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animanganerd · 1 year

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Everything Annoys Me And I’m (Too) Hot - Chapter 3

The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfic

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47881336/chapters/121120009

Special Thanks to @a-force-dyad-in-space for beta reading ✨

All chapters: here x

Chapter 3 ❖ Part of the family (Part 2)

A-Li seemed to have never seen a donkey before, as he marvelled at its existence, his curious hands touching the spotted donkey all over. Thankfully, Lil’ Apple knew better than to kick a child; instead it glowered at Wei Wuxian who pointed at himself in shock. “Why me?!”

Lan Wangji lifted A-Li onto the donkey, took the reins and led the way, followed by Wei Wuxian who shook his head in disbelief. When the donkey started moving, A-Li squealed with glee. Lan Wangji had placed a hand on A-Li’s back to make sure he wouldn’t fall.

After the shock of the donkey’s accusation had settled, Wei Wuxian excitedly skipped next to Lan Wangji to discuss the names he’d come up with for the boy.

“Of course, he will adopt your surname! As for his courtesy name… we only have ‘Li’ to work with. I definitely want to keep it because it’s the only thing he remembers. I thought about adding… ‘Xiao’. What do you think?” Wei Wuxian said with an expectant smile.

Lan Wangji nodded.

Wei Wuxian clapped his hands together in delight. “As for the characters, ‘Li’ will be written with the one for ‘reasoning’. And ‘Xiao’ will be…”

“Written with the character for ‘laughter’?”

Wei Wuxian stared at Lan Wangji in astonishment before he suddenly erupted in laughter, bending over as he held his stomach from laughing too hard.

“I… I’m almost ashamed to say I had the character for ‘small’ in mind,” he said as he wiped tears from his eyes. He thought he’d been very smart and clever, making it easy for himself. “But you’re right. You’re so much better with names!”

“What about his personal name?” Lan Wangji asked.

Wei Wuxian smirked at him. He pretended to think about it really hard for a moment before he suggested, “Wu. Ji.”

It was meant as a teasing nod to the name of the song Lan Wangji had composed, but the corners of Lan Wangji’s lips slightly lifted and he unexpectedly agreed, “Yes. I like it.”

Although stunned once more, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but smile. “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, how do you keep surprising me like this?” he said with a shake of his head.

Two weeks later, the trio finally reached Gusu’s Cloud Recesses.

The other members of the Lan clan had received Lan Wangji’s message of their arrival, and the sect’s disciples had already lined up at the entrance like fledglings, thrilled to welcome the little boy – though they had to restrain their excitement as the sect’s strict precepts prohibited clamour. Among the swarm of white robes were Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi.

Wei Wuxian lifted Lan Xiaoli into his arms and gave Lan Sizhui a firm pat on his shoulder.

“This is your big brother!” Wei Wuxian announced proudly.

Lan Sizhui responded with a friendly smile towards A-Li.

A-Li, on the other hand, only glanced at the older boy before he buried his head in Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. Throughout their travels, Wei Wuxian had noticed that Lan Xiaoli was incredibly wary of other people. Even with someone who had a kind and gentle face such as Lan Sizhui, he couldn’t seem to overcome his shyness.

“Hey, I’m also his big brother!” Lan Jingyi protested, but Wei Wuxian ignored him and turned to Lan Wangji with a slightly concerned expression.

“I think this is all a bit too much for him. You introduce him to your brother and uncle. I will catch up with the kids.”

Lan Wangji nodded. He took A-Li from Wei Wuxian and placed the boy on the ground, so that he could walk on his own.

As A-Li was led through the Cloud Recesses, he kept on hiding behind Lan Wangji, whom he strongly admired. Though he’d been scared of him at first, something about this man’s graceful demeanour and sparse use of words made A-Li feel oddly calm around him.

Their first visit was to A-Li’s new uncle, Lan Xichen, who awaited them in the Elegance Room.

He had specifically come out of his secluded meditation to greet the little one. When they arrived, he put down the book he’d been reading and welcomed them with a serene smile. His demeanour exuded such a graceful elegance that even the simple act of setting aside a book gave the impression of an artistic performance.

At the sight of this handsome stranger who seemed to be beyond reproach, A-Li’s nerves began to flutter and his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

Since Lan Xichen’s countenance was more expressive than that of Lan Wangji, others found his company generally more pleasant and enjoyable. Yet, when he tried to talk to A-Li, the boy swiftly disappeared behind Lan Wangji’s leg, tightly clutching onto his robes and avoiding eye contact as if his life depended on it.

Luckily, Lan Xichen was very understanding, even more so after Lan Wangji gave a concise summary of A-Li’s circumstances.

Together, the brothers gave A-Li a brief tour of the Cloud Recesses.

First, they showed him the Orchid Room, where the students were taught. A-Li, however, would not be taught here, as the presence of Wei Wuxian (and consequently Lan Wangji) was still not welcomed. But this didn’t pose a problem. Even if A-Li wouldn’t grow up at the Cloud Recesses, as a member of the Lan clan it was essential that he’d receive the sect’s education, and Lan Wangji would make sure of that.

On their way to the Tranquility Room, where A-Li and his dads would sleep during their stay, they passed the Library Pavilion, with its magnificent magnolia tree adding to the tranquil atmosphere.

As they strolled on the white-stoned paths and along the windowed walls, neither of the brothers said much, save for a few anecdotes from Lan Xichen’s side. When Lan Xichen returned to his meditation, it was time for Lan Wangji to face his uncle, Lan Qiren.

Before that, however, he took a small detour to the back of the mountain to introduce A-Li to his armada of rabbits.

At first, Lan Qiren refused to look at either the child or Lan Wangji. How many more children did his formerly precious student want to produce with that devilish ingrate Wei Wuxian?

However, he’d also heard of the child’s terrible misfortune, and when he saw how quiet and coy he was – the exact opposite of Wei Wuxian – he realised that not all hope was lost.

To test the boy’s potential, he gave him several tasks to solve the very next morning. Since A-Li had no background in cultivation, Lan Qiren didn’t expect much from him in the first place. Yet, A-Li proved to be extremely obedient, properly carrying out all instructions he was given. This prompted Lan Qiren, who was initially disinclined, to approve the adoption.

Much to Wei Wuxian’s dismay and horror, the Lan family held one of their tedious banquets in the evening to celebrate the new clan member. Interestingly enough, A-Li didn’t seem to mind the bland food at all, as he ate it without complaint or so much as a grimace. Wei Wuxian wondered if he’d never eaten anything good in his life, or if he’d lost his taste buds along with his memory. Whatever the case, he couldn’t help but admire A-Li for his aptitude, watching him with a tender smile.

As soon as all formalities were completed and A-Li had received his own set of white robes – including a forehead ribbon sewn with clouds – his courtesy name, Lan Xiaoli, was publicly revealed.

With the conclusion of the welcoming ceremony, Lan Xiaoli and his dads embarked on their journey once again, this time as a family of three.

Now that Lan Xiaoli was officially part of their family and had met the members of the Lan clan, Wei Wuxian wanted to try his luck with his own brother, Jiang Cheng. He really wished to introduce A-Li to his side of the family and to show him the place where he’d grown up.

There had been no improvement in the relationship of the two brothers since the Guanyin Temple incident. They hadn’t exchanged so much as a word ever since, so Wei Wuxian held little hope when he contacted Jiang Cheng. Yet, he eagerly awaited a response nonetheless.

Against all expectations, Jiang Cheng granted them permission to visit, but neither Lan Wangji nor Wei Wuxian were allowed to enter Lotus Pier. Instead, Jin Ling was to guide Lan Xiaoli. Excited to visit his old home, Wei Wuxian thoroughly wrote down a detailed tour with very precise instructions on their way to Yunmeng. Even Lan Wangji couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised. He had never seen Wei Wuxian write this much of his own accord.

When they arrived at sunny Lotus Pier, they were welcomed by a stern gaze from Jiang Cheng, who had personally taken on the role of the gatekeeper. He didn’t say a single word. Instead, he just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and glowered at the couple.

To protect Wei Wuxian from the disdainful glare, Lan Wangji stared back at Jiang Cheng to take on all the contempt.

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, tried his best to ignore Jiang Cheng’s icy demeanour, and focused on going through the instructions with Jin Ling.

Jin Ling hadn’t agreed to be the tour guide right away – or at all, for that matter, but just like with everything else it was hard for him to defy his uncle. In the end, he really had no choice.

While Wei Wuxian explained, A-Li grasped his hand, absentmindedly nibbling on one of his own sleeves. The whole situation made him uncomfortable and Jiang Cheng’s cold sneer didn’t help at all.

Wei Wuxian had told him on their way that he would meet another new uncle and cousin, but standing in front of them now, Lan Xiaoli wished back the kind people from Gusu – he even preferred the grumpy-looking Lan Qiren.

It felt like they’d gone from a cold place with warm people to a warm place with cold people.

Oblivious to Lan Xiaoli’s inner turmoil, Wei Wuxian kept on explaining, “The tree is important, it can’t just be any tree! It’s where I…” His voice trailed off as his eyes drifted over to Lan Wangji, and his lips curled into a cheeky grin.

Lan Wangji didn’t notice it, for he and Jiang Cheng were engaged in a staring contest.

Jin Ling followed Wei Wuxian’s gaze. He was unfortunate enough to guess what was going on in Wei Wuxian’s mind, which made him want to throw up. To bring Wei Wuxian back to reality, he asked, “Where you what?”

After a short pause Wei Wuxian continued, “None of your business. Just make sure to show him the right tree.”

He then shoved the paper with the instructions into Jin Ling’s hands and bent down to face Lan Xiaoli. “Make sure to memorise all these places so I can tell you the stories of them later, okay?”

Lan Xiaoli nodded, but wasn’t too enthusiastic. He was very reluctant to leave with someone he didn’t know.

Jin Ling raised a sceptical eyebrow at the boy who wouldn’t make eye contact.

Wei Wuxian passed Lan Xiaoli’s hand onto Jin Ling’s. Lan Xiaoli held onto it, but when Jin Ling wanted to start the tour, he didn’t budge, no matter how hard he was pulled, almost as if his feet were glued to the ground. It needed a little push from Wei Wuxian to get him to take one heavy step after another, all the while still nibbling on his sleeve with a pout.

While showing the boy around, Jin Ling desperately tried to make conversation to relieve the awkward tension he felt, but Lan Xiaoli only replied to all topics with single-word answers, if at all. Lan Xiaoli kept his gaze fixed on the ground, rendering it difficult for Jin Ling to see any reaction from him in the first place. Irritated, Jin Ling decided to let it go after several attempts and thought it best to just get the tour over with.

Just as Wei Wuxian had instructed, he led – or rather, dragged – Lan Xiaoli to the street vendors on the docks and bought two pancakes, one of which he held out to Lan Xiaoli. Lan Xiaoli accepted it only reluctantly.

Jin Ling rolled his eyes. He was too impatient for this, but since it was Hanguang-jun’s son as well, he didn’t dare snap at him. Instead, he got down on one knee and bit into the other pancake.

“See, it’s all fine,” he spoke with a mouthful of pancake, causing his words to come out muffled. “Wei Wuxian wanted you to try this one, you can trust his taste.”

This was the first time Lan Xiaoli looked him into the eyes. Finally getting a reaction out of the small boy, it felt like Jin Ling had unlocked a great achievement and he was filled with an overwhelming delight. His eyes lit up and he hurriedly nodded to reassure Lan Xiaoli.

Lan Xiaoli took a small bite out of the pancake and after a few munches, his eyes curved up in a smile.

Jin Ling beamed at him in return. In a surge of exhilaration he asked, “Do you want more?”

Lan Xiaoli nodded, so Jin Ling immediately bought him one, no two more pancakes!

However, Jin Ling’s euphoria didn’t last long. As they continued their tour, Lan Xiaoli remained quiet, he just changed from nibbling his sleeve to nibbling on the pancakes. After a short stroll in silence they reached the place with the “special” tree Wei Wuxian had spoken of. Jin Ling scanned the trees and quickly realised he couldn’t tell any of them apart.

He huffed. “We’ve seen the trees, I’m sure it’s fine. What does it matter which tree we look at…,” he mumbled under his breath, more to himself than to Lan Xiaoli, but the boy heard him just fine.

“...but daddy said it has to be the right one,” Lan Xiaoli quietly argued, pancake still stuck in his mouth.

Jin Ling looked at Lan Xiaoli with wide eyes, surprised to hear him say a full sentence. He paused for a moment, then heaved an unnerved sigh.

“Fine…,” he said and continued his search. While Jin Ling compared the trees to the description he’d received from Wei Wuxian, Lan Xiaoli stood to the side, contentedly munching on his pancakes.

Jin Ling grew more and more agitated with each tree that didn’t fit the description. After almost half an hour he finally found the correct one. All his frustration evaporated into victorious joy that filled him to the core and almost made him cry happy tears.

At this point Jin Ling didn’t even mind the dirt on his face nor the twigs and leaves stuck in his hair. He waved with big movements at Lan Xiaoli who promptly walked over. Hands on his hips, Jin Ling showed him the tree with a wide, proud grin.

Lan Xiaoli… briefly nodded in response.

Jin Ling’s smile and hands dropped. They may not be related by blood, but he sure takes after Hanguang-jun, he thought with a frown.

He was truly at a loss. For some reason, this boy just wouldn’t come out of his shell. Afraid he might get punished if Lan Xiaoli returned unenthused, Jin Ling started to rack his brain. What would help him relax if he was in the boy’s situation? While he was mulling over this, it suddenly hit him.

As they headed toward the Yunmeng Jiang sect’s ancestral hall, he carefully probed “…Do you like dogs?”

Jin Ling was pinning all his hopes on his last resort: Fairy. He would’ve called Fairy right away, but then he remembered that people like Wei Wuxian existed. The thought of having to deal with a crying child let him shiver, so he wanted to make sure Lan Xiaoli wasn’t scared of dogs lest he accidentally worsen the situation.

Lan Xiaoli slowly looked at him with his big, round eyes and nodded.

“Great!”

Jin Ling instantly summoned Fairy, and lo and behold, it worked! Once Lan Xiaoli saw the black-haired spiritual dog, his face brightened, and he slowly began to open up, giggling as he ruffled the spiritual dog’s fluffy fur without restraint.

It felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from Jin Ling’s heart. He let out a deep sigh of relief and continued the tour.

Meanwhile, the three adults were waiting at the entrance of Lotus Pier.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji stood outside, while Jiang Cheng stayed close by to keep a watchful eye on them.

Growing impatient, Wei Wuxian started fidgeting around. He sometimes got on his tippy toes and craned his neck in hopes of seeing further into the distance.

“It’s taking them quite long,” Wei Wuxian said with a nervous laugh.

Jiang Cheng side-eyed him. “Well, you’ve given quite a long instruction.”

This shut Wei Wuxian up. The atmosphere between the men was tense and awkward, but not hostile. They spent the rest of the time in silence.

When Wei Wuxian finally spotted the two boys on the training field of Lotus Pier after a while, his face lit up in delight. At the same time, he was a little surprised to see Lan Xiaoli laughing so unbridledly. It was nice to see that he’d left scared and returned visibly comfortable. Wei Wuxian was about to praise Jin Ling, but then he saw something that made his heart drop.

On the training field, Lan Xiaoli romped around with Fairy. They chased each other as if they were playing tag. The spiritual dog was ruthless, yet careful. It jumped around while playfully snapping at the boy.

“Wait – is that dog attacking him?!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed.

At this moment, he wished for nothing more than to save Lan Xiaoli from that ferocious beast, but he knew Jiang Cheng wouldn’t let him enter, no matter what. So he could only clasp Lan Wangji’s shoulders instead, digging his fingers into the white robes.

Lan Wangji patted the back of Wei Wuxian’s hand to comfort him. “Spiritual dogs only attack evil spirits. There is nothing to fear,” he gently reminded Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian knew that, of course, yet he couldn’t help but worry. Whenever he saw these flesh-tearing teeth close to his boy, his heart skipped a beat and he sucked in a sharp breath, his fingers digging deeper into Lan Wangji’s shoulders.

Lan Xiaoli, oblivious to his dad’s concerns, was having the time of his life, joyfully squealing as he stumbled to the ground, while Fairy took the opportunity to lick all over his face.

It almost seemed like Lan Xiaoli was more fond of the spiritual dog than the place.

And, unlike Wei Wuxian, he very much loved dogs.

Jiang Cheng, who had overheard the conversation between the other two men, showed some mercy and went to get Lan Xiaoli. For one, he wanted to end Wei Wuxian’s suffering, and for another, he wanted them to just leave already.

Lan Xiaoli’s good mood plummeted when he was interrupted by Jiang Cheng, but the man looked too intimidating to be defied. His scowl was much scarier than Lan Wangji’s expressionless face could ever be, so Lan Xiaoli had no choice but to obediently follow him back to his dads with a drooping head.

Wei Wuxian lavished his gratitude on Jiang Cheng for rescuing Lan Xiaoli, and for letting them come over in the first place, but Jiang Cheng didn’t want to hear any of it and shooed them away.

After a proper farewell, the small family departed.

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #the untamed #fanfiction #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #everything annoys me and i'm too hot #eamaith #wei wuxian/lan wangji #wwx/lwj #adoption #found family #original characters

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mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess · 3 years

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Little Apple does grow old eventually.

It's a slow process, and he lives a long, happy life with Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, feasting on the pastures of the Cloud Recesses and eating apples from the hands of many generations of juniors.

But as all living things do, he grows weary, and starts becoming sick more and more often. He can no longer carry his owner on his back, or even move too much, his bones heavy. Wei Ying cares for him deeply, brings him healers and extra treats Little Apple has learned have medicine in them.

Though he's always talking animatedly and full of hope, the youthfulness in Wei Ying's voice and face is always shadowed with sadness.

Wei Ying knows Little Apple is dying.

Little Apple knows too.

He's shown his owner a bit of tough love throughout their first years - but he let his attitude slide after receiving enough bribes in the form of apples, pats and scratches behind his ears to admit he loves him.

He's also grown to love his owner's spouse and the many little bunnies he cared for. Lan Zhan was a much quieter person and Little Apple never bit him either - something Wei Ying had always playfully whined about.

Lan Sizhui has always been one of Little Apple's favorite people, the boy was so kind and gentle, and he grew into a wonderful man - though Litte Apple often missed him, away on his travels and nighthunts.

Lan Jingyi also had a special place in Little Apple's heart. When they were both much younger, Little Apple used to take great pleasure in shaking the boy off his back and biting him - but they forged a friendship eventually and Lan Jingyi still brings him apples and carrots sometimes, when he's not busy.

In hindsight, Little Apple has had a great, comfortable life. He's seen many places, many people, he's been loved and he has loved - as much as his little donkey heart could.

He passes in Wei Ying's arms one night, at last, eyes locked with his, breaths growing shallow as his heart slows.

He cries.

Wei Ying does too.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #so this is inspired by me grieving the death of my cat #she was 16 years old when she died 2 months ago #i still cant come to terms with it #and idk i guess i had to make wwx suffer through the same thing #loss of a pet is gut wrenching #writing attempts

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 3 years

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WHY WE'RE GOING TO DECONSTRUCT THE PREVALENT MISCONCEPTION THAT LAN WANGJI IS THE POSSESSIVE AND/OR OUT OF BOUNDS ONE AT THE START OF MDZS ON THE PART OF THE AUDIENCE SINCE WEI WUXIAN ALREADY HAS PRECONCEIVED BIASES

As it says, we'll start right after the Dafan Mountain hunt. We are already shown the direct opposition between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji in regards to trying to deal with Wei Wuxian. Remember, this was after both had walked away once before until Wei Wuxian, as he is apt, gets himself caught up from something he could have walked away from. His proclivity with summoning Wen Ning is what set of the realization for both men. Jiang Cheng to want to torture him into admittance of being Wei Wuxian, while Lan Wangji keeps up the pretense of him being Mo Xuanyu and taking him as a witness of the Mo Manor arm.

A moment ago, Jiang Cheng was certain that this person was Wei WuXian, and all of the blood in his body started to boil. Yet, now, Zidian was clearly telling him that he wasn’t. Zidian definitely wouldn’t deceive him or make a mistake, so he quickly calmed himself and thought, this doesn’t mean anything. I should first find an excuse to take him back and use every possible method to get information out of him. It’s impossible for him to not confess anything or give himself away. I’ve done things like this in the past anyways. After thinking it through, he made a gesture. The disciples understood his intention and came over.

Wei WuXian hurriedly jumped behind Lan WangJi with the donkey, and exclaimed while holding a hand over his chest, “Ah! What are you going to do to me?”

Lan WangJi gave him a look, putting up with his extremely discourteous, noisy, and exaggerated behavior.

Seeing that he would not move over, Jiang Cheng spoke, “ Lan-er-gongzi, are you purposely making this difficult for me?”

These two scenes are barely moments apart Wei Wuxian thinks he has one upped both enough to get away, but Lan Wangji and Sizhui seem well-versed with Jiang Cheng's methods.

As expected, Jiang Cheng’s face darkened, “Oh, really? Then, may I ask which type you’re interested in?”

Wei WuXian replied, “Which type? Well, I am very much attracted to people like HanGuang-Jun.”

Lan WangJi would never tolerate this sort of frivolous and foolish joke at all. If he felt disgusted, he would definitely draw a line between them and keep his distance. Disgusting two people at once—this was killing two birds with one stone!

However, as Lan WangJi heard this, he turned around.

His face was emotionless, “Mark your words.”

Wei WuXian, “Hmm?”

Lan WangJi turned back, speaking in a mannerly yet resolute way, “I will take this one back to the Lan Sect.”

Wei WuXian, “…”

Wei WuXian, “…Huh?”

Lan Wangji here is already shaking up Wei Wuxian's past expectations of him. He has already turned Wei Wuxian's jokes against him in a subtly sarcastic way, just as Wei Wuxian was hoping to pull against him.

Given that the Lan by default are one of the Sects that do help commoners Sizhui and Jingyi point out word for word just why "Mo Xuanyu" has been brought to Cloud Recesses on Lan Wangji's say.

Lan SiZhui tried to reason with him, “Mo gongzi, it was for your sake that HanGuang-Jun brought you here. If you do not follow us, Sect Leader Jiang will not be willing to let the matter go. During these past years, there were countless people whom he has caught and took back to Lotus Pier, and none of those people were ever let out.”

Lan JingYi spoke, “That is right. You’ve seen Sect Leader Jiang’s methods, haven’t you? They’re quite cruel…” He paused here, remembering the rule that stated “talking behind other people’s backs” was prohibited, and subtly glanced at Lan WangJi. Seeing that HanGuang-Jun didn’t show any interest in chastising him, he was bold enough to mumble on, “It’s all because of the unhealthy trend that the YiLing Laozu started. There are so many people who copy him and cultivate that foolish method. With Sect Leader Jiang being so suspicious of everyone, is it even possible for him to catch all of them? Just look at you and your flute skills… Heh.”

Lan Sizhui and Jingyi affirm again just why Wei Wuxian was brought with them, for being part of the debacle of the arm as well as a form of safety from Jiang Cheng who is implied to still follow demonic cultivators he suspects.

This trend continues as Lan Wangji keeps Wei Wuxian with him as a form of protection. Wei Wuxian is still under the assumption he is passing off as Mo Xuanyu to Lan Wangji, until they are separated. Wei Wuxian to tend to Jin Ling and Lan Wangji to catch the spy. Once he does move to rendezvous he runs into Jiang Cheng who had been the one Lan Wangji was trying to keep him from.

The black-haired spiritual dog sprinted over from the other end, passed Wei WuXian, and threw herself toward Jin Ling’s legs, affectionately brushing him with her tail.

With the dog appearing here, it must have meant that Lan WangJi had already caught whoever was spying near the stone castles and went to the point of rendezvous that they settled on earlier. However, at the moment, Wei WuXian had no time to think about any of that..

As he ran, he just happened to end up right before Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, and a bunch of other Jiang Sect disciples.

This is the first time now that Lan Wangji is not present to help Wei Wuxian. Who, has already become used to being under Lan Wangji's care and has quickly begun to stop questioning the reasons why. He is already comfortable enough to associate Lan Wangji as actual protection from Jiang Cheng as he had been warned earlier.

Seeing that the large, snarling dog closed in on him in less than a second, his ears were full of her low growls and his entire body numbed. He had forgotten about much of his early years of wandering on the streets. The only things he still remembered was the terror he felt as he was chased by dogs and the slicing pain of teeth and claws digging into his flesh. The fear that had been planted deep within his heart couldn’t be overcome or eased no matter how he tried.

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng glanced sideway at him, “Whose name did you call?”

Wei WuXian was in such a state of distress that he couldn’t remember whether or not he called someone’s name at all. He only managed to pull himself together after Jiang Cheng commanded the dog to back away. After a moment of hesitation, he abruptly turned his head away. On the other side, Jiang Cheng left his seat. There was a whip attached beside his waist. With one hand on it, he bent down to look at Wei WuXian’s face. After a pause, he straightened up and asked, “Speaking of it, since when have you been so close to Lan WangJi?”

Wei WuXian immediately understood whose name he had unconsciously called out.

Jiang Cheng smiled menacingly, “It really is quite curious how far he went to protect you, back on Dafan Mountain.”

A moment later, he corrected himself, “No. You weren’t necessarily the one whom Lan WangJi was protecting. After all, the GusuLan Sect couldn’t have forgotten what you did with that loyal dog of yours. How could someone so celebrated for his righteousness tolerate the likes of you? Maybe he’s familiar with this body that you stole instead.”

His words were cruel and sinister. Every sentence seemed well-meaning on the surface, but was actually derogatory. Wei WuXian couldn’t bear hearing it any longer, “Watch your language.”

To Jiang Cheng his assumptions of Wei Wuxian being alive are correct, yet, he thinks that Lan Wangji is protecting him due to assuming he has some sort of relationship with Mo Xuanyu. Wei Wuxian seemingly subconsciously voices his objection of Lan Wangji being spoken of in that way. This is the first major step post-resurrection of Wei Wuxian speaking up vocally in Lan Wangji's defense and Lan Wangji has been physically protecting Wei Wuxian.

Lan WangJi knelt down on one knee to examine his leg. Wei WuXian was rather shocked, “N-n-no, HanGuang-Jun. You don’t have to do this.”

Lan WangJi raised his head slightly, the pair of light-colored eyes boring into him, then looked down again and continued to roll up the leg of his trousers. Still under his grip, Wei WuXian could do nothing except to look up at the sky.

His entire leg was covered with the black bruise of the Curse Mark.

After staring at it for a while, Lan WangJi spoke in a bitter voice, “… I only left for a few hours.”

Wei WuXian shrugged, “A few hours is a long time. Anything could have happened. There, there. Straighten up.”

Once more Lan Wangji reiterates his stance of keeping Wei Wuxian safe and Wei Wuxian's penchant for taking on trouble.

Lan WangJi looked in the direction of a signboard that stood in front of a shop far down the street. Wei WuXian continued, “Let’s deal with the stone castle issue first.” He then walked toward the shop. He didn’t notice before, but his leg felt a bit numb, probably from Zidian. It was a good thing that Jiang Cheng controlled Zidian’s force so that he wasn’t made into a scorched corpse that had been struck by lightning.

Lan WangJi stood behind him. He suddenly called out, “Wei Ying.”

Wei WuXian paused. A second later, he pretended as if he didn’t hear the name, and answered, “What?”

Lan WangJi, “This was transferred from Jin Ling’s body, was it not.”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Wei WuXian didn’t say anything. Lan WangJi spoke again, “You met Jiang WanYin.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out due to the mark that Zidian left on top of the Curse Mark. Wei WuXian turned around, “As long as both of us are alive in this world, we’d meet for sure, sooner or later.”

Lan WangJi, “Do not go…”

Wei WuXian, “If I don’t go, how am I supposed to leave? Are you gonna carry me on your back or something?”

“…” Lan WangJi looked at him in silence. Wei WuXian’s smile froze on his face, just as a foreboding feeling crossed his mind.

If had been Lan Zhan from back then, he would definitely be shocked speechless by these words, and either leave with a cold expression or completely ignore him. However, it’d be hard to say how the Lan Zhan now would respond.

And finally Wei Wuxian takes it in stride that Lan Wangji knows exactly who he is while continuing to let Wei Wuxian follow him for his safety along with his own interest in the case. Only being baffled as to why he is helping him as he believed Lan Wangji never liked or approved of him. Of his own volition though he stays close to Lan Wangji due to the sense of safety and help Lan Wangji has already offered. As a give and take of equality between them as they try to hunt down the body parts that turned into a bigger case than what it was supposed to initially be. Turning into something larger than just keeping away from Jiang Cheng himself. This is also keeping in mind, Wei Wuxian as the one to still initiate any physical contact and sleeping in the same bed with Lan Wangji even after his ruse is revealed.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #and his preconcieved notions #people grow up Wei Wuxian #lan wangji #lan wangji has done nothing wrong ever #this is long and no I will not say sorry #don't mind me

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aurora077 · 3 years

Text

The Value of Recognition - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Well shit

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13934252/1/The-Value-of-Recognition

“Wei-qianbei, are you okay?” asked Lan Sizhui. Healer Zhang had been quietly filling in Second in Command Pan about what they knew so far, but the juniors had been focused on their Senior Wei and the adorable child who they couldn’t believe was actually the irascible Sect Leader Jiang. As such, they noticed when the mood on that side of the table dropped.

One minute everything was fine and he was enjoying the food and the next, Wei Wuxian’s chicken had slipped out of his chopsticks, Jingyi style, and had (luckily) landed on his bowl of rice without him noticing a thing. He’d fallen silent and seemed to be far away. None of them knew why he was reacting this way to the toddler’s innocent words.

“Who’s A-Ying?” Ouyang Zizhen whispered to Lan Jingyi.

“Beats me…”

But he remembered something and it seemed to click. “Wait.. Do you think... that it’s Wei-qianbei?” Jingyi replied, thinking of all the Wei Yings Hanguang-Jun had said since his return.

“Young Master Jiang,” said Jin Ling, also concerned about Wei Wuxian’s reaction and as straightforward as his uncle he asked, “Who is A-Ying?”

“A-Ying is A-Ying,” he chirped, “Wei-shufu said A-Ying will be fwens with A-Cheng, like A-die and Wei-shufu. But he didn’t bwing A-Ying.”

Jin Ling seemed like he’d caught on. He looked between his xiao jiujiu and Wei Wuxian with a mix of pity and sorrow.

Wei Wuxian had noticed none of this. His head was filled with white noise. Wei Changze. When did Jiang Cheng meet Wei Changze? Jiang Cheng never mentioned meeting his parents. And he himself didn’t remember ever being to Lotus Pier before Jiang Fengmian found him (though granted he did have a shitty memory). Mini Jiang Cheng said his Wei-shufu promised to bring A-Ying to play with him. Was that… Did it never happen because his parents...didn’t make it back?? Was three year old Jiang Cheng’s memory of Wei Changze the last time he ever set foot in Lotus Pier? Grief held his heart like a vice at the thought.

Wei Wuxian did not remember how long he was on the streets. He vaguely remembered being around five in the only memory he has of them that remained clear. Him, getting a little too big to ride on his father’s shoulders, but his father humoring him anyway. His mother was laughing and happy, sitting on a donkey and looking at them fondly.

His years on the street blurred together. All he knew was that his parents were on a night hunt and when they were done they would come and get him. But he waited and waited and nobody came. Eventually the food they had left him had run out and he had gotten hungry and wandered away from their camp (and later, couldn’t find his way back). He’d had to fight other children, even adults, for little scraps of food and the best places to find shelter for the next few years. And of course, the worst thing to happen to him was those feral street dogs who would chase him and bite him, especially if he’d managed to scrounge up any little food from the stuff people threw out.

(“Senior Wei.”)

When Jiang Fengmian had found him and taken him home, he was amazed at the beauty and splendor of Lotus Pier. To a nine-year old who’d been on the streets for years, he had never seen such a sight. If he had been there before, he would have surely remembered it! He could only conclude that he hadn’t gotten the chance to visit Lotus Pier. He didn’t recognise Jiang Cheng when he met him as a child and Jiang Fengmian had only said that this would be his home now. He hadn’t asked him if he remembered him or Lotus Pier.

Wei Wuxian hadn’t gone with Jiang Fengmian because he knew him, he had gone because the man said he knew his parents and had offered him food and shelter. By then, he was old enough to know that his parents were never coming back.

My god, his parents. When was the last time he thought about his parents? He’d told Jiang Cheng to leave the past in the past. The bitterness and the pain. He’d wanted them both to move forward and live happily. But now he was staring the past in the face, forced to confront things he had buried. Things he hadn’t even known he’d buried.

(“Master Wei?” “What’s going on with him?”)

Jiang Fengmian had rarely actually talked to him about his parents aside from the time he’d found him and told him they were his friends. He’d doted on him and treated him like he was his own son (unlike his actual son who’d gotten treated coldly many times, causing an argument between Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan every time without fail…).

It made Wei Wuxian feel terrible. He was happy that Uncle Jiang liked him and treated him well, but it felt really horrible to be the reason why Jiang Cheng’s face fell every time Wei Ying was praised and he wasn’t. He’d loved his grumpy shidi and causing him pain was the last thing he’d ever wanted to do. (Though he’d managed to do it time and time again.) But he’d meant it that day when he’d told Jiang Cheng that he didn’t want people assigning him to other households. His parents had been real people in this world. It was funny that now, it was Jiang Cheng who had to remind him of that, albeit unknowingly.

When was the last time he’d thought about his parents?

He choked back a sob.

(“Wei Wuxian!” “What is happening right now, is he okay?”)

How did he never know that he looked like his father? Who was left alive that knew his parents? Lan Qiren? (A man who disliked his mother... and hated him.)

Who was left to talk about them and honor their memory? Wei Wuxian had been so young and his memory was poor. He hardly remembered them at all. Why did nobody ever tell him he looked so much like his dad that a toddler, who surely couldn’t have interacted that much with the man, could recognise him in Wei Wuxian’s face to the point he’d thought it was him?

(“Senior Wei, can you hear me?”)

Wei Wuxian, in his obliviousness, had not even realised that was the case. Because he hadn’t known. Oh he’d heard about his mother. How she came down from Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, how she’d been so much like him. How Jiang Fengmian had loved her but she chose his father anyway. Just like Cangse Sanren, is what people said about him, once upon a time that is. Rarely anyone mentioned his father. And now, nobody mentioned them at all. Because nobody (save the uptight Lan Qiren) could even remember them. They were like footnotes in the grand scheme of his life.

His parents were footnotes in his life. He hadn’t intended to do it, but it seemed like they were part of the past he’d left behind when he told his shidi to leave it there.

He felt like weeping.

And indeed he must be, because the sound of it reached his ears. He reached a hand up to wipe his tears but.. his face was dry?

He felt a tug on his sleeve.

“Wei-shufu, A-Cheng is sorry.”

His vision cleared. Oh. He was surrounded by worried faces and a now teary-eyed baby, whose cries were a lot more silent than before but also a lot more sorrowful now.

“Wei-shufu don’t leave A-Cheng. A-Cheng will be good,” he cried, “Pwease don’t tell A-die A-Cheng was bad. A-Cheng won’t ask for A-Ying.”

Tears silently slid down the toddler’s face, and that was the impetus for his to fall too. He picked up the toddler and cuddled him, hiding his own teary face from the others in the child’s hair.

“Who said A-Cheng was bad? Was it the scary geges?” (“Hey!” protested Lan Jingyi.)

He stroked the child’s head consolingly, trying to control his own sorrow. He didn’t know what expression he had on his face when being struck with the past, but he hadn’t meant for the child to think he was to blame.

“A-Cheng didn’t do anything wrong. Wei-shufu was just missing his family.”

(Lan Sizhui gasped. It seemed like he too realised what was going on. He shared a look with Jin Ling. Wen Ning too had realised what was happening, and if a corpse could have cried, he would be sobbing on his friend’s behalf.)

“W..wei-shufu c..can *hic* bwing them to ‘otus Pier too,” said Xiao Cheng, sniffling.

Oh that precious little thing. “Maybe next time,” he deflected, “This time your Uncle Wei is here for you.”

He patted the child’s back. “Don’t cry now, come on, let’s finish your breakfast okay?” A-Cheng nodded. But he was quiet and let Wei Wuxian feed him the rest of his meal. Everyone else was subdued as well, each thinking that those two people never seemed to be able to escape an encounter with each other unscathed.

------

With the awkward breakfast over, Wei Wuxian had pushed his emotions aside; he’d reflect on those another time. Right now it was time to get down to business.

“Second in Command Pan, can I call you Senior Pan? That’s a bit of a mouthful isn’t it?” he quipped.

Pan An huffed but acquiesced.

“Okay so Senior Pan, Healer Zhang has briefed you already on what we know. With your sect leader currently… indisposed… Lotus Pier of course will be your responsibility and I beg your leave to help and to use the library etc as needed. It falls to you to grant us permission to stay but if we have it I promise I’m going to do everything in my power to make this right. A-Ling has a sect to run as well so the both of you can’t do everything alone. It’s going to be difficult enough to contain the news of what happened. People talk and lots of people would have seen Wen Ning bringing him in last night. The Lans have a song called Inquiry which I’m sure you’ve heard of. Lan Sizhui is proficient enough and I thought we could start our investigation by communicating with the spirit to find out what exactly it cast.”

“I admit Master Wei, I’m not pleased to have to accept your help for this. But yes you have my permission to do what it takes to break this curse, even though Sect Leader might break my legs when he... comes back,” said long suffering second in command Pan. “Why would A-Die bweak gege’s legs?” asked A-Cheng innocently. Crap.

“Uh your A-Die isn’t going to break anyone’s legs, A-Cheng,” Wei Wuxian laughed sheepishly. “Gege was just joking,” said a panicked Pan An.

Healer Zhang facepalmed. “Young Master Jiang, may I make a suggestion?” she said earnestly, seemingly invested in going along with the idea that he was in charge while his father was away. She had not, however, forgotten for a moment that this child was in fact her sect leader. He was responsible to a tee and would take Wei Wuxian’s words about being in charge to heart, even as a toddler. But he was also a child at the moment and there are some things you just don’t discuss in front of a child. Especially when it was about him. He would hear his name come up and wonder what he had done and how would they explain things to him then?

He hesitated but nodded.

“Why don’t you and your Flower-gege go with Flower-gege’s friends to do a patrol of the sect? Your Uncle Wei, Sizhui-ge, and Second-In-Command Pan have some boring adult things to talk about.”

Mini Jiang Cheng looked up at his Flower-gege who smiled encouragingly. “Okay,” he said softly, wanting to do his best while his family were away. He already messed up and made Wei-shufu sad. Maybe A-Die would give him a hug if he did a good job and didn’t cause any more trouble..

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ghooostbaby · 3 years

Text

Reading the MDZS novel

(beware spoilers for whole novel + show)

Chapter 97

He took it for granted they'd continue like this without change. But after tonight, maybe he and Lan WangJi wouldn't go back to how they were ever again. Without Lan WangJi, it seemed as if it wasn't too impossible for him to roam the world on his own.

But a voice in Wei WuXian's head told him clearly, No, you can't.

The words he said on Koi Tower really proved to be true. The current Wei WuXian couldn't so without Lan WangJi.

Wei WuXian let out a long sigh, despairing. "I want to drink."

YES

Vindication!!!!!

I found it gut wrenching the way they ended The Untamed and I'm SO glad I read the book to see this

After all they had been through and all the PENETRATING GAZES you just ... go off on your own path down the mountain with just your flute and Lil Apple?

it makes no sense with their soOoOoOo romantic relationship, even with censorship, they wouldn't have to kiss or touch or anything to show that kind of open hearted devotion and un-self-interested, simple, and not-altogether-reasonable, need to be always near each other, and see each other happy. .. what romantic love is, choosing to be with each other might not be the most sensible option, but you just know it to be true, you need to be with them, you need to see their face

So many tiny moments in the novel where they just do things for no other reason than the desire to be near each other, or even better, the times where they aren't side by side and everyone around them is like ???? "What happened?!?!"

The sweetest thing, something WWX talks about all the time in the extras chapters, his cavalier persona is at odds with his true heart, it feels like the untamed ending falls for it too. he's a dumbass romantic who dreamed repeatedly about him and LWJ living a domestic life in a little farm. He gets all heart eyes every time he's sitting on the donkey while LWJ holds the reigns and daydreams about them being just like his only memory of his parents. He says he wants Wen Ning to go on his own path, but LWJ knows him better when he reassures WWX that WN can settle down nearby and they can see each other a lot.

Is it implied (by the show) that he wouldn't come to cloud recesses because he wants to be free from those rules? (And that lan wangji wouldn't leave cloud recesses behind?)

Excuse me but the whole point is that they choose each other, over everything else

The wayward wei wuxian, impossibly, spends his days living next door to Lan QiRen, psyching himself up to eat tree bark soup, and the pristine lan wangji spends his days breaking rules for wei wuxian, and his nights making wei wuxian behave

I'm so grateful for the novel for giving me the graceful, beautiful, loving story of WWX making the Lan sect his home, in spite of all the reasons it would be easier to go somewhere else on his own. That's what it was all about for me - there are so many reasonable reasons he could have gone elsewhere, but they're nothing to WWX compared to getting to see LWJ's beautiful face. It's the simplicity of love.

And of course he'd want to be around Sizhui!!!!

#the untamed #mdzs #wangxian

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ink-splotch · 4 years

Note

Wangxian + 45 (gift)

Five Times Wei Wuxian Was Hungry + Once When He Was Not

It was Wei Ying’s favorite spot to scrounge. The morning’s cook cut the vegetables carelessly-- there was always a good few mouthfuls to gnaw off the cabbage and radish ends, the onions and peppers. He remembered having roasted potatoes before, with his mother and father, but it was hard lighting fires. And as soon as things started smelling good, other people came, or dogs.

Raw potatoes though-- they were barely sweet, crisp, and grainy. He chewed them more for entertainment than because they filled him up. He’d gotten a good instinct for which mouthfuls went the longest ways. Some things stuck to the ribs.

Wei Ying curled up in a different hollow each night, a different rooftop or alley or meadow or tree, and ran his fingers over the curved ridges of his ribs. He counted them and thought of his mother teaching him arithmetic, moving little twigs and stones into place beside a fire.

“Dinner was delicious.”

Wei Wuxian managed not to flail off the roof. “Jiang Cheng, you’re so mean.” Past his brother’s ugly face, the moon was setting low over the wide, still ponds of Lotus Pier.

“Well, dumbass, don’t piss off mom next time.” Jiang Cheng scooted slowly down the roof tiles. One day, they would have this down to an art, play light-footed games of tag at midnight. One day, they would huddle on these same tiles and watch their parents bleed out, holding hands. Wei Wuxian dropped down onto the wooden pathway, reaching up a hand to help, which Jiang Cheng ignored. “I tried to sneak you out some bao, but First Uncle caught me.”

“So you do love me!” Wei Wuxian grinned at him, all of twelve and gangly with it.

Jiang Cheng shoved him. “If you starve to a skeleton, who will be around for me to beat at swords?”

“Who will be around to beat you, you mean--”

“Both of you!”

At the hiss, Wei Wuxian latched onto Jiang Cheng’s startled flail of his arm. The ponds past them were still, painted with moonlight and pockmarked with lotus.

Jiang Yanli waved at them from the open door of her room. “Come on, in here. You both tiptoe like elephants.”

“It’s Jiang Cheng,” Wei Wuxian explain, slipping into the room behind her. “I mean, he ate too much at dinner and now he’s going to bust through the floor into the lake.”

“Sit down, sit down,” Jiang Yanli said. “I’ve been waiting for hours, listening for you.”

“I was going to head down to town,” Wei Wuxian said.

“No need for that,” she said. She lifted the lid off a clay pot on her desk. Light pork flavor wafted up and Wei Wuxian’s stomach grumbled. He poked at it, betrayed.

“Have as much as you want,” Jiang Yanli said, reaching for the ladle. Her voice was soft, but it was always soft, even when they weren’t sitting in the dim light listening for creaks in the hallway.

“What about me?” Jiang Cheng demanded.

“You, too, A-Cheng,” she said. “If we run out, we’ll make a brave expedition to the kitchens to acquire more mission materiel.”

Her eyes sparkled even in the low lights. Wei Wuxian liked this so much better, the slyness in her eyes as she teased her brother, than the way she sat quiet in the daylight, peeling lotus seeds with shaking fingers, while her mother rose up like a bonfire.

There was a creak from the hallway. Wei Wuxian would have counted it for a mouse in the night, but Jiang Yanli’s head shot up. “That’s mother, coming to check up on me. Quick, both of you, out the window. Sorry, I-- quickly, now.”

That night, Wei Wuxian lay in bed with a still empty stomach-- an old feeling, a familiar one. He’d last til morning, easy, he knew that.

But this was unfamiliar, even now: his palms still felt the ghost of heat, of a warm bowl cradled in them, smuggled through the darkness and meant for him.

“Ai, Lan Zhan, you didn’t think to pack anything to eat? So thoughtless. Even those Qishan bao would be acceptable. I mean, I know I told Nie Huaisang they tasted burnt, but that was mostly lies. And if we’re stuck here much longer, I’d even eat that terrible bitter Gusu soup!”

Lan Zhan’s head was tipped back against the rough stone of the cave, eyes closed. Firelight played softly over the ridge of his jaw, the column of his neck. He didn’t respond to Wei Wuxian, not even to the bit about the soup.

Wei Wuxian sprawled where he could, trying to find a comfortable bit of ground while keeping an eye on Lan Zhan. “I ate every bowl I was given, when I was there,” he told Lan Zhan. “So I know what I’m talking about. Your clan doesn’t know how to eat. One day, I’ll take you to Lotus Pier, and you’ll see.”

At first the noise distracted him from the emptiness-- from the hunger, yes, but also from the quiet lack where his golden core once had been. It felt silent inside of him, that void under his belly, the way he hadn’t felt silent in years.

Spirits called for vengeance, for justice and fury, for freedom and power. Beneath the black cloud of that rage, there were quieter voices too-- asking for rest, for remembrance, for respite.

Beneath it all, though, he still had a body, however empty. He found water dripping down the cliff face. He dug up roots and caught rats. He lit fires to roast them. He figured that everything that could scare him already knew how to find him.

He remembered how it felt to wither, day by day. He watched his body shrink and hollow, familiar.

The spirits called for vengeance and he agreed. The spirits cried for justice and he promised it. His body begged for sustenance and he told it to wait. There were more important things.

Lil Apple reached out his neck, trying to snap his big ugly teeth at some greener grass growing off the path. “Ah, yeah, you hungry, you spoiled beast?” Wei Wuxian said, trying to tug him forward. “I gave you my last bit of melon this morning.”

Wei Wuxian managed to drag the donkey a few strides further before he gave up, sagging against a tree while Lil Apple waded out into greener pastures. He brayed again and Wei Wuxian hoped it was joy, but suspected it was something a little more vengeful.

“You’re lucky you can eat grass,” he called after him.

They’d left a town with a water spirit problem five days ago--well, a town that had previously had a water spirit problem. They’d given him a bag of apples, a stack of flatbread, and a big meal before he’d left. He rolled the memory over his tongue-- creamy eggplant and salted fish, spicy enough even to satisfy him.

It was days ago now, and that old familiar ache was curling under his heart. But there’d be a village around any corner now, a farm with a blight, or a merchant caravan looking for some peace of mind.

Even if there wasn’t, he could go far longer than this without a shake to his legs or to his smile. He had.

Even if the land was barren for miles, at the end of it he’d wash up in Caiyi town in time for loquat season. He’d climb the mountain by foot, palming the jade pass in his sleeve, and there would be a hot meal waiting for him when he arrived.

But for now, the crickets were calling from the grass. Heat beat down from a wide, clear sky and Wei Wuxian closed his eyes.

His body whispered for sustenance and he told it wait, wait, but this time it was a promise cradled warm and soft in his palms.

“You’re not busy, are you?” Wen Ning said.

Wei Wuxian glanced up from gnawing on the end of his calligraphy brush. It wasn’t an old bad habit of his, but he thought it might have been one of Mo Xuanyu’s. Also, the first time Lan Qiren had caught him doing it, he’d gone red in the face, so Wei Wuxian had rather leaned into it.

“We don’t want to bother you,” Wen Ning went on, bobbing his head. “I know you’re doing important work…”

“If I haven’t figured out how to balance this talisman yet-- and I haven’t,” Wei Wuxian said, wrinkling his nose at the crumbled papers beside him, “then it’s not going to happen tonight.” He leaned back, elbows on the wood floor of the inn. “What’s going on, Wen Ning? You and Sizhui get into trouble in the market?”

“No, we had some good luck.” Wen Ning stepped finally through the door. “If you could come down to the…”

“Did you find something on the case?” Wei Wuxian leapt to his feet.

“No, no,” Wen Ning said, following him down the stairs. One of the inn staff caught one look at Wen Ning and threw himself backward into an open room. “We just, I mean, I hope it’s not overstepping.”

Down on the ground floor of the inn, Lan Sizhui looked up and smiled to see them. He rose from the table where he’d been laying out four bowls. “Wei-qianbei."

"What's this, now?" Wei Wuxian said, glancing over the table.

“Wen Ning has been telling me stories of when I was little,” Lan Sizhui said, settling his hands gently on the lid of the pot. He did most things gently, that kid, and it didn’t come from Lan Zhan, who was deliberate in every movement but rarely soft in the public eye, or Lan Qiren. It certainly didn’t come from Wei Wuxian.

Wen Ning settled down opposite Lan Sizhui at Lan Sizhui’s encouraging nod, and Wei Wuxian realized-- it was his uncles. It was the way Lan Xichen had used to move quiet and kind through a crowded room. It was the way Wen Ning was so careful with his strength.

“He told me about a day when he carried a little bowl of soup miles home from Yiling, so I could try it. It was cold by the time he got there, of course, but… I don’t remember it really.” Lan Sizhui pulled the lid from the pot, the rich scent rising up. “But helping Madam Wang in the kitchen, the smell-- I think I do remember, a little.”

“We found lotus root in the market,” Wen Ning said. “And pork ribs, and the landlady here has a cousin from Lotus Pier. We thought…”

Wei Wuxian dropped down into a seat at the table, heavy and silent. He closed a hand over Wen Ning’s wrist, softly.

“Have as much as you want,” Lan Sizhui said, reaching for the ladle. His voice was soft.

When Lan Zhan got back to the inn, he found them still there, leaning over empty bowls and laughing about radishes.

He paused in the doorway to take in the sight-- Wei Ying with his head thrown back; Wen Ning waving his hands while he talked, like he'd forgotten to shrink himself down; Lan Sizhui soaking it in like he had years of family to catch up on.

Lan Zhan crossed the room to join them, Wei Ying spotting him when he got close. He was smiling already, but he smiled wider. "Ai, Lan Zhan, you're here! Sit down, sit down. We even saved you some soup."

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merakilyy · 4 years

Text

Tales of an Unsuccessful Matchmaker

Six months after the Guanyin temple, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji still aren’t together. Jingyi snaps because if his oblivious seniors can't talk about their feelings, then Jingyi is going to take matters into his own hands and make them talk.

Naturally, he enlists the help of Lan Xichen to matchmake a little.

Just a little.

(In which Sizhui is 100% of Jingyi's impulse control, Wangji is lonely, Jingyi may or may not break into the Hanshi via window, and Xichen is surprisingly permissive.)

Tags: Wangxian, post-canon, matchmaking, accidental secret marriage, Jingyi being a menace who just wants his otp to get together already

(On AO3) Wordcount: almost 7600

~~~

If you asked Lan Sizhui, he would describe Lan Jingyi as a cesspool of bad ideas. He would say it with affection and add that Jingyi is still a very talented cultivator whose penchant for more creative solutions has provided much entertainment during their night hunts and saved his life at least once, but it was unofficially Sizhui’s job to keep Jingyi’s worst impulses in line.

However, with Sizhui travelling with Wen Ning outside Gusu for several months, there was no one left to temper Jingyi’s wilder ideas.

Furthermore, Sizhui had inadvertently planted another questionable idea into the mind of Lan Jingyi in his most recent letter.

Lan Jingyi,

I hope that you are well and that you have not caused Grandmaster Lan to suffer another aneurysm.

Uncle Wen Ning and I went to visit the Burial Mounds. It is just as barren as the last time we were there but Uncle Wen Ning told me stories of how Wei- qianbei learned to restrain the resentful energy so they could farm the land and grow radishes. No potatoes, though. It is not a nice place, and even the best memories are bittersweet, but it is a part of my past and I am happy to learn all that I can about my first family. Uncle Wen Ning says Wei- qianbei even managed to grow lotuses in the Burial Mounds. Can you imagine? I thought Uncle Wen Ning was teasing me until I saw three dried lotus seeds in the dirt.

Briefly, Jingyi wondered when the fearsome Ghost General became Uncle Wen Ning to Sizhui, to himself, and to all the other junior disciples. Was it before they accidentally turned Wen Ning green from an aggressive plant spirit, or was it after Wen Ning paused a night hunt so he could rescue a kitten from a tree as they all watched? Jingyi didn’t ponder this very long; his thoughts quickly drifted elsewhere as he continued reading.

After we left the Burial Mounds, we ran into Wei- qianbei and Lil’ Apple in Yiling. He says that he’s been travelling on his own for the past few months. I was surprised that he’s been gone for so long without Hanguang-jun at his side. He seems tired. Later, I asked Uncle Wen Ning about Hanguang-jun and he simply said Wei- qianbei and Hanguang-jun know each other best. I am not sure what that means but Uncle Wen Ning did not say more on that subject. Before Wei-qianbei parted ways with us, I offered him the lotus seeds I found in the Burial Mounds but Wei- qianbei refused. He said that I should hold onto them until he can settle down somewhere to plant them. Do you think he’ll ever come back to Cloud Recesses?

Sizhui’s letter went on a bit more to say he and Uncle Wen Ning were going to Lanling next and that they might visit Sect Leader Young Mistress Jin but Jingyi’s mind had already begun churning with a new idea.

Sizhui had said nothing about whether or not Wei Wuxian was lonely but he was alone! And tired! With only that stupid donkey! So of course he was lonely without Hanguang-jun at his side. Furthermore, Uncle Wen Ning was the one who knew the most about Wei- qianbei and Hanguang-jun’s relationship and describing them as those who know each other best is basically confirmation that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are soulmates.

Plus, Wei-qianbei was waiting to settle down somewhere. Somewhere with enough space to grow lotus flowers. But, also somewhere where Sizhui could easily give him the seeds which meant Cloud Recesses. And, since Hanguang-jun lived in Cloud Recesses, Wei-qianbei must be waiting for Hanguang-jun to confess so he can settle down in the Jingshi. In Cloud Recesses.

Rather proud of his ability to read between the lines, Jingyi began to formulate a plan with his newfound knowledge.

~~~

When he woke up the next day, Jingyi reviewed his plan from the previous night and almost considered scrapping it as he realized he forgot to account for Hanguang-jun’s feelings. Even though Uncle Wen Ning almost confirmed Hanguang-jun’s feelings, how well did Uncle Wen Ning really know Hanguang-jun?

As he finished tying his forehead ribbon in place, Jingyi decided to shelve his plan until he could properly ascertain Hanguang-jun’s feelings towards Wei- qianbei . For now, he decided to simply gather evidence of Hanguang-jun’s feelings.

Evidence, as it turned out, was not difficult to find.

As he headed towards the cafeteria for breakfast, Jingyi saw Hanguang-jun sitting on the porch of the Jingshi in a chair that Jingyi had only ever seen Wei Wuxian use before. Hanguang-jun was impeccably dressed as always, an intricate guan woven into his hair and without a wrinkle to be seen on his spotless white robes. With a pot of tea balanced on the window ledge beside him, Hanguang-jun was reading a letter. Ducking behind a pillar, Jingyi watched as Hanguang-jun flipped through page after page of writing. There were so many pages that Jingyi initially thought the letter might actually be documents from other Sects requiring mediation from the Chief Cultivator. But after taking a closer look, Jingyi saw how a few pages contained doodles in the margins and only one person could be so shameless. Even without seeing the messy scrawl, Jingyi knew it was from Wei Wuxian because no one else would send such ridiculously long-winded letters — especially not to Hanguang-jun. No one else dared send long, verbose letters to a man whose Sect literally had rules that restricted the use of words.

Do not use frivolous words, speak meagerly for too many words will bring harm, do not take your own words lightly, be careful with your words, Lan Jingyi recites in the back of his mind. After having copied the rules so many times, they are easily imprinted in his mind. Wei- qianbei definitely broke all of the rules , Jingyi thinks while he observes Hanguang-jun’s expressions as he reads.

Unlike Sizhui, Jingyi did not have the privilege of being raised by Hanguang-jun for most of his childhood. It was more accurate to say Jingyi, like most members of Gusu Lan, knew of Hanguang-jun instead of knowing Hanguang-jun.

Still, Jingyi has taken enough classes with Hanguang-jun to be familiar enough with major changes in Hanguang-jun’s expressions. Even if Jingyi can’t name the soft expression on Hanguang-jun’s face right now, Jingyi recognizes the look. He saw it at Dafan Mountain, when he requested Mo Xuanyu be moved into the Jingshi, when he and Wei- qianbei rescued them from the Burial Mounds, and after the Guanyin Temple.

It was an expression reserved for Wei Wuxian.

Hanguang-jun’s expression barely changes as he continues reading. Occasionally, Hanguang-jun will flip back to an earlier page with an amused huff.

This should be the most boring endeavor Jingyi has ever undertaken. He has never been a good scout, and even worse at night patrols because he would get bored so quickly.

But, watching the subtle shifts in Hanguang-jun’s expression is more entertaining than Jingyi would have guessed. He is no expert at reading Hanguang-jun, or at reading people in general, but it is fun to guess at the shifts in Hanguang-jun’s expressions. Even Jingyi can see the soft, deeply rooted affection Hanguang-jun has for Wei- qianbei in how he holds the paper with such care, in how he is possibly smiling at Wei- qianbei ’s little drawings, and in how Hanguang-jun looks very lonely sitting on the Jingshi porch alone.

Ouyang Zizhen would be having a field day with this information, Jingyi thinks.

Jingyi is so lost in his thoughts between what his friends would say about observing Hanguang-jun and actually observing Hanguang-jun that he startles when Hanguang-jun himself says, “Breakfast will begin soon. Do not be late.”

Carefully tucking the thick wad of paper into his sleeve, Hanguang-jun stands and makes his way to the communal dining area.

Jingyi has too much dignity to scurry out from his hiding spot right before Hanguang-jun’s sharp eyes. Luckily, Hanguang-jun is not interested in punishing Jingyi and moves toward the dining area. But, before leaving, he says, “Eavesdropping is forbidden, Lan Jingyi.”

Just as Hanguang-jun’s back disappears around another corner, the warning gong for breakfast rings.

Flustered, Jingyi tries to collect himself as he scrambles to his feet. He is enough of a Lan to not run, but he is definitely pushing the limits of speed walking so he will not be late for breakfast.

~~~

Having deemed that morning’s events to be sufficient evidence of Hanguang-jun’s deep yearning for the return of Wei- qianbei , Jingyi decides he needs someone who knows Hanguang-jun well enough to help him formulate a plan.

Ideally, Sizhui would have been the best partner. Not only has Sizhui been raised by Hanguang-jun, Sizhui is also Jingyi’s equal and a close friend which would make the need for formalities unnecessary. Sizhui is also the best at curbing Jingyi's wildest ideas.

But, Sizhui is still travelling with Uncle Wen Ning.

The only other person who knows Hanguang-jun well enough to assist Jingyi is Zewu-jun who is...not exactly in seclusion, but he is not not in seclusion either. Jingyi doesn’t understand it either.

But, Jingyi does know that while Zewu-jun himself has not been seen leaving the Hanshi, Zewu-jun is perfectly free to leave if he so desired. More importantly, people are allowed into the Hanshi. Confident that Zewu-jun would do anything to help Hanguang-jun, Jingyi decides to seek his aid.

Without Sizhui around to slow Jingyi down, to encourage Jingyi to sleep on his plans before enacting them, Jingyi decides to put his plan into action the first chance he gets.

That evening, armed with nothing but the bare bones of a plan and his desire to help Lan Wangji, Jingyi marches up to the doors of the Hanshi for the first time in his life.

Seeing the candlelight flicker through the open window of the Hanshi, Jingyi takes a deep breath and knocks.

He meant to gracefully entire the Hanshi, politely and through the door. He would bow at the full angle, speak at the proper volume, and would present his objective in a calm, respectable proposal. There was a plan, and Jingyi had intended to carry out that plan.

What Jingyi did not account for was Sect Leader Lan’s refusal to open the door. Like any self-respecting cultivator of the Gusu Lan Sect, Jingyi was reasonably terrified of Lan Xichen. But, dire circumstances call for extreme measures. With no other choice, Jingyi turns to the window.

Seeing that there is no one else in the vicinity, Jingyi messily pushes his long sleeves up to his elbows before leaping at the window ledge.

Admittedly, Jingyi didn’t think it was a good idea either. He is basically breaking into the Hanshi, breaking hundreds of rules, and Zewu-jun might run him through with Shuoyue if Jingyi is mistaken for an intruder. Which...Jingyi technically is. But Jingyi tells himself this is a necessary evil, that Zewu-jun is too level-headed to respond with Shuoyue, and that Hanguang-jun’s happiness is on the line. He is still reciting this in his head, like a mantra, as he backs up and dives directly into Zewu-jun’s window.

Jingyi miscalculates his own power and ends up jumping through the window entirely, landing in a flailing, graceless heap as Zewu-jun watches from behind a desk. Zewu-jun’s face is composed as always and his eyes aren’t even open, but Jingyi feels judged as he picks himself up from the ground.

“Sect Leader,” Jingyi salutes, robes askew and regulating ribbon crooked across his forehead. He had already broken enough rules, he figures being respectful to his Sect Leader might mediate the number of lines he’d have to copy as punishment.

“You should not be here,” Lan Xichen’s voice is...impassive. Where he once faced the world with a serene smile, Xichen now faces directly ahead, eyes closed, as still as jade. He does not even bother to address Jingyi directly.

In retrospect, Jingyi will later realize that he has interrupted Lan Xichen’s nightly meditation.

At the moment, Jingyi is more than a little desperate. “Sect Leader Lan,” he bows again, even though Lan Xichen’s eyes remain closed. “I know you are...taking a personal leave from many of your duties, but this is a problem that has plagued Gusu Lan for several months now.”

“Then I suggest you take it to Wangji,” Xichen says, unmoved, in the same placid tone. “Hanguang-jun is more than capable of resolving any issues that have arisen.”

Even though Jingyi’s arms are getting tired and Zewu-jun still isn’t looking at him, Jingyi holds the salute. Just in case. “But Zewu-jun,” Jingyi says, trying very hard to not sound like he is challenging Zewu-jun’s authority, “This is an issue that concerns Hanguang-jun directly.”

Immediately, Zewu-jun’s eyes open and he finally looks at Jingyi. “What is the situation?” Xichen asks, concerned.

“Hanguang-jun is sad!” Jingyi says. It is only his rigorous Gusu Lan education that allows him to will his arms from shaking as he continues to maintain his salute.

“At ease,” Xichen says, giving up on his nightly meditation. “Wangji has been in mourning for a long time but he has been content since Wei- gongzi ’s return.”

Folding his arms in his sleeves politely, Jingyi protests while trying very hard to not sound like he is protesting. “I have evidence that Hanguang-jun is sad!” he says.

“Please take a seat,” Zewu-jun sighs and waves a hand at the cushion before him. He waits for Jingyi to kneel before continuing. “What does this evidence entail?”

“Hanguang-jun was sitting in front of the Jingshi alone before breakfast!”

Jingyi can see that Zewu-jun is unconvinced, even if Lan Xichen’s expression does not change. “Wangji often spends time alone. Wangji enjoys solitude.”

“But he was lonely! He looked lonely!” Later, Sizhui will smack Jingyi for impertinence and Lan Qiren will assign more handstands.

Now, Lan Xichen is unruffled at Jingyi’s boldness and is even amused at the extent of Jingyi’s sheer brazenness. “You have seen Wangji alone before,” Xichen points out calmly. “Why the concern now?”

“Because Wei- qianbei isn’t with Hanguang-jun!”

“Wangji’s connection with Wei- gongzi is profound. It is not our place as outsiders to interfere.” Zewu-jun says this with the weighty experience of someone who has attained this knowledge firsthand in the worst way.

“But they still aren’t together! Lan Sizhui has written to me so much about how lonely Wei- qianbei is! Read for yourself!” Having at least the foresight to prepare himself beforehand, Jingyi pulls Sizhui’s crumpled letter from his sleeve and just barely resists the temptation to thrust it in Lan Xichen’s face. At the last minute, he remembers some manners and offers the letter to Zewu-jun with both hands and lowers his head..

Taking the proffered letter, Xichen skims the contents of Sizhui’s neat handwriting. To Jingyi’s frustration, Xichen’s composed expression does not change.

“Lan Jingyi,” Xichen says slowly, choosing his words with care as he looks back up at Jingyi, “I understand that you are frustrated.”

Jingyi huffs a laugh under his breath — as if frustrated even begins to cover how he feels , Jingyi thinks — before he remembers who he is speaking to and tries to look abashed over his rudeness.

Brushing past the infraction, Xichen continues, “And I understand that you wish to see Hanguang-jun and your Wei- qianbei together again. But, you are not the first to attempt such an undertaking.”

“But Zewu-jun! They are clearly pining and miserable without each other!”

If Jingyi had been paying attention, he would have realized that Sizhui’s letter was actually not very good evidence as it made no explicit mention of Wei Wuxian actually missing Hanguang-jun. It was sheer fortune that Zewu-jun happened to already agree with him.

“Zewu-jun,” Jingyi begs in a last attempt to sway Xichen to his side, “They use their birth names with each other.”

Xichen sighs. “I will not aid this endeavor of yours, but I see no reason to prevent you from undertaking such a project. So long as you operate within our Sect rules, I will not stop you. In exchange, I expect routine updates on how this project of yours proceeds. I invite you to join me for tea in one week's time so you may inform me of developments in the situation.”

Much later, once this ploy has reached its conclusion, Lan Sizhui will hit Jingyi over the head for his audacity in breaking into the Hanshi, for his disrespect in speaking back at Zewu-jun, and for violating curfew.

For now, Jingyi is simply grateful that Zewu-jun agrees with him.

~~~

The first plan is fairly benign.

What Jingyi needs is to first bring Wei Wuxian back to Cloud Recesses. So, he simply sends a letter to Wei Wuxian lamenting how lonely Hanguang-jun is and how worried he is for Hanguang-jun and won’t Wei- qianbei come visit an old friend in his time of need?

Wei- qianbei, Jingyi had written.

How long do you intend to run around with that stupid donkey? Don’t you know Hanguang-jun is sick with worry here in Cloud Recesses? Hanguang-jun is very lonely without your presence and it is very rude of you to take advantage of Hanguang-jun’s kindness and then abandon him. You must come back and take responsibility for the suffering you are putting Hanguang-jun through!

It could have been a good plan.

Except, Jingyi had no way of knowing the sheer quantity of letters Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji sent to each other. The letters were constant, daily updates of even the most mundane events. When Jingyi had happened upon Lan Wangji reading Wei Wuxian’s letters in front of the Jingshi, Lan Wangji had actually been rereading and reorganizing a stack of all the letters Wei Wuxian had sent that month and not, as Jingyi had assumed, been reading a single letter.

Since Wei Wuxian gave Lan Wangji timelines of where he intended to go next and when he would arrive, Wangji had been able to leave Wei Wuxian letters and little gifts in every village he passed through.

So, Wei Wuxian was confident that Lan Wangji was in perfect health and no more worried than he usually is.

What Jingyi did not know was that Wei Wuxian also knew how much Lan Wangji missed him. He missed Wangji just as much, but he had some travelling to do first, some loose ends to tie up, and an identity to reclaim.

A couple weeks after Jingyi had sent his letter, Hanguang-jun summons him to the yashi.

“Chief Cultivator,” Jingyi bows. “Hanguang-jun requested the presence of this disciple?” While formal speech is not something that flows off Jingyi’s tongue, he has never been directly summoned by the Chief Cultivator Lan Wangji. Jingyi is most comfortable with Hanguang-jun as a teacher and mentor, but he figures that it is better to err on the side of caution and maintain the utmost formality.

“Lan Jingyi,” Wangji nods his acknowledgement. “I recently received a letter from Wei Ying.”

Jingyi blinks, unsure where Hanguang-jun is going with this and why Hanguang-jun is telling him.

“Wei Ying has informed me that he has recently received an interesting letter,” Wangji continues.

Jingyi blanches.

To his horror, Lan Wangji reaches into his sleeve and pulls out the exact letter Jingyi had sent off weeks earlier.

“I believe this is your doing.”

Jingyi splutters, his mind scrambling for a defense even though he knows there is none he can provide without giving away his entire plan.

Luckily, Hanguang-jun saves Jingyi from answering by continuing to speak. “Do not make assumptions about others,” he recites, listing the rules Jingyi has broken. “Do not exaggerate, and do not act in bad faith. Be careful with your words.”

“This disciple apologizes for his interference,” Jingyi says as he prostrates himself before Hanguang-jun. “This disciple welcomes any punishment Hanguang-jun sees fit to bestow.”

“Rise.” Despite his new position, Wangji is as uncomfortable with being formally bowed to as Jingyi is formally bowing. “You will copy the rules two times, supervised by Lan Qiren in the library pavilion.”

Which is a very light punishment, all things considered, and Jingyi is well aware of how lenient Hanguang-jun is being.

In his haste to leave the yashi, Jingyi does not realize that Hanguang-jun did not quote do not tell lies amongst the rules he had broken.

~~~

“I sent a letter to Wei- qianbei,” Jingyi informs Lan Xichen in the Hanshi the next day, after his punishment is complete.

“Am I correct in assuming it was unsuccessful?” Xichen says mildly as he pours a cup of tea for Jingyi.

“Wei- qianbei sent the letter I sent him back to Hanguang-jun,” Jingyi grumbles, accepting the tea.

With a deeply entertained smile, Zewu-jun hides his amusement behind his own tea cup.

~~~

The second plan is an objectively terrible idea.

The flaw with Lan Xichen’s hands off approach to Jingyi’s whole endeavor is that he is unable to point out the glaring flaws in Jingyi’s plans.

Because of Sizhui’s brief mention of the lotus seeds he uncovered in the Burial Mounds, Jingyi is reminded that Wei- qianbei was not always the Yiling Laozu or a vagrant wanderer. Before he was forced to raise corpses in battle, Wei Wuxian had been the head disciple of Yunmeng Jiang who spent his days surrounded by water and lotus flowers.

Consequently, Jingyi has been inspired to plant some lotuses in Cloud Recesses. Growing lotuses, a plant that Jingyi has only seen once in his life and has never handled, requires a pond. A pond, which would require some source of still water which would also require diverting a river. Or building an aqueduct. Or having the means to hire someone else to build an aqueduct. Or use demonic energy to redirect the flow of water.

Neither hiring someone nor using demonic energy is a viable option but Jingyi pushes those logistics to the side as a problem to be addressed for later.

Instead, during a break between training sessions, Jingyi finds himself a shovel and gets to work.

Jingyi is standing in a shallow ditch he has dug out himself behind the Jingshi, right under a window, when he hears Lan Qiren’s familiar bellow coming from too close behind him.

“Lan Jingyi! What do you think you are doing?!”

Jingyi turns to face Lan Qiren. Holding the shovel, Jingyi bows before answering. “Digging?”

“Disgraceful!” Lan Qiren’s face is redder than Jingyi has ever seen it, even redder than when Wei Wuxian paraded around in front of everyone in Hanguang-jun’s under robes at the Burial Mounds. “Look at your robes! This is unacceptable. We do not need a trench in Cloud Recesses. Fill it back up.”

In his endless wisdom, Jingyi protests. “But wouldn’t a lotus pond be nice?”

“Do Cloud Recesses look like Lotus Pier to you!?” Lan Qiren snaps. “We are not in Yunmeng. Did Wangji put you up to this ludicrous task?”

“Of course not! If Hanguang-jun had planted a lotus pond, then Wei- qianbei would be here!”

Which is exactly the wrong thing to say as Jingyi discovers when he finds himself back in the library pavilion, with Lan Qiren, copying the rules forty times in handstands.

And he had to fill the earth back in.

~~~

“I am no expert on the cultivation of lotus plants but I suspect Cloud Recesses is too cold. Yunmeng is far warmer than we are and has milder winters.”

“How was I supposed to know that!?” Jingyi grumbles, wrists still sore from his punishment.

Xichen does not shrug, but his demeanor heavily suggests a shrug. “In any case, Shufu is rather opposed to Wangji’s relationship with Wei Wuxian.”

“Well I know that now .”

~~~

The third plan is indirectly inspired by Lan Qiren himself when he assigns Jingyi the task of delivering Cloud Recesses’ excess harvest to the nearby villages. Jingyi is carrying several baskets of napa bundles and medicinal herbs on his dan when he passes by a field of peppers.

The bright green peppers remind Jingyi of that day in Yi City, when Wei- qianbei tried to claim his lethally spicy porridge was supposed to be medicine. A claim he made to several junior disciples of Gusu Lan. Gusu Lan: the sect with the most experience with medicinal cooking.

At the time, Jingyi thought he was more likely to choke on Mo- xiansheng ’s terrible cooking than die from corpse powder poisoning.

Now, the entire experience has stirred Jingyi’s thoughts as he formulates another plan on how to lure Wei Wuxian back to Cloud Recesses.

The thing is, while Jingyi actually has very little concrete knowledge of what Wei Wuxian enjoys eating, he does know that Yunmeng Jiang is known for their spicy and flavourful cuisine. Sizhui has also mentioned Wei- qianbei ’s penchant for spicier dishes in his letters, as has Uncle Wen Ning in his stories. And, when they had stayed at inns with Hanguang-jun and Wei- qianbei , Hanguang-jun always ordered uncharacteristically spicy dishes and requested additional chili oil.

With this evidence, Jingyi concludes that Wei Wuxian is a degenerate gremlin who has burned his tongue.

A degenerate gremlin whom Hanguang-jun is desperately in love with.

It is not a secret that Wei Wuxian despises Gusu cuisine for its bland tastelessness and bitter medicinal properties.

But if someone were to adjust Cloud Recesses’ diet to include more spices, Jingyi thinks, then Wei- qianbei will enjoy the food and stay with Hanguang-jun.

“Are these spicy?” With his mind made up, Jingyi asks the farmer tending to the peppers as he unloads the last of his napa and herbs.

“The spiciest in Gusu!” The farmer responds.

Jingyi has no conception of how spicy that is but it must be spicy enough to make Cloud Recesses’ dishes flavourful enough for Wei- qianbei .

“Here,” the farmer pulls a bundle from his pocket and presses it into Jingyi’s hand. “Take this huajiao as well. It is a numbing spice imported from Yunmeng. It is too strong for my wife and I but I am sure a young master of an illustrious Sect like yourself will find some use for it.”

There is no rule against accepting gifts and it is not unusual for disciples to return with goods gifted by grateful farmers so Jingyi doesn’t feel bad about taking both the huajiao and a basket of peppers.

It takes another couple weeks until Jingyi is rotated onto food preparation in the kitchens again. In those weeks, Jingyi observed Hanguang-jun receive another bundle of letters from Wei-qianbei, request additional pillows and bedding for the Jingshi, and told Jingyi not to fill in the ditch he had dug behind the Jingshi. Jingyi filed this as further proof that Hanguang-jun is desperately missing Wei-qianbei and told Zewu-jun as such.

For his part, Zewu-jun simply sipped his tea and listened to Jingyi’s incessant chatter without judgement.

In the kitchen, Jingyi is standing by the stoves, watching the row of pots and pans slowly cook over the fire. The packet of huajiao and peppers are burning in his sleeve.

Briefly, it does occur to Jingyi that he really does not know how much spice is necessary to adequately flavour an entire dish. Thinking on how red and colourful the dishes Hanguang-jun served to Wei- qianbei were, Jingyi figures more spice is better.

When no one is looking, Jingyi slips the peppers and huajiao into each dish, pouring equal amounts into the pot of rice, the pan of leafy vegetables, and the crock of soup.

He uses up everything the farmer had given him.

Belatedly, Jingyi considers that he maybe should have kept some of the spice for the next time he is on kitchen duty, but decides that murmurs of Gusu Lan serving spiced food on one occasion will be enough to at least temporarily bring Wei Wuxian back to Cloud Recesses. Wei- qianbei will inevitably come if only to question Hanguang-jun and Jingyi is rather optimistic that he will be able to convince Wei- qianbei to stay. He just needs Wei- qianbei to be in Gusu.

As he waits for everyone to be seated for dinner, Jingyi is almost vibrating with anticipation. Lan Qiren does not notice, simply giving Jingyi a cursory glare of disapproval. Hanguang-jun, however, does notice. He gives Jingyi an admonitory look, indicating that he knows Jingyi is up to something, but says nothing as he takes his seat at the main table.

Once the dinner finally commences, Jingyi is disappointed to see that the dishes appear to be the same mild colouring they always are. Then the disciple beside him gags on an unsuspecting bite, coughing and spewing his rice back into his bowl.

Looking around, Jingyi sees that several sect members are coughing and choking on the rice. It is no better for those who are attempting to suppress the spice with the soup.

Lan Qiren’s face is dangerously red and he looks like he very much wants to be yelling, but no longer has control over his own mouth. He sits panting heavily, trying to relax his burning throat and cool his tongue.

Only Hanguang-jun is unbothered, calmly bringing bite after bite to his mouth. His cheeks are slightly flushed from the spice, but he appears otherwise unaffected.

Trying his concoction for himself, Jingyi fares much less well than Hanguang-jun as he breaks out in a string of violent coughs. Despite the inoffensive colouring, the spices are very strong even if it is less spicy than the concoction Wei Wuxian fed them.

Still, Jingyi can’t feel his tongue.

~~~

As Lan Qiren is angry enough to want nothing to do with Jingyi and Hanguang-jun is mired under stacks of paperwork, Jingyi’s punishment is left to Lan Xichen’s supervision.

“That explains the delay in my dinner that evening,” Xichen ponders aloud as he watches Jingyi balance in a handstand against the wall of the Hanshi, holding a brush over a half filled sheet of paper.

“Grandmaster has banned me from the kitchens indefinitely.” Jingyi barely bites back a groan as a splotch of ink drips from his brush, marring the characters he has already copied.

“Shh,” Xichen prompts gently, resuming his own meditation. “There are two hundred and eighty-three copies remaining.”

~~~

Despite the monumental failure of his previous attempts, Jingyi’s zealousness has not waned. If anything, continuing to watch Hanguang-jun walk around all alone and very lonely has only hardened his conviction. He is ready to enact his fourth plan which involves Fairy, Fairy finding Wei Wuxian, a long chase through clear fields with no trees to hide in, and the timely arrival of Hanguang-jun.

Jingyi is halfway through writing a letter to Jin Ling to negotiate borrowing Fairy when he receives his own letter from Sizhui.

Lan Jingyi,

I hope you have not pushed Grandmaster any closer to a Qi derivation in my absence. Uncle Wen Ning and I left Lanling last week. (Jin Ling sends his regards.) I will be returning to Cloud Recesses soon. But first, Uncle Wen Ning and I will be making a detour to Qinghe to pick up a parcel for Wei- qianbei before traveling to Gusu together. Wei- qianbei says he will reconvene with us in Caiyi. Hanguang-jun will be with him.

Take care, and do not break too many rules in the coming days. I have much to share with you of my adventures, of what I have seen, and the many stories Uncle Wen Ning has been telling me.

Lan Sizhui

Jingyi is ecstatic, pushing his half finished letter to Jin Ling aside. With Hanguang-jun and Wei- qianbei together, they would finally talk out their deep-seated, all-consuming love for one another and Hanguang-jun would finally stop being lonely.

He finishes drafting his letter to Jin Ling anyway, just in case he still needs to resort to Fairy.

A couple days later, Hanguang-jun leaves Cloud Recesses.

As soon as Jingyi sees Hanguang-jun’s back disappear around the curved path leading down the mountain, he quickly walks to the Hanshi.

Before Zewu-jun, Jingyi still carries out the motions of bowing even though his arms are sloppy and his angle is sloppy.

“Lan Jingyi,” Zewu-jun nods, gesturing for Jingyi to take a seat at the table. “There are still three days until our regular scheduled tea time,” Xichen says mildly, pouring Jingyi a cup of tea anyway.

“Hanguang-jun has left Cloud Recesses to find Wei- qianbei . Shouldn’t we follow Hanguang-jun?”

To Jingyi’s surprise, Xichen is as placid as ever and completely unbothered, taking a slow sip of his own tea before answering. “There is no need. Wangji has informed me that he will return tomorrow with Wei Wuxian, Lan Sizhui, and Wen Qionglin.”

Jingyi only sips his tea out of politeness. “But Sect Leader, shouldn’t we follow Hanguang-jun to make sure he finally confesses? Wei- qianbei is so annoying and doesn’t realize how much he loves Hanguang-jun!” Belatedly, it occurs to Jingyi that it is bad form to be insulting a senior in front of his Sect Leader, nevermind a senior who is going to become his Sect Leader’s brother-in-law.

But Lan Xichen is unphased, having long since grown accustomed to Jingyi’s brand of chaos. “While there is no harm in facilitating opportunities for Wangji and Wei- gongzi to explore their feelings, we cannot force them to speak what is not ready to be spoken.”

“But they’ve been doing this for so long!”

“Jingyi, you are not the first to attempt to push Wei- gongzi and Wangji together. They are both deeply stubborn people. All we can do is wait. Fate has blessed them and bonded their souls together. I trust that Wangji will find his happiness.”

“Watching Wei- gongzi and Hanguang-jun together is infuriating,” Jingyi is Lan enough to not pout, but his displeasure is clear.

Zewu-jun hums softly, sympathizing with Jingyi. He has watched Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji dance around each other for two lifetimes now and is still watching. “We can wait at the entrance tomorrow for their return.”

Looking up in surprise, Jingyi asks, “Sect Leader is leaving his seclusion?”

“I am not in seclusion,” Xichen answers. “Only in mourning and taking time for advanced self-reflection.”

Jingyi still doesn’t really understand the difference. The purpose of seclusion is precisely for mourning and self-reflection, was it not?

In any case, Jingyi wasn’t about to argue semantics with his Sect Leader.

~~~

At the entrance to Cloud Recesses, Jingyi stands with Lan Xichen as they wait for Hanguang-jun to return with Wei Wuxian and Sizhui, and Uncle Wen Ning. Zewu-jun is only carrying Liebing. Shuoyue is nowhere to be seen, but the usual guards are only a few paces back in case anything unexpected were to happen.

They take up their posts in the late afternoon. Jingyi had proposed waiting in the morning, but Zewu-jun had predicted otherwise. “I suspect Wei- gongzi will want to explore the vendors in Caiyi and Wangji will allow Wei- gongzi such indulgences,” he had said, shooing Jingyi off to training.

Now, Jingyi has to admit that Zewu-jun was correct.

They have barely been waiting for ten minutes when they hear Wei Wuxian’s laughter drift through the trees. Moments later, Hanguang-jun appears first, making the last turn that leads the path directly into Cloud Recesses.

Zewu-jun gives Jingyi a look as Jingyi vibrates with excitement, but says nothing to admonish Jingyi’s restlessness. They watch as Lan Wangji leads Lil' Apple by the reins, Wei Wuxian sitting astride Lil' Apple’s back with Chenqing tucked into his belt. Sizhui and Wen Ning follow closely behind them, carrying baskets of assorted fresh fruits.

Perched precariously on Lil' Apple, Wei Wuxian raises a hand, waving vigorously at Xichen and Jingyi’s waiting figures.

Xichen simply smiles his welcome, but Jingyi waves back just as excitedly.

“So?” Jingyi asks, not even trying to minimize his excitement once they are all within Cloud Recesses’ wards again after they have exchanged the proper greetings and pleasantries.

At his side, Sizhui has already guessed what Jingyi is about to say and desperately shakes his head as vigorously as possible without attracting Wei Wuxian’s attention. Nothing escapes Hanguang-jun’s notice, and Lan Wangji briefly glances at Sizhui with amusement, but Sizhui knows Hanguang-jun won’t draw unnecessary attention to him. Shadowing Sizhui, Wen Ning simply smiles wryly, his wide eyes dancing as if there is a joke that only he is privy to. Lan Xichen simply stands there, lips curled into a resigned smile as he watches the scene unfold before him.

“So…?” Wei Wuxian echoes, confused, as he takes Hanguang-jun’s hand and allows Wangji to help him off Lil’ Apple’s back.

Jingyi does not notice how Wangji’s hand remains on Wei Wuxian’s back even after both his feet are planted firmly on the ground. Xichen, however, very much notices and gives Wangji a knowing look that says as such.

Wangji resolutely ignores his brother’s gaze. Instead, he refocuses his attention back onto Wei Wuxian.

“So have you finally confessed your undying love and devotion to each other!” All the advice Zewu-jun had given Jingyi about leaving Wanji and Wei Wuxian to their own devices has flown out the window as Jingyi says this so emphatically that it is no longer even a question.

Confused, Wei Wuxian turns to Wangji first. Jingyi doesn’t see any changes in Hanguang-jun’s expression but he must have reacted as Wei Wuxian nods and turns back to Jingyi.

“Of course we have,” Wei Wuxian says with an oddly anticipatory note to his voice. There is a mischievous glint in his eye. “Hanguang-jun is my husband.”

There is a brief pause as Jingyi processes Wei Wuxian’s words.

“ What?!” Jingyi shrieks. “ Husband?! ”

Somewhere in Cloud Recesses, during a fine afternoon tea with a Lan Sect Elder, Lan Qiren suddenly coughs up blood.

“Well we’ve already been engaged forever,” Wei Wuxian shrugs as if he hasn’t just distorted Jingyi’s entire world. “We didn’t want to wait any longer.”

Off to the side, Wen Ning is completely unsurprised by this revelation having witnessed their union with his own eyes, albeit from inside a bush. Sizhui was never told outright, but Wen Ning had hinted at Wangji and Wei Wuxian’s union just enough that Sizhui had extrapolated his own conclusions.

Jingyi swings around to look at Zewu-jun, the only one who is not betraying him at this moment by being the only other person who is surprised. While Xichen had already determined that Wangji and Wei Wuxian had confessed, Xichen hadn’t expected them to already be married .

“To be fair, I didn’t know we were engaged for most of it either,” Wei Wuxian continues nonchalantly, as if he hasn’t just uprooted Jingyi’s entire world. His hand is clasped tightly in Hanguang-jun’s grasp as Wei Wuxian swings their entwined hands together back and forth between them. “Lan Zhan forgot to tell me.”

“I did not forget,” Lan Wangji hums thoughtfully as he looks at Wei Wuxian with the most adoring, love struck gaze Jingyi has ever seen. With his free hand, Lan Zhan reaches over to cover their entwined hands and relaxes Wei Wuxian’s fervent swinging. “Wei Ying was not ready.”

Wei Wuxian rests his head on Lan Wangji’s shoulder. With an equally infatuated gaze, Wei Wuxian looks up at Hanguang-jun from his shoulder. “But I’m ready now. Lan Zhan, I’m so ready —“

Lan Xichen interrupts before Wei Wuxian’s smitten tone can turn outright salacious.

“Welcome back, Wei- gongzi , Wangji. I offer my blessings and congratulations to you both,” Zewu-jun says mildly, forcing the words out through his own shock. “May I ask when this union took place?”

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian look at each other again. Jingyi can’t decide whether he finds their ability to carry a conversation with only their eyes to be the height of romance or absolutely grating.

“A few minutes after we accidentally got engaged,” Wei Wuxian explains rather unhelpfully. “When he tied his ribbon around my wrist.”

“We completed the first bows before Lan Yi,” Hanguang-jun elaborates. This time, Jingyi notices when Hanguang-jun releases Wei- qianbei ’s hand so he can wrap his arm protectively around Wei- qianbei and pull him in close.

“Lan Yi?” Zewu-jun echoes. Hanguang-jun’s explanation clarified nothing for Jingyi, but Zewu-jun seems to understand. “Wangji, that was over two decades ago.”

“You’ve been married for twenty years!?” Jingyi snaps, no longer even trying to mediate his own surprise. Glancing back to the side, Sizhui and Wen Ning are doing their best to melt into the trees and be idle spectators.

Traitors , Jingyi thinks.

“Not exactly,” Wei Wuxian interrupts Jingyi’s thoughts. He is leaning into Hanguang-jun’s shoulder slightly, subconsciously. In any other circumstance, Jingyi would find this to be exceptionally romantic. “We didn’t get to the second set until after we saved everyone in the Burial Mounds, when we all went to Lotus Pier.”

“It took you twenty years to get married?” Jingyi is blurting out thoughts as they come, the shock of Hanguang-jun’s marriage having finally severed the already tenuous connection between his brain and his mouth.

“Lan Zhan and I like to take it slow,” Wei Wuxian says as if it is perfectly to space out wedding bows over two decades, across two lifetimes, without any ceremony, and without telling anyone.

Xichen speaks again. “When did you complete the final set?”

“Right after we left the Guanyin Temple.”

“But Sizhui and Uncle Wen Ning followed you right after you left,” Jingyi says, trying to map out a timeline.

“We finished our bows before they caught up.”

Wen Ning says nothing. At the time, he had briefly gone ahead to clear the path for Sizhui when he had happened upon and witnessed their bows to each other. No one else knew what he had seen and Wen Ning very much intended to keep it that way. It was a tender and very private moment, and it was fortunate that they returned to the road just as Sizhui caught up with Wen Ning.

“But you were lonely! And all that longing!” Jingyi tries to untangle his mess of thoughts, wondering if he spent too much time reading too much into Sizhui’s letters.

“Of course I was lonely!” Wangji’s grip on Wei Wuxian’s waist tightens. “I missed Lan Zhan! I have to leave my new husband behind!”

“Then why did you even leave?”

Wei Wuxian pauses, thinking about how to put into words how he felt. “I was ready to love Lan Zhan,” Wei- qianbei finally says, voice subdued. “But I wasn’t ready to be me.”

“What does that even mean?”

“You can’t devote yourself to someone fully without knowing who you are without that person,” Wei Wuxian says with uncharacteristic sincerity.

A silence falls upon them. Jingyi still isn’t sure whether this is real, or if he was having the weirdest dream.

No one notices Lil' Apple stealing an apple out of Sizhui’s basket.

“Wangji,” Xichen breaks the silence, “why did you not tell anyone?”

The hurt in his voice is resounding and Jingyi wonders the same thing. All these weeks, Zewu-jun has been quietly supportive of Jingyi’s misplaced attempts to bring Hanguang-jun and Wei- qianbei together, only to find out there was no need for any of it.

“It was...not intentional,” Lan Wangji says slowly, carefully parsing through his words. “Wei Ying and I did not wish to leave our feeling unacknowledged for any longer.”

“You did not even have a proper marriage ceremony,” Xichen says wistfully.

“The ceremony was never important to us, Zewu-jun,” Wei Wuxian answers quietly. “This entire mess happened because of cross-sect politics and interferences. So we wanted something for ourselves, something that couldn't be co-opted for sect politics.”

And despite everything his poor heart has gone through in that single afternoon, Jingyi’s heart melts because of course Hanguang-jun and Wei- qianbei wouldn’t tell anyone. Having each other was more than enough for them and wasn’t that just the pinnacle of love?

“Now, Lan Jingyi,” Wei Wuxian continues, teasing grin back on his face, “I heard you concocted a plan to lure me back into Cloud Recesses.” Jingyi makes an affronted squawk, but doesn’t get a chance to defend himself when Wei Wuxian continues. “Since you’ve already started on digging a pond, you can help me grow a lotus pond! A-Yuan has even been so kind as to bring back lotus seeds from the Burial Mounds. You’ll help me, won’t you Lan Jingyi?”

Jingyi’s head is spinning with all the newly gained information. And A-Yuan? Who is A-Yuan?

Later, Sizhui will sit down and explain his early history with Wei Wuxian as a Wen, and Jingyi will make the connection between Gusu Lan’s Lan Sizhui — Lan Yuan — and Wei Wuxian’s A-Yuan. But at the moment, Jingyi’s mind is swimming in all the newfound revelations.

Without waiting for Jingyi’s response, Wei Wuxian marches off toward the Jingshi. Lan Wangji follows at his side, his arm never letting go of his husband.

“I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon behind the Jingshi, Jingyi!” Wei Wuxian calls back without turning around.

They leave Lil' Apple in Jingyi and Sizhui’s care, trusting that they will lead Lil' Apple to the back mountains to graze on grass with Hanguang-jun’s rabbits.

As he watches the figures of Hanguang-jun and Wei- qianbei disappear into Cloud Recesses, Jingyi genuinely cannot tell whether or not he is being punished. At least they’re finally together, Jingyi thinks, before resolving to never think about them so deeply ever again.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s relationship was simply too complicated for comprehension.

~~~

Some Notes: Jingyi’s weekly teas with Xichen continue anyway because Xichen thinks Jingyi is hilarious and Jingyi...still has plans.

A dan is a wooden pole that you set on your shoulder and is used to carry goods. It’s still used in rural China.

#mdzs #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lan jingyi #lan xichen #the untamed #the untamed 陈情令 #My writing

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wangxiangiftexchange · 3 years

Text

Winter Solstice Gift for humanformdragon

For @humanformdragon. I loved writing this for you, I hope you enjoy this little slice of hurt/comfort as much as I enjoyed writing it! <3 Happy Solstice!!

Read on AO3

*****

On the Edge of the Cold Winter

Wei Wuxian is in Qinghe when he hears the news: the great Hanguang-Jun, has fallen! The words are whispered in horror through the people with all the subtlety of a blade through the throat. Hanguang-Jun has fallen, he fell defending his son.. He whirls on the spot, dropping the food between his chopsticks and the meat falls into the broth splattering the tablecloth, stains spreading outwards like blood on snow. The cultivators that he turns on are surprised to see him, and though his name has been cleared - through the same kind of rumours that had contributed to smearing it in the first place - it's never something that anyone's prepared for: the Yiling Patriarch in a small tea house in Qinghe, looking wild-eyed and worried at the news that Hanguang-Jun has fallen.

They don't tell him much of use, or in fact anything at all. But he rushes away anyway, out into the biting winter outside and it's only after he's left and running towards the stable to grab Apple that he realises that the reason he's here is the blizzard that's blowing along the border and stopping anyone from travelling that isn't able to fly above the worst of the weather, or with a strong core to prevent them from freezing to death. His own core is hardly strong enough, and he presses his lips together, recklessness warring with the promise he'd made to Lan Wangji that he would be safe.

***

"I'll be back, Lan Zhan," he says softly, brushing his fingers over Lan Wangji's cheek. The other man looks crestfallen in so much as he ever looks anything. The lines of his face are unhappy and still but his eyes are sad. Wei Wuxian knows that leaving is the only option available to him, in a world that moved on without him and spent nearly two decades cursing his name he can't do anything else until he's reconciled with his past.

"I know," Lan Wangji says, his hand lifting to curl around Wei Wuxian's wrist. He holds it gently, keeping Wei Wuxian's hand against his face. It looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn't.

Wei Wuxian says it for him. "I'll miss you," he says. Lan Wangji's face softens and he nods his head.

"I will miss you, too," he replies.

"You could come with me?" He's asked it a number of times over the last few days, trying to convince Lan Wangji to come with him, to leave and travel the world, they could fight evil together and protect the weak, the way they'd always promised.

Lan Wangji lets out a breath and his lips quirk up sadly in the corner. "Wei Ying," he starts, "you know I can't."

"Well," Wei Wuxian pats Lan Wangji's cheek and it's enough to make the other man let go of him. He offers a smile that's not as bright as normal and he knows but there's not much else he can do in the face of the truth, "it was worth a final try."

He hauls his pack over his shoulder. "I'll be back before the snows fall," he promises. It's spring now, the harshness of the previous winter having faded away and melted into the blossomming of new life and he wants to see the world and experience how it's changed for himself, to settle his mind before he starts anew.

They walk to the bottom of the steps, where Apple's waiting for him. He places his pack on her back and she brays at him, contrarily, lifting her head for a fuss from Lan Wangji who, as an enormously indulgent pushover, rubs his fingers through her rough mane twice and then pats her neck.

"Be safe," Lan Wangji says. He's looking deep into Wei Wuxian's eyes as he speaks, "be safe. Come home."

Wei Wuxian just nods and lifts three fingers. "I promise," he grins and takes Apple's reigns. "I'll write."

"I'll be waiting," Lan Wangji tells him and Wei Wuxian thinks he imagines the heartbreak on Lan Wangji's face as he turns and heads away from Cloud Recesses.

***

Promises aside, there's no way he can be away from Cloud Recesses - away from Lan Wangji - at a time like this. If Lan Wangji had fallen-

He can't think about it. It makes his chest hurt. The idea that something has happened to Lan Wangji throws him into a turmoil he hasn't felt for a long time, as though the ground beneath his feet is unsteady. The air rings in his ears, a loud bell that tells him he hasn't travelled back fast enough, and that if he had only been quicker perhaps this would not have happened. He might have been there, together there's no evil they can't face.

He thinks about their lunches in the back hill before he left, the way they'd sat together and he'd talked about nothing and everything and Lan Wangji had been indulgent and smiled at him and looked at him like he made the very plants grow, or the sun rise. He thinks about the way that Lan Wangji had stood beside him at Koi Tower and said to the leaders of the Cultivation world that the single log bridge was not too bad to walk.

And Sizhui- Hanguang-Jun fell protecting his son, they said. What had happened to Sizhui? He'd gone travelling with Wen Ning: what had happened to them?

Wei Wuxian can't breathe and the daughter of the tea house's owner finds him in the stables on his hands and knees, sucking in great gasps of air, vision black and spotting at the edges and it's only when her hands settle around him and he nearly lashes out at her with coiled energy that he's pulled out of his panic into the present.

"I have to go to Gusu," he says.

"You can't. The storm- it's impossible."

Wei Wuxian's lips quirk up into a little smile, then, the panic ebbing and giving way to the same sense that has carried him his entire life. He may no longer be part of the Yunmeng Jiangs, but he has always lived by their motto. Do nothing until you can achieve something. Do the impossible.

He looks her in the eye and puts a large silver nugget into her hand. "Will you send someone to Gusu with my donkey when the weather clears?"

She takes the money and frowns as she watches him rub behind Apple's ears and kiss her head, tells her to be good.

"But, young master, the storm."

Wei Wuxian squares his shoulders.

"I'm the Yiling Patriarch," he tells her, ignorign the sharp inward breath she takes at the realisation. "The Burial Mounds couldn't stop me. Compared to them, a storm is nothing."

***

A storm is not nothing. Wei Wuxian's new body is still wake, the golden core still too weak to do a whole lot to protect him from the cold but the cloak that had 'appeared' in his room a few weeks ago - a gift from Nie Huaisang, he was sure, to apologise for everything that had happened - was warm and fur-lined and did its job at keeping the worst at bay. Still, his fingers were numb more often than not and he trudges through shin-deep snow for two days, resting wherever he can find shelter until he realised this is untenable.

He has to try something else.

He lifts his head and scowls at the blizzard outside that’s thrown the world into whiteness, as though it’s gravely offended him. It has, it’s keeping him from Lan Wangji - who might be already dead if not dying and Wei Wuxian feels like a wild thing.

The great Hanguang-Jun has fallen!

It haunts him, the echo of those words bounce around the emptiness of his mind, void of evertything but the worry that he might not be fast enough, that he might not get back in time. He'd promised to be back before the snows fell but here he was, snow falling around him and the world having made him a liar.

He thinks that perhaps if he'd been less distracted he would have had a better grasp of how much time had passed. He wouldn't have missed the chance to travel before the worst of the weather hit. He would have been able to make it back to Cloud Recesses - to his home - before it was too difficult to travel. He's been writing steadily, a stream of letters that haven't been responded but he's never expected an answer. After all, Lan Wangji is a busy man and Wei Wuxian has been travelling between towns and villages, never in one place long enough for a letter to make its way back.

But he'd always intended on going back, always intended on making sure that he kept to his promise.

The blizzard whites out the world in front of him and he feels a low fury at the injustice of the early snow fall. He's not a liar, not about the things that mattered and though he's not got a great track record of keeping his promises - just ask his brother, he thinks ruefully with a stabbing ache in his chest - he's always tried and he's never broken a promise to Lan Wangji.

What if he's too late and the last thing Lan Wangji thought was that he's an oathbreaker?

He can't keep going like this, but he can't stop. Gusu is two weeks away on foot, and he still can't fly, he's not strong enough. Suibian, resting beside him, hums to him in an attempt to reassure him that she's there and she'd try. He knows she would, he would try too but the core inside of him might cause them to collapse and fall out of the sky. He's had more than his fair share of falling and there's no amount of resentment that would reach out and catch him now, not without the seal.

As the sun goes down and throws the cave into even more darkness, shadows dancing on the wall in sharp relief, Wei Wuxian decides he needs to travel faster, and decides in the morning that he'll take a detour. He throws up a hundred silent apologies to his ancestors, to Lan Wangji and the Lan elders who would likely just know what he's going to have to do, and then lays down to sleep.

He has a plan.

***

His plan is terrible. It takes him the better part of the morning, feeling out tendrils of resentment to find a battlefield from the Sunshot Campaign and when he finds it, the energy crawls over his skin like a particularly odious lover, running along his meridians and over the small core inside of him like it knows that something is sitting in the place it belongs. He greets it like a viper, Chenqing in his hand as he shrills and whistles, piercing and commanding.

There aren't many bodies, many were taken back to their home lands but the anger they died with has soaked into the land. Qinghe is soaked in resentment, not as strongly as Qishan, or even Lanling which has generations of backstabbing and nearly twenty years under the thumb of someone who had a habit of letting his murder puppet loose whenever he didn't like that someone had called him the son of a whore.

Still, he finds what he needs.

Wei Wuxian digs until he unearths the large bones of a horse. It's long since dead and decayed and for that he's thankful, but it animates at his command, shaking itself whole and giving a huge shudder as though it still has a mane to shake. With dirt under his fingernails, he wraps it in resentment and slaps a talisman on along its neck to give it a shadowy form that he can ride and one to generate warmth to stop him from freezing, and when it drops to one knee so he can climb on and starts to move faster than any steed known to man, it's easy for Wei Wuxian to forget why he stopped doing this.

***

Though the steed doesn't tire, he does, and he feels the bite of the cold against his fingers and face where he's not touching the horse. When he rides through a town, he hears shrieks and screams and for a moment is confused until he remembers he's riding an undead steed, cloaked in black smoke and darkness, the snows melting even as they touch its mane, fizzling with a steam that has been doing a good job of keeping him at least a little warm.

He wants to stop, but he's made good time, and so pushes on through the night, rides until he physically can't anymore and they break through the blizzard, and he slumps off the horse, collapsing onto a damp grassy bank, eyes rolling back in his head as exhaustion claims him.

He sees his horse rear up on its hind legs, and then the world goes blank.

***

"This is really him?"

"Yes. I think I'd know Senior Wei when I saw him."

"I mean no disrespect, Jingyi but-"

"But? You know following something with ‘but’ immediately makes everything before it totally irrelevant, right? You know how you can say ‘not to be rude but you’re an idiot’?”

“That’s not-“

“This is Senior Wei. Come on, if we let him freeze to death out here, Zewu-Jun will have our hides.”

***

When he blinks awake there are three things he realises: one, he is indoors; two, he's surrounded by young men wearing white; three, his horse is nowhere to be found. Of these three things, only one of them really bothers him and he sits up, rubbing at his head (which aches) and looks around to find a familiar face largely to check that he hasn't just been randomly kidnapped by people dressed in the white outfits of the Gusu Lans.

He was in luck as his eyes fell on a familiar profile.

"Ah, Lan Jingyi," he says, which makes the young Lan jump and turn around. He looks like an annoyed tiger cub, it's not hard to imagin a tail flicking around his legs. "What are you frowning at me for? You're the one that kidnapped me."

"We haven't kidnapped you," Jingyi retorts hotly, "don't be so dramatic, Senior Wei."

"So you do remember your manners!" Wei Wuxiasn teases, "remember, little Lan, you should respect your elders."

Jingyi just rolls his eyes and throws Wei Wuxian's heavy cloak at him as though it weighs nothing.

"I would if you deserved it," he fires back and Wei Wuxian's heart grows three sizes in his chest. He sees the flush of Jingyi's ears and the way he struggles to hide his smile. "Put this on, we'll eat and leave."

It's then that awareness properly filters into Wei Wuxian's mind and he straightens, bolting out of the bed quickly enough to make him feel dizzy.

"Lan Jingyi," he says urgently, "what happened to Hanguang-Jun? And Sizhui? I heard- I heard-"

Jingyi presses his lips together and reaches out, touching Wei Wuxian's arm. Wei Wuxian does not like it when people don't tell him things, he's so used to keeping secrets of his own but that doesn't mean he likes being on the other side of it.

Secrets are, objectively, the worst.

"It'll be easier for you to just come with us, Senior Wei. We've been looking for you for a week."

"You could say thank you," one of the other Lan discples says and Wei Wuxian turns to look at her with an arched eyebrow. She flushes and mumbles an apology, but Wei Wuxian chuckles. He likes this generation of little Lans, they have a fire to them that makes his chest feel warm.

"Thank you," he drawls and winks at her, which makes her flush all over again and she heads outside. "Jingyi, tell me what happened. And how you intend on us travelling back as I cannot fly and-"

"And?"

"What happened to my horse?"

***

Jingyi tells him as they're flying through the air, skating over the trees, his arms firmly around Wei Wuxian, that there had been no sign of his horse when they'd found him which, in Jingyi's mind was a very good thing, at least he said that after he found out that the horse had been a spiritual one.

"Ghost horses," he says, shouting to be heard above the wind, "honestly, Senior Wei would a normal horse not be good enough for you?"

"You try riding a living horse through a blizzard," Wei Wuxian retorts, fingers clutching tightly at Jingyi's waist. He's only flown once since he came back, and that was in Lan Wangji's arms as they fled Koi Tower after Jin Ling had stabbed him. He hasn't been in the air since then, and before that had been when he'd been dropped into the Burial Mounds. "You might be cruel enough to make an animal ride through that but I-"

"I am not cruel," Jingyi barks, offence rippling through the lines of his body, "I'll drop you if you keep saying such things."

He's only joking, and they both know it, but Wei Wuxian's grip tightens nevertheless. Jingyi, who doesn't understand the source of his fear, just frowns.

"Senior Wei," he says reproachfully, a few hours later when they land so everyone can take a break and replenish their spiritual energy, "I wouldn't really have dropped you."

He looks so wounded that Wei Wuxian just reaches out and pats his head.

"I know, little Lan, but you'll have to forgive this senior for his fear of heights. Heights and I, historically, do not get along very well."

Jingyi doesn't say anything else, but Wei Wuxian knows he's thinking about all the stories he's heard and wonders which one he's deciding is the reason for Wei Wuxian's fear of heights.

***

They arrive at the stairs that lead up to Cloud Recesses very late that same night. Jingyi is staggering a little in exhaustion at having demanded that he be the only one to carry Senior Wei - I promised, Lan Hua, you know that, besides he's my friend - all the way back. Wei Wuxian hooks an arm underneath his shoulders and secure his own around Jingyi's waist as he supports the young disciple up the thousand stairs as quickly as they're able to as a group of exhausted and cold travellers.

Halfway up they reach the main entrance and are greeted by a couple of very enthusiastic young disciples who hesitate a little to collapse the wards.

"It's after curfew," one of them says, shifting from foot to foot and from the ripple of breath behind him, Wei Wuxian realises just how late it is.

"No wonder you little Lans are so tired."

"Stop calling us that," Jingyi protests, but he does sound sleepy and every bit in his young twenties.

"But you are," Wei Wuxian coos, tightening his arm around Jingyi's waist. This body is so weak, his old one wouldn't have had any problem supporting the cultivator.

"I'm older than you were when you first died," Jingyi presents as a trump card. "You and Hanguang-Jun had already fought in the Sunshot Campaign and had gone through so much by the time you were our age. Well," he yawns, "when Hanguang-Jun was our age. You didn't actually end up this old."

"Don't let your Hanguang-Jun hear you say that," Wei Wuxian teases, "he'd be most upset to be reminded of my untimely demise."

It's meant to be a joke, but Jingyi just nods and says, quite seriously, "He would."

"We can't let you in."

"You can," Wei Wuxian says, and the other guard on duty sets his jaw.

"They know the rules too," he says, "you can't come in past curfew. We won't take the barrier down."

"Don't worry about being punished," Wei Wuxian says, lifting his hand and and drawing a talisman in the air, pushing it into the barrier that makes the archway portion dissolve. Everyone except Jingyi looks on in horror at the blatant dissolution of their security barrier. "Oh stop your gawking. I'll put it back. Anyone of this group who wants to sleep in their own bed tonight come with me. You won't get punished for coming back in after curfew, it'll all be on me. That includes you two for letting us in."

"We didn't!"

Wei Wuxian winks and saunters in with Jingyi, and the other Lans who have been flying in the snow for three days and definitely want their beds. "I know," he shoots over his shoulder and when he clicks his fingers, the barrier repairs itself, shimmering blue as though it hadn't been broken at all.

They're halfway up the last of the stairs when Jingyi says, confused, "You could have just used your token, Senior Wei."

Wei Wuxian almost stops walking in his surprise and then hums, as though he'd completely forgotten he had a jade token of his own. "Oh," he says, "I suppose I could have done."

When they reach the main part of Cloud Recesses, he hands Jingyi off to a disciple who had introduced herself as Lan Hua, trusting her to get him into bed and somewhere safe so that he could sleep off his tiredness.

He has somewhere else to be.

***

He doesn't immediately run to the Healer's Pavilion, instead he heads to the Jingshi. He's been there a few times: he stayed there each time he's been in Cloud Recesses since his resurrection. and he knows the path there as well as he knows his own heart (that is, not very well: he gets lost twice along the winding paths and ends up outside the Hanshi once, then realises what he'd done wrong and back tracks to get to the correct place).

The Jingshi is quiet when he gets there. The light isn't on above the porch and there's no soft candle light inside. He can't hear the sounds of a qin echoing through the air and he can't feel the warm welcome presence of Lan Wangji that's always permeated the air around this place.

He hadn't forgotten the words that spurred his movements -

the great Hanguang-Jun has fallen! He fell protecting his son

-but suddenly they feel so much more real and terrifying. Suddenly it feels like this might be truth that Lan Wangji fell. The Jingshi looks snow-dusted and empty, like a place in mourning. Wei Wuxian walks up the small path like a man heading to the gallows. His mouth is drier than the desert, sand and gravedirt in his throat as his feet move without his permission taking him closer to the doors.

The building is just a building, a house is not a home without a person inside to love and Wei Wuxian suddenly is struck with the inexorable knowledge that he is too late. The Jingshi - Lan Wangji's home with only one bed that he had always thought would be his home too when he returned - is in front of him silent as the grave and just as full of memories, good and bad, but not nearly enough great. He wants to stand in the porch in the snow listening to Lan Wangji playing their song again with a jar of Emperor's Smile in his hand.

How long has the building been empty for, he wonders, how long has it stood empty, missing Lan Wangji? How much longer will it stand without its heart? He reaches the sliding door and pushes it open and realises his hands are trembling.

Inside is immaculate, too. It always has been, but for the few times Wei Wuxian himself had been staying there and had thrown half of the Jingshi into an organised kind of chaos, the likes of which he had been consistently chastised for in the most affectionate of ways. Lan Wangji had just smiled and said pick up after yourself, Wei Ying but never actually done anything about the chaos he left behind.

His breath catches and he looks around, trying to find something, some evidence that Lan Wangji has been here that day and is just out but Wangji is on the low table, her strings sitting still and unplayed and Wei Wuxian knows that Lan Wangji takes his qin wiht him everywhere. The bed is empty, the sheets unrumpled and unslept in and it's after curfew so there's no reason for Lan Wangji to be anywhere than here. Even injured, this is his home and he would not rest anywhere else.

Grief clutches at him, wild and desperate and for a moment Wei Wuxian wants to call out for whatever resentment he could pull from the very earth and use it to find Lan Wangji, to bring him back. Chenqing is in his hand, being lifted to his lips, heart hammering crazed and terrified, when the lamps in the Jingshi flare on and he feels a hand clamp around his wrist.

"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji says, voice soft and concerned as he uses the touch to lower Chenqing from Wei Wuxian's lips. Wei Wuxian thinks he might be hallucinating, in all honesty, he just swallows and turns his head. He hasn't played anything, so how is Lan Wangji here?

Lan Wangji looks tired, there are dark bruises smudged underneath his eyes and his cheeks are a little hollow, like he's lost some weight and hasn't been eating. He doesn't have dark spiderweb veins running up his neck of the hollowness in his eyes of a corpse without its spiritual cognition and his fingers are warm against Wei Wuxian's wrist. Wei Wuxian knows he's staring but he can't help it.

"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji repeats softly, patiently, "what are you doing?"

Wei Wuxian obediently lowers Chenqing and swallows. A second later, the first class spiritual flute falls to the floor (he'll apologise to her later) and spins on his heel.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? You're supposed to be dead!"

Lan Wangji just blinks at him, like he's waiting for Wei Wuxian to make sense. Honestly, Wei Wuxian would like for Wei Wuxian to make sense, too. It's been a long few days and he has no idea how much of that he's spent sleeping versus travelling like a lunatic to get back to someone who was dead or dying only to find them on their feet, perfectly capable of snarking at them.

"Am I?" Lan Wangji asks, looking down at himself, as though checking that he isn't a ghost. Wei Wuxian pokes his chest, firmly, and it makes him hiss in a breath, slapping at the offending finger. "My apologies," he says, in a perfect deadpan, "I was not made aware of this."

Wei Wuxian wails, somewhere between a laugh and a cry something else too big to name. He reaches out with both hands and grasps Lan Wangji's face, which makes startled hands come to settle at his waist and he shakes his head.

"Now is not the time to be funny, Lan Zhan," he chastises, relief surging through him so powerfully he thinks he knees might give out. He's so glad that he's got hands at his sides, holding onto his hips and making sure he doesn't actually swoon or faint and crack his head on the floor and end up being the dead one. "Now is- I heard you'd died. Jingyi didn't tell me you were alive, he just-"

"Jingji left to get you on Sizuhi's request," Lan Wangji says, clicking his tongue. "I found out after he had left. It's after curfew. Really, you should have stayed in town tonight."

"Ah, yes, well, about that- it- I sort of let us in."

"I felt you break the ward, though since you were working under an incorrect assumption and surrounded by exhausted disciples, I'll overlook your infraction this time," Lan Wangji says, his lips lifted into something like a lopsided smile. Wei Wuxian wants to punch him.

Wei Wuxian doesn't punch him.

Wei Wuxian instead looks at Lan Wangji for a long moment, his perfect - funny - Lan Wangji who is smiling softly at him, thumbs rubbing circles into his hips over the fabric of his robes, who is right there and beautiful and alive - if not tired and possibly injured if the hissed breath is any indication.

He's taken by another irrational feeling this time, and it involves him standing on his toes, fingers sinking into the silky strands of Lan Wangji's hair and pulling him down until their lips pressed together in a kiss. Lan Wangji doesn't respond immediately, and when Wei Wuxian realises he may have made a very impulsive, terrible mistake, he goes to lean back and apologise when Lan Wangji growls against his lips and spins them around, pushes Wei Wuxian against the wall of the Jingshi and kisses him again.

"Ah," Wei Wuxian says when the kiss breaks, the sting of Lan Wangji's teeth still against his skin, "ai, Lan Zhan, my Lan Zhan I missed you."

Lan Wangji's lips slide along his jaw, sucking a mark underneath his ear which makes him keen, those hands firm at his hips, so firm they'll leave a mark.

"You're late, Wei Ying," Lan Wangji says with another bite. Wei Wuxian rewards him for his bitey curiosity with cry. "You said you would be back before the snow fell."

"The snows fell early," Wei Wuxian tries, around a moan, "ah- ah! Lan Zhan please, have mercy on this poor man."

"Mercy," Lan Wangji purrs, licking over the first of many bite marks, "belongs to those that are on time."

Wei Wuxian lets out a sound that's borderline hysterical, fingers catching the back of Lan Wangji's neck and whining, breath hitching. "Please- ah- ah Lan Zhan, look at me."

Lan Wangji does, and Wei Wuxian immediately regrets drawing those lips away from his throat.

"I missed you," he repeats, trying to tell Lan Wangji that he had been so afraid he was too late, that he was glad to be home, that he wanted to stay, that he loved. His hands cradle Lan Wangji's face again, thumbs smoothing over Lan Wangji's cheeks gently.

Lan Wangji just looks at him and for a moment, Wei Wuxian sees the entire world in those eyes. He sees it all, the floodgate of emotion in the most minute of movements from Lan Wangji's expression and he realises that not only does Lan Wangji know, but when Lan Wangji says, "You were also missed, Wei Ying," he means I'm glad you're here and Don't leave again and You are loved, too.

This time when their lips meet, the heat is still there in each touch, in the broad sweep of Lan Wangji's tongue but there is a sweetness underneath it, a tenderness that makes a shudder run the length of his spine.

When their chests are heaving from kisses and Wei Wuxian realises that there's blood blossoming underneath Lan Wangji's robes from a torn wound, Wei Wuxian tenderly changes his bandages and brushes his fingers over the lines of Lan Wangji's chest, over the scar that mirrored one that he once had brandished on his own chest.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Lan Zhan," he whispers, kissing the clean bandages and climbing into the bed beside his beloved companion and accepting the offer to lie on his chest. "I'll never be late again."

"Does that mean you're planning on leaving?" Lan Wangji asks, a tentative resignation in his voice, but Wei Wuxian can hear the underlying request, the request to stay.

"Not unless you're coming with me," he says, whispering the promise of forever into another kiss.

#humanformdragon #wangxiansolstice20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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ladyshadowdrake-untamed · 4 years

Text

The Untamed - Episode Two: In-Depth Summary

Episode One

I’m not sure why I’m calling these “summaries.” At this point I’m basically transcribing the entire episode. This one is even more detailed than the last one.

Maybe I will later come back these and put them into more of a novelization-format.

Thank you SO MUCH to @sassassassins for all the screenshots used in this summary!

Please check out the lovely Episode Two gifset.

Watch for the cut.

~*~

Wei Wuxian traveling with the donkey and discussing how picky of an eater he is (only fresh grass with dew) and how stubborn. He refers to the donkey as “his good master.”

He stops at a well for water, and a group of people passing by come over for water as well.

One of the travelers has a compass that another claims is broken because the arrow is not pointing at Dafan Mountain. The compass holder claims that it was made by Wei Wuxian himself (The Yiling Patriarch), and they fight about the efficacy of Wei Wuxian’s inventions. Wei Wuxian talks to the travelers to ask if something weird has been happening and gets pointed to Dafan Mountain; a soul-eater seems to have appeared and has eaten several people’s souls lately.

The donkey refuses to leave when Wei Wuxian dismisses the arguing travelers and decides to leave. A young woman who behaves in a very childlike manner is traveling with her mother, who calls her “A-Yan.” A-Yan brings Wei Wuxian an apple to help get the donkey moving, and the donkey is named Pingguo (Apple). Wei Wuxian ties the apple to a stick to keep Pingguo moving.

Wei Wuxian stops to survey Dafan Mountain on a hillside. A-Yan comes up with him and starts dancing strangely, seeming to be doing so unwillingly. Wei Wuxian casts a spell on her that interrupts the dancing. The spell hits her forehead and she drops unconscious.

Her mother explains that she was engaged to be married, but her fiance went up to the mountain to cut firewood and disappeared. She went to look for him and came back “like a different person” who doesn’t eat or drink or remember people (mostly) and sometimes dances toward Dafan Mountain. Her dad lost his soul shortly after and died.

Calls for help bring him off the mountain and he finds the travelers from before up in nets. A young cultivator in golden robes arrives, name-plate as “Jin Ling Rulan.” Jin Ling arrives to check the nets and finds the people. He says he will leave them up there until he’s caught the soul eating monster, and is annoyed that they keep tripping his spirit nets.

A-Yan comes running through calling for Pingguo, who runs to her, dragging Wei Wuxian along. He ends up dropping practically at Jin Ling’s feet, who recognizes him as Mo Xuanyu and comments on how his uncle had driven Mo Xuanyu out. It is revealed here that Mo Xuanyu was the love child of Jin Guangshan (Jin sect leader)

Wei Wuxian unknowingly insults Jin Ling that he lacks maternal education. When Jin Ling attempts to strike him, Wei Wuxian trips him to the ground and traps him with a paper talisman shaped like a person. Jin Ling has two other cultivators who try to come to his aid, but Wei Wuxian pushes them down with a wave of force. He uses Jin Ling’s sword to cut the spirit nets down.

The travelers run off and Jin Ling accuses him of using foul tricks. When Jin Ling warns he will tattle to his uncle, Wei Wuxian asks him why his uncle and not his dad. He asks who is Jin Ling’s uncle, and hears a voice from behind that he obviously recognizes saying “I am his uncle.”

An older cultivator in dark blue robes with a retinue of six other cultivators arrives, name-plate as “Jiang Cheng Wanyin.”

Without turning to face Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian gets up and tries to walk away, but Jiang Cheng tells him to “Stop.”

Jiang Cheng scolds Jin Ling and pulls the paper talisman off of him, recognizing it as the Yiling Patriarch’s tricks.

Jin Ling threatens Wei Wuxian, “I will break your legs!”

Jiang Cheng tells Jin Ling that anyone using these tricks should be “Killed and fed to your dog.” Jin Ling attacks Wei Wuxian’s turned back, but is blocked by a bright blue wave of force. Wei Wuxian takes the opportunity while Jin Ling is off balance to run and hide behind a tree.

Lan Wangji arrives with his juniors in tow. Jiang Cheng mentions, not kindly, that he has a reputation for “appearing amongst chaos.” He asks if Lan Wangji is there to take credit from them, or if he’s there looking for someone. “I heard you have been to a lot of places in the past 16 years.”

Lan Jingyi asks what Jiang Cheng means by that comment, and Jiang Cheng says that Lan Wangji knows exactly what he means by it. Lan Wangji looks sideways over his shoulder toward Wei Wuxian’s hiding place.

The two groups argue about the ethics of using so many spirit nets on a spirit hunt, and that it is not good sporting behavior. Lan Wangji casts a silencing spell on Jin Ling after Jin Ling makes a haughty comment that they can discuss the ethics of it after he catches the spell.

Jiang Cheng demands that Lan Wangji lift the spell, and that it is not his place to discipline Jin Ling. Wei Wuxian, meanwhile, finds this very amusing. Lan Sizhui explains that the spell is harmless and it will wear off on its own in “a stick of incense’s time.”

One of Jiang Cheng’s men runs up to inform him that the nets were all destroyed by a “glowing blue sword.” (Lan Wangji’s) There were over 400 nets.

Obviously upset that Lan Wangji has meddled, Jiang Cheng brings his right fist up parallel to the ground, waist height, and Lan Wangji just looks down at it without moving his head - Jiang Cheng has a bracelet and matching slave ring on this wrist/hand.

Jiang Cheng calms himself down and tells Jin Ling to accept the discipline from Lan Wangji, if Huangun-jun wants to teach him a lesson - that it is not easy for him to discipline the junior of another clan (though he is glaring bloody murder at Lan Wangji), and not to come back if he doesn’t catch the monster. Jin Ling leaves and Lan Sizhui tells Jiang Cheng that the nets will be returned later, to which Jiang Cheng says there is no need.

Lan Wangji sends the juniors on the hunt, “Try your best, but don’t take risks.”

When Lan Wangji looks at Wei Wuxian hiding behind a tree, Wei Wuxian ducks away from him, and he walks away.

Wei Wuxian is obviously relieved to have been forgotten by both parties.

-Scene break-

At a river, Wei Wuxian remembers things that Jiang Cheng and and a then-unnamed woman have told him (Jiang Yanli). (C: “You said you would assist me. Don’t you remember? You said Gusu has it’s Twin Jades, so we are the Twin Heroes of Yunmeng. Y: “Wuxian, you, A-Cheng, and I, we won’t be separated. We will stay together forever.”)

A group of cultivators pass by gossiping about Jin Ling being spoiled. He is also the heir to the Jin sect, and the speaker can’t imagine how anyone will stand him when he takes over the sect. They discuss how his parents were both killed by the Yiling Patriarch, and that is why he is spoiled and ill-mannered. They comment that no wonder Jiang Cheng hates the Yiling Patriarch, and that he “hasn’t forgiven anyone who uses his tricks for the past 16 years.”

Wei Wuxian realizes that Jin Ling is his sister’s (Jiang Yanli) son, who is parentless because of his own actions. Wei Wuxian remembers the careless jibe he had made about Jin Ling not having any maternal guidance and slaps himself for it.

He lays back among the river stones. Pingguo returns and noses at his hair.

-Scene break-

The juniors come across a graveyard and find an old man caring for graves after being asked by “Master Wen.” He doesn’t know how long he’s been there, just that Master Wen asked him to watch over the graves, so he can’t leave. They ask him what is going on. He says many people died and it attracts evil spirits. He tells them to visit Tiannu Temple at the top of the mountain when asked if anything strange had been happening, where there is a dancing fairy statue that looks like a person.

He recalls that the stone can move only after they have left.

-Scene break-

At the river, Wei Wuxian finds soul-gathering grass. It glows and Pingguo is trying to eat it (This grass grows by the graves of cultivators and can absorb spirit from the earth).

He continues up the mountain and also finds the graveyard. He senses that it’s surrounded by a thick, dark fog because so many cultivators are buried there. He also speaks to the old man caring for the graves, who tells him that the graves belong to the Wen clan. Wei Wuxian has a brief memory of a woman dressed in red. He remembers the pose that A-Yan had taken when dancing and then a memory of what appears to be a statue in the same pose. He thinks, “No, it’s not the soul-eater.”

The old man vanishes.

He continues to the temple because Jin Ling is in danger.

Tiannu Temple

The juniors enter the temple and discuss the statue, which is the one from Wei Wuxian’s flash of memory. According to legend, the statue is a naturally formed piece of stone that just happens to have the appearance of a dancing woman. Fojiao villagers made up fairy tales about it. Jinyi’s evil-seeking compass does not respond to it.

Jin Ling arrives with Jin cultivators + other random cultivators from different clans, and mocks the locals praying to the statue. He makes a wish that the monster of Dafan mountain will appear before him right then.

The statue smiles and one cultivator gets hit in the forehead with some spell, and falls unconscious. The statue breaks out of the rocks and begins to move. Wei Wuxian arrives to tell them to leave and identifies it as a soul-eating statue. He attempts to seal it with paper talismans, but they fall off. He orders the young cultivators again to run.

The cultivators run to a wide place in the road. Wuxian suggests they call Lan Wangji with a “spirit shell,” but the Lan cultivators did not restock their supply of signals to call him. Wei Wuxian lectures them about this. They ask him how he knew about the statue, and he reveals knowledge of the Lan clan and all their rules.

-Scene break-

In the village. Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng are apparently waiting to be called/waiting for news, and aggressively ignoring each other. They are at what seems to be a roadside-stand with a man cooking and the rest of Jiang Cheng’s men seem to be standing guard.

-Scene break-

Wei Wuxian questions the juniors into figuring out what the status is themselves. They figure out that the statue has been granting wishes and then taking souls as its payment. Through this process, Wei Wuxian realizes that Jin Ling is not with them and asks immediately if anyone has seen him.

The statue appears then, coming down the road and Wei Wuxian remembers that he and Lan Wangji had sealed it before.

Jin Ling attacks it with arrows, and ignores the other juniors when they tell him to send the signal (to summon Jiang Cheng). Wei Wuxian takes Lan Jinyi’s sword and uses it to cuts down some bamboo. He quickly makes a flute, and begins to play. Apparently, he is playing poorly, and Lan Jinyi complains about him playing in this situation. He unintentionally summons a fierce corpse who turns out to be Wen Ning, who should be dead.

Wen Ning destroys the statue’s arm before it can crush Jin Ling. The rest of the cultivators recognize the “Ghost General.” Wen Ning very easily destroys the statue, which turns out to be an illusion Wei Wuxian suspects was to lure him to draw out Wen Ning. The cultivators attack Wen Ning, Wei Wuxian plays for him to defend himself, and then realizes that he has stirred up Wen Ning’s resentful energy too strongly (he is hurting the other cultivators). He switches to a different song to calm Wen Ning down. Wen Ning stops fighting and insteads follows Wei Wuxian as Wei Wuxian walks backwards toward the trees. Jin Ling makes the connection to the flute playing.

Lan Wangji arrives as Wei Wuxian is drawing Wen Ning away and grabs his wrist, stopping him from playing briefly. Their eyes meet, but they do not say anything to each other. Wei Wuxian notices that Wen Ning is starting to drift away and starts playing again, sending Wen Ning away.

Lan Wangjis grabs Wei Wuxian’s hand before he can leave.

Jiang Cheng arrives shortly after to scold Jin Ling for not calling for him. One of the other cultivators announces that Wen Ning was there, which Jiang Cheng thinks is impossible - he was executed a long time ago. The cultivator claims that Wei Wuxian’s flute playing drew him out.

Jiang Cheng goes after Wei Wuxian with Zidian (the bracelet/slave ring on his wrist, which generates a violet whip of electricity). Lan Wangji deflects the initial blow with the guqin. Wei Wuxian runs and Jiang Cheng strikes him Zidian but it “doesn’t work.” The special ability of Zidian is to cast out any spirit possessing another body with one hit.

Lan Jingyi points out that Zidian would be able to exorcise Wei Wuxian if he was possessing someone, and also that Jiang Cheng killed Wei Wuxian himself, so Mo Xuanyu cannot possibly be Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian falls/passes out.

-Scene break-

16 years ago

Wei Wuxian taking a nap in a boat, Yanli calling for him. (A-Xian). He jumps out of the boat and he, Yanli and Jiang Cheng walk through a town together. They are young and happy, a marked contrast to the Jiang Cheng we’ve seen so far. As they’re walking, Wei Wuxian gets a sugar bunny candy for Yanli. Jiang Cheng scolds him to behave himself, and Wei Wuxian seems to mostly ignore him.

Wei Wuxian waxes lyrical about a liquor he wants to try called “Emperor’s Smile,” which is the speciality of Gusu (their current location).

Jiang Cheng asks to get a room in town and rest/clean up before going to Cloud Recesses. The ceremony is still several days away, so Yanli says this will be fine. Jiang Cheng complains that Wei Wuxian will make trouble and that Yanli and their father always defends Wei Wuxian.

Appears in This Episode:

People:

Wei Wuxian - Same as Epi one + studded leather bracers - (Flashback) Dark blue top with leather detailing, red under-robe. Silver hair accessory. Black belt.

Pingguo (Apple)

Jin Ling/Rulan - Pale cream textured robes with light gold detailing, peach belt w/ orange decoration and yellow tassel. Two belts with d-rings hang off the belt, nothing attached.

Jiang Cheng/Wanyin - Blue robes with water detailing on the breast and dark blue shoulders, black leather bracers. Sleeves blue w/metallic purple diamond pattern. (Flash back) Mint-green robes with floral detailing on the breast and purple accents. Black sash with studded leather belt over.

Lan Wangji - Same as Epi 1

Lan Yuan/Shizui - Same as Epi 1 Lan Jingyi - Same as Epi 1

Yanli - Pale lavender robes with floral detailing and darker purple accents. Matching floral beaded comb.

Fairy Statue

Wen Ning/Qionglin -Tattered black and red robes, chains.

Objects:

Evil seeking compass

Spirit nets

Places:

Dafan Mountain

Tiannu Temple

Gusu

#the untamed #cql #mdzs #episode summary #episode two #2/50

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fanyiyimdzs · 4 years

Text

Mo Dao Zu Shi: Chapter 7

Masterpost

Previous chapter

In the end, after caressing his ring for a time, Jiang Cheng forced his hostile emotions down.

Though he was very unhappy, he was a Clan Chief and had to consider the repercussions of his actions. He couldn’t be impulsive like boys such as Jin Ling. The decline of the Qinghe Nie Clan had left only Three Great Clans remaining, and among them, the Lanling Jin Clan and the Gusu Lan Clan were the closest due to the deep personal bond between their two chiefs. On the other hand, Jiang Cheng controlled the Yunmeng Jiang Clan alone, and his clan was relatively isolated. Hanguang Jun Lan Wangji was a highly distinguished figure in the cultivation world, and his elder brother, Zewu Jun Lan Xichen, was the Chief of the Gusu Lan Clan. The two brothers had a strong, harmonious relationship—if Jiang Cheng didn’t need to destroy his standing with them, it was best not to.

Moreover, Jiang Cheng’s sword Sandu1 had never truly met Lan Wangji’s Bichen in battle, thus the final outcome of such a clash was unclear. And though he had the mighty ring “Zidian”2 around his finger, Lan Wangji’s “Wangji”3 qin also had a fearsome reputation. Jiang Cheng couldn’t tolerate being at a disadvantage—without complete assurance of his victory, he wouldn’t consider fighting Lan Wangji.

Jiang Cheng stopped stroking the ring and slowly withdrew his left hand. It seemed Second Master Lan was intent on intervening, so continuing to play the villain would cause him trouble. For now, he would simply remember this incident. Done weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Cheng turned and saw Jin Ling still angrily covering his mouth. “Just accept Hanguang Jun’s punishment this one time. After all, the opportunity to discipline another clan’s disciples is a rare one indeed.”

His tone was sneering, but it was unclear who he was sneering at. Lan Wangji never opened his mouth in response to such provocations—he merely acted as though he hadn’t heard it. Jiang Cheng’s next words were wrapped in thorns. “Why are you still standing there? Are you waiting for prey to rush toward you and stick themselves on your sword? If you can’t capture whatever’s living in Dafan Mountain, don’t ever come see me again!”

Jin Ling shot Wei Wuxian a venomous glare, but he didn’t have the courage to glare at Lan Wangji, the one responsible for his forced silence. Placing his sword back into its scabbard, he made polite goodbyes to the two seniors opposite him and retreated with his bow in hand. Lan Sizhui said, “Chief Jiang, the Gusu Lan Clan will of course return the exact number of spirit-binding nets that were destroyed.”

Jiang Cheng smiled coldly. “No need!” He chose to reverse course and take a leisurely stroll down the mountain. His disciples followed behind him silently, their faces miserable and marked with anxiety, knowing that when they returned, there would be no way to avoid their Clan Chief’s wrath.

Once their silhouettes disappeared in the distance, Lan Jingyi said, “How could Chief Jiang act like that?!” Only once he finished did he remember the House Lan’s prohibitions against speaking about someone behind their backs. Scared, he glanced at Hanguang Jun, closed his mouth, and shuffled backwards. Lan Sizhui smiled slightly at Wei Wuxian and said, “Young Master Mo, we meet again.”

Wei Wuxian pulled on the corners of his lips. But Lan Wangji opened his mouth and issued a command. It was clear and concise, free of any ornamentation. “Complete your task.”

Only then did the flock of juniors remember why they had come to Dafan Mountain. Placing any other thoughts at the back of their minds, they reverently awaited further instructions. A few moments later, Lan Wangji spoke again, “Try your hardest. No recklessness.”

His voice was low and magnetic. The heart of anyone standing near enough would undoubtedly tremble upon hearing it. The juniors obediently followed Hanguang Jun’s orders and walked deeper into the mountain forests, too afraid to linger. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan were truly completely different people, Wei Wuxian thought. Even the advice and the warnings they gave their juniors were completely contrary. As he was pondering this, Lan Wangji suddenly gave him a slight, almost invisible nod, and Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but become slightly dazed.

Ever since he was young, Lan Wangji had been so serious and deadpan it made Wei Wuxian’s head hurt. He was grave, inflexible, and seemed like he had never had a spontaneous moment in his life. Defects of behavior were like grains of sand in his eyes; he couldn’t stand them. Thus, he had met the news that Wei Wuxian had taken up demonic cultivation with the harshest disapproval. But Lan Sizhui should have already informed Lan Wangji about Mo Xuanyu’s suspicious behavior at Mo Manor, yet the senior Lan had still nodded in greeting—most likely to thank him for helping the Lan juniors with their earlier trouble. Without thinking, Wei Wuxian returned the greeting. But when he lifted his head again, even Lan Wangji’s shadow had disappeared.

After a pause, he turned around and began to walk back down the mountain.

No matter what kind of prey was lurking around Dafan Mountain, he couldn’t pursue it. If Wei Wuxian was going to fight anyone over it, he wouldn’t fight Jin Ling.

It had really been Jin Ling.

Wei Wuxian had not expected that, of all the Lanling Jin Clan’s disciples, he would happen to run into Jin Ling. If he had known, how could he have used words like “you weren’t raised by a mother” to mock the boy? If someone else had said such a thing, he would have made them understand exactly what “bringing disaster upon yourself” meant. But the one who had spoken them was Wei Wuxian himself.

After a moment of stillness, he lifted his hand and slapped himself in the face.

The slap resonated inside his skull, and his right cheek stung from the force of it. Suddenly, the bushes beside him rustled. When Wei Wuxian glanced at the source of the noise, a donkey’s head emerged through the leaves, and, for once, the donkey shuffled towards Wei Wuxian’s hanging hand out of its own free will. He pulled on its long ears and laughed bitterly. “You wanted to save the pretty maiden, but forced me to play the hero.”

As the donkey whined and grumbled, a wave of cultivators crested over the mountain slope, heading directly towards them. Once every one of the four hundred spirit-binding nets had been cut by Lan Wangji’s flying blade, all the cultivators who had originally loitered around Fojiao Village began surging up the mountain. All of these people could be considered Jin Ling’s competitors, so Wei Wuxian briefly considered forcing them to retreat again. But in the end, he quietly let them pass.

Dressed in a random assortment of house colours, the crowd of disciples grumbled loudly as they climbed. “Both House Jin and House Jiang spoil that Young Master Jin rotten. Even at his young age, he’s already so arrogant and tyrannical. In the future, if the Lanling Jin Clan falls into his hands, it’ll only end in upheaval and rebellion. We might as well die!”

Wei Wuxian slowed.

A soft-hearted female cultivator sighed.“But how could they not spoil him? He lost both his mother and father at such a young age.”

“Ah, sister, you can’t talk like that. So what if both his mother and father are gone? The world is full of people who’ve lost both their parents—if everyone acted like he does, it would be a catastrophe!”

“Wei Wuxian sure went after whoever he wanted. Jin Ling’s mother was none other than Jiang Cheng’s sister by blood, and the one who had looked after him since he was small.”

“Jiang Yanli was so unlucky to have raised such an ungrateful, wild dog. Jin Zixuan had it even worse. Look at how horribly he ended up, just because he and Wei Wuxian once had a few petty feuds.”

“It seems like everyone had some kind of feud with him…”

“Exactly. Other than the crazed wolves he raised, have you ever heard of him having a good relationship with anyone? He has enemies everywhere—he’s pretty much despised by all of the earth and the heavens! Even Hanguang Jun and him hated each other on sight, like fire and water.”

“Speaking of which, if it hadn’t been for Hanguang Jun today…”

Wei Wuxian walked for a while, when suddenly, the soft sound of a running creek streamed into his ears.

He hadn’t heard this noise when he had walked up the mountain. Only now did he realize he had forked off onto the some other route on his way down.

Holding onto the donkey’s reins, he approached the creek. The moon shined through the branches overhead, on which not a single leaf hung to offer cover. The water in the middle of the creek was choppy and frosty white. Glancing at his reflection, Wei Wuxian saw a face that changed unpredictably with the flow of the water.

Viciously, he slapped the surface with his open palm and shattered his absurd, comical visage. Raising his dripping hand, he began rubbing off the powder with the creek water.

It took only a few scoops. When his reflection appeared again, he saw a very elegant and handsome young man. Now clean, his face looked as though it had been bathed in moonlight. His brows were relaxed, his eyes clear and bright, and the corners of his mouth were upturned into a slight smile. But as he was bowed over the creek, intently examining his reflection, the beads of water decorating his lashes seemed like endlessly falling teardrops.

This face was young and strange. It wasn’t the face which had once drowned the earth and overturned the heavens, nor the face that caused foul winds to blow and hot blood to pour from the skies above. It wasn’t the Old Yiling Master Wei Wuxian’s face.

After staring at this face for a long while, Wei Wuxian rubbed it again a few more times, massaged his eyes, and thudded back onto the shore.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t endure others’ harsh tongues and nasty words. After all, when he had first made his decision, he had understood perfectly clearly the kind of road that lay ahead. His mind had long reminded him: remember the motto of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan—“attempt the impossible.”

Only, he had believed his heart to be an unmovable stone. Yet, in the end, humans were not rocks or vegetation.

The little donkey seemed to recognise his low mood and, for once, didn’t impatiently moan and bray. After a moment of silence, it whipped around and began walking away. But Wei Wuxian continued sitting by the creekside, displaying no reaction, so it glanced back at him and stomped its hooves. Still, Wei Wuxian ignored it. Angry, the donkey could only return, bite down on the front of his robes, and drag him away.

Leaving or staying, either was fine to Wei Wuxian, but since the donkey was now pulling him with its teeth, he figured he might as well follow. The donkey hauled him beneath a few trees, then paced in circles around a patch of vegetation. Within the underbrush, a qiankun4 bag was quietly hidden. A ruined golden net hung above his head: some unfortunate cultivator had almost certainly dropped the bag as they struggled free of the trap. Wei Wuxian picked it up and took a look inside. It contained quite a few miscellaneous items, such as gourds of medicinal wine, talismans, little fae-reflecting mirrors, and so on.

After digging through it for a while, he grabbed a talisman, which suddenly burst into flame in his hand.

The talisman had a yin-ignition seal written on it, which, as the name implies, automatically ignited upon contact with yin energy. The stronger the yin energy, the bigger the fire. Since it started burning as soon as Wei Wuxian had removed it from the bag, there had to be a dark spirit nearby.

As soon as he had seen the firelight, Wei Wuxian’s attention became concentrated on guarding against the spirit. Lifting the talisman, he tried waving it around in different directions. Turning east, the fire dimmed, whereas turning west, the flames suddenly jumped up higher and higher. He walked a few steps in that direction and saw a stooped, white figure emerge under a nearby tree.

Ashes fell from Wei Wuxian’s fingertips as the paper burned completely up. The figure was an elderly man with his back turned on him, muttering.

As Wei Wuxian slowly drew near, the old man’s mutterings became clearer.

“Ah, it hurts, it hurts.”

“Where does it hurt?” Wei Wuxian asked.

The old man replied, “Ah, my head. My head. It’s my head.”

“Let me see,” Wei Wuxian said.

He walked a few steps to the old man’s side and saw a bloody red hole in the middle of his forehead. This was a dead soul, and the murderer had probably killed him by smashing some kind of weapon into his skull. He wore burial clothes of high quality material and strong craftsmanship, which meant he had already been properly interred. This wasn’t the lost soul of some living person.

But this kind of soul shouldn’t be appearing on Dafan Mountain.

It defied all logic, and Wei Wuxian couldn’t come up with any explanation. But it was anything but reassuring. He hopped onto the donkey’s back, slapped its hindquarters, gave a holler, and spurred it onwards towards the place where Jin Ling had gone up the mountain.

Many cultivators dithered around the old burial mound, intent on waiting for their prey to show up on its own rather than taking decisive action. Some of them had bravely raised a yin summoning flag, but it only attracted a swarm of spirits who did nothing except wail so loudly all of the earth and sky could hear them. Pulling on the donkey’s reins, Wei Wuxian glanced around and asked in a clear, bright voice, “Excuse me, could you please tell me something? Where did the little Masters from House Jin and House Lan go?”

Now that he had washed his face, one of the cultivators responded promptly. “They left this place and went to the Shrine of the Heavenly Maiden.”

“Shrine of the Heavenly Maiden?” Wei Wuxian said.

After the family of cultivators he had saved heard about the destruction of the spirit-binding nets, they quietly snuck up the mountain again, and were also among the people who had gathered to patrol the old burial grounds. The middle aged man, seeing Wei Wuxian’s clothes and his toothy donkey, thought Wei Wuxian was probably the lunatic who had rescued them earlier. Quite embarrassed, he pretended nothing had happened, but the round-faced young woman pointed and gave directions: “Over there. It’s a shrine inside a cave in the mountain.”

Wei Wuxian questioned her more closely, “Which divinity was the temple built for?”

The round-faced young woman said, “I think—I think the statue of the heavenly maiden appeared naturally.”

Wei Wuxian nodded. “Thank you very much.”

He rushed to the shrine at once.

The marriage of the lazy bum, the lightning strike that had split open coffins, the fiancé who had been bitten to death by wolves, the successive loss of the souls of a father and daughter, the beautiful burial clothes…they were like matching pearls finally strung together. No wonder the evil wind compasses hadn’t picked up anything. The yin summoning flags were even more useless. They had all underestimated the thing on Dafan Mountain.

It wasn’t at all what they thought it was!

_________________

1 “Sandu” (三毒) literally means “three poisons.”

2 “Zidian” (紫电) literally means “violet electricity.”

3 “Wangji” (忘机) literally means “above earthly concerns.”

4 “Qiankun” (乾坤) literally means “heaven and earth.”

Masterpost

#mo dao zu shi #MDZS #wei wuxian #wwx #lan wangji #lwj

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queenpersephonesgarden · 4 years

Text

the heart wants what it does not have

Wangxian Week Day 1: Family

In the daylight the thought comes and goes, infrequent but so predictable it’s almost laughable.

There are times when he can ignore it, convince himself it was just nostalgia and old flights of fancy coming back to haunt him like lingering smoke from a bonfire. He gets better at not letting it sneak up out of nowhere to hit him unexpectedly, learns to anticipate it more often than not.

But it still stings, whether he expects it or not.

Jin Ling’s loud, cheeky banter with Jiang Cheng that echoes through whole rooms with both aggravation and affection so interwoven it is hard to tell apart.

Lan Sizhui’s quiet, respectful nod to Lan Zhan as he joins him for guqin practice every afternoon, his wide smile and Lan Zhan’s peaceful expression making for a perfect complement as they played.

Young married couples flitting through the streets of Caiyi with a small child in tow, both tiny hands clasped firmly by one hand of their mother and father as they are led wide-eyed in between stalls brimming with colorful toys and sweets.

Wei Wuxian sees these things, and he wants.

Can also be read on AO3

He wants so, so badly, half-formed dreams of a man leading a stubborn donkey along a winding road by the reins as his husband and child rode along after him, cheerful laughter ringing in the sunlight melting into the waking world to be splayed beneath his fingertips.

He could…. He could have that.

He could, if he would just open his mouth and ask for it.

Just having the option was enough to make him breathless, make his heart race like he’s run a thousand miles with still no end goal in sight.

Wei Wuxian watches a man on the side of the street scoop his daughter up and deposit her laughing into his wife’s arms, and wants.

“Lan Zhan!” he spins right around to face his husband determinedly.

Lan Zhan focuses on him instantly like he always does when Wei Wuxian opens his mouth, and he has to fight down the immediate flush that tries to crawl up his neck. “Lan Zhan, I’ve been thinking-”

The words are right there.

All that’s missing is a little one.

Such simple words, they’d been so easy to say before-

‘Wretched, ungrateful thing,’ some deep, insidious voice that he shamefully refuses to admit is just the slightest bit reminiscent of Madam Yu hisses in his ear. ‘You have so much more than Jiang Yanli, than Jin Zixuan, than all the Wens you let die, and still you dare wish for more?’

A bright flare of pain erupts in his heart, dulled only the slightest bit by time but no less agonizing. His eyes sting, but he refuses to let any tears truly form.

The vitriol isn’t anything he hasn’t thought of before, but it still manages to trap the words behind his teeth once more, grinning widely in the face of Lan Zhan’s questioning look when the silence stretches.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Nothing important!” For a moment he dares to think he may be able to get away with it, that it really will remain a subject to discuss in the distant nebulous future that he simply never has to bring up again.

But then he catches Lan Zhan’s lips pursing out of the corner of his eye, and he knows there’s no way they won’t talk about it now.

He manages to stall the conversation for the rest of the day, though he is self-aware enough to know this is only because Lan Zhan recognizes this as a subject best saved for the privacy of the Jingshi.

Still Wei Wuxian does everything he can think of to avoid the inevitable, taking extra long in the bath after dinner, scrubbing exaggeratedly at his skin until it’s worn pink and wrinkled from the water, all the while keeping up a stream of nonsense chatter as it comes to mind.

“-and the time delay could probably be extended if I added another stroke in the opposite direction-”

“Mn.”

“-I’ll have to ask A-Yuan and Lan Jingyi if they’d be willing to help me test it-”

“Mn.”

“-course, we’ll probably have to find a bigger target range this time in case it catches fire again-”

“Wei Ying.” A towel appears draped over the privacy screen, right where it normally would be if Wei Wuxian had not purposefully left it behind to be cause for a bit of distraction once he stepped out of the bath, dripping wet and naked with nothing to cover himself with.

Wei Wuxian grins sheepishly even as he sinks a bit lower into the lukewarm water. “Ah, gege is so attentive today,” he lets his voice go sly and teasing at the end. “But is he sure he wants his husband to cover up? I thought he might enjoy a little show once I finished-”

“Wei Ying. The water is going cold.” The man manages to radiate disapproval even without looking behind the screen.

The confident smirk he’d been trying for slid off of Wei Wuxian’s face like rainwater.

He wraps himself in the towel and empties the tub in silence, listening to the distant shuffling of footsteps and fabric as Lan Zhan readied for bed across the room. Wringing his hands while his husband changed felt too strange, too- too distant, and Wei Wuxian did not like it at all, so he clenched his fingers and circled around the privacy screen, padding across the room in determined silence.

The Jingshi feels simultaneously too large and too small for the quiet, the shadows at the corners of the room stretching into silent nothingness as his footsteps bring him to the bedroom.

Wei Wuxian finally slips into bed and feels more nervous than he has for a long time. It takes him one moment, two, before he can raise his eyes to his husband.

Lan Zhan’s gaze was unwavering. “You are unhappy.”

Sudden panic jolted Wei Wuxian into blurting out, “No! I’m never unhappy with you!”

Lan Zhan’s entire face softening infinitely at the quick rebuttal was so unexpectedly endearing Wei Wuxian couldn’t help smiling helplessly, nerves abruptly melting with the force of his joy. Winding his arms around Lan Zhan to press close as he whispered softly, “How could I ever be unhappy when er-gege loves me so much? When I love him so much?”

A shaky breath that could have been a laugh as arms wrapped around him in turn, before lips pressed softly to his temple. “You are… upset,” Lan Zhan gently corrects.

Wei Wuxian hummed noncommittally, then cringes guiltily when the arms around him tighten minutely.

“Not… exactly, but I guess I am, a little.”

“Why?”

Wei Wuxian sighed gustily, a great, explosive breath as the same want from the marketplace surged through his ribcage and rather impatiently forced its way out of his mouth:

“It’s just…. This is more than I could have ever asked for, in a life. You, and A-Yuan, and Jin Ling and all the other juniors, Lan Xichen; even Jiang Cheng when he’s in a good mood! We already have a wonderful family. I wouldn’t change it for anything! I just-!” Here he bit his lip hard, relieved that the tears from earlier don’t resurface even as his heart clenches painfully.

“I would- love, love to have another child with you. To raise one with you, properly this time. Not that A-Yuan isn’t proper! He’s the most Lan-ish Lan I’ve ever met! You did an amazing job with him! But- just-!”

“To raise them with me,” Lan Zhan said quietly, and Wei Wuxian bit his lip even harder.

Nodded fiercely with his eyes squeezed shut.

“How many?”

Wei Wuxian’s eyes popped open. “Hah?”

“How many would make you happy?”

Fond surprise lit up his heart, before exasperated amusement berated him for being surprised at all.

Wei Wuxian hummed in exaggerated thought, gaze fixed on a certain point on the ceiling and ignoring his husband’s steady gaze; he knows if he meets Lan Zhan’s earnest, determined gaze now, he’d likely start either laughing or crying.

“A dozen. No, two dozen. Boys with your eyes and my smile. Girls with steady calligraphy like yours and loud laughter like me. Uncouth hellions that run carelessly through the Cloud Recesses and give your uncle a few new gray hairs before he reaches seventy. Dozens and dozens of little ones to equal the horde of rabbits you have stashed away in the meadow.”

Grinning far too wide at the images his words painted across his mind, Wei Wuxian chanced a glance down at Lan Zhan’s face. “Aiyo, but too many at once would probably send your uncle into a qi deviation. I don’t think my happiness would be worth that.”

“Wei Ying deserves to be happy,” Lan Zhan says, matter of fact, and though Wei Wuxian had meant it to be a joke, Lan Zhan’s voice was so serious that suddenly Wei Wuxian’s eyes were stinging again.

“Lan Zhan. You know you can’t just suddenly say things like that!”

Lan Zhan huffs in amusement, and Wei Wuxian cannot resist hugging him again.

“Would… would raising a child with me make you happy?” he asks, just to be sure, because Lan Zhan is far too often in the habit of focusing on Wei Wuxian’s happiness before all else, and this was a bit too huge of a decision for just one of them to make.

There was no response for a long moment. Wei Wuxian reluctantly pulled back from the embrace, just enough to look at his husband’s face.

The small, awed smile lighting Lan Zhan’s face is utterly devastating.

Wei Wuxian’s jaw goes slack when Lan Zhan offers a wordless, joyful nod, and for a moment they’re both too overwhelmed for words, foreheads pressed together and breathing the same air in a different, softer quiet than before.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Silly imaginings of a little one with two parents and a donkey wandering the country no longer seem so silly.

It’s only a long time later that Lan Zhan’s eyes spark in the half-light, pale gold shining in a way that most people would believe to be far too devious a look for the illustrious Hanguang-jun to wear. The man who had married him knew him far too well to be surprised by it.

Wei Wuxian squinted in suspicion. “What is it?”

“Hmm.” Graceful fingers cupped Wei Wuxian’s jaw in a familiar soft gesture that had him instinctively, foolishly sliding his eyes shut at the painful warmth that touch awoke in his chest. “I was simply thinking that we should get started, then.”

Honest confusion made Wei Wuxian blink his eyes open and stare. “Hah? Started?”

Only the slightest tilt of Lan Zhan’s lips suggested his amusement when he said, “On the little ones. I’ve been led to believe they take time to make.”

Startled laughter burst out of Wei Wuxian’s mouth, only to be half muffled when Lan Zhan covered his lips insistently with his own. Still, even amidst such an onslaught of affection, Wei Wuxian felt the need to try and point out the obvious flaw in this logic. “Aha Lan Zhan, unlike most couples, we’re not going to be able to do this the old-fashioned way- ah! Ah!”

A/N: Mo Dao Zu Shi broke into my home and beat my writer’s block over the head with a mallet. It feels good to be back. ~Persephone

#Wangxian #Wei Wuxian #Wei Ying #Lan Wangji #Lan Zhan #Mo Dao Zu Shi #MDZS #MDZS fanfiction #my writing #Wangxian Week

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