Chapter Text
“What is the meaning of this, Sect Leader Lan?” Asked the Grandmaster of Gusu, his left eyebrow didn´t seem capable of stop twitching while observing the scene before him… and that was without taking into account the headache he could start to feel little by little the longer his older brother tried to justify what he was seeing.
“Oh, well, Qiren, you see… I-…mmm…” He gave a nervous laugh before forcing himself to stand straight and not as someone who had just been found red handed while trying to hide a child on his quarters. “Brother, I found a child!” He said cheerfully as if it was an incredible discovery, while still trying to subtly hide said child in purple robes behind himself.
And failing miserably at it.
Lan Qiren looked at his brother in disbelief. “He surely does not expect me to believe such a thing, right?” He huffed in exasperation at his shenanigans, and finally dared to take a closer look at this child his brother had found.
Black and seemingly smooth hair collected in a tight bun at the top of his head with a purple hair ribbon…
A slight scowl that made his eyebrows highlight grey-blue thunderous eyes that looked so much older than his possible current age and somehow felt familiar to him...
The ghost of high cheekbones that would be truly striking when he grew older, but that were now masked by his childish chubby cheeks that made him look as if he was pouting.
In conclusion, a child around the age of his younger nephew quite possibly, that was wearing expensive purple robes along with a purple hair ribbon...
Lan Qiren thought that he had heard of a similar description before, but he couldn´t seem to recall from where exactly. He looked at his brother who continued to explain how he apparently had left his seclusion (and Cloud Recesses for that matter too-), only to go on a night hunt alone while NOT telling anyone of what he was planning to do. He also recalled how he managed to defeat a ghoul before he heard someone crying and end up finding the infamous child in the middle of the forest, near Yueyang.
Lan Guiren was still going on and on with his tale, when the sound of a bell interrupted him mid-sentence.
And no, it was not just any kind of bell sound, but…
A clarity bell!!!
Lan Qiren could feel the slight headache transforming into a fully grown one, while his blood seemed to burn inside him and his Qi became more and more unstable as the seconds passed by, because…
His brother not only had “found” a child…
He had KIDNAPPED the YOUNGEST JIANG, Jiang Cheng, the son of the Violet Spider and HEIR TO THE WHOLE DAMN SECT!!!
(“ Cursing is forbidden in Cloud Recesses”)
It didn´t matter, the situation absolutely called for it. He would make sure to copy the rules at least 20 times when he had the time, but right now…
“Lan Guiren, just what the fuck were you thinking?!” He whispered furiously in a still low voice so that only his brother would hear him. Sure, he may be cursing at the moment, but that didn´t mean he would subject a child to such atrocious language. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but he only managed to make himself more furious instead. “Were you thinking at all to begin with?!” He screamed so loud that even the two disciples stationed at the gates were able to hear him, and proceeded to pray to not cross him and suffer their Grandmaster´s wrath, be it for something they did or by association (“it is always better to cover all your basis and be prepared for anything and everything you may encounter”, as the Grandmaster himself used to say).
(“ Unnecessary loud noise is forbidden”)
Maybe he would have to forget about 20 and just go for 100 copies, because if the confused expression in his older brother´s face was any indication, he might end up forgetting some of the words that he would end up using while having this particular conversation with the Sect Leader of Gusu Lan.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the blink of an eye a week had passed, and the only thing Lan Guiren could say with absolute certainty was how the youngest Jiang seemed to fit just right with his family!
And yet…
[~*~]
While Lan Qiren and him continued to talk about what to do with their unexpected visitor, as they sat at the table and drank his brother´s favourite jasmine tea he had acquired before returning (because, although bribery was forbidden by their rules and the tea in question was truly hideous, he did not had a death wish-), the child had fallen asleep.
His small frame seemed to try to make itself even smaller, curling around Lan Guiren´s form while his head rested on the Sect Leader´s lap. Who, with an indulgent smile, couldn´t help himself and proceed to gently stroke the child´s black locks, trying to calm him at least a little bit.
“We need to give him back to his parents immediately! I still cannot believe how you thought about doing such a thing! You more than anyone else, Sect Leader Lan, should be more than aware of what this could mean for Gusu Lan! Just what were you-?!”
Lan Qiren continued ranting and pacing around the room in his turmoil.
Left. Right. From the table to the room´s door and back.
Stroking his beard a few times before going back to the table to take some tea for his parched throat and resuming said rant only a few seconds later.
It wasn´t until he had asked his older brother a rhetorical question (that he actually had wanted an answer to), that he realized that he did not have said brother´s attention.
At all….
“I know that what my brother said is true. Taking a child from another sect, and an heir at that, was not something honourable to do… and that was without even thinking of all the possible consequences the Gusu Lan Clan would have to face after his parents learned of the child´s whereabouts...” Because no, he was under no illusions of his finding being kept a secret long term; but neither his brother nor anyone else had been beside him when he found the child. “They didn´t understand! I searched!” Lan Guiren took a shuddering breath under his younger brother´s scrutinizing gaze and took a small sip of the horrendous tea, trying to stall for some time. He could still hear his brother ranting about his “foolish reasoning” and his “irresponsible shenanigans that would make him go grey before his time”. But not even that managed to stop the memory of how he found Jiang Cheng, the future Sect Leader of Yunmeng Jiang. “I had just finished killing some ghouls that had been terrorising the common people in Yueyang. There wasn´t supposed to be anyone there! So why was he there and by himself?!” he sighed once more.
There was no point in being angry about it.
Even if every memory that assaulted his mind only managed to make him angrier.
The Jiang boy had been unconscious over a small patch of soft vegetation, curling on himself just like he was doing in that very moment. Trying to make himself smaller (because being a smaller target could be safe- NO)… and his appearance was… his appearance was…a mess.
His hair was almost completely on the loose and just a few locks remained tied by his purple hair ribbon. His Jiang purple robes were dishevelled and dirtied with mud and some grass. Even while unconscious, he seemed to be shivering as he tried to unsuccessfully hide his head between hands that were already hugging something else to his chest.
Lan Guiren got increasingly closer.
Little by little.
Step by step.
Since he didn’t want to disturb the child and have him run away from him.
When he was just a few steps away from him, the older man completely froze up.
Yes, he knew it was a child of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect because of his purple robes, but that…
That couldn´t be right…
Because the suspected Jiang disciple had a clarity bell tugged between his bloodied hands and against his shivering frame.
Bloodied hands.
“ Is he perhaps hurt somewhere…? ”
At the time, even as he was fighting ghouls, he hadn´t taken into account the possibility of dirtying his pristine clothes, but now… now he didn´t give a single fuck.
The Sect Leader of the known Gusu Lan Sect got rid of his inner robes and tried to gently wipe the child´s hands (while mentally thinking of a suitable punishment for his transgression… Cursing is forbidden in Clou- ), only to come face to face with an even more unpleasant surprise.
This small child in dirtied purple Jiang robes with bloodied hands and shivering (because he apparently had been crying before he fell asleep and continued to do just that throughout his unconscious state), who was also hugging a clarity bell (that had the name Jiang Cheng engraved on it. The name of the Yunmeng Jiang heir!). The same boy that in further observation showed signs of hypothermia with his shivering frame, pale skin and almost bluish lips, had just provided in small painful whimpers and broken pleads, the final piece of such a disturbing puzzle. Making him, one of the most powerful cultivators, feel numb.
He knew that the ruling family of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect had some disagreements from time to time. After all, although rumours tended to take things out of proportion, there was always a sliver of truth in them, as long as you knew how to tell them apart. But as far as he had been aware, just a few days ago, words had reached the cultivation world of the Jiang Sect Leader, Jiang Fengmian, arriving from a night hunt with a small child he had picked up from the streets, which had caused more discord in the family.
All the rumours had hinted at all the Jiang family being together in the beautifully chaotic Lotus Pier. And yet… that whispered sentenced… he couldn´t understand… how-?!
(“ A-Die … pl-please, do-don´t go… A-Cheng…A-Cheng will be go-good… pl-please, A-Die..”)
“LAN GUIREN, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME AT ALL?!”
The furious loud voice of his younger brother distracted him from his thoughts and, at the same time, managed to wake the slumbering child, who jumped up in his fright and ended up knocking the table over. Spilling the nightmarish tea on the floor. YES!
Lan Guiren looked up when he felt both an innocently curious gaze and another more potent murderous one.
OH.
He had said that aloud, hadn´t he?
[~*~]
He chuckled lightly while playing his Guqin, Huiling.
He waited for a few more minutes for his regular visitor. Using the time to guess what he would bring this time.
His precious little lotus was a really kind soul.
Since the moment he heard some disciples talk about the circumstances behind his seclusion, Jiang Cheng had taken it into his small hands to provide him with all kinds of equally charming and fascinating distractions. From bringing him food (that he later learned from the cooks was made from scratch by no other than Jiang Cheng himself -which ultimately made him suspicious of the reason behind it-), to giving him small wood animal figurines he made himself too (not only did he have and incredible talent with knives, but he was also mindful of the nature around him, using only already fallen or almost dying wood).
The Jiang heir, now clad in Lan white, even gave him flower crowns from time to time. And not just any type of flower crowns, but flower crowns of gentians. The favourite flowers of his late wife, Lan Meifeng.
His beautiful wind had always been so carefree while surrounded by her beloved gentians. Singing, laughing and even dancing for them. For them and for their children.
But never for him… not after that day.
He took a shuddering breath, feeling his eyes burning with unshed tears for what could have been and tried to think of something else. Something a little more…
Ah.
He remembered.
He gently started to play a peaceful and slightly warm melody with Huiling, as his mind wandered.
Wandered to that afternoon in the back of Cloud Recesses, and the scene to which he was witness while looking for his dear protégé.
“My A-Zhan is so cute…”
[~*~]
The lush and green grass at the backyard of Cloud Recesses always seemed to mystify him. No matter how cold the weather could get up there, it would always remain so vibrant and full of life, even when it was not the right season for it.
He could still remember how in their youth, both Qiren and him had theorizes that maybe the grass was magical (having a core of its own and cultivating in secret at night-) or that it might even be feeding of their own cultivations (“Xiaozhang, what if it steals our cores?! Let´s run!!”… aah, his little brother used to be so cute indeed).
Lan Guiren had just arrived into the “Bunnies Clearing”, as it had been called a few years ago after the number of bunnies had become too much (–always eating everything in their paths-), and they had to locate them to another part of Cloud Recesses in fear of ending without any vegetables for their traditional and well known “special soup” (as in the bland and tasteless thing any Lan learned to swallow without any thoughts in hope of salvaging their taste buds from a slow and painful death-), when he heard someone humming by and completely stopped in his tracks. He looked one way and the other, but there didn´t seem to be anyone else there.
He hadn´t taken more than five steps, when he heard the rustling sound of fabrics. Stealthily getting nearer to the sound (“Spying is forbidden in-”), he peered over the trunk of the robust tree in front of him, and came face to… quite a peculiar and interesting sight…
His youngest son, Lan Wangji, was standing adorably still with redden ears and an overall shy demeanour right next to a pile of bunnies.
As in…
Right next to a MOVING pile of bunnies.
“A-Zhan…?”, he called tentatively, only to be met with the cute but intriguing sight of his youngest bashfully arranging his CROOKED forehead ribbon…while a hand emerged from the ”bunny pile”.
Before the respected Sect Leader of Gusu Lan could inquiry further about what he was being witness to, the bunnies started to fall from their perches in the “pile”, revealing little by little a small child with white robes and a purple ribbon on his black hair. Lan Guiren looked into a pair of surprised grey-blue eyes that were currently showing a hint of confusion, as his small cheeks reddened in embarrassment at the situation.
He had finally found his little Lotus.
….
….
Buried under a bunny pile…
By his own youngest child.
…
…
At least he was still alive, right…?
Lan Guiren sighed for the fourth time as he heard his small charge trying to explain what had happened (despise his own obvious confusion about said matter-). Apparently, a few days ago, Lan Wangji had failed a note while playing his guqin in the “Bunny Clearing” and injured one of his fingers. Jiang Cheng, who had been nearby while playing with some of the bunnies, saw this and tried to help.
Even as Jiang Cheng continued on with his tale of how after that incident both, Lan Zhan and him, started meeting there and kept each other company (because apparently, and according to the Jiang, A-Zhan played beautifully and could create the most amazing of sounds out of thin air, and he would let Jiang Cheng listen to him while the smaller boy played with the bunnies next to him-), Lan Guiren still couldn´t understand what could have possibly have brought the possibility of Jiang Cheng being buried by bunnies at his son´s hands.
And even as Jiang Cheng continued to explain what was going on, the bells in Lan Guiren´s head wouldn´t stop ringing as if it was the end of the world!
Because there, in front of him, was his youngest and timid son…impersonating a living tomato with a blush that had travelled from his ears and taking residence in his small cheeks.
His youngest and fussy son who took cleanliness to a quite “superior level”, taking the hand of his protégé without a second thought. A hand that still had some grass and mud on from playing and feeding the bunnies.
His protégé holding his little A-Zhan´s favourite bunny…while his son watched him with an almost happy and fond expression in his usually indifferent golden eyes.
Because the Lan forehead ribbon of his youngest son was crooked… after his small lotus had accidently tried to accommodate it… and his righteous son hadn´t killed him or maim the young Jiang in the spot.
And in the face of all this evidence, Lan Guiren decided to let it go. Giving both children a small nod in farewell, he went the same way he came from almost as if in a mechanic way.
His brain tried to tell him the obvious conclusion to what he had just witnessed, but he refused. He didn´t want to acknowledge that his precious A-Zhan was growing up, more so… he didn´t want to acknowledge that his youngest son was trying to steal his protégé (which would be totally unfair of him, because it was Lan Guiren who had found him, not his son, him-!) and was apparently succeeding (why didn´t he thought of bribing Jiang Cheng with bunnies and music, why?! TT^TT).
So, for his own peace of mind, he let it go.
As the younger disciples said this days: “Out of sight, out of mind”.
[~*~]
A few days later, after the ''bunny incident'' (as he had dubbed it on his head), Lan Guiren waited for his little lotus to make an appearance on his room once more, only to be met by his absence again.
Still a little baffled by the prior ''incident'', he went to the back of Cloud Recesses in search of him (silently praying that his younger son hadn't manage to kill the Jiang Sect Heir by ''bunny asphyxiation'' or something similarly so-).
After searching for almost an hour (while greeting the cute little fluffy balls of white that seemed to curiously follow his every step-), he decided that maybe his brother would know where he was.
The Sect Leader of Gusu Lan could be seen searching for something (or someone) everywhere. Although no matter how many times the disciples that watched him move around offered to help, he would not tell them what (or who) he was looking for.
Lan Guiren sincerely hoped to find his small lotus still alive and far away from any bunnies.
He walked leisurely through the quiet and elegant planes of his home, even taking a moment to see the younger disciples attending one class that could very well be translated as ''How to exorcism evil without letting it corrupt you and the people around you, or you die''. In less time that he had expected, he finally arrived to Lan Qiren's room.
The place was quite spacious, with lush and green grass that seemed to go for miles on end, some trees with their flowers in full bloom, and a small waterfall with different kinds of fishes that left him curious (-because he was sure that that hadn't been there a few days ago when he had visit his brother last time-).
He was just about to knock on the door, when the sound of the plucking of a guqin's strings made him stop. (And despite the ''eavesdropping is forbidden'' rule...) He decided to stay quiet and listen in for any clues as to what was going on inside the room.
When the guqin sound continued on, with a light and gentle composition (-that almost seemed to try to lure Lan Guiren to sleep-), the respected Sect Leader Lan discreetly got nearer and nearer to a small widow on the side as he (with all the subtlety he could manage through his curiosity-) peeked inside the room, coming face to face to a surprising and yet heart-warming scene that made him unconsciously smile as he watched...them.
At first sight, anyone would only see the Grandmaster of Gusu Lan, Lan Qiren, gently plucking his guqin (such an unusual sight on itself, and all the more precious for it-). But on closer inspection, you could see a small ''buddle of white'' right next to his younger brother. Which, sure, could had also be mistaken as an extension of Qiren's own robes, but thanks to the position he was in and his angle of sight, Lan Guiren knew better. Because there, peacefully sleeping with his head resting on the older man's lap as said man played ''Rest'', was Jiang Cheng.
The small child's hair was lose, leaving his black locks all over the place. He tightened his grab on the purple ribbon on his hand as he seemed to be in deep concentration even in his sleep. That was something that made the pleasant Sect Leader frown a little in worry (if only he had arrived sooner, maybe the poor child wouldn't have had to suffer through all that-).
Lan Guiren continued to silently observe it all, little by little regaining his smile as he saw Jiang Cheng relax into his younger brother's care and how his usually stoic brother seemed to soften and warmed up as he kept on trying to make it a little more bearable for the Jiang child.
The same way that he would sneakily smuggle some sweets or somewhat spicy food for the little boy that he hoped the child would like; almost as if he actually thought that no one had noticed his furtive glances, suspiciously looking everywhere, as he gave said foods and sweets to their little lotus. (Or even going as far as to add sugar to the other's tea and even wink-.)
The older Lan shuddered slightly just remembering the ridiculousness of it all. And sometimes even wondered if maybe... could he have been adopted?? (And no, he did not care how much they both looked alike, Lan Qiren and his weird winky face with that atrocious thing he called ''beard'' could very well be adopted for all he knew-!!).
As the seconds transformed into minutes, and then hours, he decided that he had been watching them for too long.
He took a last glance, seeing the sleeping Jiang Cheng seek Lan Qiren's warmth as the older man freaking missed a note (''cursing is for-''... it didn't matter because it was freaking true-!!).
Remaining frozen in place, he saw Qiren calmly finish his song and then proceed to gently stroke the child's silken black locks as he hummed the same song under his breath (almost in the same way a mother would sing their children a lullaby as they fell asleep...).
Yes, it was definitely time to go.
He would not be able to look at his brother the same way if he didn't.
[~*~]
He was just outside his younger brother´s room when he saw his older son trying to stealthily enter Lan Qiren´s quarters.
His little A-Huan was even going as far as to crawl under a window to watch undetected the happenings inside his uncle´s quarters. Nearing just the tiniest bit so that his eyes could see inside, only to hide just as fast.
Lan Guiren smiled in curious fascination.
He had never seen his eldest so lively!
Not only was he doing something so out of the ordinary for himself, but he also wasn´t smiling for once. The sight alone of his serious and concentrated face gave him enough pause to notice a really important detail that had escaped his earlier observations.
There was no forehead ribbon.
His eldest son was not wearing his forehead ribbon.
The older man took a step forward and prepared himself to let his son know about his presence there, when five things happened at once. One more baffling than the other.
1) His little A-Huan nodded to himself and prepared as if he was about to run. Readying the forehead ribbon he had on his hand (So he hadn´t lost it or given it to someone…although playing like that with it-…).
2) Lan Qiren´s door opened and his missing lotus was about to step out of it, while being followed by the owner of said place.
3) His eldest son run up to his uncle´s opened door, with the forehead ribbon still clenched on his hands, as if his life depended on it.
4) His younger brother (the uncle of his son), took the Future Sect Leader of Gusu Lan by the back of his robes, and lifted him off the ground while staring at him with an impatient face full of annoyance, as if he had been expecting such a thing to happen but was utterly done with all of it.
5) His gentle and polite Lan Huan tried to bit his uncle while swinging wildly from his grasp. And as if that was not enough, he repeatedly tried to tie his forehead ribbon around something behind Lan Qiren.
Lan Guiren, still completely perplexed by what he was seeing, got a little closer and finally realized what was going on. However, that only made this scene all the more confusing and bewildering. Because, behind Lan Qiren, there was not something but someone.
In the middle of the “chaos”, Lan Qiren had grabbed Jiang Cheng, who had been the one walking out first, and safely put him behind himself. Effectively stopping his older nephew from tying his forehead ribbon around the youngest Jiang.