Chapter Text
A dark magic user was flung onto a field littered with corpses. His abdomen was penetrated by the cold chill of a sword, his blood-stained face scrunched in bottomless hatred.
Looming over him was a man with similar features wearing a white robe. He was a clearly fine-chiseled man, but his malevolent dark eyes revealed an extreme amount of malicious intent. The man's hand shook, twisting the sword, scratching at the bones in his victim's stomach. Then the man started to ramble about his hatred for the person bleeding away on the ground, about his desires and jealousy. The man explained every action he took to undermine the boy on the floor down to a T.
While muttering inconspicuously, the boy on the floor gritted his teeth with blood coating them like juice. His heart roared with burning hatred, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! "
As the boy finally fought the numbness in his body and raised his Dark Qiāng (spear), the man above him suddenly snatched his spare and pierced his hands in a fit of rage.
Groaning, the boy knew his time was up. In a last ditch effort to counterattack, he turned on his back, stared into the eyes of his murderer, and muttered, "Sǐwáng…Pòhuài…"
Nothing happened. The man started to laugh mockingly at the boy and swiftly cut off his head from his body without hesitation.
As soon as the boy's head rolled away, darkness encased the world. The ground trembled, toppling smooth ground, and the seas cried, washing away cities. Night became day, and day became night.
At that moment, those who betrayed the boy knew the true meaning of regret.
The boy, who should've died by now, was now being cradled in a stream underwater. His clothes disappeared, and a bright light suddenly merged with him.
___________
CLOUD RECESS // present time
"Aiya, have you heard!? Madam Lan is giving birth soon!" Maid A cried, gripping her dress.
"Wait! But she's so early…" Maid B whined, closing her hand over her mouth.
"Yes, the timing is strange. However, you know it's better to cherish a worn out broom as if it were a thousand ounces of gold." Maid C muttered.
"Girls, be quiet! You know, talking behind people's backs is prohibited.” Maid D whispered, washing her hands that were stained with blood.
The servants at Gusu Lan were in an uproar. Today marks the anniversary of the birth of a child that would go down in history. A birth that brought war and infamy, but also peace and prosperity to the cultivation world.
"Look! What's that? "
"Isn't that?"
"It looks like..."
A dazzling light beamed down on the people within Cloud Recess' main temple, almost like a blessing in disguise.
Three people surrounded a woman who was laying on the temple floor. The woman had a huge tummy, indicating that she was pregnant, and her eyes were permanently closed. One of the people was supporting her by holding her hand. The other two were following them to chronicle the birth of the Gusu Lan clan's successor.
Various women of various ages would enter the room and leave with buckets of water, blood-stained damp towels, freshly cleaned sheets, and whatever their masters required.
After a harrowing birth, the baby was finally born. However, as it lay in its mother's dying arms, a bright light suddenly shone down from the heavens and encompassed the babe.
With the help of the light, the babe floated away with the shock of everyone who bore witness to the soles of both of their feet having been dyed alta red. A provincial symbol from the late Chinese dynasty appeared on the baby's forehead, similar to a Chinese forehead sticker.
The baby's father, on the other hand, was not unconcerned about what was happening to his child. He raced forward, ignoring his light-damaged fingers, and wrapped his arms around the babe. The light gradually faded. When density was joyfully heeded once more, stillness pranced as a frigid snap was suddenly calmed. A golden glow encircled the babe, refusing to go unless requested.
It was said the baby glowed for twenty-eight straight days.
___________
Bai An P.O.V
Bai An scowled at the sound of the cold slapping against his cheeks, he felt the embrace of a warm hand. A laugh sounded above him. It sounded joyful, like a ray of sun after a rainy afternoon.
Bai An opened his eyes once again.
He found himself embraced by steady arms. Next to him was a snow-white cot with bushy fur and a lovely black fox plushie with red eyes. He blinked as he felt something heavy encircling his ankles.
What happened to him? Was he kidnapped?
Bai An looked up, to white robes, then a strong jaw and golden, dragon-like eyes.
Was this the bastard who kidnapped him?
Frowning, Bai An gathered dark qi from his abdomen and tried to slap the man with it. However, not only did the dark qi not obey him, it got absorbed in the direction of his ankles!
What's going on!?
Bai An tried to sit up, but he felt weighed down by an invisible pressure.
"She's quite enthusiastic, isn't she Wanji?" asked a thin man with a long black goatee.
"Mn."
"May I hold your daughter?" A man with gentle eyes asked.
Bai An froze in shock. He must be deaf or partially deaf. There was no way this man called me "your daughter." But.. but If it's true... What does this mean for him?
"Hmph," ‘Wanji’ frowned, gazing down at his daughter and not saying anything else.
"..."
Undeterred, the man with gentle eyes sat down in front of Bai An and pulled his lips up in a gentle smile. He looked similar to the man holding him-her-and pointed at himself, "Hello, A-An, my name is Lan Xichen, your uncle," his sword-shaped eyebrows raised slightly as he poked the babe's chubby cheeks, "It's very nice to meet you."
Bai An grasped his or her new uncle's finger and squeezed. Lan Xichen laughed brightly, so Bai An added more pressure to his or her hand and squeezed a second time.
Crack!
All three adults in the room stood still. The older man parted his lips in shock, while Lan Xichen froze on the spot.
Bai An's father creased his forehead and began to gently rock the babe in his arms.
"Little An is so strong, as expected," Laughing nervously, Lan Xichen tried to move his broken finger without wincing, but to no avail.
Bai An frowned. He wasn't, or maybe he should start to refer to himself as a she now... She wasn't a good person. She's killed people for less and yet looking at this man, who obviously was forcing a smile through the pain, made her soften her heart a bit. This man reminded her of her younger brother. The only one who didn't betray her.
Bai An stretched her hand towards Lan Xichen's broken forefinger.
"Ah," the man himself started to murmur, "Little An, have mercy, have mercy."
Bai An ignored the man and stroked his broken finger with her qi. This was a small trick she learned from her master. She often got various bruises, dumbing down her training for over a year. Her master was annoyed because of that fact and proceeded to teach her a secret technique to heal broken bones and other non-life-threatening injuries.
Lan Xichen's finger glowed with warmth and light, and as Bai An took away her hand, his finger seemed to heal almost immediately.
Gasping Lan Xichen looked at his uncle to see if he was hallucinating, then at Little An, who had an indifferent expression on her face.
"D-Did she do what I think she just did?" Lan Xichen inquired softly for confirmation.
It seems she could use this technique and not her dark qi.
Stroking his beard, the old man acknowledged, "It isn't surprising she could do as much. Even if she is a babe, she is still the reincarnation of Xiwangmu."
She's what!? Were these cultivators truly convinced she was the reincarnation of some schmuck goddess?
"Uncle," Lan Xichen called out with a worried frown, "if people find out about her status and what she could do, won't they try to take her?"
"It's no use hiding that fact; she is a day old and word has already gotten around," Uncle Lan grumbled. "The clan head and chief cultivator are already summoning us in twenty-seven days' time to meet the babe."
"No," her father muttered. He had a deep voice, one that gave Bai An an air of solid confidence and was very easy on the ears.
All three occupants in the room turned their attention to him.
"Wanji?" Lan Wanji's uncle asked, his dark eyes creasing in concern.
"They will not take her," Lan Wanji tightens his arms around his daughter, but his expression remains unchanged.
Lan Xichen's expression softened as he embraced his brother and niece in a comforting hug. He then placed a wet kiss on Bai An's forehead, right on top of the mark on her forehead. "You are right, even if they try, we will never let them take her."
Bai An's father loosened his arm just a smidge and nodded his head.
Bai An sighed. It seems this bunch is a stubborn lot, born to hold on, to win, to battle for what they believe in, and to demonstrate true loyalty and dependability to those they protect and nurture.
Moreover, it seems Bai An's very existence is causing political unrest. But that was nothing new. She would have long butchered those who wanted to cause trouble for her if she was in her adult body. She was used to being the Forefather of Bad Luck, so it wouldn't surprise her if they decided to kick her out of the clan. Closing her eyes, Bai An counted to sixty, letting her body relax in her father's hold. She knew she should plan out another course of action, though for now she would rest.
Even in her sleeping state, she still felt a hand patting what little hair she had.
A smooth voice whispers into her ear so softly that it almost tickles, "Nice to meet you, Lan An...thank you for being born."