Archive of Our Own

Despite the late hour, the sun was only finally beginning to set now, the longest day of the year was nearly upon them and the heat was correspondingly difficult.

Fortunately Lan Zhan had heard his pleas for an escape from the heat and they had wandered up into the mountains up past Shandong, seeking cooler temperatures in higher climates. It was so wonderful to be in something even slightly cooler that Wei Wuxian could have kissed him. And had. Many times already.

Since he’d had to properly show his appreciation to his husband for stealing him away from the hot temperatures, they had skipped an afternoon meal in favor of a bath and some time resting and rolling around in the sheets, only coming down later when the inn was filling up with those seeking a meal on their way home from long hours outdoors and a brief respite from the summer sun.

Wei Wuxian leaned back in his seat to look for his husband, who had gone off to spoil his donkey and bribe it into behaving for the inn staff. Little Apple had not been happy about the changes in elevation, not that it was ever happy about anything that didn’t involve apples, and had thrown a tantrum nearly as magnificent as anything Wei Wuxian could do himself when it realized that there was still more uphill left to do.

There was no sign of Lan Zhan’s white robes yet, though to be fair it had only been a few minutes since he’d left. Even Lan Zhan and his magical ability to make animals calm down around him would still need a few minutes to work his wicked spells upon his donkey. Wei Wuxian would remain patient and wait for him.

With nothing better to do, he sipped his wine and let his mind wander, listening to the conversations bubbling around him. As was usual for villages such as this one, most of the conversation was about things that happened in town, illicit affairs and small arguments, who was having a good year and who might be struggling when winter arrived, strange happenings and if they required a cultivator to handle them.

No one seemed especially harried or confused by what was happening around town, there were no furtive whispers or fear in their eyes. But then this village was reasonably close to a small clan just starting out, so it made sense that they were well cared for by the local cultivators.

He was just returning to his tea and trying to decide on the most playful way to tell Lan Zhan that their services wouldn’t be needed here when a conversation abruptly turned to catch his attention.

“Did you hear about the shipwreck over by Huangdao? They say Jingwei appeared once more in a storm of seagulls to chase off the monsters that sunk the ship.”

"Everyone on the coast and their aunty claims to have seen Jingwei," the man's companion replied, just as Lan Zhan returned and sat down. "And it's always just birds."

"But how often do birds chase off monsters?" the first man protested. "Jingwei doesn't want anyone else to die in the ocean, doesn't she?"

"Seagulls will chase off anything they want," the other man retorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if they did chase off a monster."

Well, this was interesting. "Hey, Lan Zhan," he murmured, catching his husband's eye and knowing immediately that he'd also been listening to the conversation. "Want to go see if we can catch a glimpse of Jingwei?"

"And the monsters she is chasing off?" Lan Zhan softly replied, tilting his head.

"Don't you think she'd appreciate a hand?" Wei Wuxian said, smiling. "She's got enough to do with dropping sticks and rocks into the sea. We could at least take care of the monsters for her."

"There does not seem to be any need for our presence here," Lan Zhan agreed.

Just to make sure, Wei Wuxian popped up and moved to the table with the men discussing Jingwei. As they turned to look at him, raising their eyebrows in question, he smiled at them, open and friendly.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," he admitted freely. "Did you say there are monsters in Huangdao?"

Their eyebrows slowly lowered again. "Do you have business there?" the second man asked. "It might be best to stay away, gongzi. Word is that monsters are pulling down ships and drowning their crews. They might start crawling out of the sea next."

"Or Jingwei could chase them away," the first man countered. That reignited the argument, and with a wave of thanks to two people who were no longer even looking at him, Wei Wuxian returned to Lan Zhan.

"It looks like the monsters are still there, and Jingwei or seagull, no one's dealt with them permanently yet," he said. "I don't think I've actually been to the ocean yet. Maybe we can see what's going on."

Lan Zhan nodded. “It will be cooler there,” he added, as if Wei Wuxian needed any more invitation to go out to the ocean to investigate a mystery. “We can leave tomorrow.”

Wei Wuxian smiled happily and leaned on the table. “It’ll be fun to go hunt down ghouls in the ocean. Maybe we can go diving and chase them out of the waves onto land together.”

Lan Zhan gave him a doubtful look. “Do not speak nonsense,” he said at last as a busy waiter ran up to drop off their dinner before rushing off to some other patient patron.

Wei Wuxian reached out with his foot under the table to nudge Lan Zhan’s ankle playfully. “It’s not nonsense, I used to fish up water ghouls all the time that way when I was a boy. It’s fun, I bet I could get more than you could.”

“…” Lan Zhan looked at him, then turned away, eyes flicking towards their dinner meaningfully. “We should eat.”

Wei Wuxian pouted at him. “I’ll eat once you answer my question,” he said in a wheedling tone. “Come on, Lan Zhan, are you sure you can’t catch water ghouls while swimming in the ocean? I’ll let you do terrible things to me if you do,” he whined playfully, continuing to nudge him with his foot.

Lan Zhan steadfastly ignored his poking with his cool exterior that never wavered under such things, simply snapping his chopsticks open with a crisp sound and settling into his dinner as if nothing at all was happening.

Unfortunately, ignoring Wei Wuxian had never been a successful tactic when he was a teenager and it wasn’t going to work now. His grin grew and he redoubled his efforts, ignoring his dinner in favor of trying to get a reaction out of his reticent husband.

Finally, but only after he'd finished his meal, Lan Zhan's sharp gaze cut across to him. "Let me?" he repeated.

Wei Wuxian had spouted so much nonsense throughout their dinner that he had to think back to remember what Lan Zhan was referring to, but he lit up once he did. "Do you want me to not let you?" he teased, leaning forward. "Should I try to fight back against the powerful Hanguang-jun, who plans to ignore his shining reputation to do terrible things to me?"

Lan Zhan didn't speak for a moment, but when Wei Wuxian lifted his hand to try to press it against Lan Zhan's chest, a hand caught his wrist and held it tight. Wei Wuxian pouted, but Lan Zhan didn't let go. "Wei Ying," he said eventually. "We are in public."

"Does that mean you'll take what you want when we're not in public?" he asked hopefully, twisting his wrist in Lan Zhan's grip so he could instead hold his hand. Lan Zhan did not let go.

"It means I do not need to catch water ghouls while swimming," Lan Zhan replied.

To do whatever I want with you, Wei Wuxian finished mentally, grinning. And, well, that was true, but... "You'll still do it, won't you?" he asked, rubbing the pulse point on Lan Zhan's wrist with his thumb. "For me."

Lan Zhan gave him a dry look, but he did not deny it.

Maybe by the time they got to the ocean, he'd be able to rouse Lan Zhan's competitive spirit. Whether Wei Wuxian won or lost, Lan Zhan would have the perfect excuse to do terrible things to him. Truly, there was no better way to have fun.

As it was, he was pretty sure Lan Zhan was already riled up by his constant teasing throughout dinner. He remained taciturn as ever, but there was a telltale reddish cast to his eyes that suggested he was nowhere near as composed as he looked.

Sure enough, when they rose from the table to return to their room, the minute they were out of sight, Lan Zhan proceeded to drag him into the privacy of their room and do absolutely wonderful, awful things to him for the rest of the night.

--

Wei Wuxian woke up at more or less his usual time the next morning, with only vague memories of Lan Zhan rising earlier to clean them up after their wild night before. He’d gotten into the habit of caring for them the morning after, since sometimes they were too exhausted to properly bathe before sleep and seemed to very much enjoy the experience of caring for Wei Wuxian in the mornings before he was properly awake, no matter his admittedly very halfhearted protests at being dragged from their comfortable bed.

It wasn’t as though he really woke up at that time anyway. Only as much as he needed to ascertain that it still was Lan Zhan who was right there, someone who he always felt safe around, and then he could go back to sleep until he was ready to wake up. And while he was tempted to linger in bed, that wasn't as nice unless Lan Zhan was there too, plus it sounded like they now had somewhere interesting to go.

But that could wait until after breakfast. Yawning as he rolled out of bed, Wei Wuxian spotted Lan Zhan reading at the table, with trays of breakfast warmed by talismans in front of him. He left the coziness of the bed for the improved coziness of his husband's lap, sighing with contentment as he snuggled in.

"Good morning, Wei Ying," Lan Zhan rumbled. The shifting of paper and soft thud indicated he put his book down, and then an arm wrapped around his back and turned him slightly so they both faced the table.

"Good morning, Lan Zhan," he returned, patting Lan Zhan's arm around him. "And breakfast is already waiting for me! What a good provider I've found. The only way you could be better is if you fed me yourself."

"...Eat, Wei Ying," Lan Zhan said, picking up a spoon and placing it in Wei Wuxian's hand.

Wei Wuxian held onto it but made no move to dip it into the congee. Instead, he opened his mouth and made a little "ahhhh" sound, waiting for Lan Zhan to give in. After only a few seconds, Lan Zhan did. He stopped after feeding Wei Wuxian one spoonful, but, pleased and satisfied, Wei Wuxian decided that it was enough, and he took up his own spoon.

After breakfast, he finished getting ready. "You've been to the ocean, right, Lan Zhan?" he asked as he washed his face and tidied his hair. "Gusu's so much closer, after all."

"I have been, but not often," Lan Zhan replied. He'd already packed everything else up, so when Wei Wuxian was ready, he picked up their breakfast trays. "And never for a hunt."

Wei Wuxian grinned as he finished tying his ponytail high up on his head. “So it’ll be new adventures for both of us,” he said, following after Lan Zhan eagerly.

Lan Zhan made an agreeing sound, turning over the trays to a waiting server before collecting two apples to bribe his unruly donkey into behaving for the morning.

Wei Wuxian had no doubts that Little Apple would be even crankier about now having to go back downhill after their climbing yesterday. Maybe he would walk next to Lan Zhan for a while instead of trying to ride it, at least until it no longer wanted to throw him off.

Sure enough, when they went out to the stable, Little Apple was sullenly eyeing the one horse in the stall across from them, who, Wei Wuxian had to admit, was chewing on some hay unreasonably noisily for such an hour. No wonder Little Apple already looked upset.

He walked over to his grouchy donkey, reaching out to pet its nose while ready to pull his hand away if it looked like biting was about to happen. “We’re leaving again, are you going to be nice, or are you going to throw me and run away for the Cloud Recesses?” he teased, petting Little Apple a few times. “Or are you at least going to behave for Lan Zhan?”

The donkey gave him a disdainful look, then sighed and pressed its nose into his hand dramatically, blowing hot air on him. Wei Wuxian laughed and scratched up behind its long ears. “I’m at least better than the noisy horse, huh?”

Little Apple sighed dramatically again as he stepped into the stall with it to get it saddled up for the journey.

Once they’d set out onto the road out of town and into the bright sunlight, Lan Zhan lifted him up onto Little Apple, strong hands settling him comfortably before taking up the reins so they could walk out together, making Wei Wuxian beam happily.

And at some point in the future, they would have a little one of their own to ride Lan Zhan's shoulders. Just another small family and their donkey.

They were a few days inland from Huangdao, but the journey passed quickly. As they traveled downhill, Wei Wuxian walking beside Little Apple as Lan Zhan held its lead, he began to see a strip of deep blue on the horizon, darker than the sky above it. That strip thickened and spread until they crested another hill and suddenly, there it was. The ocean, reaching out far beyond what he could see.

Wei Wuxian was no stranger to water, of course, but the Yangtze River of his disciplehood hadn't smelled of salt and something else he couldn't discern, brought by a strong wind that whipped his ponytail against his face. And as long and wide as the Yangtze was, Wei Wuxian had still been able to see the opposite shores, the way the river bent around its curving path through the valley. Even atop this hill, Wei Wuxian could see nothing but more ocean.

Around them, the seabirds called, protesting their presence. Wei Wuxian put a hand above his eyes as he picked one and watched it dip and rise, dancing in the air with other members of its flock.

He took in a deep breath and turned to Lan Zhan, who was already looking back at him. That look was terrible for Wei Wuxian's poor heart -- but if he protested, Lan Zhan might stop, and that would be worse.

The birds called again, and Wei Wuxian smiled. "Shall we see if Jingwei is among them?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Lan Zhan took it. "Perhaps not here," he said, lifting his head to watch the wheeling birds, which continued to steer down to shout at them before flapping upwards again. "These do not seem to object to anything here but us."

Wei Wuxian laughed, then tugged Lan Zhan in the direction of the town he could see in the distance. "To Huangdao, then," he said. "There'd be a lot of shoreline to examine if we wanted to find the right place all on our own."

Little Apple seemed to enjoy walking on the loose, sandy soil, trotting along calmly behind Lan Zhan with only the occasional flick of its tail to one side. Wei Wuxian found a similar amount of amusement with the new texture of the earth, admiring the way their footsteps spilled out neatly behind them before the salty breeze blew new flecks of sand over to cover them up, all the while being followed by opinionated birds shrieking loudly overhead.

As they approached the village, the gulls finally let up, letting the sea breezes catch them up and carry them out over the waves. Wei Wuxian noted with interest that they did seem to be scanning the water as they flew, though none of them dove for the water at the moment.

The village seemed quiet at the moment, no doubt due to the hour. Those who fished would be out on the waters, and the rest of the families would most likely be inside eating lunch or perhaps taking a nap to escape the noonday sun. Wei Wuxian wasn’t very concerned, though. They would have plenty of time to find someone and ask them about their mysterious Jingwei and the other oddities surrounding their village, even assuming that they had to wait for the fishers to return home for the day. In the meantime, they could enjoy the cool breeze and the crashing of the waves.

They didn’t have to wait anywhere near that long - as they were walking through the village, they came upon two men kneeling next to a sampan, working on patching up the low roof that would help them keep their baskets of fish from spilling over. The older of the two men seemed to be showing the younger a few of the tricks he had no doubt learned over time, adjusting his hands a few times as they finished tying down the hide roof so that it would hold the next time they went out.

“There,” the older man said, patting the younger man on the shoulder. “That’ll hold the next time you go out, especially if Jingwei flies with you. Just remember to pay her a tribute of your catch.”

The younger man nodded before catching sight of the two of them. His eyes narrowed slightly, but his older companion shook his head slightly before standing up and brushing off his knees. “Afternoon, gongzi,” he said gruffly. “What brings you here to Huangdao?”

Wei Wuxian smiled back at them, keeping his bearings friendly and disarming. “We’re wandering cultivators who heard your village recently had some problems with water ghouls and came to see if you’d like some assistance,” he said, bowing politely. “I am Wei Wuxian, and my companion is Lan Wangji. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

The older man seemed to soften further, the crow’s feet around his eyes wrinkling slightly. “I am Chen Yaobin, and this is my son, Chen Feiyan. You two are cultivators?”

"We are," Wei Wuxian agreed cheerfully. "And it sounds like you may have need of that."

"So we might," Chen Yaobin said. He beckoned his son up before gesturing them onwards. "And while Jingwei might be accustomed to difficult tasks, there's no reason not to help her out a bit."

"Let us protect Huangdao so she can go back to filling the sea." Wei Wuxian nodded. He wasn't convinced that Jingwei was actually here, but there was no harm in letting anyone believe it, especially if they weren't assuming she would take care of everything.

The old man led them to an inn and sent his son to order drinks and lunch while Lan Zhan settled Little Apple, then settled at a table with a sigh. "I admit I'm glad you're here," he said. "There's a particular area we've been having to avoid when fishing, and it's been spreading."

"Tell us about it," Wei Wuxian said as Lan Zhan returned and sat beside him. He leaned forward with his elbows on the table and smiled encouragingly. "What's been happening?"

Chen Feiyan returned with a jar of wine and several cups, and behind him came a waiter with tea. Chen Yaobin poured the wine for all four of them, though Wei Wuxian took Lan Zhan's cup as well as his own and poured tea for his husband, who nodded at him in thanks.

"Several months back, there was a pretty nasty storm," Chen Yaobin began, after taking a sip of his wine. "A merchant ship went down off Lingshan Bay, and there was only one survivor. It was too far out for us to try to bring anyone else back, but perhaps we should have tried, because since then, no one's been able to sail near the wreck without water ghouls trying to bring them down too."

"Have you lost many?" Lan Zhan asked softly, holding onto his tea.

Chen Yaobin whistled out a short breath. "Not many locals," he replied. "Old Tang and his two boys were the first to encounter the ghouls, and they didn't make it. After that, though, we figured out what we were dealing with, and we've been able to stay away or get away. But there have been other ships from further away that have tried passing by. More than a few never got past the bay. We've been trying to put out word that the area's dangerous, but word only spreads so quickly."

So far, this didn't sound too difficult. There was only one unexpected element he was interested in hearing more about. "So what about Jingwei, then?" Wei Wuxian asked next. "How did she come into it?"

Chen Feiyan straightened up. “Jingwei has been protecting this village all along. She and her gulls come in to tell us of the shipwrecks and chase away the ghouls that try to attack our boats,” he said with heartfelt fervor in his eyes. “All she asks for in return is fish to keep her gulls fed and that’s easy enough for us to do.”

“Indeed, we are safer for her intervention,” Chen Yaobin agreed. “While she may not love the ocean, her heart is not so cold as to refuse to protect those who must go out on the waves. You can ask any man in the village; he will tell you of the gulls that flock along the rocks out in the water and warn us of any danger. Who else could it be but Jingwei, she who wishes to fill the sea?”

Wei Wuxian gave Lan Zhan a very quick glance. While that didn’t necessarily speak of true divine intervention to him, he could see how the belief had sprung up. Especially since it sounded like no other cultivator had shown up to deal with their ghouls before, it was easy to believe that they were being protected by someone else looking out for them rather than the fickle whims of gulls.

Lan Zhan seemed to come to the same conclusion that he did. “We have not spent much time by the sea; is the intervention of gulls an unusual thing?” he asked, careful to not suggest that they were foolish or wrong in some manner.

Chen Yaobin cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. “A few days after the first shipwreck, the number of gulls along the coast multiplied threefold. While they are always out on the waters, hunting fish and whatever else they can pull from the waves, they have become much more protective and plentiful since Old Tang and his sons passed away. Perhaps Jingwei is collecting the souls of those killed by the sea as she was, and preventing anyone else from drowning as well.”

Lan Zhan frowned softly in thought. “It seems as though we should look into these shipwrecks then,” he said, mostly to Wei Wuxian. “If it is not cleaned up soon, it may become another Waterborne Abyss.”

Wei Wuxian winced inwardly at the thought. He remembered the one in Biling Lake that the Wen had chased down from their own territory. While it had long since been cleaned up by the Lan, dredging the entire ocean was an impossible task for anyone. “Yes, we definitely should,” he said quietly. “While the gulls may be keeping things at bay for now, who’s to say what’ll happen in the future.”

“You’re not going to hurt her, are you?” Chen Feiyan asked, a frown deep in his eyes. “She has done nothing to harm us or anyone, and she deserves our gratitude for protecting us. If it weren’t for her, we might have been overrun by ghouls by now.”

“I don’t doubt that at all,” Wei Wuxian said, lifting his hands into the air disarmingly. “But the water ghouls themselves are dangerous and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind some assistance on that front. After all, how does she have time to fill the sea if she’s busy fighting off ghouls?”

Chen Feiyan calmed down, but he still looked doubtfully between the two of them. His father rested a hand on his shoulder. "They have no reason to hurt something that hasn't been hurting us," Chen Yaobin assured the younger man. "That one there is Hanguang-jun, you know."

Wei Wuxian hid a grin behind his hand as Chen Feiyan straightened, looking at Lan Zhan with wide eyes. He looked back at Chen Yaobin, who returned the glance calmly. He'd recognized Lan Zhan's name -- had he recognized Wei Wuxian's? But if he did, it didn't look like he wanted to raise a fuss about it, so that was fine.

Chen Feiyan seemed to drop his distrust, offering a brief apology to Lan Zhan for not recognizing him, which Lan Zhan of course waved off. Even back during his first life, Wei Wuxian had heard of Lan Zhan's growing reputation among the common people, but perhaps he'd underestimated how much that reputation had grown in the years of his death. As was only right, of course -- Lan Zhan should be appreciated for his deeds.

"So is there anything else you need from us?" Chen Yaobin asked. "The wrecks...may be difficult to reach without a boat."

"Do you want to offer ours?" Chen Feiyan replied, turning to him with a frown. "It won't be able to last against that many ghouls. We can't risk our lives and livelihood like that."

Wei Wuxian raised a hand, catching their attention. "I think we will need a boat, but not as a first step," he said. He shared a glance with Lan Zhan, whose nod promised that they were on the same page in this, as in so many other things. "We have the ability to call the ghouls to us instead of having to go to them. Lan Zhan and I can just pick a good place for that. It will be a good idea to go out to the right waters later to make sure they're safe, but that will only be when we're reasonably certain those ghouls will pull down no more boats."

Chen Feiyan hesitated again before looking at Lan Zhan and nodding. Lan Zhan then leaned forward and said, "We appreciate your help thus far, but we will not ask you for more than information. If needed, we have our own means of reaching the right location."

The two of them could fly together on Bichen, if nothing else. Maybe if there were lingering ghouls, Wei Wuxian would still be able to dive into the water and deal with the ghouls the fun way.

Chen Yaobin nodded, squeezing his son's shoulder. "Then we'll leave you to it, and you just let us know if you need our help," he said. "Old Xie there can tell you where to find us." He gestured with his free hand at the innkeeper.

Wei Wuxian smiled and stood up. “We’ll come find you if we need anything more,” he said, bowing again in farewell before turning to leave with Lan Zhan at his side.

The gulls cried out above them as they walked back out into the early afternoon sunlight, soaring high above the village and squabbling loudly every time they flew too close to each other. Wei Wuxian shaded his eyes to watch them flying by, laughing as he watched two gulls nearly crash into each other and then start to yell at each other about who was at fault for the whole matter. “Jingwei’s helpers look a little more preoccupied with fighting each other at the moment,” he said, watching the two birds fly off, equally offended by the whole matter. “I suppose with no water ghouls around to bully, they have to make do for right now.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said quietly, amused.

“I know, I know,” he said, turning his gaze on the much more beautiful sight standing next to him, long, inky hair and white forehead ribbon being tossed about by the careless ocean breeze. “It’s an interesting story. I can see why they decided that it was Jingwei’s intervention keeping them safe.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan agreed, inclining his head slightly to suggest that they walk along the beach while they talked. It was still too early to go hunting for the ocean ghouls; nighthunting was a task best done at night, but they could get a feeling for the lay of the land and see if they could see the site of the shipwreck from shore.

Wei Wuxian caught his hand as they walked along the beach, now that there was no temperamental donkey to steal Lan Zhan’s attention from him alone. “What do you think, Hanguang-jun? Are our gulls truly disciples of Jingwei, or are they just doing their own thing?”

Lan Zhan thought about it for a few minutes, drawing on his previous experiences of the ocean. “The ocean birds are very fierce, and they brook no tolerance for invaders in their territory,” he said at last. “While it is not impossible that there is some sort of divine influence, it is entirely possible that they are protecting an easy source of food from invaders as well.”

Wei Wuxian squeezed his hand fondly. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. For now, they’re happy enough to help out in their own screechy way, but what happens if the ghouls become too plentiful? It’s a good thing that the peerless Hanguang-jun has come along now to make sure that everyone is safe and protected even this far out from the other clans.”

"Wei Ying..."

Wei Wuxian skipped forward a little bit, so he could turn around and walk backwards while watching Lan Zhan's face. So blank and stoic, and yet still so vibrant. "I certainly didn't miss what gained our young friend's trust back there," he said, grinning. "Noble Hanguang-jun! Inestimable Hanguang-jun! The most trustworthy cultivator in the whole jianghu!"

Lan Zhan's face didn't even twitch. Wei Wuxian needed to up his game.

"This town has heard of you and still doesn't know its luck," Wei Wuxian continued, watching Lan Zhan's face as well as what he could see of his ears for any telltale tinge of red. Could he get away with trying to listen to his heart? "Your reputation, vast as it is, yet only holds a shadow of the truth of your virtue and integrity. None can truly comprehend--"

"Wei Ying."

Still no redness. Hmm. He began again, "None can truly comprehend--"

But this time Lan Zhan retaliated. His face remained still, but his hand rose to press a finger against Wei Wuxian's lips. "None can truly comprehend," this time Lan Zhan began, "this town's luck in having you hear of its troubles."

Wei Wuxian, grinning again, took Lan Zhan's finger into his mouth and nipped it before letting go. "Very sweet," he said, "but you're going to have to do better than that if you want to defeat me!"

Lan Zhan tilted his head at him as if considering something. It was unlikely to be how best to concede, as fun as that would be, so he might be deciding which devastatingly romantic line would knock Wei Wuxian out in one shot. Wei Wuxian therefore braced himself to endure, as best he could, the sheer force of Lan Zhan's love given word.

But instead, Lan Zhan stopped their walk along the beach and instead pulled him close, gathering himself and springing up. Laughing, Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan's neck as his husband briefly touched down again on the sand before once more leaping forward until he reached the long grass further inland. He laid Wei Wuxian, still laughing and already tugging the forehead ribbon from his face, down onto the grass.

He had forgotten that Lan Zhan was at heart a man of action. And his love in this form was still more than able to defeat Wei Wuxian utterly.

--

When they were reasonably cleaned up from their unanticipated detour, Wei Wuxian laughed again as he tied the forehead ribbon back onto Lan Zhan. "It's just as well that we have so much time until nightfall," he said. "I can't think of a better way to spend that time."

Once the ribbon was secure again, Lan Zhan's passion seemed to have been tamped down again, pulled tight beneath his skin. But Wei Wuxian knew how close it was to the surface, and the thought continued to fill him with glee.

And although the passion had been sent into the background, Lan Zhan looked at him still with such warmth that he was tempted to pull him to the ground again. Feeling responsibility nudging at him, he reluctantly turned his face back to the sea. "Come on," he went on, holding a hand out for Lan Zhan to take. "We still have to find the right spot. Lingshan Bay is pretty big. Do you have one of my compasses?"

Lan Zhan nodded, first reaching into his sleeve to withdraw a Compass of Ill Winds and passing it over before drawing Bichen and stepping onto the blade. Once he was secure, he took Wei Wuxian’s hand and guided him up onto the narrow edge, wrapping his arm firmly around Wei Wuxian’s waist so he could not fall. “This is more efficient,” he said into Wei Wuxian’s ear. “Tell me where to go.”

Wei Wuxian grinned and turned to kiss him noisily on the cheek before turning his focus to the compass. It was one of the better versions he’d seen of his tool, though he still wanted to take it apart and get back to improving on the design now that he had time to devote to it. Maybe when they decided to stop traveling for a while, he could ask Jin Ling for his notes back from the hidden treasure room in Golden Scale Tower. Even if his notes had been defaced by the Jins’ attempts to recreate his guidao, having them back would help him further pick up where he’d left off.

But those were problems for the future, and even the simple prototype would be more than enough for them to find a nest of water ghouls right now. Even though the needle was spinning lazily with nothing to narrow in on, Lan Zhan could easily fly them around over the ocean until it did discover their resentful ocean friends.

“Nothing’s close enough yet,” he reported to Lan Zhan, showing him the compass. “Let’s go out a little further, maybe to where those rocks are,” he said, gesturing towards where a few lumpy, salt-spotted rocks rose up out of the deeper water. Naturally, for an area supposedly blessed by Jingwei, there were two gulls perched on one of the rocks, unperturbed by the spray of water that splashed on them every time a wave broke against the rocks.

Lan Zhan squeezed his waist in affirmation and flew them steadily towards the rocks, keeping a firm grip on him the entire time. Wei Wuxian leaned against him comfortably, enjoying the sensation of knowing that even if he should happen to fall, Lan Zhan would immediately be there to catch him. Of course, Lan Zhan would never let him fall to begin with, but he could enjoy the feeling of being cherished and protected.

As they approached the rocks, the gulls seemed to take notice, loudly scolding them for their insolence before taking off into the air. Wei Wuxian shook his head with a laugh and looked down at the compass again now that they had covered some ground. The needle shivered in a vaguely northern direction a few times, but after a few minutes, whatever it was sensing drifted out of its range, not really a surprise with the rolling waves beneath them.

The gulls they had scared off promptly started cackling at them.

Still, it was their best lead so far, so Lan Zhan aimed them northwards until the compass was able to lock more definitively onto a source of resentment. Soon they were about a dozen li from the shore, staring at a compass whose needle pointed directly beneath them. The water was too dark and choppy for Wei Wuxian to see either the wrecks or the water ghoul nest, but now at least they knew exactly where they were.

"Let's go back to shore," he called to Lan Zhan above the wind and the cries of the gulls. Lan Zhan aimed Bichen back towards the beach, and soon they stepped down onto the sand.

"What do you wish to do?" Lan Zhan asked him as Bichen slid back into its sheath.

Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow, smiling. "It would be a little hard to swim out there and fish them out myself," he conceded. "Is that what you're getting at, Lan Zhan? No competing over who fishes up more this time?"

"That tactic will not fit the circumstances," Lan Zhan agreed, provoking a laugh from Wei Wuxian. "But one of your other strategies should work well."

"Lure flag?" Wei Wuxian checked, because he'd been thinking the same thing. When Lan Zhan inclined his head, Wei Wuxian smiled again and stretched his arms above his head. The compass and the lure flag, two inventions he'd made for himself, which had ended up spreading much farther than he'd ever expected. He couldn't say he appreciated how that happened, but he could at least trust Lan Zhan to have always used them with respect towards their creator.

"We might want to draw flags for at least twenty li," Wei Wuxian continued, "to account for how far out we had to go as well as the depth."

"I already have flags drawn for several distances, including twenty li," Lan Zhan informed him. "And there should be nothing else within range to respond to them."

"So prepared!" Wei Wuxian praised, reaching up to pat his cheek. "But I'm sure you'd rather I don't draw all over myself again in my own blood, hmm? At least this isn't the kind of emergency that was."

"Mn." Lan Zhan's gaze wandered over him, lingering on his chest, his black robes absent of any lure talismans. "We have time."

They did. It wasn't even sunset yet, much less the deeper night when the water ghouls would be more active and receptive to luring. They could draw them out now, of course, but it would be easier in a few shichen. And water ghouls were so little challenge that it would be much more fun to engage them when they were active and aware, rather than sleepy and slow.

“Well then,” Wei Wuxian said, flopping down onto the sand in a careless sprawl. “Since we have nothing to do for a bit, can I see that compass again?”

Lan Zhan’s eyebrows knitted in the most adorably confused expression, but he still handed over the compass without question. Now that they were out of range of the shipwrecks, the needle had returned to spinning lazily.

A couple of firm taps around the outside of the compass where wood and metal met had the needle come to a halt as he twisted it open and disconnected the two halves, scooping out the inner workings. “Since we’ve got some time, I’m going to tinker with this and see if I can get it working better,” he explained, squinting up at his husband. “Sit down, I can’t see your face with the sun blinding me.”

Lan Zhan took a step forward and sat down next to him in the sand, peerlessly elegant as always even in the uneven sand. “What are you intending to do?” he asked, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

“I don’t know if you ever heard about this, but I was working on upgrading this little tool before I died,” Wei Wuxian mused, digging through the rings of metal for the one he was looking for. “Sadly all my notes seem to have ended up in the treasure vault in Golden Scale Tower, but I think I might still be able to boost the power so it has some more range on it temporarily.”

Lan Zhan made a soft sound that started out as saddened and angered by the reminder of what had happened thirteen years ago before settling into displeased with the Jin for stealing his notes. The mulish cast to his face left Wei Wuxian with the impression that if Lan Zhan had ever been able to retrieve any of his notes, they would have been preserved and stored away for safekeeping beneath the floorboards of the Jingshi and promptly returned to him when they had time.

However, just like him, Lan Zhan did not like to dwell in sorrowful thoughts. A heartbeat later his face smoothed as Wei Wuxian pulled out the piece of metal he was looking for, holding it up against the sky to see the engraved characters more clearly. “Is this one of the enhancements you had intended to create, then?”

Wei Wuxian hummed thoughtfully. “Part of it, anyway,” he said. “Of course having it able to sense resentful energy from farther away is very useful, especially when it’s something like this where the ocean just gets deeper and deeper beneath the surface. But I have other plans in mind as well, once I get back to working on my projects.”

"Oh?" Lan Zhan prompted.

Wei Wuxian found the right set of characters, but...hmm. He didn't really carry the proper tools anymore. He'd have to remedy that later. "It's not precise enough," he told Lan Zhan. "Did you know, right after I was resurrected, on my way to Dafan Mountain, I came across a group of cultivators looking for the soul-stealing goddess and arguing about how well my compasses worked. Alas for all of us that the jianghu's decision to kill me left them with just my prototype!"

Lan Zhan visibly frowned. He said nothing, but he reached out to take Wei Wuxian's hands, gently putting the compass parts aside. He raised Wei Wuxian's hands to his face to examine them more closely, then pulled them closer to kiss his fingers on both hands, a soft yet fervent press of lips.

Unbidden, Wei Wuxian shivered, his fingers twitching. Ridiculous man! He made no move to take his hands back, but he did say, "Your Lan juniors handled the flags pretty well, in Mo Manor. I was glad to see that they'd been taught well, and that their knowledge kept them reasonably safe."

The knowledge and tools were out there in the world now, and that always brought both good and bad.

"I am gratified that they were respectful," Lan Zhan replied. Left unspoken was a comment about how few people were.

But the world's respect mattered nothing to him next to Lan Zhan's own, so the exchange left him feeling far more fond than troubled. His hands were still clasped in Lan Zhan's, so he pulled them close in turn to kiss the backs before he finally tugged his hands free.

"I'll want to experiment more later," he said, "but for now I think I'll have to settle for a makeshift adaptation." He retrieved some talisman paper before biting his index finger and using the blood to draw several quick characters. He then wrapped the paper tightly around the ring and fit it back inside the compass before putting the pieces back together.

The talisman paper wouldn't last for very long; the energy of the working compass would burn it up eventually. In the meantime, though, he was able to watch with satisfaction as the compass needle began pointing more steadily east, right towards where the shipwrecks should be.

Wei Wuxian grinned triumphantly. “There we go, that’ll keep us on track for cleaning up any missed stragglers later on,” he said with pleasure, leaning back to check the progression of the sun.

It had moved decidedly into the lower western sky, the fields behind them turning gold with the sunset, but they still had at least half a shichen before it would be dark enough to effectively lure out the water ghouls.

At least the rest of the village would be docked and safe by the time they started, probably properly fed as well. Wei Wuxian’s stomach chose that moment to grumble, reminding him that his new body still wasn’t as good as going for days with only one or two meals. They were working on fixing that problem, but it took time to form and power up a golden core even with having the experience of having already done it once, and in the meantime he just had to pout or whine and Lan Zhan would feed him until he was stuffed.

He immediately turned a plaintive look his husband's way. “Do you still have any apples left in your sleeves, Lan Zhan?” he whined beseechingly. Surely his spoiled donkey could spare a few bribery apples for its poor rider’s sake. In fact, he was willing to bet that Little Apple was so spoiled with hay that it would never notice if Wei Wuxian had an apple or two.

Lan Zhan produced an apple for him from his sleeves, glancing back towards the village as Wei Wuxian happily took it. “If you are very hungry, we can return to the inn for a while and you can eat there. We still have some time.”

“No, I don’t want to go back right now,” he said through a mouthful of apple, glancing up at the stars beginning to sprout in the eastern sky over the slowly darkening sea. “We can have a full dinner later, after we finish our work. Besides, we might as well set up some of the flags while we still have good light to see by.”

Lan Zhan hummed softly.

Wei Wuxian polished off two pleasantly crunchy, juicy apples while they watched the waves roll up the beach, coming up further and further with the passage of time. A rock that he distinctly remembered being just at the edge of where the waves rolled up when they’d arrived now was surrounded by water at all times.

It would seem like what he’d overheard about the ocean was true, the water did rise and fall with the day. Hopefully it would make it easier for them to bring in their water ghoul catch.

He rose to his feet once the sun had disappeared behind the horizon, leaving only fading twilight to light their way, stretching languorously. “Well, Lan Zhan, looks like it’s time for us to get to work,” he said with a grin. “Let’s stake out the flags over there where the grass and the sand meet.”

That area also formed something of a natural enclosure; where the grass left off, the sand dipped in a small cliff, and around it were clusters of rocks. No one else seemed likely to stumble across them during their hunt, but there was still nothing wrong with taking what precautions they could.

Wei Wuxian had never actually bothered with formations like this before. When he'd first created the lure flag, he'd simply inverted all the Wen spirit-suppressing talismans he could find. After the war, he'd begun refining their application to include other elements, like distance, but since he'd still created them mostly for his own use, he'd just usually carried one around to make himself a target. That had always seemed the most straightforward option, and so it was also what he had done during the second attempted siege of the Burial Mounds.

Placing flags in a formation like this was a newer evolution of this technique, but he appreciated it. Drawing what might be a great many water ghouls to this location would be much safer if it was tied to the location, rather than himself and Lan Zhan. So together, as the light fully faded and the expanse of stars overhead blanketed the darkened sky, the two of them set up their formation, then took their places on its outer edges.

Lan Zhan drew Bichen, its clear blue glow a beacon in the darkness. Wei Wuxian drew Chenqing from his belt and tapped its end against his lips. The waves crashed against the shore, steady, regular, and soothing.

"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian said before they activated the flags. "Let's just start by trying to herd them into our little formation here. I don't want to kill them just yet. There may yet be something else we can do with them."

"Yes," Lan Zhan agreed. He asked no further questions, the lovely man. Of course, Wei Wuxian hadn't yet decided if there was something else he wanted to do with the ghouls -- his ideas on the issue were still simmering in the back of his mind. It just seemed a shame to kill them without giving them any further chances to do more.

Then, with that settled, they activated the flag formation. Almost immediately, a sinister energy rose around the flags like a swirling black wind. Far out in the distance, the water began to churn.

Dark heads rose above the water as the ghouls were caught in the lure flags, letting the waves pick them up and carry them along in their direction. Wei Wuxian counted perhaps two dozen heads or so, though it was difficult to tell in the dark. It was unlikely to be all of the ghouls, let alone all of those who had died beneath the waves, but a good number to start with nevertheless.

A cool breeze came rushing in off the ocean, whipping his hair up into the air as he adjusted his grip on his flute, ready to start playing once the ghouls were close enough for him to determine what they were like.

The first of the ghouls came stumbling out of the water a few seconds later, water streaming off of its pale, slightly crushed body. Clearly this water ghoul had not had an easy death, one arm hung at an odd angle and it was dragging a leg behind it with slow, shuffling steps.

The waves crashed up the beach, carrying more ghouls to their location, some of them in better conditions than the others. Wei Wuxian wasn’t all that surprised that they weren’t as intact as the ones he used to fish up in Yunmeng, the ocean currents were no doubt much rougher and crueller than the scattered lotus lakes.

He watched with interest as the small army of water ghouls stumbled up the beach, caught in the pull of the lure flags. There was something intensely satisfying about watching his flags doing what he’d originally dreamed of as a boy out on Biling Lake, something that he’d all but forgotten about at the time he’d actually created them. The ghouls weren’t that harmful unless provoked, but it was a lot safer for him and Lan Zhan to be able to call them to a neutral location than to have to hunt them through the ocean.

As the first few ghouls climbed over the sand towards their lure, something amusing happened. The formerly placid ghouls caught sight of him, standing under the moonlight with the wind pulling at his robes and hair and Chenqing in his hands, froze, then promptly turned around, trying to fight against the beckoning lure in their attempt to flee his presence.

Their escape attempts were not very successful; Lan Zhan’s flags were too well drawn and the rest of the ghouls had not noticed who stood before them yet and kept clambering forwards determinedly. They crashed into each other with great speed, falling to the sand in a tangle of panicked, wet bodies.

Wei Wuxian cracked up. One more look at the growing pile of flailing ghouls had him bent over his knees, wheezing out more breath than he could take in. Every time he thought he could get control of himself, another glance at the pile, and at Lan Zhan's blank yet still disapproving face aimed at the pile, set him off again.

Finally, when no more ghouls seemed to be crawling out of the sea, he managed to catch his breath and move behind the ghouls, allowing them to start to scramble up again and into the flag formation, now that the flags and away from Wei Wuxian were both the same direction. Of course, they'd been no real threat in their panicked pile, but they were also a little too pitiable to leave like that.

Lan Zhan soon joined him, the spiritual energy in Bichen also helping to herd a few stragglers into their formation pen. And then they had a large group of wet, sandy ghouls in front of them, pressed together like living humans wouldn't. Their skin was a bluish gray under the moonlight, and so many of their bodies were broken in some way, but they were out of their nest now.

"Have you decided what you wish to do?" Lan Zhan murmured. He still had Bichen out, its sword glare making his face look far colder than Wei Wuxian knew him to be.

Wei Wuxian had been thinking about it. Water ghouls were as aggressive as they were because their instincts told them that they would be free if they brought another to take their place. Sometimes that happened, their resentment dissipating at meeting what they thought was their requirement to find rest. Often, though, the resentment still lingered enough to keep animating them, and they killed more and more and it was still never enough.

What would it take for it to be enough?

"I do have an idea," he told Lan Zhan. Now that the ghouls were trapped, he tugged his husband off to the side, where the ghouls would once more have a clear path to the sea. Once they were standing a little more stably on the grass, he brought Chenqing to his lips and began to play.

All of their heads snapped up as the first notes rang out. There is no going back, he told them. You have been forever changed by what took you, as has what you've taken in turn. But you can change yourselves again and give back. Perhaps that will be enough to let you rest.

They all remained completely, inhumanly still as the last notes faded. Wei Wuxian was the first to move, and it was to walk to the formation and take up the nearest flag. Lan Zhan joined him as he rolled up the next, putting each away in a qiankun pouch where their call would be completely cut off.

Then, once the whole group of ghouls were free once more, they all broke towards the sea once again.

Wei Wuxian had never been on a boat at sea, but he had ridden on boats with his shidi all squashed together and seen the merchants on the large boats that traveled up and down the rivers. There was no chance that the ghouls they’d called up accounted for all of the people who’d drowned across the multiple shipwrecks, and they certainly remembered their fallen companions.

Bringing their fallen companions back to shore and helping them to be properly laid to rest would most likely ease their resentment enough that they could move on without needing further intervention on the edge of a blade. Even with their battered state, the earth was loose with sand and would move easily for them to dig graves, further assisting them in putting their resentment to good use instead of attacking people out on the water.

The ghouls reached their destination very quickly; not at all perturbed by the strength of the waves. Like a school of dead fish, they dove down to where their boats had sank and, at his direction, began to work in concert to lift them from their watery grave and bring them back on land.

Wei Wuxian held Chenqing to his lips again, ready to direct them further if they needed it. Lan Zhan reached out and touched his shoulder softly, getting his attention. “I will dig graves,” he said, drawing Bichen again and walking over to a long stretch of land that would have dirt solid enough to keep any beasts from digging down and disturbing their rest again.

The ruined ships might make the beach a little less pristine for a while, but that was a much smaller problem than water ghouls attacking everyone and aggravating all of the gulls around. Any cloth would rot quickly and the wood could always be repurposed in some way once it had dried. In the meantime, the ships could make a good cover while the dirt over the graves set, adding an extra layer of protection.

With the wrecks cleared up, Lingshan Bay could become a safe place for sailors once again and Huangdao Village could enjoy their gulls without needing to rely on them for protection. Sure, Jingwei would have to put some more rocks and sticks into the ocean with the boats removed, but he didn’t think she would care too much even if she had been hanging around Huangdao recently.

The moon crawled up the eastern sky as they watched the sea and the ghoul heads occasionally breaking through the water as they dragged the first of the boats up from the depths and onto the shore. Dark lengths of seaweed trailed behind them as they pulled a long boat with two more bodies caught beneath the canopy that had shielded them and their cargo from the sun. Water sloshed over the sides as they dragged it up to the place he had indicated for them with a few notes from Chenqing, still trying to maintain a safe distance from Wei Wuxian.

Once they had the boat settled, most of the ghouls returned to the water to bring another boat up while a few stayed behind to pick out their companions from the boat and settle them inside the long graves Lan Zhan had made. Lan Zhan, finished with his digging, began pulling out from his sleeve swathes of white cloth to wrap the bodies in. However, he didn't have enough for all the bodies, the ghouls included, so he shrouded those he could.

Huangdao would likely have more. They would need to contact them anyway, before finishing the burial, because he imagined that Old Tang and his sons should be returned to their family. The villagers might even know where to return some of these bodies, or at least where to send word. The rest could stay here, in this peaceful little spot.

The ghouls dragged their ships further up the beach. Each group seemed to be focused on their own ship, because once one was settled, the group of ghouls went over to Lan Zhan and began collapsing into his graves, their energy -- and their resentment -- spent.

Finally, Wei Wuxian estimated it was about a shichen before sunrise when the beach once more went still and silent. Several dozen bodies now lay in the graves they'd dug, some shrouded while others were covered in nothing but stained, rotting clothes and their own tangled hair. Seven ships had been dragged onto the sand, ranging from the three-person fishing boat to larger merchant vessels.

Some of the ships were large enough that it seemed strange that even as many water ghouls as this could pull them down, so Wei Wuxian moved forward to examine them more closely. "Lan Zhan," he called, his eyes wandering over broken boards and deep shadows. "Come over here. I need a light."

Lan Zhan joined him, once more raising Bichen so the sword glare illuminated the shadows at the front of the ship's hull. Under the light, Wei Wuxian could see a bigger hole than ghouls would be able to make with just their own hands.

"What do you think?" he asked, sticking Chenqing back in his belt and putting his hands on his hips. "Does it look like they might have been driven onto rocks to you?"

"Yes." Lan Zhan moved over to another of the bigger ships, which similarly had holes gaping open where they should not.

"They must be underwater, then," Wei Wuxian said, nodding to himself. "I didn't see any above the surface capable of doing this. The fishermen didn't mention it, so I wonder if they're new?"

"The rocks and ghouls combined to sink the ships," Lan Zhan concluded, looking out across their array of wrecked ships. "We should let Huangdao know."

The fishermen would probably already be heading out to sea by now, but they at least already knew to avoid the area, whether or not they also knew about the rocks. "Before we do," Wei Wuxian said, "I want to go back out to that location. See if we can deal with any stragglers."

He pulled out the compass he'd modified earlier, to show Lan Zhan that the needle still waveringly pointed east.

Lan Zhan nodded, then scooped up Wei Wuxian easily into his arms before stepping onto Bichen, leaving Wei Wuxian’s hands free to use his flute with only minor difficulties.

Of course he didn’t need to use Chenqing while they were flying, and he only needed one hand to hold his compass, so naturally he used the other one to play with Lan Zhan’s robes, watching his face for any reaction to his antics.

Alas, his husband’s face was truly impressively impassive, though he was beautiful to admire under the moonlight, all brilliant cool jade with a peerless serenity beauties wished they could match. Wei Wuxian reached up to run a finger under Lan Zhan’s chin, earning himself a brief glance before Lan Zhan returned his focus to flying.

He snickered fondly. “Resplendent Hanguang-jun, won’t you spare me just one look, that I might treasure this image the rest of my life?” he said, continuing to pet Lan Zhan’s face. “What must this humble one do to earn such a favor?”

Lan Zhan didn’t respond to his impassioned plea, but his arms tightened subtly around Wei Wuxian. It was too dark to see if he was blushing in his ears, but his silence still spoke volumes.

Wei Wuxian’s smile grew. “Truly I have found a peerless beauty, and modest too!” he continued to praise shamelessly, properly enjoying himself now. “How might I best be able to win this beauty’s favor? Clearly if I have only earned silence before, I haven’t spoken well enough. Well then, shall I-“

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan admonished, his tone reminding Wei Wuxian of when they were young and innocent in the library, grappling with feelings too large for them. “Behave.”

Wei Wuxian cackled to himself, pleased. Oh, Lan Zhan would definitely pay him back thricefold for his teasing, but how was Wei Wuxian supposed to resist when Lan Zhan was acting this way?

Lan Zhan cleared his throat firmly, no doubt trying to calm himself. “Have we reached the compass marker yet?” he said in an attempt to keep Wei Wuxian focused on the task at hand.

Wei Wuxian pouted up at him, but obediently checked the compass. The needle pointed ahead of them still, but it was beginning to shake more violently. He suspected the talisman had just about reached the end of its strength. “Not quite yet,” he reported, stowing it safely back in his robes again. “You might want to go a little faster.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan acknowledged and flew a little faster out over the waves.

In the distance, Wei Wuxian could see moving lanterns, likely the fishing fleet heading out. None of them came near to this area, and it was likely still too dark for them to see the ships now resting on the shore. He and Lan Zhan would have to go back to Huangdao when they were finished here, to explain what they did and what needed to happen next.

In the meantime, though, they finally reached the point the compass indicated. The sky had begun to brighten with dawn, though the sun still lurked below the horizon. Wei Wuxian peered over the edge of the sword to the dark waters below. Unfortunately, there was still no good way for him to fish up the remaining ghouls the fun way. He and Lan Zhan would need to find some in shallower waters, and maybe then he could provoke Lan Zhan into competitiveness about it.

He tapped Chenqing against his lips, deciding what he wanted to do next, then squeezed the arm Lan Zhan still had wrapped around him. "Maybe the remaining ghouls can do something about the rocks," he said, angling his face back to look at his husband again. "I can see, at least."

"An ideal way to expend their energy," Lan Zhan agreed, squeezing Wei Wuxian back. "I will keep you steady."

He always did. Wei Wuxian brought Chenqing up again and began to call the ghouls beneath them. To make sure they could hear, he directed them to surface before making any other orders.

In short order, five more pale, kelp-covered heads broke the water's surface. Wei Wuxian played for several extra moments, but no others joined them. These were likely it, then.

A few more trills told them what he wanted, and then the ghouls once more dove underwater. Balanced on Bichen, Wei Wuxian removed Lan Zhan's arms from his waist, then handed him Chenqing and undid his belt.

"Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan asked, as Wei Wuxian continued to remove his outer clothes and pile them in Lan Zhan's now-free arms.

"I want to take a look," he said, offering a reassuring smile. "Just to check and make sure they actually are moving the rocks enough. If you get closer to the water and increase Bichen's sword glare, I should be able to see well enough. And you'll still be up here to watch over me."

Lan Zhan's brow furrowed slightly, but he made no further objections as Wei Wuxian stripped to his inner robe, and he kept the sword steady as Wei Wuxian dove over the side.

Even before he hit the water, Bichen’s glare increased, penetrating through the dark water and following him down in a thousand dancing silvery lines, bouncing off of startled fish and sand stirred up from the shifting stones.

Wei Wuxian scanned through the dark water for his little ghoul collection, ignoring the discomfort in his untrained lungs. Under the water, the sound of grinding stones seemed to echo all around him.

Bichen’s light flickered around him, gently moving forwards to show him which way to go. Wei Wuxian kicked against the current and followed his husband’s guiding light towards the ghouls.

Despite the fact that it was summer, the ocean was still downright cold, quickly soaking through his robes as he swam through the current, salt stinging at his eyes.

The first jagged rock suddenly appeared in the dark, barely inches from his face. A few air bubbles escaped his lips as he grabbed onto the stone and pulled himself over and around, narrowing his eyes as he looked for his ghouls.

Just at the edge of visibility beneath the waves, he could see a pale body pushing and shoving on something else, hear the rumbling and scraping of stone on stone as they worked at his task. As he watched, the stone they were working on fell with a weighty impact, disturbing the water and knocking more air from his lungs.

His ghouls seemed to be doing well, then. He swam back up to the surface and twisted around to float on his back, wiggling his fingers in greeting at Lan Zhan above him.

These rocks had likely been disturbed not too long ago, perhaps by an earthquake, since they were loose enough to move while the nearby fishers and merchants on their route hadn't known about them. But the ghouls were working on them, knocking them over so they couldn't reach high enough to disturb any boats passing overhead. Soon enough, this little spot of ocean should be no more dangerous than all the rest.

When they finished here, they'd need to book a room at the inn to go along with the stabling for Little Apple that Lan Zhan had already procured. He knew he would rather desperately want a bath once the salt water started drying on his skin. Maybe he could get Lan Zhan to join him, since he'd just been digging graves.

Finally, not long before it looked like the sun would rise, the heads of his ghouls popped up around him. They spooked a little when he stopped floating and began treading water, but the orders he gave them overrode their fear of his presence.

"I'm just going to check again!" he called to Lan Zhan. "I'll be right back!"

He took another deep breath and dove down once more. Between the lightening sky and Bichen's sword glare, he could see enough once he opened his eyes to tell that his ghouls had done their job. There seemed to be no more rocks protruding far enough to pose any danger to ships above them.

He surfaced again, and this time he reached an arm out to Lan Zhan, who swooped closer to him, grabbed his arm, and easily pulled him back onto the sword. Wei Wuxian wrung out his robes as best he could while balancing on something so narrow, and then he allowed Lan Zhan to dress him again in his outer robes before handing back Chenqing.

Wei Wuxian took his flute with a smile before turning his attention back to the ghouls. As Lan Zhan wrapped his arms around his waist again to once more hold him steady, Wei Wuxian began to play. Chenqing's haunting tones this time bade the remaining ghouls to return to shore, to find their brethren, and to rest.

With splashing sounds, the five of them sped off. Wei Wuxian watched them go for a while, to make sure they did as he told, but none of them seemed inclined to disobey. As they reached the beach, he checked the compass once again, but now it only pointed towards those remaining ghouls crawling up the beach to the graves laid out for them. There seemed to be nothing else of interest in the water.

Wei Wuxian let out a contented sigh. While it hadn’t been a difficult night hunt in any sense of the word, there was something satisfying about taking care of even the smallest challenges, something that Lan Zhan had discovered long before he had. “We should go back to the village soon,” he mused, shivering slightly in the cool breeze.

Lan Zhan wrapped his arms more firmly around him, his body heat quickly permeating through Wei Wuxian’s soaked robes. “Mn,” he said softly, looking out over the eastern sky. “Perhaps we should wait a little longer.”

Wei Wuxian followed his gaze to the horizon and the rapidly lightening sky. The ocean was a deep, dark line against an orange horizon, little waves breaking and catching a light that they could not yet see.

Out in the distance, he could hear the first few crying gulls, complaining about the arrival of morning, and see a few straggling fishing boats still on their way out to the deeper waters. It promised to be a perfect, peaceful morning.

He smiled and pressed himself a little closer to his husband. “Okay, yeah. We can stay to watch the sunrise.”