Chapter Text
On their second anniversary, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan decided to travel. This will be their third honeymoon, and they are excited to have some time alone after a while.
In the past two years, they have been welcomed in Cloud Recesses as teachers. They spend the morning teaching: Wei Ying teaches about the knowledge and practices of talismans, while Lan Zhan teaches about Gusu Lan's basic cultivation for little Lans, including A-Qing, easing her way to becoming a (naughtiest) disciple of Gusu Lan.
In the afternoon, they develop and practice their own martial art style that can be used without golden cores.
It is useful for times like this, when they are being surrounded by a bunch of bandits.
“Yiling Patriarch! Hanguang-Jun! What a lucky coincidence!” the bandit leader sneers.
Wei Ying bows half-heartedly, not wanting to delay their honeymoon. “You got the wrong people. We are not them.”
“You are them! We would have recognized Hanguang-Jun anywhere. And rumor says he is married to the Yiling Patriarch. So you must be Yiling Patriarch.”
“What do you want?” Lan Zhan demands. It is obvious that this fight cannot be avoided. Better dip into this head first.
The leader threatens, “We will be happy if you’d be our guests willingly. We do have other options, if you are unwilling.”
The bandits take out their weapons; whips, spears, and swords.
Lan Zhan is not afraid of them. He and Wei Ying will be able to handle them just fine. It doesn't mean he is not annoyed.
“We would love to be your guests! I assume it’s a party?” Wei Ying asks, his tone condescending.
“Party for us. With you as our hostages, Gusu Lan Sect and the Yunmeng Jiang will be at our mercy. We can have a huge piece of land and maybe some riches, too.”
“If you are sure we are the famous Yiling Patriarch and Hanguang-Jun, don’t you think you are playing with fire?” Wei Ying twirls Chenqing. It has no power, but that doesn't mean he cannot scare them with it.
“I heard you are no longer powerful.”
“We'll see about that.”
Wei Ying starts charging at them. He is good. He uses Chenqing as a weapon to fight the bandits.
Lan Zhan stays where he is, facing the bandit leader, who summons his subordinates to attack him. He takes out his ordinary sword. It may not be a spiritual weapon, but in his hand, it is a powerful tool.
Between the two of them, they manage to tackle more than half of them in a short period of time.
They want to kidnap the Yiling Patriarch & Hanguang-Jun? They have guts!
But Lan Zhan spoke too soon. As the bandits are losing, a mutant monster appears. Its upper half is the body of a king cobra, and the lower half is a scorpion.
It hisses, “Stupid human! These two are without golden cores, and still you can’t handle them?”
Green smoke emerges from its tail. The bandits that are nearest to that monster shriek while holding their necks.
It is poison.
Wei Ying grabs Lan Zhan’s hand and takes a few steps back. “Lan Zhan, run!”
They both run toward the forest, where the clearing is not visible.
“We cannot run forever!” Lan Zhan says between his breaths. They have run pretty far, but the danger is still eminent.
“I know. Listen, I will set a trap for it. I will assign an area and attach the fire talisman to the trees around it. You will need to hold it for a while, in this spot. Stay in this spot. I will get its attention when I am ready and blow it up.”
“Mn.” He agrees, fully trusting Wei Ying's plan.
“Close combat, Lan Zhan, don't give it a chance to emit the poison gas.”
He nods, pulling his husband into his embrace. “Be careful, Wei Ying.”
His husband kisses his neck before letting go. “You, too,” he whispers.
They may not have time nor power to face that monster, but understanding between the two of them is without equal.
The monster finds Lan Zhan ready for it.
“You should just give up. I need to lay my eggs and create a new habitat. Lan's land is the best environment for my babies.”
He stalls time. “You could’ve asked nicely.”
It hisses unpleasantly. “I could, but I like having you at my disposal for more requests.”
“The Gusu Lan Sect will protect you and your babies if you have a good intention, but without it, they will ignore you even with us as hostages.”
“A monster like us eats humans. Do you think we have a good intention?”
Lan Zhan shrugs. The monster hisses again and attacks him. It is fast, using its fangs and its tail to charge at him. He can barely hold it. When he retaliates with his sword, the monster wraps its tongue around it and pulls it. He is pulled along with the sword, making his back a good target for the hybrid.
The tail pierced his tailbone. He screams.
“Lan Zhan!” he hears Wei Ying's worried scream.
The agony, the pain are unbearable. He loses the strength in his legs and tries to stay conscious. He still has to hold that monster before Wei Ying’s ready with his trap.
“Lan Zhan!”
“Wei Ying…” He sounds so weak. But this pain, it feels like its taking a life out of him.
I need to be with Wei Ying. I need to live. I cannot lose him. He cannot lose me.
He keeps on chanting, “Wei Ying, Wei Ying, Wei Ying." Maybe he does it in his head or with a whispered breath. The next thing he knows, Wei Ying is beside him.
“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, are you okay?”
“Lucky you. I just made him crippled. I did not use any poison. He’ll live!”
Fury burns Wei Ying, he shouts in anger, “Fuck! You stupid monster! Face me! Leave him alone!” He jumps away from Lan Zhan and shoots an arrow. It misses, but it is enough to get the monster's attention.
"Wei Ying!!!" he cries. He should just stop. They can be held hostage until they can think of another way.
The monster laughs eerily. “You’ll have the same fate as your lover!”
Wei Ying runs. The monster follows.
Lan Zhan falls down, no longer able to sustain the pain. He is starting to lose his breath.
From his peripheral vision, he sees Wei Ying trying to get its attention by running around on weird paths. The monster got to him, wrapping Wei Ying’s body with its tail, ready to pierce him.
“Wei Ying…” he weakly whispers. Fear engulfs him, his heart caught in his throat. He tries to get up but can't.
Wei Ying… don't die , he thinks it when he no longer has the energy to say it out loud.
“Don’t worry, Lan Zhan! It will not kill me! They need us!”
“One is enough. I don't need 2 hostages!”
“Hah! You don't know us enough! We are a package!”
Lan Zhan smiles despite his pain. He needs to keep his consciousness. He needs Wei Ying to not lose focus. He should not worry about him.
Wei Ying uses all his energy to pull the monster into the direction of the trap. They move slowly but surely. Once he is close enough, he blows it.
Both he and the monster got thrown a few meters away by the blast. None moves.
“Wei Ying…,” he breathes his name.
Please don't die. Please don't die.
He doesn't know where the energy comes from, but he starts dragging himself on the ground with his hands to get to Wei Ying, pulling his legs that feel like they weigh a ton.
Wei Ying is still, his face on the ground, blood pooling around him. Is he breathing?
He crawls, walking with his hands, pulling his body, though he weakens. He ignores his pain. He has to reach him. He has to know if Wei Ying’s alright. His heart is beating really fast. He is so scared.
Can he live without him?
No, no! Wei Ying still lives. He needs to. We are a package. He tries to convince himself.
From a shorter distance, he sees that the monster is injured. It is still living, though.
“You’ll get what you deserve! Just you wait!” it says before limping its way.
He ignores it. His focus is Wei Ying.
Wei Ying…. Please live.
He finally reaches him. He pulls Wei Ying's body toward him and sees that half of his face is bleeding. He checks his pulse.
He detects weak and slow pulses. But they are there.
He breathes.
He strokes his hair, “Wei Ying… Wake up, Love," he says, trembling.
Wei Ying doesn't move.
He waits... A minute, two, five. In all his desperation, he hums their song, a plea for him to return.
He keeps stroking and humming and praying and trying to believe.
Wei Ying will not leave him.
He forbids it.