Work Text:
His mind was blank as he watched his father take his last breath. His limbs froze as he watched Fang Xin slowly back away. At one point he heard a scream. After a few minutes of the sound piercing his ears, he realized it was him screaming. Fang Xin was long gone, so instead he scrambled over to the different bodies strewn across the room. He felt a wave of sickness as he turned over the body of the same girl he was planning to kiss that day after months of pining for her. He gently closed her eyes. He went around the room, closing each person’s eyes and mumbling a prayer. He tried not to stay by one for too long, for fear of throwing up at the sight of them.
He felt the most disgusted when he came up to his mother. Shame washed over him as he turned to the side, puking. His own mother was lying in front of him with her throat slit. He had picked some beautiful flowers for her earlier that day. Though it didn’t really matter now, as he both forgot to bring them, and now there was no one alive to receive them.
Pairs of guards started flooding the room. Lang Qianqiu ignored them, shuffling over to his father. They were too late anyway. Just like he was. He felt a few tears fall down his face as he closed his father’s eyes, still wide with fear. As one of the guards began dragging him away from his late father’s body, he only had one thought in mind. He was going to kill Fang Xin.
…
Lang Qianqiu stumbled back, hot tears running down his cheeks. It was enough of a gut-punch to know that his most trusted mentor had betrayed him, but now, as he stood in a damp and disgusting cave, he had to find out that his best friend, An Le, had also back-stabbed him. The boy he snuck into family events, the boy he told every secret to, the boy he let sleep in his room and hold his hand had only become close with him to tear his whole world apart. There was no one to confront about it. An Le was long dead. Just like all of his family. They were all gone.
Except for him. Qi Rong. The man who plotted everything. Or more accurately, the monster that plotted the whole thing. Hatred burned in Lang Qianqiu’s heart as he chased after Qi Rong. He would never learn, would he? Killing Fang Xin didn’t change anything. Why would killing Qi Rong be any different? His family was still dead. His friends were still dead. An Le and Fang Xin still betrayed him. His kingdom wasn’t even his anymore. Nothing would change. And yet, that only made him angrier. It was just cruel for revenge to not change anything. It wasn’t fair. Why did Qi Rong still get to laugh? Why did Qi Rong still have a family? Why did Qi Rong still get to be happy when Lang Qianqiu was suffering? Each time he saw him sent him into a state of panic. It made him feel like he was once again that scared seventeen year old being forced to rule. It made him beyond angry. Beyond disgusted.
And as he chased down that monstrous ghost, only one thought was running through his mind. He was going to kill Qi Rong.
…
Lang Qianqiu threw the stupid pendant storing Qi Rong across the room, looking down at Guzi, who was a crying mess on the floor.
“I’m tired of this Guzi-”
“Please don’t throw dad! He-”
“He’s not your dad!” Lang Qianqiu shouted, gesturing wildly at the area on the floor where the pendant landed. He couldn’t stand it. It had been months of this nonstop, “When can my dad get out of this?”’ and, “Is dad gonna be okay?” It made Lang Qianqiu sick to his stomach that this kid kept calling a monster like Qi Rong his dad. He thought keeping him alive would help the initial shock of the whole ordeal with Jun Wu, but instead it just made Guzi latch onto Qi Rong more.
“Listen to me Guzi, that thing isn’t your father. He killed him. Okay? Your. Father. Is. Dead.” He enunciated each word sharply. He was tired of pulling punches.
Guzi’s eyes widened as he stumbled back, away from Lang Qianqiu. He stood up slightly as he inched closer to the pendant on the floor, not daring to break eye contact.
“You’re...” Guzi’s voice was soft and wobbly as more tears formed in his eyes, “...you’re scaring me! Dad’s not dead-he’s right here! He’s okay, right? You promised me he’d be okay.”
“Don’t you get it?!” Lang Qianqiu grabbed Guzi by the wrist with one hand and picked up the pendant with the other, shoving it close to Guzi’s face.
“This is a ghost! He took over your dad’s body. And now he’s been lying to you so that you can trust him! He never cared–he just wanted to eat you!”
“So dad is...” Guzi wiped another tear from his wet face, holding a shaky hand up to the pendant, “Dad is gone?”
“ Yes .” Lang Qianqiu once again dropped the pendant to the floor.
“Dad is gone?”
“I already said yes!” Lang Qianqiu let go of Guzi’s wrist, curling both his hands into fists. How stupid could this kid be? No one in their right minds would still believe that such a disgusting creature was their dad. He didn’t understand why Guzi was upset. Who the fuck would want Qi Rong as a father??
This realization only seemed to make Guzi more upset. He started crying harder, gulping for breath as his nose stuffed up. His hands switched between trying to wipe the tears from his eyes and simply flailing around in defeat. Lang Qianqiu stepped back. What was happening? Shouldn’t he be happy his father isn’t such a disgusting monster as it seemed??
Guzi let out a small wail, curling in onto himself. He started screaming something that sounded like, “Bring back dad! Please bring back dad!” over and over.
Lang Qianqiu held his breath, a shameful realization washing over him. The person Guzi trusted the most turned out to be a fraud. And it was Lang Qianqiu’s fault. His breath got shaky as he stepped further away from Guzi. It was his fault. He told Guzi. How could he be so cruel? Why couldn’t he just let him believe his dad was still alive? This won’t bring his father back. This won’t bring anyone back. They were still dead. They’re always going to be dead.
Lang Qianqiu stared as tears continued to stream down Guzi’s face. Guzi was still screaming. His voice seemed to be getting hoarse. Did he realize he was the one screaming? Did he realize he was the one thrashing his arms around, trying to get away from everything? Did he really know that his father was never coming back?
Lang Qianqiu stepped forward as he continued to stare at the distorted mirror of himself. He crouched down, opening up his arms. When he was seventeen, the closest thing to comfort he ever got was the guard who pulled him away from his father’s corpse. As he wrapped his arms around Guzi, stopping his arms from flying around, he felt his head pound. This was his fault, yes. But he was going to give Guzi something that no one ever gave to him after that day.
He held Guzi tighter in his arms.
“It’s okay, Guzi. I...” Lang Qianqiu drew a quick breath, trying to prevent tears from escaping his eyes, “...I’m here. I’ll always be here.”
Guzi's hands clung onto the back of Lang Qianqiu’s robes like claws as he continued to wail into Lang Qianqiu’s shoulder. Lang Qianqiu squeezed his eyes shut, trying to avoid the sound of Guzi’s screaming. He tried to avoid the feeling of defeat that was settling in. After a while, he accepted it. He let large tears spill down his cheeks as he squeezed Guzi tightly. He didn’t stop himself from wailing like a child. Guzi didn’t deserve this. Lang Qianqiu didn’t deserve this. What started as an angry man and an upset child, ended as two scared kids, clinging tightly to each other, for fear that if they let go, the other might leave them like everyone else had left before.