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#(he should have noticed he never sees his husband and the Yiling Patriarch at the same time)
rosethornewrites · 1 year
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1/10-1/24 T & G reading
Moving after this so may be a gap.
Finished
Teen:
Funny How the Pages Turn, by sami (16th in a series)
A-Shu is coming over to cling to Jin Chan's sleeve and seems to be genuinely distraught. "You're suppose to marry me," she insists plaintively. "I'm the sect leader's daughter."
"You're my cousin and you're eight years old," he tells her helplessly.
"That doesn't matter!"
"A-Shu, I'm sorry you were given the impression that you were going to marry A-Chan," Madam Jin says gently. "But that simply isn't an option."
In Any Time, In All Times, by mooniedees
Wei Wuxian opened his eyes to see Lan Qiren’s challenging gaze trained on him, which wouldn’t be very unusual if it weren’t for the uneasy nausea Wei Wuxian was feeling. He felt jittery and on edge, as if he should be fighting but was still, and as if there should be adrenaline running through his veins but there was not.
He had long since gotten used to the Cloud Recesses, earned his place by Lan Wangji’s side as his husband and cultivation partner, so why did he feel so out of place standing in the Lanshi, apparently having a conversation with his uncle by marriage?
Flashes of a demon gone out of control, a power that dwarfed anything he had ever seen, decimating a village, hurtling towards him as he scrambled for something, anything, that would allow at least his husband to make it out alive.
Ah.
How cruel, Wei Wuxian thought, the demon must have killed me after all.
He fixed his eyes on the goatee that he thought he would never have to see again after Lan Qiren had finally shaved it off years ago.
And sent me to my own personal hell.
Alliance, by snowberryrose
in which Jiang Yanli becomes Madam Lan
Or: Jiang Yanli saves her brothers
In Walls of Glass, by Comfect (37 chapters)
Lán Qǐrén thinks about different Lan rules when Wei Wuxian brings up resentful cultivation in class.
Everything goes better from there.
Seriously, everything.
this long and winding road, by bluecottontail (VOlympianlove), VOlympianlove
The pain took him by surprise. He had been far too focused on the yao about to take a junior disciple’s head off to notice the other coming at him.
You've Begun to Feel Like Home, by danmei_whore
"It helped that Wei Wuxian didn’t look the same as before. He was in Mo Xuanyu’s body now. Similar, in some ways, especially to those who knew Wei Wuxian in his youth, but not the same. It kept some of that old fear from resurfacing. Most of the time. There were still whispers, of course. Hushed conversations from juniors who thought no one was around, the quiet mumblings of all the crimes the Yiling Patriarch had committed. Wei Wuxian pretended not to hear."
Wei Wuxian might be back, but the Yiling Patriarch is all but gone. That is, until a strange curse changes everything...
Alternatively:
Wei Wuxian misses his old body. A strange curse gives some convient side effects when broken.
D.C. al Fine, by westiec
For a moment Lan Wangji thinks he is dead, and he is wracked with such shocking, unexpected grief that he stops breathing.
Wei Wuxian gets a second chance, just when he is least ready for it.
To Have and To Hold, Either Way is to Love Him, by Bee_Li
Wei Wuxian goes into the temple eaten by trees inhabiting Mo Xuanyu's body. He steps out in a body that many had forgotten, but Lan Wangji never would.
The Sweetest Side Of Our Choices, by Preludian_Staves
Though wary of their guests on a mountain of death, rumors are ignored when the Yiling citizens have a different reaction to their arrival.
General:
Cabbages, by dreaming of your qin (sherleigh) (10 chapters)
In which Lan Qiren gains a son-in-law.
A Creature in Need, by madwriter223
Lan Qiren never would’ve guessed that helping one little creature would result in this.
AKA
Lan Qiren finds a cat. It spirals from there.
A Grand Immortal Made Me Soup, by s6115
One thing had become incredibly clear. Wei Ying was much sicker than he had thought he was, and as a result, was now hallucinating. There was no reality where a Grand Immortal had actually shown up in his apartment, yelled at him about his shit-hole residence, and fed him soup. Absolutely in no way was a Grand Immortal in his apartment, and shitting on him for not finding a place that banned pets.
And Fate Will Give Us a Safe Place to Land, by JaimeBlue (3rd/last in a series)
Years after sneakily arranging Nie Mingjue's marriage to Lan Xichen, and Lan Wangji's marriage to Wei Wuxian, Nie Huaisang vastly overestimates his matchmaking abilities as the Jianghu heals in the wake of the Sunshot Campaign and Wen Ruohan's defeat. In his efforts to bring romantic love into his loved ones' lives, he has neglected his own - at least until his family take matters into their own hands.
Flying in silver moonlight, by twigofwillow
Wei Ying disappeared thirteen years, ten months, and two weeks ago. At any moment Lan Wangji could pull this number into his mind with no difficulty whatsoever. They were nineteen at the time, freshmen in college. Not quite friends and certainly not anything else. But Wei Ying always had a brightness to him that lit every room and then one day it was gone and Lan Wangji has never quite been able to forget him.
Thirteen years later, he accidentally finds him again.
Brand, by Shenzuul
Lan Wangji dreams of the brand seared into Wei Wuxian’s chest, sees it still smoldering, glowing hot as embers.
// Set before Wei Wuxian's death.
In Quiet Moments Such As This, by Preludian_Staves
When the noise becomes irksome, she retreats to find a quiet place.
Unfinished
Teen:
Hand in Hand Together (All Your Life), by sami
He tells his sister, "There's a little boy in Yiling with no parents and he's in trouble. We have to go and find him."
His sister smiles and says, "This is a good story, A-Cheng. Tell me more."
"It's not a story," he says. He's frustrated by his own childish petulance, but he can't seem to stop it. "I'm from the future. I know."
His sister laughs, and he glares, and then she clears her throat and stops laughing, but still has a small, indulgent smile. "Of course, A-Cheng," she says. "And what's this little boy's name?"
"Wei Ying," he says, and his sister's smile freezes. "His name is Wei Ying, and his parents are Zangse Sanren and Wei Changze, and something bad has happened to them. Wei Ying is alone in Yiling and he needs help," he insists.
Jiang Cheng starts again from the beginning.
Talking is Better than Silence, by blackcatkuroi, KuroiWrites (blackcatkuroi)
"This path harms the body. Harms the nature of one's heart even more." Lan WangJi spoke those words upon first seeing Wei Wuxian alive after the Burial Mounds, unknowing of the truth.
Wei Wuxian, though, didn't need to be told, and he accepted that he'd lost whatever he might have once had with Lan WangJi. Several nights later, in a moment of drunken weakness under the melancholic light of a full moon, he tells Lan WangJi the Truth. He'd never needed Lan WangJi to spell out his fate for him - he'd known since he walked out of the Burial Mounds alive.
But one small bit of honesty can go a long way, and Talking is far better than Silence.
A Glimpse Into the Future, by SallySPT
When Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian help save a sacred shrine in the forest outside of Caiyi town during their time at Cloud Recesses, they are gifted with two glimpses into the future. Wei Wuxian asks to see the Twin Prides of Yunmeng leading Lotus Pier. Instead of the future they expect, the two see their future selves fighting at a Cultivation Conference in Lotus Pier. Discovering this, Jiang Cheng asks to see where their relationship went wrong. The two are then shown the aftermath of the burning of Lotus Pier. Horrified at their future, the two promise to work to change their fate.
Featuring Wei Wuxian having a gay awakening upon realizing he’s married to Lan Wangji in the future.
You Double-faced Entendre, by pink-lotus-pods (Almond_Adeptus)
"Wei Wuxian! You will be charged-"
“First of all, my name is Yuandao, and second of all, you aren't a judge, but you’re the one who’s got me tied up like a chicken! Let me go, damn it, I need to get back to my chickens and my farm!” Yuandao struggled violently, but the thin, golden ropes were a lot stronger than they looked.
The man in gold on the frankly, tastelessly ostentatious throne spluttered, turning the same colour as the cauliflower that he liked to put in his stews.
“Wow. You were right, he really doesn’t remember.” A man built like a mountain whistled, his face twisted into something that looked like amusement. “Either that, or he’s a world class actor.”
“For the last time, I’m just a farmer!”
-
Or, an amnesiac Wei Wuxian wakes up, gets himself a new family and is immediately roped into a political schism, EXACTLY in that order. He is very unhappy about having his cottagecore life uprooted.
Updates are sporadic, but I am trying to keep it to once every two weeks. They will be short, since I'm trying to prevent burnout.
The Hate and Love of family, by Moonlit_dewdrops
Wei Wuxian gets sent home after the fight with Jin Zixuan. Jiang Cheng is right to have worried.
A drop in the ocean, by ibuttermybagel
“How can you still stand on your legs after all you’ve done?” the voice had his head whip up. Eyes interlocking with those of the man he called his younger brother not too long ago. Angry eyes meeting those filled with nothing but sorry. “How can you still ask to be excused after bringing pain to so many?”
(Or: The ambush on Wei Wuxian is stopped by Jin Zixuan and instead he takes all Wens and WWX back home. Wen Ning has enough and lets everyone know what he learned in drunken talks with Wei Wuxian.)
Grand Master of Rogue Cultivation, by waterphoenix21
A Wei Wuxian raises A-Yuan fic!
After Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli die a mysterious death, Wen Qing and the rest of the Wen Clan are found guilty and Wei Wuxian speaks in their defense. This naturally leads to a rift between him and Jiang Cheng.
Then one night, the last surviving member of the Wen Clan is found asleep on top of Jiang Yanli's grave. Nobody knows how or why. But feeling as if he no longer belongs to any clan, Wei Wuxian decides to raise little Wen Yuan on his own, as he sets on a path to becoming a rogue cultivator, following in his mother's footsteps and seeking to find the mystical mountain of the legendary immortal, Baoshan Sanren.
Instead, by apathyinreverie (locked to ao3 accounts only)
Wei Ying is found by someone other than Wen Chao after the Core transfer.
Or, the one where Wei Ying is never thrown into the Burial Mounds, never invents demonic cultivation. He still manages to become the lynchpin of the Sunshot Campaign anyway.
The Return of Cangse Sanren, by milesofheart
The dark figure pointed with his flute. “There’s the road. Be on your way and don’t come back.” His tone dismissed them, a threat threaded between the words.
Cangse Sanren was not often afraid. She had been afraid as a child on the street, before she was found by Baoshan Sanren. She was afraid when the spider demon cornered them earlier that night, and she thought she would never see her baby boy again. She wondered vaguely if she should be afraid now.
But mostly she was just irritated.
She started to yell back at him, but lightning flashed, illuminating the people on horseback: elderly, bloody and bruised, in torn robes of sun and flames. As the lightning lit up all of their faces, the flutist’s cruel expression suddenly dropped, and his eyes went wide.
When he didn’t look so vicious, he was quite handsome. Maybe even vaguely familiar, somehow.
---
(Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze return from a near-lethal nighthunt in Yiling, eager to pick up their young son from the inn and be on their way to the next town. But when they run into a dark figure with a red-tasseled flute and glowing red eyes, it soon becomes apparent that something has gone terribly wrong.)
breathtaking, by wangxian_squash
Lan Wangji dies after Wei Wuxian’s defeat from a mix of his wounds and heartbreak. He is surprised when he finds out that that isn’t the end of his story, that he seemingly has been given another chance.
(Or, when he time-travels back to their time in Xuanwu of Slaughter Cave, he is determined to make things right this time around)
General:
life in love's exchange, by stiltonbasket
“Do you think I don’t want to marry you?”
“You’re not in love with me,” Nie Mingjue says, pointing out the obvious. “Why would you want to?”
“You have been my dearest friend since before we both laid eyes on our little brothers,” Xichen smiles, leaning over to kiss his forehead. “There is no one closer in my heart, and that will never change; so if I must marry now, whom could it be but you?”
Jin Guangshan shows his hand too soon in the aftermath of the Sunshot Campaign.
Luckily for everyone else, Nie Huaisang plays to win.
Pulled Against the Grain, by youleeyeah
“We found him walking injured just outside the Jingshi. He said-” Sizhui paused for a moment and then lowered his voice before continuing, “he said it was Young Master Jin who did this.” The boy couldn't look into Lan Wangji’s eyes as he spoke and turned his head to the side.
“You know,” Wei Wuxian started again after the pain subsided a tiny amount, “if I had my old body, I could've had intestines falling out of my gut and I’d still be able to fight for a few more hours.”
Lan Wangji furrowed his brows.
He has heard this before.
-----
Wei Wuxian wakes up in Gusu with a fresh stab wound he claimed was caused by Jin Ling. Lan Wangji is confused because the last time that happened was three years ago. Something is wrong with Wei Wuxian.
Friendship Is A Saw Worth Keeping, by DevieKlutz
Lan Wangji has a quiet life full of routine and he is content with that until a loud, chaotic new neighbor starts borrowing his things, using power tools at inexplicable times, and doing all the things Lan Wangji always thought would annoy him. He IS annoyed. That's definitely why his heart rate always escalates when he sees his new neighbor. That's the only reason.
He is wrong of course.
Happy Ending, by pinkychan
After eloping with Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian is living his best life, because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true... excetp when it doesn't.
OR
Don’t Think About the White Bear [your past life]
Contrapuntal, by WithBroomBefore
In which Wei Wuxian is cast back in time to the school at Cloud Recesses instead of falling to his death. Everyone is very confused and upset. Wen Qing fixes things.
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maedre13 · 3 years
Text
The Untamed prompt
Like all recognized cultivists, Lan Zhan agrees that vigilantes should not join their fight against ghosts, ghouls and other evil. Their unregulated fighting methods pose a danger, both to them and the people they are trying to protect. It’s unfortunate, really, that the Yiling Patriarch has never cared about rules at all.
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ibijau · 3 years
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27 for chengxian! (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤
(Losing their memory only to have it come back after a much awaited true love’s kiss.)
Y'all really like that prompt lol I think I have at least one more ask for that one somewhere?
“And he’s been like this the whole time?” Jiang Cheng asked, repressing a shiver of disgust.
“Yes, zongzhu.”
“He didn’t even make a single inappropriate joke?”
“Not so much as a smile, zongzhu. And he said he was sorry for the inconvenience.”
Jiang Cheng gave Wei Wuxian another long look. He would have suspected a joke, but that style of humour would have more been Nie Huaisang’s thing. Wei Wuxian usually went for pranks instead of comedy. Besides, several Jiang disciples had been there when Wei Wuxian had taken in hand the cursed box, and they’d all testified to feeling a powerful discharge of Yin energy. Not only that, but the owner of the box had apparently warned them beforehand of the risk, and explained as well how to cure the curse.
True love’s kiss, of all things.
Normally, when it came to Wei Wuxian, that would have been quite an easy cure to organise. If anything, it was preventing him from indulging in those true love’s kisses that proved a challenge.
So of course this whole mess had to happen when, for once, Jiang Cheng had managed to get his shixiong to come without that damn icicle he called a husband. A favour he had only obtained because Lan Wangji was away on a Night Hunt in a place where resentment toward the feared Yiling patriarch remained too great for Wei Wuxian to go with him. It would take a few days until Lan Wangji could be warned of this incident and returned to administer his cure.
Until then, Jiang Cheng was stuck with this stranger who didn’t look like his shixiong, and didn’t even act like him either.
“At least it’s an improvement over his normal personality,” his first disciple scoffed. “Let’s all enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Am I really that bad?” Wei Wuxian asked with open concern. “If it is inconvenient for others when I am myself, perhaps I’d better stay like this.”
Jiang Cheng huffed. Lan Wangji would never have allowed that, he knew. Someone in that marriage needed to have a personality, and it wasn’t going to be the second jade of Gusu Lan. Although perhaps if they were both equally boring, then perhaps there would be a divorce, and Jiang Cheng could get his shixiong back.
A most tempting plan, except for the fact that this man before him just wasn’t Wei Wuxian, and thus wasn’t worth keeping around.
“Send for Lan Wangji,” Jiang Cheng reluctantly ordered. “And you, come with me,” he added toward Wei Wuxian. “I’m not letting you sleep at some inn when you’re in that state. I’ll have your room prepared, you’re staying where I can see you until you’re better.”
The man who wasn’t Wei Wuxian meekly followed him without a single objection, nor any attempt at teasing. Jiang Cheng found it almost sickening, which surprised him. He’d spent most of his life wishing Wei Wuxian would learn to act more appropriately and to show proper deference to those around him. By all accounts, this should have pleased Jiang Cheng to finally behold a version of his shixiong that knew his place.
He refused to dwell on that, mostly because it never did him good to think too long about that insufferable shixiong of his. Instead, Jiang Cheng congratulated himself on his decision to have had a room prepared for Wei Wuxian the instant he’d heard Lan Wangji wasn’t with him. If he wasn’t going to have shameless intercourse during the whole night, there was no need to banish Wei Wuxian to an inn. Of course Jiang Cheng hadn’t been sure how to offer that bedroom to the other man without being accused of being friendly, so at least one positive side to that curse had been to remove the need for an explanation.
-
After a few days together, Jiang Cheng had determined that being stuck with that unnatural version of Wei Wuxian was the worst torture he’d ever endured, even counting being struck by discipline whips and having his golden core torn from him.
Now that he’d had time to observe the amnesiac man during the afternoon and at dinner, Jiang Cheng had realised that contrary to his first impression, something of Wei Wuxian remained through the loss of memory. It was only small things, a manner of movement, the way he held his glass of tea, or the gesture with which he sprinkled additional spices over his dinner without even tasting it. A hundred ghosts of who Wei Wuxian was, lingering in a man who had too much politeness and not enough humour.
It was striking also to realise just how little Wei Wuxian looked like himself in his current body. Usually it wasn’t noticeable because his personality made up for the difference, but at the moment he truly looked like nothing but a complete stranger wearing a disguise.
Jiang Cheng hated it.
And Wei Wuxian, apparently, noticed it.
“If you tell me more about what I’m normally like, I can try to act more like it,” he said in a forlorn voice on the fourth afternoon, while watching Jiang Cheng take care of his correspondence.
Jiang Cheng only grunted.
“Though from what everyone says, aren’t I more pleasant to have around like this?”
Another grunt. Others were idiots for not appreciating Wei Wuxian as he naturally behaved, while Jiang Cheng was equally stupid for missing it.
“Just tell me what to do,” Wei Wuxian insisted, and Jiang Cheng hated that those were words he’d always wished to hear but now felt so wrong. “Should I smile? Should I be…” he hesitated. “Should I be obnoxious?” he asked in a trembling voice, just pathetic enough that in a roundabout way, it did sound like something Wei Wuxian might say if he were joking.
Jiang Cheng, exhausted and on edge, almost laughed.
Sadly Wei Wuxian noticed, and took it as encouragement.
“I think I can do that,” he claimed, coming to sit closer until he was nearly on Jiang Cheng’s lap.
That, too, felt a little too much like the real Wei Wuxian, though normally he kept that sort of behaviour for Lan Wangji.
Well perhaps that damn icicle liked being climbed over, but Jiang Cheng did not. Not at all, not one bit, that scenario had never once appeared in his dreams, when his mind thought it could betray his good sense. So Jiang Cheng tried to push away Wei Wuxian, who quickly threw his arms around Jiang Cheng’s neck to make it harder.
“Isn’t this the sort of things I’d do?” Wei Wuxian pleaded, pressing himself harder against Jiang Cheng the more his shidi tried to get rid of him, until he was all but straddling him. “I’ve heard people say I’m flirty.”
“Yes, toward your husband!”
“Well, I don’t know him. But I know you. You’ve been kind to me those few days, even when it was obvious that you don’t like seeing me like this. You shout a lot, but I think you’re a very good person at heart.”
“I’ve tried to kill you in the past,” Jiang Cheng blurted, though he gave up on trying to push Wei Wuxian away. “More than once.”
“From what I’ve heard, you’re hardly the only one.”
Two thoughts crossed Jiang Cheng’s mind.
The first was that he might have to borrow some ideas and forbid gossip in the Lotus Pier, if Wei Wuxian had heard so much in so little time.
The second was that he probably ought to hate a little more the way Wei Wuxian was straddling him, and how close he was. Close enough that if someone were to come in, they’d get the wrong idea and think they were about to…
Jiang Cheng’s eyes flickered to Wei Wuxian’s lips. He wondered, and then mentally slapped himself for wondering.
“The cure is a true love’s kiss, isn’t it?” Wei Wuxian asked in a whisper.
“Your damn true love is going to arrive tonight or tomorrow,” Jiang Cheng retorted in a voice that failed to be anything but pleading. “Wait for him instead of playing games.”
“If I wait for him, I’ll never be sure about you,” came the answer, before Wei Wuxian pressed their lips together.
Jiang Cheng, at first, merely allowed it to happen, unsure what to do with his hands, with his mouth even. Wei Wuxian appeared to understand and, without breaking the kiss, placed Jiang Cheng’s hands on his hips while also moving his lips in a gentle manner, as if trying to show him what to do.
When they parted, Wei Wuxian’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes shining with emotion. Then, slowly, his lips parted into the most obnoxious grin in the world, one that Jiang Cheng hadn’t seen once in those last few days.
“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian laughed, his voice just as annoying as ever. “Jiang Cheng, who knew!”
“Shut up! Get off my lap now that you’re cured!”
Wei Wuxian laughed again, sounding like a demented wolf, and Jiang Cheng hated how much he had missed that.
“Jiang Cheng, don’t pretend, I know you care, you can’t hide it anymore!”
“Who’d care for an asshole like you!” Jiang Cheng exploded, trying again to push away the other man, only for Wei Wuxian to laugh and press another quick kiss to his lips.
“Look at you, all embarrassed! Jiang Cheng, you’re an idiot, you know.”
“I’ll murder you!”
“Been there, done that,” Wei Wuxian retorted with another kiss. “Now listen. The cure was true love’s kiss, not ‘somewhat unrequited long lasting crush kiss’, alright?”
Jiang Cheng stopped fighting instantly, thus giving Wei Wuxian the chance to kiss him again, a little longer this time. Without any input from his brain, Jiang Cheng’s hands found their way to the other man’s hips, this time pulling him closer.
“What about your Hanguang-Jun then?” Jiang Cheng breathlessly asked when they parted. “Does that mean he’s…”
“I’m a very spoiled man,” Wei Wuxian said. “I can have two true loves, to make up for the fact that they’re both absolute bitches.”
The idea of sharing Wei Wuxian, now that Jiang Cheng knew he could have him, was particularly unpleasant. The only thing that would make it bearable, Jiang Cheng decided, was the certainty that Lan Wangji would be appalled that they had anything in common.
Happy with this petty thought, Jiang Cheng kissed Wei Wuxian again.
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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years
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Prompt: a continuation of you NMJ/WWX ficlet. LWJ chaperones their courtship meetings while desperately pining, torn between proposing to WWX himself and not wanting to jeopardize WWX and the Wen's chance for safety. Either NHS or NMJ are well aware of his crush. Thank you for writing for this rarepair! I love all your stuff
continuation of this fic
Lan Wangji knew that duty sometimes – often, even – called for sacrifice. Personal sacrifice. It was something he had long ago accepted: to be good, sometimes one had to suffer.
And oh – how he was suffering.
He’d been at Qinghe when Jiang Cheng had arrived with his proposal, visiting alongside his brother in a way he tended not to do if the visits were to Koi Tower instead of the Unclean Realm; he’d waited outside while they’d had a discussion between sect leaders, more than happy to absent himself from the trouble –
His brother had explained it all, after, and had asked him if he would consider acting as a chaperone.
A chaperone to Wei Wuxian, who would be marrying – Nie Mingjue.
“He’s not a cutsleeve,” Lan Wangji had blurted out, then checked; the expression of those around him indicated that his tone had remained indifferent and above it all, stating a mere fact that didn’t relate to him, and only his brother’s eyes started to widen a little.
His brother had always understood him too well.
“He’s not not a cutsleeve, anyway,” Jiang Cheng had said with a shrug. “He indicated he was willing – and it’s better than the alternative. My Jiang Sect can’t defend him right now…it would be very good if you would agree to be chaperone, Hanguang-jun. Not only is your reputation flawless, you would add the implicit support of the Lan sect; it would give it additional legitimacy.”
“I’m not sure –” Lan Xichen had started to say, but Lan Wangji had known that he was only refusing because he’d just realized that Lan Wangji wouldn’t be happy to see Wei Wuxian marry another, that he’d wanted – that he’d –
“I’d be happy to go,” Lan Wangji had said at once.
“I wouldn’t have anyone else,” Nie Mingjue had said, and that had been that, no matter how Lan Xichen tried to talk to him about it later.
He hadn’t wanted to talk.
There was nothing to talk about. The Lan sect was still rebuilding the Cloud Recesses – they, like the Jiang Sect, couldn’t afford to shield someone so inconvenient as Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch.
Inconvenient. It was a good word for Wei Wuxian: he was very inconvenient. Inconveniently appearing in Lan Wangji’s thoughts, in his dreams, in his heart –
It didn’t matter. The Lan sect couldn’t stand against the entire cultivation world for him, and so even if Lan Wangji were willing to do so, it wasn’t a good match. And that was that.
And now he was here, at Yiling, and Wei Wuxian kept talking about it.
About – him.
Nie Mingjue.
Lan Wangji sincerely respected the man: he was a brilliant cultivator, an awe-inspiring swordsman, an effective and admired sect leader, a just and upright man with solid principles that he never backed down from. He was skilled in virtually all of the six arts – music excluded, as he couldn’t play an instrument to save his life, but it really wasn’t fair to hold being born half-tone-deaf against him.
Wei Wuxian didn’t talk about any of that. No. That would be too easy – Lan Wangji would agree with him, and that would be fine.
No, what Wei Wuxian wanted to talk about, apparently, was the man’s body.
“– and his arms. Did you see his arms?”
“En.” Lan Wangji hoped his admission that he had, in fact, observed that Nie Mingjue had arms would be enough to forestall Wei Wuxian.
It was not.
“Magnificent, aren’t they? Big as a tree branch. He went out for saber training earlier in that outfit, didn’t he, the tight one without armor to cover them up; maybe he’ll swing by this way on his way back and we’ll see them again…”
Lan Wangji wanted to die.
“I never knew I liked arms so much before, you know? I’ve only been noticing lately – you have excellent arms yourself, actually – huh! These robes really cover a lot, don’t they? But in fact your arms are quite sturdy –”
Wei Wuxian was touching him. Lan Wangji pulled away as quickly as he could, which was probably not as quickly as someone else could.
“Oh, Lan Zhan, why do you always ruin my fun? It wasn’t as if I was stripping you down, I was just feeling them through the robes; even you can’t object…object to…”
Wei Wuxian trailed off, staring at something over Lan Wangji’s shoulder.
Lan Wangji turned.
Nie Mingjue had, in fact, taken this route back from his training. However, he was no longer wearing the tight robes – old ones, clearly designed for use during training – and was, in fact, not wearing anything on the top half of his body at all, the robes bunched up on his arm and clearly messy with mud and dirt; someone must have played a prank or something, to judge by the irritated look on his face.
Not that Lan Wangji was spending a lot of time looking at the man’s face.
Not when there was so much else to look at: sloped shoulders, a collarbone, rich supple flesh glistening with the slightest sheen of sweat –
Wei Wuxian was right about Nie Mingjue’s body being very nice, he found himself thinking to his horror – why was he thinking about this, he’d gotten over this years ago – and he shook his head and turned back to Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian, who was staring at him with a growing grin.
That was not good.
“You like him!” Wei Wuxian declared and no, no, this was not happening. “You think he’s attractive.”
“No,” Lan Wangji said firmly, and sat down, determined to ignore Wei Wuxian.
Predictably, it went about as well as any of his previous resolutions to ignore Wei Wuxian.
“How long has this been going on? When did you first start noticing him?”
“No.”
“Tell me! When did it start? How long has this gone on?”
I was six, he picked me up with one arm and told me I was a good boy and later that night I asked Brother if I could marry him and Brother thought I was joking but I wasn’t and then when I got older I had spring dreams about him right up until I met you.
“No,” Lan Wangji said again.
“‘No’ isn’t ‘I don’t’,” Wei Wuxian crowed, far too delighted by this revelation of Lan Wangji’s inappropriate interest in Wei Wuxian’s future husband. “You have to tell me, please. I’m dying of curiosity. You of all people had a crush! On Nie Mingjue! I have to know everything! Please, you have to tell me, I’ll do anything!”
“What is anything?” Lan Wangji asked, because his voice was a traitor that did things without consulting his mind, and anyway this would be just like that time in the cold spring where Wei Wuxian had offered him ‘benefits’ and it turned out he meant that he’d introduce him to girls…
The next thing Lan Wangji knew, Wei Wuxian had thrown himself into his arms, disregarding all propriety. “I don’t have anything you want,” he wailed, and that was the most wrong thing that had ever come out of Wei Wuxian’s mouth. “You have to give me a hint, I can’t live without knowing, Lan Zhan…!”
That, of course, was when Nie Mingjue walked in.
Lan Wangji froze at once. This was horrifically inappropriate – not merely as a breach of etiquette, but of principle. He’d known from the beginning that he was the wrong man to stand chaperone for Wei Wuxian, but he’d agreed regardless, thinking that he could force himself to be righteous; he’d even convinced Lan Xichen that it would be better for him to feel the sting of the loss all at once, from close by. And what was he doing instead?
Allowing Wei Wuxian to clamber all over his lap as if he were an especially affectionate monkey.
In front of his future husband.
He opened his mouth to say – something. Anything.
Nothing came to mind.
“Huh,” Nie Mingjue said, his voice low and amused. “Huaisang has been handling the details of all of this, but he really should have mentioned it if I was going to be marrying both of you.”
Lan Wangji blinked.
“…no?” he said. It was both hesitant and a question, neither of which he meant for it to be.
“I think you mean yes,” Wei Wuxian said, looking as though it were his birthday and New Years all at once and he’d just been given every present he’d ever dreamt of as a child. Lan Wangji could very nearly sympathize with the feeling. “That’s a wonderful idea!”
It was a terrible idea.
For…reasons.
None of which were coming to mind right now, but Lan Wangji was certain they existed.
Didn’t they?
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alice-in-wonderart · 4 years
Note
Can I request a pregnancy hcs for Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen, Wei WuXian, Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen? Thank you!!!
Hello, hello, dear. These turned out a tad shorter, since it's 5 characters, (and pregnancy is Xtreme to write) but regardless - I hope you enjoy ❤️ One fluffy request coming right up~
Lan Wangji
"I'm pregnant" "Mn"
It's not like he isn't happy, he just needs some time to realise what you've just told him. And boy oh boy, does he realise it.
*cue smol content smile*
Lan Wangji has already taken care of a child, he raised Lan Yuan. But a baby? That would be a novelty to him for sure. But a novelty he's more than ready for. Even if he doesn't think so.
Despite that, he'd take great measures to make sure he'll be the best father possible.
His excitement would be hidden, but fully noticeable to you. His eyes would sparkle more, he'd generally appear more relaxed, he'd spend more time with you. (as much as possible, that is) The only other person who'd see the excitement in his icy stare would be Lan Xichen, who'd be the second to learn of the pregnancy, right after LWJ.
Now, he isn't the #DreamHusband™️ without a reason. He'd be fully prepared with anything you might need during those 9 months. He'd talk to his brother, albeit reluctantly, for any advice on how to deal with any side effects of the pregnancy, so he could make sure you are heathy and happy.
He'd silently watch over you, always making sure you are not in harm's way. His cold glares would double towards anybody who'd dare approach you about anything, outside of Lan Xichen, Wei Wuxian and Lan Sizhui.
He wouldn't necessarily stop you from going anywhere, although he'd want to but rather - he'd just tag along. You want to go down town? He'd escort you. Want to cook something? He'll help. Oh look, a puppy! Protective husband mode - on.
Sometimes, before the two of you go to sleep, he'd lay a strong hand over your stomach, gently rubbing your skin, basking in the joy, that you are carrying his child - the product of your love. And should the baby kick? A surprised, almost mute yelp would escape his thin lips, before he'd move to leave a gentle kiss on your stomach.
He never thought, never even imagined, that one day he'd have a family of his own, with a wonderful wife right next to him, and a child to call him papa. He didn't even so much as thought he could have one of those "happy endings". It seemed such distant a future, almost as if it was make-belief. Yet during those rare moments in the dead of night, he'd think, that perhaps a happy ending is possible. Perhaps he'd get to experience that normal, domestic lifestyle loving families have. And then sleep would come a little easier, knowing you'll stay by his side until the very end.
Lan Xichen
"Oh?"
What wonderful news! He'd be the most calm and collected out of everybody. He'd hug you, pouring all of his love into the hug, promising to be by your side until the very end, that he'll try his best to be a good father, to take care of you and your child and to love you unconditionally. (which he already does)
The two of you decided not to tell everybody just yet. It would be while before it became noticeable, so you decided to keep it to yourself to avoid unnecessary attention and possible bad omens or whatever. The only person who'd know would be Lan Wangji.
At first glance, nothing much would change. He'd still have responsibilities to get to, he'd still be your loving, kind, compassionate husband.
But every time he is left alone, his mind would immediately travel to you. In fact, such occurrences would begin happening while he's presumably busy too. Zoning out and day dreaming while working were pretty uncommon for Lan Xichen, yet the constant thought of you and your well-being would cloud his vision.
That, in turn, would be a dead giveaway that something was happening in his more personal life. The first to address this would be none other than Wei Wuxian, who'd turn to LWJ. Slowly but surely, more people would begin noticing the slight, yet unusual changes in Lan Xichen. He'd leave a little earlier, reply a little later and he could be spotted with you every second away from work.
When you decided to finally announce the pregnancy, a collective "I knew it" would be all but the response you'd expect.
Behind closed doors, he'd be so sweet and affectionate with you. And don't get me started on how much he'd play music to the baby you. He'd want your child to grow up with music, which included singing and playing different instruments around you before it was even born. And you wouldn't really mind - after all, Lan Xichen's music rivalled the gods' voices, or so it was said.
In fact, with time you'd realise, that your child would indeed react to his music. If the baby was exceptionally wild, kicking and moving around, Lan Xichen's calm melodies would put it at rest. (had this happen to a friend, it was crazy) Even his voice would act as a natural lullaby to the baby.
And you already knew, that the child would grow up to fall in love with music, just like his father.
Wei Wuxian
"Wait what? Really???"
*Happy pterodactyl noises*
The happiness. The joy. The love. The pride. Wei Wuxian would be beyond ecstatic! He'd be on cloud nine the moment your announcement hit his ears. He'd have the most OVER-THE-TOP MELODRAMATIC reaction to your pregnancy imaginable.
Imagine a tsunami. Now replace the water with joy. This is how EXTREME his happiNESS IS.
But then, he'd sit down and talk to you about it properly, about how this baby would change your life together, what you'd need to do, how you'd do it. Together you'd figure out your future, as much as possible that is.
He'd make sure both you and the baby would be well taken care of, well-fed, living a nice, domestic life. He knew poverty, famine and sickness. They were his old friends. He knew what is was like growing up without much on your plate. He knew of every struggle imaginable, which came with being less fortunate, so he'd be ready to do absolutely everything to provide for you.
Once he settled down, believing he's planned ahead well, the realization would finally kick in - Wei Ying, The Yiling Patriarch, Founder of Demonic Cultivation and the pinnacle of darkness and despair, was about to be a father. And with that came in the insecurities. He'd constantly worry whether he'd be a good father, whether he'd set a good example, whether his reputation would ruin his child's life. He knew how judgemental society is, how quick it is to draw conclusions and ostracise those, who stood out. In those moments you'd have to remind him of how far he's come and how much farther you'll go together - as a family.
And a family he's wanted all of his life.
He's had some practice when it comes to kids. After all, for a brief moment he'd taken care of little A-Yuan. But then again, he was already old enough to speak, talk and think completely on his own. Wei Wuxian had never had the chance to actually take care of a baby, a newborn. That thought both terrified and thrilled him.
He'd be quick to announce of the pregnancy to all of his closest friends, but try to avoid spreading the news. Even though he was no longer considered the villain™️, you can never know who's scheming from within the shadows. With that in mind, the Twin Jades, Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang, Wen Ning and the Juniors would be the ones he'd excitedly inform. Soon he was going to have his own progeny! Would it be a strong, fearless handsome boy like its father, or an intelligent, masterfully cunning and dangerously beautiful girl like its mother? Stay tuned to find out!
And boy, would he celebrate the pregnancy! You'd almost make him quit drinking just to sympathise with you. Almost.
Xiao Xingchen
"We're going to have a family? Together?"
Words wouldn't be enough to describe what he'd feel. Fleeting worry in between bouts of utter elation and delight, mixed with a hint of surprise and a whole lot of internally sappy thoughts occupied his better judgement. He'd pull you in for a gentle hug, before moving to rest a hand on your head, stroking your hair, whispering lovingly how delightful a family with you would be and how he couldn't wait to meet his child.
He'd want to teach his child everything he knows, everything he was taught and everything he believes in. You'd have to remind him, that there's still much time to go before he'd have a chance to do that. A toddler can only do so much, you see.
Of course, the question about his endless travels would come up eventually. Truthfully, Xiao Xingchen would be more than willing to set his travelling aside for the time being, at least until your child is old enough to travel with you. In fact, a domestic family lifestyle suddenly wouldn't seem so out-of-reach for him and that would bring him utter delight.
The thought of a having his own loving family with a wonderful wife and adorable children had rarely crossed his mind, seeming as nothing more than a distant thought. But as you stood beside him, with a small baby bump and a child on the way, he'd realise that indeed the gods had smiled his way in the best possible way.
He'd often rest his hands on your stomach, wanting to feel the baby kick. Of course, he'd also use that excuse to be ever-closer to you. Physical affection would double, as Xiao Xingxhen found himself attached to you whenever any of you had time.
You two would often joke around about the baby too, since laughter was something sacred to both of you. And Xiao Xingchen would absolutely never fail to make you laugh, whenever worry would overcome you.
" Maybe our child will be as tall as a giraffe" "A-Chen, my love, it's 3 in the morning. Go to SLEEP."
He'd never taken care of a child before, hell you were his first love, but you'd seen him around kids when passing through different villages. His caring nature and innocent heart made him a wonderful father.
He'd never expected to one day have a family, but the very thought that you were there and you were carrying his child, would make his heart swell with pride and love. After all, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Song Lan
"..."
Tall, dark and handsome over here would be utterly starstuck. He never thought he'd get to a point in his life, where he'd actually become a father. He never thought he'd have children, who would become his legacy. And as all that raced through his head, worry swept over him. Did YOU want that?
"Are you happy...we're having a baby?" The first words he'd utter.
"Of course! Are you not?"
The moment he sees your worried expression, his eyes would soften and he'd pull you in, leaving a kiss on the top of your head. "I am surprised, worried, yet thoroughly overjoyed." he'd mumble into your hair and the world around you would melt away.
Song Lan is a man of a few words, but many actions. He'd become twice as protective, keeping a steady hand on your shoulder as you walked thorough town, going out of his way to make sure you're comfortable and content, safe and sound, and of course happy.
He'd try his best to spoil you, getting you absolutely everything you might want or need. He'd even cook for you! He'd put you as his number one priority. After all, you were all he had left.
Would he silently panic whenever your stomach hurt, or you were feeling sick, or just in general felt any discomfort? Yes. Has he read a ton about pregnancy to make sure he was prepared for anything? Yes. Did he imagine every worst-case scenario in existence? Yes. Did any of that happen whatsoever? No. But Song Lan - big scary, dark and broody Song Lan, would absolutely cower at the thought that something so much as MIGHT go wrong. Of course, he wouldn't show it.
Well into the later stages of the pregnancy, he'd try to spend as much time with you as possible, to make sure he was there when the baby was going to be born. You'd already have a few names planned out, no matter the gender. The two of you would be READY. Hands down the most prepared.
He'd often lie with you, imagining what it would be like, being a father. He'd wonder whether you'd have a girl or a boy, whether it would resemble you or him more, whether it would be quiet and stone-faced, or kind-hearted and cheerful. And your answer to all of his what ifs would remain the same. "We're about to find out."
And those exact words would make his heart swell, both with love and anticipation. Of course, he wouldn't show it. But you knew better.
Thank you for reading~
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aurora077 · 3 years
Text
The Irwin Agenda Chapter 1
Summary:
Lan Wangji is pleased that his brother and Wei Ying seem to be getting along like a house on fire. Lan Xichen is most grateful for Master Wei’s help. Lan Qiren is just happy that for once it seems like Wei Wuxian is keeping out of trouble and is optimistic that Gusu Lan has finally managed to tame the beast. Unfortunately, he should have learned not to count his chickens before they hatched… and he really should have been focusing on taming a very different sort of beast. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13942581/1/The-Irwin-Agenda
Chapter 1 - Lan Xichen starts a project.
Disclaimer: I do not own MDZS/The Untamed.
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“Ah Wangji, there you are.”
“Xiongzhang. 😲 What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
“No no, nothing at all other than, you know, the obvious. I’m sure you don’t need to hear all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down.”
“What?”
“Nevermind.”
He cleared his throat, “Anyway I really came here to look for Wei Wuxian.”
Wangji blinked, indicating surprise.
“What does brother need with Wei Ying?”
“Hmm let’s just say I need his… expertise.”
Wangji’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “Brother isn’t thinking of….”
“Don’t be silly Wangji. I would never.” He’d leave the demonic cultivation and zombie best friends to Wei Wuxian, thank you very much. No, Lan Xichen needed him for a different type of expertise.
“Sect Leader Jiang visited the other day with Sect Leader Jin. He mentioned something to me and I need Wei Wuxian’s expert opinion.”
“You saw Sect Leader Jiang?” Wangji said, surprised once more.
“Indeed. We had tea while the kids were out doing whatever kids do when the adults aren’t watching. ” Technically they were young adults but, semantics.
Wangji’s mouth pursed slightly. He always looked like he’d bitten into a lemon whenever Sect Leader Jiang was mentioned (or present).
“Does Jiang Wanyin not know that brother is in seclusion?”
He frowned, “Wangji, you may not like him, but he is a sect leader. You ought to show due courtesy. Besides, I invited him.”
Lan Wangji was stunned. Why would his brother, who made it a point these days to avoid as many people as possible, take time from seclusion to have tea with Jiang Wanyin? He knew Xichen wasn’t in full seclusion, he’d come out for the banquet and other events important to the clan, but on a day to day basis the seclusion still stood. Which was why he was surprised Xichen was in the Jingshi to begin with, let alone looking for Wei Ying. Now he hears he’s been having tea with Wei Ying’s insufferable ex-shidi? What was the world coming to?
“Don’t look at me like that,” said Lan Xichen, “I’m perfectly capable of taking guests if I want to. And not all of us share your feelings about Sect Leader Jiang.”
Well, he could acknowledge that as true so he said nothing.
“Anyway, do you know where I might find Wei Wuxian?” continued Lan Xichen.
“Wei Ying is probably with the rabbits,” answered Lan Wangji. It was normal when he was busy with paperwork that Wei Ying would find other ways to amuse himself. The juniors were away on a night-hunt so the next best bet was the rabbits as Wei Ying was not currently occupied with any inventions.
“Thank you Wangji, I’ll see myself out.”
------------
Wei Wuxian was indeed with the rabbits. His stubborn donkey was unhappily chewing at a patch of grass next to him while the rabbits cowered away from the both of them.
He perked up upon spotting Lan Xichen. “Brother in law, what brings you here!”
“Well,” he said amused, “I might be here to relieve your boredom.”
Wei Wuxian sprung up excitedly. “What do you have planned?”
“A-Yuan said that you once managed to raise lotuses in the Burial Mounds.” “Yes, did you want me to help you grow some here?” It would make sense that Lan Xichen needed his help. Neither the Burial Mounds nor Cloud Recesses had the right environment for lotuses to grow. What Wei Wuxian did was ingenious and altogether unheard of. The Burial Mounds was inhospitable to life in general although, even if it wasn’t, lotuses wouldn’t have grown there; but Wei Wuxian made it happen. He could certainly make it happen here too in the cold, mountainous Cloud Recesses.
“Well you’re on the right track! But...not exactly, ” said Lan Xichen.
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“Right well, I understand what it is you mean now,” said Wei Wuxian. He inspected the drawing. Lan Xichen had worked diligently to capture what he envisioned on paper. The problem now was making it happen.
“Do you have a place where we could do this?” enquired Wei Wuxian. He was so intrigued. If he could pull this off he would be impressed with himself. It would take a large area and it would be a lot of hard work.
“Yes, I believe I do. The back of the Hanshi has a lot of forest. I was thinking I could clear a big enough space. Nothing will go to waste either because we can use the wood from the trees to fence off the area.”
“Great,” Wei Wuxian said, clapping his hands decisively, “Let’s get to work then!”
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Lan Qiren was pleased. It had been a whole five months since Wei Wuxian had caused any sort of disturbance. And he was actually rising in the morning with the Lans now! And eating their food! Wonder of wonders!
He still was unabashedly clingy towards Lan Wangji but that made Wangji happy so, as much as it irked Lan Qiren to see their shameless displays, he would tolerate it...as long as the other rules were followed.
Lan Qiren always suspected his nephew was slipping alcohol to Wei Wuxian, though he could never prove it, but these days it appeared that Wei Wuxian was surprisingly sober most of the time. Lan Qiren didn’t even get a whiff of alcohol! For the first few weeks of this newfound adherence to the rules he was in a state of heightened panic. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with each day that passed without any of Wei Wuxian’s shenanigans. But as the days went by he started to relax.
He attributed this change of behaviour to his first nephew, who Wei Wuxian had been spending a lot of time with lately. Wangji was blinded by love and so he indulged Wei Wuxian too much, but Xichen had a clear head. He must be acting as a good influence on Wei Wuxian. He hoped this behaviour continued. It was a sign that finally, finally his days of peace might return permanently.
Xichen was interacting with people again (well, only his immediate family and for some reason, Sect Leaders Jiang and Jin… but still, it was more progress than some people made in an entire lifetime --looking at you Qingheng-Jun 😒-- and no, he was not bitter at all, whatever would give you that idea?). Wangji  seemed happy in general (as opposed to him moping around for the past 13 years in mourning clothes). And Wei Wuxian, that feral little gremlin, was actually following the rules!
Oh happy day!
He went to class with a pep in his step.
His students were noticeably happier as well because Lan Qiren in a good mood could only benefit them. He even removed the no interacting with Wei Wuxian rule from the wall, which is the one most of them broke constantly! The students rejoiced. Things were peaceful in the Cloud Recesses. Life was good.
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Lan Wangji was a happy man. He was married to the love of his life. His brother was getting better day by day, and got along well with his husband. And his uncle seemed like he’d finally come around to Wei Ying. He felt touched the day Uncle removed the rule forbidding interaction with Wei Ying. He knew that his uncle did not like him, even before the whole Yiling Patriarch thing. But he didn’t forbid them from living in Cloud Recesses. Sure he was not pleased that Uncle wrote a rule against Wei Ying on the wall, but it didn’t stop the juniors from interacting with him anyway and really only served to give Uncle some peace of mind that he did what he could to stop Wei Wuxian from “corrupting” the kids. Uncle needed to feel like he had some semblance of control so, aside from his initial protests, Lan Wangji did not fight him down on it. It wouldn’t stop him from giving Wei Ying a happy life anyway, so let Uncle have his rules.
Lan Wangji knew that his brother supported his relationship and that was enough. He couldn’t help but admit though that Uncle’s support meant a lot to him. He wondered what prompted the change of heart, since Uncle had had a grudge against Wei Ying since their school days and wasn’t the type of man to change his opinions that easily. He wasn’t so brave yet to ask him about it though for fear of ruining things, so he just accepted it.
Wei Ying himself had not noticed a thing. He was busy helping xiongzhang with his project. It was taking a long time because they had to do everything from scratch. Wei Ying didn’t have time to spare. He was matching brother’s schedule so that they could work together more efficiently. He didn’t even drink his favourite Emperor’s Smile these days because he didn’t want to lose focus. Even the food! Usually Lan Wangji would have enough time to make Wei Ying breakfast because...breakfast was usually lunch . But now Wei Ying got up to match the Lans and so he ended up eating breakfast with them too so as not to wait for a meal to be cooked and waste time. He was so tired at the end of the day he didn’t even complain about it, he just fell into bed at 9pm and that was that.
It really cut into the time they had together since they were both so busy but it was for his brother, who had stood by him after Wei Ying’s death for all those years and allowed him his freedom to go ‘where the chaos was’ as they said. He even helped him hide Wei Ying even though he thought Wei Ying was guilty. If this was what would help brother recover his spirits then Lan Wangji would not protest.
In fact, this little project of theirs helped his brother and Wei Ying to become closer. Rather than just accepting Wei Ying, his brother was actually forming a friendship with him. He even told him to call him Xichen-ge. He was impressed with Wei Ying’s ingenuity and grateful that he was going out of his way to help him when he really didn’t have to.
And as much as Lan Wangji loved Wei Ying, he still wasn’t much of a conversationalist, with Wei Ying doing most of the talking and himself, the listening. But with xiongzhang, Wei Ying found someone who was willing to debate with him and could easily carry a conversation. And brother found a friend who he could rely on. After Jin Guangyao’s betrayal, he thought that brother would never befriend anyone again. He may not ever be as close to Wei Ying as he was with Jin Guangyao, but it was a start.
Unfortunately, there was one downside to the project.
Somehow, the person who gave Lan Xichen the idea was *ugh* Sect Leader Jiang. What this meant was that the man in question would make frequent visits to see how it was coming along, providing them with insights as well. It irked him because Wei Ying and xiongzhang had insisted that the project was a secret. They promised they’d tell him before anyone else when it was completed and they’d asked him to cover for them and not let anyone on to what they were doing in the meantime.
Being a dutiful husband and brother he respected their wishes. It would have been fine if Jiang Wanyin had not been in on it. It chafed that he could not be there helping Wei Ying but instead it was Jiang Wanyin. He did not protest because Wei Ying still valued Jiang Wanyin and he would not do anything to upset Wei Ying, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. And since the project seemed to have helped Jiang Wanyin and Wei Ying reconcile, he was sure once all the work was done and Wei Ying wasn’t too tired to socialise, that he’d be forced to interact even more with the man, which he was dreading.
But of course he would endure it for Wei Ying. Sect Leader Jin was also involved somehow but the days when he visited made Wei Ying so happy that Lan Wangji could not begrudge his involvement in the project. Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui were also happy to meet with the young sect leader. Lan Wangji could not be upset when it made his family so happy. No, he would stay unaware for as long as they needed him to. Wei Ying was right after all, he would not be able to lie if uncle asked him directly about what they were doing. So he had to stay in the dark.
(But still, damn you Sect Leader Jiang! Why did it have to be you?.. No, he was not sulking!)
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trilliastra · 3 years
Text
4 times jin ling saved jiang cheng + 1
1.
His sister’s funeral is held two days after the Sunshot Campaign.
Jiang Cheng insisted on holding her funeral in Lotus Pier, but she belonged in Lanling Jin, next to her husband’s grave, that much Madam Jin said, and Jiang Cheng was tired of fighting after doing it for days. Even though his sister’s body won’t be next to their parents, their ancestors, at least they will have their good memories, her laughter and her kindness, in their halls.
Madam Jin watches him wearily when he stopped insisting, kept watching him through the entire ceremony with something akin to worry in her eyes. Jiang Cheng wouldn’t know, he could not look at her for too long, ashamed, that Wei Wuxian, his brother, caused so much grief to her clan, and Jiang Cheng did nothing to stop him.
He couldn’t even deliver the final blow like a coward, a shame to the Jiang Sect, a failure.
“Sect Leader Jiang,” Madam Jin calls him once the ceremony is over, gesturing for him to follow her steps towards the place that once belonged to her son and his wife, “I want you to take him with you.” She says, opening the door, and Jiang Cheng frowns, confused, when she insists the maid deposits the little baby in his arms.
Jin Ling is sleeping peacefully, but when Jiang Cheng closes his arms around him, the baby opens his eyes slowly. Jiang Cheng braces himself for the screams that don’t come, Jin Ling simply waves his little hands around and keeps staring at him, almost curious.
Jiang Cheng only held him once, two days after he was born, and under his sister’s watchful eyes. He remembers being nervous, scared of hurting that tiny, defenceless being, but his sister only smiled, fond, and said, “you’re incapable of hurting anyone, A-Cheng.”
Oh, he swallows heavily, if only that was true.
“He is the heir –” he tries to say, but Madam Jin shakes her head, stopping him with a stern look.
“He will have food and toys and servants to please his every need, but he won’t have a family.” She says, stepping closer to run a finger over the boy’s forehead. “I won’t be alive much longer,” she points out, “and I will not let him grow up under that man’s care.”
Jiang Cheng understands her worry, Jin Guangshan didn’t even go to Jiang Yanli’s funeral, too busy doing something – or someone – to attend the ceremony. And though Jin Guangyao was there to pay his respects, Jiang Cheng noticed he kept his distance from Madam Jin as the woman glared at him most of the time.
Their Sect is a mess and the only one that could bring balance to their lives is dead, along with his wife.
But still, Jiang Cheng looks down as Jin Ling lets out incoherent noises and then almost smiles when he gets Jiang Cheng’s attention again; it is too much responsibility for someone so – broken.
He wasn’t even planning on staying alive to watch his nephew grow up.
When he looks up, Madam Jin is staring at him as if she knows exactly what he is thinking. He forgot she was good friends with his mother – only a strong, intelligent woman could understand another.
“You need each other.” She says, finally, and leaves Jiang Cheng alone in the room, still holding a small baby in his arms.
Jin Ling makes an annoyed sound, yawning, and Jiang Cheng carefully starts to rock him, up and down, trying to mimic his sister’s loving touch.
“This is going to be hard, A-Ling,” he says and Jin Ling stops fussing, eyes locked on Jiang Cheng’s face, “I will make so many mistakes and I’ll probably hurt you.” His sister was gentle, Jiang Cheng is far from it. He is all rough hands, sharp words. He doesn’t know how to care for another, how to comfort someone when they are sick or hurt or sad, he was not raised for that. “But, I – I will take care of you and I will protect you and, I will love you.”
And Jiang Cheng will, that much he can promise his nephew, can promise himself. He will love this boy like he is his own son, like Jiang Fengmian loved Wei Wuxian, like he wished to be loved by his father.
“No matter what you do, no matter who you grow up to be.” He keeps saying and Jin Ling watches him the entire time, as if memorizing every word, understanding that from now on, this is the parent he will have. Not his father or his mother, but his uncle, his protector, his family.
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2.
Time passes quickly when one is looking after a child and soon enough they are celebrating Jin Ling’s third birthday and the boy could not be more loved. Jiang Cheng yells too much and smiles too little, but he tries his best for his nephew, runs after him when Jin Ling is feeling particularly hyperactive, comforts him after a nightmare and reads him stories every night, sighing tiredly when Jin Ling insists on listening to his favorite tale over and over again.
It isn’t easy and most days, Jiang Cheng still doesn’t know what he is doing. But Jin Ling is healthy, happy, and that is all that matters.
-
The questions start when he turns eight and more and more families move to Lotus Pier. It’s normal, now, to see a mother with her new born baby, a father with a toddler on his shoulders, a five-year-old stumbling and calling her parents for help. Jin Ling never questioned his past before, he never knew other kids were not raised by their uncles, but now he does – and Jiang Cheng is exhausted.
“But why?” Jin Ling keeps asking, and Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath and promises him he will do it one day, when he’s older.
He should have known Jin Guangyao would not think the same.
Jin Ling arrives from Carp Tower that night, crying, and Jiang Cheng watches helplessly because his nephew refuses to be touched. He understands death, they had buried many people through the years, mostly elders and occasionally a disciple or two, but it is clear now, that Jin Ling never thought of it as something so grand, something that could affect him directly.
And it does not help, that Jiang Cheng has no idea what side of the story Jin Ling was told.
“Jin Ling,” Jiang Cheng tries when a servant arrives with Jin Ling’s dinner, “come, it is time for dinner.” It isn’t, admittedly, the best way to deal with a crying child, but Jiang Cheng has no idea what to do, how long Jin Ling will keep at it. The boy is even too young to know what he is feeling, never mind explain it to someone else, who does not know what to feel as well.
“No.” Jin Ling yells, throwing a pillow at the servant, who startles and drops the tray on the ground. She immediately flushes red, bowing and apologizing, but Jiang Cheng shakes his head, raises a hand to stop her.
“Apologize.” He tells Jin Ling. “Now.”
“No!” Jin Ling screams, even louder. “You are not my father!” He crosses his arms, turning his back to Jiang Cheng, his sobs growing weaker as he gets angrier.
Jiang Cheng feels his head throbbing. He closes his eyes, runs a hand over his face. “Jin Ling, either you –”
“You let them die.” Jin Ling accuses and Jiang Cheng loses his balance at the venom in his words, feels like he’s been punched by someone ten times stronger than himself.
Madam Jin was right to send him away, the Jin Sect is too cruel to tell such a story to a child so young.
“You – you do not understand what –”
“You never told me!” Jin Ling screams back. “You never said the truth!”
“There is more than one truth!” Jiang Cheng yells back, and promptly shuts up when he feels Zidian coming to life. He is losing control, he – Jin Ling does not deserve to see this side of him.
“The Yiling Patriarch killed my parents!” His nephew cries out. “His name was Wei Wuxian and you still kept his room!”
Jiang Cheng does not answer, because there is nothing to say. It is true and he hates himself for it. Wei Wuxian killed Jin Ling’s parents and Jiang Cheng still loves him, sometimes even wishes he was still alive, there is no excuse for that.
“I hate you.” Jin Ling says, finally, and Jiang Cheng leaves the room.
-
Jiang Cheng spends most of the night in the woods, hunting ghosts and destroying everything in his path, blinded by his anger and the indescribable pain in his chest.
He never thought he could hurt this bad again, not after his sister’s death, but the hatred he saw in Jin Ling’s eyes tonight – Jiang Cheng had only seen it once, in his own father’s eyes.
Eventually, he collapses on the ground, exhausted, and absolutely destroyed. He does not have the strength to lift his sword anymore, and Zidian shrinks back into its ring form.
He shivers from the cold and closes his eyes, feeling himself fall asleep. It is dangerous to stay here, alone, so defenceless, but Jiang Cheng was ready to die eight years ago, and he still is, now.
The world would be better without him anyway. He shouldn’t even have survived, all those years ago, after being captured by the Wens. Wei Wuxian would have been a better Sect Leader, a better son, brother and uncle.
It is funny, he smiles at last, mournful – he thought he was nothing without his Golden Core, but now he would give it away happily, just so his nephew could have his family back.
-
He wakes up with his Head Disciple calling his name, desperately.
No, Jiang Cheng thinks, leave me here.
Let me die.
“Sect Leader,” she calls, “please, Jin Ling is calling for you.”
“What –” he asks, blinking confusedly.
“He is sick, Sect Leader.” She answers. “He needs you.”
Despite the fact that his entire body hurts, despite the blood gushing from the cut on his arm, Jiang Cheng unsheathes his sword and takes flight. He should be dead, but his nephew needs him, so he will live.
-
3.
At eleven Jin Ling can only be described as clingy. He does not like going to Carp Tower any more than Jiang Cheng likes watching him leave, but it is his duty still, his legacy, and – liking or not – his family as well.
But he always comes back, a cloud over his head that quickly vanishes as soon as he sets foot on Lotus Pier, promptly throwing himself on the lake and swimming happily with the first disciple he sees. Jiang Cheng does not have it in him to berate him – or the disciple – as he always ends up in the lake as well, liking or not.
They always have their meals together and at some point Jin Ling decided he should start watching Jiang Cheng work – as ‘practice’, he said, but Jiang Cheng knows better.
After their fight, many years ago, Jin Ling ran a high fever, tossing and turning on his bed from nightmares, sometimes screaming Jiang Cheng’s name, other times pleading for his life. Jiang Cheng never left his side, holding a wet cloth over his forehead, clothes still covered in blood, as he prayed for his sister’s forgiveness, for his nephew’s quick recovery. When Jin Ling finally woke up, hours later, Jiang Cheng apologized, promising to tell him his side of the story, and Jin Ling promptly threw himself at him, crying and apologizing as well.
Their relationship has not been the same since, it’s been better, Jiang Cheng realizes, and he takes to enjoying their time together even more. He has no illusions this will last, Jin Ling is quickly growing into his own person, more mature, independent, smart. This will not continue forever, but Jiang Cheng will still cherish these moments, where he can look to his left and find Jin Ling unconsciously imitating his stance, one hand on his belt, the other on his back.
Sometimes, Jiang Cheng thinks, he’s happy to be alive.
-
Jiang Cheng has grown used to the letters. At first, he considered the marriage proposals annoying, would rip the papers to shreds and ignore every word. It was offensive, to receive such letters so soon after the war, as if he was nothing more than a possible husband, the path to glory to some of the smaller Sects or, worse, more power to the bigger ones.
It is not so bad now that he trusts their own reputation, knows most people would see it as a fruitful alliance and not just the possibility of ruling over a broken Sect. He still gets the proposals and denies each and every one of them, but some families go beyond, desperate for power or salvation.
Xin Li Hua is a beautiful woman, her smile is sweet and fierce at the same time, her words shaper than a blade. In another life, Jiang Cheng could see himself falling for her, but in this – he feels nothing but admiration.
She came alone, carrying nothing but a letter from her father. Jiang Cheng offered a room, food, clothes and help to her starving family, but made sure she knew nothing else would come from it. Xin Li Hua nodded, bowing gracefully in front of him and Jiang Cheng thought it was settled.
It was Jin Ling who saw right through it.
“I don’t like her.” Jin Ling says, later that night, throwing pieces of chicken for Little Fairy to catch in the air. The dog will get fat, Jiang Cheng had warned, but he does not have it in him to deny her food either.
Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, takes off his shoes as he sits down on the pier, dips his feet in the water. “You don’t have to.” He says. “I will not marry her.”
“I know,” Jin Ling says, rolling his eyes back. Jiang Cheng blames himself for that habit, but huffs out a laugh anyway, “but she looks at you in a weird way. As if she wants to – to hurt you.”
Jiang Cheng frowns, surprised. Jin Ling is a perceptive boy and smart as well; he has become quite protective of him, of their people. Those are great qualities for a future Sect Leader.
“I don’t know,” Jin Ling says, flopping down next to him and resting his head on Little Fairy’s fur, “just – be careful.” He warns, pleads, turning his big eyes to Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Yanli was perceptive as well and she was constantly worried about him, asking him to take care of himself, to look out for trouble, to always come back home safe.
“I will.” Jiang Cheng promises his nephew, like he used to promise his sister. “I will.” He repeats, resting one hand on Jin Ling’s hair.
-
Two days later the disciple Jiang Cheng ordered to keep an eye on Xin Li Hua finds her trying to poison their food. She does not explain why, keeps her mouth shut for the entirety of the trials presided by the Chief Cultivator himself.
Jin Ling does not tell Jiang Cheng ‘I told you so’, but his eyes do and Jiang Cheng has to hide a smile behind his hand. Despite it all, he is deeply proud of the man Jin Ling is becoming.
-
4.
Jiang Cheng spent most of the last sixteen years looking for Wei Wuxian’s spirit, for what reason – revenge, forgiveness – he never knew, but just as he was starting to give up on his quest, he comes back. Unexpectedly, in the midst of all the chaos, like he used to. Jiang Cheng is not even surprised, this is exactly how Wei Wuxian used to operate, always making an entrance, always having something to say.
He never really cared about the consequences of his actions, only kept moving from one shiny toy to the next like a child, leaving the mess behind for Jiang Cheng to clean. It is no different now, despite the fact that sixteen years have passed. He wreaks havoc wherever he goes, irritating some people, charming others.
And it is with a heavy heart and a confused mind, that Jiang Cheng watches history repeat itself. The first time Wei Wuxian appeared into Jiang Cheng’s life, he stole his father; the second time, he steals his nephew.
-
His chest hurts. It is like his Golden Core knows its original owner is back and is trying to run back to him.
Deep down, Jiang Cheng knew he never deserved his second chance, nor the third or the fourth. Wei Wuxian did. It is obvious now, he always thought Wei Wuxian was the traitor, but in reality, Jiang Cheng is – the one who turned his back to his brother, who never believed he could have been a victim as well.
He throws Sandu away, does the same with Zidian, screaming painfully. He does not deserve this power, does not deserve to be called Sandu Shengshou. He is just a failure, a fraud.
Jiang Cheng sinks down on his knees in the ancestral hall, fighting off his tears. Why wasn’t him enough for his father? Just because he was born from the wrong woman, or was it something else? Did Jiang Fengmian know, even before, what Jiang Cheng would do? How pathetic he would become?
Did he know he would fail them all?
“Uncle,” he hears Jin Ling call, his voice soft and worried.
“Leave.” Jiang Cheng screams, frustrated. This is the last thing he wants, for Jin Ling to witness him at his lowest, to see who his uncle really is. He keeps his back to him, groaning when Jin Ling does not move. “What? Wei Wuxian must be with Hanguang-jun, go after him if you want.” He says, closing his eyes, tells himself it will be fine.
It hurts, but it will be fine. As long as Jin Ling is happy, Jiang Cheng will keep his distance, will let his nephew have everything Jiang Cheng could not give him. All the stories, the adventures, the laughter.
He will not be here to see it, anyway.
“Uncle,” Jin Ling repeats, stronger this time. Jiang Cheng hears him moving, and the next thing he knows, his nephew is kneeling in front of him, eyes – his mother’s eyes – shining with anger, “why do you insist on being alone?” Jiang Cheng blinks, startled. “Did you assume I would think less of you? Did you think I would be ashamed?” Jin Ling shakes his head, drops his hands on Jiang Cheng’s shoulders. “No! Look what you did! Our Sect, me, you-” Jin Ling lets out a sob, lifts one hand to hastily wipe out his own tears, “you did this all by yourself!”
“With his Golden Core!” Jiang Cheng insists. He would have been nothing without it, just a hollow man, alone.
He hears the slap before he feels it. The hand connecting to skin; Jin Ling’s hand, his face. Astonished, he looks up at his nephew and gasps. This isn’t the boy he raised anymore, this is a strong man, fierce, headstrong, a Sect Leader.
“It does not matter!” Jin Ling yells. “What you accomplished after matters! Our clan, our people, me! Uncle,” his voice softens, “you would have done the same for me, would you not?”
Jiang Cheng does not have to think twice. “Of course!”
“And would you think less of me because of it?”
Jiang Cheng closes his eyes, struggling to breathe. “No.”
He feels Jin Ling’s hands on his back, pulling him closer, his head resting on his nephew’s shoulder. “Uncle.” His nephew repeats, soft, always soft.
He is just like his mother, Jiang Cheng thinks, and that thought alone pulls him back from the abyss. He did something right in his life, he raised a caring, loving man, as opinionated as his father, as gentle as his mother.
Jin Ling is his best accomplishment, and no one will be able to take that away from him.
“A-Ling,” he says, at last, “I want to tell you a story.” Jin Ling pulls back, eyes red with tears, and looks at him curiously. “The story of how I lost my Golden Core.”
-
+ 1.
Sometimes Jin Ling feels guilty for not missing his parents. He knows his life would be entirely different if they were still alive, his uncle having told many stories about his parents. So, he knows about them, but he’s never had them in his life.
He holds his father’s sword with pride and longing for things that could have been, dreams about his mother’s laughter, even though he will never know how her voice really sounded like; but when he was sick as a child, it was not his mother at his side, it was his uncle. When he went on his first Night Hunt and came home crying out of frustration for not being able to capture a ghost, it was his uncle that listened to his rambling, then stayed with him on the training field until the sun began to shine in the East.
He might have wished for a different life sometimes, especially after a fight with his uncle, but those were just words uttered out of frustration and anger, Jin Ling never truly meant to exchange his reality for a fantasy; the familiar touch, the kind – and sometimes rough – words, for a dream.
So, when the option is offered to him, he already knows what to say.
“No.” He raises his sword, takes a step to the side and positions himself between the demon and his family. Jin Ling notices Sizhui on his right and Jingyi on his left, his friends and allies, ready to help him if necessary.
“What would your mother think, A-Ling?” The thing says and Jin Ling has to remind himself the body it is possessing is still of an innocent boy, not older than fifteen, and who does not deserve to die. “When she finds out you gave her up for –”
It is taunting him and Wei Wuxian has to be held back by Sizhui, angry tears streaming down his face, before he is collapsing, his arm bleeding profusely from where the demon stabbed him. His uncle does not say anything, and Jin Ling worries he might have passed out.
“I do not know.” Jin Ling answers, waiting for the signal. He is beginning to feel frustrated, but he holds his ground – Wen Ning will come, he tells himself, he always does. “I never met her.”
“But you want to.” The thing uses the boy’s mouth to smile. It is an ugly thing, and wrong, all teeth and hunger, eyes shining with mirth and sickness. “Just let me have a taste, A-Ling, and you will meet your mother, yes, your uncle will not feel a thing. He is ready for it, too.” The thing licks its bloody hands, uncle’s blood, and closes its eyes, savouring the taste. “He wants it, A-Ling.”
“Well, too bad.” Jin Ling snarls, frustrated because he knows it is true. His uncle would not hesitate to sacrifice himself for Jin Ling’s mother, and he hates it. Jiang Cheng is his uncle, yes, but also his father and mother, his family. The only he’s ever had. “He is not going anywhere.” He notices the tree on his right shaking and jumps, reaching out to hold the thing’s left arm at the same time Wen Ning comes to its right. Jingyi does not hesitate to help and even Sizhui has to abandon Wei Wuxian to come to their aid.
The demon screams and kicks, throwing Jin Ling against a tree and knocking Wen Ning to the ground. It is not a fair fight; even if they are four against one, the thing is avidly trying to kill them, while they have to hold back, worried about accidentally hurting the boy the thing is possessing. By the time Hanguang-jun arrives, Jingyi’s nose is definitely broken and Jin Ling can barely hold himself up.
Two disciples take his place holding the demon down while Hanguang-jun works on the exorcism; and Jin Ling – he crawls towards his uncle, breathing heavily through the pain in his arms and legs, too worried to care about anything else.
“Uncle,” he whispers, shaking hands coming to touch his uncle’s chest.
“A-Ling,” his uncle answers weakly, “you should have –”
“No,” Jin Ling interrupts, knowing very well what his uncle was going to say, “no more.” He lays his head against his uncle’s chest, feels his eyes closing with exhaustion. “I do not need my mother, I already have you.” He manages to say before passing out.
-
He wakes up on his own bed in Lotus Pier. He rarely visits anymore, too busy with politics and Night Hunts to come back home, but his bedroom is the same, the toys he used to play with as a child still on the shelves.
He sits up immediately as he remembers the night before, his uncle on the ground, bleeding. He tries to get up, groans as his legs give out and he collapses back on the bed.
“Keep still.” He hears Wei Wuxian, feels his hands on his shoulders, forcing him back down.
“Where is he?” Jin Ling asks, alarmed. Every time he got hurt or sick his uncle always stayed with him, he never woke up to an empty room.
“Resting in his own room.” Wei Wuxian explains. “He will be fine.” He says and Jin Ling finally breathes out, relieved. Wei Wuxian smiles. “You are just like your mother,” he points out and Jin Ling blushes. He’s been hearing that a lot lately, “but you are a lot like Jiang Cheng, too.”
He nods, looks down when Wei Wuxian laughs, amused. “I know.” He’s heard that a lot, too, growing up. It never failed to make him smile, proud. “Can you – can you help me?” Jin Ling asks, awkwardly. He still does not know how to interact with Wei Wuxian, does not know what to feel about him yet.
Wei Wuxian seems to understand, though, and he only smiles before helping him up.
-
“A-Ling,” his uncle says, weakly, opening his eyes when Jin Ling touches his hand, “are you –”
“Yes.” Jin Ling nods, watches his uncle’s expression soften. “I am fine.” He takes a deep breath, gestures for Wei Wuxian to stay, when the other man tries to leave the room. “Uncle,” he says, “I meant it, you know that, right?”
“You shouldn’t.” Jiang Cheng says immediately. “It is not fair.”
“Maybe.” Jin Ling answers. “But it is the life I know, you are the parent I had.” He stresses, watches his uncle’s eyes shine with a mix of confusion and hurt, but also pride and happiness. “I cannot choose a life I never knew. I miss them, the idea of them. I know she was a great woman, I know he was an honest man, but you are my family.” Jin Ling explains, feels himself tearing up. “Promise me you will not forget that.”
His uncle takes a deep breath, eyes going from Jin Ling to Wei Wuxian and then back to Jin Ling. Finally, he nods. “I promise, A-Ling.”
Jin Ling smiles, squeezes his uncle’s hand. He looks up at Wei Wuxian then, and takes another deep breath. “And you,” he says, watches as Wei Wuxian reaches out for Jiang Cheng’s other hand and smiles when his uncle accepts the touch, “can we start over?”
“Yes,” Wei Wuxian answers immediately, eyes shining with tears as well, “I’d like that.”
They both look down, “yes,” Jin Ling’s uncle says, “I’d like that too.”
104 notes · View notes
stiltonbasket · 3 years
Note
How does Lan Wangji feel about Wei Wuxian's new title, Xinhua-jun?
The first time someone addresses him as something other than Honored Master Wei during an assembly, Wei Wuxian barely registers it.
But in his defense, he’s been up all night for a week straight, hurrying to get his irrigation talismans finished in time for the planting season, and the first batches have just been shipped off with a handful of Lan-trained shidao cultivators accompanying them to supervise.
All Wei Wuxian wanted to do was sleep, after that. It’s a wonder that he stayed awake long enough to  attend the conference at all, which is why he doesn’t realize what the petitioners from Moling called him until he takes a soak in his bathtub that night and asks Lan Zhan to rub his shoulders for a while.
“How was the assembly?” Lan Zhan asks, while Wei Wuxian raises the temperature of the bathwater until the washroom fills up with steam. The ability to take long, hot baths without harming his cultivation is the only good thing that came from losing his golden core, and Wei Wuxian made sure to bathe in heated tubs as often as he could after his resurrection; he used to envy the Jiang shimeis in his childhood, since heat only benefits cultivators with excess  yin energy, but now...
“Wei Ying?”
“Oh!” Wei Wuxian sighs and straightens his back before reaching up to pat his husband’s arm. “It was fine, I suppose. The Su cultivators presented their case, Uncle and I went through it, and then we agreed to all their demands except the one about Moling receiving a sixth of Gusu’s tax revenue.”
“A sixth?”
“They don’t have enough noble families living within their borders,” he says absently, making a small sleepy sound of approval as Lan Zhan pats the tension out of his neck. “The Lai and Xu clans relocated to Qinghe last year, and the Liao family—you remember that clan whose little mistress proposed marriage to Jingyi this spring?— they moved to Laoling the year before that, and they all paid enough taxes to keep the Su clan comfortable.”
Lan Zhan’s hands withdraw from his neck and reappear in his hair a moment later, covered in the sweet-smelling hair soap Wei Wuxian makes from the lotus pond in the back hills. “Did they—treat you well?”
It’s a sensible question, Wei Wuxian supposes, even if the worry in his husband’s voice makes his heart ache with love for him. “Better than most Moling cultivators usually do, Lan Zhan. It was all Xiandu this and Xinhua-jun that, until—”
“They called you Excellency?”
The conversation comes to a swift end at the realization, because Wei Wuxian accidentally swallows a mouthful of foamy water and chokes on it until Lan Zhan helps him cough it up. And then they have to get ready for dinner, and coax the children into finishing it before they fall asleep in their bowls, which is why Wei Wuxian doesn’t think about the conference again until after hai shi. 
When the truth of Su She’s association with Jin Guangyao came to light—as Wei Wuxian recalls when Lan Zhan and the little ones are safely asleep—most cultivators from Moling Su seemed to detest Wei Wuxian more than they did while he was dead, if Jiang Cheng’s spies were to be believed. As a matter of principle, none of them even attended Wei Wuxian’s wedding, and offered nothing but flimsy excuses when Lan Xichen traveled to Moling to deliver the invitations in person; and since then, they preferred to keep their distance from him, and would likely have continued to do so if Xichen hadn’t been in Baling for the month to see his new baby grandson.
But today’s petition had been urgent, so Wei Wuxian had to stand in as Lan-zongzhu by proxy while his husband and brother-in-law (not to mention A-Yuan and Jingyi, who accompanied Lan Xichen to Baling) were occupied elsewhere, and none of the Su cultivators were discourteous to him in the slightest.
Oh, no,” he groans, as Lan Zhan tries to hush him with a kiss. “This can’t be good, Lan Zhan. They ordered their city magistrates to send word if I crossed the Moling border, and they turned Xichen-ge down  again  when he invited them to Chun-bao’s hundred-day feast—you don’t think they’re planning something, do you?”
Lan Zhan only gives him a fond look and kisses him again. “Go to sleep, A-Ying,” he says gently. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
*    *    *
When Wei Wuxian married into the Cloud Recesses nine years ago, the question of his formal title remained unsettled until after the month before his and Lan Zhan’s first wedding anniversary. If he were a woman, the cultivation world would have known him as Lan-furen, and that would have been the end of it: but Wei Wuxian was a man with no title save that of the Yiling Patriarch, and even Lan Zhan was at a loss when his uncle asked what he should be called following the wedding.
“Third young master Lan?” Wei Wuxian suggested, absently petting Xiao-Yu’s fluffy hair. “Or Wei-gongzi? It doesn’t really matter, Shufu.”
“Third young master Lan is unsuitable,” Lan Qiren pointed out, plopping another baby rabbit into Xiao-Yu’s lap. “Xichen is the sect leader, and Wangji is the Chief Cultivator. Neither of them can rightly be called gongzi any longer, so the titles of first and second young master must pass to Sizhui and Jingyi.”
They settled on Lan-san-gongzi in the end, mostly because everyone already knew that Sizhui and Jingyi were the first and second heirs to the Lan sect, but then Lan Xichen (who remains the best brother-in-law Wei Wuxian could ever have hoped for) came to bring Wei Wuxian his lunch one afternoon while he was working in the produce field, and laughed himself silly at the sight of his difu  talking to a particularly stubborn lotus bloom in an effort to get it to grow.
“What a happy flower, to be so doted upon!” he chuckled, passing Wei Wuxian a wet cloth so he could clean his hands and sit down to eat. “Xinhua-jun, xiao-hua, be good for A-Xian and grow, won’t you?”
And then a strange excited grin spread across his face, right before he dropped the lunch boxes into Wei Wuxian’s arms and ran back towards the main compound as fast as his legs could carry him.
Wei Wuxian’s students have called him nothing but  Xinhua-jun  ever since, even though it was more of a pet name than a  title. But it never caught on outside the Cloud Recesses, since most of Nie Huaisang’s court is much older than he is, and Yunmeng still knows him as Wei-zongzhu from the year he spent leading Yunmeng Jiang before he and Lan Zhan were married; and the less said about Lanling Jin the better, even if Jin Ling and Mianmian have been ferreting out the last two sect leaders’ supporters ever since A-Ling succeeded Jin Guangyao.
The thought of his title becoming common knowledge in  Moling of all places gives Wei Wuxian a chill down the spine, and he says as much the next evening while going over the reports of young women’s education rates from Gusu’s subsidiary sects.
“Who could possibly have told them? It’s very suspicious,” he grumbles, answering a plaintive letter from a particularly pompous scholar who insisted it was far too much work for his colleagues to teach the boys in the morning and stay three hours longer to teach the girls in the afternoon. Teach them both in the same class, Wei Wuxian writes back, snorting at the man’s foolishness as his daughters climb into his lap to peer curiously at the scroll. If any of the young ladies’ parents prefer their daughters be taught separately from the boys, the Cloud Recesses will send a delegation of lady tutors to Xibei and have a second school built.  
“Suspicious?” Shuilan pipes up, before pointing to one of the characters on the scroll. “That’s part of my name! It says shui!”
“Very good!” Wei Wuxian smiles, kissing the top of A-Lan’s head. “Chun-bao, can you find any?”
Chunyang nods shyly against his neck. “A-Chun see cloud,” the baby says, happily smudging the  yun  in  yunshen buzhichu with her little hands before snuggling down into Wei Wuxian’s silky robes. “A-Die, eat? A-Chun is hungry.”
Wei Wuxian glances up at the sky and cries out in dismay as he notices that night has nearly fallen. “Come, come—but A-Lan, sweetheart, put your socks on first! It’s cold in the kitchen, and I don’t want to leave you here all alone.”
“I’m a big girl,” A-Lan complains, as Wei Wuxian laughs again and slides a pair of soft slippers onto her dimpled feet instead. “Can’t I stay with gege?”
“Gege’s taking a bath,” Xiao-Yu shouts—from the bathroom, naturally, since he spends his afternoons getting delightfully muddy in the produce field and moseys back home by sunset with grubs and leaves and rich black earth clinging to his clothes. “Be a good Lan-bao and go with A-Niang.”
At twelve years old, Xiaohui has finally settled on a course of cultivation study, surprising everyone but his parents by deciding he wanted to learn natural cultivation instead of following the martial dao, and he and Wei Wuxian have been working on agricultural talismans together for the past two years; Xiao-Yu even had a hand in the talismans Wei Wuxian just sent out for the border territories, since Wei Wuxian relies on his son’s spiritual energy to activate them. He is so very proud of Xiao-Yu, grubs and mud and all, and Wei Wuxian throws back his head and laughs when his tall son rolls into the kitchen half an hour later with his hair pinned up in a damp knot at the back of his neck.
“Is supper ready, A-Niang?” Xiao-Yu asks, while A-Lan sits at the table with one of her brother’s many, many cats purring in her lap. “Should I lay out the bowls?”
“Yes, please, A-Yu,” Wei Wuxian yawns, swaying back and forth with Chunyang on his hip as he stirs chili paste into his pot of soup. “And fetch a shawl for A-Lan, her clothes aren’t warm enough.”
“A-Niang stir more,” Chunyang tells him, pointing down at the pot. “Not done.”
Wei Wuxian does as she says, breaking up the last chunks of paste just as A-Yu comes rushing back in with a warm shawl to drape around A-Lan’s shoulders. After that, he puts a broad wooden lid over the pot and leaves it to boil, moving from cauldron to cauldron with one hand keeping Chun-bao in place and the other wielding his ladle: a weapon almost as effective as his sword, if A-Yuan’s condemnation of his cooking at the Burial Mounds is to be believed, though Wei Wuxian learned how to cook without covering everything with chili oil during his brief stint as Sect Leader Jiang ten years ago.
“I love A-Die’s food,” Shuilan declares, squeezing Heimao (named, quite literally, for his smooth black fur) in sheer delight when Wei Wuxian plops a bit of hot tofu into her mouth. “If Papa doesn’t come home in five minutes, can I eat everything?”
“A-Lan can eat as much as she wants,” Wei Wuxian promises, because A-Lan is only five years old and eats less than half of what Lan Zhan does. “Come help Yu-gege serve the rice, and then we can eat.”
Lan Zhan comes home late that night, after Lan Yu and Wei Shuilan have finished their dinners and gone to bed. He went to Lanling to help Jin Ling oversee a trial just after mao hour, and his early return is a pleasant surprise; Wei Wuxian nearly weeps with joy when his husband opens the door to the  jingshi and sweeps him and A-Chun up into his arms, carrying them to the long divan in the receiving room to kiss them to his heart’s content, and fussing over A-Chun until she toddles away and comes back again with the little bowl of hot soup that Wei Wuxian left on the table with a warming talisman.
“Papa eat,” she says adoringly, curling into a chubby pink ball against Wei Wuxian’s stomach and watching with big eyes as Lan Zhan raises the bowl to his lips. “A-Niang cooked!”
“Your A-Die always cooks dinner,” Wei Wuxian says, kissing the tip of her sweet pink nose. “Remember, Chun-bao?”
“Papa breakfast, and A-Niang dinner,” the little girl agrees, before drifting right off to sleep between her parents with one tiny fist curled around the end of Lan Zhan’s forehead ribbon.
Jiang Yanli used to fall asleep like that, Wei Wuxian remembers, safe in Jiang-shushu’s purple-draped bed with him and a toddling Jiang Cheng curled up next to her on either side, and she always stayed asleep no matter how often they squirmed and kicked and whispered over her head.
“Sweetheart?”
“I missed you,” Wei Wuxian sighs, without mentioning where his thoughts had gone—the pain of his shijie’s passing will never heal as long as he lives, but it has been easier to bear with Lan Zhan beside him, if only a little. “Will you have to go again next week, Lan Zhan?”
His husband shakes his head and gives him a lingering soup-tasting kiss on the soft dent over his mouth. “It is finished, my heart. Forgive me for coming home so late?”
Their faces draw together again, yearning towards one another like two mated butterflies forcefully parted as Lan Zhan shifts A-Chun to the crook of his arm and lays Wei Wuxian down on the divan to kiss his cheeks, and his forehead, and then caresses his hands with heart-breaking tenderness, as if he were holding a treasure beyond price. In turn, Wei Wuxian reaches up to touch his husband’s face, tracing the smooth lines of his brow and chin until Lan Zhan catches his fingertips with his lips and pulls him upright to keep Chunyang from getting squashed.
“Let’s put this little lotus to bed,” Wei Wuxian whispers, though it turns into another yawn before he gets to the end of the sentence. “Come with me, xingan?”
His husband—his beloved, precious, perfect husband—goes with him without a word, coaxing their daughter into her sleeping gown and laying her in the middle of the bed without waking her. “I heard some news in Lanling before I left,” he says, while Wei Wuxian helps him take off his Chief Cultivator’s headpiece and put away his waist-pendants. “I investigated the issue with Moling Su, since I feared that they might have a greater grudge against you than we thought, and Jin Ling informed me that the minor sects have begun to address you as xiandu of their own accord.”
Wei Wuxian feels his jaw drop. “What?”
“You have been taking over the portion of my work that cannot be solved by night-hunting,” Lan Zhan points out, as they slip under the covers and tuck A-Chun in between them to keep her warm. “The schools, the trade conferences, the farming failures in the south and the northwest. These matters are resolved by letters written in your hand, not mine, and petitions written to the Chief Cultivator are taken to court by the Chief Cultivator’s husband.”
He pauses to brush their noses together, and then:
“It has been so since you married me,” he says, with a smile that melts Wei Wuxian’s limbs into jelly. “Did you never notice, Wei Ying? It is well known that Hanguang-jun follows the jiandao, and goes wherever the chaos is, and that Xinhua-jun sees to the everyday matters that must be put right for a sect to thrive. Even the clans who would have dared speak against you know it now, and give credit and praises where they are due.”
“I can’t just  become the Chief Cultivator by sharing your work,” Wei Wuxian snorts, rolling his eyes fondly as Lan Zhan leans over to blow out the candle on the nightstand. “I’m your husband. What else would I do?”
“I have not yet heard your sister-in-law being called Jiang-zongzhu,” Lan Zhan returns, with a bright spark of mirth in his sweet voice. “Though I suspect your brother would not mind, if she was.”
“Yes, I suppose—but Lan Zhan, surely the minor sects can’t just  decide to call me Chief Cultivator? You were chosen for the position by vote.”
“They chose me for Chief Cultivator ten years ago, did they not? And now, since there is no law that two people cannot share the title, they have chosen you. Nie Huaisang will support it, since he lives in fear of me stepping down and making  him succeed me as Excellency, and so will Jin Ling. And Jiang Cheng.”
“...I’m never getting out of this, am I?”
“Do you wish to stop?” Lan Zhan inquires, with some concern. “You have done more good than I could ever have dreamed of, but if you do not want—”
“Let’s talk about it in the morning,” Wei Wuxian begs, thoroughly overwhelmed at the thought of it. “Come hold me, er-gege.”
And Lan Zhan does, hugging him so tightly that all he knows is the sharp scent of sandalwood on his husband’s clothes and the soft-smelling lotus of Chun-bao’s hair until he falls asleep.
*    *    *
  Nanhai Cheng, Baling Ouyang to the Cloud Recesses, Gusu Lan
  Senior Wei,
      When did you become the Chief Cultivator? Jingyi and A-Yuan want to know, but they can’t write at the moment because A-Qing put them on diaper duty. Is it true? Or was A-Ling just making fun of us?
      Best wishes,  
            Ouyang Zizhen.  
    P.S.—make sure to bring Lan-xiansheng for A-Chen’s full month party! You haven’t forgotten about it, have you?
*    *    *
  The Cloud Recesses, Gusu Lan to the Unclean Realm, Qinghe Nie
  Nie-xiong,  
      If I ever find out that this Excellency business was your fault, I’ll steal all your grandchildren and hide them in the jingshi. What in Heaven’s name were you thinking?
    Suspiciously yours,  
            Wei Wuxian.  
*    *    *
  The Unclean Realm, Qinghe Nie to the Cloud Recesses, Gusu Lan
  Brother Wei,  
      My, such accusations! I really can’t say. But have fun with all the paperwork, Wei-xiong—it’s the best part of the job!
      Your (best) friend,  
            Nie Huaisang.  
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wangxiandecoded · 4 years
Text
Episode 1
Next Episode →  
(Spoilers for basically the whole show ahead!)
Me : I like watching The Untamed for the fantasy period drama plot of the show!!! 
The Plot™️ of the Show :
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First Sight of Wangxian
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What a tragic and iconic introduction of the main couple : Tbh this is when I knew this show was ride or die for me, I couldn't get myself to care about the over-the-top stunts or graphics that might bother some people. It made me gasp like, "a guy just went over the cliff and another guy came flying to catch him. MAGNIFIQUE! Never done before! I need MORE of this content!!!!" 
And the first word Wei Ying says on the show : Lan Zhan.
Wei Ying Remembers
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The poetic cinema that is Wei Ying recognizing the Lan clan's crest in Sizhui's robes, the flood of memories starring Lan Zhan coming back to him as he falls to the ground with the sad version of WuJi playing over a flashback of the first time he ever saw him... it really be like that sometimes. (And he doesn't even know who this sweet, kind boy is yet! Add this to Lan Zhan naming Sizhui thus with his name literally meaning “to recollect and to long for”, so his existence is like a token of remembrance bringing Wangxian’s story full circle. All of this in the first few moments of the show. AAAAH!) Hang in there, Wei Ying. 
Sizhui Recognizes The Melody™️
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Sizhui recognizes the tune of WuJi (ok obviously he's their son, if his dads played it while missing each other, he's going to remember it!) and we can guess Lan Zhan probably played it in the 16 years Wei Ying was gone or Wei Ying played it in his time away from Lan Zhan when A-Yuan was still a baby. In a lot of ways, this song represents the whole show and their relationship, and it makes me weep every time I hear it. 
Chén Qíng Lìng
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I thought it's pretty amazing the show in Chinese is titled after the flute that belongs to the "mad defector, Yiling Patriarch", but how fucking beautifully and gloriously ironic is it that the melody Wei Ying played most often on his flute is not one that drove people mad with dark magic but the love song founded on his relationship with Lan Zhan, and composed by Lan Zhan? I think that's a great metaphor for those who romanticize the idea of “the grandmaster of demonic cultivation” and are too blind to see the heart of this story.
Wei Ying Gay Panicking and Lan Zhan Still Waiting & Hoping
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That feeling when you’re gay panicking about potentially meeting the love of your life who doesn't know you’re back from the dead after 16 years because you need several eons of preparation to see him again. My heart aches for Wei Ying, and more still for Lan Zhan who never stopped looking for him or hoping he could be alive. Never seen two bigger idiots who are so meant for each other.
Wei Ying’s First Glance of Lan Zhan In 16 Years
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I absolutely positively cannot stand to look at Wei Ying here. Nope. The amount of fondness radiating from his face can fuel a billion stars and invent love. I'm pretty sure it did. Also - that's what you think after seeing him for the first time since resurrection? Wei Ying, you are truly a hopeless fool in love. But you’re not wrong, he’s been mourning you.
The Arrival of The Most Romantic Hero Ever
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I also love the epic Hero Entry and build-up they gave for Lan Zhan’s official introduction. Give me that cheesy trope in historical gay context! Heck yeah! Our beloved hero has arrived with pomp and ceremony to sweep the other hero off his feet, even if Wei Ying practically flees. It’s ok Lan Zhan, fate will lead you to him soon. 
Wangxian’s Immortal Abode
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Have you noticed the one scene that is never missing from the opening and especially end credits? As if to foreshadow a happy ending for them. You can't convince me this isn't what awaits you at the gates of heaven. Just Wangxian enjoying eternal domestic bliss, always atop the waterfalls at the Cloud Recesses, the sound of guqin and flute always echoing together, two husbands upholding justice and staying by the other's side forever. Like they always have, will be and should be.
The One Who Knew Nothing
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The first time I watched this show, the plot went over my head and I paid no attention to Nie Huaisang except to think he was funny. (Hey come on, Wangxian is the only plot we all know.) And to think he is the mastermind who orchestrated everything.. mad respect for you my dude.. I’ve never been so blindsided by a character before.
To summarise, Episode 1 introduces (in a time jump) the two heroes who will go on to share an epic journey and fall in love. We see hints of their past and how much they’ve missed each other. We’re shown just enough to be left wondering what happened between them and what went wrong. 
174 notes · View notes
amoret-the-leaf · 3 years
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Summary: Wei Wuxian is determined. After seeing his Lan Zhan yawning, yawning of all things, he makes it his mission to let his husband take a rest. Though, as with many things in life, it doesn't go according to plan. Many years had passed since the esteemed Hanguang-Jun and the Yiling Patriarch had found themselves stuck in a cave on death's doorstep, confessing deeply rooted traumas to each other. Wei Ying would give everything he had and more to never let it happen again. Never. He was going to cherish Lan Wangji like he deserved, until the day he died.
Ship: Wangxian
Word Count: 5397
Author’s Note:  This story is a result of MDZS/CQL frankencanon, and may contain differences in titles and ways of addressing due to subtitle variations. This work may not be completely accurate to Ancient Chinese and Xianxia culture. If something has been written inappropriately/offensively, please let me know!
This chapter contains:
Exhaustion, Hypothermia, Delirium
"IT'S FREEZING OUT HERE!!! HUG ME LAN ZHAN!!!"
The snow was fierce, blowing in strong gusts of wind that changed directions every few seconds. Thick snowflakes sat in everyone's hair, from the lovers leading to the group, to the juniors being nearly blown away trailing behind. Clearly (or rather, unclearly- it was very hard to see), this day was not going as Wei Ying had hoped. Had it, and they might've been dancing through the white-coated streets of Caiyi, where the sky was calm now, and the sun shone to melt some of the snow. A blizzard in Yuanwei was certainly not in his planned itinerary for the day.
They'd been sent off when Zewu-Jun arrived back in the Cloud Recesses, visibly distressed with several delayed letters of aid coming from the townspeople. A blizzard of questionable origins had been raging for about two days now, judging by the dates on the papers. A collection of them had been found just outside the borders of the place. When recalling the events of the night before to the Lan Sect Leader, the worst was feared. Had the people been... were they gone?
If so, they were dealing with something, or someone, much more dangerous than they'd hoped.
So Zewu-Jun sent out his brother, accompanied by Wei Ying, and a group of their finest junior disciples to look for survivors, or bodies of the dead. Whatever was left at this point. Though, what had yet to be explained, was why Jin Ling was trotting around and rolling his eyes at Wei Ying snuggling against up his lover.
"Roll your eyes all you want! I'm cold! What are you even doing here?!" The former Jiang disciple hissed, head half-covered by Wangi's long sleeve he'd been wrapped in. "Shouldn't you be doing Sect Leader things?! If we needed a Sect Leader, Zewu-Jun would've come with us!"
"Mind your business!" The teen snapped back, crossing his arms. "I'm studying in Gusu right now! Did you forget? We literally see each other every day!" Jin Ling... in the Cloud Recesses? That would explain why a wild Jin would be wearing white. But it wasn't exactly ringing a bell. "Why didn't you dress warmer anyways? You knew where we were going!"
"I am dressed warm! I have my warmest clothes on mind you! But it's still cold!"
"Then you're a baby."
"A-Ling... Maybe fighting with Senior Wei isn't worth it?" Sizhui intervened, giving the softest nervous smile he could. "All of us are still cold, the temperatures are below what most of us are used to. We should try to get this done as soon as possible."
So it was A-Ling now? Interesting... He and Sizhui would be having a talk when they got home. Wangji seemed to pick up on this too, sharing a look with the other before nodding.
"Well said Sizhui!" Wei Ying exclaimed, pacing around the group. "What a polite disciple! You should try to be more like him! Your uncle has corrupted your brain to be so aggressive! It's scary!" He jumped back to his lover in exaggerated fear when Jin Ling practically growled at him as a response.
"Can we get going now? Some of us would like to keep all our fingers and toes by the end of this." Jingyi complained, sarcasm being second nature to him. It was almost impressive. "It's cold, and this place is almost buried. I don't wanna be buried with it."
Normally, the Second Jade would at least point out the rude behavior. But the boy was right. People's lives could be on the line. So he took off his outermost layer of winter robes, gently placing the clothing around Wei Ying's shoulders. His husband's golden core was still weak in comparison to what it used to be, Wangji could manage in the cold if it meant swaddling the other. White was not his color, but seeing Wei Ying with embellished clouds covering his typical black and red combination reminded him of their student days back in Gusu. Back when they were carefree teenagers.
They had to move now.
So they walked. Trudging through knee-deep snow as wind whipped their faces, snow blurring their vision, and hoping they were still headed towards the right direction. Wei Ying tried to protest giving the extra layer back, but would only be met with, "You need it more." At least, it was something along those lines. Perhaps it changed, Wei Ying didn't focus on it too much. All he wanted was for his beloved to be taking a break.
They hadn't slept in. There was no time for naps or any trips out to Caiyi. No buying loquats in the marketplace or relaxing by the cold pond (too cold to go in!) or catching up over a meal with the kids. It scared him. Wangji looked exhausted; scary to think about, scarier to see.
Is this what it felt like? Being worried for your one true love? Did Lan Zhan go through this all the time? Standing there, watching, knowing he's too stubborn to ask for help or properly take a rest? They were more alike than Wei Ying would like to admit... and that was... Miraculous. Even through his worry, Wei Ying couldn't help but be enamored by the graceful beauty Wangji had. Intoxicating in the best way.
Thick, frosty flakes sat in his hair, looking so natural. So pristine, so tranquil. "Lan Zhan! How dare you look like a regal, captivating snow prince while the rest of us look like drowned rats!" The Yiling Patriarch whined. He wasn't wrong, damp, half-frozen hair clung together wildly in almost everyone's face. Yet Lan Wangji was immune, so to speak, still looking as handsome as ever. Even tired, he was radiant.
"Mn. Not true." The Second Jade replied.
Ah, an opportunity. "Oh? Is that so?" Wei Ying smirked, bringing his palms to rest cutely onto his frigid, rosy cheeks. "So there's an exception then? Someone who gets to be labelled as breathtaking as Hanguang-Jun? I envy them~"
"Sizhui."
Eh!? "LAN ZHAN!!!" Wei Ying cried, throwing his arms back down in a fuss. He could already hear the muffled snickers coming from the juniors still following behind. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAY ME!!!"
"Lying is forbidden."
"WHAT!?!? LAN WANGJI!!!"
Oh how they laughed. The lot of teens quite honestly couldn't contain it anymore. Senior Wei had just been delivered a critical blow- that was hilariously overdue. Anyone could hear the moment Jin Ling dropped to the ground with a loud thump, sinking into the fresh powder as hysterical laughter spread throughout the group. Jingyi was barely hunched over on his knees, trying his very best to stay upright in the frenzy, huffing loudly every few seconds to get more air. The ever-mannered Sizhui only meekly turned away, giggling in a sort of shame.
But Hanguang-Jun took a hand to his husband's face. "Wei Ying is too bright. Too warming. He cannot be a snow prince. Has to be the sun. "
The Yiling Patriarch smiled brightly, spitting out a "take that!" to the group. "Is it because I make you melt, Ji-xiong?" He asked, playfully sticking out his tongue.
Still laying in the snow, Jin Ling covered his eyes. "Ew. I did not want to see that. Please never do that again."
Hanguang-Jun didn't seem outwardly amused, but Wei Ying could tell he was snickering at the remark (on the inside!). That is, until the Second Master Lan stepped forward once more. "No time for this. Advance."
With that, the disciples scurried back and followed. Even his husband seemed to get the message that his teasing time was regretfully over. Maybe Lan Zhan WASN'T laughing on the inside? Actually, he seemed so tense all of a sudden. Stiff as a board. When they'd arrived, he was his usual smittenly sweet self. Now it was like he was in a cultivation conference listening to the nonsense being spit by anyone who craved a sliver of attention. But he had seen him amused by it! So what just happened?
Sizhui, covertly speeding up behind Wei Ying, tugged on his sleeve. If he hadn't been half-expecting the kid to notice, he might've flinched. But A-Yuan was attentive. The subtle frown on the teen's face, the way his eyebrows lowered, and his lip sunk just a bit- Sizhui was worried too. And maybe, just maybe, Wei Ying was close enough to now be able to decipher his kid too.
Before either of them could try to get to the bottom of this, a quiet thunk was heard. Thunking wasn't the typical crunch of the snow now was it? Heads turned to Lan Jingyi, the origin of the sound. At the disciple's feet, something was peeking out. The group gathered around the unidentified object like ducklings, before digging into the fresh powder.
"It's... It's some kind of box?" Someone announced. Three of them lifted it up, but whatever was inside was buried at this point. Tipping it over, parcels containing cloths and pendants fell out. Many of them held the same, if not similar design to the tapestry previously hung in the Jingshi, and the symbol on their map.
"Well!" Wei Ying bent down, grabbing one of the pendants and sweeping snow off its print. "At least we know we're getting close!" He perked up, "And this wasn't buried deep. Someone was carrying this recently. Maybe even a few hours ago. Could've been a merchant, could've been a shopkeeper desperate to preserve their valuables. But it was abandoned here within the last 24 hours, so there's at least one person nearby."
Wangji nodded. But he kept the grim look on his face. It was always a possibility, but no one was happy when he added, "Check for bodies."
They dug around. No bodies. That was a relief. Whoever was out here, well, hopefully this meant shelter was somewhere, and still intact. Townspeople didn't have golden cores, they wouldn't make it long in this.
So they kept going. Wei Ying kept his eyes on Lan Wangji, and through his peripheral vision, watched as Sizhui and now Jingyi seemed to fret at the sight of their beloved Hanguang-Jun. If Jin Ling had any suspicions, he was doing so from afar, trailing behind with the very end of the group.
What was especially concerning, was that Lan Zhan didn't notice them. Really, Lan Wangji wasn't noticing their not-so discreet eyes piercing into him. He just kept walking.
But a hut, a hut on the hill, would draw attention away from that. A hut on a hill with a fire nonetheless, as smoke came out of the side of the place. The teens cheered, scurrying up closer, but never going past their Second Jade, who kept his simple pace. Luckily he seemed relaxed at the sight. Thank goodness, it was unbearable to see that side of him! Oh Wei Ying was definitely having a conversation with his lover about this later.
Wangji lightly knocked on the door. The loud screech of the bitter wind nearly drowned the voices inside the cabin out. But the door swung open. A woman put a hand to her chest, sighing with relief. "The cultivators have arrived!" She cried out. "Oh you're here, we're saved! We're saved!"
She pushed the door out wider. Groups of people could be seen sitting on the floor, the younger of which appearing to be swaddled in thin, scarce blankets. There was enough people crowded in this tiny house to... To fill a village! Oh!
All of them huddled around a tiny bundle of wood lit aflame in the middle of the floor. Just barely, it seemed, as it was more of a flicker than a flame. The Juniors were already taking care of that, a fire talisman sweeping through the air to get a brighter flame on the already charred wood. "Jingyi, Jin Ling, gather some wood." Lan Wangji instructed. "Sizhui, keep feeding the flame as best as you can."
The three nodded, immediately doing as they were told. Sizhui shielded the fire when the other two had opened the door. Still, the fire wavered, hanging on by what could best be compared to a loose thread. "Miss, what happened?" Wangji asked, in as few, few words as possible. At least that was normal.
"Hanguang-Jun," She started, slowly. "Hanguang-Jun, a few days ago, one of our youngest here, A-Bao, had wandered off. When he came back into town, he said he'd met a little girl." The woman's breath hitched, eyes welling up with tears. "H-He said this girl was friendly, and she wanted to play with him. A-Bao talked to her and... and he mentioned he liked snow. So the little girl promised she'd make it snow for him the next day."
It sounded like a fairytale, almost. "We thought... we thought it was a joke. But the snow came the next day. At the time, it was a coincidence to us. It's winter, we don't usually get a lot of it but it's not uncommon. But the snow never stopped!" She cried out, causing a few gathered by the fire to groan, or cover their ears. "It never stopped! We tried sending requests for aid. But every time we sent someone out, they came back, halfway to death's doorstep! No one could bear the journey! The last person to go out never came back! Sang Meng, our most talented in cultivation! A-Bao is his brother... So he went to fix his mess! Oh please, please!" The woman was kneeling now, gripping her dress, tightly. "Please help us, Hanguang-Jun! The boy might've died! We can't last like this!"
A spirit, most definitely. No curse could do this, and last he'd checked, Wei Ying wasn't aware of any large scale weather changing talismans. However, it would be unlikely this spirit would attempt to freeze over the town, and send a signal while its people were still alive. If it was out to kill, no warnings would be given. Therefore, it was not the spirit to have burnt the tapestry last night. Wei Ying's eyes glimmered with a realization. "Has Sang Meng ever created any original talismans?"
The woman nodded, vigorously. "He's been working on an altered fire talisman last I'd heard. Why?"
"He's alive, or, was. Last night. He could still be out there."
Everyone gasped. Some pulled each other close, some remaining more distant. The juniors were surprised, especially. But hope, hope was in the eyes of the townspeople. It was an all too familiar feeling. Wangji nodded, catching onto what his husband had eluded to. "Incident in the Cloud Recesses." He confirmed, though giving no other details. "Sang Meng could be alive. Most likely with the spirit now. I need to go."
...I? When had there ever been an I with them? The one person Wei Ying did not want of this house, and he was volunteering. "Lan Zhan-" He tried, but honestly, it was no use. He also, in good conscience, did not want to send the kids out in this, possibly to retrieve a body. Besides, his husband was already halfway to the door. "Lan Zhan!!! I'm coming with you! Wait for Xian-gege!"
"Wei Ying will stay here."
"Wei Ying absolutely will not. Silly Lan-er-ge."
They were both impossible to sway from these kinds of things. Righteousness was as much of a curse as it was a blessing. The Second Master Lan sighed, taking his beloved's hand. "Wei Ying is cold. The juniors are cold. They will stay here and help keep warm." He insisted,
Wei Ying huffed. Were they fighting? Was this a fight? No, Wangji was looking at him with those sweet big eyes of his. Guilt trap. It was a guilt trap, do not fall for it. They weren't fighting, Lan Zhan was worried. The other hated that. "Lan Zhan is cold too, he just won't admit it. This Yiling Patriarch is coming with you, and you cannot stop him!" With that, he continued for the door.
Wei Ying was set on this. These kids were absolutely not going to fight whatever was able to plague this whole place with a blizzard. It was definitely not the best idea to bring them, now that they had an idea of what was going on. But they could still help these people, hopefully not freezing in the meantime. "Oh, and A-Yuan, you're in charge. None of you are allowed to come with us, just make yourselves useful here. We're gonna go get the bad thing now! Don'tdoanythingstupidokaybyebye!" He beamed, ignoring the near horrified face of their son, and stepping out into the snow. His soulmate was already ten paces ahead.
Lan Wangji, just what was he not telling his A-Ying?
-
The woman, who Lan Sizhui now knew as Feng Jixiao, turned to face him. "So, are they always like this?"
A-Yuan laughed, timidly. There was only one word that came to mind to answer that, his beloved Hanguang-Jun's favorite phrase in the world. "Mn." He answered, closing his eyes. The disciple couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong, and that he was missing something very important here. But what...
-
Wei Ying panted, holding himself up on his knees. "Lan... Zhan... not so fast." He mumbled, getting no response. Or rather, if he did get one, he couldn't hear. The wind had grown louder since they'd gone inside. But it was just the two of them out here now, and Wei Wuxian was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with his husband. In this case, it had to come first. Spirit, rescue, whatever they were doing, his soulmate came first- and Wei Ying did not have a good feeling about this. No, not at all. Was Lan Zhan swaying?
They'd been walking for about an hour. Honestly, they probably strayed far away from their original direction long ago. Luckily, the two had a teleportation talisman to use if they started to freeze. Over an hour now, and still no sign of a boy. No taunting whispers of a spirit either. If they couldn't find this spirit, they would have to call for additional aid from the clan and evacuate the townspeople. The only reason they hadn't, well, those without a core had a slim chance of surviving long enough to get to safety. Yuanwei would bury itself, something that Wangji understood, and absolutely would not accep- Was Lan Zhan swaying?
No, Wei Ying couldn't give in to paranoia. The winds were strong, and his vision was blurred with snowflakes that would fall from his eyelashes as he blinked. He definitely was not seeing his husband sway as he walked. He wasn't noticing the way that his soulmate clenched his hands, stretching them in and out. What was it? Had he found A-Bao's brother? Was the sight too terrible to see? Wei Ying took his eyes off Hanguang-Jun for a moment, a fraction in time, to try and organize these frenzied thoughts of his...
Thud.
If a thousand snowflakes had fallen last evening, then the Heavens should be happy with what they'd brought down. The will of no deity or divine being ever deserved to take Hanguang-Jun down with it. But he was falling. By sheer adrenaline, Wei Wuixian was moving. As fast as any rules would forbid, he was moving. Across the sea of dusty white, he was going. But today, Wei Ying couldn't move fast enough. The Second Jade hit the ground, any and all color drained from his face. Lan Wangji was on the ground... a ground that began crackling and crunching underneath him. Snow didn't crackle like that. The Earth did not crackle.
They were walking on a lake. A fucking frozen lake for who knows how long. A frozen body of water they somehow had defied fate on until now. But now his soulmate was unconscious. He looked like he had DIED. How far out were they?! The ice was buried under the snow, Wei Ying couldn't tell! He couldn't see- FUCK!
"LAN ZHAN!"
An earth-shattering scream rang out, and god did he run. Wangji dipped below the surface and he ran. Wei Ying didn't even feel as though he was running. No, he was flying, as fast as humanly possible. The ice cracked beneath his feet as he ran, but he would not falter nor slip. The Yiling Patriarch did not stop as he dove just his hands into the freezing water. Thousands of needles shot through his every nerve, barely registering the white cloth he'd gotten ahold of. But once he saw it, he didn't hesitate. Wei Ying pulled. 'Please don't just be the headband,' he thought, desperately. He pulled and pulled with all the strength he'd worked to regain. Come on... come on! Lan Zhan!
Wei Ying fell back with a limp body in his arms. The former Jiang disciple didn't have time to even check if he was still breathing. They had to- he had to keep running! This ice absolutely not going to hold much longer. The teleportation talisman wouldn't be fast enough! He'd fucking play a life and death game of hopscotch across glaciers if he had to. Lan Wangji just fainted on him. He should've stopped him from coming. He should've said something sooner! This was all his fault!
Bichen. Wangji still had Bichen with him. Wei Ying was too weak to ride a sword, he didn't bring Suibian. But goddammit he was gonna ride this sword. WITH Lan Wangji. Unconcious. There were no other options. Bichen already had let him wield them once, a long time ago, so Wei Ying was eternally grateful when he was able to unsheathe the sword again. He threw it straight out, shaking hands gathering up the Second Jade, and hopping on.
Of course, he'd nearly fallen off right then and there. Bichen had taken a sharp swerve left to keep them on. Wei Ying adjusted his footing, and they were going at breakneck speed, on a dizzying, unclear path. He was on a moving tightrope, and could only hope when they eventually got to the ground, it was real ground. Solid, snow-covered ground. The wind hurt as they flew, but any pain in his hands was completely blocked out by frostbitten numbness and sheer determination.
They weren't high. He didn't feel like breaking any bones if they DID get lucky enough to not die from this. Wei Ying could only swing helplessly back and forth, trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. Eventually, he'd more or less gone dry of spiritual energy and lost his momentum, and they tumbled off the sword, which came to a halt. Wei Ying wasn't sure if he closed his eyes, or they'd done that by himself. He really didn't want to watch himself die again.
There wasn't any cracking. So, one eye peeked back open. Trembling, he slammed down on the ground with his arm. Not slippery. Hard. No cracking sounds. No breaking. Lan Wangji was in his arms. Panicked relief swept over him as though he'd never experienced before. He could cry, hell, he was already close. But it was too cold. Icicles hanging off his face wouldn't help. "Lan Zhan." He whispered pushing his body over to his husband, turning the Lan on his back. His voice was raspy, and god was he tired. "Lan Zhan." He shook. "A-Zhan. Wake up."
He didn't. Wei Ying hunched over him, breathing hard. He took his finger's to the other's wrist, hesitantly. He really, really couldn't feel, though. The Yiling Patriarch's hands were ghostly white. Was Lan Zhan breathing? He thinks so? Fuck it, he'd do it anyway. Wei Ying used his entire body to press into the other's chest. Deep, strong rounds of pushing, with the scarce bits of spiritual energy he had left being infused into his husband.
Before he could do any mouth to mouth (much to his dismay), a pained groan escaped the Second Jade's throat. Wei Ying quickly moved back, gasping. "Lan Zhan?" He asked, lacing his fingers into his soulmate's hand. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to smack him too, but mostly kiss him. Instead, Wangji just turned over, harshly coughing. A small trail of water he'd breathed in fell onto the ground.
Glazed-over eyes stared back at him. The typical strong, striking gaze of the Lan's golden eyes looked more like they were dripping in honey. Wangji blinked, looking confused. "Wei Ying?" He asked, quietly. Wei Ying only nodded, bringing his unfeeling hand to Lan Zhan's face. Wangji looked as though he wanted to say more, but was simply too out of it. It didn't take much thinking to know that he was ice cold, colder than he was, even if Wei Ying couldn't feel it. They had to find shelter.
There was a tree nearby. Wei Ying trudged over with his own tired and bitterly freezing body and snapped off a thick, long branch. Leaning most of his weight onto his new walking stick, he swung Wangji's arm over his shoulders. "Lan Zhan, I'm going to carry you on my back, okay?" He spoke. Switching which hand he held his stick, he got the Second Jade's other arm around his neck. "Hang on for me, please."
Wei Ying had never said a genuine please in his life.
Wangji gave him no answer. Luckily, he seemed to comply, trying to hold his feet up, just a few centimeters off the ground, so they didn't drag. It was enough. Ideally, Wei Ying would be able to hold his legs, or just cradle the other bridal style in his arms once again. But this was not ideal, and he was exhausted. Wei Ying wasn't sure he'd stay upright without leaning against the stick. That, and he refused to stand on the ice again. If they were getting close, the stick would be the one being plunged into the frozen lake. Never would anyone think the Yiling Patriarch would be hunched over, stabbing the Earth with a walking stick with a frozen Hanguang-Jun on his back all those years ago. Yet here they were.
There was nothing to see but white. If only Wei Ying had more spiritual energy. The teleportation talisman they'd brought was just about useless now. Neither of them would have enough to use it- Lan Zhan's was far too important in keeping him alive. No signals would work in the blizzard either. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest decision for them to come alone. Then again, if all those kids had fallen into the ice... Wei Wuxian would never forgive himself. He'd never forgive himself for this.
...Wangji had closed his eyes again, head buried into Wei Ying's back as they walked. Was it a relief? Or was he- no, Wei Ying couldn't think about that. He was fine, for now. He WOULD be fine. When this was all over, fuck it, they were going on a break. A year-long break far away from any of this. No night hunting, no cultivation world. The Sects would just have to learn how to live without him and Lan Zhan solving all their problems. The world owed them it's kindness.
Heh, if he wasn't so blind, maybe things would be different. Maybe he could've married Lan Zhan all those years ago. Maybe the Burial Mounds could be the Yiling Wei Sect by now. Maybe Wen Qing and Granny Wen and Uncle Four would be sitting around a table as they feast. Or maybe they'd all be in the Cloud Recesses. Wen Ning would be perfect for this job, considering he's dead. He wanted to call him, in a desperate attempt, but Wei Ying knew he was in Lanling right now.
Maybe if he'd gotten Jiang Cheng out of that damn Wen prison earlier... They'd both have their cores. Maybe he wouldn't have walked his single-plank bridge. He could be sitting in Lotus Pier right now, and Shijie...
A cave. A cave?
He was hallucinating. That definitely wasn't the entrance to a cave. Oh, but it was too good to pass up. For Lan Zhan's sake, he'd have to hope it was real. Slowly sweeping through the mountains of white wet shit, Wei Ying put a hand to the outside rock wall of the hallucinated cave. Solid. Solid? It was real.
The inside was dark, damp, and depressing. Not the first cave they'd be stuck in, unfortunately. This one at least looked a little different, ice hanging from the ceiling in certain spots. But the cave- it was also deep. Deep enough to hide away from the whirring wind outside, and finally sit down with the Second Jade. He didn't waste a moment to pat his hand on the other's cheek, even if his own bones screamed at him. "Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, you can't sleep anymore." Wei Ying spoke, soft, and hurriedly. "Lan Zhan. Open your eyes."
Those golden, honey glow eyes fluttered once more. "Wei Ying." Lan Wangji repeated, as if picking up where he'd left off before. Just by the way his head rested off the cave wall, Wei Ying could tell he was dizzy. "What-"
"I'd like to ask you the same question, Mister 'I'm fine I don't need a break' and 'let's faint on my husband'." The other bit, not exactly meaning to be harsh about it. Still, it probably came off that way. "You. You fainted. What the hell have you been doing? Why won't you talk to me?" Stop. He wasn't angry. Why was he saying these things?
'I'm sorry.' Wei Ying thought, his breath hitching. 'I'm so sorry for not doing something sooner. I let you fall.'
"I..." Wangji really, REALLY looked tired. But Wei Ying couldn't let him sleep. No, not until he warmed up, even just a little. Otherwise, he might never wake up again. "I can't tell... Wei Ying. I can't tell him." The Second Master suddenly shot upright, grasping at Wei Ying's clothes. "You won't tell him, will you? Please don't tell him."
Oh, that wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. Deliria? "...I won't tell him." Wei Ying answered back, sadly. He shuffled on the floor. That walking stick was about to come in hand. "I won't tell him anything... but we need to get you warmed up." Snapping the stick into three... four smaller sticks, he sprinkled them on a dry spot. Luckily, there was another tree right outside the cave entrance. So Wei Ying had taken Bichen once again, the sword being much heavier this time and chopped up bundles of logs. He came back to the same, mumbling Lan Zhan seated in the exact same place.
He had a fire talisman. Not that he couldn't start one on his own, but this was way easier. Plus, he didn't need spiritual energy for this one. A bit of his tinkering had come to the rescue. Fire talismans were one of the easiest to alter, he'd found. But if that kid had sent a strategic fire all the way to the Cloud Recesses, well, he was a bit of a genius. His rescue would have to wait, though.
The fire caught, blazingly. Sticking his hands over it made them feel as though they were melting back to some degree of normal. "Lan Zhan, I'm gonna move you closer to the fire, okay?"
He didn't get a verbal response. But he did get a pout, and puffed out cheeks. That couldn't help but make him laugh. "Ah Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan," He spoke, carrying his lover and plopping him on the ground, for him to then lean against Wei Ying's body. "Is Lan Zhan five? No, that can't be it. How about three?" He teased, trying to lighten the mood.
What didn't Wangji want to tell him? He couldn't be sure. All he could do was gather them up and throw them into the fire. Dissipate, burn and disintegrate and fly away. Make like a bird and fly away.
Hanguang-Jun was down. They had no idea where the spirit was. The Juniors and all the townspeople were waiting for them. Sang Meng's survival was looking less and less likely by the minute.
Lan Zhan was down.
"Shijie," He looks up, frowning, "Xianxian doesn't know what to do now."   
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MDZS/CQL Fic Rec List
A fic rec list for mdzs/cql focusing on wangxian and zhuiling, because it’s criminal how many good fics aren’t on any rec lists right now!
My first time making a fic rec list, so be gentle please. If any of the authors would like me to remove their fics, just let me know!
All fics are completed.
Lan Zhan/Wei Ying (Wangxian)
Canon-verse
Something Yet to Learn by Glitterbombshell
Synopsis: Wei Wuxian is asked (under duress) to babysit a class of tiny Lan cultivators for just a few minutes. A few minutes turns into an hour, turns into two hours, turns into an impromptu literal field trip and now there's an entire class that is weeks ahead of their curriculum, their most junior disciples have apparently imprinted on Wei Wuxian like baby birds, and Lan Qiren has no one to blame but himself.
蓝色生死恋; a blue love (to live and to die for) byyiqie
Synopsis: Wei Wuxian separates his life, without noticing, into three chapters. Some days, they’re hard to look at, hard to read, harder to know he wrote all of them himself. Some of the words are in blood.
asymptotic by chinxe
Synopsis: The members of the Lan Clan have never been particularly well-known for their good judgement when it comes to matters of the heart.
Which is why it should come as a surprise to no one when Lan Wangji falls in love with an actual ghost.
Linger in the Sun by etymologyplayground
Synopsis:  Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji find themselves cursed, unable to see or hear each other. They figure things out anyway.
Comments: casefic (or in this fandom’s case, nighthuntfic)
seldom all they seem by Fahye
Synopsis: or, one hundred and thirty-three principles of the Gusu Lan, pertaining to the state of marriage
***
He bows to Wei Wuxian, sword in hand, sleeves falling properly. Wei Wuxian bows in return, and the sect leaders begin the opening courtesies, and for all of ten minutes Lan Wangji is under the impression that he is betrothed to a boy who is perfectly normal and acceptable apart from an unfortunate tendency to fidget with his clothes.
That impression does not last.
Comments: Arranged marriage AU
concessions to love by besanii
Synopsis: Conceding to love is not admitting defeat.
(In which there is an arranged marriage with at least one unwilling party. At first.)
Comments: Another very good arranged marriage AU
A Match Made In Heaven by Ariana
Synopsis:  After getting fed up once and for all with Wei Wuxian getting into trouble, Madam Yu decides it’s time to call in the matchmaker.
Comments: Can you tell that I love the arranged marriage trope? Yeah, it’s probably obvious HAHA
Perfectly Arranged by mondengel
Synopsis: Three nights before his wedding to an omega from Yunmeng, Lan Wangji meets Wei Yuandao.
Comments: One last arranged marriage AU, this time round with mistaken identity thrown in!
Accidents Will Happen by mrsronweasley
Synopsis:  Wei Wuxian finds himself in a whole new situation.
Comments: Canon post-series mpreg
Desiderium by seredemia
Synopsis: After the war is over, the imperial realm can finally breathe a sigh of relief. While there is much celebration to be had, the price of war claims the life of their emperor, thus throwing the realm into uncertainty. Prince Lan Wangji must now watch as his older brother inherits the throne, bearing the weight of the legacy their father left behind.
That, however, is the least of his worries. As the lands gather in celebration, Prince Lan Wangji is reunited with a man he has not seen in thirteen years. Wei Wuxian's smile is as captivating as ever; and with each day that passes, the prince struggles more and more to stay away from him.
Comments: Ancient china au.
The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli
Synopsis:  In which the junior disciples (namely, Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhen, and a reluctant Lan Sizhui) turn to RPF in an attempt to rehabilitate Wei Wuxian's reputation so that he and Hanguang-jun can get together and get married and live happily ever after. It's... surprisingly effective.
Concerning Rabbits by pomme (manta)
Synopsis:  In which Lan Wangji navigates life, family, grief, friendship, and love through the years—with rabbits.
Sleeping in Paradise by daiki
Synopsis:  (prompt: AU where Demonic Cultivation shattered Wei Wuxian's soul before Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli's deaths and he went into a death-like state. Since nobody's ever done demonic arts before, nobody's sure if Wei Wuxian is alive or dead so they preserve his body and watch over him.)
Modern!AU
Operation Old Men by Chiharu
Synopsis: An ill-fated parent teacher conference reunites Jin Ling's wayward uncle with Sizhui's father. AKA: A matchmaking disaster as told by Jin Ling, Sizhui, and Jingyi.
And they were roommates... by harriet_vane
Synopsis:  A fic based lightly on a reddit post— "I (21f) have a crush on my roommate (20f). I can't figure out if she actually likes me back or not or is just being friendly. She cooks for me and knows all my favorite foods, and brings me lunch. She buys me anything I want, and her family all joke about our wedding. I once fell asleep on her lap and when I woke up she was stroking my hair and I almost had a stroke. I can't figure out if she's flirting with me or not. Help!"
Blink by Menuridae
Synopsis: Mo Xuanyu's family has set him up on a blind date with a rich young master after learning he is gay. However, he already has plans for that night. Instead of going on the date himself, Mo Xuanyu enlists Wei Wuxian to go as a substitute. Wei Wuxian must act like his best friend for the night before kindly turning down Mo Xuanyu's date.
Only, Wei Wuxian finds out that turning down Mo Xuanyu's date is possibly the hardest thing he has had to do in a long time.
from me to you by Ceta
Synopsis:  Or; Three-time Golden Globe recipient Wei WuXian and seven-time Grammy award recipient Lan WangJi’s love story through the eyes of the internet.
PWP
Fair Play by threerings
Synopsis: “Do you ever want to try out my role?” He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at his husband. Sweat still glistened across his bare chest from their recent exertions and Lan Wangji’s expression was soft and open.
“Hm.” The sound wasn’t either a negative or a positive.
“What does that mean?” Wei Wuxian asked. “Have you thought about it?”
“Wei Ying wants that?” Lan Wangji met his gaze, his eyebrows raised.
“Hmm.” Now it was his turn to hum noncommittally. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy this. Obviously, I do.” His smile twisted into a bit of a smirk as he gestured between their naked bodies. He could still feel the imprint of his husband’s strong hands on his hips, on his right thigh. Still feel where he’d pounded him until he begged for mercy. “But it feels so good...I might like to make you feel that good, too.”
Sun on Stone by Gotcocomilk
Synopsis: It was almost five. It was almost time for the guards to emerge, for careful cultivators to clamber up the walls and wear fine white robes into the sunshine.
It was time for the Cloud Recesses to awaken, and they were in full view of where those eyes would show.
Wei Wuxian had never felt hotter.
Comments: public sex, exhibitionism
24 Hours by tailor31415
Synopsis: Lan WangJi is always so attentive towards Wei WuXian, giving him what he needs before he even realizes he needs it. This time, Wei WuXian wants to give something back.
Comments: Part 1 of Can't Have WangXian Without Kink, an excellent kinky series.
Everything I Hold Dear by sealdog
Synopsis: For Lan Wangji's birthday, Wei Wuxian figures out how to make a duplicate of himself. Every day shenanigans ensue.
Comments: Threesome PWP with two Wei Wuxians and Lan Wangji.
Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui (Zhuiling)
Just the sight of you (is getting the best out of me) by Ibijau
Synopsis: Jin Ling wants all that Lan Sizhui will let him have, even when he knows it's needy of him. When they're caught having sex, Jin Ling loses the boy he loves and realises he'll have to fight to get him back.
Comments: Jin Ling’s efforts to get Sizhui back are so sweet. A treat to read.
A Civil Combpaign by Ariaste
Synopsis: “And,” said one of the pompous ministers, “there’s the matter of a marriage to consider as well!” 
Jin Ling, who at the beginning of that sentence had expected to slam into the very last wall of his patience and lose his temper entirely, paused. “A what?”
Thing was… it wasn’t such a bad idea.
Comments: Jin Ling decides that Lan Sizhui would make the perfect spouse. The first fic that turned me onto mdzs, highly recommended. Funny and touching. Also recommended is it’s equally good sequel below.
Besieged by Ariaste
Synopsis: “Mn,” says Lan Zhan out of the blue one night. He has been playing guqin on the other side of the room without speaking for two hours, and Wei Wuxian has been noodling with some new ideas for talismans for nearly as long--one of those easy, quiet evenings of companionable silence, until Lan Zhan has thrown this enormous tantrum out of nowhere.
---
(A companion fic to "A Civil Combpaign". Read that one first.)
Comments: Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian’s POV of the matchmaking shenanigans that took place in A Civil Combpaign,
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trensu · 4 years
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Episode 44: The One where Su She Gets Rekt
we’re outside of mianmian’s house and omg wwx's face is so cute when he recognizes mianmian. his little pleased grin makes me melt every time
also omg, i just realized that wwx is still wearing lwj’s white inner robes here???
you can see them where you usually see his (sinfully) red inner robes!!!!! 
which means as far as i’m concerned this ENTIRE EPISODE is a wangxiantic in and of itself lolol
mr. mianmian is like, why are you calling my daughter's name??
(i keep forgetting that mianmian's name isn't actually mianmian lol)
i'd be concerned too if some strange guy who was hiding behind our hay bale or whatever the heck that is, knew my kid's name...
wwx is so amused by this turn of events! he's like, awww, mianmian and little mianmian!
which was basically my response too
but ofc lwj is much more formal and does his little bow and addresses her as Lady Luo
wwx: now i know your true name!!
wait, did he really never learn it before?? or did he just forget? both are plausible, tbh
and here mianmian introduces her husband
wwx: may i ask what clan you're from?
mm: oh, he's not from any clan. he's a merchant!
bc mm knew getting tangled up with another clan was just not a good life decision, probs
and she's all he comes with me on night hunts tho and wwx is like, oh is that what you were doing?
little mm: we were looking for the yiling patriarch!
and wwx perks up and gets all playful bc WWX LOVES CHILDREN SO MUCH
wwx: oh, but i heard he eats children. aren't you afraid?
little mm gets all shy and stutter-y and it's ADORABLE
wwx is all like, oh she's so cute! she looks just like you when you were her age
and mm is all, don't you feel bad saying that?? how would you know what i looked like at that age???
we get a shot of lwj and he looks at ease and is simply taking joy in watching wwx interact with these people
same, lwj, same
wwx: how old is she? i'd like to give her some lucky money!
and ofc mr. and mrs. mianmian immediately try to stop him for politeness sake BUT LOL LWJ IS ALREADY REACHING INTO HIS SLEEVE TO GET MONEY FOR THE KID
wwx: don't be so humble. it's not my money anyway~
and he laughs bc he'S SHAMELESS
lwj just hands wwx his purse and lets him take whatever he wants from it. 
what a doting husband-to-be he is!
and then mm does that thing all parents do with small children "what do you say to hanguang jun and master wei?"
little mm: thank you, hanguang jun
SHE'S SO FREAKING CUTE
lwj must agree with me bc he SMILES. it's his little smile, the one that just barely curls up at the corner of his lips, but it's a sincere smile
he's probably remembering lsz when lsz was that age
he's probably thinking about how he wants more children, esp now that wwx is here to raise them with him
Give me all the Dadji fic!
wwx: little mm, i gave you the money. why don't you say thank you to me?
and he puts on this cute little pout but little mm just glares ADORABLY at him bc she SAW who's money it was and she's a clever girl lololol
lwj is amused by that exchange too, we get another one of his little smiles
now they're asking for info on anything unusual around but they get interrupted by some screaming!! mm was all ready to go attack, but lwj said they'd handle it
after they leave, mr. and mrs. mm have a little convo which i wouldn't bother mentioning except she ends it with a very sincere "master wei...is a good man"
BC WWX IS A GOOD MAN AND APPARENTLY SHE'S THE ONLY ONE SENSIBLE ENOUGH TO SEE THAT
turns out the screaming was wen ning!! being adorable!!
he's all covered in mud and grass, and had been trying to scare people off for Reasons
wwx starts cleaning his face 
I LOVE WHEN WWX DOES THAT
HE’S SO LOVING AND NURTURING
lwj watches this go down but there's no smile on his face like there was before with little mm even tho wwx being all sweet and nurturing is always cute
DON'T BE JEALOUS LWJ, DON'T BE THAT GUY
oh, wwx just noticed wn's injured hand and is like, what happened? and wn ofc says 'NOthing!!!" bc he doesn't want to worry wwx
lwj: it's blood.
wn: not blood1! well, it is but it's not human blood!!
he says this so nervously and flustered bc lwj is very intimidating actually 
Or at least I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side...
now we find out that wn has secretly been taking down puppets while following wwx and lwj around this whole time
bc wn is a good friend
then it gets kinda sad bc wwx is like, wn i told you to hide out somewhere! and wn is all, but where would i hide?
bc wn has nowhere and no one aside from wwx rn 😔
so wwx is like, okay, the three of us can travel together instead
Lol, lwj looks down at this and starts stalking off
lwj: lets go
i don't think he's happy to have a third wheel lololol
he wanted alone time with wwx!
WHAT DID I SAY, LWJ?? NO ONE LIKES A GREEN-EYED MONSTER.
now they're in town!
wwx: lan zhan, do you remember this town?
lwj: yes
BC LWJ REMEMBERS ALL OF HIS TIME WITH WWX
BC WWX IS HIS SOULMATE AND HE LOVES HIM
wwx is like, remember that time i said i'd treat you to a meal here?
they're in front of the teahouse in yiling and lwj is looking at it, like, FONDLY bc he DOES remember and it's probably one of his happiest memories tbh
wwx isn't looking at the teahouse, he's looking at lwj here and he gets this soft little smile on his face AND IT'S SO SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL 
ooh flashback to their first time in yiling together! And ~Their Song~ starts playing!!
it's a quick little flashback bc we're back in the present with wwx saying something about how he's embarrassed that lwj ended up paying that time or smth
at wwx's words, lwj turns around and just looks at him. 
Omg, how does he always pack in SO MUCH LOVE in the way he looks at wwx??
another quick flashback of them sharing a meal at the teahouse with cute little a-yuan darting around lwj with his toys
wwx: but that happened a long time ago
and lwj gives a stilted nod bc HE DOESN'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT HOW LONG AGO THAT WAS AND THE FACT THAT WWX WAS GONE ALL THIS TIME
wwx turns and sees the toy stall and he SMILES
OH GOD HOW DOES THIS MAN HAVE SUCH BEAUTIFUL SMILES
but then he gets sad as he remembers a-yuan
wwx: if that boy were still alive, he would be a teenager now
Bc wwx still thinks all the wens died. He thinks little a-yuan was BRUTALLY MURDERED with the rest of his clan
MY POOR DARLING SUNSHINE BOY
then we get a bit of slo-mo as lwj turns to look at wwx, who's still lost in thought
AND HE DOESN'T MENTION THAT LSZ IS ALIVE AND WELL???
WHAT HECK LWJ
THAT WAS A PERFECT OPENING
ALL YOU HAD TO SAY WAS "YEAH, FUNNY STORY, HE'S ACTUALLY NOT DEAD. SURPRISE!! I RESCUED HIM AND RAISED HIM AS MY OWN SON AND GAVE HIM ALL THE LOVE I COULD POSSIBLY GIVE BC HE WAS YOUR SON AND ALL I HAD LEFT OF YOU AND HE SAVED MY LIFE AS MUCH AS I SAVED HIS"
DAMN IT, LWJ. USE YOUR WORDS!!
cut to somewhere outside the town and wn is beating up a whole bunch of puppets all by himself like a badass
oh, here's lwj with the assist! he guqin's the heck out of those puppets
he looks so cool doing that, omg
Also, i love how he whooshes away his instrument whenever he's done with it
we're at the burial mounds!!
which is looking just as bright and cheery as ever!!
meaning everything is gray and looks dead
wwx gets really sad, and he's remembering the voices of all the wens he failed
IT HURTS TO SEE HIM THIS MELANCHOLY
MY SUNSHINE BOY SHOULD ONLY EVER BE HAPPY AND SMILEY, DAMN IT 
wn snaps him out of it, thankfully
lwj explains how everything was destroyed during the siege back then
he doesn't mention at all how he defended this place until he physically couldn't anymore
wwx: it doesn't matter that this place was destroyed. for me, wq, and wn, it represents the hardest time in our lives. there's no need to return to this place
wwx says this all soberly and i just wanna wrap him up in blankets and hide him from the world
BC THE WORLD DOESN'T DESERVE MY PRECIOUS SUNSHINE BOY. 
LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO  HIM!!
THEY BROKE HIS HEART!!! THEY’RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE HIM ANYMORE.
lwj looks like he feels the same way, lol
wwx: wen ning, stop looking. let's go
wn: yes, young master. i just wanted to check if there's anything left
which was ANOTHER PERFECT OPENING for lwj to cut in and say "ACTUALLY, ABOUT THAT, a-yuan is totally alive and well, guys!!"
but nooooo, ofc lwj doesn't say anything bc god forbid he use his words every once in awhile
oh, evil puppets just appeared and started attacking 
But wn is like NOT TODAY SATAN and starts pummeling the lot of them
ooooh, and lwj does this thing here where he summons up a guqin string and, like, magically attaches it to a couple of trees 
Then wwx tells wn to watch out and wn does this cool backflip to join wwx as lwj TWIRLS forward to take wn's place
and then he magically plucks the guqin string which lets out this big blue blast of energy 
the whole move looks SO DAMN COOL
HE EVEN DOES LIKE, A FINISHING POSE LIKE ALL GOOD SUPERHEROES DO LOL
After, he whooshes away his string like nbd, just being effortlessly awesome like ALWAYS
now they're making their way to wwx's demon palace cave thing, and lwj stops to freaking MATERIALIZE suibian out of thin air and give it to wwx
it looks SO cool
lwj: for defense
wwx: thank you
wwx unsheathes it just enough so we can see the inscription on the blade before re-sheathing it and keeping it at his side
lwj gives him a Questioning Look and wwx gets a little awkward
wwx: ah, i haven't used a sword in so long, i'm not used to it
his eyes are all big and guileless and gorgeous
GOD HOW IS HE SO BEAUTIFUL
lwj is not as easily distracted as i am, apparently, and he very obviously is not buying with wwx is selling
wwx: fine, i'll tell you. it's bc this body of mine lacks spiritual power, so even the best sword can't show it's true power in my hand
lol, he raises up suibian when he says "the best sword"
i am so distracted by wwx's gorgeous cheekbones here, 
omg, paired with those big brown eyes, I CAN'T HANDLE IT I'M ONLY HUMAN
wwx: therefore, hanguang jun, please protect this fragile, feeble man~
he says it with a thin smile which looks as adorable as all his other smiles
Tbh i get the impression that he's a little embarrassed to have to ask for help
NOT THAT HE EVEN NEEDED TO ASK BC LWJ IS ALREADY WILLING TO PROTECT HIM FROM ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME
wwx walks around past lwj and we see lwj aim one of his signature Longing Glances at wwx's back
now we're in wwx's old demon palace cave thing!!
AND WE SEE THE JUNIORS ARE ALL TIED UP AND TRAPPED THERE
HELLO, JUNIORS!! WE'VE MISSED YOUR PRECIOUS BABY FACES
lol, lsz and jl are tied to one another, my sweet little baby ship
you know what, this isn't wangxian at all but the juniors have some choice lines here and we should take the time to appreciate them
ljy: what do they even want? whether it's to torture or kill us, they should just do it! i'd rather be eaten by monsters during night hunting than starve to death in this shithole
LOLOL SAME LJY SAME
death by starvation has got to be one of the WORST ways to go
rando jin junior starts running his mouth again and we see jin ling close his eyes and attempt to do a breathing exercise or smth and IT'S HILARIOUS LOLOLOLOL
LOOK AT MY BRATTY SON TRYING TO CONTROL HIS TEMPER
it lasts like, two seconds before he's yelling at the other kid and telling him to shut up
rando jin junior is all offended and is like, what do you mean shut up??
so my precious bratty son is like, "what do i mean? are you deaf or stupid? can't you understand? shut up means STOP TALKING"
I LOVE JIN LING SO MUCH
MY DARLING BRAT OF A SON
they bicker for a bit and lsz cuts in trying to make them stop by pointing out that, hello, they're trapped in here by evil puppets who could decide to come in and tear them to pieces literally any minute now
the distraction tactic didn't work. the boys are trying to beat each other up whilst being tied up and it's HILARIOUS
THAT'S THE MOST PATHETIC FIGHT I'VE EVER SEEN, BOYS.
meanwhile lsz is like: guys, calm down, calm down!!
bc he's tied to jl so he's getting all jostled around, poor sweetie-pie lsz 
and this is when wwx decides to step in, with a long suffering sigh and a very unamused: hey, look here.
THE WAY LSZ AND LJY'S FACES LIGHT UP WHEN THEY SEE LWJ NEVER GETS OLD
also it cracks me up how there's a breeze elegantly rustling through wwx's and wn's hair. 
it's so obviously for the Aesthetic bc literally nobody else's hair is doing that 😆😆😆 
ALSO ALSO, OMG WWX IS SO FREAKING HILARIOUS HERE
Wwx unsheathes suibian and hands it to wn KNOWING THAT ALL THESE KIDS ARE TERRIFIED OF THE FEARSOME GHOST GENERAL
AND THE KIDS ALL START PANICKING AS WN TAKES THE SWORD AND STALKS TOWARDS THEM
and wn ning totally plays along bc he slices through those ropes in the most menacing way possible AND ALL THE KIDS SLAM THEIR EYES CLOSED AND HAVE A FULL-BODY FLINCH AND IT'S HILARIOUS
wwx gets sulky that the kids seem more scared of wn than him lol
we see the dumber kids make a break for it but oyzz, with his big kind heart, stops them bc hey, remember there's a horde of evil puppets outside??
lol, wwx smirks at the dumb kids.
lsz: master wei, you're here to save us! you didn't send people to capture us right?
and wwx is like, do i LOOK like i have that kind of money?
lsz is like, ah, yes, i remember that you are TRAGICALLY POOR.
kid doesn't pull punches, does he lol. and he says it so mildly too
wwx's whole reaction here is like, yeah okay, i deserved that one lol
wwx starts grilling the kids for info, which ljy gladly provides, and lwj gives him and lsz a "well done" for their efforts
oooh, now jin ling is approaching wwx
lwj sees him out of the corner of his eye and IMMEDIATELY places himself in front of wwx
which cracks me up bc this is a full grown man here squaring up against a kid who's like, twelve (okay, 16 but still!)
ofc lsz and ljy follow lwj's lead and put themselves between jl and wwx too
wwx thinks they're all being ridiculous
wwx: what are you guys doing? you're surrounding him.
so he nudges the lan kids away and then grabs lwj's upper arm and literally tugs him away from where he was about to throw hands with a child
ljy: you want to stab him again?
lsz: jingyi!
thank you, lsz, tell him to leave my bratty son alone ☹️
wwx essentially waves it all off and is like, hey guys lets focus on getting out of here first, yeah?
jin ling looks ashamed, my poor boy. he feels all guilty for stabbing wwx 😞
now they're plot talking about how they're gonna get out of the cave, what with the horde of evil puppets and all
they make it to the entrance of the cave and we see a whole bunch of cultivators drop in for a party, i guess
oyzz: dad! *runs off to be with dad*
jc: jin ling what are you waiting for? your death?
I LOVE WATCHING JC BE AN UNCLE TO JL
HE'S SO ANGRY WITH HIS AFFECTION LOLOL
oh hey, one of the rando juniors called out "mom!"
that's so cool actually??? we don't really get a lot of lady cultivators but apparently one of them is there to save her kid!!
uh oh, Uncle Lan does not look happy to be here
lwj leads all the lan juniors to lqr and he bows politely to him 
the lan juniors all join lqr and stand behind him but lwj very pointedly stands before lqr and makes no move to get closer to him as wwx joins him at his side
lqr: wangji, come here
lwj looks at him briefly, like he wants to say something, before looking down 
bc no, he's not leaving wwx's side ever again lqr, so you better get used to it
now some rando lady cultivator is shouting at lwj. she's all "you're undeserving of your reputation!!"
and i'm sitting here like, HEY LADY, WATCH YOUR MOUTH OR COME FIGHT ME
YOU KNOW NOTHING, LADY, NOTHING AT ALL
wwx interrupts her rant 
wwx: here you go again!
he probs would've said more but then jc interrupts
jc: we have to do this
and he probs wouldve said more but FUCKING SU SHE INTERRUPTS AS IF HE HAS ANY VALUE AT ALL
LOL JC’s eyes slide over from wwx to su she and he looks at su she WITH SUCH CONTEMPT AND IRRITATION, IT'S GREAT
THAT'S HOW I LOOK AT SU SHE ALL THE TIME LOLOLOL
ss: blah blah we found you cuz you stole kids blah blah 
and wwx is like, EXCUSE YOU, I JUST SAVED THOSE KIDS' LIVES. HOW ABOUT SAYING THANK YOU???
now wwx is gonna get clever and start talking circles around this crew of idiot cultivators
wwx: your party seems a bit weak, guys. shouldn't jgy and lxc be here with you?
ss: blah blah assassination attempt against jgy blah blah lxc is tenderly nursing him back to health blah blah
then su she implies that wwx was the one who tried to kill jgy
STFU SU SHE
wwx snorts
ss: why are you laughing??
wwx: oh, nothing. i was just surprised that jgy could get hurt so easily
and here we get some oyzz time
oyzz: dad, i don't think he really did it. last time, he saved us in coffin town. this time, he rescued us too!
oyzz's dad: don't speak nonsense, you silly child
YOU WANNA GO, OYZZ'S DAD? DON'T TALK TO THE BOY THAT WAY, I WILL FIGHT YOU.
wwx: why didn't the nie clan come?
Nhs pops in from where he was hiding: oh, pardon me! master wei, i don't know anything about this. i'm just here to make up the numbers
ILU NHS, I'M PERSONALLY GONNA GIVE YOU AN ANCIENT FANTASY CHINA OSCAR
LOL i love how after popping up to say that, he just scoots himself away and behind the other cultivators again
now the idiot cultivators are airing their grievances against wwx
ugh, sect leader yao is talking again and we get to see mob mentality in action
GOD THEY ALL NEED TO STFU
BUNCH OF LOSER NOBODIES
they're still hurling accusations at my sunshine boy and it's making me angry
wwx: I won't admit to what i didn't do
YOU TELL ‘EM, WWX!!
Fucking su she chimes in with some bullshit and so wwx decides to do a public service and try to teach these losers some critical thinking skills by laying out Valid Points for Plot Reasons
Lesson gets cut short bc oops, here come more evil zombie puppets with a strong gust of wind for ambience
LOOK AT JC GO WITH THAT ZIDIAN
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT
but it fails on it's second strike!! jc looks at it in shock, like what's going on??
wwx must've seen that happen bc suddenly we see his flute boomerang the puppet that was headed for jc
and wwx places himself in front of him BC THAT'S HIS BROTHER, THE BROTHER HE LOVES
AND HE'S SO WORRIED FOR HIM WHEN HE SEES JC SPIT UP BLOOD
YUNMENG BROOOOOSSSSSSS *SOB*
oh, now we see lqr spit up blood and lwj, being the good nephew that he is, swoops in to fight off the puppets that had been attacking his uncle
god, lwj is such a good person  bc he just blocked a hit aimed for sect leader yao
Sect leader yao
LWJ PROTECTED SECT LEADER YAO
LWJ TRULY IS AN HONORABLE MAN BC I WOULD'VE LET THAT HIT KILL HIM AND BEEN LIKE, OOPS, TOTALLY MISSED THAT, MY BAD
i mean, c'mon, is ANYONE gonna miss him if he dies??? no, nobody would be torn up over sect leader yao dying
his wake would have been a party, like ding dong the witch is dead sort of party
lol, lwj probs regrets this later on when he’s chief cultivator and has to listen to that loser rant endlessly about nothing, like, damn, i should’ve let him die back then
you know, i'm just gonna enjoy lwj fighting. he's got the best fight scenes tbh
we find out that everyone's spiritual energy has been blocked and they're defenseless against those puppets
lsz tells them all that they need to get into the cave where there's a protective circle they can fix and activate
then fucking su she is all like no don't go in there, it's probs a trap to kill us!!
SHUT UP SU SHE
wwx: staying outside will get you killed. going inside will also get you killed. either way, you're dead. but at least going inside will stall them.
wwx: su she, why are you in such a hurry to ask everyone to die with you? What’s your intent?
GET REKT SU SHE
Lol nhs is like are you guys going in or not? i'll just go inside myself if you won't and all his cultivators are like, yeah yeah, let's do that 
everyone's fleeing to the cave now except for su she and his crew
wwx: su she, you'll stay here? fine, stay here. You sure are brave!
THE WAY WWX SAYS THAT THO, THICK WITH MOCKERY AND SARCASM
I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
while all the cultivators go into the cave lwj and wn are still fighting until everyone's gone
wwx: lan zhan, come on!
BC EVERYONE'S MADE IT INSIDE NOW AND LWJ NEEDS TO COME WITH HIM AND STAY SAFE!!
lwj slices down two more puppets and then zooms to wwx's side
lqr activates the protective circle and then holds wwx (and by extension lwj) at sword point
lwj: grand master
lwj looks at him like he wants him to understand, but he sees the lqr is not having it so he lowers his gaze
poor lwj 😔
lqr: what do you want?
wwx: nothing. but since you're all here let's have a chat!
lol, wwx sits down and makes himself comfortable even tho he's surrounded by cultivators that want him dead
The cultivators are all like, we don't wanna talk with you!!
wwx: aren't you interested in the reason you got poisoned? i swear, i'm not that capable of poisoning you all without being discovered
nhs: that's right. i think what he says makes sense
nhs is really good at what he does, isn't he? 
he knows exactly when he should interject to get the crowd to do as he wants
wwx starts to walk them through the basic critical thinking process, and lsz adds in his clever insights as well
then there's a bunch of plot talk that idc about
nhs: master wei, what should we do now?
NHS IS SO GOOD AT WHAT HE DOES OMG
Wwx is like, there's only two groups with spiritual power. me and lwj are onE group, and the juniors are the other group.
wwx: as for the rest, i don't think it's inappropriate to describe you as week and useless
I DON'T THINK IT'S INAPPROPRIATE TO DESCRIBE YOU AS WEAK AND USELESS
LOLOLOL LOVING THIS
wwx: if i really wanted to do something, could these young men stop me?
then fucking su she starts talking again
ss: blah blah blah kill me if you want blah blah we aint scared blah blah
Man, you have NO IDEA how much i want you dead, su she
wwx: may i ask who you are?
GET REKT SU SHE
wwx starts teaching them critical thinking again and we're again shown how the juniors are way more clever that these full-fledged cultivators
wwx looks so proud whenever the juniors chime in
su she starts talking again
ss: blah blah you're being fooled by the enemy blah blah bl--
AND THEN HE STOPS MID-SENTENCE
wwx: continue. why'd you stop?
some rando cultivator accuses wwx of doing that to su she and wwx is ADORABLE about it
his eyes get all wide and he frowns with a "well, don't look at me!" expression
HE'S SO CUTE, I LOVE HIM
and lsz and ljy tell us that it's a lan clan specialty - THE SILENCE SPELL
AND WE CUT TO A SHOT OF LWJ COMPLETELY BLANK FACED AS HE TELLS WWX TO CONTINUE
LIKE A BOSS
GET REKT SU SHE
so wwx continues and is like, isn't it weird how fucking su she wanted you all to die out there with him and now he wants to stop me from figuring out who poisoned you? now, why would an ally do that, hm?
I LOVE YOU WWX
IT'S SO FUN WATCHING SU SHE GET UTTERLY DESTROYED THAT I NEED TO RECORD THIS NEXT PART FOR POSTERITY
wwx: it seems that the su clan doesn't get along with the lan clan
ljy: indeed (he says with a disgusted look at su she LOL)
lwj: the su clan is a branch of the lan clan
and here, nhs gets ljy's attention
nhs: what's the story?
LOLOL, NHS YOU GOSSIP YOU
AND THE WAY LJY EAGERLY IS LIKE, HELL YEAH LEMME TELL YOU
lsz interrupts tho so he can give a more tactful explanation
lsz: master nie, you may not know but ss built his own clan after departing from the lan clan
lsz: their techniques are similar to the lan clan's, they're also good at music. even ss's spiritual tool is modeled after hanguang jun's 7-string guqin
ljy: not "departed from." they were expelled for betraying the lan clan. and it's not only that! there are funnier reasons too!
TELL ME MORE LJY. I WANT TO KNOW ALL THE FUNNY REASONS WHY SS WAS KICKED OUT
lsz tries to stop ljy but LJY IS NOT GONNA KEEP HIS OPINIONS TO HIMSELF
ljy: ss not only imitates everything from us, he also forbids ppl from discussing how he imitates hanguang jun
LOL, ATTA BOY LJY
ha, you can hear lsz scolding him in the background
unfortunately ss gets the ability to speak back and immediately gets everyone to start bickering
we see wwx roll his eyes and get this "I am so Done" expression on his face
i feel ya bro
more bickering, ljy giving as good as he gets, which is awesome, and then ljy says something that gives wwx an "aha!" moment
ljy: who are you calling arrogant? which clan's demon-subdue melody was played badly without even noticing?
and with that, wwx figures out how the other cultivators lost their spiritual power. but he's gonna make a show out of explaining it bc Drama.
wwx: lqr, may i ask you a question?
lqr: hmph. if you have a question, why not ask lwj?
wow, very mature of you lqr. what kind of example are you setting for your juniors?
we get a shot of lwj here and he looks at his uncle and then looks away with his mouth pinched
i think that hurt him. he still loves his uncle, after all.
wwx: then i'll ask him
wwx: lan zhan, even tho the su clan departed from the lan clan, they imitated the lan clan exclusive technique, right?
lwj: yes
wwx: one of the techniques is magic music that can exorcise evil with a guqin. since the su clan copied you, lots of their disciples use the guqin too, right?
lwj: yes
wwx: ss left the clan after learning the technique but since he didn't learn it to perfection, his disciples play with many mistakes, right?
GET REKT SU SHE
TODAY IS DRAG SU SHE DAY AND I AM LIVING FOR IT
lwj: yes
wwx: so even if they played music badly during battle, the lan clan wouldn't mind at all. they'd just assume it's careless mistakes. they'd assume someone confuse the score rather than thinking they did it on purpose
then he poses very confidently and says "isn't that right, clan leader su?"
su she goes to pluck the guqin strings and wwx reminds him that he has no spiritual power rn
ss: what are you insinuating by saying all that?
wwx: did i not say it clear enough that you feel like i'm just insinuating?
WWX IS FULL OF ZINGERS TODAY, IT'S AMAZING
and then wwx spells it all out for them bc as all know, these cultivators are all idiots. 
and the episode ends there!
not a lot of wangxiantics aside from the bit at the beginning BUT SO MANY QUALITY LINES FROM WWX AND THE JUNIORS
AND WE GET TO WATCH SU SHE GET DRAGGED FOR HALF AN EPISODE
NOT A BAD WAY TO PASS THE TIME, TBH
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120 notes · View notes
radishtears · 4 years
Text
lay me down (on a bed of roses)
If you found yourself facing your younger self, what would you do?
aka the kids (no, not those ones) have an interesting day.
... ... ...
wangxian, yunmeng bros, time-travel?, blood, violence
... ... ...
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305264
... ... ...
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Jiang Cheng and his fellow students are milling about, relaxing after their lesson, when an ominous bell begins tolling. A brief hush falls, followed by curious murmurs. Jiang Cheng exchanges a glance with Nie Huaisang even as some Lan Sect disciples hurry over and begin corralling the crowd.
Ah. It’s a warning bell. An intruder. Someone has forcefully entered Cloud Recesses, breaking through the carefully cultivated barrier.
“How can that be?” Nie Huaisang clutches at Jiang Cheng, sounding equal parts impressed and terrified. Even the Lan disciple acting as their shepherd looks concerned.
They walk a few steps when Jiang Cheng suddenly freezes.
“Jiang-xiong?” Nie Huaisang tugs at him. “Hey—!”
Jiang Cheng only pauses long enough to toss out a succinct explanation before taking off towards the edge of the forest.
“Won’t be long,” he yells back to the Lan disciple he barrels over.
... 
“Wei Wuxian! Where did you go off and die this time?!”
Jiang Cheng lets out an irritated huff of breath. His shixiong really has the best timing. Just the best. Of all the days to go explore the mountain. Again.
If he trips on a branch and ruins his clothes, he’s going to steal all of Wei Wuxian’s and let that asshole go naked for a week, he vows.
...Wei Wuxian probably wouldn’t care, actually.
Tsk.
“Hey, where the f—?!”
The shink of a drawn sword steals his attention and Jiang Cheng is immediately high on alert. He barely has time to focus when the sound is followed by a loud crack. A tree?
Suddenly, Jiang Cheng is thrown onto his back, completely winded. He didn’t see what hit him. The flora around him creak back into place, swaying in the aftermath.
“What just...?”
He scrambles to his feet, uninjured but winded. A heavy, sickly feeling lingers in the air.
Vengeful energy?
...In Cloud Recesses?!
There’s no way...wait...unless...? Oh well it really is his lucky day, huh?!
As proud as he is, Jiang Cheng is no idiot. He’s not Wei Wuxian. That energy he just felt isn’t anything he can stand against on his own.
Heart pounding, holding his breath, Jiang Cheng backs away slowly.
“Stop...! W-who...?!”
The voice that reaches his ears is barely audible, faint and choked. But it’s enough to send a horrified chill down Jiang Cheng’s spine. As if he could mistake that voice anywhere.
His feet spring to action a beat before his mind registers it.
It doesn’t take a second before Jiang Cheng is bursting into a clearing, Sandu drawn and ready, heart in his throat. And there they are.
There’s a sword — Suibian — skewering him to the mess of a tree behind him and there are hands around his neck. His shixiong had chosen a light lilac uniform today, perfect for early summer weather. Perfectly contrasting the crimson spilling down his side.
He must be seeing things, he must be.
His heart stumbles but thankfully his body does not hesitate, years of training serving him well. A haze of red colours his vision, sharpens it, because this is simply unacceptable.
Dimly, Jiang Cheng wonders what happened. Was it just a coincidence? Was Wei Wuxian just at the wrong place, at the wrong time? Or did he run towards the danger? But Jiang Cheng knows, really, that Wei Wuxian wouldn’t do that. Not when it mattered.  
“Get off him!”
Surprisingly, the assailant — the intruder — listens, letting Wei Wuxian slide to the ground, limp and silent. The man turns and Jiang Cheng stares into bottomless scarlet eyes. Coldness creeps up his arms.
“You’ll regret saving him.”
Jiang Cheng’s head feels woozy and, pumped full of adrenaline, he can barely think straight. The maniac in front of him looks disconcertingly like Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng doesn’t understand what’s going on.
“Who are you? How dare you attack Yunmeng’s head disciple?!”
But it can’t be him. Wei Wuxian is right there bleeding out behind him. The torn and bloodied black robes flow and drape off a skeletal frame, so unlike the practical outfits his shixiong favours. It lets Suibian — and his good looks — shine even more, Wei Wuxian likes to say.
The corpse-like pallor and blood-red eyes of this stranger fill Jiang Cheng with a muted sense of horror. Beyond his face, there’s nothing similar at all, Jiang Cheng thinks.
The stranger only laughs. It’s a soft and broken sound.
“Leave now, Jiang Cheng. You can pretend you never saw anything. Pretend...he never existed.”
Rage boils under Jiang Cheng’s skin. He doesn’t have time for this, not when his idiot of a brother is lying, unmoving, on the ground. And yet this maniac is spewing some kind of nonsense.
“Bullshit! Who the fuck are you, even?! You think I, the future sect leader of the Jiang Sect, will stand by and let you attack one of my own people?”
For a split second, Jiang Cheng thinks the stranger might cry. It’s a bewildering thought. He’s never seen Wei Wuxian cry.  
“It’s better this way. Trust me, please. Just this once.”
Suibian’s blade flashes, still wet with blood. Sandu rises.
Jiang Cheng’s mouth opens in a silent scream. He’s too far. He’s too far.
A ripple of energy rips through the clearing. A clean strum of the guqin.
“Wei Ying!”
Jiang Cheng has never heard that voice infused with such panic. But it’s not enough. Lan Wangji buys them a fraction of time but Suibian is still descending, falling like an executioner’s final blow.
“No, please...”
The clearing explodes into blinding light.
As soon as Jiang Cheng’s eyes adjust a little, he cracks open a slit, just in time to see a tall silhouette pull the black-clad figure into his arms.
Even from afar, it looks intimate. Jiang Cheng wants to look away, but he doesn’t. He sees the silhouette lean down to whisper quiet words. They are pleading words yet they are filled with a steady and firm conviction. They are not for him but Jiang Cheng hears them anyway.
“Come home, Wei Ying. Come back to me. I am waiting for you.”
The world collapses into nothing.
“We are all waiting.”
... 
Wei Wuxian wakes slowly. It’s like floating up from deep, murky waters and finally breaking the surface to bask in the sunlight above.
The last tendril of the dream releases his mind from its grasp. He blinks open heavy eyelids.
“Wei Ying.”
A deep, familiar timbre rumbles next to his ear and he instinctively tries to shift closer.
“Lan Zhan~”
He burrows into a warm embrace.
“Mn. I’m here.” His husband shifts and pulls him into a sitting position, still comfortably arranged in his lap. “How do you feel?”
“Never better. What happened?”
“What do you remember?”
Wei Wuxian plays absently with a strand of Lan Wangji’s hair and doesn’t answer.
He remembers the conference. It’s why they’re here in Yunmeng, the first time in an official capacity. Hanguang-jun and his cultivation partner. Surreptitiously, he glances around the room. Indeed, they haven’t left. He recognizes Lotus Pier’s style of furnishings.
And then what?
Oh, yes. The beast. Its poisonous talons.
Some young upstarts had smuggled it in using a qiankun pouch of all things. They’d wanted to...what was it? Reverse an unnatural, undeserved rebirth and set the world to rights? Have their names etched into history through this noble deed?
Something like that.
Wei Wuxian scoffs.
But as uncoordinated as the effort had been, it almost succeeded. Wei Wuxian had been far too unguarded, far too comfortable in a place he used to call home. All it took was a turned back, a split second of divided attention, and the last thing he saw was Lan Wangji’s widening eyes before he fell into darkness.
The wound itself is barely a scratch. The bandages Wei Wuxian can feel around his arm are definitely overkill.
He presses a kiss onto his husband’s cheek. An apology.
“You must’ve been worried.”
Lips brush against his temple. Arms tighten around him.
“Mn. I was.”
They bask in each other’s presence for a good few minutes. Lan Wangji isn’t one to fidget, not at all, but sometimes he likes to run his fingers through Wei Wuxian’s hair, thread their fingers together, press gentle kisses down his neck...remind himself he’s really here. Wei Wuxian knows it all too well.
“Your dream?” Lan Wangji asks.
Wei Wuxian sighs. He doesn’t really want to think about it but he knows he should. And Lan Wangji makes him braver.
“It was just after Nightless Sky. Shijie had just...” He swallows. It’s never easier. It never will be. “And I...I don’t know why. Maybe I was just thinking about it, wishing, so hard that...well. It was a dream anyway.
“So suddenly I was back. Standing in front of Cloud Recesses. Those barriers didn’t stand a chance against the Yiling Patriarch. Heh.”
“Wei Ying...”
“I know! I know. It’s stupid but I...I guess I thought it was a good idea. At the time.”
He remembers the dream more vividly than he would like.
He remembers the screams, the blood, the emptiness. He remembers all of it falling away and then a glimmer of hope and desperation burning into his chest.
He had been given a chance. A chance to reset, a chance to erase the pain.
It had been such an easy choice. It made so much sense. Everything would have been better.
“Do you still think that?”
Wei Wuxian startles. The voice came from the door and sure enough, it’s the one person he doesn’t want to see right now.  
“...Ah, Jiang Cheng. You’re here.”
Lost in memories, Wei Wuxian didn’t notice him arriving. He frowns.
“Well?” Jiang Cheng presses, the picture of impatience.
“I...”
Lan Wangji’s chest is a solid warmth against his back. Wei Wuxian can’t help but slide his hand into his husband’s. He squeezes tight. Jiang Cheng scrunches up his nose in his typical disdain.
“No. No, I don’t.”
Wei Wuxian stares fixedly down at his and Lan Wangji’s joined hands. The silence drags on so long that he thinks Jiang Cheng might’ve left. But then...
“I’m...glad to hear that.”
The admission is quiet but the words are enough to stun Wei Wuxian into stillness. Jiang Cheng looks highly uncomfortable.
Wei Wuxian takes one look at his face and laughs.
... ... ...
 Extra:
“Wei Wuxian!”
The young Sect Leader Jin skids to a halt in front of the Yiling Patriarch and his husband.
“Hanguang-jun,” Jin Ling adds, making a hasty formal greeting. He pauses, taking a moment to look Wei Wuxian up and down. Wei Wuxian returns his scrutiny with a raised eyebrow.
“You’re awake.”
“...Indeed. Is there a problem?”
“Yes!” As if suddenly reminded, Jin Ling jolts in place and wastes no more time dragging Wei Wuxian away.
“Uncle is about to kill those rogue cultivators!”
“So what are you coming to me for?!”
“Ah, whatever! Just come already!”
... ... ...
Was that confusing? Is it a bit ooc for JC in the end? Maybe. But I couldn’t help it. No regrets.
Anyway, the idea was basically, WWX got scratched and poisoned and fell into that dreamscape, as his younger self, right after Nightless Sky. The way to save him was to enter the dream via an “antidote” and pull him out. Very cliche, I know.
Why did Jiang Cheng get there first? Well, he strongly insisted by stealing the only dose of antidote as soon as it was ready. Poor Hanguang-jun was quite livid.
But why did Jiang Cheng not appear as his adult self (and didn’t know he was in the dream)? It’s because Wei Wuxian’s consciousness didn’t recognize him strongly enough. Their connection wasn’t strong enough. Not then, not anymore.
But no worries, they’ll get to a good place again, eventually. I am adamant about this.
Also, did anyone catch the title reference??
... ... ...
Ko-fi | Drabble Commissions
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miyu-hyperfixates · 4 years
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The Untamed and MDZS appreciation and recommendation post
Okay so fair warning to my small amount of followers, this blog will probably be full of MXTX contents starting from now, because I’ve fallen into MXTX’s hell and I don’t see myself climbing out any time soon.
I’m not even kidding in the span of three months, I’ve watched CQL (like 4 times), watched the special edition, watch the MDZS donghua, read the novel, read the manhua, read a fair amount of fics, discovered the SVSSS’s characters through a few crossover fanfics, started to read SVSSS, then TGCF (as well as their respective manhua up to the last translated chapters) and well generally immersed myself into the fandoms. And I LOVE it! And I have so, so many feelings and thoughts about the characters, the plots, the relationships, everything, that I don’t even know where to start! 
Okay so for those who don’t know what the hell I’ve talking about. MXTX stands for Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù who is the author of three amazing novels: Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS) [also called Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation], The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (SVSSS) and Tian Guan Ci Fu (TGCF) [Heaven Official’s Blessing]. The Untamed or Chen Qing Ling (CQL) is the chinese drama adaptation of her most well known (as of now) novel MDZS.
I am going to talk about CQL/The Untamed and MDZS (novel version) in this post... But it will probably be followed by posts about TGCF and SVSSS too.
I’ve tried to be pretty vague on several points so that should keep the spoilers at minimum, in case you didn’t watch CQL yet.
[More under the cut] 
Okay so as someone of Asian descent who was born and raised in an European country and spent her formative years watching wuxia and xianxia, The Untamed/CQL is the kind of representation that I really didn’t know I needed and I am so, so glad that I gave it a chance. (Big, big thanks to @shit-happens-bitchachos for reblogging so much CQL contents that the frequent presence of it on my dash got me curious  enough to start watching it).
Watching The Untamed for the first time feels like coming back to a home that you once thought would be frigid but actually became very warm and welcoming without you noticing because you have been away for so long. And it feels both nostalgic and new, in the best possible way. It’s a wonderful feeling, really. 
Where to find it?
You can watch the drama english sub version on Netflix, Viki or Youtube, just typed “The Untamed” and you should find the episodes easily.
To be honest, though I am very thankful for the existence of such platform, I have a slight [read huge] dislike of Netflix’s choice of translation for any Asian movie/tv shows. I mean I’m not going to go off on a debate about official translation vs fan translation, nor westernization and how doing so not only take off a huge layer of subtle/or not so subtle communication but also participate to erase part of the culture. [Because I have opinions about this and I am still very much so cringing about all the “Yanli”s, it is really not the point I’m trying to make right now. ]
So out of the three version, I’d lean more on the Viki version. To be clear though this choice isn’t based on the accuracy of the translation, but strictly on the choice of naming and title convention.
As for the novel, you can find  here a complete english translation made by the Exiled Rebels Scanlations group.
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The plot
I’m not going to go into detail about the plot, because I’m sure a lot of people out there managed to do so in a way more articulate way that I ever could.
So basically CQL is about Wei Wuxian, aka the Yiling Patriarch. The Yiling Patriarch is like this huge urban legend that everyone warns their children about, except he actually existed. Why such a reputation? Well, in a Cultivation society where people used spiritual energy to fight and exorcise creatures full of resentful energy (such as ghost, ghouls and other things), the Yiling Patriarch is actually the guy who decided that he was going to use resentful energy to fight resentful energy. What he is doing is called “demonic cultivation” and if you want a western equivalent it would be quite close to using necromancy. And if you want an idea of how blasphemous such method of cultivation is deemed, it would be the equivalent of going to a Christian exorcist organization and yelling loud and clear to all the people there that you’re gonna desecrate the tombs of all holy people and use their corpses to fight ghost and other dark creatures.
So the legend/story of the Yiling Patriarch goes as follow: The Yiling Patriarch and his army of corpses were actually quite useful to turn over the tide of a war that shook the foundations of the Cultivation World, annihilating the strongest Sect of the five Great Cultivation Sects (that lorded over the cultivation society). But some time afterwards the Yiling Patriarch revealed his true colors, and killed more than 3000 cultivators (among them his elder sister and her husband - orphaning their one month old son) before finally ended up being killed by his own little brother.
And now sixteen (or thirteen in the novel) years later, Wei Wuxian’s soul got called back because of a dark ritual. The ritual involved giving up their own soul and offering their body to summon up the soul of a dead, evil, person. The soul summoned would have to accomplish the task the summoner wished for, or the soul would be forever destroyed without being able to ever reincarnate. And so, Wei Wuxian woke up in the body of Mo Xuanyu, a young man who was abused by his family and wished for revenge. While trying to work out what he is supposed to do, Wei Wuxian quickly realized that the Mo family is actually being targeted by fierce corpses that are acting way more aggressively than they should. Turns out that it was because of a possessed spirit sword [a cut out arm in the novel].
Afterwards he encounters Lan Wangji, an esteemed cultivator, one of the strongest of his generation, coming from one of the most righteous Cultivation Sect. And the thing is, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji appear to have quite a complicated history that dates back to their teenage years. And CQL/MDZS is not only about how they decided to investigate the mystery of the possessed sword/arm (which ended up digging up a lot of secrets and conspiracy ), but also about Wei Wuxian’s past, starting from when he was 15 and meeting Lan Wangji for the first time.
The few things that you’re probably going to feel/think while watching the few first episodes
Confusion I think I’m not even kidding when I say you’re supposed to be in a state of perpetual confusion for the first two episodes... There’s this huge info dump, in the first five minutes of episode 1, then you’ll have to navigate this new world feeling as confused as dead-for-sixteen years Wei Wuxian... You’ll meet dozens of characters and if you can’t remember their names or who they are it’s normal don’t worry. Each character has a birth name (Wei Ying, Lan Zhan) and a courtesy name that (Wuxian, Wangji)... And so if you see Wei Ying or Wei Wuxian just know that it refers to the same person. And to complicate things further some characters also have a title (Yiling Patriarch, Hanguang-Jun)  other people might use to refer to them. So really, if you want to understand what is going on, you might want to note the name, title and relationship down... But it’s kinda tedious?  I promise it is unnecessary as those characters will all be introduced properly in the flash-back starting at the end of episode 2, and you’ll fully be able to get used to them and keep track of them. Of course, if you managed to remember a few names, once the character is being introduced in the past, you’ll get a “ Oh so at some point, this is going to happen to them” sort foreshadowing/foreknowledge, which is neat, I guess. [I recommend going back to watch the first two episodes, once the flash-back is over, to fully grasp what was going on there].
What the hell am I even watching? Okay so this one might only just be me but I was pretty hooked by the story by episode 3... and then I reached episode 8 and 9 and I kid you not, I went “Oh boy... that’s.... yeah okay... *cover face with hands*”... So I was cringing pretty hard for those two episodes out of second-hand embarrassment at the extras actors acting level... Like woah... It was supposed to be scary and threatening and all but I couldn’t just take them seriously? (You’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there)... That with some plot points made me seriously consider stopping right there.... But thankfully I didn’t. So you really just need to pass the first two episodes [which are really good] and cringe your way through the two most abyssal episodes in the show (in my opinion) and everything will go smoothly afterwards.  Though to be fair, it might be explained by the fact that no one expected that CQL would have the highest number of reviews of Chinese drama, nor that it would be the highest earning drama of 2019 and certainly not that it would accumulate 8 billions views on Tennent by May 2020. Where am I going with this?  Well it was certainly no Game of thrones in terms of budget... That’s what I’m trying to say. It had a low budget production... and well in a fantasy world where everyone and their grandma use supernatural power to fight each other and demonic creatures, special effects are a must. Choices had had to be made [and while I am very thankful for the aspects they decided to use the money on] the special effects were very touch and go.
Okay but are they going to be together or is this another case of queerbaiting? So if what you’re asking is “will we ever get a kiss, a love confession or definite proof of their relationship?”. The very short answer is “No.” You’ll never see any of those on screen for the very simple and good reason that there are censorship laws in China regarding queer relationship on screen. “So it’s basically queerbaiting?” Again no. CQL was adapted from a BL chinese novel. In the novel there is absolutely no room for doubts that they are together. But because of the censorship the producer teams had to remove all definite and obvious proof of romance, but it also means that they had to be creative and anything in the subtext or subtle areas was a go. Like really they crammed more homoerotic text (like at this point is this even subtext) in the show than in all other kinds of adaptations (including the novel, where we get kissing, sex and eloping). It got the point that contrarily to the novel, donghua and manhua where the whole Cultivation world thought Lan Wangji hated Wei Wuxian and that they couldn’t stand each other,in the show everybody and their dogs knew that the two were very close.  Also, while I absolutely hate that those censor law exist and am very disappointed that such homophobic mentality still exist and that we won’t get a full adaptation and explicit of their love story, I must say that because of this my demisexual ass absolutely love the depiction of their love in the show. I mean, when you don’t have the “easy way out” of kissing and sex and so all to show that they is definitively romance material going on here... You have to get creative, you have to convey it with all other gestures... touching, gazing at each other and so on... And it creates such a soft but intense  and intimate environment around them...By the way I’m not trying to negate their sexual relationship in the novel (#LetWangxianFreelyExpressTheirSexualLives)... I’m just saying that I’m not sure the producing teams would have gotten to such a length in the show if they could just have adapted the explicit romance scenes. Now if somehow they’d had managed to keep the same level of intense subtext and be able to adapt the romance scenes too, that would have been the best, but well...
The reasons you should still absolutely watch/read it? 
The plot
The way all those character journeys and stories are interwoven in such a cohesive picture is nothing short of amazing. And the way that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji unravel events that happened more than a decade ago piece by piece [or rather body part by body part] is so very well done. And of course half way through, you think that you’ve got the full pictures, and you’re sort of gloating all the while because you see it coming from miles away and how can the cast be that stupid... And well you are not wrong. Watch out for the canary though.   The show chose to move a few things in term of timeline (character appearing and events happening way before they were supposed to... )... They also added a few original plot points in the past.... So as a results it feels slightly less cohesive and coherent than in the novel. Anyway I won’t go into details here because I’ve got this super long post planned where I’d detailed all the differences between the novel and the show and why some things worked in my opinion but not other. CQL and MDZS are what a properly balanced plot-driven and character-driven show/novel look like.
The relationships
Of course, Wangxian (Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji) should absolutely be mentioned. Because throughout the story in the past, you watch as young, wild, ingenious, thinking-out-of-box Wei Wuxian meet an equally young seemingly inflexible, impassive, following 3000+ rules in his daily lives Lan Wangji, you watch how their personality clashes before finally acknowledging each other skills, you watch how they hurt during the war, how quickly they had to grew up, you watch how one of them had to watch the other walking down a quickly crumbling path, being alienated by the world without being able to help, you watch how they lost each other, before finally finding each other again after sixteen/thirteen years. And then you can finally watch how soft they are with each other, how in-sync they are, the trust, the devotion, the willingness to stand by each other against the whole fucking world. And as I already mentioned before, because of the censure law in China, you’ll never can’t and will never get to see Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian say “I love you” to each other on the show. It still manages to convey “I love you” in every other possible way without having them actually say the words. I mean at this point it can’t even be considered subtext... It’s plain text written in bold underlined font that can be read in every single one of their interactions, and sometimes even when the other isn't even there, [It's basically subtitles! Hah! Okay getting out of there].
It helps that the chemistry between the two actors is absolutely mind-blowing. And the acting is nothing short of amazing. If you’ve been in the spn fandom then you might know that Jensen is king of the micro-expressions ... well I’m afraid that he has been dethroned by Wang Yibo (Lan Wangji’s actor) in my mind.
But really, wangxian is not the only relationship worth mentioning in CQL/MDZS. One of the other huge highlight in my opinion is the several siblings dynamics. There are about seven sets of siblings among the whole cast and because shitty, shittier and shittiest parents were apparently the norm for their generation, we get to see the trope of “eldest child basically raised their younger siblings” in five different flavors. Of course the main focus is on Wei Wuxian and his siblings, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t see the sheer care and protectiveness oozing out of the other four sets of siblings. As someone who loves family bonding (and especially found families), I really appreciate the fact that among those sets of siblings, there are some that are related by blood, some who are half-siblings and some who are not related biologically but consider themselves siblings regardless. And while all their relationships are different - because they are different people - they all do share the same love for their siblings.  “How far are you willing to go for your siblings?” “How much are you ready to sacrifice for them?” The show answers those two questions in various all throughout the story in a more or less oblique way, and right there lies the motivation behind a lot of the characters’ actions, good or bad. Their relationship with their siblings is actually one of the major driving force of the characters (Wei Wuxian among them). And I love it, because it shows that love comes in a many, many forms.
  The overarching themes
“What’s right, what’s wrong? Who’s good, who’s evil? Who’s strong, who’s weak?”
In such an elitist society who will judge you at the drop of a hat (especially if you have the bad taste of coming from a more unfortunate lineage), how can you define the difference between “right” and “wrong”? Wherein the midst and the aftermath of a blood thirsty war, the distinction between “good” and “evil” more often than only lies on where you were born and/or your family name rather than where you actually stood or what you did in the war. This right here is the very huge underlying theme that is being woven throughout the show/novel. Not only are we, the viewer/reader, invited to think/judge for ourselves based on the actions of the characters... But our main character, Wei Wuxian verbalizes those doubts and questions explicitly a few times and implicitly in the stand and choices that he decided to take. And due to Wei Wuxian’s influence, Lan Wangji who is used to follow his 3000+ rules on a daily life basis without ever questioning them, starts to do so. (“Do not befriend evil.”, “Be righteous.” )  What does it mean to be righteous? Must the notion of righteousness always align with general opinion? How do you define the ‘evil’ that you are not supposed to befriend? Is my definition the same as yours? Is my definition the same as the rest of the world? And if it is not the case, does it necessarily means that I’m in the wrong?  And the very obvious answer to those questions is “No, there is no visible line between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, ‘good’ or ‘evil’... Nor is there any universally agreed on way to act in order to fit in one category or the other...” And this answer is illustrated in all the ways those numerous characters are depicted: their love, their hatred, their fear, their pain, their joys, their tears, their motivations, their frustrations, their shortcomings, their hidden or not so hidden agenda, their flaws... All of them are depicted in such an awesome and wholesome human way.  They are not fully good or fully bad, they are human, with all that it entails... Main characters and main villains included (or rather, I’d say especially them) [Though the show tended smooth and cover this aspect a little bit more than the novel in my opinion]  
“Don't you understand? When you’re standing on their side, you’re the bizarre genius, the miraculous hero, the force of the rebellion, the flower that blooms alone. But the second your voice differs from theirs, you’ve lost your mind, you’ve ignored morality, you’ve walked the crooked path.” (Jiang Cheng)
Another theme that is strongly address here is the matter of “Public Opinion”. Despite (or rather because of) how fickle it is, public opinion, rumors (no matter how unfounded) could so easily ruins your reputation, your standing. And if you loose their favors than all your previous actions (no matter how praised it had been in the past) would be seen with a blackened lens. I remember feeling as frustrated as Wei Wuxian at the lack of logic, the rhetoric employed and the sheer hypocrisy that had been portrayed by the mass. I think that there is one character that can be easily recognized as the pure personification of “Public Opinion”, he is without a doubt meant to be the “voice of the mass, of the bystanders whose opinions shouldn’t really matter but actually does a lot”. I won’t tell who it is, it’s pretty obvious if you watch the show... And I think that we are meant to feel annoyed at such characters. I think we are meant to be as frustrated as that one character who at a mass gathering tried to make a stand, tried to do the right thing, but was quickly shut down with dubious rhetoric and blatant disregard because their voice didn’t carry enough power. And last but not least, the show/novel broaches the issue of how social standing is considered very, very much dependent on your circumstance of birth. Like I said before the cultivation world in CQL/MDZS is inherently elitist. In order to be able to cultivate you must learn the proper techniques and at a quite young age. But it is not something that you could do on your own unless you’re some kind of genius or prodigy. Which means that you must attract the attention of a nearby sects or begs them to take you in as a disciple. It means though that you’ll probably start a little later than the disciples that were born directly within the sect [inner disciples], meaning you’ll probably end being weaker. However even if by some truly dedication and perseverance you manage to the same level as the inner disciples, you’ll still only be seen as an outer disciples, nothing more than cannon fodder in the eyes of society. In all the major sects, there is a distinctive mark, objects that only disciples coming from the sect family line are allowed to carry, as an irrevocable sign of their high standing in society and their inherent privileges. There are some exceptional circumstances though where someone of low birth status might reach this elitist sphere. But no matter how high they reach, how outstanding they are, in some way they will always be reminded (sometimes behind their backs, sometimes subtly, sometimes right in their face) of the stigma of their birth. There are three characters in particular, whose journeys mirror and foil each other a lot.   And I think it is very interesting to see this “son of a prostitute” or “son of a servant” or “street rat” or “bastard” advanced through society. They all received very different upbringings, despite all starting more or less at a low point. And I liked that the way they decided to live later on and how they tackle/handle the cultivation world  is very much reflected and influenced by their upbringings rather than the circumstances of their birth. It brings up this very strong message that, if they are the way they are it is not because of who their parents are, but rather how the people around them reacted to them. The way they are right now is not the fruit of their birth but a direct consequences of the rejection/acceptance of society. And so when you look at them, you can’t help but see their journeys as a three forking road paths reflecting the other like twisted mirrors. You look at their actions now, then back their different circumstances and you can’t help but think “Ah, that is what might happened if things were different.” [There is a reason that canon-divergence and time travel fix-it are my favorite tropes... my bias is really showing here... haha] And it really, really hammers on the importance of kindness in the face of misery and discrimination. Kindness  and acceptance at the right moment, no matter how small can change everything. Sometimes, something even as small as a candy.  
The movie sets and props So I mentioned before that the budget of CQL really wasn’t that high and they had to make choices. And I could only applaud their choices, because really, wah! Just look at the main sects locations, the scenery, the backgrounds. It’s so beautiful!! [Had I had any gifing talent I would have included them so that you could get the full mind-blowing experience... so I’ll just send you to @gusucloud​ blog, where all the gifs and edits are amazing, (Cloud Recesses here and Lotus Pier here) and in this post  have my lame-ass screenshots instead.]
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The fine details, the workmanship in most of the props in the background, the swords!!! *Incoherent flailing*
[I didn’t manage to get any close-up of the swords... but believe me, they are piece of arts!]
The music
The soundtrack of the show is absolutely amazing and beautiful.
You know how in movies and tv shows couples always seem to have “a song”... like “Oh! Look our song is playing!”... Weeeeeell...
Wangxian do too and it’s literally their song, as in their actors are singing it. You can of course hear it in the ending, but... but! I think the way it was used within the episode was very striking. It’s one of the many ways the producer teams managed to convey the romantic aspect of their relationship. And it was very well done.
Wuji, by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo
Wuji, instrumental piano + flute + Zither version
Just imagine, dude just resurrected from his 16 years of deadness and you see him moping at night by playing this beautiful tune with a freaking leaf... just because he saw some cultivators wearing the same uniform as Lan Wangji... So at this point you know that this song might means something but well, you don’t really get it...
The second time you hear this tune, we are on a mountain, and it’s through a bamboo flute that Wei Wuxian used to appease and calm down an agitated corpse [who he apparently knows]... He is luring ‘it’ out to a safe place, so he is playing the song while slowly moving back one step at a time. Then his back suddenly bumps into someone... This person catches his hand. The flute playing abruptly stops and the full instrumental version with piano+flute is suddenly blaring out in the background. And then it’s as if the whole world stops as they gaze at each other, while the music keeps playing. And really, you might fully understand the weight of their gazes, or their history, but you know that it’s there... That’s the moment where you look at them looking at each other, grasping at each other wrist, where you can still hear their song in the background... and can only go “Oh. Oh.”  [Then of course a purple ball of pure anger just had to come and interrupt them. Excuse you, they were quickly having a moment there. Kidding aside, It was such a nice scene, it’s hand down one of my favorite scene of the whole show, and the music played a really huge part in my opinion.]
And if it wasn’t enough to hammer it down. The third times will definitively do it. So both of them are fifteen years and meet each other for the first time, when Wei Wuxian goes to study at Lan Wangji’s sect. Of course there first impression of each other is disastrous, what’s with Wei Wuxian insisting to come inside despite having lost his invitation and Lan Wangji clearly stating that no one is allowed without invitation. Of course it doesn’t help that after running back to fetch his lost invitation, Wei Wuxian snuck in after curfew (breaking a protective ward on his way), while smuggling two jar of alcohol. All of the above are forbidden in Cloud Recess, by the way. So our boy just casually broke three rules and then who catch him, right when he is climbing over the wall? Lan Wangji, who’s on patrol, of course. [Like I said, disastrous first impression]...And so after frostily listing all the rules Wei Wuxian broke not even five minutes in , Lan Wangji tries to bring Wei Wuxian to be disciplined. Wei Wuxian, of fucking course, resists. And the two proceed to fight (sword and all).
Cue their song playing as they cross swords on the rooftop of Cloud recesses, under the light of a full moon night.
If that is not a meet-cute I don’t know what it is.
Anyway this song is played many, many more times in the show and I’m not talking about them because I don’t want to spoil anyone.
Also as an aside, they don’t appear in the show... But there are character songs that have been recorded. Some of them sung by the actual actors and other not. And while all of them are really good, if there is absolutely one that you must listen to, it’s “Bu Wang” by Wang Yibo the actor of Lan Wangji.  Make sure to watch the official MV only after watching the whole show (because it’s spoilery) and to activate the cc for the lyrics translation. It’s such a beautiful and painful song; and a very insightful reflection of Lan Wangji’s character.  I love it.
Lan Sizhui and A-Yuan
No argument or explanation needed, you’ll see when you get there. I dare you not to like those small fluffy cinnamon rolls! 
The Junior Quartet
Okay those ducklings deserve a whole sub-section on their own. Not only because they are all amazing kids but because of what they represent.  
What is really great here is that since the story takes place over the span of 16/13 years, you get to see three different generations at various stage of their development. In the past you get to see the parents generation at their sum-up while there child, the following generation [Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji etc] from their teenage years to young adulthood. Then in the present you see the teenagers reaching the age their parents were (more or less, probably slightly younger) and the next generation (the ducklings) about the same age as Wei Wuxian’s generation were at the beginning. And the juxtaposition between the two pictures is just so, so very telling because the differences are glaring.
I’m going to borrow the words from qrbat who wrote this wonderful fanfiction, “tell some storm” on ao3.
The parents generation was a generation of Pride and Greed, it was a generation that lauded standing your ground no matter what and refusing outsider help. They were the generation which raised their children as a “generation of War”. A war that they started and that their children, teenagers, had to fight and end for them. And in comparison the junior generation seems so unexperienced so soft... and that’s a good thing, because it means that those children hadn’t had to experience the hardship of war, hadn’t had to grow up so fast because they basically didn’t have any decent parental figures to help them. Instead of perpetuating the cycle of hate and war started by their elders, the generation of War raised the next generation as a generation of peace, as a “generation of Love” and acceptance.
And it is amazing because the juniors, simply by being who they are, are embodying  this  message from Wei Wuxian’s generations to their parents “See? This is what it means to parent. I had to sacrifice my childhood and innocence to fight your war and I still managed to raise such amazing and kind children, what was your freaking excuse? I will not be like you. Times are changing and they are changing for the better.”
.
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*Look at length of the post* *snort* Right. Okay, would you believe me, if I told you that in the beginning this post was supposed to be an appreciation post for all three of MXTX’s works and not just MDZS because I was afraid it would be too short? Yup so turned out I had a lot more things to say than I thought.  Please feel free to react or just message me about anything MXTX’s fandom related... I am desperately in need of friends to discuss with about MXTX’s stuff!   
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moonwaif · 4 years
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Graphic by ao3commentoftheday
Soooo I was working on a story for w/ang/xian week but I don’t think I’ll be finishing it in time. Anyway, here’s the premise:
Wei Wuxian, the Cultivation World’s resident disaster, thinks it’s a good idea to set up his shijie with someone so that she’ll get over her hopeless crush on Jin Zixuan. He enlists the help of his BFF-and-totally-not-crush Lan Wangji, whose older brother Lan Xichen has just come out of conclusion and is the perfect candidate for Jiang Yanli. But chaos ensues when Wei Wuxian’s plan starts to run afoul. Are- are his shijie and Lan Zhan falling for each other?!
Aka, the one where Wei Wuxian jumps to the wrong conclusion like it’s an Olympic sport and he’s a professional athlete. 
Aka, the Emma!AU.
Here’s a very unedited excerpt:
Growing up, Wei Wuxian was always the life of the party. Now, as the Yiling Patriarch, he’s far more content to just sit with Lan Wangji after the party is over. Although “sit” might not be the most accurate description, at least not at the moment. Right now, full and sleepy and perhaps just a bit tipsy after the wedding banquet, Wei Wuxian prefers to lay down. On the floor, to be specific, rolled over onto his side, chin propped on his hand so that he can gaze up at Lan Wangji’s face in the candlelight.
“You’re the only one here who isn’t afraid to talk to me, Lan Zhan.” He tosses back another cup of wine, then slams it on the low table between them. “Everyone probably thinks I’ve got you possessed.”
Lan Wangji takes the cup and refills it. “Not Luo Qingyang.”
“Heh. That’s different. Of course she’s glad to see me. After all, I’m the whole reason she’s getting married.”
Lan Wangji raises a brow. His skepticism causes Wei Wuxian to sigh.
“Come on, Lan Zhan--think about it. If it weren’t for me rescuing the Wen remnants, Mianmian would have never defected from the Jin sect. And if she’d never deflected from the Jin sect, then she never would have met her husband. In a way, it’s like I helped match them!”
“Mn. Luo Qingyang must be grateful.”
Wei Wuxian shoots him a sour glance, but doesn’t argue further. His gaze drifts thoughtfully. “Not only did Mianmian get married, she was even able to reunite with the Jin sect. It’s a happy ending, right? It’s really too bad . . .”
Lan Wangji frowns. “What is too bad?”
“That Jin Zixuan is here!” Wei Wuxian bursts out. “Did you see Mianmian and her husband thanking him? What for? He should be thanking them for even wanting to rejoin his stupid sect! Ugh, he thinks he’s so great, just because he’s the Chief Cultivator. All those people flocking around him all night, just trying to marry off their daughters--he didn’t spare them a single look! I can’t stand that peacock! What does shijie see in him?!”
“Many admire the Chief Cultivator,” Lan Wangji says politely, after a pause. “He is a man of culture and refinement.”
Wei Wuxian nearly chokes. “Refinement?” he repeats incredulously. “Lan Zhan, since when did you get so flowery with your praise? Didn’t you see how he treated my shijie at the banquet? She greeted him, and he barely mumbled a word to her in response. He was so stiff and uncharitable. I guess he still thinks he’s too good for her. Well up his, I say! Only a fool wouldn’t recognize my shijie’s peerless qualities. Even the corner of her handkerchief is too good for him. If Jiang Cheng hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve knocked that peacock down a peg or too tonight, dammit.”
Wei Wuxian pauses his tirade to pour more wine down his throat. Lan Wangji watches him drink, eyes moving to Wei Wuxian’s mouth as he swallows, smacking his lips with relish.
“And you know what else bugs me?” Wei Wuxian continues. “As if his head isn’t already big enough, everyone goes around acting like he’s the hero. The sects throw all these banquets and conferences in his honor when in reality, it was your hard work and investigation that brought everything to light, Lan Zhan!”
Wei Wuxian doesn’t need to explain. He can only be referring to one thing, after all--the assassination of Jin Guangshan, the attempted murder of Jin Zixuan, and the fiasco that was Jin Guangyao’s betrayal. Lan Wangji sighs. He reaches for the jar of wine and pours Wei Wuxian another cup. “Wei Ying’s hard work, too.”
“Pfft. Yeah right,” Wei Wuxian mutters. “We both know I wasn’t good for much back then . . .”
Lan Wangji’s face darkens. Wei Wuxian knows what he’s thinking. He must be remembering Wei Wuxian’s meltdown, how he almost lost control. Better yet, how he almost played right into Jin Guangyao’s hands. If it hadn’t been for Lan Wangji’s--and Wen Qing’s--quick thinking, Wei Wuxian would never have been able to clear his name from the Curse of 1000 Holes. At least, not while he still had the Stygian Tiger Amulet pumping his body full of resentful energy day in and day out.
‘I owe Lan Zhan everything,’ he thinks to himself.
In the past, that thought would have bothered him. After all, Wei Wuxian hates being indebted, even though it’s been the constant state of his life as far back as he can remember. First he was indebted to the Jiangs for saving him from the streets, then the Wen siblings for rescuing him and his shidi. Now he’s indebted to Lan Wangji for--well, for everything, basically. But oddly enough, he doesn’t mind. 
Trying to pay Lan Wangji back doesn’t sound like such a bad way to spend the rest of his life.
“What is it?” Lan Wangji asks, concerned. Wei Wuxian smiles.
“Nothing. I was just thinking. You really are amazing, Lan Zhan. How come you’re still a bachelor?”
Normally, Lan Wangji would dismiss this kind of frivolous question. Tonight, he seems to really consider.
“I am satisfied,” he says at last. “What about Wei Ying?”
“Ha! The answer is obvious. Who in their right mind would have me?” This time, Wei Wuxian drinks straight from the jar. “Besides, isn’t marriage just tying yourself down? What’s the point?”
“Companionship,” Lan Wangji answers. “Security. Affection.”
Wei Wuxian raises a brow. “Lan Zhan, how long have you been such a romantic? Since when have you been holding out on me?”
Lan Wangji’s ears redden, but he says nothing. Wei Wuxian smirks. He goes back for another drink, then frowns. The jar is empty.
Sighing, Lan Wangji reaches behind himself to retrieve another jar. Wei Wuxian takes it with a grin.
“Anyway, Lan Zhan--I have an idea. Since I helped Mianmian and her husband get together--” Lan Wangji frowns. Wei Wuxian keeps going. “--this time I’m going to do the same thing for my shijie. With a little nudge in the right direction, I think she’ll finally be able to let go of Jin Zixuan.”
“Letting go is difficult,” Lan Wangji cautions. “Sometimes, impossible.”
Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes. “That’s just because Shijie won’t even give anyone else a chance! Look, Lan Zhan--I don’t want her pining after someone who doesn’t even notice her. Who doesn’t even deserve her! She’s spent her whole life looking out for me. It’s time I finally stepped up and took care of her, too. That’s why I’ve picked out the perfect candidate for her cultivation partner!” 
“Who?”
Wei Wuxian smiles mysteriously. “Someone who’s gentle, but also strong and protective. Someone who’s wealthy and powerful, but humble, with a kind heart. Someone who knows how to take matters seriously, but who also has a good sense of humor. Better yet, someone famous for his good looks! Can you guess who it is?”
Lan Wangji blinks, expressionless. Wei Wuxian lets the suspense build for a few more moments, then throws his head back and laughs.
“Who else? It’s your brother, Zewu Jun!”
All things considered, Lan Wangji receives this declaration fairly well. “Brother just recently exited seclusion,” he says, after a beat of silence.
“Then what better way to help him move past his grief than by bringing love into his life? Think about it, Lan Zhan. Wouldn’t they make a beautiful couple?”
Lan Wangji tries again. “Brother has no intentions to marry.”
“Just wait until Zewu Jun gets to know my shijie,” Wei Wuxian scoffs. “I’m sure that’ll change. Unless you don’t think my shijie is good enough for him?”
Lan Wangji knows better than to take the bait. “Do not trifle with matters of the heart.”
Wei Wuxian gapes at him. “Wow. Lan Zhan, did you get that from a poem? Anyway, are you going to help me or not?”
Lan Wangji lowers his gaze, resigned. “I will help.”
TBC..........
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mdzs-english · 4 years
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Chapter 3: Wild and Free 2 (Making a Scene)
Wei Wuxian wanted to wash up and see his host’s face, but there was no water in the room, neither for drinking nor for bathing. The only basin-shaped object, he surmised, was used as a toilet, and thus completely unsuitable. He pushed on the door, but it was bolted from the outside, presumably to prevent him from running amok.
Wei Wuxian had finally been reborn, and he wasn’t able to enjoy it one bit!
He might as well sit a while, adapt to his host. He wound up meditating the whole day. When he opened his eyes, sunlight was leaking into the room through the cracks in the door and shutters. Though he could stand up and walk around, he was still dizzy, his condition not much improved. It was strange. “Mo Xuanyu’s spiritual energy is negligible. Why can’t I control his body? What’s causing this?”
Then his stomach rumbled, and he realized it had nothing to do with spiritual energy. This body wasn’t used to fasting. It was hunger, nothing more. If he didn’t find food soon, he might be the first evil spirit to be brought back to life, only to starve to death immediately.
Wei Wuxian had taken a deep breath and raised his foot, prepared to kick the door down, when suddenly the sound of footsteps approached. Someone kicked at the door, impatiently yelling, “Mealtime!”
That didn’t mean the door was going to open. Wei Wuxian looked down and saw that the main door had a smaller door that opened below it. A small bowl had been placed before it.
“Quickly!” the servant outside called. “Quit dawdling, eat up and give the bowl back.”
The door was smaller than a dog flap, large enough for a bowl but too small for a person to pass through. There were two dishes and one serving of strange-looking rice. Wei Wuxian prodded at it with the chopsticks and thought sadly:
When the Yiling Patriarch returned, he was kicked down, chewed out, and given cold leftovers for his first meal. What carnage should result? Not even the chickens and the dogs left alive? The whole family extinguished? Tell anyone who would believe it. He was a tiger in Pingyang nipped at by dogs, a dragon in the shallow waters of Longyou harassed by shrimp. A plucked phoenix is less than a chicken.
This time, when the servants outside the door called, they sounded like they were grinning. “A’ding! Get over here!”
A crisp female voice replied from far away, “A’tong, are you giving the guy in there some food?”
“What else would I be doing in this wretched courtyard?” A’tong spit back.
A’ding’s voice appeared closer, like she was right in front of the door. “You only feed him once a day. When you’re goofing off no one calls you out, yet you say it’s wretched? Look at me. There’s too much to do for me to go out and have fun. ”
“I don’t just have to feed him,” A’tong complained. “Besides, would you dare go out these days? With this many walking dead, what family doesn’t have their doors sealed up tight.”
Wei Wuxian crouched by the door, tossing aside his two different-length chopsticks, and listened as he ate.
It seemed Mo Manor had had little peace of late. The walking dead, as their name implied, were corpses that walked, a relatively minor and common type of corpse transformation. They were generally dead-eyed, slow-moving, and of limited destructive power, but they alarmed the common people, and their stench alone was enough to induce vomiting.
However, to Wei Wuxian, they were the easiest to control, most obedient puppets. He felt a sense of fond familiarity at hearing them discussed.
“If you want to go out, bring me. I’ll protect you,” A’tong flirted.
“You’ll protect me? You talk a big game. You really think you can hold those things off?”
“If I can’t hold them off, no one can,” A’tong retorted.
A’ding laughed. “How do you know? I’m telling you, cultivators have already arrived at Mo Manor. I heard they’re from an illustrious clan! Mo-furen is greeting them in the hall, and everyone crowded in for the occasion. Didn’t you hear the racket? I don’t have time for you, they’ll probably send me on an errand any second.”
Wei Wuxian listened raptly. To the east, a faint clamor of voices could indeed be heard. He thought for a moment, then rose. He kicked the door and the bolt gave with a loud crack.
The two servants, who had been giggling and making eyes at one another, were startled into a screech when the doors flung open to either side of them. Wei Wuxian tossed his dishes aside and made a break for it, eyes burning in the sudden glare of the sunlight. His skin prickled, and he shaded his eyes with his hand, closing his eyes briefly.
A’tong’s screech was sharper than A’ding’s. Composing himself, he saw the headcase everyone bullied and regained his courage. Trying to save face, he jumped over and shouted, “Get back in there! What are you doing out here?” waving like Wei Wuxian was a misbehaving dog.
A beggar or a housefly wouldn’t have been treated worse. Mo Xuanyu had never resisted, giving them free rein. Wei Wuxian kicked A’tong lightly and laughed, “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
Wei Wuxian followed the noise east to a courtyard full of people, with more crammed into the hall. As soon as he set foot in the courtyard, a woman’s voice called out over the din, “One of our clan’s youths was a cultivator...”
That must be Mo-furen, scrambling to build a bridge between herself and the cultivation world. Without waiting for her to finish, Wei Wuxian forced his way through the crowd into the hall, waving enthusiastically and shouting, “I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t worry, I made it.”
In the hall sat a middle-aged woman, well put-together, in fine clothes: Mo-furen. Her husband was seated before her. Facing them sat a number of white-clad youths with swords strapped across their backs. At the emergence of a disheveled weirdo from the crowd, the hall fell silent. Wei Wuxian pretended not to notice the frozen scene around him and continued, unabashed: “You called? The cultivator you mentioned, that could only be me.”
The powder was too thick, and it cracked when he smiled, fluttering to the ground. One of the youths in white snorted, stifling a laugh. The one next to him, who seemed to be in charge, glared disapprovingly, and he schooled his face back into a neutral expression.
Wei Wuxian surveyed the scene, startled. He thought the visitors had been exaggerated by naive servants, but they really were young cultivators from an “illustrious clan.”
Magic seemed to float from those graceful robes and flowing belts. One only had to glance at that uniform to recognize the Lan clan of Gusu. And these disciples were blood relatives of the Lan family—thin white ribbons circled their foreheads, decorated with wisps of cloud.
The Lan clan’s motto was “Stand Upright.” The ribbons represented self-restraint, and the cloud was the symbol of the Lan family itself. When visiting disciples from other families wore the ribbon, the cloud was not present. Seeing Lans made Wei Wuxian’s teeth ache. In a past life, he had always joked that the uniform looked like funeral garb. He would recognize it anywhere.
Mo-furen hadn’t seen her nephew in some time, and it took a while for her to recover from the shock. Upon recognizing the painted man, her rage mounted. Still in control of herself, she murmured to her husband, “Whoever let him out, put him back again.”
Her husband smiled apologetically, but when the unlucky bastard got up to grab him, Wei Wuxian threw himself down, hugging the floor. He couldn’t be dragged away, and calling in more servants didn’t help, other than to prevent other people from seeing him kick. Watching the look on Mo-furen’s face turn ugly, her husband snapped, “You lunatic! If you don’t get out of here, you wait and see what I’ll do to you.”
Although everyone in Mo Manor knew one of the Mos was a dangerous madman, Mo Xuanyu had been secluded in his dingy room for years, not daring to show his face. When people saw his ghoulish makeup and behavior, whispers sprung up. They were afraid only of missing a good show.
“If you want me to go back,” Wei Wuxian said, extending a finger towards Mo Ziyuan, “tell him to return my stuff he stole.”
Mo Ziyuan, shocked that this lunatic had the nerve first to scold him and then to show up here, turned blotchy and yelled, “Bullshit! When did I steal from you? I don’t need your stuff.”
“Right, right,” Wei Wuxian said. “You didn’t steal from me, you robbed me.”
Mo-furen could see clearly now. Mo Xuanyu wasn’t crazy: he had planned this. He was trying to ruin them. Vitriolically, she said, “You came here to cause trouble, didn’t you?”
“He stole from me, and I came to get my stuff back,” Wei Wuxian said blankly. “You call that causing trouble?”
Mo-furen was silent. Mo Ziyuan was beginning to get nervous, and he wound up to deliver a kick. One of the white-clad disciples twitched a finger, and Mo Ziyuan wobbled, kicking the air, and ended up knocking himself over. Wei Wuxian rolled over as if he really had been kicked, tearing open his lapels to reveal the mark Mo Ziyuan’s shoe had left the day before.
The denizens of Mo Manor, who had been watching eagerly, became excited: it would have been impossible for Mo Xuanyu to leave the footprint himself. The Mo family must be cruel even to their own blood. Mo Xuanyu didn’t return to Mo Manor insane—he was most likely driven to madness. Any excitement was okay with the assembled crowd, and this was even more entertaining than the arrival of the cultivators!
With this many witnesses, Mo-furen could neither strike him nor leave. She was forced to hold her nose and compromise. Faintly, she said, “Theft? Robbery? This accusation is difficult to process—between friends, that’s just borrowing. A’yuan is your little brother, so what if he borrows your things? How can a big brother be so stingy? Acting like a child over such a small matter is foolish. It’s not like he won’t return them.”
Several of the white-clad youths looked at each other in dismay, and one who had just taken a sip of tea nearly choked. Children raised in the Lan clan of Gusu were pure as the fresh-driven snow, and had probably never seen such a farce, or heard such wisdom. This was a learning experience for them. Wei Wuxian, cackling on the inside, held out a hand and asked, “Then you’ll give it back?”
Mo Ziyuan, of course, did not. What was gone was gone, and what was destroyed was destroyed. Even if he could return it, he wouldn’t. Looking pale, he yelled, “A’niang!” His glare said, Are you going to let him humiliate me like this? 
Mo-furen glared back, silently ordering him not to cause an even uglier scene. Wei Wuxian interjected, “While we’re at it, not only should he not steal from me, he especially shouldn’t do it in the middle of the night. Everyone knows I like men. Even if he doesn’t have the sense to be ashamed, I know how to stay under the radar.”
Mo-furen took a shocked breath and shouted, “How dare you say this in front of the villagers and your elders? You really are shameless! A’yuan is your cousin!”
Wei Wuxian was an expert at bad behavior. Long ago, he had minded his manners here and there so that no one could accuse him of lacking good breeding. Now he was a madman, with no reputation to lose. He was expected to make a scene, so he could do what he pleased. He ducked his chin and said righteously, “He knows full well he’s my cousin, and yet he still can’t avoid suspicion! Who is shameless here? You won’t admit it, but don’t impugn my innocence! I’m still searching for a good man.”
Mo Ziyuan shouted and swung a chair. Wei Wuxian had finally gotten him to explode. In one motion, he sat up and dodged, and the chair smashed against the ground. The throngs of people milling about the East Hall had originally delighted in seeing the Mo clan lose face big time, but scattered as soon as the chair broke apart, afraid they’d be next if they weren’t careful. Wei Wuxian dodged behind the Lan disciples, who were sitting agape, and said reproachfully, “Did you see that? Did you see? He steals things and hits people, utterly heartless!”
Mo Ziyuan came after him, flailing, but his path was blocked by the head disciple. “This, uh, gongzi has something to say.”
Mo-furen saw that the disciples intended to protect this lunatic. Holding back fear, she forced out a smile. “This is my sister’s boy. Here, it’s complicated. Everyone in Mo Manor knows he’s insane. He says a lot of things you can’t take seriously. Cultivators, you must…” She trailed off, and Wei Wuxian poked his head out from behind the disciples.
“Who says you can’t take me seriously? The next time someone tries to steal from me, I’ll chop their hand off.”
Mo Ziyuan, who had been restrained by his father, broke loose upon hearing this. Wei Wuxian shrieked and leapt like a fish out the door. The disciples rushed to block his re-entrance, and, changing the topic, one earnestly declared, “Then… then tonight we will borrow the West Courtyard. Please bear in mind what I said before. After dusk, close your doors tightly and do not wander, and especially do not go near that courtyard.”
Mo-furen breathed shakily and did not object, just said, “Yes, we won’t, thank you for your help.”
Incredulously, Mo Ziyuan said, “Ma! That madman slandered me in front of everyone, and you let it go? You said, you said he was just a…”
Mo-furen cut him off. “Shut up! What do you have to say that you can’t say later?”
Mo Ziyuan had never experienced this treatment, been embarrassed this way. His mother had never scolded him like this. Full of hatred, he roared, “Tonight, this lunatic is going to die!”
The show over, Wei Wuxian slipped away from Mo Manor. He did a loop around town, taking pleasure in startling passersby and beginning to understand the joys of being a madman. The hanged-ghost makeup was a factor, and he was loathe to wash it off. He couldn’t bathe without water anyway. He fixed his hair and glanced at his wrists. The gashes there were unchanged. Clearly, bringing Mo Xuanyu’s struggles to light was far from adequate retaliation. 
Would he really have to exterminate the Mo clan?
...Honestly, that wouldn’t be difficult.
Wei Wuxian pondered this as he wandered back to Mo Manor. When he tiptoed over to the West Courtyard, he saw Lan disciples standing atop the roof and walls, engaged in serious discussion. He retreated quietly—they would definitely notice him.
Although the Gusu Lan clan had headed the siege against him, this generation of cultivators either weren’t born then, or were toddlers. He didn’t need to worry about them. Wei Wuxian stopped and circled back to see what they were doing. As he watched, he suddenly felt strange.
The black flags, planted on the roof and walls and fluttering in the wind—why were they so familiar?
These flags were called “Yin Summoning Flags.” When stuck into the body of a living person, they would attract all manner of beings of Yin energy, like vengeful ghosts, fierce corpses, and evil spirits, which would then only attack the victim. Being stabbed with such a flag would turn a person into a target, so they were also called “Target Flags.” They could also be used on a house, in which case their range would extend to all its living occupants. Because Yin energy would linger wherever the flags were used, swirling around in the form of a black wind, they were also known as “Black Wind Flags.” The disciples had arranged the flags in the West Courtyard and warned bystanders to keep away. They must have planned to draw the walking dead here, catching them all in one net. 
As for why they were familiar… how could they not be? Yin-Summoning Flags were invented by the Yiling Patriarch!
Though the cultivation clans raged against him, fought and killed him, it was alright for them to use what he made…
A disciple on the roof spotted him, calling, “Go back, please! You shouldn’t be here.”
Although he was shooing him away, he did it kindly, his tone very different from that of the servants. Taking advantage of his unguardedness, Wei Wuxian leapt up and snatched one of the flags.
The disciple startled. He jumped down from the wall to give chase. “Don’t mess with that! You shouldn’t take this stuff!”
Wei Wuxian shouted as he ran, disheveled and flailing like a real madman, “No, I won’t! I want it! It’s mine!”
The disciple got within two steps of him and grabbed his arm, saying “Will you give it back? If you don’t, I’ll hit you!”
Wei Wuxian held the flag in a deathgrip. The head disciple, who had been arranging the flags, heard the disturbance and leapt lightly down from the roof. “Jingyi, let it go. We’ll get it back nicely. There’s no need to bicker.”
“Sizhui, I didn’t really hit him,” Lan Jingyi said. “Look, he’s made a mess of the flags!”
In this time, Wei Wuxian rapidly finished inspecting the Yin Summoning Flag in his hand. The figures were drawn correctly, the spellwork wasn’t bad, and there were no careless mistakes. It was usable. The flag’s maker was just inexperienced, and the markings would only be able to attract a handful of evil spirits and walking dead. That was good enough.
Lan Sizhui smiled at him and said, “Mo-gongzi, it’s getting dark. The corpses will be drawn here soon. It would be best if you hurried home.”
Wei Wuxian sized up the disciple. He was polite and refined, with an impressive bearing and a small smile at the corner of his mouth. He was a young sapling worthy of praise. He had arranged the flags in perfect order, and his upbringing was clearly acceptable. Wei Wuxian didn’t know who in Gusu, that dreadful, old-fashioned place, could have raised a kid like this.
Lan Sizhui said, “This flag…”
Before he could finish, Wei Wuxian threw the Yin Summoning flag to the ground, hurrumping. “Just a lousy flag! What’s so special about it? I could draw one better than you all!” Then he ran off.
The disciples still on the roof watching the scene heard him boasting, and they laughed so hard they almost fell to the ground. Lan Jingyi huffed a laugh as well, gathering the Yin Summoning Flag and shaking out the dirt. “He really is a lunatic.”
“Don’t say that. Here, come help me,” Lan Sizhui responded.
Wei Wuxian headed off to do a couple more circuits of the manor, not returning to Mo Xuanyu’s little courtyard until nightfall. The bolt was already broken, and no one had tidied up the mess inside. Ignoring this, he looked around, choosing a clear spot on the ground to sit and meditate.
Before dawn broke, a wave of noise from outside pulled him from his meditative state. He could hear footsteps, crying, and panicked yells heading his direction. People were shouting over each other, “Get in there! Drag him out!” “Report him!” “What do you mean, report him? Beat him to death!” 
He opened his eyes to see a group of servants had rushed in. The courtyard was ablaze, and someone was shouting, “Drag the crazy murderer to the Main Hall! He’ll pay with his life!”
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