Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian heard the sounds of dogs barking first. Freezing in his steps, he was just about to pull Lil Apple in the opposite direction of wherever those hounds were. 26 years on and a second lifetime away, he was still afraid of those animals that made his years on the street a living hell - especially this time since he was back at Yiling for a night hunt.
However, a sharp cry broke through his fear. Shouts of “Go away! Go away! This is mine!”, could be heard loud sobs from an alley, just in front of where Wei Wuxian was frozen. If Lan Zhan was here, he would definitely give Wei Wuxian a look - you just have to protect everyone don’t you?
But Lan Zhan was in Lanling at a Discussion Conference which was why Wuxian was in Yiling in the first place having to face the one thing he feared without the protection of his husband.
Making as much noise as possible, Wuxian charged into the alley hitting Suibian’s scabbard on the side of the walls and on the ground as he ran towards the crying. “Get lost you horrible dogs! Get away from here! Get lost!” he flailed about, smacking one of the dogs on the nose. As the leader of the pack turned toward Wuxian, teeth bared, the Yiling Patriarch caught a glimpse of a small child. Blocking the dog’s jaws with the sword, he sent a small amount of spiritual energy through the sword that shocked the beast and left it scampering away with its tail between its legs as its friends followed.
Unable to wallow in his victory, save for a smug smile (oh if Lan Zhan could see him now), Wei Wuxian quickly turned his attention to the sniffling child who looked up to him with fear in his eyes.
“Hello little one, it’s okay, it’s okay”, as Wei Wuxian squatted down next to the child. “They won’t bother you anymore”. He cautiously reached out his hand to console the boy.
The child couldn’t be more than 5, around the age Wen Yuan was when they were still at the Burial Mounds. It was almost Winter and the poor thing was still clothed in a rough hemp outfit tattered at the ends and straw sandals. His hair was unkempt, but bright eyes, still wet with tears peered out from underneath. In his hands he held a small, plain baozi, dirty but still edible, which was probably what the dogs were after.
To Wei Wuxian, it was like looking in a mirror from 26 years ago.
“What’s your name?”, Wuxian gently asked, but the child just sniffled a bit more. As his tears slowly dried up, Wuxian took his hand and slowly stood up. “Come on let’s go find your parents”.
While reluctant at first, the child slowly followed, holding Wei Wuxian’s hand just a little bit tighter. As they got back to the main street, Lil Apple was still tied to the post and glanced at the pair curiously. When he realized the little boy was holding a baozi and not an apple hower, he just gave a dismissive snort.
“It’s ok, this is my donkey. He won’t hurt you.. Well I think he won’t”, Wei Wuxian said with a sheepish smile. Reaching into the bag at Lil Apple’s side, he took out a crisp sweet apple which earned him a protesting snort from the donkey.
“Here, that baozi is dirty, do you want an apple instead?” Wei Wuxian offered. Quickly stuffing the baozi into his shallow pockets, the boy grabbed the apple as well.
Ruffling his head with a smile, Wei Wuxian thought of what he’d had to do. It was still early morning in Yiling and most of the street vendors weren’t open yet. However, inns were starting to open for breakfast and he could smell the sweet fragrance of congee and dough fritters wafting from a nearby kitchen. As the boy continued to look at the Yiling Patriarch with wide eyes, red apple almost too big for his small hands, Wei Wuxian decided the best course of action was to head to an inn to perhaps get more information about the child’s parents.
As they walked into the inn, the little boy moved closer to Wei Wuxian, until he was almost behind his legs. Peeking out, he seemed intimidated by the busy tavern as Wei Wuxian reassuringly placed a hand on his back and let him hug a little tighter.
Settling down at a table, Wei Wuxian wasn’t impervious to the side eyes and furtive glances by the waiters and other patrons. He hadn’t been about in Yiling for 13 years, and in a different body. It couldn’t be because people recognized him as the Yiling Patriarch could it? Curious, he called a waiter over.
“Waiter, please give me two bowls of congee, some fried dough fritters and a bowl of sweet soup”, Wei Wuxian cheerily ordered, not missing the look on the waiter’s face. He put a fair amount of coins on the table. “Will that be a problem?”
Seeing the coins, the waiter shook his head, “No, no problem at all”, as he hurried away with one more backward glance.
A few minutes later, the waiter arrived back with the bowls and quickly placed them in front of Wei Wuxian. However, before he could walk off, Wei Wuxian grabbed the waiter’s sleeve. “Waiter, do you know where this child’s parents are? I saw him wandering around outside.”
The waiter looked around furtively “No… no I don’t know” he shook his head, not willing to look at the child.
Seeing this was suspicious, Wei Wuxian put a few more coins on the table. “What about now?”
Silently, the waiter swiped the coins into his sleeve. In a hushed whisper, he said “That child has no parents. His parents died, and so did his granny a few months after taking him in. He’s cursed. No one will take care of him. I suggest you leave him too sir.”
Casting one more glance at the child, now quite happily eating his sweet soup with a slight smile on his face, the waiter quickly walked away.
Cursed? Wei Wuxian looked over the boy from head to toe. Quickly he pushed up the sleeve, pants and shirt of the child to check for a curse mark and no such thing was found. He also didn’t feel any resentful energy hanging around the child who seemed like an entirely normal, if a bit underfed, 5 year old.
“Am not cursed” the child mumbled to himself as he continued to spoon sweet soup in his mouth. And Wei Wuxian’s heart broke. With all that has been happening in this world, this poor child was merely a victim of bad timing and overwhelming superstition that led him to face such overwhelmingly unfortunate circumstances in his young life.
So Wei Wuxian made up his mind. He would be bringing this child back with him to the Cloud Recesses. Lan Zhan brought home his own Wen Yuan, so it’s only fair that Wei Wuxian gets to save one too.