Chapter Text
Wei Ying found himself walking past the same stalls for the fourth time today. He had been kicked out of the kitchen as he had stepped in, yeah sure, he added a little bit of spice once and suddenly he’s banned out of the kitchen. Instead, he was handed a list and thrown outside to buy some materials for later in the evening.
He passed the bag from one shoulder to another, using some object manipulation to take off part of the burden of carrying so much stuff. He had to be careful, ever since he was small, his parents had told him that it was better if no one knew that he possessed magic. It was well known that only people in the top of the hierarchy had such powers.
He had been crossing off some of the materials already bought, seeing how he was only missing some Da Hong Pao, fancy tea basically. It was the favorite of his majesty, or so he had heard, he only brought it out for special guests. He guessed some newcomers would be arriving in the next few days.
After walking past the same stalls for the fifth time, he decided to ask around to see if anyone knew where the tea merchant was located. It was the first time he was tasked with buying anything closely related to the main Lans, so he was a bit lost. A nice florist gave him some instructions, leading him to a small shop close to a center fountain.
He opened the door slowly, peaking in and seeing an old lady in the counter, back towards him, herself facing a small flower. He excused himself as he went in, greeting the nice lady. He placed a money pouch on the wooden counter, asking for the Da Hong Pao, the lady taking it in her hands and retiring to the back to get what's needed.
Wei Ying looked around the shop, whistling a soft tune, seeing different types of plants decorating the space, bringing a variety of natural smells that mixed rather nicely with the teas. No more than a few minutes later, the lady came out again, with a decently sized pouch. As far as he could tell, it seemed she was also carrying a small one, seeming to be a sample size of tea.
He took the big one first storing it in the bag that he carried, making sure it wouldn't be crushed or opened. Then, he asked about the tiny pouch, her explaining how it was a gift, a sample she offered to newcomers. He thanked her as he pocketed it and went back towards the castle.
***
Having returned and leaving all the materials in their respectful places, he headed towards his other duties.
He walked past a small storage quarter, acquiring cleaning tools so that he could make his rounds in the upper left side of the place. He quite enjoyed being tasked up here, he got beautiful views from the windows when cleaning inside the rooms, and the quarters barely got dirty due to them belonging to guests only. That would probably change soon actually if his guess with the tea was correct.
He entered each room, doing a small checkup and cleaning some of the dust that may have accumulated during the day. Using his power to raise some of the furniture to make an easier access point for him. He made sure that the candles were well placed, making sure none of them were missing or lighted.
Once he finished with the last room, also known as his favorite, he checked outside the door, making sure no one was close to the hall. He put all his cleaning supplies next to the door, taking a mental note of taking them out once he came back. He headed towards the big painting located by the wall, using some of his manipulation to move it easier to the side.
The wall behind it seemed normal to an inexperienced eye, but he could see the small incantation written in one of the slabs. He pressed into them, channeling some energy, causing it to glow. The wall went up, showing-off a long, softly lit hallway.
One of the many things he loved about this castle was the hidden corridors and rooms all around. It was not surprising how it was mostly unknown that they existed. Only people with magic could read the incantations written on the wall.
***
The whole kingdom was known by its calm nature, normally being quiet and peaceful. People would always help anyone in need, grave injuries being treated by the top Lans available at any moment.
The Lan royalty were gifted, like everyone of their neighbors, with powers. They had healing magic, they offered their services and let medics study their methods in case they could find anything useful to implement.
Wei Ying was around 15 when he first started working in Gusu. The realm itself was pure beauty, being surrounded by nature and impressive architecture.
Before one was able to reach the castle, there was a lovely village which had a variety of items that couldn't be found anywhere. The farms surrounding the place would go to sell their products, food always fresh.
Wei Ying walked, carrying what little he had after leaving his previous home. His adopted family were very nice, letting him go to what once was his parents’ residency, giving him some letters of recommendation. He asked the person in charge to not tell anyone about his old home, not wanting it to affect his work.
He was given his own quarters, previously owned by his own parents. He was taken in by some ladies, after hearing from him that he was the son of some old friends. Wei Ying was also told by them to stay away from any of the Lans, the people around them were very superstitious, they would think he was cursed if they learned about his past. Rumors having already spread.
He accepted this easily, only wanting to get any information about his parents that he has long forgotten, the ladies telling him stories here and there. He was given the rooms from the left side of the castle, having to clean them or making sure they were respectable every day.
Some years passed, him becoming very efficient at his work, mostly due to his own set of powers. He could manipulate objects, helping him clean and pick stuff up without breaking a single sweat. Once, while having one of these cleaning sprees, he noticed how a broom had knocked into a painting, causing it to move. It was until then that he realized he had never cleaned behind the paintings, thinking they were stuck in place.
He flicked his wrist, making the painting move to the side. Instead of finding a dirty wall as expected, he noticed some incantations placed on the wall. He was able to read them well, thanks to the book he had always kept, a gift left by his mother when he was young. He traced the signs, reading out loud what it said. He stumbled backwards seeing how the door opened slowly.
He peeked in, noticing a long hallway filled with spiderwebs and old candles. He checked outside the room, making sure no one was around, closing the door slowly. Wei Ying moved back towards the mysterious opening, taking a candle with him and lighting up his way, using his power to put the painting back in place.
***
He passed by, whistling and checking the candles, he would have to change them soon enough, deciding to buy some next time he had to go out.
This hallway led towards the castle’s royal library, well, specifically, a hidden study inside the library. In there one could find sacred texts from the first royal family and information about the different methods of healing and so on. He had spent some time around here, but not reading anything from the shelves, he knew it wasn’t proper.
Most of the time he would grab random books from the main area, sitting down in the study to read and learn about the history of the kingdom. Mostly he would head here at night, taking some candles and reading the old journal that belonged to his parents.
As he got to the other side of the hallway, he placed his ears against it, seeing if he could hear anything from the other side. Hearing nothing, he put his hands towards the wall channeling his energy towards the incantations again, opening the wall. He went inside, moving the painting softly to squeeze in. He moved it back in place, shaking off some of the dust that had fallen in his robes.
As he was about to head into the library, he heard some footsteps heading his way, he freaked out, knowing he wasn’t really supposed to be here. He decided to hide behind a chair and run after the door was opened or play dumb and act as if he had gotten lost.
He doubted that he would be told on, knowing that the servants themselves barely knew him and if he ran fast enough, he would be, but a blur. Going behind the chair, the door opened slowly, the person stepping in lightly and closing the door.
Even before he could make a move, he felt his body freeze. A young man, if you could even call him that, entered the room. He could see he was around his age, but had an aura of elegance that no one should be able to have at that age. The person moved slowly, holding the books perfectly balanced in his arms, face stoic.
He had never seen anyone more handsome than the man in front of him. He could appreciate him even if he was also a man. He basically concluded that he must have been one of the Lans, having heard some rumors about how they were.
He had never seen any of the Lans this close before, so he kind of forgot he was supposed to escape, causing him to accidentally run into a box as he tried to catch a better look. Of course, the noise caught the attention of the Lan, him leaving the books on the table before staining around.
"Who is there?", said the Lan as he took out the sword from the sheath, pointing it towards the noise.
"Umm, it was your imagination.", tried to explain Wei Ying, hoping that maybe he could distract him to escape.
"Nonsense, come out." He moved closer. "You are trespassing."
Wei Ying moved the chair, putting his arms up in defense, "Ok fine, fine."
As Wei Ying walked close to where the Lan was, he could have sworn that the boy looked him over. It could have been a trick of the eye however, the sword faulting.
"Introduce yourself, state your purpose."
"Isn't it quite rude to ask others to introduce themselves without doing it first yourself?" The sword got closer to his neck. "I'm no one important, I'm just a lost servant, that's it."
That caused the Lan to put the sword back down, still cautious, "You are not supposed to be in this place."
Wei Ying crossed his arms, "You know, I've never met a Lan before, this is quite a first impression."
That made the Lan look at him, with a question in his eyes.
"Well, it's a long story, and I can tell you are not the talking type." He moved closer.
He took the Lan's hand and in a bit of courage he brought it to his lips to lay a kiss. He placed the pouch gifted by the old lady in his hand. He seemed like the type to enjoy tea.
"Hope we meet again gege." Wei Ying giggled as he headed towards the door at a fast pace, taking the shock of the other as a chance to not get reported.
The Lan placed his hand in his chest, with slightly wide eyes. It was embarrassing to say that it took him a second to see how the other disappeared, it was as if he almost imagined the encounter. He looked at the bag in his hand, seeing how it was filled with tea leaves. He placed it in his pocket for later, deciding he would not tell anyone about what happened.
Wei Ying, as he went back to the upper area, returned to his room, sitting down on his small bed. He laid back thinking about what had just happened. He was quite proud of having left the man in shock, laughing at his expression. He hoped he would be able to learn more about him at some point. Wei Ying took out a journal of his own, suddenly feeling the inspiration to draw the mysterious Lan in the little secret spot.