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ruanbaijie · 2 months ago

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During the Republican Era, Shen Zhiheng, a member of the Tianjin gentry who happened to be a vampire, offended the Japanese and became the target of an assassination attempt. He was saved by a blind young lady, Mi Lan, and his best friend Situ Weilian. When he went to repay Mi Lan for saving him, he discovered the terrible family situation that Mi Lan was in, and so began to pay more attention to her. Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng’s plan to take revenge on Li Yingliang, the mastermind behind his assassination, fell short of success thanks to Li Yingliang’s Japanese superior, raising suspicions about his identity. Since then, Li Yingliang and the Japanese were in hot pursuit of Shen Zhiheng, determined to dig out the truth about his secret.

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At midnight, Shen Zhiheng took action.

The square dog hole at the bottom of the door, through which food had been given to him, was not big enough for him to pass through. So he stood before the bars, each hand grabbing one, and decided to use the most stupid method to escape from the jail.

Gathering his strength, he gritted his teeth, his veins slowly protruding on the backs of his hands and his finger joints gradually turning white. The two bars beside each other were slowly bent out of shape, leaving between them a gap that allowed him to extend his head through.

Then, he really passed his head through the gap.

After passing his head through, he could squeeze his shoulders and chest through. Sucking in his breath, he tightened his core, squeezed his buttocks, and stepped through, leaving the prison cell without a single sound. At the same time, the two Japanese soldiers at one end of the corridor still had their eyes half-closed, dozing off and in a daze.

Shen Zhiheng looked left and right, then walked towards those two soldiers. When one of them first saw him, he saw him but did not dare to believe his eyes, and so he extended his hand to push his fellow soldier. And when the second soldier looked at him, he was already right in front of them.

Understanding finally dawning upon them, the two soldiers desperately raised their rifles, yelling at him in Japanese to stop.

As they yelled, Shen Zhiheng continued busying himself with his own affairs. He pulled the barrel of the rifle that was nearer to him towards himself, with a strength and speed that far exceeded that of a normal human’s. The soldier only felt his hand slipping, and his rifle had already been snatched away by Shen Zhiheng. Shen Zhiheng then whirled the rifle and brought it smashing down, first knocking a dull thud on the crown of that soldier’s head. At once, he swept the rifle out, knocking the other soldier directly at his temple. The two soldiers fell into a heap without a sound of protest. Not a single drop of blood had been spilled, but their heads had both become out of shape.

Although there was no blood, temptation still gripped him. He knew that their bodies stored warm, fresh, and sweet blood. All it took was for his sharp teeth to gently pierce their skin, and that fresh blood would flood into his mouth, moisturising his stomach and spreading into his limbs and bones, letting him lose himself in extreme pleasure.

Saliva trickled out from the corners of his mouth. For a fleeting moment, it felt as if he was having an out-of-body experience. His soul that had left his body was trying its very best to force his physical body to pull away from those two corpses. With his back to them, he took a few steps forward. When the corpses were out of sight and out of mind, he regained a little of his sanity. Turning off the safety of the rifle, he loaded it with bullets, and walked towards the other end of the corridor.

That was the direction in which Li Yingliang and the other people had left. This end definitely led to the exit.

With the rifle in one hand, he used his other to forcefully wipe the saliva at the corners of his mouth. He had to leave this place immediately. This drooling version of him was too undignified, too inhuman. He knew how easy it was for him to degenerate into a bloodthirsty beast, and it was precisely because he knew, that he began to panic. Taking wide steps, he walked to the end of the corridor, raising the rifle as he turned the corner and firing at the Japanese soldiers who were standing guard against the wall.

A soldier fell in response, and he immediately changed the direction of the rifle, continuing to fire. Of the remaining three soldiers, two of them fell, and the only remaining one was alive but injured. As he screamed loudly for help, he fired at him. Turning sideways to avoid two gunshots, Shen Zhiheng then used his last bullet to put an end to him.

Under the lights, ahead of him lay a few cement steps. Tossing the empty rifle aside, Shen Zhiheng picked up a new rifle from the corpse’s embrace. The new rifle was fully filled with bullets and was fixed with a bayonet. The barrel, stained with fresh blood, was sticky. With the rifle in hand, he rushed up the stairs. The stairs spiralled upwards, and the higher he went, the colder the air was, proving that he was on the right path. However, the cold air was no longer capable of lowering his temperature. His heart beat fiercely while his lungs twisted, and his stomach felt as if it was about to be dissolved by stomach acid. In the end, the smell of blood still stimulated him; he could no longer delay, he had to escape at once.

Suddenly, he stopped.

A cacophony of footsteps and voices echoed down from above, and approaching together with these sounds was the cool night wind. The doors to the dungeon had been opened, and a large group of people were rushing down!

Shen Zhiheng blinked his eyes forcefully, wobbling as he turned around and leaned against the wall. With the last remaining shred of his rational mind, and with the little bit of experience he had gained after surviving for so many years, he removed the bayonet and held it in his hand, then bent down and gently placed the rifle on the floor, stepping out of his leather shoes.

Silently, he rushed upwards, and after flying through two floors of the spiral staircase, he ran head-on into the Japanese soldiers who were running down in their lines. The Japanese soldier in the front could only exclaim in surprise when he saw him, before his neck was slit by Shen Zhiheng.

Chaos immediately broke out on the narrow and dark spiral staircase.

Shen Zhiheng had to kill his way out as quickly as possible, but the Japanese soldiers who were swarming down were no pushovers. In a close combat fight, the soldiers’ rifles were completely useless. There was one whose movements were fast, who had quickly removed his bayonet and discarded his rifle, prepared for hand-to-hand combat. However, his fellow soldiers’ bodies fell over and blocked his way. He pushed the corpses away and was about to swing his bayonet, but Shen Zhiheng had already brushed past him, and without losing momentum, had plunged the bayonet through his neck with a single strike.

Then, he let go, leaving the now blunt old bayonet with him, and taking over the new bayonet the soldier had just dropped.

Yokoyama Akira and Li Yingliang stood outside the dungeon.

Yokoyama Akira had let Shen Zhiheng “think carefully” tonight, but he himself had not left for home to retire to bed. When the sounds of gunshots had started echoing faintly from the dungeon, he had happened to be having a small meeting with Li Yingliang.

Li Yingliang was always wary of Shen Zhiheng breaking out from jail, and had instructed soldiers to stand guard on duty outside the prison ahead of time. As soon as there had been abnormal activity from the inside of the dungeon, he had immediately rushed over with Yokoyama Akira. The doors to the prison had opened, and heavily loaded soldiers had immediately rushed down.

At this moment, he and Yokoyama Akira stood shoulder to shoulder. He was grasping his knuckles in nervousness, while Yokoyama Akira was frowning slightly. If the squad that had just gone down was not Shen Zhiheng’s match, the consequences would naturally be scary. But if that squad managed to subdue Shen Zhiheng and put him back into his cell, it would also be disappointing. In contrast to Li Yingliang’s line of thought, Yokoyama Akira thought that it would be best if Shen Zhiheng were some strange person with extraordinary powers, it would be okay if he were even not human. Otherwise, the Yokoyama mansion had captured him with such fanfare, it would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut; and it would be the butt of others’ jokes.

Both filled with their own thoughts, the two of them stared at the main doors of the dungeon. They did not have to stare for long, for screams quickly echoed from inside the dungeon.

Those screams echoed one after another, terrifying and blood-curdling, as if they originated from hell. The smell of blood was like a warm and heavy cloud, floating out from the dark hole behind the doors.

Yokoyama Akira’s face was drained of all colour, while Li Yingliang clutched his arm, “There’s something wrong, Sir. Is he about to kill his way out?”

Yokoyama Akira let him clutch him, slowly raising a hand.

The machine gun troops that had been on standby at the rear jogged forward, installing a light machine gun and aiming it at the doors of the dungeon. At the same time, a bloodied human figure emerged from the doors. The figure’s face could not be seen clearly, and pearls of blood trickled down from the tips of his hair and dripped onto the ground. He dragged his two legs and walked out, leaving behind bloody footprints with each step he took.

Li Yingliang suddenly tightened his grip around Yokoyama Akira’s arm, all but screaming, “Shen Zhiheng!”

Yokoyama Akira waved, and the two machine guns spat out tongues of fire at the same time, the impact of the gunshots causing Shen Zhiheng to be thrown backwards, rolling down the stairs.

The walls of the Yokoyama mansion were extremely hard, and wounds caused by ricochets were no small matter. So when Shen Zhiheng disappeared, the light machine guns stopped firing immediately. Yokoyama Akira turned his head and shot Li Yingliang a glance. Li Yingliang’s eyes were wide as he still clutched at him. So, as if he was comforting him, he patted the back of his hands.

“Alright, it’s fine now.”

This was the first time that Yokoyama Akira was a hundred percent satisfied with Li Yingliang. Li Yingliang had not been spouting nonsense, and the Yokoyama mansion would not be humiliated; they had really caught a… a…

Yokoyama Akira did not know how to describe Shen Zhiheng. Even if Shen Zhiheng was really just a human, then he was a superhuman among humans, and he, Yokoyama Akira, had not mobilised his troops in vain. Calling Kuroki Rika who was on night shift for the night over, he put her in charge of standing on guard, while he himself gathered a squad of soldiers to personally follow him down into the dungeon. Kuroki Rika wanted to say something but held her tongue, as if she wanted to stop him, but ultimately did not speak a word. Li Yingliang hurriedly followed after Yokoyama Akira; he had put in so much painstaking effort for Shen Zhiheng, and now that it was finally the moment for the truth to be revealed, he was willing to take risks, rather than be absent.

However, the second he stepped through the doors of the dungeon, Li Yingliang started to regret.

The air was hot and humid while the ground was wet and slippery. The stairs were also spiralling and narrow, and they could not simply go down the stairs in the dark. Yokoyama Akira got the soldiers to turn on their torchlights, and when the beams of light moved across the walls and the stairs, the scene could be described by seven words: corpses strewn everywhere, blood flowing like rivers.

His face unchanged, Yokoyama Akira kicked away the corpses that were blocking the path one by one. The corpses either had their throats cut out or their heads smashed. There was grey and white brain matter splashed across the wall on one side of the staircase, mixing together with fresh blood as it slowly flowed downwards.

There was no Shen Zhiheng on the stairs, and when they went down the stairs and entered the corridor, Yokoyama Akira still did not find Shen Zhiheng.

The dungeon was a secret prison constructed by the Yokoyama mansion. It was not large in scale and was simple in its layout. After going down the stairs and walking straight along the corridor, one could walk all the way to the end after turning the corner. There were no forked paths. Holding his gun in one hand, Yokoyama Akira became increasingly careful with each step he took. This dungeon had never lacked blood and fire and dead souls, but even so, tonight was the most frightening it had ever been.

And, it was too quiet.

As he followed after Yokoyama Akira, Li Yingliang silently counted the number of corpses they passed along the way. Besides the corpses on the stairs, he saw four corpses in the first part of the corridor, and after turning the corner, another corpse lay at the end of the corridor. As he walked, he and Yokoyama Akira suddenly stopped, because they noticed that beside them was the prison cell that had once held Shen Zhiheng.

Yokoyama Akira shook the misshapen bars, exchanging a glance with Li Yingliang. Li Yingliang’s face was ashen and his eyes were red, as if he was too excited, but also too terrified.

Yokoyama Akira did not say a word, knowing that at this moment, his feelings were just like those of Li Yingliang: also too excited, and also too terrified.

Instructing two soldiers to clear the path with their guns in their hands, he brought the squad through this part of the corridor, and turned the corner again.

Then, he saw Shen Zhiheng.

Shen Zhiheng, the bloodied human shape they had previously seen, was hugging a corpse as he knelt on the floor. His body was bent deep over it, with his head buried at the side of its neck, as he was sucking huge gulps one after another.

Yokoyama Akira and Li Yingliang, as well as the soldiers, all held their breaths in unison.

The dungeon was silent to an extreme, allowing Shen Zhiheng’s desperate swallowing to be heard with incomparable clarity, shocking them thoroughly. And with each passing moment that he did not lift his head, the people opposite him did not dare to move.

After a long moment of sucking and heavy drinking, Shen Zhiheng slowly raised his head.

With Yokoyama Akira in the lead, the audience standing on this side exhaled a breath of cold air together. Then, just as they had prepared themselves for battle, Shen Zhiheng remained in that posture with his head lifted as he knelt, unmoving once again.

A lamp hung directly above him, shrouding him in its dim yellow light. His short hair was messy and bloody, and while the upper half of his face was speckled with droplets of blood, the bottom half of his face was completely crimson. His lips were slightly parted as he breathed, and his eyes were half open and half closed, his double eyelids leaving marks that stood out clearly against the blood. His eyelashes, soaked in blood, hung heavily.

Slowly relaxing his arms, the corpse rolled down his thigh and onto the ground. Everyone could see that at this moment, he was not in a clear state of mind.

Li Yingliang whispered, “Sir, now. Catch him now.”

Yokoyama Akira aimed his gun at Shen Zhiheng, taking the lead as he walked towards him. But before they could walk closer to him, Shen Zhiheng’s eyes suddenly moved.

He looked at Yokoyama Akira, and then at Li Yingliang. Then, he stood up, swaying.

Previously, when he was kneeling, no one could see that there was something abnormal about him. But now when he stood up, everyone realised that there was a bayonet stuck in his abdomen. That bayonet was all but skewered completely through him, but he seemed to neither know nor feel it.

Whatever Li Yingliang had previously suspected was now proven to be true. Consumed by immense fear, he stammered, “Sir, he can’t die… I didn’t lie, see, he really can’t die…”

Yokoyama Akira fired.

The bullet shot through Shen Zhiheng’s chest, causing him to jerk violently backwards. After that jerk, he stood firmly. He looked at Yokoyama Akira, and as if he had just awoken from a dream, he opened his eyes wide.

A cold chill swept through Li Yingliang, and acting on his gut, he violently ran towards Yokoyama Akira, hugging him and rolling to the side. Fresh blood splashed onto his face; Shen Zhiheng had rushed over in a split second, catching the soldier behind Yokoyama Akira. The surrounding people became mad with fear, brandishing their guns and frantically smashing the butt of their guns down onto Shen Zhiheng. In the meantime, the neck of the soldier in Shen Zhiheng’s hands was twisted, the artery in his neck had already been bitten open, his fresh blood spurting directly onto the ceiling.

Bracing himself against the wall for support, Yokoyama Akira climbed up, but as soon as he did, he bent his waist down, trying to find his pistol as if he had gone insane. Fortunately, at this moment, Kuroki Rika arrived.

Kuroki Rika had earlier thought that Yokoyama Akira’s actions were somewhat rash, and so she had taken the liberty to rush over to help. And the method she had come up with was quite clever; using a method to catch dangerous animals, she gave the order to spread a large steel net open, trapping Shen Zhiheng and the soldier in his embrace under it.

This time, Shen Zhiheng lost himself for a very long time.

It was an extremely wonderful vertigo, where he was drowsy with no worries, where he was calm from the bottom of his heart and his limbs and body were relaxed. Enveloped by the fresh blood which had yet to cool down, it felt like he was floating in a warm, dark world.

From human to monster, after this long journey of twists and turns that spanned more than a hundred years, it was the first time that he felt satiated - completely satiated.

Like a premature baby that had returned into its mother’s body, he curled up on his side, and filled with satisfaction and bliss, descended into a deep slumber.

Li Yingliang, Yokoyama Akira, Kuroki Rika, and all the soldiers who were still alive, stood surrounding Shen Zhiheng, not making a single sound for a very long time.

This time, the opponent they faced was neither someone who was unrepentant nor someone who looked death calmly in the face, and so their cold violence automatically dissipated. They even felt like taking a step back, and then another, until they could retreat behind the brilliance of their ancestral spirits. Below the steel net, Shen Zhiheng actually slept quietly, and the corpse of the soldier that he hugged in his embrace also had its eyes closed, the two of them lovingly asleep in the middle of a bloodbath.

In the end, Li Yingliang was the one who spoke first, “Sir, since he hasn’t woken up yet, should we, as early as possible, … take care of him?”

Yokoyama Akira told Kuroki Rika, “Get the military doctor.”

The Yokoyama mansion was well-organised and well-staffed, and could function independently on its own.

Before the military doctor arrived, the soldiers armed themselves fully, and taking a great risk, removed the steel net. They gently pulled the corpse of their fellow soldier out from Shen Zhiheng’s embrace, and then locked stainless steel handcuffs around Shen Zhiheng’s hands and feet.

Shen Zhiheng had a change of prison cells. The new cell was a water dungeon that had never been used before. Looking down, it was a square, dry pool, with the bottom and the four walls smoothened out with cement, while the top was covered with a welded steel grille. The grille was sturdy, and seemed to be fused into the cement on all four sides, with only one corner that opened up into a window with a lock.

The water dungeon was quite deep; even if the person in it were to raise their hands and jump upwards, they would definitely not be able to touch the grille. The holes of the grille were not large either, and the guards could safely walk above it.

Entering and exiting through the window was not easy. The soldiers first brought a small wooden bed down, and then placed Shen Zhiheng on it. After carefully completing these two tasks, the soldiers climbed up the ladder and out of the cell, and two military doctors descended into the cell after them.

The military doctors injected Shen Zhiheng with twice the normal amount of sedatives.

After observing for a moment and confirming that the sedatives were really effective, they then split the work between themselves, using scissors to cut open his bloodied clothes, pulling out the bayonet in his abdomen, and then using forceps to remove the bullets from his body.

Li Yingliang and Yokoyama Akira stood at the sides of the water dungeon and watched. When the military doctors removed the bayonet, fresh blood gushed out, and the two of them were both filled with a kind of subtle disgust, because they didn’t know just who that fresh blood that had just gushed out belonged to.

Yokoyama Akira said softly, “Yingliang-kun, is he still considered as a human?”

Li Yingliang was stunned. Yokoyama Akira had never addressed him so intimately before, and he was quite flattered. “This… I’m not sure either.”

“If he’s not human, then what is he? Devil? Demon? Evil spirit?”

Li Yingliang truly could not answer this question, and so he said hesitantly, “Do demons and monsters… also do business and invest… and open newspaper companies?”

“Where is his family? Is there anyone else in his family?”

“We’re still not sure about this. Four years ago, he moved to Tianjin and settled here. Before that, he seemed to have been in Europe for a few years. Some people say he was learning the arts in Europe, others say he was in Europe doing business.”

Yokoyama Akira lowered his eyes and looked downwards, watching the military doctors cleaning Shen Zhiheng’s body. Shen Zhiheng lay naked on the bed, his body gaunt and slender, and equipped with all the organs a human male should have. Without fresh blood covering him, the assortment of wounds that covered his body was revealed. On his knee, there was even a wound that was so deep that the bone was visible.

“He’s very heavily injured,” Yokoyama Akira said.

Li Yingliang immediately made a sound in agreement.

“It seems like he can’t feel pain.”

“This kind of person that can’t be killed, he probably also wouldn’t be afraid of pain.”

“He’s also very strong and very fast.”

“Yes, he’s quite dangerous.”

Yokoyama Akira lifted his hand, stroking his chin. “Among normal people, even if the fittest youths undergo the most rigorous of training, they won’t be able to reach his level. If he is one of us, or if we have people like him, that will be good. He just needs a little training, and he will become the most outstanding agent.”

Li Yingliang felt that there was something wrong with the meaning hidden in Yokoyama Akira’s words. In a hurry, he turned his head towards him and said, “Sir, his age is unknown. I think there’s a big possibility that he’s no longer a youth; he is already very obstinate in his thinking.”

Yokoyama Akira nodded his head.

In the wee hours of the morning, Yokoyama Akira and Li Yingliang both retired to rest, and Kuroki Rika took over the watch. She lay down on the grille, staring at Shen Zhiheng for a good part of the day. Her mind was quick and she did not need any particular persuasion; she had already acknowledged that the previous night, she had trapped a vampire. She thought that Shen Zhiheng was a vampire, but Yokoyama Akira thought otherwise. The reason why Yokoyama Akira did not agree with her was not because he had some clever reason, but purely because he looked down on women, and Kuroki Rika was precisely that: a woman. The second she opened her mouth, he had already completely shut her down even before she could complete her sentence.

At noon, Li Yingliang replaced Kuroki Rika.

After sleeping for a few hours, Li Yinliang had washed up, changed his clothes, and eaten his fill, his spirits once again becoming high. And just as he arrived, Shen Zhiheng also woke up.

Shen Zhiheng had not had such a deep, long sleep in a very long time.

He didn’t even have a single dream; he only slept, to the point where his joints all became relaxed, it was as if he had become a long snake. Now that he was awake, he lay on his back, facing the ceiling, with his eyes wide open. The first thing he saw was the grille above him, followed by the person sprawled on top of the grille. That person’s back was facing the light and he was on all fours, just like a toad. His head was lowered as he stared directly at him. It was Li Yingliang.

He and Li Yingliang exchanged stares for a while, and at the same time, all of the past events finally came back to him. He had exposed his secret, exposed his true colours that were too dark to be revealed to the outside world. All the illusions he had painstakingly maintained over the years had all crumbled in an instant, and that toad-like creature above him was the main culprit.

Violent fury made him leap up, but severe pain made him fall back onto the bed. He moaned, realising that there was not a single article of clothing on him, except for a blanket that covered his body.

Li Yingliang suddenly asked, “You can feel pain too?”

He roared, “It hurts!”

His roar startled Li Yingliang into trembles, and after that, the latter suddenly noticed that he had lost his cool. Before this, Shen Zhiheng had never roared as if he were a trapped beast.

“Do you still want to escape?” he asked.

What Li Yingliang had noticed, so had Shen Zhiheng himself. He pulled the blanket over his head, taking in a deep breath in the dark as he tried to calm himself down.

After ten seconds under the blanket, he lifted it and poked his head out.

“Give me some clothes.”

“It’s not cold here, you won’t freeze.”

“I’m not cold, I just think that my current condition is indecent.” Shen Zhiheng looked at Li Yingliang. “Do you mean you’re willing to face me in this condition?”

“I am.”

“It’s not like I’m a woman.”

“Not only are you not a woman, you’re not even human!” Li Yingliang hit the grille, his face lit up with a smile as his eyes shined, his teeth gritted in agitation. “Stand up, walk two rounds, extend your claws, show your tail!”

He continued hitting the grille, as if he was tapping a rhythm for himself, “This time, with both witnesses and evidence, what other excuses do you have? Why are you still pretending to be human? You’d better tell the truth as soon as possible, it’ll be good for everyone! If you still want to pull any tricks, fine, no problem. I’ll lock you here until you behave, in any case, I’ll accompany you until the end!”

Li Yingliang’s sudden anger made Shen Zhiheng quite perplexed. He thought, his jailbreak had failed, and Li Yingliang himself had not been harmed in any way. No matter how this bill was calculated, Li Yingliang should be pleased. However, at this moment, Li Yingliang was so angry that he was panting. He did not look pleased at all, instead, it seemed more like he had suffered a blow.

Li Yingliang did not return home, staying there instead.

On the first day, Shen Zhiheng lay down for a long time, the wounds on his bare arms seeming to heal visibly.

On the second day, Shen Zhiheng asked Li Yingliang for water, but Li Yingliang refused.

On the third day, Shen Zhiheng was hungry. At first, Li Yingliang did not notice his hunger. It was only when he noticed him tossing and turning on the bed, when he realised that something was wrong.

“Ah…” he squatted on the grille, lowering his head as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wrapped in the blanket, Shen Zhiheng was curled up into a ball. “I want to see Yokoyama Akira.”

“Stop playing tricks, if you have anything to say, say it to me!”

“I’m hungry.”

“If you’re hungry, then behave. Reply whatever I ask you. As long as you’re willing to behave and cooperate with me, I’ll throw a live person down there for you.”

“Just give me some clothes first. It’s not like I’ll use the clothes to escape from jail. What are you afraid of?”

“You’re fucking not even human, why do you still need to wear clothes!”

“You lie above me and look at me everyday, you’re not ashamed, but I am.”

Li Yingliang sneered. “Ashamed? That’s right. Aren’t you a tycoon? Aren’t you a socialite? Don’t you have money and power so you look down on me? Fine, I’m here to humiliate you, this tycoon, this socialite! So what if you have money and power? You still have to hunker down here in front of me butt-naked!”

Shen Zhiheng lifted the blanket and sat up. “All right, you’ve succeeded. You’ve already humiliated me. Can I trouble you to give me some clothes? If I continue being naked like that I’ll be ashamed to death.”

“Beg me.”

Shen Zhiheng lifted his legs and sat on the bed. The bed was in a corner, touching two walls. He sat at the corner with his legs crossed, looking up at Li Yingliang.

“Chairman Li, I beg you to give me some clothes.”

“What if I don’t?”

Shen Zhiheng looked at Li Yingliang for a while, and finally said, “You’re too childish.”

Li Yingliang did not expect that he would say that, and that sentence rendered him speechless. Shen Zhiheng was right, he realised that his actions and words were indeed quite childish. If Yokoyama Akira found out that he had not done anything proper and had just concerned himself with avenging his personal grievances and sparring verbally with Shen Zhiheng, he would have probably gotten a scolding.

“Remember what you said,” he pointed at Shen Zhiheng. “I’ll give you clothes, and you’ll cooperate with me.”

Shen Zhiheng nodded once.

With his own money, Li Yingliang instructed Li Guisheng to buy a shirt and a pair of pants from the street.

Li Guisheng chose large-sized clothes, and actually managed to get it right. The shirt fit Shen Zhiheng’s measurements, while the pants were slightly short.

Dressed neatly, Shen Zhiheng sat on the edge of the bed, lifting his head as he said to Li Yingliang, “Alright. What do you want to ask? I’ll answer you.”

Li Yingliang had been squatting on the grille all along, and now his legs were numb. He sat down, massaging his calves as he stared at Shen Zhiheng. He suddenly realised that this was not how an interrogation should look like. He could not constantly squat or sit above Shen Zhiheng’s head; lying down was even more out of the question. He had to be face to face with Shen Zhiheng; the prerequisite was that it had to be safe.

Li Yingliang instructed the Japanese soldiers to surround the water dungeon, with their guns aimed straight at Shen Zhiheng. Then, he opened the window, sent someone down to put handcuffs on Shen Zhiheng’s wrists, before finally hanging an iron chain down from the grille. He ordered someone to wrap the iron chain a few rounds around Shen Zhiheng’s waist. Hindered by those chains, even if Shen Zhiheng wanted to rebel, his range of motion would be limited.

Shen Zhiheng let them do what they wanted with him, completely without any hint of resistance. Li Yingliang climbed down the small iron ladder, while Li Guisheng lowered a wooden chair down.

Li Yingliang shifted the chair over, and sat down in front of Shen Zhiheng with a good distance between them. He crossed his legs and tilted his head, a look of disdain on his face as he stared coldly at Shen Zhiheng in front of him. Shen Zhiheng’s short hair drooped down, messily covering half of his forehead. There were scabs on the bridge of his nose and his lips were caked with a layer of dry skin. As if he could not withstand the brightness of Li Yingliang’s oily hair and leather shoes, he squinted his eyes slightly, fine wrinkles appearing at the edges of his eyes. However, there was sincerity in his gaze as he stared at Li Yingliang, waiting for him to ask his questions.

It was Li Yingliang’s first time seeing such an undignified Mr. Shen. Logically speaking, he should be laughing with unrestrained glee, to let out the anger brimming in his chest. But the moment he remembered that Shen Zhiheng was not human, he felt like his victory was meaningless; not only could he not laugh, he was even angrier.

He had gone through the pains of fighting with Shen Zhiheng, a conflict so intense that it encompassed the full spectrum of human emotions from love to hate, and friendship to enmity. And now, at the end of it all, he was told that Shen Zhiheng was actually not the upper class character he had in his mind, but actually a monster that bit people and sucked their blood. Was there a scam on this earth that was even more ludicrous than this? Was this not Shen Zhiheng playing him like a fool?

Li Yingliang was so full of hatred that he felt like dying, but he did not know just who he should hate. So, he could only hate Shen Zhiheng. As he stared pointedly at Shen Zhiheng, his eyes slowly became red; he had suppressed his anger to such an extent that he had forced the tears out of his own eyes.

Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng continued staring eagerly at him, his face calm and innocent.

Li Yingliang inhaled deeply, opening his mouth, “What are you looking at?”

Shen Zhiheng smiled slightly. “I really didn’t expect that I would fall into your hands.”

“Of course you didn’t. You look down on me, you don’t believe that I’m better than you.”

Shen Zhiheng lowered his head with a strange half-smile, fiddling with the handcuffs with his long and slender fingers. “I don’t really look down on you.”

“It doesn’t matter. Even if you didn’t, it wouldn’t have amounted to much, I don’t care. Speak, what on earth are you?”

“I…” Shen Zhiheng dragged, replying hesitantly. “I think, I should be a sick person.”

“What sickness?”

“I don’t know. It’s probably an infectious disease.”

#snowfall #冰雪谣 #the shadow #如月 #snowfalltl #userdramas #vampires #translation #*transl #tuserashinlae #lextag #roserayne #my FAVOURITE chapter hohohohohohohoho

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stiltonbasket · 14 days ago

Note

A-lan keeps giving her shugong weird presents? A single raw potato? A rock? A paper flower?

She also gives him random chopsticks now and then. He doesn't think anything of it until a bewildered Lan Wangji shows up at the Meishi to explain that the Jingshi no longer has enough chopsticks for all four of its residents, and that he needs to borrow some to tide the Wangxian family over until he can make an appointment with the office of household affairs or visit Caiyi to buy more.

At this, Lan Qiren goes into his own kitchen and emerges with approximately 20 (!!) chopsticks for LWJ. Lan Wangji is more confused than ever, until he gets back to the Jingshi just in time to find a toddling A-Lan squirreling chopstick number 21 into her schoolbag.

#asks #lan qiren #wei shuilan #lan wangji

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drama--universe · 11 months ago

Text

"Stolen" Lover

Requested by anonymous: Hello! I'm glad you're back to writing after a break due to a hand problem. Welcome back! Otherwise, I'll leave a request for Xiao Xingchen - The reader (female reader) hears the conversation of her parents/uncle/any other relative that they want to sell the reader as a prostitute (either for Guangshan or another person) because they are on the verge of poverty and the reader because of her beauty can be sold for a good price. So the reader runs away at night. But the reader's relatives are watching her, so they capture her and want to take her back home so they can sell her the next day. Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan heard the reader screaming for help. When the reader is freed, the reader is still skeptical of the two men, thinking that they want to take the reward for selling her instead of her relatives. Both men assure her that they definitely don't plan to. The reader then travels with them and something much more than friendship happens between her and Xingchen.

Pairing: Xiao Xingchen x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.7k words

Warnings: harassment, toxic family

Xingchen didn't often join in social activities, preferring to stay in his comfort zone and mostly alone, Song Lang was the only exception to this rule. Today, for the first time in a long while, he had decided to show his face at a gathering for once. Trust it when he says that he immediately regretted that choice, not even seconds after entering the pavilion.

The Lanling Jin clan was already fully drunk, Xingchen never really got along with Lan's to begin with and the Yunmeng clan were closed off to their own members. It was almost painful at how many clicks had formed and how Xingchen, like usual, did not fit into any of them. So he stood in the corner of the courtyard, listening to the conversations. The one that caught his attention the most was from his right, Jin Guangshan, who was loudly talking and laughing. In front of him stood a woman and her family, presumably her parents. She looked widely uncomfortable, her form visually shaking as Guangshan put a hand on her shoulder before raising his hand to cradle her face, where she physically recoiled from the touch. His eyes remained on the woman as her parents pushed her closer to the Lanling leader, who once again took her face into his hand and inspecting her. When released from the man's grip, she bowed her head before racing off. Although to most she would look fairly composed, Xingchen was able to see the fear beneath the façade. Her parents looked on as the woman left before continuing their conversation with Guangshan, not even caring enough to check on their daughter. Not wanting to meddle with others affairs, Xingchen turned his attention away and continued on with his eavesdropping of others conversations.

Soon, the sun set and the moon took its place high up in the sky, settling in between the thousand of stars. The part had started settling down, most clans retracting to their rooms or even just leave back to their own homes. Xingchen followed the masses, leaving the pavilion with plenty of food still stuffed in his pockets. He'd need it for his journey, that's what he told himself. Besides, otherwise it would all be thrown out anyway and he hardly thought that was necessary. As he parted from the groups before and behind him, making his way to a cheap inn that none of the "high-class" people would want to stay at. Entering his room, he was greeted by Song Lan laying on the bed. A small grey ball was bouncing up and down against the ceiling with a bored look before pausing, holding the ball still while turning his head to look at Xingchen. Seeing the exhausted look on his face, Song Lan scoffed with a smile.

"Looks like you had fun." The tone was meant to be mocking, but the smile on Song Lan's said enough for Xingchen to know that it wasn't meant maliciously. Instead, he sat in his own bed and laid down after removing his shoes. He ignored the banging of the ball against the ceiling and instead tried to sleep. He had a feeling that the next day would be busy.

Like he had imagined, it was busy. A festival started, right on the day that they were leaving. Streets covered with masses of families, lovers and friend groups. It was loud and busy, everything that Xingchen despised. Nonetheless, they pushed through everyone with soft apologies spilling from their lips when they were met with glares. The were stopped, however, by a large crowd that had filled the area. They blocked the path effectively, Xingchen and Song Lan barely were able to push through. When they did, they were met with a very odd sight. In the middle of the ground laid someone, cowering from a group that loomed above them. Upon closer inspection, the person on the ground was a woman. More specifically, the woman that Xingchen had seen yesterday, the one who was supposedly marrying Guangshan. Her family, he guessed it was her family, were clearly mad at her as the pulled her up against her wishes. She tried to tug herself away from the grip that her father had on her, but to no avail. Xingchen didn't know what came over him, like a spell that enchanted him to help her. So he set off, marching her way and ripping her from the elder's grip and placing her behind him. Xingchen didn't know why he was doing this, he didn't like to be noticed. He especially didn't like to be noticed in a way that would be dangerous for him, which was this situation. Not only was he pissing off the family of the poor woman behind him, but he was probably pissing off Guangshan by stealing his wife as well. Yet here he stood, not wavering in the slightest as his arm blocked her from view.

The man in front of him was ready to start talking, hand grasping to get ahold of his daughter once more, but Xingchen walked backwards before drawing his sword. The tip was inches away from the man, a yelp from his family and gasps from the crowd. Song Lan, who finally wormed his way through the crowd, jumped out and settled between the two parties and sighed loudly. The blade from Xingchen rested against his chin, but Song Lan didn't move it and instead turned his head.

"Why don't you explain why you're hurting the lady?" Song Lan spoke and the man saw red, cursing and yelling out at the two strangers and his daughter. So Xingchen did whatever seemed more logical. He took ahold of the woman behind him before shedding his sword and grabbing Song Lan. Then he ran off, pushing through the crowd with both of them behind him.

"They were going to sell me!" The woman was quick to yell as they came to stop near the edge of town, doubling over as she tried to catch her breath.

"You're not going to, right?" Taking a step back, she looked at them with a worried gaze.

"How much would you cost?" Song Lan whispered, receiving a short jab in the ribs from Xingchen while the woman just laughed uncomfortably. "We're poor, so you're lucky if you got a hundred coins." She laughed back to which Song Lan shrugged, claiming that it wouldn't be enough for the trouble and that it was better to just keep her. This earned him a more genuine laugh before she relaxed more, standing straight before raising her arms high and bowing.

"(Y/f/n), pleasure to make your acquaintance. Even under these circumstances." She, (y/n), gave them a bright smile, which made both men awkwardly greet her back.

"Now... Do either of you have a spare robe, because these underrobes are quite chilly." She grinned softly, clearly a bit uncomfortable as she wrapped her arms around herself. Song Lan shook his head, he never had a spare robe unlike Xingchen. Xingchen pulled out a robe from his bag, handing it to her and watching her put it on. Somehow, his face started heating up as he watched the robe engulf her form. The arms were way too long, the underside of the robe hitting the floor since it was way too long as well. He had no clue as to why he reacted the way he did, he only knew that it annoyed him greatly.

He was definitely not prepared to have you joining him and Song Lan on their trips. Yet he'd have to get used to it now.

"Come on!" You called as you dragged both of the men behind you forward, the two behind you were not happy by it in the slightest. Both were practically whining at this point, Song Lan more than Xingchen, and you turned around to face them before crossing your arms.

"Look, I feel like sleeping in a bed soon and not in the forest. So, let's get this job started and earn something to do that, huh?" "You can sleep in a inn, just not all three of us." Song Lan commented and you scoffed, shaking your head at him.

"I'm not sleeping alone, don't feel like being kidnapped." You stuck out your tongue, turning around before flinching when you noticed a poster on the doors of the town. One that held your face, a striking resemblance that made you want to puke.

"Let's go to the next town." Xingchen spoke, but you shook your head with an annoyed huff. You were not going to change towns again, this was already the fifth and you were really not expecting the next to be better. Your family along with Guangshan were persistent, poster having spread to so many places that you basically couldn't go anywhere. The two men looked at each other before nodding and following you inside, but not before Xingchen offered you a veil to cover the bottom part of your face. You took it, putting it on with a grimace before entering the town with the others in tow. You felt uncomfortable, noticing that some looks at you remained a but too long and were often even accompanied by whispers that you could easily hear them from a distance. Faltering in your step, you tried to ignore them while awkwardly grabbing Xingchen's hand. He didn't pull back, instead he just took a hold of your hand firmly to make sure that you knew that he wouldn't let go anytime soon.

"Married~" Song Lan whistled and you scoffed, kicking back to him before taking his hand as well and dragging him along. If anyone would see you three then you would look like a couple who were dragging a kid along, you were sure that would gain a laugh. Then again, it gained a chuckle from you alone as you walked to your destination.

Soon, you reached an inn. It was old, walls covered with scratches and moss growing all over the walls and roof, and you almost feared how stable it would be. But against every doubt, you entered the inn and winced at the unstable creek beneath your feet before you walked to the man at the desk.

"Room for three? Or four if that's handier for you." You gave a smile, even though it was not visible thanks to your veil, and the man looked up from his book before closing it. Opening another book, he looked at the three of you before pointing at you.

"Veil off, we don't take people who don't show their faces." The man spoke and you sighed before taking off the veil, much to the protests of the men behind you. The elder, however, did not look surprised and instead nodded before jotting some things down and taking a key from his desk.

"Second room on the right, ten coppers." He said, holding out an hand to receive his pay before looking at Song Lan and Xingchen when you started to get your pouch.

"You're not letting the lady pay, are you?" "Oh, those old ideas are stupid. Here you go." You handed him ten before snatching the key from his hand. Then you moved to the room, gasping as you entered the room. A large room with large and comfy beds that would make you sleep in an instant. So you did, taking your shoes and outer robe off before throwing yourself on the bed.

"See this!" You could only let out a sigh of content before turning on your side, pushing your face in the pillow and burying yourself under the blanket.

"I could live here." "And I will not, see you!" Song Lan exclaimed before heading out again, leaving you and Xingchen alone. You didn't pay much more attention to him, however, as you just closed your eyes and tried to sleep for just a short time.

Xingchen watched as you fell asleep, surely by steadily, and he smiled softly before settling in his own bed. He didn't sleep, he just watched you sleep peacefully for once. The first time you had since you were traveling with him, ever since that faithful day since he had basically kidnapped you. He had seen you sleeping before, back then you were always twitching and squirming as you tried to ignore the growing nightmares. It was reassuring to see you like this, but he didn't feel comfortable enough to fall asleep himself. So he continued to stay awake, eyes remaining on your form.

Your eyes opened slowly, your sight blurry for a few seconds before turning clear and connecting you to Xingchen's gaze. It was clear that he was staring, not aware that you had awoken just yet.

"Creep." You commented as you sat up, rubbing your eyes before stretching yourself. Xingchen chuckled as he leaned his head back, the first time that he actually took his eyes off you, and you moved a bit closer to him without getting off the bed.

"You slept peaceful for once." He commented to which you frowned before shrugging. It didn't sound unreasonable, you don't remember ever feeling uncomfortable or feeling like anxiety hit you when you woke up. You didn't even register the fact that he new this as a fact, meaning that he had watched sleep you at least a few times. You looked around to search for the second male, finding that he was still absent from the room.

"Song Lan is still out? It's already dark..." You took a look out of the window before looking at Xingchen, who shrugged. "He can protect himself, you know that." He answered and you threw you shoe at him with a soft glare before looking out the window once more.

"You worry too much, he'll be fine." He scoffed and you rolled your eyes at him before noticing his frown. Raising your eyebrow at him, you chucked another shoe at him and asking what was wrong with him. He didn't answer you, instead he looked at the door and away from you. You took ahold of the next object to throw, but you were stopped when he turned around caught you raising it up to throw. You chuckled awkwardly before setting it down again and sighing.

"What is it that makes you so suddenly annoyed?" You asked again and this time he didn't turn away, instead facing you fully before freezing as the door opened. Song Lan sauntered in, catching Xingchen's short glare and also freezing.

"Did I interrupt your confession?" He asked, in a very serious tone, and Xingchen's eyes widened while your mouth just dropped to the floor.

"Confession?!" You exclaimed and Song Lan looked at you before back at Xingchen, shaking his hands. "I'll be downstairs!" And then he took off, leaving you and Xingchen alone once again in an awkward silence. You looked back at him again, gasping for air as you tried to find anything to say. You couldn't think of anything, so the room just remained silent.

"Can we just ignore what he said." "No, no, no, no... Let's not. Explain, please." You said and Xingchen groaned, hand raising and brushing his hair back as he tried to explain. With a bit of pacing, only one sentence was said.

"I'm in love with you." He stated and your eyes widened again before you shook your head, realizing that something like that should already be clear. So instead you got up and walked until you were in front of him. He wanted to back up, but you grabbed the front of his shirt and made sure that he remained closer to you.

"You can't just stop there, please continue." You said and Xingchen blinked before nodding, but remaining quiet. So you chose to start, asking him how long it had been and he answered this quickly, a bit too quick even. 3 months, about half of your time together, had been him crushing on you. Now three quarters of that had been you doing the same... So you didn't really see the point in waiting much longer when you knew it to be mutual.

Pulling him down slightly, enough for you to reach him, and placing your lips on the corner of his mouth. Then you reeled back, giggling at the surprised look on his face before walking past him to the door.

"I'm going to tell Song Lan that he's safe to return." You said, opening the door before shrieking as you were pulled back and the door slammed back shut.

"He can wait."

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yabancreations · 18 days ago

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Hi! 💜 For the wip ask game: please please please, tell me more about in memoriam 👀

Hi! Of course, let's see: both In Memoriam and Scars surged from my curiosity about how Wei Ying (and Lan Zhan, plus the rest of the cast) processed Wei Ying's change of bodies in the long run. The novel shows some of it, yes, but it's such a strange occurrence! Surely there's more to it than saying, "alright, this happened. Moving on~"

Specifically for In Memoriam, I thought about the people who used to know Mo Xuanyu. His family was killed at the beginning of the novel, and no one in the Jin clan cared about him, but there are more people in the world. Someone had to remember him dearly from his childhood years, right? I thought of their reaction upon learning that who they used to know as an odd yet sweet child of the local gentry is now a completely different person. What an unholy aberration it must look like for someone outside the Jianghu who can't even imagine the power of cultivation! That's why I chose a former nanny, someone humble who looked after the clan's kids when needed, isn't well-read nor has contact with the Jianghu—she might even be wary of cultivators. She's gentle and a little superstitious, and would definitely die of horror and shock if they told her what happened with xiao Xuanyu. Her last wish is to see him because she's had dreams of something terrible happening to him, and thus her family decide to lure Wei Ying to the Jin territory with an outrageous story in order to ask him privately to help, so the old lady can leave the world with no worries.

That said, I never planned to make the fic about their meeting, but rather, of the before and after, and the narration is a third person vaguely close to Lan Zhan's perspective. Wei Ying goes to see the nanny without giving it much thought, but the experience makes him face the fact that he was shoved into an already started life that had memories and significance and an identity, and he comes back pretty shaken. Most of the fic would be about how he and Lan Zhan come to terms with it together.

I find writing for MDZS pretty intimidating. The worldbuilding and characterization are both very solid, I don't find as many crevices to get in as with TGCF. I don't know if I'll ever post any of these ideas. Have a preview of what I have written, to compensate, and thanks for asking!

——————

“I am talking nonsense, aren’t I? I'm sorry, Hanguang-Jun,” he said and leaned on Lan Zhan’s chest, looking up at him with eyes filled in equal parts with mischief and adoration. “I really want to see them try to explain their scheme to my face, and they won’t dare doing so in front of you. They are not worth your time, anyway; it would even stain the reputation of the Gusu Lan Clan to meddle with such affairs, don’t you think?”

“They will try to kill you.”

Wei Ying smirked and stretched a bit in order to get close to Lan Zhan’s ear.

“Let them try,” he purred, malicious. “Let me have some fun.”

Lan Zhan could feel Wei Ying’s slender fingers slide across his chest, drawing his collarbones and making little circles around his burnt scar. He didn’t falter.

“I’ll behave, I promise.” Wei Ying smile turned into a kiss against Lan Zhan’s neck. “I’ll be good, very good. I'm only ever naughty with you.”

“Stop it.”

“I can’t fly on a sword, so I’ll take Little Apple with me. It'll be a good bonding experience.” Wei Ying sat straight to see Lan Zhan in the eye and offered him the most innocent, purest smile, exquisitely fabricated. “Your uncle will be happy to have some peace; maybe you yourself will remember how much you enjoy silence and how bothersome I am.”

“Wei Ying…”

“Isn’t it true that I am bothersome, and that I love to bother you, and that you love to be bothered by me?”

Lan Zhan couldn’t stop the smallest smile from briefly appearing on his face. Wei Ying noticed it, and he was delighted.

“It is true, it really is!” he said, and leaned forward to point one finger at Lan Zhan’s chest. “Yet don’t tell me you don’t feel at least a bit tempted to have one day of your little five-to-nine clan rituals without my sabotage.”

Lan Zhan frowned slightly. Perhaps Wei Ying was the one in need of a break. He had always been a walking terror, ill-adapted to discipline and routine. Maybe the night hunts were not enough to compensate for the rather domestic, uneventful rhythm of the Cloud Recesses. That was understandable, but why did he want to go alone?

“Lan Zhan, are you pouting at me?”

—————— Back to WIP game main post.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #wangxian #wei ying #lan zhan #mo xuanyu #fic wip #yabanwrites

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jcs-singular-slut-strand · 4 months ago

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chengsu for the ship bingo please.....

I love them. Rarepair hell

Okay just to be clear i only put a little bit of pink on the "ship because of canon" because of the nod scene at Carp tower. WHY DID HE SWALLOW LIKE THAT????HUH??????

It lowkey makes my blood boil when some people make jokes about jin guangyao and lan xichen having an obvious affair, like girl his wife??? She's right there and she's killing herself. Anyways that's why I think she and Jiang Cheng should fall in love, her husband is ignoring her and jiang cheng has no friends and one family member. Great success!!!

I think about them all the time, I make up scenarios of them in my head. I pictured them going to the MCR reunion tour together??? Bonding activities.

I don't even need them to kiss, i just need them to absolutely not be normal about each other. Lingering hands on arms, the fixing of hair and clothes placement, all too knowing eye contact from across the grand hall.

There's this one AU I have in my head where during the sunshot campaign the Qin Sect send up flairs cause they're under attact and Jiang Cheng + disciples pull up but they need to sneek in to get the wens out (before they make themselves too at home) and they need someone who knows the layout well and Qin Su volunteers. So that's a whole thing, they're running about the Qin Estate and then the war ends and Qin Su basically starts seeing him as this galant knight/protector and ends up naming a dog after him IT'S A WHOLE THING I WONT GET INTO IT

Basically what that whole thing is is chivalric love/they don't need to kiss cause what they've got going on is way weirder than swapping spit with someone

Jiang Cheng is not normal about alot of people and i think it's his turn to be on the receiving end of that:

Qin Su being incredibly Not Normal about Jiang Cheng 2024. Also they're raising a child together??? That's quite intimate

(And if anyone is interested I've got some good fic recs)

Blank bingo sheet

#chengsu #jiang cheng #qin su #jiang cheng x qin su #the untamed #mdzs #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo dao zu shi #ask games

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workersolidarity · 5 months ago

Text

[ 📹 A man burns alive in a Palestinian tent in an area filled with displaced civilians and journalists inside the compound of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on Monday. The strike was responsible for killing one citizen and wounding a number of others. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

GAZA GENOCIDE DAY 290: BORREL SAYS EU TO TAKE ACTION AFTER ICJ ADVISORY DECISION, ISRAELI OCCUPATION ANNOUNCES THE CONFIRMATION OF THE DEATHS OF TWO HOSTAGES IN GAZA, NEW GROUND OFFENSIVE IN KHAN YUNIS DISPLACES HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIANS, GENOCIDE CONTINUES ANOTHER DAY

On 290th day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 3 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 23 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 91 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or whose bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

The European Union's High Representative of the Union of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, declared on Monday that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable, and emphasized the EU's support for implementing the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) advisory decision demanding the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces and settlements from the occupied West Bank of Palestine.

Borrell then said that relations between the EU and the Israeli entity cannot continue as normal under the current situation.

"Israel can interpret history as it wishes, but respect for international law is binding," the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief added, stating that the EU would discuss how to apply the Court's decision in Gaza.

In more news on Monday, July 22nd, the Israeli occupation army has renewed a ground offensive into the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, following four months of maneuvers by the 98th Division of the occupation army before its eventual withdrawal last April.

Since then, the occupation army has been gathering intelligence about a supposed renewed presence of the Hamas resistance movement, and attempts by the resistance group to restore its military strength.

The army claims that this renewed strength, and the rebuilding of its fortifications in Khan Yunis, is the reason for their latest ground incursions into the area.

Palestinian witnesses reported seeing occupation army Merkava tanks enter the eastern suburbs of Khan Yunis City, into the evacuated area, where occupation military vehicles where seen penetrating the town of Abasan Al-Kabira, along with other neighborhoods east of the city.

According to reporting on the maneuvers, at least 37 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing bombing of Khan Yunis since dawn this morning.

At the same time, the Zionist army ordered the evacuation of more than 400'000 displaced Palestinian civilians and local residents from neighborhoods east of Khan Yunis this morning, while tens of thousands have already fled the area.

Witnesses stated seeing thousands of Palestinians fleeing towards central Khan Yunis and its western suburbs.

Reporting in the Palestinian media outlet Ma'an News Agency cited an Israeli military spokesperson as saying "The evacuations are being carried out through text messages, recorded voice messages, phone calls, Arabic-language media broadcasts and announcements."

In more news on Monday, Hebrew-language media outlets are reporting that two Israeli prisoners, who were being held by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, were confirmed to be killed in their custody.

The two hostages, who the occupation media claims were killed by Hamas, were Alex Danzig and Gaev Buchstab, who were kidnapped by the resistance group and taken back to Gaza on October 7th, 2023, while their bodies continue to be held by the resistance group.

The announcement said the decision to acknowledge the two hostages as dead was made after gathering intelligence information, and was approved by a committee made up of experts from the Ministry of Health, working in conjunction with the Ministry of Religion and the Israeli police.

Reporting on Israeli Channel-12 News states that the circumstances leading to their deaths continue to be investigated by professionals from various fields.

Previously, the Hamas resistance movement announced the deaths of the two hostages back in March of this year, which they say resulted from the Israeli occupation forces' bombing raids and a shortage of medicines.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) confirmed in a post to the social media platform X on Sunday that "malnutrition in Gaza poses a major risk to pregnant women and newborns amid an increase in stillbirths, low-weight babies, emaciation and delayed growth."

The post went on to say that "it has become increasingly common for low-weight babies to be born in Gaza," adding that "Malnutrition in Gaza poses a major risk to pregnant women and newborns, amid an increase in stillbirths, low-birth-weight babies, and others suffering from emaciation and delayed growth."

In a separate and unrelated post on X, UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said that the Israeli occupation forces opened heavy fire on at a United Nations convoy heading to Gaza City, stating that "While there are no casualties, our teams had to duck and take cover."

Lazzarini said the incident took place on Sunday, and said that the UN teams had been traveling in "clearly marked UN armoured cars" and were wearing "UN vests".

The UNRWA Chief stated that "One vehicle received at least five bullets while waiting just ahead of the Israeli Forces’ checkpoint south of Wadi Gaza. The car was severely damaged, it left the convoy. The teams re-assembled and finally reached Gaza City."

"Like all other similar UN movements, this movement was coordinated and approved by the Israeli Authorities," Lazzarini said of the incident.

"Humanitarian aid workers are NOT a target," Lazzarini concluded, adding that "those responsible must be held accountable."

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation's genocide seemingly goes on endlessly in Gaza, with the occupation army continuing to target civilian housing and infrastructure, with ongoing bombing and shelling pummeling various axis of the Strip.

In one example, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) bombed a residential house in the Qizan Al-Najjar neighborhood, south of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 3 Palestinians, including two children, and wounding a number of others.

Another occupation airstrike targeted a mosque in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, wounding several citizens.

Following the previous strike, occupation artillery shelling targeted a residential home belonging to the Qadan family, next to Al-Saddiqin Mosque, north of the town of Beit Lahiya, in the north Gaza Strip, leading to the death a citizen and injuring several others.

Zionist warplanes also bombed a gathering of civilians in the Mirage area, north of the city of Rafah, south of Gaza, killing two Palestinians and wounding a number of others who were transferred to the Nasser medical complex in Khan Yunis.

Later on, occupation fighter jets went on to bomb a civilian residence belonging to the Batash family on Nakhal Street in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, while Zionist aircraft also bombed a house in the University College area, south of Gaza City, resulting in a fire.

Additionally, Israeli warplanes bombed a residential house belonging to the Jadallah family, west of Khan Yunis, killing one citizen and wounded at least 5 others.

Similarly, a young girl was killed, and 6 other citizens wounded, when occupation fighter jets bombed the Al-Raqab family home in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis.

The Israeli occupation's atrocities continued into Monday morning when the occupation army detonated two entire residential blocks in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, as well as the al-Hay al-Saud areas, west of Rafah City, resulting in thick plumes of smoke and dust rising into the air from the sites.

Witnesses report seeing large numbers of Israeli quadcopter drones flying over areas of central Gaza, specifically in the skies over the Al-Nuseirat Camp.

Meanwhile, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital announced the death of a child named Maryam Mustafa al-Khatib, who succumbed to injuries sustained in the Israeli bombing of an apartment in the Nuseirat Camp.

It was also reported that occupation fighter jets launched two raids in the vicinity of the University College in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, southwest of Gaza City, and a third raid east of the city.

Paramedics with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported the recovery of 3 martyrs and several wounded civilians as a result of an Israeli missile strike on a residential apartment belonging to the Batsh family, on Al-Nakhl Street in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, while the dead and wounded were transported to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city.

Zionist warplanes also bombed a gathering of civilians in the vicinity of Al-Albeen Mosque in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, killing one Palestinian and wounding a number of others.

The crimes of the Zionist entity didn't end there, occupation aircraft also bombarded a residential house in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of two civilians and wounding several others.

In yet another war crime of the Israeli occupation, Zionist warplanes bombed a tent for journalists inside the compound for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, killing one citizen and injuring a number of others.

The Civil Defense Authority is also reporting the strike, stating that one death and several injuries, including critical cases, occured after occupation forces targeted the tent of journalists inside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital compound.

Palestinian medical sources are also reporting the death toll from intensive Israeli shelling of the eastern neighborhoods of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, has risen to more than 40, which they say coincides with the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, along with catastrophic humanitarian and medical conditions.

The Nasser medical complex in Khan Yunis City says it has received hundreds of dead bodies and wounded residents over the last three hours as the occupation army continues hammering the city with constant shelling and airstrikes.

In statement, the medical sources told official Palestinian news agency WAFA News that "We are losing the lives of patients and the injured due to lack of capabilities. We do not have the minimum requirements and supplies to treat the wounded."

The hospital is also calling for "urgent" blood donations for the wounded and sick inside the complex, due to a severe shortage of blood units.

Their source is also cited as saying that the blood shortage "poses a serious threat to the lives of patients and the injured, in light of the ongoing massacres carried out by the occupation forces against innocents and civilians."

In the meantime, in central Gaza, medical sources with Al-Awda Hospital told Anadolu News Agency that two citizens were killed, and a third wounded, after Zionist fighter jets bombed a gathering of civilians on Salah al-Din Street, northeast of the Al-Nuseirat Camp.

Local sources say that mass displacement is again occuring towards areas west of Khan Yunis after the start of the occupation's maneuvers into the east of the city, with most heading towards the Al-Mawasi area after evacuation orders were given by the occupation.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the endlessly rising death toll now exceeds 39'006 Palestinians killed, including at least 10'000 women and well over 15'000 children, while another 89'818 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

This brings the total number of casualties to 128'824, or the equivalent of 5.6% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.

July 22nd, 2024.

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loosingmoreletters · 2 years ago

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take some wangxian AU.

Gods are born or they become, but under no circumstances are they made.

At least, that is the assumption.

They cannot interfere in mortal affairs unless it is predestined by the Jade Emperor himself, an exception to the rule.

And yet Lan Wangji finds himself standing in front of a shrine not dedicated to a respected ancestor or a grieved love, but a deity that cannot be. The shrine isn’t well-made, merely scrapped together food of which the little priestess keeping it is quick to take some for herself. She cuts a slice of fruit that looks too unsightly for human consumption and devours it in one quick bite all while glaring at Lan Wangji as if daring him to speak against her actions.

She chews like a wild thing, the fine robes she stole not quite capable of disguising her origin.

Lan Wangji followed the call of a haunted home, hastily abandoned by its owners when cruel spirits came and refused to leave it more than a decade ago. The village has been concerned because the spirits seemed to act up again, but all Lan Wangji’s investigation yields is a pair of siblings and a shrine that shouldn’t be.

“You can’t make us move,” says the girl. “Nobody owns the house, so we might as well live here. Nobody else does.”

The house is still in the name of the family that used to live here and they refuse to return because of the spirits. Spirits that still reside here, now dormant, but ready to be called upon at any moment.

“It isn’t safe here,” he says.

“Duh,” the girl replies. “That’s what the shrine is for.”

“Shrines are for gods,” Lan Wangji tells her because this shrine should have no effect because it isn’t erected in the name of a god.

The girl blinks at him like she doesn’t understand. Perhaps no one has ever taught her, she cannot be older than ten.

“So?” she says. “I don’t need a god. I need someone strong to scare all the demons and they say the Yiling Patriarch is the scariest of them all. And he is real.”

He was real and loved and gone—

“So you can’t make us leave and you can’t take him away,” she says, a little wary. “He keeps the demons away.”

Lan Wangji thinks of a-Yuan, all of seven now, sitting in class. The first time he saw Lan Wangji after a nightmare, he drew him a talisman. Senseless scribbles on paper, driven by an instinct of memories he can no longer recall. The talisman worked, if not in the matter intended.

But senseless writing and childish belief wouldn’t keep resentful spirits away.

He decides to change the course of his inquiry. “How do you know he’s keeping you safe?”

At the question, the girl smiles proudly. “We hear him play at night!” She raises her hands as if playing an invisible dizi and hums a melody she shouldn’t know.

And Lan Wangji’s heart aches.

#mdzs #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #mdzs fanfic #fanfic #the untamed

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ibijau · 25 days ago

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Papa Mia pt6 / On A03

Nie Fuyun had run to the training grounds to blow off some steam. It was the way almost everyone in the Nie sect was taught to deal with intense emotions. She had even seen Nie Huaisang come there with his sabre once or twice, when she was still a young child, during that short period between his brother’s death and his decision to present himself as more useless than he was.

Not that Nie Fuyun wanted to think about him, she told herself, slicing a target in two with one rageful strike. Not about him, and certainly not about the choices he’d made at that time, or at any other time, in fact, because Nie Huaisang had never done anything right in his life, and she hated him, and…

Another target perished before her sabre.

It was not the way to do this, Nie Fuyun knew. They were trained to focus on their movement as a way to escape anger. What she did was just reckless destruction, something expected only of little children, not nearly adult disciples. She would be scolded for this later, except… except she wouldn’t, because there wouldn’t be a later for her, not in the Nie sect anyway. She was going to be sent away, because the only relative she had in this world didn’t want her, because he’d rather see her leave than claim her as his own blood.

Not that she wanted to be family with him. Not anymore. Not after the way he’d spoken to her.

What she wanted, instead…

What he wanted…

A third target was destroyed. This time, her vandalism was met with some polite applause coming from the edge of the training ground. Nie Fuyun turned around, hand clenched on her sabre, and was surprised to find sect leader Lan watching her with a quiet smile.

“Nie guniang is truly as impressive as I had heard,” he said. “No wonder Sizhui and Jingyi are always excited when they get a chance to go on a Night Hunt with you.”

“Is Lan zongzhu making fun of me?” Nie Fuyun asked

Feeling it was rude to talk over a distance, she put away her weapon and went to join him.

“Are you so rarely complimented that hearing praise feels like a hidden insult?” Lan Xichen retorted with concern when she reached him. “I may have a word to your sect leader about that, I would have expected better of him.”

“Didn’t you say before you wouldn’t dare talk to him?” Nie Fuyun snapped.

Lan Xichen did not reply, nor did he react to that attack. Still Nie Fuyun had the feeling he was hurt by that reminder. She really just couldn’t say anything right that day, could she?

“Apologies to Zewu-jun, that was very rude of me,” she mumbled with a bow. “I’m… not really fit for company today.”

“A wedding is a stressful affair,” Lan Xichen agreed. “Especially in circumstances such as these. I’m sure those who love you will know not to take your words to heart.”

“Zewu-Jun is kind to say this, but I doubt it’ll be that easy. It doesn’t matter, though. After tomorrow, I’m unlikely to ever come here again.”

Lan Xichen tilted his head, an amused expression on his face.

“Nie guniang, do you expect your new husband to be so tyrannical that he would not let you visit home? I have met him only once, but he did not give me the impression he was that sort of person.”

Nie Fuyun shook her head, a little amused too in spite of herself at the idea of Ouyang Zizhen trying to control her.

“Zizhen isn’t like that, I don’t think,” she agreed. “If I thought he was, I’d have begged Nie zongzhu to prevent this marriage. But what does it matter whether he’d let me come, when I would be unwelcome anyway?”

“Nie zongzhu is a man of strong emotions,” Lan Xichen replied. “This day is stressful for him too, especially as he cares so much about you. Don’t take his anger to heart. He’s truly sorry for the things he said.”

“But not so sorry he came to apologise!”

“He’s never been particularly good at that,” Lan Xichen noted with exasperated fondness. “A family trait, sadly. His brother had the same fault, and I’ve heard their father was worse than either of them. Really, I should have questioned this invitation to your wedding more,” he added with a soft laugh. “It would have been wildly out of character for Nie Huaisang to reach out this way, yet I wanted to see him too much to think clearly. But I have known him longer than you, and I can confidently say that his difficulties in apologising doesn’t mean he can’t be devoured with guilt when he does or says something wrong. He’s only unforgiving to those he truly hates, and to himself.”

“Well, he can feel bad a little longer, as far as I’m concerned,” Nie Fuyun announced. “I think he deserves it.”

“Hm. I can imagine you have reasons to be angry at him,” Lan Xichen said with a sad smile. “Considering what great secrets he kept from you…”

Nie Fuyun gasped, her cheeks heating up.

“You knew?”

Lan Xichen’s smile grew sadder as he nodded. He looked at her as if trying to see something through her.

“I realised once you started growing up,” he explained. “The way you look, your personality… I don't know why Nie Mingjue didn't marry whoever your mother was, but there is no denying the connection.”

Nie Fuyun stared at him, shocked that he’d gotten things almost right, and yet completely wrong. It would have been easy to correct him, but she found herself unwilling to do so. She couldn't betray Nie Huaisang again by revealing the truth to a man who had hurt him so intimately, then helped his worst enemy. But to be seen as related to her father at all, to have someone speak to her like this…

“How long have you… known?”

“Not quite as long as I should have, considering I did know Mingjue as a child,” Lan Xichen confessed. “Not until I heard that you were going on Night Hunts alone or with adults… Mingjue was the same, before he had to become sect leader. You are very much like him in looks as well, but you have Huaisang's manners and grace. No surprise, when he had such a part in raising you.”

Although a little pleased to hear she resembled her relatives, Nie Fuyun pouted.

“The elders say I am wilful and disregard rules, unlike the late Nie zongzhu. They always give him as an example.”

“Then the Nie elders forget that it is a trait most of their leaders have possessed in their youth,” Lan Xichen replied with a smile. “Mingjue had plenty of arguments with other disciples, with sect elders, even with his own father, most of all with his brother. He could also be mischievous in his own way… but then his father died, and he lost that part of himself. As for Mingjue and Huaisang’s father, I've heard fearsome tales about his youth. But elders like to forget that those who have left us were as imperfect as those who survive.”

“I didn't know that,” Nie Fuyun whispered. “It's my family, and I know almost nothing.”

With some hesitation, Lan Xichen slowly patted her shoulder. Against her better judgement, Nie Fuyun appreciated it, although it felt too little. She wanted to be hugged, although not by that man next to her. She wanted her father to hold her in his arms and tell her he was sorry for everything denied to her.

“I imagine it can't be easy on you,” Lan Xichen told her.

“It's not!” Nie Fuyun agreed, anger seizing her again. “And Nie zongzhu is just so stubborn about it, so sure he did the right thing! And I know he didn't have much of a choice, but… But it doesn't mean it didn't hurt me!”

“I would have expected better of him,” Lan Xichen agreed, much to Nie Fuyun's shock. “He ought to have known what those secrets do to a person, both from his own experience, and from mine.”

“Yours?”

“It might surprise you to learn this, but Nie zongzhu and I used to be excellent friends,” Lan Xichen explained with a sorrowful smile. “I confided in him things I told no one else, except my sworn brothers. I told him things I didn't even tell them, in fact. There was a time we understood each other so perfectly that… But I won't bore you with irrelevant details. All you need to know is that in my childhood, the adults caring for me kept many secrets from me. About my parents, my mother in particular… When she died, I wasn’t told for weeks. There were other things too… And Nie Huaisang knows how much it affected my brother and I to grow up with so much hidden from us.”

“So he should have known better!” Nie Fuyun exclaimed.

It was one thing for Nie Huaisang to have made terrible choices if he really hadn’t understood what he was putting her through. But if he’d had reasons to know, if he’d been given other examples of what such heavy secrets could do to someone…

Lan Xichen nodded, his eyes lost in the distance.

“It would be the logical conclusion. But I know he never meant to hurt you. I can doubt many things about Nie Huaisang, but not how dear you are to him. He hid it well enough from others, but I know him better than most,” Lan Xichen said, unable to keep pain out of his voice. “I always thought he favoured you, and wondered why he tried to hide it. I figured he had his reasons, but never dared to ask what they might be. And besides… Even though I know the weight of secrets on a developing young soul, I too hid things from a child in my care, when I had to make that choice.”

Taken aback by that confession, Nie Fuyun could only glare at him.

“But you said…”

“Sometimes, you cannot do the right thing,” Lan Xichen remarked with a sigh. “You can only do the least terrible one, and hope you did not choose the wrong option. At least, it is what I believe, and I used to think others also believed it. I've had reasons to doubt myself in recent years.”

“So you're saying he did his best and I must forgive him.”

It didn’t sound right to Nie Fuyun. Perhaps it didn’t sound right to Lan Xichen either, because he shook his head.

“Demanding forgiveness from others doesn't work,” he said. “This, too, I learned the hard way. I would not dare make demands of you, but I think it is good for you to consider other points of view on this situation.”

Nie Fuyun huffed, frustrated. She would have preferred it if Lan Xichen had told her that Nie Huaisang had been entirely wrong. Actually, him saying that he thought Nie Huaisang had been right would have been a better option as well. Then she could have dismissed both of them as cruel old men who didn’t understand her feelings. Instead, Lan Xichen was asking her to nuance her judgement, something she wasn’t in the mood for.

“He should have just sent me away,” she announced, trying to get angry again.

“It would have been a safer choice,” Lan Xichen agreed, surprising her again. “Being near him put you at risk, especially if he slipped and revealed too much of his affection for you. Considering his other actions, I believe Nie Huaisang thought of that. And yet he kept you with him, close to him, where he could watch you grow up, even if he could never approach you as freely as he must have wanted.”

“He was selfish,” Nie Fuyun complained.

“Of course. Love can make people selfish. It makes it hard to let go. I know that even I…”

Lan Xichen didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. Nie Fuyun remembered those tear stained entries in Nie Huaisang’s diary.

“How come you aren't friends with Nie zongzhu anymore?” she asked.

This earned her a surprised look.

“Considering what happened with the late Jin zongzhu, I think you can imagine…”

“I meant before that,” Nie Fuyun corrected. “You said you used to be so close, but by the time the murder of Nie zongzhu's brother was revealed, you already hadn’t been friends for a long while, right?”

“You are an observant girl,” Lan Xichen noted, making it sound almost like a reproach. “If I'm honest, I'm still not sure what I did wrong at that time. I wish I understood. Whatever mistake I made at that time, it is my greatest regret. But I have learned to live with it. Just as Nie zongzhu had to live with his regrets about never giving you the family he must have wanted to offer. After all, we all saw what lengths he went to for his brother's sake. We all know how important family is to him, even if he isn't always good at showing it. Mingjue was the same. I fear that was passed down to you as well, but you are still young enough you could correct that fault.”

“So you do think I should forgive him!” Nie Fuyun accused, only to find the advice failed to make her as angry as she wished to be.

“I think it is a choice you must make for yourself,” Lan Xichen corrected. “But when you try to make it, you must remember he loves you, and wonder if you love him as well.”

Startled, Nie Fuyun had to take a moment before she could answer. She wanted to say that she hated that man who didn’t even want to be her father. But that was just her anger speaking. Nie Huaisang had not treated her as well as she had deserved, but she suspected he had done as much for her as he thought he could get away with. She’d never been miserable, he wouldn’t have allowed it. Until she’d found out what had been hidden from her, she’d even been fairly happy with her life. It wasn’t something every nobody orphan taken in by a sect could say.

And even if he’d been too cowardly to protect her when this wedding was decided, Nie Huaisang had still tried to make things better for her. Nie Fuyun knew he’d given her a better dowry than some nameless disciple should have been granted. And he’d offered her his mother’s wedding veil, he’d organised such a grand wedding for her… Nie Huaisang had done things all wrong, but he’d done it wrong with enough love that she couldn’t be unmoved.

“I guess I do love him,” she grumbled. “But he doesn't make it easy!”

“He certainly doesn't,” Lan Xichen agreed with a joyless laugh. “And yet I've found it impossible not to care for him. Some people are like that.”

Even though he'd clearly been in the wrong regarding their terrible breakup, Nie Fuyun couldn't help pitying Lan Xichen a little. It was a little pathetic of him if he still loved Nie Huaisang after all this time, after everything that had happened between them, around them. It was made worse by the knowledge Nie Huaisang still carried resentment toward him, meaning Nie Fuyun couldn't even offer any comforting words. ‘He did not hate you enough to kill you’ probably wouldn’t sound as positive to Lan Xichen as she would mean it to be. And yet, she knew it was no small thing for Lan Xichen to have survived Nie Huaisang’s rage relatively unscathed. He hadn’t exactly been as careful with other people’s lives during that period. Others had died or been wounded, yet Lan Xichen had come out unscathed and with his reputation preserved because he'd been the one to ultimately kill the great villain.

But none of that was her problem. She couldn’t solve the mess that laid between these two grown men, not when they’d allowed it to linger for nearly two decades.

“Zewu-Jun, thank you for taking the time to talk to me right now,” Nie Fuyun said. “I’m less angry now that I spoke about all of this.”

“Just like your father and uncle,” Lan Xichen sighed, wistful. “I am happy if I was of use. Talking to you reminded me of… better days.”

Nie Fuyun stared at him. How frequent had Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue been, exactly, that Lan Xichen could feel nostalgia over arguments? When the elders spoke about Nie Mingjue, he became almost inhumanly virtuous, so perfect that the younger disciples sometimes wondered if he’d really existed. As for Nie Huaisang… he was silly and dramatic, but also the type of person who thoroughly avoided conflicts.

“Were Nie zongzhu and his brother really so bad?” Nie Fuyun asked, too shocked to restrain her curiosity.

“That bad and worse,” Lan Xichen assured her. “But don’t go thinking it was always awful between them. Some people only remember their arguments, but I also remember the love they shared. I can tell you about Da-ge someday, if you wish. I hope to be able to give you a less biased idea of him than the Nie elders.”

“Would you tell me about… about Nie zongzhu, too?”

Lan Xichen shot her a surprised look. After some hesitation, he shook his head.

“It is not my place to talk about Nie Huaisang. I don’t think he would like that. Not when I’m not even allowed to talk to him, much as I wish to do so.”

For a brief moment his self control cracked, and true anguish showed on his face. In the blink of an eye Lan Xichen’s expression returned to a polite mask, but it was too late. In spite of herself, Nie Fuyun was starting to truly pity him. And if he was so sad about this, maybe there had been a misunderstanding after all, like Lan Sizhui and Ouyang Zizhen had suggested. Earlier, she’d been certain that Nie Huaisang had been wronged, but it really was odd for Lan Xichen to have purposefully hurt him so much if he cared that deeply.

“Considering his personality,” Nie Fuyun carefully said, “do you really think that waiting for him to take the first step will work for you? You’ve said it’s not something he normally does…”

“You’re probably right,” Lan Xichen admitted. “But forcing the issue would be just as bad. When he doesn't want to do something, Nie zongzhu can become… creatively avoidant.”

Nie Fuyun grimaced, knowing this too well. Nobody could avoid paperwork like Nie Huaisang, and he was never around when annoying visitors came to the Unclean Realm.

“But then… Isn't there also a chance he won't avoid the conversation?” she asked. “If you talk to him and he complains but doesn't leave, it'll mean he also wanted to talk, won't it? It's not really my place to say that, but… I think you should try.”

“Knowing Nie Huaisang as I do…”

“With all due respect,” Nie Fuyun cut him, “do you really know him as well as you think?”

Lan Xichen stared at her for a moment, with the startled expression of a man unused to interruptions. But the surprise receded, and he smiled again.

“Ah, for this too you are like Mingjue,” he remarked. “Very direct. Too direct, some might say, but I always counted it as a quality.”

Nie Fuyun frowned. It was natural for Lan Xichen to compare her to who he thought was her father, but it suddenly irritated her.

Would Nie Huaisang have recognised her already, had she been more like him instead of his brother? Lan Xichen could call Nie Mingjue's frankness a quality all he liked, Nie Fuyun had heard enough gossip to know it was her uncle's determination to speak his mind that had brought him deadly enemies. If she was so much like him, Nie Huaisang may have thought her unqualified to lead the sect after him, since she might also make powerful enemies. If she’d been quieter, if she’d been meek like other girls…

“Perhaps you are right about Nie zongzhu,” Lan Xichen mused, unaware of her inner turmoil. “In the past, I gave up too easily when he was angry at me. But certain conversations must be had.”

He paused, and laughed sadly.

“I came here to comfort and advise you, but I fear instead you were the one telling me what to do,” he remarked.

“You also gave me things to think about,” Nie Fuyun replied. “Even if I still think he acted wrong, I no longer want to stay angry at Nie zongzhu. After all, he's my only family.”

And it would remain that way, she suspected. None of her possible fathers awakened any particular sense of kinship in her, so she might never find out who sired her. She didn't mind that as much now. Wasn't it already a lot to have forced Nie Huaisang to admit she was his child? And who knew, living apart might make some things easier. Maybe next time they met, Nie Huaisang would find it easier to talk, while with enough time to accept what she knew, Nie Fuyun might not get angry as easily.

The way everything had happened wasn’t ideal, but in the end it might all work out.

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #nie huaisang #lan xichen #mamma mia au #xisang #finally there's some xisanging happening #although mostly it's in the last two chapter #jau writes

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thisisallthehattersfault · 2 years ago

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Wen Ning is a kindergarten teacher and hobby gardener who has two impossible crushes that he’s trying to get over but just can’t seem to let go of, even knowing both men are married.

Lan Zhan is the sexy (and scary) father of one of Wen Ning’s students, little a-Yuan. He comes to the school fifteen minutes early every day and stands outside his car, waiting for pick-up. Wen Ning gets it! A-Yuan explained that he lives close to the school. It would probably be pretty frustrating, driving home from work and then not ten minutes later having to get up and drive to the school again. And being cooped up at your desk and then being cooped up in your car sounds awful! Of course Lan Zhan wants to stretch his legs while he waits for his son! Just. It’s. It’s a little distracting, glancing out the window and seeing him standing there, looking like that.

(Lan Zhan is actually hoping to catch a glimpse of a-Yuan’s cute teacher. The man is so big and so gentle, he’s wonderful with his students. A-Yuan absolutely adores him. He’s soft-spoken and a bit timid and it contrasts gorgeously with his broad shoulders and the layer of appealing softness that does nothing to hide the strength in his arms and back. Lan Zhan wants to bite him. His husband Wei Ying teases him endlessly for his crush.)

Wei Ying helps to run the city’s Public Garden and owns the plant nursery downtown, both of which Wen Ning visits frequently. He’s extremely knowledgeable and intimidatingly smart -- not just about gardening and horticulture but about seemingly every topic under the sun -- and he’s funny and so, so nice and Wen Ning wouldn’t ever presume to bother someone like that with his awkward self but every time they bump into each other at the public garden Wei Ying comes jogging over with his ponytail bouncing and dirt on his face, grinning his cheshire-cat grin, and Wen Ning can’t talk to him because he’s too pretty but Wei Ying never seems to mind.

(Wei Ying didn’t notice the similarities between his incessant pestering of Lan Zhan in highschool and his incessant pestering of the hot gardener until Jiang Cheng rudely put him on blast for it in the family group chat. Wei Ying might have been babbling for weeks by then about the sweet man with big dark eyes and the bigger biceps who oh-so-earnestly listened to Wei Ying’s rant about plants that attract native pollinators without interrupting and then immediately added a bunch to his plot at the local community garden and blushed very pink when Wei Ying pointed it out but -- look, Wei Ying is only human, and he can only handle so much pure concentrated adorable straight to the face before he needs to scream about it. Lan Zhan is amused, but mostly he’s using Wei Ying’s crush to fuel his possessiveness. As a result, they fuck like newlyweds.)

Eventually Wen Ning figures out they’re married to each other and while he already knew his crush was hopeless now he starts to feel actually really bad about it. He vows to keep his distance until he can stop treating them both so shamelessly!

At the same time Wangxian figure out that they’re both crushing on the same guy and pretty much immediately decide that maybe they would be open to polyamory after all, but they have to proceed carefully. This is a-Yuan’s teacher, after all, and Wen Ning is so sweet -- they don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable!

Many a misunderstanding follow, with Wen Ning first thinking he’s being propositioned for an affair, and then just as quickly deciding that he’s being shameless and seeing what he wants to see., because obviously neither of them would ever want him. For one, they’re both way out of his league, and for two, they’re very much in love with each other. He’s the one deluding himself into -- what? Fantasizing about being a homewrecker? Honestly, Wen Ning ends up feeling… very not good about himself. He doesn’t like to think that he’s that kind of person.

It’s a-Yuan who finally ends up coming outright and asking Wen Ning if he’ll be a-Yuans third dad because his first two dads clearly want him to and a-Yuan also loves him a lot.

#wangningxian #the untamed #mdzs #wen ning #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #a-yuan #lan sizhui #not fic #if somebody wants to steal this prompt and write a proper fic about it feel free #writing my bottomji fic has me in my wangningxian feels

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rayan12sworld · 9 months ago

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💙So You Accidentally Kidnapped A Qilin

By:Mikkeneko

Summary:

For untold years Heaven's plan has kept order on earth: they send a qilin, a divine messenger, to choose a worthy king and stand by their side to guide that king in their rule. But ever since the infant qilin of Wu Kingdom was kidnapped, the land has descended into ruin and strife as the five great cultivation sects contend among themselves.

Fifteen years later, the lost qilin is unexpectedly identified in the person of Wei Wuxian, the orphaned ward of the Jiang Sect. Wei Wuxian must struggle with the truth of his nature and what it means for him, his family, and his kingdom -- while also grappling with new and overwhelming feelings for the Lan Sect's cold and haughty Second Young Master! Meanwhile, not all the Sects are resigned to allowing Heaven to order their affairs for them, and if Wei Wuxian doesn't resolve the question of the kingship soon, they may take matters into their own hands...

(Qilin wei wuxian)

Chapter:12/12

Words:83,148

Status:completed

#wangxian #wangxian recommendations #mdzs #mxtx mdzs #wangxian fanfic #ao3 recs #the untamed #mdzs fanfic rec #So You Accidentally Kidnapped A Qilin #so you accidentally kidnapped a qilin #mdzs lwj #lwj x wwx #Qilin wei wuxian #emperor lan wangji #completed fic

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robininthelabyrinth · 1 year ago

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The Other Mountain - ao3 - Chapter 4

Pairing: Lan Qiren/Wen Ruohan

Warning Tags on Ao3

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Wen Ruohan was extraordinarily pleased with himself.

He usually was – he hadn’t gotten his reputation for being a self-absorbed tyrant for no reason – but in his defense, he was usually right to be. Was he not the most powerful cultivator in the entire cultivation world? Was his family not by far the most mighty and well-respected, his sect already commanding so many others and forcing them to acknowledge their superiority? Were his feet not firmly placed on the path to divinity and immortality, thereby ensuring that he and his kin would rule the entire cultivation world in time?

He was especially pleased with himself today, though.

Standing in the entrance hall of his Sun Palace to await the arrival of his newest prize, Wen Ruohan congratulated himself yet again on having come up with such a brilliant scheme.

The seed of the idea had been planted in that initial conversation he’d had with his spies in the Lan sect, Wang Liu and what’s-his-name, his predecessor – the twists and turns and surprises of that conversation had been the most exciting thing to happen to Wen Ruohan in quite a while. When one got to be the age he was, time flowed differently: he had already seen everything, or felt as though he had, and he spent an awful lot of his time being tremendously bored. Finding something that didn’t bore him was a rarity.

Presumably that was why he hadn’t been able to get what he’d taken to calling “the Lan Qiren situation” out of his head.

Lan Qiren, a married man – the thought still seemed a little ridiculous to him.

Wen Ruohan simply couldn’t imagine his dull and rule-abiding little colleague of ten years ever marrying an obedient little wife, some timid creature who would willingly stay inside her home and concern herself only with women’s affairs, who would give him children but otherwise never bother him. It was impossible. They’d bore each other to death within a year!

But the other alternative was in no way a solution to the problem. In his own way Lan Qiren was quite proud, with a thin face and a touch of temper and supreme confidence in the superiority of his Lan sect – not unlike Wen Ruohan’s own, and therefore at least somewhat admirable, even if obviously Lan Qiren was mistaken about which sect was the best. With such a character, there was no way he’d be able to tolerate one of the more spirited female cultivators, a fire-breather like Yu Ziyuan or even the carefree Cangse Sanren, who it was said that he’d once liked. Absent some highly unusual mitigating circumstances, such as Lan Qiren falling in love, he’d invariably end up butting heads with such a woman. He’d get upset that she wasn’t obeying his family rules, she’d get resentful and feel confined, and in the end it would all explode in some terrible argument, at which point Lan Qiren would lose his temper, grant her a divorce, and send her back to her family’s house before he even realized what he was doing.

And then he’d remain single forever after, because the Lan sect only married once. Such a waste.

Wen Ruohan had dwelled on the problem for several days, which was far more time and attention than he usually paid to issues that only concerned other sects. Not only had he wasted significant amounts of time on it, he had reached no resolution, and he’d gotten more and more irritated over it. It was a waste, a dreadful waste! Lan Qiren would make a mess of marriage, of that Wen Ruohan was quite certain, and that in turn would mean wasting Lan Qiren’s own talents. Unimaginable waste!

Truly, Qingheng-jun didn’t know the value of the piece he was discarding, letting his emotions get the better of him rather than thinking of the benefits he could obtain, for himself and for his sect.

Hadn’t Wen Ruohan been thinking to himself earlier that Lan Qiren’s scheme of teaching students was a brilliant one? Hadn’t he mentally praised the sect that sent him their daughter, the way that such a match would let them take advantage of the connections Lan Qiren would have made with other sect leaders in his ten years of leadership? Wasn’t Lan Qiren virtually guaranteed to have, in addition to those other traits, the most comprehensive possible understanding of the inner workings of the Lan sect, which no outsider would ever be able to unravel without assistance? Was he not, boring as he might be as a personal matter, a highly talented cultivator – by repute a brilliant musician, by rumor a splendid swordsman, even if he’d never publicly demonstrated his skills in night-hunts or duels? Wen Ruohan himself could confirm the strength of Lan Qiren’s golden core, which, while not the strongest, was nevertheless incredibly bright, suggesting an immensely solid foundation.

It had taken Wen Ruohan several more days of stewing in irritation at Qingheng-jun’s profligacy, and his own unacceptable loss in not having taken advantage of Lan Qiren before it was too late, for the answer to come to him.

The solution.

After all, Wen Ruohan did not lose.

It wasn’t even that unorthodox a solution, not really. Marriage was the problem, and marriage was the answer, too. Most sects weren’t like the Lan sect, squeamish and overly concerned about matters of the heart; the vast majority, including his own, used marriage to resolve political problems. Wen Ruohan himself had married three wives, both his original first wife and now the later two, and each of them had brought his sect tremendous benefits. He’d made similarly smart matches for his sons as well – Wen Xu was fifteen and had already met his future bride, though obviously the woman hadn’t yet been brought back into their household and wouldn’t until he was twenty, and Wen Chao, who was only eight, had an ironclad betrothal contract with one of the daughters of a sect that Wen Ruohan had been eying for some time.

No, it was all clear enough. Why should Wen Ruohan grumble about all the advantages that Lan Qiren brought with him being wasted or at minimum squandered by some unthinking, unworthy lesser sect? Why, when he could instead seize all those benefits for himself, for himself and his Wen sect, and in so doing maximize the gains and minimize the losses?

All good things in the world ought to be his.

Was Wen Ruohan not the shining sun, gazing down at all the world from high above? Did it not make perfect sense that a sun like him could only be accompanied by something equally lofty as the clouds?

Really, sometimes Wen Ruohan astounded himself with his own brilliance.

Once he’d realized that he could capitalize on Qingheng-jun’s missteps to seize Lan Qiren for his own sect, the best of all possible solutions, Wen Ruohan had immediately started to strategize the best means of doing so. Naturally he wouldn’t be content with sending a woman of his family to marry into the Lan sect, what with all the disadvantages he’d already enumerated, but it had occurred to him that Qingheng-jun might, with some convincing, be willing to marry Lan Qiren out.

Typically such a thing would be unthinkable. Giving up one of their sons the way they would a daughter, marrying them out to live elsewhere – with their notoriously idiosyncratic philosophy of devotion, the Lan might, at a very extreme reach, accept it as part of a love match, but when proposed as part of a political match, they would see it as a profound humiliation, just as any other sect would.

The issue was the surname, of course. Given the vast ratio by which male cultivators outnumbered female cultivators, marriages between men were hardly unheard of, but there was always the matter of children. It was easy enough to recruit some concubines for the purpose of having them, but the children themselves could only bear one surname.

As a result, a proud clan would never send away a son of their main line if they could help it, and political marriages between men tended to only involve outside disciples or branch families. Giving up their surname like that would be regarded as horribly embarrassing, a loss of face to the sect, disrespect to the pride of their ancestors, and not to mention personally devastating to the pride of the son who would cut off his future family line. Even minor sects would normally only agree to marriages out involving their sons only if they were suffering from hard times, or were seeking an arrangement with a family far above their own in rank and prestige – and while of course Wen Ruohan personally believed his Wen sect to be such, the Lan sect was unlikely to agree with that characterization.

A Great Sect like Gusu Lan, marrying a son out? Certainly not. They’d never agree to such a thing…under normal circumstances.

Under the present circumstances, however, things were materially different. If Wen Ruohan was right, Qingheng-jun would see Lan Qiren’s humiliation as a benefit of the match, rather than a disadvantage, and therefore be more inclined to agree.

It might work. No – it could work, it would work.

Furthermore, all of Lan Qiren’s marital disadvantages as head of the household would be completely reversed in that context. Lan Qiren was both fussy and temperamental, reserved and, to judge from his interactions with his sect elders, not particularly assertive in personal settings; he would be unwilling to lead where a wife would follow, a stickler for his family rules and yet not quite cruel enough to forcefully impose them onto others unwilling – well, once he’d entered another person’s household, he wouldn’t be able to impose them. He wouldn’t have the right to blather on endlessly, boring any wife he might have to death, and he wouldn’t have the right to insist on anything, either, which meant he wouldn’t be able to lose his temper and demand a divorce.

Instead, he'd have no choice but to either fall in line with his new sect and seek to do his best within it, the way Madam Jin had, or else retreat to his chambers to recreate a version of his original home, the way Madam Jiang did, which was exactly the sort of behavior that had led to people pointedly calling Yu Ziyuan Madam Yu instead. Either would be perfectly acceptable in terms of keeping him from making trouble.

Not that Wen Ruohan was underestimating Lan Qiren. The man had led his sect for ten years, a Great Sect with all the connotations that came with it, and he’d proven himself to be quite a canny operator in his own way. Wen Ruohan had gone back and painstakingly looked over the notes from previous years’ discussion conferences, and through that tedious task had managed to confirm his suspicions that Lan Qiren was actually much better at the political game than his dull outward demeanor might make him seem to be.

He’d followed the trail of those little bits of minutiae that Lan Qiren had been so insistent on – he’d noticed before that some of them had turned out beneficial to the Lan sect, but to his great annoyance he hadn’t realized how beneficial they were. A ridiculous agreement over river tolls, of all things, which Jiang Fengmian had agreed to more to shut Lan Qiren up than anything else, could be pinpointed as the ultimate cause, four years later, of the defection of the once-prosperous Huangshan Fu sect from Yunmeng Jiang to Gusu Lan. And following the switch, they were now rapidly in the process of recovering their previous prestige and wealth, only now all of that glory and tax went into the Lan sect’s coffers instead…

It was brilliantly done, and so subtly that no one would know who to blame if they did not know where to look. And because Lan Qiren was so seemingly dull, no one ever did look!

Finding out that little fact had convinced Wen Ruohan to amend his initial plan of marrying Lan Qiren into one of his family’s branches. He’d already been having trouble thinking of which one to use – one of his distant nieces, Wen Qing, was technically available, but she was so young as to make the offer a little embarrassing in how obviously political it revealed the match to be – and the realization that he might be handing someone genuinely clever over to his cousins to use in their schemes to undermine his authority had immediately dampened Wen Ruohan’s enthusiasm for the idea.

No: Lan Qiren was clearly too valuable a piece to be given out to anyone else, not even to Wen Ruohan’s kinsmen. All good things should belong to him, after all.

That had led Wen Ruohan to his current plan, which was working splendidly, if he did say so himself.

After all, it didn’t matter what other offers Qingheng-jun might receive for Lan Qiren’s hand – there was no one in the cultivation world who could top the offer of Wen Ruohan himself as bridegroom.

Qingheng-jun had certainly been surprised by his proposal, but he’d been intrigued as well. He’d questioned Wen Ruohan’s motives, as rightfully he should – everyone knew that the Wen sect was traditionally disinterested in alliances with other sects, always preferring to stand alone.

Wen Ruohan had laughed in his face.

“You think I’m seeking an alliance?” he said, chuckling darkly. “Don’t waste my time. Do you think you can fool me? Hostages are only worth taking for what they mean to those they leave behind. Tell me truly: if I were to throw your brother into my Fire Palace the very moment after I married him, you wouldn’t lift a finger to stop it, would you?”

“My Lan sect would never stand for such a thing,” Qingheng-jun said coolly, playing it off well enough, but Wen Ruohan had a century of experience in reading men’s faces – he could see the sudden intensification of interest in the other man’s eyes, the surge of satisfaction that could only be obtained from the thought of hurting someone you wanted to hurt, someone you hated past the point of reason. “If we were to accept your offer, we would require assurances that he would be treated well.”

“Naturally he would be treated well,” Wen Ruohan said smoothly. “Provided he didn’t make any trouble, that is. If that happens, it’s all on his own head. You can’t reasonably expect me to give up the ability to discipline my own household.”

That would be convincing enough, he thought. If Wen Ruohan actually had been treating Lan Qiren as a mere pawn in a game played against Qingheng-jun and the Lan more broadly, rather than what he was actually doing, it made a certain amount of sense to use himself as the groom – only by making the head of household someone truly untouchable would it be possible to make such a show of strength after marriage.

Qingheng-jun took a sip of tea. “If you aren’t trying to establish an alliance, then what are you seeking?” he asked, putting aside the previous point. He couldn’t have more obviously indicated that he would, in fact, be fine with his little brother being tortured if he’d written it into the contract himself. “What benefit would your offer bring to my Lan sect, or to your Wen sect?”

To you, the real benefit is getting rid of your brother for good, ideally in a place that will cause him the most misery and pain possible, Wen Ruohan thought dryly to himself. Qingheng-jun’s political skills had not been improved by those ten years in seclusion.

“Benefits are precisely what I seek to obtain,” he said aloud. “My sect does not and will not shackle ourselves with open-ended obligations like an alliance. But there are any number of concrete advantages that can be contracted for – advantages that can accrue to both our sects.”

Gusu Lan wasn’t the most natural connection for Qishan Wen to make, being on opposite sides of the country, Gusu as close to the sea as Qishan was far inland, but for a prospective empire-builder like Wen Ruohan, that wasn’t necessarily a problem. With Gusu Lan on his side, he could start making serious inroads into the sects that lay between them, up to and including the powerful Yunmeng Jiang to the south, which would soon find itself hemmed in on two sides. His voracious Wen sect would snap up the sects on their northwestern border, while the sects to their east, which had always played Yunmeng Jiang and Gusu Lan against each other for their own purposes, would quickly start to see the advantages of leaning more towards the Lan…

Qingheng-jun could see it, too.

Wen Ruohan could see the calculation on his face. He was undoubtedly also considering the risks involved – both of them knew that Wen Ruohan would happily swallow down Gusu Lan once he was done with Yunmeng Jiang if he could – but it was clear enough that he thought he’d be able to handle that, perhaps by making another alliance with one of the Great Sects in the north, either Qinghe Nie or Lanling Jin. Probably the latter. The arranged marriage between the heir to Lanling Jin and the daughter of Yunmeng Jiang was very far from settled, after all, as those involved were only children. Once the agreement between Qishan Wen and Gusu Lan became known, the fate of Yunmeng Jiang would become clear, and it wouldn’t be that hard to convince Jin Guangshan that he would be able to do better than the Jiang sect’s sinking ship. And Qingheng-jun, demonstrably willing to sell his generation’s second son for benefits, already had a second son of his own available to be sold in the same manner – little Jin Zixuan could find himself with Lan Wangji as a wife and Jiang Yanli as his concubine, in the end, which would greatly appease Jin Guangshan’s ego. And if after that the Lan and Jin banded together against the rest of them…it really wasn’t a bad deal, all things considered.

It had all gone quite smoothly after that.

Wen Ruohan had insisted on a proxy marriage, not wanting to risk Lan Qiren figuring out some way to disrupt or invalidate the marriage ceremony and mindful of Lan Qiren’s thin face and temper. At least part of Wen Ruohan’s plan depended on winning Lan Qiren over and getting him to agree to continue his little teaching scheme from the Nightless City, to use his established reputation as a teacher that could turn even a good-for-nothing into a proper gentleman to lend credibility to a lion’s den that no sane sect leader would otherwise send their sons. That would only be harder to accomplish if Wen Ruohan started out their married life by publicly humiliating the man.

Besides, Wen Ruohan might appreciate the joys of degradation, but a wedding play required two actors, and he had no intention of making himself a figure of ridicule. A nice, quick, quiet proxy ceremony to seal the contract followed by repeating the bows in the Nightless City would be more than sufficient. Lan Qiren was notoriously rule-abiding – once they were married, and once he’d made bows himself, he would feel he had no choice but to cooperate.

Wen Ruohan wasn’t even planning on announcing their marriage to the rest of the cultivation world, or at least not at first. As far as Wen Ruohan was concerned, the rest of them could wait until the next discussion conference to meet his new Madam Wen, Qingheng-jun having had at least enough conscience and good political sense to insist on his brother receiving the position of first wife as a measure of respect due to his family being a Great Sect, which was only reasonable. Reserving such a surprise would make attending the conference all the more fun: it would ensure that the whole cultivation world spoke of nothing else the entire time but him and his Wen sect, whether in disbelief or fear or worry about what he might be planning, and Wen Ruohan could and would take full advantage of that.

It was a great plan.

The only part left was to welcome Lan Qiren to his new home.

Wen Ruohan’s lips curled into a smug smile as he watched the carriage make its way to his door, bathed in the light of the setting sun, before slowly rumbling to a stop before the largely deserted entranceway, the normal guards having been dismissed and none of the other Wen disciples interested in being anywhere near their volatile sect leader when he had that particular smile on his face. Someone had festooned the carriage with auspicious couplets and red ribbons as if to make up for the fact that it was in no way a proper wedding sedan, and judging from their relatively good state they had probably only been applied after they’d entered the Nightless City to avoid losing them on the way.

And inside the carriage…

Well, inside there would be Lan Qiren, who was no doubt stewing miserably, and also properly attired in a festive wedding red.

The Wen sect’s color.

Wen Ruohan couldn’t wait.

He waved his hand and the men on the carriage pulled the door open, and a moment or two later a hand emerged, with the rest of Lan Qiren following shortly thereafter.

He was dressed all in red, red and gold, proper wedding finery – the Lan sect had had a shockingly short amount of time to get ready for the wedding, but they weren’t a Great Sect for nothing. Lan Qiren’s clothes were beautifully embroidered with real gold, with all the auspicious signs included, and the luster and shine of the underlying fabric suggested that the entire thing had been made out of an outrageously expensive cloth that was usually used only for accent. The whole get-up was utterly splendid, and if the haste at which it had been adjusted for Lan Qiren could be detected in the way it didn’t quite fit – it was a few fingers too short at the leg, a bit too long at the arm, and had been made for a man with a thicker waist and broader shoulders than Lan Qiren, perhaps his brother – then at any rate the overall effect of the whole get-up was sufficiently stunning that most people wouldn’t notice.

(If Wen Ruohan hadn’t spent a few years of his early life painting wedding portraits for the undeserving as he night-hunted his way through the lands surrounding the imperial city, he probably wouldn’t have noticed any of the details or gaps himself. Not that it mattered, of course; it wasn’t as if he were bothering to get such a portrait done himself.)

Lan Qiren himself was not as impressive as his clothing, though perhaps that was only Wen Ruohan’s familiarity with the man’s fundamentally boring nature that prejudiced him. He certainly looked a match to them: he was tall and handsome, if perhaps a little slenderer than the current fashion preferred (and perhaps even a little skinnier than he had been in the past…?), and of course he had those gorgeous if astringent Lan features. The small hints of premature stress lines around his eyes only served to give him the look of a stern, mature man, and even the beard worked for him, lending him an air of scholarly authority and making him look at least ten years older than he actually was.

It occurred to Wen Ruohan, to his sudden and most profound amusement, that with his own powerful cultivation keeping his appearance to that of a man in his twenties, he would very shortly look younger than his new spouse, if he didn’t already. Anyone unknowing might look at the two of them and, upon hearing that an old cow was eating young grass, think that it was Lan Qiren who was the elder, rather than being the younger by four or maybe even five times over.

“Welcome,” Wen Ruohan said, smug satisfaction and humor seeping into his tone. “I trust you remember the Nightless City from your last visit.”

Lan Qiren blinked owlishly at him.

That…wasn’t exactly the reaction Wen Ruohan had expected. Yelling, perhaps, if Lan Qiren were still in a temper, or some sort of death glare and a sharp comment about maintaining propriety – that was more in Lan Qiren’s usual line. He could be quite annoying when he wanted to be. And Wen Ruohan had braced himself for something even worse, such as some sort of long speech about the myriad of dull rules and regulations applicable to marriage and how Wen Ruohan had already broken at least four of them…

Certainly not a reaction of blank confusion.

“Sect Leader Wen?” Lan Qiren said, sounding as blank as he looked. His voice was softer than its usual strident tones, almost hoarse, as if he’d recently been sick and not had much cause to use it, or maybe just that he’d lost it through too much shouting already. “I am…at the Nightless City?”

Wen Ruohan’s eyebrows went straight up to his hairline. Had Qingheng-jun really sent his brother here without even telling him what had been agreed?

“But then who am I marrying?” Lan Qiren asked, confirming that Qingheng-jun had really done exactly that, breathtakingly and unbelievably rude as it would be. “You do not have any appropriate or available women in your clan.”

Wen Ruohan was too busy gaping at the sheer level of the insult to respond at once, though he hadn’t yet figured out whether it was an insult to him or to Lan Qiren. He was retrospectively triply glad that he’d insisted on the proxy wedding to avoid having this farcical scene play out in public. What had Qingheng-jun been thinking?!

Lan Qiren didn’t take insult from his silence, though, and had started frowning in thought.

“There is Wen Qing, I suppose, though she is far too young,” he said, his doubtful tone of voice suggesting that he thought it as bad an idea as Wen Ruohan had concluded it to be. “You already finalized an engagement for Wen Xuechun just last year, and Wen Tian, Wen Shi, and Wen Jing are all already wed – I suppose Wen Jing has already been bereaved, rendering her technically available, but she is still in the mourning period, is she not? It would be inappropriate. And Wen Meitan is…simply unthinkable…”

Wen Ruohan nearly shuddered at the idea of marrying anyone of any worth to Wen Meitan. He appreciated his vicious cousin for how well she served his purposes and pursued his sect’s interests, but after she’d murdered her first three husbands, the last of which he’d chosen for her himself, he’d concluded it would be better for her to remain unwed for the rest of her life. Luckily, Wen Meitan had very happily declared herself content in collecting pretty boy playthings from the local populace of commoners. He’d never quite determined whether her voracious appetite was driven by some twisted cultivation technique or simply reflected her personality, and he didn’t actually want to know. He certainly wouldn’t be marrying any more well-born cultivators to her, that was for sure.

On the other hand, Wen Ruohan had to admit he was rather impressed by Lan Qiren’s ability to immediately identify and name all the eligible women in the Wen clan’s extended family from memory, a feat made all the more impressive from the fact that Lan Qiren very clearly hadn’t been given the chance to brush up in advance.

“You were right the first time,” he said, shaking off his brief distraction and focusing on the conversation at hand. “My Wen sect in fact does not have any women appropriate for a man of your standing.”

Lan Qiren caught the emphasis at once and nodded, putting the answer together at once. “A cutsleeve marriage, then? And any children presumably from one of the illegitimate girls of your bloodline?”

It was really quite pleasant to speak with someone quick on the uptake, Wen Ruohan reflected. Lan Qiren might be boring, but he was undeniably smart.

So few of Wen Ruohan’s servants could have the same said of them, and his extended family also rarely lived up to his expectations…it was no surprise, though. No one would be able to last as the leader of a Great Sect if they couldn’t meet sword with sword on a battlefield of wit. Lan Qiren might not be on Wen Ruohan’s level, but he had certainly been an able custodian of his sect’s interests, and that put him a good head and shoulders above most everyone else that Wen Ruohan usually had to put up with.

“Just so,” he confirmed.

“I see,” Lan Qiren said, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “Will you share the contractual provisions that accrue to the benefit of our respective sects upon the marriage? Your Wen sect rather notoriously does not make alliances, so there must be some documentation laying out the exact list, and I would like to know them.”

Maybe he’s too smart, Wen Ruohan thought to himself, though he was still enjoying himself. Asking a question like that! Does he think that he will have equal power here, to act in accordance with his own sect’s interests rather than mine? Or is he indicating his willingness to help my sect further our own interests, signaling that he is willing to be on my side?

Either way…this will be more fun than I thought.

“You’ll have them,” he said, putting his hands behind his back and smirking. “Any other questions?”

For some reason, that got a strange shudder out of Lan Qiren, though he quickly mastered himself.

“Only the first one,” he replied acerbically, as sarcastically as he might have if they were speaking as fellow sect leaders on equal footing. “Which I may remind you that you have yet to answer. Who am I marrying?”

Wen Ruohan let his smirk stretch into a smile full of teeth and threat. “Me.”

“You?” Lan Qiren seemed startled, as Wen Ruohan had intended, but then after a moment he yet again reacted in a way that didn’t accord with Wen Ruohan’s expectations, saying, “Oh. That’s all right then.”

“It…is?” Wen Ruohan arched his eyebrows. “Would you care to explain your thinking?”

Strangely enough, he found himself rather looking forward to Lan Qiren’s reply.

“Marrying a son of the main line out would lose face for my sect if the other party were anyone of lower prestige or rank than myself,” Lan Qiren explained, lapsing into his usual monotone lecturing style, and reflecting exactly the same thoughts that Wen Ruohan had had himself. “Given that I am the second son of a Great Sect, that leaves very few options – but your Wen sect could at least plausibly claim to be one of them, though under normal instances I suspect we would dispute that. Still, of the Great Sects, yours is the most powerful, with the widest influence, exceeding even my Lan sect’s own, and marrying you directly obviates the issue of rank. A second son is in the end only a second son, whereas you are Sect Leader in your own right, so your rank obviously exceeds my own. The story will undoubtedly go around that we are sealing a pact of such incredible moment that it requires the presence of a hostage.”

He paused momentarily, frowning thoughtfully even as Wen Ruohan tamped down his amusement – it wouldn’t do to laugh in Lan Qiren’s face, especially since he was right on all counts.

“Go on,” he prompted. “Keep going.”

Lan Qiren looked a little uncomfortable, though only in the normal way he did whenever Wen Ruohan talked to him during discussion conferences, and cleared his throat before continuing. “Since the only hostage is on your side, it would imply that my Lan sect got the majority of benefits, at least in the short-term,” he said. “Looking at it from the outside, I would assume that the Lan sect sent me to you in exchange for your support in some endeavor, with myself serving as security for their eventual promise of returning the favor...ah. Will there be a war, then?”

Wen Ruohan couldn’t help it: he burst out laughing.

It had taken him a full day of careful nudging to slowly guide Qingheng-jun into reaching the conclusion that a war would be a worthwhile thing to ask the Wen sect for help with, and another day before Wen Ruohan had pretended to permit himself to be convinced to lend his Wen sect’s support for another sect’s war of conquest. And Lan Qiren had figured it out just like that!

And now he’s mine, Wen Ruohan thought gleefully, conveniently forgetting all his earlier complaints about how boring Lan Qiren would be as a spouse. Qingheng-jun will live to regret this agreement of ours, mark my words. All good things belong to me!

“I take it that the answer is yes,” Lan Qiren said with a look of censure. Not entirely a surprise: he would never have agreed to such a proposal from Wen Ruohan. “You can stop laughing at any time. I admit that I may be pointing out the obvious, but you did ask me to explain. Who is the target? Not Moling Tong, they haven’t had a strong sect in years…”

“Quanjiao Liu,” Wen Ruohan said, mastering himself and shaking his head, still chuckling. “A little further away from Gusu, to be sure, but they’re a local powerhouse. If they fall, the area around them will be destabilized, and the remaining sects can then be picked off at leisure.”

“Intelligent, if despicable. I should have thought of that.”

Wen Ruohan let out another chuckle, wholly against his will. “Don’t underestimate yourself. You already figured out the ‘obvious’ fact that there will be a war, while I would wager that the rest of the cultivation world, with the exception of maybe five people, will likely be in for a solid few months of hard thinking before they reach the same conclusion…once they hear about the agreement, anyway.”

“The proxy marriage,” Lan Qiren said, understanding dawning on his face. “To keep it quiet until I arrived, and the deal was sealed.”

He’d misunderstood, but Wen Ruohan was too lazy to correct him. Political motives always sounded better than personal ones.

“Indeed,” he said. “Speaking of which, I’ve arranged for a second ceremony to take place now. Come with me, we have bows to make.”

“A second ceremony?” Lan Qiren frowned. “Is there any reason to doubt the validity of the proxy?”

“None whatsoever,” Wen Ruohan confirmed, amused at what was undoubtedly a flash of disappointment in Lan Qiren’s eyes. “But I intend to see you make your own oaths. I shall expect you to live up to them.”

Lan Qiren pressed his lips together in annoyance, perhaps at the suggestion that he wouldn’t live up to oaths made in his and his sect’s name without personally performing them, but he jerked his head in a tight nod.

When the bows were done, Wen Ruohan led Lan Qiren to the courtyard he’d picked out for him. A relatively isolated but spacious courtyard that someone had, at some point, named the Crescent Moon Courtyard, it wasn’t as glamorous as the one usually given to the first Madam Wen, but Wen Ruohan hadn’t wanted to get into another fight with Lu Qipei – whose position that had previously been, and who was not taking her demotion with particularly good grace – to get her to move out. Anyway, he thought Lan Qiren would prefer the more serene atmosphere.

“You’ve had a long journey,” he said with condescending kindness so patently false that Lan Qiren gave him a withering look for even trying it. “I won’t demand anything more from you tonight.”

But only tonight, he meant, because shocking Lan Qiren’s sensibilities was definitely part of the fun here, and Lan Qiren clearly understood his implication, his expression going sour once more.

But then, upending Wen Ruohan’s expectations yet again in what was starting to get to be a bad habit, Lan Qiren then forced the expression away into something more neutral and cleared his throat once more.

Wen Ruohan patiently waited for him to speak.

“I have never considered myself a man who would marry,” Lan Qiren said, looking at Wen Ruohan’s chin in what was as close as he ever really came to voluntarily initiating direct eye contact. His tone was formal, the words clearly practiced in advance. “But now that matters have reached the present state, I intend to honor my vows and do my best by you. I hope that we will be able to find a way to be happy.”

How charming, Wen Ruohan thought, suppressing a smirk. Charmingly naïve, anyway. Classic Lan sect…

“I look forward to the life we will create together. And I promise you, for my part, I shall endeavor with my best efforts to live up to your expectations of me as your husband.”

And then Lan Qiren reached out and caught Wen Ruohan by the collar, drawing him in and pressing their lips together.

It was a dry, brief press, nothing more, certainly nothing exciting, but any initiation whatsoever was still far beyond what Wen Ruohan had been expecting from someone as prissy and almost certainly virginal as Lan Qiren. On the contrary, he’d been prepared for Lan Qiren to do everything in his power to avoid consummating their relationship. He’d expected to be able to use the suggestion of sex as a means of teasing the other man, or even perhaps of threatening him.

He hadn’t expected Lan Qiren to start something.

Wen Ruohan was still blinking in disbelief when Lan Qiren, ears now bright red, bid him a very stiff good night and disappeared into his courtyard.

How…intriguing.

Wen Ruohan hadn’t been quite so consistently taken by surprise by anyone in years, and it had rather knocked him off his balance. That was the only reason he could possibly give for why he managed to make it almost all the way back to his own quarters before his mind finally caught up with him –

“Wait,” Wen Ruohan said, coming to a dead halt in the middle of the hallway, abruptly appalled. “Did he just say that he was going to be the husband?!”

#mdzs #wen ruohan #lan qiren #qingheng-jun #my fic #my fics #Megafic

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