#lan qiren makes me laugh

[uisgeart]

Wangji My Brother | Part 1/?

Uploading these as I make them, I’ll create a master post once it’s complete!

-> Part 2

[fengshenjunlang]

Lan Wangji died due to discipline rulers and Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren be like: "Wei Wuxian!! It is your fault that Wangji died!"

What the actual fuckgeeeeeeee???????

You guys are the ones who, insisted, to whip your brother/nephew to death, and you blame other people for it???

Excuse me???????

#that is a fanfic

#but I really can see that really happening in case LWJ did die back then

#they will definitely blame it to WWX

#like, bruhhhhh, you are the ones who flogged and whipped him to death, due to your own pride and so called righteous punishment and filial piety whatnot for those 33 elders

#and you blame wwx for it???

[askew-d]

if wei wuxian had ignored lan wangji a little, that would be the utmost fix-up. because, listen to me: if wei wuxian had decided to play hard to get after so many times receiving the cold shoulder from hanguang-jun, the man would be so dejected. imagine he decides ‘oh, well, guess i’ll just stop pestering him and do my stuff instead’. lan wangji would be so confused, he’d start begging inside during public appearances for wei wuxian to pay attention on him once more.

he’d struggle to get first place in every competition to be noticed by the yumeng’s head disciple. he’d stare at him so intensely all the time that at some point every cultivator will already understand or he wants wei wuxian naked or wants him tied somewhere, whimpering. or both, for the matter, but who cares at that point??! the cultivators just want some peace!!

lan wangji would buy him stuff. write him stuff. indulge his mischiefs. ask his laughing brother for advice. paint a ‘wei ying… notice me,” in his white clothes, making lan qiren go mad (alright, he wouldn’t do it, but you get what i mean).

it’s just that, canonically, i believe he absolutely loves wei wuxian’s undivided attention (his teenage self wouldn’t ever admit though). but if wei wuxian had ignored him a bit, lan wangji would have learned long ago how much he doesn’t want wei wuxian away, causing him to protect him harder.

but that’s just another theory that’ll never get proved because wei wuxian is a simp. he’s a hanguang-jun worshipper. the gayest gay to have ever gayed. his sleeves are so cut that the fabric’s now gone and he’ll walk around naked. he couldn’t have not bothered lan wangji — if you ask him, he’ll say he was born for that.

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part Three

For Xiantober Day Five: Past and Present, in which the author gets very unhinged about what parts of the past are shown and how that’s affected by the present!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

The Power of Agency: Shaping the Narrative

When I've discussed Wei Wuxian's agency previously, I’ve talked about how what’s shown and omitted tells us about a character, and we’ve talked about the character himself. Though this is a niche topic, it’s not necessarily something out of the ordinary to analyse, and we can assume everything up to here has been in some way intentional.

This? Linking structure to a character’s in-universe preferences?

This is where we get unhinged.

Before I start, let’s quickly establish something which will be important later: although Wei Wuxian is the central character, MDZS isn’t strictly from his POV. While omitting events a character doesn’t like to dwell on and concealing things the character wishes to hide is common in books with only one narrator, MDZS has multiple narrators which it switches between relatively quickly. This includes Wei Wuxian, but it also includes nearly every major character that appears in the story, and omniscient narrator as well. As a default, this format doesn’t lead to this deliberate shaping and omission because of one character’s preferences, since we have many other sources of information and events – which is what makes Wei Wuxian’s influence over the narrative and structure so interesting. We could have access to a lot more information, and access to it at different times, than we do (and that’s not an insult, quite the opposite!).

To begin: we’ve established that times such as Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets, his three months in the Burial Mounds and his loss in the Siege aren’t shown because Wei Wuxian has little agency there. But that’s not the only special thing about them. They’re also the three most traumatic times in his life, and so moments Wei Wuxian himself either can’t remember, or doesn’t like to dwell on.

This is why discussing Wei Wuxian’s treatment of tragedy in his life was important. Firstly, it shows he doesn’t focus on the tragedy in his life, so the idea that the narrative not focusing on this tragedy relates to his character has merit; secondly, it affirms that this is not a passive trait, but a choice. Therefore, when the narrative omits events due to this aspect of Wei Wuxian, it’s respecting not only a character detail – which would be cool by itself – but also an active decision. One that shapes the story it’s made in.

In other words, its very structure is respecting Wei Wuxian’s agency!

Now, of course there are flashbacks to other moments of his past he probably wouldn’t like to dwell on, too. But within the structure, they’re only shown when Wei Wuxian is thinking about them (or when he has reason to)!

Wei WuXian hadn’t woken up yet. His eyes were still tightly shut, yet his hand didn’t let go either. He seemed to be dreaming, muttering, “… Don’t… Don’t be angry…” Lan WangJi seemed somewhat surprised. His voice was gentle, “I am not angry.” Wei WuXian, “… Oh.” Hearing this, as though he finally felt assured, his fingers loosened. Lan WangJi sat beside Wei WuXian for a while. Seeing that he was motionless again, he was about to stand up when Wei WuXian grabbed him with his other hand, hugging his arm and refusing to let go. He shouted, “I’ll go with you, quick, take me back to your sect!” Chapter 63, EXR translation

Which, of course, is him dwelling on…

Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Go back to Gusu with me.” Hearing this, both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were surprised. Quickly afterward, Wei WuXian laughed, “Go back to Gusu with you? To the Cloud Recesses? Why go there?” He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.” Chapter 62, EXR translation

…the painful flashback immediately preceding this. The third set of flashbacks (which are also painful) are a similar case. Look at the contex:

He lifted the bottom of his robe, revealing a prosthetic leg made of wood, “This leg of mine was destroyed by you, that night in the Nightless City (…)” (…) “Wei WuXian, I won’t ask you if you remember or not. Both of my parents died by your hands. You owe too many people. You definitely won’t remember them either. But, I, Fang MengChen, will never forget! And never forgive you!” (…) “In the fight at Qiongqi Path, my son was strangled to death by your dog Wen Ning!” “My shixiong died by poison, his entire body festering due to your cruel curse!” Chapter 68 (immediately preceding the flashbacks), EXR translation

And Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts and words:

Wei WuXian looked at the cultivators before the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Their expressions were the absolute same as those of the cultivators from the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine on the ground as they took the pledge to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants and him.  (…) Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?” Chapter 79 (immediately succeeding the flashbacks), EXR translation 

Once again, Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts relate to the flashbacks we’ve just been shown. And, as I previously mentioned, though all the events which are shown are tragic, they’re also events which Wei Wuxian’s own choices and actions shaped – which he has this to say about:

“The things I did, not only do you remember them, I remember them too. You won’t forget them, and they’ll stay even longer in my mind!” Chapter 82, EXR

Admittedly, this applies more to the third set of flashbacks than the second (which is still fitting as the third set was the most recent), as in the second, although he still had agency within and influence over his circumstances, the majority of the pain was caused by others’ actions (excluding, of course, the Golden Core transfer… which is something we know stays for a long time in his mind, albeit with a caveat we’ll soon discuss). But it’s still important to note – especially considering that otherwise, focusing on this very painful time in his life wouldn’t seem like something very in-character for Wei Wuxian to do.

Of course, this can all just be explained by good writing. It is best to insert flashbacks when they’re relevant to the characters and events in the present day! But it is interesting to compare these to the start of the (not painful) Gusu flashbacks, which open this way:

At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months. Chapter 13, EXR

Again, considering the circumstances around which these flashbacks take place – returning to the Cloud Recesses for the first time since the lectures, and meeting Lan Wangji once more – it makes complete sense for Wei Wuxian to be thinking about these events*. So it does fit the pattern of Wei Wuxian dwelling on something, thus leading to the narrative dwelling on it, too (and being shaped by his thoughts)… but there’s another layer to this. Importantly, it is the only flashback where Wei Wuxian’s present thoughts don’t lead to this happening, with his thoughts at an unspecified future time leading to it, instead. I like to interpret this as the text saying that, since these events aren’t something Wei Wuxian wouldn’t focus on in normal circumstances, he can dwell on them at any time. Therefore, they’re free to come up in the narrative at any time as well, even if he’s not dwelling on them in the present moment!

So, to summarise: Wei Wuxian’s decision not to focus on the painful times in his life directly influences the narrative to not focus on these times. When painful times are brought up and shown to us, it’s in the context of him thinking about them in the present day, and even then, his most painful moments still aren’t shown to us. His agency in this regard is still respected by the narrative structure.

This is the main way his agency influences the structure of the narrative, but I’d like to talk about the revealing and concealing of information, too. For example, I said I’d talk about the Golden Core transfer – though Wei Wuxian does think about this many times, as evidenced by his internal narration in Chapter 103. But unlike everything we’re shown through the flashbacks, this is something Wei Wuxian is actively trying to hide from others. And the narrative respects this choice (Wei Wuxian’s agency, again), never reveals it even when it would be relevant in the flashbacks, and we find out not through narration, but through a character’s dialogue!

And to clarify – I know these aspects may not be in the book for this exact reason. Showing flashbacks in relevant moments is good writing, concealing an important plot point you want to do a reveal for is necessary writing, and MXTX has said she didn’t want to write about Wei Wuxian’s time in the Burial Mounds, due to not liking to write transformation sequences (and also because it would not be pleasant at all, which likely also applies to Wei Wuxian’s death). That doesn’t prevent it from also being intentional – MXTX’s intelligence is shown in many aspects of this book, and there’s nothing disproving it – but there’s no proof for either option, so I won’t pretend there is. I bring this up because I know this feels like I’m overanalysing, as I feel that way as well.

But, whether it’s intentional or not, it exists in the text, and I adore it – so, regardless, it’s something I’ll explore. Because taking this into account… We aren't just told about Wei Wuxian having agency, we aren’t just shown it in the text, we aren’t even just shown it through which parts of his past are shown and hidden in the structure of the text (as I talked about in Part One). The parts of the past that are shown and hidden also have an in-universe reason for being shown and hidden, this reason being the choices he makes! Agency is the ability of a character to influence the story they’re in, but Wei Wuxian’s agency, as a property of a character who only exists in-universe, shapes the out-of-universe structure as well! That’s how we’re shown its importance! How cool is that?

At The End Of The Road: Summary and Final Thoughts

In this essay, we’ve covered how important Wei Wuxian’s agency is not only to the events of the plot, but to the structure of the narrative as well. The narrative omits periods in which Wei Wuxian has little or no agency, in favour of showing us periods in which he does, even when important events happened in the former. This indicates that who Wei Wuxian is without agency isn’t important enough to be shown to the audience, and therefore that his agency is an integral aspect of his character in MDZS. We’ve discussed how both in-universe and out-of-universe, tragedy does not define him – out-of-universe, the tragic events in Wei Wuxian’s life are used not to build sympathy but rather to show his strength of character and who he still is despite going through them; and in-universe, he chooses not to focus on the negativity and resentment caused by his circumstances or others’ actions, instead staying true to his moral compass and enjoying his life in the present day. Finally, we’ve also explored how this choice is another reason for the omission of certain events from the narrative, resulting in his agency shaping the story in a very literal way – it affects the out-of-universe structure, as well.

It’s quite fitting, for a story whose essence is about defying a conventional narrative – that of righteous clans rising up and defeating a great evil – and about a character who defies many conventional narratives on his own – that of status defining how skilled you could be, that for a golden core being necessary for cultivation and other paths being unavailable, that of a tragic but complete story of someone killed for staying true to their moral code (instead, that character returns to life and has a happy ending) – to have its own narrative play a role in such an important and interesting way.

(Or, if an image would be preferable:)

Thank you for reading!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

--

*This strong relation to the present day circumstances is another reason I love the flashback placement so much (and why I think it’s such a loss both screen adaptions altered it so strongly)! 

[rayan12sworld]

💠💙Light of Stars (and the Destroyer)

By:Sanguis

Summary:

The marriage is supposed to be a punishment, a way to extend Wei Wuxian’s isolation. After all, Wangji has met the man (when they had both been boys, untouched by war); Wei Wuxian could hardly be asked to fit seamlessly into the regimented life of a Lan.

Yu Ziyuan is a formidable, cruel woman, Wangji decides then. She is also wrong if she thinks Wangji will play part in her cruelty.

(And Wei Wuxian, it seems, is so much more than meets the eye).

*

There is a tale of the Light of Stars and the Destroyer.

Chapter:1/1

Words:22,196

Status:completed

At Wangji’s side, Wei Wuxian has run out of patience. Wangji feels it in the shift of his husband’s stance, and squeezes Wei Wuxian’s hand. If the sect leaders are going to be deliberately obtuse, well then Wei Wuxian has never been one to pull his punches. Wangji should know. “You wanted to speak to the Yiling Laozu,” Wei Wuxian says, “so speak.” It takes them by the throat. Wangji looks at a fixed point ahead, but he still sees the statement ripple through the gathered clans, sees a few of them choke. Sees the smarter ones put one and two together to make three, connecting the young cultivator who had razed the fields of Qishan, laying waste to the Wen army, to the young man who had stood defiant in front of Jin Guangshan in his own palace, to the protector of the Wen remnants, to the thing that had settled in the Yiling Burial Mounds. Yiling Laozu. Yiling Laozu wed to Hanguang-Jun. (Wangji shouldn’t smile but he thinks the one to make it to Qi deviation first is Lan Qiren).

~~~

Ah, hostage?” Wei Wuxian says. “I don’t hold anyone hostage, least of all children. The boys can go wherever they please.” This is met with great disbelief, as if they can’t see with their own two eyes that the children aren’t restrained. A-Yuan is starting to feel upset, if the way he clings to Wei Wuxian is any indication, his bottom lip wobbling in a manner he has definitely learnt from A-Yu. The only thing that keeps him from crying is the gentle whispers from Wei Wuxian telling him he is being very good, and that he’ll only have to be good a little longer. “Jin Xuanyu, come to your father,” Jin Guangshan says, smiling like a reptile. Wangji almost laughs at the mere idea of it, that Jin Guangshan has ever been a father. Jin Zixuan looks uncomfortable enough at the idea, throwing a disparaging look at the man who had sired him, as if to say that Jin Guangshan has never been a father to anyone. “A-Yu,” Wei Wuxian says quietly but clearly, “go to your father.” This, too is met with silence. Wangji feels A-Yu shift against his leg as if having decided not to hide anymore, and his eyes widen when the child tugs at his sleeve. A-Yu says, “Baba, up!” It’s purely on reflex that he lifts A-Yu into his arms, the weight familiar. A-Yu, still shy and nervous, buries his face in Wangji’s neck. It’s where he’s most comfortable, and Wangji can’t help but settle a protective hand against A-Yu’s back. The gathered sect leaders and their disciples watch this whole thing, too stunned to even speak or protest. “Well,” Wei Wuxian says cheerfully. It masks his surprise well, but Wangji had seen a flash of it. “That’s clear then. Let it be known that this is not Jin Xuanyu. It cannot be anyway, since I gave birth to this child and no one’s laid a hand on me except for Hanguang-Jun.” Wangji says nothing, not a word. His ears grow hot, but his expression remains completely smooth. He had done more, much more, than simply lay hands on Wei Wuxian, but that is something no one else is privy to.

~~~🤣🤣🤣

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

~*~

opening lives like lockets

by QueenWithABeeThrone (@piratekenway)

T, 8k, Wangxian

Summary: “I bet you could do better,” said Nie Huaisang. “I know I could,” Wei Wuxian said. “I could run a museum better than anyone else. Who else would be best at it? I’m smart and hot and immortal and a living witness to a shitton of things and I wouldn’t do something incredibly stupid like put cursed artifacts in the same room, my god, remember that?”

~*~

cascade：只缘���在此山中

by auberjing (@wrecklwj)

T, 5k, Wangxian

Summary: “Lan-laoshi, ah,” Wei Ying says. He's smiling now, a watery smile, but a real one. “Being in your class, hearing you read the four classics aloud… it had a calming effect on me. I'll never forget what you did for me. It's actually why I went into teaching, you know. I hoped that someday, I might be like you. And then I’d be able to do the same, to help all of the other kids like me. Or: Lan Qiren is initially dismayed to learn that a former disruptive student of his will be starting at his school as a teacher. He doesn’t expect the gamut of emotions that follows when he discovers the real reason.

~*~

Heart Like Mine

by nekojita

T, 42k, Wangxian & Ningxian (?) (Ningxian might be mistagged)

Part of the MDZS Big Bang 2024

Summary: With Wen Ruohan is interested in Wei Wuxian due to his talent with talismans, Gusu Lan and Yunmeng Jiang agree to an arranged marriage between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian to prevent Qishan Wen from growing more powerful (while there is still a threat of war looming). Things get off to the usual rocky start, with Lan Wangji and much of Gusu Lan (except for the younger Lans) looking down on Wei Wuxian. This disapproval eventually leads to a situation where Wei Wuxian is framed for a crime by Su Mishan and friends and is punished by the discipline whip and seclusion in the Cold Pond Cave. A cave that holds more than one secret that will impact Cloud Recesses and the Jianghu's future.

~*~

Hello Darlin' Nice to See You It's Been a Long Time

by Alwritey87 (@alwritey87)

T, 4k, Wangxian

Part of Juniors Quartet Gotcha for Gaza

Summary: “This one is Er-HeiZi.” The black bunny wiggled out of the boy's arms and jumped squarely on her lap. Laughing, she picked it up, cuddling it close to her chest. The rabbit was inordinately friendly, eager for her attention. "And what about you?" Jiang Yanli moved Er-Heizi to one arm so she could straighten the Lan child's collar. "This one is Lan Yuan." Lan Yuan. Yuan. A-Yuan. What were the chances?

~*~

A Devil's Revenge

by VyKa21

T, 15k, Wangxian & Chengyao & Xuexuan

Summary: Mò - None / Nothing / Nobody Mó - Devil What happens when a nobody in the cultivation world decides he's gonna be the bad guy everyone thinks he is anyway? [A person is never wholly good or bad, all of us know that. But if the colours the world paints them in make them a devil, there’s nothing much else to be done about it. They could bear the slander and die in shame. Or they could pick up the stick society handed to them and take revenge. Not in blood and bones necessarily, no. But one can have the last laugh. There’s so many devils in this world. What’s one more?]

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – these stories.)

[robby-bobby-tommy]

Honestly, I can't stress enough how important the theme of family is in mdzs. IMO it is the main theme of the book. Of course romance and devotion is important, but there's something so special about the way families are portrayed in mdzs and how important they are. (I watched donghua and read some of manhua btw)

Let's start with sibling relationships:

The whole plot started because of love for a brother and rage for how unjust his death was. The whole Cloud Recesses arc is an amazing set up for Wangxian etc, but it also shows the complicated yet sweet relationship between WWX and JC. How they both care so much about each other, how they tease each other. IMO JC did see WWX as a brother and loved him as such. Every time he scolds Wei Ying, it's always about Wei Ying's safety. Usually it's not "How dare you use demonic cultivation, you're gonna get our clan in danger", it's " If you keep it up, I won't be able to protect you". Even during the Wen invasion, the they're still together, they sacrifice themselves to save another. And don't get me started about Jiang Yanli, she loves her brothers very much. Despite Madam Yu creating a competition between the boys or Jiang Fengmian's lack of action and even enablement of WWX' dangerous and irresponsible behavior, they still love each other. I can ramble about yunmeng trio so much, but in short despite everything they went through, they cared for each other deeply. After Jiang Yanli's death everything changes, because imo the boys fully internalized Madam Yu's last words. WWX bring pain and destruction to Yunmeng. I think I need to stop, or we'll be here all day.

Or, another example: Nie bros. Nie Mingjue had to basically raise A-sang. They do deeply care about each other, and despite everything they'll be here for each other. Yet the desire to protect NHS from sad reality of golden core and qi deviation, their relationship soured a little. But it's obvious even for an outsider like WWX, that NMJ loves his brother. He pressures NHS, because he feels that he's starting to lose it. He wants to prepare his little bro to be a decent leader and to live without him. And NHS literally makes it his life mission to avenge his Dage even if it means having a blood on his hands.

Lan brothers show a good brother relationship. Lan Xichen supports LWJ in everything he does. Even his love for WWX. He gets protective, when he thinks WWX is laughing at LWJ's feelings. Lan Zhan is deeply saddened when his brother is missing and helps him discover the truth about his best friend's death. They're almost perfect siblings. (Plus they're super funny when drunk).

MXTX deserves an award for writing so many different sibling dynamics. And that's not all, she also portrays this different parental relationship so interesting.

Like, the nephews you didn't want, but care so much about, that you don't want them to suffer like their father did (Lan Qiren and this family drama); the kid of your husband's unrequited love, whom he seemingly loves more than your own children (Yunmeng Jiang happy house), JGS and the myriad of the kids he has ect. I love this variety so much.

I just love so much how MDZS has so much themes. Every time I think about MDZS, I find more and more interesting points and moments that change my perception of the characters. Every character is so humain and has their own motivation, that I can't truly hate some of them (apart from Wen Chao, his mistress and JGS, they suck).

TLDR: MXTX is a queen of writing complex human characters.

[expertnuerodiver]

MXTX headcanons no one asked for!

Xue Yang, Shen Jiu, and Qi Rong would buy the last thing on the shelf if it meant someone else would have a bad day.

SVSSS

Shang Qinghua (Airplane) is either really good at math and was in math olympics as a kid or so bad he has to count two plus two on his hands, no exception.

Shen Yuan was a nerd in middle and high, no one can convince me otherwise. (He was bullied hardcore for it, most likely Pokemon, Yugioh, and D&D.)

Sha Hualing and Liu Mingyan are op in Just Dance.

MDZS

Nie Huaisang would LOVE Johannes and Michael’s.

Xue Yang would love any candy store, especially 5 and Below with all the cheap candy.

Modern day Wei Wuxian most definitely put a whoopee cushion on Lan Qiren’s seat back in his teen years and it worked. (Everybody holding in that laugh, even Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen.)

Jiang Yanli would have an aesthetic Pinterest account

Mo Xuanyu would LOVE Grindr

Xue Yang would have one of those secret candy stashes that kids have as he got older.

TGCF

Xie Lian in the modern world would love goodwill and thrift stores.

Qi Rong would be addicted to watching Rupaul’s Drag Race. (Probably where he learned how to do make up and come up with those snarky comments)

Shi Qingxuan also watches Rupaul’s drag race but only to think of designs and makeup ideas. (Unlike Qi Rong)

Hua Cheng would take as many language classes as he could

Xie Lian would LOVE creative writing courses

Pei Ming would LOVE Tinder

Xie Lian would accidently put diesel inside of a gas car (Rip)

If one of the gods hosted a decade party, probably Shi Qingxuan, Xie Lian would mess up the decade (E.G. 1880’s vs 1980’s)

[mdzs-fics]

Tales from the Burial Mounds, part 2

Since last I wrote about the collection titled Tales from the Burial Mounds, another 19 works and 13 Bookmarks have been added.

Here is another sampling of stories in this Collection.

Every Mother's Son by Chrononautical

Post canon, Madame Lan lives 2 chapters 12k words

“I have heard of the famous Lan Clan, of course,” said Taro, wholly unaware that a woman so intimately connected with that horrid family sat within four tatami of him. “That one of them should ascend to Chief Cultivator is news indeed, though perhaps less surprising to you than me. From this distant view, my impression has always been that they are scholars, not politicians.”

“Warrior-scholars,” agreed the horse-faced merchant. “Well versed in the four arts and gentlemen all. Which makes his marriage even more scandalous, if you ask me!”

“Yes, yes,” snickered the rat. “How could a man like Hanguang-Jun wed such a fiend? That is the question asked by every cultivator.”

“Yiling Laozu! The Ghost Flute himself from the last great war. I ask you, is such a person as that worthy of marrying the unimpeachable Lan Wangji?”

In which there is an attempt to rescue yet another victim of the Lan Clan.

Darlings by nirejseki

Fix-it 1 chapter 7k word

That made even Lan Qiren started frowning. “Similar news had come to Xichen and myself,” he said. “The Jin sect said they sent several envoys seeking peace and were repulsed with violence, did they not? Wangji, are you saying you were able to go there with no difficulty?”

“That is correct, shufu. The greatest difficulty I encountered was Wei Ying forgetting to pay for lunch.”

“Good man,” Nie Huaisang said approvingly. “He always knew how to sponge a meal like the best of them. Did he manage to get you to pay for anyone else, too?”

Lan Wangji hesitated, which meant yes.

“One of the Wens?” Nie Huaisang’s brother asked, and his voice had dropped down to a forbidding register.

Lan Wangji straightened his back. “I will not apologize for associating with a child of two,” he said icily. “Regardless of his surname –”

“A child of two?!” Lan Qiren exclaimed, horrified, and even Nie Mingjue’s seeming ever-present anger broke for a moment, leaving him looking aghast. “In the Burial Mounds?!”

“Oh, woe is us,” Nie Huaisang said, delighted by this turn of events, which proved to be far more entertaining than what he thought was in store for him on a visit to the Cloud Recesses. “Clearly we’ll all have to go to see for ourselves, right? Right?”

In which Nie Huaisang is bored and, after an argument, he and his Da-ge go to visit the Lans.

the exception proves the rule by defractum

AU - Canon Divergence 1 chapter 5k words

He watches as they shelter under the lifeless trees, sit among the mounds of half buried bodies; there's nothing here but dirt and resentful energy. They stretch their legs, checking in on each other in a low murmur. Wei Ying doesn't seem surprised to see that Lan Wangji is the last person still standing, a pillar of white among the huddled bodies in muddy and stained robes. "Will you tell them where we are?"

Lan Wangji shakes his head. He doesn't know which 'they' Wei Ying means, but it doesn't matter. "I will be back."

"You shouldn't if you know what's good for you." Wei Ying reluctantly huffs a laugh.

Lan Wangji has not known what is good for him for a long time.

In which Lan Wangji makes a different choice at Qiongqi Path.

Turn away at the western gate by Mhalachai

AU - Canon Divergence 1 chapter 13k words

Liu Meihui, reluctant wife to the Gusu Lan sect leader, sits in the confined dark cage of her room, her prison silent around her. Cold hangs outside as the world holds its breath. Waiting.

Waiting.

Qingheng-Jun lays dying, and when the Gusu Lan sect leader takes his last breath (her husband, her jailor), hers shall surely not be far behind.

The Lan elders have long memories. Once Qingheng-Jun's sword no longer stands between them and her throat, Liu Meihui cannot expect to live.

In which Madame Lan escapes with some help and arrives in Yiling after weeks of travel.

[eatmyass-x]

When Lan Qiren extends an invitation to lunch, Wei Ying is admittedly very suspicious. Lan Qiren’s never made any effort to hide his dislike for his youngest nephew's partner of choice. The last time they came face to face, he’d not just ignored Wei Ying, but openly spoken about setting Lan Zhan up with a family friend. So a sudden change of heart seems highly unlikely.

“You do not have to accept the invite. He hasn’t given you any reason to want to see him,” Lan Zhan says when Wei Ying tells him about the strangely amicable text messages he’s received from his uncle.

But he sees the glimmer of hope in Lan Zhan’s eyes. He knows how much it hurts him to see his family at odds with Wei Ying. He didn’t even get to celebrate the new year with them this year because he refused to go if Wei Ying was not invited, despite Wei Ying repeatedly telling him it was okay.

So the least Wei Ying can do is try his best to fix things for Lan Zhan’s sake. Especially if Lan Qiren is extending an olive branch.

He spends an embarrassing amount of time getting ready, not wanting to give Lan Qiren more reason to dislike him. He irons his clothes, takes out his piercings, removes his nail varnish and ties his hair up as neat as he can manage. It’s a good thing Lan Zhan has already left for work, or he’d look at Wei Ying sadly and tell him not to change himself for anyone.

The restaurant Lan Qiren has picked is fancy to say the least. Wei Ying feels astoundingly out of place, but manages to walk in with his head held high. He’s arrived exactly on time but Lan Qiren is already seated at the table.

Wei Ying greets him and takes a seat. He thinks he sees Lan Qiren nod ever so slightly in response. It’s one step above being completely ignored like last time, so they’re off to a good start he tells himself.

The restaurant is not very busy at this time. Only faint music and the clinking of cutlery can be heard. The silence stretches between them. Wei Ying clears his throat. “How have you been, Uncle?” Lan Qiren’s eye twitches. “We haven’t seen each other for a while.”

“With reason.” Lan Qiren doesn’t look at him as he speaks, instead glancing around the restaurant like he’s observing the decor.

Wei Ying tries not to falter. “Thank you for inviting me to lunch, Uncle. I wasn’t expecting it at all, but I’m glad you did.”

“Yes, I suppose it’s not every day someone like you gets to dine at an establishment like this.”

“I’ve come here before, without Lan Zhan.” Wei Ying’s face is beginning to ache with the smile he keeps plastered on. “You forget I grew up with the Jiangs.”

“Grew up with, yes.” Lan Qiren finally looks at him. “But you are not one of them.”

“No, I’m not. I’m your former classmate’s son, if you recall.” Wei Ying tries his very best to remain polite. For Lan Zhan’s sake. “What I meant was that it hurts me to see Lan Zhan unhappy. I’m sure it upsets you too. He is your nephew after all.”

“What upsets me is his inability to discern good from bad. He continues to disappoint me.” Lan Qiren rudely waves away the waiter that approaches their table. “He can’t see that his family has his best interests in mind, not duplicitous outsiders.”

“Did you invite me here to insult me, Uncle?” Wei Ying laughs. “You could have done that over the phone. It would’ve saved you the trip. I know your knees have been giving you trouble recently.”

Lan Qiren scowls. “I called you here to make you an offer.”

“An offer?”

“Ah, that’s piqued your interest, has it?” Lan Qiren strokes his goatee smugly. “As expected.”

Wei Ying is so confused. “I really don’t understand what you’re saying, Uncle.”

“I am not your uncle,” Lan Qiren erupts. “Drop the act, Lan Zhan is not here to see.” He pulls out a pen and paper from his pocket and scribbles something down. “Here.” He slides the paper across the table. “Now leave my nephew.”

Bewildered, Wei Ying looks down at the paper. And then he sees what it really is — a cheque, in Wei Ying’s name. “Huh?”

“Take this money and leave my nephew,” Lan Qiren says calmly.

“What?!”

“Stop playing dumb. This is what you’re really after, right? So take it!” He roughly pushes the cheque the rest of the way. “It’s more than you could ever dream of. Take it and get out of my nephew’s life!”

Perhaps for the first time in his life, Wei Ying is at a complete loss for words. He feels like he’s been teleported into one of those horrible soap operas Madam Yu likes to watch, and Lan Qiren is the evil, scheming mother-in-law.

“No fucking way,” he blurts.

Lan Qiren goes purple with rage. “You insolent—!” But he’s interrupted by his phone ringing.

It looks like the call is important. “Wait here,” he instructs Wei Ying, still looking furious, and then walks off with his phone to his ear. But not before pocketing the cheque first.

Wei Ying can’t believe this is happening. He scrambles to get his own phone out and quickly calls Lan Zhan, keeping an eye out for Lan Qiren.

Despite being at work, Lan Zhan picks up on the second ring. “Wei Ying?”

“Lan Zhan, you’ll never fucking believe this!” he whisper-screams down the phone.

“Is everything okay?” Lan Zhan sounds worried. “Has Uncle done something?”

“No, no. Good news,” Wei Ying reassures him. “He hasn’t tried to run me over or anything this time.”

“This time?” Ah shit. Wei Ying wasn’t supposed to mention that incident to Lan Zhan. “And what is the bad news?”

“Well…” He grimaces even though Lan Zhan can’t see him. “He’s just offered me money to leave you.”

“What?” The disbelief in Lan Zhan’s voice is loud and clear.

“Exactly! It’s like something out of a cheesy K-drama!” In fact Wei Ying’s pretty sure he’s seen this exact scene in a show before. Only difference is Lan Qiren isn’t wearing fur and pearls and a fancy updo. “I don’t know whether to laugh or be angry. Your uncle’s gone insane!”

There’s a long moment of silence on the other end of the line. And then Lan Zhan asks, “How much did he offer?”

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying guffaws. “That’s your main concern? How much? I don’t know, a completely crazy amount. There were so many zeroes on the cheque I lost count.”

“You should take the money.”

“What.” Wei Ying’s heart plummets. Surely not…

“Take the money and stay with me regardless,” Lan Zhan tells him. “He won’t be able to do anything about it.”

“Lan Zhan!” Relief washes over Wei Ying. “Are you telling me to scam your own uncle?”

“Mn. Why not.”

“I love you,” Wei Ying laughs. “I love you so much, Lan Zhan. I hope you know that.” Then he spots Lan Qiren heading back over. “Okay, I have to go now. Talk to you later. Love you, muah!” He blows a kiss through the phone and then rushes to put it away before Lan Qiren sees.

The man takes his seat at the table once again. “You're still here. Well, of course you are.” He takes the cheque out of his pocket and puts it back onto the table, looking smug. “You wouldn’t leave without this.”

Wei Ying looks down at the cheque, unable to withhold his disdain. “This is all you think your beloved nephew is worth?”

Lan Qiren scoffs. “So you want more? I should have known. Name your price. Whatever it takes to be rid of you for good.”

“I will not leave Lan Zhan. Ever.” Wei Ying emphasises each individual word. “I love him.”

“Name your price, boy,” Lan Qiren repeats, getting angrier. “He won’t miss you. I’ll have a hundred eligible young men lined up for him by the end of the week. Men of his calibre, not money hungry vermin like you.”

“Money hungry,” Wei Ying laughs. “But I don’t want your money, Uncle. Not even if you double it, or triple it, or give me everything you own. All I want is Lan Zhan. All I’ve ever wanted is Lan Zhan.”

“And you really expect me to believe that him being the heir to Lan Enterprise has nothing to do with it?” Lan Qiren sneers.

“Nothing at all.” Wei Ying shrugs. “I’ve loved him since we were children. I loved him when he didn’t have a penny to his name after you cut him off for being gay. And I’ll love him till my dying breath, and in every lifetime thereafter.”

“Oh, cut the nonsense!” Lan Qiren’s fists are clenched into the tablecloth. “Do you know how easy it’ll be for me to ruin your life? To destroy everything you care about? I will make your life a living hell!” He bangs his fists against the table, making the plates rattle and the water in his glass splash over. “So if you have an ounce of sense you’ll take the money now and leave peacefully. This is your last chance.”

Wei Ying considers the man carefully. Then he picks up the cheque. He reads it properly this time and realises the figure is even bigger than he’d originally thought. More money than he’ll ever see in his lifetime.

“I think,” he says, and smiles up at Lan Qiren, “You should stuff your cheque, Uncle,” and rips it up into small pieces, throwing them up in the air.

As he walks out of the restaurant he hears the sound of cutlery hitting the ground. The ever composed Lan Qiren publicly losing his cool like this. How embarrassing, Wei Ying thinks, giggling to himself. Lan Zhan is going to be so amused when he hears about it.

[ibijau]

In love with the shape of you (end)/On AO3

Having promised to confront Nie Huaisang, Lan Xichen’s initial intention had been to wait for a meeting of sect leaders to talk to him. Going to Qinghe just did not feel like a viable option, when Lan Xichen was sure the other man would deny him entry into his home. But in public, it would be harder for Nie Huaisang to avoid him entirely.

At least it would have been, had Nie Huaisang bothered to show up anywhere.

For a few months after that fateful Night Hunt, Nie Huaisang refused to appear at any event he was invited to. Instead he chose to send his first disciple, who had to make excuses for his sect leader. The first time, he told Lan Xichen that Nie Huaisang had stayed to look after a sickly young disciple. It wasn't out of character for Nie Huaisang, who had himself been frequently ill as a child, so Lan Xichen accepted the story without question. The second time, Nie Huaisang’s first disciple had to explain that his sect leader had been called elsewhere by an urgent request to deal with a fierce corpse. He looked a little unsure as he shared that story, especially when Lan Xichen asked for details. The two of them knew each other well, and they knew Nie Huaisang as well, so it was hard to pretend that it wouldn’t have made more sense for Nie Huaisang to attend the conference while his first disciple dealt with the Night Hunt.

The third time, the Nie sect’s first disciple gave some other excuse to most people, but elected to be honest with Lan Xichen, and told him that his sect leader had just refused to come. No further details were offered. None were needed.

There would be no fourth time.

After coming home from that third conference, Lan Xichen informed his uncle that he had some private business to deal with, and would be gone for a few days. Upon understanding this pertained to the matter they had previously discussed, Lan Qiren offered no objections, and wished his nephew good luck.

Lan Xichen expected he would need that luck. After everything that had happened, he was unlikely to receive a warm welcome to the Unclean Realm.

He arrived there the following morning, greeted the disciples guarding the gate, and informed them that he was hoping for a chance to talk to their sect leader. To Lan Xichen’s surprise, the two men welcomed him without much hostility. If they objected to his request, it was only because, by their own admission, they had been instructed by their sect leader to say he wasn’t there, should Lan Xichen ever visit. However they had also received secret instructions from Nie Huaisang’s first disciple in case this happened, and had to warn him first before letting their sect leader know about such a visitor.

The Nie sect first disciple soon arrived at the gate, and brought Lan Xichen inside the Unclean Realm, looking somewhat happy to see him.

“I hoped you would come,” the first disciple admitted, looking guilty. “I don’t know what happened that time, but it’s clear you saved his life. He’s upset about it, and he’s made it everyone’s problem. You know how he gets sometimes. Hopefully once the two of you have talked about it, we’ll get some peace again.”

“I don’t want to get you in trouble,” Lan Xichen objected.

“What can he do, kick me out?” the man laughed. “He won’t dare, because his brother trusted me, and because he'd have to do his own paperwork and give his own classes. And I know you’re not here to cause trouble. It’ll be good for him, talking to you.”

Lan Xichen could only hope that it would indeed be good for both of them. He felt less and less sure of himself the closer he came to Nie Huaisang’s office. What did his uncle know about these things? Without knowing the full situation, Lan Qiren’s advice wasn’t valid. This would only antagonise Nie Huaisang further. In the current political climate, could they really risk...

As Lan Xichen feared, Nie Huaisang was shocked when his office door opened and showed him the person he least wanted to see in the world. Nie Huaisang jumped to his feet, but before he could say a word, his first disciple shoved Lan Xichen inside the room and quickly closed the door, leaving the two sect leaders alone together.

“I won’t hear a word of what you’ve come to say!” Nie Huaisang snarled, running for the door.

Without thinking, Lan Xichen grabbed him by the arm, keeping him in place. Nie Huaisang glared at him and struggled to escape, but Lan Xichen only tightened his grasp on the other man, certain he would never be granted another chance to clear the air.

“Huaisang, let’s talk,” Lan Xichen requested, surprised to find his tone almost pleading.

“There is nothing to talk about,” Nie Huaisang snapped back, still fighting to escape. “What could sect leader Lan possibly have in mind, corrupting my first disciple and forcing his way inside my home?”

“Don’t make this difficult. We have to talk about that Night Hunt, about that creature.”

Nie Huaisang froze and glared at him with hatred.

“You must have the wrong person. I haven’t met you at any Night Hunt since you left your seclusion.”

Lan Xichen sighed. For someone who might have orchestrated the downfall of Jin Guangyao so carefully, Nie Huaisang was a surprisingly bad liar sometimes.

“Don’t be stubborn,” Lan Xichen scolded. “I saw you there. I saw what form that creature took to trick you. We must talk about that.”

“Sect leader Lan has some guts calling me stubborn, when he’s the one who refuses to drop the matter!” Nie Huaisang retorted, but at least he gave up on struggling against Lan Xichen's grasp. “Very well, you saw what you saw. So what? Is it supposed to mean something? That creature bewitched me, I can’t deny it. Is it a surprise, when my cultivation is so bad? It took the shape of someone I knew. Of course it did, I wouldn’t have let a complete stranger approach me! As for anything else you might have seen, I really don’t know about that. I was under its spell, and I don’t remember anything at all. One moment I was alone in the mist, the next some junior disciples were crying around me because they thought I was dying. What happened between those two things, I truly don’t know, and I’m not interested to find out. We have now talked about it, you are free to go home.”

Doubt overcame Lan Xichen. Had he been mistaken about what he saw and heard? Had Nie Huaisang really been unconscious during the entire attack and after? The lie was tempting. It would be easy to pretend it was as Nie Huaisang said, that none of it had meant anything.

A lie, however practical, was still a lie. If the creature had been able to bewitch its victims so completely, what need would there have been to change shape? And why would it have said all those things it said, why would it have asked Nie Huaisang to allow himself to be hurt?

“I hear what you are saying, sect leader Nie. My answer is thus: if you truly have no memories, how do you even know that the creature took the shape of a familiar person?”

Nie Huaisang paled as he realised his mistake, and resumed struggling for a moment, although more weakly.

“Of course I heard others say it was a shapeshifter,” he argued, sounding less assured now. “And since you are so insistent on talking about it, I can only guess it took your own shape. But truly, it meant nothing.”

That new excuse was as weak as the last. There were a number of people the creature could have used to hurt Nie Huaisang, several of whom were of interest to Lan Xichen.

“It kept telling you that it understood you,” Lan Xichen said. “That it wanted to forgive and be forgiven.”

Nie Huaisang, pale as death a moment earlier, quickly turned bright red while his struggling to escape increased, making it hard for Lan Xichen to hold on to him.

“So what?” he still managed to say. “A lot has happened in my life, sect leader Lan. I have my share of guilt, as any person would. Shouldn’t it make sense that I would wish for absolution, no matter who offered it? It really has nothing to do with you.”

“Doesn’t it, when I also asked and offered that forgiveness last time we talked, only to be rejected?”

His face now crimson, Nie Huaisang froze and blinked away a few tears. Lan Xichen almost felt sorry for hurting him that way. Of course there was a chance the tears were fake, nothing more than Nie Huaisang using his strongest weapon again, but Lan Xichen did not want to believe it was the case. 

“Of course I pushed you away that time,” Nie Huaisang retorted between clenched teeth, averting his eyes. “Even you couldn't be that kind and forgiving. Even you couldn't want to move past the things I had done. I figured you were being polite, or trying to trick me. What else could I think, when you put so little effort into your lie?”

It was irritating to hear Nie Huaisang dismiss his attempt. Hadn't he made efforts, coming to Qinghe when he couldn't know if Nie Huaisang wasn't looking to kill him for his role in Nie Mingjue's death, when he was made to feel unwelcome, when everything he said was turned against him? 

“What more would you have wanted me to do to prove my sincerity, then?” Lan Xichen asked. 

Nie Huaisang said nothing, as if he did not know either. It wouldn’t be surprising. What sort of gesture could have convinced a man who had lived a decade in fear? And Lan Xichen’s own actions during the crisis had not helped. Then, too, he had done his best, but how could his best have been enough when it had come too late?

“I really tried that day,” Lan Xichen insisted. “I came to you sincerely, and truly sought to reconcile. But you would not listen to me, whereas you seemed happy enough to let that creature tell you the same things, and believed it to the point it endangered you.”

“It’s different,” Nie Huaisang whispered, still refusing to look at him. “With that shapeshifter, I knew from the start that everything it said was false, that it wanted to feed on me and nothing else. I figured there was no harm in… indulging in those lies a little.”

Lan Xichen’s grasp tightened on Nie Huaisang’s wrist to a degree that had to be painful.

“You knew it was not me?”

Slowly, Nie Huaisang nodded.

“I know you well enough, ” he explained with a grimace. “The illusion wasn’t bad, but a glance told me it wasn’t you, and hearing it speak only confirmed it. It sounded the way I imagine you, not the way you truly are. And the things it said… aside from the… sentimental part, all of it was so close to what you told me, but I could hear it without second thoughts.”

“Why? What did that creature have that I don’t?”

Nie Huaisang shrugged.

“I knew exactly what it wanted from me. When the real you said you wanted to start anew our friendship, I had to worry about politics, about revenge, about the things I did, the things you failed to do… but when that creature said it cared for me and forgave me, I knew exactly what it wanted, and so I let myself enjoy that fantasy, however dangerous. But the longer I stayed near it, the more its impersonation improved, and I overestimated my own willpower. When it started saying it loved me…”

Nie Huaisang scoffed, sounding as disdainful as all those who had spent a decade calling him a foolish headshaker. 

“All my life, I had dreamed of… how stupid,” Nie Huaisang sighed. “Had you not come, I would have died.”

Nie Huaisang’s tone made it seem as if he did not care that his life had come so close to ending. Perhaps he didn’t. For years and years, he’d often casually threatened to kill himself over small problems. Lan Xichen had once thought him dramatic even as he pitied him, before finding him manipulative once he knew what Nie Huaisang was capable of, but perhaps the issue was more complex. A decade of secrets, fear, and mistrust would have left marks on anyone’s mind.

“So in the end, you preferred a comforting lie to honest truth,” Lan Xichen said, fighting to keep anger out of his voice. “Isn’t it what you reproached me that day, regarding my friendship with Jin Guangyao?”

“Sect leader Lan should know by now that I have no principles,” Nie Huaisang scoffed. “I just do whatever pleases me, say whatever pleases me. As long as it accomplishes my goal… and my goal that day was to send you away so I wouldn’t be tormented by the temptation to be near you. I can’t even remember half of what I told you, honestly.”

“You also claimed poor memory regarding your encounter with the shapeshifter,” Lan Xichen reminded him. “Forgive me if I find it hard to believe on this topic as well.”

Nie Huaisang shrugged, but did not protest.

Had it been anyone else making things so difficult, Lan Xichen might have given up. But even after everything, he still wanted to reach out for Nie Huaisang and fix things between them. Part of it was nothing more than pity. After spending nearly a third of his life feeling sorry for Nie Huaisang’s many sorrows, Lan Xichen couldn’t easily drop the habit. If anything, he pitied him more now than he’d ever done before.

Nie Huaisang the Headshaker had been pathetic enough, like a scared rabbit that needed help to feel safe anywhere. Nie Huaisang the mastermind was pitiful the way a wounded tiger would be, a source of sorrow and concern all at once, and likely to bite even the hand that would help him.

But there was more to it than mere pity. Lan Xichen had selfish reasons to still cling to whatever illusion of friendship the two of them had shared. The bond they shared after knowing each other all their lives could not be easily shattered. They might not have been as close to each other as they had both been to Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao, but they had been a constant presence in each other’s lives, they had shared experiences that no one else could understand. Who else had loved Nie Mingjue as much as they had? Who else had been so intimately betrayed by Jin Guangyao? Outside of his own family and sect, there was no one alive with whom Lan Xichen had spent as much time as Nie Huaisang. 

Proximity was not friendship, but it was all either of them had left.

One last try, then. One more attempt had to be made. Lan Xichen had given up too easily last time, certain as he’d been that Nie Huaisang hated him, that his hatred was deserved. Now that he knew better, how could he live with himself if he didn’t try again?

“You weren’t wrong that day in thinking that forgiveness is neither easily granted nor obtained,” Lan Xichen said, and at last Nie Huaisang dared to look at him, shocked and wary at once. “After everything that has happened… I should have known that you may not accept that I truly could forgive you, and want to be forgiven in return. But I have a thought for you to consider. You want that forgiveness for both of us, don’t you?”

It was undeniable, and yet Nie Huaisang still hesitated to nod, glaring at Lan Xichen as he did so.

“Why can you want it, but I can’t?” Lan Xichen went on. “If you can accept your own wish, isn’t it conceivable that I have that same desire? You said earlier that you carry your share of guilt as any person does. Am I not human too, that I should feel neither guilt nor grudges?”

“I can… accept that it is possible you would have such thoughts,” Nie Huaisang carefully replied.

It wasn’t much, but it was progress compared to the way he spoke only moments ago. Lan Xichen finally let go of the other man, trusting he would not try to escape again. Nie Huaisang rubbed his wrist, as if Lan Xichen’s hold on it had really been too tight.

“Even if you had such thoughts before,” Nie Huaisang said, averting his eyes again, “they must have been replaced with disgust now, after what you heard from that creature.”

“Must I truly be disgusted?” Lan Xichen wondered. “It would be quite hypocritical of me to hate you for loving a man, when I have little interest in women.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes darted back to him, his expression so shocked that Lan Xichen had to fight a smile.

“I never knew that!” Nie Huaisang exclaimed, so outraged that for a moment he sounded like his old silly self again. “You never said!”

“I am unmarried at my age and in my position,” Lan Xichen replied. “I didn’t think it needed saying. For the same reason, while I would never have guessed at the specific target of your affections, the fact that you would love another man did not come as a surprise. I had made some assumptions about you.”

Nie Huaisang blushed, and looked away with a frown, as if he’d thought that particular secret of his had been kept safe and it annoyed him to find it wasn’t so. In truth, Lan Xichen doubted others would have guessed, but since he had been in the same position, he had taken notes of things others might have overlooked. He would have expected Nie Huaisang to do the same but… perhaps Lan Xichen had never been important enough for his preferences to matter, existing as nothing more than a pretty thing to be desired and hated at once. Or else Nie Huaisang had been so convinced of the hopelessness of his feelings that he’d never wanted to take interest in Lan Xichen’s private life, and thus missed all the clues. 

“I truly never would have thought you felt that way for me,” Lan Xichen went on. “It never occurred to me that either of us could think of the other in that manner. Before… before Wei Wuxian’s return, I only ever saw you as my dear friend’s brother, and perhaps my own friend as well. After… How would I dare call myself your friend, let alone think of you as a possible lover? But friendship is something I'd wish for, if you were willing. If I offered mutual forgiveness again, if I asked for that friendship, would you accept it this time? If you cannot accept it right now, would you let me work toward it?”

“Why would you even want my friendship?” Nie Huaisang protested.

“Why not? I do have pleasant memories of your company,” Lan Xichen pointed out. “You appeared to enjoy mine as well, except when I pushed you to work on something. I imagine not all of our conversations were sincere on your part, but… perhaps a few at least…”

“Most were,” Nie Huaisang whispered, looking terrified but no longer ready to bolt. The wounded beast was starting to understand this offered hand wanted to soothe rather than harm. “Unless he was with us… But when we were alone, I could just enjoy your company.”

“I want your friendship, Huaisang,” Lan Xichen said, feeling encouraged. “I realise I will have to earn it. I think you will need to earn mine as well, so do not think I’m being too kind to be honest. I doubt it will be easy for either of us, and I realise it is not what you truly desire.”

Lan Xichen hesitated. There was nothing about Nie Huaisang that repulsed him. The other man was handsome, clever, and pleasant to be around when he wasn't actively driving others away. The only thing preventing him from seeking Nie Huaisang's company more intimately was the fact that for the longest time, Lan Xichen had never seen him as anything but the crying thirteen years old who had first come to the Cloud Recesses after losing his father. A vision that had been shattered in a tragic manner, allowing him to see Nie Huaisang as he truly was.

It would not be the worst thing if they became lover, but it was not something to really consider yet, not until they'd figured out if they could forgive each other, trust each other. 

“I… cannot match what that creature pretended to offer you,” Lan Xichen said, to Nie Huaisang, to himself. “Perhaps one day I will have more to give. Perhaps one day, you will be ready to accept it, should more be offered. Until then, will you take what I can give?”

Fighting tears, Nie Huaisang nodded. To his surprise, Lan Xichen realised that his own eyes couldn’t stay dry either. Without quite meaning to, Lan Xichen grabbed Nie Huaisang's wrist again and pulled him into a hug. This time, Nie Huaisang didn't fight him, instead clinging to him with unexpected strength.

It was a first step at last. 

The first of many, Lan Xichen hoped. Where those steps would lead them, he couldn’t say. It did not matter, he figured, as long as they no longer had to travel through life alone.

[jiaoji]

April fools

As usual, the classroom was silent when Lan WangJi entered the room. Except it was for a different reason than it normally would be.

Lan WangJi's robes were completely black and he didn't even have his forehead band on.

The room was graveyard silent as confused glances were exchanged between the younger ones. Lan WangJi, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind and started teaching normally.

Lan JingYi was still trying to figure out if HanGuang-Jun hadn't noticed that he was wearing the robe from Wei-Qianbei, when movement caught his eye. The door opened, revealing Wei WuXian with clothes that were too big for his body and HanGuang-Jun's forehead band.

The worst wasn't even that! Wei WuXian was not wearing his usual smile and he looked cold and hard.

Lan JingYi couldn't help himself, "What's going on?"

Wei WuXian, "JingYi, don't speak loudly during classes."

Lan JingYi, "?!?!?"

Lan Sizhui, equally confused but knowing that they would soon speak at the end, just tried to keep up with the class.

It was difficult as Wei WuXian was stiff and posture perfect, not making any comments or laughing.

Meanwhile, Lan WangJi smiled, making him look more like ZeWu-Jun than he already was and still making occasional jokes.

Lan Sizhui was diligently copying when a paper landed on his desk without either of the two teachers noticing. He discreetly opened the paper, Lan JingYi's handwriting was a complete mess, as if it had been done in a hurry.

"Sizhui, I think Wei-Qianbei and HanGuang-Jun are possessed!!!!!! Let's warn Lan Xiansheng and ZeWu-Jun and plan an exorcism without them knowing!!!"

A voice above him called out harshly, "Sizhui."

Lan Sizhui was startled when he noticed Wei WuXian standing beside him, with a null expression.

Wei WuXian, "It is forbidden to exchange notes during class."

Everyone tensed, especially Sizhui, who was being targeted at that moment.

Lan JingYi then stood up, "It was me! I gave the note, Sizhui is innocent."

Wei WuXian, "Well then, the two of you will be punished to write Conduct three times."

Lan JingYi, "Huh? Wei-Qianbei, that's not fair."

Lan WangJi, "Hmpf! Why is that? It's just a note."

Lan Sizhui was horrified seeing Lan WangJi like that just like the other students, but no more than Lan JingYi.

Lan JingYi, "You guys can only be possessed!"

Wei WuXian scolded him, "Lan JingYi."

Lan WangJi, "The class is almost over, you can go and we'll sort it out later."

The students looked at each other with nervousness and fear.

Lan WangJi laughed softly, "Go, you can go."

Without a second longer, all the little Lans rushed out of the room, including Lan JingYi and Sizhui.

After the door closed, Wei WuXian started to laugh frantically and Lan WangJi's smile disappeared.

Wei WuXian, "Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan hahahahahahaha did you see their faces?!"

Lan WangJi, "Mn."

Wei WuXian, "I thought JingYi was going to have a deviation! Not even Sizhui-Er escaped."

Lan WangJi, "They will still be punished for the note."

Wei WuXian, "They think we've been possessed hahahahahaha! We should go after them before they try an exorcism."

Lan WangJi wiped away Wei WuXian's tears, "They must have gone after Uncle."

Wei WuXian, "Great! Let's get him too, Er-Gege."

Lan WangJi smiled again, "Mn."

Lan JingYi ran with Lan Sizhui at his side, the two of them should have been heading to their punishment, instead they rushed straight to Lan Qiren's residence.

As soon as they caught sight of the old teacher, Lan JingYi ran faster.

Lan Qiren heard the footsteps and his face immediately crumpled, "It is forbidden to run in Cloud Recesses."

Lan JingYi quickly caught his breath before bowing down, "Lan Xiansheng! HanGuang-Jun and Wei-Qianbei have been possessed!"

Lan Qiren, "That— how is that possible? WangJi wouldn't let that happen," he stroked his beard, "Unless that's Wei WuXian's idea, always pulling WangJi into his nonsense, knowing he won't refuse."

Lan JingYi, "You'd better let ZeWu-Jun know!"

Lan Qiren, "Xichen is busy, I'll go myself- Wei WuXian?! What does that mean?"

The two turned around, seeing Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi walking together, with Lan WangJi clinging to Wei WuXian's arm.

Wei WuXian bowed with an impassive face, "Lan Xiansheng."

Lan WangJi did the same, with a small smile, "Shufu."

Lan Qiren looked at the two of them and her face turned red, "What does that mean?!"

Wei WuXian, "It is forbidden to make loud noises in Cloud Recesses."

Lan Qiren, "WangJi, what are you doing?"

Lan WangJi, "I'm with my husband."

Wei WuXian, "We came because Lan JingYi and Lan Sizhui didn't show up for the punishment assigned to them in class today."

Lan Qiren could understand why, "Stop it you two, stop playing around."

Wei WuXian's face hardened, "With all due respect, Lan Xiansheng, but students' bad behavior should not be covered up."

Lan Qiren, "How is it?!"

Lan WangJi, "The two passed notes in class."

Lan JingYi felt a bit of resentment towards the smiling HanGuang-Jun.

Lan Sizhui took the lead seeing how Lan Qiren trembled and reddened by the second, "We apologize Qianbei, we are going to the library immediately."

Lan JingYi, "What?!"

Lan Sizhui let out a sharp "JingYi" after that. He grabbed his friend's sleeve and pulled.

Wei WuXian, "Looks like we're going to have to increase the punishment."

Lan WangJi, "How cruel."

Lan Qiren, "You two are going to kill me! I'm going to die and it will be your fault!! Out of here, both of you!!!"

Wei WuXian, "Shufu, please rest, at your age, you can't get too emotional."

Lan Qiren, ""WEI WUXIAN!!!"

/

Lan Xichen heard his uncle's shout, the name he shouted made him sigh and smile. Rather than going to the Hanshi, he decided to see what made Wei WuXian for his uncle to scream so loudly.

Before turning the corner into one of the residences, two figures in black and white walked past him.

Lan Xichen, "...?"

Smiling Lan WangJi in black robes and impassive Wei WuXian in white robes.

Lan WangJi was the first to notice him.

Lan WangJi, "Brother, how are you?"

Lan Xichen felt like looking into a mirror, "WangJi, you look... different."

Lan WangJi, "Do I look like it?"

Lan Xichen looked at Wei WuXian, "You too, Wei-gongzi."

Wei WuXian greets him without even moving his face, "ZeWu-Jun."

Lan Xichen understood his uncle, it was a bit scary, yet funny, "I see...", he says goodbye shortly after, "I was just going to see Shufu, I'll let you go your way now."

Lan WangJi, "See you later, brother."

Lan Xichen let out a stifled laugh, "See you later, WangJi."

When he reached his uncle's house, he knocked softly on the door, Lan Qiren opened it with a frown that worsened upon seeing him.

Lan Qiren, "What are you doing here? I told you to leave me alone!"

Lan Xichen, "...?"

Lan Qiren, "I will still have a deviation because of you and your disgrace of husband, WangJi!"

Lan Xichen, "It's Xichen, Shufu."

Lan Qiren, "..."

At Jingshi, Wei WuXian fell to the ground in laughter.

Lan WangJi, "Careful."

Wei WuXian was in a ball and clutching his stomach, "Lan Zhan.... hahahahahahaha.... your brother... and uncle... hahahahaha..."

Lan WangJi let out a soft laugh, "We have to go to the library."

Wei WuXian, "I think that's enough, let's stop torturing the little one.", calming down a bit more, he sat back and smiled mischievously, "Let's do this with Jin Ling next time!"

Lan WangJi couldn't deny him anything, "Mn."

[askew-d]

you know what’s crazy? how lan xichen defended jin guangyao saying that though the world had many misconceptions about him he still trusted his character just to have that affirmation thrown at his face — no, it’s not even about the naivety of it that makes me laugh, it’s about how he was the person to have seen lan wangji’s grief, had seen his persistence in raising a kid on behalf of wei wuxian, had seen his trials and his willingness to be beside wei wuxian regardless of the world telling him that the guy’s evil. he’s seen it firsthand.

all the while he probably must’ve pitied his brother, uniting with the sects to kill wei wuxian nonetheless, because he didn’t believe in the patriarch’s innocence. it’s that unconscious patronisation that makes it all the more ironic. and the fact that it was exactly jin guangyao’s actions that led to wei wuxian’s downfall.

i know lan xichen’s a good person, but it’s obvious that him and lan qiren had judged wei wuxian countless time throughout it all, and not only because he was ‘tainting’ lan wangji. i was quite annoyed when he called wei wuxian ‘his only mistake’, because, in fact, lan xichen was the one who mistakenly believed in the biggest villain, so he doesn’t have any room to talk. he committed three mistakes: by his perspective of lan wangji and wei wuxian’s relationship, of wei wuxian’s evilness and in his sworn brother as a whole.

it’s more than justified that he took his time in seclusion. it takes a while to come around such a massive mistake (did he think that too, when he saw his brother doing the same all those years ago?). not to mention that it must’ve been a big blow to realize that nie huaisang wasn’t the person he thought he was as well.

this parallel just came to me and i had to rant it so. i know it’s obvious, but yeah. don’t get me wrong, i just think lan xichen having this bit of a ‘fate’ is so good to the novel. brilliant move, mxtx, brilliant move.

[robininthelabyrinth]

The Other Mountain - ao3 - Chapter 22

Pairing: Lan Qiren/Wen Ruohan

Warning Tags on Ao3

———————————————————————-

Wen Ruohan woke up groggy and disoriented.

This did not come as a surprise, as it was not particularly unusual for him: a hundred years and more, infinitely powerful cultivation, and somehow he’d still never quite gotten the hang of mornings. Once he’d become accustomed to sharing his bed with Lan Qiren, who like the rest of his sect preferred to rise at inhumane hours, the other man had routinely been able to get up, go about his morning ablutions, go outside to train, and come back to bed before Wen Ruohan even twitched his fingers in the direction of his clothing.

Not that he usually needed to get up early, of course. That was one of the many benefits of power: the Nightless City might never sleep, but it only really got going when he did. Lan Qiren had remarked several times that he found it unusual that the quietest hours in the day were the early morning, as those were often the hours most generally preferred for chores, until eventually Wen Ruohan had taken pity on him and explained that his servants and disciples had judged it better to do their chores at an hour before they risked waking up their irritable sect leader.

(“Ah, yes,” Lan Qiren had said, nodding. “I had a similar experience when my nephews were toddlers.”

“…toddlers.”

“Yes, they got terribly cranky when anything disturbed their naps. I would always refrain from doing anything too loud during that time of the day.”

“I don’t think I appreciate your comparison.”

“Comparison? I was conveying that I understood – ”

“That was a comparison, and you know it.”

“...perhaps. Truly a strange and inexplicable parallel. Perhaps even an opportunity for you to learn some form of lesson…?”

“Not in the slightest. Clearly I’ll just have to put more effort into making sure you don’t see me as a child. Perhaps something more adult instead.…?”

“Again? Already? It’s not that I object, of course, but sometimes you genuinely make me wonder: do you have no other hobbies?”)

The memory made Wen Ruohan want to laugh.

He opened his eyes, and found, to his puzzlement, that he was not in his own bed, neither alone nor (preferably) with a warm and energetic Lan Qiren coming in straight after his exercise, but rather in his favorite sickroom.

Most people would not be able to say that they had a particular preference in sickrooms, but in this, as in many ways, his Qishan Wen sect was different. His sect had been founded by a surgeon (who’d also been an assassin and a warlord, as the situation required – those needles of Wen Mao’s had been put to any number of purposes, a practicality his descendants had whole-heartedly embraced), and as a result, they had always prided themselves on their medical skills. Naturally, the Nightless City’s sickrooms ought to reflect that pride, which they did in both quality and in sheer multitudinous quantity.

The rooms were always well-equipped, well-staffed, and well-tended to, as befit a sect with their inheritance. His Wen sect disciples had even taken to dividing them up by type of illness: one reserved for people suffering from physical harms such as broken bones or sword cuts, another specializing in treating diseases, a third for cultivation problems…

Wen Ruohan was currently in the one fondly and universally known as the “you fucked up” room.

It was a large room, having at some point in the past been meant to be a warehouse, but it had been filled with room dividers to create the illusion of smaller spaces. Each little nook was supplied with a standard-issue cot, a blanket enhanced with warming talismans and a pillow similarly made to be cooling, a slate at the end of the bed for doctors’ instructions, and little else. This room specialized neither in a particular type of injury nor a particular type of cure, and neither did it make any differentiation between injuries unique to cultivators or more commonplace sorts that anyone could suffer.

It had a singular focus, which was to say, it catered exclusively to people who’d caused their own malady through stupidity.

To be more specific, it was reserved for people who’d hurt themselves through excessive over-exertion, which was commonly regarded as an offshoot of idiocy. Strained muscles, overworked meridians, twisted ankles, emptied dantians…even those scholars who developed headaches from reading too much in poor light, it didn’t matter; they all ended up here. A doctor would look them over, snort in disdain (a requisite and much-enjoyed part of the treatment), and order them to stay, rest, and recuperate, which usually translated to being confined to rest for a given length of time, typically marked out in chalk on the slate that hung over their cot. The room was patrolled by junior disciples still learning the way of medicine, most of them at the stage where they had more enthusiasm than skill, and they were all licensed to meet any attempts to escape prematurely with paralyzing needles, jabbed in as hard as their black little hearts desired.

Wen Ruohan remembered the place fondly.

He’d once been a very frequent visitor, in fact, back when he’d been constantly experimenting – he couldn’t quite now remember when he’d stopped, or why, but it had always been enjoyable. After he’d become sect leader, the senior doctors had used his visits as a means of teasing their juniors. They would archly insist that there was no choice but to follow the iron-clad traditions of the room, without exception, even if the patient was their terrifying sect leader, and eventually one unlucky or suicidally brave junior would be tasked with placing and enforcing the chalk marker beside his bed. Not that Wen Ruohan ever listened, of course, since naturally very few of them really dared to try to jab him (and he just shrugged off the few that did). As fun as tormenting the junior generation was, he simply had too much to do…

Ugh, speaking of which, he was probably falling behind even now. Wen Ruohan squeezed his eyes shut with a groan. He didn’t even remember what he’d been experimenting with to cause him to end up here, but it didn’t really matter. He couldn’t linger. He was the sect leader, there was always something to do.

He mentally reached for the running list of tasks he invariably kept in the back of his head – and then frowned, coming up empty. He couldn’t think of what he had planned to do today. Had his secretaries failed to bring him his schedule the night before? Had he injured himself sufficiently badly that he’d simply forgotten it all, somehow?

What had he been doing last that had led him to come here, anyway…?

Wen Ruohan’s eyes abruptly flew open: Xixiang. The mountain. Lan Qiren!

He sat up in the bed at once, ignoring the sudden rush of vertigo with an effort of will. He remembered Cangse Sanren standing beside him, telling him that he’d blown out all his spiritual energy, but also that she was having people search for Lan Qiren, who had last been seen going to see his brother – had they been found? What state was he in?

Wen Ruohan was in his favorite sickroom, which meant he was in the Nightless City. Hadn’t he last been in Xixiang? How had he even gotten here?

How long had he been unconscious?!

The chalk marker in the room was unhelpfully blank, and the room itself was oddly empty, so there was no one to ask. Overusing one’s qi didn’t usually result in unconsciousness that lasted longer than a few days at most, but Wen Ruohan had always been extraordinary, so he didn’t dare make any assumptions. He got up out of bed – then staggered, unhelpfully, but righted himself with an effort and a hand on the wall – and made his way to the main door of the sickroom, pushing it open to break the binding of the sound-proofing spell so that he could try to find Lan Qiren by listening for the sound of his voice, however futile –

Oh.

There he was.

“How can that possibly be your first solution to the problem?!” Lan Qiren was saying…no, that wasn’t quite right. He was bellowing, in fact, and from somewhere not far away; Wen Ruohan thought he might have been able to hear it even without sharpening his hearing to try to find him. Lan Qiren’s voice rang loud and clear, immediately identifiable, as welcome as the sound of a rooster crowing in the dawn after a night-hunt gone wrong.

He sounded fine.

He might not be fine – as if being “fine” were possible, given that Lan Qiren had successively suffered the Fire Palace, the shock of realizing what his brother was doing, and then his brother himself – but he sounded fine, or at least uninjured, unharmed, alive…

Wen Ruohan arranged his clothing and ignored how sore he somehow still was in favor of following the sound of yelling.

“I cannot believe that any reasonable person would think that to be an appropriate proposal. It doesn’t even fix the actual underlying issue. It barely even postpones it! I cannot believe…no. No, no, no. Simply no. Denied.”

A fainter murmur, some unimportant person that Wen Ruohan didn’t care about saying something in response.

“This is me trying to keep an open mind!”

The noise turned out to be coming from the Wen sect’s receiving hall, where Wen Ruohan usually sat in the main seat and received petitioners, including his subordinates, or else visitors. It was used exclusively for sect business. It seemed to be full, which puzzled Wen Ruohan briefly: what sect business could there possibly be happening right now, with him not there…?

He let himself in through the back, managing to avoid notice only by virtue of the fact that everyone inside the room was looking at Lan Qiren.

Wen Ruohan was looking, too. Lan Qiren – one side of his face was badly bruised, with a black eye that definitely hadn’t been there before, and a bandage was tied high on one of his arms, binding both upper arm and shoulder. As injuries went, it wasn’t too bad, and the colors on his face suggested that he was already well along the path of healing, that extremely pure golden core of his already ameliorating the worst of it. It certainly didn’t seem to be slowing him down in any way.

On the contrary, Lan Qiren seemed to be in particularly fine form today, with an especially fierce scowl and face red enough that he looked on the verge of trying to breathe fire. Oddly enough, he was seated on the main seat, where Wen Ruohan usually sat, glaring down at the usual run of petitioners and high-ranking Wen sect subordinates as if he wanted to order them all away – wait.

Wait.

Was Lan Qiren attempting to deal with sect business? With Wen sect business? Was that what was going on now?

It was.

Wen Ruohan felt a sudden surge of tremendous fondness fill his chest, making him feel warm. He could see Cangse Sanren perched on the floor next to the main seat with a gigantic shit-eating grin on her face, looking for all the world like a vulture watching its next meal struggling to its death right in front of its eyes for its amusement, dinner and a show combined. That explained an awful lot: Wen Ruohan distinctly remembered having mentioned to her, in a fit of bitter pique, that in the event of his untimely death, Lan Qiren’s status entitled him to the right to rule the Wen sect as his widow.

Cangse Sanren was the sort of person to find the idea sufficiently funny that she’d encourage Lan Qiren to do it while Wen Ruohan was merely incapacitated, and Lan Qiren sufficiently duty-abiding that he’d assume he had no choice but to agree, even if he didn’t think himself fit for the role. And thus, presumably, they had ended up here.

Wen Ruohan couldn’t blame Cangse Sanren one bit, though. This was hilarious.

Poor Lan Qiren. Ten years of leading the virtuous (or, well, mostly virtuous) Lan sect had clearly not prepared him in the slightest for what he was dealing with in the Nightless City.

Not that he was doing badly.

In fact, he’d even apparently somehow managed to deal with Wen Ruohan’s wives, which in the normal run of things Wen Ruohan would have assumed to be his biggest problems. However, instead of jockeying for position or fighting Lan Qiren for the right to lead, they were contentedly in their usual positions for the rare times they attended to matters of sect management.

Practically, this meant that Lu Qipei was putting on a show of pretending to supervise but mostly just displaying herself to best effect to win the admiration or envy of the female disciples in the audience, wearing something that was no doubt going to be the peak of fashion in another month or two once everyone copied her look, while Shen Mingbi…well, Shen Mingbi was currently preoccupied smiling at a man wearing the insignia of a Fire Palace guard and a face that for whatever reason vaguely reminded Wen Ruohan of Lan Xichen, while he in turn ignored the ongoing proceedings in favor of smiling back.

Ugh. Not another one! How had Wen Ruohan managed to marry women with such poor taste?

At least Lan Qiren didn’t have that problem.

“Go back and think once more on the issue and how to solve it, then bring me a proposal that does not include threats, blackmail or gross negligence of your duty as a cultivator and, for that matter, as a human being,” Lan Qiren said crossly to one of Wen Ruohan’s lieutenants, who looked abashed. He was presumably the one who’d presented the idea that had so raised Lan Qiren’s ire. “In deference to the customs of your sect, I am not excluding the options of using bribery, petty theft, and crimes at around that level – ”

Wen Ruohan choked down another laugh.

This was amazing. He’d have to find a way to reward Cangse Sanren for having thought of it.

“ – but you have to at least start with something remotely palatable. To human beings. Yes, even human beings of the Qishan Wen sect. Am I understood?”

He was.

“Good. Dismissed. Who’s next?”

There was then a brief silence, during which Wen Ruohan’s very brave Wen sect disciples looked at each other with expressions suggesting that they’d rather volunteer for the Fire Palace than volunteer to become the target of Lan Qiren’s attention and Wen Ruohan himself continued to try his absolute best not to laugh audibly. This was far too funny to interrupt.

Eventually, someone cleared their throat and stepped forward – it was Wen Yingjiu, Wen Ruohan’s hapless nominal head disciple. Presumably he’d been pushed forward as a sacrificial lamb by his peers.

“A gift has arrived for Sect Leader Wen from Lanling Jin.”

Oddly enough, that made Lan Qiren snort in what sounded like audible disdain.

“I see,” he said, with what sounded almost like a sneer. “I take it that Sect Leader Jin has received my letter indicating my displeasure regarding his sect’s participation in framing our Wen sect and that he is now trying to go above my head. Is that it?”

Our Wen sect.

Wen Ruohan felt a delightful little shiver of pleasure to hear Lan Qiren call it that. That was as it ought to be, of course – they were married, and Lan Qiren’s marriage vows meant that he rightfully ought to treat his new sect as if it were his own – and of course Lan Qiren was never improper in public, not even when Wen Ruohan occasionally wanted him to be.

He wasn’t foolish enough to think that it meant that Lan Qiren had forgiven Wen Ruohan, or that he was willing to stay voluntarily, or really anything at all. It didn’t signify anything other than the fact that Lan Qiren had good manners and an overactive sense of duty and the sense to preserve face. And yet – and still –

Our Wen sect.

Wen Ruohan liked that.

“I cannot say, Senior Lan. But it is a princely gift: a rare saber from the northwest region,” Wen Yingjiu said, his tone appropriately respectful. Presumably he’d decided to err against calling Lan Qiren “Madam Wen”, which was probably the right move, even if the alternative would have been much funnier. Wen Yingjiu had always had a decent sense of self-preservation, one that outweighed even ambition. “The messenger who delivered it insisted that the Sect Leader would enjoy having it in his possession. The saber is said to be of surpassingly fine quality, beyond anything that can be made in our present cultivation world.”

“Is it really?” Wen Ruohan said, unable to keep from speaking up. He’d always enjoyed receiving high-quality gifts, even when they were obviously meant to be bribes – all good things ought to belong to him, after all, and he wasn’t too picky about how he got them. So what if it was a bribe? Even if he accepted it, nothing was stopping him from betraying the person who’d sent it later on. And since both he and the person trying to bribe him knew that, one could scarcely even call it unethical. “I’m not sure what the Nie sect would have to say about that. How does it compare to theirs?”

The sound of his voice was like dropping a rock into a still pond, the effects of it rippling outwards in waves: everyone turned at once to look at him once they heard it, rows of heads all moving one after the other. Even Lan Qiren, seated up at the main seat, twisted himself to look in Wen Ruohan’s direction, and as he did some strange emotion flickered over his face, only visible for a moment. Wen Ruohan couldn’t quite distinguish what it meant.

“I cannot say, Sect Leader,” Wen Yingjiu said, saluting him at once. He seemed relieved to see him, which said something either about his loyalty or, more likely, Lan Qiren’s ferocity. “The messenger from Lanling Jin sang its praises, and from my humble appraisal, I would agree that it seems to be exceedingly well-made.”

Wen Yingjiu was head disciple of the Wen sect and possessed perfect recall, which meant that he had a pretty good sense of judgment as to what made a good weapon. That meant the saber probably really was exceptional – one of those wonders that were sufficiently impressive that even the ridiculously wealthy Lanling Jin thought them worth keeping in their treasure room. It had probably pained Jin Guangshan immensely to part with it.

“How nice,” Wen Ruohan said, smirk curving his lips as he thought about Jin Guangshan squirming in discomfort but ultimately giving in to reality, knowing that he needed to appease Wen Ruohan’s anger. “Perhaps we should invite Lao Nie over to see which one is the better.”

He was only speaking lightly, thoughtlessly saying what he would have normally said as if nothing had changed, but he had reason to regret it the second it came out of his mouth: the room went completely silent, and Lan Qiren’s face abruptly froze over into complete neutrality.

Wen Ruohan wanted to smack himself. Was he some novice at politics, not to realize that he’d inadvertently implied that he might be willing to accept Jin Guangshan’s bribe and override the expression of disapproval that Lan Qiren had sent out in their sect’s name, in his name? Accepting the gift suggested that he would be willing to cast aside Lan Qiren’s hard work on his behalf, to put someone else’s word over his yet again – a subtle but effective way to put Lan Qiren back in his place, as Jin Guangshan had laughed to him during the discussion conference.

It was certainly not a good way to start making things up with Lan Qiren.

Wen Ruohan immediately wanted to take back his words, but he didn’t know how. Showing weakness in front of so many of his subordinates was impossible, especially when he genuinely felt weak – humor aside, his body felt immensely sore and somehow also too light, as if the usual heavy cloak of power he usually carried with him everywhere was gone. Anyway, it would be inappropriate to admit that he was wrong, because that would be admitting too much. He hadn’t actually said anything out of place or inaccurate, merely a little tone-deaf.

And yet, having Lan Qiren think that Wen Ruohan valued Jin Guangshan over him…

“That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard,” Cangse Sanren said helpfully, if by helpfully one meant it in the sense of throwing fuel onto an already blazing fire. “I mean, really, Sect Leader Wen! You just fought a mountain. Is it really still necessary for you to argue with Sect Leader Nie about who’s got the bigger dick?”

The tension in the room shattered.

Lan Qiren slumped in the main seat with a groan, putting his hands over his face, while the petitioners all burst out in choked-off guffaws and sniggers, some notably less choked-off than others.

Wen Ruohan smirked.

“Well,” he drawled. “Actually – ”

“No,” Lan Qiren said firmly. “Absolutely not. This conversation is not going there.”

Wen Ruohan shrugged, putting aside the uncalled-for burst of relief he was currently feeling. It was only natural that he would find a way to salvage the situation, even if it was with assistance.

“Very well, have it your way,” he said, purposefully casual, as if his comment earlier had merely been meant as a joke. “I suppose Cangse Sanren has a point. There’s no point in comparing anyone to me, now, is there? Yingjiu, under the circumstances I think you’d better send the saber back. We wouldn’t want Jin Guangshan to get the wrong idea.”

“Yes, Sect Leader! At once!”

Lan Qiren looked begrudgingly appeased, and the rest of the room looked profoundly impressed. There, that ought to do it: he’d erased the implication of his earlier statement, and publicly reaffirmed his support for Lan Qiren’s disapproval of Lanling Jin. Now that would make Jin Guangshan really squirm…as was only right. What had the man been thinking, joining forces with Qingheng-jun to scheme against Wen Ruohan and his sect like that?

If it had been Wen Ruohan up in that seat right now, he wouldn’t have limited himself to a mere letter of disapproval. At a minimum he would have demanded a whole cartful of treasures, or maybe even some land, a subordinate sect or two sacrificed to his ambitions…Jin Guangshan ought to count himself lucky!

“Should you be here?” Lan Qiren abruptly asked, frowning at Wen Ruohan. “I thought the doctor said that he intended for you to rest for a while longer? Someone said something about a chalk marker…?”

Wen Ruohan smirked at the idea that someone had had to explain the rules of the “you fucked up” room to Lan Qiren, hopefully in terms as colorful as the way he’d always heard it – though actually, now that he thought about it, he did rather feel as though he might want to go back to bed relatively soon. What was wrong with him? He’d never been this weak after exerting himself.

Though he supposed it had been rather a long time since he’d done himself in this badly…

“Enjoying your new work so much that you’ve decided to get rid of me?” he drawled.

Lan Qiren didn’t rise to the bait. “If that were my intention, I would tell you in advance.”

He probably would, the ridiculous man. Wen Ruohan could imagine it now: Lan Qiren all puffed up like a albino bird of paradise, solemnly stating that he regretted to inform him that he had decided he had no choice but to kill him and that he would appreciate it if Wen Ruohan would be so kind as to make himself ready for the attempt.

It was an oddly comforting thought.

“However, assuming you have just violated the doctors’ directives, I suggest you return to your sickbed, or at a minimum to your room, to continue resting,” Lan Qiren continued, looking annoyed. Or possibly concerned? It was hard to tell with him, sometimes – and for whatever reason, Wen Ruohan had the sudden feeling that Lan Qiren was being deliberately dismissive of him, almost performatively so. “Unless you want to take over managing sect business…?”

Wen Ruohan looked at his subordinates, who looked at him hopefully.

“No, I think I’m enjoying this too much,” he said thoughtfully, and smirked when their faces all fell.

“Well done, Sect Leader Wen!” Cangse Sanren cackled. “Milk that invalid status for all that it’s worth! At least one more day, please. You see, you just missed Qiren-gege threatening everyone to start the morning session at yin shi – ”

“At chen shi, not yin shi! A shichen after dawn, not before!”

“Was that it? I couldn’t tell from the way everyone looked like you’d threatened to murder their first-born sons. Remember, it’s only called the Nightless City because they’re all insomniacs!”

“Oh?” Wen Ruohan said, arching his eyebrows and allowing his tone to become a little dangerous, just for fun. “Is that what someone has told you…?”

The entire room full of petitioners took a step back away from him.

Lan Qiren’s eye twitched.

He turned to Cangse Sanren and said: “Take him away before I throw something at his head.”

And then, to Wen Ruohan: “Take her away before I strangle her.”

“Shall we?” Wen Ruohan asked, offering her his arm. She jumped up and trotted over to take it.

“We shall,” she said with a grin. “You promised me a tour.”

Wen Ruohan was fairly sure he had done no such thing. And, indeed, the moment they had left the main room behind by some distance, Cangse Sanren said, quite casually, “The tour can wait. I want to yell at you. Where’s a good place for that?”

Wen Ruohan opted to lead them both back to his bedroom, since it would be private and he was certain that Lan Qiren, unlike his wives, would think nothing of him taking a woman there to talk. Also because he was feeling increasingly dizzy, and he preferred to be weak somewhere he had protected with many, many layers of protective arrays. Technically the sickrooms were similarly protected, but he had no interest in returning there – someone would undoubtedly come to find him there now that he was awake, and he wasn’t in the mood to listen to complaints.

“How long was I out?” he asked as they walked.

“It’s been a few days,” she said promptly. “Not too long, really quite usual. We had the senior doctor that Qiren said looked least likely to gossip examine you – Wen Dairong, I think his name was – ”

That was fine. Wen Dairong usually preferred research to patients, but he’d kept his hand in with doing the rounds in the sickrooms enough that his skills hadn’t deteriorated, and he was notoriously close-mouthed. Best of all, he was one of Wen Ruohan’s more trustworthy cousins, having always very obviously set supporting his beloved research as the price of his loyalty, and no one could meet that price better than Wen Ruohan.

He wondered if Lan Qiren had been worried when he found out that Wen Ruohan was unconscious. He was fairly sure that Cangse Sanren wouldn’t tell him even if he had.

“Anyway, he confirmed that there’s nothing seriously the matter with you – well, nothing the matter with your health – other than qi exhaustion. Well, other than extremely severe qi exhaustion.” She glanced at him sidelong and waited until they were in his room, with its privacy arrays activated, before she bluntly added, “You completely emptied not only your active supply of spiritual energy but also your reserves, and you dipped pretty heavily into your life force, too. Nothing that will cause long-term damage, but I’m telling you, you were dry. No matter how ridiculously quickly you accumulate more through cultivating – I’ve seen the charts, by the way, so well done there – there’s simply no way you’re getting back to normal until at least a few months have passed, if not more. Welcome to the world of us mere mortals.”

Wen Ruohan scowled.

Unfortunately, after he sat at his desk and took a moment to examine himself, he was forced to conclude that Wen Dairong was right. He didn’t just feel weak, he was weak – not quite down to the level of a common person, but certainly around the level of a common (if still very talented) cultivator. He had woken up too quickly and without guidance, and hadn’t realized the level of his weakness when he’d headed out. No wonder Lan Qiren had made such an effort to get him out of the receiving hall, with Cangse Sanren playing along to make it seem as though neither of them had any concerns for Wen Ruohan’s health or strength.

The information would get out eventually, of course. But their apparent dismissiveness would deceive people for just long enough – long enough to give Wen Ruohan a little more time to decide how to best control the narrative, to ensure that the rest of the cultivation world remembered that while he was weakened, he would only be weakened for a short while, and that in the interval he still had his army and nearly half of the cultivation world at his beck and call.

And also to remind them that when he returned to normal, he would be even more powerful – and extremely vengeful against anyone who dared to try anything in the interim.

“What happened with Qingheng-jun?” he asked Cangse Sanren, who had seemingly forgotten her plan to yell at him in favor of poking around the bedroom with an expression of profound interest. At the moment she was perusing one of Lan Qiren’s annotated copies of the Lan sect rules, which had been carelessly left on the bedside table after Wen Ruohan had grabbed it for a (purposefully rather ostentatious) consult during one of their more contentious bits of bed-play.

That had been a good day. Lan Qiren had been so incredibly annoyed to have lost the argument, and Wen Ruohan had enjoyed every moment of it – as well as every moment of Lan Qiren taking it back out on him later on.

“Qingheng-jun? He’s missing,” Cangse Sanren said, turning back to look at him. “Possibly after having some sort of nervous breakdown? It wasn’t entirely clear. Lan Qiren only saw him leave, and since then he hasn’t been seen anywhere, not even by his own sect, which is starting to be more than a little nervous about it…to make what is undoubtedly a long story short, I’d say our Qiren won that encounter hands down.”

“He hurt him. Lan Qiren’s face – ”

“There’s nothing we can do about that right now, so stop thinking about it. Between you and Qingheng-jun, which one of you just fought a mountain again…?”

Wen Ruohan rolled his eyes.

“The whole world saw you do that, you know. It’s going to have some interesting consequences.”

“Let it,” Wen Ruohan said dismissively. “How is Lan Qiren doing?”

Cangse Sanren gave him a look.

“Oh, yes, please, let’s talk about that,” she said acidly. “The Fire Palace? Really?”

“I concede that I erred,” Wen Ruohan said stiffly, not appreciating her insolence. How dare she think she had any right to scold him? “Also, this is a discussion I will be having with Lan Qiren, not you.”

She arched her eyebrows. “You don’t want advice on how to make up with him?”

On second thought, Wen Ruohan was a practical man from a practical sect; he knew how to be flexible when necessary. With someone as complicated and rigid as Lan Qiren…he could probably use all the help he could get.

He gestured for her to sit.

Cangse Sanren perched herself on his chair, once again resembling nothing more than an over-large bird, probably of a corvid or a vulture. She tapped her distinctive fingernails on his desk, drawing his attention.

“All right,” she said. “You’ve already gotten to the point of admitting that you fucked up, that’s better than I expected. It’s still not going to help you. You really fucked up.”

Wen Ruohan was aware.

“So what’s your plan? You have to apologize.”

Wen Ruohan grimaced.

“Apologize and be punished,” she clarified mercilessly. “The Lan are big on exacting justice.”

Wen Ruohan was aware. Unfortunately, he still wasn’t sure what type of punishment he could offer up that would actually mean anything to Lan Qiren.

“…Lan Xichen suggested I write an essay,” he finally said, all too aware of how pathetic the suggestion sounded. “Laying out what I did wrong and explaining that I wouldn’t do it again.”

“That’s not actually that bad of an idea. He’d probably find it charming,” Cangse Sanren said, to Wen Ruohan’s surprise, but then almost immediately afterwards she made a face. “Well, assuming you were actually willing to do it properly. What’s your proposal for the ‘never doing it again’ bit?”

That had also been the part that had tripped up Wen Ruohan. He was always going to be sect leader and Lan Qiren was always going to be just the sect leader’s spouse – even if one accounted for the unique husband and wife dynamic they’d chosen, there was always going to be an imbalance between them.

Wen Ruohan was always going to have more power.

“Become omnipotent and therefore no longer make mistakes?” he offered, only half-joking – he knew it was unrealistic, but the thought was so very appealing. He was already so powerful, surely if he only tried a little harder, he would finally get to the level where all his problems would be solved. Right?

Cangse Sanren groaned. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say. No essay. It’ll just make it worse.”

“I’m open to alternate suggestions.”

“Nice try. He’d know if it came from me rather than you, and I’m not the one you want him to forgive.”

That was extraordinarily unhelpful.

She hummed. “You are at least aware that at least one part of the problem is that you even have a torture palace to begin with, right?”

Wen Ruohan scowled at her.

“I’m just saying, it’s a lot harder to throw people into your torture palace if you don’t have a torture palace,” Cangse Sanren said with a smirk. “Also, have you ever considered knitting? Or embroidery?”

Wen Ruohan stared at her.

“You know, because you like stabbing things…?”

“Out,” Wen Ruohan said flatly. “Now.”

“Listen, if you would just get another hobby – ”

“Out.”

After Cangse Sanren left, Wen Ruohan opened a drawer in his desk and dug around until he found a very old set of acupuncture needles that he hadn’t used in any number of years, then got up and went to the garden to find a sunny spot to meditate. It had been quite a long time since he’d needed to cultivate the old-fashioned way, but he still remembered the tricks he’d used to do it faster than his peers. Though technically speaking, jabbing yourself with acupuncture needles to help you process spiritual energy faster wasn’t so much a trick as it was an incredibly unwise medical procedure. But that was only if you didn’t know what you were doing…

(He refused to consider if this counted as part of a hobby of “stabbing things.”)

He'd only been meditating for half a shichen when a noise pulled him out of it.

Several noises.

“Are you sure we’re allowed in here?”

“No one’s ever here during the middle of the day, it’s fine.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“Don’t be a spoilsport.”

“Is this really where Shufu lives now? It’s so big!”

Wen Ruohan opened his eyes and watched bemusedly as a small troop of children marched right into his quarters, with his own little Chao-er leading the way, looking pleased as punch with himself.

For a moment, Wen Ruohan felt rage swelling in his heart, the urge to lash out growing. How dare these children invade his quarters without permission? How insolent they were! He was busy. Didn’t they realize that he had to regain his strength, and quickly? If he didn’t, who would be left to defend his home and his sect –

Well, technically there was now Lan Qiren to do that.

Hmm.

There was something appealing about that.

He took another moment to observe the children, who hadn’t yet noticed him sitting in the corner of the garden. They were sticking mostly to the inside rooms, avidly exploring the various surfaces – the Lan boys were very proudly pointing out everything that visibly belonged to Lan Qiren, no matter how inane, while the other children oohed and aahed appreciatively, and Wen Chao was bouncing around and pointing out things that were characteristic of the Wen sect to equal appreciation.

Interestingly, Wen Chao seemed more comfortable with the younger boys, most particularly the Jiang heir, who he seemed especially eager to impress. It was an interesting choice, given the availability of the seemingly more charismatic Wei boy or the more mature Lan Xichen…or even Jiang Yanli, who was following the others with a surprisingly mischievous smile.

And speaking of smiling, Wen Chao was doing a surprising amount of it, almost to the point that Wen Ruohan briefly doubted that that was his son he was looking at. As far as he was aware, Wen Chao always looked either bitter or resentful, sulking like the spoiled princeling he was whenever Wen Ruohan wasn’t around and cringing and cowering whenever he was. He’d unfortunately inherited a solid portion of his mother’s stupidity, being both gullible and easily manipulated, and those traits in combination with Wen Ruohan’s prickly pride had led him to form grudges against virtually all of his peers in the Nightless City, many of whom had undoubtedly been given ulterior motives by their parents. It wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily, to learn to detect that early on. But unfortunately the result had been to leave him alone, making him a lonely and unpleasant child, willing to lie to get his way but not quite cunning enough to pull it off.

None of that was presently in evidence. Wen Chao looked happy.

How strange. Wen Ruohan had mostly written off his second son, figuring that children mostly resembled their mothers in childhood and their fathers in adulthood, that Wen Chao would therefore improve and acquire more of Wen Ruohan’s own traits as he got older and that there was therefore no point in bothering with him until then. But looking at him now – well, either Wen Chao had very abruptly matured overnight, which seemed highly unlikely, or else the presence of a group of his peers that were not only willing to spend time with him but actively intended to incorporate him into their group for reasons other than their parents’ selfish schemes was doing wonders for his personality.

Wen Chao was practically shining with delight, and with pride. For once, the habitual arrogance of the Wen sect sat upon him naturally rather than hanging off of him like an ill-fitting coat.

Much more like Wen Ruohan than his mother. Good, good. About time!

(Really, if this was the result of Lan Qiren’s casual instruction to his nephews to befriend his son, who by that point he’d barely even met, Wen Ruohan couldn’t wait to see how much active instruction by the man would benefit his son further.)

No, it was better not to interrupt. He wouldn’t want to ruin Wen Chao’s big moment, after all.

“What are these swords doing on the wall?” Wei Ying asked. “They seem pretty nice.”

“They’re treasure swords!” Wen Chao chirped. “Each one of them has a name and a history, a reputation – they’re all famous, every one of them.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to have swords on your wall, though?” Jiang Cheng sounded doubtful. “What if they fall off? Or what if someone comes in and grabs them in the middle of a fight…?”

“My father would grab them first,” Wen Chao said. “And then he’d kill them.”

Good boy.

“It would be awesome,” he added proudly.

Wen Ruohan smirked.

“But why so many?” Wei Ying wanted to know. “Don’t most people only have the one spiritual sword that they cultivate with…? Does your father have a favorite, or – ”

“Children!” Lan Qiren’s voice cracked out like a whip, making them all jump and scatter like a flock of startled pheasants. “What are you doing in here?”

“We were looking around, Shufu,” Lan Xichen said respectfully.

“We weren’t bothering anyone, Teacher Lan,” Jiang Yanli said, and Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying nodded furiously in agreement with her. “We didn’t disturb anything in here, either.”

“We just wanted to see where Shufu lived,” Lan Wangji explained.

“I told them you lived with my father,” Wen Chao put in, very proud. “They didn’t believe me at first, but now they do.”

From where Wen Ruohan was sitting, and because he knew to look, he could tell that Lan Qiren’s ears had gone pink. It was perhaps a little strange for a married couple with separate courtyards available to choose to share one instead – verging on shameless, really, since what it usually meant was that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Hopefully none of the children had picked up on that. Lan Qiren might die of embarrassment.

Also, if he didn’t stop blushing, Wen Ruohan was going to start laughing.

“You still should not have entered these rooms without permission,” Lan Qiren said firmly. “These are Wen Ruohan’s private living quarters. What if he objected to your intrusion?”

“That’s why we came now,” Wei Ying explained. “So he wouldn’t be bothered! He can’t be bothered if he’s not here!”

The children all nodded in agreement.

Lan Qiren blinked owlishly at them with a frown. “What do you mean ‘he’s not here’? He’s right over there, in the garden.”

“He’s what?!” Wen Chao shrieked.

Wen Ruohan smiled with teeth when the children finally looked over at him.

The next ke or so was spent in childish pandemonium – and Wen Ruohan trying and failing not to laugh – until Lan Qiren got tired of it all and ordered them all (excluding Wen Ruohan) to leave.

“And each of you will copy lines for half a shichen this evening,” he added sternly. “Xichen, you will be in charge of selecting which lines, but I expect you to pick something appropriate regarding respecting one’s elders and the privacy of others. Understood?”

“Yes, Shufu! Understood, Shufu!”

“Jiang Yanli, as the eldest, I expect you to both supervise and lead by example.”

“Yes, Teacher Lan. Understood, Teacher Lan.”

“Good. Dismissed.”

Wen Ruohan watched them go with amusement. “You speak to the children in the same tone you use for my lieutenants,” he remarked once the children were gone. “Or should that be the other way around…?”

Lan Qiren glanced at him only briefly, then turned away. “Get those needles out of your wrists. Words will not be able to encompass my displeasure if you manage to further hurt yourself in an effort to recover your power faster.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Wen Ruohan said, though he did remove the needles and get up to come back into the room. Why wasn’t Lan Qiren looking at him? Was this the result of the Fire Palace, now that Lan Qiren had had some time to think about it…? “Why are you here?”

Lan Qiren stiffened. “I live here. Am I unwelcome?”

Wen Ruohan hated the ungainly awkwardness that seemed to have suddenly sprung up between them. It had never existed before, not even right after they had first married – Lan Qiren had been earnest, then, and sincere, even though he’d also been recently traumatized. There hadn’t been any of this…prickliness.

This – wariness.

Wen Ruohan hated it, but he knew he had only himself to blame.

“Not at all,” he said, keeping his voice deliberately light, smooth. “I only meant that I would have expected you to continue to receive petitioners until later in the afternoon. They’re usually especially needy immediately after some major event.”

“I dismissed them early. I wanted to find you to discuss an important matter – we’ve received an invitation to go to the Lotus Pier.”

Wen Ruohan arched his eyebrows. That was unexpected. “What reason does the Jiang sect have to invite us?”

“Not just us,” Lan Qiren explained. “The entire cultivation world. They are holding a celebration…ah, no, let me explain from the beginning. It is about what happened in Xixiang.”

“…they’re throwing a party over it?”

Lan Qiren had the world’s most tired and long-suffering expression. “The cultivation world has unanimously decided that they did not, in fact, nearly go to war, but rather that everyone had merely gathered together to tackle the ghosts of Xixiang.”

Wen Ruohan felt a sudden headache. “Are you joking?”

“I am not. Everyone worked quite collaboratively against the spirits that emerged from the mountain. It is being hailed as an example of the cultivation world overcoming obstacles to unite against evil.”

“That is the most transparent face-saving lie I have ever heard in my life,” Wen Ruohan marveled. “My very, very long life.”

That got a faint smile out of Lan Qiren.

It faded quickly, though.

“Transparent or not, everyone has an interest in maintaining it,” he said briskly, shifting back to impassively discussing politics. “No one had time to question the ghosts, so the secret of the mine remains intact, and the excuse of a night hunt in the area happens to match perfectly with the lie that drew your army there – a large-scale haunting, which they were invited to help eradicate. The aggressive moves by Gusu Lan and Lanling Jin can then be explained away as mere over-enthusiasm and the result of unfortunate misunderstandings, particularly as both sect leaders retreated or left relatively early in the proceedings – ”

Wen Ruohan was deeply unsurprised to hear that Jin Guangshan had gotten spooked by seeing a display of what real power was capable of and ran away, leaving his forces to face the music without him. He’d probably spent the time comforting himself with his current mistresses and putting together a plan regarding who he was going to blame for having gotten involved in the first place. Maybe he’d even re-use Wang Liu, who had undoubtedly outlived his usefulness. Certainly that pathetic display earlier suggested that Jin Guangshan was absolutely desperate to get back into Wen Ruohan’s good graces…

“I have even heard,” and now Lan Qiren’s face was set in deeply disapproving stone, “that some people appear to be trying to claim that the misunderstanding was originally caused by an illusion array, possibly a ghost wall of some unprecedented type – ”

Wen Ruohan snorted in disgust. That sounded like the Jin sect all right. “Face-saving all around, then.”

“Yes, exactly.” Lan Qiren sighed. “The Jiang sect, for its part, wants no one to pay attention to the fact that a war was nearly started with an independent sect so close to their border, particularly since it quite evidently happened without their knowledge. Moreover, they are also using this party as an opportunity to make up for the discussion conference that was canceled…”

Wen Ruohan snorted a second time, this time in amusement. That wasn’t going to happen.

Lan Qiren hummed in agreement. “Unfortunately, this situation presents us with two issues. The first is that we do not know where my brother has gone or what he might do. Putting aside his future actions in their own right, he is still capable of sharing the details of what happened in the mine, which would by itself be devastating – he is the last remaining witness to the actual events of the mine, excluding the Gusu Lan sect elders involved.”

“I assume from that statement that you’ve confirmed that the merchant house that committed most of the massacre was put to the sword in turn?”

Lan Qiren scowled. “None of your record keepers were able to find any trace of them after that time, so I would assume so. Likely in the name of ‘justice,’ as we are dealing with hypocrites.”

Lan Qiren was still furious at his sect elders, it seemed. Quite reasonable.

At least he was displaying some emotion. Wen Ruohan was growing increasingly displeased with the neutral expression Lan Qiren sometimes put on, finding it far more hateful than his unvarnished rage. Now that he had seen Lan Qiren use that deadened face in public meetings with his political enemies, he no longer wanted to see it when they were alone.

“What���s the second problem?” he asked.

Lan Qiren glanced at him again – another fleeting look, there and then gone. “You have been invited as the guest of honor, on account of your heroism in defending the common people of Xixiang. It would be impolitic to refuse.”

Now it was Wen Ruohan’s turn to feel prickly. “Why should we refuse? Are you suggesting that I would be unable to attend? You think I am too weak, perhaps? Or merely untrustworthy…?”

“Ridiculous,” Lan Qiren snapped. “I had only thought that you might not wish to appear in public until you had had more of a chance to recover.”

Wen Ruohan sneered. “Yes, you’re just being considerate, of course. How could I doubt it? When you won’t even look at me – ”

Lan Qiren’s jaw tightened, and Wen Ruohan cut himself off. What was he doing? This wasn’t what he’d wanted at all.

He’d wanted…

“Cangse Sanren said that I shouldn’t write you an essay,” he blurted out.

That got a reaction, at least: Lan Qiren turned to stare at him. “An essay?”

“I asked your nephews how I could make you stop being angry at me after I – after a misstep,” Wen Ruohan explained. “Lan Xichen explained that if it was him, he would write an essay explaining what he had done wrong and expressing that he wouldn’t do it again, as well as proposing appropriate discipline to be imposed. But I could not think of what discipline would be appropriate, and Cangse Sanren said that offering to become omnipotent as a solution was likely to backfire, so – ”

He stopped again, but this time it was because Lan Qiren was laughing.

At first it was only a little, an incredulous little chuckle, but then it got stronger and stronger until Lan Qiren’s shoulders were shaking with the force of his laughter.

“Is this,” he wheezed, “your idea of an apology?”

“It’s not exactly an area in which I have a great deal of experience,” Wen Ruohan said, watching Lan Qiren’s face, all crinkled-up with good humor, and wanting desperately to kiss him. “On account of the fact that I am so rarely wrong.”

That just made Lan Qiren laugh harder.

Eventually he needed to sit down, which he did on the bed – quite promising, really. Wen Ruohan went and sat next to him.

“Tell me,” he said. “Have I beaten out Lao Nie?”

“Beaten…? Oh, you mean in being the most obnoxious man in the world?” Lan Qiren wiped his eyes. “Do not tell me you have gotten competitive over that. It is hardly a title anyone would want.”

“Perhaps I simply wish to be first in your thoughts.”

“Me and the rest of the world,” Lan Qiren said dryly. “I am well aware of your narcissism.”

Wen Ruohan had meant his statement to be romantic, but he had to concede that Lan Qiren had a good point. Also, he’d forgotten that there was no point in romantic subtleties with Lan Qiren; the man was too blunt and literal for that.

He’d have to be equally blunt in turn.

“Your sect believes in punishment that ends and absolves the error,” he said, because he still couldn’t bring himself to force the words I was wrong and I regret what I’ve done through his lips. “Is there something that would be appropriate here? I am willing.”

Lan Qiren’s humor slowly faded away, and he sighed.

“I do not think that it would be appropriate for me to suggest a punishment in this circumstance,” he said. “The purpose of punishment is twofold: deterrence and remediation. Deterrence applies both to the community at large, to show them what is wrong and what is right, and to the individual, so that they never again do what they know to be wrong. Remediation is a matter of balancing the scales of justice, repairing the harm committed so that the victim is appeased and peace restored. While punishment can be imposed and often is – discipline is generic, even-handed, applicable to all, a way to teach and to remind those who err of the importance of the rules that underwrite the basis of our community – it is a little different when punishment is being used as a means of penance. In those cases, voluntary accedence is the most effective.”

Wen Ruohan frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means that you will need to determine for yourself what the appropriate punishment will be. As the victim, I can absolve you of the harm you caused, if I wish, but that is only half of what you must do: there is still the question of deterrence. Only you can determine what you must do now to show your sincerity – what sacrifice you will make that would serve as both payment for the past and a promise to the future.”

Wen Ruohan scowled.

“There are any number of punishments that you can choose from. There are punishments of pain, where you show your sincerity through suffering the pain that you caused others or to use the pain to burn in the lesson to be learned; there are punishments of time, where you devote yourself to writing lines or essays or some other form of contemplation that encourages you to truly think about what you have done wrong. There are even punishments which consist merely of loss – loss of advantage, loss of privileges, or even loss of freedom…though I will say that I would greatly disapprove if you chose seclusion as a punishment.”

“Absolutely not,” Wen Ruohan assured him. “As a general rule, I try not to lock myself alone with my paranoia. It only makes it worse.”

Lan Qiren’s eyes curved in another smile. A lingering one, this time.

“Explain to me what this means,” Wen Ruohan said. “You won’t impose a punishment until I select one that is appropriate? Does that mean we are at odds until then?”

“No, merely that your punishment is not fully complete until you yourself determine that you have completed it. For the half that involves seeking to remedy the harm…” He paused briefly, then shook his head. “There is no need. I am willing to accept your apology and forgive you.”

Wen Ruohan stared.

“You were tricked,” Lan Qiren pointed out. “Anyone can be tricked. I understood at once what must have happened.”

“You were tortured,” Wen Ruohan said. “On my order. You shouldn’t forgive me just like that!”

“And that is why punishment is required,” Lan Qiren said patiently. “You cannot force me to forgive you, but you also cannot force me not to. It is wholly up to me whether I wish to bear a grudge, and I do not. But only punishment will adequately serve to make you believe it.”

That was true in one respect: Wen Ruohan didn’t believe it.

Or, rather, he supposed he did believe it, but it wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want Lan Qiren to forgive him because the Lan sect rules said Do not bear grudges. He wanted something else. Something better.

He wanted Lan Qiren to trust him again. He wanted Lan Qiren to love him.

And that meant, he supposed, that that was what the punishment was really for: to show Lan Qiren that Wen Ruohan meant what he said. That Wen Ruohan was serious, that hereally was sorry, that he really wouldn’t do it again.

Only then would Lan Qiren be able to really forgive him in his heart, rather than merely forgiving him in his head.

“I’ll think of something,” he said, and for the first time really meant it, rather than a half-hearted attempt to patch over the consequences of his actions. “Give me some time, and I’ll come up with a suitable punishment. One that even you won’t be able to say is inappropriate.”

“Do not underestimate yourself,” Lan Qiren said, sounding amused. “You excel above all others.”

Wen Ruohan should not have felt complimented by what was obviously an insult. He was, though. Just a bit.

“Though, on that note, I feel that we should discuss what you did with the mountain.”

Wen Ruohan arched his eyebrows. “I suppose, like Cangse Sanren, you wish to scold me for overexerting my strength and making a spectacle of myself?”

“On the contrary. I wish to praise you. You did a very good thing, saving the common people, and you did it at great cost to yourself.” Lan Qiren shifted a little, and Wen Ruohan noted that his ears had gone red once more. “Perhaps it is arrogance on my part, but I flatter myself to think that I played some role in your decision to do what you did – ”

“It’s not arrogance when it’s true,” Wen Ruohan said. “You’re right. I did it for you. Or – not for you. Because you would have wanted me to.”

Lan Qiren looked at him, and there was that strange emotion on his face again, the strangest mix of pain and fondness.

“That pleases me more than I can say,” he said, and Wen Ruohan smirked proudly. “Well, let it not be said that the rules are not fair. Just as they demand punishment for wrongdoing, so too do they demand that rewards be given for exceptional behavior.”

Reward?

Wen Ruohan brightened. A reward sounded good.

“Of course, we must account for the fact that you have been injured and rendered vulnerable,” Lan Qiren mused. “I would not want to cause you to feel any sense of threat from me, and also we must avoid causing you greater harm…I have been giving the matter some serious thought, and I think I have found a method that would work well.”

This sounded very good.

“Of course, it would require you to consent to being tied up – ”

Forget very good. This was going to be great.

[rayan12sworld]

💙but I figured it out, then made my way back

By:MichelleFeather

Summary:

It was an extreme, a desperate decision fueled by anger towards the entire cultivation world, a grief deeper than the deepest trenches in the ocean. The realization that Lan Wangji would now have to continue on living a second time without his beloved, where Wei Wuxian had died once again. Where, once more, his love had been taken from him by cruel, unrighteous men who thought they knew better, that they were doing the world a justice.

Lan Qiren had seen the state that his nephew had been in after Wei Wuxian’s first death, what Lan Wangji had done in his grief then, and he feared what Lan Wangji would do to himself if he was left alone with this repeated grief.

Chapter:7/7

Words:19,318

Status:ongoing

“Regardless, Wei Ying is Wei Ying, and I will always support any decision you two make. If this is your A-Ying, we will just have to expedite our plans, get him out of the hands of the Jiangs and back where he belongs - in yours.” Lan Wangji finally let out the sob he had been holding.

~

“Did you know you would come back with us?” Wei Ying let out a small laugh. “I was there when you activated the array. You didn’t really think I would let death take me away from Lan Zhan a second time, did you?”

~~

Zidian unfurled and was darting towards Wei Wuxian - only to be caught by Lan Wangji. He pulled the whip taut, seemingly unaffected by Zidian’s energy, by Yu Ziyuan’s attempts to pull the whip back towards herself. Lan Wangji flooded Zidian with his spiritual energy, the purple whip momentarily turning blue before Madam Yu slumped to the floor, her eyes wide as she stared in shock at the Lan. Her hands shook as she looked down at the ring on her finger, eyes widening as it no longer responded to her calls. The once purple hue of her ring, now a cerulean blue. No longer under her command. Yu Ziyuan swallowed, nodding as she arranged herself to sit properly in her seat. She wasn’t stupid. She knew when she was faced with a strong opponent. Yu Ziyuan knew that she wouldn’t last a moment against Lan Wangji, for reasons she didn’t quite understand, but she wouldn’t dare further challenge someone able to so easily take control of Zidian, of changing the very color of the heirloom, the very foundation of its spiritual energy’s focus.

~~so badass of Lan Zhan 👏👏👏👏

“I have seen more men to death than you can imagine. However, I will not be the one to end you, I will leave that up to your incompetency, your inability to control your wife, and lead your sect. There will come a day, Jiang Fengmian, that the Jiang Clan will fall.” Wei Ying held onto the Clan Leader’s neck before throwing him to the ground. “And I will celebrate that day as it will have been many lifetimes worth of karma finally seeking justice.”

~~

[rosethornewrites]

T & G reading since 9/23

Finished

Teen:

waiting to finally be caught, by Pyrrti (🔒)

a moment of rest in-between, a dream after loss, a morning during forever

and taste the stars, by lowlightt

“When a living person enters this place, there’s no coming back—for the body or the soul."

Timing is Everything, by Talayse

The Lan juniors and Lan Wangji find a young man unconscious in an array in a locked cottage in Mo Manor, Lan Wangji takes the young man into his care. When Wei Wuxian wakes up later in an inn, clean and cared for, the story takes a different turn.

Hand in Hand Together (All Your Life), by sami (16 chapters, part of 2 series)

He tells his sister, "There's a little boy in Yiling with no parents and he's in trouble. We have to go and find him." His sister smiles and says, "This is a good story, A-Cheng. Tell me more." "It's not a story," he says. He's frustrated by his own childish petulance, but he can't seem to stop it. "I'm from the future. I know." His sister laughs, and he glares, and then she clears her throat and stops laughing, but still has a small, indulgent smile. "Of course, A-Cheng," she says. "And what's this little boy's name?" "Wei Ying," he says, and his sister's smile freezes. "His name is Wei Ying, and his parents are Zangse Sanren and Wei Changze, and something bad has happened to them. Wei Ying is alone in Yiling and he needs help," he insists. Jiang Cheng starts again from the beginning.

Some Days You're Feeling Good, by sami (4th in a series)

Jiang Cheng turns and goes to bang his forehead against the wall, but Jiang Zhuliu has moved with him and gently puts his hand in the way. Matchmakers. In his previous life he'd driven them all away in short order, but the current prestige of the Jiang Sect has made them more persistent.

Subtle, by nirejseki

"Have you ever considered being subtle?" Wen Ruohan glanced sidelong at that-bastard-surnamed-Nie. "Are you suggesting that I'm not subtle?"

General:

Melancholy, by MissCellophane

noun :

a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

Or Wei Wuxian wakes up one day and mourns his parents.

Story of a Dream, by Bamboo_Gden (🔒)

She tried to shake away any sad thought, this was supposed to be a merry reunion, after all. A-Xian had always been someone very especial to her. A solace of gentleness and kindness within a house so filled of grudges and hatred. She knew it was the same to him. Blood didn’t tie them, but they were undoubtedly family.

Jiang Yanli pays a visit to her A-Xian to catch up with him.

but his smile never dimmed, by Stratisphyre (2nd in a series)

I told you he hated me. Probably for good reason. I wasn't in a good place. I wanted someone to fight with, and he was the only one who would oblige. - Wei Wuxian, "i really want to know (who are you)"

While temporarily teaching at Yungmeng University, Lan Qiren finds himself dealing with an unruly student.

How Like a Winter Hath My Absence Been, by stiltonbasket (50th in a series)

Eight years after Xiao Xingchen’s death, Song Lan makes his first—and last—journey to the Cloud Recesses.

I heard a rumor, by MissCellophane

Lan Wangji takes his son out trick or treating to a house that's surrounded by a rumor.

Or

"Wei Wuxian would be THE HOUSE to go to on Halloween, it always has THE BEST candy. He also gives you the option of getting a toy instead of candy if you want!

There's a rumor that if you wish the man with a red ribbon a happy birthday, he'll let you have TWO handfuls of candy instead of one! And give you a really pretty smile!" - my reply to the post that inspired this

Unfinished

Teen:

A Glimpse Into the Future, by Sal13

After Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian get blessed by a Lan Ancestor, the brothers each see a glimpse into the future. With the reality of their broken relationship and burning of their home, the Twin Prides of Yunmeng attempt to prevent that future from happening.

Can the brothers succeed with only knowing so little? Can Jiang Cheng prevent himself from becoming blinded by hate? Can Wei Wuxian come to terms with his future husband and son? Only time will tell.

After The Rain Stops, by YourLocaICryptid

Lan Wangji will wither to nothing without his mate; he knows this. Wei Wuxian cannot know about the bond. He knows this too.

Grand Master of Rogue Cultivation, by waterphoenix21

A Wei Wuxian raises A-Yuan fic! After Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli die a mysterious death, Wen Qing and the rest of the Wen Clan are found guilty and Wei Wuxian speaks in their defense. This naturally leads to a rift between him and Jiang Cheng. Then one night, the last surviving member of the Wen Clan is found asleep on top of Jiang Yanli's grave. Nobody knows how or why. But feeling as if he no longer belongs to any clan, Wei Wuxian decides to raise little Wen Yuan on his own, as he sets on a path to becoming a rogue cultivator, following in his mother's footsteps and seeking to find the mystical mountain of the legendary immortal, Baoshan Sanren.

A drop in the ocean, by ibuttermybagel

“How can you still stand on your legs after all you’ve done?” the voice had his head whip up. Eyes interlocking with those of the man he called his younger brother not too long ago. Angry eyes meeting those filled with nothing but sorry. “How can you still ask to be excused after bringing pain to so many?” (Or: The ambush on Wei Wuxian is stopped by Jin Zixuan and instead he takes all Wens and WWX back home. Wen Ning has enough and lets everyone know what he learned in drunken talks with Wei Wuxian.)

Serendipity, by midnight_soul (🔒)

Lan Wangji is tired of his family’s passive-aggressive persistence in his love life. He will not go on another blind date; the first two times were disastrous enough.

Wei Wuxian has had enough of his family telling him no one would want to stick with him, no one decent at least.

One trying to live his life peacefully and another wanting to prove his family wrong, how can their plan fail? They’re practically meant for each other.

General:

Once more, if only..., by Pure_Magic

A mysterious character, a powerful array and a dying wish. What could've been might not seem as complicated but the question stays:

What would happen if one knows a future that will never be? And does a change make a difference if the future that will never be has already scarred someone?

Alternatively, this is a time travel fic where WWX wakes up in his 12 y body after dying in the Burial Mounds. The story is from the perspective of others so it doesn't have key details as to what actually happened but the readers can guess!!

An Unforseen Shift, by Remma3760

Wei Wuxian found a resentful sword deep in the bowels of a famed beast. He took it. That turned out to be fortunate since, it would seem, the sword had more than one purpose. That sword was the key to their escape from certain death trapped in the cave of the Slaughter Xuanwu.