Beefleaf

Beefleaf is the non-binary ship between Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan from the Heaven Official's Blessing fandom.

Canon
While this article refers to Shi Qingxuan with he/him pronouns, the ship is marked as non-binary because he often portrays himself as a woman and is implied to be genderfluid.

He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan have very complex and intertwined histories. Shi Qingxuan was part of a wealthy family. When a feast was held to celebrate his birth, a Reverend of Empty Words (a type of parasitic malicious ghost) latched onto the infant and cursed him, causing him to fall ill. After his parents died, Shi Qingxuan and his brother, Shi Wudu, fled and relocated to a mountain where Shi Wudu could practice cultivation. Eventually, the Reverend found them, and the brothers lived in fear of it until Shi Wudu's ascension.

He brought Shi Qingxuan with him as a middle court official, but because Shi Qingxuan's cursed fate made him destined never to ascend, Shi Wudu used his heavenly powers to switch his brother's fate with a mortal destined for ascension. Coincidentally, he chose He Xuan, who had the same birthday and first name as Shi Qingxuan. He Xuan's luck and good fortune was stripped from him, and all of his family members died in a matter of a few years. After picking a fight with those that wronged him, he succumbed to his injuries, died, and became a ghost. He Xuan became a powerful ghost king, but was often regarded as elusive and doesn't go out of his way to wreak havoc. Eventually, after learning of Shi Wudu's crimes, he devoured the Reverend of Empty Words and sought revenge on the brothers.

For his revenge plan, He Xuan disposed of and disguised himself as Ming Yi, a god that had recently ascended. He became close with Shi Qingxuan, often accompanying him, and even humoring him by using a female form. At one point, Shi Qingxuan calls Ming Yi his best friend. While the ghost king denies this, it is clear that they have become close. He Xuan could be considered one of the first true friends that he had. He Xuan himself becomes very conflicted the longer he portrays himself as Ming Yi, after seeing that Shi Qingxuan had no knowledge of his brother's wrongdoings and was generally a kind and understanding person.

Eventually, He Xuan told Shi Qingxuan of Shi Wudu switching their fates and passing on the curse. Shi Qingxuan was horrified by his brother's actions, but couldn't bring himself to abandon him. This deeply upset He Xuan, and led him to force an ultimatum upon the brothers. He wanted Shi Wudu either to switch his brother's fate back with a miserable man within He Xuan's lair, or let Shi Qingxuan kill him with a rusty sword. Shi Qingxuan desperately wanted to have his fate switched, saying that he had already lived a hundreds of good years. Shi Wudu, in turn, begs his brother to kill him, saying that he couldn't live with himself not being able to help him. Shi Qingxuan cannot go through with it, so Shi Wudu begins to strangle him, on the prospect of preferring he die than suffer. He Xuan stops this, wanting to protect Shi Qingxuan, and is persuaded into decapitating Shi Wudu with the sword.

Later, He Xuan's mixed feelings are put even more broadly on display, when Shi Qingxuan calls him Ming Yi in the heat of the moment. He Xuan is hurt by this, because he wants his friend to see him as himself, not as his fake identity. He feels that Shi Qingxuan liked him more as Ming Yi, and frustrated him because, while he was so invested in the brothers' lives, they did not know his true self.

In their final canon interaction, He Xuan disguises himself as Hua Cheng before Shi Qingxuan. He is aggressive and snappy, but Shi Qingxuan still assumes the best, and states that he was just missing Xie Lian, still thinking he is Hua Cheng. He Xuan had repaired Shi Qingxuan's Wind Master Fan prior to this, and threw it at him before leaving. Shi Qingxuan eventually loses his spiritual powers and becomes mortal again.

They were both present at the Puqi Shrine Feast at the end of the book, but were not confirmed to have interacted.

Fanon
Beefleaf is a very popular ship in the TGCF community, and is the 3rd most written ship for the fandom on AO3. It is the most popular ship for both Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan.

Fandom
FAN FICTION