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The fragrance of osmanthus and orchid flowers was heavy in the cold, morning air. It was as if nature itself knew the significance of this day and offered its blessings upon it. Lan Jingyi was ecstatic, as he took deep, but discreet, breaths. Most of the Elders and a few senior disciples were still wary of the 'arrangement' between YilingWei and GusuLan, but none of them could dispute how good of an idea it was. Afterall, what better way to assess the true intentions of the YilingWei than to keep a close eye on them? What better way to do that than to join their sects? And who better to monitor them than the most righteous of them all , the GusuLans?
As they landed at the base of the Burial Mounds, the Lan Elders that had accompanied them were rethinking this stance. Though no longer protected by a line of walking corpses, the path was still foreboding. Many in the entourage felt their blood chill and goosebumps rising as they just -stood there, petrified and frozen. Jingyi on the other hand, was anything but scared. For the first time in his life Jingyi didn't mind going toward a -probably, very likely- ghost infested place. Sizhui promised there weren't that many and he wouldn't see them anyway. However, he also knew that they'd probably get lost if they didn't have an escort guide them and that the Elders in the entourage would make any plausible excuse to leave.
Still, it was rude to keep guests waiting, especially for such an occasion, doubly so when they'd been expected. He'd just begun to suspect that something was wrong when childish laughter emitted from the void to their left. Jingyi simultaneously tensed and relaxed; he'd recognize those chilling laughs anywhere, especially after first hand exposure. One never forgot a Wei in action. As he suspected, three children soon emerged from the fog and made their way toward their group; the youngest, Wei Meng, still giggling wildly. Jingyi would bet his monthly allowance that they'd been there the entire time, watching them. He did his best to not roll his eyes as the 'triplet' finally met them at the base of the hill and gave three impeccable, perfectly synchronized bows which were returned by the visitors. They were the picture of poise, dignity and etiquette. The eldest of the three, stepped forward as they came out of their bows.
"Welcome, honoured guests to Yiling Burial Mounds. This one is Wei Hui, these are my siblings, Wei Yue-" A-Yue's normally untamable curls barely shifted as she dipped into a formal bow, "-and Wei Meng." A-Meng once again dipped into a formal bow so perfect it gave Jingyi hives to see, whatever they were getting out of this spelt trouble for everyone. He snapped out of his reverie as Elder Guiren and Zewu-Jun stepped forward and led their entourage in introductions. First themselves, then Elder Peizhi, then Jingyi, his Mother and his 'chaperones', Mao Shun and Lan Shen. Personally, he thought the chaperone thing was excessive, but the Elders were determined to make this as proper a courtship as possible.
"This one humbly apologizes for the wait. The final perimeter test took longer than anticipated, but you should be able to safely cross the barrier now." Turning, Wei Hui gestured toward the path, "Please, follow us." Without another word the sibling trio led them up the path. At one point there was a heavy feeling of oppression, as though a great force were weighing down on them the further up the path they went. Looking around at his companions he saw them all bracing themselves as though fighting an invisible force that got stronger and stronger as they neared a dense cluster of overgrowth and dark grey trees. It looked like the entire forest was trying to forcefully expel them. To Jingyi it merely felt like an insistent need to be as far away from that particular patch of growth, but he assumed the pendant that Sizhui had given him was to thank for that.
By the time they reached the cluster, Lan Shen and Mao Shun had to support an Elder each, while Zewu-Jun helped Jingyi support his Mother.
"What? Why have we stopped?" Mao Shun said through gritted teeth, as Elder Peizhi's knees buckled.
"We're here." Wei Yue chirped. The Lan delegation looked around in confusion; all they saw were trees and bushes, all dead or dying or in some halfway state. Wei Meng giggled before stepping forward and walking through a cluster of tree trunks, as if they were never there. Wei Hui motioned them forward with a bow and one by one the guests stepped forward, then through the barrier. It was like stepping through a ghost infested waterfall at yín shí. The oppressive force now accompanied by screams and moans, while the barrier washed over them; icy and unforgiving. As terrible as it was, it lasted all of one second and between one step and the next the forceful feeling lifted as if it were never there.
The area beyond the barrier couldn't have been more different. Here, vegetation was in abundance. Sure all the plants had a slight blue-gray tinted to their natural greenery, but they were plentiful and seemed healthy enough. From where they stood on the plain, they could see several farm plots with many people hard at work in them. Just beyond those were houses and various other buildings, which followed the curve of the mountain. The Lan party took it all in as they were led to, what they assumed was, the main hall. It was situated on an elevated outcrop just beyond the houses.
With a final parting bow, the Wei 'triplet' politely ushered them into the office at the back of the hall before taking their leave. They left giggling all the way back back, which did nothing to soothe Jingyi's nerves. On the way up it finally hit him that this was real, it was happening. He was here with clan representatives, his sect leader and his mother to negotiate a courtship between their clans that would -hopefully- end in marriage. He looked up just as this thought crossed his mind and locked eyes with Sizhui; he felt his ears go warm at the look in his eyes, teasing and soothing and locked intensely on him. They stayed locked on him through the introductory bows, up until they were all seated at the ornate table prepared specifically for today.
As the youngest of the hosting party, Sizhui poured tea for the table, pouring for Jingyi and himself last. After a brief sip of his tea, Wei-zongzhu said, "Well then, shall we begin?"
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Three hours. They'd been discussing this courtship/alliance for. Three. Hours! Before they finally, finally settled on an agreement. He and Sizhui had already said their piece; they expressed their honest interest in each other and desire for a relationship, as well as their dedication and loyalty to each other and whatever relationship blossomed between them. Jingyi was already quite certain that he'd marry Sizhui, but he got the feeling that comparing them to...ah, the romances in his novels, wouldn't work very well in his favor. So they kept it brief but heartfelt and sincere. Good news, it worked. Bad news, they then had to listen as their representatives hashed out the finer details. For. Three. Fucking . Hours.
Just when he thought they'd never stop, Wei-zongzhu spoke up.
"Aiyah. Very well. GusuLan will have the first pick of any invention and talisman out of YilingWei. Naturally, any assistance required shall be offered in addition to what we previously discussed."
Zewu-Jun nodded and -most likely just as eager to be done- said, "Mn, and YilingWei shall receive medical aid and herbs as previously agreed upon, in addition to previous agreements, as well." Wei-guniang, who'd also joined them, nodded in agreement to the terms.
"Great!" Wei-zongzhu clapped as he rose from his seat. "Then please, allow us to show you around our humble home."
While the Lan delegation bowed and graciously accepted his offer, all Jingyi could think was, 'Finally! I thought it'd never end. Now I can finally talk to A-Yuan.'
He'd spoken too soon. Oh, he and A-Yuan were free to speak to each other, but Mao Shun and Lan Shen were flanking him very, very closely. This caused Wei-guniang -who along with Wei-gong were Sizhuizi's chaperones- to move in closer, so he and A-Yuan didn't even have a semblance of privacy. How were they supposed to get to know each other better in these completely unromantic conditions? Huffing and internally bemoaning his fate he tried to silently signal his chaperones to back off a little. No luck, they either didn't see or didn't care.
Before he could decide if running off was worth the consequences, a shout came from up ahead. "Da-ge! Da-ge, Jingyi-gege!" Four little blurs in red, black and grey came barrelling toward them and attached themselves to a leg each. The force almost knocked him over, but he righted himself and quickly returned the hugs. He was just as excited to see them as they were to see him and readily answered their questions about why he was there, "Courtship negotiations, remember?",how long he'd be staying, "Hopefully for dinner." And on and on the questions came. Wei-zongzhu laughed heartily when he saw them. He supposes that they must have made quite a sight, especially once they passed the outer courtyard and the rest of the Wei children latched on to their group. Nine children, aged 3 to 14, asking questions one right after the other, with their chaperones trying desperately to keep them all in line and keep eyes on Jingyi and Sizhui, it really made for quite the comedy.
At one point the youngest ones, Wei Qiao and Wei Qui, detached from them and approached Mao Shun and Lan Shen and began interrogating, asking them questions too. Soon all of the children had broken away and attached themselves to the other Lans. Jingyi was mildly confused at the shift until A-Hui winked at them as she passed, then it all clicked. They'd done this on purpose! Not one to waste an opportunity, he grabbed A-Yuan's hand and pulled them a little further up the path, putting a good distance between them and the adults. Not too much but just enough that they could finally talk comfortably.
"Your siblings are the best!" He laughed, "I thought we'd never get time to talk." A-Yuan joined him, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. They could hear the Lan chaperones trying desperately to answer all the questions asked, while trying to catch up to them.
Eventually he heard his mother's voice pipe up, soft but crisp and clear, "Oh, leave them be! You can see them just fine from here can't you? Then be done with it. The whole point of a courtship is to get to know your future partner, they can't do that with you breathing down their necks now, can they." Despite being little more than a diminutive, second cousin to the main family, Lan Liling commanded respect wherever she went.
He's not sure what happened after that, but no one approached them so it must've worked.
"Your mother seems delightful." A-Yuan chuckled as he led him toward, what appeared to be, the training grounds.
"Ha! You should see her in meetings. I've never seen a group of men so scared of something much smaller than them."
"Mn. She reminds me of Qing-gugu, actually so I think I could imagine it." Remembering the way Wei Qing had handled herself at the Discussion Conference he couldn't help agreeing. Their talks progressed from there. They talked about what it was like growing up with women like that in their lives, adventures, mishaps, they talked about anything and everything. They only paused once they reached the training grounds, where a group was running through archery drills under Wei Ning's watchful eye. They paused long enough for proper greetings to be exchanged before A-Yuan began insistently leading him to a section of the training grounds.
"Still up for that rematch?" He asked as he whirled around and put some distance between them. Jingyi laughed as he remembered, at the Conference, he'd challenged Sizhui to a friendly sparring match. At that point, no one had ever seen the YilingWei fighting style, and sparring was a great way to connect with people. He continued laughing as he drew his sword and took a stance, watching eagerly as Sizhui did the same. Sizhui motioned for him to take first strike and they went from there.
It was honestly, the most exhilarating match Jingyi had ever had. Sizhui was strong and clever and quick on his feet as well as with his mind. He gave as good as he got and then some. The YilingWei style was unlike any he'd ever seen. Sizhui moved like -like liquid smoke, if that were even a thing. He was like a dancer; quickly evading Jingyi's more head on attacks, and bending, twisting and twirling away and around him to attempt some of his own. It was an interesting counterpoint to the more airy GusuLan style.
He didn't know how long they were there for, choosing to focus on the way he could feel the reverb up his arms every time their swords clashed, the thrill of his core as it worked to keep up. He'd improved since their last match, that was evident in the beads of sweat he could just make out on Sizhui's brow and his slightly elevated breathing. Improved or not, Sizhui was still just that bit better. A slight misstep on his last advance left just enough space for Sizhui to disarm him. Jingyi noticed a second too late and attempted to deflect the incoming attack only for Sizhui to pivot around into his blind spot, hook his sword and twist it out of his grasp. It happened so quickly that Jingyi barely registered the loss until he felt Zhèngyì pressed to his chest.
He conceded with a groan and pouted as he retrieved Zìyóu. He couldn't hold the face for long though and soon he was pestering Sizhui to teach him the disarming move.
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"You've gotten better." Sizhui remarks as he leads Jingyi through the disarming follow up again. They'd been at it for almost an hour now. They had taken a brief break after the match to catch their breaths, before Sizhui finally gave in and agreed to teach him. When Jingyi appeared confused by his abrupt statement he elaborated.
"Your combat skills, A-Ming. You've been practicing, it shows. You've gotten better."
Jingyi quickly ducked his head, hoping to cover the redness in his ears. "Yeah, well, I still lost."
"Because I've also been practicing. A-Ming has improved tremendously." The quick rebuttal silenced any further deflection that Jingyi had. He huffed but couldn't hide the smile that fought its way on his face at the compliment. The smile on Sizhui's face told him that that had been exactly what he'd been hoping for. Jingyi had to look away from it very quickly, lest he do something that their chaperones would most certainly object to. It really wasn't fair, here was this kind, smart, funny, sweet, strong cultivator, who for whatever reason liked Jingyi enough to engage in a courtship and was happy when he made Jingyi happy and he wasn't even allowed to kiss him, for fear of scandalizing his chaperones. Mercifully, before Jingyi decided that the pros severely outweighed the cons, his mother approached them and announced their departure.
She appeared drained and livid enough that Jingyi knew it hadn't been her idea, nor had she agreed with it, so he held his tongue even as disappointment welled up in him. He'd been hoping to stay for dinner, if only to extend his time with A-Yuan, but he knew that the Elders were skeptical enough as it was being in Yiling. Staying past dark on the Burial Mounds themselves would be pushing it.
The Wei family -the entire family- saw them to the path where the children said their heartfelt goodbyes. Xiao-Qui and Xiao-Qiao had to be convinced to let him go but everything had gone over with a lot less tears than anticipated. With the 'triplet', Wei-guniang and Wei-gongzi watching the younger ones, Sizhui, Hanguang-Jun and Wei-zongzhu saw the Lan delegation safely out of the Burial Mounds.
At the base the Elders and Zewu-Jun once again thanked Wei-zongzhu and Hangiang-Jun for hosting them. Then they mounted their swords and took off. As they left Jingyi glanced back periodically, until A-Yuan's waving form was little more than a speck on the landscape.
"I'm sorry you didn't get to stay longer băobèi. It looked like you were having fun."
"Mother!" Jingyi flushed and groaned at her teasing.
"Oh, don't you 'Mother' me. I know that look. It created you." Satisfied with her teasing she continued, "I really am sorry that we had to leave, you both seem very suited to each other."
"It's fine." He sighed, "Besides, now that a contract has been drawn up, we'll be seeing more of each other in the future. We've got time." His mother smiled and patted his arm before focusing on the journey ahead. Beside her, Jingyi was already planning a trip around Gusu for him and A-Yuan. Maybe even Caiyi, they had time after all.