Work Text:
When Jin Ling first invited him to Lotus Pier for the lotus harvest season, OuYang ZiZhen was beyond happy. Getting to spend an entire week with his favourite person excited him so much that he packed several days in advance. Every day he would double check his bags, making sure he wasn’t forgetting anything, to the point where it ended up annoying Fifth Mother.
“You have money, ZiZhen,” she had said, “if you forget something, you can always buy it.”
He shook his head firmly.
“No, I need to make a good impression on Sect Leader Jiang. I want to show him how responsible I am.”
Ever the practical woman, Fifth Mother replied,
“And what do you plan to do with your seasickness?”
ZiZhen’s skin lost its colour so fast that Fifth Mother insisted he sat down.
It was something ZiZhen hadn't thought about, so eager to focus on what he knew were his strengths. He has always been good at planning for the Night Hunts and other visits to the different Sects.
His seasickness never really prevented him from using boats when he needed to. Granted said boats took frequent breaks in between towns. The longest he’s ever been on a boat without throwing up has been a single incense stick. At Lotus Pier, he knew he would be expected to stay on one for much longer than that.
Perhaps it would be different, ZiZhen kept telling himself as a way of reassurance. Perhaps his seasickness would be less prevalent if the boat was not moving too fast on the water. It should be alright.
An hour after setting foot on the harvest boat with Jin Ling, it was not alright. Jin Ling had noticed ZiZhen’s discomfort a few times, asking about it. The latter always reassured him it was okay. Now, with the content of his breakfast floating between the lotus flowers, he couldn’t lie anymore.
“You should have told me you get seasick! I wouldn’t have invited you over for the harvest if I knew! Why didn’t you say anything?!?”
Jin Ling’s voice was booming in his ears, his irritation clear in his voice. Because I wanted to spend time with you doing something you like, ZiZhen would have said if he wasn’t feeling so ashamed of the incident that happened on the lake. He could still hear the exclamations of disgust and surprise ringing in his head. At least, Sect Leader Jiang had been on another lake when it happened.
“Now, you stay here, I’ll get someone to bring you some soup later.”
Jin Ling forcefully slammed a pile of books on the floor besides ZiZhen’s bed. From the recognizable titles, he found them in ZiZhen’s bag.
“No more activities on the lake for you,” he ordered before stomping out of ZiZhen’s quarters, presumably to go back to their previous activity.
ZiZhen starred in the direction of the door, forlorn.
A few hours later, despite his assurance that he was fine and could go out for dinner, Jin Ling still requested for food to be brought in his room. Then, he insisted on feeding him himself.
“Jin Ling, I can hold a spoon, I’m fine!”
“ZiZhen. You’ve been sick. Eat.”
Despite the sour look on Jin Ling’s face, ZiZhen couldn’t help the beating of his heart picking up pace with each spoonful of soup he was given. Lotus root and pork ribs soup, Jin Ling said it was. His mother’s recipe.
“Not that it’s exactly the same. Jiujiu likes it alright.”
ZiZhen liked it too.
The morning after, ZiZhen was ordered to once again stay in bed by an overbearing Jin Ling.
“I want to make sure you are well enough to go out. I don’t want you throwing up just looking at the lakes, and those are everywhere.”
“Jin Ling, that’s not how it works.”
Still, Jin Ling refused to listen, and so, ZiZhen was alone with his books all day long. At least I brought more than enough to keep me entertained, jokes on you Fifth Mother, ZiZhen thought to himself, pouting as he settled on his bed again.
That day, he had an idea. That night, when everyone was asleep, he went out on the private pier outside of his quarters. At the end of it, like on all the other ones, there was a small boat, mostly for the purpose of enjoying some quiet time on the lake. ZiZhen carefully climbed on it, and set off silently. He lasted 15 minutes before the first wave of nausea hit, 15 more before he had to get back on the pier, otherwise alerting people with his retching sounds. Disappointed with himself, he walked back to his quarters, and set to sleep.
The next day, Jin Ling agreed to let him leave his room “on the condition that you stay away from the water”. That was how ZiZhen found his way around YunMeng’s marketplace, where he strolled leisurely, stopping at a tea shop that hosted a storyteller. He already heard that one in Baling when the man came there, but he enjoyed hearing it a second time. That was where Jin Ling found him.
“I knew you’d be here,” he said, sitting besides ZiZhen.
The story was not done yet, so he kept unusually quiet. They both listened, and ZiZhen shed a few tears again at the end. He was generous in his donation once the storyteller walked around with his bowl, smiling at all the patrons, a few of his teeth missing.
“Are you done with the harvest already?” ZiZhen asked once conversations started again.
Jin Ling shook his head.
“No, I wanted to spend some time with you.”, a red tint covering his cheeks. He coughed and raised his voice. “It would be rude of me to ask you to come here and let you be by yourself.”
Used to Jin Ling’s harsh tone, ZiZhen smiled and ordered another pot of tea.
That night, like the one before, ZiZhen went on the little boat at the end of the pier. He lasted for 45 minutes before he had to turn back. Just as he was congratulating himself in his head for being able to stand the discomfort longer, a deep, gruff voice rang in the dark,
“You’re not getting any better.”
Scared, ZiZhen turned around so fast he almost dropped the anchoring rope in the lake. He grabbed it at the last minute before tying it to one of the beams and properly greeting the person standing on the pier.
“Sect Leader Jiang.”
ZiZhen’s bow was perfectly formal, the way he had been taught. Sect Leader Jiang did not move, arms crossed over his chest, face unreadable. Despite his father’s advice to “always assume Sect Leader Jiang is angry”, ZiZhen knew that, much like Chief Cultivator Hanguang Jun, it was difficult to interpret his emotions based on the single facial expression he was willing to show the world. Yet, ZiZhen could not argue that all he wanted to do now was crawl under the pier and drown there. This week was supposed to be a time to leave Sect Leader Jiang with a good impression of him. Seems like it was not happening.
“You have a golden core, right? I heard it’s not weak. Use it.”
ZiZhen looked up, taken aback.
“W—What?”
Jiang WanYin took a few steps forward, pointing a path at ZiZhen’s chest.
“Your core. Used correctly, it’ll help you deal with the seasickness. It’ll tire you faster, but it’ll keep you from getting sick if you let the energy travel like this.”
He repeated the same movement in front of ZiZhen’s chest. Understanding dawned on him. He bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Sect Leader Jiang!”
Jiang WanYin made a non-committal sound.
“Work hard at it.”
ZiZhen beamed at him.
“I will!”
He then turned around, intent on untying the boat to try right away, when a hand grabbed at his arm and pulled him back roughly.
“If I see you on a boat all alone at night again, I’ll break your legs.”
ZiZhen blanched at that and removed his hands from the chord promptly, bowing again.
“Y—Yes, Sect Leader Jiang. It won’t happen again.”
Terrified, ZiZhen ran back towards his quarters and closed the doors, hoping he would not have nightmares about this encounter.
The next day, ZiZhen asked Jin Ling if he wanted to go on the lake together.
“Are you out of your mind?!” Jin Ling demanded after a minute of silently judging him. “What part of ‘you get seasick on a boat’ don’t you get?!”
“No! I know how to deal with it! Sect Leader Jiang taught me how! But I need someone on the boat with me.”
Jin Ling’s eyes widened significantly at that.
“Oh. Well. If Uncle taught you. Okay then.”
Thankfully, Jin Ling didn’t question ZiZhen more, and together, they set on the private lake behind Jin Ling’s quarters. Jin Ling stirred the boat while ZiZhen focused on the meridians path Jiang WanYin showed him the night before.
After half an hour, ZiZhen could already feel why Sect Leader Jiang had said this was tiring, but he was too happy about the absence of nausea to be bothered by it. When Jin Ling asked him how he felt for the twentieth time, ZiZhen just laughed.
“I’m feeling amazing! I will have to thank your uncle again for this!”
By the end of the week, ZiZhen was on a boat, in the middle of a lake filled with lotus, harvesting the plants with the others. As the sun was slowly setting, he looked up from his work, joking with Jin Ling, when he caught sight of Jiang WanYin looking at him. ZiZhen stood straighter, smiled wide and bowed.
Sect Leader Jiang nodded back.