#lwj must think why i fell in love with this fool

[starsxinxthexbluexsky]

The Untamed | Episode 13 [You Like Mian Mian?]

⤳WangXian’s Favorite Scenes [13/∞]⬿

[tanoraqui]

tanoraqui

Still thinking about an au in which for some reason WWX and the Wens are left to just live peacefully on the creepy death mountain - some detente wherein they don’t leave the mountain ever and in exchange no one tries to visit ever. Borders patrolled by corpses and sect disciples. So A-Yuan grows up raised kind of collectively but mostly by WWX and Wen Qing (the one most likely to tell WWX that he’s doing it wrong), and learns healing-focused spiritual cultivation AND demonic cultivation, and then at some point starts sneaking out to be the terrifying force of righteous kindness he was always going to be

tanoraqui

Righteous kindness but also, like, having picked up WWX’s cavalier confidence (or at least some of the ability to fake it) and Wen Qing’s general attitude of Do No Harm But Take No Shit

Like IMAGINE

tanoraqui

In this au, despite the strict border-by-mutual-agreement that’s the only reason somehow no ones tried to attack, LWJ sneaks in like one a year so he and WWX can make eyes at one another but not actually say anything ever, and Wen Qing and LXC are both EXHAUSTED bc both their dumb little brothers (WWX is a sibling by adoption now don’t @ me) mope for like a week after EVERY SINGLE TIME THIS HAPPENS, and it’s been /over ten years/.

tanoraqui

Meanwhile Jiang YanLi and JZX are FINE, and JYL somehow keeps up some sort of correspondence with WWX - or at least, he’s faithfully managed to send a birthday present for Jin Ling every single year, and every time, JYL makes her son write a thank-you note and bribes some series of people to get it smuggled back to Yiling

tanoraqui

...which means, honestly, that Jin Ling is probably wildly curious about his uncle the evil demonic cultivator kept trapped within the terrible ghost mountain by the forces of Good and Right, and WILL sneak out one day to try to visit. Optimally, obviously, at the same time Wen Yuan is sneaking out to see the non-mountain world

tanoraqui

The optimal plot is that Wen Yuan ropes Jin Ling into helping him set up WWX and LWJ, because he, too, is exasperated at this point, and Jin Ling ropes Wen Yuan into arranging like a parent trap reunion for the Jiang siblings, and obviously there are monsters and undead to complicate it all

tanoraqui

They kind of acquire Lan Jingyi somewhere, somehow. He’s having a blast

There is a 100% chance that the first Adult(TM) to find them is Wen Ning and they just kind of rope him into whatever the hell is going on at the time

...you know what, I think this is just a good au where JGY fucking died at some point

tanoraqui

Maybe someone threw him down the stairs again and he just broke his fucking neck. WWX is still vilified but between Jiang Cheng not really wanting to attack and Jiang (Jin?) Yanli being AGGRESSIVELY against it, and dragging JZX along with her, they’re left in peace.

tanoraqui

Oh man and Jin Ling has YOUNGER SIBLINGS in this...

Hey for u: Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing can accidentally happen while the Teens are trying to get everyone else to meet

Today at 8:42 AM

@professorsparklepants

I love this it's so goddamn wacky

tanoraqui

I just want teenager-based shenanigans ft. surprisingly competent teenagers and all the adults running around like chickens with their heads chopped off

professorsparklepants

Jingyi: why are you two more calm about this than the literal adults

Wen Yuan: have you met my dad?

tanoraqui

Also to be clear it is not at all hard to convince Wen Ning to join Team: Teenage Shenanigans, bc literally ANYONE in the Burial Mountain village would probably be down if you were like, “we’re engaged in a conspiracy to make Wei Wuxian fucking admit that he’s in love with that Lan guy who visits a couple times a year”

professorsparklepants

"This is my father, and this is his sugar daddy."

tanoraqui

I kinda wanna say he goes by “Wen Yuan” more often bc he’s 100% the baby of the entire remaining Wen clan there, but his adult name or w/e it’s called IS Wen Sizhui, because WWX asked LWJ if he had any suggestions and LWJ said this while maintaining eye contact

professorsparklepants

OH MY GOOOOOOD

tanoraqui

They meet LXC and he figures out what’s going on in like 4 minutes, despite the teens’ best attempts at obfuscation, and instead of calling anyone’s parents is like, “okay, I’m in”

professorsparklepants

#1 wingman...

tanoraqui

Jin Ling and Wen Yuan are definitely both traveling under false names, too? Wen Yuan obviously can’t admit to being a Wen and Jin Ling is making a privileged but slightly helicoptered teen’s rebellious bid for freedom

professorsparklepants

His dad is panicking at home and Yanli is like "boys need their freedom :)"

I saw a post forever ago about how Yanli would be the most hands off parent & Zixuan is an only child who would panic every time his kid fell down

tanoraqui

With a side order of “my mother is the only one who’ll say nice things about the Yiling Patriarch and she always looks sad when she does so I’m going to sneak into the Burial Mountain and either drag him out to see her or force my parents to come get me”

professorsparklepants

"I'm gonna beat up the Yiling Patriarch" "why" "he made my mom sad" "okay proceed"

tanoraqui

^ actual real conversation with WenYuan

professorsparklepants

A-Yuan then repeats the same thing to Wen Qing and she has the exact same answer, verbatim

tanoraqui

Side note: Wen Yuan has never been scared of the undead in his entire life, and probably this will lead to getting into severely life-threatening situations when he doesn’t have more backup than 2 other teenagers

professorsparklepants

Oh absolutely

professorsparklepants

He's so used to tuning out the sound of sentry corpses that one jumps on him and almost punches his lungs out

tanoraqui

Also what if he took WWX’s sword, so he looks like a proper normal cultivator - honestly, what if WWX gave him the sword when he turned 12, or whenever one customarily gives a child a sword in this world. He also has a flute stashed in his robe somewhere but he does know how to use both

tanoraqui

But also, while obviously it’s very important that this is the sword he inherited from his father, it’s never OCCURRED to him to, like, strongly associate it with WWX, in terms of “this would be a recognizable weapon”? Chenqing the flute, obviously, but WWX just left the sword on a shelf all the time

professorsparklepants

He's very good at fooling people into thinking he's a normal rogue cultivator until he busts out the flute

LOL YES

tanoraqui

So the first time someone looks at him and is like, “That is WWX’s sword” he achieves, like, “Who’s Morales? [NOT THAT DUMB]” levels of blank-brained

professorsparklepants

It like, doesn't even occur to him that this stick named whatever will be recognizable to people until it actually happens

"this is the Yiling Patriarch's sword!" "... I've never heard of him"

tanoraqui

“What sword?”

professorsparklepants

KDJAKSNJS

tanoraqui

“Oh, THIS sword? I...found it. In a stream.”

tanoraqui

Also...at some point...once the teens have admitted their identities to one another...and possibly gotten into a couple other increasingly public shenanigans...they run into a bunch of concerned people searching from the Jin or even Jiang sect - JC being there would be PERFECT - and Jin Ling is like, “aaahh, no, I don’t want to be dragged home... kidnap me.”

WY: what?

JL: pull out the flute, summon a couple corpses, shout that you’re the dread son of the Yiling Patriarch, and pretend to kidnap me

WY: ...yeah okay

AND THEN THEY DO THAT

professorsparklepants

The dumbass energy...... off the CHARTS

tanoraqui

They’re 15 and neither of them has ever faced consequences but in...actually not too different ways

They’re 15 and neither of them as ever faced consequences nor most of the real world

Oh my god is Lan Jingyi the most sensible person here

They’re going to DIE

professorsparklepants

JXHAKAJAKKQHSJA

JC and Yanli immediately see through this probably

"dumbass kid just doesn't want to go home. I'll break his legs."

tanoraqui

I think Yanli does but I have minimal faith in JC’s ability to think logically at any time

He’s still angry at WWX for leaving

professorsparklepants

Stomps to Yiling to demand his nephew back & wwx's like "lol, A-Yuan left two months ago"

Okay my shift is starting later

tanoraqui

/snort

Though, bold of you to assume that WWX isn’t also running around anxiously somewhere like “oh god, oh no, my son is missing; I must find him”

professorsparklepants

Sizhui is a responsible boy, I don't think he would leave without telling at least ONE person where he was going

tanoraqui

Ok but it was Wen Qing who thinks it’s good for WWX’s health to stop brooding and go run around like a headless chicken instead, optimally if he runs into his totally-not-a-boyfriend-Hahahaha-why-would-you-say-that

Alternately it was, like, Granny, which, ditto

No one on this mountain is going to stop WWX from going out to cause trouble and hopefully get laid, is my point

tanoraqui

Also, the cultivation world has been basically at peace for 13 years and the reason is that this is an ideal AU where JGY is dead and whenever trouble starts to stir politically, NHS and JYL meet eyes across the room and mentally Rock Paper Scissors over who has to manipulate everyone into calming the fuck down

Neither of them actually wants this job; they’re just good at it and recognize both those aspects in each other

professorsparklepants

LOLOLOL

That is.... so goddamn in character

tanoraqui

concept: JYL and NHS are friends and no one else understands it, or attributes it to JYL just being that nice, bc NHS still generally acts useless

professorsparklepants

Nhs actively wants to be useless and life is conspiring to make sure he can't

tanoraqui

a little less dramatically useless, but why ruin a good thing when you're having fun and it's useful

professorsparklepants

Lol

tanoraqui

but JYL fucking identified him as Actually Competent one time when he couldn't hide it, so now sometimes they get tea together and bitch about politics and stupid people

professorsparklepants

He's the only person who can correctly identify when she's talking shit about people, because it's VERY subtle and her brothers & husband are too busy thinking she hung the moon to notice

tanoraqui

JYL striding into Nie sect HQ (whatever it's called) and tossing her coat over a chair. "You would not BELIEVE what my brothers are doing now."

NHS: *probably knows, because he's found that the minor investment of effort in maintaining a very good spy network pays major dividends in helping him avoid greater work* *immediately sits up and pours her a cup of very expensive tea* Oh, girl, dish.

professorsparklepants

Question: are they also friends with lwj...

tanoraqui

yes but he's obviously not invited to hte political gossip sessions

professorsparklepants

I'm trying to imagine lwj making eye contact with them at some meeting his brother dragged him to and both of them struggling not to break into hysterics

tanoraqui

but they both know that he sneaks into Yiling to visit WWX a few times a year, and every single time, JYL sits him down within a couple weeks and aggressively debriefs him as to her brother's condition

professorsparklepants

I'm sure she tried to get him to take treats in

tanoraqui

for sure

it's hopeless, though, bc there's no really predicting WHEN he'll go? It's basically just "every 4-6 months when LWJ's resolve breaks"

professorsparklepants

Too bad she's not a stress quilter instead of a stress baker

tanoraqui

she gets him to go at an actual arranged time, bearing pork soup, like once, for WWX's 30th birthday or something

professorsparklepants

:)

tanoraqui

omg lit brain: LWJ of course is hte WORST for getting gossip, but JYL has pieced together a reasonable amount about the people her idiot baby brother (#2) is now living with. And she's mildly despairing as to idiot baby brother #1's ongoing refusal to get married and have an heir or three. So she, if not actively connives, then certainly siezes the first available opportunity to set Jiang Cheng up with Wen Qing

tanoraqui

basically, this au is PEAK romcom

tanoraqui

...also, for max happiness, i'd like to think that WWX made some strategic raids to rescue additional Wen refugees and bring them back, so there's a properly populated village and they didn't all just die

professorsparklepants

!!!

Good... Good thoughts

Good because 1. more people die and 2. The Yiling Patriarch will attack your village and steal your people away!

tanoraqui

(romcom being exclusively adults-focussed; the teens initiate it all but Jin Ling and Wen Yuan are both so delighted to have an Additional (But Cooler) Family Member that they comfortably cousinzone each other instantly)

professorsparklepants

*nice*

tanoraqui

...i feel like i keep characterizing Jin Ling as an only child, when really he ought to have a small horde of siblings

maybe they just...couldn't conceive more. shit happens. pregnancy is hard.

professorsparklepants

That happens sometimes

[missholland]

“Shouldn’t I hate you? Can’t I hate you?”

“Why do you treat me like a fool?”

Jiang Cheng tearfully asked his adopted brother, and we could all feel the pain in his voice. He must have held on to these wonders for a very long time, even beyond the past 16 years when WWX was presumably dead.

JC grew up with WWX, and despite a rough start of having his puppies sent away, the two truly became close as a little JC promised to chase dogs away for WWX. I don’t have a brother, so I can’t personally relate to what it’s like living with one. I guess the fact that JC and WWX are same age supposedly make them best friends too. Male friends rarely sit down and talk about their feelings, let alone young men like these two. 

From the very beginning, we get to know JC as the more disciplined one and constantly looks out to make sure WWX does not cause any trouble. That makes a lot of sense, since JC bares the heavy responsibility of being the next Jiang clan leader, on top of enduring his father’s tough love and his mother’s unpleasantness toward WWX. For those who instantly fell in love with WWX’s free spirit, JC comes across as a massive killjoy.

Just think about it, the two did quarrel quite often growing up, as boys do. I’m not sure when it started, but WWX eventually develops a habit of not telling JC things. He could be seen regularly dismissing JC whenever the latter asks him a question. We got to see this several times during their studies at Cloud Recesses, and it’s likely JC justified it as WWX’s newly developed attention to LWJ. JC’s envy cannot be anymore obvious - from his rolling eyes every time WWX is around LWJ to snarky comments like ‘You’re so close to LWJ now, just stay in Cloud Recesses and don’t bother coming back to Lotus Pier’. As much as we all ship young WangXian, wouldn’t you be really upset if you were in JC’s position?

JC has a lot more to lose than WWX - his family, his clan’s reputation. Considering how his father tended to maintain a passive position whenever it comes to clan politics, JC would follow through with the stay-out-of-trouble mindset and prefer as least attention as possible during chaos. Unfortunately, that’s not how WWX operates. He simply cannot stand idly by when someone is in trouble. There is no such thing as ‘those irrelevant’ to him. If the weak is being bullied, he will step in to help in a heartbeat. This is why WWX is MUCH better off being a free agent like Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan. Once you live that major clan life, every step you take and every move you make represent your sect, not just yourself, no matter how many times you keep saying ‘Hey, you can slander me, but not Yunmeng Jiang clan’. JC knows this very well, and in his head he has to be the adult/bad cop to WWX as there is really no choice.

There is nothing wrong with having that ethos. JC just has completely different priority comparing to WWX, and that’s what he based on when making decision. JC’s intention has always been about protecting WWX, even after the event in Qiongqi Way. The reason for the downfall of their relationship comes from both sides: JC doesn’t know how to ask, and WWX doesn’t want to answer. Maybe because JC keeps go on and on about WWX better not bringing trouble to Jiang clan, WWX finds it more difficult to confine in him with his problems and eventually not tell him at all. Or, deep down, WWX already knows JC treasures completely different values. Hence, it is no use to share this sort of thing with him. That is obviously different from his experience with LWJ, as they made the same promise in front of Master Lan Yi in the cold cave and under the rabbit lantern. All of the above, in addition to JC not being conversationally gifted, keep the brothers further and further away until their misunderstanding becomes too deep to resolve.

I’m not team JC, but I feel for him when it comes to holding on to things. He remembers stuff and doesn’t let go easily. So when his adopted brother said ‘I will be your subordinate and assist you for life when you become clan leader’, that promise meant a lot more to him than the person who made (and broke) it. Besides, JC already lost his parents. With his sister getting married, he was practically all alone in rebuilding Lotus Pier and WWX’s help was supposed to be his greatest asset. 

But all he received in return is a flaky assistant who became depressed, drank all day, nowhere to be found when needed and just seem to give up life in general. JC probably considered him already having too much go on, and it’s just easier for him to scold others instead of holding back for one second to think ‘What happened to him? I need to find out and sort him out!’. We all know how everything went down after that, and it really echoes what JGY said to JC in episode 49: ‘If you had treated WWX better, none of this would have happened’.

Honestly, JC doesn’t deserve to be treated like a fool, which was what WWX kinda did to him. He started telling all of his burdens revolving WWX, from how WWX had always been winning in everything - from talent to chivalry, from the affection of their father/sister to the cost of their own lives. But that’s not the point. JC was aware of all that, but he was definitely never jealous of WWX’s qualities in a negative way. JC did not care about any of that, as long as WWX remained his loyal best friend/brother. 

This is where his actual deepest frustration unfolded - ‘What hardship could you not tell me’ is the most haunting question I’ve heard. JC knew there was a reason, but could not figure out why he was not the one WWX went to for help. He was getting to that point when capturing WWX in Qinghe, asking why WWX went elsewhere rather than Lotus Pier once he was resurrected. As ridiculous that question might be (I mean, would your first point of contact after coming back to life be the person who wanted to kill you before?), it was the confused and desperate little brother inside Jiang clan leader’s hard ass cover crying for answer from his former best friend/brother.

If there was ever any jealousy inside JC, I would think it gotta be toward LWJ. Sure, the closeness with WWX is one thing, but it’s weird to compare your brotherhood to.... you know, romantic/spiritual soulmate-level bond. I might be stretching this, but it just seems to me JC is somewhat envious of how LWJ can confidently (maybe, in his head, blindly) stand by WWX post-resurrection. 

The whole ‘oh you’ve been everywhere for 16 years looking for someone’ comment - I mean really JC, weren’t you doing the same too? The dirty look he gave LWJ when he took out Bichen and pointed toward Jin Clan’s guards to protect WWX at Jinlintai, when LWJ stood next to WWX against the cultivation world at Burial Mounds, when LWJ remained by WWX at Lotus Pier’s doorstep and even willing to wait OUTSIDE with him, when LWJ was taken to offer some incense to his family, and when LWJ still fiercely shielded WWX while having his spiritual power sealed at Guanyin Temple.

Deep down JC never stops loving his brother, but he’s just not willing to let go of the past. And sadly, he has probably never really believed in WWX anyway. A lot of people may not be able to stan JC, but it’s still heart-breaking regardless thinking about how his relationship with WWX deteriorates through time. I guess the only comforting thing is that by the end of the series, both of them can move on with their lives. And hopefully, whenever they think of each other, it’s only with the good memories of sitting together eating shijie’s lotus soup.

[weiwuxiian]

Because I am a fool and I love Lan WangJi with all my heart. This is all in LWJ’s POV. Even though I’m a WWX blog I’m posting about his family ok.

Objectives: 1. LWJ needs more love 2. I love family feels 3. Since Wen Yuan is introduced in the Eng translations lately, I felt like it’s appropriate to post this 4. Slight novel spoilers altho I feel like all of u might already know 5. Might add a bit and then publish it to AO3 maybe P.S:  Personal blogs please DO NOT REBLOG this post. Comments, however, are welcomed.

Lan WangJi took thirty-three strokes of whip marks to his back.

When the whips were carried out, all he could think of is that it also took thirty-three strokes to write his name. To write three letters: Wei Wu Xian.

Lan WangJi never uttered a single word, never even released a pained groan as the Gusu Lan Sect’s whip bit into his flesh. A loud whack resounding in the air repeatedly. Again and Again. Lan XiChen caught him biting down on his lip as sweat gathered above his brows, yet his expression remained passive, natural, as they always had.

He knelt in front of the altar for three long hours. And next, three years on bed awaited him.

Lan WangJi had fallen into a coma.

When he woke up, everything felt like a bad dream.

Lan XiChen was the first one to greet him. Lan WangJi sat up, his eyes drifting down to the thing in his elder brother’s hand. Lan XiChen had brought him a walking stick.

“You will find it easier to move around with this.”

Lan WangJi nodded, “Thank you, brother.”

It was difficult sitting up. Lan WangJi had never felt so clumsy before in his life until Lan XiChen grips his arm, helping him sit up and guides the stick onto his hand. For a long while, Lan WangJi didn’t speak. He only watched the concerned expression forming on his brother’s face.

“How long?”

“One week. Seven days.” Lan XiChen answers casually as if he’d expected WangJi to ask such questions. “Does it still hurt?”

“...A bit. It will heal in time. Brother need not worry.”

Lan XiChen’s look of concern never left his face. He added quietly, “Uncle is angry.”

Lan WangJi froze visibly, but only barely. His grip around the handle of the walking stick tightens as he answered with a determined gaze. “I know. I will explain it to him. However, my answer will be the same.”

“Why?” Lan Xichen let out a long sigh. His brother was impossibly stubborn, just like his uncle. After a moment of thought, he finally offered, “No need to see him. I will talk to him. He might listen if I beg.”

Lan WangJi thanked his brother the second time that day in their short confrontation.

After he managed to figure out how to walk with a stick, the first thing he did after he steps out of the Jingshi was to visit his rabbits. Over the years, they multiplied. Or rather, at first there were just two, then one day, another pair of white and black rabbit appeared. The two he originally had apparently found their mates.

Then from there, more and more rabbits began to appear.

They greeted him whenever he visited the garden at the black of the Cloud Recesses, piling up excitedly to greet him. Lan WangJi didn’t like to speak, and the rabbits couldn’t speak, preferring to show their excitement through their actions. Round, fluffy things gathered around him as he limped his way into the valley, leaving a small space between themselves and his walking stick, deciding the strange new object wasn’t something they should touch or topple over.

Lan WangJi found a tree and knelt beside it. His back still ached from those thirty-three whip marks.

When he sat down, his lap was immediately filled with rabbits. Of course, they missed him. He’d been in a coma for almost an entire week. Lan XiChen must have fed them for him.

“...”

Bright, golden hues stared down, and it seemed as though the rabbits had gotten used to his stoic, cold, facade somewhat and didn’t feel the same sense of intimidation others would have felt. Perhaps they couldn’t tell. Perhaps they trusted Lan WangJi’s touches that were soft and gentle in contrast to his face.

Lan WangJi patted them with a single hand, while his other hand held on to his stick.

“Lan Huan! Look after your brother!”

It was the voice of an elder of the Lan Sect. Hundreds of disciples were rushing out to gather at the bottom of the Cloud Recesses, apparently, they were ready to take down the Yiling Patriarch as a means to an end. Lan WangJi had woken up in the middle of the night with a blank expression, proof of being uninformed. But Lan XiChen’s own face contradicts his own. His brother knew.

“Elder brother, what is happening?”

“They’re doing what they should. We were given orders to stay out of it.”

Doing what they should? Doing what? The door was locked, XiChen standing next to it as if he was guarding it. Even a fool could tell something wasn’t right. Immediately, Lan WangJi reaching to the corner of his bed where he had kept his walking stick only to find it gone.

Immediately, he pulled himself to the window of the Jingshi, looking down below. Hundreds of angry cultivators and villagers were gathered at the bottom of the Cloud Recesses, angry expressions written all over their faces. Some holding pitch forks, lanterns, and torches; but the most eye-catching one of them all were the ones holding up wooden signs with red paint written in large, bold letters: ‘Kill the Yiling Patriarch’.

“...No.” Lan WangJi has always been composed, calm, but in this instance, he’d let out a word he hadn’t intended to.

Without his walking stick, he continued to drag himself stubbornly to the exit of his room. Lan XiChen immediately stood between the door and himself.

“Leave!”

Lan XiChen’s eyebrows narrowed. “I am sorry, WangJi.”

What does he mean by that?

He’s finally desperate. “Leave,” he repeated, attempting to shove Lan XiChen away, but his hand was caught by the elder of the two Jades.

“Master Wei should have expected this coming. There is nothing we can do. His errors have transcended his reputation, WangJi. Protecting him would mean going against the entire cultivation world!”

“I cannot care so much.” Lan WangJi shook off his grip, “Those people don’t know what they are doing!”

“Your body is injured to this extent; what can you do, and where can you go? Going alone would only mean killing yourself!”

As much as he hated to admit it, his elder brother does have a point. Lan WangJi reminded himself to calm down, to stop panicking, giving it some thought. “Look for Sect Leader Jiang.”

“Jiang Cheng? Jiang WanYin?”

Lan WangJi nodded. Jiang Cheng was previously the younger brother of Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi knew they shared an intimidate bond. Surely, he will hear him out and discuss matters with him? Surely, they could conspire a plan to rescue Wei WuXian from the fate that awaits him downstairs?

However, what had been a faint candle of hope were instantly blew out the moment he saw the look on Lan XiChen’s face.

“There is something you don’t know, WangJi.” Lan XiChen’s face looked pitiful. As if the moment he feared the most has finally arrived. “The raid to annihilate the Yiling Patriarch…”  he said, “...is led by Sect Leader Jiang.”

Everything was over in a day.

The Yiling Patriarch is dead.

Lan WangJi hasn’t slept since, and already, dark circles were forming under his eyes. It’s been three days since he was locked in his room, and finally, on the third day, a junior disciple was ordered to unlock his doors.

When the junior disciple walked into the Jingshi to serve their HanGuang-Jun his meal, he was greeted by three trays of cold food that were previously brought to his room before this.

But Lan WangJi was nowhere to be found.

With a broken branch as his temporary walking stick, Lan WangJi limped his walk from Gusu to Yiling and finally up the Burial Mounds. The stench there was unbearable to any ordinary human being. If given the chance, no one in their right minds would willingly settle down in such a place. Unless they had no choice, with nowhere else to go.

For two days he wandered the mountains with only his new walking stick to defend him. Bichen hung by the side of his waist. But due to his injury, he couldn’t use too much spiritual energy at the moment, so the need to unsheathe Bichen was kept at a minimum.

Finally, three days have passed. He found nothing. Except for broken items and houses Wei WuXian had kept, not a single corpse or sign of life was present. It was as if all traces of the Yiling Patriarch had vanished into thin air.

Batted, dirty, and tired, Lan WangJi managed to drag himself to a stump of a tree and sat on it, inhaling aggressively to regain all the oxygen he has lost while travelling here. His breath is the only sound that could be heard in the Burial Mounds.

It was Winter that year. Snowflakes had begun to fall, along with ashes from the fires and smokes of the siege that had taken place several days before. Mixing into one, black and white particles fell from the sky.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a child sniffing.

Lan WangJi immediately stood up. There is zero chance that it could be Wei WuXian. Lan WangJi recognized his voice anywhere, but this one also sounded familiar. Grabbing his stick, he quickly limped across the thin layer snow, following the source of the sound.

It led him to an old oak tree. In the heart of the tree, there is a hollow.

A child is wrapped up in a thin layer of cloth. The cloth was something familiar to Lan WangJi’s eyes. Only months ago, Wei WuXian was wearing it when they were having a meal together.

“A…..A-Yuan….wants…. A-Yuan wants Granny.”

A-Yuan…? Wen Yuan…?

“B-Brother Xian…. Brother Xian where are you?”

“Why haven’t... Brother Xian come back? A-Yuan…. hungry and cold.”

Almost instinctively, Lan WangJi took him into his arms, wrapping his own cloak around him. He immediately felt around his head, unsurprised to find that A-Yuan is having a fever. Like any child, especially since he was left in the cold and alone for many days, A-Yuan’s tiny arms clutched his robes as if he was afraid whoever the person has come to pick him up would leave him.

Wen Yuan barely managed to open his eyes, “Brother Xian…?”

“Mn.”

He nuzzled into Lan WangJi’s chest, burying his face in his chest. Within a few seconds, Lan WangJi felt the child’s grip on his robe loosens. Probably, Wen Yuan had either fallen asleep or passed out.

“We go home.”

Wen Yuan was still wrapped in his own cloak when Lan WangJi was carrying him, his tiny head lying on its side on Lan WangJi’s shoulder. The younger of the Two Jade of Gusu Lan was kneeling before the gate of the Cloud Recesses. Lan WangJi’s expression remained neutral, unfeeling, expressionless. However, his grip on Wen Yuan was tight and almost defensive. Several disciples had offered to take Wen Yuan the moment Lan WangJi returned to the Cloud Recesses, but he refused. The wounds of his back had split open once more after limping for hours without the aid of a walking stick and carrying a child.

Lan QiRen had been so angry that he only spared him a glance before turning away and returned to his room.

The last time Lan WangJi saw of him was Lan XiChen following after his uncle. And it had been twelve hours since.

The snow had gotten heavier. His hands were growing cold. But Lan WangJi held on to Wen Yuan, refusing to let anyone touch him.

“...”

The shadow of an umbrella overshadows his figure. Lan WangJi looks up at that and saw a junior disciple holding an umbrella, his eyes pitifully looking down at him with a mixture of confusion and sympathy.

“Go in if you don’t want Master Lan to discipline you.”

The junior disciple shook his head. He looked only about four or five.

“...” Lan WangJi didn’t know what to say, “...what is your name?”

“Lan JingYi.”

Lan WangJi says slowly, “Go in.”

Lan JingYi shook his head. Then, staring at Wen Yuan, Lan JingYi felt his head as well before he immediately withdrew his hand as if Wen Yuan’s forehead had burned him. “Is he sick?!”

Lan WangJi nodded. “Fever.”

Lan JingYi steps back a few paces before he ran into the Cloud Recesses, dropping the umbrella as he did.

Lan WangJi picks it up and holds it above Wen Yuan.

An hour later, the gate of the Cloud Recesses opens again. This time, Lan XiChen stepped out, bidding him to come in with a hand and a solemn expression although his usual smile is still there. Lan WangJi stood, shivered a little when his legs tried to adjust to a standing position after kneeling for so long. He looks around. Lan QiRen and Lan JingYi were nowhere to be seen.

Once he got in, Wen Yuan was immediately put to bed and nursed by the medics of the Gusu Lan Sect.

Two days later, Wen Yuan woke up.

“Who… are you?” the child had asked. “Who… am I? Brother Xian said no talking to strangers…”

Lan WangJi had been the only one by his bed when Wen Yuan woke up. He blinks in slight surprise. “...”

Had Wen Yuan lost his memories?

“Am I… not familiar to you?” he asked.

Wen Yuan stares at him with his large, round, toddler eyes and shook his head. “We… met?”

Lan WangJi nodded. “Once.”

“If you want to keep him, then he is your responsibility.”

Lan WangJi was sitting under the same tree behind the Cloud Recesses where his rabbits roamed. A wooden table was set before him, a brush and paper spread across the surface of the table. Whenever it was peaceful times like these, Lan WangJi spent his time writing poems about the scenery or practised his calligraphy.

It was as if the rabbits knew when to pester him and when to not. Such as now, they didn’t gather all around him like they usually would.

A moment later, Wen Yuan wandered into the same garden Lan WangJi was in. Rubbing his face, he apparently seems to have just woke up and decided to take a stroll in the garden.

Seeing Lan WangJi, he wanders up the small slump of hill and sat beside him, watching at whatever he was doing with keen interest.

Lan WangJi stared back at him, an eyebrow raised.

Wen Yuan appeared to be troubled, somewhat. After a while, he begins. “HanGuang-Jun, do you think Master Lan, Lan QiRen, hates me?”

Now, Lan WangJi understood but instead, he asked, “Why?”

“Um…”  Wen Yuan never thought he needed to explain in such detail, “He doesn’t look at me. During class, he never asked me questions or spoke to me. Have I done something wrong?”

Lan WangJi turned back to his paper and brush. “He does not hate you.”

“Then why he treats me like this?”

“...” Lan WangJi didn’t know how to explain that Lan QiRen hated him and not Wen Yuan. So he picked up his brush and waited for a moment before saying, “Would you… like to write your name?”

Hearing this interesting topic, Wen Yuan immediately dropped their previous topic. “Yes!”

So Lan WangJi settled down to work, drawing his brush over the paper. He never did ask Wei WuXian what the character of Wen Yuan’s  ‘Yuan’ is, so Lan WangJi used another character that also pronounced as ‘Yuan’, but with a different meaning.

He placed the brush back down when he was finished. On the paper, in large, calligraphic letters, were five letters.

                Lan Yuan

Courtesy Name: Lan SiZhui

[thexnightrainbow]

#:) :) wwx you're a pretty dumb#do you like mian mian. he likes you idiot don't you see the bitch face he makes when he looks at you obviously he loves you#lwj must think why i fell in love with this fool#but let's face it those two are just as stupid when it comes to feelings#and how close they are should kiss there is a lot of tension here

The Untamed | Episode 13 [You Like Mian Mian?]

⤳WangXian’s Favorite Scenes [13/∞]⬿