Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian’s hands were shaking, placed on top of the table out of courtesy for the man across from him, but that also meant the strongest spiritual energy used in all of the lands could see his nerves.
“Please,” Xie Lian said with a smile. “Don’t be anxious. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“O-of course, Your Royal Highness.” Wei Wuxian murmured, clasping his hands together as if that alone would stop his shaking. “This one—“
“There’s no need for formalities,” Xie Lian rushed out, an air of awkwardness around him. “Just call me Xie Lian.”
The very prospect of calling Crimson Rain Sought Flower’s husband such a common thing made Wei Wuxian’s face drain of any color it had.
With snow-white skin, it didn’t say much.
Xie Lian waved down one of the many women dancing around the room and asked for refreshments but Wei Wuxian was barely paying attention.
He had never seen this room before, luxurious in a way he had never seen before. There was a thick, snow-white pelt of a beast he couldn’t recognize laid out on the floor, and it was softer than anything he’s ever touched. There were women dancing around the edges of his sight, but anytime he looked directly at them, they seemed to fade from existence, merely fulfilling their duty to serve the resident’s owner.
Across from them, at the very back of the large room was a divan made from black jade, shaped beautifully and elegantly, was against the wall, large enough to hold a group of people to sit comfortably without touching anyone else.
It was empty, but Wei Wuxian knew who usually sat in that chair.
He was in Crimson Rain’s territory. He could feel it underneath his heels, the resentful and spiritual energy spinning around each other in a perfect, parallel amount to each other, intertwined and docile.
Xie Lian had called this place ‘Paradise Manor’, and the luxurious items around Wei Wuxian proved that name true.
All of Wei Wuxian’s ancestors couldn’t make up the age that this manor was.
“—ian? Wei Wuxian?”
He jumped, eyes wide as he snapped up to look at the Heavenly Emperor across from him and squeaked, “Sorry? Sorry! My bad! I—I didn’t mean—!”
Xie Lian held his hands up and Wei Wuxian’s jaw snapped shut with an audible click .
The martial god looked embarrassed. “Please don’t be so on edge. I’m really not going to hurt you.”
Wei Wuxian nodded frantically. “Of course! Of course! His Royal Highness is—“
“Xie Lian,” the man said softly, but with an air of authority. “Call me Xie Lian please.”
Wei Wuxian’s teeth clacked together, but never one to deny a Supreme’s spouse what they requested, opened his mouth and whispered, “Xi— Xie Lian…”
Instantly he whipped his head around, checking for the red robes and redder eye, for silver vambraces and jewelry hanging around a long neck, silver that jingled against black boots, and really he couldn’t be blamed. He was in another ghost’s territory, and that alone could have Crimson Rain lash out against him, but since Xie Lian had asked if Wei Wuxian was comfortable bringing the conversation somewhere else, he had tucked his tail between his legs and agreed.
So here he was, in Crimson Rain’s territory, with no way to protect himself. All around him was Crimson Rain’s energy, resentful and spiritual, so he wouldn’t be able to single out where the actual Crimson Rain was. He had no room to advance and no room to retreat.
Xie Lian beamed. “There! Now we’re on a first name basis, so please continue to call me as such.”
Wei Wuxian nodded mutely.
“Okay.” Xie Lian thanked the ghostly woman who placed a platter of refreshments in front of him. “Now, I hate to be so forward, but there’s a reason I’ve called you here.”
Wei Wuxian pressed his lips together tightly, anxiety running a hamster wheel through his body.
“You’ve become a Wrath, and we don’t know anything about you.” Xie Lian took one of the cookies on the platter and cherished it immensely as he took a bite from it. “Our original plan was to monitor you, with an underlying intention to destroy you if you showed hostility, but since the Supremes have accepted you into their ranks, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Wei Wuxian gaped at the very, very forward conversation they were having, but didn’t dare make a peep.
Xie Lian finished the cookie and wiped the crumbs off on his white sleeve. Wei Wuxian died a little on the inside.
“So we’re just going to build a profile on you.” Xie Lian smiled. “Simple things, since most of you enjoy your privacy. If that’s alright with you?”
Wei Wuxian nodded quickly. “This one— I— I have no, um… reason to object. Please continue.”
Xie Lian smiled brightly. “Thank you! Okay.” He pulled a scroll from his sleeve and one of the ghost women procured a brush and some ink from nowhere. “You’re Wei Wuxian, correct?”
Wei Wuxian blinked. “I hope so?”
Xie Lian paused, before looking up at him. “You don’t know?”
“Ah! No! I—,” Wei Wuxian quickly waved his hands in denial. “I— I am Wei Wuxian, sorry. That was a horrible joke.”
“Ah.” Xie Lian scratched his cheek sheepishly. “I’m sorry, there are some ghosts who really don’t remember who they are.”
Wei Wuxian was right. It was a terrible joke. “I’m sorry…”
Xie Lian waved him off with a smile. “Let’s continue. Age?”
Xie Lian knew he wouldn’t answer some things, because that’s just how some ghosts were, but he had a duty as the Heavenly Emperor to try and keep the mortal realm safe by keeping an eye out for threats. Of course he had been on edge when he spotted the ghost standing in the middle of a clearing, reeking of Heavenly Official spiritual energy, and couldn’t help wondering if something had happened while Xie Lian was prying a whining Supreme off of his back, but the way the ghost’s face had contorted to shock and then fear , he knew the boy wasn’t a threat.
Besides, word had come around that the kid was trained by an immortal master in the Burial Mounds, one that had such an unparalleled beauty that Wei Wuxian had taken on some of his looks due to close proximity, but Xie Lian also knew his husband had been leaving Paradise Manor every day at the same time.
When he had at first brought this up to Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan, the ghost had blatantly asked about how their bedroom life was for Hua Cheng to seek out another. Shi Qingxuan had slapped her husband upside the head and taken Xie Lian into another room, away from the pouting Supreme.
That had been an interesting conversation. So had Hua Cheng’s squirming and breathy curses against his ear, but that was a story for another time.
He had reasons to believe that Immortal Master was his very own husband, Hua Cheng.
Xie Lian stared at the kid across from him and couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He looked so overwhelmed, shaking and casting frightened looks around him like something was lurking in the shadows and waiting for the right time to jump out.
“Uh… I’m seventeen.”
Xie Lian blinked. “No, how long have you been dead?”
“Umm…. three and a half months?”
Xie Lian’s body moved on autopilot, brush moving against the scroll to depict his age, but internally he was shocked.
The boy gave off such an ancient feel, a resentful energy that had once been centuries ago, and therefore Xie Lian had expected a much larger number.
The ancient energy wasn’t even due to his white hair and silver eyes, it was an aura that was around him. Something thick that clogged Xie Lian’s nose and blurred his eyesight. It made him circulate his spiritual energy to cleanse it.
Because of that energy, he had believed that the ghost had been a Wrath for quite a while, at least a few centuries, and had been simply staying underneath the radar for whatever reason, taking the war as a chance to gain more energy.
He wasn’t expecting the ghost to literally be a teenager.
Xie Lian cleared his throat and felt bad for offering refreshments if the ghost couldn’t even eat them, but didn’t blame himself. Hua Cheng ate food, and so did the majority of the ghosts in ghost city, so he had done so out of habit.
“How did you die?”
“I was murdered.”
Xie Lian diligently wrote that down. “And who killed you?”
“Wen Chao.”
Xie Lian ran that name through the list of people who had died in the war and came up blank. Maybe the boy hadn’t exacted revenge yet.
A small voice in the back of his head whispered or he got rid of all of the evidence.
There was no point in trying to stop him if he hadn’t already killed the man, not until the actual moment it was happening. A Wrath could sit and promise over and over and over again that they won’t go after the person who killed or wronged them, and then go out to do it without a second thought.
If he met his husband’s student on the battlefield…
“Which side of the war are you taking?”
The boy’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “The… side with all of the clans?”
Xie Lian nodded. “The side rebelling. Okay. Do you have any family members, or people that know you’re a Wrath?”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes narrowed, voice cooling rapidly. “No. And I would prefer it stay that way.”
Xie Lian nodded again. “Okay. Why do you want to reach Supreme?”
Wei Wuxian blinked. “Crimson Rain said I was already a Supreme.”
Xie Lian paused. “What?”
“Yeah. He uh… he said I was a Supreme, but you keep calling me Wrath. Why?”
Xie Lian blinked. “Because you haven’t come out of Mt. Tonglu. That’s how all of our Supremes became Supremes, so Heaven doesn’t know how to classify you.”
“But… if I have the power of a Supreme, shouldn’t I be classified as one?”
Xie Lian tapped his brush against the edge of his hand. “That’s the general consensus, yes, but others object. They say that just because the two Supremes have taken a liking to you doesn’t mean you can automatically be ranked a Supreme.”
Wei Wuxian wanted to laugh, but bit his lip and made a sound similar to a strangled, coughing cat.
Crimson Rain, a liking to him?? He may have told everyone that he was proud, but that didn’t mean diddly squat . Well, it meant a lot since Crimson Rain had stepped off that golden pedestal and finally gave Wei Wuxian a compliment, but he wouldn’t go so far as to say he liked him.
And two Supremes?? So the man he had met on the beach was a Supreme???
It was a damned good thing he was learning to play the flute. Maybe he should ask one of the Lans to teach him music?
Oh good god, but after what he did?? Rambled off like a person high off of drugs and alcohol just because he saw a pretty face again?? How was he supposed to ever look anyone in the eyes again, knowing that he had said such audacious things in the proximity of his crush and his crush’s clan???
Well, Lan Wangji wasn’t just a pretty face, but much, much more. He was strong, beautiful, talented, and strong… and he was pretty. These were key points in a partner!
Wei Wuxian’s face burned, but Xie Lian didn’t see it.
“Did that clear up everything?”
Wei Wuxian nodded mutely. “I’m a Wrath to Heaven because I didn’t come out of Mt. Tonglu.” He blinked. “Is that the mountain Crimson Rain slaughtered through?”
Xie Lian brightened. “Yes! It’s the mountain every ghost goes to in order to become a Supreme!”
“Oh!” Wei Wuxian also lit up. “I remember that story! It took him ten years to get through, right?”
Xie Lian nodded rapidly. “Yup! The shortest amount of time ever!”
Wei Wuxian grinned. “I also heard that—“
The jingling of silver trinkets caused Wei Wuxian to freeze.
Hua Cheng slowed when he saw the ghost he mentored sitting across the table to his husband, but ultimately ignored him and walked up to Xie Lian.
“I’m back, gege.” He greeted, leaning down to kiss Xie Lian’s temple. “Did anything happen while I was gone?”
Xie Lian smiled sheepishly and gestured to Wei Wuxian. “Yes. I’m interrogating this Wrath.”
“Supreme, gege.” Hua Cheng raised Xie Lian’s hand and kissed the back of it. “He has enough power to classify as a Supreme.”
“I know.” Xie Lian pursed his lips. “But only just barely. Wouldn’t it be harsh on him to already put him in league with you guys?”
Hua Cheng glanced at Wei Wuxian’s trembling form and sniffed. “Does it matter, gege?”
“San Lang,” Xie Lian admonished. “That’s not very nice.”
Hua Cheng pouted, “But gege~”
“No buts.” Xie Lian held his hand up. “The child barely qualifies for the rank of a Supreme. It would be best for him to stay in the Wrath rank until he can better handle himself.”
Hua Cheng kissed Xie Lian’s hand again. “If that is what gege wants.”
Xie Lian paused. “Does San Lang want the boy to be a Supreme?”
“He’s ready for it.” Hua Cheng pointedly didn’t make eye contact with Wei Wuxian. “He is far above that trash Green Lantern, and it would be insulting to put someone I train into the same category as him.”
Xie Lian laughed.
“Okay San Lang.” He said giddily. “I’ll put in the request to give him a title and add his name to your ranks.”
Hua Cheng beamed. “Gege is the best!” He began peppering kissed along Xie Lian’s face, and the god squealed with laughter.
Meanwhile Wei Wuxian sat silently, choking on the dog food being thrown into his face and trying to appear as small as possible.
Hua Cheng pressed one last lingering kiss to Xie Lian’s lips and stood straight, turning to Wei Wuxian. “Gege, do we still need him here? I wish to take you to Qiandeng Temple.”
For whatever reason, Xie Lian’s entire face went red. “San Lang—!”
Hua Cheng laughed, the sound sending goosebumps up Wei Wuxian’s spine. That laugh never meant good things for him.
“Gege, I’ll escort him out so you can get ready. See you soon~”
Xie Lian flushed darker, but stood and brushed off his white robes. “Okay, San Lang. Be careful.”
Hua Cheng beamed. “I always am.”
With another parting kiss that shoveled dog food into Wei Wuxian’s face, Xie Lian left out of one of the back doors, and Hua Cheng stepped up to the curtain of beads. They automatically parted before him, and closed when he stepped out.
Wei Wuxian followed, but had to push the beads out of his way by hand.
Hua Cheng became Crimson Rain.
He curled his lip at Wei Wuxian, standing just beyond the curtain. “Who are you to step into my territory?”
Wei Wuxian’s knees slammed into the ground, “I— I’m sorry! His Royal Highness— he—“
“You’re going to blame it on my gege?”
“No! He asked if we—“
“We?”
Wei Wuxian wanted to go home. “He needed to ask questions for the Heavenly Realm, and asked if we could go somewhere more private! That’s—”
“Private?!”
Wei Wuxian really, really wanted to go home.
“Nothing— this one didn’t plan on doing anything, he swears! H—“
“Planning something?! You were going to do something to my gege?!”
Really, how was he even alive at this point? Crimson Rain would’ve already stomped his head in and stalked off, only to come back later with a grueling workout session and new “training” lessons.
Somehow his head was fine, only the knives Crimson Rain was shooting out of his eyes stabbed Wei Wuxian a million times over.
He opted to slam his mouth shut and press his head to the ground in a kowtow. What was he apologizing for? He couldn’t tell, but it felt like the best action for the current atmosphere.
Crimson Rain sniffed. “Fine. I’ll let this go. Come along, I don’t have time to chaperone children around my own Manor.”
Wei Wuxian shot to his feet and obediently followed silently behind Crimson Rain, admiring the long hallways they passed through with multiple doors leading to somewhere , and didn’t speak until they were standing outside of the gloomy, ominous building.
Crimson Rain handed Wei Wuxian two dice. “Throw this into the ground. Open the door and pray it doesn’t send you into an ant pit.”
And then he was gone.
A little mortified, Wei Wuxian obeyed the command and frowned at the entrance to Paradise Manor. There was no change.
Still, it would do him no good to ignore Crimson Rain’s words, so he opened the door and stared at the grassy meadow the two officials had left him in.
“What the…” he stepped in, and the door slammed shut behind him.
Instantly, the thick energy of Crimson Rain faded from around him, and he was in the warm sunlight of a nice day, trees swaying gently around him and birds chirping in the far distance. There was the sound of a fire crackling, men talking and laughing, along with swords clashing and grunts from blows that landed hard.
And the two officials that had escorted him away from the camp stood side by side, gazing into the trees with a tranquility Wei Wuxian didn’t want to disturb.
God, everywhere he went everyone was scattering dog food like he was a starving animal! He was fine!! In fact, he was fat and chubby now, struggling to merely roll over!!
Of course, the one with a bow noticed him first, and hastily stepped away from the one with a sword. With no pillar to lean against, the official with a sword stumbled, before whirling around with a snarl already on his face.
“Oh.” His snarl faded when he spotted Wei Wuxian, and a look of indifference came up. “The Wrath is back. Cool. Can we go now? I’m hungry.”
“Mu Qing,” the one with a bow sighed. “Can you take a breather please?”
“I was.” Mu Qing said. “Until my moment of peace was interrupted.”
The bow official sighed again. He turned to Wei Wuxian. “We basically need to make sure you make it back without murdering anyone.”
Wei Wuxian frowned. “I thought we established that I was clear-headed?”
Mu Qing glared at him. “And?”
Incredulous, Wei Wuxian asked, “And what??”
“That doesn’t mean you can be trusted.”
“What does that even mean?!”
“Mu Qing.” The official clasped the man’s shoulder, smile borderlining anger. “We are not here to fight. Let’s escort the ghost to the camp, and then leave.”
Mu Qing glared at the man and shrugged his hand off. “Whatever. I’m hungry.”
The bow user nodded solemnly. “Of course. Standing in a meadow peacefully probably drained you immensely, hm?”
Mu Qing shoved him, the unnamed official shoved him back, and they descended into a shoving match until they were rolling on the floor, hands no longer staying on shoulders.
Wei Wuxian covered his eyes and wished he had another set of hands to plug his ears. “Okay! I’m going back to the camp!! Goodbye!!!”
He rushed away, flute stabbing his thigh with every step he took, but he didn’t care. His main task right then was to get away from the two officials who had no qualms groping each other and exchanging fluids in the middle of a meadow.
He made it back into the camp a little, well, not winded, but wind-swept and heaved a heavy sigh, glancing behind him.
He couldn’t see the meadow due to the hill that covered it, and didn’t want to see it. Who knew what those two were up to now that there was no one around.
He brushed his hair back and blinked down at his bloody robes.
Seriously, how come no one pointed it out?? Were they not startled to see Wei Wuxian smash one of their rice barrels before being flung against a tree, donned in bloody robes and with skin paler than snow?
Were humans that un-observant???
Well. It didn’t matter. Humans had weak eyes, so maybe they didn’t pick up on it.
But seriously, Wei Wuxian’s whole chest was dyed red! And you’re saying no one saw it???
It was blasphemy. Bologna! There was no way—
“Ah! Lan Zhan!”
He dashed forwards and skidded to a stop, hands flinging up to grip the frozen cultivator by the shoulders.
Wei Wuxian met his pretty gold eyes and breathed, “I need your help.”
Lan Wangji’s eyes widened the slightest bit, frozen for only a split second before he nodded sharply.
“Will help Wei Ying.”
“Great!” Wei Wuxian released him and tugged the flute out of his belt. Lan Wangji recoiled upon seeing it, but Wei Wuxian didn’t see it. “I need you to teach me to play this.”
Lan Wangji’s shoulders squared in what Wei Wuxian recognized as worry. “Will not. Cultivating a heretic path will only damage the mind and body. You need to stop.”
Wei Wuxian blinked.
He cooed, “Aww, Lan Zhan, are you worried about me?? How cute!”
Oh, the urge he had to take that face between his hands and kiss it until the lips were red and shiny, until the eyes were crinkled and tears shone in the corners, until the cheeks were flushed with arousal and Wei Wuxian could angle his hips downwards onto the man and—
Wei Wuxian flushed darkly, but it didn’t show on his face. “Uh— um! Thank you, but I’m fine! Really!”
“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji’s voice hardened, but Wei Wuxian could hear the desperation in his tone. “Resentful energy will damage your meridians and take a toll on your mental health. There have been no acceptions!”
Wei Wuxian sighed and shoved the flute into his belt. “Lan Zhan, I don’t know what my cultivational path has to do with you teaching me to play the flute.”
Lan Wangji stared, confused.
Wei Wuxian held his hand up. “This is what controls the resentful energy, not my flute. I promise I won’t be using resentful energy around you.”
Lan Wangj grit his teeth, “Wei Ying—“
How could Wei Wuxian ever think this boy hated him? The way his jaw was clenched, hands fisted and shoulders tense spoke of the volumes of worry Lan Wangji was feeling right now, the fear that resentful energy would take over his mind and twist him into a mindless killer with no emotions.
But he didn’t have a golden core to taint, didn’t have a feeble mind to scramble, and didn’t have a heart that would give out.
So he smiled and cupped Lan Wangji’s cheeks gently. “I’m really okay, Lan Zhan. It’s not going to do anything to me, okay?”
Lan Wangji was stock-still, ears reddening rapidly and skin warming up beneath Wei Wuxian’s hands.
He blinked. “You have a nice face.”
Lan Wangji jerked away, incredulous embarrassment written on his features, and he fled, white robes swishing around him as he walked a tik faster than what was accepted by the Lans.
Deciding to be an annoying shit, Wei Wuxian followed him.
“Lan Zhan!” He called.
“Lan Zhannn!” He sang.
“Lan Zhan!” He yelled.
“Lannnnn Zhaaannnnn—“
Lan Wangji whirled around, embarrassment barely hidden by a mask of indifference. “Wei Ying—“
“I wasn’t teasing you.” Wei Wuxian stopped and held his arm behind his back. “You do have a nice face, but I said it wrong. I meant to say your face was warm.”
That didn’t seem to sooth Lan Wangji. His face darkened, and he spoke, “Do not joke around.”
“What?” Wei Wuxian whined. “Who says I’m joking?? Er-Gege has a really nice face!!”
Lan Wangji stepped forward. “Just a nice face?”
Wei Wuxian blinked, before laughing. “Lan Zhan, ah, Lan Zhan! Are you fishing for compliments?”
Lan Wangji’s ears turned darker.
Wei Wuxian smiled. “Okay. Lan Zhan is the prettiest, most talented, most wanted cultivator of his time period, and it is this one’s pleasure to know him.”
Lan Wangji spun on his heel. “Ridiculous.”
“Aiya, Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian whined, hopping in front of Lan Wangji’s face just to have the man look another way. “I buttered you up! Please teach me to play flute!”
Lan Wangji sighed. “I do not play flute.”
Wei Wuxian tapped his jaw with a finger. “Hm. But you could teach me to read music? Or if I’m a bother, I can ask your broth—“
“Will teach Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji said resolutely.
Wei Wuxian beamed. “Thanks Lan Zhan!” Shoving down the urge to pounce on him for a hug, or a kiss on the cheek, he tapped Lan Wangji’s shoulders. “See ya!”
One down, one more to go!
He stepped up to Jiang Cheng’s tent and shoved the flap open, startling Jiang Cheng out of his seat.
He paused. “Ah.”
Stepping out of the tent, he closed the flap, cleared his throat, and knocked on the foundation pole. “Clan Leader Jiang?”
Jiang Cheng shoved the flap open, face red, and yanked Wei Wuxian inside.
“You— you—!”
“Me, me.” Wei Wuxian sighed. “Hey Jiang Cheng, cutting to the chase, can I borrow some robes?”
Jiang Cheng paused, fury draining in a second. “What do you need robes for?”
Wei Wuxian blinked. “I don’t know, maybe to get rid of these ruined ones??”
“What’s wrong with your robes?”
“Uh, I don’t know, the stain ???”
“Wei Wuxian.” Jiang Cheng glanced down at his robes. “There’s nothing wrong with your robes.”
Wei Wuxian also looked down at the red stains in his robes, and then back up at Jiang Cheng. “Are you blind??”
Jiang Cheng reared back. “Excuse me?!”
“No— I just—“ Wei Wuxian held up the chest of his robes. “You can’t see that?”
“Your grey robes?” Jiang Cheng looked confused. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Jiang Cheng, seriously, you can’t—“
He paused.
The Burial Mounds had a thick layer of energy that warped a cultivator’s mind, made them see things that weren’t really there, and it drove them mad, chasing for an exit that didn’t exist, or a family member long gone.
Wei Wuxian, owner of the Burial Mounds, emitted its energy as a way to create an illusion of him breathing.
He sucked in his resentful energy, pulled it deep into his chest and let it sink back into his core.
Jiang Cheng instantly flinched back, hands slapping to his mouth.
Wei Wuxian sighed. “You really didn’t see it.”
“Your—“ Jiang Cheng’s eyes were wider than plates. “Your—“
“My hair, yes.” Wei Wuxian sat down heavily, prodded that energy in his core. “I forgot about that.”
“Your hair!” Jiang Cheng cried. “What— what happened?! Why are you so pale?? Wei Wuxian— your robes! Your robes!! What happened?! You—“
Wei Wuxian patted the table, a gesture for Jiang Cheng to sit down. “I will explain it for you, but you need to calm down.”
“Calm— calm down?! Calm down Wei Wuxian?! You want me to calm down?! Why do you look like that?! Like you’re— you’re ancient! You have this—“
“Jiang Cheng.” Wei Wuxian whispered. “ Please .”
Jiang Cheng sat down.
“You know I was in the Burial Mounds, correct?”
Jiang Cheng nodded sharply.
Wei Wuxian pursed his lips, and out of habit, inhaled.
Nothing happened.
He blinked, glancing down at his chest as if to see if something was missing, and inhaled again.
Nothing. Happened.
Wei Wuxian pressed a shocked hand to his mouth, and breathed the air in through his nose.
There was no backlash. No fire surging through his lungs, not sharp needles scraping down his esophagus, nothing. Just pure, soft air.
“What?” Jiang Cheng looked scared. “What is it?”
Wei Wuxian cleared his throat and dropped his hand, “N-nothing. Nothing, I’m fine. Uh… right! Burial Mounds.”
He spun a tale, weaving words of truths and white lies fluidly like a dancer spun with their ribbons, stories spinning and lies twisting, the truth being concealed deeper and deeper with every small tweak Wei Wuxian added to his story, until his life in the Burial Mounds was a large, thrashing centipede caught in a spider’s web.
One wrong move and everything would come unraveling at his very feet.
Jiang Cheng looked horrified, his eyes shining with tears Wei Wuxian would never be able to cry, and Wei Wuxian felt horrible.
He didn’t lie, nothing of his story was spun out of proportion, in fact, the majority of it was glossed over, sugar-coated to make it seem more believable, and still the man in front of him looks seconds from breaking down.
So what would Jiang Cheng’s face look like, if he put his hand to Wei Wuxian’s chest and knew his first lie?
“Wei Wuxian…” Jiang Cheng breathed. “You…”
“So I’m sorry.” Wei Wuxian said, trying to muster up a sheepish expression. “I… have to get used to relying on people. I apologize for my harsh nature.”
The table between them clattered to the ground, ceramic teacups and teapots shattering into pieces smaller than Chen Yanyu’s patience for Kang Xiaoqing, and the chair Wei Wuxian was sitting on snapped.
Jiang Cheng was hugging him, having dove over the table like a madman escaping a knife to the back, and seemed to hold no remorse for the demolished teacups that no doubt held a great tea.
Wei Wuxian accepted the hug, pushing himself up to lean against one of the foundation poles, and panicked.
Chest.
Chest!!
He brought the resentful energy from its core and condensed it close to his skin, before allowing it to explode out to the rest of his body.
Thump .
Shit.
He did it again, quicker this time, and much quieter as Jiang Cheng shook in his arms, trying desperately to not seem distracted.
Thump.
Badump.
Badump. Badump. Badump.
His eyebrows were crinkled in concentration as he mimicked the sound and feeling of a heartbeat, that way Jiang Cheng wouldn’t be terrified at not hearing one at such a distance.
He also pulled some resentful energy and put it into his neck, the side Jiang Cheng was leaning against, and applied a much smaller, much quieter rhythm that beat in tandem with the one in his chest. That way if Jiang Cheng leaned to the side, he would feel Wei Wuxian’s pulse against his neck.
Jiang Cheng pulled away, eyebrows creased in worry. “Wei Wuxian, are you sick?”
Wei Wuxian blinked, dropped the pulse in his neck and asked, “What?”
Jiang Cheng pulled away completely and placed the back of his hand to Wei Wuxian’s forehead. “Your body temperature is so low.”
Shit.
Shit!
Wei Wuxian laughed. “Oh, really? Yeah, the Burial Mounds is freezing , so I guess my body just adapted to it.”
Jiang Cheng frowned. It seemed as if he didn’t buy it, but since he didn’t know anything about what the Burial Mounds does to someone, had no way to call the lie. “And your hair? Why did it… why is it suddenly white?”
Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, “There was no sunlight. The amount of stress I was in combined with that meant I lost a lot of color.”
Jiang Cheng’s frown deepened. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Wei Wuxian sighed. “I really don’t know, Jiang Cheng. Do you want me to go back and find out?”
Jiang Cheng glared at him. “Fuck off.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows shot up, but ever the master at reading people, caught the underlying fear of losing Wei Wuxian hidden in his eyes.
He smiled. “Don’t worry ChengCheng, I won’t leave my little brother all alone~”
He was promptly kicked out of Jiang Cheng’s tent.
Lan Wangji sat on his knees in his tent, back ram-rod straight and hands clasped in his lap, head bowed downwards as he breathed in deeply and slowly.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe—
“Er-Gege~”
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Brea—
“Lan Zhan, ah! L-Lan Zhan—!”
Breathe. In.
Breathe. Out.
B—
“Lan-Er-Gege, I want you to do it to me again~”
Lan Wangji shot to his feet, pressing his hands to his face as his dream replayed in his mind.
It wasn’t a new one, the dream of taking Wei Wuxian underneath him and giving him what he asked for, but the location was new.
Damn it all if it wasn’t new.
The Jingshi was a precious place to Lan Wangji. It was his solitude, a place for him to let go of the mask and mourn being unable to express his feelings the way others do, and he rarely even let his brother in, preferring to meet him outside or in the man’s own room.
So why. Why was Wei Wu Fucking Xian in his Jingshi in this dream?
And why, why did he look so good against the white sheets of his bed?
Was it because he wears black? Black and red? Is it the way the black and red stands out like a dark stain against his sheets? A dark stain that would be on his reputation if he fell for a demonic cultivator?
No. It would stain his reputation, but it wouldn’t ruin Lan Wangji.
He wanted that stain, that dark mark that stood out beautifully against pale colors. It would be something he could claim for himself, his one mark of rebellion. He wanted Wei Wuxian’s skin to be marked up like that, pink kisses left up and down his heaving chest, red bite marks left on his hips and thighs, bruises on his waist and wrists from Lan Wangji’s grip—
Lan Wangji plopped down again, ears flaming a hot red as he desperately tried to rein himself in.
One dream. One . That was all it took for Lan Wangji to wake up with an embarrassing hard-on and realize fuck . I’m in love with this guy .
And in love he was. Wei Wuxian was a beautiful creature to watch, elegant and cocky, but there were moments when he was soft too, and while this attitude was something new, something Lan Wangji would have to learn in order to walk astride Wei Wuxian, he would.
Burial Mounds was a haunted place. It reeked of hatred and resentment, so the fact that Wei Wuxian came out not only alive but safe , was enough for Lan Wangji.
He wasn’t as the books said he would be; irrational, angry, and quick to lash out. He didn’t snarl and sneer at people close to him, and he most certainly didn’t kill people for the fun of it.
So were the books wrong, or was Wei Wuxian just a special case?
He didn’t know.
But one thing he did know, was that if Wei Wuxian kept harmlessly but boldly touching him, he might end up being punished terribly for engaging in sexual acts at such a young, unmarried age.
“Kang Xiaoqing! That was actually quite long for you, did you hit a bump in the road?”
Lan Wangji stood and turned to the opening of his tent.
Kang Xiaoqing. He had never heard of such a surname before, nor had he ever seen a rogue clan have access to such nice robes and fancy embroidery, but there she was, standing in the middle of camp with her long black and blue robes, her weird red cape.
So who was she? And why did she hang around Wei Wuxian all the time?? Why did she call him--
“My Lord. The camps have been taken care of.”
That! Why did she call him that?
Lan Wangji stepped up to the entrance of his tent and opened it just enough to peek out of it with one eye.
He froze.
Wei Wuxian laughed sheepishly as the woman held out a set of robes, shaded in grey and red like the one he was currently wearing, and she procured a red ribbon from her sleeve, which he took gratefully.
And Wei Wuxian had white hair.
Lan Wangji slid down to the ground.
Did he have white hair earlier? Is Lan Wangji so unobservant that he didn’t realize Wei Wuxian’s hair was a different color?
No. Based on everyone’s shocked glances and the stares on him, that wasn’t it. Whatever Wei Wuxian had gone to talk to the Heavenly Officials about (because that’s what he knew they were) had caused him to gain white hair.
White hair and very stained robes.
Was that blood?
“Wangji?”
Lan Wangji sprang to his feet, eyes wide as he spun to see his brother striding into his tent through the second entrance, footsteps slow in confusion. “Are you okay?”
Lan Wangji’s ears turned red at being caught kneeling on the floor, but nodded. “Mm.”
Lan Xichen stepped up to him, “Are you sure? Are you resting well? Why would--” his eyes moved past Lan Wangji to something behind him, and Lan Wanji turned just in time to see Wei Wuxian step out of Jiang Cheng’s tent, robes fresh and clean, a smile on his face as he pulled his white hair into a ponytail high atop his head.
Was he always that pretty? There was no way he just magically became pretty because of that Immortal Master that he met on the Burial Mounds, right? No, because Lan Wangji remembers being captivated with that bright smile and loud laugh long before anyone else began realizing that Wei Wuxian was a beautiful person.
Now though, he was gorgeous .
His skin was pale, yes, but that brought out the flush in his cheeks, the red in his lips, and made him look like fragile porcelain.
Porcelain Lan Wangji wanted to paint over and claim as his own.
“Lan Zhan!”
Wei Wuxian strode up to Lan Wangji’s tent and beamed, “Are you free right now?”
An intelligible sound tried to come out of his lips, but Lan Wangji firmly kept them shut.
What.
Why.
How.
What was.
Why was his voice.
When???
Words???
Brain???
Signal???
Lan Xichen couldn’t even take pity on Lan Wangji and step in. His eyes were blown wide open, staring at Wei Wuxian’s hair and hearing his voice ring loudly in his head like a siren’s.
Lan Xichen did shake out of it first though, clearing his throat sharply. “Ah, Young Master Wei… you look different…”
Wei Wuxian’s face twisted. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to hide it.”
“Was it-” Lan Xichen brought his sleeve to his mouth, nervous about asking the question that was on everyone’s mind. “Was your hair that color earlier?”
Wei Wuxian blinked, his lips doing an odd thing. “Yes…?”
“Huh.”
It was silent between the three of them for a solid minute before Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, “So, am I interrupting something or…?”
Lan Xichen shook his head, “Ah-- I--no. I’m was-- I’m just leaving. Thank you, lovely day.”
Lan Xichen left like his hair was on fire, and Wei Wuxian turned to Lan Wangji, blinked those pretty pretty eyes up at him.
“Is he okay?”
God, his voice.
Lan Wangji needed to be careful, or else Wei Wuxian would end up in his bed.
“Lan Zhan?”
Such a smooth sound, like a deep, resonating pluck from a guqin that sent vibrations up his arms where they settled against his ears gently. Lan Wangji wanted to listen to the song that was Wei Wuxian’s voice and drown in it.
“Not busy.” He just barely managed through clenched teeth. “What does Wei Ying need?”
Wei Wuxian smiled sheepishly and held up the black flute that reeked of resentful energy. “Can you teach me now?”
Lan Wangji was screwed.
He had to help Wei Wuxian play flute? Meaning he had to stand beside him and fix the way he kept his lips tight to form a hole small enough that allowed the air flow smoothly, but not weak to the point where air would escape? He had to stand there and put his fingers on Wei Wuxian’s to show him which holes made which note, and then hum along to help Wei Wuxian find a melody?
Lan Wangji nodded stiffly, and the beam Wei Wuxian gave him all but melted his face off.
Wei Wuxian stepped into the tent when Lan Wangji stepped aside, and leaned down to pull a seat from underneath the table. His white hair slipped over one shoulder, exposing the line of his pale throat.
Lan Wangji was so very screwed.