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deliciousscaloppine · 5 years

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The Blood is the Life

Vampire AU. NieYao and SangYao- everyone is of age. Nie Mingjue is captured by the vampire coven of Qishan and turned into a vampire so he can wipe out the monster-slaying Nie Clan of Qinghe for them. Meng Yao is his mortal lover, a witch’s son and a witch himself who covets his vampire gift of immortality. And Huaisang is the empath prince who observes their relationship through his trained birds vying for recognition and affection. Their characterizations are bit post Sunshot Campaign, because I wanted a slightly edgier Huaisang. This is going to be from his pov. There is going to be sex in this, a lot of vampire sex hopefully. There are some parody elements as well. Also Huaisang’s girl harem from their arrival at Sun Scorching Palace is making a guest appearance here.

His brother was gone for several days now. The entire castle was on edge. Qinghe was a bright, sunny place, where the sunlight bathed everything white. The vast empty plains, where the sun rose and set left not room for shades that bred monsters. If anything it was the safest place from the cursed coven of Qishan. Not only every man and woman was a fearsome warrior, but their lands were also protected by vast deposits of silver that made the placement of protective wards particularly easy and efficient.

They made ornaments with this very silver, they even threaded it through the weave of their clothes. Most of their warriors would even drink this Qinghe soil mixed with their wine when they fought with the ghouls of Qishan. It was said to make them impervious to harm. But perhaps their greatest safety were the very leaders of the Nie Clan, who from ancient times were ruthless and cunning in their pursuit and slaughter of evil dead things.

So for Nie Mingjue to have vanished from the very face of earth, it was an unanticipated terror that set everyone on edge. And if anything, Huaisang feared civil strife more than he feared the vampires of the Wen. They had been subdued in this ancient conflict, and were in the habit of even culling their own, and so they relied on mortal servants, and other supernatural horrors that the Nie were well practiced in exterminating. So it should have been expected that in one way or another they would turn to different tricks.

Perhaps this disappearance was a trick as well. Perhaps Nie Mingjue had only been delayed at Gusu, and it was the messengers and envoys carrying the news that had been ambushed and killed. Nie Huaisang liked to entertain such hopes, while feeding his finches and his nightingales, simultaneously cursing his affinity to such small and delicate birds.

If he had practiced early on with birds of prey like hawks and eagles, perhaps now he could have sent one to search for his lost brother. Only such birds could repel an attack from the dire owl of the Wen. But the minds of predators were difficult, not as pliant and malleable as that of songbirds, and Huaisang's consciousness had difficulty entering them, perhaps because he also feared them.

The tales were that empaths who would frequent the minds of large animals could easily become trapped in them, and if harm came to them, then they would also die. If Huaisang had a mentor, a powerful witch to formally instruct him into such a process, to monitor and assist him, he would undoubtedly pursue this rare talent of his. He wanted to become strong, he wanted to become slick, he hated that he cowered and hid and pretended to be clueless and ignorant because the burden of Mingjue's responsibilities could crush him.

In their court, there was of course a witch. Or at least someone who was rumored to be a witch. But the Nie had no love for such people and their tolerance of him had been on account of this Nie Mingjue who was gone now.

Huaisang had never attempted to approach this person, not even when his brother was here, and had placed him graciously by his side. Now that the people spoke frequently and publicly against him he dared not even pass by him in the courtyard.

“Tell us again about this Meng Yao” Biyu asked, as if she had prodded his thoughts.

“Meng Yao? How did you know he was on my mind?”

“But with everything that has been happening, is it possibe he is not related at all! Everyone here says he is a dangerous person, but in our family no one even dares mention him.”

The other girls hummed in agreement.

“Such a sordid affair, how could he not be connected to it! Is it not true that he is a witch's son?” Fengfang muttered.

“Ah, these are only rumors. My brother has the greatest respect for him. If he was not a reputable person, he would not have brought him to court.” Huaisang said, hoping to dissuade the conversation.

Meng Yao intrigued him, if everyone was incited against him, he would have no choice but to flee Unclean Realm, and his brother might have need of him still.

The girls were disappointed at that, but the topic of discussion did not change

“I heard he is the son of the witch Meng Shi who had ensnared the lord Jin Guangshan. She took his seed inside her and then gave birth to a black egg. And from this black egg a white snake hatched. This white snake is supposedly his true form. In my family home it is even said that lord Nie Mingjue caught this white snake in one of his night hunts and struck it. He would have killed it too if it hadn't taken human form and begged him to let it live. This person they say is Meng Yao and he can take many forms. There is a servant who told me once that in his room he has that white snake skin and if anything that proves his true identity” Mingzhu said and all the girls were enthralled.

Of all of them she had the vividest imagination and that's why she was the president of their literary club. Her stories thrilled as much as they horrified and there was no one more respected among them for her ability to conjure them on spot.

“That's a story we must drink to!” Huaisang exclaimed, rising to pass around the wine. “Truly original!” he said pouring all the girls a drink, as they huddled close around their little table. “But we must not forget ourselves and repeat these things to outsiders. Remember I want to remain neutral most of all. My brother surely lives, and if he returns to find this Meng Yao gone, I certainly wouldn't want this pinned on me, or our merry company.”

The girls emptied their cups in agreement. If things had gone differently one of them would have certainly been his wife by now. But with Mingjue gone, and the fortress on lockdown, all of them had bonded over their artistic interests and frequently drunk together; entertaining each other in their rooms by composing poetry, doing calligraphy, and reading aloud stories from books.

Only recently had they forayed into telling stories they made up and it was honestly a sublime pastime, great for easing the tension of their situation. Huaisang would have offered to marry them all on the spot, if that wouldn't offend the great clans that had sent them there and sought an exclusive bond with the Nie.

Huaisang had been raised with great austerity. Unlike other noble heirs who had whole retinues of charming maidens, his only company had been books, and birds he liked to catch himself.

When Nie Mingjue had brought the handsome Meng Yao to court, he had been thrilled to see another boy close to his age. But Meng Yao, who had attended him once or twice on Nie Mingjue's commands, was an aloof, tight-lipped presence, whose enigmatic face was only occasionaly graced by strange smiles- mostly directed to his big brother.

Of course he too had heard the dreaded “Witch's son!” flying around like a trapped bird in silent corridors, and their many shaded halls. Close as Meng Yao was to his brother, he himself would never frequent the places this fluttering bird brushed its wings. When he wasn't at his brother's side at court, he would remain in his rooms, mostly alone and silent as if in meditation.

It was then that even more sordid tales would start to flourish, things that made one snap his fan disdainfully when he was within earshot. Lovers. The very idea was ridiculous.

It had, however, made him a little curious to say the least. The austere upbringing of the Nie precluded such foolishness as taking up lovers and having casual and random affairs outside of strict political matchmakings.

Even Huaisang's late mother had been taken formally into the Nie Clan as a consort, and when she had died her body had been interred in the royal tomb with every honor. Illicit affairs, no less between men existed only in vulgar books and ugly gossip.

Even though Meng Yao was very handsome for a man. And if one was to be honest, despite his dubious origins, he had a demeanor of bewitching guile. Huaisang would be lying to himself if he did not admit this curiosity itched and begged to be scratched. So one night some years ago he had decided to scratch that itch.

Nie Mingjue had need of him most in the aftermath of his bloodiest battles. It was then that they would seclude themselves to an empty hall at the fringes of the fortress. They were hardly alone, the hall was guarded heavily and several trusted stewards and attendants would attend to them, making this hardly a scandalous encounter, but Huaisang had needed to know what exactly it was they were doing behind these heavily guarded doors.

Especially when at nightime one could hear the chords of a guqin resounding in the air. It wasn't music exactly, more like a single note hanging until even its echo disappeared, before another note took its place.

So Huaisang had taken one of his finches out of its cage and told it where to go. It had flown under the roofs of the complex in the night, and through a half-opened window it arrived in the remote hall to observe for him the secret encounter between Meng Yao and his brother. And it had seen truly the strangest thing; A ritual that while uncommon did not seem in any way evil or scandalous.

Nie Mingjue would sit at the center of a drawn circle. Before him a small table with various objects displayed would be set- among them a hammered silver basin that was filled with water. Truly a snake skin did exist, splayed right under this basin, but to Huaisang it had seemed a shamanic object rather than a proof of witchcraft. Along Meng Yao there were also an elderly steward and a couple of servants.

Meng Yao would remove the silver ornaments from Mingjue's hair and would place them carefully on a tray one of the attendants held. This tray would later be placed right next to the silver basin. Meng Yao would comb and unbraid Mingjue's hair with something akin to tenderness indeed, but after that he would rise and seat himself before a curious instrument that resembled a guqin. There he played those same notes through the night, the same notes Huaisang had come to recognize.

The water in the basin would tremble and resonate with the sequence of notes. And while it did the two attendants would unfold between them a clean sheet and raising it they would hold it above their master's head.

Meng Yao then would take the silver basin and pour this cultivated water over the sheet and Nie Mingjue's body. He poured this water carefully so it wouldn't splash around or fall all at once over his brother’s head. Like a gentle stream falling from a rock, it licked at him and laved him .

By the time he was finished his brother was properly drenched. Then the attendants and the steward left the room for a few minutes and Meng Yao would prepare a concoction Huaisang was unsure of what exactly it was made of.

He would offer this drink to Nie Mingjue and while his brother drunk, Meng Yao would take a very shallow saucer, and collect in it the water that dripped from Nie Mingjue's hair. To Huaisang's astonishment Meng Yao would drink this water. He drank it with the outmost care as if he was taking an elixir of some sort.

Then he would call back the attendants, who would bring in dry clothes for their lord. Under the directions of the steward they would set up a screen and help their lord undress and change into his new clothes, while Meng Yao himself bowed deeply with his forehead touching the floor.

Meng Yao would prostrate in this position as if he was in the presence of some golden emperor, until his brother actually left. Seemingly no magic had ever been performed, which baffled Huaisang as to why it remained such a guarded secret.

He had to spy on this ritual several times before realizing that Meng Yao would disappear for a few days after it. Deciding to spy on him with one of his birds had required an impressive show of nerves. For some reason, even if he didn't believe Meng Yao was really a witch, he couldn't shake off the fear that his trick would be discovered and he would be exposed.

There was no one in the Unclean Realm that Huaisang knew who wouldn't shun a method that was unlike direct confrontation. And he feared that if this skill of his would be discovered he would be pressured into destroying it.

After ruminating on these issues, but not backing down from his decision to spy on Meng Yao he finally deemed a bird in a small space would be something too conspicuous, so he trained a moth. He sent that moth to Meng Yao's rooms to flutter about, and he discovered him there alone, sitting on the floor. He was dressed simply, in a thin gown with his hair worn loose around his face. It seemed to Huaisang as if he was ready to lie down and sleep.

However Meng Yao for the duration of an entire night just sat with his back as straight as he could, breathing swallowly as if in a pained trance. Huaisang had been almost sure this was an effect of the shamanic ritual he had observed. Then suddenly as if shaken from some invisible violence Meng Yao keeled over, bracing himself against the wooden floor. And coughing he expelled blood from his mouth.

Huaisang had been so frightened to see this. He had only heard mentions of blood magic and those were so vague he never had formed an image of it, but such a sight had caused an instinctive reaction to him. Like withdrawing his hand from an invisible flame, he had summoned back his consciousness.

Were there impure things in the water from his brother's hair Meng Yao had drunk? Or was it a reaction to something else, was the conconction and the water somehow connected, did it mediate between the two alleviating some secret suffering his brother had?

Once Huaisang had found himself again in his room by the muted light of a single candle he had the strangest sensation; as if he was being also watched. He had attributed that to his easily frightened nature and never thought of it again. In fact he kept on spying on Meng Yao until he became as bold as to send an actual bird.

The weather had been warm and undoubtedly some window or door would be left open to let in the delicate breeze. He thought there would be no harm in flying through the room. He had wanted to see if Meng Yao would react to such a thing.

His bird had fluttered about for several minutes, even passing before Meng Yao's serene face, seemingly unaware of the disturbance. But then, suddenly he moved, his fingers capturing the bird mid flight. Huaisang had been so shocked.

He had found himself on the floor, a burning sensation slicing through his head. He hadn't known if the pain was something the bird had experienced, or if it was the result of flinging his consciousness through space and form so fast, or something else entirely. Nevertheless he had vowed to himself never to spy on Meng Yao again.

The following day as he was airing the cages of his precious birds, setting some free so they could fill the garden with music, Meng Yao had arrived with the tiniest cage he had ever seen. Inside it was the prisoner; the pink canary he had used to spy on him. Meng Yao had bowed respectfully before leaving the cage in front of his feet.

“I found this little delinquent in my room last night” he had pleasantly said. “I believe the prince appreciates such things.”

Before Huaisang could say something, Meng Yao had bowed again and already said his farewells. He had steered clear off him to the present day, but perhaps the time for a more intimate introduction had arrived. He snapped his fan open waving it slowly before his face.

“Ladies!” he said. “How about one more round and then we all go to bed?”

The girls nodded all in agreement.

#the untamed #cql #the untamed fic #nie huaisang #meng yao #nie mingjue #jin guangyao #the untamed vampire au #the blood is the life #nieyao #sangyao

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