Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian felt like his face was caked in dry mud. Poorly applied powder fell as it cracked from opening his heavy eyes. After being rudely awakened, he found himself in a dingy shack. He lifted himself up to see an array of his own creation and immediately deduced that he had been summoned as an evil spirit. He rolled his eyes at no one in particular for being put in the same category as truly vicious spirits. He was fairly certain that wherever his spirit had flown after he died, it was not even harassing a fly. It was probably moping somewhere, looking at its wrist and being wistful, but not unsatisfied.
True to his theory, his wrists stung with the gashes of a curse. The burn of his destined person’s words felt like eons ago. He knew that he wouldn’t see any words on this body, but he was still disappointed when he rolled down his sleeve and saw the bloody cuts instead of dark brushstrokes. He pressed his fingers to approximately where he’d seen the message tattoo in his final moments, before stretching.
New body, new life!
He chose not to think too deeply about people like Jiang Fengmian, or perhaps his destined person. They were from his past, and he should forget them somewhat… and he could barely remember what they had even sent to him.
It would be best to avoid anyone he used to know, especially Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng. Now he was, he checked some nearby papers covered in messy scrawls, in the body of a piteous Mo Xuanyu.
Truly pitiable to have such loathing, and to be so unloved, to the point of sacrificing himself. He could already see the evidence of that from the state of what could hardly be called a room, and the cruel treatment from earlier. If anyone could relate to that, it was him, Wei Wuxian; though truthfully he was feeling more inconvenienced than anything else.
Wei Wuxian cleaned his face, but instead of reapplying the make-up he put on a mask. He destroyed any evidence of the crimson array or documents relating to demonic cultivation. Those were unnecessary, as each one was just a copy of his old research from Burial Mounds.
He was about to burn the last of the papers when a particular array that had nothing to do with revenge or evil caught his eye. What a surprise, a talisman with a precisely drawn destiny array. On other scraps, it had been copied many times, like how he had been forced to practice the same characters over and over as a guest disciple at Gusu Lan.
Wei Wuxian felt a twinge of sorrow for Mo Xuanyu, who may have desperately tried to hear words from his destined person just moments before he gave himself up. Maybe with possibility of love from someone out there, the poor man could have found the will to live on. Alas, for the both of them, it was much too late.
A familiar light from nowhere flew towards his finger. A burning sensation between the gashes caused him to jolt and acidentally toss a useful cinnabar ink stick into the flames.
He pulled down his sleeve once more. There it was, nestled between two of the ugly red gashes.
“I miss you, but our connection and time together remains pure”
Clearly the sting hadn't been an ember from the fire gone astray.
Oh, Mo Xuanyu.
You weren’t entirely unloved and alone after all.
He smiled ruefully and rolled his sleeve back up. It felt rude to look at someone else’s messages. It felt like peeping and like he tainting the "pure” feelings. He hadn’t considered what would happen if one’s body was reanimated, but since the tether was between the bodies’ pinkies and not their souls, he supposed it still made sense that the body was remained connected after forced possession.
Wei Wuxian felt quite sorry for Mo Xuanyu’s destined person, another victim of fate. He wondered if he should, or even could, send them a message back, or if it would be too cruel to suggest that their partner was alive. And giving them his words instead of Mo Xuanyu’s seemed wrong.
In the end he settled on trying to send a comforting, feeling instead of words. In theory, there would be nothing for the bond to write down on their skin, but the feeling would perhaps still transmit over the tether. There were no records of anything other can words being marked, since it was originally intended for making promises.
If they didn’t feel anything, that would be that.
He imagined humming a tune, to console the other. Something kind, happy, and mournful, in honor of Mo Xuanyu (even though it was his fault Wei Wuxian was back). Something soothing, like the burn of a strong liquor against a parched and lonely throat. When he let a note trail off into silence, the light left his pinky again.
He hadn't played something with yang energy like this before and was a bit concerned about whether he pulled it off.
Hopefully it would be something nice for Mo Xuanyu's soulmate, since he couldn’t do the same for his own anymore.
He found himself playing the same melody not so long later, but with his flute on the Dafan Mountain.
That's it, just a little more.
He had almost coaxed Wen Ning enough to calm him and examine him, when he bumped into something hard. At first he thought it was just a tree that he hadn't expected in a clearing, but when he tried to reroute himself a hand clasped his wrist.
It was Lan Wangji, who twisted his arm painfully, and his makeshift flute fell to the grass.
Wei Wuxian scowled and tried to pull away, feeling especially concious because that arm had a message from Mo Xuanyu's partner on it.
Busted. I got it, I’m suspicious, let me go already! Anyone can play a little flute, not just me!
Lan Wangji’s grip tightened. His eyes were scorching, dancing like fire. A huge contrast to his flat expression when Wei Wuxian had seen him at the Mo Manor and briefly wondered if Lan Wangji's soulmate had died in the last 13 years.
He turned his gaze towards Wei Wuxian's arm when he hissed with pain, the grip agitating the last gash he hadn't been able to erase at the Mo Manor. The message tattoo had long since stopped being tender, but not the last cursed cut. Dark blood seeped into the bandage and his sleeve, bright red against Lan Wangji's pale skin.
Finally the man drew back, eyes widening slightly at the blood, the fire in them seemed to retreat.
He seems much more surprised at the blood than the pain. Like he was expecting it to hurt. Real nice of you, Lan Wangji. What happened to your gentlemanly conduct?
To make matters worse, Jiang Cheng had blown in like a hurricane— all thunder, flapping robes and rushing fury. And to tie everything with a bow, the brat he'd insulted earlier was Jin Ling. He suddenly felt regret for not reading what Shijie had desperately tried to show him on wrist.
When Jin Ling revealed Mo Xuanyu's preference for men in addition to his lunacy, Wei Wuxian finally came up with a good solution to ward off all parties at once. He apologized to Mo Xuanyu's soulmate for his infidelity briefly before bashfully ducking behind Lan Wangji.
“Um… even I have tastes, you know?” he said with thickest face he could manage, “And you're really not my type… but I suppose that I could make an exception if you were my bond. How romantic is that? So… are you…?”
Zidian crackled, and Jiang Cheng forced out a stiff “No.”
It was immediately clear ‘No' was not a ‘no I'm not yours' and more like an unsaid ‘despite my excellent cultivation I have not developed a tether and this matter is not up for discussion with suspicious demonic-cultivating lunatics’.
Maybe I should offer to whip up a destiny array for him. Jiang Cheng is still so attached to the idea of a bond… well, I suppose I am as well. In a way.
But if somehow that array is seen as demonic cultivation, then now is not a good time! He’d kill me!
Unable to resist his competitive nature and perhaps the bitter reminder of his solitude, Jiang Cheng asked, “So, who is he then?”
“Why, Hanguang-Jun of course!” said Wei Wuxian with bravado.
Jin Ling’s face twisted, and thrusted his finger accusingly at him, “You liar! That…. That's what you said about…! And you barely have a core anyways, it's not possible for you to know yet! A lunatic like you doesn't deserve someone of his status! Or Uncle!”
The frown on Jiang Cheng’s face was even more contorted, as if the most ridiculous thing was suggesting he would ever be remotely interested in Mo Xuanyu in that way.
“Young Master Jin,” he said demurely, “That was then, this is now. You should know my cultivation better than anyone here. I just have to raise it a little, and I'm sure that soon enough our sweet words of love will be flying through the air more swiftly than the morning sparrows over rice bales.”
Lan Wangji looked pointedly at him. “Mark your words.”
“M-mark?”
It was entirely different in this context, but his mind flew to long, long ago.
Wei Wuxian could process Lan Wangji's meaning, before he was bound to the cantankerous Little Apple and dragged to Cloud Recesses.
Several nights of shameless teasing later, and still no sign of Lan Wangji being goaded into throwing him out of Cloud Recesses. Every time he could barely move his eyes, and Lan Wangji always had perfect posture and was conservatively all covered.
Once, since he was surveilled by the man even at night, had gotten curious about if Lan Wangji had gotten any messages. So he had tried to take a peek. Lan Wangji leveled him with an expressionless stare.
“I just want to take a little look at Hanguang-Jun, you know?” teased Wei Wuxian. “Not everyone gets the chance to ogle you from up close, and it’s been forever since I’ve seen you. Like, forever. Every second spent away from a hunk like you would feel like forever.”
“Yes, of course. A minute can feel like forever to some,” said Lan Wangji. “If you want to look so much, then you may look as much as you like from there until you tire of it and sleep properly.”
He unleashed the full-body freeze spell, and did the same every night. Wei Wuxian was not pleased. Lan Wangji had learned how to retort!
Enough was enough!
Alone in the Jingshi, Wei Wuxian plotted his escape. He was not about to let himself remain prisoner here, flirting in bed with someone who was neither his, nor Mo Xuanyu's!
Wei Wuxian rolled down his sleeve and redressed the remaining cut of the unfulfilled grudge. Being alone in the world right now with nothing but a curse, the message tattoo was oddly comforting. He slid his finger along the one he'd received from Mo Xuanyu's destined person.
Man. He corrected himself, recalling Mo Xuanyu’s taste. Destined man.
This made him curious, wondering if he had made a hasty assumption in assuming his destined person was female. He’d always been sweet on the girls he found cute, but hadn’t really considered if it might be a boy since the only boy he’d ever been interested in complimenting was Lan Wangji.
Wei Wuxian liked to imagine that his connection with the person from his last life was also timeless, but he knew better than to wish that on anyone. It was just as well that no further messages had appeared for Mo Xuanyu since the day he had flown in either.
I wonder if this is how they felt after I didn’t send anything for years. Maybe Mo Xuanyu's man is also doubting whether the tether is real or not. But it would be… inappropriate of me to pretend to be what I am not.
A few wraps of bandages later, and the words were out of sight.
He shook his head. Who knew how effective a single moment could be on his whole philosophy about the message tattoos.
Leaping to his feet, eager put his plan in motion, he heard an unnatural creak in the perfect flooring of the Lan architecture. He flipped up the loose plank and burst into a fit of laughter. There were nine entire jars of Emperor's Smile not only smuggled into Cloud Recesses, but hidden in Lan Wangji's own room. With a hoot he took the liberty of taking a few out, which dislodged a thick stack of talismans.
These again! With Lan Wangji, no less! Does the whole damn world know about my talisman now? How did they even get their hands on this?
He brushed the ends with his fingers, estimating the number in Lan Wangji's possession. These few stacks alone would be enough for several years, even if you used one everyday!
If they were confiscated goods, they simply would have been thrown into a fire. A similar shade of crimson cinnabar stick of the finest quality, better than anything he or Mo Xuanyu had been able to afford, lay on the desk. Lan Wangji had to have been creating them for himself, but to what end?
He couldn’t decide whether it was that Lan Wangji had made that much because he couldn't bear to use the array created by the Yiling Patriarch, or if he was using them at such a rate that preparing a year's in advance was more efficient. Or why Lan Wangji needed them in the first place, certainly being among the elite in terms of cultivation level.
Unless perhaps his destined person didn't have enough of a core themselves?
Well, that's depressing. His destined person would surely pass away before him, even if he did not gain immortality. Although this hypothesis doesn’t hold much water, considering the talisman still worked on both Mo Xuanyu and I.
These Lans and secretly being so romantic! I shouldn't be surprised, since they seemed so fixated on the whole phenomena in their texts. He’d pretended to be angry about it, but to think that he might’ve been so impatient to find them even back when he ripped up my first drafts!
He shrugged, figuring that none of that was his problem anyways. His concern now was borrowing Lan Wangji's jade token to coast through the wards.
And so he stole over to the springs, where Lan Wangji should be taking his routine baths, robes a folded present on the rocks nearby. Jade token successfully snagged, he was about to run off and take a celebratory swig of Emperor’s Wine when his eyes glanced over Lan Wangji.
And he stopped in his tracks to note three incredibly out-of-place things, besides his grown body with its rippling muscles so unlike his youthful but hardy angles. First, he had the Wen crest branded onto his chest. Second, his back was entirely covered in the scars of disciplinary whip lashes, which was only applied for worse offences.
And third, almost breathtakingly so, were the intricate inky-black laces of a tattoo that integrated itself with flurry of scars on his back, making them look like the branches of a lovely peony bush, or the clear sound of a trickling stream. For some reason, the strokes of the design seemed so emotional and mournful, but incredibly elegant. But he couldn’t imagine a single Lan getting such a flashy tattoo, never mind the head disciple.
By the time Wei Wuxian had realized he’d gawked for a second too long, Lan Wangji had already wrapped his robe around his wrist and immediately took him back into custody.
It seemed like too personal a question to voice, but he was mystified by all of the various marks Lan Wangji had. And yet Lan Wangji had immediately covered something that had been out of sight, accidentally calling attention to it.
If I had to guess, could it be that Lan Wangji had finally gotten his destined bond tether to connect, and that they had already exchanged promises? But that doesn’t make sense! Lan Wangji is too honorable a man to spend the night with another in his bed, if he already had a partner.
Unless… He swallowed, Unless that person has passed already…?
He remembered his experience with his family, with the Jiangs, with Mo Xuanyu, and with his own bond. It was definitely possible that Lan Wangji’s destined had passed in the last thirteen years.
Maybe that’s why Lan Wangji kept those arrays— a terrible reminder of what had happened, locked away but unable to completely toss them. Or maybe he had turned to alcohol for comfort in hard times, and that’s why he had nine entire jars of Emperor’s Smile under the floorboards. Six now, with two water.
Wherever you are, bond of mine, he whispered to himself internally, I hope that you have moved on and are happy. Found someone new. You don’t deserve misery, and I don’t deserve to be mourned.
Jin Ling swiveled his head around, watching out for Jiang Cheng. It wouldn’t have made much of a difference though really, the abilities between uncle and nephew was an ocean apart. Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure if Jin Ling could sneak up on those puppies he seems to like just to pick it up. While walking he seemed to be unnaturally quiet, before finally sneaking a glance at Wei Wuxian.
“Mo Xuanyu, you seem pretty good at demonic cultivation. You even knew enough to flaunt in front of that peddler earlier. I want you to tell me something about the destiny array talisman.”
“Well firstly,” said Wei Wuxian, “That talisman has nothing to do with demonic cultivation. Don’t say funny things, I heard what your Uncle does, and he already suspects me! And you shouldn’t believe everything a peddler pushes— that's how you get scammed especially since you're rich and gullible! Did you hear what other things he said? That totally unflattering idea of a portrait? Secondly-”
“You’re related to my father,” burst Jin Ling, his breath ragged from the effort. “Did my parents have a tether?”
Wei Wuxian sported a sour look. This was a wholly unpleasant topic. “Well, that-”
“Then what about my grandparents? Ugh, nevermind. I don’t know why I’m asking you, you wouldn’t know. You don’t even have one yourself.” Jin Ling stared at a plant, as if it was more competent than Wei Wuxian and could offer him his answers.
“Your bloodline isn't cursed. Who do you think the Jiangs are? Should we go back and inform your uncle of your thoughts?” Wei Wuxian sighed, ignoring the topic of Jin Ling’s cursed leg because it was clearly not the issue at hand. “Sometimes unspeakable things, or you could say, uncontrollable people happen and there’s nothing for it. Your mother, and ugh, your father, loved you dearly. Your disaster of an uncle is clearly protective of you because he cares. You are not unblessed.”
“That’s not what you insinuated earlier.”
That gave Wei Wuxian pause and he looked away. Indeed, Jin Ling seemed unconvinced. He stopped walking and slapped something against Wei Wuxian's chest.
“Like I said earlier, I'm used to hearing it from everyone. I don’t need pity, especially coming from you. Even if I beat them up they still talk and talk. They're definitely wrong but… this thing really doesn't work on me. Maybe my bloodline really does naturally reject tethers. It's not like anyone in my family has one yet. That I know of.”
Jin Ling crouched down and leaned against a tree, deeming themselves far enough in the woods from Jiang Cheng.
“You’re supposed to be good with talismans. Uncle said so, even though you were so ungrateful and shameful to Lanling Jin for taking you in.” Jin Ling complained, slapping the charlatan’s talismans to Wei Wuxian’s chest. “It doesn’t work, so you better make a working version before the next time I see your stupid face. I want to be able to use one before my other uncle kills you.”
Wei Wuxian picked it up from his chest and looked at the talisman. It was drawn incorrectly, at least compared to his version, and was missing quite a few sigils. It was trash, unlike the ones from Lan Wangji’s room.
He takes after Jiang Cheng, even down to obsession with this thing.
“Honestly,” said Wei Wuxian, “It’s possible that your grandparents had a tether. You’ve heard that… they weren’t always happy, I’m sure. Maybe the tether is the reason for them to be upset. Maybe if you parents didn’t have one, that’s a good thing. They were truly in love, not following some random attachments some spirit thinks they should have.”
Jin Ling paused. “Are you referring to the Goddess Statue, and how those people met their end after it gave those civilians tethers? How it might be… unlucky?”
“Maybe. Not necessarily. I’m just offering you another perspective. To become a successful cultivator, you need to be able to think flexibly about things. Your bloodline isn’t cursed, but if you really insist on it, maybe instead of a curse you can see it as a blessing.”
“So… are you saying that the blessing of a tether is actually a curse? And therefore, being cursed to not get the curse is actually a blessing in disguise?”
Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure what he was saying, really. He regretted even talking about Jin Ling’s grandparents, and was already mentally accepting a beating from Jiang Cheng, nephew and the will of the Jiang ancestors.
Jin Ling didn’t say anything either, perhaps holding himself in check because Wei Wuxian saved his life in the catacombs earlier. It seemed that he was done asking Wei Wuxian questions, so he shooed Wei Wuxian away lest Jiang Cheng catch up.
Finally he turned with a humph, shooing away Wei Wuxian before he got captured again. And in that moment Wei Wuxian hit his pressure points to knock out Jin Ling so that he could extract the curse, which had crawled further up his leg.
Eventually he found his way back to the meeting point with Lan Wangji.
“… I only left for a few hours.”
Wei Wuxian shrugged. “Three hours is plenty of time for anything to happen. Don’t let it get you so down! This can be taken care of just as any other normal curse mark, we just have to wait for the spirit to show itself.”
“… You said it yourself, a minute can feel like forever.”
“Wow, Hanguang-Jun can make jokes! Handsome, and secretly a joker. Why aren’t the other men all over you? Are you already taken?”
Wei Wuxian poked Lan Wangji’s wrist, whose hand still gripped the fabric of Wei Wuxian’s pants as if he couldn’t decide whether to roll them back down, or roll them up further to examine the curse
Lan Wangji’s eyebrow twitched. “Wei Ying.”
Wei Wuxian dropped his arms from his provocative pose, and dropped his Mo Xuanyu act.
I’d sort of expected this.
“You've known it was me since Dafan Mountain haven’t you, Lan Zhan? How did you know?”
“You told me yourself. Perhaps twice.”
“Twice? ‘Perhaps’?” Wei Wuxian inclined his head. He couldn't remember once giving off any cues, but he'd done it twice? “Don't they say third times the charm?”
“Three is unnecessary.”
“Really, what did I say?”
After continually prodding Lan Wangji without effect, Wei Wuxian sighed. “You won't tell me? How cunning. You’ve developed a thicker face. If it was the old you, you might have shouted it out if I provoked you enough. This isn’t fair exchange, I said something to you! So you should share with me! ”
Lan Wangji huffed. “Perhaps it was unsaid, and therefore I don’t owe you anything. Think for yourself.”
A-Qing spotted some black writing on Xiao Xingchen’s wrist. She was wildly curious about it, but couldn’t let Xue Yang notice her blindness. He was suspicious.
She pressed her hands into Xiao Xingchen’s, trying to get a better look, but she was unable to read anyways.
“Is something the matter A-Qing?”
“Daozhang, is my massage that painful?” she said while kneading his hands. “You’ve never let me massage you before. You should let me do this more often, you always strain your hands and back, but this rude guy always freeloads without appreciation! Make that guy do the cooking instead! You’re too busy getting a massage from A-Qing today. Hmpf!”
A clever girl, praised Wei Wuxian.
Xue Yang peered at her. Even after many months he was still trying to sense whether she to be trusted. Every time he did though, he seemed to be satisfied more easily and now was no exception.
Relaxing, he too peeked at Xiao Xingchen’s wrist and A-Qing could hear him stifle a laugh. He was maddening.
“Daozhang, what’s written on your wrist?” Xue Yang asked, playing ignorant of cultivator customs. “It must be important! Should I read it for you, so that you may remember it?”
“Oh my. It has been so long since I looked, that I suppose I forgot about it.” Xiao Xingchen gave them a reverent smile, serene as the falling snow. The sweet curve of his mouth as he spoke and longing in his voice made it abundantly clear that he had not forgotten at all. “This is a promise I made with my dear friend. I suppose one could call him a soulmate.”
“As expected of Daozhang, he is so amazing that even his ink lasts forever!” A-Qing said with awe, also pretending to be a clueless girl. She had actually known about the so-called destined messages, through the gossips of people who thought she would be deaf and dumb as well as blind. Recently there had been a popular spike of people in the marketplace seeking talismans to activate their own, but of course such charms never worked. Xue Yang sniggered.
“This isn’t ink, although if it’s not presumptuous, I would say they do look like his brushstrokes. Long ago we had a dream together, to form our own sect bound by our shared vision. I suppose you could also say I haven’t woken up yet, hoping that we can still have our dream together once more.”
Xiao Xingchen gave A-Qing’s hand a squeeze himself, before reaching in his pouch to pull out two candies for her and Xue Yang.
“I don’t regret coming to the mortal word to meet my destined one, and perhaps the stars will even bring us back together. I have experienced many other good things here, like meeting you two.
A-Qing regretted that moment for the rest of her short life.
When the cultivator clad in black, a man she came to know as Song Lan, asked for her help to look for Xiao Xingchen she had tested his loyalty by asking him what was written on Xiao Xingchen’s wrist. If she had never asked, perhaps she might have turned him away and avoided the tragedy to come.
When Song Lan had been distracted when Xue Yang had mocked him for being the cause of misery of his destined one, and thus fell prey to the corpse poisoning powder and the stab of Shanghua. Xue Yang had laughed so hard, with his hand over his eyes that he hadn’t seen a gentle light fly from Song Lan. If Xue Yang had never noticed those words and weaponized them, perhaps Song Lan would have been able to overtake him and avoided death at the hands of Xiao Xingchen.
When she had been too afraid of hurting Xiao Xingchen’s feelings, and hid the truth of who Xue Yang had killed.
He had winced when she took his arm in a panic to inform him about Xue Yang and she pulled down his sleeve, fearing that the corpse powder had spilled on him.
Her tears welled over. The words, though she couldn’t read them, spilled down his wrist like a stream. A-Qing hadn’t the heart to tell him that he had run Song Lan through with the same arm they shared a promise on.
If she hadn’t known they had a destined bond, perhaps his despair would not have been overwhelming to the point of breaking his spirit.
A bell rung, and Wei Wuxian’s consciousness returned to the surface.
“Xue Yang must die.”
“Um… is Second Master Lan okay?” asked Wen Ning nervously.
“He’s fine,” said Wei Wuxian. “He’s just drunk.”
A drunken Lan Wangji had, once again, come to disrupt his short reunion with Wen Ning. Poor Wen Ning had practically been kicked away.
Despite having clear golden eyes that didn’t seem drunk at all, Lan Wangji was acting so childishly! Just like the old days in the library, Wei Wuxian felt the inexplicable desire to tease him.
“Are you gonna do whatever I ask you to do still? Even if I tell you to give me your forehead ribbon?”
Without hesitation, Lan Wangji undid his ribbon and obediently plopped it into Wei Wuxian’s outstretched hands.
Wei Wuxian scrutinized it, trying to see what was so special about it, such as if there were some secret rules or spells embroidered into the ribbon, or maybe even the name of Lan Wangji’s crush written in there. It would be such a Lan thing to have love spells secretly weaved into their headbands.
He held it up to the light of the moon, seeing if it would reveal anything, until his sleeves sagged down his arm. Still nothing.
Lan Wangji seized Wei Wuxian wrist again, though not as harshly as he did on Dafan Mountain. His gaze bored into the bandages, as if seeing through them, making Wei Wuxian uncomfortable. He didn’t like looking at Mo Xuanyu’s destined person’s words, and it was even more unnerving for a drunk Lan Wangji to do it.
“Hey!” objected Wei Wuxian, reclaiming his hand. “You can’t do that. That’s private, you can’t look at what’s not yours.”
During the entire exchange until now, the drunken Lan Wangji clearly had lacked the manners or intention to listen to anything he did not want to hear. He unraveled it the bandages to expose the message tattoo and the cut entirely. After taking a moment to read it, he pointed at Wei Wuxian’s exposed arm with lips pulled thin, as if he was making a point.
“What’s with you? I just said you can’t look at this,” said Wei Wuxian with as much irritation he could muster for the inebriated man. He could tell Lan Wangji’s wine-addled mind was concerned about the wound he’d agitated eons ago on Dafan Mountain and had taken to rewrapping every night, if just as an excuse to cover up the tattoo message. It was private. “This is Mo— Xuan—Yu’s—. From his destined— bond—. Not yours, so no looking!”
Lan Wangji scowled childishly, the corners of his mouth comically low. “Fine. No looking.” Instead he wrapped his ribbon around Wei Wuxian’s wrist, then around the other for extra measure. He even secured it with knots, to make sure that it didn’t accidentally come loose. Admiring his handicraft, Lan Wangji thrust his finger at Wei Wuxian’s wrist again.
“This is mine.”
“Oh, how considerate of you to um… use your forehead ribbon to cover that up, Lan Zhan! But you don’t have to go that far. Can you re-do this with my bandages instead?” said Wei Wuxian, with some amusement. “I don’t want my destined person to get the wrong idea, you know?” He wiggled his fingers and tried to point down to his message.
It seemed Lan Wangji was pretending to have cotton stuffed in his ears again.
“Wouldn’t you be embarrassed if someone saw this?” teased Wei Wuxian. “What if they tell your destined person about this? Wouldn’t they be upset if they heard you were tying up someone else?”
“… It’s fine. He cannot be tattled to, as he knows already. So it’s fine.”
Oh fuck, thought Wei Wuxian in a panic, I just wanted to tease him into letting me go, like a child would fall for… But is his destined person seriously dead? Like, their spirit could be watching us if they were still lingering?
They honestly could be! If they ever heard such a sincere and desperate ‘I want it’ as Lan Wangji did last time he was drunk, then they’d have a reason and a half to stay attached to this earth!
When Lan Wangji tugged on the long end of the ribbon and dragged him towards the entrance of the inn, Wei Wuxian really started to have a dreadful feeling.
“No looking,” Lan Wangji announced while raising Wei Wuxian’s bound wrist. The ends of the bandages were still half tied to his wrist, fluttering loose while the forehead ribbon was tied securely. The clamor of gossip and clinking plates completely ceased.
Damage control!! Lan Wangji would never be able to face anyone again, or even the mortuary tablet of his destined person if he went too far in his drunken stupor!
“Kids…” he started, “This a great example of how you can use their forehead ribbon for other things, like when you want to subdue a rowdy fierce corpse. Or for taking in naughty disciples who have broken the rules by drinking.”
Lan Jingyi’s dropped his chopsticks, soiling his white robes with a surprisingly red sauce. Wei Wuxian briefly wondered if the boy had gained a taste for spice in Yi City.
“Orrrr like in emergencies! In fact, Hanguang-Jun has done that several times! Don’t look, cuz the cut is a bit gruesome, but nothing that Hanguang-Jun can’t handle, he just wanted to impart a lesson on you all first, since you’re clearly breaking the rules!!”
Lan Sizhui blessfully read the air and managed to wave them upstairs, though his complexion was whiter than his own robes.
“Th-That’s a really great idea Hanguang-Jun! I’d never want my message tattoo to just be read by anyone either, certainly the Lan forehead ribbon covering it up follows the meaning of the ribbon…”
“Oh, that’s so true. A secret promise… it can’t just be revealed to anyone!!” Ouyang Zizhen practically had tears in his eyes while staring at them. “Please, Lan Jingyi! If I’m ever in danger such as a corpse tears my sleeve, you have to promise that you’ll rescue my message with your forehead ribbon. I couldn’t bare it if someone saw, and we are now comrades so…”
Lan Jingyi stammered, “Get the young mistress to lend you one of his wrist guards then! No one is touching our forehead ribbons! He probably has tons of those to spare, seeing as he had no trouble getting 400 spirit-traps for a hunt!!”
Jin Ling frowned into his bowl of rice and tucked his hands under the table.
“Waiiiit Lan Sizhui, you can't just imply that you have one already and not expect your curious senior to wonderrrrrrrr!” Wei Wuxian shouted as Lan Wangji pulled insistently on the ribbon, all the way back to their room. Once there, Lan Wangji pointed his finger at Wei Wuxian’s wrist again.
“I protected it. No one looked. Mine,” said Lan Wangji proudly to Wei Wuxian, almost expectantly.
“Yes, yes, your forehead ribbon. Such a good boy, thank you,” Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes and stared at the ceiling with second-hand embarrassment because indeed, everyone had been looking. “Don’t you want it back? Aren’t you sad I have it? I'm a lityle sad.”
“No take-backs. You can’t have someone else’s,” Lan Wangji said, and resumed typing knots with the free end of his band. Something stung in Wei Wuxian’s wrist, where the ribbon was rubbing against his skin and he snapped his head back to Lan Wangji in complaint.
“Owww! Ow, Lan Zhan, your ribbon is giving me rope burn. Please, let’s take this off? What if it burns a hole through my skin, or I get blood on it! You can re-tie with proper bandages if you wish. Be good, hmm?”
“This is high-quality silk,” said Lan Wangji and muffled any other contestations with his hand on Wei Wuxian’s mouth.
Remembering how the best way to get Jiang Cheng’s mitts off of his stuff was to threaten to lick his belongings, Wei Wuxian darted his tongue out to Lan Wangji’s hand. Just like when he was younger, it somehow became a situation where he chased Lan Wangji around the paper screen in the room, like he was six again teasing “I’m gonna catch you!”.
But unlike with his younger shidis, things somehow escalated to the point where Lan Wangji gave himself up on purpose for licks, and eventually pecks of kisses on his knuckles. It was bewildering, to say the least.
Wei Wuxian pushed up Lan Wangji’s sleeve to press a kiss there, and he saw wraps covering his wrist as well. Regaining some of his self-control, Wei Wuxian gently pushed Lan Wangji’s wrist away. He wouldn’t be happy if he woke up and found out that he had disrespected his message.
Lan Wangji was unhappy, and thrusted his hand forward again.
“Hmm… well if you really want me to do more, you have to answer my questions first. Same question as earlier, did you burn any paper money? Or what about playing inquiry?”
Lan Wangji’s frown deepened, and he clutched his hand to his chest.
“Oh no, no no no. About me, remember, Lan Zhan! Not about your bond. I’m sorry, even though I realized what had happened to them myself, I was insensitive with my wording,” he clarified in a rush.
I didn’t mean to ask him something so personal! I would never… that level of privacy… Although it would be lie to say I wasn’t uninterested in answers. But as much as I think Lan Zhan should move on from his person, that is his business and not mine. Not at all.
“Okay forget those questions, how did you recognize me on Dafan Mountain? Just one little answer.”
He smiled when Lan Wangji’s lips trembled, this time he could feel the answer was close. Wei Wuxian had practically waved candy in front of a child. But in lieu of an answer, Lan Wangji knelt and brought Wei Wuxian’s arms over his head again, pressing Wei Wuxian’s hands against his back.
How puzzling. Could it be that Lan Zhan wants a hug now?
Lan Wangji looked up at him expectantly, as if he had answered Wei Wuxian’s question and wanted his prize. And Wei Wuxian looked down at his face that was mere inches from his own, and couldn’t resist a peck on the lips.
They had both been enthralled by the kiss, which had gotten more passionate, before Lan Wangji had suddenly pushed Wei Wuxian away and knocked himself out. Lan Wangji was a loyal man after all, and Wei Wuxian felt guilty.
I have no obligation to the person on the other end of the tether. I always wanted to do the impossible, to defy fate. That’s why… it’s fine that I kissed Lan Zhan. Yeah.
Feeling sad and awkward for the both of them, Wei Wuxian untied the knots on his wrist with his teeth, careful not to damage the ribbon. He did his best to flatten out the creases, but his wrist still felt raw so he turned it over to apply ointment.
“Oh god. Another message. When did that get there?”
‘There is no need for sadness, when the bright moon still lights my dark skies.’
“I wonder if you are a mind-reader. Can you read my mind and hear that I am not Mo Xuanyu?”
Wei Wuxian looked out the window and wondered if they were looking at the same moon.