Chapter Text
Jiang Cheng knew he was in deep, deep trouble when he felt the tree that he was nestled in tremble as if the ground below it was slowly eroding from underneath it.
He paused in his frantic cocoon-making and sat deathly silent, listening and feeling for the tell-tale deep rumble of the soil beneath the tree’s roots moving again. He was about to return to building himself a nice, dry shelter- thank goodness for his ultra-durable waterproof webs- when he felt it again, only more violent than before. He tensed and looked down, seeing how the rivulets of water kept pouring across the ground around the roots of the tree he’d taken shelter in and the other trees around it. He already knew it was only a matter of time before the heavy monsoon storm he was currently caught in would cause a landslide, taking him and the tree he’d scrambled into for shelter along with it, but he’d honestly thought that he’d have a bit more time.
He was injured, though his core was strong enough to already have healed the worst of his injuries; and cold, meaning that although he could tolerate colder conditions and live near water, he- like all other spiders- would soon go into hibernation if he didn’t get warm soon, or at the very least, spin himself a cocoon in which to safely hibernate in until he was rescued.
He didn’t even have his sword anymore! He’d lost it somewhere in the belly of the mysterious beast that he and his disciples had been hunting, when he’d thrust it into the exposed underside of its belly, hoping to kill it but mistook how resilient the beast was and was too slow to pull it back out before the beast had turned on him instead. It had tried to attack, and since he was now defenceless, he’d just ran and it had just chased him further into the forest.
He had desperately tried to retrieve his sword during the chase, or get it off his trail, or lead it back to his disciples so they could finish it off, but it had chased him and chased him until he’d seen the edge of the cliff ahead and had leapt forward off it, quickly sending up a strand of silk to carry him in the wind long enough for him to swing back around and grab ahold of the nearest tree. He’d ended up transforming into his spider form with its longer legs in order to do this, but it had worked, and the beast had tumbled off the cliff and fallen into the misty depths below, taking Jiang Cheng’s sword with it.
Jiang Cheng had been left in an unknown forest somewhere in Yiling, far away from his disciples, injured, tired and with the temperature rapidly dropping as it started to drizzle. So, he had tried to retrace his footsteps before giving up and heading up to higher ground, eventually finding his way into what he thought was a relatively sturdy tree that was halfway up the hill of a small valley and thus was protected from the worst of the rain by the thickest part of the forest and the mountains all around it.
He’d needed to dry off, and the cocoon he’d been building was right at the top of the tree, in hopes that if he’d laid down to rest and accidentally went into hibernation instead, he’d still be visible from above for when the rains stopped and his disciples came to search the forest via sword flight. At the very least, when the monsoon stopped long enough to let the sun out, he’d be the first to catch it’s rays and warmth, and this might bring him back out of hibernation again and give him a better chance of surviving.
He’d thought that a forest this old and established might be able to help provide some shelter and protection, and won’t be as susceptible to landslides as the other more exposed areas, but now as he felt the trembling tree beneath him, clearly, he’d been very much mistaken.
He tensed as the tree jerked, then frantically looked around to see if he could make the jump to the neighbouring trees without needing to transform into his spider form, as he was already starting to shiver and didn’t want to be stuck in the form that was slightly more vulnerable to the cold, golden core or not. The tree shuddered underneath him, and he felt rather than heard the deep rumble of the earth below him displacing with the force and volume of the water.
He leapt and made it to the neighbouring tree with a bit of difficulty; he was not a jumping spider, and the thick branches that count withstand his human weight- light as he may be due to his natural spidery buoyancy and lightness- were decently spread apart and required careful aim. No sooner had he landed than he needed to jump again; the branches he’d landed on had bent and creaked under his weight and he’d leapt onto the next tree just as the branches had snapped. He jumped and leapt and headed further up the hill, hoping his movement would warm himself up a bit more until he could find shelter.
It was then that he looked up and saw with horror that a huge chunk of earth and soil suddenly began to move ahead of him, and while there was some wind and his webs were waterproof, the wind was not strong enough to lift him high enough and for long enough to let him avoid the landslide. Still, he was of YunmengJiang, and their motto was Attempt The Impossible not for nothing, so Jiang Cheng sent out another strand of silk and leapt up as high as he could into the wind.
He was in luck, for the wind changed direction just then and dragged him sideways away from the landslide just as it reached the tree he was perched in. He had a moment of triumph and relief before it changed direction again, blowing the pelting rain in his face and blinding him so he could not avoid slamming back-first against the hard rock of the exposed side of the hill, the side right next to the section that was being decimated by the landslide. The wind was knocked out of him and he had just enough time to detach his silk before gravity took hold of him and he plummeted straight down into what he thought were some bushes that he hoped would break his fall.
They didn’t, and Jiang Cheng fell straight down into a giant cave whose opening had actually been concealed by the bushes… right smack onto a giant, sturdy web that cushioned his fall and stuck to him fast, leaving him swinging crazily as the web vibrated before evening out.
Spiders didn’t get vertigo, but Jiang Cheng still felt dizzy as he looked around and found himself stuck in his sprawled out state, unable to move. He struggled for a bit, unable to comprehend where he was until his eyes adjusted to the low light, and then he felt sick to his stomach at the realisation of his situation.
He’d gotten stuck onto another spider’s web.
Well fuck.
He didn’t know how long it had been, but he had been struggling this entire time. The web didn’t look like it was new and had caught stray twigs and leaves and dust, which meant that either the spider had forgotten about it or the spider had already died- meaning, with either option, that it wouldn’t be able to come and free him or worse.
On the one hand, if it was a cannibalistic spider, he wouldn’t get eaten; if it was a merciful spider, he wouldn’t get rescued or helped; and it if was a Widow- rare as they may be- he’d probably not get bred and then eaten alive immediately afterwards, which in his opinion, was a fate worse than simply being eaten by the cannibal spiders since those at least had the courtesy of using venom to kill their victims first and give them a relatively painless death.
On the second hand, if it was still alive and did end up coming to check up on its webs at some point, he’d get eaten (it would at least be quick and painless), or helped (the ideal situation here) or bred and eaten alive immediately afterwards.
Either way, if it was a Widow, he was fucked, and Jiang Cheng thought to himself that it was just his luck to get lost, almost die in a landslide and then immediately get caught in a Widow’s web, and honestly, he was praying to wall the deities he could think of that this web belonged to a nice, friendly, Forest or Tree spider that was still alive and on it’s way so that he could be freed quickly and not die or be eaten.
He relaxed against the web, taking a moment to breathe and cycle qi around his body to heal some of his wounds even more and to bring some heat to his extremities, which were already getting stiff from the cold and how soaked he was. He shivered violently, and desperately searched the cave with his eyes, looking for anything he could use to free himself or any sign of life. His eye caught onto a web formation around the edge of the hole that he’d fallen into, and he squinted to look at it. Something about it was familiar…
No sooner had he figured out where he’d seen that particular formation before, with his eyes widening in horror and his heart trying to leap out of his chest, that he’d felt the tiniest of vibrations in the web, the kind made by a spider walking onto a connecting web from a distance away. He searched around and- there, in the darkest corner of the cave, was the shimmery, dusty line of a connecting web. Spiders tended to connect most of their webs; that’s how his mother had known whenever he’d snuck out to Lotus Pier’s night markets- she’d connected webs to every single door and window in Lotus Cove and thus knew whenever someone entered or left a room or the building. It was the best defence against intruders- and it had even worked with catching a servant who had tried to kidnap his sister as a baby for ransom money once.
Now, Jiang Cheng didn’t even care for subtlety or keeping himself hidden; there were only two spiders who created that particular kind of formation, and one of them was Widows, which was enough for Jiang Cheng. He desperately wanted- no, needed - to get out of here. The spider would know he was here sooner or later. He struggled with all his might, sending qi to his wrists and fingernails and attempting to cut the web itself in his desperation. Even if the web didn’t belong to a Widow after all, he was taking no chances- the two species looked similar enough and the only way to tell them apart would be to look at the marking on the underside of their abdomen. If the spider was in human form and not its spider form, then that was not a viable option and Jiang Cheng really wanted to live, thank you.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
A smooth, silky, somewhat husky voice came from the darkest corner of the cave, interrupting Jiang Cheng’s escape efforts. He turned to look at the source of the noise in terror and saw two glowing red eyes.
“It appears to me that I’ve caught a little spider in my web today~” the voice purred.
Jiang Cheng gulped and trembled, a little bit from fear and a little bit from the cold.
The spider emerged from the shadows, in a half-human and half-spider form, which- Jiang Cheng didn’t even know was possible! Not practically at least! Sure, theoretically, cultivators who reached immortality or close to immortality definitely could stay in a half-half form, but! It was practically impossible so far! Wen Ruohan had been the closest cultivator to immortality and even he hadn’t been able to do more than simply switch forms at a really fast pace! But now, here was this spider, moving easily in a half-half form as if it had been born like this and had spent its entire life in such a form!
Jiang Cheng could only watch as the spider crawled closer, and did so very gracefully for what appeared to be such an awkward form, he’d have to admit. The spider had a handsome face with long, loose hair that was tied back by two strands of hair from the front and the human half was clad in black and red male cultivator’s robes.
And then, as he crawled into the small shaft of light created by the wind ruthlessly blowing the bushes hiding the entrance aside, Jiang Cheng got a good look at the spider’s abdomen, making his blood run cold.
The spider’s abdomen was pure black with red markings in a V down its side, and its spider legs- all 8 of them- also had subtle red stripes all over it. And then, as it shot a web to the ceiling to swing over to its web, Jiang Cheng got an eyeful of the bottom of its abdomen. Specifically, the slightly glowing red hourglass mark on it.
It was a Widow. Yep, that’s right. Jiang Cheng had gotten caught in a fucking Widow's web. Of all the spiders out there whose webs he could've gotten caught in, he just had to have gotten caught in a Widow 's web.
Well that's just great. He could practically feel the deities he'd been frantically praying to earlier laughing at him as they kicked his prayers aside.
The Widow landed lightly onto the web, which still shook and trembled under its weight.
“And it appears that the spider I’ve caught is a pretty little Lotus spider. Aren’t you far away from your pond now, Little Lotus? Yunmeng is across an entire river after all.”
Jiang Cheng couldn’t speak due to his mouth drying up as the Widow slowly circled him, studying him intensely with those piercing, glowing red eyes. This is how he was going to die, nevermind that the Widow wasn’t female- it just meant he wouldn’t be bred first before being eaten.
“Ahh, I suppose it was you who tripped all of my webs leading up to the mountain, and it was definitely you who I’d assumed had gotten caught in that landslide. Oh well. You are one lucky spider, to have survived something like that .”
The Widow leaned down low, making it look graceful for such an awkward movement. He reached out and traced a single, burning finger down the side of Jiang Cheng’s face.
“Tenacious, like the lotus. Beautiful like one too,” he murmured, making Jiang Cheng squirm in fear and something that, to his own horror, was starting to feel a bit like arousal.
“P-please!” he gasped outof desperation, his voice high and breathy with fear.
“Oh? The Little Lotus speaks too!”
“Please h-help me. I’m injured and cold and I’ll go in-into hibernation soon. Please! It was a mistake, I never meant to fall in here! I just want some shelter until it’s dry again and I’m healed so I can go home!” Jiang Cheng continued before he lost his courage.
The Widow stared at him and tilted his head to the side, considering. His eyes roamed over Jiang Cheng’s face, taking in his expensive headpiece and the delicate and subtle braids of YunmengJiang’s style in his hair.
The Widow’s eyes drifted down as his spider legs automatically lifted him up enough to let him take in all of the Lotus spider in his web; his soaking, rumpled robes that had stuck fast to the web and had loosened and exposed tiny slivers of his skin; the way he’d fallen and stuck spread-eagled on the web; the way his breathing was more panting at this point from his desperate and futile escape attempt and the fear coursing through his veins; the way his robes had shifted allowing him the view of clung to his legs, highlighting his thick calves and even a bit of muscular thigh.
Jiang Cheng had never felt so much more like prey in that moment. He felt helpless and small, pinned down by the sheer weight of that gaze; the cold, calculating look as he assessed the risk and reward of keeping a high-ranking YunmengJiang disciple captive; the hunger as he looked at the fresh meat he’d caught; a different kind of hungry look in his eyes as he basically stripped Jiang Cheng bare with his eyes alone; the raw, sheer power behind those eyes that told Jiang Cheng a lot about how much of a powerful cultivator this Widow was. This Widow had quite possibly cultivated completely to immortality, and unlike most immortals, there was no way he could beg for mercy and be guaranteed to be granted it.
“I suppose I could be convinced into helping you, but I definitely am not letting you go. I’d be a fool to let such a beautiful little spider go, after all.”
The Widow eventually purred, coming to a decision with a smile that sank Jiang Cheng’s heart.
“You did fall right into my web after all. And I don’t make it a habit to release the prey I’ve caught. Or potential mates either. It’s a rule among Widows, you see. And other Widows will respect your webs and keep away from your catch, too. Even if I leave you here for one of the others to find-”
Others?! There’s more Widows on this mountain?! Jiang Cheng thought in disbelief-
“-None of them will lift a single finger to help you, Little Lotus. You’re better off with me, honestly.”
The Widow reached out to trace his fingers lightly over Jiang Cheng’s face, leaving a trail of heat and pure, powerful spiritual energy seeping through his fingers and shooting through Jiang Cheng's meridians to his golden core. He gasped despite himself as the heat flooded his body and he felt his injuries heal faster than they'd ever had before. All it had taken was a single brush of the Widow's fingers to pass such a large amount of spiritual energy into him that he could feel his core getting stronger. It was intoxicating and also such a casual show of power that Jiang Cheng knew there was nothing he could do to possibly fight this spider off and escape.
With his injuries healed and his core stronger and thus more able to keep him warm, technically, the Widow had helped him in the way that he'd asked him to. The Widow evidently knew this with how the corner of his mouth quirked up. Jiang Cheng gulped through his relief as steam gently arose from his clothes as he unconciously began drying out his clothes with the new burst of spiritual energy he'd recieved.
The Widow, whose hands had paused on his jaw, now dragged his fingertips down Jiang Cheng’s neck, soft and feather-light, leaving a burning, tingling trail that made Jiang Cheng aware of the fact that his fear had started to mingle with his arousal even more than before. He fought the urge to let his eyelids flutter, even if it did feel nice.
The Widow brought his hands to rest at the bottom of Jiang Cheng’s neck, letting his fingers curl around it- and his hands were big enough to almost fit around Jiang Cheng’s neck, which sent a jolt of fear-arousal through him- and brought his thumbs to rest in the hollow at the base of his neck. He didn’t press down, and he didn’t squeeze, but the weight of his hands alone was enough to send another jolt of fear-arousal through Jiang Cheng, who couldn’t control the slight flutter of his eyelids this time.
Yep. Trust the Widow to figure out all of my kinks without even meaning to. That checks out. Just my luck, huh?
“Tell me, Little Lotus, what is your name and rank within the Jiang Sect?”
“I- I’m Jiang Cheng, courtesy Wanyin. I’m the Head Disciple and Heir.”
“Jiang Cheng,” the Widow purred, rolling the name around his mouth as if savouring it like fine wine. Jiang Cheng ignored the rush of blood to his face at the sound of the Widow purring his name like that. If he ignored it, maybe the Widow would too and it wouldn't exist. Honestly, it was exactly like Jiang Cheng’s luck for him to find out more about himself and his kinks right before he was going to die (probably). Again, the deities were laughing at him.
“Oh, how rude of me. I should’ve introduced myself first. I am Wei Ying, courtesy Wuxian, one of the two most powerful Widows on this mountain. I hope that you never meet the other one, because she is more ruthless than your scariest stories would paint us. In fact, I believe she may be the origin of several of them.”
A female widow was also on this mountain?! One that was even scarier that the worst of the horror stories?! What the fuck. Jiang Cheng never wanted to meet her ever in his life.
“And now, Little Lotus, I think it’s time I took you back home.”
Jiang Cheng looked up in shock and hope.
“Oh no, not your home. I meant mine . Ours , from now on I suppose.”
Jiang Cheng deflated, his hope shattering to pieces on the spot.
“I am keeping you after all- I don’t let any of my prey escape once they’re in my web, remember? Widow trait and all.”
He pressed down and squeezed slightly on Jiang Cheng’s neck, making him gasp involuntarily.
“Oh but don’t worry- I’m not going to kill you or eat you. You’re so beautiful, it’d be such a shame. Your cultivation is high enough, but I can always provide more spiritual energy if you need to. I don’t suppose you know how cultivation can assist cutsleeve couples with bearing a child, do you?”
Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened with fear. So he was going to be bred after all! And if
the Widow
Wei Wuxian wanted to use cultivation for this, it would mean that he was, in fact, going to eat Jiang Cheng after- females could only follow their instincts, after all, and a female Widow’s instinct was to eat her mate after they were done.
“No, I don’t think you do. No worries, I will teach you. Don’t look so scared, Little Lotus. I’ll be gentle with you, I promise.”
Wei Wuxian leaned down to whisper in his ear.
“I’ll make it good for you, you’ll see. You’ll look so beautiful bearing my children; I can already picture it.”
He flicked his tongue out and traced over the edge of Jiang Cheng’s ear. Jiang Cheng let out a small noise that he couldn’t stop if he wanted to. Wei Wuxian pulled back and suddenly squeezed his neck, making him gasp and writhe for a few seconds before he forced himself to relax and keep his breathing shallow. Wei Wuxian chuckled.
“Oh Little Lotus, I am going to have so much fun with you~” he sang out happily.
Then, he let go of Jiang Cheng’s neck and placed his palms flat on his shoulders, watching Jiang Cheng gasp for air and the way his entire face filled with a gorgeous pink flush that Wei Wuxian wanted to keep on his face.
“So beautiful,” he murmured softly, the praise making a few small butterflies flutter in Jiang Cheng’s stomach. Stupid butterflies and stupid praise kink, to come out now of all times! he thought.
Wei Wuxian slowly slid his hands down Jiang Cheng’s now dry body and clothes, feeling the spider’s strong muscles even through his many layers of robes. He slowly undid Jiang Cheng’s belt, and ignored the panicked, wide-eyed look that was sent his way. He opened the robes only enough to expose the glowing purple lotus mark on Jiang Cheng’s lower abdomen, the mark which showed what species of spider he was. Spider’s human forms also carried their species marks, and if they were cultivators then the mark would eventually end up glowing. The brighter the glow, the stronger the cultivator. Their marks were also highly sensitive in their human forms, functioning as erogenous spots to almost everyone, with cultivators being more affected by them since they were directly above their lower dantian and thus in direct contact with the biggest reserve of spiritual energy in the body.
It was considered taboo to mutilate another’s species mark, and touching them was only done between couples in private. It’s also why many people wore sashes with special plates woven in during training, to prevent their fellow disciples from accidentally knocking into and touching their marks.
Wei Wuxian reached out and traced the edge of the lotus on Jiang Cheng’s mark, making the spider gasp and jerk against the web. Wei Wuxian quirked a smile and continued, ignoring Jiang Cheng’s gasped protests as he watched him writhe around on his web. He placed his palm flat against the mark and pressed down, leaning his weight fully onto it and simultaneously sending a jolt of spiritual energy through his palm, making Jiang Cheng arch up against him as much as he could with a low moan. Wei Wuxian leaned over and pressed a soft kiss against the base of Jiang Cheng’s jaw.
“Shhhh. It’s okay. I’ll take good care of you, Little Lotus. Don’t you worry now,” he soothed, crooning low into his ear.
“Come. Lets go back home now, shall we? I’m going to have to bite and cocoon you, but I promise it won’t hurt.”
He leaned down and licked a hot, wet stripe up Jiang Cheng’s neck, who moaned and jerked into the hand on his mark. Wei Wuxian licked a few times, making sure to spread his analgesic saliva evenly across his neck so that his bite won’t hurt Jiang Cheng.
The last thing that Jiang Cheng remembers is looking up at the dull light from the bushes covering the hole above them and the mind-clouding pleasure surging through his body at the touch of
the Widow
Wei Wuxian’s hand feeling spiritual energy directly into his core via his mark and his tongue on his neck.
I’m sorry Mother, Father, A-Jie, shidis and meimeis. I love you.
was his last thought before the darkness claimed him.