Chapter Text
It was worth tagging along with Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji on the hunt at Biling Lake. Wei Wuxian was always keen for action, itching to do something other than listen to Lan Qiren drone on in class and write essays.
He hadn't thought he could enjoy catching water ghouls while studying at Cloud Recesses. Additionally, he could impose himself on Lan Wangji to see his reactions. He did want to apologise for his antics in the library, but then it had been a delight to elicit an angry 'pathetic' when he splashed Lan Wangji with his paddle. His Suibian story, which he loved to tell, had gotten a 'ridiculous' out of the stoic Lan Wangji.
He knew that even though Jiang Cheng appeared annoyed at his chattering, he was also glad for the diversion this outing provided. Not to mention, Jiang Cheng was eager to regain any face Wei Wuxian had lost for Yunmeng Jiang during their studies.
They were in their element on the water, spotting and eliminating any unfortunate ghouls that approached them.
However, things took a turn for the worse when their boats were sucked into the lake by the waterborne abyss and Su She- who had lost his weapon in the lake after trying to mimic Lan Wangji- was pulled into the lake.
"Help!" Su She's arms splashed the lake surface frantically, his face full of fear and taking large gulps of air in desperation. Wei Wuxian reached, grabbing Su She's wrist to pull him up. Balanced on Suibian, he pulled with all his strength, lifting a few inches.
Although Suibian was a powerful spiritual weapon, it's strength was agility. It was a struggle to lift the squirming Su She, but Wei Wuxian tried with all his might. Su She was almost out of the water, but a sudden force pulled Wei Wuxian off of Suibian.
"Wei Ying!" "Wei Wuxian!"
He saw a flash of white and purple, but they were too slow. Hitting the cold waters of Biling Lake, he let go of Su She when he felt something grasp his ankle. Wei Wuxian tried kick his leg loose, using his arms to keep himself afloat.
"Wei Wuxian! Take my hand!"
"Wei Ying!"
He gasped as he was pulled under by the spinning whirlpool. Submerged, a hand reached out to him, muffled voices calling his name. He stretched out his right hand, fingers breaking the surface of the water.
Wei Wuxian's heart raced, giddy when his fingers grazed the hand of his saviour. But his excitement was short-lived as something cold wrapped around both his legs and pulled.
He was pulled further under water, into the black whirlpool.
Wei Wuxian! Wei Wuxian!
Into darkness.
***
It was warm and dry. Wei Wuxian was definitely no longer in Biling Lake. He briefly wondered who managed to pull him out. Did Jiang Cheng dive in and drag him out of the lake? Or did Lan Wangji pull him up on Bichen?
Was Su She also safe? Really, Su She's cultivation level was nowhere near Lan Wangji's. What was he thinking, throwing away his spiritual weapon like that? He hoped Su She got a talking to!
Wei Wuxian sincerely hoped he didn't get a talking to for playing hero. Jiang Cheng never liked it when he did that.
He opened heavy eyelids, slowly taking in his surroundings to see he was in presumably a guest room. His belongings were scattered on the single table in the room.
An old man stood beside the bed, looking at him with creased brows.
"Young Master? Are you awake?" The old man said. "A-Ding, alert Master and Madam."
A young girl left.
"Young Master, how are you feeling?"
He sluggishly sat up, clasping his hands in greeting to the old man. He had been changed into a clean set of under-robes.
He hoped it wasn't A-Ding who had changed his clothes.
"I am fine, Mister...?"
"You may call this one A-Bao."
"Mister Bao..."
A-Ding came back with an extravagantly dressed couple, and Wei Wuxian swung his legs around to stand up.
"Young Master, you do not need to get up," the man said. He placed a hand on Wei Wuxian's shoulder, pushing down firmly.
The woman smiled down at him. "I am Mo Fang, this is my husband Mo Rui. I am the leader of our humble Mo Village. We found you in our compound early this morning."
Mo Village? How did he even get from the lake to this place? Did the waterborne abyss send him here? Or was there some sort of portal in the lake?
She held out his bell pendant for him.
"I believe this is yours? A family member used to be a cultivator. He recognised this as a symbol of a cultivation sect."
Wei Wuxian took his pendant, and clasped his hands in front of him, bowing.
"It is a symbol of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect. I am the head disciple Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei Wuxian."
Someone gasped. A-Ding held a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. Even the Mo couple looked pale. Was he so well-known that even non-cultivators have heard of him?
"Was there someone else with me? A young man dressed in white?"
Master Mo fidgeted. "No, you were the only one."
Wei Wuxian hoped Su She was alright. The other boy wasn't a particularly strong cultivator.
"Where is Mo Village? How far am I away from Cloud Recesses?"
"Cloud Recesses? The location of the Gusu Lan Sect? Mo Village is located several hundred miles west of Cloud Recesses." Madam Mo said.
Several hundred miles?
"Young Master Wei," Madam Mo said. Did he hear a slight tremor in her voice? "I will send word to your sect to notify them of your presence here. Please stay here and recuperate."
"I feel fine..."
"Please," Madam Mo interrupted, not making eye contact. "It is our honour to have you here. Please rest."
Her disturbed countenance suggested that it was not an honour at all, and they scurried out, the servants following at Madam Mo's glance.
Wei Wuxian was too curious not to sneak out after them. Their reactions had been suspicious. What strange rumours about him have been floating about to make them react so? With slightly unsteady feet, he left the room. Keeping the Mo couple and the servants in sight, he followed them through the manor, quickly dashing around a corner whenever one of the servant turned around to check behind them.
Madam Mo turned to her servants, speaking softly to them. They bowed and rushed off.
Wei Wuxian snuck into a luckily empty room as A-Ding and A-Bao walked past, then went out just in time to see the Mo couple enter a room across the courtyard.
Wei Wuxian quickly went to sit beneath the window to listen in. He heard heavy footsteps of someone pacing.
"Do you think that boy is really Wei Wuxian?" Master Mo was saying, voice uncertain. "Isn't he too young?"
"He even said he was a disciple of Yunmeng Jiang," Madam Mo replied. "No-one else would dare claim that name and sect."
"But how did he even get here?"
"Who cares? He landed in our manor, so we should get something out of it." What pleasant people.
Silence. Then Master Mo said, "what should we do?"
"If we hand him over to the Jin Sect, we might be able to get a monetary reward. If we're lucky, they might accept Ziyuan into their sect."
Jin Sect? Why would the Jin Sect want him? What has the peacock been saying about him?
"A-Ding is going to purchase something to put him to sleep," Madam Mo said. "Then we'll send word for someone from the Jin sect to come and collect him."
Wei Wuxian was not going to let himself be taken by the Jin sect for whatever reason. He should try to get back to Cloud Recesses, or even Lotus Pier to inform Uncle Jiang that he was alright.
Before the other members of the household could be alerted about Wei Wuxian's status as a detainee, he hurried to find his outer robes. He accosted a young servant- an A-Gui- who eyed his state of undress with raised eyebrows. Flashing a grin, he convinced A-Gui that he was nobody dangerous and simply wished for his outer robes which should be hanging out to dry.
A-Gui had run off to collect his robes, perhaps scared of potentially angering Master and Madam Mo's guest, and soon returned with his dark robes.
With a thanks, he shrugged on the slightly damp robes, returned to the guest room to collect his belongings, and went to climb over the wall to escape Mo Manor.
Jumping onto the wall, a dark fluttering in his peripheral vision captured his attention.
Dark flags were arranged around one of the courtyards. Wei Wuxian frowned at them. The designs looked like spells. Wei Wuxian leapt to stand beside one of the flags, holding the soft material and inspecting the design with awe.
It was a strange design he had never seen before. Based on the strokes, he guessed that the flag would summon spirits. Wei Wuxian was awed. This was a thought experiment he had exercised before, but had never pulled off himself. It was an ingenious design. Truly innovative! He had to know who designed this!
Glancing around, there were no cultivators in sight. He spotted A-Gui walking across the courtyard with arms full of boxes.
"Ah!" A-Gui wobbled and nearly dropped the boxes when Wei Wuxian landed next to him.
"Sorry about that!" Wei Wuxian held A-Gui's shoulders in support. "Do you know which sect put those flags up?"
A-Gui shoulders heaved as he took deep breaths to calm himself down. "Some group of boys in white."
"Did they have forehead ribbons?"
"Yes."
So, it was Gusu Lan. Should he wait around to return to Cloud Recesses with the group? That would be easier than making his way back alone.
But he didn't know how many jobs the group were completing, or how long it would be until the group returned to Cloud Recesses.
Madam Mo's voice was approaching. He could just ask Lan Wangji about the flags when he got back to Cloud Recesses.
Wei Wuxian grinned. "Thank you!"
He leapt back onto the wall, and escaped Mo Manor.
***
Years of surviving in the streets ensured that Wei Wuxian was capable of getting by without much money. It was harder to hunt without any weapons, but he could at least find fruit.
He hoped that no-one would recognise him as the head disciple of Yunmeng Jiang if he could find nothing in the wild and had to resort to digging through scraps on the streets.
Without Suibian nor enough funds for transport, Wei Wuxian had to walk to Cloud Recesses. It would take time, but he would enjoy the freedom of travelling without having to answer to his guardians back at Lotus Pier.
He would miss having a nagging Jiang Cheng as a travelling companion.
A villager had kindly pointed him in the direction of the nearest large town in the area. After travelling for several days, he arrived in a bustling town where he immediately found a postal service.
He wrote letters to Jiang Fengmian and Lan Xichen:
I was somehow transported to Mo Village when I fell into Biling Lake. I am fine, and am heading back to Cloud Recesses.
Wei Wuxian
Then he purchased some talisman paper and cinnibar with most of his remaining funds. He hoped to make some money from hunts or selling talismans.
"Are you a cultivator?" The storekeeper asked cheerily.
"Yes, I am! Do you know of any jobs around here?"
"Not in this town specifically, but a lot of cultivators have passed by here in recent days. From what I've heard, they're all going to Dafan Mountain for some large hunt."
Wei Wuxian perked up. If it's a large hunt, then there might be someone from Yunmeng Jiang!
"Which way is Dafan Mountain?" Wei Wuxian asked.
The storekeeper pointed him in a northerly direction. Giving his thanks, he left in the indicated direction.
He hoped his fellow disciples made an appearance at Dafan Mountain so that he could ride with someone back to Cloud Recesses.
If Yunmeng Jiang did not participate in the hunt, then at least he could get in on the excitement of a large hunt!
***
The closer he got to Dafan Mountain, the more cultivators he encountered.
There were no familiar faces. Some of them wore sect uniforms while others he overheard talking about the hunt. Without Suibian, and not knowing what rumours the peacock may have spread about him, Wei Wuxian kept his distance from them.
Even the villages seemed bustling. There was a thrill in seeing so many cultivators, and the inns and restaurants were full of cheer. Wei Wuxian brandished his lotus pendant to impress the villagers and was able to make some money selling his talismans. With this money, he bought more talisman paper and treated himself to a meat bun.
It had been days since he had eaten meat. He inhaled the savoury aroma, and took a large bite of the bun. The soft warm dough and well flavoured mince was almost perfect.
The addition of a little bit of chilli would have been ideal.
However, Wei Wuxian's enjoyment of the hot snack was ruined when he heard a dreaded bark behind him.
He froze mid-step.
"Fairy!" A young voice called.
The dog barked again, and Wei Wuxian screamed as he sprinted away.