Chapter Text
I. FIRST VISIT
The first time Lan Xichen could remember hearing about Wei Wuxian, it had been the news that the Jiang’s Sect’s First Disciple had decided to formally leave the sect and become a rogue cultivator.
Although the GusuLan sect prohibited gossip, the news had still spread around like wildfire, since it was incredibly rare for a disciple of an established sect to leave, and especially one of such a high rank.
Speculations abounded, but nobody knew exactly why the boy had decided to set out on his own.
“I’m not surprised to hear about this,” Lan Qiren said as they sat with their afternoon tea. “His mother had always been a troublemaker.” It was rare for him to discuss the business of other sects like this, but the news had been circulating for a while, and the rumours were getting wilder and wilder by the day.
“You knew his mother, Shufu?” Xichen asked, surprised. Uncle never talked much about his youth.
“I knew her when we were students,” Uncle confirmed. “Cangse Sanren was always breaking the rules, getting into trouble.”
He likely meant to sound disapproving, but Xichen could hear the echo of distant fondness in his voice.
“Cangse Sanren? Baoshan Sanren’s student?”
“Mm.”
It was no wonder that the son of a woman like that would rise to the rank of First Disciple in a sect before the age of fifteen. If Xichen remembered correctly, he was supposed to be a few months younger than Wangji, which would make him around seventeen or eighteen years old now.
Xichen wondered how the boy must be doing, on his own, with no support from a sect.
He hoped that Wei Wuxian was doing well, wherever he was.
*****
The first time Xichen heard about Wei Wuxian in connection to Wangji, it was in a short missive Wangji sent after one of his solo night hunts in early spring, to let them know that he was fine.
The letter was short and to the point, like all of Wangji’s letters tended to be.
“Hunt went well. Killed demon with some assistance. Heading to the Qishan border tomorrow.”
Lan Wangji.
Xichen wouldn’t have paid much attention to the mention of assistance, if it didn’t come up again in the next letter, sent two weeks later.
“Dispatched fierce corpses near a farmstead in Nanyang. No assistance from the sect is needed, Wei Wuxian is enough. Heading to investigate haunting in Yiling next.”
Lan Wangji
That definitely caught Xichen’s attention. Was Wei Wuxian the same person who had assisted Wangji with the demon? If yes, did that mean that they were still travelling together, several weeks later?
If that was indeed the case, it was…interesting. Wangji had never had a travelling partner, or taken anyone on his night hunts unless he was forced to lead a group of junior disciples by Xichen or Uncle. Xichen was well aware that Wangji disliked being in charge of people, or being in close proximity to strangers for a prolonged period of time.
It wasn’t arrogance that drove Wangji’s preference for solitary hunts, or a conviction that he was naturally superior to others and didn’t need any help, as some people liked to think (Xichen wasn’t so naive that he wouldn’t know what people said about his brother behind his back), but rather Wangji’s natural awkwardness and dislike of having his routines disrupted.
The fact that he might be travelling with another cultivator and voluntarily putting up with them for this long was…unprecedented.
Either the other individual was the most persistent person on the planet, who had managed to somehow ignore Wangji’s iciness long enough to stick around, or there was something about him that had caught Wangji’s attention enough to finally let someone in past the walls he had built over the years to keep the world out.
Xichen was curious to find out which it was.
*****
As it turned out, it was a bit of both.
Just a few days after Wangji sent news that he would be coming home, Xichen was informed by the gate guards that his brother had arrived, with a guest in tow.
Since the visitor was a guest of Wangji, he had been let in, but Xichen could already see the speculation on some of the guard’s faces.
In all of his nineteen years of life, Wangji had never, ever brought home anyone, no matter how many different playmates and friend candidates his family and sect had tried to push on him at various functions.
The fact that he had invited someone to Gusu now, of his own accord was…peculiar at the very least and piqued Xichen’s curiosity.
It was mid-morning and Xichen had been doing his paperwork, but he decided that it could wait. He would much rather go see Wangji.
Xichen quickly finished the letter he had been writing to Jin Guangshan and decided to take a walk, to stretch his legs a bit. And if he just happened to run into his brother on the way and see who his guest was, well, that would just be a happy coincidence.
He didn’t have to search for long. The sound of a loud voice and a peal of laughter drew him in the direction of the courtyard near the classrooms.
From the distance, he spotted the back of a figure dressed in black. The man was tall and slender, almost the same height as Wangji. His hair was pulled back in a long, messy ponytail tied with a red ribbon and he carried himself with an easy grace of someone who knew how to handle himself in a fight. When he turned his head a bit, Xichen could see that he had a handsome face and an easy smile.
As Xichen watched, the man threw his head back and laughed again, earning a sharp rebuke from Wangji.
“But Lan Zhan,” the man was saying (and wasn’t that interesting), “how am I supposed to have any fun here? Your rules won’t let me do anything. No running, no laughing, no alcohol, no pets.” He counted on his fingers, scrunching his face in an expression of puzzled disapproval. “Does your sect hate any form of joy?”
Even as far away as he was, Xichen could see the frustration in the set of his brother’s jaw, the way he was trying to hold back his irritation. The man continued.
“How do you even remember two thousand rules?”
“Three thousand,” Wangji corrected him quietly.
“THREE THOUSAND?” the man burst out. He was about to speak more, but Xichen chose that moment to make his appearance and rescue them both from the argument.
“Didi,” he said with a pleasant smile. “It’s good to see you back.” He crossed the courtyard until he was standing a few feet away from both men. “I see you brought a guest.”
The guest in question threw a quick glance in Wangji’s direction, but since Wangji didn’t seem to be in a hurry to introduce him, he stepped forward with a smile of his own and executed a perfect, polite bow.
“This one is Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei Wuxian. You must be Zewu-jun.” He cast another sidelong glance at Wangji, his smile widening. “I heard a lot about you from Lan Zhan.”
Judging from Wangji’s expression and the fact that he rarely spoke unnecessarily, Xichen doubted that. In fact, it looked like a private joke Wei Wuxian had made for his own amusement - using the common polite phrase as a way to tease Wangji about the fact that he very much did not talk about his family, or anything else for that matter.
Xichen was not sure how he felt about the idea of someone teasing his little brother. He decided to postpone any judgement of Master Wei’s character until he knew him a bit more.
After all, Wangji may be awkward, but he was not an idiot. If Young Master Wei was malicious, or a bully, Wangji would not have tolerated his presence for almost a month now.
Wangji finally gave him a greeting of his own so Xichen decided to focus back on the conversation.
“Will you be staying here long?” he asked both of them.
They exchanged a quick glance before Wei Wuxian spoke again.
“Not long. Probably just a day or so.” He made another bow, shallower this time. “This one would like to ask permission to borrow your library for a bit.”
“Oh?” Xichen raised an eyebrow.
“We were hunting something that looked like a ghost, but it turns out that it’s actually a curse, but a ghost might be involved as well, or maybe it’s a cursed ghost, who knows - point is, we need to do a bit of research before we go back to exorcise it,” Wei Wuxian explained in a rapid torrent of words. “Lan Zhan mentioned that the Gusu library has an excellent collection of books on banishment and exorcism and also he hasn’t been home for a while, so we figured that it may be a good time to visit.” He finished his rambling with a smile, looking at Xichen hopefully.
Xichen had the impression that it had been Wei Wuxian’s idea to drag Wangji to the Cloud Recesses for a visit, but he kept it to himself.
Outwardly, he said: “Of course, Wei-gongzi. Any friend of Wangji is welcome here. Feel free to peruse any of the books in the public section of the library. Oh and would you mind if I borrow Wangji for a bit?”
“Not at all,” Wei Wuxian said with a smile. “I’m sure you two have plenty to catch up on. I can get started on the research and Lan Zhan can catch up with me once you’re done.” He looked around, trying to see if he could spot the library building.
After receiving a set of instructions on how to get to the library, Wei Wuxian departed with a small bow to Xichen and a cheerful wave to Wangji. He looked like a ball of restless energy as he walked away, walking with a bounce in his step. Xichen watched him leave, then noticed that Wangji was also watching Master Wei’s departure. Interesting.
“Should we have some tea, didi?” Xichen asked, turning back to Wangji. “It’s been a few months since you’ve been back.”
“Mn.” Wangji said, in his usual manner. They set off together towards the Hanshi.
*****
Xichen had tea with his brother. It was nice.
As usual, Wangji did not speak much but Xichen was still glad to see him. Through a series of questions, Xichen eventually learned that Wangji had met Wei Wuxian about a month ago, during the demon hunt. Wangji did not elaborate on how or why they had decided to stick together (and if anything, he seemed a bit embarrassed by the whole thing), so Xichen let him be for now. He figured that if Wei Wuxian stuck around, he might learn more about their friendship eventually, considering how chatty the other man seemed to be.
It was nice that Wangji had a friend, after all those years of people thinking he was cold and boring. Xichen had always privately felt bad about it - he knew that Wangji was fine on his own but it was still sad to always see him by himself, especially as a child, ignored by his peers unless they were forced to interact with him.
It would still remain to be seen whether Wei Wuxian had any ulterior motivations for befriending Wangji (such as wanting his money or access to the GusuLan sect), but Xichen trusted Wangji to make the right judgement about his character.
Wangji might not be great at dealing with people, but was no fool. If the other boy was trying to scam him in any way, Xichen was certain that Wangji would notice it and deal with him promptly.
They finished their tea and Wangji left to go catch up on his own matters which had piled up in his absence.
*****
Several hours later Xichen decided to stop by the library, to check on Young Master Wei’s progress.
As he was approaching the library building, he saw his brother coming towards him from the direction of the Jingshi. It seemed that by a happy coincidence, Wangji had concluded his private business in his home at this time as well and was also on his way to the library.
Wangji gave him a nod and waited for Xichen to catch up to him. They walked through the doors of the library together.
It was not hard to find Master Wei. He had commandeered one of the low desks under the window and was surrounded by a mass of opened books and hastily scribbled notes. There were at least a dozen pieces of paper around him, all with various drawings and half finished talisman sketches.
He seemed to be hard at work drawing a large array and did not seem to notice them enter.
“Wei Ying,” Wangji said in a low voice suitable for the library. He got no response from the other man, who was still scribbling furiously, the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. “Wei YING,” Wangji said again, in a louder voice.
This time Wei Wuxian jerked a little and looked up, gazing at them with unfocused eyes.
“What?” He looked around, seeming confused by their presence and the small mountain of paper he had managed to accumulate since mid-morning. “Oh it’s you, Lan Zhan. Did you need something? What time is it?” He made a move to get up but promptly sat down again, likely when he realised that his legs had fallen asleep from being in the same position for so many hours and he would need to restore the circulation to them first.
Wangji took the opportunity to walk over to him and looked down at the pile surrounding Wei Wuxian with a frown.
“What is it, Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian asked. Even when faced with Wangji’s intense stare, he was still smiling. Wangji took a moment to think over his words.
“Have you…found a solution?”
“Mm,” Wei Wuxian nodded. He pulled out one of the larger pieces of paper and started pointing at different characters with enthusiasm. Xichen decided to come closer as well, to get a better look at what those two were up to.
“So,” Wei Wuxian was saying. “Do you remember how you said you think it’s a ghost and I said it’s probably a curse? Well, I finally deciphered the array the creator of this thing used and it’s definitely a curse, made by someone, but there are ghosts involved as well? So in a way, we were both right.” He waited for Wangji’s response, but when none came, he carried on.
“See this character for spirit here? If you combine it with this one and this one and someone dies within the range of the array, you trap their soul and it turns into a ghost. And when you add these three characters to it as well and link them like this,” he pointed at a section of the original array, “you amplify the suffering and the trapped ghost becomes really angry over time. So when you combine an old, man-made curse and a place where multiple people have died in horrible circumstances, you get a really nasty mix of stuff that will be a pain to exorcise.” He saw the faces the two Lan brothers were making and smiled in encouragement. “But don’t worry! I think I’m almost done with the counter array.”
And he spent the next half incense stick explaining a large, complicated array that he had almost finished drafting. It was an extraordinary piece of curse work, especially considering how young Wei Wuxian was and the short amount of time he’d had to both research and draft it.
Although Wangji’s face remained impassive, Xichen could see the intense way he was studying both Wei Wuxian and the array, as if he was trying to connect some invisible puzzle pieces in his head.
Xichen himself was just as impressed by Wei Wuxian’s analysis as his brother was, but unlike Wangji, he saw no need to stay silent about it.
“That is an impressive piece of work, Wei-gongzi,” he told the younger man. “How did you manage to create this? The Lan library has many books about exorcising curses, but I do not believe I have ever seen anything like this in any of them.”
Wei Wuxian raised a hand to tug at his ponytail, looking a little embarrassed.
“Oh it’s just something I came up with after a bit of reading. I have no idea if it’s even going to work.”
Lan Xichen was not an expert at arrays by any means (the Lan sect had other people for that), but even he could see that, based on the characters used in the original curse, this counter-array had a very decent chance of doing the job. Wei Wuxian was selling himself short.
“It should work,” he told Wei Wuxian with what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
Wei Wuxian smiled in response, but Xichen could tell that it was only out of politeness. He still seemed to be a bit dubious about being praised for his work, as if he hadn’t just pulled a master-level cursework practically out of thin air over the course of one afternoon.
Xichen would have thought that he was being facetious, or putting on an air of fake humility, like some of the Jin sect members liked to do, but there was something brittle about the way Wei Wuxian was smiling now, a certain kind of vulnerability and uncertainty that told Xichen that the younger man might genuinely be unaware of the true level of his own brilliance.
Had his work not been appreciated in YunmengJiang, or had he been told that he was nothing special? Even if his talents only lay in talismans and cursework, someone like him would still be a clear asset to his clan. Seeing him work brought back the same question that Xichen had been idly entertaining since he had first heard about Wei Wuxian’s departure from the Jiang sect.
Why would they let someone like him go? (Or worse, kick him out, if some of the rumours were to be believed?) It was a mystery.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Wangji’s voice.
“Have you eaten?” Wangji asked Wei Wuxian, who had used the brief lull in conversation to go back to working on his array.
“Mm,” Wei Wuxian said, clearly only paying half attention. “I think I had an apple on the way here?” He did not sound certain. Wangji’s frown deepened.
“You should eat.”
“Hm?” Wei Wuxian answered again. “Yeah, sure, I’ll have something when I finish. Just give me a moment.” And he seemed to tune them out again, fully focused on finishing his work.
“You should eat something,” Wangji repeated, with a bit more force. The way he said it, it almost sounded like criticism, or an order, but Xichen, who was fluent in Wangji’s different expressions, could tell that it was his clumsy way of showing concern. Based on the way Wangji was surveying the books and Wei Wuxian’s messy brushstrokes, he was also clearly frustrated at the way Wei Wuxian had managed to solve the mystery of the curse without asking for his help, but he didn’t have the words to express the real source of his bad mood.
Wei Wuxian sighed.
“Lan Zhan, it’s fine. You know how I get when I’m working on something. I’m not even hungry yet and I’m almost done with this anyway.” He went back to drawing characters with his brush.
Wangji’s jaw clenched in frustration.
“Can we help?” Xichen asked, in order to try and forestall the argument he could see building in the tight lines of Wangji’s body.
“Hm no,” Wei Wuxian said, not looking up. “I’m almost done.” He drew another few characters, then sat back to survey his work. “All right, that should do it. Now it just needs a few lines in the corner here and some blood to activate it and we should be ready to go.”
“Very impressive,” Xichen said again, and watched Wei Wuxian duck his head a little at the praise. “You should come have dinner with us.” Xichen’s eyes took in the other man’s skinny wrists, how slim he was even with several layers of robes on, and he decided to order several extra dishes from the kitchen for dinner, just in case.
This time Wei Wuxian managed to stand up from his sitting pose without his legs betraying him. He bent down to try and put some order to his paperwork and Wangji wordlessly knelt down to help him, keen to finally have something useful to do.
Xichen decided to leave them to it and went to order dinner for his private quarters instead.
*****
Dinner turned out to be a pleasant affair. It was just the three of them, in the privacy of the Hanshi. Wei Wuxian outright refused to keep the rule of silence during dinner (“I was quiet all day, Lan Zhan! It was so boring!”) and Xichen allowed it, since the endless stream of chatter provided him way more information about Wangji’s travels and the general dynamic between the two than half a dozen teas with Wangji ever could.
Now that his work on the array was done, Wei Wuxian relaxed and became an unending chatterbox. In between bites of food, he talked about his own travels as a rogue cultivator, relaying several anecdotes about funny ghosts he had exorcised and strange people he had dealt with before he had met Wangji. He talked about cultivation, and sword techniques, and his ideas for useful new talismans. He talked about Wangji and their hunts together, laughing at a story about them accidentally getting locked in a haunted barn by an angry donkey.
What he didn’t talk about, Xichen couldn’t help but notice, was his life with the YunmengJiang.
Xichen didn’t pry. Whatever Wei Wuxian’s reason for leaving his sect had been, it was clearly a personal subject, and not something one would disclose to a stranger over their first shared meal together.
So Xichen let him talk, and instead watched the way Wangji’s body relaxed during the meal, the quiet contentment on his face.
It wasn’t happiness or any other loud emotion, more of a small loosening of his tightly wound posture, a subtle relaxing that he only did when he felt safe and comfortable. Xichen still hadn’t quite figured out how these two worked together and why, but it was clear that there was something about Wei Wuxian that made Wangji’s life better.
The tension came back promptly after dinner, when Wei Wuxian turned to Wangji and asked: “Have you finished all your personal business, or do you want to stay here longer?”
“Wei Ying wishes to leave?” It was clear Wangji had been hoping to stay longer.
“We don’t have to go yet,” Wei Wuxian replied. “It’s just - I already finished the array, so I don’t really have anything else to do here and the ghosts are getting more dangerous every day, so it’s better if we sort them out soon.” He took a moment to make a quick mental calculation. “Actually, with the array, I might be able to sort them out on my own. You could just stay here with your family and-”
“No,” Wangji interrupted him firmly.
Xichen’s eyebrows rose. Wangji never interrupted anyone. He was too polite to do that. Yet here he was, clearly agitated.
“No,” Wangji repeated. “We go together.”
“It doesn’t need to be tonight,” Wei Wuxian placated, clearly taken aback by the vehemence of Wangji’s opposition. “We could stay the night and then go tomorrow evening?”
Wangji shook his head.
“Let’s go tonight. It is early.”
“You are welcome to stay as long as you want,” Xichen chimed in, interrupting their staring contest. “And if you want to come back after and rest for a while, you’re more than welcome to do that as well.”
“Thank you for your hospitality.” Wei Wuxian stood and bowed to Xichen. “We will be on our way then.”
“Come again,” Xichen told them as they departed, and he meant it. He had a feeling that Wei Wuxian’s presence would bring a lot of changes into their lives.
**********
II. SECOND VISIT
Wei Wuxian’s second visit came in the middle of the night, under much less pleasant circumstances.
After the two young men had managed to exorcise the angry ghost curse (as Wangji’s letter helpfully informed Xichen a few days after they’d left), Xichen kept receiving brief updates on their adventures from Wangji every week or so.
He couldn’t help but notice that the two were still travelling together almost four months after they had left the Cloud Recesses together. This was the longest Wangji had ever put up with anyone, but Xichen was glad for it. It was always better to go hunting with someone else, and Wei Wuxian seemed to be a reliable partner in a fight, if Wangji’s letters were to be believed.
Just how reliable Wei Wuxian would prove to be Xichen found out when he got woken up by the guard in the middle of the night. The man was composed and professional, as all Lan cultivators were taught to be, but Xichen could see the worry in his face when he opened his front door.
“Sect Leader.” The man bowed. “You should come with me. A man has brought back Second Young Master Lan and he is injured.”
Worry settled deep in Xichen’s chest and he hastily threw on his uppermost robe over his sleeping clothes before he set off to follow the guard with long, hurried steps.
Wangji was injured. Xichen silently prayed that it was nothing serious.
When he burst through the doors of the healer’s building, the first thing he saw was Wei Wuxian, standing in the corner, his dark grey robes covered in blood. The second was Wangji laid out on the bed with the healer working to stem the flow of blood oozing out of a wound on the side of his abdomen. He was breathing and there was a faint frown on his face, likely from the pain.
Xichen’s gaze slid away from his brother and back to Wei Wuxian, who was hovering a few feet away from the healer, wringing his hands in clear agitation.
“What happened?” Xichen’s voice came out a little sharper than he had intended and he watched as Wei Wuxian flinched a little. His eyes turned to Xichen instead, huge and worried.
“It was my fault,” he began. “We were hunting a yaoguai in the mountains because there had been rumours of children going missing. We found the beast and fought it but…” He swallowed.” It was fast and I wasn’t paying enough attention and Lan Zhan stepped in to protect me.” He folded into a bow and Xichen couldn’t help but notice the wince he made when he bent over at the waist. “I’m sorry.”
“Night hunting is dangerous,” Xichen responded. “It was bound to happen eventually.” The worry was eating him alive but it was a fact that their line of work was a dangerous one and injuries happened. He turned back to the healer. “How is Wangji?”
“He will live,” the healer responded, still focusing on bandaging the wound. “The wound was deep but it missed all his vital organs. He has a strong golden core so it should not take him long to recover.”
Xichen breathed a sigh of relief at that. In the corner, Wei Wuxian did the same. Now that Wangji was out of danger, Xichen could focus on the man who had saved his brother’s life.
“You are injured as well,” he said, addressing Wei Wuxian.
“Oh no, it’s nothing, haha,” Wei Wuxian tried to say, but winced again as he drew a deeper breath. Xichen just motioned for a second healer to take a look at him as well, ignoring Wei Wuxian’s protest. As the blood-soaked top layer of Wei Wuxian’s robes was stripped away, Xichen couldn’t help but morbidly wonder how much of that blood was Wangji’s own. Certainly some of it, judging by the nature of his wound.
He turned away to give Wei Wuxian a bit of privacy when he was stripped down to his trousers, opting to sit down next to Wangji instead. He took his brother’s wrist to feel his pulse and was gratified to find it regular and strong, if a little sluggish. Xichen positioned his fingers over the qi points and started sending Wangji some qi energy, to help speed his healing.
Behind him, Wei Wuxian made a sound of discomfort that made Xichen turn around involuntarily.
Wei Wuxian’s body was covered in multiple bruises and there were a couple of nasty looking lacerations on his shoulder and hip that were bleeding sluggishly. There was also a massive bruise forming around the right side of his ribs.
“You have at least two broken ribs,” Xichen informed him.
“Three,” the healer said as he worked on cleaning the other wounds.
“Why didn’t you mention you were injured as well?” Xichen asked.
Wei Wuxian shrugged, a motion which made him wince again when it agitated his injured ribs.
“Lan Zhan took priority. My wounds are not that bad, really.”
Xichen, who could see the careful way the other man was drawing each breath, would beg to differ.
“What happened to the yaoguai?” He needed to know if he would need to send out more disciples to dispatch the beast.
“It’s dead,” Wei Wuxian assured him. “I managed to take it down after it attacked Lan Zhan. It was already injured from our fight before so I just finished it off.”
“That is good to hear.” Xichen looked down on his brother’s sleeping face and felt a wave of gratitude for the fact that he hadn’t been alone when he had come face to face with the yaoguai. “Thank you,” he gave Wei Wuxian a small bow, “for saving Wangji’s life.”
“Oh no it’s nothing.” Wei Wuxian waved a hand. “He saved my life first. I just had to make sure I get him back here to repay him.”
“Still,” Xichen insisted. “You have my gratitude.” He stood up. “Please get some rest. I will come visit you both in the morning.”
Wei Wuxian looked like he was going to bow again but then thought better of it and just settled on a cheeky little wave.
“Good night, Lan-gege.”
*****
When Xichen came to see them again in the morning, Wei Wuxian was in the middle of getting dressed.
“Good morning, Lan-gege!” he greeted cheerfully. He already looked much better than he had when Xichen had seen him several hours ago. Behind him, Wangji was still asleep, but his face also had a bit more colour to it now.
“Good morning, Wei-gongzi,” Xichen greeted.
Wei Wuxian finished tying his belt, then reached to pick up his sword.
“What are you doing?” Xichen asked, alarmed. The other man had no business going around yet with his injuries.
“Can you look after Lan Zhan for a bit?” Wei Wuxian asked. “There is something I need to do this morning but I promise I’ll be back before dinner.”
“You should be resting,” Xichen admonished him gently.
A complicated series of expressions flitted over Wei Wuxian’s face as he contemplated how much to tell Lan Xichen.
“I have some…unfinished business on the mountain,” he said reluctantly. “It shouldn’t take more than a few hours to sort out.”
Xichen observed the downcast expression on his face, the way his normally smiling mouth was pulled into a flat line.
“What is it? Is it the yaoguai? Did you really kill it?” Had he lied about killing it? Was he going back to finish it off, all by himself?
“The yaoguai is dead, I promise!” Wei Wuxian hastened to reassure him, guessing at the direction Xichen’s thoughts had taken. “We really did kill it yesterday.” He paused, sighed. “It’s just…there was a child. We were investigating the yaoguai because several children from the nearby villages had gone missing recently. And…we found the last one.” He grimaced.
Upon seeing Xichen’s expression, he raised his hands in front of him, as if to fight off an accusation.
“Oh no, don’t worry, I didn’t leave a small child lost in the forest while I was rushing here to save Lan Zhan. I just…” he swallowed, a mournful expression settling on his face briefly before it smoothed out again, “I don’t want to leave him there. His parents deserve to know what happened to him.”
Xichen looked at him, at this man who was injured and exhausted but still willing to spend a day searching a mountain for the body of a child he had no connection to, just because it was the right thing to do, and he felt like he was starting to understand why Wangji was so willing to make a space for him in his life.
Wei Wuxian wasn’t asking permission to leave, but Xichen would give it nonetheless.
He reached into his robes and pulled out a jade entry token to the Cloud Recesses.
“Very well. Please take this. It will allow you to come and go as you please. You are always welcome here,” he added.
Wei Wuxian took the token with wide eyes and a small, genuine smile. He made a move to bow but remembered his injury at the last minute and settled for a nod instead.
“Thank you, Zewu-jun. I should be back before dinner, so please tell Lan Zhan not to worry about me.”
*****
Telling Lan Wangji not to worry about Wei Wuxian was like trying to tell a river not to flow down the mountain.
The first words out of Wangji’s mouth when he woke up were: “Where’s Wei Ying?” and Xichen had to spend a long while dissuading him from trying to get up and follow.
In the end, Wangji begrudgingly settled back down but kept watching the door of the room like a hawk. Normally Xichen would spend a bit of time with him and then go about his own sect business for the rest of the day but he didn’t trust Wangji not to try and abscond as soon as he took his eyes of him (and wasn’t that an interesting new thought, Wangji rebelling against an order), so he just ordered one of the disciples to bring over his paperwork and settled at a low table in the corner to read some of his letters while Wangji recovered.
Apart from wanting to keep an eye on Wangji, a small part of Xichen also admitted that he wanted to be there when Master Wei came back, because he wanted to see what their dynamic looked like now, after several months of travelling together. Wangji had never had a friend of this caliber before, and Xichen was curious.
Luckily for them both, they didn’t have to wait long, because Wei Wuxian came back around lunch time. There was a serious, withdrawn expression on his face and a tightness around his eyes as he opened the door, but it cleared up as soon as he saw that Wangji was awake.
“Lan Zhan!” he exclaimed happily. “You’re awake!”
“Wei Ying.” Wangji made a move to get up again but Wei Wuxian was across the room in a flash and pushed him back onto the bed.
“None of that, Lan Zhan. You should be resting. How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” Wangji said, in his typical sparse fashion.
“Nonsense,” Wei Wuxian replied. “You got gored by a giant evil boar monster. There’s no way you’re fine yet. Have they changed your bandages yet?” He started fussing over Wangji’s dressing, opening his gown to take a look at the bandages around his abdomen. To Xichen’s astonishment, Wangji patiently tolerated all the poking and proding, letting Wei Wuxian touch him until he was satisfied that Wangji wasn’t about to secretly bleed out and die.
As Wei Wuxian bent down to study Wangji’s wound, the position put pressure on his ribs and he winced, although he clearly tried to hide it. Wangji spotted it in an instance.
“You are injured too,” he said with a frown and made a move as if to try and take Wei Wuxian’s robe off to investigate.
“I’m fine,” Wei Wuxian claimed unconvincingly, trying to pull back from Wangji’s questing hands.
Xichen, who had been quietly ignored in the corner this entire time, subtly cleared his throat.
“He has three broken ribs,” he helpfully informed Wangji, who immediately turned an accusing expression at Wei Wuxian.
“You are injured. Why did you leave?”
Wei Wuxian sighed (carefully) and sat down on the edge of Wangji’s bed.
“I needed to bring the child home.” The two exchanged an understanding gaze.
“Ah,” said Wangji.
“And hello, Zewu Jun,” Wei Wuxian finally turned to Xichen with a smile. “Thank you for lending me the token.” He pulled it out of his robes and made a move to return it back to Xichen, who shook his head.
“It is yours now. Keep it. You may need it again in the future if you two keep doing dangerous stunts like this.”
Wei Wuxian hesitated, then slowly nodded. His fingers caressed the token as if it was something precious before he carefully put it away again. Xichen noticed Wangji’s piercing gaze directed in his direction and gave him a smile and nod in return. He should know that his friend was now welcome to visit GusuLan any time he chose.
Wangji’s expression settled into one of satisfaction (which didn’t look much different from his usual impassive face but Xichen could read him well) and he went back to trying to convince Wei Wuxian to finally rest in his own quiet but persuasive way.
*****
The two ended up spending several days in the Cloud Recesses as they both recovered from their injuries.
While Xichen was happy to see them both (and happy to see Wangji finally enjoying someone’s company), not everyone shared the sentiment.
Lan Qiren frowned into his cup of tea as they sat in the Hanshi together one quiet afternoon.
“He is disruptive,” he said, disapproving. “He keeps pestering the younger disciples and making a mess in the library.”
“Master Wei has been teaching the disciples some theories behind talisman construction,” Xichen replied. “He seems to be a good teacher, when he doesn’t get distracted by Wangji or his own ideas for new projects.”
In fact, Xichen was becoming tempted to try and recruit the young man, who seemed to be both popular with the children he entertained in his spare moments, and also capable of teaching them hours of complicated cultivation theory with just a few examples. He didn’t think Wangji would mind too much if he stole the man for a part time teaching position.
But as much as he was tempted to make an offer, he still didn’t know much about Wei Wuxian’s private circumstances. What if he was happy as a rogue cultivator? What if he never wished to be a part of a sect again? Xichen would need to learn more before he went around offering things that may be unwanted.
Lan Qiren was still grumbling, but his complaints seemed rather half-hearted. He had been grudgingly impressed by the array Wei Wuxian had created for the cursed ghost hunt, and Xichen knew that deep down Uncle was grateful to Wei Wuxian for saving Wangji’s life. He was simply annoyed by the young man’s boisterous manner and refused to admit that his mind might be changing slowly, bit by bit.
They sat there for a while, discussing sect business over tea when a young disciple knocked on the door. When Xichen beckoned for him to enter, the disciple stepped into the room and bowed to them both before rising quickly.
“Sect Leader. Elder Lan.” The boy was one of the younger disciples, no older than thirteen and he looked like he was vibrating with barely restrained excitement.
“What is it?” Xichen asked.
The boy hesitated a bit before speaking.
“You should come see this, Lan-zongzhu. Second Master Lan and Wei Wuxian are having a spar in the Western sparring ground.” He looked like he was tempted to run back but was too well-behaved to do so, so he just stood there with barely hidden impatience, waiting to be dismissed.
Xichen gave him a small nod.
“Thank you for telling me. You’re dismissed.”
The boy turned around on his heel and walked away as quickly as he could manage while not technically running. Xichen hid a chuckle and rose up to follow at a more sedate pace.
“You’re going to watch Wangji spar?” Uncle had remained sitting. Xichen smiled.
“It’s been a while since Wangji had any real challenge. I’m curious to see how they fare.”
By the time Xichen arrived at the sparring grounds, it was clear that the two young men had been at it for a while. Both of them were breathing a little harder than normal and there was a faint sheen of sweat on their temples. A few strands of hair had come loose from Wangji’s carefully maintained hairstyle and he had a small rip in his left sleeve. Wei Wuxian looked a bit rumpled as well and there was a distinct mudstain on one of his knees. He was also wearing a smile that made him look slightly feral. He laughed out loud as their blades crossed again, causing a small frown of frustration to appear between Wangji’s brows.
“Come on, Lan Zhan,” he was wheedling. “You don’t have to go easy on me. My ribs are totally healed now.” To prove his point he ducked under Wangji’s next swing and did a backflip that took him several feet away.
There was a small crowd of Lan disciples gathered around the edges of the field, watching the match with barely (and, in the case of some of the younger disciples, not at all) contained excitement.
From his vantage point over the crowd, Xichen could tell that Wangji seemed torn between a desire to avoid re-injuring his friend so soon after he had healed, and the urge to give into Wei Wuxian’s taunts and give it his all.
As far as Xichen knew, it had been a long time since Wangji had met or fought anyone who would even remotely count as a challenge, much less an equal, so he understood the excitement of fighting someone who could give him a good fight.
Which Wei Wuxian did. Although he looked careless and flippant at first glance, taunting and weaving around Wangji with a careless grace, once he fully engaged in the fight, Xichen could tell that he would be a very dangerous opponent to meet out in the field.
Where Lan Wangji used the Lan style, sharp and efficient and honed to perfection, Wei Wuxian fought with the Jiang clan style, fluid and quick, weaving together a series of attacks that would be deadly if he was fighting anyone lesser than the Second Jade of Lan. Although his movements looked seemingly random at first, at a closer glance it was clear that he was very calculated about the way he moved, each sword strike flowing into the next with the skill of someone who had spent years mastering the moves.
Watching him, Xichen fully believed that he had been a First Disciple of the Jiangs. Few adult cultivators had this level of skill, much less boys barely out of their teens.
And once again, it brought back the question that had been plaguing him more and more often over the past few weeks - why did the Jiangs let someone of his caliber just leave? Any clan would be lucky to have someone of his skill and talents. There had to be something Xichen wasn’t getting, some hidden factor he couldn’t see because none of it made sense.
As he watched, the two kept trading blows, dancing around each other just to meet in the middle again, blades clashing. Xichen could tell that Wangji had given up on trying to pull his punches a long time ago and was now going all out, his mind working furiously as he tried to keep up with Wei Wuxian’s chaotic moves.
Wangji was strong, and fast, but Wei Wuxian was faster and what he lacked in comparative strength he made up for in speed and sheer unpredictability. The finale of the match came when Wangji brought his sword down in a deadly strike, only for Wei Wuxian to parry and slip under his arm, mimicking a slicing motion to Wangji’s side. He then quickly brought his sword around, placing the blade at Wangji’s neck.
“All right, you’re dead,” he declared with clear satisfaction in his voice. “Do you yield, Lan Zhan?”
Wangji gave a small nod, lowering his sword arm.
“Mn.”
“Great! That’s two out of three!” Wei Wuxian announced happily. “Looks like I win today.” He cleaned his sword and returned it back to its scabbard. Once his hand was free, he gave Wangji’s shoulder a couple of friendly pats. “Next dinner is on you and I want all the spices.”
Wangji nodded with what seemed to be fond exasperation (to Xichen as least. To other people he probably looked vaguely constipated).
The Lan disciples around him started to whisper with each other, clearly excited about watching Wangji spar again after so long. There were more than a few who were also throwing admiring glances Wei Wuxian’s way, clearly impressed. Xichen wondered what the young man would think if he knew that he apparently had fans among the famously tight-laced Lan disciples.
He used the moment to walk over to the two who were still discussing dinner logistics.
“Nice fight,” he told them.
“Hello Zewu-jun!” Wei Wuxian greeted, his smile still wide and elated from his victory. “Did you see our spar? We do this all the time, but usually there’s no one there to watch.” He threw a glance at the small crowd of Lan disciples, clearly amused by their reactions. “I didn’t know little Lans could get this excited. It’s cute.”
Xichen smiled in response, looking from him to Wangji, whose face had returned back to its usual, impassive expression.
“They are just excited to see Wangji in a spar again. It has been a while.”
“Really, Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian turned to Wangji with a teasing smile. “Are you holding out on the babies? Do you not spar with them?” He glanced back at the crowd of junior disciples, who were watching them from afar. “Oh are they scared of you? Are you so intimidating that they don’t dare to come talk to you? Aw, that’s a shame. I bet they all secretly adore you.”
Not waiting for a reply, he turned around with a mischievous expression and made a beeline straight for the group of youngsters in Lan clan robes.
“Little Lans!” he greeted cheerfully and they all huddled around him, excited. At Xichen’s side, Wangji looked vaguely apprehensive.
“Should I stop him?” Xichen asked him quietly. Wangji just shook his head.
“It is…fine. Wei Ying…means well.”
Although he couldn’t hear more than the occasional snippet of a word, Xichen had the impression that Wei Wuxian was telling the juniors stories about Wangji’s travels with him. Knowing him, there were probably parts that had been greatly exaggerated, but nothing that would make Wangji look bad. Xichen watched as the junior’s faces went from curious to appalled to amused. One or two giggled a bit before they remembered that their Sect Leader was nearby and quickly tried to school their expression back into something more appropriate.
Wei Wuxian was a chaotic element who would no doubt end up “corrupting” the youth with his wild antics (Xichen could only imagine his Uncle’s disapproving face if he saw the scene before them) if he was allowed to stay around for long enough. Not for the first time, Xichen privately wondered if that would be such a bad thing to happen to them.
He looked back to his side, at the quietly fond expression Wangji was wearing on his face as he watched his friend entertain the youngsters, and smiled.
Maybe they could all use a bit more of Wei Wuxian’s “corrupting” influence.
**********
III. THIRD VISIT
It was autumn and the trees around Gusu were turning a multitude of beautiful colours when Mingjue came to visit the Cloud Recesses with his brother. There was a slight chill in the air now - not enough yet to be truly unpleasant, but cold enough to give them the perfect excuse to stay inside and spend a lot of time together.
Mingjue and Xichen hadn’t seen each other since Xichen’s visit to Qinghe a few months ago, so Xichen was happy to see him again. Being at Gusu also gave them a distinct advantage over Qinghe - unlike the Impure Realm, where people tended to barge in all the time with various matters, the GusuLan disciples knew to leave the two sect leaders alone when they were “discussing important sect matters”, which gave them privacy for their…other matters.
Xichen didn’t think he was truly fooling anyone, but nobody in his sect had ever commented on his close personal relationship with the Nie Sect Leader, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Nie Mingjue and Huaisang’s visit to the Cloud Recesses came at an opportune time, as it ended auspiciously coinciding with Wangji’s return as well.
Xichen had been in the middle of having a walk around the sect compound with Mingjue, Huaisang and a few of their senior disciples when he heard a familiar voice behind them.
“And then I was telling him- Oh, Nie Huaisang is that you ?”
Next to Xichen, Nie Huaisang visibly perked up.
“Wei-ge?” He turned around and started to grin as soon as he spotted Wei Wuxian. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Wei Wuxian shot back with an answering grin. He then seemed to remember that he was in the presence of two sect leaders and quickly bowed to them both, the smile not leaving his face.
“Lan-zongzhu, Nie-gege. It’s nice to see you again.”
“And you.” To Xichen’s surprise, Mingjue looked actually pleased to see the other man, a truly rare thing for the perpetually glowering sect leader.
“Are you and Huaisang visiting Zewu-jun?”
“Hm.” Mingjue answered.
“That’s great, so are we,” Wei Wuxian said enthusiastically. He looked over at Nie Huaisang, who was hiding an amused expression behind one of his painted fans. “Mind if I borrow Huaisang for the day? We haven’t seen each other in ages and there’s sooo much we need to catch up on.” He gave the other boy a wink. Nie Huaisang’s eyes turned into little half moons of amusement.
Wangji, who had followed Wei Wuxian at a more sedate pace, frowned at his side.
“You should put your things away.”
Wei Wuxian waved a hand dismissively.
“I can do that later. I know where the visitor quarters are.”
That made Wangji’s frown deepen.
“Wei Ying can stay in the Jingshi,” he said in a voice that bore no objections. Xichen wasn’t the only one whose eyebrows went up at that. Wangji seemed to notice his brother’s expression, because he continued “There is a spare room.”
Xichen looked between Wei Wuxian’s oblivious expression, to Nie Huaisang’s amused one, to the way Wangji was looking at them with an intense gaze and couldn’t help but wonder: was Wangji…jealous?
Xichen was aware of the fact that Wei Wuxian had already stayed in Wangji’s spare room in the Jingshi during his previous visit to the Cloud Recesses (another first, as far as Wangji was concerned), but they hadn’t felt the need to publicise it. Having him announce it in front of people like that was…strange. Shameless. Utterly unlike Wangji.
“Thanks, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said with a smile, clearly oblivious to the deeper impulses behind Wangji’s offer. “I’ll make sure to stop by later.” Not waiting for their responses, he hastily bowed to them all, then grabbed Nie Huaisang by the arm and started leading him away. “I’ll see you all later. Bye!” They disappeared around the corner, already deep in conversation.
Xichen watched the way Wangji’s eyes were boring holes into both their backs as they left and bit down on a smile. This visit would surely be an entertaining one.
*****
The rest of the day passed peacefully. With Huaisang away and Wangji catching up on his correspondence in the Jingshi, Xichen and Mingjue were left alone for the afternoon and were able to use the time to devote themselves to more pleasant pursuits than sect business and paperwork. They did discuss a few business matters in between rounds but eventually got distracted by each other and decided to leave work alone for the next day.
It was safe to say that Xichen was feeling relaxed and in a good mood when dinnertime came along. He had invited the visitors to come and eat with them in the Hanshi - officially, this was because he wanted to have a more private, family dinner.
Unofficially, it was because his legs still felt like grass jelly after the last round with Mingjue and he didn’t want to walk too far around the compound when he was fairly sure that his face still held a hint of satisfied, post-coital glow. He was hoping the dinner attendees would be either too innocent to notice, or discreet enough not to comment on it.
He made sure to find an extra soft cushion to sit on and settled himself down for dinner.
To his surprise, only Wangji showed up, exactly on time. The only other person at the door was a junior disciple, who handed Mingjue a short message.
“Huaisang says they’ve gone to Cayi for a drink and will be back later tonight,” Mingjue informed the Lan brothers. A small frown appeared on Wangji’s face but Xichen wasn’t bothered.
“That’s fine,” he said, feeling too languid to care. “We can eat with them tomorrow night.”
He ordered for the dishes to be brought in and they ate in silence, as was customary for the sect. Once they had eaten and were drinking tea (or rice wine, in case of Mingjue), the conversation resumed.
“You don’t mind Huaisang going out?” he asked Mingjue out of curiosity. He was aware of how protective the older brother was of Huaisang, but he seemed unconcerned about him running off with Wei Wuxian for a night of drunken debauchery.
Mingjue shrugged.
“They do it all the time in Qinghe.” He took a sip. “Just hope they don’t set anything on fire this time, or that they don’t end up accidentally locking one of your armory rooms with an unbreakable talisman that will take the sect days to undo.” Despite the serious nature of the incidents he was describing, he seemed to be in surprisingly good humour about it.
“Is that something they’ve done?” Xichen didn’t need to ask, he had a pretty good idea who had been behind the locking talisman.
“Mm,” Mingjue confirmed. “The last time they went to town for a drink, they brought back a goat. Nobody knew where it had come from, it just appeared. We ended up keeping the damn thing. The time before, all the cultivation manuals of the head disciplinarian got replaced by porn overnight.”
Xichen fought back a scandalised laugh at that. He could only imagine the reactions of the Lan Sect Elders if something like that happened here.
“Did you punish them?” he asked, perhaps superfluously. He was very familiar with his lover’s famously short temper.
“Of course,” Mingjue glowered into his cup. “I made them do extra drills for days. Huaisang nearly cried but Wei Wuxian, the little bastard he is, just laughed about it.”
All the stories Mingjue was telling spoke of familiarity and long-standing relationships.
“You seem to know Wei Wuxian well,” Xichen said. Judging by the rapt way Wangji was listening next to him, he wasn’t the only one keen to learn more about the young man’s relationship with the Nie brothers.
“Mm,” Mingjue replied. “He is friends with Huaisang. He and his siblings used to visit often when they were younger. Now it’s just him.”
That made Xichen blink.
“His…siblings. Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli?”
“Mm.”
So the information about him being Jiang Fengmian’s adopted son and not just a First Disciple was apparently correct. Which made his departure from the Jiang sect/family even more baffling.
“Do you know why he left the Jiangs?” Xichen couldn’t stop himself from asking.
A shadow flickered across Mingjue’s expression before it smoothed out again.
“That…is not my place to tell.” He looked down at his wine cup. “Huaisang might tell you more, if he feels like it.”
Xichen was aware that the relationships between the Nie and Jiang sects had cooled down a bit over the past year or so but he hadn’t paid it much attention, busy as he was with the running of his own sect. Looking at Mingjue’s frown now, he wondered if the frostiness on Nie Sect’s end had anything to do with a certain friend of the Sect Leader’s brother.
Until now, Xichen had only viewed Wei Wuxian as an ex-disciple of the Jiang sect. A talented young man and a brilliant cultivator, but ultimately still just a rogue cultivator of little standing and importance in the grand scheme of things. He was now starting to wonder if Wei Wuxian might be a more significant figure than anyone (Wei Wuxian himself included) might have realised.
He would need to think about all this more when he had a quiet moment later.
“I have been thinking…” Xichen began after a moment of silence, vocalising something he hadn’t said out loud before, “of offering him a place in Gusu, if he is willing.”
He could feel the weight of Wangji’s gaze on the side of his face.
“HA!” Mingjue barked out, making Xichen jump a little. “Good luck with that.” At Xichen’s questioning look, he continued. “He already turned us down.”
That was a surprise to Xichen.
“When?”
“Huaisang wrote to him last year, shortly after he left the Jiangs. He came to visit for a bit. We offered to have him join the Nie sect, but he declined.” He grimaced and reached to refill his cup again. “Maybe it was too early for that.”
That was…not encouraging. Xichen looked down into his own teacup, wondering.
“Do you think he would accept an offer from Gusu?”
Mingjue shrugged.
“Who knows. You’d need to ask him yourself.” Something seemed to occur to him then and he laughed out loud again. “Can you imagine it? Wei Wuxian in GusuLan? Hahaha he would drive you all insane within a day.” He took another drink, chuckling to himself. Xichen thought the alcohol must be finally hitting him.
Mingjue’s words were…distinctly unhelpful. If Wei Wuxian had turned down an offer from the sect of his long standing friend, what was the chance that he would agree to join GusuLan? The odds weren’t great.
Next to him, Wangji looked like he had swallowed a particularly slimy piece of okra. He had said little all evening, opting to sit quietly and drink his tea but Xichen could tell that he was feeling…disgruntled? Unhappy? Was he angry that he hadn’t been invited for the night out with the other two boys (something Xichen was sure Wangji wouldn’t enjoy anyway), or was it because Wei Wuxian had ignored him all day and then ran off for a night of drinking with another man?
Or was it because Wei Wuxian might not wish to join GusuLan, therefore making any potential romantic overtures from Wangji’s side difficult?
Xichen was fairly sure that the two were not romantically involved, but looking at Wangji, sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder.
*****
The next day passed in a similar manner. Wei Wuxian emerged from the Jingshi in the middle of the morning, looking rumpled and hungover and oddly shy, which seemed uncharacteristic of him. Wangji made a pointed effort to attend to his sect duties with Xichen that day, which Wei Wuxian took as a signal to go back to Nie Huaisang and wheedle him into what Xichen could only assume was another round of ill-advised adventures.
This made Wangji’s mood sink again and Xichen watched him as he pretended not to sulk while they were going through a pile of new hunting requests together.
It was interesting (and a little funny) to see Wangji acting his age for once. He had always been a precocious child - calm, quiet and mature beyond his years, so it was entertaining to watch this almost twenty year old adult have the world’s quietest tantrum over the fact that his friend had found another playmate and wasn’t spending time with him. Xichen didn’t comment on it, just let him stew in peace and turned their conversation back to the plans for future night hunts.
Due to the volume of work that day, Xichen wasn’t able to see Mingjue much, which was probably a good thing, given that they were scheduled to have dinner with all five of them that night (including Nie Huaisang whose eyes never missed even the smallest detail, no matter how much he might pretend to play at being ignorant). Xichen was fairly sure that the younger brother was aware of Mingjue’s private affairs, but he still didn’t feel the need to give him a direct confirmation.
Xichen, Mingjue and Wangji were already seated at the dinner table in Xichen’s quarters when Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang arrived, looking windswept and in high spirits. They were also each clutching a couple of jars of Emperor’s Smile, which Wangji regarded with clear disapproval.
Xichen decided to overlook the transgression for the night and beckoned for them to sit down, which they did. The two ended up sharing a corner of the table, with Wangji sat next to Wei Wuxian. Xichen sat at the head of the table, sharing another corner with Mingjue on the far side of the table from the three younger men.
Since this was meant to be a casual meeting with friends, they decided to forgo the Lan sect rule about no talking at mealtime. Xichen was sure that having both Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang at the table would prove to be…informative.
The boys waited until the meal arrived and the attending disciples left the house before they pulled out the jars of alcohol and started pouring it. Wei Wuxian took a long sip, savouring the taste as the others started to eat.
“Mmm. I have heard so much about the Emperor’s Smile and it is truly excellent. So smooth and lovely on the tongue. I can’t believe I’ve never tried it before now.” He took another long drink, closing his eyes in bliss. “I can’t believe you guys don’t drink when you have alcohol this excellent basically at your doorstep. It should be a crime not to enjoy this.”
Next to him, Wangji’s lips narrowed into a displeased line. Nie Huaisang, who had been watching the whole scene unfold with amusement, lifted his own cup to his lips.
“So, how did you and Lan Wangji meet, Wei-ge? You still haven’t told me.”
“Oh,” Wei Wuxian laughed a little, his eyes narrowing in mischief, “you’re going to love this one.” He shot a look at Wangji, who was already looking apprehensive. “You know how I said in spring that I would go hunt the mountain demon that was eating people on the road to Qinghe?” He waited for Nie Huaisang’s nod. “Well, Lan Zhan seemed to have the same idea. Which would be great, normally, except that he came across me and thought that I was the demon.” He started laughing.
“He what?” Nie Huaisang asked, equally amused. Wei Wuxian waved his chopsticks in the air, still laughing.
“He came across me as I was fighting the mountain demon and thought that I must be a fox demon.” His smile widened into a fox-like grin when he saw that Wangji’s ears were slowly turning red with embarrassment. “So he attacked me and we ended up fighting for a bit. The mountain demon got away in the meantime. Then, once I finally managed to explain the situation, we teamed up and hunted down the actual mountain demon.”
Nie Huaisang was shaking his head in disbelief. Wangji looked like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.
“Is that true, Wangji?” Xichen had to ask. Surely his brother wouldn’t just attack a random cultivator like that?
Wangji hesitated, then gave a small, ashamed nod.
“In Lan Zhan’s defence,” Wei Wuxian continued, clearly enjoying the situation, “we were in the middle of the forest at night and I was dressed in black.” He paused, shooting another amused look at Wangji. “Also, I have been told that apparently me cackling like a maniac while I fight a flesh-eating demon with fire talismans is quite disturbing and can make the wrong impression.” He laughed again before taking another drink.
“You think?” Nie Huaisang said with a chuckle.
Xichen, who had seen Wei Wuxian fight before, tried to conjure up the mental image and felt a pang of pity for Wangji, who must have been horrified once he discovered that he had attacked an innocent human. Knowing Wei Wuxian, he had found the whole anecdote hilarious.
“Only you.” Mingjue shook his head, torn between amusement and exasperation.
“That’s almost as bad as the time you dressed up as a fierce corpse and nearly made Jin Zixuan soil himself when you jumped out at him in the middle of a hunt,” Nie Huaisang said.
“Hey, that's different!” Wei Wuxian protested. “We were twelve! And it’s not my fault that he was too busy showing off his fancy new robes to the girls and wasn’t paying attention!”
Nie Huaisang gave him a pointed look.
“You had to kneel for three days afterwards.”
Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes.
“Still worth it. The look on his face was hilarious.” He poked around his food bowl, piling some green vegetables on top of a small scoop of rice. “And he deserved it, for being such an ass to Shijie,” he added in a quieter voice.
“How is she doing?” Nie Huaisang asked.
Wei Wuxian finished chewing, then knocked back another cup of rice wine.
“Fine, as far as I know. I move around a lot so it’s hard to get her letters. Things seem to have calmed down a bit now.”
Nie Huaisang gave him a knowing look.
“I heard Jiang Cheng won the archery competition in Lanling recently,” he said, in a deliberately light tone. There was something off about the way he said it, but Xichen couldn’t figure out what.
“Did he?” Wei Wuxian responded, in an equally casual tone. “Good for him. Madam Yu must be so pleased.” His face was carefully neutral but there was a tightness to his posture that hadn’t been there a moment ago. This was also the first time Xichen had seen him mention his family in any capacity. It seemed that it wasn’t a pleasant topic for him.
“I can only imagine,” Nie Huaisang said casually, “considering that you won it for the last four years running.” He reached out to refill his cup. “They must be thrilled to keep the Jiang winning streak up.” Wei Wuxian shrugged in response.
“It’s not that hard to win. There was hardly any competition there when I went.”
Which was a blatant lie, as Xichen knew. The Lanling competition always drew the best archers from the sects and winning it was an honour for the people involved. The only reason why Wangji had not been participating the last few years was because he hadn’t been interested in showing off in front of a crowd.
He could feel small pieces of a puzzle slowly starting to come together in his head.
Wei Wuxian used the lull in conversation as an opportunity to change the topic, turning to Wangji instead.
“So, how come I’ve never seen you at any of the sect competitions, Lan Zhan? Is it because you’re shy or because you know that you’re so much better at all this stuff than the rest of us mortals so there’s not much point in participating?” Although the words could have been easily taken as an insult coming from someone else, they turned into a light tease on Wei Wuxian’s lips.
“I’m not better,” Wangji said quietly. Wei Wuxian scoffed.
“Oh come on, all the cultivators from the little sects always fall over themselves in awe when you show up somewhere. You must know you are pretty impressive.”
“Wei Ying can beat me,” Wangji disagreed, meeting Wei Wuxian’s eyes. Wei Wuxian remained unimpressed.
“Only about half the time,” he said.
Which was still incredibly impressive, knowing Wangji’s level of skill.
The two seemed to get stuck in a short staring match over it. In the end, Wei Wuxian ended up looking away, a small blush tinging his cheeks. Having proven his point, Wangji returned back to his meal, looking satisfied.
The conversation then turned to more general matters - night hunts and latest news from other sects. Nie Huaisang, as usual, proved to be a bottomless spring of gossip and half-heard rumours, which he was willing to relay after a bit of persuasion and several generous cups of Emperor’s Smile.
Wei Wuxian occasionally chimed in with a few anecdotes of the hunts he had gone on with Wangji, which ranged from the impressive (“and then we killed the three headed snake demon”) to the ridiculous (“we investigated the rumours of the moaning ghost in the abandoned building but it turned out to just be the merchant’s wife having a tryst with one of the serving boys”).
Eventually, he settled into a long story about a time where he had gone to investigate a series of disappearances of women in a small town near Shangqiu, only to discover that it was all being done by the local mayor, who was experimenting with forbidden forms of cultivation and was keeping a small army of reanimated corpses in a dungeon under his mansion. Wei Wuxian had gotten knocked out during his snooping in the house and ended up locked in with the corpses.
“So I wake up and all these corpses are suddenly coming towards me, looking hungry,” Wei Wuxian narrated, waving his half-empty wine cup in the air, “and my hands were bound behind my back and I didn’t have my sword on me so I figured out what the hell, I might as well try something really crazy and I just started singing.” He laughed. “I don’t think anyone has ever heard such a terrible rendition of Rest in all the time it’s been used. All your Lan ancestors would be turning in their graves if they heard it. It’s probably why half the corpses just decided to lie down - if it was me, I would be doing my best to get away from it too.”
He shot a look at Wangji who was sitting next to him, impassive.
“Luckily, Lan Zhan got there shortly after and dispatched them all so I didn’t get eaten and the poor corpses didn’t have to put up with my terrible music any longer.”
“The singing worked?” Xichen asked. That was remarkable, especially since the music hadn’t been channeled through a spiritual instrument, or used by someone who had been instructed in the Lan art of musical cultivation. Unless…Xichen gave Wangji a searching look.
“Oh no,” Wei Wuxian quickly defended, waving his hands, “don’t worry, Lan Zhan hasn’t been teaching me any secret Lan musical techniques on the side. It’s just, I’ve heard him play the tunes and felt him channel the energy enough times that I could make a decent enough guess at it. Obviously, it would have been more effective if I had a spiritual instrument but since I was in a pinch, the singing worked well enough.”
“Interesting,” was all Xichen said. “Maybe you could learn one or two pieces, if you find a willing instructor.” He shot Wangji a look.
It was as good a permission as he could give. Wei Wuxian was not a member of their clan, so teaching him proprietary techniques skirted the bounds of permitted behaviour, but if he did end up becoming part of the sect eventually, it would be all fine.
Apart from being useful to Wei Wuxian, the instruction would also give Wangji a good excuse to spend more time with Wei Wuxian and to study together.
And, last but not least, there was a part of Xichen that wanted to see what Wei Wuxian could become, how far he could go if he had the proper resources and support behind him and didn’t have to resort to learning from snippets of books he managed to hastily page through during a brief visit to another clan. If he could stop a dozen corpses in their tracks with just his voice thanks to a half-improvised musical technique, imagine what he could do if properly instructed. Him and Wangji together would become nigh unstoppable.
“That could be fun,” Wei Wuxian said. “I’m already pretty good with a dizi, but I’ve never tried channeling spiritual energy through it. Although,” he bit his lip, “I’m not sure I would be able to afford any formal instruction on this. Being a wandering cultivator doesn’t exactly pay a lot.”
Before Xichen could speak and explain himself, Wei Wuxian continued.
“And it doesn’t help when you travel with someone ridiculously selfless and honourable, who rejects the offered payments from the people we have helped half the time.” He cast a side eye at Wangji. “I keep telling Lan Zhan that I would like to save up some money but he says-”
“I can pay,” Wangji interrupted him, turning an intense stare at Wei Wuxian. Xichen had the feeling that this was an argument they’d had several times before.
“And while I appreciate that,” Wei Wuxian barrelled on, ignoring Wangji’s interruption, “I would still like to earn some money of my own. I mean, it makes sense, right?” he asked the rest of the room. “We won’t be travelling together forever, so I need to have money of my own to be able to get by.” He turned back to Wangji. “I don’t know why you keep being so stubborn about this, Lan Zhan. I’m not a part of your sect and I’m not bound by the Lan rules about payments, so it shouldn’t be a problem if I take the money offered, as long as it’s not financially ruining the people rewarding us.”
He made a small, frustrated noise and reached for the jar of alcohol, intent on refilling his glass. Since he was looking away, he missed the look of distress on Wangji’s face.
“Wei Ying wishes to leave?” Wangji asked in a small voice. Xichen was starting to feel like the rest of them were intruding on a very private conversation.
Wei Wuxian took a sip of his drink, then sighed.
“No, but surely, we can’t keep going like this forever? You have your sect duties and family obligations. No matter how fun travelling around is, there’s only so long you can do it before you have to go back.”
Wangji looked down into his cup of tea, lips pursed in a thin line.
Xichen knew that there were many potential solutions to his problem. Wangji could simply decide to take on more night-hunting duties and continue travelling. He could ask Wei Wuxian to come and live in Gusu with him, as a fellow cultivator. He could suggest becoming sworn brothers, which would ensure that they could stay together in the long term. He could offer to marry Wei Wuxian, thereby guaranteeing him both the backing of a clan and a steady income of money. There were so many options.
Instead, Wangji just sat there with an unhappy expression on his face and said nothing.
Xichen had never wished more that Wangji would be able to voice his thoughts than in that moment.
An awkward silence settled over the group. Wei Wuxian drained his cup, then grabbed the remaining jar of alcohol and stood up, stretching.
“Aiyah, it’s getting late. It’s such a beautiful night outside and I still have some Emperor’s Smile left, so I think I’ll take a walk and enjoy some in the moonlight.” He turned to Xichen with a smile that was clearly forced and bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality, Zewu-jun. Have a good night, Nie-ge, Huaisang. Lan Zhan.” He shot one last look at Wangji before he walked away in a poor semblance of his usual carefree swagger.
“He needs to stop doing that,” Nie Huaisang muttered once the door shut. “Leaving places,” he clarified when he saw Xichen’s questioning look.
At the word “leaving”, Wangji’s hands curled into fists on his knees. Nie Huaisang, with his eagle-sharp eyes, noticed. His face was flushed from the alcohol, but his eyes were clear when he met Wangji’s gaze.
“Has he ever told you why he left his sect, Lan-gongzi?” he asked, after a brief moment of hesitation.
Wangji shook his head mutely. He still looked miserable.
“He doesn’t talk about it,” Nie Huaisang said, “but it’s not hard to guess.” He glanced at the door, likely to make sure the man in question was truly gone. “He casts a long shadow, Wei Wuxian. Longer than most. Some people don’t mind, but many do. And some people can’t bear the thought of never stepping out of it.”
“Did they…” Wangji said, searching. Nie Huaisang shook his head.
“No, they didn’t kick him out, as far as I know. None of the rumours are true. He hasn’t killed anyone, or caused any horrible scandals. He simply…stepped back, because sometimes that’s the only way other people can get their time in the sun.”
Nie Huaisang finished his drink, then got up on slightly unsteady legs and pinned Wangji with a stare.
“He’s always been stupidly selfless. Don’t let him do that to you. He deserves better.”
He made a perfunctory bow towards Xichen and Wangji and wished them good night, then left as well.
What a stupidity, Xichen thought. For a clan to have someone of Wei Wuxian’s talents and to be…resentful? Envious? Of them instead of nurturing him and being proud that he is bringing the clan honour with his skill. He had personally never witnessed the Jiang family interacting together, but if Nie Huaisang’s words were true… What utter idiocy.
Wangji was quite likely the most talented cultivator of his generation (with Wei Wuxian being more or less on par), yet Xichen couldn’t imagine ever being envious of him. What his brother had was the result of talent, yes, but also skill and many years of extreme dedication, hard work and training. They were family. He couldn’t imagine ever asking him to…dim himself somehow to make Xichen look better. What a ridiculous idea.
Mingjue had originally been planning to stay in the Hanshi with Xichen, but seeing how unhappy Wangji looked, Xichen decided that it may be better to have a talk with him instead. He and Mingjue exchanged a look. Mingjue nodded, then stood up to leave as well, likely to go and make sure that Huaisang made it to the guest quarters without any incidents. Xichen knew he would be back later for their late night rendez-vous, but he appreciated being given the space to talk with his brother.
Xichen looked at Wangji’s pursed lips, at the way he was holding himself rigidly upright. He looked like he was miserable but had no idea what to do about it.
“Wangji,” Xichen said gently, “is everything all right?”
Wangji finally turned his head towards him and oh. The last time Xichen had seen eyes like that was after their mother had been locked away in her little cottage and their father was going half mad being away from her.
When Wangji had never shown any romantic interest in people growing up, be it the opposite or the same gender, a part of Xichen had hoped that it meant that they would both escape their father’s curse. Now, it seemed, it had finally found its way into Wangji’s heart.
“Brother,” Wangji said, “how do I- how- How do I get him to stay?” he managed to say finally.
“Have you asked him to stay?” It felt stupidly obvious, but he was fairly sure that Wangji had offered no such thing.
Wangji looked down at his lap again.
“No,” he said. “Wei Ying…is free. I do not wish to…bind him.”
“But you want to,” Xichen guessed. Wangji nodded reluctantly.
“Does he know how you feel?”
Wangji shook his head.
“That…would be a good start,” Xichen advised. “He…might be more inclined to stay, if he knew.”
“What if he doesn’t want… doesn’t feel-?” Wangji said hesitantly.
Xichen could hardly believe that the shy young man in front of him was the same person who used to go around and ruthlessly discipline people for breaking sect rules.
He still remembered the disdain seventeen year old Wangji had shown when he had come to Xichen to report that he had punished two Lan disciples who had engaged in relations in one of the guest lodgings. Back then he had been fierce and merciless, regarding the other disciples who had succumbed to their fit of passion with a mix of bafflement and scorn for their lapse of judgement.
Yet here he was, stumbling over his words because he didn’t know if the boy he liked could possibly like him back.
If it was anyone else, Xichen would find the entire situation amusing and a bit ironic. A great man, defeated by his first crush.
However, since it was Wangji, who always took things deadly seriously, Xichen tamped down the smile that was threatening to appear on his face and instead opted to give Wangji an encouraging pat on his shoulder.
“Just be honest with him. I’m sure it will go well.”
Wangji nodded once, then got up to leave as well.
“Thank you, Xiongzhang.”
Watching the rigid line of Wangji’s back as he left, and having seen the intense way Wangji regarded Wei Wuxian, the fierce longing and jealousy, it was clear that Wangji had inherited their father’s obsessive nature when it came to love.
Xichen and Mingjue’s relationship was easy, uncomplicated. They met once in a while, when time allowed, and enjoyed each other’s company and the closeness of their bodies. They both knew where they stood. As Sect Leaders, they were aware that they would one day have to marry a woman and produce heirs for their sects, and they were both fine with that. They loved each other, but they also loved their respective sects and they were fine with being lovers or sworn brothers, as long as they were able to stay in each other’s lives in some capacity.
Wangji would never accept an arrangement like that, now that he had found the other half of his soul.
His love was possessive, all consuming. He had fallen in love with Wei Wuxian and would likely never make space in his heart for anyone else.
Wei Wuxian was a good man. Xichen didn’t know if he felt anything romantic towards Wangji, but at the very least they were friends and Wei Wuxian seemed very fond of him.
Xichen doubted that Wei Wuxian was aware yet of the nature of Wangji’s regard for him but he could only pray that when he found out, he would be kind about it.
If this went wrong, Wangji’s love had the potential to destroy them both.
**********