Chapter Text
“So lemme just get this straight,” Wei Wuixian stares at the demon kneeling before him, begging for his advice. That’s what made this whole thing very weird. Why was a demon, someone who innately had the ability to use demonic qi, kneeling before him , a mere human? Sure, a human who was pretty damn good at demonic cultivation (he had invented the art of using it for humans, after all), but still a human. He was really good at it though!!! Don’t get him wrong!!! He was the best! But a demon shouldn’t have to ask him to help out, “You want me,” he gestures dramatically towards himself, “to tell you how to bring someone back to life.”
Allow this great and wonderful Yiling Patriarch to regale his loving audience with the tale of how he had wound up with a demon begging and clinging to his thighs.
You see, like any ordinary man, though of course, he was far from ordinary, Wei Wuxian quite enjoyed going on long walks - outside the Cloud Recesses - with his loving, if not a bit too quiet at times, husband - that is to say, his Lan Zhan.
Now, one might expect such an outing to be uneventful, and usually it was, but that did not happen to be the case on this fine day. Startled by something running in front of them and landing at his feet, the beloved hero Wei Wuxian had, naturally, assumed it to be a dog. And so he had darted from Lan Wangji’s embrace to up the nearest tree, only to find that this dog could climb. And also, was not in fact a dog at all.
So they had gone back to the ground and the man tried to explain himself; that he had been looking for Wei Wuxian, and began to beg for his help.
Of course, this brave Yiling Patriarch was an incredibly generous man, though also an incredibly confused one. Which brings his little tale back to where it started, and his questioning of the demon.
“... Please, Immortal Master Wei…” Ohohoho, well that was a new form of address for him! This little demon seemed to be the overly formal type. But lucky for him, Wei Wuxian happened to be quite the expert in handling such people, thanks to his stuffy - but very loving, he would never doubt that Lan Wangji, or his family, was anything less than devoted - husband and in-laws.
“... I mean sure, but uh… why?” This great - and beautiful - Yiling Patriarch was very confused! Please enlighten him, little demon! He really wants to know!
“... I… I made a mistake while I thought I was helping someone. I killed someone I shouldn’t have. I didn’t regret it at the time, but my lord uncle has informed me that this person was someone his lover once held dear. I… I wouldn’t want to make Auntie Su sad, she was never anything but kind to me. That, and… his death made Immortal Master Sh- my cousin-in-law greatly upset…” What a sob story! If Wei Wuxian said his heart hadn’t been moved at least a little, he would be a liar! This great Yiling Patriarch was incredibly kind! A saint, even! Because he never was able to deny the needy, especially when he was the only one capable of helping them!
“Alright, alright! Since I am such a generous man, I’ll help you!” Of course, there were a few problems. Or rather, one really big one: his work was something that couldn’t be done without at least the idea of a corpse. Wei Wuxian was pretty great - the damn best even (!) - but not even he could revive something from nothing! “So uh… do you have, like, a corpse or something? Kinda hard to do this without one, aiya.”
“... I can take you to it. I thought it pragmatic to acquire Immortal Master Wei’s advice first and then bring him to the Mausoleum afterwards.” Mausoleum?! What the hell was he getting himself into?!
“Hey, Lan Zhan, what do you-” Wei Wuxian turns to grab his husband’s hand to tease him before asking his opinion, only to find that in fact Lan Wangji is not there at all. And probably hadn’t been there for a while. Uh… whoops?
“Immortal Master Wei? Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, uh… just hold a second. Um. You didn’t happen to see a man dressed in white beside me, did you?” The demon blinks his startlingly yellow lantern eyes up at Wei Wuxian, before shaking his head vigorously.
“There hasn’t been anyone with you the entire time we’ve been talking, Immortal Master Wei. You’re the only person I’ve seen.” Wei Wuxian groans, pressing a hand to his forehead while feigning an agonized expression. That long, huh? And it couldn’t happen to be that the demon had just not seen Lan Wangji? No, that seemed unlikely. Lan Wangji was a pretty hard man to miss, what with his height, pure white clothes, and that beautiful- ahem. Point wass, if this demon had seen him, he most definitely would have seen him.
“But if he has been spirited away somehow, this subordinate will help you find him. You are going to help me after all, Immortal Master Wei. And a drop of kindness must always be repaid with a flood.” Huh? What an interesting saying, especially for a demon. Wei Wuxian wasn’t gonna complain about that though. Might as well help each other!
“Oh. Hey, I don’t think I asked; what’s your name?” The demon blinks again, like this is a question he isn’t used to being asked.
“This lowly one is called… Zhuzhi-lang, Immortal Master Wei.”