Chapter Text
The Yiling Patriarch, Yiling Laozu. The Founder of Demonic Cultivation. A hero of the Sunshot Campaign. Wen sympathizer. Villain.
In one timeline, the boy known as Wei Ying, courtesy name WuXian, suffered before he even knew he was suffering. But not this one. In this one, he was found earlier, by a family that loved him unconditionally. This is the story of that timeline .
The story of Crown Prince Wei WuXian, heir to the XianXia Wei Sect.
~~~~~~~~~
It was snowing hard in Yiling; the winter a harsher one than usual. A five year old boy sat in one of the dark alleyways, a small wooden box his only shelter from the crippling weather.
‘It’s really cold here,’ the child thought, exhaling as long and sharply as he could onto his tiny, frozen fingers. ‘I hope mommy and daddy come back soon.’ He shoved his little fists under his arms, curling into as tight a ball as he could. Shivers wracked his emaciated frame, and the thin, ragged robe he wore did nothing to warm his chilled body.
His eyes wandered to the little straw dolls he had made, and the rattle drum that the pretty stranger had gifted him. He wondered if he should make another doll of the boy who gave him the rattle drum- so he could never forget him. He quickly gathered up some more straw and string, along with a tiny white strip of cloth to put on the doll’s head. Satisfied with his work, he set the new doll next to his others. With nothing left to do, he leaned back and watched the snow fall.
His mother and father went on something called a ‘night hunt’. They told him to stay in the inn room and wait like a good child. So he waited, and waited.
And waited.
And he waited some more.
Then, the mean old lady who owned the place kicked him out, taking everything from the room for herself. Since then, he had been on the streets, wandering around for scraps of food. Sometimes, he had to fight mean, growling beasts just for half of a day-old meat bun. He doesn’t know how long it has been since then. The boy’s stomach growled; he put his hand on it as if to soothe it’s cries and sighed. He knew it would be another night without food. He looked at the rattle drum again- at least he knew that there were some kind people in the world. For that, he would trudge on.
But he was sleepy. So, so, sleepy.
‘I’ll just rest my eyes for a bit…’ he thought as he began to fall sideways. The last thing that the little boy saw, was a white haired figure rushing toward him, and being enveloped in a warm embrace.
“I finally found you, Wei Ying.
~~~~~~~
That warm embrace was still there when Wei Ying woke up. He snuggled into the warmth, only to feel his pillow vibrate with small, nearly silent laughter. He tried to look up, but he was much too tired. The human pillow chuckled again, wrapping Wei Ying tighter into the toasty blankets.
Wei Bai Lian sighed. It had been 3 years since the fall of the traitorous former sect leader, and he had sent out men to find his beloved cousin, only to learn that he and his wife had died, and their son was missing. As such, he left Xianxia to personally find him and bring him back to Xianxia. It took a few months, but he found him. Sweet baby Wei Ying was now safe, feeling small and bony in Bai Lian’s lap.
-
The carriage ride was long and mostly silent, but Wei Ying was so tired he slept all the way to Xianxia. When he awoke again, he was greeted by the sight of an old man, standing with his back to Wei Ying, talking to a young lady with violet hair and golden eyes. The girl smiled gently at Wei Ying.
“Da-ge, it seems our little prince is awake,” she said, her voice low and a little raspy. She bowed to the man. The old man turned to him. Wei Ying gasped quietly.
“I will go and get some congee and fruit juice from the kitchens. I shall return momentarily.” She bowed and walked off gracefully, her snickers still echoing in the halls. The man walked closer, feeling around the air until he found a chair. Wei Ying looked at the man’s face closer.
His face, though scarred, was very handsome, but his eyes… Wei Ying was mesmerized; his eyes had no pupils, but they were such a pretty blue! The man chuckled and gave a kind smile.
“I’m sure you’re rather tired at the moment, as well as hungry. My friend Shion will be bringing you back something to eat, but while we’re waiting” The man grew a little serious. “I must ask you a very important question; is your name Wei Ying, son of Wei Changze?” Wei Ying nodded. The man paused for a bit, as if waiting for something. Wei Ying sniffed the air, and his stomach growled.
“It sounds like someone is hungry!” Chirped a voice from the door. The purple haired sister was back. She brought over a tray that had a small bowl of shredded chicken congee with green onions, a little dish of warm pears with cinnamon, and a glass of milk. Wei Ying could feel the drool coming from his lip. The girl set the tray in front of him and sat on the other side of the soft bed.
“Shion, is he mute?” The man asked, sounding a little concerned. “Is he just shy? Does he not understand me? Or is he scared of me? Am I really that ugly?” The girl, Shion, gave a decidedly unladylike snort as she placed the tray in front of Wei Ying, reminding him to be careful of the hot dishes.
“No, dumb-dumb, he just answered you non-verbally because you didn’t tell him.” She turned to Wei Ying, smiling softly. “You’re going to have to use words with this uncle, okay? This uncle over there is blind. He cannot see with his eyes.” Wei Ying shrunk into himself. As nice as these people were, he was cautious. It wouldn’t be the first time someone offered to help him only to take advantage of the little boy’s trust. But the man asked if he was Wei Ying, and he knew Wei Ying’s daddy’s name...
“I’m Wei Ying,” he said quietly. Judging by the man’s nod, he heard it. Shion scooped a bit of congee onto the spoon and fed it to Wei Ying, blowing on it so it wasn’t too hot.
“Hello, A-Ying. My name is Wei Bai Lian.” Wei Ying looked up sharply, very surprised. This was new! He felt a little bit of hope. “Wei Changze was my cousin. I heard about what had happened to them and so I sent out to find you.”
Don’t ask him about his hair. Don’t ask him about his hair. Don’t ask him about his hair-
“Why do you have old man hair if you’re not an old man?” The little boy could not stop himself from asking. The girl tried to hide her snicker. Wei Bai Lian gave a light cough.
“This place, where we are, is the Xianxia Wei Sect. Your grandfather, my uncle, was supposed to be the sect leader. My father, however, did not accept that. Umm… oh dear, how do I say this… Basically, my daddy did some bad things, and made your grandpa run away to protect your daddy. I did not like that, because my daddy was a huge meanie to everyone, and I liked your daddy. He was really nice to me. So when I got big and strong, I punished my daddy and took over the sect!” At this, Wei Bai Lian threw some little punches into the air, looking rather silly. Wei Ying laughed at the act. Wei Bai Lian gave a fond smile. “As for my hair, I was born this way.”
“In terms of succession, you are the legitimate heir of the sect. Do you know what a sect heir is?” Wei Ying thought for a moment.
“A-Ying does not know. Is it tasty?” Shion shook, trying very hard not to laugh and nearly spilling congee onto the bed. Wei Ying dove for the spoon so the tasty food wouldn’t fall. Completely oblivious to this, Wei Bai Lian continued on.
“It means that when you grow up, you become the leader of the sect.” He explained patiently. Wei Ying cocked his head.
“What does a sect leader do?” He asked. He’s heard of sect leaders before! The villagers all said they were heroes! “Are you a hero, too?” Wei Bai Lian startled a bit. That wasn’t a question he was expecting. Shion lifted the spoon once again.
“Do you want some more, A-Ying, or are you full?” Wei Ying thought for a moment. He couldn’t eat another bite, but it was so tasty! Shion smiled.
“If you’re full now, but want some more later, all you have to do is ask,” She turned to Wei Bai Lian. “We can teach him more about what a sect leader does, later. Right now, he’s burning low fever, so it would be best for him to rest. Let him process the information he has. Especially before he meets Tali.”
“Who is Tali?” Wei Ying, ever the curious kitten, asked. Wei Bai Lian chuckled- this child has a high curiosity. He liked it.
“Tali is my son. He is two years old. I’m told he’s very cute.” Oh, another child! Wei Ying wondered if he would play with him. Shion took the tray as Wei Bai Lian laid Wei Ying down, pulling up the soft, fuzzy blankets. It has felt like a long time since someone tucked Wei Ying into bed. Wei Ying felt a large, callused hand on his forehead.
“Rest for now, A-Ying. We can play with Tali when you feel better.” Wei Bai Lian stroked Wei Ying’s hair, soothing the excited five year old to sleep. Wei Bai Lian and Shion smiled at one another, and tiptoed out of the room. After shutting the door, Wei Bai Lian’s face turned serious.
“Shion, what is your diagnosis?”
“That poor child is very dehydrated and malnourished, and has a few bite mark scars from what appears to have been feral dogs from the Yiling area. I do not doubt he will be afraid of any type of dog in the future. I added a few medicinal herbs to his congee, and a mild sleep aid to the pears to help him heal and sleep. He may experience nightmares, but those should go away with time. I will keep an eye on his digestive patterns so I can determine the proper diet to put him on so he’ll gain some weight. Despite all that, I’ve never seen such a hungry, nearly frozen child without any hatred for the world.” Shion sighed. Wei Bai Lian stopped in front of another room, opening the door slightly.
“How is he?” He asked quietly. Shion peeked in.
“Tali is sleeping soundly. Though I’m a bit worried about his sleeping positions. His butt is in the air…” Shion thought for a moment as the door closed. “What brought this on, sir?”
“When I was talking to A-Ying, I was thinking about what might have happened to Tali if I didn’t find him in time…” Wei Bai Lian looked listless as he remembered the echoing silence, smelling the blood and charred, rotting bodies, burning ash falling onto his skin… and hearing a tiny, near silent wail of a baby.
Wei Bai Lian shook his head- remembering the loss of his beloved was always something that haunted him. If only he’d… A hand stopped that thought.
“You stop that right now,” Shion scolded. “My big brother would not have wanted you to think about what could have happened. He would have wanted you to focus on what has. You and Rald found Tali. You saved me from slavery. You saved the people of Xianxia when you took over the sect. You and I found A-Ying. You are the most highly revered sect leader of the Xianxia Wei Sect, the sect that takes in the rejected, the unwanted, and the lost. You aren’t alone in this world. Now, let’s get the reports finished; I promised Wu Dao I’d go stargazing with him and you need rest.”
“Oho? Wu Dao, huh?” Wei Bai Lian wiggled his eyebrows.
“Shut up. We’re just friends!”
“Friends who do romantic things together,” Wei Bai Lian giggled. Really, other than A-Xin, Shion was the only one he could act this way toward. “Should I start putting together a dowry, my cute brother in law?”
“Aaaagh!”