#wwx: our answer to jade legs

[lanwangjihouse]

[chirpycloudyrobin]

i actually cant stop thinking about this but like

au where lan an and his soulmate have tied their souls or at least part of themselves at their prime to the cloud recesses as a final, final defense for the place they called home. they would be released when their clan needs them the most, and the burning of the cloud recesses at the hands of the wen absolutely counts

lan an wakes first and this changes the entire trajectory of the war. the fire devastated much of the clan, but with lan an's guidance they had less losses compared to canon. qhj lives and lxc hid with the rest of his clan in secret caves within the mountains. lwj's leg is still broken but he recovers within the caves with the help of lan an

but where's his soulmate ? werent they supposed to wake with him ?

lan an waits but his soulmate doesnt appear. maybe theyve already reincarnated. maybe theyre still asleep deep within the ancient arrays of the main family house. nonetheless, lan an steels himself further and focuses on protecting and healing their clan. their soulmate will appear when theyre ready

(he does end up moping all the while though, terribly missing his spouse, the light of his life, the mother [gender neutral] to his children and clan, the yin to his yang, the-) (the other lans understand completely. their founders' love story has been nailed into them since the day they gained consciousness. it was understandable that founder lan would feel that way)

the question of "where is founder lan's soulmate" gets answered some time into the sunshot campaign, when the soulmate themselves appear with a very familiar figure in tow

imagine the actual comedy gold of an entire camp of cultivators seeing this one imposing figure, dressed in dark colours and cloud motifs, strapped with a bow and a guqin, maybe dripping with the blood of their enemies. and in their hands, being carried by the scruff of their neck like a disgruntled and wayward kitten, is the missing wwx.

lan an : welcome home, my beloved ^^

soulmate : ... stop looking at me im filthy !

lan an : nonsense. youre the most brilliant jade to grace this world, still

soulmate, absolutely not blushing : anyways i found this wayward brat when i woke up. i think he belongs to one of ours

wei wuxian : what the hell

lan wangji : ... (wei ying is back and hes alive and hes safe and hes in the hands of our founder's spouse and they said he belongs to one of us ??? is this approval from the founders themselves ???)

casually toying w the thought of wangxian being the second coming of lan an and his soulmate/cultivation partner owo

[trensu]

Episode 48: The One where JGY and SS Host a Pity Party and Everyone Wishes They Hadn't

The show just dunks us right into yunmeng bro feelings again

jc's all should i get on my knees and thank you?

and wwx is like i never wanted your thanks

and now jc is just spilling his insecurities all over the place

Blah wwx was always better than him blah blah everyone liked wwx more blah blah DADDY ISSUES blah blah blah

and wwx just looks more and more hurt as all this bitterness is pouring out of his little brother 😞

i mean even jl was like hey uncle, maybe don't do that???

lwj is glaring at jc the whole time ofc

and jc gets so mad he tries to start a physical fight EVEN THO HE HAS A GAPING STAB WOUND IN THE CHEST

which is actually quite hilarious if you ignore how utterly heartbreaking the yunmeng bros relationship is

thankfully jl and lxc hold him back (not that he could've gone very far bc again GAPING STAB WOUND)

and ofc lwj has to throw in his two cents

lwj: clan leader jiang. Discretion

oh lwj, a man of few words

Oh no, ohno, oh nooooo, jc’s starting on their oath oh god

“YOU SAID THAT I WOULD BE THE CLAN LEADER AND YOU WOULD BE MY SUBORDINATE. YOU WOULD ASSIST ME FOR LIFE”

“SO WHAT IF THE TWIN JADES OF GUSU ARE THERE. WE WERE THE TWIN HEROES OF YUNMENG”

*GROSS SOBBING*

CAN I TOO GET A GAPING STAB WOUND IN THE CHEST BC I'M PRETTY SURE THAT WOULD HURT LESS

OH GOD WWX'S EYES ARE ALL RED

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING. YOU TREAT ME LIKE A LITTLE FOOL."

OH THIS HURTS SO MUCH

that last bit, tho. i can't even hold that against him bc wwx DID lie to him. he DID neglect to trust him and his judgement. 

he took jc's choice away and made it for him, and that's not cool. 

and, like, i get it, I do bc i would probably want to do the same thing wwx did if i were in a similar situation with my own siblings

BUT STILL

jc: shouldn't i hate you? can't i hate you?

WHICH REALLY JUST TELLS ME THAT HE DOESN'T HATE WWX

HE WOULD NOT BE THIS TORN UP, THIS TEARFUL MESS, IF HE DIDN'T STILL LOVE HIS BROTHER AND WANT HIM BACK

this whole time jc is inching towards wwx, getting closer and closer until he's close enough to punch him if he wanted

Jc does make a sudden sharp movement towards wwx 

Which obvs has lwj jolting forward to protect wwx

But wwx IMMEDIATELY puts a hand on lwj's knee

jin ling darts forward to hold his uncle and is like, hanguang jun, my uncle's hurt!!

BC JC IS THE ONLY NOT EVIL AND/OR DEAD FAMILY HE HAS LEFT 

AND EVEN JL KNOWS THAT LWJ IS SO VERY WILLING TO HURT ANYONE WHO HURTS WWX

I AM HAVING TOO MANY EMOTIONS

jc's angry and hurting and is like i'm not afraid of lwj, come at me bro

lwj GLARES at him, brow furrowed and mouth pinched

jc: why? why wwx? why didn't you tell me?

oh god, he's not even yelling anymore, he's just fucking crying and i'm crying and there's just wet icky tears everywhere

wwx takes a shuddery breath and tells him it's bc he didn't want to see him like this

JC: you said i would be clan leader and you would be my subordinate. you would assist me for life. you'd never betray the jiang clan. you said it yourself

HE'S NOT YELLING. HE'S NOT EVEN ANGRY

his voice is weak, and shaky, and weepy and he's just so, so hurt

AND I'M A SOBBING MESS

and wwx swallows passed the lump in his throat but his voice still sounds a bit raw when he speaks

wwx: i'm sorry. i broke my promise.

FUCK 

FUCKING HELL

MY YUNMENG BROS

jc: we've reached this point. i don't need your apology now. i'm not that delicate

STFU JC, YOU BALD-FACED LIAR, "NOT THAT DELICATE" 

YOU'RE AS MUCH OF A SOBBING WRECK RN AS I AM

GET A THERAPIST JC

"NOT THAT DELICATE" I'M GONNA PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE IS WHAT I'M GONNA DO. GOD. NOT THAT DELICATE

JC: i'm sorry

*sobsobsobsob* MY YUNMENG BROS

wwx: don't apologize to me. that's what i owed the jiang clan.

here wwx closes the distance between them to place a hand on his brother's arm

HUG HIM GOD DAMN IT, LET MY YUNMENG BROS HAVE A PROPER HUG

wwx: as for this matter, please don't keep it in your heart.

and he goes on to say smth like i know you probably won't let go, but it's water under the bridge, that was all stuff that happened in my past life

AND THEN HE REACHES UP AND GENTLY WIPES AWAY JC'S TEARS WITH HIS THUMB

AND GIVES HIM A SWEET LITTLE SMILE

AND I'M DYING. MY HEART HURTS SO MUCH I'M DYING

I SHOULD'VE KEPT A BOX OF TISSUES NEAR ME, MY SLEEVES ARE ALL SNOTTY AND DISGUSTING NOW, DAMN IT ALL

AND THAT WAS ONLY THE FIRST 10 MIN OF THE EPISODE WTF

I’VE BEEN REDUCED TO A SNIFFLING WEEPING MESS IN 10MIN FLAT WTF 

yunmeng bro moment ends (thank god) and we cut to the next scene where nhs is oh so conveniently regaining consciousness

now all the diggers are screaming to remind us that oh yeah, there's like Plot Stuff here, it's not just about the yunmeng bros

ss gives jgy some meds bc he's hurt or smth, who gives a damn

our boys follow jgy back to the dig site for Plot Reasons

and SURPRISE!! we have nmj's no-longer-headless dead body!!

lwj and wwx look at each other like WTF??

oooooh boy, nhs gave jgy the dirtiest look

wwx is being Clever again and pointing out Plot Relevant Things 

ss gets all offended and holds wwx at sword point 

but there's lwj with bichen in its scabbard, one step in front of him and ready to block anything ss sends their way bc lwj is not gonna let wwx get hurt if he can help it

ss is all like wwx you set him up! And wwx’s face is like, i aint even bovvered

wwx: i'm saying this with all modesty, but if i were the one who set him up, i'm afraid he wouldn't have just gotten one arm hurt

HOT DAMN

LOVE MY SUNSHINE BOY

and here my sunshine boy is being all Clever again and laying out all the facts and explaining how there's a 3rd party involved in all this

LOLOLOL HE'S REALLY PLAYING THIS UP FOR JGY TOO

he's like, there might be a predator behind you, the guy who's been spying on you this whole time...HE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE HUMAN

oh wwx, so Dramatic™

but hey it's working bc jgy looks spooked as hell

LOLOLOL

HE SEES JGY START FREAKING OUT AND HE LOOKS OVER TO LWJ AND GRINS AT HIM LIKE, HEY LAN ZHAN, SEE WHAT I DID, LOL, I SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS LOSER, DID YOU SEE? 

oh, now wwx and jc are bound by the wrists but not lwj, for some reason? 

Which, rude, why deny lwj the chance to be tied up? Let him try new experiences! What if he likes to be tied up? 

NOW HE’LL NEVER KNOW BC YOU DIDN’T LET HIM TRY IT

jgy and ss have a moment that i don't care about but i have to mention it

bc RIGHT AFTER we see our precious beautiful sunshine boy lean WAY into lwj's space to talk shit about them

like, seriously, just a couple inches more, and wwx would be resting his cheek on lwj's shoulder 

IT'S WONDERFUL AND I WISH HE'D GET EVEN CLOSER

shockingly, lwj is NOT as distracted as i would be having wwx that close 

bc he's studying ss and SUDDENLY SEES HE'S GOT THE HUNDRED-HOLES CURSE ON HIM 

which btw, EWW?? THAT'S THE GROSSEST THING EVER 

I REALLY WISH THEY'D STOP SHOWING IT SO MUCH BC IT MAKES MY SKIN CRAWL

he tells ss to turn around to get a better look and wwx sees it too!! he's like, IT WAS YOU!!!

and for the audience's benefit, nhs goes to lxc and is all what's going on???

lxc and jc gives some exposition about blah blah blah stuff we know about already

amidst all this we keep getting shots of wwx looking stunned and hurt (but still oh-so-beautiful)

wwx: jgy, i didn't do anything against you back then. we were not even that familiar. you wanted to kill jzx. why did you push that on me?

HE LOOKS SO HURT AND ANGRY AND CONFUSED BC WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HIM? WHY DID JGY HAVE TO USE HIM??

and lwj is watching wwx while he shouts this and god how can he stand watching his soulmate be hurt over and over and over again?? HOW DOES HE COPE?

jgy does a mini Rant of Evil Explanation and ss does a rant about classism

which, if said by literally anybody else, i'd say hm, yes, you have a point 

but bc it's said by ss, a spineless coward who never takes responsibility for his own actions, i'm like STFU SS

omg lolololol

ss: would i have been swept out of lan clan like a pile of leaves [if I were highborn]??

AND ICE PRINCE LWJ ANSWERS ALMOST BEFORE SS COULD FINISH ASKING

lwj: Yes.

AND THEN HE LOOKS SS DEAD IN THE EYE

lwj: betrayers won't be tolerated by the lan clan

HELL FUCKING YEAH

YOU WEREN'T KICKED OUT BC YOU WERE LOW-BORN, SS

YOU WERE KICKED OUT BC YOU'RE A TRAITOROUS COWARD

and like, i need to point out that lwj is sitting cross legged on the ground right now (along with wwx, ofc) and ss is standing over him while ranting

and YET, the way lwj holds himself and the way he speaks, does in no way indicate that he's at a disadvantage here

dude's unflappable. JADE OF LAN, INDEED

ss is like i am so sick of your condescending attitude

then he's like just bc i made that one little mistake you could never forgive me!!

FUCKING EXCUSE ME??? 

LITTLE? LITTLE MISTAKE??? 

HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED BC OF YOU SS?

HOW MANY DIED BC YOU BETRAYED THEM??

ss continues to rant and starts to go off his rocker

and then wwx starts to laugh but it's not a happy laugh

it is, in fact, a laugh very similar to the laugh we heard in The One where the Moonlit Rooftop Betrays Us

ss is like, what's so funny???

wwx: nothing. i just didn't expect...

AND HE'S GETTING TEARY HERE EVEN AS HE LAUGHS

WWX: i didn't expect you to get so many people killed just for...just for this

HE LOOKS SO DISILLUSIONED

MY POOR PRECIOUS SUNSHINE BOY

THE WORLD KEEPS DISAPPOINTING HIM

omg i want to RING JGY'S NECK WITH ZIDIAN

HE'S GETTING ALL UP IN WWX'S FACE

TELLING HIM THAT NO MATTER HOW KIND OR CHIVALROUS HE IS, HE WILL ALWAYS BE BLAMED FOR ANY BAD THING THAT HAPPENS, THAT NO ONE WILL EVER BELIEVE OR TRUST HIM

FUCK YOU JGY I HATE YOU SO MUCH

MY POOR SUNSHINE BOY IS TREMBLING WITH RAGE

bc he knows it's true. ppl really ARE always going to suspect the yiling patriarch.

oooh, jc just defended his brother! sort of.

But it has the unfortunate side effect of drawing jgy’s attention

so now jgy is cutting into jc

god jgy talks a lot. stfu jgy.

wwx has been teary eyed on and off this entire episode so far but hasn't actually cried

but jgy is now belittling all of jc's work, all the effort he put in to rebuilding lotus pier, implying that he wouldn't have been able to do if not for wwx

and that's the breaking point, that's what makes wwx finally shed a tear.

lwj is watching wwx, as always, and sees wwx cry

he must feel utterly helpless

ooooh, MY CLEVER SUNSHINE BOY

EVEN AMIDST ALL THIS TERRIBLE EMOTIONAL PAIN, HE PICKED UP ON JGY'S TRIGGER WORD(S)

wwx: just a "son of a whore" made you talk so much

oooh jgy tries to leave but wwx stops him in his tracks by asking him how he killed nmj

and then he's like "aren't you afraid?"

CHILLS, MAN, I'M GETTING CHILLS AT HOW HE DELIVERS THIS

SO CALM, COOL AND COLLECTED YET TINGED WITH A THREAT

jgy: afraid of what? (lol he whirls around angrily like the Drama queen he is)

wwx leans forward and looks him dead in the eye

wwx: afraid of him coming back to you

AND THE SMIRK HE WEARS

THAT'S THE SMIRK OF THE YILING PATRIARCH 

He smirks and leans back against the pillar, all easy and relaxed while jgy looks freaked the fuck out

and then

THEN

WWX STARTS TO WHISTLE

RESENTFUL ENERGY COMES IN TO STROKE AT JGY'S ARM ALL MENACINGLY

I'M GETTING CHILLS ALL OVER 

THIS IS SUCH A BADASS MOVE ON WWX'S PART

and also, holy shit do i enjoy those close up shots of wwx's eyes and his beautiful beautiful lips

the sound team did a great job making those whistles sound super eerie, btw

i can't get over how cool and confident wwx looks here

he's not worried or bothered AT ALL, this is him doing what he does best

Wait, do i have a competency kink…?

LOL JGY JUST GOT BITCHSLAPPED BY RESENTFUL ENERGY, LOVE IT

wwx has stopped whistling now, which is unfortunate bc that means no more extreme close-ups on wwx's gorgeous features

jgy: yiling patriarch, you're worthy of your title, aren't you?

YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT HE IS!

Okay yeah, i guess i have a competency kink now, THANKS A LOT WWX

FUCKING SU SHE JUST TRIED STABBING WWX

LWJ TO THE RESCUE, HELL YEAH

OUR MAN HANGUANG JUN LEAPS TO HIS FEET AND NOT ONLY BLOCKS THE STRIKE

HE FREAKING SLICES SU SHE'S WEAK ASS SWORD IN TWO 

THEN FOLLOWS UP WITH A SLICE AT SU SHE'S WRIST

I LOVE YOU HANGUANG JUN

Lwj calmly goes over to wwx and slices off the ropes that were keeping his wrists tied and does the same to jc

wwx goes up to jgy (who's held at sword point by lxc) and calmly takes his weapons

wwx: jgy, hand it over. it's not of much use in your hands.

with a deceivingly dainty clink, Plot Device 3 rolls out of jgy's sleeve and into his hand

then he lets it fall to the ground bc he's a petty bitch that way

we get to see wwx being all Smart Detective and revealing just how long jgy has been planning all this 

jgy’s all like even between me and xy we could only create Plot Device 3 half as powerful as Plot Device 2

LOLOL THAT'S BC THE TWO OF YOU ARE WORTHLESS HACKS.

WWX HAS MORE SKILL AND TALENT IN HIS PINKY FINGER THAN THE BOTH OF YOU COMBINED

man there's a lot of Plot Exposition happening and lxc is having Feelings about it.

DON'T FUCKING LOWER YOUR SWORD LXC WHAT ARE YOU DOING

look lxc, i don't mean to sound cruel or heartless or whatever, but omg i do NOT CARE about your complicated Emotions right now

NOT WHEN IT'S GIVING JGY THE OPENING TO MANIPULATE AN ESCAPE

jgy is now being like "oh, i was wrong" and acting all pitiful and TOTALLY PLAYING LXC FOR A FOOL (AGAIN)

wwx: hey, jgy, can't we stop talking? let's just fight? can we just start killing each other?

LOLOLOLOLOL 

HE TOTALLY SAW THAT JGY WAS MANIPULATING THE SITUATION AGAIN AND IS LIKE, NOPE, NOT DOING THAT AGAIN

LESS WORDS MORE SWORDS PLZ

LIKE, MY BOY IS JUST DONE. HE IS DONE WITH THIS. LET'S GET TO THE FIGHT NOW THX.

jgy ignores this and keeps talking to lxc AND OMG WWX'S FAAAAACE IS CRACKING ME UP 

GOD WORDS ARE NOT GONNA DO IT JUSTICE

HE JUST LOOKS AT JGY FOR A SECOND LIKE, SRSLY BRO? BEFORE ROLLING HIS EYES AND SCRUNCHING UP HIS EYEBROWS LIKE "CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE THIS GUY, JFC"

IT'S SO FREAKING FUNNY OMG

meanwhile jgy continues to throw a pity party that no one likes and the episode ends

There really wasn’t much wangxian time in this episode, fucking jgy and ss decided to HOG ALL THE SCREEN TIME, THOSE PATHETIC WHINY ASSHOLES

but we got a lot of Yungmeng Bros which was painful but waaaay better than anything jgy or ss has to offer

Return to Masterpost

[oneiriad]

For MDZS promt; There is something much worse than ferocious corpses and resentful energy in the Burial Mounds, it is hopefully the last resting place of a tainted and hurting divine creature. When WWX is dropped to the BM it makes a note of him and when WWX comes back it makes itself known. The creature is old and jaded but it also likes WWX and the Wens and appreciate their efforts to purify the land. What do you think would happen if Jin other sects attacked BM in this au? Thanks ☺️

A/N: Probably not what you were looking for, but have a crossover with a bit of Chinese lovecraftiana, Oobmab’s “The Flock of Ba-Hui”, because I’ve been reading a certain short story collection.

******

It’s Wen Yuan who finds the crack.

It’s deep within the cave that Wei Wuxian has named the Demon Slaughtering Cave, hidden in a shadow and halfway behind a large rock. It really is the sort of thing a small, curious child is far more likely to find than an adult.

It’s Wei Wuxian who finds that while the crack itself is barely large enough for a somewhat thin adult to squeeze through, behind it is far more space, as it opens into what appears to be a somewhat rough-hewn tunnel sloping downwards.

Well, technically Wen Yuan is the one to find it, except Wei Wuxian is the one to bring a light talisman along when he goes to fetch a crying A-Yuan who can’t find his way back and has sat down inside the tunnel.

Of course, once his Xian-gege is with him, Yuan is soon comforted and not at all inclined to go back. He wants to explore, and so does Wei Wuxian. Perhaps bringing a small child along is a choice Wen Qing will stab him with her needles for later, but - he’s got his flute and all the resentful energies of the Burial Mounds. What could go wrong?

So they walk together down the sloping tunnel, followes it as it meanders first to the right, then to the left, then right again, undulating their way deeper under the mountains.

At the end of the tunnel is a cave, and in that cave is an altar. The walls are covered in half-faded murals of fantastical things, that seem almost and yet not quite human - too large, too feral, too - wrong in sundry, subtle ways.

Wei Wuxian does not spare them much notice, though, because there are things on the altar - a bowl of rice and one of fruit as vividly coloured as gems and a single, burning incense stick.

If he’s any judge, it was probably lit - a very short while ago.

Worryingly short.

He tells Yuan to stand behind him, backs the both of them back to the tunnel they came from, and lifts Chenqing to his lips, but nothing stirs.

“Xian-gege,” Yuan whines, having gotten bored fast. “I’m hungry!”

The fruit is clearly a sacrifice to whichever ancestor or god this cave is dedicated to, but - well. Wei Wuxian bows to the altar and apologizes, putting two of his finest talismans on the altar and takes the bowl of fruit to share with Yuan. They settle down by the tunnel and lose track of time for a bit.

They smell it first - a musty smell, though not unpleasant. Then they hear it, a faint noise of something scratching, of small stones being disturbed by something’s passing.

Finally, they see it as it rises behind the altar.

At first Wei Wuxian thinks it’s just a snake. Perhaps a measuring snake, like those the Peacock had thought to impress his shijie with back on Phoenix Mountain. Some form of yao, anyway.

Then he sees the arms. The hands, thin, long fingers tipped with claws, holding a handful of unlit incense sticks.

The snake, in turn, sees him. Sees them.

For a moment all is frozen except the snake-person’s flickering purple tongue. Then - as Wei Wuxian watches, Yuan clinging to the back of his leg and breath ready to blow a tune - it puts down the incense sticks, lifts its arms and bows in polite greeting.

***

“I don’t trust them!” Wen Qing states, firmly.

Wei Wuxian doesn’t argue. He did that days ago, when he and Yuan came out of the Demon Slaughtering Cave laden with baskets of fruits they could not name, bearing the news of their strange, but very polite neighbours.

The snake people have so far proven to be excellent neighbours indeed. They’ve brought gifts - cloth, farming tools, and of course food. Fruits, mushrooms, even dried meat - some form of pork, Wei Wuxian thinks.

They haven’t been to visit, though. The crack that connects their tunnel with the Demon Slaughtering Cave is too narrow for their serpentine bodies. But that’s alright. Wei Wuxian is happy to spend hours in the temple cave, listening as they tell their stories - of an ancient god, Ba-Hui, who sleeps deep beneath the mountain, about pilgrimages slithering through tunnels that a human would find all but impossible to journey through.

In sibilant voices, they tell him of a human kingdom long past, of sharing their alchemical secrets and their worship with people from the surface. Of having come together as something greater than their parts, and of how it ended, in blood and tears and flight deep, deep underground, as the neighbouring kingdoms took up arms and brought war and fire to their homes.

Wei Wuxian dreams of Lotus Pier that night, of the Cloud Recesses, of faceless armies of Wen cultivators.

And still, Wen Qing speaks against them, their kind neighbours. Several of the Uncles have gone into the caves to light incense in the temple cave and say prayers of thanks to the great Ba-Hui, and barely a day goes by without Yuan talking either Wei Wuxian or his uncle Wen Ning into letting him go below. He is endlessly fascinated by the snake people, and they in turn seem fascinated by him, letting him climb all over them as they carry on sibilant conversations, as they offer him more of those gem-like fruits and pinch his cheeks as he laughs.

Wei Wuxian almost gets a little jealous, sometimes.

But only almost.

“We do not have children, not like humans do,” they explain. “Our new brethren are fully formed upon their first shed, as Ba-Hui wills it.”

***

When the invitation to Jin Ling’s one-month celebration comes, they are delighted for him. They bring him jade from their home in the depths for him to make a suitable present, and they encourage him to bring the child back to the Burial Mounds for a visit.

They offer to take him to Lanling along their paths, deep beneath the world, but he refuses. He walks in the sunlight with Wen Ning by his side and his world begins to fall apart.

***

He hears them as he lies paralyzed in the cave.

If he could turn his head, he thinks he might see a grey-green arm trying to reach through the crack at the back of the cave.

He hears them scratching, claws against rock.

He doesn’t look back once as the third day comes and he runs out of the cave, barely takes the moments to reassure Yuan, safe in Granny’s care, that he’ll be back, before he leaves the Burial Mounds, far too late.

***

Lan Wangji brings him back to the Demon Slaughtering Cave, because where else would he bring him? He tells a weeping Wen Yuan to hide, and then he walks out, Bichen and Wangji at the ready, to defend the two of them.

The snake person, the old priest with the scales gone greyer than any of the others, slides out of the crack, enlarged by sheer tenacity, large enough to let a snake person through.

It rises above where Wei Wuxian sits, ignoring his furious shouts at everything and nothing in favour of wrapping its arms around the scared Yuan.

Then it starts to sway, raising its voice in something a bit like a hiss and a bit like a song and perhaps most of all like the whistling of a flute, and Wei Wuxian finds himself grow calm.

Grow cold.

“Come,” the snake person says and Wei Wuxian does, without a glance towards the cave opening and beyond, without pause for the sounds of ringing blades and screams that he cannot hear.

Once they are past the temple cave they carry him.

The tunnels are dark, and undulating. They’d be impossible to climb or crawl through, for a man, but the snake people move fast and sure, and Wei Wuxian and Wen Yuan are safe in their arms.

Far below the world they are taken.

The old priest sings to him as they travel, sings to him of the god Ba-Hui, of the rites of his priesthood, of the great gift. Sings the names of those who have been on this pilgrimage before him, and somewhere in the dark he hears the voices of his brothers-soon-to-be answer to the names.

Eventually they reach their destination and it is a cave of enormous proportions, strange crystals reflecting light to let him and see, and oh, he sees.

The snake is gigantic. The Xuanwu, horror that it had been, was like nothing compared to the snake.

Compared to Ba-Hui.

They carry him to the god and he watches as the jaws open, and somewhere he can hear Yuan crying. He’d like to turn around, like to reassure the boy that all is well, that this is right, but finds that he cannot.

The jaws shut around him, down here at the deepest part of the world.

And he is reborn.

***

Lan Wangji returns to the Burial Mounds for the second time when the three years of his seclusion comes to an end.

He knows there’s nothing to find. He knows that - others have searched, covered every inch of the Burial Mounds to find the hated Yiling Patriarch. He himself searched the caves and the area around the settlement, searched every nook and cranny, but found nothing.

No sign of Wei Ying and no sign of the child he’d left with him,

He does not expect today to be different.

He’s carrying two tablets, carefully carved in the finest wood. He’s carrying incense, and paper money, and jars of Emperor’s Smile.

He’s carrying a toy butterfly.

He’s making his bows, offering his prayers for the dead when he hears a noise behind him, like many stones sent tumbling, and he jumps to his feet, Bichen unsheathed as he turns to face - a snake.

Or perhaps not.

The thing emerging from an opening in the back of the Demon Slaughtering Cave, an opening that must have been covered by many rocks when last he was here, searching, is certainly akin to a snake, but also not, a pair of arms at its sides as it pushes itself upright, swaying slightly as if not entirely accustomed to the position.

It is naked, the snake thing, except a red ribbon wrapped tightly around its wrist.

There’s something thin and black cradled in its claws and Lan Wangji gasps at the sight, before letting his cold fury rise and Bichen with it. He does not care what this thing is, he does not care whence it came, all that matters is that it dares to be here and now and waving Chenqing around like some perverse trophy.

Except - except then the snake swallows its flickering purple tongue and hisses.

Hisses words.

“Lan Zhan?”