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A-Yuan did not know what was happening. He woke up to distant shouting that sounded fierce and scary, reminding him of the bad men in yellow that used to beat granny and Ning-gege. Looking around, he wondered why he was eye-level with granny when he turned and realised he was in Qing-jiejie’s arms.
“Qing-jiejie?”
“A-Yuan you’re awake?”
Giving a nod, A-Yuan cutely rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before looking around blearily. “Where are we going? Where is Xian-gege and Ning-gege?”
Wen Qing’s face fell a little, but she willed her lips to curl into a soft smile. “We are going to play hide-and-seek with them! Later you will hide together with A-Wang and stay quiet alright? Don’t let Xian-gege or anyone else find you. Can you do that?”
Beaming, A-Yuan gave an enthusiastic “Yes!” before he spotted the wailing 6-month old baby in granny’s arms. “But A-Wang is noisy... he is always crying. Xian-gege will definitely find him.” He says with a pout.
“Then you have to play the role of a big brother and keep him quiet hm? Show Xian-gege that you are a better gege than him!. Are you a better gege?”
“Yes I am Qing-jiejie!”
Finally they reached the cave in the back hills. Wen Qing gently lowered A-Yuan as granny and other women folk huddled into a corner. Settling down, it was time for the uncles and Wen Qing to leave. It was a quiet affair without a single word spoken, but all the words everyone held in their hearts were conveyed in their red-rimmed eyes. Cultivators led by the four main sects have arrived in throngs to wreck the Burial Mounds, their home, and they know there is no chance of winning. Tearing her gaze away, Wen Qing and the rest walked out of the cave with determination in their strides. A-Yuan did not understand why Qing-jiejie and fourth uncle and the other uncles are all leaving. But he could sense the mood currently blanketing the cave and the increasing thunderous sounds of men and battle cued him into understanding that something was wrong. Even baby A-Wang seemed to understand as his cries stopped and his bright golden eyes roamed around in curiosity.
Wei Wuxian had been fervently playing the flute that his fingers and lips were rubbed raw and bleeding. Even Wen Ning was looking worse for wear and he knew he could not hold back much longer. Wei Wuxian was glad that he had asked Wen Qing to bring the rest to the back hills but at this rate, they will be reaching the back hills any time now. Individually, all these cultivators are not his match but coming as a mob, these four sects form a united front along with many other smaller sects and there are only so many ghouls he can summon. Yes the fallen cultivators are now part of his army but he just could not resurrect them faster than the rate these cultivators plow his home. Dread rose up his throat at the very possibility of dying here with everyone, he turned and sprinted off to the back hills when he spotted Wen Qing and the uncles joining the fight. A-Yuan A-Wang please be safe. Please!
“Xian-gege!” A-Yuan cried out in happiness. He knew his Xian-gege would always come! But this Xian-gege looks different. He was bleeding and has blood all over his clothes *gasp* Is he injured? A-Yuan ran to the mouth of the cave where Wei Wuxian appeared, wrapping himself around his leg and wails. Wei Wuxian’s heart broke a little as he scooped the crying child into his arms. How scared this child must be feeling. He hastily makes his way to granny and glances around at all the other women in the cave. “The cultivators are almost at this cave. We can’t hold on much longer.” He blankly stated. Everyone in the cave could hear the sounds of battle growing closer, that much is self-explanatory and there was no point in giving false reassurance.
Granny thrusted the silent A-Wang into Wei Wuxian’s arms much to his surprise. “Take the children and go, Wei-gongzi. This is our fate as Wens. We have accepted it and we are thankful to have lived this past year in peace. These children are innocent. Please take them and run far. I have never said this to you before but for saving us, giving us a safe haven, and letting us live an extra year in happiness. I am sorry, and thank you.”
Granny shakely lifted her feeble arms in front of her and gave him a proper bow from her waist. Rooted to the spot and occupied with two children in his arms, all he could do was look at all the other occupants in the cave. Their eyes conveyed the same message as they lowered themselves into a bow as well. I’m sorry. And thank you. Tears streamed down his face as he bowed as much as he could, before huddling the children tight against his chest and dashed out of the cave.
The sounds of fighting were alarmingly near and Wei Wuxian nearly cussed out of panic. Looking left and right, he suddenly felt lost in these tall mountains that he had called home for the past year. Picking the direction that seemed to have yet been breached by the cultivators, he ran. A-Yuan had been silent the whole time. Somehow he understood that leaving the cave meant he would never see granny and the other jiejies and aunties again. Tears silently streamed down his cheeks but he resolutely stayed silent because Xian-gege was crying. Xian-gege never cries! He is always smiling and acting silly but Xian-gege never cries. This version of Xian-gege confused him and he did not know how to act. A-Yuan was afraid that a single noise from him might make Xian-gege leave him behind like how they had just left granny.
Spotting a hole in the stump of a tree, Wei Wuxian instructed A-Yuan to climb in before gently depositing A-Wang into his tiny arms. Wei Wuxian knew that granny was right, the children are innocent and he cannot allow them to die like the rest of them adults. But he also knew that he alone could run away with them either. Because, where would he go? The cultivators were here specifically for him. The Wens were just an excuse to pin a crime to his name and get rid of him. If he took the children, they would be on the run their entire lives and he could not do that to them. Glancing around, Wei Wuxian dimly noted that this was the carrot patch where he onced buried A-Yuan in. Those were much simpler times. His chest ached at the memory but now was not the time to dwell in the past. He ran to the shed where they kept water and cooked simple fares as they toiled in the field. A-Yuan silently observed Xian-gege, not paying attention to the baby sleeping peacefully in his arms. For a moment, he thought he had been abandoned when Xian-gege ran off after telling him to crawl into the tree and putting A-Wang on his leg. But before he could cry, Xian-gege came back with a large bowl of water and a large bowl of cold congee with a spoon.
“A-Yuan. Here is water and congee. Drink when you are thirsty, eat when you are hungry. If A-Wang cries, slowly feed him some porridge with the spoon understand? You are the gege now so you have to take care of didi alright?”
Wei Wuxian forced himself to keep his voice from quavering and gave a shaky smile as he slowly placed the two bowls into the hole, beside A-Yuan.
This tone...sounds exactly like the one granny used earlier! “Xian-gege don’t you want me anymore?” A-Yuan finally broke into a heart wrenching sob when he realised that no matter how good he tried to behave, Xian-gege is still going to abandon him. Hearing those words feels like a thousand daggers ripping Wei Wuxian’s soul apart and all he wanted to do is to scoop the child into his arms to stop those devastating cries. But he knew he couldn't. Once he gave in, he knew he would no longer have the resolve to let them go. Steeling his heart, he silently let tears streamed down his face and allowed himself one last pat to A-Yuan’s head. “We are just going to play hide-and-seek hm? Do not make a sound and do not come out until the outside becomes quiet.”
Stupid hide-and-seek again! A-Yuan officially hates this game with his entire being. He now realised that ‘hide-and-seek’ just means the person is going to walk away and never come back, like what Qing-jiejie did.
“Xian-gege! Xian-gege don’t leave me! Please! A-yuan will be good! IM SORRY! XIAN-GEGEEEE”
A-Yuan desperately tried to stretch his arms out to cling onto any part of Wei Wuxian but he couldn't reach Xian-gege from his position in the hole. All he managed to grab was the red ribbon fluttering in the wind as Xian-gege turned and walked away. Clutching the ribbon in his small hands, A-Yuan wailed for a family that he lost, without knowing what ‘loss’ actually meant.
Closing his eyes, Wei Wuxian gathered his determination and stood up straight. Forcing himself to ignore the childish cries, he willed his legs to continue moving and trudged towards the battlefield. He knew deep down that a mere toddler and an infant were not going to live long without anyone caring for them. Every step he took carved a deeper pain into his heart, but he forced himself to carry on. Better them dying in a tree and hidden from view than having the children watch him getting torn apart at the hands of an army.
Two Days Later
By some miracle or perhaps prayers answered in the form of a dying wish Wei Wuxian made before getting devoured by his ghouls, the two children manage to last a day in the cramped space. The tree was thankfully unharmed by the fires as they were faraway enough, and their cries were drowned out by the stomps and voices of dozens.
Desperately, Lan Wangji searched the place for any piece of item or fragment that could possibly hold a piece of Wei Wuxian’s soul. Irrationally, he was hoping to find Suibian or Chenqing, but logically he expected to find a piece of clothing or talisman. What he did find, was a toddler clutching an infant, crouched within a hole in a tree stump. Gently, he extricated the infant from the child’s clutch before carefully maneuvering the toddler into his arms as well. It was only then, he spotted the red strip of ribbon in the toddler’s firmly fisted hand and nearly broke into a sob. He could feel wetness on his back, knowing the lash wounds had started bleeding through his shirt. Holding back the pain, he grabbed a child on each arm and mounted his sword to fly back to Cloud Recesses. Both of these children were clearly feverish, starved and passed out. He could not delay them medical attention any longer