anything else took a distant third place.

Could Hua Cheng build a manor of nothing but weapons and places to practice with them? He gave the idea serious consideration, but had to set it aside with a sigh. Such a place could be a charming novelty, but it was the kind of place you would laugh about as you toured it and then forget five minutes after you left.

A good armoury was a must, he was confident, but an armoury alone was insufficient.

No, it would be best to build a manor that was elegant and tasteful, in harmony with the land and displaying exquisite craftsmanship, but without worrying over-much about the specific details; his energy would go into the armoury instead.

Hua Cheng found a new project manager for this version of Paradise Manor; the previous one had disappeared right around the time of the fire, and since Hua Cheng didn't want to see him ever again, that worked out fine. He interrogated the new one closely on her opinions on the principles of good design, and when he was confident she understood the fundamentals of his vision, he let her loose to direct the day to day work of the project, with progress meetings limited to once a week. He had a list of legendary swords to track down and take possession of.

When the construction was finished and the landscaping work began, Hua Cheng ran his eye over the whole of the manor and had to admit it was well done. It was everything he had asked it to be and more.

He didn't love it, it didn't – couldn't – feel like home, but he was sure he'd got it right this time.

5.

As Hua Cheng's power and reputation grew, so too did the wealth of precious goods he could use to decorate Paradise Manor. He had gone down this route before, but this time he wasn't trying to disguise bad bones. He was simply ornamenting the place. Who could say which legendary sword or tapestry or carving would be the one to draw Dianxia's eye if he ever happened to come to Ghost City and visit its king? Better to be safe and have them all.

By this time, Hua Cheng had chased rumours of Dianxia across many lands. Although he never managed to catch up to Dianxia himself, he greedily collected any stray word he could about what Dianxia said or did or looked like or admired. Dianxia complimented a young man on his height? Hua Cheng made sure his appearance was always taller. Dianxia used an old broom as a polearm to fight off an attacker? Better find some incomparable spears to keep the swords and sabres company in the armoury. Dianxia was seen wearing an outer robe in a delicate shade of blue, instead of his usual white? Time to make sure that the decor of Paradise Manor would coordinate well with that shade.

But when time passes, tastes change, and new styles emerge. Eventually, despite the regular internal updates to the decor, Paradise Manor began to look out of touch.

The ghost who had managed the project when the manor was built had lost the strength of her resentment and faded away, but these days Hua Cheng had Yin Yu working for him.

Hua Cheng told Yin Yu to get the place renovated in the latest style, but to leave the armoury alone. It only took a few meetings to make sure Yin Yu was well versed in exactly what Hua Cheng wanted out of the renovations. Yin Yu, ever reliable, promised to see it done.

After so long, Hua Cheng had gotten used to what the manor looked like, so it was discomfiting to have it become a disaster around his ears as the renovations started in earnest. Within a few days he'd returned to stay in the gambler's den like he'd done in the long-ago days when he was still not confident in his role as Chengzhu. These days everyone in Ghost City knew and respected him, admired him even, and as he sauntered between tables of gamblers and looked down at their games, he could feel the betting ratchet up in ferocity in his wake.

But the more days and nights he stayed in the gambler's den, the more frenzied and off-kilter the atmosphere became, until Hua Cheng became abruptly sick of it. He shut the place down, kicked everyone out, and retreated into kitchens which had been rapidly emptied of cooks and assistants. Meals and snacks in various stages of completion still filled the place. Hua Cheng found a jar of wine, opened it, and contacted Black Water to say that there was spare food, if he was interested. He was, obviously.

Black Water ate steadily through the food left on the counters, while Hua Cheng let himself get properly drunk.

"Has Nether Water Manor always been such a gloomy wreck?" Hua Cheng asked eventually.

Black Water paused in his way through a platter of delicate pastries. "Yes," he said. He put another pastry in his mouth.

"It's horrible."

Black Water looked at Hua Cheng over his pastries. His eyebrows were full of judgement. Hua Cheng looked away.

"Well, the place suits you, at least." Hua Cheng sighed. "Here, give me one of those." He reached out towards the pastries and snagged one for himself. Hazelnut. Delicious, of course, because he only hired the best of cooks. He sighed again and leaned back against the counter behind him. Black Water reached for another plate.

Eventually the renovations were complete. Hua Cheng moved back into Paradise Manor. Everything looked exquisite, of course, exactly as he'd ordered. Anyone would be impressed.

Good.

Hua Cheng went to the armoury and pulled out one of the latest swords he'd added to the collection, a beautiful piece. He ran through solo drills with it until he would have been panting and sweaty if he were still human.

He ended up sitting on the floor, then lying on the floor, the sword unsheathed behind him. He would find Dianxia again. He would.