Chapter Text
Before he had a title, back when he was just didi and the most important person in his life was his A-jie, Tianlang-jun remembers daydreaming about his death. Probably a bit demented in hindsight. He imagined glorious battles with strong adversaries or maybe getting eaten. He was a weird child. But he’ll have to admit none of the daydreams included him in a sick bed.
His hands shook with the slightest exertion, and the tremors caused the stitches holding him together to pull and break. Even the lightest of novels were too heavy for his hands to hold. That didn’t stop him from trying though.
Turning on the bed, Tianlang-jun reached for the book on a nearby chair. His shaking fingers were just about to touch the novel until the sound of stitches snapping halted him. That sound was followed by a meaty flop. He sighed deeply and turned to the window.
Tianlang-jun’s sick room’s windows were shut tight. Some light managed to get through the small gaps between the blinds. He stared at the slowly flickering light unblinkingly. It must be cloudy outside. He wished he could open the windows and see for himself instead of speculating. The monks probably wouldn’t open it either even if asked, Tianlang-jun thought grumpily. The last time they did he got a fever so high he almost didn’t make it.
A knock sounded at the door. Wu Chen didn’t wait for an answer and stepped in. Quite rude in Tianlang-jun’s opinion. Not that anyone asked.
“Ah! How has my favorite monk been? It’s been too long really, the incense stick you lit up is almost all the way done! I have been horribly neglected” Tianlang-jun’s voice was gravelly. Next to him were pieces of bloody cloth and some of the blood still remains crusted on the corner of his mouth
“Our apologies. This one has to ask sir to please call for someone when he wants something” Wu Chen barely acknowledged Tianlang-jun’s dramatics. The monk crossed the room, his wooden prosthetics making a clunking sound against the well worn floors. He efficiently and with great patience lifted the fallen arm from the ground. This was after all, a very common phenomenon in the Zhao Hua monastery these days. His stitching was very neat and consistent. Tianlang-jun barely felt it.
“Pah! It’s bad enough being stuck in bed, nevermind having someone continuously watching over” he complained with a rough voice.
“This one understands” Wu Chen’s face was full of sympathy and patience. Tianlang-jun couldn’t stand it. He turned his gaze to the ceiling. He was so very tired. His mind was starting to grow more muddled.
“Sir, may this one read to you?” came a soft question.
Tianlang-jun took a while to answer. “... Yes..” His eyes were unfocused and his eyesight was blurry. The plant body had stopped trembling and his breathing was slow and labored.
“... the maiden put her hand to her voluptuous… her delicate melons seemed to wilt…” a muffled sounding voice read. Wu Chen had not blushed over the novel’s content in a long time. A shame, Tianlang-jun thought. It was funny… The demon felt a warmth around his hand. It took him a moment to recognize the sensation of someone’s hand in his.
The words soon stopped making sense to him, but Wu Chen’s soft spoken voice felt comforting, washing over him. This isn’t such a bad way to go, Tianlang-jun supposes. Not what he imagined as a child but it was nice not being alone. That was more than some get. More than he really deserves. He didn’t need or want a death fitting to a warrior, atleast anymore. Having a friend with him was almost enough.
But Heavenly Demons at their very core were greedy. And Tianlang-jun, while human-loving, was certainly that. With many regrets in his heart, Tianlang-jun closed his eyes and let the sound of Wu Chen’s voice and the feeling of a hand in his, to fade away.
The sun was bright in Tianlang-jun’s eyes. “I thought it was cloudy…” he mumbled and crossed his arm over his eyes. He had the worst headache.
“You reckon he’s drunk?” a nasally, annoying voice asked.
“Look at those fancy robes, better not mess with him” an even more nasally and more annoying voice answered.
Tianlang-jun surged upwards, spooking the two crooks near him to turn and run. He had been laying on the cold ground in an alleyway. But that made no sense. What made even less sense was his body. He didn’t know how he didn’t immediately realize but apart from the already ebbing headache, he felt better than ever. Quickly shoving his hands under the familiar looking sleeves, searching for the stitches, but instead he found a note.
With the feeling of cold dread he opened it even though he already knew every character by heart. Being trapped under a mountain and full of rage will give you ample time to memorize these types of things. The characters seemed to mock him. They were both familiar and totally alien.
“This looks nothing like Su Xiyan’s handwriting! How fucking dumb was I?! How fucking dumb were they?!” Tianlang-jun screamed hysterically.
But if the note is here, doesn’t that mean Su Xiyan is still alive, he thought. Tianlang-jun’s body was already barreling through the city, before his mind had even fully comprehended the possibility. That there is a small chance that Su Xiyan is out there, breathing the same crisp winter air as him.
And probably in excruciating physical pain, giving birth but Tianlang-jun was kind of avoiding that thought.
None of the faces or the buildings flitting past him registered, he only had his destination in mind. He knew that Luo Binghe was found by a human villager on the Luo river but it’s not a small river. Tianlang-jun was running on hysteria and hopes. He might be too early, he might be too late.
Too soon or too late, he arrived at the Luo river’s shore. His eyes scanned wildly his surroundings and his ears strained to hear even the smallest of sounds. Soon the wind carried faint guttural screams and he took off running to their direction.
But soon the screams stopped. Tianlang-jun was already running faster than he ever has, but with his heart hammering in his chest he managed to speed up. It didn’t take long for his eyes to spot the bloodied snow and the figure collapsed on the ground.
He knew he was too late. He hadn’t been able to hear Su Xiyan’s heartbeat even after seeing her. Tianlang collapsed next to her body so hard that he heard the ground crack. Or maybe his knees. His eyes were glued to Su Xiyan, finally seeing the face he had so longed for. His tears were making it hard to see but he was determined to commit her to his memory.
Her face was still slightly pink from the cold. There was dirt on her calloused hands and the ground bore claw marks. The dark hair that used to glimmer in the sun, now was glued to her forehead with sweat.
It took a long time for Tianlang-jun to be able to look away from her face. He saw that Su Xiyan had taken most of her clothes off. It took his grief muddled brain some time to realize that they are probably with their son. Who was sailing down the river. His heart started to race from panic again.
“I am sorry my love, I’ll give you a proper burial once that son of ours is safe” He kissed her forehead and covered her with his robe.
Tianlang-jun wasn’t going to lie and say the idea of letting Luo Binghe be raised by someone else hadn’t come to his mind. But it was only a fleeting thought. Su Xiyan had given her life for their son to survive and he will make sure this time Luo Binghe will know stories of the mother who birthed him.
Down the river Tianlang-jun started to hear a newborn sniffling and a small heart hammering rapidly. Soon he spotted the basket where the sound was coming from, stuck on some rocks. Quickly leaping over and picking up the basket, he felt panic. The basket is probably not waterproof, what if he is too late again. What if he failed Su Xiyan a second time?
On the shore he quickly opened the bundle of Su Xiyan’s golden robes, and there he was. Their son, alive and well if a bit cold, and a lot smaller than Tianlang-jun has ever seen him.
Tianlang-jun’s already reddened eyes watered again. “This time around you better be more filial” he whispered softly into the soft wisps of hair.
The weight of an infant in his arms was a foreign sensation. It’s not like people were throwing their offspring at Tianlang-jun. Every now and then his underlings would ask him to view their children to bless them or something, but he made a point not to be available for those duties. Or most duties. What would he even do in those situations? Or say for that matter. He’d probably end up insulting the whole clan, which could be fun actually. Ah my underling, I am afraid your offspring’s nature is quite rancid, their essence sucks actually. Doodles.
In the village nearby, Tianlang-jun realized that he had no idea what to do next. Except that he was probably meant to feed the child soon. Maybe. Human babies are a lot more picky from what Tianlang-jun knows. Which is not much. Romance novels do not really prepare one for these types of situations.
Tianlang-jun wasn’t very inconspicuous either. He was starting to notice people looking at him. His fancy robes were disheveled and his luscious curls were matted from sweat against his forehead. And probably the most inconspicuous part, the obviously baby shaped bundle of slightly dirty and bloodied yellow robes. The cultivators would probably notice soon that Tianlang-jun didn’t fall for their trap and would most likely send scouts too. He should get to a safe place for now. He and his nephew had few safe houses.
Oh fuck. Zhuzhi-lang. How did he forget his nephew? His beloved nephew who was probably waiting under a bush at their appointed meeting point before the whole fiasco. Alive.
Tianlang-jun was getting tired of his eyes being constantly in tears. With surer steps and even wetter eyes, again, he approached a cart driver.
“Hello, good sir! You wouldn’t happen to be going near Bailu Mountain?” asked the demon.
With great suspicion the cart driver eyed Tianlang-jun. Especially the expensive looking fabric. And seemingly ignoring the baby for now.
“Maybe. Depends.” was the answer. The cart owner was an older man with a bad back and lines on his face from frowning.
Tianlang-jun rummaged through his sleeves searching for a money pouch. The child in his arms did complicate the process and the cart owner seemed to be getting impatient. Finally having managed to get the pouch out he peeked in it, making sure it was human currency. He had no idea how much a carriage ride would cost, but judging from the cart owner’s wide eyed stare he probably had well enough. Tianlang-jun threw the pouch in the old man’s lap.
“Would that do?”
“Mhmm. Get on. Will the baby behave?”
“No clue. He’ll probably get hungry but I don’t have the correct equipment for that, unfortunately” Tianlang-jun tried to joke.
“Wait here, I’ll be back” The cart owner hobbled away towards a nearby house. Probably his then.
Tianlang-jun climbed on the back with the merchandise. He sat down on some hay and leaned against the boxes. The adrenaline was fading and the exhaustion was starting to set in. This was the first time he was actually able to look at the newborn in his arms. The child had blood crusted behind his ears and was weirdly reddish in colour. Tianlang-jun had no idea if that was normal. The child’s eyes were actually huge compared to how little the head was. The eyes were brown for now. When Tianlang-jun touched the tufts of hair, he found they were silky and soft. Usually new parents would likely be wondering what their child would end up looking like. It isn’t very comforting to know that beforehand. He’ll look like Su Xiyan. With Tianlang-jun’s hair though.
“Here”, the cart owner’s voice startled Tianlang-jun from his thoughts. In his surprise he jostled the baby, of which the baby seemed very judging.
The cart owner was holding out some sort of weirdly shaped ceramic with a teat on it and some cloth. Reflexively Tianlang-jun took them and saw the ceramic held milk in it.
“My grandson is being weaned, so your child might as well have the excess,” the older man said gruffly. Tianlang-jun felt his heart warm up. Probably indigestion, he thought with teary eyes.
“Thank you”, his voice cracked in the middle.
The old man grunted and started to drive. The moving cart threatened to make Tianlang-jun spill the milk, but he soon got his balance. His child seemed to be even grumpier, probably from the indignities of life. Or hunger. Tianlang-jun set the teat to the baby’s mouth, not really knowing what to expect. He definitely didn’t expect the child to start suckling with the power of their ancestors. A little hand took a hold of his hand holding the ceramic with impressive grip strength. And surprisingly sharp baby human nails.
“No need to keep me hostage, little one I won’t take it away from you” Tianlang-jun laughed.
“Make sure that the child isn’t swallowing air with the milk. It will upset their stomach” the cart owner said from the front. Tianlang-jun adjusted the teat.
“Ah thank you, any other lessons for a new father?” The demon asked almost hopefully.
“Even if the baby doesn’t swallow air you should burp them after. Pat the back firmly enough”
“Also if the child is a boy, be prepared when changing the diapers. Their aim can be deadly” the man’s face showed his personal experience. Tianlang-jun turned to his child. He swears the newborn is making a nefarious face. After the milk had been finished, Tianlang-jun hurried to wrap the child in the cloth diapers. After an embarrassingly long time he managed to wrap the diaper in a way that didn’t just fall off again. He wrapped the child in a clean blanket that the older man allowed him to take.
“You better be filial! I’ll feed you to the demons if you ever do that”, the demon threatened while patting the child’s back.
A wet burp sounded, and Tianlang-jun felt something slimy on his shoulder. He definitely did not scream. Powerful demon lords do not scream from spit up.
‘
The spit up slid down his robes further.