Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Early spring, 193x

The rain was still coming down hard as Wu Xie helped the villagers look for survivors after the landslide. The sun was going down, and everyone was trying to work as fast as possible before it was full dark, before any more land could slip.

“Hello?!” Wu Xie yelled in the local dialect, peering with his torch under fallen trees, rocks, seeing if there were any air spaces someone could have been trapped in. it… wasn’t looking great. Half the village had slid down the mountain side after weeks of rain, and he had been passing through- but any hand was a helping hand in times like these.

He passed his torch across the slope, looking up, eyes catching on a shape in the ground. Like a doorway, half collapsed in.

“Hello?” he asked as he clambered up the hillside, peering in. it looked like the weight of the sliding earth had broken in the doorway, maybe someone had ducked inside to keep safe-

It looked like an old shrine or something, but it was hard to tell with just his torchlight. but there was someone inside, curled up on their side. There was a mass of loose black hair spilled across the floor, a woman? But when they sat up-

(something in his brain screamed predator, to run-)

-shirtless and muscular, flexing under smooth skin. A beautifully sculpted face looked up at him, blinking in the light. Wu Xie forgot everything else, his mouth suddenly dry.

“I…” he had to swallow to get some moisture back in his mouth, “hold on, let me get this door out. Are you hurt? What’s your name?”

The man frowned as Wu Xie pulled away enough of the broken door to scramble in. Well, not exactly, the stranger looked at his hands, at the room around them as if he didn’t recognize any of it.
“Are you okay?” he didn’t look hurt, just cold, muddy and disoriented. “My name is Wu Xie.”

“Wu Xie.” his stranger repeated, the voice low and raspy, sounding unused.

“Yup! Can you stand?” Wu Xie offered his hand and the stranger looked at it for a long moment before taking it. He moved smoothly and Wu Xie tried not to stare at his bare chest. “I- alright! Let's get back to the village! I bet you’re cold and hungry-” he tried to take a step out of the broken shrine, but the stranger didn’t move. “It’s okay, everyone’s gathering where the land is more stable. It shouldn’t slip again.”

His stranger looked unsure, but gave him a trusting nod before following, not letting go of Wu Xie’s hand.

No one in the village knew who the guy was. He seemed to understand Chinese well enough but couldn’t tell Wu Xie his name. He was a little shorter than Wu Xie, narrow but beautifully built. And very strong, helping them dig up more survivors through the night and into the next day.

But he seemed a little surprised by odd things. The way the houses were built, his electric torch, the kettle Wu Xie used to boil water for their tea. Xiaoge, (Wu Xie decided to call him that for a lack of a better name) carefully examined each item like it was new to him. Had he lost his memory when the landslide hit? He wasn’t hurt otherwise, just confused.

“Do you want to come back to Changsha with me?” he asked Xiaoge as he buttoned him up into one of his spare shirts. It seemed a shame to cover him up, but he couldn’t leave him half naked all the time.

(even if he really, really would like to.)

“With you?” Xiaoge asked.

“Yeah! You can stay with me. I mean, my place isn’t big, but it’d be alright for the two of us. It's over my shop, but Pangzi is next door and you’ll like him-”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes. I’ll go with you,” there was a fond look on Xiaoge’s face.

“Oh!” and Wu Xie's face felt hot. “Aha, right. Right.”

His family would hate this. And frankly he couldn’t give a shit.

---

“-AND YOU JUST BROUGHT HIM HOME WITH YOU?” Pangzi yelled from across the small kitchen of his shop, angrily scooping up the toppings for a bowl of noodles. “What were you thinking, Tianzhen?”

“He’s someone that needed help?” Wu Xie answered, measuring out the tea for the four of them. Wang Meng helped Wu Xie run his shop and they always had dinner with Pangzi when his business slowed down for the night. Xiaoge watched from his seat next to Wang Meng, looking alarmed at all the shouting. Wang Meng ignored this, accepting his bowl of noodles. The shouting was normal.
Pangzi gave up and sighed, looking Xiaoge over. “Well, he’s pretty. He can sit outside my shop and attract customers.”

“I knew you’d like him!” Wu Xie beamed, rinsing the tea leaves before putting in the hot water to steep.

“So he’s going to stay with you, above the shop?”

“Yeah.”

“In one bed?”

… heck.

“So, this is my place.” Wu Xie said as he showed Xiaoge around. “It's not big, but it’s my own place! I mean, I could be at Wushanju with the rest of the family, but you know, it’s nice-” made himself stop talking. But Xiaoge gave him a fond look, as if he enjoyed hearing Wu Xie talk.

“It’s nice.” he said in that low voice of his, making Wu Xie shiver happily.

“Ah, the bed's over there, but you can take it. I’ll make a pallet and-”

“It's big enough.”

“Eh?”

“Big enough for the both of us.”

“Oh.” his face felt hot, something twisting happily in his belly as Xiaoge gave him that fond look again. Sleeping next to each other while traveling was one thing, but sharing his bed inside his house- that was… “okay.”

It was nice to be curled up with him under the quilts. It was a little snug, but Wu Xie found he didn’t mind it at all.

“Warm?” Xiaoge asked.

“Uh-huh.” Why did he make Wu Xie’s brain just go to mush like that? Everytime?

“Good.” a hand moved to rest on Wu Xie’s hip and he was going to explode. This couldn’t be happening to him, he could not be this lucky…

--

Nominally, Wu Xie ran an antique bookstore. It did alright for itself, even if his third uncle joked that it was mostly an excuse for Wu Xie to collect more books. Okay, maybe a little, but did he have to make that joke so often?

It was a cozy place, with some comfortable chairs in the shop where he could have tea with clients, his friends, or just sit and read if it was the slow time of year. Above the shop was his office where he could do the bookkeeping and correspondence, plus the tiny suite he and Xiaoge now stayed in. It was a bit cramped with two people, and the window above the bed leaked a little if the weather was stormy, but it was private.

(it wasn’t that he didn’t get along with his family, he just… didn’t fit in.)

Wang Meng had left a package from his third uncle. but after his long trip, Wu Xie didn’t feel like getting into whatever trouble his uncle had sent him, so he set it aside to deal with it later.

And then promptly forgot all about it.

Chapter Text

The weather was getting nicer and drier, so it was pleasant to open the doors and shutters to get air and light into the shop. Xiaoge liked sitting in the sun, listening to Wu Xie read to him from the newspaper as they waited for customers. Business would still be slow for another few weeks, until the roads had dried out fully, but still. Life in Changsha wasn’t terribly exciting, but it worked for him.

“Wu Xie, but one and only true love! It’s me!” Hei xiazi announced as he strolled in, making himself at home.

“Oh no.”

“Oh no? Is that how you treat your favorite customer?”

“You never buy anything.” but there wasn’t any heat to it. If nothing else, Hei Xiazi was entertaining to have over. So Wu Xie pretended to roll his eyes as he got the tea ready, almost missing the way the man hesitated for a moment, looking at something on the door frame. His ever-present grin faltered for just a moment before he plastered it back on and continued on as if nothing happened.
“And here I thought that Xiao-hua was your one true love.”

“Ahh, such a beautiful man.” he dropped into a chair, making himself comfortable. “Alas, he still spurns me, so I return to you on my knees.” that cocky smile flickered, something changing in his posture as Xiaoge walked down the stairs with a stack of books.

“Oh! This is Xiaoge, Xiaoge this is Hei Xiazi, a friend of the family. Xiaoge’s staying with me while we figure out where he’s from.”

“Xiaoge?” he couldn’t see Hei Xiazi’s eyes, but he got the impression he was examining Xiaoge very carefully, something much more alert about his posture.

“He has amnesia, we don’t know what his name is or where his family is.”

“He doesn't remember?” it was weird, the lazy, flirty tones were gone, something sharp in its place. Was this guy being protective of him?

Xiaoge’s black gaze bored into Hei Xiazi before he huffed a dismissal and sat down between Wu Xie and Hei Xiazi. Oh. Wu Xie suddenly wanted to laugh, were they jealous of each other? That was- he didn’t know how to feel about that. He’d never been sure if the strange man actually liked him or was just making fun of him- but it was kind of nice that someone was looking after him.

He poured tea for the three of them, letting Hei Xiazi tell a story of his latest adventure. (it was probably fake, but it was interesting anyway, like one of his grandfather’s stories about blood zombies and shibie-)

Today’s story was about a weird drug made from human bodies that would show a map to a secret city when consumed, when Xiaoge suddenly stood up and went to the door.

“What's going on?” Wu Xie asked. The normal sounds of the street had changed. And something in Wu Xie’s brain screamed predator, the way that Hei Xiazi moved to Xiaoge's side. Gone were the lazy movements, both men were alert and moving in a way that reminded him of his grandfather’s guard dogs when they didn’t like something.

“Heeeey, can we help you?” Hei xiazi drawled, his body not matching the casual words.

“We’re looking for Wu Saxing. Get out of our way, we need to talk to his nephew.”

Ah, crap. Not again. Wu Xie made his way to the door.

“Look, I haven't heard from my sanshu in ages-” the men out there, and wow there were at least a dozen of them, large and ready to stir up trouble. Why did everyone think he knew his third uncle’s business? The man just showed up where and when he wanted to. “I don’t know where he’s at. Go ask my grandfather.”

“There. He doesn't know anything, now shoo.” Hei Xiazi made a little go away gesture.

A couple of the men (gangsters? What the fuck had his third uncle been up to?) tried to push past them into the shop, only for Xiaoge to pick one of them up by the front of his jacket and throw him nearly to the other side of the street.

And that started the fight- two men against nearly a dozen should have been unfair. But- Hei Xiazi and Xiaoge moved with quick, efficient movements, nothing wasted and the gangsters could not stand up against them. In moments they were scattered on the ground, groaning. Xiaoge barely looked ruffled, walking unhurriedly back to Wu Xie. Hei Xiazi grinned, stretching to pop his back, as if he hadn’t left blood stains on the cobblestones.

“Ahh, that was fun. Xiao san-ye, let's go eat, I’m starving now!”

When he was closing up that evening, he took a moment to examine the doorframe. There was a small mark caved into the wood, about two finger widths high, just about as wide. A pictogram of some sort? He didn’t recognize it, but there was something familiar about it.

“Tianzhen! Stop daydreaming and help me with these tables!”

And it was promptly knocked out of his head. Well, not completely.

The best way he could sort of describe the way his head worked was a series of cards connected by strings. The strings were associated with each other, sometimes weirdly so, and it just took a while for it to make its way around.

(This one took a while, but to be fair, he did have a lot of other things on his mind. )

---

“Uncle Qi?” Wu Xie called out into the old teahouse that made up Ba Ye’s shop and home. He stopped for a moment to pet a large cat as he tried to find his honorary uncle. “It’s Wu Xie!”
“Xiaoxie, back here! Be careful, it’s a bit of a mess!”

“What kind of book did you need me to look at?” He picked his way around some boxes before finding Ba Ye trying to keep a stack of paper from falling. “Oh, I brought Xiaoge with me for you to meet!”

“Oh? I finally get to meet-” he turned to Xiaoge and turned dead white.

“Uncle, are you okay?” Ba ye looked ready to faint, so he took his uncle by the arm and led him to a chair. “Do you need me to get Xiaoman?”

“No, I-” he kept staring at Xiaoge. Xiaoge, for his part, poured and offered a cup of water to his uncle.

“Uncle Qi?”

“I…” Ba Ye took the cup and drank it. “Right. The book.”

“Fo ye!” Qi Teizui hissed at him over his desk. “The Wu boy brought home a qiling!”

“The creature? That’s nice.” Fo ye said, not paying attention to him.

“I’m serious! He brought home a qiling! I was nearly eaten!”

“Why would it eat you? Isn't it a sign of good fortune?” Fo ye flipped the page of the account book.

“Peh! You know what I mean!” Ba ye came around the desk, still flustered. “Xiaoxie called him Xiaoge, so he probably doesn’t know what he brought home-”

“How can one not know they brought home a qiling?”

“Because he had the shape of a young man on! But I saw his reflection in one of my ancestor’s bronze mirrors I have hanging up- he was a qiling!”

“Are you sure that Wu Xie didn’t just bring home a lover?” Fo Ye secretly hoped that Laogou wasn’t putting too much hope on Wu Xie getting married and having a child. The boy was not a lady’s man.

“Yes! Well… he is still a qiling.”

“So the Wu boy brought home a qiling,” his attention went back to the account book.

“So you need to do something!”

Fo ye closed the book carefully and looked at Ba ye like he’d lost his mind.

“And do what?”

“I-” Ba ye deflated. “ I didn’t really think that far ahead.”

and then Ba Ye gave him those eyes and damn it. He knew Fo Ye had a hard time saying no to him when he did that.

“How about I go over and give this boy the shovel talk?” Really, this was Laogou's job, but Ba Ye was probably fighting with him. Again. But the fortune teller was rather fond of his honorary nephew, and if nothing else he could get lunch at the restaurant next to Wu Xie's bookshop.

Now, Wu Xie wasn’t one of the nine families that fo ye had to worry too much about. He’d been sent to Germany for an education, and now just seemed happy to run his little shop and run around with Er Ye’s younger disciple. He didn’t whore around, get drunk or get into fights, nor did he seem all that interested in power and wealth. Books, dogs, his friend’s noodle restaurant and not much else.

Okay, so the young Wu heir was possibly an all-around disappointment to some, but he was one less headache for Fo Ye.

“Uncle Fo Ye!” Wu Xie happily greeted him, getting up to meet him halfway and shake his hand. “It’s good to see you, what can I help you with? Are you looking for something for Uncle Qi?”

“I thought I’d try your friend’s noodles today, I heard from someone they were the best in Changsha.” There in the back of the shop, that must be the boy in question. He met Fo Ye’s gaze and raised his head appraisingly, shifting to something more ready to react. Well formed under the black changshan, well trained from just the way he held himself. Beautiful face with dark eyes and a glossy black braid that hung to his waist. A very strong presence around him, intense. It was easy to see him as a mythical creature.

He returned the gaze, calm and even until Wu Xie's little lover nodded, short and quick. Fo Ye was allowed to be here.

He had no doubt that if the lover decided Fo Ye wasn’t welcome, he would throw him out. He’d respect the lover.

“Oh, let me introduce you. Fo Ye, this is Xiaoge, Xiaoge, this is President Fo Ye, head of the Nine Gates. He’s a friend of Uncle Qi.”

“Mn.”

“Why don’t you ask Pangzi for three bowls of noodles and we can eat in here?” Wu Xie asked Xiaoge, getting a fond look in return. “Actually, this is good timing, I was hoping to talk to you, Fo Ye.”
“Oh?” He settled on one of the chairs as wu xie made tea.

“I’m trying to find Xiaoge’s identity. He doesn’t remember his name or where he came from. But everyone has to come from somewhere, right?”

…huh.

“There were some people that came over to look for sanshu and Xiaoge took them out easily! Well, he and Hei Xiazi, but still. So Xiaoge’s well trained-”

Ah, Wu Sanxing. Causing trouble again and bringing it to his nephew’s door? That was more interesting.

Xiaoge returned with a tray, giving Wu Xie the first bowl with another fond look, before serving Fo ye.

“So how did you two meet?” he asked lightly as he accepted his serving. It smelled fantastic, a well seasoned pork broth. Wu xie happily explained the landslide, finding Xiaoge, no one knowing who he was in the meanwhile putting a slice of pork into Xiaoge’s bowl. It was sweet, and Laogou really shouldn't be expecting him to marry a woman. Not with the besotted way the two were looking at each other.

There wasn’t much to worry about here.

Chapter Text

“Your third uncle’s causing trouble.” Xiao Hua commented as he poured tea for Wu Xie and Xiaoge.

“When is he not? My shop was nearly torn up over it.” Wu Xie took a sip of the tea, it was very good. Xiao-hua and him had been friends since they were very little. He was part of the Xie family, but Er ye basically raised him, teaching him opera and martial arts. And xiao hua was very good at both.

(wu xie wanted to sigh sometimes. He didn’t have the looks, martial arts or the money. He just wanted to live quietly, but sometimes he thought he should be more… something.)

“Are you okay? Did they damage anything?”

“Oh, no. Xiaoge and Hei Xiazi took care of it before anything could happen.” but Xiao Hua frowned in concern anyway.

“Should you be staying there by yourself? What if they come back?”

“They won’t.” Xiaoge said firmly.

Xiao hua glanced at him quickly, then back again with a longer, more assessing look.

“I’ll be okay with Xiaoge. He’s been staying with me.” He didn't want to go back to Wushanju. That would feel too much like… failure.

“Not getting along with your father again?”

“Just the usual stuff.” he shrugged, playing with the tea cup.

“ I could ask my uncle to come over from time to time and check up on you.”

“Thank you, but we’ll be okay.”

Xiao hua appraised Xiaoge again. “Are you trained? What style?”

Xiaoge just shrugged.

“He’s very good! But… he doesn’t remember much about himself.” Wu Xie filled in.

“Maybe if we spar I will recognize the style? If not me, perhaps my master would.”

Xiaoge looked over at Wu Xie and shrugged.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Wu Xie answered for him. “Let's try that.”

The manor was quiet this time of the evening, so they had the practice room to themselves. Xiao hua was very light on his feet, well practiced in Er Ye’s dance-like style.

But xiaoge was quick and efficient, pinning xiao hua in two or three moves. It didn’t take long until xiao hua was panting and calling it off.

“Yeah, I have no idea what style that is, we’ll have to ask my master.”

“Uh-huh.” Wu Xie's brain was occupied by the way Xiaoge moved, the swing of his braid, the motion of his waist. He’d completely forgotten why they were here. Xiao hua huffed, hopping to his feet.
“Come on wu xie, let’s go find something to eat. Master will be with his wife for the rest of the evening, so we will have to ask him later.”

“Oh? Oh! Yeah. that sounds good, mutton?”

“Yeah, that place on the river-”

“Oh the wu princess, in a practice ring?” chen pi smirked, strolling in. wu xie just rolled his eyes. Yes, he had very little talent for martial arts. But xiao hua’s fellow disciple always felt the need to point it out to the point it was boring. At least that’s as far as the bullying ever went, even Chen Pi was smart enough to not bring down his grandpa’s wrath by hurting wu xie.

(His grandfather would literally feed him to the guard dogs. Slowly. While still alive.)

But behind him, Wu Xie could feel Xiaoge draw up.

“Do you need something, Chen Pi?” Xiao Hua asked, sounding as bored as Wu Xie felt. “We’re about to go into town.”

There was a flash of something over Chen Pi's face, annoyance or- jealousy?

“So what are you two ladies going to-” he trailed off, looking over wu xie’s shoulder at xiaoge. “Who’s this?”

“This is Wu Xie's friend.” xiao hua introduced. “Xiaoge, this is my shixiong Chen Pi.”

“Mn.” Xiaoge nodded, black eyes pinning Chen Pi to the spot before walking past him to the door.

This disrespect was too much for Chen Pi’s thin face, aiming and flicking a metal marble at xiaoge’s head as they passed by-

And xiaoge caught it bare handed, turning to chen pi. The older man took a half step back before raising his chin stubbornly.

“Xiaoge-” wu xie tried, touching his waist. He was used to chen pi’s teasing, but he knew the guy could be violent. Xiaoge didn’t have the protection of the wu name-

“Oh Shixiong! Maybe you can help us?” Xiao hua chirped and wu xie winced inside. He knew that tone. “We can’t identify Xiaoge’s fighting style. Maybe you could spar with him and figure it out?”
Chen pi took the bait, grinning like he was getting something on them. Xiaoge eyed him, glancing at wu xie as if waiting for permission.

“If you want to, xiaoge,” he said reluctantly. Hopefully this wouldn’t be too bad, he’d heard things from sanshu about chen pi and some things he’d done outside of Er Ye’s knowledge.

But xiaoge just gave him a nod, walking into the ring and taking a relaxed stance.

Chen Pi moved first, quick and direct, only to be deflected each time. Chen Pi's frustration was visibly growing, even as xiaoge kept his face blank. Xiaoge was playing with him, a cat with a mouse until he grew bored and knocked him to the side. Chen pi landed on his feet, launching himself back at xiaoge- only to be caught by the back of the neck and pinned to the floor. Chen pi struggled for a moment before xiaoge leaned over, whispering something in the man’s ear that made him go dead white.

“Xiaoge?” wu xie asked softly, taking a step towards them. The smaller man stood up, smoothing out his changshan.

“Mutton,” he said simply.

“So what did my sanshu do this time?” wu xie asked over bowls of braised mutton. “Who did he screw over?”

He loved his uncle, the man practically raised him. (okay, his uncle’s friend Pan Zi did most of the raising, but still.) but wu xie knew the man was, well…shady was a good word for it.

“So what I heard is he stole something on a tomb raid and now everyone wants it.”

“Jade?” He was distracted as xiaoge passed him a piece of scallion pancake, his face growing warm. Xiao Hua rolled his eyes.

“Everyone says something different, so no one really knows what it is- you know how stories grow. People have even asked my master to keep an eye out for him.”

“Oh sanshu.” wu xie sighed.

Chapter Text

The alley behind the book shop wasn't the worst place to spend a night. It was out of the wind and troublemakers seemed reluctant to come around this area anymore.

Liu Sang blinked awake to find slippers in front of him, leading up to a slim figure in a black changshan. He.. hadn’t heard him come up. Except for… chimes?

“...What?” He asked, voice a little thick from his stuffy nose. The figure didn’t say a word, and Liu sang found himself picked up and carried through the yard and into the back of the bookshop.

“Wu Xie.” The voice was quiet, low, male. Oh, he’d heard this voice before, the one that lived here with the owner.

“Xiaoge?” the shop owner came down the stairs, “oh, is he okay? Is he hurt?”

“Cold.” Xiaoge said, putting Liu Sang in a chair next to a small brazier.

“Let me put on water, and I’ll go see what Pangzi has cooking!” he could hear wu xie leave through the back door. He felt a little dizzy at all this.

“I’m fine, I’m just-” he sneezed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. If the idiot wanted to feed him a hot meal, he’d take it. He was too hungry to protest.

“What do you mean you brought him in, Tianzhen?” a loud voice carried into the shop, the restaurant owner from next door. Xiaoge patted his shoulder reassuringly.

“Xiaoge brought him in, and he’s all skinny- he can help out here and your shop! You’re always saying you need more help.” Wu Xie chattered on as he carried a stack of bowls and chopsticks.

“Tianzhen-” he sounded very tired, like he knew he was going to lose this fight. “He needs to be scrubbed up first, your stray kitten might have fleas.”

He bared his teeth at the guy, who just harumped at him.

“We can go to the bathhouse after we eat.” Wu Xie continued on, “and when Wang Meng gets here I can send him out for some warmer clothes for him.” and he’d be more pissed off about being talked about like he wasn’t there, except the big man put down a pot and opened it up. A heavenly, savory scent wafted out and if it tasted as good as it smelled, he’d forgive anything.

“What’s your name?” wu xie asked, sounding harmless. His heart sounded calm and easy and he’d always sounded nice whenever liu sang listened in to the shop. Was he just… a soft hearted idiot?

“..liu sang,” he reluctantly answered as he accepted a bowl of noodles and meatballs.

“I’m wu xie, this is Xiaoge and Pangzi! Wang meng will be here soon, Xiaoge, don’t eat all the meat balls, save some for wang meng.”

Xiaoge huffed, but didn’t protest.

“Anyway, Liu sang, do you have any family? We can help you find them.”

“No, no one.” and we would not go back to his step-mother’s family. Fuck them. “Thanks for the food, but I can-”

“You’re welcome to stay, if you want. Pangzi could always use more help.”

“Hey! Don’t go hiring my staff for me!”

On one hand, fuck him. On the other, more good food, the promise of a visit to the bath house- a warm place to sleep for a while- normally he would think they were up to something, but this guy was maybe… just this dumb.

Oh no.

And yes, Wu Xie was a soft hearted rich kid. And this wasn’t the first time he’d apparently done something stupid like say, taking a random teenager off the street and practically adopting him. Wang Meng, the guy who did most of the actual work around here, just sighed and showed Liu sang how to do the account books.

It wasn’t like working here was hard. He was fed, he slept in the restaurant kitchen where it was warm. He grudgingly had to admit he kind of liked it here. It wouldn’t last, nothing good ever did, but he would enjoy it for now.

First big task, try to put wu xie’s office into order. Mostly putting letters into piles, books on shelves and- he found a package under the desk, covered in dust. Like it’d fallen off and been forgotten.
Curiously he opened it. Inside was a cheap-looking buddha statue, nothing else with it. Weird. Whatever. He used it as a bookend and promptly forgot about it.

“Wu xie is out.” he flatly told the asshole customer for a third time. He didn’t know who this guy was, he hadn’t bothered to introduce himself. He smelled clean at least, and sounded young. Not nearly as old as wu xie’s usual customers, nor scented with expensive incense.

“You little shit-” the guy swore, breaking Liu Sang's patience.

“Get the fuck out.” the guy snapped quiet, heart going a little faster. “I told you he’s not here, I can’t make him magically appear. Go away.”

Liu sang might be a scrawny 13(ish) year old, but he waved the stick Wang meng used for closing the shop shutters and that was surprising enough to the asshole to make him leave instead of arguing some more.

Fucker.

“Was that chen pi?” Kanjian asked, setting Pangzi's tables for the afternoon crowd. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why-” wait, chen pi? The thug? Did he just… chase chen pi out of wu xie’s shop?

Oh shit.

Chapter Text

“Wu Xie! Beloved!” not him again-

What was he carrying? An entire fish? It was easily as long as Wu Xie’s arm from nose to tail.

“What’s that?”

“A fish! I caught it for you.” Hei Xiazi laid it on the table, as proud as a cat. Somewhere in the back Liu Sang made an offended noise. It was a very generous present. Wu Xie felt his face turn warm.

“What the fuck is that? That better not be dripping on the floor.” Liu Sang grumbled.

“Oh, who is that?” Hei Xiazi perked up, noticing liu sang. “Oh, he’s so little and cute!”

The kid made an even more offended noise at that.

Xiaoge was just frowning at the fish, before glancing at Wu Xie, then at Hei Xiazi and back again.

“Ah, Sang’er, could you take this over to Pangzi? Maybe we can cook it up for dinner.” the kid grumbled, wrestling the fish out back.

“I thought I should bring something nice over, since I'm always here,” he grinned, settling in one of the chairs. Xiaoge just huffed, looking unimpressed as Pangzi served them the fish grilled over charcoal for dinner that night.

It only occurred to Wu Xie that Xiaoge might be a bit jealous when he woke up to find a live deer in his shop and a very smug looking Xiaoge.

“Uhh…” said Wu Xie. The deer bleated in concern.

Xiaoge just stood there, smiling proudly.

“It’s… she’s a very nice looking deer.” it bleated again as Xiaoge continued to beam.

“If it shits in here, I’m not cleaning it up,” declared Liu Sang when he came in. the teen squinted at the animal. “Are we going to eat it?”

“I can butcher it, but it’ll have to hang for a few days before we can cook it.” Pangzi started, looking as if he was planning on a menu.

“No! We can’t kill her!”

“Tianzhen, you eat meat.”

“Yes, but this is-” he hesitantly patted the deer on the back and it decided to chew on his sleeve.

“I said I’m not cleaning up after it.

“You can’t keep a deer in your shop, Tianzhen, what are you going to do with it?”

“Xiaoge brought home a deer, and you want me to keep it here?” Ba Ye blinked at Wu Xie from behind his glasses.

“We can’t keep Frau Reh in my shop and you have a big courtyard.”

The deer in question snuffled Ba Ye’s sleeve, looking for snacks.

“She’s very tame! And I can’t take her to Wushanju, there’s too many dogs.”

“Well…” his uncle patted Frau Reh on the head, “I’m not sure she’d be happy here in my humble shop, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Absolutely not.” Fo Ye declared. “I’m not keeping a deer as a pet.”

“You have so much room here, I’m sure Frau Reh will be much happier at your manor.”

“Where did it even come from?”

“Well, XiaoXie’s qiling-”

Fo ye glared, but Ba ye was immune to it.

“-brought it home and Xiaoxie has such a soft heart, he couldn’t kill the poor thing. And I can’t keep it at my place.” And then he used those eyes. “please?”

“Sir? Is that a-” Zhang Rishan started to ask a while later.

“That is Frau Reh.” Fo Ye sighed. “Don’t ask.”

Chapter Text

“Someone left a package for you,” Liu Sang announced, setting it on Wu Xie’s desk. “Sounds like shitty plaster.”

“Sounds like?” Wu Xie pulled the box over. “Oh, Sanshu.”

“Your shady ass uncle?”

Pangzi talked too much, Wu Xie thought, cutting the strings and unwrapping the package. It was, in fact, a cheap plaster statue, covered in fake gold foil to make it look like a buddha statue. He turned it over, wondering why would sanshu- oh. The kid squinted at it.

“Oh, it looks like the other one.”

“Other one?” He looked up where the statue’s twin was sitting unnoticed on the bookshelf. Huh. he grabbed that one too and took them to the back courtyard, followed closely by Liu Sang. They passed a snoring Wang Meng out into the back, grabbing a hammer from a box of tools. And then hammered apart the statues.

“Hey!” Liu Sang yelped, covering his ears. “What’s that for?!”

“Old smuggling method.” Wu Xie picked out two metal pieces from the plaster dust, turning them over in his hands. Familiar. Huh. he’d have to clean them.

“What, are you leaving this mess for me to sweep up?” the kid exclaimed as Wu Xie went to find his clock repairing materials.

Okay, so many he had a little experience with a few… unorthodox things. He liked books, he liked puzzles and he’d… read about a lot of things when he was in university. You never knew what was useful.

Xiaoge watched as he cleaned centuries of grim off the brass, rinsing the cleaning fluid off and gently polishing to a shine with a soft cloth. A puzzle, two pieces that looked like they fit together. Of course Sanshu would send this to him. It was like silvervine to Wu Xie.

Pangzi took it away at dinner, grumping about he’d never eat when he had a new puzzle. He wasn’t that bad, was he?

“Yes, yes you are, Tianzhen,” Pangzi grumbled.

Xiaoge kept watching him fiddle with it as they sat in bed, just quiet and soft. It was cozy in their small bed, the window open to let in the night air, music from somewhere drifting in. the night market from a few streets over? Voices, laughter, it made Wu Xie feel- loose. Thoughts floating with the night breeze. His fingers took over, fitting the pieces together, twisting as it clicked and started- a small thing coming to life in his hands, purring. Small ticks and clicks.

Click- and his fingers continued on twisting and pressing, pieces sliding into place.

Xiaoge leaned in with him, eyes bright as they watched it sink into itself, then bloom open. The puzzle sighed and then- went silent.

“Wow,” Wu Xie breathed. That was so cool. “Have you ever seen anything like that before?”

Xiaoge shook his head.

“Do you think this is what Sanshu stole?” He took it from Wu Xie, examining it in the low lamp light.

“Maybe.” he finally said, setting it aside.

“I guess we should go to bed,” Wu Xie said reluctantly. He wanted to examine it, draw a copy and start researching. But Xiaoge was pulling a blanket over them, blowing out the lamp. And it was really very nice to be snuggled up next to him-

But he did start on it first thing in the morning, only stopping reluctantly to deal with customers. Wang Meng could do it if a customer knew what they wanted. But if they wanted to sell something, only had a general idea- yeah. He drew out the device, took a rubbing of anything textured just in case. It sort of looked like a map, but not one he was familiar with.

But knowing his uncle- it had to do with a tomb. And if it had to do with a tomb- well then he needed to go to Wushanju and see grandpa.

Wu Lao Guo was, well, tough as old leather. He mixed up which son was which, and when he needed Wu Xie out from underfoot, locked him in the kennels to be babysat by the family dogs. (it was much more fun than it sounded.)

Who knew how much of him was his real personality and what was an act to get people to leave him alone.

Their family was known for the dogs, which was the one thing Wu Xie missed about Wushanju. The dogs, the smell, the sound, the little ones that scurried around to make sure everyone who was who they were supposed to be and the fuck-off big Tibetan mastiffs that guarded the complex.

The booming voices of the guard dogs greeted them as he and Xiaoge stepped inside. He was family, so they were happy to see him. But he was a little worried for Xiaoge. He had never been introduced to them, and the guard dogs could be very-

Xiaoge raised his head, giving the dogs a look- and the dogs cowered down before running off like the fires of hell were after them. The fuck? He’d only ever seen grandpa do that to the dogs.
Xiaoge looked over at Wu Xie, raising a confused eyebrow.

“Oh Xiaoge… come on, let's see if we can find what we need before anyone knows we’re here.”

But Grandpa found out quickly, finding them as they skimmed through his books.

“Xiaoxie, you should have sent word! I could have something nice cooked up. You will stay for dinner, right?”

“Ahh…” he shrank under Wu Lao Guo's gaze. “Sure.”

“And who is this?” San Cun Ding whimpered in his arms, trying to get away from Xiaoge.

“This is Xiaoge, he’s my friend. Anyway-”

“And you got something from Sanxing.”

“...yeah.” he pulled it out from his pocket, offering it to his grandfather. Xiaoge watched, something unhappy on his face as his grandpa took it away.

“Why don’t you go visit your mother for a while? I’ll take care of this part.”

He should protest but- he was a good son. A good grandson. He would just figure it out from the drawings and the rubbings.

Xiaoge put a hand on his back, warm and comfortable. He loved his family, he did but-

The sun was setting by the time Wu Xie managed to leave, getting away from all the well-meaning disappointment.

They walked home in the low evening light.

“I wish they would…” he sighed. “Grandpa will figure it out. I just wish they would let me in on all the underground stuff. I’m not dumb.”

“They worry about you,” Xiaoge said simply. Because it was true.

“Yeah, I just…”

“You want to find your uncle. Prove yourself to them.”

“Yeah.” if only…

“What would you do if you solved the puzzle?” Pangzi asked reasonably. “You’ve never been underground.”

“Well, I haven’t figured out- but Xiao Hua and prolly Hei Xiazi-”

“That man is a criminal.”

“Yeah, but he’s definitely been in tombs before. I just know it. And Pan Zi would help us.”

“Huh.” Pangzi said, “you’ve actually thought about this.”

“A time or two.” or three or four.

Xiaoge came in and sat the puzzle box and a book on the table, pleased with himself.

“How did you get these?”

“Ours.” he said simply. “The book might help.”

“Can I go with you guys?” Liu Sang asked.

“Absolutely not,” Pangzi said before Wu Xie could consider it. “Someone has to stay and help keep this place running.”

“You stay, I’ll keep track of Wu Xie! He’s a fucking baby deer- he’ll be eaten by bandits in a minute!”

Now, that wasn’t fair. Sanshu taught him how to bargain like a fishwife and he could see a scam coming. (and maybe run a few with him)

And maybe… Wu Xie was a little tired of being seen as so useless…

“This is amazing, Xiaoxie,” Pan Zi said, looking over the coded map the puzzle box had been hiding.

“Do you know where this is?”

“I think so.” Pan Zi was an old soldier, compact and muscular and basically Wu Xie’s uncle. Or second dad. Second mom? He was the only one ever proud of him. Even now he smiled softly at Wu Xie, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve heard about this thing from San-ye, he’s been looking for it for ages! I can’t believe you solved it!”

Something warmed in his chest. “I don’t know how I did, I kind of just knew.”

“You were always good with puzzles. If we go, we should keep it small, maybe just you and me. If nothing else we can scout around and then figure out what we need.”

“Xiaoge should come too.” Pan Zi gave Xiaoge a long, parental look, the sort one might give a potential son-in-law. Xiaoge blinked, having been quietly ignored this whole time.

“Have you been tomb raiding before?”

Xiaoge shrugged.

“He doesn’t remember much before the landslide. The doctor said nothing looked wrong, but it might be traumatic amnesia of some sort.”

They left with Pan Zi a few days later with the cover story of another buying trip. Shockingly- grandpa did not come looking for the missing puzzle or book. And he had to have noticed it was gone.
He wasn’t going to ask yet.

But wu xie could not shake the feeling they were being followed. Something that made him feel uneasy.

“Xiaoge, do you….” he asked softly, tangling their fingers together.

But Xiaoge sat up, black eyes searching around them. “Fox.”

“A fox is following us?”

“For now.” he snorted before giving wu xie his fond look.

Chapter Text

Travel went quickly, drier and warmer than the last time he went out, the time he found Xiaoge. Their destination ended up being the ruins of a large manor. What was left was largely just the overgrown foundations. They poked around, not exactly sure what they were looking for.

And then the ground under him gave out. One moment, he was on solid ground, next- it wasn’t a far fall, but it knocked the air out of him.

“Xiaoxie!”

“Wu Xie!”

Wu Xie blinked, and Xiaoge was next to him.

“I’m okay,” he groaned, everything felt in one piece. He’d rather not do that again. Xiaoge fussed, pan zi doing the same once he came down on a rope.

“Ow, I’m fine, I’m fine. Where are we?”

“Some sort of cellar,'' Pang Zi started examining the walls, running his hands across them in an expert manner.

Wu Xie moved to help out and- it was a little weird. Like he’d seen a drawing of this place. He just- there should be a trap door down, if he brushed away the leaf litter- Xiaoge helped, pan zi joining them.

There was a seam just barely big enough to fit a knife blade around it.

“Let me get some tools-” pan zi started. But wu xie found the right spot and stepped on it, releasing the mechanism.

“Xiaoxie, how did-”

“I don’t know,” he said truthfully, staring into the darkness. “I just knew.”

“Let's rest for the night before we take a look,” pan zi said. “Best to go in well rested.”

“Yeah,” something still made him feel unsettled. Something under the surface of a dark sea-

“Wu xie.” he shook his head, clearing the cobweb.

“Right, let's make supper.”

A fox poked its nose out from under some brush. It was a pretty one, dark and sleek with strangely knowing eyes.

“Hi!” Wu Xie cooed at it, to Xiaoge's annoyance. It preened, strolling over like he owned the place, delicately sniffing wu xie’s fingers before rubbing his cheeks.

“Oh- oh he’s letting me pet him…”

“Shoo.” Xiaoge frowned at the smug thing. “Not yours.”

It just snickered at him, wagging its tail.

“Xiaoge, he’s just-”

“Nosey. Shoo.”

The fox snickered again before running off, screaming happily.

The next morning they went under the old basement. It was just- wu xie tried not to think about it too much, how familiar this place felt. It probably didn’t mean much. After all, he had read a lot of architecture books about historical building planning and theory. He had probably read about a similar place before.

The door led to stairs, an endless flight spiraling down into darkness. Finally reaching the bottom, Xiaoge took one of the torches and lit the wall lamps. Some trick made it so when one was lit, the next and the next lit until the whole room was full of light reflecting off brass mirrors.

Handing from the ceiling was the largest alchemist reactor he’d ever seen.

Around them were work tables, shelves and cubbies. Broken and dried up glass jars of specimens, human- and monstrous things, bugs, unfamiliar snakes that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Ceramic jars with yellowed labels, a monstrous skeleton with scraps of fur or skin was on a table in the far corner. Xiaoge just about puffed up at it, glaring hard.
Books- and that got wu xie’s attention.

“Alchemy?” pan zi asked, frowning.

“Yeah, a lab. A huge lab.” wu xie carefully opened one of the silk books, examining it closely.

“Is that a bear?”

“Not bear.” Xiaoge kept glaring at it. “Evil.”

“Weapons? Experiments? Tomb guardians?” pan zi eyed, picking up on xiaoge’s unease.

“Hopefully this stuff can tell us more.” he dumped out his backpack to make more room for the books, packing it back up with xiaoge’s help.

“Why did san-ye send us here?” pan zi wondered, restlessly moving around the lab. “Let’s leave, I don’t like this. This is worse than a tomb.”

“Yeah, just let me-”

There was a scraping of stone on stone. Pan zi turned, pulling out a pistol. Xiaoge’s hackles went up, tugging wu xie to his feet.

“We are leaving now,” Xiaoge said, dead serious.

“Yeah… let’s go.”

They started towards the stairs, not at a run, but quickly. Xiaoge glanced back as the scraping stone turn to dragging foot steps and-

“Go.” Xiaoge slid into a ready stance, braid swinging behind him. , wu xie, halfway up the stairs glazed down, eyes widened as walking corpses swarmed into the lab- pan zi grabbed wu xie’s jacket to keep him from running down to him as something sleek and orange dashed by his feet.

“But-” but pan zi wouldn’t let him go, dragging him up the stairs into the open air.

“I have grenades-”

“No! Xiaoge!”

“He gave us time to escape. We need to seal it-”

Wu xie dumped his books aside, pulling off his pack. He wouldn’t leave Xiaoge down there alone-

But hei xiazi and Xiaoge climbed out of the trap door, looking a bit dirty and torn.

“Hei Xiazi?!”

“Hey cutie. Thought I’d drop by.”

Xiaoge huffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“Oh good, explosives. Get clear okay?”

“Xiaoge grabbed wu xie and pan zi (and all the books) up and out of the cellar

Hei Xiazi appeared a moment before the ground shook under them.

Hei xiazi refused to explain how he knew where they were up there or in trouble.

“Do you think I’d leave the love of my life to come up here without me?” he teased, putting a hand on Wu Xie's leg. Xiaoge pushed the hand off, scooting close to wu xie. Much like a jealous dog pushing away a cat who was getting all the attention.

Pan Zi cleared his throat, poking at their little campfire.

“Right. So. a puzzle led us up here to an old alchemy lab.”

“Full of zombies.” hei xiazi added cheerfully.

“But we have books!” wu xie said.

“But anything else valuable is trapped in there.”

“Mmm.” Xiaoge said.

“Nothing good for anyone was down there anyway,” hei xiazi patted his jacket before pulling out a flask and offering it to Pan Zi.

“I can go through and catalog the books. They look to be in good shape, we might make some money from them.” offered wu xie as pan zi took a long drink of the wine.

“Ah, xiao sanye, I wouldn’t make you sell them…”

Wu xie sighed to himself, selling books is what he did! Even if he hated selling the interesting ones-

Xiaoge patted his arm.

There was always a market for alchemy texts, though Beijing might be a better place for when it was time to sell. But these weren’t regular alchemy treaties, a good portion were somewhat historical, telling of the queen mother of the west and her… experiments. Was this what his uncle wanted him to find? Or was it just- well his uncle never did anything by halves.
Actually, he could write his own book about these texts…