Chapter Text
‘If you want a place in the world, you have to earn it.’
That was what Madame Yu had told Wei Wuxian the first time she personally trained him.
He was young, and he lived a harsh life on the streets after his parents passed. When Jiang Fengmian brought him in, Wei Wuxian remembered seeing Madame Yu’s face twist up like a burning piece of paper, her infamous Zidian ring giving off bright purple sparks. She’d been angry at him because of who his parents were, but then she realized his potential…
As the Jiang Sect’s secret weapon.
Sure, it was no walk in the park, training to the point of bone-deep exhaustion every day of his childhood and adolescence just to take care of the Jiangs’ dirty work, but at least it gave him food, clothes, a roof over his head, and two wonderful siblings.
Deep in thought, Wei Wuxian felt a clenched fist graze his cheek. His shidi always asked him to spar with them, and who was he to refuse?
As he dodged, he landed a well-placed kick that sent the disciple to the floor, the others watching.
San-shidi lasted longer this time than last. He is really improving.
Wei Wuxian said just that and, as he helped him up, he advised him to bend his knees and stagger his feet a little more so he’s less prone to falling like that.
“Thank you for sparring with this disciple, da-shixiong!”
He bowed, before strolling back to join his fellow disciples.
Wei Wuxian took a deep breath before turning to the crowd of disciples and local children who had snuck in to watch.
“You did great today! All of you have improved a lot since the last time we had sparred together.” He smiled lopsidedly, tapping a finger on his chin in mock thought.
“Now, if you all choose to celebrate that by drinking or going to Yunmeng, well, this lowly one will see nothing.” That got a good laugh out of the disciples.
He led all of them out of the training field. “Go, go and eat. Da-shixiong will see you soon.” He waved them off, before turning and going the other way.
It would do no good to delay meeting with Madame Yu, especially for this particular ‘assignment’.
They’ve been planning this for a long time, after all.
He finished cleaning the blood off of his dagger and Suibian as a deep creak of the floorboards signaled Jiang Cheng's presence.
“Finally, you’re feeling better. I was worried you wouldn’t get well enough in time for the lectures.” Jiang Cheng said as he sat at the table in front of him. “It would be a shame if you did.”
Wei Wuxian laughed. “Maybe it’d be better if I stayed sick, you know. It’s physically impossible for me to follow all 3,000 of the Lans’ rules.”
Jiang Cheng punched him in the arm, but the hit was softer than it usually was. “Don’t joke about that, Wei Wuxian. Shijie was extremely worried about you, especially since we weren’t allowed to see you for a week . She wishes you got sick less often.”
Wei Wuxian heard the unspoken ‘and I do too!’ on the end of that last sentence. Jiang Cheng would never admit it anyway.
Every time he goes out on his missions, Madame Yu would always write off his absence as a severe sickness. He was, after all, in less than optimal condition when he was adopted, and they’d cite his childhood malnutrition as the reason why he gets sick so easily. Madame Yu would claim that he doesn’t want anyone else to see him in his state, or that his illness is extremely contagious and she would be the only one resistant to it. It’s a miracle how long that ruse had been holding up, though that might be thanks to everyone’s unwillingness to provoke the wrath of the Violet Spider.
It did give him a reputation for being the sickly one, though. He didn’t enjoy that, but he can’t do anything about it, so he might as well own up to it.
“I know. I’ll find something soon, don’t worry. Then, instead of hearing about me puking my guts out, you can watch me puke my guts out in real time!” He playfully jabbed his shidi in the ribs. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“You’re disgusting, Wei Wuxian.” He sneered, batting away his arm and standing up to leave. “Remember to pack up before we leave tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry about it, Jiang Cheng, I got it.”
The next day, they began their long journey to Cloud Recesses. Madame Yu had ordered him to behave while gathering any intel about sect politics, especially if it concerned YunmengJiang.
He and his siblings walked through Gusu, enjoying the friendly and energetic air of the city.
“I’ve heard that Gusu’s Emperor’s Smile is the finest liquor you can get here. Sweet, yet crisp…” Wei Wuxian resolved to buy a jar or two (or more) before they left Gusu.
“Alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses.” Jiang Cheng said, unamused.
“ What?! What kind of sect doesn’t allow alcohol?”
Jiang Yanli laughed, daintily covering her mouth with her sleeve. “A-Xian, behave.”
“O-kay. Besides, I’ll just sneak out and have some before coming back to Cloud Recesses, right? They can’t punish me for something I didn’t do.” He shrugged, smiling at his siblings.
He’s so grateful to have such a wonderful shijie and shidi. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t trade spending time with them for anything .
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, pushing him in the shoulder playfully. They spent the rest of the way to the Cloud Recesses bickering and talking with shijie since they’ll be separated for a while.
When they got there, they were greeted by the tranquil blues and whites favored by the Lan sect shining in the golden rays of sunset. They were given a dinner of bland (and in Wei Wuxian’s opinion, disgusting) food before being ushered off to their rooms, Jiang Yanli to the womens’ quarters and he and Jiang Cheng to the mens’.
At exactly 9 p.m. he found himself in bed staring up at the moonlit ceiling, still full of energy. For what felt like an eternity, he stayed there.
Wei Wuxian caved in to his restlessness and decided on a late night walk. At this point, he was going to break the rule of getting up at 5 a.m. anyway. He might as well do something if he’s gonna be punished for it.
What kind of person willingly gets up at five in the morning?!
He sat up and hastily pulled on the white outer robes given to them as uniform. He thought of leaving Suibian behind, but he figured that it wouldn’t hurt to take it, just in case.
So he slipped on his boots and quietly crept out of the guest quarters. He walked outside, looking at the walls surrounding the Cloud Recesses.
Maybe I can go to Gusu and have some of that Emperor’s Smile…
He knew, though, that he’d probably be caught and punished for sneaking out. No, I shouldn’t…
But then he thought of all his success in sneaking around without being detected. He’s infiltrated the most guarded of estates and disposed of the most wary figures without anyone even suspecting him.
Surely sneaking out at a time where everyone, besides some easily-fooled patrols, is asleep wouldn’t be as hard as some of his own assignments?
Yeah, that makes sense .
With light, soundless footsteps, he easily traversed the grounds of Cloud Recesses, going to and quickly scaling the wall and hopping down on the other side.
He took his time to walk to Gusu to admire the misty mountain scenery, and when he got there, he bought two jugs of Emperor’s Smile with money from the small coin pouch he left in his outer robes. On the way back, he occasionally took a swig from one of the jugs, emptying it as he reached the borders of the Cloud Recesses.
“Ah, Emperor’s Smile is really as good as everyone says!” Wei Wuxian cheerfully said out loud, even though no one was there to hear him.
Upon returning, he scaled the wall again, choosing to sit on the roof to drink his liquor, admiring the bright, full moon in the night sky.
But then he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and he quickly turned to look to his side, only to see a boy around his age standing on the watchtower, pinning him with a glare so cold that it could freeze hell over.
This must be the famously handsome yet stoic Second Jade, Lan Wangji.
They weren’t lying when they said he was handsome. If he didn’t know better, he might have thought that Lan Wangji was carefully carved out of the finest jade that the world can offer.
“Oh! You must be Lan Wangji! I didn’t expect to see anyone out here at this hour, Lan er-gongzi . Did you come out to admire the moon?” He smiled, trying to elicit a reaction from the Second Jade.
Lan Wangji didn’t respond, only continuing to stare at him as if he were trying to freeze him with the iciness of his glare alone.
Wei Wuxian’s smile dropped.
“Breaking the wards is a violation of GusuLan’s rules. Alcohol is prohibited. Venturing out at night is prohibited.” Lan Wangji looked him up and down with scrutiny. “Sitting improperly is prohibited.”
“Lan er-gongzi—” He pouted a little bit, “I’m new and I’m not familiar with the rules in the Cloud Recesses.” Not knowing the rules was a bit of a lie. Madame Yu was relentless when it came to education about the main sects, and the Lan rules were the worst to learn.
He held up his right hand in a salute. “I swear, I won’t do it again! I’ll go to my rooms and I won’t bother you anymore.”
Hearing no response, he tied the bottles of liquor to the scabbard of his sword and stood up.
But he was stopped by the kiss of a cool blade against his neck.
Lan Wangji had gone ahead and taken out his sword, Bichen.
“Lan er-gongzi ,” Wei Wuxian said, pushing the blade away from him. “Tell you what; if I give you a jar of this Emperor’s Smile, will you forget that this happened?”
The glare only turned colder, if that was even possible. “Attempting to bribe law enforcement makes you doubly guilty.”
Wei Wuxian huffed. “What about this; I promise I won’t say anything if you let me go. Whatever punishment you want to give me in the morning, I can take.” He winked, the double entendre showing through his words.
Lan Wangji’s brows furrowed, and it was the most emotion he had gotten out of him so far. “Shameless!”
“Really? You’re such a fuddy-duddy, er-gongzi . If alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, then I’ll stay on this wall and drink it!” Before Lan Wangji could sneak a word in, he tore the cloth off the top of the jar and drank it messily, the clear liquor splashing on his face.
Wei Wuxian looked at the minute changes in Lan Wangji’s face. A quirk of a brow, a downturn of a corner of the mouth, and a clench of a jaw told Wei Wuxian that Lan Wangji was getting very annoyed.
“Ah, I pity the female cultivators in the other sects.”
Lan Wangji’s eyes narrowed.
“They didn’t know that their flawless Second Jade was in reality an inhospitable, unpleasantly stiff young master. His temper can even rival Jiang Wan—“
His mouth snapped closed. Ah yes, this must be the Lan silencing spell Madame Yu told me about.
“Follow me.” Lan Wangji said, hopping off of the roof, but Wei Wuxian refused to move.
He glared at him. Wei Wuxian hummed, shaking his head.
“What.”
He pointed to his sealed mouth, shaking his head. He pointed to Lan Wangji, then made a move miming taking off the seal, nodding and giving him a thumbs up.
Lan Wangji hopped back up on the roof. “I will not take off the spell. Let’s go.” Lan Wangji grabbed Wei Wuxian’s arm, but he tore his arm away, shaking his head and pointing to his mouth.
The second jade was definitely more than annoyed right now, his jaw clenching and the furrow between his brows deepening.
He’d been glared at a few seconds too long when he felt his lips unseal.
“Finally! That spell was going to choke me to death if I had it on any longer.” Wei Wuxian stood up, brushing off his robes. “So rude, Lan er-gongzi . I can’t even imagine anyone being friends with you. It seems like your only friend is the Wall of Discipline.”
“ Shut up.”
“Oh? Did I hear the pure, virtuous Lan Wangji tell me to shut up? Wow, I didn’t know I had such an effect on you!” He laughed, delighted.
In an instant, he heard the hiss of metal flying through the air and, on instinct, he drew Suibian to block it, the sound of metal against metal disturbing the peace.
Underneath the frigid glare, some kind of anger or frustration shone in his golden eyes. Wei Wuxian felt the other push his sword, and he jumped back quickly. Lan Wangji darted toward him, Bichen still out as he narrowly dodged another slash, hitting and breaking one of the jars. Fortunately, he broke the empty one and the one still partly full was left unscathed.
Wei Wuxian grit his teeth, frustrated. Was it really that big of a deal? Fine, if he wants a fight, I’ll give him a fight!
He adjusted his stance in preparation for one, holding out his sword.
Lan Wangji took his invitation.
Their eyes and swords met, metal glinting in the moonlight. Surprisingly, Lan Wangji was able to keep up with him.
Wow, Wei Wuxian thought to himself, I thought this fuddy-duddy was going to be no good with anything other than reciting rules!
He’s pleasantly surprised at the fact that he’s genuinely struggling to keep up with him, making him take the fight more seriously.
“If this goes on any longer, we might actually destroy the roof we’re standing on.” He said out loud, and Lan Wangji glared at him in reply.
With all his might, he fought back. But then, with a clean swing, Lan Wangji knocked Suibian out of his hand, his trusty sword clattering against the shingles of the roof.
“Hey! That’s not f—” He dodged Bichen, feeling the tip of it graze his cheek and draw blood, before hearing the telltale crack of porcelain.
Wei Wuxian looked at the empty scabbard he held, his last jar of Emperor’s Smile gone and his hand drenched in liquor.
He groaned. “Seriously? Fine, it’s on.” He dropped the sheath on the roof behind him before reaching into his robes and pulling out his trusty dagger.
He ran towards Lan Wangji with renewed confidence, slashing and jabbing at him with nimble movements, causing the other to stumble backwards from the attack.
Clearly, he’s not used to fighting with opponents armed with daggers.
He smiled, parrying the hits of his blade with his dagger, sparring in between the movements.
Soon enough, judging by the sweat beading on his head and the heaving of his chest, Wei Wuxian realized that Lan Wangji was tiring out. He felt just as exhausted as the other looked, though. How long have we been at this? He scoffed to himself. Too long, obviously.
With the last of his effort, he pushed Lan Wangji back with his shoulder as he caught Bichen with the flat of his dagger, the momentum causing both of them to fall back and— oh.
Am I breaking a rule? I’m pretty sure I’m breaking a rule.
He found himself straddling— straddling!— the peerless Second Jade. He lied underneath him, eyes wide and face the most expressive he has ever seen it to be. Wei Wuxian idly noted that the tips of his ears began to redden.
Then, in quick succession, he noticed many things.
One, he had his dagger pressed to Lan Wangji’s neck.
Two, their faces were way, way closer than they should be, nevermind that their bodies were already so close that Wei Wuxian can smell the sandalwood from the other’s robes.
Three, Lan Wangji has not tried to push him off, despite still being in this position seconds after falling.
Is it just me, or is it hot in here?
He felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest, but that’s because he just had a very taxing fight with Lan er-gongzi , right? Yeah!
Wei Wuxian laughed nervously, pulling his dagger away and stumbling as he rolled off his lap, nearly tripping on his robes in the process. He picked up Suibian and put it back in its scabbard.
“Well, it was, uh, nice sparring with you, Lan er-gongzi. I will see you at the ceremony tomorrow. Good night,” Wei Wuxian said with a quick and stiff bow, hopping down the roof and scurrying to the disciples’ quarters, quiet footsteps be damned.
He turned to look over his shoulder, and Lan Wangji, still sitting frozen on the roof, stared at him with an intensity that he was afraid to think about.
Wei Wuxian tore his eyes away and snuck back into his rooms, stashing the bottle of Emperor’s Smile under his bed. He lied down, staring at the ceiling.
For the rest of the night, he tossed and turned, trying and failing to keep the scent of sandalwood off of his mind.
“You fought the Second Jade? After breaking three rules? On the first day!? ”
Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang, and Wei Wuxian made their way to the Lanshi for their morning class.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went out for a walk. What’s wrong with that?”
Jiang Cheng punched him in the arm. “Going for a walk doesn’t mean breaking the wards and sneaking out to buy alcohol, you idiot!”
Wei Wuxian sighed. Fair enough .
When they got to the door of the Lanshi , Nie Huaisang stopped them for a moment.
“Wei- xiong , when this ceremony is over I want to hear everything about it!”
They entered the Lanshi for the ceremony, taking their seats as students filed into the room, the Grandmaster Lan Qiren sitting at the front.
He watched different representatives of the sects offer gifts of goodwill to GusuLan.
Jiang Cheng was about to present their gift, but they were then interrupted by the clamor of a group walking into the room.
“I think that the gate of the Lan Clan is the hardest to enter.” Wen Chao sneered, surrounded by his sizable entourage. He walked up to the front, not even bothering to bow to Grandmaster Lan.
“Not knowing Wen -gongzi would come,” Lan Xichen started, “we, the Lan Clan, should apologize.”
He explained how, in the recent century, the Wen clan had never attended the lectures, citing that as a reason why they weren’t given an invitation.
“Is Wen -gongzi here to relay any advice from His Excellency?”
Wen Chao scoffed. “Lan -zhongzhu, you are mistaken. I’m not here for the lecture. I’m simply escorting someone here. Besides,” he sneered, “the QishanWen clan is always educating others, so why would we need your lectures?”
Before anything else can be done, a young Wen woman stepped up, holding her sword and bowing.
She introduced herself as Wen Qing of QishanWen. She was ordered by Wen Ruohan to attend the lecture.
“Me and my little brother, Wen Ning, are new in Cloud Recesses, so we are not familiar with the rules. We hope that the Lan Clan can forgive us.”
A young Wen man who Wei Wuxian thinks is Wen Ning, walked up to the front holding a finely lacquered box. He handed it to her sister, and she presented it to Lan Xichen, who took it from her.
Lan Qiren stood up, eying the Wens with a disapproving look. “I’ll accept it.”
The ceremony ended quickly after that. The tense air dissipated after everyone filed out of the room.
Wei Wuxian stood up to follow his friends out.
“Wei -gongzi. ”
He stopped in his tracks and stiffly turned around to see Lan Xichen looking at him with a mix of mild amusement and disappointment, Lan Wangji standing behind him.
“May we speak with you for a moment?”
“Of course, Zewu-jun.”
Wei Wuxian was led to stand in front of Grandmaster Lan. He looked like he was, in a word, pissed.
Oh, is this about last night?
“Wei Wuxian. Are you the son of Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren?”
Wait, what? He didn’t expect Grandmaster Lan to ask him about his parentage. Odd.
“Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?”
Lan Qiren sighed, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in disapproval. “Of course you would be more like Cangse Sanren. Not even one day in, and you’ve already broken several of our rules.”
This IS about last night!
“Wangji had informed us that last night, you were caught breaking the wards and sneaking into the premises all while possessing alcohol. I understand that Lotus Pier and Cloud Recesses are very different, so I cannot fault you for being unaware of the rules.”
Bold of him to assume Madame Yu hadn’t already hammered every single one of the Lan rules into my head.
Lan Xichen continued. “However, that doesn’t mean that I can overlook your transgressions. Thus, there will be punishment.”
He turned to look at his brother. “Wangji will decide your punishment. You will take it alongside his own punishment.”
Wait, what?
“Is his punishment also for staying up past curfew?”
Lan Xichen shook his head, looking to his brother.
“Fighting without permission is prohibited. Do not act impulsively. Do not create damages.” Lan Wangji listed, voice devoid of any emotion and eyes cast downward.
Wei Wuxian looked back at him. Only he would snitch on himself, he thought wryly.
“So what’s my punishment? Is it a lap around the training grounds? Cleaning?”
Lan Wangji refused to look him in the eyes. “Transcribe the principles three hundred times in the Library Pavilion, and reflect quietly.”
Three hundred times?! That’s insane! I’d rather scoop up horse dung! He wanted to protest, saying he had a good excuse, but Madame Yu did say that she wanted him to stay civil and get intel on Cloud Recesses sect matters. So he stopped, and thought about it. They’ll let their guard down around him if he starts acting like the model disciple, and then… he’d be able to give Madame Yu more intel.
He smirked. It might be a little late to put his honorable-and-obedient-young-master persona over his normal lively personality, but there’s no harm in trying.
Like he had done many times before, he put on a mask of a proper young master, straightening his back to give himself an air of dignity and restraint.
He puts his hands together in a proper salute, bowing.
“This lowly disciple understands, and accepts his punishment. This humble one pledges to learn the rules and ensure that this mistake is not repeated.”
When he looked up, all three Lans looked perplexed by such a sudden change in behavior and bearing.
Lan Xichen looked uneasy. “Of course, Young Master Wei. You are dismissed.”
Wei Wuxian bowed, his posture perfect, before leaving.
Once he was out of sight, he dropped his mask and sped up walking, seeing Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang waiting for him near the disciple’s quarters.
“Where were you?” Jiang Cheng asked him when he finally caught up.
“Oh, I got punished.”
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Madame Yu is gonna have your head. Was this because of what you did last night?”
“Yup. My punishment’s to copy down the rules three hundred times. Isn’t that insane?”
Nie Huaisang snapped his fan closed. “Wei- xiong , I don’t care about that! Tell us what really happened.”
“Fine, fine! Last night, I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk…”