Chapter Text
“Wangji has returned.” Lan Wangji saluted his brother.
Lan Xichen sat at a low table in his chamber, a pot of tea and a tray with three cups on it. There were three maids that sat nearby in a line, obediently.
The young king smiled at his brother, a little bemused, “Wangji, come, take a seat and give me your report.”
The brothers exchanged a look before Lan Wangji did as he was asked and sat down opposite his brother. A maid came over and poured tea in two cups before placing one in front of each man. She bowed respectfully and returned to her place.
“You look worried.” Lan Xichen observed in concern. “What happened?”
“Brother… there is someone I want to bring back here.” Lan Wangji admitted.
“Bring back?”
Lan Wangji nodded, his eyes lowered, “Bring them back and hide them.”
Lan Xichen went nearly speechless. He’d never heard his brother speak this way as he’d always been a very withdrawn person.
“Wangji… Who is this person?”
Lan Wangji didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. Lan Xichen always understood him one way or the other.
“...Did you meet the Yiling Patriarch?” Lan Xichen asked, his expression having gone serious.
Lan Wangji answered after a moment, “Yes.”
“I see. And,” Lan Xichen’s eyebrows drew closer together, “Does he truly indulge in the Dark Arts?”
Lan Wangji thought back to all the corpses he’d seen around the castle. The sickening sight of them and magically suppressed stench. The hoarse giggles from the dry throats of those girls that carried trays with snacks and alcohol.
And then he thought of the man that controlled them. Wei Wuxian who, at the time, could’ve been one of them if not for his warm, silver eyes that glittered with mirth in the moonlight.
The word ‘yes’ got stuck in his throat and instead, he gave a reply that sounded like nothing but an excuse even to his own ears.
“He will do no harm to us.”
Lan Xichen’s was perplexed, having never expected his strict younger brother who loathes the Dark Arts to be defending someone who practices it.
“Can you tell me what type of man he is?”
Lan Wangji lifted his gaze, “He is not like us, however...”
However, there were people who lived because of him. A whole village full of people who were thankful because he existed. People who loved him and whom he loved in return.
“He is not evil. He may not be right in his methods, but I don’t believe that we can say he is wrong.”
Lan Xichen’s eyes instantly widened.
Ever since their mother had died, Lan Wangji had become a withdrawn child. For quite a part of his childhood, he had been completely mute. Then he grew up this way; only speaking when he was spoken to and never more than he thought was necessary. Succinct and firm.
This was the first time Lan Xichen had heard him speak in such a manner.
“Brother?”
“Wangji, please tell me honestly. Is the Yiling Patriarch the one you want to bring back here?”
Lan Wangji’s eyes were sincere despite his stony expression, “Yes.”
Lan Xichen went silent at this. His mind raced as he wondered what exactly the Yiling Patriarch could’ve said to Lan Wangji to have made his brother think so highly of him. As he did so, he thought of the rest of the royal family and the ministers who surely wouldn’t be pleased to hear of his friendship with the most famous Dark Sorcerer known to the four great kingdoms.
“Wangji, whatever you’ve told me now… you must never repeat to our uncle. I believe you when you say that the Yiling Patriarch means no harm to us, but… I’m afraid that not everyone will believe so. Even if it is you who says it.”
Lan Wangji frowned mildly and Lan Xichen’s eyes softened.
“He must truly be a good person if you are this concerned about him.” He decided. “But the problem remains on what we should say to King Jiang. The Yiling Patriarch is now less of a myth and more of a target. Sooner or later, people will no longer tolerate even his mention.”
Lan Wangji’s mouth pressed into a thin line and his eyes rested on the polished surface of the table.
He knew his brother was right.
A few weeks had passed since Lan Wangji returned to his kingdom.
By this point, the public started to buzz with gossip and Lan Wangji had heard the rumours of the delinquent that travelled all over the five great kingdoms, causing trouble and terrorising villages.
The news came to him in the form of a reputable young saint named Xiao Xingchen who was accompanied by his friend, Song Lan.
Lan Xichen regularly met up with well-renowned figures to keep up alliances, whether they be with other kings or not. Xiao Xingchen preferred to visit the Cloud Kingdom more than any other.
“I had chased Xue Yang for a while, but recently, I noticed that there is someone else who is also after him.” Xiao Xingchen told Lan Xichen over tea. Song Lan sat beside the man quietly. “The other person is also a dark sorcerer, this is all I know.”
The mention of the delinquent’s name immediately brought back the image of Wei Wuxian, the light in his eyes dulled and his shoulders slumped, looking smaller than they should be.
He gripped his tea cup tighter.
“But he is no longer near the Cloud Kingdom.” Xiao Xingchen admitted with a sigh. “I can’t afford to chase him any longer now that I’ve started a school with Song Lan. We have to focus on our students. They are all young and orphaned and it will be difficult for them to succeed if they are not properly cared for.”
Lan Xichen nodded understandingly, “I understand, Daozhang. Please do not bother yourself with it anymore. The Cloud Kingdom will take this mission.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. It has been eating away at me. I feel terrible that I cannot follow through, so if there is anything I can do, do not hesitate to ask me.” Xiao Xingchen saluted, respectfully. “Xue Yang has not yet killed anyone, but he came close. His next target will most likely be Yueyang, where the Chang family resides.”
Song Lan lifted his gaze, “Xue Yang plans to kill them. He holds a grudge towards them.”
Lan Xichen thanked them for the information.
These kinds of matters were normally settled by the soldiers and therefore, the royal family had no reason to directly involve themselves with the situation. However, Lan Wangji requested that he be allowed on the mission.
Lan Xichen agreed purely due to his bewilderment.
And thus, that is how the renowned Second Jade found himself roaming the streets of Yueyang, searching for the infamous Xue Yang.
It was daytime and the streets were bustling with activity.
Though he did not notice it, almost every woman on the street turned their heads as Lan Wangji passed by, their cheeks reddening and their hands unconsciously reaching to fix their hair and clothes. All in all, the prince was quite eye-catching.
Even so, there seemed to be something even more exciting going on not too far away which caused men on the roads to call out to each other urgently.
“There’s a fight between sorcerers! They’re too powerful!” One yelled.
“Are there no mages nearby to help?!” Another cursed.
The direction they ran in witnessed various hues of magic spells being casted in broad daylight—no doubt a very intense collision going on. But even from a distance away, Lan Wangji could feel the evil in the air and he knew that the battle was not just between any plain sorcerers. They were dark sorcerers.
Immediately, Lan Wangji quickened his pace.
The sight that he was first met with was a familiar slender figure draped from top to bottom in black robes, his midnight hair swaying as he dodged an attack that came his way. His eyes were a flash of red, just like the last time the prince had laid eyes on him.
Lan Wangji’s heart skipped when he noticed, a moment too late, that the last attack was actually just a diversion. Before he could even call out Wei Wuxian’s name, the man was hit with a powerful spell that caused him to spasm before he fell to the ground in a cloud of dust.
“Wei Ying!” Lan Wangji called and the crowd looked at him in surprise, instantly parting so that he could pass through.
He rushed to Wei Wuxian’s side, about to kneel to check on him, when a sing-song voice interrupted him.
“What’s this? Are you his friend? I didn’t know that this guy knew someone like you.”
Lan Wangji’s eyes settled on a young face with blood shot eyes and a mischievous grin. If anyone else saw him, they would only think he was a playful young man, but Lan Wangji knew better.
“Xue Chengmei.” He said, coldly.
“You know me too?” He asked, eyes twinkling. “Probably because you’re his friend? What are you anyway? Definitely not a dark sorcerer. Well, I don’t care either way, so whatever.”
Saying the last line, Xue Yang lifted his sword and swung it, causing a burst of dark magic to spring from it. However, Lan Wangji already saw this coming and unstrapped the guqin from his back before strumming the strings.
Dark Magic and Life Magic clashed, dispersing in a wisp of smoke.
Xue Yang was about to whistle when he saw that, but Lan Wangji had already sent more attacks his way.
He tried to dodge all the attacks, but it was more difficult than he’d thought and Lan Wangji’s sharp plucks caught on his arms and legs, hammering into him dully. However, he had a strong tolerance for pain and he simply ignored it, shooting forward in a strong leap.
On guard, Lan Wangji twisted his wrist, waiting for the perfect moment to completely knock him down, but at the last moment, Xue Yang deviated his course and aimed at Wei Wuxian.
Lan Wangji’s eyes widened.
Just before Xue Yang’s blade could pierce Wei Wuxian, he froze, a slow smile pulling his lips up.
“You talented bastard.” Xue Yang laughed, blood spewing out of his mouth.
This was because just as he’d prepared to attack Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji had commanded his sword to stab through Xue Yang’s abdomen.
The youth looked down at the area the tip of the sword was poking out from and grinned, exposing his bloody teeth, “So you can use a sword and instrument both, huh? What are you, royalty?”
Lan Wangji didn’t answer. He simply pulled out a talisman and threw it at Xue Yang’s temple where it attached itself. At once, his body stiffened, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
The crowd around started muttering amongst themselves in a low buzz. They’d been completely silent during the battle, all holding their breaths and many hiding behind buildings as they watched. Now that it was over, the crowd began to grow.
The prince didn’t spare a glance at them and knelt by Wei Wuxian’s side, reaching out to him.
When he turned Wei Wuxian over, his hands paused in shock.
The side of the man’s neck and face was covered in a purple patch on the left side. The side that his body had been lying on.
Feeling something heavy and unpleasant start bubbling in his chest, Lan Wangji pulled up Wei Wuxian’s left sleeve, his brows furrowing in distress when he saw that the flesh of his arm was flat, staying in the shape it must've been in when he was lying on the ground.
At this moment, Lan Wangji realised with mounting dread: Wei Wuxian was an actual corpse.
Without wasting another moment he pulled out a magic talisman and began drawing a large circle on the ground with its help.
Wen Ning had been wiping down the floor of the hall when suddenly, a magic circle appeared in front of the large front door. It lit up so brightly that he had to squeeze his eyes shut and turn away from it.
He looked back the moment the light began to dim, wondering in panic who had managed to use Light Magic inside the Yiling Palace.
His tense shoulders relaxed then, when he recognised Lan Wangji stepping out of the circle, then tensed again when he saw that the prince was carrying two bodies—one, tenderly carried with the attention of both arms and the other draped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
As Lan Wangji moved towards him, the body on his shoulder slipped off, falling on the ground with a dull thud.
Wen Ning didn’t have time to think about that though, when he realised the man in Lan Wangji’s arms was actually Wei Wuxian.
“Young Master Wei!” Wen Ning dropped the cloth that was in his hands and ran to his friend. “Young Master Wei! Your Highness, w-what—”
“What’s with all the noise!?” Wen Qing’s bellowed, interrupting her brother.
Lan Wangji looked to where Wen Qing had appeared from an inside room, Wen Yuan trotting behind her.
The boy’s eyes widened in joy when he saw Lan Wangji, “Prince-Gege!”
He started running towards the man, but slowed when he saw Wei Wuxian unconscious in his arms.
“Xian-Gege...?”
Lan Wangji had dropped all pretence of being calm and his face was lined with worry and fear.
“Wei Ying’s body is undergoing livor mortis. He has been stiff for longer.”
Wen Qing’s eyes widened in anger, seemingly realising the situation.
“A-Ning, take A-Yuan to bed. It’s time for his nap.” She ordered, her voice low and serious. However, it was obvious that Wen Yuan’s nap was not what made her talk that way.
“But I don’t wanna…” Wen Yuan stopped what he was saying when he saw the anger on Wen Qing’s face as she looked towards Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.
Wen Ning did as his sister had asked and pulled Wen Ning away, calling him soothingly, “Come, A-Yuan.”
“Ning-Gege, what’s wrong with Xian-Gege?” Wen Yuan asked as Wen Ning pulled him away. “Is he going to sleep for a lot of days again? I don’t want that…”
Wen Ning’s heart stung but forced a smile through it, “He’ll be fine. Sister will make sure of it.”
And he believed that.
Lan Wangji watched as Wen Qing copied the drawing of a magic circle from one of Wei Wuxian’s notebooks onto a sheet.
She picked up the sheet and placed it on Wei Wuxian’s bed.
“Your Highness, please put that idiot over here. After that, I’d like to request one more thing from you. I know you probably do not approve of Wei Wuxian, but I cannot save him without your help.”
Lan Wangji did as she asked and carried Wei Wuxian to his bed, laying him down gently. The man’s body didn’t move much, having been mostly fixed in place the way corpses usually were.
He pursed his lips, “Tell me.”
Wen Qing looked at him and exhaled shakily. “Life Magic. Please… please insert it into Wei Wuxian, right where his body is lying over the circle.”
That was his chest, Lan Wangji noted.
He placed his hands over Wei Wuxian’s chest without hesitation and started transferring his magic, trying to keep a steady, gentle flow.
The magic circle that Wei Wuxian was lying on top of began lighting up and soon, the room was illuminated by a silvery-white light.
“How long?” Lan Wangji asked.
Wen Qing was hesitant. Lan Wangji had just come over a large distance carrying both Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian through god knows how many transportation circles. Normally, one would already be quite exhausted.
“...You need only do it for an hour. After that, I will—”
“How. Long?”
Wen Qing paused, knowing well that Lan Wangji certainly would have more manners than to interrupt someone, but did it anyway. She told him the truth, “For the night… perhaps more. But you cannot possibly…”
There was a moment of silence.
Lan Wangji scrutinised Wei Wuxian’s face as he continued giving his Life Magic.
The dark sorcerer’s skin was as pale as a corpse’s and now, Lan Wangji knew that it was as cold as one’s too. His eyes were closed and his long, ink-coloured lashes fanned over his cheeks in a stark contrast. Yet the purple patch on the left side of his face made a haunting picture.
“What happened to Wei Ying?” He asked, softly.
Wen Qing looked down at Wei Wuxian, her eyes sorrowful.
“Your Highness, you know that Wei Wuxian is the one who called himself a ‘Heartless Sorcerer’, but you don’t know the full reason why he doesn’t have a heart. In fact, it was probably difficult to believe it when you first found out.”
Wen Qing met Lan Wangji’s eyes and steeled herself, “Wei Wuxian... is under a curse. The Black Heart. I’m sure you must’ve heard about it.”
Lan Wangji froze. He had heard about it.
The Black Heart curse was a curse of Dark Magic cast to corrupt one’s heart. The first symptoms were uncontrollable loss of temper. The next was erratically violent behaviour. Then discomfort in the chest with continuous inclinations of self harm until the soul darkens and heart rots. Eventually the person dies.
It was a cruel curse. The most cruel to cast upon a Life Mage whose magic source is the heart.
“Why…”
“Why would someone put such a curse on Wei Wuxian?” Wen Qing completed his question for him. Her voice shook. “They didn’t. Wei Wuxian transferred the curse onto himself.”
Lan Wangji’s magical flow almost stuttered when he heard that. He felt his entire mind go cold at this thought.
“Someone close to Wei Wuxian had been cursed.” Wen Qing explained with a sigh. “Someone he treasured deeply. Without hesitation, he came to me and asked for help. To do a heart transplant. When I told him I couldn’t help him, he transferred the curse onto himself. I… did not realise until a year later. By then his heart…”
Wen Qing cut herself off, unable to elaborate. After several moments, she steeled herself to tell Lan Wangji the story.
Over six years ago, Wei Wuxian had taken on the Black Heart curse which had begun to corrupt his mind and heart. Then, after a year, Wen Qing conducted a surgery on Wei Wuxian where she’d taken out his heart. Normally, this would mean death. The only reason Wei Wuxian didn’t die is because—incredibly—he’d been awake during the entire operation.
“As soon as I started extracting his heart, he used Dark Magic to preserve his body's human functions.” Wen Qing admitted. “Since then, that’s how he’s been living.”
He didn’t have a heart, and that’s why he had the appearance of a corpse, but at the same time, he uses magic to keep his organs functioning. However there were limitations; He couldn’t sweat, couldn’t blush, his skin was always cold and he couldn’t feel touch or temperature.
To Wei Wuxian, the world was numb.
Lan Wangji’s fingers curled slightly over Wei Wuxian’s chest, as if desperately wanting to clench over something in frustration.
The world would condemn Wei Wuxian, not knowing a speck about him. Not his intelligence, his virtue, his warmth, or his heart.
“Who used the curse?” Lan Wangji asked in a low voice.
“We don’t know who is responsible for the Black Heart curse.” Wen Qing said and then took a deep breath. “But Xue Yang does.”
Xue Yang’s grin didn’t falter and neither did Wen Ning’s apprehension as they stared at each other.
This was an ironic sight as the one whose arms and legs were tied up with magic binding ropes was Xue Yang and the one having a sword within arm's reach was Wen Ning.
“What’s your name?” Xue Yang asked pleasantly. “Not that it really matters to me, but whether you tell me or not, could you loosen these ropes a little? They’re really restraining.”
Wen Ning said nothing. He sat opposite Xue Yang on the floor, but a safe three metres away.
“Oh, please Gege. You’re not going to talk to me? You’ll break my heart.” Xue Yang sang out, making it sound particularly condescending.
The other man remained silent.
Xue Yang raised an eyebrow. Finally he rolled his eyes and gave a groan, “Okay fine! I’ll make a deal with you. If you talk to me, I’ll do whatever single thing you want me to. How’s that?”
Wen Ning’s stiff expression dropped and his back straightened.
Xue Yang laughed, “That interested you? What’s up with this place by the way? Does Senior Wei really live here? Bigger than I thought. Do you know what he wants with me, anyway? I thought the chase was fun, but it’s getting old now.”
This sounded very blasphemous to Wen Ning’s ears and he started feeling indignant on Wei Wuxian’s behalf.
“Young Master Wei’s body moves only with magic!” Wen Ning felt so indignant that his voice raised. “Every time he went to ch-chase after you, he burned more energy than he had! How could you treat this as a-a game?”
“Oh, you have a stutter!” Xue Yang exclaimed in delight. He seemed to find it funny. Wen Ning did not. “Okay, okay. Fine, I’ll behave.”
The other man, however, disliked Xue Yang more and more as each second passed and turned his head away.
“Come on, Gege. I said I’ll behave. If you leave me like this, I’ll die of boredom.” Xue Yang complained, as if Wen Ning cared about such a thing. “Besides, I didn’t know that about him. He wanted to catch me; I decided to run. What’s wrong with that?”
Wen Ning didn’t have an answer to this because it made sense.
“So why don’t you tell me what’s wrong with him?” Xue Yang continued the conversation, undeterred by how one-sided it was. “He’s the Yiling Patriarch isn’t he? Is the ‘heartless’ part of his title literal? It would explain how pale he always is. Did he call himself that to keep people away or to make him seem like an unrealistic bedtime story? It’s definitely one of the two.”
Wen Ning’s eyes widened, and this was enough for Xue Yang.
“I’m right.” He observed, smirking. “So do you need my help for something? Is that why I’m here? Or are you giving me to the authorities? I’m a wanted man with a big bounty, you know.”
Of course Wen Ning knew that, but he wasn’t interested in that area of the conversation.
He leaned closer towards Xue Yang and the dark sorcerer blinked in surprise.
“Xue Yang, please tell me—who did you h-help to c-cast the Black Heart curse?”
Xue Yang’s eyes narrowed with amusement.
“Oh, I see.” He chuckled. “It’s boring to just hand in the answer, isn’t it? I’ll give you a hint. I helped someone use the Black Heart Curse on a king from one of the great kingdoms. The one who asked me to help him… was also one of the four great kings.”
Xue Yang examined Wen Ning’s white face and his black eyes that contained fear deep within them. How Xue Yang loved eyes like those. As innocent and helpless as a baby sheep. What a rare sight in a fully grown man.
After a while, Wen Ning got up and left the room.
Xue Yang frowned when a few minutes passed and he didn’t come back. He sighed and leaned back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling in boredom. His mind started to wander as he thought of ways to cut up the binding ropes. But even if he did manage that, he was still injured and would definitely get caught before he could escape.
On cue, the injury in his gut began stinging. Xue Yang ignored it.
He didn’t know how much time passed, but Wen Ning came back into the room some time in between.
“What?” Xue Yang drawled, “You’re lucky I’m tied up. If I wasn’t, you’d be dead already.”
Wen Ning flinched, and almost stumbled over his feet, but kept straight due to the fact that he was carrying a plate with something on it.
Xue Yang raised an eyebrow when he noticed this.
“What’s that?”
Wen Ning tensely knelt down before showing it to Xue Yang, “Sugared haws…”
Xue Yang’s eyes widened looking at it, “Really?! I love them! Hey, give it to me!”
Wen Ning eyed the younger man warily, “I brought it for you anyway...”
This made Xue Yang suspicious at once. “Why?”
“I-I can’t loosen the ropes. But... you told me who cast the curse. It will be one of four people… I made this, so you can have it as t-thanks.” Wen Ning bit the inside of his cheeks, feeling as if he’d put himself in an unnecessarily dangerous position.
Xue Yang’s red eyes curved in fascination, like he’d just found an interesting new toy. He smiled wickedly as he spoke, “You know you’ll have to feed me, right? I’m tied up.”
Wen Ning blanched.
Wen Qing was fast asleep, sitting upright on a nearby chair. She’d tried her best to stay awake along with Lan Wangji, but it seemed she’d been too tired.
Lan Wangji, on the other hand, had stayed awake the entire night, hands on top of Wei Wuxian’s chest, steadily transferring his magic. Because Wei Wuxian did not have a heart, his body could not process Life Magic—that’s why this procedure was lost on Lan Wangji. However, half way through, he realised something.
Wei Wuxian’s stiff body was softening again and the livor mortis was receding! The array that he lay on top of was helping him return his body to its previous state. Even the colour of his skin looked better. Yet, Lan Wangji knew, as soon as he pulled his hands away, Wei Wuxian’s skin would be gray once more.
And it was reluctantly that he did so.
The light from the magic circle faded, now inactive and the room returned to darkness.
Wen Qing continued sleeping deeply and Wei Wuxian’s eyes remained closed as well.
Lan Wangji reached out a hand, bringing it up to Wei Wuxian’s cheek. But, just before it made contact, he pulled it away, pursing his lips.
Wei Wuxian remained oblivious, looking as peaceful as a dead man; Something he was very close to.
The prince shook his head and decided to walk downstairs and occupy the room that he had used the last time he’d stayed in the mansion.
.
When Wen Qing woke up next, it was because she’d heard sounds. On opening her eyes, she saw Lan Wangji in the same position she told him to be in while transferring his life magic. Light was streaming into the room from the window, showing that it was well into morning.
Her shock was enough to chase away any remnants of tiredness. She spoke, voice still raspy from sleep, “Your Highness, you can stop now! You needn’t have stayed here this long!”
“I didn’t.” Lan Wangji answered softly, “I had taken my rest.”
Wen Qing’s brows knitted together, “For how long? Your Highness, as I recall your sleeping routine is quite strict. You couldn’t have gotten more than a few hours of sleep if you're here this early.”
Lan Wangji did not say anything in response, proving Wen Qing right.
She got off the chair, “You should go and rest for some more time. Wei Wuxian’s body will start healing thanks to you.”
“How much longer?”
Wen Qing was an observant person. Lan Wangji was someone who didn’t do more than what was necessary, yet he was now being incredibly stubborn and impatient, only listening to what he wanted to hear and saying what he wanted to say.
Goodness, Wei Wuxian. She thought, her heart warming up for her dear friend, You’ve charmed someone quite stubborn.
.
It went on like this for a few more days. Lan Wangji would spend almost the entire day with Wei Wuxian and most of the night, foregoing his strict rule of a full eight hours sleep per night. When Wei Wuxian’s condition seemed to finally have improved adequately, Lan Wangji relented to a proper night’s rest.
And in his dreams that man came again, smiling and laughing as he always did, his flute tucked into his sash belt and the red ribbon in his hair swishing about.
The next morning when Lan Wangji woke, he did not forget the dream. This was because, for the first time, this seemed to have been a dream that he had dreamt by himself and not one someone had invaded.
This time, he remembered the face of the man in his dream.
Wei Ying. Lan Wangji thought. And it would be safe to say that this had been his only thought for the past many days.
That morning, when he’d left his room to go to Wei Wuxian, for some reason, his gaze instead was pulled over to the small door that Wen Yuan had shown him the workings of. The target dial was as he remembered it. But this time, the black section seemed to be calling out to him.
As if possessed, his feet carried him to the door, and in the same manner, his hand reached up to the dial.
Wen Yuan’s voice chimed in his head, ‘Xian-Gege said that you’re his prince so maybe you can go!’
Wei Wuxian had said that Lan Wangji was his prince. Those were some of the first words he’d said to him. Yet Lan Wangji didn’t know which words to take seriously when it came to Wei Wuxian.
Even though he made such excuses in his head, his fingers slowly turned the dial to the black section.
Then, there was a slight tremor from the floor.
Lan Wangji waited in front of the door for a moment before opening it.
He hadn’t had any ideas of what should be on the other side. It could’ve even been an empty space. Nevertheless, Wei Wuxian had still managed to give him something he hadn’t expected even when he hadn’t expected anything at all.
On the other side was a dusty old room that could’ve been any room in the mansion.
In that instant, Lan Wangji considered closing the door again, but something on the wall caught his eye.
A portrait, and then multiple more portraits. He walked towards the portraits with the intention of examining them.
They were first of people he didn’t know—a group of young soldiers in training, some old men and then some old women. Then, it was a married couple that looked like royalty. The picture was painted with black ink and Lan Wangji couldn’t properly make out the features of the two, so he lay it back down, picking up the next drawing.
His brows furrowed. These two looked much more familiar to him.
A boy and a girl standing together that looked to be in their late teenage years or early twenties, looked straight at Lan Wangji. The girl had a gentle smile, like she was happy to see Lan Wangji and wanted to invite him to have a cup of tea. The boy had a more different feel. He looked rather impatient, his eyebrows lined with irritation that only came with years of furrowing them angrily. His eyes were like two thunderbolts.
This face was too familiar for Lan Wangji to forget.
The question was, however, why Wei Wuxian had a portrait of them.
Then, Lan Wangji noticed two pieces of paper with magic circles drawn on them lying on the same table.
By now, he’d realised that the things in this table were personal belongings of Wei Wuxian such as the hand painted pictures. Perhaps it was a study of sorts. That would explain the magic circles.
Just as he laid the portraits back down on the table, his hand brushed against one of the magic circles.
Lan Wangji’s eyes widened when he saw it light up. This was shocking because he had not used any magic on it, and thus, it should not be activating.
Yet it did and before he knew it, the magic engulfed him entirely.
Lan Wangji found himself in a forest. Birds chirped over his head and the atmosphere around was peaceful. Behind him was the backdrop of light reflecting over a lake. He belatedly wondered if that was a transportation circle.
Then a loud splash coming from the lake behind him caught his attention.
“Got you!” A loud voice exclaimed.
The voice was very familiar.
Lan Wangji walked towards it and saw a figure in the lake. He was knee deep in the water and wore only his trousers. His long, black hair was pulled into a ponytail with a bright red ribbon, swaying over his bare back.
In his hands, a large fish thrashed around.
“Whoa!” He laughed, delightedly, “You’re a strong one, aren’t you? Hahahaha! Lucky for you, I’m just catching for fun today. Off you go!”
He threw the fish back into the lake and Lan Wangji was finally close enough that he could see it hurriedly swim away.
The boy looked up at the sky and let out a loud sigh. He stood like that for so long that Lan Wangji hadn’t been prepared for when he turned around and their eyes locked.
“Wei Ying?” Lan Wangji said and the boy blinked at him.
“Hm? Yeah, what is it?” The boy grinned widely, putting his hand on his hips, “Who are you? You know me?”
With his smile, Lan Wangji felt everything around him fade away.
Without a doubt, this was Wei Wuxian.
A Wei Wuxian from an earlier time.