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Day 6: Sacrifices, Devotion, & Role Reversal AU
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“Oh, how far the mighty has fallen!” Wen Chao laughs. “Lan Er-gongzi is brought to me! Is it my birthday or were they trying to appease me?”
Lan Wangji says nothing as he stares impassively at the Wen before him. He kneels before the other; his impeccable Lan white robes he wears are covered in dirt and blood. Wen Chao’s followers snicker and him as they ruthlessly kick him in the stomach. His lack of reaction makes them grow angrier and angrier.
“This is the next best present to me! After all, it wasn’t that long ago that my disciples brought to me Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s head disciple!”
Lan Wangji knows that happened, he knows how the attack went, and he knows what Wen Chao was trying to imply. It’s all because the Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s heir came to him; his face pale and exhaustion is etched into his face.
Amidst the pain he’s in, Lan Wangji doesn’t regret a single thing.
“Help, Lan Er-gongzi,” Jiang Wanyin begs. “W-Wei Wuxian… He… He...”
Lan Wangji’s face turns grim as he motions the other to the Jingshi. He knows something is amiss when he sees Wei Wuxian’s paler face. He doesn’t want to know what transpired before them but…
“What happened?”
“Wei Wuxian… That idiot,” Jiang Wanyin growls. “He got himself captured by those Wen dogs. He… He—!”
“Bring him inside.”
Jiang Cheng, now in tears, nods and carefully maneuvers Wei Wuxian’s frail body to the Jade.
Too light, that’s the first thing Lan Wangji notices as he carries the man to his bed. His body obviously took a harsh beating since the last time they had parted, which was when Wei Wuxian got himself kicked out of the study program in Cloud Recesses. There’s blood—lots of blood. Lan Wangji can’t distinguish which is Wei Wuxian’s or the opponent’s. There’s a significant rip at the front of his robes, a scar lays bare; Lan Wangji cannot be mistaken—it must be from the Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s very own disciplinary whip.
He carefully lays the broken body on his bed and sits next to him. He takes Wei Wuxian’s wrist into his hand, feeling for his pulse.
This can’t be!
“Wei Ying… His jindan,” Lan Wangji’s heart breaks into a million pieces.
“Wen Zhuliu. That fucking Core-Melting Hand!”
Cursing is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses, but Lan Wangji cannot care less now. The light of his life… he—
“You must know a way! Your Gusu Lan has techniques and… books, right!? Forbidden texts!?” questioned the young Jiang, his tone pleading, like the person in front of him is his last hope. “You have to help him, Lan Wangji. I beg you. If there’s anyone who could help him, I could only think of you.
“Please… just bring back his jindan.”
“... Leave Wei Ying here. Come back after three days.”
Jiang Wanyin’s face morphs into one of relief as he sags down onto the floor, almost lifeless, like the strings that were carrying him up finally snapped at the last minute.
“Please, Lan Er-gongzi. Wei Wuxian and A-Jie are the only ones I have left.”
Lan Wangji knows he can’t make any promises, but he will die trying.
As far as he knew, there’s no way to bring back a person’s jindan that has been crushed by the infamous Core-Melting Hand. He closes his eyes and only responds, “I will do whatever it takes.”
“Yunmeng Jiang Sect will forever be in your debt, Lan Er-gongzi,” Jiang Cheng says shakily.
“No need.” For I will do anything for Wei Ying. Attempt the impossible.
“Where will you go, Jiang Wanyin?” Lan Wangji asks. Lotus Pier has been burnt to ashes, like how the Cloud Recesses was once.
The man remains quiet.
Lan Xichen enters the Jingshi.
“Wangji. Jiang-gongzi,” he greets.
“Xiong-zhang,” Lan Wangji says, not surprised his brother managed to find out about this predicament. His brother really is perceptive. Lan Xichen had just recently gotten back to the Cloud Recesses, bringing their Gusu Lan ancient book collections and scriptures.
“Zewu-jun,” Jiang Wanyin acknowledges, albeit shakily.
“Stay in the Cloud Recesses. You need to rest as well,” Lan Xichen suggests an invite.
“I wouldn’t want to impose on the Gusu Lan—”
“There will be none caused,” the older Lan reassures.
“T-Thank you.”
“Wangji has also sent for people to bring Jiang Yanli from Meishan to here when we knew that the Wens were looking for the both of you,” Lan Xichen informs.
“I—we will be forever in your debt,” Jiang Wanyin cups his arms and bows deeply to the Gusu Twin Jades, only for it to be cut in by the First Jade.
“No need,” Lan Xichen says, still smiling. “You must’ve been exhausted from your entire trip. You did come to Gusu from Yunmeng with Wei-gongzi in tow. Let me escort you to where you’ll be staying.”
After Jiang Wanyin composes himself enough, he bows to Lan Wangji once more. He follows Lan Xichen and the two leave Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian alone.
Lan Wangji looks at the man that lays still beside him—the light of his life—diminishing in front of his very eyes. He carries so many fresh wounds and injuries. It pains Lan Wangji to the core.
His head is muddled. Thoughts plague it incessantly.
Lan Wangji readjusts Wei Wuxian’s position, making sure he lies on the pillow comfortably. His hands are trembling, not because of the man’s weight, but because he fears. Wei Wuxian is right in front of him. He’s really right here. Here, in the Jingshi. Lan Wangji leaves his room to gather some warm water in a bucket. He places it on the floor right next to the bed that his life is lying on. Steadying his breath, and with careful hands and dexterous fingers, he unbuckles Wei Wuxian's belt, which has been punctured by what it seems to be a small dagger.
He removes the wet, dirtied, and bloodied outer robe that has been drenched by the rainfall from their journey. Wei Wuxian’s inner robe is the only layer that stands between Lan Wangji’s hands and Wei Wuxian’s skin. Lan Wangji tells himself that he needs to do this—he needs to tend to his injury. His heart is pounding so quickly that it rings in his eardrums. Wei Wuxian’s robes are split open from the lashes left by the Yunmeng Jiang’s discipline whip. There are a total of six lashes. Lan Wangji can’t bring himself to think whether or not he received these deathly whips before or after he got his jindan removed. Lan Wangji sees the many wounds. He lightly traces them with his fingers, careful that he would not touch them as rashly as possible. The wounds are still fresh; if they’re not treated soon, Wei Wuxian will have an infection, and he will not be able to recover from that so quickly, especially not without his jindan. Lan Wangji goes to his study and gathers some medicinal herbs specifically meant for injuries caused by spiritual weapons.
With a warm, slightly dampened handkerchief, Lan Wangji starts cleaning around Wei Wuxian’s wounds. He carefully patches the bundled herbs over Wei Wuxian’s injury and imbues them with his own spiritual energy. He wraps Wei Wuxian’s waist in a cotton bandage, ensuring the medicinal patch is properly secured.
After the injury has been tended to, Lan Wangji cleans Wei Wuxian’s arms. They are too thin. Wei Wuxian is so delicate, so precious to Lan Wangji that he wants nothing but safety and happiness for him.
Lan Wangji carries Wei Wuxian and sits him upright, placing Wei Wuxian’s head on his shoulders and leaning his chest on his own. Now that he is in this position, Lan Wangji carefully slides his arms into the sleeves of his white, perfect, and stainless Gusu Lan inner robe. Once the robe is completely on, Lan Wangji lays him back into a sleeping position.
Using a fresh handkerchief, he dips it into the second wooden tub that contains clean, warm water. Squeezing the excess water from the cloth, he pats it lightly against Wei Wuxian’s face. Lan Wangji starts off with his forehead, then moves to his eyes, making sure that his touches are soft and delicate, then continues to his cheeks, his jaws and his lips. Lan Wangji allows himself to trace over the man’s beautiful features with his other hand.
“Wei Ying…” Lan Wangji finally cries out softly. He had held his tears in for so long, he felt they were going to turn to ice just as his heart had. It is now up to Lan Wangji, who will bear the weight of the world on his own shoulders for Wei Wuxian.
He knows that asking his Shufu for permission to enter the Library Pavilion’s Forbidden Chamber is futile, for he has not read all the books in the Library Pavilion yet. Lan Wangji makes sure Wei Wuxian’s current state is stable enough before he leaves his Jingshi.
As night falls, he makes his way to Lan Xichen’s Hanshi. The night was beautifully lit by the full moon in the dark sky. The Cloud Recesses was indeed one of a kind, but his heart feels dead.
“Xiong-zhang,” Lan Wangji announces his arrival and knocked on the door.
“You may enter, Wangji.”
Lan Wangji does so. He knows he could never attempt what his mind has set on without Lan Xichen.
“What is the matter, Wangji?” Lan Xichen knows immediately that there’s something bothering his brother with just one glance.
Lan Wangji does not say anything but hands his brother a book which he’d extracted from the Forbidden Chamber.
“What is this?” Lan Xichen asked, proceeding to open the book when he’s not given a response.
“Wangji, this—” Lan Xichen’s eyes widen, his gold eyes turning darker by the second. He knows what that was, after all, he was better at everything than Lan Wangji is.
26th Forbidden Technique by CheetArts
“I need your help, Xiong-zhang,” Lan Wangji begs.
“No!” This is the first time that Lan Xichen has ever raised his voice at his little brother. He slams the book on his study table. “Do you know what will happen if you fail!?”
“Yes.”
“The chance of this procedure failing is 50%, Wangji.”
He knows that. He knows the risks he would be putting himself into if he were to follow through with this plan. “Will save Wei Ying.”
“You do not know if this will work!”
“It is a risk I am willing to take.” Lan Wangji did not look his brother in the eyes the whole time. “Fifty percent failure also means 50% success.”
Lan Xichen sighed, “Wangji, please. Think abo—”
“My mind is set. Xiong-zhang, I ask you to do this for me.”
Lan Xichen knows, really knows, that his brother is the most stubborn person he knows. He also knows that every day that passes where his Wangji lives without Wei Wuxian, is a day not worth living, breathing for him. Lan Xichen sees the light in Lan Wangji’s eyes go off when he tells him that Wei Wuxian’s jindan is gone.
But now, Lan Xichen sees that there’s a glint of hope in his brother’s eyes. Who is he to take that away from his brother?
“You know that you will never be able to cultivate anymore, right? The many years you spent harnessing it, all gone!”
“Mn.”
“You'll live just like any non-cultivator, any normal person!”
“I understand the risks,” Lan Wangji answers resolutely. “You cannot change my mind in this matter.”
“Why… Wangji, why!?”
“Because my jindan is nothing compared to Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji admits.
Lan Xichen sighs. He understands the implications behind his brother’s words. Lan Xichen sees the same expression his brother wore back when they were still kids—back when Lan Wangji didn't know anything about his A-Niang and her “sudden disappearance.”
Lan Xichen knows he’s fighting a losing battle. A notable thing his brother exemplifies is his sheer stubbornness. It hasn't changed—not then, and not now. “What should I do with you? You know I could never refuse you,” Lan Xichen breathed. “Whatever you decide to do, I will stand by you,” he affectionately pats Lan Wangji’s head, before pulling him into a hug. “You do know, Wangji, that nothing will ever be the same again. Are you really sure about this?”
“I have never been so sure about anything my entire life,” Lan Wangji says, wrapping his arms around his brother.
“Alright,” Lan Xichen finalizes. “I’ll help you see this through.”
“Thank you, Xiong-zhang.” For the first time in a very long while, Lan Xichen sees Lan Wangji smile.
Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen decide to do the procedure in a day’s time; not only does his brother have to carefully read through the instructions with meticulousness, Lan Xichen has to know how to be able to work around some mishaps if there were to be any. Lan Wangji thanks his brother from the bottom of his heart every time he sees Lan Xichen, head buried in the scrolls they managed to gather about core transferring.
A day passes by and the Twin Jades of Lan get to work. His brother offers to carry Wei Wuxian to the Cold Pond, but Lan Wangji blatantly refuses. Lan Xichen watches in amusement and silence as Lan Wangji bends down to carry the man in his arms. Lan Wangji watches Wei Wuxian, whose face seemed a bit healthier since his stay with Lan Wangji in the Jingshi. They walk in silence as they end up at the cold pond. It’s quiet.
Lan Wangji carefully maneuvers Wei Wuxian’s body on a somehow flat surface near the edge of the Cold Pond. His still face doesn’t make Lan Wangji feel a bit comforted, the always present smile isn’t there, only the tranquil face of someone who’s life is on the line.
Shaking his head, Lan Wangji refuses to be lost in those thoughts again. So far, Wei Wuxian has been recovering steadily and no sign of decline seems to be imminent.
Save Wei Ying, is the only thoughts that run through his mind. I must save him.
Lan Wangji sits in a meditating position parallel to Wei Wuxian’s laid out body; his brother sits not too close to either of them, but close enough if there were to be any casualties. Neither of them have done this, they’re far too inexperienced to do this. They should have at least a proficient healer to do the procedure but Lan Wangji insists to do this in silence. After all, if there were to be rumors of Lan Wangji’s jindan removed from his body for the sake of the infamous Wei Wuxian, the cultivation world will surely be put into more chaos.
“Xiong-zhang,” Lan Wangji says softly. “Thank you.”
Lan Wangji knows there are only so many words of gratitude he can say. He knows how much Lan Xichen is hurting. But still, the older Lan is doing this for him. There are not enough words of gratitude he can say.
Lan Xichen smiles. It isn’t the smile he always wears. It’s one that’s filled with pain and worry.
“Anything for you, Wangji.”
It starts. Lan Xichen strums a loud chord. Sound particles reverberate inside the Cold Pond before the air around them turns stagnant. If the forbidden text’s theory is right, if Lan Wangji is focused enough, if the music Lan Xichen is playing is sufficient, if he presses his jindan downwards first, then he can harness enough spiritual energy to propel his jindan out of his body with almost little damage to his own body. If the theory is right.
Beads of sweat form around Lan Wangji’s forehead as they drip to his forehead ribbon. It hurts. He can feel his insides melting from the purity of the spiritual energy being pushed out of his body. Lan Wangji almost feels his mind losing itself as the pain overtakes his rational thinking. It hurts, Lan Wangji’s body screams. Stop it! Put it back!
“Focus, Wangji!” Lan Xichen strums his guqin again and starts to play Qing Xin Yin—a family of mind-calming musical techniques in their Gusu Lan Sect. Lan Wangji’s mind suddenly clears itself of the negative thoughts as he gives a short nod to his brother. It’s not just him suffering this pain; his brother watching can also feel the pain of the jindan moving in his body.
Lan Wangji can feel his jindan quivering in below his navel, in his lower dantian. He feels his root to the tree of life slowly being forced up. He uses his spiritual energy to move his jindan up his body so it reaches his middle dantian. His body trembles at the intensity of the move, but his brother’s playing can only do so much to soothe the ache his body feels and his confused mind.
Move! Lan Wangji tells himself, tells his core. His fingers ache to move and clutch his chest, as if he is to physically move the jindan, but he can’t do that. If he were to touch his jindan recklessly, the worst case scenario would be the fact that he could lose his own jindan.
He feels his precious orb now at the level of his heart, his crimson palace, at his middle dantian.
“You’re almost there, Wangji!” Lan Xichen shouts.
Wei Ying…
Wei Ying.
Wei. Ying.
It’s almost like Wei Wuxian’s name is a mantra he tells himself as his jindan grovels up his throat and reaches his mouth. Wei Wuxian is his constant, amongst all the havoc now his body is in. The spiritual energy from his body snaps, and everything is suddenly dark. Only a concentrated ball of light illuminates the area, and he feels his body unable to do anything as he falls sideways.
“It’s done, Wangji…” he hears his brother say before he succumbs to exhaustion and pain.
It’s done.
“Oh, how far the mighty has fallen!” Wen Chao laughs. “Lan Er-gongzi is brought to me! Is it my birthday or were they trying to appease me?
“This is the next best present to me! After all, it wasn’t that long ago that my disciples brought to me Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s head disciple!”
Shut the fuck up, Lan Wangji’s mind supplied.
“Noise… is forbidden,” Lan Wangji whispers out.
“Eh? What did you say?”
“Must… copy rules…”
“Rules? Hah! Now that you’re at my mercy, you dare talk about your Gusu Lan rules? How pathetic!” Wen Chao spits.
“Shut… up,” Lan Wangji says, his head still bowed down. “Too noisy. Speaking nonsense.”
“Look down there, Lan Er-gongzi. Do you see where it ends? Do you know where we are?” Wen Chao taunts, ignoring Lan Wangji’s previous statement. “Pretty sure your books from your Library Pavilion have written all about it, all about Luanzang Gang.”
What Wen Chao said is right. Lan Wangji knows this place. He’s heard of the place multiple times in his Shufu’s lectures as well as scrolls in the Library Pavilion. Mountain of corpses—an old battle ground; one can point their shovel at any point and they can dig up a corpse. This is where many nameless corpses are wrapped up and tossed—forgotten by the living.
Lan Wangi knows that no living person has ever survived going into Luanzang Gang. No living person has ever returned. Their body will rot away and their soul will dissipate into nothingness. “Amazing, isn’t it? Look at the resentful energy it houses. You won’t get to see much of it since it’s daytime, but just wait until night comes, then you will get to see a marvelous exhibition of all sorts of things. Consider yourself lucky, Lan Er-gongzi, to be able to witness such… beauty. It’s going to be very different from the scenes you lot see at the Cloud Recesses, but I think you can learn to appreciate it.
“Let’s see if you’d still that proud look on you, Second Jade of Lan.”
It’s been three months—three months too long. Wei Wuxian still doesn’t know where Lan Wangji is, neither does Zewu-jun or Old Man Lan. It worries him all the more to know that Lan Wangji’s own brother and uncle don’t even know where he’s wandered off to.
But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Lan Wangji is not one to just wander off, he isn’t the kind of person to disappear without giving at least someone a notice.
Wei Wuxian has asked Lan Xichen many times to play Wen Ling because he knows—he hopes—that Lan Wangji is still out there, somewhere. He’s got to be. He wasn’t the type of person who would leave his brother, his uncle, and his sect behind. He will be back—he has to be back.
Besides, Wei Wuxian feels indebted to the man. He’s given Wei Wuxian another reason to stay alive. Lan Wangji really did attempt the impossible and succeeded in repairing his jindan. He needs the other man alive to give his gratitude.
He and Jiang Cheng have just arrived Qinghe as Nie Mingjue has taken it back and killed Wen Xu. They have matters to discuss regarding the Sunshot Campaign. But for Wei Wuxian, it’s not just that.
“Zewu-jun, Chifeng-zun,” the two Jiangs say in coherence as they bow to their seniors.
“Wei-gongzi, Jiang-gongzi,” Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue bow as well.
“I heard news that Wen Chao is at Yiling Supervisory Office and that’s the last one which we haven’t attacked,” Nie Mingjue informs.
“Chifeng-zun, Wei Ying requests for a battle assignment,” Wei Wuxian walks forward and cups his hands in front of him.
“Me too,” Jiang Cheng falls into his step.
“Yiling is in the Southwest hinterland, right next to Qishan’s fortress. It’s impregnable,” Nie Mingjue warns.
“Wen Chao slaughtered and our entire Jiang clan,” Jiang Cheng insists.
“Chifeng-zun,” Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng ask again.
“Mingjue-xiong,” Lan Xichen gives their commander in chief a look and Nie Mingjue acknowledges.
“Very well. Take off tomorrow,” Nie Mingjue finalizes and the two Yunmeng Jiang Prides leave in hope.
Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng leave bright and early the next day, headed towards Yiling. Along the way, they come across Wen soldiers (low and high ranking ones) who have their throats slit open. The wounds are not by a sword, but by something far, far finer.
“This…” Wei Wuxian mutters as he examines the bodies. It’s clean, straight to the point, no hesitation.
It’s done… beautifully. Like a painter painting on a clear canvas, ready to be painted on. He feels goosebumps rise on his skin. This person who came before them, who killed all the Wens before they got here. He’s dangerous, Wei Wuxian’s mind supports his observations. This person is too dangerous to be loose.
“Jiang Cheng,” Wei Wuxian says warningly to his shidi. “Who would do such a thing?”
“I don’t fucking care, as long as this person is on our side.”
He has a point. But why, why does this all feel so wrong?
They reach Yiling Supervisory Office by nightfall. Dead bodies lie everywhere. The mysterious person is here. Wei Wuxian knows it, feels it—him.
They enter the area, wary and uncertain. Would this mysterious man suddenly attack them somehow? If they had planned to, they would’ve already struck. Why wait till they arrive at Yiling?
“Jiang Cheng, it’s too dangerous to charge in,” Wei Wuxian advises.
Jiang Cheng looks at him, confusion on his face. “Why not?! We have to look if there are any survivors, and kill those Wen dogs!”
“I know, and I want to do that too!” Wei Wuxian cries out. “If the man who killed all those other Wens are here, you know you can’t be sure that he won’t kill us too.”
Jiang Cheng looks at him and sighs. He knows Wei Wuxian is right (when was he ever wrong about his judgment); he has to think this rationally as the next sect leader of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect. He mustn’t get himself or Wei Wuxian killed in this excursion.
“Alright, we watch from the roof, does that make it any safer?”
Wei Wuxian nods. “That’s a much safer option.”
They skillfully climb up the walls and watch from the hole on the roof, and there Wei Wuxian sees the recognizable figure of the man—it belongs to the man who stopped Wei Wuxian at the walls of his home. Wei Wuxian had snuck in two jars of Emperor’s Smile, and laughed at this man’s beautiful face while doing so.
He sees the recognizable forehead ribbon on the hair of the said man who enters the cold room with an even colder face that Wei Wuxian has missed for a long time. The face that this man wears, is not the one Wei Wuxian’s memories hold so dearly, not the one he dreams of almost every night, and not the one he’s been aching to see for the past three months.
It’s too sinister than the one he knows, far too diabolical. The physique of this man is the same to the other he has been yearning to see again, but it is now almost clear that the personality and temperament of the man he looks for is but just a figment of his imagination and of his hopes. He was almost a different man, and that scared him; he couldn’t help but think he failed Lan Wangji, that he didn’t put more effort to find him.
He’s not clad in the white and soft blue robes that he used to be in. The robes he wears were dark—the type of robes he wouldn’t expect Lan Wangji would touch, much less wear. And his eyes... Lan Wangji's eyes are not golden anymore but are amber in color. It's haunting, beautifully haunting.
Lan Wangji glares at the two people in front of him, eyes indifferent and cold. The two—Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu—look at Lan Wangji in terror. It’s as if he had done something far more gruesome than they ever did.
“Wen Zhuliu.”
“Lan Wangji,” Wen Zhuliu says.
“Hand me Wen Chao, and I will let you go.”
“I will not do that. I’m in debt to Wen Ruohan.”
“Pathetic.”
The Core-Melting hand charges forward to Lan Wangji.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian harnesses his spiritual energy and creates a hole from the roof. He and Jiang Cheng jumped down.
Zidian flares out as Jiang Cheng activates it from his finger. Lan Wangji watches on impassively while Wen Chao looks like he wants to escape from there.
Wen Chao kneels and begs for the three of them to give him mercy.
“W-W-Wei-gongzi, Jiang-gongzi, Lan Er-gongzi,” Wen Chao kowtows as he tugs onto Lan Wangji’s robes.
Lan Wangji doesn’t move a single muscle and doesn’t even spare him a single glance.
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have thrown you down into Luanzang Gang!” Wen Chao slaps his own disfigured face.
“Silence.” Lan Wangji glares down at him.
Luanzang Gang? Was that where Lan Zhan had been all along? Wei Wuxian knows exactly what type of place that is. He feels the hair on his skin rise. Is this why Lan Wangji came back a different person?
“Lan Zh—” Wen Chao moves his knees on the ground and now begs the Yunmeng Jiang siblings.
“J-Jiang-gongzi—” Lan Wangji intercepts Wen Chao with his guqin. “Worthless. You dare ask forgiveness?”
Dark wisps of energy suddenly cloud around Lan Wangji's figure, engulfing the other. Lan Wangji looks different.
No, this is not Lan Wangji.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian reaches out and grabs Lan Wangji’s arm. The resentful energy around Lan Wangji flicks it away like it’s nothing.
Lan Wangji continues, “Atone for your sins through death.”
Purple lightning blazes in the light as Jiang Cheng activates his Zidian once more.
Tonight, Wen Chao paid for what he’d done. He rained down death on Yunmeng Jiang’s Lotus Pier and caused the losses of two precious jindan...or just one.
“Lan Zhan… are you—why—were you at Luanzang Gang the entire time?”
Lan Wangji doesn’t respond with a yes or a no, he only says, “Wei Ying.”
It’s the two words that Wei Wuxian have been yearning to hear, but something is amiss.
Deep down, he knows something must have happened to Lan Wangji, and the cause of it was all because of Wen Chao. But how? Why? It doesn’t make sense. Wen Chao or Wen Zhuliu will never be able to touch a hair on Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji is too strong for either of them to attack; Lan Wangji is more capable than any other cultivators alive.
Lan Zhan is Lan Zhan, the strongest person Wei Wuxian knows—on the inside and on the outside.
Also, was he using resentful energy just a while ago? The exact same energy Lan Wangji told him was too dangerous to harness? Why? Why would he practice and harness the same energy Lan Wangji told Wei Wuxian was too dangerous? There are so many questions in Wei Wuxian’s head but he knows this isn’t the time for them.
“Lan Zhan, go back to Gusu. Zewu-jun and Old Man Lan would be so happy to see you fine.”
Wei Wuxian is met with nothing but a look of stubbornness, animosity, resistance, and darkness. Lan Wangji looks at him with the same amount of hatred in his eyes, but there’s another emotion in them that Wei Wuxian couldn’t decipher. He speaks one word resolutely.
“No.”
Lan Wangji disappears into the night. Wei Wuxian tries to reach out but just like that, he slips through his fingers. Black wisps of energy caress his skin, as if comforting him.
Then it’s gone.
Jiang Cheng joins Wei Wuxian back in the room after he has arranged for their journey back to Qinghe. “Lan Wangji is different. You feel it too, don’t you?” Jiang Cheng mutters. All Wei Wuxian can do is nod because his shidi is right.
“I need to find out why. Things are not as simple as they sound.”
“Let’s go back to Qinghe and tell Zewu-jun about it. We owe them our lives. You owe Lan Wangji your life. If he hadn’t found a way to repair your jindan, we wouldn’t be standing here.”
“You think I don’t know that? I didn’t even get to say thanks,” Wei Wuxian realizes and cries out. “Jiang Cheeeeng!!”
One of their Yunmeng Jiang disciples comes running to them and informs them that there seems to be a prisoner locked in the cell. And the two immediately followed said disciple to find out who. It’s Wen Qing.
“Wen Qing!?” Wei Wuxian exclaims.
“We have to help her. Wen Ning was the one who helped me escape when I went back to Lotus Pier to get you,” Jiang Cheng explains. Some people complain about having a Wen in their midst, but Jiang Cheng’s Zidian sparked, making those people shut up.
The three along with the rest leave during daybreak the next morning, headed back towards Qinghe.
It’s lonely at Yiling. It’s cold.
Lan Wangji has never felt so cold before. He supposes that it’s only natural, for he is now without something that has always filled him with warmth and security.
Lan Wangji doesn’t know why he still meditates when it’s useless now he lost his jindan, but he still does. Call it a habit. Call it discipline. Perhaps he just misses an old part of him.
But till this day, he doesn’t regret a single thing. Nothing is more important than Wei Wuxian.
He strums his guqin and the notes fly in the air as the cold wind blows.
“Lan Zhan…”
He hears someone call him from behind. He hears Wei Wuxian call him. Is this a dream? Or a reality?
Lan Wangji puts aside his guqin before turning his head just slightly, in case he’s imagining all of this.
“Lan Zhan, I’m here.”
He really is here.
Wei Wuxian stands there, his always present smile permeates the cold wind; and suddenly, he doesn’t feel too cold anymore.
“Wei Ying, what are you doing her—”
Lan Wangji’s words are interrupted as the man in front of him runs to him and wraps his arms around his neck.
Warm, Lan Wangji notes Wei Ying is warm.
He feels his part of his robes get soaked. Wei Wuxian trembles in his arms, soft sniffles leave the other man’s mouth. He’s crying.
“Wei Ying.”
“How dare you, Lan Wangji!?”
Wei Ying… “Zewu-jun told me everything,” Wei Wuxian exclaims, and Lan Wangji’s blood runs cold. “Why, Lan Zhan!? WHY?”
“Because Wei Ying is more important to me than anything else in this world,” Lan Wangji wipes Wei Wuxian’s tears away, only for his own to stream down his face.
“Lan Zhan…” he raises his hand and cups Lan Wangji’s face. He can feel his cheekbone. It’s thin, too thin. “Will do it a thousand times again.”
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian says, still sniffling, “you look like a fuddy-duddy, but you’re actually a huge romantic, aren’t you?” “You gave up your jindan for me… I can’t believe it. You are such an idiot!” Wei Wuxian punches him in the chest.
Lan Wangji doesn’t reply, but he kisses Wei Wuxian’s head.
The latter has just realized how good it feels to be held by Lan Wangji. Why, why hadn’t he come and find him sooner? But he knows the answer. He hadn’t come to Yiling sooner because he was afraid, afraid to face the truth that someone would do such a thing for him. It’s unbelievable, yet, here they stand in each other’s arms.
“Still, I don’t think anyone would’ve done that for me,” Wei Wuxian admits. “Maybe Jiang Cheng, but that guy lives for cultivation. I don’t think I could live with myself if he gave it all up for a half-baked brother who can’t take anything seriously. I’m a useless cultivator who prefers to laze around and drink lots of Emperor’s Smile.
“I would be okay to live without a jindan, Lan Zhan.”
“Would not let you do that,” Lan Wangji says. “Would rather risk myself than risk you.”
“It was my decision to make, not yours. Do you know that I would give up my own for you too? That’s if Lan Xichen would even allow mine to be inside you or if he hadn’t thought about it himself too,” Wei Wuxian says. “But it’s like you're with me wherever I go. This spiritual energy is from all the years you cultivated.
“Ugh, you’re such an idiot!” Wei Wuxian stomps the ground almost childishly.
“And I’ve seen you use it, use the resentful energy. Don’t think I didn’t notice, Lan Zhan, do you remember telling me that it's unorthodox and it’s not a means to an end, and that the cultivation world will not take it so lightly?”
“I remember.”
Wei Wuxian knows that if Lan Wangji had a choice, he wouldn’t have resorted to this means.
“Be honest with me, Lan Zhan. Is it because…” He takes a deep breath. “...because demonic cultivation is the only method that allows you to cultivate without a jindan?”
Lan Wangji doesn’t need to reply because his facial expression answers Wei Wuxian just as clear as a worded answer would.
“It’s all my fault.” Wei Wuxian buries his face into his hand.
“I wish I’d never met you, Lan Zhan. I’ve brought you nothing but pain.”
“No,” Lan Wangji says. “Don’t say that…”
“You got punished back then for drinking…!”
“Mn.”
“You had to copy your own sect’s rules with me…!”
“Wei Yi—”
“You almost had to die transferring—”
“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji says sternly. “Not your fault. My choice. Xiong-zhang wanted to refuse, but I wanted to.”
He brings Wei Wuxian’s face closer to his until their temples touch, “I wanted to.”
“I will not, will NOT, let you walk alone on this single-log bridge until it’s dark, Lan Zhan,” he breathes these words.
“Wei Yi—”
“Lan Wangji, don’t ‘Wei Ying’ me. I’m serious!
“I don’t care what you do, I will not berate you (so we have three of these lines). I don’t care what you say, I will not leave you. I don’t care where you run to, I will always find you. You’re a part of me now. And that’s your fault! Is this how you want to bind me to you forever, huh Lan Zhan? Is that it? You could’ve just told me! I didn’t need your jindan. I just need YOU!” Wei Wuxian shoots in a breath.
“From now on, wherever you go, I’ll be right beside you. Nothing will take you away from me, not again.”
“A-Are you sure, Wei Ying? This… what I am now…” Lan Wangji looks away.
Wei Wuxian moves his face, facing his own again as he looks longingly into those golden eyes which are no more, but deep amber ones.
"Don't look away, Lan Zhan. You, you are still you. Lan Zhan will always be Lan Zhan, no matter what. You may not have a golden core, but it is your golden heart that makes you who you are. Do you remember the oath that we took atop the Cloud Recesses?”
“To stand with justice. To live with no regrets,” Lan Wangji states.
“I will stand by you, to live with you, with no regrets,” Wei Wuxian adds.
“They will come for me. It is just a matter of time,” Lan Wangji addresses.
“You, are the Second Jade of Lan, son to Qingheng-jun, nephew to Grandmaster Lan and brother to Zewu-jun,” Wei Wuxian strongly asserts. “They will not touch you so easily. If roles were reversed and if I was the one… now, that would be a different case. They wouldn’t care for a son of a myrmidon and for an adopted son of the late Yunmeng Jiang zhong-zhu.
“You and I know that the cultivation world is not what they make themselves to be. They tend to do things that are convenient for them, and coming for you, Lan Wangji, will not be an easy task. Do you think they would go to such an extent to go against both Gusu Lan and Yunmeng Jiang? After all, the Yunmeng Jiang Sect is also indebted to you for saving my life. I know Jiang Cheng would do anything to keep you safe, for me.
“So listen to me, for once, Lan Zhan. Please. Come back to Gusu with me.
“If you say no, I’m going to jump off this cliff, Lan Zhan. You don’t have your jindan anymore so you possibly can’t catch me.
“Wait… you can’t catch me, can you?” Wei Wuxian cocks his eyebrows.
“I can,” Lan Wangji answers.
“Oh…”
“Don’t jump, Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says sternly, taking Wei Wuxian’s joke a little too seriously. It seems that Lan Wangji is still himself and that makes his heart feel a bit lighter despite the circumstances.
Wei Wuxian’s face is serious again. “They miss you. Your Shufu hasn’t been sleeping well, and Zewu-jun is worried. He locked himself up in the Forbidden Chamber for a fortnight, buried himself in piles and piles of texts and scriptures. He’s found a way, Lan Zhan. Wen Qing is the best doctor in Qishan who swears she can help.”
Wei Wuxian finds his heart pounding so quickly that all he hears in his ears are his palpitating heartbeats.
“You will be fine, Lan Zhan. Do you trust me?”
Lan Wangji remains silent before finally responding, his voice soft, and it almost sounds vulnerable. “If I go back to Gusu, will you still stand by my side?”
He’s never seen Lan Wangji that way before—not weak per se—but uncertain and worried. Lan Wangji’s emotions are laid out bare in front of him, and Lan Wangji gives them to Wei Wuxian, as if asking what he should do with it. His heart is out, and Wei Wuxian feels the insecurity in it. It’s trembling, like it’s been forced onto a path of no return.
Wei Wuxian takes the hands that have calloused fingers from playing guqin since the beginning of his time. He takes these trembling hands, one on top of another, and places them on his chest—where his beating heart lies.
“As long as this heart still beats,
As long as I breathe,
As long as the sea is bound to wash up the sand and stars are above you,
I’ll be right where you are.”
And with that, Wei Wuxian seals his promise, his fate, his destiny, with a kiss on Lan Wangji’s lips.
They are home once again. No matter where home may be, it doesn’t matter, for as long as they are together.
For You, I'd Do Anything by Branca
Stringing Lives by Lara