Jiang Yanli, Qin Su and Luo Qingyang were sitting together on a stone bench, on the other side, on another identical bench, were Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng. They were talking among each other, laughing sometimes while gossiping or listening to Wei Wuxian complaining about something ridiculous (like the weak wine).
The conference was going smoothly and they were just enjoying the good summer night after dinner. A lot of cultivators were walking around in pairs or groups.
Suddenly, loud voices came from somewhere down the path, getting their confused attention.
Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen came walking then, talking loudly about something with some disciples from each of their sect frantically trailing them. Wei Wuxian could see disciples from other sects just walking behind them (probably to get some gossip) and Lan Wangji, and tried to get his attention.
"Obviously you're wrong, Mingjue." Lan Xichen said with a chuckle "Of course, I'm the stronger between us."
"No, no, no! I'm stronger!" Nie Mingjue argued back, slurring a bit.
"Are they drunk?" Luo Qingyang asked in low voice, but no one could answer.
Lan Xichen paused, looking at the young people sitting close by and his smile widened.
"Good evening!" he said with great enthusiasm as he approached quickly "Mingjue, how about we try to see who's stronger?"
"Sure!"
"Sect leader, please...." a Nie disciple whimpered.
Nie Mingjue got behind the girls and crouched down with a gruff "excuse me" and put his hands under the bench, huffing loudly as he used all his strength to lift the bench with the girls still sitting.
"Oh, my!" Jiang Yanli yelped, holding onto Qin Su.
A silence went through the crowd as Nie Mingjue paused and then stood up, lifting the bench above his head with a yell.
The crowd, mainly the Nie disciples, screamed really loudly as Lan Xichen clapped and laughed happily.
The girls were using their sleeve to cover their face, but it was obvious they were all blushing while looking at the sect leader with wide eyes as he crouched again to put the bench down.
"Sect leader Nie is sure to capture some hearts tonight, even drunk." someone sighed.
A bubbling talk started soon after around them.
"Excuse me!" Lan Xichen suddenly said, behind the boys and just bent over to lift the stone bench with only one hand rather easily, right over his head. A smile in his face and not even a vein popping.
Wei Wuxian yelped as both him and Jiang Cheng held onto the bench tightly, his face getting pinker as quick as he was lifted.
A shocked silence went through the whole crowd.
"Sect leader Lan is stronger, indeed." someone said, perplexed, breaking the tension.
People screamed and the Lan disciples just clapped softly, not looking very impressed. Lan Wangji, in particular, remained stoic, nodding only once.
Lan Xichen put the bench down slowly and with precision, not even bending his back too much for it. Wei Wuxian was staring at him with wide eyes, open mouth and red cheeks, while Jiang Cheng looked like a kitten stuck on a tree.
Lan Wangji, who was trying to take care of his (drunk) brother all this time, looked at Wei Wuxian's expression and turned to glare at Lan Xichen.
"Xiongzhang. It's almost nine." he said almost rudely.
"You're, right, Wangji." Lan Xichen chuckled and patted both boys' heads at the same time before turning and walking away happily.
"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji called "Goodnight."
"Go-goodnight, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian answered after a moment of delay, voice soft and embarrassed.
The Lans walked away as everyone else were talked loudly between each other about what they witnessed, Nie Mingjue swaying and falling into his disciples arms.
"Jiang Cheng..." Wei Wuxian started, face even more red "Do you think Lan Zhan is stronger than his brother? I... I really wanted to see that..." his voice got softer and shy at the end.
Jiang Cheng looked at his shixiong with disgust.
57 notes
·
View notes
Lan Zhan and Wei Ying: Two people who rose above the world
“I alone could not change the world….but the world could not change me either…”
- Bad Buddy
Why am I quoting Bad Buddy for MDZS? Because this quote fits our Wei Ying and Lan Zhan perfectly. Yes, they could not change the cultivation world and its hypocrisy and classism and everything that is wrong. But they did not let the cultivation change who they are either. They always lived their lives with their principles and morals. But their journey started at two extreme ends of the spectrum that is society.
Wei Ying is a realist and very pragmatic. Wei Ying grew up in the streets. He probably saw all the depravity and the darkness the world had to offer. Later, he came to understand how people perceived him based on his servant class rather than who he was as a person. And yet, he retained his heart. He retained his kindness. He did not let circumstances change his soul. He overcame the shackles that society put on him and rose above everyone else. And this was probably why he was not very keen on these so called rules of the gentry sects. Because he had seen through the masks. He was ready to live without a golden core. But he was not ready to lead a life without his principles. A life without his morals would be a true death to Wei Ying.
[A perfect parallel here would be Meng Yao. He let his experiences change him into the very thing he probably hated once upon a time. In order to overcome his circumstances, he became “them”.]
Lan Zhan is an idealist. Lan Zhan grew up in the mountains, above the clouds. Rules were what structured his morality once. Or rather, he could not differentiate between those two. He probably did not understand the superficial righteousness of the cultivation world. That is why he could not understand that Wei Ying, a person who does not follow the rules, who is seemingly frivolous, and irreverent could be righteous. It took one war and one Wei Ying to understand that there is no utopia. And yet, he did not let this betrayal of his beliefs change him. He did not go into “seclusion”. He did not run away from reality. He rose above everything and everyone. He found conviction and belief in his own morality rather than depend on a set of rules to tell him what morality is. He is, in spirit, the truest of the Lans.
[A perfect parallel here would be Lan Xichen. Unlike Lan Zhan, he let the rules guide his morality. He would rather hide than face reality. He would rather go into “seclusion” than help change the world. He could not change the past. But he could change the future for the better. A complete opposite of Lan Zhan. Hanguang Jun could not change the past. But he did try to change the future. He showed the world what a true cultivator is. He nurtured young minds like Lan Yuan and Lan Jingyi.]
And this is why they are true equals. Their equality does not just stem from their skills, but also who they are at their very soul.
222 notes
·
View notes
Au where Lan Qiren finds out about Wei WuXian's missing golden core by accident and takes his side.
............
Lan Qiren had been hiding after being chased out of his own home by the Wen. One of the disciples had leaded him to this town in the middle of the mountains of Yiling to keep him safe, but he spended his days sunken in worry, knowing that until news of any advances against the Wens came, he would have to stay put. He was not in his best moment, so one day, disguised, he went out to the town hoping he would catch anything about the war in the markets.
Instead, he caught sight of the most unruly disciple he ever had, and he approached him instantly.
"Wei WuXian!" He murmured, knowing well where they stood, once he was close enough. The younger turned around in momentary panic, but when he recognized his master, he stood up. Lan Qiren observed him cautious, Wei WuXian seemed almost ill, barely could stand straight. He was the shadow of the disciple he had meet at Cloud recesses. Aiding him to stand by the arm, Lan Qiren couldn't help but feel his pulse. Whether he was ill or not he would know! What he didn't expect was to find that second pulse that indicated the presence of a golden core. It only took Lan Qiren a minute.
His core is gone.
"Master Lan, no..." The voice was hoarse, tired and coated in pain, gray eyes filled with tears.
"What happened?" He wished to know, not letting go of his elbow, to keep him standing. Sorrow also invaded the younger face, but he looked away.
"Not here. Not safe..." the broken boy spoke, trying to lead the older to a closer inn, but Lan Qiren decided otherwise at the sight of Wen soldiers at some distance.
He grasped the boy from behind his waist hurriedly, and helped him walk back to his hiding place, always keeping an eye on their backs. Wei WuXian has not well, he knew the moment the boy's legs tangled when he tried to walk. He was powerless and could barely stand. He didn't seemed to have eaten anything proper in a long time, too.
............
"So you gave it to Jiang WanYin." It was not a question. But nonetheless, Wei WuXian noded slowly, hearing a sigh from Lan Qiren in response.
Food had been served for him, a warm bath that had revealed his ugly scar under his sternum, almost infected due to poor care. But he couldn't do better while waiting in the streets. A Lan disciple took care of that too, and they borrowed him clean robes. He felt... like he haven't since a long time ago.
He had recited the course of events from an absent perspective, how they had ran from Lotud Pier, even if Jiang Cheng was as reluctant as himself, and how pained they were when everything happened. "It didn't felt real, sir. It still doesn't." He had said before taking a sip of tea. The fires, the smell of familiar blood mixed with the water from the piers. He was the one to blame for all that, he said too. And Lan Qiren almost broke his cup when he put it down.
"You're not the one that provoked that, Wei WuXian. The Wens would have done it under any other excuse, as they did when they destroyed Cloud recesses too." The sorrow was almost tangible in the air, both had terrible memories from the past month, both were in the same boat.
"... Lan Zhan..." He started, not sure how to phrase his words, but concearned enough to try. Lan Qiren flinched at this, but complied with an answer.
"WangJi is... he is hurt. But he will be well. I'm sure." It was not that he didn't trust his nephew, but that he knew what the Wens were capable of. Wei WuXian tried to stand back on his feets at this.
"Then we have to--"
"We have to stay put. Wei WuXian, sit." He ordered. "I understand your urgency, and I share your concerns, but there is little we can do to help in our conditions." He tried to be sensitive about the missing golden core of the younger, even if he had confessed that it had been his doing and his choice, it didn't meant that it had been without any regrets and consequences.
Unsurprisingly, Wei Ying complies. He too knows that he's bond to whatever Lan Qiren decides to do or say. He makes it easier for them, staying put and hidden.
The next morning, Lan Qiren informs him that they are due to depart to other location, since the Wen are too close, and they can't risk being discovered. So he writes a letter for Jiang Cheng and Lan Qiren assures him that it will find the Jiang heir. Strangely enough, Lan Qiren was reminding him of his Jiang Uncle, but Wei WuXian attributed that to the mere fact of being on the run during so long, and that he was the same age his younger nephew was, so maybe the old Lan found in him something familiar, too.
That was not the case, but Wei Ying could only think that was the reason when Lan Qiren words started being somehow softer towards him as the days passed by.
Wei Ying, always on guard, saved the caravan of Lans a couple of times from colliding with the Wen soldiers on the road. Each time, he was sure that Lan Qiren wouldn't listen to him, but the older Lan proved him wrong both times.
Wei Ying felt useless, but Lan Qiren was nothing but a good guide and patient with him, encouraging the younger to train and meditate all he could, insisting that he had just as many possibilities of growing out a second golden core as Wen Qing had of doing the surgery successfully. And Wei Ying wanted to believe that so hard, that he did as his Lan Xiansheng indicated.
After all, the Lan Sect was widely known for their training for growing and strengthen golden cores, above others.
Of course that Wei Ying had better days, where he would rise at five and meditate along the other Lan disciples. But just as well he had worse ones, where Lan Qiren sat at his bedside with his guquin, playing music for the mind.
Wei WuXian felt pressured under the growing shadow of the ongoing war, scared that if something happened, he would be useless and only be a rock on the way, not only of his own family, but also for who had taken him under his wings to give him protection.
His brain, just as it always had been, was restless with ideas and inventions, pushed way further from the line of "being okay" by his impatience and the clear signs thay his golden core wasn't... he would have liked to say improved, but the golden core was gone. It wasn't there. And it wasn't coming back! That was the problem. So he did with it what he could do to cope, try and be useful.
"You're plain idiotic, child. I cannot allow such thing!" Lan Qiren put his cup down as he spoke, Wei Ying huffed and insisted.
"Wen Chao has been hunting me and Jiang Cheng since the fall of Lotus Pier! It's not idiotic! It's strategy!" He complained.
Lan Qiren glared at him, but considered all the cards on the table. This idiotic child had killed the Tortoise of Slaughter, along with his own nephew, but he had come up with the plan. WangJi had told him the exact events of that day, right before the attack to their home. He had rescued Jiang Cheng from under the noses of the Wen Soldiers and Wen Chao, and had always shown great mind for strategies and inventions. Of course, he hadn't done it alone, but Lan Qiren didn't need to know that.
He wouldn't want to, but the reality was that Wei Ying's plan was not bad at all. It was just idiotic.
Wei Ying seemed to read his contempt, because he spoke again, "I just have to give a little walk around the town, show myself a bit, and I'm sure that rumors will do the trick to lure them there!"
"That could possibly work, but the danger is still there. For you above all of my disciples." Lan Qiren states, soft but stern.
"Lan Xiansheng... I am well aware of that, but I cannot possibly stay safe while everyone else is putting their lives on the line. This is our war too. I want to be of use, regardless of the risks..." he pleaded, taking a step back and ready to kneel for his words.
A hand stopped him from doing so, heaving a sigh, "Let's go over this again, will you? Exactly what town do you have in mind for this?"
And like that, the planning began. Wei WuXian told his teacher the entire plan again, and Lan Qiren spotted the weaker parts of it so that they could strengthen them and minimize the possibility of the Wen having the upper hand.
With the two, a bright mind and an experienced one, their modest caravan of cultivators lured Wen Chao to an abandoned town at the base of a mountain, and trapped them there with wards set by Lan Qiren. They had no way to send for help, nor for food or any other thing, so it was only a matter of days until their proud chins fell to the floor to pledge for their actions in exchange for water and plain rice.
This, Lan Qiren frowned upon. Using starvation as a form of coaxing the enemy... it didn't sit well with him. But Wei WuXian reminded him that given the chance, the Wen would have had them chained and tortured. Wei Ying only had to mention the state in which Lan Zhan had arrived to the indoctrination to make Lan Qiren's statements waver. In the end, they would feed them, after all. They just needed to weaken their wills and bodies enough to take them as prisoners. It was cruel, but efficient, and wasn't in the darkest side of the things done in wartime.
"Righteousness will only get us so far, sadly, Xiansheng. But a war is a war, and the information that they have can save thousands," Wei WuXian had argued, a dark face that made Lan Qiren sigh and agree.
Once the reinforcements they had sent for to Qinghe arrived, they transported their prisoners back to the Unclean realm, where Wei WuXian finally reunited with his martial siblings, and unsurprisingly, Lan Quiren's own younger nephew, who's face had lighten up like he'd finally seen the sun shining again.
At the beginning, Lan Qiren thought he finally could hand back the responsability of carrying Wei WuXian around to his new Sect Leader, the old man found that instead of hugs and a warm reception, Wei WuXian was mostly frowned upon and unfairly treated.
Mostly, it was the Jin contingent that worded harsh complains to the boy, abusing of the fact that Wei WuXian could not longer bear his sword, and then became a matter of who his parents had been.
Lan Qiren remained quiet for the first half of it all, awaiting for the Jiang Sect Leader to shut down those cruel statements, since his head disciple was more than capable independently of the presence of a golden core, or from which womb he'd been born. But as the sneers and off handed comments started to truly bear down Wei WuXian, and the Sect Leader remained quiet, Lan Qiren had had enough.
Everyone inside the war tent came to a halt, respecting the Lan elder with careful eyes. Lan Qiren walked out, calling Wei Ying to follow him, and patted the boy's shoulder when he complied quietly.
Unrestrained as he was, Wei WuXian was a wonderful young man. Smart like no other, resourceful and bright. Always upright and held his good values too. Even if he'd been though so many painful things that would have cracked even the most perfect cultivators, Wei WuXian still considered others before his own well-being. And in the few months they'd been traveling together, Lan Qiren had learned that he would not put himself first unless he was told to.
So it wasn't hard for Lan Qiren to offer him a helping hand.
"Wei Ying, come back to Gusu once everything is over. I will host you, teach you, and find a way to restore your core, or cultivate a new one."
297 notes
·
View notes