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 born to a wealthy family, and became close with his brother, Shi Wudu. 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. The family was able to shake off the Reverend by raising Shi Qingxuan as a girl, but despite this, still began to decline and lose money. After the brothers' parents died, they fled and relocated to a mountain where Shi Wudu could practice cultivation. Eventually, the Reverend learned of Shi Qingxuan's true identity, 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 his 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 a long battle, he eventually died and became a ghost. He Xuan eventually emerged from Mount Tonglu to become a powerful ghost king and one of the Four Calamities. However, despite this title, Heaven didn't see him as much of a threat, because he was relatively passive and never went out of his way to wreak havoc, except for those who had wronged him. 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 using a female form by his request. At one point, Shi Qingxuan calls Ming Yi his best friend. He Xuan could be considered one of the first true friends that he had. While the ghost king denies this, it is clear that they have become close. 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's actions. Shi Qingxuan was horrified, but couldn't bring himself to abandon his brother. This deeply upset He Xuan, and led him to force an ultimatum upon the two. He wanted Shi Wudu either to switch his brother's fate with a miserable man within The Black Water Demon Lair, or allow Shi Qingxuan to kill him with a rusty sword. Shi Qingxuan desperately wanted to have his fate switched, saying that he had already lived hundreds of good years. Shi Wudu, in turn, begs his brother to kill him, saying that he wouldn't be able to bear seeing him in such a state. 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 goaded 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 this 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 comes to Shi Qingxuan disguised as Hua Cheng. He is aggressive and snappy, but Shi Qingxuan still assumes the best, and unaware of the disguise, states that he was just missing Xie Lian. 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, falls from Heaven 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 among TGCF fans, and is the 3rd most written ship for the fandom on AO3. Generally, it's shipped alongside Hualian and Fengqing. It is the most popular ship for both Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan. The term 'Beefleaf' was coined from combining He Xuan's constant hunger, especially for meat, and Shi Qingxuan's frequent leaf-associated imagery (due to his title as Wind Master). It is often portrayed on social media with the 'meat on bone' emoji and the 'leaf fluttering in wind' emoji.

The main appeal of the ship comes from He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan's angsty, conflicted, and tense dynamic. Throughout the book, manhua, and donghua, even if it isn't verbally addressed, it becomes very clear that they care deeply about each other. Shi Qingxuan was open about his care for He Xuan from the start, calling Ming Yi his best friend. While He Xuan denied this, he willingly humored and associated with Shi Qingxuan, protected him from Shi Wudu's attempt at strangulation, repaired the Wind Master Fan, and overall had mixed feelings and guilt about his revenge. These are clear signs that despite his anger, he cares deeply for him. This raw emotion and complexity draws a lot of fans to Beefleaf.

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