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When Lan Xichen next returned from the frontlines to the Cloud Recesses, Nie Huaisang greeted him with so much enthusiasm that for a moment, Lan Xichen wasn’t sure what to make of it. His face looked too much like Nie Mingjue’s when he was bracing himself to hear what broke this time.
“Rude!” Nie Huaisang huffed, though still bouncing with cheer. “And after I worked so hard to prepare such a good surprise for you.”
“Forgive me, Huaisang, but your surprises are just usually…” Well, that was fair and not much else needed to be said about it. But this surprise really was something wonderful, and Nie Huaisang eagerly stuck out his arm out at Lan Xichen. Then when Lan Xichen still didn’t react, grabbed his hand carefully positioned his fingers onto his wrist.
“Come on, feel it! You’ll like what you sense!”
So Lan Xichen read his pulse, blinked twice in surprise, then checked again much more carefully. Nie Huaisang burst out laughing as a delighted grin broke out on Lan Xichen’s face.
“Your golden core!” he exclaimed. “When?”
“A week ago,” Nie Huaisang replied. “It finally, finally stabilized.”
“Congratulations.” Lan Xichen squeezed his hand affectionately. “This is amazing news! Your brother will be so proud of you. I’m so proud of you.”
It was the best feeling in the world. For the rest of Lan Xichen’s visit that day, the two of them chatted happily about Nie Huaisang’s progress, and how they would reveal the news to his brother. Huaisang’s golden core had been a long-standing worry for all of them. Though Nie Huaisang himself often brushed the subject off, Lan Xichen had been his confidant through his worst anxieties about it. He knew better than anyone how much this accomplishment really meant.
As such, it wasn’t surprising at all when towards the end of their conversation, Lan Xichen said, “Huaisang, is there anything you’d like? I’m afraid I can’t take you to see your brother, but if there’s anything else within my power…”
“There is one thing,” Nie Huaisang confessed. “Da-ge taught me to hover years ago, but without my golden core, that was the most we could do. Xichen-gege, can you give me permission to use the Lan sect’s flight field? I want to learn how to fly on my saber.”
Lan Xichen hummed loudly, as though pretending to consider it. Then with bright, shining eyes and a smile full of mischief, he leaned in close and said,
“I think I can do a little better than that.”
The Lan’s flight training field was a wide-open space with freshly trimmed grass and a wide protective array designed to cushion any falling disciples.
That was the standard design of these fields. The Unclean Realm had a similar array in place and a young, brave, and stupid Nie Huaisang found a lot of joy in getting thrown from a great height by his father and landing gently in the grass below.
Based on that, Nie Huaisang knew exactly how safe these fields were, and how incredibly unlikely it was that anything bad could happen to him above it.
And yet…
“Xichen-gege, I can’t do this. I’m afraid of heights.”
“You are not. How many times have I taken you up before?”
“That doesn’t count! You were holding me. I couldn’t fall!”
“You won’t fall now. I promise.”
“My knees feel like jelly… I – NO! Take me down! Down!”
Nie Huaisang shut his eyes and frantically waved his arms around like a panicked duck until he felt a gentle weight on his shoulders pushing him towards the ground.
If was only a few moments after they stopped and Lan Xichen announced that they were down, that Nie Huaisang dared to look. And when he confirmed that they really were hovering only a few li from the freshly trimmed grass, his knees really buckled.
Lan Xichen grabbed his shoulders immediately. Below him, his saber plopped to the ground.
“I got you,” Lan Xichen chuckled as he set him down. “That was a good try.”
“You said I wouldn’t fall,” Nie Huaisang whimpered. Every muscle in his body was taut with terror.
“You didn’t fall. I caught you,” Lan Xichen replied. But the moment he took his hands away, Nie Huaisang finished his drop to the ground.
“I change my mind!” Nie Huaisang announced. “I don’t need flying lessons.”
“Yes, you do. Stand up. We’re going back up.”
“Nuh-uh!” Nie Huaisang fists curled around the grass.
He had been ecstatic when Lan Xichen not only gave him permission to use the field, but also promised to teach him personally. The thought of being up in the air with Lan Xichen, the wind in their hair as they flew side by side over the beautiful landscapes of the Cloud Recesses together felt like a dream.
Now the thought of being so high up, with no one to hold onto, the ground so far below, and having to focus on keeping himself upright on his saber while it raced around was enough to make him want to crawl under a rock and never come out again.
But Lan Xichen knelt down beside him, and with a gentle understanding smile said, “Lots of people are scared the first time. You did really well. What if this time,” he helped Nie Huaisang up, “I’ll hold your hand?”
The second time up was a much better experience.
For Nie Huaisang, at least. He wasn’t entirely sure the smile on Lan Xichen’s face was still real after having his hand squeezed so much.
But like a true gentleman, Lan Xichen did not say a word of complaint and only offered gentle encouragement (and much needed distraction) as Nie Huaisang floated on his saber and learned not to notice the ground below. The first lesson ended with Nie Huaisang capable of going up and down and standing still.
They started moving around the second time. Nie Huaisang still held Lan Xichen’s hand and let himself be slowly led around the field, as he learned to put up a shield to block the worst of the wind on his face. A breeze was nice, but no one wanted to be blasted with a blinding gale.
Later it was his turn to lead Lan Xichen around. Nie Huaisang knew how to hover a little above the ground, and could zip across the Unclean Realm’s halls at full speed (the little burst of it his low vitality allowed anyway), but now he had to focus on too many other things and could barely move.
With Lan Xichen as his teacher, their lessons could last a long time. Lan Xichen hadn’t just offered to hold his hand to be nice (although he was very nice), he also transferred a steady stream of qi to keep Nie Huaisang from getting too tired too quickly.
“You’re doing very well,” Lan Xichen would say. “Have a little more confidence. A little more speed.”
“I’m getting it. I’m really getting it!” Nie Huaisang breathed out. He was still moving at a dying snail’s pace admittedly, but the saber felt more stable beneath his feet, and he didn’t scream as loudly anytime the wind jostled it.
“Huaisang, there are some places around the Cloud Recesses I want to show you,” Lan Xichen said. “One of my favorites sights here is the sunset over a waterfall. You’d love it.”
“I want to see!” Nie Huaisang agreed. “I’ve stayed here for how many years and you’re only now telling me about it?”
“The best view is from the air,” Lan Xichen told him. “It wouldn’t be fun for you if you had to cling to me the whole time. I thought that once you got your golden core and learned to fly, we could travel there together.”
Nie Huaisang, who always enjoyed clinging to Lan Xichen, wasn’t sure he agreed, but still nodded enthusiastically. Not only was his dream of flying with Lan Xichen coming true, Lan Xichen was even inviting him out himself!
“I’ll learn to fly in no time,” he promised. “I’m think I’m really getting the hang of this!”
And he was!
When Lan Xichen was holding his hand.
The moment he let go was the moment Nie Huaisang understood that no, he wasn’t getting it, and yes, being so high up in the air was really, really terrifying.
It was like the first lesson all over again, only Nie Huaisang wasn’t seized up in enough terror to completely loose his senses, and could still manage to fly around a little even if every blade of wind resistance against his saber made his stomach drop and left him with the sinking feeling that he was going to fall.
Then, he did fall. It happened so quickly that he wasn’t even sure why. Maybe he was tired, maybe he tried to go too fast, maybe his turn was too sharp, maybe he mis-stepped, maybe it was the wind’s fault, maybe it was all of those things at once – one moment he was on his saber. The next moment he was hurtling to ground at full force, too paralyzed to even scream.
Nie Huaisang only remembered closing his eyes and suddenly being yanked upwards. He opened his eyes to blurred white robes and a gentle smile. The ground was still far below but Nie Huaisang perfectly secure in Lan Xichen’s arms.
“I’ve got you,” Lan Xichen said, his voice as reassuring as always. “You’re alright.”
Except Nie Huaisang wasn’t alright. His saber was on the ground, his face was on fire, his limbs were frozen stiff, and his heart was pounding hard enough to leap out of his throat. He opened his mouth to say something and promptly burst into tears.
No matter how much Lan Xichen coaxed and comforted him after that, Nie Huaisang refused to go anywhere near the flying field for the remainder of his stay.
“Grandmaster?”
On the day Lan Xichen left for the front again, Nie Huaisang, clutching his saber tightly to his chest, approached Lan Qiren.
Lan Qiren gave him an unimpressed glare. “Finally finished crying?”
Nie Huaisang flinched at the rebuke but nodded solemnly.
“I was wondering… if maybe…you…”
Nie Huaisang drew back with every word as Lan Qiren’s frown deepened. Just as he was about to apologize and dismiss the whole idea, Lan Qiren sighed.
“Be on the field tomorrow at the second half of the rabbit hour.”
“Yes!”
“However, just so we’re clear, we are going there to learn. Not flirt.”
“Y-yes…”
“You’re flying!” Lan Xichen exclaimed with awe and wonder, as Nie Huaisang flew literal circles around him. His movements were swift and balanced. There wasn’t a trace of fear in his body any longer.
“Your uncle is as terrifying as always, but he’s a good teacher,” Nie Huaisang said. “N-not that you weren’t, I mean! Um, I’m really sorry about last time…”
“It’s alright. Uncle had words for me as well,” Lan Xichen confessed. “It’s good that you’ve found your footing now. You’re like a little bird.”
Nie Huaisang beamed.
“I suppose that means you’re ready for your reward now?” Lan Xichen smiled. “Shall we go to the waterfall tonight?”
“T-tonight? A waterfall?” Nie Huaisang froze. “X-Xichen-gege, I’ve only been flying for a few months! And only over this protective field! I can’t fly over a waterfall! What if I fall?”
Granted, he learned all the necessary spells to slow his fall even outside the field and had mastered them faster than any spell before, but still!
“I’m with you. You won’t fall,” Lan Xichen remarked, but after a thoughtful pause added. “What if I hold your hand?”
It was a really nice sunset.