#lan qiren having a stroke in the background
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#lan zhan#lan wanji#hanguang jun#lan xichen#zewu jun#wei wuxian#wei ying#forhead ribbons#i shall take one for the team brother#i will marry wei ying toensure our family honor is not tarnished#lan qiren having a stroke in the background#lan qirens A+ parenting#the untamed edit#the untamed wwx#the untamed#mo dao zu shi edit#mo dao zu shi meme#mo dao su zhi#chen qing ling edit#chen qung ling#aling
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5 times Meng Yao tricked Lan Qiren into hugging him +1 time he didn't have to. Can be fatherly ala "A Good Fit" or romantic (with ace!autistic!Lan Qiren, please!)
Tricks of the Trade - ao3 - chapter 1
- 1 -
He counted the first time as a trick, even if it hadn’t yet been aimed at Lan Qiren himself – reasonable, really, since Meng Yao didn’t even know who Lan Qiren was at that time, and had no reason to care.
It was Lan Xichen that Meng Yao had been trying to trick.
Rather: it was Lan Xichen who he’d successfully tricked.
Finding the terrified and exhausted Lan Xichen as he’d been fleeing the Wen sect had been a stroke of luck, the heavens paying Meng Yao back for a little of the bad luck they’d inflicted on him for his untimely arrival at Jinlin Tower, but after that it had all been planned. Meng Yao had learned all too well the tricks a brothel used, whether in evaluating people or in manipulating them, and he’d pegged Lan Xichen at once as an easy mark, a naïve and sheltered young master who thought the best of people. More than that, Lan Xichen was a young master that had just encountered his first real obstacle, and was now at the moment of crisis – he desperately wanted to continue to believe that people were innately good, but was questioning himself after what he had endured; he could go either way, either in becoming more cynical and more thoughtful, or else determine that what had happened was an aberration, maintain his innocence and with that innocence, his original sense of self. Naturally the latter was by far more comfortable, and anyone who could help him maintain that path would win his everlasting gratitude and trust.
Meng Yao, who needed a backer, gave him that help.
Not only did he care for him, letting him stay in his room and bringing him food and managing (barely) to turn disdain into companiable laughter when Lan Xichen fumbled basic chores that Meng Yao had learned under threats of vicious beatings before the age of five, but he helped him emotionally, too. He’d already bribed the local Wen sect soldiery, a joint effort with the rest of the town that just wanted to go about its own business without too much suffering yet had too much face to be seen doing it; they had needed a representative to do it for them that could be turned scapegoat at any time, and he had been willing to take the risk in order to have control over exactly what was being asked for. But bribery didn’t make friends, so it was easy enough to rile them up so that they would come to his house under the pretense of ‘looking for the missing Lan sect heir’ specifically in order to beat him up, and naturally, in so doing, fail to adequately search his house to actually find that missing heir.
Meng Yao took his beating – light enough, given that they just wanted to teach him a lesson without daring to damage the source of their illicit funds – and played the noble victim to Lan Xichen, all teary eyes and raised chin and proud refusal to admit that he was hurt, and Lan Xichen fell for it at once, his heart lightened as much by his restored faith in humanity as by Meng Yao’s ‘sacrifice’ on his behalf.
After, much revived, Lan Xichen headed out to continue on his path, and Meng Yao, at his suggestion, turned his feet towards Qinghe and the Nie sect, which recognized talent without regard to birth.
It was only later, much later, that he would go to the Cloud Recesses on business for the Nie sect, and meet Lan Qiren.
From the stories Lan Xichen had told him during their time together, Meng Yao expected Lan Qiren to be an obstacle. Old before his time, innately conservative, unfailingly orthodox and fond of the rules, a somber and strict teacher of young gentlemen – it seemed obvious to Meng Yao that Lan Qiren would be a boring old stick in the mud, who would no doubt look down with a sneer upon Meng Yao for his background. That was always the way with such men, repetitive almost to the point of being boring.
Meng Yao only hoped that Lan Xichen’s fondness for him would overwhelm that perfectly natural disdain, rather than Lan Qiren’s disapproval undermining Lan Xichen’s support for him.
He wasn’t expecting for Lan Qiren to rush forward to embrace him before even greeting him.
“Thank you for saving my nephew,” he said, the older man’s words both wholly sincere and said loud enough for everyone to hear, as if he had no care for his face or concern about any taint that might rub off from contact with one of Meng Yao’s background. “I owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”
Meng Yao was frozen.
He’d always had a weakness for the approval of older men, a weakness he was well aware of and had always monitored quite carefully to ensure it wouldn’t strike him at an unexpected moment. It had been bad enough in his childhood, when he’d lacked any father figure to guide him but was constantly hearing stories from his mother about his father off in Lanling, and it had only gotten worse once he’d been rejected by that father in all his grandeur. Between his mother’s vigilant guard and his own cautious paranoia, he had never, to his knowledge, been embraced by an older man like this.
It felt good.
He felt hyper-aware of every bit of it: Lan Qiren’s hand on the back of his head and the center of his back, the callused fingertips and sharp nails that denoted a qin player, the straightness of Lan Qiren’s posture, suggestive of a scholar, and the solidity of his stance that hinted at a swordsman, the strength in his shoulder against which Meng Yao’s face had ended up leaning against, the warmth of his body and even the faint scent of him, fresh laundry and ink and man all mixed together.
It felt as if it went on for a long time, though in reality the embrace lasted only a second.
When it was done, Lan Qiren released him, stepping back and bowing deeply in a salute that Meng Yao very much did not deserve. The other man was willingly bending his back to him first in front of all these onlookers, regardless of age or rank, yet from Lan Xichen’s stories Meng Yao knew that Lan Qiren was always conscious of his dignity, careful and thoughtful in his actions; he wasn’t one of those shameless people who thought that there was no point in the proper order of things. This wasn’t carelessness. No, Lan Qiren was acting purposefully, choosing to recognize Meng Yao’s achievements, and to give them, publicly, the honor he believed they were due.
He was recognizing Meng Yao.
Meng Yao swallowed, his silver tongue suddenly as heavy as lead, and he stepped back himself, returning the salute just as deeply. “It was only – only what I should do –”
He had not stuttered over his words in a dozen years. He wouldn’t have stuttered now, only Lan Qiren had straightened his back once more and Meng Yao, who had not had a chance to properly see him earlier, could see him clearly now: regular features drawn with the lines of the habitually stern, the effect enhanced by a thin beard, as Lan Xichen has described, but also the slightest lines at the corners of his eyes, the only signs on his face that hinted at the difficulties he must have endured over his life, and his slightly distant gaze as he peered at Meng Yao’s face in deference to politeness without quite meeting his eyes, a trait Lan Xichen had warned him about in advance. Those were all things that Meng Yao had been expecting to see, all a match to his mental image, but somehow in his mental image he forgot to account for those other features that marked Lan Qiren as a close relative to Lan Xichen – his height, only slightly less than his nephew yet still enough to make him a tall man, the breath of his shoulders, perfectly proportional to the lanky yet solid build of a gentleman swordsman, the precision of his movement, as graceful as any bird…his face, which ranked, just as Lan Xichen’s did, among the very first rate.
Meng Yao swallowed again, this time for a completely different reason.
“Thank you for welcoming me,” he added, a little pointlessly, more in an attempt to distract himself from the extremely inconvenient surge of uncontrollable desire he was currently experiencing than anything else.
“It is rare to see such righteousness in the young,” Lan Qiren said, his voice somewhat toneless, as Lan Xichen had also warned of, but still loud and carrying, and the volume was still quite clearly purposeful. “As our sect’s benefactor, you are naturally welcome.”
A moment later, he stepped in a little closer, dropped his voice and added, with a trace of sternness coming into his voice: “Righteousness may be rare, but foolishness is deplorably common. If anyone gives you any trouble, for any reason, tell me at once and I will put an end to it. You may depend on me.”
Meng Yao had not depended on anyone since his mother died, and even before. He looked at Lan Qiren, with his back straight despite his visible injuries, his wandering gaze doing nothing to distract from the sense of reliability and stability that he exuded, and felt something in his chest give a start, like the final thrash of a fish just as it got hooked on a line, ready to be reeled in.
He smiled. “Then I will depend on Teacher Lan.”
#mdzs#jin guangyao#meng yao#lan qiren#lan xichen#my fic#my fics#tricks of the trade#gets longer as it goes#lan qiren/jin guangyao#rarepair
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☕ possibly unpopular opinion, but I don't think lxc survives his seclusion. I think his world view is too badly shattered and he either wastes away slowly or outright kills himself.
I like—one-quarter agree with this, I think?
On the one hand, as I've said before, I do think CQL LXC kills himself. The man is just... really completely broken. And also just tried to die with JGY. I mean, I don't even think he goes into seclusion first, necessarily.
On the other hand, while MDZS LXC is also very much broken, I don't think he does die; even aside from anything else, JGY is still sealed in the coffin, and dying would be leaving him behind in a way it wouldn't in CQL—so in MDZS I don't think he does.
The part where I totally disagree with you is—I don't think it's about his worldview. It's about JGY being dead. I—think people very much want it to be about something other than that (including his grief for JGY /and NMJ/, which, still no) , and I am as ever prepared to look at a textual argument in favour if someone wants to assemble one, but honestly I think the text is pretty clear here. Throughout the temple, he's reacting and processing pretty normally—to borrow from my own previous work, here's an overview of some of his reactions to things and people other than JGY:
Obviously we see [LXC] react when he’s telling LWJ about WWX’s feelings, but even beyond that, even when he’s occupying a more background role in the narrative, we’re given his reaction quite a few times. He sighs when LWJ seals his spiritual powers (ch 100); he tends to NHS, covering with his outer robe (ch 102), comforting him when he’s disturbed at the sight of the coffin (ch 103), protecting him from SMS (after NHS frames him for stabbing him, ch. 107) and from NMJ (ch 107), and comforting him and giving him pain medicine about the wound in his leg (ch 108); along with LWJ, he’s distressed by the sound of JC’s sword-scraping technique against JGY’s music (ch 101); he tries to warn JC a couple of times when JC is fighting JGY (ch 101), cautions JL (ch 101) and later JC (ch 102) about worsening JC’s injuries, and along with JL, WWX, and LWJ freezes when JC slaps JL to the ground (ch 102); he asks Minshan why he’s being rude to LWJ, and a little later, with SMS and JL, pauses in astonishment when LWJ laughs (ch 100); he averts his gaze from and seems perhaps embarassed by the ghosts that WWX summons (ch 104); he calls out to WWX to remind him that his current body is closely related to JGY, and will therefore attract NMJ’s fierce corpse (ch 107). He actually has a couple of entertaining reactions to Wangxian being Wangxian: he coughs and tells WWX it is maybe not the best time and place for this when WWX is about to repeat “I really wanted to sleep with you,” and then later he and Jin Ling inexplicably! move their sitting cushions far away from Wangxian’s and gaze into the distance (ch 100).
And of course he reacts to JGY again and again, and—again!—is engaging and processing. Again pulling from my previous post—
And more than anything else—in what I think is a very instructive contrast—he reacts to JGY, in a way that reflects an ongoing continual emotional investment. He is, quite notably, consistently worried about JGY and unable to stand the sight of him in pain, even when he thinks he shouldn’t be. When the coffin trap goes off, and they overhear Jin cultivators wailing and a pungent smoke emerges, there’s worry in LXC’s eyes; after JGY and Minshan make it out, and JGY takes some medicine against the poison, LXC hesitates for a moment and then asks what happened (ch 103). After LWJ cuts JGY’s hand off—which means /after/ he’s taken JL hostage, note—LXC “seemed as though he wanted to help him for an instant,” though “in the end he dared not” (ch 106). When Minshan asks him for medicine for JGY, seeing how terrible JGY looks, he hesitates slightly before they’re interrupted by NMJ’s success fighting the Jin cultivators (ch 107). After they’ve defeated NMJ, he treats JGY’s wrist; moreover, “Seeing that Jin GuangYao almost passed out from the pain, Lan XiChen, who in the beginning wanted to use this to punish him, still didn’t have the heart to bear it,” and goes for the pain-relief medicine from NHS. And this is all not even accounting for his reactions to JGY either during his questioning of JGY or post-stabbing!
and
For the first, he calls out Sect Leader Jin when JGY starts in on JC after JC calls him the son of a prostitute (ch 104), although notably he does not do the same in their earlier confrontation when JGY is distracting JC in order to defeat him, only warning JC (ch 101); when JGY confesses to having burned down the brothel, he’s distressed when JGY says that it wasn’t entirely to remove the traces (ch 105); he becomes /less/ angry about the second siege and about QS when it turns out that he was operating under constraint in those conditions (ch 106); and of course, the thing he’s angriest about is JGY killing his father, “and even in such a way” (ch 106). In ch 103, looking down at the coffin he is shocked that JGY buried something that caused such horror to its surroundings, but without further information about JGY’s reasons this does not metamorphose into anger.
And there's even more! I don't want to quote all of that section because it's really long, but you get the point: before JGY dies, he's distressed, sure, but he's still processing.
And then after JGY dies, it's—
Lan XiChen staggered a few steps back from the push. He hadn’t realized what happened yet.
Lan XiChen stared at the coffin enveloped in seven guqin strings. He was still lost in thought. Nie HuaiSang extended a hand and waved it before his eyes, terrified, “… B-Brother XiChen, are you alright?”
Lan XiChen, “HuaiSang, just now, was he really trying to catch me off guard with an attack?”
Nie HuaiSang, “I think I saw it…”
Hearing his hesitation, Lan XiChen pressed, “Think it over some more.”
Nie HuaiSang, “If you ask me like that, I can’t be sure either… It really did seem like…”
Lan XiChen, “Cut out the ‘seem like’! Did it happen or not?!”
Nie HuaiSang answered with difficulty, “… I don’t know, I really don’t know!”
This was the only thing Nie HuaiSang knew to say when he was desperate. Lan XiChen buried his forehead in his palm. He seemed as if his head was about to split, unwilling to speak again.
Lan XiChen was startled, “Induce? Induce what?”
Lan WangJi’s voice was low, “Jin GuangYao’s killing intent.”
If it were the usual ZeWu-Jun, he couldn’t have failed to fathom this. But right now, it was likely he had no more space in his mind to think.
(ch 109)
Veins suddenly lined the back of the hand in which Lan XiChen placed on his forehead. His voice sounded muffled, “… Just what does he want to do? I once thought I knew him well, and then I realized I did not. Before tonight, I thought I knew him well once more, but now I do not.” Nobody could give him an answer. Lan XiChen repeated in frustration, “Just what does he want to do?”
Of the people here, some were cleaning up the scene, some were solidifying the seal on the coffin, some were thinking about how to move it safely, and some were feeling angry. Lan QiRen raged, “XiChen, what in the world is wrong with you?!”
As his hand pressed the corner of his forehead, Lan XiChen’s face was full of an unspeakable grief. He seemed tired, “… Uncle, I am begging you. Ask no further. Really. Right now, I really wish to say nothing.”
Lan QiRen had never seen Lan XiChen, a child he single-handedly brought up, look so agitated and discomposed. He looked at him, then looked at Lan WangJi, surrounded by disciples alongside Wei WuXian, and felt more irritated the more he looked. He felt that of these two of his proudest disciples who had been absolutely perfect, neither listened to him anymore and both gave him much worry.
Lan QiRen watched Lan XiChen who followed behind him sluggishly, still absent-minded, and sighed forcefully before he left with a flip of his sleeves.
(ch 110)
And then in the banquet extras, three months later:
Wei WuXian still clung to Lan WangJi’s chest, face buried at his neck as he felt the sandalwood aroma on Lan WangJi’s body grow even richer. He felt lazy all over, eyes closed, “Is your brother alright?”
Lan WangJi embraced his naked back, stroking again and again. After a while of a silence, he answered, “Not really.”
Both of the two were sticky with sweat. Wei WuXian felt an itch crawl from his skin all the way to the bottom of his heart as Lan WangJi stroked him. He twisted somewhat uncomfortably, swallowing Lan WangJi even deeper.
Lan WangJi lowered his voice, “In the years when I was in secluded meditation, Brother had always been the one to comfort me.”
Yet now the situation was the exact opposite.
Likely because Lan QiRen got a heart attack whenever he saw Wei WuXian, he simply decided not to look at him, staring straight forward. Lan XiChen was pleasant as always, holding the hint of a smile at his lips that always seemed like spring wind. Yet, perhaps because of the secluded meditation, Wei WuXian felt that ZeWu-Jun looked a bit frail.
(ch 115)
After the tasteless meal, the servants took away the plates and tables. As usual, Lan XiChen started to summarize the recent plans for the sect. But after listening for just a few sentences, Wei WuXian began to feel that he was a bit absent-minded. He even remembered two night-hunting locations wrong and didn’t realize after he spoke, causing Lan QiRen to throw a couple of sideway looks at him and puff his goatee into the air. A while later, he finally couldn’t help but interrupt him. Fortunately, the sect banquet finally ended, although somewhat hastily.
(ch 116)
So to recap—before JGY dies, he's distressed but he's still processing and reacting to things basically normally, he's got his head in the game. And then after JGY dies, he is very much /not/ processing things, he's not reacting normally, the things he's preoccupied with are entirely about JGY, LQR is like 'I've never seen him this way before.' And when we see him three months later, failing at very basic tasks he's long performed perfectly, it's the same kind of symptom—just as it was in ch 109, he seems to have no more space in his mind to think.
There's also the explicitly-drawn parallels between him and LWJ—by LQR, and by LWJ himself, paralleling LXC's current state with his own time in seclusion. And what would LWJ have needed comforting about while he was in seclusion? It's not the shattering of his worldview—it's Wei Ying.
I'm not going to go and rewatch and cap CQL temple, but the same basic pattern shows. Before JGY's death, he's functional and processing: afterwards, he's broken. I do think CQL LXC is more emotionally agitated before JGY's death than MDZS LXC is, but he's also even less functional afterwards so it evens out. If you go to 18:40ish in ep 50 (on YT, might be a different timestamp in Netflix) you can watch LXC stand frozen and stare into space and totally fail to react to anything including the conversation right next to him about his brother and WWX having run off.
I mean, I think it's also about the manner of JGY's death, if JGY had, idk, died heroically saving JL's life or something a year earlier he'd still have broken but probably not as badly? But it really is about JGY.
Tldr: I do think he kills himself in CQL; I don't think he does, even passively, in MDZS; but either way, his state at the end of canon isn't about his shattered worldview, it's about JGY being dead.
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Do you have any hc for nielan? ❤️
Oooo. NieLan! Excellent choice! (Although, with canon, beware this for some Sads.)
NieLan Head Canons
It's Nie Mingjue who makes the first move. And frankly, it's a miracle any Lans join the new generations, if all of them are as slow as Lan Xichen about their feelings.
They happily skip several eons worth of mutual pining by Nie Mingjue stealing a kiss in a secluded corner of the Cloud Recesses one day when he comes to check on Nie Huaisang's studies.
-
"Honestly, Huan, I'd ask for your forgiveness for being so blunt, but I'd rather get on with it before my deviations turn serious."
"Mingjue, any deviation is serious!"
-
It takes all of 3 hours for Nie Huaisang to figure out that something is up, and for a solid two days he and Lan Wangji work together to figure out why their oldest brothers have suddenly started behaving so oddly.
It's a good thing that the Lan family has a more secluded living area, because when Lan Wangji finally reasons Nie Huaisang into just asking, they walk around the corner to Lan Xichen's rooms and see them kissing through the window, and half the mountain would have heard Second Master Nie screaming.
-
Lan Qiren thinks its quite well and good that his nephew has taken to diplomacy with such enthusiasm. A good ally to have, that Nie Mingjue. Sensible and direct. And Lan Xichen always seems to be able to reason with him during conferences, which is a nice change from their respective predecessors. A good political ally, yes. *strokes beard with Respectable Lan Pride*
*Lan Wangji gives the equivalent to a major "ok boomer" eye roll in the background.*
-
Lan Xichen is one of the only people truly allowed to see all facets of Nie Mingjue. The large Nie leader let's him lean against his chest as they share the woes of being responsible for their clans and sects, and runs a hand through Lan Xichen's hair, weaving small braids to hide on the underside of the dark curtain.
And in turn, Lan Xichen allows him to see the truth of him as well, allowing the polite, proper smile to fall and simply be as he is not comfortable being elsewhere.
The trust that comes is well earned, and on par with no other.
-
*Lan Wangji and his Thousand Yard Stare at the table while his brother does Subtle Lan Flirting over the new trade negotiations with the Nie*
*Nie Huaisang contemplating splicing himself with the edge of his fan to Please Make the Torture End, Da-Ge.*
*Elder Brothers absolutely being little shits by having fun Flirting in front of the two people who absolutely know what's going on here.*
-
All the joy, all the peace, threaded through the loopholes in their positions, a trip for "diplomatic relations" or "a request to consult the Lan Library", build over the years. The small seed planted with a surprise kiss, watered with small affections, grows into a great tree, rooted deep into the hearts of its two caretakers.
Until it is ripped up from the roots.
Lan Xichen is not there, caught in a tangle of negotiations with the Yi clan to the West, when the anger of the sword spirit spills over and stains the halls of The Unclean Realm.
He is not there, as Nie Mingjue gasps around the last strings of his sanity, cursing a betrayal- reaching out for his brother, and a shadow dressed in blue and white.
He is not there, in the hour his beloved needs him most.
And when the news greets him at the gates, whispered to the wind by an unnaturally still Nie Huaisang cowled in white, the river of his tears carries him to the Sect Leader's rooms. He is laid in state, waiting to be put to rest in the ancestral tombs.
Lan Xichen, careless of the dust of his travels, of what another might think if they see, crawls onto the bed, and weeps into the chest that rises with breath no more.
#team da ge#team zewu jun#nielan#AAAAAAAANGST#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#the untamed#cql#lan Xichen#Lan huan#nie mingjue#nie huaisang#nie brothers#nie bros#lan wangji#lan zhan
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Prompt 46: Royalty AU
His Highness the Emperor Qingheng-Jun only had eyes for his Empress. She was the envy of his numerous wives, consorts and concubines, each more refined, beautiful and influential than the others. Which was ultimately the cause of her demise. And the cause of his as, broken hearted, he slowly let himself fade away.
Hanguang-Jun learned from his father's mistakes.
Or, in which Lan Wangji has never, ever, consumed a marriage (despite his ministers' growing pressure) which allowed him to push for an annulment should he needs to (that was enough to make his "harem" behave).
And honestly, he'd rather save himself for his beloved.
(He’ll always remember the day he met Wei Wuxian. And he knew that he’ll have no others.)
If only General Jiang Wanyin was less overprotective of his brother and let him approach him?
__
Regent Lan Qiren is aware of his nephew’s infatuation.
So he throws more and more women at his feet, hoping that he’ll get over it.
He saw what ‘Love’ did to his brother.
Common people can afford to be in Love. But a Monarch’s duty is first and foremost to his country. A Monarch can’t afford to let emotional attachment get in the way of politics, and taking in concubines is political since sheltering their daughters is how you keep your Ministers in check.
Wangji was the one that agreed to take the burden off Xichen’s shoulders.
He made his bed, now he has to lie in it.
__
What worth was the Throne if you're still unable to protect the ones you Love, mused Prince Lan Xichen.
He saw greedy eyes and insincere smiles for most of his childhood. And learned that no one was really genuine in this Viper's nest.
Or perhaps, flame his imperial Mother used to be. It was what Father loved the most about her and what doomed them both in the end.
Perhaps Wei Wuxian was, which was why he drew his brother in like a moth to a flame.
(Will it be a repeat of their parent's tragedy?)
__
Additional notes:
Here we have the point of view of 3 very different characters, (Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen) that all dealt with loss differently.
- Firstly, Lan Wangji. He blames his parent’s death on his father’s Harem. In a way, you could say that he’s ideolising the idea of ‘Love’ that overcomes all the hardships which is in Qingheng-Jun & Empress Lan’s case, the unscrupulous, unrighteous people trying to squabble for a little influence.
This is why he agreed to take the Throne. He wants Blood Justice, and to reform the System that took his parents from him and his brother.
His background is also the reason why he’s ‘saving himself’ for the ‘Love of his Life’ and is mistrustful of anyone in the Palace.
He fell for Wei Wuxian on first sight, as he is someone who loves freely, who is kind, genuine and profoundly righteous.
- Secondly, Lan Qiren. He deems that it was his Love for his Empress that doomed his brother. He’s pragmatic. He knows that it’s very ill advised to mix State and Heart affairs.
He knows also that a Monarch needs support from his ministers, and that it’s really, really ill advised to alienate his court, as Qingheng-jun was prone to.
Contrary to what his nephew believes about him, he agrees that the Governement needs reforming. However, he also know that it’s something that will need time, and that right now as a young Monarch without any solid power base, what Wangji really needs for the moment is to stay on their good side.
- Finally, Lan Xichen. Actually, he has mixed opinions on the whole affair. Contrary to his younger brother, he’s a little disanchanted. His parent’s death was in a way the last stroke (think of him of a Lan Xichen that realised the depth of Jin Guangyao’s betrayal).
He’s an idealist that wears his heart on his sleeve and sees Tragedy as inevitable as long as Power and Money is involved (which is why he never, ever, wanted to Rule the Country).
So he’s wary of the way Wei Wuxian wormed himself in his brother’s Heart even if he has nothing against him personally,
#the untamed#mo dao zu shi#the grand master of demonic cultivation#wangxian#royalty AU#Lan Huan | Lan Xichen#Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji#Lan Qiren#court politics#the death of Qingheng-Jun & his wife
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Hi there! I wanna ask about the ressurection in mdsz. I am from a dharmic religious background and as I understand, resurrection involves binding the soul to the corpse using resentment which comes from bad (for lack of a better word) karma. This must really mess up the reincarnation cycle and ultimately the path to nirvana right? So, what would this mean for corpses brought back by wwx&wrh, especially for WN, song lan & nmj? Are WN and song lan effectively immortal? Thx in advance 😄.
Hi! Apologies for the long answer delay, these are very interesting questions and I needed to do some research and digging around as Chinese spiritual beliefs are such a complex subject! I’ll only lay out some broad strokes as a more in-depth analysis would be way beyond the scope of my knowledge ^^' Of course, if I get anything wrong, please do correct me!
As you mention Wen Ruohan, may I make the assumption that you were acquainted with MDZS through the live action? His interest in demonic cultivation as well as the Yin metal subplot were unique to Chenqingling and the live action also made a number of changes like replacing the reanimated corpses by “puppets” due to strict censorship laws that ban the portrayal of a great many things including supernatural aspects. My answer is primarily based on the framework of the novel but in this case it should still apply to the live action!
Systems of beliefs and practices in China tend not be mutually exclusive but intertwined, they find their roots in a number of spiritual/philosophical/religious movements, the main of which being Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and folk religion.
Chinese folklore has a long history of ghost tales and modern fantasy cultivation novels are one more facet of that tradition, corpses reviving and ghosts coming back to haunt the living are considered to be fairly “natural” occurrences, “natural” in the sense that they are relatively commonplace. Exorcising malevolent beings to protect common folk is the bread and butter of the average cultivator and that’s how the story starts out with the Gusu Lan disciples being tasked by the Mo family to eliminate some walking corpses.
看来这莫家庄近来不大太平。走尸，意如其字，即为走路的死人，一种较为低等也十分常见的尸变者。一般目光呆滞，行走缓慢，杀伤力并不强，但也够平常人担惊受怕的了，光是那股腐臭就够吐一壶。
It seemed that Mo village had not been peaceful of late. Walking corpses which were dead people able to move around as their name implied were rather low-level and frequently seen creatures that came from transformed corpses. In general, their gaze was lifeless and their gait slow. They were not particularly threatening but they were enough to scare away common folk as their sole putrid stench could make one vomit. (ch.3)
Ghosts, walking corpses and even fierce corpses are a common nuisance that can arise from a variety of causes: an unnatural death, lingering resentment, lack of proper rituals for the funeral and so on. For instance, there’s a fierce corpse paying a visit to a person that wronged him in life in the gate-crashing extra (ch.120-123).
Concerning the place of religion in the world of MDZS, we know that the ancestor of the Gusu Lan Sect, Lan An, was originally Buddhist monk who left his temple to lead a secular life and then founded a Sect. His descendants uphold practices that originate from their ancestor such as studying Buddhist scripture. However, cultivators are not shown to be particularly pious, they do not worship deities or hold religious festivals, that’s the domain of the common folk: the worship of the local stone goddess or the attendees of the Guanyin temple (even though it was built by Jin Guangyao). The practices that cultivators observe do not fall under one particular religious denomination, they are part of the ubiquitous rituals related to filial piety such as ancestor worship. It’s also worthwhile to note that the purpose of cultivation comes is essentially taoist: to refine the self and prolong one’s lifetime. In more high fantasy settings (MDZS is described as low fantasy xianxia by the author), this ultimate goal is to attain immortality which would be at odds with Buddhist beliefs to reach nirvana.
The worlds created in wuxia and xianxia genre are rife with references to Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian beliefs and practices but as we can see these different influences cohabit together. The topic of the afterlife in MDZS lore is not really broached, the author mentions in an interview that while Wei Wuxian was dead, the remains of his consciousness was stuck in some sort of unending nightmare. Some other poor souls wander the earth, unable to pass on without the assistance of a cultivator. Elsewhere, in chapter 125, Wei Wuxian recalls suspecting an old man fiercely guarding his lotus lake to be the reincarnation of lotus spirit because of his uncanny tendency to know exactly when a lotus pilferer (Wei Wuxian) is nearby. In chapter 86, a cultivator surmises that Wen Ruohan must be fuming from Jin Guangyao’s betrayal in the Netherworld (referred to as the Nine Springs in Chinese). And then you have the memorial tablets in the ancestral halls that are traditionally said to house the deceased’s soul. As there is no single answer, what lies beyond the veil of death remains a bit of a mystery. It’s possible that there is a mix of all these different beliefs just like in folk religion. Upon death, a soul might linger in the mortal world or go straight to the Netherworld where it will be judged (ancient China being the precursor of bureaucracy, their idea of the afterlife is also very bureaucratic with different Courts to punish evildoers). Should the soul be found guilty, it will remain for a time in the Netherworld to be punished and to atone for its crimes and then move on the cycle of reincarnation.
After this long-winded introduction to spirituality in MDZS-verse, I’m finally coming back to your questions. Demonic cultivation does not grant Wei Wuxian powers over life and death. The corpses he raises and controls are those that are already brimming with resentful energy and already possess the latent potential to arise on their own. Nie Mingjue belongs to the same category although he became a more dangerous fierce corpse. Corpses such as him will remain as they are until they are quelled. In Lan Qiren’s lesson, Lan Wangji enumerates the accepted ways to deal with such a corpse:
蓝忘机并不去看魏无羡，颔首示礼，淡声道：“度化第一，镇压第二，灭绝第三。先以父母妻儿感之念之，了其生前所愿，化去执念；不灵，则镇压；罪大恶极，怨气不散，则斩草除根，不容其存。玄门行事，当谨遵此序，不得有误。”
Without sparing a glance to Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji nodded and bowed, he intoned, “First, liberation. Second, suppression. Third, extermination. Appeal first to the deceased’s attachment to his kin, achieve the desires they could not whilst they were living, release them from the fetters binding them to this world. If that method proves ineffective, proceed with suppression. The more grievous the crimes, the more difficult it is to dissipate resentful energy. In this case, it is thus necessary to exterminate them completely and not leave a shred remaining. This is the protocol of the cultivation world and must be observed scrupulously and undeviatingly. (ch.14)
Wen Ning and Song Lan are different from these mindless, violent corpses as they were able to regain consciousness through advanced techniques of demonic cultivation. They are effectively immortal but destructible. As the author said, how long they may live depends on proper maintenance!
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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 04 (first part)
(Masterpost) (Episode 03) (Episode 04 second part)
Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes!
Also warning: these posts just keep getting longer how are they getting even longer good lord I had to split this one.
School’s in for the Summer!
All of these nice young actors show off the results of their movement training as they beautifully perform prostrate bowing in near-unison. (yes, there is a Chinese word for this action, but it’s used in English in a shitty orientalist way, so OP is going to call this prostrate bowing)
Note that the very last person to hit his knees, by a wide margin, is Head Snob Jin Zixuan.
Lan Qiren looks them over with pleased dickishness.
I am really wondering what actor Huang Ziteng looks like without a struggle beard and mouth blood and chronic fainting.
That's...a lot of crosses, my dude
(more after the cut!)
Lan Clan Rules
The Lan rule set is basically a checklist for shit Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang can get up to this summer.
The rules include several that Lan Wangji is actively breaking this very moment, including “Don’t wear any jangling objects like beads,” “don’t be suspicious,” “don’t pierce your ears” and “don’t be supercilious.”
Wei Wuxian’s Summer Project
Extrovert Wei Wuxian gets started on the important work of making new friends. Waving to Lan Wangji in class doesn't get him anywhere (apparently), but he meets Nie Huaisang and forms one of the most important relationships of his two lives.
He doesn’t even know what they are being mutually squirrely about yet but they are instantly on the same wavelength.
I like you, yeah I like you, and I’m feeling so bohemian like you
When Wei Wuxian discovers that this classmate has smuggled an entire live birb into this boring-ass lecture he is completely delighted, and they are brothers in troublemaking from this point onward.
This is where we learn something important about Nie Huaisang. He wanted a rare canary, so he stalked it for three days, caught it, and caged it.
This careful hunter is 15 or 16...I wonder how much more patient and determined he will be when he's 35 or 36?
The Salute Ceremony: The Unstabby Bit
The Jin Clan starts off the salute ceremony by presenting Lan Qiren with a fancy book bound with gold string.
Wei Wuxian is genuinely impressed, but Jiang Cheng calls it "meretricious" [op looks it up] which means "apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity." Wow, Jiang Cheng is so deliciously bitchy.
Then it’s Nie Huasang’s turn. Wei Wuxian is impressed when he hears his name, meaning he befriended him without giving a fuck about who he is, which is sweet. I adore this friendship and think there are so many reasons NHS chose WWX to carry out his vengeance, none of which come from him being the dread Yiling Laozu.
The Salute Ceremony: The Thirsty Bit
To represent the Nie clan, I present this nice pot to Lan Qiran, and this rare and beautiful twink to Lan Xichen
Note: the trash talking jerks in the background are from the Jiang clan. Yanli does not remind them about their manners.
Quiet, reserved Lan Xichen greets Meng Yao with compliments and a hand massage and by doing this thing with his mouth.
No words are being produced at this point, he is just...parting his lips gently while he rakes his eyes over Meng Yao’s face.
Meng Yao doesn’t mind a bit
Flames on the Side of my Face
The Wen Clan guys have left Club Ruohan and are coming to summer school. Wen Chao is evil. It's subtle but you can tell by the way he casually sets people on fire.
Lan Clan Rules for Gate Keepers
do not draw your sword to stop someone from setting you on actual fire
do not use magic to stop someone from setting you on actual file
do not call for help when someone sets you on actual fire
Wens Qing and Ning believe in helping people, so once the smell of burning flesh starts to annoy them, Wen Qing puts out a solid 80% of the flames.
Note: We’re going to be spending a lot of time hating Wen Chao, so now might be a good time to have a look at (actor) He Ping out of costume.
Clearly, Wen Chao is just a beautiful troubled person with pretty moles who totally deserves a second chance.
The Salute Ceremony: The Stabby Bit
The Wens interrupt Jiang Cheng’s salute. Lan Xichen apologizes to them for not knowing they were going to show up like a bunch of interrupting assholes.
Lan Wangji wants to murder Weng Chao and looks at Xichen for permission but Xichen says no.
I never get to murder anybody not even that Su She asshole
So Wei Wuxian starts running the WWX fight book, which has to actually be pretty gratifying for the Lans, who are stuck being good hosts.
He skips the windup in this situation of heightened danger, so he is formal, polite, and doesn't cross any boundaries. But Wen Chao came looking to fight so it escalates immediately, with Jiang Cheng also getting in Wen Chao’s face.
The Wen Clan decides to teach the Jiang Clan a lesson. This is really the seed of the Lotus Pier massacre...it was always going to happen. The Wens draw swords and almost the entire Jiang Clan immediately draws as well.
Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng both use the same sexy move, kicking their swords up off their benches into their hands.
Nie Huaisang hides behind Meng Yao, who immediately uses his whole body to shield him and shows a bit of his titanium spine. I LOVE Meng Yao’s strength here.
Wen Qing protects her brother by putting her arm across his chest, which is not going to be helpful in any way if someone wants to stab him.
To end this urgent and dangerous standoff Lan Xichen slooooowly brandishes his flute and plays a little toodleoo for 15 full seconds, eventually causing all the swords to fly up to the ceiling and then down into the floor.
{I know, flautists, I know. Never let facts get in the way of a joke!]
Everyone politely allows him to do this without actually taking any swipes at each other. Then the swords all magically vanish along with the holes they made in the floor, which is convenient.
Now we get to see Lan Xichen angry, and oh my god, the tiny glimpse of that secret fire.
Now Wen Qing finally steps up to defuse the situation. She cannot believe she has to work with her boss's horrible stupid son who insists on fucking up every project, god why did he ever get made a vice president I can't believe I have to work with this tool.
Meanwhile, Lan Xichen is going to rue the day he introduced Wei Wuxian to Flute Magic.
Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang 4-EV-R
After the ceremony Nie Huaisang, calling Wei Wuxian “Wei-Xiong” (brother Wei, a bit more formal than -ge) praises his bravery. Wei Wuxian says that he enjoys resisting evil, harking forward to his chivalric calling & future promise with Lan Wangji.
Jiang Cheng says, without irony, I think, and with only a little bitterness, that normal people can't compare to Wei Wuxian’s bravery. Wei Wuxian downplays his courage and says that he wants to teach Nie Huaisang to have fun.
Now - hopefully we've all seen Fatal Journey, right? I won't spoil it here. But if you've seen it you know that a person who gives Nie Huaisang permission to be his true self is going to be precious to him.
Lan Wangji shows up and Wei Wuxian calls out to him, calling him "Ji-Xiong." Lan Wangji totally blows him off but Wei Wuxian is undeterred.
Xichen and Qiren Talking.
Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren talk about this whole Wen situation while Qiren pours some tea that appears to just be hot water. Dude.
Qiren is afraid this murdering of cultivators is going to be something the two of them can't handle. You think? There are already about 16 dead cultivators in the mosh pit at Club Ruohan; at what point are you planning to handle it?
This Ship is Sailing
Meng Yao comes to say goodbye to Lan Xichen and to trade hearts with him. Also to have a lot of feelings that his giant eyes and adorable dimples cannot contain.
Lan Xichen: Don't bow to me. No need to thank me like this. We’re equals. As equals we could take turns kneeling to each other, if you catch my drift.
Lan Xichen: Why not stay for several days? Oh if you're Nie Mingjue's boy I guess I have to let you go. He's great. Really. SO great.
Lan Xichen: Look, you’re with Nie Mingjue and I’m with Nie Mingjue and it only takes one stroke to turn a Vee into a triangle, is what I’m saying.
Grown-ass man Lan Xichen is so much less prudent than his teenage brother. Each of them has fallen hard for someone but the much younger Wangji tries to control it. Hopeless romantic Xichen goes right over the cliff, as well as deliberately knocking away many of the fences around Wangji’s heart so Wei Wuxian can make a home there. We love him for it, of course.
Episode 04, Part 2 is right here.
#fytheuntamed#the untamed#the untamed gifs#chen qing ling#the untamed stills#restless rewatch the untamed#lan xichen#meng yao#chenyao#nie huaisang#wei wuxian#the untamed spoilers#restless rewatch#the untamed meta
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Welcome back to reality
Peachy2peachy1 commissioned me for a second part of the merman Jiang Cheng Xicheng fic, and so here we are. Time to get back to reality and meet the family. Fun for everyone around :)
Jiang Cheng trusts Lan Xichen to book a flight for him. His original plan had been to simply swim back to the coast—his family has houses all over the coast line for this particular purpose—and to get back home from there. But now that he has Lan Xichen, he doesn’t bother with that.
Jiang Cheng can still hardly believe that Lan Xichen would have really given everything up for him, but he had looked so earnestly as he had made the phone call to his uncle that Jiang Cheng had decided then and there to take the risk.
What was love all about, if not a little risk, right?
So now Jiang Cheng is seated next to Lan Xichen on a plane, flying to who even knew where, off into a new life.
He just hopes his mother will never find him, because for all that Lan Xichen seems to be fond of working out, Jiang Cheng doesn’t doubt for a second that his mother will obliterate him.
“You seem worried,” Lan Xichen says, stroking his finger over Jiang Cheng’s no doubt frowning forehead and Jiang Cheng sighs.
“My mother is going to kill you, should she find us,” he whispers but Lan Xichen only chuckles.
“Not if my uncle is going to kill me first,” he cheerfully gives back and Jiang Cheng can’t help but to smile.
“He’s homophobic?” Jiang Cheng asks, but Lan Xichen shakes his head.
“Just a stickler for the rules. He’s not going to like that I’m bringing home a man to live with me. We skipped several steps on the way and he’s going to lament each and every single one of them. The one where you ask him for dating privileges probably being the one he kills me for.”
“I thought that is only done before a marriage,” Jiang Cheng wonders and Lan Xichen shrugs, threading their fingers together.
“We are a very traditional family,” he tells him. “Technically you should ask for permission before courting, and then before dating. Of course he has to approve that you’re moving in and then, yes, also for my hand.”
“Wow, I’m glad we skipped that,” Jiang Cheng cheekily says and presses a kiss to the back of Lan Xichen’s hand. “I’m not sure I’m what your uncle would approve of.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Lan Xichen seriously says and looks at Jiang Cheng, making his stomach swoop. “You’re perfect.”
Jiang Cheng’s throat constricts at that, but he tries to smile it off.
“Tail and all?” he whispers and Lan Xichen immediately nods.
“Tail and all,” he agrees without hesitation and Jiang Cheng’s heart swells three sizes in his chest and he breathes a little bit easier.
It really seems that he made the right choice with Lan Xichen, and it would suck so hard if it turns out he didn’t.
“So, listen, I’ve been wondering,” Lan Xichen starts after a brief pause and Jiang Cheng refuses to let the dread settle in his stomach.
Lan Xichen cannot already regret this.
“What?”
“If you live with me, we should probably accommodate both of your forms, right?” Lan Xichen says lowly, making sure that no one else in the plane can hear them. “I mean, I have a pool on the top floor, but it would have to be modified, I assume.”
Jiang Cheng can’t help himself, he has to lean over and kiss Lan Xichen’s cheek at that.
His own apartment has a top floor especially tailored to his needs; it’s only been finished for a little less than two months, and if Jiang Cheng is being honest, he kind of regrets that he doesn’t get to use it.
Maybe he can replicate it in Lan Xichen’s apartment.
“That would be wonderful,” he agrees and Lan Xichen nods in thought.
“I got a new neighbour recently, just a few apartments down. I think he remodelled his swimming pool. Maybe we can ask him for help,” he muses and Jiang Cheng frowns at hearing that but then brushes it off.
“I have a few ideas,” he assures Lan Xichen who looks like he would love nothing more than to get to the planning right this instant.
“Later,” Jiang Cheng laughs at Lan Xichen, who gives him a bashful smile.
“See, this is why my uncle sent me off on vacation. I don’t know how to relax.”
“Oh, I think I have found a pretty good way to make you relax,” Jiang Cheng whispers into his ear and he can feel Lan Xichen shudder against him.
“We’re in a plane!” he hisses but Jiang Cheng still nips at his earlobe, mostly because he can, and also because Lan Xichen turns the most delicious shade of red.
“We better land soon,” Jiang Cheng pouts, but he can’t keep the pout out for long, not with how Lan Xichen is kissing it right off his lips.
“Patience,” Lan Xichen whispers against his lips and Jiang Cheng sighs.
He has never been a very patient man.
~*~*~
Jiang Cheng gets a very bad feeling when they land in Wuxi and get a didi. That bad feeling transforms into a ball of dread when Lan Xichen tells the driver to go to Suzhou.
It’s a coincident, Jiang Cheng is sure of that.
There is no way Lan Xichen knows that this is Jiang Cheng’s hometown. There is just no way.
“You live here?” Jiang Cheng cautiously asks as they enter the city and Lan Xichen turns worried eyes on Jiang Cheng.
“I do. I thought it was actually kind of fitting with the water all around? We’ll have to buy a house right at the water, otherwise you won’t be able to safely go for a swim if you want to, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Is it—do you not like it?”
“No, no, it’s fine, it’s perfect, no worries,” Jiang Cheng rushes out and sinks deeper into his seat when they pass by one of the many, many houses that his family owns in this city.
When Jiang Cheng had trusted Lan Xichen with his secret he had hoped to get away from home, not be brought right back.
His answer must have been anything but satisfactory to Lan Xichen, because he keeps a worried eye on him for the rest of the ride, and Jiang Cheng can feel himself go pale when they turn into his very own street.
“You—live here?” Jiang Cheng asks, yet again, dreadfully watching his own building get closer and closer.
“If it’s a problem for you, we’ll move,” Lan Xichen immediately tries to reassure him. “I am not attached to this place.”
Jiang Cheng’s whole mouth goes dry when they stop in front of his own building and Lan Xichen must notice how his hand shakes, but he doesn’t mention it.
“Okay,” Jiang Cheng whispers, and half expects Lan Xichen to tell him that he knew all along who he was, and that he was just playing a game with him this whole time.
But nothing of the sort happens, and instead Lan Xichen moves him past his own apartment door and comes to a stop in front of a door at the opposite end of the building.
“This is it, but really, if you don’t like it, just say the word and we’ll find something else.”
“Right,” Jiang Cheng whispers as he allows Lan Xichen to bring him into his home.
A home that has the same outlay as his very own apartment, and Jiang Cheng would laugh at that if he wasn’t getting so very worried that this was all just a ruse.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Lan Xichen says—his voice all earnest, too—and drags Jiang Cheng into a kiss.
Jiang Cheng gladly falls into it; it’s better than to think too deeply on what is happening right now, but they get interrupted when Lan Xichen’s phone suddenly goes off.
Lan Xichen parts from him with a regretful sigh and when he looks at his phone his face falls.
“It’s my uncle,” he informs Jiang Cheng. “He demands a video conference right now. And here he was the one who sent me on a vacation so I wouldn’t work so much. You’d think he’d give me more time to settle back in,” Lan Xichen sighs and Jiang Cheng clicks his tongue.
“Maybe you should just let him wait then,” he tries, covering the phone with his hand, but Lan Xichen shakes his head.
“It’s better to get this over with immediately,” he gives back and drags Jiang Cheng towards his office, where a laptop is already waiting for them.
“Here goes nothing,” Lan Xichen mutters as he powers it up, and it doesn’t take long before it notifies them about an incoming video call.
Lan Xichen accepts it, while Jiang Cheng tries to stay as far in the background as he can.
“Uncle,” Lan Xichen greets as soon as a picture plops up and Jiang Cheng’s stomach drops.
“Chairman Lan,” he whispers, and Lan Xichen must have a really expensive microphone, because Lan Qiren’s eyes immediately fall on him.
“Jiang Wanyin,” Lan Qiren gives back and he cannot hide the surprise in his voice.
“What?” Lan Xichen wants to know, turning around to look at Jiang Cheng.
“You’re one of those Lans,” Jiang Cheng whispers, burying his face in his hands, and he can’t help but to laugh at this whole situation.
He might be a tad bit hysterical.
“What is going on,” Lan Xichen wants to know and Jiang Cheng can practically hear Lan Qiren frown over the video call.
“What are you doing with Jiang Wanyin? Did you come to an agreement? Are you finalizing the deal?” Lan Qiren demands to know and Jiang Cheng lets out a long sigh but before he can answer, Lan Xichen turns back around.
“This is not work,” he tells his uncle and Jiang Cheng doesn’t know if he wants him to shut up or to clear up everything immediately. “I met him on my vacation. Uncle, this is my partner, Jiang Cheng.”
“Your—partner,” Lan Qiren repeats with a very accusing pause. “The one you wanted to drop your whole work for?” he asks and Jiang Cheng presses his lips together.
He’s going to laugh again, and he’s going to offend Lan Xichen’s uncle and then not only will a very good deal for his company fall through but also this relationship.
“Yes,” Lan Xichen replies without hesitation, though there’s a small frown on his face. “What deal should I finalize with him?”
“Xichen, that is the CEO of Yunmeng Jiang Corps. you’re having in your office right now,” Lan Qiren says and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me you did not agree to anything yet, we were this close to finishing the deal.”
“You’re the CEO of Lan Enterprises,” Jiang Cheng says, his voice shaking with shock and then he smacks a hand to his forehead. “I should have realized, I’m so goddamn stupid.”
Lan Xichen looks between Lan Qiren and Jiang Cheng like he watches a tennis match, but he seems to understand more with every second that passes.
“Uncle, I think—,” he starts but Lan Qiren cuts him off.
“If you tell me you agreed to anything official that could jeopardize this deal, we’re going to have words,” Lan Qiren says, though he doesn’t seem as angry as Jiang Cheng expected him to be.
“I didn’t even know who he was!” Lan Xichen yells at the screen.
“Xichen,” Lan Qiren scolds him, but Lan Xichen is shaking his head, reaching back for Jiang Cheng’s hand.
“No. He’s my A-Cheng, and my partner, and I don’t care what you say about that.”
Jiang Cheng can clearly see a vein throb on Lan Qiren’s temple, but he’s too stunned to say anything himself, so they simply wait Lan Qiren out.
“If you got married without a prenup—,” Lan Qiren starts and Lan Xichen flushes that adorable bright red again.
Jiang Cheng can’t help himself, he simply has to lean down and kiss the top of Lan Xichen’s ear.
“Uncle! We did not get married,” he exclaims and now Jiang Cheng has found a little bit of footing again, because he smirks at Lan Xichen.
“Well, actually,” he drawls out and Lan Xichen whips his head around to him so fast Jiang Cheng fears he might have sprained something.
“Xichen!” Lan Qiren roars out of the speakers and Lan Xichen slams the lid of the laptop shut.
Jiang Cheng fears he might have done some irreparable damage to the device but he’s too busy smiling innocently at Lan Xichen.
“What do you mean ‘well, actually’?” Lan Xichen asks and Jiang Cheng lets his smile widen.
This whole situation is already a mess, why not add another thing to it.
“Xichen, I showed you my secret. If you think you’re getting out of this relationship ever again, you’re mistaken. So we might as well be married, for all that I care,” Jiang Cheng says, trying for nonchalant, but his heart his hammering away in his chest.
Lan Xichen’s eyes go big at his words and Jiang Cheng is holding his breath, waiting for Lan Xichen’s reply. Gods, he wishes he were back in the water, at least there he could simply dive down to avoid this uncomfortable moment.
“You work in this town,” is what Lan Xichen finally says and Jiang Cheng nods. “You live here, too? Your company is here? Is it really Yunmeng Jiang Corps.?”
“Yes, to all of that,” Jiang Cheng admits with a little shrug. “My mother sent me on vacation, because I was working too hard on this deal with your company, same as you apparently.”
“How could you not make the connection between Lan Enterprises and my last name?” Lan Xichen wants to know, and Jiang Cheng shrugs.
“How could you not make the connection between Yunmeng Jiang Corps. and my last name?” he shoots back, but Lan Xichen is already shaking his head.
“No, I get a pass, because I was thrown off by your tail,” he hisses and then takes a deep breath.
“Okay, point taken,” Jiang Cheng allows. “But seriously, what are the odds?” he then wants to know, because it honestly never crossed his mind that Lan Xichen might be one of those Lans.
And they never did talk about work, now that he thinks about it.
“You are my neighbour, right?” Lan Xichen suddenly asks. “You remodelled your pool because you turn into a freaking merman,” he finishes and groans. “Gods, how is this even possible?”
“I don’t know but lets pretend it’s fate?” Jiang Cheng tries, because he’s getting a lot of mixed signals here, and he doesn’t actually know where he and Lan Xichen are standing right now.
Lan Xichen narrows his eyes at him and Jiang Cheng can already see himself slinking back to his parents, having to admit that he revealed their secret to a human out of some clearly misguided sense of love and he is definitely not looking forward to that.
Not even to mention that the deal between their companies is probably off now as well.
“You just remodelled your pool,” Lan Xichen repeats slowly and Jiang Cheng frowns at him, confused as to where this is going.
“Yeah?” he carefully asks and his breath is taken away when Lan Xichen suddenly beams at him.
“And I said I’m not attached to this place, that we can live wherever you feel more comfortable,” he says and Jiang Cheng is still too confused to see where this is going.
“You did,” he reluctantly agrees and he moves back when Lan Xichen gets up from his chair and walks up to him in slow, measured steps.
Lan Xichen keeps walking towards him until Jiang Cheng’s back hits the wall and then he cages him in with his arms.
Jiang Cheng swallows heavily, though he can’t deny the dangerous swoop of his stomach at having Lan Xichen this close. And having him look at Jiang Cheng with that glint in his eyes.
“And you say we’re already as good as married,” Lan Xichen whispers into Jiang Cheng’s ear, clearly repaying the favour from the plane.
“Yes,” Jiang Cheng says, and he inwardly curses himself for how his voice shakes.
“Well, it’s easy then,” Lan Xichen suddenly cheerfully says, moving away from Jiang Cheng and clapping his hands together, like he is an excited child and not a grown-ass man.
“What is?” Jiang Cheng asks, too confused to form a coherent sentence right now.
“We’re moving into your place then,” Lan Xichen informs him. “It’s so much easier than remodelling my pool too, and it would be a shame to let all of your work go to waste.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Jiang Cheng wants to know, his brain still too confused to make sense of Lan Xichen’s words.
“I meant it when I said there would only ever be you,” Lan Xichen tells him seriously, taking Jiang Cheng’s hand in his. “And I will stand by my word.”
He’s clearly expecting Jiang Cheng to say something to that, but honestly, Jiang Cheng is a little bit too busy processing all of this.
He wonders if this is how Lan Xichen must have felt when he found out Jiang Cheng is a merman. If he felt like this when Jiang Cheng revealed that he could change forms.
“Will you, too?” Lan Xichen asks uncertain, shaking Jiang Cheng out of his thoughts.
“I just said we’re practically married, didn’t I?” Jiang Cheng shoots back and pulls Lan Xichen close, to brush a kiss over his lips. “You really think after I brought up marriage, I’m going to run now that you proposed we live together?”
“Well,” Lan Xichen starts, but Jiang Cheng silences him with a bruising kiss.
“No well,” he mutters against Lan Xichen’s lips. “This is settled.”
“Alright,” Lan Xichen agrees, and he sounds entirely too pleased about this.
The kiss drags on for a whole while longer and just when Jiang Cheng starts to wonder if he could find Lan Xichen’s bedroom blindly in this apartment, Lan Xichen pulls away.
“Oh, shit,” he whispers, clearly horrified and Jiang Cheng tenses.
“What now?” he bites out and Lan Xichen turns big eyes on him.
“Madam Yu is your mother,” Lan Xichen gets out as he turns white. “I am so dead.”
“I told you so,” Jiang Cheng cheerfully tells him, giving him his biggest grin, but he also strokes a soothing hand down his back. “But I won’t let her eat my husband,” Jiang Cheng promises Lan Xichen right before he turns around and marches off in what he is pretty sure is the right direction for the bedroom.
“Eat me?” Lan Xichen calls after him. “Eat me?! Hey, A-Cheng, what do you mean, eat me?” Lan Xichen yells, hurrying after him, and Jiang Cheng manages to evade him just long enough for Lan Xichen to tackle him into the bed.
They will have a lot to talk about, and Jiang Cheng will reassure Lan Xichen that his mother is not going to eat him—probably—but that can wait for a little while longer, now.
There are much more fun things to do in bed after all.
Next part
{Buy me a kofi}
#bt writes#the untamed#mdzs#xicheng#commission#merman!jc#established relationship#meeting the family#kinda#misunderstandings#fluff#humor
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The tragedy of a touch screen is yesterday at 3:08 am I thumbed the little “x” on my screen and deleted an entire answer I’d already written for this ask by closing the browser........I..........am an idiot.
This time, I will save draft.
See, three days ago, I wasn’t gonna even make this lil hc of mine into a thing, but because I am a spiteful creature already living off of coffee and desperation, I thought hell, what else do I have to lose? So it’s a thing now.
“The Price of Promise”!Verse: The first time Lan Qiren saw the woman who would one day be his zhang’sao, the woman who he would proceed to hate and blame for more than half his life, he was just sixteen years old. And she - she was just an assassin dressed in black, perched atop the shingles in Cloud Recesses, on a dark moonless night.
Characters: Qiu Baiti (Madam Lan), Lan Cenrong (Qingheng-jun), Lan Qiren, Zhao Zhuliu (Wen Zhuliu).
Foreword:
The story, as Lan Xichen knew it, came from an account of this:
“Lan Cenrong, do not force my hand. If you take another step, you will meet the same fate.”
Lan Yueling was there when they finally found Elder Lan Yang, lying crumbled there in the dense wooded valley outside of Gusu.
Lan Yueling was the first on scene, and this was what she saw: the rogue cultivator known as Qiu Baiti stood over Elder Lan Yang’s body, their sect master Lan Cenrong’s sword in her hand, its point at his throat.
Other disciples arrived, one after another, juniors and seniors alike. They froze, gasped, and collectively became witnesses as Qiu Baiti swung Kunlong through the air and pierced Lan Yang with a single, lethal stroke.
The blood that coated Kunlong’s gleaming steel dripped black and thick into the earth.
The witnesses screamed, drawing their weapons and lurching forward, but one gesture from the rogue cultivator had them all flying backwards, like paper dolls caught in the easterly wind. Only Lan Cenrong stood his ground.
You murderess. The disciples cried. You murdered Elder Lan Yang!
Apparently the old man was beloved. Hm.
Qiu Baiti did not deny their accusations, but Lan Yueling, having gotten there first, was pretty sure Lan Yang had already been dead before they arrived.
Sect Master disarmed Qiu Baiti. Or more truthfully, she allowed herself to be disarmed, choosing to offer no resistance. Sword in one hand, Lan Cenrong took a step closer, his arm coming up to wrap around her waist. That, she allowed too.
Concussed from being thrown back so forcefully, Lan Yueling struggled to lift her head, but even so, she managed to catch the last sight of Lan Cenrong and that woman before they disappeared in a scatter of pale blue light. There were tear tracks on both their faces, but for what, she could not know. Frankly, she did not want to know.
If Elder Lan Yang were not slain by Qiu Baiti, then....then... The alternate was too frightening to think about.
Soon, Cloud Recesses learned of the murder. Lan Yang’s body corpse was retrieved and honoured, and Qiu Baiti’s guilt was deemed irrevocable. For a week there was no news and they all feared the worst, until on the eighth morning, Lan Cenrong returned with the murderess of his en-shi, who was by then, his wife.
--
The story, as Wen Zhuliu knew it, started much earlier.
Some twenty five years before Lan Yang met his end in that forest, he went on a three-year long journey away from his home in Gusu to cultivate somewhere far and removed from the secular and the distracting. In the mountains of the south, he met a kindred spirit named Guo Lei, a cultivator like himself, but sectless, wild and free.
What happened between them...no one knows, but it had left Guo Lei wasted, decrepit, and bitter until his last days.
That was the man Wen Zhuliu remembered. Neither he nor his da’shijie Qiu Baiti ever knew the bright young man who had invited a rain-soaked Lan Yang into his humble abode in the mountains. The man who had taken them in, raised them, fed them and trained them, the man who they had loved as dearly as a father, was post-Lan. This was a man betrayed, who had the worst happen to him, and had no more forgiveness left to offer the world.
Wen Zhuliu’s da’shijie melted her first core when she was just eleven years old. Shifu had been so proud. He padded her on the head and treated them both to a lamb leg roasted on the open fire. Zhuliu and his sister fell sleep that night under the open stars. Shifu brought them inside to be warmly tucked in, carried them on his back despite his bad leg.
Back then Wen Zhuliu was just Zhao Ming, just xiao-Ming. xiao-Ming was small for a five year old, his golden core barely taking form inside him. Shifu had found him when he was very young, and he did not remember a life before shifu, before shijie.
Those were happy days.
Eventually, xiao-Ming grew up. On his tenth birthday, shifu named him Zhao Zhuliu, and then within a month, shifu died.
They, Guo Lei’s only disciples and only family, buried their shifu behind the house where once he hosted Lan Yang. Shijie dressed them both in hemp mourning robes, and taught him to give his four bows of goodbye before Heaven and Earth. On that hot summer afternoon, they burned stacks upon stacks of joss paper, and when the papers turned to ash, shijie wiped away his tears, took his hand, and led him - led them - onto their path of revenge.
Shifu didn’t leave them much; he’d already given them everything he had. Now, it was their turn to give back, to fulfill the one wish that Guo Lei still had unrealized.
Tear-choked, shijie had knelt by their shifu’s death bed, holding his thin weathered hands in her own and swore upon her life. Lan Yang’s reckoning was coming and she would be the one to deliver it. This, she promised.
If Zhao Zhuliu had known then that this was a mistake, that as youths they really didn’t know the world for what it was, that sometimes evil disguised itself as kindness and kindness appeared evil, he would have begged his sister to leave it all behind. Powerful as they were, they could’ve gone anywhere, done anything. But shijie was a filial disciple, a good daughter, and above all, she kept her words.
I promise, shifu, I promise that bastard Lan Yang will pay for everything he’s done.
Zhao Zhuliu hadn’t known, but it was a promise that would cost Qiu Baiti everything.
-
Or perhaps, the story could be told like this:
Qiu Baiti came to Cloud Recesses the same way that she left: silently, Bichen at her side, on a dark moonless night.
Lan Qiren remembered both nights well. He remembered the latter because one simply did not forget the sight of one’s beloved brother being utterly destroyed. Lan Cenrong had held his deceased wife in his arms and cried and cried and cried. But Lan Qiren remembered the former because of the terrifyingly embarrassing fashion Qiu Baiti had, within seconds of crossing swords with him, knocked him off the roof, sending him crashing into the shrubbery below, flat on his bottom.
Young Qiren had never been so humiliated, so enraged, and so impressed in his sixteen years of life.
He gave chase, across roof tops and watch towers, but the assassin donned in black was fast and agile and impossible to see in the dark. Very quickly, he lost all track of her. He realized then as he desperately searched the ground that he was near his brother’s quarters. A jolt of fear shot up his spine.
xiongzhang!
Panicked, he rushed to Lan Cenrong’s chamber and knocked harshly, mindless of the rules.
The door cracked open ajar. His brother blinked sleepily at him. “Qiren? What’s wrong?”
“Xiongzhang, forgive the disturbance, but an intruder was spotted while I was patrolling. Are you well?”
“An intruder? In Cloud Recesses? How did he get through our wards?”
“That, I’m not sure, and...I’m not sure it’s a he. As the security officer, this is my oversight. I’m very sorry, xiongzhang. I will call for a thorough search immediately.”
“Ensure our disciples and Elders are safe. Qiren,” Cenrong placed a calming hand on his on his shoulder. “You could not have predicted this. Do not be so harsh on yourself; you’re still young.”
Qiren smiled, comforted, and rushed off. Through just a half open door, he could not have known about the sharp point of Bichen pressing threateningly into the back of of Lan Cenrong’s neck this entire time.
“Don’t. Move.”
~~~
zhangsao 长嫂 - oldest sister in law.
en-shi 恩师 - esteemed/respected teacher
Lan Yang - 蓝杨
Guo Lei - 郭磊
Lan Cenrong - 蓝岑嵘
Qiu Baiti - 丘百啼
Zhao Ming 赵明， xiao-Ming “little Ming” *don’t @ me, I know Ming is literally the laziest name I could’ve come up with but I’m tired guys*
《kunlong》 坤隆 - name of Qingheng-jun’s sword
《bichen》 避尘 - Qiu Baiti’s sword, which she left to her son Lan Wangji
Note: I had originally intended for this to be a background story to my Discordance verse, but then I thought... to hell with it, it works as a canon divergence on its own. I mean... it still is the back story of Lan parents in Discordance, the only thing that is changed is what happens to Wen Zhuliu. Without Wen Ruohan, Wen Zhuliu is alive in Discordance and we’ll get to see him there. Soon. >:)
#cql#the untamed#gusu lan#qingheng jun#madam lan#wen zhuliu#lan qiren#cql ficlet#corie fics#discau#tpop
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The Accidental Time Quandary
The Untamed / Mo Dau Zu Shi / The Grandmaster of Diabolic Cultivation
XiCheng, Background WangXian, 9k
Find me at AO3
“The hell are you doing now?”
Wei Wuxian was kneeling in front of a large array in the middle of what he had fondly started to call his studio that was just a simple shackle at the backside of his home with Lan WangJi at the Cloud Recesses.
“Time Travel!”
Said Wei Wuxian with a grin, turning to look at his brother with a nose smudged in paint. Jiang WanYin rolled his eyes but looked amused at the array at his feet.
“You’re getting bolder everytime. I’m just glad your husband decided to make this place for you, not that I’m surprised after how you blew up half of the building the other day...”
Wei Wuxian pouted at him “Hey! That was a miscalculation.”
Jiang WanYin snorted. He would never say it but he was just glad to be able to interact with his brother like this. It had taken them years, even after things had cleared out although, thankfully, it had not been as many as the amount of years his brother had spent dead. Heck, he even was on better terms these days with Lan WangJi as well, although he deduced that that had also been influenced a lot by his brother who, after leaving his year in seclusion had started to try building some bridges between both volatile men.
“Just you wait. If I make this work I’ll come back from the future with a lot of amazing stuff.” He stood up and went towards his desk to write down a couple of notes.
Jiang WanYin sighed. “You know, there are things that should be best left alone… Besides how are you going to know it actually is the future? Maybe you should first try to go to the past, if you change this character here...” He erased a couple of strokes and grabbed paint to place the proper incantation for the word past “There. See?”
Standing from inside the array, he showed his brother his work when suddenly the array came to life. Things happened in a flash but felt like forever at the same time. He felt his own surprise and saw Wei Wuxian’s panicked expression while his own hand lifted towards the man, who tripped over the low table trying to get to him. A burst of light blinded him.
And then, darkness.
When Jiang WanYin opened his eyes once more the first thing he noticed was a terrible headache. He groaned and turned on his side. He looked around and found himself in what he felt was a guest room of the Cloud Recesses but not the one that had more or less become his own. He sat up and saw a simple white robe that reminded him a lot of the one he had used once while studying at the Cloud Recesses ready for him in front. He saw Sandu leaning by their side but Zidian was nowhere in sight. He frowned, it was very unsightly to take away a spiritual weapon from the owner but he trusted the Lans and Wei Wuxian so he had to wonder if that could have something to do with the mishap of the array. Sighing, he dressed up, took Sandu and stepped outside. He was not going to be able to get any information inside of the room anyway.
Jiang WanYin was still not quite sure about how much time had passed since the accident with Wei Wuxian’s array but it seemed like it was around eight or nine in the morning so he assumed that at least almost an entire day. What a waste of time.
Finally, he saw Wei Wuxian on his back, standing in front of Lan WangJi in the corridor where he was walking. Taking advantage of the fact that he could not see him, he walked soundlessly towards him and pushed his lower back towards Lan WangJi with enough strength to make the troublemaker fall onto Lan WangJi’s arms, faces dangerously close to each other.
“Oi, Can you stop flirting with your husband so early in the morning? I need to ask you some questions.”
He frowned when he got no response from either of the pair and stepped closer. Wei Wuxian was still frozen in place, face literally burning while Lan Wangji’s ears looked like they had condensed all the red blood in his body on themselves.
“Hello? Earth to stupid couple? Can you come back from cloud nine already?”
Finally, Wei Wuxian turned towards his brother. “W-w-w-what!?”
Jiang WanYin sighed and rubbed his frown in frustration. “Oh for the love of...” Unceremoniously, he grabbed his forearm and pulled him away from Lan WangJi who, incredibly, had not tried to keep him to himself like he always used to do. “I said, stop flirting with your husband dammit! How long has it been anyways? Shouldn’t you get out of the honeymoon phase already? Whatever, please excuse us, HanGuang-Jun.”
He bowed towards the other man who looked like all his brain functions had suddenly stopped and just looked at them walk away from sight.
“Anyway, that array of yours, I need to know what happened. My head still hurts like I’ve got the worst hangover ever and I would really like to know where you left Zidian.”
Jiang WanYin turned to look at his brother with crossed arms. Wei Wuxian, who still looked like he had received the biggest shock of his life was only able to cling on to the last words of his brother.
“W-where is Zidian? Isn’t it with Madam Yu?”
Jiang Cheng frowned and was about to lash back once more when he finally noticed the white student robe Wei Wuxian was wearing. Just the same as his own. His eyes widened and he felt his ears prickle with noise when the implications of actually having been thrown to the past finally hit him.
“...Shit.”
Quickly, his mind reeling, he stepped backwards and began to run away from where Wei Wuxian still was, ignoring his calls. This had to be a joke, like, the worst joke ever. He began to run towards the library, hoping that he would be able to find something that could help him go back.
“You! Stop there right now!”
Before Jiang WanYin had realized his mistake he had already stopped and, sighing, turned around towards the owner of the voice.
“Master Lan Qiren.” He gave the elder a bow.
“Jiang WanYin! I can’t believe it! Do I have to remind you of the rules?”
Jiang WanYin did his best not to roll his eyes “Rule thirteen, Running is Prohibited.”
“Then why are you even doing it!?”
Jiang WanYin was running through a series of excuses on his head when a voice behind them came through.
“I believe young Master Jiang had Sword Practice at this hour?”
Arriving with a soft smile was Lan XiChen, Jiang WanYin had not felt happier to see him in what felt like years. Which was true, it had been years. Ever since the Sunshot Campaign, when for one reason or the other he was cornered fighting the Wens on a particularly bloody battle and somehow Lan XiChen had appeared by his side to save the day.
“I… uh, Yes. Forgive me, Master, I did not want to delay anyone more at practice so I thought it best for the group if I ran even if it looked unsightly.” He gave him his most respectful bow with ease. He had practiced it for a long time by now.
Lan Qiren huffed. “I understand where you come from but it’s best to show up in time. These actions are very rare coming from you. What happened?”
“I was not feeling well earlier, Master.” Like hell he would tell them he had time travelled and suddenly had found himself trapped in the past.
“Very well, I’ll let it pass this time. Go back to your class.”
“Master, Zewu-Jun.” He bowed at both of them and walked away towards the Practice Court frustrated. He was going to have to wait for it to end in order to escape to the library to start trying to find some answers.
He was unaware of how Lan Xichen was looking at him walking away noticing that he walked poised and well trained, hands perfectly positioned at the back in the manner that he had been doing for years as Sect Leader. Imposing and undefying.
Sword practice had been… interesting to say the least. He remembered clearly that he had struggled a lot with many things back then but at the moment it felt like child’s play. All the forms and poses perfectly forged within his muscle memory. He did not realize the mistake he was making of doing things so well until their resting time.
“You’re on a roll today, aren’t you?”
He turned to look at Nie HuaiSang “What do you mean?”
“You’re working your stances really well. Everybody’s talking about it.”
“Huh?” He turned around to look how, indeed, many people, including his own brother, were looking at him.
Oh, crap, I fucked again. Was the only thing he thought.
“Ah, I don’t know, maybe I just woke up in a good shape? Don’t count on it looking this good all the time.” He waved away.
Nie HuaiSang laughed “No, no, this is what real talent is about. I could never do it this well even in good shape.”
Jiang WanYin turned to look at his friend with a serious look. It pained him to see such a bright innocent face knowing what would come of him years later. Without realizing his own actions he took his arm softly.
“If you don't feel like using your sable, maybe you could try with something else, like fans. I mean, you're already fluttering around with those all the time. It wouldn't hurt to try.”
Nie HuaiSang looked at his friend surprised by the honest advice and then looked downwards, a soft red filling his cheeks.
When the second hour began there was a bustle between all the students. Jiang Cheng turned around to find Lan XiChen in the middle of the training grounds.
“Well, I see you’ve been doing well!” Said the man after being told by the teacher of their progress. “Maybe you boys would like to do something more entertaining for the second hour? Like, one on one fights?”
The boys began to cheer as much as they could considering the place where they were while Jiang WanYin felt a sudden turn in his gut. He turned towards the direction where he had seen his brother, knowing perfectly well what he would do.
"Come on Jiang Cheng! Let's fight!"
The group had been separated into pairs and the fist pair was already starting their fight. The first person pushed away from the sparring circle was the one who lost.
Jiang WanYin felt unsettled, waiting for their turn by his brother's side. It had been so long since they had fought with blades, ever since that fateful core transplant that he didn't even remember his brother's fighting style. He also didn't want to face him at all. The memory of the reason why Wei Wuxian had given away all of his cultivation path just for him was something he still didn't feel ready to face.
"What? Are you nervous I'm gonna beat you up in front of everyone?"
He felt a sure nudge on the ribs. He turned around and, bringing the best impersonation of the fifteen year old that he didn't remember he ever was, pushed Wei Wuxian away.
"Shut up!"
Wei Wuxian sent him a flashing smile. Apparently that had been the right answer.
When the both were called forward Jiang WanYin decided to do the wise thing and wait for Wei Wuxian to take the first step, he wanted this to be over as fast as it possibly could. They began circling each other, measuring their pace.
Wei Wuxian snorted "What's wrong? Too afraid to come at me? Where's your usual hurriedness?"
"What about you?" Called Jiang WanYin "Always so happy to wait for the troubles to get you, maybe I should give you another push towards the right direction?"
"You-!"
Wei Wuxian plunged towards his brother, clearly feeling his cheeks burning. Jiang WanYin received the plunge with his own sword and guided it away from him, throwing Wei Wuxian even further to the edge of the ring. Before he was able to recover his ground, he felt Jiang WanYin kick him, making him fall on the ground, completely out of the ring. It had been the fastest match yet. Before Jiang WanYin could take notice of the odd silence that suddenly surrounded him Wei Wuxian turned around.
"Hey! You kicked me! That's not fair!"
"I don't recall anyone asking for the duels to be fair."
"What are you talking about? That's just common sense!"
Jiang WanYin sighed. "Alright, whatever, come at me again. I won't kick you this time."
Wei Wuxian looked at him in a way that clearly stated he was finding something suspicious but stood up again.
"Alright, but this time you come at me."
Jiang WanYin sensed it. How could he not? The way his own brother was actually doubting he was not the real Jiang Cheng. He wondered for a second if it would be better to pretend to be more stupid or whatever it was he had been back then but he was just so tired about this whole situation that he couldn't bring it on himself to fake it and he also felt that it would be extremely disrespectful to act stupid towards Wei Wuxian.
Jiang WanYin's voice went lower "Well then step inside." If you dare to. Was what was left unsaid but still clear for the both of them.
Wei Wuxian took a step back before gathering himself. There was something very wrong about this Jiang Cheng but at the same time he was unable to point out exactly what. He stepped inside, taking a gulp and strengthening his grip on his sword.
This time, the moment they heard the senior call for the start of the match, Jiang WanYin plunged towards Wei Wuxian, the first hit almost disarms him but he manages to recover and swings back if only to gain some distance. Jiang WanYin saw his brother's panicked face and inwardly sighed. He allowed him to gain some terrain and security before going towards him again. This felt more like teaching Jin Ling a new sparring technique than actual fighting and Jiang WanYin felt again that guilt that would never leave him.
I wonder how well we could fight each other now if he had kept his core.
"Stop looking at me like that! I haven't lost yet!"
The angry note on Wei Wuxian’s voice made Jiang WanYin go back to reality. He had not realized just how much his thoughts had been reflected on his face. Realising he shouldn't hoard the ring for long, he walked towards an edge while Wei Wuxian threw a thrust that he had hastened believing on his immediate victory when Jiang WanYin did a quick turn, leaving the path clear for Wei Wuxian's second fall out of the ring.
"Well!" A calm yet joyous voice came from their side "I think this match has been won by Jiang WanYin!"
The disciples around them bursted in applause. While Jiang WanYin came forward to help his brother up.
"Are you okay?"
"What? Do I look like I need help?"
"No, just asking."
"Shouldn't you be gloating about the fact that you won in front of all the group?"
Jiang WanYin gave his brother a bitter smirk, turned around and bowed towards everyone, acknowledging his victory before turning back towards the spot where he had been watching the rest of the matches, arms crossed, firm stance.
Almost casually, Lan XiChen stood close to Jiang WanYin. A thing he found himself extremely grateful for since it helped a lot to keep Wei Wuxian away from him for the time being and he was definitely not ready to be attacked with questions at all. They watched the next match in silence until at some point both contenders grimaced after clashing their swords in a particularly heavy way.
Lan XiChen expressed a low "Oh" while Jiang WanYin grimaced in solidarity. Sensing the younger’s expression, Lan XiChen ventured with a low voice.
"What do you think about that move, young master Jiang?"
Jiang WanYin snorted "Terrible arm position, I'm surprised they're still trying to go at it. Their muscles will be sore for at least three days."
Lan XiChen hummed in agreement.
"You should stop them before they do something stupid, it's obvious they're just trying to impress you since you don't come here often."
Lan XiChen turned quickly to look at him, surprised at the familiarity with which he had been addressed but he had to agree that following his advice would be for the best. He stepped forward and stopped the kids, giving them encouraging words but also admonishing them about the need to be more careful with their stances and sent them right away to the healer wing.
The next couple of matches were good and uneventful so Jiang WanYin and Lan XiChen remained silent but the more pairs came into the ring, Jiang WanYin couldn't help starting to mutter.
"Those two need to improve their footwork… That boy should better use his dominant hand, there’s no shame in being a leftie… Is that kid from the Nie Sect? He seems to be better suited for a sable… Oh, this one’s just trying to show off his forms, isn’t he?" he snorted “like someone would give a damn about that in a real battle...”
Lan XiChen hummed along with each remark, some of the things Jiang WanYin was commenting on were things he would have not noticed either, especially regarding other sects fighting style but what caught him off guard were the comments regarding battle training. Comments like “too slow, would have his arm cut off before he could make a full turn” were the ones that would have made him wince if he had not been trained with perfect propriety like a true Lan. With each match, he was feeling more and more restless about his companion.
After the last winner was decided the class gathered to bow towards the senior in charge of them and Lan XiChen and parted towards the dining hall. Jiang WanYin walked towards his brother, realising he had been away from him too long and that they were supposed to be inseparable and soon Nie HuaiSang joined them laughing, he clung himself to Jiang WanYin.
“Dude, that was scary!”
“What was scary?”
“Zewu-Jun? Like, I could have never been able to stand so close to him for so long!”
Wei Wuxian laughed. "What are you talking about? Didn't you see Jiang Cheng? He was so stiff with his arms crossed and everything! Just like a soldier!"
Jiang WanYin gave out a dry laugh. "Yeah, it was putting me on edge."
It was a lie, of course. But how could he explain to his friend that in the middle of all this time traveling madness he had actually felt relief, since it was the most natural thing to stand by his peer? Now that he thought about it though, he also had to give them credit. He suddenly remembered how nervous he used to be anytime he had to stand even two meters away from him. He knew Lan XiChen was only three years older than Lan WangJi but back then it had felt like he was looking at an unattainable being, like gazing at a true immortal. Even at their current time and despite the fact that they pretty much treated each other as peers in general, Jiang WanYin always felt like there was some sort of barrier between them both. He sighed.
The hours after lunch were spent in the classroom. Jiang WanYin had been unable to brush his brother and Nie HuaiSang away, even when he had tried to chide his brother into some trouble just to be able to get away from there.
"Jiang WanYin!"
He turned towards the front of the class, Lan Qiren looking at him with accusatory eyes. On the other side of the room, Lan WangJi was also peering at him with a look that by now he knew was almost a frown.
Yes, I was not paying attention, so what?
"I'm sorry master, could you repeat the question?"
"I asked about the best way to deal with water ghouls. I thought you were feeling better? I heard that you did great at sword practice."
Listening to master Lan Qiren's concern his teenage self would have goaded at the rest of the class.
"My apologies, master, I'm afraid I might have gone a bit too far and overexerted myself before I was completely recovered."
"You're sick?" Came the soft concern from Wei Wuxian. Jiang WanYin hushed him quickly.
Lan Qiren gave out a soft sigh. "Please go back to your room and meditate, it will be a better use of your time. Check with Nie HuaiSang later for today's topics."
Jiang WanYin cheered inwardly. He stood up and bowed politely.
"I am grateful for your concern master, I shall take my leave for the day."
When he was far enough from the studying hall, he peeked around and made a turn towards the library. He had glanced at a couple of the tomes Wei Wuxian had had on top of his desk while doing his research so he at least had an idea of where to start.
The good thing about being able to be outside at a time when everyone was busy inside classrooms and halls meant that he didn't find anyone on his way to the still ancient pavilion.
The doors were closed but they were not locked so, after sending a sad look at the magnificent magnolia tree outside that had suffered greatly when the fire started by the Wens happened later, he went inside.
Doing his best trying to keep everything in order, meaning like the books and scrolls had not actually been touched at all, Jiang WanYin went through several documents. Once the light of the evening was not enough he finally moved the ones he had been reading aside and let out a sigh, leaning against the window ledge, rubbing his eyes.
He was wondering whether it would be wise to light up a candle to keep on going or just call it quits and hope for Wei Wuxian to be working on something on the other side when, somehow, the soft fragrance of Chrysanthemum tea filled his lungs. He inhaled it without a second thought, trying to avoid the headache he was feeling coming.
“Still haven’t found what you’ve been looking for I presume?” A soft voice asked.
“Mn… I don’t even know how on earth Wei Wuxian manages to not even read all this shit but be able to put everything to practice, I...” he stopped his words with a start and lowered his hands, only to find Lan Xichen, standing in front of him with a soft smile, tea tray in hand.
Noticing his Sandu was reclined on a column two arms away from him while Lan XiChen’s Shouyue was perfectly poised at his hip, Jiang WanYin slumped his shoulders with a dejected sound. He then went to pick up the books he had on the table and put them aside to have space for the tea. Lan XiChen sat down graciously in front of him. Jiang WanYin waited for the man to serve him before he finally reached for the cup and took a sip. They drank the first cup in silence. He served the second cup and snorted before taking a sip.
“I’m such an idiot, letting my guard down while checking everyone’s training.”
Lan XiChen looked at him and took a sip of his tea. “Actually, it was way before that.”
“Oh? Pray do tell.”
“I met my brother early in the morning. He was clearly agitated and told me what you had done pushing Wei WuXian towards him but that was not really what caught my attention.”
He saw Jiang WanYin’s eyes widen in comprehension and then closing them with a frown, he rubbed the middle of his forehead with the tips of his fingers.
“HanGuang-Jun”
Lan XiChen nodded and took another sip.
“When he turned fifteen, WangJi told me he had begun thinking about a decent title name despite being barely granted his courtesy name. Imagine his surprise when he heard you say a title name he had not even thought about yet.”
“Oh man, what a slip… On my defense, I had not realized where the fuck I was at the time. And don’t make that face with me, there’s no rule saying anything about cursing. Yet.”
Lan XiChen’s face stiffened, he had not stopped smiling but the person in front of him was able to read him well.
“I presume the reason you decided to take the matter in your hands was because you didn’t want your brother to get anywhere near unknown danger then. You know being this kind is the reason you always suffer, don’t you?”
Lan XiChen’s hand twitched on his knees. “Who are you?”
Jiang WanYin glanced at him, he knew this pale face, realized he had gone a bit too far with his stark comments. It was the moment to back off. “I can tell you. But it will depend on you whether you believe me or not.”
Jiang Wanyin sat upright and placed his hands over his knees, properly facing Lan Xichen.
“Greetings, Sect Leader Lan, Zewu-Jun. I am Sect Leader Jiang, Jiang WanYin. Better known as Sandu Shengshou.” He then properly bowed in front of him.
Lan XiChen felt like the moment was elongating itself into eternity. He had not dropped his tea simply because his manners did not allow him to.
“I’m sorry but Sect Leader Jiang...”
“Yes, at this time it should still be Jiang FengMian.”
“Then how… when..?”
Lan XiChen wanted to get answers but he stopped dead when he saw Jiang WanYin’s eyes fall into darkness.
“Do not mind yourself with those details. All I can say is that I never intended to find myself in this awful situation either but mistakes happen when you have a brother such as Wei WuXian.” Jiang WanYin reclined himself on the wall behind him and rubbed his eyes once more. “I swear to god I’ll kill him someday.”
“Please, stop that.”
“Huh?”
“Stop rubbing your eyes.”
Jiang WanYin groaned. “You always say that. Who cares about that myth that your eyesight goes bad? I’ve had this habit for years and my eyes are still perfectly good.”
Lan XiChen smiled “And yet you still stop.”
“Well obviously. I respect you after all.” Jiang WanYin looked at a letter peeking out from Lan XiChen’s robe. “Is that a Request Letter? You couldn’t find the answer by yourself?”
Lan XiChen looked down at the paper and felt his ears turn red. “How do you..?”
“You still do the same over there. Coming to the library when no one is around to try to find an answer. Also bringing your favourite Chrysanthemum blend means this one’s giving you a headache. Can I see that? Maybe I can help.”
Logic told Lan XiChen that it would be best to refuse since he wasn’t even sure this boy was Jiang WanYin or someone else. But being forced to act as a proper Sect Leader for two years now despite the fact that his father was still alive made him feel like he was stumbling and making a mess of everything, forced to handle everything by himself. In the end he desperately lent on that feeling of relying on someone that he had never found before, trying to please everyone around him.
Not only that but the way Jiang WanYin had told him about his own habits while he held out his hand in such a personal way made Lan XiChen feel like he was allowed to actually ask for his help. He took the letter and handled it to the man in front of him. Jiang WanYin opened the request and began to read.
“Ah, I see, bloody beasts at the east of the Zhonghua pass. If I recall correctly there are several caves over there huh? No wonder it’s giving you a headache.” He grabbed a piece of paper, brush and ink and began drawing. “I’d recommend you a pincer strategy. Place protective barriers on both sides of the bottleneck road in a two hundred chi radius. Then start barring down the caves on the bottom-east since those are the ones closer to the town. Take at least twenty of your best swordsmen and five archers, seven of them with proper healing knowledge involving open wounds. It’s not gonna be easy considering these things go in packs. You can leave tracing talismans a day before the hunt so you can see which caves they use most and narrow them down. It will still take you at least five days to go through the whole place but this will help avoid any human casualty.”
Jiang WanYin finally looked upwards from the paper and met an image he never imagined he would ever see. Lan XiChen was looking at him completely dumbfounded with an open mouth. He also felt his own face blush and he frowned in defense.
“What? What is it?”
Lan XiChen tried to regain himself “Nothing, nothing it’s just… I’ve had this request for five days now and I've been stressing over it since I didn’t see how to properly handle it and you… How did you come up with this strategy just like that?”
Jiang WanYin looked aside and shrugged. “Guess I’ve got enough experience now...”
“Jiang WanYin you’re… You’re amazing.”
“Okay that’s it, stop it.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because you’re Zewu-Jun? I’m the one who’s supposed to admire you here! You even saved my life!”
Lan XiChen looked at him dumbfounded. “I saved your life?”
Jiang WanYin felt himself blush again. He sighed and looked aside. He knew he shouldn’t say much but still felt like this was important, and it was easier to tell this Lan XiChen what he could not tell the one he was more familiar with but still detached from.
“There was a battle. At the north of Qinwei. We were ambushed by our enemies and we made a hasty retreat. I got surrounded by enemies while helping the rest to run away and was pretty sure I was gonna kick it right there when you showed up to help. You had been in hiding for a while back then so it was shocking to see you there but still, you saved my life.” He looked upwards and met Lan XiChen’s eyes. “So thank you for that.”
Lan XiChen was doing some mental calculations, Qinwei was part of the Wen territory so it meant they would eventually go to war with the Wens. Knowing that he wouldn’t get enough information from the man in front of him he just slotted away this information for when it would be of importance. “I haven’t done anything yet.”
“Well, if you do. When you do. I won’t say much about it. But I’m still grateful to this day so that’s why I’m saying it right now.” Jiang WanYin looked downwards, and suddenly looked fairly interested on the porcelain cups in front of him. He frowned. “I always forget to get you the Pink Lotus Set. I should note it down for next time.”
Lan XiChen felt his smile broaden, he kept wondering just what kind of relationship he had with this man, hopefully they were close friends. If not, he was going to do his best to make him understand he would very much like to be close to him, seeing how much consideration he had towards his personal likes and tastes.
“So far I can understand that even though you are Jiang WanYin, you are not the same Jiang WanYin of the present but of days to come. Can I ask how far?”
Jiang WanYin looked at him and frowned. “Does it matter?”
“Can’t a man be curious?”
Jiang WanYin sighed but only rested a hand over his knee. “I’m thirty six years old.”
Lan XiChen’s eyes widened. No wonder this man had solved a problem he was struggling so much with such ease. He was currently looking at a man with eighteen years of experience ahead of him. Something inside his gut twisted but he could not pin down what it truly meant at the moment.
“Well, as much as I’d love to keep chatting with you, I’m gonna take my leave.”
Jiang WanYin said while grabbing the documents he had taken and walking towards their corresponding place.
“I thought you would try to investigate more.”
“I’m fed up with this and I bet Wei Wuxian is fretting over there to get me back so I’ll just wait. The array was still on it’s testing phase so I also believe it’s effects won’t last long.”
Lan XiChen huffed, the equivalent of a snort in his proper Lan behaviour and looked at the man sort everything with an ease that told he was extremely used to the order within this library. Lan XiChen looked at Jiang WanYin work while he thought for a while about their chat.
“You said there’s going to be a battle in Qinwei.”
“I did, yes.”
“So that means there’s going to be a war.”
“A battle is a battle, it means nothing.”
“I, yes, but if you know about the events to come, don’t you feel like it would be best if you tried to do or change something… Anything, about it?”
“No.”
“But…”
“I SAID NO!”
Lan XiChen jumped when the man slammed a book against a column. He was only able to see his back but even from where he was standing he was clearly able to see that Jiang WanYin was trembling. Lan XiChen immediately shut his mouth, realizing his mistake. It took Jiang WanYin over five minutes before he could open his mouth once more. It had been a relief that he didn’t have Zidian at hand.
“How dare you ask me that?” He began with a low, cracked voice. “How dare you ask me that when every time, every single time I’ve made a choice or taken a decision all things have turned to the worse!?”
Jiang WanYin turned towards Lan XiChen, who went stiff the moment he caught a glimpse of an expression so full of sadness and despair that clutched his own heart. He stomped towards Sandu and took it up before turning again to face the other man.
“Look, I fucked up, and my life got fucked up and heavens forbid I fuck things up even more just by trying to set things right. You might be young and hopeful and maybe you don’t get it but I still have a few menial things to cling on to and I won’t let them go so fast.” Jian WanYin paused for a moment to take a breath and calm down a bit more. “Sect Leader Lan.” He bowed and turned to walk through the door.
Lan XiChen saw the figure of the man stroll away from the building and, feeling like it was not right to let him leave in those terms, he ran to reach him. He had not stepped too far away, Jiang WanYin was looking at the magnolia tree with a sad, nostalgic glance. Lan XiChen approached him with care, almost afraid he would run away like a wounded, scared animal. He didn’t know what to say to keep him there so he threw at him the first thought that went through his mind.
“How about my life then?”
Jiang WanYin turned to face him, still with that frown that he could tell now was not because of anger but of frustration and regret.
“What?”
“You say you don’t dare change anything about your life but what about mine? Isn’t there anything you think I could do to change certain things to come?”
Jiang WanYin gave him a long assessing look, then looked back at the magnolia tree and sighed after a while.
“Fill your library as soon as possible with as many qiankun bags you think you’d need to save all the books inside. You’ll need them to avoid them dying in the fire.”
Lan XiChen was about to open his mouth once more but a glance from the other man told him best to keep his mouth shut. Jiang WanYin turned around to start his way to the dormitories but didn’t move. He took another breath.
“Also...” he paused. More than what should have been enough but Lan XiChen stood patiently. “It would do you good to remember at all times that kindness is not equal to honour; and you should never give away all of your heart, lest you wish to end up losing it entirely.”
Lan XiChen frowned but did nothing to stop the man when he walked away from him. He had indeed given him some advice although, considering his own personality, he wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a general recommendation for all the years to come or meant to be about a person in particular. Or both.
He went back to the library to grab the forgotten tea tray and decided to wait until the following day to ask Jiang WanYin, he clearly needed some time to cool down.
The following day he saw the chaotic trio composed of Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng and Nie HuaiSang doing a ruckus right before class started. All three stopped their upheaval when they caught sight of him and did their best to stand upright.
“Good morning, young master Nie, young master Jiang, young master Wei.”
“Zewu-Jun”
The three boys saluted politely but obviously restless. He hovered over for a moment too long at Jiang WanYin who began to look rather nervous.
“How are you feeling today, young master Jiang?”
He noticed Jiang WanYin’s cheeks turn a slight tone of pink along with a face that betrayed his inner thoughts of wanting to be one hundred steps away from Lan XiChen rather than actually face him.
“B-Better! I’m… I’m feeling better, Zewu-Jun. Thank you for your concern.”
Lan XiChen gave him another long look and sighed a bit dejected although his smile never left his face.
“Very well, if you do feel like you need some rest please do tell me.”
“Yes! Thank you, Zewu-Jun.”
With that, the boys entered the classroom while Lan XiChen waited to see that every student had gathered. He looked at the bright blue sky.
So you went back to the future. I’m glad for you, Jiang WanYin.
Jiang WanYin opened up his eyes and groaned, his body ached as if he had run and done training for an entire week and his head felt foggy. Slowly, he began to hear the sound of a voice that sounded odd yet known and saw a shadow in front of what looked like candlelight hovering over him.
“—ng! Jiang cheng!”
He extended his arm towards the place where he saw the shadow and surely felt his hand being held by two more slender ones that held him tight and then something cold hitting his cheek from above.
Tears.
“W-Wei…”
“Yes! Yes! That’s me! Wei Ying! Can you hear me? Can you see me? Jiang Cheng? Please answer me!”
“Urgh, stop shouting, my head...”
He felt his hand being released but soon the hand holding was replaced by a tight hug and more sobs.
“Oh, thank heavens! I was so scared! You were not breathing anymore and I thought… I thought...”
Jiang WanYin felt his brother's words falter for a moment.
“How could I have ever faced Shijie again!?”
“How, indeed...”
Jiang WanYin felt his brother shudder and then lose himself in a barrage of uncontrollable sobs. Feeling kind of bad he lifted his tired arms and held him back. He was still feeling disoriented and thus didn’t do much to move away from the tight lock his brother had him in. After some time that he could not really measure he looked around and saw Lan WangJi sitting aside, guqin hovering over his knees. He tried to focus his eyes on him.
“How… How long was I gone?”
“It’s almost time for sleep.”
“...Same day, I presume?”
“Mn.”
“Oh.”
Suddenly, Wei Wuxian tore apart from his lying brother who was not really going to admit was feeling a little dejected from the separation, ripped his tears away with his sleeve and began to see if his body had any injury of sorts. Lan WangJi stood up, leaving his instrument aside and sat beside Jiang WanYin, taking his wrist and starting a spiritual check up. Jiang WanYin coughed a little bit.
“I told you some things were best left alone.”
Wei Wuxian let out a choked laugh.
“Yes, yes you did. You’re so smart sometimes.”
“I honestly can’t tell if you’re making fun of me.”
Jiang WanYin heard a distinct sob being held back and sighed. He turned to face Lan WangJi and focused as best as he could on him.
“I feel like literal shit. Just knock me down, please?”
Lan WangJi’s eyes widened enough that he could tell he was astonished by his request.
“Haha, yeah, there’s a first for everything I guess.”
Still, he was not knocked down anytime soon. At least not until both men had decided he was generally okay. Only then did Lan WangJi press his spiritual energy on the man who did his best to allow the intrusion in order to lead himself towards a dreamless sleep.
When he woke up again, he could see that the ceiling of the room he was in had dark beams and rays of sunshine entering peacefully through a window out of sight. He rolled over to his side and saw an open door with a view he had never seen before. He groaned, his body felt better but he felt an odd pressure on his head.
“Good morning, Sect Leader Jiang.”
He knew the owner of that voice, he could almost see the face that accompanied it smiling.
“Can you really call it morning, Zewu-Jun?”
There was a clear, amused laugh “We’re close to midday but not there yet.”
Jiang WanYin did his best to get up but a pair of strong hands kept him down, he finally saw the owner of the voice in front of him.
“Please don’t strain yourself, Wei Wuxian went for food for you, completely free of chillies I trust.”
“Mn...” Jiang WanYin looked around “Where are we?”
“This is the Hanshi.”
“Why did they bring me here?”
Lan XiChen could see Jiang WanYin doing his best to understand but his brain was still foggy.
“It is much closer to the Jingshi than the healer's wing at the other side of the compound. And no, you were no bother.” He said, finally understanding Jiang Cheng’s real question. “I just arrived a couple of hours ago from a business trip, so the place was free for you to rest.”
“It’s still your room.”
“Mn, Wei Wuxian was not allowing anyone to take you away so WangJi decided to put you here because Wei Wuxian needed to rest as well. He almost loses all his spiritual energy trying to keep you alive.” Lan XiChen turned his gaze away from the man to another corner of the room.
“I was about to prepare some tea, would you like some?”
“Yes please, my throat is… I can use some tea.”
Lan XiChen hummed in a way that Jiang WanYin could definitely tell was more of a chuckle coming from the man.
Soon enough, he arrived back, placed a tray for both of them and sat by the edge of the bed. He helped Jiang WanYin get up and placed a cup of tea on his hands. He also helped him drink it when he noticed that his hands were slightly trembling. Jiang WanYin sighed, the tea was doing a lot to make him feel better.
“How do you feel?”
“Like I drank eleven jars of Emperor’s Smile and then got the genius idea of getting trampled by a hundred fierce corpses.”
Lan XiChen couldn’t stop himself and let out an honest laugh.
“I am very sorry to hear that, but it still is better than the other option.”
“...Did I almost die?”
“I was told by Wei Wuxian that the moment the array stopped flashing you collapsed, your vitals were still functioning but the problem was that your soul was nowhere to be found… The real problem began a few hours later.”
Jiang WanYin processed the information Lan XiChen was providing. “The vital functions stopped working.”
Lan XiChen nodded. “Wei Wuxian had obviously started to work on the array to bring you back but it apparently took some time for it to find you.”
Jiang WanYin groaned and rubbed his eyes “No wonder he was so panicked. Well, at least it was me and not any other poor soul.”
Lan XiChen’s smile went sour. “Please don’t do that.”
“Can’t a man rub his eyes in peace?”
“I don’t mean that.”
“Huh?” This time Jian WanYin stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at his Lan counterpart.
“Please stop diminishing your own self like this.”
Jiang WanYin jerked back and frowned. He would have spat something aggressive at anyone else but this was Zewu-Jun, not just anyone. Since he was unable to counterattack he looked aside, clearly feeling his cheeks burn.
Lan XiChen sighed “I, for one, am grateful that you’re alive. It means that I didn’t save your life for nothing back in Qinwei.”
Jiang WanYin looked at the man suspiciously.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Have you asked yourself if you actually went back in time?”
“Well, it’s not like I’ve got enough time to do that yet...”
Lan XiChen looked at him for a while and then looked down at his hands, neatly stacked over his knees. He took a deep breath. “When I went into hiding I was gone from everyone’s sight but I was still well informed of what was going on at the battlefront thanks to a-Yao.”
Jiang WanYin looked at the man wary, ever since he left his year of seclusion he had not willingly talked about anything related to Jin GuangYao unless pressed by other people. And when he did, he tried his best to avoid saying his name out loud and yet right now he was calling him in the same fashion he used to do when he was his sworn brother. Jiang WanYin wasn’t sure why he had chosen to do so, even less why particularly in front of him but couldn’t really dare to ask.
“There was this time when we were told you had decided to take over Qinwei. I was in LanLing.”
Jiang WanYin, who had kept his gaze low, snapped his head upwards to face Lan XiChen.
“You were in LanLing!? Then how did you even show up all the way in...” Jiang WanYin’s voice slowly faded into nothing, his mind working at a hundred miles per hour.
Lan XiChen nodded. “Many people wonder about the fact that we managed to salvage and recreate our Library up to a fault and consider it a miracle. But it was thanks to you that we managed to do so in the first place. I needed to repay what I owed you. When I remembered your prediction about the battle on Qinwei I knew I couldn’t stay where I was. Your very life was in the line that day.”
“No offense, Sect Leader Lan, but I don’t think that exposing yourself to the Wens when everyone was after you in order to save a stupid brat just because he helped you save a bunch of scrolls was the wisest thing to do.”
“No offense, Sect Leader Jiang, but those bunches of scrolls are an invaluable heritage of my sect. It may have been just paper but they hold the knowledge of all my ancestors. It was well worth risking everything to save you in order to repay such immense debt.”
Jiang WanYin looked away flustered. It was hard for him to accept even the slightest type of praise, it was even harder when it came from someone as high as Zewu-Jun.
“Why are you bringing all of this up now anyway? It’s not like I wanted you to thank me or anything… Actually, how many years has it been for you now since that talk? How could you remember any of that!?”
Lan Xichen smirked “Ah, that must be because the person itself is a very difficult person to forget about, but also because by now you have already saved not only my Sect heritage but also my own self.”
Jiang WanYin frowned “What do you mean?”
“You also gave me two pieces of personal advice, remember?”
Jiang WanYin widened his eyes and looked at his lap, unable to face the other man. “Kindness is not equal to Honour.”
Lan XiChen hummed “And never to give away all of my heart.”
Jiang WanYin stayed silent, his gaze fixed on the tiny stitches that bordered his blanket. He was not sure what to say about that. He was not even sure whether Lan XiChen wanted him to say anything at all.
“This is why I say you have saved my own self.”
This time, it was Jiang WanYin the one who sighed. His voice came out defeated.
“You still suffered a lot.”
“Yes. I did… But had you not given me your advice, I fear I would not have survived at all.”
Jiang WanYin sent Lan XiChen a clearly skeptical look. Lan XiChen gave him a kind smile and looked away towards the open entrance of his room trying to come up with enough words to explain but not burden his guest with his own shadows.
“Losing my sworn brothers was hard. Being forced to deal with what I did to a-Yao, even after seeing what he had done was even harder. And yet, despite all the grief in my heart, I was able to get over the worst part after a year.” He looked back to Jiang WanYin. “And it was thanks to you.”
Jiang WanYin looked aside once more. He felt oppressed by the amount of sincerity the other man was showing him. “As I said...”
“Still. Please allow me to tell you what I couldn’t back then. What I had to hide for years now.”
Lan XiChen took Jiang WanYin’s hand and pulled them softly to force the other man to look at him.
“Thank you.”
Jiang WanYin frowned even harder and looked away. Unable to come up with a proper response. Lan XiChen took another breath and kept talking before he lost his chance.
“There’s something else. Sect Leader Jiang, we have known each other for so long and shared so many things. I… I wish that we could become friends.”
Jiang WanYin turned to look at Lan XiChen startled, he didn’t know what he was expecting from this man but that definitely had not been part of the things he thought Lan XiChen would want to discuss with him. Ever.
“Please, stop thinking so high of me. I’m only a man. And I need a friend.”
“...I don’t think I could ever be the kind of friend Zewu-Jun needs.”
“Maybe, but you’re the kind of friend Lan XiChen needs.” Lan XiChen gave him a nervous, almost shy smile. “Sect Leader Jiang, can I call you Jiang WanYin?”
“I… Zewu-Jun…”
“Please, call me Lan XiChen.”
Jiang WanYin felt his face burn, he fixed his eyes on their intertwined hands. “L-Lan XiChen.”
Lan XiChen beamed, finally letting go of Jiang WanYin’s hand.
“It feels great to finally hear my name coming from your lips.”
Jiang WanYin paused for a second before going through Lan XiChen’s last statement.
“Wait, what?”
Lan XiChen looked at him questioningly when he finally processed the last words he had said and immediately blushed wildly. A thing Jiang WanYin would have never imagined he would be able to witness in his entire life.
Almost as if on cue, they heard Wei Wuxian singing, clearly getting near the hanshi and finally showing up at the door.
“Ah! Jiang Cheng, my beautiful brother, you’re finally up! Good, good, I brought you food!”
“Did you prepare it? I don’t want to get poisoned after being so close to death’s door, I don’t think I could handle it.”
Wei Wuxian laughed earnestly “If this kills you in any way it will be because of the lack of flavor.”
Lan XiChen stepped up and made way for Wei Wuxian to sit and put his tray in place of the tea. He immediately sat down taking over the empty spot and grabbed a bit of the herb porridge with a spoon.
“Alright, say ah~”
“The hell—!? Do you think I’m a baby or something? Give me that spoon right now!”
“No can’t do. You’re recovering and I’m here to help you recover. Now open up.”
“Wei Wuxian I swear to the gods that—”
“Jiang WanYin, your brother was terribly worried for you, maybe you could allow him to care for you?”
Jiang WanYin turned to look at Lan XiChen with a look that openly screamed betrayal. After he pondered his options he finally relented.
“Fine, but I don’t wanna hear any of you talk about this or I swear I’ll break your legs.”
He opened up his mouth for Wei Wuxian who cheered and carefully began to feed his little brother. Meanwhile, Lan XiChen disappeared from their sight to clean the teapot and cups in order to try to calm his nervousness after his own slip. Falling into the motions of cleaning he began to hum a song. It was a sinuous, rather complex song. Just like the person that had inspired it in a library many years ago.
#xicheng#jiang cheng#lan xichen#mdzs fanfic#time travel#jiang wanyin#lan huan#zewu jun#sandu shengshou
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Off-Centre
Pairing: Jin Ling/Lan Jingyi (focus), Jin Ling/Lan Jingyi/Lan Sizhui/Ouyang Zizhen (background)
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1.4k
Summary: Lan Sizhui is enjoying the morning light when a commotion breaks out in the courtyard in front of him.
(Poly Junior Quartet, but with this fic focusing on Jin Ling/Lan Jingyi specifically)
Tags: Polyamory, Poly Junior Quartet (Lingyi focus), Lanling Jin Vermilion Mark, Gusu Lan Forehead Ribbon, Miscommunication
Part 1 of ‘Of Forehead Ribbons and Vermilion Marks’
This was loosely inspired by this art by @sweetlittlevampire where I thought to myself, what is he looking at? And then this idea popped into my head XD
AO3 Link
Off-Centre
While Lan Sizhui sat outside his room enjoying the morning light, the quiet stillness was shattered by thundering footsteps and angry shouting. He looked up from the rabbit in his lap to see A-Ling and Jingyi bursting out of the guest quarters near his room.
The rabbit in his lap seemed undisturbed by the commotion, instead still trying to nibble on the grass butterfly Lan Sizhui was forever fidgeting with.
He moved the butterfly beyond the rabbit’s reach, then turned back to watch Jingyi and A-Ling.
A-Ling had Suihua in one hand, still sheathed, but taking swings at Jingyi regardless. Jingyi danced around, alternating between laughing and attempting to make soothing sounds that were still tainted with amusement.
“It’s not funny!” A-Ling cried out. “This is important! I trusted you! I’ll break your legs for this!”
Jingyi dodged another swing of Suihua, stepping back out of reach and raising his hands in a placating gesture that was sure to only infuriate A-Ling further.
“What? You asked for a vermilion mark on your forehead and you have one! So my hand slipped a little, I’ll try again.”
A-Ling made an enraged sound and lunged for him. Jingyi managed to get out of the way, but not fast enough to avoid being clipped by Suihua. He stumbled and almost fell before regaining his balance and dancing two sword’s lengths beyond A-Ling’s reach.
Lan Sizhui bit back a smile as he found the offending mark on A-Ling’s forehead was indeed very out of place. It was too high and too off to the left to be acceptable. It was more than likely Jingyi had forgotten the significance of being asked to draw it and had thoughtlessly done it wrong on purpose to rile him up.
He sighed and shook his head, stroking the rabbit and wondering if he should try and intervene before their shouting brought Lan Qiren down upon them.
“You did it on purpose! How would you like it if I put your forehead ribbon on crooked?” A-Ling shouted, no longer chasing after him but standing in place, his chest heaving and his hand shaking where it held Suihua in a white-knuckled grip.
Jingyi stumbled to a stop so suddenly he almost fell over again. His face flushed pink so fast it was startling. He blinked at A-Ling, mouth agape, searching for words.
Lan Sizhui shook his head and smiled down at the rabbit, who was making another attempt towards the butterfly. He gently tapped it on the head with it and then tucked it away into his robes.
“Do you think Jingyi will figure it out?” he whispered to the rabbit, before turning back to watch them.
“Who said you could touch my forehead ribbon?” Jingyi finally shouted. “What makes you think I’d let you?”
A-Ling opened his mouth, then shut it so hard Lan Sizhui could hear his teeth clacking together from across the courtyard.
“What’s going on?”
Lan Sizhui startled, almost rising to his feet from fright, and the rabbit bounded off his lap and away between the buildings. Zizhen sat down beside him, leaning close and watching A-Ling and Jingyi with blatant amusement. His guest room was across the courtyard, next to the one A-Ling and Jingyi had emerged from, and Lan Sizhui marvelled at the fact that he must have exited his room through the rear window and snuck around to appear beside him without being seen.
“It seems Jin Ling asked Jingyi to draw his vermilion mark this morning,” Lan Sizhui whispered.
“No!” Zizhen gasped, one hand rising to cover his mouth. “Finally!”
“And then Jingyi drew it wrong,” Lan Sizhui added.
Zizhen hissed softly. “Fool. Doesn’t he know what it means yet?”
Across the courtyard, A-Ling had raised his hand and was rubbing his forehead furiously with his sleeve to remove the mark. His face, what little could be seen behind his sleeve, was as red as Jingyi’s now.
Lan Sizhui’s amusement faltered. It really must have been hard for him to finally ask, Jingyi really did deserve a few solid whacks with the sheathed Suihua. Then maybe a crookedly tied forehead ribbon to solidify the point.
“Don’t...don’t do that,” Jingyi said awkwardly, stepping forward, one arm twitching up as if to stop him, then back down. “You’ll get it all over your face.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” A-Ling snapped, only rubbing his forehead more furiously.
Zizhen leaned close to Lan Sizhui. “I’m surprised he hasn’t torn Jingyi’s forehead ribbon off and stomped on it.”
Lan Sizhui couldn't help but raise a hand to touch his own forehead ribbon, horrified by the thought. It was certainly something A-Ling might have done once, but he liked to think he’d at least matured enough not to go that far when angry with them.
“He wouldn’t do that,” Lan Sizhui murmured.
“Oh?” Zizhen gave A-Ling an appraising look. “I suppose you’re right. I’ve seen how he touches yours, more carefully than how he handles Fairy and the rabbits.”
Heat flooded Lan Sizhui’s face. He could only nod and try not to touch his forehead ribbon again for comfort. He really ought to tell A-Ling not to do it where others could see. The last thing they needed was Hanguang-jun and Senior Wei seeing.
But then, he had a feeling that if he tried, A-Ling might stop altogether. He’d almost stopped after Lan Sizhui had explained what it really meant that he let A-Ling, and the others, touch it. A-Ling’s face had turned just as red then too, and each time he’d touched it for a while after.
Zizhen bumped their shoulders together, a sly smile on his face. “Have you painted his vermilion mark yet, Sizhui?”
“Shh!”
Zizhen snickered and turned his attention back to Jingyi and A-Ling. It seemed unbelievable that they hadn’t noticed the two of them sitting there watching yet, but then, out of all of them, Jingyi and A-Ling were the ones who were always more easily caught up in things to the point where they forgot their surroundings. Years and years of punishment from Lan Qiren still had not taught Jingyi that lesson.
A-Ling would not be pleased when he noticed they had an audience for this, but neither did Lan Sizhui want to sneak away and miss how they resolved this.
Across the courtyard, Jingyi tried to tug A-Ling’s hand away from his face.
“Stop, let me,” he said. “I’ll try again. I’ll do it right. Stop being so dramatic.”
A-Ling shoved at him, far more weakly than they all knew he was capable of.
“Dramatic? As if I’m ever letting you near it again! Don’t touch me!” he hissed.
Lan Sizhui shook his head at them. The motion brought with it a slight tugging sensation, and his face burned as he realised Zizhen was holding his forehead ribbon. He turned his head just enough to see he’d wrapped the ends around his fingers.
He truly did dread the day Hanguang-Jun and Senior Wei noticed the fact he let not one, not two, but three others touch his forehead ribbon. And Lan Qiren...he did not wish to be responsible for sending another person into Qi deviation, but he could imagine no other outcome.
Zizhen turned his attention from the others and smiled softly at him, tugging the ends of the ribbon lightly, just enough that Lan Sizhui felt it in a slight increase of tension around his forehead.
“You know, I’m jealous. You all have these romantic traditions with the forehead ribbon, the vermilion mark, and I don’t have anything like it,” Zizhen said with a wistful sigh. “I tried to get father to impose one on the sect but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“You’ll find your own someday, and then we’ll all join you in the tradition,” Lan Sizhui said with a gentle smile. Zizhen really was the most romantic out of all of them. A-Ling still scoffed at his every word about romance, his every spontaneous recitation of poetry, but Lan Sizhui was more than aware that Zizhen had been the first of them to paint A-Ling’s vermilion mark.
In the courtyard, things had finally become quiet while Zizhen gently played with the ends of his forehead ribbon. A-Ling stood looking down at the ground, his jaw clenched tight, one hand curled into a fist, the other white-knuckled around Suihua. Jingyi was carefully removing the last traces of the vermilion mark with his own sleeve.
“Ah, I missed it,” Zizhen muttered. “I always miss it! How do they always go from yelling to that so quickly? What does Jingyi say to him?”
Lan Sizhui smiled as he watched Jingyi curl a hand around A-Ling’s wrist and slowly lead him back into his guest quarters. “I think that’s something just for them to know.”
#lingyi#zhuilingyizhen#mo dao zu shi#mdzs#the untamed#junior quartet#poly junior quartet#jin ling#lan jingyi#lan sizhui#ouyang zizhen#mxtx#jl#ljy#lsz#oyzz#my fanfic#of forehead ribbons and vermilion marks#*
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A Race, Lan Zhan !
"A race." Lan Zhan repeated, face carefully blank as Wei Ying practically buzzed with excitement, twirling Suibian in his hand.
"Yes ! Yes Lan Zhan, a race." Wei Ying leaned in closer, noting with satisfaction that the other cultivator no longer leaned or stepped away. He pointedly chose not to see the way Lan Zhan's ears began to have a faint pink hue, knowing that if he teased him about that he would get a no in response to the question. "To see who's fastest, naturally."
"Running is prohibited in Cloud Recesses."
Wei Ying rolled his eyes. Leave it to Lan Zhan to recite rules. "Yes yes I know. That's why the race is on our swords ! Technically...not running."
Lan Zhan furrowed his brows slightly, obviously mulling it over as Wei Ying hopped from one foot to the other, rambling about the rules and how he had a path already planned to avoid Cloud Recesses till the end, how the reward would be that the other had to do whatever the winner wanted.
"So? What do you say Lan Zhan? Race me?" Wei Ying grinned playfully, eyes alight with amusement as Lan Zhan tilted his head.
"Mn."
"Perfect ! Let's go, I know just where to start !" Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Lan Zhan's wrist and took off, practically dragging the man after him.
That's how they ended up here, on top of the mountain that overlooked Cloud Recesses and the small town located below it. This high up, Wei Ying could feel the bitter cold despite using his energy to keep himself warm. He marked the path, pointing to it as Lan Zhan listened intently, eyes focused.
He would be at a disadvantage, Wei Ying knew. Lan Zhan knew this entire area like the back of his hand, would know when, precisely, to turn, to stop. He would have to rely on Suibian, which had been built for speed rather than heavy, brute force, to slice through the winds and carry him to his target. As if sensing his growing competitiveness, the sword practically seemed to hum in his hand.
"You understood the rules right? And the path?"
Lan Zhan nodded and Wei Ying slowly brandished his sword, watching as Lan Zhan did the same.
Where Bichen was a pure, bright beauty, untouchable and otherworldly like its owner and crafted to be wielded for heavy combat, Suibian was the opposite: Bichen was the light, Suibian was the shadow, blending heavily in the background and using the opponent's momentum to its advantage.
Wei Ying hopped on, holding out his hand for Lan Zhan to shake. To his delight, he did and Wei Ying practically beamed. Lan Zhan stared, eyes flickering across his face as if taking it all in before looking at his hand with a slightly furrowed brow.
"When I say go, okay?" He faced forward, hearing Lan Zhan hop on Bichen and then go unnaturally still. "One.....Two....Three....GO!"
They shot off, two white blurs against a bleak background. Wei Ying laughed, wind whipping his hair around and whistling in his ears. He felt free when he rode his sword like this, felt untouchable. He would never give up the chance of flying for anything, not if he could help it.
Despite the fact that Lan Zhan was always so controlled, so calculating and void of emotion on his face, Wei Ying had a nagging suspicion that the other disciple had a competitive streak within him, that he was enjoying the fact that Wei Ying was his equal in many ways.
They never managed to fully gain distance on eachother, one or the other always pulling up to keep pace. Wei Ying rounded a corner sharply, seeing the map he had drawn out before the race began and knew that the town would be coming up. Then it was the final stretch to Cloud Recesses.
They raced past and for a split second he could have sworn he heard a chuckle get carried away in the wind, but when he turned all he saw was Lan Zhan's blank face; even then, he noted a gleam in his eyes and the corners of his lips were turned up just the slightest.
The town passed by them and Wei Ying turned again, looking up at the long winding path that would lead them back to Cloud Recesses. He pushed himself faster, noting the way Lan Zhan's eyes widened a split second before he raced to catch up.
The curves on the mountain proved to be the biggest challenge. Every turn had the danger of falling and yet both cultivators turned sharply, dirt flying from the breeze they created.
The familiar curve right before the entrance to Cloud Recesses was coming up and Wei Wuxian, full smirk, glided closer to Lan Zhan. "You prepared to lose?"
The corner came and Lan Zhan snorted softly, a sound carried away before Wei Ying could properly hear it. "No. But are you?"
With that, the Lan Disciple shot forward and Wei Ying yelped, calling after him angrily as he pushed himself to no avail.
Lan Zhan passed under the archway, slowing to a complete stop. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, underestimated. He yelped, rushing past Lan Zhan with a "Lan Zhaaaaan!" before coming to a sudden stop...right in front of Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen.
He smiled sheepishly, reaching forward to pat Lan Qiren on the shoulder. He heard Lan Zhan stop behind him and felt rather than saw him bow. Lan Xichen smiled slightly, amusement swimming in his eyes even as Lan Qiren puffed up and -
"Wei Wuxian!"
----
Wei Ying sighed, finally finishing the final stroke and dropping the brush with a huff. Papers were scattered around him and he began to stack them, grumbling everytime he caught sight of the new principal.
"Racing on swords is prohibited."
He stacked them onto Lan Zhan's table, who merely glanced at them before looking up. Wei Ying grinned. "All done!"
"Mn." Lan Zhan stood, grabbing Bichen before turning around. "Come on."
"What? Where are we going?"
Lan Zhan tilted his head and the faintest of smiles appeared. "A surprise."
----
Lan Xichen stood on the cliff that overlooked Cloud Recesses and the town, hands behind his back as he waited for Lan Qiren.
The scenery was beautiful, giving him view of the waterfalls and ponds that the land offered.
Suddenly, two white blurs shot off towards one of the bigger lakes that laid near the base of the mountain. Even without being able to see clearly, Lan Xichen knew exactly who it was.
He smiled, watching as the white blurs disappeared under treetops.
"Lan Xichen, see anything unusual?" Lan Qiren said as a way of greeting.
Lan Xichen turned and hid his smile, bowing. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
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Something that may one day become a MDZS fanfic
Wei Wuxian would never make the claim that he had been a good man.
He would also dispute that he had been an inherently bad man, even at his worst. The fact remained, no matter how hard he tried to scrub at the blood coating his hands, that he had murdered thousands in cold blood. His legacy as Yiling Patriarch would also be stained crimson. So few had been spared his fury, even when he tried his damndest to protect them. At the siege of the Burial Mounds, there had been no attempt in his mind to refute that he truly and honestly deserved to die for his sins. In the most painful and inhumane way possible. The only way that blood could be repaid was with his life.
So he died.
That should have been the end of it. Sure, by some outlandish miracle he was revived in Mo Xuanyu’s body. But it wasn’t as if he had continued his life where it left off. Every moment since his resurrection, he and Lan Wangji had tried to erase the lingering effects of his previous failures. Not once did he hope for a life resembling his old one. He knew better. His name would forever be a curse, a horror story to trick naughty children into obedience. His craft, which he had taken up out of necessity that no one else ever knew about, would be a dark spot in history. Wei Wuxian would always find someone, something willing to make his life more difficult than need be. But that would have been fine, as long as he could struggle through those moments with the sole source of light in the wretched darkness of his life after Wen Chao. He didn’t ask for much. He didn’t even ask for happiness. The only thing he wanted…
…was him.
Wei Wuxian laughed hollowly, grip tightening on the metal pendant in his hand. He should have known better, probably. Life was determined to string his miserable existence along, but it would never freely give him anything. Not what he wanted. Nor what he needed.
Guanyin Temple looked so eerie, cast in flames and bathed in blood. The screams of the people around him were all but background noise to Wei Wuxian. In truth, he had become numb to that sound, the sound of rending flesh and the cries of ghouls, long ago. The Stygian Tiger Amulet felt cold in his hands. An unwelcome weight that he never had wished to see nor feel again. Just another wish that would never be answered satisfactorily. His eyes roamed the ruined temple aimlessly. Given some time to distance himself from this, he may have felt some form of regret. Lan Xichen was a good and honorable man. It was a pity to watch his body get torn to shreds by his ghouls. Though, luckily, the man had long since died of other means.
His blackened soul had no room for regret now though.
No fierce corpse would ever carry as much vengeful energy as he did right now, he mused. Heart still beating, flesh still warm, but he was as frightening a demon as any could ever feast their eyes on. As it should be, he thought, hand stroking the head of hair cradled gently in his lap. The last bit of good in his heart had been ripped so forcibly from him. So cruelly. Just as it was finally his. The world could burn for its injustice. Wei Wuxian didn’t care anymore.
An inquisitive growl drew his eyes. It seemed that the last of the worshipers had finally been slaughtered. The melody that fueled the ghouls’ intent turned their attention to him, sitting quietly in the center of the courtyard. They seemed almost hesitant. He smiled.
“I ordered you to kill every living creature you laid your eyes on, did I not?” His voice did not tremble. He was not frightened. “Come, then. You’ve missed one.”
Wei Wuxian did not fully remember the siege of the Burial Mounds. Nor did he remember that time at the Nightless City. Tales had indicated that he had perished being ripped apart by his own monstrosities. He didn’t exactly envy that fate before this. But, he mused as the ghouls rushed forward with teeth bared, he had made a promise to Lan Wangji. He would remember everything that happened from then on. No matter how wonderful or painful. This too, he would endeavor to recall. He scorched the feeling into his soul.
His last conscious thought was a plea that he knew would be ignored. All his others had been. Still, he figured he had nothing left to lose.
“I wish there had been some way to go back and fix all this. Spare the innocent, right the wrongs done both by intent and coincidence. At the very least, tie me to the souls of those I love, so that I may find them in whatever comes next and make up for what I was powerless to stop before.”
The darkness that swallowed him was warmer than he expected it to be. He may have just been imagining it, but he could have sworn he heard something reply.
…this will be your last chance. Do not fail again.
The warmth around him became almost too much to bear. Hell was certainly well described. Dark, empty and uncomfortably warm. Almost like being smothered in a bunch of blankets in the summer at the Lotus Pier. Still, something felt off about this. The longer he sat, the more he could sense things. Strange things for a dead person, at least. The thread of a heavy sheet on his bare feet. A too hard bed beneath his back. A soft, wet cloth on his forehead. And the disgusting smell of medicine. No, that couldn’t be though. He was certain he had died. At the very least, should anyone find a body in the state he knew his was in, no one would try to revive them. Then, what…?
Cracking an eye open took every ounce of concentration and strength in him. The light was almost blinding, making his head throb horridly. Finally able to focus on what he was seeing, he recognized a soft white ceiling. No way. The room did appear to be an infirmary. The whirling nausea was a product of both his dizziness and the growing panic in his gut. No. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. What on Earth could he be expected to do now? How could he move on from that hellish massacre?
“You’re finally awake, huh, Wei Wuxian?”
His heart stopped. Both eyes wide, he focused on the familiar face sitting so close to his bed. Just as irate as ever, but at least ten years younger than the last time he saw him, sat Jiang Cheng.
What?
“A….A-Cheng?”
The boy across from him scoffed. “Don’t call me that, idiot. You can’t sweet talk your way out of this one.”
Wei Wuxian blinked. It sort of figured that his first time seeing his dearly departed brother again, he would be scolded. The trouble was he had no idea what he was being blamed for. He hadn’t even killed Jiang Cheng.
His confused look served only to enrage his brother more. “Don’t give me that look either! You tried to summon that ghoul’s resentful energy in the forest last night. Don’t try to deny it. I told you before, didn’t I? I don’t care what you think about in that dumb head of yours, but don’t you dare try to walk that heretic’s path. Could you imagine what Lan Qiren would do if he found out? You’d be shamed and sent back to the Lotus Pier! And knowing you, I’d somehow get in trouble with you!”
He had heard this rant before, he realized. His memory might have been shit, but he could still put two and two together. Jiang Cheng’s young face, the unfamiliar and shockingly white building, the cool air, and the threat of Lan Qiren’s fury…
He was in the Cloud Recesses. Not just that, but back when they had still been studying there as kids.
“Wei Wuxian? Are you listening to me?”
No. That simply wasn’t possible. Wei Wuxian kept waiting for his memories of his time in Mo Xuanyu’s body to fade away, like some elaborate dream that he just slipped out of. Yet, to his surprise, they stayed. Not only them, but his memories of the life before that too.
A sharp pressure in his stomach accompanied the realization that this was real. He went back in time, with all his memories. The war hadn’t even started yet. The Lotus Pier, Uncle Jiang and Madame Yu, Wen Ning and the Wen remnants, Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen and…
…Lan Zhan.
Nothing was lost yet. He could fix things. He could fix all of it.
But, first…
“I’m gonna be sick,” he muttered, shooting up and finding the nearest vessel to empty his guts into.
I hear your plea and answer it, Wei Wuxian. Your last trial put you at a disadvantage. It is no wonder that you failed. This time, I’ve given you all the tools you’ve ever had and more time than you were ever offered. This will be your last chance. Do not fail again.
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Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / Mo Dao Zu Shi Opening PV
As usual, my screenshots + commentary! I love the opening, so pretty.
edit: after some discussion, I think it’s decided (for now) that the third person in the center of the Lanling Jin portrait is Jin Guangshan, not Jin Guangyao, so I’ve changed that.
I am always weak for ink painting animation scenes, ever since I was a kid watching Mulan. xD Look, badly dubbed martial arts movies aside, there really weren’t many Chinese-centered movies or actors/actresses when I was little. Still aren’t, but aside from my mother translating one of the Monkey King adaptations for me (not even sure how she pulled this off haha) and watching a few movies with subtitles, that was pretty much all there was.
But anyways, here’s a nice ink painting guqin and flowers. Not sure which flowers...plum blossoms? Maybe? I’m awful at identifying flowers.
And we have Wei Wuxian’s flute to complete the set!
Fun fact that I’ve mentioned somewhere before: Wei Wuxian plays the dizi, a transverse/horizontal flute, as opposed to Lan Xichen’s xiao, a vertical flute. The dizi can produce a livelier tune, the xiao is calmer and more of a deep mellow tune.
No clue what the flowers are this time. Maaybe an orchid??
kinda resembles it, right?
The plum blossom represents perseverance and endurance, as a flower that blooms despite the winter cold. Sound like someone we know?
As for the orchid...welp, it’s hard to find a reliable source. What do these symbolise in Chinese culture? I don’t know if I trust random flower symbolism sites >> they usually get things a bit off in my experience looking up Japanese flower symbolism and cross-checking with actual Japanese sites. But, what I’ve found seems to indicate they represent nobility (of character) and integrity.
Maybe I’m looking too much into this, but maybe the animation team chose them for a reason. xD
have some nice bamboo
title drop! I love this art/animation. also, the little...flame-like thing slowly filling with ink is nice
a lotus? these flowers are killing me, lol. they’re very pretty, I like the gentle splash of color.
Pretty dragonflies + lotus flowers
This is definitely young Wei Wuxian. Definitely. He has an adorable baby face and smile. Plus, Lan Wangji in the next shot also looks younger.
everyone was so happy back then sob.
I’m actually quite impressed with the way they drew the younger/older selves. The differences are slight, but apparent. also, Lan Wangji has this little pout-frown in this shot haha.
erm, Lotus Pier? Yes? Looks like it.
So.
Prissy. I’m slowly getting used to ikemen Jiang Cheng, but I still think this beautiful elegant face does not suit him xD
Color coded for your convenience: Yu Ziyuan, Jiang Fengmian, Jiang Yanli.
Ah, I love Jiang Cheng’s mom here. She looks appropriately...glower-y. Like the novel said, “natural at sneering” which she passed onto Jiang Cheng xD.
Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren, Lan Sizhui, and Lan Jingyi.
omg Lan Qiren you
look at him stroking his beard like some scholarly old dude. I still imagine him with white hair though lol
Look at this messed up family. Actually this is a highly inaccurate family portrait!! You’re missing a dozen other illegitimate children lol.
Anyways, Jin Zixuan, Jin Guangyao this is probably Jin Guangshan, and Jin Ling I think. Though, Jin Ling ends up looking the same age as Jin Zixuan haha oh how sad.
I do like how they did the peony emblem! Considering how complex that shape is, and how it has to be drawn each time one of these characters appears, I like what they settled on.
Alright, next are the flags. The way they all show up is impressive. Nice animation there.
This is the Jiang clan’s lotus design. The symbols are actually quite complex, very pretty.
The Nie clan’s beast head! Looks kind of like an ox.
Ironically the Lan clan’s flag is there for literally a fraction of a second, this is the only shot I Could get of it. Plus, the light blue on that dark beige makes it difficult to see the cloud. And, of course, we have the Jin clan’s peony as well.
The Wen clan’s sun motif. So, their color is red. I think we saw their uniform in a early trailer though.
lol random Lan Wanji and Lan Xichen looking pretty with their hair flying everywhere.
This really needs a gif to get the full sense of the scene, but it’s a cool one (that weird transition above aside). It’s one of those times Wei Wuxian snuck alcohol into the Cloud Recesses and Lan Wangji started attacking him haha. Then we have Bichen and probably Suibian in the background.
The animation here is quite fluid, I can’t wait to see it in full and not shrunken xD
These are just cool screenshots.
WHY THIS ANGLE. I think this is Jin Ling (note the long tied back hair). Notably, you can see Wei Wuxian has his arms crossed behind his back the whole time. In both sequences, Wei Wuxian isn’t attacking at all lol.
why hello Jiang Cheng you look really weird at this angle
arrows?? ok looks cool. why you so dramatic Jiang Cheng. you probably didn’t need to flip while using your whip.
I really like the animation of him flipping and landing, it’s smooth and the final action has a bit of weight to it. In contrast to the more airy, light steps in the mini fight sequence to the left.
Once again nothing to say here, just a nice looking Jin Ling.
Oh look, lots of unfamiliar-familiar faces!
Uhhhh let’s see, Wen Ning and Wen Qing for the first two in the Wen clan’s red and white uniform, then one of the numerous Wen scumbags for the last guy? probably.
Then the unreliable looking guy is Nie Huaisang and the angry D:< looking guy is Nie Mingjue.
poor Nie Huaisang you got tossed in with all the dead people even though you actually live haha.
A very awkward close up of Lan Wangji’s face. Actually, I really like how his eyes narrow a bit here, it’s perfect for showing his expressions considering he doesn’t really emote very clearly otherwise.
And that’s a wrap!
I really like the logo/title. very nice.
Now, who’s ready to die with me when the donghua actually comes out??
#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#founder of diabolism#mo dao zu shi#魔道祖師#mdzs donghua#mdzs#image heavy post
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