Chapter Text
A magical fox from the heavens was residing in the forests of Cloud Recesses.
Lan Zhan knew this to be true because Uncle Qiren and Da-ge said so. And Uncle Qiren was nice, nicer than those pinch-faced elders who looked like they had decided to eat an unripe loquat when they looked at Lan Zhan. And unripe loquats made Lan Zhan’s stomach hurt, and that was just mean for them to look at him like that.
He was nothing like an unripe loquat– Da-ge told him he wasn’t and Da-ge never lied to him. Da-ge was the nicest of all besides their Mama. They had the same smile and A-Zhan loved it when they smiled at him. It made him feel all silly and giggly, he couldn’t help but dance and jump around.
And when he danced and jumped, his Mama would let out a laugh that sounded like the twinkling bells atop the Jing–
His little feet stumbled on one of the stones leading to his secret place. His eyes widened and he wobbled, his basket of tofu, fruit, and his best calligraphy pieces swinging in his arms.
A small whine left his lips as he balanced himself, his small heart fluttering as he attempted to keep everything from falling out. His gold eyes darted to his basket and the ground, taking stock of his goods. “ One, two, three,” he counted each of the pieces of fruit, nodding his head when everything was all there.
Satisfied, a four-year-old Lan Zhan then turned his gaze to look around the peaceful forest. “ Follow the path with white stones,” he whispered to himself, a small skip in his step as he continued walking along the path.
” Master Fox, Master Fox~” he absently sang, his pointer finger coming up to his lips before he stopped it. He gave it a cold frown, “ No. No sucking on fingers,” he scolded himself, a low whine building in his throat as he remembered and channeled the stern way his father spoke to him.
He had been sucking on his fingers at dinner as he leaned against Da-ge, the news somehow getting back to his Fuqin. Fuqin said he was too old to be doing that, “ Lan Zhan is to uphold the family values, bring awe and respect– not act in such an uncouth, childish manner,” his cold, nasty words pinged through the young boy.
His head jolted around to look at the forest as he whipped his hand away from his face. If he was visiting the Master Fox and making a prayer to them, Lan Zhan could not misbehave– not one single misstep or unnecessary, 'undignified' sound that always upset his Fuqin or the Lan Elders.
Anxiety raced through him as he stiffened his wobbling lip, his back straightening as he made his way up the steadily inclining stones. “ Breathe, A-Zhan,” he softly reminded himself, forcing himself to think of his Da-ge’s soft, guiding voice and gentle hands.
He couldn’t help but mumble and chatter to himself as he approached the lone shrine he and Da-ge tended to for Master Fox. Uncle Qiren had helped when he could, giving Lan Zhan little trinkets and treats to offer to the Master.
Not everyone revered Master Fox; Lan Zhan knew that. They didn’t speak badly about them, but those against their presence often got that unripe-loquat-Lan-Zhan face when the young boy heard them debating worshipping the fox over their ancestors.
Lan Zhan liked the Master Fox a lot, though. Lots and lots, especially since his Mama always read him stories about celestial foxes when Uncle was talking to Da-ge outside her room. And that happened a lot recently, with Mama coughing more and more.
She always made a pretend fox with her hand and tickled and bit Lan Zhan’s tummy and face. If Master Fox was soft and as warm as his Mama’s bed-furs, he hoped the Master wouldn’t hate him for asking to pet their soft fur.
Lan Zhan nearly toppled and fell down the small hill as he came to the jade offering bowl of their private, hidden shrine for the Master Fox. He let out a soft gasp and bit his lip to muffle the loud "Ow!" as his toes hit the stone of the small shrine as he staggered forward. But, no matter how much it hurt, he didn’t jump and drop the basket as he wanted to.
He looked around the clearing to make sure his uncouthness wasn’t caught, sighing in relief when he saw no one was there. He shook his feet and curled his toes in his tiny shoes before he settled into the comfortable routine of tending to the shrine.
Carefully setting down the basket, Lan Zhan hummed one of the Guqin pieces he was learning as he grabbed the broom off to the side and began to sweep off the fallen leaves and dust. The main offering and prayer site was just as tall as him, but the white, wooden covering was taller than even Uncle Qiren. And Uncle was very tall.
Once finished with the usual chores, Lan Zhan kneeled to the ground and brought his hands to his chest in prayer. “ Oh great Master Fox,” his eyes fluttered close as he breathed in the soothing incense, “ This A-Zhan has brought you many offerings. He has brought tofu, fruits, and pieces of his art for your enjoyment,” he listed them with ease, having mentally ran through his words the entire time he was creating the basket.
The wind rustled the leaves of the trees overhead, making the bells and windchimes twinkle and sway. Lan Zhan’s ears twitched at the beautiful, laugh-like sounds that intertwined with the mellow bubble of the nearby stream and the tweeting of the birds.
He thought he heard a bush rustle, but he knew it was probably one of the big, mischievous squirrels that always played and tried to store their nuts in the crannies of the shrine. So, he merely kept his eyes closed and brought his head down into a truly reverent bow.
” This time Master Fox, this Lan Zhan comes with a prayer as well as offerings,” his young voice was strong and his tone controlled, likely coming off as cold and detached as it often did when he spoke to his teachers.
Perfect. His words always needed to be carefully constructed to perfection.
” Da-ge and Uncle haven’t said anything to Lan Zhan, but Lan Zhan thinks Mama is getting sick,” he told the fox, his lip trembling slightly as his carefully constructed thoughts wavered at the thought of his Mama. How he caught sight of the red splatter on her handkerchief when she coughed, despite how she had tried so hard to hide it.
“ M-Mama is sick and she coughs red an–and Da-ge and Uncle talk lots and lots when we visit Mama, Master Fox,” he stuttered, his voice shaking slightly with emotions as that carefully compressed whine rose in his chest. He tried to crush both of them down, but it was hard to keep one of those things down by itself.
It was even harder when he was so scared. He didn’t want Mama to be sick in her little house. She already looked sad enough before Lan Zhan and Da-ge entered the room, with how she stared from her window. She was always startled, like she was seeing Lan Zhan for the first time every time they visited.
” Want, no, n-need Master Fox to look after Mama, puh-please,” he sniffled, an aggrieved and frustrated sob leaving his mouth as he lost all of his carefully held composure. His small hands left his prayer formation, and he roughly scrubbed at his face with upset.
” Shameless, Shameless. No good, A-Zhan. Not perfect at all,” He softly scolded himself, his small form hunching and curling until his ribbon touched the foot of the jade Huli Jing sculpture. His breathless keens and sobs blocked the sound of skittering paw steps on stone.
The four-year-old was so angered with his lack of control that he couldn’t help it when his hands went to clutch at his arms.
As he made to tug and punish himself, his movements were halted when a small creature barreled into his small form. The softest of soft fur curled around his hands and a wet nose dug between his nose and his cheek to lick the salty tears from his pale face.
Lan Zhan flinched and blinked his eyes at the sensations, his vision blurry as he sniffed and squeaked while the small creature licked and licked his face without mercy. Small paws rested on his knees and a helpless giggle left the child’s lips as that tail tickled his hands.
Small digits left their curled position in his thin, white-covered arms to hover over the black-furred body of the small fox. He was hesitant to touch, not wishing to startle or harm the creature that was snuffling and caressing his face so gently.
” You can pet A-Ying. He doesn’t get to meet many who visit these woods,” A deep, feminine voice spoke, making Lan Zhan let out an uncouth and horrible squeak. His gold eyes swiveled to look toward the voice, his eyes widening as he caught sight of a tall woman dressed in white with black fox ears. And so many tails that Lan Zhan couldn’t even count them.
” M-Master Fox!” He exclaimed, his voice cutting off to a reverent whisper as he tried to control his voice. His sleeves scrubbed at his face as he tried to right himself, make himself perfect for her.
The woman smiled softly down at him and knelt, her white robes pillowing and floating to the ground as she sat beside him. The black kit remained on Lan Zhan’s lap, the position close and reassuring to the little boy.
Lan Zhan’s eyes looked between her and the cuddly fox, gobsmacked as he tried to gain his composure. What do you say to a divine being? How different was she from those he knew?
Her appearance was so sudden and startling, it made his throat clam up and his eyes dart to the ground. He needed to be quiet and subservient— ah, but he also needed to express his reverence!
He was spared the embarrassment and ire of the fox as she took amusement with his improper behavior rather than see it as a slight.
” A-Zhan wishes for this Mistress to heal his mother?” She asked, her voice low and her eyes sad. She didn’t look sad, but Lan Zhan could see a similar sadness that his Mama held in her eyes. It made his cheeks puff out slightly as he cursed whoever had dared to make the both of them sad.
He stilled and then took a deep breath, his head nodding as he attempted to bow with the baby fox in his lap. “ L-Lan Zhan knows Mistress Fox to be powerful–“ he forced himself to speak. Swallowing and pushing through that solid weight on his throat and chest.
It was creaking and awkward, but he was doing it. “ This one will do anything she pleases if she is able to help his Mama,” he lowly vowed, his ribbon trailing and dangling across the baby fox’s body.
When he tried to nip at the fabric, the woman tutted and called for ‘A-Ying’ to behave lest she sent him home. Lan Zhan stiffened, a hand instinctively wrapping around the fox as he pouted up at the woman.
A manicured hand went to her mouth and a smooth chuckle rippled through the silence, “ Oh my,” she amusedly exclaimed. Lan Zhan softly smiled when he caught a happy twinkle light over her pretty, silver eyes. Much better. No one deserved to be so sad, he hummed as he absently rubbed his hand over A-Ying’s fur.
The leaves rustled and rubbed against each other for a few moments before Master Fox seemed to steel herself. “ This Mistress can heal A-Zhan’s mother,” she softly told him, a finger raising as Lan Zhan reflexively brightened and his mouth opened in grateful exclamation.
His voice caught and his heart skipped a beat as he took in the hard-to-read look on her face. It was almost chilling in a way that Lan Zhan had never experienced such sternness and severity.
” Yet, such a rewriting of Fate will require a heavy debt,” Her voice was grave like death and her gaze as solid as ice, Lan Zhan shivered. “ Is there something A-Zhan would give to this Mistress to save his mother’s life? Think carefully, Baobei,” the woman gently and soothingly asked, her face softening the smallest margin.
Lan Zhan’s voice was caught in his throat as his mind spun and whirred to a stop, his thoughts wavering back and forth like a pendulum as he mulled over the woman’s words. Before he could start listing some answers, the sound of a sharp shout of his name and quick footfalls startled him.
” A-Zhan!” His uncle’s harried and desperate voice called, his arms outstretched and his face grief-stricken as he came upon the sight of Lan Zhan sitting with the Celestial Fox, Cangse Sanren, and her kit. “ Don’t you say anything lightly, you–” he jolted as he ran into a barrier of her making.
” Qiren,” Cangse Sanren calmly called out as she stood up, her face serene as she went to the barrier that always formed to protect those coming to her for aid. “ Be at peace, you know this one is honest. However… A-Zhan comes to this one asking for her to alter Fate,” she explained, low and grim as she set a hand on Lan Zhan’s shoulder.
Lan Zhan clung to the alert kit, both of their heads swiveling to look between their respective adults. Lan Qiren’s face paled as he staggered back, his breath leaving him as he turned his gaze downward toward Lan Zhan.
He was still so small and soft with the stubborn baby fat clinging to his face and limbs, he looked as guileless as a fawn. The little boy hunched closer to his little friend, his eyes wide and lacking the understanding of why his Uncle was so scared.
” Lan Zhan asked Mistress Fox if she could save Mama,” he told the man unprompted, a curious tilt to his head as he watched the man tremble and grow teary-eyed. Lan Zhan’s inquisitive stare was ignored as the man gave the Cangse Sanren a fierce glare.
” Y-You can’t possibly ask him to give you something like that while he’s so young,” his voice croaked and creaked like the frogs behind the Jingshi. If it weren’t so serious and the space between them so charged, Lan Zhan would have had to hide his smile in the baby fox’s fur.
He didn’t smile as he anxiously nuzzled A-Ying’s twitching body.
Cangse Sanren mournfully looked down at the boy, her sharp, beautiful face pulled into a frown. She knelt before him once more and brought gentle hands to his ducked face, her eyes moving down to look at A-Ying as he barked at her.
Something passed between the both of them, unspoken and unknown to the humans.
She pulled her hands back and gave him a considering look. Lan Qiren anxiously shifted and pressed against the barrier, unmoving at the sharp jolts of Qi that licked at his hands. Before he could speak, Cangse Sanren addressed Lan Zhan with the formality fit for a Heavenly Official.
” Second Young Master Lan. Lan Zhan. Lan Wangji. Hanguang-Jun,” she listed his current and future titles, each one like a gong of lightning, jilting and ringing through the two humans. “ In exchange for healing your mother of her ailments and thus extending her life, this one will collect her debt– something worth a life, something vital to Lan Zhan’s being when Lan Zhan has reached eighteen years of age,” she paused.
” Do you understand these terms?”
Lan Zhan’s heart thundered in his chest as his arms instinctively clung to A-Ying. His breaths fell quick and loud in his ears, a symphony of bodily sounds to his young senses. Something worth a life? Lan Zhan couldn’t imagine what that would be besides his own life.
A-Ying whimpered and begged upward at his mother to have leniency, but he was ignored. “ This is the sort of deal that A-Zhan must think over for a few days, months even,” Cangse Sanren told him, “ This one will not accept if A-Zhan doesn’t give it the proper consideration,”.
Lan Qiren nearly collapsed when the woman stood and stepped away from the boy, her expression unreadable as she called A-Ying to her side. The fox gave the boy a long nuzzle and a lick before he jumped from his loose grip.
When they disappeared, Lan Zhan broke from his pondering as his Uncle ran to his side and swept him from the ground.
Cradled at his hip, Lan Zhan blinked at the pale and terrified expression that lined his uncle’s face. It was deeply unsettling to see his stern, unmoved uncle so expressive and open in his distraught.
” A-Zhan you– you careless little boy,” he gravely cried, his chest shuddering as he firmly pressed his lips to the boy’s forehead. His breathing was warm and quick as it scattered over Lan Zhan’s skin.
From there, Lan Zhan could only look over his uncle’s shoulder as the man all but ran away from the shrine. He was mulling over Mistress Fox’s words, his tiny brow furrowed as he pondered what he would exchange for his mother’s health. His gaze drifted to the shrine, his blank face pulling to a smile when he caught sight of that black baby fox.
” A-Ying,” he murmured, shyly waving to the small fox that had wiggled from his mother’s hold. His distant barks and excited jumps entertained Lan Zhan as they drifted further and further apart, his uncle’s steps fast and clacking down the stone path.
---
It was a year and a half before Lan Zhan was able to find a chance to slip away from his uncle and Da-ge’s ever-watchful eyes and lecturing tones. Their hands were always firm in his when he neared the forest, and the elders and disciples always caught him when he tried to run away from their stuffy classrooms and iron-clad hands.
Lan Zhan didn’t understand it. Didn’t understand all of them even more.
Why were they so adamant about not helping Mama? Leaving her in her small house like that! With pale handkerchiefs speckled with more and more blood. It was driving him towards anger, toward violence, and the wicked path. It made it so hard for Lan Zhan to speak with them-- it, it disgusted him and unsettled his very being from them to blatantly go against the rules!
Do not estrange others from your cohort, Do not be haughty and complacent,Do not take advantage of your position to oppress others-- the rule-breaking made Lan Zhan wish to yell and argue, to throw himself down at Da-Ge and Uncle's feet and cry out, " Why? Why have you abandoned Mama when she needs it most?"
He was pulled from his dark thoughts when A-Ying brushed against his leg. The baby fox had formed an extra tail since they had last met, but he was excited to see Lan Zhan. The five almost six-year-old was swaddled in his fur cloak as they walked toward the shrine, the winter chill seeping into both of them while the moon lit the entire forest.
Everything was a blue hue, the shadows of the trees darker and colder than Lan Zhan was used to. But he wasn’t scared– nervous and slightly giddy from doing something he shouldn’t, but not scared. He couldn't be scared when he was finally doing what was right for Mama.
He knew nothing evil could exist on the Cloud Recesses. Not when Mistress Fox and her child descended from the heavens to grace his home with their presence.
Lan Zhan’s steps quickened as he caught sight of the shrine, his breath fogging in the air with his excitement. The human child slowed when he caught sight of Mistress Fox and the grave line of her back. A stick of incense was burning, the scent of sandalwood tickling Lan Zhan’s nose.
The moon rippled and glittered over her white, furred robes while her black hair pooled down her back like a river of ink. The locks shone like a crow’s back, and the perfect stillness of her frame made her ever more ethereal to the young boy. Her large tails were a cloud of black near her feet, resting on the crystal white snow where they limply twitched and swayed like a wave of black. When he stilled and came to a halt, A-Ying’s wet nose on his leg snapped him from his trance.
He looked down at the quietly whimpering kit. Though he was a fox, Lan Zhan could read the clear worry on the fox’s face, the way his ears pulled back, and his wide, silver eyes caught the moon’s rays.
He was such an expressive and easy-to-read creature— person. Lan Zhan wished everyone were as open as A-Ying.
” A-Zhan is fine, A-Ying,” he whispered in turn, his gloved hand moving to pet the young fox’s head as it rested against his leg. Those eyes slowly blinked and then closed as he nuzzled into his hand. Lan Zhan grounded himself for a few moments as he took his glove off and petted the fox for the first time in close to two years.
His fur was just as heavenly as Lan Zhan remembered it to be. It couldn’t compare to the furs that the child had begged for during their time apart. Those furs weren’t living and warm like his A-Ying was.
A throat clearing brought Lan Zhan’s attention toward the Mistress, his hand pulling back as though he would be scolded by the adult. That was all they did to him nowadays.
Scold and punish him. They held visits to his Mama over his head, telling his Fuqin of his uncouthness and giving him more and more lectures and punishments. He was improper and foolish as an heir to Gusu Lan, too much, Lan Zhan knew.
So, he was surprised when he saw her face, soft as before. Soft like Mama’s. Indulgent. Loving. A pure kindness that other adults lacked in their tense faces and clenched fists.
” A-Zhan,” she called her voice a beckon as she kneeled on the brushed-off step of the shrine. She expectantly looked at him, as though she knew he was always going to meet her tonight of all nights.
Lan Zhan took a shuddering breath and finished crossing the clearing to sit beside her. A-Ying jumped into his lap after shaking off his feet. The pressure and the relaxed way he helped himself to Lan Zhan’s lap made him smile and giggle at the young fox’s casualness.
” Has A-Zhan considered everything this Mistress has said?” Her firm voice made Lan Zhan look up toward her, her face was carefully neutral and her eyes serious as she observed him.
Lan Zhan could only nod. His heart and his mind long since made up. If he had it his way, he would have met with the woman after the first month of their meeting.
” This humble one agrees to Mistress Fox’s deal, as long as A-Zhan’s Mama can be healed of her illness,” Lan Zhan told her, his back straight and his chin raised as he met that steel-like gaze. He asserted how serious he was and tried to show how much older he was. She had to take Lan Zhan seriously now that he had given it an entire year of thinking.
Mistress Fox, Cangse Sanren, one of the few ascended foxes of the Mistress of all Celestial Foxes, Baoshen Sanren, said nothing as she observed the young child before her.
Her eyes flashed and shadowed in tandem as her head shifted and she drew closer, leaning toward Lan Zhan’s plump face with a narrowed gaze. “ Young Master Lan understands he must give something up in exchange for his mother’s extended life,” she stated, the words almost rhetorical in their sternness.
Lan Zhan nodded, his body unflinching under the attention. Silence stretched between them, only the sound of the shuffling of the leaves and the quiet pants of A-Ying. His heart was elevated, his sides expanding with nerves as he looked between his mother and his Zhiji.
For that was what Lan Zhan was. A-Ying’s Zhiji.
But A-Ying could do nothing as he watched the boy make a deal with his mother. Asking her to go against stone-like Fate and inescapable Death, the very wheel of reincarnation, with this wish.
Lan Zhan nodded once more, his tongue moving to lick his lips as he said, “ This one understands. He has given it thought and knows what he will give Mistress Fox in return. He will–” a manicured finger pressed against his lips, firmly closing them and stilling his words.
” A-Zhan has forgotten,” she murmured, her face serious as she kept him from finishing his sentence. The young boy closed his mouth and calmed his pounding heart, his eyes wide as he looked at the divine being.
” A-Zhan must complete the exchange with this Mistress once he is eighteen. No younger, no older,” she told him, her eyelashes fluttering lightly as she pulled herself away from the boy and looked toward the moonlit clearing. Lan Zhan was silent as he watched her sorrowful gaze, her hands moving to rest in her lap as a pained expression nakedly danced across her fine features. Her emotions were telegraphed so clearly through her body, her very soul that Lan Zhan could only feel his heart and chest leap in sympathy.
” For what is the scant few years until then to immortal beings such as ourselves,” she murmured, her face hollow of any mirth or levity to the tense atmosphere. For all of her immortal beauty and power, she looked as though she were going to crumble and melt into nothingness.
Lan Zhan’s fingers flexed and found their way into A-Ying’s thick coat, absently stroking and burying themselves into the kit’s fur. His lips pressed together tightly in their silence, the pressure grounding as he contemplated her words and sadness. A-Ying whimpered at the sight of his mother’s sorrow– a sorrow he only saw during the loneliest of nights, where the press of his nose and the lick of his tongue couldn’t drive away her sadness.
”...T-This one accepts Mistress Fox’s terms,” his young, slightly wavering voice rippled through the air. Pulling and twisting Cangse Sanren away from those terrible memories of blood and greedy hands of fox-like men who had attempted to steal her for themselves. They were more fox than she was, more beast than man in their pursuit of her. Animally killing as they pleased.
Her chest simultaneously clenched and shuddered at that sight before her, the tangled lines of fate that tied her son, their A-Ying, and the Young Master Lan together.
” Is Young Master Lan sure? Your carefully written future may be affected by such a wish. You could lose much and gain little in exchange for keeping this fate from your mother,” She questioned, even more hesitant than she usually would be when faced with such a wish. While she wouldn’t face the consequences of rewriting such a fate, she knew Lan Zhan’s fate could be upturned.
He could be punished. His mother's dying could be the lesser of two evils, in the twisted and tortuous manner in which misfortune taints and plays with mortals’ lives. This was too much responsibility for a five-year-old to shoulder.
All of this swirled behind Cangse Sanren’s pale and clamped lips, such necessary truths kept back so as not to sway the child. She couldn’t sway the boy, for this was what his heart fully desired. Preventing this scene from playing out would go against all that made her and the driving force that was Lan Zhan's will.
When he nodded and repeated himself once more, Cangse Sanren could only nod and close her eyes with a world-weary sigh.
” This Mistress accepts Lan Zhan’s wish,” she stated, her hand stretching out to Lan Zhan’s with an open palm. Somewhat prepared from his obsessive research, Lan Zhan placed his small hand into hers and watched as she performed a series of movements in her other hand. He only flinched lightly when she turned her glowing eyes to him, her fanged mouth opening to a maw-like void.
His breath caught, and a slight grunt of pain sounded as her head dipped and she bit into the flesh of his pale wrist. The pain and pressure were sharp and deep. When she pulled back, Lan Zhan’s eyes caught on the red that stained her pale lips and dripped from her bottom lip. A hypnotizing sight in this blue, white, and black world of the shrine and the clearing.
He then looked down at the red, glittering wound on his wrist. Something tight winded around his core like a waiting viper, the barest wisps of his qi shuddering at the intrusive power.
It was intense and bright, truly divine and terrifying in the way it felt like it could smother him with a single thought. Smite and eat his core if he failed to fulfill his end, as all-consuming and powerful as he knew it would be, given how he had studied and stolen his way into almost every corner of the clan library.
Yet, reading every account of those who had dealt with Mistress Fox was nothing like actually crafting a deal with her. It was the most intense thing he had and would likely ever experience on this mortal plane.
” How does A-Zhan feel?” Cangse Sanren asked, her voice gentle as she made sure to keep her distance from the child. Lest she make him feel threatened and further drive him away from her.
Lan Zhan shifted and considered her words, the sound and shape of them breaking through his shuddering self. His thoughts were scattered and his heart was thudding; he felt faint yet energized. “... A-Zhan d-doesn’t know,” he replied, the silence stretching between them as the child attempted to calm his breath.
A smile twitched on his lips as A-Ying pushed close, his nose tentatively brushing over the bite his mother had given the boy. Lan Zhan lightly flinched yet settled as the fox nuzzled and licked at the numb skin. It didn’t throb and it didn’t hurt. It didn't even bleed all that much, 'Caterized? Self-healing?' Lan Zhan thought to himself in dazed wonder as he stared at the wound.
It just felt strange and indescribable to the young boy, overwhelming in the severity of what it stood for. What he had done behind his Uncle and Da-ge's backs. “ A-Ying,” the child murmured with delight, his wrist twitching one last time as he relaxed and allowed the fox to care for him.
Cangse Sanren watched this scene for a few moments before she was forced to look away, her heart aching.
” This one will speak with A-Zhan once more, when he has reached his eighteen years, until then,” she solemnly announced with a dip of her head, her tall form gracefully standing up as she dismissed herself from the two of them.
Lan Zhan tilted his head in confusion as her pale form dissolved and disappeared into the shadows. Her multitude of obsidian black tails flicked and swam in those blue hues until they too melted into the figureless trees and forest growths.
A-Ying yipped and whined at his mother’s retreating back, but he didn’t follow the woman past his worried stare. Lan Zhan’s soft touch on his face made the fox look back at him. Faced with Lan Zhan’s worried pout and sleepy eyes, A-Ying could only wiggle and lick at his cool cheeks.
Lan Zhan smothered a yawn behind his trailing sleeve, yet that didn’t deter the young fox from sternly yipping at him and jumping off of the five-year-old’s lap. A soft cry sounded from the young boy’s lips as he clumsily pushed himself up from his seat, his numb legs making him fall back down. He giggled as A-Ying licked and licked his face and encouragingly helped him up.
Like this, the fox and boy made their way through the dark forest. When they came to the forest’s edge, A-Ying stilled and paced from where he had skidded to a halt. His keen nose caught the scent of the patrolling cultivators, still unaware of the Second Young Master’s late-night adventure.
Lan Zhan knelt on the snowy ground and flashed the fox a grateful smile. When the fox placed his small paws on his knee and head-butted his chin, the young boy couldn’t help but giggle.
This small and soft sound alerted a nearby disciple. Very soon, Lan Qiren was awoken and fell into a distraught, near qi-deviated state when he discovered what Lan Zhan had done.
For he had made a deal with a celestial fox– a deal that could very well take his life and his cultivation from him, lest it remain unfulfilled. For many years, cultivators and commonfolk alike told stories of the elusive Madam Lan and her sheltered son, Lan Wangji.
Outsiders saw nary a sliver of hair nor a finger and the both of them had never left the mountain for as long as they had joined the Gusu Lan sect.