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The child’s screams were shrill and raw. Jiang Cheng had a migraine that thumped hotly between his ears and he could barely hold on to the three year old squirming and shrieking in his arms. He was this close to just plopping Jin Ling into the shallow lotus pond that was right beside them. He thought briefly that paddling in some cool water could shut him up.
Disciples of the Jin sect were sending him concerned looks as he grappled weakly with their sect leader’s grandson. Jin Ling’s bright yellow robes were as good as turned inside out as the baby flung himself around in Jiang Cheng’s arms, squealing himself hoarse.
“A-Ling...A-Ling ,” he practically begged his nephew, attempting to at least keep the child upright as he was now trying to bite down on the purple sash tied around his waist.
It had only been three weeks since he’d seen him last but he seemed to have gotten a lot stronger in that time, his little arms and legs thicker than before.
After spending all day travelling to Lanling, the last thing Jiang Cheng had expected was being burdened with a child that had apparently been tantruming since waking up. Jiang Cheng tried everything he could when he first arrived: cooing at him, shouting at him, even distracting him with a little show of purple sparks with the help of Zidian.
After Jin Ling had picked up a tea cup and flung it as hard as his pudgy little arm could, Jiang Cheng had had to carry the little boy crying out of Glamour Hall where they’d all taken dinner. Jin Guangyao had offered to do it himself but Jiang Cheng stubbornly told him no, his tone of voice seemingly only making Jin Ling cry harder.
All the sect leaders had been called to Jinlintai for a conference regarding the genocide of the Yueyang Chang Clan. A youth had already been turned in by a renowned wandering cultivator, Xiao Xingchen, and was now awaiting his punishment in the Jinlintai dungeons. Jiang Cheng didn’t understand why a conference needed to be called when the culprit had already been caught.
“Execute the criminal and be done with it,” is what he’d hastily told the Jin Sect messenger upon receiving the invitation to Lanling. Unfortunately, the messenger explained that it was vital for every sect leader to come and discuss the situation and he was to leave with no delay.
Fortunately, the conference was only due to begin tomorrow, so Jin Ling’s little spectacle inside the Glamour Hall hadn’t been in the presence of every single influential person of the cultivation world. Jin Guangyao and the other Jin sect disciples simply looked on pityingly as Jiang Cheng attempted to console his nephew.
However, that had been ten minutes ago, and Jiang Cheng was still no closer to calming down the young boy. Jin Ling had a vice-like grip on the front of Jiang Cheng’s robes and was seconds away from destroying the material when a voice as smooth and as refreshing as water sounded from behind him.
“Jin Rulan, if you’re not careful, you will rip your jiujiu’s robes.”
When Jiang Cheng whipped around to see who it was, Jin Ling had already peaked curiously over his shoulder at the intruder, his cries dying down slightly.
A tall, slender man in elegant white robes approached the two of them with his hands delicately folded together in front of him. His smile was serene as he took in the scene before him, his calm demeanour somehow soothing the distraught Jin Ling.
“Zewu-Jun,” Jiang Cheng greeted the older man, a hint of gratitude in his expression as he began to bounce the little child in his arms.
Jin Ling stared with wide eyes at Lan Xichen, one chubby hand reaching out toward him. “Gege,” the baby said quietly, his squirming all but ceasing as Lan Xichen reached up to hold his tiny little fist inside of his extremely large hand.
“It is time to be silent, Jin Ling,” Zewu-Jun told him firmly. There was something in his tone that made both Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng shut their mouths instantly, both sets of eyes trained on the man’s angular and handsome face.
“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Xichen finally said in greeting, his expression warm and understanding as their gazes met. It made Jiang Cheng shiver. “What a happy coincidence I could run into you and Jin Ling both upon my arrival today.”
So, Lan Xichen had only just arrived. It made sense once Jiang Cheng finally took a proper look at him. His hair, while still pin straight and perfect, looked ever so mildly windswept and the very ends of his fingertips were pink from the biting cold of high altitude sword flight.
Something else that caught his attention was the way his robes looked a little bit unkempt around his neck. The Lan sect were known for sometimes wearing more than three layers of clothing but Jiang Cheng could swear he saw a peak of the top of Lan Xichen’s pale chest where those multiple layers had come slightly loose.
Lan Xichen cottoned on to what Jiang Cheng had been looking at and he smiled sheepishly, tugging his robes closed where they’d opened up. “Apologies for my dishevelment, I ran into a rather bothersome ghoul on my journey from Gusu and didn’t stop to tidy myself up.”
Jiang Cheng shook his head instantly, attempting to reassure the other sect leader but, ultimately, just coming across as slightly brutish in his response. Jin Ling yawned quietly and, finally, rested his head on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. He reached up to touch the back of his nephew’s head softly, stroking his dark hair a few times.
“I think it’s someone’s bed time,” Lan Xichen commented, still smiling that infuriatingly soothing smile. “Sect Leader Jiang, I will see you tomorrow at the conference?”
The purity and genuine hope in the man’s voice was enough to make Jiang Cheng pause for just a beat too long before answering. “Yes. Conference.”
Jiang Cheng cursed to himself as he watched the retreating back of Lan Xichen who seemed to waft across the courtyard like a petal blowing in the wind. Since when was speaking to Zewu-Jun so difficult? And why, as he tucked himself into his bed that night, was he fixating on that tiny sliver of exposed skin?
-
The first day of the conference, although infuriating and emotional in content, passed quite quickly. Jiang Cheng’s stance on the matter was perfectly clear and he didn’t budge from his position. The person who murdered an entire clan should be put down just as violently. Nie Mingjue, fortunately, was on his side as well.
Lan Xichen agreed with their sentiments, although was far more gentle worded in the delivery of his opinion. Jiang Cheng felt rather aggrieved by how he was pandering to Jin Guangyao and Jin Guangshan’s reservations regarding the situation, though. He allowed Nie Mingjue to fight on both of their behalves, preferring to sit back for the rest of the conference after voicing his own judgement.
Once the meeting was adjourned, several of the sect leaders and their right hands made their way to a special pavilion near the Glamour Hall that had been erected years ago by Jin Guangshan. The flooring was a deep lacquered wood and the curtains that framed the plush divans were luxurious. This pavilion was built specifically for cultivators to drink and relax and, apparently, be served by female servants wearing thin yellow robes that glittered beneath the candlelight.
As one of the servants served Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang their pots of wine, she had also brushed her fingertips over his shoulders. Jiang Cheng felt extremely uncomfortable and Nie Huaisang apparently could sense as much so he boldly dismissed the server, telling her they had everything they needed already and would call on her should they want more alcohol.
The two of them began to drink together, something they had never quite given up on since their youth. If Jiang Cheng was with Nie Huaisang, Jiang Cheng would be drinking. It was nice to have a friend like him, who wouldn’t question him when he goes silent and introspective and wouldn’t judge him when he behaves wildly either.
After only a couple cups of wine, the last person Jiang Cheng expected to see inside this pavilion walked into it. Lan Xichen stood out like a white lily among a field of weeds, emanating an aura that caused several cultivators to turn their heads curiously upon sensing his entrance.
To Jiang Cheng’s surprise, Nie Huaisang waved over Lan Xichen enthusiastically.
“Xichen-xiong! Come sit here with Jiang Cheng and I,” he called, happily patting the free spot beside them both.
When Lan Xichen saw them, his eyes seemed to brighten and he nodded politely. When he came over he sat himself down and crossed his legs elegantly, placing his sword down gently at his feet.
“Sect Leader Jiang, Huaisang,” he greeted, looking all too pleased to see them both.
Jiang Cheng didn’t realise he was staring at him until Lan Xichen began to stare back. “Is there something on my face, Sect Leader Jiang?”
“No! No,” he panicked as he spoke. He turned away and lifted his cup to his mouth again although it had probably been the wine’s fault that he had been staring in the first place.
Nie Huaisang looked between the two of them, eyes shifting curiously, but then decided to move on rather quickly, “Xichen-xiong, how is it back in Cloud Recesses? I haven’t seen you since the last conference.”
“Things are well, thank you,” Lan Xichen responded amicably, looking like he was glad to be talking about anything that wasn’t to do with the day’s conference. “I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with our youngest clan members, teaching them basic manners, sect rules, and such.”
Of course he was a natural when it came to children. He had displayed his proficiency in that area rather well yesterday when he’d calmed down Jin Ling.
“And what about Wangji-xiong? Is he well?” Nie Huaisang asked, a little bit hesitant to ask.
Jiang Cheng paid rapt attention to the way Lan Xichen’s serene expression seemed to flicker darkly for a moment. “Wangji is...recovering well.”
A silence fell over their table for a few moments while the three of them absorbed what had been said. It was no secret how Lan Wangji had been punished after the bloodbath at Nightless City, at least, it was no secret among sect leaders and those in the top ranks of their sects. The pain of a discipline whip was no joke.
Jiang Cheng thought bitterly about his experience with the discipline whip and one of his hands came up to involuntarily stroke his own chest. Lan Xichen seemed to catch that movement as he was looking at Jiang Cheng with an indecipherable expression. Nie Huaisang cleared his throat, drinking a cup of wine quickly.
After that awkward moment, the conversation flowed as normal. Nie Huaisang chatted endlessly about rumours he had heard or poems he had recently learned while Lan Xichen responded kindly and often-times, to Jiang Cheng’s surprise, quite wittily. He found himself chuckling more than once at some of Zewu-Jun’s comments.
Before long, Jiang Cheng had finished just over half of his pot of wine and had decided to stop for the night. The final discussion of the conference was due to happen the next day and it wouldn’t do to be hungover for that.
Nie Huaisang, however, had finished his entire pot and was on the verge of asking for another when he accidentally spilled his last full cup all over Lan Xichen. The drunken Nie boy was wailing his apologies, using the sleeve of his green robes to dab at the older man’s drenched front.
“Never mind, Huaisang, never mind, it was an accident,” Zewu-Jun appeased him, searching around them and their table for something to help remove some of the moisture from the front of his robes.
Jiang Cheng pulled a purple handkerchief out from one of his sleeves, something he’d begun to carry around at all times just in case Jin Ling made a mess. He passed it quickly to Lan Xichen who smiled graciously back at him before he began to dab at the front of his robes. They were so soaked through with wine that they had formed to the shape of his body.
Lan Xichen’s body looked to be far more muscular than his usual appearance would suggest. While appearing quite slender from an outward perspective, the way those three thick layers of robes still managed to cling tightly to the curve of his chest was entirely too telling of the man’s actual size and stature. Jiang Cheng’s mouth had gone extremely dry as it hung open, staring heatedly at his upper torso.
Their table had gone silent again and by the time Jiang Cheng had snapped back to his own mind, it was entirely too late. Lan Xichen was looking at him curiously and Nie Huaisang had already whipped out his fan and was hiding his mouth behind it.
Jiang Cheng, having just been caught staring open-mouthed at the Lan sect leader’s chest, went red and spluttered out, “I’m...going to visit the hot springs for a bath. And then go to bed. Um. Goodbye.” He stood up, trying hard not to scramble and move instead with the decorum that a sect leader should have. He looked down at the two of them one last time and when he met eyes with Lan Xichen, he swore he saw a hint of amusement dancing in the man’s caramel corneas. “Goodbye!”
Jiang Cheng left in a hurry, stumbling only a little bit as he left. He attempted to shake off the effects of the wine but to no avail, still feeling warm under the collar by the time he’d reached his bedroom. He sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands, groaning loudly to himself.
Why would he stare! Jiang Wanyin, you fool! Lan Xichen was probably discussing how strange he had been acting with a drunken Nie Huaisang right about now. It was enough to make Jiang Cheng’s face go bright red.
He tried to breathe through his own embarrassment as he undressed rather sloppily. The Jin sect had far too much money apparently and had provided him with his very own personalised bathing robe that had embroidered over the heart the Jiang Sect lotus flower, however that ostentatious yellow peony of theirs was also embroidered onto the fabric on the backside. He placed his silver hair piece gently on top of his desk so that he might not lose it in the ridiculously large Jinlintai hot springs, like he had done many times before.
What he definitely needed now was a long soak in the hot water. The bath would hopefully work in his favour to cleanse his mind of everything he had thought while staring at Lan Xichen’s chest, to undo the stress of the day’s discussions and to sober himself up just enough so he could perhaps quietly visit Jin Ling while he slept.
Just as he was preparing to leave his room, a quiet knock sounded on his door and he angrily huffed as he stepped into a pair of shoes. He flung open his doors, ready to turn away whatever servant or visitor that had come to his room so late, but was instead dumbstruck by who he saw.
Lan Xichen, hair down but forehead ribbon still in place, stood in front of him with a small smile on his face. He had on his very own personalised Lanling Jin Sect bath robe, a blue orchid over the heart. “Sect Leader Jiang, you said you would be visiting the hot springs,” he recalled politely from their conversation in the pavilion. “I was planning on bathing as well so I thought I would accompany you.”
Jiang Cheng was at a loss for words. Lan Xichen was exactly the person he had hoped to avoid for the rest of the night, or perhaps even for the rest of his stay in Jinlintai. However that didn’t stop him from nodding and stepping out of his room to join the older sect leader.
The two of them walked in silence to the hot springs that were situated rather far away from the residential area. Lan Xichen seemed rather comfortable with the silence, his facial muscles not changing once from their neutral, serene expression. Jiang Cheng, however, was a fidgeting mess. By the time they arrived in the hot springs he had already pulled almost all of his hair out of the bun on the crown of his head.
The Jin sect had constructed a rather impressive bamboo structure around the natural spa. The hot springs had several different stone pools, all with their own pergolas to protect them from the elements. Near the entrance to the dimly lit area was an exquisite woven basket with various soaps and bathing supplies inside of it. Jiang Cheng watched as Lan Xichen plucked out a plain scented soap.
The stone paths were quite slippery leading up to each pool as steam was billowing from various piles of hot coals. The visibility was limited due to this so it was almost impossible to make out the faces of the other people visiting the hot springs. Jiang Cheng walked to the hot spring furthest away from the occupied ones, not liking to dilly dally and bathe around people he didn’t know.
Lan Xichen followed him up the slight hill silently and Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but think about how regal he was, even when he didn’t say anything at all.
The pool he had chosen had a little waterfall splashing into it, no doubt meaning it would be much cooler than the rest of the pools, but it was a small price to pay for more privacy.
Finally, it came time to disrobe and, without sparing a moment to think or fret, he simply untied his robe and draped it over the bench beside the pool. He descended into the water immediately, untying his hair as he went, the long silky strands falling over his shoulders. Jiang Cheng didn’t turn around despite hearing another body get into the water behind him.
It was silent for a few moments before he heard the water behind splash a bit more vigorously. That’s when the sect leader finally decided to turn around and what he came face to face with was...nothing. The surface of the water was shrouded in steam and the faint golden light of the lantern hanging from the pergola wasn’t shining onto any person. Where had he disappeared to?
All of a sudden, as he thought this, there was another splash of water and Lan Xichen’s head began to emerge from the surface of the pool. His long black hair was now slick with water, the forehead ribbon’s cloud pendant somehow still glistening in the dim light of the lantern.
Water droplets clung to the high points of Lan Xichen’s face as if they were refusing to let go of his cheekbones and his eyelashes, desperately hanging on to the gentle curve of his cupid’s bow and the upward slope of his eyebrows. The more of him that surfaced, the more Jiang Cheng’s own body began to seize up.
Zewu-Jun’s shoulders were broad and blocked out whatever view Jiang Cheng had previously had of the waterfall behind him. The muscles of his bare chest looked like they were straining behind his flawless skin. His pecs curved enticingly away from his body and then dipped back down just below his pair of delicate dusty pink buds.
Jiang Cheng didn’t realise it but the further Lan Xichen rose up out of the water, after having dunked his head underneath it, the further down he was sinking. Before he knew it, he had water up to his nostrils and when he tried to take a breath he ended up sputtering and coughing as he resurfaced. His eyes began to water and he scrubbed angrily at his face, feeling white hot shame crawl up the back of his neck.
“Is everything okay?” came that same awful, wicked, alluring, beautifully serene voice that had been taunting him for two days now.
Jiang Cheng uncovered his eyes and was shocked to see Lan Xichen had swum closer to him, still a foot or so taller than him as Jiang Cheng tried his best to disappear under the surface of the water. “Just...breathed in wrong.”
How ridiculous that excuse was. How ridiculous he felt. He could no longer show his face so he too disappeared beneath the surface of the water for a moment, letting the heat warm up every part of his body and the water saturate every pore on his skin. He stayed under for quite a while. Perhaps if he were to drown he wouldn’t have to face Lan Xichen and his perfect chest ever again.
Unfortunately, his lung capacity wasn’t quite what it used to be so he finally had to resurface, bringing with it a mop of messy black hair. He pushed the wet strands out of his eyes while scrubbing at his face. Once again, upon opening his eyes he was met with the sight of Lan Xichen. Although now, he was rubbing that scentless soap over his arms and neck and, indeed, his chest.
Now, along with the droplets of water, suds began to mingle on his skin, filling the little dips of his clavicle and falling down the length of his strong arms. Lan Xichen, once again, caught him staring, and held out the soap to Jiang Cheng. “I noticed you did not bring any with you,” he offered with a smile on his face.
If Jiang Cheng’s skin hadn’t been as thick as it was, at this point he would be wailing almost as loud as Jin Ling had been yesterday. The frustration within him was enough to make him want to scream
His fingers tingled as his eyes flitted between the other’s face and his tantalising pectoral muscles. He would give up Sandu to touch his chest, he thought bitterly. The thought couldn’t even be called an exaggeration because at this point it was so terribly true.
Lan Xichen was still holding the soap out to him and Jiang Cheng reached out to take it miserably, not wanting to appear rude or as someone with bad hygiene practices.
“Thank you, Zewu-Jun,” he murmured, beginning to lather up the soap between his hands slowly, bobbing gently up and down in the water as a way to fidget.
Lan Xichen smiled again, the widest he’d smiled at him all day. “You may call me by my name if you prefer.”
Jiang Cheng hadn’t been expecting that. A soft smile of his own crept onto his face and he nodded. “Okay...Lan Xichen.” He was still lathering the soap between his hands, the suds building up between his knuckles.
Shaking his head, Zewu-Jun moved closer to him. “Lan Huan.”
His eyes widened and Jiang Cheng dropped the soap into the water.
“Oh dear,” Lan Xichen commented, smirking as he not so subtly looked down into the water between them.
Jiang Cheng, totally overwhelmed, splashed a little bit where he stood and then swam vigorously past Lan Xichen toward the steps out of the pool. Not only had he lost the soap but Lan Xichen had been moments away from seeing his semi-hard member bobbing between them in the water.
Jiang Cheng quickly climbed out of the pool and whipped the bath robe around his soaking wet body, covering up instantly. Lan Xichen watched him calmly without moving an inch, not giving away anything with his expression.
Jiang Cheng panted and pushed his sopping wet hair out of his face, looking anywhere but at the naked man in the hot springs. “I-I just remembered I had to...tell Huaisang something urgent,” he said cooly, clearing his throat after his voice had wavered a bit. “Goodbye.”
“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Xichen called gently once Jiang Cheng had taken two steps away toward freedom.
“Mn?” he asked, only half turning back to acknowledge him.
“That bath robe…” he began, trailing off immediately when he saw Jiang Cheng’s eyes widen.
When the sect leader looked down, he balked. Indeed the robes he wore were just a little bit too large for him and, there, embroidered obviously over the heart, was a blue orchid.
This realisation sent a wave of embarrassment through him, not dissimilar to anything else he’d felt throughout the day. He couldn’t very well undress now, though, could he?
Jiang Cheng, not quite knowing what to do, spun on his heel and took off. He swore he heard a light chuckle coming from the pool behind him.
-
All the sect leaders were meant to be gathering for another meeting but the day after the first discussion, Jin Guangshan had called it off for another twenty-four hours due to ‘personal reasons’.
Jiang Cheng knew exactly what those ‘personal reasons’ were. He had unfortunately ran into the heavily intoxicated Sect Leader Jin while he was returning to his quarters after his stint in the hot springs. He looked worse for wear, taking nearly four female servants back to his quarters, three of them looking like they were struggling to even hold him upright.
Bitterly, Jiang Cheng assumed that those ‘personal’ issues had something to do with him being far too sickly to stand today.
So, with nothing else to do, Jiang Cheng spent most of the day with his nephew, relieving the Jin sect’s personal servants as well as Madam Jin of their duties for a while. They had breakfast and lunch together, went for walks around Jinlintai, but mostly they played in Jin Ling’s room.
“ Jiujiu! Jiujiu fun, fun,” Jin Ling would squeal happily whenever Jiang Cheng tickled him or lifted him up off the floor and swung him around.
Eventually, when Jiujiu got tired he laid down on his back and let Jin Ling crawl all over him, allowing his nephew to fiddle with his hair, his robes, his fingers. He was just happy to see the young boy in high spirits again, the smile on his face addicting.
Jiang Cheng even spent a while singing to him, very pleased with the way Jin Ling swayed from side to side as he did. The soft look in Jin Ling’s eyes as he sang made Jiang Cheng think of his sister and when he would sing for her when they were children.
Upon starting his fourth song of the afternoon, Jin Ling had curled up in his lap, one chubby fist raised to his mouth, and was moments from dozing off. Jiang Cheng continued to sing quietly, rocking the baby back and forth until he was sleeping sweetly in his arms.
Jin Ling’s naps would usually last around half an hour and then it would be dinner time, so until then, Jiang Cheng really did have nothing left to do. He went out for another walk, wondering if he might find Huaisang to coerce him into having dinner with him and his nephew later.
As bad luck would have it, it wasn’t Huaisang who he ran into first but instead an argument. However, the ones arguing hadn’t seemed to notice his proximity so he hung back around the corner. The ones arguing must have been standing outside the Blooming Garden residence.
The voices were unmistakably those of Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen.
“I expected this level of distrust from Da-ge. But not from you, Xichen.”
“A-Yao. Please, do not associate our personal relations with political ones. You already have my trust, I am only hoping that I also have yours.”
A beat of silence followed and Jiang Cheng felt the need to hold his breath.
“Then trust me when I tell you that whatever decision is made tomorrow, the Lanling Jin Sect will follow through with it. There is no need for interference from other sects.”
“A-yao-”
“ Er-ge . I am afraid I must see to my duties for this evening.”
Jiang Cheng was quick to move behind a pillar when he heard footsteps coming in his direction. He carefully and quietly watched Jin Guangyao walk hurriedly toward Glamour Hall, not looking back once. Jiang Cheng stepped out from behind the pillar and watched him go for a few moments, unsure how to feel about what he’d just heard.
“Sect Leader Jiang.”
Jiang Cheng started with a silent gasp and spun to face the sudden voice. Of course it was Lan Xichen, looking just as polite as ever, only this time his expression was more weary. He stepped closer to the younger sect leader.
“Apologies if we were speaking too loudly,” Lan Xichen said with a bow of his head. Trust Zewu-Jun to be someone that apologises for being eavesdropped on.
“Is everything alright?” Jiang Cheng asked with a frown, concerned by the exhaustion on Lan Xichen’s face.
“Mn,” the older replied, lifting one hand to push a strand of hair out of his light brown eyes. “We will be putting the situation to a vote tomorrow and I am sure the outcome will be agreeable to everyone that made it to the conference.”
Jiang Cheng pressed his lips together and nodded, unsure what else to say to the man about it. He had learned recently that sometimes it was better to hold one’s tongue than to argue the same point twice. He had said his piece on the first day of the conference and he believed that to be enough.
“Would Sect Leader Jiang care to join me for dinner?” Lan Xichen asked out of the blue.
The shock must have been clear on Jiang Cheng’s face because the older man’s polite and genuine smile seemed to ever so slightly grow dimmer after Jiang Cheng didn’t answer right away. He was quick to respond once he noticed that.
“I’m actually taking dinner with A-Ling tonight,” he stated, pausing before tacking on, “If you wish to join us though, that would be...If you wish to join us you are welcome.” He stammered through his words, not sure why he felt so flushed all of a sudden.
The smile was quick to return to Lan Xichen’s face, brightening up his entire demeanour. “I would be honoured to join you and Jin Ling.”
And so it was said, so it must be done. An hour later, Jiang Cheng found himself sitting at the small square table in Jin Ling’s bedroom with both his nephew and Sect Leader Lan. The first thing Lan Xichen had said to Jin Ling when they’d sat down was, “No speaking during meals.”
Jiang Cheng watched in awe as the toddler did as he was told, simply munching on his favourite vegetables and drinking his water quietly. He’d never been able to get him to behave like that.
“You are very good with children,” Jiang Cheng said, practically awestruck as he held his own chopsticks loosely in his hand.
Lan Xichen didn’t respond but instead looked pointedly at the food and then back at Jiang Cheng. It took a moment for him to realise that he couldn’t speak during meals either. He blushed hard upon realising and that somehow put an amused smile on Lan Xichen’s face.
Jiang Cheng wanted to grumble angrily. He was a sect leader too, he could do as he pleased during meals, but there was something in the way Lan Xichen had said those words to Jin Ling earlier that made them sound unquestionable.
So, the three of them ate their meals in companionable silence. Jiang Cheng rather liked it. While he was used to eating his meals in silence that was only because he would often eat alone in Lotus Pier. To have people quietly eating beside him now was pleasant. More than pleasant.
Once Lan Xichen had put his chopsticks down and picked up his cup of water, Jiang Cheng finally took that opportunity to speak again, not sure what came over him to want to bring up the night before. “Zewu-Jun, allow me to return your bath robe to you later this evening.”
Lan Xichen put his cup down and turned to him, eyes boring into Jiang Cheng’s with an intensity he wasn’t sure he’d seen before from the older man. “Sect Leader Jiang, did you forget what I asked of you last night?”
Jiang Cheng blinked, confused, and then finally came to terms with what he was saying. “Oh...ah, yes, of course...Lan Huan,” he spoke the name delicately, insecurely, like he was still not sure if he was supposed to be using it.
Lan Xichen’s smile grew exponentially and he nodded, looking pleased. “I will also return your bath robe to you, Sect Leader Jiang,” he responded kindly.
“Jiang Cheng.”
Lan Xichen’s smile was replaced by a look of genuine surprise.
“Please. Call me by my name too...if you wish to.”
“Jiang Cheng!” came a voice from beside him and when the two adults looked over, Jin Ling was grinning widely up at his uncle, having just called him by his given name.
“Jin Rulan!” he scolded him. The toddler knew exactly what not to call him, which meant he was being purposefully cheeky.
“Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng,” Jin Ling sang, swaying side to side in his little chair, looking very pleased with himself.
Lan Xichen was laughing quietly behind his sleeve while Jiang Cheng went to tickle his nephew’s sides, earning him a squeal of happiness and a prolonged cry of, “ Jiujiuuuuu !”
-
The final day of the conference was stressful for everyone involved. Strongs words were exchanged between Jin Guangshan and Nie Mingjue. Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao acted as mediators between the two of them, attempting to put out any fires that might have started in both of their hearts. Jiang Cheng was on the edge of his seat, teeth clenched for the whole discussion.
Sect Leader Yao, who sat at the desk beside him, kept trying to gossip with him behind his hand but Jiang Cheng had no interest in idle chatter or back-handed comments. The only time he engaged with the older man was when Sect Leader Yao had muttered, “It appears the venerable Zewu-Jun is much more of a pushover than he pretends to be.”
Jiang Cheng had snapped at him, none too quietly, “Sect Leader, if you don’t mind, I’m trying to listen to the discussion.” His terse words caused a few heads to turn toward the pair.
After releasing an indignant huff, Sect Leader Yao no longer attempted to chatter with him. If Jiang Cheng hadn’t been too busy glaring at Jin Guangyao as he once again backed up the opinion of his father, he would have noticed Lan Xichen looking at him softly.
Finally, the discussion ended after the majority voted for the execution of the murderer of the Chang Clan. Jiang Cheng hoped he would never have to think or hear of this ordeal ever again. Watching groups of men try and defend someone who had committed genocide had reminded him, once again, of the greed and lack of humanity in many high ranking members of the cultivation world.
He hoped to leave for Lotus Pier first thing the next morning. His request to bring Jin Ling back with him had been denied once again by Madam Jin. He was sure that that old lady didn’t like him. Perhaps next time he should bring flowers in an attempt to flatter her, seeing as he couldn’t seem to convince her with logic that he could take care of his own nephew for an extended period of time.
Nie Huaisang had requested for Jiang Cheng to join him for a drink in the pavilion once again and, with nothing left to do after packing up and eating his dinner, the sect leader made his way there. Only, when he arrived, aside from Jin Guangshan and a few of the other sect leader’s that were his age, the pavilion was empty.
Jiang Cheng sat down awkwardly at a separate table and waited for Nie Huaisang to join him. He felt silly sitting alone, half a room away from the Jin Sect Leader and his horde of horny followers. None of them looked his way once, though, and that was a relief greater than he could describe. If any of them spoke to him he was afraid he’d either say something rude or embarrassing.
Eventually, someone else entered the pavilion, sweeping the floor with their long, white robes. It wasn’t Nie Huaisang but Lan Xichen. Jiang Cheng stared at him as the older man walked over to join him at his table, smiling that same serene smile.
“Jiang Cheng,” he greeted sweetly once he’d sat down beside him, the name catching Jiang Cheng off guard and causing him to flush. “Did that Nie Huaisang invite you here too?”
“Mn,” he responded, suddenly incredibly distracted. It was impossible to focus on anything but the fact that Lan Xichen was wearing only two layers of clothing now. He must have changed since the meeting. The point where his neck disappeared into his robes was far far lower than usual. Even his collar bones were showing and in the shadow of the material he could see the gentle dip of where his pecs came together.
Jiang Cheng really tried his best not to stare for too long but it was a useless attempt. When his dark eyes finally drifted back up to Lan Xichen’s face, the older man was vehemently studying him.
“Ah...how interesting,” Lan Xichen commented. If Jiang Cheng wasn't mistaken, his voice was pitched far lower than normal. “So Nie Huaisang was correct after all.”
His words stumped Jiang Cheng. “He...what?”
“Nie Huaisang informed me over breakfast this morning that you have been...looking at me,” Lan Xichen murmured, leaning closer, and subsequently giving Jiang Cheng even more of an eyeful of his chest under those loose robes.
Jiang Cheng’s face became red with both humiliation and anger. “He! That little-”
He was about to swear the whole pavilion down with frustration at Nie Huaisang ratting him out but he was cut off by a large hand coming up to touch his lips. The action was so sudden and unexpected, Jiang Cheng simply stared with wide eyes at Zewu-Jun.
“He suggested that I come to the pavilion slightly less dressed than usual, to discern your response, indeed if you were to have a response at all,” he continued, as if Jiang Cheng hadn’t gotten worked up at all. Finally, the older’s hand dropped away from his lips and landed quite covertly on top of his knee beneath the table.
Jiang Cheng didn’t push his hand off, instead he just stared at his face and then weakly down at his chest again. The younger swallowed thickly, wanting to reach out and touch him back but wasn’t sure if he could. His mind was whirring with confusion.
Lan Xichen seemed to sense the tension in him and rubbed his large palm up his thigh slowly, inching closer and closer to his groin until eventually he was digging into the space between the very top of his thigh and his crotch with his fingers splayed out. “I wish you hadn’t run from me that evening in the hot springs,” he said quietly, smiling serenely yet again. “If you had stayed any longer I suspect I would have taken you right there.”
Jiang Cheng swallowed once again and looked down in a panic at the hand that was massaging that same spot slowly, feeling his length harden so fast it was making him dizzy. “Is...is this a joke? Did Nie Huaisang tell you to say this?” Jiang Cheng asked quietly, in pure disbelief that this was happening.
This situation wasn’t something that reality would have ever had in store for him and thus he was wary. He didn’t trust that someone like Lan Xichen would ever want him like that. He was breathing so hard he was scared he would alert the other table of his panic.
Lan Xichen’s face suddenly changed from flirtatious to rather serious and his hand moved from where it was pressing to his groin up to the side of Jiang Cheng’s neck. “This is absolutely not a joke. I would never joke about this.”
Jiang Cheng believed him instantly, almost too easily. It had been so long since he’d felt so comforted and assured by someone’s presence. He was still wary about the older men across the room from them and when he looked over out of paranoid habit, Lan Xichen’s hand moved from his neck to once again touch his knee.
“Jiang Cheng...if you want to touch me, all you need to do is ask,” Lan Xichen promised him, looking so genuine, so good.
“Can I please...” he began to ask in a croaky voice, a shaky hand lifting up to reach for his chest. An inch closer and he’d be able to feel those muscles that he’d been fixated on for days. However, before he got that sweet satisfaction, Lan Xichen’s fingers stopped his hand by clamping around his wrist.
“Not here,” he mumbled. “Come with me to my quarters.”
“Lan Huan,” was all he managed to say before he was being tugged to his feet and dragged out of the pavilion in a strong grip. Jiang Cheng had heard of the Lan disciples having extreme upper body strength and he’d definitely seen Lan Xichen display that strength during battle before but this was an entirely different experience, practically feeling like his arm was being wrenched out of its socket.
Jiang Cheng stared at the back of Lan Xichen’s head as they half ran through the corridors of Jinlintai, nothing on his mind except for his words. If you want to touch me...if you want to touch me...if you want to touch me…
Jiang Cheng’s ears were buzzing with anticipation and sweat was trickling down the planes of his back beneath his purple robes once they finally arrived at the doors to Lan Xichen’s room. The older man let go of Jiang Cheng’s wrist to slide them open and he walked in first, Jiang Cheng following after eagerly. None of the lights inside were on but Jiang Cheng could already tell that the space was larger than his own room.
Jin Guangyao had clearly provided Lan Xichen with the best room in Jinlintai that wasn’t occupied by any members of the Jin Sect. When Jiang Cheng saw the bathtub carved from white stone on the other side of the room, he walked over to it and ran his fingers over the edge of it slowly. If he had a bathtub in here, why had he come to the hot springs with Jiang Cheng?
The implications behind that question made the younger sect leader smile despite himself. The room brightened behind him as Lan Xichen lit one of the candles that was near his bedside and Jiang Cheng turned to look at his companion, his stomach swirling with nerves suddenly.
Now that they were here things felt almost too tangible, too real. Once Lan Xichen had finished with the candles, he removed half of the space between them with slow, even steps, eyes finally landing on Jiang Cheng and looking so infuriatingly patient. Jiang Cheng almost wished they were as dark as they had been earlier at the table inside the pavilion.
“I believe you were going to ask me a question,” Zewu-Jun prodded him, standing with his hands behind his back.
Jiang Cheng did his best to swallow his nerves and, finally, removed the remaining space between them. He moved so close that if either of them were to even breathe out too deeply their stomachs might touch, he moved so close that if he wished to he could blink and caress the older man’s cheeks with his eyelashes. Only now, his eyes were trained on the skin peeking out from between the folds of Lan Xichen’s robes under his Adam’s apple.
“Lan Huan...can I touch you, please?” he asked, voice more breath than words. It felt inappropriate to speak so loudly while he stood right beside him like this, he wondered if he moaned he’d be able to hear his own voice echoing back at him from the deep valley that he knew ran down the centre of Lan Xichen’s chest.
“Yes you can, Jiang Cheng,” came his low, gentle voice.
Before his given name had even completed it’s journey out of the older man’s lips, Jiang Cheng had rocked forward and buried his face into his neck, breathing in deeply. His hands curled into the front of both of Lan Xichen’s robes and tugged the material apart so suddenly that the ties at his waist came undone too. It was almost as if Zewu-Jun had barely tied them shut in the first place.
Once the other’s torso was showing, Jiang Cheng slid his face even further down, lip dragging over the hot skin there. He nuzzled in between the two mounds of muscle and soft skin on his chest and breathed out shakily, his hands now skirting around Lan Xichen’s slim waist while he basked in the feeling of his strong physique.
“Jiang Cheng,” Lan Xichen breathed out in surprise, his own hands sliding up the backs of Jiang cheng’s arms, fingertips eventually tickling at the nape of his neck just above his robes. “Jiang Cheng.”
The one who had been called was far too entranced with Lan Xichen’s upper body. Fingernails were trailing delicately over the muscles on Lan Xichen’s back while he turned his head and lightly licked over one of those dusty pink nipples, brain flooding with hormones at the exact same time. He laved at the little nub once more, wetting it well, and felt it grow hard against his bottom lip.
Lan Xichen, perfectly content to let Jiang Cheng do as he pleased, was busy undoing the other’s robes slowly and meticulously as his own were still hanging lopsided off of his shoulders and elbows. “Have you ever been penetrated before, Jiang Cheng?” he whispered against the top of Jiang Cheng’s head, nose bumping the bun that was holding all of his hair in place.
Despite the sudden bloom of blush on his cheeks and the way his breath hitched, Jiang Cheng made a soft affirmative noise against the older man’s nipple. It had been a while since his first time with a man, the experience clumsy and rushed but ultimately satisfying. Since then Jiang Cheng had been using his own fingers and various appropriately shaped items to fill himself quite often thus being no stranger to taking things back there.
Lan Xichen seemingly wasn’t satisfied with his answer, one of those large hands gripping his bun and roughly pulling his head back. Jiang Cheng whined as his head was forcibly tipped back, his wet needy mouth now on show to the other sect leader. Some of his hair came loose from the bun, falling in disheveled curtains around his face.
An electric current zapped between both sets of eyes upon meeting. This was the first time Jiang Cheng had seen Lan Xichen look anything but collected and serene, the Lan sect leader had his bottom lip clamped between his teeth and his cheeks were a gorgeous pink colour already. “Who?” he asked in a gravelly voice.
Jiang Cheng cocked his head sideways, too lustful and needy to comprehend such a vague question. He attempted to lean down and reattach his lips to Zewu-Jun’s chest but then his bun was tugged on again to force him to hold the other’s gaze. One of his hands desperately scrambled up the front of body and clawed at his chest, glad he could still touch it like this.
“Who were you taken by?” Lan Xichen asked more clearly, using his free hand to push Jiang Cheng’s robes off all the way until he was just standing in his underclothes, a simple pair of black trousers.
“A-A man I met in a tavern in Yiling. I...don’t recall his name,” Jiang Cheng admitted, knowing it would be foolish to lie to Lan Xichen. “It was years ago but I-” Interrupting his flow of speech, the older man had stepped one thigh in between Jiang Cheng’s legs and was pressing his clothed cock against his hip.
The sheer size and weight of it against him was enough to make Jiang Cheng nearly choke on his own spit, eyes widening. Although suddenly, a sharp sense of needing to prove himself took over the younger’s mind.
“Are you trying to intimidate me, Lan Huan?” he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off the other’s face as he trailed his fingers down his stomach. A very deliberate thumb brushed over where he could feel the tip of Lan Xichen’s long member stood at attention beneath his own white underclothes. “I could take two of these if I needed to.”
That pure vulgarity and cocky attitude seemed to be the last straw for Lan Xichen. With a great heave, the Lan sect leader had lifted Jiang Cheng off of his feet and practically hurled him across the room using his spiritual energy to guide him onto the bed which Jiang Cheng still hit with a thud.
Jiang Cheng gasped in surprise at the action, feeling the wind get knocked out of him slightly upon landing on the bed. All the time he had to refocus his senses was taken from him immediately as the now totally naked Lan Xichen was crawling over him and quickly removing his trousers for him.
The man in the tavern in Yiling hadn’t been a cultivator so when they’d lain together it had been slow and sort of weak. Now that Jiang Cheng could feel the spiritual energy radiating off of the man above him, excitement rippled through him like a wave and he couldn’t stop the moan that left his lips.
A pair of lips were pressed to his temple. “After I am done with you, you will have entirely forgotten about that man that once had the pleasure of being inside you. He’s nothing,” Lan Xichen whispered right into his ear, voice dark, “Say it.”
Jiang Cheng felt his skin prickle with goosebumps at the authority in his tone. “He’s nothing,” he responded obediently, suddenly feeling shy underneath the taller man, skin pink.
“Good,” Lan Xichen grumbled into the skin of his temple, attacking the flesh there with several delicate kisses. The older man seemed to be content with simply exploring him for a while, maneuvering Jiang Cheng’s legs up and hooking them around his hips while his lips continued to play with his ear and temple and down the curve of his jaw.
“Lan Huan,” Jiang Cheng whined, still feeling the effects of his sudden instruction throbbing inside of his heart and between his legs. “Can we…?”
The question trailed off pitifully yet Zewu-Jun seemed to have read his mind and accepted his request, lips finding Jiang Cheng’s in a split second. The two of them kissed deeply with Jiang Cheng’s entire body being pressed down onto the bed, each of his limbs feeling extremely weak.
Whether they had been kissing for a few moments or for an age, Jiang Cheng couldn’t tell. Lan Xichen had broken the connection between their mouths and was now trailing his lips down the column of Jiang Cheng’s neck. “A-Cheng, you’re shaking,” he mumbled gently against his Adam’s apple.
Jiang Cheng hadn’t realised but when he opened his eyes and looked at one of his hands that had previously been caressing Lan Xichen’s back. His fingers were indeed shaking and when he breathed out the sound trembled too.
“Did I say too much?” Lan Xichen asked, concern painting his voice but not letting that translate into his touches. Those long fingers were still caressing his skin delicately and he wasn’t removing any of the pressure that he pushed Jiang Cheng’s body down with.
Saying too much was, in fact, the opposite of the issue. Jiang Cheng almost felt like he was on the verge of jumping into a lake, that anticipation building and building and building. He needed that final push and maybe he’d begin to freefall. Whatever commanding energy Lan Xichen had used previously, Jiang Cheng needed it again.
“No. No, say, I...fuck.” Jiang Cheng’s first attempt of asking for more went so poorly he even swore out loud, never thinking he’d be swearing in front of Lan Xichen. The older man responded to the curse by biting down on Jiang Cheng’s neck.
“Speak clearly, don’t swear,” he told him, his voice rumbling against his throat and sending a shiver down Jiang Cheng’s spine.
The frustration with not knowing what exactly he wanted to say or do was building up in his stomach and he couldn’t help but let out that frustration by wiggling his legs and curling his fingers into tight fists on Lan Xichen’s shoulders. “Lan Huan,” he whined softly. He had never heard himself like this before.
Just as he started to wiggle around in frustration, Lan Xichen sighed and moved one of his hands between Jiang Cheng’s legs. He lightly cupped his length with his large palm and looked down at Jiang Cheng’s face calmly.
“Speak clearly,” he repeated himself, “Is this what you want? More or less?”
Jiang Cheng felt scrutinised by those dark sienna eyes but the question was simple enough for him to be able to respond properly. “More,” he moaned weakly, frowning deeply as he tried to understand exactly what it was he was feeling in his chest.
Lan Xichen’s hand flipped around to fully accommodate Jiang Cheng’s girth in his palm and stroked him passively while leaning over the younger’s body. Several moments passed where the two of them just locked eyes. It should have been awkward, Jiang Cheng should have turned away and got to work touching him back like he had done with his last partner, but he found himself spellbound.
Time trickled by both quickly and slowly between them, Lan Xichen’s hand moving delicately over his length. As if he were an engaging book, Lan Xichen gazed at him with deeply fascinated eyes; he read him cover to cover, inside and out. It was equal parts terrifying as it was electrifying and Jiang Cheng’s hands had to come up and grasp his biceps to try and battle against the soupy mess of emotion in his head.
Without realising it, in all the time Lan Xichen had been stroking his cock, Jiang Cheng had been whining lowly in the back of his throat and before long tears were pricking in the corners of his eyes. His legs began to violently shake, Lan Xichen’s voice soothing him as his grip tightened around his member.
“That’s it...good, that’s it. Come just like this for me,” he was murmuring under his breath and Jiang Cheng was about to protest, call him an idiot for thinking he was even close to finishing. They had barely done anything yet!
To his total surprise, though, his toes curled and he began to release thick, white ropes of his pleasure all over Lan Xichen’s fist and his own stomach.
How could this be? Jiang Cheng thought. It felt as if barely a moment had passed since they’d laid down. Upon closer inspection however, Lan Xichen’s forehead was dotted with beads of moisture, his neck and ears were red as if he’d been exerting himself. Even Jiang Cheng’s back was sticking to the sheets beneath him with his own sweat.
“Did you...did you drug me when you kissed me?” Jiang Cheng panted out his question, frowning. “I-I don’t normally…” Finish so quickly is how he wanted to end that sentence but couldn’t form the words with his cotton-mouth.
Lan Xichen simply chuckled and bent down to kiss him on the forehead. “I think you really needed that, A-Cheng.”
Jiang Cheng huffed and turned his head to the side while Lan Xichen began kissing at his face again, squirming when he felt his dirtied hand touch his ribcage. “Who said you could call me A-Cheng?” he argued with him for the sake of arguing, the name bringing a blush to his cheeks each time it was said.
“I decided for myself that I would call you A-Cheng,” Lan Xichen affirmed against his cheek, “If you want, you can call me Gege.”
Jiang Cheng started in outrage and pushed at his shoulders until he was sitting upright, frowning deeply at the older man. “Not a chance!” he nearly bellowed.
When he saw the look of amusement on Lan Xichen’s face he picked up the pillow from behind his head and went to hit him with it. His wrist got caught by the taller man and was pinned down roughly beside his head, making him drop the pillow somewhere off the edge of the bed.
“You know, Sect Leader Jiang, with how this started I was beginning to wonder if you’d lose all your usual banter in bed. I’m glad to see I was wrong,” he pointed out with an infuriating smirk.
“Why? Do you like it when the people you sleep with fight with you?” he asked reproachfully, suddenly very bitter at his own implication that Lan Xichen regularly slept with other people. In fact, he felt so bitterly about it that he arched his back and reached up with his free hand to pull the other down to his level by the nape of his neck.
Lan Xichen easily went down with him but didn’t kiss him just yet, instead he chuckled and bumped their noses together. “I like it when you try to fight me,” he informed him, his words making far too much sense.
Of course, Zewu-Jun never raised his voice unnecessarily or even argued without just cause, so Jiang Cheng throwing punches his way would almost always be met with a blank wall or a kindly smile. It was both maddening and charming.
After a moment, Lan Xichen finally seemed to realise that he was rubbing his semen-smeared hand up and down Jiang Cheng’s rib cage messily and he hummed when he looked down at it. “Messy,” he commented, lifting his hand to look at the substance sticking between his fingers and in the grooves of his palm.
Jiang Cheng groaned and looked away from the hand, suddenly flushing. “Don’t show me that, that’s disgusting,” the younger one complained, eyes trained on the ceiling above him.
“What do you mean? This is yours,” Lan Xichen told him as if he didn’t realise, forcing his head back down by gripping the underside of his chin with his clean hand. “It isn’t disgusting.”
To Jiang Cheng’s great alarm, Lan Xichen began to lick between his own fingers, eyes closing as he cleaned up the mess on his hand with his large tongue. “Don’t! Don’t do that, Xichen, that’s-that’s…” His cheeks were bright red and he wanted to hide himself or run away once again, wiggling where he was still being pinned to the bed by a rock-hard body.
Lan Xichen’s eyes flickered open and this time they were dark when they fell on Jiang Cheng. Then, once again to Jiang Cheng’s horror (and secret delight), he loomed over him and kissed him, his tongue pushing immediately past Jiang Cheng’s lips and invading his mouth. That musky, salty taste could only be one thing and Jiang Cheng moaned feebly, unable and perhaps also unwilling, to pull away.
This was filthier than anything he’d ever done before. His heart was hammering in his throat as he began to rock up against Lan Xichen’s abs a little bit, his member was hardening once again with every passing moment.
A slow exhale came from Lan Xichen’s nostrils as Jiang Cheng felt his legs being manhandled into a very scandalous position, his thighs pushed up toward his chest and pulled apart.
Jiang Cheng wasn’t extremely inflexible, one needed at least some semblance of bendiness to be able to cultivate with a sword, but that didn’t mean this position wasn’t putting a strain on his muscles. Either Lan Xichen didn’t know and couldn’t tell or he did know and was doing it very deliberately.
“Hold here,” the older instructed, placing Jiang Cheng’s hands underneath the crooks of his own legs, forcing him to hold himself in that incredibly revealing position. The other even got up off the bed!
“Where are you going?” Jiang Cheng asked in a flurry of words, immediately letting go of his knees and bringing his legs together. He sat up, suddenly acutely aware of how bare naked he was. Thankfully, Lan Xichen, who was looking for something on his desk, was in the same condition as him.
Jiang Cheng’s mouth dropped open when the older man turned back to him with a small pot in his hand and he immediately retracted his thought of him being ‘thankfully’ naked. He was, rather, extremely naked, boldly naked, tormentingly naked.
Now with a full view of him, totally unobscured, no steam or bath robes or any robes in sight, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but stare like he had never seen another human in his life. Only this human was beyond splendid, the words ‘beauty’ and ‘radiance’ were simply not sufficient to describe what he saw.
Lan Xichen was all long lines and soft angles. The circumference of his waist was perfectly proportioned to make his shoulders look as wide as possible without them being imposing. His pale, jade-like skin was stretched taut over the muscles in his stomach and thighs, giving him a look of subdued strength and acute agility.
Before Jiang Cheng’s eyes had even managed to properly take in the rest of him, Lan Xichen was crawling back onto the bed. “Did I not tell you to hold your legs?” he asked simply, opening up the pot of oil he’d brought over with deft hands.
“I wasn’t going to sit like that all alone,” he huffed indignantly, “So humiliating. You lie on your back with your legs spread and see how you li-li-aaaaahhhhh!” Before Jiang Cheng could even finish complaining, Lan Xichen had already pressed two long, cool fingers into his small opening, the angle wrong and far too tight. Jiang Cheng made to pull away, whining pitifully as one leg came up to try and accommodate for the intrusion.
“If you had done as I said, this would have been a lot more comfortable,” Lan Xichen calmly stated, earning him an exasperated ‘fuck you’ from under Jiang Cheng’s breath. Lan Xichen pushed those two fingers inside even further, harder, causing Jiang Cheng to cry out loudly and let his head fall back against the headboard with a thunk .
“Do not swear,” he was warned but Jiang Cheng simply continued to swear under his breath, finally pulling his knees back up to his chest and rolling his head from side to side. He was overwhelmed but so turned on at the same time.
It felt so much more intense with another person’s fingers inside and it only got more intense as Lan Xichen began to move those fingers. It was as if his digits were made of stone, cold and strong, with just enough oil coating them to make the drag against his pink rim almost painless.
“Lan Huan,” he got out through gritted teeth, reaching down between his legs with one hand to grip the wrist of the hand that was fingering him at a moderate, tantalising pace. He didn’t try to stop him, instead just followed the movements of his hand with his own fingers circled delicately around him. “More.”
That word seemed to be the golden word of the hour as the moment Lan Xichen heard it, he pushed away the younger sect leader’s hand and forced it to hold on to his knee like before. He then sped up the fingers that were burying themselves deeply inside of Jiang Cheng’s opening.
After a minute or two, Lan Xichen’s palm was slapping noisily against Jiang Cheng’s perineum, some of the oil seeping out of the gradually reddening hole and trickling down between his cheeks.
Jiang Cheng was squirming, back still damp with sweat but no longer sticking to the sheets as he was arching it and moving it constantly, his thighs tensing with every thrust inside.
“Look at me,” Lan Xichen breathed, teasing a third finger around the edges of his entrance gently, a promise for what was to come.
“N-N...can’t,” Jiang Cheng replied, his eyes bleary as they stared up at the ceiling, realising weakly that even if he stopped squirming right now his body would still continue to move with the strength of Lan Xichen’s two fingers alone.
Almost as if reading his thoughts, Lan Xichen stopped his ministrations instantly. He pulled out his fingers unceremoniously and let those three wet fingertips skirt around his rim as he waited. “Look at me, A-Cheng,” he repeated himself in a serious tone of voice.
Jiang Cheng had never felt so slighted in his life, eyes snapping down to look at Lan Xichen’s face unhappily. His cheeks were pink, the colour matching the same shade his hard length had turned, untouched since the last time he came but still leaking quite a fair bit of clear liquid. “What? What? You stopped?” he asked, appalled and horny and totally at a loss for what to do.
Lan Xichen watched him carefully and popped the tip of one finger inside of him. He then tugged on his rim unceremoniously which caused the younger to whimper, toes curling up. “Next time I ask something of you,” Lan Xichen began in a calm voice, his fingertip swirling inside of him, “You will do it without question.”
To most people, that tone of voice mixed with that domineering look meant there wouldn’t be an argument about whether or not you complied. Jiang Cheng, however, felt an unfamiliar sense of rebellion stir within him so he responded by turning his head to the side, making a point not to look at Lan Xichen. That simple act of disobedience was thrilling, his dick leaking even more clear fluid from it’s tip and his hole clenching with anticipation around the tip of Lan Xichen’s finger.
It was said that even the calmest stream could turn to rapids when faced with a storm and to Lan Xichen, Jiang Cheng’s misbehaviour seemed to be his version of a storm. His free hand swept up to grip Jiang Cheng by his jaw and he dragged his face back around so that they were eye to eye once more.
Something in the older man’s expression looked unhinged, a direct contrast to his usual serene and unbothered demeanour. A fury blazed in his eyes that made Jiang Cheng swallow thickly and want to pull his legs together.
In the next second, Lan Xichen was biting him, teeth digging into the skin of his shoulder. That was enough to distract Jiang Cheng from the older man actually removing his fingers from him entirely and replacing them with the blunt, wet tip of his cock. He only had enough time to let out a strangled, confused sound, one of pleasure and of pain, before Lan Xichen’s long, thick weapon was being sheathed inside of him.
“Ah! Ah, ah, ahhh, Lan Huan LanHuanLanHuan LanHuan ,” he babbled mindlessly, hands scrabbling to find purchase on his shoulders, stars bursting in his vision. “You-You’re a beast, couldn’t you have warned me?!” He didn’t understand how he was still forming proper sentences, all the thoughts in his head either screaming in ecstasy or wondering how something so big could fit somewhere so tight. “This is, oh, this is...too... oh , Lan Huan.”
“You’re very talkative when you’re being fucked,” Lan Xichen breathed against his neck once he was done biting his shoulder, the grit in his voice so unlike anything Jiang Cheng had heard coming from the older man’s throat before.
Jiang Cheng huffed angrily at the statement but couldn’t argue, knowing it to be true. He clung to him and whispered into his ear, a hint of a smile in his voice, “Zewu-Jun...do not swear.”
It was almost as if Jiang Cheng had been purposefully looking for a way to rile up the other man, and maybe he had been. Lan Xichen’s response to that was to push his thighs even further against his torso, bending him almost in half, and he began to piston his hips roughly.
The pace he set was instantly too fast for the younger man. Not only was it too fast, it was too rough, the crown of his head banging against the headboard on nearly every thrust. Jiang Cheng’s eyes rolled upwards and he was soon letting out tortured, stimulated wails that one would most likely be able to hear from three buildings down.
If there was anything to be said about Lan Xichen’s strength and sexual prowess, it would be that it was unyielding, unwavering, and unfathomably addicting. Despite the rapidly growing pain in his lower back and the tension building in his leg muscles, Jiang Cheng would simply break down and cry if the older man even thought about stopping or slowing down.
His hands lay at his sides uselessly, flopping around like steamed dough every time Lan Xichen’s big tool slammed inside of him. It felt as if his insides were slowly forming to the shape of his member, creating the perfect sized cavern for him to fill again and again and again.
One of his legs fell limp, his strength failing him and keeping him from being able to hold it to his body any longer. Lan Xichen, not slowing down at all, just pressed his fingers bruisingly to the underside of his thigh and held it in place for him.
Who knows how long they held that position for. Lan Xichen was beginning to sweat so much his forehead ribbon had come slightly loose. The end of the ribbon was dangling over his shoulder, intertwined with a few strands of his long black hair, and it began to tickle along the inside of Jiang Cheng’s calf.
When Jiang Cheng’s body tensed up and he began to come for the second time of the evening, he wasn’t sure exactly what set him off. It could have been that the most sacred part of the Lan sect’s uniform had just been so casually stroking his leg or it could have been that his member had been trapped between his stomach and thigh so tightly.
Lan Xichen was watching him with those deep brown eyes while he released his second load of seed; Jiang Cheng was unable to look away from him the whole time it was happening. “Lan Huan,” he gurgled, voice wrecked from the noise he had been making. “Have...have mercy.”
It seemed that mercy wasn’t on the cards for the night, Lan Xichen simply biting his shoulder again before he set off at another mind-blowingly quick pace. By this point, Jiang Cheng could feel how swollen and tender his rim was, the area going almost numb from overuse and overstimulation.
“Lan Xichen! Lan Huan,” he gasped, almost begging, “You fucking beast, I’m going to b-break your legs after this.”
That seemed to draw a deep chuckle from the older man, hips still whacking thoughtlessly and messily against Jiang Cheng’s poor backside. “If you still have strength enough to break my legs after this, I will allow it,” he purred tauntingly. His lips were swollen and wet from where they’d been biting roughly at Jiang Cheng’s shoulder and it took all of Jiang Cheng’s willpower not to melt right then and there and beg for a kiss. Instead, he just took one for himself.
Their mouths crashed together and it wasn’t long before their tongues were battling with one another. The distraction seemed to make Lan Xichen slow down his thrusts and Jiang Cheng was quite pleased with himself until he noticed that Lan Xichen had entirely stopped, choosing instead to focus on their mouths melting together. Jiang Cheng whined and rolled his hips, unhappy with this outcome.
Lan Xichen was panting and out of breath with his cock buried to the hilt inside of Jiang Cheng, thick and hot and unmoving. He kissed Jiang Cheng heatedly and gently all at once, his soft lips capturing each section of Jiang Cheng’s that he may have missed the first time they kissed. He even made sure to press his mouth to his chin and his nose and the shadow above his lip where his mustache would be if he could grow one.
“Lan Huan,” Jiang Cheng eventually said grumpily, wiggling his hips once again. It hadn’t been lost on him that the older man hadn’t come yet, meanwhile evidence of his own two orgasms were splayed out all over his stomach. “Do you not wish to finish? Am I boring you?”
Instead of his usual little chuckles, Lan Xichen actually broke away from his skin to laugh heartily, genuine happiness on his features. “Oh, A-Cheng, it’s in fact the opposite,” he told him, “I am just giving you a short break.”
Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure if that statement excited him or scared him. He looked up at the other man with trepidation in his eyes, feeling his body tingle where they were connected.
Lan Xichen straightened his back finally and gazed down at the sweaty boy below him. Suddenly, he was posing with his hands on his hips. “Is there something about my body that you particularly like, Jiang Cheng?”
The question knocked the wind out of him. Jiang Cheng felt like he’d been totally had, called out, exposed. It was infinitely more horrible of a question because he knew that Lan Xichen absolutely already knew the answer to it and it was as embarrassing as it was infuriating to know that he had cottoned on so soon.
“Why are you bringing it up now? You already have your dick inside of me, why does it matter what part of your body I particularly like? I like your dick. There,” Jiang Cheng rattled out his answer, tilting his head away slightly so he could blush furiously at the wall instead of directly into Lan Xichen’s knowing eyes.
“Look at me,” Lan Xichen said quietly.
This time, Jiang Cheng obeyed right away, a blush high on his cheek bones when their gazes met.
“Now look at me,” the Lan sect leader ordered much more sultrily, sitting back on his calves but keeping his weapon firmly tucked into Jiang Cheng’s puffy entrance.
So, Jiang Cheng did look. He scanned over the large hands that were holding his thighs in place and took careful note of the way the veins in his forearms were protruding, whether they did that all the time or just in situations like this one was yet to be determined. Finally, as the breath slowly left Jiang Cheng’s lungs, his eyes skirted over his broad, defined chest.
Something tugged needily in his stomach when he looked and, as if his body couldn’t physically control itself, he clenched weakly around the taller man’s girth. His mouth dropped open just a little bit. His plan had initially been to look at all of him, to not give away at all what part of Lan Xichen he liked the most and to keep the older man guessing.
However, he licked his lips when his eyes fell on the other’s nipples and he was unable to hide the little whine he let out when he noticed the way the light of the candles flickered over the hard, smooth curve of his pecs. If he had the time, he would spend hours simply tracing those curves with his tongue and lips.
Lan Xichen’s hand suddenly moved to cover his upper torso, making Jiang Cheng start in surprise, drawn out from his fantasy of licking the other’s chest. The younger man glowered at the older.
“Stop it,” he punched out, trying not to give away how aroused he’d become from only looking at his chest. Although, his lust for the older man was obvious in the way his poor spent cock had inflated just a little bit upon his inspection of his torso.
Lan Xichen looked to be quite pleased with himself, dropping his hand away and putting it on Jiang Cheng’s thigh instead. He patted it twice before he began pulling out of him. When Jiang Cheng saw his length it was wet and hard and red, and it looked rather painful.
Lan Xichen seemed to be breathing much harder than before, holding the base of his length as if he needed to to comfortably support the weight of it. “Since I now know about your infatuation with my chest-” Jiang Cheng scowled at him. “-would you like to know what my favourite part of your body is?”
The concept intrigued Jiang Cheng so he sat up gingerly, careful to avoid putting too much pressure on his used up entrance. He nodded in response to the question, waiting patiently for the anwer.
Lan Xichen grinned, much too widely and beautifully for Jiang Cheng to handle, and he leaned in to press their lips together chastely. “Every part,” he mumbled playfully.
That answer threw Jiang Cheng for a loop, unsure how on earth he’d managed to tumble into bed with someone who was as corny as he was sexy. He simply couldn’t let Lan Xichen get away with a comment so utterly trite and shameless so he scoffed and grabbed the older man by his shoulders and swung their bodies around in an incredible show of his strength.
Lan Xichen landed on his back with a thud and Jiang Cheng mounted him, kneeling on either side of his hips, all within the span of a couple seconds. “I can’t allow you to say such things without repentance,” he stated friskily, a rare smile blooming on his lips.
There was no response from Lan Xichen, he just stared up at him with his own mirroring smile. His large hands came to rest on Jiang Cheng’s hips, squeezing the soft flesh there gently. If there was something Jiang Cheng could be proud of it was that Zewu-Jun appeared to be breathing a little harsher.
“You needed to give me a break?” he asked incredulously, playing with him and chiding him like the brat he was, “I say it was you that needed the break, old man.” As he half-insulted him, Jiang Cheng sat up and reached behind his back to find the other’s length.
He was quick in angling it toward his hole and sat down on it like it was nothing, taking him in expertly and quickly. Lan Xichen filled him up so much and, at this new angle, it was forced into him even deeper than before. Jiang Cheng pretended like it didn’t affect him as much as it did, his chest and neck going pink, a sex flush taking over most of his upper torso.
“Jiang Cheng,” Lan Xichen purred, sitting up on his elbows and watching the younger get accustomed to his dick once more. His own brow was furrowed, Jiang Cheng so tight around him it was almost unbearable. “Move.”
At first, Jiang Cheng lifted his hips backwards and sat back down slowly, letting the slide of his hard, hot skin against his sore rim being the thing that drove him. That drag was so enticing that he managed to focus on only that for a few minutes, the snail’s pace at which he moved entirely too much for Lan Xichen.
The Lan sect leader had a forearm thrown over his own eyes, whining under his breath. It was the most beautiful sight, Jiang Cheng’s heart hammering as he watched him fall apart underneath him. Although, too soon, much too soon, Lan Xichen’s authoritative voice rang out in a staccato rhythm, “Move. Faster. Now.”
His eyes were still covered so Jiang Cheng didn’t heed his instruction straight away, instead finishing his last movement down even slower than before. He kept on pushing his hips down, down, down, further and further, until that long, wet shaft was buried so deep inside of him he was sure he could feel it pressing against some of his internal organs.
A moan ripped from Jiang Cheng’s throat that was so visceral and carnal Lan Xichen’s arm dropped down from his face to look at him. When their gazes met it was as if they were looking at one another for the first time. Both of their faces were wet with sweat, their eyes dark and blown wide, only reflecting each other’s impassioned expressions in their irises.
“Move faster,” Lan Xichen repeated, voice totally wrecked.
Jiang Cheng didn’t need to be told a third time. He lifted his hips back and slapped them down, breathing out weakly. It wasn’t enough. He rocked himself forward, pushing Lan Xichen until he was flat on his back once again. Now, this angle, this position, was perfect, Jiang Cheng thought.
Both of his hands found purchase on the perfectly formed mounds of muscle on his chest. He squeezed them and, with that leverage on his side, he began to ride Lan Xichen with a fury and a passion he’d never had before.
The older sect leader could only lie back and watch, his body shifting on the bed with every movement Jiang Cheng made. His arms were stretched up above his head, bent at the elbow, causing the muscles of his chest to shift and extend, seemingly growing even bigger.
Every time Zewu-Jun inhaled, Jiang Cheng could feel it underneath his palms and it made him wail lustfully. Everytime his hips came down, his backside smacked lewdly against the now wet skin of Lan Xichen’s thick thighs, that oil they’d used earlier having gone a long way.
Jiang Cheng bounced eagerly in his lap, his breaths coming out in little ‘ ah’ ‘ah’ ‘ah ’ noises upon every hearty bob of his ass. He didn’t remove his pawing hands from his chest, instead sinking his nails into his skin, holding on as tightly as he could while he continued his rough treatment of the other’s cock.
Lan Xichen had gone totally silent, his mouth hanging open in a noiseless moan, eyes red with lust. Seemingly uncaring that Jiang Cheng’s fingers were now bruising the skin of his pecs, he simply lay flat and took it, arms still extended above him.
After what could have been several minutes, although maybe it was only several seconds with the way both of their senses of time had warped so immensely, Lan Xichen finally gasped out, “I will cum. I’m...I’ll cum inside you, A-Cheng.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Jiang Cheng chanted breathlessly, not slowing down at all, his own cock slapping roughly against both of their tummies. “Inside. Inside me, p-please.”
That was seemingly all the encouragement he needed as in the next second Lan Xichen was groaning deeply and bucking his hips up, that gloriously muscled back arching off the bed. His release pumped deeply inside of Jiang Cheng’s ass, filling him and filling him without end.
The warmth that spread within him began to trickle outside as well although he was barely able to feel it against his numbed rim and cheeks. The sensation alone was enough to milk him of his own release and so he joined his partner, his own fluids spurting out over Lan Xichen’s stomach.
In the seconds following their orgasms, neither of them made a sound or moved a muscle save for the ones that were twitching involuntarily. Then, as if a string was cut, they both slumped at the exact same time.
Jiang Cheng fell forward against Lan Xichen’s chest, head cushioned by his shoulder, and Lan Xichen’s entire body untensed, one arm flopping down to curl around Jiang Cheng’s sweaty back. They stayed like that for a while, both of their cocks growing softer, their breathing growing lighter.
Eventually, Jiang Cheng turned his head and looked with blurry vision at the bruises he’d made on Lan Xichen’s chest. He lifted a hand up and began tracing the dips and curves in those muscles, thumb accidentally catching against one of his dusty pink nipples. He sighed happily, hoping he would never have to to move again from this very spot.
Lan Xichen huffed out a barely there sound, a sound that was most definitely a laugh.
Jiang Cheng, still too distracted by the slowly purpling finger marks on his pecs, mumbled his response, “What is so funny?”
Lan Xichen began brushing his fingers through Jiang Cheng’s hair. When he spoke again, his lips were close to his forehead.
“My eyes are up here, A-Cheng.”