Chapter Text
1.
Soft melodious notes flowed in the air and although they were shaky and slow to come, their creator was able to string them together into a melody quickly enough. It was a simple, quiet song that engulfed the player in a bubble.
Anyone who would have stumbled into the scene would fear to interfere and would be content to just watch from the side, and that’s just what Lan Qiren aimed for. Although his father would have preferred him to stay with his older brother, and maybe even try and walk around to see this new place he had seen for only the first time in his life, he chose to stay here, next to the palace entrance.
His father had to attend his monthly sect meeting, and because it usually was only going through the same procedure of exchanging pleasantries, talking about rising problems and throwing responsibilities at each other, He thought he could take his now old enough sons with him. An emergency arose and he had to ask his sons to wait for him as he discussed what might not be appropriate for them to hear. His older brother who was actually already familiar with the Nightless City decided to look around, but Lan Qiren decided to stay next to the entrance of the palace, just in case.
It was surprisingly quiet, it almost seemed that the universe has decided to grant him his very own moment, and so it seemed just about right that he would practice his guqin. It was a good thing that he brought it along, he only just started to learn more difficult songs, and although he was improving fast, his fingers still shook whenever he had to move them too quickly.
He was so concentrated on the movement of his fingers and the flow of the melody that he didn’t notice someone approaching, only when he started getting closer Lan Qiren lifted his head and stopped his strumming.
“That was a nice song, what’s it called?”
A young man, seemingly not much older than his brother approached, his robes adorned with red suns.
Lan Qiren looked at him wearily, his mouth shut tight in a frown. The young man frowned back at him, lifting an eyebrow.
“Well, aren’t you a rude child? Your elder spoke to you, you should apologize and answer.” He took a few more steps forward, now threatening to enter Lan Qiren’s bubble.
Lan Qiren looked down at his guqin, trying to will his frown away. Obviously this stranger was right, even if Lan Qiren didn’t like him at first glance, he owed this elder his apology. Just as he was about to say so he noticed that the stranger was suddenly so close to him, just enough to tower over him and shade him from the sun.
He jerked away, his guqin nearly falling off in the process if it weren’t for the stranger who caught it before it got the chance to touch the ground.
“I- Thank you. And I apologize for my rudeness.” He shuffled his legs anxiously, waiting for his guqin to be returned to him while the stranger appraised it in his hands.
“Great quality, beautifully structured, as expected of Gusulan.” He looked back up to Qiren, scrutinizing him. “Although I would have expected a Lan disciple to be more polite and respectful.”
Lan Qiren reddened, catching his angry words in his throat before they got the chance to spill out. The stranger smirked at that, giving him a quick look-over.
“But I’m willing to forgive you, because you are quite young.”
He snapped at that, but instead of yelling as he would have wanted he reached out a hand, trying to take back his guqin and leave. The stranger took a step back, still having the instrument latched between his arms, this time even tighter.
Lan Qiren tried reaching out again but only succeeded in grabbing air as the young man just walked away, circling Lan Qiren while having the guqin swing in the air.
Lan Qiren bristled at that.
“Give it back!” He ran after the stranger, trying to grab the instrument while having it swinging from here to there. He was too slow, and the young man too fast and agile, sometimes holding the guqin just high enough that Lan Qiren couldn’t reach it. The stranger chuckled at that.
“You’ll have to take it yourself, or ask for it nicely.” He leaned on a tree, holding the instrument loosely in his hands.
“It’s mine!” Lan Qiren yelled, his voice turning higher with anger and embarrassment.
“It’s yours only if you can take it back.” The young man laughed as Lan Qiren ran after him again.
They didn’t get to do this for long though, they both noticed an approaching figure and immediately stopped, one just now realizing how indecent he looked and the other not wanting to be caught bullying a child.
“Ah brother, did you find a friend?” Qingheng Jun approached them, his famous, gentle smile as always present on his face.
“Young master Wen.” He greeted, coming to stand next to Lan Qiren.
“Qingheng Jun.” The young wen greeted back, his playful smirk now gone.
“I see you’ve met my younger brother.”
“We didn’t have the pleasure of exchanging courtesy names.” He turned to look at Qiren, who stood slightly straighter in his place.
Before he had a chance to speak tough Qingheng Jun spoke up.
“I’ll appreciate it if you returned the guqin, it is a gift by our father and a highly prized possession of my brother.”
“Oh, this thing?” The young Wen master gave it an unimpressed look before handing it to the older brother. “He should take better care of his things.”
“You took it!” Lan Qiren exclaimed.
“I would never let anyone touch my belongings.” The young Wen master huffed.
Qingheng Jun looked between the two, conflicted.
“Everything is okay now, isn’t it? There’s no need to argue.”
Lan Qiren took the offered guqin back from his brother, holding it tightly between his hands. He felt the need to hide behind his brother and keep glaring at the other but knew it would be inappropriate.
The young Wen master kept looking at him.
After a hand kept pushing at his shoulder, Lan Qiren found no other choice but to walk a step forward and begrudgingly bowed.
“Please excuse my behavior, it is unbecoming of me as a Lan disciple to act as such.” Lan Qiren muttered and hoped the apology wouldn’t sound too practiced and ingenuine as it wasn’t the first time he had to say it.
“Hmph, It seems like the young disciple is used to apologizing for such acts.” The young Wen master huffed, seeing right through him. Lan Qiren almost got back up and yelled but his brother’s hand kept him bowed, ever present on his shoulder.
“Please, Young master Wen.” His voice was slightly colder then what Lan Qiren was used to hearing, and he wondered how the expression upon his face looked, if it was different from what he was used to.
The young master shuffled his legs and gave a slight, almost invisible bow of his own. “I apologize as well.”
Finally, Lan Qiren was allowed to straighten his back and look at the other’s calculating eyes.
.
.
.
“Wen Rouhan.”
“Lan Qiren.”
2.
The Cloud Recesses when accepting visitors is no different than the Cloud Recesses on every other day, or so it’s supposed to be. The usually quiet dining hall is now filled with laughter and noise, where was once only white is now painted in different colors of red, yellow, purple and green.
Every five years the Cloud Recesses accepted outside disciples from other sects, parents hoping that by going through their hard, unrelenting teaching they would turn their children into upstanding cultivators- with infinite patience, wide knowledge and righteousness. Every sect leader and famous cultivators has studied at the cloud recesses in their youth, and so it didn’t come as a surprise that the future sect leaders of the Jin and Wen sect came to study as well, still young and impressionable.
“Ugh, this food tastes like shit.” A wen sect disciple muttered into his plate, shoving his steamed vegetables to the side of his plate. The tofu was soft, but tasteless and there was no meat in sight.
“It’s so plain.” Another wen disciple whined. “How can they eat this stuff every day?” He turned around to look at a table filled with Lan disciples, they were the picture of perfect obedience- eating quietly and slowly, not one hair out of place.
“There’s no surprise they are so stuffy and boring, they probably had to endure this lack of joy their whole life!” A Jin disciple exclaimed.
“Not eating meat… not drinking alcohol… if this is the path to becoming of famous cultivator I don’t want it!”
“I think you’re forgetting three thousands other rules.”
They weren’t afraid of being overheard, the noise of everyone talking over each other in the hall created a safe bubble for them to speak their mind.
“Wen gege,” Jin Guangshan was the youngest the disciple in the table, ever since he came to the Cloud Recesses he never strayed from Wen Rouhan’s side, and now was no different.
“The food really is awful, you are probably used to the delicacies they serve in the nightless city.” Jin Guangshan looked at Wen Rouhan, waiting for a response. When he got none he leaned in and whispered.
“I brought some candy.” He opened his hand and revealed a small round ball wrapped in paper. Wen Rouhan looked at Jin Guangshan for a moment before taking the offered candy.
“Thank you.”
Jin Guangshan’s face seemed to light up.
After a few more minutes of talking the whole dining hall suddenly quieted down, two Lan disciples entering the room, their forehead ribbons billowing behind them elegantly. One of them is slightly taller with a gentle smile on his face and the other, even though he looks younger he also seems cold and harsh.
The younger one stopped in his tracks, food tray in his hands, as he looked over the dining hall, his face turning even colder.
Usually Lan Qiren and Lan Qingheng sat together at an empty table, preferring their own private space. But now, because of all of the new disciples there weren’t any empty tables available.
“Come, brother.” Qingheng Jun called, leading his younger brother to a table filled with Lan disciples who made room for them. Lan Qiren looked over, his frosty eyes slightly melting before following his brother and sitting down.
Wen Rouhan looked at them, his brows furrowing.
“Why did everybody quiet down? Qingheng Jun isn’t that frightening.”
“They didn’t quiet down because of Qingheng Jun, it’s because of that frigid Lan Qiren!” A disciple leaned over to whisper scandalously.
“He’s just a child though, what’s so scary about him?” Jin Guangshan asked with a pout.
“Isn’t he the same age as you, A-shan?” A different disciple laughed. Jin Guangshan reddened.
“He isn’t scary,” Wen Rouhan snorted. “He just needs to… open up.” He smirked to himself.
“Well, the only person who ever dares to talk to him is his brother and well, the teachers.”
“I’ll show you there’s nothing to be scared of.” And with that he stood up, leaving a table full of disciples smiling to one another, and one Jin Guangshan who worriedly bit at his fingernail but still looked on with curiosity.
He walked up to the table filled with Lan disciples, some of them stopping eating to look at him with a raised brow.
“Qingheng Jun, Lan Qiren. It’s good to see you after so long.” He smiled at them.
Qingheng Jun stopped eating and nodded in acknowledgement, his smile still present on his face. Lan Qiren stopped eating as well, making a show of chewing and then swallowing, putting his utensils down and looking over at Wen Rouhan with a frown on his face.
“There’s no talking while eating in the Cloud Recesses.” He simply said, before blatantly ignoring the other while he continued with his food.
“Is that any way to greet your elders? Ah well. You haven’t changed, did you?” He smiled as he saw Lan Qiren freeze in his seat, his ears turning red. But before he managed to tease him again he heard Qingheng Jun cough.
“Young master Wen, wouldn’t you like to finish your meal? We will be able to greet each other properly after we finish.”
Wen Rouhan looked at him unimpressed and wasn’t surprised to see the smile from before replaced with a cold stare.
“There’s no need, I just wanted to thank you for taking me in to your sect.”
“Of course, we hope you find your time here fulfilling and productive for your learning.”
And without anything else to say he turned around and walked back for his table, but before actually reaching it he threw his candy in Lan Qiren’s direction, who caught it before it hit him.
Lan Qiren looked at the candy his hand in confusion before turning to look at Wen Rouhan with furrowed brows, the other just smiling. The whole dining hall held their breath.
“What? No ‘thank you’? You haven’t learned any new words since the last time we met?” Wen Rouhan mocked.
Lan Qiren’s eyes darkened and he suddenly stood up in his chair, his lips tightened into a line.
“Brother-“
“Truly there is no respect to the future Wen sect leader, what a shame. Ah, but I won’t get offended, isn’t this just the kind of behavior one would expect from a child?”
Usually when disciples got their swords they would walk everywhere with them, both to show their respect and loyalty to them, but also to show off their wealth and status. Even though they always carried their swords with them they were only expected to actually draw them when they were on the training grounds, which is why Wen Rouhan was surprised when Lan Qiren drew out his sword and slashed at the air.
It fit him, white and sharp, not too long or too short, not too show-off but with the right eye one could see it was high quality.
They were gasps and yells of surprise around them and people hurried to back away from the scene. Wen Rouhan couldn’t help but smile with delight at the fury on Lan Qiren’s face, the intended glare losing its edge on his still-there baby fat. He took out his own sword, slightly flashier then the other’s, and took his stance.
It almost seemed like Lan Qiren would strike until there was a yell of “brother!” and he suddenly seemed to freeze in his spot, realizing what he’s done.
“There’s no fighting in the Cloud Recesses.” He sheathed his sword and turned around, quickly walking away.
Wen Rouhan frowned, but sheathed his sword as well. It seemed he wasn’t able to crack the young Lan’s façade just yet, but he always got what he wanted.
“Young master Wen,” Qingheng Jun called, glaring at him. Wen Rouhan stared back, apathetic. “I would like to speak to you this evening.” And with that, he stood up and left.
Immediately when he was gone the hall broke into loud chattering again, this time even louder than before.
“Is that really the future Wen sect leader? Wen Rouhan?”
“Did you see how Lan Qiren lost his shit?!”
“It’s a good thing they didn’t start fighting.”
“I wished they started fighting! It’s so boring here, I want to see some action!”
“I’ve never seen Qingheng Jun look so scary…”
“You see?” Wen Rouhan said as he sat back in his chair. “He’s not scary.”
--
Ever since that lunch murmurs were following Wen Rouhan wherever he went. And not only that, it seems that the initial number of people who’d been sticking to him doubled, especially now that everyone knew who he was. It wasn’t a bad thing per se, it was always good to be known and to have followers, but most of them were weaklings who came from rich families. Pushed them to become cultivators, if it hadn’t been him they would find someone else to leech off of.
He managed to shake most of them off, but there was still one persistent leech who didn’t let him go.
“Wen gege,” Jin Guangshan whined, “Why did you give my candy to Lan Qiren?”
They were walking towards the disciples dorms, finished with their classes for the day. Wen Rouhan was reluctant to remain outside and have people circling around him, so he decided to go and relax in his room, alone.
“Guangshan, why do you keep calling me gege?”
Jin Guangshan reddened at that.
“Well… because it’s cute.”
Wen Rouhan said nothing.
“And the girls like it…”
Finally, he looked at him.
“Are there any girls here, Guangshan?”
“No…” He pouted. “You aren’t very popular with girls, are you gege?”
Wen Rouhan snorted at that. “I don’t need to be popular with girls.”
“What? Why not? How will you find a good wife?” Jin Guangshan said with wide eyes.
“I don’t need to find a good wife, whenever I’ll need them they’ll stand in line for me.” He huffed.
“That’s… But you’ll end up having someone you don’t like and don’t care for, what’s the point?”
“I don’t really care for women.“ Wen Rouhan stopped walking, as he reached his room. “Women are useless. Power is what’s most important. If you have power, you have everything, and I intend to be the most powerful cultivator there is. You should aspire to that too, as a future sect leader.”
Jin Guangshan rolled his eyes at that. Wen Rouhan’s last ounce of patience bled away at that, his jaw clenched, “Good evening.” He uttered, entering his room and slammed the door shut in Jin Guangshan’s face.
He was supposed to be polite, making good connections with other powerful sects, but there wasn’t anyone he could actually be bothered with here.
His father told him that with power he could do anything he would want, say what he wanted, but before that he had to advance carefully.
“Wen Rouhan!” Jin Guangshan whined outside the door.
With power came influence, and with influence Wen Rouhan was able to get his own, private dorm. If he had to share a living space for too long he would have probably murdered someone, and would be excused from it.
--
Lan Qiren’s usual night routine consisted of taking a shower, brushing his hair, making sure his room is tidy and only then going to bed. It wasn’t out of place when his brother decided to join him, their childhood was filled with Qingheng Jun sticking to Lan Qiren’s side, bath and bedtime included. They were a bit too old for taking a bath together but Lan Qiren didn’t mind indulging his older brother in letting him brush his hair.
“It’s been getting longer.” Qingheng Jun noted with a smile, running his hand through the black tresses. “You are going to be handsome when you grow up.” He laughed quietly as he saw a pink ear getting flushed.
“hmp!”
He took a comb, Lan Qiren usually kept the plain ones, and started brushing the hair in his hands, starting at the ends. They didn’t need to talk, a quiet calmness filled Qingheng Jun, a state he was able to be in only in the company of himself or his brother.
“Brother?” Lan Qiren asked quietly, his shoulders slightly tensing.
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Well, you already did.”
Lan Qiren huffed in annoyance at that, making Qingheng Jun smile.
“Yes, of course.”
Lan Qiren hesitated before asking.
“Today at lunch… Why did Wen Rouhan gave me his candy?” He pouted.
Qingheng Jun stopped brushing his hair, his lips tightening into a line.
“Well,” He pinched a chubby cheek. “It’s because you’re cute.”
Lan Qiren swatted his hand in annoyance.
“I knew it, he was teasing me! Next time I’ll see him I’ll…” he grumbled quietly.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about this, brother.”
He took the comb and started brushing the hair again, letting his fingers dip into the dark hair from time to time.
“Huh?”
“You shouldn’t talk to Wen Rouhan, I already talked to him as well and he won’t be bothering you again.”
“Why?”
“Well you saw for yourself, isn’t he annoying? I don’t want him to bother you too much. You should just focus on your studies.”
This was the first time Lan Qiren heard his brother talking about someone else like that, he usually was the nicer and more polite of the two brothers. But just because of that, he knew his brother was serious and probably right.
“Okay.”
3.
The annual Discussion Conference is held this year at the Unclean Realm, and the Qinghe Nie sect did not disappoint with their junior competition.
Each sect sent out 5 of their best disciples to participate in an archery contest, those who did not get chosen sat on the sidelines and watched with envy. Most of the chosen disciples were between 18 and 20, but nobody was surprised to see the 16 year old Lan Qiren with the other Lan disciples.
He was known for his quick learning, becoming used to and mastering any instrument or weapon that falls into his hands.
The disciples were warming up on some wooden targets, some of them chatting with their friends from other sects. Lan Qiren watched as each of his arrows reached their target perfectly and allowed himself a small satisfactory smile after using up his plain arrows. Just before he managed to walk away though, he saw as each of his arrows were split in the middle with another arrow in frightening speed, wood chips flying everywhere.
“I can’t wait to see your performance in the competition.”
Lan Qiren whipped his head back, watching as Wen Rouhan walked closer.
“Young master Wen.”
“I think we are beyond titles now, aren’t we Lan Qiren?”
Lan Qiren didn’t comment but kept looking at the other man with scrutinizing eyes.
Wen Rouhan huffed as he stood in front of him. Lan Qiren had to lift his head to look at him.
“I… have something for you.”
Wen Rouhan blinked at that, surprise plain on his face. Lan Qiren hurried to reach a hand into his robe and pulled out a wrapped candy.
Wen Rouhan took it only after a moment of silence.
“What? No thank you?“ Lan Qiren hurried to say before Wen Rouhan even had the chance to open his mouth. It almost seemed practiced.
Wen Rouhan barked out a laugh that was loud enough to make the disciples around them to stop whatever they were doing and look at them. Lan Qiren took a step back, slightly shocked by the other.
In all of the disciples mind there was a similar thought- Did the future wen sect leader laugh? He never laughed! What could have made him so amused? Especially when he was talking to the famously strict Lan Qiren!
“Young master Wen!” Qingheng Jun called from afar, Wen Rouhan turned around in time to see him coming to stand in front of him.
“Let’s have a good competition.”
“I’m sure it will be interesting, I’ve yet to see you and your brother’s skill at fighting.” He turned to look at Lan Qiren. “I’ve heard so much.”
Lan Qiren looked away, saying nothing.
“I as well.” Qingheng Jun said coldly.
“You’ve heard nothing.” Wen Rouhan smirked.
--
The contest was held at a maze like forest, once one got to a dead end it would be hard for them to look through the thick branches. Paper mannequins possessed by fierce spirits would be scattered around the maze, and because of the density of the trees one would have to be hyper aware of his surrounding and use not only their bow but their sword as well. It could be hard to use both weapons at the same time, especially when the mannequins would fleet around quickly and jump through the branches.
This was a competition that tests not only the wielder’s skills, but their quickness and reaction to danger.
All of the disciples stood in lines according to their sects, there are five entrances to the maze in front of them.
Wen Rouhan who stood in the front of his line looked back and smiles at his fellow disciples. “You shouldn’t worry, I’ll make sure we win.” He said loud enough for everyone to hear. He took a quick glance at his father, the Wen sect leader, who gave an appreciative nod.
“The mannequins are ready!” a Nie sect cultivator said, jumping down from his sword.
“Very well, let us begin!”
--
Lan Qiren ran through the maze, carefully trying to memorize his direction and find any milestones to remember his path. If he ran into a dead end he would lose time trying to go back and keep going forward. He noticed that the deeper he went, the more mannequins crossed paths with him- which was another problem, they kept slipping away from between his fingers.
He only managed to hit two of them, his white arrows hitting the jumpy spirits and making a white a firework shoot to the sky. The trees above him were thick enough so he couldn’t see if anyone else made a shot, and so didn’t know just how many points his or any other sect has.
Making another right turn at the same tree to avoid dead ends, he suddenly realized he was going in circles, and he hasn’t seen a spirit for the last half hour.
Either he miscalculated or he didn’t notice something, although both options were unlikely.
Lan Qiren just didn’t know what to do.
Should he go back…?
He tried looking around more carefully, standing in his place and looking at every leaf and every branch. He closed his eyes and tried to listen, only noticing his own breath and heartbeats.
But also, a faint sound of rustling leaves to his left.
Quickly he opened his eyes and turned to that direction, only now noticing that the openings that the mannequins were going through the branches were actually not that small, especially not the one he was looking into now.
He slipped inside, finding himself in an even narrower place then he was before, every direction was just not wide enough for him to walk through. But he did come face to face with an uneven tree trunk, filled with small nooks and protruding branches, perfect for climbing.
Deciding he had nothing to lose, he climbed the tree. It was laughably easy and quickly enough he reached to the top.
The maze was huge, definitely bigger then he thought. He was able to see where the sect leaders and the other disciples and servants were but knew they probably wouldn’t see him.
Suddenly a white firework was shot to the sky, not too far away from him, and turned into flowing clouds. Who was the one who hit the mannequin? Was it his brother or another disciple?
As he looked closely he realized he didn’t have to wonder too much, because even though one who was inside the maze couldn’t see what was happening outside, someone who was outside could see very well through all the branches.
His brother swiftly ran through a path gracefully, only stopping from time to time to consider which way to go. He probably had a system not so different from Qiren’s, although he was less reluctant to go back from the same path he took before.
Qiren looked away, trying to find if there was a spot near to him with any spirits- but quickly got sidetrack as another firework shot up, this time a red one that turned into a sun. He couldn’t help but look who it was and wasn’t surprised to see it was Wen Rouhan.
Qiren remembered him saying that he wanted to see how he was fighting, but from the moment they all entered the maze almost everyone went in different directions, wanting to cover as much field as possible. Lan Qiren could see from his point of view that Wen Rouhan was moving quickly, but he didn’t really get to see anything else.
Quickly making up his mind, he stood up carefully and jumped onto the top of another big, sturdy tree. He kept going until he caught up to Wen Rouhan below him and managed to see him as he got closer to a mannequin and got ready to land a blow.
He took out a red arrow, held it at the string of his bow and without a pause released it. He moved fluidly, as if he already knew where the arrow would hit without looking. A firework shot to the sky, and without even blinking he quickly drew his sword and slashed at another mannequin that was not far away from the first but didn’t manage to escape.
His hair was still floating around him as another firework was shot.
All of his movements were so very graceful and fluid, as if he wasn’t fighting but dancing. It seemed he already knew what would happen before he made the move, not needing a moment to fix his stance or even brush away hair from his face.
He was perfect.
Only as he was running away to find another target did Lan Qiren realize he was staring, his mouth slightly open and his hands tightly clutching a branch.
It’s a good thing that he came this far though, he was able to see a group of mannequins not too far away in an area devoid of disciples.
--
The winner was unsurprisingly the Wen sect with the Lan sect coming at second place. Those who got the most points were Wen Rouhan at first, Lan Qiren at second and Qingheng Jun at third.
“Although I would like to mention Lan Qiren’s cleverness and creativity, no one else thought about climbing the trees.”
Everyone turned to look at Lan Qiren with surprise, his brother was wearing a proud smile on his face.
“Thank you, sect leader Nie.” Lan Qiren bowed.
“As expected of Lan Qiren.”
“What? Isn’t that considered cheating?”
“God da… If I would have thought of that I would have scored a lot of points too!”
“I thought of that but didn’t think it was allowed!”
“Yeah right…”
“Very clever.” Wen Rouhan approached him. “I wish I could have seen you in action.”
Emboldened by the praises, Lan Qiren met his eyes. “You still can.”
“Oh?” Wen Rouhan’s eyes lit up. “Are you challenging me for a duel?”
Realizing what he said, Lan Qiren looked aside quickly, clenching his fists to his sides.
“…It would be inappropriate. Perhaps at another time.”
Even though he declined, it didn’t diminish Wen Rouhan’s glee.
“Of course.”
--
Wen Rouhan didn’t even care that his spotlight was stolen, the young Lan deserved every praise he got. Besides, he knew he would win from the beginning, he was the most advanced disciple in his sect and he was sure that he was better than those in any other sect as well.
He didn’t need the praises, especially not from the brute Nie sect leader. Today he won not only at the archery contest, but also and even more important, he got to see Lan Qiren’s cracked façade and hear him talking back.
He couldn’t wait to see him again.