Sect Leaders by How Likely Their Disciples Are to Accidentally Call Them “Dad”
Most Jiang sect disciples have slipped up and accidentally called Jiang Fengmian “dad” at least once. Look at that archery lesson! Strong dad energy.
One notable exception is Wei Wuxian, who is so terrified that he might accidentally call Jiang Fengmian “dad” where someone could hear that he’s constantly on alert for it.
By contrast, no Jiang sect disciples have ever accidentally called Jiang Cheng “dad.” However, at least one sleep-deprived disciple has accidentally called him “jiujiu” after a long night wrangling Jin Ling.
Nobody in the Wen sect would dare accidentally call Wen Ruohan “dad.” Xue Yang called him “daddy” once, but that was on purpose to see what would happen — sadly, Wen Ruohan was too far gone at that point to notice or care, and the telepathic chokings neither increased or decreased in frequency or quality.
It’s pretty rare for Lan disciples to call Lan Qiren “dad,” but he secretly loves it when they do; sadly, neither Lan Xichen nor Lan Wangji ever make this error.
Lan disciples will, occasionally, call Lan Xichen “dad,” but it’s usually not a slip-up in front of the class, it’s more of an on-purpose thing: he’s like “Don’t forget, curfew’s in an hour!” and they’re like “thanks dad!”
Nobody except Lan Sizhui ever calls Lan Wangji “dad” but somehow they say “Hanguang-Jun” in a way that sounds like “dad.”
Lots of people call Jin Guangshan “dad,” but not in an “accidentally slip up in front of the class” kind of way, more in a “surprise, I’m your bastard child” kind of way.
No Jin disciples call Jin Guangyao “dad,” and this hurts his feelings and he secretly suspects it’s because they don’t respect him.
No Nie disciples call Nie Mingjue “dad” but every single Nie disciple has accidentally called him “da-ge” at leastonce. It’s almost a rite of passage.
daydreams an elaborate cql au where mianmian saves wen qing from the jins and they run off into the sunset together as a pair of rogue cultivators and then sixteen years later wen qing is reunited with her didi and a-yuan
Hmm, hmm…still busy with work and trying to fit writing in there somehow. Managed to get to a good writing spot on this fic, and interest is stirring in writing more AFTG fic. On vacation in a few weeks, so maybe some writing will be done then. No promises.
Anyway, we get some background information in these parts. I tried not to be too info-dumpy, but there’s some here. Also, Wei Wuxian being a menace to poor Lan Wangji, and a familiar face appears.
Off to more Wei Wuxian being raised by Baoshan Sanren
*******
Wen Sizhui struggled not to laugh at his father’s antics, though he supposed he could blame the outburst on the euphoria from being off the mountain for the first time that he could remember. He’d been born in the Dafan village but had been too young to remember anything other than his life with Wei Wuxian and Auntie; his sister couldn’t recall much from before Uncle Ning brought them to the mountain for their safety, either. Even Lei Qiang didn’t have many memories of the times before she and her mother had come to live with them, but part of that may be due to the trauma they’d suffered at the hands of her father.
Now that they were off the mountain, Wen Sizhui, his sister, and A-Qiang couldn’t stop gawking at everything, while Wei Wuxian practically bounced at Lan Wangji’s side like an excited kitten, determined to keep the taciturn man’s attention on him. Every time the too-formal Lan cultivator looked at Wen Sizhui’s exuberant father, he swore the poor soul thought, ‘how can this person be a revered immortal?’.
As sad as she’d been to see them leave—though she insisted that she had the utmost faith that they’d return ‘soon’ enough—Auntie was somewhat amused at the thought of unleashing her prized disciple upon the world. She was delighted to pair Wei Wuxian with Lan Wangji, considering her contrived efforts to throw the two together before they’d left, especially since Wei Wuxian had an insatiable curiosity and wanted to know as much as possible about ‘down there’ before they left the mountain. Still, he also seemed to enjoy teasing a normally unflappable Lan Wangji.
Such as now.
“Lan Zhan! I know we said we’d avoid towns for the first few days, but we’ll have to enter them sooner or later. What will happen then? Surely everyone knows about an esteemed cultivator as handsome and powerful as you! How are we going to hide you?” As he spoke, Wei Wuxian smiled and twirled around Lan Wangji, who remained expressionless…except for the deepening pink shade to his ears.
“Will think of something before then.”
“Ah-ah!” Wei Wuxian’s smile brightened, and he held his right hand up, with his forefinger extended; Wen Sizhui, Wen Lai, and Lei Qiang exchanged excited looks then hurried closer to the two men to see what their father/teacher had invented. “I’ve already thought of it!” He slipped his left hand beneath the loose collar of his robe and pulled out several charms hung on silk cords from a qiankun pocket that Wen Sizhui knew was sewn into the garment. “I tweaked an illusion spell I did for Wen Ning into something that’ll work for us.”
“What do they do?” Wen Sizhui sidled up to his father to better look at the charms; the stones were light grey opals with tiny characters etched onto them, hung from dark grey silk cords.
“If you focus on an image for several seconds while feeding the stone energy, it’ll cast that image around you. However, anyone wearing a matching charm will be able to see through it so that we can keep track of one another.” Wei Wuxian handed each of them a charm. “Give it a little energy now to attune itself to you and only you.”
“Oh, so no one else can use it and figure out who we are,” Wen Lai said as she quickly hung the charm around her neck.
“Yep.” Wei Wuxian reached out to tap the tip of her nose. “I don’t want anyone to catch on and harm my little sparrow!”
“What about me, hmm?”
“As if anyone wants to take you on, my little brat!”
“Hey!” Yet Lei Qiang was flushed with pride as she clutched the necklace to her chest. “It’s all your fault I turned out this way!”
Wei Wuxian laughed while he gave her a quick hug; Wen Sizhui noticed that Lan Wangji stared at them as if amazed by the open display of affection. “Ha! Someone has to be normal like me! My precious children are too good for this world.”
A-Qiang nodded as she smiled at A-Lai. “Maybe the gods sent them to balance us out.”
“Now, there’s a thought!” Wei Wuxian lunged forward to wrap his arms around Wen Sizhui, who shook his head over his father’s familiar antics. “My little sparrow has her A-Qiang, and A-Ning balances out my foolishness,” he noticed the slight frown that marred Lan Wangji’s otherwise smooth skin upon that declaration, “so that leaves you, my little radish! Do you think we’ll find your counterpart while we’re down here?”
Wen Sizhui sighed as he leaned against his father for a moment, then gently pushed him away (pushed him toward Lan Wangji). “Perhaps, but I’d appreciate a few more years of peace before that happens.”
His sister failed to stifle her giggles with her right hand. “Oh, A-Yuan, you’ve cursed yourself now! You’ll be sure to meet them right away!”
“And they’ll be even more annoying than me and Ying-gege put together!” As Wei Wuxian made a half-hearted swipe at her head with his sword, Lei Qiang laughed. “Oh, right, I meant normal!”
Wen Sizhui sighed as Wen Lai hurried to protect her girlfriend from their father (or something like that). He noticed Lan Wangji giving the threesome that odd look again and went over to the man’s side. “This must be quite the change for you, dealing with the four of us.” Their usual chaos was probably difficult to handle between his observations of the quiet cultivator and what Auntie had told him about the Lan sect.
“Mm.” Lan Wangji gazed at Wei Wuxian, who cast a talisman to surround A-Lai and A-Qiang with sparkling flowers. “Not…necessarily a bad one.”
“No.” Wen Sizhui smiled at his father, who turned toward them with a mischievous grin. “Absolutely not.”
“Now then, the sight of two such handsome men deserves a little something, too!” Wei Wuxian flicked his fingers through the air, which filled with more magical flowers that danced around Wen Sizhui and Lan Wangji. “Ah! So much glorious beauty, how can my poor heart take it!” He clutched at his chest and pretended to swoon for a moment. “Have pity on me!”
Yes, Lan Wangji’s ears definitely turned red when Wen Sizhui’s father flirted so outrageously with the man. Storing that information away for later, along with the fact that his father didn’t realize his effect on the poor man, Wen Sizhui deftly brought up where they would stop for the night.
*******
“Remember, stay close to each other!” Wei Wuxian admonished the three juniors, who nodded before they hurried to disappear into Yueyang’s bustling market. It was only the second village they’d visited since leaving Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, so the experience was still new for them. Even Wei Wuxian thrummed with excitement as he remained at Lan Wangji’s side, his attention constantly diverted by the many stalls with their various goods.
The five employed their illusion charms; Lan Wangji felt an odd warmth because he and Wei Wuxian appeared as a married couple, their clothes simple and features plain. Wei Wuxian had no issues with playing the role of the wife, eager to check out various wares and chat with the vendors about his ‘wonderful husband.’ Lan Wangji followed him around as if his faithful shadow, quiet except when to prevent the immortal from a too-impulsive purchase (they didn’t need paper lanterns, even if they were decorated with adorable animals) and to remind him of what they did need (tea and food). Baoshan Sanren had gifted her disciples with a surprisingly large amount of gold before their departure, and Lan Wangji would ensure that it wasn’t wasted on frivolous items.
He considered alcohol such a thing and forced himself to remain strong in the face of Wei Wuxian’s heart-wrenching pout as they walked past a wine shop without stopping.
Who knew that an immortal could pout like that?
Wei Wuxian parted his lips (his plush, cherry-red lips which Lan Wangji did not spend an excessive amount of time thinking about, not at all), probably to call him ‘er-gege’ and argue about ‘how mean’ he was, which did thingsto Lan Wangji that made him wish to submerge himself in the Cold Spring forever. However, before the bedeviling man could speak, someone gossiping loudly nearby caught their attention.
“Hanguang-Jun? Really?”
His honorary title being spoken so loudly while in disguise almost made him stumble; Wei Wuxian exclaimed in delight over a stand selling ribbons and pulled his ‘er-gege’ toward it to look. That it happened to be near the man who’d called out his title was no coincidence, Lan Wangji was certain.
“That’s what my cousin told me! He stole something precious from the Jins while killing several of them, including Jin Changpu.” A small crowd gathered by a vendor selling pottery from Donglu, a small city near Lanling.
“Hanguang-Jun did? I can’t believe it.” A woman shook her head while several others nodded in agreement. “He always seemed so righteous.”
“What was it that he stole?”
“No one knows, and the Jins aren’t saying anything,” the vendor said. “They have people out looking for him, along with the Wens, and the Lans declared that they no longer consider him as part of their sect.”
There were gasps of disbelief at that statement, followed by murmurs that Gusu Lan probably had no choice if the Jins and the Wens were hunting the man. Lan Wangji refused to show any emotion at the news, remaining silent as he allowed himself to be tugged away from the ribbon stand and over to a quiet nook by Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian examined him for several seconds, concern evident in his bright grey eyes. “You knew about them disavowing you,” he said after casting a spell to ensure they weren’t overheard.
Lan Wangji nodded once, grateful for the control that kept his emotions hidden. “Uncle and Brother agreed to do it to protect the sect.”
“But you said you had their support.”
“Mm.”
Wei Wuxian regarded him for a few seconds longer before he sighed. “Oh, you sweet, foolish fuddy-duddy.” He gave Lan Wangji a crooked smile as he folded his arms over his chest. “What would you have done if we hadn’t tagged along to help you out?” Then he shook his head. “No, never mind, it’s a good thing we did! There’s no way we can fail now!” He tucked his hands behind his back and leaned forward, close to Lan Wangji but not too close. “We’ll make things right and restore your good name in no time!”
Did…did Wei Wuxian understand that his family had no choice but to disown him publicly? But that it wasn’t anything more than a façade to appease the Wens and the Jins—at least, as long as Lan Wangji and his allies were successful in their objective of defeating Wen Ruohan.
He was indeed grateful that Wei Wuxian and his disciples had chosen to join him on his seemingly impossible mission—a mission that no longer felt doomed to failure with their help.
“Mm.”
“Yes, you’ll see!” Wei Wuxian bounced on his toes twice before settling into a more serious demeanor. “Ah, I could figure out a way for you to contact your family and let them know you’re alright if you want.”
Once again, Lan Wangji was taken aback by the immortal’s concern for him, by Wei Wuxian’s innate kindness. When he hesitated to answer, the other man quickly shook his head. “Don’t worry; it’ll be like the messages I send A-Ning, completely untraceable and unreadable by anyone except the person you’re sending it to.”
Lan Wangji’s expression softened as he nodded once. “It would be appreciated.” That way, his uncle and brother would know that he’d successfully reached Baoshan Sanren and now had powerful allies on his side.
He especially wanted to reassure his brother that things had gone better than expected, to do what he could to restore some confidence in his big brother. Ever since the failure of the Sunshot Campaign and Jin Guangyao exposing his true colors, Lan Xichen was a shadow of his former self, was full of doubt and guilt over his misplaced trust.
He knew it was against the rules to give in to rage or any of the five poisons. Still, he also knew that if he had any chance to take Jin Guangyao’s life, he would, without hesitation, after how the man had betrayed his brother and the cultivation world.
That was if Nie Huaisang or Jiang Yanli didn’t get the chance to end it first.
Wei Wuxian’s answering smile was like the sun above, bright and radiating the perfect amount of warmth. “Aiya, La-ah! How could I resist such a face as yours?” He snagged the sleeve of Lan Zhan’s pale blue outer robe and tugged him out of the nook. “Let’s finish our shopping so I can work on it as soon as possible!”
Lan Wangji allowed himself to be pulled along like a fallen leaf caught in a powerful tide.
*******
Ouyang Zizhen cursed beneath his breath as he ran from the panda yao—a panda yao. Never would he consider the creature cute again, a tumbling, clumsy ball of fur to coo over, not with its glowing red eyes, fangs bigger than his head, and an insatiable urge to eat him. He’d been running from the cursed thing for a half an hour now, desperate for a break in the forest’s canopy so he could jump on his sword and fly away.
He didn’t care if his father’s men found him, or the Jins, just as long as he was away from the monstrous ball of black and white fur!
He couldn’t believe one of his favorite toys as a child had been a stuffed panda! He’d have nightmares about the creatures for months!
A roar from the resentment-filled creature loud enough to make his ears ache shook him from his thoughts. Oh no, that was close, too close! Running wasn’t doing him any good, and there still wasn’t a clear enough spot in the forest’s canopy for him to escape.
Bracing himself for a fight, he wasn’t sure he could win (he highly doubted he’d win); Ouyang Zizhen leaped onto an outcropping of rock as he unsheathed his sword. He faced the yao with his blade held at the ready and did his best not to let his arms tremble.
It was bigger than he remembered.
The yao paused as if confused that he’d stopped running and reared onto its back legs (which made it even bigger, oh great). It let out another roar before it returned to all four limbs, during which Ouyang Zizhen sent off a quick prayer to the heavens and hoped that his sisters got over his death quickly.
He gagged in his throat at the putrid stench radiating from the creature as it neared yet didn’t move, determined to land at least one debilitating strike before he met his end when the yao lurched backward. Zizhen blinked when several slender red branches sprouted from the yao’s head and chest until he realized that they were arrows.
“My turn!”
As if a goddess descending from the heavens, a lovely young woman appeared, her sword glowing a bright lavender as she swung it at the panda yao. It made a terrible sound as she cut off its left paw, followed by a stroke across its chest.
“Don’t play with it, A-Qiang, just put it out of its misery.” That time it was a teenage boy who arrived, one who appeared around Ouyang Zizhen’s age. A teenage boy wielding a red and black bow, a red arrow knocked at the ready in its string, which he sent flying at the horrid demon.
The arrow struck it in its left eye.
“Hey, this kill is mine! You claimed that teng the other day!” the young woman exclaimed as she disemboweled the panda yao with a spinning stroke.
“Yes, a lot quicker than you’re doing right now!” The teenager said as he landed lightly on a thick branch of a tree and folded his arms over his chest as if unimpressed with his companion.
“Buzzkill!”
“Are you all right?”
Ouyang Zizhen let out an unmanly yelp (thank the gods that Lan Jingyi wasn’t there to witness it) at the sound of a new voice, soft and concerned, only to lose any sense of embarrassment when he gazed upon yet another goddess. This one stood within touching distance, her dark, doe-like eyes aglow with the concern that had shaded her melodic voice, her dark hair pulled back from her beautiful, heart-shaped face in delicate braids, and a…a slightly glowing miniature fox draped around her slender neck.
He must have been killed by the panda yao at some point for two goddesses to descend to earth for him, but he didn’t care at all. Oh no, not at all.
“This one is blessed to be in your heavenly presence,” he said as he bowed low—or tried to, as his goddess grabbed onto his left arm to prevent him halfway.
“Oh my, I believe you have a concussion,” she said, those incredible eyes of her narrowed as she studied him. “Come, sit over here, away from…well, away from this.” She motioned toward the remains of the panda yao, which the other goddess had finally exterminated.
“Whatever your heavenly being asks, I will do.” He smiled as she led him to a rock farther away from the one he’d thought to make his ‘last stand’ upon.
“Xiao Yun, go find Father.” The tiny fox leaped onto the ground and vanished in a silver flash while Ouyang Zizhen sat down at his goddess’ insistence.
“Ah, this one is Ouyang Zizhen,” he thought to say as she gently touched his head. “But you probably knew that.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you; this one is…please call me A-Lai,” she said with a slight smile after a moment’s hesitation. “Once they’re finished with the yao, I’m sure my brother, Sizhui, and my friend, Qiang, will introduce themselves to you as well.” She frowned as she reached for his right wrist. “I’m not finding any signs of a head wound, let me check your meridians.”
“What does it matter when I’m—”
“A-Lai! There you are, my little swallow! And the other two, good.” A young man also dressed in dark grey and red robes with the fox held cradled in his arms seemed to magically appear from a gap in the trees, with another man at his heels; it took Ouyang Zizhen a moment to recognize Lan Wangji since the esteemed cultivator was dressed in light grey and green robes instead of blue and white. “Oh, and a stranger.” He stopped a few feet from them and carefully set the fox on the ground. “What’s he doing here?”
“Fighting the yao,” A-Lai said before Ouyang Zizhen could, confused as he was at the moment.
“Ha! More like trying not to be its next meal.” That came from the other goddess—Qiang, apparently. She approached while cleaning her sword, with the teenager at her heels. “It’s about time you caught up with us, Ying-gege.”
“Eh, you said you wanted to handle these hunts on your own, you ungrateful brat.” The man shook his fist at her, which made her laugh. “Besides, if you can’t handle a simple thing like that, then you deserve to end up in its belly.”
All right, he was officially confused; Ouyang Zizhen was beginning to suspect he wasn’t dead, not if Lan Wangji was there, giving him a cold look while A-Lai sent a surprisingly strong jolt of qi through his meridians. Who were these people, if not gods? Who expected teenagers to easily handle a yao as powerful as the one they’d just killed?
“Hanguang-Jun?”
Lan Wangji nodded at Ouyang Zizhen’s unspoken question, which made the four strangers look at the two of them. “Ouyang Zizhen. Why are you here alone?”
“You know him, Lan Zhan?”
Ouyang Zizhen felt his jaw drop upon hearing the young man address Lan Wangji, one of the Twin Jades, so informally. “Ehh…”
“Mn. Son of Ouyang Xin, leader of the Baling Ouyang sect.” He gazed at Ouyang Zizhen as if studying an interesting bug. “Their loyalty is to the Lanling Jin.”
That made him try to stand up, at least until A-Lai pushed him back down. “You mean my father follows whatever Sect Leader Jin tells him, but I don’t!” He glared at the man he greatly admired as he clenched his left hand into a fist. “If I was loyal to them, I’d have to kill you for being a traitor.”
It was quiet for a moment after his declaration, until the young man (Ying-gege?) burst out in laughter. “You, kill Lan Zhan?” Even A-Lai was smiling.
His face flushed with embarrassment, Ouyang Zizhen shook his head. “I’d at least have to try if I was loyal to the Jins.”
“We understand.” A-Lai patted his right arm and then let go of his wrist. “Other than some bruises and exhaustion, you’re fine.”
“Well, maybe a bit delusional as well, but he’s got plenty of spunk. We like spunk.” Qiang (A-Qiang?) smiled at him. “So why are you in the middle of this forest, running from a yao?”
He ducked his head as he rubbed at the hilt of his sword. “I just…I couldn’t take it anymore. Listening to my dad parroting all the bad things that Sect Leader Jin and Jin Guangyao say about Hanguang-Jun and the Nies, watching how they treat anyone who they feel is beneath them…and then my dad told me he wanted me to go study at Nightless City. ‘It’s an opportunity to get ahead,’ he said. He wants me to ingratiate myself with the people who are destroying everything around us. I couldn’t, so I….” All the twisted emotions he felt about his situation, the guilt, anger, and disappointment in his father, made it difficult to speak.
To his surprise, the young man enveloped him in a hug. “There, there, we understand. You did a very brave thing, standing up for your principles. Maybe next time, run away in a direction that doesn’t have a panda yao in it, but otherwise, I’m impressed. We’re all impressed. You’re a great kid.”
“I agree with the pick a better-ow! Why, A-Lai?”
“Not the time.”
Ouyang Zizhen sniffed back tears as he relaxed into the young man’s hold and buried his face into the cultivator’s shoulder. For some reason, his embrace was so warm and comfortable, and he smelled like cinnamon. He felt safe.
Ouyang Zizhen had never experienced anything like this while hugging his father.
“You okay now?”
Reluctantly, he nodded while he pulled away. “Yes, thank you. Uhm…”
“Ah, right!” The young man gave him a brilliant smile, just as warm as his embrace. “I’m Wei Wuxian, but you can call me Ying-gege, just like that brat over there.” He gestured toward Qiang, who stuck her tongue out at him, and stuck his tongue at her in return. “We’re not a formal bunch, considering that A-Lai and A-Yuan are my incredibly talented children and I’ve known A-Qiang since she was a little terror.”
“An adorable little terror,” A-Qiang insisted with a smug expression.
“Yes, an utterly adorable little terror,” Wei Wuxian agreed with obvious affection. He paused to gaze at Lan Wangji, who gave a slight nod after a moment. “If you want, you can travel with us, though I must warn you that we’re helping Lan Zhan fight against the Jins and Wen Ruohan.”
“Will be dangerous,” Hanguang-Jun said as he regarded Ouyang Zizhen in a solemn manner. “You can leave us once we reach somewhere safe.”
“No!” He did his best to stand straight and appear like a proper…something. “I want to fight with you! What they’re doing, it’s not right!” He was sickened at how non-cultivators were treated as if they were disposable, how a smaller sect could be wiped out over an imagined slight. Before now, all he and Jingyi could do was talk about how they wished things would change, but to help bring that change into being? “Please let me help you!”
Wei Wuxian (what sect did the man belong to? Was he a rogue cultivator?) laughed as he draped his left arm over the teenaged boy’s shoulders (Wei Sizhui? A-Yuan? Was he really a father when he looked so young?). “Okay! So eager, you are. I like your attitude.”
“We should get going if we got everything we need,” A-Lai said as she went over to A-Qiang’s side. “I can make a potion for the young master once we camp for the night that’ll restore his energy.”
“Ah, please call me Zizhen,” he insisted as he hurried over to the two young women, but not too close. “I mean, you saved me so there’s no need for formalities, right?” He smiled when they nodded.
“We’ll find a suitable place somewhere outside of this forest.” Wei Wuxian gestured with his right hand and then small globes of pale gold light sparked into being to illuminate their path through the deepening gloom. “Ah, A-Yuan, stay close to your poor father in case there are any more monsters out there.”
“I thought you promised Auntie that you’d keep ussafe.” A-Yuan sounded amused by Wei Wuxian’s antics, while Ouyang Zizhen noticed A-Lai and A-Qiang stifle giggles behind their sleeves.
“As always, my beloved son is right! Lan Zha~an, come closer and keep a fragile creature like me safe, won’t you? Closer, closer!”
“Shameless!”
Ouyang Zizhen couldn’t help himself, he smiled at the hint of indignation in Hanguang-Jun’s deep voice, yet the respected cultivator closed the distance between him and a teasing Wei Wuxian. He glanced at A-Yuan and almost laughed when the other teenager winked at him before assuring his father that nothing would harm the ‘fragile’ man.
A-Qiang insisted that he’d taste too terrible for any yao to eat him, which led to the two bickering for a good while. At first, Ouyang Zizhen was surprised at what was clearly a disciple talking back to her teacher, but it was clear that Wei Wuxian enjoyed the verbal sparring and egged it on. A-Yuan and A-Lai sent Ouyang Zizhen several looks to let him know it was far from an uncommon occurrence.
When the bickering finally came to an end, he took a chance to ask a question (well, one of them) that was bothering him. “Uhm, where are we going?” They didn’t seem headed toward Lanling or Nightless City.
“Hmm?” Wei Wuxian, who’d been searching inside of the left sleeve of his outer robe for something, blinked at him twice. “Oh, right, after the forest.” He pulled out what looked to be a piece of dried meat and handed it to A-Lai, who smiled and bowed her head in thanks before feeding it to the tiny fox, once again draped around her neck. “We’re going to Lotus Pier.”
Lotus Pier? “But why?” Ouyang Zizhen turned toward Lan Wangji in hopes of an explanation. “Jin Zixuan’s there! I mean, he’s not as bad as his father or brother, but he’s still a Jin! And he’s a terrible husband and father!” He felt so bad for Jiang Yanli and Jin Ling, even if the latter was a stuck-up brat sometimes. “Even though he’s been disgraced for fighting against the Wens in the Sunshot Campaign, he thinks he’s too good for—”
“Ouyang Zizhen.”
Hearing Hanguang-Jun call out his name made him stop speaking at once as if the silencing spell was used. However, when he glanced at the man, his gaze wasn’t one of disapproval.
“Not everything is as it seems,” was all the taciturn man said before he nudged Wei Wuxian forward until the older cultivators walked ahead of them.
“Oh.” Ouyang Zizhen nibbled on his bottom lip and twitched when A-Yuan tapped his left shoulder. “Sorry.”
“For what?” The youth’s smile wasn’t as bright as his father’s (there had to be a story behind that) but possessed just as much warmth. “It’s fine to ask questions.”
“Yeah, which is why we’re going to ask some,” A-Qiang said as they followed after the older cultivators. “We—well, Ying-gege knows someone at Lotus Pier, but not the Jiangs or this Jin Zixuan. What’s the story there?”
Was she serious? How could anyone not know of the Yunmeng Jiangs or Jin Zixuan? Just how much of an obscure sect did they belong to? A-Yuan must have picked up on his thoughts since the teenager jumped in with an explanation.
“You see, our sect’s grand-mistress believes that it’s best for us to cultivate away from others. We apologize for our lack of knowledge on some matters.”
It sounded like she held similar beliefs to the immortal Baoshan Sanren, but these three and Wei Wuxian didn’t resemble her disciple Xiao Xingchen at all. Well, they were kind and helped strangers, but that was it, as far as Ouyang Zizhen could tell. Maybe their grand-mistress had based her sect on the famous cultivator.
“No, it’s okay!” he assured his traveling companions (and hopefully new friends). “You see, Jin Zixuan is the son of the Lanling Jin’s current sect leader, Jin Guangshan, and for a long time, his only heir.” He wrinkled his nose as he thought about the sect leader—nothing good, of course. “But the sect leader is known to…well, he has a wandering eye, among other body parts,” he said, embarrassed to speak of such things in front of two young maidens. Before he glanced away from them, he noticed that A-Qiang’s lovely face tightened in anger and A-Lai’s rosebud lips flattened in displeasure.
He forced himself to continue. “During the Sunshot Campaign, Sect Leader Jin only contributed supplies, gold, and a small battalion of troops led by his heir, while other sects gave everything they could. It wasn’t until the sects fighting against Wen Ruohan were defeated that it was discovered that he’d played both sides and that his illegitimate son, Jin Guangyao, worked as a double agent for him and the Wens.”
A-Yuan nodded and used his bow to push aside a low-hanging branch; Ouyang Zizhen noticed that the globes of light hovered close to the teenager and A-Lai. “Yes, Lan Wangji told us about Jin Guangyao’s betrayal, but not about his brother or the Jiangs.”
That made sense, considering how Jin Guangyao—then Meng Yao—had been close to Lan Xichen. “Well, Jin Zixuan was engaged to Jiang Yanli since childhood, something that was arranged by their mothers, who were good friends. Lotus Pier was attacked by the Wens before the war officially started, wiping out most of the sect, including her parents, and crippling her brother.” He paused for a moment as he thought about Jiang Wanyin. “Did Hanguang-Jun tell you about Wen Zhuliu?”
“Core-Melting Hand?” A-Qiang flashed him a smile that belonged to a predator, not a lovely young woman. “Oh yes, I look forward to sparring with him.”
“But…no, you mustn’t! He’s too powerful!” Ouyang Zizhen refused to allow someone as beautiful and charming as her to be harmed by a monster like Wen Zhuliu!
Before he could protest any more, A-Yuan gripped him by the upper right arm. “Thank you for your concern, but it’s all right.” When he stared at the youth in disbelief, A-Yuan shook his head. “We’re prepared to deal with him.”
“But…how?”
“Ying-gege’s good for things like that.” A-Qiang laughed as she patted her sword. “He may grumble and go on about uppity brats, but he won’t let anything happen to us. That and we’ve been training hard forever.”
“Hmm, him or Auntie.” A-Lai stroked the fox’s head as she glanced back at Ouyang Zizhen. “As A-Yuan said, there’s no need to worry. Now, you were telling us about Jiang Wanyin? I assume he lost his core?”
Whowere these people? “Uhm, okay.” He shoved his hands into the sleeves of his robes as he wondered if maybe he’d been right about the whole ‘gods’ thing after all. “Oh, and yes, Jiang Wanyin lost his core, which left the Yunmeng Jiang sect in a difficult position, especially since they fought against the Wens.”
“Yet Jiang Yanli married Jin Zixuan.” A-Qiang’s good mood vanished as she pointed that out.
“Yeah,” Ouyang Zizhen sighed. “Everyone thought that Jin Zixuan would use everything that happened as an excuse to back out of the arrangement, especially since he made it clear that he didn’t want to marry her in the first place.” He winced at the stories he’d heard about the man insulting his fiancée when they were younger. “However, it seems his half-brother thought it would be amusing to have them honor the agreement between their families, especially since it would bring the Yunmeng Jiangs under the Lanling Jins.”
It was quiet for a few minutes as if the three were contemplating what he’d told them. “Jin Guangyao thought it amusing to force a man to marry someone he didn’t like?” There was something dangerous to A-Qiang’s voice, something that made the hairs on the back of Ouyang Zizhen’s neck stand up.
He frowned as he hugged his arms against his chest. “From what I’ve heard, yes. Jingyi…I mean, Lan Jingyi, my best friend…well, the Lans don’t gossip, but he hears things and…his uncle, I mean both his uncles since he’s related to Hanguang-Jun, but his older uncle once was close to Jin Guangyao…” He let out a harsh breath and then relaxed when A-Yuan rubbed his back in a soothing manner. “Jin Guangyao’s jealous of Jin Zixuan so does what he can to make his life miserable, including marrying a woman he didn’t like and sticking him with her short-tempered brother in what’s basically exile. He acts all cold toward her and their son, Jin Ling, but Hanguang-Jun just said that not everything is what it seems.” Now his head hurt, thinking about the mess. Maybe he did have a concussion.
A-Yuan rubbed his back again (all right, he could see him being related to Wei Wuxian; did he give great hugs, too?). “If I was coerced by someone who didn’t like me and who held power over me, I would pretend to not have any positive feelings for my family to keep them from being harmed.”
“Yeah, I’d do anything to keep my loved ones safe. My mother taught me that.” A-Qiang clenched the hilt of her sword as if prepared to fight at the first opportunity.
“It may just be supposition on our part, but that seems most logical.” A-Lai (and A-Qiang) paused until Ouyang Zizhen and her brother reached them then placed the fox in his arms. “I’m surprised no one’s figured it out.”
Perhaps because there were all those stories about Jin Zixuan insulting Jiang Yanli during their engagement? About the fights between him and Jiang Wanyin over the insults? Ouyang Zizhen thought about how Jin Ling reacted to people’s comments about his parents, which only fueled the rumors, and realized what he’d taken to be embarrassment over his parents’ seeming estrangement could also be upset at how everyone thought so negatively about his father.
About a man who sacrificed his own good name to protect his wife and son.
“Yeah, it may be,” he said. Despite the depressing topic, a sense of calmness filled him as the fox snuggled into his arms. For the first time since he’d run away from home (and even before then), he began to truly relax. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
His companions agreed with him; A-Qiang complained that they’d been walking forever and that they better find a way out of the forest soon, while A-Yuan offered Ouyang Zizhen dried fruit and nuts to eat. Ahead of them, Wei Wuxian teased Lan Wangji about something (he got to witness someone tease Hanguang-Jun), his laughter as bright as the floating globes of light which increased in number as the forest darkened around them.
Ouyang Zizhen never thought he’d be grateful for almost being devoured by a humongous panda yao.
*******
Still waiting until it’s ‘officially’ published to do something about the formal titles (and hoping for help with them).
Next parts will be more familiar faces, including A-Ning! A-NING!!! That precious cinnamon roll. You’ll also find out what’s going on with the Nie sect.
If it’s not clear, this fic isn’t exactly friendly to Jin Guangyao. Sorry. I find him an interesting character and don’t mind redemption arcs for him, but that’s not gonna happen here. I just don’t feel he had a good enough reason to go against Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangshan without Wei Wuxian being there to help out the Sunshot Campaign.
First part of the story can be found here, second part here
Oh wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Still pecking away at this, little by little. The first part can be found here.
Still not beta’d, just me trying to get it out whenever I can. At some point I’d like to get the honorifics in there, too, but that’s not happening right now.
Hmm, don’t think there’s much warnings for this part - no serious injuries to the characters we care about, though death (nothing too graphic) for a very minor bad character.
Anyway, here’s more Wei Wuxian raised by Baoshan Sanren!
*******
Wen Yuan struggled to remain motionless, to not give in to the excitement and nervousness which bubbled up inside of him as if he’d taken one of his sister’s energy elixirs. This was only his third night hunt, and he didn’t count the first two since they were nothing more than wandering ghosts of those unfortunate enough to have been beheaded during the calamity that existed in the world beneath their mountaintop haven.
The world where his blood relatives lived, the good and the bad.
He felt the press of spiritual energy, so powerful yet so familiar, and finally gave in to the urge to shiver as his father’s voice whispered in his left ear. “Focus, my little radish.”
“I’m not a radish,” he said, the churlish reply automatic by that point even as affection made him want to smile.
“You’re certainly unfilial,” Wei Wuxian grumbled, yet he had no problem showing his pride and fondness in the way his lips curved and the glow in his almost silver eyes. “And a bit distracted. Not that I say this often, but try to emulate A-Lai a bit more, hmm?”
Wen Yuan flushed at the gentle criticism and refused to look at his older sister, who was sure to be preening at the moment; their adopted father may claim that he’d fumbled along as he’d raised them, but in their opinion, he’d done an excellent job of it. One of the many things they were thankful for (along with all the love and care and…just so much) was that Wei Wuxian had insisted that they were their true selves and encouraged them to follow their individual, valid paths. He did everything he could to help Wen Lai become a talented healer (along with Auntie) and was just as proud of Wen Yuan for their similar interests in talismans and musical cultivation.
Though it was a surprise when he was drawn to the guqin rather than the dizi; luckily, Auntie knew the instrument and was able to teach him.
(Even if it made her sad for some reason.)
Reminding himself that he had to focus, Wen Yuan pressed his lips together as he pushed such thoughts from his head and concentrated on the world around him; he filtered out his father’s strong spiritual presence with practiced ease, along with the bright ‘glow’ that was his sister. The forest was unsettled around them, its creatures unusually quiet and its energy ‘off’, a sure sign that something had made its way past the wards which prevented the outside world from finding their safe haven.
“It’s something strong,” he whispered. “An aged yaoquai or huli jing, perhaps?”
Wei Wuxian clicked his tongue then sighed. “Aiya, there’s more out there than that, A-Yuan. With so much suffering down below, all sorts of creatures are roaming about the world.”
How would he know, when he’d never left his home? When none of them had? Wen Yuan had just glanced at his sister to share an exasperated look with her when there was a flare of resentful energy. Reacting without thought — as if it was a training exercise — he leaped toward the sound while he drew his sword.
He heard Wen Lai hiss out his name while their father groaned as if in pain, but he was quickly distracted by the small figure huddled in front of him. He nearly tripped over his feet as he came to a sudden halt, unwilling to harm what appeared to be a small child with dark brown skin dressed in the remnants of clothes. It was only when Wei Wuxian called out his name in an obvious panic that it dawned on him that the ‘child’ had bright red, pupilless eyes, two small horns peeking out of its green, shaggy hair and jagged, sharp teeth.
Oh, and it wasn’t alone.
He fumbled for a talisman as several more of the creatures joined the first one, the sense of resentful energy growing stronger with every heartbeat when one of his father’s rushed through the air in a flash of red to slam into them. The ground rumbled along with the savage growl which the creatures produced upon being attacked, and more of them poured out from the shadows among the trees.
Many more of them.
For a moment, fear paralyzed Wen Yuan before the need to protect his family overwhelmed it; Wei Wuxian was a beacon of spiritual energy as he wielded Ziyou and talismans with deadly accuracy, and Wen Lai was a silver and grey blur with her sword, Bujiu. Still, even as Wen Yuan added his strength to theirs, more creatures poured forth from the forest’s darkness, a veritable horde of them.
“Where did they come from?” Wen Lai channeled a blast of qi through her sword to cut down the creatures nearest her, while Wei Wuxian was in constant motion, Ziyou a deadly extension of himself that cleaved through the monsters as if they were made of gossamer.
“We’ll figure that out later, concentrate on fighting them for now!”
Wen Yuan and his sister nodded at the order; curiosity pushed to the back of their minds as they focused on fighting the creatures. At first, their efforts appeared to pay off, until a fresh wave of the evil beings surged out of the shadows.
Almost choking on the oppressive sense of resentful energy, Wen Yuan stumbled as four of the creatures charged at him with their claws ready to tear into his flesh. He managed to slash at two of them with his sword, Anning, but those claws bit into his left thigh and right side. As he fumbled for a talisman, desperate to avoid being pulled to the ground, he heard his father’s anguished voice.
“A-Yuan!”
“I’m—”
His attempt to reassure Wei Wuxian (and to save himself) was cut short by an explosion of spiritual energy; there was a moment of stillness, of breathlessness as if all the air had vanished, and then the world was awash with the strongest sense of qi that Wen Yuan had ever felt. As the familiar red energy that was his father’s qi flowed around him, the resentful energy burned away…as did the creatures.
He stumbled to the ground, both from surprise and the lack of creatures around him, while his sister called out for their father. Wen Yuan twisted around to find the man sprawled out on the ground, unconscious yet still radiating an intense sense of spiritual energy—an amount similar to their aunt. “Dad!” He forced himself onto his feet and ran over to Wei Wuxian’s supine form.
Wen Lai was checking their father’s qi as he fell to his knees beside her. “I think…his meridians are all right but there’s so much qi in his body right now, I don’t know—”
“He’ll be fine.”
Both of them looked up to find that their aunt and sect leader, Baoshan Sanren, had joined them without their notice. “Auntie!” Wen Yuan jumped to his feet at the sight of her. “There were all these monsters and then Dad—"
“I know.” She gave him a tender smile before she knelt beside Wei Wuxian and held her right hand above his chest. “He’ll be all right.”
“Do you know what’s wrong with him?” Wen Lai asked as she gently set their father’s hand down then rocked back on her heels. “Will he wake up soon?”
“Yes, and that depends.” Baoshan Sanren’s smile strengthened into one of true happiness as she stroked aside the stray hairs that rested on Wei Wuxian’s forehead. “He’s attained immortality, which is why his qi is in flux right now. It’ll take a little time for it to settle, during which he’ll be unconscious.” She looked at them, the pride she felt for her disciple and foster son plain to see. “Give him a couple of days.”
The last…however long it had been, ever since tonight’s night hunt had gone wrong, had been one shock after another, but Wen Yuan felt as if his world had been turned upside down upon hearing those words. “Dad…Dad’s immortal? Like you? How?” His adopted father—the kind, wonderful, ridiculous young man whose life goal seemed to be to make his loved ones laugh—had achieved something so few ever had? Yes, he was brilliant and powerful, but… “He’s…he’s Dad.”
Auntie chuckled while A-Lai gave him a hard nudge in the ribs. “I’ll admit, I hadn’t expected it for a few more decades, but as always, A-Ying exceeds my expectations.” Then her expression turned serious. “To achieve immortality, one has to push past all mortal limits.” She gave Wen Yuan and his sister a fond look while she scooped their father up in her arms. “Of course, he wouldn’t hesitate to do such a thing to keep you safe. We must be thankful that he’s strong enough to survive the transition. Now come, you’ve wounds which need healing.”
“Yes, Auntie.” They bowed their heads then rose to their feet as well, quick to mount their swords so they could return home and watch over their father.
Their now immortal father.
Wen Yuan wondered if ascending to immortality would change him at all, would strip away the man’s playful, impulsive nature. As much as he couldn’t imagine an immortal cultivator acting like, well, Wei Wuxian…he didn’t want to lose the young man who’d raised him and A-Lai.
Hopefully, everything would be all right.
*******
“Wei Wuxian! Where are you, you scoundrel?”
“Oops!” Wei Wuxian ducked down behind A-Lai while Ding Huan stormed past the healing pavilion, a large ladle clutched in her fist. His wonderful, beautiful, kind, and loyal daughter provided an excellent shield then reached behind to pat him on the shoulder.
“She’s gone now.” When he stood up, she looked over her shoulder and huffed. “What did you do this time? Steal all the char siu bao? Mix up the spices again? Tell A-Luli that there’s no more chrysanthemum tea?”
He pouted as he nudged her aside and took over grinding the dong quai root. “I, uhm, may have borrowed some pork she meant to use for dinner tonight.”
“How do you ‘borrow’ meat? If you’re hungry, she would have made something for you to eat.” Wen Lai frowned as she motioned for him to stop grinding the root. “Though Auntie would remind you that you don’t haveto eat.”
“Right, remind her of that fact when there are mooncakes to be shared.” Immortals might be able to practice inedia indefinitely, but the gods help anyone who got between a certain immortal and mooncakes, especially ones filled with salted egg yolk. Not that Wei Wuxian could say much when he refused to be without his dumplings and wine.
A-Lai giggled, probably recalling how pleased her ‘aunt’ had been the last Mid-Autumn Festival, well-sated with mooncakes and wine. Then she schooled her expression into something more serious. “You’re doing that distracting thing again like you always do when you break a rule that you tell A-Yuan, A-Qiang, and me to follow. Why did you steal the meat?”
Why did his little sparrow have to be so smart? Wei Wuxian chuckled while he rubbed the back of his neck until the force of his daughter’s stern gaze made him wilt in surrender. “Fine, but you have to promise me that you won’t do yourthing.”
“What thing?” A-Lai asked as she folded her arms over her chest.
“You know, yourthing.” Wei Wuxian gestured to the various spacious cages scattered about the pavilion, filled with chirping birds that Wen Lai had rescued and healed. There were more at home, along with a family of hedgehogs. Oh, and three cats which Wei Wuxian swore were half Pallas’s cats which A-Qiang had taken custody of, much to A-Song’s mix of amusement and horror.
His daughter’s dark brown eyes shone with excitement as she reached for his hands, the sleeves of her grey robe fluttering from the movement. “You found something? What is it? Is it all right?”
Oh, A-Mui was going to going to do that smug little smile of hers when she found out about this. “Come along.” He sighed in defeat as he tugged A-Lai closer before he cast a transportation spell; a moment later, they arrived deep in the forest on the northwestern part of the mountain.
Since the chi mei wang liang infestation two years ago, the wards around the mountain had been strengthened, both by A-Mui and himself and as teaching opportunities for the three disciples. While he highly doubted that anything would get past the barriers that two immortals had created, other than perhaps a fellow immortal, he had to admit that A-Yuan and A-Qiang had come up with some inventive protective arrays.
As if summoned by his thoughts, A-Qiang, her dark grey practice robes dampened with sweat which indicated that she’d just finished her sword training for the day, caught sight of them and ran in their direction with a smile on her face. “Ying-gege! What did you do to upset A-Huan so much? Mother invited her for tea to try to calm her down.”
Ah, A-Song, such an incredibly sweet person, as always. “Tell us the truth, your mother is secretly a goddess of mercy, isn’t she?”
A-Qiang giggled into her wrapped left sleeve as she fell into step beside Wen Lai. “Well, she’s rather grumpy before her first pot of tea in the morning, but otherwise I agree with you.” She smiled at A-Lai, who smiled back; ah, young love. “Are you helping your father hide?”
“He ‘borrowed’ meat from the kitchen to feed an injured creature. We’re going to feed it now.”
“How do you ‘borrow’ food?”
“That’s what I said!”
“I was going to return it!” Wei Wuxian said, his arms crossed over his chest and lips pressed in a pout. “Well, I was going to give Tao Niu those fire talismans he likes to buy more pork for me, the next time he goes for supplies.”
“You should have asked for it.” Wen Lai patted his arm then tugged him forward. “I swear, you just like riling A-Huan up whenever you can.”
He laughed at that as he began to run towards the forest. “It’s so fun when her native accent slips out whenever she yells.” A-Mui said that she’d been born around Lanling; Wei Wuxian had spent so long on the mountain that his speech patterns resembled the ancient cultivator’s, as did the others except for the ones who’d chosen to live there to see to their daily needs or had come into the community later in life.
Lei Qiang shook her head, though the slight smile on her lips gave away her amusement. “If Mother’s a goddess of mercy, then you’re a huli jing in hiding.”
He laughed at the comparison, one he’d heard many times before, and gave his part-time disciple (whenever A-Mui foisted the poor girl off on him) and semi-foster daughter a wink. Then he motioned for the young woman to be quiet as he approached the burrow where the small creature he’d found the other day was resting, hopeful that it was still alive.
One of the lessons that A-Mui pressed upon him since he’d ascended to immortality was that he had to learn to let things go, to respect the cycle of life and death. When his first instinct had been to grab the ball of fluff and rush it back to the settlement for healing, he’d forced himself to give it spiritual energy to enable it to heal itself and settle it in a safe spot with food and water.
Surely that wasn’t ‘interfering’ too much?
Once they reached the burrow, he knelt down and fetched the raw meat from his qiankun pouch then set it in front of the small opening. It took about a minute before a small black nose surrounded by a plethora of whiskers poked outside, twitching as the creature sniffed, soon followed by a small body that seemed comprised of an abundance of silvery fur.
Wen Lai covered her mouth with her right fist to smother a gasp of delight, while Lei Qiang grabbed her left arm, her pale hazel eyes wide with excitement. Wei Wuxian sighed internally at their reaction and readied the argument against his former teacher and now fellow immortal that hewasn’t the one interfering—it was all his daughter’s fault.
Right on cue, A-Lai slowly knelt beside him and held out her hand for the furball to sniff. “Oh, it’s wounded. It looks like something attacked it.” There were obvious bite marks on its right flank, wounds that weren’t as bad as when he’d found the poor thing. “They should be cleaned and looked after.”
“What is it? It looks like a fox but it’s really small, and it’s very calm for a wild animal.” A-Qiang rested her hands on Wei Wuxian’s shoulders so she could see the creature better without crowding it.
“It’s a feifei,” he told them while he watched his daughter work her magic and gently stroke the wounded creature’s small head. “They’re pretty rare, so I wonder if this one fled behind the wards to escape being hunted down. They’re known to have a calming presence and to dispel depression.” At the young women’s surprised looks, he chuckled as he rubbed the knuckle of his right forefinger along the tip of his nose. “What? I’m bound to pick up something from all of those old scrolls I read! That and not every magical creature will have powers that cause droughts or bring back the dead.”
A-Lai shook her head. “No, it’s not that.” Then she wrinkled her cute nose. “Well, maybe that you know all these weird things, but not that everything has to have an amazing power.” Her expression softened when the feifei shuffled closer to her. “It would be fine if it couldn’t do anything. Nothing deserves to be hurt, especially if someone wants to use it for something.”
Ah, how could he have a hand in raising someone so pure and good? Between her and A-Yuan, maybe he did deserve to reach immortality. He smiled at his daughter, then gave in to the urge to sigh when she tenderly cradled the feifei in her arms. “You’re my witness,” he told a smirking A-Qiang. “She’s the one to bring it home, not me.”
“Of course, Ying-gege.” A-Qiang patted him on the head before he stood up. “But Auntie knows we all have you wrapped around our little fingers, especially A-Lai, so good luck with that.”
“Such ungrateful brats!” Wei Wuxian pretended to swipe at her, while A-Qiang giggled and darted out of reach. “Where’s my A-Yuan? He’ll treat me with the respect I deserve.”
That only made A-Qiang, the darling brat, giggle harder.
Ah well, A-Lai was aglow with delight and had a new furball to fuss over, A-Qiang was always content when all was right with A-Lai, which meant that A-Song would gladly appease Ding Huan and anyone else whom he annoyed anytime soon. A-Mui would give him knowing looks over the feifei, but she, too, cared for her young disciples’ happiness, and A-Yuan would be eager to help his sister with her latest project.
If Wei Wuxian wasn’t at peace unless his family was safe and happy…well, he’d bear all the teasing and smug looks sent his way without complaint (okay, just a little complaint, and all for show).
There were a few dirty looks sent his way while dinner was served, but Ding Huan didn’t stint his bowl nor do anything bad to his stinky tofu, so A-Song had worked her usual magic. The woman in question sat next to her daughter and was cooing over A-Lai’s latest rescue, Xiao Yun, which was curled up in his daughter’s lap.
“Like father, like daughter.”
Wei Wuxian wrinkled his nose at his former teacher (well, she still taught him things, but since the whole ‘immortal’ thing, refused to let him refer to her like that anymore). “Why yes, she is incredibly brilliant and good-looking.”
A-Mui did a rather undignified eye-roll right then. “No, she’s a bleeding heart who can’t help but rescue any wounded creature she comes across.”
“Hmm.” Wei Wuxian nibbled on the ends of his chopsticks while he pretended to think for a moment. “Who’s the one who rescues abandoned children over the centuries and raises them as their disciples again?”
His fellow immortal snatched a particularly plump piece of tofu from his bowl, much to his displeasure. “At least A-Lai’s not as much of a brat as you are, nor is A-Yuan,” A-Mui said after she swallowed it.
He pouted for a few seconds then sighed. “I don’t where I went wrong with them. Speaking of A-Yuan, how was his lesson today?” He glanced at his son, who tried to feed a piece of tofu to the feifei.
“It went well.” Something akin to sadness flickered across A-Mui’s lovely face as she glanced at the youth. “He’s reaching the limits of my knowledge; I’m familiar with the guqin, but it’s something I learned while visiting another sect to gain a better understanding of musical cultivation on the whole, and not with the intention of picking it up as a spiritual tool.”
She was always so somber whenever she referred to anything to do with the Lan sect, who had created and were known for their musical cultivation (or so Wei Wuxian had been taught). He was curious for the cause of that emotion but would let his beloved mentor reveal the truth when she was ready—if ever.
“Well, I suppose we’ll have to hope that the gods send some wandering Lan cultivator our way to help supplement A-Yuan’s lessons, no?” He yelped when A-Mui jabbed him in the side with her finger (her very pointy, very stiff finger).
“What?”
“Don’t go tempting the gods like that!” she snapped before she rose to her feet and stomped away. “If a horde of those rule-quoting, stiff-necked fuddy-duddies descend upon us, I’ll have you practice inedia for a decade! And by that, I mean no wine!”
“Teach-I mean, A-Mui! How could you??” No wine? That was too cruel! He rushed after her while his ‘beloved’ family laughed at his misfortune, determined to convince her that it had been a foolish joke.
*******
Lan Wangji panted as he slumped against a tree; he’d dealt with the Jin disciples who’d been right behind him, but there were more on his trail.
There were always more on his trail, golden-clothed fleas eager to please their corrupt master.
He shook such frivolous thoughts from his head as he pushed away from the tree and staggered onward; Wen Qionglin’s map had proven true so far, which meant he didn’t have much farther to go.
As he forced his exhausted body to move, he noticed that the atmosphere around him was similar to that of Cloud Recesses years ago, before the Wen had attacked and burned much of it to the ground, before its soil was soaked with the blood of his clan and sect. Spiritual energy emanated from the very bones of the mountain, while calm crept inside of him with each beat of his heart.
How had Wen Qionglin left such a rare and precious place like this? How could anyone not realize that this mountain was the sanctuary of an immortal?
Certain that he’d found Baoshan Sanren’s home, Lan Wangji summoned the remaining dregs of his energy, determined to reach the immortal before the Jins once more latched on to his trail. His left hand pressed against the qiankun pouch tucked inside of his robes, a nervous habit he’d developed in the past weeks, ever since he’d been entrusted with the cursed item.
He hoped that soon, he would be rid of it.
Behind him, there was a sound as if someone called out in surprise, but when he turned to look over his shoulder, he didn’t see anything. Worry that he’d been found again increased his speed, exhausted as he was, Bichen clutched in his right hand.
The terrain grew steeper, the undergrowth thicker, yet he persevered, determined to reach the immortal before he was caught or his strength gave out. He estimated it was about half an hour later when he was stopped in his tracks by what could only be a powerful ward; the invisible force kept him from moving forward despite the fact that he couldn’t sense it.
Amazement warred with frustration; he’d never come across a ward like this before, and he’d be eager to study it if it wasn’t for the fact that he was desperate to be on the other side of it before the Jin caught up to him. Normally, he’d attempt to batter his way through it, but with his depleted spiritual energy and the fact that it surrounded the home of an immortal, he doubted that he’d have any luck.
He was about to sink into a lotus position and consider his options when a cheerful voice called out. “See, I told you that it wasn’t a jiangshi! A-Lai and I took care of them all!”
The speaker was a youth, perhaps around sixteen years old, dressed in dark grey and red robes with his black hair pulled back in a long ponytail tied with a red and white ribbon. He had bright grey eyes and a warm smile on his handsome face, his figure lithe and of average height. Beside him was a young woman perhaps a few years older, her brown hair held back from her face in intricate braids entwined with white and grey ribbons which matched her robes, the pout on her lovely face belied by the sparkle of humor in her hazel eyes.
Both of them carried swords, which indicated that they were cultivators— or at least cultivators-in-training— and the youth wore a guqin strapped to his back the same as Lan Wangji did, though his instrument was made from dark wood with red accents.
“Yes, yes, clearly he’s alive, but that doesn’t explain the sense of resentful energy that’s emanating from him.” The two youths stopped not far from Lan Wangji on the other side of the ward and gave him an appraising stare. “One of those puppets we hear so much about?” The young woman smiled as she began to unsheathe her sword. “Maybe I’ll get to fight today after all!”
Lan Wangji, in the process of rising to his feet so he could bow to them and introduce himself, paused in surprise first at the girl’s eagerness to battle and then at the sound of a voice behind him— a voice from someone he didn’t sense at all.
“Aiya, so bloodthirsty, A-Qiang! If you’re looking for a workout, go deal with the water ghouls infesting the lake below the purple azaleas mound and leave this poor man alone.”
“Dad!”
“Really, Ying-gege? Are there a lot of them?”
Lan Wangji spun around to find a young man barely older than the two young disciples standing a few feet away, dressed in black and red robes. A young man with unruly, long black hair mostly pulled back in a high ponytail with a red ribbon, who possessed moon-bright grey eyes and a smile warmer than the sun above them. A young man who appeared so beautiful that it hurt Lan Wangji to gaze directly at him for too long.
“Yes, yes, more than enough to make you happy; I was about to take care of them when I came across our guest and a pair of nuisances.” The young man rubbed the tip of his nose with the knuckle of his right forefinger as he looked at Lan Wangji. “You seem to have brought something interesting to our home. I’m Wei Wuxian.” He gave a barely adequate bow, the smile still on his face. “You’ve already met my beloved son, Wen Sizhui, and beside him is our dear Lei Qiang.”
Lan Wangji’s mind froze for a moment at the ‘my beloved son’ part, until he latched on to the ‘Wen’ surname while he managed a bow of his own. “This one is Lan Wangji.” Wen Qionglin said that his friend, Wei Wuxian, watched over his niece and nephew; had Wei Wuxian adopted the children? “Thank you for your assistance.”
Wei Wuxian waved his right hand in a dismissive manner while his expression grew excited. “Lan Wangji? You’re a Lan?” His eyes narrowed and his lips pursed as if he thought of something. “A-Mui mentioned the headband, which you have, but she said also said you were a bunch of fuddy-duddies and old men.” Once more, that brilliant smile spread across his face and made something in Lan Wangji’s chest clench. “You’re too handsome, so either she’s wrong or you’re not a Lan.”
“Auntie’s never wrong,” Wen Sizhui and Lei Qiang argued at the same time.
Lan Wangji shook his head, his ears warm at the ‘too handsome’ comment; had he been captured by the Jins and was now dreaming this encounter? “Hm, am a Lan and need to speak to Baoshan Sanren.” He refused to let his hand stray near the qiankun pouch. “Very important.”
“Oh, I’m sure it must be for you to come all the way here with those fellows in gold chasing after you.” Wei Wuxian’s smile sharpened as he positioned himself between Lan Wangji and the ward. “Perhaps something to do with whatever that nasty object is that you have on you.”
He wore a plain sword that appeared crafted more for agility and speed than for strength and brute force, like Bichen, and had a dizi tucked into his belt as well. While he was almost as tall as Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian’s physique was similar to his sword, lean and long-limbed, though the breadth of his shoulders warned that he was not without strength. However, what concerned Lan Wangji the most was that he couldn’t pick up any sense of spiritual power from the young man when Wen Qionglin had told him that Wei Wuxian was a powerful cultivator and that he’d been assured that he could trust him.
With that in mind, he bowed his head and offered up his sword. “Not here to fight,” he said. “Have something important for Baoshan Sanren. Wen Qionglin told me how to find her, he sent a letter for you as well.” Perhaps he should have announced that earlier? Brother was always so much better at these things.
Brother was part of the reason he was here, he reminded himself.
“Uncle Ning?” The youth, Wen Sizhui, approached the ward until a look from Wei Wuxian made him halt. Things were quiet while Wei Wuxian rubbed the tip of his nose again and appeared to consider something, then heaved a loud sigh.
“A-Qiang, go deal with the water ghouls,” he announced while he motioned Lan Wangji to move forward. “A-Yuan and I will handle this.”
The young woman stomped her left foot onto the ground. “I want to help, too!”
“You will, by dealing with the water ghouls,” Wei Wuxian told her while Lan Wangji braced himself to feel some sort of effect from walking through the ward, only for there to be…nothing. “The sooner you finish with them, the sooner you’ll find out what’s going on,” Wei Wuxian chided while he waved his right forefinger in the girl’s face.
“I’m going to pretend it’s you that I’m stabbing while I deal with them, Ying-gege!” Lei Qiang shouted while she stomped away; Lan Wangji was shocked at such insolence, yet all Wei Wuxian did was laugh while Wen Sizhui smiled.
“That’s the attitude! You’ll be done with them in no time!”
“Stab them then chop them into tiny, tiny pieces!” Despite the threat, amusement was evident in the young woman’s voice.
“Ah, those poor water ghouls don’t stand a chance when she’s that determined.” Wei Wuxian smiled at the departing disciple; Lan Wangji felt an odd, clenching sensation in his chest yet again upon seeing the expression. “Now, what about you?” The smile faded into a faint curve as the man regarded him. “A-Ning didn’t warn me about your arrival in his last message.”
“Hm.” Lan Wangji kept his motions slow as he reached into his qiankun sleeve for the letter Wen Qionglin had given him. “Wasn’t sure if I’d reach you.” There were many times during his journey from Cloud Recesses when he’d believed that he wouldn’t live long enough to find Baoshan Sanren’s mountain and despaired of his enemies winning.
“Well, you have so let’s hope you both have something of interest to say.” Wei Wuxian’s gaze hovered over Lan Wangji’s chest for a moment before he accepted the letter. “And that—aiya, they don’t give up, do they?” He frowned as he stared over Lan Wangji’s left shoulder.
Turning around to see what had caught the other cultivator’s attention, Lan Wangji didn’t notice anything at first, even as the youth —Wen Sizhui— inhaled sharply and unsheathed his sword. Perhaps it was due to his exhaustion and lack of spiritual energy, or perhaps it was due to their training, but they spotted the flash of gold moving quickly through the sky before he did.
However, he was the one to put a name to the cultivator flying toward them. “Jin Changpu, Langling Jin’s third strongest disciple.” Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao were serious in their intent to catch him—or retrieve the object in his possession.
“Really? Well, I wasn’t impressed by the others, so let’s see if this one proves much of a challenge.” Wei Wuxian stepped closer to the ward while he glanced at his adopted son. “Pay attention to his fighting style, this is a good learning opportunity for you.”
Wen Sizhui nodded, appearing unconcerned about the upcoming fight.
Normally, Lan Wangji would insist on dealing with his problems, but he needed time to recoup his spiritual energy. There was also a small part of him that wanted to see Wen Qionglin’s ‘A-Ying’ in action, to watch someone trained by an immortal for what was supposed to be the past three decades.
Since Wei Wuxian had stationed himself outside of the ward, Jin Changpu landed before he reached it; Lan Wangji allowed himself a moment of pettiness to regret that the Jin disciple didn’t smash into it before he reminded himself that Wen Sizhui deserved the learning opportunity.
Also, he wouldn’t object to the arrogant man being beaten by an ‘unknown’ cultivator, and a handsome one at that.
Not that Wei Wuxian’s looks were of any importance when it came to swordsmanship.
“Is this how low you’ve fallen, Hanguang-Jun? Hiding behind a couple of hick rogue cultivators?” Jin Changpu sneered at the cotton and linen robes that Wei Wuxian and Wen Sizhui wore, the ribbons in their hair rather than any proper guan, the lack of precious stone or metal on their swords. “Do they even know which end of the sword to hold?”
Wei Wuxian’s expression became a feral, cruel thing while Jin Changpu spoke, his lips parted to reveal the gleam of sharp, white teeth, his grey eyes both darkened and brightened at the same time as they focused with a disconcerting intensity. “I guess we’re about to find out, aren’t we?” All traces of humor and friendliness were gone from his voice.
Jin Changpu scoffed as he all but ignored the other cultivator. “Are you really going to let this fool die for you, Hanguang-Jun? Isn’t there a rule about that?”
They would be here until nightfall if Lan Wangji quoted all the rules that the Langling Jin broke, especially their leader. Instead, he settled for one. “’Do not treat others with contempt’.”
While Jin Changpu’s sneer grew more pronounced, Wei Wuxian laughed, though the sound contained a harsh edge. “Ah Lan Wangji, you’re definitely not a fuddy-duddy with that sense of humor!” Then he moved to block the Jin disciple’s line of sight. “Now, how about I prove to you that I have some clue about how to wield a sword, hmm?”
“You can prove that you know how to die on the end of one,” Jin Changpu sneered as he unsheathed his gaudy weapon while Wei Wuxian merely stood before him and ‘smiled’. Once the bejeweled blade was free, he charged at the other cultivator.
Wei Wuxian didn’t move until the last second, a blur of dark color which turned out to be him raising his sheathed sword to block Jin Changpu’s attack. Despite the amount of strength and spiritual energy the Jin disciple put into the strike, he was the one forced backward while a still seemingly powerless Wei Wuxian remained in place.
“Oh! I see now, I’m supposed to unsheathe my sword when I fight. Haha! Take note of that, A-Yuan!”
“Yes, Dad, that’s a very good thing to know for future fights. I’ll be sure to tell A-Lai and A-Qiang, too.”
The obvious amusement in the two ‘rogue cultivators’ voices and the ease in which his attack had been deflected provoked Jin Changpu’s temper. “Stop mocking me! I’ll have your head now!” He charged once more at Wei Wuxian, who finally deigned to move—to flow as if quicksilver to avoid the enraged man’s powerful swings.
“Notice anything about how he fights, little radish?”
Wen Sizhui frowned as he gazed at the ongoing sword fight, but Lan Wangji suspected it was in concentration and not from the nickname. After a few seconds of watching Jin Changpu flounder and curse at his father, he nodded. “He’s so slow and relies too much on qi to power his strikes—”
“I’m not slow, dammit!”
“And his form favors overhand strikes, which relies on using that strength. It leaves an obvious opening while he sets up the move.”
“You’re lying! What would a nobody like you know?” Jin Changpu’s face was flushed with exertion and rage as he flailed about in a failed attempt to land a hit on smiling Wei Wuxian.
“Very good!”
Yes, Lan Wangji was impressed at how well Wen Sizhui analyzed the Jin cultivator’s fighting style.
“Also, he’s favoring his left leg. Perhaps an old wound?”
“Shut up, you grubby little hick basta—“
Before Jin Changpu could finish the insult, Wei Wuxian unsheathed his sword and, in a flash of red and silver, unarmed the other cultivator then slipped behind him to hamstring both his legs. As Jin Changpu fell onto the ground, a blue line of energy wrapped around the man’s throat to hold his upper body upright. While all that went on, an overwhelming sense of spiritual energy filled the clearing, so strong that Lan Wangji couldn’t breathe for several seconds.
Wen Sizhui didn’t appear affected by it.
Neither did Wei Wuxian.
It was only then that Lan Wangji realized that the impossible amount of qi he sensed belonged to Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian… the improbably young man was immortal, too?
“You don’t insult my son,” Wei Wuxian, an immortal, told a stunned Jin Changpu, his voice a dangerous rumble that made Lan Wangji shiver to hear it. “You don’t come into our home with your ill intentions and arrogance, thinking you can ruin it like you’ve done everything else. I won’t let you.” Finished speaking, he drew his blade across the man’s neck then let him fall forward; as Jin Changpu bled out, he cast some sort of talisman which made the ground swallow the cultivator up.
Without a backward glance, Wei Wuxian headed toward a quiet Wen Sizhui; a line of red energy ran along the blade of his sword until it was free of blood, then he sheathed the weapon. He stopped in front of his son and reached out to tousle the youth’s hair. “You did a good job back there. If you feel up to it, I’ll leave the next one to you.”
The young man’s eyes grey eyes lit up with delight as he nodded. “Yes! I truly believe I’m ready now.”
“Ah, how quickly little radishes and sparrows grow.” Wei Wuxian sounded wistful as he gave his son a one-armed hug. His demeanor turned serious when he let go of the youth and looked at Lan Wangji. “That was the last of them. I think it’s time we meet up with the others and get some answers from you.”
Lan Wangji nodded while he stared at the man, yet refused to move. When Wei Wuxian gave him a curious look for his stillness, he forced himself to speak. “You…immortal.” Should he bow? Hadn’t he already bowed? But the young disciples certainly didn’t treat Wei Wuxian with any proper regard.
“Oh, that.” Wei Wuxian waved his hand through the air as if flicking away an annoying gnat. “Old news.” Beside him, Wen Sizhui hid a smile behind his right fist.
“But… Wen Qionglin…” Why hadn’t he warned Lan Wangji about ‘A-Ying’ being immortal, along with Baoshan Sanren?
“Yeah, about him.” Wei Wuxian chuckled, the sound nervous, as he and his adopted son walked ahead. “I, uhm, haven’t told him? He’s probably noticed something, but I don’t want things to change between us.” He frowned as he slung his left arm over Wen Sizhui’s shoulders. “A few others are all ‘your immortal grace’ this and ‘oh benevolent celestial’ that, it’s so annoying.”
Lan Wangji did his best to catch up to the two (his energy was slowly returning) and noticed that Wen Sizhui hid a smile once more. “If only they knew that there’s nothing graceful about you, Dad.”
Wei Wuxian squawked as if startled. “Such an unfilial brat I’ve raised! Oh, the shame! It’s your auntie’s influence, you know.” Then he smiled and hugged his son closer.
Lan Wangji followed, his thoughts in upheaval as he tried to reconcile what he knew about immortals with the handsome, carefree man in front of him.
******
Baoshan Sanren’s gaze remained fixed on Lan Wangji while her thoughts drifted; Lan Yi was dead. Something had troubled her these past several weeks, but she hadn’t thought…it never occurred to her…A-Yi wasn’t supposed to die.
That dear, stubbornfool.
She forced herself to focus on the now, on the problem her ex-lover had dropped into her lap (and if that wasn’t classic A-Yi, what was?); her right hand tightened around the qiankun pouch it held. “We were told that Wen Ruohan has two pieces of the Yin iron. Gusu Lan held the third piece all along, which leaves the fourth piece.”
Lan Wangji bowed his head; he may possess a hint or two of A-Yi’s features, but none of her expressiveness. “It’s said that a rogue cultivator, Xue Yang, possesses it.”
Hmm, any relation to Xue Chonghai, she wondered, only to push the thought aside as unimportant at the moment. “How does he keep hold of it?” she asked, right before A-Ying, judging from the curious gleam in his eyes.
There was a slight furrow between Lan Wangji’s straight brows. “Xue Yang is a vicious and clever cultivator.” He paused for a moment as if considering his next words. “It’s said…your disciple Xiao Xingchen was looking to bring him to justice when he vanished, him and his cultivation partner.”
Neither she nor A-Ying showed any emotion upon hearing that bit of news; Wen Qionglin had informed them of A-Chen’s disappearance last year and some of the circumstances around it. As much as her heart ached for her former disciple, it had been his choice to leave her for the world beyond her mountain.
“So Wen Ruohan and his Jin allies figured it would be easier to grab the piece of Yin iron in your possession,” Wei Wuxian said in an obvious change of subject. “I took care of everyone on his trail,” he directed to her, “but if they sent any messages before their deaths, we’re going to have unwelcome pests.”
She nodded while a faint sense of quilt radiated from their ‘guest’; she doubted that someone unfamiliar with the main branch of the Lans would pick it up, but despite it being centuries, she still remembered her time spent with the clan.
WithLan Yi.
She summoned forth a calm smile as she set the pouch aside. “You’re clearly still exhausted; let one of my assistants show you where you can rest and refresh yourself before dinner.” Before Lan Wangji could respond (or object), she used a spark of energy to summon Mo Luli to the door of her office.
The woman appeared in mere seconds, her petite body still spry despite her advancing years. Baoshan Sanren felt a familiar ache at the reminder of how the rest of the world moved on around her, how people fell to the ravages of time and fate, even A-Yi.
Except for her A-Ying, she reminded herself as he closed the door behind Mo Luli and Lan Wangji then turned to face her. Something about her expression made him rush over to pour a fresh cup of tea then wrap her hands around it.
“Is it bad? It’s bad, isn’t it? I don’t care how handsome he is, I’ll get rid of him if you say the word. Just blink twice slowly if that’s what you want.”
Such a dear, sweet, foolish boy; no wonder she adored him so when he reminded her of A-Yi. “Handsome, hmm?” She reached up with her right hand to poke him in the forehead.
“Uhm.” His cheeks flushed such an adorably bright shade of red as his gaze flickered around the room as if searching for a safe topic to latch onto. “Uhm, well, considering Tao Niu and A-Xui and-“
“He is rather good-looking, and no, you don’t have to get rid of him.” She sighed as her good mood faded. “But it is bad,” she admitted as she leaned back in her chair and regarded the qiankun pouch. “It seems trouble has found us after all.” Trouble sent their way by someone she never thought to hear from again.
Clever as always, Wei Wuxian picked up on her thoughts. “She’s why you’re always sad when you teach A-Yuan his guqin lessons, isn’t it?”
If it were anyone else… “She is, in part, why I warn you against attachments,” she admitted as she rose to fetch a scroll. “I had hopes that we could cultivate immortality together, and then she locked herself away in that damn cave after the mess with the Yin iron.” She told A-Yi to leave the cursed thing alone, but her lover was so certain she would succeed where others hadn’t.
“And now it’s up to us to deal with it.”
Wei Wuxian’s words echoed her thoughts so close that it took a moment for her to realize he’d spoken. “Yes, now it’s up to us.” She spread the scroll that they’d both studied since the years of Wen Qionglin’s visit, studied and annotated, on the table before him. “Except we only have one piece, not four.”
“Four…or five?” A-Ying frowned as he picked up his neglected cup of tea.
That was the question, wasn’t it? They’d argued over exactly how many pieces of Yin iron there were when they’d regarded the drawing of the infamous metal; Baoshan Sanren could recall mention of the four parts that made up the outer ring, but nothing of the inner center. She took the piece which had been given to the Gusu Lan sect to safeguard from the pouch and placed it on top of the scroll, it matched the descriptions of what had been given to the great sects to ensure that none abused the power of the terrible weapon.
Yet there wasn’t any mention of the center medallion.
“Could it have been destroyed?”
“We’re not that lucky.” She rubbed her forehead as she thought of what needed to be done. “Lan Wangji said that no one knew of this piece being hidden at Cloud Recesses until Lan Yi pulled him into the cave beneath the Cold Spring Pond since she knew she was about to fade away, her and the protections which had kept the iron hidden. Wen Qionglin told us that Wen Ruohan discovered his first piece of iron in the Dancing Goddess statue at the Dafan Mountain, and the second which was kept by the Damsel of Flowers. Now the fourth appears to be in the possession of Xue Yang.”
“Which means that if our theory of needing all of them together to properly purify or subdue them, someone will have to track down the missing fifth piece and Xue Yang, then take the two away from Wen Ruohan.” A-Ying huffed while he poured himself more tea. “I know A-Ning’s determined to put a stop to his uncle’s reign, and that Lan Wangji seems like a decent guy determined to save his sect, but you think they’re up to the challenge?”
Wen Qionglin had surprised her by surviving this long, though he was aided by his connection to Wei Wuxian (and the regular ‘care packages’ of talismans which her former disciple didn’t think she knew about), and Lan Wangji had the stubborn, righteous streak common of Lan An’s descendants in spades. There was also the fact that Xiao Xingchen had left in part to fight the ‘injustice’ happening in the world below, which would imply that he’d lend his talent and blade to the cause as well—if he wasn’t ‘missing’.
Another reason to investigate Xue Yang.
She glanced up to find Wei Wuxian rubbing the knuckle of his right forefinger along his bottom lip, his brows furrowed with concern. “Maybe we can…if Lan Wangji waits long enough I can…there has to be some spells and talismans I can give him to help him and A-Ning.”
There was no doubt in her mind that he’d provide something innovative enough to be a real threat to Wen Ruohan and his allies, especially when cast by someone as powerful as Lan Wangji. However, she doubted that would be enough against someone who wielded two pieces of the Yin iron and had most of the cultivation world behind him (at least until they felt the balance of power shift enough to alter their allegiance). No, if she were honest with herself and honored Lan Yi’s last wish…
“He shouldn’t leave the mountain alone.”
“Yeah, we need to send him off with some stuff,” A-Ying mumbled, then gaped as he looked at her. “Wait, do you mean to send someone off with him? Who? Has Tang Long finally come out of seclusion? Or did Liao Peizhi mention something during her last visit about wanting to leave?”
Baoshan Sanren shook her head at the mention of her older disciples. “No, A-Long’s still meditating at the top of the mountain, and A-Zhi’s off…well, communing with eagles or something.” She shook her head at the thought of those two; Tang Long and Liao Peizhi had plateaued on the development of their spiritual cores in the last century or two, to the point where there was nothing more she could teach them. They visited every few years and hadn’t been pleased to discover that Wei Wuxian had managed to surpass them in achieving immortality.
They were now more determined to become immortal, and she wished them well even if she believed their chances were slim. At the moment, they were too focused on their cultivation to consider leaving her mountain, and she didn’t see that changing in the near future.
“I wasn’t referring to them.” She reached out to place her hand over A-Ying’s, the disciple who’d become a son to her over the too-few years. “Lan Wangji and Wen Qionglin will need someone powerful by their side to collect the Yin irons, someone clever and unconventional. You’re the one who should help them.”
A gamut of emotions flickered over his face at that statement: surprise, excitement, hurt, confusion, and fear. “But I…I still have so much to learn,” he said, his voice quiet with a rare note of fear. “And I don’t want to leave here, to leave—”
To leave her, she knew he meant to say, still honoring that ridiculous, endearing promise he’d made when he was a boy. Oh, what a precious, faithful, loving child he was; part of her wanted to wrap him in protective spells and hide him away from a world that didn’t deserve so pure a soul. Yet it was because of being the way he was, of that endless well of goodness inside of him, that she had to let him go.
At least for now.
“Wei Wuxian…A-Ying,” she said as she cupped his face between her hands and gazed into eyes that were exact copies of his mother’s. “There are reasons why I tell my disciples that they can’t return here once they decide to leave, ones you’ll better understand one day. Part of it is to protect those who remain, and part of it is because one can’t ascend when mired in minutia.” She smiled as she tucked back a strand of his unruly bangs. “But you? You have already ascended, my dear, silly child. You can come and go as you please. I just ask that you do so with care.”
He was quiet as the words sank in, and then grinned as he lightly grasped her wrists. “You mean I could have gone and fetched us some decent wine when A-Niu’s batch spoiled last summer?”
Baoshan Sanren laughed and flicked his forehead before she leaned back in her chair. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t!” She shook her head and poured the last of the tea into their cups. “It’ll be dangerous, gathering the Yin iron,” she warned, all good humor evaporating at the thought of what lay ahead for her adopted son. “You’re my best student, yet I’ve no doubt that it’ll take every bit of cleverness you possess to overcome the challenges ahead of you.”
He gave her a slight bow from his seat across the table. “Teacher has ensured that this one is prepared.” Once upright, he sipped tea while he appeared to think about something. “What about you? If the Jins and the Wens do realize that Lan Wangji brought a piece of the Yin iron here, there could be trouble for you.”
She scoffed as she set her cup aside. “As if they have any chance of breaching wards cast by two immortals.” When his expression grew concerned, she held up her right hand. “I’ll summon Tang Long and Liao Peizhi from their meditations to assist with our defense.” It might do the two of them some good in the long run.
“That would make me feel better.” Wei Wuxian rubbed the tip of his nose, his expression sheepish as he slumped in the chair. “Not that the kids aren’t talented enough to help out, too.” When she scoffed again, he gave her a puzzled look. “What?”
She smiled, her emotions were a bit wistful as she thought back to when she and Lan Yi had been young. “Do you really think that they’ll let you go without them?” She shook her head as she slipped the piece of Yin iron back into the qiankun pouch. “I’ll bet you a dozen bottles of Emperor’s Smile that they don’t.”
“But…but they’re not immortal!” A-Ying tugged on an end of the red ribbon trailing down the front of his chest, clearly upset about the thought of the younger disciples leaving the mountain—or more likely, never returning to it. “It’s too soon for them to leave!”
“I know.” She gave him a reassuring look. “You’re their father, even Lei Qiang’s.” He’d helped Lei Song raise the girl ever since Tao Niu had brought them back from the small village at the bottom of the mountain during one of his rare supply runs. “They’re not going to let you do something dangerous without them, so let’s…oh, let’s consider this an extended night hunt, shall we?” She nodded at the logic of that while Wei Wuxian sat in stunned silence. “That way you’re there to supervise them and have assistance, and will safely bring them back.” It was better than them sneaking away to help him and getting into trouble on their own.
It wasn’t always easy to tell with some disciples, if or when they’d leave, and that was the case with the current youngest ones. Lei Qiang would likely remain as long as her mother was alive, and there was her relationship with Wen Lai to consider, too. Wen Lai seemed content to learn as much as she could and showed no inclination to join the cultivation world, but she also possessed a strong need to heal others. Wen Sizhui was much like Wei Wuxian, even if they weren’t related by blood, that it probably would come down to which side won out: his need to learn everything and be with his family, or his desire to experience new things.
As always, all she could do was provide them knowledge and guidance, and leave the decision up to them.
That didn’t mean she had to stand by and do nothing while they rushed headfirst into danger from the need to protect a loved one (even if said loved one was an immortal).
Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes at her while he slumped even further in the chair. “Is this part of the whole ‘you have to take responsibility for your actions, A-Ying’ lecture? How much longer are you going to go on about that?”
She gave him a sickly-sweet smile as she slid her hands into the opposite sleeves of her grey robe. “Oh, I figure it’s good for several more centuries at least.” When he whined and hid his face with his hands, she laughed at his misery.
*******
Lan Wangji rose from the floor, where he’d been meditating in a lotus position when someone knocked on the door of the room he’d been provided. He smoothed down the white and grey robes that the servant, Yao Xui, had given him to wear while all of his were cleaned and mended, then opened the door to find Wen Lai on the other side of it. The young woman smiled at him in greeting, while the silver-furred feifei draped over her left shoulder yipped.
“How are you? You look better.”
“Mm.” Reminding himself of how kindly the young woman and her sect had treated him, he forced himself to speak some more. “I am better, thank you. The elixir worked very well.” The elixir she’d made for him had restored almost all of his drained spiritual energy; the Gusu Lan healers would give much to learn how to make it.
“Oh, good!” Her smile was an echo of Wei Wuxian’s, was so bright and warm, even though her features reminded him of Wen Qing. “I’m here to take you to dinner.”
“Thank you.” He bowed his head in appreciation and followed her when she began walking.
“I’m glad A-Xui was able to find robes that fit you, it must have been nice to have a hot bath and change into something clean.” He nodded in agreement as he fingered the well-woven linen and cotton of his borrowed robes. “I know after a long day of sword training or an arduous night hunt, I long for a nice soak!” She flashed a smile at him over her shoulder then continued talking, clearly not expecting him to answer.
“Auntie said that your sect doesn’t eat meat, so A-Huan, that’s Ding Huan, one of our cooks, prepared something appropriate for you.” When she noticed his slight frown, she shook her head. “Oh, don’t worry! We’re not vegetarians, but we don’t always eat meat, either. There’s plenty of fish in the streams and lakes on the mountain, and Dad and A-Yuan never object to a good pheasant hunt, but there’s not enough of us to bother with keeping more than a few chickens and some goats. That’s why Auntie will send one of her assistants down to the village for supplies now and then, or bring something back herself when she goes to look for a new disciple.”
Lan Wangji hummed at that bit of information, which made Wen Lai smile; she was a lovely young woman who reminded him of Wen Qionglin with her gentle nature. For most of the cultivation world, the Wen surname was one to be feared, envied, or reviled, yet Lan Wangji saw no reason to feel any of that with Baoshan Sanren’s disciple.
She seemed to possess the traits that Wen Qionglin had told him about that his branch of the Wen clan—the Dafan Wens—embraced: healing, learning, and balance with the world. If only the Dafan Wens were the main branch of the Wens, and not a tiny side branch held hostage by their leader.
As Wen Lai (‘please, call me A-Lai, everyone does’) led him to the main hall where everyone dined, she told him points of interest about the quaint village which made up Baoshan Sanren’s sanctuary. There were over a dozen houses for the famed immortal, her disciples—two of which were off in seclusion, and the people who supported them by providing food and services, along with other structures. Most of the servants had been born on the mountain, some of the offspring choosing to go off into the world and some to stay, but others were refugees who’d found shelter for various reasons. Lan Wangji supposed that it ensured that those who stayed found spouses to carry on the bloodline and brought new innovations to the community to help with farming.
There were about thirty people already gathered in the dining hall, some dressed in white and grey robes but others in darker colors more suitable for farming. Several called out greetings to Wen Lai, which she returned, while everyone eyed Lan Wangji with open curiosity. However, after a brief look, they turned away to resume their prior conversations.
Considering that they must rarely receive new people within their community, he was surprised at their restraint, surprised and grateful. Wen Lai led him to a table where her brother sat, along with Lei Qiang and her mother, Lei Song. He’d met the older woman earlier when she’d shown him to his temporary quarters; although she wasn’t a cultivator, there was a sense of peace and quiet power to her that reminded him of his brother.
Well, that reminded him of his brother before the disastrous end of the Sunshot Campaign.
Wen Lai tousled her brother’s hair in a manner reminiscent of Wei Wuxian before she sat between him and Lei Qiang, and laughed when he stuck his tongue out at her in return. Lei Song smiled in an indulgent manner at the two while her daughter giggled, and was kind enough to pour Lan Wangji a cup of tea.
“Dad and Auntie aren’t here yet?”
Lan Wangji nearly choked on his tea; he had yet to adjust hearing the famed Baoshan Sanren referred to as ‘Auntie’ by the young cultivators.
Something flickered over Lei Song’s plain features as her gaze lingered on her daughter. “They’ve been busy, but they should be here soon.”
“We told them that we could help with whatever they’re doing.” Lei Qiang pouted until Wen Lai nudged her in the side. “How else are we going to learn if they don’t let us?”
“I’m sure they will, they probably—” Wen Sizhui smiled as he stared at something behind Lan Wangji. “There they are.”
He felt a brush of power before Wei Wuxian sat on the bench next to him, with Baoshan Sanren on the man’s other side. “Ah, I’m starving! Planning things always makes me hungry!”
As if their arrival had been a signal, platters of food were brought out so dinner could begin: crispy tofu stir-fry, braised tofu, noodles in broth with vegetables, and various dumplings. There was also wine; he frowned when Wei Wuxian poured the liquor not only for himself but for the young disciples, even Wen Sizhui. The immortal must have noticed his disapproval since he chuckled and placed a large piece of braised tofu in Lan Wangji’s bowl. “Aiya, don’t look like that, he’s only allowed three cups. I don’t see the point in denying it to him, though, not when he’s growing up so fast, and would rather he drink with family than sneaks off to get drunk.”
“This isn’t Cloud Recesses,” Baoshan Sanren reminded him, which made Lan Wangji bow his head in acknowledgment.
“What are you planning?” Lei Qiang asked after she swallowed a mouthful of wine. “Did you figure out what to do with the Yin iron already?”
Wei Wuxian and Baoshan Sanren glanced at each other while Lei Song set her chopsticks down; the foxlike feifei let out a quiet ‘yip’ and leaped from Wen Lai’s shoulder to curl up on the woman’s lap, where it rubbed against her sternum until Lei Song began to pet it.
“Oh dear, that’s not a good sign,” Wen Lai said as she set aside her chopsticks, too. “Dad? Auntie?” The anxious expression on her face was echoed on her brother’s and Lei Qiang’s as well.
“I guess we’re getting to this sooner rather than later.” Wei Wuxian sighed as he poured more wine into Baoshan Sanren’s and then his cup; he slumped once that was done, his body a source of powerful qi and heat that was much too close to Lan Wangji’s. Yet Lan Wangji didn’t move or push him away, didn’t insist on space between them. No, for some reason he felt the unfathomable urge to shift the tiniest bit closer…
Had some wine splashed into his teacup?
“What? What is it?”
“You know that Lan Wangji will be leaving us shortly,” Baoshan Sanren said, which made Lan Wangji focus on something other than the insanely distracting cultivator next to him. The insanely distracting immortal cultivator he’d never see again, which was for the best, really.
“Yes,” Lei Qiang replied, annoyance plain on her face; Uncle would have much t
two pieces i posted on twitter recently, from twanderingheart’s Superhero Au!! it’s on ao3 here!! really fun read!!!!!
I wasn’t able to do a lot of art due to the end of the semester, so it was really fun to do a really rendered piece and a fun flat style as well. I feel nostalgic for the young justice days of my youth LMAO.. im grateful it taught me to draw a halfway decent domino mask
