Chapter Text
Why would anyone agree to an arranged marriage in the 21st century, you might ask? Lan Xichen has his reasons—and he suspects his husband-to-be has his own. Believe it or not, he didn't want this. Neither did Nie Mingjue.
Lan Xichen came from a long line of Lan cultivators. Centuries had passed, yet their role in society hadn't changed. Unknown to the general public, beasts, evil spirits, and vengeful ghosts are very much alive. Night hunts are common practice, and he's taken part in more than a few over his 28 years.
And yes, he has a golden core that harnesses spiritual energy and gives him abilities no ordinary human has. Cultivators like him work quietly alongside local police forces around the world—called in whenever officers aren't equipped to handle the supernatural.
Scattered across the land, the five great sects still exist—Lan, Jiang, Jin, Wen, and Nie. The smaller sects were folded into the Great Five long ago. Each now specializes in and controls a different corner of cultivation technology.
Jin Global focuses on energy production, finance, and government lobbying. Wen Industries controls mining extraction and bio-spiritual engineering. Jiang Holdings runs transportation and water quality institutions.
The Lan compound—Cloud Recesses—still stands, with its pale wood walls, its peaceful meditation gardens, its ancient wall of rules. Cultivators arrive from all over the world to learn the ways of the ancestors. To outsiders, it's simply a private foundation, offering spiritual healing, musical cultivation, and archival research—run by his father, guided by the Elders.
Nothing had changed much, except the Elders had less say in political matters.
The Nie sect makes no pretense of gentleness. Their compound juts from the highlands—all wind, hard rock and sky. You'll find the Nie name stamped on security firms, private defense consultancies, and powerful organizations. Governments hire Nie Securities when they want things handled quietly.
The sects still gather for Discussion Conferences, now renamed the Great Five Conclaves, where alliances are negotiated and old protocols upheld. The system exists to keep the fine balance of power between the sects. Not that certain sects aren't vying for more money, more power, more influence. You know who I mean. The Jin and Wen make no effort to hide their ambitions.
As a sect heir and a cultivator, Lan Xichen still lived like anyone else his age. Yes, he straddled two worlds. Educated in the ancient ways, he didn't let tradition rule his every decision. He carried a smartphone, used technology, and took mass transit. While he enjoyed coffee houses, meeting friends for dinner, and spending time with his brother and his brother's husband, he preferred quiet evenings.
And there was his music.
He breathed it. Lived for it.
Music wasn't just his passion—it was how he made a living when he wasn't off fighting demons.
There was no one in his life right now. He had given up on finding his Fated One. He was happy as he was.
So, you asked, why agree to a marriage?
Because after the day is done, it ends with family.
It always ends with family.